A/N: Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Here I have a floofy fic to celebrate. It's ridiculously sweet, I got stomachaches while writing it. Well, hope you enjoy!
Marinette had always been especially fond of Valentine's Day.
There was a spark of magic in the air that seemed to favour February the fourteenth that Marinette couldn't exactly explain.
She saw it in the happy customers of her family bakery, buying chocolates and sweets for their loved ones, in the sweethearts of her school, hands adjoined, and in the shared loving looks of her parents when they thought she wasn't looking.
Her smile was genuine as she handed the pre-ordered cake over to the jovial man in a business suit. "Happy Valentine's Day, sir!" she chirped.
"Why thank you, young lady." he chuckled, taking the cake gratefully. "Seems like you have some plans for Valentine's yourself."
Marinette blinked. "How did you guess?"
"I can just tell, you know."
Marinette giggled as the man winked and left the bakery, whistling happily. She hadn't told anyone about her plans with Adrien, a moonlit evening in front of the Eiffel Tower as Ladybug and Chat Noir, and it wasn't like they went around flaunting their relationship.
It was going to be their first Valentine's as a couple and Marinette's first Valentine's with a significant other. She could barely hold back her squeals of excitement.
But it was rather embarrassing to know that she was being obvious about it. Was she being obvious? Marinette checked her reflection in the window. She couldn't tell.
"Marinette!" It was her mother's voice. "We can handle it from here! Go back to your room to prepare for your date with Adrien!"
"Maman!" She flushed at her mother's teasing, who emerged from the kitchen, wiping flour on her apron, smirk stretched across her face. "But thanks, Maman."
After giving her mother a quick kiss on the cheek, she ran up the stairs to her room where she was greeted by a grinning Tikki holding a folded note in her arms. "Hey, what's this?" she asked.
The kwami held it up to her. "It's from Chat Noir."
Marinette was surprised to hear that, Adrien was supposed to be at a photoshoot after all, but she took the note and unfolded it. She recognised Adrien's cursive handwriting immediately. "How about a treasure hunt, my lady?" she read aloud, arching an eyebrow. "Really now?"
Tikki squealed suddenly, twirling upwards in the air. "You aren't getting any clues from me!" And then she made herself scarce.
Marinette rolled her eyes but she couldn't say she wasn't already expecting something like this from her dorky boyfriend. But she was certainly curious so she decided she would humour her kitty.
She read the second line. Firstly, where do you lie your pretty little head when you sleep?
Under her pillow was another note. That was way too easy for you, Bugaboo, I know. There was a messy doodle of a cat winking. Next clue: in your very special box where you work your magic.
"Magic?"It wasn't long before Marinette found the next note in her sewing box.
I expected no less from you, my lovely! Now where did you put your 16th birthday present?
Olivier – a chubby but very fluffy teddy bear given to her last year by Adrien – was sitting on the next note.
The rest of them were found and written in a similar manner; consisting of cheesy Chat-like praises, a little bit of encouragement and a clue leading her to different places in her room. She was pleasantly surprised by how well he knew her and how much he remembered from their everyday conversations.
He remembered how the sewing machine was a gift from her parents for getting into collège, how her favourite book as a child was a collection of fairy tales, how her first Jagged Stone album was bought at the charity shop down the street, how her first sewing project was the cat plush on her desk and many other trivial things.
Her boyfriend was absolutely unbelievable. She fell in love with him all over again.
The final note was strikingly minimal:
Balcony.
As she opened the trapdoor to her balcony, no one was there. Nothing looked out of the ordinary apart from the jar on the wooden tea table.
She picked up the jar up to inspect it. It appealed to her tastes, heart-shaped glass with a lever lid, which had a cute figure of a black cat lying on top of it. The jar was filled with pink polka-dotted folded paper from what she could see.
Humming curiously, she lifted the lever and gently set the lid aside. She picked the first note she could grab and unfolded it.
I see you every day. But every time I look at you I can never believe that you're actually mine. You're just too amazing for words, you know? I am an extremely lucky cat to have you.
She unfolded the next one.
The time we spent together is precious. Every single one of these moments, no matter how small or meaningless, I want to treasure them for the rest of my life.
The vibe of these notes felt different from the ones in her room. She pursed her lips.
Marinette, you'll always be in my heart.
Your presence makes me feel so warm inside, even if you're simply walking by my side or screaming obscenities at your opponent in Mega Strike 3.
She laughed at that.
I can't promise you the world. But I can give you everything I am. Because it's for you.
I find you especially stunning when you're creating your designs. I don't think you know just how much you captivate me even when it's just watching you fix a button on my jacket. It's just like magic, you know? You're magic and you'll be something big one day, I can tell.
If there ever comes a day when we would have to part, although the thought is frightening, know that I'll always be on your side, thinking of you, dreaming of you, wishing you the best wherever you are.
You're a saviour. No, you're not a saviour just because of the things you do for our city, but you're a saviour for being the one who mended my dented heart so I can stand proudly for you today. You're my saviour.
Marinette clenched a fist to her chest as she opened the next note.
Your voice melts my brain. If you're ever wondering why I slip up so much around you. That's why.
My favourite scent in the world? It must be you, my love. If home was a scent, I believe that scent would be you. I'm serious, you smell of warm fireplaces, a place where I belong and just being beside you makes me feel so calm. You chase away the darkness with your light. I suppose the hint of vanilla is a nice bonus, though.
The beautiful girl who owns my heart is a girl who can rule the moon, sun and stars if she wanted to, but she still remains grounded in the human realm. I often wonder why when she's perfectly capable of so much more but I do hope that she stays long enough for me to catch up to her.
Marinette shook with chuckles, tears trickling down her face.
On some days, I love you so much that it hurts. My heart lights on fire, twisting and burning because of you. But some days, I have to lie down with a stupid stinging grin glued to my face because I remember how cute you are that day.
'You're so cute' How many times have I told you that? So many times that you're sick of it I'm sure. I'll still keep saying it.
You're the moon to me. The night can be frightening and the dark may blind me, but with you there in front of me, to lead me, I know that I can never stray. With you there with me, I know nothing can go wrong. We're a team.
There's still a lot to Marinette I need to discover. Like the deep, deep ocean. There's no end to her but I'll still keep coming back for more. I want to know more, see more, she evokes my curiosity. Marinette who are you?
I'm an idiot for you. But since we're still together, I suppose you don't mind, huh?
A distinct thud from behind her disrupted her reading. Without hesitation, she span around and glomped the person trespassing her balcony full force because she had no doubts that it was her boyfriend.
Said boyfriend grunted as he caught the energetic girl and stabilised his footing for the both of them. He chuckled merrily as he returned her slightly aggressive embrace, patting her back affectionately. "Someone seems happy to see me."
Marinette continued to bury her face in his leather covered chest. "Stupid, stupid cat." she mumbled angrily. Despite her words, only one thought ran through her head:
IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIloveyou-
"Happy Valentine's Day to you too, my pretty."
In a flash of vibrant green, Chat Noir became Adrien, donning a dark red smart suit and hair perfectly styled as always. But the blue scarf Marinette made for his birthday was wrapped snugly around his neck, clashing with his red themed outfit horrendously.
Plagg flew down to Marinette's room to join Tikki while the budding designer unstuck herself from her boyfriend so she could poke his chest with a sharp finger.
"Did you ditch work to come here? That's no good, young man! You knew that we were going to meet up later!" she scolded him, remembering their plans for the evening. That should have been enough but… her kitty just had to decide to go the extra mile to do this.
For one, Marinette was speechless.
Adrien raised his hands in a surrender, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "Well, you're half right and you're half wrong. I snuck out on break."
She wanted to be angry, she really did, but she lost to his radiant, airy smile. She couldn't bring herself to care. She re-wrapped her arms around him, snuggling against his familiar scarf. "Idiot."
She felt a light kiss on the crown of her head. "You love me anyway."
Marinette didn't say anything, couldn't say anything. How could she? Compared with his words, everything she had in her head fell flat. She squeezed him harder, tighter, hoping that her actions spoke enough words for him to understand her feelings.
Her boyfriend nosed her hair in return. "You smell."
"Shut up, I just came from the bakery." She paused. "You're enjoying this aren't you?"
"You bet!"
She hit him. He laughed.
A/N: Adrien needs to be stopped, seriously. Did you see the dentist recently? Even if you did, I think you'll have to book another appointment after reading this fic.