A/N: Super fluffy oneshot that takes place roughly a week or so after the events of Shatter Me. Was totally NOT inspired by Wall-E who's titular character only wanted to hold the hand of the girl he liked. Definitely wasn't intending this to become an identity reveal but characters happen. It felt right anyways. I just wanted to write a cute hand-holding scene! Don't judge me!
Marinette blushed. Why? Two words: Adrien Agreste! He was such an obnoxious jerk. For some reason she'd noticed it a lot more now that she knew that he was Chat Noir. Then again, maybe he'd just kicked the annoying up to eleven after they'd revealed identities to one another after dealing with Primadonna a week or so ago. Currently, he was sitting beside her at their table in the library with Alya and Nino. Usually that alone would've been enough to make the butterflies in her chest do aerial flips. That wasn't the only reason that she felt her internal temperature rising with distressing rapidness. Oh no! Not at all!
Alya and Nino sat across from them, still completely oblivious to the fact that she and Adrien were going to try the dating thing but evidently aware that something was happening between the two of them. They kept looking up at them in half hidden glances and wary expressions. It was almost like they were expecting something to happen. Marinette had no idea what it was they were thinking would happen next but there was a very real possibility that it would be her spontaneously combusting.
Then there was what Adrien was doing underneath the table.
Stupid, handsome, sweet, dumb Adrien had his hand laying open innocently on his knee. At first Marinette hadn't thought anything of it. Then he'd nudged her foot with his and looked down pointedly at his wiggling fingers. Marinette had shook his head as subtly as she could so neither Alya or Nino would notice. The faint pink color that had spread across her face had betrayed her though. Now, every time they weren't looking, Adrien shot her the biggest 'kitty eyes' she'd ever seen. Not even Manon could muster upon such a heartbreakingly sweet expression. He'd been doing it for nearly three full minutes! It wasn't fair!
Marinette did the one thing that she could do to protect herself. She pointedly stared everywhere but Adrien's face. Apparently that didn't sit well with him. Once more, Adrien tapped her foot under the table for her attention. Marinette jumped and let out a little squeak. "You alright girl?" Alya asked, raising her eyebrow as she looked Marinette up and down.
"Peachy keen." Marinette replied in an octave that was way too high to be believable. She laughed nervously and waved it off.
"Come on! Will you two focus? Our project is due tomorrow and we have to be ready to present." Nino complained.
"Relax Nino. Most of the project is done already so…" Alya went on but Marinette tuned her out. Her phone was vibrating on the table. It was Adrien.
Marinette shot him an exasperated look. "I'm sitting right here." she told him.
"Just read it." he nodded toward it. She rolled her eyes but opened the text message.
'Adrien: Can i plz hold ur hand?'
There went the butterflies in her chest. She could feel them bouncing around her ribcage and threatening to bust out. Oh wait, that was actually her heart getting ready to beat out of her chest. Yeah. That sounded about right. Her eyes snapped up to meet his. She was greeted by full force 'kitty eyes.' "No!" she said as firmly as she could whisper.
Adrien frowned, sticking his lower lip out so far that it was impressive. 'Please' he mouthed back as he flexed his fingers pleadingly again. Marinette tried to fight the blush but failed completely. She was probably as red as her Ladybug costume at the moment. Immediately she turned her face away, ducking and hiding it under her hand. Her phone vibrated again. 'Adrien: just under the table?'
Marinette turned to answer him. The words were on her tongue and then they fizzled away when she saw him bat his eyelashes at her. No really! Adrien Agreste was batting his long, lovely model worthy eyes at her in the most angelic way possible. Abort! Abort! Abort mission! She snatched her phone off the table. She couldn't talk to him now. It wasn't even possible. Instead, Marinette typed out her reply. 'We're in public!'
'Adrien: I know but i rlly want to hold ur hand.'
'Why,' Marinette responded.
'Adrien: Everyone else is doing it ;)'
Marinette's eyes popped out of her skull. Well, at least it felt like it. Adrien shot her a self satisfied smirk that might as well have been his interpretation of the proverbial 'cat who ate the canary.' She definitely didn't appreciate it. Marinette hauled off and kicked him under the table in the shin. The resulting sound was a lot louder than she anticipated. It made a dull thunk that made Nino and Alya pause their discussion. Adrien hissed in pain and jumped. "Dude, will you quit banging your leg against the chair. How your foot hasn't fallen off is beyond me." Nino teased.
"It's a miracle for sure," grumbled Adrien as he reached down and rubbed his battered leg. Nino snickered and went back to talking to Alya.
Marinette sent him another text. 'Be serious!'
'Fine. Just cuz.'
"That isn't a very good answer." mumbled Marinette. The smirk disappeared from Adrien's face.
"It's the only one I've got." Adrien mumbled back. The tips of his ears flushed red as he looked back at his phone. His blush just made her blush harder. That and her breath came a bit shorter. Adrien wanted to hold her hand and he was just as embarrassed to ask as she was to hear it.
'Adrien: It makes me happy.'
It made her happy too. Her hand tightened around her cell phone. Even still it slipped through her fingers. He'd be totally grossed out. 'My hands r sweaty' she texted him.
'Adrien: Mine too'
Marinette swallowed the lump in her throat. Underneath the table, her fingers itched and curled. She cast a quick little glance at Adrien's hand under the table. His fingers flexed nervously. Marinette noticed that he was now pointedly staring at his textbook in front of him. Adrien's blush had extended to his neck now. Off to the side he tapped away furiously at his phone.
'Adrien: We don't have to if u don't wnt to. I don't wnt to pressure u.'
Marinette bit her lip. The butterflies bounced around her stomach. She typed out her response, 'I kno,' and slipped her hand into Adrien's under the table. He was right after all. Everyone else was doing it too. It wasn't like Alya and Nino were going to look under the table and see them holding hands, right?
He turned to face her slightly, shock coloring his face. Marinette ducked her head but squeezed his hand. She saw a little smile spread across his face from the corner of her eye. Adrien returned her squeeze and went back to the task he'd been working on before pestering her about holding her hand. Marinette smiled too.
Roughly twenty minutes later, after Alya and Nino had finished their argument, they wrapped up the finishing touches on their project. Nino was immensely relieved when Alya hit the save button on her computer and closed the program. Adrien still had a hold on her hand beneath the table. He'd spent the entire time rubbing circles into the back of her hand absentmindedly. It was nice. Really nice. Butterflies continued to dance in the pit of her stomach though but that wasn't as big of a deal to her as it usually was.
"Are you two ready?" Nino asked them, pointing between them with his pen. "You've got your speech cards all ready and you've memorized your parts of the slide show?"
"Geez Nino! Give me some credit." Adrien rolled his eyes.
"I know you bro. Mr. I have so many after school activities and keep late hours." Nino said before turning his pen on Marinette. "And you're so forgetful sometimes Marinette that I swear you'd leave your head at home if it wasn't attached to your shoulders."
"That's not true." Marinette told him.
"Girl, you forgot your homework this morning. You forgot to set your alarm two nights ago. You completely spaced on our lunch date last weekend."
"The last one wasn't my fault and you know it!"
Alya continued to smirk. She knew perfectly well that there had been an emergency of the Ladybug variety that day. Adrien sent her a curious look. "You are kinda forgetful sometimes Marinette." he told her.
She couldn't help the betrayed gasp, "You take that back!"
"Two weeks ago you promised to return my copy of Dracula. You still have it." Adrien reminded her. That obnoxious smirk was back. Marinette frowned. She didn't remember having that conversation… oh wait. Yes she did. Chat Noir had asked Ladybug if she'd finished the book he'd lent her yet while they were taking a break on the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Marinette glared at him. "I… I've been busy!" she sputtered defensively.
"Yeah? Doing what?" he teased her with a cheshire grin on his face.
"Things!" Marinette spat. She was consciously aware of the fact that Nino, Alya, and Adrien were snickering at her due to the fact that her face was turning a fantastic shade of purple.
"What kind of things?" Adrien pushed.
She couldn't think of any excuses. Marinette could think of what she really wanted to do to him. It involved smacking him over the head. "Important things!"
"You haven't finished it yet have you?" Adrien guessed. Marinette bit her lip. He'd guessed correctly. His cheshire grin only got wider. "If I recall correctly you don't really like to read."
"I have too finished it!" she cried indignantly. She totally hadn't. She was almost there though. She had, like, another eighty pages or so to go.
"Oh really? What did you think of Heathcliff?"
"My favorite character actually!"
Alya and Nino burst out laughing. So hard that they fell over sideways on to one another for support. Marinette snapped her attention to them, turning a withering look on them. Nino she could understand. He was Adrien's best friend but this was complete and utter betrayal from Alya. Alya was supposed to be on her side! Not sitting there looking like she was going to pee her pants from laughing so hard. "Heathcliff is from Wuthering Heights." Adrien informed her primly. "You made a valiant effort to convince me though."
Marinette growled under her breath in frustration. Adrien laughed and squeezed her hand gently. "Why do I put up with you?"
"Because you think I'm funny princess."
He threw a wink at her. Marinette swallowed her irritation and turned to look at Nino. "I will have my part of the presentation down pat. Don't you worry Nino. Contrary to what some people think I'm not that forgetful."
Nino and Alya were staring at her with wide eyes. "What?" she asked in complete and utter confusion.
"Um… princess?" Nino repeated. He looked at Adrien incredulously.
Marinette's stomach lurched. The temperature of her face shot back up five degrees. Had Adrien called her that in front of them? She cast a look at him. He had gone completely pale. It looked as though he'd swallowed his tongue with the way his pressed his lips together. Yes, he'd definitely called her princess.
"When did that become a thing?" Alya demanded as she glanced between the two of them. She looked like she was super confused.
"It's not!" both she and Adrien said together.
"Did they sound like a couple arguing to you just now?" Nino asked Alya.
"We did not!" Marinette hissed.
Alya completely ignored her. "You know I think they did!"
"You two are completely overthinking this." Adrien told them as convincingly as he could while he was blushing full on scarlet.
"Stop blushing," demanded Marinette.
"You stop blushing!" Adrien replied.
"Princess is super a lovey dovey nickname." Nino pointed out.
"Is not." they both insisted at the same time.
"It is." Alya told them. Her eyebrow was literally about to come off the top of her face. Marinette suddenly got the distinct feeling that this wasn't going to end well for either her or Adrien.
"Oh my God!" gasped Nino. Nope! It wasn't going to end well at all for them. "Alya! They're totally holding hands underneath the table!"
"What!" Alya yelled. Adrien dropped her hand suddenly and they both turned away from each other, tucking their hands under their chins. The damage had already been done. Alya had seen their hands intertwined with one another for a split second. That was all she really needed. Their case wasn't made any better by the fact that they were both now a deep shade of crimson red. Marinette hadn't even been aware of the fact that Adrien could turn that red. Alya met Marinette's eyes with a hanging jaw. "How long were you two holding hands under the table?"
"Not long," Marinette said nervously as Adrien mumbled, "Twenty minutes or so."
Marinette gave him a mortified look.
"Holy crap girl!" Alya jumped across the table and took her by the shoulders. Marinette bobbed back and forth like a ragdoll as Alya shook her. "You didn't tell me that you and Adrien were a thing! You said that you and…"
Alya dropped off immediately before she dropped the name 'Felix' in public again in front of Adrien and Nino. Sure Adrien was technically 'Felix' seeing as that was the codename that she and Alya had used for Chat Noir for ages. Adrien knew that now, having pieced together the details after their mutual identity reveal. Nino didn't know that though. He didn't seem to be paying attention.
"The thing is Alya…" Marinette's voice trailed off. Again, she came up blank with the excuses.
"Your girl! The one you liked. I thought you said that she asked you on a 'real actual date' date bro!" Nino flailed his arms in the air.
"Um…" Adrien winced.
"One of you two had better explain things in the next ten seconds or else." Alya told them. She left the threat hanging in the air.
"Funny story." Marinette said weakly.
That's when Alya turned to look straight at Adrien. Something passed over her face. The dawning of recognition so strong that she was rendered utterly speechless. The dots that she'd been collecting for awhile started to line up in some sort of order. All her pictures, impromptu interviews, and frontline battle videos suddenly connected with unbreakable lines of iron and steel. "No." Alya shook her head as she gaped at Adrien. She leaned in close to Marinette and jabbed her finger at him. "No way! He's Felix?"
Marinette didn't get a chance to say anything because that was when she saw that Nino was staring at her much in the same manner that Alya had been staring at Adrien. "Marinette is… are you kidding me? Not again! Just once can't one of my friends be, I don't know… normal?" Nino said. Shock colored his words and he looked like he was in very real danger of passing out.
"Nino… Nino please." Adrien stood up and placed his hands on Nino's shoulders placatingly.
Apparently Nino had also come to a similar kind of conclusion. Though what was going on in his head was beyond Marinette. However if she had to guess, she'd say that Nino most likely knew that Adrien was Chat Noir.
"Wait a minute!" Alya rounded on Nino. She threw her finger back and forth between him and Adrien. "You mean to tell me that you've knew he's the other half of a particular duo!"
"Well you're one to talk. How long have you known about her?" Nino snapped as he pointed at Marinette. His eyes narrowed at Alya. "You're not one of them too are you? No magic necklaces or hair combs?"
"Nino don't be ridiculous." Alya told him exasperatedly, "Besides that is clearly not the point. Our best friends are Superheroes."
Thank God they weren't someplace where there was a serious danger of being overheard. Marinette and Adrien groaned at the same exact time. "You forgot to mention that Nino knew your identity."
"Kind of slipped my mind. I was kind of reeling from the fact that I was dating Ladybug." Adrien explained feebly. It wasn't like Marinette could be angry with him though. Not over this.
"Do you know what this means?" Alya asked suddenly.
"That our friends are the only hope Paris has of being saved?" offered Nino. "That the entire fate and balance of the world rests on the shoulders of two fifteen year olds."
"No! That they were even more oblivious than we thought!" Alya burst out. Her hands cut through the air. "Marinette has been crushing on Adrien while he's been Chat Noir and flirting with her the entire time."
"And Adrien's been head over heels for Ladybug while she was sitting literally five feet behind him in class!" Nino finished. "If it weren't so painful it would be funny! The irony is going to kill me."
"How long have you two known?" Alya growled.
Marinette leaned back in her chair as Adrien wrapped his hand around hers again. "Not long?" she squeaked out only because he was holding her hand.
"We've been kind of dating for a week." added Adrien. He laughed nervously as he swung their hands anxiously.
"A week," repeated Alya.
"Incredible." mumbled Nino.
Both of them gave a groan and slammed their heads on the table. "All that time they've been blind nitwits. All that time!" moaned Alya.
Marinette chanced a look at Adrien. He was just as red as she was. At least they were both in good company. Adrien gave her a weak smile. "That could've gone a lot worse my lady."