A Poem for Ladybug

A/N: You guys are the best, and I mean it. Power through whatever you're going through right now: finals, writer's block, another week, etc. You are really amazing, and I promise good things are coming. :) And thanks for all the sweet reviews!

Summary: Adrien is having a hard time coming up with the words to say to Ladybug when Valentine's Day comes around… luckily Chat knows he can count on Marinette to help him out.

"Your perfume is so sweet… uh… uh… it smells nothing like feet? Oh, no, that's all wrong," Adrien sighed, balling up the piece of paper and throwing it in a trash can already overflowing with rejected versions of the poem.

He'd been working for the past few days on a new poem for Ladybug for Valentine's Day. The whole debacle with Dark Cupid last Valentine's Day hadn't left him any time to tell Ladybug how he felt, but he wasn't going to make that same mistake this year. She would finally know how he felt!

… except the words weren't coming to him.

He really thought about it and opened his heart to pour his feelings onto the piece of stationery, but nothing was coming out. None of the words that had come so easily to him the year before were now coming, and he was left scrambling the night before Valentine's Day.

"Ugggggghhhhh," he groaned, his head falling against his desk.

Plagg roused, staring blearily across the room at his Miraculous holder.

"Come… up… with… something… you… stupid… brain," Adrien said, hitting his head against the desk with every word.

"I don't think that's how that works," Plagg yawned.

"You don't know how love works," he scoffed, glaring at the black cat kwami.

"I may know someone who does," the kwami offered.

"Really?" he asked, lifting his head and raising his eyebrows.

"Well, sure. That Marinette girl from your class. Didn't your teacher give her full marks on your poetry assignment last week?"

Adrien blinked. He hadn't thought about that. But how was he supposed to go to Marinette for help? She hardly even talked to him at school… plus he wasn't sure he wanted anyone to know about his feelings for Ladybug.

He sighed, putting his face in his hands.

Wait… of course! "Plagg…"

"Don't tell me you're about to do what I think you're about to do," the kwami grumbled.

"Claws out!"

"There we go, Tikki," Marinette hummed, spinning the finished beret around to observe it from all angles. "I still can't believe that Sabrina invited me to her birthday party."

"Well, she did say she wanted the whole class there," the red kwami giggled.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Marinette asked, looking up at the ceiling. There were footsteps above. "Tikki, hide."

"Are you sure? You may need Ladybug."

"And have whoever is there wondering what Ladybug is doing in Marinette's room?" she laughed. "I'll be fine, Tikki. Just hide now," she said as a knock came on the door above her.

Climbing up to reach the door, she opened it a crack only to be met by the Cheshire grin of none other than Chat Noir.

"Chat?!"

"Hey, Marinette!" he said with a grin. "Can I come in?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," she said. She had forgotten that it was snowing out, and a little bit of it clung to his hair and cat ears.

He climbed down carefully. "Sorry to drop in like this."

She let the pun slide as he shivered a little. "Can I get you a blanket?"

He nodded with a shy smile.

"So, what are you doing here?" she asked, as she fetched a lavender blanket and slung it around his shoulders.

"Oh, uh," he said, his face turning red. "Well, I was hoping for your help with something."

"Oh?" she asked, turning her back to him for a moment and smiling to herself. "Not another supervillain, I hope."

He gave a throaty little sound that she recognized as a laugh, much to her surprise. "No, no, no more Evillustrators to catch."

"So then you only came to try your puns out on me?"

"Well, they are pretty purr-fect," he said, sitting across from her where she sat at her desk. "But you're wrong again."

It was her turn to laugh a little bit. "So what then?"

"Well, you know tomorrow's Valentine's Day," he said shyly, looking down. "And I was hoping you'd help me write a poem for a special lady."

"Oh, yeah?" Mari asked, ready to be annoyed. After all, the superhero was so flirtatious, there was no telling who he was talking about.

He nodded vehemently. "But I can't think of the right words to say. When I try to write, there's just… nothing."

"Well," she said, pulling out a fresh sheet of paper. "All a poem is in the end is telling someone how you feel. So maybe what's blocking you isn't the words not coming, but the feelings. How does she make you feel?"

"Happy," he answered, leaning forward and placing his hand on his cheek as he leaned on the desk. "Like every force in the world could be working against me, but one smile from her would make it all better."

"That's good," she said, scribbling it down. "What else?"

"She makes me feel inspired," he continued, watching as Marinette's pink pen flew across the paper. "I want to be better because she is so good, and she puts so much good in the world."

"Mhmm…"

"And she makes me feel valued," he said finally.

"She… what?" Mari asked, looking up in surprise.

"She makes me feel valued," he repeated, looking back at her. He shrugged. "I don't know. She makes me feel like who I am matters to her. Sometimes I feel like people see me the way the expect me to be, but when I'm with her…" he shook his head, trailing off.

She stared at him. "You don't think people appreciate you?" she asked.

"Well, no, that's im-paw-sible, right?" he joked, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down.

She leaned over so she could look him in the eye. "I appreciate you."

He blinked back at her. "You… you do?"

"Well, sure," she blushed. "You're brave and selfless and kind."

He stared at her then with a smile.

She felt her face turn even more red. Holding her hands up and waving them, she continued, "Y-you know, all of Paris appreciates you, Chat. You're our punniest superhero."

"Did… did you just…?" he spluttered.

She laughed. "Alright, so we have the material. Now, all we have to do is put it in the right order."

Her phone beeped as it turned over to midnight. She jumped.

"Sorry," Chat said. "I didn't realize how late it was. I can go."

"Don't worry about it," she said with a smile. "I want to help. How about we start with… hmm..." she trailed off, concentrating.

"Hey, Marinette?"

"Yeah?"

"Happy Valentine's Day."