The day Adrien realizes Marinette isn’t ‘just a friend’.
The day that Marinette and Adrien realize they’ve been rejecting each other this whole time.
The day Tikki finally admits she’s in love with Plagg and Plikki becomes canon.
The last 'pound it’/’bien joue’.
The day Marinette gives up the Miracle Box and loses her memory.
The day Adrien finds out his dad is Hawk Moth.
The reveal.
The day Emilie comes out of her coma.
The day that Adrien dies because Marinette will outlive him as the Guardian.
Sandboy 2.0 - this time with a little bit of extra Blanc.
The day Tikki and Plagg have to say goodbye to Marinette and Adrien.
The day Hawkmoth find out he’s been trying to kill his son this whole time.
The day that Nathalie also falls into a coma from using the broken Peacock Miraculous.
Chat Blanc 2.0 (which is going to happen sooner than we think if Ladybug doesn’t stop ACTING LIKE AN IDIOT and LEAVING HER ORIGINAL PARTNER OUT OF THE LOOP even though SHE’S KNOWN HIM SINCE DAY ONE).
A huge thank you to @goblin-alchemist for betareading this story! And thank you all for reading, liking, reblogging and for the comments. You make me very happy! <3
***
Chapter 18. Bien joue
In which Adrien takes things slow
The magic rushed through him as soon as their lips touched, making him high on spring and power. The world spun around him as sparkles cracked all over his tingling skin. Adrien felt charged with new energy, filled with inexplicable happiness and melting from emotions flooding his heart. And the earthly scents of grass, blossoming trees and spring sun only added to the sensations. The seconds the kiss took stretched to eternity as he remained in this enchanted moment. The gentle touch of her lips, the soft sigh that escaped them. Her hands clutching at his shirt, her body pressed into him. He would give anything to save this moment, to capture and preserve it forever.
It felt like coming home and never leaving again. Like finding the center of the universe. His lifeline, his anchor, his place. And it was all her. The point all the roads led to, all the thoughts escaped to. The yin to his yang. The light to his darkness. The lyrics to his music. The art to his logic. Adrien was overwhelmed as all those revelations washed over him. He was suddenly millennia old and seconds young at the same time. Something unfathomable had been at play here, something he doubted he’d ever be able to understand. He melted into the kiss, trying to translate the entirety of his feelings into brushes of his lips against hers. Wishing she could feel what he felt right now, dazed as he was.
Finally Marinette pulled away, leaving a gaping cold space between them. Adrien tightened his grip on her waist, wanting to stop her from retreating entirely. Their foreheads still touched.
‘I love you,’ the confession spilled from his lips, still drunk after the kiss, before he even had time to think about it.
‘W-what? What did you say?’
‘I- I love you,’ he repeated, more confident now. He no longer felt feverish nor pulled to her in the way he had been. The tether was gone. But his feelings hadn’t changed. He finally understood it all -- Plagg’s revelations, the dreams, the pull. He finally knew, even as the memory of the kiss, the sensations it brought were slowly slipping away from him.
‘If this is a joke, or a way to get me to kiss you again, it’s not funny,’ she warned, her voice tight.
‘I’ve always loved you,’ he whispered with a small smile.
‘What?’
‘That’s what the fever did,’ he chuckled lightly. ‘I was wrong when I said it made me fall in love with you. It didn’t.’
Now Marinette pulled away far enough to look him straight in the eye. Her face had confusion written all over, but that sparkle of hope glimmered in the blue irises.
‘Marinette,’ he said solemnly, ‘you had me completely under your spell before I even broke a sweat.’
‘But… the curse…’
He put a hand on her cheek, thumb gently caressing the freckled skin. Adrien said a little prayer to any deity willing to listen, a silent plea to be allowed to caress her like that every day.
‘Loving you could never be a curse. It’s a blessing, a gift I’ll be forever grateful.’
Instead of melting into his touch Marinette withdrew even further. Her hand went to his forehead, in a fashion typical for someone who only wants to check the temperature.
‘You’re not feverish, are you?’ she asked, still doubtful. ‘You haven’t gone crazy from all the excitement?’
‘Nu-uh,’ he shook his head, smirking at her reaction. ‘I’m as sane as the next man. The fever didn’t take away my brains, it only made me aware of my feelings for you.’
‘Your feelings for me,’ Marinette echoed. ‘What does that mean?’
‘I love you,’ he reminded. ‘I love you, I love you, I love you, just in case you missed the first few clues.’
‘Stop it,’ she hid her face in her hands.
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. ‘Is it really so hard to believe?’
‘Yes.’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know,’ she mumbled into her hands. ‘It’s scary.’
‘Me loving you is scary? How?’
‘This is a dream, right? I’m going to wake up any time soon and it will turn out I drooled over my desk and Chloe took pictures and posted them on instagram.’
‘Marinette, I promise this is not a dream.’ Now Adrien dared to peel her hands off her face.
He wasn’t so sure about this not being a dream but he was willing to risk it. Marinette was apparently overwhelmed with two days worth of confessions and revelations. But she loved him, Nemesis’ weapon had provided the ultimate proof of that. She promised he wasn’t going to lose her. That’s when he realized he could afford to slow down.
‘How about this,’ he offered. ‘I like you, Marinette. Very, very much. What would you say if I took you out sometime?’
***
Author’s Note: If you like this story, please let me know!
I had another extra shift (5-12), which was easy, got my haircut on the way home, napped, then met up with Alex, Carl, and Hammy for one last hurrah as Team Priory. The whole team is likely to disband - Alex is moving to Southampton (traitor), I’m moving a little further afield, and quite frankly the setup there is awful and we’ve not exactly had a great deal of encouragement to maintain the team.
I played with Alex as per, and though we lost both matches, found them largely enjoyable. I did not start very well (I don’t think I held my serve all match), and by the time I started playing half-decent, it was almost over.
The second match was good fun, with lots of entertaining points and highlight-reel shots from everyone. I hit one particular backhand passing shot just as there was a pause in the other match, so it was particularly gratifying to have all eight pairs of eyes watching my shot land on the baseline! I served better, though still struggled, and we went down 7-6 6-3. It was sad to end with losses, but being reasonably happy with our performance was something of a comfort.
I won’t miss the venue of Priory too much, but I will the players, especially Alex, so it was good to get one last outing. Here’s to finding players of equal standard and personality stateside...
