‘Out Of Character’ 31st December 2022
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Author’s notes: and this is the end! again, apologies for this ending a month after it should have done, i have definitely learned my lesson and won’t be posting any fics until they’re 100% finished from now on Dx but thank you so much for reading and commenting, i appreciate all the love this fic has been given!!! i do have a few more ml wips in the works so watch this space for more lovesquare shenanigans!!!
As soon as Marinette had arrived at the party - fashionably late at 11pm - and caught sight of Adrien, she had flushed a deep red, grabbed Alya by the wrist and dragged her into the bathroom. They still hadn’t spoken properly since the last larp game, though not for lack of trying on Adrien’s part; he had texted and even called her a few times but she hadn’t replied to anything. He wondered if it was always going to be this awkward or if he would have to back out of d&d and larp to make her less uncomfortable. Sighing heavily, Adrien ran a hand through his hair.
“S’up, dude?”
He turned as Nino stuffed yet another mini sandwich into his mouth and laughed weakly. “You remember at the beginning of the year when you told me about the larp game and I asked you not to tell Alya?”
Nino nodded as he chewed. “Because you didn't want Marinette to come.”
“Yeah… Well, about that…”
In the bathroom, Marinette had her hands on her head. “This is a disaster!”
Alya rolled her eyes. “Calm down, girl. It just means you’ve kissed the same guy twice and you’ve been in love with the guy you hate this entire time.” She shrugged as if it was no big deal, to which Marinette buried her face in her hands and let out a muffled cry. Smirking, Alya patted her friend’s shoulder. “Okay, it is a little bit weird. But I thought you’d decided Adrien was actually a nice person after all. Doesn’t him being Chat Noir make him even better in your books?”
“Alya…” Marinette looked at her friend through her fingers. “I invited him over… and had him in my room… as Chat Noir.”
“You what?! Girl, spill!”
“What do you mean, you visited her in costume? That’s weird as hell, dude!”
Adrien ran a hand down his face as Nino gawked at him and almost forgot about his party food. “Yes, you’re absolutely right, and I probably absolutely definitely shouldn’t have done it. But… she really wanted me to and I just… couldn’t say no. And it was possibly the best night of my life…” He trailed off with a smile as he remembered cosying up with Marinette on her chaise.
“Dude!”
Nino’s gawking turned into a glare and after a moment of confusion Adrien’s eyes went wide in realisation. “No no, not like that! Nothing like that happened! All I meant was… we watched a movie and… and cuddled, and it just felt so natural and so much like… I dunno, like home. She felt like home.”
Alya gave Marinette a sceptical look. “He didn’t make a move on you?”
Groaning at the memory, Marinette leaned her palms on the sink and shook her head. “If anything, I was kind of the one who threw myself at him. I tried to get him to stay but he didn’t wanna do anything when I didn’t know who he was. Like a total gentleman. I don’t know what I would’ve done if he had stayed and I’d found out he was Adrien…”
She looked up in the mirror as Alya snorted. “You are a mess.”
Marinette groaned again and repetitively banged her head on the rim of the sink.
“So, what, you think she’s too weirded out by the situation?” Nino gave Adrien a calculating look as he sipped some mulled wine in what he probably thought was a sophisticated manner.
Shrugging, Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. “I wouldn’t blame her. I mean, I was kind of a jerk at the beginning of the year, even if I didn’t realise it at the time. And-”
Nino held out a finger. “I’mma stop you there, dude. You weren’t a jerk, you were just awkward. It’s not your fault you didn’t know how to interact with people in a normal way.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“Anyway, yeah it’s a bit weird, but like… she likes you, dude. Like, you you. Adrien you. You know what I mean?”
Adrien shook his head, perplexed.
“You started liking him at your birthday party, right?” Alya waggled her eyebrows at Marinette.
“I- did I?”
“Well, you definitely thought he was hot.” Marinette hissed through her teeth as she glared at Alya, making her chuckle heartily. She shook her head then continued. “I also seem to remember you making a comment about how cheerful he was, and how thoughtful his present was.”
“Yes, well,” Marinette mumbled under her breath. She then shook her head, struggling to piece together the events of the year. Trying to reconcile Adrien being the same person as Chat Noir had been a seemingly impossible task over the last two weeks, and his texts and calls only felt like more pressure to figure things out. She had hoped it would be easier to see him by the time this party came about, but as soon as she caught a glimpse of him in his black dress shirt with the collar undone and the sleeves rolled up her head had started spinning.
A pat on her arm made her look up at Alya giving her an encouraging smile. “I’m sure both you and Adrien can figure it out. But you need to actually talk to him to do that.”
Marinette nodded sullenly. She then nearly leapt out of her skin as a loud banging came from the bathroom door. “I’m sorry to interrupt but can you girls come out now? Juleka really needs to pee!”
Alya opened the door to a smiling Rose and flustered Juleka then moved passed them to find Nino. Blushing all the way to her ears, Marinette quickly apologised and ducked out, immediately bumping into Adrien’s chest as he walked towards the front door. He looked down at her in surprise and she felt her heart hammering against her ribcage. She could also feel his heart doing the same, as she had raised her hands to his chest in the collision. Taking a step back, Adrien apologised and looked away, his cheeks turning a light pink. Letting her hands fall to her sides, Marinette tried to decipher her feelings but it felt like a rollercoaster with way too many turns, loops and drops that went way too fast. On the one hand, she had hated Adrien for being aloof and unpleasant for the better part of a year, but on the other she had loved Chat Noir for being bright, carefree and kind and had hoped to find out who he was eventually. And Alya was right, she had started seeing Adrien in a different light in recent months; he had really come out of his shell and shown he was a more cheerful and caring person than she had realised. Surely she would be able to come to terms with them being the same person, right?
She was still in a world of her own when she heard the tail end of his sentence. “… so I’m gonna go…”
“Wait, what?”
He looked down at her with a pained expression. “I don’t want to make you more uncomfortable than I already have.”
Marinette shook her head nervously. “Please don’t go! I don’t want to ruin your night just because I’m rattlebrained.”
Letting out a short laugh, Adrien looked away again. “It’s not your fault, Marinette. I was… it was wrong of me to hide who I really was from you. I was just so desperate to spend time with you and not have you think I was a dickhead. But I guess I really was a dickhead for doing that…”
“Adrien,” Marinette reached a hand out for one of his and squeezed it gently, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, though she could still feel her heart going berserk. “I was the one who invited you over. I accepted that you wanted to be Chat Noir. It was probably weird, yes, but you were definitely not a dickhead. And…” She ducked her head in embarrasment. “I had a wonderful time with you…”
Adrien looked down at their joined hands then back at Marinette’s face and his cheeks deepened in colour. “As did I.” He paused then took a breath as if to say something else but Rose and Juleka walked passed, giving the pair knowing smiles. Rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand, Adrien looked embarrassed for a moment, then a thought seemed to cross his mind and he turned back to the passing girls. “Hey Rose, is there somewhere Marinette and I could… uh, talk in private?”
Marinette felt her face burn yet again as Rose beamed at him. “Of course! You can use our bedroom or maybe the balcony. It’s a bit chilly out tonight so no-one else will want to go out there!”
“Hah we don’t want anyone to get the wrong impression so we’ll take the balcony. Thanks, Rose.”
“Don’t forget to kiss at midnight!” She winked at them before grabbing Juleka’s hand and waving at some of their other friends, leaving Adrien and Marinette to laugh nervously to themselves.
The pair collected their jackets, hats, gloves and scarves and a cup of steaming mulled wine each then made their way to the balcony. Marinette’s face was still bright red and had even deepened when she saw Adrien donning the light blue accessories she had made for his birthday. As they both leaned over the balcony’s railing, he smiled affectionately at her which only seemed to make things worse as she looked away over the glittering Paris skyline. Clearing his throat made her look back at him and his breath nearly got caught as he saw the streetlamps sparkle in her eyes. She was stunning. And creative and girly and passionate and unapologetic in who she was. “I’m in love with you.”
Marinette’s eyes went wide. “You- you are?” Adrien nodded simply and watched as she glanced away and a million thoughts seemed to cross her mind. Her expression cleared after a moment and she looked back up at him. “I think… I think I am, too.”
Adrien raised his eyebrows, his heart fluttering in his chest, then smirked. “You’re in love with yourself, too?”
She snorted and gently nudged his arm with her elbow. “Silly cat.” Turning to face him properly, she smiled shyly. “I’m in love with you, Adrien.”
Mirroring her movement, he raised a gloved hand to brush a hair behind her ear and revelled in her blush deepening yet again. She loved him. Marinette loved Adrien. He began to lean down towards her when the music inside quietened and people not just in the apartment started counting down from ten. Turning back to face each other, the pair smiled. They could wait just a few more seconds.
As soon as the chanting got to one and cheers erupted from all around, Adrien leaned down again, though he didn’t need to lean far because Marinette launched up onto her tiptoes to capture his lips with hers. This was an entirely different kiss from their first two. It was confident and fierce and neither of them could stop smiling the whole way through. Almost forgetting about trying not to spill their wine, Adrien wrapped his arms around Marinette and lifted her up, disbelieving how happy he felt at that moment as she giggled against his mouth.
Marinette pulled away momentarily. “Happy new year, Minou.”
Adrien beamed back at her. “Happy new year, Nettie.”
