14. Chapter 14

Adrien felt Marinette seize up on his shoulders, her heels digging into his sides as he swiveled at the commotion. Rising up from the rubble of what had once been Stage 2 was a floating figure, it’s voice blaring out to echo across all corners of the venue.

“TESTING TESTING. 1, 2, 3! THIS IS SOUND-CHECK COMING TO YOU LIVE FROM PARIS.” The Akuma flew up higher, pulling a massive bass guitar from its back before continuing in a booming wail. “NOW WHO’S READY TO HEAR SOME REAL MUSIC?”

All around, people clapped their hands to their ears in a vain attempt to block out the screeching chords that flew out in glowing waves to cover the courtyard. By now, the bands had stopped playing, the crowds shifting and yelling as panic begin to settle over the concert.

‘Can’t I just have one night for myself?’ Adrien thought angrily, watching the Akuma flit around before strumming out another powerful soundwave. Above him, Marinette shifted her weight into a graceful dismount, landing lightly beside him before grabbing a stunned Alya and Nino by the arms.

“We need to leave now!” She yelled above the chaos, inclining her head with a jerk as she ushered the trio in the direction of the exit. “Everyone needs to get out of here!” Panicked strangers seemed to gravitate towards the girl, following her until practically the whole crowd was in on the evacuation.

Adrien was swept up with them, taking a second to marvel at Marinette’s sudden leadership. He hadn’t seen this side of her since they had faced off against the Evillustrator. And even then, he hadn’t been Adrien at that point, he had been…

‘Oh right,’ Adrien realized with a grimace as another powerful chord rung out into the night air. ‘I’m Chat Noir. Which means this is kind of my problem right now.’

Looking forward to confirm his friends had reach relative safety, Adrien broke off silently, gliding his way amongst the bodies to duck into an unoccupied food truck. He leaned against the counter, pulling back his collar to fish Plagg out from the pocket of his undershirt.

“What gives?” The kwami grumbled, rubbing at his eyes with tiny fist. “I was in the middle of my nap!”

“How could you sleep through that racket the Akuma was making?” Adrien asked incredulously.

“Doesn’t sound all that different from the racket those so-called bands were making if you ask me.”

“I didn’t, and we don’t have time for this. Claws out!”

Praying no one had seen Adrien slip in, Chat Noir exited the food truck, leaping atop it to take stock of the situation. The area had been more or less evacuated, the only remaining civilians where a few dozen unfortunate souls who had been corralled behind a ring of metal grating, wincing as the Akuma serenaded them. Chat decided they would have to be his first priority, readying himself to move when the van rocked beneath him.

Damn, she was quick.

“How in the world did you get here so fast?” Chat questioned his newly arrived partner, heart thumping pleasantly to see her again.

“What, you think I don’t go to concerts?” Ladybug said by way of greeting, ignoring the way Chat tensed up beside her.

Ladybug had been at the festival.

‘No,’ Adrien thought dizzily, ‘the girl behind the mask had been at the concert.’ He could have seen her, could have bumped into her without ever knowing. He had been in the same area as his Lady for the past 2 odd hours without even realizing it. ‘Holy Shit’

“Perhaps your luck is rubbing off on me.” Chat drawled out, leaning on his baton to send Ladybug a brilliant smile. “It’s not often I get to see my Lady twice in one day!” She gave him an indulgent look.

“Nice to see you too, Chat. But I believe we have bigger and louder things to attend to, if I’m not mistaken.”

Her point was emphasized by another guitar solo piercing the still air with jolts of light and sound.

Ladybug drew up to her full height, unhooking her yo-yo before sending him a determined smirk that made Adrien almost happy his concert had been interrupted. “It clearly wants an audience, so I say we give it one,” she said, leaping from the roof and sprinting off the moment her feet hit the ground. Chat was right behind her.

“Please tell me we get to smash the guitar!” He yelled, jumping over piles of rubble as the duo made their way to the stage.

“Is it ever really that easy?” Ladybug screamed back, straining to be heard over the ever increasing volume of the impromptu performance. “My guess is it’s in the guitar pick!”

‘Tricky’ Adrien thought, skidding to a halt as they reached the Akuma.

“WHATS THIS? MORE ADORING FANS? OF COURSE YOU ARE!” The wild-haired rocker turned on them, swooping down in an attempt scoop the heroes into his makeshift mosh pit.

“Nice try!” Ladybug called, dodging away with a roll. “But I’m more of bluegrass fan!” Her yo-yo latched on to the Akuma, reeling him downwards with a shriek to land on the cement. Chat pounced, grabbing at the pink guitar pick before snapping it between his fingers.

 ‘Too easy’ he thought triumphantly, only to be caught off guard as a wave of sound came crashing into his body.

“DO YOU TAKE ME AS AN AMMATEUR? OF COURSE I CAN PLAY WITHOUT A PICK!”

Adrien picked himself of the ground with a roll of his shoulders, wiping the dust from his suit. So obviously that hadn’t worked. “I don’t think the Akuma is in his guitar pick!” Ladybug called a bit lamely from her position a few yards away.

“No kidding!” Chat yelled back “So what now?”

“Get the civilians out, I’m working on something!” Trusting Ladybug to handle herself, he sprinted towards the enclosure, claws working at the latch for a few seconds before the gate snapped open.

“Shows over folks,” Chat said, ushering the concertgoers in the direction of the exit and nodding at their thanks.  Once he was sure they were out of harm’s way, his attention snapped back to Ladybug, watching as she circled her way around the Akuma.

Was it weird he thought she looked really hot while fighting for her life? Probably.

Did that stop him from admiring the way she ran and twisted as she took on her adversary? Absolutely not.

Chat circled back towards the action, meeting up with his partner just as she was summoning a lucky charm. He couldn’t help but raise a questioning eyebrow as she examined the water gun that plopped into her grasp. “Your guess is as good as mine at this point.” Ladybug grumbled, giving the blaster a few pumps before aiming at the akuma. “Hey Superstar, over here!”

The monster turned just in time to get a stream of water directly in it’s face, sputtering as it shook. “NO WATER AROUND THE SOUND EQUITMENT!” It shrieked, unstringing the massive instrument from around its body before hurling it directly at the pair.

“Cataclysm!”

Chat summoned his hero power, stepping in front of Ladybug with hands raised. The guitar shattered on impact, exploding in a mass of black pieces around them. The Akuma screamed again.

“Well, looks like you got to smash the guitar after all.” Ladybug said a little dazedly, kicking the remnants aside as she planted a quick kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for the save, Kitty.”

“Anytime.” Chat replied with a smirk, face tingling where her lips had just been. “So it’s not the pick, and it’s not the guitar, so where’s the Akuma?”

“I think I’ve worked it out, but I need to be able to get at its back. Think you can help me out?”

“Say no more.”

This time it was Chat who bent down to kiss her cheek, reveling in the small smile he drew out of her before bouncing off. Oh yeah, he could definitely get used to that.

Things moved much more quickly after that point. Within minutes, Chat was able to successfully position the akuma, carving a clear path for Ladybug to squirt the mic pack fastened to its back with a powerful jet of water. With an electronic hiss, the device fizzled off, effective silencing the screaming akuma and releasing a tiny black butterfly into the blissfully quiet night.

“No more evildoing for you.” Ladybug said triumphantly, snapping her compact around the akuma before releasing it once again. Chat saw her reach over to where she had left her lucky charm, shoulder stiffening at his evil chuckle. Without turning to face him, she raised her arms above her head, “I swear to God if you-“

Tiiiissssssss! The spray of water hit the back of her costume before she had the chance to finish her threat, causing Ladybug to shriek as the cold liquid ran down her spine.

“Chat Noir you are dead to me as of this moment!” She squealed dramatically, charging at him only to receive a second icy blast to her shoulder. Chat danced away, raining cold fury down upon her with non-stop laughter. Ladybug chased him across the courtyard, sputtering curses the whole way.

Adrien knew their transformations (and by extension their time together) were about to end, and he intended to milk every precious second out of their encounter. He skidded to a stop when he reached the edge of the Seine, leaping off the concrete ledge at the end of the concert venue to land on the sidewalk nearly 10 feet below. Just as he swiveled to face her however, a familiar cable wrapped itself around Adrien’s weapon, dragging it out of his grasp.

Uh oh.

Ladybug stood above him, a wicked look of “payback” on her face as she rained fire (water?) down upon him.

“Truce, truce!” Adrien yelled through his laughter, trying to deflect the onslaught but still managing to get soaked.

“Those who start wars don’t get to call truce!” Ladybug sang back at him, leaping down to get closer to her target. She lunged, spraying him point blank in the face with a giggle. Chat gave a shocked sputter, hands reaching out to grasp at her wrists as Ladybug continued to frantically unload the remainder of the plastic tank onto the boy’s cheek.

After a few seconds, Adrien gave up, simply letting the hysterically laughing Ladybug drench him until finally there was no more water left. She dropped the gun with a smirk, still giggling as she took in the way his blonde hair stuck plastered to the edges of his mask.

“You done?” Chat asked in a falsely lecturing tone, delighting in the way her eyes lit up with happiness. They hadn’t had fun like this in a long time, and he would have gladly taken a hundred more water guns to the face if it meant Ladybug would keep looking at him with that giddy expression.

“Yes.” She said, exhaling primly as she swallowed a smile.

“Good, cause I’m just getting started!” Still holding Ladybug’s wrists, he shook his damp hair out fervently, cascading droplets of water down upon her. She snorted, ducking to block the shower. “And I’m not stopping until you’re as drenched as I am!” He taunted, butting the top of his head into her cheek in a move signature of his namesake.

“Gah! Down kitty!” Ladybug choked out through a mouthful of damp hair, “What in the world was that for?”

“Payback.” Adrien replied simply, still nuzzling against her neck. Ladybug giggled at his retribution, allowing him to paint her scarlet until he was satisfied she was no longer dry. As he moved to straighten back up however, his lips unintentionally grazed her jaw, drawing an expectant breath from the girl in front of him.

Oh, now that was something he wanted to hear again.

Thinking that perhaps he'd imagined the sound, Adrien decided to press his luck, steadying himself before leaning in to kiss the spot once again. This time her sigh was louder, shooting straight into his gut like lightning.

‘Well, now’s as good a chance as I’ll ever get.’ He thought to himself, heart rocketing against his ribs as he reached up to lightly cup her chin. Chat sucked in a breath.

This time, it was Ladybug’s turn to be stunned, stilling against him for just a second before she melted in to the kiss. This time Adrien’s eyes slid shut, hands obeying his command as they snaked themselves around her trim waist. This time he could taste her.

This time the kiss didn’t end after a few brief seconds, instead allowing time for them to fall into a comfortable rhythm against each other. Adrien swore he could feel every nerve in his body light up as Ladybug’s fingers delicately traced their way up his suited chest, settling at the exposed flesh on the back of his neck. Tiny patches of fire rose up where she touched him, spurring him forwards to increase the intensity of their kiss.

Adrien felt a flicker of panic as he registered her withdrawing slightly. He didn’t want to be done with her but if he had somehow overstepped…

Turns out he needn’t have worried, as Ladybug had barely taken a breath before she was back on him, rolling to her tiptoes to press against him urgently. Her lips were hot and insistent, their tantalizing presence so much better than any half-baked fantasy Adrien’s mind could have ever cooked up. His fingers curled at the contact, taking great care not to dig his claws into flesh as he groped wantonly at her waist.

Ladybug shuddered, Chat grinned, and her miraculous gave its third warning.

‘I swear I’ll find the mute button on these fucking things.’ Adrien cursed silently, brow furrowing as he felt the girl stiffen at the noise. The pair reluctantly parted, lips still hovering inches away from each other as if some magnetic heat threatened to draw them back into contact.

“What in the world was that for?” Ladybug repeated, Adrien’s stomach swooping at her gasping, gravelly tone.

He did that. He made her breathless.

“That was in case I can’t find you later in the crowd.” He replied in his best Chat Noir purr, running his thumb over her kiss swollen lips before finally meeting her gaze. Adrien almost lost all sense of bravado as he took in the desire that swirled behind the eyeholes of her mask, Ladybug looking all kinds of needy before her expression morphed in to one of disbelief.

“You’re…you’re at the concert too, aren’t you?”

“That’s right.” He said, pressing another heated kiss to her lips before tearing himself away. “Let’s see who finds each other first.”

At that, Chat made his exit, hearing the 4th beep of her miraculous ring out as he scampered back up the wall in search of a private place to release his transformation. All around him, debris disappeared, structures rebuilding themselves as a burst of healing light erased all signs of the Akuma. Adrien felt the dampness of his hair disappear, along with the dust that had settled on his costume after being thrown. What Ladybug’s healing charm didn’t erase however was the tingling in Adrien’s smirk-twisted lips. That or the roiling feeling of desire poking at his insides as he ducked into an empty ticket kiosk.

Plagg tumbled out of his ring with a curse, blinking green eyes up at his charge as he settled in the palm of Adrien’s hand.

“You better be thankful I have incredible stamina Loverboy, I could have de-Chat-ifyed you at any moment.”

“And I am ever grateful for your assistance.”

“Yeah, yeah. Words are nice but cheese is better, I’m exhausted.”

“Then sleep it off.” Adrien said, stuffing the kwami back in his shirt. Apparently Plagg was too tired to object, tossing with a grumble before settling in. Adrien couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt at how long he made his friend hold the transformation. Something told him his powers weren’t really intended to be used in order to make a pass at his partner. That being said, Plagg was one hell of a wingman.

Examining his reflection in the window to the outside, Adrien found his appearance was more or less back to how it had been when he first reached the concert. Shirt pressed, hair brushed, everything perfectly put together. In fact the only evidence of his and Ladybug’s little dalliance was the slight flush of his lips, their color only increasing as he swiped his tongue out to try and catch the lingering taste of her.

Ladybug had been wearing lip-gloss.

Adrien slipped out of the kiosk, marveling as how utterly ordinary the venue looked, despite the chaos of a few minutes ago. The courtyard was beginning to fill once again, and a loud speaker announcement confirmed that the show would be back on within the next 20 minutes. Say what you want about the people of Paris, but they were nothing if not resilient, never ones to let a small inconvenience like a monster attack hamper their event. ‘Thanks to Ladybug anyway.’

Ladybug. She was still here somewhere, assuming she didn’t decide to leave.

Adrien wandered, telling himself he was looking for his friends but eyes scanning the ever increasing crowd for any signs of the girl he had just kissed nearly-senseless. Something inside him was so sure he’d be able to recognize her, mask or not, the moment he saw her. It almost felt like a game of tag. A pulse-spiking, stomach clenching game of tag that caused Adrien to jump nearly two feet in the air as a hand clapped down on his shoulder from behind.

“There you are,” Nino said, spinning his friend around with a smile before his face fell slightly. “Wait, where’s Marinette?” Alya frowned beside him, muttering as she tapped away at her phone.

“You means she’s not with you guys?” Adrien asked, brow furrowing. “I got cut off by a crowd of people but I could have sworn she was right beside you two…”

“She isn’t picking up her phone,” Alya began, a hint of worry ghosting across her features as she craned her neck to scan the area, “and she’s so tiny, it’ll be like finding a needle in a haystack with this crowd.”

“Well then we better get started then.”

Thankfully, it only took about 15 minutes of wandering before they met up with the girl, Marinette spouting some story about how she got turned around somehow and ended up locked in a port-a-potty as she laughed off their concern.

“Why didn’t you answer any my texts?” Alya clucked, hovering like a concerned mother.  Marinette just stared pointedly at her friend’s chest, prompting Alya to flush as she dug the device out from between her cleavage. “Oh right, sorry.” She said a bit lamely, wiping the screen down before handing it back it’s owner.

“Damn, girl. What else you got in there?” Nino asked, looking a bit impressed at her storage capacity.

“Nothing for you.” Alya smirked, twining her arm with Marinette’s. “Now lets say we get back to the show? I paid too much for this concert to be derailed by a monster attack.”

There were no objections.

The rest of the festival passed in a blur for Adrien. Hoisting Marinette back on his shoulders once again as they reached the stage area, the teen found his gaze roaming the crowd around him, hoping to catch a peek of gleaming black pigtails or a familiar set of blue eyes. It was like was standing in a minefield. Adrien could feel Ladybug’s proximity like a physical presence, and the thought she could be anywhere made it hard to focus on the performance before him.

Well that, and the fact he had a set of very shapely, very feminine legs draping their way down his chest. More than once that night, Adrien had to resist the urge to run his hands up along Marinette's shins, reminding himself harshly that she was a nice girl who didn’t deserve to be groped by hormonal teenage boys with so very little self-control. Even if the cuffs of her tiny shorts did ride up as she straddled his…

It made Adrien wonder what Ladybug was wearing tonight. Nino had told him beforehand that one of the best things about concerts were the cloths. Or more specifically, the lack there-of. Adrien had seen plenty of daring outfits that night (plunging necklines, ripped up pants, and exposed abdomens abounded) so it was more than likely that his Lady had also dressed for the affair. The thought caused Adrien to space out for a good 3 songs, mentally dressing and undressing Ladybug in every outfit in sight.

He pictured her hips tucked into the tight, white jeans of the blonde swaying a few rows in front of him.

He pictured her singing along to her favorite band in the sinfully short romper of the girl a few paces to his left.

He pictured her breast poking out of Alya’s low-cut crop top, almost groaning at the thought of her bare stomach gyrating as she danced around.

He pictured…

“Um… Adrien?”

The teen snapped from his reverie, shaking his head as he looked up at his friend. “Yeah, Marinette?” He asked, noticing in her flustered expression.

“Your hands are…” she squeaked out, gesturing with a grimace to where his fingers had begun to unconsciously dig in about halfway up her inner thigh.

‘SHIT’

Adrien quickly released his grip, cheeks burning with embarrassment as he replaced his hands in their proper position on her knees. “Sorry, sorry!” He said, wanting to melt through the floor as Marinette avoided his gaze. “I must have spaced out…and it’s…I'm um? Sorry.”

‘What the fuck is wrong with you, Adrien?’

“Its fine...really.” Her voice came softly from behind his head, sending another jolt of embarrassment mixed with something else to tingle its way down his spine.

It wasn’t fine. He knew it wasn’t fine.

 And what really wasn’t fine is the fact Adrien couldn’t help but picture Ladybug in a pair of tight blue shorts, sitting atop his shoulder as he let his hands trail up her inner thighs.

‘ Literally, what the fuck is wrong with you?’