13. Chapter 13

“I’m not going.”

“Hm, that’s funny! You’re going.” Alya deadpanned, trying unsuccessfully for the fourth time to wrangle her hair into some semblance of a ponytail before letting her wild curls fall freely around her shoulders. “Fuck. I know the concert’s at night but it’s still going to be hot as balls unless I find a way to get my hair up.” The two girls had been lazing away for about the last hour or so, blaring music as they primped and/or complained.

Well, Marinette primped and/or complained, swearing up and down she wasn’t setting foot out of the bakery while simultaneously trying on the entirety of her closet in order to find the perfect outfit. Meanwhile, Alya had just had simply fished an army green crop top and a paired of fitted-yet-torn skinny jeans from her bag, throwing them on as her best friend looked on venomously. After smearing some burgundy lipstick across her mouth and touching up yesterday’s eyeliner, Alya was already a knockout, accomplishing in 5 minutes flat what Marinette had been attempting for the better part of an hour.

“I’m not going.” She repeated once again, earning a snort from Alya.

“If I didn’t love you so much, I would have chucked you out the window after the tenth time you said that. No, I’ll give you till the twentieth repetition… then we’ll see how well you fly.”

“What am I up to?” Marinette questioned, stepping into a pair of baby blue high-waisted shorts. She zipped them tight, hand moving upwards to fasten the 4 nickel buttons that trailed their way up her abdomen.

“18, I think.” Alya replied, motioning for her friend to twirl. “Wear it, it makes your ass look great.”

Marinette picked at a run in the cotton, turning in the mirror to get a better glance at the pockets before turning back to her friend. “Thanks, still not going.”

“Watch it Cheng. One more strike and you’re-”

Her phone chimed.

Both girls dove at once, a flurry of elbows and half-hearted curses as they wrestled for control of the device. The scuffle ended with Alya victorious, silencing the phone and stuffing it deep within her bra before turning to chastise the girl beside her.

“I told you Mari, you’re hanging out with your friends today. Your beau can wait.” She steered Marinette over towards the vanity, plopping her down before rummaging thought the stash of makeup she kept hidden in the drawers. “Your face, however, cannot.” Marinette just grumbled, begrudgingly allowing her friend to begin smearing foundation down her cheeks with an applicator sponge.

Despite her sour mood, she could admit when she needed help.

‘And boy do I need help’ Marinette thought, eyeballing the irritated patch of pimples that had taken root between her brows. It’s like her body knew how important tonight was and decided to send one last “fuck you” by way of an acne flare-up the likes of which she had never seen before. Luckily, Alya was a seasoned pro at cover-ups, having dealt with the same problem for many years now.

“You sure you won’t let me do your eyes?” The larger girl questioned, squinting as she dusted away with some setting powder.

Marinette considered. “I just don’t think I’ll look good with filled in brows…” she trailed off, admiring how improved her appearance was looking already as Alya finished off the base makeup.

“Mari, please. Everyone looks good with filled in eyebrow. I promise not to do them as thick as mine and I’ll only line the tops of your eyes. Just let me get at that face girl! This is a once a year event and I need everyone seeing how hot you look even at night.” Sensing she was in for a losing battle, Marinette reluctantly nodded, settling in as a grinning Alya went to work.

Her thoughts wandered, as they had a lot lately, to Chat.

She wasn’t too concerned about whatever message he had just sent her, the duo had taken down an akuma this morning and it was practically unheard of for Hawkmoth to release two so close together. It was a quick fight. Marinette had managed to cleanse the butterfly, dodge an invitation to join Chat in a nearby alley for a little “discussion” (not at all what he had in mind, she knew), return home and slip back in bed, all before Alya got out of the shower.

More likely than not, the alley cat was sending her unflattering screenshot of Ladybug. It seemed to be a new favorite pastime of his, finding the worst action shots of her as possible and cropping the images so her double-chinned expression all but filled the frame. Marinette pretended to hate it at first, eventually embracing the silliness as she responded with some of her own embarrassing pics of Chat.

So much for strictly business.

Things were…nice between them, she thought idly, looking down at Alya’s command as the girl applied a thin coat of mascara to her bottom lashes.

Marinette hadn’t really been sure what would happen if she addressed her feelings towards her partner. Part of her expected her life to fall apart completely, or at the very least change drastically. Yet so far the only real difference their conversation had made was in the way Marinette felt about her newfound admiration for Chat. Turns out being up-front with your feelings really helps shed some emotional weight… Who knew?

They had yet to kiss since that day atop Notre Dame.

Meanwhile, her dreams just kept on coming. No pun intended.

“Aaaannnnndddd, we’re done.” Alya broke through her thoughts with a wave of her hand. “Some of my finest work if I do say so myself.”

Marinette leaned forward to appraise the product, gladly noting her acne was much less noticeable than before. Her black eye was all but invisible. More than that, her over-all appearance had improved. The subtle changes Alya applied made Marinette look older, more refined somehow. From the dark streaks of powder threaded through her brows to the expertly applied lipstick (in her favorite shade of light pink no less!), all traces of the swamp witch Marinette had felt like earlier were gone.

“You are godsend.” She said, smiling up Alya before letting her eyes flicker back to her reflection.

“I’m a godsend who’s running late.” The redhead responded with a grimace, flashing her phone screen to illuminate the fact they had a scant 5 minutes before their cab was set to arrive.

Marinette squeaked, fingers flying up to quickly braid her hair up into a manageable crown as Alya began packing up her satchel. Minutes later, the smaller girl stood poised by her trapdoor, mentally checking she had everything she needed for the night. Water? Check. Charger? Check. Cash? Check. Tamp-

“So Mari, are you going to put on a shirt or did I miss the memo this was a topless affair?”

‘SHIT.’

Although traffic was killer, the girls managed to reach the venue right on time, Marinette thankfully wearing a shirt. They could heard the thrum of live music even before they exited the cab. The two shared a look of excitement, giggling as they gathered their things and paid the driver before stepping out into the temperate night air.

The concert was being held in a roped off city block. Large tents were interspersed throughout the space, people weaving and coalescing into concentrated crowds centered around the 3 massive stages positioned at each end of the venue. Although dusk had just set in, the dipping strands of glittering, purple string lights that crisscrossed the courtyard were already lit up, casting everything below in a moody fuscia haze.

 “Guess I can cross ‘sneak into a concert’ off my bucket list.” Alya proclaimed, the satisfaction evident on her features as they were successfully waved through the turnstiles. Marinette just nodded, unable to keep the grin off her own face as a heady sense of nervous giddiness tore through her.

As someone who regularly snuck out at night to fight crime, she shouldn’t have been this worked up. But Marinette found it was hard not to get excited as she weaved through the crowd, soaking up the atmosphere of the night with her best friend by her side. Letting the noise of the event flow right through her, Marinette practically felt all her frustration at the tumultuous summer she had experienced dissipate from her body, leaving in its place a simple appreciation for the here and now. All her silly fretting over acne, and feelings, and boys who-

“There you ladies are!” The girls tore their eyes from the scene before them, pivoting to greet their friend as he materialized from the crowd. Marinette felt another swell of happiness at seeing Nino, noting that in the 3 weeks since she had last saw him, he had yet to shave the gathering of dark hair dotting its way across his upper lip. Typical. He was dressed casually, comfortable in his iconic snapback and a t-shirt for a band she didn’t recognize. “We were beginning to think you two had stood us up.”

Alya smirked. “After forking over the money for the tickets, we wouldn’t miss it if we were dead.” Marinette responded with an enthusiastic nod, suddenly thankful she had pushed past her reservation to come.

“Glad to hear it.” The boy grinned, pulling them in for a hug before holding the girls out at arm’s length to look them over appreciatively. “Might I add you both look exceedingly hot tonight?” Nino doubled over with an “oof” as two friendly elbows jabbed into his gut. “And just as feisty as ever I see!”

“You better believe it so don’t try anything fresh.” The redhead wagged a finger in his direction as Marinette just snorted. She’d noticed Nino had become quite the flirt as of late, his half-joking come-ons directed more so towards Alya than herself. He swore up and down that she would one day fall prey to the raw, animal magnetism of his ‘stache, her frequent shutdowns never seeming to dampen his spirits.

Hm, now who in the world did that remind her of?

“I guess we should be thanking you for the tickets.” Marinette said kindly, shifting to avoid the swell of people passing on her left.

“You’re presence is all the thanks I’ll be needing. Besides, it’s been forever since we all hung out together.” Nino replied, eyes flicking to something past her head. His grin widened. Marinette cocked her head at his look, about to question his expression further when she felt a warm weight settle its way around her neck from behind.

 “What the-“ her mouth snapped shut as she turned to register the fact someone had stepped their way between her and Alya, slinging an arm around each girl’s shoulder before squeezing tightly. Marinette’s face was inches away from a cologne-scented linen shirt, the wine colored sleeves bunched up at the elbow to reveal tanned, toned forearms.

‘Dear Lord, that couldn’t be…’

 Marinette felt all the color rush from her face as she peeked down at the hand on her collarbone. A squarish silver ring rested on the fourth digit, glinting under the string lights above them. The voice beside her spoke low and friendly.

“Hey there,” Adrien said, his blonde head nodding towards Alya before tuning to flash Marinette a mega-watt smile. “Long time, no see!”

‘Aaaaaaand, I’m fucked.’

The picture hadn’t done him justice. Not by a long shot.

The overhead lighting only seemed to highlight the planes of Adrien’s face, illuminating his features like he was a marble statue on display at the Louvre. He was certainly the picture of Greek beauty, all chiseled jaw and sloping nose, with lips that bowed at such an angle that Michelangelo himself would be clamoring to capture them. His hair was longer, swept to the side in golden swatches that danced across his forehead and poked out from behind his ears.

And Lord was he tall.

Marinette was pinned down by his laser stare, Adrien’s eyes crinkling adorably at the corners as he grinned down at her. All at once, every bit of blood in her body seemed to race up her shoulders, scorching the area where his arm met bare skin. ‘Why in the world did I let Alya convince to wear the strapless top?’ Marinette thought dizzily, still unable to make any sort of greeting past the strangled gurgling working its way out of her mouth.

Thankfully, she didn’t get the chance to embarrass herself further (given a few more seconds Marinette might just have started panting) before Alya mercifully cut between them

“Well look who decided to show up!” She said with a smirk, pulling Adrien in for a full hug. Peeking around his shoulder, Alya mouthed something similar to “You good?” in Marinette’s direction. Her question was met with a swift shake of the head, followed by a tentative nod and finally a confused shrug. “Nice to have you back Agreste.”

‘Not good. Not good. Not good. Not good. Not good. Not good.’ Marinette’s mind chanted, desperately trying to process. The frantic girl gave a shuddering breath, willing her blush to fade away as Adrien turned to address the group.

She was Ladybug, capable of toppling villians, averting disasters, saving the day, and-

‘Goddam if he didn’t look good though…’ her traitorous mind whispered.

“It’s really great to be back.” Adrien was saying, still standing just inches away. If he noticed something off about her behavior, he didn’t mention it to Marinette, instead maintaining his pleasant expression as she focused on not evaporating in to thin air.

“Well I say we get our get our group selfie out of the way now, while we’re all still looking fresh and not sweaty.” Alya coaxed an eyebrow up, motioning for her friends to fall in as she opened her camera app. Nino slung an arm around her shoulder, tugging Marinette in towards him as he flashed a thumbs up. Likewise, Marinette placed one slim hand on the back of Alya, her other arm tucked delicately behind her as she found the lens with her eyes. She held in a dreamy sigh as she felt Adrien come up to stand behind her, face leaning towards the camera in a perfect model smile as he laid a hand gently atop her shoulder. Alya snapped a few just to be sure, but announced they all looked great after further review.

“Hey, send me that one ok?” Adrien asked kindly, looking down at her screen with a smile. Alya was more than happy to oblige, sending a copy to each of her friends before they hunkered down to decide where they would head off to first.

The teens perked up as a loudspeaker announced the arrival of the next band on Stage A, some group Marinette just vaguely recognized.

“Oh we gotta go!” Nino said frantically, waving his arm in an attempt to corral his friends towards the throng of people congregating around the southernmost stage. “I’ve been wanting to see these guys!” Thankful for the distraction, Marinette let herself be swept up by the motion, hooking a finger through Alya’s belt loop to insure they didn’t get separated. Of course if that failed, she easily be able to locate her group by the blond mop of hair peeking from above the crowd…

‘Cool it Mari’ she chided herself ‘you’re just out her enjoying your time with friends. It doesn’t matter that one of them is a drop-dead gorgeous supermodel who-‘

“You haven’t collapsed so I take it that’s a good sign you’re over him.” Alya drawled in her ear, pulling her friend close to be heard over the noise around them. Marinette noticed their little group had stopped about 6 rows from the front, finding a spot to nestle in amongst the other concertgoers around them.

“Over him is a strong phrase.” She tittered back, peeking over to where the boys stood just feet away.

“Either way I’m still proud to see you upright.”

“Give me till the end of the night.”

Their conversation was drowned out by an eruption of applause, effectively signaling the next band had taken the stage. Nino already had his phone out, ready to record the action as he glanced over excitedly. Marinette felt some of her own tenseness ease up at his brilliant expression, cracking a tentative smile as they swapped thumbs up. ‘As long as I don’t look right him, maybe I’ll get through the night.’ She thought, keeping her eyes glued forward as she swayed alongside Alya to the opening number.

But of course nothing was ever that simple.

Thankfully, the noise discouraged most idle conversation and Marinette had thankfully managed to avoid any extended small talk with Adrien. In the few times he had tried to engage her that night, Marinette found her voice to be amazingly steady, words still a bit slow and awkward but nowhere close to the intelligible stuttering she would have pulled 6 months ago.

Nearly an hour passed without incident. Now their group had decided to move towards Stage 3 to see the Sidewinders, a fairly popular band that had a huge cult following in Paris.

Marinette bounced on her toes as her little unit nudged their way through the crowd, excited to see the group she had been waiting for all night. Maybe it was the high of being out, of being able to dance around in comfortable comradery, enjoying the music and enjoying the atmosphere, but Marinette suddenly felt invincible. Like she was ten feet tall.

Upon reaching their destination however, it was brought to her attention she was not, in fact, ten feet tall, as evidenced by the sheer wall of bodies blocking her view from the stage. They hadn’t managed to get very close to the action, the throng of people closing tightly around them as people shuffled around in an attempt to get as far front as possible. Of course this wasn’t much of a problem for her friends, all three of them able to see fairly well at their height, but she was another story.

Marinette tried standing on her tiptoes, deflating with sigh as it made no difference. She heard more than saw The Sidewinders enter the stage, righteous short girl fury bubbling up within her as they began to play. Not thinking she’d be heard over the loud music, Marinette let loose a low string of curses, immediately stiffening as she was met with a chuckle.

“What’s wrong?” Adrien asked, amusement mixing with concern as he slid in beside her. “I didn’t think a nice girl like you even knew words like that.

‘He thinks I’m nice.’

“Oh, you heard that…” Marinette said sheepishly, straining to make her voice heard over the cheering crowd.

“I did.” He responded with a shout of his own, eyebrow quirking up with a continued question. Onstage, the band had launched into the opening verse of Marinette’s favorite song off their new album, sending another jolt of annoyance through her system.

“Its just, I was really looking forwards to seeing this band…” She began, gesturing to the crowd of people in front of her. “But now looking forward, I cant even see the band.” Marinette ended with a huff.

“Here, need a lift?” Adrien asked kindly, hunkering down slightly as he extended a hand out to her.

Marinette froze. ‘He cant be offering what she thought he was…’

“You mean like, on your back?” She squeaked out, palms growing damp with nerves.

“I was thinking more like my shoulders.” Adrien responded “Figured I’d grow tired slower that way…not that you really seem all that heavy!” He rushed to add. Maybe she was imagining it, but Marinette could swear she saw the traces of a blush marking its way across his cheeks.

“I um, well sure…” She forced herself to say evenly, figuring it would be rude to turn him down. “Thanks!” She tacked on, hesitantly stepping forward to grab his outstretched hand with heart hammering against her ribs. Adrien dipped down lower, gracefully helping her mount his shoulders before rising up.

Marinette soared above the crowd, the light-soaked stage before her looking breathtaking from her new vantage point. All around her, camera flashed out, people bobbing like an ocean beneath her. The exhilaration of being able to watch the performance almost outweighed the sheer, unbridled joy/terror of the notion she was sitting atop Adrien Agreste’s shoulders.

Of course she had imagined many scenarios in the past where her thighs where wrapped around Adrien’s head, but most of them entailed her sitting the other way…

‘Behave!’ she chided herself harshly as she felt Adrien peer up at her.

“You good up there?” He asked, head pitched backwards and hair sweeping off his forehead. Is it possible to look like a dream?

“All good.” She managed to squeak out, conjuring a smile as she focused on not dropping into a dead faint. Of course it was at that moment that Marinette wobbled slightly, eyes going wide as his large hands flew up to grab her knees. “Thanks,” she choked out, removing the death grip she had around his head. Balancing her center of gravity, Marinette settled back solidly, Adrien shooting her one last smile before returning his gaze to the stage.

He never moved his hands from their position atop her flushed thighs.

The action that didn’t go unnoticed by either Marinette or Alya, the girl on the ground shooting her friend a wink and a thumbs up before yelling out something that sounded suspiciously like “Get it Marinette!”

It was drowned out by a thunderous explosion rolling across the square.