#the subtle side of falling in love
You can all thank (blame?) @mostlovedgirl-writes for this one. I don’t know what it is about this woman’s writing (or the comments section on her stories), but they have been my greatest well of inspiration lately.
So thank you, MLG! This story is dedicated to you. (Also, go read MLG’s latest Finding Yourself in the Details, which inspired this story)
Summary:They say that falling in love is like a clap of thunder: sudden and dramatic and obvious. No one mentions that it can also be like rolling thunder: so slowly continuous it’s hard to remember when it even started.
Rating:Everyone
Word Count: 4737
Status:completed one-shot
**NOTE:This story does not contain any season 5 spoilers. This blog, and this author’s writing, will always be free of any Season 5 bible leaks.**
Continue reading below, or find this story over onAO3,onFFN, or onDA.
Rolling Thunder
“You’re still here?” Marinette toweled off her hair as she walked into her kitchen. It was fortunate that she had the foresight to throw on shorts and a spaghetti top before coming out of the bathroom.
“What? You don’t like eating?” Adrien gestured towards one of the kitchen-island stools before finishing up his plating. “I was so close to getting the timing right this time, too.”
“You were here to help me,” Marinette protested as she draped her towel over the back of the stool and took her seat. “I should be treating you with dinner or something. Not the other way around.”
“Marinette, you know I love you and all, but, while you can bake, cooking is definitely not your forte.”
Marinette blushed slightly. Adrien meant platonic love, but it didn’t prevent those age-old chills from running through her.
“That’s what delivery is for.”
Adrien placed her dinner on the counter in front of her, and his plate next to her, taking a minute to absorb what she said. “I just spent pretty much my entire Saturday combing through your finances – another thing you’re not the best at; hate to say – so I know that you definitely can’t afford to just buy takeaways like that.”
“Still-”
“Nope,” Adrien said as he held up his hand. He then filled their glasses with some celebratory wine (that he must have smuggled in at some point because Marinette certainly didn’t recognize it) and plopped down beside her at the counter. “I’m getting you on the straight-and-narrow, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Starting tomorrow, I’m giving you cooking lessons every Sunday so you can actually make yourself a proper meal. You can thank me with dinner after I’ve shown you how to not burn this kitchen down in the process.”
“You’re just inviting yourself over to my place now? Like making yourself at home, huh?”
“First of all, why are you acting like I don’t do so already? Secondly, are you saying you don’t want me over to give you cooking lessons?”
“When did I say that?” Marinette tried to hide her smile. She failed, causing Adrien to blush slightly this time.
The past year had been so weird for Marinette. She was maddeningly in love with this man a decade ago, to the point where she could barely complete a coherent sentence in front of him. There were a few ‘maybe we can actually be a couple’ moments throughout their teenage years, but nothing truly came of it. A bit heartbroken, the two fell out of touch after graduating from lycée. Adrien had his work cut out for him as he tried to make a name for himself without any of his father’s assistance. Marinette was terribly impressed and proud of him, and would occasionally say so on Adrien’s socials, but the two just couldn’t seem to find a time where they were both free to meet up.
Little did they know that they still spent at least one night a week together as Ladybug and Chat Noir.
It was when Marinette was at her lowest point (at least, in her adult life) that Adrien drifted back to her. She was about to break, and being over-caffeinated probably didn’t help matters. Her hair was in a disheveled messy bun – long strands attempting to escape the elastic – at the nape of her neck because it was too long, she didn’t have time to get it cut, and she couldn’t bother to do anything decent with it anymore. She was researching other career paths; other universities she could maybe transfer to. She had debated being something other than a fashion designer before, maybe she’d be happier if she did walk away. Then a voice Marinette had barely heard in three years – but remembered perfectly – called out to her. Marinette was frantic as she tried to do anything with her hair to look presentable, but Adrien didn’t care. He told her it looked cute and gave her a warm, welcoming hug. He then asked what she was up to. Despite trying to put on a brave face in front of him, Marinette quickly folded when Adrien chanced upon her laptop screen.
Adrien was Adrien, and told Marinette that she clearly knew what was best for her, but he looked like she had just punted his pet across the room. When Marinette probed, Adrien admitted that he thought it was a major loss to the world that she wanted to give up on fashion. He told her how clothes could mean so much to so many: a gift as simple as a scarf could be a heartwarming show of love; a shirt or dress or pair of pants could be the only way someone has to express themselves; a hat could help someone feel confident; fashion could tell the world 'this is who I truly am inside’ in a way no one could fully say with words. He knew that Marinette understood this about fashion, and it would be a shame if the trials of a painful internship managed to silence such a great voice.
Marinette nearly cried as Adrien rekindled her love for fashion (and maybe for him in the process). Giving Adrien a huge hug, she agreed to stick with it. Nervous that he pushed her in a direction she was only sticking to because people expected it of her, Adrien made a point of routinely meeting up with Marinette in that same coffee shop. After a month of twice-weekly coffee meet-ups, Adrien had memorized Marinette’s order, and brought it to her daily the final month of school. She teased him about avoiding going home, unaware that, in part, he was doing precisely that. He tried, but with his busy schedule, he never managed to make friends as good as the ones he had in lycée. With Alya and Nino living in Ibiza to help jump-start Nino’s career, it was hard on Adrien. He was lonely, and it was nice to be able to reconnect with Marinette. She welcomed the company, as well as the free model to test her designs on.
While Marinette’s parents threw her a massive party to celebrate graduating ESMOD, and Alya and Nino came home to spend a solid week celebrating with her as well, Adrien wanted to do something special for her, too. That was the first time Adrien cooked her dinner. It had surprised her, considering he had grown up with a personal chef. Apparently, he put in the effort to learn from those chefs whenever he could find the time to sneak away from his duties. He was big on being self-sufficient, and learning how to feed himself was top priority.
The summer after Marinette graduated, Adrien spent nearly every weekend with her, talking about the boutique she was opening: locations, advertising, setting up vendors, getting deals on the equipment, and, of course, offering to model for her. Those boutique-talk meet-ups usually rolled into dinner and a movie. Sometimes Adrien would take Marinette out. Most of the time, he’d cook for her. Then they’d snuggle together on her couch and bring a movie up on some streaming service (most of which Adrien had subscriptions for and gave Marinette the password).
Leading into the winter season, Marinette was bogged down with work as she rushed to get her first fashion line ready for mass production. She didn’t have time to take the weekends off anymore. Concerned for their daughter, but also incapable of really taking time off from their own seven-day-a-week business, Tom and Sabine routinely sent Adrien over to Marinette’s new loft above her boutique with a box of goodies to make sure she had breakfast. Likewise, Adrien would stay late and sneak into Marinette’s apartment to make her dinner and bring it down to her studio to make sure she ate.
By the time the winter line officially launched, Adrien had spent more nights passed out on the chaise lounge in the corner of Marinette’s studio than in his own bed. Feeling guilty about keeping him so long and so frequently, Marinette began finishing her days with some baking to help decompress and a way to make thank-you treats for Adrien. She’d wake him up with some of her own baked goods before sending him on his way and finally crashing for a few hours before it was time to get back to work.
Then came another celebratory party hosted by her parents for the brand launch. Another week-long hang-out with Alya and Nino. Another quiet, intimate dinner with Adrien so Marinette could slow down and truly appreciate what she had accomplished.
Marinette couldn’t rest, though. She instantly jumped into designing the spring line-up, and the summer one. She researched for fall, and took notes on what did and did not work with her winter line so she was prepared for the next year. Those late-night hang-outs with Adrien were frequently filled with him giving her over-the-shirt massages and pots upon pots of chamomile tea to try to help soothe her. Likewise, when movie nights returned, Marinette didn’t register how her fingers easily found their way into Adrien’s hair to massage his scalp as he sat on the floor in front of her.
Adrien was, of course, welcomed as a family member for Christmas and New Year’s. Likewise, Adrien convinced Marinette to take a day off now and again, especially when he needed a date for various work events or a coworker’s wedding. Marinette had forgotten how good of a dancer Adrien was. Adrien forgot how Marinette could make even the boring feel magical.
One particularly sleepy morning, as Adrien headed out for the day, the two leaned in for their traditional la bise. An exhausted Marinette went to kiss the right cheek first, despite them always starting with the left cheek. In her fumbling, the two ended up pecking on the lips. They laughed it off nervously, but, later that day, Adrien teased that Marinette forgot his lips when she greeted him with another la bise. The next morning, while again exhausted, Marinette teased that it was Adrien that forgot the lips in their la bise. That was all it took for it to be their thing: kiss on the left cheek, kiss on the right, peck on the lips.
Months later, they no longer had the first two components of a la bise. Instead, they simply greeted each other and wished each other farewell with a quick peck on the lips. Likewise, it wasn’t uncommon for Adrien to simply run his hand up and down Marinette’s back to help soothe and center her, or for Marinette to rest her head on Adrien’s shoulder. Movie nights in the early spring, when it was still a touch chilly, was typically spent cuddled together under the same double-size throw blanket. A few months back, Adrien started curling up on the couch with his head on Marinette’s lap so she could go back to playing with his hair.
Over the past year, Marinette and Adrien were seemingly inseparable. If Adrien wasn’t at work, the two were together. The only other reprieves were the moments that Ladybug and Chat Noir were still needed. Even so, Marinette and Adrien were together despite them not realizing it.
Back when Marinette was a teen, she would have self-combusted at the mere thought of Adrien being so intimate with her, let alone the other way around. Likewise, Adrien always felt a bit awkward when Kagami used to be so affectionate with him, but it felt natural to be that way with Marinette.
The past year was an odd one for Marinette, but it was equally odd for Adrien. He had grown up isolated. Even when he finally joined a decent-sized social circle during his teen years, he was kept at arm’s length because of his father. Most nights Adrien secretly prayed for a need of Chat Noir so he could spend time with Ladybug. Plagg was great company, and Adrien would never take his kwami and best friend for granted, but human connection felt different.
He was isolated once again after graduating from lycée, with Plagg and Ladybug being his life preservers; his true tethers to society. Running into Marinette was the cliched breath of fresh air, and her parents welcoming him as one of their own was a joy he forgot he could experience. The playfulness Marinette had grown to have around him reminded him of how he was with Ladybug. It was freeing to just be goofy with her and have her tease him back.
He still hadn’t figured out the proper boundaries between flirting and playfulness, so when he teased Marinette about the peck on the lips, he didn’t expect her to follow through with the request. Likewise, he wasn’t sure what compelled him to respond in kind when it was her turn to tease him. Their greeting and farewell just felt natural now. It was a far cry from the girl who could barely speak without stuttering around him, or the boy who blushed simply because he grabbed the same game controller she did.
“So,” Adrien said with a stretch as Marinette cleaned up their empty dinner plates, “what do we want to watch tonight?”
“Dealer’s choice. Consider it a thank you for today,” Marinette held up the empty plates, “and for dinner.”
“I’m thinking comedy tonight then. I can’t go through another tragedy after seeing your bookkeeping.”
Marinette threw a dry dish rag at Adrien. “Ha. Ha. Go start something up before I throw you out of my loft.”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Okay, how about 'before I decide to never make passion fruit macarons for you again’?”
“Oof!” Adrien pretended he was shot in the chest, spinning himself off of the stool. “You wound me, dear maiden!”
“Go!” Marinette laughed as she pointed to the couch in her open-plan apartment.
Adrien melodramatically made his way to the living room, still nursing his fictitious wound before collapsing over the back of the couch.
“You break it, you buy it,” Marinette called over without turning from the sink.
“I’m pretty sure I was the one who bought it in the first place anyway,” Adrien said.
“Hey! You can’t lord that over me! I paid you back for that loan!”
“Yeah, okay.” Adrien brought up one of his streaming subscriptions and scrolled through the options. None of the traditional comedies were really speaking to him, but he kept gravitating to a RomCom. With a shrug, he started it up.
Marinette plopped beside him on the couch with a bowl of chocolate-dipped chouquettes. Her shoulder-length hair was now pulled up into a messy bun on the top of her head, exposing her collarbone and upper back. Almost out of reflex, Adrien dragged the back of his nails across the bare skin, sending chills through Marinette.
“Chouquette?” Marinette offered.
Adrien reached into the bowl with his left hand, his right still tickling Marinette’s neck and shoulders.
“I’m surprised I’m not pushing a hundred kilos, the way you spoil me.” Adrien leaned his head back against the sofa and dropped the chouquette into his mouth. His right hand never stopped moving.
“Oh!” Marinette popped back off the couch with a squeak. “This will be a bit rich. Let me get us some milk too.” She passed the bowl over to Adrien and scurried into her kitchen, releasing a shaking exhale once she was behind him.
“Everything good?”
“Mmhmm!” Glasses of milk in hand, and chills down her back subsided, Marinette returned, offering a glass to Adrien.
His hands now preoccupied with the glass and the treats, the two got back to snuggling and started up the movie.
About halfway through, their treats were gone and the empty dishes were shifted to the floor to get out of the way. Adrien had his feet up on the ottoman, and Marinette was curled up against his side. She fully appreciated the high-quality cotton tee Adrien wore. Not only as a fashion designer and seamstress herself, but also because of how cozy it was to snuggle. Same was surprisingly true for the casual-fit jeans he still wore on his days off. Somehow, Adrien always managed to pick the perfect clothes to practically beg for cuddles. He was like a human teddy bear.
Marinette contently hummed as she wiggled further into Adrien’s side and tugged his arm tighter around her like a blanket. “I don’t think I tell you enough that I love how you smell. I can’t peg the cologne though.”
“I only wear cologne to work.” Adrien stared at the raven hair tucked against his shoulder, his eyes half-lidded.
“Oh?” Marinette squeaked as she attempted to keep her voice even. “You still smell nice. Must be your soap or laundry detergent then.”
“Must be.” Adrien bit his lip. His whole body vibrated at a low enough calibration that Marinette didn’t seem to notice despite Adrien being acutely aware. Resting his head atop hers, he gave it a little nuzzle and subtle inhale. “You smell nice as well, by the way. I’ve always loved your shampoo scent.”
Marinette giggled. “Lavender and mint?”
“Yeah. Sounds like one of Andre’s magical Lover’s Ice Cream combinations.” He took some playful gummy bites of Marinette’s bun. “Om nom nom nom.”
Squealing, Marinette struggled to wiggle her way back out of Adrien’s bear hug. “Adrien! Hey! Stop that! I’ll have to take another shower to get your drool out of my hair!”
“This is clearly a scoop of ice cream right here. Om nom nom.” Adrien continued to monotonously chant as he pretended to eat more of her hair.
“Adrien! Stop it!” Marinette laughed as she finally managed to shove him off of her. “Great. How terrible does my hair look now?” She patted the top of her head and discovered lumps of hair tugged out of the scrunchy. Shaking her head at Adrien, she quickly took her hair down, combed her fingers through it, and then effortlessly threw it back up into the messy bun. “There. Better?”
“Gorgeous,” Adrien said earnestly.
Marinette blushed. “Come on now. I’m sure it’s not-”
“Marinette?”
“Hmm?”
Adrien stared at her for far too long, his mouth slowly slipping open in awe.
“You want something, Adrien?”
“No. Nothing. I mean, I just-” He settled back into the couch with his arm up for her to snuggle under. “I promise I won’t eat your hair anymore.”
“You better not!” Marinette giggled as she booped Adrien on the nose. Satisfied with herself, she worked her way back against his side and found her favorite spot to rest her head on his shoulder. Lazily reaching up for his wrist, she pulled his arm back down and around her so they could finish the movie.
“Marinette?”
“Hmm?”
“Can I-? Would you mind if-? I was hoping-?”
Marinette unfolded herself from against Adrien and scrunched her eyebrows at him.
“Adrien, are you okay? It’s not like you to, ya know, stammer. That’s-” she giggled, “that’s kinda my thing.”
They both laughed, the tension already easing again.
“You’re wonderful. You know that, right?” Adrien greeted Marinette with one of his soft smiles that always melted her.
“Yeah? I mean, of course I am,” she said as she tucked a non-existent loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Marinette?”
“Hmm?”
“May I kiss you?”
Marinette’s eyes widened and her mouth went slack.
“I mean, I know we already kiss, but that’s not what I mean. I mean, can I-”
Marinette grabbed the sides of his face and held him still as she crashed into him. A couple of seconds later, Adrien’s arms snaked around her, truly feeling her as his right hand made its way to her hairline. Cradling her head, Adrien re-angled it to better taste her mouth. Their lips flowed in a dance they never officially had before, but they fell in sync instantly. Marinette let her hands slide from the sides of his face and into his hair, getting tangled in it as she held him against her.
It was too brief, but they still broke away with a gasp.
“I was going to kiss you,” Adrien playfully whined.
“Too bad,” Marinette panted. “I’ve wanted to do that since we were thirteen, so I get to go first.”
Adrien huffed out a sigh as he pulled away from her slightly. “Th-thirteen? The- the whole time we’ve known each other?”
Marinette’s face burned, and she clapped her hands against her mouth. Her eyes widened in horror as she shook her head in disbelief.
“Adrien, wait. No. I can explain.” She started flailing her hands out in front of her as if their frantic movements could be a shield against his judgment.
Adrien stared out in the middle distance, his eyes rapidly scanning the air, and a wistful smile slowly growing.
“Adrien, seriously, it’s not that big of a deal. We don’t have to be weird or anything. I’m sorry I said anything. I just-”
Adrien caught her hands and pressed them against his chest. “So, Buttercup was me? This whole time?”
Marinette slumped as she nodded. A second later, she bolted upright, “Wait! How do you know that code name?”
It was Adrien’s turn to jump. Fussing with his hair, he looked past Marinette’s shoulder and to the empty corner. “I, uh, must have heard Alya? She must have used it?”
“Used it when?” Marinette was practically crawling onto Adrien, her face up in his. He nervously arched his neck to pull his own face away from her best he could. “How long ago? Did you know I had a thing for 'Buttercup’ for years? Was this recent? Is she still using that stupid code name? Who was she talking to? Was it Nino? I knew she told him!”
“Wait.Nino knew that you had a thing for me? Since when?”
“That’s what I’m trying to find out!” Marinette flung her hands up as she scooted back off of Adrien’s lap. “I promise you, it’s not as bad as it all sounded, I swear.”
“Bad? No!” Adrien again snatched Marinette’s left hand out of the air and gently stroked it with his thumb. “No, it was all really sweet. A little over-the-top at first, but you seemed to have really seen 'Buttercup’ for who he was. And still loved him. I was,” Adrien shrugged, “I dunno, I was a little envious?”
“Envious?”
“Yeah. This amazing girl with this even more amazing heart just loved this guy so fully, and I guess I just wished that was me. That someone as awesome as Marinette Dupain-Cheng could love me that deeply. To find out it was me?” He started laughing. “It seems so obvious now! Who else would you have thought was conceded and a jerk when you first met him, only to fall for him once you gave him a chance to get to know him? I mean, that’s essentially the day we met, right? Oh my god! That was essentially the day we met! The- the stammering after I gave you my umbrella? Since then? You’ve loved me since then?”
“Wait! Rewind! How do you know all that? About me thinking 'Buttercup’ was conceded at first and us getting off on the wrong foot? There’s no way Alya would ever say anything like that!”
“Uh, what? I dunno. It was years ago. Maybe I just-”
Marinette was staring at the silver ring on Adrien’s right hand. The hand holding hers. Adrien quickly dropped her hand and scooted back from her. He tucked his right hand under his knee, but Marinette still stared as if she could see through his leg.
“Marinette?”
“Shortly after you and Kagami had broken up, she had told me that I needed to practice my love confession to you so that I could be brave enough to actually follow through with it.”
“Wait,Kagamiknew you were in love with me? And she was rooting for us to get together?”
“She had suggested that I try out the confession on someone I definitely would never fall in love with and who definitely would never fall in love with me.”
“Wait.”
“I was stumped at first, but then I saw Chat Noir running around on the rooftops across the way from my house.”
“Marinette, I can explain.”
“Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug, and I was already in love with you. So I figured this was exactly what Kagami suggested.”
“Marinette, please stop.”
“I had Chat Noir pose as you, but I couldn’t let Chat Noir know I was in love with Adrien Agreste! He didn’t know me. He’d think it was some stupid celebrity crush. So I used the code name 'Buttercup’ as I gave an honest love confession.”
“Marinette!” He grabbed her shoulders to try to ground her; shake her out of that memory. She continued to stare at his right hand.
“That was the only time that I admitted that I almost hated 'Buttercup’ when we first met, but fell for him the moment he allowed himself to be vulnerable in front of me.” Marinette’s eyes slowly followed Adrien’s quaking arm, finally meeting his eyes.
“Marinette, please.” Adrien was shaking; violently so. “I’m sorry. I never meant to deceive you. I can explain, I swear.”
“Kitty?” Marinette caressed his cheek; eyes filled with tears. “How did I not know it was you this whole time?”
“Wh-what did you call me?”
Marinette leaned into Adrien’s right ear and whispered, “You know, I always secretly loved that you called me m'lady,” before kissing his cheek. Pulling away, she stroked his chin with her thumb, and gently re-closed his mouth. “I’m sorry, too. I never meant to hurt you so much. I never meant to deceive you either.” Angling her head up so her voice would echo, Marinette called out, “Plagg, you can come out now!”
“About time!” Plagg phased out of Adrien’s messenger bag hanging on Marinette’s kitchen island bar stool. “You two are exhausting! You do realize that, right?”
Adrien’s eyes scanned every inch of Marinette’s face, making her nervously giggle.
“I found you?”
“Mmhmm.”
“It’s really you?”
“Mmhmm.” Marinette tucked a hand behind her ear to better show off the earrings she had always worn the entire time they had known each other.
“How did I not realize it was you?” Adrien excitedly shouted.
“That’s what I just said about you!”
“Okay, but I get to kiss you first this time. Those are your rules, right?”
Marinette giggled in agreement as Adrien’s arms again snaked around her and pulled her in for another deep kiss.
Tikki popped out of her hiding spot in the loft’s exposed rafters. “Come on, Plagg, let’s give these two lovebirds the room.”
“Gladly!”
The two kwamis phased through Marinette’s bedroom door. The two humans on the couch didn’t seem to notice. They were too busy exploring each other.
“I-” Marinette gasped, “I guess I didn’t really know you as well as I thought if I thought you and Chat Noir were two different people.”
“Well,” Adrien panted alongside Marinette, “now that you know?”
“I love you all the more, you goof.”
Marinette burst into more squeals and giggles as Adrien began nibbling on her neck and shoulder, exploring her with kisses. In kind, she traced every inch of him with her fingers.
They were perfectly platonic friends less than an hour ago, and now they were exploring each other like long-time lovers. There was nothing awkward about the new level of intimacy, because it also didn’t quite feel new to them. They fumbled a bit at first, but quickly fell into an unspoken rhythm; perfectly in sync. Just as they were that first day they became superheroes. Just like that first moment under the umbrella. Just like when they first became friends. Just like when they first fell in love.
[END]
**A/N:This went in a completely different direction than I originally intended (please see my comment on MLG’s story to know how this story SHOULD have ended). I just can’t keep these two apart though. They’re so stupidly in love. So, I may try tackling this story again in the future. Really fill out that “in the past year” overview bits instead of handwaving over it, and giving this story the ending I had originally intended. We’ll see if I can keep this writing momentum going long enough for that (especially when I have about a dozen other WIPs that need to be finished).
**Please let me know if you want me to tag you on any of my writing updates**
