A/N: Well! Here we are! The first chapter of my 6 part Miraculous Ladybug fanfic. The first chapter does start out slow and is probably shortest of all the parts written so far. However, it is the introductory chapter where the characters and situations are set up. Please bear with me. Next weeks chapter will be more exciting I promise. Also as a side note, I needed a feasible reason for Adrien to be in a certain location in the next chapter and thus Nino joined the swim team. As always, probably a little out of character and AU! Please enjoy!
The smell of the art room was comforting to Marinette. Stringent paint fumes, the musty scent of paper on the roll, and the earthy undertones of graphite pencils were as familiar to her as the smell of fresh baked bread. She loved them both the same!
It was a morning ritual for her to come early to school and sit in the art room to sketch her fashion designs. Well, usually it was a morning ritual. A lot of her being there in the morning depended on how late she was up at night performing her Ladybug duties. Usually she was alone. However, for the last few weeks one of her classmates had started to join her. "Early morning painting Jean?" she asked cheerfully.
"Ah! Bonjour Marinette!" Jean replied. He promptly perked up as she entered the room. He ruffled his fingers through his jet black hair and flashed a bright smile at her. "Yeah, I thought I practice that perspective thing again that Mademoiselle Naeglen showed us last week. I was absolutely horrible at it." he told her with a quick wink.
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad Jean." she reassured him kindly. Marinette took up her usual seat by the window. Marinette wiggled herself as close to the glass as possible so that she had the sun on her back. "Do you have enough light?" she called over to Jean. She liked sitting in the sun but not at the expense of her friend's painting.
"Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks. I'm good." Jean told her rather quickly. He flashed her a quick grin before ducking back behind his easel.
"So how's swim team going?" she asked as she fished out her sketching supplies.
"Great! We have a meet in a couple of days. Coach is going to let me do the 100 meter backstroke since I've been putting in some pretty solid performances during practice." Jean's eyes lit up as he spoke. While he seemed to have fallen into a pretty hardcore art kick lately, the entire school knew that Jean's real passion was swimming.
"That's awesome Jean. I know you'll wipe away the competition!"
"Thanks Marinette." Jean smiled brightly.
Marinette lapsed into silence as she sketched out her latest idea for a blouse. Light and airy for the warm spring weather that was starting to become more and more common as they got further into the season. She was in the process of changing out colors when Jean spoke again. "Hey Marinette…"
Marinette managed to jump about five feet in the air in surprise. "Huh, what?"
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Jean said sheepishly. "I was just wondering if you might want to come to the swim meet to cheer me on. It would mean a lot to me."
"Yeah! Of course! I'll make you a banner and everything like I did for Alix and Kim's race. I can have Alya come with me to help hold it. We'll outcheer everyone else in the stands!" Marinette grinned. She flipped a page in her sketchbook to start a fresh drawing for a banner. When she looked up again though, Jean was making a sour face. "What is it?" she asked.
"It's nothing." Jean told her as he shook his head. He wiped the sour look off his face and took a deep breath. "Do you think that maybe after the meet you'd like to go and get something to eat? Y'know, go out for dinner or something."
"Sure! Alya and I know this great place by…" Marinette started. However, Jean interrupted her.
"No, without Alya." he said. "Just the two of us…"
Marinette drew back in surprise. "Are… are you asking me out on a date?"
"Yes." Jean told her decisively. He stood up and stepped past his easel. With a confident stride he closed the distance between the two of them. Jean hopped up on the windowsill next to her. "I've been working up the courage for the last few weeks to ask you out Marinette." he explained.
Marinette looked at him, trying her hardest to mask her confusion. That's when it hit her. The hardcore art kick that Jean had been on lately wasn't any desire on his part to draw or paint. It was an excuse to hang out with her. All the quick looks, smiles, and winks directed at her were his subtle ways of flirting with her. "Oh…" she murmured as she started to blush, "Oh."
"What do you say Marinette?" Jean asked with a broad grin.
Marinette bit her lip. She knew what her answer was. She didn't even need to think about it. Thanks to Chat Noir, Marinette had lots of experience letting people down gently. "Jean, that's very sweet of you but I'm not interested in you that way."
Jean went rigid beside her. The temperature in the room seemed to drop for a moment as Jean sat silently, flexing his fingers against the windowsill he was sitting on. "Oh…" he mumbled after a moment. "Wow, okay. This… this is kind of awkward."
"It's not that I don't like you. I think you're fun to hang out with. I'm just not interested in dating you." she told him by way of explanation.
"No, no. It's fine." he told her with a smile that looked too forced to Marinette. "I'll just… uh… yeah."
Jean made a motion towards his easel and hopped off the windowsill. Marinette felt a stab of remorse. It didn't change anything. She still only had eyes for Adrien. Jean didn't need to know that though. It would've only hurt his feelings. Mercy! And Marinette had thought it was hard watching Chat Noir after she'd turned him down. Jean sat down in his chair again and his face disappeared behind his easel. Marinette could feel his dejection. "Do you still want me to come to your swim meet to cheer you on?" Marinette asked hesitantly.
"I mean you don't have to." Jean replied lightly. It didn't match the way his shoulders were slumped forward.
"I like supporting my friends." Marinette told him emphatically.
Jean perked up a little. This time when he smiled, it was definitely genuine. Jean nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah! I'd really like that. A lot."
"Cool! I'll be there then." she promised, returning his smile.
"Ah! Marinette, there you are! I've been looking every where for you! You forgot something." Alya exclaimed in exasperation as she entered the art room.
"No I didn't…" Marinette started in confusion. Then she saw that Alya struggling under her backpack and two bulky camera bags. Marinette gasped and smacked her forehead. "I was supposed to help you carry those to the Audio-Visual room this morning!"
"Uh-huh," Alya agreed as she glared at Marinette. Marinette shrunk back and gave Alya a nervous smile and weak laugh.
"Oh… hey Alya." Jean greeted awkwardly.
"Bonjour Jean," Alya nodded at him. She shot him a look of curiosity before turning back to Marinette.
"Please don't kill me." Marinette squeaked.
"I suppose I could spare your life if you got over here and helped me like you promised." Alya replied with a heavy and dramatic sigh.
"Just give me one second." she called. Marinette hopped out of her seat, shoving her things back into her bag. "I'll see you in class Jean!"
"Yep, and probably tomorrow morning since I still haven't finished my painting." he said brightly as he sat the canvas off to the side of the room. "Have a good day Marinette!"
"You too!" Marinette waved as he left the room. She hoisted one of the camera bags on to her shoulder and followed after Alya. They didn't make it far down the hall. Alya stopped, turned to Marinette, and gave her a strange look.
"What was all that about?" she asked. Alya raised an eyebrow and jerking her thumb over her shoulder in the direction of the art room. "The whole 'seemed to wish I hadn't showed up' thing."
Before Marinette even had a chance to say anything, Tikki piped up, "He probably wanted more time with Marinette. Jean asked Marinette out on a date."
"Tikki!" hissed Marinette. She went to scoop Tikki up but nearly dropped the camera bag instead.
"It's alright. The school's still pretty deserted." Alya shrugged. She turned to Marinette. "Jean asked you out?"
"Yeah." sighed Marinette. "He wanted to get dinner after his swim meet with me. Oh! By the way, will you come with me to the swim meet to help me hold the banner I'm gonna make for him?"
"Wait a minute. Back up!" Alya shook her head, "What did you tell him?"
"She told him no." Tikki replied for Marinette. Alya looked from Tikki to Marinette.
"What else was I supposed to say. You know how I feel about Adrien. My heart belongs to him." Marinette raised her hands into the air. Tikki giggled. Alya snorted and pinched the bridge of her nose. Probably in response to Marinette's theatrics. Marinette shot them both an icy look. Then she looked back towards the art room. "I didn't even realize he was flirting with me." she murmured.
"Really?" Alya commented.
"It was kinda obvious. I didn't say anything because I thought you knew." Tikki added. Marinette threw a dirty look at Tikki.
"It was just so different from what I'm used to." Marinette explained. She added extra emphasis at the end. Alya and Tikki immediately picked up the hint.
"Yeah with the way you describe 'Felix's' flirting it makes sense." agreed Alya. Marinette froze at the alias Alya had given Chat Noir.
"Not so loud," she warned as she cast another glance around. Alya and Tikki ignored her.
"He doesn't let anyone mistake his flirting for anything else. He's very loud about it." Tikki bobbed in the air as though she were holding back a laugh.
"His idea of flirting is bad puns and cheesy pick up lines." grumbled Marinette. She sighed before finally conceding to Alya's point. "I guess compared to him, I wasn't quite prepared for a normal guy's version of flirting."
They started walking for the stairs. More students would be arriving soon and class would be starting. Tikki slipped herself back into Marinette's bag. "Do you think he'll be okay?" Alya asked.
"I think so," nodded Marinette. "He seemed to take it well."
Jean had probably taken it just as well as Chat Noir had. Then again, when Chat Noir had first asked her out he hadn't been nearly as confident as Jean had been. Chat Noir had stammered and stuttered until he'd finally just blurted out his words. They'd nearly been too loud and too fast to understand. After Marinette had turned him down, Chat Noir had sulked. Then he'd asked her if she wanted to dissolve their partnership. The poor guy had thought that no to dating was synonymous with "I never want to see you again." He'd perked back up when she'd told him to stop being ridiculous and that they were still partners and friends.
"Are you sure you should still go to his swim meet?" Alya asked as she opened the door to the audio-visual room. She looked at Marinette skeptically.
"Why wouldn't I?"
Alya sat the first camera bag down on the ground before answering Marinette, mainly to give herself time to think of a response. After a moment though she shrugged. "Eh, I guess you're right. I'll make sure I pack my new video camera. Just wait until you see the resolution on it!"
X X X
"So I just barely managed to sneak back through my window before Nathalie came through my door and in the process I managed to trip over my rug and break a lamp. When she comes in there I am, just laying on my back, on the floor. What does she do? Nathalie takes one look at me, groans, turns around and leaves my room. All that panic and lightning fast running to make it back in time and Nathalie doesn't even appreciate it!" Adrien whined as he leaned back against one of the bathroom sinks. School had ended about ten minutes ago. Adrien was killing time with Nino before Nino had to split.
"Dude," Nino sighed as he shut off the water, "she doesn't even know."
"I know but still." Adrien grumbled.
"Besides I'm not entirely sure why you're complaining about the fact that she didn't freak out… or worse, figure out you double life." Nino pointed out as he grabbed his practice bag and towel off the ground.
"He's like a cat that doesn't get enough attention." Plagg chipped in oh so helpfully. He flew out of Adrien's book bag and floated in front of Adrien's nose. Plagg gave him a cheeky smile. "You stop petting him for a half a minute and he's convinced that he'll be forgotten."
"You're one to talk." Adrien glared at Plagg. To add insult to injury, Plagg just stuck his tongue out at Adrien. Nino rolled his eyes at the pair of them. Adrien brushed it off. "Don't you have to be at practice soon?" he asked.
Nino glanced at his watch and shrugged. "I've got plenty of time. What about you? Modelling or anything after school?"
Adrien grinned, "Nope. Free day for once in my life. Fencing was cancelled for the entire week because my instructor is on vacation. Piano was pushed to tomorrow. And! My Chinese tutor is sick. I'm gonna go bury myself under a pile of books!"
"Nice!" laughed Nino. "Hey what are you doing in a couple of days?"
"Um, I don't think I've got anything planned at all either." Adrien said after a moment of thought. He looked at Plagg.
"Nope, not that I can think of. At least nothing that you bought me cheese for." Plagg agreed.
"Why?" Adrien looked back at Nino.
"Well you know how my parents wanted me to do swim team to round my activities out a little more?" Nino asked as he pointed to his bag and towel. Adrien nodded. He vaguely remembered how Nino had come to school one day a few weeks ago complaining that his parents thought he spent too much time cooped up in his room listening to music and had pushed him to try swim team for a season. Nino hadn't been thrilled but he'd done it anyways to make his parents happy. Surprisingly enough, Nino seemed to enjoy swimming. Nino continued, "Well, after all that pushing for me to join they're going to be out of town for my first meet."
Adrien grimaced in sympathy, "That sucks. I can relate though if it's any consolation."
"I mean, don't get me wrong, my parents are really upset that they can't come but do you think that maybe you'd want to come?" Nino asked him hopefully.
"Sure! That would be awesome!" Adrien said enthusiastically.
"Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to. I know that you're… uh… 'feline-esque' and you and water might not mix well."
"Water? Pfft!" scoffed Adrien as he waved his hand dismissively. "I don't care about water. It doesn't bother me."
"You positive?" Nino pressed.
"Completely. One hundred percent. I am totally cool around water. I'm not that much of a… Gah!" Adrien broke off midsentence as he accidentally bumped the faucet with his hand. Water sprayed out of the faucet at high pressure and doused the entire back of his shirt. Adrien jumped away from the sink like he been scalded. "You've got to be kidding me!" cried Adrien
As he was fumbling at the back of his shirt to see the damage, there was a 'thunk' as Plagg fell out of the air. "You should've seen the look on your face!" he howled as he rolled across the ground and laughing as hard as his little frame could handle.
"Shut up Plagg!" snapped Adrien.
"Yep you are totally cool with water." Nino grinned. "You must be a lot of fun at water parks."
"Stupid, rotten, crummy bad luck!" grumbled Adrien as he reached for a roll of paper towels.
A shirt suddenly appeared under his nose. Adrien stopped trying to wring his shirt out and looked at Nino. "Your luck probably isn't as bad as you think it could be." Nino told him as he waved the spare shirt for emphasis.
Adrien sighed and nodded in agreement. "You're right. I could have to leave this bathroom with a soaking wet shirt and make Chloe think that she's judging a wet t-shirt competition."
"Well we all know who you wouldn't mind seeing you in a wet t-shirt." snickered Plagg. Adrien cut his laughing off as he abruptly dropped his wet shirt over him with a 'splat.' Plagg cried out indignantly, "Hey!"
"This has been exciting but I have to get to practice." Nino told them as he shook his head in exasperation. He looked at Adrien again quickly. "Are you sure you can come dude?"
"Nino," Adrien said seriously as he adjusted the borrowed shirt, "so long as an akuma doesn't decide to pop up then I promise I will be there."
"Thanks man." Nino said. He held up his fist. Adrien grinned and bumped his own fist against Nino's. Nino turned to leave.
"Find out what heat you're in okay?" Adrien called after him.
"Will do!"
"Come on Plagg. Let's go get a sandwich from the deli before we go home. I'll let you eat the cheese off of it."
Adrien offered his hand to Plagg. Plagg gave a little cheer and zipped right into it.
X X X
"Hey Jean!" called one of the other boys on the team. Jean looked up at the sound of his name. As did half the swim team. Then again they were in the locker room where voices carried and after practice conversations weren't really private.
"Yeah?"
"How'd it go with that girl? Miss Couture?" asked his teammate. He hadn't actually told anyone Marinette's name. Some of the guys were fairly nosey and he really didn't want any "help" asking Marinette out. About the only thing any of his teammates knew about Marinette was that she was into fashion. That only narrowed it down to half the girls in the school. The guys had taken to calling her Miss Couture.
"Oh yeah!" the new guy on team exclaimed. Nino, Jean remembered, Nino was his name. Not a bad swimmer. Had an awesome taste in music. "You were supposed to ask her out today right? How did that go?"
Jean ducked his head into his locker to avoid everyone that was looking at him. He fought to keep the grimace off his face. "She's coming to the meet actually." he said as he pushed a smile on to his face.
"That's awesome!" one of his teammates called.
"Good for you Jean." Nino added.
"It will be nice to put an actual name and face to your lady love." teased another. Jean laughed a little and turned away from them.
"Yeah," he said quietly. He blew out a breath and shut his locker. All he needed, Jean was certain, was another chance. He grabbed his practice bag and wished his teammates a good afternoon before leaving.