𝐑𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐫 | COMPLETE

【１】

Prologue - The Red Rose

"Gotta go, Chaton," Ladybug grinned as her earrings beeped. They were down to their final two spots. "I'll see you later!"

"Wait, M'lady!" Chat gripped the rose in his hand harder, expecting her to swing away the second she was able to. But she didn't, instead, she stopped her yo-yo and turned back with a curious expression on her face.

"What's up?"

Safe to say, he didn't expect this. He sucked in a breath and smiled at her softly, "I got you a flower. It... reminded me of your suit so I thought you'd like it."

Ladybug's eyes darted from his to the rose then back up, her lips parted. For a second, Chat was afraid that she did not like it and in fact, despised it with her entire being.

Finally, she smiled fondly and took it in her hands, spinning it around in between her fingers. She looked up, "Flirt."

"You wound me, Buginette," he laughed. "I thought I was getting somewhere with you."

She snorted, "In your dreams, Minou."

She winked before soaring away. Her yo-yo swung from building to building until she was nothing but a red dot in the blue sky.

Chat Noir turned around, feeling a faint red blush covering his cheeks, saluted to the news camera that had been recording their battle, and ran to the nearest alley to detransform.

___

When he found Marinette, she was wearing the red rose in her bun. Then he knew he was a goner. The petals, still as vibrant as they were when he had given them to her, sat in her black hair, clipped into it securely so as it wouldn't fall. Adrien barely managed a few words when she waved at him from across the field. But, one thing was certain:

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug, the hero of Paris and the girl Adrien loved with all his heart.

Chapter 1 - Ivory

The first time Marinette saw the roses splayed on her balcony haphazardly, she hadn't thought much of it at the time. But, it was when they appeared that very same day the following week in the exact same positions - this time in a different colour - that she had begun to wonder.

The first set of roses were ivory-coloured. Chat had given a very similar bouquet to her all those years ago when they were both fifteen. Perfection , he had said. She was perfect . Marinette had blushed almost the same colour as her suit as she squeaked out a 'thank you' to him before zipping away at the speed of light.

She had every rose he had ever given to her in a vase on her drawer beside her mirror. She could see them every time she got dressed for the day.

One fateful Tuesday morning she took the newer ones in her hands and experimentally slipped it into her hair. The white petals sat in beautiful contrast to her dark hair and she smiled faintly, laughing softly to herself as she clipped it in place to her braid.

When Marinette arrived at school, Adrien was the last to talk to her about the flower, not that he hadn't noticed. In fact, it was the only thing he had concentrated on the entire school day.

When he did, it wasn't exactly the suave entrance that he was aiming for. "Cool... flower," he started lamely, making her laugh.
"It's pretty, but I don't know if it's exactly safe," she said. She raised her hand to touch it once again, "They were on my balcony."

"Someone gave it to you?" Adrien shouldered his backpack as they left the class, heading to the entry doors.

She paused, "I'm not really sure. They just appeared . I didn't see anyone either."

Adrien winced slightly, "If someone did mean to give it to you, would that mean they're a secret admirer?"

Marinette made a noncommittal noise. "I guess? I wish I knew who they were, though," she chuckled. "What would be the odds that they were my crush?"

Adrien stopped walking, his eyes widening slightly. Marinette turned around, her hair whooshing in the soft breeze. "Adrien? You okay?"

"Y-yeah," he stuttered. "That—You have a crush?" She blushed, a sheepish laugh filling the air. Adrien could feel his heart skipping a few beats.

"I do," she said. "I'm not giving you any details though. It's pretty stupid, really."

Adrien made his way beside her, grinning, "I've had my fair share of stupid crushes."

"Don't lie, Agreste."

He laughed, "I'll tell you one, promise not to tell?"

Marinette put her hand on her chest, smiling. She uttered the words, "I swear on my collection of Adrien Agreste posters from three years ago."

"You still have them?"

"This is about you," she said, "Not about me and my posters."

He chuckled, "Okay, this one is a little... um, embarrassing. I guess since she's so famous."

"Oooh," Marinette bumped against him teasingly, "Celebrity crushes. The ultimate forbidden romance." She paused. "Well, you are famous too, though. So, you might've had a chance."

"True, but she's so..." Adrien sighed lovingly, "Perfect."

"Sounds like you still have that crush," Marinette said, "I don't go calling Andrew Garfield the image of perfection."

"You just did."

"You know what I mean!"

Adrien let out a breath, "I had a crush on... Ladybug."

This time it was Marinette that had stopped walking.

In fact, she was pretty sure she had also stopped breathing.

"Y-you, oh wow, that's some information right there!"

He laughed, "Yeah... I was hopeless."

"Yeah!" Marinette squeaked, "Um, just out of curiosity, when did you get over said crush?"

Adrien scratched his head, "Last year I think. I had that crush since I was thirteen."

"Pretty dedicated crush right there," she breathed.

Adrien nodded silently before grinning at her, "So, who's yours? "

"What?" Marinette squawked. "I'm not going to tell you that!"

"Please?" he pouted. "I told you mine."

"You told me about your celebrity crush," she reasoned, "You don't even like—you don't even like Ladybug any more."

"If you tell me your crush, I'll tell you mine."

"I don't need to know who you have a crush on!" She lied. "I'm completely fine not knowing who said person is."

He sighed as his limo came into the front of the school, "Fine. The flower's really pretty, by the way."

Marinette watched as Adrien winked at her, sliding into his car and waving goodbye to Nino before the door closed.

As the car drove off, Marinette knew that even after all these years, she was hopeless.

-

𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐢𝐭? 𝐚𝐣𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐣𝐬𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 <𝟑