Reunited (A Miraculous Ladybug Romance)

22: Surprise

5/18/2018

"Throw me that lighter will you?" Adrien panted, annoyed with himself for getting out of shape. Sure, he had spent the last several minutes climbing up and down the ladder (that Tom had so graciously provided) outside of the Dupain Cheng's bakery, and he had hurriedly set up all of the decorations, but that shouldn't have been enough to tire him out so quickly. In his days of saving Paris, Adrien could vault across the entire city without breaking a sweat. He wished that he could blame the difference from then to now on enhanced endurance from the magic that his suit provided, but sadly, Adrien knew there was more to it than that. Even without being Chat Noir, Adrien had possessed quite the athletic skill; it had been way too long since he had practiced his fencing.

Adrien softly chuckled to himself amused at the pathetic image of his current state. He was still wearing his gray sweatpants and had added an oversized black hoodie. His hair was a disheveled mess, he had forgotten to shave, and he was quite out of breath. If anyone, besides Nino, were to see him right now there would be no way that they would recognize him as the famous model, Adrien Agreste. In fact, if his father knew that he had actually left the house looking this bad, then Adrien was sure that his father would deny that this man was even his son.

"Here," Nino huffed as he pulled the lighter from his jacket pocket and tossed it to Adrien.

Hey. Adrien thought. At least Nino looks good.

And it was true. Adrien's history of attending prestigious events had suddenly come in handy. His closet was full of outfits from the top name brands, and the boys had ransacked it to find an outfit that would fit Nino. It had taken some time to find a set that fit Nino perfectly, but the hour had been well spent. He was dressed in a solid black oxford with the top two buttons remaining undone. The jacket was sleek and smooth, designed to hang open without a button in sight. Slim fitting pants and a black belt with a large silver clasp completed the look along with a pair of black rectangular tipped dress shoes. Nino's hair was slicked back without any lack of volume.

"I'm gonna go back down and grab one more thing." Nino announced, grabbing on to the ladder. "Don't burn the bakery down while I'm away."

"Hey, I'm not Marinette," Adrien pouted as he began lighting the candles. "Just hurry. It's starting to get slightly chilly out here."

Several candles later, Adrien finally let out a sigh of relief at a job well done. Everything looked perfect: from the roses and candles that adorned the balcony rail to the luminous full moon ascending on the horizon. This time, his plan would not fail.

Adrien pulled up his hood to block the crisp air. If he had known how cold it was supposed to get, he would not have suggested this plan, but why would anyone expect it to drop so low in mid August?

As Adrien pulled out his phone to see what time it was, he noticed that he had one unread message. He unlocked his phone and read the text.

[Marinette: I'm glad that I could inspire you, but what exactly is your idea? Please let me in on this before you decide to do something stupid.]

Something stupid. Could what they were doing be defined as something stupid? The answer to that, to put it simply, was yes. He and Nino had been prancing around for the past ten minutes directly above her room. If the girls heard their footsteps, who knows what they would think. The sudden image of Marinette and Alya cowering below was enough to make Adrien swiftly respond to her text.

[Adrien: FYI don't freak out.  We are on your roof]

He just managed to send it before something hard crashed against his head. Stars filled his vision as he crumpled to his knees. Another blow, which felt like a rounded point being thrust into his back, sent him careening, and his face smacked against the ground.