Cupid's Canvas《Marinette Dupain-Cheng》

˚₊· Our Canvas

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"COME AGAIN?"

"I figured out who's been leaving the hearts!"

Slowly, Marinette nodded.
"That's...great!" she said through gritted teeth. "So, who do you think it is?"

"Alix, obviously!"

Marinette blinked a few times. The excitement on Claire's face hadn't even shifted a little.

"Uh, what?" was all Mari could manage to say.

"It's so simple!" Claire exclaimed. "Think about it, she's in the art room all the time, and she told me to ask you about it to get me off her trail!"

Marinette hated to dim her excitement, but this time, she felt like she had no choice. "Yeah, no. It isn't her."

"And how do you know? I just saw her writing on the same exact sticky notes."

"I--uh--I just do. I let her borrow them, actually."

Claire frowned. "Well, which else could it be then? The only other person I know who looks at my paintings is---"

It had taken a moment for Mari's words to set in, but when they did, Claire's eyes widened. She stared at Marinette, mouth agape. "Wait," they said slowly, "don't tell me it's been you."

"Okay, I won't tell you then."

"Mari!" Claire stepped closer, the forced proximity making sure that her girlfriend faced her. "You've been leaving the hearts?" 

Silence followed. It wasn't their usual peaceful silence though. Marinette normally liked the silence with Claire, but not this time. This time, it felt wrong. Like she was playing a game and had to pick the right thing to say, or else.

Marinette toyed with her ribbon, trying to stop her face from turning red. Hesitantly, she nodded. "Yeah," she confessed. "It was me."

Claire slowly nodded, their expression unreadable. "Let me ask you something though," they said suddenly. "Why are you so embarrassed? Seeing your hearts made me really happy. It meant my work was seen and loved by someone other than myself. You don't need to be embarrassed about that."

"I-I guess I just thought that if you found out it was me, you would, you know..."

Claire put a palm to their forehead. "And my dumb ass really thought it was Alix!" they said under their breath. It was the first time Mari had heard them swear, and she honestly found it adorable. "Did part of you think I wouldn't like you?"

Marinette blushed even harder. Her whole thought process was really stupid, but Claire didn't seem to be judging her. So, she nodded and received Claire's smile in return.

"That couldn't be farther from the truth. I promise." 

"You sure you're not mad?" Marinette checked. "Or at least a little bit annoyed?"

"Are you kidding? You've been my little secret admirer this whole time. That's adorable!"

"Claire, it's really not a big deal--"

"Um, yeah, it is," Claire interrupted, linking arms with her and guiding her out of the room. "This is the kind of stuff you see in some romance fanfiction."

Marinette laughed as she fell into step next to her. "And how do you know what's in romance fanfiction?" she teased.

Claire turned away in embarrassment. "I might have had a phase, okay?" she said, although she was smiling.

"Where are we going?" Mari asked.

"The art room."

"Did you forget something?"

"Not really." Claire shrugged. "Although, I have a surprise for you."

Marinette tried to ask for more information, but Claire shut her down each time. When the two of them had made their way up the stairs, Claire covered her eyes with her hands.

"Keep them closed!"

Marinette slowly stepped forward. "You're gonna make me trip over something!" she complained, feeling out the ground in front of her with her feet.

"You'll be fine," Claire replied. "Just step over here."

"Claire!"

"You ready? One, two, three!"

When Claire lifted her hands, Marinette was faced with a watercolor portrait. She instantly recognized the pink of the sweater and the way the red ribbon was tied, --it was what she wore on their first date.

It was a portrait of her.

"Oh my gosh. Claire..."

"I don't think I captured your likeness that well," they said sheepishly, "but I also knew there was no way you'd sit down long enough for me to paint you--"

"I love it," Marinette said. "And I love you."

A lightbulb suddenly appeared in Marinette's head. She dug through her backpack, searching past papers and pens and wrappers from two months ago. When she found her stack of lacey pink sticky notes, she held it up triumphantly.

She grabbed a pen, drew a heart, and stuck the note on the corner of the easel.

Claire smiled at the gesture. "Perfect."   She gave Mari's hand a gentle squeeze, then placed a light kiss on her cheek. "I made a new playlist," she said. "Wanna listen?"

As usual, she did. The two of them sat down at one of the tables, and Claire set the right earbud in her ear. She talked over the music, while Marinette leaned against them, listening attentively. All she could do was smile to herself as her girlfriend rambled on.

After all this time, after all these beautiful moments; she'd realized that it really was possible to be in love with someone's voice.

Cupid's Canvas

End ♡