"Save Me" | a Ladrien heart-warmer

Fashion

It was sort of an unspoken pact between the two of them that his house staff couldn't find out about their meet-ups. How this pact came about, Adrien wasn't entirely certain, but on his side at least it was due to the necessity of keeping his father out of things more than any real desire to keep the two of them secret.

He had his suspicions about Ladybug's motives (there was a reason he didn't associate too closely with Marinette as Chat, and it wasn't for lack of opportunity or welcome), but in the end it didn't really matter to him — she was still spending time with him and he was over the moon about it.

So when he heard Nathalie knocking at his bedroom door, his first instinct was, of course, to drop his controller, kick the power button on his entertainment system, and drag Ladybug into his closet.

He started to reconsider his course of action when he realized that he could feel her breath curling down the neck of his t-shirt and the soft curve of what he was pretty certain was a breast pressed against his bicep. By then it was too late: Natalie had pushed into his room, calling out for him and reminding him of the photoshoot he had in an hour and his fencing class afterward.

He edged backwards into Ladybug, not quite daring to breathe and feeling her still pressed against him in the same way.

Thankfully, his long-standing reputation of being obedient helped them out; after walking around for his room a bit, Nathalie seemed to decide that he wasn't in his room and left.

Adrien let out a long, exhausted sigh of relief and rested his head against the door. Ladybug had backed away from the door at some point during Nathalie's inspection, and Adrien's entire right side was cold with her loss.

"Do you have Narnia stored in the back of this closet?" Ladybug's muffled, incredulous voice sounded from further away than he might have guessed.

Adrien fumbled for the light switch. "If I do, I've never found it. And, believe me, I've looked."

He found the switch and flooded the space with soft 'daylight imitation' light.

Ladybug was a good two meters away, having backed up into his coat rack, and was now blinking around the room with huge, disbelieving eyes. "Woah..."

Adrien looked around his closet, trying to see what she saw. He had most of the 'teen boys' Agreste lines (all the clothing he'd modelled, some he hadn't, plus some items that hadn't made it to the catwalk or the catalogues) which... was kind of impressive, now that he thought about it.

Ladybug pushed off the coats and wandered around the cramped, cluttered space, picking up a top hat in her wanderings.

"Nice threads," she quipped, pulling it over her hair with a flourish and an exaggerated pose. She wiggled an eyebrow at him and fixed him with an over-the-top 'smoulder.' "How do I look?"

Adrien nearly swallowed his tongue trying not to laugh out loud. "Dashing, my lady."

...Shit.

She went absolutely still, staring at him out of the corner of her eye, but the moment passed before he could well and truly work himself into a panic.

She carried on, laughing off the accidental (habitual) endearment, completely unaware of his stopped heart. Putting the top hat back where she found it, she picked up one of his standard white overshirts.

Adrien managed to breathe a small, relieved sigh before she pulled the shirt on and his mind went... somewhere else.

She caught his eye over her shoulder and winked at him as she popped the collar with a smirk.