clairelutraThey meet as children.
Marinette is seven years old when she’s invited to Chloé’s birthday party for the first and last time, and Adrien is six, being dragged to what feels like the millionth time when all he really wants to do is stay home and play Mario Kart.
They meet while mutually trying to find a hiding place good enough that neither of them will be found again, and become friends so fast their mothers get whiplash.
Marinette is thirteen when she realizes that what she’s feeling isn’t just friendship anymore.
Adrien turns sixteen before he examines why the thought of Marinette growing away from him is so utterly terrifying.
They’re eighteen when they get their Miraculous.
Separately.
(Because where would we be without our love square, really?)
It’s only a few weeks after that that Marinette finds out Adrien, for the first time in history, has shown an interest in someone.
“C’moooon,” Alya was cajoling Adrien as Marinette walked into the room. “I know you like her. You just gotta tell her! Be brave! You can do it!”
“Ah, actually,” Adrien interrupted, sounding a bit like this wasn’t the first time he’d tried. “It’s… It’s not who you think it is.”
(It was only sort of half-occurring to Marinette that they were talking about crushes as she trudged up the stairs to her seat, mostly unseen.)
There was a beat, as she moved to set her bag on her desk, where Marinette could almost see Alya blink at him, and then:
“A-actually,” Adrien repeated, scrubbing the back of his head. “I’m… It’s, ah, actually Ladybug I was talking about earlier — th-the girl I have a crush on, I mean.”
Marinette missed her desk.
Marinette missed the next step.
Marinette’s heart missed its next few scheduled beats.
What.
jacks-mom
thespace-dragon
bittenred
ciphersiren
ruinedchildhood