This part was beta-read by the lovely Norelica, who continues to go above and beyond ♥

The story is almost complete and will have 5 chapters, which we're aiming to update daily!!! 😊

Hi guys! Bumblewyn here. This is a collab fic Drosera_Sundews and I have been working on for a while, and as today is Sundews' birthday, we decided this would be an excellent time to finally post it! :D

Chapter Text

1

Adrien had always known that Marinette was clumsy. In fact, it was widely known by everyone, and no one really minded, except perhaps Marinette herself. It wasn’t that she fell or stumbled much more than the average person. It was just that anytime she lost her balance she tried to compensate by swinging her arms around wildly and yelling, which generally only made things worse.

To be honest, Adrien thought it was kind of endearing. Not anything he’d ever be mean about (not that there was much he’d ever be mean about). But Marinette did seem to be flustered anytime she was caught fumbling or tripping.

So when one day their lunch break was interrupted by a short but severe bout of rain, and he spotted Marinette slipping on the sidewalk and hitting the ground, he decided to not draw attention to himself. He just wanted to get a little closer to see if she was okay.

She didn’t seem to notice him, and she got up okay. Adrien smiled and veered off course. He was glad to see that she'd be fine.

He heard a frustrated groan from behind him and turned. Marinette was on her knees, peering under the car next to her. Oh, her bag!

He’d almost made his way over, ready to help her in some way, he wasn’t sure how yet, when he saw her glance from side to side. Somehow apparently looking right over him, before she got up and put her hands below the car.

He saw her grimace slightly, pull, and then the car’s wheels came off of the ground. Marinette carefully lifted the car up, tilting it sideways, before awkwardly sticking her foot out and looping it through the handle of her bag, dragging it back to her.

Once it was within reach, she gently placed the car back on its wheels.

Adrien gaped, impressed by the surprising display of strength hiding beneath her lithe frame. “Whoa, Marinette! You’re really strong.”

Marinette yelped and jumped almost a meter into the air, her bag once again clattering onto the ground as she turned around.

“A— A— Adrien!”

“Hi!” He waved, smiling as he swooped down to pick up the shoulder bag and then stood up straight to loop it over her shoulder. “Here, sorry I made you drop it again.” He extended his umbrella a little, standing close so that they were both protected from the rain.

“What did you get here? I mean— When are you doing here? I mean—”

Adrien waited patiently while his flustered friend tried to find the right words. It was something he’d become familiar with over the course of their friendship. He was still not entirely sure what caused her stuttering, since he’d also heard her be rather eloquent at times. Through trial and error, however, he’d found that smiling patiently would generally result in a complete sentence eventually.

“I mean— I dropped my car. Bag! Bag. I dropped my bag.” She gestured around wildly between herself and the wet pavement.

Adrien nodded in understanding. “I saw you slip, are you okay?”

She returned his nod, seemingly relieved for some reason. “Yeah... it was just a small tumble, silly me!” She ducked her head as her cheeks flushed pink. “I’m sturdier than I look.”

“I can see that!” Adrien said enthusiastically, still in awe of what he saw her do. “You lifted a whole car! Do you work out? Or is it all the heavy lifting you do in the bakery?”

“No!” Marinette shouted suddenly, her eyes wide. “I mean, yes! I mean— I— I do karate!” she blurted rather loudly. She was beet-red again, though he had no idea why. Karate wasn’t, like, a silly sport. It was actually really cool.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” Adrien said enthusiastically, hoping his approval would make her feel less embarrassed. “I didn’t know you could get so strong from karate. Maybe I should try it!” The additional strength would certainly help with his… side-hustle. Being Chat Noir had enhanced his strength, but he figured the stronger he got, the stronger Chat Noir would be! If Adrien Agreste could lift a car, maybe Chat Noir could lift a bus! That’d be wild, not to mention helpful.

Marinette laughed, but judging by her facial expression she might as well have been at the dentist. “Uh, yeah, maybe?” she offered, giving him an uncertain look.

Did she think he couldn’t do it? As they walked to school together, Adrien was already planning how to convince Natalie to let him join a karate class. He could fit it into his schedule. If Marinette could do it and gain so much strength even though she was a civilian, so could he! And maybe this was his ticket to learning a bit more about his friend and helping her be more comfortable around him.

They walked up the steps and Adrien let Marinette step inside before quickly shaking the rain off his umbrella. He wanted to ask her where she took her karate lessons, and if she would mind introducing him to her teacher, but before he could do so, she squeaked, “See you in class!” and sped off like she was being chased by an akuma. She was so fast, she literally disappeared down the entire hall in the blink of an eye.

Adrien gaped after her, mildly surprised she hadn’t left a cartoonish trail of dust-clouds in her wake. “Wow,” he muttered to himself. “I need to find myself a karate teacher.”

He could hear faint laughter coming from his breast pocket, but paid it no mind.

2

“Plagg, that’s not…” Adrien argued, getting slightly frustrated with his friend. “All the history books say she was beautiful! Maybe they just had different standards back then?”

“It’s all old Roman propaganda,” Plagg hissed in response. “The people high up there were terrified of Cleopatra. Easier to write her off as some dumb airheaded model — no offense — than to publicly engage with her in intelligent debate and lose. She was a brilliant strategist. They were right to be afraid!”

Adrien sighed. The argument had been going on for a solid twenty minutes now, and he really needed to study. “Look, Plagg, I believe you, but at the end of the day I just want to pass my history test. I can’t very well argue for a higher grade and cite a primeval cat-god that lives in my room and eats cheese all the time as my source. Besides—” He was cut off by a cheerful voice behind him.

“Hey, Adrien!”

Adrien’s spine snapped straight and he quickly pulled his button-up shirt closed, squishing Plagg against his chest. He heard a hiss and some grumbling, but gave no attention to it, instead turning to Nino.

“Hey!”

“Who where you just talking to?”

“Oh, uhm… just Natalie, on the phone. I, uh, have some photoshoots next week, which we still need to plan, but I’d rather miss fencing than school, so I’m trying to get her to reschedule it,” he rambled. He didn’t enjoy lying, especially not to Nino, but like any child raised with a strict schedule and even stricter rules, he was more than capable of making up excuses on the fly.

“Uhm, okay…” Nino looked at him a bit oddly. “And she’s super into ancient Egypt? Ooorrr…?”

Oof, that didn’t work out the way he had wanted it to. Oh well. “Partly. She used to homeschool me for history and, well, she knows a lot but she disagrees with the books we have for class, says they’re inaccurate and only show one perspective.”

“Huh, I mean, she’s right.” Nino shrugged. “But let me guess, that doesn’t work out great for your grades?”

“Not really, but at least that gives me an excuse not to have a photoshoot during school.”

They entered the classroom. Madame Bustier wasn’t there yet, and the classroom was empty save for one surprising occupant who usually tended to be late rather than early: Marinette. She was standing by the window, her back towards the door, and seemed to be talking to someone.

Adrien was able to make out some of her words. “… don’t know … barely got to study last night … akuma … when I finally got home … I’m so going to fail the exam!” Her last sentence was very clearly audible, as she had more or less wailed it.

Concerned, Adrien walked towards her. “Marinette? Are you okay?”

She jumped and her arms jerked around, though for what, he couldn’t see, given that her back was still turned towards him — had he made her drop something again? He’d feel really bad if he had.

“Adrien!” she squeaked as she spun around, clutching her purse to her chest. “I was just— I was just— On the mom with my phone! Phone my exam! With my Mom!” she stammered, increasingly frantic. “I was… on the phone with my mom,” she managed finally, her cheeks bright pink.

Adrien reached out and rested his hand on her shoulder, hoping to ground her a bit. “Hey, it’s okay,” he offered gently. “I’m also nervous for the exam. Was she giving you a pep talk?”

Marinette nodded wordlessly, growing ever pinker in the face. “Ye— yeah…”

Adrien smiled, trying not to show his sadness as he wondered what that must be like. The closest thing he got to a pep talk that morning had been Plagg arguing that the entire French school system should be abolished. “I’m sure you’ll do great. You always do!” he assured her, feeling guilty for interrupting her phone call.

He hoped she was getting enough oxygen, because her face seemed to be transitioning from pink to purple. “Thank you,” she whimpered, staring up at him with wide eyes.

Adrien gave her shoulder a friendly squeeze and stepped back, giving her some space to breathe. “I should get to my desk, I want to look over my notes one last time. Good luck today, Marinette!”

Marinette took in a deep breath, visibly collecting herself. Adrien really admired how she seemed to be able to reign her anxieties back in. She shot him a slightly more relaxed smile. “Thank you, Adrien. You as well!”