Chapter Text
She worked on the card for two days, carefully cutting the construction paper and painstakingly writing the letter and finally signing her name— Marinette Dupain-Cheng— in swooping calligraphy at the very bottom of the stationery. She had made sure to sign it this time, unlike last year when she sent the Valentine in the mail only to realize she forgot to add her name.
She lifted the pen from the paper and examined her work. Yes, this would do just nicely.
“It’s wonderful, Marinette!” her kwami, Tikki, said as she floated in a joyful circle around the girl’s head. “He’ll love it!”
“I hope so,” Marinette replied, closing the heart-shaped card. She sighed as she looked up at her photos of Adrien, taped to her bedroom wall.
“You put a lot of work into that,” Alya acknowledged as the two walked toward the school the next morning. “It’s really nice, Marinette.”
“Thanks.” Marinette looked down at the card. “I think the problem is, I won’t be able to give the card to Adrien without stuttering and making a mess of it!”
“You can do this, girl!” Alya said.
“She’s right, dudette,” Nino added, grinning at Marinette as he put an arm around his girlfriend’s shoulders. “Adrien might be a little… oblivious , but I think that poem will get across to him.”
“But you can’t chicken out this time, Marinette,” Alya told her, turning serious. “Valentines Day only comes once a year.”
Adrien’s limo pulled up to the school, and the model stepped out of the vehicle. “Thanks,” he said to his driver before closing the door.
“Hey, Adrien,” Alya and Nino said, waving to their friend.
“Hey,” Adrien replied as he walked up to them. “And hi, Marinette.”
“Hi, Adrien, how are you mooin- I mean doing! How are you doing?”
“Good,” Adrien said with a little laugh. “And how are you?”
“I’m… good.”
Adrien smiled at her, and Marinette thought that maybe this conversation wasn’t a total failure.
“Um, anyways—” Adrien started, but was interrupted as Mr. Damocles ushered the students inside.
“I’ll see you later, I guess,” Marinette told Adrien as they were both whisked away in the rush of students going through the door.
I’m going to do it. I’m going to give him the Valentine. It’s just going to be… a little later than expected .
Marinette was grabbing some books from her locker when Adrien appeared.
“Hi,” he said, leaning against the locker as she closed the door to her own.
Marinette nearly jumped in surprise. “ Adrien ?”
“Sorry if I scared you,” Adrien said a little sheepishly.
“Oh, no, it’s fine,” Marinette said, feeling her face burn. “I just didn’t see you there.”
Adrien nodded. “I have something for you.”
Marinette’s eyes widened. “Y-you do?”
Adrien produced a white envelope from his school bag. “It’s not much, but…” He handed it to her.
Marinette ran her fingers over the lines of her own name printed neatly on the crisp white envelope. “Th-thanks,” she murmured.
Adrien smiled at her— one of his real, toothy smiles, not like the ones at the shoots and on the billboards— and gestured to the door. “I have to get to class. See you later, Marinette.”
Marinette listened as his footsteps receded, then she was all alone in the room.
“Wow, Marinette!” Tikki said, peeking out from Marinette’s purse. “Did Adrien give you… a Valentine ?”
“Let’s find out.” Marinette tore open the envelope and pulled out a folded piece of light pink paper. Trembling with excitement, she opened it. She let out a little gasp and her hand flew to her mouth.
“What does it say?” Tikki asked curiously.
“ Marinette ,
Kind and friendly you always are
Plus helpful, good, and true.
And I would just like to say,
I’m glad that I’m friends with you .
Happy Valentines Day!
Love, Adrien ”
“That’s so sweet,” Tikki gushed, peeking up at the pink paper, which was fringed with little hearts and flowers.
“He signed it, ‘ Love, Adrien ,’” Marinette said, her cheeks tinged red. “ Love , Tikki! Do you think he meant anything with that?”
“I don’t know,” Tikki replied. “But I do know he took the time to write you that beautiful poem, and that must mean something .”
“Oh no, Tikki!” Marinette exclaimed suddenly, overcome by panic. “I forgot to give Adrien his Valentine!”
“Maybe you could slip it in his locker,” Tikki suggested helpfully. She knew Marinette had worked so hard on the card, and she hated to see that go to waste, especially if it made Marinette so sad.
“That’s a great idea, Tikki!” Marinette pulled the heart-shaped card out of her bag and slipped it through the slots in Adrien’s locker door. “There. He should find it later today. And then I don’t have to risk being a stuttering mess when I give it to him.”
“Way to go, Marinette!” Tikki encouraged. “This is definitely a step in the right direction.”
“Thanks, Tikki. Now, let’s get to class.” And with that, Marinette started towards her classroom.
When Adrien opened his locker after fencing practice, he was not expecting to find a Valentine inside it.
What’s this ? he thought, picking up the card from where it had landed on top of all of his books. It was heart-shaped, pink and decorated with miniature hearts and intricate little swirling designs.
Curious, Adrien opened the card, ignoring the bustle of people in the locker room with him. Someone definitely worked very hard on the card.
Plagg discreetly floated up to look at the card. “What, did you get a love letter?” he asked quietly so no one heard.
“It’s a Valentine, I think,” Adrien breathed.
“Oh come on ,” Plagg grumbled. “Who needs to write love letters to people when you have cheese ?”
Adrien grimaced at that comment, then started to read the message on the inside of the card.
“ Adrien,
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I wrote this poem
Just for you.
You’re willing to help
When someone needs a hand.
When someone is upset
You always understand.
You’re always kind
And rarely get mad.
You always cheer me up
Whenever I’m sad.
It’s the time of year to find a Valentine,
And I was wondering if you would be mine?
-Marinette ”
“Huh,” Plagg said after he finished reading. “It looks like that Marionette girl—”
“Marinette.”
“— has a crush on you,” Plagg teased, smirking at Adrien.
“No, you’re wrong,” Adrien said, looking back at the card. “No way Marinette has a crush on me. She’s just a friend.”
Plagg sighed. “Yeah, yeah, sure. Just don’t try to pull that line when you two are married with your three hamsters or whatever.”
“Oh, stop it Plagg.” But even the sly kwami of destruction couldn’t ruin Adrien’s happy mood for long. The boy was still smiling over Marinette’s Valentine as he got into the limo to go home.
In the reflection of the rearview mirror, Adrien’s bodyguard could see his contented grin as he gazed out the window.
February 14th. Valentines Day.
Young love , the bodyguard thought amusedly as he watched the boy romanticize. What a funny thing.