Take Flight

Look-

I saw the trailer for the NewYork special and HONEYYYYY. LET ME TELL YOU. HOW. HARD. I. SCREAMED.

- please ignore this if you don't wish to hear my thoughts -

The ANIMATION. *chef's kiss* so smooth- like buttah. Literally. IT WAS GLORIOUS AND SHINY AND GORGEOUS AND OH MY GOD.

I am loving the hints they dropped and how they didn't completely give away the entire plot. ADRIEN. MARINETTE. THE AIRPLANE. THE SHOTS. EVERYTHING IS SO CRISP AND AMAZING.

And CHAT IS SO HOT. OKAY.

Now, at the end of the trailer, we see Adrien sitting next to Marinette and he asks, "everything okay?" and the way Mari replies...

*le sigh*

Let's just say that I am BEGGING for there to be character development. Like. Please. I just want them to be comfy with each other ;u;

I swear if the writers screw up the potential of this special I will literally sob.

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And so, after watching the trailer, I'm here.

...with a fic :')

Enjoy, teehee~

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!! WARNING: spoilers ahead (obviously). There is just ONE use of strong language !!

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#Leaderreview

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Edit: Thank you <3

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_________ :hearts: :airplane: :hearts: _________

Marinette felt her insides set ablaze.

Her cheeks were hot and she /knew/ her face had most definitely gone red.

Despite the cool, contrived cabin air, the raven head could feel her internal temperature rising at a startling rate.

Her every nerve was hyper aware of the way Adrien shifted every so often.

And it killed.

Sure, it was practically a fantasy come true that she would be seated next to Adrien Agreste, her good friend and hardcore crush, for a long haul flight. However, not even three minutes after settling into her seat did she realize how this seating arrangement was going to be a nightmare.

She couldn't control her body's absurd reaction to his presence. Internally groaning, the raven head knew she was most definitely going to end up embarrassing herself.

"Everything okay?"

She was jolted out of her thoughts and squeaked. Moving her eyes to her right, she found Adrien with a warm smile, looking at her through rich, green, amusement-tinted irises.

Dismissing his question with a wave, Marinette turned her head away from the blonde to keep herself from overheating. Their seats were definitely too close.

"Haha, it's a little hot in here, isn't it?" she nearly choked while aggressively fanning herself.

Her sapphires glanced back in time to catch the amusement within his eyes be replaced with concern.

A light crease appeared along his brows as he slowly leaned towards her.

Marinette ed his advance and froze.

"No…?" he let out slowly, "is your air-conditioning on high?"

Without warning, he reached over her to feel the air coming from the small, circular vent built into the curve of the cabin.

His body was mere inches from hers and immediately, her nose was engulfed with his scent.

Marinette swallowed. Hard.

"Huh, seems normal to me," Adrien mumbled before settling back into his seat.

Ignoring his movements, Marinette kept her eyes carefully trained on her hands clasped tightly within her lap.

She could feel her heart pounding furiously within her chest. It hit against the thick muscles that lined her ribs and with every beat, she felt those muscles sore.

The sound of her blood rushing past her ears amplified.

She hated it.

She hated how knotted she'd get when around him. How her insides would always twist in an uncomfortable manner. Why couldn't she just keep it together?

"Marinette, are you okay?"

Her skin flinched upon hearing his voice. The worry his words carried made her feel awful.

Sucking in a breath, she willed herself to relax and turn his way.

"Mhm!"

Initially, she was going to use words but her throat had constricted, leaving her with no other option but to answer him with a strangled squeak.

She noticed the way his brows furrowed and Marinette could clearly see the doubt in his expression.

"Are you sure? You're red."

Her eyes widened by a fraction as she internally scrambled to explain the tint of her cheeks.

Adrien waited and Marinette appreciated his patience.

The plane hadn't even taken off yet and she had already made a fool of herself.

"Did something happen?" Adrien spoke softly, almost as if he had purposefully lowered his voice to keep their conversation private.

She stared at him for a moment. Took in the way his lips pinched together. Took in the tautness of his brows.

And then, Marinette sighed.

Her eyes moved away from his gaze and settled back on her lap.

This was silly. Sure, her feelings for Adrien prevented her from acting inherently normal but...that was only on her part. She would always fail to regain control over her racing pulse and her fluttering nerves. It would make her feel as though she were suffocating.

All she had to do was breathe.

And so, with a flicker of determination, Marinette did just that.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Steadily blowing out air, she slowly opened her lids and focused on channeling her nerves to settle. Once she was sure that most of the excitement within her was gone, she then turned to look at Adrien who, surprisingly, hadn't taken his attentive gaze off her.

"I…" Marinette began, unsure of how to explain her body's knee-jerk reaction to him.

Chewing on her bottom lip, the raven head observed the way Adrien leaned in.

"I...I um.."

"Yeah?"

Swallowing, Marinette willed herself to keep her composure.

"I-I'm, I uh, ha-have never been on a long um flight, a-and I um.."

"Are you scared of getting air sick?" Adrien gently offered with a kind smile.

Marinette, not trusting herself with words, nodded stiffly.

"Awe Mari, that's okay. I used to get air sick all the time but I eventually got used to it the more I traveled. It'll be okay, I promise."

Marinette blinked when he held out his hand.

"If you feel nauseous or too dizzy, you can hold my hand and give it a good squeeze-"

Her heart sped up as his other hand gently wrapped around her wrist and guided her own hand to his open one.

Her skin burned beneath his touch and Marinette wondered how she hadn't already fainted.

"-I used to hold my mother's hand all the time. She was the one who taught me the trick, actually."

And just like that, the buzz within her died.

Marinette studied the way his lips quirked into a gentle smile, the way his face melted in fondness at the mention of his mum. However, despite the warmth he bore, she could make out the way his eyes slightly tightened and she knew.

She knew the hurt he was carrying. She knew the pangs that were most likely ricocheting within him. She knew the way his chest was probably constricting.

And somehow, that was enough for her to finally snap out of her craze.

If Adrien used to travel with his mother, then...being on an airplane would most definitely bring back memories of her.

She had seen the way his eyes would light up upon her sight. When they had hid from his crazy fans in the theater, she had seen it.

She knew how much he loved her. How much he missed her.

And that, in itself, was enough to get Marinette to understand that she needed to set her overwhelming feelings aside and instead, focus on being Adrien's friend.

With a small smile, she took her time taking his hand. Her fingers wrapped around the back of his palm while her thumb hooked over one of his knuckles.

"Thank you, Adrien."

Her heart fluttered when he gave her hand a light squeeze.

"Hey, what are friends for?"

And just like that, she felt an arrowhead pierce through her chest.

Sometimes, she wondered if Adrien knew the stark difference between his words and actions. Oh well.

Suddenly, a flight attendant's voice filled the cabin, garnering everyone's attention.

Marinette watched the safety video that played on the screen before her, only half paying attention.

"That's everything! We hope you enjoy the flight before we land in NewYork in eight hours!"

And with that, the video came to an end. Marinette looked out her window and noticed the plane was getting ready to take off.

As the loud sounds of the engine vibrated throughout the cabin, Marinette felt Adrien softly caress her skin with his thumb.

Her pulse raced in time with the speed at which the plane shot across the runway and before she knew it, she was squeezing his hand as the aircraft finally took flight.

Her eyes marveled upon the way everything outside her window shrank. Cars quickly became dots and buildings turned to small squares and rectangles.

She could hear her fellow classmates cheering and laughing as the plane steadily climbed higher and higher.

Though, to Marinette, the commotion her class was making went unnoticed. All she could think about was how high up she was and the way her skin tingled (mostly from the thrill of takeoff and partly due to you-know-who's touch).

Her ears filled with air, drowning out the noise around her.

"Beautiful, right?"

She barely heard Adrien over her shoulder. He sounded far away despite being right next to her.

With a soft giggle, she turned her head to find him leaning over the armrest of his chair and looking out the window.

Moving her head out of the way to give him a better view, her eyes glanced down and noticed the way he was clinging onto her hand.

This time, she /felt/ the soft blush that spurred onto her cheeks.

With a smile, Marinette met his eyes and gave his hand a squeeze.

"It's gorgeous."

Before long, the plane had reached its desired cruising altitude and the glow of the seat belt symbol had died, allowing everyone to roam about the cabin.

Marinette's ears finally popped, and she was able to hear a few people get up from their seats and chat with others.

With the discomfort of her plugged ears gone, she was finally able to settle down. The raven head was just about to lean back into her seat when she felt a pull on her hand, tugging her to her right.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?"

Moving her eyes to set on Adrien, Marinette smiled.

"No, not really...thank you."

At this, the blonde mirrored her smile before turning his attention to the screen before him.

Marinette watched as he scrolled through the selection of movies and waited for him to let go of her hand.

He didn't.

"Um..Adrien?"

"Yeah?" he replied, his eyes never leaving his screen.

Great. How was she supposed to tell him that he was still holding onto her without stumbling over her words?

It was here where she heard the sound of soft giggling and looked past the blonde to see Alya recording her with Alex standing next to her, stifling a laugh.

Wonderful. Leave it to Alya to- wait a second.

It struck her then that maybe, her seating arrangement had been meddled with. Because honestly? What were the odds that /Adrien/ would get the seat right next to /hers/- especially considering that he was allowed to go on the trip so last minute? It was almost as if her friends had purposefully conspired against her, despite it looking like it was in her favor.

No, they wouldn't have.

One look at Alex's shit-eating grin said otherwise.

Marinette was just about to make a face when suddenly, Adrien was moving and letting go of her hand in the process.

Taking this as an opportunity, she quickly retracted her own hand and was finally able to relax. She wasn't sure how long she would have been able to keep herself in check if he hadn't let go.

Her drifting gaze caught Alex shaking her head. Turning her attention to her short, pink-headed friend, Marinette furrowed her brows when she saw both Alya and Alex point to her….no, to Adrien, with great urgency.

Frowning, Marinette tore her gaze from the two girls in time to see Adrien holding out an ear bud to her with an inviting smile.

"Here, I thought we could distract you for the first couple hours of the flight with some movies. What do you say?"

Marinette blinked before slowly reaching over to grasp the ear bud he offered.

Glancing past him to look at Alya and Alex for help, her body tensed when she saw the two motioning for her to focus on the blonde.

Snapping her eyes back to set on a pair of emerald greens, she slightly hesitated before putting on the ear bud.

As she bore into those hypnotic eyes, Marinette realized that there was nothing to worry about. If she could fall asleep snuggled next to him on a train to London, she could definitely kill a few hours watching movies with him too. The only difference would be that she would be wide awake.

And that wouldn't be so bad.

She realized then that she was very lucky to have Adrien as a friend. Even if he was unaware of her feelings, he never hesitated to show her how much he cared.

And for once, that was enough.

Because in that moment, Marinette didn't care if he didn't reciprocate her feelings. She was content with what they had.

A friendship.

Deciding that she should just enjoy her time next to him instead of fussing over how flustered he would make her, she offered him a small smile.

"I'd love that."

_________ :hearts: :airplane: :hearts: _________

Word count: 2, 049

_________ :hearts: :airplane: :hearts: _________

Ha ha haaaa

I really like platonic Adrientte okay. Yes, I ship them but canon-wise? Just developing into the friendship is better than any kiss.

Anyways, I'm going to post this before I hate it because I wrote this in one sitting and didn't bother to heavily edit it like I usually do with my other fics :'))))))

I hope you enjoyed whatever this was and please! Let me know what you are looking forward to the most in the NY special this Friday~

Loads of love,

Xoie :revolving_hearts: