Chapter 1: Only Human
Adrien was quickly losing interest in his current situation. He'd come out to this club with a friend from work only to find himself ditched as soon as said friend had found a beautiful woman who was interested in him. So far the only thing keeping Adrien there was the excellent DJ and the knowledge of an empty apartment awaiting him. Maybe if he drank enough it would take the edge off and he'd be able to get some decent sleep.
Slipping away from the standing table he'd been parked at, Adrien moved towards the bar to get another drink, ready to test his theory. He was on his second drink and just starting to feel it as he emptied it.
He placed his order and stepped away to wait, glancing at the small room around him. The design of this club was nice if only because the bar was set in a side room so the noise level was cut drastically once you moved off the dance floor. The walls were thick, covered in soft material, the lighting was brighter in this room, but not blinding. Earth tones and dark reds dominated the space, making it feel more upscale than most clubs. It was easy to converse with other patrons or the bartenders. Not that he was really interested in any conversation at the moment.
At least he hadn't been when he walked up but when he heard a laugh he recognized and one of the bartenders say a familiar name his gaze snapped towards the sound.
And there she was, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. His schoolmate and dear friend. They'd both been so busy over the last year or so that he'd really only seen her when they met with Alya and Nino, helping them plan their wedding as the Maid of Honor and Best Man. And as fun as those times were, it didn't really leave much room for Adrien and Marinette to be social between just the two of them.
Adrien had to do a double take as he took her in. She'd let her hair grow out since they graduated college two years ago but right now she had it intricately braided on top of her head, leaving only a few strands framing her face. Makeup a little heavier than normal, eyes smoky but the rest still natural looking. Her off the shoulder top was a shiny, see through fabric that shone in the lights. The dark tank top with white geometric shapes she wore beneath kept her modest but left a tantalizing strip of midriff showing. A short, flowy skirt and ankle boots completed the outfit, but it was the flush in her cheeks and the smile on her face that Adrien couldn't look away from. He'd been well aware of the beauty she'd grown into since they met in middle school but never had he seen her so radiant as right then.
Without a second thought he made his way down the bar towards her.
"Well this is a pleasant surprise." He remarked as he reached her side.
Marinette turned, confusion on her face but only for a short moment. Then she was throwing her arms around his neck with an excited squeak.
"Adrien!"
He returned her embrace with a chuckle.
"This is not a place I would expect the reserved Ms. Dupain-Cheng to frequent. Who are you here with?"
Marinette laughed, dropping back to the ground but kept her hands on his chest. His hands rested on her waist and he found himself wondering if she'd always been so petite.
"Shows how much we've let get between us. I've been coming here a couple times a month for almost three years. A classmate from one of my third year classes had her bachelorette here and I found that I actually really enjoy dancing."
The bartender came up with their drinks.
"Marinette, here are you and your friend's drinks." He called.
Marinette turned and took a sip, nodding her satisfaction.
"Thank you Lucien!" She turned back to Adrien, "Lucien is the best bartender here."
Adrien took up his drink as well and raised his drink in salute to the man.
"Would you put her drinks on my tab as well, please, Lucien?"
"Absolutely. About time Marinette was actually here with someone. Someone other than Alya."
With that interesting statement and a wink at Marinette, he was gone.
Adrien turned back to Marinette to see that the flush in her cheeks had deepened to an endearing shade of red.
"Fly solo a lot?" He asked with a chuckle.
"I might." She hedged. "It's what happens when your best friend is engaged and none of the friends you made in college actually want to come to a place like this to just dance."
"But you've made friends with the bartenders." He quipped.
"Those are the best people to know in a club." She retorted. "Well, and the DJ."
Feigning distress Adrien laid a hand against his chest and adopted a pained expression.
"What a blow to my sensitive ego."
Marinette smirked and simply stirred her drink.
"I'm sure your ego will survive."
"And to think, I just asked Lucien, your favorite person in the world, to put all your drinks on my tab."
Marinette shrugged, taking another sip.
"It's not like you can't afford it."
Unable to keep the surprised laughter in, Adrien capitulated.
"It's a good thing my ego isn't truly sensitive. Spending time with you would definitely cure me of it. In the most painful way possible."
This time Marinette gave him a sheepish grin.
"Only if we were drinking. Alcohol dissolves my filter."
Intrigued, Adrien didn't realize he moved closer to her.
"Oh? Do tell."
Marinette shook her head and pantomimed zipping her lips before winking at him.
'Dissolves her filter and turns her into a little spitfire.' Adrien thought to himself.
"What about you, Adrien, are you here alone?" She asked, taking a much more liberal sip of her drink.
"I didn't arrive alone but my coworker found a beautiful woman whose company he preferred."
With a pout Marinette reached up and patted his cheek.
"Poor Adrien, left all by his lonesome. How will you survive?"
Adrien chuckled. Tipsy Marinette was extremely fun.
"Oh I should be fine. I also found a beautiful woman whose company I prefer."
On cue her cheeks turned crimson again making him grin. Still bashful even with the alcohol.
"Well, if you're paying for my drinks I guess I'll let you hang out with me."
Bashful but sassy.
Adrien took her hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles.
"I appreciate that Princess."
The old nickname rolled off his tongue, making him realize how much he missed saying it.
A small giggle escaped Marinette as she looked down at her now empty glass and then at his half full one.
"How many have you had?" She asked.
"That's my third." He answered, giving her the obvious out.
"You're not a lightweight are you?"
"I like to think I can handle my liquor. I'm just starting to feel the buzz and we came here from dinner."
With a grin, Marinette shoved the glass towards him and waved to get Lucien's attention, quickly asking for four shots.
"Why Ms. Dupain-Cheng, are you trying to get me drunk?"
With another pout she brought a hand to her own cheek.
"And I thought I was being so subtle."
He pretended to think about it for a moment.
"Well, I might be inclined to go along with your plan if you ask politely."
Instantly her face changed and she sidled closer to him, fingering a button on his shirt. Looking up at him through her eyelashes she worked her fingers up to his top button that was open and revealed his collar bone.
"Please Adrien?"
'Holy shit.'
The sultry tone of her voice had Adrien's mouth going dry and his heart rate kicking into overdrive. Looking like that he'd probably jump from a bridge if she asked him to. When and how in the world did she learn to do that?
"And just what did you have in mind once you have me where you want me?" He somehow managed to ask as Lucien set the shots before them and hurried away to another customer.
A grin broke out on her face at his breathy question.
"We dance of course." She declared, waving her hand at his drink.
Laughing he downed his drink and gestured for her to hand him his first shot. He was definitely starting to feel a buzz but he was inclined to think it had less to do with the alcohol and more to do with a certain dark haired beauty beside him.
Together they did the first shot, but as soon as he swallowed the burn had him coughing. A mixture of concern and amusement warred on Marinette's face as he took a drink of the glass of water he just realized Lucien had brought with the shots.
"Are you okay?" Marinette asked, the concern growing.
Adrien cleared his throat and nodded.
"I thought you said you could handle your liquor Mr. Agreste." She accused, barely restraining the laughter that was taking over.
Choking again, this time on indignation, Adrien wagged a finger at her.
"You need to warn a person before you have them shoot Fireball!"
Marinette released the giggles that were bubbling over, holding his arm to keep from falling over as they turned into a full belly laugh.
"I'm… I'm… I'm sorry." She gasped between fits of laughter. "I… didn't think… about it. It's what… I always have."
Not really upset, Adrien pouted none the less, waiting for her to look up at him. When she finally did his face set off more giggles but they were more controlled.
"Oh, poor baby."
"I thought you were just trying to take advantage of me, but no, turns out you are trying to kill me!"
Marinette tried to match his pout but she hadn't quite gotten past her amusement so it tugged up in the corners.
"You don't even care that I nearly choked to death!"
Her lips twitched but she managed to poke her lip out even more.
"I guess you'll just have to let me know how I can make it up to you." She replied somehow managing to say it around her bottom lip that was still poking out.
'When did Marinette turn into this incredibly sexy, incredibly teasing, little vixen?'
Leaning down towards her Adrien tapped his chin, playing it up so he could have time to decide how he wanted to respond. There were so many directions he could go. He settled on a playful one, not wanting to chance ruining the mood by doing anything else.
"How about I think about it, make sure I come up with the perfect way you can make it up to me. Wouldn't want to waste such a golden opportunity."
She gave him a side eye but he could tell she was more amused than suspicious because the battle she was fighting to keep a smile from her lips was being lost.
"I guess you're trustworthy enough that I can be okay with that."
Grinning Adrien gave her a dramatic bow, eliciting another giggle from her.
"Why thank you Milady."
Marinette giggled again and handed him the second shot.
"Are you ready for this one?"
Adrien scoffed.
"Is anyone ever ready to take a straight shot of Fireball?"
"Well you didn't see me choking on the first one." She shot back with a grin.
"When did you become so cruel, Princess?"
Still smiling Marinette shook her head, placing a hand on his chest.
"I could never truly be cruel. Especially not to you Adrien."
She looked down as she said it but when he didn't reply right away she looked up at him nervously. He searched her eyes for a moment, feeling something inexplicable take hold. There was a shyness there he recognized, but there was something else. A softness he didn't remember ever seeing in her before. It drew him in until he thought he might drown in the beautiful blue of her eyes. He had the sudden urge to wrap his arms around her and pull her close.
Before he could do anything, Lucien appeared in front of them, holding out a cell phone.
"Alya texted, she said please call her ASAP, she's checking in on you."
Shaking off whatever had them both frozen, Marinette smiled at Lucien and took the phone.
"Thanks Lucien, I'll call her." She looked back at Adrien, whatever he'd seen in her eyes before now gone. "I'm gonna step outside for a minute and call her. Be right back."
Adrien swallowed hard and nodded. He watched her go, not realizing Lucien still stood there.
"How long have you known Marinette?"
The question snapped Adrien out of his daze.
"Um, it's been almost 11 years now. Since middle school."
Lucien nodded at him.
"She normally brushes off any guy who tries to make a pass at her."
The thought of any guy making passes at Marinette set his teeth on edge.
"With you she's open and trusting, even playful. I figured you guys had some history."
"She's one of my best friends."
Quirking a brow at him, Lucien glanced towards the side door Marinette had stepped out of to make sure she wasn't heading back yet.
"Just a friend?"
Adrien opened his mouth to reply, but stopped before anything came out. It had always been what he told the people who questioned his relationship with Marinette. But after all this time, was she really just his friend? Life had gotten in the way of them spending a lot of time together recently, and now that he thought about it he realized that upset him. Marinette always brightened his days be they good, bad, or ugly. Her energy helped him keep pushing no matter how tired he was. Seeing how hard she worked on her designs and bringing them to life drove him to do the same in his work, even if he wasn't passionate about it the way she was about hers. When she was sad or tired, she never let it get the best of her, making him strive for that same kind of peace that only seemed to elude him. With her he felt like he could be everything he wasn't on his own. Everything about her drew out the best qualities in him.
"You may look at her as a friend, but I can guarantee she doesn't think that about you. You're more to her than that." Lucien answered his own question. "Marinette is an amazing woman and she deserves to have a good guy recognize that and cherish her for it. You a good guy, Adrien?"
He swallowed hard again at the question. Obviously a challenge. He looked back to the door Marinette was now re-entering through. The sight of her smile, directed at him, took his breath away, even from across the room.
"Yeah, I am."
Lucien smiled and nodded at him again.
"Take care of her man. Otherwise you'll have me to deal with. And I'll leave just enough of you for Alya to have her turn."
"I think 11 years of being an idiot is more than enough. I don't plan on continuing."
Lucien's smile grew as Marinette rejoined them. She picked up her shot, the joyful gleam in her eye back in full force.
"I have spent far too much time off the dance floor." She declared, raising her shot towards him.
Adrien picked up his shot, mirroring her.
"Ready?" She questioned with a grin.
"Bring it on, Princess."
The second shot went down far easier than the first had much to Adrein's relief. He set his glass down and studied Marinette as she waited to get Lucien's attention one more time.
"Lucien holds your phone for you?" Adrien questioned, taking another drink of water.
"Lucien or Andrea or Robyn. Whoever is working. I'm not chancing taking it on the dance floor, you know how clumsy I am, and do you know how dangerous it would be if I wore a purse out there? I'd probably knock someone out!"
When Lucien noticed her she held up the phone and reached over the bar to set it where it would be safe. Lucien threw her a thumbs up and went back to mixing the drink he was working on.
With that, Marinette turned to him with a grin.
"Now for the really fun part!"
Before he could respond she grabbed his hand and hurried back to the dance floor. As soon as they crossed the threshold into the bigger room the noise multiplied, but Adrien was too focused on the feeling of Marinette's hand in his for it to bother him.
He gladly let her drag him onto the floor just as a new song started. Marinette was already bobbing as she found them a place. She turned to face him, releasing his hand, much to his chagrin, but stayed close. Her head bobbing, her hips swaying to the beat, Adrien nearly forgot he was supposed to be dancing too.
Dancing had been one of the many lessons his father had forced him into when he was young, but that had been classical dancing. Not the type that did him much good in a club setting. When he'd been modeling full time he was too young to come to a place like this and now that he was old enough he rarely had an interest to come, which meant no chance to learn this kind of dancing. Marinette made it look easy, but he was really clueless. He settled for something simple, not much more than moving to the beat. He hoped Marinette didn't mind having an inept partner. Luckily it wasn't crowded so he didn't have to worry about bumping into many people.
As she danced, Marinette's face practically glowed. They were having different experiences for sure. Adrien was enjoying himself, but for Marinette, it looked as though the music freed her from something. She danced with her entire soul, uncaring of what she looked like. She was having fun, nothing else seemed to matter. It was intoxicating to watch.
After that first song Marinette looked over at him and he saw more than heard her laugh. Not able to explain, he just shrugged sheepishly. She reached out and took both his hands in hers. She alternated pulling each of his arms, getting him to turn back and forth. Like she was trying to get him to loosen up. He let her move him how she wanted until she dropped his hands and moved next to him. She pointed from him and back to her a couple times until Adrien nodded his understanding. She wanted him to follow her. She started off bouncing back and forth, showing him a better way to move to the music. Adrien watched for a few moments and then mimicked. She smiled her approval and then gave him a thumbs up before showing him a couple things that he could do with his feet and his arms as well. Adrien followed each movement, a bit clumsily, but starting to get a feel for it. Grinning again as he got it, Marinette grabbed his arm and pulled him down so she could talk right into his ear.
"Start with those, then just do whatever feels good. Nobody here is paying any attention to anything but the music and their own partners."
Adrien nodded his understanding, glad for the excuse of the music to keep from having to respond. Her lips against his ear had caused his heart to speed up more than it already had from the dancing. Thankfully, she seemed oblivious to any effect she had on him because she stepped away and went right back into the song that was playing.
It was definitely more enjoyable knowing a couple of simple moves, but watching Marinette was still the best part. She swayed and bounced, twisted and spun, her arms sometimes rising above her head other times just at her sides. Three years of experience showed itself in how smoothly she did everything, never once missing a beat even though she was obviously making it up as she went.
Adrien lost track of time as they danced to song after song, enthralled in Marinette and the joy she exuded as she danced. But he was starting to lag and needed a drink. Not wanting to take her away from the dance floor, he caught her hand and pulled her close, speaking into her ear as she had his.
"Do you want a drink?"
Marinette nodded eagerly at him.
"Lucien knows what I drink." She responded.
If Lucien hadn't all but given Adrien his blessing earlier, he was sure he'd be feeling jealous of the man. Or rather more jealous of him.
"Be right back."
Surprising him with a kiss on the cheek, Marinette released his hand and started dancing again. Adrien couldn't help the grin that took over as he made his way back to the bar.
A few minutes later Adrien was headed back to Marinette, goofy grin trying to sneak its way back onto his face. At least until he got back to find Marinette pushing away a man Adrien hadn't even noticed before. She took a few steps away and off the dance floor, spotting Adrien as he hurried towards her, but the idiot followed her. Just as he grabbed her wrist to stop her, Adrien dropped the drinks onto a table, not caring if they spilled, and quickly stepped between them. Thankfully the stranger's hold on Marinette wasn't tight and he was able to slip his fingers between his palm and her wrist. With his thumb he applied pressure to the back of his hand, right next to his thumb joint. Not a lot but enough for it to hurt the man and force him to release Marinette's wrist all together.
"Ow! What the hell man?" He cried out, ripping his hand out of Adrien's grasp and shaking it to ease the pain.
"When a lady tells you no you need to respect that. Especially when that lady is already here with someone."
Not wanting to waste another moment on him, especially since he had to nearly yell to be heard, Adrien turned to find Marinette had moved to the table he left their drinks on. In a flash he was in front of her, his hands landing on her shoulders as he looked her over.
"Are you alright?" He questioned, leaning in so she could hear him.
Marinette reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, dislodging his hands from her shoulders and yanking him into a hug.
"He's not the first guy who's not taken no for an answer, but it was really nice to be rescued for once instead of having to fend for myself or get a security guard."
Adrien's arms slipped around her waist and he pulled her in tightly.
"I'm glad I could be around to rescue you, fair Princess."
Her laughter rang beautifully in his ear even as he felt it in his chest, and he found himself craving more of it.
Before he could say anything though the lights suddenly changed, going even darker than before. He leaned back and Marinette's arms fell from his neck, then glanced around, confused, until he looked back down at Marinette. Her over shirt now glowed blue along with the shapes on her undershirt. His light blue shirt beneath his jacket glowed as well, a slightly different shade than her white clothes did. He ran a thumb along one of the shapes on her waist, brain not quite catching on to what was happening.
Marinette giggled as he looked around, ogling other patrons whose clothes also had begun to glow in the dark.
"Black lights. It's how they signal the last 30 minutes before closing." She explained.
Adrien checked his watch. Sure enough, 1:30am glowed back at him. It had been a little after 11:30pm when he'd arrived and only 20 to 30 minutes later he'd been ditched. He was surprised to see that he'd already spent nearly an hour and a half with Marinette.
"Well milady, I guess we'd better get you back to the dance floor before they shut everything down." He suggested, not ready to call it a night.
Marinette grinned, reaching for her drink and holding it out in a toast. Adrien quickly grabbed his to join her. Tapping their glasses together Marinette tipped hers back and took several long drinks, which Adrien did his best to match once he'd picked his jaw up off the floor. With another giggle Marinette set her nearly empty glass down on the table. Adrien followed suit and then took her hand to lead her back to the dance floor.
Marinette had been surprising him all night, but none more so than when, instead of releasing his hand, she kept a tight hold of it and spun towards him, wrapping his arm around her waist in the process. And when she went up on tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek he thought he might die on the spot.
He probably would have continued standing there motionless if she hadn't taken both his hands and placed them on her waist. Crossing her arms so she had one hand on each of his forearms, she leaned back into him and began to sway back and forth. Adrien was sure his brain had short circuited but his body seemed to still know what it was doing because he matched her movements pretty well.
Compared to what some of the other couples were doing around them Adrien knew what they were doing was tame, but that didn't mean it affected him any less. Marinette's back pressed against his chest, her hips swaying beneath his hands, and her hands lightly gripping his forearms had him feeling absolutely giddy. He appreciated not needing to do any thinking because he was beyond that at this point. The only thing he could focus on was the way Marinette moved. She was totally oblivious to how she was affecting him, lost in her own world. He couldn't really say that he minded. If what Lucien had said earlier was true, and after Marinette's comment about being rescued, he was pretty sure getting such an close up view of Marinette as she let herself be completely overtaken by the music was something not many people could say they'd seen.
The beat of the music still pounded but the tempo slowed somewhat and he was able to make use of a few things he'd learned when he was younger. Every now and then he'd spin Marinette away and back, making her laugh every time. His options were limited with the music but he did what he could, trying to make the most of the time they had left. His favorite was still when he pulled her back against his chest, wrapping his arms around her waist. When her hand would reach back and caress his cheek. No way did she realize what that did to his heart.
Adrien spun her one more time, but this time when she came back, she turned in his arms to face him. Her hands landed on his chest and his on her hips. She smiled up at him and he was done. Moving one hand to her cheek, he used the other to pull her tightly against him. Her mouth parted slightly as her smile slipped, but that look from earlier was back. Soft and precious. Yearning. That's what it was. Lucien was right, she didn't see him as just a friend. How had he missed this for 11 years? Suddenly she was all he saw. She brightened everything around her just by being there. She was beautiful and kind, loyal and fierce. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, enjoying the softness of her skin. His eyes fell to her lips and he wondered if they'd feel the same.
"Adrien?"
It took him a moment to realize that she'd spoken his name. Then another moment more before he realized she hadn't had to yell to say it. He glanced around, realizing the lights had come up and the music had stopped.
Taking a small step back he gave her a sheepish smile, not sure how to explain what had just happened. His hand fell from her cheek, but she caught it on the way down, holding it tight between hers.
"Is this the part where the Princess runs away before her pumpkin disappears?" he quipped.
Opening her mouth to say something, Marinette squeezed his hand, but then stopped, biting her lip. Adrien snatched her hand when she tried to release his, pulling her close again. He didn't really care that the people were emptying around them, all he cared about was the woman in front of him.
"What is it Mari?"
Marinette looked down at their entwined hands and then back up at his face.
"I just…I don't want this night to end." she admitted quietly.
Wonder filled his entire being at her words, but his brain tried to inject some common sense. It was late, and she'd been drinking. As much as he agreed with her, he wasn't sure he should.
But when her eyes began turning sad and she tried to step away again he knew he couldn't let her go.
"Where do you want to go?" He found himself asking.
Her eyes snapped back to his, hope shining in them now. With a grin, he began pulling her towards the bar so she could get her stuff from Lucien. The bartender laughed as they left, throwing Adrien a thumbs up when he glanced back.
Marinette laughed breathlessly as they exited onto the street. Adrien pulled her close, relishing the feeling of her hands wrapping around his neck.
"Are you hungry? Or we could just walk about? What sounds good?"
As she hummed in thought at his questioning an idea sparked and he hoped it wouldn't be too much too fast.
"Actually, I think I want to cash in my 'Marinette making it up to me' favor."
Tilting her head, she studied him for a moment.
"I'm listening."
"Come back to my place. We can play video games like we used to, we can make something to eat, I have a decent sound system if you'd like to continue to put me to shame with your dancing, or we can just sit and talk. Whichever you'd like. I don't really want to say goodnight yet either."
The grin that overtook her face at his suggestion made all the bad parts of his night worth it. If she kept smiling at him like that he'd never need the sun again.
"I think that sounds like a great idea." She answered after a moment.
Matching her grin, Adrien slipped one arm from her waist and began walking down the street to a clear corner. Most of the club goers were taking the cabs that had been waiting at the door so Adrien took them a couple blocks down before calling for one.
Within a few minutes they were on their way. Marinette seemed content to lay her head on his shoulder, holding his hand, but the faraway look in her eyes and the small smile on her lips intrigued him.
"Penny for your thoughts?" He asked quietly.
She looked up at him, resting her chin on his shoulder and smiled.
"Sorry, my thoughts are worth quite a bit more than a penny." She retorted.
"So cheeky." He remarked, earning a chuckle. "I bet I could afford them."
"Always throwing your money around." She quipped.
Adrien shrugged in response.
"For you, I'd do just about anything Marinette."
As quick as she was to bury her head in his shoulder, he still caught the dusting of pink across her cheeks. He was about to tease her, but she spoke softly before he could.
"Ask me again in a little bit."
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head and then tilted her chin up.
"I can do that."
Her smile turned shy but it was there. The rest of the ride was silent, and when the cab stopped in front of his building he paid quickly and gave a decent tip. The cabby tipped his hat and wished them a good evening before driving away.
Taking Marinette's hand once more he let them into the building. The security guard greeted them as Adrien signed her in. It wasn't the first time Marinette had come over so she waited patiently for the guard to clear her.
Once she came back in his system he gave them a nod and a thumbs up.
"All good Mr. Agreste, I hope you and Ms. Dupain-Cheng have a pleasant night." The guard bade them goodnight, pressing the button to give access to the elevator.
"Thank you, Gerald." Adrien answered before tugging Marinette towards the elevator.
Rather than floor numbers there was a keypad on the inside that Adrien smoothly punched a code into. Each floor of the building was a single apartment, without the right code the elevator would go nowhere and even the stairwell needed a code to access it or any of the doors it led to.
As the elevator began moving he rubbed a thumb across the back of Marinette's hand. She smiled up at him, stirring a smile of his own.
Adrien really felt like the world's biggest fool for having never noticed Marinette before. Or the fact that she might already have feelings for him too. Her kind heart, her compassion for people, and her passion for what she cared about had always been an inspiration to him but somehow he'd never really thought about her in any way besides as a friend. She was funny, smart, a video game master, a bit shy, and absolutely beautiful. He didn't have to search very far through his memory to find a moment when she went out of her way for him. Even as recently as six weeks ago, up against a hard deadline, less than a week to go with three designs left to be approved and brought to life, Adrien had been sick and Marinette had taken the time to pick up some soup from Alya's mom and brought it to him. It had taken less than two hours of her evening, but though he'd never spent much time on the design side of fashion, he knew how much work could be done in only two hours.
The elevator came to a halt at the 4th floor, his floor, and the doors opened. A small foyer insulated his living area even further, prompting him to put in another unique code before his door opened.
"I don't know how you remember all of those codes." Marinette said in awe as he held the door open for her.
"I'm used to it. Besides, it's the same for you and fashion. I might have worn a lot of clothes over the years, but you have probably forgotten more about designing than I could ever hope to know."
Marinette shrugged, a faint blush tinting her cheeks. She stood in the entry, glancing around like she felt the need to refamiliarize herself with his place. He shut the door and slipped off his shoes, then slipped his arms around her from behind. He leaned his chin onto her shoulder, hoping she wouldn't think he was moving too fast. Now that he realized how he really felt about her, and how she'd felt about him for a long time, the urge to make it up to her was too strong to resist.
"After all these years I don't know why you still get embarrassed by a little bit of well deserved praise Mari. As amazing a designer as you are, your praises deserve to be shouted from every rooftop in Paris, Milan, New York, and any other place that dares to call itself the capital of fashion."
Blush spreading at his whispered words Adrien couldn't resist pressing a kiss to her cheek as well. The small squeak she tried to play off by clearing her throat made him glad that he did.
He released her from his arms but then took her hand again, waiting until she'd slipped off her shoes and dropped her purse on his entry table before pulling her into the kitchen.
"Hungry?" He asked.
"Yes, definitely."
"Drinks?"
"I'll get us something. I'm sure you have a nice wine around?"
"Of course. I may not be the bartender your dear Lucien is, but I always have good wine." He stated in a playfully, affronted tone.
Marinette pouted at him before patting his cheek.
"Poor Adrien. So upset that he's the second most important man in my life."
"You just watch Milady, I will regain my title before the night is over!"
Nodding at him with a mock serious face Marinette made her way over to his cabinets to get them some glasses.
"I can't wait to see how you manage that."
Adrien just grinned as he got some cheeses out of his fridge and crackers out of his pantry while Marinette opened a bottle and poured drinks.
"Is this okay or do you want something more substantial?"
"No, this is fine." She reassured him, setting two glasses down before lifting herself up to sit on the counter next to where he was working. "I don't want you to have to cook and I really don't want to help you clean up."
Adrien chuckled. Marinette was a good cook and a good baker, but she preferred the latter, saying it felt closer to designing clothes than cooking did. So anytime they got together, if one of them cooked it was normally Adrien. He did have to admit, he had a nicer setup for it, but nothing beat the baked goods she normally brought along from her parents' bakery.
It didn't take Adrien long to have a good portion of the cheeses cut and crackers laid out, even with Marinette stealing some as he went while quickly finishing her first glass of wine. He set his knife aside and wiped his hands before refilling her wine and picking up his own glass. Leaning a hip against the counter he let his gaze travel across Marinette's face, still somehow aglow even so late at night.
"Why do I get the feeling you've been seeing 3:00am a lot lately? And not just on nights you go dancing." He asked her, catching her off guard if the way she bit her lip was any indication.
She caught herself, lifting her chin in an attempt to appear nonchalant.
"I don't know what would make you think such a thing."
"It is," Adrien glanced at his watch, "2:38am and you're wide awake without so much as a yawn."
"So are you." She pointed out.
"I am a gentleman who has the pleasure of a beautiful woman's company. I'd be mad if I did anything that would make her think I considered her boring."
"You mean you've been hiding your yawns."
"Yes, exactly, but you didn't answer my question."
She narrowed her eyes at him, realizing he wasn't going to let her talk her way around it.
"Between getting ready for the summer line, working on Alya's wedding gown, and my maid of honor dress I might have been burning a little bit of midnight oil." She finally admitted, popping another bite of cheese and cracker into her mouth.
Adrien frowned, suddenly feeling ashamed for keeping her awake when she could be at home asleep.
"Do you want me to take you home, Mari?"
With a frown of her own she looked back up at him, clearly confused.
"Why would I want that?"
Adrien shrugged, setting his glass down and moving to stand in front of her, her knees pressing against his stomach and his hands fell on either side of her hips.
"I feel selfish for asking you to come over. If it was just tonight you'd be losing a bit of sleep I wouldn't, but when is the last time you got a decent night's sleep?"
Marinette bit the corner of her lip as she wrinkled her nose.
"I got like seven hours of sleep on Sunday night. And slept late Saturday morning."
Studying her face for a few moments he could tell there was something she was leaving out.
"You slept late Saturday but when did you go to bed on Friday?"
Pouting at him for real this time, Marinette looked away before taking a drink.
"That tells me more than you think it does Mari."
She looked back at him out of the corner of her eye still not saying anything aloud.
"Come on, let me take you home."
When he moved to lean back she caught his shirt in one hand, setting down her glass with the other.
"I'm here because I want to be Adrien." She declared, laying her other hand against his cheek.
"That may be true but it's still selfish of me to want you to be here too."
A sweet smile blossomed on her face and she slid off the counter top. Adrien took a step back to give her room but she just took the opportunity to slip away, catching his hand to pull him along.
"I think you need to stop being so serious. We wanted to take this rare opportunity to spend time together and have fun didn't we?"
"We did." He confirmed hesitantly.
"Then I'm going to thank you for your chivalrous spirit but tell you that, this time, I'm going to have to politely decline your offer to act on it."
Adrien chuckled, happily capitulating and allowing her to lead him over to his sound system. Marinette deftly turned on the tablet he had attached to the system, having worked with it before. She hummed as she flipped through his large library of music, trying to decide what she wanted. He waited for a moment, showing her deference as the better dancer, until he realized she was searching through his recently played list.
"Uh, Marinette you might find something you like if you looked - "
He lost his chance to distract her when she found exactly what he'd hoped she wouldn't.
"Greatest 80s Hits Ever?" She asked, giggling uncontrollably.
Adrien pouted, crossing his arms and turning away slightly.
"Everyone has their guilty pleasures, Marinette. Mine just happens to be 80's music."
Still laughing, though at least trying to contain it, Marinette hit the play button on his playlist and set it to shuffle. When the first notes to Funky Town came through the speakers she lost whatever control she'd gained on her giggling, nearly doubling over.
"Alright, alright, we can find something else." Adrien griped, reaching around Marinette.
His fingers hadn't even brushed the tablet when Marinette caught his hand.
"No this is perfect!"
Throwing his head back with a groan, Adrien considered reaching to change the music again.
"Why must you be so cruel, milady?"
"Oh it'll be fun! Your secret is safe with me I promise!"
The pleased expression Marinette was giving him butterflies, so Adrien rubbed at his eyes to avoid it for a moment. It wasn't like she didn't know most of his other most embarrassing secrets, but it wasn't exactly the side of him he wanted her to see at that moment.
When he finally opened his eyes he couldn't help but laugh. She'd moved to be standing right in front of him, holding her hands together pleadingly, lip poking out, and trying to make her eyes as big as possible.
"Alright, alright. Put that face away."
"Yay!"
Marinette danced in a little circle, pumping her fists in the air, while Adrien just shook his head.
"That face should be illegal."
"I got really good at that face with my dad." She explained with another laugh.
"I should have known."
"Oh hush, go move the coffee table so we have more room."
"Of course, milady."
With a quick bow Adrien moved to do as she asked. Thankfully Funky Town stopped mid chorus, Marinette looking through the playlist for something better. Every song on this playlist was one of his favorites, but that one probably wasn't something even she was used to dancing to.
He had the room ready by the time she squeaked excitedly and started a new song. He recognized the song immediately, chuckling as Marinette's head began to bob and she clapped her hands along with the familiar beat.
"Am I perhaps not the only one who enjoys American 80s songs in secret?" Adrien teased hopefully as Marinette did a spin just in front of him.
"I'm sorry, anyone who can speak English should know this song, regardless of what decade it's from!"
"Of course, how silly of me." He joked just as Whitney Houston's voice began filling the room.
Marinette swayed back and forth, getting her whole body into it as she leaned further and further each direction until she joined in with Whitney in belting the chorus.
"Oh, I wanna dance with somebody! I wanna feel the heat with somebody! Oh, I wanna dance with somebody! With somebody who loves me!"
Unable to keep what he was sure was a dopey smile off of his face, enjoying himself simply because Marinette was. She may have been a better dancer than singer, but if it meant she smiled and laughed with such joy as she was now then Adrien would listen to her sing off key all day.
By the time the second verse was ending Marinette realized she was dancing alone and pounced. She grabbed one of his hands, pulled him into the middle of the room, then lifted it above her head to use it to spin herself in another circle.
Adrien let her lead, still preferring to watch Marinette than worrying about what he was doing. Sometimes she held both of his hands, pulling so they moved together, other times she held just one, but the entire time, Adrien couldn't help but be in awe of how it all felt. The irony of the song wasn't lost on him, not after what Lucien had told him earlier or even what Marinette herself had said. Dancing was something she did alone or with Alya, the fact that she was here dancing with him meant something to her. And Adrien intended to show her it meant something to him too.
"Don't you wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don't you wanna dance? Don't you wanna dance, say you wanna dance, don't you wanna dance?"
Marinette leaned towards him then away, pulling him along as the song wound down, before spinning once more. She finished the spin with her back to him so she could fall back into his arms, throwing her own arms open and kicking one leg up in the air. When the final notes faded into the next song, she dropped her foot back to the ground and immediately started hopping to the beat of Footloose. Adrien had more trouble keeping up with the faster tempo, but since Marinette didn't know the song it slowed her down just a little as well, making him feel just a tiny bit better. Still she laughed as they danced together, obviously enjoying the catchy, upbeat song.
The two of them danced through probably 15 songs before Adrien finally admitted he had been outdanced and collapsed onto the couch. Marinette continued dancing, mesmerizing him with the sight of it. There was no way she wasn't exhausted, she had to have worked all day and there was no telling when she'd gone to bed the night before. If he hadn't seen her dancing hours ago then he would have never been able to tell the fatigue was starting to take its toll on her. She still smiled through each move she made, throwing her whole body into everything she did. It was a testament to how closely he'd been paying attention all night that he could see that her hands weren't raised quite as high and she was a little slower than the tempo was.
After three more songs, Marinette crashed onto the couch next to him, sinking down into the plush cushions with a small groan.
"Okay, I think I'm done now too." She panted.
Adrien chuckled, standing up and moving to the kitchen to retrieve their drinks and snacks. In spite of her constant teasing at his musical tastes, he could tell Marinette had liked dancing to a lot of the songs. Take On Me, Don't Stop Believin', Don't You (Forget About Me), and You Make My Dreams (Come True) seemed to be amongst some of her favorites since she specifically asked for the name of those songs and the name of the artist who performed them.
Marinette had turned the music to something calmer, a playlist of piano music he was fond of, and returned the coffee table to its normal position by the time he returned.
"I don't know how Alya keeps up with you." He exclaimed, setting down their food on the table then handing Marinette her wine.
"She doesn't. No one usually can." She laughed before taking a drink. "But I do have to say, you've managed to hang in a lot longer than anyone else ever has."
Raising both fists into the air victoriously before letting himself fall back into the couch drew more laughter from Marinette.
"I have regained my high standing as my fair lady's leading man!"
"Oh, I don't know about that, Adrien." She teased.
Jaw dropping, he turned to her, hoping that his face looked as ridiculous as he was trying to be.
"What must a man do to gain such a hard won position?"
"If I told you then it wouldn't be hard won would it?"
Pursing his lips as Marinette reached forward from her seat to set her glass down and grab a cracker and some cheese, Adrien waited. As soon as she swallowed and began reaching for another he attacked.
"Adrien!" Marinette squealed through the laughter as his fingers found their way to her sides where he knew she was ticklish.
Peals of laughter echoed through the room as Marinette tried to scramble away but only succeeded in trapping herself into the corner of the couch. It didn't stop her from trying to wiggle away, but Adrien leaned over so his shoulder blocked the front of the couch. It left them nearly side by side lengthwise on the couch which meant Marinette's only options were to give in or attempt to crawl over the back.
"All you have to do is admit that I'm your most favorite guy in the whole world and I'll let up."
The giggles continued but Adrien got the impression they were more than just reactions to his tickling. Her hands batted at his but the force of her laughter kept there from being much behind the blows.
"What do you say Mari?"
"Okay," she managed between bouts of laughter. "Okay, okay, stop."
Relenting, Adrien ceased his attack but didn't move back, halfway expecting Marinette to tease him again rather than answer. She panted, laying her head back on the arm of the couch as she tried to catch her breath.
"And you think I'm the cruel one?" She gasped.
Eyebrow arched and grinning, Adrien raised his hands, flexing his fingers threateningly as he leaned in closer.
"No, no, no, hold on!" She pleaded, pressing her hands against his chest to hold him back.
"So what'll it be, milady? Have I successfully reclaimed my former prominence in your life?"
"Sorry, Adrien, top guy in my life is a spot currently occupied by someone I don't think anybody could dethrone." She admitted with a sympathetic look in her eyes.
Now confused, Adrien scrunched his eyebrows, not sure what to say. Had he read everything wrong? Was Lucien mistaken about what he'd said about Marinette's feelings? Maybe he could still try? No. If she cared about someone else then he shouldn't push it right? He thought he should move away from her just then, but even with the turmoil he was feeling he couldn't get himself to move.
He'd forgotten about her hands against his chest until she slid them up to his shoulders. Waiting for her to push him away, he was pleasantly surprised when her fingers curled into his collar.
"After all, isn't a girl's dad always the number one man in her life no matter what?" She continued, sympathy turning to a cheeky grin.
Speechless for a different reason, Adrien felt his eyes go wide and his mouth fall open for what felt like the hundredth time that night. Her smile turned apologetic as the disbelief rolled through Adrien. His brain wasn't fully processing what had just happened, going from hopefulness to disappointment to elation in such a short time frame.
"I was right, you are definitely the cruel one."
Giving a playful wince, Marinette shrugged as best she could in her reclined position.
"Only when I know you can handle it."
Adrien laughed softly, back to enjoying the moment as her hands slid back to his chest. Her thumbs rubbing softly against the material nearly distracted him from seeing the new blush that covered her cheeks. No matter how many times he saw it, it always took his breath away.
"You okay, Mari?"
She nodded as she bit her lip, then paused and shook her head instead.
"What is it?" He questioned softly, shifting so his weight was fully on his side.
He watched her wrestle with her thoughts while he laid his head on the arm of the couch. When she rolled over to do the same, facing him so they were eye to eye, he settled a hand along her waist.
"It's just… you could never… I mean, I could never… no one could… ugh…"
Marinette covered her face when she couldn't get the words out how she wanted them but Adrien pulled them away, not wanting to lose sight of her beautiful eyes.
"It's been a long time since you stuttered so much around me."
"That's because I always stutter when I try to tell you how I really feel." She blurted out frustratedly.
She covered her mouth with a gasp as soon as she realized what she'd said. Her blush covered nearly her whole face and Adrien found himself torn between letting what she'd said pass to spare her or teasing her about it. Considering what her words could mean for him he settled somewhere in the middle. Not teasing but not willing to let the opportunity go, especially knowing that it was something she'd been trying to tell him for over a decade.
"And how do you really feel, Princess?"
Adrien could see the pulse point in her neck ticking away as her heart rate increased and her mouth opened without emitting any sounds. Her wide eyes were filled with a fascinating mix of hope and fear. He slipped his left arm between her and the couch, his right hand moving to cover hers on his chest as he pulled her a bit closer.
"You can tell me, Mari. You can tell me anything." He encouraged.
There was no way he could have looked away, if he'd even wanted to, from the way the fear slowly melted out of her gaze. Flipping her hand within his to twine their fingers together, she took a deep breath and tried again.
"Adrien… I could… there… there isn't…"
She broke off again, biting her lip as she continued to struggle. Adrien leaned in, feeling the need to help ease the worry. He was 99% sure he knew what she was trying to say, and he wanted to make it easier for her to admit it.
"Tell me I'm not reading this all wrong, Marinette." He pleaded when only a couple of inches separated them.
"I'm more worried that I am." Marinette replied, the fingers of her free hand gripping his shirt tightly.
With a leap of faith, Adrien closed the distance between them and gently pressed his lips to Marinette's. Her hand within his clenched tighter, the hand on her back feeling a shiver run across her whole body. Her eyelids fluttered closed when he tilted his head, deepening the kiss. Her hand released his shirt, instead finding its way around his neck to pull herself tighter into him. He obliged by tightening the arm around her waist. A small whimper escaped her when his fingertips grazed the bare skin at the hem of her shirt and Adrien thought his heart might pound out of his chest.
When Marinette pulled back, breathing heavily, Adrien didn't want to move away so he peppered kisses along her jawline.
"Adrien."
The way she whispered his name was intoxicating. He could listen to her say it, say anything, all night long. He had no idea how she'd managed to stay his friend all these years if what she felt was anything like what he'd been feeling since his conversation with Lucien. A few hours was all he'd lasted, how did she last ten years?
"Adrien?"
Trailing kisses down her throat, Adrien hummed at her, more interested in the softness of her skin and the way her fingers tangled in his hair than in talking.
"Ugh, I can't… I can't… think… when… when you… do that…Adrien."
Tempted to continue suckling at the place where her neck and shoulder met, Adrien relented when she whimpered his name again.
"Marinette?"
When she didn't answer he leaned his forehead against hers. Her fingers were still clinging to his and gripping his hair so he didn't think she wanted him to move away, but he could tell she might need a minute. The longer she went without moving, eyes clenched shut, the more he started to get concerned.
"Is this really happening? Please tell me I'm not dreaming this." She finally said, but still kept her eyes shut.
"You're not dreaming, Mari." He reassured her, moving his hand from her waist to the back of her head. "Open your eyes, Princess."
She did, a bit reluctantly it seemed as if she truly was afraid that he would disappear.
"Why did you never say anything?"
"I tried Adrien." She reminded him, with a somewhat bitter chuckle. "Remember, I only stuttered around you when I was trying to tell you how I felt. Then after so many years of trying, I accepted that I wouldn't be able to. If I couldn't get myself to tell you, then if it was going to happen, you'd initiate. If you didn't, then I would be content as your friend. And I have been Adrien. I wouldn't change anything about the friendship we've had since middle school."
With a sigh, Adrien pressed his forehead to hers.
"I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner."
"What did make you realize?"
It was Adrien's turn to chuckle as he admitted his conversation with Lucien to her.
"So that's why you don't like Lucien. Because he called you out and hit you in the head with the proverbial baseball bat." She teased.
"It's not that I don't like him, I'm just not pleased with him at the moment."
"How mature of you."
"Could we maybe not talk about Lucien in the middle of what I thought was a special moment?" he asked with a pout.
"It is special, I just can't believe it's actually happening."
"I've always cared about you, Marinette, surely you know that?"
"Of course I do, but with that logic I could easily switch you out for Alya or Nino."
Adrien chuckled, quickly seeing the large hole in his argument.
"You're right. I guess I didn't realize that what I was feeling was anything more than that until now."
"What do you mean?"
"You and Nino are my best friends. I love you both, but I don't love you in the same ways. I didn't think anything of that difference because he's a guy and you're not, it made sense that I would love you differently. What I didn't realize until tonight is that the love I feel for you isn't just a platonic love. It's romantic love."
"Romantic l-love, huh?"
He could tell she was trying to play it off, but her question came out breathy, making him smirk at her.
"Well, tonight might not have been the most romantic, but - "
"Tonight was perfect, Adrien."
Simultaneously, Marinette's eyes filled with tears and her cheeks turned red again.
"How can you be embarrassed and crying at the same time?" He joked, releasing her hand at his chest to wipe the tears that leaked out of the corners of her eyes.
"I have no idea." She laughed.
"Tell me they're happy tears at least."
Laughing again she just nodded before burying her head in his chest. Adrien smiled, wrapping both his arms around her and leaning his cheek against her head.
"What does this mean for us, Adrien?" She asked after a few moments.
Her question was muffled because she kept her head in her hiding place, but all Adrien could do was add it to the reasons he found her absolutely adorable.
"Well, I know I need to probably ask you out on a proper date - "
Marinette lifted her head, cutting him off again. Pushing against his chest in her haste, she slipped, putting more weight on him than she probably intended. It only made him roll onto his back, as close as they were he had room enough not to roll off the couch so he didn't move as she started talking.
"Adrien, I told you, tonight was perfect. I haven't had such an amazing night in I don't know how long."
"Me too, but I'm talking about an actual date that I asked you out on myself. Where I pick you up from your apartment, drive you to a nice restaurant and we see a show, or go dancing again, or just walk along the Seine together. Perfect as tonight was, it wasn't planned."
"But, I don't need all that stuff, Adrien."
"And I want to give it to you anyway."
"Oh."
Marinette sank down to lie on his chest, chin propped up on her arms so she could see his face. He put an arm behind his head to sit up a little easier, running his other hand over her hair.
"You are the most wonderful woman I know. You're selfless, kind, compassionate, patient, brilliant, talented, and beautiful. I've known all of that for a long time, I only wish I could have recognized how much I adored you for it all. When I'm not on the receiving end of it, I even adore your temper."
Teasing to lighten the mood, his heart lifted as she smiled at him.
"Like I said, I know I need to ask you on a proper date, but I'm hoping you'll say yes when I ask you to be my girlfriend."
Eyes widening, Marinette lifted her head again, sputtering.
"I know it's kind of sudden," he continued, pulling her back down to his chest, "but after ten years I think I've kept you waiting long enough."
Doubt clouded her gaze for a moment.
"You won't regret this in the morning will you?" She questioned quietly.
"Why on earth would I ever do that?"
Marinette shrugged as best she could from her position on his chest.
"This doesn't feel real yet Adrien."
Moving his hand to the back of her neck he pulled her closer so he could press his lips to hers again. She sighed when he moved back, but he didn't go far, returning to the spot against her neck he'd found earlier.
"How about now, Princess?" He murmured against her throat.
A small moan was all he got in return, making him smile for a moment before he continued. His hands found her waist, pulling so she laid on top of him and he had easier access to the skin of her collarbone and shoulder. Marinette whimpered, laying her head against the arm of the couch. Thumb stroking against the skin bared on her lower back, Adrien lost his ability to think when it caused her to shiver against him. He did it again to see if it was a one time thing and was ecstatic when she shivered once more. Sucking against the skin of her collarbone he enjoyed the way it made her gasp before he released it with a small noise. The purple mark he left behind sparked something akin to pride in his chest. It might not have been visible in any other shirt, but he'd know it was there. At least until it faded.
'Maybe I'll give her another, more visible one then.'
Grinning, he shifted her down so he could reach her lips again. He couldn't believe how soft her hands felt against his cheeks as she returned the kiss. Almost unconsciously he rubbed circles into the small of her back, making her press closer to him. He wasn't thinking about what he was doing, acting on instinct more than anything else, but it caught him off guard when she suddenly broke off the kiss and leaned back.
He opened his eyes, feeling his brow scrunch in concern.
"Mari what's - "
"Yes."
"Yes?"
"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend."
Sitting up, he caught her around the waist and pulled her in so he could bury his face against her neck. He had no words to express the feelings swirling inside his chest, making it feel like it was going to burst open at any moment.
"Thank you for waiting for me, Marinette."
"You're my best friend, Adrien. I probably would have waited forever, but thanks for not making me wait that long."
Chuckling he leaned back, but kept his arms around her waist as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"I do have two questions, Mari."
"Okay?"
"How much is Alya going to freak out, and how long is it going to take for me to live down how much of an idiot I've been?"
Giggling, Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Alya will probably freak out a little bit less than she did when Nino proposed."
Adrien winced. For nearly two weeks after Nino proposed, anytime she'd notice her engagement ring, Alya would squeal out loud forgetting about the sensitive ears of those around her. He'd have to mentally prepare himself for what would probably happen once she found out about their fledgling relationship.
"As far as living it down, that's up in the air. Because I'm just happy that this is happening, and I might tease you, but she will probably be relentless in both her excitement and her constant ribbing."
With a groan, Adrien playfully buried his head in her neck again.
"Save me, milady."
"What happened to my knight in shining armor?"
"He's facing the most fearsome dragon in all the land and he's pretty sure she's going to burn him to a crisp. But the dragon is the princess' best friend so the knight is hoping his fair lady might deign to put in a good word?"
"I'm not sure. I think the knight might deserve it a little. Not a burning to a crisp, but a light toasting is probably acceptable."
Sighing into her neck, Adrien resigned himself to his fate.
"You may be right, Princess. As long as milady is there afterwards to kiss the wounds better?" He asked, leaning back to look at her.
"I think that can be arranged." She replied with a grin, brushing a hand against his cheek before leaning in.
In all his life Adrien had never thought having his stomach tied into knots could be a pleasant experience, but the way Marinette's lips moved against his was better than he could have ever imagined. She playfully nipped at his lip, making his toes curl against the couch. When they separated, Adrien sighed happily and fell back onto the couch, pulling a giggling Marinette along with him.
They laid there together quietly for a few minutes, Marinette across his chest, her fingers idly playing with the buttons on his shirt while his followed the strands of her braids. Hard as he tried he couldn't recall ever feeling more content than he did in that moment. It was easy to imagine spending many more hours and days just like this.
"Adrien."
"Hmm?"
"You're snoring."
He hadn't even realized he'd fallen asleep.
"I was doing no such thing." He denied, knowing he did indeed snore sometimes.
"I've known for years that you snore, Adrien. How many times have the four of us spent the night in someone's living room together?"
Without opening his eyes he simply grunted his acknowledgment. She was right and he was too tired to argue.
"Hey, I can call a cab to take me home." Marinette offered, pushing up to hover over him rather than lay on top of him.
His eyes shot open at that.
"Absolutely not."
"Adrien, it's after 4:00 am."
"Exactly. You're not going anywhere. You're staying here." He declared, letting his eyes slide shut once more.
"I don't have any clothes or anything Adrien."
"I do believe it's still customary for a girlfriend to wear her boyfriend's clothes from time to time."
"It may be 'customary' but in case you haven't noticed, one of us is a muscly giant, and the other is a shrimp in human disguise."
"Okay, two things. First, I appreciate the fact that you notice my physique. It's nice to know my hard work is paying off. Second, there is absolutely nothing shrimpy about you." he reassured her, petting her hair before wrapping both arms around her to pull her back into his chest.
"Adrien - "
"Shhh." he cut her off.
In an attempt to get her to relax back into him he trailed his fingers along her back, pressing just enough that it wouldn't tickle.
"Adrien."
There was a warning in her tone but he was too tired to fully register it or even comprehend why she was using that tone because he wasn't teasing or anything.
"Hmm?"
His response was a little too late as his fingers found the hem of her shirt, ridden up to just below her bra from moving around so much on the couch. Adrien's eyes opened once more as he explored the soft smoothness of her back. He watched as Marinette's cheeks turned pink once more, but she didn't break eye contact with him.
"Something you want to tell me Princess?"
"I - I - I, um…"
Amusement trickling through him he bowed his head, finding her neck with his lips again while he kept tracing random lines up and down her spine.
"Ugh, how… how do you… do that?" Marinette groaned.
"Do what?" he queried, relenting and pulling his head back.
"Make my brain go all hazy."
"You make my brain go all hazy too Marinette." he answered with a grin.
Before her blush could make him lose his self control, he gently rolled her over so she could stand up. He followed suit and then took her hand once she'd fixed her shirt, leading her down the hall to his room. A few of his clothes weren't in their place, laid across the back of a chair instead of in a hamper, and his bed wasn't fully made up, but otherwise his room was spotless. He'd intended to just spend the evening tidying up after dinner until his co-worker had convinced him to go to the club with him. Honestly Adrien couldn't be that mad at him anymore, not with how things had turned out.
Trying to find something that would fit Marinette was as difficult as she said it would be, much to her amusement, but that didn't stop Adrien. He found some shorts with a drawstring and a t-shirt for her then took her hand to show her the bathroom. She'd been here enough times to be familiar with the place but he didn't want her to think she needed to use the guest bathroom.
He flipped the light on for her, then laid the clothes on the counter before stepping back.
"Feel free to use the shower if you'd like, I don't have anything girly but there's more in here than the guest bath."
"Thanks, Adrien. I'll be quick."
"Take your time Mari." he replied, pressing a kiss to her forehead before shutting the door.
He heard the shower turn on as he found something to sleep in for himself. He left them on the bed then went to find his phone so he wouldn't forget to plug it in. If it wasn't dead, it would be by the time he woke up. He found it next to Marinette's on the kitchen counter and pushed the button to wake the screen. The battery showed 7% but it was the number of notifications that he had that made him whistle softly. Twenty-seven text messages, forty-four missed calls, and three voicemails. Expanding the notifications without opening his phone, he could see they were all from Alya and Nino. Mostly Alya. Wincing, he checked Marinette's phone and found forty-eight text messages, fifty-two phone calls, and nine voicemails.
"Oh we are in trouble." he muttered.
He took both of them back to his room, plugging his in so he could open up and check what their friends had sent him.
At first they were both just text messages showing concern because they hadn't heard back from Marinette. She'd told Alya she was with Adrien so she hadn't been super worried at first, but the longer it was not hearing from either of them even Nino got frantic and Alya freaked out. Her texts waffled between angry and upset at the end. Her last text going so far to say that if one of them didn't call her first thing in the morning and they weren't in the hospital or dead she was going to kill them both herself. Nino must have saved him from her wrath via phonecall because all three voicemails were from him. The first one was before they'd left the club, Nino knew that Marinette wouldn't let them leave until the club closed so he just wanted them to call him when they left. The second one was shortly after they'd arrived back at his apartment, this one a little more worried wanting to make sure they were okay. The last one was from an hour ago and it reiterated what Alya's last text had, with less threatening words.
Adrien groaned and rubbed his eyes, trying to decide if it was better to send Nino a text now or wait for a few hours.
"What's wrong?"
Looking back up, he found Marinette standing in the bathroom door, wet hair hanging past her shoulders and looking absolutely adorable in his big shirt and shorts. Adrien shook his head to get his thoughts back on track.
"You may or may not want to check your phone. We've both been bombarded by Alya and Nino, though you have about double the notifications I had."
Marinette covered her mouth as it fell open and her eyes got wide.
"We never told them we got here okay!"
"We never told them we left the club." Adrien corrected with a wince.
"Alya is going to kill me."
"She may kill me first."
Marinette groaned, coming to stand next to him and taking the phone he offered.
"Do we call now or let it lie for a few more hours?" he asked.
Shoulders slumping Marinette ignored the texts and went straight to her phone app. She tapped Alya's name and spoke to him as it began to ring.
"No way she's sleeping until she hears from me."
Adrien nodded, hearing Alya pick up before he could say anything else.
"You are in so much trouble Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
"Alya I'm so sorry -"
"If I hadn't called Lucien I wouldn't have even known you guys left the club in one piece!"
"I know, I -"
Alya kept going, barely letting Marinette speak until she just sighed and finally just waited. It was going to be a while so Adrien caught her hips and pulled her to stand between his knees. Arms wrapping loosely around her waist when he saw tears in her eyes, he squeezed gently. Her eyes landed on him and he raised an eyebrow at her.
'You okay?' he mouthed.
She nodded, running her free hand along his cheek.
Finally the voice on the other end changed, letting them know Nino had finally gotten the phone away from Alya.
"Look dude, I'm sending Adrien a text, meet us tomorrow and we'll do a late lunch instead of breakfast like we normally do. I'll try to calm Alya down so she isn't like this in public."
"Watch it Lahiffe! I have a right to be like this!"
"I'm really sorry you guys."
"I forgive you Marinette, but I'm still angry!"
Alya answered immediately letting them know Nino had put them on speaker. Or maybe Alya had from the start.
Adrien motioned to Marinette for the phone. She handed it to him but was clearly unsure of what was about to happen.
"Brace yourself," he muttered as he hit the speaker button as well. "I'm really sorry too you guys."
The pause was just long and dramatic enough that Adrien held the phone away from them both. It was just in time because all of sudden Alya and Nino were both talking over each other very loudly. It was hard to understand completely but they definitely got that the engaged couple was not expecting them to still be together hours after leaving the club. Marinette tried to break in but eventually gave up. She took the phone from him, turned it off speaker then pulled it in close so she could speak loudly into the mic.
"Goodnight Alya and Nino, text about what time we're meeting tomorrow."
With seemingly no more remorse she hung up, cutting their friends of mid sentence and then tossed the phone onto his bed.
"You just had to let them know you were here too." she said in a playfully accusing tone.
"Well, I mostly felt bad you were getting all the grief."
"Oh I'm sure you would have gotten your fair share at lunch."
"Yes, and I probably still will."
"Probably more."
Adrien chuckled before pulling her down so he could press a sweet kiss against her lips.
"Worth it." he declared, enjoying the redness that it brought into Marinette's cheeks.
"I'm gonna go change, feel free to settle in."
"Uh, in the bed?"
With a smirk he raised an eyebrow at her.
"Where else?"
"Uh - I - I mean - "
Adrien shushed her with another laugh.
"Expensive as it may be, I'm not making you sleep on the couch."
"But you will?"
"If that's what milady wishes." he answered honestly.
Marinette bit her lip, her whole face turning red.
"I think, um, would you - stay - stay with me?"
Rubbing her arms gently, Adrien nodded.
"If you're okay with that."
It was her turn to nod so Adrien smiled at her.
"Okay, I'll be right back."
She moved back enough that he could stand up. Unable to resist the look on her face as she kept her eyes down trying to hold back her smile Adrien slid his hands along her neck. Fingers burying themselves in her newly loosened hair, thumbs tipping her chin, he kissed her again.
Whether it was the newness of it, or just how much he really cared about Marinette, or the excitement of getting to this point, he couldn't tamp down the desire to kiss her until they were both senseless. He forced himself not to go that far, but he was really going to have to work on his self control if he was going to keep from kissing the daylights out of her every time they were together, public setting or not.
"We're never going to get any sleep at this rate." Marinette murmured, but didn't move away as Adrien's hands slipped around down her back to pull her close to his chest.
"Your fault for being so amazing and beautiful," he replied.
Marinette scoffed, still not breaking the embrace.
"Okay, it's a little bit of that and a little bit of me making up for my stupidity and lost time."
"That's what I thought." she chuckled.
Finally releasing her with one more small kiss, Adrien retrieved his clothes and went into the bathroom to change. By the time he returned Marinette was snuggled beneath the covers looking half asleep already. He took a moment just to take it in, feeling tight in his chest as how happy and grateful he felt began to overwhelm him a little.
"My phone died." Marinette called out to him, unaware of his emotional moment.
"I'll send Nino a text to let him know, then we can charge it after mine." he offered, moving to turn off the light.
"Okay."
Her voice was sounding sleepier by the moment so he wasted no time in sending Nino a quick message then turning off the bedside lamp and slipping under the sheets. She didn't resist when he pulled her into his chest, her cheek against his chest and his against the top of her head. Now that her hair was down he took advantage and ran his hand through it. Marinette groaned when his fingertips rubbed against her scalp.
"That's nice." she breathed out.
"Goodnight Mari." Adrien said with a smile.
"'Night, Adrien."
It didn't take long for either of them to fall asleep after that.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sunlight hitting him in the face woke Adrien, causing him to lift his hand to shield his face as he blinked his eyes open. Marinette was faced away from the window thankfully, still tucked under his arm with her head on his chest.
'What a way to wake up.' he thought in awe.
He brushed a few strands of hair out of her face with a smile, then carefully slipped out from beneath her. While she didn't wake up, a small frown puckered her lips and her hand reached out to the spot he'd been occupying. That was all the motivation he needed to hurry to the window and pull closed the blinds that he normally shut before he went to bed.
Checking the time before rejoining Marinette he found it was nearly 8:00am. The text he had from Nino let him know they still had a good four hours before they needed to wake up so he set an alarm, plugged in Marinette's phone, and got back into bed with her.
"You okay?"
Her words were slurred from sleep, Adrien wasn't sure if she was really even awake or if she'd remember asking that later.
"Yeah, only getting up to close the blinds."
Without another word she snuggled into his side once more. The feeling of having her next to him made his whole body relax, more content than he ever remembered being.
'Yeah, I could definitely get used to this.'
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