The hoodie
Marinette could say that it was another wonderful day. It was Friday, teachers let them go home earlier and she spent a lot of time with her parents, helping them with the bakery. So when she went for a walk at the park that evening, she expected it to be just as nice as the day was. It turned out even better than she thought.
Adrien's day started pretty good, and it was like that until after school, when he lost all his fights during fencing, and then had to play piano for two hours. He was exhausted, both physically and mentally, so he decided to sneak out of his house for a small walk. He put his hood from his hoodie on his head and went to the park, because he had a feeling that going there would bring him happiness. Then he didn't know that that was one of the best decisions of his life.
It was around 8PM, sky was getting darker, wind was getting stronger, and the evening was colder than Mari thought it would be. She wrapped her arms around her, just to be a little bit warmer, or at least try to. She hung her head low, as if it would help her in some way, and didn't see anything until it was too late. She bumped into someone, and being clumsy as she were, she stumbled a bit and would fall on the ground, right into a puddle, if someone didn't catch her on time. She looked up and saw green eyes, slightly shocked, looking into her blue ones. Adrien smiled at her, helping her stand up straight. They both said apologies at the same time, as well as 'that's okay's and stood there for a while, in slightly awkward silence. Finally Adrien decided to actually do something and asked Mari if she would like to walk a little more with him, which she agreed to, maybe even too fast, but he didn't noticed that. Or at least pretended to not notice that, as he just smiled and started a small talk with her.
It wasn't until ten minutes later, when he saw that Mari was shaking a little bit, hugging herself, as if it would help her fight the cold wind. He thought how blind he was, that he didn't notice it earlier, and quickly took off his hoodie, putting it on her and zipping it up, even though she didn't have time to put her hands through the sleeves. She stopped walking, looked at him, a little bit surprised and started protesting, telling Adrien that she was fine, and only after he looked her hard in the eyes and told that it was fine that she wore it, she actually put it fully on, smiling a little bit when she sensed a hit of his perfume on the cloth. She knew him for three years, and still he had the same effect on her as he had when they were only fourteen.
Adrien looked at her and smiled to himself, thinking about how good she looked in his hoodie, even better than himself. He then stepped in front of her and put the hoodie on her head, a little bit too far and chuckled when it covered her eyes. Then she adjusted it and gave him a small smile of her own, which brought back the memories from the moment they became friends. It was the same smile, the same look she gave him more than three years ago, when he gave her his umbrella for the first time. And then the thought about how cute she looked in that specific moment crossed his mind, but quickly disappeared when they started walking and talking again.
When they were saying goodbyes she wanted to give him back his hoodie but he denied, saying that she can bring it the next day in the same place, so maybe they could talk a little bit more. She agreed, a happy glint in her eyes, and she quickly wished him goodnight, walking into her home's direction. Mari thought it was sweet of him to let her keep it for a day just so she wouldn't be too cold. And Adrien was happy that he borrowed it to her, so he could meet her again the next day and spent some more time with her. He even didn't want that hoodie back. It looked better on her anyway.
The next evening they met again, she gave him his hoodie back, and in the middle of the walk he put it on her again, this time though his hands stayed on the hood a little bit longer, while they were looking into each other eyes for a moment. And then, when they were saying goodbyes, he again told her to just bring back the hoodie the next day. And it was like that for few more days, with each evening their walk was getting a little bit longer, they were looking at each other a little bit more, and they were getting a little bit closer. One of this days, while putting hood on her head, he would gently brush her face with his fingers. It was an almost imperceptible feather-like touch, but there was something magical about it, though it ended almost as soon as it started, leaving the strange feeling of emptiness in both of them. And then, while saying goodbyes and see-you-tommorows, both of them had this peculiar feeling, that something has changed.
Next day was supposed to be the same as any previous ones. They were supposed to meet next to the same bench, around 8.30PM, Mari would give the hoodie back to Adrien and they would walk around. But it wasn't like that. While before they would wait for each other for a minute or two, when Mari got to their place that evening Adrien wasn't there. And she waited for him for ten minutes, then thirty, and finally, after almost fifty minutes of waiting, she gave up. It started raining, as if the weather wanted to match her sorrow in this strange way. With tears rolling down her cheeks, she left the hoodie on the bench, turned around and started walking home. Maybe their meetings weren't as important to him as they were to her. Maybe he didn't care about her as much as she thought. Maybe he didn't care at all.
Adrien wanted that evening to change everything. He wanted to dress nicely, buy some flowers and meet Mari at their usual spot, impress her and tell her how much she meant to him. He finished his piano lesson a little later than usual, and it was nearly 8PM when he finally stood before his closet, looking for something nice to wear. He lost track of time and didn't saw it was the time they usually met in the park, when he finally found the shirt he wanted to wear – it was the one she made for him, when he mentioned that he didn't have any nice black shirts. He smiled at the memory, changed quickly and went to the florist to pick some flowers for her. It was a hard task, even harder than he thought, as he wanted to find a bouquet that she would like, and that would match her beauty at the same time. And it was really difficult, because, in Adrien's opinion, nothing could compare to her. When he finally found one, made from delicate wildflowers, and stepped on the street he noticed that it was raining. He picked up his speed, hoping that Mari wasn't there yet, so she wouldn't get wet. It was only when he saw a nearby clock that he realised that he was almost an hour late. He ran as fast as he could, hoping that she was still there, still waiting, that he could explain everything to her. Tell her that she was everything to him. That he cared about her deeply. But when he got there, she wasn't there. There was only his hoodie, left on the bench, a sign that she was waiting, but gave up. He quickly grabbed it and ran again, once again hoping that she was somewhere near. He didn't even care that he was running through puddles, or that he was all wet.
It didn't take much time for him to see her. She was walking with her head down, hugging herself as if it would make her warm. When he finally caught up with her, he stood in front of her and one look at her face almost broke his heart. She was so vulnerable, so delicate, so broken, with great sadness in her eyes, with tears flowing down her face. That look made him cry, when he realised that it was all his fault, that he made her so miserable, that he broke her heart. He didn't say anything, but put his hoodie on her, zipping it up, the same way he did it the first time. They were standing there for a short moment, just looking at each other, in the pouring rain, he with the long forgotten flowers in his hand, she still hugging herself. Then after few seconds, though for him it felt like hours has passed, she finally put her arms in the sleeves, a gesture that, for him, meant that she forgave him. He stepped closer, wanting to put the hood on her head but resigned in the last moment. Instead he gently put his hand on her cheek, brushing the tears away with his thumb. And then he kissed her delicately and shortly, almost like he was afraid he would break her if he did it differently. He opened his eyes, looking at her, awaiting her reaction, scared that she would reject him. But she didn't. She put her hands on his chest, and looked into his eyes and then he knew that she wanted it. That she wanted him. And the he kissed her again, more confidently this time, putting his other arm around her waist and pulling her closer. And they stood like that, in the heavy rain, drenched, crying, lost in the sweet kisses and warm feelings, telling themselves all they meant for each other without using words.
They spent that night on the couch in her living room, cuddling under warm blanket, with the delicate smell of his flowers in the air, telling each other sweet nothings and kissing from time to time, finally peaceful. Finally they felt that everything was so right. He told her that she could keep the hoodie, as it suited her better anyway, but she told him that she didn't need it anymore. Because now she had him to keep her warm.