All The Things You Said
By: Lara Winner
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Miraculous Series
Chapter 2 : In which boundaries are poked, prodded and eventually pushed… just a tiny bit.
"So whatchya wanna do?" Marinette asked as she dropped her book bag onto her bedroom floor, kicking off her pink flats and setting her purse down gently on her desk. She grinned as Adrien dropped into her desk chair, flung his satchel carelessly to the side and began to spin the chair in lazy circles.
In the nearly three months since their heart to heart talk, visits from Adrien had become a regular occurrence; as in whenever Adrien could spare the time in between all of his studies and lessons and practices he could usually be found either in her room keeping her company or in the bakery indulging his inner fat kid. Today he was killing time before his piano lesson and Marinette was happy just to have him there.
"I brought over a new anime. I haven't seen this one yet," he replied, nudging his satchel with his foot as it passed in his rotation. With a happy "Eep" and no sense of other people's property, Marinette began rooting through his bag until she found the DVD case and flipped it over to read the back.
"Oooh," her interest peaked as her eyes scanned the summary, "a virtual reality game that traps players inside and if they get killed in game they die in real life. This sounds pretty cool actually. I definitely want to watch this but I'd rather wait until we have time to watch an episode or two. You have to leave in a half an hour."
Marinette giggled as Adrien wrinkled his nose in distaste.
"I really wish I could skip the lesson today but since that is absolutely out of the question…" He tried to fool her with his innocent expression but then his mouth curled up on one side in what she'd come to know as his up-to-something grin. "Want to go downstairs and get us some snacks?"
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Don't you get fed at home?"
"Yes," Adrien whined, kicking off the floor to spin the desk chair faster, "but our chef makes healthy stuff."
"Are you implying that my family's bakery goods aren't healthy?" she huffed, folding her arms in stubborn defiance.
Adrien stopped spinning to give her look that clearly said 'Duh'. "It's delicious; of course it's not good for you. If I lived off of pastries and croissants I'd be one fat cat. Happy mind you, but probably bigger than the Eiffel Tower."
"Is food all you think about?"
Adrien laughed, his eyes lowering as the tips of his ears tinged pink, "Most of the time."
It wasn't fair. His smile, his laugh, they did funny things to her insides, things that made her want to kiss him, things that made making out sound like really good way to spend thirty minutes.
"Or we could start on homework," he offered with notably less enthusiasm and she blinked, returning to their conversation. "Your call."
Blushing, Marinette jumped at the excuse to flee the room and collect her wits which had abandoned ship that the thought of finally getting a kiss from the teen heartthrob who was currently sporting a crooked grin on his perfect lips...
"Well if those are my options then let me see what I can scrounge up," she squeaked, "Be right back."
Mariette flew down the stairs, her bare feet a pitter patter against the hardwood floor, and rounded the corner nearly running smack into her mother. Taking in her daughter's flustered state; Sabine smiled knowingly holding a small plate with assorted pastries both savory and sweet. "Here sweetie, I was about to bring this upstairs and see if you and your friend wanted something to eat."
Marinette read between the lines; There will be no shenanigans on my watch.
"Thanks Maman! You're the best." Taking the plate, she leaned over and gave her mother a peck on the cheek before spinning back toward the stairs.
"Oh and Marinette, tell Adrien he must stay for dinner one evening. You're father and I would like a chance to get to know him too."
"Um… yeah, okay… I'm going back to my room now."
Once back within her bubblegum pink sanctuary, Marinette closed the trap door and winced. It wasn't too soon to invite Adrien for dinner, was it? He was over multiple times a week after school, so if he stayed a little longer it wouldn't be a big deal, right? Okay, better to just get it over and done, like ripping of a band aid.
With a deep breath, she blurted, "My parents want you to stay for dinner one night, if that's okay with you. Before you say yes understand that they can be pushy and loud and Papa thinks he's funny but really he'll just embarrass me and Maman will ask you a ton of questions and I don't want you to feel awkward-"
"Hey, it's okay Marinette. I'd love to stay for dinner. Your family is really awesome. You have no idea how lucky you are." Something in Adrien's tone hinted at envy but Marinette couldn't for the life if her figure out why Adrien Agreste would be jealous of her painfully ordinary family. But when he beamed at her, clearly happy about the invitation, she didn't give the odd notion a second thought. Obviously he just wanted tasty, unhealthy food.
"Here, help yourself." She set down the plate of treats within his reach. With a hop and a wriggle Marinette perched on the desk, kicking her feet back and forth as she selected a chocolate chip cookie.
Adrien picked up a different cookie looking at it curiously. "What's this one?"
"Chinese Almond cookie, Maman makes them for Papa and me. They're really good but she swears Grandpapa made the best ones," Marinette replied. Instead of taking a tentative bite, Adrien surprised her by popping the entire cookie into his mouth. When he made happy noises, she snickered, "I told you they were good."
"Those are awesome! You should sell them in the bakery."
"We do, the week of the Lunar New year." When he gave her a questioning look, Marinette explained, "It's a big holiday in the Asian culture. Those cookies supposedly bring good fortune. The rest of the time Maman makes them for us because I need those in my life more than once a year and I can eat almost an entire batch all by myself."
"And I never knew about these," he pouted, taking another almond cookie and popping it in his mouth. He kicked the swivel chair into a slow spin once more. "It must be super cool to have parents that come from different nationalities."
"I guess. I don't know if I've ever really thought about it. Most people don't realize I'm a quarter Chinese," she admitted. "Maybe it would be different if we were close to the family we have in China. Aside from Uncle Wang and his daughter Xu Lien and her family, I don't even know the others."
"Seriously?" Adrian stopped spinning the chair, looking baffled. "But they're your relatives, why wouldn't you keep in contact?"
"When my Grandparents married there was a falling out with his parents because they wanted him to return to China and marry a woman from there. For a long time they didn't speak at all. Over time he reconciled with Uncle Wang but I don't know about the others. Maman never talks about them."
"That sucks," Adrien mused thoughtfully, taking the last almond cookie. He offered it to her but Marinette shook her head knowing there was more she could have later, and watched as he turned the cookie between his fingers as he spoke.
"My parents were only children so I don't have cousins or anything. It's just my Father and I now. I hardly see him most of the time; he's so busy with the company…" Adrien shrugged a shoulder, as if trying to lessen the vulnerability that seeped into his words. "I think that's part of the reason he keeps my schedule so busy, so I don't have time be bored or lonely."
Suddenly Marinette had awful feeling she knew why Adrien had seemed envious of her family, even why he preferred to be at her house rather than at his own, and not for the reason she had hoped.
"Does it work?" she asked, though she already knew the answer.
"Not really," he grinned too easily, "I just get lonely and really, really tired."
Adrien fell silent after his admission as he nibbled on his cookie and Marinette watched him surreptitiously from under her lashes. This was a side of Adrian she had never seen before. He was always so kind, so positive, so seemingly perfect in every way that she never doubted his home life was equally as postcard worthy. But really; how naïve of her to assume that just because Adrien smiled and joked that it meant he was always happy. For so long she'd been blinded by her crush, dazzled by his pretty face and polite charm, that she had never seen him clearly. But the more time they spent together, just two kids hanging out, she was starting to see past his carefully constructed image.
Marinette was thrilled she finally getting to know the real Adrian. And she was also terrified she was falling harder than she ever thought possible.
Startled from their thoughts; both teens jumped when Adrien's phone chimed with a received text message. He quickly scanned the text before rising to his feet and picking up his satchel from the floor, waving Marinette away when she tried to hand him the DVD he'd brought.
"I'll leave it here that way I'm not tempted to watch it at home," he explained.
"Alright," she nodded and set the case back down on her desk. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Yep, and thanks for the cookies."
Adrien paused at her side, giving her shoulder an affectionate pat, a platonic parting gesture she'd come to expect whenever he would leave. But sometimes, like today, he would look into her eyes and hesitate, his expression intent as if he were contemplating something more. And Marinette would hope, as her heart pounded and her breathing stuttered, that he would make some kind of move; anything to let her know he was feeling it as well, that magnetic pull that always sparked to life between them whenever he dared to stand too close.
But like every time before, Adrien looked away first and huffed a nearly silent, derisive laugh, snatching his hand away to clutch his satchel in a white knuckled grip. The anticipation that had begun to build within Marinette abruptly dissipated at the loss of his touch and she forced a cheerful smile to hide the crushing disappointment that engulfed her.
Marinette didn't move a muscle as Adrien opened the trap door and started down the stairs. She barely managed a nod when he looked back at her and smiled, "Later, Marinette." She didn't even chance drawing a breath until she heard the front door to the flat close with a firm click.
Only then did Marinette finally give into the frustrated tears that made it impossible to breathe; Tikki patting her hair gently as she quietly cried out every bit of longing she had for the boy who was closer than ever but yet still remained just out of reach.
"Hey Nino, may I ask you a… uh… personal question?"
Chilling with his best friend in the refuge of his bedroom, Adrian mashed the buttons on his controller, only half paying attention to the TV screen and the mech he was playing as he tried to formulate the embarrassing question in his mind. Desperate times called for desperate measures and while he usually didn't gush to Nino about his unrequited love for Ladybug or his consistently growing feelings for Marinette, right now was an exception to that rule.
Ever the jovial friend, Nino worked his own controller without missing a beat. "Shoot."
It was important for Adrien to phrase his question with tact; the last thing he needed was to sound like a pervert. It was bad enough he had to resort to asking for this kind of advice in the first place. Nino was his only viable option- since he actually had a girlfriend- so it just made sense.
Swallowing hard, he went for it. "How did you… uh… initiate things… with Alya?"
"Dude, she won't let me get past second base so I'm still a virgin," Nino whined, seeming more than a little bummed out by that fact.
Heat exploded across Adrien's face and he was sure a tomato couldn't hold a candle to him at that moment. Backpedaling, he cried, "Woah! Too personal." The future DJ snickered at his discomfort and in his flustered state Adrien pressed the wrong button, inadvertently handing Nino the game. Glaring at his friend, he groused, "That is sooo not what I was asking."
"Gotta be more specific, bro," Nino chuckled. Pointing to Adrien's controller he asked, "Again?"
Adrien shook his head, his mind not in any condition to play Mecha Strike. It was too late to change the subject now, so he pressed on, "Well… like the first time you kissed her… Did you just lay one on her? Or did you say something smooth first and then lead her into it? And did she slap you or kiss you back?"
Tossing his own controller to the side, Nino repositioned himself on Adrien's white sofa so he could give his floundering friend his full attention. "You're jonesing to kiss Marinette," he stated smugly.
Adrien rolled his eyes. "No shit Sherlock. I sure as hell don't want to kiss Alya." Realizing how that sounded, he winced. "I mean, you know, no offense to Alya or anything…"
Nino just grinned. "I got ya dude." He toyed with the headphones draped around his neck, tapping the plastic in a random beat as he thought about the question at hand. "Hmmm, well the first time she kissed me, actually. See, Alya goes after what she wants, that's just how my girl rolls," he explained, his expression somewhat apologetic for not being much help.
"Crap!" Adrien hissed. "I seriously feel like I'm losing my mind."
"You got it bad."
Plagg had been telling him the same thing. Every. Damn. Night.
"I know, believe me," Adrien admitted ruefully. "But I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I get so damn nervous around her, especially when we're alone together. And I want to touch her but I chicken out every time…"
It was embarrassing to own up to his failures. Everyone expected him to be cool and suave, his image demanding he play the part; but the truth was quite different. He wasn't the player that had girls eating out of the palm of his hand. He wasn't the star that thrived in the spotlight of unrelenting attention. He wasn't the guy who could have anything he wanted without any effort at all.
Everything he had also came with a price. Even his freedom as Chat Noir required a debt to be paid. And so would this thing he had going with Marinette. She was great, and amazing and more patient with him than he deserved; but she wasn't going to wait around forever. She was expecting to be met half way but she also expected him to have a fucking clue. He was so afraid of letting her down or over stepping boundaries or just outright saying the wrong thing that he did nothing at all.
Even Adrian knew it was time to grow a pair and make a move.
Like he was reading Adrien's mind, Nino channeled the voice of reason. "You're over thinking it. Quit stressing, bro. This is Marinette we're talking about. She'll be cool with it."
The logical part of his brain said Nino was right. Still, it wouldn't be the first time he'd been certain of something only to find out he'd horribly wrong from the start.
"I can't take Marinette's feelings for granted," Adrien sighed, frustration coloring his words. "I almost screwed us up before we even started by being an oblivious idiot. And with my luck, I'll screw it up even worse next time." Because there would be a next time, of that Adrien had absolutely no doubt. Agitated at his own thoughts, he raked his hands through his sunny hair, tugging harshly at the strands. "Dude, I'm having a meltdown," he moaned pitifully.
"I can see that." Nino deadpanned.
First Plagg, now Nino. He really needed more sympathetic friends.
"Then fucking help!"
It was the cussing, since Adrien never had a potty-mouth, that spurred Nino into action. "You two are going to the movies later, right?" he asked and Adrien nodded. "Your mission is to hold her hand. Forget about everything else, that will come later all on its own. For tonight keep it simple."
Keep it simple.
Simple was good. He could work with simple.
"Ok," Adrien nodded, trying to psych himself up, "I can do that. I think."
"No think," Nino barked, "Just do.
Right… hold Marinette's hand.
Piece of cake.
"So, how is not-dating your not-boyfriend going?
Marinette gave Alya the stink eye over the rim of her café au lait and continued to blow on the steaming liquid. Curiosity was raging in her friend's eyes, practically radiating off of the darker skinned girl. Like the good friend that she was, Marinette drew out the suspense by making Alya wait; taking a cautious sip of her hot drink, leaning back in the wroth iron chair and averting gaze to the pedestrians that passed by just outside the gated patio of the little café.
"Girl, I will text Adrian and ask him. Don't make me pull out the big guns," Alya warned playfully, her smirk full of mischievous intent. Taking a gulp of her frozen mocha drink, she snatched up her phone and waved it teasingly, giving Marinette another chance to comply.
"Ugh! Fine," Marinette sighed will a roll of her blue-bell eyes, "We're going to the movies tonight. We're meeting up there after his photo shoot which-" she glanced down at her cell phone to check the time, "should be starting in twenty minutes. Hopefully it doesn't run late and he has to cancel like last time."
"That's right," Alya exclaimed eagerly, "Nino did say he was hanging out with Adrien earlier because he had a thing tonight. I assumed he meant the shoot but now your boy is sneaking in a date…" she trailed off, her innocent expression belied by the loaded insinuation of her comment.
"Not a date, just a movie," Marinette replied firmly, a trace if dejection slipping into her tone. She took another sip of her drink, savoring the rich flavor before she continued, "And we've started watching a new anime, Sword Art Online. It's really good. I think you'd like it."
Alya looked at her incredulously. "Girl, are you telling me you like anime now?"
Biting back an amused smile, at which she failed miserably, Marinette shrugged a delicate shoulder but refused to comment. Her silence was answer enough.
"OMG!" Alya half hissed half screeched in a weird vocal combination that only she could achieve. "What is happening to you? First it was RPG's and now its anime…" her ocher eyes widened in mock horror, "I feel like I don't know you anymore. Who are you and what have you done with Marinette?"
There was some truth to her friend's dramatic teasing. Adrien had introduced Marinette a few of his favorite pastimes and, as it turned out, she'd found them to be entertaining as well. But she also suspected that Adrien's company may have upped her like factor a little as well.
Laughing helplessly, Marinette admitted, "He makes it fun."
"Who knew hot stuff, poster-boy Adrien was such a dork?" Alya mused with a baffled shake of her auburn head.
It was one of the hidden gems in Adrien's personality, that despite the ever-confident charisma he exuded, he was his happiest geeking out over strategy games and having lengthy discussions about the latest anime he had gotten her to watch. Honestly, she'd half expected him to be a little stuffy and have affluent interests but it had been a pleasant surprise to see just how down to earth he was, behaving like a normal kid when there was no one around to pass judgement. She was grateful that whatever was going on between them had at least presented this opportunity for her to see past her blinding crush to boy that Adrien truly was.
"He's a total nerd," she agreed fondly, "and he's wonderful and sweet and caring and everything a girl could possibly want…"
"But…?" Alya frowned.
There always seemed to be a catch.
"I still don't know where I stand with him," Marinette sighed deeply, deflating as her shoulders slumped with a wry sense of defeat. Clutching her cup, her eyes fell to the pale liquid where a faint version of her pensive reflection stared back at her. "I take that back, I do know. I'm so far in the friend zone I may as well be a guy."
Alya arched a brow and started laughing. "Um… No. I've seen the way that boy looks at you and he definitely does not look at Nino or any of the other guys that way. He for sure knows you're a girl and with all the girly parts to match." She winked. "And I bet he's thought about those girly parts quite a lot recently."
"Alya!" Marinette flushed, clearly scandalized. "I'm… no…I… grrr! Okay, not literally but you get where I'm going with this. It's been nearly three months and… nothing. We're not dating, he doesn't try anything and… and he's never even attempted to kiss me," she muttered and slumped in her chair once more.
Sobering, Alya expression turned sympathetic as she considered her friend's situation. "I feel ya, girl. I can totally see why that sucks."
"Sometimes I think it might be better if I could just get over him and be done with it. Then we could be friends and I wouldn't complicate everything because I'm so hopelessly in love with him."
"So… what? After all of this time you're just going to throw in the towel and give up?" Alya asked, alarmed.
Could she? Did she have the conviction to tell him it was better to only be friends and remove her feelings completely from the equation? Was she that selfless?
Just the thought caused Marinette's heart to thump painfully in her chest and she accepted that as a no, she was selfish enough to take whatever she could get.
"I probably should but I won't," she laughed humorlessly. "It hurts to be so close to him and to feel so much for him and to force myself to keep it bottled up so I don't scare him off. But it's too late; at this point I can't imagine him not being there." Her eyes found Alya's, seeking understanding, "It's just… it was easier not to feel so much when he didn't notice me at all."
It was the affectionate concern plastered across Alya's face that finally kicked Marinette in the butt and out of her funk. She could lament her heart's choices later with Tikki, in her bed with the covers bundled up to her nose. This was best-friend-bonding time, not cry-about-a-boy time.
Determined, Marinette perked up in her seat and waved a hand airily, "I'm being dramatic, don't mind me. Enough about silly boys. We need a new topic, my dear."
She took another sip of her café au lait as Alya leveled her with a contemplative look. Apparently her friend found what she was looking for because the spectacled girl turned her attention to her phone and pulled up her blog page.
"I need ideas for next month's LadyBlog posts…"
For once a photo shoot had wrapped up early.
It seemed like after Nino had departed- with direct orders for his friend and a fist bump for good luck- time had warped into ludicrous speed. Adrien had showered, changed and was ready to leave for the shoot yet he still had time to kill and so his mind had started to wander into dangerous territory. All of the things that could go wrong flashed in his mind's eye, each possibility a daunting reminder that he'd never tried to hold a girl's hand before. Hell, he'd never done anything with a girl before, period. Unless he counted the times Chloe had kissed him on the cheek; but that was Chloe in her ostentatious way, so he didn't count those because he'd never kissed her back.
Adrien was on the verge of panicking when in a moment of pure genius he'd thought of something that just might tip the odds of luck in his favor.
Months ago, while practicing with Mariette for the Mecha Strike tournament, she'd given him a good luck charm. He hadn't thought much of it at the time and had put it away with the rest of his treasured knickknacks. In fact he'd nearly forgotten all about it until the other day when Marinette had told him about the cookies and how they brought good fortune. He had suddenly remembered the oriental style charm she had given him and the thought had stayed in the back of his mind.
Grinning madly, he'd rescued the little red, gold and green charm from its safe place on his bookshelf and once he'd slipped it into his pocket he'd felt more confident immediately.
Maybe his lucky charm was the reason the photo shoot had gone smoothly; so smoothly in fact that every shot was gold and he could have sworn Vincent was about to cry tears of joy at such a feat of photographic perfection. The only down side was that he'd made it to the movie theatre nearly an hour early. But that was okay, it gave him time to get his head together.
Covertly, Adrien scanned the crowded sidewalk from where he leaned against the building, one foot flat against the stone wall as the other supported his weight, looking cover worthy in his form fitting, slate grey pullover with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his black skinny jeans. He wasn't sure why he was searching because Marinette wouldn't arrive for another half hour at least, but it didn't stop his gaze from seeking out even the slightest glimpse of her midnight hair.
Plagg had teased him about having a type. Maybe his kwami was right. The two main ladies in his life had very similar traits that started with the same dark hair and continued right down to their clear blue eyes and petite builds.
But sometimes Adrien wondered…
How much of a coincidence was it that Ladybug and Marinette had the same shade of blue-ish black hair and wore it in almost identical pigtails?
That they had the same deep blue eyes that could stab right through him and pierce not just his heart but his very soul as well?
And how uncanny that they were the same height and- if he were to guess- wore about the same size?
Still, Adrien wouldn't go so far as to say he was onto something. They may appear similar but that was where the similarities ended. The two girls could not have been more at opposite ends of the spectrum if they tried. While Marinette was adorably shy, occasionally awkward and prone to bouts of calamitous clumsiness; Ladybug was graceful, coolly confident and usually one step ahead of him in most situations.
So he chalked it up to wishful thinking on his part; because wouldn't that make everything so much easier if he found out he'd managed to fall for the same girl twice?
But even before Plagg and Chat, Adrien had ever had that kind of good fortune and he refused to allow himself to get his hopes up. He was pretty sure he was only seeing what he wanted to see and not what was really there… or not there in his case.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, mainly to keep from running them through his hair anxiously, Adrien accidentally squished Plagg and yelped when his kwami bit him none too gently in reciprocation. Snatching his hand back he shook it vigorously against the pain and then checked to see if the little bastard had drawn blood. Muttering a curse under his breath, he reached in his other pocket and pulled out his lucky charm instead.
Adrien didn't even realize a soft smile overtook his harsh frown as he traced a finger over the clover carved into the small jade stone. It was a cheery little thing and colorful, much like Marinette herself. And he wondered if that was what love really was; the gentle feeling of belonging, comfort and happiness that filled him when Marinette was near?
Of course his feelings for Ladybug were very reflective of the heroine as well; fierce, consuming and maddening.
Adrien felt the yank on his heartstrings whenever he was in his Lady's presence, but his emotions hung like cut ribbons dangling in a tornado with no anchor and no purpose. With Marinette, however, those strings had latched on and were thriving like vines, tangled and messy but steadily flourishing. And he was okay with that, hell he was more than okay, he was freakin' ecstatic. For so long he had lacked the most basic forms of companionship, but now he had someone who wanted to be there by his side and it was almost too good to be true. It almost didn't seem real.
Or maybe he was just waiting for the universe to realize he was finally happy and decide to rip it all away.
"Adrien!"
Pulled from his contrary thoughts by Marinette's exuberant call, his expression lit up as she approached him. He took in the sight of her and his heart melted. She was dream straight from the pages of a vintage fashion magazine. He couldn't recall having ever seen her with her hair in a messy bun and so he couldn't help it; his eyes raked over her form from the top of the pink flower print halter top sundress that tied at the back of her neck down past the gently flare of her hips to the flowy shirt that ended a few inches above her knees and teased him with a flirty peek of creamy skin as she walked.
Holy crap! She was killing him in her alluringly innocent way and she wasn't even trying. He shuddered to think what would happen if she actually put forth some effort.
Blushing hard, Adrien stepped toward her, shoving the charm back into his pocket and grinned sheepishly. "Hey."
"I thought I was going to be late," she stated breathlessly as she fell into step beside him. "The lines are long. Think we'll make it in time?"
"We're good. I purchased the tickets already."
Marinette blinked. "I thought we agreed it was my turn?"
"You said it was your turn," Adrien corrected with just a touch of smugness. "As I recall I didn't respond so therefore I agreed to nothing."
"You… but… That's shady, Agreste. Really shady," she scowled.
"No, it's gentlemanly. I asked you to come with me so it's only fair that I pay for your ticket." As if to drive home his point, Adrien opened the entrance door and ushered her through before following her inside.
"Well, I'm a modern girl with new age sensibilities," she huffed indignantly, but the effect was ruined by the warm smile that pulled at the corners of her pursed lips.
Placing his hand against the small of her back Adrien guided her through the crowded lobby. "And I'm old fashioned when it comes to treating a girl right. It doesn't mean I think of you as inferior or something. It means I respect you and I'm going to behave in a way that reflects that."
Marinette's eyes widened as she flushed scarlet in the span of a heartbeat. "You can't just say stuff like that… it's not fair."
"Why?" he asked, honestly curious.
With a dubious look Marinette sassily replied, "Because I've got nothing in my arsenal for that."
Adrien couldn't help the genuine laugh that bubbled forth at her unexpected response. Her thought process never failed to intrigue him. Shaking his head in amusement, he sighed, "This isn't war, Marinette."
"I know that." He hadn't eve realized they had stopped walking until her gaze skittered away and she wrapped her arms around her stomach defensively. "But your way seems more like a… a… d-d-date," she stammered softly.
Adrien didn't think, he simple followed his gut when it told him that now was the moment; right there amidst a sea of nameless strangers in the cinema's bustling lobby he grasped her hand and tugged her a step closer, lacing his fingers with hers. Pinning her with a disarming grin that was mostly a window to Adrien's hopefulness infused with a liberal amount of Chat's inflated confidence, he outright asked, "Would that be a bad thing?"
The smitten boy swore his heart did a cartwheel when Marinette smiled shyly and shook her head no.
And just like that Adrien was soaring; feet off the ground, head in the clouds, nothing could touch him to bring him down, soaring. With her smaller hand clasped in his and their fingers entwined as her warm palm burned against his own in the most pleasant way, he couldn't focus on anything else.
Functioning on auto-pilot, Adrien let Marinette lead the way to find seats and followed her with a besotted grin. Movie… what movie? He was too engrossed with watching Marinette through the corner of his eye, mesmerized by the way the glow of the big screen played off her pretty face, to pay any attention to what was actually happening in the film. It certainly didn't help his awareness when she leaned into him, her arm pressed flush to his on their shared armrest, fingers locked together tightly.
Adrien refused to let her go, even after the movie was over, and he gave himself a mental high-five for having the forethought to sneak out of the mansion earlier instead of having Nathalie arrange for the car to pick him up. The movie theatre was only a few streets away from the Dupain-Cheng bakery so there was no need to take the Metro which meant he was free to walk Marinette home and hold her hand the entire way.
They were a block away from the bakery when Adrian finally got the nerve to break the comfortable silence. "So… Uh, are you doing anything tomorrow?"
Marinette shook her head, a few midnight locks escaping their confines at the motion. "I was supposed to babysit Manon but there was a change in plans. Other than that, just homework. What about you? Anything exciting going on?"
"Nope, just homework," he confirmed. "Next week I start competition practice for the fencing regionals so I probably won't have much free time for a while." He paused when she pouted, nearly floored by the desperate urge to kiss her until she smiled again. He hoped she didn't notice the waver in his voice as he continued, "I'd like to hang out with you tomorrow while I've got the chance."
Instantly Marinette perked up. "Picnic at the park?" she offered, grinning impishly. "I'll even let you buy me ice cream."
Adrien smirked back, one side of his mouth curling up roguishly. "Only if you bring your Dad's quiche. That stuff is amazing."
"I think I can manage that. Meet up around eleven?"
"It's a date," he replied deliberately, his smile slipping a notch as his confidence faltered. "If you want it to be, that is…?"
Instead of a verbal answer, Marinette pulled Adrien to a stop just out of sight of the bakery's windows. She only gave him a second to wonder why she looked up at him determinedly and with her heart in her eyes before she pushed up on tip-toes and pressed her soft lips to his cheek in a sweetly tentative kiss. His breath caught as his heart jolted into thunderous rhythm but as quickly as she leaned up Marinette ducked back again, appearing quite pleased with herself.
"See you tomorrow," she winked and the amount of cockiness in the gesture could put Chat to shame. Then in a bur of pink she rounded the corner to the bakery entrance and slipped inside.
Adrien wasn't sure how long he stood under the glow of the street lamp impersonating a statue, nor did he care. When his brain finally decided to function again, the dazed look on his face shifted into one of pure satisfaction. With a very Chat-like bounce to his step, he started the short walk home.
Humming a sappy little tune, Adrien pulled out his cell phone and tapped out a quick text to Nino; just two words that summed up what was probably the best night of his young life.
Mission Accomplished
A.N. – Here is the second installment. Our adorkable little love birds have made progress. This story will eventually cover all four corners of the love square and it's gonna get messy. I have it mapped out as a total of 6 chapters. Since I'm writing this on my phone as well as my laptop, forgive me if you find any typos and/or grammar issues. Thanks for reading.
