Congrats to 'Incendio' (very clever, btw :), 'mayuralover', and 'Tawnypelt37' for guessing correctly! (And props to 'Miraculerauslly' and 'fairydaisypou' for my favorite responses!) Let me know what you think, and happy reading!
There was soft talking in the background, and a small light near her feet. She heard someone sigh, then a door close with a light click. The cushion underneath her sank slightly as someone sat near her hip and started talking quietly.
"Marinette? Are you okay?"
She took a deep breath and kept her eyes closed, pulling her arms out of the silky fabric underneath her and stretching them over her head.
"You really scared me, you know. One moment we were dancing and the next you were sliding toward the ground. Was it something that I did?"
She heard him run his hand through his hair, and could picture the half-smile that formed with his words.
"Was it something that I said? If it was, I promise I didn't intend for it to end like that!" He chuckled to himself. "Where's Nino with that water?" As he spoke, the door opened with a shush (there must be carpet, she thought), and Marinette heard Nino's voice join Adrien's.
"How is she?"
"Waking up, I think."
Feeling both boys looking at her, Marinette slowly opened her eyes and blinked several times, glancing first at her friends and then at the room around her. With the door cracked open, she could faintly hear the music from the wedding party. As she propped herself up on the couch she was laying on, Adrien brought her a bottle of water and insisted that she drink part of it. Realizing that her feet where shoe-less, she scanned the area and found her black high-tops on the floor by the couch.
"How are you? You took quite the dive out there."
Marinette set the plastic bottle on the small table beside her. "Did I hit the ground? Because that would be just like me to trip over something while standing still," she laughed awkwardly.
Nino chuckled. "Na, my man Adrien here caught you before you got very far. You passed out while dancing with him."
Marinette, remembering her attempts at slow dancing, could feel her face heating up. "Where's Alya? And where am I?"
"She had to go give a toast, but she promised that she wouldn't be gone long. We're in the lounge off of the ballroom," Adrien explained, urging her to drink more water. By the time Marinette had finished it, the bridesmaid in question had returned.
"Hey girl!" Alya dropped beside her on the couch and slid out of her heels (grey and sparkly to match her dress). "You really had us worried!"
"I'm fine, guys, really! It was a one-time thing, I promise."
"Just in case, we'd better get you a snack or something. Nino?"
"Sure dude!"
Marinette watched as the boys slipped out the door in search of food, pulling it most of the way closed behind them. She looked over to find Alya staring at her with her eyebrows raised.
"What?"
Her friend just sat there, grinning like a hyena. "Girl, you didn't just pass out…you swooned!"
Marinette wacked her shoulder. "I did not!"
Alya laughed. "And you weren't the only one!"
"…What?"
Alya, checking out the door for the boys, shut it securely and sat back down, leaning in like she had a secret to tell. "I know something that you don't!"
The blue-haired girl waited. And waited. And waited.
"Well, are you going to tell me or are you going to leave me in suspense all night?!"
"Adrien likes you!"
Marinette started, scrunching her eyebrows in confusion. "No he…are you sure?"
Alya nodded excitedly, the curls in her ponytail bouncing. "Nino told me himself! And he said that Adrien told him not to tell me because he knew that I'd tell you! Oh, Marinette, you should have seen it. One moment you were trying to spin and ended running into him, and the next I looked over and you were completely out! He caught you before you fell, so he was standing there holding you up against him and looking completely lost, like you had just dropped from the sky or something!"
"Well?" Marinette prompted, rigid and jumpy at the same time. "What happened next!?"
"When Nino and I got there," Alya continued, smiling at her captive audience, "we helped him pick you up (don't worry, I arranged your dress so that you still looked amazing) and he carried you out here. You mumbled something about 'button-bugs' and being fine, so we laid you down and I told my family what happened. They said you should be okay, but to drink water and take it easy just in case. You were only out for a little over a minute." The brunette nudged her friend's shoulder. "So what are 'button-bugs', anyway?"
Now it was Marinette who laughed. "I was looking at the buttons on his shirt. The black dots on a red background looked like bugs, and I think I was about to tell him so before I got lightheaded."
"Well, now's your chance!" Alya whispered as the door opened. Nino and Adrien came in, arms full of everything from trail mix to dinner rolls to chocolate-dipped strawberries.
"We weren't sure what you would want," Adrien explained, setting his load with Nino's on the coffee table, "so we just brought a little of everything." He looked up to notice that Alya was staring at him.
"What?"
"Nothing…" she smiled, glancing at Marinette. "She's right. They are bug-buttons." Jumping off the couch and sliding back into her shoes, she turned to look at her friend. "Are you okay here without me? I'd better get back to doing whatever it is bridesmaids are supposed to do." Marinette nodded, knowing that she would be back eventually. Linking her arm in Nino's, Alya whirled out of the room, leaving the door half-open behind her.
I didn't mean take Nino with you!
Suddenly feeling very self-conscience (I just passed out on him!), Marinette shifted to give Adrien room to sit down, and remembered that she was laying on something. Standing up slightly and pulling it out from underneath her, she discovered that the silky thing that protected her from the rough couch was a black suit jacket. As Adrien sat beside her, she realized that while Nino had been wearing his charcoal-colored covering, the boy in red was not.
"Adrien, I'm so sorry! Your jacket is probably all wrinkled now!" She started brushing it off, trying to smooth out the rumpled material.
He reached out and put a hand on her arm. "Calm down, Marinette, it's totally okay! Nino grabbed it for me from the table on his way so that you would have something comfortable to lay on in case we couldn't find a chair or something. I promise, a wrinkled jacket is no big deal, especially if it made you more comfortable."
She sighed and squeaked out a 'thanks' before setting it down beside her. Adrien, having brought her more water, made sure she that drank some of it. When he insisted that she eat something too, Marinette reached for the strawberries and offered one to him, which he took. As they finished their fruit, the music in the ballroom started up again, and a slow song wafted through the door. Adrien stood up, and to Marinette's confusion, he slid the coffee table in front of them to the side of the room, leaving the middle of the floor open. Walking back to her, he once again bowed, ducking his head and offering her his hand.
"I do believe that we have a dance to finish, Marinette." With no Alya to look at for help, Marinette let her instincts take over, accepting his hand and standing up. She slid her shoes to the side, her emerald-green tights soft on the thick white carpet. This time, she moved first, looping her (slightly shaking) hands around his neck and stepping closer as he reached out for her. They swayed in the middle of the floor, both humming softly to the music.
You still make me nervous when you walk in the room
"Thank you, Marinette."
Them butterflies they come alive when I'm next to you
"Isn't that my line?"
Over and over the only truth
Adrien let go from behind her and reached for her hand, spinning her slowly outward. Her dress flared slightly, moving in small shimmering swells around her. Marinette turned carefully back toward him, this time succeeding in folding gently into his arms. She felt her face turn bright at his closeness, but sneaking a glance behind her, she found that she wasn't alone in her blood rush.
If the whole world was watching I'd still dance with you
She turned to face him, this time wrapping her arms around his chest and putting her forehead on his shoulder, smiling at the feeling of his arms around her, and glad that he couldn't see her strawberry-red face.
Drive highways and byways to be there with you
He hugged her up against him, carefully kissing the top of her head. This is what it feels to truly be loved – to be home.
Over and over the only truth
"I will always be here when you need me, Mari. I promise."
Everything comes back to you