The taxi pulled over in front of Marinette's building and Adrien reached forward to pay the driver, thanking him. He held the car door open for her, gently helping her out of the car. She took his hand, remaining resolutely silent. She let him lead her into her apartment, her emotions still all over the place.
If she thought she would be able to fool Adrien, reality quickly caught back with her. As soon as the front door closed behind them, he gathered her into his arms, whispering softly into her ear, "Are you okay, Mari? You haven't said anything ever since we left the hospital."
Marinette leaned into his touch, yet again wondering how she had ever managed to live without him. She savoured how pleasant his fingers were on her skin, how much she enjoyed being cradled against his muscular chest. Months of repressing her emotions took their toll on her, and she whispered softly, "I'm scared, Adrien."
"What? How so? You should be elated."
She buried her nose in his chest and whimpered, "I know that, but I can't help thinking … what if it's only the calm before the storm? What if it's just a break before it gets even worse?"
He held her, wrapping her in as much love as he could. She leaned into him, taking in the strength he was trying to convey to her. Marinette revelled in his touch, savouring his warmth surrounding her. She felt minuscule within his strong arms, she felt safe against his broad chest.
"I love you, Mari, no matter what," Adrien whispered in her hair.
She lifted her eyes toward him, tilting her head back so she could look at him properly. "But … what if I leave you too?"
He sighed softly, planting a peck on the crown of her head. "I'll tell you what. Why don't you treat yourself to a nice, relaxing bath? I'll fix dinner meanwhile."
"But—"
"I mean it," Adrien said, kissing her lightly. "You've just had a really stressful day, please let me take care of you. Okay?"
His voice was so earnest, his eyes so kind, that Marinette couldn't find it in herself to deny him that simple request. He was trying so hard to be helpful, to be a good support for her, that if taking a bath and letting him handle dinner would make him happy, then so be it.
Minutes later, when she lowered herself into the warm, perfumed water, she had to admit that Adrien had a point. The water loosened the knots in her sore muscles, almost magically undid the damages an entire day of intense stress had done to her body. Marinette closed her eyes, resting her head on the bath pillow. It felt nice, focusing on the sensation of the water caressing her skin, of the relaxing scent of her bath oils surrounding her.
How long she stayed in the warm perfumed water of the bath, she couldn't tell, but when she emerged from the bathroom, Adrien was nowhere in sight. In black leggings and a light blue silk bathrobe that reached just below her bottom, Marinette quickly tied her damp hair into a loose bun and wandered through the apartment, curious about her kitty's current whereabouts.
"Adrien?" she called out in the silence of the flat, getting worried about his sudden disappearance.
Had something came up while she was in the bath?
Before her mind could go haywire with crazy theories, the balcony door slid open and the blond peeked his head in, "Done with your bath, princess?"
She smiled at him, a sigh of relief escaping her. "I am. What are you doing out there?"
"Come and see for yourself."
Adrien was clearly proud of himself, grinning from ear to ear like a cat who had just caught the canary. His mischievous smile melted her heart a little further in her chest, and she followed him onto the balcony.
The scene that was awaiting her took her breath away.
He had put a tablecloth on the tiny patio table and had set up a nice candle-lit dinner for the two of them. The heady smell of fresh salmon cooked in a honey mustard sauce was mouthwatering, and the broccoli he had steam-cooked looked crispy. His phone was on the windowsill, soft piano notes coming out of it. Adrien walked ahead of her and poured her a glass of white wine, smiling at her shyly.
"Would you have dinner with me, my lady?"
Marinette looked at his hopeful expression, at the way he was almost bashful standing in front of her like a teenager on his very first date, and she fell in love with him all over again. "Absolutely, Adrien," she answered softly.
They ate in comfortable conversation, the sun setting in the background granted them a felted, romantic atmosphere.
A French love song came on Adrien's phone, softly wrapping them in the warm embrace of its notes on the balcony. Michel Sardou's silvery and pleasant voice filled their quiet evening, the kind of voice you could listen to for hours. She listened to the beautiful words of her mother tongue coming through the electronic device, letting them soothe her aching soul.
Adrien then said softly, "You know, the only time we ever danced together was on the Eiffel Tower, that night many years ago."
Marinette smiled, putting her fork back on her plate. "You forget that time Alya set us up at Chloe's party."
À faire vieillir, à faire blanchir la nuit,
À faire brûler la lumière jusqu'au jour,
"Oh man, was I so oblivious back then,» Adrien chuckled. «She spent most of our teenage years trying to set us up, didn't she?"
À la passion et jusqu'à la folie,
Je vais t'aimer, je vais t'aimer d'amour.
"And you are realizing that just now?» she laughed, «and I thought Nino was slow."
À faire cerner, à faire fermer nos yeux,
À faire souffrir, à faire mourir nos corps,
"I'll have you know Alya waited two friggin' years before admitting out loud that she had feelings for Nino. Like, all school knew about it but her."
À faire voler nos âmes aux septièmes cieux,
À se croire mort et faire l'amour encore,
Je vais t'aimer.
"Dance with me," Adrien suddenly blurted out completely off topic, holding his hand out to her.
Marinette giggled, letting him lead her out of her seat and wander a few feet away from their dinner. He wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling at her fondly, and then laced his own arms around her waist. Marinette lifted curious eyes toward him as the music changed on his phone, a Rascal Flatts' song coming on.
"What are we, fifteen?"
A warm smile spread across his lips, and he held her even tighter, their hips gently swaying to the rhythm of the song.
I will stand by you
I will help you through
As they gently moved to the beat of the music, a raindrop suddenly crashed on Adrien's cheek.
"Looks like it's gonna rain, want to take this inside?" he said, not relinquishing his hold on her the slightest.
She rested her head in the crook of his neck, ignoring the raindrops slowly falling all around them. "You know, I first fell in love with you in the rain at the strike of a thunder, back when we here fifteen."
When you've done all you can do
And you can't cope
Adrien stilled in her arms, looking at her intently. "First?"
I will dry your eyes
I will fight your fight
"The first time I fell in love with you was that day in the rain, when we were both fifteen. You tried to apologize for that gum incident and I was being stubborn. You handed me your umbrella, willingly getting wet on my behalf." She kissed him, a feather-light kiss that sent butterflies in his stomach. "I fell back in love with you years later, slowly. I fell for the kind goofball who saved my life time after time and had an infinite supply of bad puns to entertain me on patrol."
Adrien chuckled against her quickly growing damp hair, "you sure you don't want to take this inside? I don't want you to catch a cold."
"No," Marinette said, nuzzling herself further into his embrace. "I want to dance with you in the rain."
He held her even tighter, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Dance with me, then. For the remaining of our lives."
I will hold you tight
And I won't let you fall
Marinette laid her head back in the crook of his neck and whispered softly, "Do you mean it?"
"What?"
"That you want me for the remaining of our lives? That's … that's quite a commitment." Her voice was slightly shivering, her earlier fears resurfacing.
"I love you, Marinette," he stated simply, like those three simple words explained everything.
"I know, but—"
Adrien silenced her by planting a soft peck on her lips. "I wanna be with you. That's all I can say for sure. Be it for a week, for a month, a year, or a lifetime, I wanna spend all the time we have left with you."
When she replied, she spoke so softly that he almost didn't hear her over the sound of the rain. "Why do you wanna be with me so much?"
Adrien smiled, the smile of a man who had just won the lottery, the smile of a cat who had just eaten a canary. "Well, for starters, you are warm and cuddly," he stated, nuzzling his nose into her neck. "You are kind, funny, brilliant, brave and beautiful. Not to mention that you smell very good." He inhaled the perfume lingering in her collarbone deeply, making shivers ran up her skin and her cheeks darken with a blush. "Also, princess," he said smugly, "I happen to be a fan of your body wash. It tastes amazing."
Her blush went a few shades darker at the innuendo, and he just couldn't resist anymore. He caught her lips in a fiery kiss, holding her close to his chest. Her touch was setting his skin ablaze, and he felt like he could combust at any given time.
"Let me take you to bed," Adrien whispered hoarsely in between kisses, and Marinette moaned against his lips, lacing her arms even tighter around his neck. He lifted her effortlessly and carried her inside, never stopping his loving onslaught of kisses as he lay her down on her bed.
Long after, Tikki joined Plagg in the kitchen, landing in front of the Camembert he was devouring.
"Are they finally done with their disgusting mating ritual?" the grumpy kwami asked, not even bothering to look up from his cheese.
Tikki rolled her eyes with an indignant huff. "They are done making love, yes. They are sound asleep, both of them. You're still sour about that time in the cemetery?"
"One year, Tik! One year without me and getting in her pants was more important than even looking at me. I appear in the middle of the cemetery and I can't even get as much as a hello. " He trailed off, finally looking at his soulmate. She was staring into the distance, her big blue eyes full of sadness. "Hey, Tikki? What's wrong? Were you even listening to me?"
She snapped her attention back to him, her expression still forlorn. "Sorry, Plagg. I… I just don't understand what happened. She was dying, I thought for sure that I was going to lose her just like Joan. And then Adrien and you show up and she's miraculously better. I don't get it."
"Stop worrying about the why , Tik." Plagg said, shrugging. "Us being gods doesn't mean that we can control everything, much less those two hormone-driven idiots. Answers will come in due time."
Tikki snuggled against his side, sighing softly, "do you really think it's gonna be okay?"
"I don't know, Tik. I really don't know, but let's let them have today."
Michel Sardou's French Love Song: Je vais t'aimer
Rascal Flatts's Supportive Love Song: I Won't Let Go
