There's so much sap in this chapter you can take a bottle of it and pour it on some waffles.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Chapter 10

Adrien bit his lower lip as he glanced to the side, away from her innocently curious stare. How could he answer this without sounding creepy?

Meanwhile, Marinette was waiting with parted lips and baited breath for the answer. It was obviously something important, and if she was his 'Loved One'…it made her stomach do a little flip and her cheeks to momentarily heat.

If she was right on what it meant…well, she wasn't sure how she would react.

"It's," he finally replied, albeit uneasily, meeting her eyes again. His hand reached up to lightly scratch the back of his neck. "It's…well, it's a name given to someone…"

"Someone like who?" she asked quietly, patiently. But she wasn't going to let him skirt around the answer, either.

He sighed in defeat and closed his eyes as his head fell. The hand that he was previously behind his neck fell limply on his lap.

Silently, he picked his head up again. His eyes were hollow and dim, full of varying degrees of fear and void any of the cheekiness or mischief she had seen earlier. It made her worry, and wonder what could be so bad about this answer to trigger such a barrage of emotions.

"Someone that you love," he murmured, making her heart skip a beat. "It's someone that you can't imagine your life without. It's someone that makes everything worth it. It's someone that makes your eternity on Earth feel like a blessing, because you can never run out of time with them. It's someone that you think is perfect, regardless of any flaws they might see in themselves."

Her mouth was loosely open, eyes wide as she took in the passionate response. His eyes flickered down to her hands that were pressed lightly on top of her knees. Slowly, he reached forward with one of his hands.

She looked down when she saw him move, and linger just in front of her fingertips. When she gave him no refusal, he gently took her hand in his, rubbing a thumb across her knuckles.

He raised his head again, effectively trapping her with that entrancing green gaze.

"It's someone that you want to stand by forever. It's someone that is your entire world."

Adrien took a ragged breath, trying to steel his nerves for what would undoubtedly be either the final nail in his coffin (heh, vampire puns…) or what would be a new beginning for the both of them.

"It's someone that is you."

The soft rush of air that Marinette drew in was a gasp that even Adrien had a hard time hearing. Her cheeks were a rosy red, her eyes wide but blank. Her heart thundered in her chest so loud it sounded like she got done running a kilometer.

His hold on her hand tightened slightly in his fear that she would immediately reject him and cast him out of her life forever. It would hurt him, deeply, but if it was what she wanted, then he would comply.

Marinette, on the other hand, could barely think any coherent thoughts.

This boy, this vampire, just admitted to her being his world. That he thought she was perfect, and wanted to spend eternity with her. How he thought so much of her in such a short time was beyond her, but she couldn't deny that she fell just a little bit harder for him at the admission.

However, it was impossible to feel the same for him.

For now, anyway.

She didn't spend nearly enough time with him to be able to think of him as he thought of her. She wasn't ready yet. Although, if she said this, what if he got the wrong idea and never bothered with her again? She may not have loved him, but she didn't want to let him go, either.

Good Lord, was she really thinking about having a relationship with a bloodsucking vampire?

Her eyes, that were once looking away, found his again. Those green eyes that seemed to sear into her very soul. It was bitterly ironic, how they resembled the color of springtime, yet it thrived under the only thing he couldn't touch. But they were warm, without any sunlight needed.

This was the same vampire who promised not to hurt her, the same one who left roses for her for over a month and still brought her one when he visited. The same one who joked with her, laughed with her, complimented her, boosted her confidence, treated her like a princess, and behaved like a prince (the irony of that was not lost on her).

And he was the same vampire who stopped another of his kind from drinking her blood.

To possibly consider a relationship with him could be extremely dangerous. She was either really stupid…

…or really lucky.

"Marinette?" he quietly called, worriedly as he took in her ashen appearance. "Please, say something?"

She wanted to tell him her thought process, how she came to her conclusion to try to make this work, but all that came out was:

"Why do you love me?"

It was a valid enough question, she surmised. However, it probably wasn't the right time for it.

Or was it?

It very well could be the right time, given his confession.

A corner of his mouth quirked up in a soft, fond grin. His thumb resumed its circling pattern at the top of her hand as he began to speak.

"I love you because you're so nice, even to a creature that would normally terrify anyone else and otherwise scream and run away from. I love you because you're so talented and creative, you can turn a scrap of fabric into a gown fit for royalty. And trust me, I would know."

He paused to flash her a cheeky wink, to which she snorted in amusement at.

"I love you because you're so determined. Whenever you set your mind to something you get it done, regardless of any mistakes you might make along the way. I love you because you're honest. I love you because you're witty, you always have a sassy comeback ready for me." He grinned. "I love you because you're independent. Honestly, I bet if that bartender wasn't a vampire, you would've been able to kick his ass. You don't accept defeat very easily and aren't one to back down from a fight."

Her speech was gone by the time his smile turned more affectionate than amused.

"I love you because of how you stick your tongue out whenever you work really hard on a design. I love you because you're so adorably clumsy. And I love you because of how excited you can get over the most miniscule things. I love you, Marinette, but it's okay if you don't feel the same."

She blinked incredulously, at not only his words but at the last sentence. He didn't mind if she didn't feel the same way for him as he did for her?

But his reasons of why he loved her though…he even listed things about her that she hated about herself. She hated that she had a habit of sticking out her tongue when working. It sometimes happened during school when working on assignments and Alya had playfully teased her about it. Marinette knew that she didn't mean anything by it, but it made her feel self-conscious all the same.

She hated that she was clumsy, for always having a knack to seemingly trip over the air. And she sometimes hated how she could get excited so easily. Sometimes she worried if she looked immature, and not like a 17 year old girl.

It didn't fail to escape her notice either that he had not once mentioned any sort of beauty about her. Instead he listed all of her personality traits, rather than her physical ones.

At that point, she couldn't care less that he was a creature that writers made horror stories about. Adrien was Adrien, he wasn't just a vampire. He was sweet, charming, funny, brave, and best of all, sincere. He never outright lied to her, and she could tell that his devotion to her wasn't at all fake, like so many boys nowadays acted.

But, however highly she thought of him, the fact of the matter still was that she didn't love him.

She cleared her throat after finally being prepared to answer him.

"I never had someone tell me things like that before. And…while I am flattered you feel so strongly about me…I have to say that I don't feel the same way."

His mouth formed a solemn frown as he nodded, looking down at his lap.

"I understand," he replied in a serious, melancholy tone that made her frown in return. His hand separated from hers, and already she missed the cooling yet comforting sensations he brought to her skin. "You don't have to-"

"Yet."

He stopped, peering up at her through his blond lashes in wonder. His eyes were now a swirling mixture of disbelief and hope. It was much better than the fear that was earlier displayed in them.

Marinette smiled. "Yet," she repeated. "I don't love you, yet. But…"

She blushed, not able to hold his yearning gaze any longer and choosing to fiddle with her fingers instead.

"But I'm willing to try. It's not possible to love someone this soon, at least in my case. Honestly, I'm wondering how you could feel so much love for me in so short a time."

Adrien chuckled almost ruefully.

"It's one of the curses of being a vampire, I suppose. When we fall in love, we fall quickly and hard. Vampire couples often get married within two weeks of their relationship."

"Two weeks?!" she exclaimed, completely caught off guard at the new information. Who only knows someone for two weeks then decides to get married? That's crazy!

Is that what Adrien wanted? To date for two weeks and then get married? If so, then there was no way that would happen. That was way too soon.

Adrien laughed again. She must've had a hilarious facial reaction to his words.

"It may be considered crazy for humans, but for vampires it's totally normal. Don't worry, I don't expect a marriage two weeks from now."

Marinette let out a sigh of relief.

He chuckled, shooting her a teasing smirk.

"You do wonders to my ego, Princess."

She giggled, before her lips curled into a smirk rivalling his own.

"Well it's already large enough, it certainly doesn't need any more stroking."

"Ouch," he remarked, jokingly wincing as he held a hand over his heart. "That hurt."

The two laughed quietly for a few moments, each basking from the break from the tension of their night so far. It was nice to relax for a while and just laugh. However, Adrien couldn't let the night end without making sure of one thing.

As a result, after their snickers died down, he finally asked the question that's been plaguing his mind since his true nature was revealed.

"So, does this mean you're giving me a chance, Marinette? Like how it was before?"

She released a ragged breath, her sky blue eyes rotating to the ceiling as she let loose a shaky laugh. It was an attempt at being casual and less awkward, yet she felt she accomplished in completing the exact opposite.

"I mean," she began, meeting his eyes again. "Well, it obviously can't be just like before. Not after all that happened tonight. But yes, I do want to give you a chance. I know it's technically a risk for me, since you know…"

She trailed off, trying to find the right words. She waved her hand around in the air a little, as though trying to stimulate more brain activity to think of the correct thing to say. Ugh, why couldn't she be good with words like he could?

With no progress she decided to just mentally say 'screw it' and just be blunt.

"Since, you're a vampire, and all. But you said that your control is getting better, so it's not likely that you'll…ah…attack me. Right?"

Adrien nodded. "Right," he replied with such conviction that she immediately believed him. "You're right, there is always technically the risk, but I promise you I'll maintain my control around you. I swear to you that I won't hurt you."

Her heart fluttered at the vow, while at the same time she couldn't help but be curious.

"Is it really that hard?" she asked unsurely, afraid of accidently offending him or something. It wouldn't be the first time she made a social blunder. "I mean, to maintain control?"

His lips slowly curled into a sinfully wicked grin at the same time his eyes flashed with a devious glint. She gulped with wide eyes as he began to shift to all-fours before leaning closer to her face. He stopped when their faces were just a few centimeters away from each other. When she breathed she could smell his intoxicating scent of birch and patchouli, a scent that made her feel almost dizzy.

"Oh, Princess," he purred lowly, "you have no idea how tempting you really are."

Something told her he wasn't just talking about her blood.

Her breath hitched exactly when her heartrate skyrocketed. She really hoped a vampire's hearing wasn't so great so that they-

But when his smirk curled even deeper, that hope flew out the window.

As he stared, with her own lips parted and pupils blown, she started wondering if whether or not he was going to take a bite of a different sort. It would be moving kind of fast, but she did kind of like him, and would it really be all that bad-

However, before she could contemplate it any further, he leaned away from her to sit cross-legged on the bed again.

"I think that's enough talking for one night," Adrien acknowledged with a faint trace of the grin he was wearing only seconds ago. "I'll come back tomorrow and we can talk some more. Okay?"

Marinette could only numbly nod, as she was still trying to get over the sudden attractive boldness and flirtation he had just displayed. She swallowed once again and nodded more firmly.

"Uh, y-yeah. T-Tomorrow! See you tomorrow. I mean, there's always tomorrow, right?"

She wanted to slap herself for the embarrassing babbling she just released on him. Her cheeks burned as red as a ladybug's shell as she bit her lip and looked away, unable to look at him in the eyes.

After all that, she epically screws up just as he's about to leave.

Way to go, Marinette, she bitterly thinks.

Adrien, to her immense relief, only let out a short chuckle as he took her hand in his, prompting her to look back at him. She blushed anew when he pressed his lips to the skin above her knuckles, and holding the kiss for a few seconds longer than he had ever done before.

When he released her, he called out for Plagg to transform him. Marinette had nearly forgotten about the little kwami. It didn't help that he had never returned. Well, he never returned to her line of sight, anyway.

It was all too soon when she saw a black blur zip up to Adrien's ring, and in no time he was clothed in the leather of Chat Noir.

"Wait a minute," she spoke, eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. "If your miraculous protects you from the sunlight, then why are you wearing it at night?"

He smiled, blinking his newly-returned cat eyes to her.

"This suit's like a second skin. It's easier to run around in than in jeans and a t-shirt. Anyway, you can also sleep easily tonight knowing that Nino has to have gotten Alya by now. If there was a problem he would've called me, so I know your friend's safe."

"Thank you, Adrien," she bid with a beaming smile. She loved that he not only showed care to her, but to her best friend as well. That definitely earned him some brownie points in her book.

He presented her with another smile before beginning to climb out the skylight to her room.

Hey, wait another minute!

"Wait!"

He was already halfway out, so he heaved himself completely out of the room prior to poking his head through the hole leading back to her room.

"What is it, Princess?"

"Is Nino a vampire, too?"

He laughed and shook his head.

"No, Nino's not a vampire…"

She breathed a little sigh of relief at that. At least there was still some normalcy in her life.

"He's a werewolf!"

Marinette choked at the same time Adrien winked and disappeared back into the night.

Hope you all enjoyed this, I loved writing it :) Next chapter will be what happens when Nino goes to get Alya ;)