Okay, time for another song-inspired one-shot, this time for Adrienette/Marichat (which is gonna be a bit more complex in terms of how hard it is to tell which pair is primary here). The song that's been used for inspiration is "I Gotta Lotta Soft Spots For You" from the Webkinz stuffed animal franchise when they had their Pet of the Month series. You should listen along as you read this!
Here's the 411: Adrien Agreste is a famed jazz pianist with the stage name Cat Noir, and he's (obviously) popular with the female demographics. He revels in the attention he gets from the fans when he's genuinely himself as Cat Noir, but when he literally runs into a beautiful young lady named Marinette, he falls in love in an instant.
Aged Up, No Miraculous, and Jazz Musician AU
Song(s) Included, With/Without Modifications:
Prelude to a Kiss - Duke Ellington
As Time Goes By (A Kiss is Just A Kiss) - Louis Armstrong
At the Auditorium du Louvre, there were gaggles of young women sitting in their seats in the audience. They were talking up a storm, giggling, squealing, and very animated.
"Can you believe it? It's Cat Noir! THE Cat Noir! His piano music is my favorite! I've never heard nuance like his before!" "I know! I've only heard jazz piano when it's in a group, not solo." "He's got such a great style!" "I heard that his father was such an overbearing prick that the minute he turned eighteen, he left the mansion without so much as a word." "I think he's much happier now than when he was modeling."
Up on the stage was a black grand piano, with a bench, a stand for music sheets, everything.
Entering the stage from the right came a young man, arousing cheers from the crowd. He had green eyes, blonde hair gone completely wild, and he was wearing a black suit with a black shirt and a green necktie, accompanied by green cufflinks on his sleeves, and black dress shoes. He had a black fedora on his head that had a green band and he'd sewn cat ears onto it, and he was wearing a mask to cover the area near his eyes. He stood at the piano bench, facing the house of the room.
"Good evening, ladies," He said with a smile.. "I gotta say, I'm su-purr-ised that I have this many people coming to my concert. It's such a nice feline, knowing that you enjoy my meow-lodies."
Everyone erupted in applause as he took an overdramatic bow.
"Now to get this purr-formance started, shall we?" He asked before sitting at the bench, pointing a finger gun at the audience.
The girls squealed in delight as he swung his legs back to the piano. He interlocked his fingers and cracked his joints before reaching for the piano keys. He began playing the instrument at an allegretto tempo (the speed of someone taking a light jog) with notes in rapid succession, a cocky smile on his face. The girls were beginning to get even more excited at the music.
As he went through each song in his set, all the elements of the songs were contrasting in several ways. One song may have had a very quiet volume with a slow tempo being played in minor key while another one would be a faster, louder, and be played in major key, whatever the situation was. Every song was played with high skill and proficiency, all with joy clearly written on his face. He'd glance back at the audience with different facial expressions to match the music, each one creating a buzz amongst the ladies.
The girls were swooning and squealing at the sound, there were hearts in their eyes looking at him, and more. As the final number wrapped up, he stood up from the bench, tipped his hat, and took a bow while everyone was roaring for more.
He rose back up and smiled.
The next day, Adrien was out on the town, wearing a more casual version of his stage clothes, having changed into casual black jeans and a t-shirt with a white button-down over it, he changed his dress shoes out for black sneakers and he wasn't wearing the hat or mask.
"It's a nice day out." He said as he looked up to the clear blue sky.
He was walking the streets with a smile in his face and his hands in his pockets, the picture of easygoing. He saw a few girls out of his peripheral who were staring at him, waving at him and clearly swooning. Up ahead, he saw a lamp post. Deciding to show off, he ran towards it, jumped on the base and swung around before leaping off and doing an axel spin before landing on both feet. He gave the girls finger guns.
The girls squealed in delight at his stunt as he sauntered on his way, girls swooning and giggling over him everywhere he went. He'd wave, wink, point finger guns at them, whatever, but it was all empty deep down. His smile shrunk a bit and it was a near frown.
Sure, he was used to women's attentions, but he also knew that none of it came from a genuine place. The girls would often claim they loved his music or his looks, but nothing about the genuine him - just a broken, lonely boy learning about the real world too late in life, having fled from a dark, cold cage of neglect. His jazz career was something he'd created on his own, because he wanted to do something he enjoyed with his life.
He stopped in front of a small shop and looked at one advertisement. It was for a new animated romantic drama/comedy movie, and the protagonists were in a strong embrace, the hero dipping the heroine by her waist and looking at her with passion.
'What I wouldn't give for a love like that...' He thought, sighing sadly.
He was remembering all the times he'd watch a Hallmark movie or any other romance movie, anime, or cartoon, and wishing for his own fairytale love story.
*DING-A-LING*
"See you soon!" A sweet, feminine voice akin to wind chimes and bells spoke.
He looked up to see a young woman coming out of the shop, carrying a bunch of boxes that blocked all her vision. He couldn't see much from behind the boxes, but he could tell she was wearing a pink dress, and she was wearing a tan apron on her person with the same logo on the front of it. The boxes had a T&S logo on them. However, she started stumbling around to try and maintain her balance. She started chattering in nerves as the boxes began to fall over.
"Oh, hang on!" Adrien said as he ran forward and grabbed the boxes from in front of her, helping them balance. "I've got it."
"Merci beaucoup, monsieur!" The woman said as she craned her face from behind the boxes.
Adrien blushed a deep, dark red at the sight of the young lady. She had short, dark hair (black with a bluish sheen to it), bright blue eyes, and sweet, smiling pink lips with a matching blush on her fair skin.
"Um, yo... You're welcome!" He said, his face still red.
As he adjusted his hands, his skin brushed up against hers, and he felt a jolt shoot through him, causing his heart to still for a moment. Once the shock wore off, his heart began pounding like he'd just finished dancing the Cotton-Eyed Joe for five minutes straight. He was trying to breathe without making it seem labored, and quickly gave the young woman a smile.
"These boxes are so hard to carry, even when they're empty." She said as he helped her readjust the boxes so they were nesting in on each other.
"I can imagine." He stammered, still looking at her with his dashing smile. But she didn't notice, more focused on keeping the boxes from falling over.
"Again, thank you so much." She said to him as she started walking to the car, which had the same logo on it.
His eyes slowly wandered from her smiling face to the rest of her person. Her uniform was a perfect fit on her, hugging her hourglass figure ever-so-gently, accentuating her curves in such a way that it was considered classy and mature, as opposed to vulgar. His blush stayed on his face, his heart was still pounding, and he took a deep breath while rubbing the back of his neck, a nervous habit of his.
He took a deep breath before stepping closer to her.
"Um, hey... I was thinking, do you think we could grab a coffee together, or-" Adrien began, but she swung her foot under the rear bumper and activated the hands-free lift gate.
"I'm very sorry, but I can't stay and talk!" She said as put the boxes in the car before shutting the trunk. "I gotta go! Thank you for your help!"
"You're welcome-" Adrien moaned wistfully before shaking his head and shouting, "Wait, I-"
Too late, she ran to the driver's seat door of the car and got in before Adrien could get a word in edgewise.
The young woman soon drove off, leaving Adrien on the sidewalk. Watching her leave, he was a bit disappointed at first, but as her face flashed through his mind again, he grew the dumbest smile he'd ever had on his face, absolutely enamored with her.
A few days later, Adrien had gone to Saint Cloud, a Parisian suburb. He'd put on his stage costume (minus the mask and hat), and had a bouquet of flowers in hand.
"Here it is..." He said, looking at a quaint, adorable little house down the walkway.
He recognized the bakery uniform she was wearing when he first ran into her, and he did his own detective work. Turned out that her name was Marinette and she was the daughter of the owners of that particular bakery, and she worked there part-time while running her online, home-based fashion shop at home. When he went over to ask about her, her parents were more than happy to give him her information.
He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
"Coming!" He heard her voice ring out from inside. His heart fluttered in anticipation.
When she opened the door, Marinette looked at him in surprise and she said, "Oh, um... Hi there. You're the one I ran into the other day."
"Yeah, I am. My name is Adrien," Adrien said suavely as he presented her with the flowers. "I got these for you."
Marinette looked at him, her lips pursed and her eye twitching in tension, and she replied, "Um... Thank you. So, what... Brings you by?"
Blushing shyly, Adrien looked her in the eyes with the most charming smile he could muster.
"I... I was hoping that maybe we could get lunch together, or maybe..." Adrien began, but Marinette held her hand up.
"Just... One second." Marinette said as she shut the door.
Adrien quirked a brow as he stood on the doorstep. Marinette stepped away from the door before shouting, "Alexa, turn on the sprinklers outside!"
"Wha?" Adrien asked, confused.
The sprinklers in the lawn turned on, heavily spraying Adrien with water, and he shouted in surprise. Once the water stopped, Adrien was standing there in surprise. He was soaking wet from head to toe, the flowers were drenched, his outfit was completely saturated with water, and his shoulders sagged. He took off his hat, letting water pour out of it. He started grumbling in discomfort as he walked away from the house. Marinette was watching from her window, and she shut the blinds.
Later at his high-rise in the city, Adrien was scrolling through Marinette's social media photos on his phone, swooning and sighing at all her selfies, her group pictures, her design photos, everything. Seeing her smiles, so many different clothes and expressions, her hair in a variety of styles, only made her even more endearing to him. He heaved a wistful, loving sigh as he resisted the urge to kiss his phone screen, instead choosing to hit the "Like" or "Love" button on any of his favorite posts of hers.
"So beautiful..." He murmured as he liked one of her pictures that had her wearing one of her handmade formal dresses.
"Dude, you're still going gaga over that girl? All you really know about her is her name and that she's a fashion designer." A voice said.
Adrien turned around to see his roommate and best friend, Nino Lahiffe, standing there while chopping up some tomatoes. He was a tan-skinned man with very short, dark brown hair, hazel eyes behind glasses, and was wearing a blue shirt.
"Sorry Nino, but I can't help it," Adrien said with a sigh. "I don't know how to explain it, but the minute my eyes met hers, I felt like... How do I put this?"
"Like fireworks went off? Like you were having a heart attack or you'd just finished a high-resistance cardio workout? Like you were hit by lightning?" Nino asked.
"All of the above, Nino," Adrien said with a sigh, placing his hand on his cheek. "All of the above."
"Listen dude, as much as I support you and want you to be happy, it sounds like this woman was a bit freaked out by you showing up on her doorstep out of nowhere." Nino said to him.
"You're probably right." Adrien admitted.
"Of course I'm right, dude," Nino said before looking at the time on his phone. "Hey, don't you have another gig to get ready for?"
"Oh yeah, I do! Thanks for the reminder, Nino." Adrien said as he stood up and went into his room to change. Nino shook his head in amusement.
Later at the Palais du Louvre, Adrien was once again in his stage clothes, mask, hat, and all, and was at the piano outside the building. He was playing Duke Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss," his mind wandering to Marinette.
"If you hear a song in blue, like a flower crying for dew," He sang quietly as he played the piano portion of the song. "That was my heart serenading you. My prelude to a kiss."
The girls were squealing and swooning at the song, meanwhile Cat Noir was thinking about the blue-eyed beauty that he'd fallen for.
His piano playing was taking over the room, and he continued to play and sing about her, singing, "If you hear a song that grows from my tender sentimental woes, that was my heart trying to compose a prelude to a kiss."
His mind pictured Marinette in her uniform, with a box of macarons in hand. She was also looking at him with affection in her eyes. Adrien's imagination was running wild, his heart was melting at the thought of the woman, but his emotional state wasn't affecting his performance. If anything, it was enhanced by his lovesick state.
He continued his song, singing, "Though it's just a simple melody with nothing fancy, nothing much... You could turn it into a symphony. A Schubert tune with a Gershwin touch."
Out of his peripheral vision, he saw a girl whom he thought was Marinette, but once his daze cleared up, he saw it was another raven-haired girl. He felt a bit disappointed, but he kept singing and playing his song.
"Oh, how my love song gently cries for the tenderness within your eyes. My love is a prelude that never dies... A prelude to kiss." He sang as he hoped that the next time he saw Marinette, he'd be able to talk to her without any interruptions and win her over.
Once his show was over and the crowds dispersed, Adrien was walking away from the venue. He'd changed into more casual clothes and switched his hat out for a different fedora.
As he was walking to the metro to head back to the apartment, his eyes zeroed in on one girl in particular.
Marinette was there, smiling and minding her own business. He would've shouted out to her in greeting, but he noticed she was in her bakery uniform, meaning she was on the clock. He merely watched her movements as she made her delivery at the shop with her smiles and giggles.
To quote a Disney film, his heart ran away with his head, and he imagined her in a flower meadow, with flower petals floating around her. He slowly began approaching her without realizing what he was doing.
"Thank you." Marinette said as she gave the order to the customer before turning on her heel to leave.
"Hi, Marinette." Adrien greeted.
She screamed, startled, before whirling around and looking Adrien in the eyes.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Adrien apologized.
"You?" Marinette asked, confused.
"Yes, me... Listen, I promise you, I'm not following you anywhere! I just happened to see you after I wrapped up my show, and I..." Adrien began.
Marinette looked at him, her face tinted red and her eyes looking elsewhere, and said, "Listen, I would really like to stay and talk, but I have other deliveries to make!"
Marinette turned around to leave in a hurry.
Adrien shouted, "Hey, wait!"
But she was gone in the blink of an eye. Adrien sighed, his shoulders slouched, and he groaned in frustration.
'If she's playing hard to get, she's good.' Adrien thought, a bit annoyed.
The following few days, the two of them walked their separate paths. Marinette was running around the city, making deliveries for her parents or working on commission orders for her boutique. Meanwhile Adrien was having fun, playing piano for crowds large and small, with a variety of songs from so many big jazz names from Duke Ellington to Bill Evans and everything in between. But his heart always wandered to Marinette, wondering where she was, what she was doing, or how cute she was.
As a result, he was playing Art Tatum's "In a Sentimental Mood" while thinking about Marinette.
The following week, Marinette had finished up her deliveries for the day, so she decided to take a break. She'd taken out her sketchbook and she sat on the steps across the way from the Eiffel Tower. She looked up at the famed structure, sighed in relaxed contentment. She whipped out her pencils and started sketching.
Meanwhile, Adrien was walking through the park to relax, having wrapped up a concert fifteen minutes before. Adrien was choosing to enjoy the surroundings, feeling relaxed by the peace and quiet after the chaos of the show.
He saw Marinette out of his peripheral vision, and he gasped, surprised. The sunshine was giving Marinette a halo affect and her concentrated, focused face, combined with a big smile made Adrien feel as happy as she looked. Like in a cartoon, his heart started pounding out of his chest at the sight of her.
Realizing he had a chance, he quickly looked around. He saw a few flower bushes near Marinette, with a tree towering over them.
'Perfect!' Adrien thought in delight as he ran over to the bushes and picked the flowers, accidentally hitting the tree trunk, causing the branches to shake...
"Marinette!" He said in greeting.
Marinette turned to face him and she said, "Oh, hi."
"Hi," Adrien repeated, his face red while showing her the flowers. "So, I've been meaning to ask, but I was wondering... How does a late lunch or an early dinner with me sound?"
"Um..." Marinette began, not sure how to answer. She looked like she was looking at something or someone other than Adrien.
"I... I know I probably haven't made the best impression, but I really want to take you out on a date and..." Adrien began, his face still red and still unsure of what he was going to say, fidgeting and kicking the tree, shaking it.
Marinette's eyes bulged out in fear and she shouted a bit before scooting back.
"What's wrong? Am I really that much of a creep to you?" Adrien asked, hurt.
"It's not that!" Marinette said. "Not at all!"
"Then if I'm not freaking you out, what's-" Adrien began to question...
Right as a beehive fell on his head, covering his entire face. He started screaming and running around as a few stray bees started flying around him.
Marinette gathered her things up and made a run for it, meanwhile Adrien was struggling to pull the beehive off him. Once he did, he threw the hive away, and he landed on his rear end. His head, hair, and face were covered in honey, beeswax, and honeycomb pieces.
He sighed sadly as he watched Marinette run away from him, but he didn't blame her. He felt the legs of a few bees crawl around his face.
"Uh-oh..." Adrien said, wincing with a shout when he felt the first sting on his nose. He saw a few more bees around him and he groaned, waiting for the assault on him.
Once he'd gone home and treated his bee stings...
"Dude, seriously, you're about as unlucky as your stage name suggests." Nino said as he watched Adrien wash off the calamine lotion from his hands.
"Yeah, I know," Adrien admitted as he turned around. He'd gotten stung in a few places, but they were all in the areas that could easily be covered by his mask. "I'm sure that didn't go over well with Marinette."
"I still don't understand why you're so fixated on her, dude," Nino said as he sat down. "It's only one girl."
"Maybe so, Nino, but I just feel like... There's just something different about her, something very special. I can't put my finger on it, though." Adrien admitted as he looked out the window.
"Really?" Nino asked.
Adrien nodded, leaving Nino silent. After a few minutes, Nino sighed before looking up.
"Anyway, dude, I gotta get going, I have another gig to DJ at." Nino said as he left for the door.
Adrien laid his back on the couch and sighed. He turned his face to keep looking out the window, wondering what Marinette was doing.
The next day, Adrien, fully in his stage clothes as Cat Noir, was playing in concert at the Palais du Trocadéro. This time he was playing "As Time Goes By" by Louis Armstrong on the piano.
"You must remember this," Adrien gently sang as he tinkled the ivories and ebonies on the provided piano. "A kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh. The fundamental things apply, as time goes by."
His singing voice was smooth and slow, albeit higher-pitched. The girls in the crowd were humming, singing along, and swooning. Adrien turned to the crowd and winked at everyone. The girls squealed in response.
Adrien thought about Marinette, and he sang, "And when two lovers woo, they still say "I love you." On that you can rely no matter what the future brings, as time goes by."
He looked to his side, pretending Marinette was sitting next to him on the piano, with her bright smile and her sweet face staring right at him.
"Moonlight and love songs never out of date, hearts full of passion, jealousy and hate," Adrien sang as he continued playing the piano, truly wishing Marinette really was there at his side. "Woman needs man, and man must have his mate, there's no one can deny."
A few more notes, and Adrien's desire to see Marinette again and hopefully start the journey to his happy ending with her began to take shape in his head and heart.
"It's still the same old story, a fight for love and glory, a case of do or die, the world will always welcome lovers as time goes by." Adrien sang, wrapping up the last of the number.
Once his concert was over, Adrien had changed out of his stage clothes, including the hat and mask (he reapplied the lotion to help keep the pain from the beestings to a minimum), and combed his hair before sitting on a nearby bench. In hand, he had one of the flowers he'd tried gifting Marinette prior. In his other hand, he had his phone, which was opened on Marinette's social media page.
He began plucking petals in the "loves me, loves me not" game.
"Okay... She loves me," Adrien began, picking off one petal and letting it fly away in the wind with a smile. He pulled a petal again, this time frowning in dismay. "She loves me not..."
He repeated this, smiling when he got "she loves me," frowning when he got "she loves me not," until he plucked the last petal.
"She loves me!" Adrien squealed. He stood off the bench in delight, jumped and clicked his heels together with a "yahoo!" and spun on his heels in joy.
He quickly put on his mask and hat (not wanting to scare her with the bee stings on his face), and started jogging away, a spring in his step.
"Time to find Marinette and swoon her!" Adrien said, delighted.
He was walking, dancing, and spinning around in joy, hoping to find Marinette...
"Hey, isn't that Cat Noir over there?!" A voice shouted.
Adrien turned around and saw a trio of girls looking at him in awe and admiration. They were giggling, squealing, and jumping up and down.
"It is Cat Noir! OMIGOSH, he's so handsome!" "How dreamy!" "Hey, maybe we can get selfies with him!" "OOH! Great idea!"
The girls started to run towards him. Adrien panicked, and ran off faster than a cheetah on the hunt. He turned his head around to see the girls were hot on his heels. He shrieked in fright before looking forward. Seeing there was a four-way path, he skid to a halt, pivoted on his heel and ran to the right. The girls were still after him, giggling and running after him like the nutty fans they were.
Adrien kept running around, ducking the girls, but almost every turn he made, he couldn't shake the girls.
He ran further up the street, and he soon saw a bunch of bushes. Frantically looking around, he saw that the fangirls were still trying to find him. He ducked into the bushes, crouched and hugged, and he lowered his head. He looked out of a small peephole in the leaves.
"Where'd he go?" "I can't believe we lost him!" "Ugh, we could've had him give us a private concert!"
Adrien held his breath as he watched the fans walk away. Once they were out of sight, Adrien counted to thirty to check they were gone. He slowly poked his head out of the bush. No sign of them - he sighed in relief.
He saw Marinette walking from the other direction, minding her own business. He crawled out of the bushes, and he stood tall. He took off his mask and hat and combed his hair.
"Marinette!" He called out to her.
Marinette turned around and she saw Adrien.
"Oh." Marinette said as the blonde caught up to her.
"Hey, finally, I can talk to you," Adrien said to her. "Are you busy right now?"
"No." Marinette answered, still looking at Adrien.
"Great! So... Lunch, then?" Adrien asked, holding out his arm.
Marinette looked at him for a second before smiling and said, "Okay. I... I can do that."
"That's good." Adrien said as he hooked his arm around Marinette's.
The two of them started walking to a nearby café to eat lunch together.
They sat at a booth in the restaurant, and began talking and getting to know each other.
"Really? You designed your parents' bakery logo?" Adrien asked as he started eating his salad.
"Yeah." Marinette said after swallowing a bite of her bread.
"And you design most of your own clothes?" Adrien questioned.
"Sure do," Marinette confirmed with a nod. "It's so cost-effective."
"I've never been a designer. I used to model and all, but... At some point, I just wanted out of that arena." Adrien admitted.
"That's okay," Marinette told him, smiling. "My parents were fully on board with my goal to be a designer instead of taking over the bakery."
Adrien chuckled in envy, endeared by her smile. The two of them kept talking, eating, laughing, etc., and getting to know each other. The more he learned about her, the harder he fell for her. He learned so much about her, including that her mother was from Shanghai, her great-uncle Wang Cheng was a famous chef, and that she used to live in the attic of her parents' home above the bakery (which was actually much more glamorous than it sounded). She lit up like a star when she described that she had a loft bed and a sewing machine in her room, how much fun she had with her friends when they came over, etc.
Adrien felt his world open just by being in her presence.
"Wow, that's incredible! You designed an album cover for Jagged Stone?" Adrien asked.
"Sure did. I've done some other work for him, too." Marinette confirmed as she showed him a few more of her pieces on her phone.
"You're amazing, Marinette." Adrien said, his hand on his cheek, finding her even more adorable than ever.
After lunch, Adrien escorted Marinette out of the café, and he said, "Hey Marinette, I... Wanted to know if you'd like to go out again some time?"
Smiling at him, she responded with, "Yes, I'd like that very much."
Adrien blushed and said, "Great! I can't wait to see you again!"
"Me either." Marinette said, blushing in response while giving him a sultry smile.
Over time, Marinette and Adrien continued to see each other. Their dates were often intimate and private, away from Adrien's fans from both his modeling days and his current career as Cat Noir. Most of them were either at Marinette's house, often with Marinette teaching Adrien life skills such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc.
During one date, Adrien had invited Marinette over to his apartment for a change.
He helped Marinette cook coq au vin (or more accurately, Marinette did most of the cooking while Adrien was rushing around, trying to help prepare the ingredients and get the tools while hovering over Marinette and trying to learn).
"Hey Adrien, could you pass me the wine?" Marinette asked as she was slicing the onions.
"Sure thing." Adrien said as he brought over a pinot noir bottle. He looked over Marinette's shoulder and saw what she was doing. He looked up and saw Marinette was crying.
He smiled, finding her adorable, and leaned his face in the crook of her neck.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Marinette asked.
"Just giving you some affection, mon cher. You're crying and seeing your tears makes me feel so down. Just wanna cheer you up." Adrien joked as he kissed her cheek.
"Oh, stop!" Marinette said, giggling in response and resisting the urge to push him away.
Adrien pulled away from her and put the bottle of wine down next to some chicken stock, which was sitting next to a bowl of chicken thighs and drumsticks, and began helping Marinette prep the food.
Once the pair finished cooking, Adrien and Marinette were sitting at the dinner table, eating their meal.
"Wow, I've never had chicken this good before," Adrien said as he swallowed and let out an orgasmic moan. "I was raised on fancy food, but the fact we made it together makes it taste so much better."
Marinette laughed as she ate a bite of her food, too.
"Thanks. Dad always said that a family cooks together stays together." Marinette laughed.
Adrien gave her a wistful smile as he imagined himself with her about five or ten years down the line, with three smaller kids around the table, each having features from one or the other of the adults.
"Adrien?" Marinette asked, breaking Adrien out of his stupor.
"Um, yes?" Adrien began, shaking his head.
"What's the matter?" Marinette questioned.
"Oh, um, nothing..." Adrien said as he kept eating, savoring every bite, staring at Marinette while eating happily.
When they were finished with their meal, Marinette loaded the dishwasher.
"Hey Marinette?" Adrien asked as he started setting up some video games in front of the TV.
"Yes?" Marinette asked as she shut the dishwasher and walked over to the couch.
"You like playing video games?" Adrien asked.
"Sure do!" Marinette said as she sat next to him. "What'cha got?"
"Mario Kart, Animal Crossing, some of the earlier incarnations of Pokémon, Ultimate Mecha Strike-" Adrien began.
"You have UMS?!" Marinette squealed, lighting up like fireworks.
"You know it?" Adrien asked, smiling.
"Know it? Of course I know it!" Marinette giggled. "My dad and I play this all the time. I even entered a school-wide UMSIII tournament back in school with my classmate and friend Max. We won!"
"Then pick up a controller and let's play!" Adrien said, clapping in delight as Marinette took the controller up and chose her mecha.
"Oh, I'm gonna crush you kitty-cat!" Marinette said, giggling.
"Challenge accepted, Princess." He said, also picking up a controller and picking out his own mecha. His resembled a black cat while hers looked like a ladybug.
The game round consisted of Marinette outright wiping the floor with Adrien. Adrien watched as Marinette's fingers flew across the controller buttons like a peregrine falcon dive-bombing after its prey, creating combination moves that Adrien hadn't even heard of.
"Wow!" Adrien said, breathing out a huge burst of air when he saw how high Marinette's score was. "You certainly weren't all talk, Marinette!"
"You were pretty good, too, Adrien." Marinette said, and the two of them shared a fist-bump.
"A sweet girl, a great cook, and a badass at video games? You're a woman after my own heart, Princess." Adrien said as he took her hand into his own and kissed the back of it.
Marinette blushed as he looked her in the eyes.
"Roses are red, violets are blue, so are your eyes, and I'm insane over you." Adrien said, winking at her. Marinette's blush only got deeper.
He responded by pulling her into his arms, and hugging her close.
Six months into their romance, Adrien and Marinette were now walking arm-in-arm down the streets of Paris and looking at each other with love and affection. The people around them were looking at the two of them in awe, envy, and endearment.
As Marinette leaned in closer to Adrien, the scene panned to her hand, where she had a diamond ring on her ring finger.
"Are you sure proposing only six months in is the right move?" Marinette asked teasingly.
"Believe me, Marinette. When you know, you know," Adrien chuckled. "And I know that I've had a soft spot for you since day one, Princess."
Adrien kissed her on her forehead as she hugged him back, a giggle upon her lips.
And that's it for this one-shot! I hope you all liked it! It was tricky to make a 6K+ word-count story with only a 2 minute video as inspiration.
The show's more recent developments have gotten me in a bit of a depressive slump lately and several of my favorite authors from here have left the fandom due to S3 (citing bad writing, poor characterizations, etc.). I have hope things will turn around, especially since I'm seeing legitimate character development on Marinette's part (granted it doesn't come without a lot of angst that makes me feel really bad for the poor girl - now I'm worried it's gonna be a case of when Marinette gets akumatized as opposed to if).
I haven't seen some of the other episodes yet because I'm waiting for them to air in English AND I wanna see them as close to chronological order as I can. And you can bet that the next time Lila's a main character in an episode, I'm skipping it.
Not only that, but I'm really hoping things get better on the whole, now that Astruc has confirmed that more ML content is going to keep coming as long as people keep watching (including Seasons 6 and 7, more movies, etc.). What I've really been craving is some Jealous!Adrien regarding Marinette, especially since Lindalee Rose commented on Instagram something along the lines of "who wins and who loses in the Lukanette VS. Adrinette ship," so I'm expecting some Jealous!Adrien further down the line. Kinda overdue, really.
Also, check out and comment on some of my other works, including something I'm really proud of: My Luka VS. Félix series on AO3!