"No, I don't want a hug thank you Jake, I'm fine!" Marinette huffed with an exasperated sigh, not even bothering to take her eyes off what she was doing to reply.
She was a nice person honestly and normally very patient, but two weeks at her new job and already she was sick of the attention from her older co-worker.
To begin with she had assumed it was just friendliness towards the newest team member, trying to make her feel like part of the family. Typical Mari she chided herself, always trying to see the best in people. But the longer she was at work the worse it got.
"Come on, let's get lock up done, I'm meeting Alya after work and I don't want to keep her waiting." Mari tried to encourage her less than enthusiastic team member while filling in the end of day report, beyond eager to get out of work.
Really unless there was a customer still in store there was no reason they shouldn't get out of work on time but with Jake that never seemed to be the case.
"Oh, what, aren't I invited?" Jake laughed wandering over towards Mari, not in the least bit concerned with finishing up his end of day jobs.
"You know I'm always happy to keep you and your friend company"
Marinette paused her report to glance up at the voice, only to notice Jake was now standing uncomfortably close to her. His short dark hair peppered with gray around his ears, his thin lips smiled at her but his brown eyes still looked sad. Sad but still hopeful that she might take him up on his offer.
"Oh… umm thanks, but I think she had something important she wanted to tell me, plus I haven't seen her in a few days so I'm really excited to see her and catch up and even Nino says he feels like an outsider sometimes when we get gossiping. Maybe another time."
With that Marinette spun sideways in her seat and lowered herself carefully to the ground, the high stools provided to them the company were perilous for the uncoordinated, aka Mari. Made even more treacherous by her work uniform.
A black knee length pencil skirt, coupled with a pair of leather slip on shoes which of course sported small heels. It was Paris after all. The top a simple white collared button up blouse with sleeves ending just above the elbows, topped off with a big pink silk ribbon tied around a high messy bun in Mari"s dark hair, adding a touch of her own personality into the look.
Jake didn't comment as he followed Mari to the back room where she retrieved her handbag, always hovering a little too close for comfort.
"Ready to go? I'll set the alarm" Mari questioned, in a rush to leave. It had been a long day, and she wanted nothing more than to get into a comfortable pair of pyjamas, eat her weight in cookies from her parents bakery and vent with her best friend.
Life was busy these days adjusting to a new job and schedule changes brought more stress then Mari had anticipated. Not that she was unhappy, but she was definitely feeling the pressure from all her responsibilities, civilian and otherwise.
So before even getting a response Mari had punched the code into the pin pad on the alarm system and headed for the door leaving Jake no choice but to follow lest he wanted to set off the alarm. Once outside Mari said a quick goodbye and hurried off towards her car leaving little room for further conversation, which she was more than happy about.
……
"Girl you will never guess! I have the most exciting news!" Ayla gushed enthusiastically before she was even all the way in Mari's room. Pillow shoved under one arm and a backpack slung over the other shoulder Ayla's head popped up through the door a huge smile plastered onto her tanned face, hazel eyes wide and sparkling with warmth.
Mari rushed over to grab the pillow off Ayla so she could climb the rest of the way into the room with ease. Mari's room had plenty of advantages, privacy, her own bathroom and a balcony with a beautiful view but the trapdoor which led to her room wasn't one of them. Making entering difficult when your hands were full.
Once inside and unloaded from her pillow and bag, the girls hugged before moving over to take a seat on the day bed.
"Ummm your parents brought you a car? Wait no! You got a promotion at work? Or you got a video of Chat Noir being chased by a dog on the way here? Or" Marinette fired the questions off in quick succession while holding her finger to her chin emphasising her thoughts.
Ayla battered Mari's hand away playfully, interrupting her dramatics.
"I got a new job! No more stupid ice cream scooping in a freezing cold shop all day!" Ayla shuddered while rubbing her hands up and down her own arms as if to chase away the non existent cold.
"And, you will never guess where! None other, then the very same news station as Nadja Chamack!" Ayla finished proudly before Marinette had a chance to hurl more guesses at her.
"What? That's amazing!" Mari beamed at her best friend giving her a slight shove to emphasise her point. "Doing what?"
"Just desk work for now, answering phones, sending emails, going on coffee runs. But in an actual real life news station! Actual real industry exposure, that's huge for a first year journalist student, I will have a massive leg up on the rest of the students." Ayla was excitedly gushing. Her happiness brought a soft smile to Mari's face.
"Look at us! Stepping up in the world Mari. Proper jobs, University, bills. Were proper real life adults now. Next we will be living in our own apartments buying our own groceries...getting married…" Ayla raised her eyebrows suggestively at Mari before breaking into a fit of giggles.
"Ha! Ha! Maybe you will be.But my life is severely lacking on that front, thank you very much for reminding me, bestie" The smile tugging at Mari's lips softening the sarcasm dripping from her words.
"Oh come on I'm sure that will change soon, honestly Mari you're too picky! What about the tall, dark, handsome, let's not forget older… and talented luka that you've been spending an awful lot of time with?"
"You can't tell me there isn't at least a little something going on there?" Alya leaned in towards Marinette fixing her with a scalding look, giving her what could only be described as bedroom eyes.
Marinettee stood up, dragging a pillow with her and promptly whacked Ayla in the face with it, sending both girls into another fit of giggles.
"I've told you before. luka and I are just friends, strictly platonic…But… should Nino be jealous? With a description like that, maybe you were just hoping to live vicariously through me eh?" Marrinnet drawled cheekily as she walked away from her friend, over to the open door of her bathroom to flick on the kettle, rested on the vanity.
After one too many disastrous late night trips with hot cups of tea or coffee, Sabine decided that buying Marinette her own kettle for her bedroom would be safer and cheaper than constantly having to replace broken mugs. after they, and occasionally Mari took a tumble down the staircase.
"Oh girl trust me! If Nino wasn't on the scene I'd be all over that boy like stripes on a zebra! But as it stands Nino and I are very happy together, so unfortunately poor luka misses out on all this" Ayla gestured towards herself with a flourish of her hand as she stood from the day bed. Before stalking over to Maria's desk and snatching a famous Dupain-Cheng cookie off the tray that Mari had previously carried upstairs for the girls to devour.
Mari shot Ayala a look and scrunched up her face at the theretics her friend was blessing her with. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind" Mari rolled her eyes. Secretly enjoying The extraness that was her best friend.
"But despite the lack of romance between luka and I he will be joining us for breakfast tomorrow. Is Nino still coming as well?"
Sunday mornings, or midday depending on the time they woke up, had become a somewhat unofficial breakfast date tradition for the gang. Being one of the only times they all got a chance to hang out together now their lives were filled with part time jobs and a full time uni load.
It was a tradition Mari eagerly looked forward to every week and one she had never missed since they started it at the beginning of the uni year.
"Of course he will be there, could you think of a better way for him to spend his Sunday then with his fabulous girlfriend and her equally fabulous best friend?" Ayla retorted as she took the coffee cup Mari passed her before snatching another cookie and following Marinette up the stairs to their favourite place in Mari's house, the balcony.
Below them street lamps began to flicker on as the sun slowly sunk below the skyline setting the horizon ablaze in streaks of pinks and oranges. Together they watched, talking about work and study, everything and nothing before climbing back inside and settling down for the night. Each curled up in Mari's bed discussing what they would order for breakfast the next morning eventually drifting to sleep.
…..
The next morning the girls strolled leisurely into their favourite cafe, scanning the occupied tables for Nino, who messaged Ayla saying he had arrived already and was starving so they had better hurry or he would be starting without them.
Ayla spotted him first of course, sitting down the back end of the narrow cafe, waving enthusiastically at the girls once he spotted them.
As they approached Mari noticed someone at the table with Nino, even with their back to her it was easy to tell it certainly wasn't luka.
Where luka had longer dark hair with the tips dyed teal, coloured by Mari herself no less, the back to her sported almost chin length blonde locks. Their shoulders were also noticeably broader than those of luka, and very clearly defined, Mari mused to herself. The black tank top left more than enough skin for her to notice the curves that outlined each muscle which banded down his arms and across his shoulders.
Mari's step faltered, she was sure she didn't know the person sitting across from Nino and had no idea who it could be. Or even where Nino had no doubt dragged the poor soul from to join them. Bless his heart. Nino had a tendency for acquiring people wherever he went, always adopting those who looked a little out of place or unsure of themselves.
Offering a warm smile or words of encouragement and more often than not they ended up staying, becoming a permanent fixture of their group. Mari smiled softly to herself as she thought about her friend's kindness.
While she had faltered and slowed her pace Ayla had no such qualms and was now sliding in beside Nino, she leant in to give him a quick kiss on the nose in greeting. "Ewww! You stink!" Ayla wrinkled her nose in faked disgust at her boyfriend.
"Sorry babe, we came straight from the gym" Nino gestured over to the other person sitting at the table. "Dude this is the one and only Ayla I was telling you about and this is Mari, one of my best friends. I'm telling you man the Jasmine Dragon is one of the best cafes around! We come here every Sunday without fail! I can't believe you've never tried it."
Nino was still gushing as Mari walked around the table, finally coming face to face with the newest addition to their Sunday tradition. When she did eventually set eyes on his face, she gave a small strangled hiccup of surprise in the way of greeting.
The person sitting in front of her was striking to say the least. That silky blonde hair hung loosely framing his face, jaw strong and defined without being sharp. Full dusty pink lips slightly parted gave a brief glimpse of the white teeth hidden within. Nice as those lips were they looked slightly chapped, Mari watched as a tongue darted out and licked them. A nervous habit perhaps? She pondered as she continued to study his face.
Long dark lashes fanned his eyes, vibrante green and deep. They held a warmth that seemed to swallow Mari whole, enveloping all of her, causing the breath to catch in her throat.
Quickly she darted her eyes away from his mesmerising ones, up higher still to his brows a few shades darker then his hair. Ridiculously well groomed brows, Mari thought, suddenly self conscious of her own.
Oh God when was the last time she had done her brows, a week? Three?
What the hell? Since when do I care so much about eyebrows, or even at all? She briefly cursed herself internally for such ridiculous thoughts, while continuing her somewhat invasive
evaluation of the man in front of her.
Only then did she notice the single imperfection on the otherwise flawless face. A white scar marred his left brow running through it diagonally leaving a line where the hair no longer grew. Perhaps it was a stretch to call it an imperfection, in Mari's opinion it only seemed to enhance his features, giving a somewhat daring charm.
Mari realised she was openly staring, and that the remainder of their group was in turn staring at her. Quickly she darted her eyes downwards as a soft blush rose to her cheeks.
Thankfully Ayla chose that moment to speak up.
"Hey, nice to meet you, sorry I don't think I caught your name." Ayla stuck out a hand with enthusiasm.
"Oh yeah sorry I'm Adrien. Nice to meet you too. I hope I'm not intruding?" Came the soft reply as he awkwardly shook Aylas' offered hand.
"Not at all!The more the merrier, right Mari?" Ayla shot Mari a sneaky wink. Good lord help me I may just bludgeon her to death with the salt shaker.
Mari inhaled through her nose ridding herself of her violent thoughts, trying to compose herself before speaking. "Absolutely! So how do you know Nino?"
"Oh ahh I guess I don't, not really" Adrien replied sounding almost nervous.
"Oh, yeah, well I'd seen him around at the gym a few times but I needed a spotter today for bench, and Adrien was nearby. We just got to talking and hit it off so I invited him along this morning. Since we were both STARVING!" Nino exaggerated.
"So, please Mari hurry up and sit down so we can order!" Nino whined at her.
"Umm oh yeah right. Umm… I guess I'll just sit here then? If that's alright with you?" Mari mumbled, grabbing her elbow with her opposite arm, as if she was trying to shield herself. Something she always did when she was nervous.
"Oh yeah sure, umm sorry if I smell." Adrien glanced back at Ayla remembering her previous comment to Nino. "Nino was in a serious rush to get here, he wouldn't even give me a chance to shower." Adrien gave Mari a lopsided smile while running his hand through his hair. "Here let me." Adrien stood and pulled out the chair beside him gesturing towards it.
"Oh no, that's fine I don't mind smelling you.Oh umm what, no I mean. I don't mind if you smell!" Mari quickly tried to correct herself, flailing her arms in embarrassment, before huffing in defeat and taking the offered seat.
Nino and Ayla shared a pointed look between themselves. "Okay gang what are we thinking? I'm getting a double shot long black with allll the caramel" Ayla beamed, already excited at the thought of coffee, so much coffee! "Anddd scrambled eggs with a side of bacon of course."
Marinette couldn't help but snicker to herself, she loved the way Ayla exaggerated her words, drawing them out much longer than they needed to be, it was one of the many ways she expressed her very extra personality. "Ahh I'll get the French Toast and Blueberries."
"Yeah wow Mari, big surprise there." Nino teased at Mari's choice of breakfast. Don't try anything different, I think I would die of shock" he teased, in the good humoured way, only made possible due to years of friendship.
"What, I know what I like! There's nothing wrong with that! At Least I don't take forever to decide, unlike luka." Came Mari's smart retort, used to Ninos constant teasing.
"Hey yeah speaking of where is he?" Nino looked around the coffee shop, craning his neck to see.
"Oh, sorry I forgot to say, he sent me a text. He's not going to make it this morning, he's been taken by the muses and didn't want to risk losing inspiration for his latest piece so he said he would catch up with us later." Mari waved her hand dismissing Nino's concern. All three of the friends had their own unique art form and understood the rush that came with being inspired and the need to roll with it when inspiration was flowing.
"So dude what were you thinking? The big breakfast is awesome, especially for a post gym recharge, that's what I'm getting! Plenty of protein and heaps of sweet, sweet, delicious carbs!" Nino spoke looking almost dreamy at the thought of his breakfast.
"Oh umm, I better not. I'm kept on a pretty strict diet actually. So I was thinking I'll just get some poached eggs with maybe some avo on the side." Adriena mumbled still shy as he adapted to the group's dynamics.
Meanwhile Ninos face fell,
"What? Are you kidding me?" He practically spat.
Adrien looked up from the menu in alarm, not sure what he had done to cause such offence to the guy that had been kind enough to invite him out to eat. It wasn't something he had really done before and the last thing he wanted to do was upset him.
He had been granted a new found freedom and he so wanted a friend or two to indulge that freedom with. When almost out of nowhere he'd stumbled upon Nino, who was so easy to get along with and had been more than ready to welcome Adrien into his social circle. Adrien could hardly believe his luck, which really wasn't something he had in spades. But apparently it seemed his luck had come to an end.
Nino was still staring slack jawed when Aylas laugh interrupted the silence.
"Don't mind Nino, food is the other love of his life." She ended with a friendly wink at Adrien as she rested her hand on Nino's shoulder.
"You should see him in the kitchen, he's a whizz! I tell you once we are married I don't plan on cooking a day in my life!"
"Yeah, that's purely for everyone's safety babe" Nino added gently as he patted Aylas hand which was still rested on his shoulder.
Adrien had relaxed slightly at the banter, glad he hadn't upset Nino too much. He was still watching the two interact and so, was slightly startled when a voice spoke beside his ear.
"We were baking cookies one day, for Ninos birthday and Ayla managed to catch a tea towel on fire.Luckily we were in my parents bakery and had a fire extinguisher nearby." The girl sitting beside him whispered softly trying to contain her giggles, clearly remembering a fond memory.
Her soft words danced around Adriens mind, he had been so nervous when the two girls first arrived that he hadn't even really looked at her, until that very moment. Now that he was looking at her he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed her instantly!
Deep rose red lips pulled up in one corner into a playful smile, a smattering of light freckles graced her button nose and the tops of her high, soft cheekbones. Inky black/blue hair was pulled up in a high messy bun but some had escaped, framing the sides of her face with adorable bouncy curls, reaching down against her chin.
From his position beside her Adrien could see more escaped curls trailing down the back of her neck. Drawing his attention back to her face he noticed her eyes. Large bluebell eyes which sparkled much the same way sunlight did when trying to reach its fingers into the vast depths of the ocean. Once his gaze landed on them he felt himself pulled into their intensity. They enveloped him in a shower of warmth, creating
a calm in his soul like he had never known.
…….