THAT WHICH TIME CANNOT BREAK
Chapter 24
When she woke up, Marinette found herself on top of her model.
Her head against his chest, she smiled like she was a kid again. The only thing that could have possibly dampened this wonderful morning was the overwhelming beams of midday light that flooded the bedroom, but it reassured her that, for once in her life, she had had the kind of sleep a deprived college student could only dream of having.
It wasn't long before Adrien's eyelids fluttered open to take sight of her making a bed out of him. The way that his smile warmed her up more than the sun left butterflies dancing in the pit of her stomach.
She heard him giggle and then felt his fingers brush against her cheek. Oh, how he knew the ways to make her keel and lean into his affections! This was going to be a wonderful weekend, as she didn't have to worry about her classes getting in the way of them spending some real quality time together. Her mind danced with thoughts of romantic places that they might go to later in the evening and the fact that they weren't already there caused her to groan as she wiggled about.
She knew she would have to get up for the day eventually, but the position she was in was just too comfortable. She tightened her arms around his waist as if she thought someone might try to pull her away.
She heard Adrien giggle some more. "Awh, Mari," he whispered, leaning up and kissing the top of her head.
"Shut it, cat. I'm not trying to be cute," she pouted in a defeated frustration. "I merely want a comfortable bed, and you happen to be the only one who is suited for the job."
"I hate to admit, Mari," he said to her, "but you already kind of failed at the whole not being a cute thing by being born."
Marinette gasped and felt the redness in her cheeks flair up. She reached for a pillow and pressed it between them. She heard Adrien give a heartier laugh and watched as his arms came up to protect his face. "Hey, hey! Am I wrong?" he said.
"I suppose not," she pouted, "but I still think you're needlessly romantic."
"I'll accept it, but I suppose a good night's sleep does that to you, doesn't it? Did you sleep alright?"
"Of course I did!" she said, pressing down on the pillow as if it were obvious why. "It was the best sleep I've had in ages, considering all the times we've missed sleep because of our exciting nights together."
"They tend to get pretty thrilling at times, don't they?"
"I'm still blown away that you picked me when you could have had anyone you wanted, really," she said sheepishly, unraveling one of her arms to rub the back of her head.
"Yeah, I guess anyone would be surprised that I haven't taken advantage of my star status or anything like that," he murmured, "but being chased by fangirls who only want you because you're on the cover of some magazine really shifts your perspective. I wanted to find someone who didn't see me as Adrien Agreste, that fashion model. I wanted someone to see me as Adrien, a boy who is just trying to find his place in the world. Ladybug seemed to be the only person to see for who I am and held me accountable for things. I guess that's why I fell in love with her, and then with you because Marinette is the only Ladybug I could ever ask for."
Her gaze snapped away from his and to anything that wasn't in his direction. Her cheeks were burning up now. "God, get out your schedule. I'm making sure you're taking a poetry course, you cheesy Shakespeare," she told him, sitting up.
He blushed. "Oh, oh really? I don't know what that's all about. I'm not that good at it, honestly," he said, propping himself up with one arm braced behind him. "They're just words, really, but I mean so much when I say 'em, bug-a-boo. I- I mean... how did a girl like you not have any love interests before me? You couldn't have been so mesmerized by me that you put off other boys. Then again, I guess it's a tough case to argue against, given how things with Nathaniel have gone."
"I fell for Chat, too, does that count?" she asked, rolling her eyes. She took a breath. "I'd like to think I'm pretty loyal when it comes to my crushes. Though, I doubt I'll ever have another crush that isn't you. I did start having feelings for Chat, but only because that damn suit of yours is so tight," she said, grabbing the pillow and throwing it at him. "God, I could be the most innocent girl on the planet if it weren't for that suit!"
Adrien chuckled. "Sure, sure. That counts. I take great pride in that suit because I feel so flexible in it. I'll be sure to show it off a bit more when I get the chance," he said with a wink, Chat's grin replacing Adrien's.
Marinette flushed, rubbing her arm gently. "Heh, yeah," she exhaled before shaking her head and reaching around the bed for her backpack. "Could you read to me your classes while we're here? Just so we can kill two birds with one stone and all?"
"Of course, bug-a-boo," he said. He reached over to the nightstand and grabbing the little sheet of paper off the top. He unraveled it. "Well, my first period of the day is spent fencing, according to this," he started, "followed by a class called Advanced Languages? So... probably more practice with Chinese or something."
"Nope. I've got none of those," she murmured, resting her chin on his shoulder. "All of my classes are more of in the arts section. With all of the creative things, you know? See anything kind of like that in there, Kitty?"
"Ah... well, I have an animation class... and a literature class, too?" he murmured before making a face. "Ew, Calculus." He groaned. "Advanced Physics..." He sticking his tongue out. "That doesn't sound fun." He took a moment to read through the text some more. "Oh, I have a graphic design class, too. That's artsy, isn't it?"
"Oh, yeah! I take that! It helped out a lot with creating my website logo. I take literature, too!"
"I'll get to see you twice, then!" Adrien cheered, hugging her closer to him. "That'll be so great. You can definitely help me out with the graphic design class because I can't draw to save my life and, if we ever have to write anything in literature, you'll know exactly what I'll be writing about."
"Yeah, yeah," she drawled, blushing a bit and rolling her eyes. "Were those in order from what you just said, though? If they are, then we have the same periods, but..." she trailed off as she tried to sneak a little peek at his paper.
"Oh, yeah, just in that order: fencing, language, calculus, physics, animation, graphic design, computer science, and literature," he said before biting his lower lip, "Does that match up with you?"
"Um..." she hummed, processing her schedule in her mind. "Oh! Yes! We do have the same of those two classes," she said, a bright smile spreading on her lips.
He smiled brightly, happily wrapping his arms around her. "Awesome! Mari, this is gonna be so wonderful!"
"What a thrill this is!" she squeaked, bringing up her hands together just above her chest. "A promised future, going to college together and fighting crime by the end of the day. Gee, nothing could please me more."
"And we've got our best friends right across the street," Adrien said.
"We're more of a team now than ever, Mari, and God, I hope we never got out of this fix. I love it. I love us. I love you."
"I love you, too. I love it all," she said, letting out a sound of overjoyed happiness before kissing his forehead. Her chin rested up against the top of his head.
"Getting a little paw-sy now, are we?" he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her mid-section and laying the side of his head against her chest. "Think we should get up and do something today or are you perfectly satisfied with being a bedbug today?"
"I was thinking about a little tour around the school, perhaps? Possibly a little later, though, considering how comfortable I am in your arms right this moment," she said.
"That'd be nice. I want to take you out somewhere, though. I'm thinking possibly this evening. I mean the whole nine yards. A nice, fancy dinner, maybe a movie... ah... then some proper snuggles and other adorable things. Before then, I think it might be wise for us to run by Master Fuu's."
"I swear, if you spend all your money on me, you're dead. Also, we should maybe figure out a way to give Master Fuu a chance to test Alya and Nino," she said, shrugging a bit. "But yes, a date sounds perfect for today's events."
"Well, now that you mention it, that might take some thinking to find a way to get Alya and Nino over there without drawing too much suspicion," he said, scratching his head. "Unless Alya and Nino both have a die-hard love for Chinese tea, that might be a problem."
"I know Alya isn't that classy and I'm sure DJs don't usually have an hour set aside for tea time, but there is an ice cream shop nearby. Maybe that could work? I especially wouldn't care to tag along there."
"It would give Master Fuu a chance to watch them and maybe then he'd be more open to giving them their own Miraculouses and definitely what kinds of Miraculouses they should get," he said, smiling. "We can probably let Master Fuu know about it when we run the book over to him and then go to pick up our friends."
"Perfect!" she concluded. "Would you like that tour now, Kitty? I'd love to show you around the place. I know it decently well."
"Sure, bug-a-boo. I'm all yours to lead around," he said. "Does anyone else from our high school days go here? I know Nathaniel does and Rose works at the café."
"Rose said that Juleka was starting up about the same time as you. But, besides Juleka, Rose, and Nathaniel, I don't think I know anyone else that goes here," she said, shrugging as she got up from the bed in search of some new clothes.
"That's alright. I'm sure we'll make it work for us," he said. "Besides, I'm excited to meet all the people who go here. Are they nice?"
"Most are. A lot of them are more mature than me. In areas like the arts, most people are outgoing and open-minded which benefits me well. On the other hand, there are some you might want to keep a close eye on. Like I've said before, avoid parties if they seem suspicious."
He nodded. "Hey, you're just the right balance of maturity and playfulness. Always remember that," he said. "With all this talk about it, I'm feeling just as excited as I did when I enrolled myself into high school!"
"Awh, you're so cute when you're excited! Gosh, you're just like... like... a sugar cookie! Yeah, that seems about right." She chuckled, taking off her sweater and throwing it into a pink hamper.
He sat up in the bed and stretched before swinging his legs over the side. "Oh, yeah. Thanks to Alya and Nino, I finally have changes of clothes now," he said, going over to where he had set the different outfits, searching through them. He held up a light-red, loose jacket and a black tee that a sort of galaxy theme to it. "What do you think of this set?"
She hummed in thought, examining the outfit. "It seems nice but wear some black pants with it. The whole picture of it will be thrown off otherwise," she told him, throwing on a t-shirt with an elegant-looking cat silhouette in the middle. Marinette slipped on some black leggings and a pink skirt that had two little, darker-pink buttons on it. The skirt went up above her waist, making the shirt look a little shorter than it was. Lastly, she finished with a golden-yellow jacket that went down to her upper waist with white trim at the collar of the jacket.
"Gotcha. Thank you, missus fashion designer," he said. "How is it that you're not the Agreste? You somehow nabbed a better eye for fashion than I could. I mean, look at that, astounding."
"Most of this is from Le Petit Chaton, except the leggings. The design on the t-shirt is the logo I use for all of the clothes. It's usually way smaller though and less noticeable," she said, smiling brightly as she tugged down her pigtails to brush them out and put them up again.
"Oh, wow, really... You drew a lot of inspiration from Chat Noir, didn't you?" he said, now finally dressed. He came over to her, slipping his hands into his pockets, looking off. "Sometimes I forget about that."
She shrugged, tugging on a pair of brown shoes. "It wasn't just Chat. I kind of developed a secret love for black cats over the years. Since black cats represented bad luck but have cute looks, it reminded me about how cute can sometimes be powerful," she told him, standing up and slinging her bag over her head.
"I didn't think that black cats have much of a cute look about them unless they're specifically meant to be cute like in cartoons," he said. "Well, anyway, it's incredible you managed to launch your own business like that. All through your own doing."
"It was more of a miracle for me, I guess," she said, shrugging before leaning down and peeking under the bed. "Plagg! Tikki! Time to go!"
Plagg flew out, rubbing his large, green eyes with his tiny stubs. "Is it time for breakfast already? You didn't have to wake me up. You could have just brought some Camembert."
Marinette laughed at her cat's silly little quip, shaking her head. "Well, Plagg, we can stop by the bakery after I give Adrien a quick tour around this place," she told him.
Tikki soon joined the black kwami's side. "Morning, Adrien! Morning, Mari!"
Plagg looked upon his seemingly bushy-eyed kwami partner and smiled. "Tikki, energy... gimme!" he whined. He began to make a sort of pawing motion at her before sighing in defeat and flying in circles before stopping and looking at the two wielders. "Well, the bakery sounds nice. All those wonderful, warm smells..."
Tikki giggled. "You're silly, Plagg! And don't forget to pick up some cookies while you're there, Marinette!" she cheered.
Marinette opened her bag with a laugh. "Alright, I'll make sure of it," she said as Tikki disappeared into the bag.
Plagg zipped around Adrien's head a few times before zipping into his wielder's jacket pocket.
"Alright, then. We're ready to go and I'm ready to start our little tour, Miss Dupain-Cheng," Adrien announced.
"Excuse me, I think you have the wrong girl. It's Missus future-Agreste," she winked, leaning forward on her toes.
"Oh, the sound of that, Mister and Missus Agreste! Now, if that doesn't have a super-spy ring to it, I don't know what won't," he chuckled before winking as he spoke. "The name's Agreste, Adrien Agreste."
"Marinette Agreste, at your service," she smirked, sending him a little salute as she laughed. "I'll take action whenever it's needed."
"There you go," Adrien said, wrapping his arm around her as they left the dorm room. "So, soon-to-be Missus Agreste, where is the first stop on our tour, hmm?"
"Your first class is fencing, correct?" she asked as they walked down the hallway. "It's not that far from our room, which is good since the first period is the class I'm usually late for."
"Wasn't that true of high school as well, Mari?" he teased softly.
"Shut up!" she snorted, rolling her eyes. "You were just as late as me sometimes! You just got away with it more."
"I got away with it?" He repeated, blowing air out in small streams. "No, no... Nathalie held me responsible, believe me. I learned my lesson quickly on how to juggle school."
"I wish we would've figured this out earlier, then you could've given me some tips and tricks on what to do in situations like those crazy ones."
"Definitely. But hey, you're here today so that must count for something right? You pulled through and without my help, that's pretty paw-some, milady."
"Why thank you," she said, giggling. "But it isn't a school day! And my day will be spent with you, so it all adds up to me jumping out of bed with joy."
He smiled at her and leaned down to capture her lips in a soft, quick kiss. "God, I may be able to compose words in such a way to rival the likes of Shakespeare, but I can't find the words to describe how much I love you," he sighed, laying his head gently against the top of her head as they walked.
"I know, Kitty. I feel the same way," she said, smiling warmly. "There will never be a day that I will find the perfect way to express my love. It will always be a struggle that bubbles inside my heart in the best of ways."
He snuggled his head against the top of her shoulder as he walked along with her. "This is more than I could ever ask for," he murmured. "And probably the same for you, but... but ever since Mother went away, I haven't had any real love. And here you are; that's all fixed. Mari, you're the light of my world."
"I'm so thankful to give you that love that you rightfully deserve," she told him before her eyes lit up at the sight of the place she was looking for. "Here!" she cheered, pointing to a room with a rather large door.
He kissed the top of her head before blinking a few times, looking ahead. "What's in here?" he wondered. "I know that we've seen a few rooms already, but this place looks pretty big."
"Well, this is where fencing class is held. It's pretty big because the locker room is connected inside. Though, there is a wall separating the two for privacy reasons."
"Oh, alright. So, I know where to go first thing Monday," he said. "Thanks for this. Ah, I'm sure if you can show me where the language hallway is, I'll be good to go."
"Okay, follow me," she told him, smiling as she took his hand in hers. Marinette turned down a hallway and began to walk down it, naming all the classes she recognized as they went.