A/N: I forgot to do this with the last chapter, but I think the rating goes up a bit.
Chapter 18: Part 3
The next morning...
*Adrien's POV*
It was a beautifully bright and sunny morning, making the drive to the Dupain Cheng Bakery highly enjoyable in my mothers open top car. I could barely contain my excitement. Spending the next week with just Marinette will be amazing and had made the normally tedious job of packing somewhat enjoyable!
I pulled up to the side of the bakery at about 9:30, knowing that Mari would be stressing about how much to bring. I walked in and immediately knew I was right. Tom was trying to hold down the ovens and the front desk, I assume because Sabine is upstairs helping Marinette.
"Hey Tom. Do you need any help?" I called over to him.
"Oh Adrien. Yes please! Could you take these next few orders whole I go make sure nothing is burning and then maybe go swap places with Sabine? I think you know what's happening at the moment!" he replied, letting out a relieved sigh before running to the back.
"Yes I do know. That's why I've come early, I thought she may need some help!"
"You are correct there son!"
We both laughed and then got on with our allocated jobs. Fifteen minutes later, the bakery was calm and I made my way upstairs to see what was happening. The apartment was quiet when I walked in. I was surprised to see a packed beach bag placed neatly by the door. I was expecting to see hurricane Marinette with her whole closet strewn about the apartment as she decided what she needed to bring with her. But everything was as tidy as it normally was, still looking homie and lived in.
"Hey Marinette!" I called out. "Are you ready?"
A head popped out from the ceiling hatch, beaming down at me when I caught her eye.
"Hey hun!" Marinette called back. "Give me a sec, and I'll be down" She seemed a little breathless and I still had no clue where her mum was. That mystery was solved a minute later with the sound of a zip closing and 2 triumphant cheers coming from upstairs. I saw Marinette stand up and then come skipping down the stairs towards me, her mum following close behind grasping a small pink suitcase. Once Mari reached the bottom, she turned back towards her mum and grasped the suitcase from the bottom, bending down and placing it on the floor before facing me with a sigh of relief and contentment. Her face broke out in another of her radiant smiles as she took the 3 steps towards me and stood on her tiptoes to place a peck on my lips.
"Hi," she smiled. "Sorry I'm a little late."
"Actually you're pretty much perfectly on time!" I laughed, checking the time on my watch. "I was expecting to walk into a little chaos from what Tom said!"
That caused Sabine to start laughing, earning a scathing look from her daughter.
"That happened Adrien, don't worry! But we managed to get control and Marinette has done really well!" Sabine said before also checking the time and apologising profusely, ran out the door and back down to the bakery. Mari and I watched her go before turning and shrugging to each other.
"So you didn't go complete tornado then?" I asked, reaching for the beach bag by the door as Mari put on her shoes.
"haha very funny!" she replied, pulling a face at me. "But no I didn't. Once it clicked that I was going to the beach for a week with you, I knew exactly what I needed and Mum was helping me find all that stuff, which just managed to fit in my case." She stood up and patted her smallish suitcase, the same one she took to New York.
"That's amazing! Well then, are you ready to go?"
"I am indeed! Let me just grab that Polaroid camera that Alya gave me this weekend and then let's go!"
I laughed as she squealed a little in excitement, walking towards the bags in the corner of the room, grabbing the camera and a couple of the refill packs and stuffing them in the second little bag on her shoulder, an addition to the one that normally carried Tikki. That's when a thought crossed my mind.
"Wait a second," I said, the change of tone stopping Marinette. "Are the Kwami's going to be ok this week?"
I saw her visibly relax, restarting her movements of putting the camera away.
"Yes, they'll be fine. Alya said she'd check in on them in the middle of the week, but they know that I'm not here and have promised that they will stay hidden." She replied, putting on her metaphorical guardian hat for a minute.
"Phew, that's good," I sighed, grabbing the handle in Mari's suitcase and heading towards the door, satisfied that everything had been thought of before taking our first trip together.
After wrestling with the suitcase to get it down the multiple flights of stairs, Mari and I put the bags in the back of the car, grateful that they fitted in seamlessly with loads of room left for potential shopping. We then went back into the bakery to say a proper goodbye to her parents, leaving with a delicious selection of travel snacks for the long drive and a promise to take lots of pictures.
The drive was really enjoyable, the weather brightening and getting even warmer the further South we went. It was 6 o'clock by the time we arrived at Chloe's beach house, both fairly tired but still with enough energy to bring in our bags, unpack and explore the rather large house, now knowing exactly why Chloe had chosen this as one of her many 18th birthday gifts. Even the location screamed Chloe. The little town was high class enough to include all the boutique shops, but still secluded enough to have quiet beaches and houses set quite far apart from each other. Everything was within walking distance from the house, even multiple restaurants and a slightly busier beach that advertised great waves for water skiing and calmer water for paddle boarding and swimming. It was the perfect spot for us to take our first holiday to.
The house itself was beautifully furnished in a minimalist style, not a trace of what Chloe would call tacky sea themed decor anywhere. As soon as we walked in the front door, we were met by a couple low steps, separating the entrance hall from the wide corridor that panned out into the open plan living room and dining room. The entire back wall that faced the sea was made of glass, including a sliding door to one side that backed onto a wide deck that featured an outdoor sofa and dining table, not to mention the large hot tub that was on the side.
Next to the living room was a large kitchen, fitted with all the modcons and essentials to help us survive the week, even the fridge was stocked with some basic essentials for the times we didn't want to go out to eat.
To the left of the entrance hall was a spiral staircase that opened out onto a balcony landing the length of the upstairs corridor. Four generous bedrooms came off the corridor, each with their own ensuite, allowing Mari and I to choose one facing the back of the house that provided a wonderful view of the sea through large nearly floor to ceiling windows. We avoided the biggest room at the end of the corridor, knowing instantly by the yellow colour theme that it was Chloe's.
"Adrien, this house is stunning," Mari said, walking into our chosen bedroom while I was unpacking my bag.
"I know. I have to say I wasn't expecting this when Chloe offered her beach house. Although I really shouldn't be surprised, this place is right up her alley!" I laughed, closing the last dresser drawer and stuffing my bag in the closet, then spinning around to face her. "So what do you wanna do?"
"To be honest, I'm starving but I don't feel like getting dressed up. Plus we've been sitting in a car all day so I would like to take a stroll along the beach. Do you think we could order a Pizza and then sit outside and eat it before going out for a bit?" she replied, going over to her own suitcase to start unpacking.
"That actually sounds perfect," I sighed, suddenly realising that I was also very hungry and a delicious pizza would really hit the spot. "I'll go order it and let you unpack." I then walked out of the room to go hunt for the menus that Chloe said someone had left here for us.
"Thank you!" I heard Marinette call as I was going down the stairs.
*Marinette's POV*
"That was one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten!" I sighed as I flopped onto the blanket I was sitting on, the sand beneath it providing a comfortable cushion.
We were currently eating dinner picnic style on the beach, sitting on a blanket that I found in a closet under the stairs. In keeping with the demographic of this beachfront town, the pizza was artisan and had a delicious sourdough base topped with tomato sauce and some gorgeous mozzarella cheese, garnished with amazingly fresh basil. For a first night, I don't think we've done too badly, having now completed our unpacking and picniced on the beach as the sun set over the still water of the mediterranean.
Adrien flopped down next to me, his sigh of content happiness matching mine. He grabbed a hold of my hand in between us as we both lay there, looking up to the clear sky and up at the stars sparkling like little sequins against the dark backdrop. We lay like that for a while, letting our stomachs feel less full before pulling ourselves up to pick up the pizza box and banket, climbing up to the deck at the back of the house to put them away. We then ran back down the couple stairs to the sand, letting the golden flecks flow between our toes as we walked hand in hand down to the waterfront, the sand getting damper as we got closer to where the tide was lapping the shoreline. We strolled along the shoreline for a little while, a comfortable silence falling over us until we decided to head back.
"So, how much planning and convincing went into this?" I asked him, swimming our arms as we walked.
"Surprisingly not that much. I was talking to Chloe about a month ago and happened to mention that I was missing you while we were both so busy but I was in the midst of planning your birthday weekend. That's when she suggested that we go away and spend some real time together and offered the beach house. It took me a little while to say yes to this place because I felt bad just accepting it, but she kept mentioning it so I said yes," he replied.
"Wow, that was so nice of her! But what about my parents?"
"I spoke to them on one of the mornings that we walked to school together. They said they'd get back to me and then, once I left yours that evening after a study session, they told me that it sounded amazing and we should definitely take the opportunity to spend some time together."
"Honestly, that's amazing and I'm so glad that it worked out so well." We had now reached the house and were standing fairly close to the steps leading back to the dech when we stopped walking. The electricity was building between us again as we faced each other, standing face to face. His face was inching closer to mine, causing my breath to hitch in my throat, a feeling that I'd never get used to even after being together for nearly 9 months.
"Me too," he whispered. "You asked about how much planning. I can honestly say next to nothing because I haven't planned anything." He was so close now, his teasing Cat Noir ways showing. He moved his head to my ear, whispering into it; "So then we'd have lots of time for this!" And then he suddenly moved really quickly, bending down and swiping my legs out from under me, throwing me over his shoulder, causing me to burst out into a fit of giggles. He ran up the stairs and opened the sliding doors, quickly shutting them behind him before going over to the sofa and literally dropping me from his shoulder onto the soft cushions. We both pulled of the hoodies we were wearing to shield ourselves from the evening breeze coming of the water, now too hot to have them on, before I grabbed Adrien by his thin white t-shirt and pulled him down on top of me, my legs hooking around his waist as his lips finally met mine, sending my brain to utter bliss.
The next morning...
I don't remember how I ended up in the bed, but that's where I am now, curled up in the incredibly soft covers and smelling the waft of something delicious coming from downstairs. I reluctantly climbed out of the bed, finding that there was no one next to me, and padded over to the ensuite to jump in the shower, washing the last remnants of sand from my toes. After spending a little too long under the warm water, I stepped out and pulled on the soft but thin summer robe I'd brought with me, and then walked out of the bedroom to head downstairs to investigate the delicious smells.
I found the source in the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe to watch Adrien dancing around the island in the middle of the room, cooking up what looks like a fresh seasonal omelette with some of the ultra fresh vegetables that were in the fridge. He was blasting a playlist filled with tunes that were guaranteed to uplift anybody's mood that I made for him in the few weeks after his mum woke up and he was feeling really confused, and had his back to the door, so hadn't spotted me watching him yet. It took everything in me not to burst out laughing, but I managed, until he spun round mid solo and stopped right in his tracks, his mouth hanging open.
"How long have you been standing there?" he asked, a mortified expression gracing his face, sending the wooden spoon he was using as a pretend microphone clattering to the floor.
"Long enough," I breathed, not able to hold my laughter anymore. "You are very entertaining!"
'Yeah thanks!" he said, picking up the spoon and then making a face at me. "It's not that funny!"
"Oh believe me it was! But you're partly right. I shouldn't be laughing this hard. I'm glad you're so happy that you could dance and sing about it."
"Thanks! But you're the one who makes me so happy. I would scream how much I love you off the rooftops if I could." He had now stepped closer to me and wrapped his arms around me, taking up their usual position of being wrapped around my waist.
"I love you too. So much." I leant upwards and placed a kiss on his lips, breaking it before we got lost. "So, when did you learn to cook like this?"
"Ah, that is due to my mother finding out how my father had raised me for the last few years. She decided that she would make it up to me by spending as much time with me as possible, and part of that was us learning how to cook together. She didn't know either so we took over the kitchen on Saturdays and taught ourselves. We both turned out to be naturals and have mastered lots of things, including this," he replied, his pride showing in his smile as he pointed to the steaming omelettes that he'd served onto two plates during his dance around the large room.
"They look delicious babe," I smiled, moving away from Adrien's arms and going to pick up the plates to take them over to the table at the back of the room. Adrien went over to the fridge and poured us a glass of orange juice each, coming to join me with the glasses and some cutlery.
The omelette was delicious, each bite filled with flavour, enough to rival anything that my parents make. Once we finished eating, I helped Adrien tidy up the kitchen, returning it to its original shiny state. After we'd done the washing up, with Adrien washing and me drying, and put the last things away in the cupboards, I hoisted myself up onto the island and sat there in thought for a minute.
"What you thinking?" Adrien asked, leaning against the sink, facing me, while he dried his hands with a tea towel.
"Nothing much. Just about what we can do today." I replied, looking out of the windows at the bright sunlight, knowing that today was going to be another beautiful day.
"Well, I was thinking we could head down to the busier beach by the town centre and spend the day over there. Then we can go out to dinner before coming back here to enjoy the hot tub," he winked at me when he mentioned the hot tub, giving me an insight into his true intentions in regards to enjoying the hot tub!
"That's a great idea. Let me just go put some clothes on and then we can go." I said, jumping down from the cool marble of the island.
"Wait, you're just wearing that robe right now?" Adrien asked, the blood draining out of his face for a second, nearly making me laugh.
"That's correct. I couldn't wait to investigate the source of some very tantalizing aromas and I didn't know the plans. But now I do, so I'll go get changed." I went to walk out the door, teasing Adrien as I did, fully expecting the hand on my wrist to spin me into him. What I didn't expect was the mischievous glint in his eye as he placed his hand on my lower back and backed me over to the kitchen table, his other hand reaching for the tie of my robe, slowly pulling it open, the cool air conditioned air washing over my body. He lay me down on the table, gently kissing up my neck, climbing on top of me, his leg in between mine, his lips meeting mine in an insane kiss. My hands went to unbutton his shirt as he moved his kisses along my jawline towards my ear.
"Chloe's chef is going to hate us for this," he breathed into my ear. I pulled his head back towards mine and kissed him again, laughing as I did.
"Well then I guess we'll never say anything about it…"
Friday evening... the last night at the beach house...
*Adrien's POV*
This week has been amazing. We relaxed. We caught each other up on everything. We did lots of *other* stuff. I didn't think it was possible, but I think I've fallen even deeper in love with Marinette. It was a welcome break from our superhero lives. Even Tikki and Plagg were so relaxed that when we were near the beach house, they were off doing their own thing, allowing us to truly take a well deserved break.
On Wednesday, the weather was terrible, rain pouring down but still leaving behind a humidity, leaving Marinette and I at the beach house all day. This was not a bad thing, both deciding that a day of doing nothing inside a gorgeous house would be fun. We started the day by cooking breakfast together. Then Mari taught me how to bake her family's traditional macarons, a morning filled with fun and laughter. After we had finished in the kitchen, we put some of our baked treats on a plate, grabbed a bottle of wine (something we could now drink) and went onto the covered deck to enjoy the hot tub, the sound of the rain hitting the top of the deck adding to our relaxed state. We then finished the evening with takeout and a couple episodes of a tv series we'd committed to watching together until we left for school at the end of summer, falling asleep curled together on the sofa.
Thursday brought back the sun, giving us the opportunity to go explore the town itself and to browse through the boutique shops. We didn't buy too much, but we did have a lot of fun trying clothes on and getting lost in the bookshops.
Finally, we spent today on the quiet beach by the beach house, making the most of the free time by relaxing under the wonderful sunlight, breathing in the salty seaside air. We did lean into our scandalous sides a bit when I could barely take my eyes off Marinette in her extremely flattering raspberry red two piece bathing suit, pulling her down on top of me once she'd released herself from the white beach cover up dress. We did go out into the calm water and paddle around for a bit, eventually launching into a full fledged water fight only to collapse onto one another's arms yet again, laughing as I carried my stunning girlfriend, bridal style, back up to the deck sofa, laying her down gently before joining her on the sofa, the following kiss making my insides melt.
It was now the evening and the sun was about to set. We were both getting ready to go to the fancy beachfront restaurant in the town, getting a little distracted whilst doing so. I was putting on a pair of black chinos and a white shirt, leaving the top button open to make it a little more casual. Once I was ready, I went downstairs to collect a couple things that I needed to pack in the morning while waiting for Mari to finish up in the shower and get ready had decided to leave by mid afternoon so we could pack and enjoy a little more time on the peaceful beach, soaking in the last rays of sunshines and fully fresh air before beheading back to the city.
I was flicking through the many photos we'd taken on the polaroid, some serious, some goofy, some cute and romantic and others just candid shots taken by one of us of the other when inspiration struck, when I heard the small clink of heels on the staircase. I stood up to walk to the entrance hall, grabbing my wallet and phone, before stopping dead in my tracks. There standing in front of me was someone that could only be described as a goddess. She was wearing a red slip dress that had lace detailing round the neckline and trailing down the fabric in sweeping movements, highlighting her figure. She spun round, allowing me to see the low back of the dress, the fabric gathering near her mid back. It fell down to her mid thighs, any shorter and the garment could have been classed as lingerie, but Marinette managed to pull it off, making it look as if she was wearing a cocktail dress paired with a pair of red strappy red heels and a silver clutch.
"Is it too much?" she asked, nervously brushing a piece of hair that had fallen out of her updo behind her ear.
"Absolutely not, you look stunning," I gulped, rushing towards her and grabbing her hand to pull her out of the door. "So stunning that we need to leave right now before we miss our reservation!"
*Marinette's POV*
Dinner was delicious. We were at a classic French Bistro where everyone around us was wearing classy cocktail dresses, making me feel very self conscious about wearing the dress that Alya had called 'too skimpy'. But then, every now and again, I'd catch Adrien staring at me, the smitten look on his face making all my worries disappear.
After dinner and a delicious dessert, Adrien and I decided to take a different route back to the house, knowing that we could walk straight along the beach and reach the quiet part by the private houses. We both took our shoes off, savouring the feeling of sand between our toes as we strolled along hand in hand, much like the first night we were here. We eventually reached the house, walking round to the front to let ourselves back in, dropping our shoes by the front door, a lull forming between us for a minute before I broke it.
"I know I've said this a lot this week, but thank you so much for this trip, we both needed it." I said.
"You're so welcome. And you're right, after the last few years we've had, we really did need this trip!" he smiled at me as he reached for my hand, kissing my knuckles and running his thumb over them. Suddenly, his face broke out in an even wider smile, eyes brightening as he once again dragged me by the arm, but this time into the open space of the living room. He let go of my hand and walked over to the record player in the corner, selecting a record and setting it up. The first notes of some calm smooth music floated out as Adrien walked back towards me, extending his hand out.
"Will you dance with me?" he asked, his bright smile so contagious and a deadly combination with his gorgeous pleading green eyes, making him completely irresistible. I nodded and took his hand, him using it to spin me into him, placing his hand in the small of my back as I rested my head on his shoulder. We slowly moved in time to the music for a couple songs, Adrien ever so often spinning me out and back in. At the climax of the 3rd song, he gently dipped me, placing a kiss on my lips that continued as we resumed the standing position. We broke apart and stared into each other's eyes, Adrein's hand hovering near the concealed zip of my dress as he searched my eyes. I leant in closer to him, whispering into his ear, causing his eyes to go wide. He let go of my waist and, taking my hand again, led us upstairs for the last time this trip…
The next day…
It's now 8pm and we are pulling up outside my house after one of the most relaxing and enjoyable weeks of my life.
We had packed efficiently this morning, allowing us enough time to take one last dip in the sea before getting lunch and driving back home.
"Thank you so much Adrien," I said once he had turned the car off, leaning over the gearstick to kiss him before I climbed out of the car. Adrien came out as well, helping me take me stuff out of the car and bring it upstairs. My parents were watching TV when we walked into the apartment, getting up when we came in, giving us both massive hugs and asking lots of questions. Unfortunately Adrien couldn't stay too long as he also had to get home to see his mum. So after we'd had some tea, I went back downstairs with Adrien to see him off.
"So did you enjoy yourself this week?" he asked, wrapping his arms around my waist again.
"I did. So much," I replied, returning the kiss Adrien had leant down to give me. "Especially this morning sea escapades!" I laughed, winking at him. He laughed back, letting go of me and walking to the other side of the car.
"I can assure you, I enjoyed all of our 'escapades'!" he said, climbing into the car and turning it on. "Anyways, I'll call you tomorrow."
"Yes, I'll speak to you then. I love you!"
"I love you too!" He waved as he drove off, which I returned until I saw him turn the corner, out of my eyeline. I then went back inside, completely ready to collapse in my bed and fall asleep.
2 Months Later...
*Adrien's POV*
"Hey honey," Marinette greeted when I opened the front door for her and Chloe, meeting my lips for a quick kiss over the boxes she was carrying.
Mari and Chloe had come over to help me pack the last stuff for University today after Marinette, Alya, Kagami and I had done the same for Mari's room yesterday. My stuff was going to be nowhere near as large of a job, but mum had insisted on asking them to come help so we could all spend time together before we left.
The rest of this summer after our week-long trip flew by in a blink of an eye. It was filled to the brim of activities with both friends and family, making me feel the fullest I ever had. But now it was time to face the reality that we were all headed off to University next week, something we've all been forcing ourselves not to think of all holidays.
A couple hours after Mari and Chloe arrived, we were nearly done and were just about to stop for a coffee break when my mum came bursting into my room after searching the lair turned basement storage area for some last minute stuff.
"You'd never guess what I found!" she exclaimed, her blonde hair falling over her face as she took some deep breaths to bring her fast paced breathing back under control. "Adrien's baby album!"
Marinette and Chloe dropped what they were doing and lepat over the boxes to my mum, fizzing with excitement.
"No way!" they both shouted in unison, causing all three of them to burst out laughing.
"MUM! I don't think now is the right time to embarrass me with those!" I called over in a half hearted attempt to stop her, knowing that it probably won't work.
"Oh come on, Adiren," Marinette pleaded. "You've seen mine and I was nowhere near as mortified as I thought I was going to be!"
I laughed, remembering the day that Sabine had decided to organise everything and came across a long buried album. It included some insanely adorable pictures and may or may not have made me dream about what Mari and I's future kids would like.
"Ok, fine," I reluctantly agreed, causing the three most important women in my life to jump in excitement and sit themselves down on the sofa in the middle of the half empty room to go through them. I carried on packing some of the essentials, like plates and glasses, that we had bought for me, every now and again catching what they were talking about.
I stopped for a minute, taking in the scene, noticing how mum's eyes were starting to tear up with happy nostalgia and how Mari and Chloe were actually laughing and getting along, finally past all of the mean girl drama that Chloe put Marinette through.
And at that moment, thinking about all that we'd been through together, I knew everything would be ok...
A/N: That's it! I did it! The story is finished!
I just want to say thank you to all of you readers for coming back every week. I really hope I you enjoyed it! A second thank you to those who posted reviews. I love reading them and they give me so much joy to wake up - most of the time due to them being posted while I'm sleeping because of time difference - and read the lovely comments. The ones I got on my first chapter really pushed me to keep going and post the rest of my chapters. This came at a really stressful point and it gave me an outlet to escape into this world.
I did start this story thinking that I could not go in to the more grown up side of their relationship, but then I couldn't help it. Think of this as an alternate universe that still includes the magic of the miraculous. But the timeline split was the point in the elevator. Kind of like the idea behind Marvel's new TV series 'What If...'. Although this was not a point of inspiration because that show was only released a couple weeks ago, one thing that did give me major inspiration was the fact that I am a huge Karen McManus fan. I've read 'One of Us is Lying' 4 times and it never gets old! But a major feature of her books is POV switches. That was the main reason for using that as the structure for my story, but that also happened because I couldn't decide who to focus on, especially with my first chapter, so I focused on them both.
One last thing, I am going to write an epilogue chapter that's going to include various insights into the future that you'll get maybe as soon as tomorrow!