Marinette nuzzled into her pillow, enjoying the warmth of her soft blankets with eyes shut tight against the sunlight that filtered down from the trap door above her. She frowned as her alarm went off, and she slowly reached up to set her phone to snooze. She could afford to sleep for another five minutes. In fact, she'd done so well this weekend that she deserved to sleep for another five minutes.
The soft buzzing of her phone on the shelf disagreed with her, insisting quietly that she open her eyes and greet the day. Marinette, having stayed up long past her bedtime, didn't want to face the day quite yet. Still, someone had to stop that buzzing, so she snatched her phone from above her to turn the ringer to silent.
As she fumbled with the buttons, her phone continued to buzz insistently. Marinette finally gave in, cracking her eyes open reluctantly and giving the screen a disdainful glare. When she saw the notification on the screen, alerting her to the fact that she had 26 unread messages from one Adrien Agreste, her eyes widened and her heart began to race. Her excitement lasted only as long as it took her to glance at the time and realize that she had less than seven minutes to get to class.
Marinette shot out of bed, heart pounding as dashed down the stairs to the main area of her room and got dressed in a whirlwind of black and pink. The last time she'd been late, Mme. Mendeleiev threatened to give her a detention should she be tardy again, and Marinette knew full well that she'd make good on her word if given the chance. She had to make it in time.
Four minutes.
She grabbed her purse and school bag, calling for Tikki as she snatched her phone off her desk, where she'd haphazardly thrown it before changing, and lifted the trap door. The kwami zoomed out of the kitchen as she hurtled down the stairs, face covered in cookie crumbs.
"Tikki! Why didn't you wake me?"
Tikki looked offended, crossing her small arms across her chest. "I did, and you said you were getting up—not that I should've believed that—and that you really meant it because you wanted to see Adrien."
"Adrien!" Marinette gasped, reminded of the yet-unread messages on her phone and suddenly desperate to pull it out and find out why he'd texted her so many times. She slid the device out of her purse, her fingers absolutely itching to unlock it and see what he'd written, when she noticed the time.
Three minutes.
"Gaaaah!" Marinette tossed her phone back in her bag, barely leaving it open long enough for Tikki to slip inside, and dashed for the door. She shoved her feet into her boots as she grabbed her coat, throwing the door open and running out without bothering to put it on. There was no time, so hopefully the sprinting she was about to do would warm her body enough in the cold March morning to keep her from freezing to death. Although, if she did freeze, at least Mme. Mendeleiev couldn't give her detention.
The girl leapt down the stairs, nearly losing her balance halfway and tumbling down to the ground floor. She sped out the side door, forgoing the bakery in the interest of avoiding a time-consuming goodbye with her parents, and stretched her legs as much as she could while sprinting towards the school.
Thank goodness she lived so close, or she'd be considered a delinquent by now for the sheer number of tardiness-induced detentions she'd have received.
With less than a minute to spare, a shivering Marinette bolted up the stairs in a mad dash for her classroom. Completely winded, she lunged for the door and yanked it open, dragging herself inside as her classmates gaped at her. She rounded the corner of Adrien and Nino's desk, her momentum nearly causing her to slide into Chloe as she made the turn, before she regained her footing and leapt up the last stair, launching herself into her seat—and halfway into Alya's lap—just as the final bell rang.
Victorious, she scooted off of her best friend with a breathy apology and flopped down onto her desk. As Marinette fought to catch her breath, she could feel the eyes of her silent classmates focused on her like lasers. Marinette's gasping was the only sound in the room until someone towards the back started applauding.
The winded girl began turning red as the applause grew louder. Apparently she had impressed everyone with her dramatic last-second arrival and determination to be on time. Fantastic.
"Woo-hoo! Take a bow, Mari!" Alix called from across the aisle. Someone—her money was on Kim—whistled loudly behind her as the rest of her classmates clapped politely.
An embarrassed Marinette waved them off before burying her head in her arms with a sigh, relief flowing through her when the teacher called for attention and started the lesson, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
Great way to start the morning, girl, she chided herself. You wanted to impress Adrien, right? This was definitely not the way to do that.
Maybe he didn't notice? Optimism suggested from the corner. The other parts of Marinette's mind turned to stare at her.
Sure, it's not like she burst into the room all red-faced and gasping with limbs akimbo before practically tripping up the stairs and catapulting herself into her best friend's lap. Sarcasm tapped her chin as though thinking for a moment. Oh wait, that's exactly what happened.
Guys, be quiet, I need to think, Marinette begged. For a moment she considered that talking to named personalities in her head probably wasn't normal, but decided that it was a problem for another time.
Taking a deep breath, Marinette tried to clear her mind. The last thing she needed after earning a scalding glare from the teacher for nearly being tardy was to be called out for not paying attention in class. Slowly, she leaned down and grabbed her tablet out of her bag, setting it on the desk in front of her and opening her notes. Her hand started moving on autopilot, jotting down whatever it was Mme. Mendeleiev was saying. Marinette swore that if you asked her what the lecture was about she'd have no idea, but at least it looked like she was paying attention.
The rest of the lecture went much the same way. She'd drift off for a moment, imaginary personalities arguing back and forth in her mind—she should really get that checked out—before making a conscious effort to zone back in and pay attention to the lesson. Granted, if there was a pop quiz there was no way she would pass, but, considering the situation, Marinette felt that she was making a decent effort.
Finally, class was released for a brief break before the next period. Marinette sighed in relief as she put her stylus down and shut off her tablet. She was just turning towards Alya to say a proper good morning, when she was interrupted by the bespectacled girl herself.
"Girl, you are a hot mess this morning. How bad did you oversleep this time?"
A startled Marinette, fully aware of Nino and Adrien's eyes suddenly focused on her, could only manage a subdued, "Huh?"
Alya tsked in her motherly way. "Your buttons are done up wrong and your hair is a wreck. Poor dear, let Mama help you."
Now extremely embarrassed and still at a loss, Marinette found herself acting as Alya's puppet, bending to the girl's whims as she turned and positioned her so that she could discretely redo the buttons on her shirt. Marinette watched in silence, still not quite awake enough to function, when she was again startled, this time by hands settling gently on her shoulders.
"Hold still, please," Adrien requested from behind her, and Marinette froze, though more from his proximity than his polite instruction. A moment later, she felt fingers gingerly working their way through a clump of tangled hair.
Adrien delicately untangled the thick, dark strands, amazed at their softness. Once he'd gotten the worst of the knots out of one pigtail, he carefully undid the ever-present hair tie, sliding it onto his wrist for the time being. He ran his fingers through the length of her freed hair, smoothing out flyaways and smaller lumps. Finding himself becoming hypnotized by the soothing repetition, he shook himself out of his stupor and hurried to repeat the process on the other side of the girl's head.
Meanwhile, Marinette was in heaven under Adrien's diligent hands. She'd always liked having her hair played with, though usually it was her mom or Alya doing the playing, and the added stimulation of having her crush so close to her was causing an intense reaction. Her neck was tingly and she felt as though a round of fireworks was going off in her stomach with every gentle tug of Adrien's hands through her hair. She held her breath for a moment, making a silent wish that the experience would never end.
When Alya had finished fixing Marinette's buttons, she climbed over the bench and came around to Adrien's side to check out his work. Marinette detected a hint of surprise in her voice as she commended, "Nice job, Agreste."
"Thanks!" Adrien beamed as his hands continued to work deftly with his subject's hair. "I love doing hair, actually. Sometimes, if we have a break on set, I'll get one of the hairdressers to show me new styles. It's really cool…" Adrien's voice trailed off as he noticed Nino and Alya's eyes boring into him. His cheeks started to redden as he realized that maybe what he was saying was weird or lame to his friends. "Uh—"
Nino clapped him on the shoulder. "Dude, that's rad. You're really good at it, too."
Alya nodded in agreement as Adrien twisted the hair elastic around one more time, releasing it with a soft snap. He smiled as she pulled her phone out and took a picture of the back of Marinette's head, passing it around to the girl so she could see what he'd done.
Marinette gripped the device excitedly, letting out a soft gasp as she took in the image. Adrien had braided pieces of hair on either side of her head and connected them in the back like a crown, then used the rest of her hair to create a bun beneath it. It was a simple style, but because Marinette had had no idea that Adrien knew anything about doing hair, she found it striking.
"Do you like it?" Adrien piped up hesitantly from behind her.
Marinette turned slightly, looking back over her shoulder at him with a wide grin. "I love it!"
The bell rang, interrupting any further conversation, and Adrien and Nino made their way back down to their seats as the teacher entered the classroom and began setting up at the front. While she was still distracted with her roll book, Alya leaned forward and tapped Adrien on the shoulder, whispering, "You're doing my hair during lunch."
Adrien nodded silently with a small smile, and Alya sat back in her seat, satisfied. She quickly tore a scrap of paper out of her notebook and scribbled a note to Mari, asking if they could all have lunch at her place. She folded it up and flicked it across the desk to her seat mate, tapping her fingers on the desk as she watched the girl discretely unfold it under the desk and read it. With a glance at the teacher, Marinette reached into her backpack to grab her phone and send a quick text. After a moment, she smiled slightly at her phone and sent Alya a quick thumbs up before picking up her stylus to take notes.
Alya felt a sly grin spread over her face as she began taking her own notes. Her plan to get Adrien and Marinette to become better friends had progressed even better than expected, judging by how comfortable they'd been around each other just moments before. She looked forward to how a group lunch in close quarters at Marinette's house would play out.
When the bell for lunch finally rang, Alya shot out of her seat, scooping her things into her bag with careless grace before grabbing Marinette by the hand and tugging her towards the door. As they made their way out of the room, she tossed over her shoulder, "Come on, slowpokes! Mari's mom made us food."
Adrien felt his mouth begin to water at the mere mention of Sabine's cooking. At this rate, his diet was going to be completely spoiled and his father would be getting onto his case about watching his figure. However, the boy found he cared less and less about what his father thought as he discovered more important things. Things like delicious food prepared by a loving mother who seemed practically willing to adopt him at a moments notice.
Ever since he'd started hanging out with Marinette more he'd been living the good life, and he couldn't get enough of being around her and her parents. He really owed her a thank you, and began wondering if there was some sort of gift he could buy her to show his appreciation. As he and Nino trailed behind the girls on their way to the Dupain-Cheng's, he nudged his friend with his elbow.
"Hmm?" Nino hummed without looking up from his phone.
"What kind of present do you give someone when you really like them and their family and want to stay with them forever?"
Nino raised an amused eyebrow. "Uh, a wedding ring?"
"Nino!"
Alya whipped around at Adrien's affronted cry, crossing her arms under her breasts as she cocked a hip. "What exactly is going on back there?"
"Nothing," the boys chorused in unison, Nino wearing a face of extreme amusement as Adrien looked significantly more embarrassed. When he caught Marinette's concerned eyes with his, he felt his cheeks begin to burn.
Alya's grin widened. "That sure doesn't look like nothing. Were you checking out Mari's cute little behind or something?"
As Marinette began to turn pink, Adrien sputtered, "No!" Turning even redder, he was sure, he unstuck his feet from where they'd seemingly become glued to the ground and made a beeline for the bakery's front door. As his friends followed behind him, he ignored the chuckling and whispers coming from Nino and Alya in an attempt to quell his blushing cheeks.
Finally reaching the bakery, Adrien swung the door open and stepped inside, inhaling the scent of fresh bread before letting out a sigh of longing. He wondered what it must be like to get to work in a place that smelt so amazing every day. With another deep sniff, Adrien decided his future goal was to live somewhere that always smelt like his favorite bakery.
Maybe Nino's not too far off with that wedding ring thinking, Devil suggested nonchalantly.
Adrien blushed to himself, but had to admit that the idea was somewhat enticing. For only having gotten to know Marinette well over the last 72 hours, he was in deep.
"Hello!" Sabine called as she appeared from behind one of the display cases, her diminutive frame having been hidden while she placed new pastries on the shelf. "Welcome, kids. Lunch is waiting for you upstairs."
The teens chorused their thanks as they made their way to the back of the bakery and through the door to the stairs. They climbed in silence, hurrying up the steps with grumbling tummies towards the main living area. Upon entering, they removed their winter clothes and hung them nicely before scurrying towards the kitchen to find their lunch.
"Hello, hello!" Tom greeted them with a large smile, waving them in. "Sit down, kids, make yourselves at home."
With a chorused, "Thanks!" they did just that, Alya and Nino settling in next to each other on one side of the table and leaving Marinette and Adrien to sit together opposite them. Tom quickly grabbed some plates of what appeared to be some sort of fish from the counter and set one in front of each teen, also placing a large bowl of salad in the center of the table. He bustled away, returning with a plate of sliced bread, fresh from the oven, and a small variety of spreads. Upon depositing these on the table as well, he wished them a merry lunch and hurried back down the stairs to return to work.
The kids dug in immediately, and Nino and Adrien moaned over the rare treat that was eating Dupain-Cheng cooking. With his mouth full, Nino commented, "You're so lucky you live here, Mari."
Adrien nodded in agreement. Sure, his in-home professional chef was a master of his trade, but there was just something about the love and care that Tom and Sabine put into their food that made it taste a thousand times better. Plus, they never restricted him from eating as much as he wanted.
Once they'd polished off the spread they'd been presented, Marinette suggested the group move to her room for the rest of the lunch hour. After attempting to wash their dishes and being waved off by a Sabine who had appeared out of nowhere, they grabbed their bags and followed Marinette up the stairs to her room. Alya immediately claimed the chaise, flopping onto it spread-eagled. Nino sidled up next to her, convincing her to share with a couple of kisses, and Marinette moved to her desk chair. Adrien, not sure what to do with himself, perched on the edge of the trunk Marinette kept all her blankets in.
Alya crinkled her nose at him with a thoughtful pout. "Mari, you've really got to get more seating. Poor Adrien is stuck in the corner all by himself."
"No, no, it's fine!" Adrien dismissed, waving his hands carelessly. He didn't mind sitting off to the side; he was completely satisfied just being able to hang out with his friends at all. Granted, he was a bit jealous of how cozy Alya and Nino looked all snuggled up on the chaise. Unconsciously, his eyes darted over to Marinette, widening in surprise when he noticed her peeking over at him with a thoughtful look on her face before her gaze drifted back over to the lovebirds.
Was she…? Adrien looked away, unwilling to allow himself the satisfaction of finishing the question for the sake of getting ahead of himself. Calm down, boy, just because you accidentally cuddled once or twice and definitely want a repeat performance doesn't mean she does. Even as he thought that, he was unable to keep his eyes from wandering back towards Marinette.
Marinette smiled softly at the couple cuddled up on her lounger. Nino and Alya had been a long time coming, and they really did make the sweetest couple. Without thinking, the girl let her stare trail dreamily back towards the blonde seated at the edge of the room, barely managing to stifle a surprised squeak as she encountered his emerald gaze trained on her face, the unreadable question in his eyes causing a slight furrow in his brow.
How was it fair that he was so adorable even deep in thought?
With a hopefully invisible blush stinging her cheeks, Marinette turned back to the instigator of their lunch hour get-together. "So, Alya, what should we do now?"
The bespectacled girl straightened slightly in her seat, her back resting against Nino's chest as he cradled her from behind. Mindlessly drawing circles over the arms that were wrapped around her waist, she pursed her lips in thought. As she glanced around the room for inspiration, her eyes settled on the apple-shaped pincushion on Marinette's desk and an idea sparked in her brain. She had wanted to see how they interacted in close quarters, and this game was going to give her exactly what she desired, plus the chance to embarrass the life out of her friends.
Alya grinned slyly, gaze sliding over to rest on Marinette's cautious expression. Not bothering to hide the satisfaction in her voice, she asked, "Mari, do you have any oranges downstairs?"
Marinette raised an eyebrow, not sure where this was going but certain that her bestie had something devious in mind. "I think Papa bought some the other day for some new tarts he was experimenting with. I can go check, I guess."
With a sharp nod, Alya sent her off down the stairs in search of the fruit. Turning her attention to the boys in the room, she unwrapped herself from Nino's embrace and stood from the lounger, gesturing for them to do the same. As they joined her in the center of the room, Marinette made her reappearance, orange clutched in one small hand.
With a shrug, she passed the citrus to the group's resident schemer, figuring that whatever Alya had in mind surely couldn't be worse than the game of truth-or-dare from the other night's sleepover.
"Alright, kids, who's ready for today's game?" Alya didn't wait for a reply before charging onward. "Today's entertainment will come in the form of a delightful pastime called 'Pass the Orange.'"
Nino suppressed a grin as he recognized the name, catching on to what his partner in crime had in mind. Oh, she's devious, he thought fondly. I sure know how to pick 'em.
Meanwhile, Alya continued her explanation in the game upon receiving blank stares from the majority of the group. "The game is simple. We'll form a circle, and everyone has to pass the orange around it." If anything, Marinette's already suspicious gaze only grew darker from the seeming simplicity of the game. Alya smirked; her best friend knew her too well.
"Of course," she added after a slight pause. "It would be too easy without any other rules, so the trick is that you aren't allowed to use your hands." Nervous realization was now dawning on Marinette's face, but Adrien still looked confused, so Alya decided an example was necessary. Grabbing her boyfriend by the wrist, she stated, "Allow us to demonstrate."
Carefully placing the orange under her chin, the girl stood on her tip-toes, thrusting her chest out and angling her neck to present the fruit to her boyfriend. Nino, ever the willing assistant, winked at Adrien and Marinette before sliding his body alongside his partner's and leaning in to clench the orange between his own chin and chest. Once the citrus was secured, Alya gently detached herself from it and settled back on her heels, waving at her helper with a flourish. "And that's how it's done!"
Marinette's heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest after seeing how close the pair had gotten during their demonstration, and she tried to rationalize with herself. It won't be that bad, it's just some harmless fun. It's not like there's a punishment like with some of Alya's other games.
"Oh, and let's not forget to discuss the consequences of dropping the orange." The bespectacled girl shot the group one of her signature winks.
Marinette cursed internally. Is she a mind-reader or something?
"Should you be so careless as to drop the package—" Here, everyone unconsciously glanced at their notoriously clumsy friend as Marinette looked down at her feet, nibbling on her lip anxiously. "—I will require that you perform a dare that the person to your left will choose."
Instinctively, Marinette glanced to her left, reassured at the sight of Adrien's lanky form filling the space rather than her best friend's curvaceous one. Lord knows the last thing she needed was for Alya to have a direct line of attack for when she inevitably dropped the orange. Adrien was too sweet to do anything too embarrassing to her, and she sighed quietly in relief. Granted, Alya was on Adrien's left, so the potential for utter embarrassment did exist, but the boy was much more coordinated than she was, which laid the majority of her fears to rest.
"Is everyone ready?" Alya asked as Nino returned the orange to her extended hand. Upon receiving hesitant nods, she placed the orange under her chin and turned to Adrien. "Let's get this party started then, sunshine."
Adrien leaned down, gingerly closing the gap between himself and the slyly grinning girl. His chin nudged the orange gently as he sought the proper angle, and when he'd finally found purchase, he told Alya he had it.
He did not have it.
It all seemed to happen in slow motion. As Alya's chin moved away from his, the orange rolled over his collar bone, slipping to the floor where it landed with a small bounce. He gaped at the orange globe as it rolled to a stop on the carpet, shocked that he'd managed to mess things up so quickly. With a thick swallow, he turned back towards the girl on his left, awaiting his required punishment.
Alya looked him over with narrowed eyes, seemingly debating what to do with him. Finally, with a small sigh, she said, "I'll let you off easy, since it was the first turn." Her lips twitched into a small grin. "I've wanted to see this for a while, since the physical resemblance is undeniable. Adrien, I dare you to do your best Chat Noir impression."
Adrien's heart stilled for a beat and he struggled to keep his face passive. He could do this. No one said it had to be a convincing impression, right? He'd just do a bad job, and no one would be the wiser about his secret identity.
"Okay, sure," he replied with what he hoped was a winning smile. Somewhat stiffly striking a pose, he forced his lips into a smirk. "This game is fun, but orange puns are hard to come by. You might say it's a fruitless venture."
His friends stared at him in shocked silence, and with every passing second Adrien grew more and more certain that he'd just let the proverbial cat out of the bag. His mind began to dissolve into panicked mush as he reached up to rub the back of his neck uncomfortably.
Suddenly, Alya burst into laughter and punched him gently in the shoulder. Adrien chuckled nervously along with her until she paused, wiping her eyes before commenting, "That was great! As expected from one of my most dedicated followers, you sure know your stuff."
Nino grinned in amusement at the exchange, and Adrien was relieved to see that he appeared to be none the wiser. His shoulders relaxed slightly as he turned to check out Marinette's reaction to his impression of himself, tensing back up at the inscrutable look she was giving him. His heart skipped a beat as her bluebell eyes bored into his, her face carefully neutral. He wondered exactly what she was thinking about, looking at him like that.
The boy probably would've been shocked by the stream of unintelligible cursing running through Marinette's mind as she thought over his display. It can't be…can it? That pun came to him way too easily, he didn't even hesitate.
Denial slipped in through the back door of Marinette's mind, whipping out a pair of aviators and sliding them on before leaning casually against the wall. Nah, she drawled. There's no way. Adrien is much cooler than Chat Noir.
But, Marinette hedged, only to be cut off by Denial's repeated shushing. Unable to get a word in edgewise, she stayed quiet as Denial continued to reassure her that Adrien and Chat Noir were definitely different people, no doubt about it. After a moment, her shoulders relaxed and she sighed. Yeah, you're right. He is a big Ladybug fan, so of course he'd know Chat's style pretty well by extension. He's just a hardcore fan.
My work here is done, Denial whispered, slipping out the door once more, and Marinette waved a cheerful goodbye, feeling much better about the whole thing. Now that she was free of distractions, she zoned back into the conversation, joining in on the last of the chuckles coming from her friends as she tried to act like she'd been paying attention the whole time.
Seeing Marinette snap back to normal reassured Adrien. Everything's okay, he told himself as he leaned over and picked up the orange. You made everyone laugh and no one's the wiser. Score.
"Alright, Adrien, let's give this another go." Alya motioned for him to give her the orange, which she placed under his chin once more. Timidly, Adrien approached, this time making absolute certain that he had the fruit properly clenched against his sternum before telling Alya he had it. Straightening up, he took a calming breath to steady himself before turning to the girl on his right. He worried that the height difference would present a problem, since even with Marinette stretching up on her tip toes, she was still several inches shorter than him.
"Excuse me," she stuttered as she gently placed her hands on his shoulders, drawing ever closer to him as she drew herself up as high as she could. His nerves were working on overdrive, setting off alarms with every gentle brush of her chest against his, every warm breath that puffed over his cheek and neck. His eyes roved over her face, noting her long eyelashes and counting the adorably tiny freckles that spread over the bridge of her nose. Her chin brushed against his neck as she struggled to get a grip on the orange, and he prayed that she couldn't feel the pounding of his heart.
Blessedly, though Adrien was sad to lose her heat, Marinette soon let him know that she had the orange and he was forced to pull away from her. As the girl turned to Nino to continue the game, Adrien sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm his heartbeat. A sudden shudder went down his spine, and he slowly turned to look to his left, certain he could feel the weight of a certain girl's golden eyes on him. As expected, Alya was staring straight through him to his soul, and Adrien reflexively crossed his arms over his chest, as though the action could protect him from her piercing gaze. The girl simply smirked, raising an eyebrow in a look that clearly said, "I'm know what you're thinking."
Mercifully, Nino and Marinette had managed to exchange the orange between them, and Alya had to release him from her captivating stare to take her turn. Adrien breathed a sigh of relief, only to realize a few seconds later that he was hardly out of the girl's grasp. Alya spun back to him, orange tightly held in the hollow of her throat, with a devious grin on her face.
With what was hopefully an inaudible gulp, Adrien leaned forward to take the fruit from her. When he had it secured, he muttered to Alya that she was good to let go, and she began to pull away. Before she got too far, she leaned towards his ear, whispering slyly, "I'm onto you."
Adrien dropped the orange before she even finished pulling back with a wink, staring dumbly at it as it rolled across the carpet and gently came to a rest against Marinette's socked toes. He wasn't sure whether he should be more embarrassed about the fact that Alya could apparently read minds and now knew about his budding crush on her best friend or that he'd been the only person to drop the ball, as it were, and he'd managed to do it not once, but twice.
Was playing dead an option?
Cringing, shoulders hunched in shame, the boy turned towards Alya, heart pounding in anticipation. He'd seen firsthand what kinds of crazy and embarrassing dares the girl could dish out, and while licking Marinette's neck a few nights back had actually been a pleasurable experience, he wasn't sure that in his state of heightened awareness towards her he could handle something so intimate again.
Which is probably why his heart felt like it froze when Alya opened her mouth to announce, "I dare you to kiss our lovely Marinette."
For a moment, Adrien's brain was completely silent. Then, like a roaring tidal wave, all of the anthropomorphic snippets of Adrien's personality began screaming at once. For a solid five seconds, the boy's head was a cacophony of shouts from Libido about all of the highly inappropriate places he should consider kissing his friend, echoing over Denial cowering in the background, hugging himself and rocking in place as he muttered that this situation couldn't be happening. Angel was once again chasing Devil with his frying pan, and everything was nicely accented by Self-Consciousness screaming at him to do something before Marinette got the idea that he didn't like the idea of kissing her.
With that realization, Adrien snapped out of his stupor, reaching out to grasp the girl's shoulders before he was fully aware of what he was doing. He leaned in even as he was internally panicking. This was not how he'd planned on their first kiss happening—though to be fair, he hadn't spent much time imagining it. Still, he was sure this completely unromantic setting was not his ideal. Curse Alya for being so crafty; the girl was slyer than a fox.
As he closed the gap between his face and Marinette's, a lightbulb went off in his head. Sure, Alya is probably the foxiest person I know—in every sense of the word—but two can play that game.
With that, Adrien unashamedly crossed the last few inches into Marinette's personal space, puckered up, and pecked her sweetly on her blushing cheek.
A stunned silence followed as he casually pulled away, squeezing her shoulders reassuringly as her hand flew up to cover the space his lips had just touched. The girl seemed dazed, and Adrien felt bad for making her so uncomfortable, but he couldn't deny that he had immensely enjoyed the small action.
"That's cheating." Alya did not sound pleased, which caused the satisfied grin on Adrien's face to grow larger. He imagined he looked quite like the cat that ate the canary, which he figured was an apropos observation.
"You just said to kiss her," he pointed out proudly. "You never specified where I was supposed to kiss her."
Alya sighed in disappointment. "And yet, you could've gotten so much more creative."
Adrien tried not to let his mind run away with that comment, with limited success. Thankfully, before he could descend too far into sin, Alya let out another sigh, conceding, "Well, you're not wrong, so I'll consider the dare complete." She reached into her pocket and dug out her phone to check the time. "And with that, children, it would appear that our game is at its end. We have to get back to school."
"We still have what, ten minutes? Why don't we finish the round?" Adrien surprised himself by asking. Even though the first time had made him extremely nervous, he found himself getting addicted to the feeling of Mari's breath on his skin, the scent of her hair, the little relieved sigh she let out when something turned out the way she wanted it to. At this point, any chance he had to be close to her was one he'd take.
Alya mulled the question over for a moment before agreeing with a sharp nod. "Okay, but make it quick. We'll catch hell if we're all late."
Adrien gave her a thumbs up before bending down to grab the orange, which he positioned carefully under his chin. He turned to Marinette, who leaned in with cheeks ablaze, and he was sure that his were equally red. As the girl stood on her tip toes and began adjusting her grip on the orange, all Adrien could do was think, Don't make it weird, don't make it weird. He wasn't sure how long he could follow his own advice. Feeling her cheek brush against his jaw made his knees weak, and he was sure the scent of her shampoo would be the death of him. Asking to finish the round may have been both the best and worst idea I've ever had.
Marinette signaled him a moment later, and they pulled apart slowly. Adrien caught her eye as she stepped away and she looked away quickly, cheeks closely resembling a slapped tomato. Adrien's lips twisted into a frown as she turned to finish the game with Nino, guilt suddenly weighting down his stomach. She seemed embarrassed over the kiss, and all he could do was hope that his actions wouldn't detract from all of the progress they'd made recently.
A sharp elbow in his ribs startled him, and he let out an unmanly yelp. Alya simply raised an eyebrow at him. "As I was saying, now that the round is complete, we really have to get back or Madame will have our asses."
The gaggle of teens agreed, following the bespectacled girl out of Marinette's room. Their hostess quickly replaced the orange they'd been using as a prop and joined them at the door where they all bedecked themselves with their winter gear once more. Once everyone was dressed, they hurried down the stairs and into the bakery to say one last goodbye to their gracious hosts.
"Off to school, are you kids? Have a good afternoon!" Tom smiled at them as he bustled around the small shop. "Oh, and Marinette," he added over his shoulder. "We'll need your help when you get home. We got a big last-minute order and we're going to need all hands on deck."
Lightbulb! Adrien thought to himself. Briefly running over his afternoon's schedule in his mind, he realized that he was more or less free for the evening—barring one Mandarin tutoring session, but he'd been ahead of the work for weeks so he could surely manage to convince his tutor to let him off the hook just once.
"Sure, Papa, I'll come as soon as school ends," Marinette replied, giving her father a peck on the cheek.
As the large man gave his daughter a bear hug, Adrien offered hesitantly, "If you need extra hands, I'm free this afternoon."
Sabine walked over from behind the register, exchanging a glance with her husband. "Well, dear, if you don't mind helping, we'd very much appreciate it. We'll provide snacks, of course," she told him with a smile as sweet as any of the pastries in her shop.
"Oh, it's no problem. I've been interested in learning how to bake, so my offer isn't entirely selfless." Adrien grinned as the pair laughed at his comment.
"Well, we're always happy to help in that regard," Tom boomed, clapping him on the shoulder. "In fact, come over any time, we'll teach you whatever you want to know."
Adrien thanked him for the offer, and promised to make good on it when he had a chance. After Nino and Alya apologized to the Dupain-Chengs for being unable to assist that evening due to prior engagements, the kids all said goodbye to the couple and exited the bakery into the freezing Parisian winds once more.
As they began making their way towards the crosswalk, Alya pulled her phone from her pocket and checked the time. "Shit! Class starts in three minutes, guys!" Grabbing her boyfriend by the hand, she began sprinting down the sidewalk, auburn hair flying wildly behind her.
Marinette giggled, reaching over to grab Adrien's arm. "Hurry, we're going to be late!"
"You must be rubbing off on us," he teased as they ran after their friends. She turned back to blow a raspberry at him, nearly losing her balance on the slick sidewalk. Adrien grabbed her shoulder, steadying her, before removing his arm from her grip and replacing it with his hand. Mentally counting down the seconds until the bell, the pair resumed their mad dash to the classroom, breathlessly praying that they'd make it in time and avoid a detention.