Updated c4

It wasn't alone. Marinette pulled away from him and hugged herself with a weak smile while she blinked away at the sadness that was pooling in her eyes.

"Luka…he and I were engaged; we had moved into that house so that we could get married and start a family." She handed one of the pictures she had kept out of the box from the night before and handed it to Adrien, who was starting to piece everything together about her- and the source of her sadness.

He had known Luka- not well though. News of Luka's death had reached him while he was abroad- Luka had become a well-known musician even abroad, "I see, Luka kept his engagement quiet to avoid all the paparazzi and such I assume?"

Marinette's knuckles had turned white from gripping the counter tightly as she nodded, once again avoiding eye contact, "yes, we agreed to keep our private life…private. I didn't want to be raising children in front of cameras and constant scrutiny…but he went abroad with his friend the week before our wedding, and…"

Unable to continue the sentence, Marinette's head hung low but Adrien didn't need her to continue, he knew the rest. Luka and one of his fellow band members had been violently mugged and left for dead- Luka had died in the hospital hours later though his friend had luckily survived.

It was the first time she had spoke aloud about Luka's death and, strangely, a small weight had been lifted, though now she felt something aside from her grief- embarrassment. Feeling the heat rush to her cheeks, Marinette became rather flustered, "sorry, it's weird for me to be telling you all this when we…you know?"

The glint of mischief had returned to his eyes along with a slight grin as he retorted, "to use your terminology; fucked?" Waving her hands around uncontrollably, Marinette knocked the nearby cup off the side while stammering nervously, "well, I…uh you know? I never normally sleep with people who I don't know...well you are Adrien- so you know, I knew you but I didn't know it was you...so I guess that means I didn't know you? Uh! This is embarrassing!"

Adrien laughed heartily, "It's ok. I understand. You have been through a lot and grief makes you do crazy things." Folding her arms, Marinette's eyes flashed challengingly at him, "what's your excuse then? Let's not forget, it was you, who approached me at the bar."

She almost missed the shadow that appeared in his face; however, it was so fleeting, she wondered if she could have imagined it. But the shadow had been real, Adrien's mind had filled with dark images of his mother in a glass coffin and of his father's true nature.

Sensing that she was still awaiting an answer, Adrien laughed and ran his hand awkwardly through his hair, "I have no real excuse I guess. I don't make a habit of sleeping with strangers either, something about you caught my eye at a boring business event and I guess I thought it would spice it up. Then I felt… conflicted."

Marinette recalled the deep frown on his face during her presentation, "Conflicted? How so? And why were you frowning in my presentation by the way? I was worried you hated it!"

Sitting down on the nearby breakfast bar, he shook his head reassuringly, "I was conflicted because you were meant to be a one time deal- no offence! But I hadn't expected...you! The sex we had blew my mind! I didn't hate your presentation, I was just preoccupied with my internal struggle that's all- please forgive me for that."

A delicate pink tinge appeared on Marinette's face as she considered this revelation- Adrien thought that sex with her blew his mind?! Marinette had another burning question for Adrien, she knew the rest would figure itself out eventually, "how come you went MIA? There have been so many rumours going around about you being kidnapped or dead and such! Then you just casually turn up to a conference about a new project."

Watching in keen interest as he once again ran his hand through his golden hair, Marinette noted that this was something he seemed to do when he was either thinking deeply- or possibly when he was nervous.

"Well...its true that I've been trying to keep on the down low, I've been avoiding...someone, but I have something I need to do here so I'm hoping that it will mean I can come out of hiding."

Marinette wondered what he meant by this but she also knew that if he wanted to elaborate- he would have. She wasn't supposed to pry in this. She decided to lighten the mood and offered an encouraging smile, "so where does this leave us then?" Was Adrien expecting more from this? Was she?

She considered her feelings, but she knew she wasn't capable of a relationship right now- it was still too soon after Luka, though there was no denying that the thought of no more sex with Adrien was a depressing notion.

"Well, that's up to you- we can see how things go if you like? Not label anything and let the chips fall where they may." He was still holding onto hope for another after all- not that he could tell her that!

Glad that they were able to avoid any awkwardness, she nodded in appreciation, "I think you may be right, it may just be the little bit of fun we both need in our lives right now- no seriousness!"

So, she had basically just agreed they be friends with benefits? Adrien jumped down from his perch and closed in on her with a twinkle in his eyes, "I think you may be right- it is most definitely the fun we need!"

In that moment, she didn't care they were in the kitchen, nor did she care that it was only the late afternoon. She wanted to relive the same pleasure Adrien had given her yesterday- the same pleasure that had her touching herself only last night as she became desperate to feel his touch again-the same touch that had breathed life back into her pained heart.

Seemingly following her line of thought; Adrien carelessly swept away everything off the breakfast bar, before he lifted Marinette on to it- kissing her lips hungrily. Taking joy in the fact they didn't need to rush this time; they began to slowly undress the other- until both were gloriously naked!

Taking a step back to admire the view of Marinette, completely naked and resting back on her elbows on the bar. Adrien's eyes screamed approval before he pulled her leg over his shoulder and seated himself on the stool in front of her - never letting his eye contact falter.

Gratefully taking advantage of their free time, he slowly ran his lips up the inside of her thigh- leaving soft kisses here and there and enjoying her responsive shivers. Though despite not even reaching anywhere remotely intimate, Marinette was already pleading with him to stop the torment.

Eager to please, he proceeded to lick her ever so gently around the most sensitive area, relishing the wetness from her arousal. Dark hair fell to the bottom of her back, as she threw her head back in response to the pleasure his tongue was now sending directly to her sweet spot.

A hand caressed her breast while he sucked and licked over and over, he appreciated the small twitches and reactions her body was rewarding him with in response.

Deciding he had brought her close enough to the edge now, he rose from his seat- pulling her into him and wrapping her legs around his waist. He had wanted to take his time with the foreplay- despite her pleading, however, now he was with her on this and he had lost all interest in stretching things out any longer- he needed to once again see her beautiful face and all its reactions while she orgasmed for him.

Wishing for a better position; Adrien grasped her legs and turned them away from him- so that she was now resting with only her elbows on the bar. One leg rested on the stool and this enabled better access- though he refused to let her face turn away- he wanted to see her expressions until she inevitably screams his name.

Thrusting into someone from behind allowed for a nice view; her body was arched while she pushed her hips towards him to match his rhythm. This new position was enough to bring them both to a fast climax and Adrien couldn't suppress his grin as she called out for him again and again!

"Hmmm that was fun!" Marinette picked her underwear up from the cold kitchen floor with shy laughter. Listening to her laughter was infectious, Adrien smirked happily as he fought back his own amused chuckles. Knowing he had a hand in helping ease some of Marinette's pain, meant it had definitely been worth coming back- regardless of whether his Lady Bug showed up or not.

Though he did briefly wonder why his 'beneficial' friendship with Marinette wasn't making him more confused regarding his feelings towards Lady bug. He could only surmise that he wasn't holding on to the naïve idea that- even if she did turn up, she would want him. Surely in the 10 years they had spent apart, she had most likely got a big house, fancy husband and a baby or two!

He had written that poem as a 15-year-old; in love with the romantic idea he could return after 10 years and his lady would be waiting for him with open arms - and that he would have already acquired freedom!

Lady Bug was the real reason behind his promiscuous sex; he had told Marinette that he hadn't made a habit of sleeping around, that wasn't 100 percent true. How could he tell her that it had all been to distract him from the huge hole in his chest?

It was true that he had long ago accepted that he would never fall in love again and that Lady bug wouldn't be his; but in order to feed his naturally unsatisfied lust, he had taken to sleeping with strangers- the more interesting the sex was... the more he was distracted! Marinette's reasoning for accepting his offer in the first place was probably similar he guessed.

Having agreed to him using her shower before returning home, Adrien left her en-suite bathroom and sat on the edge of her bed as he towel-dried his hair, grinning fondly as he looked around the messy bedroom and unmade bed.

You had to look close enough to see it but sure enough there was still a slight outline of Marinette-had she been sleeping curled up? The sudden image of her curled up, alone, in this huge bed crying herself to sleep, formed an uncomfortable lump in Adrien's throat.

Laying beside her spot, Adrien faced the outline and briefly wondered how it would feel to sleep here; holding her in his embrace and kissing her tears away. It felt wonderful to imagine such a scenario however now wasn't the time. Sitting up in keen interest as a crumpled piece of paper that was slightly sticking out from under the pillow scratched against his hand slightly, had she fallen asleep holding onto it under the pillow?

Temptation to peek at it was strong, however he simply chuckled with a mutter, "better not...apparently cats who are curious get killed." With a final glance towards her room, Adrien emptied his mind of all of his thoughts of her sleeping alone...or in his arms.