So this one is just some silly fun with a pool and dumb contests and suntan lotion and Adrien finally taking it off!=^-^=

Ch. 8 - Chat Out of Water


It started out as a quiet morning. Adrien woke up first as was normal, and Marinette was sleeping in a little later too. It was probably due to how late she stayed up working on another commission. He didn't want to disturb her. After enjoying a yogurt and one of the rolls they had made the other day in practice, he sat on the couch to watch a little TV. The doorbell rang before he could even pick a station. "Huh?" It was about 9:30 so who would be coming by? He headed over to the door quickly so they wouldn't ring it again. "Hello?"

Alya practically busted in with Nino on her heels. "Good morning!"

"Hold on, Marinette's still sleeping." He tried to insist to her very loud voice.

"I know. I figured when she didn't answer any of my texts that she was. That's why I came to WAKE HER UP!" She yelled in the direction of the trap door to the designer's room.

"Alya!" He whispered more harshly.

"Give up, dude, she's on a mission." Nino informed as he took a seat at the table.

"What mission?" He asked while Alya went on her way to forcefully wake up the tired designer.

"Well, the girls had this picnic thing the other day and they all agreed that they should go to the pool today since we might not be able to do it once some us start university. Initially Marinette rejected the invite, and Alya was cool with that since Lila was going." He leaned close. "You remember Lila, right?" Adrien nodded. "Well, Mari and her don't get along and Alya doesn't want to give her friend grief. Anyway, Rose called this morning saying Lila had something come up last minute so now Alya's bound and determined to make sure Marinette comes. She really feels bad about the things Marinette misses out on while trying to avoid Lila, you know?"

Aaron nodded just thinking back to his interactions with the Italian. She was manipulative to a scary extent, and just thinking back to some of her lies made it seem only logical Marinette would be a problem for her. For one thing Marinette actually knew Jagged Stone. "Okay, I get it, but she stayed up late working on a design so…"

"One zombie Marinette, ready for action!" Alya announced with a groggy bed head being dragged behind.

"Alya…." She groaned trying to free her hand.

"It's time to get up girl, and get ready for a splash at the pool!"

"It's early…" Marinette countered while now leaning on the other woman for support.

"Then its good you have an hour to wake up. Eat something and put on that new pink suit you have." She ordered as she glanced to the boys. "By the way, Aaron, you should come out with us. You'll get to see Mari in a swim suit." She sang as bait.

"Alya!"

Aaron blushed slightly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I would… Though I don't have a swim suit." Since he was rarely allowed to do anything like swimming due to having to be careful with his skin. The closest thing was modeling by a pool. Bringing a swimsuit just didn't come as necessary.

"Hmmm? Hey Nino, you have an extra don't you?"

"You mean the blue one? Don't you remember what happened to it in May?"

Alya grimaced at the memory which made Aaron curious. "Well, maybe we can grab you one on the way? They'll probably be on sale." She decided hoping he'd agree to encourage Marinette.

"I guess I could? As long as it's not expensive."

"Hold up, dude, I just remembered I do have an extra. You remember that gag gift I got for Adrien, right?" He asked his girlfriend.

"You want to give him those? Are you sure?" She asked back a little worried.

"Yeah, besides, Adrien's never allowed to be out in the sun like at the pool so he wouldn't be able to really use them even if I could give them to him."

"If you're sure, babe." She agreed with a half smile.

"K, bro, I'll be right back."


Aaron adjusted the straw hat Marinette had given him when they left. He remembered what the hairdresser told him all that time ago about the sun being bad for his hair dye. She also mentioned pool chlorine, but he couldn't stay afraid of everything. He would need to redo it soon anyway. "So we're not going to the city pool?"

Alya shook her head. "Nope, Rose got permission from her landlord to reserve the apartment complex's pool. She said something about styling his wife's hair on the regular so I imagine he's just showing appreciation."

"It'll be so much cooler, Aaron, since it won't have all those strict rules the city pool has. Plus, it won't be crowded." He fanned himself from the heat of the day.

"I also heard it has a water slide." Alya added in looking excited.

"I can also ask Rose about… You know what." Marinette whispered to the young man while Nino and Alya walked ahead.

"Thanks." He beamed back. They got on a bus for about 20 minutes before arriving at the building. They weren't at the heart of the city anymore, and so the buildings weren't as close together. "This is a nice place." Aaron remarked noting the clean lobby as they entered.

"Yeah, and not too pricy since it's so far from the downtown area. Rose and Julieka moved here just a month or so ago."

"I'm still a little surprised at how quickly they moved out." Marinette admitted with a blush. "I was thinking I'd stay home until I graduated university."

"Don't feel pressured, Marinette, I was thinking the same thing. Nino on the other hand, wants to dorm." She glanced at Nino as he looked around. "And I doubt I go and visit him if it's a standard smelly boy's dorm either." Marinette chuckled.

"Is it this way?" Aaron asked as he saw the sign for the pool.

"Yeah, you'll see a reserved sign up on the door too." Alya took the lead again and they walked through the lobby until they reached the pool access door.

The pool was pretty sizable, but the water slide went up two stories. There was even a little shallow pool nearby where smaller kids could play or you could go to just get wet without having to swim. "Over here, dude. They have a bathroom we can change in." Nino guided him to the men's room while Alya and Marinette headed the other way. He came out a few minutes later with a bag holding his clothes, the straw hat Mari gave him, a t-shirt and a pair of bold red Ladybug spotted swim trunks. "You look epic, dude." Nino joked while Aaron rolled his eyes.

"Yo, Aaron!" They boys turned to spy Kim waving from the pool with at least half a dozen other teens. He wore a swim cap, goggles and legit swimmer's trunks that stuck to him like a super suit.

"Hey." He waved back and Nino tossed his bag on a free chair.

"Coming in hot!" He yelled before running to jump into the pool.

Adrien walked to another chair to set down his things and noticed another familiar face. "Hey, Nathaniel."

The artist looked up from his sketch book and waved. "Hey."

"Not getting in the pool?" He was in a suit but also wore a shirt and was completely dry.

"Probably not, but Marc insisted I come out for some fresh air." He pointed to another ravenette sitting with his feet in the pool. "Plus, I burn easily." That reminded him about his own issue. He would need to put on sunscreen or he'd get burned too. It wasn't that he really cared so much about his skin. His father wasn't going to yell at him for getting a sunburn this time, but he also didn't like being sunburned at all. Who did?

"Hey, Aaron!" He turned to see the girls coming out in their suits. "Mari needs a little help, do you mind?" Alya was practically pushing her friend in his direction.

"Help? With what?" He asked noting her obvious blush.

"I want to go swim, but she still needs to finish putting on her sunscreen. Help her for me, okay?" She asked before setting her things down on the same chair as Nino and tossing her towel over them. "Meet you two in the pool." She ended with a wave to join the others.

Marinette held the bottle of sunscreen while looking at her feet. "Um… I-If you want to, it would be nice."

"Sure." He agreed easily. "If I can borrow some of your sunscreen? I completely forgot about it to be honest."

Marinette nodded and sat down on the chair Aaron had claimed. "Just my b-back, if that's alright?"

"Sure." He sat down behind her and she removed her t-shirt for him to start. He put just a little on his hand before he was suddenly hit with how he would be touching Marinette's bare back. Her pink swimsuit was a one piece that had so much of her back uncovered it almost seemed impractical. Only a knot behind her neck kept it up. "So… Just you're back?" He asked again to clarify and hopefully steel his nerves.

"Y-yes… Please." She pulled her hair over her shoulder so it wouldn't get in the way.

"Okay…" He placed one hand on her back and felt her jump. "Was it… Not right?"

She shook her head. "No, just… cold."

"Right…" He realized and moved to warm it up before starting again. Her skin was so smooth and soft he didn't even realize he'd rubbed all the sunscreen in until she told him.

"Um… I think it's good now." She turned back with a blush and smile. "So… Want me to do your back too?" He simply nodded only half listening since he was still imagining the feel of her back. She stood up and moved to sit behind him. "So… Are you going to wear the shirt?"

"Oh, right…" He chuckled sheepishly and moved to pull it off over his head. "Go ahead…" She didn't make the same mistake he did, as he felt her warm hands start on his back. Strangely enough, it was more relaxing than nerve wracking once she started. The light pressure she used really loosened his muscles which he'd been using way more often since he started working for the bakery.

"T-that should be fine." She finished and handed him the bottle to finish.

"Oh… Thanks. I appreciate it."

"Hurry up, Mari!" Alya called with Rose waving as well.

"Coming!"

Aaron watched as she ran to the stairs and couldn't help feeling just a little disappointed by those little shorts she wore with her suit. He went to work finishing up his own sun protection and quickly headed to the pool after re-dawning his shirt. "Dude, why the shirt? Seriously?" Nino ragged as he splashed the taller teen heading to the pool.

"I really want to avoid getting burned." Was all he said before jumping in right next to his friend to make sure he got splashed in the process.


After a few hours of fun, it was around lunch time and most of the girls were sunbathing while the guys took turns making the dumbest stunts on the diving board. "How about a one hand jump into a back flip to end in a belly flop!" Kim announced as he prepared to do just that.

"Um… You do you, dude. I'll stick to cannonballs." Nino raised his hands in submission.

"Yeah, too steep for me." Marc agreed. To their group surprise, Kim pulled it off perfectly and hit the water with a wince inducing smack.

"Ouch…" Aaron hissed just watching.

"I think we all agree that you win this one. Ivan's not here to show you up."

Kim popped up out of the water just in time to hear his victory. "Yeah, you know it, but Ivan's only got me beat with a cannonball. The guy makes practical tidal waves."

"Hey boys, were drawing straws for who has to go grab lunch." Alya called with a wave. "Pick someone in your group to go with Julekha."

"So who wants to?" Kim asked looking very against getting out of the pool.

"I'd prefer not to myself." Marc piped up.

"Well, I-"

Nino cut off Aaron before he could volunteer. "Now now, if Benson were here, I know what he'd say. Let's settle this like men! Obviously the strongest guy should go since they have to carry most of the food, right?" He explained getting nods all around. "So, let's all compete to see who's the strongest." He then pointed to the little island in the shallow end. "Let's do one on one until we get a winner."

"Hell yes!" Kim agreed looking like he was on fire.

Nino chuckled along with Marc. "Nice one, Nino."

"I thought so."

"What?" Aaron wondered at their words.

"Kim's super competitive so he'll want to win." The first match was Nino and Kim but they didn't get very far before Alya and Rose ran over to shut the whole thing down.

"Babe, are you trying to get us kicked out?"

"Please, we're not supposed to wrestle in the pool." Kim let out a sigh of disappointment.

"What were you thinking anyway?" Alya asked noting her boyfriend's contemplative expression.

"We were having a contest to see who was the strongest, and they would go with Julieka."

The journalist to be just rolled her eyes. "A contest? Seriously? It would obv…" She paused. "No… It could be Aaron too." She muttered with a grin forming. "I got a better idea boys. How about you flex your stuff for the girls and see which one of you is more impressive?"

Nino took a glance to see if that would hook Kim and nodded. "Yeah, why not?"

Kim looked cocky as hell as he started to flex his arms. "Like any of you wimps stand a chance?" They all gathered by the chairs. "So who thinks they have what it takes?" Kim started with his chest out and hands on his hips.

"Well, I'm not on your level but," Nino flexed and arm which elicited giggles from most of the girls and an eye roll from his girlfriend.

"Sorry, Nino, but I love you anyway." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Marc?"

"Honestly, I feel I stood a better chance with the wrestling thing." He admitted sheepishly as he removed his sleeveless t-shirt.

"Yeah, about the same as Nino." Alya lamented at the pitiable competition.

"Like I said, no chance." Kim repeated self assuredly.

"Just pick the meat head and go! I'm getting hungry over here." Alix, who'd shown up late, heckled.

"Now, hold on, we do have another contender here." Alya pointed to Aaron with a smirk. "Can't you tell by the way his shirt sticks to him?"

"Alya… You don't have to make him." Marinette defended for the very embarrassed baker.

"Drop it, Mari, you want his shirt off more than anyone."

"Honestly I uh… I'd rather not." One reason being it would be a pain to put it back on, and the other… Had more to do with Marinette's reaction. She'd already mentioned liking how he looked after all. He'd love to be impressive, but he knew she wouldn't want get too embarrassed with everyone around.

"See, just let Kim win." Marinette added with more confidence.

"I guess." Alya conceded with a sigh.

"No!" Kim declared and turned to Aaron. "Come on man, I wanna win for real, not because you pulled out!"

"Geez, you're such a baby." Alix grumbled at his childish antics. "How does Ondine put up with you?"

"Come on, Bassett, just show me what you got so I can win."

"Seriously, dude? You already won." Nino emphasized at how out of control this was starting to get. He didn't want Adrien to be forced into anything even if it is just taking off a shirt.

"Aaron, tell you what. Just do what the whiner wants, and I'll pay for your food, okay?" Alix considered just wanting this macho fest to be over. She liked contests but it wasn't like she could join this one.

"If it'll end it I guess." Aaron relented feeling like this was pretty silly. He blushed as he pulled up the matted wet fabric and it balled up stubbornly when he got it over his head.

"Damn, Aaron… Baking did you a lot of favors." Nino muttered in legit surprise.

Marc nodded with a blush. "Yeah… Wow…"

"That's it? Come on, I'm still more impressive." Kim declared showing his arms to be twice as big.

"Okay, you've won, now go with Julieka to get our lunch." Alix demanded with a wave to shoo him away. He didn't even seem to realize the whole thing was a trick from the start as he followed behind the darkly dressed girl.

Alya tossed the ravenette a towel. "Here, thanks for playing along." She expressed with a smile and an obvious glance to Marinette who was blushing like mad and looking at her toes.

"Sure, but honestly, I would have volunteered and stopped this whole thing to start with, Nino."

"And miss letting Kim do all the work?" He countered.

"And that, babe, is why you don't have muscles like Aaron over here." Alya informed with a smirk to her guy. "Anyway, just dry off and Marinette can put more sunscreen on you." And once again, Alya incited an awkward silence between them.


After lunch Marinette decided to bring up Aaron's hair to their group's hair expert, who looked more than eager to help. "So, Aaron, Marinette says you're interested in a touch up?" Rose approached when she saw none of the other guys nearby.

"Huh?"

She pointed to her hair. "Oh uh… Yeah, I'll probably need one pretty soon." He stated with a minor blush.

"Okay, though I am a bit curious why? Mari wouldn't say."

He looked around for anyone listening in. "Well… I have a protein deficiency which caused my hair to grey…"

"You?" It was hard to believe when looking at him.

"From back when I lived at home, actually. Changing your diet doesn't always fix it so…"

"That's fine then, honestly. You mind if I take a look?" Aaron took a seat so she could look at his hair more closely. "So when did you last have it done?"

"About… 6 weeks ago? Maybe?" Time had really flown by now that he thought about it.

"Hmmm… That's pretty good then. I don't see much of any change in your roots yet." She weaved her fingers through his hair carefully. "Though you might want to watch your eyebrows." She pointed out indicating the slight shimmer of lighter hair near the tops.

"Really?" His eyebrows had never even occurred to him.

"Yeah, not bad but they are starting to show. I can't imagine how your diet was to cause this." She lamented with a worried tone.

"Yeah, it was… Well, I've changed it since so, I should be fine." He assured. "I'm grateful for your help though. Getting my hair colored gets expensive, but I'd rather not grey out, you know?"

She nodded and glanced to Marinette. "I do, though I doubt it would bother Marinette." She giggled at his blush. "But anyway, why don't I put in an appointment for you in about… Say two weeks? By that point your roots probably will start peeking out, and I'll do your eyebrows too."

"How much?" He asked just to make sure. His last dye job was a little traumatizing.

"Well, I would normally call this a touch up, but since I wasn't the one to dye your hair, I'll start with my normal fee of 50 euros. You can get a few more touch ups for free out of that." Rose stated with a smile.

"Well, it sounds better than the last place I went, and Marinette says you do a good job, so sure. Sounds good."

"Okay, let me just go find a time in my calendar."

"Thanks." He called back and moved back to be out of the sun more. He glanced over the big group of teens. They had all gone to college together, and stuff like this wasn't so rare for them. Now, though, he was starting to feel included. He wasn't restricted by rules or the whims of his father. It felt… freeing, and it was worth far more than any amount of money his father had.


Marinette and Adrien lay back on the couch completely spent from their day at the pool. It was like the sun sucked all their energy out. "I don't think I've ever had that much fun at a pool." Aaron expressed as he stretched slightly.

"Really? Didn't you ever go with friends?"

"Not really… My father… Well, I didn't get out much if you recall." He covered instead which had the designer worried.

"You…" The subject was hard to broach. A lot like Chat Noir and his complicated home life really. "If you want to talk about it… I'm here for you." She pat his arm and then, in a moment of boldness, leaned on his arm.

He looked to her curiously. "You know… I'd like that." He'd never really had someone to rant about his father to.

"So…" She started. "You were mentioning your father?"

He sighed. "He… Actually, I'm not sure I could even call him a father. I felt like one of his employees most of the time."

"An employee? So you did work for him?"

Aaron nodded. "Yeah, but not the way you do for your parents. If it was just a once in a while thing, it wouldn't be so bad, and honestly… He's not even happy with what I did. Your parents always look so appreciative when you do something."

Marinette was finding it hard to picture what he was describing. How can a father be that way? "So he just makes you do a lot of work all the time?"

The man let out a sigh and looked down. "I… I just used to do so much, you know? I'd do jobs for him and his company, work on studying at home since I didn't get to go to public school, and he just kept cramming more and more into my days. I never had time to just do what I wanted, and he never bothered to ask me either…" She saw a glassy shine in his eye and took his hand for comfort. "And… and other times it's the expression he gives me all the time. The one that says, "It doesn't matter what you do, or how well you do it, I WILL be disappointed in you. You will never be good enough, and I'm the one stuck with you." He let out with a shaky tone. "He just made me feel so… Not worthless, but like nothing I did would amount to anything without him…."

She pat his arm comfortingly and had to hold back her own instinct to cry. "You're right… He doesn't really sound like a father. But now…. Now you're not there, you're here. And you're appreciated, Aaron."

"You…" He almost sobbed as he leaned against her himself. "No, your whole family… You're all so nice… And I'm so jealous you got to grow up here, Mari."

She gave him a sympathetic expression and reached for his head. "Yeah… with a father like that I'm sure." She slowly pulled him down to rest his head in her lap. "But like I said before, Aaron, you're here now. You're safe with us… With me." She then started to thread her fingers through his hair and he lost the will to cry anymore. He couldn't, not with such a wonderful person giving him comfort. He'd never experienced such a tender touch, not even from Ladybug. It was… It was like magic. A magic that could leave him at peace with all the things that weighed him down in life. For this short moment, during this little spell she cast, he felt like nothing but a carefree and very loved house cat.

Marinette looked down at him once she felt his breathing even out. "He must've been tired." She mused and wiped a lingering tear with her free hand. "And he's so sweet… It's hard to believe what he grew up in." She saw Tikki nodding from the corner of her eye behind the couch. She felt through his hair and moved further back to scratch there too with a hopeful smile. "I hope he never has to go back." She suddenly heard a small rumble and chuckled. "I guess he really was tired if he's snoring…" No… Not snoring. She leaned down to him and his mouth wasn't open at all. The sound also wasn't really coming from his nose but…. His chest? She carefully used her free hand to feel what she could of his chest and felt it shaking with each rumble. "He's… He's purring?" She pulled her hand from his head and he instantly stopped. She then started again, but the purring didn't come back. "Tikki… Do I look out of it? Or spacey?" She suddenly asked her very astute kwami.

"No, Marinette."

"Okay… Good." She stared out into space. "I think I'll just… rest my eyes then." And she closed them hoping to wake up with just a little more clarity over this man before her who makes her think of someone else she knows.


Tender moments! Also, Marinette might be figuring something out, but she needs to get out of denial first. Up to this point Adrien (Aaron) hadn't talked much about his home life before, and Marinette's parents had told her the bare minimum because he was due privacy. =^-^=

This story is going in a few weird directions, but I have a basic idea of where I want it to end. If you have anything you think would be a fun addition, then feel free to suggest.=^-^=