She stayed seated while Adrien hurriedly approached her. Having seemingly recovered from his initial surprise and slight terror at her presence being revealed, he was back to looking at her with his usual adoration. The gaze he was giving her only fueled the addiction she had been feeling for his presence.
"Ladybug! What a surprise! Not a bad one of course! I mean, you said you would come soon. But I didn't think you meant tonight!"
Marinette just smiled and leaned back in the chair. "Well, I did promise not to make you wait. And if I'm being honest, after last time I wasn't sure I would be able to wait either," she said with confidence. Internally she beamed with glee at the effect her words had on the boy. Adrien blushed at her statement, but not out of shame or embarrassment. He didn't look away either, rather just grinned wider. Feeling bolstered by his reaction, she continued. "I am sorry for letting myself in though. I wasn't sure when you would be back so I figured it would be best to drop off my gift for you and let you know I'd stopped by. And that's where you found me."
"And I'm certainly glad I caught you," Adrien responded. "I would have been terribly disappointed if we'd missed each other and- wait, did you say you brought me a gift?"
She held the box out with a giggle. "Eager to open it?"
"Well yes, but that wasn't why I asked. I mean, you didn't need to get me anything. Your presence is a gift enough for me."
"Flatterer. I told you I wanted to thank you for saving me from that Akuma today," Marinette said with a grin as she handed over the package. Deciding that she couldn't resist teasing him she continued. "Besides, it's considered rude to give someone the same gift twice so I wasn't sure you would want me to thank you the same way as last time."
The look Adrien gave her wasn't quite a glare since he clearly could tell she was joking, but he definitely showed disapproval of the idea. "Leave the jokes to Chat Noir, Ladybug. That's in poor taste," he shot back in his own teasing tone as he set the box on his desk and untied the ribbon.
"I think you'll find what's in the box to be good enough taste to make up for it."
"I can think of something else I'd like a taste of first."
Marinette couldn't help but laugh at that, despite her blush. "So forward, Adrien. Feeling confident are we?"
Adrien stood in front of the desk chair and put his hands on each armrest, leaning in towards her. When their faces were only a few inches apart he spoke softly. "Only because you inspire me to be."
Looking the boy of her dreams in the eye left Marinette simultaneously wanting to close that final gap between them yet also wanting to continue their banter since this was probably a record for how long she had maintained confidence when speaking with Adrien. With a shy smile, she decided to shoot for both.
"Why don't you put your money where your mouth is? Show me how confident you can be."
Adrien didn't need further prompting. Without hesitation he brought his lips to her and immediately Marinette felt caught up in the same passion from a week ago. There was that inexplicable feeling of synchronization between the two of them and the blissful sense of absolute peace, as if this was where they both belonged. Neither allowed themselves to get too carried away, and broke apart after a minute.
"As good as last time?" Marinette asked with a confident grin, although she couldn't help the slight hint of shyness coming through her voice. She couldn't help but be nervous that perhaps it was only she who was so caught up in the passion between them, but Adrien's loving gaze put that line of thinking to rest quickly.
"Even better," he replied, "which I didn't think would be possible." He gave her another quick peck before standing up straight. "And while I fully intend to do that again, it would be rude of me to ignore your generous gift."
"You don't even know what it is," she countered. "It might not be as generous as you think."
"Nonsense," he said as he lifted the lid off the box, "the fact that you brought me anything at all is generous and- wow! These look amazing!"
Marinette beamed with pride as Adrien removed a profiterole from the box.
"Should I be worried that you're looking at the pastries with more affection than you looked at me?" she teased. "Seriously though, I hope I'm not messing up any model eating regime you might be on, but I thought you deserved something tasty. So I picked those up for you after the Akuma attack."
Adrien took a bite of the pastry and gave an involuntary sound of satisfaction and contentment.
"God, these are amazing. Where did you get them?"
Marinette tried not to display any nervousness in her response. "A lady has to keep some secrets."
Adrien seemed to understand that there was a reason for her silence on the matter, though he did not comment on it.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I'm being rude," he quickly remarked as he held the box out to her. "Please, take one."
"I couldn't Adrien, they were a gift for you," Marinette protested. Adrien, however, was not to be swayed.
"I insist. There are plenty here and I would enjoy sharing them with you. Why don't we come sit over here on the sofa and chat while we eat them?" asked Adrien before second-guessing himself. "Unless that's too forward of me to ask. I don't want to force you to stay and I know that you might not want to talk because of your identity."
"Oh, now you're worried about being too forward?" Marinette teased. "You weren't too concerned a minute ago… But no, you're fine to ask. I would love to stay a little while longer."
Adrien simply beamed and offered her a hand to help her out of the chair. Marinette couldn't help herself from giving him another brief kiss on the cheek, but she did make sure not to get carried away. There would be time for that later. The two teens made their way over to the sofa and took a seat. They left some space between them, but both made a noticeable effort to sit closer than they would have with any of their other friends.
As they both snacked on the profiteroles a casual conversation was struck up between them. Given her need to protect her identity Adrien started out doing most of the talking while she asked him about his day and how he had been doing lately. He acknowledged that he had been stressed but didn't say anything to reveal how deep it was. Gradually the conversation shifted to topics that Marinette could comment on as well as they began to discuss some of their favorite pieces of pop culture and foods. It was beginning to feel almost like a first date, much to Marinette's glee. Of course she was all too aware that she couldn't stay forever, so when the conversation came to a natural lull she asked Adrien what time it was. A quick glance at the clock revealed that she had been there for almost 45 minutes.
"Well, I've got good news and bad news, Adrien," she said, "The bad news is, it's time for me to tell you goodbye."
Adrien's face notably fell and his voice was heavy with disappointment as he spoke. "I understand. I knew you wouldn't be able to stay too late, but having you here has meant so much to me."
"Now hang on," Marinette interjected. "That's the bad news. The good news…" She paused to gently push him back so that he was laying with his head on the arm of the sofa, then continued to speak softly as she slowly straddled him and leaned closer, "...is that I'm starting the goodbyes early so that we have plenty of time for them."
She didn't even give him a chance to respond before their lips met once was no hesitation on his part to respond in kind, and in no time they were entwined in each other's arms. They kissed with fervor and passion, taking breaks only to breathe- breaks that consisted of one of them kissing the other on the neck or elsewhere while the other caught their breath. When Adrien nibbled on her earlobe Marinette's desired swelled even higher as she felt his warm breath against her. She immediately moved to capture him in another kiss. Adrien's overshirt was discarded and she let her gloved fingers slip underneath his t-shirt wishing desperately that she could feel him with her own bare hands. Adrien was caressing her as well, though he never let his hands wander too low or onto her front out of respect. He seemed to be attempting to memorize the way every subtle curve of her back and waist. When Marinette gave a gentle but heated bite to his neck his fingernails dug into her with involuntary yearning. She couldn't say how long they spent in this manner before she collapsed and rested her head on his chest while cuddling up to him.
"Damn," Adrien panted, "I never thought I'd like saying goodbye to someone so much."
Marinette laughed, herself also out of breath. She let herself lay there a moment with her eyes closed, savoring the moment. She would actually have to leave soon, but she was going to enjoy this perfect feeling first. She hummed her agreement before both of them settled into a comfortable silence. After a few minutes it was broken by Adrien speaking up again.
"So, I could be wrong," he began, "but I get the sense that we may like each other. Just a bit."
"I have no idea what could have brought you to that conclusion," she responded before giving him a peck on the cheek.
"I have been known to leap to conclusions before. But I feel pretty confident about this one."
Unsure where he was going with this, Marinette thought carefully about how to answer. "I would say there's some foundation for your theory."
Adrien gave her a grin and then continued. "I'm relatively new to social interactions, but usually when two people like each other they make an effort to spend time together in one-on-one situations. Now I get that whatever is between us is not usual. I can't take you out to dinner or to a movie. You might not feel comfortable doing anything in order to protect your secret identity. But if you are interested, I would love to have you over again so that I could treat you to a somewhat proper date."
Her breath hitched and her eyes went wide. Did Adrien just ask me out?! Marinette slowly sat up, making a careful effort not to hurt Adrien as she did so. She knew she had to say something quickly so that his feelings wouldn't be crushed but she also wasn't sure what answer she should give. Or rather, she knew what answer she should give, but was unsure what answer she was going to give. The best thing she could do at the moment was get more information.
"How would that work? You know, since I have to stay like this," she motioned to her mask, "and like you said, we couldn't go anywhere."
"No, we couldn't. But that doesn't mean that I can't bring something here. I don't want to spoil any potential surprises, but I'd be able to set up something special for you. You've made my night twice now, and I would like to be able to do something for you."
The boy looked so earnest and sincere that her heart melted just a little bit more. She still had her concerns, though surprisingly not for herself.
"If we start doing this," she began cautiously, "I don't trust myself to be able to stop. So I need to make sure you're okay with what you're suggesting. Because you and me… we could only happen here, in this room. We could never tell our friends that there is someone special in our lives. If we see each other in public like we did today we'd have to act like strangers. I want to be with you, Adrien, but you deserve someone who can give you those moments in public, who you can treat like a princess to your heart's content, and who you can introduce to your friends, not someone who can only come to steal moments and kisses."
"So do you," he countered.
Marinette couldn't stop the honest response from blurting out of her mouth. "If I can't have those things with you, then I don't want them at all."
Adrien's eyes widened at her admission and Marinette inwardly swore at herself. I really hope I didn't let my identity slip at all with that statement…
"Me too," Adrien hastily responded, "but about you."
"In that case," Marinette said as she leaned closer to him again, "When would you like me to come by?"