Day 2: Roses

How do you express love without using words?

There were a multitude of ways, actually. Actions, of course, speak louder than words. Such actions like gifts. Little things or grand gestures that show you care and know the person you mean to woo.

As far as gifts went; Adrien's personal favorites were roses.

They were inexpensive so it never felt like he was trying to buy his intended's affection. Also, they were beautiful. True, they didn't last long, but one could let them dry upside down or pressed to keep them longer.

But the best thing about roses was that there were so many different colors and they all meant different things. Intense feelings like love, or simpler feelings like friendship. Even just happiness, sadness, gratitude, or sympathy. It all depended on the color.

Every since Chat Noir started visiting Marinette, he would often bring her a rose. Usually, it was a light pink rose. At first, Marinette just thought he gave her those because pink was her favorite color. But after giving her several, he explained that it wasn't just because of that. He explained to her that light pink roses meant grace, admiration, happiness, and friendship. Yellow roses also meant friendship but he thought pink had more meaning. Plus, he knew Marinette would prefer pink anyway.

As much as he valued her friendship, he felt great happiness when they hung out. He also admired her for her talents, courageous attitude, and kind-hearted nature. And while she was clumsy—not exactly graceful in the manner of movement—her grace showed instead through the vibe she gave off. Everything around her just felt calmer and brighter, where ever she went.

Even on his worst days, all he'd have to do was see her face and he'd be cheered. Most other people would agree.

In other words; he felt graced by her presence.

Hearing all of this had made Marinette blush. Of course, she knew, Chat meant all of this in a platonic why. They were friends. Just as the light pink rose meant.

Still, the bluenette loved receiving his little gift every once in a while, when he visited her balcony. She had made a habit of hanging the roses upside down so they'd dry out without wilting, then she collected them in a big vase where they stayed preserved and still beautiful.

Like many nights Chat came to hang out, Marinette waited on her balcony for him to arrive. She didn't have to, but she didn't mind. She only waited for a certain amount of time though, just in case he couldn't make it. And that was okay. She always brought something to do and she knew when to call it a night.

Without looking up from her book, she heard the familiar sound of Chat landing on her railing.

"Evening, princess," she heard him say in his usual charming voice.

Marinette looked up, putting her book down. There he sat, crouched on her railing like an actual feline. "Evening, kitty," she replied, standing up. "Care for a rematch?" One of their favorite things to do was play Ultimate Mecha Strike. No matter how many times he lost to Marinette, Chat just couldn't stop re-challenging her time and time again.

"You know I would," Chat grinned, but then it was quickly gone as he continued. "But, unfortunately, I literally can't stay longer than a minute," he said reluctantly.

This made Marinette frown too. "Why not?"

"I have to be somewhere tonight and right now is my only chance to sneak off without anyone noticing. It's a break, but a very short break," he hastily explained. Adrien Agreste had an event to be at and right now, he was supposed to be in the shower, getting cleaned up after finishing a photoshoot. He knew he barely had a few minutes before Nathalie came into his room with the outfit he'd be wearing for the event and knock on the bathroom door to remind him of how much longer he had before he was supposed to be dried off, dressed, and ready to leave.

Tight schedules were annoying. Even when you were used to them.

But he had to see her tonight. He couldn't go another minute with her not having this particular gift from him.

"So what, you came all this way just to say hi and then goodbye right away?" she said, folding her arms, a little disappointed.

"Of course not," Chat shook his head before sliding off the railing and stood right in front of her. "I did want to say hi, but I also wanted to give you this," he said, starting to pull his head out from behind his back.

Marinette grinned. Of course. He came all this way, even with so little time to spare, just to give her another rose.

Her kitty was such a dork, but she wouldn't have him any other way.

But the rose Chat pulled out from behind his back wasn't light pink.

It was yellow, with red along the edges of the petals.

Marinette stared at the curious new colors as Chat held it out, offering it for her to take. Snapping out of her pondering, Marinette reaching up and took the rose.

"What's this?" she asked.

He had told her that a rose's colors meant certain things. What did this one mean? What happened to her usual but still beloved light pink?

"Something different, for different feelings," Chat grinned before giving her a wink.

Still confused, Marinette tried asking "But what-?"

She stopped talking as Chat took her other hand in his, holding it tenderly. "Sorry, I really gotta go," he said quickly before giving the top of her hand a sweet peek. He looked up at her with his big, green, feline eyes and said "See you tomorrow." Then he was gone.

Marinette sat at her desk, staring at the rose in her hand for a long time.

Different feeling? What was different? And what did these two colors on the same rose mean?

Putting the mystery rose in her tiny vase off to the side, Marinette turned on her computer and typed in a web-search for 'yellow and red roses.'

The first thing she saw after pressing enter was the image of a chart of different rose colors and their meanings. She clicked on the chart to make it bigger and scrolled down a bit. Passed the meanings of a single rose color, there were combinations of two different colored roses and what they meant. In one box, she saw a picture of two roses; one yellow and one red. Apparently, this combination meant 'happiness.' That was it.

This confused Marinette. Chat had said that light pink roses meant more than just happiness, which was why he thought they were perfect for her. Why would he just start giving her another rose that meant less?

The thought made her sad. Did he not feel admiration, friendship, and grace when he saw her anymore? Just happiness? What did that mean?

However, if that was indeed what he had meant, why wouldn't he give her the two different colored roses like the picture illustrated? Maybe she was wrong. He gave her one rose of two colors. Maybe that meant something entirely different.

Marinette scrolled down more, trying to find a rose on the chart that exactly matched the one Chat had given her.

Finally, she reached the bottom of the chart. There, it showed single roses that were more than one color. Her blue-bell eyes scanned over the screen, looking over each one.

At last, she found what she was looking for.

.

.

.

Marinette's entire body froze as she studied the chart box carefully. Her heart hammering in her ribcage and her face flushing to a shade of red that could also have its own unique meaning.

The yellow rose with red tips.

Its meaning: falling in love.

See u tomorrow =^.^=