Day 32
Their alarm didn't go off. It wasn't like Marinette had meetings she had to be at or Adrien had training to attend.
But Marinette had meeting she had to be at and Adrien had training to attend.
Their Love Dare time was very unfortunately scrapped.
"Tonight," Adrien promised, pulling her in.
"Toni—"
Adrien smashed his lips on hers before she could finish.
"I love you," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I love you." He kissed her other cheek. "I love you." Her nose. "I love you." Her lips again.
She grabbed his cheeks, pushing him away. "I love you, too, kitty."
He grinned, stole one last searing kiss from her, then ran out the door.
"Tikki," Marinette said, looking at the door with a dazed look. Her heart was roaring and her head was surprisingly light, curtesy of that last kiss. "Please pinch me if I get distracted on the road."
Tikki rolled her eyes. "You're going to be late if you don't get a move on!"
That snapped Marinette out of her stupor. "Right! Let's get going!"
"I have to say, Marinette," Tikki commented during lunch, "you and Adrien have come a very long way in a short amount of time."
Marinette smiled fondly. "Yeah. We have, haven't we?"
"It's really good. And I'm so proud of you and how far you have come. You stepped up to be the bigger person, and look where that's gotten you."
She felt warm and happy, but mostly, she felt thankful. "No, I owe it all to you. You were the one who made me do the Love Dare to Adrien. And you kept me on top of it. Thank you, Tikki."
The kwami smiled. "You were the one who was willing enough to do it. I just offered a little guidance."
"Still," Marinette argued. "Thank you, Tikki."
Tikki floated down to rest in Marinette's hand. "You're welcome."
Marinette brought the kwami up to her face, pressing Tikki against her cheek in the best imitation of a hug she could give.
"So," Tikki began. "I know you and Adrien are adamant about your Love Dare time together. However, I actually would like to warn you of this love dare beforehand."
Marinette frowned. "Why? What is it?"
"Nothing bad," Tikki assured. "I just thought you might like to prepare for it before tonight."
Despite her brow being furrowed in confusion, Marinette reached for her journal and opened it to the right page. "Okay,"
"Ready?"
"Ready."
"Love meets sexual needs."
Marinette froze. Oh. That's why Tikki wanted to warn her.
"Marinette?" Tikki asked. "Something wrong?"
Marinette bit her lip. "No," she said, answering honestly. "I… it's just…" Her voice drifted off, uncertain how to finish that sentence. Really, Marinette found nothing wrong with the dare. It mostly just caught her off guard. "Most of these dares have been about non-intimate things so…"
The smile Tikki gave her was full of understanding. "Marinette, you and Adrien are husband and wife. I'm not saying sex is all there is to a marriage, but it is an important part of it because it creates a bond, one that runs very deep. It brings a couple together in unity. And you and Adrien could use a little of that."
Certain her face was pink at the thought, Marinette took a couple steadying breaths. It wasn't like the thought of sex was embarrassing; she'd been married for years for heaven's sake. However, the more she thought about it, the more she realized the really couldn't remember the last time she and Adrien had been intimate.
It wasn't like she hadn't wanted him over the past handful of days. Between Adrien recovering from his back injury and Marinette having to monitor an emergency of a rack of destroyed clothes that were supposed to be for a photoshoot, then Adrien's training running late and Marinette training the new hires, the last couple days had been jam packed with back to back events. All Marinette had to say was thank goodness for their Love Dare time in the mornings as well as their renewed bond that lead to constant texts and phone calls throughout the day.
"I'm not letting us break again," Adrien had insisted, seeing as he was the one who initiated most of the calls. "And that means making an effort to reach out to you every day since home time is pretty minimal right now."
"Tonight," Tikki said, calling Marinette back to reality from her thoughts, "Adrien will be home after all the after-school classes are done at the academy. And you don't have anything left to deal with here. The girls can handle the minor things."
"True," Marinette said.
"You'll be off at a decent time today. Before him," Tikki encouraged.
Marinette looked at Tikki, who was giving her a knowing look. Feeling heat rise to her cheeks, Marinette had to huff a laugh. "I can't believe this," Marinette mumbled, though her lips were quirked up in a smile. "A kwami invading my sex life."
"Oh, Marinette," Tikki cooed with a smile that was definitely dangerous. "I've been around a long time. Trust me, I know quite a bit more than you think I do, and I'd be more than happy to pass on that knowledge."
Instantly, a bright red color flooded Marinette's face, extending down her neck to her burning chest. "Tikki!"
Adrien was more than excited to rush home. He'd been staring at his journal all day, anxious and ready to hear the day's love dare.
"I could just tell you now," Plagg said for the umpteenth time on the car ride home.
"Plagg, I told you, I do this with Marinette. That's the point of it. Being together for each lesson."
"I'll bet Tikki already told Marinette."
"What makes you say that?"
"If you knew the dare—"
"I'm not going to hear it."
Adrien pulled into the driveway of the house. "Well, kid, your funeral."
Before Adrien could ask Plagg what he meant by that, the kwami phased out of the car and into the house. Shaking his head, Adrien grabbed his bag from the back seat and began heading inside. He tossed open the door, then tossed it shut behind him. And immediately froze where he stood.
Because directly in his line of sight was Marinette sitting on the counter in… well… definitely not what she went to work in that day.
Her grin was nothing short of cattish. "Hey there, hot stuff."
He dropped his bag.
She giggled. Slowly, she uncrossed her stocking-covered legs. Something jingled, though just where that was coming from was beyond him. She strutted up to him, hips swinging and smile growing. His heart was positively pounding inside his chest as his mind registered one thing: there wasn't going to be sleep happening tonight.
And just where was that jingling coming from because that was going to kill him.
Then he realized that he'd find out soon enough because there was no way his hands were going to be off her body for long.
She stopped directly in front of him, standing on her tip-toes as she leaned close. "Did you have a good day?"
His mind was slow on the go. His day. His day was good. No, his day was frigging fantastic. "I come home to my wife modeling a pin-up pose on the kitchen counter in the sexiest lingerie I've ever seen in my life. If you're expecting me to say my day was terrible, you're going to be sorely disappointed."
She giggled, then swung around in a circle that drew so much attention to…
Heck, he was drooling over her entire body.
"You really like it?" she asked, striking another pose.
He was going to die. Positively keel over right then and there. His wife was decked out in a Chat Noir themed outfit, his colors and paw print symbol stamped all over her like a brand. Marinette in Chat Noir anything sparked a possessive streak a mile wide in him.
And Marinette knew it.
His eyes narrowed. "You're trying to kill me, aren't you?"
"Now, why would I do that?" Marinette coyly asked, leaning forward on her toes. The moment her hands hit his chest, it was over. He shoved her back into the closest wall he could find.
She grinned, her eyes full of fire. "Did I strike a possessive nerve, mon chaton?"
He growled. "You're in so much trouble, purrrincess."
Her grin only widened. Her hot little hands weaseled under his shirt, and he was free of it seconds later.
Getting a grip on her thighs—his hands hit something round and hard on her garters, meaning he found the jingle bells. Score!—he hoisted her up around his hips, still pressing her against the wall before smashing his lips to hers.
She eagerly responded, grabbing at his hair and cradling his cheeks.
"I love you," she managed to say between kisses.
"I love you," he quickly responded. "I love you so much. I love you. I love you. I love you."
Grabbing a fist full of hair, she kissed him hard and long before pulling back just enough to whisper. "I love you, too. So, so much. Forever."
After a few more steamy kisses, she wiggled her way out of his grasp, grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall toward the master bedroom. The urge to press her up against the wall again and positively snog her senseless was strong, but she beat him to the opportunity, side-stepping his movements and swinging him around.
But Adrien couldn't register how she managed to pull it off when his brain was fried over the fact there was a smoking hot woman with a blazing fire in her eyes pressing him firmly against the wall.
He shook his head. How'd he get so lucky to be this woman's husband? Because he didn't know.
Shaking her head, she playfully tsked him. "You're good, but I'm better."
We'll see about that. The tango of mouths and dance of hands began not even a second after that fleeting thought.
Somewhere in his mind, he realized they should be making their way toward the bedroom because while he'd happily love his wife into oblivion anywhere, maybe the bed was the best option. He took a step, something hit his shoulder.
Crash!
The duo jumped apart, hearts pounding for a whole new reason now, and stared at the floor that was now riddled with broken glass and a busted picture frame.
"You broke it!"
"I broke it?" Adrien countered.
"Yeah," Marinette scolded with a smile. "Now there's glass all our hallway. What are you going to do about it, kitty?"
He stared at her, then at the glass, then back at her.
He smiled.
"Save the princess!" he shouted. He grabbed her knees and hoisted her over his shoulder, garnering a squeal of laughter out of her that rung through the house.
"Adrien! Put me down!"
But he could hear the smile on her face as he carefully stepped over the broken glass. "Not until I assure the princess is safe," he insisted, his grin growing wider by the second. "Tis my job as her loyal knight to ensure her safety from shards of glass."
Her laughter rendered her useless to respond.
He marched into the bedroom, positioned himself at the foot of the bed, then swung her back over his shoulder so she collided with the mattress.
He never let go of her legs as he watched her, her head tossed back as she shrieked with laughter. Honestly, he missed that so much, that unbridled joy of hers.
Seeing it again sent warm fuzzies pulsing through him.
But her laughter was also contagious. He couldn't help but chuckle along.
Gradually, their laughter slowed and their eyes locked once again. Adrien let go of her knees and shifted to hover directly above her. She draped her arms over his neck, and he felt like he could fly right then and there.
"I can't believe we almost got rid of us," she whispered.
His gut sank like a stone, and he grew sick at the thought. They really almost had. He had tossed his ring at her. She almost didn't do the love dare. He almost didn't respond.
"We would have been miserable," Adrien said. "We might have each woken up one day and realized what we lost."
Marinette nodded. "I don't want to think about it."
"Neither do I," he said, leaning down to press his lips to hers. "So let's not. I think we have better things to do tonight. What do you say Mrs. Agreste?"
Her grip on him tightened, and she shot him a smile that was so warm it could melt him into a puddle. "I think," she said. "That tonight, we stay under house Agreste."
His heart beat wildly. "I knew you always liked my puns."
Plagg and Tikki looked over the very dead picture frame on the floor in the hallway.
"I know that I helped them with chores before," Plagg commented. "But I'm not cleaning that up."
"I think they can deal with it in the morning," Tikki agreed. "Right now, I'd like to get some sleep."
"Count me in, Tikki."