The view from where Adrien stood was incredible. Sure nothing could beat the view from the back of a dragon, but this was close for someone who had lived in area that never saw snow.
He had found the trail along one of his morning runs before Marinette woke up, taking the chance at a later day to come with Marinette.
"Marinette come on," he urged, wishing he had something to capture this view.
"Stop, walking so fast!"
Adrien turned to see Marinette clambering over the snow, trying to step in the prints he left so she wouldn't fall. He stepped back towards her, marking new footprints in the untouched snow.
"And stop taking big steps," she grumbled as he took her hands in his.
"My apologies Marinette," he teased, Marinette scowling at him as he led her further in. Her face was adorable when she pretended to be mad at him.
He paused where he had stopped previously.
"Look around."
Marinette looked, Adrien following her gaze to look around them. From where they stood, they were completely surround by snow, the occasional mountain appearing amongst the blanket of white. It glistened in the blue light from the sky.
"It's magical," Marinette murmured, pulling Adrien after her as she stepped further, only to submerge complete in the snow.
Adrien chuckled, and picked her back up.
"You need to be more careful where you step," he jested as he set her down in his footprints.
He was then hit in the face by a cold and wet sensation, running his fingered over it to feel water and powdered snow. He looked over at Marinette who was already bending over the snow trying to make something.
"And you need to remember who you are dealing with." She threw another ball of snow in his direction, Adrien easily dodging her sloppy aim.
He quickly went down on his knees to make his own ball, chucking it at her the moment she was about to throw her own at him, hitting her in the face. She then threw her ball at him, forcing him to dive into the snow for cover.
He quickly turned up, tossing another snowball at her, missing completely. Marinette stepped to get more snow, only to fall into the snow enough so it covered her up to her head. Adrien crawled over, looking down at her with a smug grin.
"Where did you learn that," he asked as he watched her struggle to get out of the hole.
"In one of the northern nations, a princess had learn from her lady's maid and taught me and my hand maiden. We would have teams and play in their garden."
"That must have been fun." Adrien reached in and pulled her out of the hole, only for Marinette to make the hole bigger.
"It was, we would play every time we visited until she got married."
Adrien hummed, knowing well the topic of marriage was a sensitive subject.
"What about you?" Marinette looked up at him as she attempted to climb out of the hole, still only making it big enough now to fit two people inside.
"What about me?"
"What did you use to do for fun? Did you visit friends? Or did friends visit you?"
"I never had any friends."
Marinette stopped struggling to get out of the hole, her hand tightening around Adrien's. Adrien slipped into the hole beside her, sitting down and gesturing for her to do the same.
"My father is your family's royal tailor. He and mother inherited the house from her family."
"No wonder your last name sounded familiar. The pink dress he made for my birthday is my favorite."
"Mine too. I mean, you looked lovely in it. At the party. Because I was there with my family."
Marinette giggled.
"Really? Did we run into each other. I don't recall Lady Agreste introducing me to anyone."
"Well, my presence was overshadowed by Prince Theo's arrival. We were dancing when he interrupted us."
Marinette's eyes went wide, raising her finger to point at him.
"You were the gentleman I danced with at the ball! I'm so sorry about our dance."
"My parents were suppose to introduce me to you that night as your new personal bodyguard."
"That was the surprise my maman and your mother were whispering about?!" Marinette slapped some snow to her side, spraying it inside their hole. "Theo ruins everything."
Adrien gave a half-hearted chuckle, not able to disagree with her statement, but then not able to agree either. Her almost wedding did lead him back to her.
"But why didn't you have any friends growing up?" Marinette turned to face him.
"Father wanted me to have the best education possible, since he couldn't growing up. I spent most of my youth studying. But then I once saw one of mother's friends bring over their husband who was a knight. He agreed to take me under his wing since he didn't have a son of his own to train. I think they were hoping I would marry their daughter, but she is setting her sights on men a little higher than her own station. I met some other men in the army and have become good friends with them though."
"I'm glad to hear it. Maybe once this is all said and done, you can still be my knight."
"I would very much like that."
Marinette's face began turning pink, turning away to bury her face in her skirts.
"We should probably get out of the snow, we need to get back before the dragon's wake." Adrien stood to his feet, brushing some of the snow off before extending a hand to Marinette. Marinette looked, her cheeks still pink, as she accepted the hand to stand.
Turning the other direction, Adrien pulled himself out of the hole, helping Marinette climb out as he did, only for her to stumble onto his chest, much like their first meeting.
"You just keep falling for me don't you?"
Marinette immediately buried her face in his shirt. "You can't just say things like that," she mumbled through the fabric.
"Why not?" Adrien tilted her chin up to look at him, her face completely red, and her eyes avoiding his. He placed his hand on her forehead and cheek, feeling warmth.
"Maybe we stayed in the snow too long," he mused out loud as he pulled her after him, back towards the valley.
The rest of the way back was quiet, but Adrien kept a hold of Marinette's hand. He did not want to think of what Plagg would do if he lost Marinette or made her sick.
They finally stopped walking as they made it back into the Valley, the sun about ready to touch the tips of the mountains.
"And we're back, with time to spare. Do we want to check on the fish pond for dinner?" Adrien looked back to see Marinette looking down, particularly at their hands, and her face was still red.
"You're not getting a fever are you?"
"What," Marinette looked up, "No, I'm, at least I don't think. It's just, well…" Marinette's eyes began to wander anywhere but him, her other hand clenching and unclenching her skirt. Adrien reached for her other hand, placing her small hand into his larger one.
"You can tell me anything," he assured her, Marinette finally meeting his eyes with determination.
"I'm sorry our dance got interrupted by Theo, and I would like to make amends for that." Marinette let go of both his hands, grabbing the sides of her skirt to curtsey.
"Adrien, may I have this dance?"
Adrien smiled, returning her curtsey with a bow.
"I would be delighted."
He extended his hand, which she accepted, leading her exactly from where they had left off at the dance. Adrien could remember it had been a larger group dance, a complicated one he learned from his father that said would be the sure way to win him a bride, as it had done with him and his mother.
Marinette was one with their non existent music, her eyes solely on her partner as they danced. This is what Adrien almost imagine it would be like. A boy dancing with a girl. Their social stations didn't matter. Who they would be to each other after that night wouldn't matter. Just a dance he could treasure for his lifetime.
Adrien felt Marinette slowing down, pausing their dance as she looked at him, into his eyes. The moon and few stars reflected her blue eyes. The redness in her face was gone, leaving a gentle pink on her cheeks. Her rosy red lips were slightly open, her half lidded gaze closer to his own face before he even realized it. He could feel himself being pulled to her, captivated under her spell.
"It's getting dark, your highness." Those words broke the enchantment they were under, Marinette opening her eyes wide as she stepped back, letting him go.
"Right."
"Do you wish to go to the pond or…"
"Home, I mean my cave. I'll go back to the cave."
Marinette slowly began stepping away, Adrien taking a couple steps after her.
"Do you want me to escort you?"
"No, Sir Adrien. Thank you, but you've done enough for today." Marinette turned on her heels and walked off, Adrien under unsure if he should stay or follow. He stayed were he was for a while, watching her disappear out of his line of sight. Every step she took further away, making something inside him ache.
