MiraculElse #38: The Comings and Goings of Coming of Age
by DFC
(Timeline: Season 5. Post-relationship, pre-finale.)
(Trigger warnings: Rated Mature for discussion of sexual topics and behaviors between of-age-of-consent-but-under-18 teens. No explicit content whatsoever. This is not a smut story; it is a personal relationships story.)
"I cannot believe you did that."
"Did what?" asked Alya, feigning innocence as Marinette glared at her across the cafeteria table.
"I was right there at breakfast with my parents when your text came through. I took one look at it and turned scarlet!" complained Marinette. "Then my mother asked me what it was, and I had to make up a story..."
"You didn't tell her that what I sent was called 'Level 06 of Super Penguino,' right?" Alya chuckled.
"NO! I don't... I don't know that I want them even thinking that I'm thinking about anything... physical yet," moaned Marinette. "I kind of am, but I'm not... we're not there yet!"
"And if you tell yourself that you're not there yet, you'll get there around..." Alya checked her watch for effect, then named a year three years in the future.
"We're kissing now! Isn't that... I mean, it took us this long to get to that point... it's wonderful!" cooed Marinette. "Adrien seems just as happy as I am."
"I am not saying 'go dive on him, right now,'" countered Alya. "You should be mentally ready before you commit to... other things."
"Right!"
"And as your wingwoman, my job is to help get you mentally ready," Alya grinned. "Because there are so many things you and Adrien can do without crossing certain other lines."
"So you keep showing me!" whined Marinette. "This morning's picture was so... my brain was going 'I'm not ready for this, la la la la la, I'm not watching this' the whole time I had it up."
"You didn't delete it, though."
Marinette stared at her, then sighed. "Of course I didn't delete it," she confessed. "But I'm also nowhere near that point with Adrien yet."
"How about this, then?"
Alya flipped through her Photo Gallery in her phone, then showed Marinette a different image.
"Oh... oh!"
"Not so terrible?" smirked Alya.
"I, uh... might need a copy of that one," admitted Marinette. "For a little independent research."
At bedtime, Tom reached over and flicked the bedside light off. "Good night, my love," he told Sabine, warmly.
"Before we go to sleep, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," she noted. "But you have to promise not to get angry."
"How can I promise that, when I don't know what it is yet?" he protested. "But, yes. Go ahead."
"About our little lovebirds."
"What about them?" asked Tom, in a cautious tone.
"I have not caught them doing anything sexual yet," Sabine stated. "So, relax, if that's what you're thinking. But you've seen how the two of them are together..."
"Heh. I was wondering how they were managing to eat supper tonight," Tom chuckled. "It's not easy to cut your filet mignon with one hand. They were holding hands all through the meal."
"They are inseparable, yes. And they are teenagers. And so... as I said, I have not walked in on anything yet. But it might be a good idea to prepare ourselves for that day, as much as I doubt that you want to."
Tom grunted softly, an inarticulate sound of mild frustration. "I don't think any father is ever ready for this kind of thing," he groused. "I mean, ten minutes ago, she was my little girl and I was bouncing her on my knee."
"Not so little any more," said Sabine. "She's a fine young woman."
"I know, I know. And Adrien is a fine young man. I don't think she could have possibly made a better choice for a first relationship," Tom conceded. "He's polite, he's respectful, he's a charming little fellow."
"He's completely taken by her. So devoted," she added.
"His father's a piece of work, though. So I'm told," mused Tom. "Marinette came home fuming the other day."
"Uh-huh. He seems to disapprove of Adrien dating anyone, much less Marinette," Sabine frowned. "I don't know that I'm looking forward to meeting him."
"Should we invite him over for supper some night?"
Sabine glanced at Tom, questioningly. "Are you sure that you would want to do that?"
"No, but... if it will help the two of them gain his father's approval, I'd be willing to try it. It's a decent social gesture," he reasoned. "Though I did bring up the idea once, and the kids looked at me with horror in their eyes."
"Let's... let Adrien introduce his father at his own pace," she counseled. "The two of them are not very close at all, from what Marinette's told me."
"A pity."
Tom adjusted his pillow, then flopped his head down upon it roughly. "And that means," he continued, "that the two of them are scrambling for any time they can get alone together. So we may not need to worry so much about... things."
"That is true," Sabine agreed. "We kind of went through that ourselves, back when we were dating."
"We did, didn't we?" smiled Tom.
"Did we let that stop us?"
"No, we didn't," he replied, after a pause. "But there were more than a few hiccups along the way. I thought that your father was going to kill me that one time."
"It's a good thing that he liked you," Sabine laughed. "Much like we both like Adrien."
"So, should we make things a little easier for them than we had it?" asked Tom. "I mean, not 'hey, kids, do whatever you like,' but at least... an understanding?"
His wife smiled broadly. "I was hoping that you'd say something like that," she told him.
After school, Marinette knew her parents' schedules very well. Her father and mother would be knee-deep in closing the bakery for the day, cleaning up, managing the day's receipts, preparing supper...
...which meant that with the cats looking away, the mice had an opportunity to play. And play, they did - within limits.
The kissing grew harder, more passionate as it continued. Their embrace grew closer, and hands began a complicated dance in which they'd begin to drift, then return to their original position, then repeat.
I can't... I can't make myself just... TAKE him, Marinette fretted, with what little free brainpower she possessed. I just... I just keep imagining my going too far and Adrien looking at me, all shocked and hurt-looking!
She broke the kiss, momentarily, remaining in Adrien's arms. They smiled at each other, visibly happy, but with an unspoken tension in the air.
"I love you, Marinette," he breathed.
"I love you, too," she echoed. "And... I want to play a little game with you, okay?"
"Oh?"
As she strode over to her desk, her heart pounding like thunder, she thought back to an earlier discussion with Tikki.
"He just won't make the move," she'd complained to her faithful Kwami. "And if he doesn't, I can't make myself do it. I mean, it's great that he treats me with such care and respect! But..."
"Sometimes, you'd rather him be a little bolder?" asked Tikki. "Maybe he just needs the right encouragement."
"Maybe I need to figure out how to give him that," Marinette grumped.
"How about this?" suggested Tikki. "You remember how you two broke the ice and you admitted your feelings for him, right? Perhaps turnabout is fair play."
"Yes... a little game," she declared. "And it's a game that we've played before, and you know it very well."
"Sure," he agreed. "What is it?"
She sat down next to him on the chaise, holding a certain sketchpad that she'd carefully retrieved from a locked bottom desk drawer.
"Don't say a word," she directs him. "Raise your right hand if your answer is 'yes,' your left hand if it's 'no' to my questions."
"Ah. Okay..."
She flipped open the sketchpad. Inside it were pencil sketches Marinette had drawn of the two of them; the first page depicted a close embrace, tender kissing, just as they'd been doing a moment before.
"Now, obviously, you approve of this one," she giggled.
Adrien's right hand shot up like a rocket in agreement.
"Soooo..."
Marinette's fingers shyly turned two pages, reaching a drawing of a somewhat different activity.
"That's... whoa. That's more than kissing," a startled Adrien managed.
"It sure is," she agreed. "Have you ever done this with anyone before?"
"N-no, I-" he began, then smiled as she silenced him with a gesture. His left hand went up.
"Would you... like to try this one with me?" breathed Marinette. "Right here, today?"
She watched his face carefully. A cavalcade of emotions crossed over it; surprise, then excitement and joy, then some obvious nervousness... worry and doubt warring with desire. His mouth flopped open, but no sound came out of it.
"I can go back to an earlier page, if you'd like," she whispered to him. "We don't have to push things along unless you want to. Unless you're ready for this."
As she reached for the current page, intending to return to the beginning, his left hand reached down and stopped her motion. His right hand rose slowly into the air...
...and soon, all hands were otherwise occupied.
"Oh, my," cackled Alya the next morning, seeing the expression on Marinette's face once Adrien had kissed her and had then departed for his own locker. "How far did you get?"
"Who's to say that we got anywhere?" complained Marinette. "I mean, I'm just... we didn't... well, we did, but... um... Level 4 of Penguino. WIth a sneak preview of Level 5."
"And you liked it?"
Marinette's grin said what her voice didn't in response to that.
"Good. So he's at least pretty good at it?"
"Oh, I can't complain," gasped Marinette. "I have no basis for comparison, of course, but if he's bad at it, I sure can't tell."
"I take it that your little notebook trick worked?" asked Alya.
"Uh-huh! We even moved forward one more page. He was like, 'Uh, there are a lot of pages in that sketchpad.' I said, 'Yes, there are, and someday we'll look at the others.' I didn't want to show him your texts and make him think that I was getting advice from you about it."
"You think he doesn't talk to Nino?" countered Alya. "I know he does."
"He does?" Marinette panicked. "What did he tell him?"
"Relax, willya?" Alya soothed her. "Look. All we wanted to know was that things are happening, and you're both cool with that, and with each other. We don't need to know every steamy little detail. Adrien's not, y'know... describing you to him."
Marinette's momentary look of relief faded slightly when Alya added, "I mean, I'd love to know every steamy little detail of what you're doing. But that's up to you to spill the tea."
"He's like a kid with a new toy," Marinette admitted. "We're figuring out, y'know, what each other likes and doesn't like. What we're good at. What we're still learning. What we're not gonna learn just yet. So he knows that he's good at... that one thing that he does... and now every chance he gets, he wants to do that."
"Mmmm. I've been there," grinned Alya.
"Even if it's not the safest time or place for it," fretted Marinette. "I mean, it doesn't take very long for me to... you know."
"You're... that quick?" Alya marveled.
"Sometimes? That's not important! Okay," a flustered Marinette evaded. "He just gives me those eyes, that wanting look... he whispers that he wants to make me feel that good again... and I just melt."
"I've been there, too," said Alya. "Ms. Bustier caught Nino and I like that once, on that day trip."
"THAT'S what she caught you two doing?"
"Well, not that! Actually, we were... never mind what we were doing then," blushed Alya. "Point is, sometimes it takes as much willpower to say 'no' as to say 'yes.'"
"Uh-huh."
"Just be careful, okay?" Alya suggested. "You will get busted sooner or later. Everybody does. So practice your 'I can explain' face in the mirror tonight. And for your sake, don't let his father be the one who walks in on you!"
"GOD, no," gasped Marinette. "We haven't dared to do anything at his house."
"I can't find my phone charger," Sabine complained. "It's usually right here."
"Didn't Marinette borrow it yesterday?" replied Tom, from across the bakery floor.
"That's right. I'll be right back," said Sabine. "I'll go and get it back from her."
As she climbed the stairs, Sabine's mind wandered until she neared the door to Marinette's room. Certain sounds snuck their way out into the stairwell... and there was no mistaking their origin or tone.
Hmmph, she frowned. I can tell that they're... busy! I can wait until later, and come back...
Changing her mind, she reached for the door. But I think it might be better for all concerned if I don't, she told herself.
Two young lovers groping, giggling, sighing, moaning gently together... and suddenly, only one.
It took Marinette a few seconds to realize that Adrien had stopped what he'd been doing with her, with a horrified look on his face. She followed his gaze to the door of her room and her mother's face peeking up through it, and grew equally still.
AAAAAAIIIIIIGGGGGGH!
I can't disguise this, she panicked. My blouse and his shirt are halfway to the door, on the chair over there. What do I say what do I say WHAT DO I SAY-
"Well, now," said Sabine, evenly. Her face did not betray any particular emotion in the moment, as tension hung thickly in the air.
Silence reigned as Marinette covered herself up as best she could - Sabine thought a small prayer of thanks that both of them were mostly clothed, so neither teen needed to do much covering - while Adrien froze in place, sitting on the floor with no ability to move or speak.
"Marinette... you are okay with this? You're not being pressured by Adrien?" asked Sabine, in a calm tone.
"N-no, Mama... I mean, yes, I'm okay with this, no, I'm not being pressured," she stammered. "It was kind of my idea and I asked if he'd want to and please don't-"
"Adrien?" continued Sabine. "You're not being pressured into this?"
He didn't respond until she allowed herself a hint of a smile at his nervousness. "N-n-n-no, Mrs. Cheng," Adrien gasped out. "I'm f-f-f-fine with what's happening. And we're-"
"The two of you are being... careful?"
"Absolutely!" Marinette yelped. "You know that I wouldn't... uh... we're not even thinking about... that..."
"Breathe, dear. Both of you," Sabine instructed them. "You do know that either of you can come and talk to me about this whenever you like, yes? And that includes you, Adrien, if you'd want to."
"I think that would be a really good idea," declared Marinette. "Can I talk with you tonight, after supper... before you talk about this with Papa?"
"I would like that very much," said Sabine. "How about... you talk with Adrien, first? I think he could use some reassurance right now."
"Mrs. Cheng?" babbled Adrien. "I... I don't... I want to say that..."
Smoothly, Sabine turned to leave. "I shall have to remind myself to knock first from now on. My apologies," she stated on her way back downstairs.
It took a few moments for the implications to fully sink in.
"Good lord," Adrien panicked. "I can't believe that we just... she saw me doing that with... oh, God, they'll never let me in your house again!"
"I don't think it's that bad," Marinette countered, obviously spooked but a little calmer. "She didn't seem angry to you, did she?"
"N-no?" he agreed. "Startled out of her mind, maybe. But she was very... matter-of-fact about what she saw. HOW?"
Adrien's state of anxiousness prompted Marinette to slide over and hold him, gently.
"I didn't expect her to just... walk in on us like that," Marinette said, partly to herself, in a mild state of shock. "She should've been busy for the next hour or two. I mean, it is her house! She can come and go as she pleases..."
"I can't believe this happened. I can't believe that I screwed things up this badly..." moaned Adrien.
"Adrien, honey?" said Marinette, gently. "Listen to me. We're not in deep trouble. My mother and father-"
A vision of the very large Mr. Dupain filled Adrien's mind's-eye, and his panic deepened.
"Your father!" Adrien gasped. "I've seen what he was like when he was... defending your honor..."
"There will be no Akumas in this house," Marinette stressed. "Not this time. They are both aware that we kiss and cuddle, right? I've talked with them before about the... possibility of what else could happen someday. I'll talk with my mother. She'll make sure that we're all on the same page together."
"Y-you're sure?"
"I'm sure. I mean, I'm nervous about this, too... but I can handle it."
She padded over and retrieved their shirts. "Here," she called out, flipping Adrien's shirt in his direction. "I think we've had enough excitement for one afternoon."
"...You could say that."
Waiting in her bedroom, Sabine smiled when a sheepish Marinette poked her head through the door that evening.
"Come, come. Sit here with me," beckoned Sabine, and she did.
"I'm... I'm sorry that you caught us like that today," Marinette began. "We certainly didn't mean for you to see that."
"I should hope not. I would be a little alarmed if you had," Sabine countered, trying to insert a little gentle humor into the mood in the room. "You and Adrien talked it out?"
"We did," explained Marinette. "Once we calmed down, I told him that this wasn't the end of the world. He seemed to think that Papa would snap him in half for this, like a twig."
"Your father is not going to go to such extremes. I promise you that."
"And that's what I told him," Marinette continued, "but we're still both very sorry. We got carried away in the moment, and doing that up in my room with you two home was kind of..."
"Disrespectful?"
Marinette's face fell. "That's a good word for it," she admitted.
"I would imagine that, with Adrien's father disapproving of you the way you've said he does, that this was one of the only places you had available to you," mused Sabine. "When you're out with him in public, if the cameras aren't nearby, that huge bodyguard of his is. I suspect you're not making out right in front of him!"
"N-no!" she stammered. "I mean, I think his bodyguard kind of likes me, even if he doesn't show it openly, but... ewww."
"I know it's hard to believe, but I was a teenage girl once, too. With a loving boyfriend and everything," Sabine continued. "Trying to find any privacy that your father and I could get, to steal a few kisses. It wasn't THAT long ago."
"So we're really not in trouble?"
"Not so much. But your father and I have talked about what to do about it when this day arrived... and I think that we need to agree on some ground rules for you and Adrien. I can't yell at you for breaking rules that we hadn't told you about yet."
"We're sorry for the rules that we did break," said Marinette, "even so."
"I know you are. That makes this easier," smiled Sabine. "Now... you and I have had The Talk before, about the basics..."
"We have," Marinette agreed. "But I was younger then. I wouldn't mind talking about it now... now that a little part of me is more interested in that kind of thing."
Huddled up in his room, Adrien stared at his phone and willed Marinette to respond to him, jumping a bit when her first message arrived.
[Marinette] Hey.
[Adrien] Hey, yourself. What happened?
[Marinette] We're fine. You're not banned from the household. No one is mad at you or going to stomp you. Or me!
[Adrien] That's good...
[Marinette] We have some new rules for when we're at my house.
[Adrien] Go on...
[Marinette] Okay. They're not too bad. Like... any time you're over, you have to 'check in,' so to speak. Let my parents know that you're there.
[Adrien] They knew that I was there today, didn't they?
[Marinette] Of course! But this is their way of saying... no sneaking over for midnight makeouts.
[Adrien] Okay, that's fair enough.
[Marinette] My bedroom door can close, and my mother will knock before entering.
[Marinette] But that ends if she catches us doing things that would make her want it open.
[Adrien] ...Such as?
[Marinette] Sneaking around. Lying. Risky things. Being super-blatant about physical things.
[Marinette] It's one thing if you were to strip me down. It's another if they walk in us doing that some night, right there on the downstairs couch, right?
[Adrien] Strip you down?
[Marinette] That's the part that you read, huh?
[Adrien] No, no, I get it! I get it. Keep private things private. Behave in front of others. Be tactful.
[Marinette] Exactly.
[Marinette] And we'll have a little privacy. My room will be kind of a safe space for us.
[Marinette] We'll have an easier time keeping our hands off each other in public if we have a private place where it can happen.
[Adrien] Definitely!
[Marinette] And as far as someday goes...
[Marinette] On my next OB/GYN visit, which is next month, I'll talk with my doctor about certain... precautions I can take.
[Adrien] Do you mean...
[Marinette] Uh-huh.
[Adrien] I haven't even hinted at that yet.
[Marinette] I know you haven't. And this isn't saying that you have to!
[Marinette] What it is saying is, if we reach a point where... THAT is an option...
[Marinette] They'd rather have us be safe and prepared than fooling around and maybe getting into big trouble.
[Marinette] It might be next month. It might be next year. It might not happen at all. I'm very much fine with... where we are now!
[Adrien] I am, too!
[Marinette] I might peek at the next page of that notebook soon... ;)
[Adrien] :flames emoji:
[Marinette] Or I might just be teasing you right now. But when we are ready for more... we'll be READY.
[Adrien] I am so in love with you.
[Marinette] :wall of hearts emojis:
[Adrien] There is one other complication from today.
[Marinette] What is it?
[Adrien] You kind of left a mark on my neck.
[Marinette] Oh, boy. They'll tease us about that at school tomorrow.
[Adrien] That's really not what I'm worried about...
"THIS IS GABRIEL AGRESTE."
The voice booming over Tom's phone was loud enough that he didn't even need it near his ear. "Hello," he replied, calmly. "This is Tom Dupain. It is good to finally make your acquainta-"
"Reasonable evidence has come to my attention that your daughter has been... deflowering my son within the confines of your home. A hickey was found on his neck this afternoon!"
Tom stepped into the back room of the bakery for privacy's sake. "I believe so, yes," he replied. "Perhaps not to the point of actual deflowering, but... The two of them make a point of being discreet, but occasional sounds do escape, and my wife has told me that Marinette's sat down and discussed their ongoing relationship with her. They kiss and cuddle and whatnot. Many people do."
"You are admitting it?"
Tom stared at his phone for a moment.
"What of it?" he asked. "They are in a committed relationship. They are young and in love. They are-"
"The implications are absolutely staggering!" thundered Gabriel. "Adrien is my son, the flagship model of my company, and a public figure! Every single aspect of his life reflects upon-"
"He is young, and in love, and quite naturally interested in expressing that safely," Tom repeated, more firmly. "If it is going to happen at all, would you rather have them sneaking around in the park, or in the school library, or in someone's car, some place where paparazzi would happily sneak up on them with cameras? Or in private, in comfort and safety?"
"It should not be happening at all!"
"Your son is of age, yes?" asked Tom. "My daughter certainly is."
"That is not the point!"
"That is completely the point," Tom countered. "This is not a free-for-all zone here; my wife and I have established rules and expectations, and we communicate those to Marinette and, now that he is a frequent visitor, to Adrien. Complying with those implies an equal degree of trust earned. And whether you trust your son is your own decision, Sir... but having come to know him pretty well, he's earned mine."
"You have not heard the last of this, Mr. Dupain," hissed Gabriel, icily.
"For today, I have. Good day."