The sunlight streamed in through every possible angle in her room and it was relentless to the little sleep that he managed. The only reason he wasn't fully insistent on burying his head in the pillow and seeking unconsciousness was because of the hours he got yesterday afternoon.
For some reason, the birds chirped a little louder than usual. An eye regrettably peeked open, the most pungent, foul smell suddenly greeting his nose when he turned. His face scrunched up as he sat up with a groan, hand covering his nose. "What...what is that stench?" He muttered, looking a short distance to an absolutely adorable spectacle.
She jerked and smeared her toe before giving him an annoyed look. "Ah! You made me mess up!" She quickly rolled to the desk on a heel and grabbed a Q-Tip. She dabbed at the excess, managing to clean up around the exterior without lasting damage. She nodded to herself and tossed the used item on a tissue before finishing the last pinky toe.
She was painting her toenails. It seemed totally girly and somehow not something he could see her ever doing. She had the cutest screwed up look of concentration, foot awkwardly angled for easier access over a knee. There was even a small part of her tongue stuck out as she worked! How had she not fallen off the chair yet at that angle?
He was again painfully aware of her feminine aspect as he watched her close the lid and fling her spread toes around to dry them. Hands lightly clutched at the seat as she moved her feet for a second before sliding across the floor on her heels and stuck them out the open, circular window. Oh...that explained the birds... She slouched in her chair and began on her fingers, pretty much ignoring that he was hanging out on her couch and had taken up residence there all night as she worked.
"Ugh...that smells!" He lightly groused, flopping onto the mattress. "Why do you have to do that right now? It's early!"
"It's actually past nine for your information. Are you always so hard to wake up? I tried an hour ago, but you didn't budge. We missed breakfast from mama, but I told her that I'd cook us something instead. You should probably wake up now...loafer."
A brow rose, but that got him to sit up so he could look at her. He suddenly blinked and then stuck his tongue out at a thought. "You're going to cook me breakfast after you paint your nails? That's not going to chip off into my food is it? I'm going to get food poisoning!"
She threw him a slightly offended, somewhat amused look over her shoulder and left her thumb undone. She shook her left hand briefly before starting in on the right. "You're a dork. That's not how nail polish works. Geez..." She was silent for a moment before answering a previous question, eyes on her work. "And I happen to like this color and felt like wearing it. Since you were dead to the world, I decided to take this chance to get things done before you harassed me."
A brow rose, smile slowly forming. His harassment was a given huh? Not like him to deny her those words after all...
He crossed his legs and leaned on his knees as he watched her finish up. He liked the blue she was applying; it reminded him of her eyes. Her thumbs were undone and his head tilted. "Why aren't you doing your thumbs?"
She smiled and waved both sets of done fingers in the air. "The second you have everything covered in wet paint is the second everything itches all at once." As if to accentuate that point, she reached up a safe digit and scratched her nose.
The smirk that started taking hold of his face spoke of the evil plan he suddenly concocted. He fluidly slid off the couch and gave a quick stretch. He strode over, hands clasped behind his back, as he leaned over the feet hanging out her open window. He gave a smile, pretending to admire her work. "So...it's kind of like a safety net, right?"
Her vision jerked to his. Alarm bells suddenly went off in her brain as she eyed the smile on his face. He didn't disappoint as one hand snatched her ankle, the other lightly tickling the underside of her foot. She squealed in laughter and annoyance, kicking her leg and trying not to mess up her toes at the same time. "STOP!" She managed, flailing as she almost fell out of the flimsy chair. "Adrien Agreste!" Once she had righted herself, she used the flat part of her palm to attempt to hit him and not mess up her hard work.
"Ooooo, the full name huh?" His ears drank in the peals of laughter, even as he dodged her kicks.
"Stop it...right now!" She gasped.
"Not much of a safety n -" He suddenly cringed when she finally met the floor with a surprised yelp. His hand loosened to keep from twisting her ankle on the way down. He gave a sheepish, apologetic look as she really glared up from the floor. He was well aware of her skin in his hand and his face heated a tad.
It was really, really hard not to stare too much at the rise of her sleeping shorts and how they bunched up almost dangerously.
Her back was going to hurt a little for this and he had probably bruised her hip. Her eyes narrowed to slips, mouth screwing up unhappily. She suddenly looked to her nails and found almost all of them smudged beyond repair. "AH! They're all ruined now!" She would have to take everything off and start over, but it was too much work at this point. "I hate you..." She groused, looking to her nails with sad eyes.
He grinned at the tone. "Aww...you know you love me."
Anything else he meant to say afterward died. It was just a joke...but his sleepy brain had selectively forgotten last night until now before he could fully wake up. His poorly choice words couldn't be taken back either.
The smile remained frozen as if stuck there, eyes widening just a little when she gave him a look of disbelief. Her eyes were saucers and she was stone under him. His face heated like the sun as he felt himself shrink under her gaze at his slip. He didn't really mean it like that, but...the way she was looking... Oh god...he couldn't keep his hands from shaking and letting her know just how her reaction to his supposedly playful comment made him feel.
She mentally shook herself and bypassed his words, trying to forget they ever happened. Last night ran through her head and it was still something neither of them had dealt with yet. She honestly didn't want to because there was so much standing in the way of 'him' and the idea of it all and she didn't want to go through it all again if she didn't have to.
She immediately pulled her leg from his hold and shifted to a much more comfortable sitting spot on the floor. She tried to keep her face cooler than the summer heat as she studied the damage more intently than necessary. "Well...I guess they're stuck like this..." She muttered, unable to see when he crouched down to see for himself. "At least my toes made it."
Random angles marred most of them, only a few fingernails smooth and saved the onslaught. Fingers rubbed his chin as he pretended to think, eyes narrowing a little. "They're definitely not going to chip into my food right? Do I need to cook breakfast?"
She gave him an utterly odd look. "Do you even know HOW to cook?" She suddenly smirked and sat up straight. "Why don't you let the baker's daughter handle the oven, ballet boy."
She said it like it was a bad thing...like he had servants to wait on him hand and foot...as if he had never stepped in a kitchen, let alone turned a stove on. He scowled at her until she stood and he followed. "So...we slept through breakfast?" He hedged, hand uncomfortably rubbing an arm. He watched her head down before he descended. "Your mom isn't...mad at us, is she?"
She managed to give him another weird look as he got to the lower level. She snickered for a second before realizing he felt bad because her mother would have made them breakfast and then ended up not. He still thought he was putting her parents out because they were going out of their way for him and then he didn't show up to something as trivial as a meal.
She gave him a soft look, patting a cheek with a sweet smile. "You're cute. Mom would never get mad at you." She turned and paused, back to him. "Just like me..." She mumbled.
He shivered at the softness of the words he barely caught, eying her as she opened the fridge door and grabbed a carton of eggs. She pulled a cupboard above her head open and started grabbing spices, setting everything together near a stove. All with her back to him.
Stupid, stupid! WHY did she have to say that? It was just a slip of the tongue, but now her face was heated and all the deep breathing in the world wasn't going to get it to go back to normal! She stared at the spices as if thinking about what she wanted to use, but she really was trying to ignore him so she could calm down again.
At length, she straightened after turning the stove on and gave him a look over her shoulder. "Go grab my phone from upstairs. It's too quiet; we need some music."
He blinked, but nodded and let her get food started. He snatched it off her desk and hurried back down. She had thrown quite a large chunk of butter in a pan and he eyed her work as he set the phone next to her. "Isn't that a tad much? What are you making anyway?"
He could've rested his chin on her shoulder he was so close! Well...he was way too tall for that, so maybe her head...but, he was still standing in the comfort zone she was trying rebuild at his comments! She quickly grabbed her phone, needing something else to occupy her mind, and turned her music player on. She found the setup for the band she had been obsessing over all summer and set one of the more lighthearted songs on (1). She turned the volume up and twirled around him to set it on the table nearby.
His ears picked up the lyrics he could understand as he watched her flitter back to the stove, legs kicking out in ballet form to the music. Her level of adorableness heightened as he watched her make breakfast while she danced. Danced! He headed over to the table and plopped in a chair, crossing his arms and resting them on the top...fully enjoying the show. "A – are you...for real?" He barely got out, stomach trembling.
"It's bake-dancing!" She cracked, giggling.
He groaned at the pun and she gave him a wide smile as she angled herself and a broken eggshell into the trash. Once it fell inside and the lid closed, she whirled back and did another egg. She repeated the scene a total of three times before an arm snuck out and grabbed a spice bottle. Her torso twisted as she added spices to the rhythm of the beat. She didn't make a mess, didn't mess up to the beat. Not once.
"Marinette's special omelet requires music!" She merrily declared, taking a fork and whipping the whole thing in time to the beat, hips swaying as she was forced to stay in her spot.
It was REALLY hard to keep his eyes from gravitating down! Even if it was a boring pair of sleeping shorts and a tank top, she looked like a million bucks in it...especially those bare legs...
"What's...so special about it?" He barely heard himself say, eating up everything she was giving him. He couldn't think of a better way to spend the morning. The best part? Her parents were busy downstairs with the bakery and had no time to come check on them. This meant she would continue this show that he was highly enjoying right now without worrying about how it may look.
She hopped on a leg to the fridge, landing En Pointe as best she could without slippers and left her other leg hanging in the air as she hunted around for the final ingredient. She shut the door and leaned back, hand holding a small container his way. "Sheep cheese."
His brow rose, nose scrunching up. "SHEEP cheese?! For real? Ew...?"
She twirled to the stove and bopped in the time as she took a few scoops from the container, dumping them in the fairly solid mass by this point. "Ye of little faith. I promise you, it'll be good. You won't even taste the chili powder either."
"What?!" He shook his head at that. "I don't think I want to try this 'special omelet' of yours. Is that why it's special...it's nigh inedible?" His eyes eventually flickered to the translation playing on her phone and he found he liked this more and more and not just cause she was dancing to it and amusing him greatly.
I think she has come, I'm in front of the person who shakes up my heart
I think I'm attracted to you like a magnet right now
He couldn't tear his eyes off the words he could finally understand, not even with her still dancing in front of him. Did she pick this song on purpose? The song quickly grew to be his favorite with her as its star. She personified yet another by this band and he had a feeling he was going to end up owning their cds before this was all over with.
You're my only girl
You're the best; you're someone who only exists in the movies
The song ended and an entirely different group sprouted on the next video (2). The song was catchy, it was good for the Underground, but the words were really odd. The body shaking in front of him, even more if that was possible, was way more entertaining than the words and thus he remained in the dark on their meaning and just watched her shimmy around.
She wasn't even fully aware she had an audience anymore...as usual when she got into a song she really liked. It was one that she had played when she was Ladybug. The memory crept through her veins and she really liked it. She waited after she flipped the omelet closed to turn to him, spatula in hand, and mouth the some of the only English lyrics in the song. "Wow, fantastic baby."
He didn't even get to react to her before she twirled back around and gave her full attention to the omelet. This was the absolute best and it was probably up there with getting to kiss her last night. No...it was better because this was a mix of all he had come to know. This was her. He blinked at the whirlwind that she was and burst out laughing.
It was a sweet sound and she was secretly pleased that she helped create it. She smiled to herself, eyes on the omelet, as she finagled a knife and fork to turn it. "Come on you..." She drawled, angling at a ballet arch while she flipped it. Part of the melted cheese came out and landed onto the pan. "Augh! No! Don't die on me! Presentation is key here!" She thawked it with her fork before quickly working it to the corner of the pan and trying to keep it looking like an omelet.
His head thunked on the table as he couldn't rely on his stomach to hold him upright any longer. He couldn't stop laughing! She was hilarious and the fact that she was acting this way, almost uncharacteristically so, was even funnier. Ladybug...making an omelet...acting like Marinette...acting like Ladybug...
"And voila!" She pleasantly declared, sliding it onto a plate. She gripped it and spun, sliding it onto the table with the best Arabesque Penché that she could manage in such tight quarters. "For Monsieur Agreste. Breakfast is served my good sir."
His lips twitched, but he looked to the omelet with skepticism. It looked beautiful; the egg color was perfect and his chef would be proud. His mouth screwed up in thought, finally grabbing his utensils. He cut a corner up and popped it in his mouth, finding the flavor and the mix of a cheese he had never tried before melding perfectly. She was right; he didn't taste the chili anywhere. He finally leveled her with a stare when he finished swallowing. "Is there anything you CAN'T do, Miss Awesome?"
She giggled and gave him a sweet smile while she focused on hers next. "Charmer. Thanks though."
"No...seriously!" He waved a hand at her while she worked, dancing to another song that had been going on the last minute. "You cook, you make your own stuff, you dance amazingly, you're funny and kind, you're a great teacher, good with kids, you have great music taste, you're...i – in great shape...a – amongst...other things..." He looked to his food as his words became a little too specific, face heating up. "You choreograph dances, your ballet is amazing, your e – eyes...um..."
Her face was was heating more than from just closeness to the pan. Her shoulders had scrunched up to her ears, silly smile on her face that she desperately tried to hide from him.
Teeth bit her lip as she focused on her breakfast, giving a sudden cry of despair when the center broke open as she flipped it and flooded the pan. "Ah! No, no, no!" Quick thinking saved her to keep it from ending up as scrambled eggs. She flipped it and spun to him, finding him devouring his food. She smiled and went for a cupboard, grabbing a glass and setting it before him. She twirled and leaned into the fridge in yet another ballet move as she grabbed milk and then the chocolate powder to add in front of him.
He watched her suddenly prop her head up on the table, hands cupping that cherub face of hers with a smug grin adorning it. She kept switching to En Pointe and down in time to the music as she watched him. "So..." She began, grin widening, "got anything else?"
He stared at her before he smirked and propped his head up with a hand. "Yea...I think you're going to burn your breakfast if you keep paying this much attention to me. Not that I mind..."
She whipped around to find the omelet sizzling a little too loudly in its spot on the burner. She scooped it onto a plate and turned everything off before joining him at the table. She added some pepper and salt, hopping off only to grab utensils and her own glass.
"After we get done with this, we'll head to the studio and work on some more moves." She mumbled around her food. "It's easier to work that way. I'll just bring my phone so we have access to the internet for that song you like."
01010
Dawn rose and despite having gone to sleep mere hours before, he was awake. It was a grim waking, but a necessary one.
The strategy had been fully discussed and all details ironed out. The dance was choreographed and memorized. The song had been chosen, dissected, and put back together in its new form. Everything was perfect and nothing could go wrong with what she had come up with.
Everything except...he was leaving her.
It was going to kill him, but he had to go back days in advance so it looked like he just came to his senses without incriminating her. His father was a sharp, adept person and if it was timed too close, he may become suspicious.
He closed the duffel as quietly as possible and looked up. The dusk had barely allowed him to look to her bed in the silence. He wanted to say a brief farewell-for-now to her, but he didn't want to wake her. They had spent hours dancing again and he knew she was tired. She hardly left the dance floor, as she usually didn't, and that cost a lot of energy to someone as small as she was. He honestly didn't know how she didn't keel over at the end of every night.
He couldn't help himself from climbing the ladder to her bed though and kneeling next to her bed. She happened to be facing him and his hand rose on its own. It hovered just over the hair above her ear, hesitating for only a moment before giving in and gently smoothing it away. He jerked back when she stirred a little, but didn't roll over.
He drank her in. She had quickly become everything to him and he was going to miss being near her almost every second of the day for as long as he had been able to until now. She was amazing and talented and beautiful and kind and awesome... She was practically a goddess with as with as high as he had put her in his mind. No one could ever compare to her ever. No other woman would ever occupy his mind like she had over the last few days. He dared them all to try!
He inched down till he was so close to her face...to her lips. They were closed as she breathed through her nose quietly. He stared at her lashes for what seemed forever before giving in to the deep urge to kiss her...to touch her as he really wanted to get him through the days to come. He lightly pressed them together, breath still and heart racing. He kept them there for as long as he dared without waking her, without being too greedy. His heart screamed at him for pulling away and thus he gave it something by resting his fingers on her cheek and feeling her skin.
"Thank you..." He breathed, still close. "You have no idea how much I appreciate you taking me in...for so many reasons. You gave me a place to stay, food to eat, a family to be with, real parents to witness, a thread of happiness, a mother again, a – and...and time with you." His voice wavered, eyes watering. He took a deep breath to calm himself.
There was so much more to say...even if she was asleep and probably wouldn't hear him. That was okay...he didn't know if he really wanted her to hear it yet anyway.
"I – I...love you... I wish I could tell you, but I don't know if you'll ever feel the same way that I do toward you. I guess...I can only hope that you ever feel a shred of what I feel toward you...someday...perhaps... I hope that I can find what you used to feel and nourish it...keep it close. I'll think of you every day that I'm at home and in class. You'll get me through; no one else will. You're my rock, y'know? You're so amazing and I wish I was half as cool as you are."
He wasn't doing himself any good by sitting here, wishing he didn't have to go and already regretting stepping out her front door when his shoes weren't even on. He forced himself to shift away till he was farther from her than he wanted to be. His skin left hers and felt the solitude of the distance he enforced upon them. He was being selfish by wanting more than she did and it was hard to fight himself and respect her boundaries.
"I'll see you in a few days as agreed my lady. Be...be well in the meantime, alright?"
He hurried down the ladder and snatched his duffel before the tears of pain could fall. He made sure to skip the steps that creaked and opened the front door as quietly as possible. He clicked the lock behind him silently and left it unlocked. She would explain why to her parents when the morning came, just as they had discussed.
The stairs had never been steeper, his steps heavy. Only once he was outside in the morning humidity and staring up at her room, did he allow himself to take a deep breath. He exhaled as if the only thing he could do in this second and managed a small smile. It was only a few days...he knew it would go by fast as he got back into his old schedule.
01010
Only when she heard the front door click shut and the silence return did her eyes peek open and the tears finally fall to her pillow. She exhaled the shaky breath she had been holding and sniffled.
She stared to the open space of her room, ears burning and lips tingling from him and his words. Her jaw clenched, feeling lonely and a crushing feeling in her chest at his exit. She would be away from him entirely until the audition and somehow, she hated it. When her lips parted to take in a breath, her chin trembled a little.
Part of her heart demanded she run right down those stairs and give him a much better parting kiss than he had given her. The rest was mad at herself for getting so attached to him after all this time of having distanced herself. He was Adrien Agreste; son of a famous ballet dancer and school owner. He had always been unattainable, just as she had told him.
He had come in like a whirlwind to her life, he had been there every second for so many days, and now he was gone. The absence he left for her was almost palatable. She almost wanted nothing more than to take it and destroy it. She didn't want him to go...and she hated it that she felt that way. They were gambling on the hope that after so many auditions, his father would finally see her talent and let her in. It was risky and her logical mind said she shouldn't hope on this.
"You stupid cat..." She breathed, sniffling and harshly wiping away the tears that wouldn't go away. "You better be okay after you go home, you hear me? Who am I going to dance with during my audition if something happens to you?"
Her heart feared for him and the possible wrath of his father. She finally huffed at her own hopeless behavior before rolling over and attempting any more sleep...though she knew it was pointless after how full her mind was.
01010
His place was huge after spending so many hours in Marinette's house and dance studio. He stared at it just inside the fenced courtyard. He closed the gate behind him and strode up the front steps, entering another code for the front door. He quietly entered and heard the nostalgic echo of his footsteps on the high walls.
It felt strange to be here. He felt conflicted and at odds with himself. This place was where he had spent so many years and yet it wasn't home. His home was at Marinette's and he felt like he was trespassing here now.
There was a set of footsteps not his own in the quiet and he stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He soon met the sleepy eyes of his father, whom he bet was informed of his arrival by the cameras. "I thought that perhaps you had decided to live in your Underground like a heathen, but it seems that you can be reasonable. I will forget this instance so long as you promise to never go there again. If you break this promise, I will do everything in my power to find this hidden location and deal swift vengeance to all that go there."
He looked to the checkered floor below, silently nodding. He recalled everything that had passed between them before he left nearly a week ago and felt it was old news. Gone was the hate he had experienced and couldn't even believe that had been him. His actions seemed like those of a child and he was amazed at how different he was after such a short time away from here. Perhaps he merely felt a tad wiser dealing with his father, a tad more grown up, due to his time with Marinette.
"You have my word. I have no more plans to go there again. I will return to ballet and your classes." He quietly answered, hand slightly tightening on his duffel strap.
'She'll be with me soon anyway. I just know it...' He silently finished, chest tight.
That was the gamble. He was giving his word to a future that he couldn't see, but was praying would happen. He mentally crossed his fingers on it. Both of their talent was riding on this.
"I...I just have one request..." He quietly added, never looking up. "I have given you my word, so please don't make Natalie and the staff continue the previous schedule you've made up. Please just go back to my original one. I've learned my lesson. I've come home father."
Gabriel snorted and a sigh floated to the ground below. "I see that you are well-fed and no worse for the wear during your time away from here..." He commented, eyes taking in his son's lowered gaze.
His grip tightened a little, jaw clenching a bit. He refused to take the bait and give himself away to where he'd been. He'd rather die first.
"If you will excuse me father...class is going to start at eight and if the chef feels so inclined, there will be breakfast on the table before Natalie tells me it's time to head out. I also would like a shower and a change of clothes."
Gabriel merely nodded and turned on his heel for his own room to get ready for the day. There was no sense in anyone going back to bed now that such a hand had been played.
It was strange being in his room again. The place was almost the size of Marinette's house and it was much too empty to him. He stared at his things with a sense of regret...regret for her small home full of love and happiness, of Tom and Sabine and their delicious dinners.
A hand idly towel-dried his hair as he looked to the huge closet full of his original clothes. He pulled his usual outfit from the hangers and put them on. They felt so strange to wear, though he had been doing so for years.
He dumped his bag free of everything he had taken and repacked it with his ballet necessities. He stared at the clothes he had worn at Marinette's and looked to the huge wall of windows. He wondered what she was doing right now...if she was still sleeping or if she was awake. He went back to her slumbering form in her bed, eyes softening and heart clenching.
He gave a forlorn sigh and slowly put the clothes away in his closet, hands brushing them as he stepped back. It would be a lonely few days and he was going to miss her terribly, but it was a requirement for what they had talked about. He HAD to be here right now.
He stopped in front of the massive windows and looked to the brightening city. He stared at the sunrise, fingers slowly floating to his mouth. He gently kissed them and pressed them against the glass lightly. "Be well my lady... I'll see you in a few days should luck be with us."
Knowing he was using precious time, he walked to his bag and grabbed it before heading downstairs to see if his breakfast was on the table.
(1) Song 1: youtube com/watch?v=la6MR7QAI-I
(2) Song 2: youtube com/watch?v=dNMnyukp9uY
