The first rays of dawn streamed in through the wall of windows that made up his room. It was highly unwelcome after the night, which ended much more pleasantly than it had started.
He stirred with a quiet groan, wanting nothing more than to bury his head in his pillow and shut the world away. He wanted to go back to sleep and forget everything...except...the person beside him made that impossible.
He slowly shifted, still fairly weak, but also not wanting to wake her. Black bangs were in her face, mouth slightly parted as she slept. She looked absolutely beautiful and he worried his emotions couldn't handle the peaceful vision inches away from him.
A hand rose through a soft smile as he gave in to the urge to get her hair out of her eyes. She didn't stir much, only gave a muted groan and buried her head further into the pillow at the disturbance. He felt something near his hip and looked down, finding her hand loosely clutching part of his shirt. His smile widened, heart swelling.
He managed to sit up, feeling so much better after getting something in his system. Even that little bit of food gave him the energy he so desperately needed. He knew he wasn't out of the woods yet, but he felt immensely better than he did before she came into his room.
He saw the bag sitting at the corner of the bed where she had left it, a hand slowly extending when there was a clack of heels quickly getting louder. He jerked to the doorway, finding Natalie quietly standing there with her usual, passive face. He gave her a small nod and she returned it, a visual look of relief breaking through.
She crossed the room and quietly sat on his bed. He looked to the items in her arms, head tilting. "What is that?" He murmured, not wanting Marinette to wake. He just knew if she did, she may leave.
"Your father wants your vitals. Give me your arm please."
He let Natalie take his blood pressure, pulse, temperature, and wrote down his current physical aches. He slid the cuff off his arm instead of ripping the Velcro, which would definitely have woken his sleeping beauty.
Natalie wrote everything on a chart before finally addressing him. "Your father thinks you should still visit a hospital just to be safe and make sure you didn't do any permanent damage to yourself." She quietly responded.
His mouth scrunched up as he looked behind him. Her hand was still, somehow, clutching at his shirt after he moved and he didn't want her to leave him and visa versa. Not after he finally got her back.
"I'd like to stay here actually. I can let Marinette finish nursing me back to health like she said she would do before she fell asleep last night." His lips twitched. "I've got the best nurse in the world...even if her bedside manner is a little rough."
Natalie looked unhappy with his response, but nodded and stood.
He suddenly looked up, hand raising to keep her from moving away. "Natalie...please...please give father my regrets over...t – this whole thing..." His face suddenly flushed. "Please thank him for me...f – for bringing t – the love of my life...back to me..."
Natalie nodded with a small smile and padded across his carpet for the door. He watched her exit, listening to the sounds of her heels finding the marble hallway until she was gone.
Silence descended again, leaving them alone. He gently lay back down facing Marinette and stared at her countenance. A hand rose after a moment and stroked her hair lightly. "At least...I hope you'll nurse me back to health. I kind of liked having you feed me...even if it was to keep my organs from going into shock. I don't ever want you farther from me than I can reach for you now. I'd love it if you stayed the next few days to personally make sure I'm back to the picture of health."
"I have...classes to teach...before that happens..."
He jerked, blinking at the response he didn't expect. His face lit up as she stirred and yawned. When she was finished waking up a degree, she pinned unhappy eyes on him...though there was an obvious blush on her face.
He looked utterly adorable with his tousled hair, red face, wide eyes, and gaping mouth. It made her want to kiss him senseless and she was upset for that thought after yesterday...after the last few weeks. His words to Natalie made her heart speed up and she was irritated with herself for how well he tossed her around with mere sentences.
So much for the time she spent away from him, trying to heal once again...
She stared at him so near her until her brain clicked to her position and her eyes widened. She looked to his pillow, his blankets underneath them, and the rest of the bed under their legs. With every pass of her eyes, her cheeks blazed hotter and hotter until she could have heated up his entire house with her face alone.
He watched everything and almost saw the wheels turn in her head to get her to the fumbling, red mess that she currently was. His hand rose and his thumb landed on her chin. "Good morning...my lady..."
She took in the glint to his eyes, noticing how much that little he ate last night had helped. Relief hit her like a freight train, but with that positive came the remembrance that he had intentionally done this to himself in the first place.
She glared at him for having scared her so badly and roughly pushed on his shoulder to roll him onto his back. She followed him over, swinging a leg over his and crossed her arms over his chest as she looked down on his stunned face, feeling slightly pleased with herself for knocking him all over the place like he had been doing to her for so long.
She suddenly felt quite like Ladybug in her haughty demeanor and coy smile on her face.
Her eyes inched closer to his, feeling his heart thunder under her arms. "What am I going to do with you, you demanding kitty? I've never met such an animal. Are you one of those cats that sits on a laptop to demand attention when a human is working on it? You'd follow me home, demand three square meals, and take up my bed if I allow such indulgences, wouldn't you?"
He felt every square inch of them that connected and it sent his nerves into overdrive. He was pretty sure his head just exploded because he couldn't form a proper word to save his life. His feelings overrode any logical thought at the blue depths he was drowning in.
The smile she gave...the way she was resting over him, looking so comfortable...he lost it.
His hands came up on their own accord and pushed her head toward his. He didn't know if she was expecting such a reaction since she didn't try to pull away or give any shocked reaction. For the first time, she kissed him back with such a passion that took him aback. He lost himself in her lips and devoured her after their time apart.
"I didn't think that poor girl was ever going to get over you when you suddenly stopped attending school. She was quite infatuated with you, dear boy."
Her mother's words rang in his head. All he could hope, all he had wished for since he first heard those words, was that the fire for him was still burning somewhere deep down.
Would she kiss him like this otherwise?
He wanted to believe that things would get better, but only when the words left those soft lips of hers would he truly feel she was back. Once he stopped kissing her...in a bit...
She initially astounded herself, but her feelings rushed back and robbed her of her senses. The adrenaline, the warmth from his body...it clouded her ability to know reason and she finally gave in to what he wanted from her for a while now.
"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."
It could go back to the way things were...she knew this. Maybe...maybe with him, like this, it would be even better. She had the means and the desire and the corresponding wish.
He was desperate for her to stay at his side and his actions for so long had shown her this. She had only been scared for herself because she hadn't wanted to go through his disappearance a second time like in junior high. This time she had the option for a happy ending.
She could dance with him for as long as she wanted because he would never let her go. He would stubbornly refuse to let anyone else near him unless it was a short performance part. Despite how she wanted to be annoyed at him for being so selfish, it was all for her and she could only feel flattered and happy.
How he found the strength to move, he didn't know. Perhaps all the adrenaline that had been hitting him was what did it. He managed to flip her over and switch their positions.
His arms rested on either side of her head, feeling her legs adjust to let him nestle in between her hips. He took in her hooded, dark eyes...such a beautiful blue than he had ever seen from any sky.
She trying to catch her breath, face flushed, hair around her on his pillow. He tried to swallow past the dryness in his throat, what appeared for more than simple lack of water this time.
His eyes darted over her features constantly, fingers slowly raising to trace her skin."Say you'll dance with me again. Please... I can't dance with anyone else after our time together. I don't want you to leave. You belong with me on that stage. I will never be happier than to hear that you'll come back. I will do anything to make it up to you...for you being turned away after so much hard work. For all your tears, for your being assaulted by my father, by worrying you over this. Will you stay by my side? Will you promise me? If I let go of your hand, you'll fly away and I'm scared, scared, scared of that..."
The lust in her system mixed with sudden confusion at his final words before the lyrics popped into her head.
Butterfly...the song they had danced to. Perfected...made their own.
The time he kissed her after first listening to that song came to mind and she suddenly realized that she personified the lyrics for him. Everything she had done, every time she was near him, she did as those lyrics said and he was well aware of it.
The practices, the discussions, the hard work, the sweat and laughter all came to her. All those professional and playful hours in her small studio had been the best times. She felt comfortable and happy with him. She loved dancing with him; she always would. Even more than the Underground.
She didn't want to dance hip hop with him anymore; she wanted a pair of ballet slippers instead of tennis shoes.
Tears lined her eyes and she harshly swallowed at the lump in her throat. His pleading, soft eyes, his full weight, his nearness...it covered her and took her prisoner. Her eyes squeezed shut as she finally managed the barest of nods. She heard the hitch to his breath, feeling her hands raise. "Yes..." She whispered, tears falling out of the corners of her eyes as she looked at him. "I'll dance ballet with you again..."
The words rang in his ears for so long. He stared at her, slightly taken aback that she had accepted. So much of him figured she wouldn't do it, but when her tears fell, he knew.
His mouth crashed over hers, kissing her with every emotion that raced through him. She clutched at his cheeks, returning his kiss in full and perhaps with even more strength than he anticipated. His head angled to deepen the kiss, which she complied. She clutched at him like he would evaporate and his arms snaked under the edges of her back to keep her with him as well.
I still can't believe it...all this seems like a dream...don't try to disappear...
Two star-crossed lovers finally found each other again. It was a long time in coming.
He felt like nothing could be better than this. His heart was about ready to explode with as much as it was expanding. He didn't think he could love her more than in this moment. He felt like a light was turning on and rapidly brightening: their future together, never to end ever again.
He pulled back when he couldn't keep the smile from ruining the kiss. His eyes closed against his tears, resting his forehead on hers. Her heavy breathing mingled with his as they tried to calm down. A laugh bubbled out of him before he could stop it...as if he wanted to. He had never felt better about anything in his entire life. His arms snaked under her as he continued to laugh. He nestled his head in her neck, kissing her exposed collarbone in quick kisses.
"Thank you! You have no idea how much I feel right now at your words." He nuzzled her neck, hearing the hitch to her breath. "Never leave me again. I don't want to repeat those two weeks...I don't ever want to feel like that ever again."
"S...same..." She murmured, face aflame.
He let the comfortable silence overcome them, content to just feel this right now. At length though, his eyes peeked open and his head moved. He looked at her, head tilting in slight confusion, brow furrowing. "But...what's going to happen to the Underground if you have ballet? It's kind of hard to have that schedule with The Beast driving everyone so much in class."
She gave something of a sad, resigned smile as she brushed the bangs from his eyes. "Those three that you saw with me that night?" She waited for his nod of understanding. "They also helped me create the Underground."
She looked to the ceiling, worrying at how much crap they were going to give her over this again. Alya was really going to kill her this time...
"Back when I was first rejected from your father's school, I was depressed...really, really depressed. I was depressed for almost an entire month. I had been taking ballet for years by then and I loved it. We even chatted about it a bit...when I wasn't entirely nervous around you anyway... I made it my mission to get into his school, but he turned me away. I didn't know why because I thought my form was perfect and it was so frustrating because he never says what you need to work on that he doesn't like."
"After a while, Alya...Lady Wifi...told me that I needed to redirect my energies into something more positive because such sadness was unhealthy for that length of time. She had taken dance with her siblings too, but not ballet. She suggested that I dance myself better. I couldn't disagree that dancing was a great outlet for me and I always get lost in the music."
"We had this conversation at school in the lunch room, with Nino...the Bubbler...and Nathaniel...The Illustrator. They told me I should go for it and I seriously thought about their words for a few days." Her eyes clouded at the memory, smile forming. "I took their advice with my creativity and told them about creating the Underground. I thought that if I couldn't dance because of some constraints by others, then I would make a place for all who faced my same issue. I knew that I couldn't be the only one out there feeling like I did."
"For that, I needed a dj and someone to help us keep our real selves from getting mixed up. Nino is a dj and he wants to be a dj when he grows up, so he offered to do the music if he got a setup for it. Nathaniel is an artist and he figured out the face paint. I gave Nino a bunch of music to work with after I got started on this. I looked into a whole bunch of different languages and beats and styles. I wanted to expand my horizons and learn as much about dance as possible. I didn't want to confine myself to one thing like your father had."
"Alya was in charge of finding us a spot. She's got great detective skills and she actually wants to be a reporter when she grows up. She got us a spot, Nino found some dj equipment, and Nathaniel got us our 'costumes'. All we needed were members other than us. That was my job. As the one who initially thought up what to do, I had to be the one to decide who 'deserved' to be in my place. I did just like when I found you. My intuition is good and it has rarely failed me. I sent Alya the info to double check for me and she passed on the invites that I made."
Her lips twitched as she remembered the early days. "Too many people thought it was a prank at first. We had to invite a lot of classmates to fill the place. It was fun, even when it wasn't packed with strangers. We stayed out late and did stupid things...just like teenagers do. One night a bunch of people suddenly showed up when we were in the middle of dancing. They joined us and then kept coming back. The blogs started popping up and Alya kept tabs on everything. She's really amazing at how she has kept up-to-date with everything."
She finally looked to him, coming back to her immediate surroundings. "I already talked with Alya about possibly giving them the Underground. If they want it, that is. I may have started this, but they helped. It's kind of all our thing in our own little ways. But now...after two years...it doesn't even belong to just us. It's always been a place of freedom for those that just want to express themselves in a place where no one will judge them. I'd hate to see it fizzle, but life goes on and things change. People attend when they want and when they've had enough, they just go on with their lives and stop coming."
"I danced there to relieve emotions that I couldn't express in daily life. I've always had trouble expressing myself in words, especially when I get flustered. Dance always helps with that." She shrugged before looking to him, eyes twinkling. "I imagine that ballet will fill that niche quite well..." She quickly looked away, face flushing. "T – that is...if you're with me...I mean..."
He hugged her before he could think. Her body relaxed against his hold, her arms coming up around his back. "I'd love to be with my lady for the rest of my days so that we can dance together like we did. I want to lose myself in the music like you do, my butterfly."
He pulled away after a second, a huge smile on his face. He ranted about how well they were going to do on all the future performances they'd be the leads in.
She rolled her eyes and lightly knocked him on the head for going so far down the line. "How about I get back to class and start practicing first, kitty?"
There was a sudden knock before the last person he wanted to see them like this entered. Gabriel stopped in full view of their position as he scrambled to get off Marinette, who quickly sat on her heels. The pair stared hard at the bed, faces aflame and shoulders hunched up to their ears.
"I have to agree with Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng Adrien."
He looked over, eyes a little wide at that. How long had his father been listening in? What had he all heard?
He gave a side-view to Marinette. Sure he didn't care if his father knew that he loved her, but some of those things they confessed were really private!
Hands lightly clasped behind Gabriel's back. He kept staring at the pair as if unaffected by what he just walked in on. "However, before that happens, there is still paperwork to finish and I need to get Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng back to her parents. After all, I pretty much forced her to come with me last night."
She blinked and looked on the nearby desk for a clock and found it just past seven. Her eyes widened, mouth dropping open. The real world rushed back to her and she fought the urge to hop off the bed and immediately leave. "I have to teach today!" She blurted out, looking to him in slight panic. She needed to change clothes, get some food, and her ballet things too! All before eight o'clock.
She was leaving? No!
He grasped a hand and leaned closer. "Can't you reschedule class?" He asked, giving her a squeeze. "I...I don't want you to leave just yet..."
She gave him a sour look and resisted the urge to bop him on the head. "You selfish kitty! I'm not going to do that to my students! I haven't canceled a class yet and I'm not going to do so now. If I go back to ballet, I'll have to cancel my classes soon anyway."
"I agree with Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng, Adrien. She shouldn't cancel just because of your whims when she has made these arrangements with her students prior to you."
Slightly amused eyes met hers as two teachers shared something of a knowing look. "It's good to see someone more grown up in this room. I apologize, but I may ask you to help keep my son in line in the future. Since he doesn't listen to me, perhaps you will be able to sway him into being more adult when the time calls for it."
She grinned and flushed, giving a bashful nod. She spied a look at Adrien, finding him extremely happy at his father's words. Her previous viewpoint of Gabriel Agreste was chipping away to be replaced with a much different one and she found she really liked this new side.
"Come now. You're going to get looked at to make sure you haven't permanently hurt yourself."
He looked put out and crossed his arms. "I'm feeling loads better than I was last night father..." He muttered, looking to his blanket. "I just need -"
She pulled her fist away after giving in and bopping him on the head. She ignored the cry of pain and the irritated look, returning it with her own. "You listen to your father, mister!" She chided, wagging a finger in his face. "You need to make sure that you're well enough to go back to ballet soon with me or I'll not forgive you for making me wait!"
A smile peeked through as she shifted to swing her legs to the edge of his bed. "Maybe if you can be a good boy at the doctor's office, I may just make you something to help get your strength back..." She stood with a quick stretch before turning to him and extending a friendly hand. "Come now. Hurry and get ready so you can drop me off at home."
He took the hand with a huge grin and got ready in record time...faster than he may still have been able to do. The promise of her meals, especially after having eaten them himself, spurred him on to behave like a well-trained dog with treats waved in his face.
But, to him, Marinette's cooking certainly was that and he wasn't about to pass up this impromptu chance!
The entire ride, one of his hands stubbornly refused to let go of hers. She took it well enough in stride, even though she complained good-naturedly about it through a slight blush. She ordered him multiple times to let go of her hand once they pulled to the front of the bakery and playfully pried his fingers away.
"Remember my words kitty." She repeated, leaning into the open door. She blew him a kiss and shut it. Not even a second later, the automatic window was rolled down as he stuck his head out. She took a few steps back, waving as she did. "Be good now, you hear me?"
He waved back like a child, feeling as giddy as one with the huge smile on his face. "I'll be waiting my lady!" He kept looking at her until the car turned a corner and then she was out of his sight...but only for now.
