Marinette flushed brightly as Adrien stared at her. She felt embarrassed under his gaze, looking down at her shoes to avoid meeting his eyes. She wasn't sure quite what she was doing now; the photographer had not been all that forthcoming. However, she looked up at a loud voice in front of her.
"Just like that! No, don't move. Like you were before…"
A bit bewildered, Marinette looked back at the ground. What was Adrien thinking of all of this anyways? She idly noted that she should get new sneakers- hers were starting to get a little dirty. She heard Adrien shuffle around near her, and fought the urge to look and see what was going on. How long did she have to hold this pose? Somehow, Marinette now felt more out of place when she was unable to see anyone's eyes and assess how they were viewing her. The noise of the camera flash finally stopped, and Marinette risked moving again. Her eyes shot to Adrien wistfully before they darted back to the ground. She hadn't been told to change her pose yet, but she threw caution to the wind. Pictures of a girl staring at the ground weren't all that interesting.
Instead, she looked up again, picking her head up fully. She met Adrien's eyes head on. This had the added effect of making her forget what she was going to do next. The more she studied his eyes, the more familiar they felt. They reminded her of something, like a hazy memory from her childhood which she couldn't quite place. The two could have stood there for hours, lost in the other's eyes. Marinette wasn't fazed by the flashing camera. Indeed, she barely noticed it until the cameraman stepped out from behind it again.
"Very good, you two! Just what I would have wanted. Move, and we'll try again."
Marinette took a few steps, settling in underneath the tree, notebook in her lap. Adrien leaned against the trunk, looking down at her with a rakish grin. She looked up, letting the surprise and shock she felt faced with this situation show on her face. The cameraman chattered excitedly, but his voice soon seemed to cease in her ears. The noise of the city- children in the park, cars driving by- it all faded as Marinette was swept somewhere else.
The minutes seemed to pass as seconds and as hours. Marinette felt herself caught in the moment, but a moment that was all too fleeting. This is what she had been dreaming of- not just dressing Adrien, but posing with him?
As the photoshoot continued, Marinette felt herself relax fully. The poses felt natural to her; goodness knows that she had imagined such a scenario more than once. Her body moved before her brain could keep up. She leaned against the tree as Adrien approached. He slung an arm around her shoulder. She was shocked when she didn't blush. Even imagining this had caused her to lose her composure, but somehow in person it was so different. Surely this couldn't be Adrien looking at her with such adoration? Though her mind knew that as a model he was good at acting for the camera, she felt renewed hope.
Marinette decided to shut off the rational part of her mind, the part reminding her that she should feel awkward and clunky. Ladybug took over. She felt confidence and strength, as if she had done this a thousand times.
Before she knew it, both she and Adrien were sitting under the tree. He hugged her from behind as she leaned into his embrace. She almost couldn't believe that it was really happening, and this mental distance kept her composed.
She was shocked from the dreamlike state as the photographer approached her. She shot from Adrien's arms. Suddenly her blush was back full-force, and she felt awkward again. The photographer informed her that he had gotten all he needed, and had her write down contact details, promising to get back to her about a small amount of compensation, but Marinette was in shock. How could she look Adrien in the eye and pretend like she didn't have a huge crush on him? Maybe he already guessed- she hadn't done much to hide it while being photographed. Looking at her watch, Marinette cursed the time. She had no idea where Alya was now, but she had used valuable time that she should have been planning her campaign during. If she wanted to be prepared for tomorrow, meeting up with Chat Noir for patrols around the city would cause her to stay up until the wee hours of the morning. She hustled away, scanning for Alya as she went.
Adrien watched her as she left. What were the odds that Marinette would be chosen to be in a photoshoot with him? He had to admit that he was glad it was her. Something about Marinette seemed familiar to him, and he able to relax around her. The expressions on his face had been genuine, not that the cameraman could tell. Adrien had been taught how to show carefully constructed emotion since he had first begun modeling- finally being himself had felt so freeing. Even the pose they had ended with had felt strangely right- intimate. He certainly wouldn't mind doing that again. He blushed. Where had that thought come from? Thanking his photographer, who didn't stop his babble about how well the shoot had gone, he turned to go. Before he had even reached the fork in the paths, he turned and watched black pigtails disappear into the thicker foliage of the hedges.
At home, Marinette scrambled, scarfing down dinner before running up to her room in an attempt to do her homework. If she was running for class representative, she ought to set a good example for the rest of the students. If her grades plummeted after the election, her teacher might decide that the responsibilities were too much to handle. The thought of gaining the position but losing it, not to Chloe, but to her own failings, kept Marinette working even as the lights in the buildings around her winked out.