He was there, waiting for her the next morning, without a board (but with a shirt instead).
"Hi Nathanael," Marinette beamed, sauntering up to his silhouetted form. "How are you this morning?"
He turned to her, patting the wall beside him to prompt her to sit down. "I'm doing quite fine Ms. Marinette. How are you?"
"As fine as I can be," she sighed. "I have a conference in like an hour that is going to be deathly boring," she gaged. "But I should have the day free after that. What's there to sightsee around here?" She asked.
"Oh…" Nathanael blew air out of through his lips, humming lightly. "Tons of things, really. It just depends on what mood you're in."
"Mood?" She prompted.
"Well," he turned slightly more to her. "If you're going to a beach, you've gotta be in a more festive, adventurous mood, or else…" he trailed off, grimacing slightly.
"Why?" She laughed.
"Because everyone who lives here is incredibly fit and attractive," Nathanael deadpanned. "They'll make you feel bad before they even say anything."
Marinette smiled despite herself, gauging how much he was joking. "I'm going to assume you made that mistake when first coming here."
Nathanael nodded gravely, eyes narrowed at the sunrise.
"So that's why you're so fit and attractive now, huh?" Marinette nudged up against his shoulder, smiling in hopes of lifting his mood again.
He didn't smile, face frozen – staring fixed ahead instead.
Bad timing? – Marinette instantly doubted herself, biting her lip.
"-You think I'm attractive?" Nathanael asked hesitantly, a rueful smile worming onto his face.
Marinette gaped, eyes widening. "Uh," she started, stopped then started again. "Well, yeah," she finally said. "I mean, Cali life has certainly been treating you well," she gave a fake laugh, blushing.
He smiled at her, sidelong, looking at her like she really wished he wouldn't.
God, why had she left him?
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He bent down slightly so they were at eye level, taking one of her hands in his. She stopped walking, looking back to him to look inquisitively at their interlocked fingers.
He swallowed, willing his nerves to stop jittering.
She was leaving tomorrow –
"Marinette," Adrien broke the silence, bringing her back to him with his eyes.
"Will you move in with me?" He swallowed, hesitant to break their eye contact.
Her lips parted slightly, eyes locked on his.
"You can think about it," Adrien continued, interrupting her speech. "While you're on your trip. I don't need you to decide right now. I just," he paused. "I just wanted you to know that it's an option. I know that you're looking for a place still. And I know your parents can drive you a little crazy too," he smiled despite his nerves, looking everywhere but her. He swallowed again, looking at the light behind her.
"Okay," she finally said. "I'll think about it," and she smiled slightly, making Adrien smile too.
Then their hands broke, Marinette taking the door handle to go inside her parent's bakery.
"I'll see you tomorrow morning," she said, blowing him a kiss.
"Y-yeah!" Adrien stuttered, hand still feeling warm. "I'll see you then…"
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"Hey Adrien do you remember Nathanael? He went to high school with us." Marinette asked, idly twirling the straw in her iced tea. And I dated him for over a year…
"No, I don't think I do," Adrien felt something prick behind his ear.
"Oh," She sounded a bit disappointed, but the emotion faded a moment later. "He runs a skate shop here now. His artwork is on every board too – you should see them," she nodded, beaming. "They're amazing, really."
"Oh, cool," Adrien said, eyes closed. "Send me a picture or something."
Not a moment later, his message stream was bombarded with photos of skateboards, taking him aback.
He stared at them with wide eyes, surprised by his girlfriend's eagerness. His eyes narrowed suddenly. Are the boards amazing, or is he amazing? Adrien thought idly.
He rubbed a hand over his face, groaning. I'm too tired for this.
"Those boards are pretty sweet, babe, but I need to go to bed now," he said.
"Oh," she frowned slightly. "Well, have a good night. I'll call you tomorrow."
He gave her a sidelong smile, ending the call.
He was brushing his teeth a few minutes later when he pinpointed the little hole in his chest.
She hadn't blown him a kiss.
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Author's Note: DUN DUN DUNNNNNNNNN (evil doom music playing). The plot thickens and the thick plottens…
As always, commentary and feedback is appreciated!