Somewhat explicit scene ahead!

Part of Marinette had fully expected Adrien to back off in horror hearing her tale, what she truly wanted of him after hearing the disgusting nightmare that had been plaguing her nights for the past four years or so. That part of her was waiting for him to jump off her couch, to call off their partnership right there and then, retract himself on ever loving her revolting being and storm out the door to never being seen ever again by her bluebell irises. That part of her was what was making her shiver in anticipation, frightened as she realized just how bare she had laid her soul before him.

But the other part of her, the one that had learned to trust the young man over the course of the last two weeks, the one that wanted desperately to believe all the wonderful things he has confessed to her that day, the one that was still hanging on a little bit of hope, that part of her took control of her body and her heart at that precise moment.

Gathering all her courage, Marinette closed the few atoms still lingering between their skins and tenderly pressed her lips against his, too firmly for it to be an accident.

If at first Adrien tensed up at the sudden and unexpected movement, obviously caught off guard, he was quick to relax under her touch. He responded to her kiss cautiously, matching her pace without even slightly pushing to quicken it, and she felt all the respect and the tenderness he was trying to convey to her in their embrace shake her to her very core. Out their very own free will, her slender arms went up to snake themselves around his neck, pressing her damp body to his, virtually erasing any remaining distance between them. Marinette relished in the scent of his skin, in the taste and the softness of his lips, oddly feeling like his kisses were slowly stitching her damaged heart back up.

The young woman pulled back slightly, peppering kisses along the line of his jaw before dipping down his neck, nibbling softly at the tender skin. An astonished Adrien whispered quietly against her hair:
"Are you really sure about this Mari?"
She took a second to ponder his question. Was she sure she wanted to do this? If she were to be truly honest with herself, she was utterly petrified and genuinely believed her heart was about to jump out of her chest to put itself out of the misery of all the crazy beating he had been doing that day. But she also wanted so badly to be with Adrien, with Chat Noir, despite everything playing against them, she needed so desperately to stop once and for all associating all intimacy related topics with that dire and unfortunate night that had happened already more than four years earlier, that she resolved herself to dive in without holding back nevertheless.

Planting a soft peck on his jugular, she whispered gently with her lips still tasting his skin:
"I am. Help me rewrite my story, Adrien. Touch me, please."
Apparently, this was the green light, the authorization the blond had been waiting for. His hands suddenly seemed to come to life around her, delicately roaming her lithe figure still held tightly in his loving embrace with tentative and light caresses on her milky skin. Marinette felt herself shiver slightly under his touch, and he suspended all movement, looking at her worriedly:
"Is this okay? Do you want me to stop?"
Smiling lovingly at him, she placed a chaste peck on his already slightly swollen lips:
"This is more than okay."
Marinette went back for another taste of his kisses, lacing her fingers his the blond hair and slowly shifting her body beside him trying to find a more comfortable position for their tender embrace. Adrien seemed to read her thoughts as he pulled her into his lap without breaking the kiss, his hands lovingly stroking the small of her back.

The way their damp clothes were sticking at their skins began to annoy Marinette as she felt rather uncomfortable. Sighing, she pulled her Jagged Stone t-shirt over her head, tossing it into a corner of her living room before happily resuming kissing Adrien. Noticing he had stiffened a little at her sudden exposure of skin, the young woman explained quietly:
"It was cold."
"I see, Adrien chuckled. Mind if I take mine off too?"
She shook her head smiling, staring in delight at his toned body as he proceeded. When he held her again, though, she noted that he kept his hands resolutely on her still clothed hips. Giggling softly and marveling at just how much he was trying to make things easy for her, the young woman took one of his hands and put it on her bare abdomen.
"I meant it, Adrien. Touch me, please."

His fingers gently stroke her skin, drawing soothing circles on it as Marinette pulled him into another kiss. When she felt his hand carefully avoid the back of her bra, the young woman smirked against his lips and reached behind her, unclasping it for him and swiftly discarding the undergarment to be forgotten somewhere near the armchair. Still unsure, Adrien whispered softly against her skin before peppering light kisses on her neck:
"Are you comfortable?"
Marinette dug her fingers into his hair, gently scraping his scalp:
"Can we take this to my room, chaton?"
The blond nodded, his eyes never leaving hers as he got up from the couch, her long legs locking themselves behind his back as he did so. Adrien carried her to her bedroom, his green irises scanning the bluebell gaze searching for any sign that she had changed her mind. Marinette sighed contently, placing another kiss on his lips before reassuring him:
"It's okay, Adrien. I want this. This feels right."
The remaining still damp clothes were slowly, delicately removed from their flushed skins, the caresses becoming more and more insistent, more and more daring as they both began to feel comfortable with each other's very exposed body.

Adrien laid her down carefully on her bed and hovered over her, claiming her lips into yet another slow and gentle kiss. Soon enough, the little dim-lit bedroom was full of a lovely symphony reverberating on the walls. Half breathed laughs when clumsy limbs got in the way or one of them tickled the other involuntarily mixed with soft whimpers and airy moans when either of them found a sweet spot, a specific caress their partner particularly liked. Adrien's "I love you"s echoing again and again in her ears as he kept whispering it between every single kiss he pressed against her feverish skin overlapped with the sound his lips made as it connected with her skin again and again, every single inch of her skin as Adrien had seemed to have made it his mission to not let any part of her go unkissed. The barely whispered encouraging words she kept willingly offering him, giving him fuel to go further, to take another step, to tear another wall down mingled with the furious beating of their hearts thumping in rhythm into their chests.

When Adrien finally ever so carefully slid his length inside her, intently scanning her face for any sign of discomfort, Marinette felt her heart painfully swell in her chest with love for the young man. This was how it should have been: the awkwardness of their inexperience, the clumsiness of their unsure yet caring movements and above all, the infinite tenderness of the love radiating from both of them, lingering in every of their kisses, every single caress.

There was no fireworks nor mind blowing orgasms for either of them that night.

There were only a man and a woman picking up the pieces of their shattered hearts and clumsily gluing them together into something greater as they slowly made love to each other.

The next morning, Marinette woke up to the pleasant sensation of warmth pressed against her body. Memories of the night before flooded her mind still a little blurry from the sleepiness, filling her with contradictory emotions all at once. Fear, happiness, anxiety, love and many other things were tearing her conflicted heart apart.

Startled, the young woman suddenly felt something lightly brush her cheek and opened her eyes to meet the emerald gaze of Adrien turning into a sheepish expression:
"Sorry princess, I didn't mean to wake you up."
Marinette smiled at him warmly, bringing her own hand up to cup his cheek tenderly:
"That's okay chaton. Good morning."
He mirrored her gesture, putting his slender fingers back on her face, caressing the line of her jaw gently:
"Morning Mari. How are you feeling?"
"Honestly? Wonderful and terrified."
Adrien leaned in slightly, giving her plenty of time to back off if she wanted to, and pressed his lips to hers, conveying as much of his love for her as he could in it. Marinette hummed faintly in appreciation, running her fingers through the soft blond hair yet again. She reveled into his slow kiss, happily kissing him back despite her lingering worries nagging her at the back of her mind.

When they broke apart, Marinette rested her head on his chest as she laid an arm over his stomach and closed her eyes, savoring the peaceful instant they got to share.
"You know, if you had told fifteen-year-old Marinette that one day she'd wake up in your arms, she would have died from happiness right on the spot."
He chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her tightly. By that point, the sheets had slipped to rest on their hips, exposing their bare torsos to the bite of the ambient air, but neither of them minded.
"I really wish I could go back in time and knock some sense into disgustingly oblivious fifteen-year-old Adrien."
Marinette giggled hearing those words, marveling at just how sweet he was being to her. She couldn't resist teasing him a little:
"And what does twenty-two-year-old-Adrien have to say on the matter?"
The blond planted a quick peck on her lips and smiled at her through heavy-lidded eyes:
"Only that I couldn't be happier we finally found each other. And that I love you, Mari."

Marinette felt his cheek rest on the top of her head, and she closed her eyes again. She basked in the warmth his body irradiated by her side, in how safe she felt tucked into his muscular arms, in the soothing sound of his beating heart lulling her into an half-asleep blissful state. The young woman hadn't lied when she had told Alya in what now seemed to be another life that she didn't need a man by her side to be happy. The only thing she needed to finally take the path to healing was someone that loved her and accepted her whole being despite knowing the entire very ugly truth and all its ramifications.

And apparently, Adrien was more than willing to fill those shoes for her.

They were so enthralled in each other's proximity, in the intimacy of their moment, that neither of them heard the apartment's door being unlocked and opened, nor the footsteps in the corridor. What they did hear, though, was the blood-curdling shriek that resonated loudly in the small bedroom:
"OH MY GOD! WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED HERE?"

Next chapter wasn't planned in the original outline (that's the fourth, I'm truly hopeless).

Hope you enjoyed this one :)