Chapter Eleven: Into you like a train.

Adrien's system crashed the mere second Marinette walked down the stairs. To say she took his breath away was a severe understatement. The poor guy couldn't reboot properly and could already feel the drool tickling the corner of his mouth.

Seeing Marinette like this took him back a year, indulging him in his priceless, if bitter, memories.

That evening was to be marked with a white stone (or should he dare to say a red flag?) Not only had he kissed Marinette Dupain-Cheng (before she vomited on him), but he had also kissed Ladybug (after taking a midnight dip in the Seine to clean himself up). At the end of the day—night; both all red-suited-up girls had ended up running away from him, not daring to talk about what had happened ever again. Hence the red flag.

It was that very night he decided not to fall in love anymore.

You bet, idiot. His inner voice snorted so loud the pig-like noise made him grit his teeth.

It had taken him months to get over Ladybug, all the while knowing that a small part of him would never get over her. She had stolen a piece of his heart the day they met and nothing, nor anyone, could ever change that. It was set in stone. Yet, he managed to be her best friend. And she was his best friend.

Then, there was Marinette. The closer he got to her, the more he tried to get away, only to end up even closer. One step backward, two steps forwards—funny when you know most human beings tend to do quite the opposite; and he probably should have done it that way instead. Because every time he got close to her, he acted crazy. He was into Marinette like a train. A train that had forgotten to stop at the 'just a friend' station and had taken the 9 ¾ route to ride the 'with benefits' line.

Adrien should reconsider his definition of friendship and the boundaries of the friendzone. His petty inner voice took a wicked pleasure in reminding him that it was time for him to open a dictionary.

Best friends don't kiss.

Friends don't fuck together.

Okay, maybe his inner voice was right. Maybe he had some trouble keeping a healthy friendship with both blue-eyed women. But at least, he managed to keep them both a constant in his life. Regarding his liabilities and all the people he had lost, that was already a big win. And even if it wasn't perfect, he could do with that.

He could.

Right?

At the very moment Marinette got closer and brightly beamed at him, causing his heart to skip a beat, he knew he was a fool and could not.

"You… you okay?" she asked.

Her soft voice and the gentle touch of her hand on his shoulder took him out of his rêverie.

"I knew it was a bad idea to wear that dress," she muttered.

"No, it's not!" Adrien yelped. His hand came to rest over hers before taking it and slowly moving it to his lips. "You're… absolutely stunning." His mouth grazed her skin, gingerly kissing her knuckles, the touch causing her to shiver, so he hastily removed his jacket and placed it around Marinette's shoulders. "There. It's a little cold outside," he whispered as one of his hands slid down her lower back, gently leading her toward the front door. "Shall we go?"

"Yes," she whispered, a shy smile stretching the corner of her mouth.

"Have fun, and stay safe. I'm sure you know the drill and don't need that talk." Marinette's mother winked knowingly at them, and he could feel Marinette's back tensing under his touch as her smile turned into some kind of cringe pout.

"Don't drink as much as the other night," Tom Dupain warned him. "You don't need that talk either," the man echoed his wife's words with a finger pointed at Adrien. "Wait, honey. Are we talking about the same kind of talk?" he inquired as he turned around and looked at his wife.

And that's the moment Marinette and Adrien chose to sneak away before risking that talk. Whatever it was.

"When did you get a car?" Marinette gasped in front of a black, shiny, and a rather luxurious sedan. "I thought you used what was left of your father's money to buy that expensive bike of yours?"

"That's it. I've washed out Gabriel's money in a charity for orphans… and a big bike. And there's still all the money I earned from 4 years of intensive modeling. It was locked in an account until last year," Adrien explained as he shrugged. "How do you think I pay my rent and my groceries?"

"I hadn't thought about that," she muttered under her breath.

Adrien chuckled and walked toward the doorway, reaching out to open it for Marinette.

"I rented that spacious car and the driver for us tonight. I thought it would be more fancy for a first date," he blurted out until he froze midway while opening the car door. "I mean… I know we're supposed to be fake dating, but it can also be a real date… If you'd like it to be? I have some Champagne." He knew he had to sound and look downright hopeless at the moment, but he couldn't help it.

"Adrien… I... I don't know if it's a good idea…"

His shoulders and neck slouched with the hard weight of her words.

"...but…"

His head perked up, looking at her with shiny eyes.

"...We can... uh… maybe we can give it a try for tonight…" She sounded unsure but he would ease her doubts.

It was up to him to prove to her that trying would be worth it. Every battle was worth it, and worth the risk, for his Ladies. The battles where he could, eyes closed, give his life to protect Ladybug, just as the one he was ready to fight, a hundred times, for Marinette.

His gaze followed her petite silhouette as she was about to enter the car. Every move she made seemed overly measured and almost too… careful. He frowned as he studied the awkward way she used to finally sit on the backseat. It was as if she was afraid that her dress would lift up and reveal her panties. As if he had never seen her panties befo—oh dear, that's when it hit him. She wasn't afraid to show her panties. She was afraid to show no panties at all.

Heads up, Marinette had followed the lustful desire he had revealed in their texting exchange—Plagg was his witness; Adrien had berated himself immediately after he confessed his 'no panties dream-date'.

As much as Adrien deeply wanted their relationship to turn into something more, something romantic; with dates and kisses, and making love to her… as much as he was a clutz sometimes.

Sexting her instead or lovetexting her—off to a great start to woo her, Agreste!

How could she not get mixed signals with that? Talk about an ambiguous relationship… He was actually nurturing that ambiguity unbeknownst to him.

He had to save the day and show her that he could resist this delightful temptation, that he could resist her charms. There was more to life than just sex—wonderful sex, by the way. Nevermind. God have mercy on him! This was much worse than Adam trying to resist the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden.

"So-some Champagne?" Adrien asked, his throat suddenly feeling very dry.

"I'd love to."

Adrien gave the driver a surreptitious glance as he fired up smoothly. He then grabbed two flutes and handed one to Marinette before grabbing the Champagne bottle in its bucket of ice (bottle which had been opened and placed there by the company's care, fortunately. He wouldn't have liked his first date to be in the emergency room after having blown the cork in Marinette's eye.)

With his shaking hand, he slowly poured some bubbly, golden liquid into Marinette's flute. The tip of his tongue darted out at the corner of his mouth as he focused on not spilling a drop out of the glass. He was a man on a mission. A mission he had succeeded in.

His inner voice, some sort of half angel, half demon, did a victory dance. But the little dancer rejoiced from his victory a bit too quickly, and he stumbled over his feet—okay, let's stop the metaphors.

Actually, the driver passed a speed bump and the jolt of the car sent a little Champagne out of Marinette's flute. The golden beverage landed straight on her thigh, sparkling bubble glistening and trickling down her bare skin.

"Oh, no. What a mess. Wait." Adrien looked around him in search of something to mop up the Champagne—to no avail.

Leaning in a little, he delicately put his hand on her thigh.

Marinette gasped at the sudden touch whilst he recovered most of the liquid with a rub of his thumb before awkwardly bringing his finger to his mouth, cleaning it. The way she intently looked at him as he did so, sent shivers running along his spine and down to his toes.

There was nothing left to clean on his fingers, but his tongue kept moving along his bottom lip as his eyes locked with hers.

"Aren't you… aren't you going to finish what you started? It's still a bit sticky on my skin."

Adrien couldn't help the sudden intake of breath as he blinked at her, somehow bemused, before his hand eagerly recovered a place on her thigh. His free hand then pressed the button to raise the screen which separated them from the driver, and eventually trapped them in a bubble of their own.

She had no panties on, and he was just a man after all. A poor weak man… standing in front of an oncoming train.