Okay, everyone! Next chapter is up and ready to go!
But seriously, this story isn't getting the attention I've been wanting, so I'm considering deleting it and starting a new one. I get it, back to school and all, but COME ON, where's the support, peeps?! More comments means more content!
Now that that rant's over...
Today, Adrien decides to spend as much of his free time with Marinette as possible! But...
"You had to step in for a model at that photoshoot?" Alya asked as she, Marinette, and the rest of the girls (minus Sabrina, who was outside practicing soccer with Marc) were in the art room, working on their own individual stuff while talking about what happened the afternoon before.
"Yeah, the female model they booked got food poisoning," Marinette explained as she was working on a pink derby hat. "The photographer looked at me, asked if I had any modeling experience. I told him that I want to become a designer."
"But you got dragged into it anyway?" Alix asked as she took off her respirator and put down her spray paint can.
"Adrien asked me to do it, saying he'd have more fun if I was his partner," Marinette confessed. "Apparently the photographer was so happy with the results that he encouraged me to go into modeling and become Adrien's partner. Something about me and Adrien becoming like Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. Or Johnny and June Carter Cash, I guess."
Juleka mumbled and Marinette said, "Don't worry, Juleka, I asked them to keep my name and face out of the final product. And I told them about your modeling aspirations. Next time I'll bring them some photos of you as a model and see what they think."
"That's our Marinette," Rose giggled. "Thank you for making sure they knew about Juleka."
"So, did you talk to Adrien about how you were feeling?" Myléne asked as she kept working on protest signs.
"I did," Marinette said, a pink blush and a smile on her face. "He told me that he knows that his feelings for me are love, not just gratitude. And he listed so many reasons why he feels that way, and what he sees in me."
"That must make you feel a lot better." Zoé added.
"It does," Marinette confirmed. "And he was so sweet when he tried to kiss me and I reflexively pushed him away."
"You did WHAT?!" The girls spoke, surprised.
"I... Um..." Marinette began. "Well..."
"He attempted to kiss you, but you denied him because you weren't comfortable with it yet?" Kagami asked, drawing in her sketchpad.
Marinette gave an embarrassed nod.
"Things are still new between you two." Alya said.
"That's right," Myléne said. "He saw he was going too fast and didn't pressure or shame you for it. It's like how Ivan doesn't use his size or voice to intimidate me when we're together. He's always my supportive teddy bear."
The girls laughed together.
"But it just goes to show how much he cares," Rose reassured. "It isn't healthy when guys get upset over a girl denying him a kiss when she's afraid."
"She's right." Juleka added in her usual mumble.
"You're trying, Marinette, and that's what counts," Alya spoke. "Just make sure you keep being open with him about your feelings."
"Like you and Nino?" Alix teased as she put her respirator back on and took up another can of spray paint.
Again, collective laugh from the girls.
"So, when are you two going out on your next date?" Alya asked Marinette.
"And what are you going to do on that date?!" Rose questioned, bubbly as always.
"I don't know. He just... calls me up whenever he gets a chance and tells me when he's free," Marinette confessed. "He seems like a busy guy."
"He is the heir to the Gabriel fashion brand." Zoé pointed out.
"So you never know what he's got planned?" Myléne questioned.
"No. It's not like I have his pictures plastered everywhere in my room, or know his schedule for the next five to ten years memorized back and forth. That's just creepy." Marinette said as she shook her head.
"Big time." Alix agreed before putting her respirator back on and picking up a different color of paint.
Her phone beeped with a text message alert, and she saw Adrien had texted her.
Adrien: "Hey, Princess! I have about ninety minutes available for us to spend time together this coming Wednesday afternoon/evening! I'll pick you up after you're done with school?"
Marinette looked up the schedule on her phone, and she saw she had a prior commitment. Their usual afternoon hangout on Juleka's houseboat.
Marinette gave a response.
Marinette: "Sorry, Adrien, but I have other plans with my friends that day. 😅 We're hanging out at Juleka's place - a house boat on the Seine."
Instant reply on Adrien's end.
Adrien: "Then send me the address and I'll join you! 😀 I can meet your group, if they're okay with it!"
"He's asking to join us on our barge meeting to meet you." Marinette said to the girls.
"It's not like it's going to be just us girls," Myléne said. "The entire group is going to be there. Ivan, Luka, everyone! What's one more?"
"She's right." Rose agreed, with Juleka nodding.
Marinette gave a nod and a smile before sending Adrien a message back.
Marinette: "Sure, Adrien. The girls gave the green light. Here you go!"
She sent Adrien Juleka's address and smiled.
Adrien: "Merci beaucoup, Princess! See you then!"
Marinette giggled in response.
"So, we get to meet your boyfriend in the real world, girl!" Alya spoke. "This is gonna be great!"
"It sure is." Zoé agreed.
"I'm sure he'll have a great time once he gets used to the chaos on the boat," Marinette added. "Maybe he can join in on the music. He's mentioned he plays piano."
"Hey, a keyboard player for Kitty Section wouldn't be a bad idea at all!" Rose agreed.
Alya looked over Marinette's shoulder, saw the message, and she asked with a sly smile, "Since when did he start calling you "Princess," girl?"
Marinette went red before responding, "I... Don't know, he just started calling me that. I don't know why."
"Does it matter? Ivan and I have terms of endearment for each other." Myléne commented.
"That's true," Marinette conceded as she put her phone away and went back to her hat. "But it feels a little weird, to be honest."
"You'll get used to it, but if you don't like it, just ask him to stop," Alya advised. "You've gotten an open communication channel, so that's good."
Marinette gave a nod before putting the bow and band onto the hat.
The days between the barge meeting were filled with flirty phone calls between the two of them, texts, and a few romantic video/photo messages from Adrien. He'd put in parts of sonnets in his messages, along with heart emojis. Marinette couldn't help but respond in bashful ways.
The day of the barge meeting, Marinette was on the deck of the boat with everyone else. The rest of Kitty Section was up on the bandstand, tuning up their instruments and setting up the sound system.
Marinette was at the railing of the boat, looking back and forth. Her face was perched on her hands as she looked along the banks of the Seine, and she had a smile on her face.
"Excited to see Adrien?" Rose asked.
"I am," Marinette spoke. "You finally get to meet him!"
"Yeah!" Rose agreed.
"You two are always being cute with each other, even if it's just messaging." Alya added.
On cue, the family car pulled up to boat and Adrien came out of the back seat. He was smiling with a red face.
"Marinette! I'm here!" Adrien called as he ran to the gangplank and walked across it.
"Adrien!" Marinette greeted as he approached her. "So glad you're here!"
"I am, too!" Adrien said, sniffling.
"Welcome aboard the Liberty!" Rose greeted.
"So, this is Juleka's place?" Adrien asked as he looked around at the boat. "Pretty impressive! I had no idea you could live on a boat! Does this sail up and down the Seine?"
Juleka mumbled something, and Rose translated/added, "Not really. Captain Anarka keeps it moored here, even though Officer Roger's given her flak over it before."
"So, you two must be Rose and Juleka," Adrien said as he smiled. "Marinette's mentioned you two, and how you want to model, Juleka. I can give you some advice on it if you'd like."
Juleka gave a smile and a nod in thanks.
"Nice to see you again, Adrien." Kagami greeted as she showed some of her watercolors to Nathaniel.
"Great to see you here too, Kagami," Adrien spoke. "Glad you've gotten yourself a nice group of friends."
Kagami gave a nod.
"So, you're Adrien," Nino said as he and Alya came over. "Glad to meet you, dude. Name's Nino."
"Oh, Nino Lahiffe. Alya's boyfriend, the head of the school radio, and a DJ," Adrien responded before turning to Alya. "And I've seen you before at the school. Alya, Marinette's best friend, head of the school blog?"
"Nailed it, dude!" Nino said as he and Adrien shared a fist bump.
"Thanks." Adrien said before coughing into his elbow.
"You okay?" Marinette asked.
"Fine," He responded as he stopped coughing. "By the way, I have something for you!"
He opened his button-down shirt and pulled out a black jewelry box. Seeing it, Marinette's heart slammed on the breaks, and her face twisted in fear. Noises from her past started ringing in her ears, and she stepped back a bit.
'Oh, NO! What the hell could that be?!' Marinette thought before her mind went blank.
"Come on, open it," Adrien said, sounding eager. "I wanna see the look on your face when you see it!"
Marinette's heart was going a million miles as she took the box into her hands. She swallowed a huge lump in her throat and squeezed her eyes shut. Her hands jerky, she lifted the lid.
"You like it?" Adrien asked.
Marinette slowly opened one eye, but she gave a quiet gasp in surprise when she saw it.
"Is this...?" Marinette asked as she saw the white gold jewelry pieces shimmering in the sun.
"Yep! The bracelet and necklace set from the photoshoot! I asked my father if I could get a set for you in advance, to say thanks for helping!" Adrien explained.
Marinette breathed a huge sigh of relief, muttering something under her breath.
"Are you okay?" Adrien asked, noticing her skittishness.
"I am," Marinette responded with a smile. "Thank you so much for this."
"May I put them on you?" Adrien asked.
Marinette gave a happy nod, and turned around as Adrien put the necklace on her from behind while slipping the bracelet on her wrist.
"This is beautiful, Adrien." Marinette said as she looked at him.
"Beautiful jewelry for an even more beautiful girl." He murmured, his face tinted.
There was silence for a few seconds, the two of them smiling at one another.
After a few beats, Adrien asked, "Think you can introduce me to the rest of the group?"
Marinette gave a smile and a nod as Adrien started following her around the deck of the boat, meeting everyone who was there.
Seeing him interacting with everyone, looking comfortable with his surroundings, she couldn't hold back a smile.
"Looks like he's having fun, isn't he?" Alya asked.
"It does," Marinette agreed. "And check out him and Nino. They're getting along like old friends!"
Alya watched as Nino put his arm over Adrien's shoulder, in a platonic manner. They began laughing.
Marinette giggled. She noticed the snack table they'd set up was getting empty, and she stood up.
"I'll get more snacks, okay?" Marinette said as she ran to the door that led below deck.
Adrien watched as Marinette went downstairs. Blushing, he said, "She's incredible, isn't she?"
"She sure is." Luka - Juleka's older brother - agreed. He was tuning his guitar.
"Yeah, she's awesome, and it's nice that you see that," Alya spoke as came up next to her boyfriend, and Nino wrapped his arm around and draped it over her shoulder. "Seeing her get close to a boy like this is a relief."
"It sure is, babe." Nino agreed.
"I was worried she was going to go catatonic when you gave her that box, Adrien." Alya added.
"I noticed," Adrien confessed. "Why would she panic over that?"
Alya and Nino looked at each other for a second.
Nino waved his hand in dismissal before telling Adrien, "Doesn't matter, dude. You're no dummy, and you treat her right, so we're not worried."
"We're not, but I'm not surprised that Marinette's still antsy about this." Alya said to Nino, who gave an agreeing nod.
Adrien gave the two of them a curious expression, and he looked down.
Down in the living/eating area of the boat, Marinette brought a tray out and started putting melon slices, breads and pastries, and macarons on it.
She looked at her necklace, fingering the flower, while glancing at the bracelet on her wrist.
'I'm such a fool,' Marinette thought to herself. 'Of COURSE Adrien wouldn't do anything like that to me. I shouldn't have gone into an internal panic like that.'
"Hey Marinette!" Adrien called as he came down the stairs.
"Adrien," Marinette said as she took out a picture of orange juice from the fridge. "Just getting some food for us."
"That's great," Adrien spoke. "And, er..."
Marinette looked at her boyfriend, who looked a bit nervous, his face red.
"I wanted to ask you something." Adrien admitted.
"Ask what?" Marinette responded.
"What happened before?" Adrien said, cutting to the chase.
"What do you mean?" Marinette questioned, but she could tell he was anxious.
"The last time you had a crush?" Adrien elaborated.
Marinette's blood went cold. Her skin got clammy and she began to sweat. Her eyes blew wide.
"H-H-How-?!" Marinette began to question.
"When I was talking to Alya and Nino earlier, I got the impression that you'd been spurned in the past. Subtext." Adrien confessed.
Marinette face-palmed and thought, 'Great! How am I supposed to explain all of this without coming off like a pathetic buffoon?!'
"You can tell me anything." Adrien promised as he put a hand on her shoulder.
Marinette looked up at him and saw the affectionate, sweet smile on his face. That smile made her feel like a soft, plush blanket came over her.
Feeling safe to confide in him, Marinette sighed before starting, "Okay, fine. See, what happened was..."
Talking about the entire incident made Marinette's stomach churn. The fact that her crush (at the time) was a complete nimrod, and she'd mistaken his foolery for kindness, was rushing in her mind. When she tried to tell him how she felt, he responded with such cruelty. He'd given her what she'd hoped was a jewelry box, only for it to be a box of spiders, and her reaction was screaming and throwing the box away. She backed up, tripped, and landed in a kiddie pool filled with water that had been dyed purple and there were fake insects in it (plastic roaches and worms). The sour cherry on top was that Kim was laughing at the whole thing!
"The spiders were crawling all over me. I didn't get bit, luckily. My skin, clothes, and hair got stained purple because of the food dye in the kiddie pool - I was purple for days, so I stayed home, too embarrassed to go to school." Marinette confessed as she looked at the bracelet on her wrist.
The flashback was turning into a dark raincloud over her head, the pain resurfacing.
"I should've listened to Alya. She and the girls had to break Chloé's phone just to stop her from uploading a video of my suffering. As always, Chloé got away with murder, and the girls got suspended for the week." Marinette continued.
She sighed and turned away before hugging her arms, a tick she did when she got scared or insecure.
"After that, I vowed to myself that the next time I fell for a boy, I wouldn't tell him how I felt until I knew everything about him back and forth - his schedule, his names, his friends - everything. Never go in without a plan, and above all else, that he isn't friends with Chloé. The girls talked me out of everything but the "friends with Chloé" part." Marinette confessed.
She turned back to Adrien, still not looking him in the eyes.
"So... Even though I know you only meant well, seeing the jewelry box brought back bad memories," Marinette spoke. "And this is why I'm so timid, and taking so long to warm up to you. I know you're not friends with Chloé anymore, nor will you ever be again, but still..."
Marinette was silent after telling her story, but she saw out of her peripheral that Adrien's fists were balled up in anger and his arms were shaking.
Marinette looked up at his face, and her eyes opened in surprise when she saw he was scowling in rage - a side of him she'd never seen. Her heart jumped, anxious, and she stepped away from him.
"He did that?! And Chloé put him up to it?!" Adrien growled.
She asked him, timid, "Y-Yeah... Um, are you okay? You seem angry."
"And why shouldn't I be angry, Marinette?!" Adrien asked, irate. "What he did to you was not okay!"
"B-Because, you had nothing to do with it and-" Marinette began, a little scared.
"It doesn't matter!" Adrien ranted. "You liked him, but he broke your heart with such a shitty prank! If the others hadn't stopped her, Chloé would've... She would've...!"
He was breathing heavily in anger, his face as red as his temper.
"I can't believe I used to be friends with her! Thinking about it makes me sick!" Adrien all but roared. But his speech turned to wet coughing. He balled a fist and started coughing into it. His back hunched over and his knees started knocking.
Marinette came over to him and grabbed him before he could fall. Marinette was used to carrying large, 22.67K bags of flour, so he wasn't too heavy for her.
His breathing became more labored and his face was still red. He began coughing violently again, still into his elbow. On a hunch, Marinette put the back of her hand to her forehead before touching Adrien's.
Her eyes went wide before saying, "Adrien, you really are sick!"
He was close to collapsing, and his jerky movements caused him to drop his phone. Marinette picked it up, and she said, "You gotta call your driver!"
"N-No, I'm fine. Don't worry." He argued.
"You are not fine! Open your phone and call someone to get you home!" Marinette insisted.
Though he was defiant, Marinette managed to persuade Adrien to unlock the device for Marinette to call his driver to pick him up. Nathalie and the Gorilla came and got him, and the former requested that Marinette come along.
Marinette didn't have time to admire the grandeur of the Agreste Manor, as she and Nathalie brought Adrien up to his room. Marinette closed her eyes as Nathalie got Adrien changed into his pajamas.
Once he was in bed, his breathing stabilized, but it was still congested and hoarse with the occasional cough.
"Of all times for him to fall sick, why today?" Nathalie griped, pushing her glasses up while holding onto a thermometer - 39.3°C. Marinette was sitting next to the bed and watching over the blonde.
"Homeschooling, photoshoots, Chinese class... Merde, how many extracurriculars does he have?" Marinette asked as she looked over a tablet that had a spreadsheet of Adrien's schedule for the month, in shock.
"Quite a bit. A lot is expected of him." Nathalie spoke.
"I think too much is expected of him," Marinette told her as she handed the printout back to Nathalie. "I don't see many empty spaces in this schedule. It's like he's not allowed to relax or recharge his batteries."
Nathalie scanned the printout with her eyes, and with a sigh, she said, "Agreed. I've tried to get Gabriel to scale down Adrien's responsibilities so he can have fun like any other boy his age."
Marinette gave a nod and said, "This collapse is probably his body's way of forcing him to get some rest."
"I concur," Nathalie spoke. "I'll go inform Gabriel of his son's condition. Do you mind staying with Adrien?"
"Me?" Marinette asked, nervous.
Nathalie gave a small smile and said, "I think Adrien would be much happier waking up to you."
Once Nathalie left the room and shut the door, Marinette let out a nervous groan. She looked around and saw the immense size of the room.
"This could fit my family's entire living space and my bedroom in here," Marinette murmured, before noticing the spiral staircase. "And there's two floors? Wow."
She heard Adrien cough, and she looked at him. Marinette immediately got up and said, "Don't worry, Adrien. I'll get you an ice pack."
Marinette left the room and ran down the stairs to the kitchen.
She looked around and saw the sleek, modern interior of the kitchen. Bigger than the one her family had at home, with some of the most state-of-the-art kitchen equipment, from double-wall ovens with multiple settings and functions - self-cleaning, steam bake, steam roast, convection, air frying. The stovetop was induction, and the island was big enough to have at least three to six people sitting down and eating. The dining room attached to the kitchen was massive, also compared to her family's living space.
Marinette shook her head before running to the fridge, opening the freezer compartment.
Back up in Adrien's room, she put one towel-wrapped cold pack onto his forehead and the other one under his neck.
Marinette looked to the door where the bathroom was, and she took a deep breath. She walked right in, and ignoring the shower-tub combination and the huge, wall-to-wall mirror and sink, went to a cabinet.
"Let's see..." Marinette said as she opened it, only to see it was all but empty. "No cold medicine?"
She slammed the cabinet door shut, appalled, before leaving the bathroom.
"How is it that he doesn't have cold medicine in his own home?" Marinette muttered, frustrated. "Better tell Nathalie."
She heard moaning, and she looked to the bed to see Adrien was opening his eyes.
"Adrien." Marinette said as she ran over to him and sat next to the bed.
"I... I'm home?" Adrien asked, sounding, well, sick.
"Yeah, you nearly went unconscious in the car," Marinette reported. "But you're here now, and getting treatment."
"My forehead and neck..." He murmured, touching the back of his neck, where the cold towel was.
"I did that. Hope it isn't too cold." Marinette said as she looked at him.
"No, this feels great," Adrien confessed. "Thanks, Marinette."
He felt a sneeze coming on, and he covered with his elbow.
"I'm sorry for putting a damper on our day, Princess," He apologized before sneezing again. "I hope I didn't ruin it for everyone else."
"Adrien, why did you insist on coming to the barge if you weren't feeling well?" Marinette asked.
"I wanted to see you, and meet your friends," Adrien responded, sounding hoarse and congested. "I was so excited for it. I didn't think a mild cold would be such a big deal."
"Adrien, we checked your temperature and it was at 39.3°C! That's high!" Marinette scolded. "You should've just called me and told me you couldn't make it because you're sick."
Adrien's eyes went back up to the ceiling and said, "...You wouldn't have written me off?"
"No way! I would've come by with some fruits and medicine for you to eat to help you get over the cold." Marinette responded.
Adrien smiled, and his face was red (though it was hard to tell if it was from the cold or affection).
"Now, I'm going to tell Nathalie that you don't have any medicine in your room, and I'll order some from a nearby pharmacy. I need you to stay here and stay in bed." Marinette instructed.
"Okay." He said, sniffling.
Marinette took her phone out, walked out of the bedroom, and shut the door. She saw Nathalie come out of another room, which she assumed to be M. Agreste's office.
"Nathalie!" Marinette called as she ran down the stairs to meet with her. "There's no cold medicine in Adrien's room!"
Nathalie gave a sigh and pushed up her glasses. She responded, "I should've known. Adrien seldom gets sick, so Gabriel didn't think anything of not having cold medicines on hand."
"Adrien's always been that healthy?" Marinette asked.
"Yes, given his lifestyle and the fact that we're always keeping him up to date on vaccines," Nathalie confessed. "But to not have medicine to help relieve his symptoms? This isn't ideal."
"I'll order some different over-the-counter medicines from the closest pharmacy, and have them deliver it here." Marinette added.
"Sound plan," Nathalie agreed before turning back to the door she'd come through. "M. Agreste... Is tied up right now."
"You'd think he'd be worried about Adrien." Marinette commented.
"Oh, he is, but he's not exactly... A warm, loving father." Nathalie added.
"...I'll take a look at what you have in the kitchen and see if I can make some soup or something for Adrien." Marinette said as she jogged down the stairs.
Marinette's propensity for creating a solution for the most obscure situations struck again. She found almost everything she needed for a basic chicken soup. And lucky her, she also found a few random ingredients to elevate it, and she found an Instant Pot that was collecting dust.
Once she washed the pot, she got to work. She cut the chicken into ten portions, and after using the Sauté setting on the pot to brown the main vegetables, Marinette put the chicken and remaining ingredients (minus ingredients that would be overcooked if she'd put them in immediately), she cut up some extra fixings for the meal. She put the Instant Pot onto "Soup" mode, sat down at the island, and took a deep breath. She took out her phone out and ordered several types of over-the-counter cold medicine, lozenges, and vitamin/cold relief gummies. Her phone started going off, and she saw Alya was calling her.
She picked up the video call, and she said, "Hey, Alya."
"Hey, girl," Alya responded, and most of the group was in the camera's view. "Is Adrien okay?"
"High fever, but cooperating," Marinette reported before looking to the stove where the pressure cooker was. "I've ordered medicines and I'm working on some soup."
"Great idea," Rose said, butting her face into the camera. "Nothing says "love" like a home-cooked soup, especially if you're sick in bed!"
"Good call, Marinette," Myléne agreed. "Are the ingredients sustainably-grown and sourced, and ethically-farmed without any single-use plastic packaging?"
"Sorry, Myléne, I didn't check," Marinette confessed. "I was in such a rush."
"That's okay in this case," Myléne conceded. "Any other ideas?"
"While looking around for things to cook with, I saw some hibiscus tea and local honey. I think I'll brew some up for Adrien, and once the medicines I ordered arrive, I'll bring a tray up to him in his room." Marinette explained.
"Good. Keep us posted on his condition, okay?" Alya requested.
"Yes." Marinette said with a nod as she turned the phone off.
Within the hour, Marinette came back up to Adrien's room. In hand, she had a tray with two soup bowls and spoons, two cups of honey-laced hibiscus tea, and a few doses of the medicine for Adrien.
She saw he was asleep, and she quietly walked over to him. She put the tray down on the nightstand before shaking his shoulder, gentle.
He snorted, but his nose was plugged up from his cold. He sat up and saw Marinette there.
"Mornin', sleepyhead," She giggled. "I brought you soup, tea, and medicine."
He saw the tray, and he gave a smile with a nostalgic, wistful expression Marinette couldn't detect.
"Thank you." He said as sat up, leaned his back against the headboard, and gave Marinette the room she needed to put the tray down.
"There - homemade chicken noodle soup with white beans and kale. I also brewed up some hibiscus tea with honey in it for you to drink with your medicines." Marinette said as she put the tray on his lap before sitting next to him.
Adrien gave a smile before saying, "First you save me from a falling light, and now you're here, nursing me back to health? What did I ever do to deserve such an incredible girlfriend like you?"
Marinette giggled, blushing.
"Sometimes life works that way." Marinette confessed.
"I'm glad you're here with me," Adrien said as he gave Marinette a lovesick smile. "Your presence alone is soothing."
Marinette blushed deeper and she looked at the tray of food before saying, "Let's eat, silly."
The two of them took up their soup bowls before eating. Adrien closed his eyes and enjoyed the rich flavors of the soup, each component an ideal support or contrast to the other.
"This is great," Adrien said, his voice quiet with comfort. He took a sip of the tea. "I'm beginning to feel better already."
"That's good to hear," Marinette said. "But I expect you to take your medicine and get some sleep once we're done eating, okay?"
"Yes, ma'am." He joked before taking another spoonful of the soup into his mouth.
It didn't take long for Adrien to eat his whole bowl and drink all of his tea. His medicines were consumed, too. The tray was now off the bed and onto one of the side tables. Marinette saw this, giggled, and said, "You must've really liked it."
"Best food I've had in a long time. Not even the smoothie shop was this delicious." Adrien spoke, sounding less congested.
"Glad to hear it," Marinette responded as she put her bowl down and stood up. "Now, I gotta get home."
But as she turned to leave, she felt Adrien tug at her hand. She looked back at him and saw he was looking at her, his face red.
"Stay with me?" He asked, holding back a cough.
"Adrien..." Marinette began before he yanked her onto the bed. She landed next to him, and he held her by the waist. She looked at him and saw he had a passionate, affectionate look on his eyes and his smile.
He began pulling her closer. But given the risk of getting sick, Marinette panicked, gave a squeal and backed off.
"NO!" Marinette said, slamming a pillow into Adrien's face. "I'll get your cold! You wouldn't that, right?"
His speech muffled, Adrien responded, "No, you're right, I wouldn't want you to catch my cold. But are you still going to stay?"
"I-" Marinette began, but she heard the bedroom door open.
"Adrien, your father-" Nathalie began, but she paused and looked at the scene with wide eyes. "What are you two doing?"
"Nathalie!" Marinette said as she got up from off the bed and walked away from it. "Just..."
She glanced at the pillow in her hand.
"Trying to get Adrien to sleep. He's already taken medicines and he had some hibiscus tea with honey in it," Marinette reported as she threw the pillow back at Adrien's bed. "N-Nothing to worry about!"
"I see." Nathalie said, unconvinced.
"A-Anyway, is the Gorilla - I mean, Adrien's driver available? I should get home and update the girls. If you want more of the soup or tea for Adrien, it's in the kitchen!" Marinette said, moving away from the bed.
She ran to the door before turning around and saying, "Get well soon, Adrien! L-Let me know when your fever breaks!"
She dashed out of the bedroom, past Nathalie.
Adrien waved goodbye before lying back on the bed.
"She's such a great girl." He moaned before letting his fatigue rock him to sleep, a smile on his face.
Nathalie couldn't keep herself from smiling, either.
The woman got into the car with Marinette sitting in the back seat.
"Thanks for the ride home." Marinette said to her.
"You're welcome," Nathalie responded. "And thank you for taking care of Adrien today."
"...I wonder if M. Agreste will check in on him at some point?" Marinette asked as she looked out the window.
"I hope so." Nathalie prayed aloud.
Marinette's phone went off, and she saw she'd gotten a picture text message from Adrien. It was a selfie of him lying in bed, asleep.
Adrien: "Thank you for being my nurse, Marinette. You're truly special, and I'm so lucky and happy to have you. I'll let you know when my fever breaks and we can see each other again soon."
Marinette giggled and hugged her phone in response.
'Silly boy.' She thought, smiling.
Okay, that's done! Hope you all enjoyed it. This sick scene with Marinette and Adrien was inspired by an episode of this old anime called "Special A."
And for those of you who were getting "Derision" vibes over the course of the story, this chapter confirms it. But I made a few changes, including making the prank even more horrendous. Will Adrien give Kim a piece of his mind at some point? Maybe, maybe not, I'm not sure yet.
Speaking of not sure, I need help deciding what to do for a certain plotline in this story. So, I have a poll going on down here, and as incentive to comment, put "Option 1" or "Option 2" down in your message.
1. Marinette and her family are invited to a formal party organized by Gabriel, but a certain someone finds out and causes trouble.
2. Marinette's parents are hired to cater desserts to a formal party hosted by Gabriel, and Marinette is there as an extra set of hands. But there are some false pretenses.