"Good morning, ladies," Paon greeted them charmingly, far too nicely for a sleep-deprived Marinette who scowled in response. Inette gulped down a coffee and pain du chocolat from downstairs. She and Marinette had rotated in and out of the kitchen, somehow fooling her (their?) sleep deprived parents. "Ready?"
"Yup," Inette made out between mouthfuls. She crawled up to the balcony, coffee in one hand and pastry held in her teeth. Marinette followed behind.
Paon pulled Inette closer, holding one hand around her waist to keep her steady before they took off.
"Wait!" Marinette cried, pulling Inette back into a hug much to both of their surprise. "It was nice meeting… me."
Inette smiled. "Samesies. See you in another version of the same life."
Paon picked her up bridal style as they jumped gracefully away. Marinette stood on her balcony far after she had lost sight of them, waving in the distance.
—
There should not be this many paparazzi at the train station in the morning.
Paon had trouble even finding a spot to land without tripping over folks with cameras. As he set Inette down, he noticed she didn't even look troubled or surprised. She had an easy laugh, and she waved as she took a sip of her coffee.
"You tipped them off, didn't you?" Paon whispered underneath a tight fake smile and stilted wave. It wasn't like his skills for this were rusty - he'd been doing press tours as Paon for months - but it had been a while since he had to do one of these against his will.
"Well, it's not exactly like I'm getting more chances to be photographed with a popular superhero. If I'm getting kicked out of Paris I might as well go out in lights." As she said this, she stopped waving, and turned to Paon. He still had an arm around her back, and so when he looked back down at her they were far too close.
Whether it was the train or the lack of sufficient sleep, Paon was not paying attention to any of the swirling questions of the reporters. Or maybe it was the fact that his eyes kept drifting to Marinette's - Inette's - lips.
When Inette moved in closer, pushing her hands through his teal hair and her lips against his as a response as to whether the pair was dating, Paon could only focus on how amazing it felt. He closed his eyes and pulled her face closer, but when he re-opened them, she was gone, and the train was racing off. He was left there, stunned, as reporters grew even louder with questions.
Equally stunned was Marinette, watching herself kiss her longtime crush turned nemesis on loop at home. Her phone would not stop buzzing with texts from Alya, her other classmates, and even Nadja Chamack.
The only important one, though, was from the boy all of Paris had just seen her make out with.
Hey, can we talk?