Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Adrien dragged a damp rag across the front counter once more and inhaled deeply, eyes darting to the large neon clock on the far wall. Two minutes. Two minutes and he could lock the door, count the drawer, and finally go back to his dorm room. He had three papers due at the end of the week and two tutor sessions to prepare for. Thankfully the night crowd had been lacking and all of the closing chores were done.

His head shot up at the sound of the glass doors opening. A young woman trudged up to the counter. Her nose was bright pink and she barely looked up at him as she spoke. “Can I get an order of curly fries, please?” she sniffed, tone miserable.

Adrien inwardly groaned and glanced back at Nino, who was finishing up cleaning the kitchen. The other man shook his head vehemently and crossed his arms.

The girl looked up at Adrien then and her eyes went wide as she caught sight of the time behind him. “Crap,” she muttered. “You guys are practically closed. I’m so sorry.” Tears welled in her eyes and she looked down quickly, turning towards the door. “Sorry, have a good night.”

Adrien let her get halfway across the dining area before he was looking back at Nino. The other man threw his hands up in the air and turned away. “Wait!” Adrien called. “Are you okay?”

She turned halfway. “I’m fine,” she whispered and Adrien saw her shoulders shake with a silent cry.

“Can you…just hang on one minute for me, okay? Stay right there.” Adrien stepped back into the kitchen.

“Dude, no. I’m supposed to meet Alya in ten minutes,” Nino said immediately, leaning against the back counter.

“She looks so upset though.”

“And my heart goes out for her but you can’t do anything about that. The fryer is cleaned for the night anyway. She’ll have to cry over curly fries somewhere else.”

“Nino!”

“Adrien, we have to close. Do you want to get fired? You need this job, man. I need this job.”

Adrien hung his head. “You’re right. Fine.” He stepped back out to see the girl still waiting in the middle of the dining area, half turned towards the door and hugging herself. He rounded the counter and moved closer to her, still leaving some room. “Um, the fryer is actually off for the night so I can’t do curly fries.”

She nodded. “That’s…that’s fine. I totally get it. I didn’t realize it was so late.”

“But, uh, the other burger place down the road stays open for another few hours for the bar crowd if you want to go there.”

“Okay.”

Feeling braver, Adrien continued. “It should only take me a few minutes to get everything closed up here if you want some company. You kind of seem like you need to talk.”

Her bottom lip quivered and she blinked a few times. “That would be really nice,” she said quietly.

He held out his hand. “Adrien.”

She pulled her hand away from her body and it peeked out from her bright pink sweater sleeve. “Marinette. I promise I’m not normally a basketcase.”

He smiled. “Nice to meet you, Marinette. I promise I’m not some creepy guy trying to pick you up.”

Marinette laughed and covered her mouth in surprise. “Nice to meet you. Should I wait here or…”

Adrien grimaced, looking back towards Nino. “If you don’t mind stepping outside so I can count the register, I should be done in just a few minutes. You can stay right by the door if you want, under the light. I know it’s late but we'd get in trouble if we let you stay in here. I'll watch out though.”

She nodded and they walked to the door. Adrien held it open for her. “I’ll be right back,” he assured her and then closed it quickly and locked it.

“You think she’s cute,” Nino grinned, joining him at the counter to witness the cash count. “You like her puffy eyes and pink nose.”

“Don’t be a jerk. She’s obviously having a hard night.”

“She does look familiar. I think she might be new in one of my classes.”

Adrien quickly finished the count and they took the money to the safe.

“Don’t you have a lot of work to do tonight?” Nino prodded.

“I’m not going to stay out long. She seems like she needs a friend.”

“Yeah, but you’re a stranger.”

“Good thing you didn’t have this attitude when I was lost in the dorms and looking for my new roommate.”

Nino chuckled. “I’m just feeling impatient. Alya sent me some pictures earlier that make me think study time tonight is going to be the subject of anatomy.”

“Good grief, I hope you’re doing that studying in her room.”

“Don’t worry. We are and your virtue will be kept intact,” Nino teased.

They walked back around to the front and Adrien let out a sigh of relief when he spotted Marinette still standing outside, her back to them. He knocked on the glass lightly so she wouldn’t be frightened when they came through the door.

“You two have fun,” Nino called, heading in the direction of campus.

Marinette shifted uneasily. “I’m realizing that it’s pretty dumb to just take off with a stranger in the middle of the night to go get curly fries.”

“Oh, right. Is there someone you want to call maybe? Your roommate or a friend or something to let them know?” he offered, trying to look as non-threatening as possible.

Her eyes began to tear up again. “I don’t have anyone,” she cried. “And I shouldn’t have told you that!”

Adrien panicked for a minute, unsure of what to do with the crying stranger in the parking lot of his job. “Hey! What about this? I’ll tweet that I met a new friend named Marinette and we are going to LJ’s for a burger. That way if I’m a psycho, there’s proof?”

Her worry subsided and she offered half a smile. “This is the most bizarre situation I’ve ever been in, I think.”

“Ah, see, you need some more life experience then,” he grinned. “You want to walk there?” He pointed to the neon lights not too far off.

“Sure,” she nodded.

They were silent for a few moments before Adrien found his courage again. “So, you seem pretty upset.”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I’m a mess right now.” Marinette flapped her arms uselessly, her oversized sweater riding up at her waist.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

She glanced up at him. “Would you mind? I literally know no one on campus and I’m having a really hard time and it would probably help.”

He held out his hand. “Talk away.”

She sniffled again and rubbed at her nose in irritation. “Okay, well, I transferred earlier this week and a bunch of my credits don’t count now? So I’m not even going to graduate when I thought I would.”

“That sucks.”

“Yeah! And so then I get assigned to this dorm and the girl in there hates me. Like she took one look at me and actually told me she hated me.”

“That’s a bit harsh,” he frowned.

She shook her head and ran a fingertip under her eyes to wipe away her smudged makeup. “I think she was just pissed that she was losing her solo room, but still. And then my fabric and design teacher is such a bastard. He called me out in front of the whole class and tore into my portfolio on my first day and I just…” She trailed off and seemed to deflate. “I’m just beginning to think that coming here was a mistake.”

“That does sound like a really rough first week.”

She sniffled and nodded. “You’re the first nice person I’ve even met.” She looked up at him with a small smile. “So thank you. I doubt your evening plans included walking a crazy girl to get some curly fries.”

He smiled back at her. “The best laid plans and all that. Besides, this has been much more interesting than planning physics lessons.”

Marinette gave him a horrified look. “You’re a professor?!”

“No!” He laughed as they reached the parking lot. “I'm a teacher's assistant and I do some tutoring. I’m a student like you. The tutoring is just a side gig for some extra money.”

“Geez, I was about to be beyond embarrassed.”

He winked at her. “All your secrets will stay safe with me.” He opened the door for her and they went inside.
_________________________

“Feeling better?” Adrien asked, watching Marinette push the empty fry basket away. She blushed and he felt his heart skip a beat. Even with her eyes still a little puffy and her nose still a little pink, she was gorgeous.

“Much,” she nodded. “Apparently I just needed to cry a lot, talk a little, and eat some greasy food.”

“A great combination,” he agreed. “This was really better anyways. Our curly fries are trash compared to these. And they have the fancy ketchup here.”

She grinned at him. “Ah, but your service is so much better.”

He felt his cheeks warm and he ducked his head. “What are you studying?”

“Fashion,” she sighed. “Well, that was the plan. After the other day, I’m not so sure.”

Adrien grimaced. “What professor was it anyway?”

“Agreste, the dickhead. The guy knows his hair is shaped like a duck ass, doesn’t he?”

“I really don’t want to tell you this now but that dickhead is my dad,” he winced.

Marinette covered her mouth, her fingers barely poking out of the pink of her sweater. “Crap nuggets,” she breathed.

“No, he’s definitely a dickhead,” he grinned. “But it only seemed fair to tell you.”

“I called your dad’s hair a duck ass,” she whispered.

“Well, you weren’t wrong. It really does look like one. Seriously, we don’t have the greatest relationship. You’re not hurting my feelings. I know what he’s like. I’m just sorry he’s part of why this week was so sucky for you.”

Marinette lowered her hands and Adrien watched the movement, fascinated with the small hints of her fingers he could see peeking out of the fabric. Her hands were so small and cute. He saw chips of glittery pink that matched her sweater on some of the visible nails. The color suited her.

“Thank you,” she said, reaching across the table to touch his crossed arms.

Adrien startled, looking down at her hand and then up at her. “For what?”

“For being the first friend I’ve made here. That really means a lot, Adrien.”

He lifted one of his arms and covered her hand with his. “It’s my pleasure.”

Chapter Text

Nino chuckled. “Either it’s Tuesday night again or you have a date.”

Adrien glanced up from the register and saw Marinette wave from outside the locked glass doors. He grinned and waved back and then held up a finger. She nodded with a smile. “We’re going to get curly fries again.”

“Uh-huh.”

“What? She’s really cool. I told her if she could make it through the rest of the week, I’d treat her to more curly fries.”

“Don’t spoil her too much, dude,” Nino teased. “So, what’s the deal?”

“No deal.” Adrien wrapped a rubberband around the money from the register. “We’re friends and she’s having a hard time settling in.”

“You don’t think she’s cute?”

“Of course I think she’s cute. Look at her.” Adrien glanced up again and felt his cheeks grow warm when Marinette’s face lit up at the attention. She ducked her head shyly with a smile and busied herself with her phone.

“You should ask her out.”

“We’re going out for curly fries.”

Nino huffed. “You know that’s not what I mean.”

“I’m not sure she sees me like that. I think I’m the only person she knows right now.” They walked back to the safe. “Actually, I was hoping maybe you and Alya could do something with us sometime? I think it would make Mari happy to make more friends.”

“Mari,” Nino grinned. "That's so cute. You already have a little nickname for her."

“Stop.”

“You know I’m just teasing. I think it’s awesome that you’re hanging out with someone not in the physics department.”

“I hang out with you.”

“I’m your saving grace,” Nino said solemnly. “What about tomorrow night? Jean says he might actually let me spin a little.”

“I’ll ask Marinette.”

“Don’t you mean Mari?”

“I hate you.”

"You love me and don't forget it."
__________________________

“So you survived the rest of the week.” Adrien pulled one of the curly fries apart and let it dangle over his mouth before taking a bite.

Marinette giggled and gave him a happy nod. “I did! I’m pretty sure I have you to thank for that. I was ready to pack it up and move back home.”

“Nonsense. You did that all on your own. How was my dad’s class today?”

“Awful but at least he wasn’t specifically awful to me. It was more of an all encompassing horribleness towards the whole class.”

“Did you tell him his hair looks like a duck ass?” he grinned.

Marinette threw a fry at him and Adrien caught it, biting into it with a wink.

“How was the rest of your week?” she asked.

“Good. I had two more students sign up for tutoring so that will be nice. Nino and I are hoping to move off campus next semester so the extra money will definitely come in handy.”

“You must be really smart if so many people want you to tutor them.”

He laughed. “Nah, I just actually enjoy physics. Sometimes I think that makes a difference in understanding it.” He watched Marinette take a sip of her soda, the bright red straw disappearing between her lips. He felt his pulse speed up. She had the prettiest lips.

Marinette blinked at him after a moment, eyes a little wide. “Did you want some?” she offered, tilting the cup towards him.

Adrien cleared his throat. “Uh, no, thanks! Sorry, I think I zoned out for a minute.”

She nodded but he watched as a soft pink spread across her cheeks.

“I was wondering if maybe you would want to hang out with me and a couple of friends tomorrow night. My roommate is supposedly going to be DJing a little at a club and his girlfriend will be there.”

“Oh, um, like a date?”

Adrien sputtered on the sip he had been taking and Marinette cover her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut.

“Not a date! Sorry,” she squeaked.

He groaned, wiping at his mouth with napkin and then cleaning up the drops on the tabletop. He ducked his head, looking at her through his bangs. “Well, that was plenty embarrassing. Actually I wasn't sure how you would feel about that so I didn't want to call it a date.”

“I wouldn’t say no to calling it a date,” she replied, hands still covering her mouth.

He straightened. “Okay, uh, Mari, would you like to go with me as my date to see my roomate DJ tomorrow night?”

Marinette smiled, lowering her hands to the table. “I would love to, Adrien.”

Chapter Text

Marinette opened her dorm room door, looking out expectantly. “Hi.”

“Hi!” Alya smiled. “You’re Marinette, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Excellent. I’m Alya. Can I come in?”

She blinked in surprise. “Um, sure?” She stepped back as Alya moved past her, apparently comfortable with entering a stranger’s room with little more than a name.

Alya looked around. “Adrien said you have a really bitchy roommate. I was almost hoping she was here so I could see who it is.” She picked up a picture on the desk across the room. “Oh, this has to be her. You can see it in her eyes.”

Marinette tried to hide her smile. “You’re a friend of Adrien’s?”

“Obviously he’s told you so much about me,” she replied dryly. “I’m Nino’s girlfriend. You know, Adrien’s roommate?”

“Right! The guy he works with too?”

“That’s the one,” she grinned. “So Adrien said you’re coming out with us tonight.”

Marinette blushed. “Uh, yeah, he asked me to.”

“On a date, right? Don’t let him pull this friends only crap on you. He hasn’t shut up since you showed up last week.”

Marinette let out a nervous laugh and Alya smiled. “Good,” she nodded. “I was hoping you were just as smitten as he is. Nino said you were but I don’t always trust his judgment. I was thinking we could hang out the rest of the day if you’re free?”

“I was going to study a little but I could always do that tomorrow.”

“How do you feel about shopping?”

“It’s one of my top five favorite activities,” Marinette laughed.

“I think we’re going to get along just fine.”
_________________________

Marinette spotted Adrien standing in front of the line going into the club. Alya nudged her arm and she felt her cheeks grow hot. They'd spent most of the afternoon talking about Adrien and Alya had asked so many questions that Marinette ended up oversharing. She hoped Alya didn't feel the need to tell her friend just how desperate she sounded.

“Hey!” he smiled. “You guys made it.”

“Sorry we’re a little late,” Marinette apologized, ducking her head. “We ran into a sale at the mall.”

“And this girl knows how to find a deal,” Alya finished. “Look at this awesome dress she got to wear just for you, Sunshine.” She grabbed Marinette’s hand and led her into a spin as the other woman laughed.

“You look really nice, Mari,” Adrien flushed. “You guys hung out today?”

“We sure did, Sunshine.” Alya swooped in, hooking Marinette’s arm with her own. “Is Nino already inside?”

“Yeah,” he nodded. “You ready?”

“Lead the way,” Marinette smiled, sharing an excited look with Alya.
_________________________

Alya had long since disappeared, winking at Marinette and making some excuse about being moral support for Nino. Adrien brought Marinette a drink that had a fruity scent and tasted sweet and made her mind buzz slightly and she was finally feeling relaxed. Her day with Alya had been fun but obviously orchestrated, Alya making her feelings about Adrien and his need for someone lovely and kind like Marinette apparent. She knew it hadn’t been Alya’s intention, but as soon as she and Adrien were alone, Marinette felt anxious and unsure of how to act.

“Are you okay?” he finally asked, half the label on his beer bottle torn to shreds.

Marinette shook her head. “Sorry. I’m being weird.”

“Not weird,” he argued. “I just feel like maybe I did something wrong?” His eyes sharpened. “Was it Alya? She told you what a dork I am, didn’t she? I knew it was a mistake to tell her what dorm you live in but she would’ve found out on her own. She’s smart like that.”

She laughed and wrapped her hands around her glass. “She only had the nicest things to say about you, I promise.”

He looked relieved. “Oh, good.”

“I like her. She was a lot of fun. It was nice to get to hang out with another girl. It’s been a while.”

Adrien beamed at her. “I was hoping you would enjoy it. Just so you know, it was all her idea. She wanted to get to know you.”

“I hope I passed the test.”

“I don’t see how you couldn’t.” He looked out over the dance floor. “Uh, how do you feel about dancing?”

“I love it but I’m not good at it,” Marinette winced.

“What if I lead?” Adrien stood and offered his hand, expression hopeful.

Marinette let him guide her to the dance floor, weaving in and out of couples and groups until they were close enough to the DJ stand to see Nino and Alya. Nino gave Adrien a wink and a nod and the bumping mix that had been playing transitioned into something smoother. Adrien blushed but pulled Marinette close, setting a gentle hand on her hip and wrapping the other around her.

Couples swayed around them and Marinette thought it felt more awkward to resist touching Adrien so she rested her cheek against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat clearly even with the volume of the music and it was a comforting sound. She felt his arms tighten around her and she inhaled deeply, smelling expensive cologne mingled with the slight odor of sweat. Something about that was endearing. She wondered if Adrien had been as nervous about their date as she was.
_________________________

They had danced until their feet hurt, breaking to hang out with Nino and Alya while Nino had a playlist going. Hours later, Adrien was walking Marinette back to her dorm, her hand held tightly in his.

“I’m really glad you came out with us tonight,” he said with a small smile. “With me.”

“Me too. This whole day was just what I needed.” They stopped in front of her building and she looked back at it with a sigh. “I would invite you up for a movie or something but,” she gestured obscurely, “really mean roommate.”

“Ah, yeah,” he nodded. “I mean, it’s pretty late too.”

“Yeah,” Marinette blushed. “I guess it is.”

“Can I see you tomorrow?”

Her blush deepened. “I need to study tomorrow.”

“We can study together,” he grinned. “You could come over to our room. Nino goes to visit his family on Sundays. His grandmother made it a rule.”

“That would be really great.”

“Good,” he beamed. “Maybe we can even go get some curly fries.”

Marinette laughed. “You know, I do eat other things.”

Adrien winked and leaned in to kiss her cheek. “Have a good night, Mari. I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

Marinette tugged on the soft cotton blend skirt and wondered for the seventh time on her walk over to Adrien’s dormitory if she should’ve worn pants instead. She wanted to look pretty but maybe she was trying too hard. They were just supposed to be studying today. She fished her phone out of her purse and frowned. She was out of time now. Hopefully Adrien wouldn’t think she was trying to be...

Marinette actually wasn’t even sure what signal she was afraid to send but she hoped she wasn't sending it.

She felt butterflies take over her stomach as she found the right door. There was a dirty dry erase board with Adrien and Nino’s names at the top and random bits of half-missing notes written in blue. Marinette spotted Alya’s name and couldn’t help but look for signs of any other girls. There was a Leighanna and a Jillian. “Don’t be that person,” she reprimanded. She raised her hand to knock and was startled when Adrien opened the door before she could.

“You’re here! Come in.” He stepped back and gestured to the room. “Um, there’s my desk chair or...or the bed. So just make yourself comfortable wherever.”

Marinette flushed and stepped into the room, glancing between the bed and desk. “Well, we could spread out on the bed.”

Adrien nodded quickly and closed the door. “Sure, yeah, that works.”

“Have you had a nice day so far?”

“Better now,” he grinned, grabbing his laptop and moving to the corner of his bed that was pushed against his desk. He leaned back against the wall. “How’s yours been?”

“Pretty uneventful.” Marinette pulled out her economics textbook. “I may have slept in a bit.”

“Dreaming of me?” Adrien waggled his eyebrows before his cheeks turned pink and he ducked his head. “Sorry, that was really dumb.”

“But true,” she winked, delighted to see his blush darken. “What are you working on?”

“Lesson plans. I have a tutoring session later so I need to get ready for it.”

Marinette felt a slight twinge of disappointment that they wouldn’t be spending the entire day together but she quickly stamped it down.

“What about you?” Adrien nodded to her textbook.

“Econ. It’s one of those classes I really enjoy but I have to keep ahead of it or I get lost.”

“I had a literature class like that. I loved the stories, but I always needed a little more time to study them to see the themes and stuff that is important in a class like that.” He gave her a lopsided grin. “I didn’t really care about dissecting anything. I just really liked the stories.”

“Do you read a lot?”

Adrien frowned. “Not much right now. School work keeps me pretty busy and I haven’t been in the mood to read lately when I do have free time. Mostly me and Nino play video games to wind down.”

Marinette glanced at the nice television in the corner with a gaming console. “Maybe you and I could play sometime. I enjoy video games too.”

“Yeah?”

“Mmhmm.”

Adrien grinned. “Something to look forward to then.”

Marinette smiled and looked down at her textbook, trying to make herself concentrate on the words. Every once in the while she would look up and watch Adrien for a few moments. His lips moved silently as if he was talking to himself as he keyed things in. It was too cute and Marinette returned her attention to her studies before she could get caught.

“Are you hungry?”

As if on cue, Marinette’s stomach grumbled and she blushed. “I guess that answers that.”

“Is pizza okay? I can order us one. They have this great molten brownie thing too. Do you want that?”

“Anything is fine.”

Adrien gave her an amused look. “I’m afraid they don’t have curly fries. We might be breaking tradition.”

“Technically we didn’t have curly fries last night either,” Marinette pointed out.

“Ah, very true. May as well keep up our rebellious streak then!”

"Alya was right. You really are a huge dork."

He put a hand to his chest dramatically. "I'm wounded. Actually wounded."

"Somehow I think you'll survive."
_____________________________

“I’m really glad you came over today,” Adrien said, setting the empty pizza box on his desk. “To be honest, as soon as I started walking back here last night, I was tempted to call you and ask you if you wanted to come over for a movie. I didn’t want it to seem weird though.”

“Well, I did mention the movie first,” Marinette smiled.

“True,” he nodded. “You look really pretty. I meant to tell you that earlier but then I chickened out. I think pizza makes me brave.”

Marinette laughed in surprise, feeling her cheeks warm. “Thanks. You look really nice too.”

Adrien tugged on the green shirt. “This old thing? It was only the fifth one I tried on today. Nino made fun of me the whole time.”

“You chose well. It matches your eyes.”

“That's what I was going for," he replied shyly.

The air between them crackled with electricity and Marinette was suddenly hoping that her breath didn’t smell too much like pizza. She shifted, feeling very aware of her bare legs peeking out of the cotton skirt. She saw Adrien’s eyes darken as he leaned closer. Marinette’s eyes slid closed, feeling his breath on her face, when there was a knock on the door.

Adrien swore quietly and pulled back with an apologetic expression as he searched for his phone. “Crap. I totally lost track of time. That must be Jillian.” He looked over at Marinette. “The student I tutor,” he assured her before standing and answering the door. “Hey, Jillian. I’m just wrapping up with someone else if you want to go ahead and get set up at the desk.”

The girl who walked in was tall and gorgeous, smiling graciously at Adrien before narrowing her eyes at Marinette. Marinette took in a shaky breath as she slid off the bed and began to gather her things.

“Sorry,” Adrien said softly, joining her side and reaching for Marinette’s notebook to hand to her. “You’re welcome to stay but we may be a bit of distraction.”

“No, it’s fine. I should get back anyway. I need to do laundry tonight.”

Adrien bit his lip and nodded, handing her backpack to her. “Can I call you when I’m done?” he asked as they walked to the door. “It will be an hour or two. Unless you’re going to be busy?”

“Sure.” Marinette tried not to get her hopes up, but the thought of spending more of the day with Adrien was making her head feel light.

“Maybe you could come back over for the movie or some games or something?”

“That’d be nice.”

“Okay.” Adrien looked nervous for a split second and then he was leaning in, eyes sliding shut and surprising Marinette with a kiss.

She had to remind herself to breathe again as he pulled away, eyes bright. “Bye,” she squeaked, turning away with a breathy giggle and forcing herself to walk away at a normal pace. She glanced back to see Adrien leaning against the door frame with a goofy grin on his face.

Chapter Text

Marinette was going to concentrate. She was going to concentrate on her economics chapter and not check her phone for the fifth time in probably as many minutes. Concentrate. Concentrate. Concen--

Her phone buzzed and she jumped, grabbing it quickly.

Adrien: Hey! Jillian is doing a practice test right now so I wanted to check in and see if you still want to do something later. :)

She flushed, lips tingling all over again with the memory of Adrien kissing her.

Marinette: Are you sure you aren’t tired of me yet?

She stared at the unsent message with a frown. No, that sounded like she was looking for a compliment, which in all honesty she was, but no reason to seem too needy. She deleted the message and started again.

Marinette: I’d love to if you aren’t going to be too tired. I’m not really getting much studying done anyway.

There. That wasn’t too bad. Three dots immediately appeared and she felt giddiness bubbling in her chest. She’d never experienced this before, this exciting newness with someone. It almost made her feel lightheaded and it definitely made her feel happy.

Adrien: I was trying to come up with some charming line about tutoring you but it all sounded lame.

Marinette snorted, watching the dots blink as Adrien wrote more.

Adrien: I know I said you could come back here but would you want to get out and do something since we were here all day? There’s a nice coffee shop right off campus and they usually have live music on Sunday nights.

Marinette: That sounds perfect.

Adrien: Great! I’ll come by your building as soon as I get done. :)

She pushed her book away and stood, studying her reflection in the long mirror on her closet door. Would it be weird if she changed? And if she changed, should she put on something nicer or more casual? Adrien probably wouldn’t change so that would make it even more obvious.

She pulled her hair up into a high bun and wrapped a pink ribbon around it, letting the ends hang down the back of her neck. She freshened her eyeshadow and lipstick and sat back on the bed with a sigh. “And now I wait,” she murmured, reluctantly pulling her book back onto her lap.
_________________________

“Is my father doing his end of semester design contest thing?” Adrien stirred his coffee as a soft guitar melody played in the background of the small coffee house.

“He announced it Friday. It sounds like a big deal,” Marinette winced.

He rolled his eyes. “I mean, I guess it is. He likes to scare his students with it. He’s very proud of that, I think.”

“One of the girls in my class is retaking it from last year. She said she had a nervous breakdown and just didn’t show up for the last month because of the contest.”

“Good grief.” Adrien sat back in his chair with a shake of his head. “It’s design; it shouldn’t be that much pressure.”

“He said it has to be tough because the real fashion world is even worse.”

“And this is what you want to do?”

Marinette smiled, ducking her head. “I’m definitely giving it some thought now, but I do love creating things.”

“I bet you’re going to blow him away. He’ll probably have to ditch the contest after you win because no one else will ever be good enough,” Adrien grinned, leaning forward again.

“Stop, I’m not that good.”

“I bet you are. You’d have to be for him to let you in his class with late admission. I know my father’s standards and they’re a notch above high.”

She blushed and broke off a chunk of her cookie. “Okay, maybe I’m a little good.”

“Ah, there she is,” he teased. “I knew you had to have a little pride in there. I can even put in a good word for you, if you want.”

Marinette frowned. “No, please don’t do that.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “If I do well, I want it to be because of my designs, not for any other reason.”

Adrien’s expression melted into a mask of fondness. “Just when I thought I couldn’t like you any more than I already do.”

She felt her cheeks flame. She looked down at her plate with a smile. “You kissed me earlier.”

“I sure did.” His voice took on a hesitant tone. “Was that okay?”

“That depends.”

“On what?”

“If you’re planning on doing it again.”

“If you want me to, absolutely.”
_________________________

“This is my least favorite part,” Marinette admitted when they reached the front of her dorm. “The goodbye.”

“You haven’t gotten tired of me yet?” Adrien asked hopefully and she felt herself fall just a little further for him for having the same thought she did.

“Not even close.” She watched his cheeks darken as he attempted to hide his smile. Their faces were going to be sore tomorrow from all the smiling they’d done. “Do you have a busy Monday?”

“Yeah, unfortunately. I’m working until close after classes but if you came by for dinner, it’d definitely be on the house.”

“I’m going to need to find the campus gym if I keep hanging out with you,” she teased.

“I can show you were that is too,” he laughed. “I wouldn’t survive at work without it. I’m way too weak for the bacon cheeseburger.”

“Good to know,” she grinned, scuffing the toe of her ballet flat against the sidewalk.

Adrien stepped closer and set a tentative hand on her waist. She met his eyes for a brief moment and then they were kissing gently. It was much too short, in Marinette’s opinion, as she tried to follow his lips when he pulled away. Adrien gave her another quick kiss and stepped back.

“I can’t promise I’m not going to text you as soon as I get back to the room. Feel free to ignore me.”

“I would never,” she winked. “Have a good night, Adrien.”

“Sweet dreams, Marinette.”

Chapter Text

“You’re concentrating pretty hard on a blank sheet of paper,” Nino teased, wiping down the table to the left of Marinette.

She looked up at him with a sheepish expression. “I’m supposed to be doing my preliminary sketch ideas for a project but I can’t seem to get anything down.”

“I’m sure it has nothing to do with the blonde distraction at the counter.”

They both looked toward the front to see Adrien watching them with an almost anxious expression.

“He’s afraid I’m saying something embarrassing,” Nino nodded. “We’ll just let him think that. It’s good for his ego.”

Marinette laughed, covering her mouth as she did and shooting another quick look to Adrien. “That’s not very nice.”

Nino winked at her and gathered the leftover trash from the table on the tray and took it back to the counter. As if he was being tagged, as soon as Nino rounded the counter, Adrien left it to come toward her.

“How’s it going? Do you need anything?”

Marinette tried to curb the goofy smile she could feel taking over her face. “I’m good, thanks.”

“How are the curly fries?” he grinned.

“Delicious, of course.”

“I fried them myself.”

“I feel honored.”

Adrien looked back toward the counter with a sigh. “I have to get back. How much longer do you think you’ll hang out?”

“I should probably go back to my room actually. I’m not getting much done here,” she frowned, watching disappointment color his expression. “Maybe you can call me when you get off?”

“It’ll be pretty late.”

“I don’t mind.”

His smile brightened and he leaned down to press a quick kiss to her cheek. “I’ll talk to you soon then.”
___________________________

Adrien pulled out his phone as Nino locked the door. “My dad called.”

“That’s never good,” Nino murmured. “Did he leave a message?”

“Yeah.” Adrien frowned at his phone.

“Ignore it. It’s late.”

“What if it’s important?”

“When is it ever important, dude?”

Adrien worried his lip. “Maybe I’ll at least listen to the voicemail.”

Nino sighed. “You coming back to the dorm or heading off to see your lady love?”

“I might be there in a bit. You go ahead.” Adrien walked to one of the benches in front of the restaurant and sat down. He took a deep breath and pressed play.

“Adrien, it’s come to my attention that you are dating one of my students. This is a conflict and cannot continue. She needs to drop my course if you continue to date.”

The message ended without a goodbye or any other pleasantry. Adrien leaned back against the bench, long legs stretching out in front of him. He supposed he should’ve seen this coming. The previous year, one of the the students he’d been tutoring had been one of his father’s and Gabriel told the student to choose or be kicked out of the program. Ultimately, the student chose to stay with Gabriel only to fail the course anyway. Gabriel wasn’t a forgive and forget kind of person.

It didn’t help that Adrien had completely rejected Gabriel’s plans for him following in his footsteps. Gabriel’s ultimately failed fashion empire was already a sore subject and that definitely hadn’t won him any favors. He felt his frown grow deeper. He really liked Marinette and she really liked him and his father was being an asshole. Maybe he could talk to him and make him realize he couldn’t act like a spoiled toddler.

Adrien wasn’t sure how long he sat on the bench in front of the dark restaurant, memories of past conflicts with his father popping up one after the other. When he tried to check the time, he realized his phone was dead. He pushed himself up, the temptation to still try to see Marinette almost too great to ignore. He wasn’t sure how to get a hold of her without his phone though and the main door to her building would be locked this late.

Head down, he started the trek across campus, the joy from seeing Marinette earlier all but dissipated.
___________________________

Marinette finally changed into her pajamas, feeling more than a little disappointed. She washed her face and brushed her teeth and ignored her roommate’s snide remarks as she slid into her bed and turned off her light.

Obviously it was possible something had come up and Adrien hadn’t been able to call. Things happened sometime. She shouldn’t let herself get into such a sour mood about it, but...

But.

She furrowed her brow, staring at the dim wall next to her head. He did say he was going to call. He could’ve at least texted. Maybe she was being too needy or something. They had seen each other every day the past week. He seemed to be as into her as she felt about him, but maybe they needed some space. She needed to concentrate on the design contest anyway. This could be a good thing.

Marinette cuddled her cat plush closer and closed her eyes, the giddy feeling she’d had every night recently nowhere to be found.

Chapter Text

A bad night of sleep, a broken mascara wand that had only been a week old, and an unexplainable stain on her favorite shirt had Marinette in a bad mood before Wednesday even had a chance to begin.

“I’m not texting him,” she thought to herself as she forced her hair into a sloppy bun on top of her head. “If he wants to talk to me, he can just take time out of his busy schedule and message me first.”

Her slight disappointment from the night before had ballooned into full-on anger after being compiled with everything else in her bad morning. A small voice in the back of her head told her she was being unreasonable about Adrien but she stuffed it down and wrapped her indignation around her like a security blanket.

She threw her phone in her purse without looking at it and stomped down the stairs of her dormitory because of course the elevator wasn’t working. She pushed open the door to the building with unnecessary force and stopped short when she saw Adrien sitting on the short brick wall in front of it. He held up a cup of coffee and a paper bag with a sheepish smile.

“Can I start your day off with something as sweet and sugary as you?”

Marinette experienced a split second of trying to hold onto her anger but it evaporated in a puff as she moved closer to the offered coffee. “Thanks. I needed this today.”

He nodded and watched her lean against the brick wall beside him, noting the space she left between them. “I’m sorry I didn’t call last night. I got a really annoying call from my dad and then my phone died and it was late.”

“It’s okay,” she answered instantly and realized that it actually was. She’d let her insecurities and disappointment turn into misdirected anger. “I’m sorry you had an annoying phone call.”

Adrien nodded again, rolling his lip under. “Yeah. I’ll figure it out. You look really nice, by the way. I like your hair up like that. Can I walk you to class?”

Marinette felt her cheeks warm. “Sure.”
____________________________

“Still no preliminary sketches,” Gabriel noted, eyeing Marinette’s empty sketchbook page as he moved through the desks. “You’re already behind, Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

“I know, Mr. Agreste. I’m working on it.”

“Perhaps if you didn’t spend so many late hours out socializing, you would have more time for the important things.” He walked to the next table without a backward glance and Marinette gripped her pencil so tightly that it creaked under the pressure.

“Is it true you’re dating his son?”

Marinette blinked in surprise as she looked up from her sketchbook. Her tablemate wore a suspicious expression. “We’ve been hanging out, yeah.”

The guy rolled his eyes. “You’re screwed if you thought that would help. Daddy Dreadful doesn’t like any of his students interacting with Adrien in any way.”

“Why?”

“It’s the unspoken rule.” He raised a single eyebrow. “At least I’ll have more room to spread out when you flunk the class for undisclosed reasons.” He eyed her sketchbook. “Or for obvious ones.”

Marinette glanced across the table at his sketches for a moment before returning her attention to her page. “Having nothing is better than thinking rehashing tired ideas from three season ago will work but you do you, I guess. Let’s see who goes down in flames first, hmm?”
____________________________

“Wow, you have super intense face on,” Alya commented, taking a seat beside Marinette. “Am I going to bother you if I hang out and wait for Nino to get out of class?”

“You’re fine,” Marinette muttered, sparing a quick glance up. “I thought of something and didn’t want to lose it.” She frowned and picked up her eraser, smudging away a stray line from an elegant dress design.

“These look awesome. Are they for Asshole Agreste’s class?”

Marinette couldn’t hide her smile. “Yeah. I’ve been coming up blank ever since we got the assignment but today has been just one of those super annoying days and I think something finally snapped for me. I haven’t been able to sketch fast enough.”

“That’s good!”

“Yeah, we’ll see.”

“What’s made today annoying?”

Marinette put her pencil down and bit back the immediate retort that came to mind. Alya was making an effort to be her friend and she could use more friends. “I woke up feeling kinda blah about some stuff and then it was things going wrong one after another. Nothing big, just a lot of little stuff piling up.”

“I hate those days,” Alya comisserated. “I had one last week. Started my period four days early and ruined my jeans in the middle of three back-to-back classes across campus.”

“The worst.”

“Right?” She watched Marinette begin to sketch again, this time on a suit. “You know who would look really great in that outfit?”

Marinette flushed but continued to work. “Adrien?”

“Ooo, girl, look at you designing for him already,” she teased. “That’s really cute.”

“Don’t tell him, okay? It’s weird but it helps me visualize.”

“Listen, you visualize me in one of those gorgeous dresses sometime and we’ve got a deal.”

Marinette grinned. “I can do that.”
____________________________

With pages full of possible designs, Marinette felt confident and decided to take that feeling for a drive. She made her way through the campus to Adrien’s dorm and jauntily knocked on his door.

“Who is it?” his voice called from inside after a long pause. He sounded tired and less than enthused about someone interrupting him.

Marinette felt the temptation to quickly walk away creep up but held her ground. “Marinette.”

There was a thump and a groan and then the door was being wrenched open. “Hi,” Adrien said with a small smile.

“Are you okay?”

“I am now. Do you want to come in?” He opened the door wider and she moved past him, taking a seat on the edge of his bed.

“I probably should’ve called first, but I--”

“My afternoon has been really awful and you being at my door makes it all feel one hundred times better so please don’t apologize.” He flopped down on the bed and leaned against the headboard. “How are you?”

“I’m good. I was finally able to get some sketches done for my project so I’m feeling a lot better about it.”

“That’s great.”

“Why was your afternoon bad?”

He waved a hand. “It’s nothing. I’ll figure it out.”

“That’s what you said earlier.”

“What?”

“That you’d figure it out,” Marinette replied. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Adrien sighed heavily. “No, but we probably should.”

“Your dad doesn’t like me.”

Adrien gaped. “Did he say that to you?!”

“Not in so many words but I’m guessing that’s what it is,” she shrugged. “I read between the lines. And a classmate said it was the unspoken rule that no one was supposed to interact with you or something like that.”

He rolled his eyes. “It would be. Look, I’m going to talk to him. He’s being unreasonable.”

“Why?”

“He says you can’t be in his class and date me. It has nothing to do with you but that’s what he’ll try to say.” He didn’t quite meet her eyes. “I understand if you feel uncomfortable being in the middle of a family squabble though. This between us is still new and you’re wanting to go into fashion so if you would rather call things off, I understand.”

“I don’t need your dad’s approval to go into fashion, Adrien,” Marinette said after a few moments. “If it doesn’t work out, I’ll find another way.”

“I can’t ask you to do that.”

“You aren’t, are you?”

Adrien frowned. “Well, no, but I still feel responsible.”

“You shouldn’t. I’m making my own decision. Besides, I’m not dropping the class or anything. If he wants to say something to me about it, he can.”

“He might make things unpleasant.”

“You mean this hasn’t been him being unpleasant?” Marinette teased. “Don’t worry about it.”

He reached out for her and Marinette shyly took his hand, letting him pull her down the bed to rest her cheek against his chest. “You’re really amazing, Mari. Did you know that?”

“I was just being honest.”

“Do you want to hang out for a while? Nino isn’t staying here tonight.”

Marinette heard the unspoken question in his words and felt a nervous thrill of excitement. “Sure,” she answered, feeling her cheeks heat up. “I’d love to.”

Chapter Text

“It’s pretty late,” Adrien yawned as the movie credits scrolled up his laptop screen.

Marinette blinked sleepily and tried to rouse herself. “Yeah, I should probably get back to my dorm.”

“Or, uh, you could stay here if you want?” Adrien sat up with her. “You could have my bed and I could sleep in Nino’s.”

“I can’t take your bed.” Marinette suddenly felt very awake as she shifted to look at him.

“I don’t mind, really. You can borrow some sweats too if you want although they may be kinda long. Maybe some shorts instead?” He stood and went to the open closet on the other side of the room, sliding open a drawer.

“My dorm isn’t that far away, you know.”

He paused in rifling through his clothes. “I can walk you back if you want me to.”

“Shorts would probably be better.” She stood and stretched, trying to act calm even though her heart felt like it was going to beat right out of her chest. She saw Adrien smile and pull a pair of red athletic shorts out of the drawer.

“I think this is my shortest pair.”

“So they’ll probably be capris on me,” she laughed. “Is it okay to go in the bathroom?”

Adrien stepped in front of the other door with a startled expression. “Uh, just a minute. Let me make sure the other door is locked so our suitemates can’t walk in on you and that it’s not too gross or anything.”

Marinette shifted her weight anxiously as she waited, listening to things thump and move in the bathroom. She wanted to call out that he didn’t need to clean it just for her to change clothes but she would’ve been the same way if he was staying overnight in her room. Besides, it felt nice to have him so flustered about it.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she felt another blush race across her cheeks. Nothing was going to happen obviously. Things were still way too new for that and she wasn’t ready but...but maybe they would kiss. A lot. Maybe she would be brave and tell him they could share the small twin bed even though she’d gotten hot and sweaty while watching the movie from being crammed together on the limited space. It might be worth it though, getting to see what it was like sleeping beside him.

The bathroom door opened again and Adrien appeared with a sheepish grin. “Sorry. It’s still not great but I live with slobs.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.” She brushed past him and he caught her hand, giving it a quick squeeze.

“I’m really glad you’re staying,” he said softly.

She bit her lip and nodded. “Me too.” And before she could say something embarrassing, she escaped into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Adrien circled the room aimlessly. He could go ahead and get in Nino’s bed but what if that sent the wrong message? Or was that the right message to send? He should really text Nino to make sure he wasn’t coming back. He grabbed his phone from the desk and saw another missed call from his father.

“Screw you,” he murmured, ignoring it to pull up his messages with Nino.

Adrien: You aren’t coming back tonight, right?

Nino: I don’t know yet. Why?

Nino: Wait.

Nino: WAIT.

Nino: Do you have a certain curly fry-loving girl in our room? Do we need to have a sex talk?

Adrien: I hate you so much right now. Are you coming back or not?

He let out a loud sigh as a message from Alya popped up on his screen.

Alya: I like her so don’t screw this up, Sunshine.

Adrien: Your confidence in me is really uplifting. Thanks.

Alya: I’ll let this nerd stay here. You guys have fun ;)

Adrien fumbled his phone guiltily when Marinette stepped out of the bathroom. “Do they fit okay?” he asked, voice cracking.

Marinette nodded and pulled on the knotted drawstring. “They’re great, thank you.”

“Good, good.”

They both stood awkwardly for a moment before Adrien cleared his throat and gestured to his bed. “So, uh, you can sleep here if you want.”

Marinette ducked her head shyly. “Would you want to, uh, sleep there too?”

“Yeah,” he swallowed with a quick nod. “That’d be cool.”

Adrien turned off the lights and they slid under the covers carefully, getting into a similar position they’d been in while watching the movie on his laptop. He held her close and Marinette listened to his heart hammer in his chest.

“Thanks for staying,” he said again, voice barely a whisper.

“Thanks for asking me too,” she replied quietly.

“Please tell me if this creeps you out and I will reign it in but I...” He trailed off for a second. His skin felt too hot like he was on fire everywhere he touched Marinette. “I want to spend every second I can with you. If it gets to be too much or you need a break or something, please let me know, okay?”

“I kinda want to spend every second with you too so it works out,” Marinette whispered, burying her face against his chest.

He pulled her closer with a relieved sigh. “I’m sorry my father is being such a dick. I’m going to talk to him again.”

She wasn’t expecting the conversation to turn to Gabriel when her mind had been somewhere entirely different where the older man was not even a thought. She turned her face up as if to look at Adrien even though the room was mostly dark and she could only make out his profile. “Would it help if he got to know me outside the classroom?”

“What, like go to dinner with him or something?” Adrien asked skeptically.

“Maybe.”

“I don’t know. He’s really hard-headed. It might not be worth the effort. And I wouldn’t want him to say anything rude to you.”

“I can take care of myself.”

“I know.” Adrien rubbed his thumb along her upper arm and was pleased when he felt Marinette shiver under his touch. “But I don’t even want to give him the chance.”

“You can’t exactly keep us apart. He’s the head of the department for my major.”

“I know,” he repeated and his tone held frustration.

Marinette turned further in his arms, determined to look at him for all the good it did. “We could at least try. Honestly, it makes me a little nervous to think about but we could give it a shot and if he still wants to be difficult, we’ll just ignore him.”

“It might give him more reason to make the course hard on you,” Adrien warned.

“Believe me, he isn’t making it easy as it is.”

“And I hate that.”

“I wish you wouldn’t keep acting like any of this is your fault. If he wants to act like a whiny baby because we’re,” Marinette took a deep breath and powered on, “dating, there isn’t anything we can do about it.”

“You’re kind of amazing. You know that, right?”

“You’ve told me once or twice,” she smiled, pressing her cheek to his chest again. “You are too. You’re doing what you want to do even though he isn’t thrilled about it.”

“I’ll talk to him tomorrow but I’m not making any promises about dinner.”

“That’s fine,” Marinette nodded, her words breaking with a yawn.

“We should get some sleep.”

“Mmhmm.” Part of her brain cried out for the injustice of cuddling up next to the handsome man beside her without any kissing but the sleepy part of her mind won out. There would always be time for kissing in the morning, after they brushed their teeth, of course.

“Hey, um, you said we’re dating.”

Marinette blinked against the sleep trying to take her under. “Mmm, I did?”

“Good. I wanted to say we were but wasn’t sure.”

She let out a tired half-laugh and cuddled in closer.

“Goodnight, Marinette.” Adrien kissed the top of her head, his lips lingering longer than necessary. “I’m glad you’re here.”

Chapter Text

“Did you know you make this cute little humming sound when you’re waking up?”

Marinette groaned and buried her face in Adrien’s shirt, feeling his chest rumble with soft laughter.

“It’s cute!”

“I’m going to die.”

“Don’t die. I would be lonely and sad and who would I eat curly fries with?”

She squinted up at him, nose scrunching. “I see what you’re really keeping me around for, buddy.”

“Ah, should I make it more worthwhile then?” Adrien’s eyes darkened and he tilted his face down towards hers.

Marinette squeaked and squirmed away with a hand over her mouth. She tried to get out of the bed but her legs tangled in the sheets and suddenly she was landing on the hardwood of the floor with a painful thump.

“Holy cats! Are you okay?!” Adrien slid to the side of the bed with wide eyes.

“Would it be a turn on to say this isn’t the first time I’ve done this?” she grimaced as she rubbed her hip.

He laughed in surprise and stood, offering her a hand up. “Now I know how terrifying I must be first thing in the morning to cause you to want to flee.”

Marinette took his hand, cheeks flaming. “I was afraid my breath smelled bad and now I’m realizing I don’t have a toothbrush here.”

“I have an extra toothbrush.”

“Really?”

“My stepmom always made sure new ones were in my drawer at home to change out every other month and I guess I kinda picked up the habit. You’re welcome to it, if you want.”

“Thanks, I’d appreciate that.” She followed him to the sink and vanity and watched as he rummaged in a basket underneath.

“Looks like I only have blue and green right now.” He held out both toothbrushes for her to choose, smiling when she took the green one. “I’ll make sure to pick up a pink one next time I shop. Pink is your favorite color, right?”

“You don’t need to do that,” she blushed.

“I like to be prepared,” he grinned as he grabbed his own toothbrush from the drawer and offered the toothpaste to her. “And I’d like to hope you’ll stay over again.”

It was a surreal experience, standing beside Adrien in his room as they both watched each other brush their teeth in the mirror. Their cheeks were red and eyes bright and there was the unspoken knowledge that they were brushing their teeth right out of bed for a very specific reason.

The spitting part was a bit uncomfortable and there were a few awkward moments where they stood beside the bed waiting on each other to make the next move and then Adrien was pulling Marinette close to him with a soft murmur of her name and their lips were meeting and all of the awkwardness slid away as the universe clicked into place.

Marinette wasn’t sure when they sat on the edge of the bed but she definitely knew when they were sliding down to lie beside each other as they kissed. She let herself run her fingers into his hair and felt him smile against her lips when she did. He held her close and rubbed a trail along her spine over her shirt with one hand.

Time didn’t exist and Marinette found it easy to ignore the increasingly brighter room as the sun rose higher and the morning grew later. She pressed herself closer to Adrien, felt his grip tighten around her with a soft gasp of breath, and she gathered her courage to move again when the dorm room door opened with a laugh.

“A note, a sock, a text? You could’ve done literally any of those things to tell me I still needed to stay away, dude.” Nino walked in and dropped his bag beside his bed without looking over at them. “I have to shower. Alya’s roommate was taking too long. Don’t mind me; just keep on doing that funky horizontal disco.”

Marinette slid further down into the bed with a squeak, burrowing under the covers to hide.

“Good morning, Marinette,” Nino sang cheerfully before disappearing into the bathroom with a laugh.

“Don’t worry, I’ll kill him,” Adrien promised as he squeezed her arm comfortingly.
________________________

Nothing could bring Marinette’s mood down, not even the increasingly sour look on Gabriel Agreste’s face as he circled the room to check on his students’ project progress. She braced herself for a scathing comment but he simply glanced at her sketches and continued moving. She was tempted to text Adrien with her win for the day but didn’t want to call victory before the end of class.

“Miss Dupain-Cheng, I’d like you to stay behind today please.”

Marinette ignored her tablemate’s smug expression as he packed his bag and left the room with the rest of her classmates. She took her time packing up her things, not willing to make eye contact with Gabriel until strictly necessary.

“My son has requested that we have dinner together so I have a chance to get to know you outside of the classroom.”

She finally finished situating her things and looked up at him. “Yes, he told me he would be asking you.”

“I assume this means you two are moving towards something more serious.”

“We’re dating, yes.”

Gabriel studied her for a moment. “If you think that this will garner you any favors in this class, you’re very much mistaken.”

“I would like to think my work will speak for itself and I won’t have need of any favors,” she answered back, voice only wavering slightly as her courage faltered.

“That’s to be seen.” He pursed his lips. “You can go.”

Marinette nodded and grabbed her things, making as quick an escape as she could manage.
________________________

“So?” Nino leaned back in his chair.

Adrien didn’t look up from his book. “I’m not doing this.”

“Come on, man, I don’t want, like, graphic details, but I’ve been around since the first meeting and I’ve never seen you hung up on a girl like this. You’ve gotta give me something,” he grinned.

“No.”

“So you shared a bed, huh? How was that?”

Adried tried not to smile. “Aren’t you supposed to be working on that track that’s been giving you trouble?”

“Right now, I’m supposed to be asking my best friend how his night with the girl he’s been so into was.” Nino reached for a bag of chips and opened it with a popping sound. “Have you guys made things official or you still trying to play casual even though you’re head over heels for her?”

“She said we’re dating.” Adrien dropped his book in his lap. “She’s so amazing, Nino. I think I love her.”

“How about you pump the brakes there, Romeo.”

“I know. It’s too soon.”

“Yeah.”

“But she just makes me feel so...” He trailed off with a smile. “I don’t know, better than I’ve ever felt. And she’s just so smart and fiesty? Maybe feisty isn’t the right word. Gorgeous though. She’s definitely gorgeous. And she does this cute little thing with her nose when she’s embarrassed and...and I’m going to stop talking.”

“You’ve got it bad,” Nino teased.

“Shut up.”

“I’m really happy for you, dude. It’s nice to see you actually into someone and not just being chased by coeds who are bad at science.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

“You are.”

“She really is great though, right?”

“Yeah, man,” Nino smiled. “She really is great.”

Chapter Text

You’re going to look beautiful in whatever you choose.” Adrien joined her in front of the small dorm room closet and wrapped his arms around her middle. “I’m sorry for teasing.”

“No you aren’t.”

“I am a little bit.” He kissed her cheek. “What about the black dress?”

She scrunched her nose. “It’s kind of sexy. I don’t think it’s right for a ‘meet the parent’ type of dinner.”

“Sexy, huh? And again I say, what about the black dress?”

“You’re trouble.” She reached back to poke his side with her thumb and he released her with a laugh. “Do you think maybe instead the black one with the pink flowers would be okay?”

“I think it’ll be perfect.”

“Are you going to say that about every dress I pick out?”

He pursed his lips and gave her a serious look. “Most likely, yes.”

“Now I can see why you didn’t have a future in fashion,” she teased.

“Hey!”

Marinette pulled the hanger out and studied the dress. “Yeah, I think this one is our winner.”

“That’s good because we need to leave in about ten minutes.”

She gave him a frantic stare. “Why didn’t you say anything sooner?!” She tore into the bathroom and slammed the door. “I thought we still had plenty of time!”

Adrien went to lean against the wall by the bathroom door. “You’re fine. If we’re late, we’re late.”

“Adrien!”

“It’ll be fine,” he insisted, moving away from the wall to look at her desk. “Hey, is this a picture of your family?”

There was a pause and the ruffling of fabric from behind the door. “The frame with the really big guy and really tiny lady?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, that’s them.”

“They look nice.” The question of when she want want to introduce him to her family drifted across his mind and he tucked it away for further thought later.

“They are.” There was a loud thump followed by a groan. “I’m okay,” she exclaimed. “Just need to do my makeup really quick.”

“Take your time.” He moved onto the bulletin board above the desk and examined the pictures. “Hey, we should take some pictures together tonight.”

The bathroom door opened and a flustered Marinette appeared. “What?”

“We don’t have any pictures together. We should take some.” He turned to look at her as she stumbled around trying to pull up the strap on her high heel. “You look gorgeous.”

“I look like a hot mess.”

“A very, very hot mess,” he grinned. He went to her and steadied her by the waist. “Do you maybe want to skip this and just go out, the two of us?”

Marinette frowned. “I thought we wanted to see if this would help your dad like me better?”

“He’s going to be an ass,” Adrien groaned. “I know it and you know it and why don’t we just forget the whole thing?”

She faltered. “Is that really what you want to do?”

He slumped slightly and stepped away. “Yes, but we should probably go anyway.”
______________________________

“Marinette, I noticed you haven’t signed up for the extra studio hours to work on your project.” Gabriel cut into his grilled chicken with a sour expression. “It isn’t a wise decision to overlook such an opportunity.”

Adrien tried not to outwardly sigh. “Father, maybe we can table any school talk for tonight.”

“I don’t mind explaining.” Marinette reached under the table for his hand and squeezed it. “I’ve found that the studio isn’t all that inspiring to me during class time so I doubt that would change with extra hours. I’m also not exactly fond of some of the interactions I have in there. They cloud my mind and I would rather choose another location better conductive to my designing.”

Gabriel raised an eyebrow but nodded in her direction. “As long as you have logical reasoning for it.”

“I do. My designs are coming along nicely so I’m not worried.”

Adrien looked between them anxiously and tried to think of a direction to steer the conversation that wouldn’t end in his father getting huffy or his girlfriend’s feelings getting hurt. “I’ve taken on some more students for tutoring so that’s been nice.”

“It’s a shame they allow so many low-performing individuals into that establishment to begin with.” Gabriel took a long sip of his wine. “It isn’t your responsibility to help them learn.”

“Well, as their tutor, it kind of is,” Adrien offered with a weak smile. “And I don’t mind it really. I enjoy helping people understand physics.”

“To what end, Adrien?”

“What do you mean?”

“Once you graduate with your degree, what could you possibly hope to do with it?” Gabriel set down his knife and fork to give his son an unimpressed stare. “Surely you don’t think you’ll become some sort of scientist.”

Adrien tried not to squirm as he forced out a chuckle. “My goals aren’t nearly that loftly, Father. I want to be a teacher.”

“A teacher.”

Marinette smiled and squeezed his hand again. “You’d be a great teacher.” She caught the disgusted look on Gabriel’s face and pasted a sweet smile on her own. “After all, the world could definitely use more great teachers. Don’t you agree, Mr. Agreste?” She blinked once, keeping her eyes wide and full of innocent query.

He cleared his throat. “Yes, of course.”

Chapter Text

“Well, we survived.” Marinette leaned against Adrien as they walked back though campus. “I’m not sure that my feet will survive but overall, this still feels like a win.”

He looked down at her high heels. “Want me to carry you?”

“If I didn’t think you’d fold like a bad suit after a few steps, I’d say yes,”she teased. “I might break you.”

“Ah, see, now you’re judging a book by its cover. I may be a physics nerd but I’m also buff and strong.” Adrien flexed in an exaggerated manner and wore a pleased grin when his girlfriend laughed. “You have no idea how heavy the bags of frozen curly fries are.”

“Please forgive me. I didn’t mean to insult your buff strength,” she giggled and held onto his arm tighter. “How do you feel like things went?”

He shrugged. “As good as they could go, I guess. He wasn’t too awful so that was a plus. I don’t think he even made a server cry. It might be a first. There are so many restaurants I’m afraid to go back to because he made a scene.”

“He does give off a very dramatic vibe.”

“You have no idea.”

“And it seems that he might not completely hate me,” she added. “So I’m thinking that’s good. We were civil and everything even though I tried to very pointedly tell him he’s an awful teacher.

“Yeah, that was definitely not subtle,” he laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him react so calmly to something like that.”

“This was a victory.”

“Low bar,” Adrien noted.

“Have to start somewhere.”

“I suppose.” Adrien scuffed the toe of his shoe against the concrete as they came to a stop in front of Marinette’s dorm. “I really can’t wait until next semester when I have a place off campus and can just invite you back without worrying if Nino’s there.”

“Already planning ahead, huh?” She felt herself blush and ducked her head. “It will be cool when you have an apartment. I’m a little jealous actually.”

“Are you going to visit me a lot?” He put his arms around her waist and held her close.

“We’ll just have to see, won’t we?” Marinette tilted her head back to look up at him and everything just felt right. She was happy and comfortable but there was still that exciting feeling of not quite knowing what would happen with Adrien that kept her on her toes. “We never took our picture.”

He frowned. “Oh yeah. I guess I got distracted with dinner. Do you want to take one now?”

“It might not come out with it so dark out here.”

Adrien released her and took her hand to lead her over to the street lamp just out from the building. “Let’s try anyway; we’re way overdue.”

She got her phone out and fixed the camera and gave it to him to hold out since he had longer arms. A fake picture smile fell into place and Adrien took a few shots before tickling her side and making her laugh. He finally relented and brought the phone back down to look at the pictures.

“There we go,” he nodded in a satisfied manner. “That’s your real smile.”

Marinette looked down at the picture on the screen. She looked ridiculous with her eyes squeezed shut in laughter and her cheeks too red but the look on Adrien’s face caused her breath to catch in her throat. He wasn’t looking at the camera, but at her, and his expression was full of fondness and...

She loved him.

She was in love with him.

The realization startled her and she fumbled the phone. Adrien caught it before it fell and he let out an amused chuckle. “Come on, I don’t look that bad in this one,” he said. “You’re beautiful though. I love your smile so much.”

“I love...” Marinette swallowed hard and looked down at the phone, “your hair.”

Adrien blinked in surprise and ran his free hand through his hair in a nervous gesture. “Oh, uh, thanks.”

“Yeah, so, um, I better get upstairs. I’m pretty tired.” She took the phone from him and slipped it into her purse.

“Do you want me to walk you up?”

She took a few steps back and stumbled when her heel caught on a crack in the concrete. Adrien caught her and she fell against his chest with an embarrassed huff. “I’m okay.” She pushed away from him gently and couldn’t bring herself to meet his eyes. “Um, I had a nice time at dinner and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait, can you send me those pictures?”

“Sure, I’ll do it when I get upstairs.” She hurried to the door before he could stop her and half turned to glance back at him. “Good night!”
_____________________________

Adrien watched her slip into the building as confusion gnawed at him. He waved but he doubted she saw him as she quickly disappeared from sight. He wasn’t sure what happened. Everything had been going really well and then after the picture...

Maybe he was being too obvious about his feelings and it scared her, but he couldn’t seem to help himself when he was around her.

He was absolutely in love with her.

Chapter Text

“Can I talk to you as my friend and not as Adrien’s friend?”

Alya took in Marinette’s frantic eyes, rumbled clothes, and sloppy ponytail. “It sure looks like you need to. What’s going on, girl?”

She looked around to make sure they were mostly alone in the student center and then covered her face as she sank down in the chair beside her friend. “I’m in love with him,” she groaned.

“I’m hoping you mean Adrien.”

“Of course I mean Adrien.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Marinette dragged her palms down her face so she could peek through her fingers. “it’s way too soon, isn’t it? He’s going to think I’m crazy. I think I’m crazy! We just started dating.”

Alya laughed. “If you think that boy hasn’t been head over heels for you since day one, you’re denser than he is.”

Her hands slid down a little more to rest under her chin. “Really?”

“Oh, please. He’s been falling over himself trying to be with you since you showed up asking for curly fries,” Alya grinned. “Believe me, I have inside intel.”

Marinette visibly relaxed. “That’s...that actually makes me feel a lot better. I mean, I knew he liked me but this felt a little more intense than just liking someone.”

“So what prompted this sudden realization that you’re crazy in the head for him?”

“This.” She opened her phone and slid it across the table to show Alya the picture they’d taken the night before.

“Oh, good grief, Agreste, why don’t you look a little more lovesick?”

Marinette squeaked and Alya grinned at her.

“This really is a great picture. So what happened after you took it?”

“I saw it and lost my mind and made an idiot of myself while trying to escape into my dorm.”

“And I’m guessing you’ve been avoiding him so far today?”

Her hands came back up to cover her face once more. “Guilty,” she mumbled. “He’s texted and called.”

Alya yanked on her arms until her hands fell. “Then go to his dorm and see him. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have any classes right now. You guys need to talk so you’ll stop freaking out.”

“I need to go change first. I look awful.”

“Believe me when I say he won’t care at all.”

Marinette slumped a little in relief. “Can I call you my best friend because I’m pretty sure you’re my best friend.”

“I’d be honored,” Alya grinned, pulling her into a hug.
___

Marinette stood in front of Adrien’s door and took in a deep breath before knocking. There was a pause and then Adrien called out from the other side.

“Who is it?”

She was tempted to tuck tail and run but she tried to stand strong. “Marinette.”

“Hang on, I’m coming!”

She giggled when the door flew open and he gave her a big dopey smile. “Hi.”

“Hi.”

“Wanna come in?”

She nodded and moved past him. “Sorry I’ve been a little unavailable today.”

Adrien picked up the few loose articles of clothing on his side of the room and tossed them in the hamper. “It’s okay. I thought you might be busy.”

“I was avoiding you actually.”

He turned around and blinked. “Oh, um...did I do something wrong?”

Marinette inhaled sharply. “I’m in love with you.”

Adrien stared at her, still frozen in place. “I’m in love with you too.”

“Oh, okay, good. I’m...that’s good to know.”

“Yeah. So that’s the first time we’ve said that.”

“Yep.”

They both laughed and Adrien closed the distance between them. “Is that what last night was about?”

“I think it just surprised me and then I didn’t know how to process it,” she admitted and snuggled into his hug. “Sorry. I can be a spaz sometimes.”

“But a really cute one.” He tugged gently on her ponytail. “What are you doing now?”

“Feeling silly about making such a big deal about this.”

“Do you want to feel silly with me and stay and watch a movie or something?”

She pulled back to look up at him. “Don’t you have work?”

Adrien raised his hand and coughed pointedly into it. “I don’t think I’m feeling the best.”

“That’s lying, mister.”

“It’ll just be this once. This is a pretty big day for us. I think we deserve this.”

“You’re trouble.”

“I have all A’s and I’m a teacher’s assistant and a tutor and I have a job. Please let me take some time off of all of that to spend the night with my beautiful girlfriend who just made my life infinitely better by telling me she loves me,” Adrien pleaded with a teasing look in his eyes.

Marinette’s resolve crumbled and she leaned into Adrien. “At least I’m already in my cozy clothes.”

“You do look very cozy,” he agreed. “And cute and beautiful and amazing and so pretty and--”

She reached up to cover his mouth. “You drive a hard bargain, but I think we have a deal.”

Adrien kissed her palm before pulling down. “Goodness, I love you.”