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His heart hammered in his chest when he glanced at her and saw her bright smile and soft wave. Despite it being a chilly September morning, he felt himself grew as warm as a day in mid-July. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, with big, infinitely blue eyes. Marinette Dupain-Cheng with a smile that would power the City of Lights. Marinette Dupain-Cheng the girls he was in-- uh, the girl he had a crush on.
Adrien Agreste won't admit he's in love. Because he isn't! Sure, he's liked Marinette for three years and would do anything to make sure she was happy and safe, but he didn't love her. It was just a crush. That's all. Nothing more, nothing less.
Plagg snickered in his shirt, bringing him back to reality. He hadn't realized he'd stopped walking to stare. When Nino put his hand on his shoulder and started talking again, Adrien's legs kicked back into action and they started to walk once again.
It wasn't until that night, lying away in his bed and staring at the ceiling, that Adrien thought back to that brief morning moment. His rolled on his side, face as red as a tomato, "Did you see the way she smiled Plagg?"
"Yeah, it was just like every other day." Plagg popped another piece of Camembert into his mouth, clearly unamused.
"But it was bigger and brighter than usual, and she was there at school on time. I wonder what got her in such a good mood."
"I dunno, kid, you could text her and ask."
Adrien shot up in bed, warmer than he had already been. "T-text her? No, what if I mess up? Or maybe something I say sounds weird? Oh gosh--"
"Adrien, seriously, the only way she can possibly get to know you better is if you talk to her," Plagg said, much more serious than he usually would be. Since when was Plagg ever serious?
Slowly, a plan made its way into Adrien's mind, a grin playing at his lips. "There is a way I can talk to her..."
Plagg shook his head, eyes narrowed, "Adrien, no."
Adrien smirked, "Adrien, yes." He paused for a second, contemplating how much cheese he would offer. "I'll give you one round of Camembert," Plagg shook his head, "Two?"
Plagg hovered next to Adrien, who stared at him with hopeful eyes. "Ugh, fine."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Adrien hugged Plagg to his cheek, who wriggled out of his embrace with his arms crossed.
Not much later, Chat Noir landed on Marinette's balcony, finding it empty. When he glanced around, he noticed the streets where empty as well. How had he not noticed? What time was it? He checked his baton for the time. It was half past midnight. Would Marinette even be awake?
But as he walked closer to the hatch leading into Marinette's room, he heard the whirring of a sewing machine and saw light peaking threw the crack between the hatch and balcony. Clearly, she was.
He knocked on the hatch, waiting as he heard the whirring stop then footsteps up a ladder. He heard a click, then the hatch opened to Marinette, an eyebrow quirked, big, Bluebell eyes staring into his, her hair down and hanging around her shoulders. He stumbled back a bit, despite the fact that he'd known she was coming, but he couldn't help it. She was so close.
"Oh, h-hey, Chat. What doing you are-- er, what're you doing?" A faint blush appeared at her cheeks. It was adorable.
What was he doing? "Just checking up on you, Princess. Can I come in? It's a little cold."
Marinette nodded, leaving the trapdoor open for him as she moved away. When he dropped inside and closed the hatch behind him, he found her at her sewing machine, studying a sketch and eyeing the fabric in front of her. Dropped beside her, leaning over her shoulder to see.
Drawn on the paper was a long, flowy, off-shoulder dress colored in red. There were measurements and arrowing scribbled around the dress, little notes written in her neat, curved handwriting.
He turned to her, realizing how close he was, but not moving away. "What's that for?"
Marinette turned to him, breath fanning on his face. Her noticed her flush, delighted in the fact that it may have been because of how close they were. "An upcoming dance."
Chat fought a frown, he didn't remember there being an upcoming dance. The only dance they had in the beginning of the year wasn't until December. But Adrien knew that, not Chat Noir, so instead he said, "Well, whoever is taking you will be lucky."
"You think so?" she asked earnestly.
"I know."
He looked at her with what he hoped was a tender look, wishing he could tell her that he knew because she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. As Chat, that would've been easy, but he had to remind himself that Marinette and Chat didn't know each other as well as Marinette and Adrien.
He was surprised to find the small, shy smile at her lips and the gentle way her eyes held his. He almost let himself believe that there was a possibility she felt the same way. She was so close, he could just lean in and place his lips on hers--
He tore his gaze away, chastising himself for thinking of kissing her. She doesn't know you that well, she doesn't feel that way about you.
He glanced back at her and she was closer than he remembered. Before he could register what happened, how they'd gotten so close, their lips bumped against each other. It was brief, but it lit him up. They stared at each other wide eyed, then Marinette, who was a shade of crimson Chat didn't even think was possible, sputtered,
"Oh, my gosh, Chat! I'msosorryIdon'tknowhowthathappenedyouwerefarthencloseand--"
She spoke so fast that, even if Chat had been paying attention to her words instead of her lips, he wouldn't have understood much. She stopped herself, trailing off, her gaze going for his eyes to his lips as well, her eyes half-lidded.
"Chat?" she asked breathlessly.
He didn't hear her, and for once, he let himself be controlled by desire, leaning in, his hands cupping her cheeks, and putting his lips on hers. She gasped at the contact, but leaned in, her hands traveling from his chest, up his neck, and into his hair as she turned in her chair. When her lips pressed into his harder than before, he sighed, and did the same. He wanted more, but he didn't want to push. However, when her tongue brushed against his lips, he realized he wasn't the only one, and willing gave her what she wanted.
When they finally pulled apart for air, both were completely flushed. They panted as they leaned foreheads against each other, him not wanting to open his eyes because that may as well have been a dream. When he opened his eyes, she was still there, her eyelashes fluttering as though she was also barely opening her eyes. He gave her small smile, not able to do or say anything. Then he realized what he'd just done, and the spell broke.
He pulled away from her, his heart thumping widely. "Holy crap, Marinette, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that--"
"Chat." He stopped rambling and looked up at her. "In case you forgot, I kissed you back, it wasn't like it was one-sided." She paused, letting out a breath to steady herself, speaking more quietly, "If I didn't want to kiss you I would've pulled away."
It was his turn to become an unknown shade of crimson. "Oh."
She turned in her chair, fixing her eyes on her sketch, "A-a-a-anyway, I have to work on this."
"Right." He stood there for a moment, not sure what to do. She glanced at him, which kick-started his brain again. "Um, see you l-later, Princess."
Back in his room, Adrien held a pillow to his face, unable to think of anything but Marinette and the kiss. It was already close to three, and any hopes of sleeping had been tossed out the window. Plagg hovered beside him, snickering.
"So, kid, you still think it's just a crush?"
Adrien made a strangled noise. "I--I don't know, Plagg." Plagg cackled as he flew away, in search of more cheese, no doubt.
But the thing was, Adrien knew what he felt. He'd been stupid to think that his feelings toward Marinette had been "just a crush" feelings. He gulped, his heart beating erratically. He was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
But of course he'd never tell Plagg that. At least not yet.