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"Friends don't do this."
"Do what?"
" Adrien ."
Adrien's arms loosened around her. "Sorry. Do you want me to let go?"
Marinette bit her lip and looked up at her skylight, at the rain beating against the window pane. She pulled her wet hair away from her pillow and brushed past the goosebumps at the back of her neck. After so many battles in the middle of storms, Marinette knew that the sudden drop of adrenaline in the aftermath would leave her shivering, and today was no different. She supposed she could have switched on the heater, and she supposed she should have sat up and dried her hair, but Adrien’s embrace was warm enough as it was.
Even if they shouldn’t have been doing this.
But Marinette decided a little bit of touch wasn’t a crime — they’d warm up faster together than apart. She cupped his elbow and shifted his arm back around her.
“No, it’s fine,” she said. “Just this once. But we can’t let it become a regular thing.”
“Of course,” he said, pulling her closer. His breath stirred her hair. “Just this once.”
Lightning flashed above them. Marinette jumped. Adrien laughed, and fixed the duvet around her.
She wondered, then, if Adrien could feel how much of a bad idea this was the way she did. The swoop in her belly every time she felt him move, the butterflies that fluttered with wings made of love and anxiety alike. They had agreed to be professional, to hold off on anything that involved holding hands or kissing or gazing into each other’s eyes too long — at least until Hawk Moth was out of the way. But their feelings for each other were no secret. They were only human, after all — how 'professional' could they be?
"Are you falling asleep?" Adrien asked.
Marinette hadn't even realised she'd closed her eyes. She opened them a fraction, saw him smile, then closed them again.
"I guess I am," she said. Her voice was fuzzier than she would have expected. "Keep me awake? I don't want to sleep through the evening."
There was a roll of thunder. Still sleepy, Marinette jolted. She searched for something solid to nestle against, and ended up buried against Adrien's chest.
She felt him kiss the side of her head.
"Just this once," he said against her hair, as if she would’ve even complained in the first place.
The rain either thinned outside, or Marinette was pressed too close to Adrien to hear it anymore. They had come to her place to wait out the rain, having agreed to finish Mme Mendeleiev's Chemistry homework in the meantime. His arms around her, the duvet up to their chins, the steady metronome of his heart matching the beat of rainwater on the skylight — none of that had been a part of the plan.
Marinette jerked just before she fell asleep. She blinked for a moment, eyes at level with Adrien's clavicle. He rubbed her back, soothing her.
But when had anything ever gone to plan with them? She certainly hadn't planned on falling in love with her new classmate last year.
"Can I tell you something?" she said softly. "Just this once?"
He squeezed her. "Of course."
"I love you, you know?"
He chuckled. "Can I do something?" he said. "Just this once?"
And from the way he curled his finger under her chin and lifted her head, Marinette knew. She knew, and she wanted it terribly.
"Of course," she said, eyes still closed.
For a second, he hesitated, and she wondered if he wondered whether this would be the catalyst of a terrible mess.
Nevertheless, Adrien kissed her.