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University was everything Marinette had dreamed of. Almost. America’s education system was not like the one in Paris. She wasn’t allowed to just take classes relating to her degree, she also had to take “core requirements,” whatever that meant.
One such class was a “Basic Art 101 prerec” they had told her. ‘No problem,’ she thought. Marinette had done some digital art before that was unrelated to designing. The class couldn’t be too hard.
She was wrong. Very wrong. They were helping the students expand their portfolios, which she was sure was helpful, but Marinette did not want to. She was a designer. Why would a fashion house care about how well she could paint? It didn’t make any sense.
Jason tried to explain it was a “prerequisite” but she couldn’t even pronounce it much less know what it meant. So that’s how he found her, sitting on the floor, blank canvas in front of her with a paintbrush in hand.
“Baby, what on earth are you doing?” he asked as he entered their apartment.
“I’m dying.”
Jason rolled his eyes at her. Ever the dramatic one. “No, you’re not. I did that. Now, what’s up? You didn’t answer my text about dinner.”
She whipped around to look at her phone, sure enough. The messaging app was open with the response typed but never sent.
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I meant to tell you I didn’t mind whatever you picked. I’ve been trying for hours to paint something but I just can’t figure it out.”
“It’s fine, I figured you were busy,” he said as he bent down to kiss the top of her head.
He narrowly missed when she threw it back and groaned in what could only be described as despair. “No. I haven’t been busy at all, that’s the issue. I have no idea what to paint. They won’t let me paint an outfit, said I have to “leave my box” whatever that means!”
Jason laughed a bit at his girlfriend’s antics. “Think outside the box, you mean?”
Marinette nodded and threw herself backwards on the floor, her head landing by Jason’s feet with a loud thunk.
Suddenly, Jason got a look on his face. It was the look that meant he had thought of something that would get him in trouble but he was going to do it anyway. Marinette was very familiar with the look. She narrowed her eyes at him as he leaned down.
He kissed her gently and, though she was skeptical, she kissed him back. Until she felt something wet on her cheek and she squeaked a bit as she pulled away from him. She slapped her hand to her cheek to pull it away covered in orange paint.
She noticed his fingers were the same bright orange color.
“Jason! What did you do?”
Jason gave her the same smile as before. “Whatcha mean, babe? I’m helping.”
Marinette rolled her eyes. “How is this helping?”
“Careful, roll your eyes any harder and they might get stuck that way.”
Marinette repeated the action and Jason took the opportunity to rub some yellow across her nose. She moved back in shock and scolded him again but it didn’t wipe the satisfied grin off his face.
Narrowing her eyes, she slowly reached her hand into the forest green before launching herself toward him and wiping it across his cheek, right over the scar that was on it.
He laughed a bit before attempting to get some purple paint from a nearby bottle.
———————
What seemed like hours later, thought it was just a matter of minutes, Marinette and Jason realized exactly how much of a mess they had created.
“I am never going to get this stupid painting done now,” Marinette complained. “Between cleaning up and getting the paint out of my hair, I’m doomed.”
Jason laughed at his girlfriend’s antics. “It’s fine babe, why don’t you run us a bath and I’ll clean up out here. Two birds at the same time.”
“That’s not the saying or what it means, but thanks babe. You sure you don’t want help?”
“Shoo, before I find that pretty pink and paint your cheeks with it.”
Marinette let out a laugh. “My face is covered already,” she said as she walked into their room.
“Who said anything about your face,” Jason called loud enough for her to hear in the other room. Her response of a shrieking laugh was heard as well. Jason smiled to himself as he began to pick up the mostly empty paint bottles.