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Adrien still wasn't quite sure what was going on, but Felix had told him to go wander the school until he found a "mistletoe" hanging from the ceiling. He really didn't get why, but Felix had stopped explaining halfway through, smirked, and said it was best to learn from experience, so here he was, wandering the halls of the school, his head straight up.
He'd walked into three walls and four people.
He kept walking until finally, finally he found one of these plants, and stared up at it in confusion.
"Oh, Adrien, it's nice seeing you here!"
Adrien looked down and saw Marinette, smiling at him. She was wearing a pastel pink Christmas sweater that he was almost certain she'd knit herself, but it was so high quality that he couldn't tell.
He grinned back at her, smiling at the adorable pink tint that always seemed to appear on her face when she was near him. "It's great seeing you here too Marinette!!"
He looked up again, making her look up as well. As soon as she did, her eyes widened and the pink tint changed to a bright red flush across her cheeks. He looked at her, puzzled.
A passing student looked over at them and then up at the plant dangling between them and grinned, whispering to the person they were with.
"Marinette? What is a mistletoe? Felix didn't really finish explaining."
Marinette looked at him, her eyes still wide, and took a long, slightly shuddery breath. "It's.. It's a Christmas tradition.. Where if you end up under a mistletoe with someone, you.. You have to kiss them."
At her last words, Adrien suddenly figured out why she was so red, why the surge of first kisses had happened, and why Felix had smirked when he sent Adrien out on this research expedition to discover what mistletoe was for himself.
"O-oh." He said, feeling his face heat up. "W-well, uhm.." He nervously scratched the back of his neck.
"Does that mean...?" He asked softly.
"Yes...I MEAN not if you don't want to.. NOT LIKE I WANT TO...Unless you do..? But if you don't we don't have to!!!" Marinette stumbled over her words desperately, looking like she'd go in circles for the rest of their lives.
Adrien quickly put his hand on her shoulder to make her stop. "No no it's not that I don't want to.. Unless you don't.." Oh great, now he was going in circles too.
"I..." Marinette looked at him, her blue eyes wide. "I'm not exactly.. Against it? Kissing you, I mean."
Adrien nodded quickly, probably a bit too eagerly. "Me.. Me neither."
Marinette nodded, still red as always.
Adrien took a shaky breath, and was shocked when she went up on her tip toes and kissed him.
His eyes widened in surprise before fluttering closed, enjoying the feeling despite feeling like he'd probably pass out.
𝘖𝘩.
He suddenly understood what Felix meant.
Marinette's lips were soft and tasted like strawberries and sugar, and he only hoped the gingerbread chapstick he wore to prevent his lips from cracking (his father would have a fit) hadn't been chewed off by the time he'd gotten here from his attempt at focusing on the task of finding mistletoe.
The kiss only lasted 10 seconds at most, but it felt equally like forever and not nearly long enough to Adrien.
When Marinette pulled away, her eyes opened and looked at him nervously, her face still bright red.
Adrien stared at her in shock for a few moments, before finally making himself speak.
"Wow.." He breathed out.
Marinette smiled, looking like she was glowing. "See you later?" She asked, her voice wavering from the euphoria.
He could only nod and watch as she ran away, a blinding grin on her face. He was pretty sure he was also grinning dumbly, as he tried to gather himself. He stood there looking like an idiot for probably a bit too long until he turned back and ran his way back to his dorm, throwing open the door, and screaming of pure happiness, making Felix nearly drop the mug he held.
"So? Do you know what mistletoe is?" He asked, a slightly teasing grin on his face.
Adrien nodded brightly.
"The best thing in the world."