Day 23 is Impulsive, a chapter in A Black Cat in America
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
@maribatserver
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
STAR Labs was everything Adrien had hoped it would be. The tech assistant, Cisco, was goofy and bright, cheerful in ways Adrien assumed people described him as. And his in depth understanding of the sciences had Adrien glued to him from the moment they met him until the moment he left.
They ran into another man as they were going around - literally. Of course Marinette was the one that crashed into Mr Allen but he was nice about it. And when he told a pun…Adrien felt like he'd found his people at last. If it weren't for the fact that it was so far from where Marinette would be he'd be considering moving there. As it was he was still sorely tempted.
“Hey Cisco, have you seen Barry?”
Adrien blinked as a guy about their age appeared in the room. Well, obviously not appeared but Adrien had missed him coming in because he was so engrossed in his conversation. The others had begged off of the science talks and Marinette had dragged them to look at the prettier aspects of the building so she could get inspiration. Doubtless Alya and Nino were finding other ways to fill their time while Marinette got lost in her own world.
“Hey Bart, yeah, he went to deal with a thing,” Cisco laughed. “Adrien, this is one of Barry's relatives, Bart. Bart, this is Adrien, a science enthusiast who came to check out the lab.”
“Oh, cool,” Bart said, peering at Adrien curiously. “Nice to meet you.”
“Oh, well, yeah, it's nice to meet you too,” Adrien managed to stammer out. It was just his luck that Marinette, Alya and Nino chose that moment to come back into the room. Marinette raised her eyebrows at Adrien before looking at Bart and smirking. “Parents are fans of the Simpsons?”
“Well, it is short for Bartholomew but it's a family name and nobody calls me that,” Bart said with a grin. Adrien tried to ignore the way it made his stomach flop. “Haven't seen you around here before, you from out of town?”
“Uh, um, yeah, we're actually from France,” Adrien stammered out, blushing at the smile he got in return. He thought the others exchanged looks, the most obvious of which was Marinette. He had the horrible feeling that all of the teasing he'd been subjecting her too about Damian and Robin were going to come back and bite him. “Here for a few weeks on vacation, you know? And I couldn't pass up the chance to see the STAR Labs in person.”
“Well, if you want someone to show you around the rest of the city, let me know,” Bart said with a smile that melted Adrien's brain. Then he seemed to notice the others and turned to them. “Sorry, are you here on a tour too?”
“Only because Adrien made us,” Marinette said immediately. She had one of her patented Ladybug looks on and eyed Bart carefully. “We're actually only in Central City for a few days but we don't have any plans yet. Maybe you should give Adrien your number so we can arrange a day to meet with you though?”
“Absolutely!” Bart seemed to brighten even further as he took Adrien's phone that Marinette mysteriously managed to snag from his pocket. Well, maybe not that mysterious, he was still in a bit of a stupour as he looked at Bart. “I'm really quick at responding so message me whenever you're free, okay?”
“Uh-huh,” was all Adrien could wheeze out before Bart gave a jaunty salute - it was so adorable, what did Marinette mean cringe? - and zipped away, presumably to find Mr Allen. “Wow, he was…”
“Why do I get the feeling we're not going to be hearing about Adrien's broken heart so much any more?” Marinette stage whispered. Adrien felt highly affronted when even Cisco laughed.
_ _ _
Bart wasn't kidding, he text back at lightning speed and always within ten minutes of receiving a text. It made Adrien feel incredibly good about his chances with the good-looking boy. His wavy hair had been windswept in a way that made Adrien think it was naturally like that and he wondered what it would be like to lose his hands in it.
By the end of the day Adrien and Bart had coordinated a time for them all to meet up the following day for a sightseeing tour of the city. It was fun and Adrien was smitten by the end of it. He knew Marinette - at the least - was going to be teasing him endlessly about it but he didn't particularly care when Bart grinned at him and stood closer than strictly necessary to show him a view.
“So the reservation for dinner is half an hour away now-” Nino started, looking at his phone. Suddenly, Marinette's phone started to chirp and she made a show of looking surprised as she pulled it out. She'd become a better actress but Adrien knew she was exaggerating because there was a gleam in her eye that he recognised from when he and Luka had ‘coincidentally’ been left alone on the houseboat.
“Oh, I'm so sorry, I have to head back to the hotel and catch up with Da- with mister Wayne about the whole,” she gestured vaguely, “mistaken identity thing. You four should go though! Try not to have too much fun, yeah?”
Before Adrien could call her on it she ducked away, fingers flying across the screen of her phone as she wove through the crowds in the direction of their hotel. Nino snorted at something Alya said but Bart didn't seem to notice anything amiss.
Dinner was even better than the day. The restaurant Marinette had chosen was cosy with low lighting and small, intimate tables. Alya and Nino were wrapped up in each other, the perfect couple as always. Adrien had always envied their relationship but he barely noticed it when Bart talked animatedly about his interest in criminology.
By the time they were done with dinner, the sky had grown dark and Nino and Alya had already begged off to spend the rest of the evening together in their hotel room. If they weren't so wrapped up in each other, Adrien would have assumed that they were also plotting to get Adrien and Bart alone. But no, they were just that sickeningly in love that they wanted to be alone all the time.
“Your friends are so crash,” Bart said with another smile. They were strolling together along the streets, hands brushing every now and again. After the dozenth or so time of it, Adrien took the chance and grabbed onto Bart's hand. The grin he got in return was blinding and Bart interlaced their fingers as they continued on. “It's so cool that you all are traveling together.”
“Yeah, we've been best friends since collége - uh, middle school. Alya and Nino have been dating for just as long and Mari planned this whole trip for us,” Adrien rambled, flushing at the simple contact between them. Was it possible for Bart's hand to feel so perfect in his own? Because it did. “Thanks for taking the time to show us around, and for having dinner with us.”
“Wouldn't have missed it,” Bart murmured, looking suspiciously red himself. He was gazing off into the distance, the red creeping up the back of his neck. “Mari said you were here for another few days so I'd like to see you again.”
Adrien hurriedly agreed, his skin tingling at the thought. Far sooner than he wanted they were at the hotel and Adrien didn't want to say goodbye. But he and Marinette were still sharing a room so it wouldn't be fair of him to invite Bart in. He lingered outside the room, fiddling with his key card as he tried to build up the courage to kiss Bart goodbye.
He was mildly surprised when Bart cupped his cheek and pulled him down slightly to press their lips together. It was chaste and ended far too soon for Adrien, so he grabbed Bart's face and kissed him more fiercely. The butterflies in his stomach turned into a flurry and he lost himself in committing the moment to memory.
He sighed into Bart’s mouth, his hand cupping the other man's face. They deepened the kiss, Bart slipping his tongue along Adrien's lip. Adrien felt lightheaded and pulled Bart towards him, his hands moving onto the other boy's hips.
The door to Adrien's hotel room opened suddenly and he was startled away from Bart. He flushed red when he saw Marinette's triumphant smirk and scowled at her. She looked like she'd just rolled out of bed, hair standing up all over, and Adrien distantly wondered if they'd woken her with their noise.
“Do you mind?” He growled at her, which only seemed to make her more gleeful.
“Not at all! I assume you were just saying ‘goodbye’, right?” She said with fake innocence that her smirk belied. “Just wanted to make sure you weren't stuck out here, but I see you have your key card! Well, enjoy your thorough goodbye. I'm sure I'll see you again soon, Bart.”
Adrien groaned and hid his face in Bart's neck when Marinette snapped the door shut. He could still hear her cackling as she headed back into the room fully.
“I'm guessing there's a story there,” Bart mused, his fingers tracing circles on Adrien's waist where his hands were resting. “Maybe you can tell me it tomorrow, over coffee?”
_ _ _
Bart made sure he was out of sight of the hotel before he sped over to STAR Labs again, mind racing even more than usual and body light as a feather. He hadn't been expecting to meet Adrien while he was visiting STAR Labs the day before but he was so glad he had. And the goodnight kiss had been spine tingling, even if they had been interrupted.
He pulled up short as he entered the back room to find a bored looking Superboy playing with a rubix cube. Jon glanced up at him and grinned, throwing the cube to the side unsolved.
“Thank God, company! How're you?” Jon leapt up and flew over to him, like an excited puppy.
“I'm good, just surprised you're here. And without the boy wonder as well, I thought you were in charge of making sure he didn't go feral,” Bart said, making Jon bark out a laugh.
“Oh, yeah, I had to drop him off in town on ‘business’,” Jon said, using his fingers to emphasise. “He said he was finished up now though so I'm just waiting for him here and I'll take him back to Metropolis.”
“What sort of business? Something we need to worry about?” Bart's brow furrowed and he pulled out his communicator to see if he'd missed anything important.
“Not that sort of business,” Jon snorted. “Rob's got a new girlfriend and promised me a favour if I brought him over to her.”
“Wait, a girlfriend?”
“Tt, you shouldn't gossip about people,” Damian said, strolling into the room as well. He had a smirk on his face though, so Bart assumed he wasn't too annoyed with them. Hell, he hadn't even started brandishing his sword yet. “Apologies for the intrusion, Kid Flash, we'll be on our way.”
Bart stared after them both as Jon sped them away. But he was pulled out of his thoughts when his phone lit up with a message from Adrien, confirming their coffee date for the following day.
Part 5
