Ah dear. One of my fic ideas has clawed its way back to the surface and is trying to displace the other two that were scrabbling for dominance in my brainpan.
And lemme tell you, this sly bugger has CLAWS and is hella smug.
He wants to know how many of you want an Adrienette/Ladynoir fic where a demonic sea serpent tries to lure a medicine witch with his charms. Be forewarned, this is not a completely happy fic, as the townsfolk are barely tolerable of a witch, let alone one spotted cavorting with the satan of the sea.
But have you ever seen an angry sea demon?
Anyway it clawed its way back up from the WIP pocket I stuck it in 17 months ago.
Who wants me to start writing? (The Seasnake demands I ask with all his oily black wiles.)
A young woman walked the length of the beach, walking the line the small tide created in the sand. One by one, each step moved in front of the other, her body swaying with the shift of weight. Years of wearing pigtails were gone tonight, the dark locks fluttering messily behind her with the wind that blew off the sea.
The water was illuminated by the moon, causing a small glimmer of light. She loved to visit here… It had become her special place with her Nonna. When she was sixteen, before her first trip outside of France, her grandmother brought her to the beach. It was a bit of a climb around, but once they got there, it was so beautiful and secluded.
It became a place that was just theirs. After being seen as a child for so long by her grandmother, it made her feel… like an adult. Now that she was an adult, she visited it on her own. She was nineteen and on break from school. Alya and Nino had joined her on this trip. She thought about showing them Calanque d’En-vau, the beach her grandmother showed her… Maybe not this time.
The ravenette did not see the eyes peering at her from the water, watching her walk the line of where wet sand met dry. Just as she hadn’t noticed them each time she visited. All she knew was, she felt safe and at peace here. No level of anger or sadness could touch her here…
It felt like home.
Illuminated green eyes watched the female, the small glow of his eyes dulled by the glare of the moonlight bouncing off the water’s surface, hiding the wild blond locks stirred up by the tide swaying to and fro, a fin curled under him.
His body was pale, holding the whisper of a tan, honey blond hair that floated and swayed in the water, eyes an acid green. His body was decorated with black scales, some of them an iridescent green, giving his tail some color.
Something about the girl he was admiring was… warm. Seeing her, watching her play around on her feet. Adrien was a halfling, a half mer. His parents were a mermaid and a human. The curse of a mermaid had overtaken his humanity, but his humanity gave him something no human had… He had the freedom to be human a night, only at night. Yet, growing up watching his father from afar, watching humans. He had no friends, and the few people he watched, truly watched… always left.
But his woman, his stunning woman, always came back. If it took a month or a year… she came back, and there was some pull that had him swimming as fast as he could to the beach to see her, even if he didn’t know it was her causing the pull.
Something about this woman was special. She called to him in ways he never had known. Just watching her roam this beach, now a woman compared to the teenager he had first seen, made him feel less lonely.
Thus… he took a risk.
His head began coming up above the water, a small shadow on the calm waters. Blond hair plastered to the light tan—he never spent any time up on the beach to absorb the rays to let his skin regain its healthy glow. Eyes watched her in the darkness.
It was at the sound of the water shifting that blue eyes looked towards the water. It wasn’t the same sound as the tide moving, it was possibly a fish, but when blue and green clashed, a scream ripped from the woman’s throat.
Marinette had stumbled back, falling into the sand as the male flinched at the scream that tore from her throat.
“I-I’m not going to hurt you!” He scrambled further out of the water, enough that she could see small patches of scales glittering against the reflection of moonlight.
It seemed to only take moments in the light and fresh air for the pale tone of his skin to warm up into a healthy glow with a slight tan, only a few tones darker. It seemed his body reacted differently to the air and light then it did under the water. She was in awe at what she saw, it was beautiful, but what had her spellbound was his eyes. The color was an acid green, glowing and bright, contrasting against the dark scales that decorated the area around his eyes.
Marinette parted her lips before closing them once more. After a moment, a breath, she spoke, “What… are you? A merman or something?”
The words made him smile. “Yes.”
Marinette swore she was going insane. Mermaids…. Mermen, they weren’t real!
Yet…. Here was one. A stunning example. Her eyes slowly skimming down over his chest before she turned red and brought her eyes back to his.
Adrien caught her gaze traveling over his exposed torso, and he moved forward, his eyes watching her, staying locked on her bluebell eyes.
“You like what you see?” His lips turned to a smirk, the brief moment his words turned to a smirk, she caught sight of his teeth. They weren’t blunt like hers, they were sharp, reminding her of the images of sharks she saw in movies and in pictures.
It made her shudder in slight fear, but her curiosity was winning out. He was… handsome and interesting. “I… I… What’s your name?” She asked, trying to change the topic. “M-my name is Marinette.” Her gaze broke away from his. Something about his gaze made her heart pump
Adrien tilted his head, when she looked away he narrowed his eyes. He was trying not to hiss at the question. When it came to merfolk, names were powerful. They were an old kind of magic.
“…Chat. You may call me Chat.” He spoke in a low tone, and her eyes glanced back at him.
The smile that soon formed before his eyes had his heart hammering in his chest.
Adrien being a half mer, had decided... He never had wanted to do this before, so this was all new.
While he had always had the ability to do so, his mother had made the world seem like such a terrible and dangerous place. Maybe it was, but he found someone to pure and wonderful.
Marinette had been coming to visit him almost daily. They just… talked. About what creatures were actually real and life under the sea, just as she spoke about her life on land. Her education, her hobbies, her friends… everything he could ask he did.
She had become his air…
“What do I like to do?” Marinette’s smile grew wider if possible as she sat on a towel, clad in a small wrap and a bikini. “I love to design clothing!” Her hand moved into her back, a small towel clear bag with her clothing tucked away inside. She pulled out a cellphone, moving to pull up a gallery.
Green eyes watched in awe, not only at the designs that passed the screen but the device. His eyes taking in a picture of Marinette in one of the outfits from her sketches.
“It’s not great workmanship, but I really had been inspired.” Her words made him want to embrace her. The dress was black with glimmer fabric haphazardly placed around the dress. It was a simple halter neck dress that had a bright green ribbon. “Y-you’re very… inspiring… You and this place.”
He inspired her… he gave her ideas and helped her creativity. She brought him warmth that he didn’t know he missed… That he never knew existed.
Her fingers brushed the scales around his eyes, admiring them. “I think Alya is getting suspicious of me sneaking out to this “secret” beach nightly. At first, she appreciated the private time with Nino, but now she’s worrying.” Marinette spoke as she absently stroked his skin.
It was taking everything in him not to just melt into her touch. His eyes were half lidded. He never got touched like this. Merfolk were so cold towards one another. His mother was mostly an exception—until she vanished. He’d been alone for so long and didn’t even know he craved touch.
She moved to caress his cheek a bit longer, her face tinted red. She lowered her head slightly to where he was leaning half against her, enjoying her touch. As she moved, shyly, trying to kiss him.
His body suddenly jerked and a hiss escaped him. “What do you think you’re doing!?” He thought she was different.
“I… I’m sorry. I…” She was stammering slightly, glancing away. “I… I just wanted to kiss you—.”
“For the power like everyone else.” He finished for her with a small growl.
“Power? You think—.” Her eyes widened and suddenly her hands were waving, “No, no, no! Humans use kissing to show affection for people they like.” She explained, face going red. “For…people they really like…” Her voice trailed off.
They were so at peace with one another. Marinette was rapidly falling for him. She’d be leaving in a few more days, and hadn’t had the heart to tell him.
She had come out here for inspiration, and she got it. She hadn’t expected to fall in love with the merman she never knew existed….
“Human’s kiss for affection…?” He questioned and she nodded. One again grabbing her phone to sweep through images of Alya and Nino. She swore to have a folder of their playful moments for their wedding slideshow. “These are my friends, Nino and Alya.” She whispered. “They’re getting married.”
He didn’t understand the idea of marriage, but this time he just nodded as if he understood. He had a feeling by the end of this he’d have more questions then answers.
“Kisses… Well, a kiss from a Mer gives humans the ability to breath underwater.” He said softly before taking her hand. She had wanted to kiss him… because she liked him. “Come.” He encouraged slightly, pulling her towards the water.
“Hold on.” She moved to undress from her T shirt and shorts, a red and black bikini clinging to her as she tucked her mostly dry clothes off the beach a bit so they wouldn’t get wet if the tide rolled in. “Ready.” She took his hand once more and smiled.
Adrien couldn’t stop his thoughts about what she’d look like with a crimson tail with dark fins and small clusters of dark scales… She’d make a beautiful Mer.
With a moment of hesitation, Adrien pulled her to him, his lips slanting over hers in a brief kiss. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes drift shut. He didn’t expect the war her arms wrapped around him to gently kiss back.
Humans gifted with breath didn’t kiss back… they just took what was given.
Marinette pressed into him slightly, her skin wet from landing in the sand as the tide rolled up, allowing. After a moment longer, she pulled away, eyes half lidded, gazing at him with a gentle look.
This was why humans kissed….
He took a breath, swallowing the air. Tonight, was her last night in this part of France… The last night she’d be here for him to see. She deserved to know… He needed her to know.
It hurt like fire and pins. It had been years since he had done this. The last time was the when he met his father.
“Why do I like fashion…?” Marinette tilted her head slightly. “My mother.” She said simply. “Well… My mother’s wedding dress.”
At his confused look she elaborated on weddings and the traditions—explaining both older traditions and more modern wedding explanations.
“My mother’s parents hated my father. He wasn’t of a higher class. No money to his name… and my mother loved him anyways.” Her lips tilted into a smile as she told the tale of her mother the heiress of an airline design enterprise, and baker son of a traveling journalist.
“My grandmother disowned my mother when they announced their engagement… and later her pregnancy with me. She didn’t regret one decision… just that my Grandmother hadn’t become part of my life until I was seventeen.” She shuddered at remembering her very strict grandmother.
“My mom’s wedding dress was a second-hand dress… something that someone donated. She loved it so much. I was four when they married. I remember watching her get ready, seeing how it looked on her… how pretty she said it made her feel… how beautiful she was… I realized I wanted to do that for people.” She smiled. “I have some role models—but no one that comes as close as my mom.”
“Like who?” Adrien tilted his head, moving to rest his head on her legs. Two days left… That’s all he had with her. She was half in the water, letting him relax in his element.
“Well, I like Gabriel Agreste, he has some interesting styles.” She explained with a smile. “You too, Chat… Not so much a role model, but more my inspiration.”
Chat…. It felt wrong on her lips now. After how close they’d grown. He also recognized the name Gabriel Agreste… His father. He had only met the man on a couple of occasions.
His father didn’t know if he was dead or alive… and it saddened him at the thought.
“C-Chat…?” Marinette was frozen, dropping her bag. Her dress was loose around her hips as she looked at him with shocked, wide, blue eyes.
“H-Hey Princess.” His legs trembled as he tried to stand tall on his legs. The rising darkness of night was taking over.
Her body moved to press into his, holding him up. “You idiot!” She scolded as she felt his weight lean heavily into her. “You could get hurt like this, Chat!” She was worried, seeing his new legs tremble.
“Adrien…” His voice was soft as he wrapped his arms around her. Her body was unable to bare his growing dead weight for too much longer. “My real name is Adrien, Mari…” He inhaled her scent, something about it was different in this form…
He wanted to stay with her, to trade his fin for legs… He wanted to see his family, his father, to know about affection and love, weddings and friends, to see her.
“I want to stay like this.” He whispered and moved to nuzzle into her hair as their bodies were crumpled in the wet sand, his arms tight around her. “Would you keep me like this?”
He had to bond himself to a human… He had to choose between the human or the merman… For her, he’d choose human. They’d grow closer… They’d fight, they’d love, they’d hurt and laugh. She’d be worth it in his opinion.
“Of course…” Blue eyes pulled back to look a him, a weak smile on her face.
Adrien lowered his head, kissing her. Not for the magic that surged through them both, but to show her how much he wanted her.
Gah, why is it so hard to get to the good stuff? This chapter sets the stage for the scene drawn by artisticFlutter, and we will actually see that scene next chapter.
No, I really mean it this time!
Seriously, how has it taken me EIGHT CHAPTERS to set up ONE sex scene? For crying out loud, this is ridiculous. Oh well. Thanks for your patience while I worked through my writer's block! I hope you guys like it!
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Read it on AO3
So, to recap: Adrien and Nino have joined the girls for a sleep-over. They had dinner and a video game tournament, and are now watching Star Wars. In this chapter, Nino and Alya get side-tracked during the movie, and retreat to Alya's room for some privacy. The walls are thin, though, and Adrien and Marinette decide to take a walk to escape their friends' rather vocal enthusiasm.
Since Adrien was completely new to Star Wars, and had somehow managed to avoid picking up on the biggest “surprise” of the series, there was some debate over how, exactly, to introduce him to it. Marinette saw no reason not to watch them by order of release, but Nino insisted on something called the Machete Order. Marinette had conceded gracefully, though now, at the end of A New Hope, she glanced at Nino in irritation.
Or, more specifically, at Nino and Alya.
Adrien had traded places with her, claiming the bean bag chair for himself so that he could sit closer to the TV, and Marinette now sat in his spot in the corner of the couch. Nino still sat in the opposite corner, but now, instead of sitting next to him Alya sat on him with one knee on either side of his hips and her tongue down his throat.
Marinette poked Nino’s side with her toe. “Stop snogging, you’re distracting me,” she hissed, trying not to disturb Adrien’s enjoyment of the movie. “I thought you wanted to watch this with him?”
“S-sorry,” he sighed as Alya moved her attentions to his jaw.
“They’re not bothering me,” Adrien said as Princess Leia briefed the Rebel pilots on their attack plan.
Alya shot her a coy glance. “You’re just jealous that you’re not snogging someone right now.”
“No!” Maybe. “I just think you should stop dry humping and actually watch the movie. Or get a room.”
“Perhaps we should.” Alya kissed Nino again, and tugged his lip gently with her teeth. “What do you think, babe? Finish the movie? Or say ‘good night’ now and go get more comfortable?”
She raked her nails over his nipple, through his shirt, and his breath hitched. “Uh…com—comfortable sounds good.”
“You’re shameless, Alya.” Marinette rolled her eyes, aroused in spite of herself, and focused her attention back on the movie. It was either that, or imagine herself snogging with Adrien. In all honesty, that was what she wanted, but their relationship was too new for her to just attack him out of nowhere, and he really was enjoying the film.
Alya pushed herself off of his lap and stood, then threw a glare at Marinette as she held out her hands to pull him up as well. “Don’t you slut shame me either, M.”
“Oh, no, slut it up, girl,” Marinette grinned. “Just try to do it where I can’t see you.”
“Spoil sport,” Alya laughed, leading Nino to her room. “’Night, guys.”
Marinette giggled, and waved somewhat enviously at their retreating forms. “Goodnight!”
“’Night,” Adrien called absently.
“Later dudes,” Nino replied, just before he disappeared into Alya’s room and the door clicked firmly shut.
By that point, the Rebel fighters were desperately trying to bullseye the exhaust port before the Deathstar came within firing range of their base, and Adrien was riveted. When the credits began to roll soon after, Adrien stood from his place on the bean bag chair and joined Marinette on the couch while she picked up the remote to shut off the movie. In the absence of the music, however, they could now hear the sounds coming from Alya’s room, and their eyes widened.
“Well,” she chirped, desperate to fill the void with something to distract from their friends’ noises, “what did you think?”
He chuckled, recognizing her over-loud question for the distraction it was. “It was good! The special effects are obviously dated, but it’s a good film regardless.”
Marinette gave him an amused look. “Those dated special effects were revolutionary at the time it was released.”
“I’m sure.” He shrugged. “But that was what, forty years ago?”
Marinette returned the shrug. “Doesn’t matter. It’s a classic.”
“I can see why.” Adrien smiled. “When can we—” There was a particularly loud moan from Alya’s room, and he stopped abruptly. “Not subtle, are they?” Adrien remarked, giving up on trying to avoid the topic and tossing a look at the closed door. “Are you sure she’s not Mer?”
“Definitely not,” Marinette snorted. There was another moan, even louder than the one before, and she cleared her throat awkwardly. “Would you want to go for a walk, or something? They’re uh, they’re going to be like that for a while.”
“If you want to, but they’re not really—” He was interrupted by a muffled obscenity in Nino’s voice, and an accompanying feminine moan. He cleared his throat. “Actually, yeah. A walk sounds really nice.”
Marinette laughed. “Come on, we can walk to the beach and back.”
“The beach?” He stood, and pulled her to her feet. “Want to go for a swim while we’re out there?”
“In the middle of the night?” she asked, frowning.
“Why not?” he shrugged. “I do it all the time.”
“You…do? Isn’t it dangerous?”
“No more dangerous than during the day. At least, not for me.” He chuckled softly. “I grew up there, remember? A midnight swim for me is no different from a midnight walk for you.”
“Oh,” she blinked, and ducked her head sheepishly. “Right. I um—just, let me go and put on my suit, then.” She walked backwards towards her door a few steps, and at his nod, turned to hurry through it. She stuck her head back out long enough to say, “I’ll only be a moment,” and then shut herself inside.
Marinette opened her drawer to see that she had only one clean bathing suit: her oldest one. She grimaced, but began changing. She’d acquired several bathing suits over the last few years, since she’d started swimming daily, but all of the newer ones were either hanging in the bathroom or waiting in the hamper. This one would do; it was still in decent shape, and it was the loveliest shade of rose that complimented her skin well.
She grabbed her dress and pulled it on over her bathing suit, slipped into the bathroom for a couple of towels, and then met Adrien in the living room.
He’d changed, too, she saw. “You brought swim trunks?” she asked, pointing at his shorts and passing the towels to him.
“I wasn’t sure what I’d need,” he admitted. “I wanted to be prepared.”
“Well, it worked out.” She grabbed her beach bag, tossed her keys and phone into it, and then held it open for him to add the towels. “Ready?”
In Alya’s room, the headboard began to slam rhythmically into the wall, prompting blushes to bloom on both their faces. Adrien nodded his head emphatically. “Absolutely.”
They were quiet as they made their way down to the street, trying to be respectful of the other people in the building. Just because they were still up at midnight, didn’t mean that everyone else was. Under normal circumstances, Marinette herself would have been in bed hours ago, and she knew the frustration of being woken by inconsiderate neighbors.
Outside the building, though, they relaxed.
“I’m sorry about Alya,” Marinette offered, her cheeks warming. She hoped he wouldn’t notice, strolling as they were down the darkened street. “They’re always kind of noisy, but I can usually tune them out. They only get like that when they’ve had a bit to drink.” She shook her head ruefully, a wry smile tugging one corner of her mouth. “I should have anticipated it, honestly.”
“Don’t worry about it,” he laughed, slipping his hands into his pockets. “It was a bit awkward, but I’m not scandalized. My people are not shy about their sexuality. Honestly, it was just the noise. I’m definitely not used to that.”
“The Mer aren’t, uh…vocally expressive?”
“Not as much, no. And sound is different, underwater.”
“That makes sense,” she allowed.
He glanced at her assessingly. “It really does make you uncomfortable, though, doesn’t it?”
“No!” He raised a skeptical brow. “Well, maybe,” she amended. “It’s just so…private, you know?” Then she frowned. “Or maybe you don’t. You keep saying Mer are a lot more open about sex.”
“More open, yes, and far less shy. But most of us do prefer some degree of privacy.”
“Well, at least there’s that,” she teased, bumping playfully into his shoulder. Before she could shift away again, he caught her fingers in his and twined them together with a gentle squeeze. “Oh!” She glanced up at him in surprise, and he met her blush with a warm smile.
“Is this okay?”
She nodded, and they lapsed into a comfortable silence as they walked through the darkened streets towards the beach.
Adrien enjoyed their quiet camaraderie as they walked to the beach, their hands linked and arms brushing as they moved. Marinette was a restful companion; she didn’t find it necessary to fill the quiet with incessant chatter, as Chloe did. It was wonderful to simply enjoy the night, breathing in the scent of the ocean and soaking in the presence of the woman beside him.
Wonderful—and torturous.
In the absence of conversation, his mind was free to wander. Given the explicit sounds they’d left behind in the apartment, and the svelte body brushing his, his mind was fixated on the erotic.
He had wanted her days ago, from the time she’d first touched the delicate skin between his fingers. As they’d spent more time together, his interest and desire had only grown. And now, with the sounds Alya had made fresh in his mind, he was hard pressed to think of anything else. Would Marinette make the same noises? Could he draw those sounds from her? Arousal rippled through him anew. He glanced at his companion, who was strolling beside him with a distant expression and a faint blush on her cheeks.
Were her thoughts running along the same path as his? Was she thinking about him making the same low, primal sounds that Nino had made? Was she thinking about being the one to elicit those sounds?
Gods, he hoped she was. Aside from a brief, impersonal liaison with an acquaintance the one time he’d been home since coming here two years ago, he’d only had the company of his own hands during that time. He ached for the touch of someone else. But, he wanted it to be someone he cared for. He wanted someone who cared for him, and wanted him as badly as he wanted her.
He wanted Marinette.
He swallowed thickly, and looked down at her again. They’d reached the sandy path leading to the beach, and out here there were no more street lights to pollute the night sky. The undiluted moonlight limned her skin, making her look ethereal. Soon, she would have water droplets clinging to her body, refracting the light, and already he itched to kiss the water from her skin. When he’d kissed her before, she’d tasted sweet, like coffee and cream. How would she taste with the salt of the ocean on her lips? He wanted to know, wanted to know that and more, but it didn’t matter if she was interested only in a midnight swim.
Adrien took a deep, steadying breath. He wasn’t sure how this kind of thing worked, here. He’d already indicated his interest in her, and he knew that she returned his interest. At home, with another of the Mer, he’d address the question directly, and receive just as direct a response. But here? From what he’d observed, it was taboo to issue a frank invitation to have sex. He shook his head in bewilderment. Humans made things unnecessarily complicated.
“What is it?”
He started at the soft question, and looked at her with his brows raised in question.
She stopped, and pulled him around to face her. “You shook your head, and you’re frowning.”
“Oh. It was nothing.” He smiled gamely, grateful that she wasn’t privy to his thoughts. Then again, it might make communicating with her a lot easier…
She looked as if she wanted to press him, but shrugged and slipped her bag from her shoulder to clutch it in her hands. “This is where I usually leave my things when I swim. Did you want to go in the water, or just keep walking?”
“Low tide, it looks like. It’s a good time for a swim.” He looked back at her hopefully. “I’d like to go in, at least for a few minutes, but that doesn’t mean that you have to.”
“No,” she replied, smiling. “I’ll go in with you. I rarely come out here at night, but it’s beautiful. Do, um, do you want me to go in first, so you can, um…?” She trailed off, blushing furiously, and gestured to his shorts.
“Oh! Ah, yeah, that would be—um, yes. Thank you.”
Marinette giggled, and tugged her dress off over her head, revealing a bathing suit that he hadn’t seen her wear before. It was simple, but the lines of the suit complemented her figure as if it had been designed for her. She bent to stow her dress in the bag, and he forced his eyes back to her face as she stood and began to walk backwards, towards the water.
“I’m not going to go far, until you’re able to join me. I love swimming at night, but I’m not ashamed to say that it frightens me.”
Adrien smiled at her admission. Smart girl, he thought. Aloud, he said, “I won’t be long.”
“Okay.” She turned around and jogged to the gently lapping water, shrieking a bit when the chill water splashed up her legs.
Adrien waited until the water reached her waist, then shucked off his clothes and left them piled atop her bag. He almost forgot to grab the leather thong for his ring, but remembered only two steps away from their things. With the thong in hand he ran to join her in the water, anxious to conceal his nudity beneath its surface.
Even though it was late spring, with summer right around the corner, the water was cold. It was no wonder that Marinette had squealed; without the warmth of the sun on his skin, or the protection of his natural form, the chill of it was a shock on his skin. He, at least, could revert to his Mer form and be comfortable, but Marinette would not be able to stay in the water long without becoming chilled. With that in mind, Adrien removed his ring as soon as he’d moved out far enough. The warm tingle of his transformation washed over him and he sighed in relief.
“That was…wow. Your transformation is an incredible thing to watch.”
Adrien spun in the water with a start, and saw Marinette treading water only about a meter away from him. His eyes widened. “You saw—”
“Only your transformation!” she rushed to assure him. “I didn’t see, uh, anything else. I promise.”
“Right.” He relaxed, then wondered why he cared so much. Hadn’t he just been thinking about being naked with her? He gave himself a mental shake, and told himself to say something, anything to banish the sudden awkwardness between them. “What…um, what did it look like?”
Her expression blanked in confusion. “Look like?”
“My transformation. I’ve never seen myself change.”
“Really?” Her eyes widened, and he shook his head.
“Nope. I always close my eyes, no matter my intention to keep them open and watch.” As he spoke, he carefully looped the thong through his ring, and slipped it on over his head. Losing it wasn’t an option. Without it, he couldn’t leave the sea.
“Oh. Well, it’s…otherworldly. You glow, with this subtle light. It’s…it’s like…oh, damn.” Her brow furrowed and her lips puckered in thought as she searched for the word, and Adrien felt his lips curve. Her expression was adorable. Then her expression abruptly cleared, and she snapped her fingers in triumph. “Bioluminescence! You looked almost bioluminescent. Then the light intensified at your head and kind of moved over you in a wave, changing you as it went. It was amazing.”
Adrien looked at his webbed hands wonderingly, trying to imagine what she’d described. “I wish I could see it happen.”
“Maybe I could record it happening sometime, and you could watch the video? We could delete it after, just in case, but at least you’d get to see.”
Adrien blinked, and then shrugged. “Maybe.” He wasn’t sure how they could do that, since cell phones and water were generally not compatible, but they could figure that out another time. She was shivering, so they either needed to start moving around, or get out of the water entirely. “Do you have Tikki with you?”
Marinette nodded and touched her earrings, which he now noticed were darker than they had been. She tilted her head in question. “Shall we head down?”
In response, Adrien only grinned and dove into the waves. He sought and found the little eddies in the water that told him she was following, so he continued, leading her both farther from shore and deeper into the water.
“Slow down, you crazy fish!” Her mental voice was tinged with laughter, nullifying any sting the words might have carried. “Not all of us have fins, you know.”
He slowed and turned to wait for her, smiling in apology. “Sorry about that. I’m still getting used to swimming with a human. I forget that your underwater breathing does not come with a fish tail.”
She swam closer, grinning at him girlishly. “I wish,” she returned, projecting an image of herself with a shimmering red fish tail.
Though it had been intended to be playful, the image hit him, hard. If she were a mermaid… His eyes drifted over her body, filling in the details of the image she had sent him—her breasts unbound, strands of shells and pearls draped over her hips, coral combs anchoring her beautiful dark hair out of the way, a mother of pearl necklace at her throat and rose red scales against her fair skin…
Marinette must have sensed the change in his mood, because her smile fell. “Adrien? Did I do something wrong?”
He jerked his gaze back to hers, and in answer, projected her updated image back to her. Her eyes darkened, and her cheeks flushed. “No. Not at all.” He flicked his tail lazily, drawing closer to her still-shivering body, and caught her hand in his. “I quite like the thought of you as a Mer.”
“O-oh.” Her wide eyes searched his, and the fingers of her other hand sought his. “So do I.”
Another flick of his tail brought him closer, until her cloth-covered breasts brushed his chest and her knee bumped his fin. Her breath caught, and he groaned. “I want you, Marinette. I don’t know how to court you as a human male would—“
“Then don’t.”
Her mental voice was laced with both desire and assent, and Adrien’s blood surged in his veins. He bared his teeth in a growl, yanked her fully against him, and seized her mouth in a kiss. He felt a tremor of nascent fear run though her, and immediately gentled. “I’m not going to hurt you, Mari.”
“I know,” she replied. “This is just a bit new, for me.”
He pulled back to look at her face, cupping her cheeks in his hands. “We can stop at any time.”
“I don’t want to stop, Adrien.” She grasped his neck and pulled his lips back to hers. "I want you, too."
Or I guess more LM inspired? An idea I don’t know if I’ll do, it’s a fun idea but not one I feel passionate enough to do. Maybe sometime? But if anyone wants to tackle it instead, go ahead.
So...
Mers and humans have a neutral dislike to each other.
Mers are said to either lead humans astray or drown them.
Humans are said to capture mer and keep them as exotic pets, or take them with the intent to get their lovely scales.
And both are described to be very vain, willing to kill for treasure.
Either way, both races are warned to stay away from the other.
Marinette is a rare sea witch, anything she makes brings the wearer good luck and has a rejuvenating power in her touch.
Her power is well known enough that King Andre seeks to have her be apart of his court, and desires for her to help his daughter Princess Chloe rule when she takes the throne (they don’t get along though).
Marinette likes to slip out into the open ocean, gather materials to make her lucky trinkets.
This trip, she slips out during a coming storm; same as a lonely Adrien is running away from home slips out onto rough waters, missing the signs of the coming storm.
The storms overwhelms Adrien and he’s tossed under the waves unconscious, giving Marinette quite the fright when the water shoved him right next to her.
It is pure instinct that pushes Marinette to save him.
And once he’s safe on shore and breathing, she has a few minutes of relief before it clicks in her head what she just did.
She saved a human.
She saved a human.
That is one of the biggest no’s no’s in the mer kingdom! (maybe just go ahead and call it Paris? idk)
AND SHE SAVED A HUMAN.
Marinette has her freak out, afraid she may get kicked out of the kingdom and will have to live alone like most other sea witches (they usually live alone because of abuse power).
Unconscious Adrien moves and Marinette has a start, calming down and actually taking this human in.
This is her real first time being close to a human, she’s seen them at a distance, with Alya dragging her and Nino up to the surface to watch humans from afar, live on the edge of danger; but this human didn’t seem dangerous.
He was actually kind of handsome for a human, and she gives into her curiosity instead of her caution and explores him.
But her probing (looking at ears and eyes) rouses Adrien and he catches sight of a mer looming over him.
Cue Adrien freak out cause he’s heard so many stories about mers and there was one with him.
Marinette gets scared and flees back into the water, going as far away as possible and doesn’t calm down till she felt she was far away enough. Then she reassures herself. No one knows she saved a human. She wasn’t going to see that human again. She was undeniably curious, but she should just let the current take this episode away.
She was not going to see that human again and just go on living life.
Only, Adrien was still frozen, his mind locked on the mythical being he saw, a being that didn’t kill him like so many warned they would, a being that saved him.
Adrien was intrigued and curious.
And he always followed his curiosity.
Cue Adrien trying to refind that mer.
And to do so, probably comes across the sea witch Hawkmoth who was kicked out of the mer kingdom and wants to rule it. He makes a deal with Adrien, he’ll turn him into a mer in return for... I guess his voice but I don’t know if voice would be a good choice? Maybe?
This is pretty how far I got on this idea, with mer!Adrien refinding Marinette and her having an internal freak out cause yes, that human came back into her life and he’s a mer for some reason and he doesn’t know mer customs and this is a huge mess with Adrienette slow burn.
What happens hence forth... I dunno. This is the basics I have for a LM inspired fic. It’s on my maybe list atm. If anyone wants to tackle the idea, all I ask is that you let me know, I’d like to see it.
I’ve started a new chapter fic, because I don’t already have enough of those.
It was inspired by this art from @carnalrhythms, for the Fantasy Smutember prompt. And while this chapter doesn’t contain anything naughty, we will eventually get to the scene depicted in the art that spawned this story. I just felt that this kind of AU requires some back story, and I just couldn’t dive into the sex without setting it up first.
Also, and this is very important, this story is a very belated birthday gift to the wonderful, and wonderfully talented, @freedom-shamrock!! I hope that this story brings you joy, and reminds you that you bring a great deal of joy to others. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SHAMROCK!!!!
(Also on AO3, if you prefer to read it there.)
Adrien sat alone on the rocky outcropping, absently twisting the deceptively simple ring on his finger as he berated himself for over-sleeping. If he’d risen before dawn, as he’d intended, he’d have slipped that silver ring from his finger and taken to the sea for a swim. Now, though, it was just too risky. It was too late in the morning, and soon, he would no longer be alone on the beach. His swim would just have to wait until that night, after everyone else had gone home, and gone to bed.
He glanced at his watch and sighed. There was too little time before class, and far too much time before it would be safe for him to return. As much as he loved that ring, and the freedom it brought, there were days that he longed to shed its magic and revert to his true form. If he went too long on his legs, the longing would turn to an ache, and eventually, the ache to a pain. He chuckled a bit darkly, thinking again of the dark tale he’d discovered after joining the humans on land. Andersen hadn’t been too far off the mark, actually. A mermaid—or in his case, a merman—might not feel as if she were walking on knives when she first left the water, but if she kept her legs indefinitely, it certainly would get to that point.
Fortunately for Adrien, he was nowhere near the point of excruciating pain. He felt only an irritating ache, and an almost magnetic pull to the sea; he could survive both of those things for another day.
After another glance at his watch, he stood and stretched, prepared to make his way back to the house to get ready for class. He paused, though, when an incongruous movement in the water caught his eye. He stopped to watch, thinking that it must be dolphins, and frowned in confusion when he realized that it wasn’t a marine animal at all, but a person.
Was it one of his father’s people? It had to be. He wasn’t expecting anyone, and it was foolhardy to be so near the humans at such a time, but it couldn’t be anyone else. Humans had to breathe.
Concerned now, he made his way down from the rocks to the sandy beach, thinking to meet whoever it was in the surf, where they’d be less likely to be recognized for what they were. Concern turned to absolute shock when he recognized the swimmer, not as someone from his home, but as one of his classmates from the university.
What the hell?
He stopped at the edge of the surf and watched her make her way up to the beach several meters away, stymied. It was definitely Marinette. She was an incredibly beautiful young woman, with shoulder-length blue-black hair and arresting blue eyes, and she was very friendly—with everyone but him. Around him, she became so shy that he still didn’t know her well, in spite of his efforts to become friends.
He approached her cautiously, unsure of his welcome. “Marinette?”
She jumped at the sound of his voice and stumbled, falling gracelessly to her hands and knees in the wet sand. “A-Adrien!” She pushed herself to her feet, blushing, and awkwardly began trying to brush the sand from her legs. “Um, hi.”
“Hi.” He crossed over to her with a hesitant smile, scratching uncomfortably at the back of his head as he tried not to notice how incredible she looked in her bikini with rivulets of water streaming down her skin. “Shoot, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“It’s—it’s alright. I wasn’t paying attention, and I think you’ve seen before how madly clumsy I am.” She gave up on the sand, which clung stubbornly to her wet skin, and glanced at him shyly before looking out at the water. “I guess I just wasn’t expecting to see anyone out here this early.”
“I was kind of thinking the same thing, actually. I often come out here in the mornings to, uh, to think.” He eyed her curiously. “I don’t usually see anyone else.”
“You—you do?” She looked back at him, her surprise clearly overriding her shyness. “I do too. I’m surprised I’ve never seen you out here before.” She paused thoughtfully, taking in their surroundings before continuing. “Though I guess that I don’t usually come this far up the beach. ”
He smiled, pleased that she was finally talking to him the way she usually did with Alya and Nino. “I don’t usually come this far down the beach.”
“I guess that explains it, then.” She returned his smile for a moment, then flushed again and retreated once more into shyness.
He sighed at the loss. Did she just not like him?
She cleared her throat, and tugged anxiously at one of her earrings as she took a step back. “I was just heading back. You know, to get ready for class.”
“Me, too, actually,” he replied gratefully, taking a step back as well. “I guess I’ll see you later, yeah?”
“Y-yeah! Um, bye!” She flashed him a smile, waving and skipping backward a few steps, then turning to jog down the beach.
He watched her for a moment, then turned back the other direction with a bemused shake of his head. He made his way back up to the rocks, and from there to the long boardwalk that would take him back to his father’s beach house, mulling over their strange encounter. Maybe his original impression had been wrong. Maybe she’d just been swimming parallel to the shore, rather than swimming in from the ocean, and maybe she hadn’t been spending as much time under the water as he’d thought. After all, humans can’t breathe underwater, and Marinette was human, wasn’t she?
Adrien stopped, staring sightlessly ahead with wide eyes. What if she wasn’t? He wasn’t human, and he knew that there were others like him, living anonymously among their human counterparts. If she were like him…! It would be wonderful, if he could share his secret with someone without fearing their reaction.
He gave his head a shake and continued walking. He couldn’t assume anything. But perhaps, he should try again to get to know her better?
Marinette jogged all the way back to the place where she’d left her things, her mind in a whirl. Of all the people to run into out here, it just had to have been Adrien! She scooped up her towel with a groan, and dried the last of the water from her skin.
The breeze giggled at her, and she glared toward the sound. “You would think it was funny, Tikki.” She stuffed her towel into her bag and shook out the loose dress she always wore over her bathing suit for the walk to the beach as the breeze brushed her cheek with another giggle.
“Of course I do!” A pair of laughing blue eyes materialized out of the air, followed by an impish smile, and the rest of her face, until the little red Air elemental was completely visible. “You’ve been trying to talk to him for ages, Marinette! And now you’ve had a whole conversation with him, all on your own!”
Marinette paused in pulling her dress over her body, and smiled dreamily. “I did, didn’t I?”
Tikki spun happily in the air. “You did!”
She sighed happily, then groaned with renewed distress and finished pulling her dress down. “But Tikki, what if he had seen?”
“Oh Marinette, you worry too much. What if he had? What could he possibly have thought, other than that you were going for an early morning swim?”
“Well, yeah, but most people have to actually come up for air. You’re the only reason that I don’t.” She slung her bag over her shoulder and walked the short distance to where her bike leaned lazily against the fence. “What if he saw enough to start asking questions? I can’t have questions, Tikki!”
“It’ll be fine, Marinette. I promise!” The little sprite faded back to invisibility with a lingering smile, reminding Marinette as she so often did of the Cheshire Cat. Then the smile, too, was gone, and the wind swept past Marinette, lifting her drying hair from her face and ruffling her dress encouragingly.
“I know, I know. I’m going.” Marinette smiled fondly, knowing that the sprite was still nearby, and walked her bike to the path and began the short trip back to the apartment she shared with Alya, several blocks away.
Once there, she put her bike away and raced upstairs to get showered and changed for school, waving to Alya in the kitchen on the way by. Twenty minutes later saw both girls on the bus, headed to the main campus of the Aix-Marseille University —Marinette, to go to class, and Alya, to meet her boyfriend before their classes began.
As Marinette sat licking the buttery remnants of a croissant from her fingers, Alya nudged her shoulder with a grin.
“You know, M, I will never get over the fact that you have actually started getting up early every single morning, and you still manage to be running behind every single morning.”
Marinette rolled her eyes, accepting the teasing as a normal part of their morning routine. “Ha ha, Alya. You know you wouldn’t know what to do with me if I weren’t late.”
“Probably not,” she laughed. “You were even later than normal this morning, though, weren’t you?”
Marinette cringed, knowing she was blushing. “Yeah, a bit,” she hedged, hoping not to get into it.
Alya’s brows rose, and her gaze sharpened. “I know that look, M. Spill.”
She sighed. She really should have known better. “I kind of…ran into Adrien?”
“What? Seriously? Was he alone?” Marinette nodded helplessly, and Alya hooted in excitement. “Girl, you were holding out on me!”
“Ugh, Alya, nothing happened! We just…talked. A little. And it was awkward, and maybe a little weird, and then we both left to head home. It was nothing.”
“Girl. You ‘talked’? As in a conversation? That is totally something!” Her eyes widened, then narrowed suspiciously. “And you weren’t going to tell me about it, were you?”
“I was,” she protested weakly. “Eventually.”
“Mm-hmm,” Alya hummed through pursed lips. “Sure you were.”
“I was! Just, not until tonight, when we could sit and talk it over without interruption.”
“Ahh, I see.” She sat back with a smirk and crossed her arms over her chest. “You were going to tell me when it was too late for me to corner Adrien on the Green and ask him about your little tête-à-tête.”
“Maybe.” Marinette ducked her head guiltily, but she was smiling. “But in my defense, you are kind of a force of nature.”
“I got you, girl, don’t you worry.”
The bus slowed to a stop, causing Marinette to bump gently into Alya, and both girls stood to exit. “Somehow, Alya, that doesn’t make me feel any better.”
Alya followed her off of the bus with a ringing laugh, and the two friends waved to one another as they headed in different directions.
Marinette hitched her bag up higher on her shoulder, and tried not to let herself worry over Alya’s interference. Alya would be Alya, she had Marinette’s best interests at heart, and the worst she might suffer was a bit of embarrassment. She could deal with that.
Marinette reached the door to her classroom, and settled herself on the stone bench just outside the door to await her instructor. With a deliberate effort, Marinette pushed her worries aside, and began to prepare herself mentally for the lesson to come.
She’d ostensibly come to the renowned Aix-Marseille University to study in their Arts program, and she was. But more importantly, she’d come to participate in their Elemental Master’s program, to hone her inherent Air magic.
Not everyone knew about that particular track of study, of course. Not everyone was an elemental mage, and those who were made it a point to hide their magic from those who weren’t. The lesson had been very well learned, and reinforced multiple times over the ages. The Inquisition in Spain, the witch hunts in the States, the persecution of the Celts in Britain…the examples were too numerous to count, and contemporary mages took those lessons to heart.
Of course, not all of them were uptight about it. For some, it was a game they played, to hide in plain sight. J.K. Rowling was one such mage, and her Harry Potter series was just as popular among the magical set as it was among the “muggles”. Perhaps even more so, because it carried the added bonus of being an inside joke for those in the know.
Marinette fell mostly into the second group of magic wielders; she loved things like Harry Potter, and she certainly wasn’t ashamed of her magic, but she was terrified of making a mistake that would expose herself, her family, and even their whole community to the wider world. That fear was, in large part, responsible for her presence at this school. Her mother was a Fire mage of middling power, and her father was an Air mage with minimal power. Their power combination was ideal for running a bakery—Tom’s sylphs and sprites ensured that their breads all rose perfectly, and maintained a proper air flow in the ovens, while Sabine’s Fire salamanders kept the ovens at the perfect temperature, ensuring that all of their baked goods came out, well, perfectly. Combine that with well-loved recipes that had been handed down for generations, and it was easy to see why the Dupain-Cheng store flourished.
Unfortunately, though, Marinette’s Air magic far outstripped her parents’ powers and she’d exhausted what they could teach her by the time she reached lycée. She had a Master’s power, and she required a Master to teach her. And so, when she chose her University, she considered attending the Paris ESMOD only briefly before choosing a school for its’ arcane renown rather than its Arts program. The choice baffled her friends, but her parents supported the choice wholeheartedly and Marinette was far more at peace with her powers, knowing that she would finally be learning to control them fully.
Marinette heard a key turning in the lock, and opened her eyes to greet Mme. Piers warmly.
“Good morning, Marinette,” the woman returned. “Are you ready?”
She nodded eagerly, and felt Tikki sweep them both in an excited eddy of air.
“All right then,” Mme. Piers said, laughing. “Come along, both of you.”
Marinette eagerly followed the Air master into the warded workroom, and Tikki blew in behind them, pulling the door closed behind her.
So, I can't leave this story alone. It's like I'm reading a book, and I really, really want to know what happens next--except that I can't, until I write it. So. Have a third chapter in as many days. I can't promise to keep up this pace, and in fact, I can pretty much promise that I won't. But I hope you enjoy it while it lasts!
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 On AO3
Marinette blinked. “Half…fish?”
Adrien’s eyes slid closed, and he took a slow, deep breath through his nose. “Plagg, I swear, I am going to abandon you to the Nereids.”
“No you won’t.” Plagg shrugged. “You were going to spend all day swimming around it. I saved you from yourself.”
“Wait-wait-wait, ‘half fish’? As in—”
Adrien opened his eyes and sheepishly held up one hand, displaying the pale green webbing stretched between his fingers, as well as the narrow fin along his forearm, and hoping fervently that she wouldn’t be repulsed. “Merman.”
Marinette’s eyes went round, riveted on his hand, and her mouth formed a perfect O of surprise. Then her eyes moved slowly down his arm to the bend of his elbow, and then up, up to his shoulder, to his face. She saw now the details she’d missed in her initial panic: the sheen of iridescent scales at his jaw and down his neck, the delicate points of his ears…the pronounced points of his teeth.
She felt a frisson of fear dance down her spine, until his eyes caught hers, and she saw in them the same gentle spirit that had always been there.
“Merman,” she breathed, wonderingly. He still looked like himself, but he was also very clearly something exotic, something other. Somehow, because of that, he was even more beautiful now than she’d ever seen him before. And considering how brain-meltingly attractive he’d been to begin with, that was saying something.
She raised her hand to touch him, but stopped with her fingers hovering just centimeters from his skin, blushing hotly. “May I?”
He nodded mutely, pulling her closer to help support her in the water with a hand at her elbow, and she saw with a feeling of relief that he was blushing, too. Somehow, that grounded her, and her fingers shook only a little as she ran them down the webbing between his splayed fingers. He shuddered at the touch, though, and she withdrew her hand quickly.
“I’m sorry!”
“It’s alright,” he said, his blush deepening. “I’m just, ah, not used to being touched. Go ahead.”
Marinette frowned at that, but took his hand in hers, and ran her other hand over the fin on his arm, pressing the jade green spines down along his skin. “You’re warm,” she said, in some surprise. Every fish she’d ever touched, on the rare occasions when she’d been fishing, had been cold and a little slimy.
He chuckled. “I’m not actually a fish. I’m warm-blooded, like you.”
“Oh.” She touched the iridescent scales on his arm along the fin, noting the way they faded from green, at the base of the fin, to almost clear further out, where the scales gave way to normal skin.
“I guess this is your first time, meeting one of my people?”
She jerked her hand away, blushing again, and nodded. “There aren’t many mermaids in Paris.”
He laughed. “No, I bet there aren’t. It would be fishy if there were.”
“Oh my god,” she groaned, swimming backward a bit, and he released her. “Did you just pun? On purpose?”
“Is there any way to do it, except on porpoise?”
Plagg snickered, but she groaned again. “Ugh. That’s it. I’m leaving.”
“What? Oh come on, Marinette, don’t you like puns?” She heard him swimming after her, and he caught up with her easily. “We can’t be fronds, if you don’t.”
“You’re terrible,” she huffed, panting with exertion.
“Terribly funny.” He frowned, then, and swam in front of her. “Hey, wait a minute. Why don’t you let me bring you in?”
She bristled at the implication that she couldn’t do it herself, and scowled. “I can make it in on my own.”
“I know you can, but do you really want to?” Her frown eased, and he forged ahead. “You’ve been treading water for a long time, and practicing your magic before that. I know you’re exhausted. Please let me help you?”
Her legs were aching, and even the thought of fighting the surf all the way back was enough to make her feel weary. “Alright.”
He grinned at her, and she felt the force of that smile down to her toes. Had she ever seen him really smile before?
“Here, just hold on to me, and I’ll have you back up there in no time at all.”
He held his arms out like he was waiting for a hug, and her eyes widened in dismay when she realized what she’d actually just agreed to. With a gulp, she wrapped her arms around his neck, and felt his left arm wrap around her body, holding her close. She had only a moment to process that, though, before they shot ahead. She tightened her hold on him and closed her eyes, trying not to think of anything at all.
Adrien held his arms out to her invitingly, and her eyes went wide for a moment before moving to wrap her arms around him. He wondered at her reaction, until he felt her slick skin press against him down the length of his body. Then he understood.
At that point there was nothing for it but to wrap his arm around her waist as clinically as possible, and carry her back to the beach.
He’d never done anything like that before. There were just as many humans in his home-city of Meriton as there were mer-people in Paris, and to all of the humans he’d met in Marseille he was just as human as they. The need, the opportunity, had never arisen. Now, the experience was both far too brief and far too lasting.
Adrien’s mother had disappeared when he was still very young. His father was a reserved man, dedicated to his work, and he had withdrawn further after losing the woman who had apparently been the love of his life. Most of the others in his life were his father’s employees, and though he saw both Nathalie and Gorile as a part of his family, they insisted on maintaining a professional distance. The only one he’d known who had ever shown him any physical affection was Chloé, and her clinging attention had had only been stifling.
Marinette’s touch felt different. She wasn’t being paid for her interactions with him, like Nathalie and Gorile. She wasn’t hoping to gain something from their acquaintance, playing on his wealth and fame, like Chloé. To Marinette, he was just Adrien, and he knew from her wide-eyed blush that she was just as affected as he.
When she’d gently stroked the membranes of his hand, the sensation had rocked him. He’d been able to control his reaction after that, but each touch of her hand was no less intense than the first had been and he’d felt them to his core. Those sensations, coupled with the unveiled wonder and appreciation and unconditional acceptance in her gaze, had nearly undone him.
Somehow, he’d forgotten all about that in the teasing that followed. In his desire to help her, he’d given no thought to what that help would entail. Now, moving through the water with her arms around his neck and his hand on the curve of her hip, he could think of nothing else. Her body scalded him where they touched, in spite of the coolness of her skin, and her breath felt like a caress on his neck every time she exhaled. He never wanted to let her go, while at the same time, he could not wait to reach the shore so that he could re-establish the space between them, and regain his equilibrium. He was afraid of his reaction to her, afraid of the strength of his attraction. He needed time, away from her, to process it.
Fortunately for his state of mind, it took only a few minutes and very little effort for him to make a swim that would have taken her three times as long. When he felt his fin brush sand, he stopped and pulled his arm from her waist to rest his hand gently at her hip. “Is this close enough?”
“Yeah, this is fine.” She let him go and swam backwards, toward the shore, until she could touch the bottom. “Aren’t you coming in?”
“Er, yeah, hang on a minute.” Adrien’s hands went to the long leather thong around his neck, and pulled it off over his head to un-loop it from around his ring. He stopped, though, with the ring only half way on, and looked at her in acute embarrassment. “Ah, maybe you ought to go on without me.”
“Oh—kay.” Her brow furrowed, either in confusion or concern; he wasn’t sure which. “Is everything alright?”
“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. I just, ah, I need my legs back and I’m not—I mean, my pants are—gods, this is awkward.”
“Oh.” Marinette’s eyes lit with understanding, and she flushed crimson right to the roots of her hair. “Oh! You’re—you aren’t wearing any—um, right. I’ll just…I’ll be going.” She took a step back, buffeted by a rolling wave, and then stopped, flicking her eyes downward.
He smirked, in spite of his own discomfort at the situation. “There’s nothing to see at the moment.”
“No! I wasn’t—well, I did, but I didn’t—oh, bloody hell. I’m leaving. Now.” She took a few awkward steps back, still blushing furiously, and then turned with a wave, calling back over her shoulder, “I’ll just—I’ll just see you later!”
He waited until she was completely out of the water before replacing his ring on his finger, allowing the magic to remold his body into that of a human male in a flash of green light. To his chagrin, his, ah, interest in her was far more evident in this form than it was with his tail, but it couldn’t be helped. He stayed where he was, treading water, until she waved from the beach and disappeared from view on her bike. Only then did he move in to the shore, to pull on his shorts and gather his own things.
“So, I think that went well.”
Adrien glanced at Plagg, who had appeared at his elbow, as he struggled to pull his shorts up over his wet skin. “You would.”
“She didn’t freak out over you being a fish.”
“I’m not a fish.” He grabbed his towel and began rubbing at his hair, drying it.
Plagg shrugged. “Nuance. And you’re avoiding the point.”
He tossed his towel over his shoulder, slid his feet into his sandals, and glared at Plagg. “What is the point, then?”
“I’m just saying, she’s a human, and she knows that you’re not a human, and she isn’t freaking out.”
“I know she’s not freaking out, Plagg. But maybe I am, a little bit. Alright?” He ran his hands through his wet, disheveled hair. “Just, get in the ring, please, so we can go back.”
“Don’t forget my Camembert.”
“You are so weird.”
“I’m serious.”
“Elementals don’t eat. Why do you eat?”
“Try me.” Plagg crossed his arms over his chest, and looked pointedly at Adrien. “I will abandon you to your fan club.”
Adrien shuddered. “There’s no need to be cruel, Plagg. You’ll get your dumb stinky cheese. Please get in the ring?”
“Fine.”
Plagg got in the ring.
“Tikki, I’m freaking out.”
“Don’t freak out, Marinette! What is there to freak out about?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Marinette threw her hands in the air dramatically, and plopped down on the side of her bed. “How about, the guy I’ve been practically in love with now knows that I’m a mage and, oh by the way, he’s also actually a merman? Like, how does that even work?”
“Marinette—” Tikki began, but Marinette just kept right on talking.
“Or, what about the fact that my best friend is a natural-born investigator and she is going to KNOW something is up and how am I going to keep this from her? I mean, it’s one thing for her to know about my magic, but this? It’s not my secret to tell! And I know he must guard his as closely as I guard mine! She’s going to find out, and then she’s going to say something to him, and then he’s going to hate me and oh my god, what if there’s some kind of treaty between his people and mine? I’ll be violating some kind of international code, and I’ll be arrested and—”
“Marinette, stop!” Tikki got in her face again and squeezed the end of her nose, causing her to stop her tirade and close her mouth with a snap. “Deep breaths, Marinette. You need to relax, and take one thing at a time.”
Marinette blew out a long breath, and smiled weakly. “You’re right. I can handle this. One thing at a time.”
“Exactly. Get through your classes first, and then we can deal with the rest.”
“Class!” Marinette shot up in a panic, and began scrambling to gather her things. “Merde, Tikki, I’m going to be late!”
“At least today is one of your later days,” Tikki giggled. “If this was a Workshop day, you’d have missed it entirely.”
“I know, but I’m still running late! Bye!” She flew out of the apartment, down the stairs, and to the bus stop on the corner, where Alya was sitting with her phone in her hand.
“I’m here! I made it!”
“You’re ridiculous.” Alya looked up at her with sparkling eyes, and tucked her phone into her bag. “You didn’t even have time to brush your hair, did you?”
Marinette winced, and Alya winced with her. “Ah, no. I think I’m lucky that I got the shower.”
“Want me to do something with it? I’ve got a couple of hair ties in my bag.”
“Yes, please,” she replied, nodding fervently. “It’s going to make me nuts if it stays down like this.”
“You got it.” Alya stood and shouldered her bag, nodding at the approaching bus. “After we get on the bus.”
They stood quietly with the two other passengers waiting for the bus, and climbed on when it had stopped and the doors hissed open. They found a pair of unoccupied seats near the front, and once they were seated, Alya turned without a word and began finger-combing Marinette’s hair.
Marinette sighed happily, enjoying the feel of Alya’s against her scalp. “I should have you do that way more often than you do.”
“You always say that,” Alya chuckled softly. “You know, we should have a sleepover this weekend.”
“What?” Marinette turned to look at her friend as if she’d gone crazy. “We live in the same apartment.”
“Yeah, but when was the last time we did the whole sleepover thing?” She put her hand on the top of Marinette’s head and turned her back around. “We could put on our favorite PJs and stay up all night, watching movies and eating pizza and playing dumb games.”
Marinette laughed. “Make those video games, and I’m in.”
“You got it, babe.” She stopped to dig around in her bag, and produced two black hair elastics. “What do you think, M, pig tails?”
“Sure, why not?” She grinned as Alya split her hair into two sections, and began wrapping an elastic around one. “It’ll be just like we’re in collége again, what with the pig tails and the sleepovers.”
“Yeah, but just think, M.” Alya gathered the other section into a neat tail and tied it back as well. “This time, we can invite boys!”
“Alya, yes! I’ll talk to Nino, and you can talk to Adrien. It’ll be awesome!”
“No, I’m serious, Alya.” She put her hand on Alya’s arm, pleading. “Don’t talk to Nino yet. Not until I get a chance to talk to you again, later.”
“What, did you run into Adrien again this morning?”
“I did. And I will tell you all about it, I promise, just wait until later, okay?”
“Alright girl, settle down. I’ll wait.” She frowned, searching Marinette’s expression. “You’re okay, right? Like, he didn’t do something to—”
“No! No, nothing like that. I just—I actually need to talk to him again, and then I’ll tell you everything. Deal?”
Alya nodded, satisfied that Adrien didn’t need pummeling. “Deal.”
The rest of the ride passed with idle chatter about classes, coursework, and harmless gossip. They parted ways at the campus bus stop with a smile and a wave, and Marinette headed to her first class of the day.
It was Thursday, which meant that she had two long classes back to back and then she was done for the day. Normally, she would spend her afternoon studying, or working on a design project, but today she was hoping to spend it with Adrien, asking questions and filling in some holes. To do that, though, would mean getting in touch with him to see if he could meet her.
Marinette stopped outside her classroom, propped her shoulder against the wall and pulled her phone from her bag, staring at it as if it might bite her.
She had his number, of course. He’d gotten to be good friends with Nino in the two years since they’d all started their studies at AMU, and the four of them—Marinette, Alya, Nino and Adrien—often did things together as a group. But she had never communicated with him directly, or tried to hang out with him apart from the group. Even after their encounter that morning, texting him felt like a big step.
Still, it was necessary. She blew out a breath and brought up his contact information, pausing only for a moment before tapping the icon for a text message. Once there, though, she froze. What should she say? ‘I need to talk to you’ sounded dire, and ‘can you meet me for coffee’ sounded like a date. Wasn’t there a happy medium in there somewhere?
She turned, resting both shoulders against the wall behind her, and let her head fall back. How could a girl ask her crush to hang out with her, without making it sound like a date? Was that even possible?
Her phone chimed in her hand, startling her from her thoughts, and she jumped.
She straightened from the wall and opened her phone again, and found that Adrien had beaten her to the punch.
Adrien: Hey! We didn’t really get to finish talking earlier.
Would you want to get coffee this afternoon?
She giggled, grateful that they were apparently on the same wavelength, and sent her reply off quickly before heading in to class.
I'd thought to get to THE scene in this chapter, but as it turned out, I had a lot more ground to cover before I get there than I thought I did. Why must I be so thorough?
Marinette ended the call with a quick apology, and took the laptop from their knees to set it on the ottoman. When it was gone, Adrien doubled over with his laughter, resting his arms on his knees and his face in his hands and his unnatural laughter gave way to wrenching sobs almost immediately. Heart breaking for him, she wrapped her arms around his shuddering shoulders and he leaned into the embrace almost desperately. Finally, she simply lounged back into the corner of the couch and pulled him to half-sprawl over her, without either of them releasing the other.
She had no idea how long they stayed like that, he sobbing brokenly and she rubbing his back in soothing circles, but he slowly quieted until she heard only his ragged breathing. “Adrien? Are you awake?”
“I am,” he replied, his voice raw.
“Are you alright?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you, um, do you want to talk about it?”
“I don’t—I don’t think that I can. Not yet.”
“Okay.”
He was quiet for several minutes after that, and Marinette stayed quiet as well, understanding that he needed the comfort more than he needed words. This left her to seethe privately.
From the little bits and pieces that Adrien had let fall about his life back home, Marinette had already formed an unfavorable opinion of Adrien’s father. After their conversation with the Guardian, her opinion had plummeted and now she was using words like “despicable” and “contemptible” in her mental dialogue.
The man had told Adrien he was a disappointment?
He’d complained about his weak magic?
Those things alone were reprehensible—but add to that the fact that he was lying about it all, chipping away at his son’s self-worth with things that weren’t even true?
It made Marinette’s blood boil, and only the fact that Adrien needed compassion rather than righteous indignation kept her from marching around the room, ranting her fury. Even then, she was practicing deep breathing exercises to distract herself, and keep her temper from boiling over.
She brought one hand up and threaded it through Adrien’s hair, finger-combing it back from his face, and he stirred.
“I’m sorry, Marinette,” he said quietly, his voice taut with shame.
“Adrien, no.” She pushed at his shoulders and he sat up stiffly, refusing to meet her eyes. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
“I completely fell apart, in front of you and your parents and the Guardian…” He trailed off, and scoffed. “Who does that?”
“You just found out—”
“That I’m a lot more powerful than I thought? Yeah, but that’s a good thing. Shouldn’t I have been happy about it?”
“Okay, Adrien, first of all: no. More power is not necessarily a good thing. I often wish that I was more like my mom, because then my life would be a lot easier than it is. And secondly—you and I both know that that isn’t why you’re upset.” He scoffed again and stood, pacing away restlessly. She followed him, but didn’t crowd him. “Adrien, please. I’m not going to push you to talk about it, but I’m also not going to let you twist this around to blame yourself. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Listen to her, kid. She’s right.”
“Ah, what do you care, Plagg? Just…leave me alone.”
Marinette bit her lip, and shifted her weight uncertainly from one foot to the other. “Do—do you want me to go, too?” He shrugged, and she tried to pretend that his indifference didn’t hurt. “Okay then. I’ll just, um, grab my bag and—”
“No, Marinette, that’s not—Gods.” He scrubbed his hands over his face, and then ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sorry. I just—I hate for you to see me this way. But…I think I hate the idea of you leaving right now even more.”
She closed the distance between them, and wound her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to the middle of his chest. “I can stay as long as you need me to, Adrien.”
His arms closed around her, and he lowered his cheek to the top of her head. “Thank you,” he murmured. “Thank you.”
Adrien woke sometime after midnight, with a pounding headache, a crick in his neck, and a warm weight on his chest. He was disoriented at first, but it didn’t take long for the events of the evening to surface in his sleep-fogged brain.
The Guardian.
His ring.
His father’s lies.
And Marinette.
They’d fallen asleep on his couch, watching Netflix on his laptop.
The computer had long since gone to sleep itself, and he wiggled the mouse so that the screen would give him some light to see by. It didn’t help much, though. He was still pinned beneath a slumbering Marinette. He didn’t want to wake her, but the pain in his neck would not be ignored. This left him with two options: pick her up, put her in his bed, and come back to the couch, or, pick her up, put her in his bed, and then crawl into it next to her.
There was no doubt which option he preferred. Had she been Mer, he’d have taken that option without a second thought. But she wasn’t Mer, and might well think him unforgivably presumptuous if he crawled into bed with her while she slept.
Then again, she had fallen asleep with him—on him, even—and it was his bed.
He heaved a sigh, and a cool breath of air fanned his face.
“What is it, Adrien?” came the tiny voice, and Adrien jumped. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Marinette shifted in her sleep, but didn’t wake.
“She’s a deep sleeper,” Tikki giggled.
“I see that,” he whispered back.
“So what were you just agonizing over?” He looked at her questioningly, and she giggled again. “Marinette makes the same face when she’s over-thinking things.”
He smiled, and glanced at the young woman sleeping on his chest. “I was trying to decide whether it was really necessary for me to sleep on the couch tonight.”
“While she sleeps in your bed, you mean?” He nodded. “Oh, good heavens no. She won’t mind. She might have a manic attack in the morning, when she realizes she’s drooled on you, but she won’t mind.”
Adrien grinned at her, and began the slow, careful process of moving them both to his bed.
When Marinette woke late the next morning, she had no idea where she was. She rolled to her back and stared in confusion at the strange ceiling, trying to figure out what had happened. She remembered being at Adrien’s house, and the Skype call, and the fallout of that call, watching Netflix with Adrien, and then…nothing. She must have fallen asleep watching TV, which meant that Adrien had moved her into this room sometime in the night.
She sat up and looked around, taking in the details of the guest room. The walls were a pale taupe, with generic seascapes adorning the walls. It was a generous size for a guest room, and for that matter, the bed was generously sized as well. The night stand closest to hers held only a lamp, the top of the dresser was bare, save for a driftwood bowl that had been artfully filled with woven spheres, and the nightstand on the other side—
She frowned. The other nightstand held a wallet, keys, phone charger, a few Euro coins…Marinette’s eyes widened, and she looked at the pillow next to hers, seeking and finding the tell-tale divot that meant that the pillow had been occupied.
This was Adrien’s room.
This was Adrien’s bed.
The door swung open, and Marinette yanked the covers up with a shriek, startling Adrien badly enough that he sloshed coffee out of the mugs and onto the tray he held. “Oh crumb, Adrien, I am so sorry!”
“Don’t worry about it,” he chuckled. As he moved towards her, the little bit of liquid that had spilled floated up into the air and poured back into the mugs. “I made coffee, but I’m not sure how you take yours so I brought it all with me.”
Marinette stared at the mugs in rapt fascination. “That was amazing!”
“What?”
“That thing you did, with the coffee? It’s like you didn’t even have to think about it.”
“Oh. That.” He shrugged, at on the edge of the bed, and placed the tray on the bed between them. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t. Sugar?”
Marinette pursed her lips, but let it go. For now. “Yes, please. Cream, too. I love coffee, but I’m afraid that I have to have it well-doctored.”
Adrien smiled, and proceeded to prepare her coffee as requested. “Nino says that ‘if you have to put all that crap in your coffee—’”
“‘Then you don’t actually like coffee,’” she finished for him. “Oh, I know. He’s an absolute snob about his coffee.”
He passed the first mug to her with a grin. “How’s this?”
She took a tentative sip, and then hummed in pleasure. “It’s perfect, thank you.”
“Good.” He busied himself with preparing the second up, and shot her a sidelong glance. “I, um, want to apologize again for last night.”
“Adrien—”
“And to thank you, for being there with me, even when I was…like that.” He set the mug down and gave her his full attention. “I know you don’t think I should be ashamed, but I am, so this is important to me. Please, accept my apology.”
“Alright. I accept your apology.”
His expression eased, and he lifted his mug to his lips. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” Marinette wanted to press, to talk about last night, but—he’d talk when he was ready. Instead, she said, “I guess I ought to be getting back home.” She chuckled, thinking of the grilling that Alya would subject her to. “I can only imagine what Alya thinks happened last night. I’ll have to correct her.”
Adrien set his mug back on the tray and regarded her with a curious frown. “Does it bother you, for her to think that we were…intimate?”
“Yes.” Marinette blushed, and ducked her head. “But only because it isn’t true.”
“Ah.” He tilted his coffee cup, gently swirling the contents. “What if it was true?”
Marinette grinned, in spite of the fresh blush heating her cheeks. “I’d probably tell her about it myself, as soon as I got home.”
He choked on his coffee, and Marinette chortled. “You asked!”
“So I did.” He wiped the coffee from his chin with a warm smile, and Marinette felt her heart go all gooey. Time to leave, before he had her melting entirely.
“Thank you for the coffee.” She set her mug back on the tray, and slid her feet to the floor.
“Of course.” He stood when she did, and led the way out of the room.
She bit her lip, suddenly feeling awkward again as she followed him to the front door. “I, um, I’ll see you later, then, I guess? Are you still planning to come over tonight?”
“I am! 1600, right?”
“Yeah! Or, you know, whenever.”
He nodded, stopping in front of the door, and turning to face her. “I’ll be there.”
“Good.” She rocked back on her heels, smiling.
“Good.” He propped his shoulder against the door, and smiled back.
“Oh, for crying out loud, would you just kiss already, so she can leave?”
“For fuck’s sake, Plagg!” Adrien glared at the floating, smirking ‘cat’. “I think I liked it better when you spent all day in your tank.”
Marinette giggled. “He’s right, though.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
They kissed.
Adrien walked into the apartment at 1604, brown bag-wrapped bottle in hand, and Nino stomped in behind him with his arms full of Thai take-out. Both girls jumped up to help them set everything out on the table.
“Alya, if you order from that place again, I swear that I am going to break up with you,” Nino groused.
Marinette glanced at him sympathetically. “Bad service again?”
“Awful service. Abysmal service. I will never go back to that place, I don’t care how good the food is. I will fucking make it myself.”
“Aw, my poor Nino,” Alya cooed, wrapping her arms around his waist and leering up at him. “I’d be happy to service you.”
Nino choked on air, while Adrien snickered. “Jesus, Al.” He glanced at the blushing Marinette. “Keep it in your pants, will you?”
Alya pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Don’t you slut-shame me.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it. I just don’t want to share you.”
She smirked knowingly, looked pointedly at Marinette (who was now very studiously ignoring all three of them), and then back at her boyfriend. “That not what you said when—”
“ALYA!”
“What?” she asked innocently, though she was fooling no one.
“Nino,” Marinette interjected loudly, “will you go get plates and silverware please?”
He relaxed, and flashed a grateful smile. “Absolutely.”
“Adrien, can you go help him? We’ll need napkins, too.” He nodded, and followed Nino back to the kitchen. Marinette turned to a still smirking Alya. “You, Mlle Horndog, can help me with drinks.”
“Excellent idea, mon ami. I am quite…thirsty.”
They heard Adrien’s guffaw from the kitchen, and Marinette groaned. “You guys are the worst.”
Alya bumped her hip into Marinette’s. “You know you love us.”
Marinette heaved a long-suffering sigh. “I don’t know why.” But, she was smiling.
The four friends made short work of their meal, speaking little. That Thai restaurant was notorious for shoddy customer service, but they managed to stay in business because their food really was just that good. When they were done, the girls worked together to store their left-overs in the fridge while the guys washed the dishes and left them to dry.
Their tasks completed, Alya surveyed their selection of alcohol with a delighted smile. Nino had brought over a bottle of rum and a two liter of Coke earlier in the day; Marinette still had a partial bottle of Scotch whiskey that that she’d been slowly sipping her way through for several weeks; Alya had both a bottle of tequila and a bottle of margarita mix—and Adrien’s choice was still hidden by the brown paper bag. Curiously, she hefted it and slipped it out.
“Moscato?” she spluttered, laughing unreservedly at his choice.
He frowned. “What’s wrong with Moscato? You told me to bring what I like.”
“I did. I know I did. But I also said booze.” She waggled the bottle, displaying the label for the others to see. “This is glorified fruit juice, not booze.”
Marinette glared repressively at Alya, and took the bottle from her hand. “I happen to like Moscato, too,” she protested, searching for their corkscrew. “And even if I didn’t, there’s nothing wrong with his choice.”
“Thank you, Marinette,” Adrien beamed.
Alya shook her head, “Lightweights, the both of you.” She mixed herself a margarita that was far more tequila than mix, and then moved out of the way to allow the others to make their drinks.
Nino slipped into the space she’d occupied, and made a far more moderate rum and Coke for himself. “You have an iron liver, Al. It’s unnatural. The rest of us are just human.”
Adrien nearly dropped the glass that Marinette had just pressed into his hand, and she steadied it with an encouraging squeeze to his fingers. It struck him, then, just how nice it was that someone knew, and could look at him in that moment with support and understanding rather than curiosity and concern.
He continued to stare at her as she turned to fix her own drink (whiskey on the rocks) and didn’t return to himself until Alya spoke again.
“All set?” she asked, surveying the full drinks. “Excellent! Let the sleepover shenanigans begin!”
The rest of them followed her to the living room, where the TV and Xbox were set up for an UMS4 tournament. “Shenanigans?” he asked, warily.
Nino shrugged, settling himself into the corner of their couch. “She’s exaggerating.” Then he considered his girlfriend’s shit-eating grin, and amended it. “Probably.”
Marinette settled herself into an over-stuffed beanbag chair on the floor, and rubbed her hands together excitedly. “Who’s going to start?”
“Not you!” Alya and Nino said together, surprising a laugh out of Adrien.
Marinette pouted.
“Why not Marinette?”
“Because she is insanely good at this game,” Alya replied, turning everything on and grabbing the controllers.
Nino nodded his agreement. “It’s pretty much a foregone conclusion that she’s going to win, but we play anyway because it’s fun and she’s usually a good sport about it.”
“The rest of us like to get a bit of playing in before she gets her hands on a controller and obliterates us.” She passed one controller to Nino, and offered the other to Adrien. “You wanna go first? Best of three matches between you and Nino, and I’ll play the winner.”
“Sure,” he said, taking the controller after a slight hesitation. He’d been confident about his skill with the game, until they’d started talking about Marinette. Now he was worried that he’d make a poor showing.
He needn’t have.
The first match was surprisingly quick, and when it was over, Nino groaned in disgust. “You’re almost as good as she is,” he grumbled. “As good, even.”
The second match went the same as the first, rendering a third unnecessary.
“My turn!” Alya chirped, and Nino handed the controller to her.
“It’s your funeral,” he said despondently, and Adrien felt a twinge of guilt.
“Maybe it was a fluke,” she said hopefully, taking the controller and changing characters to begin another match.
Nino arched a brow. “Twice in a row?”
“It could happen.”
It wasn’t a fluke. Adrien beat Alya as soundly as he’d beaten Nino, and she tossed her controller to Marinette with a groan after the second match. “At least now someone can finally maybe knock Marinette from her pedestal. Having my ass kicked is worth it to see someone take down the Queen.”
Marinette grunted. “You can’t have my crown until you remove it from my corpse.”
“Whoa, dark,” Nino chuckled, then laughed outright when he saw the look she was getting from Adrien.
“I thought you said she was a good sport?” he said accusingly to Alya, who chuckled.
“That was before we realized that you’d actually be able to challenge her.”
Nino nodded sagely. “You’ve tapped her competitive streak.”
Marinette looked back at him, determination writ clearly on her face. “You ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
She nodded once, turned back to the screen, and started the match.
This time, the match lasted much longer, and Adrien found himself struggling to keep pace with her. In the end, he did lose—but not by much.
“Well done,” he said, smiling.
“Anyone else need a refill?” Alya asked, taking advantage of the lull between matches to get another drink.
Adrien and Nino chorused in the affirmative, but Marinette shook her head. “Not more whiskey, but I’ll have some water.”
“Lightweights. All of you.”
Nino, who was in the process of making a drink that had less rum in it than the previous had, scoffed. “I happen to like my liver the way it is. Functioning.”
“I’m less concerned with my liver, and more concerned with not being hung over in the morning.”
“Hung over?” Adrien was briefly confused by the term, and then it connected. “Oh, right. The miserable feeling you wake up to the morning after over-indulging.”
Alya and Nino stopped to look at him strangely, and Marinette giggled. He shrugged, and held up a wine glass that was only half-full. “It happened to me once, and it’s an experience I have no desire to repeat.”
Alya blinked. “Oh, you precious sun-child. How have you managed two years at University with only one hangover?”
Nino pushed his girlfriend out of the kitchen. “Leave him alone, Al, you’re embarrassing him.”
They settled back into their places in the living room, and the players took up their controllers for the second round. It was another close game, but to Adrien’s delight, he actually managed to beat Marinette.
Nino and Alya both whooped their joy, slapping Adrien on the back. Marinette wasn’t exactly celebrating, and her lips twisted sourly, but her eyes sparkled.
“Well done, Adrien,” she said, parroting his earlier words back at him. “It’s nice to be challenged once in a while.”
“Happy to oblige you,” he returned, feeling a tad smug. “Are you ready for round three?”
“Hoping to steal my crown, Adrien?”
He grinned. “Ready to try, anyway.”
“Come on, Adrien! ‘Do, or do not. There is no try.’”
Marinette snorted and hit start. “UMS4 now, Star Wars later, you nerd.”
“Star Wars?” Adrien asked, executing a complicated combination move that put him ahead of Marinette, if only slightly.
“You’ve never seen Star Wars?” Adrien shook his head, and Alya looked at Nino in shock.
“I know, I know! More than two years of friendship, and I still haven’t gotten him to watch it. I’m a failure.”
“It’s never too late,” Marinette pointed out, taking back her lead.
“And no time like the present.” Nino smiled triumphantly. “I think I know what movie we’re watching.”
“Not until I beat—Adrien—” Her fingers flew over the controller, stacking combos.
“Gah, how are you so good at this?”
“I played a lot with my dad growing up,” she said, systematically pounding his mech into the ground. “And I played in a couple of tournaments in collége and lycée.”
“It shows.” He tossed the controller to Marinette, who stood and put them on the shelf beneath the wall-mounted TV. “I only started playing a few years ago.”
“What he means to say, is that he only started playing video games a few years ago.” Nino shook his head. “It’s crazy that you got so good so fast.” He stood and stretched, then fetched his laptop from his bag and began scrolling through his movies, looking for Star Wars. “You know,” he said absently, “sometimes, I think your life didn’t start until a few years ago.”
Adrien felt Marinette’s gaze on him, and avoided meeting it. “Sometimes, I think you’re right.”
