All The Bright Places

The Project, Part 2

Marinette sat on her swivel chair at her desk as she waited for her project partner. He was supposed to come over so they could work on it together after his photoshoot that ended at 4:30pm.

A knock landed on her trap door as her mom poked her head in.

"Honey, Adrien is here to see you. Want me to send him up?"

"Yes, please. Thank you, mama."

Sabine smiled and headed back down. A few moments later Adrien climbed through.

"Hey, Marinette!"

He dropped his backpack on the floor beside him and sat on the edge of her bed.

"H-Hi Adrien."

She rolled her chair towards him as he pulled out a notebook.

"So I thought we could write something like this..."

He showed her some of the ideas he came up with as they both worked together. He watched how serious she looked as her pen hovered above the lines, thinking of more ideas.

Her lips poked out as her eyes studied over the words that were already written. He couldn't help but stare at her but then his eyes wondered down to where the small mark was on her neck. It made him blush as he thought of the day before.

If it wasn't for that stupid alarm...

"Adrien?"

He jumped a little, hearing his name.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Did you hear what I said?"

He shook his head. He couldn't take his eyes off of her lips.

'Control yourself, Adrien! Now is not the time.'

He bit the inside of his lip as she repeated herself,

"I said, it's getting late. I think this is enough for today."

"Trying to get rid of me already?"

"N-No! I just... It's getting late a-and I still haven't eaten yet."

"Oh. You're probably right, it is getting a bit late."

She could see the disappointment in his eyes as he stood up and packed his things back into his backpack.

"W-Why don't you stay for dinner? And then... you can go?"

The disappointment quickly faded as he nodded his head in excitement.

"I would love to!"

Marinette smiled and stood, walking towards her trapdoor.

"We can go ahead and go downstairs, it's probably almost ready."

Adrien nodded and followed after her.

"Mama! Papa! Is it okay if Adrien stays for dinner?"

"Of course it is! He is welcome anytime."

Tom placed a pot of coq au vin on the table along with some steamed potatoes and some hot French bread.
The whole room smelled of food, making Adrien's stomach growl.

He took a seat by Marinette as her parents sat down on the other side. He loved coming over to the Dupain-Cheng's because they always acted like a real family and they always included him, making him feel like he was apart of it.

When they finished eating, Marinette walked Adrien outside. His bodyguard was already parked in front of the building.

"Thank you for having me over. It was nice."

"I don't mind, I enjoy the company."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment.

"S-Same time tomorrow, after school?"

He stepped closer, making Marinette's face flush pink.

"Y-Yeah. Same t-time."

He started to lean in but she quickly held out her hands, stopping him from coming any closer.
He pulled away, not expecting her to reject him. Maybe it was because he already had a make out session with her and she didn't seem to mind it then.

Well... she didn't know it was him.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, backing away.

'I'm such an idiot. Why'd I do that?'

"I'll... see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah. T-Tomorrow."

She watched him get into the car quickly. She held up a hand and waved as they pulled off.

•

After she helped her parents wash the dishes and clean a little, she went back to her room to get started on some of her other homework. She changed out of her regular clothes and slipped on Adrien's t-shirt, without thinking much of it.

It still smelled like his cologne.

She slipped a pair of shorts on under it and sat down at her desk. She put her headphones on and started flipping through her textbook.
She read over the pages as her eyes began to get heavy.

Without realizing, she laid her head down and drifted off into a sleep.

Chat Noir tapped on the balcony door a few times. He knew she was home but it started to worry him when she didn't answer. He pushed the door open and peaked inside.

"Marinette?"

When she didn't answer, he decided to let himself in. He saw her leaned over on her desk with her pen still in her hand. He smiled to himself and quietly approached her.
The closer he got, he could see that she had his shirt on. His face deepened in color.

Chat Noir gently pulled the pen that was still in her hand away and took her headphones off. He scooped her up in his arms bridal style, trying not to wake her. Before he could lay her down, she grabbed his arm.

"Adrien you smell... good"

His eyes widened as he quickly put her down and pulled his hand away. He sighed when he saw that she was still asleep.

'She talks in her sleep. Interesting.'

He let out a soft chuckle and turned back to her desk to see what she was working on.

"Hm. Physics."

He sat down on her chair and started doing her work for her so she could turn it in tomorrow without rushing to get done. Physics was always an easy subject for him.

He hummed quietly as he finished the last two problems. He glanced back over the paper to make sure it was all right before closing it up in her notebook and sliding it down into her backpack.

The blonde turned back to look at Marinette one last time before shutting the door behind him.