All The Bright Places

Golden Hour

Marinette sat on her balcony, against the wall with Chat Noir's head on her lap. Her fingers were tangled in his hair as she softly pulled at his golden locks, making a soft purr come from the hero's lips, unintentionally. In fact, he didn't even realize he was doing it until she pointed it out.

"Chaton?"

He opened his eyes and looked up at her with his emerald green irises.

"Yes, Princess?"

"Your purring is adorable."

His face heated up with embarrassment as he covered his face, causing a giggle to come from the blue haired girl.

"It's okay, you don't have to hide your face."

She pried his hands away from his face and smiled down at him.

"I can't help it."

"Why don't you detransform?"

"What's the point if I have to go home in a bit?"

Since Gabriel died, he had so much more freedom. Emilie didn't care who he hung out with, as long as he wasn't getting into trouble, he didn't have a set time that he had to be home, and she gave him the option to stop fencing and the photo shoots, which he automatically took advantage of.
All she asked for in return was for him to have good grades and to keep up his reputation. She didn't want him getting in trouble.

And since he had more freedom, he could spend a lot more time with Marinette. He spent almost everyday with her. He helped in the bakery after school and they got to know each other a lot better.

Yet, Adrien still didn't know about the email.
Or, so Marinette thought.

Marinette knew her time in Paris was running out but she still didn't know how to tell Adrien. But she finally made her mind up.
Again.
She would tell him before summer break was over. She still had a little over a month.

Tomorrow was graduation, after all. Then she would get one month of summer break with her friends. They already had that planned out. Nino's parents owned a summer house on a lake that they would vacation to. Just the four of them.

Marinette took in a short breath and shrugged.

"I don't know, you don't have to go home. You could always stay here, with me."

Adrien's eyes got huge when she winked at him as he slowly nodded his head. A huge smile spread across his face. He knew what that meant and he definitely wouldn't argue.

Marinette wanted to spend as much time with him as she could before leaving for college in the States.

"Marinette?"

She was snapped from her thoughts as she looked down at him again.

"Hm?"

"Are you okay? Are we okay?"

Marinette paused for a moment. She didn't want to lie but she didn't want him to know just yet so she only nodded.

The blonde haired boy sat up and turned to face her.

"You're not lying to me, are you?"

She looked down at her now empty lap as the warmth of him left.

"Just... some things. I don't want to talk about it right now. But we are okay."

She nervously rubbed her arm, making him nod understandingly.

"I'm here when you're ready to tell me."

He stood up, holding out his hand to pull her up with him.

He already knew what was bothering her and even though he was upset about it, he had time to process it.
He just needed to spend as much time with her as he could. Adrien already decided that he would wait for her, no matter how long it took.
She would still visit on holidays anyways, right?

She was his everything.
He needed her.

Marinette took his hands and pulled herself up, stretching her back and letting out a tired sigh.
Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

He pulled her inside while detransforming in the process. When they got inside, she closed the balcony door and turned back to face him.

She rested her hands on his chest as she leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a warm embrace.

They stood there for what seemed like an eternity. Marinette listened to the steady beating of Adrien's heart until he pulled away with a smile.

"We have a big day tomorrow, we should get some sleep."

His voice was soft and quiet as he slid his hands under Marinette's shirt, resting them on her sides and making her blush.

"Sleep. R-Right."

They both stared into each others eyes as if they were in a trace until Marinette bit her bottom lip out of habit. Adrien took that as an 'okay' to kiss her.

He pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss. She slid her hands around his neck, as a small smile formed on her lips.

He lifted her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist. The blonde pulled away for a moment to look at her as if asking for permission though, Marinette didn't let him pull away. She pulled him back into the kiss lustfully not giving him a chance to even take a quick breath.

•

The next morning, Adrien woke up earlier than usual. He leaned over the girl that was wrapped in nothing but sheets beside him and gently poked her nose.

"Princess~"

He hummed out her name as she tried to pull the blankets over her face. Adrien pulled them back again and leaned in, placing a soft kiss on her lips.

She slowly opened her eyes and smiled when she saw his overly handsome face above her. He leaned in again as they were inches from each other.

Their lips brushed as he spoke quietly.

"Did you sleep well?"

He placed another kiss on her lips as she nodded.

He knew what he was doing. He was trying to change her mind about leaving. He didn't want her to know that he knew but he was also trying to show her what she'd be missing out on if she went to New York.

"Take a shower with me? I could use the company."

A flirtatious grin appeared across his face as he sat up, giving her a bit of space. Her face was deep red as she blinked her eyes a few times, trying to determine if she was dreaming or not.

"I'll be waiting for you."

He leaned in, giving her another kiss before hurrying to the bathroom.

Marinette sat on her bed, trying to process what he said before following after him rather quickly.