The Situationship

Lonely Rivers Flow, to the Sea, to the Sea

The day had certainly been a whirlwind of events.

Following the tennis mishap, Félix sported a rather impressive black eye, an unintended souvenir from the match. Adrien, quick to seize the opportunity for distraction, swept Marinette away on an impromptu tour of the estate, skilfully evading any potential showdown with his cousin.

To his surprise though, Félix seemed oddly unfazed by the situation. Considering his impending engagement party the next evening and wedding just around the corner, Adrien had anticipated a bit more drama. Perhaps Félix was practising his poker face for the big day—or maybe he was just too preoccupied planning the honeymoon to hold a grudge.

Félix and Kagami had ventured out to meet up with friends, and with both temporarily out of the picture and the others occupied, Adrien found himself in a rare moment of peace.

Chloé had found her way back by the pool, seemingly content in her own world and Gammy was off getting pampered—hair and nails—preparing herself for the evening's festivities in celebration of her birthday.

As for his father and Nathalie, who could say where they had disappeared to?

So for now, Adrien and Marinette were the only two in the house—currently in the kitchen—preparing for the evening's entertainment and inspecting the wine selection. Ever since the incident at the memorial, Adrien had become meticulous about tracking who was drinking what. He mentally noted that Gammy was sticking to whisky and not touching the wine. God, he adored that woman.

He grabbed the bottles he needed and searched for the glasses. Gammy had declined having hospitality staff for the evening, informing his father that they could order the food in but would have to serve themselves. She detested the lifestyle he lived, despite being wealthier than most of them.

Delicately, Adrien placed the glasses on the counter and attempted to uncork the wine bottle—not to much success.

After watching him struggle for a couple of minutes, Marinette came and stood beside him, gently taking the bottle and the opener from his hands as if rescuing a baby from a dangerous toy. She expertly manipulated the corkscrew and effortlessly popped the cork out. Adrien felt his cheeks flush with embarrassment; he had hoped to appear worldly and capable, but he couldn't even handle a corkscrew.

"So, Kagami?" Marinette asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Kagami?" Adrien echoed, curious.

Marinette gestured with the bottle towards him. "Well, yeah, she's intense."

Adrien chuckled. "That's just Kagami. She's very protective of me."

He took the bottle from Marinette's hands and poured the wine into the glasses with gentle precision. While he might struggle with uncorking, pouring was a different story—he was quite adept at it, especially when it came to pouring generous amounts for himself on cold winter nights.

Marinette reached for the cake sitting on the side, bringing the white box over so they could inspect it before preparing it for the candles. Adrien lifted the wine glasses, feeling surprisingly domesticated as he and Marinette moved around the kitchen together, their actions flowing like a dance, weaving in and out of one another. It was remarkable how well they worked as a team.

Taking a sip, he closed his eyes to savour the taste. There was a vineyard nearby that they visited every time they were here, and sometimes he brought some of the wine back home—there was always something for the occasion. Before the impromptu tennis match, he and Marinette had ventured down there to purchase the wine for the evening. Marinette had been rather vocal, calling him insane as he freely grabbed bottles without even glancing at the prices.