Sweet Kisses, Tender Moments

Chapter Four

Around one o'clock in the morning Adrien left for his own home. He'd wanted to stay longer, but he knew that would cause a problem with his father. He made it home in time to get a few more hours of sleep before school. His dreams were all of Marinette, his now beloved....what? What was she to him? Were they a couple? He didn't know, and he didn't care. What they were currently was enough to make him blissfully happy.
    Marinette woke up when she realized Chat had gone. She looked over at the clock on her bedside table, realizing that she'd actually woken up on time for the first time in months. She sighed and looked over to her adorable sleeping little kwami, Tikki. Just a few days ago she had dreaded her feelings for Chat. Now she couldn't get enough of him.
"Oh, Tikki..." Marinette sighed, scooping the fairy up and giving her a delicate kiss on the forehead. With all of the crazy romantic things happening in her life, she hadn't really had much time for her friends. Tikki had thankfully been making herself scarce while Chat visited, and Marinette was grateful for that. "Thank you." Marinette whispered, a little smile sliding over her lips.
    When Marinette got to school, she was actually early for once. Alya, who was always early, did a double-take after spotting Mari. Marinette had been kind of distant for the past few days, always in her own little world, even if Adrien was around.
    Instantly, Alya spotted a new accessory that had been added to her friend's outfit. What was that? Was it.... No, it couldn't be a promise ring. Marinette would have told her about it.
    Deeply confused, Alya decided to confront Marinette about it.
"Hey Girl, am I going crazy or is Marinette Dupain-Cheng actually early?" Alya laughed, but noticed when Mari only chuckles nervously.
"I um... I had a weird dream and it woke me up on time." The blue-eyed girl responded. Alya nodded, unconsciously turning to blog interview mode.
"What is that?" She asked, pointing to the ring slung on a delicate silver chain around her friend's neck. Marinette perked up instantly, cursing the very day she was born.
"This? Oh it's just uh....a family heirloom?" Marinette was also a really bad liar, and Alya knew how to get information out of her. In fact, it was a piece of cake for her.
"Really? Marinette, I can tell when you're not telling the truth." The brown-haired girl responded. Marinette's face fell in defeat and she nodded, taking a breath in preparation.
"I.... I seem to have gotten a boyfriend last night. He gave me this promise ring... I can't tell you anything else."
"Why not? And I thought you liked Adrien. Why didn't you tell me this was happening?" Alya's voice turned accusatory, feeling hurt that her friend wouldn't trust her.
"He values his privacy. As for Adrien.... I really don't know. Do you really think I have a chance with him? He's way out of my league. I love my boyfriend and he loves me.... I think it's time to let my infatuation with Adrien go." Marinette looked sad after speaking the last sentence, and Alya couldn't stand to be mad at her friend any longer. Alya wrapped her arms around her friend, thinking that she would pry for more information later, when her friend wasn't so sad.
    The school day passed normally for both Marinette and Adrien. When the final bell screeched, letting the students out for the rest of the day. Alya and Marinette were talking at the front of the school, getting ready to walk to Marinette's place together. Without warning, Alya's mom pulled up in a tiny two-person vehicle, a worried look on her face. The girls had planned on walking together for fear of the rise in mugging a lately.
    Alya hadn't planned this, in fact she was surprised by her mother, who never came to pick her up from school. Now the only thing she could think of was to have someone else walk Marinette home.
"Hey! Adrien!" Alya shouted to the boy across the building, waving her hands in and effort to beckon him here. Marinette instantly tried to silence her best friend, knowing exactly what Alya was up to.
    Adrien's head whipped towards the sound of someone calling his name, and he almost burst out laughing at the sight that greeted him. Alya was frantically waving her hands at him, and Marinette was clinging to her back, covering Alya's mouth with her hand. He decided it'd be best to walk over and see what Alya wanted. He didn't want to get on her bad side.
"Hey Alya, Marinette. Did you want something?" He asked, trying not to smirk as Marinette immediately shrunk back to hide behind Alya.
"Yes, actually," Alya's voice was breathless, but her eyes were glinting mischievously, "could you do me a favor?" Adrien nodded.
"Could you walk Marinette home? I'm worried about her getting mugged if she walks by herself." Alya made the request sound more like a command than anything else.
"Absolutely." He replied, letting a satisfied smile cross his lips. Alya patted his shoulder awkwardly and gave Marinette a hug before sprinting in the direction of her mother's car.
    Marinette was shaking, imagining all the ways she would get Alya back for this. She started walking in the vague direction of her home, leaving him to catch up.
    After a while Marinette relaxed, and they started to talk like actual... Well, friends. Adrien loved every moment of it. What other guy would get a chance to get to know his girl like this? Somehow the two teenagers ended up looking over the river that ran along the edges of the Eiffel Tower.
"I've lived here all my life and I still can't get over how beautiful the Eiffel Tower is at sunset." Marinette noted the setting sun, but reasoned her parents wouldn't care if she were a little late.
"Yeah you-it is beautiful." Adrien caught himself. He wasn't the one in a halfway relationship with this girl, Chat Noir was.
    Marinette leaned over the railing to look deep into the river. Adrien was standing slightly behind her, so that he could stare and not get caught. For a moment Marinette felt free as she leaned over to look at the beautiful reflective colors of the river. Then she was falling into the ice-cold waters.
"Marinette!" Adrien had been so caught up in the moment he hadn't realized how far Marinette had been leaning over the edge. He ran to edge to make sure she was currently okay. Her head was above the water, but the current was sweeping her away pretty fast. A bit farther down there were stairs that lead down to the water's edge. If Adrien ran, he could make it to her in time to pull her out.
    He sprinted faster than he's ever sprinted in his life, kneeled down at the platform, and reached out his hand. Marinette looked annoyed, but she didn't seem to be in distress. She stuck out her hand, grasping onto him. He pulled her out, and refrained from hugging her in relief.
"Are you okay? I was really worried." He said after a sigh of relief.
"Yeah I'm okay. I'm just cold. I'm sorry I worried you, it was stupid of me to lean that far over the edge." Marinette shivered, her sopping wet clothing stuck to every curve of her body. Her hair was dripping wet, and she took the hair ties from it, letting it air-dry around her shoulders.
"Maybe you shouldn't go home looking like that. I wouldn't want your parents to hate me. My house isn't that far from here, you can get changed and I'll take you home after." He said with a charming smile.
    When they arrived, Adrien convinced Marinette that his father didn't like him having friends over, therefore they had to be quiet until they got to Adrien's room. The task proved to be harder than expected, since Marinette's shoes squelched with every step, and after a minute Adrien gave up and swept her up in his arms.
    Marinette's eyes bulged as she was carried up a long staircase and to a boy's room. After what seemed like forever, Adrien set Mari down inside his private bathroom.
"I'll try to find some clothes for you to wear while yours are drying." He spoke quietly. It was hard for him not to touch her, especially when she looked at him like she was at that moment. Her big beautiful blue eyes were were wide, questioning and curious. Her clothes and hair were still soaked, making them accent her body and face in an enticing way.
    Marinette nodded and turned away from the door before she started to take off her jacket. She's managed to take off her shirt as well before she heard the door open. Adrien poked his head in, clearly not expecting to see what he actually saw. Marinette's slender back was facing the door, only the strap of her bra keeping it from being completely bare. He couldn't help but stare at her loveliness for a moment before averting his eyes. He cleared his throat.
"Uh.... I brought some clothes." The only thing he'd managed to find that was small enough was one of his T-shirts, and even that would probably be thigh-length on Marinette. Mari looked over her shoulder to smile at him. He left the shirt on the counter and closed the door behind him. Marinette hurriedly changed, keeping her underwear on under the long shirt Adrien had given her.
"Thanks Adrien.... It means a lot for you to help me." Mari said as she exited the bathroom and handed him her dripping clothes.
    After he'd taken care of her clothes and joined her in his room again, he gave her a once over. She was staggeringly gorgeous. His shirt on her slim form brought all sorts of daydreams into his head. Without thinking, he took her hand and pulled her close. He kissed her.... For a moment it was bliss, then she pulled away. He had forgotten once again that she wasn't his. Not like this.
    Sometimes Marinette damned her luck. Why was it that after years of pining for the boy in front of her, he decided that he liked her only after she'd gotten into a pretty serious relationship with a freaking superhero? Why would the universe do this to her? Here she was, held tightly in his arms in his shirt with Chat Noir's promise ring resting on the place above her heart.
    The rest of the time was spent waiting awkwardly for Marinette's clothes to dry, then Adrien sent for his personal car to take her home. Adrien didn't seem to be as affected by the awkwardness as Mari, but he was definitely quieter than before.