The Artist and the Flower

Part 2: chapter 10

My body became even warmer, Mari's skin felt hot to the touch. We couldn't stop. I felt Mari's hand slide under my shirt and she pulled it up over my head. I gripped the bottom hem on her shirt as she kissed my neck. I shivered when she went down to my collar bone and chest. I pulled her shirt up and revealed her small petite build. I pushed her down onto the couch and kissed her soft breast, Mari let out a little moan.
   I was about to unhook her bra when I heard my phone ring. I was so surprised that when I tried to reach my cell phone I slipped and fell onto the floor. I got up, fully aware of what was about to happen between me and Mari, and my face instantly became a deep deep red. I snatched my phone and staggered into the kitchen.
   "Uh-um, hello?" I asked, still embarrassed.
   "It's me, the pizza guy. I'm here with your order." Said a voice.
   "O-oh, that's right. I-I'll be right there." I said as I went back into the living room and frantically searched my jeans for money. Thankfully the money was still there so I returned to the door. As I was leaving, I could see Marinette putting her shirt back on and looking kind of stiff. I opened the door and the delivery guy handed me the pizza.
   "That'll be €16.93." He said, ignoring the fact that I was shirtless and also really embarrassed.
I took the box and handed him €20. "Keep the change. Bye and thank you." I said quickly as I closed the door. I leaned against the door and exhaled. That was really close, we almost... My fave flushed again. I awkwardly walked into the living room and placed the pizza box down on the coffee table. Mari was sitting straight up and looking down. Her face was a still little flushed.
I picked my shirt off the floor and put it back on. "The pizza arrived, so help yourself." I sat down on the couch and took a slice. I leaned back and turned on the TV. Mari didn't move from her spot. I got closer to her and looked up at her face. "Mari, what's wrong?" I asked.
Her face instantly became red as she averted her eyes from me. "N-n-n-n-n-n-nothing's wrong everything's fine I'm fine you're fine that was great but short and sin and oh my god..." Her voice trailed off.
I held up my slice of pizza. "Aren't you going to eat anything?" I asked a little teasingly.
Mari reluctantly took my slice and nibbled it. I laughed a little and took another slice from the box.
I snuggled against her. "What do you want to watch? I can rent a move."
Mari flinched at our contact, but she didn't resist. "Um, I don't know. Whatever you want to watch I guess." She said quietly.
As the movie credits were rolling, I saw the time was 11pm. How the hell did all that time pass? I was so tired. I looked at Marinette and saw she was sleeping next to me. I picked her up carefully and brought her to my room. I placed her on my bed and brought the blanket over her. I gave her a small kiss and looked at her cute sleeping face.
I really wanted to sleep next to her, but I couldn't do that because I didn't want to cause any trouble. I was stroking her hair when she grabbed my hand.
"Nathaniel... I love you." She said with a sleepy voice. Was she still asleep? I smiled and laid down next to her. Maybe I'll stay here a little bit and then I'll sleep on a makeshift bed. With her hand still in mine, I felt my eyes getting heavy.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, my arms were wrapped around Marinette and she was snuggled up against me in my bed. My face burned red and it was only 9am! I calmly slipped out of the bed and tip toed out of my room and into the kitchen. I put my apron on and began making two omelettes. This is the least I can do after that whole fiasco last night, I thought.
   As soon as I placed the finished omelette on a plate, Marinette walked in with her hair all messy and yawning.
   "Good morning Nath. I'm surprised I stayed over. I can tell my parents I stayed with Alya so they don't get any ideas..." she said.
   "Well we didn't do anything wrong so I think it should be okay. Plus we should be honest with them to they can trust us." I replied. I really want their approval!
   Mari looked down at her plate. "Did you make this?" She asked.
   "...Yes. Do you not like omelettes?" I panicked a little. Maybe I should've waited until she woke up to ask her what she wanted?
   "... It smells amazing!" She said happily. She took bite with her fork and smiled. "Wow this is actually pretty good! You're a great chef Nath!"
   My fave flushed at her compliment. "Th-thanks. I can cook a lot more than just omelettes, by the way." I added awkwardly. Can I not say anything without being socially awkward??? I sighed at myself and untied my apron. As I ate, I heard Mari snickering.
   "... What's so funny?" I asked hesitantly.
   She pointed up at my hair. "You have major bed head, it's everywhere!" She said as she laughed some more.
   "Hey I don't wanna be hearing that from you, Flower! Your hair is probably more messy than mine!" I teased back. We laughed at finished our food.
As Mari was washing the dishes, I went upstairs to clean up a little. My hair was a mess. After brushing it down I changed my clothes. When I returned to the kitchen, I noticed Marinette's hair was still messy.
"Hey Flower, want to borrow some of my clothes? I can take you out to buy something new to wear if you'd like since I don't know if you want to stay in the clothes you have on now." I suggested.
"That sounds like a good idea. Let me finish up real quick and I'll go brush my hair at least." She said as she dried the last dish.

Marinette was wearing some jeans that didn't fit me anymore (though they were still a little loose on her) and a flannel that looked oversized but not shapeless.
"You actually look pretty nice in that." I said.
"Really? It doesn't look weird on me?" She asked nervously.
"No you look fine, I promise. Let's go then, shall we?" I picked up my wallet and phone then motioned for her to follow me down the stairs. I had no idea where my mom went since she didn't return last night after that party. I wasn't too worried, though, since she does that a lot. Just to be sure she wouldn't worry, I sent her a quick text telling her I'd be at the mall.
We took a bus to the mall and entered. I exited the bus and noticed Mari wasn't next to me. I looked around for her and saw her about to be swept away by the crowd. I reached over, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into me. My arm stung a little but it wasn't too noticeable.
"You okay?" I asked.
"Ye-yea. Thanks for that." She replied a little embarrassed. I squeezed her hand.
"If we walk like this, you won't be dragged away. What store do you want to go to?" I asked.
Mari blushed a little. "Um, how about here?" She suggested, pointing to a small boutique.
"Sure thing. Get whatever outfit you want and I got you covered." I said. I only had €100 so I was praying this place wasn't too expensive.
Marinette and I came out of the mall with a new outfit that she changed into in the bathroom. When she came out, my jaw dropped. She had skinny blue jeans with black sneakers and a short sleeved black and white striped shirt with a blush bomber jacket. Her hair was still down.
   "So... how does it look?" She asked with embarrassment in her voice.
   "You look amazing! You're so cute my Flower." I said to her as I gave her a hug. I mostly hugged her so she couldn't see me blushing.
   We took the bus back to her place. As I dropped her off in front of the bakery, I have her a sweet kiss. "I had a great time with you. I hope we can have another date like this some time soon." I said to her.
   "Yea I had lots of fun. I can't wait until we have a date like this again." She said as she blissfully kissed me one last time.
   When she entered the bakery, I turned around and began walking home. Everything was calm again, I felt the gentle breeze blow through my hair. I was so glad we were okay and everything fell into place. The two of us could live happily ever after in a deep, deep, love.

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A/N: wow it's finally completed! Thank you so much to everyone for your positive feedback, votes, and comments. It makes my day to see how much everyone enjoys my stories. Thank you for your support, but I'm not done yet! I have a completely different story coming up soon that I made up on my own that has to do with romance. If you guys want, I can make a new "book" and write a series of one-shots of Nath and Mari enjoying themselves and their cute couple moments. Let me know in the comments. Thanks again for all your support!

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