CatWalk

Nine

"Checkmate." Adrien announced as he sat across from the table.

"That's not how you play the game." Marinette scolded as she rolled up her sleeves to show that she meant business this time around. They weren't playing chess, they were playing checkers. Adrien had suggested it since Marinette was avoiding taking a break from sewing and planning.

"Should I check the rules?" He asked.

She laughed at his pun that was absolutely terrible but she found it stress relieving.

"There's that smile." Adrien said.

He liked it when she smiled. He did something he could never forgive himself for. She deserved to smile and to be happy. Marinette was thinking that she was showing the stress of designing five outfits to walk down the catwalk in a week. She had Gabriel's help of course but he wasn't that reliable due to the other lines he was in charge of.

"Marinette, you can't double jump." Adrien complained knowing that in the rules of checkers the move was legal.

"You're lecturing me on the Checkers when you yelled 'Checkmate' after winning the first game?"

Marinette waited for a brief moment for him to respond.

"How have you been?"

Adrien asked trying to steer the conversation away from the fact that he was better at complicated games like chess then simple games.

"Good."

Marinette said biting the inside of her cheek in concentration.

"Your dating life?"

Adrien asked wondering what he was going if she said she wasn't dating anyone. Would he ask why or ask her out?
His question caught Marinette off guard causing her to fling her red checker piece across the table.

"That bad?" Adrien teased.

"Ummm... I really liked a guy in high school but it was ten years ago. I went on several dates with a musician but we had a falling out." Marinette said.

"Excuse me for asking this but is Emma Ten?"

"Yes." Marinette hesitantly replied.

"Is Emma's father the guy you liked at school?" Adrien asked.

He did the calculations quickly in his head that Marinette would of had to conceived Emma around Senior year. Marinette put her head down on the table trying to prevent herself from laughing at the irony of Adrien's words.

"I doubt he's the father."

Marinette said sitting back up then looking at the young man's oblivious green eyes. Adrien felt shame for being of the fact that if his calculations were correct that she would of probably been defiled before he had laid his hands on her as ChatNoir.

"How come?"

"I think I would have remembered if I had sex with Adrien Agreste." Marinette blurted out.

Adrien didn't know how to respond. He did have sex with her but it was as ChatNoir. Kind of? He blindfolded her and
de-transformed so according to her recollection it was all ChatNoir.

He didn't realize that a blush was creeping up on his face after all he was remembering the things that him and Marinette did. It was hard to forget her. She was his first and unbeknownst to him, he was her first and only.

Marinette had grown accustom to blurt out random thoughts that timid school girl, her wouldn't dream of saying. She was more mature, more blunt in the way of her thinking.

"I didn't know that you.... "

Adrien tried to finish his sentence but his mind wanted to ask a question that may or may not be too personal.

"Marinette, how many times have you been intimate?"

Marinette blushed wanting to answer honestly but felt too embarrassed to answer the question at all. She didn't know if he wanted to give her 'a experience that she'd remember' since they were the only two in the building at the moment.

"Enough." She replied.

It only took one night of animalistic passion between once platonic friends to conceive a child. She didn't want to repeat the cycle.