Behind My Smile - EDITING SOON

V) Cookies & Wine

Beep. Beep. Beep.

The sound of the alarm pulled Marinette from their laughter and into the kitchen, a tray of cookies needing her immediate attention. After her and Adrien's conversation and work day, they promised they would hang out. This was the third hangout, but their first with Alya and Nino in a while. The two love birds had a plane delay, so they actually got back while Adrien was recovering. The four, well, now three of them sat on the couch of Nino and Alya's new house, trying to make up for lost time. "They'll need some time to cool, but they're virtually ready." Marinette said, returning from the kitchen with oven mitts on. To the lack of smells, it had been Marinette's idea to bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch. Not only did it smell divine, but it also gave the group an activity and snack.

"I can't wait. Literally, haven't eaten anything all day." Nino said, dramatically collapsing onto the couch. In appearance, Nino had drastically changed since his high school days. Strips of a forming goatee brushed his chin, and glasses ceased to enhance his vision. He'd dropped the cap a long time ago, but managed to bring ear buds wherever he went. His hair had grown longer, falling a little in his eyes as he plopped onto the couch, his leg landing over Adrien's.

"Freaking liar! You've practically cleared out the whole fridge!" Alya's coy reply sent the whole group into another fit of laughter. A blush of embarrassment coated Nino's cheeks as he sat up, removing his leg from its resting position on Adrien's lap as the blond raised a brow before bursting into laughter.

"Yeah, well, it still feels like it." Nino pouted whilst his friends continued to laugh, their sounds echoing in the near empty house. Marinette re-joined the group, sitting in a matching armchair and covering herself with a woven blanket of green and orange. "Don't look at me like I'm a pig!"

"Why? You are one." The two went back and forth, bickering like kids. Despite having just sat down, Marinette knew she couldn't just sit and bear it. Looking Adrien directly in the eye, she motioned to the kitchen and pulled herself out of the chair. It took a second or two to register in Adrien's head before he fully understood and pushed his body forward with his right hand, causing a sharp intake of air as pain seared through his arm. Pulling himself together, Adrien stood from the couch and wandered towards the kitchen, resting his left hand on the top of the entryway as he walked under.

Warm orange light flooded the kitchen from an open window, the setting rays dancing on the tiled floor. Small potted plants and succulents dotted the windowsills and shelves, their deep range of greens standing out against the pale yellow of the walls. There was one table under the window, made from recycled metal from the scrap yard. The stools beside the table were just the same, with extremely comfy pillows used as cushions.

Marinette was sitting at the table when Adrien slightly stumbled into the room, the tray of cooling cookies in front of her. "They are crazy, huh?" She asked as Adrien joined her at the table. She had a little bit of flour and dough on the collar of her red shirt, as well as her left cheek. "It's kind of hard to believe they're getting married." Nino and Alya were indeed getting married. Alya couldn't keep her mouth shut about it until three days after they got back to Paris. Apparently, Alya's proposal resulted in Nino throwing a baby fit about how he should have proposed, because he was the man. Wow, did that explain his recovering broken nose.

"Eh, not really. It was obvious to me a while ago that they were madly in love. It would practically be a crime if they didn't marry." Adrien absently scratched his healing wounds, bringing Marinette's watchful eye to his arm.

"Is something wrong?"

"What do you mean? Why would anything be wrong?" Adrien cursed himself for how stupid he sounded. There was definitely something wrong. Well, she wasn't supposed to know that.