Chapter 2

"Marinette," Adrien called out to her, his voice sending tingles through her.

She picked up her pace down the semi-crowded school hallway away from Adrien.

"Wait up," he said.

She walked even faster, nearly bumping into another student in her haste. Adrien's close proximity did weird things to her belly, not to mention her brain.

"Hey," he said suddenly beside her.

She nearly tripped over her feet in surprise.

He used her stumble as an excuse to hook his arm around hers, and she shot him an incredulous look.

"Can't have you falling and spraining your ankle. 'Cause then I'd have to carry you."

The thought of his arms wrapped around her, holding her close to his chest bridal-style, where she could feel the muscles in his chest and shoulders, warm and sinuous, made her heart thump harder.

"Not that I'd mind." He winked at her, green eyes sparkling in that new-found devious way of his.

Her mouth fell open and a drawn-out vowel might've slipped out. And maybe some drool too. Dammit, why couldn't he be that clumsy, goofy kid anymore? She'd known how to handle him then. This Adrien 2.0 was foreign and, frankly, terrifying.

She looked back from where he'd been when he'd called out to her to where they currently stood. "How?" That was good. It was a full, coherent sentence...even if it was just one word.

"Like this."

He released her and swept her up, exactly as how she'd imagined. The twerp had purposefully misunderstood her. And, damn, his shoulders were nicely developed. He'd been working out while he was gone.

Being this close to him afforded her the opportunity to take in the soft hint of his cologne. She hadn't accounted for that in her prior musings. Leaning in to get a better whiff, she tried to place the scent. It wasn't like anything she'd smelled before and, for some reason, it made her mouth water.

"You like?" he whispered in her ear.

At his words, her eyes snapped open and she realized she had her nose practically buried in his neck with his lips nearly grazing the shell of her ear.

Oh god.

Scrambling out of his arms, she bolted to her class, not even caring that people were watching her speed by, let alone leaping out of her way.

oOoOo

"What the hell?" Alya asked as Marinette skidded to a stop inside the classroom.

She took a deep breath and walked to their shared desk. "Don't ask."

"Adrien?"

Marinette gave her best friend a long look.

"That's like the third time this week."

"Except this time he decided he should carry me across the threshold."

Alya snickered. "Really?"

"He's killing me."

"Girl, now you're being melodramatic." She pulled out her book and placed her bag next to her feet.

"No. Seriously. I...I smelled him," Marinette admitted under her breath and blushed.

"Like a dog?"

She groaned much to Alya's amusement. "You're not helping."

"Did he smell good at least?"

She nodded dreamily and wondered if maybe his cologne had gotten on her. Would she look weird if she started sniffing her shirt?

The bell rang, cutting through the noise of everyone talking, and Alya quickly said, "I almost forgot. Wanna go try out that new cafe for lunch?"

Marinette nodded and looked at the teacher writing on the board. All of Adrien's interactions with her since he'd been back kept playing out in her head. Why did he want to marry her? They were only in high school for cripes' sake. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about marriage. And didn't guys just want to mess around anyway?

Remembering how he'd went through a stint of playing practical jokes on her back in middle school, she realized just what he was doing. The twerp had been using that journal entry and setting up the perfect prank for years now, waiting for when he was finally taller than her to enact it. White knuckling her pen, she did her best to focus on the lesson.

oOoOo

For gym class, Marinette decided she would avoid Adrien, pretend he didn't exist, or pretend to be deaf. Maybe she should claim to be sick and hide out in the nurse's office.

On her way out of the locker rooms, Chloe caught her eye as she fixed her blonde ponytail. "I never took you for a coward. Annoyingly good, but not a coward."

Marinette narrowed her eyes at her. "I'm not a—"

"Then why is everyone talking about how you ran away from Adrien this morning?"

"Well…"

Chloe smiled cloyingly sweet at her. "Cow-ard." Then she flounced to Nathaniel who'd been waiting for her outside the doors and gave him a kiss.

Well, she had a point. And if Nathaniel could get over his shyness to ask the popular blonde girl out, then Marinette could get over her inability to be coherent around Adrien and give him a piece of her mind.

Straightening her back, she passed her other classmates running laps or pretending to do some form of physical fitness, marched over to Adrien shooting hoops with Nino, and tapped him on the shoulder.

He turned with a smile that stole her breath...

"Hey, Marinette."

...and her words. Stupid hormones.

"Wanna join us?" He gestured to him and Nino, who was adjusting the headphones around his neck.

Adrien was just sweaty enough for his shirt to cling to those nicely-developed muscles she'd had her hands on hours ago. They looked as good as they had felt. Images of him shirtless and gleaming, heavy strands of blond hair hanging around his face, wearing that sexy half-smile he'd perfected had her toes curling.

"What d'ya say?" he asked.

While her brain was stalled out on the mental image of him, her head nodded on its own.

He beamed. "Great!"

Wait. What? Did she just?

"Dude," Nino said, still fiddling with his headphones, "something's up with these."

And then he left. Just walked away as if he wasn't leaving her alone with him looking like that. Her stomach did a little flip.

He started bouncing the ball—dribbling? She honestly knew nothing about basketball—and circled her with a predatory gaze. Now her heart did a little flip. Her organs were practically jumping beans. Maybe she really should go see the nurse.

"You have to at least try to steal the ball, Marinette."

He just wanted her all up in his space, the sly bastard. And part of her did want to get close to him, touch him, smell— She shook her head.

He stopped dribbling and watched her. "You don't even know how to play, do you?"

She crossed her arms. Her flare of anger at his mocking tone got the best of her. "You know exactly how I spend my free time."

His eyes widened at her tone, then narrowed mischievously. "Tell me you at least know how to bounce a ball."

"Of course I do." She snatched the basketball out of his hands and proceeded to demonstrate her ability. It wasn't amazing, but at least she didn't smack herself in the face.

"Not bad."

Was he trying to rile her up?

Another ball came flying out of nowhere toward them. He caught it and threw it back, all the while not taking his attention off her. "Can you make a basket?"

Anger officially deflated—because no, she most certainly could not and, holy hell, he had the reflexes of a cat.

"We'll work on that today," he announced, then moved her more in line with the basket and added, "Tomorrow, you can try to steal the ball from me."

Tomorrow?

He stood behind her, arms wrapped around her tense form, hands over hers as he guided the ball slightly above her, and whispered in her ear to bend her knees. It was so cliche she almost rolled her eyes. But her inner girl was squealing and nearly vibrating, so all she could do was follow his commands and try to breathe.

His exhale tickled her too-warm ear as he asked, "How do basketball players stay cool during a game?" As her brain tried to do a one-eighty and backtrack, he answered, "They stand near the fans."

She groaned at the horrible joke, and he sent the ball flying from her hands. The blasted thing slipped easily through the net.

"You did it!" he exclaimed.

She shook her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Marry me." He winked at her and turned to get the ball.

With his back to her, she hightailed it out of there straight to the nurse's office. All the while, Chloe's voice was in her head calling her a coward. But she wasn't. She'd confront him about this stupid joke later...when she wasn't all hot and bothered.

oOoOo

Marinette bypassed the line extending all the way to the doors of the cute cafe with its eclectic decor and mismatched tables, and plopped in the wooden chair next to Alya. "Tell your boyfriend I know he's in on the joke with Adrien and it isn't funny."

She didn't look up from her phone. "Oh?"

"Yeah, in gym today, he…" She trailed off as her gaze scanned their larger table, then at the empty two-tops by the large windows. "I'm surprised you sat here. I feel kinda bad taking up more space than we need."

"Hmm."

At her vague responses and lack of eye contact, suspicion weaved through her like a slithering snake. "Alya?"

"Yeah?" She still didn't look up from her phone.

That figurative snake tightened around her. "Why are there four chairs?"

She shifted in her seat.

"Alya," she said in warning.

"Okay, okay. Nino and Adrien are meeting us here."

Her mouth opened to voice her discontent, but immediately snapped it closed at catching sight of the aforementioned boys walking to their table. Marinette took a deep breath and counted to five. It was just lunch and she was sitting next to Alya. He couldn't do anything crazy here. She would quickly eat, then rush back to school.

Adrien took the chair across from Marinette and sat. His knees brushed against hers and alarm bells went off in her head. She pushed her chair back to flee, but Alya grabbed her thigh and dug her nails in.

Eyes narrowed, she stared at her traitorous friend who looked like she wasn't holding Marinette against her will with claws sharper than the neighborhood cat's.

"Where'd you go during gym, Marinette?" Adrien asked, passing them the menus she'd totally forgotten to grab on her way in.

Avoiding his gaze, she answered, "To the nurse. I wasn't feeling well."

"Oh. Are you okay?" The concern radiating from his voice softened her like butter under a summer sun, and Alya, thankfully, removed her nails from her leg. She wouldn't be surprised if they had punctured her skin. It was a good thing she'd chosen jeans today.

"Yeah. Blood sugar was low," she lied.

Nino coughed. He had probably watched the whole basketball incident and laughed his butt off. Marinette kicked him in the shin.

"Ow." Adrien flinched and the table jerked, knocking over the small flower vase in the center.

Marinette squeaked an apology and tried to catch it, only to end up spilling its water on the sleeves of her top.

"This is like a Three Stooges remake," Alya said as she recorded them.

"Alya," Marinette said as she wiped her shirt with some napkins Adrien had grabbed for her.

"Fine. But give me a warning next time." She put down her phone. "I missed the first part."

Nino tried to hold back a chuckle and failed.

Ignoring them, Marinette grabbed her menu and looked only at it and nothing else...except maybe Adrien. He had this adorable blush spreading across his cheeks. It reminded her so much of when he was a kid, she smiled.

The instant his gaze met hers, she went back to blankly staring at the paper in her hands.

"What?" he asked her.

"Nothing." Sandwiches, soups, salads—

"What?" he insisted.

She lowered her menu and stood. "I'm going to order my food."

"Me too," Adrien announced and followed her to the line at the counter where he stood a hair too close. "What was that smile back there for?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"The smile was nice, warm and...I don't know. It just made you glow."

If he hadn't said that as part of his elaborate joke, she would've been a puddle on the floor.

"What can I get for you today," the female cashier said with a pleasant smile.

Marinette blinked and realized they had made it to the counter. She'd meant to pick something to eat while she waited in line...peacefully alone. "Um, a sandwich," she answered.

"Any one in particular?"

She had no idea what kind of sandwiches they offered. "Turkey?"

"Sure thing. Which one?"

Someone shoot her. "Surprise me."

The cashier's fixed smile slipped out of place. "Um, any allergies I should be aware of?"

"Nope."

Adrien leaned forward and placed a credit card next to the register. "I'll have the same."

Eyes narrowed, Marinette pulled out a wad of cash from her purse and practically shoved it in the woman's hands.

Adrien looked at Marinette. "I have it."

"I'm fine paying for my own."

"I'm just being nice."

"No, you're teasing me about that stupid journal entry."

"I'm not teasing you."

"Really? You ask me to marry you everyday."

The woman unabashedly watched them as if they were a ping pong match, her eyes growing ever wider.

"Because you're the love of my life."

Marinette scoffed. "This is just some kind of lame joke that's gone on for too long."

"I'm not joking."

She crossed her arms.

"I'm not."

Someone behind them coughed. There must be a line again, but she was too focused on Adrien to check or care. "So you really want to marry me?"

"Yes."

"Right now?" she asked, calling his bluff.

"Well not this instant."

"I can free up my weekend if that's better for you."

He sighed. "I'm not talking about this weekend either."

"But I thought you wanted to marry me." She finally had him trapped.

"I do. I just also think we should graduate first. Then we can get married, go to the same university, and..."

He was serious. Dead serious by the way he continued mapping out their lives together. He'd clearly thought a lot about this and tried to live up to the standards she'd set when she was seven, even the silly one about the height.

That meant he'd been in love with her for the past nine years, if not longer. Which was absurd and...and Adrien Agreste, silly boy turned sweet, sexy man, loved her for nearly their entire lives, even after spending years away modeling with hot girls in different countries.

As he continued trying to convince her of his sincerity, she placed her hands on the sides of his face and pulled him down into a kiss. The suddenness of her movement had him nearly stumbling into her, his mouth frozen in surprise. But then he caught himself, lips softening, meeting hers with gusto.

He slipped an arm around her lower back and a hand into her hair, drawing them even closer. The space between them vanished and the hard line of his body against hers sent a shiver racing up her spine. She tried to press herself even closer to him.

A delicious heat rushed to the tips of her toes and the crown of her head, but it was the fire low in her belly that had her nearly sweating. Everything about him: his scent, his taste, his warmth; every one of his ministrations: his lips working her into a frenzy, his fingers kneading her hip and tangling into her hair, his thighs grazing hers, stoked those flames until she was consumed by them...by him.

When they broke apart, foreheads touching, panting breaths intermingling, she whispered, "Yes."

He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "What?"

"Yes." At his confused look, she added, "After we graduate, I'll marry you."

His smile was radiant. It swept her up and threatened to carry her into the clouds.

Someone coughed again, another complained about them holding up the line, but the woman behind the counter hushed them and continued to stare.

The realization that they had an audience brought her crashing back to reality. Doing her best to ignore the blush burning her cheeks, she turned to the woman and said, "Can I have a water with my sandwich?"

Something off to the side caught Marinette's eye and she realized her best friend was recording them. "Alya," she hissed.

"What? After your married, you're going to be thanking me for catching this moment."

She groaned, even though she knew her meddling friend was right.

"Sign here, please," the woman behind the counter said, drawing her attention.

Adrien signed the tablet and handed Marinette their number for the table.

"You did not just pay for mine."

He shrugged and slipped her cash into her purse. "Once were married, what's mine will be yours anyway."

Grumbling to hide her smile, she followed him back to their table where Alya and Nino now sat side by side, forcing her and Adrien to be next to each other. Those two had been in cahoots this entire time. If she wasn't still riding the high from her and Adrien's first kiss, she'd give them a piece of her mind. As it was, she sat as close to him as their chairs allowed and squeezed his hand when he interlaced their fingers.

"Dude," Nino said, "I'm going to be the DJ at your reception, right?"

Alya added, "And I better be the maid-of-honor."

They hadn't even gone on a date and they were already making wedding plans.

She turned to Adrien. "We're doing everything backwards. You're supposed to ask me out first, then, eventually, propose."

"Marinette, I've wanted this for as long as I can remember. I don't need to date you to know I want to marry you." She melted at his words, a boneless pile of quivering goo. "But how does tonight sound?"

"It's a Thursday."

"I wouldn't care if it was a Tuesday."

Damn, he was good. "Okay then."

He nodded, as if to close the deal, then a dreamy far-away look overcame him. "You said yes."

She smiled. "I said yes."

AN - So maybe this is it? I don't know. Lol. I'm so used to having an outline, this 'winging it' feels weird. If more inspiration hits me, I'll add another chapter. Until then, my head will be buried into editing Friends.

Thanks for reading and commenting! And thanks to my sister for helping the tricky parts. :)