18. Paper Tiger

Adrien tapped his foot against the leg of the barstool he was perched on, elbows resting on the kitchen counter as he waited for Marinette to finish her business call in the bathroom.

The time she spent on the phone gave him time to collect his thoughts on what had transpired in the bookshop; time to sort out the confusing jumble of emotions that threatened to tear his stomach apart with anxiety. He thought he had reigned in his debilitating crush on Marinette; thought he made progress towards untangling the complicated web of feelings he had towards her. But now he wondered whether that was just because he had seen her only sporadically in the almost two months since they had first slept together.  He had actually been proud that he had been doing so well with keeping things strictly platonic.

But that was before he knew how nice it felt to be referred to as Marinette’s boyfriend.

Adrien chewed on the corner of his lip, trying to puzzle out if there was any deeper meaning to Marinette’s actions other than her desire to justify making out with him to her mother. It was possible he was reading too much into things; Adrien had an annoying habit of thinking people were more interested in him than they actually were. He had gotten into no small amount of trouble with his partners as he inevitably failed to keep feelings out of the equation. Still, something tickled the back of his mind and suggested that there was something more to Marinette’s choice of wording. Maybe it was the way she threaded her arm through his; maybe it was the way she had kissed him in the elevator without any thought of having sex with him. Maybe this was her not so subtle way of suggesting they take their relationship to the next level.

Was it really so hard to believe she might have feelings for him?

But he couldn’t jump to conclusions just yet. The bathroom door clicked open and Adrien found himself sitting up straight, completely incapable of looking like he was not stewing over Marinette’s words while she was conducting important business. He smoothed his hair out, impending doom and possibility driving him to stand up rather than face her sitting down.

Marinette rounded the corner into the kitchen with a disarmingly soft smile that quietly killed Adrien’s platonic delusions. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Adrien echoed. “Uh…did the call go well?”

“Hm?” Marinette asked, shaking her head. “I-I mean yeah! Call went fine; just some business…type...stuff I had to take care of.”

“Oh, good,” Adrien said, nodding strictly more than necessary to the point that he resembled a bobblehead. “Good good…”

“Yeah! Yeah it was…good,” Marinette coughed, scratching her arm. A string of tension hung between them but neither of them seemed ready to sever it just yet. They each waited for the other to speak first, hoping to hear something to sooth their frazzled nerves.

“Look…” Adrien said. “I think we should-”

“I’m…I’m sorry about what happened back at the bookshop,” Marinette blurted out.

Adrien blinked, stunned that her first reaction was to apologize for referring to him as her boyfriend. “I, uh-”

“With the whole…b-boyfriend thing I mean,"  Marinette barreled on, scratching the back of her neck with a small laugh. “I just kinda panicked. I mean y-you would too if your mom walked in on you kissing someone, right?”

Marinette realized what she had said an instant too late, paling as she held her hands up.

“Wow that…that came out wrong,” Marinette said, voice cracking like a thirteen year old boy. “I’m sorry, I meant-”

“I-I know what you meant,” Adrien said, holding a hand up with a small if slightly forced reassuring smile. “It’s okay.”

“Right,” Marinette laughed, picking at the stitching inside her pockets as she tried to figure out what she was trying to say. It was one thing to be Ms. Responsible Adult on the phone with Alya; it was another to apologize for accidentally making her relationship with Adrien weirder than it needed to be. “I…I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable or anything-”

“You didn’t,” Adrien insisted.

“I should have cleared it with you first,” Marinette said, biting her lip. “I mean, I never planned on saying that in the first place…but I got…”

Marinette shrugged helplessly, looking up at the ceiling with a small sigh.

“You got ambushed?” Adrien supplied.

“To put it mildly,” Marinette laughed, braving another couple steps into the kitchen. Adrien didn’t appear to be upset; tense and confused maybe (as anyone would be after their friend with benefits lied about their relationship) but not particularly upset. “I mean we were kissing, and that was great, and then my mom was there, and then she was saying all this stuff  and I didn’t know how to respond, and…”

“You know I was there for all that too, right?” Adrien said, lips twitching into a small smile that did wonders unknotting the ball of tension in Marinette’s stomach.

“Yeah, that was the problem,” Marinette said, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Wait…no that came out wrong. You weren’t the problem, I just meant-”

Adrien held up his hands, forestall Marinette’s apology before it could get out of hand. “I know what you meant.”

Marinette trailed off, crossing her arms across her waist as Adrien drummed his fingers thoughtfully on the counter.

“I mean…I get it,” Adrien said. “It’s easier to say that we’re dating than trying to explain to your mother our…thing.”

“We have a thing?” Marinette giggled nervously, taking another step towards Adrien as he stepped out from behind the counter. “Is that the technical term for it?”

“It’s the official term for relationships that don’t fall within the purview of mainstream monogamous romantic relationships, yes,” Adrien laughed.

“Well…” Marinette sighed, shifting back and forth as she tried to figure out the right words to say. Be honest, Alya’s voice urged her. “I like our thing.”

“I do too,” Adrien said, waiting for the inevitable but implicit in Marinette’s statement.

“At the risk of sounding too desperate and clingy…our thing may be one of the only things I look forward to these days,” Marinette admitted, stomach fluttering as she skirted dangerously close to exposing herself. “Not that we’ve had much of a thing because of work but…”

Adien’s brow creased in concern. He knew Marinette had been having a hard time at work recently but it hadn’t occurred to him how much of a toll it was taking on her until now. She seemed tense; cagey as though she hadn’t properly slept in weeks. Fashion (especially Parisian fashion) was an unspeakably brutal industry and no one knew that better than Adrien who watched it slowly murder his father over the course of twenty years. Maybe their thing was just a means of stress relief for Marinette. Still, the way she crossed the room as though walking on a thin pane of glass, stopping in front of him and delicately pressing a hand against his chest caused his throat to tighten, hands quivering as he braced himself against the counter behind him.

“I like this,” Marinette said softly. “I really like this. And I don’t want anything to change between us…I just don’t really want my mom knowing the details yet. I just…I don’t know what to do.”  

Adrien swallowed, heart throbbing painfully in his ears as he stuffed his disappointment down behind a shaky smile. “She…she doesn’t have to.”

Marinette looked up at him curiously and he pressed on, licking his lips as he wondered if he wasn’t digging himself deeper into a mess of sticky feelings. “I mean…for all she knows, we’re dating, right?”

“…right?”

“So…if you don’t want to tell her,” Adrien continued, tilting his head back and forth. “You could always just…not?”

Marinette narrowed her eyes, trying to see if she was understanding Adrien correctly. “Like…pretend we’re dating in front of my parents?”

“I-If you’re okay with that, that is,” Adrien stuttered, scratching the back of his neck. “Just trying to…make things easy on you, you know?”        

Adrien sheepishly chuckled and Marinette suddenly understood why it was Adrien attracted gross, manipulative partners; because he was always going to be the one to make compromises to make his partner happy. Instead of being angry that she had roped him into a lie without his permission, he was already looking for ways to make her more comfortable, even if it meant lying to her parents.

Marinette suppressed a surge of guilt, her promise to Chloe echoing in the back of her mind.

“Are you sure?” Marinette asked after a moment. “I mean…if you’re uncomfortable with this we can do something else. I can always tell them I broke your heart or something.”

“I doubt they’ll go for that,” Adrien chuckled.

“You might have to come to the occasional dinner since my mom is so intent on feeding me,” Marinette said, wondering why she was trying to talk him out of making her life easier. “Lengthy, super-loud dinners and desserts and chatting over coffee until midnight.”

“Is free food supposed to scare me away?” Adrien laughed, fingertips tracing down the back of her hand still pressed against his chest.

“I…” Marinette let out a small sigh, head falling forward and resting on Adrien’s chest. “…you don’t have to do this.”

“I don’t have to do anything,” Adrien reminded her, arms wrapping around her waist. “But…if this makes your life easier then I don’t mind. I’m good at playing fake boyfriend, you know.”  

Marinette’s fingers tightened on his shirt unconsciously, images of Adrien on the arm of faceless nobodies flitting through her mind. But she wasn’t like that, she told herself; she cared about Adrien beyond what he could do for her and if he had objected, Marinette would have called Sabine up to explain herself that very moment. At the same time, she couldn’t deny this would be easier. She could go out with Adrien without worrying about it getting back to her parents. No one would raise an eyebrow if she went home with Adrien at the end of the day. Sabine might even stop checking in at the apartment if she thought Marinette was spending her weekends sleeping at Adrien’s place.

It was a perfect deception; one that terribly imbalanced their relationship in her favor. But still, the temptation to accept Adrien’s offer was too great to discuss.

“…thank you,” Marinette said quietly.

“No trouble,” Adrien said, surprised as Marinette slid her arms around his chest and wrapped him in a tight hug. Part of him wanted to lean down, brush the bangs away from Marinette’s forehead and kiss her until she believed everything would be okay. He settled for pressing his lips against the crown of her head,  enjoying the simple act of embracing her a little while longer.

“I’ll…I’ll make it up to you,” Marinette promised, pulling back and swiping her wrist across her eyes with a small sniff.

“You don’t have to,” Adrien said, passing her a napkin from the holder on the counter.

“I will though,” Marinette said fiercely, looking up at Adrien with a resolute nod. She was not going to let him spend himself into emotional poverty on her account; she was not going to be another person who used Adrien to get what they wanted and then left him hanging high and dry.

Adrien’s brow creased sympathetically. “Hey…are you okay?”

“Yeah…” Marinette nodded emphatically but apparently not convincingly enough for Adrien. His silent frown of concern wore on her after a few moments, causing her to look away in shame as she was reminded that she had continuously lied to Adrien for the past few months; lied by omission about the fact that his former boss was tormenting Coccinelle because of a petty grudge. Part of her hoped she could solve her problems before Adrien caught wind but every week proved her wrong in new and soul-crushingly depressing ways.

It was wearing on her, taking chunks out of her in bits and pieces. After two months of working round the clock, she needed a break. She needed a hug. She needed to sleep in a proper bed, have a proper bath, and possibly get laid if her not-boyfriend was still in the mood.

“I just…” Marinette let out a shaky sigh. “I have…not had a good few months. I’m not going to go into details but…I don’t know…I just need a break. I need to spend the next two days not being asked to solve problems or talk with clients. I just need to do…nothing for a few days.”

“Is that my new nickname?” Adrien asked, watching her exasperated pout soften, lips twitching into a small smile as she looked up at him. “Nothing?”

“You said it, not me,” Marinette laughed, lip catching between her teeth as her eyes lingered on the patch of exposed skin between his slightly open collar. She resisted the urge to kiss it until she remembered she didn’t have too, leaning up and pressing her lips against his skin as the soft fabric of his shirt tickled her cheeks. Marinette felt his breath hitch under her lips, felt his grip around her waist tighten as he drew her closer. Her lips lingered on his skin as her fingers slid up his chest, untangling the first button from his shirt and waiting for a reaction. She didn’t know if it was proper form to come onto someone after complicating their relationship even further; truth be told she didn’t care. The fact that Adrien didn’t loathe her for throwing him under the bus with her mother was reason enough to celebrate and she preferred to celebrate by snogging  the pants off him for the rest of the evening.

Literally if she could help it.

“Well…is there anything I can do to help you unwind?” Adrien asked, hands resting on the small of her back as she unbuttoned another of his shirt buttons. “Tea? Bath? Soothing massage?”

“Lovely suggestions,” Marinette said, watching inch after inch of Adrien’s tanned, firm stomach revealed with each undone button. “Maybe we can get to those later…right now, I had something different in mind since we were so rudely interrupted earlier this week.”

Tuesday’s aborted tryst in Marinette’s office had provided more than enough inspiration for the rest of the week, but Adrien found the real, physical Marinette much more appealing than his imagination (no matter how many bell collars and cat ear headbands imaginary Marinette wore.) He relished the sensation of her slowly parting his shirt, palms sliding across his bare stomach with a hungry look in her eye.

“Careful,” Adrien giggled, squirming as Marinette’s fingertips pressed against a soft spot on his side.

“You’re not ticklish are you?” Marinette asked with a devilish glint in her eye until Adrien’s fingertips pressed against her sides as well.

“Are you?” Adrien asked, squinting  at her as his fingertips twitched. They stared at each other for a long moment, too afraid to move, before slowly and simultaneously raising their hands over their heads.

“Okay…let’s not do anything we’ll regr-et!” Marinette squeaked, skittering back as Adrien’s fingers lashed out and tickled her side. “Adrien!”

“Sorry,” Adrien chuckled, holding his hands up. “Just looked like you could use a l-augh!” Adrien fell back as Marinette counter attacked, fingers slithering forward and tickling his unprotected side. “Okay okay! I’m sorry!”

“Don’t start something you can’t finish Adriahahah!” Marinette squirmed as Adrien resumed his attack, fingers digging into the soft pink fabric of her dress clinging to her sides.

“That’s right,” Adrien wheezed through a stream of giggles. “Wh-who’s, haha, who’s laughing n-ahahahaha!”

“You are, dumm-eehehehe!” Marinette chortled, torn between wanting to escape Adrien’s touch and win a war of attrition. “H-How much more can you take?!”

“I can, ahahaha, I-I can go all day!” Adrien insisted, despite the fact that Adrien’s cheeks hurt from laughing so much. Neither of them seemed content to back down but Marinette’s pride faltered under Adrien’s malicious touch.

“Okay…” Marinette panted, slapping Adrien’s hands away. “Okay, Ladybug!”

Adrien’s fingers stopped tickling her almost instantly, hands pumping in the air in a triumphant pose. “I wiiiiiin~”

“Oh please; I was calling a truce because you looked like you were fading over there,” Marinette giggled, smoothing her dress.

“Uh-huh,” Adrien said, smirk creeping into the corners of his voice. “Suuuuure.”

Marinette crossed her arms, forcing herself to glare because it was hard to stay upset with a smiling, shirtless Adrien. Adrien’s hands slowly wound around her waist, tugging her close and looking over her curiously.

“Admit it,” Adrien said softly, leaning in as Marinette poignantly ignored him while trying to keep herself from smiling.

“I’ll admit that I let you win,” Marinette said diplomatically, watching his lips curl into a triumphant smirk (and generally just watching his lips because they were a nice thing to watch.)

“Which still means I won,” Adrien said, eyebrows waggling. “Technically speaking, I totally-”

Marinette was quickly learning that Adrien’s off switch was somewhere in his mouth and only by rooting around with her tongue for a while could she seem to find it. In the interests of stopping the barely deserved victory dance Adrien looked to be on the verge of, Marinette’s fingers gripped his collar, tugging him down and arching up to silence him by pressing her mouth against his. She swallowed the last of his gloating, firmly kissing him for a long moment before pulling back, enjoying the moment of silence as Adrien’s brain had to take a moment to reboot.

“Fine,” Marinette admitted, fingers still clutching the edges of his open shirt. “You…win.”

As per expected, Adrien’s gloating died swiftly only to be replaced by a hungry look in his eyes as he surveyed Marinette. “So since I won and all,” Adrien said, ignoring the small scoff from Marinette. “What do I win?”

A purring, suggestive tone crept into his voice, warming Marinette’s cheeks just a little as she considered her options.

“Well…” Marinette said, tilting her head back and forth. “I could bake you a cake, or knit you a scarf, or you can take me into your bedroom and ravish me until you’re satisfied, or I could get dinner tonight, or-”

Marinette’s lips curled as Adrien’s ears burned. “S-Sorry, what was that last one?” He stammered.

“…dinner?” Marinette suggested innocently, glad to see that Adrien was a glass cannon of flirtatiousness; he could dish it out all day but couldn’t take a hit in return. Fingernails grazing his bare stomach, Marinette took a few casual steps past Adrien, meandering towards the hallway leading to his bedroom. He blinked, turning to look after her only after he recovered from the surprise, heart thundering in his chest as he saw her pause to look back at him.

“Well?” Marinette asked, glancing over her shoulder with a small smile. “You coming?”

“Hopefully ,” Adrien said hoarsely, watching her disappear around the corner for a moment before following, nearly knocking over a barstool in his haste to get down after her. Marinette seemed to be in no great hurry, hand skimming the wall as she walked, hips swaying and aware of his presence but not particularly concerned if he was following. She knew he was; she didn’t have to check. She walked with the absolute certainty that Adrien was going to follow every step she took because he wanted to. She made him want to.  

Adrien knew as he pursued her down into the dimly lit bedroom that she was going to make an absolutely fantastic dominatrix .

The sight of Adrien’s large, lush bed made Marinette’s legs go weak; less out of pure desire and more because this was the closest she had been to a proper bed since the week of Marcel’s visit. She stepped forward as Adrien closed the door behind them, shucking her sandals  and slowly making her way over to the mattress. Adrien let the shirt fall from his shoulders, watching Marinette lean forward, bury her face in the mattress, and let out a long muffled moan into his comforter.

“Hello darling,” Marinette sighed, pressing her face into the bed. “Mama missed you so much.”

“Do you two need a moment?” Adrien asked, eyes lingering on Marinette’s butt as she leaned forward at the waist. “I could always leave and come back if you want to make love to my mattress.”

“That might be a good idea,” Marinette chuckled, reveling in the sensation of proper sheets again. “Give me ten hours alone with your mattress…you can sleep in my office downtown.”

“As much fun as that sounds,” Adrien said, leaning back against the wall to give Marinette a moment to make out with his bedding. “I would much rather wake up next to you tomorrow.”

Marinette hummed softly, arching up onto the balls of her feet as she stretched out on the mattress. A few moments passed in anticipatory silence before Marinette spoke. “Sooo…are you going to ravish me any time soon or should we get dinner first?”

Adrien laughed, running a hand through his hair as he tentatively took a step closer. Marinette craned her head back with a small smile, drumming her fingers on the comforters as though she were waiting for a cab rather than Adrien to start fucking her from behind. “Waiting for an invitation?”

“Something like that,” Adrien laughed.

“I see,” Marinette nodded, heart pulsing in her throat as she slowly stood up straight. Reaching behind her neck, she fumbled with the knot that held her dress up for a moment before finding the end strings and undoing it. She didn’t look back, not turning around as she slowly shimmied the pink and white dress down her torso, shivering as she exposed her chest to the cool, air conditioned room. Marinette smiled as she heard a small gasp from behind her coincide with the dress clearing her hips and bottom, stepping out of her dress as she stood only in a pair of thin pink panties. She leaned forward, arms spreading out and supporting her shaky legs by leaning on the mattress.

“Better?” Marinette asked, turning back to savor Adrien’s dumbstruck expression . She had been a little apprehensive about the underwear choice for that evening as it was nowhere near the level of lacy loveliness she had worn their first night together but Adrien’s face was a living, scarlet testament to the old adage that more expensive wasn’t always more effective.

In hindsight, he shouldn’t have been so surprised. The bedazzled crown on the front of the underwear should have been a massive spoiler now that he thought about it. But the problem was Adrien’s mind was devoid of any thought not related to the sight of Marinette leaning over his bed, looking back at him with a teasing glint in her eye clad in only a pair of pink panties.

…a pair of pink panties with the word Princess embossed on the back in sparkly silver lettering.

“Is this enough of an invitation for you?” Marinette asked, lip catching between her teeth as she watched Adrien’s eyes follow the subtle side-to-side shimmy of her hips. “Sir?”

It took Adrien a long moment to remember how to do anything other than ogle like a brain-dead pubescent teenager . He swallowed heavily, padding across the room towards her on wobbly legs as she rose up onto the balls of her feet to give him a better view. It was so much fun to see his normally polite, collected persona start to fray at the edges with so little effort on her part. A small gasp slipped between her lips as she felt his hand tremble with desire as he palmed her ass, giving it a light squeeze through her panties as he came up behind her.

“Y-You…” Adrien paused, clearing his throat of any lingering quavering and adopting a more confident demeanor. “I didn’t know you were such a little tease.”

“Am I teasing you?” Marinette said, feigning innocence as her fingers tightened around the comforter. “I had no idea. I just thought…they were appropriate…”

Marinette paused, craning her head back to look Adrien directly in the eye as she moved in for the kill.

“…since I am your princess…aren’t I?” Marinette said, expression melting into an inviting smile.

Fatality.

Adrien let out a small, nervous laugh that was more a testament to how much he knew he was fucked than how funny he thought this was. He actually shivered, goosebumps rising along his arms as he put his hands almost reverently on her hips.

“Do you like them?” Marinette asked, arching her ass back into his groin and rocking her hips back and forth, flushing as she felt something hard press back. Clearly her coaxing was having an effect on him; the fact that he took a while to take initiative didn’t bother Marinette who was having fun teasing his more demanding side out of hiding.

The press of his firm length through his pants and the way he openly groped her thinly covered butt were signs that she was doing a good job.

“I don’t know,” Adrien answered honestly, fingers toying with the waistband of her panties. “I like them on you…but I might like them better on the floor…”

“Careful,” Marinette warned, shivering as he leaned forward to kiss her on the small of her back as he undid his belt with one hand. “You might accidentally rip them if you don’t be careful…”

“Then I’ll be very careful,” Adrien assured her, fingers hooking in the waistband of her panties as Marinette glanced back at him.

“I…I mean it,” Marinette said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she looked almost embarrassed. “These aren’t exactly the sturdiest pair of underwear I’ve ever owned…one strong tug and I think you might rip them in half.”  

“Don’t worry,” Adrien said. “I know how to handle a delicate pair of-”

“Adrien.” Adrien looked up to see Marinette arching back, shooting him a very significant look. “These cheap and frankly tacky panties that I bought in a twelve pack explicitly for this occasion might…rip…in half…if you tug on them too roughly.”

Adrien frowned, trying to decipher Marinette’s expression as he knelt behind her. He glanced back at her panties only to realize a small incision had been made in the waistband at the very back. Adrien pouted at this for a moment, glancing between Marinette’s underwear and her intent expression as realization slowly dawned on him.

“…ooooooh,” Adrien said, nodding as he thumbed her waistband.  

“Ooooh,” Marinette echoed, turning back away from him.

“…so you definitely have more of these?” Adrien asked.

“Yep,” Marinette said.

“Because if you don’t, I will buy you about a thousand more just to be sure,” Adrien said, fingers gripping her waistband as his heart thudded in his ears.

“You might have to,” Marinette said, fingers gripping the edge of the bed. “Because these are very flimsy panties you kn-”

Marinette let out a small laugh as her underwear split along the minute rip she had cut in it earlier that day, leaving her exposed as Adrien finished tugging the strips of pink fabric away from her legs.

“You’re not that good at taking hints,” Marinette chuckled, sucking in a small gasp of breath as she felt Adrien’s lips press against her butt.

“I prefer to take requests,” Adrien said, voice low and hoarse as his knelt behind her, hands squeezing the soft, freckled skin in front of him. “But I have to admit that taking initiative is fun every once and a while.”

“I’m sure it-ah!” Marinette yelped, arching onto the balls of her feet as she felt a sharp pinching sensation on her ass. She arched her head back to see what he was doing in time to see his open palm smack against her unprotected rump with a thwack that echoed throughout the empty house.

“Turn around,” Adrien said, slowly getting to his feet with a mischievous glint in his eye. As much as she wanted to enjoy watching Adrien finish undressing she dutifully turned back around, wiggling absentmindedly as she waited for his next move. Adrien watched her for a moment before he summoned the willpower to tear his eyes away from her bouncing freckled bottom and retrieve a few items from the bags he brought in. His fingers brushed the soft leather tip of the crop they had picked out, lingering thoughtfully for a moment before reaching past it and grabbing a small bottle of clear liquid at the bottom of the bag. Adrien turned it over in his hands thoughtfully, snatching a thin strip of silk from the dresser and making his way back to the bed. He tried not to allow himself to be hypnotized by the sight of Marinette’s squirming backside, ignoring her casual humming as he came up behind her.

“Should I be bracing myself?” Marinette chuckled, tensing a little as Adrien rested a hand on the small of her back.

“I’m not going to smack you with a riding crop out of the blue,” Adrien said, tracing circles on the small of her back. “I figured given all the…excitement today, we could try something a little less intense.”

“I’m not scared of intense,” Marinette said, drawing a faint gasp as the familiar sensation of silk pressed against her eyes. She reached back, pulling her hair out of the way and allowing Adrien to secure the blindfold behind her head. “I like intense.”

“Well then, I’ll give you all the intense you want tomorrow,” Adrien murmured into her ear, feeling her pulse jump as he pressed his lips against her neck. “But right now…I want you to just lay on the bed.”

“Kinky,” Marinette snorted, squeaking as Adrien’s hand lightly smacked her ass. “Now that’s more like it!”

“Humor me,” Adrien said, helping Marinette climb up on the massive bed with a small lift under her backside. Marinette let out a small sigh of resignation, hands skimming along the comforter and unwittingly giving Adrien a front row seat to her crawling up onto his bed on all fours, naked as the day she was born.

“Satisfied?” Marinette asked, flopping onto her stomach and turning her blind gaze towards Adrien.

“Not yet,” Adrien snorted, adjusting his briefs so he was a little more comfortable.

“I can help with that,” Marinette reminded him, pillowing her head on her hands as she waited for Adrien to make his move. She felt mattress sink under his weight as he climbed up, crawling over and kneeling at her left side.

“Maybe in a bit,” Adrien said, uncapping the bottle he brought with him.

“You sure you can wait that long?” Marinette asked, eyebrow cresting over the top of the blindfold. “You looked ready to burst last time I saw you~”

“You’re underestimating how patient I can be,” Adrien chuckled. “I have a lot of self-control, you know.”

“Mm…we’ll have to see about that,” Marinette hummed cryptically. “I’m sure even you have a breaking point…don’t you, sir?”

Marinette smiled to herself as she heard the bottle squirt with a loud phrrpt that suggested Adrien squeezed it harder than necessary. Even blindfolded and ostensibly at his mercy, Marinette was finding ways to push Adrien’s buttons. “I’m starting to wonder what I have to do to get you to lose composure,” Marinette purred, letting out a small gasp as she felt something warm and slick land on the middle of her back. “…okay if you just ‘lost composure’ without me, I’m going to be a little pissed-”

She trailed off as a familiar scent hit her nostrils and Adrien’s hands began spreading the quickly warming liquid on her back. “…is that coconut oil?”

“Something like that,” Adrien said, applying another dollop to her upper back and kneading it into her shoulders. “I mean it has…other uses but it makes a good massage oil too.”

“…you do know you have my permission to tie me to the bedposts and have your way with me, right?” Marinette said.

“I do,” Adrien  said, hands sliding down her bare back as he applied gentle pressure to her sides.

“Most guys would take advantage of that fact instead of going for the spa treatment,” Marinette said, letting out a small sigh as she felt Adrien’s fingers tease out the knots in her shoulders.

“I know,” Adrien said, rubbing some more oil between his hands and massaging it into her butt. “But it sounded to me like you might enjoy the spa treatment tonight…am I wrong?”

“Hey, you won’t hear me complaining,” Marinette sighed, biting her lip as Adrien returned his attention to her knotted, tense shoulders.

“I bet I won’t,” Adrien clucked, slowly teasing the tight cluster of muscles looser and looser with every gentle press of his fingers. “Feels like you could use this.”

“Mmhmm,” Marinette murmured, sinking deeper into Adrien’s bed as his hands went to work on her. The blindfold effectively blocked out any light and Adrien’s quiet work forced her to focus on the sensation of having every knot in her muscles methodically unwound. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was wound tighter than an anal-retentive watchmaker but only now that she had a moment to stop and do nothing did she realize how tense she was. As Adrien’s hands glided over her skin and slowly began to unknot her tightly wound muscles, any lingering disappointment about not getting to try out their purchases quickly evaporated.

“This could take a while,” Adrien chuckled after a few minutes of blissful silence, hands working over her back.

“Take as looooooong as you need,” Marinette sighed, resolving herself to melt into a coconut scented puddle on Adrien’s bed.

“Someone’s had a rough couple of weeks,” he mused, pressing his palms into her back as he felt her unwind beneath him.

“You have noooooo idea,” Marinette chuckled, cheek rubbing against Adrien’s comforter as she subtly arched into his touch. “Mmh…right there.”

“Too much pressure?” Adrien asked, focusing on a spot between her shoulder blades.

“Not enough,” Marinette said, smile hidden in his sheets. “You know I like it rough.”

“Unfortunately I never picked up Swedish massaging on the road,” Adrien said, applying a little more pressure to a persistent knot of muscles. “Otherwise I’d be karate chopping your back right now.”

“I’m still wondering where you picked up regular massaging on the road,” Marinette chuckled, pressing into Adrien’s touch a little. “Is that part of Gabriel’s modeling curriculum?”

“Let’s just say I made some good friends in Germany while shooting the 2020 winter collection and leave it at that,” Adrien chuckled, hands working their way down to the small of her back. The setting sun streamed through the window, cascading onto her soft freckled skin that almost glowed from the thin sheen of liquid that coated every curve of her body as she subtly shifted under his touch.

“Very good friends by the sound of it,” Marinette laughed, trying very hard not to consider who Adrien had practiced his massage skills on before her. Instead, she chose to focus on Adrien’s hands drifting lower and lower, biting her lip as he squeezed her ass before sliding down to massage the backs of her legs. “If this is how you treat all your friends, I’m not surprised Nino followed you around the world for seven years.”

“Maybe not all my friends,” Adrien said, fingertips tracing the inside of her thigh as he moved down her leg. “Just the very special kind.”

“I’m special?” Marinette snorted, legs instinctively drifting apart a little as he applied more pressure to the inside of her thighs.

“I thought you knew how special I think you are,” Adrien said, voice adopting a soft purring quality that made Marinette’s pulse pick up. As nice as it had been to melt away under a relatively innocent touch, the hands that were now squeezing the insides of her legs reminded her that she hadn’t had the time or opportunity to enjoy some alone time in nearly a week. “Did you forget?”

“It’s been a while since I was reminded,” Marinette purred, hips arching off the bed briefly as she shifted her position. Without waiting for Adrien to respond, she rolled over, enjoying the small gasp from Adrien as she spread out on her back, lazily arching her back and stretching towards the headboard with a sigh. Her thumb tilted up the corner of the blindfold, catching sight of Adrien’s flushed expression as she settled against the pillows. “Wanna do my front?”

There were so many ways he could have taken that question but the answer to all of them was a resounding yes.

Marinette tugged the rest of the blindfold up onto her forehead, deciding that the sight of Adrien red-faced and looking at her like he had never seen a naked woman before was preferable to being blindfolded (as fun as that was). She watched his eyes trail up her naked body, lingering on her pert, freckled breasts for a moment before noticing that her blindfold had been removed. Adrien looked almost embarrassed that he had been caught openly ogling her for a moment before shooting her a playful glare.

“I don’t remember telling you that you could take that off ,” Adrien said, watching Marinette lazily toss the silk strip off the edge of the bed.

“Oops,” she said, biting her lip as Adrien shifted so he was kneeling between her knees. “Well, if you feel that strongly about it you could always…punish me.”

Adrein suppressed a small groan, hands shaking ever so slightly as he massaged the fronts of Marinette’s thighs, now openly feeling her up as she looked down at him. He didn’t know how long he could resist her not-so-subtle suggestions that he should tie her up and introduce her to the business end of a riding crop. But as tempting as it was, Adrien’s attention was focused on enjoying the way Marinette seemed to tense and relax under his touch. His fingertips traced the constellations of freckles that sporadically dotted her body, gliding over every knot of tension until it came loose.

He didn’t need to hear the entire phone call to know it hadn’t been good; just by massaging her he could tell she was under an enormous amount of strain. Adrien was no stranger to the grueling workload most people in the fashion industry suffered under, first having watched his father be slowly consumed by his life’s work and then almost being consumed by the same brutal schedule Marcel set for him. Looking back, Adrien was hardly surprised that his submissive side had first awoken when he was under untold amounts of pressure and needed to feel safely controlled for just a little while.

He didn’t pretend to know all the challenges Marinette was facing or even presume to read her mind…but he thought he understood her. Just a little bit.

“Having fun?” Marinette’s voice broke Adrien’s musing, drawing his attention back to his hands that were apparently lingering on Marinette’s breasts while he was lost in thought.

“Sorry,” Adrien said, tensing to pull his hands back for a moment before reconsidering with a gentle squeeze.

“Are you?” Marinette asked, arching into his touch a little as she watched him settle between her legs, thumbs toying with the tips of her nipples as she folded her hands behind her head.

“Not really,” Adrien confessed, biting his lip as his hands trailed down her sides. “Not unless I should be. I do have a hard time keeping my hands where they belong where you’re concerned.”

“I think it’s safe to say when I’m lying naked on your bed, your hands belong on me,” Marinette laughed, watching his hands trail down the flat of her stomach intently. Again, he uncapped the bottle of clear, coconut scented liquid, applying a generous amount to his hands before he noticed her looking at him. “I’m guessing if you picked this up from the store, it’s not just massage oil, is it?”

Adrien’s lips twitched, thumb rubbing the vicious liquid between his fingers experimentally. “What do you think?” He asked.

“I think I’d like to find out,” Marinette murmured, fingers gripping the pillow behind her head as Adrien thoughtfully bit his lip, a dark blush creeping up from his neck as a sudden idea struck him.

“Well…since you seem to be an authority on where my hands belong,” Adrien said, resting both palms on her hips and looking up at her with anticipation. “Why don’t you tell me what you want me to do with them?”

"Really?" Marinette’s stomach gave a small flutter as the implication of what Adrien was asking settled in. She crossed her hands over her chest in an effort to stop her hammering heartbeat, eyes lingering on the tips of his fingers.

"Really," Adrien said, waiting for her command.

“…t-touch my breasts again,” Marinette said after a moment’s consideration, wanting to see just what Adrien had in mind. As soon as she said it, his hands slid up her stomach, cupping her breasts lightly and looking back up at her for approval.

“Play with them,” she said, her low, husky tone of voice sending small chills down Adrien’s spine as his hands complied. He started off slow, fingertips applying gentle pressure in a circular pattern until his hands rested under breasts with a light squeeze. She watched him through half lidded eyes diligently fondle her, warming slightly as he appeared almost entranced by the way her warm freckled skin felt between his fingers. A small gasp escaped her mouth as his thumbs brushed the tips of her nipples, applying a little pressure as Adrien couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

“Sensitive?” Adrien asked, looking up at her with a smirk.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Marinette chuckled, glancing down at his hands thoughtfully. “…pinch them.”

Adrien’s pulse quickened, glancing down at the rosy nipples trapped between his thumb and forefinger. He lightly squeezed them, stopping just short of pinching her as indecision tickled the back of his mind. Marinette must have picked up on his momentary hesitation because his gaze was soon jerked up by one of her hands cupping him under the chin and forcing him to look her in the eye.

“Is there a problem?” Marinette asked in a soft voice that betrayed a firm look in her eyes that made Adrien straighten up a little.

“No, it’s just…you’re sure?” Adrien asked.

“I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t,” Marinette said coolly, resisting the urge to smile at Adrien’s embarrassed expression. “Do you know what I like better than me?”

“I…probably not,” Adrien muttered quietly, chin tilting up a little as Marinette applied a little more pressure.

“Probably not or no?” Marinette asked, looking him directly in the eye. As charming as it was to have Adrien so concerned with her well-being, his misplaced chivalric streak had to be sorted out; the sooner the better.  

“N-No mis-” Adrien flushed red, biting his lip before he could finish his sentence. “I mean, no, I d-don’t know what you want better than you do.”

“Good,” Marinette said with a sweet smile. “So when I say I want you to spank me, I mean it. When I say I want you to leave little bite marks on me, I mean it. And when I say that I want you to pinch my nipples , I mean—ah!”

Marinette let out a small gasp between clenched teeth as Adrien’s fingers suddenly clenched, squeezing her nipples and lightly tugging them up off her chest.

“Gotcha,” Adrien said with a small smile, watching her head flop back against the covers. “Just making sure~”

“Are you—ah—a-are you satisfied?” Marinette hissed, biting her lip as he slowly twisted the tips of her breasts back and forth between his fingers.

“Quite,” Adrien hummed, feeling her arch her hips up against his leg, watching hands drifting down her stomach lazily. “I’m finding that we have more and more in common the more time we spend together.”

Through the warm aching pressure and the haze of unsatisfied desire, Marinette filed that tidbit of information away for future reference. Unconsciously, her hand slid down her stomach in an effort to relieve some of the dull, throbbing need pulsing between her legs…until she remembered she didn’t have to.

“Okay…that’s enough,” Marinette said hoarsely, letting out a small whimper as Adrien released her breasts, panting a little bit as she looked down at him. “For now.”

“Are you-” Adrien’s comment was cut off as Marinette pressed her finger against his lips with a poignant look.

“Yes,” Marinette panted. “I’m fine.”

“Y-You don’t even know what I was going to-”

“If I am ever not fine, you will be the first to know,” Marinette assured him, settling back against the bed with a small grunt. Her fingers touched the tips of her mildly sore breasts with a small hiss, idly palming them as he gaze drifted back towards Adrien. “You’re still wearing those?”

Adrien glanced down at the black boxers, currently bunched up in the front in a rather embarrassing tent aiming straight between Marinette’s legs. “Yeah, guess I am-”

“Take them off,” Marinette said, blushing as she realized she had blurted that out like she was a middle aged businessman at a strip club. Adrien looked up, smirking at her until she managed to look back at him with what she hoped was a firm, resolute expression.

“You only get to tell me what to do with my hands,” Adrien reminded her, thumbs hooking in the waistband of his underwear. “Remember?”

“Well then use your hands to take off your underwear you smartass,” Marinette giggled, settling back to enjoy the show. Adrien gave an acquiescing shrug, thumbs whisking his black boxer briefs off with speed and lack of shame derived from years of undressing in front of complete strangers for runway shows. Marinette’s eyes traced the tip of his bobbing cock as he resettled, tongue tracing her dry lips as he returned to a kneeling position. It had been a while since she had the opportunity to safely ogle him. Despite the fact that pictures of Adrien almost-naked and soaking wet were just a web search away, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was being creepy using Adrien’s model career as…inspiration.

Besides, the genuine article proved to be much more interesting.

Marinette didn’t know if their relationship would last long enough for her to get over the sight of Adrien naked but to be honest, she hoped she never did. His long, tanned, and toned legs curled up underneath him as he knelt between her knees. Adrien’s slim, toned stomach and chest glowed in the evening sun, glistening with perspiration and remnants of the massage oil. His slim body was starting to show hints of definition here and there and his shoulders seemed broader, stronger somehow. He pushed his lengthening blonde hair back out of his eyes, leaning back on his hands with a devilish smirk, laughing as she noticed him noticing her openly leering at him.

“Like what you see?” Adrien said, biting his lip and arching his hips a little off the mattress.

“Please tell me I wasn’t drooling,” Marinette said, blinking as she snapped out of her daydream.

“Only a little,” Adrien laughed, fingertips drumming on her legs expectantly. “…are you just going to watch me all night or should I be doing something with my hands?”

“Yes,” Marinette replied, biting her lip as she felt a sudden rush of daring. “Can you…touch yourself?”  

Adrien flushed, nearly falling back on the bed before catching himself. Now it was Marinette’s turn to look smug, glancing down at Adrien with an expectant smile. Part of her wanted to see how far he was willing to go; how far he intended to let her push him before he lost composure. Part of her relished the thought that she could ask Adrien to fuck himself kneeling between her legs and he might actually do it.

Curiosity drove her forward, prompting her to push the boundaries of their established relationship just a little bit.

“S-Seriously?” Adrien stammered, reaching for the bottle on the bed.

“Is that a problem?” Marinette asked. Adrien seemed to answer by uncapping the bottle, letting a stream of clear liquid drizzle onto his cock as he rubbed it in.

“N-Not at all,” Adrien said, right hand slowly coaxing his semi-hard length to life. He took a deep breath, letting out a deep sigh as he slowly began massaging his aching cock. A small twinge of self-consciousness bubbled up inside him; it had been literally years since he had been this vulnerable in front of anyone and he couldn’t remember the last time he was asked to perform like this. And yet the sensation of embarrassment that came from having his sexuality subdued for someone else’s pleasure only fueled his arousal.

Put on a show, he reminded himself.

Pressing his left palm back onto the bed, Adrien closed his eyes, arching his hips forward into each stroke as he let out a small moan for Marinette’s benefit. Biting his lip, he ground into his own touch with torturous leisure, trying to apply just enough pressure to keep himself hard without pushing himself over the edge. He didn’t want the night to end because he got too frisky with himself; he had spent nearly a month aching for the touch of Marinette’s skin on his and he was not going to blow it…figuratively or literally.

Adrien’s efforts did not go unappreciated, even if he currently wasn’t aware of the effect he was having on his partner. His initial bashfulness gave Marinette a moment’s pause but it had quickly evaporated the moment he started working himself into a metaphorical lather, eyes closed, lip between his teeth, and hips rocking back and forth as he took his sweet time toying with himself for her enjoyment. And she was very much enjoying it. The moment his eyes slid shut, Marinette’s fingers dipped into her sex, miming each stroke of Adrien’s cock by pressing her middle and ring fingers inside herself in time to his movements. Her free hand drifted down, toying with her clit as Adrien’s fingers traced the tip of his pulsing cock with his thumb. Her mouth fell open as his lip caught between his teeth; each moan from him echoed by a smothered whimper from Marinette as she slowly coaxed herself closer and closer to the edge.

There was something so wonderfully unreal about the whole situation. The thought of Adrien touching himself while thinking of her had always dwelled in the furthest corners of her imagination; to be called up whenever Marinette needed inspiration and then banished back to the realms of implausibility once she had finished. It was one of her more outlandish fantasies like winning the lottery or having Ana Wintour gush over her designs. But here he was, naked, sweating, and panting as his cock pulsed between his slick fingers. It was almost dizzying to watch him and Marinette knew that she wasn’t going to need to hunt around for Adrien’s old model photos for inspiration anymore.

The bedroom was silent except for stifled moans and the faint sound of skin sliding against skin. Adrien’s eyes were still screwed shut, partly out of fear that if he opened his eyes and saw Marinette naked in front of him he would lose whatever self-control he was working so hard to maintain. As it was, he was doing long division in his head and trying to remember the formulae for velocity and acceleration; anything to keep his mind off the way the bed seemed to rock and squeak in time to Marinette’s fingers. He didn’t know how long she was going to make him keep it up but something told him that if he didn’t do something, she was going to last much longer than he was.

Which was something Adrien couldn’t accept.

Arching forward, Adrien let out a low moan, stretching his free arm back to run through his hair as his hand settled at the base of his cock. Marinette watched his green eyes flicker open, tongue slowly trace the outline of his pink, pouty lips as his gaze fell on her.

“Mmnh…oh fuck, Mari,” Adrien rasped in a soft, barely audible voice.

It was widely believed that Adrien Agreste never cursed; this was simply not true. Despite his rigid upbringing, his time in public school had fleshed out his teenage vocabulary as much as the next twenty-six year old. But he didn’t like to fling profanity about, not out of any sense of propriety, but because he always thought it was more effective the less he used it. He found that people took him more seriously when he did end up swearing…case and point, the sound of a low, raspy fuck from Adrien’s mouth might not have short-circuited Marinette’s brain if he said it more often.

As it was, it appeared that his precision f-bomb had done its job.

With speed born out of weeks of metaphorical blueballing, Marinette sat up, crawled across the bed and laid a searing kiss on Adrien’s lips, fingers tangling in his hair as she nearly bowled him over and off the edge of the bed. Adrien managed to throw his hands back and steady himself as Marinette leaned up to kiss him, fingers wrapping around his slick length and experimentally giving it a few tugs.

“I—mmph—take it you—mmph—enjoyed the—mmph—show?” Adrien panted between kisses, shifting his knees closer together as Marinette straddled his thighs.

“I think there’s only one thing I’d enjoy more right now,” Marinette giggled, slowly crawling into Adrien’s lap. “As nice as that was, I was starting to get a little jealous of your right hand over there.”

“Can’t have that,” Adrien said, glancing down with a small gasp as Marinette slid his slick tip across lips  as she crawled into position. “Wait, is this o -”

Adrien’s question transformed into a soft gasp, his fingers tangling in the sheets behind him as he was suddenly and quickly enveloped by Marinette’s warm, wet folds. With a quavering sigh, she rested both hands on his shoulders, sinking her weight down inch by inch until her knees rested flat on the bed on either side of Adrien’s legs. The lubricant Adrien had rubbed himself with made it easy to completely hilt him inside herself, arms dangling lazily over his back as she did.

“It’s okay with me,” Marinette breathed in his ear, kissing his cheek. “I’m…I’m using protection.”

Adrien responded with a small gurgle, teeth clenching around his lower lip to help offset the sensation of Marinette squeezing him ever so slightly.

“We…we’re exclusive, right?” Marinette mumbled, leaning back to look him in the eye as she wondered if she had crossed a line. “So I mean…if it’s okay with you…”

Marinette glanced down between them with a shy glance.

“I-If you’re sure,” Adrien muttered with a reassuring smile.

“Just don’t…finish inside me, okay?” Marinette asked, hands wrapping around the back of his neck as she pressed her forehead against his. “Sorry…I just wanted to feel you inside me this time.”

Adrien was silent for a moment and as Marinette looked up to see if he was upset, she was surprised by a sudden, hungry kiss as Adrien arched his hips forward, hands cupping the back of her legs. She let out a surprised giggle, squeaking a little as she felt him buck against her, drinking kiss after kiss he clumsily pressed against her open, waiting mouth.

“Down boy,” Marinette cooed, brushing some hair out of his eyes as she pulled back a little. “Let me do some of the work for a change.”

“I don’t mind doing work,” Adrien laughed, groaning a little as her hips shimmied back and forth in his lap. His hands fell back again, elbows shaking as she slowly raised and lowered herself, hands pressed against his chest and humming softly under her breath as she meticulously rode him. Their first time had been rough, passionate, and more intense than anything Marinette had ever experienced. Their second time had been a quickie before bed, half dressed and just trying to squeeze one more orgasm in before she had to go back to work. Even their half-finished quickie on Tuesday had been an attempt at quick, dirty sex before they were caught.

This time, things were undoubtedly different.

This time they had nothing to do and nowhere to go for the rest of the day. They could take as much time as they want and Marinette intended to savor every slow, calculated thrust, buck, and rock of her hips. She had earned this small luxury; the universe could stop relentlessly pelting her for a few precious hours so she could fuck her high-school crush into his fancy bourgeois bedding.

For his part, Adrien seemed to agree, allowing Marinette to slowly ride him as he lavished his attention on her breasts, her neck, and anywhere else his hungry mouth could reach. He lapped at the sheen of coconut oil covering her breasts, lightly nipping on her nipples as he massaged her with trembling hands. He didn’t have to worry about maintaining composure; he didn’t have to mask his desire for her in his teasing dominant persona. He didn’t have to be shy about letting her know that he was falling in love with every inch of her, inside and out, through a series of whimpering, incoherent noises that slipped from his mouth.

“Ahh…A-Adrien.” His name had never sounded more beautiful than when it spilled from her lips in feverish gasps. He had never felt more desirable than when she so openly craved his touch. As much as he fought the rising tide of romanticism, he knew someday his feeble heart would drown him. He was already soaking with sentimentality and had no real desire to pull himself out. If it meant holding her like this, lips frantically finding one another amid whimpers and gasps, he was content to let himself sink beyond all hope.  

And though he did not know it, he wasn’t sinking alone.

As much as Marinette’s rational mind struggled to stifle her heart’s frantic fluttering, it wasn’t just Adrien’s body she wanted. Even though she knew she was too busy, too scattered, too wrapped up in her own life to be the kind of partner Adrien deserved, she wanted him all the same. But he had already wasted most of his life loving someone who loved their work more than they loved him; he didn’t deserve to shackle himself to a woman already shackled to her work. When push came to shove, she liked Adrien; possibly even romantically . But the great, passionate love of her life was still creating fashion and if push came to shove, if she had to choose between her career and Adrien, she would have chosen her career. If she had to leave Paris to pursue her dreams, she would do it. If she had to cancel dates because she was on a designing tear, she would do it.

And if she had to do all that, she didn’t want to also break Adrien’s heart.

But she could love him as a friend; she could have harmless, carefree fun with him without risking hurting him. Relishing the sensation of his skin pressed against hers didn’t need to come with romantic complications. They were happy like this, sexting, flirting, frantically worshipping each other’s bodies on the weekends without worrying about what they meant to each other.

If this fantasy was all she was going to get, she would be grateful for every bit of it.

Having been kept apart for nearly a month, neither of them were going to last very long. As much as Marinette wanted to savor the experience as long as possible, her partner appeared to be having some difficulties holding himself together. Adrien’s breathing became more erratic, legs quivering between Marinette’s thighs as he struggled to fight off the inevitable.

“M-Marinette,” Adrien panted, chest fluttering as he tried to hold himself together. “Marinette I-”

“I know,” Marinette panted, steadying herself on his shoulders as his hand reached down to toy with her clit. “I know, I-I’m almost there.”

“I-I don’t think I can hold out much more,” Adrien whined, spare hand wrapping around her waist for support as her rocking became all the more insistent. She was too hot, too wet to resist for much longer. Adrien had done what he could but he was vastly unprepared for the sensation of Marinette bouncing on top of him as hard as she could.

“Little more; come on hold on just a little more,” Marinette whined, feeling the twitching pulses of her climax creeping up on her. She could see that it was taking all of his willpower to stay together so she cupped the sides of his cheeks, pressed her forehead against his, and whispered, “P-Please. I know you can do it.”

The warm praise  seemed to stroke something deep inside Adrien who let out a soft sigh, clenching his teeth and willing himself to ignore the sensation of Marinette clenching around him for a few moments longer. He wasn’t about to let her down; just a few more moments and-

“Mmnhh!” Marinette squeaked, pressing herself into Adrien’s touch as she rocked back, sliding off him and taking his hot, wet length in her fingers. “Adrien!”

Adrien took her meaning as she slid off him, slipping his fingers inside her as his slick cock was exposed to the chilly air. Marinette let out a small whimper as his fingers dipped inside her, feeling him tremble between her fingertips as she ran them up and down his length.

 “Marinette,” Adrien let out a soft, mewling moan as he convulsed between her fingers again and again and again. Marinette was dimly aware of something splashing against her stomach and chest as Adrien leaned forward, forehead resting against her shoulder as he teased wave after wave of pleasure out of her with his fingers. She rocked back hard, squeezing him until she was sure they were both spent before collapsing forward, flopping down onto Adrien’s lap as she fought to slow her breathing.

They stayed like that for a while, panting heavily and leaning on one another for support. They felt too warm, too heavy to move, and so they just knelt there, pressing soft, sleepy kisses into each other’s shoulders and necks. When they finally recovered, they pulled back at almost the same time, blinking hard for a moment before letting out identical nervous giggles.

“That was…” Marinette trailed off with a high pitched laugh.

“Yeah…it sure was,” Adrien sighed, leaning back for a moment with a dazed look of contentment. “Thanks for the hand at the end there.”

“Was that a handjob pun?” Marinette snorted, glancing down at herself with a small blush as she realized most of Adrien’s orgasm was still clinging to her stomach and chest.

“You said it; not me,” Adrien said, reaching back and snatching a towel from the foot of the bed and passing it to Marinette. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine,” Marinette said, toweling her front off with a small wink. “Turnabout is fair play after all.”

“True,” Adrien chuckled, thinking back to the face full of his own cum he got after the first morning they spent together. “Guess we’re even.”

“For now,” Marinette said with a teasing smile, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she looked down at him. “Want to hit the showers?”

“You say that like a football coach,” Adrien snorted, lying back with his hands folded on his chest.

“We did have quite a work out,” Marinette said, offering a closed fist to Adrien. “Good hustle out there, Agreste.”

“You too, Dupain,” Adrien laughed, lightly bumping his knuckles against Marinette’s. “I don’t know about you but I could use a long soak in the tub.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Marinette said, shifting to get off Adrien’s lap. “We can always order takeout after-AHH!”

Adrien watched helplessly as Marinette tripped over the corner of the comforter on her way out of bed, tumbling off the edge and planting face first on the floor below.

“Marinette!” Adrien cried, struggling to sit up. “I’m-ooph!”

Adrien tried to rush after her but his legs were in no condition to support his weight after Marinette had finished with him. He tumbled off the bed and skidded to a stop next to Marinette, face down in his own carpet to try and smother his humiliation.  

“So,” Marinette’s muffled voice came from beside him. “Bath?”

 "We should do this more often.”

Marinette hummed in agreement, leaning back as Adrien’s fingers massaged her scalp from behind as the bathtub’s jets bubbled and churned the warm soapy water around them. She didn’t know what she enjoyed more; the luxurious, floral scented bath or the fact that she was sharing it with her high school crush who was washing every aching inch of her. Even after nearly half an hour soaking in the tub, Marinette didn’t have a solid answer, and would likely have to take another dozen baths with Adrien just to be sure.

“Don’t say that,” Marinette chuckled. She dunked her head underwater, ridding it of suds before resurfacing, facing Adrien and resting her head on his chest. “I’ll be here every weekend if you say that.”

“Is that supposed to deter me?” Adrien asked, brushing a strand of wet hair out of her eyes as his hands came to a rest on the small of her back. “I like it when you’re here.”

“You like it when I’m here naked,” Marinette snorted, shimmying up until her arms twined around his neck.

“I won’t lie and say I don’t like discovering just how many freckles you have,” Adrien said, glancing down at Marinette’s chest unconsciously. “But I think we manage to have fun together even when we’re unfortunately clothed, don’t we?”

“We do,” Marinette admitted, biting her lip. “I don’t want to interrupt your life all the time…”

“What life; I’m out of work and spend all my day working out or bumming around cafes,” Adrien chuckled, squeezing some soap into his hands and massaging it up and down her back. “You can literally come  over any time.

“I know,” Marinette said softly.

Adrien stiffened as he caught sight of her anxious expression. “O-Of course if you don’t want to that’s-”

Adrien was silenced as Marinette pressed her fingertip against his lips.

“When did I say that?” Marinette chuckled, glancing down into the filmy water thoughtfully. Chloe had made her so cautious of any action that could be construed as taking advantage of Adrien. Even though Adrien had just given her carte blanche to show up whenever she wanted to, she was wary of overtaxing him or asking too much.

Still…they were friends. Friends hung out together. In their case, friends also helped each other achieve orgasm using whips and handcuffs but the principle remained the same. And besides the fact that she slept over naked, she liked just being with Adrien; hanging out, watching movies, ordering takeout, beating him at video games…sleeping in his bed, using his bath, generally feeling like a human again after weeks of-

“Marinette?” Marinette looked up at Adrien’s curious expression, realizing she had been spacing out staring at his abs.

“I…I’m free next Saturday?” Marinette suggested with a small, if uneasy smile. It was halfway between never leaving Adrien’s house (which is what she wanted) and keeping a respectful distance (which she thought was the responsible/boring thing to do) but Adrien seemed to warm to the suggestion, his smile sending a tingle up her spine.

“Next Saturday is good for me too,” Adrien said softly. He knew how these things typically went; a series of passionate, weekend flings that eventually petered off when the novelty died down and nothing kept them together anymore. Part of him was aware of that unpleasant reality that came with every relationship like theirs so part of him wanted to make this one last as long as he could. Because even now, sitting in a bathtub and gleefully making plans for their near future, he knew that he was going to miss this relationship terribly once it was over.

“It’s a…date?” Marinette said with a raise of her eyebrow.

“For lack of a better term,” Adrien said, hands resting on the backs of her legs as her fingers trailed down his chest.

“Well…seeing as how this date isn’t over until Monday,” Marinette said with a furtive grin. “Why don’t you fill me in on all the devious plans you have in store for me tomorrow.”

“I have devious plans?” Adrien laughed, tensing as Marinette leaned in and pressed her lips against his collarbone.

“I really hope you do,” Marinette replied, shifting her hips into his lap a little. As water lapped the edges of the marble tub, Marinette worried for a brief moment that any vigorous movement on her part might spill half the bath over the rim of the tub…before realizing that she didn’t really care all that much. Monday was going to come, one way or another, so Marinette resolved herself to enjoy what little time she had left with Adrien as much as she—

“Oh…shit,” Marinette said, sitting up suddenly and paling as a mortifying thought struck her. “Is next weekend the thirtieth?!”

“I…I think so,” Adrien said with a small frown. “Why?”

“Oh fuuuuuuuuuck!” Marinette let out a long sigh, dragging her hands down her face as she resisted the urge to beat her head against the side of the tub. All that had happened recently, all the chaos surrounding her business made her forget a very, very, very important event that she had dreaded for nearly a year.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked, sitting up curiously.

“Sooooo…” Marinette sighed, wincing at Adrien a little with a sheepish smile. “Uh…so g-good news and bad news! The bad news is I actually have plans next weekend. My cousin is getting married so..."

"Oh," Adrien said with a forced-casual shrug. "That sounds...fun!"

"Not really," Marinette said, swallowing heavily. "But the good news is that I can bring a date."