Chapter Seven

At this point they had come to stop at the corner before the school and there he was. The sunlight practically caressing his green eyes, the gentle breeze felt as if it was there to play with his hair at that moment. She stopped seeing anything around her with the emotions thick in the air pulsing. He looked like someone she knew. He reminded her of her precious Kitty. All of this happened in a time of one minute. All of these thoughts started racing about. Then she snapped back to herself because if his tears were insufferable then god damn it she needed to do something about it. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him close against her, and she whispered softly to him. "It's okay. Adrien it's okay. Please don't cry, please stop crying it's okay."

With every whisper Adrien relaxed into her just a bit more. She was here with him and she didn't run from him or hate him for his feelings. He could feel her own warm breaths against his neck and her arms.. They were so strong around him. Holding him to her, only it wasn't the harsh unfeeling confinement of his home, it was the soft yet fierce protection of a loved one. It was a claiming just like being her prince was. Her hands were rubbing his back and smoothing gentle circles into his shoulders. He could feel a few icy droplets hit his skin and her shoulders shuddered. With the heightened senses of a cat he could smell the clammy scent of fear that was just barely there. She was scared and he didn't understand why but he would comfort her just like she was for him.

So he wrapped his own arms around her and rubbed those same circles against her sides. "It's okay Marinette. I'm fine. I am with you and it's safe. Everything is okay." She nodded against his chest and neither party cared that people were watching or that they were late to class. They just simply existed in that moment.

When the pair slowly pulled away from each other they moved to sit outside the school. Adrien's eyes revealed a glimmer of hopefulness. She hadn't answered him yet and he was allowed to hope. "Adrien," She took both of his hands in her own, "I need to think right now. Can I just...think aloud to you?" "That's fine Mari. I'm not demanding an answer right now. I had to tell you but that doesn't mean you have to answer right away. Take your time and we can work through this together." He smiled and it chipped at her heart with all of his honesty and the patience etched into every feature. She took a deep breath and leaned forwards to tuck her forehead under his chin. "Adrien you mean so much to me but you deserve to know before we decide anything that I.. I have a major crush on Chat Noir." Marinette blushed grateful to be hidden from his eyes as she spoke. "I admire him so much and I don't know if it would be fair to be with you while still feeling something for him. Not to say I don't feel anything for you I would have to be blind not to see you but he's… what I feel for him is overwhelming sometimes."

Adrien pulled Marinette from him to meet her gaze and nodded. He ran a hand through his hair setting it back into its usual Agreste style. "I understand and I feel like if you ever wanted to be with him I'd let you go. I would move on so you could be happy. I would never hold you to me Marinette. However, and hear me out, I would be willing to be with you even if you had a thousand pictures of Chat up and you gushed about him to me. I will give myself to you however you can have me Mari." "Then Adrien Agreste," Marinette held on to the edges of his shirt playfully, "We should start planning for a date." He couldn't control the widespread grin that came after her words or wrapping his arms around her. He certainly couldn't control the quick kiss he placed on her forehead or the single happy tear going down his cheeks. When the two finally returned to class they apologized for being thirty minutes late and they sat down in their new seats. When Alya and Nino demanded what happened after class they shared a small secret smile and a hidden glance to the other. They decided that they wouldn't go public yet and they wouldn't tell anyone even Alya and Nino. As much as Adrien wanted to crow from the rooftops that he was going on a date with Marinette Dupain-Cheng he respected her wish of keeping it a secret until they decided if they would see each other as boyfriend and girlfriend.

Marinette spent a good deal of time thinking of Adrien. He was a good guy and she did have feelings for him but did that really justify risking any chance she might have with Chat? She truly cared for her supposed soul mate and she didn't want to risk his love.She doodled on her notebook for the majority of class and Adrien watched her lazy drawing with a guilty sigh. He cocked his head as if listening to something. "What's that Marinette? Your ankle hurts? Madam Bustier can I carry Marinette to the nurse? Her ankle is acting up." Madam Bustier nodded quickly. "Yes of course Adrien. I hope the nurse can help with that ankle Marinette. It does look bad." Marinette fumbled with her stuff stuttering as Adrien easily swept her into his arms.