Things get a bit emotional in this chapter but also kind of fluffy and steamy.
Her eyes slowly opened but then shut when the light coming in through the window disrupted them. She let out a sigh and placed a hand over her face shielding her eyes from the light then slowly lifted herself up. She wiggled her toes; her shoes were gone. In fact, she wasn't even wearing her uniform anymore. The white blouse flew as the wind from the window came rushing in and her shorts were so much easier to move in. She looked around at the familiar sketches she'd placed on her bedroom wall and the little balls of wool hanging out of her bottom drawer.
"You're finally awake." The door opened and she smiled.
"How long was I out?"
Damian shrugged. "Not too long, just around an hour."
She shot out of bed. "An hour! B-But the meeting--"
"You fainted."
Her face fell and she grumbled. How embarrassing! Just what would her coworkers think of her now! Fainting in the middle of a meeting. How could she possibly look any of them in the face again! Maybe it was time to go back to France. She just couldn't even bear to think about the way they would look at her if she went back to Wayne Enterprises. Perhaps she could get a new job in a bouquet! No! Bad Marinette! The Waynes had gone through all that trouble just to get her through the doors so she just had to live with it! She was an adult. Not the clumsy girl she used to be...and yet she still found herself tripping over a stone or two. She sighed and looked back to the man standing in the doorway.
"Aren't you coming in?"
He cleared his throat. "It's your bedroom. I can't just come in."
She burst out laughing. "Well aren't you quite the gentleman! Don't worry! I'm inviting you in!"
He rolled his eyes and stepped in leaving the door wide open.
"So. Are you feeling better?"
She stretched her arms out. "Much. Thank you for--." She paused and looked down again at her clothes then flushed bright red. "D-Did you--my clothes. Were you--" His eyes went wide and he quickly shook his head in protest.
"NO! No no no! Oh Gods no! It was Barbara! She ran out to go get some things."
Marinette chuckled awkwardly and sighed in relief. Actually, now that she thought about it, she wouldn't really mind if he was the one that changed her clothes. She could only imagine him shrugging off her blazer and throwing it to the side and then slowly unbuttoning her shirt and peeling it off her skin. She could imagine how he would slowly trace his fingers down from her neck to her waist and then unzip her skirt and pull it off. She could imagine how he would gently lift her up attempting not to touch her in any way inappropriate and then accidentally touch the sides of her bra as he tried to pull her blouse over her head. She could imagine how he would flush red when he had to pull her shorts up and then carefully zip them up without touching her but then accidentally graze it just a little....or perhaps on purpose. Perhaps he would use changing her as an excuse to run his fingertips along her stomach and down her legs and then place his fingers in her inner thighs and slowly, ever so slowly, pull them higher and higher.
She shook her head. She couldn't do this. She couldn't fantasize about him when he was right there. It was so wrong! She couldn't think about his breath mingled in hers as he kissed her fervently and pushed her onto the bed and climbed on top of her. No! Her thoughts were going too far. She couldn't---she shouldn't!
She cleared her throat wincing at the tiny trace of pain from before still evident and looked at the water in his hands. "If you're not going to drink that then can I?"
He looked at the water in his hands and then shoved them into hers. "Sorry, I totally forgot. I brought this for you."
She smiled and took a sip relishing in how the cold water made its way down her throat and quenched some of the thirst the lukewarm bottled water in the office failed to do. She took another sip but almost coughed when she noticed him staring at her. He looked uneasy. As though he had something to say but just didn't know how to say it.
So she started the conversation. "So. The meeting. What did I miss?"
He sat down on the bed. "Not much. Davis just talked about a few more finance issues that were already covered in the documents and handed out a template for the new factory."
She nodded. "I see."
He nodded. "Yeah."
They both sighed. What to say. What to say. What to say. Marinette's eyes drew to the window where the sun was shining in and the curtains were fighting against the wind. Although the view was absolutely stunning, the heat was deadly. It was like a Venus fly tap; drawing you in with it's beauty and then burning you when you took a step outside.
She heard the door shut and focused her attention on the man standing in front of it looking at her awkwardly.
"Why did you shut the door?"
Damian sighed and rubbed his hand over his face then crossed the room to stand in front of her.
"Marinette." He cleared his throat. "We need to talk."
She gulped and placed the cup in her hands on the nightstand. Here it was. The conversation she'd been trying to avoid and dreading for the past few days.
She turned her gaze to the side watching as the sun hit her bed sheets. "No we don't. We don't have to talk about it."
She heard his sigh. "Marinette look at me." She shook her head. She wouldn't. She couldn't look him in the eyes.
"Marinette, please."
Her eyebrows furrowed and she could feel the stinging of tears at her eyes threatening to spill.
"Mari."
She shook her head. "We don't have to talk about it." She didn't want to know what he would say. Whether he would be disgusted at her behaviour or whether he would reject her straight. She just wanted to pretend it never happened.
She took a step back. He was too close. She could feel his heat surrounding her and it only made her head more fuzzy and her legs squeeze tighter together.
She jumped when he placed his hands on her shoulders and turned to look at him almost squirming under his gaze.
"Are you okay?"
She froze. Are you okay? Are you okay? The question repeated in her head. What the hell did he mean by 'Are you okay?'. She'd assaulted him on that roof and the first thing he asked was 'Are you okay'! How could he--Why did he---.
"What the hell do you mean 'Are you okay'! I assaulted you! I should be asking if you're okay!"
It made her mad. No. Pissed. How could he possibly ask if she was okay! He'd been the victim! Not her!
"Shouldn't you be like turning me in for sexual assault or something!"
He squeezed her shoulders. "You've been acting weird these past few days. You've been avoiding me and on the roof that night...that wasn't you."
Her thighs tingled. He was too close. She pulled his hands off her shoulders and took a few steps back shaking her head. "Dami--I-I can't."
His eyebrows furrowed and his eyes narrowed in worry. "Marinette. What's wrong with you? Do you need help?"
She shook her head and gulped. If he kept staring at her, she didn't know just what she would do.
He followed after her. "Just tell me what's wrong. I might be able to help you!"
She shook her head. If he helped her, she would die of embarrassment! If he--and--oh Gods. He noticed as she squeezed her thighs together.
"Are you hurt?"
She shook her head. "N-No." She could feel the tears in her eyes dropping.
His eyes went wide. "Marinette just tell me what the hell is wrong with you!"
She stopped moving back and looked him in the eye for the first time in 3 days. "I-" How could she tell him? "I-" He was looking at her so patiently waiting for her to say something. To tell him what was wrong with her and she just didn't know what to say! "I-"
"Mari. You can trust me."
She nodded. "I know I just. I just don't know how to say it." Her voice cracked. "How could I possibly tell you that-" It wavered. "That-" She huffed in annoyance and broke into tears. "How could I possibly tell you that I'm in heat and I'm all hormonal and gross and lewd around you because of some stupid season and some stupid rule that miraculous wielders apparently adopt the animalistic feature of being in heat during mating season! How could I possibly tell you that for the next month or two, I'm gonna be all horny and wet and I won't be able to control myself around you because of some stupid, stupid rule!" She waved her arms around. "How could I possibly tell you that I'm gonna need to have sex pretty much every day until Spring is over and I am hopelessly and infuriating in lo--" She paused gasping and shot her hands to her mouth.
His eyes were wide and his mouth hung slightly open as he stared at her and she stared back. He was dumbstruck. What should he say? His mind was still trying to process what he'd just heard. Mating season. Heat. Hormonal? Of course! But then--that meant--. He watched as the tears just kept rolling down her cheeks and she looked at him waiting for him to make the next move. Looked at him as though he would laugh at her or run out the room and never talk to her again.
But he would never do that.
She shivered as his hand found its way on her cheek and he wiped away the tears dripping. She sniffed and watched as he came closer and closer until he was standing right in front of her. What would he say? Would he be mad? But why was he looking at her as though he would burst into tears at any second? She couldn't move. She could only contemplate and think about his next words. His next actions.
Then he finally spoke. "You should've told me."
Her lip quivered. He wasn't mad! his eyebrows furrowed. "You should've told me instead of keeping it all to yourself." She gasped as he pulled her into a hug wrapping his arms tight around her. "You didn't have to suffer. I would've understood."
She sniffed from where she was in his arms. "You would?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm not going to hate you just because of something like this. It's not even your fault! So what if you have to excuse yourself from the room for a couple of minutes. It doesn't change the fact that we're friends."
She nodded. He smelled good. His cologne was nice and she couldn't help from sniff him and burrow her head deeper into his chest. She hummed. He smelled really good. A bit too good. Why did he smell so good?
She pushed herself out of his embrace before she ended up--nope too late. She could feel her legs squeezing tighter and tighter as she tried to add pressure. Her hands found their wait onto his chest and she hummed in delight when she felt him freeze. She played around with his buttons and moaned when she caught another whiff of him. Damn he smelled so good! She couldn't help herself.
She couldn't help it when she unbuttoned one button after another. She couldn't help it when she traced her nose along his neck ignoring him when he called out her name and tried to pull her away. And she certainly couldn't help it when she pushed him backwards slamming him onto the wall and pulling his blazer apart when she finished unbuttoning it.
She loved it when he tried to hide the sound that came out of his mouth when she ran her fingers along his chest contemplating whether or not to unbutton his shirt as well. No that would be too hot. She wouldn't be able to stop herself if she did that. Then again, she wasn't exactly stopping herself now.
As if drawn to them, her fingers found their way into his deep locks and she played around with them again tugging and twisting and stroking.
"Marinette stop." His voice wavered. She shook her head.
She sighed as her lips went to his neck and slowly kissed it smiling when she felt him gulp and the hand that had been clawing away at his shirt moved lower and lower. He stifled a groan.
"Marinette." She shook her head. She didn't want this to end. Her hand found his belt and she tugged at it pulling him closer and moaning when his hands found her waist. She dug her hands into him hair when he tried pulling her away.
"Mari--"
"Dami. We both know you could've pulled me away ages ago."
His eyes narrowed and he bit his lip when she rolled her waist and pressed against him. She could feel him moving closer and a moan escaped her lips when she felt his fingers in her hair.
"Mari this is dangerous. We should stop."
She ignored him and rolled her hips harder against his eliciting a groan and a sigh from his lips. His lips! She looked up and shivered when she met his eyes. They were so much darker. She found herself leaning in closer and gulped when her lips hovered above his.
She gasped as his fingers dug deeper into her waist and almost let out a cry when his lips found her neck and his teeth bit gently down. She whined when he removed them but the sighed when he slowly lifted his head and placed one of his hands on her neck pulling her closer. Their lips were only inches apart before the door flew open and they quickly pulled apart.
A beaming Barbara Gordon burst into the room holding two bags of ice lollies. "I come bearing gif--" She froze as she saw them pull apart and her eyes went wide staring at them as they stared at her.
The room was silent as Barbara tried to make sense of what she'd just caught them doing and they tried to make sense of what they'd just been doing and who'd just burst into the room and caught them doing it.
Marinette was the first to speak as she cleared her throat. "Bar--"
Barbara held up her hand silencing her. "First, freshen up. Then meet me in the Kitchen." Then she left leaving the two young adults staring at the door.
They met each other's eyes for a second before ripping them off and flushing a bright red.
This was so embarrassing.