Prompt: Red and Green

Adrien pushed open the door and offered an arm out, Marinette entering first before he followed her into their sanctuary for the next couple of nights. The barn had been converted into a small cabin at the back of the bed and breakfast, and although it wasn't a huge distance away from the main building Adrien was glad they could have been of assistance and helped out the older couple. The last thing he wanted was a stranger's broken hip on his conscience.

The man and woman were adorable to say the least, filling Adrien with longing but also hope. They'd been together 63 years, maybe more, and the love that was expressed between them was cuter than a newborn kitten. He prayed he'd experience something like that one day, and looking at the back of Marinette's head as she began to tour the cabin, only reinforced who he wanted this with.

He studied his partner as she made her way into the main room, her face full of awe and excitement as she moved between the garlands and ornaments. Adrien was sure he'd remember this day for the rest of his life; whether for the extreme situation he had faced in the journey from hell, or from just being here with her in the most magical place he'd ever been.

"Wow!" Her voice came out breathy as she moved towards the Christmas tree in the corner. A huge monstrous thing that was taking up at least half the room eluded his vision, the only thing he could see was the most beautiful person he knew. Marinette was his main focal point.

"Do you want some mistletoe for some kissy kissy?" Plagg whispered in his ear, Adrien swatting him away like a pesky fly.

"Get lost," he announced, Marinette turning around to look him in the eye.

"Excuse me?"

"Not you," Adrien apologised, moving forward to stand beside her with his hands up in defence. "Plagg, was just — you know what, it doesn't matter." He smiled at her, turning a second later and moving to examine the tree himself. It really was enormous.

The red baubles sat prominently against the green pine needles, the colours radiating the Christmas spirit and what it represented. The lights were already on, flashing in the tree, allowing their yellow glow to light the area around it.

"This is beautiful." Marinette stepped closer to his side, wrapping her arms around his waist and causing a stuttering in her heart along with a shiver to progress down his spine. She had such an effect on him that even a simple hug had him almost ready to spontaneously combust.

He turned to look down at her, her head appearing around his side. She was radiant. Beautiful. Stunning. She made the tree look more like a weed than the magical offering it was. "Yeah," Adrien breathed out, "beautiful."

He felt his head move to the side. His eyes firmly set on hers as his lips were pulled towards her with a desperate need to connect. To feel. To begin their 63 years of happiness.

"Adrien, I —" Marinette went to speak as Adrien turned in her arms, his eyes firmly settling on hers. Leaning down, his lips skimmed past her own with the smallest of gaps between them, before firmly coming into contact with her cheek.

He pressed the kiss slowly, taking his time to feel her skin under his lips, to have that moment with her as his alone. His and only his. Bringing his head back into the centre, his nose was almost brushing against hers, his hands grasping onto her hips and holding her tightly.

"Thank you for coming with me. For making my holiday wonderful." His husky voice felt foreign leaving his lips, the thickness in his throat a cause to add tense between them.

He bent forward once more, pouting his lips and placing them on the tip of her nose, only for Marinette to pull away. Her face was flustered, and once more he thought he'd overstepped his mark. He'd gotten carried away and now she was going to run away.

"I — um — I better see if Tikki's okay."

Adrien watched her leave, his eyebrows furrowing as she left the room in almost a sprint.

"Well, that could have gone better."

"Shut up, Plagg."

Adrien didn't want to talk to his little kwami at the moment. He'd just made an obvious move on Marinette only for the girl to turn around and break the world record on the 100 m sprint as she left the room. Was kissing him really that bad? It wasn't like they hadn't kissed before. They'd kissed plenty of times, though not as Adrien and Marinette, was his lack of a mask an issue? He cupped a hand over his mouth breathing into it following swiftly by giving it a hearty sniff... no noticeable smelly breath, but maybe he'd just become nose blind.

"Actually come here." He stretched out, grabbing Plagg in between his two hands and brought him to his mouth.

"Don't you dare –"

Opening his mouth wide, Adrien breathed out into Plagg's face causing the kwami to cough and choke. "Geez, Kid, what the hell have you eaten?"

He let go of Plagg, the kwami moving away from his holder as quickly as possible. "That was disgusting Adrien, you are disgusting!"

"Do you think that's why Marinette didn't want to kiss me?" Plagg stared at him and Adrien noticed there was a twitch starting just above his right eye, his eye flickering to stay open. "Um – Plagg? Are you okay?"

Plagg had always been a solid black. The green eyes being the only visual in a pitch black room; however, right now, Adrien would say the kwami was taking on more of a reddish tinge. A colour he hadn't seen before on his small friend, and he was starting to wonder if Plagg had caught whatever Tikki had. That's all they needed! Two kwamis – the main kwamis – out of action. They'd be screwed if they had to try and get back to Paris.

"Adrien, I love you, Kid, I really do... but I think I need a break."

"W-what are you saying Plagg?" Adrien looked at his friend fearfully. Plagg wasn't going to leave him was he?

"I think — just for a short time — we should see other people."

"No, Plagg, I can change, just tell me what to do?" Adrien begged, only to be met by the shake of his kwami's head.

"It's not you," he began, "it's me. Actually, no, it is you and I need some space. Just some time away from you. I'm going insane."

Adrien pouted, was Plagg seriously just leaving him? "How will I get in contact with you? I need you, Plagg."

The kwami flew forward and hugged Adrien's cheek. "I'll contact you."

Without another word, Adrien watched Plagg fly off towards where Marinette had vacated the room with Tikki, obviously going to check on his little counterpart.

Adrien stood alone in the middle of the room, his attention turning back to the Christmas tree as he tried to make sense of what was happening. He was positive he was making the moves right, and he was certain Marinette was sending him signals. The heeled boots being quite the big one. So why, when it came to it, did Marinette continue to avoid kissing him? Was there a reason she was running away?

He studied the tree again before moving to the fireplace. This really was stunning. All of a sudden, his mind began to play with ways he could entice Marinette to cuddle in front of the fire with him. It would be extra romantic and, he hoped, a reason for her to finally fall in love with him. Who wouldn't get the feels from a cuddle in front of a real log fire?

Fumbling in his back pocket, Adrien found his phone and began to scroll through the contacts searching for someone he could question about Marinette's behaviour, and share his plan with.

He selected his best friend, Nino, before placing the phone to his ear and waiting for the guy to pick up.

'Hello? Yes I'll have the 10 inch cheese with extra pepperoni.'

"Nino! I need your help," Adrien said hurriedly.

'Do you want me to go and get Alya?'

"Goodness no, she can't know anything about this conversation." Adrien started to panic, maybe this wasn't one of his greatest ideas. One thing was for certain, Nino wasn't exactly a great secret keeper. As the thought struck him hard he needed to make sure his friend wasn't going to drop him in it. "Nino! You need to promise me, man. I can't have Alya catch wind of this."

'I promise I won't tell her, trust me dude.'

Trust? There was only one person in the world he trusted and right at this moment she was the one person he couldn't tell.

"Promise on your baseball cap," Adrien suddenly said, word vomit coming out strong as he waited for confirmation from Nino.

A gasp sounded on the other side of the phone followed by what sounded like a door being closed. 'How could you ask me that?'

"It was quite simple really... I have something I need to talk to you about and I need your silence. Do this for me and perhaps Santa could be good this year and send you that mixing deck you've been eyeing up."

Adrien couldn't help but smile, he knew Nino would be fretting at the moment. Going between the want to help his friend because Adrien was his friend, or getting a new mixing deck? He never used Adrien, that wasn't what this was, but both were savvy when it came to what they could offer each other. Nino, little treats, Adrien, a secondary home.

'Fine, what can I help you with? Marinette?'

"Am I that transparent?" Adrien laughed, his hand reaching to the back of his neck and rubbing hard. He turned away from the door Marinette and the kwami's were behind instead focusing his attention on the Christmas tree and its ornaments.

'Naa, dude, you're just in love.'

Adrien felt his lip twitch as a sigh left his nose in a huff. He was most certainly in love, anyone within a ten mile radius of him knew he was head over heels in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng, everyone — it seemed — apart from her.

"I can't deny that. But..." Adrien let out a growl as he raised his head up to the ceiling. "I don't know what to do. I've tried being kind, buying her things, taking her out places; I've even driven almost 50 km in the snow to make sure we get this mini vacation."

'You are whipped,' Nino laughed down the phone. 'Next you'll be telling me you've tried to kiss Marinette without her having the faintest idea you like her.'

Adrien laughed nervously, Nino obviously catching the sound and scoffing. 'No way!' The DJ said, laughing almost uncontrollably down the phone. 'Smooth man.'

"It just happened," Adrien defended himself, before adding on quietly... "twice."

Nino's guffaw had Adrien moving the phone away from his ear. 'So let me get this right...' he began. 'You've bought her things, you've been hanging out with her all the time, you've been her knight in shining armour almost every time she's had a Marinette catastrophe, and you've attempted to kiss her?'

"And like I say, I'm now out of ideas."

'How about this one? You tell her you're head over heels in love with her and want to take her out on a date. If you keep trying to kiss her she's just going to think it's because of the romance of the snow and twinkling lights, not that you actually love her.'

"I c-can't do t-that," Adrien replied, stumbling over his words.

'Why not? It's quite simple, you say, Marinette... light of my life, please would you be my girlfriend?'

Adrien began to shake his head abruptly forgetting Nino was on the other end of the phone line and not in the same room as him. "Are you insane?" he hisses down the line, looking towards the door to where Marinette was. Maybe this call wasn't his greatest idea. "What if she says no? It'll ruin everything and we're stuck here together for at least a couple of days."

'To be honest, it sounds romantic. Let me guess, only one bed.'

"I haven't looked in the bedroom yet, she kind of ran away after I tried to kiss her again."

'What have you eaten today? Could it be your breath?' For the first time in the conversation Nino sounded serious, who would have thought oral hygiene would bring that out in his friend?

'Practise on me,' Nino demanded, Adrien moving around to study one of the most fascinating red baubles. 'Tell me what you would say if I was Marinette.'

"I don't know—"

'Oh, come on! Tell me what you'd say, or if not me let me get Alya."

Stopping his friend from calling on Marinette's best friend, he began to speak. Trying his hardest to picture his hairy best friend as the most beautiful woman in the world. Maybe it would be easier if he closed his eyes?

"I — this is so weird —"

'How about I start then?' A cough sounded through the speaker before Nino began to speak in a high pitch squeaky voice — one not at all like Marinette. 'Oh, Adrien, I heard you wanted to talk to me.'

"She sounds nothing like that." Adrien deadpanned back only for Nino to sigh.

'I'm not an 18 year old girl, of course we don't sound the same.'

"This was a mistake."

'Man up and tell me you love me.' Nino exclaimed. His friend really wasn't giving up on this. Maybe he should just try it, it wouldn't be the weirdest thing he and Nino had spoken about.

"Fine, but this doesn't go any further than us."

'Bro code dude, bro... code. So Adrien Agreste, are you going to woo me or not?'

Adrien took a deep breath and focused on the Christmas tree. He could do this, he could tell Nino what he felt and then his friend would say it was perfect and send him on his way. Oh, goodness, this really was a nightmare.

"I should have told you this a while ago, but I've been too scared. Ever since the day we first met you've been a constant on my mind. Everything I do, and have done, reminds me of you. I know we've grown closer but I can't keep pretending I'm okay with the way we are. What I'm trying to say is... I love you, and if you'll give me the chance, I would love to be your boyfriend."

A sniffing was heard on the other side of the phone. 'Dude, I thought you'd never ask.'

Rolling his eyes and throwing his head back with a groan, he moved his phone from his ear and held it out in front of him.

"I'm going."

'Wait, wait, wait,' Nino shouted down the phone, Adrien bringing it back to his ear. 'Sorry, sorry! It sounds good man, I think she'll appreciate it.'

"Yeah well, I'll need to get her to stop running away from me first." Adrien sighed, his hand coming to his neck in his nervous tick.

'She will, I'm sure. What's the cabin like you're staying in? Alya said something about you helping an elderly couple out.'

Adrien let out a small laugh. "Yeah. We didn't want any broken bones to dampen the holiday spirit."

'Sounds good,' Nino laughed. 'What are the sleeping arrangements going to be like?'

"You ask too many questions," Adrien deflected. "Anyway, I've got to go, our new friends have some clothes for us... don't ask."

'I won't. Now tell me you love me one more time before I go.'

"Really?" Adrien chuckled.

'Yes really. I love you, Adrien.'

"Love you too."

Nino's howl of laughter was joined by Alya's as Adrien suddenly realised he was on loudspeaker. "You're dead to me."

'She didn't hear it all, I promise. Text me when it's done and stay safe.'

"You too. Speak soon."

The phone went silent, Adrien lowering it from his ear and placing it in his pocket as he headed towards the door to make his way back to the main building. In the haste to get out the door and into the main building. He missed the faint click of the bedroom door.