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"women are living poems
poetry in motion
stories of tragedy and strength
pages of imperfection
the most beautiful stories
you'd never read"

-r.h. Sin, you and your story.

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Adrien wasn't sure how he wasn't sweating out of his skin yet.

He took Marinette's hand to continue the little play that had been conducting together and she nodded and slid her arm to hook with his right after. He wasn't sure if he would survive this walk after all, not with his heart on the verge of an attack.

"My house isn't very far," she told him as she began to walk, pulling him along. He nearly bumped into her from how flustered he was at the close proximity. "My parents will be excited to see you."

"Me?" he blurted, "You talk to your parents about me?"

Her lips twitched and glanced at him from the corner of her eye, "I talk to my parents about all of my friends. They've always worried I'd struggle to socialize."

"But you have so many friends!" he exclaimed, shocked by this. "It seems like everyone wants to be friends with you- e-even me!"

Marinette shook her head, "People...people want to befriend me because of how everyone sees me. People want to associate with me because I'm well known and have whatever title they've decided to give me. My friends are carefully chosen not by their status but by the memories I have created with them and how they treat not only me, but others around them." They stopped at a corner, waiting for the crosswalk light to allow them to continue, she took that chance to look at him and he met her eyes that had a steely glint to them, "I'm sure you of all people can understand that."

He truly did.

His entire life he either had no friends or people who only wanted to befriend him for the potential benefits. No one ever wanted to be friends with just Adrien, they wanted to be close to Adrien Agreste.

He looked down at the pavement in shame and murmured, "Yeah, I do..."

"Don't do that."

She yanked him closer, making him flush and stumble as they began to cross the street.

"D-don't do what?"

"Don't feel shame for what you cannot control," she squeezed his arm before relaxing her hold again. "People can be awful," she continued softly, a tone she had used that very morning when on the phone with the boy name Luka. He turned to her with wide eyes as she continued, "Do not fault yourself for the actions and decisions others have made. They don't define you. You are a gentle soul, Adrien, lost on the journey we all have to make to find ourselves. We're thirteen years old, we've only just started."

Adrien couldn't find the words to respond to her. Marinette always knew exactly what to say and how to say it- it felt like he was speaking to someone far older.

"How do you always know what to say?" he asked instead, and she gently stopped him in front of a bakery.

"I don't," she replied, shaking her head.

"But you really do," he pressed, unlocking their arms and facing her. "You don't hesitate when you speak to someone, you tell them what's on your mind and what you believe- you're never wrong. You say things in ways that seem like you know more than you let on."

"I know more than I could ever hope to explain, and I've suffered with that my entire life." He stopped, recoiling at the harsh tone her voice had taken, her eyes never leaving his. "Adrien, I say what's on my mind because I never want to regret not speaking it."

"Then what are you hiding from me?" he blurts and he watches her flinch. "You- you act like you know so much about me all the time but I-"

"I don't think I'm the person you should be asking," her words were carefully enunciated, making his mouth snap shut. "I may not have told you the entire truth, but not once have I ever lied to you."

And she hadn't. She always danced around the answer, not quite giving it to him, but never has she said anything untruthful to him. Always honest and direct otherwise.

I don't think I'm the person you should be asking.

"Then who? Who am I supposed to ask?"

She leaned closer to him and his breath hitched and cheeks flushed at the proximity.

"The person who keeps you locked away from the world."

His eyes widened.

The door to the bakery opens with a gentle jingle and a woman peeks out, "Mari, why haven't you come in y-" her eyes land on Adrien and her hand comes up to cover her mouth. "Oh my."

"Mom, this is Adrien, remember?" she introduced nonchalantly, still very in-your-face with him and not seeing any issue with the distance.

"How could I forget?" her mother replied softly, and Adrien could see where Marinette had gotten certain traits from. "If you're going to continue chatting, would you like to come inside, dear?"

Adrien's heart fluttered at the soft address towards him, completely welcoming of him in the gentlest manner. He returned his gaze toward Marinette, who had not looked away from him and stuttered, "U-uh, I'm not sure...Marinette?"

"Do you want to?" she asked in return, "We could do our homework together if you stay."

He was going to die.

He was going to just melt into the pavement.

"I-I-I-" his face flushed with heat, ignoring that he would likely get in trouble later for being out late. He's gonna have to send a message to Nathalie- he likely wouldn't hear the end of it later but... "I'd like to."

Marinette's eyes twinkled and she turned heel to walk through the door that her mother opened wider once they heard the affirmation. "Come on in, dear, my husband and I will prepare some treats for you two. Oh, where are my manners- I'm Sabine Dupain-Cheng."

He shuffled in, ducking his head shyly, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sabine hummed and there was a look in her eye- the same one Marinette would get when she knew something he didn't. "I know it doesn't look like it, but she's happy that you're staying."

Adrien caught himself as he tripped, Sabine closing the door behind them and leading him around the bakery to the stairs to head up to their home. "What? Really?" he spluttered and she laughed softly, "How can you tell?"

"She's my daughter," she answered simply, "just pay attention, she's an open book if you're willing to read between the lines."

Adrien blinked as he had a revelation.

This is where Marinette got her cryptic-ness from.

"Oh, honey, you're not going up to your room?" Sabine was suddenly asking and he turned to see Marinette sat at the kitchen table, taking the necessary items for their homework.

Marinette ticked a single eyebrow up at her mother, "Are you telling me to invite a boy up to my room?" Adrien spluttered, "Are you trying to give dad a heart attack?"

Sabine sighed, shaking her head, "I don't think he'll ever be ready, it's best to just rip the Band-Aid off quickly." Marinette turned her head into her shoulder as she snickered.

It was then that Adrien realized that this was an opportune chance that not many were able to have; he had been invited to Marinette's home, met her mother and was now watching them tease the poor man that is her father with a tone that showed both her amusement and adoration of her parents.

Marinette is cautious of people, of interacting and speaking with them, but treats them as she would any other person. But now, she's in the comfort of her own home with people who know her inside and out. She's less guarded in the face of her family, and for a moment he wondered if he would ever be able to achieve even just a sliver of that same closeness.

"We should get started on this if we want to finish before dinner," Marinette glanced over her shoulder to him after her mother excused herself to get them something to snack on from the bakery, "you let Gorilla know where you are, right?"

He flinched, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly as he took out his phone to send a message to Nathalie to alert her that he was at a friend's house near the school doing homework and that he should be done before dinner time.

The quick reply he received was stern about never leaving the school without notifying them again and that they would talk about this after he returns before demanding the address in which he was at. He sighed before walking around the table to sit across from Marinette whose eyes flicked up from the tablet, "If they need the address, it is no issue. We are a bakery, after all. We have nothing to hide." She paused, "Though I suppose it's not us you should worry about."

"Why do you always say that?" he snapped defensively, although he hadn't meant to.

"I've already told you all I can tell you, Adrien," she shook her head, "as much as I would like to, I don't think it's my place to tell you. It's the only chance of redemption I'll give him, and if he doesn't want it then that's on him. But now that you're in my life, I will not be letting you go so easily."

Adrien's entire face was red, even spreading down to his neck.

He covers his mouth with his hand, grateful that she was not looking at him but the outline she was creating on her tablet.

"What...what's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm actually incredibly greedy, you see," she replied easily, furrowing her brow at the remaining pictures she was choosing from. "I lost a precious friend of mine, long ago. I loved him dearly." Adrien's heart skipped a beat as his palms began to sweat, "I never want to feel that again, and I will do anything and everything to keep what's mine."

"Am I yours, Marinette?"

The question left his mouth before he could stop himself.

Marinette paused and tilted her head up to study him instead. After a beat of silence, she leaned her cheek in her palm as she leveled him with a flat stare.

"All of my friends are mine," her lips ticked up into a small smile, "and you are included in that group."

He licked his lips, reminding himself that he was supposed to be brave today, "That's rather selfish of you."

Her smile grew bigger, "I'm a selfish person."

"I find that hard to believe."

"And what is it that you believe?"

"That you're selfless," he admitted, "you put everyone else first before yourself. That you don't care much for yourself so long as those around you are happy."

She hummed, eyes creasing but not in anger.

"I won't deny the facts."

"But I'm not entirely correct either, right? I'm missing something." Her smile turned into a grin and tapped her forefinger twice to her temple.

"You're missing more than you realize. You have tunnel vision on a very specific thing, you won't figure the rest out until you allow yourself to see the whole picture."

He groaned, dropped his face into his hands.

"I didn't realize how impossible you are."

"Welcome to being friends with me, where all conversations go in circles."

Adrien perked up, did she just make a joke? With him?

A door opened and instead of Sabine, it was a large man who dwarfed them both as he walked up with two plates, one of delicious looking pastries and the other of little sandwiches.

"Mari!" the jovial man crowed in happiness of seeing his daughter and then smiled at the sight of Adrien, "and Adrien! I'm Marinette's father, Tom. It's good to have you."

Adrien sat up straight, "Thank you for welcoming into your home, Mr. Dupain-Chen.'

"Any friend of Mari's is always welcome." Adrien was trying not to tear up- Marinette's family was so warm. "Sabine is tending some customers so she sent me up to bring you these," he set them down on the table away from their papers and bent down to kiss the top of Marinette's head. Unlike most people who would scoff and bat their parents away, she allowed the public affection as she examined the plate of pastries with a frown.

"Papa, you didn't bring anything with chocolate."

Tom crossed his arms, "Of course I didn't."

"Papa," she lightly smacked her father's arm who cried in disdain, "at least bring a separate plate for him."

Adrien was immediately trying to placate the situation, "If it's going to cause a problem, I really don't mind, these already look so delicious." Tom sent him a happy look before sending Marinette a smug one who shook her head with a sigh.

"If you're sure."

"I'll be heading back now! Good luck on your homework."

"Thank you "

"Whatever, dad."

Once Tom left them to their devices again, he fidgeted with his pencil for a moment. "Um, is there a reason your father is against chocolate? It's kind of funny, all things considered."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. We worried that she was getting tired of his prying but he soon realized she wasn't exasperated with him, but towards her father.

"I'm allergic to it, unfortunately. Mom has calmed down over the years but dad's always paranoid that I'll accidentally eat chocolate, always making sure not even my food has been in contact with it."

His head hammered for a moment at the information, his hands fisting as he tried not to show the flash of pain he had felt.

"Allergic?" He repeated, although voice was a little distant as he tried to remember.

Remember what, though?

"Adrien?" his attention snapped back to her, and she was sliding the plates over closer to them. She picked out a sandwich for herself, "you should eat."

He nodded and grabbed a buttery croissant and immediately melted in his chair as he took a bite. Now that's a damn good croissant. The pain he had felt in his head slowly dimmed as he ate, feeling much better than he had.

He cleared his throat, bringing his papers over and readied his pencil, "Sorry, you did all the outline by yourself. Did you read the text already?"

"It's whatever, I read it during class. It's pretty simple, all that important parts are..." and she went on about the assignment. He listened to every word she had to say, nodding and voicing his opinion and she actually listened to what he had to say. His voice mattered here.

He really wished every day could be spent with Marinette.

Just like this.

(But maybe...he wanted a little more than 'just like this.')