March 25th

It all started the night she'd arrived at Kagami and Félix's house. Marinette sat on the expensive granite worktop as she inhaled nachos and considered whether to: try out one of their many high quality beers, be civilised with a glass of fine wine or stick with plain old, boring water. Okay, so the question wasn't actually that hard. When living like a top class business person you just had to embrace their delicacies, right? She swung her legs forward and hopped off the worktop heading straight for the wine cooler in the pantry of the kitchen.

Kagami had given her free reign whilst she was staying here, and with the business tycoon's expensive taste she was quite sure she could discover something rather delicious hidden deep within the cupboard.

"Alexa, play night out songs."

The opening bars of Blinding Lights began to kick in and Marinette sauntered her way around the kitchen counter and out to the back of the house. Beside the utility room stood her destination. Pulling open the door with a quick side cha cha cha, she couldn't help but lick her lips. Oh yes, once again they had filled the wine cooler, and the different colours and labels were making her mouth water.

Thank you, Kagami.

Using her index finger, Marinette trailed along the tops of the bottles; moving it backwards and forwards in a slow and steady consideration. She had a big day tomorrow so a little wine to calm her nerves would most certainly be welcomed.

With so many options to consider, she looked between the reds, the whites and the couple of rose's, weighing up the pros and cons of each pleasant-tasting liquid. She was rather fond of a rosé but the red they had just sitting there looked rather exquisite – and expensive. Shifting between the two, she closed her eyes and grabbed the closest one — the rosé.

Making her way over to the sink, she looked for the corkscrew, finally locating it in the second drawer down. Pulling it out, Marinette looked at it curiously. How the hell did you use this 'rich person' corkscrew? The design just seemed ridiculously over complicated for something so simple.

Aggressively messing around with it, Marinette stabbed, twisted and turned the corkscrew in an attempt to de-cork the bottle, only for it not to even loosen a little. Finally, with another overexaggerated pull, the corkscrew popped out with pzazz; resulting in her dropping the bottle into the sink, unable to do much more than watch the sparkling pink liquid begin to make its way out of the bottle and down the plug hole.

"Shit!!"

Grabbing hold of the bottle, she stood it the correct way up and allowed the remaining liquid to resettle at the bottom. How much had just gone down the drain? Even more, how much money had she just wasted?

Marinette lifted it up and held it at her eye line, she winced as she realised she'd wasted at least a third of the liquid and from the golden decoration on the bottle neck, she guessed that quarter was at least a month's worth of her salary. The only way to get over this was to enjoy and savour the remaining droplets now it was opened. She poured a rather significant measure into a glass and prepared to worship this the way it was intended.

Making her way back to the nachos, she strangled the bottle by the neck in one hand and the wine glass in the other placing them both down so she could hop onto the worksurface.

Happy with her adventure, she took the bowl of nachos once more. If Kagami or Felix questioned why she'd drank and entire bottle to herself the next day, she would just tell them she was settling her nerves and that her interview tomorrow called for her to be calm and collected; she would just ignore the fact almost half the Chateau d'Esclans Whispering Angel Rose had been wasted.

Lifting the glass to her nose, she gave it a small sniff, attempting to at least be cordial about drinking this ridiculously expensive glass of wine. Marinette placed the edge of the glass to her lips and savoured the sweet taste of the squashed berries, most certain it would have quite the disco in her stomach. She had been ran off her feet from the moment she'd woken up (only 5 minutes later than planned) and unfortunately food had been put on the back burner for the majority of the day.

Nerves, plus the pain of travelling, had Marinette's stomach truly lacking in the food department and if the way it was attempting to sing Taylor Swift was any indication, then the wine was about to hit her full throttle. She grabbed the remainder of the nachos and began to devour them again, hoping they could at least soak up a little of the alcohol. She needed to be relaxed tomorrow — not sporting a rather aggressive hangover.

When she'd arrived earlier in the day, Kagami had been waiting for her at King's Cross station, taking her straight to the house and showing her where she would be staying for the next couple of days. Her friend had then abandoned her for the rest of the evening, heading off to the gala with her husband, Félix and giving Marinette free reign of the house for the evening — and what a house it was!

As she grabbed her next handful of nachos, ready to shove them, un-lady like, into her mouth, her phone vibrated against the counter. The loud, heavy buzz pulled her attention down to the small object.

Continuing her escapade with the nachos, Marinette pushed them all in her mouth, to free both hands and reach for her phone. 1 new message from an unknown number.

Unknown number: I've got a picture of my cock. Want to see?

A spray of nacho cheese came out of her mouth and she almost choked on the tiny crumbs bouncing around her in her throat and spluttering unceremoniously from her nose.

What the hell? Was she getting sexted?

Considering her options, Marinette thought about how to advance with this. She could just ignore the message and carry on with her lonely, boring evening, or she could text this unknown person back. Looking around the kitchen she decided to go with option number two, after all she had nothing better to do.

To Unknown Number: Curiosity killed the cat, you know...

Sending the message, she placed her phone on her thigh and waited for the next reply. With another reach for her nachos, she thrust another handful into her mouth; complete with too many jalapeños. Grabbing the wine glass beside her, she downed the liquid and eased the fire in her throat; just in time for Mr Unknowns' response.

Unknown Number: Did you not hear? Satisfaction brought it back. Didn't you want to see it?

An eyebrow lifted as she read the reply, a glimmer in her eyes as her thumbs began to tap away again. Only to freeze as a picture appeared on the screen. She didn't know whether to look, close her eyes or discard her phone across the room.

Unknown Number:

Marinette couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth. No way! He actually meant a cock. She felt stupid. Completely and utterly stupid.

To Unknown Number: Ohhhh, you meant an actual cock. Why would you send someone a picture of a bird?

Lifting the wine bottle she swirled it around, giggling to herself again as she poured herself another decent amount. Her phone buzzed against her lap again and she lifted it up to look.

Unknown Number: Wait? Did you think I was going to send you a picture of my... ? Why would I do that?

Rolling her eyes she replied.

To Unknown: I don't know! I thought you were into some weird fetish or something? Why else would you message me about pictures of your cock?

A couple of seconds later, there was another response.

Unknown Number: Because it's a beautiful bird! If I was sexting I would have asked something like: What are you wearing right now?

To Unknown Number: Well, now you've asked... your mother's dressing gown and a red liquorice thong.

Giggling to herself, Marinette placed her phone down beside her and moved her full concentration back to her wine glass and nachos. There was no way Mr Unknown would message back now.

Finally finishing the nachos, Marinette began to lick the remnants off her fingers, the buzzing on the counter indicating her new acquaintance wasn't finished with her just yet.

Unknown Number.

Yup, there he was.

Tapping the message icon, once more she was taken to the text conversation with this unknown person and a fresh message sitting on the screen.

Unknown Number: Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but unfortunately my mother is no longer with us.

Marinette almost dropped the phone. Well... if that wasn't a conversation killer, who knows what was? She felt awful. In the matter of minutes she managed to insult whoever this random guy was.

To Unknown Number: I am so sorry.

Unknown Number: I'm guessing... I've messaged the wrong person.

Hopping off the counter, she headed towards the comfort of the lounge, collapsing into a sofa and considering what to write next. Before her thumbs could hit the keypad, her phone buzzed with another new message. Eager.

Unknown Number: But from what I heard through the grapevine, liquorice underwear can be a little... sticky. Just thought I'd let you know.

A slight nose flare and a twitch to her lips had her thumbs frantically typing back to Mr Unknown.

To Unknown Number: Are you speaking from personal experience?

Curiosity was getting the better of her and she couldn't ignore how much she wanted to know the answer to that question.

Unknown Number: What? Me? No! I'm an Angel 👼🏼

She snorted.

To Unknown Number: Is that why you text unknowns asking what they're wearing? And whether they want to see your cock?

Unknown Number: The cock thing was innocent. And how do you know I wasn't just curious about your clothing? I could be into fashion.

To Unknown Number: Ok then, Mr Unknown, what are you wearing right now?

Taking the finished bowl of nachos over to the sink, she placed the phone beside her, face up, and began to wash up; her eyes flickered to the screen of her phone every couple of seconds.

No response.

With a sigh she continued to wash up the wine glass and discard the bottle, doing whatever she could to help her resist tapping the screen and checking to see if Mr Unknown had texted her back.

Her resolve was weak, as she made her way over to her phone — one, two, three times; she groaned.

Eventually, she picked it up and stormed back to her room, closing the door behind her and sticking the phone on the charger beside the bed.

Never in her life had a message off someone she didn't know cause this much of an effect on her? She must be drunk.

Ignoring the object that was so easily teasing her, she headed to the ensuite bathroom and started up her pre bed ritual. She needed to concentrate on what she was doing but her head just could stop gravitating to look at the charging stand. Rolling her eyes, she berated herself for being so stupid. She had an important day tomorrow, sleep should be her priority. Not a random conversation with someone she didn't know.

Finishing brushing her teeth, Marinette almost launched the toothbrush to the moon as her phone buzzed against the stand.

Moving full speed into the bedroom, she dived forward, toothbrush in mouth, and grabbed a tight hold of the phone, scanning the name and message.

Unknown Number:

Absorbing the message on the screen, Marinette once again found herself snorting. Who was this guy?

To Unknown Number: Yeah, you're definitely not in fashion.

Marinette looked at the picture again and tried to work out if it was real or a googled image. She scoured the picture, zooming in and out, trying to see if she could find a watermark of any kind. Nope. It seemed Mr Unknown had actually taken the picture himself. 'A' for effort.

Unknown Number: I am offended.

Climbing into the bed, Marinette looked at the clock on the bedside table, only to see it was way past midnight. Shit! This had gone on long enough. It was time to say goodnight to Mr Unknown and get some sleep. The wine had given her a little too much of a confidence boost and she could already feel the way the room was gently swaying too and fro.

To Unknown Number: As much as I love discussing fashion with random men in socks and sandals, I have a very important day tomorrow and need to get my beauty sleep. I hope the person who wants to see your cock understands its true beauty. Goodnight.

Just as she was about to place the phone back on the wireless charger, it buzzed once again. Maybe she could just read one more. Lifting the phone back in front of her, she read the final message before pulling up her contact list, adding in Mr Unknown.

Unknown Number: Thank you for the support. Goodnight to you as well.

••••••

When the ear piercing shriek of her alarm sounded at 6 in the morning, Marinette shut it off with the idea of having an extra 2 hours sleep, that was until she realised today was the big day – her interview.

Everything had come down to this moment, to finally having a shot at designing for a world famous company. She had worked from the bottom back in Paris, but it was through those small contacts that she was here today.

Swinging her legs out of bed, she grabbed her phone and checked for any more wrong number messages, a slight disappointment only to have a message from Alya to let her know Tikki was okay and well fed with cookies.

Wandering out of the bedroom and in the direction of the kitchen, Marinette wanted nothing more than to grab a glass of water and maybe a piece of toast before transforming herself into a world class designer.

She wouldn't say she was in the midst of a hangover, but it wasn't too fair off the mark. She should have stopped after the first two glasses.

The house was quiet, almost too quiet, and huge! She had no idea if Kagami had wanted to start a family anytime soon – or at all – but she could easily house 6 children and 3 nannies. This old fashioned townhouse was a maze.

Marinette knew Kagami was well off, she had inherited a million dollar corporation a year ago from her mother, and Félix wasn't exactly on the breadline either – but knowing the cost of townhouses in central London, this house was definitely worth a pretty penny or two — or maybe a million.

The levels, the bedrooms, the perfect white and black kitchen; it was something Marinette could only ever dream of. She was proud of her friend. Kagami had overcome a lot to get to this point; from the overprotective mother, to the fight to stay with her boyfriend... sorry... husband Félix, she had been through a lot and Marinette was happy for her friends happily ever after – even if there was always a tiny pang of jealousy kicking her hard in the gut.

Slowly and unsteadily, Marinette turned into the kitchen and noticed the husband in question cooking something over the stove. Luckily, Félix had seen Marinette in both worst and best situations, so the fact she was currently wearing a crop top, hot pants and plaid shirt didn't even phase her. Even the messy bun and unbrushed teeth.

As always, Marinette saw the opportunity to get one over on Félix, heading towards him and ready to give him a quick fright. She tiptoed, holding a snicker behind her lips as she creeped closer and closer to her target. Two hands set to jab him in the ribs and cause him to squeal. Félix always gave the best squeals.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Her hands came out, fingers ready to cause a crazy spiral of uncontrollable screams. She was the prank Queen and he needed to realise that. For years their back and forth had continued to grow in intensity; Kagami being the only reason they'd never caused severe damage to the other.

She grabbed his waist, digging her fingers in and moving them around... and the reaction was priceless.

Félix screamed, loud and hard, throwing the spatula behind him and narrowly missing her head. The frying pan which housed a pancake clattered to the floor, narrowly missing her bare feet.

Unhinged and completely startled...

It was different to all the other times she'd managed to catch him off guard. Actually, a lot seemed different. His hair didn't quite seem right, or his smell... or his framing.

Marinette studied his hair where the strands seemed a little looser than she was used to, his smell seemed more delicious and his framing... were forearms meant to be that mouth watering?

She cursed herself. How dare she ogle at Kagami's husband! What a crap friend!

But then... something even more unfortunate happened. Félix turned to face her, and her brain almost short circuited as it scrambled to hold onto reality.

"Marinette?" Looking over her shoulder at the doorway she saw the faces of two very well dressed individuals. One Kagami, the other...

Turning her head back slowly, Marinette looked into the twinkling, green hues of Félix's cousin. Into the eyes of the biggest pain in her teenage ass — Adrien Agreste.