Blindsided

010 - we're in this together.

a/n : please remember to vote!

***

A blank expression remained on Adrien's face as he fought against overwhelming emotions swirling inside him.

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut, tightening her fists into balls and letting a long breath escape her lips.

The ravenette opened her eyes, looking up with a soft look.

"No." She responded plainly.

Her eyes were filled with everything the blonde expected them not to be. They were calm, gentle... and dare he say, forgiving.

Adrien was beyond shocked. He had expected Marinette to cry, run away, shout at him, tell him how completely and utterly awful he was.

But she didn't.

"I know what your feeling right now, Adrien. You think it's easier to push people away than to take the effort and energy to form and deticate your time to a real relationship. Maybe it is, but is the end result really worth it?" The ravenette questioned, taking a step closer to the blonde.

Adrien couldn't speak. He was dumbfounded.

"You said the exact same thing years ago, when you pushed me away enough to make me hate you. I let you go, and that was my mistake. Because this time, I'm not giving up on you that easily." The ravenette grinned.

"You said it yourself, if you were just going to quit on me out of sheer rejection, what was the point in trying in the first place?" Marinette reached out a hand, grazing his.

A blush spread across the blonde's face as she picked up his hand and cupped her's around it. He stared at their intertwined hands, noticing how perfectly they fit together.

"I don't know the whole story, but I do know that you're hurting right now. You can act all tough and cocky, but I can see right through the hard barrier you've built for yourself. You don't have to tell me anything, only when you're ready. But until then, I'm not going to let you go, so don't give up on me either, 'kay? We're in this together." Marinette finished, squeezing her small hands around his own.

Adrien's lower lip trembled, and he looked away, embarrassed.

When the blonde looked back towards the ravenette his emerald eyes were glistening, and a smile graced his lips.

"Thank you... Thank you." He whispered, scared to even talk as he was currently not emotionally stable. Marinette gave a reasurring wink, one that made the blonde's heart flutter, as the action came off more adorable than meant to be.

"Come on, we're really going to miss the sunset if we wait any longer." The ravenette mentioned, walking forwards.

Adrien noticed that she still hadn't let go of his hand yet. Except, it didn't only feel like she was holding his hand, it felt as if she were holding onto his sanity.

It was the second time she had saved him from himself.

The blonde, caught up to the ravenette so they were standing side-by-side once again. A sudden feeling of deja vu passed over him.

Walking side by side underneath the afternoon sun.

Soft melodic giggles emitting from the lips of young, innocent children.

A soft breeze sweeping past them, playing with their hair as they swung their hands; fingers intertwined.

The feeling was all too familiar. His childhood, the years when he and Marinette were inseparable. Before he went and destroyed everything.

But he wasn't going to make that mistake again.

He wasn't going to run away from his problems anymore. Everything he did to protect the ravenette had done the opposite, because he never realized that the more he hurt himself, the more he was hurting Marinette as well.

He was going to walk down a different path, a different route. One that he created. One that he chose.

Maybe it wasn't flawless and perfect, maybe all the stones in the path weren't aligned, but they were there.

Adrien wasn't going to let his father's actions determine his future, not anymore.

Thoughts were flying through the blonde's head, creating havoc. But the girl holding tight onto his hand, his protecter, every part of her that his eyes could catch a glimpse of, her raven black hair, her bluebell orbs... her smile,

brought his mind peace.

"Wow, I knew the Eiffel Tower was big, but ascending it is a different topic." Marinette huffed, gasping for breath as the two finally reached the top.

Marinette bent over, resting her hands on her knees as she let her head hang, hair flopping forwards. Adrien chuckled at her reaction, using too much breath, and began coughing.

"Wow, didn't expect you to be burnt out as well. You know, with all that... 'practice'." The ravenette said with a smirk, standing back up in a regular position.

Adrien clicked his tongue, running a hand through his hair, which then caused loose strands to come falling back down into his eyes.

Wisps of baby hair got caught in his eyelashes, and the blonde attempted to blow them away in annoyance.

He failed.

Marinette drew a hand to her lips, giggling. Adrien stopped, realizing how awkward he must have looked repeatedly blowing the same strand of hair randomly. He grew flustered.

"Oh, shush." The blonde muttered as the ravenette continued to laugh.

Marinette walked towards the railing, sticking her head over as to feel the breeze blow against her face.

"Adrien, come here! The view is amazing!" The ravenette exclaimed, motioning for the blonde to stand where she was.

The blonde walked towards Marinette, leaning his upper weight over the edge of the railing. Below was the city of Paris. There were houses, shops, cars, people, a huge mix of color and motion it was almost too much to take in at once.

Adrien's eyes widened as he turned back to the ravenette, looking down at her.

"You're right, the view is amazing." He spoke, staring deeply into her eyes.

Marinette blinked a few times, her thick black lashes brushing over her freckle-dusted skin. Her lips were slightly parted, her front teeth barely visible.

The two were both a foot apart, the blonde bending slightly to be level in height with the ravenette.

Adrien brushed a hand over her cheekbone, tilting his head a little.

A blush immediately spread across the ravenette's face, her skin warming under his touch. Marinette could feel his breath on her face as they slowly inched closer to each other.

The ravenette's eyes flickered from the blonde's eyes to his lips.

She didn't know what she was doing, what kind of trance he had put her in. But Marinette didn't care. She could feel one of Adrien's fingers twirling her hair.

They were so close now that their lips were almost touching, barely grazing each other.

The ravenette was about to close the gap when all of a sudden the blonde's mouth curled into a smile. Marinette's eyes widened as he lifted her chin with one of his fingers, his eyes still staring seductively into hers.

"As much as I would love to kiss you right now, you made a rule.

No making out, remember, Marinette?"