The Vulnerability of Pink

STiCKY TaNNiNG OiL

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"I HAVE A PHOTO SHOOT LATER TODAY, I can't have a hickey! Father will be absolutely furious! Holy crap, and he'll know you're the one who gave it to me. This is bad! What the hell do I do to fix this?!" Adrien yelled, flinging his long arms around about in a fit of hysteria. He looked like a blow-up wiggler in front of a car dealership. Ridiculous.

Marinette sighed.

"Calm down and welcome to the freak out club. First things first is to sit the flying flip down," she spoke, dragging herself out of the soft comfort from the pillowy covers.

Marinette walked over to the stressed out boy, grabbing his shoulders and leading him to sit on the edge of his own bed. She was still half asleep, as she stifled a yawn with slow blinking, slumber crusted eyes. "Now, do you happen to have makeup anywhere?"

Adrien amply nodded. "Under my sink, second drawer to the left."

Marinette patted his head, mumbling just how good of a boy he was. Adrien seemed thrown off, but said nothing as she sluggishly grabbed the materials required. She kneeled in front of his stiff form, tiny toes sinking into the plush carpet of the rug beneath her.

Her brows furrowed as she inspected the liquid foundation and concealers she had pulled. A pretty little pout pulled at the girl's pink lips, causing Adrien great concern. "What's wrong?" he asked timidly, nervous to hear the answer.

Her eyes snapped to his, blue connecting to his green. "The colors of the makeup don't match your skin," she whined. Adrien smacked his forehead. Curse his bad luck.

"Drat. I forgot I only need the makeup once I'm tan. Father's orders keep me only flawless when I'm healthy looking..."

Her heart shattered. This boy was willingly putting himself down, most likely without his own knowledge for better. She wouldn't stand for the poor treating of himself. How dare he talk about himself in such a manner.

"Pardon me, but you're pretty much 'flawless' all of the time, not just when you have dark goop on your skin. Also, while you could stand to sneak in an extra order of onion rings with every meal, you are healthy, understand me?" Her tone was firm and unwavering, getting her point across clearly.

His green eyes were blown wide, shocked at how much she meant her words and how seriously she took them. Like a stupid child, he nodded slowly and owlishly, popping his mouth open like a floundering fish.

Quickly, Marinette pressed her index finger to his lips before he could say anything. "Great. Now that that's settled, where is your tanning lotion? We need to make this," she said as she gestured to the bruise on his neck, "look as natural as possible."

Oh. Oh!

His brain short circuited. "B-Bathroom. Ledge next to s-shower," he managed like the truly suave Casanova he was. With nothing but an amused giggle, she retreated, finding the bottle and bringing it forth.

Wordlessly, she squirted the black liquid onto her fingers, wincing at the slimy feel. Her loaded hands reached out for his neck, nearly touching him when he brashly yanked back and stuttered ungracefully. "Yo! What's up?"

"I-It's just... the photo shoot I have today is a shirtless jean ad, so if just my neck and face is tan, I'll look like I've been working in the fields for hours on end." There was a lilt in Adrien's voice that made her unsure of what he was trying to say. He loudly exhaled.