Until Next Time, My Lady

Ring A Bell?

She could still feel the spot on the back of her neck where his lips had pressed a gentle kiss goodbye. Shivers ran down her spine as she remembered it. Unfortunately, Adrien left quite a few hours ago to leave her to her work, but she really wished he hadn't. Unpacking wasn't really that big of a priority, was it? Maybe she should go get her laptop from upstairs and email him to come back early. She started to get up but sat back down. Marinette sighed in defeat as she realized if he came back now that she'd never complete anything. They would probably just cuddle on the couch and stay there doing nothing like they had done most of the morning in her bed. He was just so warm, which made it harder than ever for her to let him leave.

The anticipated winter weather seemed to have somehow leaked into her home already. Cold air circled around her, making it hard to center her thoughts on her designs. She just wanted to melt into his affectionate embrace again. With his presence of late giving her a sense of calmness; the stress of everything going on in her life just evaporated away. Her guard would fall every time he wrapped his arms around her. The feeling of knowing she was wanted by him almost made her feel intoxicated by his love.

Why exactly did he have to leave again? His unpacking could have waited until tomorrow, right? She shook her head, trying to focus back on the work at hand. Her attention quickly glanced back down to her sketch pad. She had finally finished her design from two days prior by adding a pair of men's hand-tailored black and red leather dress shoes. The design still seemed to be lacking something. She just couldn't place her finger on it. Maybe Adrien could help her figure it out later.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she turned to the next blank page in the pad. Her black pencil began to gently tap the corner as she tried to decide what to draw next. She let out a small growl of frustration as she realized that she still needed something to compliment the long-sleeved, 'storm-inspired' women's shirt.

Marinette turned back a few pages, taking in the red, white and blue colors. The shirt was already paired with a decent assortment; white capris, black closed-toed heels, diamond earrings, silver bracelets... What was it missing? Maybe she could do another leather jacket. But how would Monsieur Agreste feel about all this leather in his line? It was one of the materials he disliked most, but perhaps he'd look past it just this once.

Black charcoal left her utensil as a vision came into her mind. She would make this one subtle compared to Ladybug's and Chat Noir's jackets. Black zippers ran up the wrist of the sleeves, a small pocket on the right side, and a removable hood made the design complete. A smile melted across her lips at her victory.

Suddenly, the inspiration for the next design finally hit her. She flipped a few pages forward and started to draw a long, black trench coat. About halfway through the sketch, the tip of her pencil broke. She groaned and reached for the pencil sharpener just out of her grasp. Then almost at that same simultaneous moment her fingers wrapped around it, her front door flew open with an irritated-looking Alya in its wake.

"You better have a freaking good explanation for not answering your phone for the last few days."

Her tone was laced with annoyance, but her eyes told Marinette that she was just worried. In all honesty, it probably hadn't been the best idea to leave Alya out of the loop, but she wanted to figure everything out on her own. She didn't want to be fussed over by her best friend every single minute of the day. This situation was her problem, no else's. Not that she'd called it a problem, just more of a shock.

"Sorry, I left my phone at the bakery by accident on Thursday. Adrien is bringing it back to me later tonight."

Alya rolled her eyes. "Right..."

"It's true! I really did forget it there."

Marinette looked down and started to sharpen her pencil slowly. She heard Alya gently slip off her shoes. When she decided to look back up again, her best friend was standing in front of her with a look of exhaustion on her face.