The Myth of the White Snake

第十一章

The blinding rays of the morning sun cut through the thin white curtains, hitting Adrien's closed eyelids. At the sudden bright redness that clouded inside his eyelids, Adrien's eyes fluttered open. Groaning tiredly, Adrien sat up using his elbows for support and rubbed his crusty eyes. The white blanket slid down his upper body, revealing his bare chest.

"Nino, what time is—"

Adrien paused when he realized that Nino wasn't laying in the identical bed next to his. Instead, there was an empty, neatly made bed with a piece of paper lying on top of the sheets. Curiosity came over him as Adrien slipped out from underneath the covers and picked up the piece of paper. He read over the little note that Nino left him, informing him that he went to get breakfast in the dining room.

Adrien placed the note on the small table between their beds, where the wine he received from the monk last night still sat unopened. A craving for alcohol took over his thoughts at the sight of it. The way the bottle glistened in the dim sunlight intimidated him. He couldn't resist anymore. Adrien walked over to the small cabinet in the corner of the room, where there were shot glasses stored.

Just as he was about to reach for one, a knock came from the other side of the door. Adrien sighed and stepped away from the cabinet, but stopped when he realized the state of clothes he was in. He was shirtless in a pair of dark gray sweatpants. Panicking, Adrien ran over to his suitcase and dug out a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt.

"Just a second!" Adrien called.

Within minutes, Adrien was dressed for the day thanks to his quick changing skills. He finished his outfit off with a dark green flannel and rolled his sleeves up before dashing to the door and pulling it open. He smiled when he saw his favorite bluenette standing there.

Marinette's face heated up when she saw the outfit he was wearing. She has never seen him wearing a flannel before, which she had to admit looked really good on him.

"Hello, my sunshine," Adrien said and stepped to the side, "Do you want to come inside? Nino's not here by the way"

Marinette laughed at his words and stepped through the doorway, "Sunshine?"

Adrien laughed, too, "Well, yeah. Because your smile is so bright"

A small blush crept up on Marinette's face. Sunshine. She actually liked that nickname.

Adrien closed the door behind them and led Marinette farther into the room, where Adrien's bed still sat there, unmade. Adrien mentally facepalmed himself for forgetting to make his own bed before opening the door. Not to mention he left the cabinet open. Talk about embarrassment.

"Did you just wake up?" Marinette asked.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, sorry if the room is a mess right now"

Marinette giggled, "Don't worry, I don't mind. You should see my room if you think this is messy"

Adrien laughed in response. Then, he remembered what he was doing before Marinette came. He walked back to the cabinet and took out two shot glasses. He figured now that Marinette was here, he can have someone to drink with.

"I got some wine last night, and I wanted to try it," Adrien said, "Do you want some, too?"

Marinette watched as the handsome blond walked over to the bedside table and popped open the glass bottle. Marinette shrugged in response to his question.

"Sure. I don't really drink, but I guess one shot shouldn't hurt"

Adrien poured some of the beverage into the shot glasses and capped the bottle. He handed one glass to Marinette, who thanked him in return. The young adults smiled and clicked their glasses together before bringing them to their lips. The alcoholic beverage traveled down their throats, leaving a small burning sensation in its wake.