Adrien pulled Marinette to his chest, trying his best to cover her while masking it as affection. The photographer had already gotten quite a few shots, many of which were the most intimate and affectionate Marinette and him had ever taken. Mostly because Adrien was trying his damn best to make Marinette feel as comfortable as possible. 

There was one with him lying flat in a pool lounge chair, Marinette laying on top of him. His head tipped back, giving the photographer a intense look all the while upside down, his hands on Mari's waist. Marinette herself, was laying on top of him, her legs bent at the knee and her ankles crossed in the air. Her hands rested on his bare chest; occasionally, lightly, running her fingers over it. They took many shots in this position as was normal, but Adrien's favorite was the one where he had just whispered something into Marinette's ear and in the photo she's looking down at him, laughter and happiness lighting up her face while he whipped right back into his intense gaze as soon as the photographer said "Ready". He thought the contrasting emotions were beautifully represented here, and he had started to find that while Marinette was drop dead gorgeous all the time, he definitely preferred it when she was smiling. 

Another shot had him on the side of the pool, feet in the water, and Marinette in the pool, in between his legs. She had her hands on his thighs, her big blue eyes innocent as she looked up at him. His eyes, however, held no innocence. Instead a smirk decorated his face as he held two fingers under her chin to tilt her head back. (This shot was quite suggestive and was shot from the side as to show both model's emotions)  

Next they were both in the water, Adrien coming behind Marinette and wrapping an arm around her stomach and around her neck. One hand resting on her hip and the other on her shoulder. Her hand came up to gently rest on his forearm, and on an impulse decision made on his part, he adjusted so that he was gently kissing the shoulder his chin had previously been resting on. 

*Click!**Click!**Click!**Click!*

The camera went off again and again. 

Photos. Photos. Photos. 

But Adrien didn't mind. He didn't care how long it was taking. He didn't care how embarrassing the poses were. He didn't care how many pictures had to be taken in one pose. He didn't care. All he cared about was trying to conceal Marinette and to get her out of here as fast as possible. 

So that had led them here, to the final shot. His hands were around her waist, bringing her close to his chest. Letting one hand drift higher up her back, it allowed him to pull her even closer, eliminating whatever small bit of space there was before. With his other hand, he cupped her face, permitting his thumb to caress her cheek. A blush blossomed over her cheeks, her eyes puzzled and questioning. He tried to communicate everything he wanted to say with his eyes, knowing that so much was lost in the translation. But for a single moment, blue and green threaded across wide, light plains and over dark, deep mountains; for a single moment, blue and green shyly danced around each other before meeting; for a single moment, blue and green connected explosively, dancing together, alternating between passion and demure. For a single moment, but as we know, those don't last long. 

"Perfect! Okay that's the last shot!" The photographer called to the crew. Marinette and Adrien separated. Adrien felt as if Marinette was slowly being peeled away from him, making it hard to breathe at the same time giving him the ability to suck air into his lungs. She backed up a few more steps, and Adrien could finally breath normal. He closed his eyes and took in a big breath of cool air. 

The crew started to clean up, and Nathalie motioned them over. 

"Well, now that that's done, it's time to upkeep the bargain I made. From now on, you two are free to do whatever you choose. However, please do remember that the paparazzi will be watching and remember that you are a couple. Here are the tickets for the plane ride home, don't lose them. I'll send a stylist up to retrieve the items you two wore today." 

"Wait, you're leaving?" Adrien asked incredulously. 

"Well, there's nothing left for me to do here. You two don't need a babysitter, I hope. Your father needs me back at the company...besides this is your honeymoon. Although, I do believe your father is counting these next three days as your vacation, Adrien." 

Adrien grinned. He didn't even care that this used up his vacation days. He was just so happy and relieved to finally be given space to breathe. And do whatever the hell he wanted. He couldn't remember the last time he was able to do that. 

"Thanks, Nathalie. We really appreciate this." Marinette said quietly, her eyes dark and unreadable. Adrien's mood dampened as he turned to look at her. She didn't seem like the usual Marinette he was used to. Maybe she's still upset...He thought. He scrutinized her a bit closer. Her arm was crossed over her stomach, her hand gripping her other arm. Her eyes, while seeming to look back at Nathalie, were glazed over and glassy. Her face seemed to have no expression at all. He started to became concerned. 

"Don't mention it." Nathalie continued coolly, "Go upstairs and change out of those wet things. I'll send a stylist up in twenty minutes. We'll all be leaving this afternoon, call me if you need anything."

As Nathalie left, Marinette head towards the lobby with the elevators. Adrien hurried after her, trying to catch up enough to fall in step. He didn't catch up, even with his longer legs, until they reached the elevators. They filed into the elevator and Adrien tried to catch a glimpse of Marinette's expression but her head was down with her bangs covering her eyes. They rode the elevator silently and exited it the same way. They continued silent and awkward(at least on Adrien's part) all the way down the hallway. When they reached the room, Adrien slid the room key and unlocked the door. Upon entering the room, Marinette went straight to the bathroom to change. Adrien sighed before stripping off the wet trunks he was wearing and putting on some loose basketball shorts and a soft t-shirt. Marinette came out in jean shorts and a loose tank top the same time that Adrien heard a knock on the door. 

"Ah, that would be the stylist." He tried to give her a bright smile, but felt the falseness of it even on his own face. 

She tried to return it with a half-hearted smile of her own, but it was just as unconvincing as his. Grabbing a room key off the counter, she moved towards the door. Turning her head, she threw an excuse behind her. 

"I'm going to sketch in the garden." She opened the door, putting the dripping wet garments in the garment bags the stylist held. "Excuse me." She muttered, as she moved past the stylist into the hallway and was gone. 

Adrien moved up to put his own garments in the garment bag, exchange a few fake pleasantries and wish the stylist a safe trip home. He closed the door, turning around and slumping against the door. He let his body collapse until he finally reached the floor. Closing his eyes, he let his body rest. When he finally opened them, he glanced around the parts of the room that he could see when something caught his eye. 

Marinette had said she went to go sketch but....

 Her sketchbook was lying on the coffee table. 

Marinette was gone the entire afternoon. At four, Adrien, relented. He gave up on waiting for her and went down to the gym the hotel offered.  He found that working out let him release some of his frustrations that came from his stressful schedule and life. He felt that he could just put his mind on pause and focus all his attention on what his body was doing. 

He finally finished a two hour workout, feeling a bit more refreshed and calm. Heading back through the lobby, he overheard a customer checking in say; 

"Wow, the weather is really taking a turn for the worse out there, huh?" 

"Yeah, it'll probably start raining soon. But that's Lugano for you. At least its not as bad as the rest of Switzerland, up north."

Adrien left before he heard the rest of the conversation. He began to worry again. Was Marinette back yet? 

He hurried back up to the room, unlocking the door quickly, he threw the door open a bit more violently than he meant to. Ready to apologize, he stepped into the room only to find it empty. He sighed. 

Well, I'll go shower and if she isn't back when I'm done I'll call her, he thought. 

Content with his plan, he gathered his clothes and entered the bathroom. 

*Dialing* Adrien's heart raced as he rang Marinette and tried not to panic . When he came out of the shower, Marinette was still no where to be seen. Adrien gnawed at his lip and glanced at the window. The sky was dark; big, heavy clouds obscuring the blue. Then he heard it. 

*Ring*  *Riing*   *Riiing*

Marinette's ringtone...

Searching around the room, he found the source of the noise. Her cellphone, left behind, was buzzing on the bed. 

"Great." He muttered, ending the phone call. The great booming sound of thunder drew him to the window. Adrien watched as rain started to splatter against the window. Hesitating for a moment longer before he dashed to his suitcase and threw on a jacket and grabbed an extra one (he was familiar with Lugano's weather after all) and headed out the door. Hurrying to the elevator, entering and impatiently waiting as he continued down to the first floor. When the doors opened, he nearly ran across the lobby, going in the direction of the gardens. As he went, he heard more thunder and rain pounding against the walls of the hotel. 

Finally, his breath coming out heavier, he made it to the garden. Throwing open the doors, he rushed out a few steps, standing under the covered walkway and scanned the gardens. 

There! 

Right in the middle of the garden, was Marinette, standing in the pouring rain. 

"Marinette!" He called out to her, hoping she could hear him over the rain. She jerked in surprise, turning her head to look over her shoulder. When her eyes finally found him, he held up the jacket and shook it. She gave him a soft smile, before turning her head back to face straight. 

"Come join me!" She called back to him. Her voice almost seeming giddy(but Adrien could have been mistaken, the storm was loud after all.)

What? 

WhaT? 

WHaT? 

He balked. Did he hear her right? She was willingly getting soaked...and she wanted him to join her???

.........

Well....

He stripped off his own jacket, setting both of them on a potted plant. Before heading out to join her, the rain saturating him more and more each minute. Upon reaching her, he asked; 

"Marinette...are you okay?" 

"I could ask you the same thing. You've called me by my full name all of today instead of Mari." 

"I just..." 

Marinette turned so quickly, water droplets splayed off her. 

"Adrien," She began softly, "Close your eyes and just breathe." 

He did as she said after a moment of hesitation. He let his eyelids close, blackness filling his vision. Taking deep breaths that filled his lungs, before blowing them out. He was beginning to think this was all stupid when suddenly, instead of just hearing the storm, he felt it. He felt each cry of thunder, it echoing within his bones and resonating within his soul. He felt each raindrop, becoming too heavy and finally falling, only to crash and explode onto whatever they hit. He felt the lightning, causing the darkness behind his eyes to go white for just a second before it was gone again. He felt the storm. And he breathed it in. 

He didn't know how long he stood there, but he knew that after a while Marinette took his hands into hers. Leaning her forehead very light (almost hesitantly) on his chest, she whispered;

"I'm okay now, I promise. I just needed a while. Sorry."  

"It's okay." He muttered, still riding the high of the storm. 

He felt her forehead leave his chest, and gathered that she was finally looking up at him. 

"Are you alright?" 

He nodded. 

"I'm better now, I think. Although I can't really say what was wrong." 

"Mmm." 

The silence that surround them was comfortable. The rain still beating patterns against their skin. Marinette breathed a small sigh, but when Adrien opened his eyes to see what was the matter, she was smiling up at him. But in an almost seemingly heartbroken way. 

"Lets go in, shall we?" 

And suddenly Adrien understood. 

He lead her over to where the jackets lay, handing one to her before pulling one on himself they headed back. But as they entered the hallway, Marinette's small hand reached for his, entwining their fingers. And just like that, they walked back to their room. 

They had gotten back to their room and they changed for what felt like the thousandth time today when Adrien mention that she left her phone on the bed. 

You tried to call me?" Marinette looked up from where she had bent over to check her phone questioningly. Adrien ran a hand through his hair and refused to meet her eyes,  a blush blossoming over his cheeks. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay." He muttered. 

"Oh..." She looked back down at her phone guiltily, her lip between her teeth.  Marinette straightened up, letting her hair loose from where it had been confined up in a towel. 

"Adrien, do you mind me asking you something? Something kind of weird?" She asked suddenly, throwing the towel onto the pile of other dirty towels, pointedly not looking at him. 

Alarm bells went off in Adrien's mind, but he decided to ignore them. 

"Shoot." He said as he sat on the bed. 

Staring straight ahead, Marinette's cheeks started to flush. 

"W-well, I just, I mean today we got pretty intimate...even though that was just modeling and not real...but-but, we're married so...I...only mean...not that you have to just cause we're married...or what I mean to say is....."She covered her mouth with a hand. "I should be able to do this, I'm a grown ass woman." Adrien heard her mutter to herself. He watched a bit alarmed as she drew in a big breath. 

"Justfortonightdoyoumindcuddlingwithme!" 

A pause hung in the air, Adrien's eyes widening as he comprehended her words. His jaw dropping, he nodded jerkily, still trying to make his mouth move. 

"Yes, I mean no! I don't mind at all, we can cuddle! Yes, I'd love to cuddle!" His cheeks flamed as his words came out too fast. 

There was an awkward pause where they would glance at each other and then quickly look away when their eyes met, faces becoming redder with each glance. 

"Oh, screw this." Marinette muttered. She crawled over the edge of the bed and when she reached Adrien, sat herself in his lap. 

"There!" She said triumphantly, but Adrien noticed her cheeks were still red. Chuckling a bit at how awkward they were at twenty five, he pulled her hips gently so that she was laying against him in a more comfortable position. Wrapping his arms around her much like earlier, with one arm around her stomach and the other across her chest, he again let his chin rest on her shoulder. Marinette's hand came up, her fingertips lightly grazing his arm. They stayed like this, growing comfortable with one another presence being so close. 

"So what are we gonna do for the next three days in Lugano?" Marinette turned towards him a bit, and he raised an eyebrow in mock question. 

"Since you're the one whose been here and all, so you know what's fun to do." 

Adrien shifted so that his chin now rested on the top of her head. 

"Hmmm," Adrien closed his eyes and allowed himself to take in Marinette's warmth. She giggled at the vibrations the sound caused before tilting her head back to look up at him. 

"So?" 

"Weeeeeeell," Adrien drew out, "I suppose one day we could go see the town, all the shops and such and then another we can go do all the nature stuff, hike up to Monte San Salvatore, take a ferry ride and go see the lake. Then the third day we can do whatever we missed, or some of our favorites. Or we could just have a lazy day to relax." 

"That sounds wonderful. So what are we gonna go do tomorrow?" She sank a little deeper into his lap and he had to shift his grip, both of his arms coming to wrap just under her bust, pulling her tighter against him. 

"That's for you to decide." He mumbled into her hair. He watched her purse her lips, trying to decide. 

"Let's do the nature day first, then the shopping day and then the third day we'll decide later." 

"That sounds good to me." 

Adrien held her for a second longer before moving to scope her up and set her beside him. He smiled at her surprised face. Wriggling down under the blanket, he patted the space beside him. 

"We can still cuddle while we lay down, but its been a long day and we're both tired." 

She gave him a bright smile before moving to the spot he insinuated. Lying facing him, Adrien waited until she was comfortable before wrapping his arms around her and tangling his fingers in her hair. Her arms encircled his waist, her hands slipping under his shirt. She dragged her fingers gently until the settled on his upper back, where they softly brushed against his skin. 

With his fingers playing with her hair, and hers stroking his skin; soon their breathing became rhythmic and even. Content and at ease with one another, they slept, the intimate position they engaged in remained undisturbed. Their hearts beating as steady as the rain drumming outside. 

As they laid there, two hearts were starting to come together. Yes, as they laid there, only a heartbeat away from one another. 

Author's Note: I'm updating! Again! Like in the same week! This was going to be a suuper long chapter, but I decided that Lugano needed a whole chapter to itself. Did anyone else feel as if physical intimacy jumped from like a three to a ten real quick in this chapter or was it just me? Idk. Anyways, I'll try and update as soon as I can but the next couple of weeks are going to be a bit hectic for me. As always, I always love your love and support. Feel free to leave your thoughts and questions down in the comments! I love seeing them! 

Love, 

Cutesylittledemon