Adrien Agreste stood beside his fellow male models at his father's newest fashion show, already have gone down and up the runway several times. The show ended with a round of applause after his father Gabriel gave a short speech about his new fashion line.

The models around him chattered incessantly to each other, talking about their next shows, or their new diets. The Gabriel designer clothes hung perfectly to each their bodies, unlike it did with Adrien's, where it hugged lamely in his opinion. He stayed silent during his father's arrival back from the runway, his eyes narrowing slightly as the Agrestes' made eye contact.. Gabriel nodded at Adrien in approval before he left. Going to talk to the other models for personal thanks, probably, the young man thought morosely.

Adrien gently pushed himself away from the models around him and to his own small room, only given to him upon his request (which, he asked his father for multiple times), and shut himself in the room, door locked behind him indefinitely. He avoided the mirror hanging on the wall to his right, stripping the jacket and shirt off in a flash. His pants followed after. The Agreste shuffled towards a miniature sofa that sat against the Northern wall, and he flopped face-first onto it. The seventeen-year-old couldn't stop the tears that fell, ignoring the heat of his cheeks and nose. He sniffled, burying his face further into the cushion of the sofa in despair. Small sniffles and the occasional whimper echoed in the otherwise silent room.

I'm nothing compared to them. I'm just so worthless model who only has this job because of his father. The shows would probably go by much smoother without me. Hell, Father would probably be happier if Mom had taken me with her when she left.

Marinette breathed out happily, her hand stinging slightly from clapping a bit too hard. Adrien has invited her to one of Gabriel's shows, and, of course, she accepted without a second thought! Through the whole show, every time Adrien came out, Marinette would hold her breath in awe as she watched him walk professionally, each outfit he dawned absolutely perfectly for him.

The girl stood from her front row seat, her new purse (which she bought specifically emfor /emthis show, much to Tikki's chagrin) in his hands. Mari gently nudged and pardoned her way through the small crowd until she reached the entrance to backstage. She hesitated at first but then she pushed open the door.

Models stood all around, chatting happily and undressing to their regular clothing. Marinette's cheeks flushed slightly at the sight of so many half naked males, but she stomped forward on her search for Adrien, or at least someone who knew where Adrien was. It took her a few minutes, but she managed to find a model name Jo who pointed her in the direction of Adrien's personal room.

The girl skipped to a cheerful whistle on her way to Adrien's room. Upon arriving, she noticed his name written on a small whiteboard (that's his handwriting, gah! It's so pretty, she mused to herself). Marinette giggled as she raised her hand to knock, but her smile fell and her hand paused when she heard the faintest of sniffles come from inside the room. Her hand fell gently on the door, and she stood frozen for a half a minute.

Marinette gathered her thoughts together quickly before she knocked on the door lightly, steeling herself emotionally for whatever she saw. It became eerily silent after she knocked, but she didn't move away from the door. After a minute passed by, she heard movements in the room, including a soft yelp which surprised her. What on Earth?

"Adrien, if you're busy I can—"

The door flung open, taking Marinette by surprise. She stared wide eyed at the bare chest in front of her before she looked up. Her heart skipped a beat before it fell to the bottom of her stomach. Mari raised her hand up, fingers wiping away a single drop still left from his crying, she presumed. His eyes were a bit bloodshot and puffy. The girl gently nudged Adrien back into his makeshift dressing room and closed the door behind him like before. Marinette didn't waste a second before she tackled the blond with a hug, her arms tight around his torso. That surprised Adrien, as she felt his whole body stiffen for a few seconds before he relaxed. The raven-haired teenager held onto him as if her life depended on it, and, honestly, to her, it did. Adrien is her life, and she didn't ever want to see him look like this.

"I don't know what's wrong, Adrien," Marinette murmured softly, words a bit muffled since her cheek pressed against his chest. A soft gasp escaped the girl when she felt arms wrap around her and hold tightly. Her heart fell from her the pit of her stomach to her feet at the sound of a sniffle. She forced herself to forge on, "But, I promise it's okay."

While the French girl said she hadn't a clue what made Adrien felt like that, she held an inkling in her mind. Recently, she noticed Adrien would disappear from the public eye, whereas before he didn't care as much. He wore clothing that was a bit more baggy (he didn't look bad to her, but it wasn't him), and he hardly ever smiled unless it was forced.

"Marinette…"

Never before had she heard her name said so solemnly, so sadly. His voice cracked on the -ette of her name, which she momentarily thought cute but she pushed that away. Mari pulled her head back from his chest, much to Adrien's unwillingness of letting her, to look up at him. Tears once again slid down her cheeks and his eyes filled to the brim with them. His eyes meet hers, gaze unsteady and hesitant, but meet her eyes nonetheless.

"I'm sorry you had to see me like this," the Agreste said quietly, his arms slowly releasing Marinette. He stepped back, one hand moving up to rest on the nape of his neck in an awkward pose. "It's just… hah, I'm just not like the other models. They seem perfect, and my dad always likes them and thanks them for their work, but he's never done that with me—and I'm his son!"

Marinette remained silent as Adrien kept talking. She knew he needed this.

"All these other models are so perfect, and skinny, and attractive. I just don't understand why people would like me, I'm just some teenage Frenchie. That's all I am! I only have this job because of my dad, I wouldn't have been able to make it here without him because he pushed me to where I am. It sucks to be surrounded by all these people who are ten times better than I am and all of them are emtwenty /emtimes more beautiful or handsome than me! I'm just some… average brat!"

"Adrien…"

By the time Adrien finished his rant, his chest heaved up and down dramatically, mouth wide open. Tears streamed down his cheeks which he desperately to to erase with the back of his hand upon finishing his screaming. Marinette reached out subconsciously and grabbed his wrist in a gentle grasp, stopping him. Adrien stared down at her in silence, his bottom lip quivering. Marinette pulled his hand away from his face, his fingers remaining around his wrist loosely. She sent a soft smile up at Adrien, not even saying anything. She didn't need to. Without giving it another thought, she balanced on her tiptoes and gave a chaste kiss on Adrien's cheek.

"Come to my house in an hour?"

Adrien nodded slowly, a feeling of warmth spreading through her hands and onto his skin. Mari smiled once again before she let go of his wrist slowly.

"See you soon!"

With those three words, Marinette vanished from Adrien's dressing room.

Adrien Agreste stood nervously in front of the Dupain-Cheng residence, rolling back and forth on his feet nervously. He had already passed Tom, who manned the bakery downstairs. The man gave Adrien a firm handshake and sent him up the stairs to the door to the apartment. Adrien gathered his confidence and knocked on the door, anxiously tugging on the light jacket he wore. Seconds later, the door opened to revealing a happy-looking Sabine in front of him.

"Hello, Adrien!"

Adrien smiled at her, holding back the awkward at that, before he replied with a similar greeting, then asking, "Is Marinette home? She asked me to come over."

Sabine clapped her hands twice before she ushered Adrien inside their little apartment, closing the door behind them. She gestured towards the white staircase Adrien remembered that led to Marinette's room. He smiled at Marinette's mother once more before he went up the stairs two at a time.

"Marinette?" Adrien called softly, his knuckles rapping in a gentle motion on the trap door. Said door opened a second later, revealing a smiling Marinette who wore a type of smock.. She gestured for him to enter. Adrien hopped up into her room and closed the door behind as Marinette told him. Once he fully looked around, he gazed in surprise at her floor. It had been covered in newspapers and several small buckets sat on the papers, open.. paint? Before he had the chance to ask her why —she had done this, Marinette removed the smock and threw it on her desk chair. She stood beside Adrien in nothing but her simple black with red dots bra and panties.

"Ahh!" Adrien felt his cheeks flush to a deep red and he turned away from her, and moved his hand to cover his eyes. "Mari, w-what are you doing undressing?"

"Oh, please, Adrien. I'm doing this for you. Now, it's your turn!"

Before he could protect, Marinette had her small hands on his jacket and pulled it off. His hand fell from his face and he stared up in awe, not even able to look at Mari. She only wore her underwear!

"Now, to explain myself."

"Please."

Marinette's laughed echoed in the room and Adrien finally looked down, his eyes locking onto her eyes—only her eyes. Her fingers tugged on the hem of his t-shirt with a look he couldn't deny. He slowly pulled it over his head and then let it fall to the floor.

"I want to prove to you that you're beautiful," Marinette said, confidence radiating from her words and look she gave Adrien. "Strip down to your boxers, or briefs if you prefer, and we're going to paint each other!"

Adrien couldn't believe that Marinette—the girl who could hardly talk to him two years ago without stuttering—stood in front of him with such confidence in her bra and panties, all for painting his body. To help him. To make him feel better. Adrien didn't protest anymore to Marinette's idea (not that he was in the first place), and he got rid of his pants. He followed Marinette to the center of the room, where both of them sat in front of each other. Adrien watched as she pulled the body paint buckets towards them, watched as she narrowed her eyes while looking over the eight different colors—white, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black. Marinette dipped her pointer finger into the white paint, pulled it out, and reached out a poked the area of skin covering his heart. Adrien flinched at the cold liquid, but didn't say anything as his princess drew on his chest.

"Did you know the color white stands for purity and wholeness?"

Adrien's eyes left her moving finger, and gazed at Marinette's face. Her eyes stayed on his chest, concentrated on whatever she was painting on his chest. He took the time to admire her bright blue eyes, the splash of freckles covering the bridge of her nose, her cute button nose, and her small pouty lips. He sat, mesmerized by the beauty of the girl sitting in front of him. He simply let her paint every color she had on him.

She drew black on his forehead after she pinned his tresses back with a pin she had.

"For your secrets, for how you feel compared to others."

She slid blue along the corners of his lips, nearly getting the paint on them.

"For your loyalty to others even if they betray or hurt you."

Green dripped on his shoulders in intricate designs by Marinette's fingers.

"For how you've grown more handsome with each passing day."

Marinette dabbed pink against the outside of the white she did earlier.

"For the unconditional love you deserve and undoubtedly have from many people."

She smeared orange right below his belly button with a giggle.

"For your love, to be great, no matter what."

Purple designs decorated his thighs simply.

"For you to understand how important you are and how needed you are by not only me, but everyone you hold dear."

Mari dotted yellow along his arms and calves, now lying on her stomach in front of him.

"For your ability to help others against your better judgement.

Finally, Marinette dipped her finger into the red paint. Adrien watched her, not having said a single word the whole time she painted his body with the rainbow. However, this color was painted different.

The girl slid her finger against her own lips, pursing her lips a bit to spread it out seemingly. Adrien raised an eyebrow, about to ask her why, but she stopped him.

Adrien fumbled to catch Marinette safely as she pounced into his lap, their lips crashing together roughly. Despite his surprise, he kissed her back with just as much vigor. Marinette pulled away within a few seconds, her eyes ablaze with a light Adrien wished would never go away.

"Red. For how much I love you and how you will always be perfect to me, Adrien Agreste."