Parapraxis

Normally, Adrien would be bored out of his mind once he reached the second hour of a ridiculously dull photoshoot. Today was different however; today he had company.

Glancing over the photographer's shoulder surreptitiously, he spotted Marinette watching them by the dressers tent. Her arms were pulled up to her chest, her hands gripped tightly into fists as she trembled with excitement she seemed to think was well hidden., her hips wiggling from side to side He shook his head a little and smiled wider, glad she was just as happy being here as he'd thought she would be when he'd asked her to come.

"Adrien, Cucciolo!" the photographer snapped softly, "Please look this way!" He only watched Marinette for a second more, just enough time to see her face flush when she realised where his attention had been directed, before turning back to face Vincent. From the corner of his eye he was able to see her calm again almost immediately the moment he was no longer watching her. But of course she was more relaxed when he was at a distance like this, that much was obvious now. Now that he knew the -in hindsight, obvious- reason for all of her strange quirks when she was around him.

"Okay, Cucciolo, you're done with the casual shots now. Go change quickly for the next look and maybe you can sneak in a quick word with your amore tesoro, eh?"

Ah, it seemed it was his own turn to blush now. Italian was not one of the languages he spoke so he had no idea what tesoro meant but he could certainly guess at amore considering it sounded so similar to amour. He chose not to comment however, instead dashing past the man to go change clothes hurriedly. His smile to Marinette as he passed her and headed into his changing tent was significantly more awkward this time around.

"Thanks again for inviting me," she said, voice raised a little to be heard from outside the tent, the simple sound of her voice making him feel uncomfortably warm considering all that was separating her from his semi-naked form was a thin piece of fabric strung up on glorified curtain poles.

"Uh, no problem," he said back as he finished pulling up his pressed dress trousers for the semi formal look that was being photographed next, "I knew you'd like this. You are interested in fashion, right?" The sound of a squeak followed by a grumbled agreement from outside helped to alleviate his discomfort and bring back a little of his bravado.

He finished dressing and popped his head out of the tent, looking around to see if Vincent had noticed him -which of course he had- and deliberately avoiding the sly smile he flashed his way. As he stepped out fully, Marinette took in the sight of his outfit and gave a small gasp. He was only wearing black trousers and a blue dress shirt, but the sleeves were rolled a little and the collar was popped -though the dresser would probably be round any minute to readjust the exact angle it sat at. When he'd first seen the shirt, he'd immediately been reminded of Ladybug's eyes but now, looking at the girl in front of him he realised it was also close to the colour of Marinette's currently wide baby blues. Maybe she'd noticed and that had been the reason for her gasp, but his ego chose to decide it had been her seeing how well he rocked formal wear. If only he realised how much of a danger his ego could be to him.

"Well," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder and smirking at the way her eyes flitted to the point of contact and back again, "it's been a lot more fun today because you're here."

She ducked her head a little and he felt proud on her behalf when she managed a small smile before responding. "I bet it'd be more fun if we actually had more time to hang out, instead of these quick chats between whenever you have to change."

As glad that he was that she was speaking more clearly with him these days, a small selfish part of him -the part that was smug that such a pretty girl wanted him of all the people she knew- wanted to see her flustered again. He leant in close under the pretence of making sure she heard him over the noise of others milling about. Close enough and at just the right angle that she could see into the top of the shirt he hadn't yet finished buttoning. "But I like hanging out with you like this," he said, not having really thought through what he was going to say, much more concerned with his proximity to her and her reaction, "Being with you is the most fun I can have with or without taking my clothes off."

She froze instantly and he was pleased for a moment before his own words caught up to him. "Oh. Wow," she said.

"Wait," he said pulling back quickly, his face a mess of scarlet, "That came out wrong. I didn't-"

"I- I'm pretty sure I shouldn't find that as sweet and touching as I do," she said, only a mild tremor in her voice despite the implications of his little slip. She looked up at him and then gave a shy smile before she finally broke into gentle giggles. Perhaps the embarrassment had finally gotten to her and she had nothing else on reserve to react with? Adrien felt he could certainly do with a giggle fit of his own right about now to swallow his mortification but there was just no way he could make them start.

He was far too busy reading into the meanings behind her own words. Ones which definitely weren't there but he was very surprised to find he wished were. Because he was suddenly desperate to know if Marinette's lips tasted as sweet as they looked and just how soft her skin would be when he touched it in order to cradle her face.

Plagg would never let him live this down.

Tumblr user Booabug posted two lines on their blog and it gave me a writing itch stronger than any prompt has lately:

"Being with you is the most fun I can have with or without taking my clothes off."

"Oh. Wow. I- I'm pretty sure I shouldn't find that as sweet and touching as I do."