Arranged - Adrienette

-chapter 5: a photoshoot-

"S-sexy?" The word made her uncomfortable. Never had she been called sexy, much less by a stranger. She bat her eyes and looked up at Adrien, who had instinctively wrapped his arms around her. He leaned down, his lips close to her ear.

"This guy is seriously crazy. When I was 17 he wanted to do a underwear photoshoot. He wanted to do a naked one once I was legal. He thought it would be 'artistic'. I just think it's creepy." She laughed and nodded understandingly, doing her best to stare at him the way she used to when they were young. At least he was trying to lighten the mood.

"You two need to use the tree. Someone get a swing for the tree! Someone get me something." The two held onto one another, her extremely nervous, so much so she hadn't even realized her head was laid on his chest, her hands pressing into his chest. His heartbeat was slow, calm and gentle. He had done this hundreds of times before, so he was used to all the attention. She was not.

"You okay? It's gonna take them awhile before they actually start the photoshoot." He lead her to a fake rock nearby, knocking on it before siting down and pulling her into his lap. He was doing it all on purpose. "One time I sat on a paper mache rock, and I fell right through. My dad was soooo mad." He looked down at her wth a gentle smile, leaning down to brush their noses together.

"So.... D-do you think they're gonna make us like.... K-kiss and stuff?"

"Possibly." He shrugged, stating it simply. "I've never actually been kissed before. I've had to do a stage kiss with a model, but I've never actually kissed anyone."

"What's a stage kiss? I'm still so, so lost." She laughed, but blushed as his hands moved to cup her face, his thumbs covering her lips, as he confidently pressed them together. Their lips weren't touching, but simply both their lips to his thumbs.

"That's a stage kiss. In photos it looks like you're kissing, but we're both just kissing my thumbs. They use it for photoshoots if they need people to kiss... Or if in like, theater, they need it." He bat his eyes innocently, but she was nearly fainted.

"O-oh" she was so red. They'd probably have to stage kiss for dates. They'd have to stage kiss in public. They'd have to stage kiss on their wedding. She looked away, the thought saddening her a bit. Stage kisses.

"Alright alright! We need these two over here, sit on this swing." He took Marinette, sitting her down and posing her every last finger, even angling her face. Like a Barbie doll, and Adrien was her Ken.

She angled her face to look up at him, practicing the way they had taught her to smile. As the man quickly got his camera and started snapping away, she watched as he moved so fluidly, so naturally. He had done this a million times before, he was just used to it now.

"Sit on his lap. Look at him in the eyes." She obeyed as the man spoke loudly, him sitting with her in his lap, then batting her eyes and looking up at Adrien, his green eyes being her everything in the moment.

Adrien could feel it coming. The man was always for sexual appeal, even when Adrien was young. Marinette was going to be his puppet. At the words, 'pull your dress down a little' he winced, biting his tounge.

She did as the man said, blushing as a woman came over with makeup, to 'contour your collarbones, and make your cleavage bigger' and he was on the brink of snapping. They were trying to sexy her up, his knuckles turned white as he desperately tried to grip the rock, looking anywhere but at the makeup. It wasn't happening, they weren't corrupting her into the world of fame. They weren't forcing her in too fast, they weren't terrifying her.

Except they were. And it was all happening right on his lap, and he was letting it happen to her.

"Stop" his voice rang loud, causing both the photographer and the makeup artist to pause, but then cautiously continue. "STOP."

"Adrien, we need-"

"We don't need anything! She doesn't need this. She doesn't need to look like a Barbie doll! She doesn't need to wear a tiny dress and have her fucking boobs contoured to exactness just so that she can be my perfect girlfriend!" He gently pushed her off him, making sure she didn't fall as he stood up. "You can't do this to her! You can't let fame do this to her! I'm not letting dad hurt her like he did to me." The boy had never been so furious, he had never stood up to someone about this before, and now he didn't know what to do. So he just took her hand and walked back to her dressing room with her, slamming the door behind him and locking it.

"Adrien-"

"They're going to come and try to get us out of here." He looked at his shoes, a little embarrassed at his outburst. Maybe he had been overanalyzing and she was completely fine.

"I..... I didn't like what they were doing to me either." She whispered, looking at herself in the mirror blankly, before a smile started to appear. A smile turned into laughter. Laughing harder and harder and harder until he looked up, and noticed the tears down her face. "Is this what your life is like?"

"You're a female, so yes, but they'll ruin you more than me." He looked around frantically, grabbing the makeup wipes once he found them, sitting on the floor. "Come here, Mari." His whisper was soft and affectionate, filled with gentle air. He did care for her deeply. Maybe not like a husband or boyfriend or whatever he was supposed to be, but at least like a best friend. For now.

Marinette sniffled and gently sat down on the floor, looking up at him as he started to remove all of her makeup. It took him 5 wipes just to get it all off.

"There's my favorite freckles."