Sixty Beats Per Minute

Chapter 10

03:05:02

By the time the night has struck, Alya and Nino returned to the apartment to find Adrien sitting alone on the couch, watching TV in the dark.

"Hey guys," the blond greeted, "How was your date?"

The couple scanned the room, but there was no bluenette in sight. They looked back at Adrien, confused. Did things not work out between those two?

"Where's Marinette?" Alya asked.

"She fell asleep," Adrien yawned and rubbed his eyes, "I carried her to my bed. She seemed pretty tired, so I don't want to bother her right now"

"I should have came back for her sooner," Alya sighed, "I'm sorry"

"No, it's alright," Adrien said, "I don't mind at all. I can sleep on the couch"

"You can take my bed for tonight," Nino offered, "If you want to, that is"

Adrien shook his head, "It's alright, I can sleep here"

"Well, I need to drive Alya back to her dorm," Nino jingled his car keys, "Don't want her going alone this late at night. I'll be right back"

Adrien nodded tiredly in response. Alya and Nino headed back out once again, leaving Adrien in the living room and a sleeping Marinette in his bedroom. Adrien glanced at the clock. Five minutes until midnight. Silently, Adrien turned off the TV and stood up. He stretched his arms out and let out another yawn of exhaustion. Adrien walked over to his bedroom and slowly pushed the door open with a small creak. He peeked his head inside, smiling softly at the sight.

Marinette still laid sound asleep. Her face was calm and relaxed, and her chest rose and fell slowly with her heart rate resting at sixty beats per minute. The apartment had twin-sized beds, so each bed could only fit one person一at least without invading each other's personal space.

The more Adrien admired the sleeping girl, the more he wanted to lay down on the bed with her. He didn't want to have a make out session or have sex with her. He didn't even want to cuddle or kiss or even touch her, at least not without her approval. He just wanted to comfortably lay down next to her and fall asleep by her side. But he knew he couldn't do that, at least not without her being aware of it first. The last thing he wanted was for her to wake up to an unwanted visitor sleeping next to her. Sighing, Adrien quietly closed the door, letting her rest in peace.

Adrien leaned his back against the bedroom door, looking at the timer on his inner wrist. It was obvious that it wasn't indicating the day he meets his soulmate. Marinette was the one, he was sure of it. He could feel it. He knew it from the moment they first met.

The more Adrien looked at the timer, the more he couldn't help but think it meant something bad. But what? What does this timer mean, and how does Marinette know? Does everyone else know the meaning of it besides Adrien?

But above all the questions he had, one of them stood out to him. What was on Marinette's timer, and did she have the same time as him?

~•~

Marinette woke up the next morning to find herself in an unfamiliar bedroom, filling her nose with the weak scent of cologne. Confused, she climbed off the bed and opened the bedroom door.

"Good morning," Adrien greeted from the kitchen, "I'm making hot cocoa. Do you want some?"

Marinette blinked. Then, a realization hit her like a brick, causing a strong heat to cloud the inside of her cheeks.

"Did I... Fall asleep in your apartment?"

Adrien nodded, "Alya didn't want to wake you up, so she left you here"

An embarrassed Marinette covered her face with her hands, "I'm so sorry!"

Adrien added some cocoa powder into a mug of warm milk and stirred the mixture.

"Don't worry about it," he said, "You should have some hot cocoa before going back to your dorm, it's pretty chilly outside"

Adrien finished up with some peppermint and whipped cream. Marinette pulled out a stool and sat down at the kitchen counter, where Adrien placed the steaming mug in front of her. A sweet and somewhat minty aroma filled her nose as the warm steam latched onto her skin.

"Thank you," she said.

She took a small sip of the hot beverage. The searing hot liquid burned her tongue and sent a semi-itchy feeling through her taste buds, making her incapable of tasting the sweet beverage. She quickly took the mug away from her lips and gulped down painfully. The scorching liquid travel down her throat, making her tears well up slightly along her eyelids.

"Sorry," Adrien said, "It's still hot. Be careful with it"

The blond proceeded to make a cup for himself. Marinette couldn't help but watch and admire him in the process. It was such a small action, making a cup of hot chocolate. And yet, that small action was enough to make her heart flip like a pancake.

Adrien looked up from what he was doing to find Marinette watching him. Upon seeing this, Marinette quickly took her eyes off of him and took another small sip of her drink. She blushed from embarrassment, and she hoped the mug hid the redness of her cheeks. Adrien didn't say anything and just smiled at her.

She's so cute.

A nearby bedroom door opened, revealing a messy-haired Nino. The young adult stepped out of the room wearing pajamas.

"Good morning, guys," Nino yawned and stretched his arms over his head.

"Hey bro," Adrien greeted back, "Want some hot cocoa?"

Nino shook his head and opened the kitchen cupboard. He took out some instant coffee and filled a kettle with water.

"I'm more in the mood for coffee," Nino said tiredly, "You know how I'm like without a morning coffee"

Nino placed the kettle on the stove and turned it on.

"Do you need the car today?" Adrien asked.

Nino nodded and took out a mug, "I'm just going to the ice rink with Alya"

He looked over at Adrien and Marinette, an idea forming in his head.

"Do you guys want to come?" Nino asked, "It would be nice to hang out with all four of us"

Adrien shrugged, "Sure, sounds like a plan"

Marinette nodded in agreement. She had no idea how to ice skate, but she wanted to spend as much time with her new friends as possible. After all, time is limited.