Quarantine In Prague

Chapter 2: Marinette's Half Frozen Brain

She took a deep breath in. "I should probably go..." 

She turned away... 

"I have a spare mask, if you want." Adrien said hastily, pulling out an identical black and green mask as the one he wore himself. "I haven't used it, I promise." Marinette stared at him incredulously.  He hesitated. "But if you don't want it, I understand."

"NO! Yes, I want you!" She screamed. "I mean, I want your MASK! YES! Your mask!" She calmed down and took it from him with her left arm, while the other still covered her mouth. "T-thank you, Adrien."

He smiled and his eyes sent warmth through her body, her legs trembling at the sight.

"Why do you think you'd drive your parents crazy?" Adrien said.

"Well... They love me of course but now they have to focus on keeping their business afloat and they can't focus on keeping a silly little teenager busy. I will bother them from their work and soon the whole atmosphere is going to be weird, us stuck all in there all day everyday. T-They thought of that of course, but they can't send me out to my grandma in the countryside, because she is the critical group and we don't really have the means to get me anywhere else. And well... It's going to be terrible, just imagine having the clumsy, good for nothing Marinette around you all the time." 

She couldn't look at him out of childish shame.

"I wouldn't mind." said Adrien. She shot him a look. She was so confused that her cringe-reaction system was not ready - in other words, she did not make a complete fool of herself. At least not yet.

"What?!" she almost fainted.

"I wouldn't mind having the clumsy and funny, good for many things Marinette around me all the time." He said, his deep green eyes glaring into her own pair of panicking eyes.

"Y-y-you wouldn't... mind? Are yo-you sure?" There was too much happening... her heart was beating faster and harder than a whole drum band, her eyes blinking without end and hands squeezing into fists.

"I wouldn't. I... well... you see... I was supposed to go to Prague with..." Adrien finally broke the eye contact and Marinette regained a part of her reason, noticing a sudden drop in his voice. "...with the goal of concentrating and living life despite the virus. But," He looked at her again. "I really can't imagine being there, with no one I know, without friends, family... alone, for so long. Completely alone."

Marinette could hear the pain flavoring his words. She didn't know what to say, so he continued.

"Listen, I know this is crazy and... probably impossible... I just," He sighed softly. This was the first time she saw him this close to being... shy. "I am not sure how to say this. I really like spending time with you, Marinette." He said finally. "And since you said you were supposed to get out of Paris and have nothing to do, I thought if you wouldn't maybe want to accompany m-"

"YES" she said without thinking. "I mean, finish your question, sorry. Sorry." She blushed.

Adrien smiled, but couldn't hide his own excitement. "I was saying if you wouldn't maybe want to go to Prague with me before this chaos passes over...? I know it sounds really insane, but desperate times call for desperate measures to keep ourselves sane and happy, right?"

"YES. I meant to say, yes that's exactly what I am thinking. The desperate thing you said, I mean." she said but instantly regretted the way how she phrased it. "I am so sorry, Adrien. I didn't mean it like that I think you are desperate. I am so cold and confused and shocked, I wanted to say that I agree with the desperate times and... and... ah, forget it." she bit her lip.

"So... you wouldn't want to go?" He said, his radiant eyes loosing some of their flame.

"What? NO. I WOULD LOVE TO BE WITH YOU!" 

"Really?" he swallowed and smiled with his pure, perfect, wonderful and sweet knock-out-any-girl-in-one-mile-radius smile. Of course he had a mask, but... his eyes when he smiles! What more do you want?  "Okay, okay then. I will ask Nathalie to call your parents and ask them properly before doing something crazy. Everything is ready and you don't have to stress over anything at all! No tickets, no nothing..." Pure joy flew out of him. "I am so happy, Marinette." He hugged her in a genuine embrace. She opened and closed her mouth, turning red as blood left her brain and filled her face.

"See you tommorow, then." he stepped from the embrace and walked away, his eyes still smiling.

After a while, Marinette frowned. Tommorow?  Her brain exploded as she held back the loudest scream of panic. Her hands trembled as she grabbed her phone and texted the bedridden Alya.

Marinette: RED ALERT!

...

Alya: Oh. Let me guess. You stuttered, trembled like a squirrel on too much caffeine, pointed to all sides, and then screamed and babbled out some embarrassing way of basically saying "No thanks Adrien, I have better things to do that hang out with you" and now you are crying about it.

Marinette: No. Worse.

Marinette: I said yes.