Work Text:
"I met you in the dark, you lit me up
You made me feel as though I was enough"
Frequenting the club scene was never something Adrien could have predicted for his future. All throughout his childhood, teenage years and even through most of university he had preferred to stay pretty straight laced when it came to socializing. He would hit up a house party or two and he was of course required to attend any gala his father deemed important, but for the most part, Adrien preferred low-key get-togethers and hangouts when his busy schedule could swing them.
That all changed about a year ago when Nino, one of his classmates, invited Adrien out to come hear him DJ at a club. Wanting to support his new friend, he readily agreed. That night had been an absolute blast. Nino had killed it on stage and Adrien had been introduced to a whole new way of letting off some steam: dancing. He had quickly developed a clubbing habit after that.
Most Saturdays he could be found on the dance floor of The Bubble Factory, a small but popular club that was known for its stupidly cheap bottles of champagne, completely losing himself in the rhythm and beat. Sometimes he danced solo, sometimes with a temporary partner. He had no idea if he was any good or not, but he found that he didn’t much care after a drink or two. For some people, a night of clubbing resulted in exhaustion the next day, but Adrien almost always woke up feeling completely refreshed and relaxed ready to take on another week. Sure there had a few times when he’d gone overboard on the drinks which made for a not so fun Sunday, but for the most part, he was there for the dancing, not the booze.
Tonight wasn’t any different than most Saturdays at The Bubble Factory, it was close to midnight so the dance floor packed and the energy of the club was at its peak. And Adrien was right where he wanted to be, in the middle of it all. He was dancing with Kim and Alix, who one might call ‘club friends’, he had no idea what their last names were, what they did or anything beyond the fact that they both liked to dance as much as he did and each could down a bottle of champagne in a minute thirty flat. When they were at the club on the same nights they would hang out and dance, often joined by various other ‘club friends’ that Adrien had met over the past year.
“Hey!” Adrien called out over the pounding bass, “I’m gonna go grab a drink!”
Alix gave him a two finger salute and kept dancing. As Adrien turned away he heard Kim shout something at her that sounded suspiciously like a challenge. He sighed with a smile knowing he would walk back into a full on dance battle that would probably end with both contenders collapsed in the middle of the dance floor. Slipping through the jam-packed crowd with practiced ease he made his way to the bar and found an empty spot to wait his turn. He leaned on the bar and scanned the crowd around him to see if any other regulars might be around.
“Ugh, please Alya, nooo!” The cry of distaste came from next to him as two women sidled up to the bar. He couldn’t help but glance over in curiosity. A tall redhead had her arm firmly linked through the arm of a more petite dark haired woman.
“Marinette stop, this place is known for its champagne. You can’t come here and not drink champagne! It’s against the rules. Especially if it’s your first time!” Said the redhead, who seemed to be named Alya.
The dark haired woman apparently named Marinette, rolled her eyes, “I hate your made up rules.”
“I bet you’ll stop complaining when you see how cheap a bottle is,” Alya plucked a laminated champagne list off the sticky bar and held it in front of her friend’s face to see.
Adrien heard her gasp even over the music and looked over again to watch Marinette yank the menu out of Alya’s hands, “Holy crap! You’ve gotta be kidding me!” She cried. Her wide eyes were very, very blue and rimmed with thick, dark eyelashes, her mouth popped open in a little O. He swallowed and looked away again.
He decided it was time for him to stop being creepy and mind his own damn business, but he quickly realized he was leaning over and the words came before he could stop them, “I don’t really care for champagne either, but I can recommend the most tolerable one if you’d like!” He called out to the two women with what he hoped was a friendly and not creepy smile.
The one named Alya was standing next to him and looked over her shoulder with an appraising look that made Adrien want to pick up all his stupid, nosey words off the ground and shove them back into his stupid face.
But Marinette spoke up first, “Sure that’d be great!” She smiled at him. He felt his mouth go dry. Alya seemed to take that smile as a cue that maybe she could give Adrien the time of day and moved to the side to make a little half circle. However, her expression was still cautious.
“Your best bet is the Épernay, for price and taste,” he pointed to the name on the menu.
“Awesome, thanks!” Marinette said.
Alya was looking at him with an eyebrow raised over her glasses, “so you must come here quite a lot.” He could tell she was still trying to gauge him.
Adrien rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly, “yeah, I guess you could say that. My friend DJ’s here. Actually, that’s him spinning now.” He pointed back towards the stage.
“He’s pretty good,” Alya said, looking towards the stage.
“Yeah, I really like it!” Marinette agreed.
He smiled at that, “He plays here most Saturdays, I’ll let him–” he was cut off as Rose, the always energetic and bouncy bartender, appeared in front of them.
“Adrien! What can I get you?” She grinned at him.
“Hey Rose, I’ll just take a vodka soda and–” he was cut off again as Alya leaned up against the bar next to him.
“And we’ll take a bottle of Épernay, please,” she said before he could order for them, a credit card slotted between her fingers for Rose to take. He almost didn’t catch the side glance she sent his way. He decided it was a good time to look somewhere else while Rose got started on the orders.
“I’m Marinette, by the way,” his attention flicked back towards the women. Marinette was leaning around Alya looking at him with those blue eyes again, “and this prickly one is Alya.” She motioned to her friend.
“Hey!” Alya turned to look at Marinette with a frown, but Marinette ignored her, looking expectantly at him instead.
Oh, man, she was so cute.
He was silent for an awkward beat, words slipping out of his grasp until he finally grabbed on. “Oh! Uh, yes, I’m Adrien, nice to meet you both.”
Marinette smiled and he swore he felt his pulse quicken. Damn, he was thirsty.
Wait! No! Not in that way!
He just really needed that drink! Yeah, just a drink. That was it.
God, he needed to get a grip.
“Nice to meet you too, thanks for the recommendation!”
He managed to smile, “absolutely, anytime.” Before he even finished saying the two words he was already scrambling for something else to say. He could feel the awkward lull barreling down the tracks towards him.
“Here you go!” Rose, thank the heavens, chose that exact moment to put his drink down in front of him. “Want me to put it on the tab?”
Adrien turned to her, “oh! Yes! Please! That’d be great. Thanks, Rose!” He grabbed the drink and turned towards the ladies as Alya was reaching for their newly opened bottle of champagne and two plastic flutes. “Well, I hope you both enjoy your night!” He said quickly, with a crack in his voice that he prayed was drowned out by the music. He flashed a quick smile that he hoped looked easy going and turned away from the bar, fleeing back towards the refuge of the dance floor.
He passed the next hour or so judging Alix and Kim’s dance off (it was a tie), talking to Nino during some of his set breaks and dancing off the nerves that Marinette and her cute smile seemed to have injected into his entire body. It would be a lie to say he didn’t scan the crowd every now and then for his two new acquaintances, but for the most part, he seemed to regain his sense of balance with the help of physical exertion and a couple of more drinks.
He was pleasantly tipsy when he felt the tap on his shoulder in the middle of the dance floor. Turning around he grinned, prepared to see one of his friends standing behind him, but his eyes landed on Marinette instead.
She grinned, “Hey! I’ve been looking for you!” He instantly noticed her cheeks were flushed in an attractive shade of red and her eyes glinted in a way that only a few glasses of champagne could cause.
Luckily the several drinks he had helped him keep some of his nerves at bay. He leaned toward her so he could be heard better, “Apologies for being hard to find! Did you enjoy the champagne?!”
In response she raised up a half-empty champagne bottle and moved closer to him, “It’s fantastic!” She took another swig.
He laughed, “I’m glad you like it even though you don’t like champagne!”
“I don’t think I’m allowed to say that anymore considering this is my third bottle!” She laughed and he watched as she started to sway with the beat, “Your friend’s music is so good!!”
Adrien’s eyes widened, “third bottle?!”
She waved a hand, “No worries! We’ve been sharing!”
Oh yeah, her friend, Alya. “Where is your friend now?!”
Marinette waved her hand absently again, “somewhere over there dancing with some dude!”
Adrien straightened up and scanned over the head of the crowd. He was pretty sure it wasn’t a good idea for the two friends to be separated in the club. Wasn’t that against girl code? But, he spotted Alya easily enough, she wasn’t even five feet away. And she was dancing with a guy, but that didn’t keep her from catching Adrien’s eyes. She flicked at glance at Marinette, who was now full on dancing by herself with the bottle of champagne, then she looked back at Adrien and narrowed her eyes, silently mouthing ‘I’m watching you’ at him. Adrien swallowed and smiled in what he hoped was a gesture of goodwill.
His attention was diverted back to Marinette when he heard her say something that got lost as the bass grew louder.
Adrien tilted back down towards her, “Sorry! What was that?!”
She popped up on her toes and cupped her hand around her mouth putting it close to his ear, “I said!! Let’s dance!!” A thrill ran through him as he felt her breath tickle against his neck.
Flattered and flustered he grinned, “It would be an honor!”
Marinette giggled and surprised him by slipping her free hand around his neck and drawing him closer as she swayed to the beat. Adrien felt his breath leave him. Then she hesitated, her eyes widening slightly, “oh..umm…sorry…” she started to remove her hand, “…I don’t know if–”
“–It’s fine!” He reached up and placed her hand back around his neck. It was warm and soft. “You asked to dance after all!”
He watched as her flushed cheeks got a shade deeper, “oh! Yeah! Right!”
Dear lord, she was downright adorable.
They were already moving to the beat and he found himself reaching out toward her waist, but he hesitated reminding himself that he needed to ask if it was alright. Her hand, still holding on to the neck of the champagne bottle, touched his hand and guided it to her waist.
It was like closing an electric circuit. Tingles shot from her hand into him and then back into her in an endless loop. A blush flooded his cheeks and neck.
She grinned up at him, “I was watching you, you know!”
His eyes widened.
Her eyes widened.
“Like not in a weird way! I was watching you dance! I mean! That’s still weird isn’t it?” She covered her face with the wine bottle and mumbled something.
Adrien laughed, “It’s okay! I was watching you at the bar!”
Her eyes widened.
His eyes widened.
“Ahh! I mean! Not in a weird way! I just thought you were cute!”
He watched in horror as she turned a lovely shade of scarlet and waited patiently for her to splash him in the face with champagne.
Oh, how he wished she would. Maybe the shock would help his mouth get it together.
But she didn’t upend the bottle over his head, and she didn’t remove her hand from her neck. Instead, she bit her lip a bit and seemed to make a decision. She slipped her other hand around his neck, still holding tight to the bottle, and went up on her toes so she could speak by his ear again.
“I think you’re cute too.” She leaned back so she could see his face and wobbled a bit. His other hand instantly went to her waist to steady her.
She grinned, “So, still wanna dance?!”
Adrien knew he had the stupidest, goofiest smile on his face, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. “You bet!”
They started moving to the beat and as the rhythm picked up he removed one of his hands from her waist and reached up to grasp her free hand. Instantly picking up on his intention, she removed her other arm from his neck and let him spin her out and then back in. She laughed and took a swig of the bottle before offering some to him which he took gladly.
Joined by one hand and passing a bottle of champagne between the free one, the two continued to dance, Adrien spinning Marinette every now and then even if it didn’t match the style of music. They didn’t care, they were far too busy having fun.
Several songs in his heart almost stopped when she spun around in his arms so she was facing away from him. She reached up and grabbed his hand with hers, guided it to her hip and began to move against him. He had to convince himself that everything they were doing was just normal dance floor stuff, it wasn’t weird or creepy to dance with a girl who was into him and he was into like this. He had danced with strangers before after all!
So, why was it like he had suddenly developed heart palpitations?
But luckily no one, not even his inner panicking over a pretty girl, could deny the rhythm of Nino’s music and so his free hand grasped her other hip and he fell into line behind her, matching her move for move.
Reaching her empty hand up she wound it back around his neck, stroking the soft hair at the nape of his neck. Adrien practically purred at the ministrations. Marinette pressed herself back into him letting the full length of her body line up with his. He was hyper-aware of every single minute movement she made, sucking in a breath as she rolled her hips against his in the most delightful way.
There was no telling how long they stayed like that, moving in time with the music, stuck in their own little slice of reality. But, eventually, Marinette took one last swing of the champagne finishing it off and placing it on the tray of a cocktail waitress as she passed by. With both hands free, she spun back around to face Adrien, still pressed against him and never giving up their rhythm.
“I really like dancing with you!” She smiled up at him, her voice slightly slurred thanks to her three (shared) bottles of champagne.
He was slightly better off, but his inhibitions were definitely compromised and the nerves that thrummed through him had quieted almost completely, “I really like dancing with you too!”
He grinned and grabbed her hand again, sending her twirling out once more before reeling her back in. Slipping a hand around her waist he spun them around together causing Marinette to burst into a fit of giggles.
“You love to spin even if it doesn’t match the song, don’t you?!” She said.
He feigned offense, “It’s the best part! Don’t tell me you disagree!”
She shook her head and threw her arms up in the air, leaning backward against his arm, “No, I love it!” She laughed and leaned forward again, “I almost as much as I love champagne!”
“I thought you hated champagne!”
“Not anymore, thanks to you!” She booped his nose with her finger.
He laughed, “You won’t be thanking me in the morning.”
A playful little smile appeared on her lips, “I could be thanking you in the morning.”
The double meaning with a heavy infusion of flirt in the sentence didn’t go unnoticed. Adrien’s cheeks flushed, but he managed to keep his verbal footing, “Are you flirting with me?” He quirked an eyebrow.
Marinette wrapped both arms around his neck again, “I most definitely am. Is that okay?”
“It most definitely is.”
“Then,” she said keeping her eyes locked on his, her fingers playing with the hair at the back of his neck again, “is it okay if I kiss you too?”
He stopped moving altogether. She bit her lip, her cheeks turning red, seeming like she might have regretted the question.
But he rushed in before she could start apologizing, “You most definitely can,” he said, suddenly short of breath.
Without a second of hesitation, she lifted up onto her toes and pressed her lips against his.
The first contact was soft and inquiring. A scouting mission to see if there was any chemistry to be found. A search for that fabled ‘spark’.
Almost instantaneously, Adrien was ignited. She lit up every inch of him. He wrapped his arms more securely around her and leaned down into her kiss, allowing her to place her feet flat on the ground again.
She gasped when the spark jumped from him to her. Bending backward slightly she pressed into him, one hand leaving his neck to track a new path into his hair. With an appreciative hum, he took the reigns of the kiss from her with a gentle nibble on her bottom lip, asking permission. She granted him access immediately, letting his tongue slowly and gently begin to explore.
He had no idea how he was still standing. Every cell in his brain tried to convince him he was just melting into the floor, that there were no longer any bones in his body to hold him up. But by the grace of pure luck he was able to keep himself together just enough to properly kiss this woman who had waltzed in and captured him with a mere smile. He pulled away slightly so they could breathe for a second, but she was back on him before he could get in a second breath. The kiss evolved into something more intense and the sparks inside them kicked up into a wildfire. Suddenly everything was urgent, frantic, like there was a limit on time.
Adrien left her lips to explore new territory, pecking and nipping a path from her lips, along her jaw and down her neck, he left no space unattended, earning little sounds of delight from her with each new spot he marked.
Somewhere in the back of his heavily muddled mind, he knew they were probably making a spectacle of themselves and he knew things were getting a lot more heated than maybe either of them had originally intended, but he just couldn’t bring himself to care. If she wanted to burn to a crisp in the middle of this crowded dance floor, then he would gladly and eagerly burn with her.
“A-Adrien…” she gasped out, against his ear, sending full body shivers up his spine. He instantly abandoned his ministrations on her neck and lifted his head to make sure she was alright, but before he could even begin to form a question she pulled him down into another kiss, taking her turn to explore him.
His hands tightened on her waist pulling her even closer and he slotted a leg between hers with a groan. He knew she’d be able to feel his excitement, but honestly, he didn’t think he’d be able to break away from her kiss to apologize if his life had depended on it. Both of her hands were buried deep in his hair and she obviously had no intentions of letting go.
That’s what it had seemed like anyway until she ripped away from his mouth with a gasp and released his hair to slam both hands over her mouth. She backpedaled away from him with wide panicked eyes almost knocking into a couple behind her.
Alarms, bells and whistles instantly sounded off in his head.
Shit! Shit! He’d gone too far! He had definitely misread the signals! Damn it he was such an idiot!
He stood in abject horror mentally berating himself as he watched her turn on her heel and barrel through the crowd straight for the side doors with the neon ‘EXIT’ sign above them.
Too many thoughts crowded into his head at once, but one screamed at the top of its lungs above them all as he watched her burst through the doors and into the dark alley he knew was just outside:
Find her friend! Don’t let her go out there alone!
He scanned the crowd for Alya, she had been nearby originally. However, he couldn’t seem to spot her anywhere.
The last person Marinette probably wanted to see was him, but he couldn’t just let her go into that alleyway alone. Something could have already happened to her.
Okay, okay, he would just…poke his head out, to make sure she was okay, he wouldn’t bother her. No, just make sure she was okay and then poke his head back in and find her friend.
That would be okay, right?
Quickly Adrien made his way through the crowd to the side door and pushed it open slowly, allowing just his head to peek out. He scanned the dim alleyway for any sign of her.
He didn’t see her until his eyes adjusted and he was able to make out her form leaning heavily against the side of the club. Her arm was braced along the grimy brick exterior with her forehead leaning against it. She was almost doubled over. Her breath coming in fast huffs.
Oh.
An equation suddenly appeared in his mind.
Several bottles of cheap champagne + Zero glasses of water + A few hours of dancing + One overly intense makeout session = A not so happy stomach
Adrien left the doorway as quickly as his feet would carry him and made it to her side just as the first round of stomach emptying heaving hit her. Without so much as a blink, he gathered her loose hair gently in his hands and twisted it up and away from the action.
After a minute or two, when it seemed that her body was done for the time being, she groaned and mumbled something that sounded very much like, “oh my god…”
“Well, I guess I was right about you not thanking me in the morning,” he said.
He was surprised to hear a little giggle and then a snort of laughter, she looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, still laughing, “well, this is just my luck isn’t it? You must really find me cute now.”
It struck him right then, with more clarity than an inebriated person ought to have in the back alleyway of the club, that he could easily fall head over heels in love with this woman.
It hadn’t happened yet, it was still far off on the horizon. He could feel it like you could feel a thunderstorm before the clouds formed overhead. The pressure dropped, the air crackled with electricity, the cool wind picked up and swirled around them.
He smiled softly, “I absolutely do.”
She blinked, started to say something, but words seemed to fail her and a fresh blush scattered across her face. Then her eyes widened again, her face turned sickly pale and she turned around just in time to empty whatever else was left in her stomach onto the concrete.
Adrien reached out and placed a hand on her back, still holding her hair out of harm’s way. When she was finished she braced both her hands on her knees and took several deep breaths before straightening up. He let go of her her hair, letting some of the soft strands filter through his fingers slowly.
“Better?”
“My stomach seems to be, but now the rest of me wants to just die from embarrassment,” she covered her face with one hand.
He shrugged, “It happens to the best of us.”
“I’m so sorry you saw that,” she groaned.
“Hey, it’s alright, no one deserves to be sick in a dark alleyway by themselves. I’m more than happy to provide the company.”
She peeked out between her fingers, “honest?”
Without really thinking about it, he reached out and pulled her into a hug, “honest! I don’t make a habit of lying about these kinds of things.”
“And do these kinds of things happen to you often?” She asked, leaning back in his arms to look up at him.
Adrien laughed, “well, I can’t say that they do.”
“I can’t believe you’re hugging me after I just threw up my guts,” she said.
“Would you believe me if I said I would be willing to kiss you again, too?”
Her eyes widened in horror, “oh gross! Why would you do that to yourself?!”
He was completely ready to make a poorly constructed argument in favor of post-vomit make outs and would have too if it wasn’t for the black, patent leather stiletto that had smacked him hard in the back of the head.
He let out a yelp and let go of Marinette to reach up and rub his now throbbing head.
“GET OFF HER YOU CREEP!”
Adrien whirled around just in time to see Alya storming towards them with a look her eye that made him want to crawl in the dumpster next to them.
“I-I-..I wasn’t–”
“Alya!” Marinette said, “He wasn’t being a creep!”
“I’ll be the judge of that!” She growled as she reached them and planted herself firmly in between the two. She pointed an accusatory finger at Adrien, “Trying to corner her in a dark alleyway, huh?! That sloppy dance floor make out doesn’t give you an open invitation!”
Adrien’s eyes grew wide as he put up his hands in defense, “I swear I wasn’t–”
“UGH. Alya leave him alone! He followed me out here because I–” this time she cut herself off, the color draining from her face once more before she rushed for the wall again.
Completely forgetting about Alya for a second Adrien skirted around her and pulled Marinette’s hair out of her face again as she was wracked with another round of sickness.
Adrien looked back at Alya apologetically, “She just dashed for the door without saying anything and I swear I looked for you first, but I didn’t want to leave her out here all by herself, and when I came out…well…” he gestured towards Marinette.
To her credit, Alya looked a bit sheepish for a moment before she quickly masked the expression and crossed her arms looking away, “well…” she frowned, “you can’t blame me for jumping to conclusions!”
“You’re right,” Adrien said as he felt the tremors in Marinette subside, “I know you were just watching out for your own. I am just some random guy after all.”
“That’s right!” She said, before shifting uncomfortably and eyeing him. He could tell she wasn’t prepared for something like this.
He directed his attention back to Marinette who had gone quiet, “All done?”
“For now,” she mumbled.
“You should go home and get some rest,” Adrien said as she stood upright again.
She sighed, “I’m really sorry, again.”
“I already told you, it’s not anything to be sorry about.” He looked at Alya, “Did you two drive here?”
Alya was placing her weaponized stiletto back on her foot, “No, we Ubered. I’ll call one now.” She pulled out her phone.
“Hey,” Marinette tapped on his shoulder and he looked down at her, “can I see your phone?”
He blinked, “Uh, sure?” He pulled out his phone, he unlocked it and handed it to her. Then realized, a bit too late, that most people would consider it completely idiotic to hand their unlocked phone to a complete stranger.
He watched as she pulled up his contacts and started to add a new one.
Oh.
OH.
He couldn’t help the huge grin that plastered itself across his face when his sluggish brain caught up with what was happening.
She entered her number and name in his contact list and then quickly sent herself a winky emoji from his phone. Her phone chimed in her own pocket and she pulled it out to show his text on the lock screen. She smiled, “There!”
“Our driver is pulling up now,” Alya said coming up to them. “Ready?” She looked at Marinette as she handed Adrien back his phone. The exchange didn’t go unnoticed, but she only slightly frowned at it.
“Yeah, hopefully I can keep it together on the way home,” she grimaced.
“You better, girl! They charge an insane fee if you lose your lunch in the backseat.” She looked towards the sky, “Trust me, I know.”
At the entrance to the alley a blue sedan pulled up.
Alya checked her phone, “that’s our guy.”
Marinette looked at Adrien again, “well, it was nice to meet you.”
He still had the stupid grin on his face, “it was a pleasure to meet you.”
Alya rolled her eyes, “ugh, come on.” She put her arm around Marinette and steered her towards the car.
Looking over her shoulder, Marinette flashed one last smile at him, “good night, Adrien!”
He waved, “Good night, Marinette!”
He watched the two friends climb into the back of the car and drive away. He stood there for a moment longer, before deciding that he should probably head home as well.
—
When he woke up the next morning, or rather, early afternoon, the first thing he reached for was his phone.
The screen lit up brightly when he picked it up, proudly displaying one text.
Marinette:
Thank you.