chatpiper | ❄ baby, it's cold outside

❄ baby, it's cold outside

[ The Bourgeouis Pre-Christmas Celebration Bash.

With a cool, over the top name like that, there was no way it wouldn't be fun, and Adrien had to go hard convincing both Nathalie and his father to let him go. In the end though, despite him being used to most invasions of his personal space, he is tired.

He has run out of excuses to give, honestly. He has run out of ways to duck the mistletoe, even from the sweetest of girls (Marinette), and the not so sweet (Chloe). And if he eats anymore sweets that were made ~~just for him~~, he's going to burst. Not to mention gain weight, which his father would really, really, really not like.

...He was doing a pretty good job enduring all of this, or so he thought, but every once and a while he catches Piper's eye. No big deal. He recovers from the fatigue quickly and puts on his act. He smiles and waves, as per his usual fare; and as one of the few girls adamantly respecting his space tonight, her company is definitely welcome, which helps.

As soon as he approaches her, though, he finds himself catching her as she faints, and he nearly drops her from the surprise. ]

Wh-Whoa! Piper?

[ It takes him a moment to recover the concentration and strength needed to support her. What the heck?? ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ It's definitely colder right on the water, but it's a little warmer with them sitting closer, too.

Though that may just be her.

Piper muses on his comment, turning long enough to look at him with a smile when he says he's glad she hadn't moved. She is, too. Afterwards her gaze goes up to the sky overhead, the snow coming down means they can't see the stars, but it's beautiful in its own unique way. The water is mostly still and quiet, save for where their oars break and ripple the surface. In what light there is she can see the snowfall reflected against the inky darkness, making it look like there's snow all around them.

Wouldn't that be nice...? She hasn't allowed herself to think too much on the future, the not-so-distant future when she'll have to say goodbye to her friends. Doing so came with the risk of her being akumatized again, and once is enough for her. Still, the time is definitely finite unless she can figure something out, or as Adrien said the project continued forever.

She smirks softly, a sly expression when she teases him gently with a bump to his shoulder with hers. ]

So what I'm hearing is you want me to stick around forever?

[ It's punctuated with a soft laugh, and once they reach about the middle of the lake she slows her rowing down and lets them just sort of glide. ]

[ Adrien stops rowing when she does, and takes in the view all around them. He was mostly just kidding, of course, but Piper isn’t exactly wrong in the sentiment she takes away from what he said.

He shrugs, returning the affectionate bump on the shoulder as the boat bobs with their weight. ]

Duh. Who else in our class is insane enough to take me out on the lake when it’s snowing?

[ ......Hm. There is a thoughtful pause, and the grin he had been wearing fades ever so slightly as he reflects on the events of the evening. ]

On second thought, maybe don’t answer that.

Not much you can do about the fangirls and fanboys.

[ Even as she says it she's moving, carefully to avoid rocking the boat excessively, until she can sit in the bottom of the boat with her back against the bench, looking up and over at him with a wink. ]

Well... having sane friends to counterbalance helps.

[ He watches her lean back at wink at him, amused. He can't help but think that she looks pretty comfortable. Maybe he'll join her, but for now, he'll just chuckle. ]

Guess I'd better find some.

[ Kidding! Kidding. ]

This is pretty spontaneous of you. What would you have done if I just went home?

Oh, you're hilarious blondie.

[ Can you taste that sarcasm? No? Maybe you'll feel her smacking your leg. ]

[ After that Piper goes thoughtfully quiet, and after a few moments of silence, she shrugs. ]

Don't know. Maybe just walked around for a while?

[ Getting something hot to drink and finding a roof or balcony to watch the stars or the streets from, maybe? People watch? Avoid the big, empty house. Tristan is working late on editing, after all, and Piper doesn't have the benefit of a kwamii for company, even sometimes poor company. ]

[ Adrien definitely feels the smack to his leg, reflexively biting his lip when he starts chuckling again. He doesn't know what kind of answer he was expecting from Piper--maybe it was stupid of him to ask in the first place--but it's the lonely kind of answer he easily connects with. ]

Me too. Probably.

...At least this time I remembered my coat.

[ Black. Stylish. From the newest line of Agreste winter fashion! ...It's only half-buttoned, but hey. Style. ]

[ They are some lonely kids, at the end of the day, that's for sure. They have friends- SHE has friends specifically thanks to Adrien to be more precise -but once school is over and they've all parted ways it's back into seclusion they go, both of them wanting their fathers to spend more time with them, both missing mother figures. Two sides of the same coin, in a way. Funny how that worked out. There's probably even some poetic crap in there about yin and yang or something if one can be bothered to look.

Piper is more interested in the conversation, arching both eyebrows in surprise. ]

This time?

[ He hesitates, but only for a second, buying time by tugging the aforementioned coat tighter around his body. The words come out slowly in puffs of smoke. ]

Yeah.

Last year was my first Christmas without my mom. I... decided I wasn't a fan, so I walked out. I figured my dad wouldn't notice anyway.

[ ............ ]

Spoilers: he did.

[ First Christmas without his mother... That would be a lot to deal with. ]

So... what happened after...?

[ She asks, voice a bit tentative, seeing he seems uncomfortable. ]

[ It is a little uncomfortable, but it has nothing to do with Piper, at least. Since she seems genuinely curious, Adrien continues, meeting her eyes (since it's easier for him that way). ]

I ran into a Santa, actually.

[ He decides that maybe he can leave out the part where he abused his powers as Cat Noir to basically turn into a teenage grinch. ]

He helped me a lot and convinced me that I should go home, but everyone was already looking for me and had the wrong idea about him. Even Ladybug.

...It worked out, but--long story short, he got akumatized, and we basically had to save Christmas.

. . .

[ Did he just say he ran into Santa??? ~~Bitch quit playin~~ ]

THE Santa.

[ Then, whispered under her breath: ]

Santa is real?!

[ Priorities. ]

[ FOCUS PIPER DAMN. ]

Wow, that's... wow. That's incredible. I will never, ever top that story. [ #JUSTSUPERHEROTHINGS ]

..... So wait, you left, in the middle of winter without your coat? So... just the t-shirt and jeans??

[ A SANTA, HE SAID. A Santa!!! But that was not the point, and he is not about to crush her hopes and dreams.

What he was wearing wasn't the point of the story either, but you know. ]

Uh... yup. I wasn't exactly thinking about it.

[ It seemed like a good idea at the time. ]

Oh my God. What am I going to do with you?

[ She laughs. ]

[ The laugh is contagious, despite the fact that it makes him feel a little self-conscious. In hindsight, it was pretty stupid of him. ]

I-It wasn’t so bad after I transformed!

Besides, Santa gave me a blanket.

[ BE JEALOUS. ]

Edited 2018-12-03 13:55 (UTC)

I'll let it slide if you tell me there was hot chocolate.

[ She raises a challenging eyebrow. ]

[ . . . ]

Wow. Hot chocolate sounds great right about now...

[ Smooth. ]

Oh no, no changing the subject, blondie.

[ She smirks, getting up again to sit beside him, a silent and discreet agreement that maybe hot chocolate DOES sound great. ]

[ IT’S THE BEST IDEA and she knows it. Adrien’s craving for it just amped up to 11, but she is also enjoying this quiet moment with Piper, so he laughs, leaning into her a little as she scoots in next to him again. ]

Alright, there was hot chocolate too.

[ He could hardly forget how warm it made his hands feel. ]

But seriously... we could get some.

You're off the hook this time. [ She promises, grin refusing to be denied at the sound of his laughter. Damn, it really was almost musical. And she liked the way that little bit of push felt when he leaned into her. She's absolutely returning the pressure and leaning into him without thinking about it. ]

Let's go get some, then. I can't imagine I'll have better than what Paris has to offer.

[ You have plenty to offer, he thinks idly, though it feels rather forward for the moment, even for him. Instead he just chuckles to agree, enjoying their time out on the water (and probably squabbling about rowing direction and technique along the way), until they feel like they’ve had enough.

He finds himself off the boat first, and offers his hand in the most gentlemanly way he can manage. Hot chocolate is imminent, but first... ]

So, be honest: how many times did you think we were gonna tip over?

[ It's a good thing he didn't break that one out. Or maybe that's- "it's too bad he DIDN'T", since it probably would've left her pretty speechless and we all know that practically NEVER happens. For a former lone wolf she sure does have a lot of sass now that she's shed her old skin. That would've effectively shut her up, though, and then it either would've gotten really awkward or really tense or maybe really personal- you know...

Once they've reached the pier again Piper watches him ease out of the boat like he was born on the water or something, and she tries really damn hard not to let on how damn smooth that was just now. She can blame the cold for the red in her cheeks when she gives him her hand, right? She's totally blaming the cold. ]

...

[ She smirks- well, half-smirk, half-crooked smile actually when she realizes her honest answer. ]

None. Why? Were you? Worried you were gonna fall for me?

[ bu dum tish i guess wow piper wow ]

Edited 2018-12-07 06:33 (UTC)

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2/3 I lied

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I won't even pretend to apologize for all these foreshadowing puns.