Adrien had, in fact, lost.

Her win had been inevitable. Adrien was simply a slow eater, and it couldn't be helped. She decided not to rub in her anticipated win. Despite his defeat, however, he accepted that he had lost with nothing but smiles and kept his end of the deal by escorting her to the Agreste's royal library.

Marinette was in awe when she stepped inside.

The library back in her castle was large, but this one was grand. The room was practically a palace itself, stacked five stories high with seemingly endless shelves. She had never seen so many books in one room. The ceiling was made out of clear painted glass, which allowed the natural light of the sun to illuminate the room and bring it to life.

Everything about this library was perfect. If she had this back in her palace, she would never leave this place.

"It is so... big." She marveled at the shelves that seemed endlessly lined with books. She almost couldn't believe this library was five stories high, whereas her library back home didn't even have a second story. "I did not expect it to be this big."

Adrien stood beside her, arms folded behind him. He shot her a quizzical look. "Is your library not like this?"

"Oh heavens no." Marinette chuckled, not even bothering to meet his eye. She was too focused on all of the books. "It is much smaller and only one story. I have already read every single book on its shelves."

"Impressive," Adrien said. "Though I will never understand the fascination some people tend to have with books."

"That is because you have never found a story that has captivated you." Marinette flashed him a smile before she looped her arm in his and gently tugged. Unprepared and a bit stunned by her actions, he stumbled, but she simply strung him along, somehow keeping him upright.

She couldn't believe the Prince of Kingdom Agreste had never willingly entered this beautiful place. She was going to have to change that.

"What if I was able to change your view on books?"

His answer was a scoff, as if he didn't think such a thing was possible, and he rolled his eyes in amusement. "I sincerely doubt you would be able to do such a thing."

Marinette flashed him a smug smile. "Is that another challenge? I should have you know that I never turn down a challenge."

Adrien considered her words briefly before he let out an amused hum. "You would not be the first to try, but if you can somehow interest me in a book, you will have my respect."

"Just that? No reward to my name?"

Adrien chuckled and shook his head. Marinette matched his smile. So far, becoming Adrien's friend seemed to be an easier goal to reach than she would have ever imagined when they were both willing. When she was able to get him out of his shell, conversation between them flowed so easily.

That was a good thing regarding this arrangement between them.

Marinette barely knew much about Adrien, but from what little she did know, it seemed Adrien wasn't a fan of books because most of what he had read was all the same. It was highly possible that his father had dumped a ton of boring history books in front of him since he was just a child, forcing him to read if only to study and retain information and never just for leisure.

If she was going to find him a book, it needed to be something he had never read before.

Fiction was her first choice. With fiction, the imagination could run wild, and she felt Adrien's imagination needed to be stimulated. Thankfully, Marinette had read so many books in her time that she could recognize many of the books on these shelves.

Including her all-time favorite novel, The Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir.

As a child, her father often read her this story before bed. It went on to remain her favorite even as she grew older. There was just something about it that captivated the imagination. There was nothing else like it on their shelves.

As soon as Marinette spotted it on a shelf in the second story, she pulled it out and held it in front of her for Adrien to see.

He quizzically looked it up and down as if scrutinizing it. "'The Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir?'"

She nodded behind the book, her smile hidden, but anyone could tell by the way her eyes crinkled on the edges that her smile stretched wide.

"You want me to read this?" Adrien asked her skeptically.

The cover was painted with the images of Ladybug and Chat Noir, a duo of knights who lived off the wilderness to protect the people... but had once been each other's enemies. The plot was ludicrous, but that wasn't the point. The point was that the author was creative and had an imagination she rarely saw in real life, let alone in books.

When she nodded to answer his question, Adrien made an ignorant comment about how the book looked like it was written for children.

"Do not judge it until you try it," Marinette said as she pushed the book into his chest. She wouldn't take his comment to heart. She had a feeling that his opinion would change after he fell in love with the story—just as she had.

Stunned, Adrien caught it and looked at her in bewilderment. Apparently, he didn't think she was being serious. Smiling, Marinette silently made her way over to one of the bookcases and lowered herself to the floor, leaning her back up against it.

He looked at her as if she were a rabid beast then. "Why are you sitting on the floor?"

His eyes shifted toward a bench in the library only a few feet away. The backrest was right up against the railing of the second story, giving anyone who stepped inside the library a view of behind the person seated there.

Sensing where his mind was straying, Marinette shook her head. "The bench is for people who want to look knowledgeable without gaining any knowledge." She patted the spot beside her. "I can guarantee this is a better spot."

He eyed her strangely—or maybe a better word to use was questionable. Either way, he didn't seem to think sitting on the floor was a good idea, or perhaps simply didn't think it was proper. Another goal Marinette had in mind was to get her future husband out of the strict mentality that everything he had to do needed to be proper.

In the privacy of these very walls, he could be a human every now and then.

Marinette silently patted the space again with a warm smile, coaxing him to join her.

Finally, after some deliberate consideration, he grungily obliged, but he looked incredibly grumpy, so much so that it had her giggling as he finally sat down crisscrossed beside her. He had the book in his lap, not bothering to open it as he shot her an unpleasant frown.

Marinette responded with a wiggle of her eyebrows. "Do not mind me. I will just be reading this." She gestured to the book that she had picked out in her own lap. It was another fiction she had found on the shelves while looking for a book for him to read that had piqued her interest. "If you need to vent while you are reading, though, I am happy to listen."

"I will not be venting," Adrien huffed out rather stubbornly. He looked down at the book in his lap as he flipped it open to the first page. "There is no guarantee that I will even finish this book, especially when this is a book for children."

"Should be easier for you to read it then, no?"

The expression that suddenly clouded his features spoke volumes, and he didn't need to say a word for her to know that he was upset. Marinette simply smiled at him in response. "Just give the book a chance, will you? It might surprise you."

He huffed stubbornly at that, but he offered no verbal retort. Instead, his eyes lowered to the book in his lap as he flipped it open, silently observing the first page. Marinette subtly smirked as she watched him out of the corner of her eye briefly. Once he started reading, she devoted all of her attention to her own book. Together, they sat in a comfortable silence as they read. As the minutes began to tick by, Marinette did not spare him a single glance throughout their entire reading session despite her temptation to do so.

Adrien did, in fact, finish the book that very hour. He also ranted about said book.

"This book was amazing!" Adrien turned to look at her with eyes so wide in wonder. It was almost as if he couldn't believe something so incredible had been written. "No one has ever gotten me to like a book before."

With a satisfied hum, Marinette briefly closed her eyes as she basked in her accomplishment. "I told you it was my favorite book."

"Do you know how many people have recommended their favorite books to me?" His question was rhetorical yet still entirely coated in amazement. "I was not expecting you to succeed."

"Has anyone ever recommended a children's book to you before?"

"As a matter of fact... no..." Adrien's eyes lowered to the book in his lap again as he gently ran a hand over the cover. "I... I do not recall ever reading books made for children as a child. Maybe that is why no one has ever succeeded..."

Marinette made sure to mark where she had left off before closing her own book. She always considered herself to be a pretty fast reader, but somehow, Adrien had finished his book before her. She looked up at him then and flashed him a soft smile. "Well then, I am glad I was able to surprise you and welcome you properly into the world of storytelling."

He returned that smile just as wholeheartedly. "How did you do it?" he asked, truly wishing to know. "You only picked one book. You could have picked any book, but you chose this one. How did you know I would like it?"

"I was not certain you would like it," Marinette replied with a shrug. "I simply chose something I knew I liked. I guess that means we have something in common."

Adrien's smile faltered ever-so-slightly, but it was barely noticeable. She wouldn't have noticed it if she had been less observant. "I... I suppose so..." There was only a slight pause before he went on. "But truly, I do not believe you realize just what you have accomplished here. My father might lose his mind when he hears of this."

Marinette waved him off. "Come now, it is no special talent. I was only in luck that we seem to share a favorite genre."

"And what is that genre called?" Adrien asked somewhat eagerly.

"Fiction." She answered simply, her wide smile still adorned on her lips.

Adrien quickly stood to his feet at that, offering her his hand. When she was on her feet again, he asked, "Can you show me where I can find more fiction books?"

She couldn't help but grin from ear to ear at that. With his hand still in hers, she didn't give him a chance to let go as she tugged him along toward her favorite part of the library.

They ended up spending hours together in the library that day. Marinette was able to finish her book just before Adrien took it from her hands because he wanted to read it too. Marinette tried to hide her smile as she watched his excitement grow for something he had apparently loathed before, but he caught sight of her grin before she could mask it and pouted like a child at the sight of it.

She didn't laugh despite her temptation to do so, but Marinette's smile did widen. Adrien's sudden passion for books allowed them to share something in common. It was groundbreaking, considering they had both once believed they were too different to ever get along.

Well... she once believed it. She wasn't sure if Adrien still did. Even though they now had something in common, that wouldn't necessarily be the key to a friendship between them. She knew there was still something holding him back from being completely willing. Whether that was his skepticism or just his unwillingness to truly get close to her, she wasn't sure.

Her eyes wandered against her will towards one of the nearest corners of his grand library, and her smile fell when she caught sight of Adrien's Dame. Standing very still and eyeing them both with a tense look in her eye, she scrutinized their interaction as if it were a sin.

Marinette couldn't help but feel that perhaps she might be the reason.

Unintentionally, she shuddered and looked away. Again, the urge to bring up how uncomfortable his Dame made her feel clouded her mind. With a somewhat dampened mood, she turned to look at him with a frown—her lips already parted slightly to tell him what was on her mind.

But then she stopped when she saw his smile.

Adrien, quietly sitting beside her, was immersed in the book she had finished just minutes prior. He had a smile on his face—and it wasn't a smile he had worn before. This smile was different. It held genuineness, happiness that looked real.

Since she'd met him only a day prior, she hadn't seen that from him before. She hadn't thought it possible at first. The smiles he wore were fake, and although he possibly thought she couldn't tell, Marinette could see right through his façade.

At the sight, a small smile pulled at her lips. In the back of her mind, she still wished to tell him about how his Dame seemed to despise her, but in that moment, she realized that telling him would only ruin this moment and his happiness.

After all, they already seemed to have taken a step forward. The last thing she wanted to do was move backward.

She could live with being uncomfortable for a little longer.

The treaty was more important.

Swallowing down her nerves, Marinette forced her smile to widen as she leaned forward to catch his gaze. Adrien's eyes flickered to hers, seemingly confused, but her eyes lowered to the book in his lap before he could question it. "How are you enjoying this one?" She asked as her eyes lifted back up to his.

His smile returned, still genuine and soft. "The story is very interesting. I find myself so captivated by the mystery behind the lore that I cannot seem to put it down."

"Well... do not let me interrupt you then." Marinette leaned back against the bookcase and smiled warmly at him. However, her eyes were starting to feel heavy, and she could feel a yawn coming on. Perhaps all of this reading was putting her to sleep.

Adrien instantly noticed. "Should we take a break? You seem tired."

"I am, but I know what it is like to be immersed in a good book. Keep reading."

Surprisingly, Adrien's eyes showed concern. This shocked her to the point where her emotion was almost visible to him. "Are you certain?"

"Of course." She said.

His eyes flickered to the book in his lap briefly before they were back on hers. Then, a teasing smile pulled at his lips, one she wasn't certain was real or not. "Considering this is supposed to be your favorite pastime, I am rather surprised you are feeling tired of books before I."

Marinette chuckled. "Perhaps it is because I did not get the best sleep last night."

A sudden pause of silence stretched between them.

"Oh."

And now it was awkward.

Marinette realized too late that her words had been the wrong words to say. She quickly scrambled to fix her mistake. "I do not mean to say it was the accommodations. The room is wonderful, do not get me wrong, I just—"

"I understand." Adrien cut her off, his voice solemn. "I take no offense. I am sure I would suffer the same fate if I was separated from my bed."

Marinette couldn't help but snort at that.

He turned to look at her, another smile slowly pulling at his lips. Marinette immediately sobered as she felt her cheeks redden out of embarrassment. He said he hadn't been offended, but...

"I simply want to make sure that my words do not sound... ungrateful." Marinette chose the word carefully. The last thing she needed was to come off as that.

Adrien shook his head. "Not at all."

Marinette felt a sense of relief wash over her. "Good."

A moment later, his attention turned back to his book, and although silence fell between them once again, Marinette found that it was a comfortable silence. Even with Kagami standing only a few feet away, presumably staring daggers at her, Marinette felt all right.

Suddenly, Adrien broke the silence. "What is your homeland like?"

"You want to know what my homeland is like?" Marinette was truly surprised by that. She hadn't expected Adrien to show any interest in her country. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I suppose I only wonder just how different it is from mine."

"It is very different," Marinette said. "For one, it is cold."

Adrien turned to look at her somewhat shockingly. It didn't seem he had anticipated that response. "Really? So it is not warm at all... like here?"

"'Warm' is stretching it." Marinette chuckled. "Here, I feel like I am scorching."

Adrien full on laughed at that. "I agree that it is way too hot here for any sane person's liking... but you know what I mean."

"Hehe... yes, well, it is never hot like this in my homeland. The warmest weather we ever receive is spring-like weather. It is truly the perfect temperature... but most of the time, it is just cold."

"Do you like the cold weather?"

"I love it," she immediately answered with a giddy smile. "But more particularly, I love the snow."

That seemed to pique Adrien's interest immediately. Although their countries were neighboring, his country's climate was too warm for snow, even though the temperatures tended to drop slightly during the winter. When they celebrated their holidays, the weather was cool and breezy, calling for an extra layer of warmth at the most.

This meant no one in Kingdom Agreste had seen snow before, not with their own two eyes, at least.

"You get snow?" He asked, his tone implying his excitement.

Marinette nodded. "Lots of snow. We get so much of it that it can sometimes reach your waist."

"I would love to see it someday," Adrien admitted softly. To anyone watching, it seemed like a dream of his to be underneath white flakes—to stick out his tongue and let one melt on his tastebuds.

"Perhaps you might." Marinette smiled at him.

Perhaps she would be the one to show it to him. They could build a snowman together or go sledding. They could lay in the snow side-by-side and spread out their arms and legs, creating snow angels.

It seemed far-fetched and somewhat ridiculous, but the truth of the matter was, he would have to step foot on her land someday, wouldn't he? Especially if they were to be wed. In the back of her mind, she wondered if he would enjoy the cold just as much as she did.

And then another plaguing thought came to mind... one that had her smile slipping.

When they got married, where would they live? In his country or hers?

She had an aching feeling that it would be his.

"I wonder..." Adrien broke her from her thoughts as his voice trailed off. "Do you think this library might have a book about your homeland? With pictures and all?"

A bitter feeling resided in Marinette's stomach. She tried to hide it by offering him a small, unsure smile. "I could not say. I could not see a library holding a book about its enemy for learning purposes."

"Let us have a look." Adrien offered his hand, which she took. Together, they stood to their feet. "I would like to know more about your homeland... and pictures would better stimulate my curiosity."

Marinette couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Sure. Let us look."

And look is what they did. Together, Adrien and Marinette scouted the shelves in the library section where a book about her homeland's culture might be found. But upon every title they crossed, none of them seemed to match. There were books about many places, including the highlands—untouched land in the north, ruins of ancient kingdoms that once stood before theirs, and kingdoms that they hadn't even heard of from across the seas.

But none of them seemed to be about her own.

Marinette was disappointed, to say the very least, but she wasn't surprised. Why had she bothered having any bit of hope for the possibility that his library might contain a book about her homeland? Their kingdoms had been enemies for so long that it was to be expected. It was very unlikely that her library back home held any book about his.

Well... she had found that one book about their delicacies.

She sighed defeatedly, realizing that perhaps the reason for their failure was the king's choice of which books to put on these shelves.

"I suppose we are out of luck." Marinette masked her disappointment with a smile as she turned to face Adrien. When their eyes met, she realized that he looked somewhat disappointed himself if the slight frown on his lips was anything to go by.

Adrien pressed his lips together and sighed through his nose, his slight disappointment evident, but then he smiled at her. "I suppose you will just have to tell me more about your country then. And do not hold back any details either. I want a clear picture." He held out his hands as if he were framing an imaginary portrait in front of him and winked, "Feed my curiosity like the books do, would you?"

Marinette couldn't help but laugh at that. She wouldn't mind telling him more if he wished it.

She wouldn't mind that at all.

_______________________________

This chapter is definitely a little shorter compared to the others, but still a pretty average length I'd say. I hope you guys still enjoyed it!

Funnily enough, I had a wave of inspiration hit me while I was going through a stomach virus (I'm much better now though!)

Can't wait to see you in the next chapter! Keep your eyes peeled for it!

Until then...

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