Marinette emits a noise that could best be described as a high pitched squeak at Plagg's suggestion, and Adrien wants to die a little bit inside because it's so damn cute and he cannot be thinking thoughts like these if he's going to be sharing a room—and possibly a bed—with her for the next eight hours.
He manages to contain his overwhelming feelings with a muted whimper as he watches Marinette shoot over to her suitcase to pull out her pajamas and toothbrush.
Adrien does the same as Tikki flies out of Marinette's purse to berate the other kwami.
"Plagg, they are HUMANS," hisses Tikki.
"I know! That's why I'm suggesting it. Do you know how much time I've spent over the past two years listening to this boy moan over—"
"WELL I THINK IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BRUSH OUR TEETH, DON'T YOU, MARINETTE?"
Marinette startles at Adrien's sudden shouting, but it's the only way he can keep her from hearing the terrible, mortifying things that his kwami is saying right now.
"Uh, sure!" She holds up her pajamas as Tikki zooms back up beside her, though she's still making faces at Plagg. "Do you mind if I go in and change first?"
Adrien shakes his head. "Go ahead."
He sighs as she closes the door. This is not exactly how he planned for this trip to go.
Adrien changes into his pajamas, a Jagged Stone t-shirt that used to be too big for him, but now fits perfectly, and a loose pair of shorts, and thinks about how differently he thought the day would have gone. Ideally, the trip to Megève would have gone down without a hitch and Marinette would be with her parents right now, enjoying herself at the wedding festivities.
They would have perhaps run into each other a few times over the weekend, and if they were lucky, perhaps even have a nice picnic by one of the mountain lakes.
Of course, all of this could still happen. But it all depends on how Adrien handles the next few hours. He's just made progress with being Marinette's friend over the past two weeks. He doesn't want to undo all the good things that have happened just because they have no choice but to go through the awkward experience of sharing a twin sized bed for the next eight hours.
There is the fact that he's starting to be pretty sure that Marinette does feel the same way about him that he feels about her, but he's not going to ruin things. Unexpected pit stops at tiny medieval villages are not a good place to make love confessions. At least, it's not the way Adrien's dreamed about confessing to his lady.
And anyway, even if she does want to kiss him like he wants to kiss her, he doesn't want the first time to be in some rickety hotel while they're stuck sharing space in a tiny room with the air conditioner blasting.
Adrien daydreams about the perfect moment to confess his feelings to Marinette, when suddenly he is brought crashing back down to earth as thoughts of the worst possible thing that could possibly happen surge into his mind: waking up with a case of morning wood pressing into Marinette while she's sleeping on top of him.
It is the most horrifying thought that has ever entered Adrien's mind, and what makes it even worse is that it could actually happen.
Actually, it's not even horrifying. It's mortifying, and he wants to die at the very thought.
Marinette will be too disgusted to speak to him again if it happens.
Their friendship will be history.
The chance for romance, a broken dream.
Adrien needs to prevent this from being a possibility.
He shuffles through his suitcase for the tightest possible pants to wear to bed instead of the loose shorts he has on now, but then he wonders if that would even do anything. And then he spots long piece of cloth in the bottom of the bag and pulls it out. Maybe he can wrap it around himself.
Marinette comes back out of the bathroom wearing the cutest pajamas Adrien has ever seen, pale pink linen bottoms with cherry blossoms all over them and a neon blue tank top that looks hand stitched. They look as soft as she does, and just as comfortable.
She smiles cheerfully. "I'm done! You can go in and brush your teeth now."
He doesn't get a chance to say anything about Marinette's pajamas though, as her eyes zero in on the piece of cloth in his hand.
Wait…what is that?"
"Um…"
She stares back and forth between the piece of cloth and Adrien for a few seconds, and he groans as he watches her start to make the mental connections and she realizes what exactly he is trying to do. She turns bright red and her mouth forms into a little o as she squeaks again.
Tikki comes to the rescue as Adrien starts melting into a puddle on the ground.
"Adrien, why don't you go brush your teeth? I have something I want to talk to Marinette about."
He nods silently and walks into the bathroom, clutching his toothbrush so tightly he's afraid it might break. He puts the toothpaste on the brush and starts brushing, moving slowly and methodically, trying to stay calm. He has no idea what Marinette must be thinking right now, or what he's going to say to her when he goes back out into the room.
A few moments later, he hears Marinette tapping on the door.
"Hey, Adrien? I want to talk to you about something when you come out, all right?"
He opens the door while he's still brushing, and nods as forces himself to meet her gaze. He doesn't have to make this as awkward as it feels. He can do this. He tries to focus in on something else, and once again, he notices her pajamas.
Adrien wants to compliment them, but he wonders if that would be weird. It wouldn't be the first time he's complimented her clothing choices—she is, after all, the most fashionable girl he knows—but isn't it a bit different when it's pajamas?
Then again, maybe it isn't. Maybe he's confusing that with lingerie. And then his mind immediately supplies a gorgeous image of Marinette wearing pink lingerie, and he chokes on his toothpaste.
"Are you okay?!" Marinette asks, for what is probably the millionth time today. Adrien doesn't know how to tell her what the real problem is without making things even more embarrassing for both of them, so he just nods.
Marinette stares at him, skeptical, while he washes out the toothpaste and splashes cold water on his face.
"I know you're hiding something," she announces. "Spit it out."
Normally Adrien loves it when Marinette pulls out her inner Ladybug. Right now, however, is not one of those times.
"It's nothing, I promise," he says, even though he sounds unconvincing even to his own ears.
"Adrien. Please don't do whatever you were planning to do with that cloth out there."
"Are…you sure?" Adrien replies, hesitant.
"Whatever it is, I'm sure it'll be fine. We're partners. We've been in close quarters before. No pressure. Personal space has never been an issue between us before, right? We can get past this. It's just one night."
Adrien sighs. It's obvious that Marinette's got her Ladybug hat on right now, thinking practically instead of emotionally, and what she's saying right now is easier said than done.
"You're right. We can do this. It's nothing we can't handle! I can stay in control."
He's lying through his teeth. Right now, he's more aware of everything about Marinette than he has ever been in his entire life, and it's killing him a little bit inside. He has no idea how he's going to stay in control if she's going to be sleeping on top of him. He can't do this.
"Look," says Marinette. "I know what Plagg said, but we don't have to do that. We can each take one side of the bed. It'll be a tight squeeze, but we can make it work. I'll make a pillow fence. How does that sound?"
"Sounds great," responds Adrien, nodding in agreement, though he's already making plans to sleep on the couch. He knows what Plagg and Marinette have said, but this is the only way he can be sane about it.
Adrien tries to sneak towards the couch, but then he sees that Plagg is already sitting there, parked right in the middle with his teeth bared in an evil little grin.
It's clear that he has already anticipated Adrien's every move.
Adrien sighs. He should have known Plagg would do this.
If he even tries to sit down on the couch now, Plagg will bite his bum.
And there's no point in trying and removing the irritating little kwami from his comfortable little position, because if there are any particularly irritating catlike traits that Plagg possesses in spades, it's the ability to prevent anyone from moving him from somewhere he wants to sit.
Adrien wants to wipe that smug little smirk off his tiny face. But he knows he can't, so defeated, he shuffles toward the bed instead.
Marinette flutters near the edge, trying to create a pillow fence so that they can each have their own side of the bed while Tikki floats beside her. The kwami whispers something into her ear and Marinette nods, flushing slightly, before turning back to Adrien.
"Um, the pillows are ready. Are you ready to go to sleep?"
Adrien gulps. "Ready" is not exactly what he's feeling right now, but he has no place to move but forward, so he gingerly sits on the bed, trying to move as gently as possible.
The mattress squeaks loudly as he settles in and Marinette makes a face.
"Sorry!" exclaims Adrien.
Marinette laughs. "It's not you! It's the sound. That's horrible."
"Yeah."
"Yeah…so…I guess we should turn the lights off, right?"
"We should."
"Don't worry about that, you two," says Tikki cheerfully. "I can take care of that."
She flies up to the light switch and turns it off before settling into her makeshift bed inside Marinette's purse.
Adrien tries to get comfortable in the tiny bed, but his legs are cramped and far too long, and the pillows are so thin that he can still feel every curve of Marinette's body through the fabric. From the tense way she's holding herself, it's clear that she feels the same way.
Even though it's the middle of summer, the air conditioner is on full blast, and within a few minutes, Marinette's shivering underneath the duvet.
Adrien frowns and moves closer to the pillow fence, hoping that he can radiate some body heat through the fabric.
Marinette stiffens as she feels him shifting closer, and Adrien shrinks back again.
"I—I'm so sorry!" he stammers. "I just thought—you seemed cold…and I'm warm. I thought maybe I could help—!"
Marinette starts shaking, and Adrien sits bolt upright, terrified. Is she crying? Did he make her cry? He curses himself for being a monster and fears that he's destroyed their friendship forever as he looks fearfully over the pillow fence, horrified at the potential damage he's caused—
She's not crying. She's…she's giggling.
Adrien stares at her back before sliding back and lying down again.
"What's so funny?" he says, utterly confused.
"Adrien, relax," she says, her voice a calm summer breeze. "Go to sleep."
Adrien tries to settle down and scoots back up to the side of the pillow fence, and he feels her back snuggling against the pillows, humming contentedly.
"Thanks for being so warm, Adrien," she murmurs.
In the darkness, he finds courage to ask the question that's always been on the tip of his tongue for the past few days, but he hasn't been able to.
"Marinette?"
"Yes?"
"Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer it if you feel uncomfortable."
"Of course. Anything."
Adrien breathes in.
"Why did you stop calling me chaton and minou?"
Silence from Marinette, and a wave of anxiety quickly floods through Adrien, a burning rush that settles in his stomach, churning as the seconds tick by like molasses.
"I don't know," she says slowly. "I guess…I guess I was confused. About how I knew Chat Noir, but I barely knew you, Adrien Agreste. It just felt a little strange, to be so familiar with you all of a sudden."
Adrien nods. "I understand. We were never close friends."
He feels her shifting around, and suddenly, she pokes her head above the pillow fence and smiles at him.
"But I'd say we are now, wouldn't you?"
Adrien smiles.
"Would you like me to call you by your nicknames again?" she says with a little smirk.
Adrien's about to answer when she shoots an arm over the pillow fence and places a finger over his lips to stop him.
"No need to answer that. I can tell from your eyes that the answer is yes."
She moves her arm back over the pillow fence and curls back onto her side.
"You can call me 'my lady' again if you want to," she adds. "And bugaboo. I like that one."
"What about princesse?"
"Don't push your luck, minou."
"Okay, my lady. Bonne nuit."
"Bonne nuit."
Fifteen minutes later, Adrien's still wide awake and staring at the ceiling, though he can tell from Marinette's steady breathing that he's the only one.
Or so he thinks.
"Mon chaton, go to sleep," comes a sleepy murmur from the other side of the fence as Adrien shifts around, restless, his mind racing with thoughts of everything that's happened over the past few hours.
And though his body currently feels like it's made entirely of nerve endings, he's ecstatic at once again being on the same page as his lady, so he tries.