Chapter 7

Small purrs stir Marinette from her sleep slightly. 'Wow, my pillow is so warm…' in her semiconscious state, Marinette contemplates the new feeling to her pillow. Opening her eyes, she is chin to nose with Adrien. A smile graces her lips as she realizes she is lying on her crushes arm and he has his arms wrapped around her waist in his sleep. 'He's a sleep cuddler, that's so cute!'

Tikki is still lying on Marinette's arm, makes a soft cry as she stirs from sleep as well. The kitten coughs a bit, stares at Marinette and goes right back to sleep. Marinette looks sadly at Tikki at the reminder that her health is still declining.

Snuggling up into Adrien's warmth, gently stroking Tikki, Marinette leans her head back on his arm and falls back into a peaceful sleep.

A few hours later

The sun shines right into Marinette's closed eyes, disturbing her from her sleep. She rubs her eyes and stretches her arms upward, until they smack right into a blunt object.

"Owe! What was that for?" Marinette's pillow jerks out from under her, reaching up towards where her hands hit.

Marinette looks up to see Adrien half sitting up while holding his now bright red nose. "I am so sorry Adrien! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Marinette sits up while panicking and blushing hard at her embarrassment.

"Its okay, I'll be fine. Just next time try not to beat on me," Adrien laughs at her goofy freak out mode.

"Geez Mari, don't hurt the poor boy," Alya scolds while trying to hold in her laughter. Nino, not so well composed as his girlfriend, busts out in laughter at the scene, earning a glare from Alya. Soft meows from Tikki and Plagg interrupt the moment, reminding that they are hungry.

"Okay kitties, lets get you some food." Holding Tikki, Marinette climbs over Adrien, earning a blush from him, as she gets off the bed to get food for the kittens. Nino brings Plagg over to the bowls, but Plagg being overly eager for food tries to jump out of Nino's hands.

"Whoa there little guy" Nino lowers Plagg down to the ground as Plagg makes a run for it to his bowl, greedily gobbling up all his food in minutes while Tikki calmly eats her fill.

"Well we better head back to our room to get ready for classes. See you girls soon!" Nino kisses Alya and bids them goodbye.

"Bye Mari" Adrien gives Marinette a quick hug and follows Nino out.

Adrien and Nino POV

"Hey man, you've been pretty cozy with Mari lately. Want to tell me something?" Nino prods his best friend.

"What? No way, she's my friend, you know that." Adrien tries to defend himself, with the telltale blush giving him away.

"Adrien, you can't hide these things from me. What's up?"

"Honestly I have no idea. I've been having thoughts about her that are really new to me. And I've been having jealous bouts when other guys talk about her…" Adrien confesses.

"Dude I know where you are coming from. When I first met Alya, we were just friends; she was like one of the guys. Then I started thinking about how pretty she was, how nice it was when I was with just her, and bam! I confessed to her and now look, she's my girlfriend."

"You're saying I should confess to Marinette? But what if she doesn't feel the same, I don't want to lose her as a friend." Adrien starts freaking out at the idea of bad outcomes.

"Trust me when I say this, it would be a good idea." Nino pats his friend on the shoulder and heads into the bathroom to get ready for class.

Marinette and Alya POV

Marinette and Alya get ready, bid goodbye to the kittens and head out to class. On her walk to the Science Building, Marinette bumps into Adrien.

"Hey, you ready for that quiz today?" Adrien asks.

"There's a quiz today? Oh no I completely forgot to study!" Marinette panics.

"No I'm just messing with you"

"You brat!" Marinette glares at him. 'Who does he think he is to act like such a brat! I can't even stay mad at him for long… ugh!' she angrily thinks to herself.

Adrien laughs at her cute attempt at looking angry. 'Wait cute?' he catches his thought processes going in that strange direction again. They continue their walk to class, both lost in their own thoughts. Marinette and Adrien make it a habit to walk to class together every day that week.

Friday afternoon Adrien follows Marinette to the cherry tree in the quad. Marinette climbs up into her favorite spot, dangling her legs over the large branch and closes her eyes, enjoying the warmth from the sun. Adrien climbs up and joins her. Marinette could feel her thumping heart when he moved close and brushed his hand next to hers. Tired, Marinette leaned her head against him to take a nap.

Adrien's POV

Feeling her head rest against his shoulder made Adrien happier than he expected. Remembering Nino's advice, he decided to push his limits just a little to see if Nino was crazy or if Marinette would be okay with it. Moving his hand ever so slightly, he put it over hers and gently wrapped his fingers around it. 'Her hand is so small, and warm in mine' he absentmindedly thinks as a yawn escapes. Deciding to nap like Mari, he shifts to lean his head down and kiss her forehead. A ghost of a smile graces her lips, resulting in one from Adrien as well before he was pulled into dreamland, resting his head on Marinette's.

Marinette's POV

Waking up fully rested from that nap, Marinette notices she cannot move her head or hand; Adrien is still asleep resting on her head and holding her hand. Blushing she shakes Adrien slightly to wake him up. "Hey sleepyhead, I need to head back and check on the kittens." Adrien stirs and sleepily climbs down with her to head back to their dorms.

Normal POV

On the way back, they bump into Nathaniel.

"Hey Adrien, Marinette. How are you guys?" he asks.

"Do I know you?" Marinette questions, not remembering the night at Dobbler's.

"Yea, we met at Dobbler's a while back. Adrien took you home before I could properly ask you to dance though" He stares accusingly at Adrien. " So, would a pretty girl like you want to go out sometime?"

Marinette becomes uncomfortable at the suggestion and Adrien notices her hesitation.

"She can't Nathanial."

"And why not? She's not taken, she has a right to decide for herself" Nathanial angrily challenges Adrien.

"Actually Adrien is my boyfriend now. Sorry but I am taken." Marinette butts into the boy's argument. Both boys stare at her dumbfounded.

"You told me she was single?" Nathaniel manages to accuse Adrien.

"Things change," he responds as he grabs Marinette's hand to help their case. Seeing that Nathaniel had no chance, he stormed off angrily.

"Thank you Adrien. I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that." Marinette gives him a tight hug, still not letting go of his hand as she was enjoying the feeling. They finish their walk, still holding hands, neither wanting to let go. They walked in silence until they got to Marinette's dorm.

"I'll see you tomorrow," and in a fit of bravery, Marinette leans and kisses Adrien's cheek before letting go of his hand and walking away into the dorm.

Marinette and Alya POV

Marinette got back to the room to recount the details of her day that led to the creation of a pretend relationship."…And when we got to the door, I kissed Adrien's cheek, and ran away" Marinette admitted while picking up Tikki and petting her soft red fur.

"…You did what?!" Alya shrieks in shock and disappointment as the thoughts of double dates go out the window. "Mari if I could, I would ground you for being so shy!"

"I know I messed up, I panicked!"

Alya shakes her head as she heads to bed. "Goodnight Mari."

"Goodnight" Marinette replies as she tucks Tikki and Plagg in next to her under the covers. Tikki sneezes and curls up into a ball in her usual spot next to Marinettes shoulder while Plagg crawls up onto the pillow and stretches out, covering as much area as his small body could.