Adrien awoke to an arm in his face and snoring filling his ears. Rubbing his eyes he sat up, turning to look at the girl sprawled across his bed. He couldn't help but laugh, she had the worse case of bedhead, but she looked utterly adorable. It was 6am, still to early to actually get up, but as much as he tried he couldn't go back to sleep, so instead he opted for a shower.
The shower was a quick one, all the while he tried to not think about the night before. He couldn't let his mind wander, or it would just make school more difficult. He was still trying to figure out how he would get out of telling Nico what happened, that guy was just as sharp as Alya, he would know if Adrien was hiding something. Brushing that thought away he came back into the bedroom and plopped down beside the still sleeping Marinette. Leaning over he shook her softly by the shoulders, "OK Marinette, time to get up!"
"Mmmm... Tikki stop... hmnph." She rolled over and sighed in her sleep.
'Tikki'? What's a Tikki?' he dismissed the thought, and continued to shake her, "Marinette, wake up now!"
"Adrien?" she shot up and off the bed right onto the hardwood, colliding with the bedside table as she did, "Ouch! Crap!"
He couldn't help it, an all out belly laugh erupted from him, she was so klutzy yet so adorable. "Are you OK? Didn't break anything right?"
"Ha ha very funny, who's big idea was it to put this table here anyway? Haven't you ever fell out of bed before?"
He shook his head and grinned, "No? I don't sleep on that side of the bed, and I don't squirm as much as you do."
"For your information, I do not squirm! I just have a hard time getting comfortable!"
"Mhm sure, you also snore, and talk in your sleep."
"I resent that! I do not snore!"
"OK sure," He couldn't help but laugh at her antics, "But you do talk in your sleep."
"I do not, and you have no proof. Now end of conversation what time is it anyway?"
"7:30. Do you want to grab some breakfast quick? I need to be at school early for my Chinese lesson."
"Sure lemme get dressed and I'll head down!" she grabbed her clothes off the floor and started to get dressed.
"OK, I'll see you down there," he headed down the stairs, already knowing what he was going to make. It had been ages since he made his own breakfast instead of someone preparing it for him. Knowing how Marinette was, he decided to go simple, a croissant each, a bowl of berries topped with yogurt and espresso. He hoped it was up to her standards, grinning to himself while he waited at the bar. 'I'm going to wake up soon and it's all going to be a dream, a long wonderful dream.'
"Oooh! Adrien this looks amazing!" she beamed when she saw the spread.
"I'm glad you like it, now lets hurry and eat."
The walk to school was oddly quiet and rather awkward. Even with the intimacy they shared the night before, there was no hand holding, no indication they were anything more than friends. Which was what she asked for, but somewhere deep inside she regretted that request. They split up at the steps of the school, "I'll see you in class!" she called after him, he nodded and waved before heading inside.
The school was quiet, not many kids were here at this time of the morning, so she sat on a step and pulled out her phone.
Marinette: Morning Alya
No reply back, so she brought up the Ladyblog, but since there were no Akuma attacks this weekend there were no new posts.
"What's the matter Marinette? Aren't you happy?" Tikki's high pitched voice hit her ears.
"I am happy Tikki, just unsure if I am going about all of this the right way. I told Adrien I wanted to act like nothing happened when we are at school, but now that we are here I regret saying that, I want him to hold my hand and profess that we are something. Then again are we anything? So what if we had sex last night, that doesn't automatically make him my boyfriend, he said he didn't know what his heart wanted right now. Did I make a mistake Tikki?"
Tikki nudged her cheek and smiled, "No Marinette, I don't think you did. Adrien, for the most part, knows how you feel now, and that's what you wanted isn't it? So just go with the flow, what happens happens right?" Tikki was always the voice of reason and optimism, she was there to offer Marinette advice and guidance, and once again she was right.
"Tikki you are right, ah! Hide, Alya is coming," she stood and gathered her bag, waving at her friend, "Hey Alya!"
Alya cocked an eyebrow at her, "Why are you here so early? You are never here on time, let alone early. What's up?"
Well dang, all she said was hey and Alya was already suspicious. "I... Um... Well, I thought I would get here early to surprise you, you know cause you always say I can't get here on time..." she knew it wasn't convincing, but it was the best she could come up with on the fly.
"Mhm. I know you are hiding something, and you know me I always get the scoop. It involves Adrien doesn't it? Am I right? or am I right?"
"Augh Alya, please."
"Something happened at Adrien's didn't it?"
"What? No... yes... no! Alya, this time, I'm really going to ask you not to pry OK?"
"OK girl, one more question, though, when I find out will I want to kill him?" she nudged Marinette in the side with her elbow.
"No, it's nothing like that. Let's just drop it OK and get the class?"
"Alright whatever you say lady, let's go."
Nino's game of twenty questions was giving Adrien a headache, but unfortunately for Nino, Adrien refused to budge.
"Nino come on, I told you I don't want to talk about it. When I'm ready to tell you I will. You can quit with the questions."
"Dude come on, gimme a break here. I know you aren't telling me something, you can't blame your best bud for wanting to know what's eating you, right?"
"Yeah Nino I get it, you are curious, but it's nothin-" his sentence was cut short when Marinette walked in, he felt his face flush, and noticed her's matched his own shade of red. Thier two best friends cocked eyebrows at each other, Adrien knew the cat was out of the bag now. He mentally prepared himself for the next onset of questions from Nino.
"That doesn't look like nothing," Nino said, slapping Adrien on the shoulder.
She walked up the aisle, stopping at the side of his desk, "H-hey Adrien."
"H-hey Marinette, you look nice today." he turned into a puddle of goo in front of her when she smiled at him, that smile made his heart melt.
"Thanks, Adrien, you look nice too," she said as she took her seat behind him, he glanced to his right and noticed Chloe was shooting daggers at Marinette. He knew Chloe, and the way she was glaring made him uneasy, he had a bad feeling she was going to pick a fight, a soon.
He heard whispers to his left and saw Alya leaning over whispering something in Nino's ear, he grunted, getting Nino's attention and shook his head at his best friend.
The morning classes went by fairly quickly, though not without the occasional interruption from Nino, still insisting on getting information out of him. He could hear Alya pressing Marinette just as hard as Nino was pressing him. Before he knew it the lunch bell was ringing and he managed to escape Nino.
He heard a yell behind him and saw Alya and Marinette, "Hey Adrien, why don't you eat lunch with us today?" Alya's brown curls bounced as she jogged toward him.
Smiling he shook his head, "Thanks, but no thanks Alya, I have leftovers at home that I'm pretty anxious to eat," he winked at Marinette and got into the car.
Marinette's mom had prepared a wonderful lunch, but the food was the last thing on Marinette's mind, she was more focused on her phone.
Marinette: Why didn't you join us for lunch?
She knew something was bothering Adrien, and it wasn't the salmon pie sitting in his mini fridge. She picked at her food while she waited for a reply, her stomach starting to churn.
Buzz...
Adrien: Sorry. I need to be alone for awhile, I need to think. So far today has been overwhelming, and I'm honestly not sure what's going on inside my head right now, or what I want. Sorry again. I'll see you in class.
Marinette's heart sank, what did he mean he needed to think? She could understand the overwhelming part, Nino and Alya were ruthless in their questioning, so she could see where their prying upset him. He seemed so withdrawn, she couldn't help but let it get to her. She didn't even bother texting back, she couldn't bring herself to.
"Girl? Are you gonna eat or not?" Alya poked her in the cheek with her fork.
"Huh? Oh, yeah."
"What's up with you?"
"Just not feeling the best right now. We should be heading back to class. Thanks for the lunch Mama, I'll see you after school." she headed out, Alya running after her.
Adrien sat at his desk, face pressed against its surface, he jumped when he felt someone slam their hands down on the table.
"Hey, Adrikins!" Chloe cooed, leaning in so their faces were inches apart.
He wasn't in the mood for her right now, "What do you want Chlo?"
"Oh, I don't know, just seems like there is something going on between you and Marinette," her voice was cold as ice and laced with anger.
Adrien rolled his eyes, "I'm not in the mood for this Chloe, and even if there is something, it's not your business or anyone else for that matter."
"But Adrikins! If something is going on between you and someone, it should be between you and me!" she was literally pouting at him right now, and it just infuriated him even more.
"Chloe... Go sit down." he snapped at her.
"Hmph!"
He watched her stomp to her seat, arms crossed, anger radiating off of her. He didn't care right now, he had so much on his mind, she was the last of his worries. He never got a chance to think about what he wanted to during the lunch break, the only thing on his mind was the rest of the salmon pie from the night before. He really had to make a mental note to let Nathalie know he wanted that as part of his usual meal schedule.
Movement at the door caught his eye, he looked over to see Marinette and Alya coming back from their break. Marinette didn't look like herself, her cheeks were flushed and she was holding her stomach. Immediate concern washed over Adrien and her turned in his seat, "Marinette? Are you OK?"
She swallowed hard and nodded, "Y-yeah Adrien, I'm fine. No worries."
He knew her well enough to know that what she said was a lie, it was written on her face. He was about to call her out when a rap on the blackboard called his focus to Miss Bustier as she called the class to attention.
The class wasn't even half way done when Adrien heard Marinette stand up behind him, "Miss Bustier, bathroom please?"
Miss Bustier nodded and pointed toward the door, "Please try to hurry."
He watched as Marinette ran out of the room, hand covering her mouth.
"Aww, poor baby looks like she's going to be sick. I hope she doesn't puke all over herself!" Chloe snickered.
"Wouldn't that be an improvement to her clothes?" Sabrina joined in, laughing with Chloe.
Adrien bit back his anger, he couldn't afford to make a scene, so instead she shot them a death glare which automatically shut them up. He couldn't help but worry about Marinette though, he knew he would end up getting her sick.
Marinette was head first in the toilet bowl when she heard a knock on the girl's bathroom door, she couldn't help but wonder who would be knocking on the bathroom door. She got up, wiped her mouth, and flushed the toilet. She felt dizzy and stumbled toward the door.
Another knock, "Marinette... Are you in there?"
She covered her mouth, eyes wide, "A-Adrien?"
"Are you ok? I was worried."
Taking a deep breath she pushed the bathroom door open, sending Adrien stumbling in the process. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry. I'm such a klutz."
He laughed, and put his hand on her shoulder, "It's fine Marinette." He moved his hand to her forehead, "You are burning up. Looks like you caught whatever I had." Grabbing her by the hand he dragged her through the hallways and toward the school's entrance.
"Adrien... What are you doing?"
"School's over Marinette, it has been for the last thirty minutes. As for what I'm doing, I'm taking you with me. I realize you live next door to the school, but in your condition, I'm not letting you walk home. You took care of me when I was sick, now I'm going to take care of you."
"Wait, Adrien, my parents expect me to be home."
"Already talked to them, they figured it was best you stayed away until you were better, wouldn't' want your dad to get sick and not be able to bake. So I suggested you stay at my place until my dad comes home on Saturday, or until you feel better, whichever comes first."
She just stared at him, 'Dang this boy works fast,' but she couldn't bring herself to say no, she felt awful.
"So? How about it? I'll try to be a good nurse."
She couldn't help but laugh, "OK... OK I'll go, you are right I wouldn't want my dad getting sick." she followed him to the car, knowing this boy was going to be the death of her.
The car ride to Adrien's house served as nothing more than to intensify the nausea Marinette was already feeling. The only reason she didn't throw up right there in the car was because it belonged to Adrien and she didn't think she would live with herself knowing she threw up in his car.
When they arrived, he had to help her out of the car and up the stairs, her head was spinning and she felt like she was going to throw up again.
He helped her onto the bed, slid her sweater off and covered her with a blanket. "Adrien... You really don't have to do this you know? I'm fine really," it was a lie, and she knew he knew it, right now all she could do was accept the fact that she wouldn't be leaving his bed anytime soon.
He was quick to get a compress on her forehead and a trashcan by the bedside just in case. He crawled into the bed next to her and stroked her cheek. "I'm sorry that I'm not better at this, but I haven't had much experience.
She closed her eyes, "You are doing fine, don't worry so much OK? I do have a question."
"What's on your mind?" he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close to him.
"When you texted me earlier, you said you had to think, and you weren't sure what you wanted... did you get to think?" she nuzzled her face against the nape of his neck.
He kissed the top of her head, "Sort of. I'm sorry if I was rude about lunch, it's just these past few days have been a wild ride, and its a lot to process and figure out."
"D-do you not like me?" her breath came out scalding against his neck.
"No Marinette, it's not like that. I like you, a lot. It's just that I've never had a girlfriend before, and I really don't know what to do, or how to even go about all this. It's new to me, relationships, in general, are new to me. I just... I want to do this rig-" he was cut off by a small snore, looking down at the girl in his arms he found her asleep.
"Nothing like talking to yourself huh kid?"
"Plagg keep it down, why are you out anyway?"
"She's asleep, it's cool. I'm hungry."
Adrien shook his head, "You think with your stomach you know that right? I left some camembert in your cubby, go eat it."
"I still don't see my Normandie, also a little bit of advice, try telling the girl how you feel when she's actually conscious."
"Plagg! I'll tell her eventually, once I find a way to do it without sounding like an idiotic, socially awkward hermit."
"Well looks like she will never know how you feel then huh?" Plagg snickered.
"Seriously, I'm going to cancel the Normandie order if you don't shut it."
"Fine fine, just don't cancel it OK?"
Adrien rolled his eyes and pressed his face into Marinette's hair. He knew what he wanted, he just wasn't sure how to word it, and he wasn't sure if it was what she wanted. 'I guess all I can do is try, but right now I need to focus on taking care of her.'
Just when he was getting comfortable he heard a buzz, he learned toward the side of the bed and it got louder. Snaking his arm out from under Marinette he leaned off the side of the bed and dug his hand into her bag until he came out with her phone. For a second he held it, debating on whether he should check her it or not, she was asleep and what if it was urgent?
He took a deep breath and swiped, revealing a new message from Alya, he clicked it popping the message up.
Alya: Hey girl I'm at the Louvre, where the heck are you?
Marinette: Umm... Marinette is sick and sleeping, can I take a message for her?
Alya: Oh, is this Mr. or Mrs. Dupain?
Marinette: Um... Neither?
Alya: Who the heck is this then? Why do you have Marinette's phone?
Marinette: It's well... Adrien.
Alya: Adrien!? Why do you have my girls phone?
Marinette: Shes at my place, her parents thought it was a good idea if she wasn't anywhere near the bakery or her them right now, and she was afraid she would get her dad sick.
Alya: Awwww! You are playing nurse, that's so cute.
Marinette: Augh, yeah. She's sleeping right now and I need to change her compress, is there anything you need me to tell her when she wakes up?
Alya: LOL naw, I'll hit her up when she's feeling better, take good care of her for me.
He put her phone back in her back and shook his head, he couldn't believe he just had to explain the situation to Alya, more than likely it was going to make headlines now. He knew how she was, and the minute she stopped texting him, he knew she was going to be on the phone with Nino, giving him the big "scoop".
"Mama... No... I'll bake the ice cream..."
He suppressed a laugh and wrapped his arms around Marinette again, she did talk in her sleep, he had to stop himself from grabbing his phone and hitting record just to prove it to her. Right though he had to focus on making sure she got better as fast as possible and with just as much kindness she had shown him.
