A Morning Person

Sabine was the first to enter the dining room before she went to the kitchen. She just had to see her daughter first thing after she woke up and before she started making breakfast. The wife of the hotel owner was probably in the kitchen and started it already. But Sabine enjoyed cooking, especially when she did not have to do it, and there was so much to learn from the local cooking expert such as the woman who hosted them.

She looked around the room. It was a mess, but she expected the kids have moved the table to make space. The chairs were apparently in the middle of the room covered by a thin bed cover. She recognized Ling asleep on sofa, curled up because it was too short, and then she observed the other sofa. The person who slept there had their back turned towards the room. But the body was too big to be Marinette. Then she finally observed what was between those chairs. And of course. When she crouched, she could clearly see Marinette and Adrien cuddled together. She waved her head and smiled. Because they were in their onesies, Adrien cradled her head on his shoulder and laid the other arm over her waist. Their legs were probably tangled under the blanket. Well, she should have expected that. At least none of them screamed in the middle of the night because of the nightmares they surely were to expect after an ordeal they were through.

Then she heard the door open behind her and she quickly jumped over as she expected it to be Tom. And she expected Tom to have a reaction after he found his daughter sleeping all wrapped up in a boy. She stood between the door and the sleeping kids ready to do … anything. Tom was not going to be akumatized over this, those kids made sure of that. But he was a large man, he could still hurt Adrien. And that would be wrong, because Tom liked the boy. She waved her head. Tom would never hurt the boy.

There, at the door was a huge manly body of Adrien's bodyguard.

Sabine smiled and motioned for him to enter. The large man proceeded carefully and quietly, but the wooden floor squeaked lightly under his weight. Then Sabine pointed her hand to show something below the blanked and the huge man crouched. There was a small smile on his lips and then the whole face was adorned with a gentle expression as he watched the two sleeping teens. Then he looked at Sabine slightly worried as if he asked if that was okay with her. But the woman smiled at the large man and he got back to his feet.

Then Tom entered. Sabine put a finger over her mouth and led him by his hand. When he crouched, she put her hand over his mouth to prevent him from waking up anybody and she even signalled to Adrien bodyguard with her eyes to be ready to hold Tom if he was going to overreact. But Tom just sighed and got back to his feet. He turned around and walked out, the other two adults followed.

"I knew this was going to happen one day." Tom sighed after he entered the kitchen.

Sabine patted his shoulder and then Adrien's bodyguard patted the other shoulder on the large man.

"They grow so quickly." Sabine sighed. The bodyguard grunted and nodded and they proceeded to make some coffee.

"We have to wake them up, we have no place to drink this coffee." Sabine sighed at the cups full of the dark liquid with enchanting smell that made their eyes open and their lungs suck in more air.

The bodyguard grunted and left the kitchen. Tom followed him. Sabine arranged the cups on the tray and went after the two men. But she found two large men smiling at a pile of children who slept in the middle of the room. She put the tray on the table and took three chairs for the three of them and arranged it where there was some space for the adults to sit.

"I am going back for food." Tom said and left.

Ling got up next while Ye simply turned around and stared as he tried to remember where he was ans why he was there. Ling went for the tea in the kitchen and waved to Ye to join her at the table. They both took two more chairs. The cover slid down onto the two sleeping teens. Adrien felt it as it fell on his face and his hand went to remove it but Tom was faster as he quickly pulled the cover away. Adrien blinked his eyes open. There, standing above him, was Tom Dupain, a huge man with wide shoulders and strong arms with years of hard work that built the man into a mountain of muscle. Then he noticed the weight on his shoulder and arm. He hoped he was wrong. He looked. There she was. Marinette slept peacefully on his shoulder, wrapped up in his arms. He looked back up to the man above him. The boy forgot to breathe. There was pure panic in his eyes. Adrien never forgot Weredad. He probably never will. He knew how much Tom loved his daughter. He stiffened.

Tom smiled.

It was a bit strained and there might be a glint of a tear in his left eye, but it was a smile. Or perhaps it was a trick.

"Are you all right son?" Tom asked with his deep voice that went straight through the boy.

Adrien nodded slowly. He did not dare to speak.

"Leave them be, uncle Tom." Ling said totally relaxed between two sips of tea. "They were building a blanket fort the whole evening. We had to steal two blankets for us. But the boy still wanted to build a fort. Apparently he never did it in his life."

Adrien's bodyguard grunted and nodded to confirm what Ling had just said.

"Adrien never build a tent out of bedsheets, blankets and pillows?" Sabine asked incredulously.

The bodyguard waved his head.

A tear escaped Tom's eye. He sniffed and wiped it away.

Marinette blinked her eyes open.

Ye held onto his cup and waited what was going to happen next. Ling was pouring the next round of tea in her cup and enjoyed the show.

"Marinette, Adrien. Good morning." Sabine spoke gently. "We hate to wake you up, but we need the space to prepare breakfast.

"And the chairs." Ling added.

Marinette sat up and rubbed her eyes. Adrien got up slowly, his eyes never left Tom. He was ready to run for his life. And grab Marinette on the way too. Because he was not going to live without her.

Tom patted his shoulder.

"Good morning." Tom greeted with a wet voice.

Adrien offered his hand to Marinette without looking down and she took it and got to her feet. She rubbed her eyes and yawned.

"You can take the blankets and go to a sofa." Ling offered while she sipped more tea.

Adrien quickly bent over, grabbed the blanket (that Tom was not holding) and pulled Marinette towards a sofa. She quickly collapsed on it and pulled the boy after her. She was not aware what she was doing, it was too early for her to be mortified about being found asleep tangled in the limbs with Adrien Agreste.

"Just let them be, Tom. Please, we have to move this table and the chairs." Sabine somehow stirred her husband from whatever space he went to. They quickly rearranged the chairs and the table and soon the whole breakfast was set up on it.

"Come on Princess." Adrien nudged the girl. He was hungry. He wanted to eat. The food smelled so good. "We want to have breakfast."

"I am not a morning person." Marinette muttered. Everyone heard and laughed.

"Come on girl. We want to do some souvenir shopping before we leave." Ling called from the table.

Adrien slowly got to his feet and then pulled her up. That was when the girl opened her eyes and became aware of her surroundings. She saw the faces of her parents, And Adrien's bodyguard, Ye and Ling and their parents. The room was full of people, and all of them saw her, cuddled to Adrien. She blushed as red as she could.

Adrien slowly led her to one of the two free chairs and let her sit down. Sabine put a cup of tea before her daughter.

"What would you like to eat Adrien?" Sabine asked gently.

"Oh, I will help myself with anything." Adrien replied with a polite smile and gentle look in his eyes. "The table is full of food." He added once he noticed how much food they had.

With the number of people and the day they expected, the food was soon eaten and what was left was packed for later.

The kids quickly changed and went out looking for postcards, fridge magnets or any other souvenir that they could easily pack in their luggage and carry home to their friends.

Marinette discovered wool. It was local. It was different than anything she ever saw in Paris. And she wanted it. It was not spectacularly fine, the choice of colours was limited, but she loved it. Adrien wanted to buy it for her, but she prevented him.

"Hey Adrien." Ye called and motioned with his head for the boy to follow. "I guess you might like to get something new." The older boy pushed him towards the men's underwear. Adrien smiled. He was getting rid of his father's signature off from his butt.

Marinette followed after the two boys, until she saw what it was that Adrien was buying. She turned around with her back, but she was resolved to remind him of something.

"You have to get some cheese for Plagg. And I have to find more cookies for Tikki." She whispered.

"Marry her." Plagg said no so silently from Adrien's pocket.

The boy glared at his pocket while Marinette went completely red.

"Shh Plagg" Tikki warned quietly from Marinette's jacket.

"Oh, yes, you already have." Plagg teased.

Adrien blushed at those words.

Marinette took a deep breath.

"I know we both still have some food left." Marinette continued. Adrien was not sure those words held any truth in them at least when Plagg was concerned. "But we should get more. I still have some stashed for the other kwami. I will just go to the food section now."

They went towards the section with traditional local cheeses and Adrien picked a few. He was mostly lead by volume and ignored Plagg's suggestions to go and find more smelly kind. Marinette was busy at the section with sweets when he passed a few bills to Ye and asked him to get the wool for Marinette.

Marinette, on the other hand chose many tiny souvenirs for their friends that all of them were covered. On the other hand, Ye showed him some cheap clothes that he could get, plain jeans and t-shirts so he could replace the clothes designed by Gabriel Agreste. The boy jumped to the opportunity.

They got out with a paper bag each. Ling carried a parcel that was large but apparently light. Adrien chose to change after he bought the clothes. Marinette did not pry, she studied her small collection of memorabilia and thought of all her friends and classmates.

They had their fun but the train was leaving around noon, so they returned to add what they bought to their luggage. Adrien had a problem. Marinette took the miracle box back to her luggage. She wrapped it in her onesie and somehow squeezed it all inside.

But the wool was voluminous. He put inside first, so the girl would not see the parcel and then he put all the other stuff on top but he could not imagine he would ever close his luggage.

"Do you have anything to crash inside?" She asked quietly. "It looks compressible." She said as she pressed it with her hand. Then she flipped the upper cover over the luggage and sat on it. The cover slowly lowered down until it was possible to zip it closed.

"There." She smiled at her work once she was back on her feet.

"You are truly amazing, Marinette." Adrien said as he admired her work too. "It was a miracle." He added sheepishly. He was glad he put his pyjama and some underwear with some cheese in the school bag.

Marinette looked at him, but there was slightly strained expression on her face and he instantly recognized that look. It was all Ladybug.

He smirked.

"That was truly miraculous." He grinned his crooked Chat Noir smile. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Come on, let's go." An adult ushered them to start moving.

The kids discussed, proposed, begged and pleaded, but the adults have not relented.

The kids were not to stay all together in the same compartment. Because none of the adults was willing to sleep on the third lever of the beds, the highest, the one that really required some climbing. But the kids were promised they could spend all the waking hours together, playing games and having fun (under the condition they are not too loud while doing that).

They stashed their luggage and the kids were soon together with a card game between them. Ling was winning while nobody else was sure what the rules were. It was a new card game she got that morning in the shop. Apparently she got each card game they offered and a few more and they had plenty of time to try them all out.

Finally Ye snatched the box and read the rules of the game. Of course they did not play it the way they were supposed to. They tried to play according to the provided rules but soon they gave up. Because the rules Ling invented were more fun (and because they continued to change the rules at their own will). But once they got the rules established, it was Ye who was winning. Ling pouted each time she lost. Adrien and Marinette were too busy exchanging glances at each other and blushing to pay too much attention to the game.