Chapter 5

"Adrien, this room is like an apartment! I don't believe you grew up here!" Marinette exclaimed as she dropped her bag near the door and walked into the room. She was met by high ceilings and a full wall of windows, giving a stunning view of their wonderful city. To one side of the room was a huge bed with the door to what she assumed was the bathroom nearby. There were also closets along that wall, all probably filled with Gabriel branded attire as well as some of the contraband clothing that Adrien used to have Marinette source, or even make for him. In the middle of the room was a sofa and coffee table, a TV in front of them both, creating a little living area. His desk was then on the other side of the room, showing an impressive set up of monitors and shelves and shelves of books.

"I guess it is. It's just missing a kitchen although I do have a fridge. How come you're so surprised? You've been here before haven't you?" Adrien asked.

"Nope. I've been to the mansion, but your room has always been strictly off limits because your father said so. But I guess now he thinks I'm your girlfriend, it's ok for me to be here."

"It's always ok for you to be here. I'm an adult now. I can have girls in my room."

"Yes you are. But we better not get up to any funny business so then I'm allowed to come back."

Adrien laughed, taking a step closer to Marinette.

"Well I don't know Mari, we'll be sharing a bed and the room has a lock on it. Plus this house is huge and the other inhabited rooms are nowhere near here. I think we'd be pretty safe to get up to some funny business." he teased, his tone becoming more suggestive.

Marinette gulped, nearly reaching for Adrien who was only a few steps away. But then something he said grabbed her attention, pulling her right out from whatever weird spell she was under,

"Hold up. We're sharing a bed?"

Adrien just furrowed his brow at her, taking a step back and picking up their bags to move them over to the closet. Marinette followed him over, waiting for an explanation.

"Yes. I thought you knew that. I know you're small and will fit on the couch, but I absolutely can not let you do that because I have slept on it before and it's dead uncomfortable. And I couldn't exactly ask Natalie to sort out another room for you or bring in another bed, that would be too suspicious. Plus this bed is massive. It will be like sleeping in your own, we'll be so far apart."

Marinette stood there slack jawed as she watched Adrien unpack his case.

"I guess you're right." she agreed, walking over to her own case and picking it up, placing it on one side of the bed to fish out her pyjamas. "What do you say we have a pyjama movie night?"

Adrien looked up and smiled, loving that Marinette had suggested doing the one thing that they used to do at hers when he slept over as kids. The best part was that they could do it. The journey back to Paris was fairly long, so they had decided to grab dinner on the way back to purposefully miss dinner with his father, giving them a free evening. And they were absolutely going to have a pyjama movie night.

They had a great night. Adrien had snuck down to the kitchen to grab popcorn while Marinette changed and set up the movie. She also grabbed some blankets and cosy pillows to wrap up with and make the sofa more comfortable. But, by the end of the second movie, Marinette's tiredness had taken over and she fell asleep on Adrien's shoulder, something very reminiscent of their childhood. He paused the movie when he heard her snore, chuckling to himself as he stood up and lifted her over to the bed, tucking her in. She looked so peaceful as she slept and he couldn't help the slight pull in his heart as he kissed her gently on the forehead. He then walked over to the other side of the bed, climbing in and turning off the light before he twisted round to face his friend, mindful to keep the half metre distance between them. He fell asleep to the sound of her deep breathing, her sweet scent filling his nose and lulling him into dreamland.

The next morning, Marinette woke up completely confused. She was in the most comfortable bed she'd ever slept in and not alone. Her head was resting against Adrien's chest with her arm splayed across his middle while his body was twisted towards her, his calf hooked around hers. There was an odd comfort in being so close to Adrien, his soft scent settling any misgivings she had about ruining their friendship. She had no idea how they got here though, the last thing she remembered was closing her eyes in the middle of a crappy netflix romcom, her exhaustion from the past week of faking so many things forcing her to succumb to sleep. She really did wish she could tell Adrien the many thoughts that had been running through her head since the library kiss, but she was very sure that he did not feel the same way, not that she knew exactly how she felt.

She stayed curled up with Adrien for a while, too comfortable to move, her thoughts drifting to analysing each moment they'd had over the past week. She thought back to the looks that Adrien had given her, the open mouthed gape at the party last weekend and before dinner the other night. In fact, she'd caught him staring at her multiple times, but had never managed to decipher the look on his face. And what had she seen in his eyes after the restaurant kiss? There was definitely something there and pictures from that night were some of the best from the week, the genuine feeling of… something… showing through the page.

Adrien stirred underneath her, waking up from one of the deepest sleeps he'd had in ages. All he could smell was shampoo and warmth, his arms immediately tightening around the source, making her look up into his just opened eyes.

"Morning," he said groggily. "What happened?"

"I have no clue. I should be freaking out but I'm way too comfortable. This bed is insane," Marinette replied, her destructive train of thought put to one side for now.

"Are you talking about the bed or me?" he jokingly asked, feeling the delicious weight of her head on his chest.

"Hmm, I think it might have to be you. Your chest is very soft. And what sheets are these? Pure cotton or a blend?" she joked back, plucking at Adrien's form fitting grey t shirt he normally wore to bed.

"I think they're a blend."

"Oh, what a shame. Fancy place like this I assumed they would be only the finest Egyptian cotton."

"Very funny Mari! Now, all jokes aside, I think we should get up and get ready for breakfast. My father will be expecting us. Do you want to use the bathroom first?"

"No it's ok. You go. I want to stay in this bed for as long as I possibly can."

Adrien just nodded, gently shifting himself off the bed so as not to completely shake it, then padded over to the bathroom. He quickly closed the door behind him and leaned against it, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. Somehow, Marinette had ended up in his arms overnight and he really liked her being there. And it had been so easy between them as they picked up their usual banter, almost as if they were always meant to wake up in each other's arms. He was freaking out. He knew that he enjoyed her company, and the kisses they had shared recently had been incredible, but he's been denying and ignoring certain things for years, ever since that first pang of jealousy when Marinette had told him that she was dating Luka four years ago.

These thoughts went on as he showered and brushed his teeth, trying not to take too long because Marinette was waiting. He kept flipping between feeling guilty for having feelings for his best friend to wanting to see if she felt the same way. But what if she didn't? It would be risking their friendship if he admitted something to her and she flat out rejected him. He'd be feeling embarrassed and she'd be feeling so bad that she didn't feel the same. They would never be able to move past it.

He finished brushing his teeth just as that scary thought popped into his head, shaking it away as he turned to pick up his clothes, only to find that he hadn't taken any out of his closet in his haste to hide any impending panic attacks from Marinette. He groaned, making sure that his white towel was secure around his waist before he ventured out of the bathroom.

Marinette looked up when the bathroom door opened. She was currently rifling through her suitcase for her sweater, deciding that she would choose her outfit for today while waiting for the bathroom to free up. But she had not expected Adrien to walk out of the bathroom in only his towel, doing a double take when he walked out, taking in the truly defined nature of his abdomen and shoulder, nearly knocking the breath right out of her. She knew Adrien was fit, but seeing him like this made her realise that he was drop dead gorgeous.

She quickly averted her eyes, a blush forming across her face as she finally found her sweater, yanking out of her suitcase triumphantly.

"Bathroom's free," Adrien confirmed, a look on his face that she could not quite read. She just nodded and rushed over to the bathroom with her clothes in a bundle in her arms. She shit the door behind her, hanging her clothes on the towel rack. The first thing she saw was the overly complicated shower controls. She groaned and turned back to the door, sticking her head out to ask Adrien, but the words died in his throat.

An involuntary squeak fell out of her open mouth at the sight of Adrien reaching up to grab a sweater from a top shelf, the muscles in his back tensing and rippling. She clamped her hand over her mouth as Adrien turned around, his face flushing when he caught her expression.

"Sorry," she squeaked. "I came to ask how to use the shower."

"Oh," Adrien said, deflating a little. "Top handle turns it on and off and adjusts pressure while the bottom is the temperature gauge. That's all you need to worry about unless you want to feel like you're standing in the middle of a heavy rain shower or to have your entire body pelted by strong jets. That's what the buttons are for."

Marinette shot Adrien an awkward thumbs up, her mouth opening as if she was about to say something, but changed her mind and shut the door behind her.

Adrien exhaled, wondering what that reaction was. It was almost as if she liked what she saw. A best friend's reaction would not have been that. But she had squeaked and blushed. He smiled softly to himself.

Maybe his feelings weren't completely unrequited?

Huh.