Neither of the teens knew what to say to Sabine, having frozen from being caught in such a compromising position. Weirdly enough, she didn't seem to mind. Rather, she seemed amused by the situation.
"I'll leave you two alone," Sabine hummed, continuing to grin. As she turned to head back down the stairs, she sent a wink to her blushing daughter.
"MAMAN!"
For the second time that day, the two teens were left in a silence that echoed with the tinkle of Sabine's laughter.
Marinette covered her eyes with a hand, dragging it down slowly to rest on her cheek. "I'm so, so sorry about her. We're not actually related."
Adrien laughed, feeling the tension between them break as Marinette joined in. He smiled at her. "It's okay, that was actually pretty funny. Besides, she didn't seem mad so it's fine, right?"
Marinette nodded before pushing herself off the ground to stand. Bending over, she extended a hand to Adrien, who was still lying on the ground in the position he'd landed in. He grabbed it, allowing himself to be effortlessly lifted to standing.
The teens set up in their original positions from before Alya's email had wreaked its havoc. Adrien settled back in his chair as Marinette began sketching again, watching her intently. Within minutes, the girl had created a drawing of her vision for Adrien's onesie.
"I love it!" he exclaimed. He praised the black elastic cuffs and cute antennae on the hood until Marinette was completely red.
"Alright, it shouldn't take long to modify the pattern I used for mine." Marinette grabbed some pattern paper, glancing between her sketchbook and the lines she was drawing as she carefully measured and created the shapes she needed.
After a few minutes, she glanced at Adrien, surprised to see him watching her in silence. "I'm sorry," she fretted, scooting over towards her computer again and pulling up her library of movies. "You must be bored watching me. I'll put something on, what do you want to watch?"
"I'm fine with whatever. Disney, of course, is preferable if you have it."
The girl snorted, clicking a folder and scrolling through the contents. "Do I ever. Stop me when you see something."
He carefully watched the titles scrolling past on the screen. "Stop!" Adrien commanded, pointing at the screen. "Let's watch Mulan."
"Excellent choice." With a swift double click, the movie began playing. Marinette adjusted the volume as Adrien scooted around her to sit closer to the screen.
Thirteen minutes later, a booming voice broke through the sound of Mulan wistfully singing about her reflection and who she truly was. "Kids! Dinner is ready!"
"Coming, Papa!" Marinette reached across and slapped the space bar, pausing the movie, before shoving back her chair. Adrien followed suit, trailing down the stairs after her as he sniffed at the delightful scent in the air that drifted over from the kitchen.
The teens settled in next to each other on one side of the small kitchen table, Sabine carefully placing bowls of stew in front of them before taking a seat at the table's shorter end. Tom arrived a moment later with a pitcher of tea and a stack of cups, serving everyone a drink before sitting down across from the kids.
At Sabine's word, everyone dug in. Adrien practically melted as the first spoonful of stew hit his tastebuds.
"Mrs. Cheng—I mean, Sabine—this pot-au-feu is fantastic!"
The petite woman looked very pleased, smiling gently at the boy. "Thank you, Adrien. I'm glad you like it."
They ate in silence for a while, until Marinette happened to glance outside. "Oh my gosh, look at the snow!"
Everyone turned towards the windows, murmuring in surprise at the storm of white that was barreling down outside. Sabine gasped. "My goodness, to have such a bad storm this late in the season is unheard of."
Tom placed a hand on his wife's arm, exchanging a meaningful glance with her before turning back to the kids in front of him. He cleared his throat, catching their attention. "Adrien, Sabine and I think that it would be best if you stayed the night. It would be too dangerous for someone to come pick you up with the snow coming down so hard."
Adrien could hardly contain his glee at the thought of another sleepover with his friend, but he did his best to be polite. "I'd really appreciate that, thank you." Adrien grabbed his phone to text Nathalie about the situation, unable to stop himself from reaching under the table with his free hand to squeeze Marinette's in excitement. The girl tried to control her blush as she squeezed back, but nothing escaped the hawk-like eyes of her mother.
Once everyone had finished their meal a few moments later, Sabine stood and began gathering the dirty dishes, thanking Adrien as he leaped up to help but insisting, "Marinette will help me, won't you sweetheart?"
Marinette knew the look her mother was giving her. Nothing good ever came of that look.
Sighing quietly, she began stacking glasses and bowls before taking them to the sink. She placed them in gently, turning the water on and beginning to rinse them off one by one. Her mother stood next to her silently, simply listening to the conversation Tom had begun with Adrien for a moment.
Then, with a delicate cough, Sabine began to speak. "Marinette, I understand that you like Adrien, but, as you are not on birth control, I'd like to request that you control yourself tonight."
"Maman!" Marinette exclaimed, aghast, hands stilling under the water.
Her mother continued as though she hadn't heard. "It would be pointless asking you two to stay down here since our room is so far away, so I won't bother. I can see that you are attracted to each other, as shown by the position I found you in earlier, but you can't afford to get pregnant at this point in your life, so please abstain from any explicit activities."
Marinette was speechless at this point, but apparently her mother still had more to say. "Just remember, it can happen even if it's just one time."
The girl dropped the bowl she was washing back into the sink, turning off the water and throwing up her hands. "No, nope, we are not having this talk right now. Adrien and I aren't like that, nothing will happen, and we will never speak of this again." She turned on her heel, stomping towards her friend and grabbing him by the arm, tugging him over to the stairs. Adrien followed in confusion, stumbling to keep up with her as he sent a parting wave down to her parents.
The adults waved back with smiles. Tom waited until the kids were out of sight before turning to his wife, betting, "They'll be together by the end of the month."
"I guess you'll owe me a back rub in a week then." Sabine smiled, planting a kiss on her husband's cheek before returning to finish the dishes.
Marinette plopped back into her chair with a huff, Adrien settling gently in next to her with a look of concern. "Are you okay, Mari?"
The girl sighed, tugging gently on the ends of her hair—something Adrien had noticed she did when she was uncomfortable. She nodded, then switched to shaking her head, finally settling on a shrug. "Sorry," she muttered. "My mom was just being embarrassing."
The blonde nodded sympathetically, patting her on the shoulder. "Parents, right?" The fact that Adrien had never had any personal experience with embarrassing parents was beside the point.
Marinette nodded, beginning to blush. "It's just, she was suggesting that we would be doing things and I tried to say that we're not like that but she just kept talking about it and ugh!" She buried her face in her hands with a moan. "It was so painful."
Adrien felt a blush of his own beginning to form at the mention of the things they would not be doing. He did his best to keep his thoughts from exploring what those things could be exactly.
Okay, so maybe one or two ideas slipped through, but he figured that was pretty good for a seventeen year old boy.
Adrien cleared his throat, hoping he wasn't too obviously red. "I'm sorry about your mom. Why don't we take your mind off it by going back to the movie?"
The girl nodded in relief, desperately needing the distraction. As Adrien started Mulan up again, she picked up her pencil and resumed creating the pattern for the boy's onesie.
She peeked over at Adrien a few minutes later, giggling to herself at his mesmerized face. He heard her and glanced over, sticking his tongue out before turning his attention back to the screen. As Marinette hummed along to the music with a smile, she found herself really enjoying her friend's company. Now that she wasn't nervous, she could freely enjoy his silly commentary and bad jokes without worrying about choking on her laughter and making a fool of herself. It certainly made the somewhat bland process of drawing the pattern much more entertaining than usual.
They continued like that for some time, Marinette dedicatedly drawing as Adrien piped up with his thoughts on what was happening in the movie. It was around the time that they had started belting along to "I'll Make a Man Out of You" that they were interrupted by a knock on Marinette's door.
"Come in!" she shouted as Adrien reached over to pause the movie.
The door creaked open, two familiar faces poking through with looks of interest. Sabine smiled at them, reaching up to place a plate of cookies on the floor. "We just came up to bring some snacks and extra blankets."
And definitely not to snoop, yeah right, Marinette thought to herself with a raised eyebrow. Sabine caught sight of this and her face formed into a carefully crafted expression of innocence. I'm on to you, Maman, the girl thought with a squint, as though her mother could actually hear her.
Tom reached up with the mentioned blankets and Adrien hurried over to grab them from him, placing them gently on the chaise. "Thank you, Mr. D—Tom. You could say a fluffy blanket is my quilty pleasure."
The large man burst into laughter as the ladies in the room groaned.
"That was terrible. Besides, a fluffy blanket is normal to like so your joke doesn't even make sense," Marinette pointed out.
"Nonsense, that was some high-quality humor right there," her father countered. "Don't say it's a bed joke right away."
Sabine chimed in suddenly. "He's right, sweetheart, maybe you should sleep on it."
"That's it. Out!" Marinette pointed forcefully at her parents. "Stop encouraging him!"
With chuckles, her parents bid them a good night before exiting and retreating to their own room.
Marinette settled back in her chair with a sigh, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. She was surprised when hands settled on her shoulders a few seconds later, gently kneading the tension out of them.
"So, what exactly do you have against puns? Who hurt you?" Though Marinette's eyes were still closed, she could hear the smile in Adrien's voice as he posed the question.
"You know, once upon a time I didn't hate them," she informed the boy. "But then I met someone who is constantly coming up with them. After a while they get tiring." She tried to keep the telling smile off her face.
Adrien caught it before she could force it away. "You're lying," he sing-songed. "You secretly think they're funny, but you don't want them to get the satisfaction, right?"
Rats, he's sharp, Marinette lamented. She peeked up at him, scowling as she tried not to grin at the silly smile he was wearing.
"Aha!" The boy paused his massage to poke her cheek accusingly. "You do think they're funny, you just don't want to admit it. I saw it in your eyes."
"Nope. Absolutely false, Adrien."
"Say it."
"You just want me to think you're funny."
"Because I am. Admit it."
"Never."
He sighed dramatically. "Fine, keep lying to yourself. I know that deep inside you know my puns always make you laugh." With that, he slumped back into his chair and reached towards the keyboard to restart the movie.
Marinette couldn't help whispering to herself, "Oh, duvet really?"
Adrien's hand froze over the space bar, his head snapping around as his emerald eyes lasered in on her. "What did you just say?"
Oops. "Nothing!"
"No, no, I definitely heard you say something just now." He scooted closer. "Something that sounded very much like a pun."
"How did you even hear that?" Shoot. "I mean, I didn't say anything."
"Aha!" Adrien held his hands out, wiggling his fingers as they moved towards her sides. "You'd better tell me before I have to force it out of you."
"I said that your jokes are skeevy."
He launched forwards, looming over her as he tickled her ribcage. "Nope, definitely not what I heard, try again."
Laughing, Marinette fought to push his hands away. "I—hahaha—I said that they make me queasy."
"Don't think that's right either. Last chance before I really let you have it."
As loath as she was to admit what she had actually said, she really couldn't take much more tickling. Gasping for air through her laughter, she finally caved. "Okay—haha—okay I'll tell you—ahahaha!"
"About time," Adrien commented, stilling his hands, but keeping them lightly resting on her sides in case she was trying to trick him.
Still gasping, she finally panted out, "I said, 'Oh, duvet really?'"
Adrien froze for a moment, mind working through the pun. A humongous grin broke out on his face as he grabbed Marinette by the waist and picked her up out of her chair, stepping into the middle of the room and twirling her around.
"Adrien!" The girl reached down to grip his shoulders as she flew through the air.
"I knew you had it in you!" He laughed as he held her above his head and spun around again.
Starting to get dizzy, the boy slowed his circles, gently bringing Marinette down to rest on the floor again. She breathed a sigh of relief as she touched down, collapsing slightly into his chest when she found her legs to be a bit shaky, hands still resting on her friend's shoulders as he continued to hold her waist.
"You're crazy." Her words were muffled by his shirt, but Adrien grinned anyways.
He wrapped his arms around her more fully. "Maybe."
About you, definitely. He didn't bother to stop the thought as it floated across his mind, slowly coming to terms with the fact that he was very quickly falling for this girl. He was still confused on the Ladybug issue, but once again he resolved to worry about it at another time. She wasn't there, but Marinette was.
They stayed like that for a minute, until the comfortable silence was broken by the sound of a rumbling tummy.
Adrien blushed slightly as Marinette peeked up at him. Stupid stomach, why did you have to ruin such a great moment? he bemoaned.
With a giggle, Marinette poked the boy's stomach. "Are you hungry, Mr. Tummy?" She received a perfectly timed growl in response and dissolved into peals of laughter.
Adrien, though embarrassed at his body's antics, couldn't help but chuckle along. "Sorry about that."
"Nothing to be sorry for, you are a growing boy after all." Marinette stepped away from his warmth to grab the plate of cookies her parents had left. "Here," she offered. "Hope you like chocolate chip."
"Who doesn't?" He grabbed one and took a bite, moaning at the flavor and eliciting another giggle from Marinette.
"That good, huh?" She picked up a cookie of her own and nibbled on it.
"That good," he agreed, snatching another cookie off the plate as he shoved the last of his first one in his mouth. He inhaled the second one, reaching for a third but hesitating as he suddenly remembered his manners.
"Have another," Marinette insisted. "And there are plenty more downstairs if you want."
With that, Adrien stopped holding back. He ate cookie after cookie, finishing the plate in less than two minutes. Marinette said nothing, simply thinking with a smile, He can almost out-eat Tikki. Almost.
Once the plate was clean, Adrien tried to look appropriately embarrassed. Sure, Marinette had said he could have as many as he wanted, but that didn't give him permission to be a glutton. Thankfully, the girl seemed amused rather than disgusted by his display.
"Let me know if you want more later," she told him, finishing her own snack. "For now, let's get back to the movie."
Adrien agreed, resuming his seat and waiting until she was settled to press play. He got comfortable in his chair, eyes focused on the screen as he watched the characters transform into proper fighters.
As the credits rolled, Marinette sat back with a satisfied sigh. "Finally finished it."
Adrien glanced over, seeing neat stacks of paper shapes laying on the desk before her. "Wow, that was fast! Now what do you do?"
"Well, I'll pin them to the fabric and cut all of the pieces out. Then I'll sew them all together and add the finishing touches, like the elastics and zipper, and it's done."
"Is there anything I can help with?" Adrien still felt bad that he couldn't pay her for her work and thought that an ice cream date wasn't enough, so he wanted to assist her as much as he could.
"Sure." Marinette rummaged around in one of her drawers, eventually pulling out another pair of scissors. "You can help me cut. I'll show you what I want you to do after I pin one."
Sweeping the clutter on her desk to the side, Marinette grabbed her new fabric and spread it over the space. Grabbing a pincushion, she picked out some pins and began carefully attaching one of the pattern pieces to the fabric. Adrien watched intently as she worked, amazed that she could move so fast without stabbing herself.
Once the paper was secured, Marinette picked up her scissors and began to show Adrien what to do. "Really, it's just regular cutting, but you have to add the seam allowance." She sliced into the fabric, starting about two centimeters away from the paper's edge and maintaining that distance as she worked her way around it. "See, just keep about two to two and a half centimeters between you and the paper." With a final snip, she proclaimed, "And that's it."
She unpinned the fabric and set it aside, quickly reattaching the paper to the spread-out bolt and instructing Adrien to give it a go. She watched him for a few seconds to make sure he was doing it properly, before turning to pin on the next piece of paper.
They worked in tandem for several minutes, moving a good bit faster than Marinette would've been able to on her own, especially once Adrien got used to his job. In what seemed like no time at all, they had cut out all of the needed spotted fabric and organized the pieces into stacks with their corresponding patterns, so they could tell what was what.
Marinette retrieved another bolt of fabric from one of her cabinets, this one a black fleece, and unrolled it in the same way on her desk. She quickly pinned on the pattern for the hood and helped Adrien cut them out. With that, they were done.
Simultaneously, they stuck their fists out and bumped them together, mouths opening and snapping shut as they each restrained the urge to say "Pound it!"
Brushing the fist bump off as a fluke, Marinette carefully refolded the remnants of fabric. Leaning over, she dragged her sewing machine from the other side of the desk to sit in front of her. She scrounged around on her desk until she found the red thread she'd purchased earlier, easily setting it up on the machine. Grabbing the first pieces that were to be connected, she pinned them together with the bad sides out, quickly slipping them under the foot on her machine and beginning to stitch them together.
Adrien watched her work, enchanted by the whirring of the machine as it hummed along. Though he was surrounded by clothes of all kinds for his job, he hardly ever got to see them being made, and he found the process fascinating.
As she finished the line of stitches and removed the piece, Marinette noticed Adrien's intense gaze on her hands. She giggled, inquiring, "Did you want to give it a try?"
He nodded hesitantly as she pinned and placed the next pieces. Gesturing at the sewing machine, she scooted her chair over so that Adrien could position himself in front of it. He looked at her for assistance, not sure how to work it.
"At your feet is a pedal, which controls the speed of the needle. You press it with your foot and move the fabric away from you at the same time to sew it together," she supplied helpfully.
Straightening his shoulders, Adrien decided to give it his best shot. After all, he mused, I'm Chat Noir. I can take down an akuma easily, surely I can handle a little sewing.
Approximately ten seconds later, Adrien had been schooled. He mewled as he lifted up the mangled fabric, a rumpled mess with a giant ball of tangled thread dangling off of it. "Marinette, what did I do wrong?"
He looked so adorably pitiful that Marinette had a hard time holding in her laughter, but she did her best, not wanting the boy to think she was making fun of him. "Here, let me help you, she offered, sliding her chair until she was nestled up next to him.
Marinette snipped off the ball of thread, picking out the extra pieces until the fabric was like new again. She smoothed it out before setting it back under the foot and lowering it. Gently, she placed Adrien's hands on either side of the fabric, layering her own on top, his blush going unnoticed as she did. She nudged the pedal over and rested her foot on it.
"Ready?" she asked, receiving a nervous nod from the lightly pinked boy. She smiled reassuringly, before starting to apply pressure to the pedal beneath her foot.
Slowly, the machine whirred to life. Marinette gently moved Adrien's hands forward, pushing the fabric along. When it came time to adjust their hands, she stopped the machine rather than try to coordinate the movement.
"See, it's not that bad right?"
Adrien grinned sheepishly. "I guess not. I think I'll leave it to the professional though, or this will take years."
Marinette laughed. "Whatever you say. I'm glad you gave it a shot though."
"It was fun, but not for me. I'd rather watch, I think."
"That's fine," Marinette replied as she started up the machine again. "But trust me, watching will get boring eventually. Why don't you put on another movie?"
The boy agreed amiably, reaching towards the mouse to search for something to watch. Idly, he commented, "Geez, you must have every Disney movie in existence."
"I have all of the animated ones. I'm not too fond of many of the live actions, except High School Musical, of course."
"It is a classic," he agreed, still scrolling. Finally, he settled. "Why don't we just watch the second Mulan movie?"
"Sure."
At her consent, Adrien started it up. He had always liked the Mulan movies, particularly since he had been fascinated with China when he began his Mandarin lessons as a child.
Plus, Mulan was a kick-ass heroine and reminded him very much of his lady. And, now that I think about it, Marinette, too, he considered. I never realized, but they're really alike. Mari always stands up for herself and defends what she believes in, even going to great lengths to protect other people from bullies and stuff. She and Ladybug are actually very similar.
He was distracted from his musings by the action onscreen. He turned to make a comment about it to Marinette, his previous thoughts completely forgotten for the moment.
Just over an hour later, as the credits rolled, he peeked over to check on Marinette's progress with the onesie. He was amazed to see how much she had accomplished in the short amount of time. Most of the onesie was already put together, and it seemed that just the hood and zipper were missing.
"Wow, how do you do that so fast? You're like a speed demon or something." Adrien couldn't stop himself from bouncing in excitement at the thought of snuggling up in the fleece outfit in the near future.
"Practice, I guess." Marinette laughed at his obvious excitement. "And yes, it will be done in time for you to wear it to bed."
Adrien slung an arm around her shoulder, giving her a squeeze. "Have I ever told you that you're the best?"
"Hmm, I don't know. Better tell me again."
Adrien laughed. "You're the best, Marinette. Best of the best, even."
"Careful, you'll make me blush."
"What, like it's hard?" the boy teased. He laughed as, true to form, Marinette turned a lovely shade of pink.
"Shut up," she muttered.
"At least it's a good color on you, given how often you wear it."
Petulantly, Marinette informed him, "I'm just practicing for Halloween. I plan on going as a blushing person."
Adrien laughed again. "Keep up the good work then."
They fell into a comfortable silence as Marinette resumed working. Adrien didn't bother putting on another movie, satisfied to watch the girl as her lightening-fast fingers moved the fabric under the needle. The scene was mesmerizing, and Adrien fell into a daze as he stared.
What seemed like seconds later, he was awakened out of his haze by a dainty pair of fingers snapping repeatedly in his face. He shot up in surprise at the noise.
"You were drooling."
Adrien frantically wiped at his chin, mortified to have been caught in such an undignified state. His mortification turned into suspicion as his fingers continued to brush against dry skin, suspicion that was further confirmed by Marinette's sudden fit of giggles.
"Gotcha!" She winked at him as he put on an annoyed pout.
"Not funny."
"So funny," she countered. "But maybe you'll forgive me if I give you this?" She presented Adrien with the newly completed Ladybug onesie.
He shot out of his seat, holding it up to examine it. "It's perfect, Marinette!" He swooped down to hug her, before bolting upright again. "Where's the bathroom? I'm putting this on right now!"
Marinette laughed, pointing him in the right direction, and he flew off instantly. Still chuckling, she decided to take the opportunity to change into her matching onesie. She stripped quickly, changing into a white tank top and pink boyshorts before beginning to slip her Chat Noir outfit on.
Having done possibly the quickest costume change of his life, Adrien silently dashed back from the bathroom. He had intended to run in and surprise Marinette by striking a Ladybug-esque pose, but his thoughts were completely derailed by the sight before him. His eyes scanned over Marinette, who was facing away from him, still in the process of pulling her pajamas over her shoulders. His breath caught at the sight of her slim shoulders, each adorned only with a thin, white strap.
Yup, that had definitely short-circuited something important. He could never admit to anyone what had crossed his mind at that moment.
Snap out of it, he scolded himself. You literally saw her in a bikini earlier today. This should not be affecting you this much.
But you're alone now, Libido reminded him. It's completely different.
Adrien gulped. Libido had a point, but the boy was determined to keep things on a strictly platonic level for the night. He was a guest out of necessity, not because Marinette had invited him, so he didn't want to overstep any boundaries.
Deciding to start over, Adrien took a few steps backward before once again surging towards the girl, sliding on socked feet with his hands on his hips and his chin thrust in the air, nearly knocking the hood off of his head with the force of his motion. "Ta-dah!"
Marinette jumped in surprise, turning to face him as she finished zipping up the last few inches of her onesie. When she caught sight of his ridiculous pose she snorted, blushing and covering her mouth a second later.
"Excuse me?" Adrien looked extremely miffed at the sound. "Was that a derisive snort I just heard?"
Now that just wouldn't do.
He edged towards her, bringing his arms out in front of him, fingers waggling crazily. "Don't make me tickle you."
"You wouldn't dare."
"You of all people should know that I would."
"Touché."
Adrien's plans of torturing the girl until she apologized were put on hold as another idea came to mind. "Hey, we should totally take a selfie in our matching pj's."
"S-sure!" Marinette grinned deviously, a sight that made Adrien's heart skip a beat. "But only if we can send it to Alya with absolutely no explanation and watch her freak out."
"Done."
Marinette scrabbled for her phone, nearly dropping it in her haste. She opened the camera app, handing it to Adrien to take the picture since he was the taller of the two.
Adrien slung his free arm around Marinette's shoulder as she tugged the hood of her onesie over her head. He held up the camera, angling it so that it captured as much of them as possible before instructing, "Smile!"
They took several pictures in various ridiculous poses. In one, they both put their hands up like kitten paws, while in another they pulled the ugliest faces they could. By the end of the impromptu photoshoot they were rolling on the floor laughing as tears streamed down their faces.
"Oh man." Adrien wiped the tears from his eyes as one final chuckle escaped him. "That was ridiculous."
"Let me see my phone. I want to send the first one to Alya."
Adrien obediently passed her the device, scooting across the floor to sit behind her and lean his chin on her shoulder so he could watch what was about to go down.
"Will she still be awake? What time is it?"
Marinette flashed the screen at him, showing him it wasn't even quite ten o'clock. "She'll probably be up until at least midnight, so I'm sure we'll get a response fairly quickly." With that, the girl attached the picture to a blank message and sent it.
Hardly ten seconds later, Alya's responses began rolling in. Marinette read them aloud as her phone pinged several times. "Girl! Why are you two together right now? And looking so cute and coupley! I can't believe this, how could you keep this delicious info a secret? Is that a Ladybug onesie? Why haven't you made me one of those?"
Adrien snorted with laughter as Alya's outraged comments about the fact that he had a Ladybug onesie and she didn't kept coming. "She's really upset about that of all things?"
"You know how she is about Ladybug."
"Fair point."
Finally, Alya seemingly gave up on getting answers out of her friend, saying goodnight with a final "We'll talk about this on Monday."
"So," Adrien started after a short pause. "What now?"
Marinette pondered the question. "Well, I'm about done with movies for the night."
"Agreed."
An idea came to the girl suddenly. "How about we build a fort? I haven't done that in ages."
"I haven't done that in…ever," Adrien commented with a rueful chuckle.
Marinette poked him playfully in the nose. "Well, you're about to. Let me up so we can get started."
Reluctantly, Adrien did as she asked and moved away from her so she could stand, accepting her hands when she offered them to help him up. He was still amazed that a girl her size could just pull him up like it was nothing for her, even when he played around and went boneless.
"How are you so strong? You're a midget."
"Watch your mouth, boy. I could beat the crap out of you."
Adrien shivered. "I know."
He would die before admitting that that sentence had had somewhat of an arousing effect on him.
"Good," Marinette replied as she scooped up the stack of blankets that was still sitting on her chaise, carrying them over to her desk area before dropping them in a heap on the floor. Adrien followed her, not sure what he should be doing to help.
Marinette quickly cleared the remnants of her earlier project off of her desk and shifted the chairs out of the way before digging around for her heaviest books. She created a large stack of them on the tabletop, eventually becoming satisfied with the quantity and moving her attentions back to the pile of blankets on the floor.
"Give me a hand," she instructed Adrien, digging through the pile in search of the largest blanket. Finding it, she shook it out and handed a corner to the boy. "We're going to use my desk as the base for the fort. Take your corner and stick it in the elbow of the desk, then put a book on top of it."
"Desks don't have elbows," Adrien teased as he did as he was told.
"Shut up. You know what I mean." She waited until he was finished before continuing to advise him. "Okay, now do the same thing all the way down that part of the desk," she commanded, pointing towards the side that held her computer.
With a salute, Adrien carried out the mission. Marinette rolled her eyes at his antics as she worked to do the same thing with the shorter end of the blanket, only that section was going across the shorter edge of the desk. She carefully placed the next corner on the wooden beam that ran perpendicular to the desk, shifting the small divider there so it rested on the blanket before adding a couple books to fully secure it.
For the final touch, Marinette dragged over Adrien's wheel-less chair, electing to use it to hold up the final corner of the blanket. She quickly secured it, then dashed over to her flowered trunk, tossing it open and pulling out some dark purple flat sheets.
Adrien watched with a mixture of excitement and amusement as the girl hurried back towards the fort. He wasn't sure exactly what her plan was, having nothing to go on since he'd never done this before, so he figured it'd be best if he just sat back and let her bring her vision to life.
Marinette was determined to do just that as she strategically tossed the sheets over the hanging blanket, allowing them to dangle down and cover the exposed entrances. Searching around for a moment, she managed to scrounge up some large safety pins and went to work securing the sheets more thoroughly. Finally, she hustled up the ladder to her bed, frantically tossing down pillows.
Adrien laughed as he covered his head with his arms. "Geez, warn a guy," he teased Marinette as she made her way back down the ladder.
The girl paused her frenzy with a blush, suddenly realizing that she must seem crazy getting so intense over something as childish as a fort. "Sorry, I got excited."
"It's okay. So is it done?"
Marinette stooped, pushing the pillows towards the entrance of the fort. "The main structure is, but we still have to fix the inside. Follow me." She ducked under a sheet, sweeping the cushions inside with her.
Adrien followed quickly, getting more eager by the second. He found the inside of the fort to be surprisingly roomy, but very cozy. The cat in him twitched its tail in excitement.
Marinette began unfolding the blankets that were still piled in the center of the space. Adrien helped her spread them over the floor until they were sitting on top of a plush layer. After scattering the pillows strategically about the area, Marinette proclaimed that they were finished.
Adrien wasted no time, immediately burrowing under the nearest blanket and sighing in satisfaction. He loved small, cozy spaces, and this one was probably the best he'd ever experienced. He'd have to thank Marinette for coming up with such a great idea.
He gave himself a full minute to bask in the warmth before his engrained propriety overtook him and he had to be social again. Poking his head out of the blanket, he found a very amused Marinette staring right at him.
Hoping his blush was invisible in the dim light of the fort, Adrien cleared his throat. "So, what do people normally do in these things?"
"Well, Alya and I usually just talk, or, if she really wants to know something, we'll play truth or truth."
"Wait, is that like truth or dare? But with just truths?"
"Exactly." Marinette groaned as though reliving a horrible memory. "And she never gives an out, so there's no escape."
An evil grin grew on Adrien's face. "Let's play."
"Really?" Marinette cocked an eyebrow. "You'd divulge all of your secrets to someone you've only just gotten to know better?"
"It might sound weird, but since yesterday I've had this feeling like I've known you well for a long time," he admitted.
"It's not weird. I've been thinking the same thing." Marinette laughed. "Strange, huh?"
"Yeah." Adrien laughed as well. "And, besides that, I'll be getting dirt on you too, so we'll be even."
"Fair point."
Adrien sat up, keeping the blanket wrapped around him as he scooted towards Marinette until their knees were gently touching. "Okay, so who goes first?"
"You can, if you want."
"Well, since you probably have so many secrets stuffed in that tiny body that you're ready to explode, I'll do you the favor."
"Gee, thanks," Marinette responded dryly.
"Any time. So, Mari, truth or truth?"
"You know you don't have to ask that, right?"
"Just answer the question."
The girl rolled her eyes with a muttered, "Why did I agree to this?" She sighed much more dramatically than was strictly necessary before answering. "Wow, I think I'll have to go with truth."
Adrien grinned at her feigned irritation. "Wonderful choice. Now let's see…" He glanced around the space for inspiration, his eyes finally landing on the girl's large cat pillow. "Ah, yes. Now, I know that you're dying to get down and dirty with Ladybug—" He was interrupted by Marinette's disbelieving snort, which he promptly ignored. "—But how would you feel when faced with the prospect of getting it on with Chat Noir?"
Honestly, the girl was shocked by such a heavy question right out of the gate. The Ladybug in her screamed "Never!" but Marinette forced herself to reconsider the query from a civilian's point of view. Chat was objectively attractive—if he could just keep his mouth shut, he was totally her type, she was forced to admit. What harm could being honest do?
After all, it wasn't like her answer was ever going to get back to Paris' favorite kitty.
"That depends," she began slowly. "Would he be gagged for the duration of it so that the moment wouldn't be ruined by his unending puns?"
It took every ounce of model Adrien had in him to control his expression in that moment. He was unbelievably thankful that he still had the blanket pooled around him, covering his lap from view. With a hopefully-inaudible gulp, he started to respond, struggling to keep his voice level. "I mean, who knows, he might be into that kind of thing."
He was definitely into that kind of thing, he had just learned.
Marinette nodded thoughtfully, finding herself unconsciously rethinking her stance on Chat. Realizing this, she shook herself out of her musings, remembering it was her turn to ask Adrien a question. "So, what about you?"
"I'd probably do Chat, to be honest. I mean, he's just so muscular and handsome."
Marinette snorted with laughter. "You didn't let me finish my question."
Adrien blushed. "Oh, sorry." As an afterthought, he added, "My answer stands, though."
"You're ridiculous," Marinette giggled as Adrien shrugged, mostly unabashed. "Anyways, I was going to ask if you would ever get with Ladybug, given the opportunity."
"Uh, heck yes. She's amazing and gorgeous, who wouldn't want to get with her?" Adrien pulled the fabric of his pajamas away from his chest. "Do you think she'd sign my onesie?"
This sent Marinette back into peals of laughter, even as her heart fluttered uncontrollably at the thought of Adrien thinking so highly of her alter-ego. "No, you dork." Yes, anything for you, my love.
"Geez, go ahead and crush my dreams then," the boy sniffed.
"Just ask your question."
Adrien harrumphed in fake annoyance. "Fine." He thought for a moment. "Have you ever embarrassed yourself in front of someone you really like or admire?"
"Boy, have I ever." Shoot, she hadn't meant to say that out loud.
Adrien's eyes lit up as he sensed the potential for something juicy. "Oh? Do go on."
Marinette hemmed and hawed for a moment, trying to think of a way to get out of the situation. Unable to come up with anything, she resolved instead to be as vague as possible. "Oh, you know, just the normal stuff. I'm pretty klutzy, and I managed to trip myself once or twice in front of him. Nothing special." She crossed her fingers, hoping that would be enough to satisfy him.
It seemed to work. "I can totally imagine that," Adrien laughed.
Marinette did her best to seem put out by his reaction. "Whatever, go ahead and make fun if you must. Just remember, it's my turn now." She grinned as the boy suddenly sobered up, seemingly wary of the question she was about to ask.
Fortunately for Adrien, she wasn't going to attempt to embarrass him. Instead, she wanted to ask about something she had noticed since she'd started getting to know him better and realized the Adrien she thought she knew was very different from the one sitting across from her in a Ladybug onesie. She chose her words carefully. "Do you ever feel like you…wear a mask around people?"
Adrien was quiet for a moment, and Marinette worried that she had struck a nerve. Just as she was about to apologize, he started to answer.
"All the time, actually," he admitted quietly. "Mostly, it's because I'm supposed to uphold my family's image. I have to be very conscious of how I'm behaving and presenting myself at all times, so that I won't bring shame to my father."
Marinette went silent, and it was Adrien's turn to worry that he had been too serious. She frowned deeply, considering his words. "That's not fair." She shook her head in anger. "You shouldn't be restricted like that. Life is a mix of winning, jumping, running, and relaxing. You can be whoever you are."
The words echoed in Adrien's head, and for the first time in a while he felt at peace. "No one's ever really told me that." He paused, chuckling slightly. "Well, I suppose Nino has, in his own way, but no one has ever said it so eloquently."
Marinette blushed. "Okay, I have to admit, I stole that from a song."
Adrien smiled at her adorable display of honesty. "Oh? What song?"
"Ah, you probably haven't heard of it." Marinette shifted a bit in embarrassment. "It's by a Taiwanese group that my cousin recommended to me, called Men Envy Children. Uh, I started listening to them because I'm trying to improve my Chinese."
"That's really admirable."
"I guess," she shrugged, tugging on the ends of her hair. "I just felt bad that I couldn't communicate well with my uncle when he came to visit, so I figured I should try to learn on my own for next time."
Lightbulb. "You know, I could totally tutor you if you wanted," Adrien threw out casually.
"Oh, no, I couldn't trouble you like that. You're already so busy."
"It's not trouble, really." Adrien smiled reassuringly. "I think it would be fun, and we'd get to hang out more. It'd be more like a break than extra work, since you'd be there."
Marinette knew that Adrien didn't need anything else on his overflowing plate, but, dammit, she was not about to pass up such a quality opportunity when he was serving it up to her so nicely.
"Wow, okay, if you're sure then. I'd really like that."
"I'm sure. It'll be great."
They shared a smile in the dim light of their cave, enjoying just breathing in the silence.
At least, they did until the silence was broken by the sound of Adrien's giggles.
"Don't tell me," Marinette drawled wryly, remembering the last time he had suddenly burst into laughter. "You thought of another joke?"
The boy nodded enthusiastically, trying to calm himself so that he could share the hilarious tidbit he had just remembered from his late-night internet scrolling adventures. "Okay, okay. So," he began, gulping down the last of his laughter. "I bought my friend an elephant for their room. They said thanks." He paused for effect. "I said don't mention it."
Marinette stilled as her mind worked through the joke. "I don't—ohhhh," she breathed as the punchline hit her. She smacked Adrien on the shoulder, doing her best to hide her telling grin. "That's horrible."
"Your smile tells a different story."
Drat. "I'm not smiling." She was totally smiling.
Adrien smirked. "She says while smiling."
Marinette landed another smack on his shoulder with a muttered, "Shut up."
"You know you love me."
"Do I?" Yes, I do.
Adrien was about to retort back when he was interrupted by a gigantic yawn. His hand flew up to cover his mouth as his eyes widened in surprise at the sneak attack.
Marinette laughed through a yawn of her own. "Should we go to sleep then?"
"No!" Adrien blushed at how violently the word had come out. "I'm sorry, I mean no. I just…I don't want this to end."
The girl smiled sweetly at him, reaching over to gently pat his hand. "It's okay, I understand." She searched through the blankets for her phone, suggesting, "Why don't we watch some YouTube videos or something?"
"Sure! What kind of videos?"
"Whatever you want." Finally locating her phone, she switched it on and quickly navigated to the app.
Adrien thought for a second. "Why don't you show me one of the songs from that group you were talking about?"
"Okay." Marinette typed something into her phone, hitting enter before laying down on her stomach and propping the device up against a pillow so they could both see it. Adrien sank down beside her in the same position as she pulled up a video.
"This is the song that quote came from, by the way. It's one of my favorites."
Adrien nodded, eyes focused on the screen as the video started to play. Within seconds he was in love with the band's sound, captivated by the lead singer's voice and their energy on stage. The song was catchy and upbeat, but the lyrics held a deeper meaning that called to him, and he wasn't sure he'd ever related to anything so well before.
As the song ended, he was nearly speechless. "That…that was amazing."
"Really?" Marinette smiled widely. "You really liked it that much?"
"Absolutely! Can we listen to more?"
Marinette fumbled to grab her phone. "Sure, I have a whole playlist of their music." She started up another song, setting the phone back into its resting spot against the pillow as the first notes began to play out of the speaker.
They stayed like that for a while, mostly just listening in silence. Occasionally, Adrien would share his opinion about the current song or Marinette would give him an interesting fact about the band, but beyond that the only sound in the fort was the melody that was currently echoing out.
"Oh!" Marinette exclaimed softly as a new song called 'Love Rainy Days' came on, this one a ballad rather than a more uptempo song like what had been playing so far. "This is one of my favorites, even though I normally don't like ballads."
Adrien listened intently, head resting on his crossed arms and eyes slipping closed to savor the dance of the melody. He could see why she liked it so much. The slightly melancholic tune was accompanied by the light patter of rainfall and the effect of the combination was very soothing.
"Ish nice," the boy mumbled, feeling very relaxed by the song. He smiled sleepily as Marinette's soft humming began to mix in with the music coming from the speakers. She has a nice voice, he thought, as the music lulled him to sleep.
A few minutes later, Marinette noticed the boy's soft, slow breathing and smiled. He's so adorable when he's asleep, she marveled. Gently, she reached down and pulled the blanket up to cover him better, then grabbed her phone and set an alarm for the morning. She snagged a pillow and blanket of her own and got cozy, sneaking as close as she dared to the snoozing boy before laying her head down and slowly drifting off to sleep.