Im/explicit sexual content.

The first week they were dating, Adrien and Marinette truly tried to take things slow.

Their work dynamic hadn't changed much, Adrien still providing the very much needed caffeine every single morning without fail, before burying himself under numbers and plannings while Marinette went straight to her drawing table or her sewing machines. They fully intended to keep their budding romance out of prying eyes at Agreste, and mostly succeeded. If someone really paid close attention to their interactions, though, they might have figured it out. It was little things that could give them away, really. The way Adrien's hand always found its place on the small of her back every time he opened a door for her. The way Marinette would absentmindedly fix his tie as they waited for the elevator. The way then acted so comfortably around each other all of a sudden. They weren't hiding their relationship, for it was nothing to ashamed of, but they weren't ready to broadcast it. Not yet.

Behind the closed doors of their office, things weren't that much different. They both remained, for the most part, professional, focusing entirely on successfully bringing their collection to life. Truth be told, though, there was a lot more tender glances exchanged throughout the day, and their skins had taken a steady habit of brushing against each other whenever they came close. If Marinette exited the room to get fabric, she would rest her hand on his shoulder for the shortest time, merely reminding him of her presence. Should Adrien come close to her to discuss a design or a fabric choice, he would wrap an arm around her waist, or put a hand on her hip while they talked.

Every evening, when they called it quit for the day, they would leave together and have dinner at either of their places. They talked a lot, learning to know each other even more than they already did. On Wednesday, Nino and Alya joined them for dinner at Adrien's apartment, giving the perfect excuse to Marinette for putting her lover's dream kitchen to good use. The night was spent in a comfortable conversation, their friends telling them their honeymoon tales and the new couple explaining to greater lengths how in the world they ended up together. When the newlyweds left, Adrien could swear he heard Nino whisper not so subtly to his wife about how he and Marinette looked like husband and wife material.

On Friday night, after a quiet evening watching some anime on Marinette's couch after treating themselves to Chinese takeout and wine, Adrien checked the time on his phone and sighed:
"It's getting late, I should go."
The blackette buried her nose in the crook of his neck, whining softly:
"I really hate this part of the night. I wish you could stay."
Smiling tentatively, the blond whispered in her ear:
"I could if you want me to, princess."
"Then stay with me mon chaton."

By the end of the second week, they had yet to spend a night apart.

If Adrien had previously thought that basically living with someone else would be a huge step in a relationship, he quickly found that with Marinette, it was nothing but natural. Being with her almost twenty-four/seven wasn't a burden on him nor affecting their relationship negatively. Her daily habits fitted his quite nicely, without either of them having to really make a compromise on anything. She loved to cook for them, and he was quite happy of cleaning up after her if it meant homemade food in his plate. They had almost the same sleeping schedule, although Adrien being a way earlier bird than her. They didn't mind it too much, though, as it gave plenty of time to the young man to fix them breakfast before waking her up as he genuinely enjoyed to do every morning, and she appreciated not having to worry about oversleeping again. True, Adrien snored and it had taken Marinette a few nights to adjust, but she had a tendency to hog the blankets whenever she was sleeping soundly, so he counted them as even.

By Friday though, as it was the third morning they had to stop by her place on their way to work for the sole purpose of feeding a rather lonely ginger ball of fur, Adrien couldn't help himself but sigh as Marinette climbed back in his car:
"Mari, wouldn't it be easier to move her at my place?"
"Adrien, I don't know if-"
"You prefer cooking in my kitchen, and you prefer my bed, your words, not mine. I'm not asking you to give up your apartment, not yet anyway. But she'd be less lonely in my flat, she'd have Plagg to keep her company while we're at work, and-"
"Okay," the young woman breathed softly. "You're right, they'll both be less lonely that way. We'll move her tonight."
"Sounds good to me, my lady."

That's how Adrien and Marinette found themselves crouched in the blond's apartment one late Friday night, watching warily as Tikki slowly came out of her crate and began exploring the flat. Adrien had never bothered to get Plagg neutered since he was living alone and the old cat wasn't going outside at all, so they fully expected him to get a little territorial with the small kitten, as least at the beginning. What they didn't saw coming, though, was Tikki hopping into the dryer and curling up against the grumpy black cat, falling asleep on the spot. Plagg had opened an eye, looked at the newcomer briefly before returning to his peaceful slumber without even twitching a paw. Grinning, Adrien muttered to his equally stunned girlfriend:
"I think he just adopted her."
Marinette chuckled:
"Plagg the possessed cat has a soft spot after all. Who knew?"

The third week marked a turning point in their relationship.

Adrien had known from the beginning that sex would be the tricky part of their relationship, and he had been honest with her when he had stated that he didn't mind the slightest. Marinette, on the other hand, was very adamant that she at least wanted to try. So they kept trying per her wishes, ever so slowly easing into it. With every time they were intimate, they gradually began to know each other bodies better and feel more comfortable with it. Adrien was also starting to feel more at ease with her, didn't feel the need to ask for permission before each and every single move anymore.

On her part, Marinette was relaxing more and more with every attempt they made, and she actually began to feel waves of pleasure building up when they made love. It started small, at first, a pleasant sensation pooling up into her core though never becoming overwhelming. But gradually, and with Adrien patient and constant love, she ended up relaxing enough to really enjoy herself. When the young blackette finally let go of her apprehensions enough to let the waves of pleasures wash over her, she was rewarded with her very first orgasm, ending up breathless and shivering into Adrien's arms. It left them both grinning uncontrollably to the point of their cheeks hurting because they both were very aware of all its implications. There was still hope for them, for a normal relationship free from the clutches of the past.

The next day, Adrien really had trouble keeping his hands off her. He couldn't stop thinking about the night before, about the wonderful sounds she had made as she had reached her climax, about how she had felt around him. It was distracting him from his work, and he kept looking up at her, his heart ready to burst in his chest from his affections toward his amazing girlfriend. Being with her fixed his love-thirsty soul, and he knew that she was feeling the same.

When Marinette had called him over her workstation, the blond had been rather happy to oblige. Enlacing her lithe body from behind, he rested his chin on her shoulder, wrapping his arms around her waist. The young woman reached for his hair for a second, scraping his scalp briefly before pointing out the flaws in her design that were bothering her. How long they stayed in that position discussing the design and the alterations that she could make, he couldn't tell, but too soon for his taste they were startled by someone loudly clearing their throat behind them.

Spinning on his heels, Adrien found himself facing none other than Gabriel Agreste, an amused smirk dancing on his lips:
"Am I interrupting, Adrien?"
Blushing furiously, the young man stuttered:
"Y-No! I mean, hello, father."
The designer took a step forward, examining the design Marinette was currently working on:
"The collar is wrong. And satin would be better for the sash."
Beaming, Marinette grinned through her blush:
"See Adrien? Told you so!"

Ignoring the young woman, Gabriel went on, analyzing the mock-ups laid up on the mannequins. After a few minutes of a really heavy silence spent exchanging worried glances between him and Marinette, Adrien saw with relief his father return his attention to them:
"This is good. I like the theme you went with, it's daring and refreshing. Miss Dupain-Cheng, your designs are exquisite. Are they all under budget?"
The blond nodded:
"The final product will be affordable for teenagers like we aimed to. We had to compromise on some fabric choices to pull it off, but I like to think we did a pretty good job for it."
His father nodded briefly.
"I agree. I look forward to seeing the rest of the collection."
Turning around, he headed toward the door, before pausing momentarily:
"Oh, and Adrien? I'm relieved to see you pick your ladies very well."

A second later he was gone, leaving a dumbfounded young couple in his trail.

The fourth week, Adrien and Marinette had to come to the decision of having Tikki spayed. Plagg was too old to undergo such an invasive intervention, and they really didn't want to end up with an unexpected litter of kittens should the old grumpy cat take and odd interest in the younger female.

The vet appointment was made, and a really emotive Marinette dropped her kitten off one night. When she slid back beside Adrien in the car, she looked at him with her beautiful bluebell eyes full of tears:
"Why do I feel like I have just abandoned my baby?"
Smiling reassuringly, Adrien gently patted her knee:
"Don't worry princess, it's a routine operation for them, they do dozens of them every day. Tikki's gonna be just fine."
Marinette simply nodded, looking in the distance, missing her kitten already. She couldn't wait to be the next day when they were supposed to pick her up after her intervention.

Adrien volunteered to go and fetch the kitten the day after, as he had to swing by their office to get some papers anyway. As he had figured, the small ball of fur was doing pretty good and was already trying to get herself into trouble when he arrived at the vet's office, bugging bigger pets than her.
"Come here Tikki, mama misses you a lot."
That statement, along with the sight of no one other than Adrien Agreste tenderly cradling a small kitten in his arms earned him odd stares from the vet and her assistant, but the young man simply ignored them. He paid the bill and put Tikki in her crate, eager to get home.

Ten minutes later, he pushed his apartment door, his girlfriend's kitten sound asleep in the crook of his arm:
"Princess, we're home!"
Seeing as no answer came, Adrien started to feel uneasy. He quickly checked the living room, scanned the kitchen, but Marinette was nowhere in sight.
"Mari? Where are you Bugaboo?"
Ignoring the feeling of dread pooling into his gut, he pushed his bedroom door open.

Standing still in the middle of the room, her beautiful face covered with tears streaks, Marinette had a hand clasped on her mouth. The other one was clenched around the TV remote. She had changed into her pajamas, and it was clear she was heading to bed after she'd turned on the television. But what was on at that precise moment had stopped her dead in her tracks.

Adrien read the news headlines quickly before crossing the room as fast as he could, turning off the offending television and scooping her up in his arms, hugging her as tightly as he could.
"Fuck." was the only thing that crossed the blond's mind.