Chapter Four

Being a week night, Adrien didn't stay too late at Marinette's place. As he stepped back into his own building, the blonde deviated from his normal floor and stopped the elevator a level early. Pacing down the corridor he stopped at the last apartment and pulled the spare key-card from his wallet to unlock the front door.

Turning on the lights, he perused the current state of the place. The new kitchen cupboards were in however the granite benchtop was yet to be installed. There was also a cavity for a dishwasher which was yet to arrive. The wall tiling, painting and flooring would follow.

Adrien refamiliarized himself with the layout, the combined kitchen and living area was at least double the size of Marinette's current abode. The large window expanse held two glass doors which opened to the narrow balcony, although it was large enough for a couple of chairs and potted plants. No doubt, something Marinette would appreciate.

Being a corner apartment, it had a cosy sunroom which had previously been used as a home office/study by the previous occupant. The rear wall had built in bookshelves on either side of the wide opening which could be closed off with bifold louvre doors. It linked to the single bedroom, allowing extra room or light when the bifold doors were open. Though the bedroom itself was rather generous in size and didn't really require the additional space. There was also a separate doorway from the bedroom which led back out to the living area.

The bathroom was tucked behind the single bedroom. It had a hidden built-in laundry, with two outer doors which concealed the washer/drier from sight when shut. This was the one room of the apartment which was finished, completely modernised and optimised while still having some old-world charm about it. The interior stylist had completely lived up to her sterling reputation.

Ambling back into the living area, Adrien was considering whether or not to furnish the place on Marinette's behalf when he received a message notification. Retrieving his phone from his pocket he couldn't help but smirk when he read the message: "It appears that you left something in my bathroom."

"Marinette found the money," he uttered to Plagg.

The cat kwami snorted briefly awake in the blonde's shirt pocket and replied with a dry, "Yay."

"Such enthusiasm."

"I was dreaming of cheese. Fields of cheese, as far as the eye could see."

"Isn't that a recurring dream?"

"Absolutely. Now if you're done, I'm gonna try and return there."

Adrien chuckled to himself then typed out a response to Marinette. "Sorry, I thought I flushed."

The response was as swift as he anticipated and he didn't even bother trying to hold in his laughter. "That is not what I'm talking about and you know it, cheeky devil! There is 270 euros under my toothbrush jar that wasn't there before."

Leaning against the doorframe, Adrien replied. "Must have been the tooth fairy. I'm guessing she forgot to pay you for one of your teeth as a kid and she's finally paid you with interest. Lucky girl!"

Moments later his phone began to ring. "Good evening, Marinette. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

There was a faint disgruntled growl. "Adrien, you can't just leave money behind for me."

"I told you, it was the tooth fairy. I know nothing."

"It wasn't the tooth fairy. It was you!"

"Did you see me put the money there?" he asked casually.

"Well, no."

A slow grin spread across his face, "Then you have no proof that it was me. Had to be the tooth fairy."

"I'm going to pay you back."

"For what? The tooth fairy paid me years ago, I'm good."

"Adrien!" she snarled with more frustration than anger.

"Just take the money, Marinette. It's yours now."

There was a heavy sigh. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely, I believe there is a no returns policy applicable to tooth fairy transactions."

"I know it was you."

"And I will deny it for all eternity."

There was quiet acceptance in her voice as she said, "Adrien, thank you."

"Anytime."

"Ha! Got you! You just admitted it was you."

"No, I didn't.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did!"

"I deny all involvement in any transactions involving toothbrushes."

"Agh, you're infuriating!"

His grin only grew wider, "That's what friends are for my girl."

There was a slight spluttering from Marinette before she seemed to pull herself back together. "Fine, deny it all you want."

"I will."

"But, I will pay you back at some point."

The humour left Adrien's voice to be replaced with compassion. "If you need more, let me know."

"I-I can't. I need to work this out myself."

"You can ask for help, Marinette. I'll be there for you, anytime and anyway you need it."

"I know, Adrien. It's just…I don't want you to think that I'm reaching out to you only for money."

Understanding dawned on the blonde. "Marinette, there are a lot of people in this world who would happily use me for my wealth and fame. I know you are not one of those people. You are one of the most steadfast friends in my life, so don't think for a second that I would possibly think that you'd take advantage of me in that way."

Silence lingered briefly. When Marinette answered there was an emotional crack to her voice. "You know you are like the perfect man, right?"

Adrien couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't know about that, although I have been nominated as most eligible bachelor of the year before."

"Oh wait, your modesty could use some work."

"I think I hear my golden pedestal crashing down. Thanks for keeping it real. Anyway, I'm at the apartment we were discussing tonight. I'll take some photos and send them through for you to look at."

"Really, you're there now? Adrien, you are impossible to stay mad at."

"That's because you love me," he teased.

"True," she said with a resigned sigh. "It's late, I better go. Especially since I need some extra time to check my windows are locked from future tooth fairy visits. I'll catch you later."

"Good luck with that and sweet dreams." He said with a smile on his face as he ended the call.

From his pocket came the grumpy retort. "Great, now I'm going to dream of demented fairies trying to steal my teeth instead of glorious fields of cheese. You suck."


I hope you got a good chuckle out of this chapter. I do enjoy having Adrien and Marinette stirring each other up. As always, thanks for reading, favouriting, following and/or reviewing. :)