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One bed. One, full-sized, impeccably made bed. Staring at it, Marinette could feel the grip on her bag grow tighter, feel her chest rise as she held in a breath, unsure of what to say. Next to her, she can hear a thud as Adrien’s bag hits the floor. Another moment, and he’s stepping around it, entering the room. Turning his head, he looks at her, waiting for her to join.
Marinette exhales with her step towards him, a hand reaching behind her to grab the doorknob and close the door. The door closes with a harsh snap, amplified by the quiet. Closed in together, with nothing but the shuffling of their feet on the carpet providing noise, Marinette searches for something to say.
“Alya was watching while I booked the room,” she says, hoping it’ll soothe the situation.
It doesn’t.
“I guess it makes sense then. She would’ve guessed something was up if we didn’t, so…”
“Yeah,” Marinette finishes. “I know it’s tough pretending all the time, and you would’ve preferred we didn’t have to, but – “
“It’s fine,” Adrien interrupts. “Thank you… for helping me out.”
“Anything for you, Adrien. I know how tough it is convincing your dad of anything, so it’s crazy we’ve gotten this far,” Marinette says. She smiles, taking a few more steps to finally join his side once more. Looking at the bed, she bites her lip, wondering how they’d get through the night.
Clearing his throat, Adrien motions to the space next to the bed, a clear patch of carpet that still had vacuum lines from the most recent housekeeping check-in. A space just barely fitting his height.
“I don’t suppose you’ll be fine if I sleep on the- “ he starts, before Marinette hand comes up to stop him, a quick motion that silences him without much effort.
“Don’t even suggest it, Adrien,” she says. “You’re not sleeping on the floor, not when you have to be on the runway tomorrow. If anything, I will.”
“No way. You are not going to spend the night on the floor, Marinette. Did you forget you’re going to be backstage tomorrow, helping out?”
“I’ll be fine,” she assures him, even as she knows there’s a falter in her voice. Marinette was never one to get a good night’s rest with a schedule as loaded as hers, and spending the night on the floor would do little to help.
But, she would be damned if a good night’s rest meant sentencing Adrien to a night on the floor. So, against all her better judgement, she looked up at him and narrowed her eyes, challenging him to counter her.
“If you really think you’ll be fine sleeping there, then I should join you on the floor, Marinette.”
“Absolutely not,” she says, incredulous. “You’re sleeping on that bed.”
“Not if you aren’t too.”
“Fine,” Marinette says, a resolution coming out too soon for her brain to process. “Then I guess we’re both sharing the bed.”
For a moment, Adrien and Marinette kept steady eye contact. A gaze between the two, where whatever followed would set the course for the rest of their week together and paint the path to how far would their fake relationship descend into.
What followed, for only a brief second, was a glance down. Adrien’s eyes finding an unmapped territory on Marinette’s face, a part of her he had yet to truly experience.
A look down at her lips, which were parted slightly, as if in an open invitation for him to take.
He glances away sooner than she can process it, running a hand through his hair and looking at the bed.
“Well, I guess we better get ready for the night. Want me to run you a bath?”
“Um… yeah,” Marinette manages to get out. She feels her cheeks burn, but tries to ignore the feeling, hoping the dim lighting won’t give her away. “Thank you.”
“No problem,” he says, making for the bathroom. Turning to look at her, he throws one quick wink before entering. “That’s what boyfriends do, right?”
“Yeah,” Marinette says, once he’s gone and she can hear the water start up. “What boyfriends do.”