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Long past were the days of stuttering and stalking and turning as bright as a cherry when Adrien walked by. She no longer gasped and floundered when he put his hand on her shoulder, and time spent alone together were no longer filled with butterflies in her belly that made her want to puke.
The butterflies were still there, don't misunderstand. She could still feel her skin warm up when he touched her a certain way and her heart still sped up when he held eye contact with her. Her feelings were still wild and overwhelming, but there reached a point when she realized that despite knowing his everyday activities and having memorized the way he crossed his T's, she didn't actually know him. That's all she ever wanted anyway. She wanted to know him like she knew the back of her hand, and she wanted him to know her just the same. As things stood, they were mere acquantances with mutual friends.
Marinette started taking a breath and pushing the feelings aside to understand him as a person. Perhaps even a friend. Her heart rattled in her chest, but with her sweaty palms and all, she made her first step towards understanding the boy she had spent the past few years infatuated with. No more chickening out. At the very least, she wanted to know his favorite color. His favorite food. What he did when he had free time. If she didn't take the time to know him, could she ever say that she truly cared?
Patient as ever, he waited for the words tumbling out of her mouth to make sense, and then a conversation started. Then another conversation the next day. Then a phone call. Then a few hours at the park sharing a box of freshly baked croissants. Conversation after conversation, hours on the phone ranting and raving about their everyday lives. Excited text messages and nonsensical stories. All of a sudden, he was an active part of her daily life. A real friendship had sprung up from practically nothing, and she was proud to say with confidence that Adrien Agreste's favorite color was blue.
Ever since she and Adrien got closer, it made the bond between them and their two best friends even stronger. The group of four was inseparable. They did nearly everything together.
Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino were all squished up on the couch together for their usual movie night. They were halfway through the film, and she couldn't even remember the title, let alone what the movie was about. She normally loved their movie night, but she was dead tired.
Hawkmoth was making things particularly difficult for her and Chat Noir. Namely, he was releasing akumas late into the night when she was supposed to be sleeping. There were many occasions in the past few weeks where she couldn't purify the akuma until dawn. She wasn't getting sleep, and it showed. She couldn't imagine her partner was fairing any better than she was. He was usually on the scene before she was.
The only light in the room was emitting from the TV. It cast a soft glow over her face as her eyes drooped lower and lower. She didn't want to miss the movie. They always had long conversations afterward that started with the film and spiraled off into completely different topics. Those were some of her favorite times that she didn't want to miss out on, but she was just so dang tired. The voices from the speaker were white noise, and the background music a lullaby putting her to sleep. She tried to hold back a yawn but to no avail.
“Having trouble sleeping lately?” Adrien whispered, leaning closer so only she would hear. It didn't matter; Alya and Nino were far too immersed in the movie to pay any attention.
She shrugged. “Something like that”
Adrien looked at her for a moment. He hesitated before offering her a timid smile and scooting even closer to her. Her heart skipped a beat. Maybe a few. “Need a shoulder?” he asked.
“What?”
“Sleep for a little bit. I'll wake you up during the credits. You aren't missing much anyway.”
She considered it for a moment. She was tired, but she wondered if she would be able to sleep, knowing that her pillow was Adrien Agreste. But still, he was offering, and the longer she thought about it, the sleepier she got.
Adrien smiled at her, almost as if he could hear her thoughts, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. He gently pulled her down and nestled her into his side. Although she expected her nerves to get the best of her, her eyes immediately closed, and she could feel sleep calling to her.
He was so comfortable. So warm. So gentle. Her pillow at home would never be able to compare now that she knew how it felt to fall asleep on Adrien's side. She could feel his arm slide down to her waist and draw comforting circles through her shirt. Her body relaxed, and the last thing she thought of before her mind went black was how she could lay there forever.
-
Sweet Marinette. So much more lovely and genuine than Adrien ever expected. He always knew she was a good person. Although she had a tendency to jump to conclusions and dive into action before fully thinking things through, he had always seen her heart of gold. When she started spending more time with him, however. . . Well, let's just say he had to put a conscious effort into not falling for her. Watching her sleep right against him wasn't helping his efforts.
The movie was far from his mind. He had his head turned and his eyes glued to the girl beneath him. He watched the rising and falling of her chest, and he wondered how long the moment would last. He wondered if he even wanted to wake her up before the movie ended. If he had it his way, he'd let her sleep all she wanted. In all honesty, if he had it his way, he'd be the one sleeping.
With everything Hawkmoth had been putting him and Ladybug through, he was surprised he hadn't passed out yet. He almost skipped movie night to catch some shut-eye, but it was a pair of sterling blue eyes coming to mind that made him decide against it. They hadn't had much time together since all the akumas, and he didn't want to lose more time.
Marinette shifted. Her eyes were still shut, and her breath was still steady, but her hand slowly moved up and rested on his chest. He gulped. Gripping her waist just a little tighter, holding her firmly against him, he turned his eyes back to the screen.
He didn't have a clue what was happening in the movie anymore. It was the climax. There was fire and tears, somebody was screaming, but it all sounded like background noise to him. The only thing filling his head was the sound of Marinette's gentle breaths.
Adrien gingerly rested his head on top of hers, and the exhaustion hit him all over again. He wouldn't lie to himself and say he didn't want to fall asleep with her, but he said he was gonna wake her up when the time came, and he intended to keep his promise.
He would just rest his eyes for a little while. He wouldn't let himself fall asleep. No, just a little conscious rest. He closed his eyes and spent the next few minutes simply feeling himself snuggled against Marinette, but the few minutes passed too quickly, and the sleep deprivation overcame him. What better way to fall asleep than next to her?
-
Marinette woke up on a cloud. It softly floated up and down with the push of the wind. It soothed her sore muscles. She stretched them and felt the cloud further envelope her body. She wanted to go back to sleep, but nothing was more pleasurable than floating on her cloud and feeling it caress her. Wait, caress her?
Against her every wish, she opened her eyes. It was dark, but she knew where she was. Alya's living room. It was movie night, but the TV was off and the couch was empty except for her and her cloud, which just so happened to have a head of blond hair.
Gone was the relaxation. The steady thump of her heart turned into an erratic pounding. Not only had she actually fallen asleep on Adrien, but now she was on top of him. The boy was lying on his back, and she had her entire body draped across him. His arms were wrapped around, and even in his unconscious state, his thumb would occasionally rub her side.
He had fallen asleep, too. On the one hand, she wanted to enjoy it. She was cuddling with Adrien! On the other hand, her body was heating up beyond her control. She could feel the sweat accumulating on her palms and her forehead, and her breath quickened. She was surprised the beating of her heart didn't wake him up; it felt like it was jumping out of her chest.
She felt like she was losing an opportunity by getting up, but she needed a breath. She needed to step out of his grip and collect herself. She moved to sit up, but his grip tightened. He pulled her back down, and her mind went wild.
Her soft and gentle cloud became a demanding storm. It wanted its warmth back, and before the rational part of her brain could intervene, she gave herself to it. To him.
With his arms firmly around her, he turned over on his side and snuggled into her neck. His breath was hot against her skin, or maybe that was just her skin. Maybe she was the hot one, and maybe her body was going into overdrive. She had spent many nights fantasizing and dreaming of being in Adrien's arms like this, but maybe she couldn't actually handle it.
Before she was able to panic too much, a grunt put her overthinking to a halt. Adrien pulled his head out from her neck just enough for her to see his eyelashes fluttering. When his eyes opened, they met hers and he let out a happy sigh. Her heart swelled.
A little smile melted onto his face before he closed his eyes once more, but just quickly as they closed, they snapped open. He looked startled. No, he looked awake. Aware. He quickly sat up and unintentionally pulled Marinette with him. Their faces were even closer, and the poor duo had no clue how to react or respond. That wouldn't stop her from trying, though.
“Um. . . ahh. Well. . . g-good morning?”
Marinette was proud of how far she had come with Adrien. She enjoyed his company more than she could express, so she was happy that a little bit of nervousness didn't get in the way anymore. She'd be lying, however, if there weren't still moments that twisted her tongue. The reddening of Adrien's cheeks told her she wasn't the only one.
“Good morning,” he whispered. It wasn't morning, but neither had it in them to do anything but twiddle their thumbs and secretly wish they were still in each other's arms.