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Not that long ago Marinette couldn’t have imagined that she’d be in Adrien’s room and would be close to falling asleep instead of looking around in wonder.
Well, one reason for this was that being there wasn’t such a novelty anymore. Not that she was a regular visitor in the Agreste household but she’d certainly been there enough times.
Another reason was that she was just tired and there wasn’t much in her boyfriend’s room that could hold her interest right now. Not that there wasn’t enough to keep her entertained but she just wanted to sleep and would be doing so even without him if he didn’t join her soon.
It was strange how she was used to a lot of what made Adrien Adrien, like him wolfing down anything sweet he laid his eyes on or his penchant for puns and the over the top romantic gestures. But there were still things she was surprised by.
Like just how long he took in the shower. She was used to having him around when she was preparing for bed so he had many times waited for her to get out of the bathroom. But she was sure that she was much faster than him. After all, it was just a quick shower at the end of the day, what could be taking so long?
She thought about checking up on him. But on the one hand she didn’t feel like getting up from the warm bed. On the other, the thought of taking a peek of him under the shower still sent her into a blushing fest.
Yes, she was used to sharing her bed with him because they had found out how mutually beneficial sleeping together was. But it was still only this - just sleeping and completely innocent. So while having him around in his pyjamas wasn’t a big deal, seeing him naked would be.
Not that she wasn’t curious. Also it was something that was bound to happen sooner or later. But she didn’t want it to be accidental, just because she was checking if he’d somehow managed to drown in the bathroom.
Sleepiness should have prevented her from having those thoughts but she couldn’t help it. Her mind tended to run away from her.
She turned around with a huff. While Adrien’s bed was bigger than hers, she kind of preferred it when they were huddled up in her room. It was familiar. While spending the night at the mansion just because Adrien’s father was out of town was not something that happened often.
“Did you fall asleep, m’lady?”
Adrien’s voice made her jump a little. Her first instinct was to turn around and demand an explanation for him being gone for so long. It was only after she had rolled over and was already looking at him that she realised that she could have come face to face with Adrien just in a towel.
Which was something she wasn’t opposed to. Not that she was going to admit it. Which was pointless since the cheeky cat had caught her drooling over him more than once.
So seeing him already dressed was a bit of a disappointment.
Get a grip, Marinette.
Of course, the delay in her response didn’t go unnoticed.
“Marinette?” Adrien raised an eyebrow, looking curiously at her. And of course she blushed. Because not only did she have a hard time reining in her thoughts, but she also couldn’t for the life of her hide this.
“Almost,” she answered his question, trying to sound casual. “What took you so long?”
“Was I gone long? I really have no concept of time sometimes,” he laughed.
“He usually takes longer and I bet he’s in there thinking about you, but since you’re now here, well.“ Plagg chimed in from the sofa which he was sharing with Tikki for the night. “This wasn’t that long.”
Marinette almost asked what he meant, but then caught the look on Adrien’s face and realised that she was no longer the only one who was blushing and had a reason to be embarrassed. Oops.
“Plagg, seriously, stop embarrassing Adrien,” Tikki sighed. Marinette would be eternally grateful to her kwami for stepping in to defuse the tension.
“Why? It’s my favourite thing to do.”
“It’s not nice.”
“You also say embarrassing things about Marinette, all the time.”
“Not intentionally.”
“Yeah, right.”
The bickering between the kwamis helped and with how ridiculous the whole thing was, Marinette and Adrien ended up laughing.
“ Anyway ,” Adrien said as he sat up on the edge of the bed. “I was about to say that you can blame my insane bedtime routine. You don’t even want to know the amount of products I have to use daily.”
“It sure smells nice,” Marinette smiled as she sniffed the air.
“Are you trying to tell me that I don’t smell nice usually?” He shot her a look, making her laugh again.
“Not at all. But at least the result is worth it.”
“It is. But if it was up to me, I’d only need some shampoo, a bar of soap and a towel to dry my hair.”
“It’s dry now,” Marinette observed. She’d never given this much thought in the past. She kind of assumed that his hair dried out before he got to her house.
“Yes. Because I have to blow dry it,” he grumbled.
“No!”
“Yes. You don’t want to see the result in the morning when I don’t.”
“I kind of want to,” she admitted with a giggle.
Marinette had been a bit envious of the effortless way he usually looked so well. Yes, in the morning his hair was often shaggier than usual, reminding her of his Chat look, but it was nowhere near real dishevelled. She had thought that very unfair, since she looked like a scarecrow before she got to her hair brush.
Of course this wasn’t just him being very lucky. It required effort on his part. She should have realised this.
“I often have to be up very early for photoshoots,” he reminded her. Which was even earlier when he was over at her house and she hated it. “Getting ready in the morning would take ages.”
“Don’t you get tired of this?” She asked gently as he settled next to her.
“Well. Like I said, if it was up to me, it would be different. But I’m used to it now. I’m sorry I kept you waiting, though.”
“It’s no problem. It’s just one more thing I didn’t realise was chosen for you.”
Something flashed in his eyes. A spark of defiance she was now familiar with. Thankfully, the days when she’d believed that his life was perfect and something he loved were long gone.
“I sometimes wonder just how different everything would be if my parents hadn’t made some choices for me. I doubt that I would have become a model, for one. But it’s such a big part of my life that I can’t imagine anything else,” he sighed. “What about Chinese? Would I have picked learning this for myself or I would have preferred another language? Don’t get me started on piano, fencing, karate, basketball.” He sounded so exasperated, in a way Marinette had rarely seen him. “I really enjoy most of these things, don’t get me wrong,” he added quickly, “but I just don’t know if I wouldn’t have wanted something different.”
“Adrien, it’s ok if you don’t love all the activities your parents have chosen for you,” Marinette said, reaching for his hand. “It’s all so much that I still can’t believe you put up with everything.”
“I’m used to it,” he shrugged. “And luckily they don’t require that much effort on my part.”
“Because you’re just exceptional,” she smiled, not hiding the pride in her voice.
“M’lady.”
“Kitty, don’t sell yourself short. I doubt that there are many people out there who can ace everything they try their hand at.”
“Well, it still takes a lot of practice,” he huffed. She knew that. “Time I could have spent on things I actually love. If only I’d been allowed to find out what they are.”
“I’m sorry,” Marinette said gently, moving closer to hug him.
“I shouldn’t be complaining, right? I mean, I’m privileged to .. “
“Adrien, no,” she shushed him with a finger. “Feeling disgruntled is valid. I don’t mind listening to you. I want to know how you feel, you know that.”
“But you were sleepy, right?” He reminded her, kissing the top of her head.
“Doesn't matter. I always have time for you.”
“Thank you.” This time, he kissed her lips. “But we really should be sleeping. Before the kwamis come up with something else.”
With a laugh, he turned off the lights and snuggled into her.
“I agree with that,” Marinette giggled as she closed her eyes. “But I'm not entirely dropping this," she added. "We can check out some things together when we have time. We'll find out what you actually like doing, besides running across rooftops in a catsuit," she poked him in the ribs. "I want you to be happy."
"I appreciate it, m'lady. And I am happy, since you're here." She knew that and it was some consolation, but she also knew that they could do better and she vowed to do it for him.
"Sweet dreams, kitty." She searched blindly for him for a final kiss.
"Sweet dreams," he whispered against her lips before she settled down.
"Finally!" Plagg grumbled, setting them off again. Sleeping was really the preferred option when the other one was angering the kwami.