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Marinette pulled Adrien’s covers up to her face and gently breathed the smell of them in and out. It had been for a few weeks now that Marinette would occasionally spend a friday night at the Agreste manor, laying on Adrien’s chest as they talked, laughed, played video games, watched movies, and eventually fell asleep on top of each other.
With his father gone, Adrien was now asking Marinette to come over all the time, which she was more than happy to do at this point. Nathalie and her had an understanding, and even Gorilla had started to wear the decorative pins on his lapel that Marinette had hand made and gifted to him. She felt welcome at Adrien’s in a way that almost rivaled how comfortable she felt in her own home. Though, of course, there were certain rooms she never dared to enter, like Nathalie’s room and office.
Ever since the renovation repairs finished, the manor has been calm and still. Adrien was reluctant to make any new decisions, whether that be on what to do with his father’s belongings, what color to paint his room, or what furniture to buy. This resulted in a pretty empty house. No matter how many times Nathalie reminds him that he gets to choose what he’d like to do with the place, Adrien is hesitant to make any big changes, so the manor looks mostly the same.
Marinette completely understood this about Adrien, and just held his hand whenever he got overwhelmed following the aftermath of his father’s death. Gabriel’s actions, especially towards the end, still confused and angered Adrien, so grieving his father wasn’t a straightforward process for Adrien. It wasn’t easy for Marinette either. After the shock had worn off about Gabriel being Monarch, Marinette spent a week straight thinking over all those battles she fought against Monarch. All those times he had akumatized their friends, or was cruel to Adrien. There was so much she wanted to say; to Gabriel, to Adrien, to the world. But she couldn’t. The only person she could truly confide in was Tikki, who Marinette had presumed was hiding somewhere in Adrien’s house right now, as she always did when Marinette had a sleepover there.
Adrien had his arm over her as they lay nestled into each other. She could hear from his breathing that he was asleep, so she very slowly raised her head to check his alarm clock on the nightstand. It read 6:00 AM. The sun was beginning to rise on sleepy Paris, but hadn’t yet illuminated the room with light. Marinette slithered her body out from under Adrien’s arm and tiptoed over to his bathroom, looking behind her to check that she hadn’t woken him up.
She slowly closed the bathroom door behind her and turned to look at herself in the mirror. She was in her favorite pajamas, as per usual. But she was too distraught to be brought any joy by the sight of them. Staring into her own reflection, all she could see in her eyes was a liar. She sighed and tried to take a deep breath when Tikki flew in through the wall, yawning.
“Good morning Marinette!” Tikki whispered. Marinette gave an exhausted half smile. She had not gotten such good sleep in a long time, and it showed on her face.
“Good morning Tikki.” Tikki nuzzled against Marinette’s cheek. Marinette turned to look at her.
“I’m sorry we’ve spent so many nights at Adrien’s lately, you must miss your bed at home. Adrien just keeps asking me to spend the night, and I sleep so much better lately in his arms.”
“Don’t apologize Marinette! I will follow you anywhere!” Tikki reassured her. They shared a quiet laugh.
“Thanks Tikki, you're the best. Say, Tikki, where do you hide when I sleep in Adrien’s bed? I never see where in the manor you fly off to. Have you found a nice spot where you can be alone? Do you know where you can find food if you're hungry in the middle of the night? Oh no I should've already helped you find a nice place to hide in Adrien’s room, with tons of snacks in case you need it. You probably get so lonely on the nights we stay here. Oh I’m such a bad holder!!” Marinette started to panic.
“Calm down Marinette! You don’t have to worry about me!” Tikki exclaimed. “Trust me, I am never truly alone when we’re at the Agreste manor”
Marinette turned to look at her again, about to ask her what she meant by that, and also why Marinette suddenly picked up on the scent of cheese coming from Tikki, when Tikki cut her off to say,
“Go back to bed Marinette, Adrien’s probably noticed you're missing by now” and flew out of the bathroom before Marinette could object.
Marinette looked at herself in the mirror one more time and snuck back into bed, Adrien’s arm holding her even closer as she rejoined him in his bed. Feeling his warm body on her back was so soothing, and Marinette cozied in for another hour or two of sleep with the love of her life.