Prompt: Snow on eyelashes

Marinette wrapped her coat tighter around her body as she made her way towards the steps and into the small lodge, the cold wetness of the snow melting against her head and running down her face making the idea of being inside all the more welcoming. Woe was her life.

She was cold, slightly damp, and had a stain on her trousers, getting to their room had never sounded more wonderful.

Tentatively, she made her way up the staircase and into the veranda of the house, the little country retreat perfect for the snow covered backdrop. As her foot collided with the top step, Marinette lost her balance, skidding and twirling like a failing figure skater as she tried her hardest to regain her centre and, ultimately, her balance.

"Woah there." Adrien was beside her in an instant, his hands on her hips, steadying her and supporting her just as he always did. She couldn't help but wonder how she'd gotten by so long without him.

This road trip was playing with her heart in ways she didn't understand. One moment she thought he was flirting with her, the next he was pulling away. It was as though he didn't know whether to embrace his Chat Noir side or Adrien side; unknown to him she adored both.

If she wanted to survive these next few days with Adrien she needed to make a choice, because the way he was looking at her at this moment — the deep gaze into her eyes — was doing nothing but sending her into a self destructive spiral of self pity. She had a choice: she could either declare her love to him, take the answer like the superhero she was and move on with her life, or she could ignore her feelings for now and consider what Adrien wanted and more importantly what Adrien desired: a couple of days away with friends to enjoy himself and not worry about the pressures and fame that came with his surname.

As her mind fluctuated between the pros and cons of each option, things only grew increasingly difficult as Adrien stretched up and brushed his thumb across her eyelashes.

"I'm thinking I should call you Snow White. The snowflakes look beautiful against your dark eyelashes."

She couldn't help the sudden intake of breath, not only from Adrien's touch but the softness in his voice. His eyes hadn't left hers as his thumb continued down her face, brushing away the stray flakes of snow still settled on her face from the mishap as she left the van.

The overwhelming desire for her partner simplified her choice greatly. She couldn't tell him. She just couldn't. His denial of her — now more than ever — would break her, and if this was followed with an 'I'm in love with someone else' she knew she'd never recover. They were still close, still in the same circle of friends. If he was in love with someone else that meant she knew them too... a thought she couldn't deal with.

She smiled at him, dead set on making sure her best friend enjoyed himself — that she was a partner who put him at the front and first.

Stretching her arm, she cupped Adrien's hand on her face and moved it down pulling him towards the doorway.

"Come on hero, let's go in before we freeze."

Marinette led Adrien to the door, pushing it open before stamping her feet and knocking the snow from her boots. A soft chime echoed through the hallway indicating their arrival into the house. It was a lot larger on the inside than it had seemed from the outside, Christmas music playing, and lights and decorations everywhere. Marinette felt like she was in a fairytale... or a well written Hallmark movie.

"Hello, can I help you?" Marinette turned her attention to the desk on the side. The large oak object looked almost out of place in the country feel of the room they were in. The wooden walls were lined with photographs and awards — apparently they'd entered France's top B&B as voted for by Trip Advisor.

"I called about an hour ago about a room for the night."

"Argh, yes. Mlle Dupain-Cheng. Do you have any identification with you?" Marinette began to rummage in her bag looking for her ID card when the chime sounded once again followed quite swiftly by the sound of bickering.

"Oh, stop it! You're the one who took the wrong turn." One of the voices said. There was humour in it that made Marinette smile. She guessed an older married couple, the wife berating the husband for appalling driving, very much like her with Adrien.

"I'm quite sure you were in charge of directions, mon amour, especially after what happened 63 years ago." An older gentleman laughed, a teasing in his voice which made Marinette's heart swell.

She should have been looking for her ID but all she could do was listen to this conversation.

"Oh, behave yourself for once." The female replied, both laughing before the sound of footsteps headed over towards the desk.

Marinette continued to rummage, Adrien's own chortles adding to the constant back and forth of the new arrivals. "Is it just me?" Adrien began whispering quietly in her ear, "or are you curious about what happened 63 years ago?"

"I'm not going to lie," Marinette whispered in reply, catching the amusement in his eyes, "I am intrigued."

She continued to fumble in her bag, Plagg glaring with enough anger to set her head on fire. "Will you stop!" he hissed. "You're going to wake Tikki."

"Sorry," she mumbled, finally placing her hands on what she needed. Stepping up to the counter once more, she flashed her card to the receptionist. "Here," she sighed, placing the card onto the desk and looking towards where the older couple were dealing with someone beside them.

Even in their golden age, they were a striking couple. The smaller woman, though miniscule in size to the man, was definitely the one who wore the trousers in the relationship. The love sick look of her companion made them seem more like new lovers than old. Marinette guessed they were both around 80 years old and still deeply in love.

She was half his height, Marinette thinking that maybe the idea of shrinking in old age was, indeed, a fact and one which now terrified her — she was small enough already. The woman's dark ebony hair was cut into a perfectly proportioned bob, silver streaks giving it life and coating her with experience.

Her companion was tall, fair and handsome. His white, silver hair suiting the glasses on his face and the noticeable bone structure — one which would have been matured and developed through his youth. They looked so comfortable with each other and in love, something she could only pray to have, herself, one day.

"So you've got a double room on the second floor, there's a double bed and a single. We will be serving breakfast in the dining room and we'll be trying to put on some sort of entertainment in the main atrium over the next couple of days. I think we're going to be snowed in for a while." The receptionist handed over a key and paperwork before taking the credit card Adrien was holding out.

"Put it on this," he said, smiling down to Marinette.

She looked up to him in thanks, his eyes sparkling along with his smile as he handed over his card.

"Oh, I'd forgotten about that." The voice of the older lady pulled Marinette's attention back to the couple as Adrien continued to pay and sign some extra forms.

She looked over to them as they continued to talk to the member of the staff who was checking them in, a frown on both their faces.

"Is there any possibility of staying in the main house? I mean — we love the barn but with my dodgy hip I don't know if it'd be safe for us to venture backwards and forwards." The lady continued, the older man turning to face them.

"It's all her parkouring," he winked. Marinette chuckled and smiled back, he seemed like a fun man.

"I'm so sorry, Madam, but all the rooms in the house are taken. We've had a few extra calls due to people being stuck on their journeys." The receptionist was frantically tapping away on the computer, obviously trying to help the couple out.

"May I interject?" Adrien turned his attention to the couple and headed over to them. "We have a room on the second floor. We could swap if that's easier?" He turned to look at Marinette, her heart melting and face softening as Adrien offered their room to the worried couple. Oh, was there anyone as kind hearted as her Kitty?

Marinette nodded in agreement with her partner, she wouldn't want the man and woman to get stranded or hurt themselves. That most certainly was not on her Christmas list.

"Oh, would you? That's really kind, my boy. I'm sure you and your girlfriend will have a lovely time in the cabin, it is beautiful." The older gentleman said, the gratefulness shining in his eyes as he approached Adrien almost as blinding as the latters. She couldn't help but be taken aback by the man's gaze, the eyes looked so familiar, yet it was as though she couldn't quite place it.

Adrien stretched up to rub the back of his neck, once again not taking the praise well. If it wasn't from her, it seemed Adrien struggled to accept someone else telling him he was doing the right thing, and she wanted to batter Gabriel Agreste for making his son feel that way.

"She's not my —"

"It's no worries at all, Sir, we're glad to help." Marinette jumped in. She looked at Adrien and smiled, hoping her eyes were telling him to play along. She looped an arm around his waist, ignoring the hard drum playing against her chest and her stomach flip flopping from being so close to him.

"Yes, yes... of course," he said, his acting skills leaving a lot to be desired.

"How wonderful! Thank you so much. Aren't they wonderful? And so beautiful together." The woman said, walking over towards them and patting Adrien on the cheek. "You are so handsome. If only I was 70 years younger—"

The man came to grab his wife by the arm and pulled her away. "Let's not over do it, love."

The receptionist called the men over to sort out the room swap as the woman stayed beside Marinette. "Oh dear, what happened to your trousers? Did you spill a drink? I hope it didn't get those beautiful boots of yours."

Marinette looked down to the woman, her height not too dissimilar to her Maman's. "Yeah, just a small accident on the journey, nothing a quick wash won't fix. And thank you. No one else seems to understand these." She twisted her foot side to side showing off the boot to the lady beside her.

"They look marvellous. Something of a family heirloom." Marinette looked at the woman quizzically, once again it seemed she was over doing it. Without warning she started to talk again, making Marinette jump. "You know, we were on our way to visit our grandchildren and we've got some clothes for them in our suitcases. I'm sure you're in more need and you both look about the same size. We'd gladly give them to you, especially after helping us out of this little pickle."

Marinette blushed, her hands clutching into her chest, an automatic response to such a generous offer. "We couldn't possibly do that."

"No, please, take them — as a thank you."

The sparkling gaze in the woman's eyes pulled Marinette in and made her want to make the woman happy. "Well, if you insist... that would be amazing. Thank you so much."

"You're more than welcome, sweetheart."

"Marinette, we're all sorted." Adrien walked over the man in tow and keys hanging from each of their fingers.

Marinette couldn't help but study the two, there was something rather odd from the way they walked. Almost like a mirror imagine; the lopsided smile, the turned down eyebrows, the sway of the hips.

"I know that look," the woman said quietly to Marinette, her hand positioning on Marinette's arm and a knowing tone in her voice. Marinette looked at her, the older lady wiggling her eyebrows in response. "That's the look of true love."

"What? Me and Adrien? No. We're... we're just figuring things out," she whispered back.

"If you believe that," she smirked. The men finally reaching them.

"You ready, Lovebug?" The older man stepped forward and held out an arm for his wife.

"Yes my darling, I was just telling young Marinette here that they can have the spare clothing we've brought with us."

"Great idea. How about you two go and settle then come and find us? We've got enough for both of you, if you'd like?"

"That's really kind, thank you." Adrien moved to Marinette and placed an arm around her waist. She felt herself automatically lean into him, a position she could take advantage of when their friends weren't around to question every move.

"Good, it's the least we can do." The older woman smiled.

"I'm Adrien, by the way, and this is Marinette." Adrien held out a hand to shake both the older couples, the woman pulling Adrien in and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"You can just call us Granny and Gramps. It seems to be what everyone calls us these days. Though to tell you the truth I don't feel older than 30."

"Your body does though," Gramps said with a deep laugh. "Parkour," he explained once more, dropping them another wink.

"Oh, behave yourself." Granny tapped his arm, before looping an arm around his waist and snuggling in, mirroring Marinette's position against Adrien. "We'll see you shortly then? An hour or so?"

"Sure," Adrien said, Marinette joining in with a wave goodbye. The older couple turned around and made their way to the staircase, the member of staff who was checking them in helping with the cases as they headed up to their room.

"Is it just me..." Adrien started, "or is there something oddly familiar about those two?"

"Maybe we've met them somewhere before."

"Maybe," Adrien said, Marinette catching the way his eyebrows had turned downwards in thought. "Anyway," he continued, "would M'Lady like me to escort her to our little retreat?"

She smiled at her partner, a warmth engulfing her entire being as his smile shined brighter than the Christmas lights. "I thought you'd never ask."