ONE FOOT IN THE 'GABE'

'Mode Mania' has been contacted by the state of the 'Agreste' with a formal announcement about their founder and CEO, which we have been asked to share with you all.

'It's with great sadness that we announce the decline of our lead designer at 'Gabriel', the founder himself, Gabriel Agreste.

As stated in a past issue, Gabriel has been struggling with his health for the past three years, with a rapid decline over the past year. It is with great sadness that we announce that Gabriel has been struck down by Alzheimer's disease, which has begun to attack his memory viciously. The Agreste Foundation, supporting those who have been attacked by akuma related trumas, have stated how they are sad to hear a man close to their hearts is suffering from a harsh illness.'

Son, Adrien Agreste, 24, has been an avid visitor to his father's bedside, and has expressed his concerns for his father's deteriorating health. In a recent statement he mentioned:

'It has been heartbreaking to see my father struck with such a truly terrible disease. It has been a slow progression of the past three years, only to have advanced significantly during the past nine months. We are all trying to stay positive for my father to continue doing what he loves most, designing, but unfortunately time is not on our side.'

Adrien's heartfelt concern comes merely days after he was spotted out and about on the streets of Paris, sporting his previous day's clothing. As most were vocal about their theory of Adrien having another woman, it's fair to see that Adrien is merely a young adult who has not only lost his mother but also on the verge of losing his father.

Gabriel's nephew, Felix Graham de Vanily, 24, has also supplied us with a statement.

'My uncle and I have grown closer over the past few years, my work at 'Gabriel' helping me get closer to my family on the Agreste side. He was like a father to me in the absence of my own and it breaks my heart to see him lose sight of his personality that we all love and cherish.'

We send our love to Adrien, and his family, hoping that Gabriel doesn't have to suffer for long.

•••••

"Is there anything more attractive than that?"

Christopher made his way over to Marinette crossing his arms over his chest and looking in the exact same direction at, what she was guessing, the exact same display of pure masculinity... and abs.

"Not to me there isn't." She responded. Looking towards Christopher and popping one of her hips out, before mirroring his stance by crossing her arms and hopefully hitting him with a 'back off or I'll attack' glare.

They were currently standing on the edge of the Iguazu River, the noise of the famous waterfalls echoing in the background, as Adrien filmed his introduction scene; seducing women and wearing his incredibly tight Speedo, emerald green to match his eyes.

"You're a lucky woman Marinette."

"Hands off, hot shot. He's mine and mine only."

"And don't we all know it? He hasn't taken his eyes off you since filming began."

Marinette felt her cheeks heat at Christopher's words. He wasn't wrong. Marinette could feel Adrien's eyes gazing over her from the moment she met with him that morning. It seemed trying to keep a professional head on as she dressed him was equal to her mindset when taking down an akuma. Difficult and far to hands on for her liking.

"I don't know what you mean?" Marinette looked away, a smirk taking over her face as she thought back at Adrien's teasing as she helped position his 'cahonas' in his Speedos, his poor balls having to be tit taped into place. It was amazing how she'd gone from worrying about touching his balls to it becoming one of her favourite past times.

After the first night at the hotel, Marinette had been a regular visitor in Adrien's suite, mixing time between having sex with her, dare she say, boyfriend and just hanging out, getting reacquainted. There was no name for their relationship yet, but she was quite sure it was boardline official. Her overwhelming need to call him hers was intense.

But not wanting to get ahead of herself, she tried to play down the 'when you're divorced' conversations. Instead getting excited in private about the prospect of him being finally free of whatever mess this was.

"They're currently discussing putting you behind the camera just to get those sultry eyes he keeps shooting your way. With a look like that, I'd do him, you know. Hit me up if you two ever want a threesome. I'm your man."

Marinette burst out laughing. "You'll have to get in line," she teased, tearing her eyes away from the beautiful blond in front of her to the stunning brunette beside her. People would pay good money for her job sandwiched between these two Adonis of men. "My best friend has been hinting at a threesome since we were fifteen and starting talking about sex."

"Is your friend female?" he asked, his eyes firmly placed on Adrien.

"She is."

"Damn! I can only tolerate one woman at a time." Marinette burst out laughing, Christopher finally breaking his intense stare at Adrien to look at the tiny raven haired beauty. "I'm not joking," he continued, his eyebrows raised.

"I know you're not, which is what makes it funny."

Since Christopher had revealed he wasn't a threat when it came for the heart of Marinette, she'd found Adrien and his co-star got along great. The previous night ended with the two telling rather funny stories about modelling jobs, and sharing matching opinions about certain photographers. It had been an interesting evening, an evening allowing her to see what Adrien was truly like now. Obviously she'd seen him with their old collège gang, but that was familiar. Seeing Adrien converse with such confidence was a massive turn on, helped by the open body language, including an ankle balancing on a knee and an arm leisurely slung over the back of her chair. It had been the closest they'd had to dates out of his room.

"And cut!" Marinette turned her head to look back over at Adrien. Adrien Agreste who made her want to push him down, climb on top of him and lick every inch of his body. An act she has been lucky enough to take part in twice. Unfortunately with Adrien's body needing to remain unmarked, it limited the amount of sex they could have, much to her disappointment. But still, she was with Adrien now and for the first time in years she was, dare she say it, happy.

Marinette couldn't help the overwhelming feeling in her heart. Not only had she and Adrien advanced their relationship, she could finally admit she was head over heels once more for him. This both excited and terrified her. On one hand, this could finally have the future she wanted since she was 13, but on the other hand she could only think this was going to end in a worse situation than it began.

She was sure they both still had skeletons in their closets (Marinette's being named Vivica and Ladybug), and she was worried that when they were revealed that would be the final nail in the coffin. That this moment, right now, the two of them away from Paris and spending the nights exploring each other's bodies, was the best it was going to get. No future, just more heartache, and as much as she wanted to relinquish all her control to him, there was still that fear he would up and leave. That Adrien Agreste was, and forever would be, just a catch too far for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her past choices of becoming a honey playing against her and making him want to run a mile in the opposite direction.

She wanted him to believe her, that this was done as a retaliation due to her broken heart, but she couldn't push the blame on him again, that wasn't fair. Yes, her heart had been broken and yes the pain was intense, but it was her decision to take the job. To want to be a honey.

"It looks like lover boy's finished." Christopher's voice broke her from her thoughts, bringing her back to the now, and pulling her out of the then. She needed to pull herself together. Adrien was here in the now, and the emotion he displayed in his eyes was so raw it had to be real, she needed to believe it. That whatever it was between them could conquer all. Even more so, did she dare think it was love?

"I better go and remove him from his Speedo." She looked at Christopher and winked, the actor laughing at Marinette's playfulness.

She needed to enjoy this. She needed to start looking at her glass as half full and trusting this was real, that this could be forever. What had Chat said? 'Do you ever think we get so caught up in the consequences, we don't live in the present? Almost as if we're always looking for destruction in our future?' She was guilty of this on all accounts and it needed to stop. Now.

"If you need a helping hand, you have my number." Marinette strode away smiling. Her first opinions on Christopher were totally wrong, and if things didn't work out between him and his boyfriend there were definitely a couple of people she would like to introduce him to.

Heading towards Adrien, she noticed he was giving her 'the look', and by the look it meant the soft, puppy dog eyes that made her want to take him back to her room and pet him. Preferably naked, and preferably with him paying back the favour.

"Hey Mari, they're just checking the playback, but if all's okay it seems I'll be finished for the next three days."

The backdrop of the Iguazu River, plus the tight green swimwear would most certainly become Adrien's movie 'moment'. He had been sprayed down with water and made to look as though he had just climbed out of the river after being chased by Theodré's henchmen, which progressed after he 'jumped' out of a helicopter. The more she heard about this movie the more questionable it became.

She'd sat the previous night running lines with Adrien, not being able to control the piss taking as she supported his rehearsal. The one positive was he needed to shut her up, deciding the best way was to pin her against the sofa and make her scream. She still tingled from the orgasm and couldn't help the little blush when she looked at him knowing what his hands were capable of.

Yup, once again she was head over heels in love with Adrien Agreste.

"That's good."

"It sure is." He dropped her a wink, before grabbing a robe from a runner and placing it over his body. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to take a shower and then get dressed." He moved his head closer to her ears as he spoke. "And then we can get some alone time."

He walked away towards the trailer they were using as a dressing room, Marinette standing and watching dreamly as she imagined him in the shower. All hot, naked and soapy. Her vision was suddenly blocked by some sort of white object.

"Take this, you have drool just there." The tissue was pressed against the corner of her mouth, as Christopher chuckled to himself.

"You might need to do that to yourself, pretty boy."

Marinette slapped Christopher's hand out the way and began to make his way over to the trailer, following after Adrien like a little lemming.

By the time she had reached the room, Adrien had already changed out of his speedo and was currently in the shower and she couldn't help wondering how the removal of the tit tape went. How gutted she was that she'd missed that?

The temptation to strip herself naked and go join him assaulted her like Tikki's need for a galette, but alas, she still had work to do. Grabbing the Speedo from where Adrien had thrown it on the floor (how dare he) she headed towards the bag, signing the note to say she had packed it and attaching an additional one that noted it was damp from the shoot.

"You know, there's something oddly domestic about you cleaning up my underwear." Adrien's voice danced through the room and Marinette couldn't help but bite into her lower lip. God, his voice was liquid sex. She kept her back to him, attempting to keep a professional distance from the actor only for it to be as pointless as a wooden frying pan.

Aiming to keep her cool, she attempted to keep her response flippant, not wanting him to know she was once again planning their future with three kids and a hamster. Her heart just wouldn't stop betraying her when it came to Adrien Agreste. He was once again embedded into her, and if she was being honest with herself, it was deeper than before. The added extras of their sexual activities were just another reason she wanted to be with Adrien.

She loved his mind and his soul, but she had to be honest, his body and prowess in bed made him hotter than Hades; considering he wasn't exactly experienced in bed she was amazed at how he knew his way around her body, reading her wants and needs easier than the current issue of 'Mode Mania'.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" she said, her gaze remaining on her work as her bottom lip lost another layer of skin.

She jumped slightly as two warm hands cupped her waist, pulling her back into what could only be described as pure man, soft lips pressing to the side of her neck, causing her eyes to roll back. Shit!

Adrien pressed feather light kisses along the side of her neck before grinding his hips against her ass. Oh dear Lord! A groan left her lips, swiftly followed from one of his own. He moved his mouth to her ear, keeping his voice deep and low.

"The noises you make are the sweetest symphony I've ever heard." He ran his nose along her neck, before pressing kisses once more to the crook of her neck.

"Fuck!" She sighed, rubbing herself back into his hardened groin, her mind clouding over in lust and desire, her mouth and mind becoming unfiltered. "You sound like Luka."

His face moved away and his hands left her hips cold. "I'll just get dressed."

Marinette creased her eyebrows, turning to see the door to the bathroom closing behind Adrien.

"Marinette." Tikki's voice was equivalent to a disappointed parent as she looked at Marinette, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What?"

"Are you telling me you don't know what you just said?"

Marinette looked at Tikki, the mist from Adrien's ministrations clearing and her vision clearing. It took about six seconds for Marinette to realise what she'd done, her eyes widening with each ticking second.

"Fuckkkkk!" She dragged out the word as the realisation that she'd called the guy she was currently fucking the name of one of her ex's, who was a close friend to both of them punched her in the gut with the force of Mike Tyson. "What the hell is wrong with me?"

"That's the million euro question," Tikki retorted, sarcastically.

"I used to like you," Marinette said, continuing with packing up the Speedo, every now and then looking back to the doorway and hoping Adrien would reappear. Unfortunately, ten minutes later there was still no movement and her deadline was approaching to hand in the costume.

With one last look at the doorway, she picked up the package and exited the room. She really needed to work on controlling her mouth.

•••••

It shouldn't have been affecting Adrien as much as it was, but he just couldn't help it. Marinette spewing out Luka's name whilst he was trying his damned hardest to turn her on was just another kick in the crouch that he didn't have her. At least not yet.

The past couple of days had been incredible. He'd finally managed to get time with his Lady the way he wanted, and for the first time since his father's ultimatum, things were getting deep and fast. Not surprising considering their hidden connection.

"Okay, you know I've been on your side all the way through this, but did you really need to just walk out then? She hadn't done anything wrong!"

Adrien sighed, settling himself back on the closed toilet seat lid and gripped the back of his head. He needed to sort himself out as once again he was tumbling into a Marinette induced spiral.

"I know what you're thinking, Kid, and stop it." He looked at his kwami knowing exactly what Plagg was thinking, and Plagg was right. Adrien was terrified. Terrified that someone was going to take her away from him again; that this dream of life with Marinette was once again, nothing more than a dream.

"What was that?" Tikki appeared through the door flying towards Plagg and Adrien. The red kwami became more and more familiar with Adrien over the past three years. She'd truly become an unexpected ally. He looked up into her big blue eyes, only for the kwami's expression to change from one of annoyance to one of understanding.

"Oh, Chat," she said, flying down and sitting on his knee. "We've been through this. She's not trapping you. I told you, you've got her back."

"But have I, though?" He rubbed a hand along his eyebrows, head hanging and eyes closed. His therapist will have a field day at his next session.

Hey, you know that woman I had to break up with because my father is a psycho? Yeah well, I'm back fucking her but she's a 'Honey' who's trying to trap me, and if my wife finds out she's succeeded, she's going to take half my assests, a quarter of the Gabriel brand, the peacock Miraculous that's in my safe, and unleash the identity of Hawk Moth to the world. Who's Hawk Moth, you ask? Well, I haven't been told in certain terms but I'm quite sure it's MY FATHER!

One day he was going to meet up with Luke Skywalker and have a great chat about all this 'the villain is my father' shit.

"Stop feeling so sorry for yourself," Plagg, the ever so sensitive kwami, said.

"I don't. It's just...there's still this feeling we're going to be ripped apart, and I don't know if I can go another three years 'pretending' everything's fine and that my heart is not breaking every time she mentions how much she hates me or who she's been on a date with."

"I suppose you do have a point," Tikki responded, each lost in memories of Marinette's anti-Adrien Agreste rants.

God, it was worse than he ever could have imagined. There was hate and then there was how she felt about Adrien. He was quite sure Marmite received a lot more love than he did. That added to the amount of 'guys' she'd been kissing and he was on the verge of a breakdown. Hence the therapist.

When he'd found out she was a Honey he'd laughed it off. Marinette Dupain-Cheng did not go around parading herself to get men to hit on her, but how wrong was he? Marinette obviously had something about her as she was the number one trapper at her company, and as he was still in the celebrity circles brushing shoulders with rich folks and playboys, he knew a lot about her. Only because men described the raven haired, blue eyed siren that had taken their long relationship to the death. He had so many acquaintances down millions all thanks to Marinette.

He had to make a decision. One that would keep his sanity, and that was to make fun of it. Everytime he joked it was a cover for the intense stabbing in his heart, a couple of times he'd even hang around near where she said she was going just in case he heard a woman call for help. He was in a pit of self pity and longing, but the day he pieced it together, that the Honey Trap was for him, he suddenly felt ten feet tall again. Regardless of the situation, they were back together and she had to act like she liked him, allowing him to work his way back under her skin. And he'd worked his ass off!

The sudden ringing of his phone blasted through the room. The ringtone shrivelling any sexual desire he had when the second chord played. Hello 'The Imperial March'.

Vivica.

"What the fuck did I ever do to deserve this shit?" Standing up, he headed over to his phone the two kwamis hanging nearby. The two kwamis who were always one hell of a support during his face offs with Vivica.

"Agreste's Laundry, which old bag am I speaking to?"

"You have some fucking nerve?"

"So is that a wash and steam service you want? A little something to get rid of your wrinkles."

"I swear to God, Adrien."

"Well that's not very holy of you is it. It'll be Sunday tomorrow, I suggest you go to church." Adrien moved towards his bag, slinging it over his shoulder and heading towards the door. If he was going to have it out with his 'wife' he didn't want Marinette around to hear it or worry about her cover being blown. This was between him and Vivica.

"Why the fuck have you taken me off your fathers visition list?"

"Because he's my father and I'd prefer to keep the riff raff out," Adrien responded, waving to a couple of the camera crew as he headed towards his car. He kept an eye out for Marinette, making sure she hadn't caught wind of him leaving.

"Who are you with?"

"Well my main finances are with HSBC France, but I hear I can get a better deal if I move my account to BNP Paribas."

"What the fuck is wrong with you?"

"I'm not having this conversation again." He sighed. "You have no right to my father, or anything else regarding me. My father's losing his mind, he doesn't need the added pressure of someone who doesn't know him."

"I'm an Agreste, I have every damn right."

"That's where you're wrong. It's over Vivica, I'm not playing this game anymore. I'm done."

"You're only done when we tell you you're done."

"And today's that day. Only text me when you've signed the divorce papers. I'm not answering your call again. Goodbye Vivica, I wish you all the best." Pulling the phone from his ear, Adrien slammed his finger on the red end call button; once, twice, three times, muttering profanities at the object.

"You know, I don't think you're supposed to treat phones that way."

His head shot to the side to see Marinette smiling at him, fully reminiscent of their renewed friendship. He didn't want to smile, he'd just had another blow out with Vivica but he couldn't help it. She was a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day; if Marinette smiled, you smiled with her.

"I knew I was doing something wrong."

Her smile flooded into her eyes making them even more attractive than normal, which most would think was impossible considering the beauty of them, but low and behold Marinette Dupain-Cheng was pure blinding sunshine.

"I was wondering if you would be kind enough to let a lonely girl crash out in your room later this evening." She was playing with her fingers in front of her body, the tell tale sight she was nervous and he could help but find it endearing.

"Sure." His reply was curt, but to be honest there wasn't a lot more he could say without dropping to his knees and kissing her feet. There was something so satisfying and heartwarming when she made the move to spend time with him - especially when it was clear she was nervous.

The nervous action was pure Marinette. It lacked the pizazz of Ladybug and Marinette 'the Honey', instead the action was coated in the unsure beautiful woman he'd taken as a best friend and finally a lover. The captivating side which she only displayed for him. The nervousness, the vulnerability, the youth. She was still young. Dammit they both were. But having to go through the shit his father had delivered over the past three years had made him advance in his maturity. Of course he'd still mess around with the guys, digging and plaguing Nino to within an inch of his life; but Adrien was savvy. He knew the way of the world, at the young age of 21 he'd been to hell and left there for three years.

He looked over at Marinette, her bottom lip tucked under her teeth as she anticipated his answer. He may have been through hell, but he was ascending his way to heaven, all thanks to his Lady finally being back in his life.

He stepped to the side and opened the door. "Would you like to come back with me now?" His heartbeat sped up as he waited for her answer.

Her gaze shifted around the area and he knew she was worried about being caught. "I - um - I've just got a couple more things to do before I can leave. Shall I come to your room when I'm back?"

Plastering his trained model smile on his face, Adrien nodded to Marinette.

"Sure." He moved around the car door, preparing to step in. "Message me when you're on your way." Holding back the urge to step forward and kiss her, he embraced her in a quick hug and slid into the back seat of the car, shutting the door without looking back.

Letting out a sigh, his head fell back against the headrest, eyes screwed up tightly and phone still clutched in his hand. A sudden vibration made him refocus on the little device in front of him; fear striking that it might be Vivica only to be pleasantly surprised by the name.

Marinette
I mist say, I'm falling for you pretty rapidly.

••••

Adrien
I'm gushing at the thought of seeing you.

If he kept this up, he wouldn't be the only thing gushing.

Marinette moved about her room to get ready. They'd been texting since she'd left him that afternoon, the incident of earlier put behind them, but something Marinette wanted to dig more into. There was something else there that he wasn't telling her. Like a fraction of himself was holding back, the only problem was she didn't know what.

He'd been open with his body, his attention towards her, his undeniable attraction, but there was still something hidden deep in a box. Hidden so she couldn't find it. But she liked treasure hunts and she was sure at the end of this, if all went well, she would unlock the sweetest reward. The reward of them.

"You look beautiful, Marinette." Tikki flew around her holder, as Marinette spun in front of the mirror, a girlish giggle leaving her mouth. She had decided to play it safe with a simple dress this evening, unsure what he had planned.

She had quickly showered when she'd arrived back from the filming location, before wrapping her hair around some socks to curl it and sitting out on her balcony. The warm temperatures allowed her hair to dry quickly and the sunlounger was the perfect place to read a couple more chapters of her book before having to leave to see Adrien. She pulled 'Dare to Desire' from her bag, the intent to finally finish the book (and arrive at Adrien's with a rather high libido). It was time Olivia got past all her grief and let Dylan in. Why couldn't there be just one love story without issues? If it wasn't parental problems, it was other suitors, or fucking insane ex-wives? Marinette was starting to think Savage Garden had got it right; you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned and she'd been burned twice now; so karma was due to give her something of a reward.

She'd been outside for around thirty minutes, bathing herself in the late afternoon sunshine when a rather strange noise sounded behind her. She shrugged it off. Obviously some weirdo was out on their balcony making monkey noises, she giggled to herself as she imagined it was Adrien. It wasn't until a couple of minutes later when she felt a tug on the sock in her hair that she turned around to see what the hell was going on.

"Monkey!" she squealed, jumping from her seat and throwing her book at the hairy creature in front of her. She moved quickly into the hotel room, slamming the sliding door closed behind her only to be met by Tikki's giggles.

"Looks like they're going to be having an interesting read tonight."

Marinette looked out the window to see not only a monkey with her book, but another with one of her socks. How had she not realised it had ripped it from her hair? Lifting one hand, she caressed the curl hoping it was still usable only to be pleasantly surprised with the twist, no thanks to the little demon currently swinging her sock around like a lasso.

"It's like a scene from Tarzan out there." The two monkeys were suddenly joined by a third, each dancing around like they owned the place.

"The manual did warn about monkeys." Tikki giggled, going to the aforementioned document.

"It says don't feed the monkeys, not that they would come and steal your erotica novel and a fucking sock." Marinette moved to the mirror and removed the second sock from her hair before running her fingers through the curls and marvelling at the result. Thank you TikTok.

Thirty minutes later, dressed in her sky blue summer dress she headed towards Adrien's room, only to be greeted by the man himself looking more like Channing Tatum in Magic Mike than his usual pristine self, and oh boy! Did it suit him? The black vest top, with his dark denim jeans made her want to offer him a substantial amount of euros to grind for her.

"You look hot. I mean - are you hot? Because it's hot out today, don't you think? Like, fuck me, it's hot. Not fuck me, fuck me, but fuck... me! Unless you want to of course. I'm always open for you, I mean, open to you fucking me. Oh my God, please make me stop!" She covered her reddening face in mortification.

For fuck sake!

The door clicked behind her and Adrien's laugh brought her to her senses. She felt the gentle touch of his hands on her wrists as he lowered her hands down from her face, allowing him to see her glowing complexion complete with a hint of discomposure.

"You have no idea how much I missed the Marinette word vomit. Life has not been the same without it."

"Well, surprise," she said with jazz hands, "it's back with vengeance."

"And I wouldn't want it any other way." He bent forward, placing a kiss to her forehead. Delicate and sweet, and she all but melted into a pile of goo. She slid the bag off her shoulder, leaving her supplies for the night of the hook near the hotel room door.

Placing a hand on her lower back, he guided her into the main area of the room and towards the lounge, ultimately to the sofa where his hands had taken her to heaven and back the previous night.

"Oh, by the way, this landed on my balcony." He moved towards the coffee table, grabbing a lone sock and handed it to her.

"You found my sock! My hero!" She stood up, taking it from his hands and placing a kiss to his cheek. "You didn't happen to have a book drop on there too by any chance?"

"No, just a sock but I will keep my eye out. However, Chat Noir socks and phone case. It looks like I have competition for the lady's heart."

Her face turned red and her heart skipped a beat at the mention of her partner. "Oh - um - yeah, I'm one of his biggest fans." She wrapped the sock around her knuckle, pulling it as tightly as possible, the grip equivalent to the elastic band just placed around her heart. She couldn't think of Chat when she was with Adrien, it felt so wrong. "And you're the one who brought me the phone case. So only yourself to blame there."

"Yes, but I wasn't the one who chose it."

"Or so you say." She smirked, the clenching of her heart relaxing a little. "I think you like the idea of battling against a superhero. Winning the girl would be rather good for your ego." She ran her hands up his chest, before moving them onto his biceps, squeezing the thick muscle. He tensed them under her grasp, placing his hands on her delicate, slender hips. They were like steel, and strong enough to throw her over his shoulder. Prior experiences proved it.

"I don't need a super suit to enhance these bad boys."

Rolling her eyes, Marinette pushed him away, tucking her dress under her bottom and settling onto the plush, expensive sofa. "So what's the plan, Batman?"

He sat down beside her, tucking one foot under his bottom and slinging an arm over the back. "Firstly, I prefer Superman, secondly I'm quite sure you invited yourself around and third, I want the story about the sock."

"Superman it is." She held up one finger followed by a second. "You didn't deny me." Finally she held up a third. "And a monkey stole it from my hair."

"From your hair?" She'd never seen such a perplexed look in her life.

"Yeah, you wrap your hair around a sock to make it curly."

"Pfft," he exclaimed, "yeah, I knew that."

"Liar." She leaned into him, placing a quick kiss on his lips. "Hi." She smiled, moving her head back a little.

"Hi." He cupped a hand around the back of her neck, pulling her in towards him and taking her lips with his own. She couldn't help the feeling that sometimes she felt like he was dehydrated and she was his liquid saviour. His kisses, though possessive, were more than just a way of showing attraction. He kissed her like she was his everything and she hoped that's the way he saw her, because that was most certainly how she saw him.

His tongue explored every detail of her mouth, every kiss being like the first; lustful and experimental. Until he broke away and echoed the words she'd said to him at the celebration mere weeks ago.

"What am I to you?" His eyes searched hers, causing her stomach to flip with the thought that they were finally progressing, that they were finally labelling what they were.

She didn't need to think twice before she responded, keeping her eyes firmly locked with his. "You're my everything."

"Good." He pulled her back to him, kissing her with such intensity she was struggling to keep up. Her head was in a daze as he broke away once again, causing her to lick over her lips and grab the last remaining flavour of him. "Have you eaten?"

"You want to eat me?" Her eyes snapped open as she realised what she'd just said, burying her head into his chest in complete embarrassment. "Kill me now."

Her head bounced around as he laughed, his
chest becoming a mini trampoline.

"As wonderful as you taste, l'd prefer for us to eat something more substantial," he purred, causing her to groan, her head still buried deep in his chest as she rubbed her head against him. "But before that, I want you to know that I plan to woo you the way you deserve, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. As soon as my divorce has been signed, prepare to be swept off your feet."

Marinette pulled her head from his chest, eyes sparkling with amusement as she looked at him, his own stare making her feel like the most valued diamond on the planet.

"You're already taken me to cloud 9, can it get any higher?"

He laughed, moving his hand to push a couple of stray hair strands off her face. "You have no idea."

••••

They'd ordered a selection of the hotel's recommendations before curling up on the sofa flicking through channels until something peaked their fancy. Settling no more than a millimetre apart they ate and watched 'The Wolf of Wall Street', talking all through the film and, once the food was finished, laying together like a couple who'd been in a relationship for years. It was everything he'd ever wished for, everything he ever wanted.

Once she'd settled between his legs, he raked his fingers over her scalp in a way he remembered she enjoyed from back in their youth.

"This bit is great, there's so many meme's about -" Adrien looked down to notice Marinette was fast asleep on his chest. The delicate rise and fall of her body had him falling a little more with each breath. He smiled to himself, the cute pout of her sleeping lips making him lick his own to keep from kissing her. They were poles of a magnet and she pulled him to her like North to South.

So much for a rocking night! He laughed to himself, shifting her weight around so he could stand and pick her up. After three miserable attempts, he finally got her wrapped around him. His arms scooping her into his chest and resting her head against his shoulder.

He began to walk, taking extra care so he didn't drop her or jolt her in anyway. She looked so carefree and young asleep and it broke his already shattered heart to know what this poor woman went through day in, day out. He couldn't wait for the day he could relieve some of that burden, when he could be there for her in ways nobody else could.

Her breath started to hitch as he lay her down on the already turned down sheets. Her body moved up and down in quick succession. Her eyes began to flicker and panic struck him. He crawled on the bed beside her, pressing the backs of his fingers to her forehead and checking for a possible temperature. She was cool but not cold, warm but not hot. She was comfortable which could only mean it was a dream, or, the way she was reacting, maybe a nightmare.

The breathing calmed briefly before hitching again.

"Marinette, Princess, wake up." He whispered into the dark spacious room hoping his voice would be enough to rousal her and pull her out of the depths of sleep. Whimpers joined in the harsh breaths and he began to panic.

"Don't leave me, Kitty, please. You're the only one I have left." She was talking in her sleep and the words stabbed him deep and hard in the chest. What he was seeing was the depths of his betrayal, of his choice.

"I'll never leave you, M'Lady. I'm not going anywhere, never again."