No Way Out

A Cage and A History Lesson

Intrigued, Marinette followed Adrien a few steps down the hall and was surprised when he opened up the door to the storage room. She hadn't been in there yet.

As soon as she stepped inside, she felt her heart skip a beat. There were boxes, mannequins, and piles of fabric all around, but then there were the clothes. Gowns, dresses, coats, blouses, skirts, and more filled the space. In the corner was the most exquisite dress she had ever seen: a long white and pink dress with a scalloped neckline and a butterfly detail on the waist.

"This is..." Marinette whispered, "...amazing."

Adrien smiled at her before grabbing her hand. "It is. But I actually brought you in here to see something else." He guided her over to the back of the room.

Her eyes landed on a small cage on top of a desk. Then a gasp escaped her lips.

He let go of her hand to open the cage and scoop up the creature inside. "Princess, this is Griffin," he said, holding him out to her.

With blurry vision she took the hamster in her hands. "Oh my gosh, he's so cute! And what a cute name for a hamster."

"Technically, his name is Griffin the Seventh. We've gone through quite a few hamsters over the years. But don't worry, they all had long, happy lives. For hamsters, at least."

She smiled wider for a moment, but then the smile fell. "Why is he being kept all the way in here? Why isn't he downstairs?"

"He used to be, but when the twins were toddlers they kept trying to open his cage and take him out. So we moved him up here so they couldn't terrorize him anymore."

"Aww, poor Griffin," she said, stroking the fur on his head. "I think it's time for you to rejoin us downstairs though. The twins are old enough to treat you properly."

"Yeah," Adrien agreed. "It's been long overdue. First thing tomorrow morning, we'll move him back downstairs. What do you think, Princess?"

"I think that's a perfect plan." With one extra smile at him, she placed Griffin back in his cage and shut the cage door. "Thank you, Adrien," she continued, looking at him again. "Thank you for showing me this."

"You're welcome. Now come on, it's getting late, and we should go to bed. We have another busy day planned for tomorrow."

With a nod, Marinette followed him out of the room and into their own bedroom. She stayed by the bed while Adrien went to use the bathroom and get changed. Then it was her turn. Once she was ready, she returned to the main room and simply stared at the bed.

Adrien already knew the reason for her hesitation. "I'll sleep on the floor, Princess. You can have the bed to yourself."

"No," she murmured quietly. "You shouldn't have to do that. It's your bed too. I'll go sleep in the guest bedroom."

"Plagg and Tikki usually sleep in there," he said. "Although, tonight I guess it will be Plagg and Mullo. Besides, I need to be in the same room as you in case Lila comes back."

There was silence. Marinette knew that he was right, she needed him there to protect her. She hadn't even practiced transforming yet. "I'll sleep on the floor then."

"Absolutely not. Princesses like you don't sleep on floors."

Silence again as she kept her eyes on him. He really was sweet.

"How about this?" Adrien continued. "We'll both sleep on the bed, but you'll be under the covers, and I'll be over the covers. Does that sound alright?"

After a second, she nodded. "Yeah, that should work." With nothing else to do, she walked to the bed and pulled back the covers before climbing in.

Adrien switched off the lights and then went around to his side of the bed. He lay down on top of the covers, making sure to give Marinette plenty of space.