Revealed in Time

Exploration

Adrien landed on the small balcony outside his and Marinette's bedroom, letting his transformation drop as he glided through the door. Alya's car was no longer in the driveway, meaning Marinette should be home alone.

A twinge of guilt pierced his stomach knowing she had been left on her own.

How long had she been waiting for him? It wasn't as if he had really been gone that long - two hours at the most.

Surely she had found something to pass the time since Alya had left.

---

"Let's go," Marinette motioned towards Tikki.

Alya had been gone for a mere five minutes and Marinette was already off, eager to explore the unknown spaces of the house.

As a child, her favorite thing to do anytime she had visited someplace new was to discover everything about that place. Nothing had really changed as she got older, and honestly she was surprised it had taken her this long to get started.

Then again. She smiled, looking into the well organized pantry. She had been a little distracted ever since she had arrived.

Well.

Better now than never!

And now, this was the perfect distraction to keep her from thinking about her and Alya's earlier conversation.

---

Adrien walked towards the door, ready to give spending time with Marinette another try. After running around as Chat for a while to calm himself down, he felt quite confident that he could handle himself now.

"I wouldn't go down there if I were you," Plagg sung, darting between Adrien and the exit.

"And just why not?" Adrien crossed his arms.

Plagg loftily drifted from the door, stopping right in front of the large mirror that was propped up in the corner of the room, extending his paws towards Adrien's reflection.

And, Kleb!

He looked terrible!

An entire day had passed since he had last had the opportunity to take a shower, and a night on the couch coupled with hours spent vaulting and running through Paris had done nothing for his appearance.

Adrien lifted his arm, sniffing his armpit and scrunching his nose at the putrid smell.

"Gross Plagg!" Adrien ripped his shirt off. "I smell worse than your Camembert!"

Plagg crossed his paws, raising his nose. "Don't you dare compare that stench with my precious Camembert!"

"Whatever, Plagg!" Adrien darted towards the bathroom.

Marinette would just have to wait a little while longer.

---

Having finished her sweep of the downstairs, Marinette bounded to the top floor, deciding to begin her search at the opposite end of the hallway from the bedroom. Besides a few closets and the laundry room, there hadn't really been anything new on the bottom floor.

She was ready for something interesting.

Something that would WOW her!

Something that would surprise her, or even make her even more giddy about this being her future home.

"Okay, Tikki," she bounced on her heels, the chill of the doorknob underneath her fingers excitedly running through her arm. "Here goes. Room number one."