Chapter Text
Marinette started walking towards work, after checking the street signs to figure our exactly where she was.
Plagg was no help at all, claiming that he needed cheese to even function. He just laid down on her shoulder and complained. Luckily, Marinette knew where she could get some cheese.
Surely Adrien wouldn't mind if she borrowed just a little bit from his fridge.
As Marinette walked, she tried to come up with an excuse to explain this one.
She felt like all eyes were on her, watching her march straight towards failure. She was likely going to be fired on her first day, for events outside of her control.
She couldn't justify this absence without revealing her identity as Ladybug.
It wouldn't make sense for her to have gotten caught in the attack, it was halfway across town. It wasn't a teleporting akuma or one that summoned people, it just made everyone in a mile radius sob uncontrollably.
Luckily, Lady Noire and Mister Bug were experts at functioning through tears.
Maybe Marinette could summon a few of those tears and keep her job. Adrien seemed nice enough, and they worked well together. Hopefully he would be willing to give her another chance.
She walked, trying to shake the feeling that she was being followed.
She wasn't, obviously, it was just paranoia, but Marinette could almost feel eyes digging in the back of her head.
Finally, she had enough, and whirled around.
Much to her surprise, she made eye-contact with Mister Bug, who responded by very smoothly falling off a building, onto the sidewalk next to her.
She didn't have time to do more than step to the side and stare as he hit the ground.
Marinette stood staring, frozen, as he bounced back up and held out a hand. "Hello, purrincess."
Slowly she shook it. "Marinette. Was that a cat pun?"
"I've gotta stay on brand, even when I'm not in costume."
"Whatever." She rolled her eyes. "Did it hurt?"
He smirked. "When I fell from heaven?"
"No, when you fell off that building? I was watching and I'm kinda concerned."
"I'm good." He pointed at his spots. "Superhero suit, remember?"
"Right. That's good right?"
"Don't worry about me. What are you doing all the way out here?"
Marinette was worried that he had figured out her identity. Luckily Plagg was no longer on her shoulders, which meant he had hidden somewhere.
Unfortunately, Marinette did not have any pockets, which meant that Plagg was hiding either in her hair, or he had phased through her (which really felt like an invasion of personal space).
"I... got caught in the akuma attack?" It was a weak excuse. Even for her. Mr. Bug had fought in the attack, he would've seen her.
"Well, do you want a ride back?"
"Really?"
"Yeah. Those shoes look awful to walk in, and I'm headed the same ways."
"That would be amazing actually."
"Great!" Mr. Bug scooped her up, bridal style and carried her back to the Agreste buildings.
"Thank you, you're a lifesaver."
"Anytime, Marinette."
She kissed him on the cheek. "Seriously, you have no idea how much I-"
"My pleasure." He was blushing. "Its not every day that I get to-"
There was a harsh beeping from his earrings.
"-unfurrtunately, I have to bid you farewell, but alas, I hope that we can someday meet again, fair princess."
Why didn't he ever talk to Ladybug like that? He was practically declaring his love for her.
Marinette erased the ridiculous thought from her mind. She was Ladybug, for crying out loud.
She was not going to get jealous of herself.
"What a flirt." Marinette laughed. "Talk to you later kitty."
As Marinette walked in the building, towards her "office" she passed by the front desk.
Jeanne was staring, jaw-dropped as Marinette walked in. "Did I just see you kiss Mr. Bug?"
"No?"
"You've got to tell me what happened."
"I have to get to work."
"I can keep a secret, you know. I totally-"
"Shhh." Marinette hissed. (Cat instincts. Weird). "He was just bringing me back, after he saved me from the akuma. Its not much of a story."
"What a gentleman." Jeanne sighed. "I'd love to be saved by him some day."
Adrien Agreste chose that exact moment to walk through the doors. "What are we talking about, Ladies?"
"Mr. Bug." Marinette explained. "He brought me back, after I got caught in the attack."
"The love of my life." Jeanne mumbled.
Marinette raised an eyebrow. "You don't even know him."
"Wow, looks like you've got some competition." Adrien looked between the two of them.
"Hey, I thought you were inside?" Marinette asked Adrien. "What happened?"
"I got caught up in the akuma attack."
She narrowed her eyes. "Weird. I didn't see you around."
"Maybe that was because you were too busy getting carrier by Mr. Bug."
"Shut up." Marinette blushed.
"Do you have a crush-"
"Adrien."
"No, seriously, do you have a crush on Mr. Bug?"
"He is Chat Noir, so yes."
Jeanne giggled. "You two are so cute."
"Us?" Marinette blinked. "What?"
"Yeah."
"We're coworkers. I mean, Adrien is nice-"
"And Marinette is beautiful-" he interjected.
"-And I could totally see myself dating him-" Marinette added for context,
"-and I can't stop thinking about her eyes-"
"-his green eyes are mesmerising-"
"-I've never felt more in love-"
"-I've never felt more in sync with someone I just met-"
"-and I think we're soulmates-" Adrien sighed
"-but, we can't date as co-workers." Marinette finished. "It would just be too complicated."
"Yeah." Adrien agreed. "Complicated."
Jeanne shook her head. "I don't know how you two could say all those things and not immediately go make out in a closet, and start secretly dating, but for the record, I think you would make a great couple."
"Thanks, but I'd like to keep my job. Speaking of which, we should probably get back to work."
"Great idea, Marinette." Adrien followed her down the hallway, "or we could try making out in a closet, like Jeanne suggested?"
Marinette laughed. "We don't have enough time to make-out. We barely have enough time to do this line as it is."
"So, would you consider dating me after we finish this line?"
Marinette paused. She thought about her partner, who we've seemed interested. Then she thought about Adrien. Adrien was charming and sweet and funny. She had only known him for a day and she bad never felt so connected.
She knew what her answer was, even though her gut told her to lie. "I think we should just be friends for now, but yeah, once we finish this line, I'd be willing to give us a shot."
"You would?" Adrien smiled.
Marinette was not going to melt from how sweet his smile was. Absolutely not. "Yeah. I think I would."
"So, what exactly do you think of Mr. Bug?"
Marinette's face went red. "I thought we were going to focus on the line."
When they leaked back info the office, her purse was sitting on her desk. In it, her phone, and much to her relief, Tikki.
The earrings were missing though.
She had a sudden thought, provoked by light reflecting off of Adrien's earlobes. "Adrien, have you always worn earrings?"
Adrien brought his hands to his ears. "My father is going to kill me."
"Did.. did you not know you were wearing earrings?"
"I forgot. They're not exactly professional." He began to unclip the backing of his earrings. Adrien tilted his head. "Speaking of which, do you ever wear earrings?"
"My ears are pierced." Marinette shrugged. "I used to wear earrings every day, but not as much anymore." Tikki was able to keep the magic near her, without it being on her person all the time, not that Marinette was going to explain Tikki to Adrien.
"Oh. Cool." Adrien's face fell a bit.
Apparently that wasn't the answer he had been looking for.
"But I think earrings would be a great accessory to add to the Ladybug suit."
And like that they were back on track.
Ready to make a superhero themed fashion line.
And Marinette's identity was definitely not in danger.
Not one bit.
Adrien Agreste, and Mr. Bug were completely oblivious, right? Right?