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Chapter Text

Adrien sighed as he once again witnessed Marinette sputter and falter in front of him, her words dying into an awkward mumble. It was always like this. It was impossible not to notice that Marinette only acted this way with him. The designer was comfortable with everyone else, many of whom she’d known since primary school. The blond had long since accepted the fact that Marinette was just shy with new people and as far as he knew, he was the newest person in the entire school. Their wrong footing at the start probably also didn’t help matters. He did the best he could, telling himself it wasn’t anything personal, to be friendly, but not to step into her personal space. He’d get there, eventually.

Then the opportunity arose for him to rescue her as Chat Noir, from one of their own classmates no less. A strange giddiness filled him at the idea, echoing that feeling so many weeks ago on the steps of the school in the rain. She would like Chat, wouldn’t she? Who wouldn’t like a superhero? (Papillon being a rather notable exception.) He couldn’t help but play it up for all it was worth, showing off in heroic poses and maybe flirting... just a little bit.

And Marinette did not disappoint. Oh, how her eyes lit up and her face stretched into a broad smile. She spoke excitedly, animatedly, articulately, as she would with any of their classmates. Then on the actual mission, she’d shown how impressively clever she was, which he’d only see more and more as the weeks passed.

Weeks later, Adrien still thought about it. He wanted to see that Marinette again. He wanted to play around and joke with her, matching wits and teasing jibes. He wanted her to casually invite him to things, instead of tensing up whenever Alya did on their behalf. He wanted her to like him, really like him. Instead of being so shy and reserved as she still was. There was a hope that he’d get there eventually.

But he was also getting impatient.

“Thinking about Ladybug again?” Plagg drawled from the couch as he chowed down on his small mountain of camembert. “You’ve got that look in your eye.”

“Marinette actually,” the blond replied distractedly, before looking away from his computer. “...What look?”

“You mean the stuttering girl in your class? What for?” Plagg asked, easily sidestepping the question.

“She only stutters with me,” Adrien grumbled unhappily, turning his attention back to his art history homework, which had sparked this whole line of thought. “I just want her to feel more comfortable around me, like she is with everyone else in class. Like she is with Chat Noir even.”

“Golly, I wonder why that is,” the black kwami said in a flat tone, though it was hard to tell if he was being sarcastic or just plain disinterested. “I hope you’re not thinking of visiting her as Chat Noir.”

“No, not really,” Adrien sighed. Although he had to admit, the idea was sorely tempting. It would be easy and fun and he could interact with Marinette just how he wanted to. Except that didn’t exactly help Adrien Agreste’s case. Plus it would be incredibly suspicious if Chat showed her any special attention. Aside from what he already pulled with Evillustrator. And what was wrong with Adrien Agreste? He was cool wasn’t he? ...Despite being homeschooled, a little socially awkward, and having absolutely no social life whatsoever. (Well, at least Nino thought he was cool.)

Plagg let out a considering hum. “Well, I approve of your lazy effort. There’s no point in working up a sweat in trying to befriend other people. Especially girls.”

...Lazy effort? Adrien frowned, more than a little indignant. “I’m not being lazy,” he protested. “I’m being careful! I don’t want to scare her off or put her in an uncomfortable spot or anything.”

“Yeah, because she scares so easy,” Plagg said with a roll of his eyes, now definitely being sarcastic. “Face it, kid. You’re the one not being proactive about this. Either because you don’t actually care about her that much or you’re the one who’s scared.”

At this Adrien spluttered and scoffed, “W-what?! Her, scare me? I’m not scared of a girl! Don’t be ridiculous! I’m a superhero! What would I be scared of M-Marinette for?”

The kwami smirked at him. “Bwack-bwack~” he clucked.

“Stop that!” the blond cried, only growing more red and flustered as a whirl of confusion went through him. Okay, so maybe there was a tiny grain of truth to what Plagg was saying. However, he was not going to let that lazy cat win! “Fine, you know what! I’m going to befriend her tomorrow, just you watch!”

“Sure, we’ll see~” Plagg replied airily. Deciding he was bored with the conversation, his attention went back to the television and his precious cheese.

Fuming silently, Adrien turned back to his homework, already plotting just how he was going to achieve his goal.

~o~

The next morning, Adrien arrived at school with actual bags under his eyes. He’d spent the entire sleepless night stewing over his half-assed ideas. He came up with absolutely nothing that wouldn’t have the end result of turning Marinette into a stammering mess. Or turning and running in the other direction. All he had to show for it were puffy eyes that even a cucumber ice compress couldn’t fix.

“Wow, dude, you look like shit,” Nino noted helpfully when they met up in the courtyard. He held up a hand, “Congrats for sinking down to our level!”

Adrien let out a laugh and high-fived him back. “Gee, thanks,” he grinned.

From the corner of his eye, he spotted Marinette and Alya sitting on one of the benches. They were laughing and chatting away with Rose and Juleka, as they hovered over something on Marinette’s phone. A tremble of nervous energy went through him, waking him up from the fog of fatigue.

“Hey, Nino?” he queried, looking back at the DJ, “How did you and Marinette become friends?”

Nino blinked at the admittedly random question. “Uh... jeez, it was so long ago now.... Oh wait!” he said brightly, “I know! I stole her eraser in class and then we got into a fight! We got sent to the principal’s office. She made us become friends in her office.”

...That was really not helpful. Adrien deflated. He was just going to have to think of something else. “What’s with the look, dude?” Nino asked with a frown. “Not epic enough for you?”

“Oh, no, no! That was plenty epic,” the blond assured him quickly. “It’s just... I want to be better friends with Marinette.”

At this, for some reason, Nino raised an eyebrow, his expression becoming sly. “Oh really?” he asked, “And why’s that exactly?”

“Uh... W-well, she’s pretty cool, isn’t she?” Adrien replied, suddenly feeling like he was being put under the microscope. He wasn’t sure why though. Wasn’t Nino already friends with Marinette? Wouldn’t he already know why? “I mean, she’s funny and she’s smart and super talented. Plus she games, Nino. Why wouldn’t I want to hang out with her?”

Nino studied him with that aggravating look a moment longer, before he gave a little too casual a shrug, “Well, I don’t really think you need to worry about her liking you. You’re pretty awesome already, dude. Just be yourself.”

Adrien didn’t fail to notice it was almost exactly the same advice he gave Nino when he tried to confess to Marinette. Nonetheless, it was still pretty standard advice that supportive best friends gave one another. (Be yourself! If they don’t like you, that’s their loss. I still like you!) He didn’t appreciate until now how moronic it sounded. Oh sure, be himself. Except that had basically gotten him nowhere. He had to do something different. That was the point!

Just be yourself...

Wait a minute.

A wide Cheshire grin spread across his lips. He knew just the perfect self to be.

Before the bell even rang, Adrien dragged Nino up to the classroom to wait for the girls. His mind whirled with ideas and intentions, all focused on exactly what he was going to do as soon as Marinette walked in. Nino watched him with a bemused expression out of the corner of his eye. When the familiar giggles came closer, he adjusted his posture, first leaning forward, then back, then changing his mind and leaning forward again. Just in time to lean casually over his desk as the door opened.

“Morning guys!” Alya greeted with a wave as she and Marinette walked past. The designer didn’t pipe up, but she added her own wave.

“Morning Alya,” Adrien greeted, before his eyes flicked over to the raven-haired designer. “Morning Princess,” he added with a small wink and a grin.

All three friends riveted. (He didn’t think it was that strange.) However, Marinette didn’t stammer or blush. That had to be a good sign, right? She blinked her wide bluebell eyes, before she said slowly, “...Good morning, Adrien.”

Progress!

Adrien beamed at her, turning his attention to his tablet and books. He felt Nino’s stare on him and looked up at his incredulous expression. “What?”

“What? Nothing. I didn’t say anything,” the DJ said, holding up his hands defensively. “You do your thing.”

Good. He was planning on it.

Throughout the rest of the day, Adrien looked for little ways of inserting Chat into his interactions with Marinette. A little pun here, some teasing there. She always seemed a little taken aback at first, but not a stutter passed through her lips. When lunchtime came around, he looked for the opportunity to actually bond. “Say, Marinette,” he said, as he leaned over the edge of her desk, “you feeling peckish? I’d love to butter you up over lunch.”

Marinette raised both eyebrows. “...Are you asking me out on a date?”

Adrien froze, before recognizing the subtle puncraft. Then he grinned wide. “I’m sure I could orange something.”

“That’s really verging on corny now.”

“All in a day’s wok.”

Meanwhile, Alya and Nino watched the exchange with wide incredulous eyes. “What the hell is happening right now?” the DJ hissed under his breath to his girlfriend.

“I don’t know. I have no frickin’ idea,” Alya hissed back, although she had her phone out and was secretly recording the pun battle. She let out a small gasp, when Marinette hopped down to Adrien’s level and held out an arm.

“Very well, I suppose I can cater to your whim this time,” she said airily.

Adrien was quick to take it, grinning like a loon. “Ah thank you, Princess. I’ll make sure to relish your company.” With that, the pair of them took off, leaving the rest of their gobsmacked classmates behind.

Chloe slammed her hands down her desk, as she screeched. “What is happening here?!” Then the classroom exploded into a flurry of giggles, shrieks and gossip.

~o~

Away from the chaos they inadvertently created, Adrien made sure to treat Marinette to lunch. He was a gentleman after all. Even if lunch was basically just some delicious croquettes in the park. He couldn’t be more pleased with himself for all the progress he made so far. He managed to get Marinette alone and not stammering! And she punned with him! They were well on their way to becoming best-

“You’re Chat Noir, aren’t you?”

Adrien choked on his croquette. It was a very unpleasant sensation and he was tearing up as Marinette slapped him on the back to breathe. With a hoarse voice, he looked up at the designer’s stern face. “What- how- How did you figure that out?!” Seriously, though. How?! He’d talked to her today for less than ten minutes! And he’d only spoken to her as Chat Noir for maybe all of half an hour! She couldn’t possibly pick up on his mannerisms that quickly!

“I have my ways,” Marinette replied mysteriously. Then her eyes narrowed. “Do you know who I am?”

Absolutely mystified, the blond answered, “Y-you’re Marinette? Marinette Dupain-Cheng? ...Right?” Apparently, this was the right answer, as his classmate relaxed marginally. Good for her, because he was only sweating more by the second. Holy crap, how had he compromised his identity so easily?! Had anyone else noticed?!

Ladybug. Ladybug was going to kill him. All the blood drained from his face as he just imagined the prospect of facing her, tail tucked between his legs, as he let her know just how careless he’d been.

“What are you doing in Adrien’s body?”

Adrien stilled. Slowly he turned to look at Marinette, who still had that determined class leader look on her face. His body? As in, she thought... His jaw went slack. Right. Okay. That was a perfectly sound leap in logic. He had somehow hijacked his own body. Sure. (Wow, she was seriously in denial.) However, Adrien was not about to question his luck.

“I... uh... akuma?” he replied with a helpless shrug. He felt Plagg vibrating against his chest. The kwami was probably laughing his ass off now.

Marinette frowned. “Well, where’s Adrien then? Is he in your body? Is he safe?”

“Perfectly! He’s completely, totally safe, I promise,” Adrien replied, waving his hands to dismiss her concern. “But uh, I can’t tell you where he is, obviously. Y’know, the whole secret identity thing, no?”

“Are you sure?” she demanded hotly.

In any other circumstance, Adrien would have been touched by her concern for him. He never realized that she cared that much about him. Now, however, he was far more preoccupied with the hole he was digging himself deeper and deeper into. “I’m sure!” he replied, sweating bullets as Marinette’s narrowed eyes bored into. “He’s having the time of his life, not having to do all that modeling and lessons and everything. Just being a normal teenager.”

Marinette studied him for a moment longer, with an intensity in her gaze that made his very blood flutter. Then she pulled back and gave him just a little bit of breathing room. “Alright, fine,” she said as she ate up the rest of her croquette. “Tell me about the akuma then. We need to get you back to your own bodies.”

Jeez, she was kind of bossy for a civilian. “I... don’t remember,” he replied, realizing the response was a little lame, but what could he do. “I was just minding my own business and then bam, suddenly I’m Adrien Agreste. And he’s in my body. So... yeah. B-but I’m sure it’s just a completely temporary thing!” he added quickly. “In fact, I’m sure that by tomorrow morning everything will be back to normal, so there’s really nothing that you need to worry about.”

The designer, justifiably, gave him a dubious look. “Well, I hope so,” she said, “But just in case, I’ll need to stick close to you to make sure that no one else realizes who you are. We can’t have anyone figuring out you’re not Adrien.”

That made Adrien pause. Marinette would stay with him? Like how close? Close friends close? Maybe... maybe he could use this. Just for an extra day or so. Marinette was completely at ease with him now, thinking he was Chat Noir. ...Which he was, but that was besides the point. If she stuck around ‘Chat’ long enough, would she become used to Adrien? Would she act like this around him if he wasn’t flirting or punning? Oh God, he hoped so. He liked this Marinette. He liked this Marinette a lot.

“...Good idea,” he said after a pause, when he realized that Marinette was waiting on his response. “In fact, maybe you should change seats with Nino. Keep me in line and all that.”

However, Marinette was already shaking her head. “No, that’s just suspicious. Adrien loves Nino. He wouldn’t have him trade places with some random girl.”

Well... that was true. But you’re not random, he wanted to say. A thought that made him heat up again, as the Reason lingered just beyond his cognitive grasp. In any case, the designer had already moved on.

“We can say that I’m doing a project with your- I mean, Adrien’s father, and I have to shadow you,” she reasoned. “We need to keep our eyes peeled for that akuma too. I’m sure you and Adrien aren’t the only victims to it.”

If Adrien hadn’t completely made the akuma up, he would have been suspicious that Marinette hadn’t had her body snatched too. Where had this cool, confident girl been all this time? “You going to come home with me too?” he asked with a sly smile.

“Pff, as if,” Marinette scoffed. Then realizing it might have been a serious question, she backpedaled and said in a softer tone, “I honestly don’t know much about Adrien’s home life. But from what I know, he’s pretty isolated. I don’t think you’ll get into much trouble there.”

Adrien’s smile dropped as quickly as it came, as a dark pang reverberated through his chest. She was right. Of course, she was right. How was it that she could see right through him? Not just to Chat Noir, but to the lonely kid behind the cover model that everyone adored. “You’re pretty observant,” he remarked.

The designer let out a mirthless huff of laughter. “So I’ve been told.” Dusting the crumbs off her pants, she stood up from the park bench. “Anyway, shall we head back? Lunch is almost over.”

“Well, I would be honored to escort you back, Princess,” Adrien replied, giving her a low bow before taking her arm again. “Might I say that you were a lovely lunch date.”

At this, Marinette giggled. “Well, thanks, Chat. You weren’t too bad yourself.”

When they returned to class, it was carefully controlled pandemonium. Everyone was in a ruckus, staring and asking probing questions. Alya seemed to have taken charge of hushing everyone, before she scooped Marinette away for interrogation. For his part, Adrien was managed and secreted away by Nino in the front corner of the class. “Did you seriously ask Marinette out to lunch?” the DJ asked in hushed urgency.

“Yes...?” Adrien replied uncertainly. It literally happened right in front of them all, so he didn’t know why Nino was asking like that. “I told you I wanted to be better friends with her. Is it such a surprise?”

Nino was giving him one of those weird looks again. Then he sighed. “Okay, have it your way. So? How was lunch? Good or bad?”

Adrien’s green eyes flicked over to Marinette, who was rather skillfully maneuvering through Alya’s invasive questions. “Yet to be determined,” he said softly, before turning a grin on his best friend, “but I’m hopeful.”

~o~

As promised, Marinette hovered close to Adrien throughout the rest of the day, even to fencing and his photoshoot. It was a little unnerving being watched and checked like that, but it wasn’t like he was going to have any trouble being himself. All he had to do was tone down Chat Noir a bit while dealing with Marinette in the eyes of others.

When they were alone, it was a different story.

“Please, please, please come home with me,” he begged, once they were in the privacy of the back of his town car, heading home from his shoot in one of his father’s studios. He all but took over her personal space, leaning towards her as he canted his head. “Just for a little bit? My room is so, sooo big and lonely.”

Marinette only gave him a Look, somehow both blushing and annoyed as she pushed him away. ‘Ch- Adrien, no. I told you already, you’ll be fine.”

“But there’s a foosball table! You can’t play foosball by yourself,” Adrien protested. It was his greatest oversight when he asked for it from his father. Subconsciously, he wanted someone to play with, not the actual table itself. Fat lot of good that did. He leaned in again, determined to win her over. “Pwincess, pwetty pwease~?” he asked, giving her the most kitten-ish eyes he could manage.

The designer’s blush only grew and so did her discomfort. “W-will you stop looking at me like that?!” she snapped, obviously affected. Her eyes flicked to the Gorilla before she muttered under her breath, “Ugh, this is so not fair. Stop using that face against me.”

That gave Adrien pause. His own cheeks threatened to heat, when he realized just what she was saying. She liked his face? Well, that wasn’t exactly uncommon, but then again, this was Marinette. Mentally, he shook the thought off. It wouldn’t do for Chat Noir to blush over another boy being complimented. No, Chat Noir would use this to his advantage, the sly devil. So instead, his lips pulled into a wicked smile, “Oh~? So you think I’m handsome, do you?”

If anything, Marinette was starting to look like a tomato, as the blush spread to her ears. “So does most of Paris! I’m not blind, you know,” she huffed, folding her arms over her chest. She was making a rather valiant effort at resisting him, but the more she squirmed, the more she failed. A burst of giddy glee went through him, finally vindicated that someone was falling for his charms. Even if they weren’t Ladybug. ...And maybe, especially if they were Marinette.

The thought instantly sobered him up, just realizing where his mind was going. This time, he couldn’t stop the blush, as it seemed to spread not just over his face but down his shoulders and all over his skin. Suddenly, the inside of the car was suffocating.

“A-actually, you know what? You’re right. I think I’ll be fine,” Adrien said, maybe a little too quickly. He tapped the Gorilla on the shoulder and said, “Can you drop Marinette off at 12 rue Gotlib, please?” His silent driver nodded, making the mental course correction.

The blond tried not to look at Marinette, who was giving him another queer look. Probably for his sudden turnabout. Relief came when they arrived at the patisserie and Marinette stepped out of the car. “Well,” she said awkwardly, “this has been... interesting. Hope everything goes well for you tomorrow.”

“Yes, thank you for accompanying me,” Adrien replied. Then in a move so natural, he didn’t even think about it, he took her hand and pressed a chase kiss to her knuckles. “Good night, Princess.”

Marinette blushed again, the rosiness of her cheeks making her glow. “G-good night,” she stumbled over the word, though the confident girl he’d been getting to know all day was still there. Without another word, she turned and disappeared around the corner.

Adrien leaned back into his seat, both warm and just a little terrified. What was going on with him? With his heart? He tried shaking the thoughts off. This entire day had been too surreal. He noticed the Gorilla’s gaze on him from the rearview mirror. He coughed lightly, determined not to look as out of sorts as he felt, “Home, please.”

~o~

“So~”

Adrien knew this was coming. Hunched over his desk, he tried in vain to concentrate on his homework, ignoring the sly green eyes that peered at him from the couch. “This is your idea of befriending Marinette, is it? Impersonating yourself?” Plagg said wryly, taking a rather delicate bite of his cheese wedge. “Flirting with her? Calling her Princess? Kissing her?”

“I- I only kissed her hand,” the blond protested, his glowing cheeks giving him away. “And I like to flirt with her. So what? It’s fun. It doesn’t mean anything.” Even as he spoke it, he knew the words weren’t completely true. Marinette was special, in a way he hadn’t defined yet. “Look, it doesn’t matter anyway. I’m not going to flirt with her tomorrow. Everything’s going to go back to normal.”

“Uh huh,” Plagg intoned, amused and doubtful. “We’ll see.”

Adrien whirled on the kwami. “What do you mean, we’ll see? I will!” he cried in heated indignation. Did the kwami think he had no self-control or what? His suspicions were confirmed when the kwami said outright:

“Nope. You like it too much,” Plagg replied dismissively. “Cat’s out of the bag now, kid. You’re not going to be able to contain yourself.”

“Oh yeah? Well, we’ll just see about that!” Adrien fumed. He turned back to his homework with ferocious intensity, absolutely determined to prove the kwami wrong.

~o~

“Good morning, Princess.”

...It just slipped out. Almost as if it were on reflex.

The blood drained from Adrien’s face as his own mouth betrayed him, looking up to Marinette’s startled expression. He swore he could almost hear Plagg’s silent cackling from his bag. Around them, their classmates stared as well. Apparently, they thought that yesterday was some kind of fluke. Which it should have been, if only his treacherous lips hadn’t done him in.

The designer stared at him for a split-second longer, before she returned the smile. “Good morning, Adrien,” she greeted, passing him by to head to her own desk.

Beside them, Chloe was having some kind of conniption fit. “Adrichoue!” she screeched, making everyone in the room wince, “What are you doing, calling her a princess! I should be a princess, not some common peasant!”

Adrien sighed heavily. God help him, he loved Chloe. To the point that she was like a cousin or a sister to him. (Which made it extra squicky whenever she wanted to kiss him.) He’d just known her for far too long. But Chloe could be a complete brat sometimes. ...More than sometimes, if he was being honest. “Really?” he asked, keenly aware of how Marinette studied him from above, “Because you’re not acting like one. Aren’t princesses supposed to be more gracious and ladylike?”

A collective Oooooh~ went out through the class, as if he had just delivered a sick burn. It was kind of ridiculous since it wasn’t even that harsh. For her part, his childhood friend reddened and spluttered, but the words had their desired effect as she sat back down in her seat and fumed. The rest of the class grinned, looking perfectly pleased and content. Which is just when their teacher came into the room to start class.

During math, something tapped his shoulder. Adrien looked up to Marinette’s stern look. She passed him a note, which he slipped to read under his desk while Mme Bustier wasn’t looking.

Don’t tell Chloe off again.
Adrien is too nice to her
for her own good.
Sweet dig tho :)

“What’d she say?” Nino whispered next to him, trying to peek.

“Nothing!” Adrien hissed back, a little too suspiciously as he thrust the note into his bag. It would just be too difficult to explain. Unfortunately, his bestie got that weird grin (and probably the wrong idea) again, before leaving it at that. The blond tried to take his mind off it, his thoughts going instead to the note. Was he? Too nice? Then again, it wasn’t exactly coming from an unbiased source. But she’d said Chloe’s own good, not his. His eyes went to Chloe once more, who was pouting throughout the lesson. Nobody ever really told her no. Not even their principal stood up to her. Maybe it really was up to him to show her some tough love.

Food for thought. For later too. Marinette still thought he was Chat Noir. ...Which he was. Gah, this was really starting to get confusing! Not-Adrien then. For at least another day, thanks to his damned slip that morning.

A small grin touched the corners of his lips. Well, he supposed that he better make the most of it.

At lunch, he managed to cajole her away again. Although he had to sing for his supper this time too, in the form of another pun-battle. This time, he treated her to pizza, requiring an actual sit down restaurant. Marinette got a particularly dissatisfied look on her face when he got the bill again. “I don’t know how I feel about you using Adrien’s money to treat me,” she said, her nose scrunched up into a cute little frown.

“It’s fine. I’ll pay him back. Don’t worry about it,” Adrien replied dismissively. His lips spread into a wicked smile. “Now, where did we leave off yesterday? Oh right. How handsome you think I am,” he purred, watching as his lunch date reddened.

“You are absolutely incorrigible,” Marinette muttered under her breath, taking a sudden interest in the pizza in front of them.

“I didn’t hear a no~” the blond teased, grinning wider as she only blushed harder.

“Do I need to put a bell on you?” Marinette demanded, her eyes narrowing, “You better not be taking advantage of Adrien’s body to flirt with everything in sight.”

Some of the amusement dropped from his good mood. “Do you really think I’m that bad?” he asked, leaning back against his seat. He thought that Marinette was comfortable with Chat Noir. Not that she held him in such low regard.

Marinette struggled briefly, before she released a sigh. “No, of course not,” she admitted grudgingly. “I just... I have no idea why you’re flirting with me so much. Besides, anyone would be tempted if they somehow ended up in the body of a supermodel. Heaven knows what I would get up to,” she added softly.

This genuinely puzzled him. Not to mention, he didn’t very much care for that self-deprecating look in her eyes. “But Marinette,” he said, catching her attention, “you’re already beautiful. You don’t have anything to be jealous of.”

The words were completely sincere, with none of the teasing flirtations he’d gotten used to. Nonetheless, Marinette’s eyes went wide and she never blushed harder. She let out a strange strangled squeak, trying and failing to say something, before she gave up altogether and stuffed her mouth with some pizza.

Adrien was in awe. Had he really just struck her dumb? He hadn’t even meant to. But was it Chat’s influence or Adrien’s? Who did she actually like better? Maybe both? Suddenly, he was determined to find out. No matter how long it took. He’d stick with teasing though. He liked it better when she could snipe back. So he grinned, “What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”

Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes. All was right with the world.

After school, she accompanied him again to all his various lessons and shoots. She wouldn’t admit it, but she loved the shoots. Her eyes seemed to light up at the designs, taking in everything in enraptured awe. It made him grin to see her so excited about her chosen profession.

Afterwards, he tried again to get her home. “There’s a rock climbing wall,” Adrien said, giving her a winning smile, as the pair headed home in the car towards her house. “Plus arcade games and just about every movie and tv series that you can imagine. Do you like anime? We could watch anime.”

Marinette only laughed at him. “Sorry, I’m busy,” she said, playfully ruffling his hair. “Why don’t you just enjoy it on your own?”

“But the foosball table!” Adrien insisted. “I can’t play foosball by myself!”

“Well, you can’t have everything,” the designer replied lightly, stepping out of the car in front of the patisserie. “I’ll see you later, alright?”

“Fine,” the blond replied with a resigned sigh. As was customary of a gentleman, he took her hand and pressed a kiss to it. “Good night, Princess.”

Marinette smiled in return. She swayed a little bit, seemingly torn with indecision. Suddenly, she leaned forward, giving his cheek a chaste peck. “Good night, sweet prince,” she murmured into his ear. Then she was gone, dashing off towards the safety of her home.

Adrien stared after her. Heat spread from the touch of that kiss, all over his face and down into his veins. He put a hand over his mouth, a delicious squirming sensation making a broad, giddy grin take over his entire face. Trying very hard to ignore the knowing look the Gorilla was shooting him in the rearview mirror, as well as the self-satisfied glow from his shirt pocket, he coughed lightly. “Home please.”

~o~

“Good morning Princess~”

“Good morning Adrien,” Marinette smiled back, before taking her seat.

It was day four of this charade. So far, he had yet to convince the designer to come over to his house for a perfectly innocent game of foosball. For some reason, she seemed to think it was a euphemism for something else. Still, they were definitely getting closer. She still followed him everywhere, under the pretense of making sure he acted like Adrien. She even corrected him a few times, much to his bemusement. More importantly, Marinette was completely at ease with him, teasing him and ruffling his hair, sharing bites of food and stories.

Adrien loved every minute of it. Plagg was right. He couldn’t get enough of this. Being close friends with Marinette was every bit as marvelous as he thought it would be. Especially the flirting. God, he loved the flirting. The way that she’d scrunch her nose at his puns, the way that her eyes lit up in challenge, the way that her lips quirked into a smirk as she thought of something particularly clever. What really got to him were the times that he caught her off guard. When she’d go speechless and glow that pretty pink, making her even more beautiful.

It was undeniable now. He might have a crush on Marinette. A pretty massive one at that. He felt a pang of guilt every time he thought of Ladybug, but Marinette had a way of completely stealing his attention. Plagg teased him relentlessly about it. Nino did too. Even Alya was getting on his case. ‘Pretty boy, just ask her out already!’

Of course, he couldn’t. Marinette still thought he was Cha- Not- Adrien. This had to end at some point and he’d already carried this long enough that he knew she’d never forgive him for deceiving her this long. The very thought terrified him. He couldn’t go back to the nothing they had before. He didn’t want this to end.

Inevitably though, something had to give.

“Chat, want to come over to my place for lunch?”

Adrien faltered mid-step down the steps of the school. It always caught him a little off-guard whenever Marinette used his alter-ego’s name. Most of the time, they had to use Adrien within earshot of their classmates. More to the point, he was being invited to her home. “I, uh, y-yes! Sure, that sounds fine,” he said, trying to play it cool. He was a cool cat after all. Yeah, totally. Completely chill.

He was feeling less chill by the second as he followed Marinette home, as he headed up the stairs to the private quarters above the patisserie. They were alone there, both her parents busy down during lunch hour in the shop. She seated him down at the island at the kitchen with a glass of tea. “Maman made some lunch for us,” Marinette said as she puttered around the kitchen, taking out some food from the fridge to heat up.

There was something so domestic about all this. Adrien swallowed hard, watching as Marinette pulled on an apron. It was cute and pink. It had frills. Of course, it did. Was it hot in here? How high did they have the temperature? They were above a bakery, weren’t they?

Soon enough, Marinette put out plates of salmon pasta, along with a glistening plate of-

“Chouquettes!” Adrien gasped, his eyes lighting up as he saw the glistening pastry balls. “These are my favorite! How did you know?”

The designer only gave him a mysterious smile. “I have my ways,” she replied airily, before waving him to eat. “Now go ahead. We can’t have you paying for me all the time.”

He gladly did so with gusto, letting out appreciative hums as he savored the food. The chouquettes were especially amazing, blowing any he had before out of the water. However, he slowly realized that Marinette wasn’t joining him. She merely picked at her food. “Is something wrong?” he asked, slowing his own eating.

Marinette glanced up at him, a flicker of guilt flashing through those gorgeous eyes. “I... no, I just...” She worried her lower lip, struggling to put her words into thought. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I really liked spending time with you these past few days, I really did, but...” She fiddled anxiously with her fingers. “I haven’t seen any sign of this akuma and... and I just... When do you think Adrien will be back?”

All the warmth went right out of Adrien at those words. He went very, very still. “What do you mean?” he asked slowly.

Nervously tucking her hair behind her ear, she couldn’t quite meet his eye. “It’s just- This isn’t your body, Chat. Aren’t you worried about your own life? Your own family? Don’t you miss them? We should be working on putting you back, not just- playing around.”

“Playing- Is that all you think this is?” Adrien demanded.

“No! No, I just-” She was clearly struggling, her expression fraught with as much turmoil that now assaulted his own heart. Putting down her utensils, she stood up from the island. “I need to show you something.”

With much trepidation, Adrien nodded. Marinette led him up the stairs, towards her own room. He’d been before, when he was here to practice for the gaming tournament with her. However, this time, there was one rather significant change to the room. It took him a moment to notice it at first, but then it became glaringly obvious. Her pink walls were covered in pictures of him. Dozens of pictures, all from different fashion magazine covers or articles.

Adrien stared, struck dumb. Beside him, his host wrung her hands, looking anxiously at everything but him. “I... I should have said something earlier,” she whispered, unable to look him in the eye. “I’ve had this massive crush on Adrien for the longest time. Then when you came around and just decided to pay special attention to me, I... I’m so sorry.” Her eyes glistened before she squeezed them shut, even now trying to be strong. “I like you, Chat. But Adrien needs to come home.”

For the longest time, Adrien couldn’t speak. He felt sick, his precious chouquettes threatening to churn out of his stomach. He didn’t even know what he was feeling, but it wasn’t good. Much of it was gnawing guilt. Guilt for deceiving her, guilt at unwittingly playing with her feelings.

But there was also the anger.

Deep, dark, resentful anger.

I’m right here, he thought furiously, his ire boiling in the pit of his stomach. I’ve been here the entire time. How could you not see me? How can you not realize that I’m right here in front of you?

Adrien didn’t dare speak. He wouldn’t know what would come out of his mouth and he’d probably regret it later. Instead, he turned on his heel and he headed down the stairs. Ignoring Marinette’s cries, he picked up his bag and headed outside. His hand trembled as he called the Gorilla on his cell. “I want to go home,” he said, unable to stand the thought of sharing any breathing space with her. “Take me home, I don’t feel well.”

His caretaker obliged, of course. Within minutes he was there, ushering him into the car and back to the comforting isolation of his house. There, he shut himself up in his room, throwing himself onto his bed to stew in his righteous anger and a sorrow that seemed to open a chasm in his heart.

Plagg came out of hiding, hovering over his charge. He didn’t say much of anything, save for gently patting his chosen on the shoulder in comfort. He let out a little yelp when Adrien took him up, holding him close in both hands against his brow, slaking whatever comfort he could. “Jeez, kid, I’m not a plushie,” the kwami sighed, but allowed himself to be manhandled anyway. As Adrien hiccuped, he rubbed his brow against his. “There, there, kid. It’s okay. It’s all gonna be okay...”

~o~

The next morning, Adrien felt like complete shit.

He probably looked like it too, if Nino’s face was any indication. “Whoa, dude, you look like hell,” he said, putting a hand on Adrien’s shoulder as he looked him over. “Are you sure you’re up for being here? You look like you need another day in bed.”

However, the blond only shook his head. “I don’t need to give my father any excuse to homeschool me again. It’s fine. I’ll power through it.” He didn’t know how he would react to seeing Marinette, but he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. Together, the pair of them headed to the classroom to wait for school to officially start. He nearly winced when the bell rang, signaling the warning bell for class.

He could scarcely breathe when he heard that familiar gait, that soft comforting voice. He went still when he saw her legs pause in front of his desk.

“Good morning, Adrien.”

The classroom went oddly silent, waiting on his reply. However, he took a breath and closed his eyes. Enough. Enough of this. “Good morning, Marinette,” he said brightly, turning a big false smile on the designer.

Marinette faltered, her eyes going a fraction wider. Wordlessly, she ducked her head, her gaze uncertain as she headed to her seat behind him. Beside him, Nino gave him his own incredulous look. “Um, dude? What was that?”

“What was what?” Adrien replied curtly, pretending to be focused on his books. His tone was signal enough that he Did Not Want to Talk. Thankfully, Nino was the best kind of best friend. He simply gave the blond’s shoulder a brief squeeze and left him to it. For the rest of the day, Adrien was left in relative peace. A couple times, Marinette tried to initiate a conversation with him, but always her words shriveled like grapes on the vine. He was also subjected to Alya’s fierce, accusing glare boring into his back all day, though Nino tried to protect him from that as best he could.

After the end of day bell rang, Marinette finally worked up the nerve to speak to him directly. “H-Hi, Adrien,” she stammered, back to her old ways at the drop of a hat. She wrung her hands, looking intensely uncomfortable. It was impossible to believe that this girl had a crush on him. “D-do you mind if we talk? I think we need to talk.”

The blond studied her for a long minute, torn between shutting her down and... and hugging her. He settled for the middle road. “Sure, that’s fine,” he said with that same painfully false smile. Ever the gentleman, he opened the door for her, before following her out of school to speak in private in their favorite park. On their favorite bench.

Marinette fiddled with her hands, still unable to look directly at him. It was painful to be next to her like this, when they had been so close before. Now she looked like she would break if he so much as touched her brittle form. Finally, she managed the strength to speak, “Are you... you’re definitely Adrien, right?”

Adrien considered lying again for a split-second, wanting desperately for things to go back to the way they were. To the laughter, the flirting, the smiles. But no. That was enough. He couldn’t pull that off anymore. “Yeah,” he replied, just as softly. “It’s me now.”

Nodding to herself, the designer let out a breath. “Okay,” she said, mostly to herself. She looked up, giving him a strained, painful smile. “I’m glad you’re back, Adrien. You must be relieved to be back home.”

His own smile was just as uncomfortable and awkward, “Ah, yeah. I’m glad that Ladybug took care of business. I guess it just took a little while to track the akuma down. I mean, a body snatching akuma has to be extra tricky.”

Marinette went still. “...Ladybug?”

“Yup. She came and took care of it last night. No more body snatching,” Adrien lied. No one would be any the wiser. More importantly, he had to shut this down and put this misguided chapter behind him. His feelings were hurt, betrayed, but it was his own fault through that stupid lie. Maybe in time, he could get back to where he was with Marinette. Not now though. It hurt too much now.

Strangely, Marinette just kept staring at him. As if she were still seeing through him, despite how blind she was. “You’re lying,” she said, her matter-of-fact tone making him freeze. “Adrien, why are you...” She paused, her brow knitting into a frown. “...Chat?”

The blond stared back, his whole body going cold and strangely tingly. Like ecstasy and terror were warring within him. What was he supposed to do? Double down? Tell the truth? Make up some complete lie? Pretend it never happened? Dig himself deeper? What was he supposed to say?!

In the end, it was his aching heart that won out over all of them. “...Yes?” he replied, his lips breaking into a sheepish smile.

The designer’s eyes went wide and she pushed herself up from the bench. Hands fisted at her sides, she stared at him in incredulous, but dawning realization. “...There’s no akuma, is there,” she whispered harshly. “You made that up.”

“Guilty,” Adrien admitted, putting his hands up in surrender. “Although technically, you opened the door on that one.”

“But-! But that means you’re-!” she cried, pointing a finger at his face. “You’re still Adrien!”

“Yeah, guilty of that too,” he replied.

“But you’re Chat Noir!”

“That I am.” This was actually kind of hilarious. In the absurd, hysterical kind of way, that made him want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Marinette gaped at him like a pufferfish, mouth bobbing as she tried to think of something to say. Suddenly, she lunged forward, grabbing him by the lapels of his shirt. “You- you ASSHOLE!” she shrieked, shaking him violently by his shirt. “Why the hell did you lie to me, you stupid cat?!”

Despite it being absolutely and completely inappropriate, Adrien burst into hysterical giggles. This whole thing was just too insane not too. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he cried between his laughter, holding up his hands to try to defend himself. “I don’t- haha- I don’t know why I’m laughing. This isn’t even funny!”

“You’re damn right, it’s not!” Marinette shrilled back at him. “STOP LAUGHING, DAMN IT!” Adrien only ended up laughing more, his eyes tearing up as he couldn’t breathe.

It took nearly a quarter of an hour for him to finally calm down. His sides burned with how much he ached and his voice was hoarse from all his hyena-like shrills. Beside him, Marinette was the perfect picture of indignation, glaring at him with the full force of her blue-eyed fury. He couldn’t help grinning like a loon. “I’m sorry, Princess. Do you think you could find it in yourself to forgive me?”

“You don’t even look remotely sorry,” Marinette snapped, glaring daggers into him.

“Can’t really help it,” he replied. “I’m too happy. The girl I like has a disturbingly huge crush on me.”

Her cheeks went bright pink with a blush, just the way that he adored. “You weren’t supposed to find that out,” she hissed, folding her arms over her chest. “I didn’t think you were you, when I showed you those pictures!”

“Aw, but it’s so cute,” Adrien teased, giving her a winning smile. “In a slightly creepy, stalker shrine kind of way.” He let out an involuntary laugh again, when she picked up a twig and thwacked him over the head with it. Okay, that he had coming.

“You- you-! You’re impossible!” Marinette cried, her entire body glowing in mortification.

“Yeah,” he agreed easily, “but I’m also yours.” He relished the way she stilled, her breath going short. “If you want me that is,” he added, his tone as soft as the warmth and adoration that spread through him.

“...What if I don’t want you?” Marinette demanded, ever so stubborn.

“Oh, you want me,” Adrien replied confidently, leaning into her personal space, feeling the very heat of the blush on her cheeks. He was a breath away from her lips, almost tasting sweets and sugar. “I just need to convince you.”

“Well,” she said as she licked her perfectly pink, kissable lips. “You better get to convincing then.”

It only occurred to Adrien, much, much later, to question just how Marinette knew he was lying. By then, it didn’t even matter. He already had everything that he needed. Getting what he wanted was just the cherry on top.

Chapter Text

Marinette was more than a little aware that her crush was pretty sad and pathetic. For months, she’d tried desperately to get better around the school darling, Adrien Agreste. And always, her stupid mouth and her panicked thoughts completely self-sabotaged her. Worse, of course, Adrien noticed. How could he not? She didn’t even want to think of what he must think of her - the awkward, clutzy girl who always got so painfully tongue-tied around him. It only made her insecurities worse, her anxiety tying her up into knots even more around him.

Adrien though, sweet soul that he was, was so patient with her. He never made fun, always choosing instead to be warm and friendly with her, even if he was a little distant. Still, they were bridging the gap, ever slowly. First when he came to help with her uncle, then more so when he came over to game at her house. The blond was so kind, it couldn’t help but make her heart melt every time she thought of him.

Still, she was getting kind of impatient.

“Marinette, you’re psyching yourself up too much about this!” Tikki chided from on top of her desk as the designer sat cross-legged on the floor, trying to hone in on her more confident Ladybug self. “You’re just making it worse, you know.”

“Tikki, hush! I’m trying to concentrate,” Marinette said, keeping her eyes closed as she tried to imagine her confidence as some kind of red magatama.

The little kwami sighed, before zipping over in front of her charge’s nose. “Marinette, have you considered maybe not trying so hard?” she said, cocking her head as she looked her chosen over. “You’re a wonderful person. Adrien will be sure to figure that out on his own, if you give him the chance.”

Marinette cracked open an eye. “Tikki, that’s not going to happen unless I can talk to him in full coherent sentences. I have to be better than this.”

“I’m just saying... ” Tikki started, before she gave it up. “Alright, alright, whatever you think is best. I’ll encourage you as best as I can.”

At this, the designer smiled warmly. “I know Tikki, you always do. Now, help me focus.”

~o~

The next morning, Marinette was psyched and ready to speak to Adrien like a normal human being. She had slept well, gotten up early, eaten breakfast, brushed her teeth, put on her lucky socks. Everything to give her the fullest advantage. Even Alya noticed as the pair of them met up at their favorite bench at school. “Wow, Mari, you look great today!”

“Thanks,” she smiled, her cheeks warm with a happy glow. “Today’s the day, Alya. I can feel it. I’m going to have an honest to god, unsolicited conversation with Adrien. With minimal stuttering.”

“Ooh, this should be exciting,” Alya said encouragingly. “...But we’ve got like a half hour to class. Maybe try not to psych yourself out about it too much.” It was almost exactly the same advice that Tikki had given her last night. Apparently, she had a bad case of getting too much into her own head. “Oh, I know! You’ve got some new designs for your site, right? You want to show the girls? That’s plenty distracting.”

“I... Oh fine,” Marinette deflated, knowing she simply wasn’t getting out of it. She’d built up such a good momentum too! Still, it was nice to hang with the girls for a bit before class, making her forget all about her impending date with destiny. Her gang kept her so sufficiently distracted that school bell rang before she even realized it.

Once she did, her stomach dropped and she felt herself go just a little clammy.

No. No, no, no, she wasn’t going to do this again. Confidence. Be confident. Closing her eyes, she chanted the mantra as she rubbed against her temples, trying to concentrate. It did not help that Alya laughed aloud at her. “Mari, stop that!” she giggled, taking her hands away from her temple, instead tugging her up the stairs. “You don’t need to go into zen mode. Last thing you need to be is a monk.”

Despite herself, Marinette couldn’t help but laugh. “How do you know? What if monks are Adrien’s type?”

This set Alya into a fit of giggles. “Oh, that’s attractive! You’d look amazing with a shaved head!”

They were still giggling as they entered the classroom, which was slowly filling up with their classmates. Once again, Marinette’s stomach bottomed out when she saw Adrien already waiting in the front row. He didn’t look quite like himself, maybe a little frayed. Nonetheless, he was still gorgeous.

“Morning guys!” Alya greeted on their behalf, since it was pretty much second nature now. Just as well, since Marinette had basically swallowed her tongue. She’d get it back out, it was just going to take all of first period. So, she settled on a weak smile and a wave.

But then Adrien opened his mouth.

And it wasn’t his voice.

“Morning Alya,” he greeted smoothly, before his emerald eyes settled on her. There was a mischievousness to them, one that was all too familiar. He grinned at her, giving her a wink as he said, “Morning Princess.”

Marinette stared at him, frozen as if struck by lightning. She knew that look. She knew that voice. That specific cadence and intonation. The slight purr and drawl. The context. It was subtle, but she recognized it instantly.

Chat?

Realizing that he was expecting some kind of reply, she said slowly, “...Good morning, Adrien.”

The blond beamed back at her in response, before turning his attention to his bag. Dumbfounded, there was little that Marinette could do but to go to her own seat. Beside her, Alya grabbed her by the arm and whispered excitedly, “Princess? Did you hear what he called you?”

Oh, right. He had called her that. Somehow, that hadn’t even registered until now. She was still in shock that somehow, someway, Chat Noir had inserted himself into her classroom. As... as Adrien, no less. What the hell did this mean?

Marinette was tempted to try to dismiss it as her imagination. However, Chat simply wasn’t giving her the opportunity to do so. Every opportunity he could, he kept dropping hints and puns, teasing her and paying her special attention. (For reasons that she could easily hazard a guess.) Well, he definitely got her attention, along with just about everyone else in the classroom. It was kind of a relief that she wasn’t the only one to notice that he was off.

Lunch was the real kicker. As soon as the bell sounded, Chat Noir was on her like flies on honey, leaning languidly over the edge of her desk as he looked up at her with a bright smile. “Say Marinette,” he said in that unmistakable voice of his, “you feeling peckish? I’d love to butter you up over lunch.”

Food puns now, was it? And the obvious intent to get her alone. Still, two could play at this game. “...Are you asking me out on a date?” she asked, both eyebrows raising.

That gave Chat pause (ha!), but he recovered himself quickly enough to lay another pun straight back at her. “I’m sure I could orange something,” he replied with a smug grin.

Marinette almost snorted. “That’s really verging on corny now.”

“All in a day’s wok.” She could almost hear the Milady in the silence that followed. However, she did hear the hushed gossip of her classmates as they watched the pun battle with rapt attention. Most of all from Alya and Nino, who were gaping at them like landed fish. Chat was doing an absolutely terrible job at staying on the down-low. She probably should oblige him with some privacy and figure out what the hell was going on.

“Very well, I suppose I can cater to your whim this time,” she said, ever so indulgent as she stepped down to his level and held out an arm.

Chat took it instantly. Unable to give her the last word, he said, “Ah thank you, Princess. I’ll make sure to relish your company.” That final pun dropped, he eagerly stole her away from school and away from the sudden chorus of chaos that erupted distantly from their classmates. It was going to be an interesting scene they came back to, that was for sure.

However, the blond looked far more interested in getting her on her own. Stealing her away to the park next to her house, his eyes lit up with he saw the small stall of croquettes being sold by the entrance. “You want some?” he asked, pointing them out.

“Um... sure,” Marinette said, “Hey wait!” Too late. He’d already whipped out his wallet and was paying for both of them. “Ah, well, thanks,” she said awkwardly, trying to figure out where on earth the money came from.

“No problem, Princess. My treat,” Chat smiled, before settling down on a bench to snack on his bounty. He looked so very pleased with himself, like a cat that had swallowed a canary. It was surreal seeing him in- in Adrien’s form. For her part, Marinette was having trouble with her appetite as she stared at her croquette. She couldn’t eat. Not until she finally got her suspicions out of the way.

“You’re Chat Noir, aren’t you?”

Chat’s strangled choking noise was answer enough. Marinette had to slap him hard on the back several times, just to help him breathe again. Once he recovered, he looked up to Marinette with teary eyes, his voice rasp as he tried to breathe. “What- how- How did you figure that out?!”

He said that like it was even remotely difficult. She knew her kitty entirely too well.

“I have my ways,” she replied enigmatically, before getting to the other important matter. Her own identity. “Do you know who I am?” She had to ask. She couldn’t think of any other reason why Chat Noir would target her like this. Especially if he needed help.

It was a little surprising that Chat seemed utterly clueless. “Y-you’re Marinette,” he answered, swallowing hard, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng. ...Right?” he added, more than a little uncertain. Even so, Marinette felt as though she could breathe just a little bit. Right, so this was just a massive coincidence then. Just her luck. Well, at least she’d still be able to help. And where was Adrien, if Chat was here?

“What are you doing in Adrien’s body?” she asked of the boy, who’d gone white as a sheet. He looked up at her in startlement, his jaw briefly going slack, as he struggled to think of what to say.

“I... uh... akuma?” he replied, giving her a helpless shrug. It irritated her just a little bit. Yeah, she could guess that much. There were all kinds of powers that could have made this mess. Copy Cat, Evillustrator, Reflekta even. She needed specifics!

“Well, where’s Adrien then?” she demanded, while Chat only gaped uselessly at her. To be fair, he was probably still getting over the shock of being found out. Problem was, they didn’t have time for that. “Is he in your body? Is he safe?”

“Perfectly!” the blond cried urgently, giving her the first bit of good news she’d heard this past half hour. “He’s completely, totally safe, I promise,” Chat assured her, his hands waving to dissipate her concern. It wouldn’t be so easy, but at least he was trying. Especially, when he added, “But uh, I can’t tell you where he is, obviously. Y’know, the whole secret identity thing, no?”

Not for the first time, Marinette grew irritated at that rule. Sure, she strictly enforced it, per Tikki’s instruction. However, she did not care for that fact that it was obstructing her from making sure that Adrien was actually okay. “Are you sure?” she asked, demanding accountability. This wasn’t a matter of out of sight out of mind, after all.

“I’m sure!” Chat Noir cried, sweating just a bit under the intensity of her gaze. “He’s having the time of his life, not having to do all that modeling and lessons and everything. Just being a normal teenager.”

...Well, it at least sounded like Chat had actually spoken to Adrien, instead of just leaving him out in the cold. Marinette didn’t like it, but if Chat really did have the situation under control, she was just going to have to let it be and trust him. “Alright fine,” she relented, leaning back against the park bench to take her first bites of her croquette. “Tell me about the akuma then. We need to get you back to your own bodies.”

This was really not the way that she wanted to channel Ladybug today. Sigh. Duty calls.

“I... don’t remember,” Chat replied, visibly cringing at his own lame response. “I was just minding my own business and then bam, suddenly I’m Adrien Agreste. And he’s in my body. So... yeah. B-but I’m sure it’s just a completely temporary thing!” he added quickly. “In fact, I’m sure that by tomorrow morning everything will be back to normal, so there’s really nothing that you need to worry about.”

...Yeah, that sounded just a little too good to be true. It was probably just another brave and chivalrous attempt to reassure a civilian. Marinette knew better though. He had to be scared. Both of them had to be. It wasn’t even like Ladybug could show up to assist, not without compromising her own identity. Plain old Marinette was just going to have to do.

“Well, I hope so,” she said, although she wasn’t able to hide the skepticism from her voice, “But just in case, I’ll need to stick close to you to make sure that no one else realizes who you are. We can’t have anyone figuring out you’re not Adrien.”

Chat went still again, his borrowed eyes widening in surprise. As if he was completely blown away by her offer of aid. Although, he must know, on some level that she would. Why else would he have paid her so much attention. Silly kitty. Like I would leave you alone, Marinette smiled to herself. Just like with Evillustrator, no?

“...Good idea,” he said after finally finding his voice. Then he brightened. “In fact, maybe you should change seats with Nino. Keep me in line and all that.”

Oh boy. Marinette was going to have teach Chat Noir about Adrien 101. (It was only so lucky that he came to the right stalker- uh, girl.) Shaking her said, she said, “No, that’s just suspicious. Adrien loves Nino. He wouldn’t have him trade places with some random girl. We can say that I’m doing a project with your- I mean, Adrien’s father, and I have to shadow you. We need to keep our eyes peeled for that akuma too. I’m sure you and Adrien aren’t the only victims to it.”

The designer had a sneaking suspicion that Chat Noir was not taking her seriously, when a sly smile spread across his lips. “You going to come home with me too?” he asked, his voice dripping with innuendo.

“Pff, as if,” Marinette scoffed reflexively. Then she wondered, was this another brave face? So she dialed that back just a little, just in case Chat really was unnerved by that huge, haunting mansion. Slightly apologetic, she said, “I honestly don’t know much about Adrien’s home life. But from what I know, he’s pretty isolated. I don’t think you’ll get into much trouble there.”

The boy’s smile dropped. So very suddenly, he didn’t look like Chat anymore, but Adrien. Like the lonely and vulnerable boy behind the model, the one who was still so kind despite everything. He was gone in a flash though, covered up by Chat Noir’s swagger. It was an unsettling reminder of just who was at stake. Of who was now missing. “You’re pretty observant,” Chat remarked.

“So I’ve been told,” the designer responded with a mirthless laugh. Dusting the crumbs off her pants, she stood up from the park bench. “Anyway, shall we head back? Lunch is almost over.”

“Well, I would be honored to escort you back, Princess,” Chat replied, giving her a low bow before taking her arm again. “Might I say that you were a lovely lunch date.”

Despite herself, Marinette giggled. “Well, thanks, Chat. You weren’t too bad yourself.”

As expected when they returned, the whole class was in a state of upheaval. “Marinette! Marinette, did you two go out on a date?!” Rose squealed, pouncing on them almost immediately when they came into the room. Accompanied by other giggles and questions, “Where did you go?” “What did you do!”

Marinette went bright red, her eyes flicking over to Chat beside her. Fortunately, his attention was otherwise occupied when Nino dragged him off to an isolated corner of the classroom. Good. Last thing she needed was Chat teasing her about how they were going steady.

She was, however, unable to escape Alya’s journalistic instincts. “Girls, hush!” her bestie cried, holding out her hands like a conductor. Then she coughed lightly and gestured for Marinette to follow her. “Ms. Dupain-Cheng, this way please. I have some questions for you.”

...Oh boy.

~o~

By some minor miracle, Marinette made it through Alya’s interrogation and the rest of the school day in relatively one piece. Although she was subject to sly looks and snickers throughout the rest of the day. She could only sigh and take it. Once Adrien got back to himself, everything was going to go back to normal. ...She hoped.

However, a more important duty called. Making sure that Chat Noir didn’t give himself away. He did not need to know that she had Adrien’s schedule memorized by heart, so she tagged along as Adrien’s chauffeur did most of the work. First up was fencing. ...Chat could fence, right? she wondered. Didn’t he while they were fighting Knightblade?

Turned out that Chat Noir could more than fence. He was a complete showboat at it. “Princess, would you do me the great honor of bestowing me a favor before my joust?” he asked, giving her a teasing smile and a wink as she sat on the sidelines.

Ugh, this ham. Even so, Marinette couldn’t help blushing a little. “You’re not jousting, just go,” she said, pushing him off towards his opponent. He only laughed, tipping his helmet off to her before he began his practice match. It was a good thing they were only practicing, since Chat Noir nearly gave up form for flair. He was much more interested in entertaining her and getting her attention than focusing on his match. It was exasperating. ...But also a little sweet.

Mr. Argencourt was having none of it though. “Mr. Agreste!” he scowled at who was supposed to be his star pupil. “If you cannot concentrate, I will have to remove the source of your distraction from the school!” he said with a rather significant look in Marinette’s direction.

Chat was much better behaved after that.

Although at the photoshoot that followed after, the cat went straight back to being distracted again. In any other circumstance, Marinette would have savored the experience of being on a real photoshoot. Right now though, her stomach did vaults and somersaults, as she looked on Chat- Adrien being prepped.

He’ll be fine. Chat takes direction well. He’s in Adrien’s gorgeous body. Nobody will notice a thing. So what if he probably never set foot in a studio before. Oh God, this is going to end horribly.

Chat, for his part, looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. It was so irritating. It was like she had worry double to make up for him. However, it turned out her fears were mostly unfounded, as soon as he stepped in front of the camera. Then Adrien’s naturally photogenic face took over, as did Chat’s dubiously charming personality.

...Right, she should have remembered. Showboat. The only problem was that he kept getting distracted and looking in her direction. Like he needed some kind of affirmation that she was still there or something. It vexed his photographer greatly and it didn’t take him long to pinpoint the source of the problem. Instead of shooing her off the set though, the Italian took her by both of her arms and planted her on a specific spot just off camera. “Bene, ragazza. You just stay here okay? You are a bowl of spaghetti.”

“...Um, what?” Marinette asked, completely mystified.

“Think spaghetti!” And on that confusing note, the photographer went straight back at it, pausing only to shuffle Marinette around the set like a little chess piece. Whatever was going on seemed to be working, seeing as they made it off the set right on time.

After all of that managing and worrying, Marinette was mentally exhausted. She just about oozed in the back of Adrien’s limo, wishing she could go home and take a nap.

Naturally, Chat Noir clearly had other ideas.

“Please, please, please come home with me,” he begged childishly, leaning into her personal space. “Just for a little bit? My room is so, sooo big and lonely.”

Damn that face. Damn those big green eyes. It was hard to be unaffected by it, even knowing just who was behind that handsome mask. She wasn’t shallow. She wasn’t. But guh. Hormones. Marinette lightly pushed Chat away, trying to get some breathing room. ‘Ch- Adrien, no. I told you already, you’ll be fine.”

“But there’s a foosball table! You can’t play foosball by yourself,” Chat protested. He leaned in again, his green eyes only growing bigger and more entreating. “Pwincess, pwetty pwease~?”

It was a critical hit, socking the wind right out of her. (It’s super effective!) “W-will you stop looking at me like that?!” she snapped, squirming under Chat’s sweet and potent look. “Ugh, this is so not fair. Stop using that face against me,” she muttered under her breath.

The blond blinked. Then his expression turned positively devilish, negating and compounding on the sweet doe eyed look earlier as his lips pulled into a wicked smile. “Oh~? So you think I’m handsome, do you?” he purred, his voice like velvet and dark chocolate.

Damn it, he wasn’t supposed to hear that!

“So does most of Paris! I’m not blind, you know,” she huffed, folding her arms over her chest. However, that evil smile of his only grew. Marinette could scarcely breathe. Her whole body went flush with heat as she squirmed in discomfort. That face. That voice. It was the worst combination that she could possibly imagine. It was positively lethal. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could resist-

Then, suddenly, Chat pulled back, giving her a reprieve from her suffocation. “A-actually, you know what? You’re right. I think I’ll be fine,” the blond said, rather quickly. He tapped his bodyguard on the shoulder and said, “Can you drop Marinette off at 12 rue Gotlib, please?”

The designer stared at him, still trying to recover from- from whatever the hell that was. Had he just been toying with her? She didn’t want to think of him in such an unflattering light, but she couldn’t think of any other explanation. In any case, they were at her house shortly and she was more than ready to take her leave of the devil prince.

“Well,” she said awkwardly, trying not to look like she was running from the car, “this has been... interesting. Hope everything goes well for you tomorrow.” She highly doubted that the problem would fix itself overnight, but one could dream, right?

“Yes, thank you for accompanying me,” Chat Noir replied, all polite charm. The complete opposite of what he had been just a minute before. Then he took her hand and pressed a chase kiss to her knuckles. “Good night, Princess.”

Marinette blushed again at the warmth in his voice. “G-good night.” Cursing herself for stuttering, she quickly spun on her heel and nearly ran to the safety of her home. She didn’t dare look back to see if Chat was shooting her one of those Cheshire smiles at her. Instead, she jogged up to her room and leaned against the wall as she tried to get her heart back under control.

Tikki emerged, giving her chosen a wide, worried look. “M-Marinette, are you alright? You’re all red.”

“Fine! I’m fine!” the designer wheezed. She took a few calming breaths, trying to meditate just like she had been doing last night. When she was sufficiently back in control, she looked to Tikki. “We should get you some cookies,” she said, already thinking of her duty. “Ladybug has an akuma to track down.”

~o~

Marinette felt like a zombie the next morning. She’d spent the entirety of last night trying to track down the akuma that had afflicted Chat and Adrien. By herself. It was fine, considering Chat’s situation. It just meant it took twice as long as she went through all the usual suspects, Chloe Bourgeois, the Mayor, the Police, trying to find signs of the presence of the latest villain. All she got for her troubles were disgruntled but understanding negatives and being screeched at by Chloe for ruining her beauty sleep. When it was clear that just about everyone in Paris was asleep except for her, she spent the rest of the night trawling through the internet for news stories to see if there were odd stories about strange new personalities or body snatching.

What she got was absolutely nothing. Nada. Zip. Rien.

Part of her was suspicious the entire thing had been a dream. Because seriously, Chat in Adrien’s body was exactly something her bedraggled mind would cook up. Maybe all of yesterday was some kind of figment of her sleep deprived mind.

“Good morning, Princess.”

...Or not.

Marinette stared at the bushy-tailed, bright-eyed blond in the front row of the classroom. Her mind was still in a complete fog and she wondered if she had just imagined him saying that. However, he looked a touch uncomfortable, almost sheepish. Ah, it really was Chat then. No magic switcharoo in the middle of the night.

Suddenly ten times more exhausted, but still trying to be supportive, she gave him a reassuring smile. “Good morning, Adrien,” she greeted, before taking to her own seat.

Apparently, this was just much too much for the class queen. “Adrichoue!” she screeched, her voice stabbing into Marinette’s tired brain like a hot dagger, “What are you doing, calling her a princess! I should be a princess, not some common peasant!”

Marinette groaned. She was much too tired to deal with this right now. This was one of those battles she was going to have to stomach.

Unexpectedly though, Chat Noir came to her rescue. “Really?” he asked, his borrowed face knitting into a dark frown, “Because you’re not acting like one. Aren’t princesses supposed to be more gracious and ladylike?”

The designer blinked at this, while a collective Oooooh~ went through the class. Oh no. Strike two on Adrien 101. Adrien never told Chloe off. Well, not really, not like that. Some chiding here and there, but nothing so negative. He especially didn’t defend Marinette from her.

...Chat did though. Chat didn’t seem to have any problem with it.

An odd flutter swarmed in her stomach, making her cheeks threaten to heat. She did her best to try to squelch it down, but a tiny happy smile spread unbidden over her lips. It stayed there for the rest of the morning.

At lunch, the blond once again punned her into submission, managing to convince to go out on another lunch date. N-not that it was a real date or anything. It’s just what one calls lunches. With boys. Handsome, handsome boys. Guh.

She tried to snag the bill this time, but Chat was just too quick for her, looking perfectly smug as he paid for their lunch with someone else’s money. She blamed the sleep deprivation. “I don’t know how I feel about you using Adrien’s money to treat me,” she said crossly, giving him as disapproving look as she could manage.

Chat was, as ever, nonchalant. “It’s fine. I’ll pay him back. Don’t worry about it,” he replied dismissively. Then, he leaned over their lunch table, his lips spread into a wicked smile. “Now, where did we leave off yesterday? Oh right. How handsome you think I am,” he purred.

Marinette reddened. Damn it. She should have known this cat wasn’t going to let that go. “You are absolutely incorrigible,” she muttered under her breath, taking a very sudden interest in the pizza in front of them.

“I didn’t hear a no~” the blond teased, grinning wider and more mischievously.

It was starting to get to be a little too much. “Do I need to put a bell on you?” Marinette demanded sharply, her temper getting the better of her, “You better not be taking advantage of Adrien’s body to flirt with everything in sight.”

Chat’s wicked smile dropped instantly. “Do you really think I’m that bad?” he asked, leaning back against his seat.

The designer struggled briefly, torn between the temper and the truth. Then she released a sigh. “No, of course not,” she admitted grudgingly, before unloading what had been bothering her this whole time. “I just... I have no idea why you’re flirting with me so much. Besides, anyone would be tempted if they somehow ended up in the body of a supermodel. Heaven knows what I would get up to,” she added softly. She knew herself too well, after all.

However, the blond only cocked his head as he looked at her. “But Marinette,” he said, catching her eyes to him, “you’re already beautiful. You don’t have anything to be jealous of.”

Marinette was not prepared for the compliment. The words didn’t have a single teasing lilt to them. Instead, they were so devastatingly sweet and sincere, interlaced with Chat’s warm charm. It caught her completely off-guard, making her just as frazzled and flustered as if Adrien Agreste were down on one knee in front of her. She tried to talk, but only unintelligible squeaking came out, her mind had overheated and was on a mental shut down.

There was really no graceful way to walk out of this one. So, she stuffed her mouth with some pizza and did her best to not impersonate a boiling tomato.

Across the table, Chat Noir’s mouth spread into a grin, his eyes dancing with delight and mirth. “What’s the matter?” he teased, “Cat got your tongue?”

Ugh, this stupid cat!

After their work was done for the day and they were heading home from Adrien’s shoots, Chat tried once again to invite her over to his borrowed home. “There’s a rock climbing wall,” he said, giving her a winning smile, while Marinette scrolled through some news articles on her phone. “Plus arcade games and just about every movie and tv series that you can imagine. Do you like anime? We could watch anime.”

...Was that house seriously that creepy? Why did he keep inviting her over?

“Sorry, I’m busy,” she said apologetically, playfully ruffling his hair. Namely with trying to fix this whole situation. Still, she was in a fairly good mood. The shoots were exciting and Chat was... Well, it was hard not to be fond of him. “Why don’t you just enjoy it on your own?”

“But the foosball table!” the blond whined. “I can’t play foosball by myself!”

“Well, you can’t have everything,” the designer replied lightly, stepping out of the car in front of the patisserie. She leaned over, giving him a warm smile through the door. “I’ll see you later, alright?”

Chat Noir pouted. It was adorable. “Fine,” he replied with a resigned sigh, knowing he wasn’t going to win this one. Then with gentle ease, he took her hand and pressed a chaste kiss to her knuckles. “Good night, Princess.”

Marinette smiled in return, a font of warmth spreading through her as she took in her partner in crime. Her funny, goofy, loyal, brave partner. Who still, despite his dire circumstances, flirted like the devil, acted like a gentleman, and... and defended her honor like a knight. On sheer impulse, she leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. “Good night, sweet prince,” she murmured into his ear, making him stiffen beside her.

Before he could react, she tore away, dashing back home and up to her room. Her rapidly beating heart threatened to burst from her chest, her face burning as she put her hands to her cheeks. The room suddenly seemed so unsteady, swaying underneath her.

“Marinette?” She looked up to Tikki’s concerned blue eyes.

Coughing lightly, the designer did her best to quell her heart, to get it back under control. “Are you ready to head out, Tikki? Hopefully, we can find that akuma today.”

“Marinette, I really think you should sleep,” the kwami chided, but she simply wasn’t having it.

“Nope, Chat needs our help, Tikki. We can’t fail him now,” Marinette said, set with the determination to power through yet another all nighter.

“...And Adrien,” Tikki reminded her.

The thought stopped Marinette short. A guilty barb went right through her, stabbing her right in the heart. “A-and Adrien. Of course,” she agreed hastily. “Anyway, let’s go.”

~o~

Of course, night two yielded another round of absolutely nothing. Marinette managed to catch a couple zz’s before her alarm bell went off, but otherwise, she was subsisting solely on caffeine and adrenaline. ...And perhaps on Chat Noir’s addicting energy.

Marinette didn’t know if she was just losing her mind due to the sleep deprivation or what, but for some reason she was becoming more and more affected by her charming partner. They spent nearly all day word sparring, trying to make the other blush first. She lost every single damn time, but it was almost worth it to see Chat laughing brightly at her expense. ...Almost. Even so, they only became closer, his teasing and playful banter hooking and reeling her in. Until she almost couldn’t imagine what her days would be like without him.

She could admit, maybe only ever to herself, that she liked Chat Noir so much more than she let on. He adored her and she... she did too.

Nonetheless, the doubt began to creep in. Especially in those quiet, calm spots, when she’d look up and suddenly remember she was looking at Adrien’s face. Not Chat’s. Adrien, who was still gone. Adrien, who still affected her, influenced her. Her blood would turn to ice and she would wonder if her new tender feelings for Chat were even real. Or was it just because he was wearing the face of the boy she adored.

And Adrien. God, poor Adrien. She couldn’t even think of him without guilt clamping down as painfully around her chest as a bear trap. She was doing everything she could to try to get him back to where he belonged.

...Wasn’t she?

After an entire day of indulging in playing around with Chat and becoming closer to him, Marinette was determined to make night three a success. Third time's the charm wasn’t it?

As it turned out, it was three strikes, you’re out.

The fourth morning, Marinette was a complete wreck. She stared at her alarm clock as it counted down the seconds to blaring in warning. She felt sick with fatigue, unease and most of all guilt. She didn’t understand why she couldn’t find this damned akuma! It had never gone on this long before!

You’re not trying hard enough, a dark voice whispered at the back of her mind, low and accusing. You don’t actually want Adrien back, do you? You just want Chat in his body. Best of both worlds, isn’t it?

Marinette rubbed her hands over her face, trying to will the negative thoughts away. “It’s not true,” she whispered. “It’s not true. It’s not.”

Poor, poor Adrien. All alone wherever he is.

Would it be so bad if he never came back?

Terror swept through her very bones, turning her as cold as ice. If this... if it carried on... There was no guarantee she wouldn’t fall victim to an akuma herself.

She had to do something about this. It couldn’t go on like this.

That morning, she greeted Chat Noir as she usually did, giving him a smile before turning to her desk. Once his attention was away, her smile dropped, her whole body trembling and uneasy. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach simply wasn’t going away and she felt like she was going to toss her cookies at any second.

Finally, lunch came around and so did her opportunity.

“Chat, want to come over to my place for lunch?”

The blond froze up down the steps of their school, his eyes widening. Then with a small start, he said quickly, “I, uh, y-yes! Sure, that sounds fine.” His cheeks were warm though, and his eyes a little too bright and interested. This was only going to make this all the more difficult.

When they were safely stowed away in the warmth and comfort of her kitchen, Marinette heated up the salmon dish that Maman had made for her. The peace offering, however, was the platter of chouquettes that she stole from the patisserie that very morning. Chat’s eyes widened with delight, just the way that she knew they would.

“Chouquettes!” he gasped. “These are my favorite! How did you know?”

Marinette gave him a small bittersweet smile. “I have my ways,” she replied airily, before waving him to eat. “Now go ahead. We can’t have you paying for me all the time.” He did so gladly and she enjoyed watching him enjoy it. Even so, her own appetite wasn’t returning as she picked at her food.

It didn’t take long for Chat to notice. “Is something wrong?” he asked, slowing his own eating.

The designer looked up at him, the guilt like a pool of bile in the pit of her stomach. “I... no, I just...” She worried her lower lip, trying to think best of how to say this without hurting his feelings. Taking a breath, she made her attempt. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I really liked spending time with you these past few days, I really did.” So much more than he would ever know. That was precisely the problem. “But... I haven’t seen any sign of this akuma and... and I just... When do you think Adrien will be back?”

She fiddled anxiously with her fingers, praying that he would understand. He had to see this couldn’t work out in the long run, right? This wasn’t his life, his body, his friends. He was Chat Noir, he was supposed to help her! Not- not fall in love.

But he only stared at her with Adrien’s warm green eyes. Ones that seemed to turn into chips of jade. “What do you mean?” he asked slowly, looking so... so betrayed.

Her throat tightened up, making it so much more difficult to speak. She ducked her head down, trying to will herself not to cry. “It’s just- This isn’t your body, Chat. Aren’t you worried about your own life? Your own family? Don’t you miss them? We should be working on putting you back, not just- playing around.”

“Playing- Is that all you think this is?” Chat demanded, a sharpness to his tone that made her wince.

“No! No, I just-” She shook her head, trying to figure out the right words, what to say to just make him listen. Was it really going to have to come to this? To show him why she would always doubt herself?

...There really wasn’t a way around it, was there?

Resigned to her fate, she said softly, “I need to show you something.”

The blond nodded slowly, his expression painted with as much unease as she felt. Every step felt like lead as she led him up to her bedroom, where her guilty secret lay exposed. All over her walls. It took Chat Noir a whole beat to even notice them at first, but then his eyes laser focused on them. Swaying, he took a step back, staring in astonishment at all the faces reflected back at him.

Marinette couldn’t even look at him, her gaze on the floor instead as she wrung her hands. “I... I should have said something earlier,” she whispered, utterly miserable. “I’ve had this massive crush on Adrien for the longest time. Then when you came around and just decided to pay special attention to me, I... I’m so sorry.” Her voice choked and her eyes glistened before she squeezed them shut. She was failing the battle to stay strong. “I like you, Chat. But Adrien needs to come home.”

It seemed an eternity before Chat Noir spoke a word. He simply stood there, eyes wide and incredulous as he took this all in. For her part, it was all that Marinette could do not to break down into tears. She wanted to say something, anything to reassure him. But she failed him, failed them both. There was nothing that she could do to make this better. She needed him to help. Adrien had to come back. It was the right thing to do. And... and Chat Noir had to go back to being the boy she could never know.

After an age, Chat finally whirled on his heel, his expression as dark as night. Without a single word, he stormed from her room, leaving her behind. “Ch- Chat!” she called down the hatch after him, “Chat, come back!” However, the slam of a door was her only answer.

Slowly, Marinette sank down to the ground, her aching misery and sleepless nights finally catching up with her. She hiccuped, tears flowing freely down her cheeks as she curled up against her chaise. Tikki flew out of her hiding spot, abuzz with indignation, but most of all worry. “Oh Marinette,” she whispered, rubbing her cheek against her chosen’s as she sobbed. “I’m so sorry, Marinette.”

~o~

Sabine took one look at her daughter when she returned from the lunch rush, before determining that she was absolutely not fit to return to school. Instead, she was sent straight to bed where she fell instantly into desperately needed sleep.

The next morning, Marinette was much more clear headed, but she still felt anxious and sick as she headed to school the next day. Her mother tried to convince her to stay another day in, but she had to go and see Chat for herself. Maybe talk to him, make him see reason.

Feeling like she might faint at any second, she stood in front of the familiar bowed mop of blond hair. Clutching her books to her, she steeled herself and spoke, “Good morning, Adrien.”

The boy in front of her stilled. Then he turned his eyes upwards, giving her a too-bright smile. “Good morning, Marinette.”

The designer started violently, staring at him incredulously. That didn’t sound like Chat. It didn’t sound like Adrien either, to be honest. There was too much strain in his voice. Either it was Chat giving her the cold shoulder or... or Adrien was back and trying to pretend everything was normal. Neither option was good.

Ducking her head, she wordlessly went to her desk and tried to ignore the intensely questioning gaze in Alya’s eyes. “Marinette, what’s going on?” she demanded, “What happened with you two?”

“Can you just leave it?” the designer whispered back. “Please? It’s just between me and him.” Alya gave her a distinctly sour look, but she did as she was asked. Mostly. Marinette couldn’t exactly stop her from glaring daggers into Ch- Adrien’s back all throughout class.

During the first break, Marinette tried to talk to him. However, he only gave her that bright, false grin that made her heart break. At lunch, she tried again, seeing if he’d give and have lunch with her like always. If he even remembered. “Um, Adrien, d-did you want to...?” she asked weakly, once she got his attention.

“Do I want to... what?” the blond asked politely, giving absolutely no indication he knew what she was talking about.

Her heart fractured again. “Nevermind,” she whispered, turning away to have lunch alone at home. Not that she ate.

Finally, at the end of the school day, Marinette simply couldn’t take it anymore. As soon as the bell rang, she gathered her courage again, she went straight to Adrien and managed to stammer out, “H-Hi, Adrien.” She cursed herself for her stupid mouth, but powered through it, “D-do you mind if we talk? I think we need to talk.”

Adrien stared at her for a moment. It had to be him. Chat wouldn’t phase her out like this. Chat wasn’t that cold. Then he pulled on that fake smile again and said brightly, “Sure, that’s fine.” Ever the consummate gentleman, he held the door open for her and followed her off to the park next to the patisserie.

When they sat down on their- on hers and Chat’s bench, Marinette held herself together, albeit stiffly. She had to know. She had to get this out there. Now. “Are you...” she swallowed heavily, “you’re definitely Adrien, right?”

Adrien stared at her again, a flicker of something at the back of his eyes. This time, he couldn’t hide that he knew what she was talking about. “Yeah,” he admitted. “It’s me now.”

The words like a punch to the solar plexus, knocking the wind right out of her. Right. Right then. This was the way it was supposed to be. Even though she lost Chat. Before she could even make things right. I-it was... this was the way things were meant to be.

“Okay,” she murmured, before turning up a pained, heartbroken smile of her own up to her old crush. “I’m glad you’re back, Adrien. You must be relieved to be back home.”

Adrien’s own smile was just as uncomfortable and awkward, “Ah, yeah. I’m glad that Ladybug took care of business. I guess it just took a little while to track the akuma down. I mean, a body snatching akuma has to be extra tricky.”

Wait... wait, what?

Marinette went very, very still. “Ladybug?” All her emotions and thoughts froze, her mind hyperfocused on his words.

“Yup. She came and took care of it last night. No more body snatching,” Adrien replied nonchalantly.

...Only he was lying through his teeth. But why- How- There was absolutely no way she was out and about last night. She was completely dead to the world, having the first night of sleep in almost a week. “You’re lying,” she spoke, her eyes watching as he stiffened up, betraying his guilt. “Adrien, why are you...”

Marinette froze again, comprehension slowly dawning. Her brow knit into a frown as she stared hard at the boy beside her.

“...Chat?”

The blond went still, his whole body riveting in panic, his eyes wide as he stared right back at her. It was not an expression she ever saw on Adrien. But Chat? Chat was a different story. Then, validating her thoughts, his lips pulled into a familiar, sheepish smile. “...Yes?” She half expected him to yell out ‘Surprise!’ right after.

Marinette sucked in a sharp breath, confusion and elation warring within her. If Chat was still here, if Chat was Chat, and Adrien was Adrien, then that meant- But... but what about that whole body snatcher akuma?! Unless...

She pushed herself up from the bench, hands fisted at her sides as she stared at the blond in growing horror. “...There’s no akuma, is there,” she whispered. “You made that up.”

“Guilty,” Adrien admitted, putting his hands up in surrender. “Although technically, you opened the door on that one.”

“But-! But that means you’re-!” she cried, pointing a finger at his face. “You’re still Adrien!”

“Yeah, guilty of that too.”

“But you’re Chat Noir!” Marinette sputtered, growing redder and redder and more indignant by the second.

“That I am.” Adrien’s mouth began to twitch, breaking into a grin. A completely inappropriate, stupid, gorgeous grin.

Marinette gaped at him, as the charming smile only widened. All this time, she had spent whole nights looking for an akuma that didn’t exist, worrying her head off about two boys when they were one in the same and not even in any danger at all, agonizing over her own guilt for not being better, conflicted and confused over her own feelings for no good reason. For an entire week?! All for what? Because of this stupid, idiotic, dipshit who was grinning at her. Like a sweet smile was going to save his lying ass.

Hint: It wasn’t.

“You- you ASSHOLE!” she shrieked, pouncing on him and shaking him violently by his shirt lapels. “Why the hell did you lie to me, you stupid cat?!”

Which is when Adrien burst into laughter.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” he cried between his laughter, holding up his hands to try to defend himself. He was laughing so hard, his eyes began tearing up and he could barely breathe. “I don’t- haha- I don’t know why I’m laughing. This isn’t even funny!”

“You’re damn right, it’s not!” Marinette shrilled back at him, shaking him even harder. He only laughed louder. “STOP LAUGHING, DAMN IT!”

It took entirely too long for Adrien, Chat, to get a hold of himself. Marinette fumed resentfully beside him on the bench, glaring pure spite into him as she waited for him to catch his breath after his manic laughing fit. Even now, he was still grinning like an idiot. “I’m sorry, Princess. Do you think you could find it in yourself to forgive me?”

“You don’t even look remotely sorry,” Marinette snapped, glaring daggers into him.

“Can’t really help it,” Adrien beamed. “I’m too happy. The girl I like has a disturbingly huge crush on me.”

Despite herself, her cheeks went pink, as she was reminded that he was privy to her guilty secret. “You weren’t supposed to find that out,” she hissed, folding her arms over her chest. “I didn’t think you were you, when I showed you those pictures!”

“Aw, but it’s so cute,” Adrien teased wickedly, never looking more like Chat as he gave her a winning smile. “In a slightly creepy, stalker shrine kind of way.”

Marinette promptly found a stick on the ground and smacked him with it. He had it coming. “You- you-! You’re impossible!” she cried, her entire body glowing in mortification.

“Yeah,” he agreed easily, his smile widening, “but I’m also yours.”

Marinette went still at the simple words.

“If you want me that is,” he added softly. Strangely, she heard both Adrien and Chat in his voice. The sweet and the wicked, blended together into a tone warm with adoration.

“...What if I don’t want you?” she demanded mulishly. ...Oh who was she kidding, she was going to fold in a heartbeat.

“Oh, you want me,” the blond replied confidently, his eyes seeming to glow in mischief and delight. He leaned into her, his body warm as he came but a breath away from her lips. His smile pulled into a smirk, “I just need to convince you.”

Sooo... Adrien was a bit of a devil... and an incorrigible tease, and a shameless flirt.

That really shouldn’t make her all hot and bothered.

...But it did.

Marinette squirmed uncomfortably. She valiantly held out for two heartbeats, before she caved pitifully. “Well,” she said as she licked her lips. “You better get to convincing then.”