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They live in the same city.
She and Chat Noir live in the same city. She can’t believe it some days, but other days it’s incredibly easy to believe. Paris is a big city, after all, and it’d probably be manageable to meet up even if Chat Noir was somewhere else in France. It wouldn’t be that long of a train ride.
Maybe Alya was right about her crush on her Internet friend. After all, Marinette’s been riding the high of this revelation for ages.
She could meet with him now. It’s an impulsive decision, and she knows it’s far from Internet-safe, but…
She makes the decision to ask him if they can video call.
He responds with a conditional yes — that he be allowed to wear a face mask, because he’s really recognizable and he doesn’t want to shock Marinette. He can take it off later, but he requests that at first he keeps it on.
It’s a strange request, but she should be able to make a guess at his age at least and whether it’s appropriate for the two of them to meet. If he’s too adult-y, he’s blocked forever, because it’s definitely on her profile that she’s under sixteen.
She agrees, and the next moment he’s requesting that she join a video call.
“Hi,” he says with a wave. His eyes are closed at first, but he opens them after, and they’re a bright green.
“Hey, kitty,” she says with a smile. “How are you doing?”
“Better now that you’re around,” he answers with a laugh. “Do you want me to take off my face mask now? You deserve to know who I really am, but I didn’t want to shock you.”
She shrugs. “You can if you’d like. I don’t really think you’re going to surprise me.”
“I’m, um, a little bit of a local celebrity,” he says. “I…”
“I don’t really follow anyone outside the fashion scene,” she says.
“That’s exactly the problem,” he responds.
She squints. Who exactly could he be that he’s part of the fashion scene, a minor celebrity, in Paris, probably around her age…
Adrien Agreste? No, that’s ridiculous. It couldn’t be.
He takes off the mask.
“Hi,” he says. The wave looks a lot more awkward now. “My name’s Adrien. On the Discord server I moderate where I talk about kids’ cartoons, I go by Chat Noir.”
She does an awkward wave back. “My name’s Marinette. On the Discord server we work together to moderate, I go by Ladybug.”
“It’s really nice to meet you,” he says, smiling. “I know my fame might put a wrench in us meeting up, but if you’re still interested…”
“Of course I am,” she says. “You got a lot more interesting. I like you because you’re my friend, but…whatever it takes. I want to see you.”
“I know you don’t necessarily like me back,” he says, scratching the back of his neck. “But I like you a lot, and I’d like to make it a date.”
“I…don’t know about that, actually,” she says. “I always thought it might be unprofessional to date you, when the two of us were on the same team. I mean, it’s a little bit of a professional environment. I knew you were serious, but I also knew you were around my age, and sometimes with us we can think we’re serious but we’re not.” She takes a breath in and out. “I actually told one of my friends about you. Her meta’s really popular on Tumblr — she goes by Rena there.”
“Oh!” he says. “She’s not in the server?”
“I might be able to get her there,” she says, “especially since she’s been thinking that I have a crush on you.”
“Wait, really?” he says.
“I was…questioning it myself,” she admits. “I wanted to figure it out before I met you. But…if you want to make this a date, I want to try. I don’t know if it’ll work out, but I really want to make it work.”
Chat Noir — Adrien — straightens up. “Yeah,” he says. “I…that would be nice, mil—Marinette.”
She looks away from the camera. “I don’t have a problem with you calling me ‘milady.’ Anyways, I think I know a good place — their bubble tea is to die for, and they’re kind of a small business, so it’s not like they’re going to be that crowded."
"Alright." Adrien's grin manages to grow further. "DM me the address! Are you available tomorrow? I would make it less short-notice if I could, but...you know I'm a busy person."
"Yeah," she responds, "but you always seem to find time for the server. So, even if we don't make it, I know we'll talk again soon."
"Thanks," he says. "I have to go. My Chinese tutor is here, and I'm nowhere near presentable."
"I'll see you," she says.
They do make it to the bubble tea shop the next day. Marinette gets her usual mango, while Adrien gets green tea flavor.
"There are so many options," he says. "I'll have to try them all sometime."
She slips him her drink. "Well, you can start with mine."
He takes a sip. "That's very nice."
"Mango flavor typically is," she responds with a smile.
Really, this feels like a natural exploration of what they already are, the next step. They both could have been satisfied with friendship, but she's here now. She's taken that step. Her eyes have been opened, and she refuses to close them again.
Adrien's hair isn't gelled like it usually is. His hair hangs loose, but a beanie covers it. She frowns. She could do better than that.
"What's wrong with my hat?" Adrien asks.
"I could do better," she says. "I will do better. You better watch out, kitty, because Gabriel Agreste's abilities are about to meet his match."
"Wait." Adrien looks at her. "You mentioned designing was the basis for your art skills…do you also make your own clothes?"
"I do," she says. "I'm looking into doing more upcycling in the future, though. Getting clothes from thrift stores and restyling them for me — it would be a good use for them."
"Yeah," Adrien says. "I'm interested."
She hopes he'll continue to be.