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Adrien had begun with a good morning. He had woken up refreshed for once, his hair had worked with him, and he was given a delicious, substantial breakfast. Plagg had kept the snark to a minimum and Nathalie had taken the time to wish him a good day. He had been excited to get to school and see his friends- Nino, Alya, Marinette.
Marinette.
Sweet, wonderful Marinette, who had ended up having a not-so-good day.
Ever since he’d begun fostering the sneaking suspicion that cute, blushy Marinette could possibly be his Ladybug, Adrien found himself spending more and more time with his nervous friend. It was incredibly difficult at times to hold a steady conversation with her- especially when he attempted a one on one conversation- but with a little bit of exposure, she usually calmed down enough to talk to him like an almost normal person. She brightened up his day, made every little nuance a little less irritating, and he felt comfortable relaxing around her. Even if she wasn’t Ladybug, she obviously held enough in her to strongly remind him of the superheroine (and enough in the superheroine to remind him of Marinette), and it led Adrien to discovering someone he genuinely enjoyed spending time with- Ladybug or not.
He just wished Chloé would leave her alone.
Adrien knew why the blond tormented Marinette, of course. Chloé wasn’t the subtlest of his admirers, nor the kindest, but this particular day was… She infuriated him.
Marinette had come in late to class, plucking at the ends of her shirt to keep the stained fabric from sticking to the skin of her stomach, glaring fiercely at a smug Chloé. Still, she managed to spare a small smile for Adrien as she passed on her way to her seat- only for Chloé to grit her teeth in the brunette’s direction.
Then, when Marinette began looking more and more haggard through the day, Adrien could only guess at the culprit. At lunchtime Marinette brushed off his concerned questions with a tired smile, but Adrien couldn’t help letting his gaze trail across the courtyard to Chloé and Sabrina, leaving him frowning for the rest of the day. It was in the last class of the day, when Marinette tripped (yet again) over a misplaced bag, that Adrien decided to visit his little lady after school.
Chat Noir slipped inside the room for the third time that week, easing the trap door closed behind him. He glanced around, unsurprised to see the room empty. Marinette, unpowered as she is, naturally took longer to get home than for Chat Noir to leap across the few rooftops to hop into her room.
It was cute. Her room, that is. Nice and pink that, while it attacked his sensitive eyesight, showed that the person living in it had a clear personality. A smirk curled his lips when he saw the fluffy white cat pillow on Marinette’s bed, along with the handmade Chat Noir doll on the shelf secured to the wall above the bed.
He’d never actually been inside her room before. Chat had poked his head in a few times, usually to get Marinette’s attention, but the girl usually would climb out onto the balcony to entertain him. This was a new experience. His tail lashed back and forth excitedly.
Marinette was so cute.
With a hop, Chat leapt down to the main floor of Marinette’s room, ears twitching around to see if anyone heard the thump of his heavy boots. Nothing. Good. He turned, eyes lighting up at the messy state of her desk. Lookit the little cat plush that’s so cute ohmygo- what the hell oh my god what? If this is what I think it is it explains so much.
Chat stared, wide eyed, at the impressive collection of Adrien Agreste pictures plastered up over the far end of her desk. He slowly approached it, mind whirling a mile a minute. He shouldn’t get his hopes up. Marinette was an aspiring designer; she could have these up only for reference.
But only of him? And with little heart doodles scattered across the images? Marinette specialized in female clothing- even though she certainly had the ability to make men’s fashion, Marinette usually made clothes for herself. So while it could be the fact that Gabriel Agreste had fantastic designs, it seemed the much more obvious answer was the one Chat actually wanted.
His Princess might always be so tongue tied around Adrien Agreste and only Adrien Agreste because she liked him.
Like-liked him.
Chat’s heart pounded in his chest as he continued to stare at the collage, a wide smile stretching across his face. His tail trembled in anticipation as he turned around, plopping in the wheely chair beside her desk as his sensitive hearing picked up plodding footsteps storming up the stairs to the bedroom. He lounged to hide the excitement coursing through his body, but his grin widened and his ears perked up as his princess stormed into her room. He almost laughed as her expression darkened. She was never this expressive around Adrien.
If only she knew who she was glaring at as she let her room door drop behind her.
“Chat, what are you doing here?”
His grin only widened at her curt tone. “I wanted to talk to you, princess.”
“I already told you not to call me that, I have no interest in your ridiculous flirtations, Chaton.”
“So you keep telling me, and yet I just can’t help myself.” Chat, unable to help his excitement, pushed away from the desk, spinning himself as he does. Round and round and round so excited she liked him she liked hi-
“No!” Oh. Okay then. He paused, still grinning at her. Marinette gritted her teeth at him. “No spinning, no flirting, no nothing! It’s bad enough that I constantly find you nesting on my balcony, but now you have broken into my room!”
“Okay, first-” Chat held up a finger, leaning back in the chair with a smug grin, “-you left the trap door open so I did not break in. And secondly-“ he holds up a second finger, “-I simply enoy spending time with you and occasionally cat napping while I wait. You balcony is wonderfully sunny, you know. Besides, I am not a bird. I don’t ‘nest’.”
“You set up your own lawn chair on my roof!” Marinette growled lightly and reached out, gripping his arms firmly and throwing her whole weight back in an attempt to yank him out of the chair. Chat merely grins smugly, allowing Marinette to do her best without even really budging him from the chair.
“Well, you didn’t like me stealing yours, as you put it, and the ground wasn’t as comfortable.” He shrugged, contemplating using the grip against her to tug her into his lap.
Marinette huffs and releases his arm, letting it flop limply to his side. Chat snickers as the girl grips the arms of the chair and spins it. It stops with a jerk as she grabs the back of the chair and tilts it forward, throwing Chat out towards the ground. He instinctively tucks and rolls, easily hopping back to his feet and spinning to face Marinette with a wide grin. He bounces on his toes as he gauges her expression.
Oh yeah. She’s super impressed.
He smirked, even as she sighed and sagged, seemingly accepting his presence. “Don’t you have other places to be?”
“Probably.” Actually, yes. But his princess had a rough day. And, also, those pictures need addressing. Chat stepped closer. “But this is far more important.”
“Just come back another time. I have had a really rough day, Chat.”
He hesitated. She did seem to actually want to be alone… But so did Nino when he was upset, but he always thanked Adrien later when he stuck around through his grumpy mood… Chat decided to stay despite her protest. He clears his throat.
“While I would normally never deny such a lovely lady anything she asks for, there is a matter of utmost importance I must speak with you about.”
Marinette huffs. “And what is that?”
With a smirk, Chat stepped into arm’s length, gently reaching out to grip her shoulders. He grinned gleefully as her breath hitched and her eyes went wide. He leaned down so their noses were only a couple inches from each other. A nice blush crept up Marinette’s cheeks as Chat continued to leer at her. He flashed her a wide grin of full teeth and abruptly spun her to face her wonderful, flattering, Adrien collage. Chat dipped his head to her ear, whispering gently.
“I think it’s time we had a chat about your choice of décor, princess.”
Marinette went still beneath his hold, gaping up at the wall. Chat snickered, thoroughly enjoying her embarrassment. It was all good-hearted fun, and he gained concrete proof that his Lady, his princess, liked him? All the better. (And Marinette was cute when she was embarrassed.)
Honestly, as Ladybug, him finding out her crush on celebrity Adrien Agreste was probably one of the worst things that could happen, save HawkMoth actually managing to get the Miraculous’s.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” She snapped, desperation leaking into her voice. Chat snorted, then dissolved into giggles as he stepped up beside her.
“Your wall is plastered with photos of a boy your age, half of them surrounded by heart doodles.” Chat grinned lopsidedly at Marinette, a gentle, friendly smile to reassure her that she shouldn’t be that embarrassed. His gaze roamed her expression, grin slowly turning into a sheepish smile. From looking at her face, he could allow hope to bubble in his chest, forcing him to bite his lip to keep his excitement at bay. Still, he couldn’t allow himself to get too excited, lest she actually have another reason for the pictures (but he couldn’t think of a single reason why she would). He has to keep himself in check.
Marinette scuffed her shoe against the floor. “So? What of it?”
“Come on, Princess.” His voice was soft. Gentle. Vaguely optimistic. “Even I can figure out what that means.”
Marinette seemed to think for a moment, then take a deep breath and draw herself up to look at Chat head on. She tilted her head up. “That is Adrien Agreste.”
Chat raised an eyebrow, snorting softly. “I am well aware of that fact.”
Marinette smirked, tossing her head in faux triumph. “His father, Gabriel Agreste, is one of my favorite designers. I happen to like his work and use it for inspiration.”
Right. Because the female oriented designer would have pin-ups of a guy all over her room. With hearts. Adrien was naïve, but not stupid. He snorts softly.
“I see. If that is the case, then why don’t you have any shots of the women’s collection? This season’s formal wear selection was considered particularly inspired. Given the types of outfits you have said you prefer to work on, wouldn’t that be a better choice?” Chat hummed in consideration. “The 2014 Spring line wouldn’t be a bad way to go either.”
Irritation flashed across Marinette’s face. Chat grinned, even as he felt the slightest bit guilty for making Marinette mad. But he knew she couldn’t get truly mad at him over a bit of good natured teasing. Especially when he knew as a fact that those particular lines he had named were among her favorite. (She sat right behind him. Of course he would overhear her raving to Alya about the lines.)
Marinette huffed. “Maybe I don’t want to be influenced by the oppressive standards of female beauty imposed on us by the fashion industry and its malnourished models.”
Chat’s eyebrow dipped higher. That was ripped straight off of Alya and he knows it. Marinette faltered under his stare.
“I just like looking at the clothes and… stuff…” A red blush creeped up Marinette’s cheeks as she stuttered, clearly searching for anything else to say. Chat Noir waited patiently. She took a breath and blurted, “If you were modelling high end fashion I would probably have posters of you all over my wall, too!”
A beat.
Then another.
Marinette’s face got impossibly redder, forcing her freckles to stand out in sharp contrast to the splotches of color. Cute little spots. Chat felt his smirk stretch wider as he leaned in.
“Careful, you are going to get my hopes up, Spots.”
Chat watched in strange fascination as Marinette paled, belatedly realizing how the nickname could be taken for the disguised heroine of Paris. She stammered a bit.
“When did you find out?”
Was she seriously going to out herself? “Find out what?”
“Was it after the last akuma attack? I thought I heard someone following me before I transformed.”
She seriously outed herself. Chat couldn’t help but laugh. “Actually no, but thanks for the confirmation, bugaboo.”
“Don’t tell me you didn’t know!”
“Actually, I only suspected.” Chat shrugged, watching Marinette carefully. She looked almost ill… “But to be fair, I have been about 75% sure since we faced off against Virtuoso and after that it wasn’t hard to find more evidence in my favor. Lately I’ve been hovering in the 90-95% range.”
“So what’s with the nickname?” Marinette whined softly. “If you didn’t know why would you call me Spots?”
Chat gestured to her cheeks. “You were blushing. You literally had bright red spots on your face.” Not to mention those freckles, but those never help Marinette’s embarrassment.
Marinette faltered. “Oh… So, wait, you really didn’t know?”
“Nope. But don’t fret, My Lady, it was bound to come out eventually, and as I said, it wasn’t like it was a surprise.”
With a sigh, Marinette flopped back into her chair, seemingly stunned. Then she slumped.
“What gave it all away?”
Chat glanced around, humming thoughtfully. “It’s hard to say where it started. A lot of little things, I guess. The way you phrase things, oh! And there is this weird arm thing you do when you get flustered.” He flailed his arms to demonstrate as Marinette gawked up at him. “Anyways, after the fight with Virtuoso when you yelled at Alya for being too close again, it sort of all just clicked together, so I started looking for proof that my hunch was right.”
“What sort of proof?” She asked breathlessly.
Chat shrugged once more. “Just more of the same, really. Looking to see if you disappear during akuma attacks, trivial stuff like favorite color or favorite foods. Honestly, I was surprised I didn’t suspect you sooner, you act surprisingly similar in and out of costume. Well… most of the time.”
He smiled gently at Marinette as he dropped a tiny hint of his own identity (after all, who else does she constantly falter around than Adrien?). Marinette breathed out softly. “Oh…”
Well. Now that identity shenanigans have been settled… Chat turned back to the pictures, leaning forward to squint at Marinette’s added drawings (this one was a hastily drawn doodle of her and Adrien holding hands. Freaking adorable oh my god.)
“So, is this some sort of celebrity crush or should I be jealous?”
“It’s not a celebrity crush. We go to school together and are friends. Well. Sort of, so I am not just some pathetic fangirl.” A defensive edge crept into her tone at the perceived accusation. Chat grinned at her.
“Even if you were just a fangirl, I don’t think you know how to be pathetic, My Lady. And what do you mean, ‘sort of’ friends?” Chat tilted his head, fingers curling in the air into little air quotes.
“Well… we are friends. He sits in front of me. We hang out sometimes and our best friends are dating, so we’re thrown together a lot. But in spite of that, we aren’t really close, I guess.” Marinette paused for a breath and lowered her gaze, as if ashamed to meet Chat’s gaze. “I sometimes have trouble acting normally around him. I sort of… stutter and babble. Sometimes it’s worse. He never says anything and is really nice about it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he thinks I am insane.”
Chat’s heart sank at Marinette’s admission. Nonono she’s so far off he absolutely adores her… “I guarantee he thinks you’re adorable.” Chat grinned, determined to cheer up his princess. “So… when should I expect the wedding invitation? Once you’ve been snagged up, I doubt this ‘sort of’ friend will be letting you go.”
Marinette scoffed lightly, rolling her eyes. “We aren’t even dating.”
“Well, then what are you waiting for?” Chat playfully waved a dismissive hand, shooing Marinette towards the outside world. “Get to it, love bug, chop-chop.”
Honestly, Chat was elated. Marinette Dupain-Cheng liked Adrien Agreste. And, knowing Marinette, it had nothing to do with his father, his fame, or his looks. She would never be infatuated with someone for materialistic things such as those or use him as a step stool up into the fashion world. Marinette was determined to make her own way in life, which made her safe for Adrien. Marinette, much like her parents, would love genuinely, deeply, and unconditionally, almost to a fault.
And let’s face it, Chat sighed internally. Adrien could use some genuine love.
Him. Adrien. He had managed to snag Marinette’s attention, and he hoped he wasn’t losing it any time soon.
Marinette snorted softly, looking up at Chat suspiciously. “Shouldn’t you be telling me all the reasons why this is a terrible idea ad how purrrfectly happy I would be with you instead?”
A grin pulled at his lips as his tail swayed happily at her pun. He really should not be this attracted to puns. “No, I trust My Lady’s judgement.”
“Sure. judgement.”
“Sure. You are going to be content to see me chasing after someone else,” Marinette deadpanned.
As long as that someone else is actually him, yes. Chat playfully studied his claws, a smirk curling his lips. “I think I am surprisingly okay with this particular turn of events.”
Marinette continued to press, seemingly baffled by Chat’s nonchalance. “Isn’t my already loving someone other than you going to ruin your happy fantasies of whisking me off into the sunset?”
And, honestly, Chat could understand her confusion. He had been pursuing her since the moment he laid eyes on her mask framed eyes, stumbling over his kitten paws to follow in her sure steps. So for him to now seemingly give her up to some fancy pants model boy without a fight? It did seem to be out of character… Would he give up his own identity because of this? He hoped not. Chat was enjoying the game.
And the way Marinette kept her eyes solely on him as she waited on a reply.
“Au contraire, Buginette, I have told you before I care only for your happiness. And if browbeaten, painfully oblivious models are your thing, then I will do everything in my considerable power to aid and support you.” Chat smirked. “So when do you plan on asking out this friend of yours?”
Marinette’s eyes widened in horror to the size of moons. “I can’t just ask him out!”
“Do you want him to come to you instead?” Chat tilted his head, plans already formulating in his head. That could easily be taken care of…
“It’s not that! I mean… that would be great if he did, but I don’t expect…” Marinette shook her head. “The point is I can’t just ask him out!”
This girl made no sense. Chat huffed lightly, pouting in confusion. “Why not?”
Marinette fell silent, eyes dropping to the ground. “…Because he’ll say no…”
Excusez-moi? Chat stared at Marinette, jaw hanging and half waiting for her to lift her head with a bright grin, laugh, poke his chest, and exclaim ‘gotcha!’ Except the most logical part of him knew that this was Ladybug, his lady, his princess, revealing her insecurities to the partner she thought hung the stars in her eyes. Somehow Marinette, bubbly, self-assured, class-president Marinette, was convinced that Adrien Agreste would be able to look her in those baby blues and honestly say ‘no’ to a date with her. Even before he knew (or suspected) that she was Ladybug, Marinette always managed to catch Adrien’s eye and draw him in and make him long to protect her from the world, even though he knew she was more than capable of doing so herself.
It was because of this that Chat found himself unable to keep from doubling over in laughter, despite the awful awful awful timing. He heard Marinette’s breath hitch (probably in anger).
“It’s not funny!”
“I’m sorry, but yes, it is,” Chat snickered, managing to look up at Marinette. “You actually think anyone would say no to you, My Lady?”
Marinette stared at the giggling hero, who was struggling to contain his laughter under her gaze. She swallowed tightly, shuffling back and forth as Chat began calming.
“I haven’t told him I’m Ladybug,” she murmured. Chat fondly rolled his eyes, grinning softly.
“I never for a moment thought you had. After all, it would be a-aw-ling if you started telling your secrets to a random civilian before your own partner.” He might get mildly offended if Adrien found out before Chat… especially considering Marinette didn’t know Adrien as well as Chat… But in the end, it would have the same result, so he probably wouldn’t be too upset. “Of course, I also don’t know what that has to do with anything, bugaboo.”
Marinette scoffed lightly, but Chat could notice the upturned corners of her mouth. “That was terribly. Your puns are still always terrible.”
He mentally fist-pumped in triumph as Marinette seemed to calm a bit into her own usual demeanor. Successfully cheered up the princess.
“They still make you smile,” he returns gently. Marinette pressed her lips together to smother said smile. Chat hummed as he forced his attention to the lingering problem at hand. “So why do you think he would say no?”
“I mean…” Marinette floundered a bit for proper words. “Look at me.”
“…” Chat felt a wide smirk curl across his face. His raised an eyebrow, eyes dancing mischievously. She spluttered, reaching back to grab a random item off her desk.
“Not like that, you jerk!” Marinette flung her chosen item at Chat’s face. Chat instinctively caught it, glancing down at the flat frame. His tail curled in pleasure as he snickered softly, holding out the framed photo of himself for Marinette to see. Or. Well. Adrien, technically, but still. A picture of him.
“Nice choice of weapon, Princess.”
Marinette groaned. “You’re loving this, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I really kind of am.”
With a sigh, Marinette dropped back into her chair. Chat crouched in front of her, cupping his chin in his hands as he propped his elbows on his knees.
“So… where do you want to go for your first date?” Chat drawled. His eyebrows waggled playfully. “I know Adrien, you know. I could drop a few hints.”
Marinette frowned. “I already told you he would probably turn me down.”
Chat scowled lightly, tail curling in frustration. She keeps doubting him… and herself. He didn’t like his lady being insecure…
“I am 100% confident that if you walked up to him and told him that you wanted to be in a relationship that he would say yes. Well, either that, or just grab you up and kiss you, it could go either way.” Hmm… that was a good idea, actually…
Chat watched in glee as Marinette blushed a deep red, practically watching the images dashing through her head play out on her face. He could imagine it. Abruptly grabbing Marinette and dipping her low as he whispers some romantic line in her ear before proclaiming his love for her in front of everyone… then kissing her deeply…
“If you really think what Adrien would ever try something like that you clearly don’t know him well enough.” Marinette shook off her fantasies and fixed Chat with a haughty glare. She crosses her arms in front of her.
Chat could only cackle again as he pulled himself to his feet. He pranced around the room, excitement rushing through every nerve of his body as he began plotting how to get his little lady and himself together.
Marinette sighed. “Okay, Chat, you have had your fun, time to scamper back to wherever you came from. And no more coming into my room.”
The hero paused in his pacing to think as an idea crept up on him. It wouldn’t be fair to her… not really… but he would have fun, and it wouldn’t be harming her… in fact, she would probably laugh about it after everything was said and done… A large grin crept on his face as he turned to Marinette with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
“Tell you what, Princess, I will make you a deal. If you ask him out and he rejects you like you seem to think he will, I will never drop by for any unscheduled visits that don’t involve purple butterflies again.” He held up a finger as Marinette began to look excited. “However, if I am right and he says yes, then not only do I reserve the right to continue basking in your presence whenever I so choose, but you will also provide me with free croissants every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for the next two months.”
Marinette’s eyes narrowed challengingly. “You don’t want to make this bet, kitty.”
“Oh, I am pretty sure I do.”
“Your loss,” she smirked haughtily. “Make sure you take your lawn chair with you.”
Hm. He should probably attach a time limit or this could go forever… And he wanted his Lady.
“You have three days to ask out your pretty model boy or the bet will be considered forfeit and you will have to face the consequences.”
“Three days? What is this, The Little Mermaid?” Her voice had gone leaden. Chat hummed, slightly sympathetic. The pressure was on for his princess. She had to be brave, like he knew she could be.
Chat knew she could do it. “Three times is plenty of time to manage a single question to a boy you see every day.”
“And what do you mean by consequences?” She sounded a bit nervous… looked a bit pale… He didn’t mean to make her anxious or anything… Maybe he should give up the game right now.
No, she was just timid. She just needed a little push.
“If you forfeit the bet, in addition to my unrevoked visitations, you will be providing croissants every weekday for the next three months.” She was considering it. He could see it. She needed something else… “And I get to kiss you. One time, at a time and place of my choosing. No questions, no complaining.”
Marinette’s eyes blew wide as her face deepened to a bright red. Chat snickered, hardly able to imagine where her thoughts had gone.
That should be incentive enough (and if not, he won either way). Perhaps it should be offensive for him to use his own kiss as a bartering chip that works, but he didn’t really care. Marinette was as loyal as him. He could find no fault in that.
His lady narrowed a ferocious scowl at him, which he returned with a cheeky grin. He quirked a, eyebrow. “If this is too much for you, Princess, I could be persuaded to forget the whole thing for one kiss here and now, and a small box of macaroons.”
Chat smirked at the trump card, lining up the third and final way things could turn in his favor. Marinette inhaled deeply in an attempt to rein her anger in. He only raised his eyebrow higher, mirth dancing through his body.
Marinette, he knew, couldn’t resist a challenge. And with such a desirable prize awaiting her bravery, he knew she would take it. She had to take it.
“Okay, fine. I accept. I’ll do it.” Marinette practically growled. “I’ll ask out Adrien and then I won’t have to deal with your uninvited interruptions anymore.”
She leveled a glare at him- which, honestly, he should be impressed with himself. He’d seen even the bravest falter under the force of Marinette’s wrath. He kind of felt like doing so himself, but forced himself to stand taller and grin wider.
“I look forward to my free croissants.”