Chapter Text
Here Adrien was, driving repeatedly up and down the parking lot of the bar he was supposed to be at in, he checked the car screen, five minutes. But no, since he's the most nervous he's ever been for a mission, he decided to come twenty minutes earlier than he was supposed to, because that seemed like a good idea at the time. He rolled his eyes at himself.
Adrien usually wasn't nervous for missions like these. In fact the last time he was really worried for a mission was his first, which was what felt like decades ago. What made him nervous about it this time was his father, or uhm, Director Moth.
"Mr. Agreste, I need you to come to the office immediately," a familiar voice called out to him.
He didn't respond immediately, continuing to type on his keyboard. Adrien was rarely called Mr. Agreste unless it was something important, which now that he thought of it, he probably should have guessed that it was.
The voice, which he now realized was a lady, urgently cleared her throat. "Go to the office Adrien."
Adrien spun around from his computer with his desk chair to face Nathalie, his father's highest ranking assistant and the only one he trusted with his secrets, ones even Adrien didn't know.
He closed the tab with the new system he was supposed to be decoding and stood up from his chair. "Go to father's office?" He scrunched his brows. "Why?"
Nathalie sighed, exasperated. "Adrien, I can't disclose the information or talk about it with you until you go see your father," she then looked down at her clipboard. "But I will say it's for an assignment."
"Oh," Adrien mumbled.
"Now, GO!"
"Right, right, I'm going!" Adrien quickly hurried out of the room before Nathalie yelled his ear off.
He awkwardly stood in front of his father's office door, repeatedly brushing his hands through his dusty blond hair.
Adrien did not want to go into that room. It was there that he received his worst missions and assignments. The place he dreaded to go to even if there was a suspicion of somewhat good news. Whatever "good news" meant to father, he thought with exaggerated quotation marks in his head. He chuckled to himself.
"Adrien, come in."
Adrien almost jumped out of his skin at that moment. Seemed like he needed to work on his stealth, preferably sooner than later.
He stepped into the room, noticing his father standing up, facing the other direction.
The space was barren, the white walls intimidating Adrien, almost as if they were collapsing in on him as he looked down at the white desk. The desk that held the only photo in the room. One of his mother in her early-twenties, when she met Adrien's father, the man that finally turned around to stare down at him.
He pushed a file towards him and Adrien slowly sat down, taking the paper clip off. "This is your next assignment." His father struck the document with his giant hand before Adrien got a chance to fully open it. "It is the most important assignment of your career. And you have to promise me, before you look at it," he looked at him intently, "that you will do whatever it takes to ensure this mission goes according to plan."
Adrien looked up at his father's stern gaze. He carefully nodded his head, bracing himself for the worst as he finally opened up the file. He expected something dark, and cunning. Words that seemed deadly, or a subject that looked as sly as he did. Instead, he saw one of the most beautiful women he's ever laid eyes on.
Adrien looked up at his father, confused. "What..." he trailed off, trying to strategically ask his father why the hell he was looking at this woman.
His father answered his unasked question for him. "This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng," his father looked at his eyes, searching for recognition, Adrien presumed, but none came so he went on with a sigh. "Better known as Ladybug from the Miraculous Organization."
Adrien pondered for a moment. Ladybug. Ladybug? Oh! LADYBUG. It finally hit him.
Ladybug was one of the best French agents in all of Europe, in some ways, better than himself. She was known for her extemporaneous plans and solutions, something that Adrien happened to be deficient in. He had his own skills, but she was more than badass when it came to the world of spies.
Adrien's father continued on, most likely noticing his recognition of the woman. "As you've probably realized, she's the best agent in her organization, or even in Europe. While her identity is mostly unknown, we've learned who she is through one of our agent's missions," he started pacing back and forth, still looking closely at Adrien. "While I cannot fully disclose how they found out, let's just say it made me realize that even she has flaws that can be used to our advantage."
The senior Agreste marched back towards the desk that divided him and Adrien, leaning down on it. That was just one of the many things that divided them, Adrien always thought. He carefully looked down at him. "And by our advantage, I mean yours."
Gabriel flipped through the document till it reached Ladybug's full description, describing the woman in detail.
There were a few things unknown in the file, like her age and the full list of languages she spoke, but besides that it seemed like they had a pretty intricate analysis of who she was. Well, not her personality and what not, nobody really knew who spies or agents were, not who Adrien was anyway. He barely even knew who he was anymore.
Bloody Mary, he thought, looking at her aliases. That's funny.
"Your job," Gabriel said redirecting Adrien's attention back to him, "is to date her in order to gain as much information about her and her job as possible. To receive information about MO through her."
Adrien slumped into his chair. This was his least favorite part of his job.
It was one thing to flirt with someone for a short period of time to make them drop their guard, that was fine, but it was another thing to actively date them and use them for his own (father's) interests.
His father sighed. "Adrien, this is important. I'm trusting you with this because I know you are the most fitted for this job. And also because I know this will not be easy." He narrowed his eyes. "Ms. Dupain-Cheng is not easily fooled, her psychological skills are not to be looked over. Your lies must be strategic enough to the point that they're laced with truth, or this will not work."
He looked up with pleading eyes. "Father, I don't know if I want to do this again, last time—" Adrien got interrupted almost immediately.
"Father?" The man glared at him.
Adrien felt his face go red as he quickly corrected himself. "Sorry," he cleared his throat hurriedly, "Director Moth, are you sure that you want me to complete the job? Surely someone else could do it...?"
"Adrien, I need you to be the one to do this. It cannot be anyone else."
If Adrien were anyone else he might think that his father wanted him to do this job because he believed in him. Well, Adrien learned the reality of that a long time ago.
Adrien let out a weary breath and fully sank back into his chair. "Fine. I accept the position."
Gabriel curled his lips upwards. "Good, now here is the full assignment..."
Now he stood at the entrance of the bar door, already smelling the sickly scent of alcohol in the place ahead of him, looking back with regret at his decision. He already hated this, but he didn't have much of a choice so he wiped his clammy hands onto his jorts and tugged his short-sleeved flannel closer to his chest as he slowly walked into the pub.
The waft of liquor was stronger inside, making Adrien want to cough out but he settled with clearing his throat. The bright lights blurred his vision before his eyes fully adjusted to the colorful disco lights surrounding the vibrant checkered dance floor. The floor was packed with people, sweat lining their faces and beer filling their breaths. He scrunched his nose, somewhat disgusted by the idea of having to go there. He looked over at the front bar, the stools framing the front of the bar table. That was when he saw her. The one and only Lady Killer.
Despite already seeing her file, nothing could have braced him for how gorgeous she actually was. She wore a sheer-trim, black short-sleeved camisole that allowed a sliver of skin to peek out from beneath her shirt and paired it with dark washed jeans that flared out near her knees. The jeans were held up by a black scarf belt that was sprinkled with light pink polka dots, and she wore pastel pink ballet flats with black bows at the end of them to enhance the accent of the soft color. Her midnight black hair was held up, with wisps of it escaping the messy bun she put it in. She tucked a piece of her bangs behind her ear, using her perfectly manicured finger nails as she talked to the bartender and looked as though she was getting ready to leave when she picked up her rose-colored leather shoulder bag.
Shit, he thought, shaking himself out of his reverie. That was his cue.
He walked over to the bar, hands in his pockets, not looking upwards as if he wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Then, he bumped straight into the petite lady walking in his direction.
Marinette's drink splashed backwards onto her camisole, causing the fabric to grow even darker than it already was. Adrien immediately used one hand to grab her arm, and the other to grab her waist, keeping her from falling back as Marinette used her hand, free from the drink, to grab Adrien's shoulder. Adrien let her go once she regained her balance.
"I am so, so sorry," he gasped.
Marinette quickly interrupted him, waving her free hand. "No no, that was my fault, I should've watched where I was going."
"No, it was completely my fault," he paused, looking down at her chest where the drink soaked her top. "Plus, I ruined your shirt."
She raised her eyebrows and slowly looked down towards her black blouse and slowly widened her big blue eyes. She slightly pouted and moved her arms down. "It's okay, don't worry about it."
"No, it's not," Adrien urged. "Let me at least buy you a drink. To make up for it."
Marinette quickly shook her head. "No, seriously it's fine, I was heading out already."
"Please, I insist.” Her lips were set in a straight line, looking as though she still wasn't going to accept the offer. "I don't want you to leave here on a bad note."
Marinette paused, chewing her bottom lip. Adrien crossed his toes, wishing on all the stars in the universe for her to say yes, or else he was screwed. He might as well plan his funeral right now, surely his father would appreciate his thoughtfulness. Or not. Most likely not.
"Sure, why not," she shrugged and smiled as she looked up at him.
Adrien gave her a slight smile back as he carefully let out a deep breath. "Great."
He walked over to the counter and asked for some napkins to allow Marinette to try her best to clean up the stain on her chest.
"Also, if you don't mind could you get me two," he pursed his lips together and looked towards Marinette as he asked. "Glasses of champagne, right?"
"Oh, uh," her cheeks slowly turned the prettiest shade of pink Adrien had ever seen. "No, it's apple juice."
Adrien blinked his eyes at her, now it was his turn to be embarrassed. "Oh! I uh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to assume..." He stuttered, scratching his neck, turning his attention back to the bartender, defeated. "Two glasses of apple juice please."
The bartender quickly got to work in the back, and Adrien looked down at the table.
I should've known that, he scolded himself. Now his father was surely going to murder him. How am I so stupid?
Marinette sat down on the bar stool next to him. "Hey, don't worry about it." Adrien guided his attention back to her. "I get that all the time, I mean how many adults get juice at a bar?"
"Still," Adrien said, turning his eyes back to the table, "I shouldn't have assumed."
"It's OK, seriously." She said, smiling sweetly. Adrien slowly matched her smile. It seemed like he had another chance.
"So," he hopped onto the bar stool next to her, "what's the story behind the apple juice bar drink?"
Marinette grinned. "Well if you must know, my friends over there," Adrien followed her finger as she pointed towards the dance area, where he found a bronze skinned couple, the man twirling around what Adrien guessed was his girlfriend, "are dating. So in order to survive a long night of classic third-wheeling..." She paused for effect. "I drink apple juice! Carries the same effect of a drink such as champagne, when really, I'm getting drunk off of juice."
He thought about what she said for a moment. Partially about how genius that plan was, but also about how lonesome it must be to follow a couple around like that all the time, seeing as they looked pretty close. It sounded lonely, one of the many feelings Adrien experienced everyday.
She probably noticed him going quiet for a second so she continued. "Not that they necessarily leave me out on purpose or anything, I kind of do that myself..." She trailed off, probably realizing she was oversharing, something Adrien didn't expect from an agent such as herself.
Adrien needed to cut her off. He did not need to feel bad for her. No, that was not his job. Your job is to make Dupain-Cheng fall for you, he heard his father's voice in his head. He could not gain any feelings towards her, especially not empathy, that was one of the worst.
"So basically, you're a professional third-wheeler?" Adrien said. Yes, light-hearted conversation that he didn't have to think twice about, that was good.
Her eyes shone with appreciation. "Basically."
The bartender placed the glasses of apple juice onto the counter and the two of them offered their thanks. Adrien sipped the golden liquid and to his surprise, it was delicious. It wasn't like he hadn't drank apple juice before, but something about it tonight made it better than it usually was.
"Isn't it delicious?" Marinette said after downing half her glass.
"Yeah," Adrien grinned with raised eyebrows. "Seems like you were right."
She winked at him. "I know."
Damn she was cute, Adrien concluded. Maybe this fake relationship wouldn't be completely horrible.
"So, Ms. Professional-at-third-wheeling-and-all-things-apple-juice," she giggled as Adrien gulped up another breath before continuing, "what's your name?"
She sipped at her juice before answering, debating on telling him or not. If she lied, Adrien would know, but she didn't know that. If she did lie, it would most likely mean she wasn't into him. He really hoped she was, and not only because his father's grating voice was in his ear.
She set down her glass, "Marinette," she replied with a slight quirk of her lips. "What about you Mr. I've-only-learned-the-amazing-perks-of-apple-juice-today?"
"Hey! I'm sorry I don't think to drink juice at bars," he said, raising his hand to his chest in mock-offence.
Marinette's hand shot up. "It's still true!"
Adrien thought about her question. His father warned him how good Marinette was at discerning lies. When he lied to her, it needed to be only when it was necessary, so he had to be as honest as possible in other things to not raise suspicion.
"Adrien," he decided to tell her honestly. Nobody in the spy world knew his real name anyway. "My name's Adrien."
She chewed on his name for a second, as if she might recognize it. Adrien hoped it was because of his undercover job and not the latter.
"Well, it's nice to meet you Adrien," she said, her shoulders slightly falling as she gave up on her thoughts.
"Nice to meet you too Marinette," Then, Adrien decided to play the risky game for a bit.
His father told him that it was important to not be excessive with flirting when it came to Marinette. Based on his research on her past relationships, Marinette doesn't go for the all-in-your-face kind of guys. In order to actually have a chance of dating her, Adrien had to create an emotional connection with her before engaging. He hoped that he had created the type of connection his father was referring to.
Adrien picked up his glass and quipped, "You look beautiful by the way," and slowly took a sip while maintaining eye contact with her. It wasn't like he was lying, anyone could say the same thing.
Nonetheless, her brows rose as her cheeks went that pretty pink shade again and she turned her face to face the bar as she tried to hide her smile behind her cup.
"Well," she turned back towards him after the blush subsided, "you're beautiful too."
Adrien was caught off guard. No one has ever told him that before. He knew he was objectively attractive, he had a cover job as a model for a reason, but hearing someone say that to him, it was different. Adrien couldn't help but blush.
He gave a light chuckle, "Thank you."
Marinette let out a raspberry with her lips, "It's nothing really." Her eyes took on a mischievous glint. "Plus, apple juice intake is the true measure of beauty."
Adrien lets out a chortle of surprise at her silly quip. "So you're telling me," he paused to allow himself to laugh even more, "I haven't reached your high level of beauty because I haven't drank enough apple juice?"
The corner of Marinette's lips were pinched tight. "Yeah," she said, still struggling to contain herself.
Adrien leveled with her. "Seems like I've got to get to the core of that."
She couldn't keep it in anymore. Marinette's laugh broke out and Adrien swore it was the most melodic sound he's ever heard. And suddenly the urge to continue it was overwhelming. So, for once in his life, that's what he did.
Adrien talked with Marinette for hours as he told his most ridiculous jokes and quirky pick up lines, and Marinette continued to laugh at them, no matter how stupid they were. No one really laughed at his silly sense of humor, usually he received a scornful grin or a fake giggle. Considering the usual circumstances, he guessed it wasn't that crazy, but Marinette really laughed. Like a full on, throw your head back, tears in your eyes kind of laugh, and she wasn't the only one laughing either.
Father told Adrien that Marinette was emotionally intelligent, but he didn't say that that meant she had a sense of humor too. (Then again, did his father even know what the word funny meant?) Adrien was truly laughing just as much as Marinette was, and it was nice. No one's made him laugh that much, not ever since his mother... Nope, don't think of that, he told himself, now was not the time. Adrien was having fun, and most importantly, it seemed like Marinette was too. Even when she rolled her eyes a few times at his corniest jokes, her lips were always laced with a smile. Speaking of lips, why does he keep looking at hers?
By the time it hit midnight, Adrien felt drunk with laughter, and he was pretty damn sure it had something to do with the amount of apple juice he drank, but he couldn't tell. Marinette seemed just as "juice-buzzed" as well.
Marinette took a final slurp of her fifth glass of juice and picked up her phone. The screen lit up and her brows rose for a second until they slowly scrunched together and her bottom lip came out. "Darn it."
Adrien glanced at her phone and then at her. "What?" Adrien hit her with a playful grin, deciding to reference their latest debate. "You finally realized croissants are a million times better than pains au chocolat?"
Marinette gave him a quick smile. "Aha, no." Her demeanor changed. "I have to go. My friends are in the car waiting for me."
"Oh, right," Adrien was surprised at how disappointed he felt.
Marinette grabbed her bag and pushed her phone into her back pocket as she hopped off of the barstool. Adrien got off too and put a few bills on the table, making sure to add extra to tip the bartender. Marinette looked up at him then, her dark bangs covering her bright blue eyes.
"I uhm, I had a great time," she quietly said, twirling a strand of hair with her finger. "Maybe I could get your number and we could do this again some time?”
Adrien was surprised she asked him. Heck, he thought she might even say no if he asked. Since when has his luck been so, well, lucky?
"Yeah of course," he replied, grabbing his phone out of his pocket, "I had a great time too."
They exchanged numbers and Adrien offered to walk her out since he was heading out as well, considering the first part of his mission was complete. A mission that she didn't know and Adrien seemed to forget about.
After seeing Marinette off, Adrien headed over to his car and rested his head on the steering wheel. He smiled to himself. He wasn't lying when he told Marinette he had a good time. It's been awhile since he's done something like that, since he's been...happy.
Wait, no. He couldn't feel happy about hanging out with Mari-- Ladybug. She's Ladybug. The woman from his father's rival company. He was supposed to feel nothing, no inkling of emotion towards her. Indifference. He couldn't mess things up.
So why was he feeling butterflies swarming his stomach as he thought of her pretty pink smile?