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.