"I'm soooo sorry Adrien," Marinette mumbled from behind her hands as he finally closed the door to his room behind them, "My parents are like a dog with a bone, they just won't leave it alone."

"It wasn't just them," he said with a groan, "Please, feel free to find a piece of furniture to curl up on and die. I know I plan to do the same."

Tapping into his dramatic flair he usually only displayed as Chat, Adrien walked over to his couch, flinging himself over the back and settling face down on the cushions. Plagg barely escaped his shirt before he landed, now openly laughing at his young charge before disappearing -presumably to his trash can.

Adrien was beyond mortified already and at this point, he doubted even Plagg could make things worse. The entire dinner had been nothing but teasing comments from the Dupain-Chengs and well-timed smirks from his father and he had not coped well at all. It would have been hard to deal with, even without a witness, but having a friend be present and included in the humiliation was very, very bad. And having that friend be Marinette was awful. This was his Lady. The girl he was desperately in love with and who had been very explicit in telling him that she was not interested time and time again. Honestly, he just wanted the ground to open up and swallow him whole.

There was a sudden sound and Adrien frowned into his couch cushion for a moment as he tried to identify it, before lifting his head when he realised it was Marinette giggling to herself. He hauled himself up by the side of the couch to watch her as she doubled over, tears beginning to stream down her face. Considering how to voice his muted confusion and concern, he made his way over to her.

"Are you...okay?" he asked.

She didn't answer for a few moments as she struggled to smother her laughter, turning around and sitting on the edge of his bed as she caught her breath. Her kwami phased through her bag as he watched and she too tittered with laughter at him, her little nub hands covering her mouth in an attempt to hide it. He waved at her awkwardly and she returned the gesture happily before diving into his trash can to catch up with Plagg. Probably they would have a lot of fun laughing at the two of them. Shaking his head, Adrien turned back to Marinette, who appeared to have caught her breath, but was still giggling a little, clearly struggling to stop completely.

"That-" she gestured wildly at the couch, "-was so...extra."

"Yeah, well..." he said, sitting beside her on the bed with a smile and a sigh, "I just found out my dad has a talent for embarrassing me in new and unusual ways."

"Please, that was nothing. My parents had barely warmed up. They tease me all the time."

"Yeah? Not about me though, so I think this is..."

He trailed off as her giggles ended abruptly and she gave a squeak before falling silent. He glanced over at her. She had pulled her shoulders up and was nibbling on her lower lip, looking uncomfortable and awkward. Slowly, her eyes trailed over to look at him shyly. Adrien's jaw dropped fast enough to hurt.

"They tease you about me?" he said, "Why?"

And just as suddenly, shy Marinette was gone. In her place sat Ladybug and that would take some getting used to. Right now she was looking at him exactly as she did when he'd told a particularly awful joke during an attack and she was contemplating whether or not to throw her yo-yo at his head. Her head was tilted a little, her mouth narrowed, her eyebrow cocked and she was somehow rolling her eyes at him without actually moving them. A talent that no one else he knew had.

He thought about it for a second, trying to work out why her parents would tease her about him. It didn't take long for him to start smiling.

"Really?" he said and watched in delight as she went back to being shy, her gaze dropping to her lap and a small smile gracing her lips.

"I meant what I said," he told her, "You know, when I...answered father in Mr Damocles office."

Her smile grew until she couldn't help but flash her teeth at him and he was sure his heart was beating hard enough that she could hear it. He felt so excited and yet so utterly relaxed.

At least until she fell backwards to the bed, her legs hanging over the edge and arms flung out either side of her. He glanced down at her as her eyes closed and she gave off another adorable giggle.

"It's been a long day," she said, still smiling, "I don't really have the energy to process this and stay upright."

He smirked, a small flush making its way across the bridge of his nose as he lay down on his side next to her, propping his head upon his arm to look at her face as she opened her eyes at his movements.

"Do you need a catnap?"

She playfully shoved at his chest in mock annoyance and Adrien was able to revel in the gasp she gave as he grabbed the hand she used, holding it to him instead of letting her pull away.

Her eyes were impossibly blue and he mentally berated himself for not noticing the similarities to Ladybug's eyes before. They were remarkable, a bright clear ocean of colour with a dark ring around the edge, which added definition to just how light her irises were. He would happily get lost in those eyes any day.

He gently ran his thumb across the space beneath her eyes without quite knowing when he had first reached out to touch her, finding it didn't matter. Tracing the skin where her mask would have met her face, he encountered a stray lock of dark hair and followed it, sliding his fingers into the rest to caress the soft tresses.

He moved slowly, watching her for uneasiness at all times, but when Marinette raised her hands in response and began to stroke his hair, her eyelids fluttering closed, he followed suit, closing the gap between them and hesitantly brushing his lips against hers.

Adrien had always hoped his first kiss wouldn't be an awkward occasion but had long suspected it was going to be regardless of what he wanted. And he had never been so glad to be wrong in his life.

The kiss was absolute heaven but it didn't last long. He had barely pressed his own lips against hers before he pulled back, suddenly anxious and shy about her reaction and sure his face was burning with the heat of the blood rushing to it. He watched her blink up at him with half-lidded eyes before the hands tangled in his hair pulled him down to meet her again. She sighed against his mouth and Adrien's heart beat so hard he feared Marinette could hear it -or feel it, considering that they were pressed against each other, his chest flush against hers. He might have coloured further if he wasn't already at his blushing limits.

After a few minutes, he pulled back and they both took in the much-needed air of the room around them, both still clutching at the other's hair as if afraid they might disappear if they let go.

"My Lady?" he said, "Princess? Marinette?"

She chuckled at his use of nicknames and placed a gentle peck against his mouth before answering.

"Yes, Kitty?"

"Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Of course," she said, smiling widely and giggling like the schoolgirl she was, "It's not like we can let our parents down now, after they went to so much trouble embarrassing us."

Adrien would take all the embarrassment in the world if it meant more evenings like this one.

So here's the end of this little mini-fic. Obviously there's more for them after this; they need to talk about identities properly, they need to officially meet the kwamis and when the friends find out there'll be hell to pay, but I don't feel like covering all of that. Feel free to imagine these things as you want.