Marinette stuck her fork into Adrien's plate, grinning at him from ear to ear. He huffed, playfully offended, but she gently nudged him on the arm, putting the bite of salmon in her mouth and nearly moaning in pleasure when the sauce assaulted her taste buds with divine aromas.

"Lighten up, Agreste," she said as the savoury fish melted on her tongue, "This is supposed to be a celebration."

He leaned back in his chair, staring at his best friend with a fond smile on his lips. He loved the dynamics he had with Marinette. At some point during college she had opened up around him, and he had discovered a wonderful person, an incredible girl he had grown quite fond of.

He sometimes found himself wishing his fifteen-year-old self could see him.

That the lonely and sheltered teenager could see how close he was to his friends. How much Marinette was close to him, how his friendships with Alya and Nino were strong, closely knitted, how it had become the thing he treasured the most in his life.

But as far as he was concerned, nobody could compare to the lithe woman stealing bites of salmon off his plate, looking at him smugly from under her lashes. Nothing could compare to the raw affection she was offering him time and time again, always there for him whenever he needed her, to the way she could lit a room simply by stepping into it.

Alya cleared her throat loudly, "just tell us if we are bothering you."

The tone was stern, but there was a glint in her eyes. Nino smiled smugly, raising his glass. "Should we make a toast?"

Adrien agreed reluctantly, raising his glass in tow. "To Marinette and her new job!"

"To Marinette and her new job," Alya and Nino chorused as their glasses gently collided with each other, gently chiming in the small restaurant.

Marinette blushed, taking a sip of her own glass, eyes downcast. "You guys are embarrassing me."

"Your own fault for landing a position at Agreste straight out of university, without the help of your very good friend, Monsieur Agreste himself," Alya stated matter-of-factly.

Adrien couldn't help but feel uneasy as Alya reminded him of the reason they were sitting in their favourite restaurant on a Tuesday night.

Marinette had landed her first choice internship.

The internship he had wished with all his might she would be denied, for her own good.

True, Adrien had wished better for his friend.

True, he had hoped some sane designer with some regards for their employees would discover the diamond in the rough Marinette was, and take her under their wing.

To no avail.

Marinette's dream had been working at Agreste from the very first day. So the minute human resources at Agreste had offered her a spot, she had leaped on the occasion, all claws out, ready to fight her way through the merciless fashion industry.

He was happy for her in a way, he really was.

His best friend was pursuing her dream, and she was more than talented enough to pull her weight through that damned internship.

But he was terrified of the scars it might leave behind.

Because she was way too pure, too bubbly to be tainted by the hellish world that was Agreste.

Because working at Agreste also meant she would be working under his direct father's orders.

Under his infamous temper, his insane demands and his crazy expectations, obeying his every whim.

Marinette nipped another bite of salmon on his plate and playfully nudged him. "You're daydreaming, Adrien. Here, have a taste of my pasta, they're delicious."

And as he buried his fork into Marinette's plate, Adrien was painfully conscious of three things.

One, he wanted to shield that incredibly sweet woman from his father's negative and destructive influence at all costs.

Two, she was his favourite person in the world, her infinite kindness and the way she cared about the people she loved almost overwhelming him.

Three, she was becoming dangerously important to him.

How many times had she stayed up at night, talking to him and comforting him after another fight with his father? How many times had she gone out of her way to bring him a lunch on a long photoshoot? How many laughs, how many moments of happiness he owed to her and treasured?

Through the years, with her endless kindness and her bubbly personality, she had wormed her way into a special spot in his heart.

Her spot.

If he was entirely honest with himself, his entire sanity held on a few constants.

Loving Ladybug was safe.

Loathing his father was safe.

Being a superhero was safe.

And Marinette had to be part of his life.

He stared at her, munching on his salmon happily, not a care in the world.

She was his very best friend, right next to Ladybug. He cared about them both deeply and would give them both the world if they needed it.

Despite his fears concerning his father's temper, Marinette was beyond thrilled about this internship.

And she was happy.

Who was he to deny her that happiness? To deny her her dream?

What kind of friend was he if he wasn't supportive of her dream? If he wasn't there for her in those exciting times?

He could do this.

He could be there for her.

He could help her through those times.

Everything would be fine, he tried to convince himself as he smiled at her, stealing another bite of pasta.

A single question remained.

Why the only emotion he was able to feel was dread?

Marinette was antsy.

That was the best way to describe the mess of nerves nearly vibrating in front of Adrien, and yet, it wasn't strong enough a word.

She had followed his advice perfectly. "Dress to impress," he had told her, "but stay yourself. Pick comfortable clothes and shoes, they'll probably have you run thousands of errands at first."

So she had shown up that morning wearing a simple black legging under jeans shorts, flat boots that would allow her to run all around the place comfortably. She had thrown a sweater in soft, earthy tones over her lithe figure so the fabric would drape over her shoulders.

She was fashionable enough to work in a fashion house, and yet Marinette enough for Adrien to approve.

He smiled at her as he found her at the bottom of the stairs, visibly bracing herself.

"Nervous?" he asked as he pushed a thermos of fuming coffee into her hands.

She stilled, looking at the cup of coffee as if it was a threat. "I really don't know if I should, Adrien, I'm so clumsy that-"

He grinned. "That's why I bought one of those cups, Marinette. You could juggle with it and it wouldn't spill. You have to press the button on the front, like this," he said as he demonstrated it to her, "in order to be able to drink."

She hesitantly took a sip, and then beamed at him. "That was really thoughtful of you, Adrien. Thank you."

"Anything for my favourite intern," he replied playfully as they climbed the steps to Agreste offices. "Do you know where you'll be interning?"

"I've been told it's a smaller team, that mostly handle non-urgent touch-ups and primary fittings."

She sounded disappointed, but Adrien was relieved. If she was working in the lower ranks of the company, the chances that his father would even pay attention to her were next to none. "Ah. So you'll be working with Adam. That's good, he's a really kind man."

"He is?" Marinette asked, looking at Adrien with wide eyes.

Adrien chuckled, "Despite how I feel about this industry, not everyone is a monster here. After all, I work here."

"And your point is?" Marinette teased, earning herself a playful nudge from Adrien as they walked through Agreste's doors…

...and nearly collided with Gabriel Agreste, standing in the lobby with a bunch of board members.

The tall man turned around, landing a judgemental stare on both young adults. "Adrien. What an inappropriate way to enter the office. And this is…?"

Adrien felt himself shrink under his father's stare, barely able to reply, "This is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, father. You've met her on a few occasions? She's a dear friend of mine and your new intern."

"I see. Well, see to it that your… friendship doesn't taint your image, Adrien. And shouldn't you be at a photoshoot right now? You are the face of this company, Adrien, you must be an example at all given times."

"Of course, father," Adrien replied meekly, and he could feel Marinette stiffens by his side.

She loathed this side of him, the perfect son that only said yes and did as he was told.

Before she could say anything, he resumed, "My photoshoot is only in an hour, father, so I figured I could show my friend around at her new job. Sorry if it is an inconvenience."

Gabriel stayed silent for a minute, eyeing them both carefully. "You may proceed, Adrien. Just make sure that your behaviour remains… appropriate."

If the way his entire face was burning, his blush matched Marinette's on par.

"Of course, father," he said again, avoiding the icy blue gaze at all costs. "Will you excuse us?"

Gabriel briefly nodded. "Please do," he simply said, and turned back to talk to his board members without further ceremony.

Obviously stunned, Marinette let an embarrassed Adrien take her away from the lobby and into a labyrinth of corridors. Only once they were out of reach of Gabriel's ears did she seemingly snapped back to reality, staring at Adrien with wide eyes. "What… what was that?" she asked, her voice weak.

"What was what," he replied, his heart caught in his throat.

He knew what was to come.

But it didn't soften the blow.

"I thought he was cold toward you at home, but this is an entirely new level, Adrien." Her voice was soft, caring, and yet it felt like a slap in the face to him. "I don't know how you can live with that."

"Not all of us have the chance to have loving, caring parents, Mari." The words were harsher than he had intended them to, and as soon as he saw the flash of hurt across her face, he regretted them. "Sorry, I didn't mean that…"

"No, you did," she said, patting his hand reassuringly. "But you know papa and mama consider you their son too, right? You have loving parents. Just not by blood."

Grinning, Adrien pushed her into a small workroom, whispering in her ear, "Thanks for reminding me, Mari."

Adam turned out to be a really exuberant man. He was wearing bright yellow pants with an orange button up, and his long black hair was braided tightly. His kind grey eyes landed on Marinette, and his lips stretched into a wide smile. "Is that my brand new intern? Escorted by no one but Adrien Agreste himself?"

Adrien felt himself smile. He had always loved Adam. Adam Bianchi had been one of the few adults to treat him as an individual instead of "Gabriel Agreste's son", and he had always appreciated him for that. With him, Marinette was in good hands.

"It is! Let me introduce you to Marinette Dupain-Cheng, a close friend of mine and the next genius designer!"

Adam extended a hand toward her, smiling softly. "Welcome to the team woman. Don't think because you're Adrien's friend I'll go easy on you!"

"I would never dare," Marinette answered earnestly, and in that second, Adrien knew she had won the affection of her teammates.

When he showed up at the small workroom after his photoshoot, several hours later with a sandwich and a fruit juice, he predictably found her hunched over some design, altering it with the patient guiding of Adam.

"That's right, Marinette," Adam said. "You adjust the hem according to the height of the model, and… and you have a visitor."

Marinette seemingly snapped out of her trance, looking at Adrien and his offerings with a grateful smile. "Bribing me with food? That's low for you, Adrien."

"Didn't know if I could trust Adam to let you eat," Adrien playfully answered.

Adam loudly gasped, staring at Adrien with offended eyes. "Don't make me regret all the sandwiches I slipped to you when you were younger, Adrien!"

Adrien laughed, looking affectionately at Marinette. "I would never dare, Adam. You are a blessing."