Hello, lovely readers! Thank you for choosing to read "More Than Just a Friend".

Any comments and kudos are greatly appreciated. They fuel my need to keep writing about these wonderful, lovesick dorks.

I cross-post on AO3 and on Tumblr.

Tumblr: gryffindorcls (I will be posting my fics to the "Princess In Training" blog. Also, come talk to me over there! I would love to discuss my stories and the Miraculous fandom with y'all!)

AO3: clslovegood47

If you enjoyed this, please check out my other fics!

"Please Tell Me I'm Awake Right Now"

"Chat for a Day"

"The Best Friend Swap"

I own nothing but the plot.

After patrol, Adrien face planted onto his bed and groaned. Plagg watched as his holder mumbled incoherent ramblings into his comforter. There was only so much a Kwami could take, and he was really close to reaching his limit. This kid needed help.

"Adrien," Plagg called out in a sing-song voice.

"Hrrrrmmm," his chosen responded without removing his face from the bedspread.

"You okay there, kid?"

"HRRRRRrrrruuuuGH!"

"So...is that a no?"

Adrien breathed deeply and pushed himself up into a sitting position. "I'm frustrated, Plagg."

"Yes," Plagg responded, nodding his head, "That much I can tell."

"I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!"

"Are you going to make me listen to you talk about it all night?"

The visibly distressed teen ignored the Kwami's question. "It's just...why couldn't Ladybug be someone I know? It would make all of this so much easier!"

Plagg shook his head and sighed. "I will take that as a yes. I guess I should get comfortable."

"You don't understand."

"To be perfectly fair, I rarely understand you."

"She feels so unreachable and yet strangely...close? I don't know anymore. If only she was someone like...Marinette...you know? That would be great!"

Plagg choked on air. "Woah...wait? Why bakery girl? What's so special about her?"

Adrien scrunched his face in thought. "Well, I guess it's because she's already an everyday hero. She's always standing up for others and making sure that everyone feels included. Marinette may get nervous sometimes, but she's also brave, smart, kind, and helpful. She's pretty and super talented. It would be great if Ladybug was someone like her...or even if it was her."

"Are you sure it would be great if it was her? Didn't you tell me that she liked Luka?"

"Plagg, I'm not saying that Marinette is Ladybug. I'm saying it would be nice if Ladybug was someone close to me like Marinette."

"Kid…"

Adrien walked over to his window and gazed off into the distance. He rested his head against the glass and released a shaky breath.

"Regardless of Luka, it would never work if she was Ladybug. I can't date Marinette...she's just a friend," he said softly, keeping his eyes glued on the Parisian cityscape.

"I'm going to be completely honest with you," Plagg began, "You sounded pretty sad when you said that just now."

His chosen turned around and looked at his Kwami with a befuddled expression. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Adrien," Plagg cleared his throat, "hear me out. What if...and stay with me on this...what if she wasn't just a friend?"

"I still don't understand."

"Okay...let me try to explain this differently. You are miserable all the time because you can't capture Ladybug's heart. How am I doing so far?"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "You're not completely wrong, but I would like to point out that I'm not miserable all of the time."

"Kid, that was a yes or no question."

"Just continue explaining."

"Fine. You wish that Ladybug was someone you knew in real life, and you just gave Marinette as an example, and not someone like...angry sword girl."

"Kagami?"

"Yeah, that one."

Adrien huffed. "You and I both know that Kagami definitely isn't Ladybug. She was Akumatized and we fought her...twice!"

Plagg threw his paws into the air. "Still, you said you wished that Ladybug was someone like Marinette. You never said you wanted her to be someone like Kagami."

"I'm still not getting your point."

"What if you tried going out on a date with bakery girl?"

Adrien's eyes grew wide. "No! I can't date Marinette!"

Plagg crossed his arms. "And why not?"

"Because she's just a friend!"

"You obviously have a crush on her."

The black Kwami carefully observed his holder's reaction to his last statement.

Adrien's cheeks were bright red. "No, I don't."

"The fact that you're blushing tells me otherwise," Plagg pointed out.

The teen buried his face in his hands. "I can't have a crush on Marinette! I like Ladybug."

"Did you not just say to me that it would be great if Marinette is Ladybug? Why not give it a shot and see if you're right. Even if she's not your partner and you wind up falling for her, would it be the worst thing in the world? You might even be happy for a change."

"But Marinette is just a…"

Plagg cut him off. "I swear, kid, if you say 'just a friend' one more time, I'm going to lose it...and the last time that happened Krakatoa erupted."

Adrien fell silent and sat down on his bed. He hung his head low and folded his hands in his lap.

The Kwami decided to try a gentler approach. "Look, for just a moment...I want you to pretend that there's no Ladybug and you're not Chat Noir. Just imagine that you're a normal boy with a normal life. Now, think about what it would be like to date Marinette. She's nice, and she smells like bread. I know she enjoys making things, and her parents seem to like you. You've told her that she's amazing on multiple occasions, and you just told me that you think she's pretty."

Adrien looked up and stared off into the distance. Plagg could see the wheels turning in his chosen's brain, and he really hoped that something would click this time. Suddenly, the teen groaned loudly and doubled over onto the couch.

"Adrien?" Plagg asked after watching his holder moan in anguish for a solid minute.

"No!," he exclaimed, "I can't have a crush on Marinette. I CAN'T, BUT I DO! Why did you have to point out all that stuff to me! She'll never agree to go out with me. She hasn't started a relationship with a single person who's shown interest in her all year, and I'm pretty sure half the class has a crush on her. AND NOW I DO, TOO!"

"I hate to break it to you, but I think you've liked her all along."

"Oh my God, Plagg! I can't like Ladybug and Marinette."

"Sure you can. You were still in love with Ladybug when you took sword girl out on a date...right?"

"I HAVE A CRUSH ON THREE GIRLS? What is wrong with me?"

"Nothing," Plagg shrugged, "You just have a type."

Adrien sat down in a huff. "I can't ask Marinette out on a date. She doesn't think of me that way. She likes Luka."

"Does she have a boyfriend?"

"No."

"Then you are more than welcome to ask her out."

"I will be humiliated. I don't think I can handle rejection from Ladybug and Marinette."

"Isn't it worth exploring though?"

Adrien shook his head and started walking towards the bathroom. "I can't do this right now. I'm going to get ready for bed."

The tiny, black being chased after him. "Can I at least have some cheese before you go to sleep?"

"PLAGG!"

"What? Giving life advice makes me hungry!"

Two hours after Adrien fell asleep, Plagg phased through the window and flew into the night. He zipped down the quiet roads and around the corner towards his holder's school. If memory served him correctly, bakery girl was right across the street.

Once he found the bakery, he flew to the top window and phased into the attic room where Marinette lay sleeping in her bed. Plagg scanned the room until his eyes fell on a small red mass curled up in a heap of fabric on a desk.

"Tikki!" he whispered loudly from the other side of the room.

Plagg zoomed over to his counterpart and tapped her with his paw.

"Tikki!" he said with more force while still maintaining an appropriate volume.

The red Kwami began to stir in her sleep. Plagg poked her again, and she finally opened her eyes.

She gave him a confused look. "Plagg? What are you doing here? Are you okay? Is your holder okay?"

"I did something," he said plainly.

Tikki glared at him. "What did you do, Plagg? Don't tell me another species went extinct. First, it was the dinosaurs. Then, it was the dodo birds, and you completely crossed the line when it came to the unicorns."

"You and I both know that those unicorns were a bunch of lying thieves. They had to go."

"They were cute."

"They were monsters."

Tikki took a deep breath and massaged her temples. "We're getting off topic. Please just tell me that the squirrels are still okay."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Yes, the squirrels are fine...for now."

"Just explain to me what you did."

"I may have convinced my boy that he has a crush on your girl."

"Chat Noir has never been quiet about liking Ladybug."

"No," Plagg said, making eye contact, "I made him realize that Adrien likes Marinette."

"Oh," Tikki responded.

"That's it?"

"Does this mean that he figured out Ladybug's identity?"

"No. He came home from patrol and started going on about how he wished that Ladybug was someone he knew 'like Marinette'. I then questioned him on why he chose her out of all his friends, and then I told him to try asking her out."

"How did he take that?"

"He had a full-blown existential crisis. Adrien thinks that Marinette doesn't like him romantically and that she'll turn him down if he asks her on a date."

"Are you kidding? The girl is obviously in love with him."

Plagg shook his head. "He's going to need proof. He's that kind of guy."

Tikki paused before answering. "The Valentine."

"What about it?"

"Marinette wrote it."

He curled his lips into a smile. "I knew it! But we don't have any concrete evidence that it's from her. I'm telling you, he's not going to believe me unless I have something irrefutable to show him. Not even a sample of her handwriting will be enough."

Tikki formed her own mischievous grin. "Do you really think that the Valentine he got was the only draft?"

The red Kwami zoomed over to the trunk on the opposite side of the room. She phased through the top, cracked open the lid, and slid a slightly crumpled paper onto the floor. Plagg flew over to the chest and began examining the paper. He saw that it had three different drafts of the Valentine poem, "Marinette Agreste" scribbled in the margins, and a drawing of a smiling hamster.

Plagg looked up at his counterpart. "This is perfect."

Tikki gave him a serious look. "Now, I have nothing against them finding happiness and starting to date each other, but we will need to make sure that they are careful when it comes to their identities. They can't know."

"What if...just try to follow me here," Plagg began, "what if they did?"

"What do you mean?"

"What if they knew each other's identities? Would it be that bad? Fox Girl and Turtle Boy learned each other's identities, and they're doing great."

"But Master Fu…"

He cut her off. "Doesn't have to live with them. He doesn't see what I see. You asked me if my holder was okay when I came here tonight. You want to know the truth? No, he's not. His dad sucks and he's always alone. Here we have two kids who love each other and they don't even realize it! Do you know how much better their relationship will be? They'll become better partners and heroes."

Tikki softened her expression. "You really care about him."

"I always care about my cats, but that doesn't mean that I won't have fun with them along the way."

"Maybe...maybe you're right."

Plagg grinned. "What was that, Sugarcube? I didn't quite catch that."

Tikki rolled her eyes and sighed. "I said that maybe you're right."

"Finally! You admit it."

"I'm not saying that you're always right. You just so happen to be right this one time."

"Come on! There were plenty of other times that I was correct! I was right about Archduke Franz Ferdinand."

"No, you weren't."

"Oh, yes I was."

"You started World War I."

"Agree to disagree."

"Fine," Tikki said, making a dismissive gesture, "So, what are we supposed to do now? Are we just going to let them figure it out on their own?"

"No, we nudge them. They need help," Plagg explained, "I will give this paper to Adrien tomorrow morning, and I will try to convince him to ask out Marinette."

"How is that going to help them figure out each other's identities?"

"We're just going to have to improvise when opportunities arise. It's not like we haven't done that before."

"Okay. I'll do my best with Marinette. I'll try to figure something out."

"Just think, once they're a couple, we'll get to spend more time together." Plagg nuzzled Tikki as he spoke.

"I've missed you, too, Stinky Sock."

With the paper in hand, Plagg flew over to the window that led to the balcony. Tikki followed behind closely.

Before phasing through the glass, he turned to the red Kwami. "Just one more thing. Adrien feels like he can be himself when he's Chat Noir. There are very few people in his civilian life who see that side of him. Ladybug has turned him down more than once. I have to ask...how does she really feel about her partner?"

Tikki smiled as she responded. "She values his friendship and cares for him deeply. While she gets frustrated by his recklessness and when he jokes around during a fight, she has a soft spot for the cat. She won't admit it, but I think she's starting to fall for him."

Plagg beamed. "Good. We might just be able to make this work."