Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous. All rights go to Thomas Astruc.

Unraveling

Summary: A male Chinese student brings out Adrien's Chat-like tendencies, and things soon spiral out of control. Inspired by this. Happy birthday, Gin the-dancing-squirrel

Tso Liang is a cute guy with dark eyes and an upturned nose. More than how he looks, though, Marinette likes his smile—it's not quite cocky but it's close, and it makes her blush because she thinks of Chat, leaning against a wall and delivering puns like it is his job. She tries her best to compose herself, smiling at Liang's host sister as she waves, turning towards the stairs to look for Adrien: he is, after all, the one with the flawless Mandarin.

Adrien jumps when he hears them enter, dropping his pen and closing his notebook in a rush. He'd been doodling hearts across the pages, writing Ladybug's name next to his own. He thanks all his lucky stars he doesn't blush easily, and pulls himself together. "Marinette!" It's strange to see her in school, not only on time but also very early, so Adrien tilts his head. "You're here."

She goes red and he blinks, mentally slapping himself for being so rude and embarrassing her. He tends to speak before he thinks when he's around Marinette, and while it's usually not a big deal, sometimes his crush shines through.

Marinette waves her hands in the air, stuttering, "Oh, yes—well—you see," Marinette laughs, gesturing at the boy next to her, which Adrien hadn't noticed until now. "We have an exchange student but his French isn't very good and my Mandarin is, um…"

Adrien smiles. "You want me to translate?" He slides off his seat, coming to stand in front of them. He extends out his hand, the Mandarin flowing smoothly thanks to the private lessons. "Nice to meet you, I'm Adrien."

The guy brightens up at hearing his own language. "Adrien Agreste! I've heard of you, you were in Shanghai a few weeks ago?" Adrien nods, fixing a polite smile in place. "I'm Tso Liang, it's a pleasure to meet you. I didn't know you went to school."

Adrian looks at Marinette, who is glancing in between him and Liang. "It's recent." Maybe he would have elaborated if Liang had not been so familiar with his name, but he makes sure to be curt. It's not because he wants to be disagreeable; it's more a question of awkwardness on his part. "Anyway, this is Marinette?" He trails off, assuming Liang must already know her name.

"Oh yes, she's cute, isn't she?"

Adrien stills. "Yes, I suppose she is."

Liang chuckles, "Can you ask if she has a boyfriend?"

Adrien smiles—systematic and slow, like he does when he models—squashing down the urge to hiss and chase the guy out of Paris. "A boyfriend?" He is surprised at how forward Liang is, and he doesn't like it—not only because it's Marinette, but especially because it's her.

"Yeah, I like her!" Liang winds his arm around Marinette's shoulders and Adrien sees red, the color of blood and the color of anger, and for a second he's ready to knock the guy into a table with Chat Noir's baton. "Do you have a boyfriend, lovely?" he asks a flustered Marinette, perhaps in hopes of her understanding his words this time.

"Yes, she does have a boyfriend," he says before his brain catches up to his mouth. His body moves on his own, winding one arm around her waist and pulling her to his side, away from Liang. "I'm her boyfriend." Marinette lets out a peep, prompting Adrien to peek at her from the corner of his eye, and he notes with much satisfaction that she is much redder than she had been a second ago.

Good. Adrien's so much better than that prick.

Liang takes a step back. "Oh," he says, "I'm, well, I didn't know, my deepest apologies, I just assumed…"

Adrien gives him a Chat Noir smirk looking for all the word like he's not panicking at the lie, which he most certainly is, because this is the worst possible time for his crush to act up. "She's not single, obviously. I do have eyes, you see." It is what Chat Noir would have said, but he doubts Liang is familiar with Chat Noir—yet—so a little bravado isn't a problem, right?

"Um, Adrien?" Marinette's whisper breaks him out of his thoughts, but he still has that cocky smirk on his face when he looks down at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, princess?" he purrs. Marinette's jaw falls open. Adrien's eyes widen, catching his mistake a second after the words leave his mouth. He is now very aware that Liang may not be familiar with Chat Noir, but Marinette is, and she's even met his alter ego. With a little pushing, she can figure out his identity and that makes it a no-no to be Chat Noir-ish around her.

"Chat Noir?" she says, her voice rising in pitch until his ears hurt, tearing his arm off her with a jerk. She grabs his shoulders, leaning in to take a better look at his face. Adrien makes his most innocent face, hoping to look more like his civilian self and less like an akuma-fighting superhero. Marinette gasps, though. "Chat Noir!"

"No, no, no, no," he waves his hand in a dismissive way, but realizes that's what his cat self would do. He looks around, searching for some form of inspiration to ground himself, but only catching sight of a confused exchange student, which serves to derail his thoughts further. He is just a boy wearing too many masks, and now he can feel one of them slipping. "Chat Noir, me? No," Marinette backs away from him, shaking her head. She almost trips over her feet as she sprints out of the classroom. "Please wait, I'm not…" Adrien feels each beat of his heart with terrifying clarity, thoughts of exposure and Ladybug plaguing—oh, that's good one—his mind. Adrien follows after Marinette, his mind whirling with thoughts of what Hawkmoth could if Chat Noir's identity got revealed by a scared schoolgirl.

Marinette turns a corner, Adrien right behind her, but when he gets there she is already gone. He looks around the empty hallway, checking the ceiling to make sure, but Marinette's gone.

"I can explain!"

His words receive no response, but Adrien soon hears footsteps behind him. Relieved, he turns around, disappointment dawning on his face when he is met with the Chinese student. "Problems with the girlfriend?" he says, cocky smirk in place, and Adrien decides that chasing this boy out of France might be worth blowing his cover after all.

Just a scant hours later, dozens of people know about the exchange student. Adrien had stormed off in an effort to not make it clear what he thought of Liang, leaving the boy to find his way to his host sister Aimee, who for some reason or another had told everyone what had happened in the morning.

The whole school thinks Adrien and Marinette are together.

"You're dating?" Alya had squealed, her mouth dropping open before jumping from her seat. "Where's Marinette? Why didn't she tell me?" She'd turned to Adrien, her fingers twitching. "When did it start? How did it happen? I knew you'd be perfect for each other!" She'd bouncing besides a gaping Nino, who had stared at Adrien like he'd grown a second head.

"Um," he'd laughed, nervousness audible in his voice, before making a vague sound of acquiescence, too shocked to formulate a tactful denial. Alya, however, had screamed, catching the attention of the rest of their class, and he'd been swamped with congratulations and a chorus of I-knew-its. It had been too late to take it back.

Adrien spends the rest of the day fielding questions about Marinette, such as why they have been keeping their relationship a secret or where she was right now. "She's not feeling well," he says.

To his right, Alya nods. "She's not answering her phone, I'm a little worried about her." Alya brightens up. "We should go visit her after school."

Adrien bites his lip. "I think we should let her rest for a while. She needs her rest, I think." He grips the strap of his backpack tighter, hoping he gets a chance to talk to Marinette before Alya can.

Maybe they can feign an abrupt breakup soon, or one of them can pretend they'd been trying to make some unnamable person jealous. Adrien can't keep the pretense of a relationship going because he isn't allowed to date, and soon enough someone would either inform his father or the newspapers would find out.

It doesn't look like Marinette will reveal Adrien is Chat Noir: if she hadn't told Alya by this point, he doesn't think she will tell anyone at all.

Adrien transforms in his room, climbing up walls instead of leaping as he normally would, mindful of the time of day. The sun won't set for some time yet, and that means Chat Noir can be spotted charging out of Adrien's room by an attentive guard. He jumps from building to building, running through the Paris rooftops with far more care than usual, losing himself in the repetition of his actions and the way the wind blew against his face.

He makes a smooth landing on her balcony, steeling himself for what's to come. He steps towards the trapdoor, the glass door allowing him to see Marinette, conveniently sitting on top of her bed.

Adrien knocks, half-expecting her to be startled—after all, most people wouldn't come in from above. Instead, she looks up at him with visible calm, climbing up into the balcony. Marinette sets her hands on her hips, taking a deep breath.

"Adrien?" He can tell from the way her voice trembles that she is only pretending to be confident.

Adrien clasps his hands behind his back. Chat usually does it as he puffs out his chest, but he feels so vulnerable right now, more like Adrien than like Chat. Right now he clasps his hands in order to hide how they shake, shoulders hunched as if to hide away from the girl in front of him. It is strange to be Adrien when he is wearing the costume, but Chat Noir is more than the catsuit he wears.

"It's me," he sighs, because he has nothing else to say. He wracks his brain for something else, something that can put her at ease. "I'm sorry about today. I didn't mean to drag you into this."

Marinette jerks her head in a nod, a sharp gesture that doesn't fit her personality in the slightest. She has always been bubbly and upbeat, even if she'd been reserved around him. It puts him on edge to see her acting so different.

"I guess it isn't anyone's fault, Chat Noir." Ah, so she will be calling him Chat Noir—which he is, of course, but she doesn't think of him as Adrien anymore, and why should she, really? The truth is that he is a liar; that he had been lying to Nino, Chloe, Marinette herself, his father…

Yes, Adrien Agreste is a liar.

Sometimes he feels like he doesn't exist, like he's some byproduct of having Plagg around. He hates the masks he wears, the polite words he uses to charm his way through a room of people as Adrien and the snarky way he talks when he is Chat. They are both a part of the real Adrien Agreste, but no one knows him as both and that means he doesn't exist.

Adrien is in front of the cameras all day, both as Chat and as Adrien, but he is invisible regardless.

"Marinette," he says, tentative. She looks up, blue eyes sliding away after a second. "I know this is difficult to wrap your head around, but it's still me."

"Still you," she repeats, smiling for the first time. It is not a happy smile, more sardonic than anything else.

There is a pause before Adrien says, "Nothing has to change." He steps forward. To his surprise, Marinette mirrors him, as if she is determined to prove she is okay with their proximity. "I'm still Adrien."

Marinette meets his eyes with her own. They are a dark blue color, brought out by the highlights in her hair. It is strange, how much she reminds him of Ladybug, from the eyes to the brief flashes of strength when he isn't around. He supposes he has a type.

"You're Chat Noir too." She looks him up and down, her eyes lingering on the end of his tail. He hides it behind him by reflex, self-conscious. Adrien's hand rises to his neck, suppressing the urge to start moving around. There is a string of ornamental lights right behind Marinette, and he has the most insistent urge to play with them.

"But nothing has to change." They don't have to talk more or less often. She doesn't have to treat him like Chat or Adrien or anyone, really. He has often wondered why she behaves so differently around his two personas, but nothing has to change. "We can pretend this never happened if you want, Princess."

"I can't do that, ki… Chat Noir." Marinette taps the tip of her toe against the floor, up and down and again. He follows the motion with his eyes, not knowing what to do to make her less nervous. It's so frustrating: Adrien has spent his whole life pleasing people based on how they act, but he has never understood Marinette.

Her hands hang slack by her sides. He leans forward to grab them, bringing them between them. She stares at them—his gloved hands clasped within his own, the claws and the leather making them look much bigger than they are. She pulls hers away, and for a moment Adrien feels disappointment flash over him, but the feeling fades when she rests her hands on top of his own, rubbing at the black leather.

Adrien wonders what this would feel like without the gloves and wonders, also, if she would have dared do this is he wasn't wearing the suit. Not for the first time, he wonders what it is about his school persona that puts her off so much.

"When will the transformation wear off?" She sounds hesitant, but she keeps her hands on top of his.

"It won't unless I fight an akuma. Or if a very long time passes," he adds, "but we're safe, trust me."

She raises her eyes from their hands, never stopping the petting. There is something in her eyes that he can't begin to understand. "Can I see?" She lets his hands fall. There is nothing to miss, Adrien reminds himself, because she had never touched his skin, but it is still hard to convince himself.

It is ridiculous, how Marinette has so much sway over him and she doesn't know it.

"See what?" Chat feels the way his hair shifts with the movement of his ears. He makes a conscious effort to perk them up because he knows they give away his nervousness.

"See you transform back." She raises her hands, shaking her head. "Not that you have to! It would just… be helpful."

Chat blinks, not having expected that. His eyes sweep through her balcony, finding it charming but ultimately far too exposed to transform. "Not here," he says. "But if I could come in?"

Chat expects her to say no, but she nods, stepping aside to let him through the trapdoor.

"Don't land on your feet!" He jumps headfirst, landing with his hands and rolling to the end of the bed, perching himself on the loft's railing.

"A little warning would have been useful," he mutters. Adrien had almost rolled past, and while the fall wouldn't have hurt him when he is transformed, it would have still been unpleasant.

"What was that, ki-Cha-Adrien?" Marinette lands on her feet, slippers held in her hand.

"Nothing, this is cozy." Her room is compact and charming, very different from his own. It feels more personal and like something she had decorated herself, and Adrien has no doubt she had. It looks just the same as the last time he'd been here, when they had practiced for the gaming tournament. "This brings back memories."

Marinette blushes. "It does." Adrien just wishes to make her smile. The last time he'd been here, they'd had fun and there had been no fake future break-ups to take care of or secret identities for Marinette to keep when it wasn't her responsibility to do so.

Marinette moves off the bed, making her way down the stairs, giving Adrien an expectant look. Understanding, he slackens his grip on the railing, jumping to the floor bellow. Despite the confined space, he manages to pull off a flip. He graces Marinette with a proud smile, only to see her with her arms crossed, looking far from amused.

Adrien feels a pang in his chest because that is the same look Ladybug would have given him.

"I'm sorry," he says, grinning.

"You're not sorry at all," she mutters under her breath, but Adrien catches it. His good mood evaporates when Marinette turns to him, her expression grave.

It's silly to be nervous right now, given that Marinette already knows who he is, but there is something so intimate about taking off the mask in front of her. He doesn't want to make a fool of himself in front of her, but he likes her and for some reason she is the one person he knows who can stump him like this. If she acts like this around Chat—who she likes—how will she act around Adrien, who she doesn't?

Adrien lets go of the transformation, closing his eyes as he feels Plagg dive underneath his jacket from behind, apparently too shy to meet Marinette. He keeps his eyes shut, waiting for Marinette's reaction, but he peeks at her when she remains wordless.

Marinette bites her lip, her eyes roving all over his face, as if she is trying to match his features to Chat Noir's. "I can't believe I never noticed," she says, her voice little more than a whisper. There are sounds coming from the busy bakery downstairs, Adrien knows, but it all fades away when he sees the look on Marinette's face. She takes a step towards him, gaze fixed on his hair as one of her hands rise to touch it. "It's so obvious now."

He tries to find his voice, but Marinette starts running her fingers through his hair, the movement making him purr low in his throat. He leans into her touch as she adds her other hand, bringing her ever closer so that she stands in front of him, arms encircling his neck. Her fingers drift through his hair with ease, lulling him until he rests his forehead on her shoulder. Marinette's neck smells like vanilla and her hair like strawberries, the scents mixing around him as she hums, gliding her fingers through blonde locks.

Adrien wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Marinette's humming grows louder, and he smiles because she is the one acting like a cat now. Her fingers continue their motion as he tilts his head, brushing his nose against the curve of her neck, drawing a gasp from her lips. He does it again as she resumes her humming, her hands pulling more than caressing now.

He raises his head, far too lost to understand how close she is or why they'd never done this before. Everything about her is hypnotizing, from her eyes to her voice, to the way she feels in his arms, the personification of warmth. Marinette tugs at the strands at the back of his neck and Adrien follows, their breadths mixing for a second before he brushes his lips against hers.

And that's how Marinette's mother finds them, Alya and Nino in tow, coming in from the trapdoor.