Adrien wasn't especially keen on clubs. They were noisy, loud, sweaty and full of drunk people. They smelled, deafened him and managed to make him simultaneously want to curl up in bed and go on a killing spree.

Seriously, did nobody understand the sentence "Excuse me, please" anymore?!

But Nino had insisted. He'd said Adrien had needed to get out of the dorm once in a while, that he was going to turn into a vampire and hiss at sunlight if he didn't come. He'd had a point - Adrien knew he'd been spending far too much time in his room lately, but he also knew that there was a good reason for that; he didn't like the outside. It had people in.

Gross.

Nino had wheedled with his roommate for about an hour to try and get him here, only succeeding when he threatened to hide Adrien's laptop charger. When asked why he wanted to go to the club so badly all of a sudden, Nino had turned red and mumbled something unintelligible, so Adrien knew it had something to do with the girl Nino had been pining after for a couple of months, the one he sat next to in Media Studies. So he'd finally agreed to come, even if only to finally see the famous Alya (and protect his laptop).

The boys could hear the thumping music exuding from the club from down the street, and the neon sign was kind of hard to miss. Adrien didn't manage to hide his groan from his roommate at the prospect of the hours to come, so Nino rolled his eyes and dragged the blond forwards, reminding him of his promise to come and wingman. Adrien was kind of looking forwards to watching Nino 'flirt' with the girl he'd heard so much about, but the anticipation was almost outweighed by fear/disgust.

He'd eventually taken pity on Nino (plus feared for the safety of his charger) as his roommate wasn't exactly coherent around girls, much less ones he liked. Furthermore, Nino had (unwisely) decided to down about four Red-Bulls before coming to calm his nerves (great choice of beverage), presumably to either give himself courage or a heart attack, so Adrien had decided that Nino would both be needing someone to phone him an ambulance as well as film the whole thing.

But the prospect of his roommate possibly wetting himself in front of his crush wasn't quite enough to make Adrien look forward to the experience- there were only so many people he could take breathing on him before he went insane. He still went, though- he wasn't going to miss Nino going into 'Ladies' mode'.

They bought their entrance and both took steadying deep breaths- each for different reasons. Nino's to prepare himself for crush-interaction, Adrien's to prepare himself for other people-interaction.

When the bouncer opened the door, the two were immediately smacked in the face with both the heat and the smell. Adrien nearly bailed there and then, but one look at Nino's face told him that that wasn't an advisable option. Swallowing his disgust, fear and reluctance, he managed to shove his way through the densely-packed, damp, slightly tipsy bodies in front of him as he and Nino wormed their way fully into the club.

It was loud. Boy, was it loud. And smelly. And warm. And he wanted to leave.

The flashing of the strobe lights, coupled with the dizzying heat and smell of alcohol were already enough to give him the sinister beginnings of a headache. Adrien looked longingly back towards the exit as he and Nino squirmed towards the bar, but he knew that if he left then Nino would probably bail on his chance with Alya in his wingman-less state, and then physically murder him once he caught up. Adrien knew he could take Nino, but wasn't anxious to experience the dejected groaning he'd be sure to be on the receiving end of, once Nino had failed at talking to Alya. So he breathed deeply, (which turned out to be a horrific assault on his nostrils) and ordered a beer from the bar.

The drink was just about alcoholic enough to relax him after a good few gulps, so he managed to bring himself to perch on the edge of one of the less-than-sanitary – looking bar stools. He watched Nino down two pints in about forty seconds, and shook his head exasperatedly. Nino's flirting was shaky at best, and that was when he was sober. Adrien knew that the alcohol was as calming for his friend as it was for him, but it did nothing for Nino's social skills, other than making him stop wanting to jump out of a window rather than talking to his crush.

"Nino, mate, you might want to slow down." He suggested, raising his voice above the thumping music as he set his mostly-full glass down on the bar next to him. Nino glanced at him, bouncing on the balls of his feet anxiously.

"I'm just nervous. Alya is… Alya is really hot."

Adrien snorted.

"Great. Sounds like you two will have a really meaningful and sophisticated relationship."

"Shut up, Adrien." Nino groaned, and slumped into the bar stool next to the blond. Adrien cautiously moved his drink out of the way of Nino's flailing arms as he grew more and more panicked. "It's not like that. It's just she's so out of my league, and she's smart, and funny, and sweet. And her being hot just makes her, like, unattainable, y'know?"

"It'll be fine. You said she was the one who suggested meeting here, right? Sounds to me like you're not the only one interested in a relationship. Just calm down, okay? And for the love of God, don't ingest any more fluids. Your blood is probably about 40% caffeinated drinks and alcohol right now, and we don't want you either pissing yourself or having a heart attack."

Nino buried his face in his hands at the less-than-supportive ending of Adrien's pep talk. Adrien laughed and patted his friend on the shoulder.

"Bro, you'll be fine. Just please, get this over with, so I can go home."

Nino looked up and rolled his eyes.

"You need friends, dude."

"I have friends." Adrien replied defensively, sipping his drink as something to do other than look at Nino.

"No," the other boy laughed, "you have a me and a laptop. Seriously, other than class, how often do you leave the room? This is good for you, okay? Relax. Make friends. Make me look good in front of Aly- ahh-aaaahhh…" At Nino's abrupt vocal spasm, Adrien looked up to see his friend's gaze focused somewhere in the club before them, so he tried to follow it. He saw the approaching figure, and smirked.

"Oh, so that's Alya?" He said, his tone approving and speculative.

Nino nodded wordlessly, a bizarre mess of expressions on his face.

"I see what you mean." Adrien nodded as the object of Nino's fixation drew nearer. "She's totally out of your league."

He turned round to casually take a sip of his drink, snorting as he did so when Nino let out a sort of strangled shout as the brunette arrived next to them. Adrien was nearly pushed off his stool as Nino slammed a punch into his shoulder, but the jibes about his love for both his laptop and the indoors were too recent for him to feel too badly about his last-minute trolling.

"Hi, Nino." An unfamiliar female voice greeted his friend, slightly breathless and even with his back turned, Adrien could hear the smile she doubtless had plastered on her face.

"H- Hey, Alya." Nino managed to choke out, quickly standing up and unsteadily offering her his chair.

Adrien set his drink back down and turned to the other two, barely hiding a smirk at the sight of their nervous, slightly flirtatious, but overall just very cute smiles. Nino was staring at the girl as she moved gratefully past him to plop down next to Adrien, and the boy was obviously starstruck. Judging by the tension on the brunette's face and the slight blush that adorned her cheeks, Alya felt the same way. Adrien waited for a moment, the two lovebirds shyly avoiding the others' gaze, before he cleared his throat.

Nino jumped, apparently just remembering that Adrien existed.

"Oh!" His voice cracked, and he turned scarlet. "Oh." He overcompensated when Alya looked at him, his voice gravelly and deep. "Uh, Alya, this is Adrien. My roommate. The one I told you about."

Alya giggled, turning to Adrien and looking him up and down appraisingly.

"Ah."

Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"Is that a good 'ah'? And nice to meet you, Alya."

She tossed her hair as she turned to smirk at Nino, who was visibly relaxing.

"It's a good 'ah', definitely. And it's nice to meet you too. I've heard a lot about you."

"All good things, I hope." Adrien said easily, and felt relieved as he saw Nino visibly relaxing after prolonged exposure to his crush. As much as he was half-looking forwards to seeing Nino make a fool of himself, he loved the dude and wanted him to be happy. He just hoped his friend didn't blow it.

"It's been a mix." Alya admitted, and Nino chuckled, shoulders relaxing.

"Oh yeah?" Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Got any examples?"

"I just told her that you're a Physics nerd and spend far too much time inside with the curtains closed. Like, introvert to the max." Nino replied and Adrien snorted.

"Yeah. Sounds like that about sums me up. Social scenes are not my scene. Prefer me a good ol' movie marathon to a club."

"Hmm, like I said," Alya grinned, "you'll get on well with Marinette." She flashed a look towards Nino that ominously told Adrien that he was missing out on something. He raised an eyebrow.

"Marinette? Who's that?"

Nino grinned, leaning his elbow on the edge of the bar. "Marinette is Alya's roommate." He explained, and Adrien's brow furrowed somewhat.

"Okay?"

He looked from Nino to Alya, their barely-hidden smirks indicative of ulterior motives for them meeting here tonight. Suddenly Adrien wondered whether Nino's blind panic earlier had been less genuine and more of a ploy to get him here.

"Wait, what have you done?"

Alya's eyebrows raised in an unconvincing show of innocence, and Nino turned away to hide his face.

"We haven't done anything," the brunette insisted, mock-insulted.

Adrien groaned.

"Please tell me you're not trying to set me up with your roommate."

Nino turned back to him and grinned.

"Fine. We won't tell you."

"Gah."

Alya chuckled, and wrapped an arm around Nino's waist, pretending not to notice the oh-so-manly squawk he emitted when she did.

"Marinette's adorable, you're going to love her, Adrien."

"I'm sure I would," Adrien shook his head, "but Nino, you know I'm uncomfortable with this sort of thing. I… well, social interactions aren't my strong suit. What if I do something mortifying and terrify the poor girl? I haven't even met her yet, and you two are telling me I have to act all suave and cool in aid of impressing her?"

Nino patted his friend's shoulder, and Alya's phone ding-ed. She checked it as Nino spoke.

"Bro, you'll be fine. I've met her, and she is so your type. She's tiny and cute and funny and smart, and… other things." The boy winked at Alya, who, smirking like a Cheshire cat, showed him the text on her phone. Nino rushed to cover his mouth with a hand as a snort pushed it's way out. Adrien looked on in horror as the other two shared yet another indecipherable look, and suddenly he really wanted to see what that text said.

"Show me." He demanded, holding his palm out commandingly. Alya grinned and shook her head.

"Nope. I think it should be a surprise. More fun that way."

"More fun for who?" Adrien reached out insistently, until Alya shoved the phone back into her pockets- where he was slightly less willing to forcibly retrieve it from. "Come on, guys, please don't do this to me." He pleaded, looking at Nino with big, round eyes.

Nino patted him on the shoulder again, pseudo-sympathetic as a shit-eating grin wormed its way across his face.

"Adrien, you're going to be fine. Marinette's going to love you, and you're going to love her."

"What was the text about? And who was it from?" Adrien was growing desperate.

"It was just… Marinette letting Alya know which outfit she'd decided to go with." Nino's words could have left a lot to the imagination, were it not for the look he sent Adrien along with them. And his next words, too. "She's going to be just your type."

"My type? I don't have a type! I- nice people. Pretty girls. That's my type." Adrien spluttered.

"Hmm." Alya looked pensive. "What about total knock-outs?"

The blond groaned and turned to smack his head repeatedly against the bar. This was going to be a disaster. Marinette sounded nice, but his flirting was actually a little akin to Nino's in its incomprehensibility- i.e. he couldn't flirt. Especially around 'knock-outs'. He knew he'd been single for too long, and he kind of did want a relationship, but he wasn't good at suave confidence when he was trying to impress. It was easy to be cool around Alya because he wasn't interested in seeming cool. But flirting made that all disappear.

And what if she wasn't interested? What if she was out of his league? What if he wasn't her type? And vice versa- what if she was awful?

But Nino tended to be a very good judge of character, and if this Marinette had passed muster then Adrien figured she couldn't be too bad.

"What's she expecting?" He asked flatly, his voice muffled by the fact his face was still squashed against the bar.

There was a pause, and he turned back round to see the other two thinking. It was worrying.

"Well…" Alya began slowly, "all we told her was that Nino and I were meeting up, and Nino was going to be bringing a friend."

"And I believe there was a little bit of suggestive winking on Alya's part." Nino added, and Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Then I told her that she should make an effort, and that she needed to get away from the mannequin once in a while, and it would do her good to meet a nice, wholesome, very hot boy."

Adrien had apparently chosen the wrong time to continue his beer, as the fountain of alcohol that spewed from his mouth in shock left his friend(s?(Did Alya count as a friend yet?)) slightly damp.

"What?" He choked, his eyes watering as he tried not to let the liquid he'd inhaled reach his lungs.

Alya chuckled, wiping her skirt off exaggeratedly.

"She hasn't dated in a while, so… And we needed to talk you up in order to get her to come."

"And you think I'm the guy to remedy that? And that's the description you chose to give her?"

Nino grinned, his nervousness around Alya all but forgotten at the expression on his best friend's face. This was very entertaining.

"She seemed into it."

"She turned scarlet." Alya agreed, little clicking noises coming from her phone as she tapped out a response.

"What?"

"She blushes a lot." The brunette clarified, smirking at her phone. "It's very funny, and if high school was anything to go by, also very endearing."

Adrien chose not to read into that, shaking his head. He opened his mouth to ask another question when the DJ changed the track and Alya and Nino started, then gave each other large grins.

"Our song!" They chorused, and Adrien frowned.

"You two have a song? I thought this was your first date… thing."

Nino looked back at him and grinned.

"I had to twist the deets of our relationship a little just so you'd feel sorry enough for me to come along and wingman- slash- watch me piss myself."

Adrien turned crimson.

"Why you little-"

"Come on," Alya chuckled, tugging Nino by the hand towards the dance floor. "Let's leave Adrien and Marinette to their own devices. She'll be here any minute and I think they're going to want privacy!"

"Wait- wait!" Adrien cried, pouncing after them. "You're leaving me alone with her? I have never met this girl before! How will I know it's her? I don't even know what she looks like."

The other two shared a look, and then Nino turned back to the blond with a mocking sigh.

"You're a grown-up boy, now, Adrien. I'm sure you can handle yourself around a pretty girl." Adrien narrowed his eyes, but Nino ploughed on. "And she told Alya she was going to wear black high-waisted jeans, and a white lace crop top."

"Probably pigtails." Alya added. "So good luck! I have condoms in case it goes well, and Marinette has my number… have fun!"

Adrien squawked as he watched the two disappear into the wall of heaving bodies. He stood still for a moment, utterly horror-struck. This was going to be a fiasco. He debated just leaving now, but then realised how that would make the girl feel. Imagine if you sounded so awful that your blind date left before he'd even met you?

Plus, he was a little interested. From what Alya had said about mannequins, Marinette was interested in clothes and fashion, and honestly he kind of digged the whole artist thing in a girl. He did sort of want to meet a nice girl, and now he was out of his room he may as well make the most of the outside world before he inevitably left it forever once more.

So it was with a heavy sigh that he turned around and made his way back to his seat by the bar, and began practicing a variety of greetings. How did you start a conversation with someone whose only, limited knowledge of you included the words 'very hot'?

"Hello." He muttered, tracing his pinkie around the lip of his pint glass. "Hell-o. He-llo. Hi, Adrien. Hey, it's Adrien. Adrien's the name, and… coolness is my game. Yeah, no. Hi, Marinette. Wait, what if she doesn't realise it's me and just wonders how this random dude knows her name? Hi, I'm Adrien. Hiya. Heya- wait, who even says that anymore? Ugh, yeah- heya, I'm Adrien, guuhhhh…" he made a face, imagining how mad he would seem to anyone he said that two. He scrubbed at his forehead with the back of his hand and downed the rest of his drink.

"Hi. Agreste. Adrien Agreste. Double- oh- seven. You've been expecting me." He mimed little finger guns and pew-pew-d them at the wall before looking around embarrassedly and shoving his hands back into his pockets.

"Get a bloody grip, for the love of God." He begged under his breath, hoping like hell that no-one saw that. Especially not Marinette.

He sighed, and swivelled his chair slightly, absentmindedly staring at the bottles on display behind the bar. This… wasn't going to go well.

"Excuse me…" a quiet voice said behind him, and he jerked round to see a girl staring at him nervously, teeth nibbling shyly at her bottom lip.

She was pretty. Really pretty

And- apparently- that was all it took for Adrien to forget the entirety of the English language, as well as all etiquette and politeness.

"Huh?"

She looked at him warily.

"I… uh, I was just wondering whether this seat was taken?" She pointed to the chair next to him.

Adrien blinked.

"Yeah, sure. Wait, I mean no."

The girl looked confused, and honestly he didn't blame her. He was totally incoherent, and he'd only had one beer. If this was what he was like around any old girl, imagine what he'd be like around the girl he was meant to be flirting with.

"Uh… so i- is it taken or can I take it?" The girl stuttered slightly, which he bizarrely found very endearing, as well as the pinkness that dusted her cheeks.

"No, it- it's not taken. So you can take it. If you want."

"Thanks." She smiled slightly, and hopped onto the chair next to him. The bartender came over, and she ordered a beer, humming a little tune under her breath as she waited.

Adrien was panicking a little- he hadn't known what to say. The seat wasn't taken, at least not yet. But what if Marinette came and wanted to sit down? The chair on his other side was occupied, and there weren't any chairs together free in the rest of the club, from what he could see. He didn't want to have to stand awkwardly next to the bar all night after chivalrously offering her his seat, and he definitely didn't want to go onto the dance floor.

But he couldn't tell this girl that it was taken- what if Marinette didn't show and he just ended up looking like a gigantic douchenozzle for telling a random girl she couldn't sit next to him?

Unless…

Could coincidence be so sweet?

Adrien snuck a glance at the girl next to him as she drummed her fingers nervously on the bar. What had their friends said Marinette would be wearing? Black jeans, white shirt, pigtails, right? He surreptitiously looked her up and down, desperately not wanting to look like he was checking her out.

Red skater skirt, black sleeveless turtleneck and lightly curled but loose hair. He didn't know whether to be relieved or not- at least he hadn't had that awkward first encounter with the girl he was supposed to be impressing- but now it was the chair dilemma all over again.

But he was distracted from his internal confusion as he looked at the girl a little harder. She really was pretty. She looked like she had some Asian heritage- Chinese, maybe? Her hair was raven black, but the lights of the club made it look almost blue. Her skin was like porcelain, pale and perfect, but with a light smattering of freckles across her nose. She was petite, but her hunched shoulders and agitated fidgeting showed him that she was just as uncomfortable as him, if not more so.

Adrien wanted to open a conversation up with her- if only for something to do as he waited- but how would it look to Marinette if she got here and he was already talking to another girl?

He resigned himself to a few more minutes of bored silence and played with the empty beer bottle next to his empty glass. He checked the clock on his phone at regular intervals too, just like the girl next to him. Apparently they were both waiting for someone who had decided to take their time. They made awkward eye contact with each other every now and then and gave polite/embarrassed smiles, but neither seemed inclined to start an interaction.

Adrien had nearly finished picking the label off the beer bottle when his shoulder was barged roughly as someone pushed past him towards the bar and he nearly fell off his chair. Righting himself angrily, he saw the back of a man's head as he leaned obnoxiously over the bar to loudly and rudely grab the bartender's attention and demand a beer.

Adrien narrowed his eyes, but didn't really care enough to go to all the trouble of starting a confrontation. He just shook his head and looked over to see the girl on the chair next to him making a face across the guy's back. He made one at her and saw her giggle, just as the man turned away from the bar.

Adrien could tell the minute the guy noticed her, because his whole demeanour changed. His back straightened, his muscles flexed (seriously?) and a confident smirk came across his face.

"Hi." He jerked his chin at the girl, leaning back suggestively against the bar, and Adrien rolled his eyes. Try-hard, much?

"Hi." She replied shortly, turning away from him slightly, obviously trying to ward him away. But the man wasn't to be deterred.

"Theo." He gestured boldly to himself, and Adrien was fairly sure he saw a wink in there, too.

The bluenette raised an eyebrow.

"Cool."

"What about you?" Theo pressed, not getting the message even as the girl looked at him swiftly, before turning back towards the bar. She clearly didn't want to talk to the guy, but Adrien could tell she was both too polite and nervous to turn him down outright.

She cleared her throat.

"Uh, Mari."

"Nice name." Theo raised an eyebrow provocatively. When that brought no response from the girl, he raised an arm behind his head (nearly elbowing Adrien in the face as he did so) to run his fingers through his hair. Adrien noticed to his irritation and amusement that Theo's hair was pulled back into- oh, horror of horrors- a man-bun. He struggled to hold back a snort.

Theo was blatantly checking Mari out, and she looked uncomfortable with it, her shoulders tensing and fingers twisting into each other even as she tried to ignore him.

"Want to dance, Mari?" Theo asked, holding out his hand in what he probably thought was a really suave move. "I've got some pretty good moves myself, and I've got a feeling you know how to use that body."

Mari stiffened and Adrien narrowed his eyes. This guy was going a little far.

"No, thank you." She said curtly, her fingers gripping the edge of the bar.

"Oh, don't be like that, girl." Theo chuckled, his hand coming over to rest on Mari's shoulder. Adrien tensed. "Come on- you just need a little loosening up and then I reckon we could have some real fun, huh?"

Too far.

At Mari's squeak of both horror and outrage, Adrien cleared his throat.

"Hey man, she said no."

Theo turned to Adrien, eyes narrowing.

"Who the hell are you? Actually I don't care- get lost. I'm trying to have a conversation with this little lady."

"I can see that." Adrien replied, frowning. Who did this guy think he was? Sleazy lines, stupid hair and an even stupider goatee. "I can also see that it's making her uncomfortable, so I think you should leave her alone."

Angered, the man drew himself up to his full height, and Adrien could see Mari's face growing fearful over the guy's shoulder. That was enough to make him stand up, too.

"What did you say to me?" Theo's voice was low and dangerous, but Adrien wasn't about to back down. In his mind, there was no point in confrontation when it was only his shoulder's well-being in question, but he wasn't about to let this douche make Mari uncomfortable and upset.

"I said you should leave her alone."

Theo took a step towards Adrien, but the blond wasn't scared. He didn't look it, but he had years of training in karate, as well as a platinum gym membership that he made full use of. He could take this guy.

"And who the hell are you to tell me who to speak to?" Theo's breath stank of alcohol, and his eyes were slightly unfocused. He swayed a little on his feet, but his expression was determined and resolute.

"Just a guy. A guy who reckons you should leave if you know what's good for you." Adrien shrugged, but subtly made sure to flex his own muscles somewhat (both for Theo's and Mari's benefit.) The other man's jaw clenched and he stepped closer again.

"Was that a threat?" Theo growled, shoulders hulking and fists bunched. "Because I don't respond well to threats."

Was thata threat? Adrien wondered briefly.

"Not at all." He clarified, but took a step towards the other man anyway. At this, Mari slipped quietly off her bar stool, and Adrien saw her clutching at her purse as she stood- for a phone? Mace? Pepper spray? Who knew. "Just some friendly advice. I'm pretty sure Mari here doesn't want to talk to you, and I certainly don't. So you should go."

"Or what?" Theo spat, looking over his shoulder at Mari, who stiffened again. "I think Mari and I could have some real fun tonight, so if I left now, what would be the benefits to me if I left now?" He narrowed his eyes again, and then licked his lips as he stared at the girl.

Right.

Adrien straightened, feeling like he wanted to vomit- a feeling apparently shared by Mari, who looked utterly appalled.

"The benefit to you," Adrien said in a low voice, his breaths coming shallow and fast, "would be that I don't punch that stupid goatee right off your stupid face."

Adrien barely had time to register the look of outrage on the man's face (and the vengeful satisfaction that came with it) before there was a fist coming straight for his face. Unworried, he deftly ducked left as it arced towards him, and Theo's fist landed with a metallic thunk on the rim of the bar behind him. Letting out a howl of pain and fury, Theo pulled back his hand and cradled it to his chest. Eyes beady and spittle flying from his lips, he glowered at the blond, who somehow found the gall within himself to casually shove his hands in his pockets and shrug.

"You're gonna pay," Theo spat, advancing menacingly towards Adrien once more, who readied himself. Theo drew back his good arm and Adrien braced as it started to move towards him- but it didn't get very far.

Abruptly, there was a flash of red behind the other man. Mari deftly floored Theo with a well-placed kick to the back of the knee, and then, as Theo spun towards her as he fell, she landed a spectacular right cross right on his left cheek. His other leg buckled and failed to support him, so he landed gracelessly on his butt, his back to Adrien and his face to Mari.

Both Adrien and Theo were frozen in shock as the unassuming little bluenette stood there nonchalantly, breathing steadily like she floored sleazy creepers every day.

She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow at Theo, where he was sprawled on the floor of the bar. His face was comically astounded, like he couldn't quite comprehend what had just happened to him.

"You- you little whore," he snarled, making to stand up, but suddenly Mari darted forwards and grabbed his hand- the one he'd punched the bar with. She easily twisted it so Theo was forced to flip round so suddenly he was kneeling, cowering with his arm bent behind his back. Adrien folded his arms, an approving smirk coming over his face as Mari piled on the pressure and a whimper left the other man's face as he was pushed further down.

"Ivan," Mari called, her face calm and voice playful as she turned towards the hulking bartender, Theo still forcibly crumpled at her feet. "Could you give me a hand? My friend here needs a little help finding the exit."

An incredibly muscular (and slightly terrifying) guy around their age came round the bar and smirked at Mari, then at the man at her feet.

"Come on a bit strong, did he, Mari?" He chuckled, and Adrien stepped backwards to allow Ivan to take over as Theo's captor. Mari danced away as Ivan half-carried the man towards the door, Theo's pathetic growls and threats fading as the disappeared into the crowd.

"Something like that." She giggled delicately, and Adrien snorted. Mari turned to look at him, the smirk still on her face. He gave her a double thumbs up.

"Nice work." He congratulated her approvingly and a slight blush graced her cheeks… which Adrien found oddly distracting.

Mari ducked her head.

"Thanks." He could hear the smile in her voice even as she hid behind her hair. "And, uh, thanks to you, too. For standing up for me."

"Not like you really needed me to, though." He chuckled as they took their seats at the bar again.

Mari laughed.

"I guess not. But still, thank you. I'm not good at confrontation, really- I only use my wicked ninja skills when I truly need to."

"Ah." Adrien nodded sagely. "A wise choice. Otherwise, who knows how many countries would fall before you?"

Mari laughed again, and Adrien marvelled at the sound. It was like a bell. Or birds chirping. Or wind chimes. Or something.

"Right. Seriously, though- thank you. He was making me uncomfortable and I was just wondering how much more obvious I could be before he got the message, and then he kept on talking and then he put his hand on my shoulder… et cetera." She blushed again, but Adrien found her rambling endearing.

"You're welcome. I'm always happy to help out a damsel in distress." He stuck out his hand to her, grinning. "Adrien."

Smiling, Mari shook it.

"Hi, Adrien. I'm Mari."

"Can I buy you a drink? Unless you're here with someone…" Adrien was pretty sure she wasn't (they'd been here for, like, half an hour already) but he wanted to seem as un-pushy as possible.

After a slight pause, Mari nodded.

"Thanks, yeah, uh- I was meant to be meeting someone, but I don't think he's showing up." She shrugged, but still looked a little bothered. Adrien ordered two more beers from one of the other bartenders, by which time Ivan was making his way back to them, now sans Theo.

"All dealt with." The boy announced as he made his way back around the bar, grabbing a cleaning rag as he did so. "You certainly know how to pack a punch, Marinette. He was half-unconscious when I chucked him out."

Mari laughed again, and shot back a response, but Adrien's head was buzzing too loudly for him to hear it.

What?

He only realised that the girl had turned back to him and was speaking to him when she called his name.

"Um, Adrien?" She said in a slightly sing-song voice, waving her hand in front of his face.

"What?" He jumped, and shook his head. He stared at the girl next to him and she looked a little weirded-out.

"You okay?" She asked nervously.

"Marinette? That's what 'Mari' is short for?"

"Uh… yeah?"

Ohhhh.

Adrien cleared his throat and shook his head again.

"Who did you say you were waiting for?"

Marinette frowned and turned back to her beer.

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted, shrugging. "My roommate decided to set me up with her boyfriend's roommate. They didn't tell me anything other than he was into physics and, uh, very hot." She went slightly pink in the face, but smiled as she played with her beer bottle. "Needless to say, I was interested. But, I guess the douche decided I wasn't worth his time, because my roommate gave him my description and name, and he hasn't deigned to show up, so I've just been waiting here all alone. So..."

Adrien laughed, and Marinette looked at him oddly.

"Why did you want to know?"

Adrien leaned towards her.

"Well, I don't think that's what happened, to tell you the truth."

Mari frowned and leaned away from him, obviously concerned.

"What do you mean?"

He cleared his throat again, grinning embarrassedly.

"Well, for starters, I think your roommate only gave him your full name, and he was too much of an idiot to realise that 'Mari' was short for 'Marinette'. Then, I think he was having too much of an interesting time with the pretty girl next to him at the bar to go and ask his friends for her number, or an actual picture of her so he could go find her. And finally, I think Alya and Nino gave me the wrong description of you on purpose for a joke because they're really just the worst friends in the universe."

For a moment, Mari's brow furrowed, then she jerked backwards and gazed at him, her mouth slightly ajar.

"Oh. You're- oh. Oh."

There was a pause.

"Oh."

"You've said that." Adrien laughed nervously, stretching his hand up to scratch anxiously at the back of his neck. Another pause, and he searched desperately for something to say. "Soo, uh… fashion. That's cool."

"What?"

"Alya told me she struggled to get you away from the mannequin. I assume you're into fashion."

"Oh. Yeah. Right." Marinette blushed, and looked down at her fingers, which were twisting anxiously in her lap. Adrien tilted his head and frowned slightly.

"What?" He asked gently. "What's wrong?"

"I, uh, I don't think you're a douche."

Adrien blinked.

"Well. Good. Um, thanks?"

Marinette shook her head, obviously flustered.

"No, I-I mean, before, I said Nino's roommate was a douche because he decided not to show up and made me wait here all night, but you're not a douche, you're really nice and you stood up for me and you bought me a beer- and the description Nino gave me actually turned out to be really accurate- and then I called you a douche even though it was just a whole misunderstanding, and you probably think I'm just really rude and judgmental, and" she took a deep breath, "ohh-kay, I'm going to stop talking now." Marinette ducked behind her hair again, her cheeks pink.

Adrien struggled to process what she'd just said. To be fair, it had been quite a lot of information in a very short space of time- plus, his brain was kind of locking onto one single piece of information.

" 'Really accurate'?"

"Huh?" Mari looked up at him, confused.

Adrien cleared his throat.

"You, ah, you said that the description Nino gave of me was 'really accurate'."

If possible, the girl blushed even harder.

"Well- you, um- I mean- you're good and nice- you look nice- I mean good- no, uh…"

Adrien was laughing, his hand on forehead as he laughed at the horror on her face. Mari, still scarlet, look affronted, but a weak smile crossed her face. She pointed at him accusingly.

"You- you said I was pretty!"

Adrien sat up straighter, chuckling still.

"I did, I did." He conceded, resting his elbows on his knees and leaning towards her. "I don't take it back."

"Uh…" Mari looked flustered but flattered. "Thanks. Y- you're pretty, too. No! You're good. Hot! I think- you know what, screw you!" Adrien was laughing again, so she groaned and buried her face in her hands. "I'm not good at this."

"Me either." Adrien admitted, and she peeked through her fingers at him in a very cute gesture. "So what do you say we forget this little interaction, and go yell at our friends for thinking that this would be at all amusing?"

Mari smiled, sitting up again, running her fingers through her hair and relaxing somewhat.

"Sounds good."

Adrien got off his chair, and held out a hand to help her down from her own stool. Looking slightly surprised but pleased, she took his hand and hopped down.

Adrien expected her to let go once they began making their way towards the dance floor, but was surprised when she didn't. Instead, she laced her fingers between his and shyly looking up at him. He smiled warmly back down at her, butterflies in his stomach but music in his head.

It was the best case of mistaken identity ever.

Christ, this has taken me a while to finish! I'm in the middle of my GCSEs at the moment and have work and dance, et cetera, so this must have taken me around three weeks to plan, write, edit, proof-read, blah blah blah. It's supposed to be a oneshot, but if you guys want me to continue let me know! I'm always looking for more oneshots- and prompts in general, but nothing very long is going to be out too soon, because exams. But please please please feel free to supply me with prompts and ideas, and I'll get to work on any that spark inspiration! Thanks so much for reading, and don't forget to leave a review if you liked it!

Rachel xx