"Okay girl, listen very carefully, class is in session and professor Alya will teach you all you need to know!" She grinned. Despite her reservations about Marinette getting close to Adrien (in case he actually turned out to be Chat Noir), she still wanted Marinette to succeed.

"Okay, I'm listening!" She giggled nervously. Marinette was fidgeting with the strap of her pink bag as the pair walked to Marinette's house after school. Alya noted this mentally. She had arrived at the conclusion that she had not arrived at a conclusion- she didn't have enough evidence to conclude that Adrien was Chat Noir. She would need to stay hyper vigilant if she wanted to gather enough evidence to prove that Adrien was- or wasn't- Ladybug's partner. So she was practicing. Noticing small details as often as she could.

"First and most important lesson. Are you listening?" Marinette nodded. "You can't treat Adrien like a supermodel. You have to treat him like a normal guy."

"But he's not a normal guy! He's so much more than that! He's super sweet, and hot, and-"

"-and perfect and amazing and talented, I know, I've heard this all before!" Alya laughed. "but you can't get a word out around him because you're so starstruck!"

"I-" Marinette paused, looking for a defense. She found none. "Well…."

"Exactly!" Laughed Alya. Marinette gave a sheepish grin in response. "Look, I know you think he's an amazing person, but he's still a person. Just talk to him like you talk to our classmates. Or try at least!" She added before Marinette could jump in with another protest.

"I don't know how," Marinette squeaked out.

"Okay, well luckily, he's coming over to discuss the assignment. Talk about that, for starters."

"Okay! Yeah! I can do that!" Marinette straightened. "Talk about the assignment! The poetry! We can write poems about…. What should I write about?"

"That's the whole point, you two have to think of something together!"

"Oh yeah! Right."

"Good. Okay, lesson 2: Don't stare at him."

"Treat him normally, don't stare."

"Exactly! Marinette, you're a really sweet person. You just have to let him see that!" Alya opened the door to the Dupain-Cheng bakery and they walked in. Alya loved the way the bakery smelled- fresh bread, warm oatmeal cookies, sweet strawberry pastries, and the occasional lavish 3-tier wedding cakes. The quaint "ting-ting" of the door bell greeted them. It all just put her in a good mood. "Hi Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!" She waved cheerily.

"Hi Alya!" The baker smiled as she added a fresh tray of muffins to the glass display case.

"Mom! Adrien's gonna come over to work on an English project after fencing. Is that okay?"

"Sure Marinette. I'll make some croissants for you two."

"Thanks mom!" Marinette called as she ran .upstairs.

"Save me one!" Added Alya as Marinette pulled her inside. Marinette flopped down on the bed. Alya sat in the desk chair. "At least you got all those Adrien posters down from the last time he was here!" She teased. Marinette laughed.

"Yeah! No kidding." How am I going to tell her about Chat Noir?

"So hey, did you see the akuma attack yesterday? Ladybug and Chat Noir stopped and akuma who called herself Freeze Frame, she could stop time! Pretty insane, huh?" Marinette glanced around.

"Yeah, I think I read about that! Is it in your blog yet?"

"Not yet, I'm still editing some footage I have of the battle! Yknow what's kinda funny, though?"

"What?" Okay, here goes! Alya was a little nervous.

"If you cover up his eyes…." Alya pulled out her phone and a picture of Adrien, then put her finger over Adrien's eyes. "He kind of looks like Chat Noir!" Alya smiled jokingly but she was holding her breath.

"What? That's insane. No way!" Marinette peered over at Alya's phone. Alya watched closely for Marinette's reaction. "The only similar thing I see is blonde hair." Well she's not wrong.

"Just add a black mask!" she laughed at Marinette's expression, and put her phone away. She would drop it for now, and help Marinette get through this assignment with Adrien.

"Touch! Adrien Agreste!" Adrien pulled off his mask and grinned. He was on fire today!

Geez, I'm so nervous, I have so much energy! He headed towards the locker rooms to get changed. He couldn't stop thinking about this project he was getting ready to work on with Marinette. Poetry with Ladybug! He sighed mentally. He finished changing and ran a hand through his hair. Looking good, Chat! He chuckled at the thought of referring to himself as Chat in his own head. The more he thought about it the more he thought it should have seemed weird, but he was starting to embrace it.

Chat Noir isn't just some alter ego, He reminded himself. He's me. We're the same person. He wasn't exactly sure why he'd been considering them as two different people this whole time. Probably because they seem so different, he reasoned as he waved goodbye to his fencing classmates on the way out the door.

Who was Adrien? He wondered to himself as he started walking to Marinette's. What makes Adrien Adrien and Chat Noir Chat Noir? It was starting to give him a bit of a headache. I thought it was pretty straightforward, he mused. Chat was a superhero and Adrien wasn't, how could it get any simpler? Chat Noir doesn't have any limits. He can do whatever he wants. Adrien can't. Chat Noir was who Adrien wanted to be.

When he first received the miraculous and became Chat Noir, the unbridled freedom of it was near europhic. But right now, thinking about it, he just became hyper aware of all he couldn't do. When you're sitting at the dining room table doing homework, you look out the window and you think to yourself, I could be leaping across those rooftops, you don't feel any freer. You feel like a caged bird.

But here he was, standing outside Marinette's bakery, suddenly feeling freer than ever. His heart was racing. Just gather up some of that Chat Noir confidence, Adrien! His brain screamed. He is literally you! You have it deep down somewhere! But Adrien was too flustered to really process any of it so he took a deep breath and walked in.

Ting, Ting, the doors chimed as he walked into the Dupain-Cheng bakery. It smelled delicious, as always. Mrs. Dupain-Cheng greeted him with a smile.

"Good afternoon Adrien!" She said warmly.

"Hi Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!" He grinned and waved. "I'm here to work on a project with Marinette."

"Of course, she mentioned you'd be by. She's up in her room, you remember how to get there?" she gestured with the tray in her hands as if to say I'd help you, but my hands are full.

"Yes ma'am!" He grabbed the strap of his bag with one hand and politely waved his thanks with the other as he ascended the stairs. He stopped at Marinette's door, steeled his nerves one more time, and reached for the door to knock.

In that moment of silence he thought he heard talking. Is she with someone? He glanced around nervously, then pressed his ear to the door. Sadly he couldn't hear much, but it was definitely her voice. Well this isn't getting me anywhere. He knocked.

There was a split second, a crashing sound, then Marinette's voice: "Coming!" She opened the door a moment later.

"A-Adrien! Hi! Welcome! Welcome back I mean you've been here before! I mean-" She stopped, took a breath, then smiled and held the door open. "Want to come in?" Adrien grinned.

"Thanks Marinette!" He walked in, slipping his bag off his shoulder and letting it fall to the ground.

"Umm, my mom made croissants, do you want one?" She meekly held out a tray of fresh croissants. Adrien's eyes lit up.

I've got to marry this girl. "Yes please!" He beamed, taking one. They were still warm, and so soft. Take THAT, father! I'm eating CARBS and there's nothing you can do about it! Marinette must've picked up on his satisfaction because she took one too and grinned. "So, shall we talk about this assignment?"

"Y-yeah!" Marinette sat at her desk and opened he tablet. "Poetry- 3 poems total,a free verse, a haiku, and a sonnet. Where do you want to start?" Marinette was avoiding eye contact with him. That can't be a good thing. Why won't she look at me?"

I literally can't even look at him without losing my ability to speak! Marinette was silently panicking.

"Well, why don't we decide on a topic first? I've got a suggestion, if you want to hear it." Adrien pulled a notepad out of his bag.

"O-of course!" Marinette responded by forcing a nervous grin and turning to face him.

"Okay! Well actually, I think we should write about Ladybug." He watched closely for her reaction.

A beat passed before she found her voice again. "L-l-ladybug?"

"Yeah!" Adrien grinned excitedly, fidgeting with his pen. "She's saved my life more than once, I think almost everyone in our class can say that. She's the perfect subject, really!" Adrien blabbed on, unable to stop himself. "She's strong and courageous, beautiful and graceful, fearless and charismatic- she's the defender of Paris!" He knew he was laying it on a bit thick, but he wasn't saying anything he didn't believe already. As he spoke he searched her face for any sort of reaction. Her expression was damn near unreadable. Come ON Marinette, I'm pouring my heart out to you! "She's literally perfect and I l-" he had to bite his tongue. Oh my god I was about to say "I love you"! Adrien blushed and looked away, but couldn't keep a smile from tugging at his lips. He cleared his throat. "I'd like to write about Ladybug." He looked back up at her and gave his smile. "What do you say?"

"Uh...Ladybug… for the poem….s-sure!" She tapped her stylus nervously. The cat sleeping on her bed must have picked up on her anxiety because Tuna jumped down, walked over to Marinette, and swatted at her ankles indignantly. Adrien grinned- he couldn't help it- as Marinette picked up the floof and set him in her lap almost without thinking. Adrien reached over to pet Tuna, and their fingers touched. It was brief, but Adrien blushed anyway. All he could think about was lacing her fingers through his.

"Mrrow." Tuna interrupted, and blinked smugly. Little furrball, hogging Ladybug all to yourself! I'm clearly the more attractive cat. He smirked to himself at the ridiculousness of the thought.

"Great! Let's get started." Adrien smiled excitedly.

"But wait, if we're writing about Ladybug, shouldn't we write about Chat Noir too?" Adrien paused. I didnt think about that. "It's only fair," she was saying. "They are partners after all."

"C'mon, we both know Ladybug does all the work!" he winked, then chuckled. She grinned back at him.

"That's not fair, Chat Noir does plenty of work, even if he is a flirt!" The statement took Adrien by surprise. Adrien Agreste, resident flirt! He couldn't help it. He laughed out loud. Marinette seemed surprised this time.

"What's so funny?" Adrien's laugh was infectious, she giggled slightly too, despite the confused look in her eyes.

"I never would have guessed it! Chat Noir is a flirt, huh?" He grinned, leaning in. I absolutely have to hear this! Marinette reddened visibly.

"w-well I mean he's constantly saying things like 'my lady' to Ladybug for one,"

"Did Ladybug tell you that?" Adrien's uncharacteristically mischievous grin widened slightly. Marinette's eyes widened.

"Yeah! I mean, no! I mean- um- I hear them on some of Alya's blog interviews! Yeah." Excellent save, my lady. "And I actually met Chat a few times."

"I think I remember you saying that once! Tell me again? How was working with Chat Noir?"

"I-it was Good! He was good. Um, nice. You know! Very….cat-like!"

"But flirty?"

"A little bit."

"How so?" Marinette's cheeks darkened further.

"w-well h-he, umm, would just call me Princess a lot and he held my hand sometimes and..." she trailed off, finding herself at a loss for words. Hehe. I'd almost forgotten about that!

"Does he do that to everyone?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a feeling that he only feels that way about Ladybug." Oh how right you are, My Lady.

"I see!" Adrien couldn't keep the grin off his face. "Well he sounds like a cool guy. What do you think, would Chat Noir and I be friends?" He straightened a little. Marinette laughed a little.

"I don't see why not! He seems like a good person and you do too." Her eyes widened as she realized what she said. "I mean you actually are, not that you seem like one! N-not that you don't seem like one! You're sweet and handsome and…." she couldn't find the end of her sentence. Adrien was caught off guard a little. Her expression had suddenly become a little shyer. I probably wouldn't have even noticed if I hadn't been looking so closely because I thought she was Ladybug…. The thought made him a little disappointed in himself. Even without all of this he considered Marinette a really good friend and he was certain she would have noticed if it were him. Marinette….is really sweet.

"You really think so?" He was flattered and tried to catch her eyes.

"y….yes?" It was nearly a question as she looked up. He smiled, softly and sincerely this time.

"Thank you. For what it's worth, you are too." she giggled. "What?"

"You think I'm handsome?" a mischievous smile of her own tugged at the corner of her mouth.

"What?" it took him a second. "Oh! No, I meant sweet!" he laughed too. There it was. Fleeting but solid, he caught a glimpse of Ladybug. He liked the two of them together like that. No, that's weird, don't think about them as two different people.

But you do that with yourself, he countered himself mentally.

That's different! Setting that aside for a moment, he thought about all the times Marinette had stood up for people. He loved Ladybug for countless reasons, but her strength and confidence and willingness to defend people who couldn't defend themselves was what attracted him the most. Maybe Marinette wasn't as loud, but he was beginning to see that her spirit was the same.

For a split second, he found himself falling for her all over again- but this time not as Ladybug.

I've been chasing Marinette because I thought she was Ladybug, and I almost missed this other side of her. This side of Marinette complimented Ladybug perfectly. Looking at her, he felt like he was seeing her for the first time, the whole Marinette. If Chat Noir is an outlet for me, wouldn't it be the same way with Marinette? Was Ladybug also her way of being more like who she wished she was?

"A-Adrien?" Shit I was staring!

"Sorry!" He blurted. "Just, ah, lost in thought I guess. We should start writing!" he grabbed his pencil again.

"I can't," she replied.

"Sure you can, you're super creative! It''ll be easy." She blushed slightly.

"Th-thanks," she stuttered out. "But I mean I really can't, the-"

"you're being too modest," Adrien interjected, not wanting her to continue with a negative line of thought. "Even my father recognized your talent! Remember the hat contest? He's a hard man to impress, and you definitely impressed me!"

"...th- the cat's asleep on my hand…." She muttered through beet red cheeks. Oops. Adrien looked at Tuna, who had curled up directly on top of Marinette's hand in her lap. Tuna eased open one eye, just a sliver, looked Adrien in the eyes, and flicked his tail nonchalantly before closing it again. A deep purr emanated from the motionless puffball, announcing his satisfaction. He's mocking me! Adrien thought incredulously.

"Oh! That's what you meant." Adrien chuckled, embarrassed, and rubbed the back of his neck. "Let me do the writing then. Scribe, at your service, m'lady!" Shit, that totally slipped out. Oh well, let's roll with it.

"O-okay! Right we should start writing then!" she blinked a few times in a row.

"Writer's block?"

"Maybe you should start," she confessed.

He's been in there way too long! Chloe fumed. Sabrina texted her when Adrien arrived at the Dupain-Cheng bakery and she hasn't texted back since, meaning he was still there. They're working on a project not planning a wedding! She had to do something about Marinette. She flipped open her phone.

"Yeah that sounds pretty good!" Adrien was in a great mood. He was pretty sure nothing could ruin this feeling, but he should have known better than to challenge the universe like that because that's when his phone rang. He gave her an apologetic glance and answered it.

"Adrien, come home right away, the journalist is almost here for your interview."

"Nathalie? But she wasn't supposed to be here for another two hours, is she early?"

"Yes, her secretary called and said they were ahead of schedule, your father sent the car to pick you up so be ready outside the Dupain-Cheng bakery when it arrives." Adrien sighed.

"Alright." He hung up, then turned to Marinette, who had been listening. "I'm really sorry Marinette, but the journalist is early for the interview, and I have to go."

"You're doing an interview? That's so cool!" her face lit up. "Will you be on tv?"

"Nah, it'll be for a magazine, or something." He had a thought. "I'll make it up to you though! I'll bring an early release of the magazine when I come back to finish the project! Can I come back tomorrow after school?"

"Y-yeah, sounds….good!" Marinette grinned, fidgeting with her stylus. "I'll walk you out!" she jumped up, but Adrien got to the door first and held it open for her with a wide grin.

"Ladies first!" Marinette gave a nervous chuckle and walked out, Adrien following behind. Before they got to the door he stopped and smiled. "See you tomorrow," he said before stepping out of the bakery and into the waiting car.

Marinette's heart sank a little as she watched the car drive away. He's in love with Ladybug.

She should have been happy. She should have been over the moon giddy, but she wasn't. I can never tell him she's me. He loved Ladybug- strong, confident, capable, miraculous Ladybug. Not awkward, clumsy, run of the mill Marinette. Adrien had just flashed her his signature smile as he climbed into the car- the genuine and sweet smile. She felt her heart flutter. How the HELL am I losing Adrien to MYSELF?! Her head hurt. She was just getting back in her room when her mom called.

"Marinette! Your classmate- Chloe?- is here for you!" Chloe? A familiar yellow cardigan came into view.

"Chloe?"

"I wont be long, just here to do this project or whatever." Chloe called down to Mrs. Dupain-Cheng before shutting the door to Marinette's room. "Marinette." She gave her a distasteful once over with a hand on her hip. "Why did you drag Adrien here? He has better things to do than hang out at a bakery all day."

"We're working on the project, Chloe." Marinette couldn't keep the exasperation out of her voice. Now was SO not the time. "SOME people actually work together on projects instead of forcing the other person to do all the work." Chloe laughed.

"Right, as if you could actually get a full word out around him!" She started making sputtering sounds. Marinette felt hot indignation and anger swell inside her.

"You're the reason why Adrien left early, aren't you?" she accused Chloe.

"Like I said. He has better things to do, so just leave him a-LONE!" She snapped.

"WHAT is your problem with me?!" Marinette exclaimed incredulously. "What did I ever do to you to make you hate me so much?!"

"Don't act so innocent," Chloe bit back as she sat defiantly in the desk chair, crossing her arms. "You want everyone to love you because you think you're so perfect. Well you aren't, and you aren't good enough for Adrien!"

You aren't good enough for Adrien! Marinette recoiled as if stung as the words echoed in her head. That's…..not true…. She bit her cheek, hoping the sharp pinch would help her fight back the tears that were rapidly appearing in her eyes.

"I know I'm not perfect, and at least I'm willing to admit it!" she cried. "You're so mean to everyone, but you aren't better than us!"

"I'm more important! My dad is the mayor, and that means something to some people!" she shot back. "Your parents are bakers!"

"At least I have both my parents!"

She regretted it as soon as she'd said it. The look on Chloe's face was not unlike someone who'd been slapped very, very hard. Shit. I overstepped…. Like, a lot…..Chloe was being a brat, but that didn't give her the right to cross that line. She swallowed hard, facing a thick wall of painful silence. Tears were welling up in Chloe's eyes this time. She stood to leave. "Chloe, wait!" she grabbed her wrist. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean it, I was just angry and-"

"Oh my god why won't you just shut up already!" she choked back a sob. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about!"

"Chloe I'm sorry, please-"

"It's not fair!"

She yanked her arm back violently and collapsed onto the bed, where a half asleep Tuna emitted a low growl in protest at being disturbed. Marinette didn't know what to say. She hated Chloe. She hated her. She was mean and obnoxious and manipulative.

But she was currently sobbing into her second favorite pillow. Dammit….. Marinette sat down slowly next to her.

"It's not fair! I'm pretty, I'm rich, I'm famous, why doesn't Adrien like me?" She stopped to inhale deeply through the tears. " Why doesn't anyone like me? My own mother didn't even want me!" Marinette was shocked. The rumors were true? What the hell am I supposed to say now?

Chloe sat like that for what seemed like an eternity.

She should have been angry, or embarrassed, or anything else, but she was just….sad. Adrien didn't like her. Her classmates didn't like her. Her mother was long gone. Why? What was so awful about her that nobody ever stuck around? Why did Marinette- plain looking, poor Marinette- get to have two parents?

The silence continued, uninterrupted.

She jumped a little when she felt a scratch at her leg. Tuna was there, trying to force his way into her lap. He mmrrrrowwwwed indignantly and headbutted her arm. She didn't see any point in keeping it out, so into her lap he climbed.

"Ugh….so much hair…." She sniffed. She pet him cautiously. To her surprise, the thing started purring. It was soothing. She scratched his head experimentally. He purred louder. Chloe focused on the methodical movement of petting the cat over and over, trying to slow her breathing so it was synchronous with her hand. Soon he was asleep. She sniffed again.

"Chloe…. I didn't know about your mom. I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

"I am, really." Chloe looked up. Marinette looked sad. Why does SHE look sad?

"Why do you even care?" Marinette was quiet for a moment.

"I would be lost without my mom." Marinette reached over and scratched Tuna behind his ears. "It must have been hard."

"Whatever." Chloe looked down again. It's none of her business anyway. But there was a nagging feeling that kept tugging at the edge of her consciousness. Nobody ever said sorry before….nobody except Adrien. Everyone else avoided the topic of my mom completely.

"You don't have to be mean to get people to notice you." Marinette looked a little uneasy, like she wasn't sure if she should have said it or not, and she shifted her weight uncomfortably. "And Adrien…." She swallowed hard. "...Adrien will be your friend no matter what. And maybe we all could be too…." Marinette trailed off, searching for the end of her sentence, which ended up sounding more like a question.

"Why the hell would I want to be friends with you?" Came a bitter retort. Marinette looked up, regret clear on her face and a few angry words on the tip of her tongue, but Chloe cut her off before she could respond. "Your jacket looks like it was made by a toddler, and the color is so last season." The words were the same, but lacked the venom that usually soaked them. She glanced at Marinette. She looked confused. Oh my god, she's so dumb! She unleashed an exasperated sigh. "You aren't going to look any better unless you change your label, but since you're poor, you'll have to borrow something of mine."

"Are you….being nice….?" Ugh. Chloe rolled her eyes .

"I'm only doing this so I won't have to stare at your cheap crap anymore." She huffed. "And don't think this means I'm going to let you have Adrien either." Marinette chuckled.

"Adrien only talked about Ladybug the whole time…..I think he's in love with her."

Adrikins is in love with Ladybug?! Damn it all! The one person hotter and more famous than her!

Chloe tossed her hair. "Whatever, I'm not worried." She hugged the cat before she stood and and ejected it from her lap. He awoke with a start and growled angrily before sulking away to hide under the desk.

"Wait Chloe, before you go-" Marinette held out the tray of croissants from earlier. I don't eat carbs, gross. She scoffed but grabbed one anyway and took a bite.

"This is disgusting. Way too much butter." Chloe opened the door to leave. "See you tomorrow." and then she was gone.

That goody two shoes brat better shape up if she wants to be my friend.

"Tikki, did you hear all that?" The small kwami zipped out from her hiding place.

"I heard everything, Marinette! Adrien, Chloe, all of it! And I heard you say that Adrien is in love with Ladybug!" she hovered close, excited. "That means he has feelings for you!"

"Me, maybe, but not Marinette." She replied sadly. "I can never tell him that I'M Ladybug! And even if I could, he probably wouldn't believe me anyway, I'm not like that in real life." Marinette looked away.

"That's not true!" Tikki argued vehemently. "Marinette, Master Fu didn't give you the Ladybug miraculous so you could become an amazing person. He gave it to you because you already are."

I am? She never thought of herself that way. She wished she were more confident and graceful, and that she could just tell Adrien how she felt. She wished she had already figured out who Hawkmoth was so he would stop putting innocent people's lives in danger. She wished she was better at balancing the responsibilities of being Marinette the student, Marinette the aspiring fashion designer, Marinette the best friend to Alya, Marinette the daughter, and Marinette the alter ego to Ladybug. "Do you really believe that?" She asked her Kwami.

"Of course I do!" Came the high pitched yet sincere reply. "You've saved the lives of so many people, just like he knew you would. You earned the title 'Defender of Paris', you and Chat Noir both!" Tikki perched in Marinette's waiting hands and nuzzled her gently- the closest thing the two could manage to a hug. Marinette smiled. If Tikki and Master Fu believe in me, with all their knowledge and experience, who am I to question them? She would redouble her efforts and find Hawkmoth to put an end to him once and for all! "Besides," Tikki continued, "Who else could get Chloe to be nice to them?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but she did sound a little less mean than usual." Marinette gave a half grin. "But honestly I didn't know what else to say. I can't imagine what it would be like to not have a mom, much less to have one that just decided to leave one day. It kind of puts her attitude in perspective a little bit." Tikki gave her a quizzical glance. "Don't get me wrong, it still doesn't excuse her horrible behavior and I'm still furious about it. But I don't know, maybe I understand her a little more?" She shrugged. "It's confusing, and I still don't know how I feel about it."

"I understand. I think if you do your best to be understanding, it'll work out somehow! Just give it the Ladybug super effort!" Marinette laughed.

"I'll try!" She agreed with a small smile. "I-"

"Marinette!" Her father's voice calling rom down the stairs interrupted her train of thought. "If you're done with schoolwork, come help your mother with the vegetables!"

"Coming!" She yelled back. She turned to Tikki. "I'll be back after dinner."

"I'll be here!" She said cheerily, then settled onto a fluffy pillow on Marinette's bed. Marinette headed downstairs, contemplating the future of her relationships with her classmates.

Adrien was restless. He shouldn't have been- he'd had a pretty busy day after all, between school, fencing, working with Marinette, and the interview with the journalist. He was still confused as to why she'd called ahead saying she was early. She hadn't been, she'd arrived exactly when she was scheduled to, and acted very confused when they called and asked where she had been.

"I'm sorry Mr. Agreste, I'm in a meeting- what can I do for you?" He could hear her through the phone earlier that day.

"Ms. Montreal, I don't take kindly to people who waste my or my son's time." He said in a curt tone. There had been a pause, and Adrien could nearly hear the woman trying to figure out what she had done wrong.

"Apologies Mr. Agreste, but I'm not sure what you mean."

"I should think not!" He snapped. "You're late. Our time is very valuable, I would have thought you'd have understood this when we scheduled the interview."

"For the interview?" There was the brief but unmistakable sound of shuffling papers. "I have it scheduled for 7 pm, at your place of residence."

"Then why on earth did your assistant call and move it up two hours?!" He demanded loudly. Ugh, father is such a control freak, he thought as he listened.

"My assistant?" She sounded flaberrgasted. "I don't have an assistant! Are you sure the call didn't come from my editor-in-cheif?"

"Absolutely certain." He snapped. "She introduced herself as your assistant."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, sir, but I don't have an assistant and there's nothing I can do about the situation. I will arrive at the scheduled time of 7pm at your place of residence as previously scheduled." Adrien heard the minor tick of annoyance in her voice, despite trying to keep it hidden. Adrien had gotten really, really good at telling when people were annoyed. Side effect of living with his father, he supposed. His father sighed deeply.

"Very well, but don't let this happen again." With that he hung up abruptly.

Adrien had known better to ask to go back to Marinette's to work on the project, but he wished he could have. He had spent the time absentmindedly 'practicing' piano, just to keep his father off his tail. Hehe, tail, he laughed to himself. He filed away the pun for future use at his next encounter with Ladybug. The interview had just ended and he was headed back to his room.

I need to see Marinette again. He determined. He didn't want to wait for school tomorrow, either. "Plagg!"

"NO!" he yelled indignantly from across the room. He sat perched on the edge of the foosball table, tiny arms folded and ears back. "You have been busy all day, and I refuse to move until I've had my camembert!"

"Plaaaaagg!" Whined Adrien. "Come on! You haven't done anything today!"

"I had to listen to your teachers and your dad all day! AND I had to listen to your awful attempts to seduce Marinette!"

"Awful?!"

"Yes, awful!" Plagg shot back. "That is absolutely NOT how you get a girl to like you!"

"What the actual hell are you talking about?" Adrien was astounded. "How would you even know? You're a five inch magical cat!" Plagg flew up into his face.

"Kid, I've been around for a very long time. And let me tell you, a lot of things change, but the one thing that doesn't is romance."

"Okay, smart ass, what did I do wrong, then?"

"How about everything," Plagg snorted, Adrien felt his face flush. I'm not THAT bad at this!

"Fine!" Adrien sat on the bed, determined. "Tell me then!"

"Ah ah ah," chided Plagg smugly. "My all-knowing advice does not come free!"

"What do you want?"

"Camembert!" He cried, spinning in a circle, grinning widely. Oh you little shit!

"Fine! Fine." Adrien caved. He had the chef deliver some to his room.

"You've been eating a lot of Camembert cheese lately." The chef looked down at him, his expression a mix of confusion, judgement, and amusement. Damn it…..

"It's just really good! Haha yeah, can't get enough of it!" Adrien faked a laugh.

"Have you ever smelled the stuff, dude?"

"Don't judge me," Adrien retorted before shutting the door. The guy just laughed as he lumbered away. "Okay Plagg, here's your cheese, now hurry up and talk before we transform and go visit Marinette again." Delighted, the kwami was a blur as he shot across the room to settle happily on the tray.

"Oh sweet camembert, how I missed you!" he cried fondly as he shoved a huge piece into his mouth. Adrien rolled his eyes but laughed at the scene anyway. "Alright kid lesson number one, you have to compliment her."

"But I did that!" Adrien protested.

"Ah ah- you complimented Ladybug."

"But they're the same person!"

"Two problems with that-" he paused to shovel more cheese into his mouth- "One, IF Marinette is actually Ladybug, because I can neither confirm nor deny that she is, she doesn't know that you know."

"How does that-"

"She probably thinks that you are in love with Ladybug and not Marinette."

"I-" Adrien opened his mouth to counter this point, but quickly realized that Plagg was actually correct. Shit! He sat there, thinking about the consequences of his recent actions. "Oops…." Plagg laughed.

"OOPS is right! It's a good thing you're pretty!" Adrien stuck his tongue out.

"Oh shut up! Next point."

"Lesson two," an extremely smug Plagg continued. "You have to talk to her every day. Even if it's nothing important, you have to show that you care enough to take time out of your day to be with her." This advice is actually really good?! Adrien wondered incredulously where he had gotten all this dating advice. Suddenly Adrien found himself taking notes- literally, he had pulled out a notepad- form his Kwami.

"Okay, lesson three?"

"Lesson three is the most important one." Plagg said with a serious tone. "You need to find out if there is any competition."

"Competition?"

"Yes, I just said that!" Plagg said impatiently. "Can you think of anyone?" Adrien thought back to whenever he'd seen Marinette in the classroom. He couldn't think of anyo-

"It's wonderful Nathaniel, you're very talented. Thank you!" Her voice echoed suddenly in his head.

Well, shit. Wasn't he also the one who was Akumatized for being in love with her?

"Judging by that look on your face, I'd say the answer is yes!" Plagg yawned. "You'd better be prepared to outdo them!"

"I'm the one who's a superhero!" Adrien stood, determined smile forming. "I can outdo anyone, I'm Chat Noir! Come on Plagg, we're going to talk to her right now! Claws out!" He stuck out his ring, and Plagg was once again sucked into the miraculous, triggering the transformation. Chat Noir grinned and leapt out the balcony window. He could almost see Marinette's balcony from here. As he got closer, he could see it- she was leaning on the railing, looking lost in thought- if a bit forlon- as she stood in the dim light of dusk.

"What's on your mind, Princess?" He greeted her as he settled onto the railing.

"Chat Noir!" She jumped as he spoke, seemingly out of nowhere. "What are you doing here?"

"I hope you don't mind," he said, somewhat apologetically. "I wanted someone to talk to."

"What about Ladybug?" Ladybug- the word sounded almost envious on her lips, or was he imagining it?

"I'd rather talk to you, if you don't mind." he replied.

"Me? Why?"

"We've worked together before a few times, and even just talked, and I wanted to talk to someone who knew me."

"And Ladybug doesn't?"

"Is something wrong, my lady?" The words slipped out again. He really needed to get that under control….. To his surprise, she sighed.

"It's nothing, really."

"Doesn't sound like nothing." He slid off the railing and walked over to lean on the rail next to her. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"It's so stupid!" She groaned, leaning her head down so her forehead touched the railing and her hair covered her face. "I'm having some….relationship trouble."

"Relationship trouble?" Oh he was hooked. He had to know! "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No!... Yes…." She sighed again and leaned up. "I'm in love with someone who loves someone else." Oh no…. He genuinely felt bad for her.

"Who is it?" He prodded gently before he could stop himself. His chest could hardly contain his heart it was beating so fast.

"I don't know if I should tell you," she confessed.

"I'm excellent and keeping secrets, Princess," he said with a sweeping bow. "Can't let this cat-" he pointed to his mask- "out of the bag, y'know!" She gave a chuckle. Yes!

"Alright but please, you can't tell anyone. I mean it!" She looked at him with large eyes. They melted him. "I'm only telling because I might explode it I don't!"

"Cross my heart," He purred, and made an x over his heart with a claw. She hesitated, then sighed again.

"You've probably heard of him. He's actually a model."

NO. He dared not hope.

"His name is A-" She bit her tongue, as if having last second hesitation.

PLEASE, say it already! He was DYING.

"...Adrien. Adrien Agreste."

"YES!" Chat pumped a fist in the air, and yelled so loud that Marinette jumped.

"Chat!" She looked at him, astonished, confused, startled, and probably a few other things. SHIT!

"Oh! Im sorry Princess I just-" he had absolutely no explanation to offer. "I just-ummm….. I've met him before!"

"But why did you yell ju-"

"I'm happy for you because he's a really nice guy!" He blurted. It was a flimsy excuse that would tear at any moment and he knew that she knew it. He had to get out of there, fast! "I'm sorry Princess I've got to go!" He leapt off the railing.

"Chat, wait!" She called, running to the other edge of the balcony and looking after him. "What the hell was that?" She thought she could make out the shape of him disappearing into an alley. She tried to wave him back.

Nathaniel stepped out, looked up from his phone, and crossed the street.

OH MY GOD! Is NATHANIEL Chat Noir?!

One thing was certain. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day at school.

Hi, friends! I just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to read this. I never would have kept up with this if it weren't for yall's support and encouragement to continue. That said, I also wanted to apologize for how long it took to get the next chapter out. I really wanted it to be quality content and not rushed, so I appreciate your patience and hope you'll continue following the story! Please comment and review your opinions, I read every single one- they're great, and I love feedback!! As always, yall are the best!

Love,

Waytoowhatthewhat