A/N: The song is, of course, I choose You by Sara Bareillis. The lyrics are just beautiful, and so fitting for a LadyNoir feel.

Chapter One

"I should get home."

Marinette looked up from the homework she was trying to finish and glanced at the clock. It was later than she'd thought. Way later. She pulled a face.

"I guess."

He chuckled, the tilt of his head ruffling the blonde of his fringe into his eyes. She raised an eyebrow when he shot her a smirk through it. He was still dashing like that, how did he even manage it? When he blew the fringe up with an exaggerated huff, she giggled.

"Anyone ever tell you you're a child?"

He pretended to think.

"You know, now that you mention it…"

Marinette's laugh was infectious, and he chuckled with her.

"I really should get going, though. And you should get some sleep. It's late."

She turned back to the scribble-filled page with a sigh.

"This is harder than I expected."

He hummed in sympathy.

"I imagine so. Pretty hard to pin down a single song."

"Yeah."

She slipped the earbud from her ear and handed it to him, and he rolled the cord around his iPod before slipping it in a pocket.

"You'll do great, Mari." he said as she he stretched, a yawn surprising him.

"Who needs to get some sleep, now?" she teased.

With a laugh, he reached out and pushed her softly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going. I'll see you tomorrow, maybe?"

Despite herself, Marinette found herself hoping. Her cheeks felt a touch warm. Which was stupid, he was only- Oh whatever. Shut up.

"I'd like that." was what she said.

As he disappeared through the skylight, Marinette listened to the sound of him leaping from the rooftop. She wandered over to her bed, scooping up the discarded homework as she did. Cat had easily become her favourite person, somehow. Their friendship was thick and strong, and it pleased her to know she could make him laugh outside of her suit.

It was also helpful that she saw sides of him she didn't get to as LadyBug. Knowing him better was useful in battle, or when they chatted on patrol. It was strange; with Marinette he let his flirty, carefree facade slip a little. And to her surprise, she'd found there was a boy underneath who was complicated and soft-hearted, and often insecure.

If it weren't for her ever-enduring crush on Adrien, Marinette could admit she'd likely see her partner in a very different light.

A lightbulb lit her brain, and she bit her lip for a moment, pencil hovering over a new page.

LBCNLBCNLBCN

Marinette was trying quite hard to stay still in her seat as Adrien's name was called. She watched him lift the folded piece of paper in front of him and slip from his bench. She was eager to get a free glimpse into his brain, like she always was when they got homework or any other kind of activity like this one.

Pick a song that means something to you, and explain why it's special.

She knew, of course, some of the music he seemed to like, from group hang outs and time spent listening to music at Nino's together. But this was different, and she was excited to see which song he'd chosen, what it meant to him. (Okay, and she was secretly hoping it was one that she knew so that she might use it as a reason to talk to him, but come on, who could pass up this kind of opportunity?)

When he reached the front of the class he smiled and unfolded his notes, glancing around a little nervously. His eyes settled on her, Alya and Nino, - the latter of whom gave him a thumbs up- and he grinned.

"The song I've chosen, that's important to me, is important to me because of the person it makes me think of when I hear it."

He paused, and was Marinette imagining the faint pink that was pooling across his face like a pastel brushstroke on a new canvas? Her stomach wobbled. He was so cute, why was he so cute when he was blushing?

A fierce curiosity burned in her chest.

What was so special about this song that it made Adrien blush? He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and cleared his throat before holding the paper between both hands again and reading from it.

"It's amazing how a song can mean something, when you hear it the first time, and then… change, when you hear it with someone else. The song I've picked is supposed to be a love song, really."

Marinette's heart lurched. She could feel Alya's hand slipping from the desktop to curl comfortingly around her knee. She glanced at her friend. Alya squeezed her knee and gave her one of those it'll be okay smiles.

Marinette turned her eyes to the boy who'd paused again, his green eyes looking nervous as he swallowed. He'd lost his place, she guessed. She'd seen him look like that before.

For all his many years of experience modelling before a crowd, Adrien often got a little bit flustered when he had to speak in front of one. Marinette found it incredibly endearing, and kind of lucky, too.

It had given them something to bond over in group projects, something to work together on. It had been fundamental in helping her try to open up with him, and she'd been rewarded for her efforts by gaining a little more insight into his head too. This bonding also meant he might look for her in a minute, so she got her biggest smile ready just in case. Now was not the time to be worrying over a potential secret love, when he might need her support.

"It, ah- Sorry." he cleared his throat again and looked up at her almost desperately.

Marinette nodded, smile lighting her face, and felt her heart glow when he smiled gratefully in return. She was a hopeless case, just like Alya was always saying. Even something so small as being able to do that was so important to her.

Alya squeezed her knee again and Marinette smiled to herself, holding Adrien's eye.

"It's, well it is a love song. Originally. But to me it's more than just that. It has other meanings. About belonging, and friendship. The kind of friendship I think you don't find very often. The kind of friendship I'm really lucky to have, and couldn't imagine losing."

He looked down at his sheet, swallowing again, but Marinette could see his shoulders relaxing. He'd found his rhythm, and she was pleased. Proud of him, too. Talking in front of a crowd, even just their class, was hard work. Even more so when it was something so personal.

She was dreading her turn.

"There are so many lines I really like, especially of course the chorus line, I Choose You, which is repeated a lot. I choose this friend, the person it makes me think of, and uh- oh, that's also the name of the song, sorry. I should have said that at the start. But, I chose this friend, like they chose me. I really like the lines We are not perfect, We'll learn from our mistakes, because we've been through a lot of those, my friend and I, and we grow stronger and better every time we try."

He paused, the classroom quiet as they waited for him to continue, and it was good he didn't glance up again.

Because Marinette was frozen in place, face pale, as her heartbeat thundered in her ears. All of a sudden, she was thrown back to a rooftop in the evening, so many months ago now, to the first time she'd truly listened to the very song he was talking about.

"It's called I Choose You." he said, rubbing the back of his head and looking at her with glowing green eyes as she took the earbud he was offering her, "It… Well, it makes me think of you."

LadyBug slipped the earbud into her ear, moving closer to his side to do so because of the wires, and watched him hit play. As she listened, she could feel his gaze on her, but when she looked up he'd glanced away, and she was sure there was a faint rose leaking down his cheeks from under his dark mask. She felt guilty, as it crossed her mind what he meant.

"Cat…"

"Not… Not like that, Bug." he answered, softly, "It… It's like belonging. It- It sounds like our beginning, to me."

He released a nervous laugh and looked at her with an apologetic kind of smile, and she couldn't be mad at him. She bumped him gently with her elbow to make him relax, flicking the little gold bell at his throat.

"It kind of does, doesn't it?" she answered, and despite saying so just to make him grin and to see how giddy he got, as they continued to listen she realised it was true.

"I like this bit best," Cat said after a moment, a little loudly, excited, as a new verse started playing.

He watched her with bright, expectant eyes, as though wanting to see how she reacted. LadyBug was touched by the words as they spilled from the earphones.

~I am not scared of the elements

I am under-prepared, but I am willing

And even better

I get to be the other half of you~

"But the best part, for me, are the lines near the end." Adrien told the class softly, his lips a gentle smile, "I am not scared of the elements, I am under-prepared, but I am willing. And even better… Well, uhm, that part, really. This person it makes me think of, the friend I think of when I hear this song, makes me feel like that. Like I can do anything, even face new challenges, so long as we- so long as they're there to help me."

He looked to the teacher with a mildly nervous shrug to indicate he was finished, but Marinette couldn't even marvel at seeing him so, barely managing to move her hands with the rest of the room as they applauded him.

Had the lights always been so bright in here?

Marinette felt icy cold, her heart racing so fast she could barely draw breath. She stared at him as he slid back onto the bench next to Nino, accepting their friend's fist bump. She watched the way his lips moved as he whispered something to the other boy, watched the way his fringe moved as he dipped his head.

She watched the way his green eyes lit a little when he turned to smile at her, when he- he-

Ahh crap he was smiling at her!

Marinette forced a smile onto her face fast, feeling her skin heat under his gaze. Oh no.

Oh no. Oh no. No, no, no, Ohhhhnononononono.

She was going to hyperventilate if she didn't calm down.

But how could she? When- When-

Ohdeargods what was she going to do?

"Who would like to go next?" called the teacher's voice, yanking her from her stupor and laying a fresh set of fear on her as her eyes fell to the notepad in front of her.

Oh, she couldn't now! No!

Marinette sank further into her seat and closed her eyes as she tried to swallow down all the panic that was ballooning rapidly in her chest.

Coincidence, right? That was it, surely? It was just- just all a big joke, the universe was messing with her, that was all, nothing to-

Marinette peeked from under her lashes at the blonde head in front of her, and all she could see in her mind were those soft black ears atop the golden locks, leather collar flat against the tan neck.

Marinette bit back a squeak.

Crapcrapcrap!

She couldn't go up, she couldn't, she couldn't!

"If nobody volunteers, I shall have to choose someone," came the amused voice of the teacher, "and we all know how much fun that can- Miss Dupain-Cheng! Lovely."

Marinette had barely hatched a plan as she'd thrust her hand in the air, but she put on her most pitiful expression, sure that it probably looked pretty real given how sick she really did feel.

"Sorry, sir, I feel sick. May I go to the toilet?"

The teacher looked surprised, but then he sighed and nodded to her, beckoning the classroom door.

"How disappointing, I thought we were going to get a volunteer." he replied, and Marinette gave him the guiltiest expression she could muster.

"I'm sorry, sir." she almost whimpered, before bolting out the door before he could change his mind.

Locked in the cubicle, Marinette pressed her back against the door and tried to breathe normally.

"Oh god. Oh no. Oh no. Nooo, no no no. How can this happen? Ohhhhhh crap."

This was too hard to process. It couldn't be true, right?

She closed her eyes tightly and bit her lip.

Except it couldn't not be true. It was as though she'd peeked at the answers in the back of her textbook and now couldn't see any other way to get to the solution. It was staring her hard in the face, and the more she conjured Cat Noir up in her mind, the more he looked like Adrien in a black mask.

Adrien was Cat Noir. Adrien flipping Agreste. Was. Cat. Noir. Her partner, Cat Noir. Her best friend, Cat Noir.

Oh crap, he'd been in her room so many times as Cat! All those visits! The- the hot chocolates on the balcony, the video games, the times he'd-

Marinette groaned out loud.

All those times she'd talked about private things, when he'd sat close and comforted her about- stupid things.

She'd showed him her designs, she'd talked about her fears.

He was never going to take her seriously now, she'd never be able to talk to him now. Not when he was Cat Noir and knew all her secrets.

Marinette climbed onto the toilet seat lid and tucked her knees tightly under her chin. She had to calm down. This wasn't helping anything. She had to calm down and breathe properly and work out how on earth she was going to deal with what she now knew.

Oh dear lord and all his angels, she'd KISSED Adrien Agreste!