Chapter One – On–Again, Off–Again

Marinette waits patiently for Gabriel to finish inspecting her latest design. It's a soft pink A–line dress with an illusion sweetheart neckline that falls down to the knees. The fabric is embellished with sparkles that make the dress shimmer when in the light, and the bottom of the dress is a darker shade that fades to a lighter shade as it goes up towards the bodice, before becoming almost white just below the illusion neckline.

He circles the mannequin the dress is displayed on one more time before coming to a stop in front of it, cupping his chin and tilting his head. Over the months interning for him she's learnt to know that that means he's thinking of how it would look on a runway, and since he's thinking of how it would look on a runway she knows he at least likes it, so she allows herself to relax a little more.

It's been almost four months since she left Françoise Dupont and became an intern at Gabriel. Over the months inspiration has flowed through her mind and, with the encouragement of her friends and Gabriel himself, has begun to design again. She's unsure if the reason she first stopped designing was because she was depressed over losing Master Fu and having the responsibility of the miracle box and existence of the kwamis on her shoulders, or because she was depressed over Lila and the environment at school. Either way, her mental health is much better now and she's come up with ideas left and right (and thanks to Gabriel's promise of granting her access to his supplies, she has had the means to create her designs as well).

After some discussion with her parents (and Adrien and Nino) she agreed to see a psychiatrist and get some help for her mental health. While her psychiatrist has given her plenty of coping mechanism for her anxiety and depression – both she was diagnosed with and offered mediation for, but she decided to try the non–medication approach first, which has been working so far – she still struggles with all of the things she can't discuss. Thankfully Adrien is always ready to lend an ear, just like she is for him. Even if his ear usually comes with a cat pun or two too many.

There haven't been many akuma attacks over the last few months, and none at all for the last month, and the ones that did happen tended to be reoccurring akumas – such as Mr Pigeon – or lasted for less than half an hour, as if Hawk Moth is as tired of fighting as they are. Not that Marinette's complaining, because the lack of akumas, while worrying at first, has allowed her to take time to adjust to being the guardian and come to terms with her loss. It has also allowed her and Adrien to deal with their feelings so they're not so raw and in each other's faces.

It was difficult, but it was necessary because it allowed them to sort out how they feel about each other without constantly being in each other's faces. And how Marinette feels about her partner hasn't changed, and apparently the saying that distance makes the heart grow fonder is very, very true, because every time she sees him she's even more in love with him, and she can tell from the way he looks at her that he feels the same way.

But they can't do anything, and they won't do anything, and they will do everything in their power to keep it that way. Or at least she will; Adrien tends to toe the line between friends and more–than–friends the longer they're together at one time, but even she has to admit there are times when she does the same and has to reel herself back in. Remember why they can't. Remember those blue eyes, the white suit, the desperate cry for her to save him.

While their feelings for each other have been suppressed, Gabriel and Nathalie's have blossomed and after weeks of speculation (on everyone's part, not just her and Adrien's) they finally told Adrien that they are dating one Sunday night at family dinner (which has become their new tradition, and Adrien highly suspects that it was Nathalie's idea and his father just went along with it to keep her happy). As it turns out, they'd been dancing around each other – and the subject of dating – for a couple of months before they actually started dating, and the only reason Gabriel didn't say anything to Adrien earlier was because Nathalie convinced him to wait and see if they could actually go through with it before potentially upsetting Adrien.

Adrien wasn't upset though, far from it. He was ecstatic for them and could hardly resist saying 'I told you so' to his father after having denied he had feelings for her back at his mother's first anniversary.

Marinette hasn't seen much of Gabriel and Nathalie's relationship – they keep it professional at work – but according to Adrien they're doing well and are happy and he's pretty sure that Nathalie has officially moved into his father's bedroom, and it is now their bedroom. The implications of that had him making a face and pretending to vomit, but she could tell he was just putting it on. Which was good because, if he was to actually vomit, she's unsure as to how she would explain why Cat Noir threw up on top of the Eiffel Tower while Ladybug was bursting into a fit of giggles over his expression.

"How long did you spend on this design?" Gabriel asks, drawing Marinette out of her thoughts.

She purses her lips, thinking. "Well, this dress was inspired by an old design from when I was probably around . . . nine or ten, maybe? Although that one didn't have the illusion neckline and the fabric was patterned with butterflies. In total I had the design drawn up within two hours, and the dress itself took just over a week to make with me working on it for a couple of hours at a time. It would've been finished sooner but we had a wedding to cater and my parents needed me to help out."

Gabriel nods in understanding, knowing that hospitality businesses are usually busier during summer and spring rather than winter and autumn, because there are more events to cater. "So if I were to commission you to recreate this dress to put it on the runway in Milan fashion week . . ." He quirks an eyebrow at her, already smiling at the gobsmacked expression on her face.

"Holy shit!" She exclaims, before instantly slapping her hands over her mouth, eyes going from an oh–my–God wide to an I–can't–believe–I–just–said–that wide.

Gabriel barely contains his snort as he watches his young intern (and future daughter–in–law, he hopes, once his son pulls his head out of the ground and asks her out) seemingly have an internal crisis over her use of language.

"Holy shit, indeed." He agrees, shocking the girl even more, and he decides to move it along before he gives her a heart attack. "You will of course get all of the credit for the dress, as well as the proceeds, all I wish is to have bragging rights over what an incredible designer my intern is."

She giggles, pulling her hands away from her mouth to smile at him. "Okay. Since I already have the design I would just need the measurements of the model and fabric and I could have the dress done in by the end of next week, maybe? Depends if there are any bumps in the road."

And by 'bumps', she means distractions in the name of Adrien who is out of school and bored out of his mind, so has taken to going to Gabriel to hang out with her and follow her around (like an obedient puppy, she heard one of the older interns say, which earned them a glare from her, Nathalie and Chloé – who was there to do the exact same thing as Adrien, as she is also bored).

Gabriel nods in agreement, stepping around the mannequin again, this time to remove the dress for her. "I will of course have Julian – you remember Julian? He's the head of pattern making, the one with that ridiculous manbun? – I'll have him help you with the sample garment for the model's size as well as the sewing of the finished product, as I know tulle is difficult for even the most experienced designers to sew with." He pretends to shudder, making Marinette giggle again. He passes the dress to her and watches her fold the garment over her arm.

"Thank you, Mr Agreste." She beams at him, leg jiggling in anticipation for leaving and getting to work (and telling Adrien, no doubt, Gabriel muses, smiling at the thought).

"No worries, Miss Dupain–Cheng. If you run into any trouble you know where to find me, otherwise I will see you later. You and Adrien are going to the movies tonight, aren't you?" He double–checks, trying to think back to whether Adrien said that was today or tomorrow. Or was it yesterday and he missed it?

"Yes. Kagami, Chloé and Nino will be there as well. It finishes at about eight, but we were thinking about getting some dinner afterwards." Gabriel nods in acknowledgment, having already moved back to his desk and gotten distracted by an email from Nathalie regarding one of their sponsors. "Bye Mr Agreste," Marinette says, noticing that he's back in the zone.

She hears him return the farewell as she shuts his office door behind him. Grinning excitedly and trying her best to keep her squeal inside, she rushes to Adrien's room where she knows he's waiting for her. She can hear the sounds of his television as she approaches the door, and she knock and waits a moment before entering.

"You're back!" Adrien announces, muting the television so they won't be distracted by its noise. "How did it go? Did he love it? Did he give you a raise? Did he try to adopt you?"

Marinette laughs giddily, laying the dress out on his bed for the time being before joining him on the couch. "He loved it. He wants to commission me to have it in the Milan fashion week."

Adrien chokes on the water he's sipping and gapes at her. "What? Really? Holy shit, no way!"

She snorts. "That was my reaction too."

"That's incredible, Mari!" He sets his glass down quickly and pulls her into a hug, holding onto her a little longer than necessary. "I'm not surprised, though. That dress is beautiful." He grins at her, the end of his sentence – 'But not as beautiful as the girl who made it' – sits on his tongue but he swallows it back, respecting her wishes to keep things normal between them.

"Thank you," She grins at him, keeping eye contact. They stare at each other for a moment longer, before she shakes herself and looks away, clearing her throat. "So what are you watching? I've finished for the day but I'll have to go home for dinner soon."

Now that it's the summer holidays her time at Gabriel has become a bit more full–on as she no longer has home schooling and exams to keep her busy. Whereas before the summer she was at Gabriel three days a week from nine to three, she now works five days for those same hours, and sometimes on Saturday's to help out at Adrien's photoshoots (although she suspects that that is Nathalie's doing so she and Adrien can hang out in between takes and so he has a friend with him).

However Gabriel allows her to leave early or come in late whenever her parents need her, as is their agreement over the summer, and if she ever finds that the workload is too much Nathalie and Gabriel have assured her that she can go back to three days without a problem. They've already started talking about while she's at lycée and working out when she can come in and if interning at Gabriel could count as work experience, although that's still up in the air until her, her parents and Gabriel can sit down with her new principle to discuss it properly once school starts.

But that's not for another month or so, and she doesn't need to even think about it yet (although she still does, and she still worries and daydreams and tries not to freak out over it, but it's fine).

Adrien starts telling her about the show as he unmutes it and they settle back on the couch, content to watch it. Without having ever seen it before, however, Marinette gets lost quickly and takes her sketchbook out of her handbag instead, flicking through it to see if she can add anything to any of her designs.

"Have you heard from anyone lately?" Adrien asks, not taking his eyes off the screen, but she can tell he's not really paying attention to it.

She knows who he's talking about, but she still pretends she doesn't. "Kagami wants us to get orange juice tomorrow after your photoshoot, and Nino and I have arranged to take Chris swimming on Sunday. Apparently he misses me babysitting him now that Nino no longer goes on dates with Alya. I haven't heard from Chloé since yesterday, but she mentioned wanting to meet me before the movie so we can look around the shops, and I invited Kagami to join us but haven't heard back yet." Arriving at the end of her sketchbook without seeing anything, she closes it and sits it on the cushion beside her, looking at Adrien with a smile. "What about you?"

He rolls his eyes. "You know that's not what I meant." She shrugs, but doesn't deny it. "Kagami texted me about the orange juice too – and Nathalie has already said I can go – but speaking of Alya," Marinette rolls her eyes at his failed attempt at being subtle. "Nino heard from Luka who heard from Ivan who heard from Mylène that she's back to hanging out with Lila again."

"Again?" Marinette shakes her head, before letting it fall back against the top of the couch so she can stare up at the ceiling. "How many times have they had a friendship breakup since I left, again?"

Adrien shrugs. "Five times?" He guesses, counting off the times they stopped being friends then started being friends and then stopped again. "They have an on–again, off–again friendship going for them."

Marinette giggles. "Yeah, that sums it up perfectly." She rolls her eyes, rocking her head to the side to look at Adrien. "Is Lila up to her old tricks again?"

Adrien nods. "Apparently there's a new video up on the Ladyblog about how Cat Noir saved Lila from an escaped lion at the zoo." He rolls his eyes and sinks down in his seat, propping his feet on the edge of the coffee table. "How someone can even stand to listen to her bullshit I'll never understand."

"Who's bullshit? Lila's or Alya's?"

"Either. I suppose it doesn't really matter, anyway. The Ladyblog is more of a tabloid these days anyway, especially since there haven't even been any akumas in, what, over a month now?"

"About that yeah. I almost miss it."

"I sure don't." Plagg pipes up, coming over to them from wherever he, Tikki and Wayzz were hanging out. "I hate transforming. It's so. much. work." He lets out a big sigh and lands on Adrien shoulder, flopping against his neck as if he's exhausted. "I wouldn't even get to cherish my precious camembert!"

"You and your camembert," Tikki grumbles, settling on Marinette's lap.

"My palate is a delicacy, sugar cube." Plagg gives her the stink eye.

"Don't fight you two," Wayzz says, settling down beside Tikki. "What are we watching? Harry Potter? Can we watch Harry Potter? I like Harry Potter."

Marinette and Adrien share an amused look, before he shrugs.

"Sure. Is Half–Blood Prince okay? We haven't watched that one in a while."

"Is that the horny one?" Plagg grumbles, earning him a flick in the head from Adrien.

"Five and six are the horny ones." Marinette says, laughing at the flustered expression that rises to Adrien's face. "Four's the one where he becomes a dick, though, so we won't watch that one as much."

Adrien shakes his head, exasperated, as he gets up to put the disk in the DVD player. "What did I do to deserve this torture?"

"Reveal your identity?" Plagg says sarcastically, earning him a withering glare from the blond and ladybug kwami. "What? If that hadn't happened we'd still be hiding in the bookcase or something and not watching a bunch of children take on a raging psychopath. Hey! That's like you two! Well, not anymore I suppose since Hawk Butt–"

"Plagg," Adrien rolls his eyes, exasperated, but the kwami can tell he's trying not to laugh. "You're impossible."

"Thank you."