WATCH THE EPISODE "TROUBLEMAKER" BEFORE READING THIS STORY!

Chapter 1: Pick-Ups and Lost Phones

It was late in the afternoon in Paris, France. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Nobody could ask for a better, more brighter day to be out and about. Marinette was one of the lucky ones of the day. Today was Adrien's photoshoot. She was ecstatic. She waited for 2 weeks for this day to come. One whole day with Adrien was more than she could have ever imagined.

"Can you believe it, Tikki? A photoshoot! With Adrien! I can't believe this is happening!" Marinette said as she searched through her dresser, picking out an outfit for the special occasion. Clothes flew all over the room. Tikki floated next to her, dodging a purple shirt that nearly hit her.

"I'm so happy for you, Marinette! Maybe it's a good thing Adrien saw the photos of him in your room. Things happen for a reason, just like how there was a reason you became Ladybug." Tikki told her. Marinette smiled. She was very thankful to have a little floating companion like Tikki around. Tikki has been there for her through thick and thin. If it wasn't for her, she wouldn't know what to do with herself, especially around Adrien. She gave Marinette the confidence to be brave, even in the toughest of circumstances.

"I'm really shocked he didn't see me as a total creep after what he saw on TV the other week. He's so understanding..." She started zoning out, sighing. "Adrien…"

"Marinette?" Tikki tried to get her attention. "Marinette?" Marinette was still spacing out. Tikki lightly threw the purple shirt that almost hit her at Marinette's face. Marinette yelped. She was back down to earth. Marinette giggled, with the shirt still on her face. Tikki laughed with her.

"Sorry Tikki. Okay, gotta focus." She said as she took the shirt off of her face and began to go through her dresser again. "I just can't-" Marinette threw another shirt out from her dresser. "-find the right top!" She threw a giant pile out from the dresser drawers. She stopped and gasped. "Yes! This is it!" Marinette proclaimed as she held up a salmon color flowy top. "What do you think, Tikki?" She asked her.

"I love it, but why are you getting all fancy? It's a photoshoot, not a royal ball." Tikki chuckled.

"You don't understand. Adrien asked me to go with him to his photoshoot! The love of my life and the light of my heart! He never asks anyone that! This is basically a date! So I need to look my best!" Marinette explained. Tikki rose an eyebrow.

"But...he thinks you're a fan, not a crush. So it's not really a date, technically speaking." Tikki said. Marinette pondered what she just heard. She sighed.

"Maybe you're right. Still, doesn't hurt to try to impress him, you know?" Marinette told her. Tikki smiled at her.

"Well, you do have a point. Way to be positive!" Tikki responded, twirling in place. Suddenly the phone rang. Marinette's head jolted. She ran over to her daybed and picked up the phone. She looked at who was calling. She yelped, dropping the phone.

"Gah! It's Adrien! Uh...uh…" She said, running in place in a panic.

"Marinette! Answer it!" Tikki said as she picked up the phone with all the strength she could. Marinette grabbed it from her and pressed the answer button as she looked away, dreading what she was thinking she was going to say to him. She put the phone to her ear.

"Uh...hello biscuit...I MEAN THIS IS-" She stopped talking and coughed nervously, "This is...Marinette." She facepalmed as did Tikki.

"Uh...hey, Marinette. It's Adrien." Adrien responded. He was in the backseat of a black car with his bodyguard and photographer seated in the front. "I'm calling to let you know that we're on our way to pick you up."

"Wait, I thought that you were sending me the address so I could meet you there." Marinette said, confused.

"Well, that was the plan. I just thought that picking you up would be the more...well...gentlemanly thing to do." Adrien chuckled nervously. Marinette blinked in astonishment.

"Oh…" Marinette chuckled too, "Okay. Uhh...how far are you?" Marinette asked.

"We should be there in abooouuuttt-" Adrien leaned forward so he could see the GPS built into the car. "...3 minutes." Marinette screamed. Adrien jerked the phone away from his ear. The phone then hung up. Adrien stared at the phone in shock, then shrugged his shoulders. "Typical Marinette." He giggled.

"I haven't even brushed my hair! Ah, this can't be happening! Tikki help me! I'm going to die of embarrassment and have to live my life hidden from the world! Where's my hairbrush? WHERE IS MY HAIRBRUSH?!" Marinette screamed. Tikki flew over to her and lifted her right hand...holding the hairbrush.

"Marinette, relax. You look great. All you need to do is-" She stopped speaking once she noticed Marinette was pacing around, quickly getting ready. "Why do I even bother nowadays." Tikki laughed.

3 minutes passed. The black car pulled up to the Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie. Adrien stepped out of the car, closing the door behind him. He was wearing a black, long-sleeved, collared shirt with a navy blue bowtie, jeans, and black dress shoes. He opened the door to the bakery and walked in, seeing Marinette's parents standing there with trays of baked goods in their hands. They turned their heads, seeing him coming inside.

"Oh, hello Adrien! What a nice surprise!" Sabine said.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. How are you?" Adrien responded with a smile.

"We are doing fantastic. Say...nice outfit you have there. Maybe you can, as you kids say these days, 'hook me up' with one like that." Tom said before being elbowed by Sabine. Adrien smiled. He always admired Marinette's parents. They were always hard at work and showing an extreme amount of humility to those around them. He strived to be just like that. His father wasn't exactly what he believes to be the best role model out there when it comes to love and compassion. From a hard-at-work standpoint, he might be.

"Thank you. It's for my photoshoot today. I thought Marinette told you I invited her." Adrien said.

"Oh, she hasn't stopped talking about it! She has been excited for this ever since the day you invited her." Sabine told him. Adrien smiled. It was nice to hear how much Marinette had been looking forward to this. "I'll let her know you've arrived." She turned her head to the door leading to the stairs. "Marinette! Adrien's here!".

"I didn't know you were picking her up." Tom said to Adrien.

"I just thought it would be a nice thing to do instead of making her walk all the way there. It's what friends do." Adrien explained. Tom smirked, very pleased with Adrien's decision.

"Good man." Tom said before giving him a nudge. Adrien rubbed his arm. His nudge was more like a hard punch to the bicep. Sabine turned her body to face theirs.

"You can go upstairs and knock on her door. Perhaps she didn't hear me. She's probably listening to loud music again." Sabine said to him as she shook her head in amusement.

"Thanks." Adrien waved to them as he opened the door to the stairs. Tom and Sabine watched him walk up the stairs before sighing.

"Awww." They both said. They knew that there was some kind of spark between Adrien and their daughter. They had hoped that someday, something would happen between them. For as long as they've been waiting, they'd grown somewhat impatient.

As Adrien walked up the steps, Plagg came out from in his shirt pocket.

"You know, this is new for you to invite someone to one of your photoshoots. Why the sudden fascination?" Plagg asked him as he ate a slice of Camembert.

"I uh...really can't tell you." Adrien said, looking quite nervous. Plagg couldn't believe what he was hearing. Adrien usually told him everything; well, mostly everything.

"Wait, let me get this straight. You can't tell me, the person who is one of your secrets…. a secret? That's far from making sense."

"You'll find out soon enough, I promise. You just have to trust me with this one, okay?" Adrien asked him. Plagg raised his eyebrow and drooped his head.

"Uuugghhh okay. You owe me a whole 5 blocks of camembert for this, you know."

"If you say so. Now hide, Plagg." Adrien said as he opened his shirt pocket for Plagg to crawl inside. Adrien looked above him to see the door to Marinette's room. He could hear banging and rustling coming from inside the room. He climbed up the ladder and knocked on the door. "Marinette? You in here?"

"Adrien! I uh...I'm o-AH!" Marinette slipped on a shirt lying on the floor. Adrien gasped.

"Marinette? Are you okay?" Adrien asked. He became concerned, so concerned that he opened the door to see if she was alright. His head popped into the room, confronting a gussied up Marinette. She was wearing the salmon-colored flowy top that she found with a pair of dark blue jeans, royal blue flats, and a flower clip in her hair. She had a tint of lipstick on. Adrien stared at her in awe. Adrien had never seen her so dressed up before. Marinette noticed he was in the room and froze. She had the same expression on her face. She couldn't believe what he was wearing. She tried to keep herself under control.

"Adrien! Hot are you? I mean HOW...how are you?" Marinette nervously chuckled. She regretted everything at that point. Adrien, thankfully, didn't think too much of it.

"I'm...good. Marinette, you uh…" Adrien nervously spoke. "You look beautiful." He finished speaking with a cheeky grin. Marinette blushed. She didn't expect to hear that come out of his mouth.

"I uh...thank you! Same to you! Actually, wait no you don't look beautiful- "Adrien's eyes widened in shock. Marinette began to panic. She couldn't get her sentences straight. Her arms flailed around. "No, no no I mean you look great! It's just beautiful isn't the right word. What's the word...uh…it's on the tip of my tongue…" Adrien chuckled at her behavior.

"It's okay, Marinette. I get what you're trying to say." He replied as he rubbed the back of his neck. Marinette nervously chucked once again. They both stood there, a little clueless as to what to do next. Adrien decided to speak again. "So, you ready to go?"

"Oh uh...yeah! I just have to get my phone..." She began to look around. She forgot where she placed her phone. "Uh...wherever I put it." She walked around, looking everywhere. "I just had my phone 3 minutes ago. How could I misplace it that quickly?" Marinette panicked. "Ah...uh...just give me a minute, Adrien. I'll be quick."

"Take your time! There's no rush." Adrien reassured her. He began to walk around the room, observing what he could see. Even though he had a room that many could compare to a teenager's paradise, he liked Marinette's room because it contained nothing but the simple stuff. There was no rock climbing wall or basketball hoops or a giant pinball machine; just the bare necessities. He wished life could be that simple sometimes. His eyes shifted to her desk, where all of the pictures of him were hanging from the wall. He already saw them before while fighting Troublemaker as Cat Noir. He never got a close look at them though. He couldn't believe how many pictures of him there were. It, thankfully, didn't creep him out at all because he was used to it. He looked at one photo of him surrounded by a field of daisies. He pointed to it. "Heh, this photo."

"Hmm?" Marinette uttered. She turned her head to Adrien, who was looking at the photos of him on her wall. She thought she would be nervous but since he saw them already and was perfectly fine with it, she decided that there was nothing to worry about. She walked over to him. She observed the photo he was pointing to. She couldn't find anything wrong with the photo. He looked completely normal. "What's wrong with it?" She asked him.

"Oh, nothing's wrong with it. I just remember that I discovered that day that I was allergic to daisies." Adrien explained.

"Wait you're allergic to feathers and daisies?" Marinette asked him.

"Yeah. After I came home that day, I couldn't breathe through my nose at all. Plus I had some rashes." Adrien explained.

"Wow. Remind me never to make a derby out of those if I ever enter one of those contests again." Marinette chuckled. "Speaking of which…" She said before pointing to a photo of Adrien wearing her derby hat from the contest. She wasn't afraid to show him the photos of him anymore. She knew that he was fine with them so she knew she didn't have to be shy. Adrien turned to smile at her before taking his gaze back to the photo.

"That photo wouldn't be possible without allergy medication." He said to her.

"How many pills did you have to take?" Marinette asked him, concerned that he was in distress because of her.

"About 3...and a bit of nasal spray." Marinette gasped. She felt so bad. The guilt started sinking in. Adrien noticed and waved his hands around. "But don't worry! As a model, you have to do things you don't want to do. The allergies didn't bother me that much at all. Trust me." He said as she smiled with relief. "It's not as bad as this royal blue and green feather vest I had to wear with an orange fedora. It made me look like a peacock. I'm kind of surprised the name 'bird boy' or something didn't come into play." He said before they both laughed. They suddenly heard a car horn beep outside. They both turned their heads to the window. Adrien turned back to Marinette. "Oops...kind of lost track of time. We better get going." Adrien walked over to the door leading to the steps. "Shall we?" He asked her. She looked at her desk noticing her phone wedged under her keyboard. She wondered how in the world it got there. She picked the phone up and returned her gaze to him.

"Yeah, now that I found my phone." Marinette said as she walked towards him, holding her phone in her hand. They both began to walk down the steps. Once they reached the first floor, Marinette popped her head through the bakery door. "Bye Mom! I'll be back late tonight!"

"Bye honey! Be careful!" They both said. Tom and Sabine sneaked towards the door so they could watch them walk to the car. Tom sighed and drooped his head. Sabine put her hand on his shoulder. They both turned to look at each other.

"It'll happen someday. They need to realize their feelings on their own." Sabine explained.

CHAPTER 2 COMING SOON!