A/N: Like I said in the summary, this fic is just a tester to see how far I'll be able to take these characters' personalities while still remaining relatively canon. I want to see how much breathing room I have with them before actually dedicating my time on a full length story. I like to stay as true to them as I can, otherwise I'd just lose motivation.

Anyway, hope you enjoy it and I will, hopefully, see you in the next one! ~808Lionfire

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. It probably wouldn't be as popular if I did.

Overview: Rated T for that one subtle, inappropriate joke. Can either be in the canon 'verse or a Modern!AU (up to you, honestly). Aged up. Technically.

Summary: Just a story thing to get a feel for these characters, so read at your own risk. Nothing major though. There's fluff and a subtle sort of a short-running, inappropriate joke. Like I said: nothing major.

Pairing(s): Adrien/Marinette, Nino/Alya

Another Note for the List

A Miraculous Ladybug and Chat Noir Fanfiction

Adrien knew, even from the first time he laid eyes on her, that Marinette was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

He may be a little biased, but only because they definitely did not start on equal terms. In fact, Adrien had experienced—first-hand—the intensity that her tiny stature hoarded. Namely what Alya and Nino would call the gum incident. And as unintentional as the circumstances of their first meeting had been, he quickly vowed to never do anything that made her that mad ever again. Unintentional or no. An angry Marinette was definitely not someone he wanted to meet in a dark alley.

On one hand, she forgave him for the incident once he apologized. On the other hand, she wasn't able to form a coherent sentence around him for a long time afterward.

At first, Adrien thought the blushing and stuttering was adorable. She flushed the most brilliant pink every time he glanced at her, and hid behind Alya every time they (accidentally) crossed paths during lunch break. He assumed that she was still embarrassed by how quick she was to jump to conclusions before (which he definitely didn't blame her for, honestly), but then a week passed. Then two. And when a month came and went, the fond amusement at her quick retreats turned into anxious concern.

He had absolutely no idea why she seemed so skittish around him. And it was only around him. Adrien probably once fooled himself into thinking that she was just a naturally shy person, but her personality always did an entire one-eighty when she didn't notice him looking.

Coupled with her being a reckoning force, Marinette was a confidant. And not just because she was the class president. She was always accompanied by someone, whether it be Alya, Nino on occasion, or just a random member of their class. They'd always be in close proximity, as if sharing secrets that no one else around them could ever dream to figure out.

With Alya, they'd be rapidly talking about random things, bouncing from topic to topic so quickly that Adrien couldn't even hope to follow. Sometimes he would see her stare bravely up at Kim when he was being particularly competetive. She and Max would occasionally enter a heated debate about some character in some game. She babbled occasionally with Rose while Juleka listened off to the side with a smile on her face. Even Nathanaël, when the red-head was approached by the bubbly half-Asian, curled over his sketchbook and exchanged whispered tips and snickered over something or the other.

Eventually, everything that Marinette was had been just too complex to ponder, so Adrien started to note everything Marinette was not.

Shy? She was not, apparently. If the way she effortlessly flittered from person to person was anything to go by. Reserved? No, most definitely not. Her entire person had always thrummed with energy and she was not afraid to show it. Quiet? That would be the biggest and probably the most amused no that he would ever give in his entire life. Adrien was half-convinced that she had no volume setting whatsoever. Her conversations were always expressive, bubbly, and not at all quiet. Sure, she had her moments where she could giggle and whisper, but she was primarily loud and easily startled.

Normally, Adrien would frown because she had rarely ever been loud and expressive whenever he was in talking distance.

He wanted to experience what their classmates experienced, she was one of his first friends after all. It wasn't all bad, however. Thankfully, talking distance wasn't hearing distance. So whenever he was left feeling particularly down in the dumps from another one-sidedly coherent conversation with the half-Asian, he'd hear a completely disarming sound chime from her. It wasn't always influenced by him, but she always lifted his spirits just a little more when she laughed.

It wasn't much to be happy about (especially since he wasn't a direct cause of it), but the thing about her mirthful noises were that when Marinette laughed, she guffawed. No holds l. No barriers. No reservations. Admittedly, he was startled the first time he heard her laugh from talking distance. The loud, happy sound from the skittish bluenette had been delivered with no hesitation. And right in front of him, to boot.

It took enough bruising nudges from Nino and nearly tripping up the stairs into collège for him to snap out of the startling hold her laughter trapped him in. It was absolutely mortifying.

Even more mortifying, though, was that Marinette saw his little stumble on the last step and stared a good minute at him, looking just as startled as he had been a moment prior. They stood, staring at each other with wide eyes, then she did it. She snorted, quickly dissolving into the same guffaws that sent him spiraling earlier. It was embarrassing to say the least, but better because he was the direct cause of that laugh. It took him looking an utter fool, of course, but she quickly warmed up to him after that.

She stuttered (that time it was because of her laughter, thankfully) out an apology but was unable to to say anything else because the bell shattered the moment. Alya shot him an amused look before taking Marinette's arm and dragged the giggly half-Asian to their class. Nino clapped his back, the meaning behind the gesture was completely lost on the blonde, before tilting his head towards the school and shrugged a shoulder.

It kinda just got better after that.

Every so often during his first class, he could hear giggles behind his back and after making sure the teacher wasn't looking, he turned to look. Marinette's blue eyes were shining as she stared back at him, her face flushing as she quietly slapped a hand over her mouth to smother her laugh. He was aware that his cheeks flushed as sent her a small smile, only letting the quirk of his lips grown when he turned back around.

Of course, her transition to him wasn't all smooth sailing. It wouldn't have been another two months until she could actually hold a lengthy conversation with minimal stuttering, and another handful before she was anywhere near comfortable enough to just cruise around the town with him for the rest of the evening when Alya and Nino suddenly disappeared from another one their group outings. Once she got over her initial hesitance, they—along with Nino and Alya—created a bunch of memories that would never leave him.

One of his favorite moments was during their première of Lycée when she and her family extended him an invitation to celebrate on a particularly lonely Christmas Eve.

He only planned to drop off the presents for Marinette and her parents and leave afterwards. He had already gave Nino his present and left Alya's along with the dark-haired DJ, seeing as the pair were going to spend Christmas together; their first one spent as an official couple. After an extended fencing lesson, Adrien was feeling drained and all he wanted to do was wish the Dupain-Cheng family a Merry Christmas, drive home, and kick his feet up.

Despite that, he found it quite hard not to be pulled in by the boulangerie's warm atmosphere and heady scents. He found it exponentially more difficult when Marinette beamed so brightly at him from behind the cash register. The empty mansion he wanted to return to before seemed less and less appealing when she bounded around the counter to greet him heartily, announcing his presence to her parents as she daintily dodged the presents in his arms to pull him into a hug with warmth that rivaled (and beat) the bakery's.

He desperately wanted to prolong the hug, but his arms were too full of wrapped boxes to return it and the joyful greetings from the backroom drew Marinette back at a safe, platonic distance.

"Feel free to stay over, son. It's Christmas Eve after all," Marinette's father, Tom, had offered after he emerged from the back, clapping him jovially on the back. "Hope you don't mind, but it's a Dupain-Cheng tradition to pass out on the couch after one too many cups of eggnog."

"It's a Dupain tradition, actually," Tom's other half, Sabine, joked after she joined them and naturally gravitated under her husband's arm, patting the large man's stomach lovingly. "We Chengs are very empathetic people and we don't want to leave him all by himself on the couch, so we end up falling asleep next to each other in order to keep Tom comfortable."

Marinette had nudged his arm then, a playful smirk on her lips as her bluebell eyes sparkled mischievously up at him. "In other words," she started, a joking jab already forming, "Dad's just too heavy for me and Mom to lift on our own, so we give up before trying. It's pretty much a habit at this point."

Adrien remembered Tom shooting her a playfully affronted look. "But isn't that what a tradition is?"

The four shared a laugh, the atmosphere warming enough to plant smiles on the last batch of holiday patrons. Shortly after, Tom announced that he needed to finish a few customers before closing up the shop for the day. He enlisted Adrien's help before the model had a chance to open his mouth. He, of course, agreed and then started to protest when the two Dupain-Cheng women started confiscating the gifts in his arms.

Sabine just waved off his efforts to take the presents back, a laugh following her as she started towards the back. Once she was gone, Adrien immediately turned to Marinette and tried to convince her. Much like her mother, however, the bubbly half-Asian merely laughed and expertly dodged his advances, smiling cheekily at his grumpy look. She playfully bumped their hips before skipping into the side door that led up to the house. Tom only chuckled and patted Adrien's shoulder before assigning him to the register.

Together, the two men made quick work of satisfying the boulangerie's customers and packed the leftover goods into containers. Tom let him flip the sign (a real treat for Adrien, honestly) while he started helping a few workers from a local shelter load the boxes into a pickup truck.

Reassured that Tom had enough help moving the leftovers, he started up to the house. He could hear the holiday music pounding from inside before he even opened the door and couldn't contain the smile that stretched across his lips when he opened the door. What he found was just another thing to add on Marinette's not list.

A dancer? She definitely was not. What made it better though was the mortified blush that steamed her face when she caught him watching and– ah, cue the stuttering. He was starting to miss it, honestly. Unlike before, however, Marinette didn't shy or attempt to run away. Instead, she pouted at him and clicked her tongue, daring him to do any better.

Adrien only grinned at the challenge and strode over to her. He took the remote—that she was using as a microphone—from her fingers and changed the song. She rose an eyebrow at him when he chuckled the remote over his shoulder, knowing for a fact that it bounced harmlessly onto the sofa, and bowed to her with a hand held out invitingly. He doesn't remember exactly what he said, but it was stupid enough to make her laugh and grasp her hand in hers.

He could easily the cute squeal she made when he pulled her up to him, lifting her off the ground so they were eye-level. The intensity in her glare was lost beneath the harshness of her blush and Adrien only laughed before he twirled them dramatically around the living room.

That's how Tom and Sabine found them, dancing and giggling like idiots as 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus' of all songs played in the background. The couple soon joined in soon afterwards with Tom holding Sabine much like how Adrien was holding Marinette. The four started snickering on every pass of each other. Just to keep the ridiculous mood, Tom kept the song on repeat until empty stomachs started to protest. They finished the night with a huge Christmas feast and some eggnog while relaxing into some cliché, B-rated Christmas movie.

Adrien wasn't sure if Tom meant he could stay overnight, or if he meant just for dinner, but he woke up the next morning on the ground, pressed up against the couch with the back of a hand dangling from on the couch pressed up against his face. He could smell breakfast cooking and failed to notice the lack of Tom and Sabine's presence in the living room as he sat up, too focused on the face that was smooshed into the couch cushions.

He chuckled at the sight. Another note for the list: Marinette was not a graceful sleeper. But he found that much more endearing than he should've. It was then when he started to wonder if there were anything that she did that he didn't find ridiculously adorable.

After noticing him awake, Sabine treated him to a breakfast that would've left his dietitian in a stupor while Tom jokingly said that he was going to 'wake the beast'. Adrien was puzzled for a split second but then roared out a laugh not even a second when he heard Marinette's loud, disturbed growl (that did, in fact, sound very much like a beast, much to Adrien's amusement) when Tom started belting 'O Holy Night' it the most off-key tone that he could.

Marinette looked surprised for a split second when she stormed into the kitchen, scowling soon after when he playfully called her a grumpy bug. She shot him a sharp look and called him a skittish kitty, no doubt referring to that one time he screamed during a scary movie marathon at Nino's.

Needless to say, it was a very eventful Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Between the vision of a very grumpy Marinette pouting her way to the kitchen table and the gifts they surprised surprised him with when Marinette pulled out them from behind the tree with a dramatic tah-dah, it was one of his better Christmases in a very long time.

"...ton? Chaton? Adrien, honestly. ADRIEN!"

Adrien yelped in surprise, his head hitting the trunk door of his SUV. There was an exasperated sigh and two different pairs of snickers when he crouched low to the ground, holding the top of his head while hissing in pain. Slender fingers were slipping under his a moment later, gently shooing his hands away while another joined the first, assessing the damage.

"Dude," came the familiar voice of Nino, amused like always. "You actually did sound like a cat. I now understand the nickname."

"A little late, babe," Alya laughed, "she had been calling him that since Lycée."

"I knew about the kitty cuddling and extreme laziness," Nino defended himself and ignored the protesting whine from the man in question, "but I never heard him sound like a cat. Tell me, my man, has Mari ever made you purr?"

"Babe."

"What? It's just a question!"

"A really stupid one!"

"Oh, right," Nino said in a knowing tone, no doubt nodding to the line of thought only he followed. "Of course she has. That's not even a question."

Adrien heard something that sounded very like a slap echoed through the air, quickly followed by a 'manly' yelp that was more surprised than hurt. He wanted to roll his eyes when the couple started to bicker but was distracted by the gentle fingers that wove through his hair, drawing out a content sigh despite his throbbing brain. He lifted his head and peered up in the concern blues.

"Are you alright, mon minou?" Marinette asked, letting him take one of her hands to press against his lips.

"I'm fine, bugaboo," Adrien smiled and straightened out from his crumpled position, towering a good head above her but bent forward too keep her hands tangled in his hair. He shot her a flirty smirk and all but purred. "Much better now that I have your concern, ma lady, but maybe I'd feel even better if you could check again so I won't have to fear for my poor head?"

"No need for that," Marinette rolled her eyes and pulled her hands away, ignoring his protesting pout. "If you have enough energy to flirt, kitty, you're perfectly fine."

"Meow-ch!" Adrien exclaimed theatrically, holding a hand over his heart and placing the back of the other on his forehead. "But, purr-incess! If you don't check over your lowly knight, we might have to call the paw-amedics!"

Marinette blinked twice at him before she shook her head, snatched a decently sized box from the back of the car, and walked away. "Three puns, Adrien. You definitely cleared inspection."

"What a catastrophe!" Adrien fell back into the trunk, his back landing on a pile of rolled up carpets. "Quick! Someone cat-call the paw-lice! It's an e-mew-gency!" He gasped dramatically. "A cruel, cruel princess broke a poor kitty's heart!"

"Hey, Mari," came Alya's interjection, "maybe we should call call him in."

Adrien sat up and was about to thank the woman's kind heart for a broken kitty, but–

"He's obviously delirious from hitting his head so hard earlier. How do you even deal with that?"

"Hey!" The blonde model protested, shooting her an affronted look. He ignored the smirk Alya shot him in reply and turned to Marinette—his savior—only for his pleading expression to drop when he saw the look of extreme contemplation on the woman's face. "Mar?"

Her bluebell eyes rolled to him and he tensed, only relaxing when she sent him an affectionate smile and a playful wink. "With a lot of love, obviously."

A bright smile slid onto Adrien's face, a warm tingling traveling through him at her gaze alone. "Love you too, bugaboo."

"You two are disgusting," Nino groaned when Adrien caught the kiss Marinette flirtingly blew to him and pressed it against his chest. Nino turned to Alya with an exasperated look. "We weren't like that, were we?"

"For about a week," Alya admitted with a shrug, resting her elbow on her boyfriend's shoulder and snickering at his distressed moan. "But keep in mind that these two dorks started dating each since our last year in Lycée and they're still like this."

"Might as well get used to it," Marinette smirked, picking up another box with Adrien's help and placing it on the sidewalk. "Green really isn't a good look on you two."

"Take it from Mari," the model laughed, pulling a particularly heavy box from the back of the truck and setting it right next to the one they just put down, "she's the professional designer after all. Besides, after we move all of this inside, we're officially your new neighbors!"

"Oh, joy," came Alya's sarcastic reply, a playful smirk on her face.

"Hope you like the neighborhood, man!" Nino greeted with a cheerful clap to Adrien's back, pointing to one if the windows on the third floor. "I heard that apartment has a really awesome DJ. I really hope he doesn't wake up guys up in the middle of the night with his sick beats."

"Ohh," Marinette's voice came in knowingly, a joking smile on her lips as she shot him a mischievous look. "So that's what the earplugs were for! Thank's Alya!"

Nino swiveled his head towards his girlfriend. "Babe!"

Alya held up her hands innocently. "I bought us each a pair too! And who knows? We might need it when Mari ever decides to make Adrien purr."

Immediately following that comment was a loud, undignified snort from the girl in question. Soon enough, the four friends found themselves dissolving into fits of laughter.