The idea was to write a story inspired by a randomly assigned silly song! (Super fun idea!) I had Person of Interest by Rebecca Black.
Ho boy, did I struggle with this one! I know NOTHING about detective stuff but I was too stubborn to do anything else. So just ignore any glaring inaccuracies :)
Person of Interest
Detective Adrien Agreste couldn't pinpoint the exact moment his investigation took over his life, but he could pinpoint the exact moment he knew he was in over his head.
He considered himself rather knowledgeable about his own strengths and weaknesses, so he felt confident in his decision to head up the investigation of Paris's resident vigilante, Ladybug.
For about a year, Adrien steadily pieced together more and more information on the elusive lady in red. The seasoned cops were rather impressed by all the headway he'd made in such a short time, since no one else seemed to have been able to satisfactorily verify that she was much more than an urban legend until he came along.
Adrien had even managed to meet her in person enough to know she was a talented escape artist and, though he'd never admit it to his colleagues, disarmingly beautiful. Even her charming personality wasn't enough to throw Detective Agreste off of his case.
He persisted in his investigation, determined to find out who was hiding behind that spotted mask and bring her to justice.
Adrien sat in his office long after the majority of his coworkers had gone home, surrounded by folders full of research and evidence. He rarely disregarded his sleep schedule enough to stay up into the wee hours of the morning, but he could feel that he was on the precipice of a breakthrough. If he could connect the right dots, he could-
Adrien's eyes narrowed as he stared at the security camera feed from last month's vigilante battle.
The fight itself took place several buildings over, and only pedestrians passed by this particular camera. On first glance, everything looked normal, but Adrien recognized a familiar face.
What was a famous fashion designer doing on that side of town in the middle of fashion week?
He froze the frame and zoomed in as much as possible. It was rather grainy, but he was positive it was her.
A quick search told him she was supposedly attending an event at the Grand Paris Hotel that night. On the other side of town.
After a year of searching, Adrien finally found his first person of interest: Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
A week later, Adrien stood in the cold, empty foyer of his father's house wearing a perfectly tailored suit and just the right amount of hair gel.
"Your father will be down shortly, Adrien," Nathalie assured him without taking her eyes off of her tablet.
"Thank you," Adrien said, adjusting his tie for the fourth time since arriving.
A cold voice cut through the silence.
"I see you are capable of being punctual after all," it said.
Adrien fought the childish urge to roll his eyes as his father descended the stairs.
"Good afternoon, Father," He greeted.
Gabriel Agreste's lips twitched in the ghost of a smile.
"Good afternoon. I must say, I was quite surprised that you asked me to introduce you to one of my colleagues, seeing as how you have no interest in the fashion industry," Gabriel drawled.
Adrien pasted on the charming smile that always got him exactly what he wanted.
"I may have ulterior motives. I hear that Ms. Dupain-Cheng is even more lovely in person, and I had to see for myself," Adrien lied smoothly.
Gabriel nodded as if his theory had been confirmed; it was how Adrien knew his father had fallen for his cover story.
"I assumed so. Miss Dupain-Cheng may come across as soft, but rest assured, she is not to be trifled with. Tread carefully. She is an important business partner," Gabriel said warningly.
Adrien chuckled. "I promise I'll be perfect gentleman," he said.
"I expect nothing less," Gabriel said with a sniff.
With that, Nathalie swung the doors open and led the charge to the waiting car.
Soon, Adrien was sitting across the table from an empty seat as they awaited the arrival of Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
Nathalie's fingers tapped against her tablet from her spot beside him, and Gabriel nursed a cup of tea. Adrien figured his father could use something calming, given his high strung nature.
Then Marinette Dupain-Cheng swept into the room wearing the most beautiful pink dress Adrien had ever seen. Her dark hair was braided down her back, and her big blue eyes glittered under the atmospheric light of the restaurant.
Adrien's heart skipped a beat. How on Earth was he going to talk to her when her presence alone stole his breath away?
Marinette shook Gabriel's hand, after which Gabriel introduced her to Adrien. Her eyes met his, and something playful danced in their blue depths.
Adrien reflexively threw on his polite smile and extended a hand to her.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Dupain-Cheng," He said.
"Likewise," she said. "You can call me Marinette."
"Marinette," Adrien repeated, hating the way his voice softened and betrayed the effect she had on him.
Her smile grew into a teasing grin, and he knew he was in trouble. Big trouble.
Nearly two months later, Adrien was swimming in what-ifs and rejected date outfits.
He told himself that going out with Marinette regularly was strictly business – a way to gather information and discover any possible connection she had to Ladybug – but a little voice in his head told him he was lying to himself.
He was falling fast, and desperately hoping Marinette had no connections to a masked vigilante.
A knock on his door had him flailing to throw on a shirt so that he could open it. His best friend, Nino, stood there with two iced coffees and a bewildered frown.
"Uhh, is this a bad time?" He asked.
"Nino!" Adrien exclaimed and embraced his friend, careful not to knock the coffees over.
"Hey, bro!" Nino laughed.
Adrien pulled away to get a good look at his friend.
"You didn't tell me you were gonna be in town!" Adrien said.
Nino shrugged, "Honestly, I wasn't sure what the shooting schedule would be like, so I didn't wanna tell ya till I was sure," Nino said, entering the room and placing the coffees on coasters.
"Looks like I caught you on a bad day, though," Nino said.
Adrien chuckled nervously and shut the door, realizing he looked like a frazzled mess and his shirt was only half buttoned.
"Uhh, I have a date tonight and I can't figure out what to wear," Adrien admitted.
Nino raised an eyebrow, "A date?"
Adrien felt his cheeks grow hot, and he nodded.
"But you don't go on dates," Nino said, looking bewildered.
Adrien crosses his arms defensively, "I've dated before."
"And you hated it. You said you'd never do it again," Nino said, brow furrowed in concern. "Wait, this isn't related to your Ladybug obsession, is it?"
"Absolutely not."
Adrien tried his best poker face, but Nino could always see right through it.
Nino slapped a hand to his forehead.
"Adrien! I leave you alone for a few months and you've already gotten yourself into a mess," Nino lamented.
Adrien floundered for something to refute Nino's claim, but ultimately slumped in defeat, "I'm in a huge mess, Nino."
His best friend sighed and guided Adrien over to sit on the couch next to him.
"Alright, fill me in so I can help," he said.
"She's a person of interest in my Ladybug case, and the only real lead I have. And she's the most amazing woman I've ever met," Adrien admitted.
"The person of interest or Ladybug," Nino asked.
Adrien's stomach did an unpleasant flip.
"I-I mean, Ladybug is brilliant but Marinette-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Marinette? As in, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the fashion designer?" Nino exclaimed.
"Yeah," Adrien said.
Nino blinked uncomprehendingly, "Wow. Small world."
"You know her?"
"Alya's best friend." Nino said.
"Oh," Adrien said dumbly.
"So why is she a person of interest?" Nino asked.
Adrien sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "She was caught on security cams right after Ladybug left the crime scene. In the middle of fashion week."
Nino frowned.
"You sure dude? There's no way Marinette had time to be there. Alya was reporting on fashion week and she didn't even have time to eat, much less make it to the other side of town."
"Exactly. I've lived and breathed fashion my whole life, and there's no explanation for her being there," Adrien said.
Nino frowned, "What are you gonna do if she does turn out to be Ladybug?"
Adrien's heart lurched uncomfortably in his chest.
"I don't know, Nino."
"You really are in a huge mess, bro."
Adrien sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face, "Tell me about it."
…
After Nino helped Adrien pick something to wear, Adrien headed toward the little restaurant Marinette has wanted to try this week. When he arrived, she was already seated at the table. The dark curtain of her hair fell around her shoulders and her lips were painted red to match her crimson fingernails.
"Wow. You look beautiful," Adrien said.
Marinette smiled, "Thank you. I've been told that red is my color."
Red was Ladybug's color too, and that thought simultaneously thrilled and terrified Adrien.
"It certainly is," he said on a sigh.
Marinette grinned and leaned over the table.
"Wanna hear a secret?" She asked.
Adrien smiled back, "Sure."
"I'm actually glad you identified me as a person of interest, Detective. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked me out. You're pretty interesting yourself," she whispered, throwing him a wink that made his heart stutter.
Adrien swallowed uncomfortably, "Oh. You know about that?"
Marinette smiled and lifted her wine glass to her lips.
"I'm very perceptive," she said.
Adrien frowned, "Then why did you accept my invitation to go out in the first place?"
"I have a soft spot for persistent detectives," she replied casually.
Adrien narrowed his eyes at her, "I didn't tell you I was a detective when we first met."
Marinette's blue eyes twinkled with barely concealed mirth, "You didn't? I was so sure I remembered hearing you introduce yourself as Detective Agreste."
Her expression was the picture of innocence, but Adrien had caught onto her meaning immediately.
He'd announced to Ladybug that he was Detective Agreste.
For almost two years, Adrien had steadily pieced together more and more information on the elusive lady in red. Now that he'd finally found her, he knew he'd never be able to turn her in.
Apparently, Marinette knew it too.