A/N: What do I know about micro economics? Or Parisian school programs? Or modelling? Or fencing? Nothing. Nothing at all. Go with it people.

For Shiloa, who has a birthday! That is definitely 5000% today. Yes. Joyeux anniversaire, mon amie!

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"And one more thing."

Adrien, standing in his bedroom doorway, suppressed a groan. Natalie was full of 'one more things'. But he waited with his hand on the door for her to finish.

"Your father wants to know if you need anything for your submission to the Spring Art Gala your class is putting on."

"Ah..." Adrien rubbed his neck. 'About that,' he imagined himself saying. 'I've actually decided not to do a photo shoot. Could you ask if he'd be willing to put in a word with my fencing instructor instead?'

"No, that's alright, Natalie," was what he actually said. "I've got it under control. Tell him I said thanks!"

"Alright then." With a nod, Natalie turned and walked back down the hallway.

Adrien sighed as he shut his door again, slumping against it.

"Good to see you're finally sticking up for yourself," Plagg teased, zooming out of his pocket.

Adrien rolled his eyes.

"You could have at least asked her for some Camembert," his kwami groused.

"I just fed you this morning," Adrien said with a weak glare, sitting back down at his desk. "And anyway, the Gala's not for ages. I don't need to worry about it anytime soon."

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Well, thought Adrien the next morning, that was only sort of true, since –

"A bake sale?" Chloé wailed. "But this is a gala for the arts!"

"It is indeed. But a bake sale is the most cost-effective way to raise money for it," Miss Bustier explained from the front of the classroom, "And since the class voted against Mayor Bourgeois funding it, so that we could retain total creative control," – Adrien's classmates smirked – "that's what we're going to do."

Chloé slumped back in her seat, arms crossed.

"Baking can be a kind of art," Adrien pointed out. "Have you ever seen the stuff Marinette's dad makes?"

"Yeah!" Nino turned in his seat to face Marinette. "You should get your dad to contribute something! If we sold it for slightly cheaper for even just a day, we'd make a fortune!"

"I love those flower cookies he makes," Rose swooned. "They're so adorable. They'd be perfect!"

"Well. A-actually," Marinette stammered at her lap. "I was planning on making blueberry muffins."

Even Miss Bustier stared at her.

"What?" Alya raised her eyebrows. "But your dad makes the best baked goods in the city!"

"I know!" Marinette's head shot up. "I mean, thank you, everyone, for thinking so highly of my family's bakery. But this is supposed to be a student-run event! It wouldn't feel right to make my dad do the work."

"But muffins?" asked Alix. "Isn't that a bit...average? Why not make something a bit more exciting, when you have the gear to do it?"

"Well, yes," Marinette was back to staring at her lap, hands clasped in front of her. "But, uh, the thing is –" she glanced up, "I don't know how to use them?"

There was silence for a second.

"Just because her family owns a bakery doesn't mean Marinette herself knows how to bake!" Alya defended, hands on her hips.

"Your dad never taught you?" Rose looked sad.

"I, uh, never had much interest in it?" Marinette's arms were flailing a bit now. "But I'm sure I can figure out how to make muffins! So put me down for that. Uh, please," she added in the direction of their teacher.

"Very good," Miss Bustier said, marking it down. "Everyone must contribute at least one type of baked good to sell. We'd like to have some variety, so if your heart's set on making one thing in particular, speak now."

As his classmates' hands went up, Adrien turned to whisper to Marinette, "You really never learned how to bake?"

She blushed crimson. "N-no." She frowned at him, then, and it hit Adrien like a smack in the face. "Why is that such a problem?"

"Not a problem!" he assured. "Just a surprise."

But she kept frowning and looked away from him. The Gum Incident shot through his mind. Why was he still so bad at this?

"And Adrien? What will you be making?" came Miss Bustier's pointed voice from over his shoulder.

He turned around, sheepish. "Uh, brownies?"

His classmates giggled.

"Nice try, man, but Kim beat you to it," Nino said, nudging Adrien in the arm.

"Okay, uh..."

"Rice Krispie Squares?" Nino suggested, and Adrien could tell it was an offer to teach him how to make them.

"Yeah," he agreed, relieved. "I'll make those."

Miss Bustier marked it down. "Alright then. Now we'll split into teams of two for the logistics. We'll need pairs to set up the sale area, do a radio announcement, hand out fliers –"

Marinette's hand shot up, and Miss Bustier looked at her. "Yes, Marinette?"

"I'll do the fliers," Marinette said. "I mean, I can design them, if my partner will help me pass them out."

From the corner of his eye, Adrien saw Alya's arm start to lift, but it was suddenly the most important thing in the world to beat her to it. "I'll do it!" He thrust his hand into the air. Everyone's heads snapped towards him. "Uh," he rubbed the back of his neck. "I spend a lot of time in public spaces for my shoots anyway, so it won't be any trouble to pass out fliers."

Miss Bustier's eyebrows had shot up, but she nodded. "Excellent. Marinette and Adrien will make and hand out fliers. Next..."

But Adrien had stopped listening. He sighed and slumped forward in his seat, resting his head on his palm and ignoring the looks his classmates were giving him.

Great. The planning for the actual gala hadn't even started yet and already he was getting everything wrong.

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"Yo, it seems like you're spending a lot of time with Marinette lately," Nino said as Adrien walked with him to lunch. He was smiling, one eyebrow curved up.

"Ye-es?" Adrien raised his own eyebrow.

"Any particular reason?" The smile was more of a smirk, really.

"She's my friend?"

"Is that a question?"

"She's my friend," Adrien confirmed, sitting at a table and opening his lunchbox. "And I think I upset her, earlier –"

"So your solution is to spend the weekend working on fliers with her, instead of just talking to her during a break." Nino sat opposite him and pointed a spoon at him. "Like now, for instance."

Adrien felt his face heat up. "What are you getting at?"

Nino shrugged. "Do you like her?"

"Of course I li – "

"Do you have a crush on her?"

Adrien gaped. "No, I - you had a crush on her, I wouldn't do that to you –"

Nino rolled his eyes. "Exactly. I had a crush on her. I am now happily dating her best friend, who rocks. And dude, it's not like you can control who you have a crush on. You should ask her out. Marinette, I mean."

"I – no. You're reading this wrong." Adrien unwrapped a sandwich. "I mean, not that there's anything wrong with Marinette, she's great, I just –"

"C'mon, you gotta admit she's cute."

Marinette was cute. Probably the cutest girl who had ever existed, if Adrien was being honest. But that was beside the point –

"It's not that."

Nino raised another eyebrow at him over his thermos of stew.

"It's just, I, uh, like someone else. No one you know," Adrien added quickly. "I know her from, uh, work –"

"Your crush on Ladybug doesn't count," Nino deadpanned.

Adrien dropped his sandwich. "I – what –?" he choked out. "Why would you think –?"

"Dude, you check Alya's Ladyblog more often than I do, and I'm her boyfriend."

Adrien let his head fall onto the table with a dull clang.

"Look," Nino said, laughing. "I get it. Ladybug's, like, a literal superhero. And I know we actually met her and she was really cool, and obviously super hot. But it's like a celebrity crush, you know? It doesn't count in real life because it's never going to actually happen. It's okay to swoon over Ladybug while dating a girl you like in real life who probably swoons over Jagged Stone and Chat Noir in her spare time."

'Never going to actually happen'.

Also, Marinette was apparently, inexplicably, immune to Chat's charm.

Adrien must have been silent too long, because Nino relented, "Hey man, you don't have to date Marinette if you don't want to. I've just noticed that you seem to really care about her." He paused. "Also you talk about her, like, a lot."

Adrien groaned.

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A/N: The 'Canon Divergence' tag is there because this fic basically takes some of Adrien's and Marinette's character-development out of their canon context and dumps it all into this story. Same character-development, basically (based on my own interpretations, obviously), just conveniently and shamelessly repackaged for my own purposes. Also the reveal happens before Volpina shows up, so there's that. It seems the power of artistic liberties has gone to my head – I am too far gone to be saved.

This fic is un-betaed, so if you catch any mistakes, or any part's confusing, please let me know! Other comments are also appreciated. : )

Fic and chapter titles are from Greg Laswell's 'Landline', which is a good angsty Ladynoir song, if you ever have need of one.