Chapter One

Adrien's head pounded with an intensity to rival a subwoofer. The light was too bright behind his closed eyelids and the dull buzz of traffic outside was just loud enough to make him wince. He rolled to his side and the sheet slipped from his toned body as he buried his face into the pillow. His nostrils twitched at the unfamiliar scent, he wasn't in his own bed. Prying a defiant eyelid open, Adrien took in the small room with its plain white walls, brown curtains and scattering of magazines on the floor. Many of those magazines had his image plastered onto them. With a sense of trepidation, he turned his head to look over his shoulder and cringed, he was in bed with a girl he didn't even recognise. Much to his despair she was also awake.

"Hey babe," she drawled as she reached over to run her fingers along his bare back. His muscles contracted at the unwanted contact, yet the girl took his reaction as a good sign. "Last night was incredible," she purred as she closed the space between them and pressed her naked body against his.

He bit his lip, wondering what had possessed him to sleep with a stranger. Too much booze was the likely answer. He ran a hand through his hair and unintentionally displayed his flexing triceps. This resulted in the girl throwing a bare leg over his hip. His hand fisted in his hair. "I don't remember what happened."

The leg was removed however it was quickly replaced by a firm press of breasts to his back and a cloying hand on his waist. "We met at the party last night, one thing led to another and we ended up here."

He sat up so suddenly she was tossed away to the mattress. He scanned the floor for his clothes and was thankful to see they were all there. As he snatched up his jeans his wallet fell to the floor, he retrieved it and deftly observed its contents and let out a relieved sigh, he was down one condom. At least he'd had some sense. He threw the sheet aside and pulled on his clothes.

"Where are you going?" The girl pouted.

Adrien finally turned and looked directly at the girl while he was lowering his t-shirt over his abs. She had an uncanny resemblance to Ladybug and he began to understand why he'd ended up in this situation. "I need to go home," he explained as he reached for his shoes.

"But I thought we could go out for breakfast."

He shook his head. "Sorry I've got things to do."

Her pout turned into a frown. "You told me you loved me last night."

Adrien froze with his shoelaces between his fingers. "I said what?"

"You said 'I love you, milady' I distinctly remember."

"What else did I say?"

"By that point the rest of our communication was done without words," she smirked.

Kneeling on the bed, Adrien captured her face in his hands and combed the sides of her dark hair away from her cheeks. His gaze dropped to her ears as he gently pivoted her head from side to side. She wore earrings but they were silver hoops not ladybug studs, although he suspected Ladybug's earrings would look different when she wasn't transformed, just like his ring. These were not the ones his counterpart wore. The girl tilted her chin up and puckered her lips. He awkwardly placed a kiss on her cheek and launched off the bed.

"What was that?" she snapped.

"A kiss goodbye," he confirmed as he shrugged on his jacket and ignored his untied shoelace.

"What! You can't leave me, Adrien. What we shared last night wasn't something to throw away!"

A muscle in his jaw clenched as he stiffly turned to face her. "I can't even remember your name."

Her mouth dropped open and her chin wobbled as her voice cracked, "Nicolette, my name's Nicolette."

"I'm sorry, Nicolette. I'm really sorry but I've got to leave." He opened the door to go and found a number of passed out bodies littering the hallway. With cautious steps, he managed to negotiate the minefield of crisscrossed limbs and find the exit.

Nicolette was in hot pursuit as she tugged on her sandals while hopping her way towards him. "Adrien, wait!" Her shrill voice caused some groans from the limp forms in close proximity as well as a wince from her quarry. Cool air washed over Adrien's face as he opened the door to the street, but she caught his arm before his foot hit the pavement. "Please, I need to see you again."

He dipped his head from the glaring clouds outside and plucked his sunglasses from his coat pocket, easing them on. "You look a lot like some else I know. What I said was meant for her." He glanced over the top of his sunglasses, Nicolette looked like he'd just slapped her. Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she struggled to respond. "As I said, I'm sorry. I guess I got so drunk I forgot who I was with."

"Forget her, be with me." Nicolette breathed as her fingers tightened on his sleeve.

"I can't. I'm sorry but I just can't." Her fingers relaxed and dropped away. He pushed his sunglasses back up his nose and gave her a subtle nod as he turned and left. The pounding of his shoes on the sidewalk made his head throb but the pain was quickly surpassed by something worse as his phone pinged. It seemed Nicolette had been busy while he'd been sleeping. There were numerous photographs on social media of a very naked Adrien Agreste with an equally naked Nicolette snuggled in his arms as she took selfies of them lying together in her bed. He was sound asleep but she'd managed to position his head in a way that made it look like he was kissing her neck with his eyes closed. The only mercy was that his leg was thrown over hers concealing the more private parts of his anatomy. "What was I thinking?" he muttered to himself. No sooner were the words out of his mouth then the sender of the news called.

The cold voice of his father sounded in Adrien's ear with a sting that made him flinch. "Care to explain this, Adrien."

Drawing a deep breath, he replied. "I had too much to drink. I-I made a mistake."

"A mistake? This is more than a mistake, Adrien. This is a stain on my brand. There can't be stains in the fashion industry."

"I'm not the first model to be in this situation."

"No, you're not. Should I treat you as I did them?"

Adrien swallowed, "No father."

"Why not? Why do you deserve preferential treatment?"

He wanted to scream, because I'm your son, but he refrained. "Everyone makes mistakes. I've never done anything before to-to…"

"Sully my work. Are those the words you're looking for?"

"I'm sorry, father."

There was a drawn-out silence before Gabriel responded, "As you should be."

"Can you fix this?"

"Nathalie is already on it. This is the first and last time I do this for you, Adrien. Step out of line again and you're modelling career is over. No modelling for my fashion house, nor any other. Do you understand?"

"Yes, father."

"Good. Now go home to your apartment, avoid the media and keep to yourself. Once this has blown over I expect you to resume your usual schedule."

His fist was white knuckled against his phone as he spoke, "Okay." There was no goodbye from his father, just the click of the phone as he hung up. Adrien released a shaky breath, both angry and hurt by his father's words. He was sick of being seen as just an employee. He'd only continued modelling because the pay was ridiculously good and it allowed him to escape his living arrangements within his father's mansion. There was no way he could earn enough money to live on his own by any other means and he needed to live alone. Having a roommate of any sort was too risky, he couldn't jeopardise his secret.

Plagg's muffled voice came from his jacket pocket. "Your father is a jerk."

"Understatement of year," he mumbled in return.

"Do you need to transform?"

"I'd love to as soon as the marching band in my head stops, but I need a shower before I do anything. I have to wash her scent off me." The idea of running into Ladybug while smelling of another woman made his skin crawl. He had no idea if her senses were as heightened as his but he didn't plan on finding out the hard way.

"Fair enough, though I doubt Ladybug will notice or care."

Marinette sat at her breakfast bar with her eyes riveted to the screen of her tablet. Her throat constricted as she scrutinised the photographs of Adrien Agreste tangled naked with some fangirl. It had been years since she'd seen him in the flesh but regardless she felt a stab of pain in her chest. She knew it shouldn't offend her, he was her ex-boyfriend after all. Not that their relationship had lasted very long. For two blissful months they'd dated, but her duties as Ladybug had ruined things before they'd really begun. Adrien thought she'd stood him up on more than one occasion and her excuses to the contrary had been weak. Though to be honest he'd always seemed preoccupied on the few dates that had gone well. It was weird but his eyes had seemed to be searching hers for an answer to some enigma only he knew about.

She'd been devastated when things ended and he'd wanted to remain friends. The concept was pleasant but the reality was far too painful. Marinette had kept her distance and threw herself into work and study, hoping to forget the guy who had so thoroughly broken her heart. It had taken years for her to date again but no one had managed to fill the void that Adrien left behind.

As she scrolled through the newsfeed she smiled at a picture of her as Ladybug with Chat Noir at a recent interview. Her akuma fighting partner was just as zany as he'd ever been. As usual he'd cozied up to her for the photo and she'd used her elbow on his chest to add some space between them. A bitter smile tugged at her lips, these days it was only Chat who attempted to woo her, despite her constant rejection.

Not for the first time, Marinette wondered if she was destined to be alone. Juggling study, work and her superhero duties was challenge enough without adding a romance into the mix. Logic dictated that the only romantic option able to withstand the challenges in her life was with Chat, especially if they ever revealed their true identities. A six-year habit was hard to break, she couldn't imagine knowing Chat Noir as anyone other than the leather-clad hero. Would his face seem bare without the mask? She gazed at the photo again and mentally shook herself. Hawkmoth was still active and the danger of exposure was still real.

Concealing the truth was not in Marinette's nature. She was sick of deceiving the people she cared about. She wanted someone other than Tikki to know her completely. Again, it was Chat who could commiserate. He was the one person who held the same secret. But was he someone she could love? She already cared about him as a friend, but his continual flirting and invasion of her person space had never appealed to her. Part of that had to do with her long-term crush and miniscule relationship with Adrien. That said Adrien had been out of her life for years now, yet the pain of their separation had taken a long time to fade. The naked photo was a reminder of what could have been, heck the girl even resembled her.

Kissing had been the furthest intimacy she'd had with Adrien, but the ones they'd shared had been mind-blowing. She could only assume he'd felt the same way as he'd always seemed dazed when they stopped. Those kisses were now her benchmark for all other kisses and unfortunately no one had been close to matching it. She glanced at the photo of Ladybug and Chat Noir and giggled, no doubt Chat would love to try his luck at beating the Agreste benchmark if she gave him the opportunity. Maybe if the moment was ever right she'd let him try.

So much drama and history about to collide. Stay tuned for part two... Thanks for reading :)