Chapter 3: Project Dress

Several hours after his text conversation with Marinette Adrien managed a quick shower. He choose a solid black shirt instead of his normal stripped and put on a clean white button down with the collar up. His typical Agreste signature.

It was nearing dinner time and Adrien had yet to hear from Marinette. He picked up his phone for what seemed like the hundredth time that day to check to see if he had a text from her. No such luck.

Throwing his phone on the table he turned to head up the spiral staircase to the top landing. "Guess I can get started before she gets here," he mumbled to himself, his impatience growing. Adrien ran his hand over the book bindings searching.

"What'cha looking for?" Plagg asked, obviously not to interested. The little Kwami had just woken up from a nap

"My old portfolios," Adrien replied, running his finger over the bindings. He pulled out a few notebook style binders. He flipped through the inserts making sure he had the right years before placing them to the side. Those he didnt need were replaced back on the shelf. "It might save us some time."

By the time he was done he had 4 portfolios tucked neatly under his arm. He made his way down the steps and dropped them on the coffee table.

"What exactly are these?" Plagg inquired, the now empty plate of cheese being picked up and moved to the side by Adrien, much to the Kwami's annoyance.

"Photos of my modeling, when I was younger." Adrien sat on the couch and sighed. "When my mom was still around."

Plagg knew his mom was a sore subject. As annoying as he knew he was, that was one subject Plagg knew not to bring up. "Sorry, Kid," he said instead.

Adrien smiled sadly. "It's okay. I'm the one that brought them out. I'm hoping it will lead to inspiration."

There was a knock on his door. Plagg quickly darted into Adrien's shirt pocket.

"Yes?"

The door creaked open. "A.. Adrien?" the small and timid voice called, her head peeking in. "Sor..sorry I'm early. I finished up quicker then expected. My phone was dead, so I didnt have any way to let you know I was heading over."

Adrien jumped up and went to fully open his door. Nathalie was standing a few feet behind her, having escorted her.

"H..hey, Marentte!" Adrien squeaked, seeing the doubtful expression on Nathalie's face. "Come on in." He stepped out of the way to allow her to enter.

As she did so, he noticed her sketchbook clutched tightly to her chest, her book bag slinging off her far shoulder. In her hands she held a small pink poka dotted box tied off with a pink ribbon.

"Refreshments will be brought up shortly," Nathalie said nodding her head in his direction.

"Thanks, Nathalie." Adrien smiled rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. I hope she doesnt think we'll be doing anything indecent. The thought made Adrien blush as he looked to Marinette.

"No problem, Adrien." Nathalie excused herself and Adrien shut the door.

At the sound of the door jam clicking into place Marinette jumped, letting out a squeak in the silence of the room. Adrien laughed.

"Don't worry," Adrien teased, motioning for her to have a seat on the couch. "I won't bite- I promise."

"Ah…." Marinette stood frozen in place, her cheeks suddenly becoming very red.

"Marinette?" the blond tilted his head in question at her frozen posture, not realizing his statement had made her uncomfortable.

"Y..yes?"

"Would you like to sit down?"

She let out another little squeak before scrambling past him to sit on the far side of the couch. He laughed lightly under his breath. He watched as she went to place her book bag down on the floor and set her sketchbook on the table. She looked down at the box still in her hand and extended it to him. "Here. I.. I brought dessert."

He took the box with a nod. "Thanks! Is this from your parents bakery?" he asked hopefully. He really did love hanging out and having her parents stuff him with treats.

She nodded, pausing to look down at the coffee table as he went to place the box on his desk so it was out of the way. Noticing a binder under her sketchbook, she slowly pulled it out from under her book.

"What's this?" she asked, her eyes wide as she flipped the first page open and glanced at the three other binders on the table.

Adrien sat down next to her, his knees turned in as he reached over to flip the page in the binder she was holding.

"These are some shoots of mine from my younger days," he replied, leaning in closer to get a better look at the pages. "I was about... 12 in this one."

"You were so cute…" he raised an eyebrow at that, "I mean… adorable... I mean… younger!" Her face flushed as she dropped her face into her hands with a groan.

Adrien chuckled. "Yea. My parents thought so, too. Hence, why I am the face of Gabriel." He sighed.

Marinette looked up at him. "You don't seem to happy about that," she concluded from his dejected look.

He smiled softly at her. "Naw, its okay, I guess. But its something my father wanted me to do, not something I wanted to do for myself." He paused looking at the photos in her lap. "I won't be a model forever, that I'm sure of."

"Oh?" she looked up at him, suddenly realizing how close they were. "Ah… I… uh..."

His green eyes met hers for an instant before he sat up straight to look at her in confusion, one eye brow raised at her. "And thats… where you come in," he said with a pause in his sentence. "Marinette?"

"Y… yes? Wha? I'm sorry!" she stuttered, turning beet red and she looked away to the other binders on the table.

"Uh… huh," Adrien smiled sadly, not sure what to think of her behavior. She was always stuttering around him, and for the life of him he couldnt understand why. "I'm sorry, Marinette. Do I make you un… uncomfortable?"

"Huh!?" she bolted up right, her leg hitting the sketchbook she had carefully set on the table. "Of course not! Its just that… I'm not used to being… in a room… alone… with a boy…" she trailed off, not noticing her now open sketchbook on the floor. She slowly sank back down to sit on the edge of the couch cushion.

"Oh… Oh!" Adrien's grinned smiled into his famous Chat Noir Cheshire grin, as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, looking everywhere but her. "I… I'm sorry! I didnt think… this.. this is just the only place in the house where I have privacy." He mentally smacked himself as he looked at her, shock evident on both their faces. "Not.. not that I mean it like that! I swear!" Adrien internally groaned. How could I have been so stupid!

Her laughter interrupted his thoughts. "I..I'm sorry," he apologized again. "I guess I'm just not used to having girls in my room?" Was that really the reason? he thought to himself, watching her wipe a tear from her eye from her laughter. For the first time he really got a good look at Marinette. He never had actually been alone with her before, to really get to know her as a person. Sure, she sat behind him in class and he had tried to set her up on a date with Nino a while back. And yes while she was best friends with his best friends girlfriend and they hung out occasional as a group, he had never actually been alone with her, without nosey parents constantly interupting. "We should do this more often," he said without thinking, laughing with her.

"Do what?" she asked, her giggles coming to a close.

"I just realized, we've been friends for two years now? And you've sat behind me in class both years, too, but we really havent been friends outside of school, you know?" Where was this coming from? He questioned himself.

"Oh, huh… well, we do hang out with Nino and Alya sometimes," she replied. "But you're always so busy so its not like we get much time to hang out." She cocked her head at him trying to figure him out.

He huffed and sank down in the couch. "Yea, well, thats why I asked you here, actually." He turned to look at her. "My father keeps me busy.. among other things," he added quickly thinking of his time spent as Chat Noir. "I kinda got into an argument with him today."

"I figured something like that had happened when you mentioned being on bedroom arrest," she said seriously. "But I'm not one to pry so if you dont want to talk about..."

"Actually, I do," he quickly responded interrupting her, looking down at the unopened portfolios. "See the problem is, he wants me to be perfect. But I'm not perfect."

He heard her mumbled something under her breath that sounded strangely like "but you are". A blush creeped up into this cheeks but he continued as if he hadnt heard her.

"I've been a model since I was young, even years before my mom disappeared. I was raised in this house without much contract with normal people. And before you say anything-" he glanced at her "- Chloe is not considered normal." He chuckled. "She's my oldest, and really only friend until I met Nino."

Marinette only nodded, eagerly wanting him to continue a small smile on her face as she listened.

He sighed, glancing down at his feet as he leaned to put his head between his legs. "I guess what I am trying to say is that I'm not sure what purpose I have. I cant be a model forever. So I need to find…" he trailed off his glance landing on Marinette's open sketchbook. He reached out and grabbed it. "Marinette? Did you design this?"

He heard a sharp intake of breath but choose to ignore it, looking down at the beautiful design laid out before him. It was only half finished, that he could see. But the color and design was absolutely stunning. "It reminds me of Ladybug," he whispered his eyes taking in the shades of red and black.

"It.. it shouldnt," she said softly, gently taking her sketchbook back and closing it, much to Adrien's dissatisfaction. "There's no spots on it." She kept her gaze on her closed book, his portfolio she had been holding sitting closed on the couch beside her.

He could sense the tension that suddenly filled the air. Was she upset that he thought of Ladybug when he saw it? Was she embarrassed that he was in awe of her work? Did he over step his boundaries?

He reached across the distance with his right hand and gently laid it on top of hers. "I'm sorry. Was I not supposed to see that?" He noticed as Marinette's eyes opened wide in surprise. Her gaze shot to him holding her hand, his silver ring glinting under the fluorescent light.

"N… No. I mean… its just a drawing I had started… and I…" she couldnt stop stuttering as she continued to avert her gaze.

He pulled his hand away and instead placed it on her shoulder scooting closer to her on the couch. This caused her to look up at him. "Marinette, its beautiful!" he smiled, not breaking eye contact. "I knew you had talent, but this… I mean.. this is amazing!"

Adrien watched as she broke eye contact with him and started to blush profusely. "Thank… thank you, Adrien." She chanced a glance at him from under her bangs as a smile formed on her lips.

"Do.. do you mind?" he asked, reaching out for the sketchbook. "I mean, I think its only fair since you got to see me as a cute 12 year old," he teased her.

"Su..sure," she stuttered handing him her sketchbook, her blush deepening. "Why… why did you want me to bring it anyway?"

He flipped through a few pages, taking the time to eye her designs before he answered. "I was hoping you could help me, actually." He glanced up at her.

"Help you how?" Her stutter was gone, but she wasnt anymore confident then before.

"I was hoping you could help me design something," he placed his hand on an open page in her book before turning it to face her. "Maybe something like this?"

It was a dress design Marinette had done a few months ago, one that was simple but flowed around the ankles.

"Oh, of course… what.. what is it for?" she asked taking the book to better see her design, already knowing which one it was.

"I want to show my father that I can do something other then model," he stated. "But… I've never actually drawn before, so I dont think I would be any good at it."

"If you have never drawn, then how am I supposed to help…?"

"Well, I was thinking you could draw it. And I would just describe it to you." He smiled sheepishly, for the second time that night rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "And maybe you could teach me how to draw eventually?"

The girl nodded slowly. "Um… sure. I can try."

"Thanks, Marinette!" Hopeful that she could help him even a little he sprung forward and wrapped the girls in his arms. "I'll appreciate anything you can do to help."

"Su..sure, Adrien." Marinette gently lowered her arms to his shoulders and hugged her crush back.

A swift knock sounded on the bedroom door, but before they had a chance to separate the door opened to reveal Nathalie and one of the staff pushing a food cart.

Both the teens sat frozen, caught in their displays of affections, even if it was meant as a friendly gesture.

Nathalie cleared her throat, causing them to jump apart. Adrien stood up to greet his fathers assistant then glanced down at the girl in his room. Her hands were fidgeting with the hem of her shirt and she refused to take part of the conversation.

"I figured you would want dinner in your room so you could work on your project, Adrien," Nathalie said excusing the staff member.

"Thanks, Nathalie!" Adrien said trying to act innocent. He smiled at her.

She only nodded. "I'll come back to check on you in a few hours. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Will do!" he exclaimed, walking to the table cart lined with covered dishes as she exited the room. He glanced back at Marinette who still had her head down. "You hungry?" he asked her, lifting the tops to various dishes to see what had been brought up. He frowned. "I hope you like fish. I forgot to ask what you would have preferred."

"Fi..fish is fine!" she jumped up looking over to him.

He lifted the top of a smaller plate and instantly regretted it, putting the lid back on quickly.

"What was that smell?" she asked, her nose crinkled up at the offending odor.

Adrien flinched. Damn, she noticed. "Camembret." He said with an obvious fake smile. "Smelliest cheese there is!"

"Why would your chef serve you Camembret?" she asked, also pinching her nose.

Adrien laughed, grabbing the offending plate and setting it on the carts lower shelf. While kneeling down he opened his shirt and allowed the black Kwami to fly into the holding area beyond the table cloth, hiding him from view. "I like Camembret... sometimes?" he answered her as he stood up.

"You have a strange sense of taste," she mumbled, finally letting her nose go so she could breath normally.

"Yea, I guess I do," he smiled. He rolled the cart and stopped it just behind the couch. "We can just eat here, while we go over design options?" He needed to change the subject.

"Yea! Sure!" Marinette grabbed his portfolios and moved them to the floor under the table to keep them out of the way as they ate. "So, do you always leave your portfolios out?" she asked as they served themselves. She took her plate and sat back down on the couch.

"I actually brought them out in hopes they would provide us with some inspiration," he said, leaning over the table cart to hand her the drink he had just poured. "Tea, M'Lady?" He regretted it the moment the words left his mouth.

"Wha..what?" she said softly, instantly shocked, her hand already out stretched to grab the glass.

He tried to blow it off. "Tea?"

Marinette hesitated before grabbing the glass, her fingers just barley brushing his as they exchanged hold. "Th..thanks." She took a small sip.

Letting out the breath he didnt realize he was holding he quickly poured himself a glass and grabbed a plate, sitting beside her. Wanting to forget the slip of his words, he continued their previous conversation.

"I'm not quite sure how to say this," he paused thinking, looking into the blue eyes across from him, "my fathers work changed, shortly after my mom left. She was his inspiration, I think. And while his designs haven't faltered any since then, his style did change." He nodded to the portfolios stacked neatly under the table. "I want to design something for him that reminds him of those days."

Marinette, having already taken a bite of her fish, nodded. She took a sip of her drink before responding. "We can do that. But you want to design a dress. I doubt you wore any dresses when you were younger."

Adrien's face broke out in a grin. "True. But they're photos of other models in some of these, too," he laughed. "From the same publications."

Marinette giggled and took another bite of fish. "This is really good," she said savoring the flaky fish as it melted in her mouth.

"I'm glad you approve."

"Adrien, you do realize that this might take more then just a day to do, right?" she asked between bite fulls.

He nodded, already digging into his plate. "If you have plans I totally understand. Like I said, any help you can give will be appreciated."

"Well, I did have plans with Alya some time over the next few days, but she wont mind if we wait. She'll understand." She set her finished plate on the coffee table and grabbed her pink book bag.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. I'll let her know tomorrow." She started digging through her bag.

"Couldnt you just text her?" he asked, finishing his plate.

She eyed him and pulled out her phone, showing him her dead screen. "Phone is still dead. It can wait." she smiled.

"Oh..."

She found her pencil box and pulled it out, setting her bag back in its place. As she moved he noticed her purse for the first time hanging around her hip.

"You can set that on my desk if you want," he said pointing to it.

She glanced down and quickly placed her hand on her purse. "Um, its okay. Its fine." She picked up her sketchbook and opened it to a blank page. She picked out a pencil and touched the tip to the surface of the paper. "Now what kind of dress did you want to design? I will need specifics if we're going to do this right."

The rest of the evening went on without a hitch. After they had eaten, Adrien had scooted closer to her, the portfolios he had pulled out laying on the couch or on the table in front of them as they picked and chose certain aspects to add to the dress. At one point, Adrien had put his arm on the couch behind Marinette, causing them both to blush as he admired her pencil drawings. Knowing they were both flustered by his bold movement, it really was just to get a closer look at her sketch book so he kept his arm where it lay.

At some point they had taken a break for dessert and Nathalie had come up to remove the dinner dishes. Adrien made sure to check under the food cart for Plagg before she did so. The Kwami was gone, probably hiding up stairs in his library. He noticed Marinette set her purse down on the desk like he had informed her to do earlier on. He didnt take much notice, but did catch her sneaking a cookie from the dessert box she had brought into her purse before bringing the confections back to their work area. Odd, he thought, but quickly forgot about it, picking up a powder sugar dusted treat.

After three hours of laboring over books and designs, they finally had it.

"Its perfect," Adrien breathed.

"You think so?" Marinette asked, unsure of her- or rather Adriens - design. "It isnt something I can see Gabriel Agreste designing." She frowned. "Or me rather."

Adrien shook his head smiling. "No, its perfect, Marinette. It really reminds me of my mom."

She nodded. "Your fathers inspiration?"

He nodded. "Yea. She would definitely have worn this." His eyes skimmed over the outline, not yet colored, although Marinette had created some color swatches on the margin.

The dress itself was simple yet elegant. With one inch width shoulder straps flowing into a V neck line, the dress contoured itself around the upper half of the chest, to loosen lightly out down into the bodice, only to retighten and contour itself around the midsection to thigh level, much like the business skirts Nathalie wore. From there sheer fabric flowed freely off the legs to just just below the knee to allow for easy walking and showing off a women's lower appendages.

"Huh.. who knew a womans legs could look so exotic," Adrien smiled, teasing his friend who had drawn the model on their dress.

"Adrien," Marinette cried, suddenly embarrassed. "Its just a generic drawing. She doesnt even have a head!"

He laughed. "I guess there wouldnt be much to look at without that pretty head, huh?" he smiled, tapping her on the forehead with his index finger.

Marinette sighed as she blushed, looking up at the clock on his desk. "Its getting pretty late," she simple commented. "I should get going before my parents worry."

Adrien looked back at the clock in surprise. "We have been here for a while. I'm sorry to keep you so late. Would you like to call your parents?" He extended his phone to her seeing as hers was dead.

She shook her head. "They knew I was going to be here, so its okay. But I should get going."

He stood up and offered his hand to her, helping her up as her stiff joints protested. She arched her back, stretching. Adrien picked up her sketchbook and held it out to her.

She shook her head. "Keep it for now. I'll be back tomorrow, right?"

"Yea, sure! That would be great!" he paused. "Dinner again?"

Marinette nodded with a smile. "Sure."

"Then its a date!" he laughed, looking down at her and placing he sketchbook on the couch. She wouldnt meet his gaze. Marinette has always been shy. But she really opened up to me tonight. Adrien smiled at the thought. "Hey, and thanks again."

"You dont have to thank me, this has been fun," she smiled brightly, picking up her bag and grabbing her purse from the desk. "I really better get going. The walk home is going to be brutal."

"Walk?" he said in confusion. "Is that how you got here?" He followed her to the bedroom door, opening it for her. He escorted her into the hall.

She nodded. "Of course. I would have been here sooner, but my parents were still finishing up at the bakery and couldnt drop me off. But thats okay!" she started waving her hands in front of her face apologetically. "The walk was nice."

"Well, its dark now," he said looking out at the windows at the front of his house as they made their way to the top of the staircase. He put an arm around her shoulders and walked her down the stairs, noticing how she never tensed up at his touch. Making progress!

Nathalie and his body guard stood at the bottom of the stairs looking up at the two of them. "Nathalie, do you think we can give Marinette a ride home? Its gotten pretty late."

Nathalie nodded to his body guard in affirmation. "Of course, Adrien." She turned to address Marinette. "Miss Dupain-Cheng, if you would follow me."

"O..okay." She turned to Adrien slipping out from under his arm, her blush evident. "So, see you tomorrow after school then?"

Adrien nodded. "I'm looking forward to it." He gave her a low bow as she turned to follow Nathalie and Adrien's bodyguard. She glanced back at him one last time before the front door closed. The last Adrien saw of her was her genuine smile as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

Without needing directions from Nathalie, Adrien ran back up the stairs to his room and slammed his door shut, leaning against it and sighing in relief.

"Rough night?" Plagg asked, yawning as he flew down from above.

Adrien had his eyes closed but smiled as he thought of the evening he had had with his high school friend. "She really is something," Adrien heard himself say.

"Falling for someone other then Ladybug?" the unlucky Kwami asked, floating around the room.

"Of course not," Adrien frowned. "She's just a friend. An amazing friend," he added.

"Right…." the Kwami prodded loosing interest quite quickly. He floated over to the couch and opened the sketchbook that had been left behind. "She does have good taste," he said. "Not that I know anything about fashion." His paws stopped on a page in the book as he flipped through the pages. "Oh boy."

"What is it?" Adrien asked, having already started to pick up his room. He carried a couple books he had pulled out and placed them on his desk.

"You need to see this," Plagg said, lifting the sketchbook and floating over to Adrien the page in question opened for him to see.

Adrien frowned at his magical friend. "Its a dress that Marinette has been designing. So what?"

"You may not recognize it, but I do. Its lacking the spots, but this is the same outfit the last Ladybug wore." Plagg tossed the book on the desk, the half finished image of the red dress haunting the little God of the Black Cat Miraculous.

Adrien frowned, leaning over his desk looking at the drawing once again. "Isnt it a little too flashy for someone that lived in a different time period several hundred years ago?'"

"You would think so," Plagg continued, shuddering. "But for Ladybug, it was the best way to get around. Those Victorian style dresses would have just weighed her down."

"So, if Ladybug's outfit changes with different Miraculous holders, does that mean Cat Noir's was different too?"

"Of course. The leather you wear today didnt exist back then."

"So how does that work?" He looked down at his ring, for the first time really noticing how new it looked. Modern.

"Time changes everything I suppose. And as time changes and people evolve, so does the magic." Plagg shrugged. "Dont ask me how it works, because I really have no idea. I just know that it is."

Adrien nodded, knowing questioning him futher would be in vain. The Cat Kwami had already given him a bunch of new information that he hadnt had prior to that, and to think they had been together for two years! "How come you're just now bringing this up?"

Plagg yawned. "You've never asked before."

"I wonder how Marinette came up with this then," he wondering out loud. Did she know something about Ladybug?

"Who knows?" his Kwami said. "Maybe she found some information about the past Ladybugs. She is friends with that reporter girl and she is always in places she shouldnt be."

Adrien turned back to the book, flipping through the last few pages that they had worked on that night. Marinette had drawn his dress perfectly to fit his description, although it had taken them a few rough drafts before he was able to fully describe his vision to her. His fingers trailed over the drawing, instantly visualizing his mother wearing it.

Sighing, he closed the book and threw himself on his bed, snuggling into his pillows. His Sunday had been exhausting. First the fight with his father at mid day, then planning for Marinette's visit. He really had enjoyed himself around the girl with the cute freckles and the dark blue tinted pigtails. He was looking forward to her visit tomorrow as well.

Adrien adjusted himself until he was laying on his back, his forearm covering his eyes to keep the bright lights above him from blinding him. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng..."

Just as he was thinking about turning the lights off and going to bed his phone pinged, alerting him that he had a new text. Jumping out of bed he launched himself over the back of the couch and reached out to grab his phone off the table. Much to his displeasure, he saw that it was only from Nino.

Dude! You invited Marinette over? Did you ask her out or something?

Smiling but groaning mentally, he thought back through the evening to all the small but flirtatious moments he had had with Marinette. Those were moments I had as Adrien, not as Cat Noir. But Cat Noir did know Marinette on some level, having had her help on a few occasions on cases when Ladybug had been indisposed.

He loved Ladybug of course, but the sudden thought of flirting with a certain dark haired girl made his heart beat just a little faster. He replied to Nino's text.

Not yet.