Author's Note: That one review I got last night has revived me! Thank you, guest. I guess I'm gonna write another chapter now. Here's some more troll!Adrien

Chapter Ten

CN: Did you go visit Adrien yet?

Marinette groaned. She had been debating for the past few days over whether or not she should actually visit Adrien in costume. It's just that she had always viewed being Ladybug as a responsibility, not something for "romantic escapades," as Chat Noir's kwami had called it the other night.

LB: I just don't know if I should…what if he's busy? What if I interrupt him while he's doing homework?

CN: how about you come up with a time you'll be there, and I'll tell him, so he won't be doing anything interruptible

LB: but I'd want it to be a surprise

CN: Alright, I'll make it seem like I'm going to visit him. Hows that?

LB: Okay…are you sure this is a good idea?

CN: absolutely!

LB: Alright…8 pm

Adrien squealed. He'd been dreaming of this day for as long as he had known the blue-haired heroine. Marinette had also dreamed of a rendezvous with Adrien, although under much different circumstances—she had wanted it to be Marinette, not Ladybug. When it was finally time for Ladybug's visit, Adrien sat on his couch and turned on his television. When he heard a knock on his window, he turned and put on his best confused face as he opened it.

"Ladybug?"

She put a hand on the back of her neck. "Uh, yeah, hi, Adrien…" He put out a hand to help her inside.

"To what do I owe this visit?"

"I just wanted to visit—I heard you were a big fan?" She clearly hadn't thought through her explanation.

"Oh yeah, huge fan." He blushed a little, which made him seem convincingly starstruck, even though it was really because he was enamored with the girl before him.

"Wanna…hang out?"

His eyes lit up. "Really? Why with me?" He knew exactly what he was doing.

"Ah, never mind, this was a bad idea." She turned to go, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Wait! I'm grateful that it's me…you don't have to explain." He sat back down on the couch, patting the seat next to him.

She sat beside him reluctantly, shoulders tensed. Trying to lighten the mood, Adrien turned down the volume of the cartoon he had been "watching" and spoke up. "So, what's it like being the savior of Paris?"

She chuckled, relaxing a little bit. "I'm hardly the savior of Paris. I just happen to be there when Chat saves the day, and I de-evilize the akuma. That's all."

"Aw, come on. You're not giving yourself enough credit," Adrien said, sneaking an arm behind her on the couch. Thankfully, she was leaned forward, so she didn't notice.

"Nah, I'm just the strategist. Chat's the hero here. Besides," she said, smiling at the ground a little. "Anything good I do is just my duty. I don't need any praise for it."

His admiration for her skyrocketed in that moment. "Wow."

"Hah," she laughed nervously, leaning back. She tensed a bit when she felt his arm, but she didn't do anything about it.

"So, tell me about yourself." He was awfully cheeky lately, almost as cheeky as a certain black cat she knew…

"What do you want to know?"

"Who—"

She held up a hand to stop him. "No extremely personal questions, please."

"Fine…what's your favorite food?"

She answered without a beat. "You know those little boxes of assorted chocolates? I like to get those and randomly pick one, because you never know what you're gonna get. That's probably my favorite, because it's so fun to eat. What about you?"

"Hmm…spaghetti? I guess spaghetti."

"Cool…" she said, awkwardly. The rest of the evening was incredibly awkward, with Adrien seemingly over-interested in Ladybug and Ladybug becoming less and less comfortable by the minute. What she didn't know was that it was entirely intentional on his part—to drive her feelings back toward Chat Noir, the real, imperfect side of him.

When she stood up to leave, he smiled at her. She lingered in the window, so he spoke. "I've gotta ask—do you have a thing for Chat Noir? Is that why you seemed…nervous?"

She didn't want to hurt his feelings and just flat-out tell him she wasn't feeling any sparks, any romantic love towards him. She had to have a reason, but she truly couldn't think of one. He was…boring. Adrien Agreste, the guy she had idolized for the past year, was just a guy. There wasn't much special about him. Of course, she couldn't say that, so she took his bait. "Uh, yeah…we're a team and all, and I've always had a little thing for him." As she said it, she realized it was true.

"I'm happy for you, Ladybug." He smiled.

"Can I ask you something?" She said suddenly.

"Sure," he said.

"Would you ever consider dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

"Uh…I don't know. I'm not really looking for a girlfriend, but she's a great friend." He felt bad for saying that, but he couldn't steal Marinette's affections away from Chat—who was himself. This was confusing.

"Alright," she said, tears gathering in her eyes. "Bye," she said.

He smiled again, closing the door behind her as she yoyoed away.

…

She lay in bed with her arm over her eyes for hours. The only thing that roused her from her half-slumber was a text from Chat Noir, which she had been waiting for anyway.

CN: Well mlady how was your date?

LB: It wasn't a date chat. It was one of the most awkward situations of my life

CN: Okay im sorry. Do you wanna talk about it?

LB: Can I call you?

CN: always

He picked up on the first ring. "Hey, Chat."

Immediately, he spoke up. "I'm sorry you had such a bad time."

"It's not that I had a bad time…it's just, he said something that made me really sad."

"Okay, meet me on the patrol rooftop." He almost hung up but thought better of it. "Calling you is so much fun," he said, giggling.

"I agree," she said, leaving him stunned as she hung up.

…

As soon as he saw her, he opened his arms for the hug. She was already crying all over his shoulder. "Aww, I'm sorry Ladybug." He rubbed her back. "I brought some stuff to cheer you up." Here, he pulled out a box of assorted chocolates, along with a small bouquet of flowers.

She pulled back, looking really surprised. "Chat, this is all so nice! But wouldn't you rather give it to Marinette?"

"Ladybug," he said, opening the box. "I know this may seem crazy to you, but I can be in love with her and still be a good friend to you."

She actually giggled at this. "You've been so nice ever since you fell for her."

"It's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me. Well, that, and becoming Chat Noir," he said with a wink. "As long as I'm Chat Noir, she can't be disappointed by the real me."

"What is the real you like?" Ladybug took a bite of a truffle.

"Boring." He said it so flatly that she almost spit out her chocolate from laughing. "I'm not actually boring, but I'm so introverted and socially-undeveloped that I come across as a robot. It's because I've been raised to care about what everyone thinks of me and to keep up this perfect image. So when I'm Chat Noir, I'm carefree and can be myself."

She leaned her head on his shoulder. "Do you think we know each other in real life?"

"I hope not." Here, she scoffed.

"What? Why?"

"Because you wouldn't like the real me," he said.

"I think," she said slowly, "that one day, we will find out each other's identities, and I think it will be a happy moment, not a sad one."

"I agree," the black cat said. He stood, pulling her up with him. "I'm sorry Adrien rejected you. But I'm sure he will come around. I promised Marinette I'd visit her sometime this week, so I have to go, but…it was fun hanging out with you." He jumped off the building, leaving Ladybug standing there with a smirk.

…

Marinette dropped into her room with a few moments to spare. "I can't believe I've been so blind this whole time, Tikki," she said, feeding her kwami a macaron. "Adrien is Chat Noir."

"How do you know?" Tikki asked knowingly.

"I never told him that Adrien rejected me, yet he apologized for it at the end. I also only told Adrien that I like the chocolates, yet Chat Noir showed up with them. There's no way it's just a coincidence." Marinette smirked.

"But, Marinette, you can't be sure without proof." Marinette sighed at Tikki's reasoning.

"You're right. But how can I get proof?"

"Hmmm…ask somebody for Adrien's phone number and see if it matches Chat Noir's."

"That's brilliant, Tikki!" She pulled out her phone, hurriedly texting Nino for Adrien's number as she heard the knocks on her window.

Chat came strolling in just as Marinette put her phone next to her arm, on the side of the bed he wasn't standing by. Now, she just had to stall him until she figured out if he really was Adrien.

"Hey, Chat." She smiled up at him nervously. He leaned down for a hug, but she stood up, blocking his view of her phone. "Look at this drawing I made!" she shouted, running over to her sketchbook. When she didn't find a good drawing, she rummaged through her drawers.

"Marinette," Chat said softly.

"It's in here somewhere, I just gotta find it."

"Marinette," he said again, louder this time.

"Uh, it this it? No—"

"Marinette!" He said, loud enough for her to hear. She turned to him, and he gripped her shoulders, eyes closed. "I came here for a reason, you know."

"Right, I'm sorry. You have my full attention." She waited.

"I, uh, we've been hanging out a lot lately, as you know," he stammered. She sat back down on the edge of her bed, so as to seem less intimidating. Still, he turned around and put his hands on her desk, unable to face her. "And I've kind of…fallen in love with you."

She wanted to gasp or act surprised, but she already knew. "Aw, mon minou…" She looked down at her phone, which lit up with Nino's reply. Quickly she pulled up Chat Noir's phone number to compare to Adrien's…

"And I wanted to know if you'd be my girlfriend."

The numbers matched.

Author's Note: Is this evil? I feel kind of evil lol. As always, review review review! I NEED THEM