Daggers. That was the look she gave him. daggers. Alya had planned it all out. she'd spend the morning with Marinette, making sure she was all ready to go out with Chat Noir, and then run to Nino's where she'd keep a change of clothes, and then change there, drag him to Adrien's, and take them both to the carnival to spend time together, as friends. It'd be perfect. All of them would be out doing something interesting, and there was no chance that Adrien would see Marinette out with Chat and get scared off because a hero was into her. now he dared to ruin her plan because he had a photoshoot?! The third one that week?! Something wasn't right there.

"don't you think it's weird? Chat Noir knows how Adrien feels, and worries about him, and he knew about us taking Mari on dates, and he wanted to join in. that can't be a coincidence," Alya complained.

"what are you suggesting? That Adrien is Chat Noir?" Nino asked.

"No- wait, do you think he is?!" Alya sat up urgently.

Nino laughed and pulled her back to lay against his chest like she had just been. "You're a wonder my love."

Nino leaned back against the tree they had been resting under, and Alya leaned her head against his chest, under his shoulder, with a sigh.

"All I wanted was Adrien to be involved so he didn't feel so left out. Chat said he did."

"Dude, I've been with that guy nonstop for weeks. He is not left out."

"Chat said-"

"Chat doesn't know him like I do. He's my best friend Alya. You know Marinette better than Ladybug, right?"

"Yeah. But then why didn't you know he had a photoshoot?" Alya argued.

Nino grunted defensively, "Because he's always got a photoshoot. It's alright for you, Marinette just has the bakery to deal with, Adrien's got fashion shows, cat walk practice, fittings, photoshoots, piano lessons, fencing-"

"I'm familiar with his diary, Marinette and I know so much about him I'm always a little worried the police would call it stalking," Alya sighed.

"That'd be a fair name for it," Nino smirked.

Alya sighed and settled down against Nino. Nino wrapped his arms around her affectionately.

"It's been three months. How can she take so long to build up the confidence to talk to one boy?" Alya sighed.

Nino didn't consider himself an expert in matter of the heart, love, or Marinette, in anyway. But he did happen to know about Luka. He had, after all, been friends with him. So whether or not Alya wanted to hear it, Nino was going to tell her about Luka again.

"It's not her fault. The only time she gave her heart away he took it to the coast. It'll take a long time to get it back to give it away again."

"Luka?" Alya scoffed with hatred she wouldn't be able to muster if she had actually known him, "Oh I could kill Luka! I've never met him and he's ruining all my plans!"

"You can't plan for everything. Even the best laid plans of mice and men sometimes go awry."

"I'm no mouse..."

Alya was going to argue but she drifted off, her mind went wandering. When she went quiet Nino looked down at her. Nino smiled as he recognised the little smile that let him know she was cooking up a plan that would end up half baked.

"What are you thinking?" He smiled.

Alya sat up. "I need to talk to Juleka."

"Don't go making trouble," he warned as she stood up

"Trouble? Me?" She dusted herself off and flashed a grin at Alya, "Never."

Nino watched Alya dash off in the vague direction of Juleka's house. Nino leaned back against the tree trunk and sighed.

"I wish I didn't love her so much."

...

Marinette wasn't entirely certain why she had been told to wait outside the Louvre before her date, but standing here she tried to imagine where the ice rink would go. She couldn't. Every time she tried her mind went back to Adrien holding onto her underneath the Eiffel tower. Until someone snapped her out of it that is.

"I must be at a gallery, because you truly are a work of art."

Marinette smirked. She'd recognise that purr anywhere. At least she thought she would. Tikki was not so convinced. She turned back to smile at him, and didn't miss a beat.

"I can certainly picture you and I together," she smirked.

Chat Noir looked surprised for a moment. Even though he had been brought into the game specifically to flirt with her, he never quite imagined her flirting back. Now she had, she kind of knocked him back one. Marinette giggled as he suddenly flashed her a crooked smile that made her chest warm more than it should. There was a pride in it she hadn't expected. He agreed with Alya. She was pretty good at this.

She smiled warmly at him. "What's your plan for today?"

"An arts and craft session. We could paint each other. Anything you can paint would be a masterpiece for my wall," he winked.

"How can I capture you? You're far too purrrfect," she purred back.

Chat reeled back slightly, his mouth opening in surprise. Then he cracked a grin. "You're better at this than I expected."

"I'm better that everything than you expect," she waggled her eyebrows and his shot up. She bit her bottom lip. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he smirked, "let's keep this going, let me just recalibrate. This way."

Chat wrapped an arm around her waist and extended his baton. She had to wrap her arms around him to protect herself. He felt himself go all tingly at her touch. He put it down to the cold wind they were battling against. When they landed they were somewhere up high above the city, where they could see both the Eiffel Tower, and the colourful lights of the fairground that Alya and Nino were currently visiting. Hesitantly, Marinette peered over the edge.

"On top the library?" She muttered.

"Is that a problem?" He asked.

She turned, and shrugged. "I don't have a library card."

"Don't worry, we aren't checking out any books," he chuckled.

"I'd rather check you out," she muttered.

"That's what this game's about," he smiled.

Marinette now noticed the pair of blank canvases set up opposite each other, with chairs behind each of them, and a table full of paints and paintbrushes.

"I'm not a great artist. I know a couple but I'm not one," Marinette warned.

"You'll be better than me designer girl. That I can promise," he smirked as he took his seat, looking out over the Eiffel Tower. "Only problem is, if I paint you, it won't prove it."

Marinette frowned as she took her seat opposite him.

"Prove what?" She asked.

He flashed her a smirk. "I told my friends I'd get a photo of an angel, but if I paint you, they won't believe I found one."

She gave him an unimpressed look, trying not to giggle, and said, "That was corny even for you."

He grinned. "Talking of corn."

Plagg screamed in protest inside the ring as Chat Noir reached into a basket Marinette hadn't noticed before, and revealed a picnic of food. Plagg screamed louder as Chat picked up a packet of popcorn. That was his popcorn, he had claimed that popcorn, and now he was just giving it away?! Chat held out the popcorn to her. Marinette leaned forward and took a handful. She put one in her mouth, letting another linger on her bottom lip for a moment as she tried to figure out if it was sweet or salty. Chat watched, his cheeks turning pink as he found himself staring at her lips. Suddenly she grinned.

"Sweet!"

Chat blinked at the adorable shine her eyes gave the rest of her face, and he stammered, "Ha... ha, yeah, j-just like you."

She giggled and felt her ears heat up. He looked so cute when he stammered like that. It made her think of the aquarium. He stared down into that interactive tank like an excitable kid. She felt a stab of warmth in her chest, and had to break eye contact. She looked down at the bag on her hip, and dropped the rest of the popcorn in it. Tikki squealed. It wasn't quite candyfloss, but it was still a treat!

Marinette picked up a pencil to start sketching, and after a moment or two, Chat Noir cleared his throat quietly.

"Hey can I ask you something? Seriously this time?" He asked.

"Of course. What's on your mind?" She asked.

He glanced over at her, "Why didn't you call me?"

She frowned, "Huh?"

"I left a note last time. Didn't you get it?" He asked, pointedly.

She laughed a little, "Oh the thing that said give me a bell? I don't have your number dummy."

Chat bit his lip sheepishly since this answer hadn't actually occurred to him yet. "Oh... right... but why didn't you call me to your balcony like before?"

"I don't know. I guess I didn't think about that..." Marinette muttered.

Softly, Chat whispered, "Didn't you wanna see me again?"

Marinette's eyes widened at him and her jaw opened to answer automatically, but nothing actually came out. She glanced back at her sketch of Chat Noir, which could use more detail. Her answer came out when she looked at it.

"I'm gonna hang this on my wall and then I'll see you every day. Sound good?"

Chat smiled softly, "I'd like to see you first thing every day."

She blushed, and her ears went pink. "I thought we were being serious."

I am. "We were. All good things must come to an end. Pass the blue please."

...

Meanwhile, Alya and Nino were meeting up again, and Alya was a little distracted. Nino figured out pretty quickly why she was. That's why they ended up outside the gates of Adrien's mansion, arguing with Natalie about whether or not they should be allowed in.

"Adrien is very busy today, there will be no visitors."

"But-"

Natalie shut the CCTV camera back in the room, and Alya rolled up her sleeve, but Nino grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"I'm gonna drag him out by his hair if I must," Alya declared.

Nino lifted her up and Alya mimed climbing over the fence, even though her feet weren't on the ground.

"You'll make him bald!" Nino warned.

"He's coming to the carnival if it kills him," Alya growled.

"Have you tried phoning him?" Nino asked.

Alya froze. "Phoning... oh..."

"That's what I thought," Nino smirked.

He watched as she dialled his number, put a hand on her hip, and pressed the phone to her ear. After a moment or two, she scowled.

"He's not answering."

"Let me try."

She folded her arms and shifted all her weight onto one foot as he lifted his phone to his ear, and again they ended up waiting. Nino shrugged as he put his phone away.

"I guess he's busy," he said.

"Where?" Alya demanded.

"How should I know?" Nino shrugged.

"I'm phoning Marinette."

Marinette frowned as her phone starting ringing. She glanced over apolitically to Chat Noir, who just nodded, as if telling her it was ok to answer it. after all, it could be important. Marinette lowered her voice, but pressed the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" she said.

"You're not supposed to answer your phone on a date," Alya warned.

Marinette frowned. "Why'd you phone then?"

"Sorry, it's important, where's Adrien right now?" Alya asked.

"Adrien? He says he's got a photo shoot now."

Chat's gaze flicked up at the mention of his name.

"Where?" Alya continued.

"Um... I dunno, probably Jardin des plantes. If I was going to model for a spring catalogue, I'd go somewhere pretty and flowery like that," Marinette shrugged.

"that's spring, it's almost summer now, they'd want watery. Try Fontaine des Innocents," Chat advised.

"Is that so Chat Noir? He seems to know a lot about fashion photography," Alya said, suspiciously.

"well he must be a camera because I smile whenever I see him," Marinette winked at chat and his ears flushed again.

"YOU CAN'T FLIRT WITH HIM AT ME!" Alya shouted.

"I just did," Marinette giggled.

"argh!" Alya pined her nose in frustration, and asked, simply and clearly, "Do you think Adrien is at the Fontaine des Innocents?"

"probably, why?"

"I want to take him to the carnival, he's our friend and we need to spend more time with him."

"aww, tell him I'd go with you if I could, but I've got an art lesson."

"Art lesson?"

"I'll explain later, bye ally!"

Alya hung up and gabbed Nino by the arm to march him onwards down the street. Nino obediently followed. There wasn't much else he could do. she had him by the arm.
Chat Noir attempted not to look overly curious as Marinette put her phone away.

"ally?" he said, casually.

"Alya. my best friend," Marinette smiled.

"what does she want Adrien for?" chat asked, trying not to sound nervous.

"she's going to kidnap him and drag him to the carnival where he will have fun whether he likes it or not, because he's her friend, and she's going to make him happy, even if he doesn't want to." When Marinette was the concerned look on Chat's face, she elaborated. "Alya's a bit intense, but she means well. she doesn't want Adrien to feel left out. she's a good friend."

"yeah…" chat's heart beat hard. He stood up, and cleared his throat. "excuse me for a minute will you, I need to pee."

Marinette frowned as he headed over to the edge of the roof, and pole-vaulted himself over the edge. When she was alone, she muttered, "um, yeah, sure."

…

"this is a bad idea, if you have to keep transforming, I'm gonna get tired quick!" Plagg warned.

"I'll set aside some popcorn just for you," Adrien promised.

"It's still a bad idea, you're going to rock the boat!" Plagg argued.

Adrien wanted to insist that this was going to be fine, but he couldn't lie to Plagg. Plagg was an almighty, all powerful God. He was probably right about how well this would go, but Adrien didn't care. None of their friends would let him join in the fun, join in the dating, but they let Chat Noir. Chat Noir was his only link back to Marinette, who was waiting on the library roof for him. He was going to finish his date with Marinette. He was going to.

"ADRIEN!" Alya threw her arm in the air and waved.

Adrien turned to see her, holding Plagg behind his back, and waved with his free hand. Plagg slipped back down into his pocket, hiding away from Nino and Alya, for his safety as well as theirs. They ran over, and Plagg huffed. Alya glanced round at the empty area.

"you said you were on a photoshoot, where are the cameras?" she asked.

"they're… being reset up. the photographer didn't like the lighting so they're changing everything, and I walked away to have a break," Adrien lied, quickly.

"oh. Cool, want a longer break?" Alya grinned.

Adrien frowned. "longer?"

"wanna run off to the carnival with us?" Nino elbowed him, encouragingly.

Adrien groaned awkwardly and took a step back, "oh, guys, we won't be done for hours yet, don't waste your time, go without me."

"nah dude, we wanna take you too," Nino beamed.

"yeah, come on, it'll be fun," Alya beamed.

"twenty minutes, that's all," Nino urged.

Adrien groaned again, and glanced over to a corner, like he didn't want someone to come around and see him, "no, I can't, my father-"

Alya interrupted with a wave of her hand. "he can suck it up! this is your life Adrien, he might have created it, but you get to live it!"

Adrien wrinkled his nose. "my modelling keeps him happy. It's all we have left."

Alya's face fell. Nino bowed his head, and opened his mouth to offer to rearrange so they could hang tomorrow maybe, but Alya wasn't great at keeping her thoughts to herself. especially when she thought she was protecting someone.

"but it takes over everything else. is it worth it?"

Adrien's face fell into a frown. Even Nino looked uncomfortable. Neither of them thought that his father was great at fathering, but Adrien loved him. maybe a little too much to some people, but after he lost his mother, his father was all he had left. Nino knew that. Alya questioning that when she couldn't image how it felt to lose her mother…

Adrien scowled, "everything else? By everything else do you mean it takes over the one day in two months you've decided you want to hang out?"

"what'd you mean, we love spending time with you!" Alya argued.

"we haven't gone out since February. You're always too busy with Marinette and you won't tell me why. At least I'm being honest-" Adrien paused and shifted uncomfortably, "at least I'll tell you what I'm doing."

Alya softened. "we just wanna hang."

"I don't have time right now," Adrien repeated, firmly.

"but I thought-"

"you thought because you finally have time for me I'll drop everything to spend time with you? I'm busy Alya. I know you mean well, but I'm busy. I don't have time for this!"

Plagg covered his face with his hands and Nino shifted again, even more uncomfortable this time. Alya looked visibly hurt. Adrien felt a stab of guilt, but he felt better for being honest about his feelings. For now at least.

Nino tried to smooth things over, but he couldn't get past, "Adrien…"

"I gotta go. my father is waiting for me," Adrien lied.

Nino and Alya watched Adrien walk away. Alya's hurt expression turned to a scowl and she stormed off in the opposite direction. Nino glanced back at Adrien as he vanished around a corner, sighed, and ran after Alya. Adrien lifted Plagg into his hand. Plagg folded his arms.

"you're right, you didn't rock the boat. You flipped it," he accused.

"I had to say it Plagg," Adrien sighed.

Plagg raised an eyebrow. "did you?"

Adrien could have argued a dozen ways to prove he was in the right, but he didn't feel like he was. not at the moment. He just felt angry and hurt and guilty. He wasn't in the mood to argue. "just transform me... Please."

Chat Noir landed on the rooftop again, and Tikki dove for cover in Marinette's bag. Marinette flashed him a smile, which eased some of the pain in his chest. Some.

"Welcome back."

She frowned when he didn't say anything, and continued to watch him wander over to his seat. He reached over and took a handful of popcorn to set aside for Plagg. Marinette threatened him with a paintbrush covered in blue paint.

"put that down! You're sweet enough."

Chat glanced up at her. she had no idea what he was going through, or what he had done, and if she did, she'd probably be mad that him. right now she was blissfully unaware. Alya, being a good friend, wasn't about to knowingly ruin their date with her problems, so she wouldn't know until tomorrow. She also had black paint splattered over her face like freckles, which made him smile. He was going to savour this time with her, because he had a feeling there wouldn't be another for a while.

…

Nino held the cotton candy high in one hand, so it wouldn't catch on any of the children that ran through them like they weren't there, and raised the toy turtle he had won that was linked under his other arm. he chuckled as he watched the kids scamper away. Then he grinned at Alya.

"What'd you wanna do next?" he asked.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Alya nodded, mindlessly.

Nino frowned. "Sure what?"

"Whatever you want," she said.

He raised an eyebrow, and tugged his cap with the arm that held his turtle. "I wanna break up with you, steal Adrien away from Marinette, and take him off to the south of France to live on the coast in a house full of cats."

"Sounds great."

Nino rolled his eyes and touched Alya's shoulder to pull her attention finally back to him. she'd been out of it for at least ten minutes now, and he was beginning to get a bit fed up. it had been her idea to come to the carnival anyway, which would have been the perfect time for them to have another real date, their first real date all year, but she was ruining it by thinking of another man.

"Alright, Alya what's going on?" he asked, as if he didn't know.

She frowned at him, "What?"

"You have no objections to me kidnapping Adrien and moving to the coast?" he raised an eyebrow.

Alya shrugged. "Hey, if that's what you wanna do with your life, go ahead. He's not good enough for Marinette anyway."

Nino groaned and rolled his eyes. "Ok, I'm not having this."

"Having what?!" she argued, defensively.

"You cannot pick and choose when Adrien wants to talk to you, and then pack him away at your own convenience. He's a person. He's got responsibilities. If you want to hang out with him you've both got to fit into each other's schedules, that's what friendship is," Nino raised his voice.

Alya took a step back and frowned. "Why are you being so grumpy?!"

"Because I took my girlfriend on a date to the carnival, my girlfriend who's been making me date her friend on the side-"

"Don't say it like that, it sounds sordid!"

Nino's chest tightened and begged him to yell, but when he looked into her beautiful deep amber eyes, it all just fell away into a heavy sigh. He loved her so much it actually hurt sometimes. Like now for example.

"Alya, I love you. I want to spend time with you. You want Marinette and Adrien to be happy, I get that, but what about me? When do I get to be happy?" he asked, softly.

Alya breathed, helplessly, "Nino..."

"I know you said we shouldn't get together because you were always busy, and you didn't want me to feel unappreciated, and I said -"

"You said you don't mind coming second. What's changed?"

"I'm not second anymore. I'm not even third. It goes Ladybug, Marinette, Adrien, me. I can handle being behind Marinette, bros before - well yeah, but I don't wanna be behind Adrien. Give it more time and I'll be behind Chat Noir too," Nino said, and it felt like a dull ache in his chest.

Alya ran her hand against his face until her palm cupped his cheek. He pressed his cheek against it, desperate for her touch. Her eyes were warm enough to melt his heart, and if she had just said sorry, he would have been able to forgive her instantly. But she didn't.

"You'll never be that low. And it doesn't matter where on my list you come, it's the fact that you're there. You're always there. Adrien and Chat Noir, they'll be gone in a week, you're always gonna be there," she promised.

"But I'll never be first?" he whispered.

She bowed her head instead of answering. No words were spoken, not even a sound, but Nino knew what she meant. Nino understood her perfectly. He sighed, and bowed his head back. she dared to look up at him, but he wouldn't meet her eye. Her mouth twitched. she didn't want to ask, but she had to.

"Nino... are we breaking up?"

"No." he answered quickly, and firmly, but she knew he wasn't finished. "No… I love you too much to lose you. That's the thing. To me, you're number one every time."

Her heart ached then. Somewhere along the line she had become too swept up in herself again. in herself and in Marinette. Nino and Adrien had been tossed aside like toys she was finished playing with, and now someone wanted to take them away, and she never wanted to let them go. Nino still wouldn't meet her eye as he handed her candyfloss, and tightened his grip on the turtle.

"I'll call you."

Alya didn't have the words to ask when, or to beg him not to go, but her eyes glistened with tears, illuminated by the flashing colourful lights of the rides surrounding them. she watched him vanish into the swathes of children, and she still couldn't bring herself to chase after him. if she had, maybe things would have gone differently.

…

"A little to the left," Chat advised.

Marinette shifted the portrait left a little. He held up his hands in a square to check it, which made her heart skip a beat. chat was balancing on the top of the railings, with his knees up by his chest, and his hands holding on for balance. Taking them off to test how this painting looked hanging on her wall made her worry about him falling. All that worry vanished when he beamed at her.

"purrfect!"

Marinette let go of the canvas so it hung perfectly in place. chat slithered in, and leaned an arm against her shoulder. His painting of her was excellent. Kind of sketchy, and the colours were a little too hard in places, but it was clear who it was, and that whoever painted it, had put in a lot of effort. He even had the purple and blue carnival lights and the Eiffel tower behind her. in the bottom corner, on a blank part of the canvas, he had painted his signature. A single black pawprint. She smiled at it.

"I love it," she declared.

"you really are a work of art now," he smiled.

Her smile withered. Suddenly she was four years old and beaming with pride at the sketch Luka held up, of the two of them standing together. it was a child's drawing. Bright blue and pink, with little detail, and claws for hands, but she loved it because Luka had made it. she was holding it up to her mother, who put a hand on her hip, and said the exact same thing.

Chat nudged her gently. "princess? You in there?"

Marinette looked over at him, and forced a smile. "yeah. I'm fine."

"good. I'm glad. I had a good time tonight. You a better flirt than you are an artist, but it was fun anyway," Chat smiled.

Marinette glanced at the second canvas. She had sketched Chat Noir in perfect detail, but painting over the top, with far too much black, meant that all the finer detail was added in with fine-tipped navy paint, and blended slightly too much. but his bright, keen, sparkling green eyes she had captured wonderfully. Chat followed her gaze and grinned.

"I'd let you hang it in my room, but then you'd know who I was behind the mask and you wouldn't be able to resist," he purred.

Marinette laughed and felt her cheeks warm. Usually she was Ladybug when he hit her with lines like that, and she would scoff it off, but for some reason that hit her right in the chest, and lingered. he moved his arm away from her shoulder, and leaned in to kiss her goodbye, but stopped himself. his ears went pink at the very thought of kissing Marinette. Marinette panicked as he leaned in close, and paused. She thought he was going to kiss her.
Chat had the bright idea to make this closeness a teasing grin, but Marinette had a different idea. to stop him kissing her, she leaned in close until their noses touched, and rubbed hers against his like an Eskimo kiss. Chat Noir's smile fell and his cheeks weren't scarlet under his mask. She pulled back, blushing pink sheepishly. Chat's heart beat fast.

"G-g-goodnight p-princess!"

He ran out as quickly as he could, clutching his portrait to his chest. Tikki beamed brightly as Marinette fell to the floor and curled up in a ball, too embarrassed to function. Plagg forgave all of Adrien's idiocy when he transformed, and still looked like a beetroot.

Maybe they were going to open their eyes finally.

Well you can't blame a kwami for wishing.