Hello! Me again! Things are really moving along, aren't they? I'm sort writing in the fly here, but I think I can reach the end in somewhere between 5 and 10 chapters. Don't quote me on that, though. These dorks can easily take control and steer the plot in a weird direction.

Also, I forgot to mention last time: the song Adrien plays for Marinette is "Everyday" by Rascal Flatts. Yes I like country music. Bite me.

It was Saturday morning. The sky was blue, the birds were singing, and last night Marinette Dupain-Cheng had kissed Adrien on the cheek. Well, technically, she kissed Cat Noir on the cheek, but that was beside the point. The important thing was she'd kissed him. She'd kissed him and he'd… he'd liked it. A lot, actually. Definitely more than he should. Adrien was in love with Ladybug, heroine of Paris, his other half. He should not be getting excited about kisses on the cheek from pretty classmates that smelled like vanilla and strawberries. Yet here he was, lying in bed the next morning, thinking about it.

"I don't see what the big deal is," came Plagg's voice from the desk. "So you got a kiss on the cheek from a pretty girl. How is that a bad thing?" Adrien groaned at his kwami's lack of empathy and threw a pillow over his face.

"You don't understand!" the boy whined. Ugh. Why wasn't there anyone he could talk to about this? In any other situation, Adrien would go to Nino, but there was no possible way to explain how he felt without revealing his identity. The only person who knew enough to understand was Plagg, who was currently gorging himself on cheese again, no doubt getting crumbs all over the keyboard.

"What's not to understand? A girl you like kissed you and you liked it. Seems pretty simple to me." Adrien shot upright.

"I don't like her!" he denied. "Well, I mean, I like her, you know, as a friend, but I don't like her like her."

"Uh-huh," the kwami sad disbelievingly.

"I'm serious!"

"I'm sure you are."

"Plagg!"

"Look kid," the cat-like creature said, turning to his human charge. "I've seen a lot in my day, so I know a crush when I see one. And you, kid, have a crush on this Marinette girl."

"But I can't," Adrien insisted. "I love Ladybug. I can't have feelings for another girl!"

"Kid, you're fourteen. Do you know how many people actually meet their 'true love' at your age?" The boy shook his head. "None. Like, one in a million. Maybe you and Ladybug are meant to be, but that's not something you need to worry about for years. You're a kid. You're going to have other crushes. Enjoy it while it lasts." Adrien frowned, not liking his love for his Lady being downplayed like that, but had to admit Plagg had a point. It really wasn't common to meet the love of your life so young. It's just…

"Marinette doesn't really like me anyways," the boy said despondently.

Oh, right, Plagg thought. This nonsense.

"She didn't have any problems talking to you last week," he reminded his charge.

"Well, I guess so," Adrien said, hugging his pillow. Last week when their friends had all but herded them into the library, he and Marinette had actually had a conversation. It had been…. Weird to talk to her about, well, her without her knowing they were talking about her (what even was his life at this point), but she'd been attentive and really seemed to care about his problems. It wasn't until she started acting strangely at the end that things fell apart. "But there's still something about me that makes her nervous. Who would want to spend time with someone that makes them uncomfortable?" Adrien was so despondent he didn't see his kwami face-palming (or whatever the equivalent was with kwami's little arm… thingies). "I'm not sure I want to do anything with another girl when I still have feelings for Ladybug anyways. It wouldn't be fair to anyone."

"Kid-"

"Adrien, it's time for breakfast," Nathalie called through the door, cutting off whatever Plagg had been about to say.

"Coming!" the boy yelled back, rolling out of bed and getting ready for the day. "We'll talk about this later, okay?" he whispered to his kwami. Plagg simply scowled and went back to his camembert. All of this talk about feelings was starting to wear him out. Why were humans so emotional as teenagers?

Adrien didn't get time to think about his… feelings for Marinette very much over the weekend. He'd been busy the entire time with modeling work, Chinese lessons, and practicing piano. By the time Monday rolled around, he was still stuck in the same place. He wasn't comfortable calling it a crush, no matter what Plagg said, but even he had to admit that he felt something more than friendship towards his raven-haired classmate.

He'd always liked her. He'd just… never thought of her that way before. His heart had been devoted to Ladybug practically since the moment they met, so even considering another girl had never crossed his mind. Adrien had been content to wait, to win over his Lady, but… what if she didn't want that? What if all Ladybug would ever want from him was friendship? Would Adrien risk ruining their friendship to try and get her to love him? No. No, he wouldn't. Adrien had always respected his Lady's boundaries, and if this was one she wouldn't budge on, he wouldn't force it. He could live without Ladybug's love. He couldn't live without her friendship.

So where did that leave him and Marinette? He liked her, and even if he was unsure of his feelings now, he could definitely grow to love her. She was an amazing person, but… that was what made him hesitate. Marinette was one of the best people he'd ever met. She deserved more than his half-hearted affection. She should have someone who could give her everything, and Adrien couldn't. Part of him would always love Ladybug. It would be unfair to split his heart between them. Right?

"Yo! Adrien!" the blond looked up to see Nino waving to him from the top of the school steps. Huh. He didn't even remember getting out of the car. Heck, he didn't remember getting into the car. He was really spacing out.

"Hey Nino!" Adrien called back, putting his thoughts of Marinette to the side for the moment and walking up to meet his friend. "Good morning."

"It's Monday," the DJ whined. "There's nothing good about it." The blond laughed.

"Come on, Nino, don't be like that. Monday means you get to see me again!"

"Yet another reason I should have stayed home," Nino sighed. "Saved myself from seeing your ugly mug." He was trying his best to look dejected, but Adrien could see his mouth quirking up at the corners and unmistakable humor in his eyes.

"Oh, ha ha," the model deadpanned. "Take another shot at my ego, why don'tcha."

"Well, it is a pretty big target…" Adrien gave his friend a flat look and Nino burst out laughing. "Come on, dude, someone has to take you down a peg. What if you started thinking you were actually… cool?" Nino sounded appropriately horrified at the thought, so Adrien shoved his shoulder playfully.

"Let's just get to class," he said as he started to walk away. Nino just chuckled and followed after him, content to have put a smile on his friend's face.

"So how was your weekend?" Adrien stiffened slightly, but relaxed (hopefully) before Nino noticed.

"Oh, you know… busy." I spent Friday night with Marinette in a rooftop garden playing her a song under the stars and may or may not have realized that I might have a crush on her. How was yours? "I had to spend all day Saturday with my Chinese instructor. We're reviewing all the character's I've learned so far."

"Yikes," the DJ said with a wince. "That sounds, like, super boring."

"It totally was," Adrien sighed. "You'd think a model would have a more exciting life." Reaching the classroom, the two boys opened the door and stepped inside. "Morning Alya," Adrien nodded to the blogger.

"Sup, Al," Nino said, greeting her as well. "Marinette still not here yet?" he guessed, gesturing to the empty seat in the second row.

"Nope," the redhead laughed. "She said she was awake twenty minutes ago, but…"

"Marinette?" Nino said.

"Marinette," Alya agreed.

Marinette, Adrien thought. Maybe he could ask Nino and Alya for advice. They were much closer to her… no. If they got any hint that Adrien might like Marinette, they'd meddle and try to 'help' them get together. He'd go to them later, once he was sure how he felt.

The three friends chatted over nothing, waiting for class to start. Approximately thirty-seven seconds before the bell rang, Marinette came bursting in through the door, somewhat out of breath, but on time.

"Morning, everyone!" she called cheerily, and Adrien tried not to notice the slight flush to her cheeks, or the way her bangs looked slightly windswept from the short sprint here. He noticed anyways.

Come on, don't be weird. "Good morning Marinette!" There. That sounded normal, right? He hoped so.

"Oh, uh, um, good morning, Adrien," she said, biting her lip. Her lips were really pink. Was that natural? It didn't look like she was wearing lip gloss- Stop it, he commanded himself. He refocused on his classmate, only to find her already in her seat, whispering to Alya. Oh, well. he should probably work out how he felt before he talked to her anyways.

The bell rang and Ms. Bustier walked in.

"Good morning, class! I hope you all had a nice weekend…"

'Do you know how many people actually meet their 'true love' at your age?' Plagg's words rang in Adrien's mind as he bounded over the rooftops. It was late evening, the last rays of the sun beginning to fade over the horizon. Adrien was out on patrol, hoping some fresh air and exercise would help him figure out his current dilemma.

True love… he thought. He'd always thought Ladybug was his true love, but what if he was wrong? What if it was someone else? Someone he'd never met? What if… what if it was Marinette? They were both still young. They had so much room to grow. As unfair as it seemed to split his heart between Marinette and his Lady, wasn't it just as unfair to never give Marinette a chance to begin with? Ladybug was incredible, but so was Marinette. How could he know whether or not he could care about her more than he did Ladybug if he never tried? Besides, there was the chance that Marinette wouldn't like him that way either.

Which was another problem altogether. Marinette didn't actively dislike him, but she'd never really been very comfortable with him either. Even if he got her used to him, there was no guarantee that she'd want to go out with him.

Adrien sighed, coming to a stop on some random roof. He pulled out an umbrella-his umbrella- from behind his back.

"Why did I even bring this?" he muttered. This umbrella was another point of confusion for him. The fact that Marinette had kept it proved that she at least tolerated him, but she still acted so strangely. Come to think of it, Marinette hadn't started stammering around him until after he'd given it to her to apologize for Chloe's behavior. Before that, she had no problem snapping at him. Even if she hadn't recognized him right away, Marinette had to have realized he was her favorite designer's son by the time he apologized, so his father's name couldn't be what made her skittish around him. And then there was the apology… Marinette didn't hold grudges, at least not to people who apologized. Sure, she had an ongoing feud with Chloe, but that was because the blonde girl never admitted she was wrong. She'd even forgiven him for….

Adrien shook his head, not focusing on the memory. What had happened wasn't important. What was important was that Marinette had forgiven him, and even seemed to respect him for doing so. Heck, she even said she didn't stay angry at people that were truly sorry. Not only had Adrien apologized for the chewing gum incident, it wasn't even really his fault. It didn't make sense that a girl as nice as Marinette would hold a grudge over that. She didn't even seem to still be mad at Chloe for the mean prank, even though she was the one at fault. Marinette didn't even seem to think that it was important anymore. It wasn't a big deal, just Chloe being Chloe. It wasn't a big deal, so why… why did Marinette keep the umbrella? Was it because… it came from him? Did she treasure their friendship as much as he did? Was… was it possible-

"Cat Noir?" a voice called. Adrien turned around immediately, seeking the source to find… Marinette Dupain-Cheng climbing out of her trap door. His eyes widened in realization as he finally took notice of where he was.

Stupid, he thought. Stupid, stupid, STUPID! He'd been so focused on Marinette that he'd somehow ended up on her balcony! And now she was probably wondering why he was here!

"Oh, uh, hello, Princess," he said, flashing what he hoped was a charming smile. "I was just… out patrolling and… well…" Marinette was fully on the roof now, looking at him curiously with her big blue eyes. What could he say, what could he say? He couldn't tell her he was standing there thinking about some stupid- the umbrella. "I was just out and I thought I'd return this to you." He held out the umbrella, offering it to her. She perked up in surprise.

"Oh! I didn't really expect you to bring it back," she said, taking it.

"It seemed important." She stared at him for a moment before smiling softly.

"It is. Thank you." He should go now. He should leave. He had no more business here. He should go before he did something-

"Why?" –stupid.

"Huh?" Marinette cocked her head to the side cutely in confusion.

"Why, uh, why is it important? You… you said a friend gave it to you, right?" What are you doing?

"He did," Marinette nodded, ignorant to Adrien's internal battle. "I'm surprised you remember that."

"Well, Princess, you really are un furgettable." Stop. Punning. Stop punning and GO.

"You're such a flirt," she giggled. "But yes, it is from a friend." She bit her lip and looked away, a light blush across her cheeks.

"Are you two, uh, close?" WHY ARE YOU STILL GOING?!

"Not as close as I'd like to be," Marinette admitted.

"Oh? Is there a reason why?" This was wrong. He shouldn't be fishing for information out of Marinette behind the safety of his alter-ego. If he had a question, he should ask it as himself. But he had to know.

"I-it's none of your business!" she told him as her cheeks grew darker. Adrien wasn't sure whether to be relieved or disappointed.

"Oh, uh, well, I'm glad I gave it back… I guess," he replied dumbly, his hand going back to scratch his neck. Adrien looked down to his feet and scuffed his boot on the balcony concrete. "I guess I should-"

"Do you want to stay a bit?"

….

What did she just say?

What did I just say?

Marinette had been having a fairly average evening, thinking about school, homework, Adrien Friday night things, when she'd heard some grumbling from her balcony. Imagine her surprise when she found the boy she totally hadn't been thinking about crouching on her balcony staring at an umbrella. Her umbrella, actually, or rather Adrien's. She really hadn't expected to see it again, so it was a nice surprise that Cat Noir had brought it back for her.

Everything was going great, but she had to open her big, fat mouth and ask him to stay. What was she thinking? She'd already spent the entire weekend confused over how Friday night had made her feel, and she goes and offers to spend more time with him out of the suit which was what was causing these problems in the first place?!

Cat seemed just as shocked as she was, so it took him a moment to respond.

"I-I'd love to." Why did he say yes?! It wasn't like Marinette didn't like spending time with Cat, it was just… she needed distance. She needed to reset all of the boundaries she'd put between them. She needed to keep things professional. She needed to be Ladybug. But she couldn't. Not when he was standing there, looking like some sort of lost kitten. Oh, why did she have such a weakness for baby doll eyes? He wasn't even trying to use them!

"Would you… like to sit down?" she asked hesitantly.

"Oh, uh, sure," he said, situating himself on the box in front of her deck chair.

"Oh, you don't have to sit there!" Marinette protested.

"Princess, I can't take your chair."

"But you're a guest!"

"I'm also a gentleman. What kind of gentleman lets a lady sit on a box when there's a chair right there?" Marinette puffed out her cheeks in frustration, but eventually sat down in the chair. Cat could be stubborn about the weirdest things, and this wasn't one she wanted to fight him on. "So…" he said awkwardly.

"So…" she echoed. Oh, God, why had she invited him to stay?! What were they supposed to talk about? She couldn't think of anything! At this rate he was going to think she was some kind of weirdo that doesn't know how to talk to people and-

"ROOO!"

Marinette squeaked as something stirred behind her in a mass of feathers, causing Cat to sneeze loudly.

"Jacque!" Marinette scolded, turning to find the offending pigeon resting on the head of her lounge chair. The smug bird even had the gall to give her a blank look. She scowled.

"J-Jac-achoo! Jacque?" Cat managed to ask. He was holding his nose in a desperate attempt to keep from sneezing again.

"Oh, yeah, um, Jacque. Jacque the pigeon," she said, standing to shoo away the creature. "Shoo! Go on, get!" she hissed, waving her hands at it. Fortunately, Jacque left. Unfortunately, he left behind yet more feathers that sent Cat sneezing again.

"ACHOO! ACHOO!"

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry! Here, I'll go get you some tissues," she said, moving to the trapdoor. Cat simply nodded as he valiantly tried to keep in his sneezes. Judging from what Marinette heard after she entered her room, he wasn't very successful. She cursed under her breath. That stupid bird.

Marinette grabbed a box of tissues off her desk- ignoring a pointed look from Tikki- and climbed back up onto the balcony.

"Here," she offered, handing Cat the tissues.

"Tha-than-CHOO!" Cat managed, taking the box. His eyes were watering and he was coughing a lot. Marinette felt awful.

"I'm sorry," she fussed, rubbing Cat's back.

"Wh-why are you apologizing, Princess?" he said, trying to get his usual swagger back (he wasn't doing very well). "Did you mean to sic that pigeon on me or something?" He gave her a cheshire grin, but the effect was muddled by his teary eyes.

"Well, no, but-"

"But nothing. It wasn't your fault, so there's nothing to apologize for, right?"

"…. Right," she replied with a small smile.

"Though… it did seem like you knew that pigeon. Can I hear that story?" he asked, giving her a mirthful look. Marinette giggled.

"I suppose," she drawled dramatically, drawing a snicker from the feline superhero. "But there really isn't much of a story," she told him as she sat back down again. "He's just this pigeon that lives nearby. I fed him once, and now he keeps coming back." She punctuated the statement with an irritated scowl. Honestly, feeding that sky rat had been a mistake. Now he showed up at least once a week to bother her! "That'll teach me to feed strays."

"Oh, I don't know Princess, you don't seem to have learned your lesson," Cat teased. "After all, you fed me."

"Yeah, and now I can't get rid of you, either. Sure shows me," she smirked.

"Well, in all fairness Princess, I haven't seen you trying too hard. After all, you're the one that invited me to stay a while," he said, wiggling his eyebrows playfully.

"Only because you showed up on my rooftop looking like a lost kitten," she snorted. The two teens chuckled softly. This was familiar territory; bantering with her partner. It felt natural. "Seriously, though," she prodded. "Nothing's wrong, right? I mean, not that it isn't nice to see you, but…" she trailed off, biting her lip.

"My visits aren't normally under the best circumstances, are they?" he sighed. Marinette nodded.

"Basically."

"Well, worry not, Princess! All is well! I just…" he paused thoughtfully. "I just needed to get out and think."

"But not about anything bad," she guessed. Cat chuckled and shook his head.

"No, no, not bad. Just…" He gave her a meaningful look. "Important."

"Oh," she squeaked. She wasn't sure what to say to that, especially when he looked at her that way, so she cleared her throat and changed the subject. "So, anything interesting happen lately?"

"You do realize you're talking to a superhero, right?" he said incredulously. He coked an eyebrow and Marinette flushed.

"Well, uh, of course!" She wasn't going to let him tease her. "Though, I guess if I wanted to her any of the juicy stuff, I should've asked Ladybug," she sassed.

"Oh? You don't think I'm interesting?" he challenged.

"Not particularly," she replied airily. She turned away absently, trying to hide the small grin on her face. She was pretty sure he saw it anyways.

"Don't you mean pawticularly?" Cat drawled.

"No," Marinette deadpanned. "No I do not." There was a moment of silence, then the two companions burst out laughing. It felt nice to get to talk to Cat like this, no threat of an akuma attack, no responsibility hanging over her head. The only thing that soured it was the fact that he was still wearing his mask, but she didn't ask him to take it off. She couldn't. It wasn't the right time. Someday…she thought.

They ended up talking for hours. At first it had been simple banter, but had moved on to more interesting topics like their hobbies, and silly things like their favorite akuma villain.

"I don't know, Mr. Pigeon was pretty awesome," Marinette drawled, enjoying the sour look on Cat's face.

"Ugh, Princess, don't even joke about that! It was awful," he moaned.

"Don't you mean afoul?" she asked innocently. Cat gave her a deadpan scowl.

"I finally get you to pun, and it's against me. I feel betrayed."

"Aw, come on," Marinette giggled. "I didn't mean to ruffle your feathers." Cat groaned. "What, I thought that one would really quack you up! Was it too hawkward?"

"UUUGH! Please stop!" he whined, burying his face in his hands.

"Why? A little bird told me you like puns. Don't tell me they were wrong?" Marinette made sure to give him her biggest, most innocent pout. He turned away, groaning louder.

"I've created a monster!" he wailed.

"Well-"

"Marinette!" her mother called from below. "Are still out on your balcony? It's getting late! You could catch a cold!"

"OH, I, UH, I'll be right down, Mama!" Marinette answered.

"Alright, sweetie! And make sure you don't stay up too late! It's a school night!"

"YES Mama!" Marinette turned apologetically to Cat. "I guess it is pretty late, huh?" The sun had long since set, and the moon was starting its trek upwards in the sky. The balcony was lit by the string of lanterns hung along the chimney, giving off a warm glow.

"Yeah, I, uh, I guess it is," Cat said dejectedly. "I should probably go."

"Yeah," Marinette echoed, rubbing her hands together. "That'd probably be best." She couldn't quite meet his eye.

"I guess I'll be seeing you then," he mused, getting up.

"Yeah…" she repeated. Marinette knew it was a mistake, but she looked up at Cat through her eyelashes anyways. He seemed… deflated. She didn't like that look on him. There had to be something she could do…

"Would you like to come back?"

"Huh?" Cat said confusedly, ears perking up.

"I- w-well, I said… would you… like to come back?" She was quieter this time, more unsure. "I mean, it's just that I had a really nice time talking with you, so I thought…" she trailed off and bit her lip again. This was stupid. She was stupid. She shouldn't have asked-

"I'd like that." Marinette's head jerked up, connecting her with Cat's green gaze. His eyes were earnest, but tender, a small smile playing on his lips. "I had fun talking to you too, Princess." Marinette could feel her face heating up slightly, but ignored it. She didn't want to ruin this moment.

"So… another night?" she asked.

"Another night," he answered. Then, ever the gentleman, Cat Noir took Marinette's hand and placed a small kiss on her knuckles. "Good night, Princess."

"Good night, Cat." He stepped away, never breaking eye contact. Then, with one final bow, he was off, launching himself into the starry sky.

"What am I doing?" Marinette mused as she watched her partner disappear into the night.

Now I know our dorks save Paris and all, but let's give it up for the real hero of this chapter: Jacque! Just when I was wondering how to get these awkward kidlets to break the tension, he comes and save my behind! Thank you, Jacque! YOU are the true savior of Paris!