A/N: Warning, some slight foreplay earlier in the chapter, unsure if the warning is necessary but just in case?

Chapter Ten: Upping The Ante

Marinette thought that the tension between Adrien and her would lessen as their relationship grew. The urge to jump him, pin him to the ground, and have her way with him would cease; or at least not be so very intense.

But no, her urges were only getting stronger. Much, much stronger. He'd smile at one of her comments, and she'd have to resist the urge to kiss him. He'd brush against her, and she'd have to stop herself from wrapping around him. She'd never felt such a crazy want for someone before, it was almost unnerving. She'd be more embarrassed or concerned about it if it wasn't for the fact that he was just as bad as her.

It had been three weeks since the night they'd gotten together, and Adrien was becoming more and more creative by the day. One afternoon, in the middle of a conversation, he suddenly got that look on his face; one she was becoming very familiar with. He'd stopped her mid-word to pull her into an empty meeting room. She'd laughed at his urgent expression, only to be taken aback when her back met the wall and his lips found hers. Another day, one where he'd been exceedingly good at not attacking her at work—he grew impatient on their way to his place. An alley way two streets down from his apartment became their temporary refuge as he pulled her up, her legs wrapping around his waist as her tongue clashed against his.

She knew he didn't mean to lose his focus anymore than she did—and she was very guilty of doing so, she'd pushed him against a wall a time or two in the past few weeks— they just couldn't seem to help it. She tried to focus, tried to be a responsible adult instead of playing the part of a horny teenager. But then he'd look at her a certain way, or say something in an octave just a step lower than normal, and then she'd be on him.

Just like now.

They had ventured to her place after work to get some of their studies underway before the weekend truly began. Nino and Alya had contacted them earlier that day, claiming they wanted 'a night out together'. So the two of them needed to play the waiting game before all four of them could have some fun. However, a study date turned into something completely different rather quickly.

It started with a heated glance from Adrien when Marinette leaned forward to grab a paper from the coffee table, and then escalated when her hand innocently found it's way to his inner thigh when she leaned against him. The tension exploded when she noted his hand shaking, holding back from grabbing her. Their eyes had met, understanding clear in them both.

That was all it took.

There were never any tentative touches when they broke down so quickly, and this time was no exception. His lips ventured from her lips to her neck and latched onto her pulse. Her hands made quick work of his button down shirt, as she searched for skin on skin contact. He'd once joked he might as well go around shirtless with how often she took him out of his; she wouldn't be opposed.

Her fingers trailed up his back and he shifted, and then suddenly her back met the couch cushions below as he crawled over her. Her thighs spread almost instinctively as he lowered, his hips meeting hers as they joined lips.

The tentative kisses and uncertain movements from their first week was gone completely now, as they knew exactly how and where to angle themselves to bring out a gasp, or a moan, or Marinette's favorite—a curse. It was almost a competition to see who could get the other to fall apart first, and it seemed today he was winning. The hand not occupied with holding him above her was venturing under the rim of her pants. She didn't stop him, didn't even hesitate as she arched into his touch—encouraging him to go further.

His fingers found their way into her panties and she felt him pressing against her, just the way she needed it. She gasped, breaking the kiss as her hand grabbed his arm; gripping it tightly to keep him right where she wanted him.

Not to be deterred, his lips made their way back down her neck to her shoulders, pushing the shirt collar out of the way the best he could with his nose. His adventurous fingers started a rhythm, his thumb against her sweetest spot as his pointer entered her slowly. With every rub came a tiny thrust, and with every movement of his hand against her came her breathy response. She was putty in his hands as he worked her, and by the grin she felt against her shoulder, he was enjoying it immensely.

They'd yet to take the final step in their budding relationship, foreplay and heavy petting being the most intimate thing they'd gotten around to. Something was always holding them back, whether it be work, or friends, or even themselves; they just couldn't seem to make that tiny leap.

'But maybe', she thought as a second finger joined the first, gasping at the added sensation. 'Maybe we're getting somewhere'.

"Mari," He mumbled between kisses to her chest, trying valiantly to get under her shirt and failing to do so.

"Adri-" she tried to respond but was cut off by her own moan when his fingers buried themselves deep within her once more. She could feel the end coming, could almost taste the release she knew was upon her. All she needed was a little more and—

"Listen," came a very familiar, very unwelcome voice. "You're both very attractive and all, but I really don't need to see any of this."

Like a bucket of cold water, Alya's voice ruined any momentum they had gathered. His head slumped against her chest as she tried to gather her wits while his fingers still rested inside of her. She found herself leaning up, ignoring the pressure it caused within as she glared at her longtime friend. They had been getting somewhere, and Alya just had to ruin it.

Never mind that they were on the couch, she could have just turned around and waited. Marinette would've done so if it had been Nino.

Alya just ignored her glare, crossing her arms and quirking an eyebrow at her expression. Then, she shook her head and spoke.

"You're lucky Nino opted to wait outside, something about 'not wanting to risk anything.'" she snorted. "Now I see why."

Adrien pulled his fingers out of her, the sound unmistakable to anyone within the room. Marinette blushed, Adrien looked away, and Alya just stood there looking far too amused. He stood from the couch and began the search for his shirt—Marinette had quite the arm when she threw them away. Marinette didn't miss the up and down Alya gave him, or the playful glint in her eyes.

"Nice chest Adrien." she said casually, "Work out?"

His face bled red, but he didn't say a thing. Instead, he found the shirt that had somehow made it's way under the kitchen table and began pulling it on. Alya bit her lip, obviously holding back laughter and looking in his direction Marinette could see the reason why. When he'd stretched, he'd shown just affected he'd been from their little session, and of course Alya had to be such an adult about it.

Marinette couldn't take it anymore.

"Wait outside, Alya." Marinette commanded, trying to sound authoritative, adding in a stern glare for good measure. Alya turned her gaze back to her, her wide smile an unwelcome sight considering her reason.

The stare down between lasted for a long moment, until finally Alya backed off.

"Fine." she said, reaching into her pocket for her phone. "But don't you two take too long. I want to get to the bar before dinner rush gets too crazy, you know how the weekends are."

She headed towards the door and only stopped to look over her shoulder.

"Oh, and. 'too long', means you don't have time for a quickie." she said smugly. "Find a way to take care of that before Nino sees, Adrien. Or else you'll be a castrated kitty."

Adrien stumbled mid-step at her words, and Marinette frowned at his nervousness. It had obviously been a joke? Why was he so affected by it?

"Yeah, Okay." he said quickly, and she felt the strangeness there. No jokes, no quips? Sure, he'd get flustered sometimes, but he was generally an unashamed person when it came to their relationship.

She brushed it off when Alya walked out the door, and he gave her an innocent look. It was probably nothing, she was just being a bit oversensitive.

As his lips met hers in a brief kiss, she worked hard at assuring herself of that.

Nearly an hour later, they'd made it to the bar and her and Alya secured seats while the boys went to grab drinks. They settled in, relaxing quietly for a moment before Alya finally couldn't handle it anymore.

"The two of you are getting ridiculous," she spoke, her voice just loud enough to where Marinette could make it out above the music. Marinette frowned and leaned forward, trying to keep their conversation private.

"No we aren't." she responded, immediately defensive. "You act as though you and Nino weren't all over each other when you first started out."

Alya laughed, shaking her head as if she'd said something completely foolish.

"Yeah," she started, "But you aren't me. And Adrien isn't Nino. I get off to public sex, if you recall my list of 'places I want to do it in'." she paused, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Although now I guess it should be called 'places I still haven't done it in', considering Nino and I have-"

"Okay!" Marinette exclaimed, blushing scarlet. "Adrien and I are just-"

"Going through some extreme sexual tension because you haven't actually screwed yet," Alya quipped, glancing over at where their boys were standing. "I know."

Once again, she looked Adrien up and down before turning back to her. Marinette wondered if she should feel territorial, or possessive, or something of the like. Shouldn't Alya not check her boyfriend out? Was that even the right term? What were they, exactly? They'd never said.

Putting that question aside, she came back to the subject at hand. She wasn't jealous, she knew, because there was no interest in her friend's eyes, just a vague curiosity.

"I don't understand the problem though, Mari." Alya explained. "That boy is stacked. Far too blond for me, and definitely too vanilla; But for you?" she shrugged. "He's perfect. So what's the deal?"

To be honest, she wasn't really sure. She knew it was more than just her friends or her work holding her back, something emotionally was keeping her from taking it a step further. She really, really liked Adrien. She wanted something with him. What that something was, however, she wasn't sure.

The main issue, she thought, was her 'secret'. Ladybug was a large, important part of her life. It was something that could possibly get her jailed, or his father jailed for that matter. How was she supposed to tell him that she was Ladybug?

'Oh, yeah, by the way I've been trying to imprison your father for the past few months, hope you don't mind?'

Somehow she thought that wouldn't go well, even if he did supposedly support Ladybug's actions.

"I'm, well, y'know." Marinette explained vaguely. Her hard look enough to make Alya understand. Ladybug.

Alya was not impressed.

"Yeah, but we've covered that. You can only use that as an excuse for so long, Mari." she rolled her eyes, glancing at the boys one more time as they finally were able to put in their orders. "Don't think I don't notice you not coming home at night, either. You may not be having sex, but you certainly aren't sleeping alone. What does that say to you?"

"That I'm taking this seriously," Marinette responded instantly, before hesitating with her next thought. She hadn't spoken the words out loud yet, not even to herself. But they were beginning to feel true, right. "I think that I'm falling for him."

Alya sputtered, the comment she'd been saving dying instantly. She stared, open-mouthed at her longtime friend while Marinette tried to focus on anything else.

Like the boys walking over to them.

"Wait, what?" Alya practically screamed,begging for more intel.

"Not now, Alya." Marinette said, putting on a large smile as the boys reached them. Alya tried to bring back some semblance of calm, but she couldn't help watching her friend's interactions like a hawk. Not with the information her friend had just dropped on her.

She watched Adrien sit down and not even hesitate to enter Marinette's space. She watched as he slid her drink in front of her, eyes focused in on the girl. Alya resisted the urge to comment when Adrien moved in, kissing Marinette softly; As if her best friends weren't directly across from him. Then followed his movements as he moved back, wrapping a free arm around the girl's shoulders and picking up his own glass. Picking up a conversation with Nino as if nothing had happened.

Normally, this would be the point where Alya would tease them. She'd claim that they were being lovey-dovey, or grossly adorable, or something of the like. But now, all she could do is stare, thinking of Marinette's words.

Wondering if adrien felt the same way, wondering if she should be worried.

She found herself glaring at him, at his comfortable body language while Marinette must be struggling with some very strong feelings. Her friend had never been in love before, how long had she been thinking about it? He didn't know any of that, of course, but she did. And she needed to get a point across.

"You treat her right Agreste, understand?" She spoke suddenly, causing Adrien to turn his focus to her. Nino coughed beside her, obviously not expecting the sudden outburst. Marinette glared at her, trying to stop her from saying anything too revealing.

Adrien just met her gaze head on, a serious expression on his face.

"I will," he replied simply, waiting for her response.

Marinette watched nervously as the two stared each other down, confused as to what exactly brought all of this on, when Alya finally relaxed, nodding her head as if satisfied.

"You better."

They both went back to drinking and talking as if there hadn't just been a random confrontation, Marinette watching them both like they'd lost their minds. After a few minutes, when it became obvious neither one of them were going to further explain anything, she resigned herself to letting it go.

She probably didn't want to know.

The next day, things were going as usual. Try to think of a plan, fail to do so, ignore the fact she couldn't. Then, of course, spend time with Adrien. Her group was getting restless with the lack of activity, and so was Chat. She'd spoken with him a few times over the phone, and he'd been strangely impatient during their conversations. Almost as if he was uncomfortable talking to her. She wondered if her actions from that night truly caused such a change, and hoped it wasn't true. She'd hate to ruin their partnership with her foolishness.

It had barely been five minutes from the start of her lunch when Alya called, exclaiming loudly into her ear that Juleka had an 'amazing' idea, and that she was on her way to discuss it. Then she'd hung up without even waiting for a response.

Alya was on her way. To her job.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked, noting the confusion on her face. They had just sat down at their table before the call came, he hadn't even taken out his lunch. He reached across the table to place his hand over hers, a concerned look crossing his face. She gave him a small smile, hoping that would ease his worry.

"Alya's on her way," Marinette spoke, continuing before Adrien could speak. "I'm not sure why. She said it was important, though."

If you could call a new plan to take down the leading power of France important, that is.

"Oh," Adrien said, brow furrowing as he thought. "I'm guessing she'll want to talk to you alone then, if it's important?"

She nodded. They couldn't exactly make a plan with Adrien here.

"How long do you think it'll be?" he asked.

"Probably not too long," she answered, shrugging. "Maybe the rest of lunch?"

The pout Adrien wore was enough to show her that, to him, that was too long.

"Unfair," he spoke, releasing her hand to lean back against his chair. "Lunch is our time."

She giggled at his dramatic tone, and stood from her spot. She walked behind him and he looked up to her, the pout still going strong.

"Poor baby," she cooed, running a hand through his hair before tapping his nose. "Can't survive thirty minutes without me?"

He kissed he finger, before reaching up to tangle their hands together.

"What can I say," he said, grinning, "I'm needy."

They stood like that for a moment, her front resting against the back of his chair while he kept their hands by his chest. Then, he spoke.

"Will you come over later today?"

It was funny how common that question was becoming. Even funnier how quickly she had become comfortable with answering the question. She wanted to say yes, the word was on the tip of her tongue.

But if Alya had a plan, then that meant there would need to be a meeting. Then there would be preparations, and outlining, and so much more would need to be done. Things that he couldn't be there for.

'Unless you tell him' she thought to herself, not for the first time. 'If you want this relationship to work he needs to know.'

For some reason though, even knowing that he should know; she just couldn't tell him. The fear that he'd leave her was simply too strong, the thought that he'd take the news badly too much for her. She didn't want to risk that, not for anything.

Still, there was another thought, one that scared her just as much.

'If he finds out too late, he'll leave you anyways.'

She shoved the negative thoughts aside, knowing she'd need to confront them eventually but not wanting to deal with them at the moment. She focused instead on his pleading expression, on his thumb brushing over hers.

"I'm not sure," she answered finally, giving him a sad smile, "When Alya gets excited like this, it's usually an all day thing. She'll probably demand I come home immediately after work."

"Then I'll come over," he responded instantly. "Later tonight, when she's finished. I'll stay with you." he hesitated, looking as though he said something he shouldn't have. "If you want, that is."

He said it as though she didn't want to spend the night with him, the silly boy. She resisted the urge to hug him, to say 'Of course'. She had to be realistic, the meeting could last well into the night.

"No promises," she said. "If it gets late I would hate to wake you up."

He frowned at that, pulling on her hand to signal he wanted her to lean down. She did so without a thought, angling her head to meet the kiss she knew he wanted.

"I don't mind," he spoke, "If I get to spend time with you, I don't mind."

"You're adorable," she giggled, brushing her forehead against his, unable to hide her goofy grin. She didn't know what she'd done to deserve someone so gloriously sappy. He smiled up at her and she couldn't resist leaning back down to kiss him again, this one lingering.

"I swear I'm going to get a spray bottle and carry it around with me." came Alya's voice, directly behind them. "You two need to just get it over with already."

They broke apart, Adrien sighing at the interruption and Marinette resisting the urge to laugh at his irritated expression. He glanced over at Alya, meeting her unimpressed gaze with one of his own.

"This isn't going to become a habit of yours, is it?" he asked casually.

Alya rolled her eyes.

"It wouldn't need to become a habit if either of you would pay attention to your surroundings." she joked. "In public, Mari?"

Marinette had the sense of mind to blush, at least. Even if she admitted to herself she hated the constant interruption.

"Anyways," Alya continued, reaching over to pull Marinette to her side. "I need to take her for a while. Girl talk, you know."

"Yeah, that's what she said earlier." he replied.

A moment of understanding passed between them, one that Marinette missed.

"So you understand, then? Don't worry, she'll call you later. Girl won't be able to help herself." she teased.

"Alya," Marinette hissed, but Alya only laughed at her anger.

"What, it's true!" Alya exclaimed, before smiling at him. "See you later, Adrien."

"Bye Alya," he replied, before winking at Marinette. "Call me."

Marinette bled bright red while Alya pulled her away. They'd walked barely out of earshot when Alya began speaking again.

"So you ready for this?" she asked. Marinette nodded, waiting for her to continue. Alya looked around the area, before her eyes darted back to her.

"I need to know where Gabriel's office is. Well, where the window is, at least."

Marinette hesitated, concerned. They couldn't possibly...

"Why's that important to this plan?" she asked, concern only increasing at Alya's grin.

"You'll see, just show me."

Marinette did so rather unwillingly, pointing to the top left set of windows on the main building, on the opposite side of the courtyard. Alya began to head that way, looking back and forth between the ground, then the window as she did so. She came to a stop after a moment, examining the long stretch of concrete that made up one side of the courtyard before nodding, pleased.

"Yes, good. This is perfect." she began, "It's big enough, and with the location escape routes are simple."

Oh, no.

"Wait." Marinette said, "You're not seriously planning on hitting my job, are you?" she asked.

"And why not?" Alya asked, not seeing her reason for concern. "It's big, it's attention grabbing, and Gabriel will definitely have to see it!"

'Not that grin!' Marinette thought, absentmindedly backing up to distance herself from her overly excited friend. That grin had been the cause of many of her scars back from their youth.

"Yeah, sure." Marinette answered sarcastically, "Minus the night guards, the late workers, and the fact that he's going to be so angry he'll explode. Yeah, this is perfect."

"He's pissed already, Mari." Alya responded, reaching for her hand and meeting her eyes. "We can do this, I know we can. We can get the whole team out here, and this place will be ours."

"Last time we brought the team out, you almost—" Alya cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

"Occupational hazard." she said quickly. "Juleka was right, this is an amazing spot to really step up our game. We can do this."

There were some fights Marinette knew she could win, and others she knew she wouldn't when it came to her excited friend. This was one of the losing fights, she'd just have to put her faith in her.

"Fine, but I'm going to be the over prepared one for this." Marinette's tone left no room for argument. "I'll stay late, learn the guard rotation, try to see about what day and time would be best for this."

"That's fine." Alya agreed, "I'll get everyone together then. Ivan should be healed up by now, I'm sure he'll come if we call."

"Nothing extreme for the design, either." Marinette glanced around them, noting how many tables were in their way, what sources would be available to them. "This is risky, it's going to have to be simple. Like the last big one."

"Risky is the only way you like it, don't even pretend otherwise." Alya laughed, "I guess you need to tell Chat, then?"

"Guess I do." Marinette responded, already making plans to do so for when she returned home.

That night, after hours of planning with the team and designing ideas, Marinette finally found a free moment. She went to her room for the disposable phone, figuring it would be easier than hooking up her earpiece this late at night. She heard the sounds of her friends leaving as she began the call, sitting down at the foot of her bed as she waited.

"Evening Bugaboo," came his voice, loud and clear. She'd expected him to sound as he usually did when she called late, barely awake. It was after one, what was he doing up?

"Same to you, Chat." she responded, resisting the urge to ask him what he'd been doing. It wasn't her business. "We've got a hit."

"I love the sound of that," he spoke, pleased. "What is it?"

"Gabriel's workplace, the courtyard behind it" she began, "His window overlooks the courtyard, we just want to give him something to stare at."

Silence followed her words, and for a moment she wondered if she'd lost connection.

"Chat?" she asked, "Are you there?"

She heard the sound of him shifting in the background, before he finally spoke.

"That's...incredibly dangerous." he hesitated, "Are you sure you want to take that one on?"

No, she wasn't. But the team wanted it, and she wasn't about to argue with them. Not after she'd made them take similar risks for her ideas.

"The team wants this. We know the risks that come with it, but we need to do something before we lose our traction."

A moment passed, then a sigh.

"Do you not want to join in on this? Sit this one out? We'd understand-"

"You've gotta be kitten me, my lady. I'm not leaving you to do something this risky alone. Especially when it's this close to the man himself." he paused, taking in a deep breath. "Just make sure that we're really ready for this, please."

He was concerned, not scared. Probably worried about her team, they weren't as quick as him or her. And after last time a bit of concern was justified.

It was kind of sweet.

"Don't worry, kitty. We won't run into this blindly."

"Of course," he said. "Keep me updated, then."

"I will," she answered, "Goodnight, Chat."

"Nighty-night, Bug."

She hung up, turned the phone off, and put it away. She sighed, shifting to lay back against the bed, and stared at the ceiling. He was worried, she was worried, and yet they were doing it anyway. Must be part of the whole 'upping the risks' thing. For a moment, she wanted to call Adrien, to ask him if he still wanted to come over. She didn't want to be alone with her worries, but she wasn't going to wake him up with her silly problems.

The sound of her phone chiming on her beside table got her attention, and she leaned over to grab it.

A text from Adrien.

'Do you still want me to come over?' it said.

He was awake. Awake and willing to come over. She couldn't believe her luck.

'If you want to.' she typed back, 'I know it's late'.

He texted back within seconds.

'Be there in fifteen.'

She smiled and typed her reply.

'See you soon.'

It wouldn't be a lonely night after all.

A/N: Thank you for reading as per usual! If you like this story, I'm also working on another called 'A Gift or A Curse'. It's a bit darker, but still the same general style so let me know what you think! I'll be updating that more as I get closer to finishing this one, as this is my focus. It's about to get real, no more fluffy fill chapters. At least for a chapter.