'It isn't your fault, Marinette. You can't blame yourself.'

'But Tikki, Ladybug is supposed to save Paris! How can I save Paris when I can't even save one person?'

The pair argued; Marinette had managed to convince herself that, as Ladybug, it was her job to save everyone. Even though Angeline's situation was sudden and unforeseen, Marinette was convinced that somehow she had failed Paris as Ladybug. She hadn't even visited Angeline as Ladybug, what good of a superhero was she.

Tikki, however, was set on the idea that Marinette had done all that she could and Angeline's death was in no way through fault of her own. For every argument that Marinette put forward, Tikki had an even more sensible rebuttal until Marinette was forced to wallow in silence. Everything Tikki had said had made sense, and Marinette started to feel as though she was necessarily at fault, lifting the huge burden off of her shoulders.

~~~.~~~

'Look, girl, you're coming out with us. I'll shout your movie ticket, so don't worry about it.' Alya pulled Marinette in for a tight hug and whispered gently into her ear, 'and Adrien is coming, too.'

Immediately excitement filled her body as she embraced Alya, a smile spreading across her face. The conversation with Tikki had left Marinette feeling better than she had for the past few days. Besides, it wasn't like her to sulk for so long - if she continued to, the others would become more inquisitive about why she felt so strong in regard to someone she didn't know - and she hated the fact that Adrien had already seen her in that state - she needed to make snap back into her normal, clumsy Marinette self.

'Count me in!' Marinette said enthusiastically as she pulled away from Alya. 'So, what kind of movie is it?'

'A superhero movie! But you'll have to watch it to find out what it's about.' She winked and nudged Marinette as they made their way to the classroom, Marinette with a huge grin.

Nino greeted the pair from his seat next to Adrien, who hadn't arrived yet. 'Adrien had trouble convincing his dad to let him go - he spent all morning trying and messaged me only a few minutes ago that he was going to be late since his dad had only just agreed.'

Hearing that Adrien was going to be late sent a chill down Marinette's spine. He's only going to be late, she told herself, it's not like he isn't coming at all. Trying to keep up a brave face, Marinette sat next to Alya and proceeded to ask her about the movie, to which Alya simply laughed. 'I'm not telling you what it's about, Marinette! You'll have to find out!'

Class continued without Adrien, and Marinette found herself worried - it was already halfway through the school day and he still hadn't shown up. 'Nino,' she tapped her friend's shoulder, 'I thought you said he'd be late.'

'He said he would be. He never said how late. Maybe his dad decided to not let him go?'

'But doesn't he usually message you when that happens?'

'That-'

Midway through Nino's sentence, Adrien came bursting through the door, his face red and flustered and holding something in his hand. 'Sorry I'm late, Miss Bustier!' he apologised, moving straight to his seat and exhaling deeply as he sat down. From where she sat, Marinette could see Adrien rubbing the back of his neck and apologising to Nino, though when he leaned in closer to whisper something in Nino's ear, she couldn't tell what he had said - she could only see Nino's surprised expression.

'Hey, Marinette,' Adrien piped up, turning around to Marinette, 'you are coming with us to the movie, right?'

Marinette blushed. 'Y-yeah, definitely! I'm so excited!'

As Adrien smiled, Marinette's grin dimmed and her blushing intensified - her eyes were drawn to his face, noting an expression that she only saw sometimes. It was the face he made when he was truly happy.

Like that day in the rain.

Thinking back to it, Marinette blushed even more furiously and hid her cheek in her hands, just hearing Adrien say, 'I'm glad you're coming, Marinette.'

Right now, nothing seemed to be able to ruin the moment - then Chloe appeared.

'So, Marinette, how your design? Have you accepted that it's going to be a flop or are you still hoping that it Mr Agreste might actually like it? Because newsflash - that isn't going to happen. He might have liked your hat, but there's no way that your taste in clothing is going to interest him!'

'Honestly, Chloe, I'm interested to see what you come up with. Or will you need to copy mine again? Because we both remember how well that went last time.'

Chloe huffed. 'Adrien, you know my design will be the best one, right? You agree with me, don't you?'

'Well,' he began, turning to Marinette and then back to Chloe, 'Marinette's designs were actually really good. I'll be interested to see how different yours is, for sure.'

'D-different? You want different?' Chloe's face dropped for a moment before she regained her stubborn pride and puffed out her chest yet again. 'Fine, I'll show you different,' she turned her head toward Marinette, 'and I'll win.' Flicking her hair sassily, Chloe returned to her seat and began tapping away at her phone furiously, yelling at Sabrina about not doing something well enough.

Marinette felt yet another nudge to her side as she looked over to see Alya smirking at her, her eyes darting toward Adrien and then back to her best friend. Just thinking about the face Adrien had made sent Marinette blushing again and before she knew it, she'd let out a groan and hidden her face in her arms, unintentionally directing all the class's attention, including Adrien, to her.

~~.~~

'Do you know what this movie is about?' Marinette asked Adrien quietly as the pair walked behind Alya and Nino, who were buying the tickets. 'Alya only told me it was a superhero movie.'

'Sorry, Nino told me the same thing. But I'm just happy I get to see a movie with my friends.' Adrien's face lit up and Marinette could feel her cheeks burning yet again as she looked at him. 'Oh, by the way,' he pulled out something covered in wrap from his bag and thrust it toward Marinette, 'I know you like Jagged Stone, so I got this for you.'

Marinette's hands shook as she took the present, a knot tying in her throat. 'For m-me?'

With a nod, Adrien placed his hands under Marinette's and smiled. 'Go ahead, open it.'

Her entire body trembled - not only was Adrien touching her hands, but he had just given her a present; the wrapping fell away, revealing a limited edition Jagged Stone album, complete with signature and poster. 'I-I-I,' Marinette stuttered before pushing the present back toward her friend, 'I can't take this. You like Jagged, too, don't you? Why don't you keep it?'

'Marinette, I want you to keep it.' Adrien stepped forward, closer to her and pushed the present closer to her chest. 'Okay?'

As Marinette found herself staring into Adrien's eyes, her heart beating so quickly, she was sure he would hear it, footsteps sounded behind him, followed by a pair of hands on her shoulders and a ticket in her hand. 'Got them!' Alya piped up from behind them. 'Wait, what's that?'

'Oh, uh, just something I found. I thought Marinette might like it, that's all.' Adrien blushed and rubbed his neck, looking off in a completely different direction.

Nino poked his head in, joining in on the action. 'Dude, this is super rare! I mean, this is not something you'd find easily. You must have spent most of the day looking for this.'

Alya whispered into Marinette's ear, 'I think we found out why boy was late.' Marinette started feeling so hot she could have sworn smoke was going to come out of her ears, but despite the embarrassment and the nerves, she couldn't help but pull the album closer to her chest and close her eyes, unaware of the gentle smile on Adrien's face as he looked at her.

~~~.~~~

The four proceeded to their assigned seats, Alya and Marinette on the two outside seats and Nino and Adrien sitting between them, Nino next to Alya and Marinette next to Adrien. Marinette couldn't keep the grin off of her face as Adrien explained that he was excited to finally get to do something fun, which made Marinette realise just how much of an impact his father had on his life - it seemed outside of all his practices and photo shoots, Adrien wasn't left with a lot of time to do what he wanted, and when he was, his father usually wouldn't allow him to go anywhere.

Eventually the lights died down and the chattering hushed as the title appeared: Superb! in intense, bold lettering. Before long, Marinette had found out what kind of movie this was going to be.

A romance.

The plot was a pair of superheroes had just witnessed a death during a fight with a villain, and one of the heroes, madly in love with the other, watches as their partner is convinced that a terrible situation that has occurred is entirely their fault. The hero in love wants to convince the other of their affection and that they aren't to blame for what has happened.

As Marinette watched, she felt an odd chill - did they know what had gone on with her? Did they know she was Ladybug? There was no way... They would have said something... Marinette's heart pounded as she looked over at her friends, all focused on the movie. She couldn't help but linger a little longer on Adrien's face as he started longingly at the film, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, and when she turned back, she saw the two protagonists in a romantic embrace before pressing their lips against each other.

Adrien had leaned over toward Marinette, his breath heavy as he tried to remain quiet. 'Marinette, are you okay?' he whispered into her ear. 'You don't look so good.' Marinette's entire face began to redden; as she turned to respond, Adrien also turned to face her and the pair found themselves mere inches away from each other's faces. At the same time, the pair pulled away, focusing on the movie until the end credits were rolling. They were both as red as each other when they left the cinema, inviting odd looks from both Alya and Nino, but no words regarding it.

'So, what did you think of the movie?' Alya asked aloud energetically. 'Pretty sweet, huh? I remember hearing that it was based on Ladybug and Chat Noir! I would love to see those two kiss again. Properly, though.'

Caught up in her own thoughts, Alya didn't catch Adrien's face as his jaw dropped and his eyes widened, failing to regain his composure. 'Again? What do you mean 'again'? Those two haven't ever kissed.'

'Dude, you really didn't know?' Nino asked, pulling out his phone and pulling up a short clip of Ladybug pulling Chat Noir toward her and kissing him. 'It was when Kim was akumatised into Dark Cupid! It was all over the news.'

Adrien froze, his eyes still wide as he stared at the picture, taking Nino's phone into his hands and staring at it. 'That...'

'Chaton.'

Adrien's head snapped toward Marinette, his eyes wide with confusion and shock. 'What did you say?'

'Chaton. That's what Ladybug calls him, isn't it? I don't think he's seen this, either. Guess you've got some competition.' Marinette giggled and patted Adrien's arm. 'I'm just kidding.'

Adrien smiled from the corner of his mouth as he looked at Marinette. 'You know what, I guess you're right. I do have competition.'

'Wait, dude, you're not jealous of Chat Noir, are you? I mean he and Ladybug are totally a thing!' Nino interjected, taking his phone back from his best friend. 'Does Ladybug even know you exist?'

Marinette took a step between them, trying to make herself known. 'Ladybug has never said anything about her and Chat Noir being an item, you know, and I'm sure she knows Adrien. I mean, she knows so many people in Paris! How would she not know the son of Gabriel Agreste?' Though she was trying to argue for Adrien, she couldn't help but feel a familiar pang in her chest. Was it jealousy? It couldn't be - she was Ladybug!

'You know what, Nino? I'll just make her notice me. Then she's got no reason.' He paused. 'But maybe she does prefer Chat Noir...'

'No way, Jose! I-I mean Adrien. I know Ladybug and she only kissed him to save him from Dark Cupid. It's not like it means anything else.'

For a moment, Marinette could have sworn she saw Adrien's expression drop as she spoke, but decided it could have been a trick of the light. The next thing she knew, Adrien was gripping her arms, holding her in front of his face. 'You said you know Ladybug. Could you help me with her?'

'I, uh, I-'

'Please, Marinette!'

Marinette looked at Alya, who seemed just as confused and surprised as she did, and then paused a moment before agreeing. 'Okay, I'll help -'

She couldn't even finish the sentence before Adrien pulled her in for a hug, thanking her repeatedly and then kissing her cheek. The shock took a few moments to set in after Nino and Adrien had walked off, waving goodbye to Alya and Marinette and discussing Adrien's situation.

'Girl, what just happened?'

Marinette watched as Adrien left, excitedly speaking to Nino. 'I'm helping him with Ladybug.'