Spoilers for Frozer - If you haven't watched that yet, GET ON IT!

CHAPTER 10

CAN WE TALK BOUNDARIES?

She was getting the hang of being Chat Noir.

Kinda.

Well, way better than earlier today.

The senses were still overwhelming, but Marinette anticipated it this time. As the transformation hit, she'd taken a moment to close her eyes and concentrate on the wave of noise and scents that roared at her. She needed to get to the bakery to meet Adrien. Concentrate on smelling for bread and pastries. That will lead her to where she needed to go. Zero in on the scent.

Ladybug was more about control, thinking the situation through and reacting as necessary. Chat Noir was pure instinct. His enhanced senses were there to react for him. She'd just have to let go and trust her new powers to guide her.

Don't fight them.

Work with them.

Despite that, her stomach lurched in anxiety as she pushed Adrien's window open and jumped on the ledge. Swallowing, she plucked the baton from her back, took steadying breath, and a rush of car exhaust, crisp weather, and pigeon feathers made her nose crinkle.

Ugh, she needed to sneeze. She'd forgotten about Adrien's allergy to feathers.

Jumping from the window, she reluctantly let the instinct take over and she landed on an adjacent roof with a graceful tuck and roll. Springing back on her feet, she flipped the baton over her head and cleared another jump. A honk and a shout twitched her ear, but she kept her focus on where she needed to go - the sound falling into a background noise.

Only a few stumbles and one moment where she almost collided with a chimney, she smelled the bakery and her eyes zeroed in on a crimson dot waiting for her on the balcony.

Adrien.

A different type of nerves shot through her.

After everything they'd been through, it made her irritated that she was still nervous seeing him.

He was her partner, her best friend, and her crush.

He had secret pictures of her, three whole password protected files filled with hundreds of them. She had magazine cut outs of him as Adrien scattered throughout her room. He had her action figure. She had a calendar of his daily life hidden in her room. According to Plagg, he'd cherished her reply to his Valentine's card. Likewise, she sometimes held the lucky charm he'd given her for her birthday - studying the knots and trinkets he'd made with his own hands.

Just for her…

Shaking her head, she inwardly pushed down the butterflies in her stomach and raced over the school's roof to join him. He'd fixed up the balcony as promised - the lights a little crooked than normal. The teapot was still missing, but at least the table looked undamaged.

She cleared the railing perfectly, flipping over the lights and crouching on the impact. Straightening, she grinned down at him proudly.

"I'm getting the hand of this."

"That was a good landing." He acknowledged, gaze tearing from her face to look at the ground. "You've gotten a lot better."

He looked impressed, but his hands were behind his back awkwardly and there was an underlying tenseness in his shoulders. The wind brushed his scent towards her and she smelled the familiar sugar with a hint of a taut smell.

Anxiety, her inner cat told her.

He was... anxious? Anxious with what? Meeting her tonight? Talking about… well, everything that had happened today? Anxious about the future?

It made her own feelings squirm tightly, but she felt an unexpected cheeky grin spread on her lips.

"Thank you, Chat Noir. It's actually pretty interesting being you."

"Meanwhile-" he sighed with a grimace and brought his hands from behind his back to hold out the yoyo. Her mouth dropped open and she took the weapon from him - the tangled string draping in her claws.

It… It was a mess. Knotted tightly in at least four places and hanging open as if catching an akuma, the pure light that usually flowed from the open lid was flickering like a broken lamp.

She held the yoyo like a dying friend, glancing from his guilty face to her precious weapon and back again.

"What did you do to it?"

"It-It was an accident! I was simply trying to figure out how to use it!" He explained hastily, finally looking into her horrified face. "It doesn't follow directions! I tried forcing it, willing it, tapping into instinct! It did nothing but get tangled - and I think I might have put a dent in your ceiling? I'm sorry."

His gloom was so pitiful, she could practically see the invisible cat ears drooping on his raven head. With a light exhale, she closed the space between them and put a hand on his small shoulder. Blue eyes holding worry touched with fear, she shot him a small reassuring smile.

"It's alright. This isn't the end of the world. I'll teach you, Adrien. I've had time to get used to your powers - not saying I'm great at it, but I'm beginning to understand how this works. Don't worry about the yoyo. I'm sure with a bit of practice you'll get better at it. Remember when I first started out? I literally crash landed into you and hung us from a pole."

"Getting tangled with you was the best day of my life," he added, a thin smile of mischief growing on his lips.

Rolling her green eyes, she dropped her hand and turned away - her tail lashing sharply behind her heels.

"Let's get to the tower and we can figure out where to go from here, okay?"

"How do you plan on getting us there?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Here," she turned around to crouch in front of him. "Jump on."

Tentatively feeling his thin arms lace around her shoulders, he hopped on her back. Red and black spotted legs wrapping her thin waist, face pressed against the back of her neck, he was small - body light and easy to manage. The fragrance of sugar spilled from him and she felt the nervous twitch in her stomach. Holding the baton, she hesitated at the balcony railing.

Oh, God, what if she couldn't concentrate? Not only was she going to have to get herself to the tower, but she also had to ignore the fact that the love of her life was currently perched helplessly on her back - trusting her.

If she screwed up, it would be bad for both of them. If she screwed up, it would-

"Just take your time, my lady." His voice whispered in her ear. "You can do this. I saw you earlier. Take it one jump at a time."

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and pressed a button on the baton.

The weapon shot them both high in the sky and out of sight.

There was a sharp whizz, a thin hiss of a string, and a loud bouncing thonk as the yoyo shot out of his stretched fingers to land uselessly on the metal floor quite some ways behind him. His shoulders fell will dejection.

"The yoyo follows confidence," Marinette said kindly, eyes following him as he walked - for what must have been the twentieth time that night - to pick up the fallen weapon. "If you trust in yourself, it'll do what you ask."

"You realize confidence is something of a paradox right now, right? I have no idea what I'm doing, my lady." He sighed at the new knot that lumped tightly in the invincible string.

Set up on the second tier of the tower, Ladybug leaned against the railing with her legs crossed and tail flicking as she watched him pick at the knot with small fingers.

"Hm, perhaps confidence isn't the right word - maybe control? Have an idea of where you want the yoyo to go. Don't rely your senses to guide it. Trust the yoyo and your luck to do what you want."

He scoffed with a dark laugh, freeing the knot and hand-winding the yoyo back up. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Because you need to trust it. Don't force it."

Adrien groaned, his body tired and a small headache blooming behind his eyes. Dinner had been glorious, but he was suddenly craving something sweet and Marinette's comfortable bed.

Maybe he could snag one of those macarons he'd smelled baking just before he'd left. Sugar seemed like a wonderful answer for this nightmare of a day.

As he readied his hand for another toss, Marinette suddenly strolled towards him and Adrien's stomach turned strangely. She approached from behind, her clawed fingers gently wrapping around the back of his hand.

"The problem is you're throwing it." His voice whispered in his ear - but it was touched all over with Marinette's kindness. She was always so considerate. So willing to help when she could.

Like when you asked Kagami out and brought Marinette along, his brain shot at him and he winced. He'd been blocking that memory out well enough, but with band practice and Luka on the horizon- he forced himself to focus back on what she was saying.

"-can't force it when it's already willing to do what you want," she was saying. "That's why this isn't working. You have to trust that it'll do what you want."

Despite the cold air up on the tower, Adrien felt his cheeks burn as her broad chest grazed against his back.

"But there aren't buttons to push or-"

"Why would it need buttons if it follows your thoughts? Just close your eyes, picture where you want it to go, and let the yoyo do the rest."

He let go of a breath and his bluebell eyes closed tight. But… this was distracting. She was distracting. Too close. He couldn't picture anything - couldn't get his mind straight with her being so near. His Ladybug - his Marinette - his friend - his companion - the love of his life - one and the same.

His heart leaped as he felt her large fingers wrap gently around his wrist and pull his arm back slowly. "When you throw your hand forward, just let go of the yoyo. It'll follow what you want. Trust in it. Just picture it leaving and then returning back to you."

"Leaving and returning, leaving and returning..." he repeated quietly, his eyes still closed - but his cheeks burning. Sucking in a breath, he tossed his arm forward and simultaneously let the yoyo go. He heard it whizz in the air.

Return! he thought, jerking his hand back. A metallic whirl cut through wind and smacked back into his palm sharply.

Blue eyes popping open in disbelief, he glanced at the yoyo then back at Marinette. She was grinning proudly.

"I did it!"

"Of course, you did! You're perfect!" Her green eyes widened, and she suddenly stepped away from him with a blustered look. "I-I mean, you are my partner and you've seen me with the yoyo so obviously you'd quickly pick up how to do it because you're smart at - learning things. There was no question you wouldn't get how to use the yoyo because-"

"Marinette," he called softly, and she glanced at him with pupils a touch thinner than normal. She was nervous. Or scared? He couldn't tell which one without his enhanced senses.

"Y-yes?"

"Thank you," he said sincerely. "We might have some trouble with akumas, but at least we're getting the basics down. I feel a lot better now that I've got a grasp on this thing."

"I-I, you're welcome," she stumbled, but a tiny smile appeared on her lips. As fast as the smile appeared, it left.

"Adrien," she sighed. "We have to talk about it."

His head tilted at her sudden change in mood. "About what?"

Reddened cheeks underneath the black mask, Marinette tossed the blond locks out of her eyes and the professional Ladybug shined through the catsuit.

"We have to talk about... boundaries."

Now it was his turn to flounder. Nerves upon nerves piled, wiggling and squirming in his stomach. He glanced from her serious face, to his shapely body, and back at her. He had known this conversation was going to happen - needed to happen.

But first he had to let her know -

"I promise I've kept my eyes closed, Marinette. I didn't look at anything. Not even when I had to change or use the…"

She grimaced and turned away to avoid him, effectively cutting him off. "I… I'm sorry, Adrien. I… I had to…"

"You had to pee," he acknowledged – and just saying the words were like torture.

She nodded tightly. His stomach dropped. He just wanted to die. The tower could swallow him whole and he'd have no problem sinking into the sweet release of death. Instead, he turned away from her as well.

But the topic of conversation couldn't be avoided.

"I'll bathe with a swimsuit on. Tikki can help me into it. I won't look - I swear."

"I'll bathe with boxers on." She followed him, her voice light and cracking in her throat. "I'll only touch to pee. I tried not to, but I..."

He finished her sentence for her in his head: she couldn't aim.

Face falling into small hands, he pressed on his eyes till he saw stars.

Oh, this was so bad. So terribly, terribly bad!

"This isn't the only problem. Today was terrible, Adrien."

"I know…"

"Alya, Nino, and the blog's posts about Chat Noir, and-"

"You have a photoshoot in two days."

"I have to play piano with the band, too."

"Right…" His stomach clenched as the memory of a tall, blue-haired boy holding Marinette's hand flickered into his mind.

And he was drenched in jealousy.

He hadn't thought about why Marinette had brought Luka along for his date with Kagami. He'd figured they were friends. He was there to keep her company while Adrien sorted out his feelings for Kagami. Honestly, he didn't know Luka that well. He'd only met him a handful of times - the longest being that concert after Captain Hardrock.

He'd liked the guy… but…

The older boy had held her hand, laughed and talked with her...

Why? Why had she invited him? She could have invited any one of their classmates to join her, but instead, she'd brought Luka. He remembered that look she'd given when Rose had mentioned him earlier today. Dreamy and shy - topped with one of her signature blushes. It'd looked really weird on his body, but he could easily see the sweet bashful Marinette on the inside.

Bashful… for another guy...

Did that mean she liked…? He didn't want to finish the thought, a hard brick of fear hitting him. No. No, no, Marinette was his Ladybug. And she had said before she was in love with him as Adrien, right?

"...maybe you can record something and I can pretend to play it? Set up the keyboard behind the band so no one will notice?"

He hadn't been listening as she'd spilled out ideas, her eyes flicking distractedly with one thought after another.

Swallowing the tightness in his throat, he let a tense smile spread on his lips to cover his thoughts. "I can make up something easy to teach you. Nothing too hard if you know the basics of piano."

"I don't know the basics of piano," Marinette grumbled, her shoulders slumping forward. "And, now that I think about it, I only understand a handful of conversational Mandarin. Not near enough to pass for being you with Chinese lessons."

A genuine grin spread on his face - happy to deliver good news for once. "Oh, I guess you didn't know: Master Fu has been teaching me."

"Master Fu?!" she cried with surprise. "Oh, that's a relief! We should visit him tomorrow! See if he has any ideas on what to do!"

"I was going to suggest that." He nodded - and a sense of their comfortable companionship slowly warmed back between them. "We should see him right after school. If anything, he might have some insight to what happened with my Miraculous."

"Good idea - but wait." A slice of something he couldn't read flickered behind her eyes. "What about fencing?"

"I can text Kagami and-"

Upon mentioning the girl's name, the warmth immediately swept to shivering frost. Marinette's green eyes shot away from him - her back straight and the belt tail lashing behind her.

Stupid! He wanted to slap himself. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

"Kagami…" His voice was deep as it left her throat. "You… you still like her?"

"I-I…" He didn't know how to respond, his mind frantically searching for an answer that would wipe that look off her face. "Marinette, I-"

She let out a strange giggle. "No - it's okay! I completely understand, Adrien! This is weird and feelings are mixing everything up and I know you like her. Even though we are switched, I'll do my best to-"

"My Lady," he said softly, cutting her off before she could start to ramble. "I didn't know who you were. I have always loved you-"

"You asked her on a date because I turned you down as Ladybug and you asked me to help you as Marinette…"

A flicker of irritation tossed inside. "You took Luka on the date with you."

"I didn't want to be alone watching you flirt with her." She shot back.

He took a step closer, his hand clenching on the yoyo tightly. "You seemed to have a good time with him."

"I did. He's really kind. And a great skater."

"I bet you're looking forward to seeing him later this week."

She exhaled shortly. Crossing her arms tightly on her chest, Marinette scowled. "As a matter of fact, I am. He was nice company to have on your date with Kagami."

A sharp pain, a toss of shame, and he felt like the breath had been knocked from his lungs. What was he doing? Was he seriously getting mad at Marinette for just being a good friend? He'd asked her to go on the date with him! And she hadn't known he was Chat Noir. She'd only rejected the superhero side of him because she was in love with him as Adrien, right?

Or maybe… he felt like a cold bucket of water was suddenly dumped on his head… maybe she actually liked Luka?

"I need to head back," she announced, her clawed fingers grabbing the metal baton behind her.

He was rocked with panic.

"I'll see you tomorrow-"

"No! Wait! Don't go!" He cried, rushing forward and grabbing her arm. An indifferent green gaze tossed to him and all anger washed away as their eyes met. His fingers felt warm where he touched her. Likewise, her lips parted, cat pupils dilating slightly. They were frozen in this moment, studying each other carefully.

"I only went on that date so I could get over you, Ladybug."

"And I agreed to go on the date because I could never say no to you, Adrien," she replied. "You asked me, as a friend, and I went - regardless if it hurt. And it did hurt. A lot."

Marinette broke their gaze and sighed.

They stood like that, minutes passing slowly. His hand resting on her arm, her head down and eyes closed. It felt wrong - the discord of tangled feelings easily brushing away their usual camaraderie. His relationship with Ladybug had always spiced with love, but his friendship with Marinette was a constant sweetness in his life. He had no reason to be angry at her. She was his friend.

A better friend than he was to her anyway.

A thin shadow of a smile slipped on his lips - and he did it before he could stop himself.

Reaching up, he stood on tiptoe -

And ran his finger behind her left ear.

Eyes blowing wide, limbs immediately taunt, Marinette's mouth popped open before snapping closed. He could practically see her quivering to hold in the purr.

"Adrien…" Her voice was a rumble.

"Yes, my Ladybug?" he breathed. His face was close to hers now. They'd kissed when they'd first switched. But now… would she let him? Even with their tangled feelings…?

Could he just this once…?

Her long body was tense, fighting - but he could see her leaning closer, wanting so much to give in.

"I can't… it's too much… I-I better go."

To his hard disappointment and embarrassment, she ducked from his fingers and stumbled a few steps away from him. Marinette's hand flew back to the baton as if she couldn't wait to leave.

But she stopped - glancing back at him with resolve.

"Do you need a lift back to the bakery?"

Adrien, still swimming in his humiliation and confusion, shook his head tightly. "No, you go on. It's been a long day. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Meet before school."

"Right," he agreed.

The separation between them was practically a visible wall as she shot from the tower - the black suit camouflaging her in the night sky.

It had only been one day - one day in each other's lives.

And, instead of being closer, working together, understanding each other - they were further away from each other than ever before.

Holding up the yoyo, he glanced nervously at the sleeping city.

If he made it back alive - he was going to drown himself in cookies.