Ladybug didn't leave until Adrien had fallen asleep. Her voice and presence were something of a lullaby to Adrien; a calming safety and obstruction of loneliness. As the night went on, Adrien tucked himself under the covers and slipped out of his jeans; which fell from underneath the covers. Ladybug watched over him a couple moments, then stood up.

She walked up to the head of the bed, and hunched over slumbering Adrien, " How can you sleep face down?" she whispered, "It looks so uncomfortable. Still…" she wiped his bangs from his face and kissed his forehead, "You're awfully cute."

Ladybug waited at the edge of the window. She was so amazed and overjoyed that they were this close. Maybe it was because of her closeness to Chat Noir before she knew he was Adrien. Maybe it was because of all the things they'd already been through in such a short period of time. Or maybe it was because she no longer felt she needed to impress him, because he'd been dazzled by her the entire time. Either way, they were together… they were boyfriend and girlfriend! They were brand new, yet they always have been.

There was a knock on the door, at 12AM, Gabriel's voice came from behind the door, "Adrien? Are you asleep?" There was no answer, the door knob clicked and the door opened slowly. Ladybug jumped out of the window, and while hanging from her yo-yo, tried to quickly and quietly close the window from outside. It was left ajar, but that was the best she could do, so she left.

That night, Marinette couldn't help but to fall asleep smiling.

The smell of breakfast pulled Marinette out of bed again. She felt the need to wear something new today, even if it meant giving up her favorite outfit, she was suddenly tired of it. Though she didn't know if it was because of Adrien, wearing the green t-shirt that brought out his eyes, or because of the great mood she was in. She put on a casual dress she'd made. It had a flowing, green, translucent high-low skirt, with blue flowers sprinkled all over it. The top was bright white, square low-neck, finished with a golden belt. A thin necklace slipped underneath her top, tucked between her breasts. Her hair was in a ponytail, and she wore green Vans sneakers. She was ready to go.

"Well don't you look nice," Marinette's mom, Sabine, smiled. She placed a plate of nutella and raspberry crepes in front of Marinette, "Are you meeting with someone?"

Marinette's father looked up from his newspaper, "Are you meeting with Adrien?"

Marinette suffered silently. Sabine gasped, "Oh! Could it be? Finally! I'm so glad, I'm sure he'll love your new look…"

"Mom!" Marinette stuffed her mouth as her parents flooded her with questions, "Ok, enough, enough! Let me finish my breakfast in peace." She looked at the last crepe; a dark ring of nutella enveloped a fresh raspberry within the thin pancake, "Actually… can I take this to-go?"

Two women were surrounding Adrien when Marinette arrived: one was applying powder to his face, the other was messing with the zipper of his hoodie, looking back occasionally for opinion on where to leave it. It was a light gray, sleeveless hoodie, with large pockets in the front. He wore matching, baggy-tight capris, made of cotton… and they fit him just right. Not that Marinette was closely observing or taking mental notes… or sneaking pictures on her phone- but that wasn't the point. Adrien opened an eye, his white high-tops rotating on the heel in Marinette's direction as he noticed her. He raised a hand, and the women parted like the red sea.

Adrien strode towards Marinette, "There you are, Princess," his eyes shifted, "Wow, you look really cute."

Marinette stiffened, "Oh, r-really?"

"Adorable," Adrien assured, but her smile was beautiful, he thought, "Mari… you don't have to be so nervous around me, remember? I'm your boyfriend."

"Y-yeah, that's why… I feel kinda giddy today, and I wore this," Marinette rubbed her arm.

Adrien laughed, "What? Like, did it just hit you this morning?"

Marinette's lips wrinkled, "Kind of- it's just that yesterday felt so strange. It started off crazy, and then last night it hit me like a truck. You can't blame me, though… it's only been two nights since we started dating."

"Point taken. I'll admit it's been weird getting used to the idea. Believe it or not you're my first girlfriend. Though, as Ladybug and Chat Noir we kind of act like a couple that's been dating for months. It almost feels like we really don't need to feel that different, or change. You don't need to change your outfit just because we have a title now. Oh, not that nothing's changed… what I'm trying to say is... I'm the same person, we're the same people, whether or not we are dating, and whether or not we're wearing a mask. We're just more comfortable doing certain things when we're wearing the masks. The only thing that changed when we started dating, is how we look at each other," Adrien waved off the cameraman, who was waving Adrien over furiously.

Adrien took Marinette's hand, then turned to the crew and winked mischievously, "Take five!"

The crew exchanged shocked what?!s as the producer, who had worked with Gabriel for years, threw his hands into the sky and rested them on his head. Adrien ran off with Marinette, the producer mumbled, "He's turning into Adalene…"

Adrien guided Marinette across to some trees, "I just wanted to get away from them, they were being annoying…"

"Well… speaking of new looks, are you gonna wear that to school tomorrow?" Marinette focused on his biceps.

Adrien shook his head, "No way, am I even allowed? Don't look at me like that! I know I said that I wasn't going to let myself feel obliged to behave a certain way at school, but I'm not just going to dive in head first, I'll ease into it. I won't just walk into school completely different. Besides…" Adrien raised an eyebrow, "I feel as though this hoodie would be distracting, since you eye-contact is inconsistent." Marinette scratched her cheek shamefully.

Adrien yawned. Marinette stared, "So, how did you sleep last night?" She leaned forward, arms crossed, "You slept long enough, right?"

"Oh give it a rest. I'm not the only one in the world who doesn't wake up bright as the sunshine. But actually, I slept great! I even slept in late, I ended up being rushed around by Nathalie this morning because I was so late. I didn't even have time to look in the mirror, she just threw clothes at me and dragged me out of the house. Then these people crowded around me and started poking things in my face and freaking out. No one wants to mess with my dad's plans, which he packs a lot in a week. He's a busy man. Nathalie had my schedule set up perfectly, and I'm ruining it just by talking to you, but…" He rolled his eyes, "Whatever."

Marinette lifted a finger, "First, oversleeping is just as bad as too little sleep. Second, what you're saying is…" She touched the back of her hand to his nose, "I thought so. The reason you're tired isn't only because you overslept, but also because you're hungry."

Adrien tapped his nose, confused, "What does that have to do with my nose?"

"When your nose is cold it means you're hungry," Marinette tapped her arm impatiently.

"Does this have to do with those anatomy and medical classes you take over summer vacation?" Adrien leaned on the tree behind him.

"No, my parents taught it to me," Marinette kept a steady gaze on Adrien, clearly he wasn't getting what was important to her during this discussion, as he kept letting the subject wander.

"Well, if you don't go into fashion, you should be a doctor. You'd make a good one, fashion and medicine both require precision and detail," Adrien put his hands in his pocket.

"Nah, that's way too stressful. You're the only patient I have patience for," Marinette winked. Adrien made a cute face, Marinette saw nothing more in his expression than cute. Marinette focused again, "Anyway, you skipped breakfast, didn't you?"

Adrien nodded. Marinette sighed like a protective mother, "Of course. Here." Marinette reached into her purse, pulled out a cardboard box, and handed it to Adrien. Adrien took it, the bottom was still warm. He opened the box; there was a crepe and a croissant just in case, because Marinette thought the last crepe wouldn't have been enough. A plastic fork waited patiently in the corner.

"Oh my God," Adrien blushed.

Adrien immediately snatched the fork up and used its side to slice into the crepe. He watched the nutella gush out, and the juices of the raspberries spill. Marinette smiled while he ate, his eyes always sparkled when Marinette gave him something to eat.

Adrien held the fork in his mouth for a moment after swallowing the last bite, and shut his eyes. He hummed, "Have I told you how much I love you?"

Marinette walked closer to Adrien, "I even think you say it too often." She kissed his cheek, resting her folded hands on his shoulder.

In that moment, Marinette became comfortable again. She saw his joyful face and she forgot about what was going on, why she was there, how she looked… and remembered how much she enjoyed being with him, who was in front of her, and that was all that mattered.

"Well, in that case I'll say it more," Adrien smirked.

"What?" Marinette leaned back.

Adrien tossed the empty cardboard box in a nearby trashcan and turned to look at Marinette square in the eye, "I love you."

Marinette's eyes narrowed, "Is that a declaration of war? Oh yeah? Well, I love you."

Adrien crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue. Marinette did the same. They made mocking noises at each other, as though to attempt outdoing the others insulting tongue.

Suddenly they were going back and forth with enthusiastic I love yous. The next, always even more emphasized than the last. Then they picked up speed and started shouting it together. Mine will definitely be heard the loudest, they thought. And so they wasted precious time loving each other, but then how could they spend the time any better than that?