"I'll set the time aside for you and your father to have dinner. You may invite a friendif you'd like." Nathalie said, obviously meaning Marinette. Adrien nodded and looked out the window as they drove through the streets of Paris.
"Sweetie, you didn't tell us you were on a date!" Sabine exclaimed when a dazed Marinette came through the front door.
"Mom!" Marinette said. "It wasn't a date!" She added quickly.
"Don't lie to us. We saw you and Adrien." Tom said with a smile as he put a hand on Sabine's shoulder.
"I...we just...Alya and Nino left us." Marinette said quickly. Sabine and Tom just smiled at their daughter as she made her way upstairs to her room.
"Marinette! This is exactly what you wanted!" Tikki said flying out of Marinette's purse.
"It's not like he asked me out, Tikki. Our friends set this whole thing up." she responded. "Plus, I don't really know him all that well. All these years I've been dismissing Chat's feelings because he didn't know my name, but he knows me far better than I know Adrien." She added. Throughout the whole date she couldn't help thinking about Chat. It had made her even more uncomfortable. She had been with Adrien, almost kissed Adrien, and yet she couldn't get over the fact that Adrien wasn't wearing a mask and a long leather belt that formed into a tail.
"He was happy about it. He even told you so." Tikki exclaimed. "And you know more than you think about Adrien. You've spent a lot of time with him over the years." When Marinette didn't seem convinced, the kwami went on. "He stood up to Chloe for you!" Tikki said. "He likes you!" She added excitedly.
"I'm going to go to bed, Tikki." Marinette said. She climbed the ladder to her loft bed and then looked at the wall with all of the pictures of Adrien. She quickly got ready for bed before laying down. She couldn't help the smile that came to her lips as she thought about the night. Tikki joined her quickly.
"Don't be too hard on yourself, Marinette. It wasn't that bad of a date." The little kwami said.
"It wasn't a date." Marinette said, shaking her head. She tried to sleep, but couldn't. "What's wrong with me, Tikki?" She asked with a sigh after a while.
"Denial." The tiny red kwami said far too quickly.
"Tikki?" She asked after a minute.
"Yes Marinette?" Tikki asked.
"Do you think I've been too hard on Chat? I mean, we know each other so well and I've always been able to count on him. Yet I've never even thought about actually being with him because I've been so focused on Adrien." She asked.
"I think you just need to follow your heart. Do what you think is right." Tikki said.
Marinette shook her head, frustrated. The non-advice didn't help her to understand her feelings. She got up to make her way to her computer. She checked out the Ladyblog which hadn't been updated since the interview. She sighed and turned to her phone.
'What did you do that for?'
She texted to Alya, in regards to the date.
'You're welcome, girl. ;)'
Marinette rolled her eyes. Her friend just didn't understand. Going to the movies with Adrien was amazing, but she hadn't been prepared for it at all. She was about to text Alya back when she received another text. This one was from Adrien.
'Thank you for seeing the movie with me again, Marinette.'
Marinette's eyes widened as she saw the text. "Answer it!" Tikki said, having read the text over her shoulder.
"What can I say?" She asked.
"Tell him that you had a good night with him or that you want to go to another movie." Tikki said quickly.
'I had a good time, too.' Marinette typed and then her finger hovered over the send button as Chat flashed through her mind again. "I should just...go to bed." She said.
"But what about Adrien?" Tikki asked as Marinette stood and made her way to her bed.
"I'll...I'll talk to him tomorrow." She said.
Across the city, Adrien was pacing in his room, watching the phone. It had showed that she was typing back and then just stopped. "Why do you care so much about the box?" Plagg asked.
"What's she doing?" He asked.
"Probably sleeping...or eating cheese." The kwami replied.
"Maybe I should go and see her...see how she felt about tonight." Adrien suggested.
"Your father won't let you go out this late." Plagg said. "Just talk to her tomorrow."
"Tomorrow I'll see her as Adrien. She won't tell me anything unless...unless I go to her as Chat." He said with a smirk.
"Hey, let's talk abo…" Plagg was interrupted by Adrien shouting "Claws out."
Within minutes, Chat Noir vaulting through the city with his staff. He quickly made his way to Marinette's house and landed on her balcony. A confused Marinette opened the trapdoor and peeked out at him.
"Good evening, Princess." He said with a smile.
"Chat, what are you doing here so late?" She asked, a blush rising to her cheeks.
"Just wanted to stop by and chat." He said with a smirk as he made his way over to her. "Mind letting a stray into your room for a bit?" He asked.
"You know you can just drop in whenever you want, Chat." Marinette said as she waved for him to follow her down into her room. Once both were there, Marinette sat on her bed. "So, what do you want to talk about?" She asked.
Chat was about to ask her about the date when a picture caught his eye. His jaw dropped as he looked at the wall and saw various pictures of him. "So, you do like m...Adrien." he said. A deep blush set into Marinette's cheeks.
"I...yeah. I do...somewhat" She said.
"Is he why you weren't here earlier?" He asked.
"I was seeing a movie with him." Marinette said. "Our friends kinda set it up without us knowing." She said with a giggle. Chat smiled.
"Bug-a-boo, I wish you knew who I was beneath this mask." He said absently only to see horror cross her face. "Don't worry, I won't show you unless you really want to know." he added quickly. Marinette breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good. I don't think I could handle knowing who you are, too." Marinette stated.
"Maybe you should know who he is, Marinette. The two of you could confide in each other." Tikki said, coming out from behind Marinette's computer.
"Tikki!" Marinette shouted.
"What? He already knows who you are." Tikki said.
"Marinette, how was the movie?" Chat asked.
"Why do you want to know?" Marinette asked.
"You know cats and their curiosity." He said with a smirk.
"It was amazing. He even walked me home after." She said with a smile. "I thought he was going to kiss me." She said, seeming dazed. Her face then dropped as she thought about her conflicting feelings.
"I wanted to...I mean I'm sure he wanted to." Chat said, quickly correcting himself. He didn't have to worry about it as Marinette was lost in thought. He moved to sit next to her. "What if he wasn't what you thought?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"What if he had a secret that would disappoint you?" He asked.
"I don't think I could ever be disappointed in him." Marinette said, though she was starting to think that wasn't true.
"That's not true, when you first met him you were disappointed." He said.
"I didn't really know him then." Marinette reasoned. "I didn't realize how kind and selfless he was. I just thought that he was just like Chloe." She said.
"You should stay away from Adrien for a little while…" Chat said, remembering how little control he'd had earlier that evening.
"Jealous, kitty?" Marinette asked with a smirk. "Don't worry, I can't even talk to him." she said.
"Marinette, I just don't want him to hurt you." Chat said, putting his hand on her shoulder.
"He wouldn't do that." She responded.
"Not intentionally, but what if he did hurt you? What if he knew something about you and used that to get close to you?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"He has a crush on Ladybug. What if he found out that you're Ladybug?" He asked.
"How would you know who he has a crush on?" Marinette asked. "He has a crush on me?" She suddenly squeaked.
"Who wouldn't have a crush on you, M'lady?" He asked with a smirk and a wink. Marinette shook her head and rolled her eyes.
"You and I both know that I'm far from perfect, kitty." She said.
"So is Adrien." Chat replied.
"Are you kidding? He's so awesome!" She said and Chat just smiled and shook his head slightly.
"What about his friendship with Chloe?" Chat asked.
"It just shows how kind and loyal he is, that he's willing to stay by her." Marinette replied.
"What about the time he told you off for how you exposed Lila's lies?" He asked.
"I was out of line…" Marinette said before furrowing her brow.
"And what about when he ran off on Christmas Eve?" He asked.
"It was his first Christmas without his mom. He was upset." Marinette said.
"He made you think the Santa was akumatized. His actions caused you to hurt that man." Chat replied.
"Again, I was out of line." Marinette replied.
Chat nodded. "Well, I hope he's as great as you think he is." He said. "I guess I should go so that you can get some rest. I'll see you, Princess." He said, grabbing her hand and giving it a kiss. She felt that flutter in her chest again that was normally meant for Adrien.
"Thanks, Chat." Marinette said with a smile as Chat stood and, with a bow, left through her trapdoor.
"You really should let him tell you who he is." Tikki told Marinette as she laid down.
"Tikki…" Marinette trailed off.
"Yes, Marinette?" The kwami asked.
"How did Chat know that Adrien told me off? We were alone in that park." Marinette said.
"You told him, remember?" Tikki asked.
"I told him that I ruined Lila's chance with Adrien, not that he told me off." Marinette said.
"Maybe Adrien told him." Tikki said with a knowing smile.
"Must have." Marinette said.
A/N: Yes, Adrien totally brushed off the fact that Marinette has a wall full of pictures of him. He really has no room to judge with his obsession with Ladybug.