A/N: If you enjoy, please review!

2.

Gabriel Agreste had hired Nathalie Sancoeur for a reason. She was a frightening woman who would always get her will in the end. When it came to finding loopholes, she was the one to talk to. That's why Adrien Agreste whose face was plastered all over the town went to her for help.

"I'm 27," he'd reasoned. "Don't you agree that it's time for me to move out?"

She agreed, knowing full well that Gabriel Agreste wouldn't.

"If there's a way, I'll find it." Nathalie gave him a curt nod before dismissing him. The handsome blonde rewarded her with a broad smile that warmed her cold heart. It made her feel like she should help him just because it would be sinful to rob the world of his happiness.

So she found a solution: the flatshare. As long as the lease had someone else's name on it, they could hide Adrien's presence from his father and he could have all the freedom he wanted. The idea was so ludicrous that when she pitched it to Adrien, she half-expected him to refuse. But the man was desperate enough to just laugh and agree to it.

Then it was only a matter of finding someone desperate enough to share the place with him. Nathalie posted an ad and waited for the right caller to come along. There were a couple of times when she thought this is it only for the possible candidate to turn out to be an Agreste fangirl. She couldn't risk it.

Her phone rang. Sighing, Nathalie picked it up.

"This is Nathalie Sancoeur speaking." She spoke in her business tone.

"Er… Hello? My name is Marinette… and I'm calling about the flatshare ad…" Based on the voice, Nathalie deduced her to be a young female. She sounded awfully nervous and the assistant decided on the spot that she wouldn't be a good fit. She was about to tell her as much when she noticed how hopefully Adrien looked at her and sighed, willing herself to give the girl at least a meeting.

Marinette sighed in relief when she realized she was speaking to a woman. "Is the place still available?"

"Yes, it's available." Nathalie turned away from Adrien. So far, twenty people had called. There were fangirls who would probably endanger the model. There were a couple of drug dealers (she'd promptly reported them to the police) and guys whose self-care routine seemed to be nonexistent. Maybe this one would work out in the end. The woman checked her schedule. "Would you be interested in seeing it on Saturday morning?"

"Sounds great. What time would be good?"

"How about 10 a.m.?" she offered politely.

"10 a.m. works for me. Thank you!" Marinette smiled widely.

"Well, then, miss Marinette," Nathalie nodded to herself, jotting down the meeting. "See you on Saturday."

She ended the call. She really hoped this one would work out. If it didn't, well… she would deal with that later.

On Saturday, Marinette stood in front of the apartment building listed in the advertisement. She was hopeful that Nathalie and she would hit it off well, because the place couldn't have been more perfect for her. The exterior of the building was in good condition, obviously well-kept and it was only a 15-minute walk from the Agreste fashion house where she was interning.

"Are you Marinette?" The voice came from behind her, so Marinette took a deep breath before turning around with a practiced smile.

"Yes! Hi! Nice to meet you!" she said, trying not to sound too enthusiastic. Marinette found herself face to face with an older woman. Nathalie had worn a business suit, considering this favor to Adrien still her job.

"I'm Nathalie Sancoeur. Now, if you will, follow me." She had no time for pointless pleasantries, because the clock was ticking and her employer's son was growing increasingly impatient, almost threatening to find a place on his own. It would be impossible to keep the scandal out of newspapers and Adrien's new home address would soon be announced to the world, endangering the heir and damaging the company. As Gabriel Agreste's personal assistant, she couldn't allow that to happen.

"The apartment is on the fourth floor, with a balcony view to Eiffel tower," Nathalie described the place on their way to the elevator. "It's fully furnished."

"Is there an oven?" Marinette asked once they were in the elevator and Nathalie had pressed the button. "I like baking, so it's kind of a must for me. My parents are baker's, you see." Her cheeks turned pink at her rambling and she shut up, hoping she hadn't said too much.

"Yes. An oven is included in the kitchen, but I can't say how good it is. I don't think anyone has ever used it." answered Nathalie. The elevator doors open and she stepped out, Marinette following close at her heels. "The kitchen also has a fully-functioning stove, a coffee-maker and a blender."

The young woman nodded thoughtfully, as if making a list in her mind on what to bring if she decided to enter this arrangement. Onto that list went a mixer and a rice cooker along with a number of baking utensils.

Nathalie stopped in front of flat number 409. "Here we are."

She unlocked the door unceremoniously. Marinette's anxiety grew, remembering all of Nino's warnings and Alya's lectures about the dangers of meeting with weirdos. The bluenette wouldn't have ventured to call Nathalie a creep just yet, but there was something off-putting in her cold demeanor. When the door opened, she almost expected to find a bloodied floor and a rotting corpse inside, a preview of her own terrible demise.

"It's so… normal." Marinette stared at the place in relief. She admired the dark wooden floorboards which the photos hadn't done justice to. She liked the lighter shade of the walls which had looked pale and miserable on the ad. But the place was small. She studied the available space, thinking how much of her work she could fit in. "Are you already living here?"

Nathalie stared at her in surprise. "Oh, I'm not the one you'll be sharing the apartment with."

"What?" Marinette was startled. "I thought… Then who?"

"You'll be sharing it with my son." Nathalie expected the girl to freak out after hearing that they weren't meeting the person they'd share a room with. Marinette nodded.

"That… That makes a lot of sense actually," she laughed shakily. "I mean, what if I was an axe-murderer or a serial killer or something, right? Not that I am! I'm definitely not. I'm a fashion designer." She rambled on, correcting herself almost immediately. "Aspiring fashion designer. And well… we wouldn't actually be in the same room together, right?" She laughed nervously.

Nathalie smiled. "That is correct." There was something about Marinette's rambling that she found almost endearing.

Marinette took a deep breath to calm her nerves. Was she actually willing to share a bed with a man?

"What about his personal hygiene?" she blurted. What if he was sleazy? What if he never showered? What if his sweat seeped into the bedsheets and she would have to sleep in it? What if he never cleaned after him?

"Impeccable." Nathalie was astounded by the question, but she didn't show it.

"So…" Marinette trailed on awkwardly. "Will I not… meet your son?"

"Eventually you might," Nathalie responded honestly. "But it'll be me you speak to. I'm handling the renting the place out for him. You'll never be in at the same time – the flat will be yours from seven in the evening until nine in the morning, and over the whole weekend."

"And he will not pop in… unexpectedly? Out of his hours?"

"Absolutely not." Nathalie planned to make sure of that. Adrien lived his life according to a fixed schedule. The seasons of the fashion world dictated the life of the model long after he'd reached the age of adulthood. He'd tried to get out of the system, but once your face has been plastered all over Paris, you might as well make peace with the knowledge that you're in forever. Or at the very least, until you stop being so pretty.

"Great." Marinette smiled, trying to calm the excitement she was beginning to feel. This couldn't be so bad, could it? She took another look around the flat. The bed was king size, big enough for two, so if she got a boyfriend, he could stay over (although that would mean explaining the sleeping arrangement). The kitchen appliances were clean – always a good sign in her book. Lastly, she checked the bathroom. No mold, no grime. It looked like it had been recently cleaned. She pulled the dark-blue curtain, pleased to find the shower mounted above a bath. There was a mirror and a shelf for hygiene products, too. The shelf was partially filled with mysterious manly-looking creams and liquids, but she shrugged it off without feeling too curious about them.

She turned to Nathalie. "I'll take it. If you'll have me?"

The business woman stared at her in shock. During her tour, Marinette had completely ignored the photo of Adrien Agreste's face attached on the fridge, something that had outed many a fangirl. It was impossible that she hadn't seen it. The photo and its spot had been chosen very strategically.

"Excellent." A soft, gentle smile spread over Nathalie's face. She adjusted her glasses before pulling out her phone. "I'll inform my son. If nothing has changed, I'll call you tonight."