Hi! This is my first ever fanfiction here, and I decided to do it on the Miraculous universe!

They're going to be older, of course, around seventeen-eighteen, last year of high school. By now, Marinette has become content with the fact that she will only be a friend to Adrien and he, vice versa, has come to terms that Ladybug will never be with him. So, Chat Noir has, as a result, stopped flirting as much, although he still does it occasionally just to tease her. And Marinette has stopped being a stuttering mess, but she still gets shy around him if he gets a bit too close.

I hope you enjoy this first chapter!

Chapter One

The tap tap tap of Marinette's pen against her desk was the only sound in the quiet room, save for some rustling as students shifted in their seats.

She raised it, the noise stopping as pearl teeth nibbled on the end of it, bluebell eyes flicking across the paper as she silently tried to figure out what the everloving hell she was supposed to put down for this test.

Glancing around, Marinette made a strange noise, one that was between a cough and a sneeze and that had a few concerned and irritated looks thrown at her.

Instantly, the young blonde in front of her arched his back with a groan, stretching with a loud yawn that had most of the class giggling.

His arms reached to her desk and brushed against her elbows slightly as she pretended to look out the mirror while, at the corner of her eye, she rapidly memorized the answer he had put down for the question she was stuck on.

Purposely tapping his arm twice, the blunette hummed softly and picked her pen up, scratching the answer she had seen down in a different enough way that the teacher wouldn't be able to tell that she had gotten it off of him.

The emerald-eyed boy glanced behind him, smiling kindly at the girl before turning back to his test and continuing with his work, going purposely slowly so that, if she needed another answer, he would be able to give it to her.

Luckily, she didn't, and the rest of the exam went quickly, letting her finish up just before the teacher's alarm went off, signifying that it was over and everyone was to submit their papers without a fuss.

Of course, that didn't happen.

"But, sir, my eye began to act up half way through, so I could barely read anything on my paper and I wasn't able to finish it."

Marinette nearly snarled at the sound of Lila's sickly sweet voice. She hated that girl with a passion that surprised her, but it really shouldn't have after how much of a bitch she was throughout the years.

The teacher barely glanced at the auburn-haired girl. "That does not matter, Ms. Rossi. If you had told me that during the exam, I would have allowed you to go to the nurse's office and given you more time. But, since you didn't, I assume it wasn't serious enough to truly hurt your vision."

Lila's eye twitched a bit, and her mouth opened to say something more when the actual class bell rang, a chorus of groans of relief echoing through the classroom as everyone hurried to turn in their papers and rush to lunch.

Marinette swooped down and picked up her back, cradling her rather lengthy exam in her arms as she walked to where a stack of papers were steadily piling up, smiling gratefully at her teacher before wandering out the door, shoulders relaxing as the realization that the test was finally over dawned on her.

A bump to her shoulder drew her out of her thoughts, a dazzling smile appearing on her face as an amused one settled on Adrien's.

"What question was it that you needed help on?" He asked curiously, taking the lead and beginning to walk down the hallway to the lunchroom.

"Number sixteen. AP Physics is so hard, tell me again why I decided to take this instead of Intro to Psych?" She caught up to him quickly, quickening her strides a bit to keep up with his longer ones.

The model laughed. "Because Nino and Alya refused to take this class with me and you were ever so gracious enough to lend me your beloved hand in keeping me company during the year."

Marinette groaned, shaking her head as a twitching smile appeared on her lips. "Well, when you say it like that, it seems rather obvious."

He flashed her a winning smile, one that made her heart ache as his gaze drifted from her and turned unfocussed, thoughts clearly whirling inside his head.

She had long since accepted the fact that Adrien would never look at her as anything other than a friend. Nothing more than a friend who she knew would never leave him, but it still hurt every time she looked at him and felt lingering regrets over not telling him how she felt sooner. Maybe then, she would have had a chance.

Shaking her head rapidly, she shoved those thoughts out of her mind. Now's not the time to think about what could have been, Marinette. Just focus on being someone who can be there for Adrien; that's what he wants and so that's what I'll give him.

"Hey! Marinette! Adrien! Over here!"

The loud, female voice made both teens turn to see their best friends waving frantically, trying to get their attention. Quickly, the two got and paid for their lunch before sitting at the table, Adrien next to Nino and across from Marinette as Alya turned to the side to talk to her friend.

"You will not believe what I found out today!"

The blue-eyed girl flicked her gaze to her best friend, humming as she chewed on some bread. "What did you find out?"

"Ladybug and Chat Noir are dating!"

Both Marinette and Adrien choked at that, one coughing as a piece of bread was caught in her throat and the other hissing as milk dribbled out of his nose.

"What?!"

"Babe, don't mislead them like that. You know it's just a theory."

Alya rolled her hazel eyes and focussed on her two friends who seemed to be calming down.

"Okay, so, I guess Nino's right, but it's a really solid theory! So, get this."

She got out her phone and scrolled through it for a few seconds before seeming to find what she was looking for. "Look."

Showing them her phone, Adrien and Marinette could see two fuzzy figures that were almost definitely Ladybug and Chat Noir, the smaller, more feminine figure with her back against a wall with her hands pressed flat against the larger, more masculine figure's chest, head tilted up as the obviously Chat Noir had his hands on either side of her, his face close to hers and lips just hovering over one another.

Marinette flushed as she remembered how that happened.

It wasn't either of their faults. It was more that she had been ranting about a classmate (Lila) and he had snickered at her fury and so she snapped at him that he didn't take anything seriously, always joking around and not caring what was happening around him.

That got him to stop laughing.

She felt guilty about it, she really did. Ladybug had known that it wasn't Chat's fault what a horrible person Lila was, but she was more than a little upset that day and unleashed it on Chat as a result.

As soon as the words left her mouth she had wanted to take them back, shrinking back in sudden wariness as Chat Noir shot to his feet, walking toward her.

In her fear, Ladybug had stumbled back, trying to keep some distance between them until she could feel the cool brick of a chimney stopping her from backing up further.

When he got too close, she had placed her hands flat on his chest to stop him, and he did. But then he leaned down, so close to her lips, those blazing jade eyes making her forget everything that had just happened.

Marinette could still hear his words whispering inside her head; she had been unable to get them out of there since that night.

"I take a lot more things seriously than you might expect, Milady."

She shook her head, clearing her thoughts of his haunting words to see her best friend's expectant face. "What?"

"Oh my God, Marinette. You cannot tell me that they aren't about to kiss right then!"

Marinette shrugged. "What if they're not? For all you know Ladybug and Chat Noir could have been having an argument or something and he got that close just to make a point."

She saw Adrien give her an odd look, but she was more focussed on Alya as the strong-willed woman paused, thinking about it. "Shit, you might be right. Ladybug seemed stressed when the two of them were fighting the latest akuma, so she could have been. Goddamn it!"

Marinette smothered a laugh, patting her friend on the shoulder gently. "It's okay, Alya. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to score an interview with her and she can clear it all up herself?"

At that, the young woman perked up. "Oh, you're right! It would be awesome if she would agree to it, but I doubt I'll ever get the chance to ask."

The miraculous wielder merely hummed, her mind already going through various scenarios in which she was able to give Alya that interview. "Well, if I ever see Ladybug, I'll make sure to ask."

Aly shot her friend a grateful smile before the talk at their table calmed down a bit into more mundane things, like Marinette and Adrien trying to guess who would propose to who, Nino or Alya? Or when the couple would in turn tease their oblivious friends about when they would settle down.

"Speaking of which, how's Luka?"

Marinette choked on her food again, coughing harshly to try and get it out of her throat.

Once she did, she wiped her watery eyes and scowled suspiciously at Alya. "Why are you asking?"

"No reason. Just knew that you guys had gone on a few dates and I had forgotten to ask how they went."

The blunette shrugged. "They went fine, I guess. We had fun, but my heart wasn't in it, as he was made aware by the fourth date. I felt bad, but Luka had just smiled at me and told me it was okay, and that he would always be there for me if I needed him."

"Aww, poor Luka. I know he's had the biggest crush on you, ever since the day you two met. Are you sure nothing sparked between you two?"

Alya had, of course, tried to stop Marinette from giving up on Adrien, but it hadn't worked. The sapphire eyed girl had just cried to Alya's shoulder for an entire weekend, the taller woman staying silent and stopped trying to push hope onto her smaller friend when she saw just how much it seemed to hurt her.

After that, Alya seemed determined to help Marinette find love, no matter who it was. So, she had concocted several plans where her and Luka had "coincidentally" run into each other and forced them to talk more, which eventually led to a few dates.

When the blunette realized what her best friend had done, she just sighed and shook her head with a fond smile. She should have guessed that the stubborn reporter would do something like that.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Maybe in the future, after college or something, but right now. . . I just don't see myself with him, and it wouldn't be fair to force him to be in a relationship with someone who didn't really want to be with him."

Nino nodded. "I can understand that, and you're real brave for realizing that, dude. Sorry that it didn't work out between you guys, though."

Marinette shrugged, drawing small patterns in the condensation of her cup as mischief zigzagged through her. "It's cool. Besides, he's illegal anyway, so what fun would I be able to have?"

At that, the other three simultaneously gasped at her wicked comment. "Marinette!"

She flashed them all a wide grin. "What?! I was just kidding, even if it's true. He's two years older than me, remember? I'm only seventeen and he's nineteen."

Adrien shook his head in amusement. "Leave it to Marinette to distract us by making sexual joke."

She scoffed. "That was hardly a sexual joke. Try having a sleepover with a trashed Alya and see exactly what comes out of those lips."

The girl in question merely smirked, looking far too smug. "You're just jealous because you can't drink legally yet."

Marinette opened her mouth to say something when the bell rang again, alerting everyone that they had five minutes before the next class started.

The young woman shook her head in amusement, taking her lunch and throwing it away as she picked up her bag and wandered over to Adrien's side; they had all the same classes together this year.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow, I have some work to catch up on tonight. Maybe this weekend we can all meet up at the park?"

"Sounds good with me."

"Yeah, I'm up for it."

"I'll have to check in with my dad, but probably. I don't have anything scheduled for this weekend."

Marinette smiled. "Perfect. See you guys tomorrow! Come on, Adrien. Let's not be late."

The young girl sighed as she flopped onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Distinctly, she could hear a whizz before a small, black and red creature hovered over her, carefully landing on her shoulder. "Was school good today, Marinette? I was napping during most of it."

The hero chuckled, reaching up to her shoulder to gently scratch at the tiny god that gave her her powers. "It was okay. I wish I could have napped through it like you, though."

The kwami giggled and flew around her chosen's face, blinking down at her innocently. "Well, I would have stayed awake, but I was up late last night trying to catch up on Smallville."

Marinette laughed. "Really? Isn't that some American show about that hero, Superman?"

She nodded rapidly. "Yes, but it's so good! I'm only in the sixth season right now, though. Some crazy stuff is happening."

"I bet." Marinette grunted as she sat up, letting the god of creation plop back down on her shoulder. "Say, Tikki, I want to give Alya her interview, but I can't think of a way to do it without giving away my identity."

Tikki was about to respond when there was a knock on her hatch, causing Marinette's head to snap up to it and for Tikki to bolt into a drawer, hiding herself.

Hesitantly, she crept toward the hatch, taking a deep breath before reaching up and pulling it open, her jaw dropping in shock when she saw who was outside.

"Chat?"