A/N: A guest pointed out how unrealistic Chat's robbery at the Louvre was. I'd like to say that the robbery was a tribute/parallel to Copycat. Copycat was able to get the painting and escape no problem, so I wanted the same with Chat Noir. Moreover, this story is written purely for fun, and sometimes I like to 'brush off' the realistic things for plot's sake. But I do my best. You're more than welcome to read another fanfic. I mean no offense, but I felt that I had to defend Chat's robbery somehow.

Chapter 8

Adrien grinned as he walked throughout the school, seeing everyone's excitement for either Halloween, his robbery at the Louvre, or both.

Halloween was a busy night for Chat Noir. He'd steal from a few businesses, but he would mostly vandalize buildings by leaving scratch marks on the glass or spraypainting paw prints on the walls. Throwing eggs and TP'ing places was so juvenile.

But this year, he was hoping to spend it with a certain Princess.

Speaking of, he was also grinning because of what happened with her last night. It was hard to keep his hands off her and not taste her lips with his, but he was proud of the way Marinette reacted to him, regardless.

He wiped the smug smirk off his face before he opened the door to his class, replacing it with a warm, bright, cheery, Adrien smile.

"Hey, guys!"

He walked closer, eyes zeroing in on Marinette. Her cheeks were pink and she looked to be breathing a bit heavier.

He frowned in concern. Was she sick? "You okay, Marinette? You look a little flushed."

Her cheeks reddened further. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him in slight panic. "Uh-I-um-No! No, I-I'm fine! Perfectly fine, peachy fine!"

He grinned in amusement. He wished she was more relaxed around him, but he couldn't deny her flustered stutters were cute. At least she wasn't sick. "Okay. If you say so."

"Hey, dude!" Nino greeted with a grin, holding out his fist. After meeting it with his own, he sat down in his seat beside him.

"Did you hear about Chat Noir yesterday? We finally know what he looks like!" His best friend exclaimed excitedly.

Adrien morphed his smile into a believable, frightened frown. "Yeah, it was pretty scary. I hope the cops catch him soon." He even made his voice slightly shake for effect.

"That might be hard since he wears a mask," Nino mused. "He could be anywhere at anytime. He could be sitting in this room right now."

Yeah, and he could be sitting next to you.

Adrien gasped, the noise sounding overly dramatic to his ears, but it seemed to fool Nino. "You don't think?"

He heard Alya laugh behind him, prompting him to turn around to see her.

"I think I'd know if a criminal was right in front of me. Come on, Nino, give us a little credit. Besides, all the police have to do is look for a guy with blond hair and green eyes."

Adrien couldn't help the smirk that rose on his face. "Lots of guys have blond hair and green eyes. How will you be able to tell if it's him?"

This was getting to be too funny, not to mention insanely ironic.

"Easy. I'm a journalist, I have special senses." The auburn-haired girl winked. "It won't take long to figure out who he is."

Adrien cocked an eyebrow up, still smirking. She really needed to have those 'senses' of hers improved.

"Alya, please don't get involved with this," her boyfriend groaned. Adrien didn't blame him for the response, he wasn't a stranger to Nino's rants about how they almost got hurt because Alya dragged him to crime scenes to get stories.

Although, Nino had nothing to worry about. Chat Noir would never hurt him or Alya.

"Relax." Alya rolled her eyes with a grin. "This is the first time we've seen him. We have no leads on him at all. I'll wait until more details come along."

"Thank God," Nino moaned. Adrien chuckled and out of the corner of his eye, noticed Marinette grinning.

...

At lunchtime the four friends decided to go to a nearby cafe. While Alya and Nino were ahead, walking and holding hands, Adrien was by Marinette's side and finding himself speechless.

Why was he being awkward now? He could flirt and talk to her all he wanted as Chat Noir, but as Adrien he was tongue-tied? It didn't make sense.

"So, Halloween's tomorrow," he stated, already knowing it was a bad opening line to a conversation. But at least it worked.

She flinched slightly, startled from his sudden voice. "Uh, y-yeah, it is!"

"Got any plans?" He asked casually. He hoped not, he really wanted to spend his Halloween with her.

To his joy, she shook her head. "No. I think I'm just going to stay home and watch horror movies."

His eyes widened a bit, as he asked the next questions, wanting to be certain she wasn't going anywhere. "Really? You're not going out? At all?"

For some reason, she blushed and slightly shrunk back. What was wrong? Did he insult her somehow?

"Nah. I'm too old to trick or treat and...well," she paused, giving a shaky grin. "I don't feel like going to any parties anytime soon, or feel like walking home late at night."

Oh. Well that makes sense, he thought with an amused smirk.

However, he couldn't tell her that he was going to stay at home. One, it could be a clue to giving away his identity (Adrien and Chat Noir both doing nothing on Halloween?) and two, he just didn't want to look like he had no life.

"Nino was telling me about this one party, I think I might go to that." He rubbed a hand on the back of his neck, his trademark move for whenever he was either flustered or uncertain of something. "Not sure though."

"Oh. Well, if you do go, I hope you have fun!" Marinette turned to him and gave him a radiant smile, a smile that caused himself to do it.

"Thank you."

And, they were back to the awkward silence.

The blond looked away, trying to gather his thoughts together.

"Come on, Adrien, just say something to her! Maybe you could somehow mention Chat."

Come to think of it, he did overhear some younger girls after one of his classes talking about his robbery at the Louvre. He grinned as he heard them all gush about his looks, but got wide-eyed and walked away when he heard them talk about scenarios that involved him, a bed, and one of them.

Still, maybe he could use some of their conversation (the innocent part), try to see how Marinette views his alter ego.

"I overheard some girls talking about Chat Noir earlier." He pretended to be offended as he closed his eyes and shook his head. "They thought he was hot. Could you believe that?"

Sapphire eyes bulged at his remark. Her cheeks developed that soft pink hue he loved. "Really?" She squeaked.

He pretended to be surprised at the thought of a lawbreaker being considered attractive, and not like he was trying to fish for compliments. "Yeah, ridiculous, isn't it? What do you think?"

She blushed harder as she stammered out an answer. "Y-Yeah, ridiculous. I-I mean, he can't be that hot, I mean, not as hot as you-"

Wait. What was that?

She squealed, obviously terrified.

"I-I-I mean, he-he's not that bad looking and neither are you? No! Uh-"

Throughout her nervous babble, he fought hard to keep from smirking, though he was pretty sure he was losing the battle.

So, she thought he was hot, huh? And it seemed that she thought Chat Noir was visually appealing as well.

Hm.

When they arrived at the cafe, Marinette sprinted inside ahead of everyone else. Alya and Nino craned their necks back to look at Adrien in confusion, but he only shrugged his shoulders in response.

When the three went inside, Marinette pulled Alya close and whispered something in her ear. While the girls lowly talking Adrien stood next to Nino, pretending that nothing was going on.

Soon enough, they were shown to their table. Alya and Marinette sat on one side, leaving Adrien and Nino to take the other side. The blond tried not to frown in disappointment, he was planning on teasing her a bit throughout the lunch date.

At least he was sitting across from her, though.

"Welcome!"

Adrien turned to see the newly-arrived waiter standing at their table.

"My name is Remy and I'll be your waiter this afternoon. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

The four ordered what they wanted, leaving the waiter to scurry off and let them figure out what they wanted to eat.

"I think I'll get an omelet," Alya voiced after a minute of looking at her menu. Adrien studied his menu and chose a jambon beurre. When the waiter came back the friends all informed him of their choices, when they were done with that Nino took his chance to talk.

"I can't believe it's almost Halloween, soon it'll be Christmas, then New Years, then summer, then we'll be graduating-"

"Woah, woah!" Alya interrupted, laughing. "Slow down! Let's just get through this weekend, yeah?"

Adrien closed his eyes and laughed along with everyone else at her response. When the amusement was beginning to die down, he slowly opened his eyes and was pleasantly surprised to see Marinette staring dazedly at him with glazed eyes.

He took the opportunity and flashed her a sly wink before turning to talk with Nino.

"So, Aurore's party, you in?" Nino asked with a grin.

"I don't know, maybe not," Adrien mumbled. He couldn't exactly tell him that he was going to spend Halloween with Marinette as Chat Noir.

"I swear, you just hang out in your mansion all night. You never go out!"

Adrien grinned. "Yeah, maybe I do need to get out more."

A few minutes later their food arrived. Marinette looked like she was taking extra special care eating her food for whatever reason. She didn't even look at him the entire time, she was so focused on her meal.

The model quietly hummed as he got an idea.

Looking off to the side, he deftly used his elbow to knock his spoon to the ground.

Marinette's head perked up at the sudden noise.

Adrien smiled sheepishly at his friends' confused expressions. "Sorry! Accidentally knocked over my spoon."

In a flash he was under the table. With a grin he spied the spoon laying innocently on the floor, but ignored it and continued for Marinette's bare ankle. He brushed his fingers by it, as though the utensil was near her. Her leg stiffened at the contact his fingers made.

"Mari? You okay?" He heard Alya ask from above him.

"I-I'm fine!" Marinette squeaked.

His lips curled into a smug smirk, morphing into a victory grin when he grabbed the spoon and popped back up.

"Got it!"

...

Let's see, what's the most ironic costume for a criminal to wear?

Why, a policeman, of course!

It wasn't that hard to get, all he had to do was go to an expensive costume store in the mall and buy it. His father didn't exactly approve of Halloween costumes, thinking them to be a waste of fine money, but he didn't do anything to stop his son.

As Adrien walked in, he spied Marinette sitting in her seat, sketching. Her hair was curled and a blue bow sat atop her head. Getting closer, he noticed that she was dressed as Dorothy, a famous American movie character.

Adrien noted with an amused snort that Nino was a DJ, and Alya was a classic witch.

After a few minutes of sitting in his seat, he was just about to turn around and compliment Marinette on her outfit, when Chloe came in and headed straight toward him.

The blonde was wearing a nurse costume, that honestly showed a bit too much to be appropriate for school. But, Adrien guessed, the teachers could do nothing about it since her father was the Mayor.

"Do you like my costume, Adrien?" Chloe asked sweetly, performing a twirl even though the skirt clung to her thighs.

Jeez, this girl couldn't take a hint. Did she really think that wearing a revealing costume would be able to entice him? Maybe for other boys, but not him.

"Yeah, it's nice," he replied in a bored tone.

"I'm going to wear it at Aurore's party tonight. I hope you'll be wearing your costume." She leaned over the desk, and he knew that if his eyes moved just an inch downwards, he'd see something he wouldn't want to see.

He stubbornly kept his eyes glued to Chloe's face, he suppressed a disgusted shudder as she eyed him up and down and licked her lips.

"I told you, Chloe, I might not be going," he spoke, tone hardened.

She quickly clung onto his arm, making him flinch with surprise.

"But, Adrikins, you have to go! You're the most popular boy here, you simply must go!"

He felt his temper rising. He was Paris's most wanted criminal, nobody told him what to do.

"I don't have to do anything," he bit out, removing her grip on him. "If I'm not there, then too bad."

Chloe frowned but left him alone, blowing him an air kiss and going to her seat. Adrien closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths, then opened them again.

"Hey, Mari!"

His ears perked at the call of her name.

"Could you sharpen my pencil please?" Alya requested.

He heard her shuffle out of her seat, then discreetly watched as she walked past him to the pencil sharpener. Her dress's skirt ended just above her knees, but it swished a bit, allowing him to see just a hint of more upper leg.

Adrien drew his eyes away before she could notice.

...

That night, he suited up and went straight to Marinette's bakery. When he arrived on top her balcony, he chose to skip the 'tapping for entrance' procedure and just drop in. It was Halloween, right? He was in the right to give her a little scare.

Unfortunately, her attentions were elsewhere. She was sitting on her chaise, arm raised in the air as she held the remote control for her tv and was flipping through channels. A bowl of popcorn lay at her side, making him lick his lips.

"I'm sure. I'd rather just stay at home this year," she spoke. Ah, that was why her head was tilted at an odd angle, she was talking to someone on the phone. If he had to guess, he'd say it was Alya.

Deciding to get comfortable while he waited for her conversation to end, he lay on his stomach and crossed his boots in the air, content to wait until she was finished.

Marinette settled on a channel as she ended the phone call. She then relaxed against the chaise and started to get comfortable.

He grinned. "Hope I'm not too late."

Her answering shriek of horror was almost enough to make him laugh. She whipped her head towards him, sapphire eyes were narrowed in a dangerous glare.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed angrily.

Someone didn't appreciate his little scare. He gave a lazy smirk as he answered her. "Just wanted to spend Halloween with my princess." With that he walked down the stairs, plopping next to her on the chaise, forcing her to move so there'd be enough space for the two of them.

"So, what are we watching?" He asked, dipping his hand into the popcorn bowl as though he were invited in. He brought the buttery treats to his mouth while his companion scowled and moved the bowl away from him.

However, a corner of her mouth then tilted up into a teasing grin. "Who said anything about 'we'? Isn't Chat Noir always supposed to be active on Halloween?"

He stretched, placing his hands behind his head as he nestled in the chaise. "Normally, yes, but I decided to take a break this year."

The blackette let out a mocking gasp. "The year without a Chat Noir?" She giggled, "the horror!"

"Ha. Ha," he deadpanned, though a corner of his mouth of turned up. "You didn't answer my question, by the way," he reminded.

"Halloween, a classic," she answered. She ate a few more pieces of popcorn, prompting him to take some as well, but she moved the bowl further from his reach.

"Hey, give me some," he pouted. Denying a guest food? How rude. Although, he did invite himself here...

"Or what?" Her heavenly blue eyes twinkled as she teased him. "You'll steal it?"

Ooh, she was good. He smirked roguishly and placed a hand against his chest as if he was hurt. "Me-owch! Low blow, Princess."

She giggled some more before turning back to the tv. "Ooh, it's starting!"

He tried not to squirm in his seat. Despite what he's seen and done as a criminal, he could never stomach horror movies for some strange reason. It was unbelievably ironic, not to mention completely embarrassing.

He was hoping that at least Marinette would get scared and try to cuddle into him. But she didn't need him at all, in fact, she actually smiled and ooh'ed at the killing scenes!

At one point, she slowly turned towards him with a sly smirk. "Are you scared, Chaton?"

The way she practically purred the last word caused his heart to skip a beat. But he wouldn't let it show how affected he was at her seductive tone, so he glared down at her instead.

"I'm a full-grown Chat, not a Chaton, who isn't afraid of a stupid movie."

Unfortunately, the music blared at that moment as the character found yet another body. The startling distraction caused a frightened squeak to come out of his mouth as he jumped in his seat. He wasn't at all amused by Marinette's howls of laughter.

He was glad when she took pity on him and turned off the tv. She paused, before erupting in another bout of laughter.

"It's not that funny," he grumbled, turning away from her and crossing his arms. He was fully aware the action was completely childish, but he didn't care at the moment.

"But, Chat," she breathed, calming down enough to speak. She wiped some stray tears from her eyes before continuing. "You're this bad-boy criminal yet you're scared by some jumpscares and fake blood. It's hysterical!"

"I should be more concerned about you," he retorted, whipping around back to her. "You didn't scream, or jump, or try to cuddle with me once! It makes me wonder if you're not as innocent as I thought."

"Well, I'm friends with you, aren't I? So obviously not." She winked. "Any innocent person would've called the police if Chat Noir came in their room."

Not that innocent, hm? That gave him an idea...

"Maybe I'm a bad influence, then." The edges of his mouth turned up into a sneaky smirk as he brought his face teasingly closer to hers.

It had the desired effect. Those pretty sapphire eyes widened and her mouth parted, all traces of amusement gone. "M-Maybe."

"Wouldn't want to corrupt you," he murmured flirtatiously, inching closer, trying to lessen the space between them.

"That wouldn't be good," she agreed, sounding breathless.

"Too bad I never listen to my own advice."

Chat maneuvered his hand around her waist, trying to bring her closer, but she shrunk away...and down to the floor in a heap.

He blinked in surprise and looked over the chaise in concern. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," she replied. As she made her way up, he noticed her cheeks were pink and she was panting for air. "Just fine!"

He nodded before frowning. He shouldn't have done that, it was too fast for her. He should've went slower.

"Happy late Halloween."

Chat looked up to see her shrug indifferently, wearing a small smile.

He snorted and shook his head. "Happy late Halloween."

They stayed quiet for awhile. Chat knew he should probably be getting home, it was late enough and Marinette needed her sleep.

The blond criminal stood and stretched. "Well, it's getting pretty late, and princesses need their beauty sleep. I'll be heading out now."

"A-Alright."

As he walked up the stairs, he smiled as he noticed Marinette following behind him, as though she were seeing him out. He opened the hatch and heaved himself out, twisting back around to look down at her.

He smiled warmly. "Thank you for the movie date, Princess. I hope we can do this again sometime soon, though maybe without the horror."

He grinned as she began to sound that adorable giggle. He reached down and took her hand, pressing a parting kiss on her knuckles.

"Good night." With a final grin, he dashed away back to his mansion.