Chapter 12

He had been late to the photo shoot, receiving a harsh reprimand from Nathalie and later his father, but luckily didn't get punished. All he got was a stern warning not to be late to any appointment again.

When nighttime rolled around, Adrien didn't waste any time to suit up and head over to Akuma. He strolled past the bouncer, grinning smugly to himself as all the other criminals stared at him in awe.

He joined Jackady at the bar where he and Mime were engaged in a conversation. Although, Chat was pretty definite that Mime wasn't contributing much in terms of words.

"Hey, Chat!" Jackady called, holding up his shot glass. "Glad to see you're feeling better."

The feline signaled to the bartender for his drink before lifting himself to a bar stool. He turned to his companions and smiled.

"Thanks. So, how's it been for you two?"

Mime shrugged while Jackady answered. "You know, same old minor robberies. But you, you got stabbed! How bad was it? Did you have to stitch yourself? Because damn, that hurts like a bitch."

Chat automatically winced in memory as his side momentarily throbbed. "It was pretty bad. Remember that girl I told you about?" He smirked. "She patched me up."

Jackady's eyes widened before they crinkled as he slyly smirked. Mime was wearing a very similar expression.

"She stitched you up? Ooh, you two must be pretty close, then?"

Chat grinned widely. "I'd say so. I don't think she'd kiss just about anybody, either..." He trailed off purposely to leave his friends in suspense, turning away from them to take a sip of his newly-arrived martini.

"You kissed?!" Jackady exclaimed in shock. "Damn, Noir, I didn't think you could be that smooth."

Chat looked at the two criminals out of the corner of his eye, glass poised to his lips, and flashed a smug grin in return.

"So, I take it, this means she accepts you as a thief, right?" The card-wielding lawbreaker asked, unsurely.

The cat swallowed the contents of his glass before swiveling around to his companions again.

"No, not really," he admitted, frowning. "I mean, kind of? She doesn't know who I am under the mask."

"Oh," Jackady breathed in understanding while Mime shook his head. "That's not an ideal situation to be in."

Chat scoffed a laugh. "No, it's not. Especially when she likes my civilian identity."

Mime's and Jackady's faces were absolutely priceless with their looks of confusion.

"I'm sorry, but how in the hell is that a bad thing? And if that's true, then why not reveal yourself to her?!" Jackady spluttered, still trying to make sense of what his friend just said.

"It's bad because she probably won't accept me for being a criminal. She kissed Chat, but I don't think she'd choose him over A-er-my real identity," he informed, quickly fixing his mistake when he was about to utter his true name.

The three sat there for a period of silence, all wondering what to do about this new dilemma. Until, Mime started gesturing wildly with his hands.

The feline rogue arched a brow beneath his mask. "What is it, Mime?"

The silent man pointed at him, then made a woman's silhouette with his hands. He then brought his two hands together to form a heart, smiling eagerly.

"You want me to romance her as Chat Noir?" The blond guessed.

Mime nodded furiously, and put a hand atop his head, as though covering up cat ears. He then crossed his arms and looked away from Chat and Jackady, as if ignoring them.

"And to ignore her as my civilian self?" He concluded.

Mime grinned and clapped his hands, congratulating him on his assumption.

Chat put a finger to his chin in thought. "It could work," he murmured. "I already know she likes me, so I'll just make her like the criminal-me! Mime, you're a genius."

The painted man smirked proudly and rubbed his knuckles against his chest.

"Well, now that this mushy shit is over, let's talk about what really matters. Money and how to get it," Jackady suggested, his lips curled up into a wicked sneer.

Chat Noir and Mime leaned in with interest.

...

The next day, Adrien followed Mime's advice, only giving Marinette courtesy greetings and waves. He didn't flirt at all, even though he was itching to do so. But he couldn't risk ruining the plan; she had to fall for both sides of him.

It didn't help that at lunch Nino kept pestering him about her, asking if he thought she was cute and/or liked her. He answered both in the affirmative, but made sure to explain that he only meant it platonically.

He had to hide a chuckle when it looked like Nino was about to burst in fury.

After school, he asked his driver to stop at a flower shop. The 'Gorilla', as he secretly dubbed him, gave him a questioning look, but didn't refuse the polite order. Adrien received even more confused looks when he came out with only a single, red rose, yet the blond did nothing to dispel his confusion, only sending a fond smile to the flower.

The flower was put to use later that night, when he pulled the leather suit over himself and made his way to a certain princess's balcony. He knocked a few times on the glass trapdoor and waited.

"Come in!" He heard her call.

Chat Noir grinned and let himself in, dropping down to the bed on all-fours and making his way down the staircase. Before she could turn around, he placed the rose in between his teeth and flashed a dashing grin.

When the girl turned to him with those wide, forget-me-not eyes, he dropped down to one knee and presented the rose with a flourish.

"For you, my princess."

Would she like it? Would she think the gesture was too cheesy? Would she slap him?

With a blush coloring her cheeks, Marinette gently took it out of his fingers and smiled.

Just as he was about to breathe a mental sigh of relief, she groaned and placed the flower on her desk. She covered her face with both of her hands and let out another groan as she collapsed into the chair.

Crap. It was too much, wasn't it? But at first she liked it. Maybe something else was wrong? Damn, did she still think she was a slut?

"Everything alright, Princess?" He asked, rising from his position to rest a comforting hand on her shoulder. He began to rub in small, slow circles.

Marinette sighed and finally revealed her face. He smiled as he noticed there weren't any tears.

"Why do you have to be so...?" She asked, trailing off in indecisiveness.

He smirked upon seeing the perfect opportunity arise. "Sexy? Charming? Irresistible?"

She giggled and answered, "annoying."

He gasped with mock hurt. "You think I'm annoying? Why do you think so lowly of me?"

He held back a chuckle when she placed a finger on her chin, tapping it as she pretended to think deeply for an answer. She glanced up at him with playful intent in her eyes.

"Well, your puns are one thing."

He gasped. "My puns are clawsome! How do mew not think so? You need to get a sense of hufur."

Marinette grinned. "That last one was pushing it, and you know it."

Ugh, he did know it. He could barely stop the wince threatening to break out on his face when he said it. Tonight didn't seem to be his best night for puns.

However, he shrugged indifferently. He couldn't admit that she won, then she'd use that to her advantage!

"I shall nefur admit depaws." He brightened as soon as the words left his mouth, liking the genius words he used. "Get it? Depaws, but since cats don't have feet, and the real word is defeat-"

"I get it," she interrupted, shaking her head and smiling.

"You like my puns," he boasted, grinning completely self-satisfied. "Admit it."

"I will admit no such thing."

Hm. Just how to make her admit it...

"Okay," he spoke, grabbing her hand and hauling her up. She squeaked in surprise but fell silent at the close proximity between them.

He wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her even closer. "You like me, at least admit that," he prodded with a smirk.

A blush developed over her cheeks. "I-I-"

"I know you do," he murmured, bringing his face closer to hers. "You enjoyed every second of our kiss."

"I still like that other guy in my class."

"You like me," he purred, dipping his head to her neck to plant a kiss there. He was aware he just gave her a major hint that Adrien and Chat were one in the same, but she didn't pick up on it. He didn't know whether that was a good or bad thing.

He was aware of her hitched breath and resisted the urge to grin.

"I-well-"

"Marinette?!"

Chat's heartrate skyrocketed at the interruption, whipping his face around to see a very surprised and angry Alya Cesaire standing just in front of the closed trapdoor. To be honest, he was more annoyed at getting interrupted than panicked at being caught.

Marinette paled. "A-Alya, it's not-"

"Not what it looks like?!" She screeched. "I come back to get my science book and you're rendezvousing with Paris's top criminal?! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Alya-"

"Now wait a minute," Chat cut in, not at all liking how Alya was speaking to the flustered blackette. He seperated himself from the girl and took a step closer to Alya, eyes narrowed in anger. He wouldn't hurt her, but she deserved a stern reprimanding.

"No," Marinette spoke, putting a hand on his shoulder to make him halt in his tracks. "Chat, I think you should go."

He whipped around to face her, stunned. "But-"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "I mean it. I can handle this on my own."

"Yeah, don't you have a store to steal from?" Alya sassed, crossing her arms together.

He fixed her with one of his best glares. He wanted to stay with Marinette and defend her from any accusations from Alya, but in the end he knew he had to listen to his princess's command.

So, with an extremely displeased hiss, he stomped up the staircase and back out into the night.