A/N: aksjhldf i've been super slow, i know. having kind of a hard time bc life is life, but i want to get back to updating this frequently. ;v; hope you're all still with me!
the action starts up again next chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

xi.
parlons.

Tu ne manques jamais de m'impressionner.

He wanted to be Marinette's friend.

The more he got to know the girl, the more he liked her. He enjoyed the time he spent with her, but as Chat Noir, their options for hanging out was limited. One couldn't exactly stroll around town with a superhero unnoticed and he didn't want to put her in that sort of position.

At least as Adrien, he was less easy to pick out in a crowd at a distance. [Cat ears weren't subtle in the slightest.] The problem in this case was Marinette's tendency to behave nervously in his presence and Adrien only having so much reason to bother her.

So, he needed an excuse.

She had awoken that morning to Tikki's voice. "Marinette, you're going to miss class!"

This had been enough to catch her attention and she'd blinkingly rose from her bed, scrambling into the bathroom to brush her teeth and slip on clothing. Racing out the door in the next instant, foregoing breakfast for the bell. Not like it was the first time… but tardiness wasn't something to make a habit of.

Thanks to yesterday's late night adventures. She wondered if these setbacks that came with being Ladybug were really worth it.

As the others shuffled around to take their seats, Marinette entered the classroom, setting her bag on the desk and pulling out her chair. Surprisingly, she still had a few minutes to spare before the bell. Alya, however, wasn't blind to the disheveled state her best friend had just scrambled in as.

"Girl, what is up? You've been late every other day this month," she commented as Marinette slid into the seat beside her. "Seriously, are you okay? Do I need to do something?"

"No, no, everything's fine. Just overslept… Guess I've been staying up too late," Marinette sheepishly added, rubbing her nape. She was prepared to say more but her gaze moved to a pair of students that stepped into the classroom only moments after her.

"I just need to find them," Adrien said to Nino, blue scarf draped around his neck. The weather was fairly nice, but his friend had noticed him playing with the end of the accessory and, expectedly, he asked about it. Which opened up the way for a conversation he hoped Marinette would overhear.

"Nathalie said she'd ask my father, and I left him a voicemail, but just because he was impressed by their work doesn't mean he'll remember the name even if he finds time to answer."

"And you're doing all this just for some accessories?" Nino questioned, brow arched.

While Adrien and Nino were clearly chatting about something, Marinette's attention was on the scarf around his neck rather than the topic of conversation. Her gift!

Adrien shrugged. "It's my favorite scarf. Of course, I'd like to see some of their other work." He sat down in front of Marinette, fighting the urge to look back.

At hearing these words leave the blonde, she'd perked up and subconsciously leaned forward in her seat to eavesdrop. Wait—so, he was he looking for the designer of his scarf? Alya bit back a laugh at the sight, also intrigued by this and nudged Marinette to speak up. The girl's eyes widened and she shook her head, palms held up to symbolize that she would much prefer to stay out of this.

She didn't care about the credit… well, maybe a tiny part of her wanted Adrien to know but the rest of her screamed that this was only asking for trouble.

"Okay, so, you dad doesn't remember the name. What are you gonna do then?"

Yes, good. Adrien could kiss him. Marinette hadn't said anything, but the longer they kept this up, the faster his plan would unfold. "Well, I assume that my father was impressed enough to buy from them. I've told you how picky he is about what I wear, so the fact he didn't offer them a job means they have to be too young. And he was here that whole week, back and forth from headquarters, so at least it's not all of Paris, just that general area where he could have seen them."

"A good chunk of Paris," Nino affirmed with a roll of his eyes.

"It's something. I have to be patient and listen around, right?"

Marinette's heart seemed to flutter in her chest the higher she lifted from her seat to listen—almost childishly so. He was interested in finding the designer. [That much was obvious.] And judging from the conversation, it didn't appear as though the fact that his father had 'gifted' him the scarf would change.

Surely, he still believed that. This was a win-win situation, something she could take advantage of to impress him and the bluenette parted her lips to speak.

No voice came out.

A sigh escaped instead and she'd slumped back into her seat, the rush from moments earlier dissipating into doubt.

Doubt. She truly hated the word now.

Adrien heard the sigh behind him and it was hard to not do the same. Come on, Marinette, he wasn't that intimidating, was he? How could someone so brave be so intimidated by his opinion? Regardless, he kept his expression schooled so his disappointment didn't show as he conversed with Nino.

"Dude, when you get an idea in your head, you get kind of crazy about it. Do you know that?"

Nino acted a mix of baffled and amused, and Adrien could only flash a grin at him, "I prefer to think of it as dedication." He glanced down at the scarf, continuing after a moment. "If they got my father to change his habits, even just once, they must have something really fantastic about them."

While Alya often did her best to support her best friend while maintaining true to her wishes, it seemed she couldn't sit back and watch the scene without some kind of input. She huffed and shot Marinette a look which in turn caused a brief look of panic to flicker across the latter's features, then shifted to lean forward—tapping Adrien on the shoulder to get his attention.

"Couldn't help but overhear you guys, but I have an idea as to who made your scarf—"

"—What she means is…" Marinette's hand had never been quicker to move, clasped firmly over the other female's mouth as a nervous smile graced her own. The blood had very clearly rushed to her cheeks and combined with the untidy hair and a jittery disposition, she looked a mess.

"W-We can help you look for them! Somewhere in Paris, right? You know… This opens up a lot of possibilities, aha… So, maybe it's better to give up—I mean, that's an idea, too."

Adrien had appeared hopeful when Alya began, chanting Marinette's name in his head. And it took all his willpower not to groan in disappointment when the female in question interrupted, forcing himself to offer her a surprised expression. "I'm not giving up," he finally declared and the determination was evident in his tone.

No way was he going to give her an out.

Nino snorted. This was not as unusual as it might seem to the girls. "He's got that look on his face. Paris is going to be turned upside down before he gives up. Last time he looked like that, he almost burnt down my kitchen."

Shit. Adrien's eyes widened, snapping his head towards his best friend. "Nino!"

"But, to be fair, after the… what, twelfth attempt? He actually made edible scrambled eggs."

Adrien felt his face burning now, but he had expressed an interest in a friendship with Alya and Marinette many times already. He knew Nino was only trying to help. Who knew he could both appreciate a friend and want to strangle them at the same time? It wasn't his fault having private chefs meant he never learned to cook!

Had Marinette not been preoccupied with her own feelings, she may have pressed for more details regarding 'The Misadventures of Adrien and Nino in the Kitchen.' He was obviously blushing. And so determined. Was there no changing his mind?

These thoughts were replaced with confusion when he returned his gaze to her. "Anyway," the blonde muttered, sucking in a deep breath even if his cheeks remained a faint pink. Time to be as direct as possible. "I did want to talk to you, Marinette. You're a pretty talented designer, too. I actually thought it might be you… You've impressed him before, but I guess not? I was wondering if you knew of any sort of gathering or club with which they might be involved."

She was forced to run his words through her mind several times before fully comprehending what he'd just asked. "Ah, something like that…?" Clubs, gatherings? Think, think, think... It would be so easy to just tell him and by this point Alya had pried the other female's hand from her face, looking some mixture of excited and exasperated. Too many times she had let Marinette abandon the chance to get close to her crush.

"Well—"

"No, no. You were right the first time. Marinette made your scarf." The sentence left her in a blunt, matter-of-fact manner and her best friend suddenly wanted to die, cheeks burning into shades of red. This time, she said nothing to argue, quickly ducking her head behind her books and groaning Alya's name.

"Sorry, girl." The smile in her voice revealed that she anything but apologetic but Marinette couldn't find it in herself to truly be upset. "Sorta just slipped out."

Clearly, Alya won the best friend award today. "Marinette did?" Adrien questioned, acting as though as he hadn't known. It was easy. He had been prepared, and while he wasn't an official actor, there were enough works for commercials and announcements for him to manage. And there wasn't a trace of hurt either. No, that had all been saved when he confronted Nathalie before.

Dwelling on it, his father wasn't a thief. He didn't do things last minute. He wouldn't have had a moment of panic and decide to take a gift someone else left. The man possessed plenty of money, and it wasn't like Adrien expected him at any given second. He could have easily gone to a store, asked for the most expensive object, and been done with it.

But, Nathalie? If Nathalie was supposed to get it and realized it only then, she would have freaked out. His father had that effect on people. Apparently, that had been the case and she was worried that he would tell his father; he could see it in the tension she didn't usually wear. It had been… an unpleasant confrontation, but he told her to just be honest with him next time.

Those feelings were dealt with on his own. Now, he was going to go for what would make him happy. He was going to be Marinette's friend and get her to talk to him and she'd see the real him and realize she didn't have to be so afraid. Adrien turned to Marinette, the thought making a huge smile break out across his face.

"I should have known! There can't be too many designers our age that would meet his standards. Especially for him to actually commission you."

Okay, maybe it was a bit of unwarranted praise since it wasn't true, but Marinette's designs were amazing enough for him to overlook that fact. "I knew you were great."

Carefully, she raised her head and watched him with wide eyes. He was beaming, with this huge grin she didn't have the pleasure of seeing too often, and her heart felt like it might burst from her chest. The acclaim was plentiful, so much that if she wasn't flustered before, she certainly was now. It was almost like her meeting with Chat Noir all over again—except the feelings produced then and the feelings produced now were based solely on her infatuation with Adrien Agreste.

Marinette wasn't sure where the idea of a commission had come from, but she wouldn't ask. Just play along. It was simple. Maybe a tiny bit of lying could do them both some good. After all, if the truth hurt, she would give anything to avoid it than to see pain flicker in those pretty green eyes.

"It was nothing," she murmured and she couldn't help the smile that tilted her own lips, hands absently lifting to straighten her hair up. "I'm, um, just glad you like it! It came out to suit you well, I think." A bit of a playful tone entered her words, evidently feeling more at ease when talking to the other. "Even if today's kind of warm for a scarf."

There was that self-doubt again. He suspected as much after talking to her as Chat Noir, noticing she believed that his compliments were only his attempt at being nice. And behaving so shyly even though he knew the scarf meant a lot to her only pushed him to keep it up.

Marinette was more gifted she was giving herself credit for, and he was going to let her have her cake and eat it, too. She didn't need to know he knew the truth. As far as she knew, his father still got the scarf for him and yes, it still had meaning—she'd been the one to produce it and she would get the credit.

Adrien chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "I thought it'd be better to have a sample of their work to show off when I started asking around. It seemed a shame to not wear it if I had it."

The commendations left his mouth so easily. He could have fooled her if this was just out of kindness. Truly, she didn't deserve to hear such praise but call her crazy… she would sooner kiss him than ask him to stop. [Actually, both were out of the question but it was the thought that counted.] It wasn't a matter of ego to Marinette, but he definitely did well to boost it. Whether that was actually good or bad, she didn't know.

"Especially when it seemed you put a lot of work into it. And you're right, it does suit me. It was an excellent color choice." Adrien leaned on the edge of her desk, smiling up at her. "Would it be alright if I commissioned you for other pieces?" Commissions were good things. That meant she'd have to talk to him to work out details, and if they could do at least that, then hopefully he could help her manage more casual conversations.

And from there, something beyond this awkward avoidance.

Marinette straightened up in her seat as the other leaned toward her desk, keeping her gaze locked on the boy below. She tried her best to seem nonchalant as she answered, "Oh, sure! Anytime, feel free to bug me about it."

Ugh, that came out wrong! Careless? "A-Ah, not that I mean you'd be bugging me! Actually, I'm very flattered—um, honored! That you'd even consider asking me." That was equally as bad. "Basically—yes. You can commission other pieces from me."

They'd exchanged numbers a while ago. This was an opportunity to actually use them. Marinette felt as though everything had somehow fallen into place, and suddenly she was grateful for the girl who sat beside her.

In short, Marinette was too cute for words. "Speaking about bugging…" Adrien cleared his throat, which immediately cued a groan from Nino.

"Oh, dude, don't tell me… seriously, you have a problem."

"What? I think Marinette could make something without it looking tacky on me," he responded with a defensive upturn of the nose. Nino may have been the only reason he hadn't made a pun. It was such a great opening, too. "Not many can pull off red and black dots as well as Ladybug. It doesn't have to be something big. Something small would be enough."

An article of clothing inspired by Ladybug? She knew Adrien was a fan—quite a bit of Paris was, but it was kind of nice to see him so eager to own something modeled after her alter ego. A giggle escaped her at Nino's remark, amused by the banter they tossed back and forth before the blonde had focused all of his attention to her.

"It's hard to find any Ladybug merchandise that a boy can wear and wouldn't be forbidden from ever wearing in public again," he mused, chin resting on his hand and hopefulness glinting in his eyes. "Think you could help me out? Price isn't really a problem, whatever you come up with."

This was her chance to impress him, while also using the excuse to call him and talk to him more often… Get to know him a little better. That had been Chat Noir's advice, right? She nodded head and pressed her thumb to her chest in a, 'leave it to me!' type of gesture. "Ouais, you got it! Give me a week! I'll think of something, don't worry."

That was the hardest part, although once inspiration struck, anyone who knew Marinette also knew she'd be at it until the finished product was as perfect as possible.

Adrien could feel a searing, unexpected warmth in his belly as he watched Marinette. She appeared downright giddy; he liked it, that happy energy. It was more than he could cause as Chat Noir, and she was usually too nervous to achieve it around Adrien. Maybe that would improve from here on out?

He would just have to be careful. He wanted to get to know her and he wanted her to get to know him without making it obvious who he was. He didn't want to lead her on until she saw more of the real him. With any luck, Marinette would come to the realization that he wasn't her romantic type.

[He ignored the minor uncomfortable squirming in his gut at that thought.]

"I won't. I have total faith in you," Adrien said, presenting her with an encouraging smile. Madame Bustier arrived with the bell and he turned around, pride swelling in his chest. His plan ended in a success and class had only just started!