Sorry I took so long to update one of my stories. I've been suffering from bad writers block so I took some time off of writing. I have to admit, it was relaxing and took some stress off my mind :) I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

Chapter 15

Adrien was made aware that night that like all good things, his time with Marinette had to come to an end.

He had pulled out his baton to check the time during the impromptu (but wonderful) cuddle session, and with a disappointed frown noted that it was almost one in the morning.

With a sigh, he replaced the baton to his backside before leaning down and planting a kiss on Marinette's temple.

"Wake up, Princess. I have to leave and you need to go to bed."

The amusing irony of him calling for her to wake up just to tell her to go to bed wasn't lost on him, as he mentally observed with a twitch of his lips.

Marinette let out an arguably adorable moan as she snuggled into his shoulder, all the while keeping her eyes closed.

"Not now," she mumbled, her lips barely moving to speak the words. "Stay."

"I wish I could," he lamented truthfully whilst running his gloveless and ring-less hand over her raven locks.

He honestly would stay, if he could. But there was the risk of him being spotted in the morning rush as he raced back to his mansion, and the risks of Marinette's parents finding them in their compromising position, or most scary of all, his father discovering that his son wasn't in bed in the morning.

Well, technically Nathalie would be the one to discover it, being that his father probably hasn't stepped foot in his room for years. No, he would find out only because Nathalie would tell him.

Either way, he didn't want to get caught. Not only would he have to kiss public school good-bye, he would also be confined to his room that would have more security than Fort Knox. Not even he could make an escape in that kind of situation.

Yes, staying and cuddling with Marinette might satisfy his selfish desire now, but the possible consequences for it were far too great.

"Come on," he sighed, forcing himself to lean up so she would have to as well. "I promise, as soon as I leave, you can go straight to bed and continue dreaming."

Marinette, guided by his body, sat upward in the lounge chair. She moaned something unintelligible before rubbing her eyes with her hands. He watched when the cool metal of his ring touched her cheek, causing her to snap her eyes open.

With a smile, he bent to the ground to where his discarded glove lay. Immediately finding it, he didn't waste another second to slip it on. He flexed his fingers afterward, satisfied with how the leather stayed tight and taut.

"Well, my princess, I'm afraid I must bid you adieu," he spoke, standing from the chair. He turned to her with a grin, ready to politely bow, when he noticed the alarmed look in Marinette's eyes.

His eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Princess?"

"Y-Your ring!" she stuttered, holding out the accessory. "I'm sorry I forgot to put it back on your hand before I fell asleep. I don't want you to leave without it."

He blinked, and spent precisely two seconds thinking about it before he came to a conclusion.

"You might as well keep it, Princess," he purred with a sultry grin. "I'm all yours, anyway."

He watched with a smug gleam in his eyes as she drew back, her cheeks quickly becoming scarlet. She gulped once, apparently too flustered to say anything. That was okay, since he didn't mind in the least that his flirtationswere the ones able to affect her like that.

He winked before giving her a two-fingered salute and rushing back into the night, towards his mansion. On the way, the thought came to his mind that he just rightfully got her back for teasing him earlier that night.

He smiled, a mixture of lovesick and proud, as he continued on along the rooftops.

…

Adrien spent the limo ride to school the next morning wondering how Marinette was going to use his ring. Would she actually wear it, or keep it hidden somewhere in her room? He could understand if she didn't wear it, being that Chat Noir's symbol was the ring's most noticeable feature. Yet at the same time he hoped she would.

Could you really blame him, though? What guy didn't want the girl they liked to wear something of theirs?

Adrien ended up being a little early for class, something that was obvious when the entrance was void of a waiting Nino. He was a little disappointed, but he was more than capable of walking into the school alone. With that, he squared his shoulders and strode ahead.

As he walked in his classroom, he was pleasantly surprised to see that Chloe wasn't there yet. Shifting his eyes away from her bench, he also took notice of a certain princess sitting all alone with her eyes glued to her sketchbook, her tongue poking out in concentration as she designed her next masterpiece.

Adrien grinned and sauntered over, trying his best to not act like the cat that was about to corner the mouse.

As soon as he sat and put down his bag, he turned around to speak to her. But when he opened his mouth, the words died on his tongue as he spied a peculiar chain around her neck. And at the bottom of it, something was hidden beneath the collar of her shirt, given the prominent bulge.

In fact, the bulge looked small, but not nearly small enough for it to be a gemstone. No, it seemed to resemble something like…

His lips curved up in prideful satisfaction.

…a ring.

"Hey, Marinette!" he greeted, prompting her to pick up her head. She looked like a deer caught in headlights, her blue eyes wide as she regarded him in what seemed to be shock. Her cheeks brightened in an adorable red hue as she stuttered out a response.

"H-Hi, Adrien!"

"Hey," he finished off with a sly grin. He purposefully eyed the chain around her neck, moving his eyes lower to the bulge just barely covered by her shirt. "That's an interesting necklace you have, can I see the main piece?"

Her blush intensified so that most of her normally pale features were now a scarlet tint.

"O-Oh, this necklace? It's nothing, nothing at all! Just-just a chain! That's all it is, just a chain! Nothing special, nothing to see! I sometimes use chains for my designs and I saw it lying around so I thought 'why not wear it' and so I did wear it just because and it doesn't have a centerpiece or anything and-"

Adrien laughed and held up his hands in the general sign of surrender, cutting off her rambling short. Sometimes (okay, all of the time) she was just too cute.

"Alright. I understand, Marinette. There's nothing special about it, I get it."

He flashed her a small grin before he turned back around in his seat.

A minute afterward Nino and Alya walked in.

…

All throughout the class, instead of paying attention, Adrien had more pressing issues on his mind.

First off, with taking Marinette to Akuma on Saturday.

Everything should go okay. No one should bother her. If she will be properly disguised, no one would figure out who she is, thereby making her safe from any potential danger once they were out of the club. Still, he had his doubts whether this was a good idea or not.

While one side dismissed his worries, another raged on of how this was too dangerous and Marinette should never be in a place like that.

But then he had to remember that Marinette wasn't incompetent. She could take care of herself. Besides, if he went back on his word now, she would never trust him again.

And he was aware of how much she hated liars.

Then there was the less problematic issue of his ring. Since it was in her possession now, did that mean they were officially dating? He considered them to be a couple for a while, even though they never said as much to each other. But did this change things?

So lost in his thoughts he barely noticed when the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Mme. Bustier concluded the lesson with a smile and an encouragement for tomorrow. After that, the door leading to the freedom of outside became crowded with over-eager teenagers dying to escape the confines of the classroom.

Unlike them, Adrien stood from his seat in a daze. He began to pack his things, when Marinette's voice made him perk up to attention.

"Yeah, yeah. Go on without me, I'm good."

He frowned. Was she okay?

His movements slowed as he listened in on the conversation.

Alya's voice came next, sounding concerned.

"Are you-?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Marinette affirmed. "I'm fine, promise. Go get that interview with Lila."

"Sure thing, girl!"

He stifled a snicker when he heard Nino's groan, subsequently followed by a pair of rushing footsteps. With Alya and Nino gone, he and Marinette were the only ones left in the classroom, for Bustier had followed after the rush of students.

Maybe he could use this moment to his advantage, get close to her without the use of his alter ego. Plus, he could find out what was bothering her.

He turned around to look back at her, who looked about ready to leave. He spoke before she could get away.

"Marinette?"

She froze, sharply turning her head to see him. Her mouth was in an 'o' shape and her eyes were widened.

He tilted his head, giving off the air of confusion and worry.

"Everything alright?"

"I'm fine, don't worry about it," she replied with a half-smile.

Huh. For a girl who hates lying, it didn't seem she had any problems with doing it twice in one day.

"Funny," he mused, crossing his arms together and sporting a grin laced with ironic amusement. "Alya seemed fine with that answer, but I'm not buying it."

He had to bite back a laugh when she openly gaped at him. To be honest, he couldn't really blame her. Because since when was 'oh so sweet' Adrien Agreste ever cheeky or snarky?

She bit her lower lip and stubbornly looked away. If there was ever a time he wished he could read minds, it was then.

"It's nothing to be concerned about."

"Come on! We're friends, aren't we?" he prodded, his lips twitching into a sly smirk no matter how hard he tried to fight it. After all, friends didn't kiss each other on balconies under midnight's cover. "Talking about it makes you feel better, and I've been told that I'm a good listener."

She visibly sighed and slumped in obvious defeat. His grin grew in response.

"I-I guess…"

"Great!" he exclaimed, happy she trusted him enough to talk to her about something she didn't want to talk about with anyone else, especially Alya who was her best friend. "I don't think there's another class for a while, so we can talk here."

"But what about our other classes?" she inquired, perturbed if the crease between her brows scrunching was any indication.

He shrugged and flashed her a mischievous grin, trying to act the part of nonchalance in the hopes that she might be mildly impressed.

"Oh well."

When her mouth dropped, he bit back a chuckle and elaborated.

"Friends are more important than grades."

With that said, he sat back down in his seat and patted the empty bench space next to him to invite her to sit down. Her legs slightly shook as she went to sit by him, prompting him to frown in worry. Was she scared of him?

Huh, now that would be something. Someone afraid of Adrien as opposed to Chat Noir.

He shook off the worry to present her with what he hoped was an encouraging smile.

"Whenever you're ready to start."

Her head was facing her lap, her teeth gnawing at her lower lip as she refused to speak. He felt tempted to gently call out to her, to assure her that she didn't have to be afraid to talk to him, but in the end chose to stay silent. She was clearly going to tell him what was going on, she just needed to prepare herself first.

"Adrien?" she murmured, not picking up her head.

"Yes?" he replied instantaneously.

"Is it possible to lo-like someone whose name you don't even know?"

Her words felt like an arrow piercing his heart, but in all the right ways. He wasn't stupid, he could easily gather that she was referring to him-well, Chat Noir him- and she was about to say 'love' before she caught herself.

So…did this mean she loved him? It had to be! She loved him! He would never admit this to anyone, but he could've sworn his stomach felt like it was soaring. He wanted to whoop and holler, dance around and most likely make a fool of himself.

But that would have to wait. Because right now Marinette was in the same room with him, and waiting for an answer to her question.

He cleared his throat, tossing the victory party going on inside his mind aside and shooting her an easy smile.

"Of course. Psyche fell in love with Eros and she only knew him by his voice."

That particular myth was one of his favorites, mostly due to the lack of tragedy in the story. However, he thought the comparison could fit in this situation, since Marinette has no idea who's under Chat Noir's mask. Just like how Psyche had no clue who she was sharing a bed with in her darkened bedroom every night.

Her cheeks delved into a furious blush, her fingers twisting themselves together as she tried for a response.

"I-uh-well-"

"What's wrong, Marinette?" he implored, leaning closer, his voice dropping to a low timbre in an effort to soothe her doubts. Did she not want to love him? "You can tell me."

As soon as the words left his mouth, her head wildly shook back and forth in refusal.

"I can't!"

Before he could try to stop her, she jumped out of her seat, grabbed her backpack, and practically flew out the door.