Ever since finding out Ladybug's secret identity and dating her, Adrien is having the time of his life.
The highlight of his day is when he's sitting there next to His Lady, maskless as he leans in to her unmasked face, watching her face turn brighter and brighter red the closer he gets until her skin seems to burn against his hand as he caresses her face, enjoying the look of almost-terror in her eyes as she finally remembers to breathe, gasping in a breath and practically hyperventilating as he casually leaned away and started a useless conversation, pretending he was oblivious to her reaction to his almost-kiss.
Ladybug had stammered out "I think we should take it slow," That first day, after they had left their classmates behind to go to his house, where he waltz right in through the front gate without his father or Nathalie being the wiser. He had guided her into his room, holding her hand the entire way, until they were sitting at the edge of his bed.
Her words stumbled through his ears and he smiled at her unmasked face, still revelling in finally knowing who she was at long last. She couldn't run from him, hide her feelings for him, not anymore.
"That's okay Marinette," He said, "I love you, and your feelings are important to me."
He leaned in and kissed her on the lips again, and felt her stiffen in clear nervousness. He reached up and caressed the side of her face, sliding his hand back over her cheek, and felt her Miraculous, sitting so dark and innocent on her ear. He shivered at the power he held over her, and she had no idea. He resisted the urge to linger over the symbol of her power and instead slid his hand down to her neck, feeling her pulse pounding away under the palm of his hand, out of control. He leaned in, looming over her, increasing the pressure of his kiss until she was leaning back, one of her hands reaching up and bracing against his shoulder, pressing against him, about to push him away⏤
He smiled against her lips and finally pulled away, staring at her, watching as the blush that had lingered under her skin since their first kiss reignited with a vengeance. She was trembling, eyes shiny, looking anywhere but at him as she retracted her hands fidgeted with her fingers, looking like she wanted to melt into the floor.
"Oh, sorry," Adrien said suddenly, putting on a mask of uncomfortableness, and enjoying when she jumped at the sound of his voice, "Was that too fast?" He laced hurt and insecurity into his voice, and watched as her burning bright face paled at his act of the naive sunshine child.
"No, no, no, you're fine! It was fine! I mean it was a litttlllleee too fast but not⏤ not by a lot!" Ladybug hasted to reassure him, and he listened with hungry ears as she stumbled over her words and choked on the air he had stolen from her lungs to praise him. He drank it all in, watching her worshipful eyes watching him even as she shrank away from his touch just a little before schooling her expression, watched the way tears shimmered at the corners of her eyes, how her breath was uneven even minutes later as he showed her around his room, his eyes glued to her face to watch her reaction to the splendor as he painted a picture of him being a lonesome, sheltered child with no friends to call his own.
His lips were tingling, and he smiled again, wider, as he looked out the window she had vanished through so short a time ago.
He couldn't wait to go on Patrol tonight.
There was nothing Adrien loved more than getting a rise out of his Lady.
Getting her flustered, breaking her composure, watching her react to him, it was a high, a power trip, it filled him with smug satisfaction to see her so upset.
If there was one thing Adrien loved even more than flustering his unmasked Lady, it was getting a rise out of her masked side, especially as the days turned into weeks, and the weeks into months.
While he flustered his unmasked Lady after that first date by acting as though he was going to kiss her and then turning the movement into something else right as she was squeaking in mortification, his methods of getting a reaction out of her masked side were a lot more fun.
Instead of acting like he was going to kiss her, Adrien actually tried, as he always had.
Watching his Lady dodge out of his reach, her eyes blazing with anger at his daring just goaded him on, and he continued to physically pursue her throughout her fights against the Akuma, spending his time flirting and doing his best to get as intimately close to her as he can, invading her space and draping his arms or tail around her, leaning in to peck her on the cheek as she snarls and ducks away so he can't kiss her on the lips again, despite his best efforts. He's managed it a few more times now, and he always grins and laughs at his success, and the look on her face.
She shoves him away, screaming almost-profanities at him, her face scarlet almost to match her mask in her rage, and he grins a Cheshire smile and asks her out on a date for the tenth time this week (it's only wednesday)-
He's eagerly awaiting the day she breaks down and screams that she's already dating someone- so far, she's stubbornly held herself in check and just keeps insisting generically that she likes someone else, but no further details; he eagerly awaits the day she admits her love for him to his face, and he'll laugh and laugh as she screams that she hates him, because he knows he's got her so twisted around, she won't know which way is up the second he breathes unmasked in her direction.
She hates him, but she loves him, and when he laughs in her face and tells her they're meant to be together, she's the only one who doesn't see it, the look of pure disgust in her eyes will only make him smile wider as he ducks in to kiss her as she slams her fist into his face.
Because he knows later on, when he leans in, unmasked to kiss her burning cheek later, that he could breathe those very same words in a gentle, soft voice "We're meant to be together", that she will be frozen and then melt as she stumbles over her words, too flustered to speak coherently as she jumps to agree with him even as she's shying away from his deeper kisses, her posture screaming that she was uncomfortable.
He could say almost anything to her, maskless, and he thinks she would agree. She would walk to the ends of the earth of only he asked.
He wonders how many ways he could twist her around his finger before she broke instead of bent.
How much stress and pressure he could apply before she snapped?
He can't wait for the day she proclaims her love for Adrien Agreste from the rooftops.
He thinks that maybe, just maybe, that will be the day he tells her his identity, if only to watch as she struggled to reconcile the two sides of the same coin she had been interacting with, the Adrien Agreste and the Chat Noir, as different at first glance as day and night, but even then, it's the same earth underneath it all, being cast in shadow or blazed in light.
He is who he is, mask or no mask, Cheshire grin or Angelic smile, and either way, he's going to stand there and watch her burn for him, in rage or in shame, she will burn.
And if she ever tries to leave him, well.
He knew where she lived, after all.
It wouldn't be out of character for Chat Noir to stand by, laughing, as the Dupain-Cheng Bakery was reduced to rubble.