Set in an alternate universe where Miraculouses and real-life superheroes do not exist; 21-year olds Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Adrien Agreste were a professional gaming duo hired under a contract by BugNoir, one of the world's Big Three e-sports team. They live in the BugNoir gaming house with a few others under the same team, and spend most of their time training for competitions and tournaments. Their in game chemistry was so good that it came as a surprise to their fans and supporters when they admitted to not being just as close in real life, but what does the public know? Definitely not who Marinette is behind closed doors, that's for sure.
Despite the fact that she dolls up and looks as hot as a supermodel anytime she goes out and turns into the epitome of beauty and grace, Marinette was a completely different person back at home. To start with she'd always have a different colored face mask on each day of the week trying to cure her severe acne (which she typically covered with make up), while her hair would always be in a messy bun. And not the cutesy, intentionally messy style, mind you. Moreover, she could not cook nor clean for shit.
Adrien hates this more than anything. While others thought him lucky his gaming duo was drop dead gorgeous, only he could see his own sufferings of having to share quarters with one poor excuse for a lady. Unfortunately, he really did have no other choice. They made such a good in-game team that it was chemistry Adrien knew would be impossible to find elsewhere. Or ever again, for that matter. And trust him, he's tried.
Three years he's been playing solo, occasionally giving other people a shot to team up with but none of them were ever really on the same page as him. That was until he played his first match with Marinette. He could whip up a plan and she'd catch on the moment she saw his first move. Vice versa, he'd see the improvisation she thought of before she even executed it. Although most of the time, it was just that their minds worked very much alike instead of them actually being able to read each other. Albeit the latter was a skill developed rather quickly among them, early on in their contract. Having similar minds made that easy.
This didn't go past the viewers unnoticed. Seeing how skilled the two were in tournaments on the big screen, their wordless communication topped with how incredibly good they looked together (Adrien was way past average-looking even with minimal effort on his part) it was no wonder that rumors sprouted everywhere. They were definitely together, as in, romantically involved. Definitely.
And the rumors reached their ears for sure but were immediately shut down when Adrien was asked at a post game interview one time. He right out announced that he has a very insecure girlfriend back at home whom he treasures, so he'd appreciate it if everyone could be considerate of her feelings and stop spreading stuff around. When asked how he could possibly have a "girlfriend back at home" when he spends 24 hours a day with gorgeous Marinette, she stepped in beside him and explained "Its all very professional- try to think of us in a different setting, maybe an office? We're just like colleagues except we're on a business trip, spending a lot of time with each other... constantly," they looked at each other and smiled in agreement when she spoke the last word.
Adrien added, "You are also forgetting that there are others in the house, and we spend more leiure time as a whole group rather than just the two of us." But of course, fans will be fans and any ships that have set sail will never truly sink.
So there they were; the untidy and incapable young lady adored by many, and the polished and responsible young man envied by all, a professional gaming duo part of The Big Three aiming for world champions.