A/N: This is a bit of a nothing chapter, very much a set up for the next. It's been quite difficult to write as my original idea for this story was about a reveal but now I'm trying to develop it a bit because I felt bad leaving it without a resolution on the Shadow/Hawkmoth front.

I'll try my absolute best to get the next chapter out by the end of next week, but I have a huge project to write the first draft for. I'll balance my time and get it done ASAP.

I hope you like this chapter and thank you for reading the last 8!

Chapter 9

*Marinette's POV*

I woke up to Tikki tapping my face to try to wake me up.

"5 more minutes Tikki, I came home late last night," I groaned, turning away from her.

"I know, I was with you. And I also seem to remember that you said that you'd go over to Adrien's today. It's probably why your phone's been ringing non stop for the past few minutes" Tikki pestered, still tapping my face persistently.

"Ok, I'm up, who's calling me?" I asked, slowly sitting up on my bed.

"I don't know, why don't you check," Tikki deadpanned.

I rolled my eyes at her and reached over for my phone which was yet again ringing. Alya's face was lighting up the screen.

"Hey Al's. Thank you so much for waking me up. I don't have to be at Adrien's until midday so why have you subjected me to my ringtone over and over again and an onslaught of tiny kwami hands."

"Your very welcome Mari. And yes I am aware that you were being sarcastic! But I am calling you to get details about last night, which I need before you go to Adrien's, how did he manage to convince his father to let him invite you by the way?"

"Oh actually his father doesn't know. He's been acting strange so Adrien wants to test his limits and then figure out what's wrong. We're going to spend the weekend spying on his father and working on our project for school."

"How fun. That's a very Adrien and Marinette weekend, especially when you add in your superhero personalities. Anyway, how was last night?"

"It was amazing! The restaurant was perfect and I'm so glad that he did not choose a fancy one. The whole night was filled with the irony of only us knowing that the true Ladybug and Cat Noir were there, which we loved. Plus he recreated operation secret garden which ended with him getting down on one knee and proposing a proposal for when we are ready and have defeated Shadowmoth. I love him so much and I don't know how I can ever live up to last night's standard."

"Don't worry, you've been together for a week and I don't think I've seen him so radiant, carefree or dreamy! You both make each other so happy that it will never be a competition to live up to each other's standards, you just will."

"Thanks Alya. Great pun by the way!"

"Thanks! Have you seen the time? It's 11, didn't you say you needed to be at Adrien's at 12?"

"Oh crap, yes I do. If I hurry up I can just about make it. Ahhh I still need to pack my overnight bag! I have to go, but I'll speak to you later."

"Wait! OVERNIGHT BAG!" Alya shouted down the phone as I hung up, causing me to laugh.

I ran around my room gathering my things to stuff in my bag before jumping in the shower and throwing on clothes. Before I left, I grabbed the thread box that I hid the Miracle egg in and carefully placed it on the top shelf of my wardrobe, deciding that it's too big to take with me. I then sprinted down the stairs, flying through the bakery, only for my dad's strong arm to reach out and grab me off the floor before I could reach the other side of the counter.

"Hey, slow down where are you going?" he asked as he gently placed my feet back on the ground.

"I told you last night, Adrien invited me to stay over tonight so we can work on our school project. And it will be our first sleepover," I replied, blushing at the last part.

"Yes you did. Hang on though, can I please see the ring?"

I held up my right hand, showing him the stunning piece of jewelry.

"It's beautiful honey, it suits you so well. I have to say when Adrien told us his plan, I was a little skeptical about it, but it truly is the most romantic thing ever!" My dad said as he pulled me in for a bear hug. "Have fun honey, and here take this basket of treats for the two of you. There's a massive selection in here that will easily last you the entire weekend."

"Thanks dad, I'll see you tomorrow." I jumped and placed a kiss on his cheek then grabbed the pastry basket and ran to the Metro station.

The journey to Adrien's was not an especially long one, but I did have to switch trains halfway through. Once I arrived, I took the stairs that came up opposite his humongous house and rang the bell.

"Ah Miss Marinette, Adrien said that you'd be coming. Come on in," I heard Natalie say before the gates opened to let me in. I slowly walked up to the front doors which opened as I approached. Adrien was walking down the stairs as I stepped inside. He ran towards me and wrapped his arms around my waist, lifting me up and spinning me around in a fit of laughter. He gently put me down, his lips finding mine in a mindblowing kiss.

"What was that for?" I asked once we broke apart, both completely breathless.

"No reason, just excited to see my beautiful girlfriend," he said. Then he pulled me in closer for a hug, whispering, "my father's watching us, remember the plan," into my ear. He let go of my waist, keeping one hand on the small of my back as I spun around to see Gabriel Agreste standing outside his office watching us intently. Once he noticed that we were looking his way, he came out of his trance and nodded at me.

"Good afternoon Miss Dupain Cheng and congratulations on your new relationship," he greeted in his monotone.

"Thank you Sir, and Marinitte is fine," I replied, hoping that my nerves weren't obvious.

"Ok then Marinette, Adrien didn't mention that you were staying over," he said, noticing the overnight bag that I'd dropped when Adrien spun me round.

"I'm sorry Father, I only invited Mari last night. Natalie told me that you gave me the weekend off and I could not think of anyone else I'd rather spend my free time with than my girlfriend. Plus we have a lot of school project work to do that will take both today and tomorrow to complete so I thought this way we could maximise our time rather than commuting," Adrien explained to his father, who truly looked as if he was about to kick me out. But then his features softened a little.

"That's fine for now. But next time, please tell me so I know to expect guests," Mr Agreste said before he turned around and re-entered his office, shutting the door behind him. Adrien looked at me with wide eyes, signalling the shock at his father's acceptance. He picked up my bag and the basket of pastries from the floor, then took my hand to take me upstairs. But before we reached the first step Natalie called us back.

"Lunch will be in an hour. Mr Agreste will not be joining you so you'll have the whole dining room to yourselves," she said. She looked as if she was about to say something else but stopped herself, giving us a window to say thank you and run upstairs to talk.

Once we arrived in Adrien's room, he gently shut the door behind him and dropped my bag to the floor, the look of shock still gracing his face.

"Something is definitely wrong," he said. "My father just let me have my girlfriend stay over. For the whole weekend. And even said next time. What the hell is happening?!"

"I don't know but that was so strange. Every encounter I've had with him he has had the same hard look. Today he looked as if he was about to smile. What do you want to do?" I asked, making my way to his couch, spotting Plagg out of the corner of my eye gorging on some camembert.

"Hmmm. I say we enjoy the next hour, go down for lunch and then formulate a plan. The school project won't take too long so we'll do it tomorrow. How does that sound?"

"That sounds perfect." I sighed and then leant back on the couch, finally relaxing. Adrien came and sat on my left, placing his hand on mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"I'm so glad you're here. I don't know if I'd be so calm about my father's strange behaviour if you weren't here to help me," he said, gently smiling. I turned towards him, placing my right hand on top of our enclasped hands.

"I will always be here for you. Through thick and thin."

Our eyes met in an intense stare as the gap between us slowly closed, our lips meeting in an intense kiss. Adrien's arms wrapped around my waist to pull me closer, deepening the passion as I gently pushed him onto his back, leaving me to lie on top of him. His hands roamed my back, eventually creeping under my shirt, gently rising up to my waist, enticing a gasp from me. He flipped us over so he was on top, his lips breaking away from mine to place hungry kisses down my neck towards my collarbone. I moaned his name as he nipped my clavicle, causing him to smile and his eyes to darken. I pulled his face back to mine, kissing him desperately, never wanting to let him go.

*Adrien's POV*

I don't think I can ever get enough of Marinette. Everytime we kiss, I'm intoxicated by her scent, her touch, her skin. I've never felt his way before and I never want it to stop. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Right now, her hands are cupping my face, holding on as if she never wants to let go. I let my hand run down her side from their position on her waist to grab her thigh and lift her leg up to my hip, using this and the other hand around her waist as a lever to lift her up off the couch and over to the closed piano. Her arms latched my neck as she ran kisses down my jawline until I sat her down on the piano lid. My hands hovered over the top button of Mari's, asking for permission before going further.

"We can't Adrien, we have to go for lunch soon, plus your father and Natalie are in the house,"she breathlessly whispered into my ear, her hand running through my hair. "No matter how much I want to."

My breath hitched as I looked into her eyes, watching them turn dark and sultry. My lips crashed back onto hers, the mere thought of us taking the next step in our relationship driving us both crazy.

After losing ourselves yet again in each other's embrace, I broke away and rested my forehead against Marinette's, both of us heaving for breath.

"We should stop before we go further or Natalie walks in," I said.

"You're right, we should go downstairs soon anyway," she agreed. I slowly stepped back and held out my hand to help Marinette jump down from the piano.

Once she stood up and straightened her top, she looked up at me and burst out laughing.

"I think you need a hairbrush, you look as if you've had your head stuck out of a moving car window!" she gasped out in between laughs, clutching her stomach and doubling over. I walked over to the mirror to investigate. Mari was right, my normally perfectly set hair was all over the place. I grabbed the hairbrush and tried to tame it but nothing was working. Marinette's laughter had stopped as she walked up behind me, gently taking a hold of my shoulder and turning me to face her. She reached her hand up to smooth down the quaff.

"There, that's better now," the words just seemed to escape her lips before she gulped and took her hand back, letting it drop to her side.

"Thanks." The tension was building up again, but we couldn't let it, not yet. So I reached out and pulled her towards me, spinning her round and tikkling her and placing slobbery kisses down her neck. She shrieked with laughter, wriggling to escape my grasp. I eventually spun her back round and placed a long kiss on her lips, feeling Mari relax and melt into my arms as she returned the kiss.

"Why don't we go get some lunch so then we can make a plan and get some work done," Marinette said to me before burying her head in my chest and wrapping her arms around my waist, "Before we get on with extra curricular activities."

My eyes widened a little before I chuckled at the insinuation, understanding why she had buried herself in my chest to save her face from flushing with slight embarrassment.

"Yeah sure. Otherwise Natalie is going to think things and will be keeping a close eye on us all weekend, which is not what we want if I understand correctly," I replied., still chuckling. I shifted Mari off my chest and onto my side, walking us towards the door to go and find the source of the delicious scent that had started to waft up to us.