Chapter 6: Fencing with a Princess.

"I need to go to a friend's house for my art project."

Natalie looked at Adrien from over her glasses. "You never mentioned about this project." She said.

"That's because it was assigned yesterday." Adrien replied. "I don't want to drag it out, since the winter shoot is coming up soon." That was true. Days were cold in Paris, a tell-tale sign of winter, which meant he would soon have to model for his father's latest winter collection. Oh joy.

"When do you need to go?"

"Today after school, four pm. And probably tomorrow as well."

Natalie checked her tablet and looked at him after a few minutes. "You don't have anything scheduled then. How long is it going to be?"

Adrien shrugged. "Maybe two hours,"

"Hm." Natalie hummed. "I'll inform your father about this. But you have a photoshoot tomorrow at seven. Make sure you're done by then."

"Okay."

He closed the door after Natalie left his room. Plagg zipped up to him. "Remind me why you're up so early. You still have an hour until school."

"I'm going to Marinette's straight after school, so I have to pack. And I still have a bit of homework to catch up on."

Plagg groaned. "You are about the only idiot who wakes up early to catch up on homework. It's disgusting."

Adrien rolled his eyes. "What do you know about homework? Have you ever worked a day in your life?"

Plagg narrowed his eyes. "Remind me who helps you transform into Chat Noir. And I know enough about homework to know it absolutely rots your brain cells."

He did have a point, homework was annoying. But it was important, especially when said homework was graded. Adrien rolled his eyes at the kwami. "Great. Now leave me be."

Plagg completely ignored him and floated after him as he walked to his desk. "But why get up early to pack for a trip to your girlfriends house?"

Adrien blinked. "Girlfriend?"

Plagg huffed. "Goodness, could you be anymore oblivious? The bakery girl."

Adrien spluttered. "She's not my girlfriend! Were you not there when I was assigned as her partner?!"

His kwami shrugged. "It's a little blurred, think I might have been high on camembert."

Adrien groaned, utterly disgusted at the mention of the godforsaken cheese early in the morning. "I'll cut off your supply one of these days."

Plagg snorted. "No you won't. It's been two years Adrien. Deal with it."

He huffed. Stupid cheese. "Whatever, let me work."

"Suit yourself," Plagg flew off and buried himself in the stack of cheese on his bedside table.

Adrien shook his head after him good naturedly with a small smile on his face. If he wanted to be Chat Noir, stinky cheese was the way to go. And he wouldn't give up his superhero persona for anything.

Adrien entered Marinette's bakery after bidding his driver goodbye. School was hectic today and it came with more than enough homework to last the week.

The little bell above the bakery jingled softly as he entered. Mrs. Dupain Cheng stood at the front counter, tending to a customer. Her eyes landed on him, and her face lit up in a smile. He smiled back politely. She handed the customer a paper bag and he left the bakery. Mrs. Cheng turned to greet him. "Hello Adrien. Marinette told me you'd be coming over today for a project."

Adrien nodded. "Yes Mrs. Cheng. For our art assignment."

"Call me Sabine." She said. She held up a tray of macaroons and his mouth watered immediately. "Do you want one?"

Adrien refrained himself from snatching up the whole tray and finishing it off. He picked up a single pink-coloured macaroon with a politeness he didn't feel and nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Ch—Sabine."

She smiled at him. "Of course. Marinette will be up in the apartment."

He smiled back at her and took the staircase up to her apartment. He bit into the macaroon and immediately let out a moan at the taste. Maybe he should've snatched the entire tray.

Maybe I'll come by and steal some as Chat Noir. No one will ever know.

Plagg stuck his head out of his pocket. "So, you can eat that…pink…thing, but you can't eat my camembert?" he stuck out the piece of cheese between his paws under Adrien's nose.

Adrien frowned and pushed him away as best as he could. "Plagg! Get that thing away from my face! You're ruining my treat!"

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever. More for me."

Adrien reached Marinette's door and knocked on it. He heard a rustling sound from inside, followed by a piece of glass shattering. He winced.

There was the sound of feet scuffling and a loud thud. He winced again. What is she doing?

He waited an entire minute before the door was swung abruptly into his face. He blinked and side-stepped at the last second to prevent his nose from taking the brunt of the damage.

Marinette stood awkwardly at the door, a too huge smile on her face and her cheeks flushed. "Oh…s-sorry!"

Adrien waved. "It's okay. Um…hi?"

"Oh! Hi!"

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. This was awkward. "So…are you ready to do the project?"

"Oh! Y-Yes."

She stepped to the side quickly to let him in. He smiled at her and stepped in. She closed the door and turned around.

And stared at him with wide eyes. Okay. "So…Um…where can we sit?" Did he mention that this was awkward?

She blinked rapidly. "Oh! We can go to my room." Her eyes widened comically. "Or you can sit here if you want! That's totally fine! Whatever you're—"

He cut her ramble short. "I'm fine with the room."

Her cheeks flushed scarlet. "Okay."

He didn't understand why he bothered her so much. She was so confident around others. She was fire when she was trying to prove her point—only around him did she stumble. Was it because he was a celebrity? No, that couldn't be it. She worked with Jagged Stone! Hell, she was even sarcastic and feisty with Chat Noir. And Chat Noir was much more famous.

At least her stuttering had reduced.

He followed her up the stairs to her trap door. She opened the door and let him in. He stepped into the room and looked around.

He always liked her room. It was a little too pink for his liking, but it was nice and cozy, even though it was small. It felt like a home. A home someone would enjoy coming to after a long and tiring day—compared to his too big room and bare walls.

Her sewing supplies and stationery were scattered across her desk. A set of stairs led to her loft bed and a trap door on the ceiling led to her familiar balcony.

Her walls were adorned with sketches of her designs and photographs of her friends. He bit his lip to stop the Cheshire grin that threatened to spread across his face when he saw two photographs of his masked persona.

He remembered her flushed cheeks and flustered form yesterday as he teased her relentlessly, and not grinning became that much harder.

He finally gave in and beamed. She wouldn't see anyway—she was behind him. He basked in the attention her wall gave him. He was on there twice! He had never felt so accomplished in his life.

She walked by him and grabbed her sketchbook and pencils.

He took this opportunity to ask her about the photos. Maybe he could resist teasing her when he was Adrien and didn't have Plagg's energy coursing through him. "Nice photos." He said. "Where's Ladybug?"

She turned to face him and followed his gaze to her wall of photographs. "Oh…thanks. I just...didn't get the time? I think I have a lot of photos at it is."

Well, even he could tell that was a lie. He decided to push his luck. "Is Chat Noir your celebrity crush?"

Annoyance flickered on her face before she smoothed it down. "Um…something like that."

Again, he knew she was lying. He knew Marinette didn't see him that way. She couldn't tell people that she was friends with a superhero. "Oh…?"

She giggled nervously. "Um…yeah. Don't have a crush on him, but he is my favourite superhero."

He couldn't stop the grin on his face even if he tried. That was new information. His chest was bursting with pride, and he was sure that if he was Chat Noir he would be singing and leaping with joy. After teasing her into next week of course.

Actually, scratch that. He still felt the urge to tease her about it.

She thought for a moment and turned back to him. "Don't tell him I said that, though."

Too late. Okay, he really needed to stop smiling like an idiot, lest he wanted to out himself. "I won't tell a soul."

Marinette gathered all her supplies and stood in front of him.

"So…" he said. "I've gotten permission to do this till tomorrow, so maybe I should draw you first, because I'm sure I'll take longer than you."

She nodded timidly. "Okay."

She sat on her chaise, and he sat on the floor in front of her. He took out his sketch book and pencils and hoped for the best.

He really hoped that it would turn out fairly decent.

He knew the basic rules of course, but applying said rules was not his strongest suit. He'd try his best though.

Marinette's drawing would turn out much better, because she did something similar almost every day.

He flipped open to a fresh page and looked at her. Okay, he could do this.

He drew a line down the center and crossed it with a horizontal one to mark the length and width of her face. Not a bad start.

He started to fill the shape of her face. She had a delicate face, a heart shaped one. He tried his best to capture it. He spent the next two hours trying to draw his friend.

She was really pretty.

Her eyes were the most gorgeous shade of blue. The bluest eyes he'd seen after Ladybug's. Her cheeks were always flushed in a light rosy colour. Her hair, up in her signature pigtails, almost had a blue undertone to it. And her lips were a soft pink with a cute pout.

But what was on the outside was not even half of what was on the inside. Her personality was where she truly shined. Kind and gentle and compassionate. Always helping others when they needed it the most. Like helping Ivan confess to Mylene and helping Juleka overcome her photograph curse.

And she'd helped Chat Noir—a superhero, a week after he'd seen her as Multimouse—when he was down. He'd forever be grateful for her for taking in an alley cat.

Her mind was quick and sharp. Always looking for a solution when in a sticky situation.

And she was brave. Incredibly brave. An every day Ladybug. He'd seen as much yesterday, when she'd taken down an akuma with fire. He'd been so scared when she'd almost fallen in. His heart still squeezed painfully in fear as he recalled the memory. His eyes trailed to her wrapped arm of their own accord. She hadn't complained even once.

Of course, she wasn't perfect. She was incredibly stubborn at times, and he was sure that had gotten her into trouble more than once. And she was clumsy. Clumsy to the point where she triggered akuma attacks.

But those imperfections just made her more alluring. More real.

That combined with her physical looks made her more than pretty. She was beautiful.

He didn't understand why her prince hadn't noticed her. Is he blind? He refrained himself from rolling his eyes at the thought of the idiot. Maybe he'd just cataclysm him from existence.

He exhaled as he finished the last strand of her hair and examined his finished work.

It wasn't the worst thing he'd made. But he knew it wasn't going to be anywhere as good as what she'd make. "I'm done." He said timidly.

Marinette smiled. "Can I see?"

He debated handing her the book, but figured she deserved it after sitting still for more than two hours. He just hoped he didn't offend her with his drawing skills. Or lack thereof.

She took the sketchbook from him, and her eyes trailed over the drawing in mild surprise. "That's…not half bad."

He smiled. That was a compliment, coming from her. I'll take it! "Thanks!"

He looked at the time on his phone and winced. His two hours were over ten minutes ago. "Sorry," he said. "I took up all the time. But we still have tomorrow. I'll come over, and you can do me."

Her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed to the point where it almost rivaled Ladybug's suit. And then it dawned on him exactly what he had said.

Heat spread across his own cheeks. "No! That's…That's not what I meant! N-Not do me…draw me!" Why was he like this?

He could feel Plagg shaking in his pocket.

Marinette spluttered. "S-Sure! No-No problem!"

He laughed nervously and collected his supplies in record time. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Bye!" He bolted out of her trapdoor, down the stairs and out of her bakery after bidding goodbye to her parents. He prayed that they didn't notice his flushed cheeks and assumed something completely out of order.

He cursed. Chat Noir would've handled that with a lot more grace.

"I'm bored." Adrien whined.

Plagg watched as his chosen flopped onto the couch and stretched on it like a lazy cat. "Good." He said. "Now you know how I feel when I have to see your face all day."

Adrien lifted his head to glare at him. "You're no help. The one night I finally have off I'm bored into oblivion."

Plagg supposed he understood. At least he had his beloved camembert to keep him company when he was bored. But shouldn't his magnificence be enough to entertain his holder? What kind of person got bored in the presence of a kwami?!

And a kwami like me no less.

He rolled his eyes. "My camembert and I entertain you enough."

Adrien snorted. "Yeah. Sure. Entertain the question of how you can digest the thing. Aren't cats lactose intolerant?"

"Not this cat! I can eat camembert all day!"

Adrien rolled his eyes and whined once more. "But what do I do about my boredom?" he perked up suddenly. "Hey! Maybe I can go see Marinette!"

Plagg groaned. "You want to see your girlfriend again? But you just saw her three hours ago!"

His chosen glared at him again. "She's not my girlfriend." Could've fooled me. And Adrien saw her three hours ago. Chat Noir did not."

Plagg flew in a loop and whined. "But why do I have to work, and you get to have fun?"

Adrien sat up. "Oh, come on Plagg. I want to see her."

Plagg smirked. "Why? So you can do her again?"

Adrien flushed pink and fixed him with a scorching look. "I swear to you I will throw you out the window."

"And I swear to you that I'll fly back up and stay next to you for the rest of your life."

His chosen grumbled. "Claws out!"

"Wait! No—! " Plagg screeched as he was sucked into the ring. This is a nightmare!

Chat Noir leaped across rooftops in a familiar route towards his favourite bakery.

He hoped Marinette wasn't busy—he was getting really bored. He could patrol on his own and go back home, but the cat in him craved company on his night off. And Plagg wasn't good company. He also really wanted to see her—even though he saw her in the afternoon.

But what if she was busy? What if she wasn't there and he landed on a balcony where no one was home? But it wouldn't hurt to check right? And what would he say once he got there? Should he call for her? Knock on her door? Break one of her pots to get her attention and then play it off as an accident?

Was he becoming creepy? Probably. But she said that he could come over whenever, didn't she? Surely she wouldn't shun him out after saying that.

As he reached her balcony, he heard voices coming from her room and breathed a sigh of relief. She was home. Maybe he would look less creepy now that he wasn't going to visit a completely abandoned house.

He landed on her balcony with a soft thud. The voices stopped abruptly, and he panicked. Maybe she was busy.

Before he could change his mind and leap his leather-clad butt away, he knelt over the trapped door and knocked on it.

"Coming!" a muffled voice said, and he smiled softly. Okay, maybe she wasn't busy? He really needed to stop being so awkward about this.

He stood up as the trap door opened and a pair of bluebell eyes blinked up at him. He frowned. She hadn't unlocked the door before opening it. Why was her door unlocked? Surely that couldn't be safe.

He grinned cheekily. "Hello Princess. Your favourite superhero is here."

She grumbled as she hauled herself up to stand in front of him. "You're not my favourite superhero."

Adrien placed a hand on his chest and swayed dramatically. "Lies. Lies. So many lies. Has the world truly become so corrupt?"

She snorted at him. "Did I tell you that you were my favourite?"

He smirked. "No. But you do have photographs of me." He said in a sing-song voice. Yup. He still couldn't get over the fact that he was on there twice.

She rolled her eyes and groaned. "You act like you've never seen photographs of yourself."

He ignored her comment. He did see photographs of himself. More than he'd like to admit. "And those are just the ones I've seen." He said. "For all I know, you could have an entire album of moi"

She glared at him. "I swear to God, if you tease me about that one more time, I'll burn all your photos. Favourite superhero or not."

He grinned so wide he was sure he looked like an idiot. Bingo! "So you admit that I'm your favourite?"

Her cheeks turned into that lovely shade of pink. "I...no…I didn't say…okay, I did indirectly say—but—I—I—No!"

He grinned wider. Was it bad that he looked creepy? Yes. Was it bad that he didn't care? Probably. "Caught you." He sang.

She huffed, crossed her arms, and lifted her chin up in stubbornness. But her blush gave her away.

He kept grinning at her until he noticed that her trap door was still open. "Why wasn't your door locked?"

She blinked at the abrupt change of topic. "Oh…Um…just because."

He looked at her incredulously. "Just because? It's not safe you know."

"Nothing's going to happen to me. I like to come up here a lot to clear my mind, so I just leave it unlocked. I close it before going to sleep though."

That eased his mind a little. "But what will you do if some creep comes up here and your knight in shining leather isn't here to protect you?" he puffed his chest up proudly.

She opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it. She smirked instead. "Then I'd just be annoying and play a damsel in distress." She placed the back of her hand on her forehead and swayed. "'Help me! For it is my virtue that is at stake!'"

He beamed. This would be fun. He lowered his voice into a ridiculously low and masculine tone. "Fear not, fair maiden. For thou art in safe hands when though art with me."

She giggled at his voice but kept up the charade. "Oh my beloved knight! What am I to do when thou are not with me?" she said in an incredibly girlish voice.

He bit his lip to keep himself from laughing out loud. "'Tis truly a dilemma. No matter! I shalt teach you the noble art of fencing. For I am skilled."

Her eyes widened with genuine surprise, before she went back into character. "Teach me thy ways."

He grinned and took out his baton. He extended it till it was the right size and took his stance. Until he realized she didn't have a weapon to counter with. He looked around and quickly snatched up the stick she had kept for her potted climbers.

She frowned mockingly. "Thine is a weapon of supernatural power and mine a stick? How unfair."

He chuckled at her little pout. "But thou shalt improve with thy odds stacked against thou."

She giggled softly and held her stick like a sword.

"Now, place thy right foot forward, and show me how well thou can duel."

He started the duel, going relatively slow to help her keep up. But she retaliated with no effort. He increased his pace and force, but she kept up incredibly well.

His brows furrowed as he tried to disarm her of her ridiculous stick, but he found it difficult as she had it in a vice-like grip, dodging with incredible reflexes. He looked at her incredulously as he fought.

She grinned. "What did you say about cats being better than mice?"

His eyes widened. She was teasing him now? Oh, hell no!

He fought more violently, but still gently enough to not break her stick and hurt her. She blinked at the sudden increase in speed, but still managed to block and counterattack.

What the hell? He was going against someone who had no practice at all. This match shouldn't be lasting this long! This was embarrassing. He had classes for this crap!

As that last thought took over his mind, he hooked his baton under her stupid stick and finally—finally—disarmed her.

Okay, maybe she took classes for this too. Maybe she was pranking him. Or maybe she secretly fought supervillains in her spare time alongside him and Ladybug, and he just didn't see her. How else would she have such reflexes?!

Marinette gasped as her garden stick went flying out of her hands to land beside her trap door. She stumbled and her foot caught at the leg of her coffee table, and she fell backwards—there was only so much they could do in a tiny balcony.

He dropped his baton and wrapped his arms around her to stop her fall, but his feet decided to trip over his own tail and he went down with her. "Woah!"

They ended in a heap on the ground, and he was sprawled on top of her.

He lifted himself up and leaned on her hands so he wouldn't crush her with his weight and looked down at her.

Her eyes blinked up at him. They were incredibly blue. He could see all the different specks of colours that combined to form that gorgeous shade.

Her hands were on his shoulders, their chests heaving with exhaustion.

She suddenly bit her lip to stifle her laugh. But she failed miserably as bursts of giggles fell from her lips.

His own resolve cracked, and he soon joined her, both of them laughing until their chests heaved more and their stomachs hurt.

"Oh, my goodness!" she said. "That was ridiculous!"

He laughed and got up, offering his hands to help her up as well. "That's okay! We can be ridiculous together!"

She laughed and took his hands, and he helped her up. "That was fun though."

"Yeah it was!"

She exhaled loudly and clutched her stomach. He picked up his baton and opened it to reveal the time. 22:24

"Well," he said, "I've got to get going Princess. It's almost half past ten."

Her eyes widened. "Half past ten?! I still haven't done my homework!"

He grinned. "Oops," he said, not feeling sorry at all.

She scowled at him.

"Oh well," he continued. He dropped his voice into that ridiculous masculine tone again. He knew he sounded like he was choking on his own spit though. "I shalt see thou soon, fair maiden."

She laughed once more. "Stop that! Your voice is not flattering."

He looked at her flatly. He knew that. But a little credit would be appreciated.

He gave her a two-fingered salute and hopped onto the railing. "Bye!" he said. Before he leapt away, he turned back to her. "Oh! And lock the goddamn door."

Thanks for reading! Until next time!