Chapter 5: Guidelines

~Adrien~

He had just finished talking to Nino and finally started to pay attention to Ms. Bustier's lesson when a loud gasp caught his attention. He turned and found Chloe staring at her phone, her face was red, and she was clearly unhappy.

"There's no way this is real! Adrikins would never date Maritrash!" She yells.

Adrien winces as everyone in the room turns their attention to Chloe. He looks back to find Marinette with her hands covering her face. He has to do something.

Ms. Bustier speaks before he can, "Chloe, it's time to put away your phone and-"

"There is no way I can pay attention to class now, Ms. Bustier, look!" Chloe says as she turns her phone to the teacher so she can see the image of Adrien and Marinette and the news surrounding them.

"What is it, Chloe?" Kim asks from the back of the room.

Chloe scoffs, "The media is making up lies about my Adrikins."

Adrien finally speaks up, "It's not a lie, Chloe."

She sputters, "Of course it is! Have you seen what they're saying. They think you're dating the baker girl!"

There's a collective gasp in the room as their classmates process what Chloe is saying.

"I am dating Marinette, Chloe." Adrien says simply.

The class then erupts into squeals as their classmates surround them, completely ignoring Ms. Bustier who decides to just let them get it all out. Afterall, she was hopeful the two would get together eventually too.

The girls all surround Marinette, congratulating her as the boys flock to Adrien.

"Congrats man! I always knew you two would end up together." Kim says.

"It was a 95% certainty that they would date eventually, a 45% certainty that it would happen so soon, and a 98% certainty that they will have a very long relationship together." Max states and Markov nods in agreement.

"This is ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Chloe yells.

Adrien shakes his head as he searches for Marinette's face amongst the girls. She's beet red and is only nodding along with what they say. He has to do something if he wants to sell this relationship. Comfort her somehow.

He stands up and makes his way to Marinette. She's still seated so he crouches down to be at eye level with her. She looks at him nervously as he grabs her hands in his.

"Are you okay, Marinette?" He asks.

She nods.

He smiles at her, "I don't think the class will settle anytime soon, do you want to see if Ms. Bustier would allow us an at-home study day?"

Marinette once again nods, still unable to talk.

Adrien smiles and heads to Ms. Bustier to ask permission. He ignores the "awws" coming from his classmates. Ms. Bustier agrees and sends them away with the work they'll need to complete. Afterall, the class would struggle to remain on task if they stayed. They all need time to process the news. He vaguely registers the piercing glare coming from Lila in the back of the room, but he ignores it as he leads Marinette away.

~Marinette~

She couldn't breathe. Between Chloe's outbursts, the attention of the entire class, Lila's glare, and Adrien's admittedly sweet gesture, her brain has completely fried. How are they going to pretend to be in a relationship if she can't even talk about it in front of the class? How can she ever survive this if she is constantly flushed. How can she pretend when she so badly wants it to be real?

Adrien leads her outside and into his car. Marinette messages her parents to let them know where she will be before they drive away. Adrien holds her hand the entire drive to his house. She's not sure whether to be grateful to the gesture for helping to keep her grounded, or to be downright confused on why he's doing it in the first place. She knows they're supposed to be fake dating, but they're in the privacy of his car. There's no need to pretend here.

She breathes a sigh of relief when they make it up to Adrien's room without running into his father. Her relief doesn't last as she realizes this is the first time she has been alone in his room as Marinette, instead of Ladybug. Her face just turns redder and redder.

"Marinette?" Adrien says.

She turns to him but stays quiet.

"Are you okay? I know it's a lot." He rubs the back of his neck, "I-if this is too much… We can call it off. I know we just told our class, but we can come out and tell them the truth if you want."

Marinette thinks for a moment before shaking her head, "No, I agreed to this. It is a lot… But I can handle it… W-we can handle it."

Adrien smiles sweetly, "Yeah, we can." He looks around his room before guiding Marinette to his couch, "How about we do this work Ms. Bustier gave us, and then we have a much needed talk about it all?"

"O-okay. Yeah, that's a good idea." Marinette responds.

Oh my gosh. I'm on Adrien's couch. In Adrien's room.

They work through their school work together, thankfully, it isn't a lot. By the time they finish, they still have a few hours before the school day officially ends.

"So, how are we going to make this work?" Marinette asks, finally finding enough strength to ask.

Adrien thinks for a moment, "I'm not exactly sure. I've never dated anyone before. Have you?" He asks.

Marinette shakes her head, "N-no. I haven't dated anyone before."

"Oh, I thought that you and Luka might have…" He trails off.

Marinette's eyes widened, "No, we hadn't gotten to that point, he knows I like s-someone else. Oh! What about Kagami? Don't you like her?"

"It's a bit complicated, Kagami is a wonderful girl, but I'm in love with someone else." He states.

"I-in love?" Marinette asks.

Adrien sighs, "Yeah, but she isn't interested in me, there's someone else she likes. I was trying to move on with Kagami, but I don't think it was fair to her that I was still pining after the other girl…" He trails off, "What about you, Marinette? Will this harm your relationship with the boy you like?"

Marinette blushes, "He doesn't see me that way either. It won't be a problem."

"Are you sure? I don't want to cause any issues for you. Any guy would be lucky to have you, Marinette. I can't imagine someone turning you down." Adrien says.

Marinette almost scoffs, "If someone can turn you down, Adrien Agreste, then I think it would be easy for someone to turn me down."

Adrien sighs, "Regardless, whoever he is, he's an idiot for not giving you a chance."

Marinette chuckles, "And so is she for not accepting you."

Adrien smiles, "Okay, so how about we come up with some rules or guidelines to follow? That way we don't overstep oor harm one another."

Marinette nods, "Okay. We should also decide on a story for how we got together. I know the girls at school will want to know, and the tabloids may already be trying to dig into that story."

Adrien nods, "You're right. We need to be consistent so that no one can see the potential holes in our fake relationship. Let's start there. How about we say that we realized our feelings for one another at the photoshoot?"

Marinette shakes her head, "It's too sudden. I'll tell them that I've had a crush on you since the second day of school, when you gave me your umbrella…"

~Adrien~

"Okay, then I'll tell them how I've been slowly falling for you as I've gotten closer to you, and the photoshoot helped me to fully realize the depth of my feelings." Adrien responds.

It's not really a lie. I have been caring more and more about Marinette, but I still love Ladybug, and Marinette's not really interested in me. This is fake, Adrien. Remember that.

"Okay, so we agree there. We'll say that I confessed to you at the photoshoot and we agreed to date." She says.

Adrien nods his head, "Okay, so what about guidelines? Are you okay holding hands?"

Marinette nods, "Y-yeah, that's okay." He reaches out and holds her hand, as if he were practicing, "what about hugging?"

Adrien smiles, "We already hugged before all of this, so that's perfectly okay with me. Alright, so this one might be too much, but there may be a time when we have to prove to others that we really are in a relationship, so, are you okay with kissing?"

"K-kissing?" Marinette squeeks.

Before Adrien can respond, a knock comes from his door.

"Adrien," Nathalie calls, "Your father would like a word with you and Marinette."

"Okay, we'll be right there." He turns toward Marinette, "I'm sure he just wants to talk about the tabloids."

Marinette nods and they head out to Gabriel's office together. Adrien knocks on the door and then holds it open for Marinette. They walk in together and stand in front of his father.

"Ah, Adrien, Marinette. Nathalie told me that you had a difficult time at school this morning." Gabriel says.

"Our friends were surprised and excited by the news of our relationship." Adrien says.

Gabriel turns to Marinette, "So you agreed to date my son?"

Marinette nods, "Adrien explained the situation to me. We came to an agreement and decided to fake date."

Gabriel nods, "Very well." He looks towards Adrien again, "I have scheduled a photoshoot for you," he glances at Marinette, "both of you. It'll be tomorrow afternoon. Nathalie has already discussed it with your parents, Marinette. You'll be checked out of school an hour early for the shoot. I had a few ideas for a new campaign after seeing your photos together. I've worked on the designs all morning and they'll be ready by the time of the photoshoot. You will be modeling together. Marinette, as part of your internship, I'd like for you to study the outfits at the shoot and then create something in a similar style for another photoshoot next week. I believe a week will be plenty of time for someone with your talent."

Marinette smiles wide, "Of course, Mr. Agreste. I'll start working on it as soon as the photoshoot is over."

Gabriel chuckles, "Yes, but make sure you don't overwork yourself. Depending on what you come up with, we may release a new couple's line of clothes come Spring."

Marinette glows with excitement.

Adrien smiles warmly at her, "You'll do great, Marinette."

She blushes at his words but remains smiling excitedly.

"You two are free to go now. Adrien, your bodyguard is ready to take Marinette home. I believe your school day is over and the Dupaim-Cheng's will want their daughter home at a decent time." Gabriel says.

"Of course, Father." Adrien responds.

The two of them exit the office together. Excitement bubbling off of Marinette and infecting Adrien's own mood.

"Can you believe it! I get to help design a new clothing line!" Marinette squeals.

Adrien chuckles, "You're very talented, Marinette. I'm not surprised that father is having you design for him. You'll also get to model with me again. Officially this time."

"I can't wait!" Marinette announces as they make it to the car and climb in together.

They chatter about the photoshoot and the couple's line together as they drive towards Marinette's house. They arrive quickly and say their goodbyes. Adrien returns home, smiling softly to himself.

He walks inside and begins to head towards his room before his father calls to him.

"Adrien, a word." Gabriel says.

Adrien turns towards his father standing on the steps, "Yes father?"

"You and Marinette decided to fake a relationship." He states.

"We did." Adrien responds.

"Wouldn't it have been more simple to have a real relationship with her?" Gabriel asks.

Adrien's eyes widen with surprise before he schools his expression, "I'm not sure Marinette would be open to dating me for real. Anyway, she's a very good friend, Father. We don't see each other like that." He dismisses.

Gabriel hums, "Make sure you both keep up the ruse then. We don't want the press getting wind that this relationship is fake."

"Of course, Father." Adrien agrees.

"Your photoshoots should help keep the press satisfied. You've never been involved in a couple's shoot like this before, so it should send a message. In the meantime, make sure you're careful. I wouldn't want you to get hurt and I don't want you hurting Ms. Dupain-Cheng either." Gabriel says, eyeing his son.

"I would never hurt her, Father. She means a lot to me. I couldn't imagine ever hurting her." Adrien defends.

"Yes, well. Be careful anyway." Gabriel says with a knowing glean in his eye.

He doesn't wait for Adrien to respond and returns to his office. Adrien sighs and heads to his own room. Once inside, Plagg flies out and heads toward his cheese.

"Do you think my father and Nino are right to worry?" Adrien asks.

"What do you mean?" Plagg asks.

"I mean, about hurting Marinette…" He rubs his neck, "Do you think I could really hurt her by doing this?"

"I don't know, kid. Kwamis don't involve themselves in human customs and relationships." Plagg answers.

"What if she's not really comfortable with this, Plagg? What if she's just going along with it because I asked her to?" Adrien begins to pace as his worries eat at him.

Plagg shrugs, "The only way to know is to ask her."

"You're right, Plagg! I should ask her, but not as Adrien. She might not be honest about it with me if she's afraid to let me down. It looks like my princess needs a visit from a certain cat." Adrien says before calling on his transformation and jumping out his window toward the bakery.

A/N The next chapter will be all about my favorite ship, Marichat. I haven't given much, if any, attention to their superhero selves, so to make up for it, the next chapter will be full of Cat Noir. Ladybug will get attention eventually too. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!