A/N: I don't know why but writing Adrien is a little hard for me, but I enjoy a challenge, lol.

Chapter 3: Committing

"Life will only change when you become more committed to your dreams than you are to your comfort zone."

– Billy Cox

Balancing II

There was a glaring difference between Adrien and his superhero identify. Adrien was the picture of perfection. The perfect scholar, the perfect son, the perfect model, the perfect spokesman, the perfect guy. Chat was the free spirit. He roamed where he like, did what he wanted, saved people, flirted with his love, made punny and amazing jokes, made mistakes.

Adrien would always be the first to admit that Chat was his favorite part of himself. Nothing was better than freedom, especially the freedom to make mistakes and correct them, when he was Chat Noir. He didn't always have to be perfect or pretend to be. If he could, he'd spend every waking moment as him. But normal Adrien deserved to live as well, so Adrien decided it was time for a change. He became committed to making his normal life more exciting and a little less perfect and to using Chat to explore what else he could do outside of his comfort zone.

Adrien started by getting more involved at school and with his friends. He volunteered for things: Nino's short film, modeling for Marinette's shoot, coaching Chloe into being a nicer person, and joining Juleka's band as a semi-permanent fixture. As he got away with this without his father saying a word, he became bolder and more involved. He participated in study groups held after school, snuck out to the movies with Marinette to see his mom's film (although that was a bust due to an akuma), and even invited Nino over so he could help him with his playlists. The more Adrien opened up, the more exciting normal life got and he wanted to do more; was committed to doing more.

As Chat, he, of course, continued to save people, make puns, and flirt with his lady. He then stepped out of his comfort zone by contributing to plans to fight akumas more, learning more about the new holders, and doing some more flirting. He enjoyed Ladybug's eye rolls, sighs, and the rare blush as they soared above the city, patrolling. As more heroes joined, he made sure to flirt with them as well, to a lesser extent to make sure his bugaboo wasn't uncomfortable. Chat then committed each holder's response to his flirting to memory.

Rena Rouge, the fox, was more open to trading friendly jabs than flirts.

Carapace, the turtle, had laughed him off and stuck with bro chat more.

Viperion, the snake, was another story though. He actively flirted back and Adrien was surprised with how much he enjoyed their banter, especially when the others joined in from time to time. He carefully watched Ladybug during these interactions and, sure enough, she would roll her eyes, but he also saw the smile she tried to hide as they went back and forth. His lady's responses and the fun he had made him look forward to when they needed the snake's help. Really, he enjoyed all the new holders.

As Chat enjoyed his new friends, Adrien made a few of his own.

One was a girl in a red suit that reminded him of his lady. Kagami was strong and brilliant and everything Adrien wanted in a sparring partner. She balanced out any bad feelings he had about his commitment to fencing. (It hadn't been the sport he wanted, but he was good at it and his father had picked it out so he did it.)

Another new friend was Luka, Juleka's twin brother. The musician was incredibly friendly and welcoming when Adrien played piano with the band. He was also very insightful. His observations from the music he heard in people's hearts rang so true every time. It was almost scary.

Adrien liked being around him. There was just something so... calming about Luka and everything he did. Adrien knew he was right when he saw that others felt the same magnetism he did. His friend, Marinette, seemed drawn to him as well. She always seemed to be near him when they all hung out and seemed less clumsy and nervous. When she was near Luka, the draw felt even stronger and it took a while for Adrien to understand why.

The why sat in his back pocket: her lucky charm she'd given him back when they'd been partnered up for the Mega Strike tournament. The lucky charm he never left home without because it felt like... peace, almost like home due to the warm feelings he got from remembering how sweet her parents had been to him and how lived in her room felt. Her comfort mixed with his calm encouraged him to commit to joining them whenever there was a chance: rehearsals, hangouts, small parties that he had to sneak out to, and more. The peace he felt in their presence, alongside all the other friends who joined them, reminded him of how it felt to be Chat, racing across rooftops with his lady and their team.

While he worked on the commitments he made to himself, he still had those with his father and the brand to follow through with. These included starring in a music video as Chat Noir. He had wanted to decline and had claimed he was the least Chat like person in all of Paris, but no one- from the director to Clara Nightingale to his father- listened. He was Adrien. He was perfect, which meant he was perfect for this role. Adrien felt like he was backed into a corner where his secret identity would surely be made apparent once the mask was on his face when, as always, Marinette unknowingly came to his rescue with an idea. An inclusive dance video that featured many people dressed up as Chat and Ladybug. He'd gotten to dance with Marinette and Luka by his side and it had been so much fun.

It assured Adrien that he was on the right path. He could make commitments outside of his father, outside of his expectations of perfection, and follow through with them. Being Adrien had never been more fun and Chat more freeing. It gave him hope that one day he would no longer need to balance Adrien's perfection and Chat's freedom. He'd be able to merge the two and live as he wanted, imperfections and all.