On Friday morning, Marinette woke up to another meme from Félix and three follow-up texts.

'Me, thinking about how funny I was on Tuesday.'

'Damn, wish I could be that funny again.'

'Happy Friday, Princess. Hope your day is as wonderful as you!'

He decided that was enough being sappy for one morning and got ready for school instead. Marinette didn't respond until she got to the school that morning. He had a feeling she was preoccupied answering Alya's questions like he had been last night.

'You're a dork. /aff' The response came through right before class was scheduled to start and it brought a natural smile to his face. He was certain she didn't know how cute she was, but he did and he couldn't handle it.

'Samesies.' The response was basically an instinct at this point. He didn't even think about it. He scheduled the text to delay sending by 2 minutes so she wouldn't associate Adrien putting his phone away with Chat sending her a text.

The day was uneventful, aside from just sending one another memes and silly texts here and there throughout the day. After school, she sent him a sincere text.

'Are you coming for dinner?'

'Yeah, same as usual.'

'Unlocked for you. See you tonight.' She was talking about her trapdoor and she figured he knew that, but no one who would see their texts would think twice about the message.

That night, Chat Noir came into their kitchen at 17h30 and immediately got to work helping Marinette set the table while Tom and Sabine worked on dinner. By the time they finished setting up, there were still 20 minutes before dinner would be finished.

"Play Mecha Strike with me," Chat requested. He took her hand to better plead with her. "You've been stressed and overworking yourself and I want you to relax, so please take a break while we have 20 minutes and just play a round or two with me."

She looked behind him at the console then thought about her dress. She agreed. "Only until dinner is done." His face lit up like a child walking into a candy shop for the first time. She turned on the console and booted up the game.

They played a round, then that turned into two. Two turned into three, and that amount just kept increasing. They took breaks between rounds to eat, but they kept playing, both of them were able to squeak by with victories and neither of them had a big lead over the other. Neither of them noticed how long they'd been playing.

Eventually, they both started to feel sleepy and were able to relax enough to fall asleep. Marinette ended up curling up to Chat's chest throughout the night and Chat put his arms lovingly around her to keep her safe and secure.

When he woke up, the first thing that he noticed was the smiling, sleeping girl in his arms. The second thing he noticed was the fact that he and the sleeping girl had been covered by a blanket at some point during the night. He looked at the clock across the room and noticed it was 5h45. He didn't want to be awake yet and he didn't have anywhere to be, so he decided to go back to sleep.

He did want to sleep more comfortably if he could, so he moved slowly. He removed the baton from his back and put it on the floor, then took Marinette gently, trying not to jostle her enough to wake her. He laid down on the couch then placed Marinette over him, trying to keep her comfortable enough to sleep. She stirred slightly, but she put her arm around him and fell back into a deep sleep.

"I love you," he whispered to her before he went back to sleep.

The next time that he woke up, she was practically laying on top of him. He smiled at the feeling and tried to look at the clock again. 8h30. Unfortunately, that was as late as he could stay there. Adrien had to be at a photoshoot at 9h15 and he needed to get home to shower, shave, and brush his teeth before that. He didn't want to leave her to sleep on the couch, but he didn't have time to get her upstairs gently enough to keep her from waking up.

'Had to head out this morning. Wish I could've stayed longer. Hope you're still sleeping well. I'll see you later?'

He was able to get to the photoshoot by his call time, luckily. His father still wasn't home and Nathalie had informed Adrien that Gabriel was supposed to be home on Thursday of that week.

He got a response from Marinette close to 10, which was early for her.

'Yeah. Just come by whenever you're free. Sorry for falling asleep when you were here.'

He had a few minutes while the team was redoing his hair, so he was able to text her back sooner rather than later.

'I crashed around the same time as you, I think. One of your parents put a blanket on us while we slept. Have I mentioned your parents are the best?'

'Once or twice, but I'll pass on your compliments. If this happens again, you're allowed to leave through the bakery. Maman and papa feel bad that you didn't get breakfast before you left.'

'Looks like I'll just have to have an extra late breakfast when I come by later. :3'

He put his phone into his bag while they did the next few shots. Adrien's smile was natural once again and that made the entire photoshoot take less time because they didn't need as many retakes. He was able to finish all of his work by 13h.

'Is it too early to come by?'

'Never. I'll grab you something to eat. Have you had lunch?'

'No, but I'd be willing to grab something for us on my way there if there's something you want. I love pastries, but I need to make sure I'm getting all my food groups.'

'Want to get sandwiches from that café on Rue des Déchargeurs?'

'Good plan. Anything in particular, or should it be a surprise?'

'Surprise me. I trust you.'

He got a ride home because he knew he wouldn't be allowed to leave from the set. He ordered over the phone, then transformed to head out to Marinette's house. He picked up lunch on the way before landing on her balcony.

He knocked on her trapdoor and she came over to open it. That wasn't something she'd done in the past. She had her phone held up to her ear and he could hear Alya on the other end of the line.

He looked around for a safe place to put her lunch where it wouldn't be in the way. He placed it on her desk near her computer and opened the container for her. "You're my hero," she exhaled with a happy lilt to her voice. She didn't mean to, but Alya definitely heard what she said.

"Alya," she said, "Félix just brought me lunch. He's leaving now. Don't bother coming over." She reached out to take Chat's hand to try to wordlessly tell him that she was just trying to get Alya off her back.

"My sandwich is warm and I want to eat it before it gets cold. I love you, I'll talk to you later." The fact that she was looking at him while she spoke with Alya was enough to almost convince him that she was saying I love you to him. The very idea made his heart flutter. Marinette hung up the call.

"There's a decent chance she's going to come by later," she told him. "Any chance you're down for a Ryuko cosplay?"

"I can call Ladybug right now if you want me to," he responded with a genuine smile. "Spending time with you is worth the mild inconveniences. I think she might even know where you live. She could probably drop off the Miraculous here," he joked. He picked up his baton and held it up, ready to dial if Marinette asked him to.

"Yeah," she said, "we should have a back up plan in case Alya shows up, just in case. I feel like it would be so much easier to hide this if this transformation didn't change your whole eye." He smiled.

"I like how my eyes look," he responded, "they're fun." He dialed Ladybug's yo-yo and was sent through to voicemail. "Hey, Bug. So, the plan with cosplaying went so well that I think I'll become a full-time cosplayer, but I don't want to put effort into the cosplays. I got the suggestion of a Ryuko, today. Can I borrow the dragon Miraculous, please, please, please. I'm at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Okay. I'll see you later. Bye…"

While he was distracted with the call, Tikki and Marinette had a silent conversation. After a few minutes, they heard a quiet voice. "Chat Noir," it said. They both looked to the voice and saw Tikki who had just come through the trapdoor. "Ladybug asked me to deliver these to you. She's fine, just busy." He didn't know what Tikki meant by these, he'd only asked for one Miraculous.

He held up two necklaces, one was a choker and the other was looser. He smiled when he recognized the other as Mullo's necklace from when Marinette was Multimouse. She barely kept from groaning over the fact that Tikki gave him that Miraculous, too.

The smile on his face was impossibly large when he looked at the mouse Miraculous.

"If I meet Alya again in the mask, I'm definitely cosplaying as M. Mouse," he announced excitedly.

"That's a terrible name," she informed him. "You somehow came up with a worse name than Mister Bug. At least that one kind of fit with Ladybug, but I do think that some people were hoping for Lord Bug."

"Well, if you're so clever, you should think of a name for me. I mean, Multimouse was truly a stroke of genius in terms of coming up with good superhero names." He was smiling at her with his eyes filled with joy.

"I'll think about it," she responded with a smirk. "I'm mostly hoping you won't have to use it, though."

The two sat eating their lunches for a while, talking about anything and everything. It felt like it had been weeks since Chat had last seen her dress, but it had really only been 2 days, at most. He just couldn't see when he and Alya were both over, then they fell asleep on the couch which made him miss seeing any progress.

"Now, let me see what you've done since Wednesday," he said excitedly looking toward the dress on the form. She smiled at his excitement.

"I don't think it's changed a lot since you've seen it," she told him. "It still looks roughly the same, but I've done a decent amount of work in the background that should make it flow more smoothly, plus I made something else for you for the dance… Well, I guess I made something else for me for the dance." She looked back to her sewing machine.

"What is it," he asked with a big smile on his face. She didn't look back at him. "Mari. You can't just say that, then not tell me what you made. This is so mean." He went up to her and tried to move in front of her to get her attention. "Princess, what is it?" He was laughing as he asked, so she could tell he was joking about how much he needed to know what it was.

She picked up a small box she'd placed over to the side and held it out to him. It was a closed box. "Can I open it," he requested, practically bouncing.

"If you must," she responded with a wink. "Go ahead."

When he opened it, he couldn't immediately see what it was, but he picked it up. "It's a corsage," he said, as though she weren't the person who made it. "I love it," he immediately followed. "Wait, does this mean I get a matching boutonnière?" She blushed a little bit, really not expecting that he'd think through the fact that there'd be a matching piece for him.

"You, Chaton, have to wait until the night of the dance to see it," she informed him. He jokingly pouted, but he was genuinely ecstatic about the fact that they'd have the little matching pieces. He knew that technically their whole outfits matched, but she didn't make his, so it felt less purposeful than the corsage and boutonnière.

"It's lovely, Marinette," he said, "I'm really excited to go to the dance with you." He reached out toward her to request a hug and she was happy to oblige. She felt his arms around her and it made her feel safe. She felt protected, but that wasn't really a surprise. He's a hero, of course she would feel safe and protected in the arms of a hero.

While they were wrapped up in their hug, Marinette heard the faint knocking downstairs. She didn't want to leave the warmth of his arms, but she knew she had to face Alya, and maybe Nino. "You should change," she told him, "it sounds like my friends are here, even though I told Alya not to." He nodded and went to the other side of the screen in her room.

"Claws in," she heard his voice right before she saw the flash of green light. "Mullo, get squeaky." That was followed by a light pink color. He came out from behind the screen and put the corsage into his bag so that he wouldn't forget it when he went home that day.

"Ready to see my friends," Marinette asked him. He nodded. She descended the staircase and he followed, practically bouncing once again. She opened the door and was unsurprised to see Alya and Nino on the other side. They were conversing in hushed whispers, seemingly trying to not be suspicious and being all the more suspicious for it.

"Can we help you," Marinette asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"You can't. I need to talk to Félix." Alya pointed to the boy next to Marinette, but stopped after a moment and looked him up and down. "Or…"

"I said M. Mouse, but Marinette said no. I'm open to suggestions."

"M. Mouse is too similar to M. Pigeon," she said as though that was her excuse the whole time, "plus, it's just a bad name. Zero out of ten. Would not recommend." She gave a thumbs down to further prove her point. "Please, tell me you have name suggestions." She leaned her head on Alya's shoulder, seeking support.

"Not yet, but why are you in costume again?" She put an arm around Marinette in order to act the part of a supportive friend. "You were Renard Rouge what, like 16 hours ago?" He looked at the clock and saw the time.

"18," he corrected, "wait, no. That was on Thursday, it's definitely been like 40 hours. That's plenty of time to put together a new cosplay."

"A new cosplay, yes. A new cosplay that's as well put together as this one, not at all." She stepped closer to him. "May I," she pointed to the general fabric around his torso. "I'm curious about the fabric and the jump rope, if knowing what I'm looking at helps."

"It does," he admitted. "Do you want to hold the jump rope?" He grabbed one of the handles in an offer to remove it so she could get a better look at it. She nodded, so he removed it and handed it to her.

"This is so cool," she said, examining the piece. She brought it over to Marinette to try to get a second opinion on how the jump rope was created. While they did that, Nino walked over to Félix.

"Alya can be bad at introductions sometimes. I'm Nino." He held out a hand and Félix firmly shook it.

"You have a nice handshake," Félix complimented. Adrien taught him how to do a proper handshake when he got his first invitation to an event with big name DJs. Adrien figured that everyone at the event would be pretty similar, relatively relaxed, but serious about their passions. Adrien wanted Nino to have something memorable, so they spent hours making sure that Nino's handshake was up to snuff.

"Thanks."

"Oh, sorry. I'm Félix, Félix Cloche. I guess I was a little distracted. I can't believe I just forgot to introduce myself like that." Nino knew the feeling well, getting distracted by someone else while trying to have a conversation.

"Hey, we should go talk somewhere." It seemed that Nino was also in the 'no preamble' class that Félix and Alya had already taken. "Marinette's balcony?"

"I don't think she wants anyone seeing her dress until the dance," Félix said, then he spoke a little louder, "right, Marinette?"

She turned and it looked like she was captured in slow motion when she moved to face him. He was captivated by her once again. "What did you say, Fé?"

"I told Nino you probably didn't want anyone to see your dress until the dance." She nodded with a smile on her face.

"I'd appreciate it, if that can be avoided. Do you want me to run upstairs to cover it for you guys?"

"I got it covered, if you don't mind." She rolled her eyes, but giggled at the pun, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

"I don't mind," she said. As he moved past her, he placed an affectionate hand on her shoulder and she reacted by putting her opposite hand on top of his. "Go ahead. Just use the blanket from earlier. It should be on my bed." He didn't quite know what blanket she meant, but he could usually figure out what she meant pretty easily in the moment, so he didn't think it would be different this time.

He kept his hand on her shoulder, lingering longer than Nino had expected, but about the amount that Alya expected. Marinette kept her hand on top of his for as long as it rested on her shoulder.

"I'll be right back, Nino," he said a few moments later. He went up the stairs to cover the dress. He immediately went up to her loft to see if he could identify the blanket. This was the first time the dress was being covered, it's not like there was a usual blanket for covering it up. A smile spread across his face when he saw the blanket. It was the one that her parents had used to cover them up when they fell asleep on the couch.

He smiled at the thought of her taking it up to her bed, but he didn't have time to think about how cute she is. He had to cover the dress so he could talk to Nino. After another few moments of admiring the dress, he covered it with the big blanket. After confirming that the fabric wasn't sliding around, he went back to the trapdoor.

He opened the door and saw Marinette at the bottom of the stairs. He was going to call out to Nino, but he got distracted by Marinette's smile, and her laugh, and her voice as she talked about the 'material of Félix's cosplay.'

"Nino, are you ready to come up here," he asked. He ended up getting the attention of all three of them. When Marinette looked up to him, the two met eyes. Both of their eyes widened and they pointed at each other.

"Sourix," both of them called out in unison. Both of them had matching, huge smiles on their faces when they came up with the ideal name.

Nino followed Félix upstairs through Marinette's trapdoor, then they climbed out onto her balcony. Chat sat down on one of the chairs and Nino took the other. "What can I do for you, Nino?"

"Nothing," he said. "I can tell you really care about Marinette and I'm really happy about that. She deserves someone that makes her happy and I can tell that could be you, but I need to tell you about someone."

"Is it Buttercup," Félix asked?

Nino nodded. "Yeah. I know you've probably heard about him from everyone, but it's my turn. The dude is great. He's my best friend and he has been for years, but he's dense. Marinette has been trying to impress him at every chance since they met and he hasn't noticed her. I'm half afraid that he'll notice her as soon as she moves on and half afraid that she's tricked herself into moving on just because someone noticed her."

"I'm not-"

"I know you're not trying to take advantage of your friendship with her or anything like that, but having known her for my entire life, I'm afraid she might get herself hurt without even noticing. I want her to be happy and I don't know you that well, but I'm sure you deserve to be happy, too. Please, just be slow with her. I can tell she's moving on from Buttercup and it'll break his heart when he realizes he missed his chance, but I'll deal with that when the time comes. I just need you to make sure Nettie has time to heal before you step in to become her prince."

Félix nodded, still partially trying to figure out who Buttercup is, but he figured it doesn't matter. It's not his problem to solve. All he needed to do was be Marinette's friend and take her to the dance. If she wanted to be more than friends eventually, he'd be the happiest cat alive, but for now he got to be happy with being as close as he was to the nicest girl he knows.

"Thank you for telling me that, Nino," Félix said with a pensive look scrunching his features. "Buttercup is lucky to have you in his life, and so is Marinette."

"Are you okay with me giving you a hug? Alya mentioned I should ask instead of just going for it." Félix nodded and Nino walked over to give the hero a long, friendly hug. "Marinette really cares about you. I've seen you with her for all of 5 minutes and her smile is more full than it has been in a very long time. Please, just take good care of her. She deserves it."

"I know," Félix whispered in response. The two went back downstairs to see the girls. They had moved on from examining the jump rope to using it. Marinette was jumping rope in the middle of the living space, being careful not to hit anything, but he could see the skills she clearly possessed. That's probably why she was chosen for the mouse Miraculous.

"Good talk," Alya asked when she saw them approach. Nino nodded and Félix smiled at the two of them.

Nino and Alya watched in rapt fascination as Félix got closer to Marinette, jumping in time with the swings of the jump rope. After getting his rhythm matching hers exactly, he jumped in, joining her in the space as the rope jumper. The two of them jumped in sync for a short while before Félix spoke, "you know I'm going to need this back, right?"

"You say that, but have you considered that maybe I should keep it." She winked at him, but stopped swinging the jump rope so she could give it back to him.

"I'm working on it," he said. He lied. He wasn't working on it, but if it would get her to wink at him, he would begin Operation: Reinstate Multimouse next time he saw Ladybug. Marinette was so surprised by Chat's statement that she tripped over her own feet. He was able to move fast enough to catch her before she fell.

"I'm good," she said when she was back on her feet. "Seriously," she said, eyeing the necklace on his neck, "I'm good." He could tell that she was trying to refuse the Miraculous, but he couldn't tell what caused the change from saying a minute ago that she should keep it. They were both blushing when they met eyes again.

"Oh, why did you come by in the first place," Marinette asked Alya and Nino.

"It seemed like fun. I was pretty sure you were lying about Félix just dropping off lunch and I wanted to catch you in the most mundane lie possible." Alya giggled at her own explanation and Marinette stuck out her tongue at her best friend.

"I was taught 'Happy Wife, Happy Life' from a very young age and I figured the same applies to girlfriends, too," Nino admitted. He slung an arm around Alya's shoulder. "It's worked for me so far."

"Valid," Marinette said in response to Nino. "I think everyone agrees with the sentiment when it comes to Alya, though. Things are just easier when you go along with her. However, now that you've caught me, are you going to go so that I can go back to working on my dress? I only have like 5 days left and I really want to finish before that, if I can."

"Oh, totally. First, though. Félix, can I get your number? Your meme game is strong and I appreciate it." Félix was a little bit embarrassed. His meme game shouldn't be that different between Félix and Adrien, right? He handed his phone to Nino to input his number.

"You can put in yours too, Alya," Félix offered. Nino didn't pass the phone to his girlfriend, he just put her contact information in for her, instead.

"Oh, you should totally send me pictures of the Renard Rouge cosplay when you get them back. I'm sure they'd be a hit on the blog, if you'd be comfortable with that."

"I'm not sure," Félix said, "I'll let you know next week, if that's fine with you." Alya nodded and smiled.

"We'll see you both soon," Nino said. He stood with open arms, offering a hug to Félix or Marinette. Marinette took him up on the offer first while Félix hugged Alya. They switched after a few seconds. Marinette and Alya did their little tottering hug like they did on Thursday after dinner. Alya and Nino left shortly after and Marinette let out a relieved sigh.