Chapter Two

Five months later…

There are times when I swear my bodyguard knows me better than my own father. Or at least he has the capacity to see things from my point of view. I'm supposed to be going to fencing lessons but I may have conveniently forgotten to tell my father and Nathalie that today's class has been cancelled. Which means I have about 90 minutes of freedom to do whatever I like within reason.

We pull up outside the school and the place is clearly locked up. I get a questioning look in the rear-vision mirror from my bodyguard. "Fencing got cancelled. I made plans with…" I glance to the familiar bakery, "…Marinette to do some study instead."

I doubt I'm fooling anyone. I get a long stare and then an accepting nod, and it takes all of my will power not to whoop with joy. Grabbing the strap of my school bag, I quickly make my way to the Dupain-Cheng's. Even if Marinette isn't home, I have no doubt that her parents will happily sell me some sugary goodness I can enjoy without reprimand.

The bell over the door tinkles as I step inside and momentarily bask in the heavenly scents of forbidden food. "Adrien," Sabine greets with genuine warmth. "What brings you here?"

"My fencing classes got cancelled, and I followed my nose here."

Sabine's smile broadens. "Ah, so you're just here for the food. I thought you might be wanting to visit Marinette."

The gentle teasing has me falling a touch into Chat Noir territory. "Perhaps I was wanting to do both." The moment the words are out of my mouth I realise there could be a double meaning to what I said, and I need to make sure she knows I only see Marinette in a platonic light. "I mean, who wouldn't want to share a delicious pastry with one of their most awesome friends?" There, covered it.

Or did I? There's this knowing looking on Sabine's face I really don't know how to interpret. But before I can try to analyse it, she ducks behind the counter and plucks a number of treats from the display and hands them to me.

"How much do I owe you?"

"Nothing, Adrien. You're practically family."

That statement has me temporarily rooted to the spot, the warmth of acceptance spreads through my chest. The feeling of belonging is like a balm to my lonely soul. This is what a loving family is supposed to be like and I doubt Sabine has any clue as to how much her words mean to me. My voice cracks a little as I thank her.

"You're more than welcome. Marinette is upstairs, in her room I think. Just knock on the trapdoor before going in."

"Thanks Mrs Dupain-Cheng."

With the goodies in my grasp, I waste no time in heading upstairs. Hopefully Marinette will be cool with me popping over uninvited. Part of me becomes apprehensive that I may be overstepping. I mean, what if she already has plans with Alya or something? Oh well, I guess I'll just step out as Chat Noir if I can't hang around here.

The door to the living area is open but no one is inhabiting the kitchen or sofas. Plagg nudges my chest. "Do I get one of those cheese sticks?"

It isn't really a question, not with my eternally hungry kwami. So, I hand the tiny floating stomach his prize. "Just one."

"For now," he states with the cheese stick already jammed into his mouth.

Shaking my head, I ascend the stairs to Marinette's room. The trapdoor is closed and I push my school bag to my back as I reach up to knock.

"Just a sec!" she says in tone that's a touch frantic.

"Okay," I answer and suddenly there's a heavy thump. "Are you alright?"

"Adrien? Is that you?"

The disbelief in her voice is comical and has me grinning. "Last time I checked."

"Oh, um, okay. I just need to…put things…uh, tidy up."

Amusement has me stifling a chuckle. Clearly, she wasn't expecting company as her footsteps hurry across the room like she's attempting to hide evidence of a crime. Whatever she's doing, she's in a mad rush. Perhaps she's been writing secret girl business in her diary. I can only guess. That's the kind of thing girls get embarrassed over, right? But then why would she need to race around her room? I shrug, girls are something of a mystery to me.

Suddenly the trapdoor flings open and Marinette grins at me like a madwoman while trying to catch her breath.

"Bad timing?" I ask.

"No, no. Not at all. I was just, um, not expecting company, yeah."

"I can come back another time if it's inconvenient."

"NO!" her shout startles both of us and she reaches out to grab my wrist so I don't topple backwards. "Sorry, what I mean is that I want you to stay." The moment the words leave her lips her face turns a shade of pink I'm very familiar with. I'm not sure why Marinette blushes so much but it's kind of endearing.

"I'm glad to hear that. Your mum loaded me up with snacks and while I'm happy to eat them alone, it's much more fun to share."

Those blue eyes of hers stare at me as if it's taking a while for her brain to process what I've said. She's an artist and I know they can get lost in their own thoughts, so it doesn't bother me. My father does it on the regular. It's more annoying with him.

"Fun to share," she repeats. "Yes, you're right." But she doesn't move.

"Can I come in?" I glance to my wrist that she's still holding and she lets out a yelp and bounces backward.

"Sure," she gestures frantically to come into her room while her face grows steadily pinker.

Again, I'm unsure as to why she's so edgy. I get the niggling feeling that I interrupted her private time. Perhaps this was a mistake. But before I can voice my thoughts, the trapdoor is closed behind me and the girl is offering me a chair. It would be rude to leave, so I sit and place the snacks on the desk before me. As I glance up, her computer screen catches my attention.

There is a montage of photographs of me but what has me confused is the love hearts scrolled around my images. "I wasn't aware of a new screensaver being released."

Marinette grabs the back of my chair and swivels me away from the computer to face her directly. "Oh that, it's a fan designed background. I, um, liked a number of the outfits you were wearing."

Her face still hasn't returned to its normal colour. Weird. "It's always nice to support creative fans. Do you design anything like this?" I ask with a wave at the screen.

"Me?" her voice pitches high and panic flitters across her features. "No. I mean sometimes I dabble in designs on the computer but usually I work with posters. I mean paper. I mean sketching."

My brow furrows in confusion. "I thought you used your tablet for design as well as your sketch book."

"I do, but compiling existing images is a different skill in itself."

Picking up a pastry, I nod then take a bite. The Nutella filled croissant is exquisite and I let out an appreciative moan, to the point I even close my eyes. It's not until I open them that I find Marinette staring at me and I feel my own blush creeping across my face. Placing a hand over my mouth, I apologise. "They're so good. Sorry."

"Don't apologise."

I expect her to say more but Marinette seems transfixed and I'm not sure what to do. So, I take another bite of my treat and enjoy the flavour tantalising my tongue. Feeling a little awkward, I push forward the offering her mum gave me. "You should have one too."

This jolts her out of whatever funk she has been stuck in and she quickly picks up a cheese stick. I hope the tiny hiss I hear from my shirt pocket is purely my imagination. Thankfully, Marinette doesn't react to the protest from my kwami.

It's as I'm licking my fingers clean that I spot something which freezes me mid-lick. There in the corner of various storage drawers and jewellery boxes is a red velvet one that screams familiarity. While I have no doubt that there are many red velvet jewellery boxes from a variety of stores across Paris, this one has the faux golden edging and gilded lettering that is truly bespoke. I know because I ordered the thing specifically for Ladybug.

Without thinking I reach for the box, open it and my brain stops working. I'm vaguely aware of Marinette scrabbling to snatch the item from my hand. I blink as I realise that I should probably apologise for not asking permission to look. But as my lips open, I say the thing that has jarred my mind into rebooting. "Where did you get this?"

Marinette has the box in her hand, the lid is still open as she straightens the hairpin inside. "A, um, friend gave it to me."

"A friend or your partner?" Only then do I realise that I spoke my thoughts out loud. I snap my gaze to Marinette's and find her staring at me with the same kind of shock.

"P-Partner?" she stutters with a nervous giggle. "Why would you say that?"

While I am aware of Marinette's question, my eyes scan her with a new scrutiny. Particularly over the lower area of her face and specifically her lips. The parts of Ladybug's face which are not concealed behind her mask, and I take a great amount of interest in. That's when I see it, the tiny faded freckle sitting low in the cupid's bow of her lips and the small crease that indents the right corner of her mouth when she's stressed or concentrating hard.

My eyes shoot to hers as my heart rockets into my throat. Marinette is Ladybug – how did I ever not notice!

Thank you everyone for your reviews and advice, I appreciate it. Once again, I find myself over-scrutinising my first person writing so I've probably stuffed up the tense because of it.

Now the question is, has Marinette figured out Adrien's Chat Noir or is she as daft as usual in that regard? XD

Thanks for reading :)