A/N: Thanks for reading! Less puns and more drama this time. Let me know what you think!

Prompt: café

4.

Things begun to settle down a week later. Chat Noir hadn't showed up again. Marinette found herself absentmindedly checking his profile to see, if he had posted anything new. As Ladybug, she'd seen him during their patrols. They'd fooled around a little, taken a couple of photos at Chat's insistence, so she'd assumed he'd post them. He hadn't. The last three photos on his superhero profile were of Chat and Marinette.

In a way, it was a huge relief that Chat had left her alone. They'd finally got their assignments – either they were really lucky or Alya had something to do with it, Marinette was paired with her best friend. Nino and Adrien were paired together, too, even though Chloé complained about not getting what she wanted. But the cherry on top? Marinette and Alya were assigned as Adrien's and Nino's support and preliminary feedback group. And the boys were taking advantage of this opportunity to hang out with them more.

"It's because we need it to be perfect," Nino had reasoned with her, sporting a grin that he'd picked up from Alya. Marinette knew they were setting her up, yet she was helpless at Nino's next words. "Adrien here needs you, Marinette. You know how his father is about his grades."

If the love of her life needed her, how could she say no? That's right. She couldn't. Just like she still couldn't look him in the eye and hold the conversation at the same time. But she tried her best. It seemed her efforts were rewarded because for those three days, she had been Chat-less in her civilian life, a wonderful, peaceful change.

She sighed happily. The café she was visiting was just perfect for an afternoon out. The day was perfect, too. There was no akuma to fight, no homework; her parents didn't need her help at the bakery. It was just Marinette and her sketchbook and a wonderful café latte with just a hint of strawberry in it. She'd planned on getting a croissant to go with the drink, but in the end, her wallet had decided for her. No pastries until she got back home.

"Ah, so nice." Marinette took a sip before placing the white cup on the saucer and picking up her sketchbook, opening it to a half-finished design of a strapless bell dress. She had originally started it without a clear idea in her mind in hopes of working around her designer's block, but once she relaxed and got to it, the ideas just didn't stop coming.

"Oh, that's a pretty dress."

Marinette looked behind her where the voice had come from. An old lady smiled at her so kindly that the girl couldn't help but smile back. "Thank you."

"Ack! You're that girl! Marinetty, isn't it?" Without waiting for an invitation, the elder sat down in the basket chair in front of her. "I'm Joana."

Marinette didn't mind the company although she felt a little awkward in the presence of this woman who was old enough to be her great-grandmother. Joana was fumbling with her red handbag made of high quality leather, which Marinette's trained eye guessed correctly to be faux leather, until she pulled out her phone. If the young designer had known anything about technology, she would have recognized it as the latest model of the same brand her parents had bought her.

"It's Marinette, actually," she corrected the madam kindly. "But um… nice to meet you?"

"Marinette, my daughter is a big fan of Chat Noir," smiled Joana, clasping her bag shut. "Would you be kind enough to take a photo with me?"

Her request surprised Marinette. She knew some fans of the superhero had sneakily taken photos of her and posted them online without bothering to ask her for permission. It was part of why she was so done with Chat Noir taking photos with her. Nevertheless, she returned the woman's wide smile with one of her own and agreed.

Joana left her bag on the chair and scuttered over to Marinette, phone out and ready to take a selfie. She struggled with getting a good angle for both of them, looking well… not very beautiful on the screen although Marinette would never tell that.

"How about I do it?" she offered, taking the phone when Joana held it out for her. It took Marinette a couple of seconds to take the photo where she was smiling next to this curious old lady. At the very least, she assumed, it would never make it to Instagram.

The waitress brought Joana her coffee (black, no sugar) and a porcelain plate with a couple of macarons. Marinette smiled, noticing a design of three tiny ladybugs on its edge.

"Here, have one!" Joana offered the plate towards her. "As a thank you for the photo!"

"Oh, no! I can't! But thank you for offering."

"I insist. You're too skinny."

"I really can't."

"Why not?" Joana gave her a look. Marinette had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing.

"A diet?" she offered weakly. She didn't want to be indebted to anyone and Joana, as lovely as she was for an old lady, was still a stranger.

"Well, suit yourself." Joana opened her mouth and slipped the treat in. She was missing her front teeth. Marinette turned her attention back to her sketch. She defined the outline and jotted down some fabric ideas.

"Look, Marinette, your boyfriend is there!" The old lady pointed at the all-too-familiar cat superhero dancing in the park by the café. Her eyes sparkled with the sudden excitement.

"Chat Noir? He's not my boyfriend." Marinette giggled, her cheeks turning only the palest shade of pink. It was amusing to think that someone thought they were dating.

"I don't believe you, girl. My granddaughter showed me those photos and I know affection when I see it." Madame's voice rose and Marinette cringed inwardly. "I know! You should take a photo with him in the background!"

Joana giggled at her idea. It made her look twenty years younger. Marinette took a sip from her cup, wondering if it was a good idea. The coffee was almost cold.

"Why don't I take one for you?" the madam offered gleefully. "My precious Amélie taught me how!"

Her elation was contagious and Marinette found herself grinning from ear to ear. "You know what? Why not?"

She took out her phone, opened the camera app and passed it to Joana before posing with her sketchbook. She held it out, showing off her design, and smiled cheekily as if to say she was aware of the weirdo in the background. Joana sniggered and tapped the circle to take the photo. She tapped a couple of more times for good measure, then passed the phone back to Marinette who took one look at the photo and broke into a fit of giggles.

"This is too funny," she explained to Joana, typing quickly a caption for the photo and scrambling to get her things together. "But I really have to go now. It was nice to meet you, Madame Joana."

"Have a nice day, Marinette!"

The old lady sipped her coffee, enjoying her coffee, thinking about her lovely granddaughter. Amélie was going to be so surprised. So pleasantly surprised. And for more than one reason. Marinette's dress design had been pretty good.


Adrien Agreste couldn't be happier. She'd posted a photo! With Chat Noir! She'd even tagged the superhero in it. And she'd captioned it "Feeling inspired ?"

There were no hashtags. Despite that, people kept liking it and commenting. He assumed it was Alya's fault – she was crazy about the superheros and her blog often shared similar photos. Even so, on this photo, Marinette was showing off her design, a proud, yet amused grin on her face, and it was beautiful. She was beautiful.

The thought didn't surprise him, but the feeling did. He felt successful – more successful than after a good photoshoot, after winning a fencing competition, after defeating an akuma. She was warming up to him, even when she didn't really know it was Adrien Agreste under Chat Noir's disguise.

"I inspired her!" he sighed dreamily. His kwami, Plagg rolled his eyes, not bothering to give him the attention that his ripe Camembert rightfully had earned. Precious, delicious Camembert…

Adrien's phone rang, snapping both the kwami and the miraculous holder out of their respective reveries. He grabbed his phone and was surprised to see an unknown number blinking on it. He answered it and brought it to his ear.

"Hi! Is this Adrien Agreste?" A girl's high-pitched voice greeted him before he could even announce he was there, ready to pay attention. For a moment, he thought it was Marinette, but once the voice continued, he realized his mistake immediately. "This is Amélie Ferreira. We modeled together once, a very long time ago… " So long ago that he didn't remember meeting anyone with that name. "I model for CDG. I got your number from Nathalie, because…"

Amélie paused, biting her lip. "Well, the thing is, I heard you're going to a public school now and… are you classmates with Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

"Marinette?" wondered Adrien, a small smile taking over his face. "Yeah, I know her. She's a good friend. Why do you ask?" At the mention of CDG, he recalled a short brunette who he'd worked with several seasons ago. He wondered if it was the same person who was calling him.

"Well, I'm sure you know, but she's kind of famous now, because of the Chat Noir photos, but…" Amélie giggled. "But I'm actually calling because of the photo she posted. Her design is wonderful and…"

"Isn't it?" Adrien gushed, happy that someone agreed with him. "She wants to be a fashion designer, so she's always sketching."

"I don't mean to be rude, but can you let me finish? Anyway, as I was saying, her design is great and my grandmother endorsed it and you know, she never endorses anything. So I was hoping to meet her. Can I meet her? I'd like to buy that dress. Or the design. Whichever is good for her."

Adrien chuckled. "You sound like you have a really difficult grandmother."

"Tell me about it!" Amélie laughed. "And she took that photo with Chat Noir. She was so proud. Joana, that's her name, took a selfie with Marinette and oh my god, it was brilliant. I have never seen her smile like this. So at the very least, I have to thank Marinette for this. You haven't answered yet, by the way. Can I meet her?"

"Uh, I guess?" Adrien had difficult time following her words. "When do you…"

Amélie cut in: "Now? If you have time? If she has time?"

Adrien flushed. "I don't know if…"

"Well, can you find out? Thanks, bye!"

The blonde dropped his phone and stared at the screen informing him that the call had ended. It has lasted less than a minute during which he'd said barely a word. The screen lit up with a text once again and Adrien groaned, seeing that Amélie had texted him to meet half an hour from now in front of his lycée.

He called Marinette but she didn't pick up.


Marinette was freaking out. Adrien freaking Agreste was calling her. She didn't pick up. She couldn't pick up. What if she made a fool out of herself? What if she couldn't say a word? What if she said too much? Her panic was clearly justified. Adrien Agreste never called her. Where was Alya when she needed her?

Soon, the phone quieted down. Suddenly, Marinette knew that this was the worst scenario, because she would have to call him back and explain and…

The phone rang again. This time, the caller's ID was unknown, but she crossed her fingers, praying it was Adrien, using a different phone. She accepted the call.

"Hey, Purrincess!" Chat Noir's cheerful voice greeted her.

"Chat Noir? Where did you get my number?"

"I have my ways…" he said evasively. "Do you have any plans for the evening?"

Marinette narrowed her eyes. "What are you planning?"

"A visit, purrhaps. To say thank mew." She could hear him grinning on the other side of the phone. She rolled her eyes.

"You better not. You might kill my parents," she teased without telling him outright not to come.

"Aha!" He ended the call before she could ask him what he meant by it. Marinette placed the phone on her desk, looking at her computer screen. She swooned over the photo of Adrien she had set as her desktop background. Daydreams took over her mind.

About half an hour later, there was a knock on her door. Her mother opened it as soon as she'd gathered her wits and opened an empty document to hide the picture of Adrien she'd been admiring. Sabine informed her that she had visitors down in the pastry shop.

She winked at Marinette, throwing an amused glance at the place on her wall where she'd kept her photos and posters of the supermodel.

"It's Adrien," she thought to warn her daughter. "And a girl. I don't think I've ever met her before."

Marinette clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle a terrified squeal. Sabine looked at her sympathetically, knowing all too well the struggles of young love. She'd been like that too, once.

"I'll come in a moment!" Marinette promised her mother who nodded in response before closing the door and going back down the stairs. The girl took a deep breath. Her mind was already imagining the worst case scenario in which Adrien Agreste shows up with a good-looking model with great personality and introduces her as his girlfriend, breaking Marinette's heart in the process and destroying the beautiful future she had already planned out for the two of them. She could already hear the illusion cracking, pieces of her heart falling onto her bedroom floor.

"What am I going to do, Tikki?" she panicked, looking for the kwami. The small god was nowhere to be found, having already sensed Plagg's presence and hoping to get a word with him about Chat Noir's highly questionable decisions. Receiving no answer, Marinette shook her head and slapped herself on the face. She had to get herself together. The sting helped a little.

She went down the stairs.