A/N: Long time, no see, everyone! I'm still writing, a little writer's block and plenty of time for company. Stay safe out there! Sending you all some love!

Prompt: Princess and Knight AU

8.

Things had changed for Adrien after Marinette's confession to Chat Noir. His eyes kept seeking her out at school of their own volition. Every time green met blue, she flushed and he wanted to kick himself. Marinette didn't know that he knew. And as far as he was concerned, she couldn't ever find out. Because Marinette was Chat Noir's (and Adrien's, but that was secondary) good friend. A friend he couldn't afford to lose, in or out of the mask.

He felt guilty for knowing. He wanted to tell her, really – he did, but if he opened his mouth, he would have to kiss his miraculous goodbye and never see his lady again. It was selfish and it pained him, yet it wasn't the first time he was willing to lie to keep his secret identity secret.

Nevertheless, it filled him with immense relief when an akuma alert rang throughout the city. He ran off to transform in the boys' locker room as soon as the free moment opened, glancing back only once to see Marinette get lectured by their teacher. He barely heard the akuma enter the classroom. The boys' locker room was empty and though his kwami, Plagg was grumpy about having to transform so early in the morning, Chat Noir took Adrien's place just a moment before the door opened with a loud bang.

"Thank heavens you're here!" The person exclaimed, sighing in relief. She entered the room and closed it behind herself. "Chat Noir, we need to talk."

She leaned against the door, blocking it from whoever was running after her, trying to get into the locker room, too. Chat Noir took a moment to look at the intruder who almost caught him mid-transformation. She was wearing a pink dress, fitted to her slender figure. The dress separated at the waist, flowing down. The woman looked like she had run away from her own wedding. Her dark hair fell down in loose curls, but it was her burning cheeks that betrayed her identity.

"Purrincess?" he was in awe. Marinette looked like she stepped straight out of a fairy tale.

"Listen, Chat, no time to lose." The door bumped, someone trying to break through. Chat jumped next to her and leaned against the door, too, providing extra weight to keep it closed. "The akuma showed up in our class, looking for Chloé. And well, apparently, this one's superpower is turning you into whatever you're seen as by the first person who looks at you. As you can see, I'm… a princess."

"Who looked at you, hmm?" Chat Noir turned sideways and leaned so close to Marinette that their noses brushed.

"I don't know!" she sighed. "Everyone was looking at me when it happened, because I was supposed to give my stupid presentation. It could have been anyone." Or everyone. It had really been poor timing. All Marinette had wanted was to sneak away quickly, but Ms Bustier had caught her and since she was already up front, she had decided that Marinette could give her presentation. Marinette had been about to open her mouth, a multitude of excuses ready, to say she had a terrible headache when the akuma crashed through the window. Everything was in chaos and suddenly, she found herself wearing a princess dress of all things.

She had to warn Chat Noir. After hurriedly discussing the situation with Tikki, the red kwami suggested that the cat superhero might be found in the boys' locker room. Marinette didn't even question how the small god knew that, trusting the small creature to know what she was talking about. Marinette's mind focused on Chat Noir and what might happen, if the first person who looked at him was someone who saw him for anything less than he was – which unfortunately seemed to apply for a very good part of Parisians.

"I'm one of the few who got lucky," she informed him. "Chloé, you know her, is a queen bee, which I guess is not that awful either." For a moment, Chat thought Marinette meant the blonde girl had turned into her superhero form, but then the bluenette continued. "If you like small buzzy creatures that sting you just because they are pissed off at being turned into an insect. So um, yeah. We need a plan."

"We?" Chat sounded incredulous. "Purrincess, it's best to leave this for superheros!" Somehow, he still managed to flex his muscles while blocking the door, causing Marinette to snort and roll her eyes.

"Do you see Ladybug here?" Marinette shot back, eyes sparkling. Chat had to give this to her – there was no Ladybug in sight, but that didn't necessarily mean she wouldn't show up.

Marinette sighed impatiently. "Do you trust me? Or would you rather run off and risk someone else getting the first look?"

The cat gulped. Even if Ladybug was coming, he couldn't be sure how long it would take the spotted superhero to arrive. It could be minutes in which case there was nothing to worry about, but it could also be a longer while in which case he would be wasting precious time waiting for her.

"I-I trust you!" he spat almost painfully. Marinette didn't flinch at his tone. She nodded, knowing how hard it was.

"Okay. Put your arm around my waist," she instructed. He stepped closer, wondering where she was going with this.

"Like this?" he questioned. Unable to hold back a small tease at the pink on her cheeks, he added: "You should have told me you liked me from the start, Princess! We'd make a meowvelous couple!"

Marinette smacked his arm, stifling a fit of laughter. "Okay. Now. On three, you jump away. The akuma will break through the door and you will let the beam hit us. Gotcha?"

"And what will you do?" he wasn't too confident in the plan. It was too simple. Surely, something was going to go wrong.

"I'll keep my eyes on you."

"Promise?"

"Promise." She confirmed solemnly.

"You won't take your eyes off me for a second? Or blink? Or something?" He was more worried about it than he let on. If this was Ladybug, sure, he'd charge in without a second thought, but this wasn't Ladybug. It was Marinette, his clever classmate and his Princess and how could he protect her if something went wrong?

"I swear." She smiled as he nodded, "On three, alright?"

"One, two," she counted, allowing herself one last blink. "Three."

Chat jumped. The door broke, shattered pieces flying all around. Marinette kept her eyes open, even though her first instinct was to cover them, so that she wouldn't get hurt. The urge to blink was too strong and Marinette narrowed her eyes, refusing to miss the moment when the akuma struck the feline superhero. True to her word, she didn't miss it.

Chat Noir transformed, still holding onto the girl whose plan he hoped to work. He couldn't wait to see how Marinette saw him and how Chat Noir compared to Adrien in her eyes. He had no doubt that if she looked at him as Adrien, he'd become a prince or something of the sort. But what about Chat Noir?

He was disappointed to see how practically nothing had changed. Marinette smirked, satisfied.

"Take that, Hawkmoth," she muttered to herself. Chat's sensitive ears picked up on it and he raised a questioning eyebrow. She raised her arm, ready to give another order: "Take us out of here!"

Chat obeyed with a chuckle, evading the akuma victim who leaped towards them in the heat of the moment. They escaped through an open window. Marinette was a little surprised how strong his hold on her was, it had been a while since he last rescued her. Her heart was fluttering in her chest. He trusted her! And she hadn't let him down. She laughed to herself, as Chat landed on a rooftop three blocks from their school and placed her safely down.

"Okay, I'll bite," Chat frowned. "What's funny?"

Marinette just gestured at himself. He wondered how different he looked like from what he had been. His superhero suit didn't appear too different at first glance and he still had his baton for which he was extremely grateful. He could still be of use to Ladybug.

"Still don't get it, Little Lady."

"You… You…" Marinette couldn't stop giggling. "You're my knight in shining leather!" She pointed to the coat of arms that had appeared on his chest. It was pink with black dots, surrounding the signature M that was almost identical to the one on her purse. Chat's eyes widened and Marinette's laughter intensified.

"Marinette!" He exclaimed, grabbing her hands and giving her a quick twirl. "You clever girl!"

She smiled smugly before sighing. "Chat, you should probably go. Ladybug is counting on you."

The superhero came to a stop, as if only now remembering the akuma. His face fell and he suddenly appeared very shy. "Marinette, can I… Can we take a photo of us like this?"

The girl stared at him dumbfounded. "Why?"

"Because… Because you seeing me like this makes me really happy. You're probably the only one to look at me and see me, well, for me," he confessed, already getting the camera. "Except Ladybug. But she's well… Ladybug."

"Um, sure." Marinette agreed. It wouldn't hurt to get a picture of the dress anyway – it was surprisingly comfy and quite well-made, for an akuma that is. She was already planning on making something similar once she had some free time. Besides, knowing Chat, it was better to say yes than waste another ten minutes while he tried to get a picture anyway.

Chat pulled her close, getting a better angle for the selfie. It took him less than a minute to fit them in and with a wide grin, he tapped the red button. As soon as the click sounded and Marinette was certain the picture had turned out alright, she slithered out of his arms.

"Now go!" she told him seriously. "And save Paris!"

Chat nodded before jumping off. Marinette watched him run off to the distance with a small smile. As soon as he had disappeared over the horizon, she opened her purse, thankful that it had remained the same as usual. The red kwami peeked out, a disapproving look on her face.

"I know!" her holder whispered in understanding. "We have no time to waste though. Tikki, spots on!"

Transformation complete, she made an effort to remember which roof she was on in case Chat Noir was going to come and get her. Though he'd never said so, she imagined he wouldn't leave a poor civilian on a roof.

Ladybug advanced slowly, stealthily keeping to the shadows. She had already thought of a plan as Marinette. A backup plan too, one that involved becoming whatever Chat Noir saw her as, but she preferred not to find out. For some reason, she thought it would be worse than the Princess get-up her classmates had imposed on her.

As soon as she was close enough, she called her lucky charm, not even bothering to alert Chat Noir to her presence. He was fighting valiantly and by calling out to him, Ladybug would draw too much attention to herself. For her plan to work, the akuma had to remain unaware of her presence. It took her only a couple of seconds to figure out how to use the akuma and she texted Chat Noir to inform him of the plan. His laughter was the cue that he had received the message.

Ladybug took a deep breath. Everything else came almost too naturally.

"That was great, Chat!" she called after successfully purifying the akuma. They bumped fists. "Pound it!"

"I've gotta dash," Chat told her. "Remember Marinette? I left her on a rooftop, gotta help her."

Ladybug panicked. "Oh, no! Don't worry about it! I helped her down on my way here."

"You did?" Was it just the lighting or did Chat really seem disappointed to hear that?

"Yeah!" Ladybug answered enthusiastically. "She's probably home already."

Chat gave her a thumbs-up before running off in the direction of the bakery. Ladybug shook her head and turned to check on the akuma victim. It was a girl about her own age with flaming red hair and green eyes. After a short conversation, Ladybug learned that she'd fallen victim to Hawkmoth's evil plan because of a falling out with a boy who turned out to be everything she didn't see him as. Ladybug helped her home.

By the time Marinette detransformed and got home, Chat Noir was already gone. He'd left a note on her balcony, notifying her of his visit and telling her to be more careful in the future.

It won't do for you to risk yourself for our sake. She read and smiled. Chat was right. But he was also wrong – if she, Marinette didn't risk helping Chat Noir today, Hawkmoth might have won. And that was a future neither she nor Ladybug, Chat Noir nor his civilian identity could ever let happen.

Marinette tucked the note in between the pages of her sketchbook, humming to herself quietly. Tikki observed her quietly, munching on her cookie. Something had changed between Marinette and Chat Noir. Brought them closer. The red kwami was beginning to wonder if she made the right choice by encouraging their friendship, their affinity for each other. Their photos.

Chat had already posted the picture taken on the rooftop. For their sake, Tikki hoped Hawkmoth wasn't too good with technology. And if he was, well, Tikki would keep her holder safe. She was sure of that.