Hello, beautiful people! As I stated before, this story will only update occasionally, but I figured I better share the next chapter. I have up to chapter six ready to post, but I'm going to wait it out a bit so you aren't waiting forever for another chapter later on. I hope you enjoy this story! The next two chapters are quite longer than the first and this chapter, but it is worth the wait! Stay tuned!

Saying it was a disaster upstairs would be an understatement, it was more of a pandemonium. Marinette raced up the stairs before Anthony, making her way to his room. He quickly caught up to her, having skipped every other step and was currently trying to shove her into a wall to beat her. What he didn't take into account was how strong she was, with her being Ladybug and all, not that he would know though. He had a rhythm going, Marinette discovered. He would try shoving her to his left every other left step, so when the next shove came, she was prepared. She stopped abruptly, causing him to lose his balance and ram right into the wall, tripping him. Using his disorientation, she quickly jumped over him and ran the rest of the way to his room, not withholding her urge to stick her tongue out at Anthony. She just jumped onto his bed when he burst into the doorway, eyes wide and frantic, as if he just saw Ladybug herself (queue her inner joke). Marinette couldn't help but laugh at the face he was making, throwing herself back against his pillows with her arms around her head in victory. He slumped against his doorframe ever so slightly with a pout before making his way over to his bed and flopping face first onto his mattress. "Oh, is someone being a big baby about losing?" Marinette teased.

"That's because you cheated, you dirty cheater," he mumbled into his comforter. Marinette could only guess that his pout deepened while he stated that, and she could only laugh at the image that popped into her head.

"Oh, come on! It's been two and a half years since you visited! Don't ruin it by pouting," she teased once more, and this time she struck a cord with him. He quickly raised his head and turned a hard scowl to her. Anyone else would have found said scowl intimidating, but with his ruffled hair everywhere (a lot like Chat Noir's) and the pout still a little present, she couldn't help but snicker. She also couldn't help but ruffle his hair even more, his dark brown tresses only fluffing more, if that was possible. He quickly pulled away and sat up on his bed, trying to shake his hair flatter, but it was no use. His hair was far too thick to style it without mousse. He grumbled as he directed another glare to his little sister, who was still snickering, but it was quickly replaced with a squeal as he effortlessly pushed her off his bed. "Hey!" she cried indignantly, to which his response was a booming laugh, a lot like their father's laugh. His laugh was so pure and contagious that she couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her lips either.

"Well, it seems you're still small enough for me to push you around, huh?" he teased.

She grumbled before crossing her arms over her chest, sitting up on the floor. "I'm smaller than you, of course it'd be easy to push me around. You have papa's monstrous strength and size, I got more of maman's genes."

"That's true, you are a bit of a shorty," he said as he took his place next her on the ground.

"I am not! I'll have you know that I'm one of the taller girls in my class!"

"From what I've heard, there's not a lot of girls in that class to go by," he smirked.

"It's divided in half between girls and boys, it's balanced out," she huffed while she directed herself away from him.

"Ahuh, and how many girls are taller than you?"

"Two. Juleka and Chloe, and Alya is the same height as me."

"And how many girls are shorter than you." Her eyebrow twitched as she didn't want to admit this to him. It would only prove him right, so she tried to keep her silence, but he began poking her shoulder to get her to talk. "Marinette? Pipsqueak, you need to answer or I'll be able to claim this victory," he stated, all smug. His smirk only deepened as he decided to go in with the finishing blow, by poking her ribs from the back. She released another squeak as he began to tickle her, turning into a tackle very quickly. "Admit defeat! Confess how many girls are shorter than you!"

"O-okay, f-f-f-ine! Ther-there's thr-three g-g-g-girls short-shorter than m-me! Hahaha!" she admitted between laughs. She was thankful that he stopped tickling her, but he continued to tackle her on the ground, laughing as he relished in his victory. Said joviality didn't last long, however. Once her handicap of laughing died down, she was able to gather the strength to reverse his hold, and it took no time at all to have him lying on the ground beneath her in a straddle pose, with his arm being held in the middle of his back. "Who's the victorious one now?" she teased with a challenging smirk. He tried wiggling out from underneath her, but to no avail. She was too strong for him now, not that he'd admit to it. He tried with all his might to release her hold, but it was useless. With a cry of 'uncle,' she released him and sat to his right with all the arrogance as her partner after he irritated an akuma with one of his puns. Anthony pouted once more before sitting up again.

"So, little sis, where did you learn to fight like that? Last time I visited, you could hardly take something from my hands, let alone tackle me to the ground," he threw a suspicious glare her way, which only caused a guilty blush to appear on her cheekbones, looking away so he couldn't read her.

"W-well, I have a friend who knows karate, and him and I spar sometimes." It wasn't technically a lie, Adrien sometimes showed her his moves, and even sparred with her. Not to mention her and Chat have fought side by side for three years now, or the fact that Tikki lent her some other abilities. She knew it wasn't good to lie, but this was a half-truth, as he stated earlier. She couldn't just admit that she was Ladybug, no way. Tikki told her long ago that she could tell a select few people she trusted to reveal her identity, but only if she would be able to know and handle the consequences.

He considered her for a few intense moments, seeming to dig right into her very soul for answers, before he couldn't find anything else for the moment, so he only shrugged and stood, making his way to his mirror. He was about to grab his mousse and style his hair before she spoke up again, "are you planning on going anywhere today?"

"No, I just wanted to fix my hair a bit, because someone had to ruin it," he sent a playful glare.

"What can I say? At least I know your weakness," she admitted with a shrug and a small smirk.

"My hair is NOT a weakness! I just don't want anyone to see my hair like this."

"No one is coming here besides your family, Tony."

"You never know, your boyfriend could come over," he winked at her through his mirror, noticing the slight blush that bloomed across her face. She shook her head, and the blush mysteriously vanished, confusing him greatly.

"I guess I forgot to tell you, but I decided to move on from Adrien." She was startled when his mousse clattered onto the floor.

"What?! Since when?" he inquired, surprised.

"Last year. We sort of got drunk-"

"Underage…?"

"-and I sort of confessed to him my feelings, but I also confessed that I got over him too."

"How do you know you said all of this? You must've been extremely drunk to be able to admit something like that," he commented dryly with a hint of rebuke.

"Well… he sort of… told me the next day," she spoke softly, knowing what was to come, but it didn't happen like she thought it would.

"Oh. How did he take it?"

Marinette was surprised he wasn't yelling again. She thought he would've been surprised at this information, and he was at first, but now he was cool as a cucumber. She didn't understand him sometimes. "Well, he was kind of embarrassed to tell me everything that happened, but he seemed fine with it."

"Really? I find it hard to believe that the totally awesome man-candy you gushed about all the time would just 'be fine' with it. What did he say exactly? What was his body language like?"

Marinette stuttered with her answer, having it be so long ago she couldn't exactly recall everything at a moment's notice. But after a minute of contemplating, most of it came back to her. "I could've sworn I saw something in his eyes, a spark, but I'm not sure what sort of spark it could've been. His shoulders slumped slightly, but it was barely noticeable, so I could've been imagining things. I'm not sure why he would react in such a way though, he's never seen me as anything but a friend," she ended with a small sad lilt. She could feel her brother staring at her, for what reason she couldn't say, but it began to make her uncomfortable. Moving back onto his bed, she laid down casually as he continued to fix his hair. Anthony might have looked like he was still styling his hair, but he was half watching Marinette in concern and half contemplating on what she said. There's no way Adrien fashion-model Agreste would not have at least an inkling of a crush on her. He's heard from their parents and the girl herself about how many people have confessed to her over the years. Either he was dense… or gay. But he doubted the ladder. He supposed the only thing he can do is study the matter himself.

"So, have you made anything new, sis?" he changed the subject casually, knowing that this topic would easily distract her from his schemes, to which he knew he was successful when she stood upright and bolted through his door without another world. He didn't even flinch at the action, he was actually expecting it, and the confirmation never ceased to emit a low chuckle from him. She came back just a moment later with her fairly used and abused sketchbook in hand, bright smile causing dimples to appear and her cheeks to glow. It's not that she didn't take care of her sketchbooks, she loved them with all of her heart, but she used them so often that they wore down quite easily. From the way this one has worn down so much since her birthday when he gave it to her, it seems this one was one of her new favorites, and she has been using it constantly. "Have a lot in there, spots?" he asked.

Marinette couldn't help but roll her eyes at his nickname, he occasionally calls her that due to her wearing polka dots most of the time. She also found it quite coincidental that she was Ladybug, that was known for her spots. "Yes, I use this one constantly! The paper is great material and the pencils that go with it flow so easily! Thank you again, Tony! Are you sure it didn't cost too much?"

"How many times do I have to answer this, Mari? It was well within my price range. Besides, why would I want to spoil you with such lavish gifts when you're spoiled rotten here at home?" he retorted as he poked her cheek, insinuating that she was chubby. She could only stick her tongue out in retaliation over his action. He gently took the book from her grasp and studied the cover before opening the book. Normally her sketchbooks her parents and friends would get her were pink or polka dotted, or a combination of the two, but this last time around he got her a blue sketchbook. Although her favorite flower was a cherry blossom, he knew that she also loved roses. The background of the cover was a sky blue, with a large white rose in the middle whose pedals were accentuated with darker blue, silver, and black lines. The rose, to him, represented her innocence and natural beauty, but also her strength and resilience. Blue was a calming power color, one of subtle confidence. He never told her how much the cover reminded him of her, or how highly he thought of her, just that he thought she would like it. He wasn't wrong, that she would like it, but he was proud in the fact that she could tell how much thought he put into finding the perfect cover for her. Shaking his head from his deep thoughts, he opened the book and had to hold his gasp over designs that flooded the pages. Most pages consisted of dresses of all seasons, but other pages had random sketches of jackets and pants, and even costumes. He raised an articulate brow at her when he reached those pages, to where she could only shrug her shoulders in slight embarrassment before explaining that they were costume concepts for her friend's comics. "So… are you planning on making any of these costumes, then? For your friend, I mean."

"Well, no, not really. Unless he asks if I could make them."

"Interesting. I'm sure he appreciates your effort." There was an awkward silence that followed, as he was casually looking through her book and devising a plan to investigate Adrien, while Marinette was silently freaking out over the fact that some of those costume designs were ones she wanted her Ladybug costume to become. He couldn't know she was Ladybug, no one can. It's too dangerous, she rationed. Despite Tikki saying she could tell, she didn't know if she should. She trusted her brother, but she didn't want to risk having him in danger. "These are great!" he startled her out of her musings. "Are you planning on putting these in your portfolio?"

"Some of them, yes. The spring line portfolios are due for the internship I want in a few weeks, and I only need a few more dress designs," she muttered awkwardly. It's not like she didn't like talking about her designs, but she felt that this conversation was really going nowhere. She knew that Anthony didn't understand that side of fashion, and he was only humoring her, and she loves him for that, but she knew that neither of them really liked talking about things the other didn't know about. Being the obviously more sensible of the two, she decided to change the subject to his tour he just had. His expression went from a soft, admirable glow turned into a blinding gleam as he told her all of his favorite memories of his recent travels. He hasn't been able to come home in two years, since Marinette started college, so he had quite a few stories. He lived with a smaller group of his friends, who were also his coworkers, and they all travelled together. They all had separate jobs as photographers, critics, and journalists for the travelling journaling company Travel à la Mode, where they all travel to different cities or countries and critique all the most talked-about sites. He was one of the two photographers of the magazine, while there were three journalists, two editors, and one 'crew leader' to ensure they get everything done. However, Anthony stated multiple times that he helps the crew leader organize everything due to her anxiety attacks. She doesn't have them very often, but when she does, he's there to help her. Marinette always teases him that he likes her, and at first he would just brush it off or dramatically claim otherwise, but nowadays he develops a slight blush. Looks like I have some dirt on him too, she thought.

Time flew by and before they knew it, it was time for dinner. It was filled with funny stories and jovial laughter, mostly directed at the kids (most noticeably Marinette), and plans for the near future. Anthony finished school two years prior before he went on his trip for his job, so he didn't have to worry about testing, and he wasn't going to let Marinette forget it. Being six years older than Marinette gave him the advantage of finishing his two-year degree after university in photography and journalism to be able to come home for a few weeks for her fall break. He would have three weeks to spend with them while Marinette would have two weeks off. His working group had the same thought process, going home to their families for three weeks before they head off travelling again. All of them had siblings, but only him and Tifanny, the crew leader, had one sibling, while the others had at least three. Most of his team lived in France, while three lived in Italy, two in Germany, and one in England. They all met at the secondary college, and quickly became friends and were all conveniently hired in the same magazine distribution company, where they created Travel à la Mode. Their next location of interest would be Russia, where they would need to meet another friend they met in college who went back home to Russia for her own magazine company. Marinette wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was sort of envious of Anthony, just because he could travel the world, while she was stuck at home. But she figured she would get enough travelling in when she becomes a famous designer.

After dinner, they spent about an hour playing a board game, watched a movie together, and then called it a night. It was only ten in the evening, and Marinette wasn't tired yet, so she decided to design for a bit. She was just climbing her ladder to her room before a hand grabbed her wrist, making her look downwards to find Anthony smiling up at her.

"Hey, pipsqueak. I can tell you're not tired yet, and I still have a bit of jetlag from being in America. Want to spend some time with your big bro?"

"What's with you and American slang?" Marinette teased with a growing smirk.

"What can I say? I was traveling in the States for two years," he stated rhetorically as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Okay, I guess that's fair. Just let me grab my sketchbook and I'll be right there."

"Gotcha!" Marinette couldn't help the laughter bubbling in her chest as he ran to his room in a giddy frenzy, just like a child on Christmas morning. She rolled her eyes at the comparison and emerged into her room, where Tikki met her midway with a large smile plastered onto her face.

"Well, it seems like your brother wants to spend as much time with you as possible," she chirped.

"I would hope so! I haven't seen him in over three years, and our availability to Skype one another is pretty rare. To be honest, I'm excited to spend time with him too," she ended with a soft smile.

"I can tell! For humans, three years away from family is quite a long time! At least you two are still close!"

"Me too. I hear about siblings that leave for a short amount of time and change so much that they aren't as close to their family anymore. I was so worried that would happen to us, but I should've known that wouldn't happen. He's still the same old goofball I've grown up with," she stated with a fond shake of her head.

Tikki could only smile at her chosen, knowing her fondness of him overpowered even that of any sort of anger she could have for anything else, even when dealing with Chloe or Lila. "I must ask though… why didn't you tell me you had a brother?" she inquired, trying not to sound hurt by this hidden information.

Marinette could hear the slight pain in her question, and felt bad for not telling her sooner. "I'm sorry Tikki, it just never came up in any sort of conversation."

"It's okay, I understand. So, does this mean that even Alya doesn't know?"

"That's right. Don't worry though, I'll tell her tomorrow."

"Are you sure you won't forget?" Tikki teased.

"Ha ha, very funny. No, I won't forget. I'll tell her tomorrow," she said with a yawn.

"Are you sure you're okay with spending time with Anthony so late? You seem tired already, and knowing you and from what I've witnessed from Anthony, you'll try to stay up all night. It is a school night, and you'll be tired during your classes!" she fretted.

"Don't worry, I'll set a limit to how late we stay up. I'll come back here to sleep, I promise."

"Good. Just make sure to take your phone to set an alarm. I'll stay in here tonight. Good night, Marinette."

"Good night, Tikki." She grabbed her sketchbook and phone before going back to Anthony's room. They continued to talk about his travels and what they would do during her two weeks of break before he had to head back. They didn't realize it was so late until they both began to feel their eyelids getting heavy. They both subconsciously laid together on his massive bed and continued talking until they weren't aware they fell asleep.

Marinette woke up to the rapid knocks on the door, and she grumbled as she climbed out of her bed, but was confused as she couldn't find her ladder. Opening her eyes more, she realized that she apparently stayed in Anthony's room overnight. Groaning, she opened the door to find a startled but not surprised mother in the doorway, who slowly displayed a knowing and loving smile. "Good morning, sweetie. How late did you two stay up last night?"

"I'm no-ot quite su-sure," Marinette stuttered while yawning. "Sorry maman, neither of us really wanted to sleep right away, so we wanted to talk."

"Will you two keep it down, please? I'm trying to sleep here," Anthony mumbled as he turned towards his wall.

"Huh, guess he's still not a morning person," Sabine mumbled, resulting in a pillow being thrown her way. Unfortunately, in his sleep-deprived state, he ended up hitting Marinette instead, emitting a squeak from her.

"Hey! You hit me instead!"

"Oops, don't care," he yawned and went back to sleep.

"Well, hopefully that pillow woke you up a bit, sweetie," Sabine whispered as she shut his door behind them. "You need to get ready for school now, or you'll be late."

"Late? What time is-" she cut herself off quickly as she turned to the clock above the television. She released a squeak when she noticed that she only had fifteen minutes to get ready and be at school. She dashed upstairs and quickly changed into a pair of jean capris and a floral shirt with her usual blazer, brushed her teeth, and quickly fixed her pig tails before grabbing her flats and backpack before running out the door. Marinette grumbled as she realized that she didn't even grab breakfast but was thankful that the lights seemed to be all green for her today. If she was lucky, she might just make it to class before the final bell.

Marinette was running through the empty halls, counting the doors as she went until she reached her classroom. She crashed through the door and plummeted into her seat just as the bell rang. She sighed a breath of relief, that sounded strangely like a groan, and seemed to melt into her table. She was only brought back to reality when she heard a light giggle from beside her. Glancing to her left, she tried her best to give her best friend a cold scowl, but knew she failed when Alya's smirk grew wider. "So, what made my awesome fashion designer-friend late to school today? Overslept?"

"I guess you could say that," Marinette mumbled before reaching to her bag and getting out her materials. Before Alya could question her cryptic response, Madame Bustier called the class to order and began the lesson. Due to it being almost a week before her fall exams, they had a lot of topics to cover. By the time classes were over for lunch, the group was hardly able to keep their heads upright.

"I don't know about you dudes, but I'm exhausted and can use a drink," Nino sighed.

"Dude, it's only noon. We can't drink while the day is half-finished," Adrien laughed. If Marinette wasn't so tired herself, she would've fainted at his low, heavenly laugh. She couldn't help it, she was over him, but it's just those 'first love' instincts wanting to kick in. She shook those thoughts out of her head. Why am I thinking these thoughts again? I confessed and got over him, it's not going to happen. Not that I don't want it to, but I'm not going to wait around for him anymore, she concluded as she remained towards the back of the group with Alya just ahead of her.

"Okay girl, what's up?" Alya asked. The boys slowed to a stop in front of the girls, waiting for them to catch up and listening to what Marinette had to say.

Marinette blushed as all their attention turned to her once more. "Oh, nothing. I'm just tired, is all."

"Oh yeah! You didn't tell us why you were so tired this morning. And almost late, if I may add," Alya teased.

"I couldn't tell you why, class started, and we endured torture until now," she retorted.

"You're evading the question, mademoiselle."

"I was just up late designing and talking."

"With whom were you talking?"

"You're extremely nosy today, what happened? Something with the super duo?" Marinette teased, not evading the latest question but genuinely curious as to what was up with her friend.

"Oh, no, nothing happened with my babies," Alya sighed wistfully, albeit sadly. "I wish they would confess already; it's been three years since their debut! They should be together by now, maybe even with kids," she proclaimed off-handedly, oblivious to the blush that adorned Marinette's and Adrien's faces.

"A-Alya! You don't just say stuff like that so casually!" Marinette stuttered, face still aflame.

Nino was laughing beside his girlfriend, finally able to catch his breath as he wrapped an arm around her waist. "She's right, babe. You need to be more subtle. Besides, these babies over here are still so innocent themselves," he smirked as he looked at them from the side. He almost couldn't contain his low chuckles as their faces surprisingly became darker.

"Oh, yeah, you're right babe," Alya giggled. "These cinnamon rolls wouldn't understand adult talk. Adrien, maybe, due to his modeling career. But Marinette? No way," she teased.

"I'll have you know that I take offense to that!" said girl protested with a stomp, only making herself seem like a little kid throwing a tantrum, which made Adrien think she was still cute.

"Oh yeah? Then tell me, have you had a boyfriend?"

"Well, no."

"A date? That doesn't include Evillustrator's abduction," she interrupted before Marinette could answer.

"No."

"Have you even had your first kiss?" she asked rhetorically, believing she knew the answer. She turned back towards Marinette in question when she didn't respond, surprised to see a slight blush on her cheekbones despite her look of indifference. "Oh my god, girl, you didn't?!"

"Didn't what?" Nino asked, he was completely lost, having only paid half attention while talking with Adrien. Adrien was only half listening to Nino as he eavesdropped into Alya's conversation, and he couldn't tell if he was glad he did.

"Why didn't you tell me?! I thought we were besties!"

"We are, don't worry about that! It's not that I didn't want to tell you, it was just so long ago, and there were no romantic feelings involved-"

"You gave your first kiss to someone who didn't even love you?!" Alya all but screamed. Marinette quickly tried shushing her friend, face slightly pinker. "Why-"

"It wasn't him that initiated the kiss. Besides, the feelings were mutual."

"Girl… I don't know whether I should feel angry, upset, or proud," Alya mumbled, eliciting a laugh from Marinette and a low chuckle from Nino.

"How about all three, babe," he suggested while kissing her temple. "Feel angry for her losing her first kiss to a blind idiot, feel upset that she didn't tell you, and feel extremely proud that our mini muffin initiated her first kiss." He laughed when Marinette stuck her tongue out at him before he continued, "that just means that our little cinnamon roll over there needs to have his first kiss."

"I can hear you!" Adrien cried indignantly, causing his other friends to laugh. He shook his head in exasperation before looking Marinette's direction. She already had her first kiss? Why wouldn't she tell anyone, especially Alya? Who would've stolen her first kiss, and not have felt anything about it? His train of thought was cut short when said girl looked to him, a look of sympathy on her face, most likely because he hasn't had his first kiss. He smiled reassuringly back, telepathically telling her that all was good. The topic was changed once again as they made their way down the main stairs in front of the school. Halfway down, the crew heard a loud engine, and upon observation, they saw it came from a motorcycle parked in front of their school. There was already a small group of girls surrounding it, and a few boys checking out the vehicle. Before anyone in the group could speak, Marinette released a squeal with a quick 'later guys' and dashed through them down the stairs, right up to the person on the motorcycle. The other three were confused, to say the least. They grew even more so when the driver gave her a second helmet and she hopped on, waving to them as they sped off.

After a moment of silence, Alya was the only one brave enough to break the awkwardness. "Well, I don't know what that's about, but we can ask when we come back from lunch."

"Yeah," the boys replied simultaneously. Adrien was brought back from his senses when his driver drove to the sidewalk, signaling his departure.