This is probably the longest chapter I've written so far. I would say sorry for the chapter length inconsistencies on all these, but I know if I was a reader, I'd appreciate it. I hope all of you do, too! I mean, I had to google how to play the piano for this, so..

Also, I saw a post on tumblr the other day about how in fanfic when Adrien starts to like Marinette most people make him act more like Marinette instead of Chat Noir because Chat is how Adrien acts when he has a crush. Anyway, I thought it was a good point.

Day 12 – Piano Lessons

"Oh my goodness, Tikki," Marinette squealed as she looked down at her phone. "He wants me to come over today!"

"That's so exciting, Marinette," the kwami replied.

"I can't believe this is actually happening," Marinette could feel her excitement bubbling in her chest. "I'm actually going over to his house today. And he's going to teach me to play the piano. This is the best day of my life!" Marinette flopped backwards onto her chaise.

"Marinette!" Her maman called from the kitchen. "You're going to be late!"

Marinette squeaked, ran to get her things, and scrambled down the ladder. She didn't want to make a bad impression on Adrien today of all days. (Never mind that this sort of behavior was something he had most likely become accustomed to.)

She ran across the street with a croissant shoved in her mouth as she attempted to make it to class before the bell rang.

She ran in with just a few seconds to spare, quietly returning the blonds enthusiastic wave while she made her way to her seat.

Marinette tried her best to pay attention to Mme. Bustier. She really did. But the back of Adrien's head was much more interesting. It was all she could do to not make goo-goo eyes at his hair the entire class.

The second their teacher called for their morning break, Adrien whipped around to see Marinette.

"Hey, are you able to come today?" He asked. If she didn't know any better, she'd say he looked hopeful.

"Uh, yeah! I can!" She stuttered.

He grinned from ear to ear. "That's awesome. It's going to be so much fun."

"Can't wait!"

"Wait, what's happening today?" Alya piped up from her chat with Nino.

Adrien turned to her excitedly. "Father said Marinette could come over to my house for lunch and I was going to teach her a few notes on the piano."

Alya's eyes bulged out of her head. "You guys are… what?"

Adrien cocked his head. He was so cute when he did that, almost like a kitten. "I'm going to teach her some piano during lunch today. After all, a few days ago I ate at her house and destroyed her at Ultimate Mecha Strike III. I think she deserves to win at something, don't you?"

"Hey, hey, hey." Marinette retorted with a smirk. She may be nervous in front of her crush, but she will never let anyone trash talk her. "You did not 'destroy' me. I already told you, I let you win."

He cocked an eyebrow. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Prince-" She watched as the color drained from his face.

Did he almost call me… Princess?

"Alright class, back to your seats, please," Mme. Bustier called out.

Adrien gave her a shy smile before turning around and slumping in his seat. Marinette sat back in hers reeling. He tried to call her Princess. That was Chat Noir's nickname for Marinette. And only Chat Noir's. She hadn't even told Alya about it. How could Adrien have known about it? Chat could've told him about it, but why would he have brought that of all things up?

Unless…

Unless he knew because he was Chat Noir.

She shook her head. That was ridiculous. Sure, they had a few similarities, but that didn't mean they were the same person. As much as she tried, she couldn't picture Adrien Agreste traipsing around Paris dressed in leather and fighting the forces of evil. (Although, thinking about him in leather wasn't as hard as she would've liked.)

It had to have been a coincidence, right?

She knew what Tikki would say, 'You'll never know unless you ask him.' As always, she knew the kwami was right. She should ask him what that whole thing was about. She should, but could she? Regardless, she was determined to try.

Marinette was brought out her daydreams by the bustle of the classroom as her friends were packing up their things to head out for lunch. She bent down to grab her bag and froze. It was lunch time which meant in less than ten minutes she was going to be at Adrien's house, eating lunch at Adrien's table, playing Adrien's piano, sitting on Adrien's couch.

She was about to make an absolute fool of herself. She was going to babble incoherently and he was going to shun her and throw her out of his house and his father was never going to approve of her designs and she would be disgraced in the fashion world so she would have to go into hiding underground and design clothes for the black market criminal gangs—

"Marinette? Do you need help getting—"

"I'm fine!" She sat up right as Adrien knelt down to help. His forehead collided with hers with a smack.

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry! Are you ok?" Marinette panicked.

Adrien laughed. "I'm fine, I'm fine. How about you?"

"I'm good, I think." Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. "I'm sorry, I just got distracted is all."

Adrien maintained his smile as he stood up holding her bag. "It's alright. No harm, no foul, right?"

She relaxed and shouldered her backpack. "Right." It was unreal how he was able to calm her nerves without even doing much of anything. He made her comfortable and safe and unjudged. She marveled at the effect he had on her.

Adrien checked his phone. "My bodyguard is here. Shall we?" He bowed and cocked his head towards the door.

She giggled and lead the way out the door.

Lunch at the Agreste mansion was awkward to say the least. The table itself was twice the length of her room, maybe longer. The astronomically high ceilings and marble floors caused every word of their hushed conversation to resonate. She counted herself lucky his father was busy with work because she already felt so vulnerable in the imposing house. Adding in the intimidating nature of Gabriel Agreste, her favorite fashion designer and father to the most wonderful boy in the world, would've certainly thrown her into a full blown panic attack. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to live in this house every single day. Nothing could be a secret; the echo's would betray every step, every word.

She didn't begin to feel comfortable until they made it back to his bedroom, which was not what she was expecting to feel. But the juxtaposition of the lifeless rooms and hallways of the rest of the house to Adrien's warm, colorful room gave her a peace she wasn't able to understand.

She followed Adrien over to the grand piano in the center of the room. "Sorry my father wasn't able to join us today. He's usually busy, but I thought he might make an exception for a guest."

She studied the look on his face carefully. He was very good at hiding things from people, she guessed, but she was better at reading people. "Do you guys eat together often?"

He barked out a laugh so bitter it startled her. "Rarely, if ever." He sighed and turned to her with a practiced smile. "But it's alright. I may be able to talk him into letting me go to your house more often for lunch. Your family is so nice!"

Her eyes widened. "You-you want to-to come over again?"

He beamed. "Of course! I wouldn't ever want to impose, but if it's ok with your family, and you, I'd be honored to be a guest at the Dupain-Cheng residence again."

She felt her face heat up again. "Yeah, that'd be awesome."

"Awesome," He said as he patted the seat on the piano bench next to him. Right next to him. She tried so hard to sit comfortably on the bench without touching him, but the bench was too small. Her leg was pressed up against his and she felt like it was on fire. "Sorry, it's a bit of a tight fit on here for two people. Are you comfortable?"

"Mhmm," she forced out. She knew she looked like a tomato. She just knew it.

"Ok," He chuckled and she felt like she was melting. "Do you know any of the notes?"

Ok, breathe, Mari. Just breathe.

"I know a couple," she managed.

She watched as Adrien checked the time on his phone and frowned. "Hmm," He thought out loud. "We don't have a lot of time to teach a whole lot." He thought for a while and she could see the gears turning in his head. "I got it!" He exclaimed. He got up from the seat and stood behind her. One arm on either side of her, he set his fingers on the keys. "Put your hands on top of mine."

She blinked. "What?"

"We don't have time for a proper lesson," he shrugged. "This way you can know what it feels like to play."

She was sure he could hear her heartbeat pounding in her chest. She could feel his breath on her neck, the warmth of his chest pressed against her back, his hair tickling her ear. Eyes wide, heart thrumming, she slowly set her hands on top of his.

She watched completely captivated as his fingers began to dance over the keys. A beautiful melody rang throughout the room and reverberated like a concert hall, the sound surrounding and inspiring her. His fingers moved from note to note with a grace any ballerina would be jealous of. She closed her eyes and focused on the muscles of his hands as they twitched with each note he pulled from the piano.

"Push the right pedal," she heard him whisper in her ear. She did and the room filled with the dissonance of elongated notes. "Ok, let off and push it again," he instructed. She smiled, the uplifting melody ringing around her again.

He guided her with the pedal a few more times, and with each action, she felt more confident. She let her head fall back on his shoulder completely entranced in the music they were creating. "Ok, big finish. Hit that pedal," he murmured as he played the final chord.

They stayed in their position until the last of the echo's had muffled. She was loathe to move from her spot, the most relaxed she had been since she became the guardian. Adrien moved first, sitting backwards on the bench, hips touching.

"Good job," he whispered, his voice low.

She met his eyes, still dizzy from their song. "It was all you," she gulped.

"Nonsense," his lips rose into a soft smile. "It wouldn't have sounded half as good without your fancy pedaling."

His eyes drifted to her lips for the briefest of seconds. In her daze, she wasn't quite sure if that's what she had seen, but her breath hitched all the same.

Beep, beep, beep.

The alarm on Adrien's phone caused both of them to jump off the bench.

"That's my alarm-"

"It must be-"

"Time to go!" They stammered in unison. Marinette couldn't be bothered to appreciate their comedic timing. Her skin was still singing with the warmth of his touch.

They gathered their things and made their way to the car in silence, the tension as palpable as the music they had made mere minutes before.

Marinette sat in the car trying to commit everything to memory and wondering if what had just happened had actually just happened.

"Sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Adrien's voice broke the silence.

She turned at the sudden noise. He looked so worried, almost pained. "N-no. It's ok."

He met her eyes finally. "Are you sure? I would never want to make you uncomfortable. You're too important."

Her stomach fluttered. "Yeah, I'm sure. I liked cool. Um, I mean," Marinette sighed. "I was trying to say 'I liked it' and 'It was cool' at the same time."

"You're so cute, Marinette," Adrien chuckled.

"What?"

"When you stumble over your words. I think it's cute," He shot her a smile that made her knees weak.

"I, uh," Marinette gaped.

He laughed again, and she knew she would never tire of that sound. "You're welcome."

When they arrived at the school, Adrien got out of the car first and held out his hand to assist her, which after his compliments she was grateful for.

She walked into class floating on air and as she sat down behind him, she knew she wasn't going to be paying attention to the board the whole rest of the day.

Let me know if you like my story so far! Reviews help inspire me to keep going!