Chapter two- It's What We Do

Monday morning arrived with a bang. A local painter who was angry that no one would buy or even appreciate her work had been akumatized. She had the power to transform anyone she wanted into a dull, awful painting. Ladybug was the second one to arrive at the scene.

"Good to see you as always, Ladybug," Cat Noir greeted as his partner dropped beside him from the sky.

There it was again. Not Milady, not Bugaboo but Ladybug. He hadn't called her by those nicknames in quite a while, so that wasn't new. When she first noticed, truth be told, it hurt a lot because she did have some feelings for him. Her feelings for Cat Noir weren't nearly as strong as her feelings for Adrien, though. Thankfully, the hurt decreased over time as her feelings for Adrien grew stronger. She still felt the tiniest of twinges in her heart, but she was getting used to it.

"A pleasure as always, Cat," Ladybug responded.

Their teamwork had gotten even better lately, and they defeated the akuma in no time.

"Pound it," the two superheroes said in unison as they bumped fists, said goodbye and left in opposite directions.

Marinette entered the school building eight minutes late. If it wasn't for the battle that morning, she would have made it to school on time. She ran, hoping she would make it, but of course, she didn't. She was running so fast that she didn't notice a blond blur beside her, running just as fast as she was. She stopped right outside the classroom door, panting, trying to catch her breath before going inside. She finally noticed Adrien standing across from her, looking just as worn out as she did.

They noticed each other and spoke at the same time. "Why are you late? Overslept."

"Pick any-" Marinette and Adrien walked into the room, interrupting the teacher, Miss Bustier. "Since you're both late and the only ones left, you'll be partners for this project. Take your seats ."

"Yes, ma'am." Adrien and Marinette took their seats.

Marinette looked to the side and saw Chloé scowling at her. Why couldn't she be absent everyday like she was Friday? That would make everyone's life so much easier. Since the whole Miracle Queen incident, Chloé had been meaner than ever, if that was even possible. Marinette was glad that Lila was mysteriously absent for an unknown stretch of time again. She didn't want to deal with both mean girls.

"Now, as I was saying," Miss Bustier continued. "For this assignment, pick any Shakespeare play that you want, and write a four page report about it including detailed plot and character descriptions and your own perspectives due Thursday."

The class groaned collectively in response.

Miss Bustier smiled. "This will cheer everyone up. Our annual Christmas party is this Friday. Remember to bring a white elephant gift."

The entire class cheered excitedly.

Marinette knew the party would be happening soon and already bought a white elephant gift. She bought a red and green sparkly reindeer antlers headband and already had it wrapped. It felt good being prepared for once.

"So, my place today?" Adrien asked the blue-eyed girl as they exited the school with Nino and Alya.

"Y-your place?" Marinette stuttered.

"I thought we could work on the report at my place today and your place tomorrow."

Marinette let out a quiet breath of relief. "Okay."

Before Marinette knew it, Adrien was holding his car door open for her. She looked over at Nino and Alya, who each gave her a wink and a thumbs up. She then looked at Adrien's smiling face, smiled back, thanked him and got in the car. The car ride was kind of awkward since all Marinette could think about was the only other time they were alone in the back seat of his car. Adrien mentioned the girl he was in love with, which was hurtful.

"It's been too long," Adrien stated, interrupting Marinette's thoughts.

"Too long since what?"

"Since we've done something together, just you and me."

Marinette blushed. "Yeah, it has."

"I like hanging out with you, Marinette, whether it's school related or not."

"I like hanging out with you too." Just like that, it wasn't awkward anymore, and Marinette smiled the rest of the way to Adrien's house.

After a short car ride, Marinette and Adrien were sitting in his room, trying to decide which play to do the report on.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream?" Adrien suggested.

"Complicated. Hamlet?" Marinette responded.

"Depressing. How about Romeo and Juliet?"

"I love that play!" Marinette squealed in excitement. "I know the ending is depressing, but I love the overall message."

"Love conquers all," Marinette and Adrien said at the same time.

Marinette stared at her crush, eyes wide. He stared back at her with fond eyes. Was he blushing?

Adrien broke the silence. "Looks like we have our play. Can we do a read-through first? I haven't read it in a while."

Marinette shook her head to clear it so that she could respond coherently after the moment they just had. "Yeah, let's do a read-through."

Adrien turned music on but had the volume very low. Then, he walked over to his bookshelf, pulled out a red book and sat on his couch. He looked over at his dark-haired friend, still standing in the spot where he left her, and patted the cushion next to him.

Marinette blushed slightly and looked away but sat on the couch and sat as far away from Adrien as possible. She wanted to sit closer, but she was nervous. They had never been alone in his room before. They worked on every other school project in the school library. She found it strange that he invited her to his house this time. Her heart was pounding and her palms were sweating out of nervousness and excitement. So many things were running through her head of what she wanted to do and of everything that could and probably would go wrong.

"I only have one play book, so we'll have to share. You'll have to scoot closer," Adrien said, smiling at her, the book open on his lap. "Is that okay?"

This was it. This was how she was going to die. Her heart was going to beat so hard that it would fly out of her chest, and she would die. "Y-yeah." She scooted so close that their knees were touching.

Adrien's scent was intoxicating, and every time he said a line from the play, his breath tickled her skin, causing her entire body to tingle. If only those were the only problems. Every time he moved his head, his soft hair brushed her cheek or forehead, making her heart leap.

"Hey, listen," Adrien said excitedly with a grin.

Marinette tuned in to their background music and heard a very familiar song, making her return Adrien's grin. "It's the song we danced to."

"Well, we are halfway done with the play." Adrien put the book on the armrest of the couch, stood up, turned toward Marinette and offered his hand. "We always dance to this. It's what we do, so may I have this dance?"

Without a second thought, Marinette took Adrien's hand and stood up. He led her to a more spacious area of the room, put his hands on her waist and pulled her close. Marinette wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes. She couldn't help but remember the other two times they danced to this song, the first time at Chloé's party, the second time in New York, under the stars, and he always asked her. She just felt so safe, warm and just right in Adrien's arms.

Eventually, Marinette reluctantly pulled away. "We should finish the play.."

Still holding her, Adrien said, "You're right."

After Adrien released her and made his way to the couch, Marinette realized that a different song was playing. How long had they been dancing? Did he enjoy the moment just as much as she did? Maybe. Did he have feelings for her too? He never did anything that gave her that impression, but now, she had a little glimmer of hope. She squealed on the inside before returning to the couch to finish the play.

After reading Romeo and Juliet, Adrien walked Marinette to the front door of his house and looked out the window. Noticing that it was raining, he turned to Marinette and asked, "Want a lift?"

"Thank you, but I'll be okay."

"Please let us drive you," Adrien pleaded. "You'll get soaked if you walk, and you might get sick."

Marinette was about to protest again but stopped short when she looked into his eyes full of genuine concern. Her resolve melted away, and she smiled as she said, "I would love a ride. Thank you."

Adrien's face brightened at her words. He grabbed his umbrella and used it to protect them both from the rain as they walked to the car. The ride wasn't awkward at all this time. Conversation flowed naturally, and they shared a few laughs too. Once they arrived at Marinette's house, Adrien walked her to the door with the umbrella.

Marinette and Adrien stood outside the bakery door, under the umbrella in silence until Adrien spoke. "I have a photo shoot tomorrow, so I won't be at school, but we can still work on the report after. "

"Okay. My house tomorrow?"

"Sure. Right after school? The photoshoot should be over by then."

"Sounds good. See you tomorrow, " Marinette said, took a deep breath to gather her courage and kissed Adrien's cheek.

Marinette looked at Adrien, wanting to gauge his reaction.

Adrien smiled sweetly as he said, "See you tomorrow, Marinette," and walked back to his car.

As soon as she could, Marinette texted Alya. The message said that she had to talk to her about the study session with Adrien ASAP. Not long after that message was sent, Marinette's phone rang, showing Alya's picture.

"Tell me everything!" Marinette heard as soon as she answered the phone.

Marinette told her best friend everything that happened with Adrien.

After squealing, Alya responded by saying, "Girl, he likes you!"

Marinette hoped that was the case, but she wasn't entirely sure. "How can you be so sure?"

"Because I'm a good journalist, and a good journalist always gets the scoop," Alya said, confidently. "Let's review the evidence. First, going back to this past weekend, you guys had the cutest whipped cream fight I've ever seen."

Marinette giggled at the memory.

"Second," Alya continued, "Friday, didn't you tell me that he said he doesn't mind catching you?"

"Yes."

After letting Alya go on and on about "flirting", Marinette went to bed that night more hopeful than ever.