((Still got not ideas on SU-Z, so here's the next bit of this. If anyone's waiting on SU-Z stuff, sorry, but I just don't know what to do. It'd help if I could get a little feedback.))
The next day, shortly before noon, Adrien knocked on the door to the Dupain-Cheng family's bakery. It was closed today since the owners were out of town, but Marinette opened it quickly enough. "H-hi, Adrien," she greeted, blushing some. "I've got the books set up in my room."
An hour and some progress later and Marinette called for a break. "None of this stuff seems to make any sense."
"Well, I like to look at it like a puzzle," Adrien began. "Each piece has a shape and fits in with the others. Some pieces are given, the rest you have to figure out. Look for the piece that's missing, then look for the one that fits." She nodded slowly and smiled.
"Thanks, you know, for tutoring me." She had stopped stuttering on every fifth word about ten minutes before, and Adrien was glad.
"No problem. Besides, it's nice to just hang out with you." He smiled, and it widened when she blushed. Just too cute. "I mean, normally it ends up mainly being Alya and Nino doing the talking. Now, though, I can get to know more about you."
"O-oh, w-well, I mean, there's n-not much to know," she stuttered out, causing Adrien to sigh. She faltered, looking up at him. "Adrien?"
"Sorry, just… You were finally talking to me normally." She blushed. "I've noticed you don't seem to stutter around anyone else."
"W-w-well, um, that is—" She cut off suddenly as screams came from outside. They both rushed to the window to see a car flying through the air. Below, an akuma was wreaking havoc. "Um, study time's over, you should-?"
But he was already moving, cursing softly. He got outside and transformed, rather angry that things had been cut off. On the street, a man with large arms and a wide chest was throwing everything in sight. "Hey, beefy, what's the problem here?"
"The name is Titan, and I'm here to prove I'm the best. No one is stronger than me!" A short look over—amidst dodging cars and mailboxes—and Adrien determined it was probably Kim, angry over a lost bet.
"Well then, you came to the wrong place," Ladybug crowed from a nearby rooftop. "Everyone knows we always win." She jumped down and Chat watched, awestruck. "Happy to see me, chaton?"
"Always, m'lady." They jumped back before anything more could be said, dodging the lightpole being swung like a bat. "This might be tricky."
A half hour, three dozen cars, fourteen lights, two statues, and one rather annoyed goose later, and the akuma was purified. Miraculouses beeping, the heroes fled before the reporters got there. The awkward moment came as the teens ran into each other outside of the bakery—literally.
"A-Adrien?"
"Marinette? Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah. What are you doing out here?"
"Uh, I, uh, was helping people evacuate the area?"
"Oh. Um, me too." She laughed awkwardly, and Adrien relaxed some. "Well, I guess we should get back to studying?"
"Yeah." Back upstairs, the books came back out and the previous conversation was forgotten. An hour later, Adrien checked his phone and sighed. "Well, I should be getting home for dinner."
"O-oh," Marinette replied, saddened. "Well, um… You could eat here?" She blushed furiously at her own suggestion, which got worse at his answer.
"Really? I'd love to! Just let me tell Natalie." He pulled out his phone to make the call, overjoyed when he learned it was fine. "All's good." He gave her a thumbs up and a smile, and Marinette couldn't help the way her chest warmed at the sight. "So, what's for dinner, princess?"
She gave him a slight questioning glance at his choice of nickname before shrugging. "Wait here, I'll go toss something together." It was only after she left that Adrien berated himself.
"Stupid, that's Chat's thing, not yours." He sighed, but perked up when called down, the smell of a home-cooked meal like music to his nose.
A week later and Adrien was getting antsy. His plan was going well enough, but something seemed missing. They were talking regularly, had even exchanged numbers, and he learned more and more about her every day. But, he hadn't found the right way or the courage to bring up her feelings for him. Growing desperate, he called up his best friend to set up a meeting.
At the indicated restaurant, Adrien was mildly surprised to see Alya. "Nino. Hey, Alya, didn't know you'd be here," he said in greeting. "Though…you could probably answer my question faster than Nino."
"Adrien," Nino started, motioning the blond to sit down. "This is actually something of an intervention that has been a long time coming." All he got in response was a confused glance.
"What he means is, is that half the class at least has noticed the change in you. In particular, when it comes to one miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng." He blushed, unaware he'd been so obvious. "Uh huh, you're just lucky that neither her nor Chloe have realized it."
"W-what do you mean by that?" He was worried by that. Chloe makes sense, but why Marinette.
"I know you know why Chloe would freak but… Lemme lay it out for you. Our wonderful, awkward friend…has the biggest crush on you." Adrien stared at Alya dumbstruck, certain he misunderstood. "It's why she finds it so difficult to keep her cool around you. Also, you should understand this now, but if she learns I told you this, she will kill me for it, so be thankful."
"I am, I am," he assured her, leaning forward. "So you mean the reason she's always so shy around me is…"
"She has a bigger crush on you than you have on her," Nino finished, leaning back. Adrien just sat back, looking at his hands at this information.
"Now Adrien," Alya said as she leaned forward, snatching his attention. "You need to play this smoothly. Marinette is as oblivious to your feelings as you were to hers, so you'll need to try to ease her in. Sort of like you've been doing, but now you'll have my help."
"What do you have in mind?" The smirk he saw scared him deeply.
