Marinette woke up with a start. So much so, that if this hadn't happened before, Tikki would have been knocked off the bed. But she saw the hand before it hit her, and she flew up into the air.
"Marinette!" she complained, spinning a little from the quick awakening. But the dizziness quickly stopped when she saw the look on Marinette's face. "Marinette? Are you okay?" Marinette had buried her face in her hands. She nodded slowly and took a deep breath, pushing her hands through her hair.
"I'm okay. Just another nightmare." Tikki flew over and patted her shoulder.
"Can't remember what it was about?" She shook her head.
"No. It's totally bugging me." She sighed. Oh well. She looked over at her desk and jumped up. A blue package with black ribbon was sitting on her desk.
"I couldn't give it to him yesterday, but I'm definitely going to do it today!" Marinette popped out of bed, her nightmare forgotten, and threw on some clothes. She grabbed the box determinately and flew downstairs, grabbing some cookies as she ran out the door.

Marinette arrived at the steps of the school early again. Twice in a row, that was unusual. She ran up the steps and burst into the classroom. She paid no attention to Chloe's look of disgust, and sat down beside Alya, startling her. Alya narrowed her eyes and peered at Marinette.
"What?" Marinette asked nervously. Alya pulled out her phone. Marinette held her breath. Was she going to take a picture like yesterday? Did Ladybug not defeat Cameravillain properly? Was this even Alya? But Alya simply checked the time. Marinette sighed in relief. Of course, why was she so worked up? Alya reached out and pulled Marinette's check.
"Ow!" She complained. Alya gasped.
"Marinette? You're actually here? On time?" Marinette giggled and nodded.
"I wanted to give this to-" Nino walked in the door and did a double take.
"Woah! Marionette, why are you here so early?" Marinette ignored him.

"Is Adrien coming in today?" She asked Nino. He nodded. Alya pointed to the package Marinette held.
"Is that for him?" Marinette nodded.

"I wanted to give it to him since yesterday was... you know..." Alya nodded.
"Talk about a crappy birthday. There was the signing and then Cameravillain..." Alya trailed off, an odd look on her face.

"Did you get frozen?" Nino asked. She nodded.
"Yeah it was..." She trailed off again, unable to form words to describe it.
"Freaky." Nino finished, a similar look on his face. Marinette looked between the two friends. She remembered the panic of the darkness, the horror of being unable to scream out or move. "And it's like-"
"Something was in the dark." Alya said, her turn to finish the sentence. Marinette inhaled. She also remembered feeling something with her. So it wasn't just her imagination! There was something out there!
"Hey guys" Adrien said, walking in. Marinette quickly hid the package, she'll give it to him later. He took his seat and looked at the three friends. "Why so grim?" Alya shook her head.
"It's nothing. Anyways, since we totally missed you yesterday-"
"Yeah, who knew you had so many fans?" Nino interrupted. Alya shot him a glare.
"We were thinking about all going to the zoo together. Wanna come?" A smile broke out on Adrien's face making Marinette's heart melt.
"Yeah, I'd love that!" Alya grinned.
"Awesome! We can go after school. That okay with you, Marinette?" Alya asked, elbowing her friend. Marinette snapped out of her daze and nodded.
"Oh, uh, yeah! Th- that'd be... great." She finished, cursing herself for stuttering. Adrien nodded.
"It's a plan."

"So, did you actually sign the present this time?" Alya teased. Marinette nodded meekly. She pointed.
"Right there. But I want to give it to him face to face so that won't be a problem." Alya hit her playfully on the shoulder.
"You go girl!" Marinette laughed. They walked down the steps together, chatting a little about what they wanted to see at the zoo.
"Hey girls!" The sudden shout from Nino surprised Marinette, and she fell forward down the stairs. She shrieked as she fell, dropping the package. She closed her eyes and braced herself, but gentle hands caught her. She peeked out of one eye.
"Woah there." Marionette's heart fluttered. Was that.. Adrien's voice? She opened the other eye and gasped. He laughed.
"Do you fall down the stairs often?" Marinette laughed awkwardly.
"Y-yeah." She said, forcing her mouth closed to stop a stream of nonsensical- and embarrassing- words from falling out. She started to sink into Adrien-land, but then she realized he was still holding onto her. She backed away quickly.
"Uh s-sorry." She said, blushing.
"It's fine." He said, noticing the blue package on the ground. "What's this?" Marinette grabbed at it.
"Uh n-nothing-"
"It's a present for you." Alya cut in. Marionette gaped at her. She winked and mouthed 'You're welcome.' "Marinette made it." Adrien smiled and started to open the box. He pulled out a dark red, knitted beanie.
"Wow!" He said, putting it on. "You made this?" Marinette nodded, her face as red as the hat. "It's great! Thanks Marinette." And she turned three shades redder.

The day at the zoo passed by quickly. They saw all kids of animals, but Marinette's favorite was the black panther (mainly because it was Adrien's favorite). She smiled, remembering when she had to save Kim from an akumatized villain with Chat Noir. She frowned when she realized she hadn't seen him in a while. She kind of missed him... She shook her head. You're here with Adrien now. Enjoy it!
"Hey, why don't you guys stop by our bakery on the way home? I'm sure we have extra cookies or something." Marinette offered. Alya nodded excitedly.
"That's a great idea girl!" Marinette led the way home.

"Mom! Dad!" She called, walking in. Her dad came out from the back room. A smile lit up his face.
"Marinette honey!" He went to pull her into a tight hug, but Marionette stopped him.
"Not in front of my friends!" She whispered. He nodded and winked.
"What can I get for you guys?"
"Do you have any extras?" He shook head.
"No, but there's supplies in the back if you want." Marionette nodded. She turned to her friends.
"You guys can hang out upstairs if you want. It's through the door..." She pointed them the way, then headed into the kitchen. She got out a mixing bowl and all the ingredients. She tied on an apron and was about to start baking when someone knocked on the door.
"Come in!" She said, expecting it to be her dad. But a blonde head peeked around the door instead. "A-adrien!" She said, backing up. He grinned sheepishly and walked in.
"Hope you don't mind, I was beginning to feel like a third wheel around those two." He laughed good-naturedly and scratched the back of his neck. Marionette swallowed and nodded.
"S-sure..." She turned back to the bowl. Don't mess this up Marinette!
"Can I help?" Adrien asked, coming up behind her. She froze. Too close!
"Um, sure. You can mix the batter." He nodded. She pointed out all the ingredients and he started mixing. They worked in silence for a bit, then Adrien stopped.
"Hey Marinette!" She turned around- and got a face full of batter. She gasped and wiped it off.
"You little-!" He laughed. She smirked. So it was going to be litle that, huh? She grabbed a bottle of vegetable oil and advanced on him. He backed away.
"Uh, no I'm sorry-" Too late! Marinette had poured it all over his head. She doubled over laughing, seeing his look of shock. He started to laugh too.
The food fight continued in moderation throughout the baking process. They laughed and talked about the little things, like school and who was better at a video the cookies were in the oven, they started to calm down.
"We should probably clean up." Marinette said, looking down at her filthy apron. Adrien agreed, and she pointed him at the sink. "I'll do a little of the counter while you clean up, then we'll switch. Deal?" He nodded. They cleaned in silence, but there were smiles on their faces.

Finally they finished, and were leaning against the counter together. Marinette was proud of herself. She barely stuttered! She closed her eyes. This was the perfect day. Adrien was even still wearing her hat. She had to admit, she was pretty proud of it. She knew her lack of stuttering was probably a one time deal. She wished she could talk him normally. Sensing her sadness, Adrien .lreached over and placed his hand on hers. She blushed and turned toward him. He was looking at her with those perfect green eyes.
"Marinette?"
"Y-yeah?" She said, flustered.
"Thank you. I had a lot of fun." She laughed awkwardly.
"No problem. I had fun too!" She glanced down at their hands. When she looked up, her heart skipped a beat. His face was definitely closer than it had been. His green eyes pierced hers. She leaned in a little, her mind blank, and closed her eyes. Waiting.
Ding. The oven timer startled them both. She jumped back, and her eyes flew open. Not saying a word, she took the cookies out. They were fresh and golden. Perfect. She grinned proudly at Adrien and couldn't help but notice a tiny flicker of disappointment cross his face. She blushed again.
"We should take these to Alya and Nino." She said hesitantly. It was more of a question than a statement. He nodded.
"Good idea." She followed him out the kitchen door and into the living room. He stopped in the doorway.
"What's the matter?" Marinette asked, peeking out behind him. She gasped. Adrien cleared his throat and Alya and Nino sprung apart. "Alya? " She asked. Alya was beet red.
"Uh, we were just... Uh..." Desperate to change the subject, Marinette held out the tray of cookies.
"Who wants a cookie?"

Ladybug sat atop a rooftop in Paris, with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower, in all of its golden glory. She closed her eyes and sighed. The streets of Paris were blissfully quiet tonight, creating a perfect setting for her to sort out her thoughts. The run-in with Alya and Nino happened so soon after the incident in the kitchen, she barely had any time to process what happened. Ladybug blushed again, remembering the way Adrien's green eyes pierced her heart. She was so grateful she didn't mess up and say anything embarrassing, but the whole ordeal was kind of confusing. Did Adrien actually like her, or did she just imagine the flash of disappointment? She groaned. This whole mess... A silky voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Hello, m'lady." Ladybug grinned and turned around.
"Chat Noir!" He took a seat beside her on the ledge.
"At your purrrrr-vice." He said playfully. She giggled. She had missed his puns.
"Where have you been?" He winked.
"Does my lady want to know more about me?" He teased. She shook her head and smiled.
"You know I can't." He sighed. It was worth a try. They sat in silence for a little bit.
"Couldn't sleep?" Ladybug asked. Chat Noir shook his head.
"Didn't want to." She stared at the tower.
"No, me either." Chat Noir looked at her with concern.
"Everything okay?" She nodded, paused, and sighed.
"No. I've been having these awful nightmares lately." Chat Noir was startled.
"You too? Nightmares you can't remember?" Ladybug glanced at him out of the corner of her eye.
"You've been having nightmares too?" He nodded. He looked away.
"I wonder what that means..." She shrugged.
"I'll ask my kwami when I turn back."
"Why don't you ask now?" She glared at him. "I'm serious." He was looking at her so intently her heart fluttered a little. She glanced away.
"I'm not going to do that." He sighed. He knew she would refuse, but he was just the tiniest bit disappointed. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. They sat together on the rooftop in silence for the rest of the night. It wasn't awkward, just pleasant. Ladybug didn't know she missed Chat Noir so much. It was nice to have her partner back. She wanted to tell him about the thing in the darkness, but she didn't want to ruin the quiet. Maybe another night. She thought.

Ladybug woke up to a sleeping kitty. She jumped. They must have both fallen asleep! She looked at him. He looked peaceful and kind of... Cute... She shook her head. Think of Adrien. She realized she didn't have any nightmares this time. Just being together must chase the bad dreams away.
A beeping interrupted her. Oh no! Panicked, she looked at Chat Noir ring. He only had two indicators left. She shook him awake.
"Wake up! You're about to change!" He woke up slowly. She stood up, and without his brace, Chat Noir fell over.
"Hey!" He complained, but she was already halfway across the rooftop.
"I'm going home. But..." She stopped. "Maybe we could meet up again? Tomorrow night?" She asked shyly. Still a little dazed, Chat Noir simply nodded. She smiled. "See you then!"
And she was gone.

Chat Noir watched her leave with and open mouth. "Woah." He said. That whole scene happened so fast. Did he just get asked out? By Ladybug? He shook his head. No way she meant it as a date. His ring beeped and he got up, pulling out his stick. He leapt off the roof, and for some reason, he couldn't wipe a stupid grin off his face.