A.N.- I worked so hard to post this on time, so I really hope you enjoy this. I feel like I have to thank my beta at the start of every chapter, she's so awesome. Make sure you read the ending note, it contains info on the next update. Italics are flashbacks.

Chapter 7

Mari kept running the brush through her hair, hoping that it would calm her nerves. It was a different feeling than when she was sitting in the cafe waiting for Adrien to show, she wasn't sure which was worse. All she had to go on about Bellamy was what Amelie had told her, which was mostly about his appearance.

"Tonight, is the night, Mari!" Amelie bounded into the room, her excitement exuded off her. Her roommate was more eager for her to go on this date than she was. "I know that you two will just hit it off. Then the four of us could double. Wouldn't that be fun?"

"Four?" Marinette turned from the mirror to face Amelie. The redhead had eventually confessed that Adrien had ended things two days after their girl's night together.

"It must have slipped my mind to tell you, Adrien and I are back together."

Amelie sighed in contentment as she turned to survey the apartment, everything had to be perfect in order for the plan to work. Marinette was gone for the day, helping her parents with a catering event, and Adrien would arrive at any moment. She would explain her side of the story and then everything would be fine.

Her parents had been on her case since she told them about the break; there was enormous pressure to fix things. The name Malone in the fashion industry was within the top 5 in Paris and a merger between an Agreste and her would secure the company for years to come.

The doorbell rang, and her heart rate quickened. This was it. When she opened the door and her eyes landed on the blonde, any anxiety washed away.

"Hey." Her lips spread into the warmest smile she could muster.

"You wanted to see me?" He walked past her with no other greeting. His coldness wasn't the best start to the conversation, but his anger was understandable.

"Would you like something to eat or drink?" Her father always told her that a way to a man's heart was through his stomach, she only hoped that the baked goods that Marinette left behind would do the trick.

"What do you want Amelie?"

"I miss you, Adrien," she set the plate of chocolate chip cookies forcefully on the counter, "I don't know what happened between us, but I'm sorry. My mother taught me certain behavior and I guess I took her advice too far. I can change, I promise." During her speech, she watched his facial features soften. "Don't give up on me-on us, please." Tears threatened to spill over, she didn't know what she would do if he walked away from them.

Her body froze when his arms slowly wrapped around her, engulfing her in the warmth his body offered.

"I won't," he murmured into her hair. Her tears continued to fall but changed to that of joy. She had him back, and that's all that mattered.

Marinette plastered on her best fake smile. Amelie's attempt to calm her nerves only caused the butterflies in her stomach to flutter once more. They got back together within a week. She shouldn't be so surprised, most couples go through rough patches here or there, they always find each other again.

"That's great, Amelie." The doorbell interrupted their conversation further.

"I'll get it, just do some more touch ups, make him wait." She squeezed her shoulder before leaving to answer the door.

Was there still time to fake being sick? She could just hide out in her room and read her comic books and call it a productive evening. Alya's words echoed in her head about Adrien. She had to do this even if she wasn't fond of the idea. Besides, her best friend promised that she would check in with her later that night.

She stood and peeked out her door to the guy Amelie was entertaining. His medium curly dark chestnut hair almost seemed to come alive off his head. His smile was warm and friendly, and his body was lean. It wasn't until she saw his piercing gray eyes did her heart rate increase. She had to give Amelie one thing, he was handsome. The door creaked giving away her position.

"Marinette, there you are!" Amelie winked discretely, walking towards her to introduce the two properly. "I want you to meet Bellamy." Marinette ignored Amelie gently pushing her forward.

"It's nice to finally meet you. I've seen you around school, and, of course, Amelie has talked about you so much," he said.

I wish she'd offered the same courtesy, her mind instantly shot back. Amelie swiftly elbowed her in the side at her silence. "Same," she lied smoothly, earning a smile.

"Ready to go?" Right now, the only thing she was sure of was that she was as ready as she ever would be.

The walk to Bellamy's car was walked more in silence, mostly because Marinette had no idea where to even start. It wasn't like she had much experience in the dating realm growing up. Normally if she liked someone, she instantly couldn't form sentences around them. Not a great start in any relationship if she couldn't communicate.

Bellamy opened his car door but stopped Marinette before she could take a seat. "You have a leaf caught in your..." His voice trailed off as his hand gently ran through her hair releasing the trapped foliage.

"Adrien, you really don't have to do this."

There were a lot of better uses of the afternoon, including playing the newest Megastrike 6, but it seemed the model had something to prove.

Marinette didn't know how the conversation happened in the first place. Alya was boasting that Nino learned how to braid her hair, and the next moment Adrien was getting teased by his so-called best friend. It was all in fun, but even after the conversation shifted she could tell that it still bothered him. After they separated from the others, she invited him over and offered her hair and teaching abilities to learn. He didn't hesitate when accepting.

She didn't hear a response, but that could have been due to the two hair ties strategically placed in his mouth. His fingers kept running the course of her raven hair repeatedly. The motion was hypnotic, Marinette closed her eyes and hummed as his fingers also massaged her scalp in the process. The thought had never occurred to her that she would enjoy the feeling of someone playing with her hair. She was surprised that such an activity wasn't carried out at one of Alya's sleepovers, but all she knew was that she didn't want the sensation to stop.

"So first," as soon as the words left her tongue, his fingers stopped flowing through her locks, awaiting further instructions, "separate the hair into two pieces." Teaching him how to do her pigtails was the first step before she would instruct him on how to braid. When she felt the heat of his fingertips tease her neck while trying to grasp her hair, goosebumps flooded her arms. "Then you take the hair tie and wrap it around a couple times to secure it, otherwise it will fall out." The gentle tug on her hair was the only indication she got that he was following her instructions.

"That wasn't so hard," he beamed proudly, and Marinette's hands flew to the back of her head to check his work. The one ponytail was skewed from the other, but for his first time, it was a decent attempt.

"I knew you could do it." She was glad that he was able to grasp something from the first lesson, but truth be told her scalp was already missing his touch.

"There's one thing I don't get." He must have leaned closer due to his breath lingering outside her ear. It wasn't until then that her body became hyper-aware of the proximity of his body. She could lean back a couple inches and fall into his defined chest.

"What?" She cursed her body when her response came out breathier than intended, but the butterflies in her stomach were already swarming.

"Why you go through that effort in the morning when your hair looks just as pretty down."

Marinette was glad that her back was facing him because heat exploded, drawing color on her cheeks.

"How about we take a break? I'll get us some snacks and then I can beat your butt at Megastrike 6?" It took all the strength she had to regulate her voice from wavering or going off tripping over her words. The second Adrien agreed, she rushed down the stairs to compose herself in private.

The next day, she wore her hair down to school.

"I heard so many people raved about this place. The food is supposed to be out of this world." Bellamy said. He eased her into her chair before taking his seat across from her. Le Chat qui Peche had been on her list of places to visit, but she hadn't been able to visit. Alya had gone on and on about the crepes that they served.

"You've been quiet, are you sure you're okay?" His concern was sweet, but she was afraid that she wasn't in the right mindset. She was counting down until he would take her home.

"I'm sorry." She didn't mean to space off as much as she had on the way here, her mind kept replaying the memory from earlier. When she looked up from the spot on the table his gaze was expectant.

"Mmmm?"

"I said, I like your necklace." At his statement her hand flew up to the pearls, casting another memory to play.

"Come with me."

Marinette only had seconds to register Adrien's voice melting against her skin before he slipped his hand into hers and they began to maneuver through the crowd of people. An airy chuckle escaped her lips as she wondered what could have gotten into her best friend.

He had pulled her into his father's abandoned study and used his body to slam the door.

"What's gotten into you?" Her question earned a boyish grin from the model.

"I wanted to give you your birthday gift." He explained as he started digging through the desk drawers.

"You got me a gift?" Marinette was only surprised because Adrien had offered his house to host her birthday (she suspected against his father wishes).

"Of course." He doubled back towards her, a box in hand. "You only turn 18 once."

Marinette's eyes drifted down to the neatly wrapped gift and accepted. She was almost worried about ruining it by unwrapping it. A gasp escaped her lips when she lifted the lid.

"Adrien, you shouldn't have." Her fingers traced lightly over the pearls laid neatly in a long velvety box. "It must have been so expensive, I can't accept these." Their eyes connected, and Adrien gently pushed the box towards her again.

"I want you to have them. And if it makes you feel better, I didn't spend any money on them at all." Marinette's brows knit together in confusion. Sure, some company might have given this as a perk for modeling, but it seemed unlikely...Unless he already had them.

"Are these-" all other words died on her tongue.

"Here, let me put them on you." Adrien took full advantage of her shock to pick up the necklace from its place. He ventured closer and lowered it around her neck. His body lingered close to her for a couple seconds longer before stepping back and admiring his work.

"Adrien you can't just give away your mother's-"

"I'm not," he cut her off before she could finish the sentence, "She's not coming back. I'd rather have someone I trust to use them than sitting around in a box somewhere." Marinette's hands reached up for the necklace once more, speechless to what he was implying.

"She would have liked you, you know." The words brought her comfort considering Mr. Agreste didn't seem to be a fan of hers for monopolizing his son's time when he could be at a photoshoot.

"I can't even begin to - Thank you, Adrien." Her arms wrapped around him resting her head against his chest. She didn't know how long they were like that, but Adrien's voice brought her out of a trance.

"Mari?" She adjusted her gaze upward to meet his not wanting to leave the warmth his body provided.

"Yes?"

"I-never mind." He rested his chin on the top of her head. "Happy Birthday, Marinette."

"I have to go." She nearly knocked over her water as she jumped up from her seat.

Why did it seem like everything lead back to him? She was doing just fine on her own before he waltzed back into her life. Was she going to be haunted by what could have been the rest of her life?

Despite Bellamy's attempt to call out after her, she pushed her body to go faster. The sooner she could trap herself in her room, the faster she could pretend like this night or her lingering feelings for the blonde were nonexistent. She had missed her opportunity to tell Amelie her feelings and now they were happily back together like nothing ever happened in the first place. Tears streamed down her face, but she made no attempt to wipe them away. At this point, she was grateful that her legs hadn't buckled beneath her.

She knew that once she reached the apartment, Amelie would bombard her with questions about Bellamy, the date itself, and why she was home this early. None of which she had any real desire (or the ability) to tell her the truth. There had to be a better way to get over Adrien.

Chat Noir, perched attentively on a nearby ledge, zeroed in on Marinette on the street. He had followed her for a block just to ensure her safety, but the second he heard her muffled sob his body froze. She was crying. Instantly he had to fight the urge to hunt down Bellamy. It should have been him in there with her.

The sensation wasn't new to him, he had felt it earlier as he watched them having dinner and the way Marinette smiled. It was present when the Evillustrator had his sights on her in 8th grade or when Kim tried to make an advance on her in 11th grade. Thankfully, Marinette turned him down before he had to intervene. Maybe he was jealous, and that could only mean one thing:

He still had feelings for Marinette Dupain-Chang.

The revelation didn't seem new to him, more like he had grown tired of fighting and accepted the fact. The only problem was he couldn't get close to her as Adrien with the walls she had built.

Her continued sobs caused him to leap into action, jumping to a closer building. She needed him, and he wasn't going to sit idly by.

Something or someone was following her. The goosebumps spread further down her arm. Not that she couldn't handle whoever it was, she was Ladybug after all. Hawkmoth always had an impeccable sense of timing for the worst time to attack Paris.

When she felt a presence behind, her hands grew into fists and her feet spread to a defensive stance.

"I know you're there, show yourself." It would have been threatening if her voice wasn't wavering. She was beginning to regret allowing Tikki to stay home.

"You shouldn't be out here alone Princess." Her body relaxed when Chat Noir emerged from the shadows for only a second before her mind started to race with other thoughts.

"Is there an akuma?" It was one of her worst fears, Hawkmoth attacking, and she would have to backtrack home before she could assist in the fight.

"Nothing like that," he reassured quickly. "I needed to be out of the house tonight." What were the chances that her partner would be able to find her in the heart of Paris at this exact moment?

"Were you following me, Kitty?" She asked playfully her head tilting to the side.

"I was in the neighborhood," he shot back with a boyish grin, ignoring the question. His staff provided support for his body as he leaned forward. "Have you been crying?" The smile vanished when he saw her tear-stained cheeks.

"I just had a bad date, that's all." The way she deflected only caused his desire to hunt down Bellamy to flare up again. A sudden idea came to him. It was now up to him to cheer Marinette up.

"Come with me." It hadn't meant to be a command, but the confidence in his voice was strong.

"What?" He watched her eyes flicker down to his extended hand before back to his eyes.

"Do you trust me?" He asked taking another small step forward closing the gap between them. Instead of giving him an answer, she placed her hand in his. He maneuvered her so they were wrapped around him, hands tightly around his neck. As soon as he was sure that she was secure, they began their journey upward to travel across the rooftops of Paris.

"Are you sure we're allowed to be up here?" Not that the view wasn't spectacular, being on the north tower of the Notre-Dame allowed them to see the city lit up for miles.

"I come up here all the time. I have a don't ask, don't bell policy with the caretaker." His finger flicked the bell that was dangling from his suit for emphasis. The action only earned an eye roll from Marinette, it was comforting that Chat was the same all the time with the puns even when Ladybug wasn't present.

"I bet you bring all the girls up here then, huh?" She teased taking a seat tucking her legs underneath her.

"Not really," he admitted, taking a seat beside her "You're the first. Well after Ladybug, but that was in a superhero capacity." Marinette was taken back, she had assumed that since Chat had limited his flirting with Ladybug – that he was seeing someone else.

"What about Ladybug, won't she be concerned that you're hanging out with a civilian?"

"Nah, she trusts my judgment. It's not like you're Hawkmoth or anything…" His voice trailed off and Marinette's eyes grew wide "er-you're not Hawkmoth, right?"

Although it was the complete opposite to the point it was laughable, she decided to play along. She had experience with assuming that Adrien was the villain set out to destroy them.

"Why don't you bell me?" She winked as she started pacing the edge of the roof. Chat's mouth dropped as he followed suit.

"Did you just-"

"With my fashion abilities and creativity, I would have no problem stylizing the akumas. Back in high school, I had a front-row seat to Chloe causing the akumas, sounds like you figured it out all on your own." Marinette made sure that her last words were saturated with sarcasm.

"Don't even joke about that." He crossed his arms over his chest, sulking. Marinette returned to his side and tousled his hair playfully.

"No, I'm not after your ring, Kitty." His eyes widened in shock as his mind raced with questions. Had he been careless in battles?

"How do you know about Miraculouses and my ring?"

"Isn't it what beeps during your battles, I just thought it was like Ladybug's earrings. She hasn't told me much, but I know the general gist."

He tore his eyes away from her to settle on his ring. The answer brought him some comfort but raised more suspicions. How close were Marinette and Ladybug, did she know who LB was outside her mask? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a smile form on her lips as she took in the sight of the city.

"You're not crying anymore." He froze when he realized that he had said the statement out loud. Her attention turned back to him, and his words failed to provide an excuse. He was captivated by the way the city seemed to outline her silhouette, creating a deeper contrast between her brilliant blue eyes. It wasn't until she faced him that he noticed what hung around he

"Um...That's a nice necklace." His eyes linger a little longer than he would have liked. He didn't need her to say anything, he recognized the set of pearls, it was the ones he gave her on her 18th birthday. It was supposed to be the night that he told her his feelings for her and ask her to the end of the year dance. It was Nino's idea that he did something special, get her alone, and then be open and honest with her. He had assured him that Marinette returned the feelings. But when the time came, he chickened out. The way she looked at him that night was nothing more than a haunting memory of what could have been.

Everything wasn't totally lost; Alya and Nino came up with the idea that they would attend the dance together. Once they got there, their friends vanished leaving him alone with Marinette. He got the nerve to ask her to dance, but not even halfway through the song an akuma attacked. Her voice pulled him back from his trip down memory lane.

"Thanks." Her eyes fell on the rooftop, not daring to look him in the eye. "Someone...very important gave them to me." His heart fluttered at the statement. He shouldn't gather hope, there were probably many people that were important to her.

"The-they must have cared about you a lot." It was surreal that he even had this opportunity to talk to Marinette about his civilian form and they could hold a conversation.

"He did…then things changed." His heart was like lead inside his chest at her words. He wanted nothing more than to tell her that it hadn't.

"What happened?" He pushed further, hoping he didn't step on her toes in the process. This was the deepest conversation that he had with her in weeks.

"I don't know," her hands ran the course of her necklace, "but I don't want to talk about it." The last thing he wanted was to cause her to be upset again. His body went rigid when she rested her head on him.

"Thank you, Chaton," she wrapped her arms around his snuggling closer, "for making my night better. I feel…comfortable around you." The night had gone from a complete disaster to salvageable and it was all due to him. Mrs. Petit's words crept up again about how she thought Ladybug and Chat were soulmates. Maybe that was the answer that she was missing all along. She raised her head off the comfort of his toned arm and turned her body, so it faced him again.

"Kiss me," all the confidence faded as she watched him react. Maybe this was a mistake, she could have read the situation wrong. "You don't have to, I mean we could pretend that nothing hap-"

She was cut off when two gloved hands cupped her face and his lips smashed into hers.

A.N.- That seems like a good place to leave it. It's a good news, bad news. Bad news, I probably won't update for like 2 and 1/2 weeks. ( I have a wedding next week that I'm in) and I've also been asked by multiple people to update my other story Spiraling Down ( which I've been neglecting ) so my next update will be that story. Here's the good news. I might update earlier, and that all depends on you all. If I get enough overwhelming pushing to update early ( hint hint wink wink) that I might be convinced to hurry up and work overtime on both stories. You'll get the next chapter either way, but the release date is on you all. So let me know what you think!