Adrien gathered his books and was still standing at his table after Meg left. He was thinking about seeing Ladybug later that night.

"You know, Plagg, they say a picture is worth a thousand words."

"And what are the words worth if she never says them?"

Adrien rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone to text his bodyguard to come pick him up. As he was turning to exit the library, Marinette barreled straight into him.

"Sorry! I'm so clumsy." She said, bending down to grab the books and papers off of the floor.

"It's okay Marinette; it's part of your charm."

He knelt beside her, helping to pick up the mess. It seemed she was always dropping things, but it was kind of endearing.

"Adrien, the fragrance."

He looked at Marinette, confused as to what she meant. He didn't smell anything.

"W-what I meant was: is that your cologne I smell, Adrien? The fragrance in the air?"

He chuckled. "Oh yeah, I forgot I was wearing it."

He generally wore cologne, but he ran out of his normal bottle and just used some of the Adrien fragrance that he had lying around. There was plenty of it piled in his house.

"It smells new, different from what you usually wear. Trying to impress a cute girl?" she giggled a little.

I hadn't considered that. I wonder if Ladybug would like it. But no, it's just to cover up the smell of Plagg's camembert.

"Just the lady who does my laundry," he laughed "It's either this or stinky cheese."

"Cheese?"

"Uh, it's just a little joke." Adrien quickly said. "So were you working on your project with Max?"

"Yes, I was. I'm lucky to have him as a partner, because he understands the assignment a lot more than I do."

"You sound like me with Meg. She's pretty good at chemistry from what I've seen so far. I'll admit though, I was a bit too distracted to be much help anyway."

"Oh, really? Distracted how?"

"Well she showed me these amazing photos that she took, and I couldn't get my mind off of them." In fact, I still cant.

"What kind of photos?"

Adrien told Marinette about the photos he saw, remembering the one of Ladybug. He was positive that image would be burned in his mind forever: Her deep blue eyes holding that look that he couldn't quite describe, that very delicate smile on her perfect pink lips, the halo of light that radiated around her in that moment. Thinking about it again made him all the more anxious for night to come so they could go on patrol together.

Adrien felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. "That's my bodyguard. It was nice talking to you, Marinette. See you later."

Back in his room, Adrien was pacing. "If Meg is right about Ladybug, then I have to get her to see the truth somehow."

"How are you gonna do that?" Plagg said with a mouthful of cheese.

"I don't know yet; I'm thinking."

"The way to my heart is through my stomach. If a candlelight dinner didn't do the trick, I don't know what will."

Adrien frowned.

Plagg continued, "Come to think of it, you've offered your heart to this girl at every turn you take, and she still hasn't accepted it. Maybe you should just move on."

Adrien had an idea. "Maybe I will move on."

"Seriously?" Plagg swallowed his cheese with a gulp. "It's about time."

"I've made myself too available for Ladybug. Emotionally that is. Maybe if I take a step back and stop doing all of those romantic things, she'll realize she actually wants me to do them!"

Plagg facepalmed. "That's not what I meant."

"I know what you meant, Plagg. But maybe you've never been in love. I can't just turn it off."

"I have been in love, thank you very much. Her name was Havarti and she left me too soon. That's when I was finally able to find Camembert."

Adrien rolled his eyes and glanced at the clock. It was almost time to meet Ladybug.

"I'll be sure to remember that next time I'm in love with aged dairy. Claws out."

Paris is so beautiful at night, thought Cat Noir as he bounded across rooftops towards the meeting spot. The moon and the stars were shining especially bright, and the ground was teeming with life. I can't believe I'm in the city of love, and in order to get the girl of my dreams I have to STOP being romantic. He could see Ladybug waiting for him a few rooftops away. Okay, play it cool. He leapt the remaining distance and landed a few yards away from her.

"Ah, look what the Cat dragged in." She said playfully as he approached her.

"Good evening, M'—Ladybug." No more cute stuff, he reminded himself. "Ready to get started?"

"Ready."

They went on their way patrolling the city, jumping from building to building.

"Everything looks good so far," said Ladybug. "It's been quiet these past few days. I'm a little worried that Hawk Moth might be up to something."

"Whatever it is, I'm sure we can handle it." He replied.

"But we should keep our guard up, just in case."

"I agree." He said as he decided on which way to go next.

He picked a direction, and they headed off without much conversation. Cat Noir was trying to keep it business only, which left him without much to say. He would have loved to tell her how beautiful she was, or how she made the stars jealous that they didn't shine as brightly, but that falls under the category of romantic: strictly off limits.

Instead he focused on the people below. Most of them never looked up, so they went by almost completely unnoticed. They passed over Andre and the couples who were lined up for his ice cream. They checked the park, where people walked hand in hand. They landed on top of the school and caught a view of a couple leaving Marinette's parents' Bakery. This is getting ridiculous. Couples were everywhere, practically emphasizing his loveless life. He let out a sigh.

"Are you okay, Cat Noir?" Ladybug asked, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Huh?"

"You're very quiet tonight. Something on your mind?" she looked concerned.

There was, in fact, something on his mind. But it was always the same story with her, over and over.

"Not really," he said with a shrug.

She looked at him like she didn't quite buy it, but he had to keep it professional and nothing more.

"Well everything seems clear tonight, so I'll see you next time. Goodnight Ladybug." He turned and leapt off toward home fighting every urge he had to look back.

He swooped into his open window and landed silently on the floor.

"Claws in." He became Adrien once again, and Plagg floated up beside him.

"So how did your plan work out?"

"It was hard, but so far so good. It's going to take more than one patrol to really make a difference." Adrien said, getting ready for bed.

"How long are you going to keep this up?"

"As long as I have to, I guess."

"You know if you pretend you've moved on long enough, you might wake up one day and realize that you really have."

Adrien considered this for a moment, remembering all of the couples he'd seen that night and remembering all of the times he tried to woo Ladybug. He thought about what it would be like if she reciprocated his feelings, and he thought about what it would be like if she never did.

"Well then, Plagg, I really hope this works before that happens."

He tried to get some sleep, but his mind wouldn't stop working. Plagg was right about one thing: if he faked it long enough, it might become real. He wasn't sure if he was ready to move on from Ladybug, even if he didn't notice it happening. His thoughts were on a constant loop of "Do I or Don't I." He must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next sound he heard was his alarm waking him up for school.