Alya looked at Adrien and Marinette speculatively, hands on her hips. "You know, I was really expecting you two to be a lot more lovey-dovey. You hold hands all the time, but I'd have expected a lot more cuddling. And waaay more kisses. We're going to have to work on upping the romance factor here."

Adrien looked worried, but Marinette just pulled him to her side and hugged him. "Just because *you* don't see them..."

Alya raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously? The girl who kissed a picture of Adrien on her desk every night is dating Mr. Teen Model and isn't kissing him all the time?"

Marinette turned bright pink "Shut UP, Alya! I am never playing truth or dare with you ever again!" she hissed, and then attempted to pretend she was perfectly composed despite her face being a good match for her jeans. "We're just not too into the *public* parts of that whole public displays of affection thing."

Adrien, who had been looking at Marinette in amused surprise, turned back to Alya. "One of the problems with being a public figure. There aren't many things less romantic than worrying about paparazzi, you know?" He glanced around at the busy sidewalk and the ticket lines for the cinema they were standing outside.

Alya sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration. "No, I don't know, but fine, I suppose that's an acceptable reason. But you two are so taking the furthest back seats in the theatre, in the dark, and I expect some *serious* snogging, ok?"

"Uh... ok?" said Adrien, looking somewhat bewildered.

"You at *least* had a nice romantic dinner at a cafe before showing up, right?"

"Er... well... not exactly", stammered Marinette. "There was that akuma attack, and we got separated, and by the time we figured out what was going on it just seemed easier to meet at the theatre."

Alya groaned and turned to Nino. "From now on, the double dates get a lot longer. I like our private time, but these two need some *serious*
tutoring."

Nino looked at her and shrugged. "Uh, OK. Whatever you say." Alya rolled her eyes and dragged Nino after her into the theatre.

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other. "Kissed my picture, huh?"
grinned Adrien. "Now there's some useful blackmail material if I ever need it."

"Oh, shut up" grumbled Marinette, turning bright red and looking away. "I don't want to talk about it."

Adrien laughed. "Fine. Come on." Hand in hand, they went into the theatre.

In the dark, at the back of the theatre and covered by the noise of the previews, the conversation continued on a more serious note.

"I'm so sorry, Marinette. I hadn't realized it was that obvious. I just... it's hard to kiss someone that isn't... well... her."

"It's OK. We can get through this, though. There are a lot of things that friends do from affection and l...lov...boyfriends and girlfriends do from romance, that mean something different but look the same, right? Kisses on the cheek, that sort of thing? We can work on that."

"Right. Platonic hugs and kisses coming up." Adrien reached over and pulled Marinette gently into his shoulder and kissed the top of her head, then leaned his head on hers. Slowly, they relaxed into each other, Marinette's blush hidden by the darkness.

Partway through the movie, Marinette looked up inquiringly at what seemed like a quiet sigh of contentment from Adrien.

"Just thinking that this is really nice. Having a friend I can just hold for a while and relax... I've never had that before. It's... good." He smiled, then looked down at her in concern. "You don't mind, do you?"

Marinette smiled up at him and gave his hand a small squeeze. "It's good."

It was an overcast and slightly chilly night, the clouds glowing faintly orange from the city's reflected light, and the mood on the rooftop was more melancholy than usual even though the side-by-side cuddle was as close as ever.

"Can I ask you something that I really probably shouldn't, Ladybug? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

Ladybug gave Adrien a sidelong glance. "You know I'm not going to tell you who I am."

Adrien shook his head. "No, it's not that. It's just... why are you here with *me*, instead of off running rooftops with Chat Noir? He's brave, and capable, and confident, and funny. I'm just... plain old Adrien. A pretty face who's very good at doing what his father tells him to 'preserve the family name'." Adrien scowled slightly. "I can't take any credit for the face, and I play the perfect son because I'm too afraid not to, but he's even picked most of my *hobbies* for me. I'm... empty."

Ladybug sat up straight and looked at Adrien in concern. "What? You are most certainly *not* empty... you're wonderful. You're kind, and generous, and thoughtful, and caring, and you see the best in even the worst people. You're a really good friend. Even if your father chose your activities, you've worked hard to be as good as you are. I've seen you fence, you can't pretend you're not good at that and having some fun, at least." She gave him a faux-glare, although worry was still written all over her face. "And you most certainly do *not* only do what your father says, or I don't think you'd be up here right now!" At that, Adrien made a sound that might have been an unwilling chuckle, and Ladybug's face lightened. "You're probably the nicest person I know, and I'm not surprised you've never been akumatized, because you hardly seem to *have* strong negative emotions. You're so calm, it's like... a mental anchor for the rest of us."

Adrien snorted bitterly. "There's a reason I avoid my father." There was an uncomfortable pause in which neither of them mentioned Hawk Moth.

Ladybug gamely broke the silence. "And just because you haven't had much chance to do the things you want to do doesn't mean you aren't an interesting person. What *do* you want out of life? If you could have anything."

Adrien's silence turned thoughtful. "A close-knit, happy family. That's the part that I think about most, even if I don't know how to get there. Parents who cherish their kids, not just use them for display. Kids who get to play, and laugh. A place where a little messiness is allowed, things are done for no reason other than because they're fun, and there aren't any giant empty silences. Friends... I've always wanted real friends, you know, not just the band of kids with nothing in common who got thrown together at all of the boring adult fashion events so we would stay out of trouble. The only person I got at all close to was Chloe, and, well... we've grown apart as we grew up. Being at school I actually have friends, now, real friends, and it's even better than I imagined. I want more of that. And more time to spend with them."

He paused. "I think people are supposed to say something like 'I want to be a firefighter' or 'I want to be a doctor' in response to that question, but I never even let myself think about it. My life has been planned out for me from the beginning. Be the face of the business, learn the business, take over the business, make my father proud... Nobody ever asked me if that was what I wanted, and what would I do if I asked myself that question and the answer was 'no'? Dreaming would hurt too much."

Ladybug's hand was over her mouth, and her eyes looked wet. "Oh, Adrien. I am so sorry, I didn't think..." She folded herself around him in a giant hug.

Adrien smiled a shadow of his usual smile, which slowly grew into a genuine one as he stroked Ladybug's hair. "It's all right, my heart. Really! I'm not actually sad. It's just a gloomy night, and you tapped into some things I hadn't known I was thinking about." He hugged her close, and then pulled back so he could look in her eyes and she could see his smile. "See? All OK."

Ladybug looked at him cautiously as she sat up again. "You're sure?"

"I'm sure." He grinned. "And you never did answer my other question, you know. Why not pick the cat?"

Ladybug looked slightly guilty. "Chat Noir... he's a really really good friend, and I love him, but... not that way. I never really thought about why, I just... fell for you first. Besides, Chat can be *really* annoying when he wants to be, and he has an arrogant streak a mile wide. I just want to drop him on his head sometimes, he exasperates me so much. Luckily he doesn't seem to mind."

"Huh. OK." His lips quirked up. "I think I can live with that." He leaned over to kiss Ladybug's frown away, and there was quiet.

The next day, a basket was sitting on Adrien's desk when he arrived at school. It was full of cookies and pastries and decorated with a simple blue ribbon, and had a note attached to it. "Just because! 3 Marinette."

Adrien turned to Marinette with a surprised smile. "Marinette! That's so sweet of you. Thanks!"

Marinette smiled back, as Adrien offered to share with his classmates. "You're welcome. I just wanted to make you happy today."

Alya leaned in to whisper in her ear. "OK, that was cute, I'll give you that." Marinette's lips twitched, but she said nothing.

"I went to the library and got the worst, most over the top, cheesy romance films I could find. They look terrible. Up for a marathon and some mockery?"

"I would be delighted, my cinnamon roll."

*quiet thwack, followed by laughter*

"...did that argument come out of nowhere, or was it just me?"

"It's not just you. But since the rest of the movie depends on it, I guess they needed to add it even though it makes no sense..."

"If they'd just talk to each other, everything would be fine! And there's still an hour and a half left!"

"...talking to people can be harder than you think, Adrien..."

"Why do these women keep insisting on wearing expensive white dresses and then running around in them? They're disaster magnets! Do you know how much work goes into keeping white outfits clean at a show?"

"I couldn't wear one, I'd trip over myself and end up covered in rainbow stains. Dress, White, that is, not wedding, dress, I wasn't, uh... movie!"

"Do these people think that if they pretend something isn't real it's just going to go away?"

"Pity that doesn't work on supervillians..."

"Stop being so creepy, male love interest! She said no the first time! Gah."

"...huh?"

"The bit where the male love interest keeps trying to kiss the female love interest even after she says no? Way too pushy, and I want to like him but he keeps acting like a creep."

"...that's creepy? I thought it was romantic... all of the movies and TV shows say so."

"Only in Hollywood. How would you feel if one of your fangirls kept trying to kiss you even when you tried to stop her?"

"...oh, crap. I think I may owe someone an apology."

"Adrien, you would *never* be that pushy. You're too nice, and you actually listen to girls when they talk to you."

"...there was someone I liked, and I wanted to tell her how much I cared. So I did that, because that was how everyone showed they cared on TV, and I thought she would like it."

"I still can't picture you being so annoyingly pushy, but even if you were, I'm sure she'd forgive you if you apologized. And maybe we should have been watching *good* romance movies..."

"Why did these two characters get engaged again? They act like they hate each other."

"Your guess is as good as mine. Maybe it's all just a ploy to distract their version of Alya. Although I haven't seen signs of the secret girlfriend yet."

"We are *not* letting this go on that long..."

"Am I the only one thinking that the best friends here really ought to run off and leave everyone else to fend for themselves?"

"Actually, I was thinking the director was trying to make a horror movie but had too many roses. Your idea is more practical."

"...we're not going to get *any* good ideas for cheesy fake dates from this,
are we. These are terrible!"

"No, it was totally useful! We now have several weeks' worth of 'date nights' we can tell Alya about, we just got them all out of the way at once."

"Good thought! So which one do we use Monday?"

"Kid... you owe me *so* much cheese after that, you're going to run out of room in the closet."

Nathalie was waiting when Adrien got home from school. "Your father wants to see you, Adrien. He's in his office."

Adrien sighed, dropped off his bag, and made his reluctant way through the imposing doors. Inside, Gabriel sat behind his desk, back ramrod straight, elbows resting on the desk and hands steepled in front of him. He stared down the length of the room to where Adrien stood in front of the door, neck and shoulders bowed, not meeting Gabriel's eyes.

"...you wanted to see me, Father?"

Gabriel let the silence stretch to the point of discomfort before answering him.

"Nathalie informs me that there is... a girl."

Adrien swallowed nervously.

"Yes, Father.

"Who is she?"

"A girl from school."

"Her name?"

"...Marinette."

Gabriel picked up a tablet from his desk and scrolled through it.

"Hmmm... Marinette Dupain-Chang? The girl who designed the feather hat for your school competition?"

"Yes, Father."

"A baker's daughter with some small potential." He looked up and stared ominously at Adrien again. "You understand, of course, that she is probably interested in you for your wealth and celebrity. I will be speaking with Nathalie; you may spend your allowance on this girl, but no other house funds will be available to you at this time. We do not wish to encourage hangers-on."

"Marinette wouldn't..." Adrien had glanced up briefly in defensive anger, fists clenching slightly, but he took a deep breath and put his head back down in his submissive pose. "...yes, I understand."

"You will still, of course, be expected to perform acceptably at all of your photoshoots, and to display yourself properly at formal events. If you behave well and meet my expectations, I will consider allowing you to invite this girl to events at which a partner would be appropriate."

"Yes, Father."

Gabriel put the tablet back down and steepled his hands in front of his face again. The silence stretched on until Adrien looked up and met his father's eyes.

"You will *not* do anything to shame yourself or this family. I expect you to behave will full propriety at all times. If I hear even a hint of scandal, I *will* withdraw you from that school of yours, as well as cutting off all contact with the girl."

Adrien's jaw clenched, and his fists tightened. He lowered his head and glared at the floor as though his fury could melt holes in it, but his voice was coldly controlled. "I have never done anything to shame you or this family, Father, and I would hope that you'd know I wouldn't. But then, that would rely on your knowing me at all, wouldn't it." His tone was bitter. "I'll be your perfect poster child, you don't have to worry about me."

Gabriel's face tightened, and his voice was cold. "Your loyalty is commendable, although your manners leave much to be desired. That is all; you are dismissed."

Adrien made it out of the room, past the silent Nathalie, and behind his closed bedroom door before he gave in to the anger, pacing back and forth as though his oversized room were a cage too small for him.

"Why does my father only notice me when he decides I'm going to be trouble? And what's with this whole 'shame to the family name' thing? I'm fifteen! Does he expect me to be seducing random passing girls and bringing home grandchildren or something? Who does he think I *am*? Has he even *met* me? Scandal, hah. And he accuses Marinette, of all people, of being some gold-digger? I'd trade every euro this family has for a family like hers, and she knows it! But of course,Father would never understand someone wanting anything other than the most material of things, would he. Cold-hearted unfeeling bastard." He kicked the wall miserably, then fell back into his bed, groaning. "I *hate* him! He manages to take the friendliest, kindest, person I know, and turn our friendship into something grasping and dirty and disgusting. I don't want to even *think* about Marinette right now, she deserves to be above all of this. Ugh!"

Plagg meandered over, cheese in hand. "Just think what he'd say if he knew what was actually going on!"

Adrien groaned and pulled a pillow over his head. "Plagg, I'm having a bad enough afternoon. I don't need nightmares. I swear, I'd rather meet Hawk Moth face to face than have a 'conversation' with my father." He laughed bitterly. "And you know, on a day like today, I could almost believe he's actually a supervillain. Except Hawk Moth has a sense of humor, and my father apparently had his surgically removed in childhood. I should have told Ladybug *that* the last time she accused him."

He sat up again abruptly. "I can't take another minute of this. I have to get out from under this roof."

Plagg looked alarmed. "But I'm still finishing my cheese! And it's the middle of the afternoon, where are you going?"

"I'll bring some with me, and I don't care *where* we're going as long as it isn't here. We're leaving. Plagg, claws out!"

Marinette glanced across the cafe to where Nino and Alya were sitting. Alya was looking at her, and gave a little "go on!" wave in Marinette's direction. She sighed and turned back to Adrien.

"I can't believe Alya's decided we need supervised dates, as though we can't be trusted by ourselves. Talk about humiliating."

Adrien gave a half-hearted smile over his menu. "Well, I suppose she has a bit of a point. Although I could use fewer people watching me."

Marinette gave him a concerned look. "Are you OK? Because you've been acting down for the last couple of days. We can tell Alya to butt out,
you know..."

Adrien shook his head and sighed. "It's not Alya. It's my father. He's being... well, himself."

Marinette tentatively reached a hand across the table to touch Adrien's. "Do you want to talk about it? You don't have to, though."

Adrien smiled, but it didn't reach his gloomy eyes. "Handholding, huh? Alya will be happy." He flipped his hand over to hold Marinette's and squeezed it gently. "It's... well, he found out about you. Um. Us. Or, you know. The story about us, anyway."

"Is he angry? Nino told me how your dad threw him out."

"Not *angry* so much as... I don't even know how to describe it. Cold. Disapproving, not that I get much else from him. Cynical. He basically accused you of trying to seduce me for money, and then told me I could date you anyway as long as it was cheap. And that was the nice part, I don't even want to think about the rest of it. It's like even the *idea* that I could be happy or find someone who likes me for myself is so unrealistic that it's not worth considering. I thought he and my mother were in love, but I'm starting to wonder if he's even heard of the concept."

Marinette had turned pink and made a small "eep" noise at the line about seduction, but the embarrassment rapidly turned back into concern. "Well... um. Something happened to your mother, right? Maybe... he's just not handling it well? And doesn't want to think about l...love?"

Adrien sighed and shook his head. "I appreciate the attempt, but... I doubt it. I've never understood my father. And now I'm worried that you've caught his attention."

Marinette hmphed. "I know he's rich and famous, but what's he going to do to me? I thought I wanted his respect, but that was before I knew how he treated you. I would never want to be mentored by someone like him! Even if he gives me a bad name in the fashion world, it'll be years before I'm ready to make a proper showing, and by then I'm sure it will all have blown over."

Adrien paused, clearly thinking. "He... um. Hm. He can give you a bad name in other places too, but now that you mention it... I'm not sure you care. It's not as though *your* parents would believe rumors about you, they actually *know* you... And Chloe gives you a hard time already."

Marinette nodded firmly. "You see? You're used to seeing him as powerful and terrifying because he is for you, but once you're out of his house and not under his thumb he's a lot less scary. Come hang out at my place more, if he'll let you. It's nothing compared to your house... I assume... but at least you won't have to spend so much time looking over your shoulder. My parents like you. And if Nathalie calls looking for you, I'm sure my father will give her a piece of his mind."

Adrien looked at her gratefully, his green eyes practically radiating sincerity. "I don't deserve a friend like you, Marinette. You're amazing."

Marinette looked away uncomfortably. "I'm really not. It's nothing special." Alya's disapproving face caught her eye and she winced,
sitting up quickly and pasting on a smile. "So! Um. Cheerful topics. Like... um... things?"

Adrien laughed. "Is Alya glaring at us again?"

"Yep." Marinette sighed.

"Well, we can't have that." He squeezed her hand one last time and then let go, grinning. "So tell me, how did you and Alya become friends?"

"I actually only met her the day before I met you. She was new at school too, and she showed me how to stand up to Chloe after too many years of letting her walk all over me. We've been best friends since. How did you and Chloe become friends? Because I admit, that's always seemed a bit, well, surprising. You two are so different."

Adrien shrugged. "Circumstance, mostly. Once I was old enough to be presentable in public, my parents would bring me to events; charity dinners, fashion shows, fundraisers, that sort of thing. There weren't too many other kids there, but Chloe tended to get dragged to the same ones I did. We were both decorative, I suppose. So we ended up hanging out together a lot at functions. We'd make up our own games to keep from being bored out of our skulls without getting in trouble. And my father approved of her. We're not that close anymore, but I keep hoping that she'll remember that she is actually capable of being both nice and fun. And I'd feel bad just abandoning her. Hmmm... your turn. Favorite animal?"

Marinette laughed. "Are we taking turns? I dunno. Hamsters, maybe! They're so *cute*! You?"

Adrien grinned. "I'm rather fond of cats, myself. Although I suppose they're not a good combination with hamsters..."

Alya caught Marinette's eye with her big thumbs up. Marinette smirked. "Apparently hamsters are an acceptable conversation topic for our overenthusiastic chaperone. Or perhaps anything silly will do. Is it my turn to ask a question now? Maybe we really can keep this up for a whole dinner..."