A/N: This chapter went through the most alterations. It's the latter half of chapter six and changes a lot of the plot from the original story (Tom interrupting and the entire candle scene). I think it's better than the original cause BOY was the ending of ABOI's original chapter six cringe.

Also, if older readers haven't noticed, Chloe's role has changed! I wonder what she'll be... Feel free to guess in reviews! I've made a bunch of changes lmao :)

Rose Tiger - Chloe really does need to sort herself out. Hopefully, Alya helps with that ;)

Anyway, I'm gonna leave my awkward ramblings at that. Don't be surprised if I update on time, it's because I've written like four chapters in a day (I had time off classes). After the next two chapters, I'm not sure if updates will be consitent. We'll see how it goes.

Till next time,

D.L.D

Quick PS: I posted a new work (M rated) for mlb! It's called Idol and features an au of my own creation. Feel free to check it out dearies ;)

Chapter Eleven: Burning Candles

Adrien

Sighing, Adrien closed his locker. Despite it being a half day - well, past the usual dismissal time for a half day - the blonde couldn't feel any more drained. Too many questions, too many spools of overwhelming anxiety, were sitting in his brain, growing and growing as the moments ticked on by. Marinette was hiding something. Marinette was hiding something specifically from him. And that niggling suspicion wasn't sitting right with him, especially after what happened last night.

They still hadn't spoken about it. Not that she's given him the chance to. All day she had remained glued to Alya's side, veering in the completely opposite direction of Adrien and his desire to clear the air between them.

When he had finally gotten the chance to talk to her, finally alone and not glued to Alya's side, she had somewhere to be - typical for his usual luck. Wide-eyed and looking almost on edge, Marinette had only given him the smallest trace of the full truth. Tiny slithers of the bigger picture. Then, when they were finally getting somewhere, when Adrien was finally piercing through the layer of permafrost she always seemed to have these days, Marinette had to scurry off to the principal's office.

Originally, he had planned to corner her after she left the office. That was the only way he seemed to get the truth out of her - both as Adrien and Chat Noir. But, when Marinette left the office, his plans were led to an abrupt halt.

First to emerge was Chloe, her eyeliner smudged and eyes red-rimmed. Sabrina was beside her, holding a tissue and their bags, offering it to Chloe as the blonde marched away from the office. Oddly, not a glance was spared at Adrien. Not even an acknowledgement. After Chloe and Sabrina left, Alya exited with a teary Marinette, her anger evident as she held both their bags and looped an arm over Marinette's shoulders.

Confusion was the main emotion. Intense confusion at what could have possibly happened in the span of ten minutes.

Speaking for Marinette, Alya had told Adrien that they were going to head back to the bakery. Something about social media and personal girl matters slipped into the conversation, roughly barring him from following them. So, taking the hint, Adrien said he'd call Marinette later and went downstairs to collect his things and start heading home.

Now here he was, puzzling over the mystery of Marinette and what was bothering her. When he had first discovered who she was, figured out that the scarlet-clad heroine he had always admired was his classmate, Adrien had thought that it would be easier to talk to her. With all the secrets gone, all of the barriers removed, he had figured that Marinette would finally start opening up to him, talking to Adrien the way she did Chat Noir.

Reality had panned out much differently from his thoughts. Adrien was still held at a distance and Chat Noir... it was hard to say exactly where he stood with Ladybug and Marinette.

"Cheer up, kid," Plagg groused from his pocket, his features pressed into a frown. "You look miserable."

"Well, I feel miserable," Adrien responded, never being the type to avoid saying how he felt. No, his mother had never encouraged those sorts of behaviours when she was around. Frowning, the blonde pressed his back against the lockers, "Marinette's avoiding me."

"Yeah but that's not your fault," Plagg reminded, his voice rather snarky as his head popped out of the top of his pocket. Now rolling his eyes, the kwami sighed, "She has her own problems just like how you have yours."

"That really helps Plagg," Adrien deadpanned, now shaking his head. Even if he was trying to be somewhat helpful, the kwami of destruction would always be an insensitive jerk. "What if she's mad at me?"

"Marinette? Mad at you?" Plagg almost cackled at the question, his green eyes dancing with amusement as his canines bit into his lower lip. A smirk stretching on his tiny, adorable face, Plagg chuckled as he continued, smug as the cat that got the cream. "I don't think that's possible and I know a lot things."

"So why do you think she's been avoiding me?" Adrien questioned.

"Simple," Plagg answered, still as smug as ever. Shrugging he continued, "Like all Ladybugs before her, she's terrible at trusting others with the truth."

There it was, the big truth that Adrien didn't want to be true. Marinette didn't trust him. Even with everything they had experienced together, all of the moments where they had placed each other's lives in their hands, Marinette still did not trust Adrien Agreste. Knowing who the other was beneath the mask, being closer than ever, wouldn't change that objective fact about her. None of that would change how she saw him.

Facing the dreary ceiling above, Adrien closed his eyes, almost in complete despair, "She doesn't trust me."

"No," Plagg objected, now furiously shaking his little head. Floating beside Adrien, completely out in the open, his feline features betrayed his frustration, "She's just annoyingly cautious and a royal pain to deal with," Pausing, the black kwami pursed his lips, scanning the empty locker room, "But you're not wrong, Adrien. There's something off about her and-"

"Adrien!" Instantly, the blonde's eyes snapped open and Plagg evaporated into thin air.

Interrupting the calm, as she always seemed to do, Lila Rossi proudly strutted into the locker room, head held high and a gigantic grin on her coy face. All day Adrien had been trying to shake her off his trail. All day he had been trying to hide from her ever-watching gaze. But, like a damned boomerang, she was always coming back. No matter how far Adrien threw her, no matter how far he ran away, she would always come back to him.

"Hey Lila," Adrien tried to regather his senses, covering up the overwhelming shock and annoyance at her arrival. "What are you still doing here? School ended," He peered at his watch for almost too long to be normal, "Half an hour ago."

"I was busy in the library," Breezily, she responded, flashing another shiny grin. Pulling open her own locker, thankfully across from his at the safe distance of a few benches away, she continued, "But I forgot something I needed here. Can't study math without a calculator!"

"Yep," Adrien nodded, going along with her ploy of casual conversation. For once he thanked his father for forcing him into the skill of meaningless small talk. Raising a hand in a halfhearted wave, Adrien began to walk away, "Well, it was nice seeing you."

"You too," Lila waved back casually, still half-buried in her locker as she pulled a few items out. Pausing, she then stuck her head out, raising a brow, "I'll see you around?"

"Yeah," He replied, not entirely meaning it. He hoped he wouldn't have to see her for a while - at least until the next school day.

Leaving the locker room, Adrien Agreste could have sworn that he had never rushed to leave a room as much as he had before. Not even with his frosty father. But, as the door swung shut behind him, Adrien could have sworn that he heard a faint mumble from the room - one that made him freeze in his tracks:

"Oh, don't worry. You will."

Marinette

Slumping down at her desk, Marinette groaned as she got to work on cutting out the material for Nino's requested costumes. Due to Alya's changes to the script, she had to scrap her original vision for the costumes and come up with an entirely different aesthetic. As a result, she was now working at cutting out the pieces of fabric for a ruffled skirt - a core part of the female lead's costume - so that she could finally stitch it all together.

So far, Marinette had only made a tiny dent into the mountain of things she had to do. So little of a dent that she was actually considering getting an extra set of hands to assist her in the cutting, pinning and sewing of a few costumes.

Throughout the entire finger-pricking ordeal, Tikki was helping, giving tiny pep talks and suggesting small ideas. With her help, Marinette was able to relax a little, basking in the gentle tones of some music Tikki had put on and taking small nibbles from the stack of snacks her father had left on her fabric-littered desk.

Just as Marinette pinned down the final strip of fabric, grinning hysterically with triumph as she held the entire piece up, she heard a tap at her trapdoor. A light tap, almost like a stone being tossed at a thin pane of glass. Frowning, she put down the beginnings of her ruffled skirt and turned to the trapdoor located above her bed, wondering just who would be visiting her at the ungodly hour of ten in the evening.

Only a few people would dare to visit at such a late hour. Part of her hoped it was Alya.

"Chat Noir?" Marinette blinked, partially caught off-guard when she came face-to-face with the hero. "What are you doing here?"

"I want to show you something," Unusually nervous, unusually hope-filled, he looked almost anxious as he glanced at her. Disappearing back through the trapdoor, he left her with even more mystery as he said, "Come on."

"Oh," Marinette had nothing else to say. Glancing back at Tikki, who only shrugged in equal confusion, she sighed as she clambered through the square gap of her trapdoor. As soon as she popped her head outside, all air left her lungs. "Oh."

All around her, burning like bright stars against the shadows of the night, were dozens of candles. Balanced on the railings, twinkling from dark corners, even around her trapdoor they blazed. Almost like that scene from Tangled - she realised - mimicking those lanterns that floated like beautiful stars in the sky. Just like that surprise Chat Noir had planned for Ladybug - the one Ladybug had failed to attend because she was too wrapped up in her own feelings and desires.

Glaciator: that was the akuma who had allowed Marinette to see this side of her goofy superhero partner. The sensitive, romantic side that seemed to crave nothing more than someone who would actually return his deep sentiment.

Back then she had been taken aback by the sheer gravity of knowing how much Chat Noir cared for her alter ego. Now she was nearly paralyzed from it - but somehow in a different way, a tingly, bubbly sort of way that felt like receiving something you had wanted for years and years.

"Too much?" Chat Noir, still entirely anxious as Marinette remained frozen at her trapdoor, eyeing everything with wide eyes.

"No," Marinette quickly shook her head, almost unable to let the simple word pass her lips. Beating rapidly within her chest, like a hummingbird's wings, her heart was erratic. "I'm just... shocked." Overwhelmed for sure. "Why did you do all of this... for me?"

"Well, we did bet on it," Chat Noir winked, some of his usual humour slipping through. Something he never seemed to fail on whenever Ladybug needed him to make a heavy moment feel the slightest bit lighter. "And I want you to know that you can trust me."

"You think I don't trust you?" Marinette echoed, the realisation flooding her brain. Of course Chat Noir didn't think she trusted him! With how many secrets she kept, the obvious distance caused by her careful, cautious nature, who wouldn't feel alienated from her? Sorrow creeping into her system, Marinette sighed, wrapping the blonde into a hug. "Oh Chaton..."

Effortlessly, he caught her; just like he always did.

"It's not you that I don't trust," Marinette admitted, her voice quiet in the night. Below them the city continued its way of life, traffic shuffling along and horns honking. "It will never be that I don't trust you. I'm just terrified of what will happen if I let you know everything. Being Ladybug feels like a burden sometimes, a weight on my shoulders that I'll never be able to get rid of, even when we defeat Hawkmoth. My duty as a hero puts people I care about in danger - especially you, Adrien," A deep breath as she gazed into his emerald eyes, a gentle hand cupping his cheek, "And sometimes I feel like the only way I can protect you is by shielding you from what I can."

There wasn't an immediate response. For a moment, Marinette was convinced that she had broken him, completely fried his brain with her words that had tumbled out in a thoughtless confession of thoughts and feelings. Then, the air was stolen from her lungs, her heated face chilled by the cool sensation of his leather gloves as he pressed his lips against hers.

"I'm so glad I fell in love with you," Chat Noir announced, his amazement not at all hidden.

"Don't be so sure," Marinette chuckled, despite the anxiety making her hands shake. Could he feel it? "But I'm glad I love you too."

For once it was nice to be alone. Somewhat distant, some place far away from reality and its qualms, this moment felt like a small bubble of peace within a sea of trouble. Maybe Adrien had been right about impossibly romantic scenes being real in real life. Right now it was working, placing yesterday's Marinette's problems at the back of her mind. Plus, it had won him bragging rights as Chat Noir - Ladybug now officially dating her partner in the public eye.

Maybe Marinette should take a leaf out of his book. Maybe she should be more optimistic...

Sharply, her phone alarm rang out into the night, making her jump like a cat dumped into a bath of freezing cold water. There it was: the reminder to reality.

"Ugh," Marinette groaned, pulling her phone out of her pocket. Turning off her alarm, she placed it back into her pocket and headed toward her trapdoor. "I forgot I had to finish that skirt!"

"Do you need any help?" Following behind her, Chat Noir raised a brow. Only he suddenly stopped, remembering the dozens of tiny, blazing fires lit up about the place. "After I put these out. I think they're a fire hazard."

"My parents wouldn't be happy with a burned down bakery," Marinette agreed, halfway through the trapdoor. She couldn't fight the grin. "But I definitely do need the help. You can cut while I pin."

Adrien

All too soon they were back working in perfect peace - entirely unaware to their seamless teamwork. After blowing out the candles and detransforming, Adrien joined Marinette in getting through her mountain of work. Already used to cutting out pieces of fabric - something his mother used to make him do with her as a bonding exercise with his father - Adrien was familiar with the instructions Marinette gave him, pins sticking out of the hem of her shirt.

Busy and distracted, Marinette herself was pinning everything together, setting them aside once they were done or consulting her sketchbook to ensure that they were just right. Sometimes she would prick herself, yelping before brushing it off as something small and diving straight back into her work. Other times Adrien caught her humming, some of it sounding familiar but he never caught much of it because Marinette would end up stopping, trailing off into a tangent of silence.

There was still a lot she was withholding from him. A lot of thoughts, a lot of habits and a lot of emotions were being withheld within Marinette's brain despite her admission about not wanting to leave him in the dark.

Maybe that was why she tried to do so in her own Marinette-kind-of-way.

"What happened between you and Chloe?" It was a sudden question, a curious question, as she stuck a pin into bright green fabric. Sitting there with pieces of material strewn about her, measuring tape strung about her neck and pins stuck to the hem of her shirt, she looked the epitome of a seamstress hard at work. But, having known her for a while now, Adrien knew better; behind that busy facade Marinette was filled to the brim with questions and theories. The work simply served as a distraction.

"I was meant to tell you that, wasn't I?" Adrien sighed, pausing in his snipping. Yeah, it wouldn't be wise to make any more snips with how nervous Marinette made him. He might end up ruining her hard work.

"Yep," Marinette nodded, the final syllable of the word popping from her pink lips. Almost teasingly, she grinned, "I told you my secrets, so pay up."

"Hey, at least I asked nicely!" Adrien defended, his ears tipped with pink. Yep, she was making him nervous. Beating erratically in his chest, he could feel his heartbeat betraying his increased anxiety, the twisting nerves.

"You bribed me, so it doesn't count," Marinette retorted, folding her arms over her chest. Now her inner-Ladybug was shining through, completely victorious and smug as she stuck out her tongue. "You should know better than to bribe people, Adrien."

Laughing at her behaviour, Adrien winked at her, "But I still won the bet."

"No distractions!" Marinette quickly responded, hiding her strawberry-red face behind her hands, "You're not allowed to use your gorgeous tricks to distract me."

Just like how she could make him a nervous wreck, Adrien himself could reduce Marinette to a stuttering mess in seconds. Whether it was as Adrien and Marinette or Ladybug and Chat Noir, that was just how they functioned. One would always tease the other and the other would always try be the serious, humiliated other half. In any given situation, in any given combination, one of them would always try to gain the upper hand.

"Alright, you win," Adrien sighed, his smile still remaining despite the bitter taste to the memories in his brain. There was a reason why he hadn't really spoken about what happened with Chloe - not even with Nino. Scratching at the back of his neck, a nervous tic, he continued, "Chloe and I aren't really on speaking terms at the moment. Last time we saw each other she dumped a bowl of cereal over my head because I told her that I was going to ask you out."

"Oh," Marinette pinked, her embarrassment and regret evident as she pinned her eyes back to her work. Quietly, she asked, "Was she upset about it?"

"Yeah, she was bit hysterical," Adrien mumbled, remembering it well. One second she had been happy about his visit, talking about how it had been ages since she'd last seen him. The next she was pacing all around her room, hands in the air, voice screeching out yells in disbelief. That day wasn't an easy one to forget. "But I don't exactly blame her for it. Chloe's been my friend for ages and I guess it's not easy for her to let go."

No, it wouldn't have been. They were there for each other when no-one else was. When Chloe's mother left for the United States, when Adrien's mother died, they had both been there to support each other, to fill the void left by their parents' absences. Perhaps that had been an unhealthy help for Chloe; maybe Adrien had caused more harm than good by being Chloe's emotional crutch all of these years.

"But that doesn't explain the slander," Marinette spoke, her voice almost timid as she continued to pin together pieces of fabric. Setting aside a piece of navy cloth, she frowned, "She said that I brainwashed you."

"Because she wanted me to choose," Adrien explained, somewhat disappointed at that news. No wonder why Alya had looked so annoyed that afternoon. Maybe he did need to speak to Chloe again, explain everything now that she's seemed to be calm down. "She said it was between her and you. So I said that if she was forcing me to choose, something you'd never make me do, then the choice was obvious."

Weighted, heavy, silence settled between them like a how a stone sank to the bottom of a river. Still quiet, Marinette continued to pin things together, the rustle of the fabric and the tick of her clock being the only noises to pierce the stillness between them. Not wanting to force anything out of her, to make her shrink further within herself, Adrien sighed as he picked up the scissors once more and resumed cutting. When she was ready, Marinette would say something. Whenever she was ready.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Adrien," Marinette quietly broke the stillness, her voice still low. Sucking in a deep breath, she didn't dare to rip her gaze from the pins and material in her grasp. "I didn't know I caused you so much trouble."

"Marinette," Adrien sighed, setting aside the material and his scissors. Sometimes she really did get caught up in those all-consuming thoughts of hers. Sometimes all she focused on was the theory - not at all the physical aspects to things. Wrapping her into a hug, a promise that he wasn't going anywhere any time soon, he continued, "It's not your fault, I promise. Chloe's her own person with her own actions. Her own actions led to her own consequences."

Those words seemed to reassure her as Marinette nodded, face pressed against his shoulder. It seemed the crisis was averted for now.

"I do have one question though," Marinette spoke as she broke away from the hug, almost seeming hesitant as she bit into her bottom lip, "What are we going to do at school? I doubt announcing Adrinette is a thing will end well."

"You're right and I have no clue about what to do next," Adrien admitted. What could they really do in this situation? There was no way he was going to bend to the whims of others - no, he had been doing that ever since his mother died. But, there was one thing he knew he wanted, one thing Marinette could do. "But can you at least stop avoiding me?"

Hesitation was clear on her face, evident in the cast to her pretty blue eyes and the set to her worried pink lips. Nevertheless, she soon grinned, sticking out a hand for him to shake, almost mimicking their signature 'pound it'.

"I'll try," Marinette promised, a smile on her face as he shook her hand with a gentle squeeze.

"Marinette, I made more midnight snacks!" Tom Dupain stopped in his tracks, eyes wide as he stared at the sight of his daughter - his only daughter - shaking hands with Adrien Agreste, showing no signs of spontaneous combustion nor absolute panic. Instead she stared at her father in complete horror, complete surprise, her face drained of its colour as she noticed the tray of bakes as well as her now open trap door.

Back turned to the baker, Adrien himself was lucky in the regard of his own terror being hidden. There was a reason why he had attempted to not be caught by any of Marinette's parents: not many parents took well to teenagers of the opposite sex staying over in their child's room. Especially if said teenager was their child's crush.

"Marinette," An obvious edge had entered his voice now. Gruff, grim. Adrien turned around to face a deep frown, thick brown eyebrows touching the tops of Tom Dupain's blue eyes. "It seems you have an unexpected visitor."

"Yes, papa," The girl nodded, swallowing thickly. Swiftly, she removed her hand from Adrien's scrambling to appear as if she had been taking a square of grey fabric from him. "And we'll gladly explain, right Adrien?"

"Right," The blonde nodded, regathering senses.

From the look of dissatisfaction on the baker's face, they definitely had a lot of explaining to do.