A/N: Some of this chapter was highly inspired by "golden hour" by JVKE. It's such a good song.

Cat Noir startled when his staff began to vibrate. "Wh-?!"

Fiddling around with it, he found a section that flipped up like a flip-phone. Ladybug's face appeared in a tiny screen, and he relaxed. "Oh, Ladybug. You need something?"

"Yes," she answered. "It seems another kid from Francois-Dupont has been akumatized."

"Do you recognize this signature?" She was holding a piece of cardstock up to the camera. It was a decent sketch of a present box and a birthday cake. Down in the corner was…

"An exclamation mark?" He slowly asked. "As a signature?"

"One of the students there uses that in his creative work," Ladybug explained, her face filling the screen again. "His name is Nathanael - did anything happen to him today for him to get akumatized?"

Blinking, Cat Noir frowned in thought. "I can't recall," he admitted. "Did Chloe do something to him again?"

"It must've been," she sighed in annoyance. "Wasn't there an incident today where she tripped him and mocked his art? I know that would've made me upset."

"Just that, though? That's a far cry from someone getting akumatized out of love for a friend."

Ladybug got strangely quiet on the other end of the line.

"Cat," she said in a deadpan, "you don't - you do not - mess with an artist's craft."

Something about the intensity in her voice made a shiver go up his back. "Y- yeah," he weakly agreed. "That's true. You're right."

"Anyway!" her mood lift was instantaneous. "He's agreed to stop going after Chloe, I've heard, but now he's set his sights on one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. One of his classmates, apparently."

"Oh, Marinette." He nodded, an amused smile playing on his lips. "She's quite cute. Squeaks like a mouse."

The bug heroine's face got suspiciously pink, but she coughed into her fist. "Y- yes. Anyway, instead of taunting her, he wants to take her on a date."

Cat's pleasant mood crashed. "What."

"Six PM, near Notre-Dame," she continued as if he hadn't said anything. "I'll be there, of course - but we both agreed it would be a bad call for him to see me. I need your help in getting the akuma out of his item."

"You're… willing to leave her with him alone?" He balked.

"She won't be alone," she insisted. "I'll be there as well. But in the shadows so he isn't tipped off to the plan."

"Then what do you want me to do? Play chaperone?"

"What I want you to do is meet with her at five-thirty," Ladybug advised. "Work out a plan, then drop her off near the date spot. Marinette's smart - it's not like you'll have to save her from drowning, or anything."

"Yeah, drowning…" He didn't sound enthused.

"Do you need her address?"

"No, no," he waved her off. "I've seen her walking home while on patrol. The Dupain-Cheng boulangerie-patisserie, right?"

"Yeah."

"My Kwami likes their cheese bread." With a mysterious smile, he saluted her. "I'll drop by at five-thirty then."

Sabrina showed up right on time, cheery and holding a stack of books. "Ready for our project!"

"Great!" Marinette stepped out of the way. "I have some snacks - do you like roast beef sandwiches?"

"Oh," she looked a little nervous for a moment, but flashed a smile. "Um, is it kosher?"

"Oh." Marinette blinked. "You're Jewish?"

"My dad raised me on a kosher diet," she explained as they headed up the stairs. "I don't want to make a problem…"

"No! No, no, it's no problem!" The noirette waved her hands as she opened the door to the fridge, scanning it frantically. "I'm sure we have some spring rolls left too…"

"Ooh, spring rolls?" Sabrina peeked past her into the fridge.

"They have to be kosher! … I think," she answered sheepishly. "We just load them up with vegetables and fry them in oil, so…"

"That would work, thanks!" She set the books down on the kitchen table to help her put the plate of roast beef back.

Grabbing the plastic container of spring rolls, Marinette shut the fridge and set it on the counter. "We've got a garlic-sesame soy sauce for dipping. Does that sound good?"

Sabrina nodded. "It really does. I'm excited! I never get to have food like this at home."

"Does your dad cook?" Marinette poked her head back into the fridge to locate the sauce.

"Well, yeah, when he can," the redhead answered, clasping her hands behind her back. "Usually he gets home so late we just have takeout, but he likes to make chicken and potato dishes on his days off."

Humming in response, Marinette squeezed some dipping sauce into a little condiment cup before settling it in the middle of a plate of rolls.

"Got everything?" She asked as she sat down at the table with the food.

"Yep!" Like the previous conversation never happened, Sabrina was back to her chipper self as she took a seat across from her.

Time raced by, and before they knew it they'd migrated from the kitchen table to Marinette's room. Sabrina had agreed to her firm rule of not touching anything of hers, and the extra quiet away from the bustle of the bakery proved beneficial to their researching.

Sabrina had just walked out of the room to use the bathroom when Marinette startled at a sudden tapping at her skylight.

Looking up, her eyes widened and she scrambled up onto her bed to pop it open.

"Cat Noir!" She greeted as the hero dropped down into her room. "Oh shoot, is it five-thirty already?"

"Five twenty-nine," he corrected with an amused swish of his tail-belt. "Busy with homework, huh?"

"Sabrina is surprisingly easy to work with!" Huffing a laugh, she got off the bed. "So, uh, what's the plan?"

"That's what I wanted to know from you ." Folding his arms, he gazed around the room. "Huh, very pink."

"Thanks," she ducked her head with a hum.

Cat's eyes strayed to her corkboard, which was surprisingly bare of photos. There were a few magazine clippings of outfits being modeled, a picture or two of her friends, but…

"No pictures of Adrien?" His voice was more surprised than even he originally wanted.

"Why would there be?" Marinette tilted her head with a soft frown.

"Uh, well- I thought you…" He rubbed the back of his neck, cheeks flushing in embarrassment.

"Just because he's the son of my fashion idol doesn't mean I want to be weird about it," she laughed lamely. "Besides, I'm not as interested in men's fashion as I am in women's."

"I see." Clearing his throat, he pasted on a sly smile. "Well, give me your best plan of events. I agreed to help Ladybug, and that means helping you too."

"I was thinking, why not just let him have his date?" She mused with a shrug, missing the darkening of the hero's countenance. "The worst he's done is, what, chase Chloe around?"

"Marinette, you weren't even present for what he did." His voice grew sharper. "I followed him to Chloe's room after he left the library. He wanted to seriously hurt her."

"But he promised me he wouldn't try anymore," she implored, a troubled expression clouding her face.

"Sure, but you didn't see him chase her with a giant crimson Louboutin," he argued. "Marinette, this guy is dangerous. I know he's sweet to you, but he's cruel to others."

"I know that," she snapped back. "What else am I supposed to do? Ruin his day? Make him angrier? The last thing I want is for an akuma to decide I'm their next target! I can't fight with fancy magic things like you can!"

"Well, Ladybug insisted she would be there during the date." He folded his arms. "If you wanna give this guy a date, fine. But if he tries anything, I'm stepping in whether you like it or not."

Marinette paused, eyeing him up and down.

"What?" He questioned, upon seeing her sour look.

"You're not being fair," she accused. "You think I'm just some damsel in distress, huh?"

"Wha- no!" He exclaimed. "I just think it's a stupid idea to go unarmed and alone with an akuma at sunset!"

"I had tai chi lessons regularly for two years... when I was eight to ten," she argued. "I'm capable of self-defense."

He paused. Squinted. Incredulously inquired, "Tai huh?"

She rolled her eyes. "Tai chi. Martial arts."

"Oh, sure, fighting lessons from five years ago are going to be so helpful in the present day when you trip over your own two feet on a daily basis."

"You're such a smarmy jerk," she huffed, storming down to the chaise to grab her purse. "Wait on the balcony, okay? I'll be out in a minute."

As soon as she heard him shimmy up through the skylight, Sabrina opened the door, wiping her hands on her skirt.

"Oh, Sabrina," she said in surprise. "We've gotten a lot of work done today - actually, this is kind of a bad time to continue. How about we meet up tomorrow and we can get the rest of the work done?"

Sabrina gave her a suspicious look for a moment, but finally nodded with a satisfied look. "That's completely fine. I should get home anyway, so I can start on dinner."

"You? Cooking?"

"Don't sound so surprised!" The redhead exclaimed, gathering up her books and papers. "Someone has to keep up the house while Dad's working."

"N- no, no, it's not that! I get it," she insisted. "It's just… your dad leaves you alone a lot?"

Sabrina frowned, toeing the floor. "Well… yeah. It's just him and me, so…"

Marinette's heart clenched. She knew Sabrina had been sensitive about her mother in the past, but she hadn't realized she was gone.

"I'm sorry," she said, grabbing the girl for a hug. "Here- do you want some leftovers? Mama makes enough to feed my dad three times over. You want some steamed buns? I'm sure we have some vegetarian ones around here somewhere…"

The sunset painted the skies with orange and yellow and blue, and Evillustrator tapped his foot impatiently against the dock.

"How long will this take, Evillustrator?" Hawkmoth's irritated voice came through the mindlink.

"Relax, old man," he scoffed, twirling his stylus in his hand, mindful of a pink rose he'd drawn to life. "If that mangy Cat realized there was an akuma around, he must've alerted Ladybug. They'll probably be sneaking around somewhere."

"Well you'd better hurry. I don't appreciate being forced to wait."

"Calm down, you'll get your Miraculouses. Just let me have this one thing." Evillustrator's teal eyes narrowed in anger. "It's my birthday. You're really going to ruin my birthday by akumatizing me and getting me beat up by a couple of amateur heroes?"

Hawkmoth had no comeback. Instead, he scoffed. "I don't celebrate birthdays."

Evillustrator paused, brow scrunching up incredulously. "You... don't celebrate your birthday?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I don't have to divulge my private life to a child, now do I?"

"Rude." The redhead rolled his eyes. "I was just wondering. I've never heard of someone not making their birthday at least a little special."

The mindlink was cut off by the appearance of Marinette, panting as she ran from around a corner.

Evillustrator's eyes sparkled as he beheld her. She'd done well to dress up for the date; her hair was in a high bun (just as he remembered from their school photo the year before) and she was wearing a nice baby-pink sequined dress with a flared skirt and a high neck. Her usual pink purse was clutched at her side, and she had black ballet flats.

"You really came!" He greeted, a bashful flush on his face as he held out the rose. "Wow, you… you look really pretty."

"Oh, thanks!" Marinette giggled, twirling around. "I made it myself. You like it?"

"I love it. Your designs are beautiful, Marinette." His eyes softened as he extended a hand, watching in delight as she tucked the thornless stem behind her ear. "Allow me, mademoiselle."

Smoothly, he helped her onto the little boat he'd drawn up on his tablet. It was a beautiful little creation, with a comfy-looking bench with shrubbery along one side of it and a helm behind.

"Wow," she breathed, eyes twinkling as she slowly turned to the akuma. "You… you made this?"

"I did," he confirmed, puffing up his chest confidently as he gestured to his tablet. "Anything I draw on this screen appears in reality."

To demonstrate the point, he drew a little butterfly. In a small flash of light, a little red and blue-painted butterfly flapped its wings before them, fluttering towards where an awed Marinette had stuck out her index finger. When it landed atop her hand, she turned to him in surprise.

"Incredible," she praised, a pretty blush dusting her face. "Could… could I try it?"

"Sure!" Eagerly, he handed her the stylus, and she tapped her chin with it.

"Hmm…" Eyes narrowed, she tried to think of what to draw. Glancing around the scenery, she spotted Cat hidden among the buildings. He made an X with his hands, and she dipped her head in understanding before turning back to the tablet.

"Here." Hesitantly putting a tip to the screen, she sketched a beret that looked strikingly like his.

To her delight, with a little flash of light it appeared before her, falling into her hands. With a little giggle, she put it on. "Now we match!"

Evillustrator laughed with her as she adjusted the beret to sit crookedly atop her head.

"I'm glad you said yes to the date," he shyly admitted.

Marinette gazed at his face, taking in the soft hues of his blush contrasting the striking color of his eyes. His thin pink lips were curved into a hopeful smile.

She felt a smile of her own overtake her face, and she placed a hand atop his. "It's your birthday, isn't it? Consider this my gift."

"It's a better gift than I could've asked for." The sunset hit their faces with a warm golden glow, and time seemed to slow down.

"This is such perfect lighting," she sighed. "I wish I could've brought my sketchbook. I have so many ideas."

"Me too," Evillustrator realized. "Aw man, I should've thought of that."

"Well, it's such a beautiful evening, got anything else you want to do?" She stood from the bench, stretching. "Do you know how to dance?"

"I- uh, not really?" He fumbled with his words, face growing red as she tugged at his hand to get him to stand.

Marinette smiled in amusement, cupping a hand over her mouth. "Does your tablet play music? I'll teach you if you want."

Was this a dream? Evillustrator stared at her shorter frame, the sunset painting her face in radiant golden hues, highlighting the sky that was her eyes and the midnight of her hair framing her face.

Belatedly, he realized she was waiting for an answer. Nodding rapidly, he said, "Sure! Sure, hang on."

The moon was making its ascent in the skies above by the time the boat returned to the dock.

The music playing softly from his tablet faded away as the two's twirling came to a stop, the akuma gingerly holding her back as she tilted into a dip.

"You've gotten good at this!" Marinette praised with a breathy laugh. "To be honest, I was worried I was going to mess it all up by tripping over your foot."

Pulling her up from the dip, Evillustrator chortled, rubbing the back of his neck. "When you're in your element… you look so graceful. I feel honored to have seen that part of you."

"I… do?" She blushed, wide eyes casting to the floor of the boat.

"Yes." Eagerly, he cupped her hands in his, holding them close. "I was so distracted that I didn't even notice if you stumbled."

As he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, mindful of the rose, she smiled up at him, and it sent his heart pounding yet again. Faintly he could hear Hawkmoth growling to him through the link, but he firmly shoved him away, intent on focusing on the girl in front of him.

The moment seemed to die as Marinette glanced up at the sky, and her face pulled into a frown. "It's gotten late," she commented with a sigh. "My parents will be worried if I'm not home soon."

"May I escort you?" He offered, bending his arm.

"I suppose you may," she teased, taking the offer as he helped her off of the dock.

"I had fun today," Evillustrator began as he dropped her off on her balcony. "I mean it. This was the best birthday I've had in forever, even if Chloe tried to ruin it for me."

"I'm glad I was able to make it fun for you." Marinette pulled him into a hug, making him freeze. "Happy birthday, Nathanael."

"N- Nathanael?" He stammered, slowly hugging back.

"You can't expect me not to recognize your signature by now, right?" She laughed, pulling away after a moment to roll her eyes playfully. "C'mon, I've sat next to you enough to recognize your art. Artists recognize artists, right?"

Bumping his arm with her own, she dusted off her dress. "I should head back down… gotta get ready for tomorrow, right? School day."

"Oh, uh, yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Good night, Marinette. And… thank you."

"Anything for a friend."

With a soft smile, she disappeared down the skylight.

Evillustrator sighed in bliss, a pink tinge dusting his face.

Then, suddenly, he was shoved to the ground by a blond in black leather. With a grunt, he twisted, trying to see his attacker, but Cat held him down.

"What the-?! Cat Noir?" Evillustrator snarled angrily. "You were spying on me?!"

"Couldn't leave a damsel unprotected," he retorted with a sneer.

"I wouldn't hurt her, I swear! Marinette is… too precious!"

"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of England," Cat mocked, snatching his stylus as another pair of feet thumped onto the roof. "Ah, Ladybug. You took your time."

"Just because I stay in the shadows one time…" she muttered with a huff. "Just break the stylus, Cat."

The hero obliged, and as soon as the stylus snapped in half a sickly-purple butterfly flapped desperately away - only to be caught by the yo-yo.

One de-evilization later, Nathanael sat on the ground groggy and confused, looking around. "Wha… what? Where am I? Why is it night?"

"You were akumatized this afternoon," Ladybug offered a hand with a sympathetic smile. "Are you okay?"

"I… I was?" He weakly groaned, taking her hand and getting to his feet. "Oh man, I missed my entire birthday. Stupid Chloe."

"Actually," Cat chimed in, catching both of their attention, "You spent a lot of it on a date with one of your classmates… what's her name…?" Ma… Marie?"

"Marinette?" Nathanael burst out, cheeks flushing red with embarrassment as he covered his face. "I asked Marinette on a date and I don't remember it?!"

"Ouch, that's rough." Cat winced, patting him on the back. "Don't take it too hard - your memories may be lost, but hers aren't. Why don't you ask her about it tomorrow?"

"T- tomorrow," he stuttered. "Oh, I have school."

"I'll drop you off." Ladybug opened her arm, twirling her yo-yo in the other as she casted a grateful glance at her partner. "Thanks for supervising today, Cat. I owe you one."

"You really owe me one," he groused in response, folding his arms across his chest. "I don't want to babysit an akuma on a date, I actually want to save Paris."

"Who knows what could've gone wrong if you came in at the wrong point?" She argued, rolling her eyes. "Just let him have this one."

As soon as the heroine dropped him off at his doorstep, Nathanael let out a breath he didn't know he held. "Thanks, Ladybug," he muttered shyly. "Sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's no problem. I care about the citizens of Paris." With a kind smile, she shook her head. "Besides, I'm sure you've got one more surprise waiting for you inside the door."

With a questioning look, he turned and opened the front door.

His mother gasped, rising from the decorated table. "He's back! Matthieu, he's back!"

"Nathanael!" His father reprimanded, following his wife as she rushed to the door. "Where have you been?! We've been worried sick! You've completely missed your birthday party!"

"I- I'm sorry, Mom, Dad," he shakily hugged the redheaded woman back nervously.

Guilt twisted the girl's heart as she watched Mr. Kurtzberg scold his son, who was getting a finger wagged in his face by his mother.

"I'm very sorry for the trouble, ma'am," Ladybug apologized, bowing her head as the couple turned to her. "He was akumatized all afternoon. I kept an eye on him, but I probably should've purified it sooner."

"Oh, Ladybug," Mr. Kurtzberg blinked, folding his arms across his chest. "It's quite all right, don't you worry. I'm just glad you got our boy back safe and sound."

"You're lucky your aunts and uncles haven't gone home yet," Mrs. Kurtzberg added with a frown towards her son. "We were saving the cake for when you got home after school."

"Do you want to stay and have some cake and ice cream?" Nathanael shyly asked, sending her a look that read "please help me".

"I'm sorry," the heroine gently shook her head, "I'd love to stay but I need to get home and head to bed. I've got school in the morning."

"You have school? Goodness me, are you that young?" Mr. Kurtzberg harrumphed, giving her a concerned look. "You be careful getting home, okay? Do you need an escort?"

"No, I'm good, sir!" She chirped. "Oh, and, uh, Nathanael. Here, from Marinette."

She pulled out a note from her yo-yo, handing it to the awestruck boy with a smile and a wink. "She was very understanding about the ordeal. She was going to give it to you earlier but she figured it would get too late, so she told me to hand it off instead. Happy birthday, by the way."

"Thank you…" he took the card almost reverently, studying the loopy cursive on it.

"Aw, how sweet," Mrs. Kurtzberg sighed, reading the card over his shoulder. "Marinette… that's that girl you like, right?"

"Mom!" Nathanael's cheeks burned, and he hid the card from her. "Not in front of Ladybug!"

Laughter rippled up from the three of them, and Nathanael hid his face in his hands with a frustrated groan.

A/N: Okay, I admit it, I'm biased in Nathanael's favor because he's such a bean, I love him!

I wish we had more bits of Marinette exploring her Chinese side. Obviously I don't want to make her a stereotype, but I feel like Sabine would've at least gotten her in the habit of trying to meditate/try tai chi exercises when she's incredibly stressed out or at least when she remembers to join her for them in the mornings she wakes up earlier. Or various little things to try when she's ill or just doesn't feel very good, or at the very least herbal teas or sayings... little things. I refuse to believe Sabine hasn't at least tried to give her daughter a window into their cultural nuances.

Anyway. Irritated grumblings aside, I hope you enjoyed.

Please tell me what you thought!