A/N: EyyyyYYyyy~! So this one is also a couple of years old and is actually inspired by an encounter I had in my life LMAO.

So basically, I was minding my own business in my favourite café and then noticed this random guy who was on the table next to mine and he kept looking at me and back to his laptop and back and forth. I did ask if he wanted something and why he was staring and he claimed that he wasn't (big ass LIEEEEE LOLOL).

Nothing happened after that but when I discussed it with my discord girlies, an idea was born and I thought "Hey, why don't I write some lovesquare based on this experience but make it actually cute and wholesome?".

Then boom.

ENJOY!

"'Don't look away,' I tell myself

For the last time, nice to meet you

'Don't sleep,' my body screams

Sound the early bells for this carved heart

Words left unsaid are unreliable"

01 (ZERO ICHI) - 女王蜂 (Queen Bee)

Pairing - Adrinette

Prompt - 'Anonymous'

~(x)~

.

.

.

Settling down on her favourite seat by the window after collecting her usual coffee order from the counter, Marinette let out a deep exhale from the exhaustion that sunk its fangs deep into her muscles and joints. Dieu, she was tempted to just drop all of her responsibilities and run away to another country without telling anyone for a week. A month even. As long as it would take to ease her overworked body and sleep-deprived brain because the fraying string that was keeping her together was at its limit.

Ugh.

At the end of the day, this was the road she chose for her life. She was currently in her final year at ESMOD, studying fashion design as an undergraduate, barely twenty years old and one of the few youngest students on her course. Marinette went through hell and back trying to get into this university, sacrificing her social life (or lack of), her brain (it was already in shambles), her poor fingers (which had been stabbed a million times with needles) and so on just to get accepted.

And yet, all she could feel was how absolutely drained she was.

The pride and giddiness she held for the first few weeks during the first year of her course were immediately obliterated by the mountains of work and deadlines and essays that were forced upon her shoulders on an almost weekly basis. As if that wasn't enough, there were far too many people on her course who could give her childhood bullies (Chloé Bourgeois and Lila Rossi) a run for their money in terms of brattiness, nepotism and even sabotaging other people's work because they found it 'funny'.

UGH.

She was well aware of how competitive and brutal the fashion industry was and that unfortunately, whether she liked it or not, the richer you were the more power and opportunities you had. Marinette could be the best fashion designer in the world but critics could choose to bestow awards and prizes to other designers because of money and influence.

'Maybe I should have stuck to freelancing and commissions like I did back in school…' She thought to herself despondently, staring through the window with a bittersweet smile and taking a sip of her hot beverage. The delicious drink eased her soul just a little but Marinette couldn't help but keep musing about the current state of her life.

Granted, she did have a few good things going on that many people would kill to have or to have accomplished. Such as loving, doting parents who worked hard every day and supported her dreams since day one or designing products commissioned by big names like Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale and even winning contests (such as Gabriel Agreste's bowler hat competition) just to get her name out there.

Marinette was already a very accomplished woman with a portfolio to die for and she took huge pride in it.

But she didn't have any friends.

Never had a boyfriend.

Never had a classmate be it back in her school days or even now, ask her to hang out with them or request to work as a group willingly.

She's so, so, so alone.

.

Suddenly, Marinette noted a guy from the reflection on the window glass who sat on the table beside hers and he was blatantly staring.

At first, she wanted to chalk it up to him looking out through the window too, maybe looking for inspiration or taking a break from whatever he was working on on his laptop. She wasn't so vain and proud to think that her looks were enough to warrant blatant staring like that. However, she noted that his complexion took on a pink hue and his eyes were completely glued to her frame.

Oh dear.

'Please don't be a creep. Please don't be a creep.' Her mind repeated over and over again like a mantra and she now watched the man back in her peripheral vision. He was actually really, really pretty (as much as it pained her to admit). Way prettier than she expected.

His blond hair was short and stylishly tousled in a style that was very similar to the hot men in the K-dramas her maman loved to watch. He wore round, thin glasses with a silver rim that suited his face perfectly and accentuated his brilliant green eyes. He also had a bit of a babyface too which (again, much to her dismay) skyrocketed his cuteness levels through the roof and had it not been for the structure of his body, she would have thought he was a high schooler.

Last but not least, the man was very well dressed in palettes of greens, blacks and greys. All of his clothes boasted how well-made they were and the high quality (as well as the price) shone through with just a glance. They were casually styled but belonged to brands that would charge an entire year's worth of tuition fees for one article of clothing.

'A very well-off guy then? Probably a micro-celebrity or something…' Marinette flickered her eyes back to the reflection on the window, only to note that the man's eyes darted from her figure to his laptop screen and rinse and repeat. He was typing away a storm and Marinette didn't know whether to be amazed that he was able to do that whilst keeping his eyes on her or a little freaked out.

.

So she turned around completely and faced him.

The man almost leapt out of his seat like a cat and then stammered out word soup and for a second there, she felt a little bit bad for surprising him like that in the first place. Then again, he was the one who was staring to begin with. The poor guy was so red, he looked like he was about to explode and he was tugging on the side of his thick black turtleneck, hoping to cool himself down.

How cute.

Marinette flashed him a smirk, picked up her coffee and promptly made her way out of the café without a word, blind to the way he reached out a sullen arm and the pitiful pout that plastered itself on his face.

'Pretty people do get away with everything, huh.' The designer sighed to herself, knowing very well that she wouldn't have even spared him a glance if it weren't for how cute she found him. Like a little kitten in the most unexpected place and you can't help but be intrigued, can you?

Oh well.

Back to coursework.

~(x)~

"—The number one top-selling romance ever? A must-read? Surely this is just another Twilight or something like that." Marinette scoffed to herself after browsing through the internet, looking for a good book to read as a treat for finishing everything in time for her deadlines. "'Ladybug'…interesting title." She decided to give the book a chance and found a preview to see if it was worth her while after all.

'It was as if all time and space stood still and the air was knocked out of my lungs the minute my eyes were captured by a sea of blue.

Beautiful, gorgeous, baby blues that glittered and shone like the sun reflecting off the sea from dusk till dawn.

Her rosy lips were quirked up into an adorable, dimpled smile after she took a sip from her chosen beverage for the day. I guessed it was cinnamon. She looked like the type of girl to indulge in warm spices.

Her midnight hair was tied up in a neat, cute bun. So, so cute. Wrapped by a poppy red ribbon with black polka dots.

It was so hard to soak her in with the few glances I selfishly allowed myself to have. Every time I looked, I fell more and more into this wonderful, thrilling feeling. I never thought I was capable of feeling this way. I never thought that someone like me would ever experience what others would make songs and arts and poetries about.

I think this is…

Love.

Until I know her name, I shall call her "Ladybug". If there are any benevolent beings left in this universe, please allow me to see her again in this cold, cruel world.'

Marinette stood up from her computer chair and let out a shuddering exhale, rereading the last line twice, thrice, until she lost count. She couldn't believe it.

It was him…

Him.

The cute man who watched her as if she were the most exquisite painting in the world and then almost exploded on the spot when she caught him in the act.

Him!

Marinette rushed to the bottom of the screen to check out the author's details only to furrow her brows at the name he went by as. Her frown then unconsciously perked up into a smirk and she couldn't help but think how fitting the name was for him. She searched it up, only coming across similar results that talked about how he was an anonymous writer from France who mainly wrote stories about heroes, family mysteries and the occasional horror or two.

'Ladybug' was his first ever story that revolved around romance and his fans couldn't help but speculate if the author himself has fallen in love for the first time in real life. If it were to be true then Marinette was determined to come across this strange but enigmatic man. She wanted to kick her past self for not attempting to make conversation with him back in the café!

"I'll find you Chat Noir...I will!" She vowed. The least that silly cat can do is buy her a coffee after using what little interaction they had as inspiration for the love interest in his story, no?

.

.

.

~(x)~

A/N: So tl;dr version of the ending of this story or idea. They do come across each other again because surprise surprise, he lives near her campus and goes to a different university nearby. They get closer and Marinette is reunited with Alya and Nino from her middle school because they're close friends with Adrien and they become an unstoppable group of friends.

Oh yeah.

Marinette does eventually fall for Adrien and he falls for her every single day so they get together and have a happily ever after~

NOW GIMME YOUR COMMENTS.