7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or any other copyrighted material.

Lucky Us

By: Princess Kitty1

Chapter 7

LadybugRE: 20157 minutes ago

tfw you're texting new people and have no idea what to say.

(Please end me.)

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: 2015Just now

Like back when you first started emailing me and you sounded so uptight and formal? Ah, those were the days!

Just be yourself, buginette. Someone as charming as you shouldn't have a problem.

x.x.x

LadybugRE: 2015Just now

Nope.

End me.

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: 20152 minutes ago

I refuse. :D

Waaaaait. Are you texting a guy?

x.x.x

Marinette sighed and checked the time. Five minutes to six. She'd sent her very first text to Adrien that morning listing the day's desserts. It had taken her no less than six different drafts: did she say hello or wish him good morning? Did she say nothing at all and just send the menu? Would he be bothered if she texted him so early? Did she write out the list of desserts or send him a picture? Would sending a picture the very first time she texted him be too weird?

Twenty minutes of agony later, she'd hit send. He'd replied almost immediately with a request for a slice of Charlotte cake and his thanks.

Marinette sighed again. Manon nudged her. "What's up? You've been glued to your phone all day."

And then there was Chat Noir. Now that she was emailing him during her work shift, she couldn't say why she'd never done it before. It helped the time go by, and despite the fact that he was a complete dork—perhaps because he was a complete dork—his messages did wonders for her anxiety.

She didn't even know what she had to be anxious about. Making a good first impression on Adrien? They were past the point of first impressions; texting shouldn't have been any different.

Manon waved a hand in front of Marinette's face. "Hello? Anybody home?"

"Huh?" Marinette looked at her.

"It's six," Manon said. She untied her apron and pulled it off. "If you're zoning out this hardcore, it's either Adrien or the design competition. Right?"

The design competition. Marinette groaned. She'd watched the press conference on her computer while eating dinner the night before and almost made herself sick with nerves.

It wasn't even the first time she'd considered entering one. In her mind's eye she saw twenty-four-year-old Marinette in a sunny apartment, seated on an orange couch, sketching furiously. The preliminary outfits were ready, the final designs came next. Then she felt movement behind her. A hand on her shoulder. A kiss on her cheek. She lifted her head, complexion rosy from the high of creativity and being in love—

Marinette slammed both palms on the counter, startling Manon. "That reminds me, I finished Jacquelyn's outfit! Wipe down the rest of the tables and I'll be right back."

She hurried upstairs. Both Jacquelyn and Tikki were dressed in new fall clothes, posing together on her desk. Their jackets had come out so nicely that Marinette made a note to make one for herself when she had the time. She carefully picked up both dolls and carried them downstairs.

Manon gasped when she saw Jacquelyn. "I love it," she said. "Seriously. This is the most gorgeous outfit you've made yet. How are you too scared to enter the design competition? You're a genius."

"Only when it comes to dolls," Marinette insisted. She made room for Tikki on a shelf where her mother kept decorative flower arrangements and shifted the flowers around to frame her. "There we go! It's been a while since I had Tikki down here." With the bakery's month-long break approaching, she had to promote her little doll clothes side business. The extra money never hurt.

Manon left shortly after, still thanking Marinette for Jacquelyn's outfit. Marinette boxed up the leftover pastries—she'd set Adrien's aside earlier in the day—and handed them off to the homeless shelter volunteer who came by ten minutes later. It occurred to Marinette that she ought to charge Adrien for the cake if it wasn't technically a leftover. Then she realized her mother would never forgive her if she did.

She finished cleaning up the kitchen and sat in the office chair by her father's desk, staring at Chat Noir's penultimate message. Just be yourself. What he really meant was "just be Ladybug." Her confident online persona wouldn't stutter or otherwise embarrass herself in front of Adrien. But was Ladybug all that different from plain old Marinette? And if so, what made them different? Marinette never said anything to Chat Noir that she wouldn't say to any of her other friends.

Marinette didn't have an enormous crush on her other friends, though.

She sighed and switched back to his latest message.

x.x.x

LadybugRE: 2015Just Now

Maybe.

x.x.x

Adrien's fist hovered in front of Marinette's door, poised to knock. In his other hand he held his phone. "Maybe?" he grumbled. He shook his head, slipped the phone into his back pocket, and knocked on the door. He'd worry about that later. Nino's happiness was at stake.

Marinette answered the door with the barely suppressed smirk of a kid caught mid-prank, which then bloomed into a full, pink-cheeked smile. Adrien blinked, temporarily disarmed. He wasn't blind—he knew Marinette was attractive, but it was the first time he'd noticed. What was a girl like her doing cooped up in a bakery six days a week?

Marinette's smile wavered. "Is everything all right?"

"Yes," Adrien said, then, "Hi." He rubbed the back of his neck. "So I kind of didn't think yesterday through enough."

Marinette stood aside to let him in. "What do you mean?"

"I mean your friend Alya is a professional." Adrien stepped over the threshold and most of his tension peeled away instantly. He'd never get tired of that. "I should have predicted relationships would be the furthest thing from her mind while on the job."

"You'd be surprised about that." Marinette skipped ahead of him and produced a beautiful slice of Charlotte cake on a small plate. "But you're right, she doesn't flirt during interviews. Your friend would have to run into her somewhere else." She handed Adrien the plate. "That'll be three euros," she said with a straight face.

Adrien stared at her. "Really?"

"No." She grinned.

"Because I can—"

"It was a joke!" Marinette motioned for him to follow her into the dining area and he went, amused at her playfulness. She must have been more comfortable around him now if her usual timidity had left her. But he still approached his next words with the same care and caution he took when addressing his father.

"About Nino running into Alya somewhere else," he said as they sat at the table, "he and I both realized that after the press conference. Of course, he doesn't know that I'm actively scheming to make it happen."

Marinette leaned forward. "You sound like you have a plan."

"I do. But I need your help."

"Okay."

Adrien hesitated. "It's kind of embarrassing because it's so old school, but it's the best I could come up with on short notice."

Marinette didn't even blink. "It can't be that bad."

"You and I have to go on a date."

Silence.

By the way her eyebrows disappeared into her bangs, he guessed this particular plan didn't have her approval. But he pressed on for Nino's sake. "The idea is, I ask you out on a casual date, you say yes on the condition that you can bring your best friend in case we run out of things to talk about, I hop on the bandwagon and invite my best friend, and knowing Nino he'll do whatever he can to make sure we're alone together, which means he and Alya will be alone together."

It was like someone had pressed the pause button on Marinette. She just sat there, eyes wide, lips slightly parted. Adrien looked away. "But if you're not comfortable with that—"

Marinette abruptly came back to life. "I love it."

"What?"

"The plan. I love it. Alya will also drag Nino away at every possible opportunity to give us some privacy." Marinette waved a hand. "You know, because she's my best friend and wants me to make it to the second date."

Adrien understood perfectly. If he told Nino he'd asked a girl out, the guy would lose his mind. "So we're doing this?" he asked.

"We're doing this," Marinette replied, then gasped. "We should go to the movies. There's that new zombie film out and I read in a magazine somewhere that if you do something scary or exciting on a date, the adrenaline rush will trick your brain into thinking you like the other person more. I mean, we don't want to trick our friends, but it'll help them get past the initial awkwardness faster."

Adrien grinned. "Hold on, I'm the one asking you out. Shouldn't I be making the suggestions?"

Marinette's cheeks went pink again. The shyness was back. "Right. What do you think?"

"I think we should do exactly what you said." He held out his hand and she reached for it, but instead of shaking it, he clasped hers in both of his and put on a sober expression. "Marinette, would you like to go to the movies with me on Sunday?"

"Yeees," she said with a sugary smile. He waited. She caught on. "But if it's all right with you, I'd like to keep it casual for now. May I invite my friend Alya? You've met her twice already. She's a reporter."

"What a great idea. I'll invite my friend Nino—I believe he and Alya were acquainted during yesterday's press conference." Both Adrien and Marinette snickered. He let go of her hand and picked up the dessert fork she'd provided him. "I'll check the show times on the zombie movie and we can decide on the best one tomorrow. That way you'll have witnesses to me asking you out."

"Because you're not technically here right now," Marinette said.

"Exactly." He took a bite of the Charlotte cake and sighed through his nose. "I'm going to miss this place next month." That was an understatement. With the additional work his father had scheduled him for, he wasn't sure how he'd make it out of August without these moments of peace.

Marinette tapped her chin. "Hmm, I do like to experiment with new recipes during the break." He lifted his head hopefully and she giggled. "I take it you wouldn't object to taste testing?"

"You'd let me do that?"

"Sure." She looked down at the hands she'd withdrawn into her lap. "We're friends, aren't we?"

Warmth spread through Adrien's chest. "Yeah," he said, "friends."

Was it silly of him to be so happy about that?

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: 201515 minutes ago

Hmm.

x.x.x

LadybugRE: 2015Just now

?

"Hmm"?

That's the response I get?

No "BUT MY LADY I THOUGHT WHAT WE HAD WAS SPECIAL"?

No "I BITE MY THUMB AT THEE SIR"?

I'm a little disappointed, chaton. )-:

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: 20152 minutes ago

Please, Ladybug, I'm a gentleman. Just because I have a romantic interest in you doesn't mean I have the right to force my wishes on you.

Besides, you wouldn't be talking to me if it was that serious.

x.x.x

Marinette, lying sideways on her bed, frowned at her phone. "What's that supposed to mean?" She peered into the darkness of her room and blinked the afterimage from her eyes. It was almost 11PM, but her heart had yet to stop skipping gleefully around her chest.

She had a date with Adrien. A fake date, but a date nonetheless. If this upward trend continued she'd never be able to sleep again.

Only now she couldn't sleep because she was annoyed at Chat Noir. What was he trying to say, that he believed things wouldn't get serious with Adrien? She had a (fake) date with the guy! She hit reply and started to tell Chat Noir about it just to spite him.

But maybe he meant that Marinette wouldn't need to talk to him if she found the right guy.

She stopped typing.

What did that make Chat Noir, then?

Marinette deleted her response, rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. No more thinking. No more talking. She needed sleep, and a lack of response would be sufficient enough to let Chat know she was bothered. She closed her eyes.

Hmph. Like she'd stop talking to him just because she got a boyfriend.

She opened her eyes and picked up her phone.

x.x.x

LadybugRE: 2015Just now

Sometimes, you really bug me.

Good night.

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: 2015Just now

Sweet dreams, My Lady.

x.x.x

The next day at around noon, Marinette stood in the bakery's back kitchen with her phone pressed to her ear, rubbing her temple. She had a headache. Chat Noir may as well have put a curse on her. All night she'd been plagued by stupid dreams where she came to school on the day of an exam, found out she'd skipped the entire semester, then had to sit through the test while her phone kept buzzing with emails from him.

She'd retaliated by not answering his cheerful good morning message. If he was going to annoy her in her sleep, he could wait a few hours to hear from her.

"Hey girl, what's up?" Alya answered on the third ring.

"You need to come here and pinch me."

"…why?"

"Adrien asked me on a date."

There was a beat of silence, then Alya screamed. Marinette ripped the phone from her ear but could still hear Alya's "it's about freaking time" from an arm's length away. Once she was certain there wouldn't be any more screams, she brought the phone back. "Oh my God, Marinette. Are you okay? Do you need a doctor? Are you feeling any dizziness, lightheadedness or chest pain? There are legit tears in my eyes right now. I'm so happy for you! Tell me how it happened. Do you even remember what happened? Are you sure you don't need a doctor?"

"I am surprisingly calm. Is that a symptom of shock?"

"I'll Google it. But in the meantime, spill everything."

So Marinette told her the fabricated story she and Adrien had come up with earlier. He'd walked into the bakery for his morning croissant, and when she went to check on him like she did with her other regulars, he asked her if she wanted to see a movie on Sunday afternoon. Naturally, she'd said yes, but…

"What do you mean you invited me along?" Alya demanded, her tone shifting from overjoyed bestie to murder in a heartbeat. "You've been after Adrien's goodies for months and the first chance you get to make out with him in a dark movie theater, you invite me?"

Marinette fidgeted. "We aren't going to make out in the theater."

"Yeah, because you cockblocked yourself!"

She leaned back against the sink. "Can you please just come along for moral support? I'm really nervous. I don't feel nervous because I'm in shock but trust me, I'm there."

"Oh, I'm coming. I want to witness the start of this beautiful relationship firsthand. But if you expect me to hang around feeding you every single word—"

"I don't."

"Good."

They exchanged goodbyes and she hung up the phone, then sent a text to Manon in all caps. The deception wouldn't be complete until Manon knew about it. Then she opened her inbox and glared at Chat Noir's email. Well… it was lunchtime.

x.x.x

LadybugRE: 201540 seconds ago

Busy morning.

Question:

Does seizing an opportunity for personal gain make me a bad person?

x.x.x

Adrien read Ladybug's email and breathed a sigh of relief. Somehow he'd annoyed her last night, and even though she sent a pun to let him know the offense was a minor one, her silence had worried him. But in typical Ladybug fashion she changed the subject instead of telling him what he'd done wrong.

"I can't believe you hid a crush on Marinette from me." Adrien looked up at Nino. They were at his apartment, officially having a meeting on the design competition's musical score, but in reality just goofing off. "Is that the reason you're always on your phone these days? Have you secretly been texting her all year?" Nino asked, darting a suspicious glance at Adrien's phone.

"Glad to see your imagination's intact." Adrien wrote a quick response to Ladybug, then put his phone away.

"It's just that you've never mentioned it before today. Forgive me if I'm a little skeptical."

"It's a recent development," he said, digging into the salad he'd picked up for lunch on the way over. "Marinette's nice, attractive, and fun to talk to."

"And she can bake."

"And she can bake," he agreed. All good points, and all true points. Marinette would make someone a very happy man.

Nino studied him for a moment, then shrugged and picked up his water bottle. "All right then. If you need me there, I'll be there."

"Great. Alya's coming too."

He spit his water out. "Dude!"

Adrien handed him a napkin. "What? You wanted a casual setting."

"You can't just do that!"

He gave Nino the same innocent smile he gave Chloe whenever he either pissed her off or needed a favor. "But I'm gorgeous and in charge. Chloe said so yesterday."

"I hate you so much right now."

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: 20153 hours ago

Yes it does. But I do it all the time, so you're in good company. ;)

x.x.x

On Saturday evening Alya showed up at the bakery right before closing with containers full of food. "Mom came to visit and went overboard as usual. She's not-so-secretly trying to feed you."

"Tell her I appreciate it," Marinette said. Alya's mother was a chef at a high-class restaurant. Whenever she saw Marinette she complained that she was far too thin for a young woman in childbearing years—which Madame Cheng heartily agreed with. "Here." Marinette handed Alya her house key. "Take it upstairs and put it in the fridge. I've got some stuff to do."

Earlier in the day Alya had promised to help Marinette choose an outfit for her date. To her benefit, Marinette had plenty of outfits to pick from. To her detriment, she had too many outfits to pick from.

She closed the bakery at exactly six and took her time cleaning. Alya wandered back downstairs with a glass of water she'd helped herself to. "Your living room's a mess. You going to wait until your parents come home to straighten up?"

"No," Marinette said. She cut Alya a look. "Maybe."

"You're hopeless. What if things get hot and heavy with Adrien tomorrow and you need a place to bang?"

"I'll get a hotel room… wait, what exactly do you think is going on between me and Adrien?"

Alya arched an eyebrow at her. "He asked you on a date. In the adult world, that means he's interested. And seeing as you're interested in him, there's a thirty percent chance of tomorrow ending"—she indicated behind her—"upstairs."

"It's a casual date," Marinette said. She shook the crumbs out of the bread baskets. "We're just getting to know each other. Besides, you know I like to take things slow."

"Oh yeah. You didn't move in with Nathanael until, what, two years after you guys started dating?"

She paused. "Something like that."

Her tone must have shifted enough. Alya sucked in a breath. "Sorry," she said. They were both quiet while Marinette finished upending the bread baskets and putting them back. "You don't still check on him, do you?"

"No." She made a face. "The last time was in February, I think. But only because I saw something about a comic book convention and… anyway, I don't do it anymore. It's counterproductive." She grabbed a nearby broom and swept the bread crumbs into a dust pan.

Alya took a sip of her water. "I still want to punch him in the face."

"That's counterproductive too," Marinette said. "Let's talk about your love life instead."

"Oh gee, I would, but I just got an earful of it from my mother." Alya affected her voice in imitation of her mother. "You focus too much on your career. The longer you wait to have children, the harder it's going to be. Find a nice man! Settle down! Then worry about being a great reporter." She rolled her eyes. "It's like she thinks my eggs are going to dry up tomorrow. And here's a revolutionary thought: What if I don't want kids?"

Marinette dumped the trash in a bin. "You don't?"

"I do. It just annoys me that my mother won't consider other possibilities."

She watched Alya drink the rest of her water and suddenly remembered that she, as matchmaker, had a part to play. "You know," she said, "Adrien's friend is kind of cute. The DJ?"

Alya frowned, but it was a contemplative one. "You met him?"

"On Wednesday. He came in with Adrien and Chloe before the press conference." She kept her voice level. Any hint of excitement would make Alya suspicious. "Chloe threatened to kill him, it was pretty funny."

"What? Why?"

"I don't think they like each other much. When he got to the register he said she'd have anything as long as there was alcohol in it."

Alya laughed out loud. "That's hilarious. Remind me to shake his hand tomorrow."

Marinette waited. She didn't dare bring up the subject of his attractiveness again. If it was going to happen, it had to happen organically.

Alya stepped forward. "Yeah," she said, "I guess he is kind of cute." She slung her arm over Marinette's shoulder. "But tomorrow is all about you, so if you're done sweeping the ashes out of the chimney, Cinderella, your fairy godmother has to get you ready for the ball."

x.x.x

Adrien Agreste: What does a guy bring a girl on a first date?

Marinette Dupain-Cheng: Flowers are customary. But to a movie theater?

Adrien Agreste: I'm stumped. ):

Marinette Dupain-Cheng: How about snacks that can be snuck into a movie theater?

Adrien Agreste: You should be ashamed of yourself. (Is chocolate okay?)

Marinette Dupain-Cheng: I'll go put myself in time out. ;) (Chocolate is perfect.)

x.x.x

"Alya, oh my God you did not just send that text," Marinette shrieked, reaching for her best friend's neck with fingers curled into claws. Alya leapt out of the way.

"If I hadn't pressed send you'd have spent another five minutes giggling about how you shouldn't," Alya snapped. "Don't even try to defend yourself. You're an overthinker and you know it!"

Marinette whined and collapsed onto her bed, crawling and wriggling until her head was under the pillow. "Go home. Leave me here to die. I'm never coming out of my room again."

"Oh for—it is not the end of the world. Technically he's the one who started the flirty texts. Yours was an act of retaliation." Alya lay across Marinette's back while Marinette continued to whine. "Step your game up, girl. He needs to know you're more than just an awkward, stuttering mess."

"I am?" Marinette moaned.

"Yes! You're Marinette Dupain-freaking-Cheng: savvy business owner, fashionista, and the best darn thing that's ever going to happen to Adrien Agreste." Alya shifted back and forth. "Also a surprisingly good pillow."

"Thanks. I'll be sure to put 'versatile' on my résumé." Marinette pulled her head out from under the pillow so she could breathe. "Hey," she said, "totally random question. Do you think it's okay for a girl to talk to another guy if she has a boyfriend?"

"Talk how?"

"I don't know, friend talk. Joking around with the occasional serious stuff."

Alya hummed. "Joking around, sure. But if you're in a committed relationship, maybe you shouldn't be confiding in another guy about the serious stuff? Intentionally or not, that's how cheating starts."

"But what if he's your best friend?"

"Then you could just date him." She sat up. "Why do you ask?"

Marinette stared at the wall, worrying at her bottom lip. "Just curious."

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: 20159 minutes ago

MY LADYYYYY! You awake?

x.x.x

LadybugRE: 2015Just now

You're lucky I have insomnia or I'd have thrown a boot at you, you dumb tomcat.

What's up?

x.x.x

Chat NoirRE: 2015Just now

Not much. Had to go rescue my favorite alcoholic and her other bff from a night club, so I'm sitting up with them to make sure they don't choke on their vomit.

Tomcat, huh? Shall I break out the bass and start singing?

IS YOU IS, OR IS YOU AIN'T MY BABYYY? (or would it be "Lady" in this case?)

x.x.x

LadybugRE: 2015Just now

I changed my mind.

You're getting the freaking boot.

To Be Continued

A/N: Chat Noir is referencing a scene from the cartoon Tom and Jerry. You can find the entire clip on YouTube.

Since we have last seen each other, this story received fan art! Visit artist toriitorii on Tumblr to check out the gorgeous picture she drew of our favorite hoodie-clad cat boy! I'd link to it on my profile, but FanFiction won't let us do that anymore.

And now that you're all dying of anticipation for the Adrinette and DJ Wifi Double Date, I must break some bad news. School is on the horizon. Homework has been assigned. Therefore, updates will slow down again, but I'll do what I can to shorten the wait. Stay tuned to my Tumblr (geek-fashionista) for updates!

Want to thank Alya for speeding things along? Yell at Marinette for being dense? Yell at Adrien for being dense? The review box is here for you.