Over the years, Adrien could honestly say he'd tried everything to get Ladybug to look at him. He'd tried being devoted; he'd tried being aloof. He'd brought her gifts and roses, he'd treated her to ice cream, he'd let her win at pool...yet, he could never get her to look at him in that way. That way as in how she was looking at him right now.

Her eyes had grown to the size of saucers as she studied him like a piece of fine art. Even in all his years of modelling, he'd never seen such an intense stare, she looked like she wanted to cover him in apple sauce and cook him on a spit. It hadn't made him feel uncomfortable. On the contrary, he felt desirable, almost as though this was the meaning of his life, his heart betraying him by beating faster.

He was positive he loved Marinette—damn right certain, in fact—but he couldn't deny that if Ladybug threw herself at him right now he wouldn't have the willpower to say no. It wasn't that he was fickle or a lothario, but this was the woman who'd given him his teenage awakening and it was Ladybug for crying out loud—she was hot!

They made their way down the footpath and towards the bar. After quite the day of food, using the Paris gold card to the max, they had decided to go lighter that evening and head to the bar. Cocktails and appetisers were calling his name and he would be a fool to deny them.

The cobbled path, once again, was a deadly accomplice in their walk and as Ladybug stumbled for what felt like the thousandth time, he reached out and slotted her arm through the crease of his elbow, holding her up and supporting her the way he always had.

Her heels were deadly, bringing her up to his nose in height. They were most guys' dreams, attached to long, smooth legs, ones created from hours of running over rooftops and taking part in extreme parkour. Her body was exquisite, the superheroing doing wonders for all areas—her dress showing off her toned physique in every possible way.

The dress itself deserved a place in the Louvre. The halter neck plunged gracefully halfway down her chest held in place, he guessed, by some sort of tape. The back was bare, every muscle teasing him as she moved around, and a small gold chain hung from the back of her neck to her waist, swishing side to side with each step. His fingers twitched to hold it down in the correct position, to gently stroke down her back and feel her bare skin under his touch.

His fingers had been uncontrollable in their search for her bare skin most of the night, after years of being stuck behind the gloves it was refreshing to connect skin-to-skin.

"Are you okay?" he asked, holding her tightly to his body and revelling in the feel of her arm through his.

"Yeah," she sighed, "I'm just not used to wearing such high heels."

"They look good though."

Her girlish giggle assaulted the midnight air, cutting through it with preciseness in a need to cause harm. As powerful as Ladybug always seemed, in this moment she was so young and carefree, and exactly how she should be. It didn't matter how much they saved the world, it didn't matter how convoluted the plans were that she made, she was just a young adult trying to live her best life regardless of the situation.

They were young adults on vacation, and they needed to start acting like it.

Since his mother died, he'd been wrapped up in cotton wool because of his father's ridiculous need to protect him, and it was his time to act his age too—he'd just turned nineteen, and he needed to live like it. They were going to eat, drink, and party...adding in a couples massage somewhere along the way along with some other couples stuff.

He loved Ladybug. He loved Marinette. And whatever he could get from either of them he was going to take. Obviously not at the same time—but if Ladybug wanted him, he'd be a fool to say no.

A quick glance down at her and he noticed her face was as red as her dress. He wasn't sure if it was warm temperatures laying over the island, or if it was from his comment, but he did know he wanted to see it again.

"Do you wear a lot of red?" he asked.

She smiled up at him. "Only when I'm saving the world."

"Or putting men in trances," he quipped.

"And what does that mean, Signor Noir?" Her voice was laced with curiosity, but in a good humoured way.

Chat Noir shrugged. "When someone looks as gorgeous as you, and wears a dress like that, I wouldn't trust any man who didn't look."

She snorted. "You're such a perv."

"Nope, just a hot blooded male who knows beauty when he sees it."

"Good try getting out of your piggish behaviour. Maybe I should find another fake boyfriend."

"What, like Adrien Agreste?" he chuckled, his joke falling flat as he saw the disdain on her face. "Seriously, what is with you two? Please enlighten me."

She huffed. Turning her nose to the air. "He knows what he did."

No, he really didn't.

"Oh," he said, unsure of the meaning behind the word. Was it an oh, he does? Or an oh, it's that bad. He racked his mind through conversations he'd had with her without the guard of his mask, coming up nil. They'd barely interacted.

"It's okay though, I'm moving on now to greener pastures." Her head settled against his arm and, as oblivious as he was, he was almost certain that she meant him.

"That's nice," he stuttered out, almost unable to formulate the words from his mouth. He needed to get to the bottom of this or else there would be some quite major issues between them. After all, how can he fix something if he wasn't even sure how it had broken?

They headed towards the main lobby of the hotel, catching a glimpse of the manager as he rushed out from behind the check in desks to meet them, skidding to a stop on the ridiculously shiny floor. "Ah, if it isn't the most famous couple on the island."

Chat Noir looked down at Ladybug, her expression every bit as disinterested as his. "Ciao Anthoney, it's nice to see you again," Chat Noir greeted.

He felt his partner's shoulders shake beside him. She was obviously finding this quite amusing.

"You too, Monsieur Noir. Are you both heading off somewhere?"

"We're going to the bar for something to eat and a couple of drinks," Ladybug said, plastering a smile on her face that would have given IT a run for its clown nose's money.

"Excellent choice. We serve many wonderful cocktails and have perfectly paired food to go with them." The manager looked like he was about to go and cook it himself, the guy practically bouncing on the spot.

"Well, we'll just go ahead then." Chat Noir placed his hand on the small of Ladybug's back and began to lead her through the foyer ignoring the igniting inferno in his stomach from the contact with her bare skin. After a few steps, the manager appeared beside them again. Was he going to follow them all the way?

"You know we have another celebrity here as well? Maybe you could have lunch together, or a meal? It would be great for our promotional photographs."

Chat Noir knew straight away they meant Adrien Agreste. He may be blond, but he wasn't born yesterday, and he most certainly wasn't stupid—against popular beliefs. "Maybe we could schedule that in at some point." He looked down at Ladybug, her grateful smile shining brightly at him.

"We're very busy," she said, looking back at Anthoney with a sorry-but-not-sorry smile. "Like we have a romantic meal tomorrow—"

"And one of those massages," Chat Noir added.

"And not forgetting those tandem bikes. We're both very excited about that."

"And the water sports."

Anthoney clapped his hands together and smiled, rubbing them up and down like he'd just won the lottery. "I'm so pleased to hear you're making the most of our amenities."

"Of course!" Ladybug replied enthusiastically. "This place is gorgeous."

"But I think I can help you both out here." Leading them into the bar, he swept his arm out as though presenting an amateur magic show, the reveal both disappointing and unwanted. "They're already at a table for four; we just need to set the extra cutlery."

Chat Noir's jaw tightened as he looked directly across the bar at Félix canoodling with Kagami in the corner. And if the growl next to him was anything to go by, Ladybug had just seen them too.