Many things had happened to Adrien over the course of his life. He'd been a superhero, his father had been his arch nemesis, he'd been Chris Hemsworth's butt...however, he'd never been run out on, by anyone other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"Well, that could have gone better," Plagg snorted, throwing a triangle of cheese in the air and swallowing it whole.

"I know she doesn't like me that way, but to run out on me without taking anything with her? I'm just a little...confused."

Tikki circled around him, after watching out the window. "She's running towards the river. How far do you think she'll go before noticing she hasn't got me or her phone?"

Adrien shrugged, perplexed by, well...everything. "She didn't listen to a word I said, did she?"

Plagg shook his head. "Couldn't have. I thought she would have threatened you, or called you a stupid cat or something. This was most definitely different."

"Should I go after her?"

Tikki looked between them and the window, and back again. "Maybe? I suppose it wouldn't do any harm if you did."

With a sigh, Adrien grabbed her bag from where she'd left it dumped on his sofa, and opened it, allowing both kwamis to make their way in. Speedily heading to the staircase and making his way down, he checked inside Marinette's bag, making sure Plagg and Tikki were okay and her phone was in there. Her phone which once again was lighting up more than a Disney firework display.

"Should I transform?" he asked, pulling his baseball cap down a little further and praying he could get to her without the continued chaos of what had happened at the university.

"It might save some time," Tikki agreed.

"Where do you think she's going?" Plagg asked curiously.

Adrien turned into an alleyway and let the kwamis out of the bag. "Where she always goes in times of crisis. To the Liberty."

Finding his conversation with Luka on his phone, Adrien sent a quick message asking his friend a couple of favours, before pocketing his device and calling his transformation. He'd give her a few minutes to process what she thought he'd said before finding her and making sure she knew the truth.

The theory of the boat was correct and he found her in no time at all, looking out on their city. The sun was framing her face and making her look like a Greek Goddess, the structure of her face lighting up perfectly under the rays of sunshine, and her hair glowing with that anime tinge of blue he adored. Dropping down into a nearby alley, he called off his transformation and gave the two kwamis a nod. With Marinette's bag in hand, he was ready to confront the situation and get his Lady back...even if he had to grovel.

Ready to do what he needed to do, Adrien jogged across the road and up the steps to the bridge, and there she was. Beauty defined! But this time, she wasn't alone, and from the stance she had taken, she was on the defence. Whoever those people were, they definitely weren't friends.

"Ah, young Agreste," a voice startled him as he made his way up the metal framed staircase. "It's been a while. I see you have finally found your perfect flavour."

Adrien smiled at André, turning from Marinette to the man with the magical treats. "That I have!"

André laughed, picking up his scoop and starting to put the mixture of their flavours together — interestingly enough, there were two extra scoops this time – Ladybug and Chat Noir.

The big guy winked at Adrien before thrusting the ice cream out to him. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me!"

Adrien smiled and took the ice cream from his hands. "And what secret would that be?" He pulled his phone from his pocket and held it by the pay machine, clicking the button and allowing it to do its thing.

André winked. "Who's got a secret?"

Saluting the ice cream man, Adrien began to jog in the direction of Marinette and her 'friends'. It looked like they had a new villain to try and defeat, but this time he was quite sure he could do it without the added leather exterior.

"Hey, sweetie." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and almost self-combusted as she relaxed into him. He really needed to keep his head in check if this was going to work. Acting skills initiated, he smiled brightly at whoever the other people were.

"Oh, hi," Adrien said, looking directly at the woman. He passed the ice cream to Marinette so he could offer his hand out. "I'm Adrien Agreste. Marinette's fiancé."

If only he had his phone in his hand, he would have taken a picture. Her face had gone a shade of grey even Christian Grey would avoid. Keeping his smile firmly placed, he offered his hand to the guy beside the woman.

"And you are?"

"Leo, and can I just say, I'm a big fan, dude! Like, this is such an honour to meet you. Oh, shit! I just called you dude." The guy physically face-palmed and Adrien couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

"It's okay, any friend of this adorable little Lady is a friend of mine."

Adrien turned and kissed Marinette on the head again, taking the opportunity to breathe in the wonderful smell of summer fruits in her hair. He'd been buying the same shampoo for his apartment in London, using it when he showered on an evening so it would rub into his pillows and trick him into thinking that she was there. It might seem a little stalkerish to most, but it had been a consistent help with his sleep.

"You took your sweet time getting the ice cream, honey." Marinette stretched onto her toes and pressed a soft kiss against his cheek, and it took all his strength not to stretch up and stroke it.

"André wanted to congratulate us. You know he's been rooting for this to happen for years." Adrien turned to face the woman. "He's been our biggest supporter since we were fourteen."

"Fourteen!" Violet spluttered out.

"Yeah!" Adrien smiled. "This one plays hard to get." He ran his nose over Marinette's cheek and he swore he felt her shiver beneath his touch.

"Hard to get? Marinette?" Violet's voice had kicked up a notch, or two...or ten, and Adrien couldn't help but bask in the awkwardness.

He sighed. "She eventually gave me a chance, though, and I would have been an idiot if I hadn't put a ring on it straight away. But alas, the ring was just too ordinary. She's such an extraordinary girl, I sent it back to be remade."

Ok, maybe he was playing it up a little but this woman gave him Lila vibes and nobody hurt his bug.

The woman looked between Marinette and Adrien, and then back again. Adrien took the opportunity to up the game again, by taking Marinette's hand and bringing it to his lips, pressing a kiss to the back of her hand, and he swore he'd never seen eyes pop out to this extreme since Who Framed Roger Rabbit?

He turned to the woman. "What was your name, sorry? I was too focused on touching this sweet thing. I must have missed it."

"Oh, it's errmmm...Violet?"

Adrien chuckled. "Are you asking me or telling me?"

"T-telling?" she said again, Adrien continuing with his laughter.

"You never told me your university friends were so funny, Nettie. I'm surprised I haven't met them yet. Are they friends with Anthony too?" As the conversation continued, along with the look on the guy's face, he was quite sure he knew exactly who it was, and once the name had been announced the clarity kicked in. It was a homerun. Marinette may not have mentioned her, but Anthony most certainly had.

"Um - yeah! He's...um...a great guy."

"So, this ball you're running. Do I need to bring anything with me?" Adrien said, a pinch in his side a clear indication that he may be pushing this a little too far.

"You're coming?" Violet asked, her boyfriend suddenly becoming the most animated he'd seen. The guy looked like he was vibrating with excitement.

"Of course, and believe me, our costumes are top notch."

Marinette squeezed him again and he was almost certain she was going to turn around and slap him around the face. He was slipping dangerously into his Chat Noir persona and if he wasn't careful he'd be throwing around the puns – an obvious link between himself and his alter ego.

"Well, it's been lovely seeing you, Marinette, Adrien. But we should really be going?" Violet began dragging her boyfriend away from them, the guy looking confused and almost apprehensive about leaving.

"B-but why?" Leo stuttered, Violet giving him another tug and causing him to stumble a little.

Giving them a little wave, Adrien chuckled and grabbed Marinette's hand, lifting the ice cream and taking a rather hefty lick. Her eyes darkened as he did, and he felt the blood inside him begin to simmer. He really needed to get a grip on himself and cool this down. He lifted the ice cream from her hands and continued to eat.

"Quite some acting there, Kitty."

Adrien looked at his partner, who in turn had gone full Ladybug mode, with her hands on her hips and a questioning look in her eyes - but he could see the small signs of amusement too. The blue of her eyes reflected the joy like the river glistening from the sun.

Adrien shrugged. "They don't pay me the big bucks for nothing."

Removing his arm from around her shoulder, he allowed it to skim down her arm enjoying the feel of tiny bumps over her skin as his hand wrapped around hers. He led her to the bench which held so many wonderful, yet hurtful, memories and sat down, pulling her next to him.

"Are you still a flight risk?"

She shook her head, instead grabbed the ice cream from his hands and concentrated on the ice cream and staring intently at him. She was licking where he'd just licked and he'd never felt so jealous of an inanimate object before.

"Good. So, okay, let me try again, and this time please listen."