She felt his eyes on her before she even stepped foot on deck. She slipped off Adrien's arm not willing to make a scene and felt the hurt of the blonde haired man next to her.

"I'm just running to the bathroom, I'll be right back." She turned to find Alya standing right next to her, she was quite sure her best friend had felt Luka's stare too. "Al, do you mind introducing Adrien to everyone, I'll only be a minute."

Marinette sent a smile at her friends as she hurried below deck and to the bathroom. She entered and locked the door. Luka's stare had rattled her, and for some unknown reason she felt guilty even though she wasn't sure what for. She rattled her brain for any reason and came up with a few more than she'd expected.

One - She hadn't responded to any of his messages since she'd returned from the Alps. Where she was ignoring Adrien for her own heart, she was ignoring Luka from his obvious displays of jealousy. He was sending her message after message about tweets and Instagram posts linking to her. She'd checked out the first few and then realised he was sending her only the negative ones.

Two - She knew he still wanted to be with her, even after the years apart. Yet here she was, turning up without warning with Adrien Agreste on her arm. The Adrien Agreste who he seemed to have some sort of underlying issue with.

Three - She had told him she wouldn't be dating anymore due to the Guardianship and it's prolonged interference in her life, and even though she wasn't dating Adrien tonight sure looked like more than friends.

Four - As far as he understood she was madly in love with Chat Noir. He always said he'd never get in the way of the two of them, feeling as though he was stabbing his fellow teammate/leader in the back by going for his girl, especially as it was now obvious Ladybug had fallen for her partner.

Five - She was just a horrible person!

Marinette made her way to the sink and ran the cold tap, scooping water in her hands and throwing it in the direction of her face. Luka and Marinette had spoken a lot more since he'd found out her identity. They discussed everything about them and their relationship and even though Luka admitted to loving her more now he knew, he also understood that he couldn't ever be with her.

She remembered as they sat together on the deck of the Liberty he explained how even though he loved her he would never stop her happy ending, and he knew it was with Chat Noir, even more so since he'd found out Chat's identity too.

Luka was a caring guy. He wouldn't do anything to harm anyone else, especially her and she knew that. He was sweet, kind, and soft and to be honest she understood his fury at the situation. She said she wouldn't date, yet she was sure that's what was happening tonight with Adrien but without the label. She had been away on a mini break with him, she'd modelled with him ... twice, and she'd walked onto his boat linked with him and laughing. Everything pointed to them being together.

Looking up into the mirror, she got progressively more angry with herself and the situation. She didn't want to hurt anyone, but here she was putting not only her heart on the line but Adrien's too, all while flaunting it in front of Luka and smashing his. What the hell was wrong with her?

"Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien's voice sounded through the door.

"I'm fine," she replied, looking at herself one more time in the mirror before opening the door. "Hey."

Adrien screwed his eyes at her causing his perfectly shaped eyebrows to pull down and move together.

"Are you sure? It's just your face is a little red."

"Yeah, I'm sure, just a little red from the cold breeze." She smiled at him, both of them just standing around staring at each other.

"Is there a meeting going on down here that the rest of us didn't know about?" Luka made his way down the stairs, stood opposite them and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I was just checking on Marinette," Adrien said before stepping forward and holding out his hand. "I'm Adrien."

Marinette felt the atmosphere thicken as Adrien stood there with one hand raised waiting for Luka to shake it. She looked from Adrien's tanned complexion to Luka's pale one before moving to his eyes. They'd turned from ocean blue to pure coldness. His eyes were borderline icebergs and capable of taking down the Titanic.

"Luka, very close friend of Marinette's."

Marinette could almost taste the testosterone in the air as the two joined hands in a battle of strength. She watched as the veins began to bulge on Luka's hand, yet Adrien's remained completely unfazed. Luka's face soon turned into one of pain and he pulled his hand from Adrien giving it a quick shake.

"Quite a grip you've got there," Luka said, holding his now injured hand with the other one.

"You too. Want to escort me back to the deck?" Adrien asked, holding an arm out for Marinette.

"I'll be up in a second if that's ok? I just need to talk to Luka." She smiled sweetly at Adrien and noticed the glow in his eyes dim a little.

Throughout the night Adrien had grown a comfort to her, one she only ever felt with one other person. Once Adrien had vacated she turned to Luka and asked what was on her mind.

"Is Adrien Chat Noir?" Luka crossed his arms over his chest again, his eyes remaining firmly on hers.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Please, Luka, is Adrien my Kitty?"

Luka turned his head to look out one of the circular porthole windows before turning back to Marinette.

"Chat Noir's sound is one of a hard beating drum surrounded by chaos and crescendos. Adrien is more of a soft piano tune which someone else is in control of. He longs to play his own piece but others place in their requests instead."

Marinette could feel the exasperation building up inside her and took a deep breath to calm herself down. This right here was a reason why they didn't make it. It's all fun and games for the first year or so, but at some point you just need a straight answer.

"As nice as all that is," she faked a smile, "that didn't answer my question. Are they the same person?" She asked again, looking Luka in the eye and willing him to give her a straight answer.

"One is a rock band, the other is a delicate sound of a symphony of an orchestra."

"Luka, please ..."

"Chat is as rocking as Nirvana, Adrien is as fluid as Hans Zimmer."

"What does that -"

"An allegro to an adagio ..."

"I don't understand -"

"Sometimes the inner turns are that of Yin and Yang, piecing together on a grand scale of a -"

"You know what," she interrupted, "I shouldn't have asked. I have no right to know his identity not without him agreeing to it."

"Anytime you need to talk, I can pass on a collection of scales to suit the occasion and progress you onto the next grade."

Marinette smiled, nodded her head and then turned to make her way back up onto the deck completely confused and mind boggled by what just happened with Luka. She thought he indicated that Adrien wasn't Chat, but she couldn't tell? Nothing he said seemed to make sense to her.

As she reached higher up the staircase the sounds of singing could be heard and the faint sound of a keyboard.

"Your faith was strong but you needed proof, you saw her bathing on the roof, her beauty and the moonlight overthrew her.
She tied you to a kitchen chair, she broke your throne, and she cut your hair and from your lips she drew the Hallelujah"

Looking out in front of her, she noticed all her friends had gathered around the stage area where all the instruments were and it was obvious someone was playing the keyboard.

She looked for the blonde hair she'd grown accustomed to seeing and noticed it wasn't within the crowd. She could see Alya and Nino, Juleka and Rose, Myléne and Ivan, but no Adrien.

Marinette slowly made her way forward and towards where everyone was standing. The sound of the song filled the night sky and Marinette stretched up onto her tiptoes and saw the person she was looking for.

Adrien stood at the keyboard flawlessly playing 'Hallelujah' as he sang along to the notes. Like a moth to a flame, Marinette walked in a trance over to him and joined the rest of the group. She noticed all eyes on her as she continued singing along to the delicate melody he was creating.

"Well, maybe there's a God above as for me all I've ever learned from love, is how to shoot somebody who outdrew you.
But it's not a crime that you're here tonight
It's not some pilgrim who claims to have seen the Light. No, it's a cold and it's a very broken Hallelujah,"

Alya wrapped her arm around Marinette's waist but her focus couldn't be pulled from Adrien. He continued to smile at her, his eyes blazing into hers, as the song continued and the others sang. Before she knew it the song was over, yet his eyes remained on hers.

"Why don't you just kiss him?" Alya whispered in Marinette's ear causing the raven haired girl to almost jump out of her skin.

"No," she whispered back.

"Marinette, please don't let this one get away. He adores you."

Marinette turned her gaze back to Adrien who was currently being fawned over by her friends. Questions were being fired at him and he was answering them in the most polite way Marinette had ever heard. He was such a gentleman, but his eyes were flickering away from his conversations and flickering back to hers.

Her cheeks heated up and she couldn't help the shyness overcome her as she tried not to look Adrien dead on the eye. Her heart fluttered and her stomach rolled and she hated herself for falling. Just another guy she couldn't be with, another guy she could see herself curled up in and living herhappily ever after with but her responsibilities stopped her.

"Any requests?" He said, his smile brighter than any display of Christmas lights and his eyes glowing with mischief.

"Feliz Navidad," Nino shouted out, causing the others to chuckle. Of course Nino would come out with that, it had been his favourite Christmas song for years.

"I've never played that one but I'll give it a try," a wild sounding 'yeah' radiated about the deck and Adrien took to the keyboard once more, pretty much playing the song effortlessly.

"This dude is my new best friend," Nino stated, clamping a hand down on Adrien's shoulder as the blonde 'hero' made his way over.

"You truly are 'Wonderboy'. Is there anything you can't do?" Adrien laughed at Alya before stepping closer to Marinette.

"Your friends are amazing." He said, the childlike amusement shining in his eyes again.

"It looks like they think you are too." Marinette smiled, only to be disrupted when chords and bangs started up behind them. Her face grimaced as she looked at Adrien, whose eyes were sparkling at her in amusement.

She led him over to an upturned box before seating herself on the one next to him. She could feel his stare as she attempted to sit there and look like she was enjoying herself.

She rotated her neck from side to side and caught a glimpse of the blonde next to her. He had his arms folded across his chest and was looking at her, a smug smirk on his lips and one eyebrow raised. He was enjoying her pain. She could tell he actually found this amusing. She huffed and turned her head away, trying hard to suppress her smile.

"I've got some cotton wool in my pocket if you want it?"

Marinette turned to Adrien and smacked his arm again. He burst out laughing as she tried to suppress her own. He was pushing her over the edge.

"Mari, before you go, can I speak to you?" Half an hour later, they'd finished practising their set and Marinette swore a little bit of blood came out her ear. She loved her friends, she really did, and she supported them wholeheartedly but they just weren't good. To be more precise, they were awful.

"Sure," she walked over to Luka informing the others that she would meet them on the pavement by the road. It was time to head back to game night and Marinette was ready to feast on her Maman's pizza. "What's up?"

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked towards the blue eyes of her ex boyfriend. He was an unusual beauty and still looked like he did when she was sixteen. She wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing?

"I've booked a cabin just outside of Paris for a couple of days, you know, to get away from the madness before Christmas. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?"

All she could do was stand in shock. He wanted her to go on a trip ... with him?

"Luka that's really sweet but -"

He placed one finger on her lips and shh'd her.

"I can hear the indecisiveness in your melody. The break from Paris would do you good, especially if akuma's were to relax for a while. We were fine when you went to the Alps, and Paris will be fine when you're with me. Our songs can join together to make a tremendous melody."

Marinette nodded, the only melody she wanted at the moment was her own exit music.

"Thank you for the invitation," she pushed his finger off her mouth and moved it down by his side. "But there's a lot going on so I'll have to pass."

"I tell you what, I'll send in your decline for the Christmas concert, you at least need a rest."

Marinette nodded, a fake agreement if there ever was one. "I've got it sorted, Luk, don't worry about me." She stretched up on her toes and placed a kiss on his cheek before turning and heading off towards the others.

What the hell was that?

•••••

Date 8 - Let's play a game

"You have thirty seconds ... go?"

"Scottish play,"

"Macbeth,"

"Had six wives,"

"Henry the eighth,"

"Pop Idol,"

"Kelly Clarkson,"

"Bye bye little but-"

"Ladybug,"

"Fly,"

"Pilot,"

"Deadpool,"

"Ryan Reynolds,"

"Zigazig ah!"

"The Spice Girls,"

"Glass Slipper,"

"Cinderella,"

"Climbs the Empire State Building,"

"King Kong,"

"Punches people,"

"A boxer."

"Checks teeth,"

"Dentist,"

"I'll be back,"

"Arnold Schwarzenegger,"

"Never going to give you up,"

"Rick Astley,"

"Purple Rain,"

"Prince,"

"To infinity -"

"Buzz Lightyear,"

"Yellow or purple,"

A buzz sounded.

"Minions!" Marinette shouted out.

Adrien and Marinette high fived each other before turning to look at the other players who had gone uncharacteristically quiet. Each person sat around with their mouths wide open.

"What the hell just happened?" Alya announced.

"We kicked ass, that's what happened!" Marinette smiled at Adrien before letting out a laugh. She'd never been this successful before, usually her Maman and papa completely killed it and Marinette would be trailing behind, with or without a partner. But something about being with Adrien was different, it was almost as though they were the perfect team. She'd only ever felt this way with someone else and it made her heart squeeze.

It happened again. She didn't just like Adrien, oh no! That would be so simple, that would be easy to ignore. No, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had fallen head over heels in love with him, and she couldn't do it. She couldn't do this to him.

It was as though she couldn't breathe. All the air in the room had disappeared and she was struggling to take in any oxygen. She'd fallen in love with Adrien. She should have kept her distance, she should have stayed away from him, but she couldn't, she couldn't keep away. He was a magnet. The opposite pole to her, pulling her in towards him.

She looked towards Alya with a panic stricken look in her eyes and signalled she needed to talk ... now!

"Marinette, can I just speak to you for a second?" Alya stood up from the sofa and grabbed her friend's arm, pulling her out the kitchenette and up the stairs to her room. As soon as they reached the top of the steps Alya turned on Marinette.

"Talk." She demanded.

"I love him," for the first time out loud, she'd said it. She'd finally admitted she loved him and she couldn't help the fluttering in her heart. She did, she really did love him, but that was wrong. Oh so wrong.

"I'm quite sure he'd go for it if you just asked him out,"

"No!" Marinette pushed her hands out in front of her, her face draining of colour. "Alya, no." She spoke softer this time.

"Marinette come on, don't you think it's time -"

"No, Alya, I can't. You know I can't."

"Why? I don't understand Marinette, you have a wonderful guy down there who looks like he's ready to get on one knee, before riding off into the sunset to live happily ever after."

"There's no happily ever after for me, Alya and you know that. Relationships are distractions and I can't afford distractions like that. I couldn't be with someone who I would have to look out for, I don't have time to protect and worry about someone else."

Alya sighed and crossed her arms in front of herself, looking to the side before turning back to Marinette.

"You need to stop leading him on then," Marinette recoiled back as though Alya had slapped her.

"I'm not leading him on," Marinette said.

"You might not realise it, Marinette, but you are. Both him and Chat Noir. You either need to try and be with that boy or you leave him alone. He's a good guy, he doesn't deserve for you to play with him like that. You need to chose"

Marinette pursed her lips and looked to the side. The answer to Alya's question appeared slowly in the room, and it hit her hard. One by one a small creature appeared from her sewing box; rabbit, dog, dragon, turtle, pig ... one after the other they made their presence known.

"I will never be with him, it can't and won't ever work out. Adrien's a great guy, but he's not the one for me. Me and him just won't work together." Each word was an additional stab in her heart, each word was an excuse to not to commit, a reason not to get hurt. She let out a harsh breath, "I suppose it'll be better to let him down sooner rather than later."

"I really think you need to reconsider this, he's perfect for you. It's like you're made for each other."

The sound of the door closing downstairs stopped their conversation as they both looked down the staircase, suddenly realising the trapdoor had been left open. They looked back at each other before heading down into the main apartment, Marinette's heart beating fast in her chest. Marinette looked around and noticed he was missing. Adrien was no longer with the others.

"Where's Adrien?" She asked her Maman, her throat feeling dry.

"He had a message or something, he's had to go." Nino responded.

"Oh," she pulled her phone out of her pocket and pulled up Adrien's name. Her hands were shaking, he couldn't have heard? Could he?

To: Adrien
Hey, I'm sorry we didn't get to say goodbye. Thank you for a great night, let me know when you're back home safely. M x

She closed down the phone and replaced it in her pocket before heading back to her parents and continuing the evening.

Every five minutes she checked her phone, hoping to hear from Adrien. As the night drew to a close, she checked her phone one last time.

No new messages.