"Marinette, sweetie, we discussed this last night and we decided you are forbidden from visiting the Agreste residence again."

Immediate waterworks weren't quite what Tom and Sabine had expected from their daughter. It seemed she had become far more attached to the Agreste boy than they had realized. Sabine pulled Marinette into a hug, rubbing her back. "Maybe that didn't come out right. We trust you, and we don't have anything against Adrien, but..."

"It's Gabriel," Tom growled. "I don't want you anywhere near that man and his twisted plans. What your mother said is correct. Adrien seems like a decent enough young man - in fact, he seems to be a victim of his father's regime - so you're still allowed to talk to him at school, and you may continue to hang out with him and Alya and... what's that other boy's name?"

"Nino," Sabine supplied.

"Yes, that's it. We're not trying to punish you for anything. Maybe you could even invite Adrien over here some time. Just no going to his house, and in case the occasion ever arises, no accepting a ride in their car. Understood?"

The tears stopped, but Marinette still had a heavy feeling in her stomach. While not as bad as the first statement had suggested, distrust between her parents and his father wouldn't exactly help the relationship. Surely they were overreacting? No one among her friends actually liked Adrien's father, but he wasn't evil, right? She had no idea what they were on about.

One thing was certain; her parents were only ever looking out for her best interests.. She wouldn't even be dating Adrien if it weren't for them - not yet, anyway. Excitement fluttered in her as she thought of how inevitable Adrien and herself being together now seemed. She had no room to complain!

After agreeing somewhat reluctantly, she had breakfast and went to school. She might have been on time for once, but the conversation resulted in her being late. What's new?

By the time Marinette sat down in her seat she had a smile back on her face, but Alya the Observant noticed traces of puffiness underneath her friend's eyes - evidence that tears had been there not too long before.

"Girl, what's wrong? You were crying, you can't hide it from me!"

After Marinette related the morning's events to her friend, Alya burst out laughing. "Your life could be a TV show, Marinette! Now you've got forbidden love to top it off!"

Suddenly Marinette's nemesis, Chloe, was there leaning on the table. "Did I hear 'Marinette' and 'forbidden love' in the same sentence? That's no surprise, any love should be forbidden to a freak like her."

Marinette's usual response to Chloe's presence was a look of disgust to match Chloe's own, but not today. Her features wore a sadistic smile. She was going to relish this moment! "Say whatever you want, but I won't be able to take you seriously as long as I'm the one dating Adrien."

Chloe laughed, "Oh please, you with my Adrikins? Dream on."

Having the best - or worst - timing ever, Adrien's ears had just picked up the sound of his name, so he made his way over to the group. "I heard my name, what are you talking about?"

"This joke here thinks she has a chance with you."

"I should hope so!" Adrien put a hand on Mari's shoulder. "We're dating."

"Excuse me? I don't think I heard you right."

"Marinette and I are dating. Want me to say it again?"

"Eww! Why would you want to date her? Marinette is clumsy and a freak."

"You don't have to worry about it. If she and I both want to date, we can."

Chloe walked away miffed, but she would have been proud if she had known she successfully lowered Marinette's self-esteem as a result of that conversation - making Marinette feel the need to question Adrien the next time it was just the two of them.

"Adrien, do you have feelings - romantic ones - for me?" Marinette asked, seemingly out of the blue.

That was a strange question to hear from the girl he was already dating. "Why would you ask that? Isn't it obvious?"

"I have no doubt you love Ladybug, and she is me, but not all of me."

"If that's what this is about you should have brought it up sooner, but it's not. Is this about what Chloe said?"

"You didn't object to any of the things she called me," Marinette responded in a somewhat bitter tone.

"You are clumsy, no denying that. I've even heard you say so yourself, but it's so minor and you can't help it."

"And I'm a freak?" She sounded hurt now.

"Depends... It doesn't have to be a bad thing! I know Chloe meant it in a mean way, but it could just mean you're not like everyone else. You're not, and I like that."

"What else is wrong with me?"

"If you really want me to think negative: you are ineloquent, can hold a grudge, and the very fact we are having this conversation proves you have low self-esteem. But Marinette...?"

She knew it, though she'd hoped otherwise - him loving her was too good to be true. "What?" she asked hesitantly, expecting him to give a half-hearted attempt to cheer her up, simply because he was a nice guy. That's not what she got.

He lifted one of her hands in his and tried to lock eyes with her, a gesture she avoided. "Why should I focus on any of that when there are other things that make me so happy just to be around you? You're very sweet and generous; I don't know who else goes to the trouble to hand-make all the gifts they give out. You have a very strong sense of justice; that's probably why you were picked to be Ladybug in the first place. You're brilliantly creative; your designs even impressed my dad. Do you realize how hard that is to do?! While I admit this one doesn't necessarily apply to you as Marinette, as Ladybug you think remarkably clearly under pressure. And do you know what was the very first thing that drew me to Ladybug?"

She shook her head.

"The second time we faced Stoneheart (after we'd had some mistakes the first time), I could sense how scared you were - but you didn't let that get in your way. You put on a brave front for the people of Paris, and you saved the lives of Ivan, Mylene, and Chloe. That last one is even more impressive now that I know who you are. You hate Chloe! Yet, you don't let your personal life get in the way of the decisions you make as Ladybug. There is so much to admire in you!"

Adrien decided he must have done a satisfactory job expressing himself, as she was apparently rendered speechless and responded by laying her head against him affectionately. Meanwhile, she was filled with an overwhelming sense of relief. She was afraid that getting to know her better would make his infatuation with Ladybug wear off, but miraculously, the feelings were seeming to stick. She couldn't be happier!

"Hey, my turn to ask a question!" He surprised her. "I had been assuming that you've come to see both sides of me as one person - but since you thought I might feel differently about you and Ladybug, now I need to know what you feel about Chat."

Fair question. She had previously felt very differently toward the "two" boys, with that being the primary reason she had ignored Alya's observation of them looking alike.

"Hmm. I didn't treat you very fairly the first time we met. Chloe had given me the impression that all rich people were automatically spoiled brats. Then, for some reason you reached out to me and I got to learn how kind you really are. It was your Adrien side I first fell for."

That made Adrien laugh. "I never had the impression you liked me because of money, but I didn't realize it was in spite of it! That means a lot to know. Now, about Chat."

"My romantic feelings were for your Adrien side, but that got in the way. With my stuttering around you, we never really got that well acquainted. It was your Chat side I would have trusted with my life, but now I see all of you. My dream boy, whom I would trust with my life. I really hope nothing comes between us."

"What would come between us?" he questioned, making her realize she hadn't yet told him about that morning's conversation with her parents. She relayed it to him.

"I'm pretty sure they must be overreacting, I mean, your father isn't a bad man," she finished.

Adrien, however, seemed a little angry. "No, but he is quite good at making excessive demands; he's also skilled at coercing people into accepting his offers that aren't always the best deal. He stops before he gets to illegal activity, but he's a shrewd businessman. That's how he's made most of his wealth. Your parents are probably wise to stay out of his way. Perhaps I need to find out what he's trying to accomplish."