Adrien

Boredom didn't come close to how Adrien was feeling at the moment! It had been less than 5 minutes in the car and he was already willing to open the door and throw himself out onto the street. The only problem being that with the speed (or lack of) of New York traffic the whole opening the door and dramatically diving wouldn't quite have the effect he was going for.

The road was at a standstill and unbelievably the horns blowing outside were not the most annoying noise he could hear.

"So then, your father said I would look perfect on your arm and I have to say I really agree."

Unfortunately, I don't!

Somewhere, deep in his mind, he was already scrambling out the car and running back to Marinette arms wide open and begging for attention like a stray unloved cat. Unfortunately, instead he had to smile politely at his 'date' and act as though he was interested. He'd rather eat a chilli and rub his fingers in his eyes.

The mind numbing conversation had him doing the one thing he'd promised himself he wouldn't... messaged Miss Dial back.

His mind was spiralling out of control as he thought back to what had just happened between him and Marinette. Had he really got it all that wrong? When he thought they were having fun and teasing each other it was just him blatantly insulting her time and time again? No wonder she'd called him a pompous jackass — he well and truly proved it.

He remembered back to Félix's wedding where in his speeches he made a comment about the fact that Marinette had only made Kagami 20 minutes late which was a record all around. Man, he really was a dipshit!

A quick glance to his phone and he just wanted to jump through it and reach her. To get onto his knees and grovel for forgiveness.

A cough sounded next to him and he realised what's-her-name was waiting for a reply. What had she said again?

"Yeah, sure."

Lighting his phone up, Adrien looked at the last message he'd sent.

Mr Unknown (7:11pm): Unfortunately, can't talk right now. On a date.

Why the hell had texted her that? It wasn't like he was actually on a real date. Just another time his father had set something up to make Adrien look less of a useless romancer and more of a Lothario.

Marinette was stubborn though and he hoped she would be pissed off to continue messaging him. The bait had been set, she just needed to take it.

Not a second later, his phone buzzed in his pocket. There she was. He had been right. Without any doubts who was on the other side of the phone he was smiling before he even read the message.

Miss Dial (7:13pm): On a scale of 1-10 how attractive is your date?

So, she wanted to be nosey? That was fine, he could play. He looked to the side and studied the profile of the woman sitting next to him. His father had chosen well again in the looks department. She was all long legs and long golden hair. He was quite sure as they left the car they'd look like Barbie and Ken; all perfectly bronzed and perfectly proportioned — unlike the petite woman who'd manhandled him in the park the previous day.

He rubbed a thumb over his lower lip with a smile, she'd have been so easy to lift up and push against... he really needed to stop thinking about kissing her.

Attention back on his phone, he thought about what would entice her into continuing the conversation. Only one answer would do the job.

Mr Unknown (7:14pm): A definite 11.

Smiling to himself, he couldn't wait to see what she messaged back. Knowing her sass, and her added hormonal state at the moment, plus the fact he had been ghosting her could create quite the reply.

A buzz in his hand had him letting out a small chuckle, she'd barely waited a minute before replying. The model sitting next to him reached and grabbed his hand, cupping his in both her tiny, perfectly manicured hands.

"I know, I can't believe we're here either, Adrien. But me and you, we're built to last... together" Her sigh made him want to throw up, or throw her off him as she moved towards him and snuggled into his arm. Crap! What the hell had gone wrong?

"Oh, um, I was actually laughing at a meme my friend sent me."

Waving the phone at her, she recoiled back into her seat with a huff, letting go of his arm and crossing her own across her chest. The huffs and puffs she was making was a clear indication she wanted attention. Attention she wouldn't be getting from him.

As soon as she'd turned her attention out to the streets, he unlocked his phone again to read the most recent message.

Miss Dial (7:18pm): I knew you'd be attractive!!! No way would you get an 11 without being on the beautiful list.

A small chuckle left his mouth again as he imagined her bouncing around in her seat doing the little, happy wiggle dance she'd celebrate with in collége; every time she answered something right cue the wiggle.

Mr Unknown (7:19pm): You've thought about my looks then? Tell me more!

Geez, if he dug down any lower he'd be in the fiery pits of hell! How much of an egotistical move was this? What did he want from it? For her to say from his words she knew he'd be a hot God and want him to push her against the wall and...

Oh ffs! Stop thinking about the kiss and for the love of all things Miraculous stop flirting!!!

Miss Dial (7:21pm): When a guy is as confident as you seem, you know they're nothing less than an 8.

Mr Unknown (7:22pm): And that puts me on the beautiful list?

Miss Dial (7:23pm): Pfft, no! Do you not know anything? It's based on your date. Anything 9 and above is an automatic entry to one of two lists.

Mr Unknown (7:23pm): As messed up as this is, please continue...

From these messages and his time recently with Marinette, one thing was coming pretty clear to Adrien — he would never ever understand women.

Miss Dial (7:24pm): List one — The Beautiful List. List two — The Rich List.

A warmth blossomed in his chest. He knew damn well he shouldn't be doing this, but there was just something about talking to her in this way that was so alluring. She was open with him. She was so much fun.

Mr Unknown (7:25pm): How do you know I don't belong on the rich list?

Miss Dial (7:26pm): The socks from your photo were standard white cotton, posh pricks go for something with a higher thread count.

Mr Unknown (7:26pm): Any reason for knowing this?

Miss Dial (7:27pm): I have a couple of pompous twat friends.

A snort broke the silence, Adrien spluttering to turn it into a cough. It was so obvious she was on about him and Félix — at least she called him a friend.

Mr Unknown (7:10pm): And what would you rate yourself?

Miss Dial (7:13pm): I am a banging 7+, baby!

Adrien would 100% disagree with the 7+, if anything Marinette Dupain-Cheng broke the scale. Did she underestimate herself this much?

Mr Unknown (7:14pm): I may not know where you sit on the beautiful list but personality list you'd take the number one spot.

What the hell was he doing?

There was no way this wasn't classed as flirting; it made his alter ego look like a prim and proper gentleman and Adrien look like an Angel. All he had to do to make things worse would be say...

I'd bang you in your dodgy mix and match hero pyjamas.

Closing his eyes, he tried to cool down a little. He was going to need extra therapy sessions at this rate — or a new job.

Miss Dial (7:16pm): Well thank you, Mr Compliments, good way to make up for the ghosting.

Mr Unknown (7:17pm): Ooo, a new nickname. You must have forgiven me.

The car had barely moved more than a couple of feet; Adrien regretting even agreeing to going to this gala.

Miss Ohio 2023 was currently informing him about the missed opportunity she'd had to be the front cover of Vogue and making him want to claw his eyes out. Apparently, she wanted to sue the government for their COVID rules and restrictions and he wanted to crawl out the window.

He hummed and awwwed, nodding with fake enthusiasm as she continued filling him in on all her life achievements, when something caught his eye over her shoulder and out the window.

Scrambling across the seat and almost climbing onto the female's lap, he wound the window down and stuck his head out. The guy that had just walked past. He recognised him.

As he hung out the window Adrien could glimpse the entrance to their hotel, the guy slowly moving inside. Moving back onto his side of the car, he grabbed his phone and pulled up Marinette's contact.

Miss Ohio giggled and placed one hand to her chest.

"Oh, Adrien, you continue to surprise me!"

Ignoring the female beside him, his attention scrambled to message the female on the other side of the phone.

Mr Unknown (7:18pm): So, tell me Miss Dial, what does a lovely lady like yourself do on the evenings?

Please say you're in your room! Please say you're in your room!

A small tap through his jacket hit against his chest. Obviously, Plagg was attempting to calm him down; his heart beating at an intense speed he'd never felt before, Marinette's fear from yesterday flashed in front of his eyes adding to his own. He needed to get out of the car and go back. Now.

"I'm sorry but I'm suddenly not feeling too well."

Unsure if she believed him or not, he really didn't care, instead Adrien let himself out of the car, horns blazing from his open down as he shouted his apologies back towards his date, slamming the door shut before she could respond.

There was no time to waste as he suddenly remembered why the guy he'd spotted had made him queasy. It was the same guy from the park.

Running back, as fast as he could, Adrien pushed past the doorman and into the lobby, grabbing his phone from his pocket and looking to see if she'd messaged him back.

No new messages.

"Shit!" he whispered to nobody.

Wandering around the lobby, he headed towards the elevator. Maybe he should head up to Marinette's room and pray she'd just gone back to stuff her face with chocolate all night. Locked away safely from creepy men who stalk lone women in parks.

Too impatient to wait, Adrien slammed his finger rapidly against the button, his patience wearing thin as the numbers slowly decreased on the screen.

12, 11, 10...

"Come on, come on!"

Suddenly feeling like Kevin Costner in The Bodyguard, Adrien did a 360 of the area, his eyes studying the surrounding area and looking for the guy again. If he could keep him in his vision maybe he could keep him away from Marinette.

A laugh hit his ears and he turned sharply to the right. He knew that laugh. Heading into the bar, Adrien almost cried with relief as he spotted Marinette at a table still dressed in her Chat Noir hoodie, sketchbook open, phone to ear and emptying a packet of peanut butter M&M's into her mouth. What a winner!

She turned her head, her eyes dancing as they found him, her hand gesturing to call him over. She concentrated back on the phone call, the quick gesturing of her hands meaning she was in quite the conversation and he could guess who it was.

As he arrived at the table, Marinette gave him a soft smile; her words saying a soft goodbye to whoever was on the other side of the phone.

"Alya's up late then?"

Marinette giggled. "She's on a coffee high. She has some sort of report due tomorrow and needed to get it finished."

"Fair enough."

Marinette joined her fingers together on the table and cupped them under her chin. "Why are you here?" she asked.

He suddenly felt like he was under some sort of scrutiny and he wasn't quite sure of the answer. Why was he here again?

"I didn't want to go to the gala."

Marinette raised one eyebrow and he had to keep his heart from leapfrogging out his chest, she looked so cute it should be illegal. The Chat Noir hoodie only added to the overall look.

"And your father's okay with that?" Shaking his head, Marinette rubbed her hand over her face. "You can't just not turn up, Adrien.

"Actually, I can. I'll deal with it." He shrugged.

A waiter headed over and stood beside them. "Here's your check." He placed a silver disc down with a small strip of paper on it.

$15 for herbal tea!

"If it's okay, I'll pay on my —''

Before Marinette could stretch forward with her phone, Adrien had taken his wallet from his jacket pocket and removed his credit card, placing it on top of the receipt.

"I've got it," Adrien said, smiling over at his — friend? He wasn't even sure what to call her anymore, obviously she'd never seen them as friends, whereas he had. What a mess!

The waiter tapped the card to his machine before thanking Adrien and wandering off in the opposite direction. Marinette folding her arms and leaning forward on the table.

"You do realise you've just technically taken me on a date, Mr Agreste."

"Least I could do after you kissed me earlier." He watched the tips of her ears grow pink, a kettle-like squeal leaving her lips and his own metaphorical foot kicked himself up the ass. Why did he bring that up?

Instead, he stood abruptly from the table and held out a hand. "Come with me," he said. Her arms remained exactly where they were.

"Why would I do that?"

So the stalker who is somewhere in this hotel doesn't come to get you.

"Please, I think we need to talk. I didn't like how the conversation was left earlier and I would like to try and understand what happened, if that's okay with you?"

From the look on Marinette's face, he could tell she was wavering, but if he knew her as well as he believed she'd want to find out what he had to say, her curiosity would always get the better of her.

Chest rising and falling, Marinette took a deep breath, exhaling through her nose. He stood his ground, determined to see this through and have her understand he wanted to be friends.

"Okay," she said, packing her things together in a pile and standing up.

"Okay?" he asked, almost in complete shock.

"Yeah," she giggled. "Don't look too shocked Agreste, I can be a lovely person sometimes."

"I — um — I didn't — I've never —"

Marinette burst out laughing and tapped his chest. "I know, Stud, just teasing you. Not fun is it."

She began to walk away, stopping to turn back and point at him. "Oh, and if we're going out somewhere and I'm dressed like this, you need to change."

Lips twisting into a half smile, Adrien moved forwards and towards the elevator. She pressed the button, both standing side by side as the doors to the elevator opened. Marinette and Adrien stepped inside before a family of four barged in and trapped them at the back, kids screaming and having their hands pulled away from the buttons as they tried to set them all alight.

"Sorry," the mother said, her face worried and exasperated.

Marinette crouched beside one the struggling children and began to talk to him, Adrien staring down amazed at her confidence and caring attitude. She really was something else.

The doors began to close, Adrien taking one quick glance out only to catch two pairs of eyes.

One belonged to the Gorilla, the other the unknown man.

Turning away he prayed that neither noticed him or Marinette as the doors finally closed and the elevator moved.

They'd have to sneak out, there was no other choice.