Being perpetually flushed was an interesting sensation, or so Adrien was beginning to learn. While part of him wanted to find a hole and hide forever, another part of him was... shamefully flattered. In the worst way, of course. While Marinette's suddenly "flirtatious" (he still wasn't sure if such a descriptor was accurate, no matter Ladybug's opinion) behavior was pleasing, any pleasure was so coated in embarrassment that he was hardly able to appreciate it.

Sure, he was the king of bad puns and cheesy pick-up lines as Chat Noir, but, despite efforts to do so, he just couldn't keep his composure when Marinette passed him by and let loose her own suggestive words.

He was beginning to lose track of how many times it'd happened.

"No, I swear it was in here!" Nino had been in the midst of saying that morning, Adrien standing beside his friend's locker, watching as he'd rifled desperately around for the literature paper they had due that morning.

"Maybe you forgot it at home," Adrien had mentioned, supposing his words weren't exactly helpful. Especially when Nino had groaned in distress. "Can you print off another one in the library?"

"Maybe... Ugh, I bet I did leave it at home. Probably sitting on the kitchen table." He'd fiddled with his headphones, shoulders slumped as he'd turned away from the locker. "Maybe Ms. Bustier will let me turn it in late if I explain..."

"It's worth asking," Adrien had agreed, only vaguely aware of the way Nino's eyes had trailed away. To something behind them—quite as though he'd been watching "the approach" the whole time. Looking back, Adrien should have known something was coming. Hindsight was 20/20.

"It's too bad you don't live closer to the school," Alya had started, pausing beside them. Her statement had been directed at Nino. "Marinette lives just across the street."

Marinette, who'd come up on them a second later.

"That doesn't help me any," Nino had griped, scowling. Adrien had kept his eyes anywhere but the girls, hoping his cheeks weren't as red as they'd felt.

"I wasn't trying to help," Alya had said simply, before putting her attention on Adrien. "You know Marinette lives close by, right?"

"Y-yeah..." He hadn't realized why such a question was relevant at the time. He'd been completely defenseless. "I've been to her house..."

"Yeah, it's pretty convenient," Marinette had supplied, smiling sweetly. "I can go back and get something if I forget it, or stop by for lunch whenever I want. Plus, since my parents are bakers, I'm never in the lurch if I forget my lunch."

"Wow, you two are getting more and more helpful all the time," Nino had droned.

"And you know what else is convenient?" Marinette had gone on, not paying the least bit of attention to Nino as her innocent smile had turned fully on Adrien. "Having bakers for parents means I always know a cutie pie when I see one."

"Probably know a nice set of buns when you see them too," Alya had added, which hadn't helped Adrien's shattering composure any. Giggling far too loudly, the two had swaggered off shortly after, Adrien's heart pounding so loudly in his ears that he hadn't even noticed the way Nino had broken out into a fit of laughter so severe he'd buckled over, leaning against the lockers for support.

His—Adrien's—face had been so hot, he'd felt sweat beading on the back of his neck, their words echoing almost violently in his head as he'd gripped his bag strap with white-knuckled fists. It'd only been the sound of Plagg—cursed little monster that he was—snickering alongside Nino that had broken him from his shock.

Smacking his bag temperamentally, he'd shut Plagg up, turned a severe glare on Nino, and stalked off to class. Still red-faced and, well, confused as hell, he'd found his seat and completely ignored any of the giggles going on behind him.

He'd wanted to turn around and ask, or at least throw them an accusing scowl, but every time he'd tried, the tight embarrassment in his chest had kept him rooted in place, too mortified to even acknowledge that what had just happened had, well, happened!

And so he'd kept himself firmly facing forward the entire class period, completely ignoring Nino and anything the girls behind him might have had to say. And it'd worked well enough, at least as long as class had been in progress.

It was when it'd gone to lunch—when he'd let his guard down and he shouldn't have—that he'd been caught again.

"Here, eat mine then," Nino had been saying, the two of them sitting on the steps outside the school. A lot of the time, Adrien went home for lunch, but on that particular day, he and Nino had agreed to eat together. So he'd packed a lunch. Or, rather, had his cook pack one for him. Which, of course, meant it'd been totally healthy and had no sweets in it whatsoever.

Hence, Nino had offered him a cookie.

"Thanks," Adrien had replied, always more than happy to take sweets when he could get them. Until he'd looked down at it and realized it had the stamp of the Dupain-Cheng bakery etched into the top, which had, of course, caused his cheeks to pink slightly.

Nino had laughed. He'd punched him in the arm.

He'd been so vulnerable.

"Hey, put that cookie down!" she'd said harshly, Adrien jumping as he'd whipped around to see Marinette making her way down the stairs beside them. Alya'd been with her, already snickering, and Adrien should have seen it coming. Should have read the signs. "You really don't need it," Marinette had ventured to say, Adrien already wide-eyed as she'd crouched down beside him. "You're sweet enough already."

He'd baulked at the line, flashing red in what was becoming a habit as she'd reached out and, causing him to jump, slipped the cookie from his hand before popping it into her own mouth. And, making matters worse, she'd then booped him on the nose with her finger before getting up and heading the rest of the way down the steps.

Gaping, unable to find any words, Adrien had stared after, supposing he felt somewhat similar to a waiting volcano. Or a heated tomato.

Beside him, Nino had been all-out cackling, no sympathy whatsoever.

"I-I don't understand..." Adrien had eventually muttered to himself, his whole body alive with nervous pins and needles.

"Dude!" Nino had reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder, wiping a few tears from his eye with his free hand. "Dude!"

Adrien had sputtered, gesturing stupidly in the direction the girls had gone. "She just- But- Wha...? Why?!"

"Probably because you make it so easy," Nino had reasoned, trying to offer him a serious nod despite his smirk.

Yet, no explanation had been enough to allow Adrien to wrap his head around the encounter. Instead, all he could mutter out was a weak, "She ate my cookie..."

Forty-five minutes hadn't been near enough time for him to recover—no matter the number of deep breaths he'd forced himself to take. Instead, shoulders slumped somewhat as he'd tried to hide in plain sight, he'd tried to be as inconspicuous as possible as he'd put his lunch bag in his locker. Daring to take just an innocent drink from his water bottle—so as to try and further calm himself—he'd been totally unprepared for the sneak attack coming up from behind.

"You know, humans are 65% water," Marinette had murmured, causing him to choke. "And I'm thirsty."

Coughing, he'd ended up spitting water all over the inside of his locker, before he'd spun to catch the way she was skipping away. Yet, in the same moment, his startled, shaking hands had lost control of his water bottle. He'd tried to fumble for it, but the efforts had been in vain. Shooting from his hold, the bottle had arced up into the air, spewing water as it'd spun.

With a splash, it'd cracked against the floor, the top broken and sent spinning as the water splattered in all directions. A few nearby students had gasped, shying away, as Adrien had stared on helplessly, hands uselessly outstretched.

"Damn dude," Nino had said, coming up behind him. "Having some issues, uh, holding it in?"

Adrien had spun on him, pointing harshly as he'd desperately searched for any words of rebuke. Unfortunately, any sort of eloquence he might have possessed seemed to have flown out the window with his composure, leaving him with nothing as he'd gestured vaguely, growled, and stomped away.

He'd never been so happy to have an afternoon photo shoot.

Now that the shoot was over, he was perched up on a chimney, patiently scanning the skyline for Ladybug's approach.

Ladybug, the only girl he could trust these last few days. Though she'd been a bit off when they'd gotten together on Friday—their patrol that had been abruptly cancelled—she'd been herself again on Sunday. It was the current night that Adrien needed a sense of regularity more than anything else. At least when it came to girls.

Honestly, the whole Marinette thing was a bit surreal. And confusing (so, so confusing). He didn't know where she was coming from, acting like she was, and Alya certainly wasn't helping the situation. Neither was Nino for that matter, traitor. But, through thick and thin, he could depend on Ladybug. Perhaps his school social life had been dumped on its head, but Chat Noir would be the same.

It wasn't that he had a problem with Marinette's... behavior. But he needed to interact with someone normally for a little while. School was beginning to look stressful, were he being totally honest. Like Marinette was going to pop up around every corner with some lame line that would send him spiraling into embarrassment. It was kind of thrilling, the anticipation, but that was only upon looking back. And once he could reassure himself that, next time, he'd be ready.

Facing the situation directly, however, was a whole different beast. Yet, he hoped the more pep talks he could give himself, the easier it'd somehow become. Maybe he'd even be able to respond to her lines at some point.

If she kept it up.

He kind of hoped she did, but also desperately wished she wouldn't. It was flattering, really, the compliments, but he just couldn't keep himself calm.

If he could do that, then maybe he could get to the bottom of the whole situation!

"Preoccupied again, I see," Ladybug said, landing on the other side of the long chimney. She didn't startle him—he'd heard her coming—and so he turned to her with his typical smirk.

"I can't help it," he explained, shrugging as innocently as he could. "Turns out Chat Noir is in high demand these days."

Ladybug cocked a skeptical brow. "You still worrying over pick-up line girl?"

Marinette had been a main topic of conversation these last few patrols.

"Worrying is a bit of an overstatement," he clarified. "It's more like I'm... considering my options."

"Oh really?"

"Girls flock to me, what can I say."

"Yeah, I bet." She rolled her eyes. "But in all seriousness, Kitty, are you going to pursue her?"

"In all seriousness?" he asked, holding onto his typical attitude for only a moment longer. Before turning away with a shrug. "No, I'm not."

"What?" Ladybug asked, actually managing to sound affronted. "Why not?"

"I already have a lady to whom I am completely faithful," he smarmed.

"Haha, very funny." Huffing, she plopped down beside him. "What is it? Do you not like this girl?"

"I already told you," he drawled. "She doesn't like me." This conversation was a little disheartening, actually. Ladybug wouldn't be so supportive of him liking some other girl if she had feelings for him, right?

Probably better not to think about that.

"Was she behaving the same way today as she did on Friday?"

"Worse!" Chat exclaimed, groaning as he did. "It was horri- I mean," he cleared his throat, "it was absolutely scandalous. I loved it."

Ladybug snorted. "Well, you've already said you didn't think she'd play a trick on you. So why else would she be flirting with you unless she liked you?"

"That is the question," he muttered, eyes narrowing as he pooched his lips. "I bet her and her best friend are up to something."

"Oh my god," Ladybug muttered, shaking her head. "Why is it so impossible that she might like you?"

"Because until last week, she barely talked to me at all," Chat defended. "I could probably count on one hand the number of actual conversations we've ever had."

"Well..." Ladybug shifted, looking oddly uncomfortable. "Maybe she was just shy."

"Marinette is not shy," he said, completely certain. "She's our class president. She's super talented and doesn't take crap from anyone. She knows Jagged Stone. And she just so happens to be friends with everyone. Well, except me. And Chloe Bourgeois."

"Oh... really..." Ladybug replied. "When you put it like that..."

"Exactly. Why would she like me? I may be a superhero, but she doesn't know that. To her, I'm... I don't know what I am."

"Oh, c-c'mon, Chat, there's plenty about you that she should like," Ladybug offered. "Your smart, funny—albeit sometimes annoying—generous, considerate. You save Paris on a regular basis. Any girl who doesn't like someone like that is... Well, they certainly don't know what they're missing."

"Is that your way of saying you like me, My Lady?"

"Don't push it."

He laughed, before letting out a sigh. "Marinette and I..." He shook his head, cringing a bit as he did. "We got off to a rough start. She probably thinks I'm some kind of stuck up jerk. Which kinda sucks, to be honest, because she seems really nice. But... it is what it is."

"You sound so sure..."

"What else am I supposed to think? She can barely stand to look at me."

"But she is- she is flirting with you, I think. I mean, that has to mean she likes you. I thought that was the kind of stuff you liked—lame pick-up lines and stupid puns."

"You know me so well." He clicked his tongue at her. "I dunno, if it was anyone else, I might think you were right. But Marinette could literally date any boy she wanted, probably. Two of my classmates already had crushes on her this year. No," he shook his head, "she wouldn't be interested in me like that."

"Ugh, why not?!" Ladybug rebuked, frustrated. "Why are you being so negative? You're a great guy, Chat! Any girl would be lucky to have you."

"Lucky, huh?" he asked. "Pretty sure black cats are the definition of unlucky."

She blinked at him, gaping some, and Chat realized that maybe he'd said too much. Ladybug didn't need to worry herself over his problems, after all. He was there to be her partner, to support her. Not complain about his own messed up life. When he was Chat, he had to be confident and carry himself with a certain degree of surefootedness. Ladybug didn't deserve any less. Probably wouldn't tolerate any less either.

"Sorry," he said simply. "Didn't mean to complain to you."

She gaped further.

"Well, anyway." Getting to his feet, he stretched his arms above his head, cracking his neck before glancing back down at her with a grin. "Shall we get going? It's the purrrfect night for a patrol and we'd better not waste it."

Mouth snapping closed, she stared up at him for a moment, looking almost thoughtful, before she finally got to her feet alongside him. And Chat—not wanting her attentiveness to turn to unnecessary concern—allowed his grin to transform into a striking smile, hoping that would ease any awkwardness he'd caused previously.

Shortly after, he pulled up his staff, readying himself to take off.

Ladybug said little more for the rest of the night.

Ladrien or Marichat?