Marinette wasn't sure whether to be pleased or annoyed with herself. While it was flattering to know that Adrien's dumbfounded immunity was her doing, it was also irritating because it was damn near impossible to get his feathers ruffled.

She'd wasted two, two, perfectly ridiculous pick-up lines on him that morning, only to have him look at her like a love-sick puppy and say, the first time, "what was that?" and the second time, "that's nice, Marinette."

She was disgusted.

There was the comfort, however, that as soon as he walked into the classroom, she knew for sure that he wouldn't be able to merely bypass what she had waiting for him. Granted, it was another gift from Ladybug, so it wasn't quite so satisfying as far as her attempts as Marinette, but it was something. And her foul temperament at not being able to get to him would serve her well if Alya assumed she was simply distressed over what Adrien's "other admirer" had left for him.

"I mean, it's practically overkill," Alya was saying in an effort to comfort her. "Whoever this is, they're clearly trying too hard."

Marinette didn't offer a response. Instead, she leaned forward on her desk—chin in her hand—and pooched her lips in displeasure. The other students around them were giggling and whispering about the gift, but she ignored them. Instead, she kept her eyes trained on the door and waited.

It was Nino's laughter that perked her up, Alya leaning forward beside her—just as eager to see how things would play out despite her previous comforting of Marinette. And as the two boys entered, the entire class went silent, the tension in the room thick enough to slice with a blade.

Nino was the first one that came to a startled stop, eyes going wide and mouth gaping, while Adrien nearly ran into him before flicking his attention to his own seat.

Stuffed onto his bench and bulging out against the table was a giant, fluffy, red teddy bear. It was so big that Marinette could only just see over its head from her position. Like the roses, she'd managed to acquire it as a gift, the price being yet another clue that would clear her of guilt in the eyes of her peers.

As she'd hoped, the sight of it obviously shocked Adrien. Like Nino's, his own mouth dropped open as he came to an abrupt halt. Before—quite as though it was just too much for him—he turned on a panicked heel and rushed right back out of the room again.

The whole class burst out laughing. Even Marinette couldn't help letting a few giggles leak out.

Uncertain, Nino loitered near the door, while Adrien—despite his initial escape—eventually peeked his way around the doorway and into the classroom again.

There was no point in hiding, however. The bear wasn't going away. And so everyone laughed again when he released a rather defeated sigh and slowly toed his way back into the room. Together, both he and Nino approached their table, looking like scared animals as they did. It wasn't until Adrien was standing beside his seat, looking the toy up and down, that his shoulders slumped in defeat.

Marinette covered her mouth with her hand and tried to look as disgruntled as possible.

"Well, whoever they are, your admirer certainly knows how to get your attention," Nino said, the rest of the class once again commencing in whispers and giggles.

"I know who she is." Adrien mumbled through gritted teeth and beneath frustrated brows. "And she's being ridiculous..."

"You know who she is?" Alya asked, all intrigue as she put her chin in her hand. "If you do, why haven't you confronted her? Maybe then we wouldn't be staring at the most embarrassing of the gifts she's given you yet."

"She knows I know!" Adrien hissed out. "I think this is supposed to be a joke..."

"A joke?"

Adrien narrowed his eyes thoughtfully. "I think she's getting back at me."

Marinette quirked an eyebrow. So her kitty could pick up on hints after all.

"Getting back at you?" Nino asked. "So... she doesn't like you? This is some elaborate prank?"

"No..." Adrien didn't sound totally convinced, his lips forming a pout as he reached out toward the bear. "I think she's just... teasing me... or something." Plucking the small card from the bear's collar, he opened it, read the contents, and frowned. "See?" He held it up for them all to view, a winky face the only thing printed on the paper.

"So does this girl like you or not?" Alya asked, sounding moderately frustrated.

But Adrien didn't answer. Instead, he frowned, tucked the piece of paper in his pocket, and shoved the bear into the center of the bench. Nino looked moderately affronted by the whole thing, but didn't complain. While Adrien dropped himself down onto his side of the bench, successfully trapping the bear between them.

Though Adrien played at being displeased, the same mood that had kept him infallible all morning soon overcame his embarrassment. Leaning forward, Marinette could see the way he grinned at Nino, before he reached around the back of the bear and grabbed its fluffy arm. Quite delicately, he laid the arm over Nino's shoulder.

Dead eyed, it was Nino's turn to lean forward and glare at his best friend.

"Don't look like that," Adrien teased, chuckling. "You'd think this stuffed animal being between us was unbearable."

Marinette scoffed in disgust, unintentionally drawing attention her way. Adrien, Nino, and Alya all turned to look at her, not necessarily surprised, but expecting some kind of elaboration on her noise-making. Ladybug would be more than happy to call out Adrien (Chat) on his stupid puns, but Marinette was afraid she'd give herself away.

So, instead, she cleared her throat and looked pointedly away from all of them.

Adrien's frown was visible out of the corner of her eye.

It was Alya that broke the abrupt tension, her hand slapping harshly against the tabletop as she moved onto another topic. "So!" she started loudly. "Are you two guys going to the festival tomorrow?"

Thankful for the distraction, Marinette refused to look at Adrien as she put her focus on Alya.

"The Ladybug and Chat Noir celebratory festival?" Nino asked.

"Yup!" Flexing, Alya winked. "I'm gonna dress up as Ladybug. And Marinette's gonna dress up too."

"I am?"

"Of course. I can't go alone. But," she looked between Adrien and Nino, despite the giant bear head in the middle, "you two should come too."

"I was thinking of checking it out anyway," Nino replied. "So I guess it'd be more fun with the two of you."

"You 'guess?'" Alya asked sassily.

Nino quirked an eyebrow. "Yes, I 'guess.' Can't be too certain of anything."

Alya rolled her eyes and put her attention on Adrien. "What about you? I know you're a Ladybug fan too."

Adrien appeared moderately uncomfortable, fidgeting in his seat. Which made Marinette feel a little better. She didn't want to see him squirming, but it was a nice contrast to the infallible positivity he'd been exuding all morning. Obviously nervous, he looked between Alya and Nino before allowing his gaze to dart her way.

"I don't know..." His gaze turned suspicious, so Marinette narrowed her eyes and glared challengingly back.

Alya sighed. "Okay, how about this? You'll come and, for one day, Marinette will lay off the lines."

Marinette squawked. "What?!"

"Deal!" Adrien held his hand out toward Alya (over the bear), the two shaking on it.

"I didn't agree to this!" Marinette tried to object.

Like the silly cat he was, Adrien turned back toward her and stuck out his tongue, which had Marinette brisling. If only to make matters worse, he clearly found her irritation humorous, a fact that only managed to annoy her all the more.

"Fine!" she agreed, pointing a violent finger down at him. "But you have to buy me dinner!"

Adrien gaped. "What?! No! No deal! You can't blackmail me back! That's cheating!"

"You don't want to buy me dinner?" Marinette asked, sniffing as she did and peering pointedly down at her nails. "Some gentleman you are."

"You can't guilt me into buying you dinner," he argued.

"You underestimate me."

"Oh quit arguing. Adrien can buy us all dinner," Alya decided, Nino laughing at Adrien's affronted snort. "He can afford it."

"Gee, thanks," he said flatly.

"I'm still not happy," Marinette decided. "All that time we'll be spending together and I can't use a single pick-up line? Absolutely ridiculous."

Looking both flustered and annoyed, Adrien pursed his lips.

"I'll just have to double down today," she ultimately decided.

Adrien scoffed and turned a darker shade of red, while Marinette reached into her bag and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. Smoothing it out, she began to read from the top of the list downward, each pick-up line that she'd typed up sounding more absurd than the last. By the time Ms. Bustier had entered the room, Adrien was as red, and as speechless, as the bear poised beside him.

Marinette supposed it made up for his lack of reaction earlier that morning.

She rode her confident high all the way to the following day, sailing smoothly until she got to Alya's and was forced into the costume she hadn't realized she'd be wearing to the Ladybug and Chat Noir festival.

"I can't wear this, Alya," she said simply, swallowing hard as she looked herself up and down in her friend's full-length mirror.

"Of course you can," Alya argued, already decked out in her tight-fitting Ladybug costume. "It's not any different than mine."

"It is too!" Marinette rebuked shortly, hands balled into fists at her sides. "Chat Noir's costume is way more suggestive than Ladybug's! I can't wear this out in public!" Especially since the black, skintight suit wasn't even detailed enough to be convincingly different from every other black cat costume in existence. It didn't have zippers, no specifics. Just a black, elastic suit with a bell and a cheap tail. Top if off, Alya had forced her to wear knee high, heeled black boots and silly, headband cat-ears. She looked absolutely cheap!

At least Alya's costume had spots on it!

"You look fine, Marinette," Alya reasoned, rolling her eyes. "Everyone is going to be dressed up. I guarantee you're not going to be the only poorly put together Chat Noir out here."

"All the more reason not to dress up in the first place!"

"You look hot."

"I look trashy!"

"It's just one night, Marinette. C'mon! I don't want to be the only one dressed up."

Pouting, Marinette grabbed hold of her tail and twisted it anxiously. She tried to reason that this wasn't any different than when she was Ladybug, but no matter the defenses she tried to conjure up, none really surpassed cardboard in their sturdiness. Ladybug's suit—tight or not—held a certain degree of respect and admiration. Not that Chat's didn't, but there was something altered in dressing as him versus, well, herself. Mostly she assumed it had to do with the lazy thinness of her costume—it didn't do Chat justice.

Chat. What would he think when he saw her?

Well, she'd probably know sooner than she would have preferred.

"Adrien and Nino are here," Alya announced, the doorbell having just gone off. No one else was home, which left it up to the girls to answer. Grabbing Marinette by the hand, Alya dragged her from the bedroom before any real protest could be put up. Within seconds, the front door was being pulled open, Marinette standing in the middle of the living room and unable to find anywhere to hide quickly enough to remove herself from wandering eyes.

Supposing she'd just have to settle for her lot, she hunched some and tried to ignore the redness coating her cheeks. Despite all the nights she did spend running around in a skintight suit, she'd never felt quite so naked.

"What do you think?" Alya asked, not at all shy about showing off her Ladybug costume, pigtails and all.

"Lovely," Nino replied simply. "Just like the real thing."

"Why thank you." Alya winked. "And, of course, who's Ladybug without her trusty partner?" Gesturing far too generously, Alya drew all attention Marinette's way, which she did not appreciate. All the more humiliated, she looked up at the boys from beneath her heavy bangs. Nino didn't seem the least bit bothered, happy to nod approvingly in her direction.

Adrien, on the other hand, froze once he caught sight of her, blinking stupidly. Initially, Marinette felt all the more embarrassed. This was Chat, after all, and she was hardly a good representation of who he was and all he'd done. Yet, despite this, no looks of disapproval or disgust got thrown her way.

Rather, Adrien flushed to the very tips of his ears. Reaching up, he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly and tried, tried, to pull his focus from her. But no matter how many times he did, he always ended up staring again.

For a second, Marinette nearly let her nerves get the better of her, but then she considered all the progress she'd made since she'd taken control of the situation. This was no different, really. Adrien was Chat and, well, who better than his partner to completely disrespect his position in favor of a raunchy joke?

She could do this. For just a while longer, she could keep up the act.

All of it—the pick-up lines, the flirting, the gifts—would be over soon anyway. Which meant she needed to make the best of the situation while she still could.

Adrien was flustered? Well, no better time to take advantage of the situation.

Swallowing hard, Marinette straightened and forcefully squashed her doubts. She'd made a deal not to use pick-up lines, which meant she had to use whatever other resources she had at her disposal. Was she proud to be in a suggestive cat outfit? No. But was she willing to make the most of it?

Most definitely.

"Well, are we ready to go?" Alya asked.

"I'd say so," Nino replied. Stepping back, he motioned Alya toward the door, allowing her to go first before he followed.

Stepping forward, Marinette grabbed her tail very much like Chat sometimes did and swung it in a continuous circle beside her hip. She kept Adrien's gaze locked with her own, pausing just in front of him on her way out.

He was obviously nervous, his whole body tense as he looked down at her and swallowed. Hard.

"Don't stare too long," Marinette said softly, somehow finding the courage to look him slowly up and down. "We have places to be, Handsome Boy." Winking, she smiled shortly before continuing on, prancing out the door while Adrien stared after, sputtering and blushing even harder.

Yes, Marinette decided, she could definitely make this work.

Ok! This book is finally going to be finished after one more chapter.

Banana Noire or Chat Blanc?