MORE THAN A PRETTY FACE?

Pictures have appeared online of soon to be action movie star, and former supermodel Adrien Agreste, 24, showing he has exactly what it takes to be a real life hero.

Since the announcement, many have queried Agreste's new role in the 'Legal Blue' film series, stating that only reason the former model has been chosen was for his 'pretty face' and sex appeal, to both the female and male fans. His acting ability has been scrutinised along with his fitness levels, especially due to the brute force the character displays during the movies.

It's been no secret that fans have asked for a recasting with Chat Noir playing the iconic role. A petition circulating social media has earned the cat like hero 642,546 signatures asking for him to take Agreste's role, regardless of the mask.

However, all critics should now be silenced as the young blonde saved not just one, but two people from a fall in the Seine river earlier today, showing he has everything needed to be France's new superspy.

A young boy (unnamed), 6, had fallen into the Seine whilst out on a walk with his mother. The young woman screamed for help but was quoted saying how 'nobody stopped to help until an unknown girl launched herself into the river and towards my son'. Onlookers described how he fought against her as she attempted to drag him to safety. Lucky for both civilians, Agreste was jogging nearby and took it upon himself to save not only the boy but also the woman, (also unnamed).

Agreste dragged the boy to safety before having to take a second plunge into the depths of the Seine and save the woman too. Onlookers held their breath as Agreste swam to depths unseen, finding the woman and bringing her back to the surface.

Once all were safely on shore, Agreste launched himself onto the woman taking her into a tight embrace making us question who this girl is and what she is to Paris' sweetheart. With Adrien appearing less and less on Vivica's side, is there trouble in paradise? Or does Adrien have a little secret on the side?

Twitter has gone crazy with theories as to who the mystery girl could be, guessing right from Adrien's secret lover; to 'Ladybug' in her civilian form.

One thing's for certain though, here at 'Mode Mania' Adrien Agreste is an everyday Chat Noir, and we'll always be safe when he's around.

•••••

Marinette sat with her hands wrapped around a cup of warm coffee as she seated herself at the breakfast bar in her apartment, scanning through the news articles on her laptop. She was flicking between looking for a new phone and reading the updates on the news websites, each of them displaying pixelated photographs from earlier and her unexpected trip in the Seine. She was chilled to the bone, and even with the help of the kwami's she was still dithering after three showers and a very, very long soak is a crazily warm bath. Still here she was, phoneless, sitting at her breakfast bar chugging down almost boiling drinks whilst being wrapped in her thickest tracksuit, plus a blanket draped across her slim, shaking shoulders.

She looked at a picture of her and Adrien, wrapped in a tight embrace, and although she knew the hug was entirely harmless, Vivica was going to eat it up. It had given the woman a piece of ammunition to use against Adrien, and Marinette felt disgusted at herself. Tikki had tried to talk to her, saying that maybe Vivica wouldn't know it was her, but even though the picture was grainy, if you knew who Marinette was you could quite easily tell it was her. The dark hair and blue eyes still shone out of the picture for all the world to see.

A more pressing matter at the moment though was the lack of communication to the outside world. She needed to get a phone and fast, but it was an expense she hadn't budgeted for. She let out a sigh and dragged one hand down her pale face. Her stomach churned and then growled, the intense need to be sick overpowering her senses. She closed her eyes and started to take deep breaths. Maybe the coffee wasn't mixing well with the disgusting water from the river, and the thought of food ... well ... she had no intention of eating for a while.

Keeping her eyes closed, she pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips. Adrien had kissed her to save her, helping her breath in the depths of the river. How the hell had she gotten herself into such a mess? Oh yeah, by trying to play hero. She should have just transformed, taken her water power up and 'poof' twenty seconds later, all out on dry land safe and without three pints of yucky river water in her stomach. She dreaded what she'd swallowed! Boat oil, petrol probably? Some duck poop, fish eggs ... the more she thought about it the more her stomach spiralled. She placed the mug down and clutched onto the side of the breakfast bar. She hated being sick. She couldn't breath and ended up stamping her feet on the ground as she bent over the toilet seat, gripping so hard she could pull it off. Alya always commented she was a baby, but baby or not, she couldn't help it. She needed to think of something to take her mind off it, and straight away her thoughts went back to Adrien; the kiss, the hug ... shit!

"Tikki, can you go and inform Alya that I don't have a phone at the moment, and not to worry about me." The little red kwami nodded, and made her way out of the apartment and onto delivering the message. She prayed Alya would send one of her spares back with Tikki, after all she had about sixteen of the damn things. She was too afraid to sell any incase she lost any of her Ladyblog footage. Even after sitting with her friend to set up many, many, many back up accounts and hardware, she still would not let go of the past. Maybe that's why she was so set on getting back with Nino. Nino. Christ, there was a whole other can of worms they needed to talk about.

Marinette continued to flick through different news sites, before ending up on the comment section of 'Mode Mania's' article. Luckily, Alya hadn't written this article or Marinette may not have gotten away with it so anonymously. Scrolling down she looked at each of the comments noting the hilarious guesses thrown around about who she was; AgresteFan001 being one of her favourites. Apparently it was her and she was Adrien Agreste's secret lover, their hug giving it away and finally they could be together and announce their love to the world. Marinette snorted as she clicked the girl's profile, bringing up a picture of a tall blonde with brown eyes, the complete opposite to herself.

"Yeah right." She said to herself. Her laughter continued with each wild and wacky theory until she reached one which made her heart catch in her throat.

No!

No way!

Wayhem007 - That's pyjama girl! I'm certain of it! They were best friends in collège and lycèe, I think they were an item at one point. I can't remember what her name was though.

Damn you, Wayhem!

Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest, and she prayed to the kwami's that nobody checked out Wayhem's claim. It seemed that he was still the President of Adrien's fan club and, unfortunately, he had met Marinette many times in the past. What surprised her more, though, was that he could place her. With the way she'd matured over the years, most of her old school friends had to give her a second look when they met up, so having a random guy realise who she was shocked her. She supposed the only blessing was he couldn't remember her name.

"All done, Marinette." Tikki reappeared, coming to settle next to Marinette as she tried to breathe again. Every inch of her was pulsing. The fear evident in the crease lines of her face. She pressed the comment, looking to see if anyone else had expanded on it, only to come up empty. She made a mental note to keep a check on this, to keep a check on Wayhem's fan sites and fan pages. Maybe she should try to contact Adrien and get him to speak to his fan. If she remembered rightly, they'd created some sort of weird friendship back when they were fourteen. If anyone could talk him down it would be Adrien, or maybe Adrien, himself, could make a claim? He could tell all about it, explain why he had saved them instead of just running past. She didn't want this being used against him in any way. He'd done a good thing, he'd saved her.

Marinette couldn't help but feel a wave of heat pulsate over her as she thought about what Adrien had done. He'd literally put himself in death's way and saved her. The way her heart was clenching at the thought it seemed she had a thing for sacrificial guys. Maybe he deserved a chance to explain, but still that was only a maybe. Her heart still hadn't healed from what happened all those years ago and she wasn't ready to have the wounds cracked open again.

She picked up her mug and took another gulp of her coffee marvelling as the warmth travelled down to her spasming stomach. She grabbed the chocolate syrup next to her on the counter, squirted a little into the mug and stirred it together. The sweetness calmed her nerves and helped with the shock.

As sweet liquid touched her mouth she couldn't help the groan that came from the chocolate coated caffeine. This was better than sex ... though it had been quite a while for her to compare such thing's. She was in her eighteenth dry month, and to be honest she hadn't overly missed it, she supposed that's because Dominic hadn't been all that exciting anyway ... unless you liked being choked that is.

"Tikki, can you check on the other kwami and see if anyone needs anything?"

"Sure, Marinette," Tikki flew off as Marinette shivered again, wrapping the fluffy blanket around her tighter. It was the most perfect Ladybug blanket. Bright red, with flawless black spots. She remembered the day it had arrived, Alya had thought she was being egotistical buying it until she felt the soft material used for it. There's two Chat Noir ones coming next week for the both of them, buy one get one half price.

Marinette went to pick up her phone before suddenly remembering once again that it was now with the fishes at the bottom of the Seine, along with her AirPods. She knew people these days said youngsters were addicted to their phones and Marinette was one of the first to complain that no she wasn't, however, sitting here now feeling like she lost a limb means she needed to go and apologise to everyone for forever denying such a true statement. There was one positive though, her necklace was safe. Unfortunately, the chain had snapped during her excursion but having the pendant in her sports bra meant it had fallen securely into her cleavage, keeping the small but perfect diamond safe and with her.

Sighing again, she switched back to the phone page, looking at the newest models. She liked Adrien's that she had used the other night and thought about getting one similar. It was stylish and sleek, and when she found the website she noticed they had it in a nice purply pink colour. She was sold. She began to go through the process of selecting and ordering, before heading to the AirPods page to get a new pair of those too. It's not like she couldn't afford it, but spending so much vexed her. She was as much a money trapper as she was a honey trapper and knowing so much was being wasted because she had to play 'unsuited and booted' hero annoyed her.

BUZZ!

Her intercom sounded, giving her a little jolt. She wasn't expecting anyone. The only people who tended to visit her was Alya and her parents, and she knew it wouldn't be them. After her expedition into the Seine, she damply made her way to the bakery just to inform them she was safe. After all, they were one of the few people that would be able to pick her out from such poor quality photographs and the fact they were now prime time news would only make them worry. However, the conversation had turned awkward when she had to tell them Adrien was the one that saved her and that they were back in touch.

She'd never explicitly told her parents about what had happened that night three years ago with the blonde model, it would only cause her papa to either be akumatized again, or to just hunt down Adrien and kill him with his bare hands, so for the record her parents just believed that Marinette was heartbroken because of Adrien's engagement. They didn't need to know the true ins and outs of what went on that evening, they didn't need to know why she was so distraught. Only Alya, and she expected Nino, knew about what had happened in her hotel room.

Marinette slid off the bar stool, placing her feet in her fluffy UGG slippers before heading towards the phone on her wall. She pressed the button to see the camera before picking the phone up to answer her caller. This security system was one of the reasons Marinette had chosen this apartment. With the Miracle Box still in her possession and no clue as to where the butterfly Miraculous had disappeared to ... again ... security was high priority. Well, security and the cute little balcony off the bedroom which she could cover with flowers.

"Hello?"

"Is that Ms. Dupain-Cheng?" She could see the navy blue cap with the familiar 'FedEx' logo, before the woman lifted her head to look into the camera. She hadn't ordered anything so why was FedEx here? Most of her mail came with 'La Poste'.

"It is, how can I help?"

"I have a parcel for you which needs to be signed for."

"I'll come right down." Marinette only lived on the fourth floor, so it wouldn't take too long to exit down onto the street. She grabbed her keys, calling to Tikki that she was just going to collect a package, locking the door and making her way down the stairs, careful not to trip up over the edge of her blanket.

Reaching the foyer, she headed to the large door, pulling it open and coming face to face with the lady from the screen.

"This has been sent to you with priority delivery so I need to make sure you sign for it. There's a hefty tip for me on the line too."

Marinette took the electronic device and scribed her initials on there before swapping it for the box.

"Thank you." She said, looking at it curiously before she closed the main door and walked back towards the staircase.

Her movements were a lot slower now, caught up in whatever was in the box. It was quite heavy and had a battery warning on the label. She stalked back up the stairs praying Alya hadn't sent her a vibrator again as a joke. Everytime her friend was getting some and she couldn't deliver on the blind date front, Marinette received a special treat in the mail.

Who else would send her something with a battery in?

Entering her apartment on autopilot, Tikki locked the door behind her, and Marinette made it back to her seat at the counter. She placed the box down and continued to stare at it.

"Are you going to open it?" Tikki had arrived back at her chosen's side and hovered over the box, a smile on her face.

"Why are you so happy?" Marinette questioned.

"It looks like someone's sent you a gift, that's always exciting." Marinette giggled at her kwami's enthusiasm. Even thousands of years old, kwami's still showed great innocence. "Open it, open it, open it."

Rolling her eyes, Marinette pulled off the cardboard tab and opened the box. Inside were three more boxes. A biggish one, a flat one and a small cuboid shaped one. Starting with the flat one, she took it out the box and moved the rest to one side.

It wasn't very heavy, and Marinette wondered if Alya had gone for the edible underwear this time. She always joked that some of Ladybug's flexibility must have rubbed off on Marinette, and she wanted to know if it was possible to bend herself like a pretzel. She prayed to the Kwami's that it wasn't, after all Alya always liked photographic evidence and would probably demand she gets a new phone just for that.

Opening the box the first thing that struck her was the design.

Black and green.

Paw prints.

Had Chat Noir sent her something? That wouldn't make sense though, considering she hadn't seen him in years as her civilian self. She pulled the object out and couldn't hold back the barking laugh that escaped her throat.

WATERPROOF CASE - SUITABLE FOR DEEP SEA ADVENTURES

She looked at the case and shook her head. He hasn't? There's no way he would have spent that much money on her.

Afraid of the larger package, Marinette moved to the smaller one, and unwrapped a set of up to date AirPods. Something this extra could only come from Adrien. Only his bank account would allow for such silly expenditure.

"Oh wow!" Tikki exclaimed, picking up the phone case and giving it a good look over. "Obviously he noticed your running gear. He must think you're a big fan or something?"

He noticed? Or something? What did her kwami mean by that?

"Or something?" She questioned Tikki. Why put that out there if she's not going to elaborate?

"Yeah, perhaps he's a big Chat Noir fan and thought it was funny, or maybe he's in on it with Chat Noir?" It was definitely something her partner would get involved with if he had a chance. Maybe Adrien knew him and they'd spoken about her?

"Do you know who it's from?" Marinette asked, her eyebrows screwing together making the most horrendous frown lines appear.

"Um - no - of course not. I'm just curious, that's all."

Finally, she reached over for the final box and she opened it with a gasp. Inside was the newest model phone, very similar to his that she'd used the other evening. On top was a note, and looking at the perfect calligraphy of the handwriting, it was definitely from Adrien.

Marinette,

Before you hunt me down like a wanted criminal and throw these items back at me, please read this note.

What you did this morning was truly heroic, and most of all you did it without a costume or a mask. You are a true hero Marinette, an everyday Ladybug.

I'm not trying to buy your forgiveness or to try and get back into your good books, I'm just giving you something to say thank you.

Thank you for helping out the lady and her son.

As you know, after you left I hung around for interviews and to speak to the mother and son. She was the one that wanted to do this for you, but as a single parent she couldn't afford to, so that's where I came in.

So even though you might think it's from me, it's not. It's a gift from a very grateful parent who, thanks to you, can live another day with her true love, her little boy. You saved the only family she had, Marinette, and I'm sure you have a fan for life in the woman and boy (and me).

I took them with me to the shop and Darcel (the boy) chose the case for you. I made sure it was waterproof in case you want to go deep water swimming again.

The phone has already been set up for you, no returns! Plus you wouldn't want to make a six year old cry, would you?

~ Adrien

P.S. The passcode is your birthday.

"Oh, Marinette." Tikki's voice barely made it through the buzzing that was ringing in her ears. She didn't know if she was impressed, happy or damn right annoyed. Did he think she couldn't afford to buy herself a new phone? Or was he just being sweet by offering one up so she didn't have to go out her way to get one? Did the young boy and mother really want to do this for her? She had so many questions she just didn't know where to start! Why did Adrien still have to be so ... Adrien?

Taking the phone out of the box and removing that wonderful plastic coating, she noticed it was the black one, not the purple pink colour she liked, though she supposed it was a pretty beautiful phone. Holding the weighty object in her hand, she twisted it around, looking at the shine as it reflected the sun from the window. It was pretty sleek, and it would look good with the phone case on.

"Turn it on," Tikki squeaked, obviously the kwami was feeling the excitement a lot more than she was.

Pressing and holding the button on the side, the screen came to life with the tell tale sign of a fruit glowing in the middle of the screen. She couldn't help but tap a finger against the counter as she waited for the phone to jump to life. Thirty seconds later she was looking at a picture from their school days. A picture of her and Adrien at the park, pure innocence radiating from their overly happy faces. A small smile crept onto her lips as she took in their youthful looks; so many hopes and dreams, and where were they now? Both failing in relationships, yet thriving in their work lives.

Marinette remembered the way she used to stumble over her words to talk to him, but that night they'd spent together, well, she'd seen him for who he really was. She saw it all. The naivety, the want to please, the sheer love in his heart just waiting to fawn over someone. He wasn't that perfect boy she thought he was, he was imperfect becoming even more perfect for simply that reason.

She typed in the passcode on the phone keypad, directing her to the home screen with another classic picture, this time of the 'core four'; herself, Adrien, Alya and Nino. She would need to change these photos at some point, but for now she would reminisce about simpler times, revelling in the joy they all once experienced together. She missed them, she missed what they were.

Another thought hit her and her smile faltered, he'd remembered her birthday enough to use it as the passcode. Her heart did a funny flip which made her catch her breath before she pushed it to the back of her mind. Adrien's niceness got her in trouble the first time, she wouldn't allow herself to succumb to it again, her heart wouldn't be able to take another denial from him. The rawness was still there from the first time.

Flicking through the menu and looking at the preloaded apps she noticed there was a message waiting for her in the inbox, and if she was as perceptive as what she thought she was, she knew exactly who it was from.

•••••

Adrien was sitting in the conference room, surprisingly feeling okay after this morning's plunge in the Seine. He thought it might be linked to the Miraculous powers, as where he thought he would be feeling chilled to the bone he was actually warm and toasty, basking in the heat of the afternoon sun shining through the window. Very much like a regular house cat.

He checked his phone again, she must have received the gift by now, he'd made sure when he'd entered the store earlier that day that paying extra would guarantee her having it as soon as possible. He was certain that if he had been anyone else the request would have been denied, however, as he had learnt over the years, he could convince people quite easily once they'd recognised his face and saw the black Amex appear out of his wallet.

"Cut to action sequence: Edward jumps into the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport, and proceeds to escape the conglomerate."

"A Bugatti Chiron Super Sport? No way!" Adrien couldn't hold his enthusiasm. This was a dream come true. "Do I get to drive it?" His script hadn't been updated before the read though so all it said was 'Edward jumps into the car'. To hear it was one of his many dream cars just made this job a whole lot sweeter.

"We're putting you through intense driving tuition from next week, we need you to be able to at least drive at speed around an abandoned airfield. We'll just be filming close ups and such, but it'll be good fun for you." Blaise, the film's director, looked over at Adrien, a grin on his face. He was a great guy, really supportive and in favour of Adrien taking on this role. It was actually thanks to Blaise that he was sitting here now, giving him the opportunity to expand his horizons and try something new.

Since he arrived, three hours ago, they'd already spoken about the incident from this morning, Adrien having to give the PR department a little bit more information so they could respond to any calls and queries, especially as it'll be putting the film into the limelight. They now had Marinette's name (first name only) and also the details about their childhood friendship. He kept as much as he could locked away, the last thing he wanted was to stir up anything that Vivica could use. The woman was on a mission and he knew it. He didn't quite understand the full extent, but the fact he hadn't heard from her in two days meant she was scheming. He knew her too well by now, and he needed to be on the defence.

"Can we read from the start of the next scene? I'm struggling to understand what is happening. One moment I'm slapping Edward for his recklessness, and the next minute I'm in my underwear." Esmée, 'his' leading female asked. Her eyebrows were scrunched together as she shifted through the pages.

Adrien found the scene she was on about and noticed he had his own bright green Post It note stuck on the page, he snorted out a laugh as he remembered what he'd written and all eyes shot to face him.

"Sorry, it's just -" he turned his paper around displaying the large 'WTF?' written in the middle of the small square. Esmèe laughed and held her arms out towards where Adrien was sitting.

"See! It's not just me that thinks that. It's not like there's even a 'shut up' kiss, they walk into the room and strip each other."

"That's the whole point of the sexual tension that has been building for the past hour of the film, he's a lathario, he takes what he wants when he wants." Blaise explained as if it was obvious.

"Couldn't she grab him and kiss him before leaving the car, some sort of 'you're an idiot, but I love you' kind of kiss," Adrien put forward, inwardly smiling at the idea. It wouldn't be the first time he was confronted with one of those type kisses.

"I'm with you on that one," Esmèe agreed, both now staring down Blaise. "Remember Adrien's role is going to be slightly different to Liam's, you hired him to give the series a makeover, so can't Edward be a little sweeter to the romantic interest. I know I agreed to this part on terms that I strip to basically nothing, but come on ... give me a reason for it."

Esmèe turned to give Adrien a wink, and he laughed out loud. This was only the second time they were meeting but he already knew they were going to get on well. Esmée Beaufort was silver screen royalty, and he could only imagine his mother had as much fan love as this woman in front of him. She was also Blaise's wife, their relationship very similar to Tim Burton and Helena Bonhem Carter in their hayday.

As the two continued their 'lovers tiff' about when Adrien and Esmèe should start the heated section of the film, his phone buzzed against the table and his hand shot out to grab it.

Marinette

Once the phone had been set up, he made sure he'd put his own number into hers and then her number into his. He knew there was a possibility she would reinstall her phone from the back up but he wanted to take a chance she would speak to him first. Looking at his colleagues, he noticed they were still in the depths of conversation so he picked up his phone and took a look at the message. He prayed to the kwami's that she wasn't going to scold him for the purchase, after all, it wasn't his idea ... Well, not completely.

Marinette
If it weren't for the cute Chat Noir case, I would have returned to sender.

Adrien smiled. It wasn't a thank you, but it seemed like she'd accepted it.

Adrien 
Do I get another point for my heroism of keeping you connected to the outside world?

The two infront of him were now scratching on the paper with a brightly coloured highlighter, adding things in and crossing them out. He decided to keep his focus on his phone, allowing the two of them to argue it out.

Marinette
I suppose I can let you have another one, although if this continues I'm going to be in debt to you for the rest of my life.

Adrien
Would that be an awful thing?

Marinette
Maybe ... maybe not ;)
How are you after this morning?

Adrien
Absolutely fine. I'm a hero, you know ;)
How about you?

Marinette
I'm not feeling too great. I've got a chill, a constant headache and I swear there's a lump of lead in my chest T_T

Adrien
That doesn't sound too good, do you need anything? I could send over some soup or medicine if you like?

He quickly glanced up to now find the couple frantically scrawling over different pages, Esmèe's voice taking on a tone which made Adrien shiver. He felt bad for her husband. His phone buzzed again, and his heart fluttered, he'd missed this so much, he'd missed her.

Marinette
That actually brings me to another question! How the hell did you get my address? I'm quite sure I haven't given it to you.

He scratched the back of his neck. How was he going to get out of this one? He looked over at the couple continuing to bicker, tapping his phone against his fingers. It looked like it was time for a change of subject.

Adrien
I have my ways ;)
So, what are you wearing?

He placed his phone onto the desk as he heard Blaise and Esmèe starting to discuss the scene where Edward and Rosaline (Esmèe's character) first meet. He didn't want that to change, he liked it! He got to wear a cool leather jacket and ride a Kawasaki Ninja H2R. They couldn't take that away from him. He listened intently, opening and closing his mouth to try and speak his point, but neither of them were backing off. The buzzing on the table once again turned his attention to his phone.

Marinette
Are you sexting me, M. Agreste?

Adrien flicked his eyes back to the message above. Oh no! That is one thousand percent not what he was trying to do.

•••••

Marinette snorted as she sent the message to Adrien, the opportunity to tease him was too good to miss out on. She had moved from her breakfast bar and was now relaxing on the couch, 'Project Runway' playing quietly in the background.

She couldn't help but keep thinking about how he had her address. She hadn't given it to him, and it's not like she'd applied for internships at 'Gabriel' where he could have taken it, illegally, from her records.

Since their texting started mere minutes ago, the phone had not left her hand. Her feelings for Adrien grew more and more complicated as she continued this technological correspondence with him. She had painted such a harsh picture of him over the years that meeting him now had only proved to her how wrong that picture actually was. He wasn't the douchebag she'd made herself believe he was, Adrien was still the sweet, funny guy she knew and she was certain her heart was going to betray her. She was always so weak for Adrien Agreste.

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she lifted it, unlocking the screen and sending her straight back to their messages. Adrien's new one glaring at her.

Adrien
I suppose if we are, I should send up a picture of my shaft?

Marinette noticed the picture attached and clicked on it, only to burst out laughing. Adrien had definitely sent her a picture of a shaft, however the shaft was nothing more than an elevator shaft.

Marinette
You've floored me with that.

She giggled at her own joke, keeping the screen lit waiting impatiently for a reply. She found herself biting her lower lip as she watched the little dots bouncing around on the screen when suddenly they disappeared and she knew a message was incoming. She sat up straighter, a giggle leaving her lips before the signalling 'whoosh' sounded on her phone.

Adrien
That pun was wrong on so many levels.

Marinette
Oh, did it not push your buttons?

Adrien
I used to think highly of you, Dupain-Cheng!!

Marinette
Sorry, just trying to lift your spirit!

Adrien
You've let me down.

She snorted. Actually, physically snorted and was disgusted with herself. She wiggled in her seat, a fluttering in her stomach as she thought about what to say next. Tucking her feet underneath her, she positioned her phone closer and began to type again.

Marinette
Sure I haven't lifted you up?

Adrien
You're losing your touch. That was too similar to your last one. You're a bit up and down aren't you?

A girlish giggle left her mouth again and Tikki came to look over Marinette's shoulder at the messages.

"Are you flirting with him, Marinette?" The small kwami asked, amusement lacing her voice. Marinette coughed and repositioned herself from the lounging positioning she'd fallen into after sending the last message.

"No, I'm just doing my job. Keeping him on my side."

"You're seriously still going to trap him?"

Marinette looked back at the messages, before gazing over to her breakfast bar where the other gifts still rested. Something was bugging her in the back of her mind, this easy chatter was like they'd never actually been apart, that their relationship was the same as it was in their teen years ... no, wait, she would be lying if she said that. The Adrien she'd spent time with over the past week was different, but in a good way, and she was different too. Everything with him felt better than it had when they'd spent that night together three years ago, it felt ...

"No," Marinette was assertive with her voice, sure that what she was about to say was the right thing, "and I'm going to make sure nobody else does either."