Megan was taken to the King who declared that she was innocent, though whoever had possessed her was certainly not.

Ladybug managed to untie Adrien and make sure he was okay before he was swept away by the guards to get him to the hospital wing.

"Who are you?" He had asked her.

"I'm Ladybug." Ladybug replied.

"No, who are you really?"

But that was all they had time for, as Adrien was swamped by guards and Ladybug by reporters.

"Your battle was incredible!" A woman said, shoving a microphone in Ladybug's face. "Are you the new protector of the Agreste Palace?"

"I guess so." Ladybug shrugged. "Though Chat Noir is still in town."

"Where is Chat today?"

"I have no idea."

"You handled it pretty well for a newbie. Tell us what your name is?"

"Call me Ladybug."

Ladybug heard her earrings beep, signalling she was about to detransform, so she turned and ran out of the library, finding a bathroom to dive into just in the nick of time.

Marinette collapsed onto the ground. "Uh." She groaned, pulling herself up and stumbling out of the door. Her legs felt like bags of sand. She could barely walk, and when she finally made it back to her room, she fell onto her bed and closed her eyes, falling into the world of dreams.

•••

"Miss?" A voice said, gently shaking Marinette's sleeping form. "Wake up, Lady Marinette. Someone wants to see you."

Marinette groggily sat up. She jumped out of bed and rubber her eyes. "How long have I been asleep for?" She yawned.

"All through dinner." Jackie replied. Marinette could see Ann and Luna sitting at the desk sewing up a dress.

"WHAT?"

"We didn't want to wake you, miss. You've been asleep ever since the attack."

"Oh." Marinette quickly stretched. "Well who's at the door?"

"See for yourself."

Marinette went over to the door. She opened it and was immediately met with grass green eyes.

"A - Adrien!" Marinette exclaimed. She was suddenly self-conscious at the fact that her hair must've been a rat's nest and her dress was crumpled.

"Hello Mari." Adrien smiled at her. "I saw thatz you missed dinner and came to check on you."

"Oh, um, uh, I sleeping was just I - I mean, just sleeping." Marinette said.

"Well since you missed dinner I was wondering if you would join me to have some dessert?"

Marinette's heart pounded. "Uh - of course! I'd love to!" She scratched the back of her neck awkwardly. "Actually, could you - um, come back in five minutes? I uh, need to freshen up."

Adrien smiled at her again. "Sure! See you in a few minutes, m'lady." He winked and turned to walk back down the corridor.

Marinette shut the door and turned back to her maids. Ann squealed. Jackie and Luna exchanged glances.

"Luna, you do the hair. Ann, makeup. I have the perfect dress for her!" Jackie said.

The next few minutes were a blur. Marinette was pushed into a chair as her maids transformed her. Ann brushed her face with powder and Luna pinned Marinette's hair up. Once they were satisfied with their work, Marinette shed her crumpled day dress and slipped on the red and black dress Jackie had chosen. It looked formal, but not ballgown formal, more like casual formal. It had black heels to go with it and a red headband as well.

Just as she was finished getting ready, there was another knock at the door. Marinette steeled her nerves as she stood up and crossed the room to the door.

Prince Adrien linked his arm through hers. "Shall we, m'lady?"

"We shall, m'lord."

The two walked down countless hallways until they reached a staircase which lead down to what appeared to be a basement.

"Where are we going?" Marinette asked.

"To the kitchens." Adrien explained. "I uh, heard that your parents are bakers so I thought we could make our own cakes."

Marinette smiled at him. "What a great idea!"

Relief flooded across Adrien's face.

Marinette giggled. "Were you worried this date would be boring?"

Adrien shrugged, then grinned. "Yeah, something like that."

The two entered the kitchen. It was huge - much bigger than the bakery kitchen back down. Adrien had prepared a whole bench to themselves.

"This is where the palace food is created." Adrien said. As they pulled bowls, pots and pans out from the cupboards below the benches, he explained about how the kitchen worked.

"Most of the staff work overnight. They have to make sure that the food is the finest in France!"

"Wow." Marinette nodded along to his talk. "It certainly is the finest."

"So what are we making today, m'lady?" Adrien asked.

"How about..." Marinette stared around at the collection of ingredients laid out on the bench. "A cake?"

"I like your thinking."

For the next hour, Marinette helped Adrien bake a cake. She taught him how to mix the ingredients and then pour the batter into a cake tin - or two cake tins, as Marinette made one for herself.

The cakes had to cook for half an hour, so while they did that, the two chatted like old friends. Marinette found that it was easy to talk to him after a while - to just let the words flow out. She messed up a few times, but Adrien didn't seem to notice - or care, for that matter.

When the cakes were ready, they decorated them with icing and had a couple servants bring them to the gardens for them. The pair walked out into the night holding hands. Marinette felt relaxed and comfortable with him. They settled at a table by the pool - the water glistening under the moonlight.

"This is so good!" Adrien exclaimed, eyes widening. "You're a really good cook, Mari."

"Thanks Adrien." Marinette's cheeks went slightly red. "But I'm not as good as my parents. I - I mean, I'll never be able to follow in their footsteps. They -"

Marinette stopped talking when Adrien reached across the table and took her hand. "Hey, it's good. Don't worry about it."

Marinette looked down at her food. Adrien didn't let go of her hand throughout the rest of the meal. When they were done, they stood up and Adrien lead her away from the table. They went back inside, still holding hands.

All too soon, they arrived at Marinette's room. "Thank you, Adrien." Marinette said. "I had a lot of fun."

"Anytime, Mari." Adrien replied, staring into her eyes. "I'm looking forward to the next date."

"There's going to be another date? Marinette's eyes widened. "I - I mean, I'd like that Adrien."

Somewhere deep in her brain, a little voice was screaming: JUST KISS HIM ALREADY! Another voice was squealing.

But there was no kiss. Not yet. Somehow, Marinette figured that they were both waiting for the right moment.

•

I should really go back through this and edit/re-draft some of these chapters...

Eh. Can't be bothered.