Adrien knocked on the door tentatively. He was 5 minutes early and he knew exactly how some girls were if you did such a thing, but he'd been so bored at home alone. It was quite amazing how living in an empty apartment could motivate your need to leave, so much so that he was ready to rock about an hour before he needed to be.

Moving his tie around slightly, he checked the apartment number for the tenth time, making sure his contacts weren't playing him up and blurring the 10 into an 18, before pulling his phone out again and checking the text message from Marinette. He was certain he was in the right place. So why was he so anxious?

Since he'd arrived back in Paris he was on edge, everything affecting him in the most pathetic and useless ways. As he walked down the street to get supplies for his cupboards, he was constantly looking over his shoulder just in case fans decided to chase him down the street. As he ate Nutella out of the jar, he couldn't help but panic that his father was going to storm in at any second and scold him for eating so disgustingly and carelessly. Worst of all, as he picked out his own outfit for a public appearance, he couldn't help the overwhelming desire to call Nathalie (which he did, but she didn't answer!).

His past was haunting him, and after a stern word from Plagg, he pushed it back where it belonged. It had been years since he'd graced these streets with his presence. Adrien Agreste was no longer known here, but the signs still lying around the city told him his alter ego was. Salt was being rubbed deeply into his wounds. Chat Noir was still everywhere. From billboards to tourist trap shops, to the sides of buses – the heroes were still big in Paris.

He looked down at his ring again, losing count of the number of times he'd tried to transform. It was futile. Whatever had happened had taken the magic out of his ring...unfortunately, it hadn't taken the cheese obsession out of Plagg.

Along with something else. Plagg had gone out on his search for Ladybug, only to have quite the awakening when neither she nor Tikki could see him – only Adrien. An added extra to the fear of what had actually happened that night in the theatre.

"I don't think she heard you knock," the kwami said, sticking his head out of Adrien's pocket.

Pushing him back down, Adrien stretched up to knock again. This time, though, his fist missed the wood, instead falling through the doorway and into the open as he came face-to-face with Marinette, narrowly missing punching her in the face.

"Good evening," he said, plastering on a smile. She looked different to when he saw her last time. He looked her over from head to toe but couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Had she grown? Had Botox? What the hell was different?

Comment on her hair, a voice said in his head. You're just standing there like a doofus.

"I like your hair. Is it shorter?"

He couldn't be positive, but he was almost certain his internal monologue was having quite the time insulting him. To be honest, he couldn't blame it, especially as he was now certain her hair was not, in fact, shorter... It was longer. A lot longer.

"Extensions, Dumbass!" Adrien suddenly called out, Marinette almost falling backwards from his outburst. "Sorry, just...insulting myself. I - um - I see you've had extensions!"

She tilted her head to look at him, almost as though she was waiting for him to speak again. He tried to come up with something that would make him sound less like an idiot. Instead, the silence was broken by her smile, his own answering in response.

She pinched a section of the extension and ran her fingers down it. "I have. Do they look okay? Dominic said they should last me the next couple of weeks. Then, as long as he can take photographs for his portfolio, I can get them refitted."

"They look great."

Oh, come on Ken! You can do better than that!

"Ken?" Adrien said.

"Ken?"

Adrien shook his head, making a mental note to maybe call his therapist. He was clearly hearing things which no one was saying, and unless Jiminy Cricket had decided to make a new home on his shoulder, he really needed to get more sleep or something. Maybe the Nutella from the jar wasn't his best idea.

Marinette suddenly laughed. "You're not a 'Ken', and you're definitely not Mr Darcy, heaven's no! I don't know why some idiot would call you that!" She said 'idiot' with so much venom he wondered if maybe she was the one who needed help.

"Oh, o-kay? Are you ready to go?"

The noise of a door opening in the hallway had Adrien stopping and looking to the side. A guy with a cool rocker hairstyle stepped out and Adrien felt entirely judged.

Douchebag!

Adrien almost fainted from the thought. It seemed to come from nowhere. Why would he think that about someone he didn't know?

"Sorry," Adrien said, unsure why he was apologising to a random guy in the hallway.

The guy frowned at him and moved forward, offering a hand to shake.

"Luka," Unknown Guy said. He looked slightly familiar, but Adrien couldn't place how or why. The guy seemed to be falling in and out of his memories as he tried to grasp the link, like some strange case of deja vu.

Wait until you hear this guy talk! It's like decoding a brass band.

"Chat!" Marinette shouted, making her way to the door, jacket around her shoulders, bag in hand and a scalding look on her face.

"Where?" Adrien said, looking around his feet only to collide heads with Luka, who was obviously doing the same thing.

"Sorry," the guys said at the same time, both holding their heads where they'd hit.

"Where did you see the cat, Marinette? Do you need me to chase it out of the building?" Luka looked worriedly at her, Adrien slightly perplexed by everything going on.

They both looked at Marinette, her cheeks taking on a rather strong glow of pink as they waited in anticipation of an answer.

She brought her hands in front of her and started playing with them, her fingers intertwining with each other and making her look a little like a mouse.

"Oh, it must have been a shadow. Silly me! Scared of my own shadow now... Great!"

Adrien watched as Marinette waved a hand sideways as though she was hitting said shadow...or a fly?

"Are you okay?" Adrien was glad Luka asked her that, as he wasn't overly sure if this girl had a tic or something he shouldn't bring to attention. Obviously, this guy was acquainted with her and knew her better, and he was noticing the abnormalities too.

"Yeah!" she squeaked out. "Yeah!" she said again with more control in her voice. "Sorry, it's just I thought I...saw a fly, and you know what they say about flies..."

Adrien licked his bottom lip. He wasn't sure if he was confused or nervous. "No, I...don't..."

"Oh, would you look at the time! We need to go!" Marinette said, closing the door behind her and heading towards the elevator.

Adrien was flummoxed. He just stood there as she headed down the corridor, unsure whether he should follow or talk to the guy who was still standing in the hallway.

He continued to watch Marinette as she stamped her foot and began talking to herself. Suddenly she giggled, looking back at Luka, who seemed to have taken quite the interest in him.

"Oh, um, nice to meet you, Luka! I'm Adrien." The sound of the elevator couldn't have arrived at a better moment. "So, we're going now!"

"You look familiar," Luka said, giving him another intrusive glare. Adrien felt more scrutinised than in previous Paris Fashion Weeks.

"I don't think we've ever met," Adrien replied, attempting to give Luka the same look.

"Maybe? Anyway, make sure you get her home safely."

Adrien nodded, a voice in his head coming in full volume again.

Yes, Dad!

Carefully turning around with a nervous laugh, Adrien headed to where Marinette was waiting. A burning feeling trailed down his neck as her neighbour continued to stare. For some reason, the arrival at the apartment had been intense and Adrien wanted to get out just so he could breathe again. What the hell was going on? Was this place haunted?

Adrien stepped into the lift and held the door for Marinette to follow in after. "Is he your neighbour?"

"He is! He's also one of my best friends."

Adrien made a quick note not to piss the guy off. Not if he wanted to survive to reach his 30s.

The doors closed, trapping them both inside and away from glaring eyes, allowing him to properly take in what Marinette was wearing. The beautiful dress clung to her to perfection, accenting all the right features.

"I love your dress, by the way. Is it something you made yourself?"

Her face beamed with pride, and he found himself smiling with her. "It most certainly is! I never thought I would get the chance to wear it. It was kind of a self-indulgent creation. I was just going to model it and get my friend to take some photos of me in it for my website. But, yeah...that hasn't happened."

"You have your own business then?" he asked.

Marinette stared, wide-eyed, before covering her face. "I shouldn't have said that! Please don't tell Mary! She'll fire me! I run an anonymous company, but it's in our contract we can only work for her."

Adrien chuckled. If it was up to him, he'd never tell Mary anything. He was gutted that the woman had to know his name, let alone anything else about him. "Your secret is safe with me. I promise."

The elevator slowed to a stop, the doors opening and allowing them to step out. Adrien once again held the doors back for Marinette to make her way out first.

Check out that ass!

Adrien blinked. What? He would never think that about a woman, but now he was... No! No! No! He couldn't stop looking at it. His eyes were glued.

Bringing a hand to his neck, he rubbed down hard before hitting the heel of his palm to the side of his head. It was as though Plagg had snuck in there or something. He looked down into his pocket, making sure the kwami was still seated snuggly, only to find him fast asleep.

"Adrien?" Marinette turned and looked over her shoulder, questioning him, and he almost fainted. Not only had he messed up noticing the change in hair and the dress at first look – he hadn't noticed her eyes. Her dark smoky eyes which Leonardo had done amazingly. She looked great! "Are - are you looking at my ass?"

Yes!

"Yes!" he said almost in a trance before shaking himself out of it. "I mean - no - no of course I'm not. I'm..." he coughed before marching forward and standing by her side. "Sorry, let's go!"

Adrien opened the door to allow Marinette out, before following and leading her to the car.

"Oh, it's you again. Hi! How are you?" Marinette greeted Gorilla, only to be welcomed with one of his grunts.

"He doesn't tend to talk, just makes noises. That was a happy noise though, so I take it he's saying he's fine and thank you."

"In that case..." Marinette grunted back and Adrien couldn't help but laugh. A guttural grunt escaped his drivers lips, loud and hard, and Adrien couldn't help but take the opportunity to grunt at his driver too.

They both slid into the backseat. Adrien handed Marinette a glass of prepared wine, his coping mechanism these days when it came to social events. He wouldn't have missed this for the world - Zoé was one of his best friends - but that didn't mean he wanted to be part of the show again.

"Thank you for inviting me," she said. "It's been a while since I've been 'out' out."

"'Out' out?" Adrien questioned.

Marinette laughed in response. "Yeah, like not just the normal out, but 'out' out, where I get to dress up and such."

Adrien smiled. "'Out' out. I like that."

They drove though the busy streets of Paris, Gorilla taking them down some back twisting routes to try and dodge the build-up of late night traffic.

Adrien looked over at the woman sitting next to him, feeling oddly at ease considering they'd only been to the theatre once and spoken a little via message. But he felt comfortable with her, not like he had to put on an act or be a specific way. He could just be himself, and for once in his life it was enough.

"So, what kind of movie is this? Will I know anyone in it?" she asked, twisting in her seat to face him.

"I think you will. The lead is Zoé Lee. She's a close friend of the family."

Marinette's smile dropped from her face instantly at the mention of the name. "Zoé...Lee? As in Chloé Bourgeois' sister?"

Adrien reached a hand to the back of his neck. "Um - would it help if I said no?"

Marinette brought her hands up to her face and hid herself behind them. "I can't be anywhere near Chloé Bourgeois," she moaned.

"Why? Does she have a restraining order against you?" The lack of corresponding laugh had his face dropping. "She has! Oh, that's not good!"

Marinette dropped her hands and aggressively shook her head side to side. "It's not that severe, but she hates me! And I don't mean the simple teenage bullying way, either. I mean the 'she's going to end my career' way. Take me home, please!"

She needs to man up a little! Don't let her go home. Tell her to face her fears!

"No!" Adrien announced.

"No?" Marinette said in shock. "Adrien, you don't understand what's about to happen!"

"You're with me, Marinette. She won't do anything, I promise. She'll be too busy trying to take the attention off Zoé to be worried about you. And, I don't want to make you feel bad, Chloé probably won't even remember you."

Not how I would have personally gone about it, but it'll do.

Marinette nibbled her bottom lip and studied the inside of the limo. He could see she was thinking, and he didn't want to say anything in case it made her retreat back into her shell. "Don't leave me! Promise!"

Adrien drew a cross over his chest whilst letting out a slight chuckle. "I promise!"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay!"

"Excellent," Adrien said as the car stopped. "Because we're here."

Gorilla moved around to open the door, allowing Adrien out first. He was right when he'd told her it was going to be a closed affair, with only a basic red carpet and an official photographer outside the venue.

Even though the evening was low-key, the dress code was not. Chloé had become Zoé's PR manager after she'd won her first blockbuster movie, and nothing Chloé did for her sister's growing fame could be considered 'small'. Adrien straightened his jacket and tie before holding a hand out for Marinette.

Her long, slim leg stepped out of the car at the same time she placed her hand delicately into his (he would ignore the shaking). A little bit of pressure helped her stand, the flash of a light going off, making it obvious Adrien was getting papped. She stood tall - well, as tall as she could in her heels - and straightened out her skirt with her spare hand.

"Smile, and we'll head straight in," Adrien said, threading her arm through his and walking forward.

"Just make sure I don't fall over. I embarrass myself enough as it is."

They walked forward down the carpet. Adrien waved to the photographer and headed straight into the foyer. The gathering was small but memorable, and Marinette appeared to be mimicking a guppy.

"Everyone is so beautiful here!" she said through the side of her mouth. Her spare hand brushed down her skirt once again, before combing through the lengths of her new longer hair.

"Don't let it intimidate you. They're just pretty thanks to make-up artists and Botox. Most don't have anything in their head... Chloé, hi!"

Adrien noticed Chloé walking towards them, her eyes scanning over Marinette and looking at her quizzically. Had she not realised who it was?

"Nice dress," Chloé said to Marinette before turning her attention back to him. "Adri-kins! How are you? I've missed you!"

Pushing Marinette out the way, Chloé flung her arms around Adrien's neck and pressed a hard, sticky kiss to each of his cheeks.

"Nice to see you too, Chloé."

"I've heard you're back for good. Is that true?"

Adrien smiled. Chloé was still as dramatic as always. "I don't know about for good, but I'm definitely back in Paris for the foreseeable future."

"Foreseeable future? Who talks like that? You've been spending far too much time with that obnoxious cousin of yours." She turned her attention back to Marinette. "And who are you?"

Fumbling around with her bag, Marinette tucked it under her arm before holding out her hand. "I'm Adrien's friend."

Chloé glanced her up and down and Adrien knew exactly what type of 'friend' Chloé was thinking Marinette was. "Adrien's friend? Sure!"

Lifting her nose to an unattractive height, Chloé walked herself around Marinette, skimming her body as if she was checking she was real. "Who made the dress?"

"I - I - made it myself." Marinette's eyes opened wide, her elbow jutting out to the side, making her tumble into the wall. "Sorry," she yelped. "I'm not used to these heels!"

Chloé looked at her, frowning, and Adrien was almost sure she was about to unleash one of her attacks when instead she started laughing. Really laughing.

"Tell me about it," she said. "These things are lethal! I swear they don't make them like they used to. I was getting changed this evening and almost ended up in the hot tub trying to balance."

Chloé laughed harder, Marinette joining in, though he wasn't entirely sure why.

"Lovely to see you, Adrien, and to meet you too." Chloé dropped them both air kisses before heading off in the opposite direction.

"That was –" Turning to Marinette, he froze. Was she speaking to herself again? Her arms were flying around. "Um – Marinette!"

"Yeah!" Her bag flew out of her hands, his own reaching straight out to catch it. "Great catch!" She smiled and gave him a wink, before snatching her purse back and tucking it underneath her armpit.

Adrien led her through the crowds, giving warm smiles to those he knew as they passed through, finally finding the star of the evening. As he approached Zoé, he realised he was alone. Stopping and turning back, he noticed Marinette staring at the star of the movie.

"Marinette," he called back. "Come and meet Zoé."

Marinette nodded, her mouth still slightly open and eyes blown, as she walked forward slowly and extremely carefully.

Offer her your arm, you idiot! Help her!

Stretching out, Adrien held his palm up, ready for Marinette to place her own on top and move in towards him. However, Marinette had another idea. Stumbling forwards, she almost took out the large cardboard cut out as she made a b-line for the movie star.

"H-h-hi!" she stuttered out, her hands clumped together in front of her body.

"Hello." Zoé laughed, looking from Marinette to Adrien and gaping at him. "Adrien?" she questioned, almost unable to believe that he was here.

"Surprise!" he chuckled.

"Adrien!" she said again, launching forward and wrapping her arms around him. He hugged her back tightly, lifting her off the ground before placing her back down. Her eyes shifted from him to Marinette. "You must be Chelsea. It's great to —"

"No!" they both said at the same time.

"This is Marinette. She's just a friend."

Zoé turned to Marinette, the girl still looking like she'd just seen a shooting star. Zoé stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Marinette. "It's lovely to meet you, Marinette. I hope you enjoy the movie."

Marinette stood frozen and Zoé moved away from them, focusing her attention back to Adrien.

"Will I see you at Fe's wedding?" he asked.

"Of course," she said. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Who would believe the day is almost here where someone is going to make an honest man out of your cousin!"

Adrien and Zoé both laughed before she reached out and grabbed his hand. "Both of you enjoy the movie. There's some popcorn over there you can help yourself to, and let me know what you think."

With one last smile at them both, Zoé walked away, finally leaving Adrien and Marinette alone.

Marinette squealed. "She hugged me. Zoé Lee hugged me!"

Adrien laughed. "I never had that reaction from you."

She turned to him, her eyes still wide. "That's because you're not Zoé fricking Lee."

"I am not! But I am Adrien fricking Agreste."

No need to be so big-headed, Ken!

An announcement came over the tannoy asking for all attending to move into the main theatre. Adrien ushered Marinette in amongst the well-dressed cattle and moved to seats (not in the back row) halfway down the theatre.

They moved across the row, sitting next to an older couple who Adrien recognised from some of his 'posh people parties'. Giving them a quick hello, Adrien waited for Marinette to sit down before taking his seat himself.

The theatre darkened, Adrien settling into his chair and wishing he'd got popcorn. He looked around and noticed quite a few people with a packet on their lap, his mouth involuntarily watering at the idea of a luscious sweet and buttery treat. As he turned to speak to Marinette about grabbing some, the pre credits scene began to roll.

A woman walks into a forest. She's looking around her. With fumbling hands she reaches into her back pocket to grab her phone, bringing it in front of her and tapping the screen. She has a full battery. She has bars of signal. She turns on the torch and continues to walk forward, her hands shaking even more as she tries to keep a tight grip. The sounds of deep harsh breathing coordinate with the tense music in the background.

"Adrien," Marinette hissed, her elbow jabbing into his ribs. "Adrien."

He turned to look at her, noticing how pale she'd suddenly gone. He leaned in towards her. "Are you okay?"

She shook her head and stared back at him, her eyes wide and almost bulging out of her head. "You never told me this was a horror movie."

"Well, it's more a thriller than horror..."

Her lower lip trembled. Oh, crap!

A scream sounded on the screen, and Marinette launched out of her seat, sending the older couple's popcorn flying onto the head of the person in front.

Grabbing her hand, Adrien apologised to the couple, promising them a new bag of popcorn, and dragged Marinette out into the foyer.

"I am so sorry! I knew I would mess this up." Marinette began to pace backwards and forwards before stopping and giving the evils to the space in front of her. She must be very, very annoyed.

Unsure whether she was going to scream or beat herself up, Adrien looked around the now abandoned foyer. It seemed everyone had gone in to watch the movie. Everyone bar them.

His eyes caught on something. "Come with me!" he said, signalling for Marinette to follow.

He led the way to the popcorn machine that was sitting abandoned in the corner of the room. Empty. He looked around, trying to find any type of plug, or kernels. It couldn't be that hard to make popcorn, could it? Locating a plug lying on the floor, he bent down and searched for where to plug it in.

"Do you know how to use one of these?" Marinette asked, coming to crouch near him.

"A plug? I've used one a couple of times." He turned his head to smirk at her, only for her to randomly shush him. Well, he thought it was aimed at him...but she seemed to be facing the opposite direction.

He spoke quieter as he continued. "A popcorn machine, however...never. But it can't be that hard, can it?"

Not wanting to jinx himself, Adrien crossed his fingers behind his back before pushing the plug into the socket. A little red flashing light appeared on the machine as it began to whirl into life.

"See!" he exclaimed. "Easy!" Now if he could just find the kernels.

Adrien moved forward and began his search, something in his head telling him to look under the machine, and not in the most pleasant of ways. He was obviously having some sort of internal confidence crisis.

Striking lucky, he grabbed the bag and began to throw tiny pieces of corn into the machine before his internal voice once again told him it would be better to have too much than too little, so he should empty the rest of the bag into the machine.

He felt Marinette's presence beside him as she looked over his shoulder. "Do you really think that's a good idea?"

He closed the door and turned to her, her lower lip catching between her teeth as she nibbled at it quite aggressively.

He shrugged. "I really don't know, but something's telling me I should."

Yeah, man!

"Yeah, I think sometimes we have to just tell that little voice in our heads to 'shut the hell up!'"

A little harsh there, Marinette!

He scratched his ear, a slight buzz unexpectedly inside it. "It'll be okay. It's just popcorn. What's the worst that could happen?"

A minute later, his question was most certainly answered as the kernels began to 'pop' into popcorn... A lot of popcorn. He took a step back, pulling Marinette by the arm with him.

Oh, no!

The popcorn was definitely popping...but he may have put too many kernels in! Damn that inner voice!

As the popcorn began to fire left, right and centre, vibrating the door in a bid to make a great escape, Adrien faked a yawn before looking down at Marinette. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm really tired. I think I might need to go home to bed. Jet lag, you know?"

Marinette continued looking at the popcorn, the machine close to breaking point. The small snappy pieces were on the verge of a prison break and Adrien couldn't help but pray that she would take the hint and leave with him.

"You know what?" She yawned, covering her mouth with both her hands. "That's a massive coincidence. I don't think I've recovered from my jet lag either!"

"That is such a coincidence. Let's head home." He looked down to Plagg, dropping him a wink. The small kwami escaped, hopefully getting the message to turn off the plug before the whole of Paris was covered in popcorn.

Grabbing Marinette's hand, they scurried out of the door and onto the street, looking more like they'd committed a bank heist than overloaded a popcorn machine.

Seeing them both evacuating the premises, Gorilla joined the getaway squad, swiftly opening the door for the two fugitives to jump in and make their great escape – both bursting into laughter as they finally left the movie theatre.

"I can't believe you thought it was a good idea to put that many kernels in the machine!" Marinette said, wiping under her eyes, her mascara making a merry escape towards her chin.

Adrien tried to calm his laughter. "Listen! You didn't have a better idea!"

"How do you know? You didn't ask!" They started laughing again, Gorilla chuckling from where he sat in the front of the car. "We didn't even stay to apologise for the mistake! They'll just see us on CCTV running away! Oh my God, we left the machine on!"

Marinette burst into another fit of giggles.

"Just remain ignorant and no one will ever know. We don't need to tell a soul! You too, Gorilla!" Adrien said, acknowledging the driver in front.

Gorilla nodded in understanding before grunting back at them.

"What did he say?" Marinette asked.

"Oh, just that you'll look great in jailbird orange."

She smacked him on the shoulder with her bag, causing him to laugh again. When had he last laughed this much?

"I'm sorry you had to leave early. You'll have to apologise to Zoé for my inability to sit through thriller movies."

"Don't worry about it. I'll just go and see it when it's released. No big. I'm sorry you've gone through all of this for no reason."

He watched her examine herself. "I'm not sorry. I think it was time for a change, so thank you."

"You're welcome." He smiled. "Damn! I can't believe I just vandalised a popcorn machine and a cinema. You're a bad influence, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

The car slowed to a halt in front of Marinette's apartment, Gorilla instantly heading out of the car, to open Marinette's door.

She exited first, Adrien sliding behind her and making his way out too. She turned around and stopped him before he could move anymore.

"You don't need to walk me upstairs. I'm fine from here." She smiled brightly at him, and for some reason he didn't want to argue back.

A voice in his head was telling him to allow her to do this. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, moving forward and giving Adrien a quick, careful hug. "Thank you for tonight. Will I see you in the office on Monday?"

"You will, and this time you're getting the coffee." Marinette laughed before moving towards the door. "Goodnight, Adrien."

"Goodnight, Marinette."

He watched her make her way in safely, before walking back to the car and climbing into the back seat. Tonight had been a lot more fun than he'd expected, and even though Marinette worked in fashion, she wasn't judgemental of him. She saw him for him, and for that he was grateful.

An alert sounded out from his phone, bringing his attention to the new message from his cousin.

WhatsApp chat with: Félix

Received Message: So, have you found a plus one for my wedding yet? 22:01

Adrien had one last look out the window before the car moved on. He was quite sure he had. He just needed to sweet talk her into agreeing.