After raiding the snack table and making the most of the free bar, Marinette had waited while Adrien had tracked down the sign-up sheet for the quiz and entered them in it. Unfortunately, they couldn't work as a pair, but they had found a lovely duo of cosplayers to team up with to make a team of four.

Adrien and Marinette sat with an elderly couple at a table towards the back of the hall. Rita and Clive had travelled over from Wales to celebrate Will's life. Apparently, they had met him at a Miraculous 'over 70s' party 3 years ago. Their commitment to the heroes had to be applauded.

Rita was currently wearing a tight-fitting, spandex Ryukko outfit, while Clive sported a cheap imitation copy of Argos. Where the hero in her was impressed by their attempt, the designer in her wanted to rip the damn things off and make them look more authentic — maybe she could grab their addresses and make them a little treat.

"Question number 16. What is the rumoured name of the original mouse hero who helped defeat Kwamibuster?"

Rita began bouncing in her chair, and Marinette worried she was about to put out one of her major joints.

As always, her partner was completely on her wavelength. "Woah! If she doesn't calm down, she's going to end up in hospital for a hip replacement."

Chat Noir wandered around the table, looking at their answers and tutting. Of course no one would get this right. Only she and Chat Noir would know the answer.

"Janet told me about this," Rita started, looking at the two younger attendees on the table. "It was something like Morty... no wait, Mindy... Mo, that wasn't it —"

"Minnie?" Both Adrien and Chat Noir said, their timing impeccable.

Marinette was exasperated. Not only was she dealing with Adrien unknowingly calling her a "spotty goddess," but it seemed like Chat Noir and Adrien had merged into one person, blurting out the same absurd answers to the quiz questions. To add to her frustration, Marinette was certain that Chat Noir knew the answers—they were, after all, about him.

"Multi." Marinette sighed, rubbing her head rather aggressively. And if Adrien and Chat Noir continued to come up with these idiotic answers, she was sure she'd be standing up and turning over the table.

Chat Noir had been quite vocal during quiz night and she was just about ready to scream.

"Multi?" Adrien asked quizzically. His eyebrows turned in. He looked at her as though she was speaking a different language. "As in..."

"Multimouse. The original mouse hero was called Multimouse."

Adrien rested an elbow on the table, his cheek firmly pressed into his fist. "You sound certain about that."

As much as Marinette would have liked to keep her attention on Adrien, she realised she'd just let Chat Noir into quite the secret.

"Oh my goodness! I knew you looked familiar! That was you!" Chat Noir began to bounce around, his fingers pointing at her as he continued to call her out.

"I — um — I..." Everyone at the table was sitting expectantly, waiting for her to come up with some sort of crazy reason for how she knew the name of this unknown hero. Her mind raced as she attempted to grab hold of a believable excuse for knowing such a random fact. "I - I -"

Come on, brain! Work!

She looked at Chat Noir, hoping he could come up with some crazy yet amazing explanation. However, the most helpful thing he did was whisper into Adrien's ear. What the hell was he doing now?

"You'd look cute with little mouse buns." Adrien's eyes were glazed over as he spoke, his trance-like state courtesy of the actions of her partner.

"Thanks," Marinette said through gritted teeth. Her eyes followed Chat Noir as he laughed and headed over to where Wayhem was sitting.

"Sorry," Adrien said, shaking his head. "I didn't mean... Well, I do...I think..."

"She is cute!" Clive suddenly shouted, Rita messing with her ear and obviously turning down the volume of her hearing aid.

"Who's a mute?" Rita barked out, Marinette placing a hand over her mouth to stifle a laugh. Well, this was unexpected - but it kept the attention from how she knew about Multimouse. Her Chaton was amazing!

Clive and Rita's continued analysis of her cuteness played to her favour, giving her a chance to consider how and why she knew the name of her own transformation. She'd been making up lies for years, why was she suddenly struggling?

"Anyway," Marinette interrupted, "I know the owner of the Ladyblog, she's my best friend, so we have a lot of conversations about the heroes."

"Your best friend is Alya Césaire?" Adrien asked, his interest spiking once again.

"Yeah. Since collège."

"I hope you can introduce me sometime."

Marinette chuckled. "Don't get too excited. You met her boyfriend last night. Nino."

Adrien suddenly sat up, his hands waving in front of him. "No, no! I didn't mean like that — I meant — I just admire her." Marinette raised an eyebrow. "As a reporter, that's all! I swear! And I'd like to know more about the heroes."

"He's lying, M'Lady." Chat Noir stood beside her in his defence stance. Even as a spirit, he gave her his undivided attention.

"Now it's time for a little break before continuing with this afternoon's' Miraculous' event." The comparer turned around to press a button on his tablet. The soundtrack from the Miraculous Awakening movie played from the speakers and caused Marinette's cheeks to heat up. Out of all the Miraculous-based media, the Awakening movie was by far her favourite (...even if they got her civilian character completely wrong!). The music was exquisite.

And yes, she had made Tikki sing 'You Are Ladybug' to her multiple times.

"I'm going to find Peony," Rita said, standing up and brushing herself down. "She promised me a Royal Ryuko drawing. I wanted her in knight's armour defeating a dragon. Very retro, and only Peony could meet my standards."

Marinette swallowed down a giggle — retro indeed.

Clive stood up with a rather sickening crack. "I'll come with you. I hear there's some other fan artists around here, and I have a couple of pieces to be signed."

As Clive and Rita were absorbed into the sea of spandex and fake hair, Marinette couldn't help but let out the laugh she'd been trying to hold in.

"I thought I was quite the fan, but these two make me look like an amateur." Adrien downed the remainder of his drink, a smile framing the side of the glass.

"Stalker, more like," Chat Noir said, folding his arms as he squared off against Adrien once again. She couldn't help but feel certain that Chat was starting to like Adrien, despite his determined efforts to deny it—actions and all. Her eyes must have conveyed her disapproval because he promptly seized the chance to make a swift exit.

As Adrien started talking to her about which hero was the best and why, she couldn't help but switch off and concentrate on her partner instead. He was edging around a nearby table, looking as suspicious as an old man with an eyepatch and a dragon tattoo.

"Marinette?" Adrien placed his hand on her arm, which caused her soul to leave her body. She jumped, kneeling the table and knocking over the glasses – Rita's, unfortunately, being brand new.

"Shit!" Marinette squealed, grabbing hold of a napkin and dabbing over the spill. Thank goodness the tablecloth was designed to look like her yo-yo, the red drink blending effortlessly into the red material and black spots.

Adrien sprang from his own seat, checking over his jeans and top. "You clean that up. I'll go and get her another."

Marinette nodded in agreement. Adrien headed off in the direction of the drinks table, leaving her alone with her returning, smug partner while she cleaned up the mess she'd caused.

"I always wondered what you meant by 'madly clumsy', but I think I get it now. Marinette is a wibbly, wobbly, whittle lady."

She rolled her eyes as she continued cleaning. She'd give anything to slap the wet napkin around his face. "I don't try to be. These things just seem to happen."

"Not when you're Ladybug, they don't."

"This is what I was telling you. I am Marinette, not..." She looked around. "Ladybug!"

She grabbed a second napkin and removed the glass so she could wipe underneath, noticing the splash had reached Adrien's frosting from his cake. She was quite sure he was saving it! It was the best part, after all.

A glass landed in front of her. "Here you go!"

She looked at the colour of the drink, before comparing it to the colour soaked up in the white napkin. "Adrien. The colours are different."

Standing straight, she turned to look at him, his eyebrows frowning as he studied the drink on the table.

"Epic fail!" Chat Noir announced, walking around beside him, obviously wanting a closer look.

Marinette watched as the two guys tilted their heads in tandem, from one side to the other. Apart from the added pointy ears and the mask, they could have almost been clones.

"It looks the same to me," Adrien said. "I think it might just be the colouring from the tablecloth making it look darker."

Marinette looked at it again, this time lifting the glass from the table and comparing the colour to the napkin. Nope, definitely not the same colour — even with an added dash of red.

"She's as blind as a bat, M'Lady, don't worry about it."

"The quiz will continue in 5 minutes. Please take your seats."

Sheer panic took over as Marinette quickly placed the glass back down and discarded the napkins, Adrien scurrying around to get back into his chair and grab the pen and paper.

"It got your frosting too, I'm afraid," Marinette said, scanning the area for their teammates.

Adrien shrugged, scanning the area along with her. "I never eat the frosting, so don't worry about it."

"You don't eat the frosting? What the hell is wrong with you?" She giggled.

"The more time I'm spending with you, the more I'm asking myself the same question." They looked at each other and started to laugh.

Rita made it back first, with her artwork in her hand. She placed it down, Marinette wincing as it almost landed on the wet patch, and reached for her drink. She seemed to enjoy the taste a little too much, downing half of it in a matter of seconds.

"That's some good juice!" Rita exclaimed, placing the glass back on the table.

"What is it?" Marinette questioned, looking between Rita and Adrien.

Rita grinned. "It's a mocktail! I've never had one before. It's one of those special no alcohol drinks. I didn't know they could taste this good." She grabbed the glass and drank a little more.

Adrien tensed. "N-no alcohol?"

He sounded horrified, and Marinette wasn't sure whether it was the lack of alcohol, or the fact that maybe the colour was different because the drink was different.

Oh, crap!

"Can you not drink alcohol, Rita?" Marinette asked, her hands gripping together on the table as she waited for the answer.

"Gosh, dear, no! One glass and I'll be more entertaining than the Moulin Rouge. It doesn't mix well with my medication, you see, darling, but it's so wonderful they have interesting drinks like these. I'll have to go and get one for Clive too."

Marinette turned to look at Adrien and she swore he was paler than her, his golden, glowing skin looking as matte as possible. He'd suddenly become a perfect match to his statue in the Grevin museum.

She continued to stare at him, his head slowly turning to look at her with his eyes wide and an apologetic smile on his face. If she needed any confirmation that the mocktail was, in fact, a cocktail, Adrien's guilty eyes and panic-stricken expression most certainly gave it away.

Oh, merde!

"Next question." The comparer's voice interrupted their guilty stare-off. "Which Akuma occurred after the unveiling of the hero statue?"

"Easy," Adrien announced to the table, taking the paper and pen and filling in the blank line. "Copycat - and boy, did that guy have some issues."

Chat Noir's eyebrows almost reached the moon as his eyes burned into Adrien. "How the hell does he know that? M'Lady, I know you like the pretty face but there's something suspicious about him. He knows way too much. He's either a stalker, or worse, he was Hawk Moth."

"He would have only been 14," she said, looking directly at her partner.

"What, Theo?" Adrien said, continuing to write. "No, he was 20 or 21 at the time, I believe."

"See! He knows too much!"

As much as she would have liked to deny it, Adrien did have a lot of knowledge about the heroes. But if he was a fan (like he said he was) then he would know this stuff. It was all out there on the internet to be found.

"Question him, Marinette! How does he know all this?" For the first time since his appearance in her apartment, Chat Noir sounded panicked, really, really panicked. Even when Luka had fallen head first through his body, Chat Noir had not responded in this depth.

"Excuse me one moment." She dramatically looked at her watch before standing. "I'm just getting a call." Adrien stood alongside Marinette, offering himself as the perfect gentleman before she left the room.

Entering the women's toilets, she checked the cubicles were empty before turning on her partner.

"What now?"

"He knows too much!"

"Everything he's mentioned is freely available on the Ladyblog, Chaton."

Chat Noir aggressively shook his head. "It's not the answers, Marinette, it's the extra tidbits he's adding in. Like Copycat - how did he know about Theo's issues? And about the questions asked at the Louvre during the Pharaoh attack? It just seems a little too much, even for a fan of the Ladyblog."

Marinette thought for a moment before looking at the door. "So, are you saying you think he holds the butterfly or something?"

"I don't know." Chat Noir sighed, perching himself up on the sink. "I just don't think he's what he says he is."

"What do you suggest, then?" She leaned back against the sinks next to him, looking at her partner as he began to think.

"Maybe I should follow —"

"No!"

"No?"

"No! You're not following him, Kitty."

"Why not?" he exploded. "You could be in danger, and it's my job to protect you. What if he knows who you are and is using this weird situationship you two have to get closer to you?"

"I think you're being slightly dramatic —"

"I'm not!"

Marinette sighed and turned to face the mirror. She could see where Chat Noir was coming from - but this was Adrien Agreste! He'd been nothing but sweet, and caring, and there.

"Let me handle it," she said to herself in the mirror.

"But Bugaboo —"

She held up a hand, stopping him from saying anything else. "I appreciate your concern, but please, let me work this one out on my own."

Her mind was abuzz with thoughts, none of them certain and none of them set, and when she made it back to the hall, the next question — or should she say, answer — completely threw her off guard.

"I don't know what makes you think that, son, but there has only ever been one fox hero — and a villain."

Adrien laughed, taking a long swing of his ice water. "That's what people believe. Technically, there were two fox heroes. One was just more seen than the other."

A piece of information which didn't sit right and a piece of information he most certainly shouldn't know.

"And then I said, 'Why would I want Viperion panties? There's only room for one stud in my underwear and that position goes to Chat Noir.'"

"Poor Clive," Chat Noir said before suddenly realising the implications of Rita's words.

The drink had taken its effect on her, the older lady not holding back when it came to discussing her favourite heroes or the underwear she had themed to them. Marinette wasn't sure who was more embarrassed by the Chat Noir themed babydoll, Adrien or the man himself. It was the quietest Chat Noir had been in two weeks.

Clive suddenly gasped as he looked at his watch, turning straight to Rita and showing her the portable sundial he called a watch, sitting on his wrist.

Rita gasped dramatically at Clive, causing Clive to gasp again.

"We need to go home, mon Cherie, or we'll miss the next episode of The Ones Who Live."

Clive pushed his chair back aggressively, causing it to topple over in the process. They must have been quite the fans of Rick Grimes if they needed to escape this quickly.

Rita stood from her chair, toppling forward and onto the table, almost rolling onto Adrien's lap as she attempted to straighten herself up.

"Oh dear, I seem to be a bit woozy. It must be from sitting too close to this stud muffin for too long. You're enchanting." She reached a hand out and patted his cheek, Marinette covering the laugh with a cough as Adrien froze in his seat.

His face was looking like a beetroot and she was very tempted to reach for her phone to take a picture. That was, until Rita set her sights on her.

"And you," she said, pointing a shaky finger in Marinette's direction. "You're making him the happiest man alive. I can tell by the way he looks at you. Probably helps you're both very well-kept. I bet you can't stop when you're alone, if you get what I mean." She attempted to wink, setting herself off balance and causing her to stumble two places forward and fifteen back.

Marinette tried to keep her main focus on the drunk lady in front, yet her eyes were dying to flick towards Adrien. To send him an apology and a clear statement that it was the alcohol talking.

"She does, Rita," Adrien said. He stood up and placed a supportive arm around the small lady, leading her towards the doorway. "Now let's make sure you and Clive get home safely."

Marinette watched him lead the woman who was half his size out of the room, and she could just imagine what he was like with his own Gammy. He really was the sweetest human being she'd ever met, which was saying a lot when she was comparing him to how incredibly sweet and attentive Chat Noir could be.

Clive stumbled around the table, Marinette offering her own arm out to the man and leading him out behind his wife. Chat Noir followed.

"You're looking at him weird," Chat Noir said.

She rummaged around in her bag before pulling out her phone. "Sorry," she said lightly to Clive, "just getting another call."

"Oh, you are a popular young lady," he said with a grin.

She turned to look at her partner. "How...lo?"

"Your eyes. Something happens with your eyes."

Then something did happen, because she rolled them.

Did Chat Noir not understand that she was looking at Adrien strange due to the fact that he'd gotten two elderly people drunk before escorting one out and saying that she — Marinette Dupain-Cheng — was making him the happiest guy in the world?

"It's called thinking." She tapped her phone and slipped it back into her bag, ignoring Chat Noir's protests as she continued to walk Clive out the building.

Speeding up, Chat came into step with her. "I'm not leaving your side! I don't trust this guy. Adrien knows something he shouldn't."

"What are you going to do? Shout loudly in his ear?"

"I don't think that would be a good idea, sweetheart. I don't think people like being shouted at." She looked to the side and noticed Clive frowning at her. "You don't shout in people's ears."

Her cheeks warmed with embarrassment. She should have kept her phone out for just a little longer.

They stopped beside Adrien and Rita, Rita getting herself rather well acquainted with Adrien's biceps. "I bet your girl likes these." She turned her attention to Marinette. "Don't you, Love?"

Marinette's face flushed a deeper red from the implication. "Oh, um, yeah, they're very firm and strong."

"I bet they are." Rita chuckled.

"They drove here," Adrien whispered to Marinette. "I'm going to drive them back. I think even without the added alcohol, neither should be behind the wheel."

Marinette agreed. She was surprised neither of them could see over the steering wheel, let alone touch the clutch. "That sounds like a good idea. What about insurance?"

Adrien grinned. "I have European car insurance, it's fine as long as I'm not going on a European tour -and believe me, in the car they drive, I'll be lucky to get them back."

He held up the keys before pointing to an old banger in the car park. A gold 1991 Peugeot 205.

"Want to come with?" he asked.

She caught Chat Noir shaking his head and doing a rather dramatic cutting action across his throat. "Oh, um, no, sorry! I need to get home and do some work on commissions."

"No worries," Adrien said, aloof. "I suppose I'll see you when I'm home from London, then?"

"Sure."

He leaned forward, taking her into a quick one-armed hug as he continued to support Rita with the other arm. He pulled away, his nose remaining inches from Marinette's. "Catch you later, Sweet Thang."

"Sure thing, Hot Stuff."

They separated with smiles, Adrien supporting Clive on one arm and Rita on the other, and Chat Noir making sick noises behind Marinette.

A few days without Adrien? Her heart was telling her she couldn't do it, but her head was firmly in charge. She'd only known Adrien for two weeks. There was no way she would miss him that much.

It just wasn't possible.