Dance with Me, Chaton

Rose

They agreed on a schedule. As unbelievable as it was, but Plagg proposed it himself: a set schedule for lessons instead of whatever chaotic non-system they had now. His only condition was that the lessons had to be daily. Adrien proposed early mornings, so he could have his evenings free. Five in the morning satisfied them both. What Adrien had forgotten to count in was that he'd have to show up for a lesson the very next day which left him with little sleep that night again. Sleep-deprived for weeks, he hated to get out of his bed. He still did because Plagg was making an effort to be civil. Adrien had to upkeep his end of a deal.

The clock showed three minutes to five when Adrien shuffled into Plagg's studio. Upbeat music from the boombox quietly echoed through space as Plagg lounged on his throne, twirling a red rose in his hand. Too focused on it, he didn't even look up at Adrien when he entered the room.

"Morning," Adrien greeted.

Plagg spared him a glance, turning back to the rose. "Are you going to ask her out?"

Adrien put his bag on the floor, taking off his sweater. "Who? Marinette?"

"Unless you have someone else in mind."

"Nope. No one else," Adrien said, drinking from his water bottle. "And yes. I was thinking of that."

"When?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. Soon."

"Where are you going to take her?"

"Didn't think of that yet. Somewhere private for sure."

"Good. How are you going to ask her? You know, the way you go about it could make it or break it."

Adrien frowned. "Not sure. I haven't had a lot of time to think about that yet. I had barely enough time to sleep."

Plagg jumped from his throne and headed to Adrien, a smirk playing on his lips.

"Then it's your lucky day, kid. Thank the heavens. I'm willing to help you."

Adrien suppressed a chuckle. "I'm thankful, Plagg, bu—"

"As you should be," Plagg grinned, poking Adrien's chest with a finger. "I've known Mlle Ladybug ever since she was an angsty teenager. My wife is her best friend, so I know tons of stuff about her to help you navigate the thorny path of dating."

"With all due respect," Adrien replied, trying to suppress a smile. "I think I can manage that myself."

"Have you ever dated?"

Adrien shook his head. "Was kind of hard to meet anyone with my schedule."

"Do you know what Marinette likes?"

"Macarons?"

"Yes." Plagg rolled his eyes. "But apart from that? Other stuff like her favourite colour or a movie? Her dreams and her goals for the future? Her favourite game? Preferable time of the year? Stuff like that. Do you know any of that?"

"I know some stuff. The rest would be fun to find that out from her."

"Nonsense!" Plagg exclaimed, heading towards Adrien. "You've got me for that. I'll tell you everything there is about Marinette, so you can easily woo her. Free of charge. You're welcome."

"Plagg, no—"

"For example, our Little Lady has always dreamed of seeing you with a red rose in your teeth, looking at her seductively—"

"Plagg, stop!" Adrien covered his ears in a protest. "Why... How would you even know that?"

He grinned. "I saw doodles in her sketchbooks."