Marinette arrived to school as usual, forgetting, at first, that she and Adrien had kissed. When he saw her enter the class, he greeted her with a "Bonjour, mademoiselle," and Marinette suddenly blushed deeply and remembered that this was Chat Noir she was talking to.
Chloe strolled over to Adrien with a smirk, accompanied by Sabrina. "Oh, Adrien, I forgot to ask you if you would come to my super-exclusive party tonight." She curled her hair around her finger. "It's like, super exclusive." Sabrina nodded dutifully.
"Ehh..." Adrien hesitated. He hated making plans, because he never knew when he needed to transform into Chat Noir. (Unless he was with Marinette, of course; that was a different story.) And he didn't want to spend a night with only a few people besides Chloe. He struggled for an excuse.
"I, um... have fencing tonight. So, um... sorry, I can't."
"But, Adrien..." Chloe pouted. "For me?"
"Sorry, Chloe. I'm, uh... really behind... and... stuff."
Chloe scoffed and turned around on her heel. "Fine! See if I care." She and Sabrina returned to their seats.
Marinette remembered that Adrien didn't have fencing on Tuesday nights. He lied to Chloe! She suddenly felt very happy.
"Okay, class. Please turn to page 361," the teacher ordered. "Remember to take notes as we read."
The classes blurred by, one by one, until some random citygoer was Akumatized during lunch. Marinette and Adrien shared a glance, then dashed off to the roof together. Alya's eyes followed them, noticing their strange behavior. What could that possibly mean?
The duo returned an hour later, having skipped Physics. The rest of the day was mostly uneventful, except for the outburst in one class when Rose accidentally spilled bleach onto Juleka's clothing.
Adrien approached Marinette after school briefly while Marinette packed up her things. "Allo, princesse. Would you care to join me afterwards at my house for a quick chat?" he quipped. "I want to ask you something."
Chloe overheard him. "WHAT?" she shrieked, stomping over to him. "Adrien, didn't you say you were busy?"
"I was! Um, fencing practice was... cancelled."
"Ah, parfait! Why didn't you say so? You can attend the super-exclusive party tonight!" Chloe assumed, leaning against him.
"Uh, about that..."
"Sorry, Marinette," Chloe continued, clearly not sorry. "Adrien's coming with me." She attempted to link her arm around his, but he shied away from her slightly.
"Actually, Chloe..."
"What?" she snapped, turning to Adrien.
"I'm not coming to the super-exclusive party."
"What? But Adrien, you don't have fencing, do you?"
"Well, no..."
"So what's holding you back?"
"Um..."
"We have plans," Marinette interrupted hastily. Adrien flashed her a grateful expression.
"You're not seriously blowing me off for Marinette, are you?" Chloe asked in disbelief, curling her lip.
"Yes, I am! Because Marinette and I are-"
Marinette opened her eyes wide in fear. Don't say Ladybug and Chat Noir. Don't say it!
"Are what?"
"Are, um... dating," Adrien said quickly.
A collective gasp arose between Chloe, Sabrina, Alya, Nino, and Marinette.
"What?!" Chloe exclaimed. "You're not serious, are you?"
Marinette was thinking the same thing. Dating? She certainly wasn't going to complain, but they'd never said anything about it, had they? Maybe that was what Adrien had wanted to discuss.
He gave her a pleading look, like Just go with it.
"Uh, yes, he's serious!" Marinette jumped in. "We, uh, have stuff to do today. Because fencing was cancelled."
"Oh really? And how long have you been dating?" Chloe challenged.
"Uh... since... yesterday," Adrien improvised. Marinette nodded, perhaps a little too vigorously.
"That's unbelievable!" Chloe whined. "Why her, of all people?"
All Adrien could think of was because she's Ladybug. It took him a few moments to respond properly. "Because I said so," he replied firmly. He normally didn't say such things; he was always supposed to be the quiet, obedient Adrien his father expected of him. But Chloe was pushing the limits, and he just wanted to get some one-on-one time with Marinette. And now, since everyone thought they were dating, there was even more to discuss.
He offered his hand to Marinette, who took it after a moment's pause. Everyone watching gaped. They walked to the doors of the school together, hand in hand.
"Adrien?" Marinette tried with uncertainty. "What was that? Why did you say we were..."
"Can you tell your parents you're not going home straight away?" Adrien asked, clearly not listening, and also clearly bothered by something.
"Sure, I guess," Marinette said with uncertainty. Why was Adrien acting this way?
He saw her confused look and added, "Oh, sorry. I just... Chloe was really acting..." Adrien searched for the right word. "Insupportable."
Marinette nodded slowly, eyes wide. "Okay..."
"Listen, Ladybug..."
"Adrien, what if someone hears you?" Marinette glanced around.
"Right, sorry. Anyway, I can explain myself better once we're at my house. I think."
"I'm going to your house?" Marinette gasped.
"Did I forget to mention that? Is that all right?"
"Yes, I suppose," Marinette said, unsure.
"The Gorilla should be here soon," Adrien said, looking around.
"The Gorilla?"
"The driver," Adrien specified. "Oh, there he is."
When they arrived at Adrien's room, he sighed and collapsed into his chair at his desk. "Ugh, sorry about that. I just wanted to ask you..."
"Adrien, we can't refer to each other as our superhero personas when we're in public," Marinette chastised.
"I know, I know! But I just like knowing that it's Ladybug I'm talking to." He smiled that devilish grin that often graced the face of Chat Noir.
Marinette rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.
"Anyway, I just wanted to check in about... the thing."
Tikki and Plagg peeked out of their bags in curiosity.
"What thing?"
"I just- I'm really grateful that you played along with me when I was defending myself from Chloe. I mean, I never know when Papillon will Akumatize someone, so I didn't want to spend a night with only Chloe and a few other people. I'd have no explanation if I have to leave. That was why I was acting that way. You know how Chloe gets." Adrien rubbed his head.
Marinette nodded. She certainly did.
"But, uh, I've been thinking... is it really such a crazy idea?" Adrien asked bashfully. "To, you know, date. I've always wanted to know Ladybug better, and..."
"Adrien, I'm not so sure that's a good idea. If it doesn't work out, won't that make it hard to be an efficient superhero duo?"
"That's what I said!" Plagg chimed.
"But if it does, we'll be twice as strong! And I can kiss you anytime I want!" Adrien insisted, before immediately covering his mouth.
Marinette blushed. "There is that..."
This was another one of those moments where Marinette could really see the Chat Noir side of Adrien. Adrien would probably never say that if Marinette didn't know his identity.
"So?" Adrien eagerly awaited her response.
"Well, okay," Marinette ceded. "It does make sense, especially since everyone else already thinks we're together."
"Yes!" Adrien jumped up. "I finally got Ladybug!" He stepped right in front of Marinette. "You're my little ladybug, at last!"
"Don't get carried away, minou. We still have a responsibility to save Paris," she reminded.
"Yes, I know," Adrien agreed dreamily. Then he perked up upon hearing a ring. "Oh, that's Nathalie." He accepted the call.
"Monsieur, Adrien, I-" Nathalie noticed Marinette. "Who is the girl? You know your father doesn't like you having guests, Adrien."
"Yes, yes, I know," Adrien sighed. "Just this once?"
Nathalie pursed her lips. "I'll speak with your father." She disconnected.
"Wow, imagine not being able to have friends over," Marinette marveled. "Er, I mean-" She realized the insensitivity of her comment. "I should probably go."
"No!" Adrien cried. "Y-you should stay a little longer. Please. I can convince my father..." He slumped. "Ah, you're right. My dad is super-strict. Maybe you should go."
Marinette nodded, slightly disheartened, and left his room.
After she shut the door, Adrien groaned. "Agh! Does my dad have to ruin everything?!" He sat down in his chair again. "I might even have kissed her again..."
Plagg flew out of his bag. "Oh, you'll see her again, Monsieur. And maybe it was about time she left. You've still got to do your homework."
Plagg was right. Adrien exhaled and reached for his bag.
"Tikki, transforme moi!" Marinette said, behind the Agreste Mansion. Ladybug reached for her yo-yo and swung away. She landed on the roof of her house and detransformed.
"Oh, my gosh, Tikki! It's a dream come true!" Marinette squealed. "Adrien's my boyfriend!"
"Yes, but be careful, Marinette," Tikki warned. "Remember the consequences if you break up."
"Yes, I know," Marinette assured Tikki. "I- oh?" She picked up her phone, which was buzzing with a call from Alya.
"Why didn't you tell me?!" Alya wanted to know. "You and Adrien are dating?! I mean, I figured something was going on, but-"
"Yeah, I know! I forgot to tell you, isn't it great?"
"You 'forgot' to tell me that you're dating Adrien himself?" Alya queried in disbelief. "Sorry, Marinette, I can't imagine you forgetting that!"
"Well, um..." Marinette searched for an excuse. "I, uh... Well, you waited to tell me about you and Nino!"
Alya laughed. "Okay, fair enough."
Marinette happily talked with Alya for hours until her phone battery ran out, when she finally had to do her homework.