It's an end of the school year party and Adrien personally invites Marinette, who totally can't believe it. It must be too good to be true. It's not until the party is almost over that something unexpected happens.

Author's note at the end. I do not own Miraculous or any of the characters.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Marinette stepped out of the party and into the cool air, walking towards the garden. It was getting a bit too suffocating inside. Not to mention that Chloe was back to her usual antics around Adrien. It made Marinette sick and totally not jealous.

As she walked, she spotted the small musical band outside, taking in their breath and talking amongst themselves. Apparently she wasn't the only one who thought it was too stuffy inside. But then again, the band was working a lot harder than most of the partygoers. She continued walking to the garden, lost in her thoughts.

Adrien's overprotective father had finally agreed to let his son have a party for the end of the year and the whole night with him is nearly squandered away because of Chloe?

Marinette groaned and continued to follow the pearl-white path towards the gardens, noticing that the moon was shining brightly tonight.

Well, she thought, at least Mr. Agreste did let the party happen.

His only request was that it be a formal party, no casual clothes whatsoever. (Nino was a bit horrified.) It also had to be held somewhere other than the house. A "professional party" if there were such a thing.

Gabriel Agreste had rented a medium-sized venue that was big enough for Adrien's class. It had enough room for a dance floor and tables full of food. It was very beautiful, with tall windows covering the walls on opposite ends. The doors were wood with white and very large as well. Outside, there was a path leading to the gardens, another to the fountains, and opposite was a path leading to the main street.

Lastly, since his child was the most perfect thing in the world for him, Nathalie and "The Gorilla" had to be on site, like always, making sure Adrien was safe. Though, Mr. Agreste had also added a few security members. Not that Marinette minded; she just wasn't used to more than one bodyguard. Anyway, if needed, she could probably take anything on by herself. Especially as Ladybug.

What really did bother her was the fact that Adrien hadn't really gone out of his way to talk to her the entire night. This wouldn't have been an issue had he not personally invited her to the party, even going so far as to ask her to wear a particular dress he had noticed her wearing one day. He said it complemented some new shoes he had bought. She nearly died right then and there from happiness. It was only Alya's quick talking that saved her. She had never been so grateful in her life for her best friend.

Then, there she was at the party, making small talk with others, waiting for Chloe to be done with Adrien so that he could be free to hang out with her. Earlier he had said he would come and talk to her sometime during the night. It was a "somewhat important topic" that he needed to discuss. That was a few hours ago. Marinette didn't want to intrude and seem impatient or rude by taking Adrien away from Chloe.

It was getting late and the odds of him coming to talk seemed slimmer and slimmer. While he was talking to Chloe most of the night, he didn't seem to notice Marinette at all.

She thought about going to hang out with Alya and Nino, but she hadn't wanted to bother them either, since they hadn't really been able to talk recently. Alya had missed a few weeks of school because of the flu which meant catching up on homework which meant having little to no time for Ladybug sightings and updating the Ladyblog.

Marinette hadn't had a lot of time talk with Alya either, though not having a best friend to talk to was somewhat remedied with Chat Noir's multiple appearances. He had said that he wanted to learn more about her, especially after the fight with the Evillustrator and how she helped him with no problem. She could be his "sidekick", he had said. Marinette chuckled. If only he knew. He had somehow become her second confidante when Alya was too sick, sleepy, or tired to talk.

Alya and Nino had also decided to hang out a bit more. So that was another thing Alya needed to make time for. She was trying to cram too many things in such a short amount of time and this party was a perfect way to spend time with Nino.

They deserve to have a bit of time together without me intruding, Marinette thought, as she watched Nino and Alya from the doorway, just before she left to go to the garden.

Now she was sitting on a small, forgotten swing next to a large tree, staring at the fireflies floating above her in the moonlight. Behind her, there were benches that surrounded the small garden. Even though there were dim lamps surrounding it, the fireflies and their light gave the garden a nice touch. Although, the moon's light made the lamps somewhat unnecessary. She looked around. It was such a nice night. It was light enough that the pathways seemed to glow.

Marinette opened her small bag and let Tikki have a fresh breath of air as well.

"Hi Tikki. Having fun?"

"Yeah, I think it's a good party so far! Especially since I haven't been to any in years!" Tikki replied with a laugh. Marinette smiled. "The moon is nice out tonight!"

"It really is," she sighed.

Marinette kept swinging slowly on the swing. After about ten minutes had passed, she sighed and took her phone out of her bag, looking at the time.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" Tikki asked, worried.

"It's almost midnight already, Tikki. I'm going to have to go home soon and Adrien hasn't talked to me yet. Do you think I should keep waiting?"

"I'm not sure. You did say he said it was important," Tikki replied.

"Yeah but apparently it's not important enough to ignore Chloe's flirting," she pouted.

"Well...it's up to you. Your parents told you to call if you were going to be late. So you do have a bit of time left!" Tikki said hopefully, "Remember I'm always here to-"

Tikki suddenly gasped and hid inside Marinette's bag.

She heard footsteps approaching and turned around. Adrien was finally making his way to her. It was at this moment in time that Marinette realized she hadn't thought this completely through. She thought Alya or someone would be nearby while they talked. She didn't think she'd be alone.

Her. Alone. With Adrien Agreste. At night in a beautiful garden. She never thought this would happen. Was she dreaming? This had to be a dream. Adrien was standing right in front of her.

"Hey Marinette," he said awkwardly. His left hand rubbed the back of his neck, "uhh...sorry I was busy. I mean, I couldn't talk. Chloe...welL, you know. It's just that I…" his words trailed off and he gave her a small apologetic smile.

Marinette laughed in her head. He was starting to sound like her whenever she was around him. She came to her senses and remembered what they were talking about. She became solemn.

"Don't worry, I get it."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I know you've known Chloe a lot longer than you've known me, so…it makes sense for you to want to talk to her more." Marinette shrugged halfheartedly.

"No! It's not that! It's not that at all!" he cried out in a panic, "Everyone got invites but I personally invited you. Not anyone else. To be honest I didn't invite Chloe. She just...showed up. Said her invite got lost in the mail," Adrien looked at her with pleading eyes.

Marinette blushed.

"OH! UH. WELL. I MEAN. When…w-what! I mean, I just assumed! You were only UHHH, only t-t-talking to C-Chloe this whole! This time! This whole time." She managed to blurt out.

"Yeah, I really am sorry about that," he said, with a guilty look on his face, "I'm pretty sure I messed everything up now."

Why oh why did he have to be a model? Marinette asked herself.

"W-what do you mean?"

"I...I just. I mean, I've never done this before. It's all new to me. Even more new than the concept of friends. Though it probably shouldn't be. But. I…I want…" He trailed off again. He seemed ready to explode. Suddenly his eyes widened and he looked over at the band with a large smile.

"Can you wait here, Marinette?"

She nodded slowly.

Adrien ran off and headed to the head band member. He was motioning towards the garden area. The band members all nodded and smiled. They all started walking back to where Marinette was. She was confused.

"Would you like a dance, miss?" Adrien asked with confidence in his eyes again.

Where is Alya.

Marinette nodded her head, not wanting to speak for fear of saying something incredibly stupid. She walked closer to Adrien and watched him snap his fingers. The band started playing a slow dance.

Marinette reached out with a trembling hand and Adrien took it without noticing. She nervously placed her other hand on his shoulder and he placed one of his hands on her waist. Marinette felt as if she caught on fire. It was at this point she had decided to not say anything at all, so as to not ruin the moment.

They slowly danced in the small garden. This was the closest they'd ever been. After a couple of minutes, Adrien spoke again.

"You actually wore the dress I asked you about."

Marinette nodded.

"It's really beautiful. It caught my eye as soon as you wore it. You...made it yourself, right?"

"Mhm."

"That's nice. I…I was wondering, if maybe…you'd like to go to one of my father's new clothes unveilings?" Adrien swallowed, "He said I could take a guest and since I know you love fashion and stuff I thought it'd be cool for you and I...I also really want to, uh?"

He seemed to hesitate with his next choice of words before taking in a deep breath and blurting out, "I want to reallybebetterfriendswithyou."

Marinette's eyes widened as he said that last part. Adrien Agreste had seemingly never been interested in her. She knew he regarded her as a friend but nothing like Nino. Yeah, Nino was his best friend but still. Chloe and Kim and Alya were Adrien's friends too but he interacted with them more than he did with Marinette. They seemed to only talk when needed. As Marinette thought about this, she unintentionally stopped dancing.

Maybe that's why he asked her to the unveiling? Because he really did want to be a true friend? Marinette felt her face nearly burn off. It was a wonder Adrien didn't notice. He did notice her not answering his question, though. He felt awkward.

"Um...Do you not want to?"

"NO! I mean yeah! Err, I mean, I d-do want to go. It sounds like f-f-fun!" Marinette internally kicked herself, "Sounds like a great time. I really do love fashion and designing things. And the feeling you get when you finally finish a design you made yourself? It's incredible."

Her eyes sparkled as she spoke. So full of passion. They were as bright as tonight's moon.

That's the Marinette I know, Adrien thought to himself. Well, the Marinette Chat Noir knows.

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief at her acceptance. He started dancing again, a happy smile on his face, with thoughts on how Marinette was so different around him and Chat Noir. She was so sarcastic and witty around Chat. Around Adrien, she could barely say a word. If anyone asked him, he would say he preferred the way she acted around Chat. It was refreshing. No one else acted that way around Adrien. They all seemed to treat him in a way where they wouldn't offend him. Except Nino and Alya, but Nino was his best friend and Alya was just Alya.

Of course it was obvious that they would treat Chat Noir different, but Adrien was still the same guy under the mask in the end. He wanted that with Marinette. He had been intrigued by the difference in character he found in her. It was the reason he had decided to go hang out with her more often as Chat.

So for the past few months after the fight with the Evillustrator, he had talked with her after patrols and most weekends. He had grown curious about her and like the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat. It didn't kill him, but it had killed his love for Ladybug.

Well, that was a lie. It hadn't completely gone away, but his love for Marinette these past few months seemed to have overpowered it; Ladybug and her courage, her confidence, her strength, her sarcasm, her unintentional flirtiness, her ability to be cool in the face of danger, those were the things he loved. The girl he loved once, but she had made it clear that she wasn't interested in his advances. Maybe he could have something with Marinette? Not as Chat, but maybe as Adrien?

With Chat, Marinette was so nice and caring. So witty. So creative and passionate. So doubtful and worried about challenging life events. So human. She also teased him a lot. She actually formed words around him. He could carry a normal conversation around her as Chat. Why couldn't she do that with Adrien? He wanted what Chat and Marinette had.

After a few moments, he slowed again, looking down at Marinette's face while the band switched to another slow song. More memories of the past few months as Chat hanging out with her rushed to his mind. She was so incredible.

A thought pushed its way to his mind. Why wait to get to know her as Adrien when you basically already know her? Fast forward through everything.

Adrien considered this for a moment before deciding it seemed like a great idea.

"I want to kiss you," he whispered.

Marinette didn't think she heard him correctly. She looked up and saw Adrien's odd expression then became puzzled.

He couldn't have said that, could he?

She finally managed to muster a small, squeaky voice, "What?"

"Kiss me."

Marinette's eyes grew as wide as saucers. Her breath hitched in her throat as she stared at him incredulously. Why was he asking her to do this? Not that she minded (she really didn't mind), but why all of a sudden?

Adrien frowned. "I'm sorry! I wasn't thinking. I thought maybe. Um you know? I was ju-" his face turned red while he closed his eyes, "-I actually don't know what i was thinking…I-"

He was cut off by Marinette's mouth on his own. She had decided to take a chance. Alya would have also probably killed her if Marinette told her she had an opportunity to kiss Adrien Agreste and didn't take it.

Is this really real? I can't believe this is happening. Is this a dream? Someone pinch me.

Their thoughts were synced.

They both pulled away after a bit, in a happy daze and with crimson faces. It was unclear who giggled first but one of them did. They had entered a sort of laughing fit, the air less tense than it was before. The band still playing music in the back. Adrien's right hand touched her chin.

Marinette stared up at Adrien, realizing what she had just done. Her laughter died down and she buried her face into his chest with a hug, feeling embarrassed. Could she stay there forever and not look into his eyes ever again?

Adrien hugged her with his free arm. After a few minutes, he spoke, "uh...thank you? I don't really know what to say after that," he laughed again, "but it was nice. Really nice."

He smiled. Marinette still had her face buried in his chest. She nodded.

"Are you ok?"

"Mhm," she sounded muffled.

"Uhh...Marinette? My arm is kinda getting tired." He laughed nervously. His hand still around her chin area while she was hugging him.

"OH!" S-sorry!" She pulled away, her face still red, still not looking at him.

After a few moments of the band playing, Adrien sat down on one of the benches.

"So uh, do you still want to take me up on that friendship offer?"

"Friendship offer? I don't know about you, but I think that's already been accepted. Maybe even passed," Marinette laughed.

Adrien laughed along with her.

"Nice. I'll text you the details when my father decides where it'll be," he smiled, "Oh! Wait! Can I get your phone number?" He held out his phone to her.

Marinette nodded and grabbed the phone. She quickly input her number and gave it back to him with a small, nervous smile. A few seconds later, her phone dinged with a small "hi it's me".

"I texted you so you can save my number."

"Oh, uh. Thanks!" She said, not mentioning the fact that she already had Adrien's number saved.

He smiled.

"Well, I uhh. I gotta go end the party, y'know? I'll see you later?"

"Y-yeah! Totally! I'll see you too!"

Adrien walked to the path, taking the band with him. Marinette sat back down on the swing and started swinging again, with a large, goofy grin on her face.

Tikki came out of her bag and smiled. "I'm guessing you're glad you stayed, right?"

Marinette laughed. "Yeah! I really am." She sighed and looked up at the moon. "Today turned out to be a great night."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

So i was listening to kiss me by sixpence none the richer and i just had a burst of inspiration one night. I finally finished the ending after months of having this in my drafts and i don't think it's that great but I honestly had no idea how to end it, so here it is. I cannot write kissing scenes to save my life. i'm so sorry. I hope everything else was ok. I haven't written dialogue like this in a while so if it's really bad I apologize again. I really hope the characters aren't ooc. I tried my best. But yeah i hope some people enjoy this!

Also, for you people waiting for the danny phantom update, i am still working on it. I've just been really really busy with school these past months? Years? (I'm so sorry) and i'm also kinda stuck for the next chapter. But don't worry. It'll get there eventually! I'm not sure when. But hopefully before the year is over!

Thanks for reading!