As always, I don't own Miraculous of the image

I hope you enjoy this. It's been my favourite to write so far

Adrien Agreste had been in love with his best friend for five years.

Ever since she had taken a junior designer position at his father's company where he now modelled full time, Marinette Dupain-Cheng had been rejecting Adrien's advances. He just couldn't figure out why.

He knew that he was objectively good looking, he was a model after all, with a body sculpted from hours logged at the gym. She had even commented on his appearance before, calling him 'Hot Stuff' before blushing and looking back down to her tape measure, which was wrapped around his leanly muscled chest.

While at first she seemed not to like him, pegging him for a shallow, rich, pretty-boy and daddy's golden son, the two of them had worked out their differences and gotten closer. She now held the joint position of best friend with his childhood buddy, Nino. But he wanted more.

"Hey, Bugaboo," Adrien greeted the raven haired designer, who was currently bent over her sketchbook. Not sparing him a glance, Marinette reached for another coloured pencil.

"Hey, Kitty, how're you today?" she queried, flicking him a smile.

"Much better fur seeing you."

Her smile flickered and she rolled her eyes.

It's not that Marinette minded the flirting. She couldn't deny that it had an effect on her. In fact, if they weren't best friends she might have fallen for his charm a long time ago. But she knew he was a shameless flirt and she didn't want to be just another notch on his bed post. She valued their friendship far too much.

Sure she had feelings for him, how could she not? When he wasn't flirting or punning (his obsession with cat puns had earned him his nickname 'Kitty') he treated her like a princess. Most people even though they were dating and she had heard the ship name 'Adrienette' cross a few lips around the office. But he was her best friend, nothing more. And she was happy about that.

Definitely.

Absolutely.

That's why it definitely didn't bother her when she saw not one, but two beautiful models clinging to him, both pouting, simpering and generally vying for his attention. The room was slowly filling up with models and fellow designers. They were gathered for a fitting, ready for next week's fashion show. Marinette put her pencils away and pulled out her pins and a piece of fabric chalk. She turned to the first model who was already dressed in his runway outfit and got to work.

Marinette was busy adjusting the hem of a shirt, desperately trying to distract herself from Adrien and his limpets, but she could barely focus on what she was doing. All she could see was the blonde and brunette girl hanging all over her best friend. She stood up from kneeling on the floor in order to move to the back of the shirt. Normally she would ask the model to turn around but she didn't want to look at the nauseating display in front of her anymore.

Adrien was desperately trying to detach himself from the girls that he found suddenly glued to him. Chloe had her lips pursed and her arms locked around his neck in an attempt to kiss him while Lila was wrapped around his arm. Quite frankly, Adrien found it rather unprofessional since they were working, even if that just meant waiting for designers to adjust their clothing.

That's when he spotted his favourite designer stand and move to face away from him. He didn't know if she was paying any attention to the little show his colleagues were putting on, she was always so focused at work it wouldn't surprise him if she'd forgotten he was there, but she looked annoyed about something.

He gently eased out of the death grip that Chloe and Lila had him in.

"Sorry, ladies," he apologised, somewhat insincerely, "I think I'm needed," and with that he dashed away, leaving them staring dumbfounded after him.

Since she had her back to him, Marinette didn't notice Adrien's approach.

"Hello, Purr-incess," he greeted, for the second time that morning.

"Mmph," she replied around a mouthful of pins. She removed one and inserted into the hem she was working on.

"Do me next?" he purred and he took note of how the back of her neck turned a pretty shade of pink.

At Adrien's words, Marinette couldn't help but imagine all sorts of improper activities. The thought of tangled sheets and sweaty bodies had her blushing furiously. She took her time answering, using the pins in her mouth as an excuse while she got her wayward imagination under control and would be sure not to choke on her words. Placing the final pin in she instructed the model to remove the shirt ready to be stitched and waved him away.

"Alright, Agreste. Front and centre." She was always all business at work and he sighed, holding out his arms for her to inspect his outfit.

Marinette walked slowly around the blonde, straightening cuffs and smoothing her hands across the fabric, not noticing how her actions were affecting him.

"W-well?" he stuttered and mentally cursed himself.

"You look fine, I mean," she shook her head, "the clothes look fine," she stumbled over her sentence. Touching him like she had, had not left her unaffected either. "Go and put it in the garment bag over on the rail," she gestured in the general direction. Her gaze snapped to him when she noticed his hands move to the front of his shirt. "What are you doing?" she demanded, her cheeks tinted red as her eyes followed the path his fingers were making as he began unbuttoning the shirt.

"Um... taking my clothes off?" his statement coming out as more of a question and the implications once more tinting her cheeks.

"Do it over there!" she insisted, once more gesturing towards the rail, her words coming out through clenched teeth.

Adrien smiled. "Why, is this bothering you?" he teased, loosing another button from its hole and thrilling at the way her eyes followed the motion.

"N-no. Of course not."

"Well then," and he continued to undress.

Suddenly a glint came into her eye and Adrien gulped. He had done this as light hearted teasing but he recognised that look and he knew he was about to pay for his actions. Marinette casually stepped closer, keeping her eyes locked on his until they were almost nose to nose.

"Here," she whispered huskily and Adrien gulped again. "You're going to crease, let me help you with that."

Adrien couldn't move as he felt her soft, warm hands graze his chest and forced himself not to close his eyes in pleasure as his heart rate rocketed and his breath caught in his throat. Marinette slowly undoing the buttons on his shirt would certainly be fuel for some fantasies later.

With all the buttons released, her hands slipped under the shirt and smoothed over his taut shoulders, sliding his sleeves down his arms.

Neither of them were breathing quite steadily when she was done and it took another designer loudly clearing his throat to snap them out of the spell her actions had created. Marinette glanced across guiltily and stepped away from Adrien.

"There you go, all set," she said, determinedly looking anywhere but at him. Equally embarrassed, he plucked the shirt from her fingers and made a hasty retreat to hang it up and put his own clothes on. He tried not to steal glances at her as she made her rounds, working on the other models, her professional mask back in place. Needless to say, he failed.

By one o'clock she was finished. Marinette stretched her arms above her head to work out the kinks which crouching and twisting into uncomfortable positions had given her. Adrien watched the thrust of her breasts stretch the fabric of her shirt and cause it to ride up a few inches, giving him an unrestricted view of the skin above the waistband of her trousers. He quickly looked away as she lowered her arms and looked at him. She smiled, heading in his direction.

"Lunch, Kitty?" Marinette enquired, linking her arm through his and heading towards the exit, not waiting for an answer. The sun was shining and despite the cold it was a beautiful day. The two headed to one of their favourite Parisian cafes, opting to eat outside despite the chill. Adrien smiled as the waitress approached.

"Good afternoon, are you ready to order?" she asked, her eyes never leaving the smiling blonde as she turned her body towards him. Adrien barely noticed her attention, his gaze back on Marinette.

"Yes, thank you," he replied. "I'll have the croque monsieur," he smiled while handing the girl his menu.

"And for your girlfriend?" she enquired, reluctantly turning to the blue eyed girl opposite him.

"I'm not..." she trailed off when Adrien gave her a look of mild disapproval. "The vegetable soup, please," Marinette requested. Adrien was right, there was no point correcting their relationship status with a stranger, and it would mean the waitress would be more likely to keep her distance, allowing them to eat in peace if she believed they were a couple. The waitress walked away to process their order.

"That wasn't too painful, was it?" the blonde smiled knowingly at her. A grunt was her only reply. The two shared a pleasant lunch together and before they knew it, it was time to head back to work. The afternoon dragged, filled with more preparations for the fashion show. Adrien didn't see Marinette again that day and his only consolation was that they would be spending the evening together. Tonight was their weekly movie night and it was his favourite night of the week. They would get a takeaway, snuggle on the sofa and share a bottle of wine. He couldn't think of a better way to spend an evening.

At seven o'clock he arrived on her doorstep, bottle of wine in hand. Alya, Marinette's best friend and roommate, let him in.

"Hey, Alya," he greeted and took note of what she was wearing. "Hot date tonight?"

She nodded in the affirmative. "Yeah, a DJ I met when Mari and I were out clubbing last weekend."

Adrien smiled at her. "Have fun!"

"I plan to. I'll be home late so don't you two wait up," she winked at him then quickly dove into her purse. She grasped his hand. "Just in case," she insisted and before he could blink, she was away, ducking into a waiting taxi. He opened his hand and saw the condom she had tucked there. Adrien groaned before quickly slipping the offending item into his pocket and heading up the stairs. Like he would ever get that lucky.

Marinette bounded up to him as soon as he came through the kitchen door. She threw her arms around his neck as if it had been weeks since she last saw him, rather than the few hours it actually had been. When she wasn't at work the petite girl became a lot more playful and affectionate, touching him freely and sometimes even flirting a little.

Adrien poured them a glass of wine each and they headed through to the lounge. The DVD was already in the player and a blanket was casually thrown over the back of the sofa. Adrien was immediately overwhelmed with a feeling of homecoming he only ever experienced with his best friend. Since he still lived with his father in the large and somewhat cold mansion, he always liked spending time with Marinette in her home. Everything about it screamed warmth and love, from the soft green walls to the sunset orange couch cushions. As he set the glasses on the table the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Marinette said, laying a hand on his arm as she passed him. She picked her wallet up off the side and headed for the door, leaving Adrien to prepare for the food. He headed back to the kitchen for some plates and back in the living room he settled down onto the sofa. Marinette came back in with the food and Adrien dished up. He handed her a plate and shifted back so he was sat more comfortably.

"This looks great," Adrien commented, nodding at the Chinese in front of him. Marinette gently head butted his arm before resting her cheek on his shoulder and smiling up at him.

"Not really part of your diet though," she teased. Adrien stuck his tongue out at her and proceeded to rebelliously shovel a large portion into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster. Marinette stifled her giggles and turned her attention back to her own food.

They ate in companionable silence as the movie started. It was some superhero movie, Adrien couldn't say what. Most of his attention was on the beautiful girl next to him. They finished eating and Adrien cleared the plates, taking them back to the kitchen and leaving them in the sink. He smiled happily as he moved back in towards the living room and stopped in the doorway when he saw that Marinette had curled up on the sofa, head tucked on her arm. Adrien's smile softened and he moved back over towards her. He rearranged her so that her head was resting in his lap and gently stroked her hair away from her face. They stayed that way, content, as they continued watching the film, Adrien rhythmically running his fingers through her midnight locks.

When Alya came back hours later, she found the two wrapped up together asleep on the sofa. She huffed out a breath, annoyed at the obliviousness of the two and covered them with a blanket. She switched off the TV and headed into her own room. Alya took one last look at the couple snuggled up under the blanket, shook her head and went to bed.

The next morning at work Adrien had been summoned to his father's office. If possible, the room was colder and more distant than the home that they shared. It's a pretty good reflection of his personality the blonde model thought, amused.

"Adrien, tonight I would like you to join me and the mayor for dinner at le Grand Paris. We shall be meeting at eight." Gabriel Agreste didn't not look up from the notes on his desk as he spoke to his son in his usual no-nonsense tone. There was a brief silence and the man realised Adrien was still stood to attention in front of his desk. "That will be all," he dismissed, turning his page. Adrien rolled his eyes and huffed out an exasperated breath, not bothering to argue. He had experienced enough of his father's demands to realise there was no point arguing. He turned and left his father's office, closing the door quietly behind him and decided to track down Marinette.

She was at the first place he looked. Hunched over her desk, much as his father had been, and like his father, she seemed to fill her personal space with her own personality. The faces of family and friends looked out from frames on the walls and plants stood in each corner. She had hung a Chinese tapestry on one wall and everywhere there were scraps of fabric and paper. Honestly, it was quite the (supposedly organised) chaos. Adrien loved it. He took a moment to admire her, smiling at the sight of the tip of her tongue poking out from between her lips in concentration, a small crease between her eyebrows.

"Are you just going to stand in the doorway staring like an idiot or are you coming in?" she questioned, making him jump, having been caught out. He hadn't realised she knew he was there.

"I wasn't staring," he insisted half-heartedly, finally making his way into the room. She hummed in reply and finally looked up at him from her work. It had been five years but he still couldn't get over how blue her eyes were and he allowed himself to drown in them for a few moments before he realised she was talking.

"Sorry, Princess," he took his usual perch on the corner of her desk, reaching for her hand and lifting it to his mouth, brushing his lips across her knuckles. "Could you say that again, I got a little lost in your eyes." She removed her hand from his grasp, pushing his face back with a finger on his nose.

"I said," she began again, only slightly irritated. "Do you want to go to see the new exhibit at the Louvre with me tonight?"

At her words, Adrien pouted slightly.

"I really would, Mari, but I've been summoned to dinner," he groused. Of the two options, it was a no brainer which he would prefer to be doing that night.

"Your father, huh?"

"My father," he confirmed with a grimace. Marinette looked at him sympathetically.

"Never mind, Kitty Cat. Next time," she assured. "I've got to get on with this, but lunch later?"

"Sounds purr-fect, Bugaboo. I'll see you then." He walked towards the door and gave her a two-fingered salute before sweeping out of the room. Marinette smiled, bemused at his antics, then buried herself in the mountain of work in front of her.

The day passed as every day in the lead-up to a big show did. There was a lot of hectic activity, with Marinette being pulled in several different directions. After a working lunch with Adrien which was all too brief, she had a meeting with Gabriel and the other designers working on the show. As heir to the Agreste fashion empire, Adrien sat in on the meeting but there wasn't time for more than a friendly greeting. Gabriel expected his staff to work as hard as he did and less than perfection was not good enough.

After the long day she had had, Marinette was almost glad that Adrien had other plans. She was completely exhausted and the prospect of traipsing round a museum for hours held no appeal. She'd put on her pyjamas and share a bottle of wine with Alya while they put the world to rights. A night in with her best girl-friend always did wonders in recharging her batteries and relaxing her after a long day.

Alya was of a similar mind and not ten minutes after having walked through the front door, the two of them were lounging on the sofa, both sitting with their backs pressed against the arm rests facing each other, feet on the cushions in front of them. Alya was wearing an oversized shirt that Marinette hadn't seen before, her auburn hair thrown casually into a messy bun on top of her head.

"So, new shirt?" as an opener it wasn't one of her best, but as soon as she had seen what Alya was wearing, the question had been eating at Marinette. It wasn't her roommates usual style, even if for just around the house.

"What, this?" the reporter questioned innocently, plucking at the offending item, suddenly interested in looking at anything other than Marinette. "Umm... I guess... just something I had... lying around..." she answered cagily.

"Lying... around?" Now Marinette was confused. There was definitely something Alya wasn't telling her. "Where did you get it?"

Realising that Marinette wasn't letting the subject drop, Alya huffed out a breath and finally looked a friend dead in the eye.

"Fine," she hesitated briefly one last time. "It's Nino's. Remember the DJ I went on a date with last night?" Marinette nodded her acknowledgement. "Well, he maybe might have possibly... spent the night." Alya's face filled uncharacteristically with blood. The ballsy reporter almost never got embarrassed, let alone blushed.

Just at that moment, Marinette's phone buzzed with an alert. She held one finger up at her friend and gave her a look that assured her their conversation was far from over. Alya just rolled her eyes, amused at their sudden role reversal. Marinette's face has a look of determination that was usually one Alya wore when she was onto a big scoop. On the bluenette, it was quite intimidating.

Marinette opened the message she received from her work email, which had been sent out to the entire company. She stared in numb incomprehension, her brain stuttering over what she was seeing and not quite able to take it in. After a full minute of silent staring, Alya waved her hand in front of the still girl's face. Receiving no response, she plucked Marinette's phone from her limp, unresisting fingers and looked to see what had the girl so shocked.

There on the screen was a picture of Chloe Bourgeois and Adrien Agreste. The female model had her arm around his neck and was kissing his cheek. Captioned under the photograph were the words 'the new power couple at Agreste Fashion'. Alya wrinkled her nose in distaste.

After the fiasco that was last night's dinner, Adrien just wanted to see his best friend and forget about the lame attempt his father had pulled at matchmaking. The thought of Chloe Bourgeois and her limpet tendencies made him shudder, Mayor's daughter or not. Apparently his father viewed every aspect of Adrien's life as a bargaining chip, used only to strengthen the position of the Agreste brand. This really was the last straw though. Maybe it was time for him to move out and start living his own life. He was twenty-six years old after all. It was only Gabriel's controlling nature that was keeping him in the mansion, and now it was that very same nature that was pushing him out the door. But first, he needed to talk to Marinette.

It seemed that the gods of good fortune were on his side that morning as he reached the office building at the same time as Marinette. He held the door open for her, not noticing the tense set of her shoulders.

"Am I glad to see you, Princess," he smiled down at her, bringing his hand to the small of her back as he followed her into the building. "You're looking especially beautiful this morning."

At this Marinette stopped walking and glared up at him. She took hold of his wrist and pulled him to the side, out of the flow of traffic as more people arrived for work.

"Please, don't," she insisted, her tone cool.

"Don't what?" Adrien asked, genuine confusion painted across his face. Marinette refused to acknowledge how cute this made him look.

"Don't flirt with me," she practically hissed at him, and he took a small step back.

"What... what do you mean?" the blonde asked, doing nothing to conceal the pang of hurt that crossed his features.

"What I mean," she replied scathingly, "is that I really don't think it's appropriate for you to flirt with me when you have a girlfriend." She placed her fingers on his chest and pushed him back away from her slightly. "I thought you had more integrity than that, Adrien, and I don't think she would appreciate you flirting with every girl you come across."

Adrien's mouth hung open slightly, shock rendering him speechless.

"Speaking of appreciation, it would have been nice to know that you were dating someone. I thought we were supposed to be best friends. Why didn't you tell me?" Marinette tilted her head back slightly, trying to will away the tears she hadn't realise had started to form. "And you didn't have to make up an excuse about dinner with your father if you wanted to go on a date with your girlfriend. I would have understood. I must seem really pathetic to you." She inhaled deeply through her nose. "Anyway, I have to go. Lots of work to do."

With that she pushed past him and headed towards the stairs. Adrien stood dumbfounded for a few moments before he snapped out of his stupor.

"Mari, wait!" he called after her but she was already gone. He cursed the bad luck that always seemed to follow him. So much for the god's of good fortune. He didn't know how she found out about last night's "date". He had planned on telling her about it when he saw her. His desperation to have a conversation with her had doubled now and he was determined that this time, she would listen to what he had to say.

Adrien had spent the entire day unsuccessfully trying to talk to Marinette but he was blocked at every turn. Either she was busy with meetings or just heading off to the bathroom. In fact, she had taken an unusually large number of bathroom breaks that day and Adrien was getting desperate. He knew his best friend was avoiding him and there didn't seem to be anything he could do about it.

Finally the day was over and it was time to go home. Noticing the rain outside he grabbed the umbrella he always kept in his office and glumly made his way out of the building.

Marinette stood in the doorway and looked out at the rain pouring down. She reached out a hand to feel the drops on her palm then brought it back in again. There was nothing to be done. She would just have to make a run for it. Adrien came up behind her, umbrella in hand. He smiled when he saw her waiting, he had missed her all day.

"Hey," Adrien greeted and Marinette turned her head away from him, causing him to sigh dejectedly. He continued on regardless, moving to stand in front of her, his umbrella open above him. His friendship, or whatever it was, with Marinette was too important to let go. "I just wanted you to know that, I really don't flirt with everyone. It's only you, I swear. Sure I've been on dates in the past, but you know as well as I do, they've never gone anywhere. I've never had a girlfriend. Last night was a set up between my father and Chloe and I had no idea."

Marinette looked up at his face uncertainly. She had never heard him speak so sincerely before and it had her thrown. Adrien moved his umbrella from over his head, allowing the rain to dampen his hair. He held it out for her to take. Tentatively, Marinette reached out to clasp the handle and her fingers brushed his hand. She felt a spark of electricity that had nothing to do with the storm. Her hand withdrew briefly then reached out for the handle again. Adrien willingly handed it over and smiled at her. She smiled back when suddenly she felt the umbrella close around her head. From the darkness she heard her favourite sound, the ringing bells of his laughter. Marinette peeked out from under the umbrella to see his face lit up with amusement. The sight brought a wider grin to her face and elicited a small chuckle from her lips. She really did love it when he laughed.

"See you tomorrow," he smiled, and began to walk out into the rain.

"See you tomo... tomorr... why am I stammering?" she questioned herself. I think I might have an idea her conscience replied.

"Wait!" she called after him, causing the blonde to stop walking and look back at her. His hopeful expression caused her heart to melt in her chest. The love she felt for this boy was unparalleled. Dashing up to him, she reached for his hand, entwining their fingers together. Adrien looked down at her and waited, holding his breath. He didn't have to wait long.

"I... I love you," she stated, completely certain in her words despite the stutter. "I've been in love with you for most of these past five years but I've been afraid. I thought that you were just a flirt, trying to make as many conquests as you could. I thought you just wanted to sleep with me and then you'd move on to someone else. Then, when we grew closer, I thought that if anything happened it would ruin our friendship." Marinette took a breath. "I didn't want to do anything that would mean I would lose you. You're the most important person in my life. You mean everything to me. I can't imagine my life without you in it."

Marinette looked shyly down at the ground, having laid out her heart for him to see. Even now she was worried about how her words would affect their relationship. She felt his fingers curl around her chin, encouraging her to look up into his face. God, how she loved that face.

"Mari, you are my whole world. I've loved you practically since the day I met you. Even when you hated me," he assured, gazing deeply into her azure eyes.

"I didn't hate you," she mumbled.

"You hated me," he affirmed. "But, that's okay. I loved you anyway. Marinette, I love you."

Neither knew who moved first but suddenly they were pressed together, Marinette's fingers were entwined in Adrien's hair, umbrella down by her side, forgotten. Adrien wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her slightly and their lips met.

Nothing could have prepared her for the feeling that overwhelmed her when his lips, cooled from the rain, moulded to hers. Her eyes fluttered closed and she swore she could see fireworks. She had imagined kissing him before but nothing could compare to the real thing.

Adrien's heart stopped at the touch of her soft, warm lips. They melted into each other with a sigh, their lips moving in synchronisation. The kiss was a chaste one, and over quickly, but it was perfect. The two smiled happily at each other, noses still brushing up against each other, not noticing that they were still getting wet, umbrella forgotten. They would both stand there forever if it meant they were together.

I couldn't resist an origins umbrella scene. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.