Marinette Dupain-Cheng is hardworking- just ask anyone. She knew what she wanted from a very early age and had no qualms about going out and chasing it. And for Marinette, that dream happened to be fashion.

She had been sketching and designing her own ideas as far back as she could remember. Where other little girls wanted a doll or makeup, Marinette always only asked her parents for sketchbooks and fabric. When other children ran free- ice cream dripping between their fingers, Marinette sat hunched over her sewing machine- sweat drops trailing down the contour of her face while she perfected her stitching.

Of course she kept up with her schoolwork and any responsibilities that her parents may ask her to take care of in the bakery growing up, but her drive to become a major player in the fashion world filled all of her spare time.

She worked hard and diligently all throughout her compulsory educational career. It wasn't a surprise to her that no one really wanted to hang out with someone so focused- often times she even found it lucky that none of her classmates made the extra effort to get to know her… less distractions meant more time to chase her dream of owning her own label one day.

It wasn't until university that she met whom she considered her best friend. Alya was assigned to be her roommate in their first year and the two girls hit it off right away. It helped that both of them were equally driven in their career aspirations. While Marinette was focused on creating clothing, Alya was focused on capturing news and reporting.

The two of them pushed, encouraged, and took care of one another as no one had ever done before. Marinette would save drafts of her roommate's current article and help her to bed whenever she found the brunette slumped awkwardly in her desk chair- Alya would help bandage pinpricks and remind her to eat and sleep whenever she had a project deadline approaching.

When the stress became too much, they would curl up on their small shared couch eating pints of ice cream and watching trashy television- they never had to pretend to be anything other than who they were. Marinette looked back on those days fondly.

They still saw each other nearly every night- so are the perks of renting a flat together- but now each girl was off actively working in the direction of their dream. Alya worked in the heart of the city as an investigative reporter. She's covered a range of socio-political topics and is steadily making a name for herself.

Marinette was one of 10 applicants throughout Paris to be selected for an internship with the famous Gabriel brand. Although she was stunned when she received the acceptance letter, she knew that all of her hard work growing up was finally paying off. So what if that meant that she had a very limited social life? She'd never been one to go out to clubs or have many people to see anyway. No- her hard work was what got her to where she is now, and her hard work will be what gets Marinette her own brand someday. And that is precisely why she is the last one in the building at the moment.

Realistically, she knew that at some point she would have to go home- if it hadn't been for the Christmas party, hosted earlier in the evening, she would have been able to finish the work that she needed to and be curled around a mug of hot chocolate already. Unfortunately, all employees were encouraged (see: required) to attend and she had to put her work for the spring line on hold.

Munching on one of the leftover croissants that she had baked to share with her fellow interns, Marinette stood with her hip popped and stared at the mannequin in front of her. The fabric just wasn't falling correctly and it gave the dress an odd look on one side. Should she retry it with a different piece of cloth? Should she try for the twelfth time to pin and stitch it into submission? Should she scrap the idea and try to design a different top to match the skirt- no that would take too much time getting it all approved- it's better to try and salvage when she can.

It wasn't until the motion activated lights kicked on in the other half of the large work space that Marinette realized she wasn't the last one in the building after all. She could hear the slow, even footsteps of someone making their way towards her and, checking her phone to see that it was already past midnight, she wondered who else would still be sticking around on a Friday night after a holiday party.

"Hello?" The tenor of a man's voice rung out into the quiet, his footsteps hesitated for a moment before continuing on. "Is someone still in here?"

Marinette could feel her pulse escalate as he drew nearer- who was it? The voice seemed vaguely familiar but she knew it wasn't anyone who worked in the department with her.

"Yes," she answered tentatively. "I'm just finishing up a couple of things before the weeken-" her voice faltered and stuck in her throat at the sight of none other than her boss's son: Adrien Agreste, fashion model for the brand, and next in line to inherit the company. "Ah- yes, hello Mr. Agreste… just- just finishing up."

His eyes were dancing around her work space which gave Marinette ample time to admire him- this wasn't the first time that she had spoken with him, but all encounters usually ended up with her stuttering and stammering her way through the conversation. She usually ran away before being able to get a proper look.

Tonight, she saw that he was bundled up in a sleek winter jacket, scarf bunched securely beneath his defined chin, a pair of gloves poking out of one of his pockets… she had caught a glimpse of him earlier in the crowded hall during the party and knew that his black suit pants were paired with a green satin button down shirt hiding beneath the extra bulk of the coat.

His hair was tousled, as though he had run his hand though it a few times, and a small dimple made its way onto the right side of his cheek as his eyes met hers.

"A little late to be working, don't you think?" Suddenly, his face split into a wide grin that she'd never seen on his face before (and she had seen more than her fair share of his photos). "What you do say you give it agreste for tonight."

Marinette didn't know what to do- this was one of the top people in the entire company- and he had just made a terrible pun. She stood frozen, arms wrapped across her chest, and stared at him… the sight of his eyebrows dancing up and down a couple of times broke her composure, though, and she let out a small snort.

Instantly, her face flamed to life as red colored her cheeks, and she covered them with her hands before giggling. Maybe it was the late hour, maybe it was the drink or two that she had at the party earlier, or maybe it was the ridiculously proud look on his face, but Marinette couldn't help but laugh and soon the gentle tones of his own joined with hers.

"At least someone around here appreciates my sense of humor." He chortled as they both settled down.

"Oh- oh no, that-that was terrible," Marinette was able to stammer out.

"You still laughed- it still counts Ms. Dupain-Cheng." She watched as the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled down at her while leaning against her cube's wall. A sense of surreal settled upon her as her mouth stretched to match his.

"Well then, I guess a few laughs now and then couldn't skirt." She motioned towards the skirt in her design and his eyebrow cocked up in surprise. She couldn't believe that she was here and holding and actual conversation with him- she couldn't believe he was goofy enough to like puns- she couldn't believe that she had just made one back…

"I never would have guessed that you had it in you," he murmured while looking around her space once more before spying a photo displayed near her monitor. "Cat's off to you for keeping me on my paws." Marinette internally groaned that he had gotten his inspiration from the photo of her and her calico cat Tikki- hopefully he wouldn't think of her as one of those crazy cat ladies. She shrugged before turning back towards him.

"Not the best one I've ever heard- my parents raised me in a bakery and I've heard at yeast a hundred of these by now… yours seemed a little half-baked." Her weight shifted from foot to foot as the blond just stared blankly at her before his expression lightened up as an excited gleam entered his eyes.

"Well now, Marinette- is it okay if I call you Marinette?" He broke off awkwardly as his hand wound up to tangle in the back of his hair.

"Of course, Mr. Agreste." She answered in a practiced voice- how many times had she said that exact same phrase to his father?- of course he had only ever talked with her about changes to her designs, but still.

"Oh- well- Adrien is fine… if you like?" Staring wide-eyed at him, Marinette could hear the thump of her heart beat as it thundered to life once more in her veins- he looked almost hopeful. That strange surreal sense once more settled around them as she nodded dumbly.

"Perfect!" He slipped his hands in the front pockets of his suit pants. "As I was saying, Marinette," she liked the way that her name rolled off his tongue, "I wasn't aware that baking puns were on the table- how could I hope to beat you when I'm clearly at such a disadvantage?"

Catching his eye, Marinette rolled hers and scoffed. "Baguette ready to lose. You're toast if you think bread puns will save you." She had to physically suppress the air that wanted to squeal from her throat at the sight of his star-struck features; it became nearly impossible as he uttered his next sentence.

"Would you like to get a drink with me?" Adrien's voice seemed far away as he spoke and he still had that dreamy look on his face that had Marinette's ego soaring. It came crashing down as the meaning of his words finally caught up to her though. The lights flickered off in the unused portion of the floor once more.

"I- uh- I don't know…" The hesitation and sudden awkwardness in her stance was enough to snap Adrien back into the moment. He tried to catch her eye once more, he put one hand out as though to try and reach out to her before pulling it back to his body. She was staring resolutely at the floor debating the implications of going out to drinks with her boss's son. She was still only a first year intern and there was no way that she wanted to make a name for herself by being connected to him- she wanted her designs to get her to the top.

"I-I'm sorry- I shouldn't have- I… sorry." His small voice crept into her ears, barely over a whisper, and she couldn't help but to turn her flustered face towards him. He looked as though she had kicked a kitten right in front of him and she didn't like it one bit.

"It- it's okay… it's, um- getting late? Maybe- maybe I should head home." Marinette tried not to let the twinge of disappointment in her chest show as she turned around to pack up her bag.

"Uh- yeah… Can-can I walk you out? Biscuit's the yeast I could do." Adrien asked timidly, his hands once more stuffed in his front pockets and Marinette's heart did another jig in her chest. She finished buttoning her coat, brushed the loose tendrils of hair behind her ear and smiled widely at him before agreeing.

"Would you like help with that?" His eyes flicked down to the platter of croissants that she had just picked up.

"No, it's alright- I've got them well enough, thank you." She replied as she readjusted the strap of her bag into position on her shoulder. Marinette double checked that she had her phone and keys before the pair of them set off down towards the atrium.

The gentle clink from the wine that she bought for her and Alya could be heard from her bag as their footsteps echoed around them. The click of the automatic lights once more went off as they passed into the dark section- Marinette jumped as light once more flooded around them.

"Oh!" She couldn't help the soft exclamation and soon found that her companion was trying to hide his silent chuckles next to her. "It's not that funny- it was just… surprising!" He tilted his head to stare down at her, the quiet laughs still reverberating through his chest, and she found herself giggling along.

"You just- you jumped about a foot in the air!" He gasped out around his laughs and imitated her movements. "And your face was so- was so…" Marinette wasn't quite sure what her face had looked like because suddenly he wasn't talking and his laughs had died down and he was looking away from her with a disappointed frown.

She wondered what could have made his mood twist so quickly. Turning back around, she tried to focus on the rest of their walk to the elevators- glancing out the large, dark windows on either side of the lift, she noticed that a thick flurry of snow that was coming down reflected back to her by the lights within the building.

"Oh shoot," she muttered. "It looks like we have a bit of a snow storm going on doesn't it?" Her thoughts jumped towards the drive home- she hoped the roads weren't too crowded at this time of night, it had to be around 1am by now. "Do you have far to travel to make it home?"

Marinette wasn't sure what part of the city Adrien actually lived in. Did he drive his own car, did he have someone drive him as she had seen was his father's preferred mode of transportation?

"Oh, no I guess it's not too far. A couple of blocks… I walk to work so I'm used to it." His green eyes once more connected with hers and she felt better seeing a grin instead the frown from earlier. "It will be snow problem for me to get home."

Oh, he was just as bad as her papa! Marinette idly wondered how appropriate it would be to cuff him in the shoulder. Instead, she let out a small huff before grinning back at him. "Maybe I could give you a ride- I wouldn't want you to flake and get lost."

The spark was once more back in his eyes as he pushed the call button for the elevator and smiled at her. "I may take you up on that offer, Marinette, thank you snow much!"

"Did you just-," she sputtered. "You can't just reuse a pun so quickly in the conversation. You need to give it agreste before it is funny again."

The elevator dinged its arrival and Adrien stepped back, flourishing a hand before him, and bending into a slight bow. "After you!" Marinette felt the heat flare up onto her cheeks once more as she stepped into it and, shifting her plate of snacks into one hand, she pressed the button for the lobby. Adrien settled himself into a lean against the back wall of the lift and crossed his arms over his chest before peering over towards her once more.

They were on the 39th floor of the office building, which was the second from the top. Gabriel Agreste had the entire floor above them for his own studio- he said that the visual of Paris gave him inspiration to create and Marinette couldn't quite knock him for that. The only issue that she had was that it just gave her a very long ride down to the bottom with his very attractive son who was making her heart beat in a way that it never had before. And she wasn't sure how to handle it.

"Soo," He drawled out languidly.

"Sooo?" She responded back as silkily as she could muster- there was no reason that she couldn't flirt a little bit- had they been doing that all night? She wasn't sure anymore. The late hour was starting to play with her mind.

"Is there- I mean, do you-" his words faltered as the lights flickered and the elevator gave a sudden, halting jolt. Marinette stumbled and toppled into him as Adrien swayed and barely caught her before the lights flickered out once more. The two of them were plunged into darkness for a moment, their strangled breathing the only sound within the small space, and then the low, red emergency lights blinked into activation and they could only stare at each other, panic written across their faces.

The feel of his finger nails clamping into her biceps was enough to draw her out of whatever stupor she was in. She noticed his wide, frightened eyes darting around the lift- his breaths were becoming shorter and more labored, his hands were shaking slightly around her arms, and she could see the small sheen of sweat building up on his forehead.

"Adrien? Hey, look at me- are you okay?" She used her free hand to move his face towards her and his wild eyes took a moment to focus on her face.

"I- yes- I," He strangled out around each heaving breath, "Tight- spaces- don't- like." Okay, okay… so she was in an elevator and Adrien didn't like small spaces. They were stuck in an elevator and he didn't like small spaces. It sounded like he couldn't breathe- it sounded like he was being choked.

"I- Adrien- I think you're having a panic attack. Okay? I need you to breathe with me okay? It's okay, I'm here with you… just breathe with me, okay?" She knew that the best way to help both of them in this situation was to try and get him to calm down. His hurried nod was enough for her to press on.

"Okay, okay- let's try for a deep breath in… with me now, keep watching me." Marinette made an exaggerated breath in. "Good- good, now let it out." The air hissed from his lips and she could see a bit of the frenzy dissipate from his features. "I'm right here- I'm not going anywhere- Don't be afraid, we'll get out of this. Just keep breathing with me." Her hand was warm sitting on his flushed cheek but she didn't dare move- she didn't dare break eye contact with him- he looked so lost and confused and scared.

She almost couldn't believe that this was the same man that had been laughing and making dumb puns at her not even 20 minutes earlier. "That's it, just one breath after the other."

The dim red glow of the emergency lights cast odd shadows across his angular face and she couldn't help but to let her own mind wander onto what they would do next. It was very late on a Friday night- did people come into the building on weekends? When would they be found? How could they get out of this?

Adrien was calming down now. His breathing had evened out, his eyes drifted closed as he hung his head between them for a minute, and his hands were no longer gripping her arms and instead they rested lightly against her so as to not fall over.

Finally, after he had calmed his racing heart, he was able to tilt his gaze back to her as a wry smile drifted across his lips. "So- so much for making a great first impression." His soft chuckle let her know that he was doing okay now.

She shrugged before replying. "I don't know, you still got me to laugh at your puns… I'd say you're doing a pretty good job."

And just like that, the tension breezed out of the lift and out of their shoulders.

"Still- that's not something that people usually handle as well as you did. Thank you, Marinette." The way he said her name, soft and smooth, like a blessing- it had her flushing and turning from him to put her bag and plate down.

"Snow- snow problem." She stammered out as she stripped off her jacket. "We uh, we should probably get comfortable I guess. The elevator was feeling a bit warm and she doubted that they were going anywhere anytime soon. "We should check our phones and try the emergency line for the building."

A quick look at their cells showed that they had absolutely no service- unfortunately that meant she had no way of letting Alya know that she wouldn't be home. Hopefully her friend was off with her new boyfriend for the night so that she wouldn't worry.

Nervously, Marinette read the safety directions located near the floor buttons. Behind her, Adrien was stripping off his coat and scarf- his briefcase sat abandoned in the corner of the lift and he slowly slid to the floor so that he could stay focused on his breathing.

"Okay," she murmured beneath her breath, "first step is to press the doors open button." She gave it a small poke and when nothing happened, she moved onto the next step. "That didn't work- now we press the alarm button…"

Jabbing her finger into the specified area, Marinette waited as a small ring reverberated around the lift. Holding her breath, she willed someone to answer.

"Hello, this is Maxwell, we have received your alarm of distress. What is your emergency?" With a whoosh of air, she shot a smile towards her companion who grinned back at her.

"Hello, I think- maybe the power went out in our building? We're stuck in the elevator and the emergency power lights are on." She could tell that her words were coming out quickly, but the operator seemed to understand her well enough.

"Yes, I'm seeing a multi block power outage in that part of the city. We will be sending rescue services as soon as possible to get you out. Just sit tight, stay calm, and we will call you again once we have people at your building."

The two beamed at one another. "Thank you so much!" Marinette replied for them and then there was silence once more.

"Well, that's a relief." Adrien sighed out as he slumped against the back wall, his eyes shut and hand resting over his forehead. Marinette took a moment to appreciate how the cut of his shirt showed the muscles of his biceps, gripped against the broadness of his chest and back, and tapered down to be tucked into the waist of his pants. An expensive looking belt was threaded through the loops of his suit and drew her eyes down around that area.

"See something you like?" Marinette squeaked as her eyes snapped back up to meet his glowing green ones. A sly smirk was stretched across his features and she could feel herself flush from the top of her forehead and down into her chest. How could she get caught staring at her boss's son like that?

She noticed his gaze slide down from her face, over her shoulders, and dip into the v of her dress before easing down along the curve of her hips and settling at the hem on her thighs.

"Do you?" She quipped back raising a brow at his sheepish expression. Honestly, Marinette was just glad to see that he was back in a better mood... his panic attack earlier had really rattled her. She shot him a mock offended look before sliding to sit down across from him.

"Will you tell me a story? Something to keep my mind off of... being stuck?" Adrien's gaze was so focused on her, that it gave her the impression that what she said was the only thing that mattered to him.

"What kind of story do you want to hear?" She tilted her head while smoothing down her flyaway hairs- she could feel that her bun had fallen loosely apart but was too lazy to fix it. Adrien closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.

"How about your parents... how was growing up in the bakery... how did you get into fashion?" Marinette was once more taking the opportunity to give him a look over. She could see the exhaustion etched in his face from the late hour and the stress of their situation. Sighing, she started talking

"My parents are great. They're always happy and loving and kissing and it gets pretty ridiculous when they keep asking when I'm going to bring a boy home... but I love them. And I loved growing up in the bakery; having fresh baked goods whenever I wanted them was always a godsend while working on homework. Every so often, my papa would bring in snacks for my class and everyone seemed to love them." She hesitated only a moment, but it was enough for him to speak.

"Your friends must have loved you for that…" She could hear the sad, longing tones in his voice. It took her a moment to remember that Adrien had been homeschooled (maybe reading all of those articles about him as a teen would actually pay off).

She shook her head slightly before remembering that he couldn't see her. "Not- not as much as you would think. I-I've always been about fashion- ever since I saw Gabriel's first Fall line. The colors, the fabrics, and the inspiration- I loved it all. I was 8 years old and I decided that no matter what, I would do that someday." Marinette let out a low sigh. "I guess that no one really knew how to handle that part of me. The other kids would be nice enough, but I never really had any actual friend-friends; not until college that is."

"What happened in college?" Adrien had sat up more, seemingly drawn into her tale, and his eager green eyes were once more focused on her.

"I met Alya- it was purely happenstance that she was assigned to be my roommate, but she's the best friend I've ever had. Not only does my drive not bother her, but she understands- she understands all of the pressure I put on myself and she's never tried to change me… I didn't know that kind of friendship was possible until I met her." Marinette could feel the soft smile spread across her lips.

"That sounds nice- pretty familiar as well." Her companion murmured. "I don't know how much you know about me, everyone seems to know something though, but I didn't really have friends growing up either. Not until Nino. I met him at a fashion show a while back- he DJs and is pretty killer at it- and we just sort of, I don't know, clicked." Her eyes were drawn to how he was spinning a ring around one of his fingers. "Do- did you ever feel… lonely? Growing up I mean? I-I was always surrounded by people but… it was so isolating."

She was already nodding along before he had finished talking. All of those years spent honing her craft had been worth it- but man, she could still feel the ache in her chest whenever she was alone in her room. No one to talk to, no one to confide in, and no one to cry to. Her parents were wonderful and supportive, but she couldn't talk to them the way she wanted to talk to people her own age.

"I still feel lonely. Alya's great company, but she has a new boyfriend… and I guess I had just grown used to her always being around. It's better when I'm busy and have things to occupy my hands- honestly, it's probably why I work so late most nights- but whenever I get home and she's not there I… just feel so alone."

It was nice to be able to commiserate with someone- to have someone that knows what she felt, what she feels- Alya had plenty of friends growing up and couldn't quite grasp the feeling. She had never thought that Adrien would be the one to understand what she went through. Hadn't they just been making bread puns towards one another? Why was it so easy for her to talk to him?

"I- yes, I know what you mean. That's actually why I adopted my cat… he's a lazy lump of a feline, but it's nice to have another living creature in my apartment to come home to." Marinette's eyes lit up at the mention of his pet.

"Do you have a picture of him?" She asked, scooching over to sit on his left side, her arm barely grazing his. The man nodded enthusiastically and pulled out his phone.

And just like that, the pair of them were swapping photos and stories of their pets. Marinette learned that the midnight black cat was called Plagg and that he had an unusual taste for cheese. She shared more photos of Tikki and told him that she always tried to knock the lid off of her cookie jar- even knocking it off the countertop and smashing it once- that had been a stressful few days wondering if the small kitten had ingested any porcelain or not.

Neither one really minded that they were physically getting closer and closer to moon over how cute the other kitten was. Neither one really realized how late the hour was getting. Neither one really cared that they were still in an enclosed elevator awaiting rescue.

"You'll have to come meet Tikki someday. She's a really cuddly cat and likes to meet new people." Marinette grinned up at the blond. "You could say that she's pawsitively social. I'm not even kitten."

Adrien got that goofy faraway look in his eye once more as her words sunk in. She was close enough to count the crinkles next to his eyes as he smiled widely. "If you think you'll win at cat puns, you've cat to be kitten me. I've been making these fur ages. Nino even hurt my felines when he told me to cat it out."

She couldn't help it, Marinette squawked out a laugh so embarrassing that she hid her flaming face in her hands long after his own booming chuckles had faded away.

"I never mew you were so dorky." She muttered out halfheartedly. His answering laugh sent a shiver down her spine.

"I'm fur there are a lot of things that you don't mew about me, Marinette." Tilting her head slightly and peeking through her fingers up at him, she watched as a nervous hand went once more to run through his tousled locks of hair.

"Oh I don't know," She murmured silkily as her hands dropped away to reveal her now calm complexion, "I've read nearly ever article written in the Gabriel magazine since I was 8." Letting that knowledge sink in, she went for a weak spot, "and that includes your interviews."

The man gaped at her for a moment before burying his face in his hands and groaning. "I was hoping that you'd never seen those. You never think about how embarrassing something might be when you're 15."

"Come on now, I wouldn't call admitting to falling off of your own personal bedroom rock wall embarrassing- only the fact that it happened in your underwear and half your staff saw." Her elated giggles rang out around them as he buried his face down lower. "It's not that bad," she assured him, "I still had the biggest crush on you back then."

The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. Memories of walls lined with photos, a computer screen filled with his likeness, and even a recorded interview or two sprang into her mind as her mouth dropped open in surprise. It was definitely too late at night to be talking to her old crush- she had a tendency to lose all semblance of a filter after 2am. Nothing good ever happened after 2am.

"Really?" The one whispered word sent a shock through her frayed nerves.

"Well, yeah." She answered truthfully. "You've always been attractive… and back then it was easier to read about you, and hear about how nice you were, than it was to like some boy in my school who made fun of my designs or threw away my sketchbooks." Her words trailed off awkwardly. If she just kept it in the past tense, she'd be fine. He could tease her for liking him just as long as he didn't know that she still found him super attractive… or that his dumb puns and company had been working their way under her skin since he first showed up at her cube.

"So," the syllable hung heavily in the air for a moment before he caught her eye, "what changed?" Adrien's expression was the least guarded that she had ever seen it. The blatant curiosity and hope mixed into an alluring combination. "I meant it when I asked if you wanted to get a drink sometime."

"I-" Marinette's words stuck in her throat as the implications struck her once more. "I- I- I've worked really hard to be where I am. Honestly, when I was 15, I never even considered that I would meet you, let alone that you might… well, actually talk to me." She could feel the ramble coming on but she couldn't stop it. "And nothing's really changed- you're still a model and so obviously attractive that it hurts- and now I know that you're just as sweet as everyone says… and you've made me laugh more tonight than I have in a long time.

Of course I'd like to get to know you more- of course it would be nice to go out for drinks- of course I'm super confused why you'd want to get to know me when there are so many more interesting people in the world. I just- I- this is your father's company, someday it will be yours, and- and I don't know how it would look… my designs have always spoken for me…"

She had kept eye contact with him up until the point that she was done talking. She had watched as the understanding had finally clicked in his mind and then as a thoughtful frown had crimped his angular face. Finally, as her voice trailed off, Marinette averted her gaze and started picking at a loose thread in the carpet as she waited for him to speak.

"Huh." Whatever she had expected to come after her confusing confession, it hadn't been that. Her incredulous eyes snapped back up to his thoughtful face once more.

"Huh?" The word was sharper than she had intended. She was basically turning down one of the best guys that she had ever met in order for her to reach her dream and all he could say was 'huh'?

"It looks like we've cat ourselves in a bit of a purr-dicament." He leaned in towards her face so that they were only a couple of inches away from one another- Marinette could see the blacks of his eyes dilate as they held her focus. "You see," he drawled lowly, "I've been wanting to get to know you better for some time now. Tonight was just the first night that I could actually build up the courage to ask you and now that I know you might be interested in me to, I don't think you should let the opinions of lesser people stop us."

"But- but what about your father?" She tried to reason, her pulse spiking at the tone of his voice. She'd never been this close to a guy before, let alone one of Paris' top models, and the look in his eye was doing crazy things to her. "Wouldn't he be upset?" Her words were now a whisper, spoken as the air rushed from her lungs. Anticipation for what would happen next had her feeling wired.

"You're talented- he's told me on multiple occasions- there's no way he, or I, would let anyone think that- whatever we may have- furthered your career. But… we can cross those bridges when we get there."

Yeah, no good decisions have ever happened after 2am. Marinette slowly raised both hands to lightly rest against both of his cheeks- the feel of his skin beneath hers lit some unknown desire in the pit of her stomach- her eyes stared into his, looking for any deception, any hint that this would be a bad idea, but came up empty. All she could see was the breathtaking hope as he gave her time to think everything through.

Slowly, cautiously, she leaned in and pressed her lips against his smooth pink ones. Marinette had never really given much thought to what it would feel like to kiss someone- Alya had always tried to set her up on dates, but she just never felt the urge to go- and so to be kissing this man after only a few hours in his company had her reeling.

The kisses were feather light, his hands were still pressed into the carpet in front of her, supporting himself, and she was still feeling her way through how all of this worked. Shifting so that she was on her knees as well, they were both able to find some more comfort as his hands slowly wound around the small of her back, drawing her closer up against him. Where ever their bodies pressed together, she could feel heat and electricity and the nerve endings were set ablaze.

Marinette's finger tips itched to explore more and so she hesitantly slid them around to the nape of his neck before burying them into the soft golden locks that he had been messing with all night. With the right leverage, she pulled him in closer to her and melded her lips a bit more urgently against his.

The feel of his tongue against her lower lip sent a thrill through her body as a tiny gasp broke free from her throat and she could feel the nervous touch sliding into her mouth- hesitant as though asking for permission.

Her own danced up eagerly, unsure about what to do, but excited to try it with him. Slick, smooth, electrifying. The two of them started off slowly, testing how to move, twirling around the other in a dizzying array of motion that left her head spinning. She clenched her fingers into his hair once more and the most enthralling sound escaped his throat and reverberated into their kiss. Low and feral, his eyes rolling back before closing, and Marinette felt the heat gather in her stomach again- she needed to hear that sound more often.

His hands were just starting to send jolts up her spine as they moved slowly, pulling her closer to him… their gasps for breaths mingling in the silence with their erratic heartbeats in between kisses-

A shrill ring shattered the fuzzy haze that each of them had been captured in. Blue met green, pupils dilated and lids heavy, as they caught their breath. Another silence-breaking ring had them scrambling away from one another. A third one had Marinette pressing the call button to answer.

"Hello?" She tried her best to get her labored breaths under control, hoping that whoever was on the other line couldn't hear.

"Yes, hello miss. We have technicians on sight." She let out a sigh of relief. "It may take a little while to find what floors you are between, but they have all of the tools necessary to get you out."

"Thank- thank you very much. We're doing pretty well in here," she caught Adrien's eye and grinned at his flustered expression, "so no need to rush."

"Would you like me to stay on the line to keep you updated miss?" The deep voice of the man on the other line seemed a bit too interested in his job at the moment.

"That won't be necessary," Adrien spoke up in a clipped tone, "thank you." The call cut off without a goodbye and Marinette was once more relatively alone with the model, who had settled himself back down on the floor and grinned at her, his cheeks still dusted pink.

"Would you believe that was my first kiss?" Marinette could feel the color still staining her own cheeks as she went over to sit next to him again. His chuckle was calming as he gently wound one large hand around her smaller one.

"Mine too- except for photoshoots… those are more like 'press your lips together and don't move until we have the shot' though." She giggled at the image that popped into her head when he spoke and gently squeezed his hand. "Nothing as… intense as… that."

"So… what do we do now? Is- is that drink still on the table?" The words sounded small even to her own ears. Yes, that kiss had driven her mad and ignited something in her that she wasn't aware of before, but it do the same for him?

"Whenever you want it." He replied softly and Marinette could hear the light joy in the statement. "Maybe dinner as well?" She nodded with enthusiasm.

Sitting there with him, basking in the glow of what they had just shared, Marinette wasn't able to identify quite what she was feeling.

Obviously elated- this was her teenage crush, a famous fashion model, and he was here… kissing her, asking her on a date, holding her hand. If only her younger self could see her now.

Slightly worried- because, yes, he said that no one important would believe that a relationship with him would make it look like she hadn't earned where she was… but there would still be people who talked if she was to date the boss's son.

Frustrated- it was great that they were being rescued and would hopefully be out of the elevator soon, but man, she really wanted to keep on kissing him longer.

A sudden thought struck her. "You wanted to ask me out before tonight? Why?"

Adrien broke out of his own line of thoughts by her sudden question before he let out a little scoff. "Why not? You- you're just so cute!" She could see the green of his eyes now that they had calmed down a little bit. "And so obviously talented. You have this natural confidence about you when you interact with your peers… it's just so eye catching."

Marinette was left a little speechless at his declaration. She sputtered for a moment before she was able to find her voice. "But- but I couldn't talk to you without, you know, running away!"

She felt his whole body twist as he shook his head. "That made my nerves worse about the whole asking you for drinks thing… I kind of thought you hated me." He back peddled when she shot him an incredulous look. "No really! You got along well with everyone else- even when you talked with my father, and he's a really intense person! I just didn't understand."

He nudged her arm with his elbow. "Want to know a secret?" At her small nod he continued on. "I stayed so late tonight because I was hoping to run into you. You looked so beautiful at the party… but I couldn't find the nerve to go talk to you with so many people around." The soft whispered confession was enough to spike her heartrate once more.

Adrien thought she was beautiful? He had wanted to talk to her? Maybe good things could happen after 2 am. Maybe she would go home and wake up tomorrow and this will turn out to be real. Maybe she wanted to kiss him again.

Bright lights flickered over their heads and Marinette let out a surprised noise while simultaneously jumping and gripping his hand. She could faintly hear the sound of a generator below them and she let out a breath as she realized that the elevator was once more moving down towards the ground floor.

Adrien beamed at her and then checked the time on his phone: 2:54am. She couldn't believe how awake she felt despite the late hour. Was the snow still falling? Was the power still out?

As the lift finally came to a slow and steady stop at the bottom, the two young adults gathered up their belongings, shrugged on their coats, and waited patiently as the doors creakingly split apart. The sound of the generator was loudly whirring around the corner and there were 5 people standing by to make sure that everything went smoothly.

The two previously trapped employees went around and thanked everyone for getting them out and wished them all a pleasant night before turning and making their way towards the exit.

"Hey, Adrien?" Marinette whispered. She missed the feel of his hand in hers. "Do you want a ride home? It-it's pretty late a-fur-all and it'd be snow purr-oblem." She peeked at the man next to her just in time to see the goofy grin stretched over his lips. Lips that she had kissed. Lips had she wanted to kiss again.

"Meow you're talking! I'd like that a lot." Together they made their way to the car port- thankfully she wouldn't have to brush any snow off before they left. She settled the pastries and her bag in the back seat as her companion clamored into the front. It was slow going on the roads; not much had been cleared away and she could feel her tires slipping whenever they caught a patch of ice.

Adrien was quiet except for the occasional direction which Marinette was thankful for- being distracted in these conditions could lead to an accident.

After a painstakingly long couple of blocks, they made it to his apartment. He directed her into a back parking lot before turning to her, eyebrows drawn down as he thought.

"I don't know how to ask without being weird." He finally muttered into the dark car as he looked away and played with the leather on her dash board.

"Ask what?" Marinette wondered aloud, several different scenarios flying through her mind. He huffed in exasperation at himself before sighing.

"I don't feel comfortable letting you drive home in this snow… and I know we've only really gotten to know each other tonight, but I was wondering if you would want to stay at my place until it's safe to travel again." He hesitated before looking over at her in a panic. "No funny business, I promise! I just- this snow is bad and- and it's so late and I know I'm tried so you must be too and I'll sleep on the couch." Giggling, the bluenette reached over to still his nervous hand.

"Thank you, if you're sure it won't be a hassle, I think that you're right and it'd be a lot safer for me to stay here tonight." She didn't know why that ball of nervous energy was once more in the pit of her stomach. "But I'm not going to kick you out of your own bed- I'll take the couch if it comes to that."

Marinette could see the tension leave his body as she agreed not to make the risky drive home. She grabbed her purse and the extra croissants for a snack, if they wanted, and the two dredged their way through the deep snow. Marinette followed behind him and tried to step only in his larger footsteps so that her feet wouldn't get too cold. Adrien laughed when he realized what she was doing and started dragging his feet along the ground to give her two distinct paths to tread in.

The two of them were laughing, smoke pouring from their mouths in staccato bursts, and she clung to his offered arm as they made it carefully up his icy stoop. The warmth of the inside hit her like the first rays of sun after a storm. Her nose tingled from the sudden heat and she couldn't help the carefree tinkling laugh that escaped her as she reached up to brush the accumulated snowflakes from Adrien's hair.

The blond smiled down at her warmly before shutting and locking the door behind him- he gathered her small frame against him and wrapped her into such a gentle embrace that it made her heart yearn for something that she couldn't explain.

Pulling back slightly, his mouth found hers in a gentle rhythm and she got lost in the feeling.

"Oh!" The one word had Adrien jerking her behind him protectively as he flipped on the lights. Marinette blinked at the sudden change and barely had time to recognize that they weren't alone before she felt the blond sag in relief.

"Nino, man, what are you doing here?" The whine in the back of his throat was evident to Marinette who giggled and peeked her head around his shoulder to meet the eyes of his best friend. Nino was tall, his skin was a beautiful chocolate color, and his eyes gleamed with mischief.

"I uh, I had texted you man. My apartment lost power in the outage and my girl and I needed a place to chill until it came back on. You never got back to me so I thought I'd use my set of keys to get in and we'd stay until you made your way home." He paused for a moment to assess the two adults before him with their snow covered hair, winter jackets, flushed faces, and bags. "I never would have dreamed that you'd be bringing a girl back with you. Sorry dude."

Adrien shrugged before looking back at Marinette longingly and sighing. His eyes made her wish that they were still tangled together in that small elevator. "It's okay, I'm just glad you're safe. It would suck to be stuck at home without any heat tonight." He looked around Nino trying to see something. "You and your girl hanging out in the living room? Still awake or is she sleeping?"

Marinette set her bag down and stripped off her coat while Adrien did the same. She handed it to him and who hung both of them up in the small closet to their right.

"We're watching movies; want to come meet her?" He paused for a second and held out a hand to Marinette. "I'm Nino, by the way. This one's bad at introductions."

She took hold of his offered hand. "Marinette. It's good to meet you!"

The three of them made their way through the apartment with Adrien pointing out key features- kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, laundry- before they finally made it to the back of the apartment where a large television was mounted against the farthest wall.

There were a couple of couches spread out around and the sound of the program masked their steps as they entered. It wasn't until Nino muted the show, that a very familiar head popped over the back of the couch to see why it had suddenly gotten quiet.

"Alya?" Marinette cried in disbelief. The redhead shot out of the couch faster than she could have ever imagined.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng! Where the hell have you been? I've been texting you for hours trying to let you know where I was!" She paused her fussing and looked towards the stranger in the room. "And why are you with this guy… in his house? Oh, my god!" She shrieked. "Do not tell me that you had a date tonight and didn't tell me about it!"

Heat rose on Marinette's cheeks once more. Her best friend was dating Adrien's best friend. They were all now in Adrien's house due to some crazy twist of fate. She was caught kissing him!

And suddenly, Adrien was laughing. Nino was wrapping an arm around Alya's shoulder. Marinette was hiding her face in her palms. Alya was glancing between her friend, her boyfriend, and the handsome man whose house they were in and she felt utterly confused.

"Alya," Marinette began, "meet Adrien. Adrien from work Adrien." The look of quick understanding and then amusement came to her friend's face. "We-we got stuck in an elevator together due to the power outage and we had no phone signal. And no, it wasn't a date…" She paused and looked towards the blond's amused grin

"Although I plan on taking her out on one someday soon." He cut in and winked at her.

Nino clapped him on the shoulder. "About time you finally asked out the cute designer from work. You've only been talking about her for months now."

Marinette squeaked and Adrien's face flamed to life. "I have not…" He tried halfheartedly to deny it before snaking his hand into hers. "Well, so what if I have- things worked out well enough, didn't they?"

"Purr-fectly." Marinette chimed in, her face flaming to match his own.

"Oh no- not another pun lover- I can't handle another pun lover." Nino bemoaned as he pulled Alya back to the couch.

"You should hear her dad." The redhead commented lightly, eyes flashing at Marinette with glee.

"I guess we have pretty good taste in friends, huh?" Adrien leaned down to whisper in her ear, the heat sending more shivers down her spine. "What are the odds that they would be dating each other, I wonder."

"I don't know, but I have a good feline about it- and about you and me. What do you say we go join in the mew-vie marathon?" She pulled on their entwined hands before the two of them settled into a plump, cream sofa.

Marinette was hard working- she had been since she was young. She had had only one dream since the age of 8, and she went after it with every scrap of determination in her. At times it was lonely, at times she doubted in herself, at times she wished for more, but her dream had led her to where she was now.

Looking around the dimly lit room, Marinette took note of the joy on her best friend's face as Nino laid his head on her lap- she felt the warmth of Adrien's hand wrapped securely around hers and, looking up into his warm eyes, Marinette thought that maybe it was possible to chase two dreams at once- and maybe she would start tonight.