It was another bright and sunny spring day in Paris. As usual, Marinette wasn't watching where she was going. Her head buried in the latest issue of MODE, she relied solely on the movement of the crowd out of the corner of her eye to shepherd herself from her home to school (though she nearly detoured into the metro in her absent mindedness). People were used to it by now and knew better than to tread in her path when the latest issue came out.

Only this morning, someone else was as absent minded as she was. They collided in front of the school, bowed heads knocking together, and bags and paper flying. "Ow! Hey-!" Marinette started, before she suddenly realized she was looking into familiar green eyes.

"Oh, Marinette, I'm so sorry!" Adrien fussed, his eyes wide with apology. "I wasn't looking-"

"N-no! It's okay! I wasn't looking either!" Marinette cut in, her cheeks going pink.

"Yeah, but I should've-"

The school bell interrupted them and it was a sudden scramble to get ready. "Here, let me help you," Adrien said, grabbing at their scattered things a little too quickly. He grabbed his own magazine, before helping Marinette up to her feet. He looked oddly flustered. "Sorry again!" he called, dashing off to school with nary another word.

Marinette could only blink at the odd exchange. She looked to the pile of supplies in her hands and with a sigh simply carried them in her arms to class. Adrien was occupied with getting ready (and not looking at her), so she simply went up to her desk to put her things back in her back.

"You read Shojo Beat?"

"Huh? What?" Marinette said, looking up to her best friend's inquisitive eyes. She followed them down to her magazine. Except... that wasn't MODE at all. The designer's brow knit into a frown. That wasn't hers. Where on earth did-

Suddenly, it hit her like an electric shock. Her eyes darted over to Adrien, whose attention was fixed firmly on the board.

...Adrien read shoujo manga?

Adrien. Read. Shoujo. Manga.

SHOUJO MANGA?!

Unbidden, her imagination went wild, scenes of her crush curled up in bed as his cheeks grew warm while he read stories of love and rivalry. He would blush and squirm, eyes too bright as he read his favorite ship about to kiss-

It was about then that Marinette's head exploded.

So... SO CUUUUUTE!

A huge, giddy smile that could not be contained spread over her lips like a lecherous grin. Her body shook with the sheer effort of forcing herself to not shriek or squee. All she wanted to do was tackle Adrien from behind and idolize his adorability.

Alya stared at her incredulously. "You... really like it that much?" she asked, thinking it was some kind of answer to her question.

"Oh, you have no idea," Marinette replied, as Mme Bustier came in to start class.

~o~

Marinette did not return the magazine at lunch. Instead, she poured over it at home, worshipping each page as she imagined how Adrien must have poured over the stories himself. She nearly vibrated like a hummingbird when she returned to class, never more ready to talk to Adrien after school.

Meanwhile, Adrien returned to class, looking ashen and nervous. His eyes flicked up to Marinette, probably having realized who had his book now. She returned his look with a wide, reassuring grin. He had nothing to worry about. His secret was safe with her.

After school, they met up to exchange the magazines as part of their unspoken understanding. Somewhere private, a hidden nook in the library. His cheeks were rosy, when he held out the MODE magazine for her to take. "Sorry again about crashing into you," he said, as they exchanged the issues.

"Oh, no, it's no problem!" Marinette reassured him brightly, watching a little too interestedly the way that he so very carefully put the magazine away in his bag. Unable to contain herself, she said, "So, I didn't realize that you like shoujo manga. If anything, I would have guessed that you'd be into superheroes or something like that."

The blond shifted awkwardly, his cheeks blooming into a full on blush. "W-well, I do like those too. I like a lot of different things." Problem was, he wasn't the least bit convincing. She'd caught onto his guilty secret and he was only growing more and more flustered the longer she stared at him. "Th-there's nothing wrong with liking shoujo manga," he said quickly, "The artwork is always very well done. The characterization and relationships are usually a lot more sophisticated than regular shounen manga. Some of them have very good plots and-"

"Adrien," Marinette cut in, before he could justify himself into a corner.

"What?" Adrien asked warily.

"You're adorable."

Marinette was never more straight-faced and sincere as she spoke the words. She never imagined before this that she could say them so easily to her crush like this. But there was just something about the way that the blond went red right up to his roots with sheer embarrassment. It made her want to wrap him up in her arms and coo and coddle him until he dissolved into a pool of flustered mush.

He seemed to be making great strides towards puddle of mush already, as his brain seemed to short-circuit. "Wh- no I- I'm not- You can't just- I'm not adorable!" he stammered, doing absolutely nothing for his case. "You can't just go around calling boys adorable!"

A slightly devious grin spread over Marinette's lips. "I'm just calling it like I see it," she teased, "Adrien Agreste, you are the hereby the cutest thing in all of Paris."

His poor ego was probably shattered. However, she had no regrets even as he all but glared and pouted at her.

Protect him.

Her heart squeed in delight. She giggled aloud, "Don't worry, Adrien. I won't let anyone know your guilty secret. Even though I think it's really-"

"Don't say cute," Adrien bit out.

"-charming," Marinette finished lightly with a bright smile. Feeling brave, she hopped over and wrapped him up in a tight hug. She hummed as she left him, bereft of his dignity and more than a little dissatisfied.

~o~

"Milady, am I adorable?"

Ladybug looked up from the streets of Paris, over to her partner sitting on the rooftop beside her. Chat Noir didn't look like he was flirting. Instead, his face was fixed into a serious expression, both stern and earnest as he waited for her answer.

It took a moment for the question and his expression to coincide in her mind. Then she let out a bubble of laughter. "Chaton," she smiled, her voice curled into a teasing lilt, "only adorable people ask questions like that."

Chat Noir gaped at her, personally affronted. "I'm not cute!" he protested, making Ladybug only giggle more. "I'm not! I'm handsome and suave! Girls love me!"

Now Ladybug was howling.

"I'm NOT~!" the blond wailed. "Ladybug, how could you?! I'm your partner!" he cried, wracked with betrayal. He took her by the shoulders, trying to shake away her laughter. She only laughed harder, now struggling for breath.

"I'M NOT CUTE, DAMN IT!"

~o~

"Hi Adrien!"

The blond riveted mid-step up the stairs to the school courtyard. He slowly turned, casting a wary look at Marinette as she bounded up to him, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. "...Morning," he said, more than a little suspicious.

Beaming at him, Marinette hopped up to his level, hands clasped behind her back. "How are you doing this morning?"

Adrien relaxed, but not by much. "I'm fine, and you?"

"Good! Good! Oh, I was at a used book store the other day and I found something that you might like," she said, and opened up her bag to show the full nine volumes of Kiss of a Rose Princess.

The model stared inside her bag in silence. Probably trying to figure out if this was some kind of trick or not. All the same, his eyes were hungry with interest, and he visibly wavered on his feet with indecision.

Taking that as affirmation, Marinette pulled the books out in a spare shopping bag and handed them over. Essentially making the decision for him. "Here you are. Enjoy!"

Adrien went pink, unable to keep from getting flustered. "I- uh- um. Thank you," he said, his dignified and polite answer undermined by the way he held the precious bag a little too tightly.

"No problem!" Marinette smiled, spinning on her heel to head to class, internally gushing.

So cuuute~!

~o~

The next time, Marinette went straight to his house.

*State your business* the female voice crackled over the intercom in front of the house.

"Good afternoon!" the designer said brightly, holding out her bag of plunder. "I'm Adrien's classmate. I sit behind him in class. I wanted to drop something off for him."

After a moment of silence, the mail chute opened up as it did before. *Place the package in here.*

Marinette twitched. Oh, hell no. Not after last time.

Then with as convincing a smile as she could, she said, "Actually, I need to give it to him in person. There's some things I have to explain and it would just be quicker if I came in."

There was another long deliberate moment of silence. Then in answer, the security gate opened up, allowing her entry. She was met in the foyer by a familiar face. Marinette didn't know exactly what Nathalie did. House organizer was her guess. The severe woman regarded her primly. "Adrien will be down in a moment."

As promised, Adrien stepped out of his room, his eyes widening when he spotted his visitor. "Marinette? What are you doing here?" he asked, genuinely shocked. Like the very idea of having guests in his home did not compute.

"I brought you something!" the designer replied, holding up a non-descript shopping bag. "It's kind of a lot. So I thought it would be better to bring it home to you, so you didn't have to carry it around school."

At once, the model went pink, instantly realizing what it must be. Casting a shifty look over to Nathalie, whose eyes narrowed at the exchange, he quickly waved Marinette up the steps. "O-oh, right. That thing. You better come up to my room then." Once they were in the privacy of his cavernous suite, Adrien turned to her. "Um, Marinette, I appreciate it, but you really don't need to keep giving me books." He gestured to his upper level shelves, filled with all kinds of media. "I actually have quite a lot, so..."

He faltered when she pulled out the complete Ao Haru Ride series from the bag. Marinette grinned in victory. "Do you want to read it?" she asked, holding out the first volume. It was like holding a treat out for a puppy.

After a moment's struggle, Adrien took the bait. Snatching it up, he thumbed through it briefly, before his eyes latched onto the words. As if he were magnetized to them. After a minute or two of complete silence, Marinette asked, "Well, should I just leave this here?" She gestured to the bag.

"Wha- oh. Right, of course," the blond said absently, his answer a little vague.

Marinette waited for another minute. "...You mind if I stick around?" When she received an absent minded hum, she took that as permission and settled down on top of the sofa. She picked a book out of his library at random, making some token effort to look like she was socially reading. However, nearly all of her attention was on her crush.

Adrien was completely engrossed in the books. He went pink and breathless at times. He gravitated from standing, to his chair, to his bed, hunched over the pages as more and more volumes littered the bedsheet around him. Marinette watched in rapt attention, drinking it in like an oasis in the desert. When he shifted (squirmed) or sniffled, she very nearly lost her mind. Her heart could hardly handle it. He was just so sensitive, so charming, so- so cute!

Adrien resurfaced hours later, oblivious to all this, when he sped read through the last volume. He blinked when he realized it was dark outside and that he still had a visitor. "M-Marinette? What are you doing here?"

The designer let out a dreamy sigh. "Hm? Oh, I brought you the manga."

Adrien blinked, then remembered. "O-oh! Right!" That was when he checked the time and blanched. "Marinette, that was hours ago!" he cried, aghast, "I can't believe I ignored you this whole time! I'm so sorry!"

"Oh, it's aaaall good," she replied, still in somewhat of a daze. She was drunk off of hours of watching her crush go pink and flustered, having filled up with enough daydreams to last a lifetime. She glomped onto Adrien, giving him a tight squeeze. "Yer so, so sweet and cute, Adrien. Yer purrfect. Don'chu ever change," she said, slightly slurring her words.

The blond went red, but coughed lightly and gently pulled her off. "You sound like you need to go to sleep," he said, helping her over to the front door. "Gorilla will help you get home. Night, Marinette."

"Night~!" the designer called back, as she was led away to the silver town car in the courtyard.

At the top of the steps, Adrien watched the car head off. A small smile touched the corners of his lips, as he turned and headed back inside.

~o~

The next morning, Marinette was still in a state of dreamy bliss. She sighed every ten minutes or so, propping her head up from her desk as her mind drifted to very recent memory. Alya could not help but laugh at her. "What's gotten into you, Marinette? Did your prince give you a goodnight kiss or something?"

"Mmm... better~" the designer hummed happily in reply.

"Better?" Alya said incredulously, "Okay, now you have to give me the deets."

Before Marinette could think up a reply, Adrien and Nino walked into the classroom. At the front of the room, the model held up a hand for attention. "Hi everyone," he called. "Just want to make a quick announcement." Blinking, that pulled Marinette out of her daze as everyone's gazes landed on the blond. Smiling wide, Adrien put his hands to his hips and declared, "I like shoujo manga. I think it's amazing and I'm completely addicted to it. I'm not ashamed to admit it. Thank you. That is all."

Looking pleased as punch, Adrien settled himself down in the front row, chatting idly with Nino. There were a few scattered murmurs from the class, but otherwise, no one thought much of it. Save for Marinette, whose jaw had dropped in horror from the announcement.

No. NO! This wasn't fair! He wasn't flustered anymore! Why wasn't he flustered?!

She got her answer soon enough, when Adrien turned and beam up at her. "Thanks for your help, Marinette."

"My what now?" she asked stupidly in reply.

"For helping me be less self-conscious," Adrien replied, his smile as bright as the sun. "You kept encouraging my interest and told me that I didn't need to change. It doesn't matter that I like cute things like 'girly' books. You showed me that. So, thank you."

"You're... you're welcome," Marinette replied weakly, feeling her awkwardness arise once more. Oh no, he was back. Back to being secure, confident, and completely unflappable. Her advantage was gone. Gone forever.

Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.

"You're a really good friend, Marinette!" Adrien added, oblivious to the way that the three around him cringed.

God dammit~! she internally wailed, while Alya put a comforting hand to her back.