AN: Haha so you remember last chapter when I said I'd try and reassemble an uploading routine? Yeah… so that didn't happen T.T

I'm super sorry for the wait, but life has been a pain and my motivation for writing has dropped consequentially, so writing this chapter was a struggle. As such, updates are likely to come slower than the weekly updates I started out with, but I'm determined to finish this story, so rest assured!

Adrien was pulled roughly from his warm, pleasant sleep by the sound of a loud, almost inhuman screech. Jerking awake at the sudden sound, he almost toppled over at the sudden lack of support against his left side, a disorientating wave of dizziness flooding his mind at the sudden movement. Blinking rapidly as the splotches of black danced and faded from his vision, Adrien whipped his head around, senses returning and heightening sharply as he took in his surroundings.

He was at school, he realised belatedly, and his mind began to supply him with the memories of the events leading to his current situation. Memories of sleepless nights, early starts, and sudden, overwhelming warmth and sleepiness. He didn't have much time to dwell on the realization that he had fallen asleep beside Marinette in the school caught yard – or rather, on her, if their previous position and the crick in his neck were any indication – before said girl was being hurled up by the collar of her shirt by none other than a seething Chloé.

"You," she spat, icy blue eyes staring daggers into the deeper, softer pair of Marinette's own, blown wide with surprise. "How dare you try and steal my Adrikins away, you little thief!"

Adrien immediately jumped up, protectiveness flaring up inside him at the sight of Chloé taking her anger out on Marinette in his name.

"Chloé, let go!" he reprimanded, leashing his anger to deal with the situation as best he could, not wanting to create any more drama than necessary. Her eyes snapped to his, and her glare faltered a bit at the sight of him, before the indignation returned and she left Marinette go with a huff.

"Fine, but only because you asked me to," Chloé relented coyly, batting her eyelashes at Adrien and smiling sweetly before turning back to Marinette, cold glare returning. "You'd better watch it – wouldn't want your little kitty-cat to find that you're unfaithful, now do we," she hissed, so low and venomous that Adrien almost didn't pick up on the threat, before she sauntered away.

Feeling his anger simmer down as Chloé backed off, Adrien turned his eyes to the silently seething Marinette, muscles tense and eyes glaring furiously at the retreating blonde. His breath caught at the intensity of her expression, vaguely familiar yet completely foreign on the usually sweet girl's face, before he snapped out of his stupor and pushed the thoughts of cloudy recognition from his mind.

He cleared his throat.

"Hey, sorry about that. Chloé can be a little… bold sometimes." Marinette visibly started at his voice before turning to meet his gaze with significantly less heat.

"Oh, it-it's fine, you don't need to apologise!" Marinette squeaked, fingers coming up to fiddle with the strap of her purse subconsciously. He smiled slightly at the familiar habit.

"No, really, it was my fault; I didn't mean to fall asleep against you like that, and I should have been more aware of how others may perceive it. Especially since you're dating Chat Noir now."

Marinette's face went blank for a moment, before she flushed pink all the way to the tips of her ears. "O-Oh, it's fine, really, you seemed really tired and so I just thought – and Chat will be fine, I mean – um, he's cool."

So, the stutter returns, Adrien though bemusedly. He wondered again why she only ever seemed this nervous to talk to him – relaxed with even Chat Noir more so than himself – before returning focus to the conversation, realising the gap in conversation was bordering on too long.

He gave an easy smile. "Thanks for that, by the way. A cat-nap was just what I needed," he reassured, before he realised Adrien, your Chat Noir is showing, and his smile froze a little.

Marinette though, to his relief, only giggled slightly, cheeks reddening further as her shoulders seemed to relax once more. "It's alright! I really didn't mind," replied Marinette, and weird, no stutter this time.

And then Marinette was being called over by a recently-arrived Alya, waving him goodbye with a sheepish apology before descending the steps to meet her friend halfway, leaving him to stare after her and wonder until Nino found him shortly after.

Do cat puns cure stuttering?

Class passed unbearably slow for Adrien. The extra sleep he'd gotten that morning did certainly help keep him awake, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't help but quickly loose interest in the lesson. His mind wandered from daydream to daydream, eyes staring unblinkingly at the whiteboard while his hand copied down the words and diagrams into his notebook subconsciously – a trick he'd picked up during slow days with Natalie. And eventually, his thoughts drifted towards Marinette.

There was a lot to ponder concerning the girl, really. Their relationship had developed quite a lot recently – or more accurately, her and Chat Noir's relationship. With the sudden change in their interaction levels and the status between them, Adrien found himself with a lot of questions regarding Marinette, though there was one that stuck out the most to him: just what did she think of Chat Noir?

It was a valid question, considering all the changes going on between them, and despite his confidence that Marinette wouldn't think lowly of him, he couldn't help the slight self-consciousness growing restless in his mind at the thought of what her opinion may be. After all, Marinette was the first person to truly get to know both Adrien and Chat Noir, save for Plagg, and the thought of her only liking one side of him had him feeling sick. He knew his anxiety was unnecessary – Marinette wouldn't have agreed to their spontaneous arrangement if she disliked him, after all – but his worries remained, silent yet ever-present in his mind. And it was these nagging thoughts of uncertainty that stole any semblance of attention he had spared to his lessons that day, especially when it was so easy to satisfy.

Like himself, just about everyone at school wanted to know everything there was to know about Marinette's relationship with the Parisian superhero, so a vast majority of his questions were already being asked by his classmates. And, really, it wasn't his fault if he happened to overhear a few conversations regarding their relationship… right? After all, he was Chat Noir; a hero of Paris! It was his job to practice his detective skills, and eavesdropping was no exception. His actions were perfectly justifiable – there was not a single doubt in his mind. Or, so he told himself.

~ Que montage of Detective Adrien™ ~

Lunch brought about the perfect opportunity to gather some 'research' on Marinette's opinions, Adrien decided. As soon as the bell had gone, some of Marinette's friends had immediately flocked over to her desk, and from the matching mischievous glints in their eyes, he knew exactly what their choice of topic was to be.

Adrien set about packing up his things with a slow, deliberate pace, eagerness to listen in to their conversation spiking as the topic of Marinette's "boyfriend" was teasingly addressed by a smirking Alix.

He listened as they poked and prodded, trying their hardest to bait her into spilling, but Marinette was surprisingly firm, shooting down their prying questions with amused glares and playful refusals.

"Come on girl, please? Just one little juicy detail for your best friend! You know you can't keep a secret from me for long!"

"I'm sorry Alya, but Chat and I agreed – after all the rumours surrounding us lately, we'll be risking no more gossip getting out. Not even for you," Marinette insisted, voice apologetic yet firm.

Alya sighed, frustrated, before a smirk found its way back to her face. "Alright, well will you at least tell us when you last saw him."

Adrien watched as Marinette's face lit up in a brilliant blush, colour dusting his own cheeks at the memory that was no doubt also running through her mind. Alya picked up on it immediately, teeth flashing like fangs in a triumphant grin at the crack in Marinette's defences as she and the other girl began bombarded her with questions once again with a sudden fervour.

It was like watching a pack of lions hurt down a gazelle – the chase stretching on and on until one finally cracks under pressure.

He could see Marinette's resolve weakening, just a few seconds from breaking; just a few seconds from the truth. In five, four, three, two –

"Hey man, are you coming?"

Adrien groaned internally as his attention was forced away from the impending reveal and smiled affirmatively up at Nino before him. Behind him, Marinette was beginning to ramble, a sure sign she'd soon crack.

Curse his black-cat luck.

"Yeah, I'll be just a second. You can go on without me if you want," Adrien answered with faux casualness, praying he'd take the bait and leave him to loiter at his desk for as long as he could get away with.

Unfortunately for him, Nino's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh no you don't, you promised you'd help me study for the chemistry quiz during lunch! I'm sorry dude, but there is no way I am failing chem, and you owe me for covering for you when you disappeared during math last week." He paused for a moment, brows drawing together in thought, before he wonder aloud, "Hey, come to think of it, you never did end up telling me where you went…"

At the mention of one of his many Akuma-related disappearing acts, Adrien snapped his full attention back to the conversation, giving up on his investigation in favour of running damage control and redirecting Nino's train of thought.

"Ah, right, I forgot all about that! Don't worry about it, I'll go over it while we eat," Adrien rushed out, stuffing the rest of his school supplies into his bag as he made a hasty retreat to the door, guiding Nino along with an arm slung around his shoulder. Nino seemed slightly confused by the sudden change in pace and attitude, but Adrien didn't give him the chance to ask about it before he was diving into a lengthy explanation of an important formula they'd covered the week before as they continued out the door and into the corridor.

Adrien continued to prattle on about various key points and relevant textbook passages mindlessly, silently mourning the loss of such a golden opportunity.

Next time. Next time for sure.

The second opportunity arose during lunch the next day and proved to be just as futile. Adrien had just settled in to eat, Nino beside him still singing his raise after getting an 95% on yesterday's chemistry pop-quiz, when a boy he'd seen once or twice before in passing walked up to Marinette and Alya, who sat chatting and eating a bench away. Adrien watched with mild interest, taking in the dark-haired boy's nervous posture – fiddling his fingers and stuttering out a greeting to the two girls, eyes on his red Converses. Curious, he listened in.

"Ah, h-hey Marinette, sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering if you were, um – if the rumours about you and Chat Noir were – I mean…"

Marinette smiled at him politely, but her eyes held question and her voice a tone of barely-detectable defensiveness. "If me and Chat are dating?"

The boy's cheeks flushed, eyes flicking up to meet hers before darting back to the ground, colour darkening. "I – uh, yeah. That…"

Adrien's brows pulled down in a frown as he continued to subtly watch the exchange.

Marinette's lips quirked up a bit at the corner, as if thinking back on an old joke. Her face softened, voice turning warm. "Yeah, we are. It's kind of hard but… we make it work." Adrien's breath caught and he froze, sandwich halted halfway to his mouth as his heart skipped a beat. Then she blinked, and the fondness was gone from her eyes with a single flick of her lashes as she seemed to come back to herself. She turned her attention back to the boy, apologising for drifting off topic and asking again if there was anything she could help him with, but by then he seemed to have gotten all the confirmation he needed and was quick to dismiss it and make a hasty retreat.

Marinette spent the rest of the day without a trace of that warm look from earlier, and Adrien spent the rest of the day trying (and failing) not to think about what that meant.

AN: The next chapter is almost halfway done, and I'll do my best to write as much of it as I can before I go away on holiday in a few days. Hope you guys enjoyed this, if any of you guys are still here :P