Hi!

Bloody hell. It's 4am and I really should be sleeping because I have to get up for work in 3 hours. I mean, I know I average 3 – 5, but come on. I'm still not used to routine again.

Anyway, I hope you like this chapter. A little bit of angst, a good deal of kissing, maybe a reveal or two, and a very happy Gabriel Agreste.

.

.

.

Best Birthday

.

Marinette stared out wistfully towards the building before her. From this roof top, she had the perfect view of a large billboard that had a picture of Adrien and her plastered across it. The image was in dark tones of black and red, highlighted by sparks of bright light. Filling the blank space of the image, there was a perfume bottle surrounded by flames and sparks. Just above it was the scriptive font that advertised the item.

A Spark Ignites the Flame.

That was a line almost worthy of Chat Noir. It may not have been a pun, exactly, but it seemed like it, considering how they had managed to get all three product names into it.

Spark, Ignite, and Flame. Three unisex scents that were being advertised by romance. There were a total of nine posters, seeing as there was one poster for each perfume, but each perfume had three different photos. The one of Adrien and her was the most popular, splashed on every big billboard. But there were also posters of a male couple, and of a female couple. She was actually glad that Gabriel had made this decision, showing diversity in their couples. Though, she had to be on the biggest one, didn't she? Because unlike in the others, she and Adrien were actually kissing.

It wasn't just a chaste kiss. They had picked one of the later shots. Anyone could tell by looking at it that it was a hot kiss. Her eyes were closed, her fingers going white from gripping the fabric of his shirt so tight. His eyes were half lidded, green eyes staring down at her in a way that wanted to make her melt. One hand was threaded through her hair, while the other was grasping at her waist. It stole her breath away at the memory.

It was amazing how fast they had been put up. Knowing how the industry worked now, she knew that they would have had everything ready to go. They would have just been waiting on the images from the three photoshoots, and then the designers would have touched them up and placed the image in. (And by touch up, she meant the lighting, because she could tell that she nor Adrien had been airbrushed. Gabriel was quite against that). Then it would have been sent off to the printers, and by 10am the next day, the posters were all over Paris.

It was at exactly 10:03am that she had received a call from a squealing Alya demanding answers. And at 10:27am she received a text from her mother telling her how stunning she looked.

It was a good thing she had been working on her designs today, as she could barely look at Adrien all day. What with all the posters around, every time she looked at them or him, the moment came back in vivid clarity. She wanted to march up to him, drag him down to her and kiss him. She wanted him to make her feel like that again. The heat, the tug in her stomach, that craving for more. Even now, looking at the picture, she felt it.

Just thinking about it made her heart race and heat spread through her body. Her breathing was fast and shallow, and she tried to steady it.

"They make a cute couple, no?" She jumped at the sly voice that interrupted her from her lust driven stupor.

"Y-yeah," she stuttered, turning to face her partner in crime-fighting. "They really do. It's a shame they're not."

"You're telling me," Chat Noir sighed, staring up at the image almost in awe. "From what Adrien says, she wasn't too happy about it."

"Huh?" Her head snapped towards him in surprise. He'd talked to Adrien already?

She had been a little surprised at first to find out that Chat and Adrien were friends somehow. He'd said that he dropped in and talked to him some nights. And it certainly made sense, considering that sometimes she would hear Adrien talking to someone in his room, even though 'no one was there'. She had decided to use this as a good excuse to say that she was friends with Marinette. It was a good way to bring herself into the conversation without revealing who she was. And considering the fact that she'd 'introduced' Chat to Marionette back when they were fifteen, he didn't even question it.

"Marinette," he replied. "She didn't seem too pleased about the photo shoot. She was really upset about it. Then after she refused to talk to him unless it was work related. He hasn't seen her since. He's actually kind of upset about it."

"Please, what's he got to be upset about?" she scoffed. "It was his fault. He knew Marinette isn't comfortable with things like that, and he got her to do it, just to spite her. And then that photographer got them to kiss. And kissing Adrien, of all people! She was mortified."

"Hey, what's wrong with Adrien?!" he protested.

"Nothing! Just... she's been in love with him for years."

"Wait, she is?!" His head whipped around to her, his eyes wide. "A-are you sure? Adrien said she practically ran away from him afterwards."

"Well what did you expect. She kissed the guy she likes for a photo shoot. And it's not like Adrien feels the same way. So, yeah, she was embarrassed and upset. Wouldn't you be?"

He rubbed at the back of his neck in a familiar nervous gesture. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He sighed and looked back at the billboard, a curious look on his face. She cocked her head, trying to decipher it, but for once she couldn't make heads or tails of it. "It was his father, by the way."

"What?"

Chat chuckled. "Adrien thinks that his father is trying to set them up. Apparently Marinette never had time to tell Gabriel about the change of models before she had to go take the photos. And half way through the shoot he got a text asking how his photo shoot with Marinette went. When he asked his father how he knew that it was Marinette instead of the other girl and he didn't reply. So, he's kind of convinced that Gabriel is trying to set them up."

"Y-you're kidding!" she gasped. There's no way. There was absolutely no way that Gabriel Agreste, of all people, would set her up with his son.

"Nope!" he laughed. The chuckle faded out and he looked at the picture a little longer. She did the same, trying not to think about it too much. She couldn't stand to keep thinking about that kiss. Not when it didn't mean anything. "You're wrong you know." Chat's soft voice startled her.

"Wrong? What do you mean?" For a moment she thought he'd read her mind or something, but that was just stupid. She folded her arms, looking at her friend. He was still staring up at the billboard, his expression fond.

"You're wrong about Adrien not liking her. He thinks he may be in love with her. I actually think he has been for a while."

"Now I know you're kidding," she said, rolling her eyes.

"No, really. Hey... maybe we should join Gabriel and try and get them together." She snorted at the suggestion. "What?! It could work. I'm his friend, your her friend. I'm sure Alya and Nino would be in on it if we asked. I think they've actually tried before. And you said that she's been in love with him for years!" He had a huge grin on his face and she shook her head.

"Don't be silly, we can't do that, Chat."

"Yeah, but... we could give them hints or something, right?"

She shook her head, unsure of what to do. She still wasn't sure if she believed Chat. And at the same time, the idea did sound appealing. But it also seemed wrong. She couldn't try and hook herself up. That seemed like cheating. She should just pick up the courage and do something about it herself, but she hadn't done anything about it in years. If she was going to try and get herself together with Adrien, it would be the right way.

"I suppose that we could convince them to ask each other out. Just that, though. We shouldn't interfere too much. Marinette hates people doing things for her when she should be doing it herself."

Chat chuckled. "Yeah, I know."

"She's been trying to pick up the courage to ask him out since they were fifteen. It just never seemed to happen."

"Wait, she's really liked him that long?!"

"Yeah. I can't believe he never noticed. When they first started properly hanging out as friends she was pretty obvious."

Chat chuckled. "Yeah, he can be horribly oblivious sometimes. Bit of an idiot, really." She rolled her eyes at him with a fond smile. She wanted to defend Adrien, but he was kind of right. Just a little. "I'm going to tell him," he announced. "That he should ask her out. Give him a bit of advice and call it a birthday present. Who knows, maybe he'll actually go through with it by the end of the day."

She blinked. It was past midnight now... It was Adrien's twentieth birthday. Oh god, she'd been so tied up over worrying about everything that was going on that she had totally spaced. Well, not badly. She'd had his present made for the last week. But still...

"Oh god, I completely forgot about his birthday!"

Chat patted her on the shoulder. "It's okay, My Lady. I'm sure he won't miss one present. Unless you want to swing by the party. Your presence is a present enough."

"Chat, stop it," she giggled, nudging him in the arm for the horrible flirt-pun. He laughed back, looking down at her with such soft eyes that she had to bite her lip at look away.

Maybe if Adrien did ask her out, it would make things easier. Maybe if he did, she could finally move on from Chat properly...

.

They'd never gone out, but boy at one point had they been close. It had been two years ago that she came to the realisation that she was starting to fall for Chat. Only, she was still in love with Adrien too. She and Chat had even kissed a few times. But in the end, they decided it was too dangerous. As much as it hurt, they both agreed they couldn't be together. And they both liked someone else from their civilian lives. So they had agreed to settle down with the other person in their lives. They had cried, and they had kissed, and they had gone back to their usual routine of fighting Akuma together.

But it still hurt.

Even now, an entire year later, it still hurt. Maybe finally having Adrien - the other guy she loved - maybe then it would hurt a little less seeing Chat's face. Maybe her chest wouldn't swell with happiness when his flirting looks became serious, only to have ice spread through her and settle heavily in her stomach when she remembered that she couldn't love him. Not like that.

She looked away from him, her eyes flicking back to the billboard for a moment before they settled on the ground. "I should go."

"Lad-"

"Bye, Chat." She turned back and shot him one last smile. Then she was jumping off across the roofs.

Rather than go straight to her home at Adrien's, she headed towards her home at her parents. It was something she had started doing whenever she went her separate ways from Chat Noir, just to keep their identities secret. After she had first moved in to the Agreste mansion, she had noticed that she and Chat went the same way. They went the same way for quite a long time. In fact, they headed the same way for so long that she became uncomfortable and hung back. He had to live somewhere close by. So she took the long way home, running around a couple of blocks before doubling back.

This seemed to work, because since those last few times almost a year ago, she hadn't seen him since.

.

...That was until now. Right as she reached her window, opening it to go inside, a figure clad in black suddenly dropped to the window a room over. Her earnings let out a beep for her second to last warning, alerting him to her presence. His eyes widened as he noticed he wasn't alone, and he turned to her in surprise. His expression was almost comical and he almost lost his grip on the window.

"My Lady!" he gasped, his voice squeaking a little. She would have laughed if she wasn't so shocked. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Uh... Marinette!" she said quickly. "I'm here to visit Marinette."

"Yeah! Me too!" He tried to scramble into the widow, but he seemed a bit to panicked and distracted. "I – I mean, Adrien. I'm here to see Adrien. And, you know, tell him about earlier and-"

Suddenly, there was a beep and his eyes widened in horror before a green light surrounded him. It happened so suddenly that she didn't have time to close her eyes or look away. She could only stare as the transformation fell away, leaving behind a terrified looking Adrien Agreste.

He let out a yelp and his fingers tightened on the window. His shoes scrambled for purchase against the smooth surface. Just when he seemed okay, a small back thing dropped from the air beside him, and he snatched out a hand to catch it.

"Plagg! - Ah!" With only one hand holding on, he lost his grip and slipped.

Thankfully, despite the fact that she was stunned stupid, Marinette's body worked faster than her mind. Seeing him fall, she quickly threw out her yo-yo towards him. It wrapped around his waist, and he reflexively grabbed onto the string. Using the momentum of the fall, she swung him up, pulling him back towards the window as she dove in herself.

He came tumbling towards her and they rolled a couple of times before they finally landed with him on top of her. For a moment they were both too stunned, just staring at each other. Marinette's mind was still trying to process the fact that Adrien was, in fact, her crime-fighting companion. He opened his mouth to stutter something out when there was another loud beep, and her transformation ended. The magic fell away, leaving Marinette in Ladybug's place.

Whatever he had been about to say died in his throat, turning into a strangled gasp. For a good minute or two, neither said anything. They just stared at each other, letting everything they had just discovered sink in. Brilliant blue met bright green eyes as they sifted through their memories, merging every memory they had of each other as their superhero and civilian form. Realising that the conversation they were having not ten minutes ago about their 'friends' had in fact just been about themselves.

Slowly, a very Chat like smirk made it's way to Adrien's face. "Hello again, My Lady."

"Kitty," she said breathlessly.

He giggled. "I have to admit. I wasn't really expecting this."

"That's because you're an idiot," a voice grumbled off to the side. Adrien's face fell in annoyance.

"Plagg!" he and Tikki groaned. At the sound of the small voice, his head snapped to the side to see her small red Kwami. He blinked at her before a grin grew on his face. "Is that your Kwami? She's adorable!"

Tikki giggled, somehow managing to blush despite already being bright red. "Why, thank you, Adrien."

"Ugh! Who cares. Can we just go get cheese now? I'm hungry."

Tikki rolled her eyes. "You had a huge plate before you transformed. I saw you! You don't need it."

"Hold on…" Marinette said, thinking about what Tikki had said and what it would mean. "You knew? You knew that…" She looked at Adrien and Plagg.

"Well duh," the black Kwami said. "And before you ask, we couldn't say. It's an old deal we made. You had to figure it out on your own."

"Okay, sure. But… Okay, seriously, I know that I intentionally took the long way home when I figured out we lived close to each other, but how could we live in the same house for a year and not notice? How has this not happened before?"

"I think it was a conflict of luck," Tikki said.

"Luck?" Adrien said, looking about as confused as she was.

"Your bad luck, and Marinette's good luck. She didn't want anyone to know who she was, and her luck helped out with that. And you really wanted to know who Ladybug is, and with your luck… well, it didn't happen."

Plagg snorted. "If by his bad luck you mean that he was too busy thinking about Marinette that he missed a step and fell off a roof, then sure."

Tikki just ignored him and continued as if he hadn't talked at all. "And with Plagg and I being so close all the time, it kind of created a… fog, if you will. A fog of luck that kept the two of you from seeing what was right in front of you."

"Pfft! Adrien doesn't need bad luck to not see what's in front of him."

Adrien growled while Marinette giggled and Tikki rolled her eyes again. "I'll take him to get some cheese before he gets any grouchier." She grabbed Plagg by the arm and dragged him off. He seemed to have perked up a bit at the sound of his favourite food.

"Wait! Tikki!" Marinette cried in panic, realising she was about to be left alone with Adrien.

"Have fun, you two!" she called back before they phased through the door.

She looked back at Adrien, who was still hovering above her, staring at the door. He chuckled, turning his bright eyes back to her.

"She seems a lot nicer than Plagg," he joked.

"She's a sweetheart. Is he always that grouchy?"

"Only when he's hungry," he said with a shrug, which caused his entire body to shift against hers as his arms were the only thing holding him off her.

Her lower half was completely pinned, their legs entwined. The action seemed to draw him back to the fact that he was still on top of her. They hadn't really moved from where they had fallen. A light blush to match her own spread across his cheeks. Her blush only deepened when he stared at her.

"So... ah..." He bit his lip, his eyes flicking away. "Marinette, I..." He suddenly seemed so bashful, and the way he was stuttering was just so... so frustrating. Why was he talking? Why wasn't he kissing her? "We, um..."

"Oh, for flips sake!" she cried.

Adrien was startled by her outburst. But he was surprised even more when she reached up, grabbing his face in her hands and pulled him down into a kiss. Something like a squeak came from him, and the sudden movement almost made his arms give way, but he managed to catch himself. It took a moment more for him to start reacting to the kiss, but when he did she could feel a smile on his lips as they moved against her own. Smirking, he pulled back far too soon for her liking.

"So, is this you saying yes to me asking you out?"

"You haven't asked me out yet," she pointed out.

"On the contrary, I believe I've asked you out countless times over the last few years. And you knew I was going to ask you out anyway. Besides, I believe it was you who told me that you've attempted to ask me out since we were fifteen. And-"

"Oh my god!" she said in embarrassment. "Yes! Yes, already! I will so go out with you! Now shut up and kiss me!"

Smirking, he lowered himself and pressed his lips to hers. He supported himself above her, one arm slipping behind, under the arch of her back and dragging her closer. His body pressed into her, pinning her to the floor at the same time. She could feel the angles and planes of his body. Could feel the erratic beating of his chest when her hand came up to grab at his shirt. Her other hand curled up around his neck, her hands running through his silky blond hair.

She melted into the kiss, her breath hitching as he kissed her deeper. She whimpered, trying to get closer to him, dragging down on his shirt. He just chuckled into her mouth, sucking her lip gently before he started to trail kisses down her jaw and to her throat. A gasp escaped her lips when he started to suck and nibble at her sensitive skin. She was hyper-aware of everywhere he was touching her.

All thoughts had left her head and the only thing she could focus on was the feel. The feel of his skin against hers. The hand that had dipped below her shirt and the nails that scraped lightly at her lower back. The feel of his legs as she hooked her own around his as he straddled her. The pressure of his weight. His soft lips as they brushed across her skin, the small nips from his teeth, the smooth swipe of his tongue. Her entire body felt as if it were charged with energy as she quivered beneath him.

It was all so good that her breath was coming out in harsh pants. "A-Adrien!" she whimpered.

At the sound of his voice, he looked up at her through his lashes. Bright green eyes seared into her, making heat pool in her stomach. With an incredibly satisfied smirk, he leaned back up and stole her lips again. She mewled into his mouth and his tongue darted out to lick at her lower lip. This made her gasp again and he used the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, stroking her own. He growled out a deep moan when she began rolling her hips up into him, barely aware of what she was doing. She was so lost in sensation, her body acting on instinct. She couldn't even think. All she knew was that she wanted more.

.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. They barely had time to break apart and look before the door opened and Gabriel Agreste poked his head in. If he was surprised to see his son making out with his live-in intern on her bedroom floor, he didn't show it. In fact, he barely reacted to the scene at all. The two were so shocked that if they had any breath left, they would be holding it. But as it was, they were still trying to gasp oxygen in. They were frozen as they were, with Adrien still hovering over her, and her legs now hitched up around his waist, too shocked to even move.

"Ah, there you two are," Gabriel said, as if he had found them simply having a cup of tea. "Marinette, I just wanted to inform you that I think your first modelling job went incredibly well. I strongly recommend that you look into continuing it on the side. You would make a stunning face for the Agreste line. As such, I have decided that you and Adrien shall model your new line in the pre-show photos. Especially given you two have the perfect appearance. That is all." He went to turn away, but then seemed to think of something and turned back. "Oh, and Adrien, Happy Birthday." Finally, with a nod, he left.

The two of them just stared at the door a moment in shock before they turned back to each other.

"He- he didn't even react!" Marinette said, slightly gob-smacked. "I'm making out with you, his only child, on floor, and he didn't even seem phased!"

Adrien shook his head, slightly exasperated. "Oh no, he was reacting alright. He was smug." He got to his feet and held out a hand to help her up. "I told you he was trying to set us up."

"That is... really weird. He's my boss. And you're his son! And I can't believe he wants me to continue modelling. I know that tone of voice, that was his 'I'm giving you a suggestion, but it's actually an order' voice." Suddenly her face paled. "Oh. Oh no."

"What is it?"

"My new line. The project I've been working on... It's Ladybug and Chat Noir based. There's casual and formal, and- Oh god, I made masks for all the models. I hope they don't make us wear the masks. What if people figure out it's actually us!"

"Mari! Mari, calm down," he said, placing his hands on his shoulders. "We'll suss something out. But for now, lets leave the talking till another day, okay? I mean, we still have a lot to talk about. But it can wait. Right now, it's my birthday, and I want to enjoy it. And since you forgot, all I request is to spend the night with my new girlfriend making up for the last five years of not making out when we totally could have been. Your room, my room. I don't care. I just want to spend the night with you."

Towards the end of this he went from cheeky to sweetly sincere as he pulled her close to him and rested his head on top of hers, placing a kiss in her hair.

"You idiot," she said fondly. "I've had your present ready for a week. I just spaced out on it because of yesterday. But I think I can handle that request."

She grinned up at him cheekily, but the smile didn't last long as Adrien's lips descended upon her own again. He reached up, grabbing her hands and slowly leading her forwards without breaking the kiss. She didn't know where she was leading her. She didn't care. All she cared about was that she was kissing Adrien, her Chat Noir. And it was fucking amazing.

The next morning, Nino was woken early by a text. Groggily, he put on his glasses and opened the message. What he saw made him blink a few times. Adrien had sent him a picture. He and Marinette appeared to be snuggled up in his bed. She was still asleep, nuzzled in close to his neck with a soft smile on her face. Adrien's arm was wrapped around her, and he was looking at the camera in utter glee. It had the caption 'Best birthday present EVER'.

Nino couldn't help but let out a chuckle. He rolled over and nudged Alya awake.

"Babe. Hey, babe, look at this." He held the phone out to her and she squinted at it, too tired to bother with her glasses. Thankfully, she wasn't overly short sighted, and was able to tell what it was very quickly. A soft smile spread across her face.

"About damn time," she mumbled, closing her eyes again.

"Yeah, tell me about it," he said, putting the phone and his glasses down and snuggling back down with her. "I have to say, Gabriel's idea was good. He's gotten a lot better with Adrien's birthday presents."

.

.

.

You know that Gabriel did a fist pump or happy dance or something as soon as he left the room, then quickly composed himself in case anyone happened to see.

And that's all for this one guys! Thanks for reading!

I have many more fics to come. The last chapter of 'Class Akuma Conspiracy' should be up soon. And I have six other ML fics in the works.