Chapter Sixteen: Oath

AN: Here's another chappy! (Sorry it's been so long!)

Today's song title is "Oath" by Cher Lloyd! An oldie, but a goodie!

To my wonderful reviewers: You all are too kind! I love getting your little messages in my day!

To ClaraLlamaLion: Thank you so much! Papillon does sound cool, but most people (that answered) preferred Hawk Moth.

To my guests: Thank you! Your messages are so cute and I love reading them!

Enjoy! :]

Ladybug zipped her way through the city, muscles burning pleasantly from exertion. Chat was just behind her, switching between leaping and vaulting off of his staff. He wasn't sure what Ladybug's plan was, but he had decided to follow her anyways. His hand was a little sore from the roller skate wheel that had been crushed into his palm, but otherwise, he was generally uninjured. At least physically he was uninjured. As he went through the motions of zooming through Paris, Chat's mind wandered…

His chest ached when Ladybug's face flashed in his mind. It was right before she had been shot with the ring. When he had leaped in front of her, fear was evident in her eyes, but after she shoved him aside, what he saw on Ladybug's face could only be described as determination. It was a proud and satisfied look. There wasn't a trace of fear on her face, in fact, she looked confident if anything.

He hadn't expected what she was doing, and that stung. As much as it stung though, her confidence in him was a salve to his injury. However much confidence she had in him though, didn't compare to the fact that she had willingly given her life over his, which Adrien couldn't let himself allow. His resolve was set and his heart ached the more he thought about it.

So caught up in his thoughts, he didn't even notice that they had arrived at Marinette's balcony. "You're awfully quiet minou. What's wrong?" Ladybug peered up at Chat with those baby blues of hers, and Adrien wondered how he was ever fooled about her identity. Really, it was quite obvious.

Chat rubbed the back of his neck and then released his transformation in a swarm of black. "I just-" he turned around, leaning over the balcony. "I can't- I mean, you can't just let yourself get hit like that! It's dangerous, you could've been-"

Ladybug cut him off angrily. "Hurt?" She pointed an accusing finger at Adrien. And what about you? You're always jumping in front of danger, saving me instead of yourself!" Ladybug released her transformation and Tikki and Plagg flew next to each other, watching the argument nervously. Her eyes were flaming.

Adrien whirled around, face contorted and eyebrows scrunched. "Because you're more important than I am!"

Marinette's eyes widened and she took a step back. After she got over her sudden surprise, she stomped close to Adrien, her freckled nose almost touching his. Now, it was Adrien's turn to be taken aback. "I am not," she said slowly, forcefully. "You are just as important as I am and you know it! I couldn't do anything without you!" She cupped his face with her hands. "We are partners! A team! I'm nothing without my Chat!"

Adrien jerked his face out of Marinette's loving touch. He looked away from her warm gaze, not being able to stand the sight. "You're wrong!" He risked a glance sideways at Marinette, which ended up making his chest ache. Across her features scrawled a look of hurt. "You could do all of this without me! You don't need Chat Noir! And you definitely don't need useless Adrien Agreste." His voice had started out in a shout, but as he finished, he ended in a whisper.

Marinette felt a stab of pain go through her at the look of pure devastation on his face. She bit her lip and turned Adrien's face so he was facing her again. She looked up at him in adoration mixed with hurt. "And here's where you are wrong." She spoke softly, like if she spoke louder, he might shatter. "I will always need you. There will never be a time when I don't need mon chaton." She stroked her thumb across Adrien's smooth cheek. "And there will never be a time when I don't need you, Adrien." She shifted onto the tip toes of her pink flats. Her lips brushed Adrien's as she spoke, "You're mine." A possessive spike flickered through her, and Adrien shivered pleasantly at her words. A sliver of desire planted itself in Adrien. "I will always need you," Marinette paused, shifting her head, and nudging under Adrien's jaw with her nose. She needed to be away from his intense eyes. "Because I love you."

Adrien's heart melted at the girl who seemed to be so small and insecure in front of him. A far fetch from the girl known as Ladybug, but he loved them one in the same. He tugged under Marinette's chin so she would look at him this time. "I love you too, ma princesse."

Adrien slowly bent down and Marinette went back onto her toes. She fitted her lips against Adrien's. As they kissed, Marinette wrapped her arms around Adrien's neck and he slipped his own around her waist. The two deepened their kiss, clinging to the other, the space eliminated between them. Marinette moved her hands into Adrien's hair, and tugged as Adrien slipped his tongue into her mouth, a hesitant question as he waited for her reaction.

Marinette replied eagerly, tasting what could only be described as Adrien. They both clutched at each other and only let go to gasp for air, chests heaving. The pair both held close to each other, not moving back farther than they had to for air.

At this point, Tikki and Plagg had wandered off into Marinette's room somewhere, and Adrien and Marinette followed, passing the spool table before dropping down onto Marinette's bed. Adrien was unrelenting, and Marinette reciprocated. They were laying down on Marinette's bed, finally slowing down, chests heaving. Marinette lazily turned her head and rolled onto her side. She tapped Adrien on the nose, giggling. "Feel better kitty?"

Adrien put his pointer finger on his chin in thought. "Maybe a little," he hummed. "But, you know. Another kiss wouldn't kill me."

Marinette relented to his teasing and rolled on top of him. She leaned in to kiss him and Adrien propped himself up on his elbows to get a better angle. And then Marinette leaned back, teasing Adrien. He whined at the loss and Marinette giggled brightly. "A little needy aren't we?"

Adrien nodded, and looked up at Marinette eagerly. "Yes! Now kiss me!"

Marinette giggled and then dropped her lips close to Adrien's neck, nipping slightly. He keened under her. "Marinette! Stop teasing me and kiss me!" Again, instead of listening, Marinette gently moved Adrien's collar before sucking lightly.

Adrien inhaled sharply, bucking his hips from the feeling. He blushed a bright red as Marinette looked down at him, scrutinizing him. She nipped at his neck and Adrien whined. Marinette noted that for another time, when they were ready, when they were older. Picking her head back up from Adrien's neck, she eyed her handiwork. There were pink splotches already forming. She smirked as another possessive spark flew through her. Mine, she couldn't help but think.

Adrien looked up at Marinette pleadingly, and Marinette relented to his peridot eyes. She gently placed a kiss onto Adrien's waiting lips. He hummed into the kiss, relaxing into her touch. Marinette leaned back, sighing at the sight of Adrien's slightly swollen lips. He looked totally debauched, and loving it. That was her doing. She had done that to him.

She pressed another short kiss to Adrien's mouth before sliding back next to him onto the bed. "You know, you can stay the night. It's getting pretty late, and according to what we've told my parents, you've already slept here once. As long as you leave before my parents find us in the morning, it should be okay." Thinking of something else, Marinette added as an afterthought. "As long as you don't try anything funny with me, mister!" She giggled and Adrien winked at her, sliding his arm around her. His warm embrace melted Marinette's heart, and she smiled brilliantly in return.

Adrien continued to smirk at Marinette and slipped his hand lower, attaching itself to her ass. "You mean like this?" he asked in a very Chat-like way.

Marinette rolled her eyes, but didn't knock his hand off, secretly reveling in the touch. Who knew that someone would like getting their ass groped so much? She snuggled right up next to Adrien, covering herself in his warmth. Tangling their legs together, Marinette nested her head right next to Adrien's chest, but not before kissing him one more time.

The kiss seared Adrien, something that he would feel all night and into the morning. He held Marinette tighter, giving her ass a little squeeze and Marinette let out a little "Eep!" into the quiet room. He loved the way the Marinette was wrapped up in him (or was he wrapped up in her?). He slid his hand back up to Marinette's back and pulled her infinitely closer. He kissed the top of her sleepy form before whispering, "I love you, Marinette."

Replying drowsily to his words, Marinette mumbled into Adrien's chest. "I love you too."

And with that, the entwined pair fell into a comfortable sleep, warm breath exchanged silently.

Alya trudged her way up the stairs, sleepy from her frantic run in with the akuma. She wanted to show Marinette the video she had taken of the attack, so the second she had woke up, Alya headed to Marinette's house. She didn't even bother with her hair this morning, just shoving it into a ponytail, which swayed back and forth as she climbed higher.

Upon reaching the top, Alya didn't even bother with knocking, and just pushed the trapdoor open. When it flipped to the other side, a boom rang through the room as the wood hit the floor. She heard a groan come from Marinette's loft bed.

"Oh, not even awake and you're whining already? Get up!" She laughed to herself about Marinette's morning self. "I have something amazing to show you!" Alya sing-songed, climbing up the ladder to Marinette's loft.

Marinette rolled over to avoid Alya's loud talking, she snuggled up to something very warm. She tucked her head under Adrien's chin, still too out of it to notice something out of place. All she knew was there was a warm and comfortable lump in her bed, and she was going back to bed.

Alya climbed up the last rung on her ladder and just stared. Instead of just Marinette lying there, there was a blonde mop of hair right next to the girl. Alya's jaw dropped, she had known that the two of them were dating, but man were they moving fast.

Adrien had moved from his sleepy position to snuggle Marinette back, his head resting on Marinette's blackish blue hair. Before either of them could complain about it, Alya took out her phone and took a picture of the cuddling couple, phone charm dangling.

Marinette, slightly awoken from the flash, eyed Alya sleepily with her blue orbs. "What do you want Alya? It's early," Marinette's voice was muffled, most of her words seeping into Adrien's shirt.

Marinette held Adrien tighter as a sliver of cold reached out at her. Still sleeping, Adrien just held on tighter, tangling his legs with Marinette's. His warmth seeped through her clothes and the chill was all but gone.

Alya spoke up after staring at the whole exchange. "Well, I was here to show you the footage from the akuma attack yesterday, but now…" she trailed off, and Marinette's eyes drooped, as she was falling back asleep. "BUT NOW I'M HERE FOR THIS WHOLE EXPLANATION!" Alya exclaimed, effectively waking the sleeping Adrien, who sat up straight in bed, still clutching Marinette in his arms.

He groggily looked at Alya and then back at a now wide awake Marinette. Adrien sighed sleepily, and then pulled Marinette into his lap. He nuzzled into her neck, leaving behind little warm kisses on her neck. His eyelashes fluttered next to Marinette's kiss and she giggled at the sensations, Alya completely forgotten.

Adrien nibbled at Marinette's neck, loving the bright sound of her laugh. He kissed his way up her neck, leaving the tiniest of marks from his nibbling teeth. Continuing on his path, Adrien kissed across Marinette's face, teasingly avoiding her pink lips.

Marinette's giggle rang out through the room and Alya just stood there in shock, debating on just climbing back down the ladder and leaving, or interrogating the two. Then Marinette took Adrien's face in her hands, tired of his teasing, and kissed him with fervor.

Adrien was ecstatic, this was the best wake up call he had ever gotten! Marinette needed to wake him up like that every day! He tossed that thought around in his mind as he kissed Marinette, maybe when they got older…

He was pulled out of his thoughts by a throat being cleared, and a loud "Ah-hem!" The pair looked up, eyes wide and faces red at being caught. Neither of them could believe they had forgot about Alya. Adrien's eyes wandered down to Marinette's red speckled neck. Then again… it was easy to forget with someone like Marinette and her tempting skin around.

Alya's face was also red from seeing the two just about get into a full-blown makeout session. "Well, this is some interesting news also!" She continued on as if she hadn't just witnessed both of them attack each other's faces. "I figured I needed to interrupt you two before your little kisses turned into a gargantuan makeout session." Both of their faces showed shock and then protest as they tried to deny what had just been about to happen.

Alya hopped herself up onto Marinette's pink bed, sitting cross-legged right across from the two. Adrien shifted nervously, and as seconds ticked by and Alya kept staring them down, he began to get nervous.

Alya steepled her fingers, like every villain known to man, and leaned in. "So," she drawled. "How long have these… shenanigans been going on?"

Marinette turned her neck so she could look Adrien in the eyes, asking him a silent question. After she had gotten her answer, she answered. "He has only slept here twice, once just the other day." She flashed her eyes away from Alya's eyes and to Adrien's as she lied. She hated to do it, but she needed to stick with the story she had told her parents.

A thrill shot through Marinette. She had just slept with Adrien. Adrien. Frickin'. Agreste. She could've jumped up on her bed and done a victory dance out of excitement, but she held herself down. Marinette looked back at Adrien, smiling and eyes shining. Adrien smiled back at her, albeit a little confused, but happy all the same. He had just gotten to sleep with the love of his life, in the most innocent of ways, well, mostly innocent.

Alya hummed in thought, then scrutinized Adrien with narrowed eyes. "He didn't try anything with you did he? No funny business right?" Adrien's eyes were wide. He didn't get scared easily, having gotten used to recurring akuma attacks, but looking into Alya's golden eyes, made him shiver involuntarily in fear.

He thought about how he had grabbed Marinette's ass. He didn't know if that counted as funny business, but he figured that he didn't want to find out as he peered into Alya's hard glare.

In his lapse of thought, he made some sort of noncommittal gesture and Alya raised her eyebrows, looking him up and down. "And what is that shrug supposed to mean?"

Marinette jumped in, saving Adrien from having to answer. "It means no, he didn't try anything with me." Alya looked satisfied with that answer, and she sat back on her haunches, crossing her arms. "And even if he did, I know my boundaries. Plus," Marinette added, giving Adrien a teasing look, "I could easily take him down on my own." She smirked and raised a self-satisfied eyebrow.

Adrien's jaw dropped at the clear insinuation. He was not going down without a fight. He smirked back, equalling her fervor, and retorted. "Oh yeah? That's not what you were saying last night!" Adrien switched the story a little to embarrass even Marinette farther. He spoke in a falsetto voice, "Oh! Adrien! I need you Adrien! I need you more than anything! I love you more than the stars in the sky!" He put his hand to his chest dramatically, "And my favorite one, 'I love you more than Sheldon loves his spot!' Marinette, you really know the way to my heart!" He teased her, nudging her flaming cheek with his nose.

Marinette laughed a little and Alya rolled her eyes. "I don't remember it exactly like that," she grumbled out, leaning back into Adrien's still chuckling form.

Adrien raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And what do you remember? Was it that passionate kiss we shared? Like this?" Adrien leaned down to kiss Marinette and she shied away, giggling. She landed flat on her back, laughing up a storm and squealing as Adrien barraged her with tiny kisses.

"Yeah yeah yeah! We get it!" Alya spoke, rolling her eyes for what seemed to be the millionth time. "Seriously, I get it. A little kissy kissy smoochie smoochie, and some cheesy love declarations."

Marinette turned her head to look at her friend, and Adrien took that opportunity to swoop in and plant a kiss on Marinette's unsuspecting mouth. Marinette felt her face heat up as Alya watched the exchange with exasperation.

"Anyways! I just came to show Mari the video of the akuma attack, it got pretty intense actually…" Alya trailed off and the events of the day flashed through both Marinette's and Adrien's heads. Alya took out her phone, and scootched her way over to sit next to the snuggling pair.

They watched the video, forced to feign interest and excitement in things that they had went through themselves. When Ladybug got frozen, they had to act shocked, even as Adrien felt guilt spike through him. As if sensing this, Marinette put a hand on Adrien's arm and looked into his eyes to wash away the ashamed feeling. He nodded his head minutely, and Marinette took that as a sign that he was doing better.

She turned her attention back to the phone so Alya wouldn't take notice of their little exchange. She definitely didn't need Alya asking her questions about Ladybug and why Adrien seemed to be bothered.

Marinette watched as Chat reigned down his fury on the akuma, and finished it off. Marinette wouldn't admit it, but she may have looked down to check out his leather-clad ass once or twice (or way more than that). He was just very easy on the eyes was all. Unbeknownst to her, Adrien usually did the exact same. In all seriousness though, the young hero was truly impressed with how well her partner had done. He had finished off the akuma quickly and without much collateral damage.

They watched on as Chat let a tear slip and embraced his Lady, kissing her senseless. Marinette set her head onto Adrien's shoulder and he kissed her head sweetly. They watched as Ladybug pushed Chat forward to finally get credit, to get the glory. Adrien squeezed Marinette's hand in appreciation, and she planted a kiss on his cheek.

They continued watching to finish it to the end, and Alya was practically buzzing with excitement. "Isn't it great! They are finally together! Chat Noir and Ladybug! A relationship of the ages! No matter where they are, no matter the generation, their profound love for each other will always prevail!" At this point, Alya was standing on Marinette's bed, in a typical superhero pose.

Marinette and Adrien both chuckled at her antics. Alya plopped herself down on Marinette's bed. "Are you guys going to be all coupley all day?"

Marinette glanced at Adrien before turning back to answer Alya. She leaned in surreptitiously, as if letting Alya in on a secret. "I'm actually planning on asking this blondie," she nodded her head at Adrien, "on a date."

Adrien, obviously being able to hear, said what genius thing came to his mind first. "What?"

Marinette and Alya giggled conspiratorially to themselves and Adrien rolled his eyes. He slipped his arm around Marinette's lithe body, warm fingers brushing her stomach, and pulled her back into his lap. He spoke quietly, lips next to Marinette's ear held in a smirk, his whispering sending a chill through her. "And what exactly do you plan to do with me, Princess?"

Shivers flew up and down Marinette's spine, and she tried to repress a shudder. "That's information for me to know, and for you to find out later." She waggled her eyebrows, smirking right back at him.

Alya rolled her eyes and started to back down the ladder, catching Marinette and Adrien's attention. "W-Where are you going Alya?" Marinette asked, head tilted in confusion.

She waved over her head as she pulled the trapdoor open. "I'm going to hang with Nino, since you two lovebirds have obviously got some plans… Like eating each other's faces. Seriously, I was right there too!" She laughed, heading down. "Have fun!"

Alya's leaving was met with a successive goodbye from the two. And with that, the trapdoor dropped, landing with a thud. Not waiting a second longer, Adrien spun Marinette around so that she was straddling his lap. "Now," Adrien said silkily, "what are these said plans for me?"

Marinette squealed as Adrien poked at her stomach, tickling her. "It's a surprise! Be patient kitty!"

Adrien whined and leaned in to kiss Marinette's neck. "But Marinetteeee!" He tried to convince her with his lips, planting them wherever her skin was uncovered. She giggled, but she wouldn't let herself be convinced.

All of a sudden, Adrien's eyes lit up as an idea flashed through his head. "And what if I forced you to? After all, my Princess, you did lose a wager about someone being someone's slave for a week…"

Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes, plopping her forehead onto Adrien's strong shoulder. "I may have lost a bet, but what if I just really want this to be a surprise?" She hummed, and lifted her head of his shoulder to look into his eyes. He had been quiet for a while, and seemed to be pondering her plead, mulling over the pros and cons in his head.

Adrien chewed on the inside of his cheek. Pro, Marinette apparently really wanted to surprise him with a date. Con, he usually wasn't a fan of surprises. Pro, he did like Marinette's surprises, one of which was her being Ladybug. Pro, he really liked going on dates with Marinette.

He looked into Marinette's pleading blue eyes and felt his resolve start to melt. She really did have him wrapped around her finger. He sighed, giving in. The only con was that he didn't like surprises, and even then, it wasn't a strong problem because he liked Marinette's surprises. "Fine, you win this one," he crossed his arms, putting on a tough-guy facade. "But only because you're cute."

Marinette's eyes glittered. She would never, ever, get used to Adrien calling her cute. "Thank you thank you thank you!" she squealed out. Marinette lunged at Adrien, knocking them into laying flat, with one of her infamous hugs.

"Now!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together, "I'm going to shower quick, and then we can get going!"

Adrien propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her slyly, "Is that an invitation?" He waggled his eyebrows at Marinette, who in return turned beet red.

Once she got down the ladder, she had composed herself as best as she could, and said with her face still flaming, "Maybe when we are older kitty." She winked his way and this time it was Adrien's turn to blush down to the roots of his hair. He had not expected that answer. Usually she would just brush off his comments, but to agree, even if for a later date…

Adrien felt so hot he might just catch on fire.

Marinette took her time in the shower, and while she did, Adrien wandered around her room, taking everything in. He had decided after about two minutes of Marinette being in the shower that he needed to keep his mind from wandering to her. Even so, looking around her room, his mind would still catch on the idea of Marinette, in the shower, skin gleaming with drops of water…

Adrien shook his head to get rid of those thoughts before he couldn't control them. He wandered over near Marinette's desk, and flicked at her computer in curiousity. His eyes widened when he saw the photos of himself across the screen, and he smirked to himself. Her obsession was almost as bad as his Ladybug obsession. Almost. With his professional eye, he thought that it was actually a pretty good composition of photos. Then, as an afterthought, he found it funny, and as he looked around the room, he noticed other clippings of him pinned up on the walls.

He laughed a little to himself, peaking at the door and listening to Marinette's humming. He smirked, still not believing that the whole time Marinette had been interested in him. The whole time. And when he was Chat, the only reason she brushed him aside was because of Adrien. He chuckled to himself, but it quickly died in his throat when Marinette stepped out of the bathroom, clad in a short pink towel.

"M-Marinette!" Adrien exclaimed, face flushed. He turned away from the scantily clad Marinette, and shielded his eyes with his hand. "W-what are you d-doing?"

"Chill out, I just need to get changed. Keep your eyes closed though, don't need another incident like last time!" She laughed brightly, and Adrien seemed to blush impossibly deeper. 'Last time' flashed through his head as he remembered Marinette and her leopard panties.

"Y-yeah, d-don't need that," Adrien stuttered, freaking out inside. Marinette was changing right behind him. Marinette was changing. Marinette was naked. Right behind him.

Adrien felt his muscles tense, and he tried to get rid of those thoughts. The next thing he knew, Marinette had her hand on his shoulder and he jumped about five feet in the air. "Woah there tiger! You okay?"

Adrien turned around slowly, keeping his eyes level in case Marinette wasn't fully… covered. "F-fine. Just not expecting that is all." His muscles were tense and he felt jumpy.

Marinette smirked. Whenever Adrien got like this, she felt really good about herself. She didn't think about her flaws, only that Adrien liked the way she looked. He would get embarrassed and flustered around her, much in the same way that she would around him.

"Ready to go?" Marinette asked. She went over to grab her jacket, completely forgetting that her parents didn't know about Adrien staying the night… again. Luckily for her, Adrien did remember their little predicament.

He grabbed Marinette's arm, slowing her down. "Hold it hold it hold it." Marinette stopped, turning around with her eyebrows furrowed. Adrien addressed her obvious confusion. "Your parents don't know that I am here, remember?" And all of a sudden, it dawned on Marinette, and she made a silent 'oh' with her mouth.

"So," she drawled, "how do we want to do this? I leave downstairs and you leave as Chat?" Marinette saw his cheeky look. "Sneakily! You will leave as covert as a spy. You hear me? A spy!"

Adrien kept on smirking, and Marinette waggled her fingers at him. "I do not need people to see the leather clad Chat Noir leaping from my window... in the morning. Who knows what insinuations people would make!" Her arms were flailing wildly as her face heated up.

Adrien put his finger on his chin and waggled his eyebrows in a Chat-esque way. "And who's to say we haven't?"

Marinette choked on her own saliva. "A-Adrien!" He laughed at her expression, and in response, Marinette smacked him lightly on the head, ruffling his perfect model hair. Seriously, how did he do that in the mornings? He pouted at the hit, but couldn't help but laugh at his own joke.

Marinette rolled her eyes and Adrien lifted his shoulders, trying to act innocent.

"Well," Marinette said dryly, ignoring Adrien feigning innocence. "How about you get to your house and get ready, and I can meet you there? Leave your window open, maybe Ladybug will drop by…" Marinette trailed off with a wink.

Adrien laughed. "Good, hopefully you won't catch me in the shower, again." He smirked as Marinette turned a brilliant red.

"Yeah, what is it, third time's a charm?" she rebuked, trying to make up for her red face. She even added a little wink, not even trying to be subtle with her flirting.

Now it was Adrien's turn to blush. "You know, you almost caught me as Chat once or twice actually. One time I had to quickly release my transformation when Nino was over, and then once again with Volpina. I felt so lost then. All I ever had wanted was to know who you were, I didn't care who you were underneath, I knew that I loved you. I just wanted to know you, and for you to know me underneath all that leather."

Instead of saying anything, Marinette just let her head plop down onto Adrien's shoulder. It was a heavy weight on her heart that she had blown him off so many times. It just wasn't fair to him. He gave her time to think as she stood there.

When Marinette spoke up, Adrien was just smiling to himself about having her. "I never wanted you to know who I was. I just thought there was no way you would continue to like me after seeing stumbling, bumbling Marinette." She paused to take a breath. "It doesn't matter how many times I say it, there will never be a time when I'm not glad you found out. We are in this together now, for better or worse." By the time she finished her monologue, she was peering up at Adrien with her blue eyes.

"For better or for worse, huh? That sounds like a proposal to me," Adrien teased Marinette, although loving everything she said. A tiny, miniscule part of him still hurt from all of her rejections on revealing themselves, but he understood what she felt too. He just needed a little bit of time to get over it. And spending time with Marinette only made it easier. Marinette scoffed in reply, but kissed him on the cheek anyways.

"What was it I said earlier? 'Maybe when we are older'? Later, kitty," Marinette winked and Adrien's heart swelled. That day was just getting better by the second! "But right now, it's time for you to go get ready, I have big plans for today!"

Marinette pushed Adrien up the ladder, shooing him away. "Now get going! I need to get everything ready, and so do you!"

Adrien stumbled his way up the ladder rungs, his foot slipping multiple times. He made his way up to the bed, and leaped up to the open balcony. He hung there for a minute, holding himself up with his arms, muscles flexing, something that didn't go unnoticed by Marinette. She got slightly distracted, pausing in her rush to eye him up. Realizing what she was doing, Marinette rolled her eyes at herself. She went back to pushing Adrien out the trapdoor. "Okay! Miss Pushy! I'm going I'm going!"

Marinette gave him a boost, shoving him out the trapdoor by the butt. When Adrien got up there, he laid down on the ground, face peeking through the hole, a teasing smirk already on his face. "You're not subtle missy." Adrien made a face, teasing her. "I know you just grabbed my ass for fun. You know I could make it up on my own."

Marinette put a finger on her chin. "I don't know," she trailed off. "It seems like you were struggling a little. Maybe you should be working out more instead of just kissing Ladybug…" She trailed off, watching Adrien get more ruffled.

He lifted his chin in defiance. "Oh, you can't complain. You love it when I kiss you." He made a mental note to work out more, even if Marinette was just teasing. Who knows, once she noticed, she would find him even more attractive, even more irresistible than he was. His chest swelled with excitement. Marinette always gave him so much confidence in himself, confidence that used to just come and go.

Marinette nodded, succumbing. "Maybe just a little," she lied. She liked it. A lot.

Adrien leaned down the trapdoor hole. "How 'bout it then Princess? Will you give me a goodbye kiss?" He puckered up his lips, holding himself down, careful not to fall.

Marinette feigned debating over it. She even bit her lip to sell it. Adrien's eyes were instantly drawn to her pink lips, that looked more and more tempting by the second. He tried to lean down farther, but he just about lost his grip and fell. Marinette grabbed his shoulders, keeping him in place. Giggling, she made sure he didn't fall down.

"Fine, one kiss, but then you have to leave!" Marinette stood on her tiptoes and kissed Adrien sweetly. When she pulled back, Adrien was instantly disappointed.

"Until later, kitty!" Marinette waved.

"One more kiss?" Adrien pleaded, his eyes taking on a kitten like quality.

Marinette had to look away to resist them. "Nope." She crossed her arms to set her point in stone. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, see you in an hour!" Adrien pouted, but Marinette turned away, ignoring his little whines. "Bye Adrien!" she called over her shoulder as she headed down the ladder.

Reluctantly, Adrien turned away, transforming and leaping off her balcony, keeping an eye out for onlookers. Didn't need any of those insinuations of the public mucking up his relationship with Marinette. He leaped from building to building, landing somewhere close to his house, and releasing his transformation nearby.

He snuck inside, opening the door silently and hopped up the stairs to his king kong of a room. He scrambled around the room, trying to get ready. He quickly jumped in the shower, excited for his date.

Meanwhile, Marinette rushed around her room, setting up plans and making calls. This was going to be their coolest date yet…

AN: Again, I'm sorry it's been so long… ('Absence makes the heart grow fonder'?) I tried to make up for it with a longer chappy. (13 pages!) I hope you liked it and I didn't have too many mistakes. Sorry there haven't been many puns as of late… :(

Until next time my fur-st class readers. :]