When Marinette stepped out of her room 30 minutes later her ears were assaulted by the sound of unabashed squealing.

"Marinette! It's so good to see you! When Alya texted about the club I dropped everything and rushed back to town. I am totally crashing here tonight by the way, no WAY will I be sober enough to drive back."

"It's good to see you too Aurora." Marinette choked as her friend glomped onto her with another high pitched squeal.

"I can't believe you finally landed Adrien!" The blonde gushed. "I am amazed that you aren't completely freaking out right now."

"Well, it's still pretty new, I don't want to jinx it you know?" Marinette replied sheepishly. They had already decided earlier that it would be easier to tell as few people as possible as to the real natured of Marinette's and Adrien's new relationship.

"Still, it's so exciting!" Aurora giggled, "and I don't know about you but I am SOOO ready for a night on the town."

"Hey, let's not forget what the whole point of this little exercise is," Alya reprimanded. "Our job is to…"

"I know I know, we are there to help the poor helpless supermodel get as much press as possible to annoy dear old dad, I got the memo." Aurora waived her off. "Besides I already did my part thank you very much. I called every contact I knew to warn them about tonight's festivities. I even called Claire."

"You didn't!" Alya gasped.

"Totally did. Acted like I had called the wrong number and then accidently let it slip that I was going out tonight with Adrien Agreste and his new girlfriend during the awkward pleasantries."

"Yes! That's perfect!"

"Who is Claire?" Marinette asked confused by the strange back and forth between her friends.

"Remember that bitchy girl I used to constantly complain about from work who ran the online gossip page for my old studio?" Aurora smiled.

"Oh the one who kinda looks like an angry poodle?"

"That's the one. She is also a Gold Member of the Adrien Agreste fan club so she is guaranteed to tell every paparazzi and blogger she knows about this little outing."

"What exactly is a gold… you know what, I don't want to know." Marinette said.

"Speaking of our favorite celebrity, where is the man of the hour?" Aurora asked looking around the apartment.

"Oh he's still in his room getting a lecture on the finer points of Club etiquette from Nino." Alya laughed. "You should have heard him, I thought he was going to cry when I told him we were finally getting to take Adrien to a club with us. I half expected him to drop everything and run to the nearest airport."

They all laughed, and Marinette couldn't help smiling at the mental image of a distraught Nino racing through the crowded streets of New York.

"So is everyone congregating here before we head out?" Aurora ask as she picked up her overnight bag and dropped it down onto the new, and admittedly much improved, couch.

"Monique and Rochelle are meeting us here in 10, Rose, Juleka and Alix are all getting ready at the girls place and we are going to grab them on the way over in the limo."

"Nice! Looks like you managed to round up the whole gang."
"Hey, when I plan an outing I do it in style," Alya grinned. "Speaking of style, alright Mari, let's take a look at you."

Marinette rolled her eyes and held out her arms in an exaggerated pose as her two friends circled her like eager vultures.

After all of her fretting and fussing earlier, she was quite pleased with her ensemble. Her loose boat necked top with flowing petal sleeves was stylish yet conservative from the front but with a deep scooped back that gave it a sexy flare, the bright blue color bringing out her eyes and flattering her complexion. Her high waisted charcoal grey shorts paired with six inch heels accentuated her trim figure and made her petite frame seem longer. She had piled her hair up in a strategically messy bun and accented the outfit with only minimal make up and a few choices pieces of jewelry.

It was the kind of outfit you could throw a jacket over and wear for a day mingling with high end clients before heading out for a night of fun- sexy but without trying too hard. It made her feel sophisticated, comfortable, and confidant.

Alya and Aurora, who had both opted for attractive if rather form fitting party dresses, looked at her with poorly disguised confusion, and Marinette resisted the urge to giggle at their surprise.

"Are you sure that's what you want to wear? Not that you don't look amazing it's just I would have thought given the circumstances you would want something a bit more… I donnow… alluring?"

"Flirty?" Aurora offered, as Alya struggled to express herself.

Before she could respond, the door to Adrien's room opened and the boy in question joined them.

"Sorry I took so long I didn't realize that there were so many rules to this type of…" he caught sight of Marinette and his eyes widened, "social…" his voice grew quiet and he swallowed, "gathering."

"Wow, Marinette you look amazing," Adrien stated, giving her a lingering once over.

Marinette smirked at Alya who admitted her success with a deferential nod.

One did not spend as much time obsessing over Adrien Agreste as she did without getting a pretty good sense of what his likes and dislikes were. Growing up in the fashion world he was immune to the standard tricks and trappings of clinging skirts and lowcut necklines, and with his default setting being polite and gentlemanly the more skimpy the outfit the less likely he was to acknowledge it.

Besides, as Nino would say, 'Adrien prefers the kind of girls you have to chase.'

"Thank you." She smiled coyly at him and did a slow twirl, to show off the outfit. Her confidence soared as she saw Adrien breathing heavily as he stared at her well-toned legs. Sometimes being a super hero had its perks.

"Did you make that yourself?" He asked haultingly, tearing his gaze away with a soft blush.

"Yeah. Well everything but the shoes."

His eyes immediately shot back to her strappy stilettos but this time with the critical gaze of someone who had spent more than a decade in the heart of the fashion world.

"Wait aren't those…"
"Yeah, from the 'Gabriel' 2017 line. I made a few alterations though."

Marinette had been particularly proud of this project. The shoes themselves had of course been stunning, as was typical for anything that had Gabriel Agreste's seal of approval, but when Marinette had seen the wing accents on the jet black shoes she hadn't been able to resist adding her own flair, with an intricate combination of beading and threads.

"You made the butterflies white." Adrien breathed.

"It seemed appropriate, all things considered." She smiled back. "I hope you don't mind, I know it's your father's design but I didn't really have anything else that fits this outfit and is good for clubbing."

"I think they're perfect. Absolutely perfect." He offered his arm with a sly smile. "Ready to go take on the public?"

…

Marinette wondered if it was too late to run as their limo pulled up to the club. The entryway was bombarded with people, camera's flashing excitedly in the hopes of catching their celebrity prey.

It felt more like some extravagant red carpet affair than the standard hassle of clubbing that she was used to from similar outings with her friends.

Adrien however, was peering out the window excitedly.

"Wow it really is just like how they show it on TV."

Juleka snorted. "Only because you're here," she stated earning a light wack on the arm from her girlfriend.

"Don't make Adrien feel self-conscious! Any club that caters to celebrity clients can be like this," Rose added. "We've seen it a few times before. Remember when we spent that summer in Monaco with Ali? Some of the places we went to were far more intimidating."

Juleka nodded noncommittally still looking amusedly out at the screaming crowd surrounding the entrance.

"No way!" She chuckled. "Adrien isn't that your old bodyguard?"

All the occupants of the car crowded around the window to look where she was pointing.

Sure enough the Large, intimidating man was planted in the middle of the handful of overwhelmed bouncers.

Adrien slouched back with a scowl muttering under his breath. Marinette only caught the words father, over protective, and hypocrite but it was enough to get the general idea, and she knew better than to ask.

Instead she reached over and grabbed his hand, entwining her fingers with his and pointedly ignoring the small sighs and giggles from her friends at her actions.

"Hey," she said softly not tearing her gaze away from Adrien's face, "he can follow you around all he wants but your father has no control over you. This is just proof that he is chasing after you for a change."

Adrien's expression softened and he let out a soft chuckle. "My father does get pretty frustrated chasing me around the city." He stated with an enigmatic smile.

"We are going to have a great time tonight, I promise," Marinette said with as much fake confidence as she could muster.

"Come on Agreste," Alya grinned pushing open the door. "Time to make an entrance."

…

Marinette had never truly appreciated Adrien's modeling talent until she experienced the 20 yard walk from the Limo to the upscale bar and dance club they had decided to patronize this evening.

To say that Adrien Agreste emerging from a limo with a gaggle of attractive women caused a slight commotion was like saying that Gabriel Agreste was a mildly intimidating man.

The camera flashes were blinding and Marinette couldn't decipher a word in the sea of screams from the combination of eager reporters and drooling fans.

The Adrien that steered her through the pounding chaos was not the shy, somewhat nerdy friend who had nervously clung to her hand just moments ago.

This was the Adrien who knew how to put up a mask of perfection, the Adrien who had been in the spotlight since he was 11 years old and knew how to manipulate the crowd, and damn was he good at it.

In the scant minute that it took them to disappear into the safety of the building he effortlessly twisted and posed, pulling his new 'girlfriend' along for the ride, answering questions that Marinette couldn't even process through the noise.

She thought that she might die of mortified delight when she heard Adrien refer to her as his 'stunningly beautiful and talented girlfriend. She designed her own outfit you know.'

He also managed to name drop both Alya and Aurora before they escaped into the comparatively quiet bar.

They were quickly escorted to a relatively private alcove where a table was already set with an array of snacks and appetizers.

"I could get used to this," Aurora sighed gobbling down a cheese cube and waiving over a member of the wait staff to over a gin and tonic. "Hey Adrien, if you want to get away from Daddy you are more than welcome to join me in Orleans."

"I have obligations in Paris," he replied with a secretive grin reaching for a mini-quiche.
"You can just bring Marinette with you." She retorted, causing Adrien to choke on his hors d'oeuvre.

"Adrien stop dying." Alya scolded whacking him on the back. "And Aurora stop trying to steal my friends. Now everyone order drinks, they have karaoke tonight and I expect everyone to participate.

A collective chorus of groans (and one cheerful 'Yay!' from Rose) echoed around the table as hands reached out for drink menus.

"So what kind of drinks is one supposed to order at a place like this?" Adrien asked, studying the drink menu with an intensity that had no place in this particular situation.

"You order whatever you want, that's sort of the point." Marinette teased.

Adrien nodded but still continued to peruse the drink menu the way one would analyze a battle plan.

Marinette barely gave the menu a glance before putting in her own order for a peach sangria.

"Oh my God." Adrien cried, tapping her shoulder and causing Marinette to jump. "Mari look at this! It's a paw-megranate paradise!"

"What?"

"Look," Adrien pointed to a drink buried at the bottom of the 'specialty cocktail list. "It's a pun cause it's pomegranate but a euro goes towards animal conservation!"

Marinette wondered for the millionth time why all the attractive men in her life seemed destined to have terrible senses of humor.

"Hey, I'll have one of these." Adrien said, holding out the menu to the waiter and pointing emphatically at his selection.

The party settled into small talk as they waited for their orders to arrive. Alya, Aurora and Rochelle arguing over what tomorrow's coverage of their 'spectacular entrance' would be like. Alix and Rose began pestering Marinette for details about her and Adrien's new relationship which she deflected as best she could with enough stuttering and blushing to make her feel like she was back in collége.

Adrien thankfully was preoccupied in a serious conversation with Juleka and Monique- a fellow fashion major- about the intricacies of proper make up application for night time photography.

Marinette watched them out of the corner of her eye and catching snippets of their conversation. She wondered if there was a tactful way for her to waive off her other friends and join in.

Adrien's in-depth analysis of the dangers of overcompensating highlighter was interrupted when a large, bubbly pink drink with an impressive fruit garnish was placed before him.

He took a tentative sip before his eyes lit up and he eagerly began downing the cocktail.

"This is incredible, seriously everyone needs to try this." Adrien waived over one of the waiters. "I am going to need like 5 more of these please."

"Of course sir, be right back."

"What are you even drinking?" Alya questioned, eyeing the bubbling pink drink with suspicion.

"It's a Paw-megranate paradise!" He replied, taking another long swig of the drink before handing it over to Alya to try. She took a sip and narrowed her eyes further.

"What is in this?"

"No idea but it kinda tastes like liquid candy!"

"Yeah that's what I'm afraid of." Alya said, rummaging around the table for a drink menu as Adrien greedily retrieved his glass and downed another third of it in one eager gulp.

"Okay, pomegranate-"

"PAW-megranate"

"Whatever. Where is this stupid thing I'm not finding it."

Marinette took pity on her friend and flipped the menu over and pointing to the section Adrien had shown her earlier.

Alya read the brief description as the waiters arrived with a tray full of the fruity drink and deposited them in front of Adrien. He chugged the remained of his original glass and happily began sipping on a second.

"Oh my," Alya said grinning at the menu, "you'd better keep an eye on him Mari, this one is dangerous! This is probably one of those drinks that some poor bartender was forced to create to get rid of whatever they are hoping to discontinue."

Adrien frowned and placed his arm possessively down on the table around his pile of drinks as if Alya was going to snatch them away and dump them down the nearest sink.

"I like it." He said defensively.

"I hope you like being drunk too because that is a distinct possibility at the rate you are going." She smirked, eyeing his cache of cocktails.

"It worked out pretty well for me last time," he said. His eyes went wide as a series of startled and amused gasps followed his statement and he flushed a deep scarlet.

Marinette had begun choking on her own drink at his words and now fought to control her blush as Alya helpfully wacked her on the back.

Adrien stared at her for a few seconds, his mouth hanging open like a fish before downing the rest of his second cocktail.

"Who wants to dance?" He said shrilly, grabbing up drink number three and hurrying around the table to loop his arms around Rose and Juleka, leading the couple out to the crowded dance floor and away from the laughing questions of their other friends.

Marinette took a final swallow of her own drink and quickly followed after them.

She would take an awkward and blushing Adrien over a gaggle of probing curious females any day.

…

"OK, it's official. Drunk Adrien is the greatest thing I have ever seen in my life." Alya beamed, her cell phone camera fixed on the small stage along the far wall.

Marinette watched in fascinated horror as Adrien, Rose and Juleka belted out an incoherent and impressively out of tune rendition of a popular pop song, complete with terribly cheesy- if surprisingly well coordinated- choreography.

They had been at the club for about three hours and Marinette had lost track of the number of Paw-megranate monstrosities Adrien had gone through. On top of his own personal drink tally, he had already bought at least one of for every member of their party- as well as more than a few for random strangers at the bar. Honestly Marinette wouldn't be surprised at this point if he just had an open tab for anyone who wanted to buy one.

All things considered though the night had been a success. Alya and Aurora had been thrilled with their entrance claiming that their activities were sure to be documented on every major gossip news site. Adrien for his part had been excited for a change to spend time reconnecting with their friends, and had even managed to fall into easy conversation with her and Alya's university friends whom he only knew in passing without back tracking into his usual reserve. Of course the fact that he was happily smashed within half an hour of their arrival probably didn't hurt his lack of shyness.

Dancing had been a fun experience. Adrien having little to no experience with normal party dancing had been charmingly awkward but eager to learn. At one point he had tried to show them all some more complex ballroom steps which had led to a lot of laughter as well as a decent sized crowd who were happy to be entertained by the novelty. Marinette was predictably his usual choice of partner/victim, although Alya and Rose also were sometimes acceptable alternatives.

By the time the karaoke was announce much of their party was at least pleasantly buzzed and had agreed to sign up. Alya thus far had been the star of the evening- belting out one of the songs from Jagged Stone's album 'Miraculous'.

Marinette was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of applause, the trio on stage having finished their catastrophe of a performance basking in the enthusiastic response to their efforts. Luckily, in this type of setting enthusiasm was often more appreciated than skill.

"So what did you guys think?" Adrien asked as he came back to join the group milling around the dance floor.

"It was certainly something." Alya said with a smile. Alix- who had been accosted by Rose and Juleka probably asking the same question- looked like she might try to flee to avoid saying anything offensive.

"What did you think Marinette?" Adrien said, giving her a knowing smirk.

"It was great!" She replied with an over large grin.

"Really?"

"Uh huh, very… um… passionate."

"No other thoughts?"

Marinette gulped as he stepped a little closer into her personal space, while Alya chortled behind her.

"No?"

"Come on Mari." He leaned forward so that their noses were almost touching.

"When you sing you sound like a strangled cat."

Adrien burst out laughing at her blurted confession. He picked her up, wrapping his arms around her upper thighs and lifting her over his head.

"You liar!" he cried with no real malice, a shit-eating grin plastered across his face. "How could you lie to my face! My poor honor has been besmirched."

Marinette squealed as Adrien began to spin them in dizzying circles as their friends laughed and cheered around them.

"I'm sorry! Put me down!"

"oh..okay…" Adrien wheezed, putting Marinette back onto the floor and swaying on his feet.

"I think I need to sit now," said, gripping onto Marinette's shoulder for support.

"Okay, back to the table with you."

Marinette waved to their friends and inclined her head towards the seating area to let them know they were taking a break and then carefully guided her unsteady companion to their chairs.

"I don't think walking has ever been this hard before." He pouted.

"I don't think you have ever been this drunk before," Marinette said, handing him a glass of water and trying not to laugh at his befuddled expression.

"It's fun though. This is fun." Adrien smiled at her. "Everyone seems so happy." He leaned towards her, resting his head lightly against her shoulder.

Marinette was sure that her heart skipped a beat as his fingers began absently tracing against the bare skin of her back.

"I'm glad you're having a good time." She said softly.

"Well it's it a lovely surprise to see you again." A new voice interrupted, and Marinette turned startled to see who had approached them.

Adrien seems just as unsure of who the smartly dressed middle aged woman might be.

"I'm sorry," Marinette said, "do we know-"

"Teresa Champlain, we met the other day."

"You!" She said recognition dawning, "you're the one who took pictures of us at the Mall." She glared at the reporter.

"Guilty as charged." Teresa replied lightly, clearly unfazed by Marinette accusing tone.

"How did you even get in here? I thought they were making a point of keeping press out of this establishment." Marinette said.

"Oh they are, I just got lucky. My husband works as a bartender here so no one thought much of it when I showed up this afternoon."

"Your husband makes the drinks?" Adrien said, perking up with a boyish smile. "They're great, you are a very lucky woman."

"I like to think so." Teresa said with a laugh. "Although speaking of lucky women, you seem to be off the market these days Mr. Agreste."

"Adrien." He corrected. "Mr. Agreste is my father, I don't want to be my father."

"Adrien then. So is it true that you are Miss Dupain-Cheng are involved."

"Involved in what?"

"With each other?"

Adrien's face furrowed in confusion for a few moments still confused by her question.

"As your girlfriend?"

He smiled broadly again. "Oh right! I have a girlfriend. I keep forgetting. Not Marinette, cause who would forget Marinette? Just that she is my girlfriend. She didn't used to be my girlfriend, but now she is because we're friends."

Marinette groaned, and fought the urge to bury her head in her hands. "Adrien, maybe we shouldn't be talking about this here… or now… or at all tonight."

"So you started as friends?" Teresa pressed on, completely ignoring Marinette's appalled protestations and focusing on her much weaker, and more accommodating, target.

"One of my first friends." Adrien grinned. "And now we live together!"

"Adrien!" Marinette shrieked.

"You two must have something really special to be living together so soon into the relationship. Unless you've actually been together this whole time?"

"Nope. Just started. My father hates it." Adrien added with a devilish smirk.

"Ok, I think that's enough of this conversation-"

"That's such a shame." Teresa said soothingly still ignoring Marinette. "After all your girlfriend seems like such a lovely young woman."

"Mari's the best." Adrien agreed, "she's fun and pretty, and always been there for me. Always."

Marinette's angry protestations died on her lips as her heart melted at the undisguised love in his voice. Now if he would just look at her as a real romantic option instead of a best friend.

"She can do so many things too," Adrien continued. "She plays games and bakes and makes clothes.

Look, look!" Adrien reached down and lifted Marinette's ankle up into the air as she let out a startled yelp and clung to her seat for balance. "This is my favorite thing! See, she altered the shoes like how Ladybug purifies the akumas." He laughed giddily and Marinette was sure that her face was seven layers red as he ran his fingers lightly up and down her calf toying with the straps of her displayed shoe.

"That is really quite stunning work." Teresa replied, stifling a laugh at Adrien's drunken antics. "Would you mind if I took a picture of it?" She asked.

"Of course!" Adrien's grin widened as he lifted her foot even higher and unthinkingly posed for the camera like this was another commercial campaign.

Marinette knew that she should probably protest, or at least grumble about how it was her shoes on display and shouldn't SHE be the one having a say in this whole picture taking thing, but he seemed so genuinely excited to show off her work she didn't have the heart to complain.

Besides the combination of natural modeling instincts plus his dizzy intoxication had turned Adrien's expression into a sultry smirk that made her want nothing more than to pounce him right here in the middle of the club.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, is that alright with you as well?" The reported surprised her by asking.

Adrien's eyes swung to hers, the hungry, sensual gleam turning her brain to mush as she nodded dumbly no longer even conscious of what she was being asked.

Dimly she registered the soft clicking and bright flashes of a camera, but all she cared about was the feeling of Adrien's eyes locked on her own.

She licked her lips unthinkingly and he leaned in closer.

"Well that was absolutely fantastic! Thank you so much for showing me your delightful footwear."

Marinette stifled a whimper of pure sexual frustration as Adrien dropped her foot, and his smoldering demeanor, turning back to the reporter and hopping up out of his seat excitedly.

"Isn't she talented? And super nice, Marinette is the nicest," He gushed, dropping his arm around Marinette's shoulder.

He let out an excited gasp. "Mari, we should sell your shoes! I should put in an order for it at the office. I do own part of the company you know. Wouldn't that be great?" He asked turning wide eyed back to the glowing journalist.

"Sounds fantastic."

"You should write that down." He said eagerly, "We are going to start a line of WHITE Butterfly shoes, because no one wants anymore black butterflies. You tell my father that."

"Absolutely." Theresa said, continuing to watch Adrien with a smile that could rival a kid at Christmas.

"Have you had a Paw-magranete Paridise?"

"I don't believe I have had the pleasure."

"You HAVE to have one, right Mari? They are the best."

And without giving either woman a chance to protest he wrapped one arm around Marinette's waist and pulled her to her feet then shepherded them both over to the bar while launching into a glowing review on the merits of his new favorite drink.