This is a gift for faceted-tourmaline on Tumblr for ML Secret Santa exchange. Hope you like it !

It had been a normal day for him, the same old routine, school, pity Marinettes struggling with her words around his bro, and watch the poor sunshine child be completely oblivious to her actions. And did he miss the almost daily akuma attack somewhere near their school? Well, add that too. But, yeah, he didn't count on coincidently catching Ladybug detransforming in the same alleyway where he had hid. This was definitely new, yes. What was even more shocking was that when the sparkles faded away, he expected to see some random stranger, instead he got to see Marinette. Ladybug…is Marinette. This was going to take time to digest. He should go home, that would be a good idea. But when he heard the familiar voice of his friend calling him back just when he had started to move, he realised that he should not have screamed at her face (which he probably did, he had no recollection) and proceed to simply sprint away. Oh boy! This conversation is going to be hella awkward.

"Okay... I think you know that you are not supposed to know what you know and I hope that you won't let any other people know either. If they know then they'll let others know and then-"

She rushed with her words, her words mixing with each other making them even harder to understand. She was panicking, he understood that very well, he was one of her very old friends. He knew a lot more about her than most people, the exceptions being Alya and her parents.

He knew Ladybug...personally. This was so hard to believe. He couldn't even begin to describe the feeling of intolerable excitement and anticipation that he had…so he didn't. He wanted to express those feelings, but Marinette was freaking out well enough for the both of them.

"Yeah dude, I won't reveal your identity to anyone. Though, I can't say that I'm not incredibly surprised. I have a few questions for you, if you can answer them dude-I mean Ladybug-sorry Mari—agh, I give up."

Her eyes had filled with amusement at his confusion. With a nervous curve of her lips she gave a sharp nod.

"Yeah, I expected questions...ask away!" Her voice was shaky and a little broken, she was still not sure about this situation, that was clear.

"Though I am eager to do that, why don't we sit somewhere comfortable, instead of this abandoned place?" He had suggested, knowing that their conversation would be a pretty long one. Her eyes scrunched up as she gave a quick look around.

"Yeah sure, that sounds good."

It had been a normal day for her. School, then pitying her friend about her speaking difficulties around the infamous Paris model. And sigh at his antics. She can't help but wonder if he lives under a rock, really. Though on second thoughts, that mansion is no better than a rock. She was almost bored. Almost. Then there was some action at least, an akuma attack, that meant new content for her blog! She reached the battlefield and followed the superheroes like a hawk and didn't get captured. (achievement, no?) When the familiar red wave of energy flowed above her head, she knew that today was another failed attempt at an interview with her idol. She started waddling home in disappointment, huffing and puffing because of all the gymnastics she had done for her video. Well there's this saying about doors, ,when one door closes it opens another' she wholeheartedly believed in that now. She accidentally (yes,accidentally) noticed the glow of an alleyway that she was passing and by reflex she did look to investigate and witnessed he Chat Noir leather disappearing, the belted tail vanishing leaving just a trail with sparkles behind, revealing…

Adrien Agreste. The model.

Her goddamn classmate.

Her jaw would have slammed to the ground if that was humanly possible. Her eyes were impossibly wide, very easily displaying her astonishment at witnessing this event.

The person in question here had also casually turned, and the transition from calm and collected to full-on freaked out in mere seconds would have been comical if not for the fact that she was still quite shaken from the sudden revelation. Both of them spent a few seconds just gaping at each other, his expression mimicking hers. After which she thought they saw a fuzzy creature pinch Adrien? Or her eyes were paying tricks on her. Anyway, that successfully brought Adrien back to the real world.

"Well, what have we here…ok I'm sorry to burden you with this information of my identity, so—don't tell anyone? Oh god, m'lady is going to kill me."

"Yeah sure, lover boy. No one will know, promise…though on a few conditions—" She replied with a trademark smirk.

"Yeah, sure Alya." He had answered with an almost pout, and an expression that said 'I should have known'.

"Though…I have a few rules of my own." With a practical Chat Noir smile just a bit mischievous, but polite all the same. How did she not notice that this friend of hers was Chat Noir!? She had stalked him so many times because of Marinette. Marinette...who has a crush on Chat Noir. But she doesn't know that...

Adrien is Chat Noir!

And whole of Paris knows that Chat Noir likes—

"Ladybug..." she had accidentally whispered, as her mind tried to work through the mess of names and crushes in her head.

"What about her? I don't know who she is if that's what you're asking." His eyes dimmed significantly at the last statement, downcast.

"You like Ladybug—Adrien Agreste likes Ladybug." Her voice getting louder and louder as she came to terms with what she said.

"I-I do, yes. But why is that so important? Aren't you supposed to be freaking out about how Chat Noir was literally in front of your eyes and you didn't see him—or something like that?"

He was correct, she admitted that. But she couldn't discuss the dilemma that she was trapped in. Both of your main ships, that she passionately wanted to come true...are a love triangle. Marinette likes Adrien, who is Chat Noir and likes Ladybug, whom she liked was another story altogether. It didn't seem like she was interested in Chat romantically, but telling him that didn't seem like a good idea. Back to the conversation though.

"Well—it is important...because I ship LadyNoir and now I-uh now I ship Ladrien too?"

Ok that was a bad excuse, she knew that. But Adrien, ever the sunshine child, went with it pretty easily, he seemed almost happy that she supported them, which she had no idea if she did.

Because shipping Ladrien or LadyNoir would mean that she was going against Adrinette, which was unacceptable. She couldn't go against her best friend! But-but she couldn't go against her idol either! While her brain was trying to make sense of the her swirling thoughts, she subconsciously listened what Adrien was saying.

The rules that Adrien had been talking about were not that complex, in fact, they were not complex at all.

1. No telling anyone his identity, not her friends, her parents, her siblings, not even Marinette, NO ONE!

2. No telling Ladybug either.

3. No dropping obvious hints to anybody to guess, or actually no dropping hints at all.

4. Try behaving normally at school.

5. And no exclusive interviews would be given as bribery to keep his identity safe.

Okay, the rest she could agree to, but thelast one, that was downright cruel. He narrowed his eyes playfully at her when he said that, almost like he expected that to happen. Did he actually believe that she would play that dirty? Because I he did…he would be right, that had been one of the conditions that she had thought of.

"Okay, fine. I agree to all your conditions." She had sighed, clearly dejected at the loss of a precious interview.

"I have only one condition, I get to ask you questions, for my own personal curiosity, please?!" She had pouted and pleaded with her hands joining dramatically.

"Yeah sure Alya." Her smile widened further as he nonchalantly replied.

"Just don't record anything." He had added, with a sweet smile on his face. But she saw it as anything but sweet. Deceiving and sly. Agreste was too smart for his own good.

"Why don't we go to a cafe or something and talk? We have a long talk ahead of us."

It was more of a statement than a question as she quickly turned and started walking, as Adrien followed quietly, silently agreeing to her suggestion/order.

"We can start with your questions on the way if you want. I don't mind." He had offered, hoping to please Alya and brighten her mood again.

And it worked, she gave an excited "Really!?" before firing away with questions left and right. Some of them included—

"Where do your powers come from? "

"How were you chosen to be Chat noir and why?"

"Can you transfer your powers?"

"Is Ladybug your girlfriend?"

She knew the answer to the last one, she guessed actually. But she just wanted to get him talking about her in the most casual way possible which she succeeded in doing, thank god for her basic psychological skills.

"No, I want her to be of course. But it doesn't seem like she's genuinely interested in me."

"Have you considered the possibility that she has someone else in her life?" She had asked, a bit sad to witness her friend being so into Ladybug, but her not even considering him an option.

"I-I have...it would make sense, that is why she doesn't respond positively to my advances. She probably has somebody, someone worthy of being with her through life—"

Sometimes, she forgot how gentlemanly and considerate he could be. Even if he was Chat Noir, superhero of Paris, but before that he was Adrien Agreste-actually no to hell with that, he was Adrien, that shy, timid, yet confident, positive, happy boy in her class who was a gem as a person. He was her friend,and she would support him in this mess, however she could.

Nino and Marinette had progressed well with their conversation. Both of them were a bit nervous but excited all the same. The conversation started with the origin of their powers, their abilities, and somehow soon reached her cat partner, and his obvious crush on her.

"Why don't you like him? Dude, I mean my bro is a model and all, but a Superhero!? That's what we are talking about! " Nino had jokingly commented, to which Marinette had playfully slapped him on the shoulder.

"Ninoo! You make it sound like I like him just because he's a model! I like him because he's so happy, positive and so kind, concerned about everyone and encouraging everyone on what they do. He's just so good, so pure—"

He knew he was talking to a super heroine and he was supposed to listen to her and all, but with her fangirling over Adrien like he was a God, he really couldn't listen to it for long.

"But yes, I don't want to say that Chat is a bad person. He is an absolutely wonderful person, ever so kind, honest and optimistic too. I think of him as just ,Chat. Not Chat Noir, superhero of Paris! He's really down to earth and a very nice person under all that overconfidence. He's obnoxious at times, and his puns can be annoying but he's like my best friend.. except Alya of course ...but that's all, because of Adrien, I never really tried to see him in any other light."

He had pondered over her answer for a few seconds, as a comfortable silence fell between them.

"I know Mari, you like my bro for his qualities, not his power or position but answer me this—" his eyes had gotten a bit more serious as he suddenly piped up with the question that he had had in mind for a while.

"—If, Adrien had not been in your life, would you have given Chat Noir a chance to win your love?"

Her eyes widened slightly at the forward question, before softening as she thought of a good enough answer.

"…Yes,yes I would have. And it's not even about giving him a chance either. I almost know that I would have fallen for the kitty cat, I hadn't met Adrien first." She had quite guiltily answered as she swallowed a lump in her throat.

They drifted to a lighter conversation for a few minutes, after which they decided to leave. They had discussed what the rules were, and everything. And though not of the, were equally shaken from the revelation, they had felt their friendship strengthen throughout the evening. And new friends were always better, no?