Marinette Dupain-Cheng was pretty pleased with herself. So far, she'd managed to make it through a whole half hour with Adrien, without making a complete fool of herself. Well, okay, she had accidentally dropped her homework onto a plate of pains au chocolat. But it wasn't entirely her fault! Adrien had walked in with Alya and Nino, and his sudden appearance had startled her. Hey, she wasn't perfect! Nobody was!

Well, except Adrien. The slightly smashed pastries were a testament to both Marinette's ever-present clumsiness (ugh) and her love for a certain blonde-haired boy, who just happened to be sitting next to her, scoffing down the aforementioned pains au chocolat like he hadn't eaten in days.

"Jeez, Adrien, slow down!" said Alya with a laugh. "They aren't going to jump of the table if you stop eating."

Adrien swallowed his latest mouthful, setting down the pastry. "Sorry," he mumbled self-consciously. " My dietician doesn't let me have treats very often." He looked so ashamed that Marinette couldn't stand it.

"Hey! I know what we should do!" she chirped, trying not to look at Adrien lest she began stuttering. "I hear there's a cool new exhibit at the Louvre. We should totally check it out!"

Nino looked uncertain, and Marinette remembered his distaste for museums. " Uh.. what's the exhibit on?"

"Ummmm…" Think, Marinette, think! She knew the answer to Nino's question, but she needed to answer it in a way that would convince all of them to go. "Well, it's on Greek mythology," she said slowly, deliberating her answer. She looked at Alya. " I'm thinking there'll be something for the Ladyblog there. Ladybug's thousands of years old, right? After all, she was in Ancient Egypt. Why not Ancient Greece, too?"

Alya frowned, thinking. Then she shrugged, giving Marinette a smile. " All right, girl. I've been looking for a new scoop anyway, and it sounds interesting."

Marinette tried to mask her grin. If Alya was in, Nino was sure to go too. He would do anything if it meant spending time with his girlfriend. And Adrien was Nino's best friend, so that meant….

"I'll come," said Adrien, stretching. "I need to do something energetic anyway, and it sounds fun!"

"Don't get too excited, bro," warned Nino. "It's a museum, not a Jagged Stone concert."

Adrien shrugged.

Alya grinned. "It's a deal, my friends. Up you get, lazybones," she added, hauling her boyfriend to his feet.

"On one condition," said Adrien seriously, gazing at Marinette.

She felt her heart flutter. "W-what's that?" she stuttered nervously.

Adrien grinned, that gorgeous grin that he reserved for friends and never showed the camera, slightly crooked but in the most adorable way possible. "That we get to take the pains au chocolat with us."

A short walk and a bus ride later, the group were inside the exhibition, which had been heavily advertised around the city. As a result, there was loads of people milling around, taking pictures and gazing at artefacts. Marinette and her friends stood around a piece of orange-and-black pottery, which showed two soldiers washing spears.

Alya peered at the vase, phone at the ready. She shook her head. "It's incredible, but not really something to put on the Ladyblog. I haven't really posted anything big in a while, so I need a decent superhero-related story, even if it is just a picture of Ladybug or Chat Noir. Let's check over here." She pointed to a interactive area, where tourists were reading myths and legends from large screens.

Marinette soon lost herself in the tales from Ancient Greece. They were absolutely enthralling, particularly the ones featuring gods and heroes. Marinette could just imagine the dresses the goddesses and queens might have worn, and was tempted to whip out her sketchpad and jot down a few ideas.

She and her friends wandered around, absorbing up all the beautiful statues, artwork, and jewellery. Marinette was practically bursting with inspiration. Alya was not faring so well. So far, they hadn't seen anything remotely Ladybug- related, and the blogger was getting frustrated.

They stopped at a statue of a horse/man combination creature. Reading the plaque, Marinette realised that it was a centaur. As she studied the sculpture, she noticed a young couple standing next to them, gazing at the statue in a way Marinette could only describe as fond. They looked about nineteen, the boy with dark hair and sea-green eyes, the girl with blonde curls and startlingly intelligent grey eyes. As Marinette watched, the boy leaned down to kiss the girl's cheek. Marinette turned away, only to see that Nino had slipped his hand into Alya's. With a sigh, Marinette glanced at Adrien, and was surprised to find that he was also looking at their friends' interlocked hands. Was he wishing that he was holding Marinette's hand like that? Marinette hoped he was, but after a year of friendship and little else, it seemed unlikely.

They continued on, the exhibit ending right in front of the Mona Lisa's gallery. Although they had all seen the famous painting before, Adrien suggested they have a look, simply because they were there.

As they strolled in, they were distracted by a man who was arguing with one of the guards.

"Please, sir, just one look!" he pleaded.

The security guard glared. "I've already told you, it's being mantainenced. Please leave."

The man paid no attention. "Leonardo da Vinci is my idol! Please, I have to see it! It would mean so much to me! SIr, I'm begging you! You can't refuse me! I'm his most devoted fan! No one in the world knows Mr da Vinci like I do! I'm sure he wouldn't stop a fan from seeing his greatest achievement! If he were here, he wou-"

"Stop." The guard stared down at the fellow. "This is the last time I'm going to tell you. The Mona Lisa will be back tomorrow. Now, leave the gallery, or I'll have you banned!"

The da Vinci admirer looked up, shocked. "But you can't do that! I told you, I must-"

"THAT'S IT!"roared the guard. "GET OUT!" He grabbed the man, holding his wrists behind his back. "I'm escorting you out. DO NOT return for a week, or I'll have you banned for life!"

The man fell to his knees, head bowed. Marinette watched, pitying the poor man.

Until she saw the dark butterfly fluttering slowly towards the man. She let out a strangled yelp.

"AKUMA!" she yelled, pointing wildly at the butterfly. Beside her, she heard Adrien splutter in shock, and Alya give a hiss of triumph, having finally spotted a potential scoop. As the security guard scrambled away, Marinette saw a purple glow appear around the victim's face, she and her friends running frantically to raise the alarm.