Adrien wondered, not for the first time, if it might have, maybe, been a bad idea to let Nino talk him into this. Deciding he had nothing left to lose, he hit save account.

He was officially up as a sugar daddy.

He hadn't uploaded a picture and had put his name as 'Chat_Noir' in order to make sure he didn't have a mass tidal wave of fangirls flocking to his account. He knew that almost anyone who could become his sugar baby would know who he was after they met, but that didn't really matter that much at that point. If they couldn't keep it in control he would just... End the arrangement.

Adrien cringed at the sound of it. He wasn't really sure about this whole business of buying a girl's affections, but his best friend Nino said it would be good for him. To have someone to spoil and someone to love on him and give him sorely needed attention.

He couldn't argue with him on that.

But when he got a request not much longer than two hours later by a very pretty girl with blue eyes and the username Ladybug, he decided it couldn't be that bad of an idea.

Marinette wasn't quite sure about contacting a sugar daddy whose account was more vague than Alya's plans for her love life, but the yearly salary he provided on his account was just a little too big for her to pass up. Alya wouldn't be happy with her for entering something like this without even knowing what his name was or what he looked like. Well, she knew he was blonde and had green eyes, and was twenty-three. Or at least, that's what he told her, as well as the fact that he would be wearing a light blue shirt when they met up Thursday night at six.

She might have been a little too accepting. Just a little bit.

Adrien sat in his booth, his leg bouncing nervously. He hoped this went well. Ladybug's account had been, to say the least, appealing. A beautiful woman who actually liked to cook and bake and sew? Wasn't that like, what every man wanted? Adrien would admit, having a home cooked meal every now and then and someone to eat it with sounded... Well, a lot more than just nice. And if she was really into designing, then they would have things to talk about, right? He just hoped that she turned out as fun as her account made her out to be. And as sweet as she had sounded through text...

He heard the door of the restaurant open and looked up quickly, his eyes blowing wide. That was definitely her, talking to the greeter with a smile that was bright enough to light up the whole room, he was sure. Her hair was curled and just barely touching the shoulders of her red vintage cocktail dress spotted with black. Yup, that was definitely Ladybug.

The greeter pointed in his direction and her eyes followed it, widening slightly when they landed on him. Her smile stayed in place as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink and she made her way over.

Adrien felt as if he had died and gone to Heaven with the way his heart stopped. He could barely breathe as he watched her gracefully approach him and slide into the seat across from him.

"Hello," She said softly, her voice a bit off with the slightest hint of a foreign accent and mind blowingly smooth. Up close he could see freckles across her nose and a few dotted under her eyes-

God, her eyes. He had never seen anything so damn blue. And her hair was-

His thoughts were cut off by a girlish giggle as his ears heated with a raging blush.

"And here I was worried I would be the speechless one." She said, peering up at him through her eyelashes. Without meaning to, Adrien wheezed and grasped his chest as if to keep his heart from ripping out and flopping on the table.

"U-Uhm… A-Adri-en Ag-greste." He stammered out, shakily holding his hand out for her to shake.

"I know." She said, another giggle escaping as she gently placed her hand in his, giving him the best hand shake he's ever had. Her hands were warm and soft, and fit into his just so...

I bet she'd give you the best hand somewhere else, too. His brain whispered, causing him to choke and retract his hand. Waving away the thought he gave her a weary smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So, uh... You are?"

"You can call me anything you want, but for now I'd rather not give anything more than Ladybug. For safety reasons..."

He hurried to reassure her, saying he didn't mean for her to feel like she had to tell him anything she didn't want to.

She just laughed again and waved it off, asking about him as the waiter came by and took their drink orders. Adrien had to pause for a moment to think of how to answer. There wasn't an answer he was expected to give now, so he was a bit lost.

"To be honest, I'm... Kind of lame." He said, laughing awkwardly.

She smiled kindly at him. "I doubt that. What do you like to do in your free time?"

"Ok, don't laugh."

"Cross my fingers." She said with a bright grin.

"Well, when I'm not being ordered around to photoshoots and fittings I'm usually just at home with Plagg or, uhm, on UMS III."

She gasped. "No way! I love that game!"

He was a bit taken aback by that. "Uhm, really?"

"Yes, I always use the Ladybug bot." She said with a wink. "My father and I play it together all the time. I'm proud to say he doesn't ever win."

Grinning crookedly back at her, he said, "Well I don't know if that means he's really bad or you're really good."

"Hey!" She exclaimed, mock affronted. "You shouldn't be so rude to a Lady."

"Sorry, sorry." He held his hands up in surrender as she asked,

"So, who's Plagg?"

Adrien winced, he had been hoping she wouldn't ask about that. "Oh, uhm... He's my cat. But I swear, I only said that because he's a handful!"

She laughed, taking a drink of her soda that had just arrived. "No worries, I think it's really cute."

Adrien cleared his throat, willing the blush to go down. "Th-Thanks." And then he hastily added, "I have actual friends too! I swear, I'm not that pathetic..."

"I believe you." She said with that same bright smile that was starting to eat away at his life span. "Why don't you tell me about them, then?"

"Well, there's Chloe Bourgeois, but I guess I'm only 'friends' with her because of our fathers." He paused. "Shit, I am pretty pathetic. My only other friend is Nino-"

"Nino? Like, Nino Lahiffe?" She asked suddenly.

"Uhm... Yes?"

"Holy crap, no way! I went to school with him my whole life!"

Adrien blinked. "Really?"

"Yes! He's dating my best friend! Oh that's so cool! Nino's pretty great, isn't he? If you've got Nino as a friend you can't be that pathetic."

"Thanks, if it wasn't for him I, uh, actually wouldn't have even made a, uhm..."

"Account?" She supplied, quirking an eyebrow.

He coughed, nodding. "Yeah, that. He said I needed 'affection...'" And now I'm starting to wonder if that wasn't a good thing to say, oh no, now she's going to think you're actually a creep-

"I could see that. Anyone who only has one friend is sure to get lonely."

"I have two-"

"Chloe doesn't count." She snipped, sticking her nose up. "Stupid Bourgeois. I couldn't stand her."

"Really? Did you go to school with her too?"

Ladybug groaned. "Boy, did I. Every year we were in the same damn class, and every year she made my life hell. Oooh, if only I could see her now, I'd let her have it."

Adrien laughed, causing her smile to return. He cheered inwardly at being able to provoke it so easily.

"Yeah, Chloe does that to people. I keep telling her she should get a permanent bodyguard."

"Oh, shoot. My homicide plans have been foiled. Way to go."

"Hey, I'm just trying to keep you out of jail. A pretty girl like you in there? You'd never survive." He sent her a wink and relished in the way she stared at him with parted lips and dazed eyes for a moment. Until she snapped out of it and returned the favor with a grin that should be downright illegal.

"Really? I'll have you know I can hold my own just fine."

"Is that so?" Adrien shot back in the same teasing tone. God, it had been so long since he had been able to have a conversation like this with someone. Since he had been able to flirt with a girl who wasn't there only for his name. Sure, Ladybug was here for the money, but somehow it felt better than if she was using him for his fame. He propped his elbow up on the table and held his hand open for hers. "Prove it."

She raised an eyebrow at him before mirroring his movements, sending a shiver down his spine at the touch of her skin against his.

"Alright. On the count of three."

"One."

"Two.

"Three!"

Adrien gasped as his hand hit the table, mouth gaping like a floundering fish.

"What the-"

"Language." She sang, pulling her hand back.

He whistled instead, rubbing his wrist. "You've definitely got some muscle there, Little Lady."

"It comes in handy when you're meeting with strangers. I've had to put a couple people in there place."

Adrien nodded. "Uhm, speaking of which. Ah, we should probably, well-"

"Discuss terms?" She said, cutting off his rambling. He shot her a grateful smile and nodded awkwardly.

"Well, I'm free Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, and Saturdays. We could try once, twice a week at first and then adjust it as we go." She offered.

Adrien nodded. "And how much should I...?"

"I w-would say maybe no less than five hundred each visit? I-If that's too much we can- It's just, I haven't gotten this far yet so I'm not sure, my best friend wasn't much help-"

"O-only five hundred?" Adrien said, astonished. "That seems like not enough to me."

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Really?" She asked, then paused. "Well, how about we decide, uhm, boundaries and such and then we can talk about the money."

"Alright." Adrien agreed. "I, uhm..."

"It's ok, you don't have to be embarrassed. We're supposed to be open with each other and build trust, or the relationship won't work." Ladybug said soothingly. "Just tell me what you wanted when you decided to sign up to be a sugar daddy."

Taking her advice he swallowed down his embarrassment. "Well, it would be nice to take someone other than Chloe to the galas I have to attend, if you're free."

Her eyes widened. "Wha- really?"

"Yeah. And your profile said you like cooking and I don't usually, uhm, eat at home and it would be nice to have someone to eat with," Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, feeling more pathetic by the second.

"Sounds perfect to me." She said with a smile. "We could do dinner any night of the week except for Wednesdays; I have an evening class then."

Adrien's chest tightened at the thought of having someone to eat with every night and he nodded quickly.

"What else?" She asked, and he came up short.

"I'm... Not sure?"

"Really? That's all you want? A home cooked meal and a date for a few galas?" He could see the confusion in her eyes and the... It wasn't worry, but it wasn't pity, either. He wasn't sure what it was.

"Uhm... I don't know."

She nodded and reached across the table, placing her hand on his. His breath caught in his throat and he stared down at their hands.

"We can just take it slow. If you want more, just tell me, and we can work it out. I just, uhm..." She blushed, looking away. "Well I won't, uhm, go... all the way."

"Wha- No! No, no, I wouldn't want you to. I-I like this," he said, holding up their hands. "The uh, hand holding."

She nodded, her blush still there but her eyes back on him. "Me too."

They were quiet for a second before he snapped back out of it. "So, what do you need?"

She tilted her head and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Like, we went over why I'm here, so why are you here?"

"Oh. Right. Well, being a fashion student in uni is pretty expensive. I'm doing alright I suppose with the actual schooling, it's just the supplies that are a little too expensive for me right now. I'm sure you know how much fabric can cost."

"Oh trust me, I do." He pulled his hand back, his mind screaming at him why, why, why?! and reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He slid a small, shiny card across the table to her. "Here, use this for the supplies. It works at any store associated with Gabriel. All the employees get one, but I've never even used this."

Her jaw dropped open and she tried to push it back. "That's too much." She said. "I buy a lot of fabric, and-"

He shook his head and forced the card back. "Trust me, it's barely a drop in the bucket compared to what all the designers at the company spend, and they make some hideous shit. I'm sure you're much more talented." He winked again, and got much the same response as before.

"A-Alright."

"What about bills? What do you pay?"

"Well, I live with a roommate, so it's not much-"

"Do you have internet?"

"Well, no-"

"I'll do that."

"What? No, it's okay, the library is right around the cor-"

"I want to." He insisted, looking at her with imploring, wide eyes. He was surprised to see the exact moment her resolve cracked and crumbled around him.

"Oh, alright, just put the eyes away, please."

He did gladly, a smile on his face. "And I'll buy you dinner at least twice a week."

"I can't say no to that." She said, giggling a bit.

"Good. So I guess that's settled... But I think five hundred is still too low."

"What?!" She yelled, blushing and looking around apologetically. "No, no, no! You're already taking care of what that was for!" She said, waving around the card. "No more!"

He grinned crookedly at her. "For someone who's supposed to take money, you're pretty bad at receiving it."

She guffawed and blushed deeper, a frown on her face. "Fine."

"Eight hundred?"

"Eight hundred? No. Adrien, that's too much."

He shrugged. "I don't use it. I want to spend it on you."

She thought for a moment. "Ok, how about this: We'll meet in the middle and do six hundred, and you can just... Put the other two hundred towards whatever, like the dinners."

Adrien frowned. "But the dinners were already included."

"Adrien." She groaned to the ceiling. "Stop being so difficult. I'm not taking that much money on top of everything else. It's too much!"

"The only one being difficult is you, M'Lady." He said, leaning back and crossing his arms. Who would have thought it would be this hard to give a sugar baby money? "How about this- I'll just keep it a secret and decide later?"

He watched her think it over before she sighed. "Fine. Fine, fine, fine. Have it your way."

"So it's settled then."

She smirked. "Looks like you've got yourself a secret sugar baby."