The next morning, Adrien trotted up to where most of the rest of his classmates were gathered, several of whom were bustling around making sure all the preparations were there. In the middle of it all was Marinette, Class Representative, with a clipboard directing traffic. "Nathaniel, let's see, you brought the plates forks, cups and napkins? Get them to that table over there. Awesome! Mylene! The juices should be on this table, thanks!" She checked a few items off, then looked up from the clipboard and said, "Alright guys, I hope everyone's hungry. Ms. Cesaire really outdid herself, and I'm going to be paying back Maman and Papa in chores for a week for everything they brought." She turned and saw Adrien and her eyes lit up. "Adrien! For a moment I was worried you couldn't make it. I expected to see you earlier."

Adrien chuckled and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Yeah well, I got a little caught up with something else this morning, but I'm here now." He pulled out his phone and checked the time. Just a few more minutes. "Everything looks great! Is it ready?"

Marinette looked around, and said, "Yeah. Everybody, you can start filling your plates! Thanks for all the help guys!"

In a short while the class was comfortably sitting on several blankets eating a delicious meal and enjoying each other's company. Adrien checked his phone again, and couldn't be happier with the timing. He half shouted across their blanket at Alya, "Hey Alya, there was some commotion going on at the Eiffel Tower this morning, it looked like it might be of interest to The Ladyblog."

Just like he had hoped, that got everyone's attention while Marinette and Alya traded puzzled looks. Adrien strolled right up next to Marinette while Alya took out her phone and in no time said, 'Oh, hey there was a newscast recorded this morning! What is… Oh." Alya and Marinette both looked up at Adrien with wide eyes and looked right back at the phone. In moments the whole class was either looking at their phone or over someone's shoulder to share a screen where Nadja Chamack and Chat Noir were holding a nice conversation on the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower.

—-

"This is Nadja Chamack on the Eiffel Tower with an exclusive interview with none other than Paris's feline hero, Chat Noir. But this is no ordinary interview. Chat Noir, am I to understand that you are on a mission of sorts?"

"Yes, Nadja, thank you. It likely comes as no surprise that I'm a sucker for a good love story. So I'm here on behalf of Adrien Agreste to beg one Marinette Dupain-Cheng to please take pity on the poor sap and have dinner with him."

"If we may, can we show the audience the banner you've hung for the occasion?"

'Oh yes, please do!"

The image on the screen switched from Chat Noir and Nadja Chamack to a view of the Eiffel Tower from Champ de Mars. Hanging from the observation deck of the Eiffel Tower was a giant banner undulating in the breeze that said:

Marinette, please go out with Adrien. Thanks, Chat Noir

Nadja's voice continued while the banner was shown. "So it looks like you've put quite a bit of effort into this relatively small crusade of yours."

The image went back to showing Nadja and Chat Noir, who was quickly taking a sip from a water bottle.

"So do I understand correctly that you are doing this for the Adrien Agreste, famed teen model and the face of the Gabriel fashion empire?"

"Yes, the very same."

"Is this something he asked you to do for him?"

"Oh, no. I just found him moping in the park yesterday evening, and he just looked so pitiful I had to stop and talk to the guy. He was all disheveled, with bags under his eyes, and his trademark perfect hair was unkempt, and he told me about Marinette and how amazing she is. He said she's so talented and funny, and kind, and super clever, and oh! Completely adorable. Stunning, really, and honestly he's intimidated, which makes it even worse, because I kinda got the impression from the way he was talking, that's totally his type. Adrien really likes a girl who can intimidate him." Chat winked at the camera. "But yeah, I wanted to help the guy out, and I knew that being, as you say, the face of a giant fashion empire, there was no way his image could afford some over the top grand romantic gesture. I figured I'd do it for him since he's a really great guy, and it's right up my alley."

"So you heard what Adrien said about her, do you have any first hand knowledge of what this Marinette is like?"

"Funnily enough, I actually do. We've met during several akuma attacks, I think largely because for a time there the school she attends was frequently targeted, so I got pretty familiar with several people there. But yeah, everything he says is absolutely true, Marinette is amazing. If it weren't for my Lady, I'd probably be tempted to try to snatch her up for myself," he chuckled. "But no really, it would absolutely make my day if she would put the poor guy out of his misery and agree to give him a chance. I really think they would make a fantastic couple."

"So you're here, should we be expecting Ladybug to also support this effort?"

Chat chuckled again, "Oh no. This has nothing to do with Ladybug. This is just my own personal project. Though if she did decide to join me and lend her support, it could be fun."

"Well, you heard it here folks, one superhero has made it his mission to help one supermodel get a date. And I bet you thought the pigeon guy was strange. This is Nadja Chamack, signing off."

—-

At the end of the broadcast the park was completely silent, and all of the heads lifted to look at him and Marinette.

Marinette looked at him, mouth agape, and after a moment said, "Adrien, what did you do?"

Kim said, "Now Marinette, Chat Noir said himself, Adrien didn't do anything."

Adrien shrugged as he put his hand on the back of his neck and he looked at her feet. He then carefully looked up just enough that he could see her through his eyelashes, and whispered, "Are you mad?"

Marinette giggled, stifled it behind a grin she couldn't wipe off, and whispered, "I'm trying to be."

He carefully reached out with his free hand and grabbed hers, then said, "Please don't be?" He leaned in closer as he lifted her hand and said, "Go out with me instead?" and lightly placed a kiss on the back of her delicate knuckles.

Marinette blushed, but leaned in the few inches it took to kiss him on the cheek, taking him by surprise. Her eyelashes tickled him as they barely grazed the space right under where the edge of his eye crinkles. Then she said, "Okay, fine," as she smirked at him. "But only because I would hate to disappoint Chat Noir after he went through all that trouble."

Adrien stood up straight and blushed when he realised his hand was on the cheek where he felt her lips. He giggled, then cleared his throat, and said, "Great! Awesome! I uh, I need to go and um. Do a thing. I have a thing I need to do."

Marinette cocked her head at him, and said, "But Adrien, you just got here!" She folded her arms across her chest and sighed, "Surely you don't have to go already."

Adrien tripped as he backed away from her, and then stood back up and said, "I know, I just… I really need to go thank Chat Noir. Right now!" His face reddened further as he turned and walked quickly out of the park. Once he was out of line of sight, his phone chimed. He looked at it, and found a text.

Nino: You're an idiot.

He quickly typed out a response as he found a nearby spot to transform.

Adrien: Shut up.

By the time he was in his cat suit he could hear Nino laughing in the distance, while he jumped up to rooftop level to go take down a banner at the Eiffel Tower.

—

They were a week into a two-week break after their midterms, and Adrien was going a little stir crazy. He had to spend most of his week at home since the Eiffel Tower banner incident. The moment Gabriel caught wind of Chat Noir's interview, Adrien was called to have a rather uncomfortable impromptu meeting with him where Adrien was reminded that he is expected to always look presentable when out among the masses and if he can't manage to keep from appearing sloppy to a well-intentioned buffoon like Chat Noir, then maybe he shouldn't be allowed so frequently in public.

Once Adrien had been thoroughly chastised for his apparent disheveled state, Gabriel insisted he bring Marinette to the house so that he could acquaint himself with this new "complication." Marinette conducted herself with impressive poise under a level of scrutiny only Gabriel could achieve. After meeting her, Gabriel remarked that he remembered the impression she made with her hat at the fashion show and said that he would allow this relationship to continue for the time being.

Gabriel had been displeased enough with the banner debacle, however, that Adrien was kept at the house for most of the week and his usual weekly visit with Nino had been cancelled. He was allowed to take Marinette out on a single dinner date at a tasteful restaurant. If Ladybug and Chat Noir were seen patrolling more than usual that week, well, there was nothing to suggest the two events were related.

Today however, today was the day that Nino was finally allowed to come back and visit, and Adrien couldn't wait. He was making sure they had all the snacks they needed, his collection of dice he purchased online a week ago were gleaming and ready, as was his Player's Handbook.

"Thanks for doing this, Plagg. I really appreciate you taking the time to learn this game so you can be the Dungeon Master while Nino and I play. It's going to be interesting to see how it goes since none of us have done this before."

"Are you kidding?" Plagg peered over his copy of the Monster Manual. "I am going to have a great time putting you and Nino through the ringer. I mean the magic system is not accurate, much less the weaponry and most of the equipment, if we're being picky, but I can work with it."

There was a tap at the window and Adrien looked up to see Ladybug on his windowsill. Adrien hastened over to let her in. When he opened the pane, she hopped onto the floor in front of him and said, "Hey, I was just swinging through the neighborhood, and thought I'd drop in." She wrapped her arms around his waist and grinned up at him.

He enclosed her into his arms and raised an eyebrow at her while he squeezed her gently, "Just in the neighborhood, huh? I think you might be using 'The Chat Door' more often than he does."

Ladybug bounced up on her toes for a quick firm kiss on Adrien's lips. "I promise he won't mind," she said with a teasing lilt.

Adrien bent over slightly and tucked one arm under both of her knees. She squeaked as he lifted her. He walked over to his couch and she started to giggle right before he plopped them both down on it with her legs sideways across his lap. As she laid her head on his shoulder he said, "If you want, you can detransform and come in through the front door? Nino and I have our game today, but you'd be welcome. You can even roll up a character?"

Ladybug hummed as she rubbed her hand back and forth high across his chest, which was soothing to him in a way he was growing to love, then said, "As nice as that sounds, I really did only stop in for a minute." She kissed the corner of his jaw. "I need to help Maman and Papa with the big event they're catering tomorrow."

Adrien rubbed her arm absently while he kissed her temple and said, "That's right. Are we still a go for movie night? Do Nino and I need to bring anything?"

She shook her head against his chest and said, "I don't think so we need anything else. I'll double check and if I've forgotten something, I'll let you know. How soon is Nino going to be here?"

Adrien reached up and ran a finger through a pigtail. He watched while the light shifted on the silky strands. "He should be here in the next ten minutes."

Ladybug sighed and said, "Then I really should get going."

Adrien moved his hand off of her arm and snaked it around her waist, pulling her closer while she wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked in her eyes, a thing that would never get old, and said, "I wish you could stay, but I'm really glad you stopped by."

She beamed up at him until he leaned closer and then her eyes fluttered shut. When their lips met it was soft and warm, and he never wanted it to end. But it did as she pulled away and kissed him on the cheek.

She stood up and walked toward the windows. Adrien followed closely behind. When she unhooked her yo-yo, Adrien said, "I'll miss you."

She grinned, rolled her eyes and said, "You are such a sap. But I'll miss you too." Then she was out the window and on her way home.

A few minutes later Nino arrived and once the door was closed behind him, he said, "She was just here, wasn't she?"

Adrien gave Nino a puzzled look and said, "Yeah, how did you know?"

Plagg flew over to the coffee table where he had his notes and books set up and said, "It's because of that dopey grin that's still on your face. Do you two have your characters ready like we discussed?"

Adrien grabbed his character sheet off of the desk and then sat on one end of the couch. "Yep! I went with an elven rogue named Galan. He was orphaned as a small child and raised to be an assassin." Adrien shifted his eyes conspiratorially between Nino and Plagg. "Then he ran away because he felt it was wrong to kill people, but otherwise a lot falls into a moral grey area for him."

Plagg flipped through the pages in one of the books in front of him, and said, "Alright, beyond that, let's hold off on going over the whole back story. I'd like to let that stuff unfold during game play where we can. I'm sure we can work that in, though. Nino, what did you have in mind?"

Nino rifled through the bag he brought, pulled out his character sheet and said, "I decided on a half orc monk, named Jeffrey." He sat on the other end of the couch and put his dice bag on the coffee table, where it clattered.

Plagg peered over a book at him and said, "Interesting choice."

Nino shrugged and said, "I wanted to do something a little different. He's a really nice guy. Just, kinda scary looking."

Plagg nodded. "Alright then, both of you hand me your character sheets while I make a few notes." Nino and Adrien handed over their sheets and Plagg took a few moments to jot some things down in his notebook using a small section of mechanical pencil lead. He gestured for them to retrieve their sheets, so they did.

Plagg flipped through the notebook and when he settled on a page, he said, "Alright then. Both of you wake up to the cold shock of being doused in water in the middle of a heavy sleep and your heads are killing you. You're in a prison cell, and some jerk just dumped a bucket of water on both of you." Plagg said in his gruffest voice, "Alright, you've slept long enough. Now, which one of you shifty looking bastards killed the duke?" Plagg cleared his throat and continued in his regular, if slightly more dramatic tone, "There's no one else in the cell, but you've never met each other or the guy with the bucket." Plagg grinned and looked at each of them. "How do you respond?"

—

Chat Noir touched down on Marinette's rooftop balcony in the darkness of night. He walked over to the hatch to her bedroom, and holding his baton like a walking staff thumped it on the trap door to her bedroom and shouted, "Honey, I'm home!"

His sensitive cat ears made it so he didn't miss her chuckle before her heard her muffled voice call out, "Come on down, it's unlocked!" He opened the hatch and climbed down into her room. Leaving the chilly darkness outside made entering the cheery warm space that much more welcoming. The room was illuminated by a couple of lamps and fairy lights she had strung for the occasion.

Marinette was arranging several trays of snacks on her desk when Chat Noir walked up and hugged her from behind. He saw one end of the desk had five separate plates, piled high with cheese, cookies, cashews, bacon, and pancakes. The other side of the desk had some of that, but also a variety of other snacks. Marinette turned around, beaming at him and hugged him back before she rose on her tip toes and kissed him on the cheek. She raised an eyebrow and said, "Can I take your coat?"

Chat Noir squinted at her a moment in confusion and said, "Huh? Oh! Right. Claws in." His arms tightened around her as the bright green light washed from his feet to his head, removing the magical suit. Adrien placed his forehead on Marinette's and grinned down at her and said, "I'm not sure that's ever going to get old."

Marinette giggled as she kissed his nose and said, "Why don't you get the drinks from the refrigerator; Alya and Nino should be here any minute." She turned and saw Plagg at the snacks with Tikki, and said, "Plagg, the kwami snacks are on this side of the desk, and the people snacks are on that side of the desk. I promise all of the cheese that's left on that side at the end of the evening is yours, but wait until then. I already had this talk with Tikki about the cookies."

Plagg raised an eyebrow at Tikki. "Think you can manage, Sugar Cube?"

She folded her arms and turned up her nose. "Don't pretend like you're actually going to last the night without eating that cheese."

The doorbell rang and Marinette started down the stairs as she said, "Come on, Adrien, they're here!"

Marinette opened the door to find the grinning faces of Nino and Alya, and said, "Come on in, guys!"

Nino shifted the weight of his backpack as he stepped in to hug Marinette and said, "I hope we're not late!" He and Marinette kissed each other on the cheek as Alya wrapped Adrien into a cheerful hug and they shared the same greeting.

While Marinette and Adrien switched places and each greeted the other guest, Marinette said, "Nah, he got here just a few seconds before you two."

Alya frowned at Adrien and said, "We didn't see you."

Adrien smiled and pointed towards Marinette's room and said, "That's because I used the kitty door." He kissed Marinette on top of the head, said, "Let me go get those drinks you asked for," then trotted off to the kitchen.

Marinette ushered Alya and Nino up into her room, with Adrien following shortly behind. Once they were all up in the room Marinette looked around and said, "Well, that's almost everyone." She paused just long enough for Nino and Alya to give her a puzzled look before she turned to Adrien and said, "Will you get the other guests?"

Adrien walked over to Marinette's vanity and found two ornate black boxes, right where Marinette had previously told him they would be. Putting on his most solemn expression he held them towards Nino and Alya, and said, "Carapace and Rena Rouge, these are the Miraculous of Protection and Illusion. If you accept them you will use them to bring more guests to the party to hang out and eat all this food, because otherwise Marinette over-prepared."

Marinette scoffed while Nino mimicked Adrien's mock formality and said, "It would be an honor." Alya laughed as she facepalmed and they each took their boxes. They put on their Miraculous and Wayzz and Trixx appeared.

Both kwamis looked around to get their bearings and when they took in the lack of urgency, Trixx somersaulted in the air and landed on Alya's shoulder and said, "Alright! Movie night!" while Nino and Wayzz completed their ritual handshake.

Marinette gestured to the desk and said, "The kwami snacks are over here. Trixx, here's your bacon, and Wayzz, this plate of pancakes is for you."

While the kwamis gathered at their end of the desk, each choosing a treat for themselves, Nino looked at the spread, adjusted his cap and said, "Who are the cashews for?"

Wayzz alighted on his shoulder with a small pancake and said sadly, "Those are Nooroo's favorite. The Moth kwami."

Tikki nodded and said, "We thought it would be nice to have a plate for him when we get together, so we're ready for when he can eventually join us."

Alya smiled sadly and said, "I like that, that's really sweet."

Tikki grinned conspiratorially and said, "I thought so too. It was Plagg's idea." She kissed Plagg on the head while he gave in irritated huff and rolled his eyes, but then he lifted a piece of cheese and said, "To Nooroo. Maybe he can pick the next movie."

The kwamis lifted their snacks in hand while they and the people said in unison, "To Nooroo."

After a brief moment of silence, Marinette said, "Alright, but this time, Nino picked the movie, so what are we watching tonight, Nino?"

Nino chuckled and said, "Well, for our first Semi-Regular Team Miraculous Movie Night, I thought a good inaugural movie would be 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.'" Nino put his backpack on her desk chair, unzipped it, and said, "I mean, what's more appropriate than a story about a bunch of super heroes learning about each other? Besides, the soundtrack is dope."

While Nino set about setting up his laptop and projector on an empty space on the desk, Marinette laughed and said, "That's perfect, Nino! I'll go find pillows and blankets. Adrien and Alya, why don't you two get my mattress down onto the floor?"

While Marinette disappeared downstairs, Alya and Adrien looked at each other and shrugged. Alya said, "I guess I'll go up and push it over the edge. You can catch it."

Adrien said, "Shouldn't I be the one pushing things off of other things?"

Alya scurried up the ladder, looked down at him and said, "Cat or no, I'm not catching a mattress."

Adrien laughed and said, "Gee, thanks."

While up in the loft, she looked over the edge and watched a moment while Nino explained his equipment to Wayzz, who was bobbing in and out of his backpack handing Nino cords and other small items. Then she looked over at Trixx who was sitting with Plagg and Tikki laughing about something that she hadn't heard. She put her back to the wall, planted her feet on the mattress and said, "Here it comes!" before slowly extending her legs and inching the mattress over the edge.

Adrien said, "I got it, just a little further… okay, this is going to-" Then he was cut off when the weight of the mattress carried over the edge and he did his best to control the fall, then said, "Tada!"

Alya peered over the edge at him and found the mattress mostly where it was intended to go. She climbed down, frowned, and said to Adrien, "You know, I'm supposed to be hosting movie night in two weeks at my house, but the twins are going to be there, so the kwamis can't really hang out too."

Adrien ran a hand through his hair and said, "Yeah, Marinette and I talked about that. We'll keep them involved as often as we can, but mostly that's going to be when Marinette hosts, because you both have little siblings and as it stands, I have to sneak out to participate so I can't really host at all."

Marinette's head popped up through the trap door, and she was wearing one of her devious grins. Tikki flew down to her to see what she was dragging up the steps, and said, "Marinette! Are those the couch cushions?"

Marinette pulled behind her a bundle she had made with a blanket that did indeed include the couch cushions. She huffed as she dragged it up, and plopped them on the floor, looked at them proudly, and said, "Yep!"

Marinette got Adrien and Alya's help arranging the mattress, couch cushions, and other assortment of pillows to the best advantage. When they were done, she stood next to Adrien, put her arm around his waist, and said, "Okay, I may have gone a little overboard, but you can't deny that it looks cozy."

Adrien chuckled and kissed the top of her head almost out of habit, and said, "It looks amazing. You're brilliant as always." She giggled and poked him in the ribs.

Wayzz flitted over to the two of them and said, "May I have a word with you two in private?"

Marinette and Adrien gave each other puzzled looks before they nodded to Wayzz and started for the steps downstairs. Halfway down, Marinette called back to the rest of the room, "Hey guys, go ahead and get comfortable, we'll be back in a moment. Oh, and put the snacks in easy reach!"

When they left the room and shut the door, Adrien said, "What is it Wayzz?"

Wayzz fidgeted with his flippers and almost looked embarrassed. He sighed, and said to Adrien, "Ah, I was just thinking about what you and Alya mentioned about wanting to be able to include Trixx and I more frequently, but there being obstacles. And also how those same obstacles might not prevent you from bringing Tikki and Plagg, but it that's not really the same thing as being able to include them." Wayzz cleared his throat and his eyes roamed the room, but he continued, "I mean, not that you have to include us, at any time, really, I just mean if you wanted to, I might have an idea."

Marinette smiled softly and said, "Well, of course we want to include you if we can. So what's your idea?"

Wayzz relaxed a little, but still seemed hesitant to share his suggestion, but he looked between the two and said, "What if I asked Master Fu if maybe we can host Movie Night at his place once in a while?" His voice rose in pitch as he reached the end of his suggestion.

Marinette laughed and said, "Oh my goodness, Wayzz! If you want to ask him, you're more than welcome to. But yes, I agree it would be very nice to be able to go there where you and the others could be comfortable."

Wayzz nodded and said, "I know it's a long shot, but Adrien knows where he is now too, and Alya and Nino have both proven time and again that they are valuable members of the team."

Marinette shook her head and said, "I wouldn't expect him to go for it, but good luck Wayzz. That would be fantastic if it worked out." She tilted her head a bit as she looked up in thought and said, "If it doesn't, we'll keep working on a solution."

Wayzz gave a determined nod, then Adrien, Marinette, and Wayzz went back into the room. They found Alya and Nino lounging together, with Trixx next to Alya. Tikki and Plagg were perched on a fluffy pillow together with their plates on either side of them.

Adrien went to the snack table and grabbed a bowl of popcorn and a bag of gummy bears while Marinette arranged their pillows for maximum comfort.

Wayzz settled in directly on a stack of fluffy pancakes, on a plate near Nino.

While everyone settled in, Nino said, "Are we ready?" and at everyone's nod, he cued up the movie.

While the opening credits were starting up, Marinette leaned against Adrien to get in a comfortable viewing position and said, "For the record," she pointed to the animation of Spider-Man web slinging through the cityscape, "He's got two web slingers. I've only got one yo-yo. Building swinging's easy when you've already grappled the next one at the top of each arc. I'm just saying."

Alya put some popcorn in her mouth as she reached over Nino to high-five Marinette, then said, "Not to mention that stuff is sticky. It sticks to everything. The yo-yo has to actually have something to grapple, doesn't it?"

Marinette nodded curtly. "Exactly," she confirmed, then threw popcorn into her own mouth.

Adrien kept his eyes on the screen as he leaned over and kissed Marinette's temple and said, "That's right, Bugaboo. You're much cooler than Spider-Man. Now shh, it's starting."

Marinette snorted a laugh and kissed his cheek, but didn't say another word.

While Adrien glanced around and listened to his friends chuckle and groan in commiseration as Peter Parker bemoaned having saved the city again, and again, and again, Plagg looked his way and winked at him, and he had an unexpected moment of clarity. He realized the feeling taking root in his chest was peace, and that it was all thanks to them.