'Honestly, Alya, if my dad brings up ONE MORE TIME that stranger in a stupid black cat costume at Halloween he met THAT ONE TIME I'm going to move to Australia and never look back.'

Marinette was living that hustle life. Ever since graduating from university a year ago, her life had been internship after internship (sometimes overlapping internships actually) and she really did not want to get tinder - because how would she even have time to date boys anyway?! Not everyone could be as lucky as Alya in the love department who had been with Nino since they met in high school when they were like, fourteen. She was busy. She was working. She was designing. She had dreams! Her phone was pressed against her ear and her other hand covering her face as she ran through the sprinkling rain without an umbrella. She continued -

'I know I know, my dad just wants me to find someone.' Marinette rolled her eyes at her friend's response.

'I know, you want me to find someone too. Not everything in life is about finding a man you know? I'm determined, next week you know I'm beginning my dream internship working under the Agreste fashion label. And anyway,' continued Marinette. 'Now that I've been working a while, I think I'm finally ready for some commitment.'

A gush of enthusiasm echoed on the phone line.

'NO!' said Marinette. 'Not a boy. Or a date. Stop ambushing me with double dates by the way. Don't think I haven't noticed the setups start up again. And anyway, it's time. It's finally time to get a hamster!'

Marinette could practically hear Alya rolling her eyes.

'I don't need your judgement! You're leaving me to live with Nino next week anyway. I'm going to get a hamster. I'm going to name it Solitude. And it'll be a better housemate than you ever were!' And with that dramatic declaration, Marinette hung up on a still-laughing Alya and huffed.

The pet store was Marinette's happy place. She stepped out of the rain and sighed in relief, patting her damp hair down and then patting her damp hands on her damp jeans as she walked in. She said hello to the little puppies and the little kittens - oh that black one, it totally still had her heart - past the fish and reptiles to the rodent section. She clasped her hands behind her back and leaned forward, peering at the two hamsters they had. One was running on the wheel - gah, she loved it when they did that. And the other was chilling towards the front of the glass window. It is to that one that she grinned and greeted, 'Hello, cutie pie.'

'Um, hi.' A man's voice replied next to her.

She let out a shriek and spun around, noticing for the first time the guy next to her. Blonde hair and - were those sunglasses? Indoors? What?

The man suddenly laughed, really awkwardly, bringing an embarrassed hand to the back of his head. 'Sorry, that was super presumptuous of me to think you were talking to me. You were talking to the hamster.'

'I was,' confirmed Marinette, nodding slowly and looking at him accusingly.

'If I was talking to the hamster, I'd be like girl, are you from Amsterdam? Cos Hamster, Damn!' he laughed merrily at his own joke.

But Marinette shook her head slowly - mouth opening a little in disbelief. Puns? Puns! Puns were the lowest form of humour and that was one of the worst puns she had ever heard. Definitely on par with her papa's level. She looked at his easy grin and reassessed her judgement. He looked entirely too pleased with himself. Maybe a little bit lower than papa.

'Mr Fu!' she called out into the shop.

A diminutive man in a bright Hawaiian t-shirt appeared. 'Oh you're here already, Marinette! Good, good.' He inclined his head towards the guy next to her, 'Adrien, you're here too!'

'I'm here to pick up my hamster!' they declared in unison, turning to each other in shock as they spoke the same words.

Mr Fu clapped his hands in delight and beamed, 'Excellent, that is excellent.'

Marinette pointed to the hamster in the window - the one watching her with adorable little eyes. It was a brown hamster with white spots. Or it may have been a white hamster with brown spots. In either case - it was adorable, it was spotty and Marinette truly felt like they had made a connection through the glass window. 'Can I hold her again, please?'

'Of course.' Mr Fu replied. 'I'll grab the key.' He walked off through an employee door.

'You're here for a hamster? I'm here for a hamster too!' exclaimed the blonde guy next to her.

'I was wondering what would happen to Mr Mischievous,' said Marinette.

'He is a little bit cheeky, isn't he?'

They both peered at the black hamster who seemed to be taking a rest from running in the wheel and was now lounging about in there instead of exercising.

'I've come here a few times,' admitted the guy sheepishly. He removed his sunglasses and Marinette was momentarily struck by how there was something familiar about his face. He was handsome, undeniably handsome - like a golden young Adonis - with bright green eyes no longer hidden by shades looking earnestly at her and conveying a kindness like no chiseled statue ever could. And covering a terrible sense of humour, she reminded herself. She dubbed him Hamsterdam guy.

'I come here a lot too. Whenever my non-working hours and the shop's opening hours coincide really, actually,' said Marinette.

'Where do you work?' asked Hamsterdam guy politely.

'In fashion,' said Marinette, waiting for the inevitable look of boredom to cross his face as it did to all other guys she had met through Alya when she talked about her passion for design. His reaction could not have been any more different.

His face lit up, reminding her no longer of chiseled statues but of sunflowers opening towards the sun, 'Me too!'

Marinette surveyed his outfit - he was dressed in a black hoodie and dark straight-leg jeans with orange converse shoes. Sunglasses still perched on top of his head - it was raining outside for heaven's sake. 'Really?'

He followed her eyes to his ensemble and laughed, again running a hand through the back of his hair. 'Just at my father's company. I think he too would be mortified if he knew what I wore on the daily.'

She laughed in response. 'My dream is to be a fashion designer, start up my own line one day like Gabriel.'

'Gabriel... Agreste?' he ventured, slowly.

'You do work in fashion!' Marinette enthused. 'I'm starting there as an intern next week!'

'An intern.' he echoed, nodding slowly. Marinette was thinking maybe he wasn't so into the design aspect of fashion when Mr Fu returned with the keys.

'Sorry it took so long, folks,' he apologised. 'Like those who adopt our animals, each lock requires a certain fit!' he drew out a golden key and unlocked the glass cabinet, scooping out Marinette's future hamster.

With a coo and feelings of maternal instincts she didn't even realise she had, Marinette cradled her soon-to-be pet. She stroked the fur on the hamster's back and watched as it began to nuzzle into her arms.

'She likes you,' confirmed Mr Fu.

'I like her too,' admitted Marinette, continuing to pet the hamster. 'What do you think of the name Solitude for her Mr Fu?' Marinette cooed at the hamster, 'you'll keep me safe from awful romantic setups from Alya, won't you cutie pie?'

Mr Fu coughed suddenly. A moment passed and Marinette and the other guy looked at Mr Fu with concern. He cleared his throat and said, 'Actually, I've always personally thought she looked like a Tikki.'

'Tikki,' Marinette repeated the name, trying it out on her tongue. The hamster seemed to look up towards her as she said the name. 'Tikki,' she repeated, and the hamster nuzzled into her hold, settling in comfortably as Marinette continued to stroke its fur.

'Yes, that sounds right.' She smiled at Tikki and at the guy who was picking up the black hamster and also petting it.

'Do you have a name recommendation for this guy too?' he asked as he stroked the hamster's black fur.

'How about Plagg?' suggested Mr Fu. At the mention of his name, Plagg let out a squeal and tried to escape from the guy's hold.

'A suitable name for this mischievous hamster,' said Hamsterdam guy with approval.

'You may be able to curtail his cheekiness with regular doses of cheese,' said Mr Fu with a wink.

'Thanks for the tip! And hey Mr Fu, could you take a photo of Plagg and I? I gotta remember to take photos for my new instagram.'

Mr Fu admitted, 'I'm not too good with technology.' He looked sideways at Marinette who was putting Tikki down back into the glass cabinet and walked towards her, pushing her towards the Hamsterdam while she blinked rapidly in confusion, 'I'm sure Marinette would be willing to help take a photo!'

'Sure?' said Marinette. He passed along his phone and she took a step back, trying to get an aesthetic background.

'Wait one moment,' he requested. He quickly ran his fingers through his hair and checked his reflection in the reflection of the hamster's glass cabinet. 'Ready!'

'Three, two, one,' Marinette counted down and then took a couple of photos on his phone. In between shots he adjusted angles - bringing Plagg to his front, placing Plagg in the palms of his hands, a candid laughing shot as he held Plagg up like a baby Simba. The photos actually came out pretty good if Marinette said so herself. Maybe she should pick up photography as a hobby?

He looked over the phone. 'Great job. Thank you and ahh,' he looked a bit embarrassed. 'You wouldn't mind being in a photo with me, would you? I've been told by my social media manager that I need more people in my instagram photographs…'

This guy had a social media manager? Should she know him? She was pretty new to the instagram scene… Maybe Alya would. 'Sure,' she acquiesced.

He picked up the phone and deftly angled it above them and using one hand he took a selfie. Marinette was shyly smiling in the photograph, trying to hide behind Tikki whom she had lifted up to cup near her face.

Mr Fu smiled, watching the exchange.

A hamster, a cage, a food bowl, a water bowl, an exercise wheel, toys, and a pair of hamster nail clippers later, all being held precariously by Marinette in her right hand as she balanced Tikki and her box in her left hand and she was ready to go!

She opened the door with an elbow and was met with a splash from a car riding too close to the curb. Almost dropping everything, she let out a shriek and let the door close behind her.

The guy in the store, holding a very similar allotment of hamster equipment, followed her out, stopping only to put his hoodie up.

The rain made a pitter-patter sound against the sidewalk and Marinette looked miserably up at the foreboding sky. It was raining a lot harder than when she came in. Both her and Tikki would get so, so wet the walk home. She was debating whether she should try calling Alya to see if she were free to swing by with her car or dip into her recently significantly depleted funds and call an uber when she realised that she was no longer getting rained on. An umbrella had opened up above her, being held by hamsterdam.

'I just wanted to say,' he began, 'that I'm really sorry if my joke made you feel uncomfortable earlier. I don't actually get out a lot and I've been told I have a terrible sense of humour and I'd hate for a lame pick up line about hamsters to be the thing you remember me by,' his words rushed out one after another, like he'd been bottling them up for a while. His face was a picture of perfect contrition, eyes gazing soulfully at her.

Marinette couldn't help a laugh escape her. 'Well that Hamsterdam joke was really quite memorable. I thought I left that form of humour behind when I moved out of home. I think you'd get along with my dad -'

A roll of thunder followed almost immediately by a flash of lightning interrupted their conversation and Marinette jumped a little with a start. He looked at his phone, a slightly anxious expression crossing his face.

'I've got another appointment,' he admitted, nodding towards a black luxury car that had just pulled up across the street. 'Here, you take the umbrella. You look like you could use it,' he chuckled lightly as he handed the umbrella over to her.

As their fingers touched, something happened that Marinette hadn't felt with a guy for a really long time. Not since that dumb Halloween party years ago. She felt her cheeks grow warm as she looked up at him and he smiled softly at her. A tentative tilt of his mouth as his fingers brushed hers to give her the umbrella. Something about his face was so achingly familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on it.

'Wait!' she called out after his retreating back.

He turned around quickly, his hoodie falling down as he did so.

She laughed a little as he put down some of the hamster equipment he was holding to pull his hoodie over his head again - providing some protection from the rain at least.

'My name is Marinette,' she called out. 'What's yours hamsterdam boy?'

He laughed incredulously at her nickname for him and called out in response, 'Adrien!'

She waved at him from under the shelter of the umbrella as he stepped into the car across the street - wow those windows were tinted dark - and left.

'Hey, Tikki,' Marinette said to her hamster. 'I wonder if I'll ever see him again.' Tikki swiped at her nose, rubbing her little paws together. Laughing, Marinette said aloud, 'I'll take that as a yes!'

Author's Note: Hi there! I wrote this so long ago (before more than half of my MLB/Harry Potter crossover series!), but didn't post it because though I love it as a one-shot, my heart knew it could be more. Now, it is almost complete (!) and there's nothing like feedback and commentary to get those creative juices going. Follow for updates. Ask me for sneak peaks! It will be 4 chapters + an epilogue.