Annnnnd we're back to fluff. There were two different routes I could've gone with this prompt. Whichever one I don't do I'll write and post to my one-shots book (eventually), so go and check that out! Still, I hope you enjoy this one! Vote and comment, I love to here your thoughts!                                                             -Colorado

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"Hey, so can I ask you something completely crazy?"

"Good morning to you too, Adrien." Marinette muttered her voice muffled by the desk.

"Right, I forgot, don't talk to you before you've had your coffee. Well, it's a good thing I brought you one, right?" Adrien smirked, holding up the coffee cup.

"Oh my gosh, thank you! I love you." She whispered, although Adrien was sure she was talking to the cup.

"You're welcome, Mari. Now, back to my question?"

"Hmm?" She asked, starting to jug the drink. Adrien wrinkled his nose. For a girl so sweet, her taste in coffee was certainly strange. You would think she would love the sweeter expressos like him, but no, she just had to like it black.

"I was thinking, if you weren't too busy with everything else, we could maybe go on a..." His eyes met hers as his nerve evaporated into thin air. "Arcade night! With me! There's this new place that just opened up and we haven't hung out in so long..." He trailed off.

'Coward.'

"Yeah! That sounds like a blast. I'll have to check my calendar, but it sounds great. A night out with you could be exactly what the doctor calls for." Marinette sighed and Adrien tried too hard to not read into her words.

"G-great! Hopefully our schedules will line-up."

"I certainly hope so." She sighed and dropped her head on his shoulders. "It's getting harder and harder to plan patrols." She said in a low voice.

"I know, but at least we can see each other now, right?"

"Yeah, we gotta look on the bright side!"

"Telling you my identity was the best decision I've ever made." She smiled.

"Good, I'm glad that you don't regret it." He said, placing his head on hers.

In the dead of night, Adrien sometimes thought that she felt like she was forced into telling him her identity. Yes, she was getting incredibly stressed out, to the point where he had to cataclysm an akuma, and yes he had wanted to know since day one, but he hoped she didn't tell him because of that. He wanted to learn because she wanted him to, not because she needed to.

"Of course not! Why would you think that mon chaton?" She asked, picking her head up from their embrace.

"Just why it happened and the whole situation and everything." He waved it off.

"Look at me Adrien," He turned towards her, drowning in her eyes. "I have never and will never regret sharing my identity with you. I thought long and hard about who I would let in on my secret, from my parents, to Alya, to Luka, but I realized that as much as I wanted them to know, I wanted you to know and for me to know you much, much more."

"Thanks Mariberry, that means a lot to me."

"Mariberry? That's new." She giggled.

"Do you like it?"

"I like all the nicknames you give me, Adri."

"Even bugaboo?" He wiggled his eyebrows.

"My lips are sealed." She winked, and bumped his shoulder with hers.

"I'm taking that as a yes."

"Ahem. As cute as your flirting is, I would like to have my seat back." Alya said at the doorway, her arms crossed and her eyebrows raised. 

Adrien gave her a sheepish smile.

"I'll text you about the arcade, okay?"

"Okay." She grinned, waving.

Alya smirked, taking her seat as Nino walked in and struck up a conversation with Adrien.

"What was that all about, girl?"

"Nothing, Alya, just forget about it."

"If you say so, but I'm not just gonna forget about the looks you two give each other."

"Alya..."

"Seriously, ever since last month you two have been giving each other goo-goo eyes like no business."

Marinette groaned and her forehead hit her forehead with a thunk.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked, turning back to her.

"Nothing." She muttered. "Absolutely, nothing."

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"Adrien, this is amazing!" Marinette gasped, looking around.

"Glad you think so." He chuckled, watching as her eyes darted from game to another.

"Look! They even have UMS 4!" She squealed, shaking his arm.

"We can game later, Mariberry, why don't you find us a table while I get us our gaming cards?"

"Okay!" She chirped. Then she kissed his cheek, making his heart skip a beat.

He could practically feel Plagg snickering at his lovesick expression.

"Did you get the cards?" Marinette asked when he sat down in the booth across from her.

"Here you are, princess."

"Thank you, my prince."

"Guh, um, you're welcome." He grinned, tugging at his collar.

"What? Is my kitty flustered?" She smirked. 

"Can you really blame me?" He rasped. "You can't just call me 'your prince' out of nowhere."

"Why not?" She pouted. "Are... are you uncomfortable with it?" She asked quietly.

"What no! I love it, but I'm not so sure about how much more my heart can take."

"What? Can dish it out but can't take it?"

'Not when it comes to you.' He thought.

"Oh hardy har." Was all that he said aloud.

"So, what are you hungry for?" Marinette opened up her menu.

"Um, I'm not exactly sure yet, are you really hungry or do you want to share something?" Adrien tried not to think too hard about the fact that it sounded like they were on a date.

Sure, they had gotten a lot closer since the identity reveal and Adrien would've loved nothing more than to date her, but he hadn't asked yet. After seeing her breaking down over her failed relationship with Luka, he hadn't bothered to ask. It didn't seem right to try and have a relationship with her when so many other things were happening.

But one day, he would ask again. When the time was right, he would ask her for one final time. If she said yes then, great! If she said no... well, there were plenty of fish in the sea, although it would break his heart.

"Yeah sure, it looks like they've got fried cheese. Wanna give your dietitian a heart attack and get some of those?"

"Sound purrfect. And I'll get a sugary drink to go along with it." He nodded.

"They grow up so fast." Marinette said, pretending to wipe a tear away.

"Oh shush. You're being dramatic."

"No, I'm being sentimental."

He rolled his eyes, but laughed. Hanging out with Marinette was like that. Freeing. He didn't need to worry about what to say or do. If she'll take a joke the wrong way, or if she'll get mad at him, he didn't worry about any of that. He could just be himself.

"And once we're done eating I'm going to beat you shamelessly in video games." She grinned.

"We'll see, bugaboo, we'll see."

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"Thank you for tonight. It was wonderful." Marinette giggled as the limo pulled up in front of the bakery.

"Course, princess. It was my pleasure."

After getting their cheese sticks and sugary drinks (and feeding their kwamis) they hit the video games. Surprisingly, Adrien had managed to one-up Marinette in the old fashioned arcade games. Probably because of his years of practice. Marinette, however, still won every time it was a strategy game.

"Do you need any help carrying that in?" He asked, gesturing to the large bear he had gotten her.

"No, don't worry. I can't believe you got that for me."

"It was nothing." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Thanks again." She said, grabbing the bear and getting out of the car.

"Yeah, sure thing." He got out as well, walking her to her door.

"See you tomorrow?" She asked, turning to him, her eyes shining in the moonlight.

"Yeah."

They stood their, gazes locked, something swimming in both of them.

'Kiss her.' His brain screamed.

"Adrien?" She whispered.

He felt his resolve snap.

His lips met her forehead, placing a gentle kiss there, enjoying the warmth of her skin.

"Enjoy the rest of your night, m'lady." He said after he pulled back, relishing in the blush on her cheek.

"Deploy your night rest! I mean, night employ rest!, I mean! Goobike!" She waved, a large grin on her face.

Adrien turned back to the car, chuckling softly. Between the stuttering, the blush, and the look she gave him, it made him feel quite nostalgic for the first months he knew her.

Marinette stayed there, waving, a long time after Adrien had driven off.

"Marinette? You okay?" Tikki asked, flying out of her purse.

"He kissed my forehead." She sighed.

"Oh? So are you two finally dating?"

"Me? And Adrien? Dating?" Her blush doubled.

"It's obvious you still love him." Tikki sang.

Marinette whined in response.

"Come on, Mari, you'll get cold out here. Let's go in."

She nodded, and walked up into the apartment aimlessly, waving an empty hello to her parents.

"Did you have a good time?" Sabine asked.

"Yeah, it was perfect." Marinette sighed again.

Sabine and Tom shared knowing looks.

"Well, we won't bug you about it tonight. I'm sure you're tired."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight sweetheart."

Marinette got ready for bed in a happy, sleepy fog. How was it that Adrien still managed to have this affect on her?

She supposed that they truly were meant to be.

"Marinette, didn't you promise to call Alya?" Tikki reminded her right as Marinette started to climb up to her loft.

"Oh, right. Let's see how much my phone has blown up." She giggled, and powered up her phone. She hadn't wanted any interruptions during her time with Adrien, so she had turned it off.

She was surprised to see the sheer amount of notifications that crowded her lock screen.

"What?" She said aloud, marveling at the notifications from every girl in her class and then some and the miles long of new Instagram followers. "What happened?"

Ignoring the messages, Marinette went straight to her calling app and called Alya.

"Marinette! Now you respond! I've been trying to reach you all night."

"Alya, what's going on? I thought only you and Nino knew about Adrien and I's hang out? And why is my Instagram blowing up?"

She heard Alya sigh through the phone.

"You haven't seen them yet, have you?"

"Seen what yet?" Marinette felt dread pool in her stomach.

"Check my messages." She said simply.

Marinette gulped as she opened up the messages.

Alya: How's Adrien girl? 😉

Alya: OHMYGOSH MARI

Alya: image.jpg

Alya: image.jpg

Alya: image.jpg

Alya: image.jpg

Alya: image.jpg

Alya: "We're just friends" my butt!

Alya: You two better be dating tomorrow!

Alya: Girl where are you?

Alya: You should see this

Alya: Adrien Agreste's New Lover? New Photos Reveal All!

Alya: Call me ASAP!

"Oh." Marinette whispered.

There in her hand were five photos. The first one was of her and Adrien getting in the car together. The second was one of them walking into the arcade. The third was of the cheek kiss, the fourth was of her feeding him one of the candies that came with her drink, and the fifth was two photos, the first of Adrien winning the bear, the second of her hugging him.

"Yeah, 'oh.' Apparently you can't hide from the paparazzi."

"Nope."

"And unfortunately the person who got the photos is one of the most prominent members in the Adrien fandom." Marinette could hear the eye roll. "So of course they spread like wildfire."

"And of course people are turning it into a huge thing." Marinette sighed. "Why can't life just be simple?" She groaned and fell down into her chaise.

"Well, at least last time you were pegged as Adrien's girlfriend, it faded quickly. This will probably be the same case." Alya tried to console her.

"Yeah, maybe." Marinette whispered.

"If it makes you feel any better, most of the comments seem pretty positive."

"Not really, but at least I don't have fangirl hordes coming after me." Marinette chuckled.

"Exactly girl! You've gotta look on the bright side!"

"I just wonder how Adrien feels about all of this." She sighed, flipping over on her bed.

"Judging by the photographic evidence, I'm sure he's just fine with this turn of events." Alya said.

"You don't know that! What if he sees these photos and is so disgusted by them that he never wants to see me again! Then at school he says that he never wants to hang out with me again and he'd never want to be my boyfriend and then he makes fun of my designs! My life is over!"

"Marinette, calm down! Even if Adrien isn't overjoyed about this, which I doubt, he'd never stop wanting to be friends with you. I promise and besides, maybe this is exactly what you two need."

"How is this disaster something we need?"

"This could be the final push from friendom into a beautiful new relationship!" Alya squealed. "Maybe this is exactly what Adrien needs to work up the guts and finally ask you out. Watching you two be so obviously in love with each other, yet still deny it is so painful."

"You really think Adrien could be interested in me?" Marinette whispered.

"Um, why wouldn't he?"

"Well... I mean I was so obsessive over him, Alya! I don't want to turn into that girl again."

'Not to mention the multiple times I've rejected him as Ladybug.'

"And you won't. You two are so much stronger now, trust me. I've seen it happen! You and him will be great together."

"You say that like it's inevitable that we'd get together." She giggled.

"Because it is Marinette! All of us can see it."

"You really think so?" She whispered, hope starting to flicker in her heart.

"I know so. Is it really that hard to believe?" 

No. It wasn't. Because he had been there before. He had been in love with Ladybug, but Marinette wasn't sure where he stood on his feelings now. He and Kagami hadn't lasted long, ending it a few weeks after New York, but wasn't the fact he had dated someone spoke for his own feelings?

"I don't- ALYA!" Marinette screeched as a new screen popped up.

"What? What is it?"

"He's calling me!" She whispered-screamed.

"What are you waiting for? Answer it! I'll call you later, bye!"

"Alya!" Marinette protested "Wha-?" Her phone altered her that Alya had hung up and in her panic, she pressed the accept button on Adrien's call.

"Hey Marinette... I suppose you've seen the photos?" He asked tentatively.

"Yeah, Alya blew up my phone."

"So um, I'm really sorry about it. I should've been more careful."

"No, no it's not your fault at all! It's not your fault that your fans are crazy." She rolled her eyes.

"Thanks, Mari, um, so here's the thing...."

"Yes?" Marinette asked, her heart pounding.

"My father thinks that we're dating because of the photos and I wasn't able to convince him otherwise and now he wants you to come over for dinner on Friday, would you be up to that?" He asked in one hurried breath.

"W-what? Your father thinks we're dating? And he wants me to come over?" She double-checked.

"Yeah."

"W-why? I mean would it be because we could both set the story straight there or..." Her voice got deathly quiet, "because I'm your girlfriend?"

Adrien was quiet for six full seconds, she counted.

"Are you doing anything right now?"

"No?"

"Go out to your balcony, I want to do this in person."

"'O-oh, okay!" Marinette said, a smile growing over her face.

'Is this really happening?'

"See you soon, m'lady."

"S-see you." She stayed in her bed for a few moments after he had hung up before springing to her feet.

"Oh my gosh Tikki! He's coming now! I think he might ask me out and ohmygoshTikkihelpme!"

"Get up and go meet him! He's the love of your life!"

"You're right Tikki."

Marinette hoisted herself up on the balcony and, like any over-thinker would do, started to pace.

"It's okay, you've got this, you've got this, it's okay, everything is going to be fine, you've got this, you've got this." It did little to help the butterflies.

"Hey."

"Gah!" Marinette flailed. "Adrien, don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry." Chat Noir said, de-transforming. "I just needed to talk to you, in person."

"Right. About this dinner with your father?"

"Yeah, and why I want you to accept." Adrien moved forward to grasp his hands in hers.

"Okay." She said quietly. 

"I like you, Marinette, a lot. You know I've been in love with Ladybug since day one and the reason I broke up with Kagami was because I liked you."

She gasped.

"Finding out you were Ladybug was the best thing that ever happened to me. I wanted to sweep you off your feet day one, but then I realized what a delicate place you were in. You didn't need a lover, you needed a friend. So I did just that, because I love you and because your friendship is the best thing you've ever given me. I'm still not sure if you're ready to date again and if not it's totally okay, but I was wondering if you wanted to be my girlfriend?" He asked.

Marinette felt her heart melt. This was so different from what she was used to from Adrien. Instead of grandiose declarations, he was being unmasked and honest. No big gestures, no sappy poetry, just him.

That was all she wanted. Just him.

"Oh, Adrien. Of course I do." And hesitating no further, she fell into his arms.

"Really? You do?" He whispered as he held her.

"Yeah. I should've told you earlier, but you know that boy I rejected Chat Noir for?"

"Yeah?" He asked nervously.

"Yeah he was this really famous blond model who I sat behind in class. His name is Adrien Agreste, ever heard of him?" She looked up and winked. 

"Oh my gosh." He breathed.

"Yeah, I know."

"Love you." He said, leaning down to kitten kiss her nose.

"I love you too." She giggled. It sounded so good to say it out loud.

"May I kiss you?" He breathed.

"You don't even have to ask." She murmured.

With no further ado, Marinette pulled the love of her life down to kiss him senseless, relishing in the fact he was finally hers. 

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I think that this version of the prompt fit the whole vibe of this book better. I hoped you enjoyed this one! And if you're interested in more of my writing, go and check out my one-shots book! Don't forget to vote and comment and I'll see you tomorrow.                                                            -Colorado