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1. The Time They Came Up With It To Get Alya Off Their Backs
“Hey, Mar?” Adrien said, munching on a croissant.
She hummed, flipping through her sketchbook– a new design competition was coming up and the theme had been announced, formal wear, so she needed to find an outfit to make for it, “Yeah? What’s up?”
“Have you noticed that Alya always organizes these lunches, but she and Nino never show up?”
Marinette nearly choked on air, quickly taking a sip of her water to clear her throat, “Uh, no I can’t say I have,”
Oh no, she definitely had. Although Marinette had grown much more comfortable around Adrien, dropping her stutter and blushing, Alya had never quite let the crush go. She’d constantly arrange group outings and then end up ditching with Nino at the last minute in an attempt to get her and Adrien together.
“Hmm, I think it’s kinda weird, you know? It’s almost like she’s trying to set us up or something.” He said nonchalantly, finishing up the last of her bakery treats, “Hey, can we go get more croissants from your bakery?”
“Uh-huh,” Marinette said, nodding while picking up her bag.
Adrien grinned, “You’re the best. But anyway, why do you think she keeps trying to get us together? I know she wants to do the double-date thing, but we can do that as friends.”
Marinette opened and closed her mouth, trying to find something to say, “Well…”
“I mean surely she must have told you something about this right? I mean you guys are best friends,”
“I’m not sure,” Marinette said, her words seeming stuck in her throat, “Have you tried asking Nino about it?”
She let out a small breath of relief as they neared the bakery, hoping Adrien would drop the subject but instead he pulled the door open for her and continued talking.
“Yeah, I have. But just keeps saying ‘Sorry, dude, can’t tell you anything.’ So I think Alya’s told him to keep quiet about it,” He complained, waving cheerfully to her parents, “Bonjour, M. Dupain, Mme. Cheng,”
Marinette’s maman smiled at him, “Let me guess, two croissants, a box of lemon cookies, and a box of passion-fruit macarons?”
“That’d be great, thank you,” Adrien nodded, pulling out his wallet.
Tom laughed, “Put that away, it’s on the house,”
As Sabine placed the order on the counter, she turned to Marinette, “Why don’t you two go outside and sit on the patio? It’s a lovely day out.”
“Good idea, thanks maman,” Marinette replied, kissing her parents on the cheek, “Come on, Adrien.”
Once they reached the table, Adrien continued on his rant, “I mean, really, what are those two planning?”
“Well…” Marinette said, taking a sip of water, “I think you were right, they’re trying to get us together. Why is beyond me, though,”
No, it wasn’t. She knew exactly why.
Adrien leaned forward, “What if we did?”
Marinette choked the macaron she’d snagged from the box, “Pardon?”
“Not for real, obviously,” Adrien laughed, “But what if fake dated, just to get them off our backs?”
“Uh, okay,” She said, “We’ll need rules, though,”
Adrien frowned, “Rules?”
“Just things to make sure this whole thing goes smoothly,” Marinette explained, “For example, if anyone asks, we got together today after we both confessed we liked each other. We’ll need pet names, and we’ll need to find some way to convince people that we’re together without being too physical.”
“Wow,” Adrien said, “You’ve thought this through way more than I have,”
Marinette shrugged, “I just finished watching To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Lotta good tips in there,”
“Alright,” Adrien said, “So, for nicknames, I’ll call you mon ange, and you can choose whatever you want for me. As for convincing people: are you okay with cheek and forehead kisses?”
Marinette nodded, “Yeah. Other than that though, do you still have my lucky charm?”
“Yep,” Adrien grinned proudly, pulling it out of his jacket pocket.
Marinette let out a sigh of relief, “Perfect. Okay, I’ve got yours, so if we both start wearing them as bracelets, that’ll definitely help. And then we can just arrange some times to go out on ‘dates’. Sound good?”
Adrien nodded, “Alright! Do we have a deal?” He asked, sticking out his head.
“Deal, Sunshine,” Marinette said, shaking it, before leaning in to kiss his cheek.
2. The Time They Got André’s Ice Cream
“Yo, lovebirds!” Alya called out, “Nino and I are heading to André’s! You two wanna come?”
Adrien and Marinette exchanged panicked looks. A million thoughts rushed through her head.
What if André can tell we’re not soulmates?
What if we get separate cones and mine looks like him but his cone isn’t me?
What if his real soulmate is right there getting ice cream she sees him?
“Yeah, sure!” Adrien said, “Just give me a second to grab my bag, okay?”
“Adrien!” Marinette hissed, “Why on earth would you agree to that? In case you forgot we are not actually dating! André makes soulmate ice cream! What if something goes wrong?”
He raised an eyebrow and sent her a crooked smile, “Don’t worry Mar. It’ll work out all right. I haven’t gotten ice cream from him in a while, but if I remember correctly, it was definitely passable for you. Also, we’ll just get a paired one and share.”
“Okay,” Marinette sighed, “But if this goes wrong, I’ll kill you. And then Alya will kill me and really– let’s just make sure it goes okay, alright?”
Adrien gave her an amused look, slinging an arm around her, “It’ll be fine, mon ange. C’mon, now if we take too long Alya will get suspicious.”
“Urgg,” Marinette groaned, “I don’t wanna walk. It’s too hot out, Adrien.”
He raised an eyebrow at her, “You just want me to carry you.”
“That is entirely possible. But would you really want your girlfriend to pass out if it wasn’t true?” Marinette shot back.
“Fine,” Adrien relented, “Up you get,”
Marinette smiled victoriously, perched on his back, “Onward, my trusty steed!”
“You’re enjoying this too much,” She heard him grumble.
As they approached Alya and Nino, she waved to them, wrapping her arms around Adrien, “Hey guys!”
“Seriously?” Alya rolled her eyes, “You guys are disgusting. You don’t see Nino carrying me around.”
“You’re just jealous that Nino won’t.” Marinette pointed out, “And really, who needs the Tram when you have an Adrien?”
“He looks like a mule.” Nino pointed out.
Adrien looked up at her, blinking innocently, “Am I a handsome mule, mon ange?”
“The handsomest, Sunshine,” Marinette replied, kissing the top of his head.
“Bleh,” Alya gagged, “Let’s get moving. You two are being too sweet, and the only place I was planning to get cavities today was at André’s,”
Marinette rolled her eyes, muttering in Adrien’s ear, “I think she’s laying it on a little thick, don’t you?”
“Just a little,” He replied, “But next time we go somewhere, you’re carrying me.”
“You wish,”
“Aha! There he is!” Alya cried, pointing at the Pont des Arts.
Adrien looked up at her, “You think you can walk two feet, Mar?”
“Fine,” She huffed, “But I’ll hate you forever.”
“No, you won’t,”
“No, I won’t,”
Adrien set her down gently, grabbing her hand and leading her over the ice cream stand, where André was serving another couple.
As they approached, André looked up, his face brightening as he saw Alya and Nino, “Ah, passionate Alya and calm Nino, may your love follow you wherever you go! Coconut, banana, and a touch of passion fruit. An ice cream so your love will never uproot!”
As Marinette and Adrien walked up to him, they saw his smile widen. “Ahh, I recognize you two, separately, but not together. Are you two a new couple?”
“Yeah,” Adrien said with an easy grin, pressing a kiss to Marinette’s cheek.
“Young love!” André sighed before getting to work, proudly presenting them with a shared cone, “Mint, blackberry, and honey too! I can guarantee you, your love is true!”
Marinette blinked slowly, looking at Adrien.
“Thank you, André!” Adrien smiled, taking the cone from his hand and dragging Marinette away.
“Damn guys,” Alya laughed as they joined her and Nino at the table, “André must really like you guys. We had to eat ice cream to stay together but you guys already have true love.”
“Mmmhmm,” Marinette said, recovering her wit, “Isn’t that right, Sunshine?’
She poked his nose, leaving behind a dot of mint ice cream.
“You’re lucky you’re cute,” He deadpanned, smearing blackberry on her cute.
They spent the rest of the day laughing and joking, incredibly relieved that everything had gone to plan.
3. The Time Ladybug And Chat Noir Got In On The Fun
“Shit,” Ladybug said simply, standing in front of Chat Noir.
Chat Noir, who was very much a civilian right way and was also very much her fake boyfriend of five weeks.
“So… how long have you got until your transformation drops?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Shit.”
“Okay, I think we’ve covered that, LB. How’re you feeling?”
“Shit.”
“Are you capable of saying any word other than shit?”
“Shit.”
She watched as Adrien approached her, brushing her hair back with a concerned expression on his face. He inspected her earrings before backing up again.
“Bugaboo, you’ve got one spot left. I’m aware that we’re kinda locked in a room together at the moment, but if you could I don’t, calm down a little bit, that’d be great thanks.”
“This is not good,” Ladybug said, pacing around the room, “You’re a civilian right now. I know your identity. You’re about to know mine. We’re locked in a room together. This is very, very bad.”
She didn’t know how this had happened. The akuma wasn’t any more difficult than what they’d faced before, and once she’d pulled out her Lucky Charm things should have been wrapped up quickly. Unfortunately, Adrien had been a target of the akuma– a jealous model, from what she’d gathered– and she couldn’t find him anywhere.
Ladybug had gotten distracted, worrying about Adrien, and Chat was too busy trying to find Marinette to focus on strategically using his Cataclysm. And so, after both using their powers, the akuma had distracted them long enough to push them into an empty room and lock them out of the fight.
“Yes, I’m aware,” Adrien replied, leaning against the locked door.
She tugged at her pigtails, stopping to stare at him, “Do you have any cheese?”
“What?”
“ Cheese , Adrien. Do you have anything to feed your kwami?”
“No, I ran out this morning,” Adrien sighed, running his hands through his hair in exasperation.
“Shit.” Ladybug muttered as her transformation finally wore out.
She winced as Adrien let out a high pitched shriek as he looked at her, “Marinette? You’re her?! You are Marinette. Marinette is you. Ladybug is Marinette. I’VE BEEN PRETENDING TO DATE LADYBUG.”
“ Shhhh ,” Marinette hissed, slapping a hand over his mouth, “Are you trying to ruin our secret identities?”
“Sorry,” He replied guiltily, “I’m just freaking out a little bit!”
“Can’t blame you on that one,” She muttered, stepping closer to him. “Are you okay?”
Adrien nodded, “Yeah, I’m alright. I guess we’ll just have to stay here until someone finds us, yeah?”
“I think so,” Marinette sighed.
Adrien sat down on a table near the door, “Wanna talk about what just happened?”
“Not particularly,” She admitted, “But I suppose we have to, don’t we?”
He nodded, giving her a small smile, “I think we probably should. So… I’m Adrien Agreste, your fake boyfriend and friend. I’m also Chat Noir, your dorky superhero partner who makes puns constantly.”
Marinette giggled, “I’m Marinette Dupain-Cheng, your fake girlfriend and friend. I’m also Ladybug, your way too bossy partner who accidentally hits you with a yo-yo frequently.”
Adrien moved across the room to hug her, placing his chin on top of her head as she buried hers in the crook of his neck. She tugged him closer, throwing her arms around his torso.
“I’m really glad it was you, Adrien,”
He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head, “I’m really glad it was you, too, M’Lady,”
They heard thumping on the other side of the door before it was burst open by Alya and Nino.
“Oh my god!” Alya shrieked, “Were you two just making out during an akuma attack?!”
“Shit,” Adrien said.
4. The Time They Went On A Double Date
“Hey, Mar?” Adrien asked, poking her gently in the arm as she sat next to him, both of them working on physics homework.
She nodded, her brow furrowed as she tapped her pencil against the paper, “Yeah? Are you stuck on a problem? Please say no. If you’re stuck, I’m dead.”
Adrien laughed, shaking his head, “No, that’s not it. Nino just texted and he wants to know if we’re free for a double date in thirty minutes.”
“I wish I could, but at this rate, it’ll take me hours to finish up this worksheet.” She sighed, shaking her head.
“Hmm… What if I help you with it?” Adrien said, moving closer to her and leaning his head on her shoulder.
She glanced at him incredulously, “Are you seriously bribing me with homework tips to go on a double date?”
“Yes. That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
Marinette rolled her eyes at him, but glanced between her seemingly endless amount of homework and him, “What exactly did they have planned?”
“Aha!” Adrien cheered, “I knew you’d come around! They wanted to go to the Louvre, then go picnicking in one of the parks nearby.”
“Don’t let it get to your head, but fine. If you help me finish my homework, then we can go with them.”
Adrien shot her a grin– one that made her heart pang in her chest despite her best attempts, “Great! Let’s get started then.”
Marinette sighed, leaning back in her chair, ignoring Adrien’s protests from pulling out of his grip, “C’mon, Sunshine. Don’t you remember we’re supposed to be meeting up with Alya and Nino in a few minutes? We’ve got to get going.”
“No…” Adrien mumbled, “Physics makes me tired. Now it’s nap time.”
“Stop being lazy,” Marinette pouted.
“Don’t wanna,”
“Don’t care,” She said simply. “Get up.”
“I hate you,”
“No, you don’t,”
She pulled Adrien out of his chair, dragging him out into the streets of Paris to meet Alya and Nino. She saw Alya standing in an orange linen dress next to Nino, wearing a nice t-shirt and jeans.
“Marinette!” Alya exclaimed, “What are you wearing, girl?”
She looked down at her clothes, seeing only her normal outfit– pink jeans, a white shirt, and black blazer, “My normal outfit?”
“Oh nuh-uh,” Alya shook her head, “Go back to your room, young lady. Go get changed into one of your nice dresses.”
She sighed but did as Alya suggested, coming back in a light pink silk dress with green embroidery, “Better?” She asked in exasperation, doing a little twirl.
“Y–You look good,” Adrien said, his cheeks slightly pink.
Nino groaned, “If you guys could, like, stop flirting for five seconds that’d be great, thanks.”
“Come on, guys!” Alya cheered, “Time to go!”
Marinette rolled her eyes, “I don’t know why you guys are so excited about this. We’ve all gone to the Louvre and gone picnicking a million times. What’s so special about this time?”
“It’s the first time we’re doing it as an official double date!”
“Fair point,” Adrien conceded, taking Marinette by the hand and pulling her along as they moved off towards the Louvre.
They walked through exhibit after exhibit– Alya, as always, was particularly intrigued by the Egyptian exhibits, constantly trying to find anything else connected to Ladybug and kept them there longer than anywhere else.
“Do you really think that Ladybug is that old, or do you think it’s something that gets passed on?”
Adrien and Marinette exchanged glances.
“I don’t know,” Adrien said, “But if she is that old, she’s pretty cute for 5,000 plus years old,”
Marinette shot him a reproachful glance.
“Damn, I know right?” Alya exclaimed, “She definitely doesn’t look that old.”
Marinette nearly choked on air, staggering slightly before Adrien caught her, “Alright,” She said, her voice taking on a higher pitch, “When are we heading out to the picnic?”
“Oh come on, Mar,” Adrien teased, “You can’t tell me you’ve never thought about it. Plus, I have it on good authority that you think Chat Noir’s hot– not that I blame you, of course. He’s a very charismatic and handsome guy.”
Marinette didn’t stop glaring at him for the rest of the date.
5. The Time They Got Invited To The Mayor’s Ball
“Marinette!” Sabine called, “Adrien’s here for you!”
Marinette, who was not even remotely close to being ready for the ball tonight, let out a small screech of panic. “Alya, what am I supposed to do? I’m not ready yet!”
“Calm down, girl,” Alya laughed, styling Marinette’s hair into a french braid, “It’ll be fine.”
“Tell him I’ll be down in a few minutes!” She called back down, frantically finishing her lipstick and moving on to carefully apply her eyeliner.
She and Adrien had agreed to color coordinate– Adrien with his jade-green tie, and Marinette with a slightly more pastel green silk dress. There had been ample time to prepare, so she’d designed her own; implementing a Mandarin collar for the dress, and stitching lotus flowers in pastel pink on the hem of the dress.
Alya had come over an hour earlier to help her prepare, but hair and makeup were taking longer than expected, so they were in a rush to get it done. Alya was flurry around her, grabbing hairspray, brushes, and the small peridot pins they’d planned to put in the braid.
With a grin of pride on her face, Alya backed away from her hair, “Alright, you’re all set! You’re going to knock Adrien’s socks off, girl,”
Marinette sent her a grateful smile, carefully rising from her chair before putting on the surprisingly comfortable heels she’d found.
She carefully made her way downstairs, into the bakery, where Adrien was sitting at one of the tables with Nino– Marinette wasn’t sure Alya and Nino were originally invited by the Mayor, but Adrien had some pull and the two were coming along.
She cleared her throat and Adrien glanced up, his jaw dropping.
“Uh, hi Mar,” He said, his cheeks red as he rose to take her hand, “You look great.”
“Thanks,” Marinette replied with a soft smile on her face, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.
“What are we waiting for?” Alya squealed, “Let’s go!”
When they arrived at the ball, Marinette was immediately shocked at how many people were attending– it seemed like every socialite, every celebrity, every politician’s son or daughter was there. Unfortunately, that included Chloè, who immediately bombarded them once they walked through the doors.
“Adrikins! You made it!”
Adrien sent her what Marinette considered him to be his S.O.S. signal, “Yes, he did. With his girlfriend,” She said, tucking her head into the crook of his neck.
“Oh, whatever, Dupain-Cheng. Adrien, we’ve just got to dance out together! We’d look great together!”
“Uh, no I don’t think so,” Adrien said, giving Marinette a thankful smile, “I’m with my girlfriend today, so I’ll be dancing with her tonight.”
“Fine,” Chloè huffed, stomping away in her bedazzled yellow dress.
Marinette gave Adrien an amused smile, “Well I hope you know how to dance because I sure don’t,”
“Don’t worry, mon ange. I’ll be leading anyway, and it’s pretty simple.”
“Says the boy who’s good at everything,” She grumbled.
He blinked down at her innocently, leading her slowly to the dance floor, “I’m sorry, what was that? I didn’t quite hear you,”
She glared up at him, although it wasn’t very effective as she took in how handsome he was. The green of his tie just made his eyes stand out more and as he smiled down at her Marinette couldn’t help pretend that they weren’t just faking this. Couldn’t help but pretend that he was looking at her that way because he really loved her…
Marinette shook herself out of her reverie, though Adrien had clearly noticed it by the way he was grinning down at her.
“Is my face really that nice to look at?” He asked, “I could get you a print-out to carry around with you if you like it that much,”
“Mon chaton, I’m begging you, please stop talking.”
“I will not,” Adrien said cheerfully, “Besides, right now it’s time for you to spin,”
He flung her out in a large spin before pulling her back into his arms, his hands planted firmly on her waist.
“I hate you,” She said, slightly breathless from the spin.
Adrien smiled down at her cheerfully, “No you don’t,”
Marinette sighed, “No I don’t,”
She can’t help but think it would be easier if she did, though.
"Hey Nino?"
"Yeah Babe?" Nino asked, barely looking up from his plate of food.
Alya furrowed her brow, looking at their friends dancing, "Do you think Marinette and Adrien are really dating?"
"Well, yeah. They told us they were."
"I don't think they are."
Nino's head shot up, "What do you mean?"
"They're acting weird," Alya explained, "I'll bet you anything they're just faking it,"
"Ten euros," Nino said, raising his eyebrow, "If you can prove in the next month."
"Deal!" Alya said, grinning victoriously.
1. The Time There Was Only One Bed
The four of them had planned a getaway to Avignon– the long weekend before finals took over everyone’s lives for the rest of the school year. Two rooms, two couples, four beds.
Well, that was the plan, anyway. Then, Adrien and Marinette had arrived at their room where there was very clearly only one bed– granted, it was a big bed, definitely big enough for them not to feel cramped but they were only fake dating! They weren’t supposed to be sharing beds!
Marinette narrowed her eyes at Alya, who was looking all to pleased with herself.
"Oh no!" Alya gasped melodramatically, the whole situation clearly a plot of hers, "There's only one bed!"
With that, she promptly pranced out of the room, grabbing Nino by the wrist and taking him with her.
"I'm gonna kill her," Marinette mumbled.
Adrien winced, "Somehow I don't think that'd go over well,"
“What was she thinking?!” She shrieked, glancing between the bed and Adrien. “There are two of us, one bed, and a relationship made of lies!”
“Calm down, Marinette–”
“We’ll have to get a new room, but I don’t have the money, so you’ll have to buy it and then your dad will think I’m taking advantage of your money and–”
“–It’ll really be okay–”
“–I’ll probably go to prison and WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE BED IN THIS ROOM ADRIEN ?”
Adrien put his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes, “Mar, calm. Down. I’ll just sleep on the sofa, okay?”
“What? No way,” Marinette said, waving her hand frantically.
“Well, I’m not letting you sleep on the sofa!”
“Then we’ll both sleep on the floor!”
“Ahem,” Plagg said, floating out of Adrien’s bag, “Or– and listen carefully kids, because I know your little human brains will have trouble comprehending this– you could just both sleep on the bed,”
Marinette blinked slowly, biting her lip, “We could both sleep on the bed?”
“Think about it,” Tikki piped up, rising from Marinette’s purse, “You guys have been in plenty of compromising positions before. And that bed is big enough for you two to fit comfortably,”
“I mean…” Adrien shifted uncomfortably on his feet, “I’m okay with it if you are,”
“Alright,” Marinette said, backing away. “I’ll just get my pajamas out and get changed in the bathroom, and you can change out here.”
She picked out her simplest outfit, an oversized t-shirt, and pink cotton shorts, taking them with her.
Getting dressed quickly, she put away her toiletries while she was in there, waiting until Adrien told her she was okay to come out.
“Okay,” He said softly, and oh crap he still wasn’t wearing a shirt .
She smiled at him, making her way over to her side of the bed and climbing in. “Do you want a light on for reading or anything?”
Adrien shook his head, “I’m good. The drive made me really tired. You?”
“No, I’m pretty tired too,” She said, “Goodnight, Adrien,”
“Goodnight, Mar,”
Marinette snuggled closer to the comfortable pillow, wrapping her arms around it to bring it toward her. It was a nice pillow– very warm with its arms around her and steady heartbeat and oh crap that wasn’t a pillow that was Adrien .
She looked up at him, ready to apologize, but realized he was still fast asleep. He looked incredibly peaceful, a small smile gracing his lips as she shifted slightly placing his chin in her hair and effectively tucking her into his chest.
Smiling up at him, she couldn’t stop the words that slipped out of her mouth, “I love you, Adrien,”
She could almost picture his dream response, tucking his head down slightly to whisper in his ear, “I love you too, Marinette,”
When she moved slightly, she glanced into a pair of very green, very wide-awake eyes, “Oh my god you’re awake!” She shrieked, her head slamming into his nose in an attempt to get away.
“Ow,” He muttered, rubbing his nose.
Marinette’s hands slapped over her mouth, which was wide open in horror, “Oh, Adrien, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to–”
“Do you really love me?” Adrien cut her off.
“Yes,” She said quietly.
“It’s okay,” He replied, drawing her closer to him, “Because I really love you, too,”
And with that, he pulled her into a kiss– the one that Marinette had been waiting for since her first year of high school, one that was very much worth the wait.
“Damn it!” Alya screeched, the door to their room suddenly wide open.
Nino just waved at the two, before turning and smiling innocently at his girlfriend, “You owe me ten euros, babe,”