2- Agreste Photoshoots

Adrien's POV

Three Months Later

Another day, another photoshoot. Same old, same old. Nothing new. Except this time I'm modeling with someone. Not just someone. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, my best friend and classmate. I was surprised when my father suggested her. Not even just that, he suggested I modeled her designs, too. It's a little weird, coming out of nowhere, but I couldn't be more than happy. It's the first time I'm actually excited to do a photoshoot.

"Is that girl here yet?" I hear Tanya, one of my makeup artists, shout. "She's fifteen minutes late! We're on a schedule!"

It wouldn't be a normal day if Marinette weren't late. "She'll be here! I promise. I asked her to pick something up for me," I lie, hoping she won't be hard on Marinette when she gets here.

Tanya sighs. "Just let me know when she gets here. Please." She walks back into the trailer.

There's a loud crash. "SORRY!" I spin around and find Marinette apologizing profusely as she begins picking up fallen cameras, lights, and her loose sketch papers. "I'm so, so sorry!"

I smile. Good old Marinette. "Marinette!" I shout, walking over to greet her. "Hey! Uh, watch out!"

"Adrien!" She takes a step forward and trips over a suitcase, but I catch her in time. Her portfolio falls and she drops a black garment bag. Her outfit for the shoot, I assume. "Hi! Sorry. I didn't mean to bush you. I-I mean push you. I was such in a rush this morning and I forgot to set my alarm and after I let my house I forgot my portfolio, so I had to run back and get it, and after I left again I realized I forgot my clothes! So then I had to run back and-"

"Mari!" I grab her by the shoulders. "Breathe. Take a deep breath with me. In. Out."

Marinette takes a deep breath in and lets it out. "Thanks, Adrien. You always know how to calm me down."

"No problem." I do the same thing with Ladybug when she's bugging out about something. Man, I miss her. I smile at the thought of her.

"So, where do I put my stuff?" Marinette asks, pulling me out of my trance.

I blink twice. "Right! This way. You have your own dressing room." I lead her to a tent. "Well, dressing tent." Marinette giggles and I can't help but smile. "Tanya's a little over the edge today, so I'd hurry up, get dressed, and meet me at the trailer if I were you. Tanya's not nice when she's mad."

"Okay." Marinette walks into the tent, setting her stuff down on a table. "I'll meet you in the trailer, Adrien."

I wave to Marinette and close the tent behind her. The trailer door slams open and Tanya stomps over. Before she can shout, I speak. "Marinette is here! She's getting dressed in the tent now-"

"AHHHHHHHH!"

That came from Marinette's tent. I'm the first to rush over and I cover my eyes as I run in. "Marinette! Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"I'm dressed, Adrien. It's okay." Marinette sniffles and I move my hand to look at her. There's tears pouring down her face. She's shaking, horribly.

I step forward and grab her hand. "Marinette! What happened? I was only gone for a second."

"T-There... there was... was a..." She covers her face as she starts crying again. "I-I saw a guy with a camera and he took a picture of me while I was changing."

My blood boils in rage and I feel my hands forming into fists. "What?"

Tanya speaks into a walkie talkie. "Hey, we got a problem. Peeping Tom spotted in tent number three. Follow procedure." She looks at Marinette. "Sweetie, did you get a good look at the guy? Do you remember what he was wearing? What he looked like?"

"Umm..." Marinette clears her throat and rubs under her eyes. I wrap an arm around and rub her back. "I think he was wearing an orange hat. A green shirt with a gorilla on it and jeans. I didn't really see his face, but I think he has a mole on his chin."

Tanya repeats the information into the walkie talkie. "The police have been contacted and there are looking for him now. This is totally up to you, Marinette, but do you want to cancel the photoshoot and reschedule for another day?"

"No!" Marinette shakes her head. "No, I'm fine. I just need a minute. Let's continue the shoot."

"Marinette," I whisper, leaning down to her ear. "You don't have to. We can wait."

She shakes her head. "Your father will be mad, Adrien, and I don't want to be the reason he punishes you."

"Are you sure?"

Marinette nods. "Yes."

Tanya walks over. "Alright. We'll start shooting in thirty minutes. Is that alright?" Marinette nods. "Good. Meet me in the trailer when you're ready." She leaves.

I look back at Marinette. "Are you sure you're okay? I promise, my father will understand if we reschedule."

"Yes, Adrien. I'm fine." I want to believe her, but her hands are still shaking. "I want to do this."

Seeing Marinette like this makes me mad. Mad enough to want this guy dead. "Okay. If you're sure. I'm going to let you get dressed and I'll have my bodyguard stand outside."

"Thank you, Adrien," She whispers, smiling.

As I reach the front of the tent, I glance back at Marinette and find her crying again. That's it. I leave, sneaking away instead of heading to the trailer, and duck down next to a dumpster in an empty alley. Plagg peeks his head out of my jacket. "Should we cataclysm the man who hurt your Marinette?"

"That's what I want to do," I admit, nodding. "Plagg, claws out!"

After I transform, I head to the roof to get a better look of the city. Orange hat. Green gorilla shirt. Chin mole. This guy can't be far, and he better hope the police find him before I do. I only have thirty minutes, so I have to hurry. I jump from rooftop to rooftop, looking in alleys and shops for anyone matching that description. I'm about to give up when I hear some footsteps below me. It's him! It's the creep! He's running, clutching a small, red camera in his hand.

I run, leaping off the building and drop down in front of him. "Hey, big guy! Where are you off to in such a hurry?" I ask, blocking him. "Off to sell those pictures?"

He doesn't say anything. He turns around and tries to run, but I extend by staff and stop him. "Ah!" He shouts as he runs into it, falling hard against the wall. "Man, what's your deal, anyway?"

"My deal?" I ask, getting angry. "My deal is that you're a creep who took pictures of a fifteen-year-old girl changing! How much did you plan on getting for those photos?"

"Please. I need the money, for my family. My wife and daughter," He begs, hugging his camera.

"Who cares about the money?" I turn my staff towards him. "She's a high school student!"

"I-I didn't know she was fifteen."

I shake my head. "It doesn't matter if she was fifteen or thirty or anything else! You invaded her privacy, you exploited her, and you planned on profiting off of some disgusting and  repulsive addiction!" I grab the camera from him, throw it on the ground, and slam the bottom of my staff against it. I lean in as he cowers back in fear. As I lift my hand, my cataclysm activates without my saying to. That's something new. "If I ever see you near her again, or any young girl for that matter, I will make sure you live to regret it." I touch the wall behind him and watch as it crumbles. "Got it, man?"

As I turn to leave, the man speaks up. "How do you think Paris will react when I tell everyone how their beloved hero treated me?"

I laugh. Is this guy serious? "How do you think your wife would react knowing you were taking pictures of underage girls?" I was going to let him go, but thinking about how he has a daughter at home waiting for him angers me. I open my staff and tap on my screen. Sirens go off in the distance. "They know where you are now. Don't even bother trying to hide. You know, if you were smart, you would have never set foot on that set."

"Why's that, wise guy?" He asks, raising an eyebrow.

I step forward, smirking. "That was a Gabriel Agreste photoshoot." His eyes widen. "Once he finds out you harassed one of his models, he's going to destroy your life. Have fun." I wave before extending off and running back towards the set. My heart is racing as the wind pounds against my face. I've never done that before. I've never threatened someone. Well, except Lila when she had Marinette expelled. I drop down and turn as the man gets arrested and thrown in the back of the police car. Serves that man right.

"Cat Noir?" A soft voice says behind me.

I turn around and see Marinette standing there. My eyes widen and I stare in awe. Woah. Her hair's straightened and down, strands blowing against her face from the harsh winds. She's wearing the most beautiful dress I've ever seen, pink fabric with silver flowers covering her skin. Her shoulders are exposed in the sleeves. She's beautiful. She is absolutely beautiful.

"What are you doing here, Cat Noir?" Marinette asks again, walking towards me.

I snap out of it. "Huh? What? Oh! I was... escorting the police. We caught the creep that was taking pictures of you and arrested him."

Her eyes widen. "Already? That fast? But how did you hear about it? It just happened."

"Well, Princess, I..." What's the best I can come up with without revealing my identity to her? "I was out and about patrolling, waiting for Milady, like always, when I came across those officers. They told me what was going on and after I heard you were involved, I knew I had to come help my princess."

Marinette rolls her eyes. "Heroic as ever, Cat Noir." She gets serious. "Thank you, though."

I nod. "You let me know if you see that guy again. Okay?" She shakes her head yes. My ring beeps. "Whoops! Our time is up. Until next time." I grab her hand and place a kiss on it, lifting my head to give her a wink. "Don't miss me too much. 'Kay?"

"I'll try not to, Cat Noir," Marinette jokes, waving goodbye as I leave.

I find a safe place to transform back to and lean against the wall, panting. Running from rooftop to rooftop can be so tiring. Plagg's already in my face, begging for cheese. "Cheese, kind sir?"

Rolling my eyes, I reach into my jacket and hand him a piece. "We really need to find a better way to carry cheese. I always stink."

"Not my fault you need to feed me to become an awesome superhero," Plagg shoots back, eating the cheese in one bite. "So. We took care of that creep, didn't we?"

I nod. "Yeah, but I almost didn't control myself, Plagg. My anger was so strong my cataclysm went off by itself. It never does that and it worries me."

Plagg shrugs. "Don't worry about it, kid. Your emotions were just really strong for your just-a-friend Marinette." He grins. "You really care so much about a girl that isn't your girlfriend. Need to admit something, Adrien? Hmm...?"

"Cut it out, Plagg. You know I'm in love with Ladybug." I smile. After all this time, I'm finally dating Milady. Well, Adrien is, at least. But that's better than nothing.

"Adrien? Your photoshoot?" Plagg reminds me. "You still need to change."

"Right!" I race back to set and change, meeting Marinette in the trailer with five minutes to spare. She watches me as I get my makeup on. "I heard the police caught that guy."

Marinette nods. "Yeah. With the help of Cat Noir."

"Really?" I ask, looking at her through the mirror. I play along. "How do you know?"

"After I was ready, I came looking for you, but I ran into Cat Noir." She smiles at his name and it does something to me. My heart flutters. What is wrong with me today? "We talked for a bit and he told me he helped the officers."

"Good thing he was around," I whisper, closing my mouth as Tanya applies some powder to my face. If I'm honest, though, I'm ashamed of how it went down. I shouldn't have taken advantage of my superpowers and threatened the guy like that. I should have just handed him over to the police.

"Yeah. Cat Noir's always had good timing," Marinette whispers to herself, and I raise an eyebrow at her. "You know, he's always there when you need him. Like when he saved me from Evillustrator, Befana, Gamer, and Glaciator. His timing couldn't be better."

"You only have nice things to say about the cat, Mari," I tease, spinning in the chair to face her once Tanya's done. "Any feelings you want to admit? Speak now or forever hold your peace."

Marinette laughs. "Let's just go do the photoshoot."

She didn't answer the question.

***

The photoshoot is going surprisingly well. No more nasty surprises. We're near the end of the third hour, almost done. My photographer just wants a few more shots. "Okay! This is it guys! The end! I need it to mean something!" He walks over and pushes Marinette and I closer together. "You guys are lovers. The closest of lovers. You never want to spend a moment apart! I need to see that. Can you give me that?"

I look down at Marinette, grinning. "Can we do it?"

She smiles. "I can. Can you?"

"I'm the professional model here," I remind her, laughing.

I hear the camera click a few times. "Yes! That! That is what I want, what I need. Happy! Laughter! Closer, get closer, you two!"

"We're already close," I remind him, hoping my breath isn't getting on Marinette's face.

My photographer glares. "Closer..."

Sighing, I wrap my arms around Marinette's waist, pulling her closer. As she steps forward, she steps on her skirt, tripping, and falls. I sweep her up and catch her before she hits the ground, holding a tight hand against her back as she's dipped underneath me. "I'm sorry," She whispers, starting to laugh.

I laugh with her. "No, it's okay. I've gotten used to it by now."

"Don't move! This shot is perfect!" He takes a few more pictures. "Okay. I just need one, final photo and we're done."

I don't look away from Marinette when I ask, "What do you want us to do?"

"Kiss."

Our eyes widen as we say, "Excuse me?"

"Come on! That chemistry you have? It must be photographed." He walks over and bends down so we can see him. "Please, this is all I need and this will be the greatest Gabriel Agreste photoshoot ever! Featuring Marinette Dupain-Cheng's beautiful designs, of course," He adds, smiling at her. "You guys are friends, right? This shouldn't be weird."

Marinette and I stare at each other with wide eyes. I don't want to make her uncomfortable. "It's up to you, Marinette. What do you wanna do?"

She stares at me for moment. There's definitely something going on in that cute head of hers. I can see it in her eyes. "Okay. Let's do it."

"Are you sure?"

Marinette nods.

My photographer cheers and rushes back to his camera. "Okay! Ready? On the count of three. One-"

Leaning down, I go for it and kiss Marinette. It catches her off guard, but she slowly melts into me. She cups my cheek as we continue kissing. It's like the world disappears. There's only Marinette and I and nothing else matters. My stomach flips in knots and does backflips as I feel something burning. A minute passes and I finally bring her up, helping her stand straight. Her eyes are wide as I stare at her. "Professional, right?" I tease, elbowing her.

Marinette snorts, a loud laugh escaping her. She keeps laughing until she grabs her stomach and falls over. I lay down beside her, joining, and chuckle along. She takes in a deep breath and looks at me. "We're so dumb," She whispers, shaking her head. "Worrying about some stupid kiss."

"I didn't think it was stupid," I admit, helping her up. "In fact, it was one of the best kisses I've ever had."

Marinette's face falls and something inside her eyes breaks. Did I say something wrong? She clears her throat and laughs again, but I can tell this time it's fake. "Yeah. Right. Umm, I should probably change now. I promised my dad I would help out in the bakery when we were done."

I nod. "Right. Of course. I'll walk you back to your tent."

I open the tent for Marinette and she steps in. As I go to leave, she reaches for my hand and pulls my inside. "Adrien, will you stay with me while I change?"

My cheeks burn. "W-What?" I ask, confused.

Marinette shakes her head. "T-That's not what I meant! Umm. I just meant will you turn around and just stand there in here? With me? After what happened earlier, I-I don't want to be alone in here."

A frown falls on my face. "Of course, Marinette. Anything you want." I close my eyes and turn around as she begins changing. "My photographer's going to email me all the photos tomorrow morning so I can decide what goes in the magazine. Well, my father's going to choose which pictures, but he's letting me invite you over. If you want since you're also in the pictures. My bodyguard and I could pick you up."

"I'd like that," Marinette whispers.

"Okay," I whisper, feeling Plagg shift around my jacket.

"I'm hungry," Plagg whispers, and I peek down at him to see his eyes are closed, too. "Give me some more cheese."

I shut my eyes. "Plagg, shh! She'll hear you."

"Did you say something?" Marinette asks.

"Nope!" I shake my head. "No. I did not say anything. I'm just standing here with my eyes closed and not talking to myself." She giggles and I smile to myself.

"Okay. It's good to look now," Marinette tells me. I open my eyes and turn around. Marinette's in a black tank top and pink sweatpants. She uses a wipe to take off her makeup. "I had fun today. Despite what happened in the tent. It was nice hanging out with you today. I'm sorry I made you missed another field trip at school, though."

"Don't be," I assure her, sitting down beside her. I hand her another wipe. "This was more fun."

Marinette looks at me. "Really?"

I nod. "Yeah. You're always fun to be around." Her cheeks glow a soft pink and she looks away. "My bodyguard and I will take you home when you're ready."

"Thank you." Marinette stares down at her hands. "My parents are going to flip when they hear what happened, but at least the guy got arrested. It just..."

"What?"

"It makes me sick, what that man did." Marinette's eyes water as she begins to cry. "The way he just snuck in here and took photos of me, like he didn't have morals or a conscience. You know, like, how many other people has he done that to? How long has he gotten away with it? What would he have done with those pictures of me?"

I grab Marinette's hand. "It doesn't matter anymore, Mari. That man is locked away and he's going to stay there. My father will make sure of it."

"That makes me feel better." Marinette closes her eyes and rests her head on my shoulder, yawning. "I'm just so exhausted. I just wanna sleep and never wake up."

I cast a worried look at her. I've never noticed, but over the past few months Marinette's been acting more, well, gloomy. She always has bags under her eyes, like she never sleeps, and she's more late than usual. I wonder what's going on with her. "Mari?" I whisper, looking down, but she's out like a light. Laughing, I lean back in the chair, careful not to wake up, and send a text to my bodyguard. I lay my head on top of hers and close my eyes.