-2- Sweet Irony

"I can't believe you actually stabbed yourself with a pencil," Marinette whispers as she and Adrien sit under the window. The cuts on her knee still sting, but being here with Adrien made it bearable.

"I can't either," Adrien admits, laughing. "I wasn't even thinking. I just grabbed the pencil and-" He gestures to himself and reenacts the stabbing. "Bam. Hopefully I don't get lead poisoning." He rubs his thigh.

Marinette leans her head against the wall and stares at Adrien. The sunlight pouring in from the window made his skin glow and his eyes shine bright. He never looked more handsome to her than he does now. But that only set fear in her heart. Once she confessed, everything would change. She could lose his friendship. She didn't want to lose Adrien. Besides, there's also her other red and black polka dotted secret. How could see tell Adrien she's Ladybug?

"What are you thinking about, Marinette?" Adrien turns and faces her, resting his head against the cool wall as he stares at her.

"Umm..." Marinette bites her lip. "I was just thinking, since we're both missing class, everyone else has already partnered up for Miss Bustier's project. You know, because Alya and Nino will pair up, and that just leaves you and me." She finally meets his eye. "I was wondering if you'd want to be my partner. But it's okay if you don't! I'm sure you could find a more awesome and better partner than me—"

"Sure." Adrien smiles. "I'd love to be partners, Marinette. Maybe I could come over later to your house so we can work on it? I don't think my father will allow me to have guests over."

"Sure..." She whispers, grinning. Adrien's going to be in her bedroom again. Her eyes widen. It's a mess! "Yeah. I'm cool with you coming over and sitting in my messy bedroom."

"Cool." Adrien looks up. "It's nice being able to relax and miss class. My father would be furious if he found out I skipped class."

Marinette smirks. "Technically, you didn't. You were in the nurse's office due to an injury. Seems like a valid reason to me."

Adrien snorts. "You must think I'm crazy for stabbing myself with a pencil."

"I think you're sweet." Marinette smiles. "Uh, it's sweet! What you did. The gesture is sweet. I didn't really want to be alone, anyway."

"First period's almost over."

Marinette checks the time on her phone. "Yep." Deep down, she wanted class to last forever. She wants to stay with Adrien forever. But she just didn't have a clue on how to tell him that. If she didn't tell him before school ended, Alya would be mad at her. She turns and stares at Adrien. Words can't describe what she feels for him.

Adrien looks over. "Is there something on my face?"

"No!" She shakes her head. "No. Your face is cute. Good! Your face is good. There is absolutely nothing wrong with your face."

Adrien smiles at her. He couldn't help but wonder why she's always so nervous around him and falling over her words. Was he doing something wrong? Did he make Marinette uncomfortable? Marinette looks away, but he keeps his eyes on her. Over the last few weeks, something's changed in Adrien, and every time he stares at Marinette he can't help but feel mesmerized by her beauty. He thinks about how beautiful she looks sitting under the window beside him, the sunlight making her blue hair shine and her eyes sparkle. No! Adrien shakes his head. He can't be in love with Marinette. No matter what he feels. He loves Ladybug, and he couldn't drop her like that.

Ladybug is the love of his life. Marinette is just a good friend.

***

Lunch time. Marinette takes her usual spot at her table and waits for Alya. "Marinette!" She looks up to spot her best friend running over. "So, girl? Did you tell him?"

Marinette frowns. "No. I didn't get a chance to."

"What are you talking about?" Alya shakes her shoulders. "You and Adrien were alone, together, for over an hour! You had every single chance in the world."

"I know, Alya." Her eyes start to glisten with tears. "Adrien is important to me. The thought of telling him everything terrifies me. I don't want us to stop being friends. I don't want to lose him." Starting to cry, she hides her face in Alya's shirt as her shoulders shake.

"Oh, Mari..." Alya rubs her back. "Girl, I'm so sorry for pressuring you. It's okay. Just tell Adrien when you're ready. You have all the time in the world. That boy is as clueless as a rock."

"Aw, crying because your clothes are so ugly?" Chloe says as she walks by with Sabrina. "If I wore those, too, I'd cry myself to sleep every night!"

"Go away, Chloe!" Alya snaps. "Leave Marinette alone."

Chloe crosses her arms. "Don't worry, I plan to. Right after I steal Adrien away and he's my partner for Miss Bustier's project. Come on, Sabrina. I have to go do my hair." She waves for the redhead to follow.

"Adrien won't drop you for Chloe," Alya reassures Marinette. "Even he's not that shallow."

"Adrien's coming to my house after school," She whispers, leaning back to rub her eyes. She takes in a deep breath. "To work on the project."

"Project Love?" Alya teases, and Marinette laughs. "Make sure you take your posters down this time."

"My room's a complete mess. I was up all night sketching new designs."

"I saw Adrien staring at your sketchbook this morning." Alya takes a bite of her sandwich. "What design was he looking at?"

"It's so embarrassing!" Marinette reaches into her bag and takes out her sketchbook, opening to the most recent page. She shows Alya. "Do you remember the dream I told you about, the one about Cat Noir? That's what inspired the sketches. It's a matching ball gown and suit. I actually started working on making the dress last night. Which is why I'm so tired." She yawns. "I only have the skirt done, but I'm going to work on it every day after school."

"These are amazing, girl!" Alya squints at the little details. "You know, you and Adrien would look awesome in these! Talk about a power couple."

She hides her face in her hands. "If only I had the guts to tell him how I feel. Did I tell you what he did? Adrien stabbed himself with a pencil so he could stay in the nurse's office with me."

"NO!" Alya's eyes widen. "For real?" Marinette nods. "Girl, that's a sign!"

Adrien and Nino walk up to their table. "Mind if we sit here?"

Marinette nods and grins at Adrien. "Sure!"

Nino sits beside Alya and Adrien next to Marinette. "What's that?"

"Mari's designs." Alya moves the sketchbook to show Nino.

Adrien turns and looks at Marinette. He notices how red her eyes are and the lonely tear stuck to her cheek. "Are you okay?" He quietly asks her, moving closer.

"Y-Yeah." Marinette nods and rubs under her eyes. "I'm fine."

Adrien didn't believe her.

"These are tight, Marinette," Nino says, nodding. "Cooler than whatever Adrien's dad designed."

"Those are my favorite," Adrien says, ignoring Nino's comment. He smiles at her. He can tell something's off with Marinette and he wants to make her feel better. "Too bad we can't wear them, though."

Alya's eyes widen. "ACTUALLY!" Marinette shakes her head, silently begging her best friend not to say anything. "She's designing the ballgown now. Maybe when she's done she could make the suit. And then the two of you could model it together for a photoshoot..."

"That'd be so cool!" Adrien looks at her. "Would you be interested in that, Marinette?"

She nods. "Y-Yeah! That sounds fun." She blushes and looks away. "I have to finish the dress first."

Adrien leans in and whispers to Marinette, "Maybe I could stay and watch after school. You know, learn from the master." He elbows her side and she squeals, holding her breath.

Alya and Nino share a look, leaning in. "How are these two not together yet?"

***

Marinette races upstairs to her bedroom with Adrien in tow. "I'm so sorry about the mess!" She starts picking up loose fabrics, dirty clothes, and pencils and sketch paper. "It's usually not this messy."

Adrien points at the picture's of him on the wall. "Still using me for inspiration, huh?"

She forgot to take those down. "Uh, yeah. When I need ideas, I just stare into your gorgeous green eyes and..." She clears her throat. "This is what I have so far." She gestures to the mannequin in the corner.

"That's amazing." He walks over and feels the skirt. "It's so soft."

Marinette smiles at him. "You're so soft. WHAT?!" She throws everything into a chest and slams it shut. "So. That project. What did Alya and Nino say it was about?"

"We have to create a short movie," Adrien tells her, sitting down in the extra chair. She follows suit. "It has to contain an original plot, two or more characters, and a twist or secret revealed."

"That doesn't seem so bad." Marinette opens her notebook and taps her pen. "What should are short movie be about?"

Adrien scoots closer. "What genre do you want it to be?"

"Definitely NOT horror," She states, shaking her head. "I'll have nightmares for weeks."

"What about romance?"

Marinette's eyes widen. "R-Romance? Like, where people fall in love and kiss and get married and have three kids and a hamster?"

"Yeah, I guess." Adrien shrugs. "People love romance movies."

And I love you, Marinette thinks to herself. Her eyes widen and she starts doodling on the paper. "Okay. A romance movie! We can do that. What's it gonna be about?"

"What about..." Adrien shakes his head. "Never mind. It's dumb."

"What is it, Adrien?"

He sighs. "What if we made our short romance movie about Ladybug and Cat Noir?"

"Ladybug and Cat Noir?!" She asks in shock.

"I knew it was a dumb idea."

Her heart breaks. "No! It's not dumb, Adrien. It sounds like a great idea. I, just, wanna know what made you think of them?"

"Well, we always see on the news of what a great team them make," Adrien starts, smiling at the thought of Ladybug's mesmerizing eyes. "And I'm sure they'd make an awesome couple."

Marinette's nose scrunches in disgust. "I highly doubt that."

"If Ladybug would only give Cat Noir a chance."

"Huh?"

Adrien's eyes widen. "Uh, for the movie plot! After a fight scene, what if Ladybug gave Cat Noir a chance? You know, some emotional love confessing scene. That could be our secret revealed. Turns out she's been in love with him the whole time." He only hoped.

She stares with wide eyes at her notebook. "Umm... sure. I guess we could do that." She turns and looks at Adrien. "Would that mean that you and I would play Ladybug and Cat Noir?"

Adrien leans in, grinning. "I can play Ladybug if you want."

Marinette laughs. "Lucky for you, I actually created copies of their costumes a while ago." She stands up, walking over to her chest to search for them.

He walks up behind her, asking, "Really? Why?"

"Umm. Because I was bored—" Turning around, her face bumps into Adrien's chest and she falls into her chest, screaming. She rubs the back of her head.

"Marinette, I'm so sorry." Adrien laughs and holds his hand out. "Are you okay?"

The trapdoor to her room opens. Her parents stick their heads up. "We heard a scream. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, Mom. I'm fine." She grabs Adrien's hand and he pulls her up. "I'm just being clumsy. Again."

"I baked some fresh cookies if you kids want anyone," Her dad says, holding up a plate.

Adrien's eyes widen. They look so good. He realizes he's still holding Marinette's hand.

"We'll take the cookies." Marinette walks over and takes the plate. "Can we have some privacy please to work on our project?"

"Of course." Her parents give her a smile and wink.

Marinette slams the trap door shut. She turns and grins at Adrien. "My parents made us cookies."

"Your parents make the best cookies." They sit back down and share the cookies. "Even my personal chef doesn't make cookies as good as these."

"You have a personal chef?" Marinette asks, intrigued.

Adrien sighs. "Yeah. I see my personal chef more than my father." His eyes widen. "Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud."

Frowning, she reaches out and touches his arm. "I'm sorry, Adrien."

"It's fine. He's just always busy with stuff." Adrien eats another cookie. "So. Those costumes you have?"

***

Marinette and Adrien stand in front of each other, wearing her knock off Ladybug and Cat Noir costumes, unaware of the irony in the room. Tikki and Plagg were hiding in her desk drawer finishing off the cookies. "These reminds me of that time we almost starred in that music video together."

"Yeah..." Adrien scratches the back of his neck as he stares at Marinette. Even without the mask, he thinks she resembles a little like Ladybug. But that was impossible. Marinette was too clumsy to be Ladybug.

"I'm glad it fits." Marinette knew it would fit Adrien. She based the measurements on his. Standing in that costume, she thinks about how he almost looks like Cat Noir. But that was impossible. Adrien was too serious to be Cat Noir.

"They look so real." Adrien couldn't help but feel uncomfortable. He didn't want Marinette getting any ideas of him being Cat Noir. He had to keep his identity a secret.

Marinette smiles. "Thanks." She stares at the masks. She couldn't wear it. What if Adrien found out she was Ladybug? "I actually lost the masks, so we can't wear them." She sneaks her hand out and hides them under a pile of fabric before Adrien can notice.

He smiles in relief. "That's fine. We can just edit them later with special effects or something."

Marinette tucks her hands behind her back. "So... I was thinking maybe we could film some scenes at the park, the bridge, and the final scene on the Eiffel Tower. How does that sound?"

"That sounds amazing." Adrien smiles. "I'm just more worried about how we're going to create a fake fight scene."

"I think I know some friends who wouldn't mind helping," She says, grinning. "We should probably write the script."

He nods. "Right. That would be helpful."

Sitting down, they both reach for the pen, and as their fingers touch, they smile at each other.