With What Little Time We Have 🕰️ (A Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

17- Cat's Out of The Bag

Four Days Later

Adrien was determined to find out Buttercup's real name.

He remembered all the times Ladybug had said she was in love with someone else, and with Marinette telling Cat Noir about a boy named Buttercup, it was safe to assume they were the same person. Marinette's in love with someone else. This thought did not sit easy with Adrien, as he had wanted to be the one she was in love with.

Through the bakery windows, he spotted Marinette speaking with her parents, and waited patiently for her to walk outside. He held the door open before she could grab the handle and smiled. "Good morning, Marinette. After you..."

"Thanks, Adrien," She said, and gave him a weird look. "What are you doing over here?"

"I wanted to walk with you to school," He told her as he linked his arm with her as they crossed the street.

Marinette raised a playful eyebrow and asked, "A thirty second walk?"

"Every second with you is a gift," He flirted, and opened the front door for her. "After you, again."

"Thanks..."

Adrien's second plan—if he couldn't learn Buttercup's identity—was to make Marinette fall in love with him. So, he planned to be kind, charming, and openly flirty to get that to happen. How long it would take, though, he had no idea, nor cared, and he'd flirt with her forever if needed.

"By the way, Mare, you look really nice today," He told her as he made sure to keep eye contact as they headed upstairs to class. "I like what you did with your hair."

"Thank you, Adrien," She whispered, confused by how open and honest he was being. Was he trying to make up for being a bad friend? Of course, that had to be it. His compliments didn't have a second meaning to them.

For the third time, Adrien held the door open and let her walk in first. "After you, Mi—uh... Marinette."

"You sure like holding doors," She teased before taking her seat. "Are you working on your arm muscles?"

"Well, obviously," He joked as he flexed his arm. This made her roll her eyes. "I have to be strong enough to protect you. You know if there was any danger about. Crime is very common nowadays."

"And akumatizations," She added.

Adrien nodded fast. "Exactly! People are getting akumatized left and right. Cat Noir and Ladybug won't always be around to protect you, so it's my job to fill in when they can't."

That was a lie, obviously. He would never let anything happen to Marinette, superhero or not.

"Well, I definitely feel protected."

"I'll always protect you. That's a promise."

As he turned around, Marinette smiled to herself. Adrien was acting different today, but whatever caused it, she had to admit she liked it. Though, guilt started to gnaw at her heart. She had decided this morning she was in love with someone, and it wasn't Adrien.

***

During lunch, Marinette and Alya walked over to their usual table, and Adrien jumped up fast. He pulled out her chair with a big smile. "Here you go, Marinette."

Alya and Nino shared a look and smirked to themselves.

"Thank you, Adrien." Marinette sat down and he pushed her chair in. All morning, he had been complimenting her and offering to do stuff for her. She would have thought it was romantic, if he weren't just trying to make up for his recent behavior, which she assumed he was doing. "Wow, you've been so nice to me today."