Author's note: Thank you all for your patience waiting for this chapter! Despite our best efforts and precautions, our family caught Covid last month and it's been an annoyingly long recovery. But I'm starting to feel good again and was finally able to finish this chapter! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

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Music glossary:

Romanza: An evocative composition with a specially personal and tender quality

French glossary:

Bise ("faire la bise"): French custom of greeting one another with a kiss on one or both cheeks

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(Mood Music: "La Zingara" - Café Accordion Orchestra)

One good thing about turning a year older was that Adrien discovered he could remain transformed for about two hours after using either Cataclysm or Black Hole; or five minutes if he used his powers twice. This made him an even bigger asset as a teammate and gave them an edge they desperately needed against Hawkmoth.

Another advantage about realizing that he was an official adult was that Adrien was finally able to get all his bank accounts back from his father without further interference. He wasn't about to start frivolously spending his hard earned savings from several years' worth of work, but he could finally begin to plan to move out, if he so wanted to.

He didn't want to.

Not only because he finally felt a sense of love and belonging, or because he was thriving as an honorary member of the Dupain-Cheng family (although there was no denying that his time here had been some of the best in his entire life). But the fact of the matter was, he'd painted a giant target on Marinette's back when he rescued her from his father. Being near her in proximity was the best way to keep her (and the family) safe. Moving out at this point would not be wise. In fact, he decided that he needed to become even more proactive in protecting his new family.

And so here he was, on Monday morning, about to knock on the front door of the Dupain-Cheng home. It felt quite odd, considering that the balcony trapdoor was the only door he ever used, despite having his own house key. Not that he ever used it; Tom Dupain giving it to him was more of a symbolic gesture, albeit one which he appreciated more than words could express. Still, being at the front door felt odd.

Nevertheless, he stood up straight and readied his signature award-winning smile as he rang the doorbell.

It was Tom Dupain himself who answered a few moments later. His flabbergasted stare was quickly replaced by one of pleasant surprise, and he greeted Adrien happily with a pat on the back, ushering the young man inside.

"What brings you to our humble home this morning, my boy?" Tom asked with cheerful curiosity.

Adrien cleared his throat nervously. "Well– uh, firstly, I have some good news! Certain... circumstances have improved, so I'll be able to attend school again," he said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"Oh, that's great, son! Wonderful to hear," Tom replied with an even heartier pat on the back, which almost knocked Adrien over.

The boy continued, "So I thought it might be nice—err, fun— to walk Marinette to school in the mornings from now on. I-if that's cool with you. A-and with her too, of course!" Adrien gulped, cringing inwardly. Chat Noir had a good rapport with Tom Dupain, but Adrien's relationship with him wasn't as close. He wasn't sure how the man might react to his only daughter receiving unsolicited attention.

Tom narrowed his eyes slightly and gave him a sly smile, then answered, "Why, I'm sure she'd love that! And it would be a great way to help her get to school on time, that's for sure."

"Awesome! Thank you To— uhh, sir."

"I'll go check in on her real quick, make sure she's presentable and all," the man said, giving him a playful wink. "Why don't you have a seat?"

Adrien thanked him, then sat on the couch to wait, placing the backpack on the floor beside him. A couple of minutes ticked by, until the silence was broken by a loud voice screeching, "WAIT, WHAT?!" followed by some thumping and scrambling, until a few moments later, an incredibly frazzled looking Marinette stormed downstairs like an elephant in a porcelain factory.

"Adrien!!" she greeted him, breathless. "W-what a nice surprise!"

"It's so good to see you Marinette," Adrien greeted her as he stood, leaning forward for a polite bise on each cheek. Marinette let out a barely suppressed noise that sounded almost like air leaking from a balloon and greeted him back.

"It's a good thing you're here, Adrien. Marinette is never downstairs by this hour!" Tom teased.

"Papa!" the girl hissed through her teeth, throwing him a side eyed glare.

"Have you had breakfast yet, Adrien? Would you like to join us?"

Adrien missed the mortified look that Marinette gave her father and beamed excitedly. "I would love to!"

~~~

At school, except for the infrequent times they were in separate classes, Adrien and Marinette were practically joined at the hip. Adrien became Marinette's shadow, always showing up to walk her from classroom to classroom (a fact that did not go unnoticed by their classmates, particularly a certain Italian girl with eyes as green as her envy).

Adrien hoped it wasn't too irritating for her, as he was certain that she'd noticed the extra attention; but she'd been too nice to say anything about it so far. In fact, despite some extra skittishness on her part, she didn't seem to mind.

"Maybe she thinks you're afraid of being alone," Plagg whispered to Adrien as he unwrapped a small wheel of camembert. The kwami had insisted on a snack break in between classes, so they were hiding out in a bathroom stall for a few moments.

Adrien shrugged. "That's just as well. It's not like that's an incorrect statement either way. Safety in numbers, and all that. Have you noticed how she seems more nervous around me though? She hasn't acted this way since... since... Back when she..." He cleared his throat, the tips of his ears turning pink, then changed the subject, "Well, anyway, I hope I'm not making her uncomfortable."

Plagg took a bite of cheese, talking with his mouth full, tiny crumbs of cheese spraying out of his mouth, "Speaking of uncomfortable, how's your neck feeling? You said it was sore after you fell asleep on the couch with Marinette a couple of nights ago."

Adrien swiveled his head around experimentally. "Much better, thanks. Although you might be surprised, I slept really well that night. I'd choose an achy neck over bad dreams any day."

Plagg raised his brow curiously as he chewed. "This isn't the first time this has happened," he said thoughtfully.

Adrien sighed, scratching the back of his head in puzzlement. "No, it isn't. And I might have an idea of what may be 'curing' it. All those times, I was with Marinette. It's too specific to be a coincidence. But—" he looked at the kwami, shrugging.

Plagg nodded and finished for him, "—But it's not like you can ask the Dupains for permission to sleep with their daughter every night. As a friend."

"Exactly," Adrien groaned. "And it may not even be just with Marinette, maybe it happens if I were to sleep next to any other person. But that still doesn't solve my problem. I can't just go up to random people and ask them to sleep with me, and platonically, to boot. Especially since I have a girlfriend."

"You could just ask Ladybug to move in with you. I'm sure she'd love to sleep with you," Plagg replied smugly as he finished his snack.

Adrien rolled his eyes, yet his cheeks reddened significantly. "Right, I'm sure that conversation would go over well with all involved parties," he replied sarcastically. He glanced at his watch. "We'll continue this conversation later; we should get to class."

(Continued in part 2)