“They portray him as this airheaded, fairytale prince who flies like a genie and walks on air and doesn’t have a care in the world,” Chat grumbled, gesturing at the billboard with one arm while the other wrapped itself around his waist in an attempt at self-comfort.

“I get that his job is to sell products, and I’m not saying they should dress him like some emo goth kid with a bad case of teenage angst, but…”

He blew out a sigh as he sank to the rooftop cross-legged, staring up melancholically at the shining image of a young man who wore his face but wasn’t him.

“…I wish they portrayed him as a human being,” Chat whispered. “Like this, he’s like a character out of mythology. He’s not real. He doesn’t have feelings. He’s just there to be ogled and fantasized about.”

Ladybug winced as she thought back to her own gawking and daydreams in the past.

“They don’t let him be human,” Chat continued in a dejected mumble. “They don’t let anyone see that he’s lonely…that he misses his parents, that he wishes he could hang out with his friends more…that he’s sad sometimes because his life isn’t the perfect fantasy they try to paint it as. …I just wish they let him be real from time to time.”

Ladybug lowered herself to the roof beside him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, resting her head against his.

“Is that how you feel too sometimes, Chaton?” she inquired gently.

He nodded, closing his eyes and sinking into her warmth, letting it comfort him.

“It’s hard being a hero,” she confessed. “I definitely feel that pressure too. We can’t be human. We can’t make mistakes or screw things up. We have to keep up the perfect image the people of Paris have of us. I understand how you feel.”

“Just knowing that I’m not alone makes a world of a difference, My Lady,” he chuckled through the building tears, turning his face to nuzzle her cheek.

“You’re never alone, Chat Noir,” she stressed, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose. “No matter what, you’ll always have me. We’re in this together.”

“Thanks, Buguinette,” he whispered, voice thick.

“Any time,” she promised.

She sat there with him patiently until he slowly stopped trembling.

When he seemed to have calmed down, she pulled back slightly. “Want to watch a movie and snuggle?”

He blinked at her, wondering if he had fallen asleep and was now dreaming. “Serious offer?”

She nodded. “Of course. Do you want to?”

“I mean…absolutely,” he laughed, still taken aback that the last ten minutes had actually happened.

“Perfect. Wait right here,” she instructed with a wink as she got to her feet. “I’m going to go hit Marinette up for some blankets and leftover pastries.”

He opened his mouth to protest, but she waved away his concern. “Marinette won’t mind. You know she adores you. She wouldn’t pass up the chance to feed her favourite stray cat.”

A sheepish smile lit up his face. “She is very good to me.”

“You deserve it,” Ladybug whispered fondly, making his eyes go wide at the depth of the affection in her voice.

With a heavy sigh, Plagg set down the cheese and floated over to land on the duvet beside his kitten. “Sure she likes you, Adrien. You two are friends. You hang out all the time.”

“Because our best friends are dating,” Adrien protested. “If Nino and Alya ever split, I doubt Marinette would bother with me. I make her uncomfortable.”

Plagg mentally swore at Tikki’s girl’s inability to function around her crush. It had been causing problems for Plagg’s kid for years now.

“No, you don’t. She always has a great time with you,” Plagg insisted. “You’re one of her closest friends. Didn’t she tell you that when you were over there tonight?”

With a sigh of frustration, Adrien pushed himself up. “Again, that’s Chat Noir.”

“Which is you,” Plagg snorted, flying in to flick Adrien on the nose.

“Hey,” Adrien groaned, covering the injury with a hand. “What was that for?”

“You were being dumb,” Plagg answered flatly. “After three years, it’s finally getting on my nerves.”

Adrien opened his mouth to retort, but Plagg cut him off in a gentler tone.

“Listen, Kid. I think you know that Chat Noir isn’t some act you put on. That’s a part of who you are, and Marinette genuinely likes that part of you, doesn’t she?”

Adrien blinked as he considered for a moment. “…Yeah. She does.”

“Okay. So, she likes you, yeah?”

Adrien slowly began to nod. “Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

Plagg gave an amused snort. “I’m always right. I’m glad you finally noticed.”

“Don’t get a big head,” Adrien cautioned with a fond eye roll. “The one you have is already disproportionate to the rest of your body.”

Plagg flew in to give Adrien’s nose another flick. “Don’t get sassy when I’m doing you a favor, puny mortal.”

“What favor are you doing me exactly?” Adrien arched an eyebrow as he rubbed at his sore nose.

“I’m coaching you on how to become closer to your Princess in your civilian form.”

Adrien’s eyes went wide, and he leaned in closer. “What should I do?”

“Take notes,” Plagg chuckled. “I don’t know when the next time I feel this generous will be.”

Adrien scrambled to grab his phone off the nightstand and open up his notes app. “Ready.”

“First off,” Plagg began to list, holding up a paw, “you should ask her to spend time with you one-on-one. Take her fun places. See if you can get her in to see photoshoots and runway shows and those awful gala things you hate attending alone. Make an effort to spend more time with her as Adrien.”

“But being alone with me makes her nervous,” Adrien sadly pointed out.

Plagg waved his paw dismissively. “She just needs to get used to it. She has no problem hanging out with you as Chat Noir, so it shouldn’t be a problem once she realizes how similar you two are.”

Adrien gulped. “But what if she starts realizing that Chat Noir and Adrien are a little too similar?”

Plagg pushed Adrien’s worries to the side again. “You trust her, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“—And she knows what a big deal secret identities are,” Plagg continued. “Chances are she won’t even say anything to you about it, so you won’t have to tell Ladybug that your identity is compromised. It’ll be fine.”

Adrien’s eyes narrowed. “I’m not sure about this.”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. How does that sound?” Plagg offered.

Adrien considered briefly before nodding. Making complicated, long-term plans had never been his strong suit, so he was willing to put off thinking about the possible issues of getting close to Marinette on both sides of the mask until later.

“So, what else should I do to get Marinette to like me as Adrien, oh Wise One?”

“Bribery,” Plagg replied with a conspiratorial grin. “Get her stuff. Just little gifts here and there. It doesn’t have to be anything big or expensive that would make her feel awkward. Maybe bring her coffee sometimes or pack breakfast for her. Just little things that she’ll appreciate. Maybe a small bouquet of flowers just because you were thinking about her…Jagged Stone tickets…some fabric scraps your father isn’t going to use.”

Adrien furiously took notes, his thumbs flying across his phone’s keyboard. “That’s actually a fantastic idea, Plagg. I know we have a bunch of lace that he used for the winter formal line last year that’s just lying around gathering dust. I bet someone as creative as Marinette could turn those scraps into something amazing.”

Plagg nodded encouragingly, a satisfied smirk pulling at his lips as his kitten began to brainstorm his own ideas for small gifts for Marinette and fun places he could take her so that they could get to know one another better one-on-one.