PHOTOGENESIS

Chapter 4

At the KIDZ+ TV studio, Alec Cataldi and Nadja Chamack stared in awe at their phones.

"Wow, kid doesn't waste any time," Alec said, shaking his head. "Less than two hours on Instagram and he's already dropped a bombshell on Paris and embarrassed his new girlfriend."

Nadja Chamack shook her head and laughed. "Ah, to be young and silly," she said. "It's a bit strange though, that Adrien Agreste would suddenly be on social media. What with Gabriel being a notorious hardass and all."

"Yeah, there's a story here," Alec agreed. "But the story everyone's gonna care about is this girl. Who is she?"

"Oh, I know exactly who she is," Nadja said. "That's Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Her mother and I are old friends. She babysits Manon a lot."

Alec blinked. "Wow, really? So she's just a normal girl with a normal life? Not a famous celebrity or—?"

"Just a normal girl," Nadja agreed. "Well, and an aspiring fashion designer. I've seen some of her work, she has talent."

"Hmm, that must be how they met." Alec stroked his chin. "So, this Marinette, what else do you know about her?"

"Well, she's the same age as Adrien, her parents own a successful boulangerie—Tom Dupain made that Eiffel Tower cake you all raved over, remember? And...hmm. There was something about she did something important for..."

"Jagged Stone," Alec said, looking up from his phone's browser. "She designed the cover of his last album, the one that knocked XY off the top."

"Huh, really? I didn't know that."

"We need to stay on top of this," Alec said. "This is big. Following this could be a huge boost for our ratings."

"You're right," Nadja said. She grimaced. "I just wish I didn't know Marinette so well. It's going to make this awkward."

* * * * *

Ten minutes before the Gorilla was due to pick them up, Marinette went upstairs to touch up her makeup and calm her nerves, while Adrien visited the bathroom to use the facilities and freshen up.

Upstairs...

"Oh, Tikki, how can I do this?" Marinette moaned. "I'm going on a date with Adrien!"

Tikki rolled her eyes. "You've been getting along just fine for the past couple of hours!" she said. "Why the sudden attack of nerves?"

"Because it's different!" Marinette insisted. "We're about to go out! Be seen! In public! On a da on a da on a da on a da on a da on a da on a da—"

Tikki facepalmed. "Just...stop. Just stop." She pinched Marinette, which snapped her out of it, then floated up to look her straight in the eyes. "You're Ladybug. You've jumped right off the top of the Eiffel Tower without hesitation! You can handle going to a movie with a boy."

"B-but..." Marinette stammered.

"Butts are for sitting!" Tikki said harshly. "Yours is going to be sitting next to Adrien, and you're going to have a good time and enjoy yourself. And stop worrying!" She smiled reassuringly. "You're having a good time together, right?"

"W-well...yeah," Marinette said hesitantly.

"So you're going to have a good time together at the movie! What difference does it make if you're in public? You can do this."

"I can do this," Marinette repeated firmly. "I can do this. I can do this. I can do Adrien. I can do—" Her mind caught up with what she'd just said, and her entire head glowed red. "UWAAAH!"

Tikki groaned. "Yeah, not on the first date," she said in a deadpan tone.

"TIKKI!"

Downstairs...

"Adrien, are you freaking out?" Plagg asked.

Adrien kept studying every inch of his face in the mirror. "Little bit," he admitted.

"Why? She's your friend, you're going to a movie, it's nothing you haven't done before."

"B-but..." Adrien sighed. "It's different. This...this is a date. I've never done that before." He swallowed nervously. "A-and..." He blushed. "Did you see her? I mean, Marinette's always been one of the cutest girls in class, no question, but..." He ran a finger through one eyebrow, frowning. "She..."

"Oh, so you're giving up on Ladybug just like that?" Plagg asked teasingly.

"What? No!" Adrien insisted. "It's just..." He shook his head. "I...well..." He sighed again. "It's...this whole thing...and she looks super cute today..." He slumped against the lavatory. "I dunno, Plagg. I'm just...nervous."

"Hmm." Plagg shook his head. "Teenagers. I'll never figure you out. Okay, so she's cute. And you're cute. You're both cute. Who gives a cheese? Just go to the movie with the girl and have a good time."

Adrien took a deep breath. "Yeah. You're right. I can do this. Piece of cake!" His phone vibrated; he pulled it out and checked it. "The Gorilla's on the way," he said. "Time to go."

Plagg returned to Adrien's jacket pocket; he stepped out into the living room to find Marinette standing there, rocking on her heels, a nervous smile plastered on her flushed face. "So, umm...ready to go?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Marinette said.

They headed downstairs, enduring much fussing-over from Marinette's parents; with a promise to behave, they walked outside to wait for the driver.

The second they left the boulangerie, a camera flash went off. The stunned teens found themselves facing two cameramen and a familiar reporter.

"What the—" Adrien managed to get out before a microphone was shoved in his face.

"Nadja Chamack! Don't be bemused, it's just the news!" the reporter greeted cheerfully. "We're here with an exclusive on Adrien Agreste and his girlfriend!"

"Umm..." Marinette said, staring like a deer in the headlights.

"This young lady who first appeared on Adrien's Instagram this afternoon is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, aspiring fashion designer and artist to the stars!" Nadja went on. "For those not in the know, she designed the cover of Jagged Stone's latest number one hit album! So! How did you two meet?"

"Uhh...we go to school together?" Adrien said, blinking. He frowned. "Madame Chamack, you know you're supposed to schedule interviews through my father's assistant—"

"Oh, who has time for all that?" Nadja said airily. "The news waits for no one!"

"And I'm pretty sure ambushing two teenagers in the street is illegal—"

Nadja made a kill sign to her cameraman, then leaned in. "Look, kid, you can talk to me now and let me have my scoop or you can spend all night ducking the paparazzi. Your choice."

"Umm...we'll probably be doing that anyway," Adrien pointed out.

"It's okay," Marinette interrupted, though her expression was not kind as she fixed hard, sharp blue eyes on Nadja. "Madame Chamack, I expected better from you," she said frostily. "Is this the example you want to set for Manon?"

Nadja flinched. "N-no, of course not," she said. "But I do have a job to do, and...and I'm sorry, but you two are...kinda really big news for KIDZ+..."

"And since you know me personally, you thought you could get away with this?" Marinette snapped impatiently.

"W-well..." Nadja had the good grace to look sheepish.

Marinette sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "You can use the photos you took and a short bio on me, provided you get my parents' permission first," she said. "If we catch you following us, you'll be sorry. I promise you that."

"A-alright."

"Anything about our date we think the world needs to know, we'll post it on Instagram," Marinette added.

"Of...of course."

"Also, my rates for babysitting Manon just doubled."

Nadja winced. "That...seems fair," she said.

The car pulled up then, and the Gorilla got out, exuding an aura of danger and menace.

"Our ride's here," Adrien said. "Let's go, Marinette."

Once the two teens were safely in the car and the Gorilla had pulled away from the boulangerie, Adrien turned a wide-eyed, impressed gaze on Marinette. "You are crazy awesome," he breathed.

Marinette ducked her head, her face flaming. "W-what do you mean?" she squeaked.

"The way you handled Madame Chamack just now!" Adrien said. "I mean sure I've seen her get chewed out before, but nothing like that!"

"O-oh," Marinette said. She frowned. "I don't like that she took advantage of me and my family like that, that's all," she said. "I mean, I...I kind of knew, y'know, when I agreed to all this, that we'd have to deal with reporters and stuff, but I thought it'd be a few days. I guess I didn't expect Madame Chamack to do what she just did."

"I'm not surprised," Adrien said sourly. "I saw the way she went after Monsieur D'Argencourt after he lost the election. Actually, I'm pretty sure her 'interview' is what triggered him turning into the Black Knight."

"Really?" Marinette asked.

Adrien scratched his cheek. "W-well, that's how it works, right? People get Akumatized when they're triggered by something? I mean that's what happened to Cheng Sifu, right? A-and Jackady, the one that went after my father."

"Oh. Yeah, right," Marinette agreed, nodding.

"It's just...he was already in a bad mood after he lost the election, but then Madame Chamack showed up and really annoyed him."

*That'd do it alright.* "Well, still...I've been babysitting Manon for a while now and Madame Chamack and Mama are good friends," Marinette said. "I just can't believe she took advantage of that to get a hot scoop." She crossed her arms. "You think you know someone! Honestly!"

Adrien blinked at her. "Wow. You're really upset about this."

"I don't like dishonest people," Marinette said. "What she did may not be the same as lying, but it still isn't very honest."

"Yeah, I guess," Adrien said. "Still, you handled that like...like Ladybug fighting a villain!"

"Huh?" Marinette said, startled out of her brown study.

"I mean, the way you stared her down and...and you were so confident and...and amazing!" Adrien said.

"Oh..." Marinette blushed, looking away. "W-well...no, I just...I just got upset, that's all."

"Well, whatever you want to call it, this is just another thing I respect about you," Adrien said warmly.

"Th-thank you," Marinette squeaked. "S-so, umm...movie! What movie, I mean, what—"

"Movie?" Adrien blinked, brow furrowed. After a moment, he gasped in understanding. "Merde! I didn't even...I mean..." He laughed sheepishly. "I honestly have no idea." He shook his head. "Good grief, we've spent all afternoon talking and we didn't even plan this out..."

"Y-yeah," Marinette agreed, giggling. "Maybe that should've been the first thing we...heehee..." She knocked on the side of her head, poking her tongue out cutely, which made Adrien laugh as he pulled out his phone and looked up the cinema listings.

By the time they arrived at the cinema, they'd agreed on an American comedy that seemed interesting and starred a couple of actors they'd both seen in other things. Once they arrived and purchased their tickets, they barely had time to buy snacks and find seats. Fortunately, that meant they avoided attracting too much attention—the fact that the movie they were watching was mostly attended by university students and kids older than themselves didn't hurt.

Still, Marinette had been aware of more than a few glances stolen their way, and before the film started, a few pictures had been taken.

The movie had not been especially great, but it had been decent enough. Some of the humor was a bit more raunchy than either teen was comfortable with. By the time they left, both were feeling a little awkward.

"Umm...maybe for the next time, we plan ahead a little better," Adrien suggested as they left the cinema lobby.

"Yeah," Marinette agreed. "Still, it...it was nice just watching a movie together, even if it wasn't...really the kind of movie I care for."

"Yeah," Adrien agreed. "Maybe next time, we, umm...don't watch an American movie?"

Marinette giggled. "Yeah."

"Unless it's like, Pacific Rim or something like that," Adrien added. "Because that was awesome."

"Ah! Yes, I saw that with Papa!" Marinette said enthusiastically. "It was good."

The Gorilla was already waiting for them; they got in the car and were driven back to the boulangerie. On the drive, they made somewhat awkward small talk and posted updates to Twitter and Instagram. When they arrived, the teens went upstairs to the residence, while the Gorilla planted himself firmly outside the front entrance.

Neither teen had missed the "idly passing by" people with cameras waving in their direction.

Sabine greeted them warmly upstairs and ushered them to the family's small table. "Did you two have a good time?" she asked.

"More or less," Adrien said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "We didn't really plan ahead so we picked a movie at random, and..." He trailed off.

"It wasn't the best choice," Marinette admitted. "We'll have to pick a better movie for next time."

"Aww, I'm sorry to hear that," Sabine said. "Well, I hope you didn't fill up too much on snacks, because we've got a lovely dinner planned!"

"Looking forward to it," Adrien said eagerly. Marinette giggled.

As they seated themselves at the table and Sabine began serving dinner, Tom looked at the two teens seriously. "So, Madame Chamack," he said.

Marinette grimaced. "She ambushed us when we left," she said. "I hope you weren't too hard on her."

Tom sighed. "No, we...we just asked her to be careful what she puts on the air and online. It just bothers me that she..."

"Took advantage of knowing us?" Marinette filled in. "Yeah, I...I told her off a little for that."

"We heard," Sabine said lightly. "We were standing just inside the door." She smiled. "You handled that very well, we're proud of you."

Marinette's ears burned. "Mama...!"

"This looks great, ma'am," Adrien said as Sabine finished serving everyone and seated herself.

"Thank you, Adrien," she said. "Of course, next time you have dinner with us, I'll have to get a list of your favorite foods so I'll be able to plan ahead."

Adrien ducked his head. "Oh, that's not necessary," he said. "I-I mean, I'm not that picky."

"So, are you two going out again tomorrow?" Tom asked.

"Yeah, but we haven't talked about that yet," Adrien said. "Marinette, is there anything special you want to do tomorrow?"

"H-huh? O-oh, umm...not really? I mean, anything's fine, I just...I mean, even just hanging out..." She poked her fingertips together. "Video games or, or the park, or...anything!"

Adrien smiled. "I think we can handle anything," he said easily.

For the rest of the meal, Tom and Sabine asked Adrien questions about himself. Adrien spoke of his home life, trying to soften the rougher edges of what life as the son of Gabriel Agreste was like. He talked about his extra lessons and modeling, but avoided saying much about his mother except that nobody was certain what had happened to her. In turn, Adrien learned more about the Dupain-Cheng family and Marinette, including some embarrassing stories he was sure Marinette would be taking her parents to task for in private later, judging by her tomato-red face and spluttered protests.

Once dinner was finished, Marinette walked Adrien downstairs. "Umm...I had a nice time with you today," she said.

Adrien smiled. "Me too," he said. "You know, I..." His cheeks turned faintly pink. "I, umm...I'm glad I'm getting to spend more time with you. And..." He ducked his head and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. "Even if this whole thing is, y'know, what it is..." He gave her a coy glance, then ducked his eyes away. "I kinda like the idea of going on dates with you." He glanced up at her, seeing her face flush. "Umm...is that okay?" he added hesitantly.

Marinette nodded rapidly. "Y-yes!" she said. "Yes, that's great! You dating me is great! I like it too! Yes!"

Adrien smiled, then took her hand and kissed the back of it. "Well then, My Lady," he said. "Until tomorrow?" And with that, he left.

Marinette sank bonelessly to the floor, a breathy sigh floating out of her lungs.

From the stairs, Tom and Sabine watched, smiling affectionately.

* * * * *

Adrien found himself lost in a blissful, peaceful limbo on the drive home, riding a wave of excitement and contentment as he posted a status update.

Headed home from pretty good first date. Movie sucked, but dinner with Marinette & her parents was great. Tired, more later.

The house was empty when he arrived; he went straight to his room, kicking off his shoes and shedding his jacket. He was just about to start undressing for a shower before bed when his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and grimaced, but pressed the green answer pad. "Hello?"

"ADRICHOU! WHAT IS THIS GARBAGE ABOUT YOU DATING THAT MARITRASH?!"

À SUIVRE...

Chapter 3
Chapter 5

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