A/N: I cringed while writing this chapter, I actually had to google pick up lines and baddie outfits for reference, that's something I never thought that I would do so, I hope you like this chapter.

So yeah... Enjoy;)

P.S: Here's something funny: Do you guys know about that post on Instagram where they tell us the height of our favourite heroes? I

If no then, Mari is 135 cm tall (the smallest) and Adrien is 150 cm tall...

I AM 1 cm TALLER THAN FREAKIN' CAT NOIR!

HELL YEAH!!! (LOL)

**A PG13 chapter, read at your own risk.**

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Marinette fixed her hair for the umpteenth time. She was nervous. Pulling off an attractive outfit wasn't a problem. She was a designer for crying out loud! But, flirting with Adrien was something she couldn't do.

That stupid Cat had probably challenged her because he didn't think she could do it but she was determined that she'd not only do it but enjoy it as well.

Tikki had given her a pep talk. Her parents had laughed at the very idea of her being a badass.

Oh well, she was going to prove them wrong. Walking down the road, she formulated her plan.

"Come on Marinette, use your Ladybug confidence." She calmed herself. She saw her friends from a distance. She was early.

I am going to show them just how badass I can be. Game on!

Alya, Nino and Adrien waited patiently for Marinette to arrive. She had texted Alya that she'd be coming early and Alya had insisted the boys to wait for her, after all, Marinette hardly ever came to school in time let alone early. Their waiting was cut short by a familiar voice.

"Hey, guys!" Marinette's cheerful voice called out.

"There you are-" Alya's sentence was cut short as soon as she looked at her. Her face showed shock and confusion. The boys looked no better.

Adrien tried controlling his blush and his heart that was beating like a drum. Marinette was killing the look.

How can she look so hot? The outfit is not even half of what I have seen other female models wear.

Marinette was enjoying their reaction way too much.

Her outfit hugged her curves beautifully, complementing her athletic yet curvy body, a tight sage green coloured crop top that showed off her navel, a little too much for Adrien's liking. She wore a black leather jacket over it and tight black ripped jeans. She was wearing red matte lipstick and had managed to give herself a good smokey eyes makeup. She was also wearing a pair of matching army boots. Her hair was loose, with a side part hairstyle.

"Girl are you alright?" Alya finally gained her composure.

"Never been better, Als," Marinette smirked.

Okay, all good till now. Just flirt with Adrien already! You can do this Marinette, you are Ladybug. Come on!

"Hey, Adrien! You changed your hair."

The question caught him off guard. He had just brushed his hair and instead of a neat parting, he had gone with a more of Cat Noir hairstyle but a lot more tamer.

"Y-yeah, it is n-nothing really." He croaked weakly.

"Well, it suits you a lot. If you didn't look good enough to eat before, you sure do now." She winked.

Ba-dum Ba-dum

He was sure she could listen to his heart racing. His face could rival Ladybug's suit. His knees visibly buckle.

Get a grip Agreste, she is just doing the stupid dare!

Oh, how he was regretting that now.

"You thank... ahem I mean t-thank you?" He stuttered.

Meanwhile, Alya and Nino were just staring at them.

"D-did she just--?" Nino blinked.

"Yeah, she did!" Alya squealed.

"Who are you and what did you do to Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Alya and Nino asked the heroine.

Marinette simply rolled her eyes "I was given a dare to wear a baddie outfit at school today and flirt. That person wanted revenge. He knows how much I hate it but, I thought why don't I give him a game. So here I am, I have to say I am enjoying it very much. Your faces, they're priceless." She explained.

Adrien scolded himself internally. He knew how competitive his princess could be but he did not expect such shameless flirting.

"Let's get going guys, we wouldn't like to be late on this purr-fect day, would we?" She smirked and made her way into the school.

Oh. Dear. Goddess! What am I going to do with you, my sweet princess?

******

The rest of the day was a bust for Adrien. He witnessed vulture-like guys gawking at his princess as they flirted with her.

"Hey!" A guy with brown hair took a seat next to Marinette without asking and smiled flirtatiously at her.

Back off, jerk!

A low growl escaped Adrien's mouth as he saw that guy, Brian (he refused to use his name), scoot closer to his princess.

"Do you want a washing machine experience?" That guy asked Marinette.

Adrien gripped his pencil tightly, his knuckles turned white, alarming Alya who was watching the entire scene with a knowing smirk.

Marinette raised her eyebrow and replied calmly, not paying him much attention, "No, I do not want your dirty load."

Adrien stifled a burst of laughter as he saw that guy's expression changing from flirty to the one of shock.

"Damn, you just ruined a perfect line."

He laughed even more at this and he ignored Nino's questioning looks.

That guy refused to give up though.

"Let's go to the backups, cutie. Do you like whales?"

Adrien blinked as he heard the voice of a pencil snap, he looked down to see that he had just snapped his pencil. He looked up to his best friend, Nino, who had finally caught up.

"Dude, calm down." He said to him.

Calm down?! How am I supposed to be calm when that nasty guy is flirting with MY princess?

Adrien would have said something but, Marinette's reply cut him off.

"I don't want humpback at your place either."

That guy's reaction was pure gold.

Good job, princess! Shoo him away.

But, that guy just recomposed himself and leaned forward to her face.

"Hey, why are you resisting? I don't bite." He gave her a sly smirk.

That's it!

Adrien would have probably cat-strangled that guy if not for Nino holding him back by his shoulders.

Marinette didn't even flinch at the closeness. She gave him a sly smirk of her own. "How are you so sure that I don't?" She pushed him away by his nose.

That calmed Adrien down a little.

That guy, that dumb guy, still had the guts to ask, "Playing hard to get?"

"It doesn't work that way, you are already hard to want." She showed him her middle finger.

That guy, first; had no sense of self-respect, he ignored the 'burns' and 'roasteds' directed at him. Second; when he opened his mouth to say something again, Adrien stepped in.

"Look, dude, she has made it pretty clear that she isn't interested in you so back off." He draped an arm over her shoulders.

"Stay out of this, Agreste. Besides, look at her outfit, she is asking for it."

Adrien felt Marinette shift uncomfortably in his arms. He brought her closer to him, pressing her to his chest, protectively.

His heart was becoming heavier with guilt every passing second. He didn't mean for this to happen. Hell, he was sure that Marinette wouldn't even do his dare. "Listen here, shit," his voice was venomous, "if she is asking for it then she will ask for it because it, thanks to filthy people like you, is always there. But, news flash, she doesn't want it and she isn't interested in you so, GET LOST!"

That guy gave him an angry look and left, muttering some words that Adrien wouldn't want to think about.

"You okay?" He looked down at Marinette.

"Yeah, thanks for standing up against him. Some guys just don't take the hint." She smiled at him and stood on her tippy-toes, leaning towards him.

His breath hitched as she pecked his cheek.

"Oh! Uhh... It was no problem, I mean I would always have your back." He tried his best to prevent the blush from covering his cheeks.

Marinette giggled in response.

Adrien didn't register anything else, it wasn't until Nino smacked his arm, he realised that his best friend was saying something to him.

"Sorry, what was that?" He blinked.

Nino shook his head and repeated, "Dude, I saw the way you were looking at Nette, finally got a thing for her?"

Normally, he would have replied in a heartbeat that his feelings for Marinette were just platonic and nothing else, without any stutterings. But, it wasn't any normal day. "W-Whaaaaat? No! Pssh... Marinette is just a friend." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He was given an incredulous look by the DJ to which he replied in just a 'What?'.

"I give up! I officially give up!" Nino groaned in frustration.

The entire day went like that, guys continued to flirt with her.

"For some reason, I was feeling a little off today. But when you came along, you definitely turned me on."

"Do I know you? ‘Cause you look a lot like my next girlfriend."

"Are you a parking ticket? ‘Cause you’ve got fine written all over you."

"Was your dad a boxer? Because damn, you’re a knockout!"

"Are you from Tennessee? Because you’re the only ten I see!"

Adrien had officially lost his mind. If those guys weren't enough, Marinette would occasionally flirt back to one or two of them.

Upon being asked by Alya she just chuckled and shrugged it off saying she was just leading them on.

Oh, she is just messing with my head now.

Before Adrien could process her reply completely, he heard a commotion. He looked up to see Marinette manhandling a six-foot-one guy. That guy.

Within seconds she had him pinned to a wall with his arm twisted arm around his back. That guy's expression said it all. It must have been painful.

"Unless you want a broken nose or something, KEEP your hands to yourself," Marinette growled fiercely. She let go of him.

"I will make you pay." That guy spat as he massaged his arm.

Marinette rolled her eyes."I would like to know the mode of payment." She replied coolly.

Before it could go any further, Adrien got between the two and gave that guy a death glare. If looks could kill...

"Leave now if you want to go home unscathed." He snarled at the pervert.

That guy left with a huff. He looked over to his friend and she gave him a smile which he returned.

******

"Believe it kid, not only did she do your dare but she also got you good. You should've seen your face when she flirted with you." Plagg snickered.

Adrien had just returned from his fencing lessons only to be made fun of by his kwami.

"Your plan of revenge totally backfired." He said swallowing down some more cheese.

"You don't get it Plagg, she was harrassed today because of my stupid dare," Adrien said tearing up.

The black kwami sighed. "Well, you do owe her an apology."

"Yeah I do," he mumbled.

"Plagg-

Here we go again. Plagg thought.

-Claws out."

******

Marinette was working on a dress when she heard knocking. She opened her skylight to let Cat in.

She frowned as she looked at him. His shoulders were tensed and he looked... pissed?

"What were you thinking?" He yelled at her.

"D-Did I do something wrong chaton?" She tilted her head.

"Don't play innocent with me, princess. What you did today was totally irresponsible. Usually, you don't even listen to me and now, suddenly, out of the blue, you actually did the stupid dare and totally crossed the line."

Marinette gulped. "Well, you are the one who gave it and thought that I won't be able to get it done. I just had to prove you wrong. Okay I get it, I went out of line but I SHOULD BE MAD AT YOU FOR GIVING ME A DARE LIKE THAT." She yelled back.

Cat Noir looked at her guiltily, tears welling up his eyes. And then he hugged her.

"I am so s-sorry princess. I g-get it if you h-hate m-me now b-but I swear I h-had no bad intentions. I didn't think you w-would be able to actually do it." He sniffed. Marinette slowly hugged him back.

"If s-something would have happened to you then I would not have been able to forgive myself." Cat sobbed. "Honestly, if Adrien hadn't stepped up then I would have stepped in and beaten that guy to death." He said more clearly.

"So, you were really watching?"

"Of course I was princess. I told you I would and I am so so sorry I made you uncomfortable." He looked at her.

"Hey, no sweat, kitty. I forgive you. No harm was done, look, I am fine." Marinette gestured to herself. "So, would you like to stay and watch a movie?"

Cat wiped his tears and looked up at her. "I can't, it's my turn to patrol today."

Marinette nodded. She understood, she was a superhero herself.

Suddenly, Cat cupped her cheeks and made her look at him. "Princess I promise that I will always protect you and be your shield no matter whatever happens to me. I know you're not defenceless but, I promise that nothing wrong will ever happen to you, I will always have your back and support you through thick and thin. You mean a lot to me, Mari and I swear I won't let anyone even think of harming you."

The sincerity in his voice and the emotion in his eyes made her heart melt. He slowly kissed her forehead and leapt out of the window.

He turned to look back at her, "And princess, you are pure and innocent beauty, don't let anyone corrupt you. I am sorry I put you in that position.", with that, he was off.

Marinette sat on her bed totally dumbstruck. Tikki was saying something to her but she couldn't process. Slowly, she brought her hand to the slightly wet spot where Cat had kissed her, she brought it down to her heart which had been beating like a drum ever since his lips had made contact with her skin. She was sure he had heard it. He had super-hearing as one of his powers. Her face was red as a tomato. She was confused over her reaction, this wasn't the first time he had kissed her forehead. He was an overprotective, affectionate and super caring guy. Why was she blushing now? She loved Adrien, right? Right?

She sighed.

I am so screwed.

She flopped down on her bed and turned to sleep... with a goofy smile plastered on her face.

******

"I don't get it. Why can't you just cream all the ingredients together?" Cat Noir yelled out in frustration.

Marinette snorted, she was giving him baking lessons and she was teaching him how to make the perfect Dupain-Cheng brownies.

"Cat, baking is a science, you know that right? We need to cream the butter and sugar first and then proceed to add the other ingredients or the batter doesn't hold together."

Cat Noir pouted.

What a cute pout!

Marinette shook her head, she shouldn't think of him like that.

She poured the batter in the pan and spread it evenly, "At 350 degrees for 45 minutes.", she put it into the oven.

The two cleaned the kitchen and played UMS V for a bit before the timer went off.

Cat was practically jumping in excitement to eat the brownies. Marinette chuckled and took out the pan but, being the queen of clumsiness, her other bare hand touched the hot pan and pain shot through her hand. She dropped the pan, luckily on the table and clutched her fingers, tears streaming down from her face.

"Marinette, give me your hand. You forgot what to do in panic." Cat Noir took her hand and put it under cold running water. She felt better immediately.

He turned off the tap and caressed her fingers carefully. She saw the concern in his eyes. She saw him bring her fingers near his mouth. He kissed her fingers affectionately, "Better?"

She nodded dumbly, aware of the blush and her racing heart.

•°•°•°•°•°•°•
A/N: Getting bored? Hang in there...
The next chapter's where the real deal starts. 🙂

{Edited on February 14, 2020.}