Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Alya Césaire was not a quitter. This was something Marinette knew quite well. Her best friend flashed a determined smile from the desk chair as Marinette lay sprawled across her chaise, a mischievous look on her face.

"Hm… what's the worst thing I can make you do without earning myself some karma?" she mused, smirking.

"It's truth or dare, Marinette. You're making this way too complicated. Nevertheless, I, the adventurous Alya, am always up for a challenge."

She leaned forward in her chair and raised an eyebrow. Her expression was a dare in and of itself. Truthfully the only reason Marinette was holding back was because Alya had leverage over her. The last thing she wanted to be dared was something like "Tell Adrien he looks cute today," or "Ask him out on a date".

The last time Marinette had tried anything of the sort had been… eventful, to say the least. Mortifying, to do it justice. And it was all Chat Noir's fault, honestly, for giving her false confidence and encouraging her. Why she'd thought trying to talk to Adrien in the first place had been a good idea, she had no clue.

It had been a pretty good morning. Defeating a particularly difficult akuma the night before with Chat had given her ego a boost. After it was purified and everything was restored to normal, they'd parted ways and she hid in an alley to detransform. Chat hadn't actually needed to use cataclysm, and so bowed farewell and sprung off into the night to do… whatever it was that giant cats did at night in Paris. He hadn't gone far enough though. On her way home, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she noticed him sitting on a swing set in the park she decided to cut through. It was too late to go around, he'd seen her...

"Evening, princess!" He called with a grin. "You're out a little past bedtime, don't you think?"

She rolled her eyes and joined him, sitting in the swing to his right. "I was just taking a walk before bed. And you, alley cat?"

He leaned back, holding the chains of the swing and sporting a satisfied smile. "Just finished saving Paris yet again with the help of my lovely leading Lady. Decided it's never too late to be a kid."

He kicked off from the ground and swung back and forth, his tail dragging the ground and his hair ruffling slightly with the movement.

Marinette smiled to herself to see him look so happy. She kicked off too and they swung in silence for a few minutes as her thoughts had wandered where they always wandered to…

"Something on your mind, princess?"

She jumped, having forgotten he was next to her, lost in thoughts of another blond boy with green eyes.

"What? N-no, I'm fine, it's nothing." She felt her cheeks suddenly flush and was grateful for the poor illumination from the streetlamp.

Chat Noir halted his swing and leaned over in the darkness, suddenly interested. He grinned in his most chesire way, poking her shoulder with a gloved claw.

"Really? Seems like it's not nothing to me. Don't think I can't see you blushing, cherie." He tapped the side of his mask with a smirk. "Don't you know cats can see in the dark?"

Damn. Marinette had forgotten about that, actually. She quickly thought of all the times he'd led her through dark places when she was Ladybug. She didn't know how she'd forgotten that, but she didn't let it get to her. Just who did this cat think he was, poking around in her business? She straightened her shoulders and shrugged.

"Not like you'd be much help anyway, kitty. I don't see you getting attention from your crush either."

They both blinked. Marinette quickly realized with a jolt that she'd used Ladybug's nickname for him without even thinking twice. That, and… that was kind of low of her to say. She paled a bit, instantly feeling guilty. Fortunately Chat saw the remorse on her face.

"It's okay," he shrugged, cutting her off. "You're right. But Ladybug is.. Ladybug. She's not exactly one's typical crush. I don't think this applies to her. Once her mind is set on something, it tends to stay set. Fortunately for you, most people aren't so stubborn. So tell me, this person. What are they like?"

Marinette was taken aback. She hadn't expected a response like that from Chat. It was incredibly honest and patient and she found herself wondering how much time he actually spent thinking about Ladybug and analyzing her personality.

She shrugged again. "Well… he's… cute. Really cute." Her cheeks turned red again as she continued. "He has green eyes, and blond hair-"

Chat smirked and gave an elaborate bow from his seat. "I'm flattered."

Marinette rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder with a smile. "Sorry. Not you, you silly cat. He's actually… I'm sure you've seen his face everywhere. He's kinda all over the city." She stared out into the park and noticed in irony the perfectly placed Adrien Agreste poster next to a park bench. She blushed even harder.

Chat followed her eyes, looking out into the park and looking genuinely shocked when he noticed the poster too.

"N-not," he said in amazement, "Not the model, Adrien Agreste?" His cat eyes were wide with an emotion that Marinette couldn't place and she stared at him in puzzlement for a moment. Was it really that odd that she had a crush on the same model that thousands of other girls in Paris did too?

"Well… yes actually…" She gave a defeated sigh and looked at her shoes. "I know, I know. I don't stand a chance. I'm not much to look at, really. There are thousands of other girls prettier than me that he could have his pick of. My crush is unrealistic."

"Hey, hey, hey," said Chat suddenly, coming out of his train of thought. He lifted her chin with a gentle finger and cupped her face with his palm, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Whoever said you weren't pretty?" He said quietly, his green, lamp-like eyes holding her gaze steadily.

Marinette didn't know why her heart skipped a beat.

"Hurry up," Alya complained, rolling her eyes. "Or you lose your turn by default and it goes to me."

"That's not in the rules!" Marinette protested.

"It's truth or dare, Mari. There are no rules." She straightened up with a gleam in her eye. "My turn, you took too long."

Marinette nearly gulped. She didn't like the look on Alya's face.

There was no telling where this would lead, but she wasn't about to back out.

"Truth or dare, Mari?"

"...Dare."

Chapter Text

Chapter Two: The Game is On

"Alya, please, I can't do this!" Marinette whined, tugging on her friend's sleeve in distress.

Alya rolled her eyes, pulling Marinette off of her blouse. "Whatever happened to "This coffee is so good I could do anything today" Marinette from ten minutes ago?"

Marinette groaned. "But that was ten minutes ago. I can't do this, I can't, you don't understand, Alya, you didn't see his face last week when I tried to- Eeep!"

With a squeak, she dove behind Alya and felt her face heat up like her papa's confectionary oven. She faced the other way, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping he wouldn't notice her. She covered her face. Oh god, he's coming this way, he's coming this way, I'm not readyyyy, oh mon dieu…

"Hey, Ayla!" Said a perfect, warm, sunshiney voice from somewhere in front of them. "Have you seen…" he broke off in what sounded like amusement and concern, circling around Alya, and she felt a gentle hand rest on her shoulder. "Marinette?"

Oh, god. She peeked open her eyes slowly and they grew wide. If her face wasn't already red, it certainly was now.

Staring at her with the most gorgeous green eyes on the face of the planet, the most wonderfully kissable lips, the most perfectly sculpted face, the most beautiful hair ever, and the smoothest skin alive, was none other than Adrien Agreste.

Oh, mon dieu.

"-even hear what I just said? Are you okay? You look like you've just seen a ghost." His perfect lips were drawn into a frown of concern.

Not a ghost, she thought. An angel.

"Marinette." He took her by the shoulders, gently squeezing them in worry.

She jumped and squeaked out, "Y-yes!" Her ears were burning with embarrassment. Distantly she heard Alya stifling laughter. Adrien didn't seem to be paying attention to her. His eyes were fixed on Marinette's own blue ones, searching them for the source of the trouble. He was so caring…

Kill me now... she thought to herself.

"What?" Adrien looked genuinely aghast. "Kill you? Marinette, what's wrong?"

"Oh my god!" She shrieked, hands flying to cover her mouth. "I said that out loud?"

She heard Alya snort.

Adrien finally looked away from Marinette, giving Alya a glare, much to her surprise.

"Alya, don't laugh, this could be serious. Marinette could be in shock from something."

"Yeah, from your perfect green eyes," Marinette heard her mutter under her breath, once Adrien's eyes were back on her. He seemed to make up his mind about something.

"That's it, I'm taking you to the school nurse," he said firmly, starting to lead her by the hand. "You are definitely not okay."

"B-But! Math! The… uh… quiz!" She squeaked. "We only j-just got back f-from… lunch!"

"Regardless," Adrien said gently, still leading her slowly away from Alya, who looked very amused. "Something is wrong with you, and I need to make sure you're okay. You're my friend, Marinette. Friends are more important than any stupid quiz."

Marinette was at a loss for words. She sputtered helplessly as Adrien lead her to the nurse's office.

She glanced over her shoulder at Alya for help.

"Don't forget the dare!" Alya mouthed to her, winking. She headed to class.

Marinette wished the ground would swallow her whole, but at the same time, Adrien's hand felt so nice… he really cared.

Oh, mon dieu.

"I dare you to kiss Adrien Agreste," Alya said with a satisfied smirk.

Marinette gasped. "Alya, no! I can't do that! I'll die! And besides that, he'll never even give me the time of day again! He'll hate me for tainting his perfect lips with my commoner's mouth! I'll have to change schools, get a new name, move out of Paris, fake my own death-"

"Shut up!" Alya laughed, interrupting her tirade of despair. "First of all, Adrien's not going to hate you. Are you kidding me? The guy is still nice to Chloe after her countless disgusting advances. Of course he'll speak to you afterwards. Maybe," she giggled, "even to tell you that he likes you back. Or that you're a good kisser."

"Alya!"

"Chill out, girl." She gave Marinette a comforting pat on the head. "And commoner's mouth? Please. Ask Nathanael what he thinks of your lips. They looked pretty pink and perfect in his sketchbook." She winked.

"Ughhhhhhhhhh," Marinette groaned. "Fine, you win… But you have to help me. I have no idea how to get him alone. And write me some lines or something. Oh god I have no idea how to do this."

With a sigh, she flopped back onto the chaise, but her flop had too much momentum and the next thing she knew she was laying on the ground, dizzy, with her feet sticking up in the air and her legs against the side of the chaise.

Alya laughed, and Marinette heard a tiny voice coming from inside her collar whisper along with Alya's words.

"Oh, Marinette."

"Oh, Marinette," Adrien sighed as the girl tripped over her own shoe laces in the hallway. He caught her before she could fall, and rested his hands on her shoulders for a moment. They were almost to the nurse's office, but he was really worried. She looked like she was about to cry. Her face was very red and she bit her lip anxiously, a nervous habit he'd noticed before.

Adrien was concerned. Marinette was always very shy and awkward around him, but she'd hardly said a word to him the whole walk there. Not that she typically said much to him anyway. She was always very nice, but he couldn't help wondering just what exactly he'd done to make her so uncomfortable and afraid of him. It troubled him deeply. Marinette was a good friend.

"Are you okay?" He said softly, looking into her big, beautiful blue eyes. "You're kinda worrying me."

"What?" She asked in amazement. "W-worrying.. Y-you?"

He felt a pit of anxiety form in his stomach at her words. Did she not know that he actually cared about her? Had he failed her as a friend? Why was she surprised that he was worried about her health?

He took his hands from her shoulders and looked away, uncomfortably.

"... You sound surprised."

"Well… I… am…" she mumbled.

The pit grew deeper. He glanced at her anxiously.

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" She said, even more amazed than before. "B-but why? You haven't d-done anything…"

"Am I really that bad of a friend?" He turned back to her and gave her a pained smile. "You didn't even know I cared. What did I say or do to make you so afraid to be yourself with me, Marinette? I know you're not normally a shy girl. I see the way you talk to Alya and Nino and even stand up to Chloe when she goes too far. Do you not… like me?"

"Like you?" Marinette gasped. She put her hands on his chest and he looked up at her. Her face had turned white.

"Did I offend you?'

"No!"

"Embarrass you?"

"No! I- I embarrass myself…"

"Hurt you?" He grimaced. "I'm so, so sorry, Marinette, I-"

"No! You haven't done anything wrong!" She insisted, looking horrified.

"Then... what is it?" He felt a little better but still uneasy. Her blush was back with full force. Her hands still hadn't moved from his chest. He wondered if she could feel his heart beating fast with anxiety.

Her mouth was open, but no words were coming out. He had never noticed she had so many freckles before.

"I… I…"

A strange look came into her eyes. Her bright, beautiful, blue eyes…

Her lips trembled, and his heart beat faster. His hands somehow found her waist of their own accord, and he didn't know how they got there. Those pink, soft lips were so close.

She was leaning in closer and closer, her eyes still locked on his, and he found himself pulled like a magnet. Their lips were almost touching and he had no idea why, oh god what was he doing, this was Marinette, not Ladybug, but she looked so pretty…

"Miss Dupain-Cheng? Mr. Agreste?"

Chapter Text

Chapter 3: Love's a Walk in the Park

Marinette screeched and slipped backwards, her body hurtling towards the floor, but Adrien caught her. She blushed a deep crimson and quickly straightened up, turning to face Mme. Lesage, the school nurse, who looked incredibly unimpressed with the whole scene. Marinette's stomach flipped.

I almost kissed Adrien. And she saw it… OH NO, Adrien!

She glanced over her shoulder, mortified, and saw that Adrien was… blushing? He was almost as red as she was! What-

"Miss Cheng, did either of you need something?" Her thin lips were drawn into an even thinner grimace, and her eyebrow was slightly raised.

"N-No-" Marinette began to stutter, but Adrien interrupted her.

"She was acting really weird and I thought maybe she was sick, or had heat stroke or something. She was very red…"

As if on cue, Marinette blushed again. "Well, I-"

Madame Lesage rolled her eyes at Adrien and sighed.

"Mister Agreste," She began, brushing the wisps of hair that had fallen out of her auburn bun away from her face. She gave a slight smile. "While it was certainly kind and noble of you to escort Miss Dupain-Cheng, she does not appear to be ill in the physical sense. Nor is she displaying any visible signs of heat stroke, which is not surprising considering that it is only 68 degrees outside. If you wanted to spend some time alone with her, I'm sure you needed only to ask. It appears," she continued with a twinkle in her eye, "that she would certainly not be opposed."

Adrien stood there, his mouth open and his eyes wide. He made no sound. Marinette swore she could feel her soul leaving her body…

"Nevertheless," Mme. Lesage continued, "As both of you are missing school work at this moment I suggest that you get to class. Is that understood?" She raised a stern eyebrow.

"Y-yes," Marinette breathed.

"Understood, Madame," Adrien murmured. He blushed and wouldn't meet Marinette's eyes. She didn't know whether to cry or feel grateful.

The pair of them turned and began walking back down the hall. Behind them Marinette heard Mme. Lesage's door close once more. She felt it like a pang in her stomach.

Oh no, how am I ever going to face him again, I've messed up everything, absolutely everything and I'll never have another chance and Alya was wrong, he's going to hate me and I really will have to move out of Paris except I can't because I have to be Ladybug and Papa and Maman have the bakery and oh god I just have to get over this-

"M-Marinette?"

She glanced up in shock. This time it was Adrien who was stuttering. He quickly looked away, a slight blush tinging his cheeks.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Marinette whispered, not knowing what to say. Here comes the part where he tells me we can't be friends anymore…

"Um, I- I have a photo shoot after school but after that I'm free. Do you want to maybe… talk?" He was still avoiding her gaze, looking steadily ahead.

Marinette blinked in surprise. "Oh… yes! I mean… sure, okay, if you want to that is, because I- I uh, understand if-"

Adrien laughed and she stopped short. He finally turned to look at her.

"Mari, I'm not mad, if that's what you're thinking. You worry too much."

"I could say the same about you," she retorted, a bit of Ladybug's confidence coming through. "W-why do you worry so much that you're a bad friend?"

She glanced down and back up at him. He seemed a bit surprised and a little thoughtful.

"Tell you what," he said at last, "meet me in the park down the street from the bakery. Say around… 5:00?"

When Marinette didn't respond he waved a hand in front of her face. "Hellooo, anyone in there?" He smiled.

"Sure," Marinette exhaled. "Yeah I'll um, I'll bring some cookies or something."

Oh mon dieu, is this really happening?

"Great," he beamed. "Your mom makes the best cookies. I don't usually get to eat sweets. Model's diet, y'know?" He scratched the back of his neck bashfully. "Anyway, we should get to class. I'm sure math is over by now."

"Oh! Right! Yes! Class! Good idea," she stammered.

They walked the rest of the way in silence, quietly stealing glances at the other when they thought they weren't looking. Marinette felt anxious, but she couldn't help but smile. It hadn't been a total disaster.

"He did what?!" Alya exclaimed.

It was after school. The girls were sitting in Marinette's bedroom, Alya's math notes spread across the floor and Marinette's notebook was open to a blank page but neither of them were actually studying. In fervent detail, Marinette had recounted everything that had happened since Adrien dragged her away.

"He asked me to meet him!" Marinette exploded. "Alya, what does this mean?! I thought he would hate me, I didn't expect him to want to TALK about it! Oh my god, what do I say… He's going to ask me why I tried to kiss him!"

"You should be asking him why he tried to kiss back." Alya snorted.

"Alya! I- I don't think he was thinking about it, I think he was just frozen, he would have pushed me away the second I touched his lips," Marinette lamented ruefully. "Oh, I've really gotten myself into a mess."

Alya laughed and threw her pencil at Marinette's leg.

"Ow," she half-complained. "What was that for?"

"For being blind," Alya smirked. "Girl, just go for it! And you know you'll have back up if you need it. I'm not letting you do this by yourself. I'll hide and watch. If you need me, the code word is tiki."

"Tikki?" Marinette squeaked, and she felt her kwami stir anxiously inside her shirt pocket. "Why...uh… that… word?"

Her heart started pounding. Did Alya know?!

Alya shrugged. "I was watching High School Musical 2 last night. You know the Princess Tiki song? Anyway it's an odd enough word that I'll recognize it when you say it."

Marinette sighed, relieved. "True. Okay. I guess I can do this. You'll just have to be in ladyblogger stealth mode. Don't make it weird."

Thank goodness. My secret's still safe.

"Mari! Alya! Do you girls want some cookies?" Mrs. Cheng called from downstairs.

They jumped up instantly, the warm aroma of snickerdoodles meeting their noses.

"Coming, Maman!" Marinette yelled back.

They raced down the stairs, grinning. Alya reached the kitchen counter first, Marinette panting along behind her. Her friend turned to look at her with a teasing smile.

"Girl, you need to get in shape! Stop spending so much time indoors at your sewing machine and get outside more!"

She stuck out her tongue.

Internally, Marinette rolled her eyes.

Trust me, I'm a lot faster in the suit…

"How are you so fast?" She groaned instead, smiling and taking a big bite of cookie.

Mrs. Cheng smiled fondly at them both.

Alya giggled and put on a proud smirk. "Well I have to be fast to keep up with Ladybug and Chat Noir, don't I?"

Marinette grinned. "Yeah, you're pretty good at that."

She gave Alya a friendly poke.

"So girls, how is your school work coming?" Mrs. Cheng smiled.

"Oh, it's... coming…" said Marinette carefully.

Her mother gave her a knowing smile. "I see."

Marinette blushed. "Sorry Maman, we were talking about something important."

Adrien!

"Oh no, what time is it?" She asked hurriedly.

"4:50, cherie. Do you need to take some cookies with you to the park?"

Marinette gasped.

"How did you-"

Mrs. Cheng rolled her eyes and looked at Alya. "She thinks her lovestruck ranting is quiet."

Alya laughed out loud, coughing and nearly choking on her cookie. "She does," she gasped.

"Hey!" Marinette snapped. "I'm right here you know." She could feel her cheeks heating up again.

Mrs. Cheng smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. "I'm only teasing, cherie. Now take some cookies to meet that boy of yours. He's entirely too skinny," she added as an afterthought, a slight frown on her face.

Soon the girls were racing down to the park. When they had nearly reached it, Alya went around the other way and found some bushes to hide in. She winked and pulled out a tiny set of binoculars from her book bag.

Marinette rolled her eyes and kept on running.

5:05.

There he was, sitting on one of the swings. His back was to her and he hadn't noticed her yet. His hair waved gently in the slight breeze, shining gold in the sunlight.

She felt butterflies take flight in her stomach. At that thought she smiled anxiously and prayed that Hawkmoth decided to take the afternoon off. The last thing she needed was an akuma attack in the middle of her date.

Wait. DATE? Why did I think date?! This isn't a date!

"Don't worry, Marinette. It'll be okay," said Tikki soothingly from her pocket. The little kwami floated out to give her a little kiss on the cheek.

"Tikki," Marinette whisper-groaned. "This is so awkward. First of all this is the exact place where Chat convinced me to talk to him in the first place. Secondly, Alya is going to be watching, and what if I say your name on accident? She'll think I need rescuing!"

"Marinette." Tikki shook her head with a smile. "Trust me. I have a good feeling about this. I think luck is on your side."

Marinette sighed. "Okay. Fine. Let's do this."

The little kwami zoomed back into her pocket and gave her a friendly pat from inside.

She walked closer.

Adrien gripped the chains of the swing anxiously. Why had he asked her to meet here? What if it felt too familiar to her?

His mind wandered back to that night in the park, where they had sat in these very same swings.

Her blue-black hair shimmered under the streetlight. Her lips were drawn into a sad frown, her eyes downcast. She sighed.

"I know, I know. I don't stand a chance. I'm not much to look at, really. There are thousands of other girls prettier than me that he could have his pick of. My crush is unrealistic."

Chat blinked in surprise. How could she not see how pretty she was? It wasn't like he had never thought about it, as Adrien… but in the end, the thought of Ladybug had always pulled his feet back to the ground.

But here she was, nearly heartbroken over him, believing that she wasn't beautiful. He couldn't stand it, consequences be damned.

"Hey, hey, hey," said Chat suddenly, coming out of his train of thought. He lifted her chin with a gentle finger and cupped her face with his palm, forcing her to look him in the eyes. "Whoever said you weren't pretty?"

"You're an idiot," Plagg said smugly, his mouth full of cheese, as usual. "She's going to recognize you and then we're done for."

"Plagg, be quiet, she could be here any moment," Adrien whispered, annoyed. "Get back in my pocket."

"Fine, fine!" He sighed dramatically, and swallowed the rest of his cheese whole with a big bite. "But don't say I didn't warn you," he said with a sing-song voice as he zipped into the teen's pocket.

"A-Adrien?"

He turned, sighing inwardly. Plagg had hidden just in time. He put on a bright smile.

"Hello, Marinette."

Chapter Text

Chapter 4: You Swing My Head Right Round (Right Round)

"Hi, A-Adrien!" Marinette beamed, looking slightly flustered. Adrien wondered if she'd been running.

He smiled to himself. This girl was a mess, but a cute one.

As soon as he thought it he could just hear Plagg's whiny voice singing "I told you so," so he decided to drop that train of thought.

"Do you want to sit down?" Adrien asked politely, gesturing towards the other swing. Inwardly he cursed this whole idea.

We're literally sitting in the same exact swings… this is just asking for trouble.

He coughed slightly, trying to shake the nerves from his voice. Marinette looked a bit like a smiling tomato. Poor girl. This wasn't easy for either of them.

Trying to break the ice, he sniffed the air a bit.

"You smell really nice. Like cookies."

FUCK. That was creepy. God, that is not what I meant to say… why did I sniff her?

Marinette beamed and looked a bit dazed as she pulled a bag of cookies out of her backpack.

"Snickerdoodles. I knew they were your f-favorite, you s-said so in the March edition of-" She froze, and quickly backpedaled. "I mean… Nino told me…"

Adrien was trying very, very hard not to laugh. He wasn't surprised she had read all of his magazine articles. Instead he smiled and opened the bag.

Instantly the delicious aroma of cookies filled his nose and he actually felt himself sighing, "You're the best," right before shoving a cookie unceremoniously into his mouth. Vaguely he wondered if he was being rude and blushed, slightly embarrassed.

"Sawhreh," he attempted through a mouthful of snickerdoodle.

Marinette's sweet laughter soon filled the air. She giggled and clutched the chains of her swing, curling over in laughter.

"Y- your face!" She gasped, laughing harder. "You look like a guilty cat or something."

Suddenly Adrien choked on his cookie, crumbs flying out of his mouth (some of them landing in Marinette's hair). He gasped and tried to cover it up with his nervous laughter.

"Oh my g-god, Marinette, I am so- sorry," he coughed out, embarrassed. He put down the bag of cookies and looked in despair at the crumbs in her dark pigtails.

She sat there looking stunned and red, and slightly concerned.

"You okay?" She said with a small smile, daring to pat him on the back.

"Here, let me help you," he muttered, brushing his hands over her hair shyly. It was really really… soft.

"Uh… thanks," Marinette said quietly, still looking dazed.

Adrien got the last of the crumbs out and awkwardly pulled back his hands, returning them to the swing chains.

"So… uh… Marinette…"

Adrien felt his heartbeat pick up a little bit. Why was he getting flustered? Inwardly he felt a pang of guilt about Ladybug, but he brushed it aside. They did need to talk. He just didn't know what to tell her without crushing her feelings… He did like her, but Ladybug… Ladybug was his everything. What if he never got the chance to be with her because of Marinette? The thought was enough to give him a little resolve.

"Y-yeah, Adrien?"

"About earlier…"

Marinette could feel the panic starting to set in.

He's going to say it, oh no, oh no! Can't we just sit here and eat cookies?

"Oh," she looked away, anxious. "I-I'm really s-sorry for worrying you, I just- you see- well I- um... "

Fuck. This isn't going well at all.

"Yes?" Adrien prompted gently. He looked a little uncomfortable but she could tell he was trying to make this easier for her.

"Iwasn'tsickIwasjustnervous!" She blurted, looking away. "Y-you um… it was very nice of you to t-take me to the nurse's office… b-but I was fine…"

She dared to glance at him and he didn't look too alarmed so she hesitantly continued, "I-um-the hallway… And the… Oh god I'm so sorry!"

She covered her face in despair, and felt Adrien's hand lay on her shoulder comfortingly.

"Um… Marinette, it's okay. Actually I have to tell you s-something."

Slowly she looked up, wide-eyed, to stare at him nervously. He had something to tell her? Her heart started beating even faster and she shivered even though it was quite warm out. He hesitated, and the anticipation was frankly killing her. Finally he spoke, in a hushed tone, not looking at her.

"I… I know you like me. It's… Not hard to see, really." He paused, thinking. "I don't mind it. In fact, I… I think it's cute."

I'm dead or dreaming. This can't be happening! CUTE?! Adrien Agreste thinks something I do is cute?

Marinette's brain was practically whirring with thoughts. Everything was happening so fast. She almost couldn't breathe, and she definitely couldn't speak.

Adrien glanced up to see her in shock and he slightly smiled.

"I'm sorry I tried to kiss you back."

Marinette finally found a tiny bit of her voice. "No p-problem!" She choked out in a high pitch.

And then those gorgeous green eyes that shone like summer grass in the dew of the morning glanced away sadly.

"I'm really sorry, Marinette. I do like you, but… There's.. Ah…" He cleared his throat. "S-someone I've liked for a long time, and… I'm so sorry," he broke off in a small voice.

Someone he's liked for a long time. Someone… Else. Someone… That's not… Me. Oh…

Marinette felt her heart breaking. Of course it wasn't her. Why would Adrien Agreste choose her when he could have any girl in Paris? She was an idiot for even trying.

"Marinette," Adrien prompted, "Are- are you okay? I'm sorry… Maybe if things were different…" His voice faltered and she finally looked at him again.

She was strangely composed.

"It's fine." Marinette replied calmly. "I understand." For once she wasn't stuttering.

She hardly registered the wetness on her cheeks.

"Marinette," he sad in sad alarm, "you're crying."

She felt his fingers brushing the tears from her cheeks and she pushed them away, slightly irritated.

"I said it was fine."

She pretended she wasn't feeling the hole in her chest crack open wider, sucking her dreams down into its shadowy abyss.

She didn't dare to look at him. Marinette knew he would look hurt. He would feel guilty. He was so damn nice. He was too perfect, and that was the problem. She wasn't. How could she ever have dared to think things could work out? He brought her here to friend zone her. To try and let her down easy. He knew she wouldn't want to do that at school. He was trying to spare her the embarrassment of getting rejected in front of their classmates…

Damn you, Adrien Agreste.

Why was she so angry?

"Marinette!" Adrien cried, jumping out of his swing. "Move!"

Alarmed, she looked up, just in time to see a sparkling little black and purple butterfly heading straight towards her. Suddenly she felt Adrien's arms around her stomach as he picked her up and carried her backwards away from the akuma.

"Marinette!" Came a slight squeak from her shirt, where Tikki had been hiding instead of in her purse so she could listen better to her conversation with Adrien.

Marinette panicked and pushed Adrien's arms off of her, backing up even further.

"Tikki!" She cried, not even thinking, "Run!"

"Adrien is still looking!" Came the squeak from her pocket. "I don't have to leave, just run, we can transform!-"

"Marinette, I know it hard but you need to think happy thoughts, and run!" Yelled Adrien, ignoring her senseless outburst and grabbing her hand.

They took off in a sprint, the akuma keeping steady pace behind them. Marinette didn't even have time to think about him holding her hand.

I need to get away and transform!

"Marinette!" Came an alarmed voice from beside her. Alya had joined their running. "Don't give in, you can't let Hawkmoth use you!"

"Alya?" Adrien asked in surprise, "when did you get here?"

"I came to get Marinette," she lied quickly, "her parents want her home."

The three of them were still running, and distantly Marinette realized they were running the direction of home.

"You two need to get out of here," she snapped. "You're only putting yourself in danger-"

"Nonsense!" Snapped Adrien, who firmly tightened his grip on her hand.

"Are you kidding me?" Alya retorted, "We're taking you home and you're going to stay inside until that damn butterfly goes and finds someone else to pick on!"

They were almost to the bakery. Marinette glanced behind them and gasped. She didn't know akumas could be so fast.

Just as they reached the street corner she tripped on the curb. Without missing a beat, Adrien scooped her up in his arms and carried her the rest of the way to the bakery, with her protesting the whole time that she could run by herself, but God, her ankle really hurt.

Alya wrenched open the door, scaring a few customers, and they dashed inside. She slammed the door behind them just in time to trap the little akuma outside the glass. With a cry she locked the door triumphantly.

"Ha! Go find someone else to make your puppet, Hawk Sloth! You're too slow!"

Carefully, Adrien set Marinette down and she apologized to the customers next to her.

"Marinette!" Her mother cried. "What is the meaning of this!?"

"I'm sorry, Maman, I-" she began, tears starting to fall once more.

Adrien interrupted her. "It was Hawkmoth! And it's… kind of my fault…" He glanced away from Marinette guiltily, and continued, "it's a long story. I'm sorry for scaring your customers."

"Well," Mrs. Dupain-Cheng said, alarmed. "I'm glad my daughter is alright, regardless. Thank you both."

Marinette felt like she was on the outside looking in. None of this felt real.

"I don't.. Feel so good…" She whispered.

And then there was black.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5: A Kwami's Lament

Adrien was furious with himself. He had nearly caused an akuma attack. Marinette was nearly a victim! And now she probably hated him for rejecting her, too.

Ugh!

It was all wrong… This wasn't how the day was supposed to go.

Angrily he punched his pillow and rolled over, restless. He couldn't sleep.

After Marinette had passed out (he was fortunate enough to catch her as she fell) her father carried her into the living room and they woke her up with a little bit of water. Mrs. Cheng was on the verge of tears as Mr. Dupain checked her eyes with a flashlight and wrapped a blanket around her. She had insisted she was fine, she just had a little headache and she wanted to sleep it off. Adrien had apologized to her parents one last time and left as calmly as he could, but he couldn't erase the hurt way her eyes pierced him from his mind.

He hadn't bothered to call Nathalie to pick him up. He just didn't want to be in the stifling quiet of the Agreste limo with only the occasional grunting of Gorilla at irresponsible drivers to break the silence. No. He would rather walk.

So he did. As he shuffled home he tried to avoid crowded places where it was possible someone would recognize and stop him for an autograph or a picture. He really hadn't been in the mood.

It took him a little while to get there but he arrived at the Agreste manor just in time. A few drops of rain had splashed his cheeks and he bitterly wiped them away, thinking of Marinette's blue eyes full of tears as he stomped up the stairs and down the hall to his room.

He was an idiot.

Now he lay in bed, desperately trying to sleep at 1:00 in the morning. Tomorrow was Saturday and he had a photoshoot at 8:00. He really needed to sleep.

After a few more attempts, he gave up.

Glancing across the room, he saw Plagg settled comfortably on a little pillow Adrien had angrily thrown from his bed when he arrived. The little black kwami's gentle snores quietly filled the room.

Plagg had uttered a few "I told you so's" that had been more than deserved, but after realizing how upset Adrien actually was about hurting Marinette's feelings, he had softened his tone.

"Listen, kid. Girls are complicated and teenage life is hard. It's always been that way. Trust me, I've handled plenty of hopeless saps like you before. And," he added, nibbling on a square of cheese, "I've had some experience in the girl department myself."

"You?" Adrien scoffed, raising his eyebrow. "Girls like who?"

Plagg didn't seem offended by Adrien's skepticism. He answered smoothly, with a bit of a sigh, "Girls like Tikki," before chomping down the whole block of Camembert.

"Tikki?" Adrien raised his head from his pillow curiously. "Is she another kwami like you?"

Plagg smirked. "Not just any kwami. She's Ladybug's kwami."

Adrien's eyes grew wide. He was always eager to learn more about Ladybug, and usually Plagg kept his mouth shut about this kind of thing. It was rare to get him to reveal any details about his secrets.

"Oh… What's she like?" He asked, trying to smother his eagerness with a calm tone.

Plagg shrugged. "Tikki is… Tikki. Do you have any more Camembert lying around?"

He zoomed about the room, checking under cushions and books, and finally found a block he had forgotten about, tucked underneath Adrien's bed.

Adrien wrinkled his nose in mild disgust and rolled his eyes.

"Great description. I feel like I already know her."

Plagg shoved the cheese down whole and let out a tiny belch. "No need to sound so sassy. You're becoming that… What do you call it… A meme? The one with the frowning cat?"

Adrien snorted. Grumpy cat. Nino still sent him those. God, that meme was old.

"Anyway," Plagg continued, "My advice to you is this. Don't let things come between you and this girl. I know you're all hung up over Ladybug but trust me, kid, you're better off with what's right in front of you. Marinette clearly has feelings for you. And even if you just want to be friends, which," he rolled his eyes, "I'm not so sure about, you still need to make things right. Take my advice. Don't let one bad moment ruin a friendship. Or a relationship. Tikki and I… Well let's just say I messed up. It was a long time ago. Hundreds of years, actually. But if I had just apologized, maybe we would still be talking."

Adrien studied his kwami's face in mild surprise and concern. He so rarely showed his emotion. The only expression of feeling he frequented was annoyance at hunger. But now Plagg looked sad. And if Adrien didn't know better, he would think he looked slightly misty eyed.

But then it was gone as soon as it came. Plagg shrugged his shoulders, sprawled out on a pillow and yawned.

"I think it's time for our cat nap."

1:38. Still no sign of sleep.

With a slight sigh, Adrien pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts, debating, finally selecting Nino's name and beginning to type a message.

[Adrien: Hey man. You up?]

A few minutes later, to Adrien's surprise, his phone lit up with a new message.

[Nino: yo dude what's up]

[Adrien: Well, honestly I need some advice. I messed up…]

[Nino: alya already told me everything. what are u gonna do abt mari]

Adrien sighed. Of course she had filled him in. They were always talking.

[Adrien: I don't know. She was really upset. I'm not sure how to make things right again. I hated hurting her feelings.]

[Nino: what was w/ that anyway bro, ur crazy. mari is amazing. alya ships it.]

Adrien rubbed his eyes in frustration. He was too tired to explain this.

[Adrien: I just think we should be friends.]

[Nino: aight man ur loss tho tbh. Idk maybe get her a card or flowers or something bc chicks dig that shit]

[Adrien: What if that gives her the wrong impression?]

[Nino: hm maybe u should be talking to Alya abt this instead of me dude after all they are bffs or whatevs]

[Adrien: Hm, maybe you're right. I'll talk to her tomorrow. You should get some sleep.]

[Nino: u too bro peace sorry I wasn't much help]

[Adrien: Goodnight, Nino :) it's fine.]

[Nino: gg goodnight :P]

Adrien plugged his phone in to charge and gently tossed it down on the bed. That was nearly pointless. Although maybe Nino was right about Alya. He hoped so.

With one last look at his clock, which read 2:00 am, Adrien closed his eyes and finally drifted off to sleep.

When Marinette woke up the next morning, Tikki was still resting against her cheek on her pillow. The little kwami had fallen asleep softly singing a song Marinette didn't know and brushing the tears away from her ladybug's eyes.

Tikki was so sweet.

Gently she rolled over, careful not to disturb her too much, and picked up her phone.

To her surprise, it was already almost noon. Wow, her parents had let her sleep in. Maybe they didn't need much help today. Or maybe they were just worried about her bad day yesterday.

Yesterday…

Marinette covered her face. Adrien… The akuma… Passing out in front of everyone…

The day could not have gone worse.

She, Ladybug, had almost been akumatized. What a disaster that would have been. And it was all her fault for letting her feelings about Adrien get out of control.

She… Loved him. And he… Well he loved someone else.

As much as it tortured her, she couldn't help but rack her brains for who the lucky girl might be. No one from their class, she decided. She would have noticed. Maybe it was one of the models he worked with… Maybe they were secretly dating.

"Ugh," she groaned, covering her face with the blanket.

Marinette didn't stand a chance.

"Marinette?" Came Tikki's sweet voice from beside her. She felt the little kwami gently tug the blanket away from her face.

"Oh I'm sorry Tikki, I didn't mean to wake you up," Marinette said softly, stroking Tikki's cheek with a slender finger.

"It's fine," Tikki murmured sleepily, and kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling?"

Marinette sighed. "Not much better than yesterday but my headache is gone if that's what you mean."

Tikki looked thoughtful and empathetic.

"I know how hard it is to be rejected by someone you love," she murmured, brushing a strand of Marinette's hair away from her eyes.

Those eyes widened.

"You do?"

"In a way, yes," she hummed, lost in memory. "I was in love once too, you know."

Marinette was slightly surprised, but then, why should she be? Surely kwamis had relationships too.

"Tell me about it," Marinette replied with a slight smile.

"Well," Tikki sighed with a dreamy look in her eye, "His name is Plagg. He's a miraculous kwami like me."

Briefly Marinette marveled at her wording. Were there other kinds of kwamis?

"Actually…" Tikki continued with a slight frown, "I probably shouldn't be telling you this, but he's the kwami for Chat Noir."

"What?" Marinette gasped. "He's been so close to you this whole time. I mean when you're transformed can you sense each other?"

Tikki nodded. "A little bit, but we can't communicate or anything. And besides, he probably doesn't want to talk to me after what happened years ago."

"What happened years ago?" Marinette asked, deeply curious.

But then they heard footsteps approaching her trap door and Tikki smiled and whispered, "A story for another time," before disappearing somewhere in her room.

"Marinette," her papa said gently, lifting the trap door and revealing a plate of croissants and some orange juice, along with some chocolate spread for the croissants.

"Thought you might want some breakfast, cherie."

Marinette smiled and sat up.

"Thank you Papa, I'll be right down."

"Ah, no need, mon petite biscuit. I'm coming up."

Soon her papa had reached the top of her loft and gracefully set the plate on her lap and the juice on her night stand.

"How are you feeling, Mari?" His eyes crinkled with love when he looked at her and brushed her bangs out of her eyes again, like Tikki had just done.

Marinette spread a little chocolate on her croissant and replied, "Well my head doesn't hurt anymore…"

Tom Dupain smiled sympathetically and patted his own chest.

"But your heart?"

Marinette sighed and took a big bite, not wanting to reply.

"Marinette, if that boy can't see what he is missing now, he is very foolish. I can tell you this, at least, he does very much care about you as a friend. That much is clear. You never know, cherie, friendships can grow into more. Perhaps patience is key. It was with your mother."

He smiled. "She was very stubborn, but I am as irresistible as my food." Her papa wiggled his eyebrows to make her giggle.

"Thanks, Papa," she replied with a smile, and took a drink of juice, secretly feeling that he was wrong. Adrien would not change his mind.

Chapter Text

"Maman! Papa! I'm going out to buy that fabric!" Marinette called as she headed towards the door.

"Okay, cherie!" Her mother replied from the back of the shop.

Marinette pushed open the door, a smile forming on her face despite how bad the last two days had been. Today was Sunday, and there was a sale going on in the craft and fabric store down the road. She'd been waiting for it for two weeks. There was this lovely seafoam blue, satin-like fabric that stretched a little and she really wanted it. She had the perfect idea for a dress.

Marinette rounded the corner of the street. It was such a nice day out. Last night it had rained pretty hard but now the warm spring sunshine shone on her back and made her head feel warm. She yawned, slightly sleepy still, and stretched her arms behind her head as she strolled along. In her purse she felt Tikki slightly stirring. Marinette slightly opened it and peeked inside to see her red kwami gently snoring. She smiled and snapped it closed once more.. Apparently even Tikki thought it was perfect weather for a warm, sunny catnap.

Cat nap…

Marinette smirked, amused at the thought of Chat curling up on a sunny roof, napping like the cat he was. She pictured herself sitting next to him, gently ruffling his hair and scratching behind his ears like she sometimes did when she was pleased with him. No doubt he would purr.

Oh, Chat. Bless him. He was honestly such a dork.

Speak of the devil.

"Hellooooo, Princess."

Chat Noir dropped down from the roof of the fabric store. What was he doing here? There was no way he was here for the sale, right?

Marinette giggled at the thought of Chat attempting to sew something. His frustration was all too easy to imagine.

Yeah. There's no way.

"You're up early, alley cat. What are you doing wandering around Paris like a stray?" She nodded to Le Métier Chic. "Surely you didn't come to buy fabric. Don't tell me you ripped your suit," she added with a smirk.

Chat pretended to be concerned, looking himself over and spinning around.

"Princess I can't see every angle of my suit in this. Wanna help me check for tears?" He lifted up his tail and tickled her cheek with it.

Marinette laughed and pushed his hand away.

He's such a flirt. What a dork.

"You seem to be in a good mood," he commented with a genuine smile. He looked pleased to see her happy.

Marinette shrugged. "For now. I'll go back to feeling terrible later, but I've been waiting to get this fabric for months, and I heard two weeks ago that it was going on sale today, so I really need to- hey. You still haven't told me what you're doing here," she replied with a raised eyebrow.

Chat opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden shriek cut him off before he could start. He whipped around to stare at the store.

"I SAID, I saw it FIRST!" Yelled a shrill, angry voice, and Marinette just had time to think 'no, not nowwww' before the force of the window shattering outward slammed her backwards onto the ground.

"Ugh," she moaned, rubbing her shoulder in annoyance. She had landed on her side and was fortunate not to have hit her head on the pavement.

"Marinette! Are you okay?"

A pair of worried green eyes filled her vision and she gently pushed him away by the nose.

"Chat, I'm fine. What are you doing? Go get the akuma!"

The akumatized victim had gotten away while they were distracted, but the sound of screaming down the street on her left was a clear indication as to where they had gone.

"Right. Dammit." Chat growled, looking down the street as well. His sharp hearing was probably picking up the path well. He looked back at her sternly and said, "Get out of here, Princess. Go home. This one seems violent and I don't want you getting hurt."

Marinette did her best to look acquiescent.

"Alright, kitty, I'll head home. I promise."

"Good," he nodded, still focused on getting to the akuma. "Later, Princess! Don't go meeting any Prince Charmings while I'm gone!"

He extended his staff with a wink and shot up onto the rooftops, where he'd be faster.

Marinette waited until he was out of sight to duck behind a car and open her purse. The street had cleared of all passerby.

"Tikki," she said quietly, "are you alright?"

The kwami zoomed out of her purse and gave Marinette her best "go get 'em" grin.

"Miraculous," she replied.

"Then Tikki," Marinette cried, "Transforme moi!"

In a flash of sparkling pink light, Ladybug emerged, ready to kick some akuma ass.

"Super," she smirked.

The first thing she did was check the store to make sure the patrons were okay and to ask what had happened.

"Ladybug!" Gasped the shop owner, nervously twisting his tie. "Thank goodness. That woman, she was fighting over a piece of fabric earlier this morning with another customer. I asked her to leave the store because she made such a fuss, but she came back later wearing a different dress. I didn't notice at first, but then she started harassing another woman who was looking at the same fabric, and the next thing I knew, she was turning my store inside out!"

"Thank you for your help, Monsieur," Ladybug thanked him sincerely, and sprinted out of the store and up to the roof. She needed to find Chat.

Chat Noir raced after the sound of Parisians screaming and soon he found the source of their distress. His green eyes widened at the sight of the victim.

She was wearing a patchwork dress of different fabrics, textures, and colors, and her hair hung in long, red strands of yarn. In one hand she held a giant, ominous looking sewing needle, and in the other she was twirling a pair of shiny metal fabric scissors. The overall effect was reminiscent of an angry ragdoll. It was slightly creepy, to say the least.

She was hovering in the air, her dress billowing in the breeze and her big eyes hungrily searching for her next victim. All over the square there were people sewed by their clothes to trees, cars, lamp posts, and each other. All of them looked reasonably terrified.

"Hey! Raggedy Ann!" Chat shouted up to the akumatized woman.

She turned to him with a piercing glare.

"I am THE SEAMSTRESS!" She roared down at him, her wild red hair gathering a static charge.

"Fine, fine," he replied, dismissing her outburst with a wave of his hand. "Whatever you want. I don't know your real name anyway. Don't get a stitch in your side."

Chat winked, holding his baton at the ready as The Seamstress made sounds of outrage.

"Hey, kitty," said a familiar voice in his ear as she landed gracefully next to him. "I hope I haven't kept you waiting long."

Chat grinned and saluted his lady with a wave of his baton. "Not at all, My Lady. The Seamstress seems to be causing quite the situation here. What do you say we patch things up?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes but she gave a determined smirk anyway. "Whatever you say, chaton. Let's do this."

Ladybug was not her best today, despite her very good acting. Chat could tell something was wrong with her.

My kitty senses are tingling. There's definitely something up with her.

They had fought hard against The Seamstress, who proved to be a fairly formidable foe. Oddly, Ladybug seemed to know a lot about what she was doing and when she was going to do it, but she was failing to act as quickly as she thought. Chat did his best to pick up her slack but if he was being honest with himself he wasn't focused either.

He was still thinking about Marinette. And all the sewing references weren't helping.

At last they managed to get close enough to her for Chat to cataclysm one of the patches on The Seamstress's dress. He was worried about the whole thing disintegrating but Ladybug was certain that specific square was the right piece of fabric.

As soon as he touched the patch of fabric the akuma began to flutter away, leaving The Seamstress to fall to the ground.

With a whiplike motion that was faster than anything Ladybug had done so far today the akuma was snatched into her yoyo. She wasted no time in freeing it from evil, and soon her hallmark phrase of "bye bye, petit papillon," was softly murmured.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" She shouted, tossing her lucky charm into the air. Chat hadn't been sure what it was at first but Ladybug told him it was a "stitch ripper". Chat had simply shaken his head and decided to leave the world of sewing to others. He only wore the clothes. He didn't need to know all the details on how they were made.

With a rush of magic, the street was returned to normal. Where The Seamstress had been sat a very confused looking middle aged woman. "Ladybug?" She asked in surprise.

"You've been akumatized." Ladybug explained. "It's okay. Just try to free yourself of negative emotions and head home. It's the best thing to do right now. Maybe draw yourself a bath. It might help with stress. Don't worry, Chat and I have taken care of things and no one was truly hurt."

Chat extended his hand gentlemanly to help her up. "We're pawsitive that it's all safe now. You're free to go."

He grinned.

The woman seemed to come out of her shock enough to register his pun. To his surprise she smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Thank you, I think I will take that bath."

Beep beep beep beep.

"Lovely meeting you, but Chat and I have got to dash," Ladybug quipped with a forced smile.

"Uh, yeah," he added, his own miraculous beeping too. "Good luck."

With a leap of grace, the superheroes vaulted and swung their way through the city, reaching the middle of Paris and parting ways. There was only about a minute left on their miraculous.

"Ladybug," Chat prompted, resting his hand on her shoulder as she turned to bid him goodbye. "Are you alright? You seemed off today."

She looked sad for just a split second before regaining her steely professionalism.

"I've got to go, Chat. I'll see you tomorrow for patrol."

And then she was gone, bounding away on the rooftops of Paris in the sunlight.

Beep beep beep.

Oh shit! My miraculous!

Chat panicked. He needed to find somewhere to de-transform safely and fast. He scanned the buildings and alleys surrounding his perch with a quick eye.

There!

With a sigh of relief he landed between a wall and a dumpster. This wasn't ideal. Not at all, but it would do.

A sudden flash of green light later, Plagg was lying exhausted in his palms.

"I'm hungry," he complained.

Adrien rolled his eyes. "You're always hungry."

"I just helped you save Paris again; the least you could do is help me with some cheese," he sniffed, highly offended.

Adrien sighed affectionately and patted the black cat-like creature with his finger. "Alright. Fine. Get back in my pocket and I'll look for a place to eat. Nathalie gave me until noon for free time today and it's only 10:00 am so I still have time. Besides," he added as he stomach growled somewhat loudly, "I'm hungry too."

Marinette was back to feeling grumpy again. She had lost the chance to get her fabric today and she didn't have time to go back later. Her parents needed her in the bakery all day. They were catering for a wedding and there was a lot to do.

She had made it somewhere safe to de-transform. Well there was one good thing that happened today at least.

Marinette peeked out from behind the building she had made use of to check if anyone was coming. It seemed all clear. She sighed in relief.

"Come on, Tikki," she whispered, letting the kwami slide off of her hand and into her purse.

Tikki yawned.

"You did a good job today, Marinette, but you seemed distracted."

Marinette shrugged. "It's been a rough couple of days, and you know that better than anyone."

"Be careful," Tikki implored with bright eyes. "Don't let your emotions cloud your judgement. If anything were to happen to you I don't know what I'd do."

Marinette gave her kwami an affectionate pat on the head.

I worried her. I didn't mean to do that. I need to get it together.

"Don't worry, Tikki. I'll be fine. I'll get over this stupid crush… That's all it is, anyway. He doesn't really like me. He's got some other girl in mind," she said bitterly.

Tikki looked thoughtful. "I don't remember him saying it was a girl. All he said was 'someone else'."

Marinette groaned and clapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh god please don't let him be gay… Then I'll never have a chance."

Bvvvrrrmmmmm.

Her phone buzzed inside her pocket. She pulled it out and noticed the time. She gasped and shoved it back in her pocket before checking to see who the message was from.

"Tikki we have to get back!"

She snapped her purse shut with a click, and started sprinting towards home.

It's a good thing I'm Ladybug and I see the city all the time, or I would probably be lost right now. Although it is much easier from the rooftops…

Marinette was lost in her thoughts. She didn't even see him coming. It was far too late to stop.

"Ahh!"

With a scream and a thump that definitely just bruised her knee, she found herself staring down into the brilliant green eyes of Adrien Agreste.

Fuck.

"Hey, Mari," he wheezed with a nervous smile.

Marinette panicked. Hastily scrambling off of him, she tried to regain her composure and fix her hair again.

What are the odds?! Why am I so unlucky? Maybe Chat is rubbing off on me…

"Adrien," she replied at last as he stood up and straightened his clothes once more.

"I'm sorry for walking out in front of you," he said, running his hand through his soft, perfect hair.

"Forget it," Marinette responded evenly as she started walking away again.

"Hey- uh, Marinette?"

She stopped but didn't turn back to him.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. You know, about… I shouldn't have said it the way I did."

Marinette could feel her eyes welling up and the tears were dangerously close to spilling over but she wouldn't let them. She'd wasted too many tears on him already.

"I forgive you." She said quietly.

And then she walked away.

Chapter Text

HIt had been two weeks since Adrien had rejected her. Two weeks of angst and frustrated tears and berating herself for caring so much. Marinette hoped he was happy. She really wanted him to be happy. But… She wanted to be happy too. In part she felt that that could only happen with him.

Tikki and Alya had been angels through all of this, always at her side, always ready to encourage her and dry her eyes. Marinette didn't know what she would do without her two best friends in the whole world. Lose her mind, probably.

In those two weeks she could tell that Adrien felt bad about what happened. He tried apologizing to her again but she just wasn't in the mood to hear it. It wasn't like this was really his fault anyway, and the more he apologized the more guilty she felt for nearly allowing her emotions to get her akumatized. She was Ladybug, for heaven's sakes! She had to be better than that. She wished Adrien would stop looking at her like a wounded puppy. It really wasn't helping things.

Marinette sighed, dropping her pencil onto her unfinished homework and sinking her face down into her hand. She stared at one of the photos of Adrien that were still plastered on her walls. She just couldn't bring herself to take them down yet.

With yet another sigh she let her head fall into her arms over her homework.

"Marinette?" Tikki sweetly questioned, landing on the desk beside her head. "That homework is due tomorrow. I don't want you to get in trouble if you don't finish it."

Marinette groaned. "Just a quick nap. Then I'll finish it."

Tikki gently poked her cheek. "It's 10:00 pm. If you go to sleep now it'll never get done, and your neck will hurt from laying like that."

"Ugh, I know you're right, but I hate physics! I don't understand any of this. Tikki I wish you were good at this."

Tikki laughed. "Physics is boring. That's why I sleep in your purse during it. Now come on," she implored, tugging at a strand of hair from her bangs.

Tap tap tap.

With a jolt, Marinette realized that sound did not belong amidst the soft chorus of rain splattering her window pane. Someone was outside.

"Tikki, hide," she whispered, rising to peek at who could be outside in the middle of a rain shower that was progressively worsening into a storm.

There was only one person she wanted it to be, really, and she prayed silently that it was indeed Chat Noir knocking on her window and not another akuma victim wanting to invade the personal space of her bedroom, like The Evilustrator had done.

Why would he be here, anyway? And why did he keep running into her? He never did explain what he was doing waiting for her at the fabric shop…

Is… Is Chat Noir stalking me?

She felt her stomach twist. Why the hell would he stalk her? There has to be a reason he kept crossing her path.

Tap tap tap. The knocking was more insistent and with a start she remembered that it was raining outside. Of course he would want in. But why didn't he just go home?

Marinette scrambled up the ladder of her loft to open the skylight above her bed.

With a soft thump, a very wet kitty landed on her bed and she hurried to close the trap door before any more rain fell onto her blankets.

"Evening, princess," he said with an apologetic smile.

Marinette crossed her arms grumpily.

"Chat! You're soaking wet. Get off my bed."

Chat snickered. "You know normally when someone is wet you ask them to stay in the bed…" He laughed at his own horrible joke, stopping his giggles when Marinette shoved him and he fell to the floor, landing between her bed and the railing of her loft.

"Ouch," he muttered grumpily, rubbing his arm where it smacked into the metal rail. "Someone's not in a playful mood."

Marinette gave him a stern look.

"You better have a good reason for trespassing my balcony and getting my blankets wet at 10:00 something at night when I have 3 pages of physics to finish before class tomorrow, and I better like it."

Chat's ears perked up. "Physics? I'm pretty good at it. Want some help?"

Exasperated, Marinette rolled her eyes and began climbing down her ladder again.

"I guess."

She heard Chat clamber down behind her and suddenly emit a tiny gasp.

"What?" She asked, turning to see him surveying the posters of Adrien which covered her walls.

"Oh. Those. That's uh…" She stuttered, blushing. "You weren't supposed to see those."

Chat gave her a sly grin. "You have a thing for models, huh? Adrien Agreste, really? I mean I'll admit, he's good looking, but.." He trailed off, staring at the posters once more with an odd expression.

Marinette smirked and poked his shoulder. "Sounds like I'm not the only one with a crush."

"What?! Me? Adrien? No way!" Chat exclaimed. What little she could see of his cheeks beneath his mask was red.

"Sure, sure," Marinette laughed, sitting at her desk once more. "Deny all you want, alley cat, but everyone falls under the Adreste Spell™ eventually. And apparently some lucky people even get their affection returned…" Her voice faded bitterly at the end.

"Agreste Spell™?" Chat asked with a raised brow. He sat on the floor in front of Marinette's chair and propped his folded arms on her knees, looking up at her. "Sounds like you've been burned, Princess," he said carefully.

Marinette didn't bother pushing him away. Instead she found herself weaving her fingers into his hair and scratching behind his ears. His hair was really soft, and it smelled nice. She had never touched it without the gloves of her suit before, but she found it enjoyable. It was still a bit wet from the rain. As she played with his hair a deep, quiet purr rumbled through his chest. She sighed.

"What are you doing here, kitty?"

Chat's purring paused for a moment.

"We were talking about you, not me."

"Come on, stop playing games." Marinette murmured. "This is the third time we've run into each other for no purpose at all, and the second time you've done it on purpose." She took a breath before continuing. He was quiet, not objecting to the assumption.

"So why are you here?"

Chat sighed. "I don't know. It's complicated. I can't really tell you the whole story without giving away important details about my identity."

"So don't tell me the whole story," Marinette prompted.

Chat was quiet for a moment, seemingly enjoying her fingers running through his hair. Marinette gave him time.

"I got into a fight." He said at last.

"With who? Ladybug?" She asked, knowing very well that it wasn't Ladybug.

The last two weeks hadn't been very busy with akumas, so she had only seen him a couple of times, but they most definitely had not gotten into a fight. In truth both of them had been distracted by other things of late. Chat hadn't flirted as much as he usually did, but she didn't think much of it at the time. Now Marinette wondered if something was wrong with him and she hadn't noticed.

"Chat?" She prompted again when he didn't reply.

"No, not with Ladybug," he sighed. "With myself." His voice was sad.

Marinette was taken aback.

"Chat, what's wrong? If you need someone to talk to…"

"Have you ever done something you thought was right, only to have it bite you in the ass?" He interrupted. "Have you ever said something that hurt someone's feelings and not been able to make it better? Even though you wish with everything you have that you could have done something easier…"

Marinette paused her petting for a moment, hating the regret in his voice.

"Chat, look at me."

Cautiously he raised his head to gaze into her eyes.

"Stop beating yourself up. I mean it."

"But-"

"No. Seriously. You did what you thought was right. That's all anyone can do. You did your best and in the end it doesn't matter who was hurt by it. That's not your fault." Marinette said softly as she brushed blond hair away from his eyes.

Chat looked at her fondly. In his eyes there was hurt but also gratitude. He had needed to hear this.

"Thank you, Marinette," he whispered, not breaking the contact with her eyes.

Marinette was suddenly very aware of how close they were. She felt his hands warm against her thighs as he rose slowly to his knees, never severing the contact with her big blue eyes.

"Marinette?" He said softly.

"Yes, Chat?" She breathed, frozen in place by those shining emerald orbs.

"I think… I think he was wrong."

"Who?" She whispered, mesmerized.

"Adrien," he murmured, leaning closer. "I think… He should… Re...consider…"

"Reconsider what?" Marinette asked, eyes wide and heart beating fast.

"Reconsider…"

Clunk.

The moment shattered into a million awkward pieces as the sudden noise broke their focus and caused them to look at her desk.

With a slight blush, Chat removed his hands from Marinette's thighs like they were hot lead, and she spun her chair so he wouldn't see her face on fire.

"What was that?" He asked, suspicious.

Tikki! Marinette shouted internally. Mon dieu, what if he had seen?

"N-nothing!" Marinette stammered. She pointed to her physics textbook, which was now lying on the floor. "My book fell off the desk… I guess it wasn't balanced well."

"Oh," Chat said simply. "Do you uh… Still want help with that homework?"

Marinette had an internal debate. On the one hand, I don't even want to think about what just happened. Or… Didn't. On the other, I really need the help…

"Yes," she said finally. "It's due tomorrow."

Chat closed her textbook. The last problem was finally finished. It was lucky he had done his earlier before leaving his house so the problems were still fresh in his mind.

"There. All done." He said warmly, watching as Marinette yawned sleepily. It was sorta cute.

"Finally," she complained, her head falling against her arms in relief and exhaustion.

Chat smiled. She was already dozing off. He quietly got up and turned off her lights before coming back to the chair.

"Come on, princess, let's get you to bed." He said softly, scooping his arms beneath her knees and behind her head.

As he lifted her up she didn't complain, instead yawning again and resting her head against his chest sleepily.

God, that was cute.

"Where are you taking me," she mumbled.

"To bed, silly," he replied, making his way to just below the edge of her loft. He couldn't use the ladder like this.

"Hey, hold onto my neck a moment," he instructed.

Sleepily Marinette opened her eyes and reached up to lock her arms behind his head, resting her face against his shoulder and yawning.

With his free hand, Chat reached behind his back and grabbed his staff.

"Hold tight" he whispered, extending the metal up to the height of her loft and stepping over the rail. It retracted back into his hand as he gently laid her down and tucked her into her blankets.

Chat listened for a moment. The rain had stopped. With a little click, he opened the skylight and made to leave.

"Chat?" Marinette whispered.

"Yes, princess?" He paused.

"Thank you. Be safe…"

"I will. Sweet dreams, Marinette."

And with that he climbed onto the roof once more, shutting her trap door with another soft click, before vaulting into the glittering night sky of Paris.

Chapter Text

"Adrien," Ladybug whispered, her hands covering his eyes from behind. Her breath was hot against his neck. "You've been a bad kitty. Guess who?"

"L-Ladybug?" He stuttered, shivering slightly.

"Do you want me to be?"

"What?" He didn't understand. What was she doing?

Her hands stayed on his eyes but her lips traveled over the nape of his neck, planting soft kisses on his bare skin.

"Did you want me to be Ladybug, Adrien? Is that why you tried to kiss me twice? Do I remind you of her? Am I really so distasteful to a spoiled rich model that you have to pretend I'm someone else?"

"Marinette?" He gasped, panic flooding his stomach. "No, that's not true, I don't see you like that-"

She removed one of her hands from his face but kept his eyes covered as she trailed her fingers down his stomach. He flinched instinctively.

"Down, kitty," she murmured, kissing his neck again. "Get a fucking grip on yourself. You're pathetic. You claim to love Ladybug and yet here I am, teasing you in your sleep. You're messing with my head, so here I am messing with yours," She hissed, biting him suddenly.

Adrien whimpered and pleaded with her, "La- Marinette, please, I wasn't trying to hurt you-"

"Really?" She whispered venomously. Her fingernails dug into his stomach and he gasped. "That doesn't matter. You did hurt me. You didn't stop to think about what you were doing. You convinced me to talk to you. I made a fool of myself. Then you tried to kiss me. Then you broke my heart and if that wasn't bad enough, you're trying to make up for your guilt by playing the hero as Chat Noir. Do you really think I need one more FUCKING thing to worry about right now?"

Adrien felt tears streaming down his face.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, you're right, I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

"I'm… Sorry… Sorry…"

"Adrien! Wake up!" Snapped Plagg. "Up!"

Adrien gasped and opened his eyes. Plagg was pinching his nose with his little black arms.

"Ouch! Get off!" He batted around his face and Plagg dodged his hand easily. He scoffed and crossed his arms.

"I wake you up from a nightmare and this is how you repay me?" He sniffed indignantly. "I'm hungry."

Adrien sighed and closed his eyes, dragging his hands down his face and trying to erase his dream from his mind.

What the hell was that.

He could still feel Marinette's lips on his neck and her nails digging into his stomach and just thinking about it was making him feel sick.

Marinette would never hurt me. She would never force herself on me like that. She wouldn't…

"Cheese!" Plagg insisted, poking his cheek.

"Fine," Adrien groaned, and rolled out of his bed with a sigh.

After sneaking some cheese from the pantry for Plagg he headed back to his room and trudged into the bathroom to brush his teeth. While he brushed he thought about the night before.

What was I thinking, visiting her as Chat Noir? Why the hell did I try to kiss her again? Why is it that every time I get close to her my heart starts pounding and I feel like I'm lost in her beautiful blue eyes?... Damn you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Adrien rinsed his mouth and spat the water back out with an irritated vigor.

"Who stepped on your tail, you big cat? You look grumpy," Plagg noted with amusement.

"You were right," Adrien sighed.

Plagg grinned and swirled through the air, gloating over the words his miraculous holder so seldom uttered.

"What else is new?" He purred, satisfied. "What was I right about?"

Adrien pouted and finally said in a small grumble, "mstupid n… imarinette…. Ladybug."

Plagg snorted. "Stop grumbling and spit it out. You sound like my tummy when I'm hungry for more Camembert."

"Okay, fine! You were right. I'm stupid and I like Marinette and Ladybug and girls are confusing and annoying and I hate love!" He snapped.

Adrien dramatically sank to the tile floor and let his head fall into his hands.

"What was I thinking?" He lamented. "I shouldn't have gone to her house last night. This is all my fault. I never meant to hurt her feelings or mess with her head…" He paused, remembering his dream with a shudder. "I just didn't know what to do. I love Ladybug. I'm in love with Ladybug. She makes me feel invincible. But when I'm with Marinette I feel like… Adrien isn't so bad either. Like maybe.. I don't have to be super all the time. Like maybe it's okay to just…" He sighed. "I don't know what I'm saying. This is a mess. Marinette is still mad at me as Adrien and I can't blame her. I know how bad it hurts to be rejected… But I don't know how to make things right."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "You humans are so dramatic."

Adrien pouted defensively. "You're the one who said you messed up big time with Tikki and caused her to not talk to you for hundreds of years. I'd say that's pretty dramatic too."

"You're going to be late for school," Plagg said haughtily.

Adrien gasped. "Oh no, Nathalie's going to knock on my door any minute and I haven't even eaten yet…"

His stomach grumbled in complaint.

"You'd better hurry then," said Plagg.

Adrien scrambled to get dressed and comb his hair. He hastily threw on his shoes and grabbed his bag just as Nathalie knocked on his bedroom door.

"Adrien? You're going to be late if we don't leave right now."

"Coming!" He called, and opened the door.

She had already gone to the car.

He rushed down the stairs and out the front door, earning a disapproving look from his father as he passed. Adrien internally groaned, knowing there would be a discussion about promptness and civilized behavior when he returned home.

As the Agreste limo left for school all he could think of was seeing Marinette again.

Marinette was late for school again. Or she would be if she didn't hurry.

"Marinette!" Her mother called from downstairs. "You're going to be late!"

"Coming Maman!" She yelled back as she struggled to put on her pants.

"Shit!" She exclaimed as she lost her balance and fell over.

Tikki buzzed around the room, putting her school things back into her backpack. She paused for a moment to giggle at Marinette.

"Calm down. It doesn't help to be on time if you're injured." She said sweetly, hefting her math textbook into Marinette's backpack and zipping it up.

Marinette groaned and finished putting on her pants. She glanced at her phone.

"Tikki we've got to go now!" She cried.

The red kwami zoomed into Marinette's purse as Marinette threw on her backpack. Quickly she opened the trap door of her room and clambered down the steps before racing downstairs and out the front door of the shop, grabbing a bag of apple cinnamon pastries her mother had left sitting on the counter for her on the way out.

Marinette ran down the sidewalk, clutching the straps of her backpack to keep it from jostling her back.

When she reached school she ran into the courtyard at full speed, prepared to take the stairs at the far end two at a time if it meant her parents wouldn't get another warning phone call about her being late to school again. But even as she began to climb the stairs she knew something bad was about to happen.

Rrrrriipppp.

Shit!

The left strap of Marinette's backpack ripped free and she felt the bag fly off of her back and tumble down the steps, spilling every bit of its contents during its dramatic descent. With an internal slap to her own hand she chastised herself mentally for not fixing that seam sooner. She had noticed it was coming loose… Oh, why didn't she take the time to just fix it last night?

Marinette snapped out of her thoughts and bent down, frantically gathering all of her things when no one else but a very flustered looking Adrien Agreste appeared in her vision. He'd been running inside too, evidently.

Can this day get any worse?...

"Marinette!" He exclaimed, dropping his bag to the side and moving forward to help her pick up her books. "Here, let me help you. I don't want you to be late again."

Marinette felt something burn inside of her heart. She didn't know what it was. Anger? Sure. Jealousy? Yes. Spite? A bit. Love? Oh god yes. Hurt? More than she wanted him to know.

Maybe it was her late night with Chat that caused her to say it. She was tired after all. Maybe it was the the sudden urge to cry that she was fighting back because oh, mon dieu, Chat had tried to kiss her. And he'd said that Adrien was wrong. That he'd made a mistake. And he'd made her heart beat fast but everything was so twisted. Didn't he love Ladybug?

Marinette felt a twinge of betrayal. How could she be jealous of herself? Better yet, why was she jealous of herself? Didn't she keep refuting his advances anyway for the sake of their identities? For the sake of… Adrien?

She thought of so much in the span of a few seconds. No, Marinette didn't know what made her say it. All she knew was that she regretted it.

She looked him directly in the eyes, something she hadn't been able to do in weeks, and said with as much ice as she could muster-

"You're going to be late for class."

Instantly a bitter sinking feeling went through her stomach and briefly she wondered what the hell was wrong with her, but she didn't dare open her mouth again. Who knew what else would come out?

Adrien stared at her, her words twisting in his gut uncomfortably.

So she hates me now. Well fine… I guess she has the right.

Thoughts of her breath on his neck and her nails digging into his stomach flooded his mind. His dream was strange and a little terrifying but it was right. He'd fucked up everything.

Adrien didn't know why it hurt so bad, but God did it hurt. He summoned up all of his courage to get out, "I'm sorry," before his emotions overcame him and he hurried past her, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

Marinette hates me. What the hell have I done?

This was karma, he supposed. His miraculous bad luck, he reasoned, as he pushed open the door to the boy's restroom and locked himself in a stall. It was fate, he thought to himself as he sank to the ground, hugging his knees and hot tears sliding down his cheeks.

But he knew the truth. It wasn't some mysterious magical force making his life miserable. It was him.

Marinette was kicking herself.

Why the fuck can't I be civil like a normal human being? What is wrong with me? It's not his fault. None of this is his fault. He can't help who he loves and who I love and he doesn't know about Chat. I…. Shouldn't have said that. He looked like I'd just stabbed him in the stomach.

She threw the rest of her things into her backpack and hurried to class, mentally berating herself the whole way.

When she got to class she didn't even look at him. She couldn't. Even while her teacher lectured her for being late. So it wasn't until she sank into her seat and Alya said "Hey, do you know where Adrien is?" That she glanced at his very empty seat.

Shit.

Marinette felt her heart drop down to her toes as she whispered back, "no," in a small voice and opened her textbook to a random page just so she could avoid Alya's concerned mothering stare.

"Are you okay?" Alya whispered, gently tapping her arm.

"I don't want to talk about it right now," Marinette replied, pulling out her notebook and beginning to sketch to calm herself down.

She could have drawn anything. Even made up a new dress design. So she really didn't know why she found herself drawing Chat Noir.

Marinette didn't know why his face brought her so much peace. She didn't want to think about how looking into his eyes made her feel a little better. She chose not to focus on why the waves of his hair seemed to shine invitingly, even in a black and white pencil sketch. The happy smile she drew onto his face was different than his usual crooked grin. It wasn't mischievous. It was caring and kind and sweet.

At least I manage to make one person happy.

Marinette looked into his eyes and felt a bit guilty. Would he be disappointed in her for the way she was treating Adrien? She knew he would tell her that you shouldn't be mean to someone to forget the way they hurt you. Even if he had seemed a bit bitter with Adrien last night for making her sad she knew in her heart that he wouldn't be okay with this.

I can't look at those eyes anymore. They're staring straight through me.

She moved to flip back to her notes but Alya suddenly grabbed her arm and whispered excitedly, "You drew Chat Noir? That's so good! Can I take a picture of it later for the blog? That's so lifelike!"

Marinette was about to reply when the annoyed voice of Mme. Bustier brought her back to class.

"Alya please keep your eyes on the board and your mouth shut. I know class is almost over and it's tempting to talk but we need you back in World History now."

Alya smiled apologetically. "Yes, Madame. Sorry."

Marinette looked at Adrien's seat again. Nino glanced back at her with a worried face. She knew he was silently wondering if she knew where he was and with a guilty shake of her head she nodded no.

By lunch Adrien had still not made an appearance and Marinette was almost beside herself with worry. When the bell rang to dismiss the students she grabbed Nino and Alya's arms and dragged them to a quieter section of hallway before turning around with a stressed face and biting her lip guiltily.

"It's all my fault," she gushed. "I don't know what's wrong with me, he was just trying to be nice and I was so mean-"

"Wait, what?" Alya interrupted, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and looking at her seriously. "You were mean to Adrien? Why? I mean I know it's been hard for you the last two weeks, but-"

"I don't know, I shouldn't have said anything!" Marinette wailed, covering her face with her hands in despair.

"I'm lost," Nino said, looking between the two of them in worry and confusion.

Alya patted Marinette's back and looked at him. "I don't know. Adrien tried to be nice and she snapped at him or something. I know as much as you do."

Nino looked back at Marinette. "Well what happened? I mean you can't have snapped for no reason."

Marinette sighed and told them about her being late and the bag ripping and how she'd basically told him to go away and how he'd looked so upset.

Nino frowned. "I don't understand why he wouldn't come to class though. I mean that's really not that bad. I'm sure he's already forgiven you. I mean he knows how much he hurt your feelings in the park and knowing him he probably feels like it's justified. Something's up. He should have come to class."

Alya gave him a very sleuth-like nod. "You're right. He should have. But he didn't. We need to look for him. I want to make sure he's okay and then when we find him Marinette can apologize."

Alya gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

Marinette sighed and nodded. "Okay. Nino, check the bathrooms, Alya and I will walk around the hallways and check the empty classrooms."

"Text us if you find him," Alya added.

Marinette was stricken by a sudden horrible thought.

"Guys," she whispered in distress, "we need to find him fast. If we don't… Hawkmoth might get there first."

Alya gave her a hug. "We'll find him first." She reassured confidently.

Nino agreed, "Yeah, I'm sure it's not that bad," but Marinette caught his askew worried glance and knew that he was wondering the same thing.

What if Alya was wrong?

Chapter Text

Plagg poked Adrien's cheek in an attempt to be comforting.

"Listen.. Kid. I know right now things suck and it doesn't feel good but it'll be okay. Okay?"

Adrien felt him hovering nervously by his face. He wiped his tears away bitterly with the back of his hand, feeling stupid for crying.

"Marinette doesn't hate you. She's just upset. I'm sure it'll be fine eventually," Plagg said with as much care and concern as he could awkwardly put into his voice. "Okay you gotta help me out here. I'm not good at the comforting thing. Say something."

Adrien reached up and sighed, patting his kwami on the head with his finger twice to acknowledge his care.

"Thanks, Plagg. I just.. I feel like I'm making things worse. I don't know how to get her to be friends with me again."

Plagg cleared his throat. "Sorry, kid, I don't know how to help with that one. I already told you about the Tikki thing."

Adrien stared at the door of the stall, where boys had written things over the years the school had been around. He wondered for a moment why there was so much of it there.

Surely they tried to get rid of it over the years. Maybe the marker stuck too well or maybe they just gave up.

A lot of it was stupid and immature stuff that boys so often write or doodle on school property. But some of it was sincere. Confessions of crushes and life goals were like gems hidden in the mess of bad handwriting and crude drawings. Absentmindedly he read them, although it probably wasn't helping. In fact the crush confessions were particularly annoying.

He didn't want to think about Marinette or Ladybug.

Plagg nudged his shoulder. "You okay?"

Adrien was about to answer when he heard the door to the restroom open and guys start coming in. It must be time for lunch. Awkwardly he waited and hoped that none of them needed to use the stalls and if they did that they wouldn't choose his. Plagg hid in his shirt once more.

He was content to hide out for a little bit longer, hearing the last guy leave, when the door abruptly opened again and he heard Nino's voice.

"Hey, dude are you in here? Adrien?"

With a sigh Adrien figured he might as well answer.

"Yeah," he replied, and stood up. "Sorry. I just didn't feel like going to class today."

He opened the door begrudgingly and stepped out to face his friend.

"Dude," Nino said, bringing him in for a handshake/hug combo, "Me and Alya and Marinette have been worried about you. The girls are searching the other half of the school right now. You okay? We were worried that Hawkmoth got you."

Adrien nodded his head and ran his fingers through his hair self consciously.

"Yeah I'm okay I guess. Did you say Marinette was worried?"

Nino shrugged. "She feels bad about being cold to you, dude. You shoulda seen her freaking out. I think you guys need to chat."

Adrien sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah I know we do. Well… I'm glad she doesn't hate me."

Nino rolled his eyes.

"Dude are you kidding me? That girl adores you even if she won't say it. Actually…" He trailed off awkwardly.

"What?" Adrien asked.

"Well…"

"Just tell me," he said impatiently.

"Alya keeps bugging me to ask you about this mystery girl. The one that you already like. Up until now I just told her if you'd wanted to explain you would have but she's started coming up with crazy theories as to who it could be."

Adrien blushed and shrugged awkwardly.

"No one you'd know."

Personally… He thought to himself to satiate his conscience for being misleading.

"It doesn't matter," he added.

Nino looked suspicious but chose to give him his privacy.

"Okay dude whatever you say. Now let's go find the girls. I'll text Alya and tell her to meet us in the courtyard. I would say we could go to Marinette's and get some snacks but there's not really enough time left. We've been looking for you."

Adrien felt a bit guilty but he agreed, and soon they were with Alya and Marinette in the courtyard and he was trying hard to avoid looking her in the eyes. She seemed to be doing the same.

After placating Alya and her many questions with vague answers he saw her nudge Marinette with her elbow. Marinette blushed and finally looked up at him.

"I uh.." She murmured, glancing at Alya and the ground so that she didn't have to stare at him the whole time,

Adrien cut her off before she could start.

"It's okay, Mari."

She looked at him quickly.

"I didn't even say it yet!"

Adrien gave her a small smile.

"You didn't have to. I know."

Marinette gave him a small smile back, but she still looked upset.

"Can I talk to you for a minute?" Adrien asked on a whim.

Alya gave Nino a pointed look.

Marinette nodded. "Y-yeah! Okay. Um, that's fine."

She's stuttering again. It's kind of cute… I didn't know I missed it.

Adrien led her over to a quieter section of courtyard. When he stopped they both glanced away for a minute before jumping in at once.

"I'm sorry I-"

"I shouldn't have-"

They looked at each other expectantly and after a moment they giggled a little.

"You go first," Adrien said nervously.

Marinette blushed and looked down.

"Okay… Uh… I'm sorry. For earlier… I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. And I'm sorry for the way I've been acting towards you for the past couple of weeks…it's not your fault."

Finally she glanced up at him nervously.

"Okay." He said evenly, "I forgive you. And I'm sorry too. For hurting you and for not understanding your reaction… I didn't mean to make you worry earlier."

Marinette cleared her throat and played with one of her pigtails.

"Thank you."

Adrien smiled at her.

"Marinette?"

She looked at him shyly.

"Yes?"

"Can we start over? Let's be friends again. I mean… If you're ready. I think we should get to know each other better."

I'm not asking her out I'm not asking her out I'm not asking her out it's just some friendly getting to know each other stuff no big deal

Adrien messed with the hem of his over shirt tentatively.

Marinette gave him a small smile and he felt his insides warm up.

"O-okay. Friends."

"Friends." He agreed and held out his hand.

She took it and they shook hands, both trying not to blush again. After a minute or so they realized they were still holding hands and let go like it was on fire, laughing awkwardly.

"Here," Adrien said, pulling out his phone. "Friends should text each other, right?"

He opened the new contact screen and passes his phone to Marinette with a smile.

She accepted it and excitedly put in her number, smiling happily, and then gave the phone back to him.

"Thanks," he grinned.

"You're welcome," she said, and handed him her phone as well.

Adrien took it and began putting in his contact info. On a sudden whim he decided to put a little cat emoji after his name. Before he could change his mind or realize it was maybe not the best or smartest idea, he had given it back to her.

Marinette smiled brightly and it wasn't until he got home later that day that he realized there was a little ladybug next to her name.

Marinette flopped on her chaise, her head buzzing with the events of the day. She sighed and she didn't know whether it was happiness or exhaustion. She was really tired.

Chat Noir didn't even keep me up that late, I shouldn't be this tired.

Tikki hummed around her head and giggled, making Marinette smile.

"Marinette you did a good thing today. I'm glad you and Adrien are friends again." Tikki sighed and floated over to Marinette's desk, where a few cookies sat on a plate.

"Me too," she said somewhat dreamily.

Vrmmm vrmmm.

Marinette gasped and pulled out her phone, desperately hoping to see a text from Adrien. She wasn't disappointed.

[Adrien 😸- Hey :) ]

Marinette realized he had put a little cat emoji next to his name and found herself a little amused. She wondered if she should have used the ladybug emoji or not as she swiped open her phone and opened the message.

[Marinette 🐞- Hi :P ]

Sent.

Oh no is the tongue face too forward? What if it weird him out? What if-

Vrmmm vrmmm.

...That was fast.

[Adrien 😸- What's your favorite color?]

Marinette tapped her chin in thought for a moment.

[Marinette 🐞- It depends on my mood. I have a lot of pink in my room but I also like red, black, green, or blue.]

[Adrien 😸- Nice, I like those colors too. Thanks!]

[Marinette 🐞- why did you want to know lol]

[Adrien 😸- No reason.]

They texted back and forth the rest of the evening. Sometimes Adrien would be gone for a bit in between texts due to his schedule but he always replied.

That night the last thing Marinette saw was a text from him before she fell asleep in bed and didn't get to respond.

[Adrien 😸- You're really cool, Mari. I'm glad we're friends. ❤️]

Chapter Text

"Mmmmmphhh," Marinette groaned the next day, feeling around her bed for her phone to turn off her alarm.

"Marinette!" Tikki squeaked as she was almost flattened by one of her blind, searching slaps.

"Sorry," she mumbled, finally discovering her phone amidst the blanket folds and blearily opening her eyes to stare at the offending source of noise.

With a sigh she turned off the alarm and was about to let her phone drop back onto the mattress when she noticed a little notification on the screen.

[New message: Adrien 😸-You're really cool, Mari. I'm glad we're friends. ❤️]

"Ahhhh!" Marinette squealed, suddenly wide awake. She jolted upright in bed and earned some more grumbling from Tikki who was jostled around in the process.

"What? What is it?" Tikki asked, a little alarmed. "What's wrong?"

She flew up to Marinette's wrist and rested, reading the message.

"He- he- he-"

Marinette could hardly speak. Her face felt like it was on fire.

Tikki suddenly sighed with a knowing smile and flew back to Marinette's pillow.

"Oh, you are hopeless."

Marinette was quivering with excitement.

"What does this mean? Am I reading too much into it? A heart? He sent me a heart!"

Tikki giggled softly.

"Are you going to reply?"

Marinette squeaked.

"I should, right? Should I send one back? Is that too much? Was it a one time thing? Would it be weird? Should I-"

"Marinette, calm down. He sent one first. He won't read that far into it. Send one back if you want to." Tikki mused.

Marinette let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Okay. Okay. And- ohmygod Tikki what was I thinking? I just remembered! I gave my name a ladybug emoji! That's so stupid…"

Tikki hummed thoughtfully.

"Why did you use a ladybug emoji?"

Marinette sighed.

"I don't know. I just remembered that I noticed him doodling ladybugs on his notes last week. I don't think anyone else noticed. But I asked Alya and she said that he's one of her most active followers on the Ladyblog. So I thought, he must be a really big fan and if I put a ladybug next to my name maybe he would think it was cute or something I don't know-"

Tikki sighed and shook her head.

"Oh, Marinette. Well, there's no helping it now. It's probably fine. I don't think Adrien is likely to discover your identity."

Marinette turned to look at her kwami nervously.

"Really?"

"Yes really. I'm sure it's alright. Now are you going to text him back?"

Marinette unlocked her phone once more and stared at the message one more time. Her thumbs hovered over the keyboard.

Finally after a hearty internal debate, (I text him; I text him not. I text him; I text him not. I text him-) she started typing.

She hit send.

Vrmmm.

Adrien's phone going off was the first thing he heard that morning. And surprisingly it wasn't from his alarm. No, for once it was something much more interesting.

Sleepily he rubbed his eyes, accidentally bumping Plagg with his elbow.

"Ouch! Watch where you stick those things," the black kwami grumbled, tugging the edge of the blanket around himself once more on Adrien's pillow.

"Sorry," Adrien yawned.

If he'd been more awake, he might have stopped to think about how cute Plagg was when he was trying to sleep like that. But he wasn't so he pulled up his phone and unlocked it.

[New message: Marinette 🐞-

Ahaha, sorry I didn't reply last night I was really tired 😅 and thanks I'm glad we're friends too. ❤️☺️]

Adrien suddenly got a lot more awake. He scrolled up. Oh no. He hadn't. But he had.

He had sent the heart first.

He felt an embarrassed blush creep to his face. Oh well… It was only an emoji. Hopefully she wouldn't read too far into it…

Who was he kidding. It was Marinette. He might as well have openly flirted.

Plagg sighed, apparently deciding he was too curious to sleep.

"You're a mess, you know that?" He said matter-of-factly as he gazed at Adrien's screen.

Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Thanks, I had no idea."

"Good luck with just being "friends"," Plagg said with amusement. "I don't think it'll last."

Adrien frowned.

"Well I have to try. I don't know what else to do."

Plagg shrugged.

"That's fair. Neither do I."

Throughout the day Adrien and Marinette texted off and on. He did his best to reply quickly but his Saturday was full of modeling. He had to sneak in texts between shoots. Still, it was worth it. He was learning so much about Mari that he never knew.

Her favorite food was potstickers. Her favorite dessert was apple strudel. She had loved fashion since she was a little kid, and decided she wanted to be a designer when she was nine. She was a self taught artist. Her favorite season was spring. Her fashion idol was his father. She loved Disney movies. She had a secret collection of mismatched fuzzy socks.

With every detail Adrien grew to find her more adorable. It was almost torture, but he loved it.

Even as he was learning so much about her, he couldn't help but think that he wished Ladybug would be this open. He wanted to know what her favorite food was and what her secret fascinations were. He wondered if she liked Disney movies too. If only she trusted him with these details, like sweet Marinette. Life would be simpler.

… Or would it? Marinette had shown more interest in him that day through text than Ladybug had ever done in person. Sure, she cared about Chat Noir. They were partners. Maybe even best friends. She trusted him with her life… Just not her secrets.

"Smile!"

His thoughts were interrupted by the familiar click of a shutter, bringing him back to the routine that was his life. And even though he was surrounded by people, Adrien had never felt so alone.

That night Marinette was restless.

She couldn't believe how much she hadn't known about Adrien. There was a lot she did already know from reading his interviews, but there was so much more to this green eyed boy than met the eye, or the camera.

He loved detective stories. It was really funny, Marinette was almost certain he had a thing for Sherlock Holmes. He loved brownies, especially with ice cream. His favorite movie series was Star Wars, which he had to watch online because his father never bought movies. He had a fascination with science, which she knew, but she hadn't known that when he was little he wanted to become a rocket engineer. Now he wasn't sure what he wanted to do.

The most interesting thing he had admitted to her was his fascination with Ladybug and Chat Noir. She hadn't pegged him for a ladynoir shipper either, which had made her wrinkle her nose a bit. It appeared he could have flaws. Tikki had laughed at that.

Now she laid awake, pouring over the details of their conversations that day, drinking it all in.

No… She shouldn't. That would be a very bad idea…

But it would be so easy….

No! Bad Marinette! The last thing this situation needs is one more variable. Things just got stable again.

But she could make his whole year…

"Tikki," Marinette whispered in the darkness.

"Are you still awake?"

Tikki stirred a bit and answered sleepily.

"What is it, Marinette?"

"I need your help. Please."

Tikki stirred even more.

"Marinette it's nearly midnight."

"Pleaaaaaaaase."

Tikki sighed. Marinette didn't even need to ask for what she wanted; the kwami knew.

"Alright."

"Then Tikki, trasnformé moi!"

Several minutes later, Ladybug was swinging gracefully onto the Agreste mansion's roof.

Bad idea. Bad idea.

She could almost hear Tikki warning her how dangerous this was but she didn't care. Adrien was quite possibly Ladybug's biggest fan, besides Alya.

She remembered how they left off last time she saw him while in costume. After the Volpina incident.

Awkward… And lonely. And why the hell did he take so many showers?

If anything, she justified to herself, this would at least leave things on better terms.

I wonder if he's even awake.

Ladybug thought to herself, half amused and half embarrassed, that she felt a lot like Spiderman as she lowered herself with her yoyo to Adrien's window and peeked inside.

The main light was off, but a little ladybug patterned lamp sat next to his computer, and they were both on. Adrien sat in his desk chair, his back to her. He was using the computer but she couldn't tell what it was from there. She thought she saw something black dart by his ankles and under his bed, startling him. Vaguely she wondered if he had a kitten or something.

Adrien spun around in his chair, seeming to wonder why his cat was behaving so strangely, before looking at the window and realizing Ladybug was there.

"Eeep!" Ladybug squeaked and dropped below the window as she accidentally let some of the tension out of her magical yoyo string.

Hesitantly she pulled herself up again to realize that Adrien was opening the window, looking at her in amazement.

"Ladybug?" he asked in awe. "Uh… are you okay? Do you want to come in?"

His face wore a look of rapture and inwardly Marinette was squealing. She managed to nod and let him help her through the window.

Her feet landed softly on the floor and she cleared her throat nervously, offering a smile.

"Um… hi."

Adrien still seemed surprised, and a light blush adorned his cheeks. It was too adorable for words.

Did I really do that? Oh mon dieu…

"Hi," he responded warmly. "Um, d-do you want to sit down or something?"

Oh my god he's stuttering. I can't believe this. Is this what he's like when he's nervous?

It would be more amusing if it weren't for the fact that she was trying not to freak out too.

"Okay, sure.. Thanks." She responded politely, trying to pull herself together.

They moved to the couch and he waited for her to sit before sitting down too. Ever the gentleman. He was sitting just close enough to make her nervous but far enough away that it was appropriate and polite. He was so considerate.

"So…" he prompted, running his fingers through his bangs and leaning lightly against the back of the couch. "What brings the amazing Ladybug to my bedroom window so late?"

Ladybug relaxed a little against the couch and fiddled with one of her pigtails as she spoke.

"Well, two things, really. Firstly I wanted to apologize for any awkwardness when I was here last time, saving your dad." Ladybug felt herself blush a little, but she continued, "and secondly I heard from a little bird that you're one of my biggest fans. I was patrolling the area anyway, and I decided to stop by and thank you for all of your help with Volpina."

I hope that sounded better than it felt to say it.

Adrien smiled and laughed, blushing again.

"Well, thank you. And can I ask who the little bird was?"

"No," Ladybug smiled. "She wished to remain anonymous."

Shit. Now he knows that somehow Marinette has a connection to Ladybug... I really didn't think this through. Too late now.

She could feel Tikki sighing.

Adrien was freaking out just a little bit.

Ladybug was in his bedroom, on his couch, sitting next to him.

She was gorgeous as always. Her blue eyes sparkled in the dim light of his room and her cheeks were a little flushed. Her bangs were a little wind-tousled but her pigtails were perfect. He wanted to take them down and run his fingers through her hair.

He wondered if Marinette had told her about his fan crush. But how on earth did Marinette get in contact with Ladybug? Was Alya involved? To his knowledge Alya didn't have a way to contact her. It was perplexing.

Suddenly he realized she was talking to him.

"Oh… What?" He asked obliviously.

Ladybug giggled and the sound was like music to his ears.

"I said, 'nice pajamas.'"

Adrien blushed in horror as he looked down and remembered what he was wearing.

"I like the kittens," she added with a smile.

His pajama pants were light green with little black cats. Yeah, it was clichè as hell. But he hadn't expected Ladybug of all people to see him being a massive dork in them. He was now regretting his life choices.

"Oh," Adrien laughed nervously, his blush burning stronger by the second. "Well, Chat Noir is pretty cool too…"

Ladybug laughed again.

"Chat is a dork, but I couldn't live without him. He's a dear friend and a skilled partner. But don't tell him I said that. It would go to his head."

Adrien inwardly swelled with pride at the compliment. Was this how she talked about him when he wasn't around? Maybe he wasn't as annoying as he thought.

"So do they make you feel super?" Ladybug asked with a smirk. She seemed to be getting more confident the longer she was there.

Adrien pulled himself together and grinned back.

"Well they do make me feel a little supurr, yes."

Ladybug half laughed and half groaned.

"No," she complained with a smile, "ugh, you're almost as bad as he is."

Adrien gave her a very cat-like smile.

"So, pretty great then."

Ladybug rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling.

"I guess."

She glanced around the room and her eyes landed on his computer. Unfortunately the Ladyblog was open on the screen.

"Is that the Ladyblog?" She asked in amusement, getting up and making her way towards the computer.

"Uh, yes." Adrien said as he scrambled to get there before she did. "But I'm sure you're bored of it by now…"

She does not need to see that, no no no…

He clicked to another tab and was about to close out the one running the blog as she reached the desk and put her hand over his on the mouse.

"What are you doing?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What? Uh, nothing, I just figured you've probably seen all there is to see so there's no use…"

She took the mouse and clicked back to the blog.

"I'm always interested in what my fans are saying," she said as the page reloaded.

Adrien felt a little of his soul dying inside.

Please don't load please don't load please don't load…

"What is Ladybug X Reader fanfiction?" She asked incredulously.

That's it I'm dead. I've died. No more Adrien.

He died about 2 seconds ago.

"Uh…." Adrien trailed off awkwardly as she read. "You- you weren't supposed to see-"

He tried to close it out again but Ladybug smacked his hand away, reading intently.

"Ow," he complained nervously. He was sure his face was as red as a tomato by now.

There was a very awkward silence while she read about kissing the reader and Adrien thanked whatever God was above that this particular fanfiction didn't take things any further than that. He would die if she knew some of the things he had read about her.

"Oh," Ladybug said finally in a quiet voice, a blush creeping over her cheeks. She took pity on him and closed the tab.

Adrien couldn't look at her. It was too awkward. He crossed his arms and looked at the ground, silently wishing it would open and swallow him alive.

"So," Ladybug said, clearing her throat and sitting in his desk chair. If she was nervous it suddenly wasn't showing.

"Um… Sorry…" Adrien muttered, feeling more embarrassed than he ever had in his life.

He glanced at her. She wore a very stern look and he wilted.

"Is this how you spend your Saturday nights?" She asked calmly.

Adrien blinked in shock at the question.

"No! I mean, not necessarily… I was just…"

Ladybug's lips curled into an amused smile.

"You were just…?"

Adrien sighed and gave up.

"Okay look I know it's pathetic but I'm just like any other stupid teenage boy with a crush on a superhero. I'm a lowlife who secretly reads fanfiction and daydreams about you. Happy?"

He walked back over to the couch and sat with his knees up against his chest, facing the window and trying to keep it together. This was all horribly wrong. She probably thought he was disgusting.

To his surprise she walked around the couch and sat down next to him, turned sideways so she was facing him.

"Adrien, look at me." Her voice commanded attention.

Reluctantly he turned towards her and saw her blue eyes burning into him.

"You're not pathetic and you're not a lowlife. Don't say that about yourself. Besides… Everyone has crushes."

Adrien's surroundings fell away as Ladybug became the only thing he saw.

"What about you?"

The question caught her off guard.

"M-me?" She stuttered.

Adrien felt a fire kindling in his chest as she looked at him and blushed.

"Yeah. You."

She looked away, thinking about how to answer. When she looked back at him the fire in her eyes was back, but it was softer.

"Yes. I do."

Suddenly her lips met his forehead in a caring kiss. It lasted only a few seconds and he felt like his breath was taken away.

She stood up to leave and strode to the window. He gazed after her in a love struck daze.

"L-Ladybug?" He called softly.

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him.

"Thank you for letting me visit. I might do it again sometime if you promise not to leave embarrassing sites open again."

He blushed deeply and she laughed softly. He couldn't respond so he nodded.

"Sweet dreams," she said, in what he was sure he was imagining as a wistful tone, and then she opened the window and was gone, swinging into the night.

Ladybug kissed me.

Chapter Text

Adrien was a mess at school the next day. All throughout the first half of the day he struggled to keep his mind on his books and off of Ladybug and her lips. The thought pestered him to no end. The worst part was that he could feel Marinette's eyes on the back of his head and he felt guilty for the stupid heart text.

He was playing with fire, and he knew it. That was fine as long as it was only him getting burned. He couldn't stand the thought of hurting either Marinette or Ladybug. After all they'd done for him it wouldn't be fair. And it definitely wasn't right to lead either of them on.

Adrien felt his heart rate pick up as he thought about Ladybug's eyes as she had leaned in to kiss his forehead. He thought about the way Marinette's eyes had widened when he had almost kissed her as Chat. He thought about how he was clearly a sucker for blue eyes. It was disgusting, really.

Everything was confusing him lately. Sometimes in his head Ladybug and Marinette seemed to blur together and he had to remind himself not to compare the two. It wasn't right, or fair to either of them to do that. They were different. He needed to remember that.

What did he want, after all? Who did he want? What was better, Ladybug's confident grin or Marinette's sweet and shy smile? The playful banter, or the passionate ranting that he had glimpsed in text as Marinette began to open up more to him? Who knew anyone could be so passionate about obscure fantasy books anyway?

Man, all I do is mess with her head.

He wasn't truly sure which of them he had just thought that about.

When the lunch bell rang he was startled out of his daydreams.

"Hey, Adrien," came Alya's voice from behind him.

He jumped and turned around, flustered, wondering if it was possible she had noticed him lost in his own world. Never had he been more paranoid of mind-reading. Or more realistically, Alya's investigative skill.

"Oh, hey Alya," he said, trying to be casual. "What's up?"

"Truth or dare?"

"What?" He asked in surprise as Marinette suddenly choked on the juicebox she had pulled out of her backpack.

Adrien looked at her in concern but she simply turned red and waved away his help, clearly embarrassed.

"I said, truth or dare?" Alya continued with a smirk. "C'mon, just answer the question."

"Yeah dude, answer the question," echoed Nino, who seemed very interested in where this was going.

The other students filed out of the class as Adrien glared at his best friend.

"Why are you on her side?" He asked, frowning at Nino's amused smirk.

"Aww, are you scared?" Alya crooned as Marinette continued to look more and more uncomfortable.

"What? No!" Adrien replied defensively. "Fine, I'll play your game for a few minutes."

"Oh good!" Alya clapped, looking suspiciously delighted.

She really shouldn't be this excited. She was up to something and Adrien was wary of what it was.

"So, truth or dare?" She asked again, more eagerly, leaning across her desk with her hands propping up her face.

Thoughts of Ladybug visiting his room flooded his mind and fighting a blush, he quickly said, "dare."

Marinette looked spellbound, glancing from him to Alya with a nervous interest, and Nino was bouncing in his seat. This couldn't bode well for Adrien but nevertheless he was ready to accept the challenge. Whatever would get him out of this fast with his secrets and his dignity in tact.

Alya looked like Christmas had just dawned. She rubbed her hands together excitedly and cackled.

"Have you seen the poster yet?"

"What?"

"In the hallway! The sign-up sheet."

Adrien and Nino glanced at each other, confused looks on their faces.

"Um… no?"

Alya sighed and Adrien saw with relief that Marinette was just as confused as the two boys were. They all turned to look at Alya expectantly.

"Well," she began earnestly, "Summer's coming up right? So the school is throwing a dance in order to celebrate the end of the year! And get this; it's not just for our school- it's for all the high school students in Paris!And since next year we'll be in high school..."

Nino practically squealed and nudged Adrien's shoulder.

"Oohhh, guess that means we gotta find dates, huh?" He winked and wiggled his eyebrows.

Adrien smiled nervously at his friend and glanced back at Alya.

"So… where is this dare going?"

"Ah," Alya crooned in delight, "I haven't told you the best part yet. This is no ordinary dance. There's a contest going on. To win," she looked at Marinette slyly, "You'll need to have the best costumes. And you need to be able to blow everyone else off the dance floor."

"Costumes?" Marinette said excitedly.

Adrien could see her mind churning with possibilities. No doubt she was running through dress plans in her mental sketchbook.

"It's a masquerade. They're calling it, 'The Summer Soiree. It's being held in the hotel where Chloe lives. In the ballroom.'"

Adrien was a little excited despite himself. He had never been to a masquerade before. He had attended a few galas with his father for business, but never had it been something he chose. He usually found himself trying to hide after the first hour of random strangers approaching him with questions or praise and he was sick of middle-aged women pinching his cheeks and calling him cute. It would be nice to get dressed up because he wanted to for once, and not because his father required his presence at another fashion event. It was so rare that he got to attend events of his own free will.

Marinette looked very excited. Nino was bouncing in his seat, and Alya had a dreamy expression on her face. He thought for a moment that Nino's eyes lingered on Alya just a little too long- his smile a little too nervous- before turning back to Adrien. Inwardly Adrien laughed and promised himself to talk to Nino about it later.

"So!" She said suddenly, coming back to the point. She didn't seem to have noticed Nino's longing glance. "I dare you… to ask Marinette to the ball, and enter the contest!"

Adrien's eyes widened and Marinette choked on her drink again.

"What?!" They both spluttered.

"Oh come on, it makes perfect sense," said Alya, rolling her eyes. "Marinette is the only one who can design you both outfits that will slay the competition, and Adrien," she said to Marinette pointedly, "Knows how to dance. Don't you, Adrien?"

Adrien blushed deeply and demanded, "How do you know that I can dance?!"

Alya grinned and tossed her hair over her shoulder as Marinette sank down in her seat and Nino just chuckled.

"Let's face it, pretty boy, you're a rich kid. Rich kids take ballroom dance. It's just how it goes."

Grudgingly he shrugged. Maybe it had been obvious. After all, his father had him doing everything else under the sun…

Nino suddenly punched him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Dude you haven't said anything. You gonna accept or what?"

Adrien glanced over to see Marinette burning a hole into the floor with her gaze, determinedly avoiding looking at any of them. Adrien didn't know what it was about her expression but something… kindled… inside his chest. Her bottom lip was trapped between her teeth and her long, dark eyelashes fluttered as she waited nervously for whatever was next. A pink rose blush adorned her lightly freckled cheeks. It was… Adorable. He found himself imagining her blue eyes locked with his as they swirled around the dance floor, impressing everyone there. Dance partners. Just a date. Nothing more than an evening with Marinette and his friends.

Partners… He squashed the thought of Ladybug as soon as it entered his brain. He had made up his mind. One evening didn't really matter anyway, right? It was just a dance. One platonic date. Besides… If he didn't ask her soon, he just knew Chloe would come marching through the door any moment demanding to be his date. Really, Marinette would be doing him a huge favor. That settled it.

With a very Chat-like smirk Adrien looked Alya dead in the eye.

"Yeah. I'm game. Hey Marinette, wanna be my partner in crime for an evening?"

Adrien was grinning but his heart was beating very fast as he waited for her response.

"Wha-" she stuttered and looked at him with those gorgeous blue eyes. "M-me? You're sure?"

"Yes," Adrien beamed. "I'm sure."

Her whole face lit up like the sun when she smiled.

Marinette was ecstatic and also terribly nervous.

"Tikki can you believe it?!" She giggled for the thousandth time, twirling around her room and falling gracefully onto her chaise.

Tikki smiled at her in a very maternal way and laughed.

"Yes, Marinette, I was there too."

"I've never been to a dance before," Marinette sighed dreamily. "And to go with him…" She sighed again.

Tikki flew to rest on her knee and smiled again.

"You should call Alya and properly thank her, I think. She did you a big favor today."

Marinette nodded happily.

"Alya is the best," she hummed in agreement.

She was making her way over to her desk where her phone was sitting when she heard the familiar sound.

Tap tap tap.

Her stray cat, wanting to be let in.

Oh well. Marinette was in a great mood and nothing could bring her down. Not even his horrid puns. Besides, her parents were already asleep.

With a churn in her stomach she recalled the way he had left last time and felt a wave of nerves pass over her. Then when the tapping came again, she dismissed her anxiety with a nod. It didn't matter. She was going to the summer soirée with Adrien Agreste and even if Chat had developed feelings for her, she wasn't going to let that get in the way of her good mood.

Hurrying to the skylight, she undid the latch and looked up to see her kitty, silhouetted by stars and wearing a friendly, albeit nervous?- smile.

"Mind if I come in?" He asked politely, waving his hand like a dork.

Marinette smiled.

"I normally don't let strange men into my bedroom but I suppose I could make an exception tonight. I'm in a good mood."

"So I see," Chat grinned as he lowered himself carefully onto her mattress. "And what's gotten my princess into such a good mood, huh?"

Marinette smiled at one of Adrien's posters, still very much on her wall.

"It's nothing. Just excited for summer, that's all."

"Oh yeah?" Chat teased. "Swimsuit season. Too bad you won't get to check me out, since you don't know my identity. I'm quite the view without a shirt."

"Oh?" Marinette laughed. But all the same she was trying to avoid glancing at his well muscled figure.

"Well it's not about swimming. It's about a dance."

Chat smirked, leaning against the wall and running his claws through his hair, ruffling it a little.

"A dance huh? Who's the lucky guy?"

"There's- there's no guy!" Marinette blurted, turning pink.

"Suuuuure princess whatever you say," Chat laughed.

"Okay- there's a guy." She admitted, unable to keep things to herself in her excitement.

Chat nodded.

"I thought so. It wouldn't happen to be him, would it?" He asked with a smirk, gesturing towards the poster she'd just been dreamily gazing at.

Marinette blushed but didn't hide her smile.

"Yeah, it is actually. I can't believe it. I've never been to a dance before…." She sighed. "Although I sort of wish it had happened differently…"

"What do you mean?" Chat asked curiously.

"Well it's just- my best friend Alya dared him to. To ask me I mean. And I just kind of wish… That he'd thought of it on his own. You know… Asked me because he wanted to and not because of a stupid dare…"

Marinette crossed her legs and frowned at her feet.

Chat nudged her shoulder gently.

"Hey now, I'm sure Alya was just speeding things up. Boys are a lot more nervous about that stuff than you'd think, okay? I'll bet he would have asked you anyway. Alya just saved you from the awkwardness."

"Oh no, believe me, it was awkward," Marinete responded dryly. "I choked on my juice."

Chat laughed, little wrinkles scrunching up on his mask as he did so. His dimples showed and his eyes sparkled with mirth.

"How charming. Actually I bet it was adorable."

Marinette rolled her eyes and shoved him.

"Don't make fun of me," she pouted. "It was really embarrassing."

Chat snickered into his hand and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Sorry, Your Highness. But it's pretty funny to get you worked up."

Marinette huffed.

"Well it's not like we can all be perfect and suave like you," she retorted, crossing her arms.

Chat winked and gave a little bow.

"Alas, I am the suave master. But don't let it fool you. I still get nervous."

Marinette raised her eyebrow, intrigued, waiting for the confession.

"Really? Who makes you nervous?"

"Well I- I don't- I didn't say it was a who," Chat countered.

Now it was Marinette's turn to smirk.

"Not with words, but your face did just now. You're a terrible liar by the way."

Chat huffed and crossed his arms.

"Whatever," he muttered.

Marinette prodded his arm with her finger.

"Well you brought it up. Spill. Who makes the smooth and charming Chat Noir nervous?"

Chat sighed, giving in.

"Ladybug," he said wistfully. "And- and lately someone else."

He refused to look at her, staring resolutely at her wall again.

Marinette tried to ignore the fluttering in her stomach. He didn't mean her. He couldn't. She wasn't intimidating at all.

As Ladybug… She could understand. Sometimes she was a bit much. But as Marinette? Shy, stuttering Marinette? Who in the world would be nervous around her?

"Do you like her, this other girl?" Marinette asked carefully.

"I never said it was a girl," Chat laughed, throwing her a wink and a suggestive eyebrow waggle.

Marinette stared at him in surprise.

"Well, I mean, uh- if that's what y-you're into that's… Fine-"

Chat laughed again.

"I'm not. I just wanted to see your reaction."

"Oh," Marinette said, not knowing how to react. She blushed and cleared her throat.

"So- so do you like her?"

"Yeah…" Chat murmured, looking at her in a strange way, lost in thought. "Yeah I do. More than I expected to."

He looked back at her poster and sighed.

Marinette couldn't help but wonder if he was jealous of Adrien for only a split second, but then she let the notion go. She really didn't want to think about it.

"What about Ladybug? How does she feel about it?"

How do I feel about it?...

"She doesn't know," he said simply. "And she doesn't care anyway. I- I think sometimes… She doesn't like me very much. We trust each other with our lives and I know she cares about me but… I think she gets tired of me. I can't blame her. Even I get tired of me."

He looked forlornly down at his boots. Marinette felt a pang in her heart as she thought about his words.

No! Marinette wanted to yell. That isn't true. You mean so much to me.

But she didn't yell.

"I don't think that's true," She said gently, scooting a little closer and putting her hand on top of his. "Maybe she does weary of the flirting or the jokes but I don't think she ever gets tired of you. And you know, I bet she would even miss those jokes and the flirting if you stopped. You just wouldn't be her Chat Noir if you weren't true to yourself."

Chat looked up at her cautiously, but his eyes were warm and she could tell that her words had meant something to him.

"Thank you, Marinette." He said softly.

Chat didn't move his hand and neither did she.

"It's nice to be able to talk about this to someone other than Plagg. I know he cares but his strong suit is sarcasm. Not exactly the greatest at comfort or advice."

His kwami.

"Plagg?" She asked, remembering that she wasn't supposed to know anything about the kwamis as a civilian.

"Yeah," he said with a fond smile. "My kwami. He's like a little fairy. It's hard to explain but he gives me my powers as Chat Noir."

Marinette nodded.

"Like a genie in a lamp?"

"Something like that. But please don't say anything to your reporter friend. He's supposed to stay secret and I probably shouldn't have told you." Chat said sheepishly.

"No problem," Marinette smiled. "Your secret is safe with me. Tell Plagg I said hi."

"I will," he replied with a smile. "Hey… Marinette? Can- can I ask you something?" Chat said nervously.

His charming composure was gone, as if he was tired of holding up the image. He looked tired and conflicted, and she wondered in alarm if he had even slept last night. He was thinking deeply about something sad, and it made her anxious.

"Sure," Marinette replied, somewhat apprehensively.

Chat turned so that he was sitting cross legged in front of her.

He bit his lip and looked to the side, seeming emotional, and Marinette felt that pang in her chest again.

"What's wrong with me?" He asked in a whisper.

"Oh, Chat," Marinette said in a soft, empathetic voice. "Come here."

She didn't really know what she was doing but she took him into her arms and leaned her back against her cat pillow to prop them up a little. His arms wrapped around her tight and his head nestled into her shoulder as his legs fell between her own. They stayed that way, not quite laying down and not quite sitting. Marinette held him close and rested her cheek against his head, one hand on his back and the other gently playing with his hair.

"It's okay," she whispered as she felt him gently shaking and realized in shock that he was crying. She was holding Chat Noir and he was crying. "Nothing's wrong with you," she murmured, still stroking his hair.

"You don't understand," he mumbled into her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Marinette, I'm so sorry…"

"Shhh," she soothed. "It's okay."

He gently raised himself up onto his hands and looked down at her brokenly.

"It's not okay," he insisted. "I'm- I'm making a mess of my life, and everyone else's. Ladybug and- and this girl- and… You...you deserve better." His voice was soft and melancholy.

Marinette stared into his green eyes that were pooling with tears and his trembling lips and realized how close they were touching. His hair was messy and his body was warm. Here was her partner, her best friend, broken and hurting and she couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand him thinking she didn't care. Of course she cared. He was her kitty. And she had no idea what to do, how to comfort him, and suddenly she did something incredibly reckless.

She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him.

The second that their lips touched Marinette felt a spark inside her chest, and the butterflies in her stomach multiplied like crazy. His lips were just as warm and soft as she thought they would be, and when he realized she was kissing him something changed.

He kissed her back. He settled down even closer onto her, and sank his gloves into her hair. He moved his lips against hers experimentally and Marinette would have gasped if his lips weren't pressed against his.

She found herself wrapping her legs around his own and she softly bit his bottom lip as she kissed him a little more deeply.

He pulled the hair ties out of her hair and ran his hands through her hair more smoothly, tilting her head back a little.

Marinette did gasp then, and he seized the opportunity to run his tongue over her lips and she let him slide it inside of her mouth and suddenly they were definitely making out on her bed.

He kissed her faster, more passionately, hungrily. She dragged her fingers up his tight suit and gripped his hair as she eagerly responded.

It felt so real. So alive.

Tingles were running down her body in waves and her heart beat fast as she began to breathe a little more heavily. She could feel his heart beating fast too against her chest.

He slid one hand out of her hair and rested it on her hip.

Marinette gasped as she suddenly felt very warm and her stomach flipped again. Her legs were wrapped around his thighs and she suddenly realized that she could feel him through her shorts.

He wanted her.

His hand was on her waist now, against her bare skin, and Marinette quickly realized that this was going way too far too fast.

With a gasp she pulled back and said, "wait."

They were both breathing heavily, staring at each other as the spell broke.

"This," she breathed in shock, "this is too fast."

The spell was definitely broken.

Looking panicked, Chat Noir climbed off of her quickly and sat back as she sat up.

"You- you kissed me," he said in shock. "And I- I kissed you back- oh my god."

Marinette was blushing now, flustered as she realized that her shirt had ridden up. She tugged it down as she said, "are you okay? I'm sorry- I- didn't- I didn't expect to go that far."

Chat gestured to himself. "Me? Am I okay? Are you okay? I just- I was so- touchy… And- and- aggressive. I didn't… I've never…" he faltered, blushing beneath the mask.

"Never kissed anyone?" Marinette said quietly. "Me neither- not… Not like that."

Chat looked conflicted.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have come. I- I have to go."

He opened her skylight with eease and pulled himself through the hatch.

"Chat- wait," Marinette pleaded. "I'm sorry!"

But he was gone, and the stars gave her no response.

Stunned, Marinette closed the window and fell back onto her bed.

She closed her eyes as the tears began to fall.

"Tikki?" She whispered sadly. "I messed up."

Chapter Text

Adrien was in shock, and apparently, so was Plagg.

The whole way home Adrien had been on autopilot. And as he swung into his window he dropped to the floor, releasing his transformation while he sat silently.

Marinette kissed me.

Plagg was quiet, laying on the floor beside Adrien's knee with an uncharacteristic silence. It was making Adrien uncomfortable.

He had expected a sassy lecture, or a light reprimand but silence had not been what he pictured.

"Plagg?" He asked softly, looking down at his kwami carefully.

Plagg sighed.

"Adrien, I don't know what to say."

Adrien felt his insides turn to ice as he fiddled with his ring nervously.

"Are- are you disappointed in me?" Adrien said at last, hoping that his voice want wavering too badly.

Plagg shook his head. "I don't really know, kid. She started it but…"

Adrien knew what he was thinking.

You took things too far. You shouldn't have kissed her back.

"I know." Adrien whispered, hugging his knees to his chest to try and feel more secure.

What the hell had he been thinking? Sure, they were old enough, they were both sixteen (though he thought with chagrin that he didn't actually know her birthday.) but this was not good.

What would he say to Marinette? How could he face her now? How would she act around him as Adrien? Would she feel guilty?

Adrien realized that he didn't want her to feel guilty or bad. She had started it but… It would have been a single, simple, uncomplicated kiss if he would have kept better control of his emotions and his god damned hormones.

What would Ladybug think of me now? He thought dismally. Surely she wouldn't want Adrien Agreste if she knew that he was off making out with Marinette on her bed of all places. She would think it was extremely inappropriate and… Maybe it would hurt her.

He didn't know for sure. What he did know was that he'd really messed up this time. And he had no idea how to fix it.

And how was he going to keep his composure at school? How was he going to fake being okay through teaching her how to dance? How were they going to go on this date if he couldn't keep his emotions under control? What if he revealed his identity? What if she hated him? What if… What if they never made up again and he lost one of the only friends he had? Would she tell Alya? Would Alya take her side? Would his identity get revealed? What if? What if? What if?

Adrien felt his throat get tight and his lungs constrict and suddenly the air seemed to heavy, like it was weighing him down into a ball and threatening to crush him.

He felt tears streaming down his cheeks as the world began to close in on him and sheer terror rose up in his chest.

Adrien began to shake and breathe heavily and he curled into a ball on the floor and gasped for breath.

Plagg flew to his shoulder and patted him gently.

"Shhhh, Adrien, Adrien- it's okay, it's not real, you're okay. It's just a panic attack."

Adrien felt like he was going to die.

He couldn't help the sobs that shook his body, and although he heard Plagg trying to soothe him he couldn't respond. Everything was too much.

Suddenly Plagg came and pressed his little forehead against Adrien's own and with a shock Adrien heard a soothing voice fill his mind. It was Plagg.

Adrien, you're safe. Everything is going to be okay. I'm right here. Nothing can harm you. Breathe, please.

Adrien drew a shaky breath and tried to let it out slowly.

Good, kid. That's good. Keep doing that.

Adrien attempted another deep breath and with a jolt of realization he knew that Plagg was singing softly inside his head. The song had no words but it was beautiful and ancient. It spread warmth throughout his body as his breathing began to level out.

When he had stopped shaking, Plagg withdrew his comforting presence from Adrien's mind, and sank to the floor, exhausted after a transformation and then whatever magic had just happened.

Slowly, Adrien unfurled his body and eventually he lay flat on his back on the floor. He gingerly picked up his kwami and set him on his chest.

"Plagg?" He asked cautiously. "How did you do that?"

"Cheese…" Plagg mumbled with effort.

Adrien remembered how exhausted Plagg must be and realized he was being selfish.

He picked him up in his hands and sat up slowly, before standing and walking to his desk. He held Plagg in one palm carefully as he opened a box of Camembert with the other hand, before breaking off a piece and offering it to his exhausted kwami.

Plagg took it gratefully and began to eat.

Adrien did this until the box was empty and Plagg sighed in relief.

Not even bothering to undress from his school clothes, Adrien laid Plagg on his pillow and climbed into bed next to him.

He had many questions, but all of them would have to wait until morning.

Deeply tired, the boy and his kwami fell asleep almost instantly. Adrien noticed his kwami roll over to cuddle Adrien's cheek before he slept, but he was content to say nothing. Plagg didn't need to say the words. Adrien knew.

Marinette had had a similarly rough night.

Tikki had soothed her tears away with some gentle words and some soft kisses and pats on her face, but Marinette still felt awful and they both knew it.

Tikki was cuddled against her cheek as Marinette sighed.

"Is this cheating?" She asked at last. "I feel bad because of.. Well, Adrien."

Tikki shook her head lightly against Marinette's cheek.

"No, Mari. It's not cheating. I know you feel bad but you and Adrien have not made any promises to each other. One dance does not constitute a committed relationship."

Marinette sighed again, a little more relieved than before.

"What am I going to do? Chat is going to notice me acting strangely on patrol tomorrow night."

Tikki patted her gently.

"Marinette, do you remember what Master Fu said after Volpina?"

"Yes," Marinette replied, thinking. "He told me about being the guardian and all the miraculous stuff."

"Yes," Tikki prompted. "And what else did he say?"

Marinette sighed. She had really wanted to forget his advice.

"... That I should start thinking about revealing our identities soon so we can better protect each other…"

"Well," Tikki said, "Maybe it's time to start thinking about being honest. Is it really fair to Chat Noir to confuse him so badly? He loves you, Marinette. As Ladybug and maybe as Marinette too. Sooner or later you will need to tell him, or that boy will tear himself to pieces with the guilt. This is not just for his feelings. It's for yours too. And the longer you put this off, the more it is going to affect your dynamic as partners and heroes."

Marinete knew Tikki was right but all the same it filled her with dread. What if Chat hated her after this? Would he be angry? Hurt?

But how much more upset will he be if you let this drag on?

Marinette supposed… She didn't have a choice. But she didn't want to think about it right then. She wanted to sleep.

She closed her eyes and murmured, "Let's talk tomorrow, Tikki," before drifting off into a deep sleep.

"Master," Wayzz spoke suddenly, rousing Fu from his slumber with regret, but it was urgent. "Master, something has shifted in the cat miraculous."

Master Fu sat up from his bed and looked at Wayzz curiously.

"Shifted?" He asked, sleep still in his voice. "What did you feel, Wayzz?"

Wayzz closed his eyes and recalled the feeling of the energy shift.

"Plagg has revealed to Adrien more of his powers."

Master Fu nodded thoughtfully.

"I suspected that he would be the first to grow. Marinette was rather closed minded about revealing themselves the last time she was here. Being so closed minded may be hindering her personal growth. She needs to lose control before she can gain it. Why did Plagg reveal more powers?"

Wayzz pondered the energy carefully.

"I cannot tell for certain, but I do know which power was revealed. Plagg spoke to Adrien in his mind. He has linked their consciousnesses."

"Which means," Fu said slowly, "that master and kwami will now be able to communicate with each other while in the suit. I hope that Plagg rises to the responsibility of helping to guide Adrien's decisions better as Chat Noir. Of course, if Adrien doesn't want to listen, he can shut Plagg out. Let us hope he chooses to be wise."

Wayzz nodded. "Agreed, Master."

"Now, let us catch some more sleep, mm?" Master Fu said kindly.

He settled back onto the bed as Wayzz took his place on his pillow once more. His master fell asleep almost instantly, but Wayzz laid awake and wondered what was next for the two heroes until his eyes dropped shut once more.

The next day at school was torture. Adrien was very glad that he sat in front of Marinette, and not the other way around.

Every time he looked at her he felt dizzy. He didn't have butterflies in his stomach, oh no, he had something more like a little monster that decided to punch him every time he saw Marinette's cute face.

Adrien felt a slight buzz in his pocket. As discreetly as he could, he pulled out his phone, dearly hoping that it wouldn't be Marinette and to his great relief it was Nino.

[Nino: hey man u ok]

[Nino: u seem kinda stressed]

Adrien texted back as nonchalantly as he could, looking as if he was reading the textbook.

[Adrien: yeah it's nothing. My dad has me working a lot lately]

He tried to watch Nino out of the corner of his eye. His friend glanced at him worriedly before typing a response.

[Nino: u rlly deserve a break dude u are srsly overworked]

Adrien tried not to sigh. Nino was right, but he had no idea how exhausting it was to work for his father all the time as well as do school as well as save Paris from akuma attacks constantly. It really took its toll. And then there was Marinette on top of everything else…

He liked being around her. She felt safe and warm and comforting. Her house always smelled like cookies too. It was a soothing environment and she was a soothing girl.

Until we were making out after I cried in her arms like an idiot.

[Nino: hey know what's weird]

[Nino: Marinette hasn't looked at u all day n usually she stares or daydreams]

Adrien suddenly felt his stomach twist at Nino's words. Had he made Marinette feel guilty about the kiss because of the dance?

… Probably yeah.

[Adrien: maybe she's finally learned that I'm not worth her time.]

After Nino read that Adrien's phone kept vibrating but he refused to read his texts and put his phone on silent so Mme. Bustier wouldn't notice.

He spent the rest of class thinking about Plagg and being generally curious and confused.

He'd had a panic attack. That hadn't ever happened before… It was horrible. How had Plagg known exactly what to do? How many Chat Noir's had been through hell and back with Plagg having to watch them all suffer? How many had he comforted with his mind-link thing?

Adrien was beginning to realize he had underestimated his kwami and he felt guilty. Plagg was much older and wiser than he acted most of the time and he cared more than he let on. He should give him more credit. It didn't mean he wasn't annoying sometimes… Well, a lot of times… But he really cared. And for the first time, Adrien considered that maybe there was a reason Plagg acted so carefree. Maybe it helped him forget all the heartaches in his past. Maybe he was trying to help Adrien learn to care less about what others thought. Maybe he-

"Thank you class, that will be all for the lesson. Now, I wanted to talk to you all about something. I know that we have a dance coming up and you are all very excited-"

Excited giggling and dreamy sighs went through the room.

"But I want to remind you that since the year is coming to a close, you will be required to prepare a final project for your end grade. I think you would all enjoy this far more than any test."

Nino tried to catch Adrien's eye, grinning. Adrien hoped they were partnered up.

"Now, the final project will be worth 20% of your grade, so it better be good. The topic we will be covering," she paused for dramatic effect, "is heroes throughout history."

Everyone started talking at once, excitedly, while Adrien grinned. He had a clear advantage on everyone else.

"However," Mme Bustier continued, "none of you are allowed to cover the current Ladybug and Chat Noir. You may cover any hero in history, not just the ones with super powers. I advise you all to choose wisely. Now, since it is the end of the year, I will let you choose your own groups, but!- no more than four to a group. This project is due Friday, three weeks from now, and the day before the dance. Have fun, kids."

Adrien turned to Nino excitedly, who was already talking to Alya.

"Soooo what do you say, Alya, you and Marinette with me and my main man over here?"

He was wearing a flirtatious grin and Alya grinned back.

"You're on. But I bet Marinette and I can get information faster than you two."

Marinette smiled at Nino and Alya before turning to look at Adrien too and looking away shyly.

"This will be exciting," she said to no one in particular.

"Agreed," Adrien said, trying not to get flustered when he noticed how she bit her lip with nervousness.

This was going to be a struggle.

"Marinette, are you coming?"

"Huh?"

Marinette looked up from her sketchbook to realize that Alya was waiting for her as students headed out of the door to lunch. Adrien and Nino had already left it seemed. The blogger had one hand on her hip, head cocked slightly sideways, and she was shooting Marinette a look that said come on already.

"Yeah one second!" She called, quickly grabbing her things and rushing to meet Alya.

They strolled out to the courtyard. Alya was babbling on about something but Marinette wasn't paying attention. In her mind the only thing going on was Chat Noir. His lips, his hands, his warmth… His panicked face before he left. She felt horrible. It was her fault. Why the hell had she kissed him? It did nothing but make the situation worse. And now every time she saw Adrien she felt this guilty pang in her stomach, like she was betraying him somehow. Oh… What would Chat Noir say if he knew that he'd been kissing Ladybug?

"Marinette?"

Alya waved a hand in front of her face.

"Hellooooooo, earth to Mari!"

Marinette blinked and turned to look at her friend apologetically.

"Sorry, uh, what were you saying?"

Alya rolled her eyes.

"I was saying, don't you think it's weird how little akumas there have been lately? I wonder what Hawkmoth does for a day job that keeps him so busy."

Marinette furrowed her brow in concern and nodded. Now that she thought about it...

"Yeah, it has been weirdly quiet…"

"Yeah I wonder how Ladybug and Chat Noir feel about it. I mean usually there's an akuma attack like at least twice a week."

Marinette smiled nervously.

"I'm sure everything's fine."

Alya shrugged.

"You're probably right. Okay so tell me about your designs!"

"Designs?" Marinette asked as they sat down on a bench.

"Um, for the ball. Duh," Alya laughed. "I wanna know what you're planning for you and Adrien!"

Marinette blushed.

"Well, actually, I kinda got busy yesterday after school and I didn't really have time to work on it. Lot of bakery stuff."

Alya blinked at her in surprise.

"You haven't sketched anything? Like at all?"

"Umm… No," Marinette admitted. "But tonight I'll have lots of time to work on it."

Before patrol that is.

Alya shrugged again.

"If you say so."

They fell into a momentary silence as both girls began to eat the lunches they had packed. Marinette's mind wandered back to Chat Noir as she worried about keeping her composure on patrol that night. She took an aggressive bite of her sandwich and stopped her mind from wandering farther.

Alya was staring across the courtyard rather intently and Marinette curiously followed her gaze to find it resting on Nino and Adrien who were laughing about something as they sat and ate their lunches too.

Was Alya staring at Nino?

Marinette nudged her shoulder with her own.

"Hey," she said with a smirk.

"Hey- what?" Alya asked, snapping her attention back to Marinette.

"Truth or dare?" Marinette asked playfully.

Alya looked at her friend suspiciously but went along with a smile.

"I don't know what that look is for, but I'll play. Um… Truth."

Marinette was surprised. Alya always chose dares.

"Do you want to date Nino?"

"What!?" She spluttered. "I mean-"

Marinette giggled.

"Okay I know Ladybug locked you in a cage together and I'm sure a lot of flirting happened but even though you like each other you haven't done anything about it. You should ask him to the summer soirée."

"Me?" Alya asked in an uncharacteristic squeak. "I mean but- he should ask me! Clearly he doesn't want to or he would have had the guts to already!"

Marinette rolled her eyes.

"You're one of the smartest and most observant people I know, but sometimes you're really blind. Nino's just shy. Come on, give him a chance. Just go ask him."

"But-"

"I dare you to."

"Oh, fine," Alya huffed.

She put her lunch to the side and stood up sharply before marching fiercely over to the boys. Marinette followed excitedly.

Both Adrien and Nino seemed to pale when they saw Alya's ferocious expression and when Alya barked, "Nino!" the poor boy nearly fell off the bench.

"Yes!" He gulped. "What did I do?"

Adrien also looked very intimidated and scooted a bit further from his friend. Maybe to avoid the danger zone.

Marinette was trying so hard not to laugh. Tears were welling up behind her eyes. Adrien glanced at her in concern and she had to stop herself from telling him she wasn't crying, she was just-

"YOU WANNA GO?!" Alya yelled at him nervously.

"Ahh! Go where? Please don't hit me…" Nino responded weakly.

"BALL! DATE ME!"

Alya closed her mouth and her face turned red upon realizing her wording.

Nino blinked in shock and Adrien started laughing hysterically, which caused Marinette to join in, and before she knew it the two of them were crying and doubled over with mirth.

"It's not funny!" Alya snapped, and Marinette looked at Adrien once more before biting her lip and stifling her laughter.

"Yeah," said Nino.

There was an awkward silence where everyone seemed to be looking at Nino.

"I said yeah! Yeah. Yes."

"What?" Alya asked in surprise.

"Yeah dude, let's be dates for the dance thingy." Nino responded awkwardly with a blush.

"Oh." Said Alya. "Okay cool."

More awkward silence.

"Oooookay," said Marinette, clapping her hands and grabbing Alya by the shoulders and turning her around. "We'll just be going now," she added with a smile, steering her poor friend away from further embarrassment.

Marinette walked her back to their bench and Alya plopped down once more.

"I did it," she murmured.

"You did it," Marinette agreed. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

Alya shrugged.

"I mean I kinda yelled at him."

"But he said yes," Marinette countered.

"Yeah," Alya agreed with a smile.

"Hurry up and eat," Marinette reminded her with a smile of her own. "The bell's gonna ring soon."

By the time the school day was over, Adrien was tired. As the students shuffled to their lockers, chatting amiably with friends and complaining about homework, Adrien and Nino were discussing when they should hang out to work on their hero project.

"We should probably be including the girls on this," Nino said as he opened his locker and began putting away books he didn't need.

"I know," said Adrien, putting away his books as well and sighing.

His mind drifted to the events of lunch earlier and he couldn't help but smirk to himself. Nino and Alya, going to the ball together… And Adrien and... Marinette.

Marinette whose lips felt like heaven and whose hands were soft and whose body was warm pressed up against his-

Stop. Stop thinking about it.

Instead Adrien shoulder bumped Nino as he closed his locker.

"So you and Alya, huh?"

Nino visibly flustered.

"Yeah," he admitted with a small smile. "She was pretty terrifying earlier… But still cute though. Hella cute. I don't think I've ever been yelled at to date someone before, dude. That's a first."

Adrien laughed and gave him a teasing wink.

"I better be best man at the wedding."

"Oh you know it," Nino replied with a smirk before the two boys burst into laughter.

God, girls were complicated. Girls were scary.

"So what about you and your 'partner in crime'?" Nino asked smugly. "Have you guys discussed your plans yet for the dance?"

"Well, no," Adrien smiled nervously. "But I mean it was only yesterday. I don't want to intimidate her."

Nino laughed heartily at that.

"Dude, you don't even have to try and that still happens. Girl's got it bad."

"Y-you think?" Adrien asked in an attempted nonchalant voice.

Of course he knew Marinette liked him. She'd told him so. But then she'd also kissed Chat Noir, so…. Maybe it wasn't all that much anymore. The thought was both thrilling and disappointing.

"Duh," Nino rolled his eyes as they began to work their way through crowds of students to the front exit. "Hey I'm gonna make a group text for me and you and the girls, alright? I really need a good grade on this project so I kinda wanna get started soon. Besides," he added, "heroes and superheroes… It's cool stuff. Maybe we'll even learn about a previous Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"Oh okay," Adrien agreed. "And yeah that would be cool."

Vaguely he began to wonder if any previous Chat Noir's had been as much of a mess as he was. He could ask Plagg later. Well, provided that he would actually talk about it. After that one time he mentioned Tikki and their fight he hadn't really been particularly forthcoming with personal information.

Adrien felt his phone buzz and realized that Nino had already sent out the text. He'd check it in the car… Which unfortunately was already there.

Adrien sighed and tried to put on his best farewell smile.

"See ya man, my ride is here."

"Later, gator," Nino replied, waving.

Adrien climbed into the car with practiced ease and slumped down in his seat as the car began to head back to the mansion. He pulled out his phone, which was buzzing again.

[Nino: hey guys! group cht for the project]

[Alya: Nino would it have killed you to spell out the word, "chat"? "Project" was 3 letters longer.]

[Marinette🐞: Bonjour!😋 I'm actually excited for this project. And Alya give your date a break 😉]

Adrien snickered to himself. Honestly the two were a match made in heaven despite their bickering.

[Adrien: Hello everyone 😸]

[Alya: Mariiiiiii stop 😁]

[Alya: Oh hi Adrien! 😝]

[Nino: keep up the good wrk mari and hey my dude😎😎]

[Marinette🐞: my pleasure, Nino. Hi Adrien!]

[Adrien: Lol so does anime have a plan to meet up?]

[Adrien: *anyone, whoops]

[Nino: Adrien u frickn weeb 😂]

[Nino: and no not yet]

[Nino: that's kinda what the cht is 4]

[Alya: Nino I swear to God if you don't start texting like a normal person]

[Marinette🐞: We can work at my house! 😍 Free cookies! 🍪 And Adrien, you never told me you liked anime. I have lots if you ever want to borrow some. 😊]

Adrien smiled. Working at Marinette's house would be the best. Last time he came over as Adrien to work on something, her parents had provided endless snacks. Not to mention, Marinette's house was warm and friendly and it felt like a home. It was a comfy place to be. And she was comfy too…

He couldn't help the slight warmth of his cheeks.

She would let him borrow anime, huh? It would be much more fun to just watch it with her. He didn't think much before responding.

[Adrien: Mari your house is awesome! 😍 And so is the food 😋 Also wouldn't it be more fun to just watch it together?]

Suddenly he had a private message from Nino.

[Nino: DUDE 😱😱]

[Nino: you realize you kinda just asked her on an anime date right?]

Adrien's face paled. Oh no. Had he? Was that good? Was that bad? Did she think it was a date too? Would she freak out?

[Adrien: UH I guess I do now 😐]

The group chat buzzed again.

[Marinette🐞: oh, haha thanks 😅 and um yes sure I guess I'd love to I mean only if you want to I mean idk if I have the best collection in the world but I mean okay 😅]

[Alya: She means yes and it would also be a good time to teach her some dance moves for the summer soirée as well as getting your measurements for the suit. 😉]

[Nino: alya ur a genius 😏]

Adrien fought to keep his heartbeat steady as he imagined putting his hand on Marinette's waist and pulling her close to teach her a waltz or something. Or how her hands would run across his chest with a measuring tape and her face would be so close, her lips would be so soft…

Dammit Agreste, keep it together. This is pathetic. What would Ladybug think?

Adrien sighed and typed his response.

[Adrien: Okay sure! sounds great.]

The car had reached the manor and it rolled to a gentle stop once through the gates. Adrien didn't wait for the Gorilla to come and open his door, instead he opened it quickly and began making his way to the door with his bag slung over his shoulder.

He fortunately didn't have much homework but he wanted to make it to his room uninterrupted so he could take a nap and maybe ask Plagg some questions about the previous Chat Noir's. Or an even better question: how the hell he had gotten inside his thoughts. He was exhausted after the night he spent at Marinette's, and the panic attack as well.

Don't think about her right now.

But he couldn't help it. Adrien felt guilty. He'd acted like an idiot, crying and everything, and she'd only kissed him to cheer him up. That was the only thing that made sense. She didn't actually want to.

Then again, she was pretty enthusiastic…

Adrien sighed, finally reaching the door to his room. He opened and quickly closed it without a word, striding to his bed as Plagg flew out of his pocket. At last he collapsed onto his mattress.

"Say kid, you look pretty tired."

Adrien, annoyed, rolled over and glanced at his kwami.

"Really. Fancy that."

Plagg huffed and crawled into his desk drawers looking for cheese.

"You don't have to be so snippy."

Adrien sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

"I'm sorry. And thanks for… Whatever last night was. You still haven't explained that."

"You haven't asked," Plagg replied, somewhat muffled as his mouth was stuffed with his favorite snack.

"Plagg, what was that mind thingy you did? There, I'm asking."

"Well," yawned the little kwami as he lazily floated out of the drawer, "it's a psychic connection between us, basically. I'm not really supposed to use it outside of your transformation but… Special exception."

Adrien sat up, forgetting his exhaustion for curiosity.

"But why is it only happening now? Can you hear my thoughts when I'm Chat Noir?"

Plagg flopped down on the blanket and stretched like a cat.

"You've grown. That's all I can really tell you. Your powers are getting stronger. And no, you can kick me out if you want to, kid. But if you're thinking something loud enough I'll hear it."

Adrien mulled over the new information silently for a moment.

"And what about Ladybug? Is she growing too? Can her kwami do that?"

Plagg pretended to sleep and Adrien poked him with his finger.

"Hey! I need answers."

"Ouch!" Plagg complained, grumpily opening one luminescent eye. "You're so mean to your sweet, innocent kwami."

Adrien rolled his eyes but chose to ignore the comment and focus on the pressing information.

"Come on, please?"

Plagg sighed and yawned again.

"Fine, fine. I don't know the status of Ladybug's growth. But you'll notice it as time goes on. What changes is between her and Tikki. But yes they can eventually to the mind thing too. I don't know when, so don't ask. Maybe they already do. She's much more mature than you."

Adrien scowled at the jab and unconsciously crossed his arms.

"And Tikki is probably more mature than you as well, so whose fault is it if I lag behind her?"

Plagg shrugged.

"I don't really care. Now wake me up when it's time to patrol. I'm going to sleep."

Adrien laid back and closed his eyes as well. His mind was bursting with questions but he was so tired. They both needed sleep.

Marinette sighed as she slowly spun in her swivel chair.

"What's on your mind?" Tikki asked carefully, landing on Marinette's desk and looking at her wielder pensively.

"I'm just worried about patrol tonight. And I don't know what to do. I feel like I've hurt him and… I'm worried he'll be angry with me when we eventually have to reveal our identities. But maybe… He'd be more angry if I didn't tell him. I don't know. Nothing makes sense anymore, Tikki, and I'm tired of drama and pain. I just want us both to be happy again."

Tikki floated delicately to Marinette's lap and looked at her chosen fondly.

"Marinette," she began sweetly, "You are one of the bravest Ladybug's I've ever had the fortune to know. And also one of the kindest. I trust you to make the right decision when the time comes. Please don't rush yourself. When it is meant to be you will know. You are smart and intuitive and I know you can do this. You are Ladybug, even without the mask. Chat Noir loves you. He will love you no matter who you are. What you want that love to mean is between the two of you. But don't fret too much."

Marinette let out the breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled gently at her kwami.

"Thank you, Tikki. You always know just what to say."

Tikki smiled back and buzzed up to nuzzle her cheek.

"I love you, Marinette."

Marinette felt a surge of affection for her powerful little friend.

"I love you too, Tikki." She murmured, cupping her with her hands.

Vrmmm vrmmm vrmmm-

Marinette pulled out her phone and turned off the alarm she had set for 9:00 pm patrol.

"Well," she said as she stood. "Here we go…. Tikki, transformé moi!"

Soon Ladybug was leaping across the skyline, relishing the Parisian night air against her face. She swung high over buildings and around corners, and those who were strolling below in the magical city of lights and love oohed and aahed as she passed them. It boosted her confidence a little more.

At last she had reached their meeting spot. The top of the Notre Dame cathedral. It was beautiful from this height. The tower shone brightly against the navy sky and the lights that peppered the city looked like fireflies around the Eiffel's feet.

There was a soft thump behind her and Ladybug realized that Chat Noir had arrived. She tried to stop her heart from picking up speed.

"Lovely view," Chat commented suavely as he took a seat next to her and winked.

"Me, or the city?" Ladybug laughed casually, but her cheeks were a little warmer in his presence.

"Both," he admitted with a Cheshire grin before they lapsed into a weighted silence, staring out at the city they loved, both delaying their patrol for their own reasons.

"I need to talk to you," Ladybug blurted, just as Chat was saying the same thing.

For a moment they looked at each other with wide eyes and as he raised his eyebrow she panicked, wondering if he already knew her secret.

"You go first," she pressed.

"No, no, ladies first." Chat said with a smile.

Ladybug shook her head.

"It can wait. Go ahead."

He looked unsatisfied with her answer but he let it go.

"Alright," he allowed. "So… I'm not sure how to say this."

Ladybug's heart quickened within her chest.

"I… I think I gained a new power."

What?! That's not what I was expecting…

"You what?" Ladybug asked in shock.

"A thing, new power thingy. I can communicate with my thoughts and hear them back. But it's just between me and Plagg," he added hastily after surely seeing her panicked expression.

"Oh.. Uh.. That's.. Really cool. How did you find this out?"

To her surprise his eyes became guarded as he glanced away and out to the tower again.

"Story for another time."

Ladybug felt the walls go up and her heart sank. What pain was he hiding in those shining green eyes?

"Okay…" She trailed off, fiddling with her hands in her lap and looking down. "Well I think that's cool. And.. I'm a little jealous."

"Jealous?" He scoffed. "Don't be. Plagg is not much help in every day life. I can't imagine he would be in a battle."

But he didn't really mean his words. She could tell.

"Tikki and I can't do that. I wish we could. She's very helpful."

It was honest.

Chat shrugged.

"I don't really understand it yet but I'll get the hang of it. Anyway, my lady, what did you want to talk about?"

Ladybug froze up.

"Oh.. Ah.. It was nothing. Don't worry about it. Besides," she added, standing up and getting to business, "we've delayed long enough. Catch me if you can, alley cat!"

And with that she sprang from the rooftop, sailing through the sky before shooting out her yoyo once more and soaring up and away again. Behind her, Chat vaulted over the city and tried to pick up speed.

They raced all over the city. There wasn't a nook or cranny of Paris that wasn't seen at least in passing that night.

At last Ladybug landed over the railing of the Eiffel Tower, one of her favorite places to be at night. Chat landed with a graceful thump beside her and happily poked her cheek as they caught their breath.

"Caught you. You're mine now."

Ladybug's stomach flipped at his words and her cheeks burned as she tried to laugh it off.

Chat grinned.

"You're blushing. Why are you blushing?"

Ladybug crossed her arms and turned indignantly away.

"I am not! Don't get silly ideas."

"You are too," he laughed as he strolled back into her field of vision. "I have night vision, bugaboo. I can see the color difference."

Ladybug huffed and refused to look at him. She couldn't. Oh god.

Chat noticed her distance and crossed his arms too, observing her.

"You're different lately."

"Am I?" She asked in a guarded voice.

"Yeah. You are."

He took a step closer and she looked at him with wide eyes.

"What are you hiding, my lady? Something is bugging you and you won't tell me."

Ladybug ignored the pun and felt her fists clench.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know," she admitted quietly, feeling the guilt crawling and writhing in her stomach. "Are you?"

He seemed taken aback by her words and he looked at her steadily as his response came out flat.

"No."

They looked at each other for a moment before he moved slowly and took her into his arms and really hugged her.

Her heart beat hard against his chest as she wrapped her arms around him tightly and felt tears slipping out of her eyes.

Chat noticed her crying and he brushed her hair with his hand, trying to soothe her.

"Shh, it's okay. I'm right here." He murmured into her hair.

Ladybug nodded her head against his chest and breathed in his scent. He was warm and strong and smelled like expensive cologne.

They stayed like that for a while before she moved, pulling away just enough to see him.

He took his thumb and brushed it across her cheeks, wiping her tears away.

"Chat?" Ladybug asked quietly.

"I'm sorry."

"No no, don't be sorry, my lady. I'm always here for you."

"That's why I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Talk to me, bug."

"I can't," she said, shaking her head. "But… And this is going to sound stupid… Are you… Are you going to that big dance? The one with all the schools?"

"The summer soirée?" He asked, with an eyebrow raised. "Yes. I have a date. Why?"

Somehow that pricked at her heart even though she herself was going with Adrien anyway. And.. Why hadn't he mentioned it to Marinette?

"So do I," she nodded. "But.. Do you think you'll be able to get away for a few moments?"

Chat thought about it.

"Yes, I could. There's plenty of places to sneak off to in that hotel. Why?"

"I.. I can't tell you yet. Just meet me, okay? You know me well enough to know where I'd hide."

Chat looked like he wanted more information but he nodded gently.

"Anything for you, Ladybug."

"Thank you, Chat."

She hugged him once more and finally they broke apart.

"I should go…" She said quietly.

"Me too," he agreed.

A beat of silent staring.

"Goodnight, Chat," she said at last, walking towards the edge of the tower.

"Goodnight, Ladybug."

Chapter Text

"Hey, Marinette."

"Eep!"

With a startled jump, Marinette smacked her head against the bottom of her locker door. She'd been leaning down to grab a book that fell when whoever it was decided to so rudely interrupt.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, are you okay?!"

Through bleary, watery eyes, she stared at the person in front of her until his face swam into vision as he gently supported her by the elbows and helped her to stand up.

Adrien. Of course… Who else could it possibly have been when fate seemed determined to embarrass her in front of him for eternity?

"Uh… I'm fine!" Marinette choked out as she tried to quell the dizziness and throbbing in her head.

Adrien frowned and began leading her to a bench against the wall.

"No, that must have really hurt; I'm so so sorry. Please sit down, I don't want you to fall over and get hurt even worse," he pleaded.

Marinette felt embarrassed that he knew quite well she had a habit of falling for no reason, and with a knock like that he wasn't going to let her go until he knew she was okay.

How was he literally so perfect?

"Um t-thanks," she replied weakly.

Ugh, she was going to have a massive headache.

"I'm so sorry again, I just wanted to tell you that I'm free after school today and I know it's probably way too much late notice but you said yesterday about the anime and I mean we really do need to practice dancing and stuff but oh my god you might be too dizzy-" he broke off, face flushing, and for once Marinette had not been the one rambling.

Adrien wanted to hang out with her?! Today?! She would need to clean her room...

"No- I mean yes! Yes you- you can come over," she gushed, blinking back the tears that hadn't left her eyes.

"Great!" Adrien beamed, before that look of concern fluttered and settled down on his face once more. "Are you sure you'll be okay? Want me to walk you to the nurse for some ice or something?"

Marinette paled, thinking about the last time he did that, and started to protest when she was interrupted by Alya and Nino walking into the locker room, holding hands no less, and talking animatedly about something or other.

"I know! And-" Alya broke off, having noticed Marinette and Adrien and smiled sheepishly, removing her hand from Nino's. "Uh- hey guys, we were just- Marinette are you okay?"

"She's being stubborn," Adrien said, frowning at her. "She needs some ice and she doesn't want me to walk her to the nurse but she's still dizzy from hitting her head on the locker door, so she can't go by herself."

Marinette huffed and shot him a half-hearted glare before muttering to no one in particular, "I can take care of myself…"

After all, she was Ladybug. She was used to getting injured and rolling with it.

Alya crossed her arms over her chest and leaned one hip to the side, giving her a tone of eyebrow which clearly said "go the fucking nurse with him Marinette," to which Marinette replied with a glare of her own which said "you remember what happened last time", and then Alya gave her the face of "this is a golden opportunity" and Marinette shot back "or a golden chance to fuck up" before finally Nino and Adrien looked thoroughly confused by all the staring and pointed looks and Nino cleared his throat.

"Uh, can you both stop glaring at each other and make a decision? The next class is starting soon."

He was right, and the four of them were going to be late.

"I'm not going to the nurse," Marinette announced flatly. "I'm fine."

"Marinette," Adrien sighed, causing her heart to skip a beat even if the sigh was an exasperated one. "You really aren't. So if you're not going to the nurse then you have to let me help you keep steady okay?"

Blushing, she gave in.

"Fine," she murmured, and he stood up and took her hands, helping her slowly to her feet while she tried to look anywhere but into his green eyes.

"Go ahead, we'll catch up. I can explain why we're late but there's no reason you two should be."

Alya and Nino exchanged a very specific look with one another before nodding and smiling and walking out the door without another word.

Marinette was on her feet now and everything felt dizzy again. How could she have hit her head so hard? What if an akuma attacked? Then she'd really be in trouble…

Adrien took her right arm in his and they began the slow walk to class, a silence spreading between them as they made it into the hall and even after the bell rang and Marinette sighed. The comfortable quiet persisted until she noticed quite suddenly, having been lost in the sensation of Adrien holding her arm and keeping her close to his side, that they weren't actually heading to class.

"Um, Adrien, where are you taking me?" She said a bit nervously.

Adrien flashed her a grin and she was reminded with a jolt of Chat Noir.

"To the nurse, obviously. Since this time you actually need one."

Marinette glared at him and tried to keep the smile that was threatening to creep up tucked down into a frown but the corners of her mouth kept twitching and she was certain the effect must have been pathetic because Adrien actually laughed.

Marinette pouted and tried to withdraw her arm.

"You're laughing at me," she whined.

"No, no, I'm sorry," Adrien almost giggled. "But you look adorable with your face like that."

They both realized what he'd said and their cheeks felt a little warmer but they kept walking and both were smiling shyly while avoiding each other's' eyes.

"So, about tonight," Marinette said tentatively. "Um.. Does 5:00 work? We usually have dinner around 7:00 so we'd have time to work before and afterwards but you seem to really like my mom's cooking, so I thought-"

"That sounds great!" Adrien grinned. "I love your house. And your family."

He blushed under her inquisitive stare and hurried to say, "I- I mean- your house feels lived in. It's not big- or empty like mine. And your parents are… Really sweet. It's not just a house… You know? It's a home. Uh…" He trailed off, looking abashed and glancing away. "I think I've said too much."

Marinette felt her heart flutter with a concern like that which had graced Adrien's face just earlier.

"Adrien- are you okay?"

He turned to her with a reassuring smile, but it didn't quite meet his eyes. It may have fooled a camera, but not Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"I'm fine."

Was it her imagination or did his eyes linger on her a little longer?

"It just gets lonely, that's all…" He trailed off again, looking at her.. Lips? Was he really- going to-

"Marinette," he said, sounding a little uncomfortable, "there's something I need to tell you,"

He was really close. She could smell his cologne and she was dizzy for an entirely different reason when she looked into those greenest of green eyes and found herself glancing at his lips too. Did he want to kiss her?

"Can it wait?" She murmured bravely, catching him off guard, catching herself off guard. Where did that Ladybug courage come from?

His breath caught at her question and he looked on the brink of a decision before he replied quietly, "yes," and they were nose to nose-

"Adrien Agreste!" Came a very stern voice and Marinette yelped and fell into him. They stumbled for a moment and he righted them both.

With shame they realized where they were. And Mme. Lesage, the school nurse, was once again looking thoroughly unimpressed with the situation. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation.

"Mr. Agreste, if you wanted to kiss Miss Dupain-Cheng I hardly think a lame excuse and a trip to my office was necessary. I'm sure she would be quite happy to oblige to your charms after school is over."

Both Marinette and Adrien took a step apart from each other and blushed furiously.

"He wasn't-"

"She hit-"

Madame Lesage raised her hand for silence and they obeyed nervously.

"I don't want excuses, children. Unless you have a perfectly sound reason to be here other than the temptation of each other's lips then I suggest you get back to class. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Madame," they sighed.

"May I speak now?" Said Adrien, with a steely look in his eye, despite his politeness.

Marinette was trying to remember how to breathe normally in the background while she leaned against the wall, very dizzy again.

"You may," she nodded.

"It was my fault. I accidentally scared her and she hit her head on a locker door from below it and she got really dizzy and I was worried so-" he gushed.

Mme Lesage nodded and seemed to accept his word without much convincing, glancing over at poor Marinette.

Maybe she looked worse than she thought.

"Alright, Agreste, Miss Dupain-Cheng is in good hands. You may head back to class now. If she needs someone to help her walk I will send for another classmate. Dismissed."

Madame Lesage waved her hand as she helped Marinette get into her office.

Marinette just saw Adrien's apologetic and nervous smile before she closed the door.

Adrien shuffled back to class, kicking himself for being an idiot.

"Make up your mind, kid," came Plagg's annoying voice from his shoulder. The hallway was empty. "You can only pick one. Well I mean, you could have both, but I don't see that working out in your favor in the long run."

Adrien groaned. "I know. Get back in my pocket. We've already established the fact that I have no idea what I'm doing. And I can't stop thinking about what Ladybug said last night. Why would she want to meet me? It's not to dance. There's no hope of that. It doesn't make sense. I can't think of a good reason why she would want to meet me."

"Unless," drawled Plagg lazily as he floated through the air, "she wants to tell you her identity."

Adrien laughed out loud, but wasn't so much mirth as it was pent up frustration.

"You can't be serious."

Plagg grinned wickedly and Adrien stopped in his tracks.

"You know something."

His kwami did nothing but laugh, which irritated Adrien further. He narrowed his eyes and attempted to snatch the little black cat right out of the air.

"Alright listen here, furball, if you don't spit it out, I'll-"

"Furball?" Someone laughed. Adrien froze.

It was Alya.

There was a beat where no one spoke. Her eyes grew wide as saucers as she suddenly noticed Plagg, who was still suspended mid-smirk in the air beside Adrien's head.

"Wh-what is that?" She breathed, and Adrien knew he was dead. Dead and gone.

Oh, he was going to kill Plagg for that.

"Nothing!" Adrien squeaked, snatching his kwami out of the air and stuffing him inside his shirt pocket. "Uhhh it's a toy. A floating one."

"A floating toy?" Alya deadpanned, her look of shock quickly replaced by the inquisitive quirk of a journalist's eyebrow as she caught wind of a good story. She narrowed her eyes. "You're coming with me, Agreste. Walk while we talk. And start with what the hell that creature is, because I'm not stupid."

Adrien gulped and fell in step beside Alya, a guilty look falling over his features as he stammered, "w-well, you see-"

Plagg gave an exasperated huff and zipped out of his overshirt with a roll of his eyes.

"Shut up, you big kitten. We've been caught. Hi, I'm Plagg," he grinned excitedly, swirling through the air lazily in front of Alya's face.

Alya smiled mischievously. "Hi."

"Look who you're calling a kitten," Adrien grumbled, glaring at the smug little cat-being. "Have you ever looked in a mirror?"

Plagg snickered. "Kid, I was alive when the mirror was invented."

Alya wore a look of breathless excitement as she glanced from boy to kwami over and over.

"I knew it," she said almost smugly. It was triumphant.

Adrien's face paled. "What?"

"I was right! You are Chat Noir! Oh my god," She laughed, shaking her head. "Mari would never believe me. I told her that if you just wore a mask-"

"You can't tell her!" Adrien begged. "Please, Alya, you can't tell anyone-"

Alya punched him in the shoulder playfully.

"Please, do you really think I'd spill the best secret I've ever heard? I know how dangerous that would be. Like I said, I'm not an idiot. Secret identities gotta stay secret and all that jazz." She rolled her eyes at him.

Adrien let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, I guess the cat's out of the bag," he grinned in that Cheshire way.

Alya smiled and rolled her eyes again.

"You are so cliché. Now I see why Ladybug hates your jokes."

"She doesn't hate my jokes!" Adrien protested with a pout. "... Does she?" He added self-consciously.

Alya laughed at him and shook her head.

"Hate's a strong word. I think she secretly likes them."

Adrien grinned again. This might actually not be so bad after all.

"So who's Ladybug?" Alya asked, bumping into his shoulder with a smirk.

Adrien sighed dramatically and Plagg cut him off before he could start.

"Oh, don't," he groaned, "he'll never shut up about her. It's insufferable. He doesn't know who she is, and he's still the most love-stuck idiot I've ever had the displeasure of knowing. And I've transformed a lot of idiots in my time," he added with a haughty huff.

Alya giggled. "I like you, Plagg."

Plagg pretended to wave it off casually but Adrien didn't miss the gleam in his eye.

"Eh… The feeling's mutual, kid."

"So," Adrien said casually, trying to draw the attention away from Plagg and his nonexistent cuteness, "what are you doing out here?"

Alya shrugged. "Going to get Marinette. The nurse sent a message to the classroom that she would need an escort, probably, and I volunteered. By the way, everyone assumed you had a photoshoot or something but apparently," she laughed, "you're out here talking to a- Plagg, what exactly are you?"

"A kwami," he answered with a self-satisfied smile.

Adrien and Alya froze as they heard footsteps coming around the corner and quickly Plagg was stuffed beneath the shirt once more with a tiny squeak of protest.

To all of their surprises it was Marinette who came around the corner with an ice pack to the top of her head.

She raised an eyebrow and her cheeks flushed a bit.

"Did you both come to get me or something?"

Adrien and Alya exchanged a glance.

"Or something," they chorused.

When 4:45 rolled around, Adrien had the Gorilla drop him off a block away from Marinette's house. He knew he'd been there before but nonetheless he didn't want his dad getting any weird ideas about him and Marinette. And if the Dupain-Chengs were as friendly and huggy as they usually were, it might give the impression of "future son-in-law" which he definitely didn't want. That would be a mess.

Adrien was about to walk past a little Chinese massage shop when it happened.

"Camembert," Plagg crooned, popping out of Adrien's shirt and sniffing the air in a lovestruck haze.

"Plagg, get back in here!" Adrien whispered frantically, and made a snatch for the black kwami but he had already darted inside the shop.

"I'm going to kill that cat," Adrien grumbled, hurrying inside after his friend.

The inside was dim even though it was still day out. It was lit with ornate paper lanterns and traditional Chinese decorations and scrolls adorned the walls. Light streamed in through the window and cast shadow patterns across the floor.

"Plagg!" Adrien hissed into the room, hoping desperately that the kwami would show up and he wouldn't have to face whoever owned this place and get caught sneaking around.

There was no answer, but a low murmur of voices coming from the back room drew his attention and Adrien crouched behind a counter and deliberated.

He might be about to interrupt someone's massage with no warning, but he had to find Plagg, and fast. They were going to be late to Marinette's if he didn't hurry. Stupid kwami…

Adrien took a deep breath and summoned his inner Chat Noir. He might not be in costume, but he could sure use the confidence boost. If things went sideways he'd just apologize politely and duck out before someone could recognize him as Paris's teenage heartthrob. Yeah. That's what he'd do.

He let out the breath and felt his persona settle over him even without the transformation.

About time you learned how to do that. Get in here already.

Adrien jumped at the sound of Plagg's thoughts inside his brain and in slight alarm, cracked open the door. He peeked around the frame with one eye to see an old Chinese man sitting on a mat with a pot of tea and two cups. He was smiling gently and Plagg was sitting next to him- right in the open!- eating Camembert off a plate.

"Erm," Adrien said awkwardly as he opened the door a little wider and stepped into the room. "I- uh- I lost- that's my cat," he finished lamely.

The old man chuckled and scratched Plagg behind the ears, causing the kwami to sigh and purr even while he chowed down on that nasty cheese.

"Your cat can talk. It's quite impressive." He said with a twinkle in his eye.

Plagg snickered through a mouthful of cheese and did a loop-de-loop through the air as Adrien paled and began to panic. Two people in one day?! He was a terrible secret keeper thanks to his idiot of a kwami…

"Um- uh y-yeah…." Adrien stuttered. "Can I have him back now?"

"Relax, Chat Noir. I've been expecting you. Please, would you like some tea? It's Wayzz's favorite," the old man said with a wide smile.

Stumped, Adrien took a seat on the mat opposite the old man and asked, "how do you know me- uh… Sir?"

"My name is Fu," was the cryptic reply as he poured tea into Adrien's cup. "But I'm Master Fu to you."

"Master Fu," Adrien said with a cat-like tilt of the head. "Have we met before?"

"As a matter of fact, we have, young hero," Master Fu beamed, "You helped me recover from a fall in front of the school and shortly thereafter I entrusted you with Plagg and the black cat miraculous."

Adrien felt like a flashback was happening in his brain as he recalled that day. How had he forgotten a single detail of the most important day of his life?

"I remember," he said slowly. "You had a cane."

Master Fu nodded and pushed the cup of tea towards him.

"Indeed. Now, I have someone to introduce you to. Wayzz?"

"Yes master," came a calm voice from below and to Adrien's surprise a tiny green turtle thing crawled out of Fu's sleeve. A kwami?

"Hello Adrien, it is lovely to see you again."

"Again?" Adrien wondered aloud as he shook the kwami's outstretched hand thing with his thumb and forefinger. "I mean- it's nice to meet you, Wayzz."

"I'm certain you have many questions, young one," Wayzz nodded as he mused. "Why don't you ask the one you just thought of?"

"Are you reading my mind?" Adrien asked a little defensively.

Plagg laughed again and threw Wayzz a confident smirk. "Oh please. He'd like you to think so. He just senses shifts in energy and auras. I'm the only one who could read your mind, kid. Cause I'm cool like that."

Wayzz frowned at Plagg and stiffened a little as he responded.

"Plagg is overly cocky but he is technically correct. Though he cannot read your mind unless you allow him to. If your walls are down, that is."

"Like, mental walls?" Adrien asked curiously. He was starting to be really interested by all of this weirdness.

"Exactly," Wayzz agreed. "Mental walls."

Plagg huffed. "He says it boring."

Wayzz did not roll his eyes but Adrien got the feeling he wanted to.

"About my question," Adrien interjected, "I was wondering… Has Ladybug already been here?"

Master Fu smiled and nodded.

"Yes, she has. She brought me something that I think you'll find you were missing."

From behind him, Fu pulled a large, very familiar old book.

"Hey!" Adrien gasped. "That's my dad's! I stole it from him!"

Fu raised an eyebrow and Adrien's face flushed.

"I mean- that probably wasn't an honorable hero thing to do or whatever- but I really need that book back," he added, almost pleading. "I don't think he's noticed it yet but…" Adrien shuddered. "I don't want him to."

Master Fu nodded gravely.

"Take your book. I would not want to cause you trouble. I have already examined it and made copies of important details anyhow."

"Thanks," Adrien breathed, picking up the book and setting it beside him. As he did so he caught a glimpse of the time on the old man's clock with some chagrin.

"Oh no," he groaned, "I'm late to Marinette's. She's probably freaking out like she always does…"

Master Fu and Wayzz exchanged a suspiciously knowing glance and nodded.

"Go on, young hero. But before you leave, I must tell you something important. Soon you and Ladybug will need to reveal yourselves to each other. You need to be prepared for that moment, but do not pressure her."

Adrien just stared at him in shock.

"You mean- I've- been right this whole time? About revealing our identities?"

He allowed a surge of warm hope to flood his chest. Would he get to meet his lady at last? As… Herself?

Master Fu considered him carefully. It was Wayzz who spoke.

"Adrien, I hesitate to say "right". You had your own reasons for wanting to know Ladybug's identity. I'm not sure that they were unselfish."

Adrien felt the heat of shame creep over his neck and cheeks as he considered the kwami's words. He was right… Adrien hadn't been thinking about Ladybug's feelings. He hadn't wanted her to reveal herself so they could help each other or be better partners in battle. He'd wanted her to because he loved her… And he wanted more of her to love. But.. That wasn't a bad thing, was it? To love her?

Master Fu cleared his throat.

"Young one, I trust you to use your new power wisely in battle, and I also trust you to be kind and courteous of your partner's feelings. Our time here is over and I believe you have an appointment to get to."

Slowly, Adrien nodded, and he and Fu rose to their feet. Remembering his manners, he bowed to his elder before thanking him for the tea and making his way towards the door. As he was about to step through, Master Fu's voice came from over his shoulder.

"Oh, and Adrien?"

"Yes?" He asked apprehensively as he turned.

The old man's eyes twinkled and the hint of a smile tugged at his lips.

"May the force be with you."

Adrien grinned.

Marinette paced back and forth in her living room, anxiously glancing at the clock every so often.

Where was Adrien? He said he'd be here by 5:00 and it was 5:20… He was never usually this late.

"Tikki, do you think he forgot?" Marinette asked anxiously as she fiddled with her pigtails and paused in her pacing.

Tikki sighed and smiled gently.

"I don't know, Marinette. But I'm sure he isn't late on purpose. Adrien wouldn't do that to you."

Marinette nodded to herself, biting her lip. He probably wouldn't… Probably…

She glanced at the stack of animes she had picked out to watch and then at the snacks on the coffee table. He liked Oreos, right? Oh god he probably hated Oreos…

Her mind flitted upstairs where her tape measure, pencil, and sketchbook sat on her desk. Would he be awkward about her taking measurements? 

With a start she realized someone was calling her name.

"Marinette!" Came Sabine's voice from downstairs. "Adrien's here!"

Marinette breathed a sigh but it wasn't quite one of relief. She just hoped she could keep it together around him. Or at least more than she could around Chat Noir lately… The ghost of his warm arms around her on the Eiffel Tower and his lips on hers in her room had haunted her dreams at night. Randomly Adrien would take his place. It was all so confusing…

"Marinette!" Came a voice from behind her and she turned to see Adrien slightly out of breath and smiling at her.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! I had Gorilla drop me off as soon as I could." He set down his book bag as he spoke.

"It's okay!" She said with a little too much enthusiasm, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Graciously, he ignored it.

"So uh… What do you wanna do?" He asked with a small and hesitant smile.

Marinette's heart fluttered.

She smiled back. "Well actually… I thought we could start with this."

Adrien looked at the case she had picked up and smirked.

"Hetalia? Really?" He laughed.

Marinette blushed and laughed a little too.

"Okay I know it's cheesy but I love it, so hush."

Adrien gave her a shy grin and answered, "yeah, me too. Let's watch it."

And so that was how they found themselves on the couch, knees propped up and a pile of snacks in front of them on the edge of the couch since the coffee table was too far to reach.

Marinette was hyper aware of every movement Adrien made. He smelled incredibly good and the scent was almost intoxicating this close. Every time his hand would nearly brush her leg as he reached for an Oreo (as it had turned out that he did like them after all) she felt tingles across her skin. They giggled and joked about the characters and Adrien did terrible impressions of Germany to make her laugh. It worked.

Did he even know how charming he was? He was a massive dork, but still. Marinette felt a bit dizzy with exhilaration. She could only imagine what it would feel like when he held her close and swept her off her feet, teaching her how to dance…

After an hour of watching Hetalia nonstop Adrien smiled at her with his sweet, beautiful smile and said something.

What, she had no idea because she was learning how pretty his long eyelashes were all over again.

"W-what?" She laughed awkwardly. "Um, sorry, I didn't catch that."

Adrien laughed and she blushed.

"It's okay. I'd be distracted by this purrrrrrrrrfect smile too," he grinned and she was reminded yet again of Chat Noir, telling her bad puns and waiting for her inevitable groan of exasperation.

Marinette didn't groan. Instead she promptly smacked him in the arm with a pillow from the couch.

"Ow," he fake pouted. "You wound me, Princess."

From behind him he whipped out another pillow and smacked her in the arm as well.

"Hey!" Marinette protested. She gave him challenging smirk and moved the snacks back to the coffee table.

"Oh it's on, Agreste."

Adrien smirked back and grabbed another pillow just as she was arming herself.

"I'll try not to be too Agrestive," he winked and shot her a finger gun.

"Adriennnnn," Marinette finally groaned. "That was terrible."

She feigned shaking her head and used the distraction to whip the pillow straight at his side, but Adrien was just as quick.

His pillow smacked her in the arm and almost caused her to drop hers, but she recovered and snatched a blanket from the couch.

Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"That's not a great shield," he chuckled.

Marinette grinned back and readied herself. Adrien may be a good fencer but he didn't run around rooftops saving Paris all the time. She was ready.

"It's not a shield," she said sweetly, and before he knew what was happening, she had darted forwards and yanked the blanket over his head.

"Hey!" He protested as she held the blanket down and giggled.

But she had made a mistake. Oh, such a grave mistake. His arms were free.

"No!" She shrieked as he began tickling her sides. "A-Adrien," she laughed hysterically and tried to fend off his attacks. She was forced to let go of the blanket to protect her sides from his devious fingers, and he gave a triumphant, "ha!" before wrapping said blanket around her so she was pinned in a cocoon.

"Gotcha," he laughed, throwing her a devilish wink.

Oh god, she was so dead.

"Yeah you did," she sighed half wistfully, blushing and pouting at her defeat.

Adrien seemed to remember his senses as the playfulness wore off and he withdrew the blanket from her sides.

"So, uh… What next?" He asked sheepishly, giving her a shy smile and running his hands through his hair.

Marinette returned his shy smile and said, "Well we still have almost an hour before dinner. Uh, I guess I could… T-take your measurements? Um… It's upstairs," she added, kicking herself for stuttering.

She could almost hear Alya saying, "Come on girl, I thought you finally got over that!"

"Oh okay sure," he smiled back warmly, and she got the impression he was trying to make her feel more comfortable. It was sweet, but there was no helping her nerves. She felt like a dead girl walking.

"This way," she said with a tight smile before turning around and heading up the stairs.

He followed her obediently and they made their way upstairs to her bedroom. As she climbed the ladder she was acutely aware of his eyes on her back and she shivered a little as she opened the trap door and climbed inside with practiced ease.

"Looks the same as ever," he grinned, looking around the room.

"Right, yeah, I haven't changed much since the Ultimate Mega Strike competition," she agreed.

Adrien turned to her with a smile and lightly smacked his forehead with one hand.

"Oh, right! By the way, I still have this!"

From his pocket he pulled out her lucky bracelet.

"Oh!" She gasped happily. "You do still have it. Oh no, no you keep it," she added when he offered it to her.

"A-are you sure?" He asked with thinly veiled excitement.

Marinette beamed at him.

"Definitely."

"Alright," he smiled back, putting it on his wrist. "Then I'll keep it. I don't get many presents after all."

Marinette felt a twinge of guilt in her stomach as she remembered the scarf he believed has come from his father. Oh well… He was better off not knowing.

"So uh… What did you have in mind for the design?" He asked curiously as he gazed at a box of fabrics by the side of her desk.

Marinette sighed.

"Don't laugh. It's really stupid and clichè."

Adrien smirked and crossed his heart.

"Fine, no laughing, I promise."

Marinette gestured over to the box.

"I decided to go with an older theme- it's 1800's era. It's… Uh…"

She blushed.

"Yes?..." He prompted her.

"Well… It's my interpretation of Ladybug and Chat Noir. You know… From back then."

Adrien's face cracked a slow grin.

"No way. That's so cool! Do I get a tailcoat? Pleaaaase tell me I get a tailcoat. Get it? Tail? Coat?" He gushed and leaned forward, wiggling his eyebrows.

Marinette was so tempted to laugh but she couldn't give him that satisfaction. No way.

Instead she gave his shoulder a playful smack and rolled her eyes, though internally she was freaking out because she touched his shoulder.

"Hey!" He protested with a laugh.

"You deserved it," she dared to shoot back.

"Oh come on, who doesn't appreciate a good pun?" Adrien whined.

Marinette found herself rolling her eyes. How was he so adorable when making puns, of all things?

"You sound like Chat Noir," she laughed. "You should be careful. Someone might suspect you."

Adrien seemed to take this very seriously and he gave her a deep bow.

"Your advice is noted, my- miss."

Marinette giggled, the idea of Adrien running around in black leather all over Paris was as amusing as it was attractive. Her mind wandered to kissing Chat Noir and she felt a flutter in her stomach. No… That would be too good to be true.

"W-well, sir," she smiled nervously, "you won't be wearing anything unless I get you measured. You'll have to come back at some point for a fitting, too…" She blushed.

"Alright," said Adrien agreeably. "Let's get started."

Marinette walked over to her desk and picked up the tape measure, drawing in a deep breath as she did.

"You can do this," she murmured to herself.

With a smile on her face she whipped back around and strode to Adrien's side, trying to stay in her element.

"Hold out your arms," she commanded.

And so she began measuring his chest, his legs, his arms, anywhere that could possibly need to be measured. He was very still as she did this, probably used to it by now. It was probably no big deal to him but Marinette's hands were shaking and his skin felt warm everywhere she lightly touched. And he smelled soooo good.

Finally she took the tape measure to his face.

"Close your eyes," she instructed.

"Uh okay?" He laughed as the tape measure stretched from ear to ear. "What's this for?"

"Your mask, silly," she replied, heart beating fast from how close to him she was. She could so easily just lean in…

"Finished," she breathed, removing the tape measure and taking a step back.

Adrien smiled and it struck her dead on her feet. Conveniently her mom decided to interrupt.

"Mari? Adrien?" She peeked over the trap door hole and smiled at them. "Dinner is ready if you two would like to come down now."

Adrien practically bounced with excitement. "Yes!"

Marinette laughed. Geez, what did they feed this kid for him to be so excited? Or maybe, it was what they didn't… That was a less pleasant thought.

Marinette smiled at her mom.

"Thanks, Maman. We'll be down in a second but you might want to move out of the way."

She cast a challenging grin at Adrien.

"Why?" He and Sabine chorused.

"Cause I'll race you there," she quipped with a smirk.

Adrien grinned.

"You're on."

Sabine laughed. "Okay kids, just don't break anything on your way down."

She retreated back down the steps and Marinette motioned to Adrien to wait until she was back in the kitchen.

When they heard the door click, all hell broke loose.

"Ladies first!" Marinette shouted as she barreled down the steps with practiced ease.

"You're not winning that easily!" Adrien shot back, racing after her and rounding a corner. They barreled down the hallways laughing, Adrien almost passing her several times but she had the advantage of knowing the terrain.

"Ha!" Marinette shouted as they burst into the kitchen together. "I win!"

"I don't know, that looked like a tie to me," Tom laughed warmly.

"Yes!" Adrien cheered, fist-pumping the air in victory.

Marinette gasped. "No way, I totally beat him!"

Sabine laughed and brought dinner over to the table.

"Well whoever won gets to help me set the table," she chuckled.

"He won," Marinette deadpanned without missing a beat.

"Hey!" Adrien protested.

"Marinette…" Her mother warned in a teasing lilt.

"Ugh, fine," she groaned, and began helping to move plates to the table.

Finally they all sat down and stared at the food longingly.

"Thanks for letting me come over," Adrien beamed.

Tom and Sabine smiled and put a large helping of potstickers on his plate.

"You're always welcome at our table," Tom said gently, and Sabine nodded.

Marinette looked around at her family and her crush together and felt something warm in her heart. She wanted things to stay this way forever.

When dinner was almost over Adrien got a phone call.

He glanced down, apologized, and said "I'm sorry, my ride is here early. I have to take this."

Tom and Sabine waved and Marinette began walking him back to the door downstairs.

Adrien didn't say much on the phone except that he was on his way out before hanging up.

"So…" Marinette prompted nervously. " I had fun today. Thanks."

Adrien smiled at her, looking somewhat bashful. "I did too."

She gave a slight gasp of surprise when he kissed her cheek and smiled.

"I gotta go," he said reluctantly.

"Bye," she murmured with a smile as he made his way out of the shop and into the waiting black limo.

She sighed happily.

"Tikki, he kissed me."

It wasn't until long after the black limo had left her view of the street that she remembered.

They hadn't danced.

Chapter Text

Marinette had known for a long time that she had two left feet. In fact anyone that had ever even glanced at the girl could tell that she was a terrible dancer. Clumsy was practically her middle name. But she had never literally had two left feet… Until now.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Ladybug yelled as she tripped once again and rolled behind a blue car, narrowly avoiding another blast from the akuma's ballet shoes as she performed an elegant leap.

"If I'm not good enough for advancement with the Paris Opera Ballet, then no one should be!" The Ballerina screamed and twirled in an angry pirouette.

Chat was giggling somewhere to her left.

"Do you think this is funny?" Ladybug hissed as she pointed to her grotesque feet. "How am I supposed to fight like this?!"

Chat only continued to giggle harder, which infuriated her. He'd been lucky enough to avoid the blasts entirely.

"Why, my lady," he snickered, "you look rather defeeted."

Ladybug was seething.

"No, but we will be soon if you don't give me a damn hand!" She whispered furiously as the Ballerina continued blasting people and twirling dangerously through the street towards their overturned car.

"You sure you don't need a foot?" He laughed, dodging her punch easily.

"Chat Noir, I swear on my miraculous-"

"Okay, okay, lovebug, don't trip," he chuckled and darted out from behind the car.

She didn't even have time to protest the nickname.

"Hey, Ballerina! You!" Chat yelled up at the ten foot tall dancing nightmare.

"Yes?" She hissed down at him, easily balancing on the toes of her right foot.

"I think we all get the pointe!" He laughed. "But you don't even have a dance partner! Just try to keep up!"

"Urgh!" She screamed and aimed to kick him, but Chat Noir was too quick. He began darting around her feet, causing the Ballerina to hop like mad and do her best to squish him. She was completely distracted.

Ladybug took that as her cue.

"Ha!" She yelled, letting her yoyo fly with ease and wrapping it around the laces of a slipper. She gave it a good, hard yank and the laces came undone, causing the dancer to shriek and trip over her own feet.

"No!" She screamed.

"Yes!" Chat Noir cackled, jumping out of the line of fire and calling "cataclysm!" As he went.

Soon nothing was left of the poor girl's shoes but tatters. She just cried. Ladybug actually felt pretty bad for her.

She picked up her lucky charm from the ground next to her where it had remained unused after she was hit. It was a mirror. Completely useless except maybe to have blinded her, but Ladybug had forgotten about it in her horror over literally having two left feet.

Carefully, using the car as her railing, she stood and threw it into the air.

"Miraculous ladybug!"

"So, I think we should go with the 1920's," came Alya's voice from Nino's bed as she sat sprawled back against his pillows, sipping a cup of strong coffee.

"The 20's were pretty cool," Nino agreed, looking at her fondly. Adrien noticed the small smile she tried to conceal at his staring.

Marinette nodded from her place on the beanbag, also sipping from a cup, but hers wasn't quite so strong, and the enticing smell of chocolate and hazelnut wafted to Adrien's nose.

"It would be cool," she agreed. "But which country are we looking into? The 20's were more active for America than France, I think. We exchanged a lot of culture though. Has America ever had a Ladybug and Chat Noir, or are we focused on a different kind of hero?"

"I don't know," Alya responded, purposefully not making eye contact with Nino as he leaned his shoulder against her hip from his spot beside the bed. "I mean. I figured we would do Ladybug and Chat Noir. But they probably had different names in America. I did see an old newspaper clipping on the internet last night when I searched it, and it was mostly speculation about a "Lady Luck and Cool Cat," but no confirmed sightings, just street talk. Maybe we should look at a different era."

Adrien felt warm and cozy from the green bean bag he sat in and his imagination wandered off, thinking about Ladybug in a flapper dress. He could practically see the way her pigtails would fall on the straps, and how her toned legs would look out of the bodysuit. Hmm… that was a dangerous line of thought.

Ew, keep it to yourself.

Plagg? Stop eavesdropping! I told you not to do that!

Hey, it's not my fault you think loudly.

"Adrien," Alya prompted.

"What?" He said, coming out of his head a bit startled.

She gave him a pointed look and he remembered that she knew his secret.

"What do you think we should do?" She asked curiously.

Of course she would do that. Honestly, if you knew Chat Noir why wouldn't you ask his opinion on a thing like this?

Adrien floundered.

"Ahh… well… Marinette and I are doing a thing for the dance-"

"Adrien, no!" Marinette interrupted, chastising him with a single look. "That's supposed to be a surprise!"

"Oh," he deflated, and gave her an apologetic smile. "Oops. Nevermind then."

"Oh come on, Mari," Alya whined. "You can't just make a big deal about it being a secret and then not tell your closest friends!"

"Yes I can," Marinette said stubbornly as she took another sip of her hot chocolate.

Adrien found that he very much wanted to taste it.

"Well," said Nino, "if we can't decide, maybe we should take a snack break."

Alya huffed. "Fine. But we are not spending an hour just eating. We're going to get the food, come back in here, and talk while we eat."

Marinette smiled and rolled her eyes, Nino groaned, and Adrien found himself laughing at Nino's reaction to Alya's stubbornness. It never got boring in their friend group, that was for certain.

Ten minutes later, Nino's floor was full of chips, cookies, juice boxes, and a tray of sandwiches that his mom had insisted they take. Marinette and Alya had finished their coffees and were now happily munching on the cookies, while Nino and Adrien were eating chips and sandwiches.

After a few minutes of everyone talking, Alya brought the attention back to the project.

"Alright guys, none of us are leaving this house until we figure out what our project is going to be. We can't do nothing. And I need time to research like a true reporter, so we are not procrastinating homework like someone else I know." She gave Marinette a wink and Mari blushed.

"What? I'm a busy girl!" She said defensively.

Adrien could relate to that. Being a superhero and a model didn't exactly allow for much free time, especially with all the other activities he had going on. He was lucky he was even getting so much free time lately to hang out with Marinette or work on the project or anything, really.

Marinette cleared her throat. "Anyway… I have an idea. There's a lot we don't know about old Ladybug's and Chat Noir's. But I know a real hero that I've always had a hunch was a Ladybug in secret." She paused and took a breath. "Jeanne d'Arc."

"The Jeanne d'Arc?" Nino asked.

Adrien glanced at Alya. There was a wicked gleam in her eye.

"Of course!" Alya answered before Marinette could even open her mouth again. "And- she's French! Mme. Bustier will love it! We can focus on her life of heroism being great in and of itself, but then when we throw in the theory that she was a Ladybug, everyone will lose their minds!"

Adrien grinned, wondering if he could drag any real answers out of Plagg. And speaking of Plagg…

"I have a question," Adrien interjected thoughtfully. "If Jeanne d'Arc was a Ladybug, who was her Chat Noir?"

Everyone hummed but remained quiet.

"I guess that's part of the mystery Alya will unravel in her "true reporter's" research," Marinette laughed quietly.

Nino grinned and poked Alya's thigh. "I have complete faith in you, lov- uh, ladyblogger," he finished with an awkward fumble.

Alya and Nino blushed and refused to look at each other, but she responded with a curt, "thanks."

Marinette glanced over at Adrien and they shared a look of amusement. They couldn't be any more obvious.

Alya assigned them all a bit of research to do on their own, but she was taking the majority of it. Marinette was tasked with creating the visual presentation they would need. Probably some kind of art of Jeanne as a knight and as Ladybug. Nino was given the chore of putting together their PowerPoint once Alya had the research, and Adrien… Adrien was told to research the existence of Jeanne's Chat Noir. Alya gave him a knowing smirk when she tasked him and he worked very hard to ignore it.

"Alright Alya," Nino groaned, "Nowwww are we done?"

Alya laughed at his boredom and poked his stomach. "Yes, Nino, we're done."

"Finally," he sighed, as Adrien and Marinette laughed.

Adrien glanced down at his phone and frowned at the time. Reluctantly he stood up to leave and flashed his friends a small smile.

"Sorry guys, but I gotta go, my father's expecting me at another shoot."

"Oh," said Marinette, looking a little disappointed.

"Okay!" Said Alya, waving. "Have fun, and knock em dead," she said with a wink.

Nino fist-bumped him and grinned. "See ya, dude."

"Bye, Adrien," said Marinette softly as she gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'll text you later, Mari," Adrien said warmly.

"Oh, okay," she replied, looking a little more cheerful. "Later."

Marinette was walking home from Nino's house when she got Adrien's text.

[Adrien: Hey Mari! I realized we never got the chance to dance while I was over yesterday, so I was wondering when you'll be free to practice your mewvs. ;3]

Marinette rolled her eyes. Honestly, he was beginning to sound like Chat Noir.

[Marinette: Oh, right! Yeah um… What day is today, Saturday? I could do tomorrow afternoon, but I'll be busy tonight and I know you have a shoot. :)]

Yeah, she had another patrol tonight with Chat. She hoped he wouldn't further question her about why she wanted to see him at the summer soiree. In fact… Marinette wasn't even quite herself sure why she asked him. Was it really time to tell him who she really was? What- what would he say? After all, it was Marinette he'd kissed…

[Adrien: Yeah, I think I can do that! Is 2:00 okay?]

[Marinette: Yay! Okay um, see you tomorrow! And good luck with your shoot :)]

Marinette smiled to herself and continued home with a little more pep in her step. If Adrien was going to keep coming over, maybe it really was time for all those posters to stay down for good.

When she got home there was a lot to do. The bakery was unusually busy, and she put on an apron and jumped in to save her parents from the onslaught of hungry customers. They both scurried to the back to keep baking while she attended the counter.

A (normally) pleasant chime echoed through the shop each time the bakery door opened, but today it was quickly becoming an annoyance.

Marinette sighed and put on another friendly smile for every new customer. And then finally, someone she recognized popped in.

"Hello, Master Fu!" Marinette greeted with a relieved smile she didn't need to force.

"Marinette, how nice to see you again," the old man hummed back warmly.

They were the only two in the shop for the moment, so Wayzz ventured a cautious peek and wave out of Fu's shirt pocket. Marinette giggled and waved back. She felt Tikki briefly poke her head out of her purse and smiled when she darted out for a moment to kiss Wayzz on the head.

"So, what are you in the mood for today?" Marinette asked politely as their kwamis returned to their respective hiding places.

"Lemon tart, please," he replied easily. "But I have something to offer you as well."

From the same pocket Wayzz was hiding in he withdrew a folded piece of paper and pushed it towards her.

"Read it later," he advised.

"Oh, okay, thank you," Marinette replied humbly.

A letter? How interesting…

The lemon tart was soon bagged and checked out as another customer approached the shop. Master Fu smiled and winked at her, before jauntily striding out of the store and back towards his house, and Marinette had hardly the time to pocket his note and wonder what it was before her attention was sought by another patron.

"Hello!" She welcomed them.

Dinner was well appreciated by everyone in the Dupain-Cheng household that evening. They ate mostly in tired silence, enjoying the opportunity to be off their feet and eating.

When they'd finished, Marinette took plates to the sink without much thought; her mind was still whirring about the note she hadn't had a moment to read.

"Thank you, cherie," Sabine sighed after her.

"No problem," she answered absentmindedly.

When she was finally free to go to her room, Marinette flopped on her chaise longue with a heavy sigh.

"Tikki, I'm sooooo tired," Marinette whined.

Tikki laughed and rested on her forehead.

"Me too, Marinette. And I wasn't even the one working! It's exhausting listening to you working so hard. Now open the letter! I want to know what Master Fu had to say to us!"

Marinette smiled even as she groaned.

"That means I have to moveeee."

Tikki tsked at her. "Come on, Ladybug, this is official superhero business. No laziness allowed," she giggled.

Marinette reluctantly sat up and laughed. "Fine, you win this time. Where the note?"

"In your pocket, remember?"

"Oh, right," Marinette hummed as she dug the note out and began to unfold it.

The first thing she noticed was Master Fu's handwriting. It was beautiful; almost calligraphic. In sprawling handwriting was written:

"Dear Ladybug,

I have recently had a meeting with Chat Noir. I noticed that his powers are beginning to expand. Wayzz and I have not yet felt a shift in you, but we feel that one is soon coming if you and Tikki will open yourselves up to change.

I encourage you to put faith in your partner. He may be over-eager, but he is driven and committed to becoming your perfect companion in the yin and yang that Ladybug and her Chat Noir share against evil.

Please consider my words with great care. Something looms on the horizon, if Chat Noir's new powers are to mean anything. If you were to reveal your identities to each other, I think you would learn that you have a friend much closer than you thought. You will need each other desperately in the coming months.

I trust you to make the right decision. I am proud of you, Marinette.

-Master Fu."

Marinette read the letter three times before she dared to say anything.

"Well," she coughed. "That… is a lot to process."

Tikki murmured in agreement.

"Master Fu is very wise, Marinette. With every Ladybug I have had I have watched her learn and grow more the closer that she is to her partner. You don't have to be in love with him to give him your trust. Don't let both of your feelings confuse you. This is for the best. If Master Fu senses danger, then time is of the essence…"

Marinette swallowed heavily and felt her heart beating faster. She knew they were right… she was just terrified. And this coming danger didn't sound great either.

She took a deep breath, glancing at the clock and stuffing the note back in her pocket.

"You're right Tikki. Transformez moi!"

Chat's ears perked up the moment he heard his Lady drop to the roof behind him.

"Evening, Bug," he called over his shoulder, turning to look at her from his perch on the edge of the roof. "Fancy meeting you here," he teased.

Ladybug tried to smile but it didn't seem to work out right on her face.

"Hey, Kitty," she said quietly.

Chat frowned and turned, standing up and striding towards her in concern.

"What's wrong, my lady?" He asked, gently placing his hands on her shoulders. "You okay?"

Ladybug blushed in the dark and shook her head quickly.

"Nothing! Nothing's wrong. It's just… I had this idea, and now I have to scrap the idea because of some urgency, but it was a nice idea, you know? And I have no idea how I would have made said idea work in the first place, but-"

Chat smiled in amusement but he was still worried.

"Ladybug, you're rambling."

She sighed and covered her face in defeat.

"I know."

"Hey, it's okay," he said soothingly, pulling her close to his chest and wrapping his arms around her as she hid her face beneath his chin. "What's this about?"

"You," Ladybug mumbled.

Chat blinked in surprise although she couldn't see it.

"Me?"

"Yes… you." She said, although it was muffled.

Chat chuckled nervously.

"Okay, what about me, Bugaboo?"

"I just…" she trailed off. "I'm scared to… no I… I want to… ughhhhhhh, I'm sorry," she whined.

He was very confused and more than a little nervous and worried about her.

"Ladybug…" he said apprehensively, pulling back and looking her in the eyes. "Please tell me? I'm getting worried."

Ladybug closed her eyes for a moment and when she opened them she seemed more composed than before.

"You know what… it's not the right time tonight. I'm not.. I'm not ready. So maybe my idea really should work after all." She sighed and glanced away.

Chat felt his ears droop and he deflated a little.

"Oh, okay… did I… do something wrong? I'm sorry if I-"

"No, no! It's not that at all," Ladybug stammered quickly. "No it's just… ugh okay I'll tell you… but you'll be on pins and needles until the time comes…"

Chat smiled.

"You think this cat can't handle a little cat-pprehension?"

Ladybug groaned and bumped her forehead against his chest again.

"You're ridiculous, Kitty."

Chat couldn't help but smirk, despite his nerves.

"Yeah, but that's why you love me," he teased back.

Ladybug laughed warmly, and Chat felt himself blush as his spirits lifted from that magical sound.

"Okay, okay…" Ladybug smiled nervously and sighed. "I was thinking… uh… at the dance I mentioned? The one you're meeting me at? I mean what other dance would I be talking about really, I mean how many dances in Paris would we both be going to, haha…"

Chat raised an eyebrow.

Ladybug coughed. "Uh… I mean…"

She fidgeted for a moment, scuffing her foot back and forth on the rooftop, and Chat let her think and breathe, even though he was dying to know what she was saying. It took all his willpower not to ask her.

Finally she squared her shoulders and stared resolutely at his chest, avoiding his eyes to calm her nerves.

"I… think we should… dance!"

"Dance?" Chat echoed, not sure he'd heard this right. Ladybug was asking him to dance? That's what this big thing was all about?

Suddenly, it was just too funny.

Chat laughed loudly and clearly through the Parisian night, exhaling his tension through his mirth as Ladybug blushed and sputtered and protested.

When he finally gasped for breath, Ladybug was pouting and glaring at him.

"Aw, Bugaboo," Chat teased, leaning towards her face with a mischievous smile, "If you wanted to dance with me you don't have to wait for a ball. We have a roof all to ourselves and the night is young. Besides, maybe you should get in some practice before we hit the dance floor. If I recall correctly, one of us has spots and two left feet," he purred.

"But…! She..! I didn't… ugh!" Ladybug sputtered, red in the face and all sorts of worked up.

Chat couldn't help but giggle again.

"Oh, you are insufferable," She seethed, turning her back on him and crossing her arms.

Chat smiled. God, he loved this crazy bug so much.

He took a few steps forward, reaching out to touch her elbow softly.

"My Lady," he whispered.

Ladybug turned slowly to face him, still blushing and seemingly nervous.

"May I have this dance?" Chat crooned. He offered his hand to her politely.

For a moment he thought she'd say no, but after a brief wrestle in her mind, she mumbled, "yes," and took his hand. It instantly felt ten times warmer in the night air.

Chat pulled her close and guided her hands to his shoulders, putting his own on her waist.

"Is this okay?" He asked softly. He never wanted to make her uncomfortable, and if she ever seemed the slightest bit-

"Yes, it's fine," she murmured back, staring at their feet. It was quiet but he knew her well enough to know it was truthful.

"I know we don't have music," Chat admitted sheepishly, "But you're the only rhythm I need."

Ladybug looked up at him with wide, studying eyes that searched his soul at those words.

He held her gaze unwaveringly, and began to guide her into a waltz of sorts.

To him time seemed to be frozen on that little rooftop. The whole world could be passing by and he wouldn't care as long as he was holding his lady and looking into the deepest eyes that ever existed. She rarely glanced at their feet now, preferring to look at him, which thrilled him to the core. It was their moment, and no one could take it away from them.

The music seemed to come from inside her heart. He could almost swear he heard it beating in time, singing a song only he could hear.

Maybe it was his extra set of ears.

Ladybug trusted him completely in a way that no one else did. She didn't step on his toes, and she didn't falter when he led her a new direction. They were graceful. Seamless. Powerful. Lovely.

And all too soon their moment ended. Chat could sense it was growing late, and he gently brought them to a stop. To his delight, Ladybug didn't look like she wanted to go home.

They'd gotten closer and closer to each other during the silent waltz, and now she tucked her arms under his and slipped in to hug him.

Chat was absolutely glowing. This was easily the best moment of his entire life.

"Ladybug?" He asked, after they'd been hugging for quite some time.

"Hmm?" She murmured sleepily from his chest.

"You have to go home soon, Bugaboo, or you won't be able to stay awake while swinging."

"Mmm."

"Ladybugggg, I mean it."

"Mm-hm." She yawned and hugged him tighter, with seemingly no intentions of letting go.

Chat sighed. He hated to do this, he'd gladly hold her all night if he could, but she needed to rest. She couldn't fall asleep now.

He began poking her sides, blowing on her hair, generally being annoying while she pouted, half asleep.

Finally she looked up at him and gave him a sleepy death glare.

"Fineeeee, I'll go home," She grumbled.

"Good bug," Chat smiled.

Ladybug sighed and let go of him, so reluctantly he released her from his warm embrace.

"Hey… kitty?" She asked, as she strode towards the building's edge.

"Yes, My Lady?"

"Thanks for the dance."

Chat chuckled warmly. "The pleasure was all mine, Bug."

She threw him one last sleepy smile over her shoulder before bounding off into the night.

Soon he was alone with the moon and the stars and the sounds of Paris at night once more.

Chat Noir sighed deeply, happier than he'd been since… well. Since the day at Marinette's.

Those girls were really something else.

Chapter Text

 Sunday morning arrived delightfully warm, sunlight filtering down from Marinette's trap door to her terrace and falling across her blanket in golden waves.

 "Only 8:00 am," Marinette murmured sleepily, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "The sun must have woken me."

 She popped open the skylight window and climbed outside in her pajamas, instantly enjoying the way the sun warmed her skin and a slight breeze tousled her hair in its loose pigtails.

Marinette laughed at the sight of Tikki looking like a comfy little pink bug against the soft white petals of her flowers.

 "W-what?" Marinette sputtered, caught off guard. "I mean, sure! Yeah, love."

 She most definitely was not thinking about how green her plants looked in the sunshine, like the warm color of Adrien's eyes, or anything. Nothing like that.

Tikki giggled and tapped her on the nose. "No, silly, about your identities. But I do think that conversation will come up eventually…"

Tikki gave her a sly look. "For someone who panicked you suuuure seemed like you were enjoying it."

Marinette felt her face flush as she shrugged her shoulders dismissively. "So? He's a good dancer. What can I say? Cats are graceful apparently. At least I got a little bit of practice in before I try it with Adrien so I don't do something crazy like trip over his feet and cause him to smack his beautiful face on the floor and give him a black eye, which would cause his father and his makeup artists to hate me and ruin any chances I have of being his friend or even maybe more than friends!" She rushed out all with one breath and took a big gasp of air.

"Relax, Marinette! You'll do just fine. You've gotten a lot better at being around Adrien, and I think it's going really well!" 

 "Ughhh," wipe that lovesick look off of your face, Plagg groaned.

 "You're right," he conceded. "Your expression is ruining the look."

He was at an early Sunday morning shoot for the new line of men's button downs that his father was producing. It was a little annoying having two shoot days in a row this weekend, but his outfit somewhat made up for it. The dark gray fabric was smooth and shiny, accented by a white collar, slightly parted, and matching turned up sleeves that fell just past his elbows. Tight jeans hugged his hips and showed off his legs, which thanks to his alter ego, looked fantastic in them. The whole look was tied together by a black and white checkered tie. Truthfully, this was one of his father's best designs this season. Adrien found himself wondering if Marinette would agree.

 "Sorry, I got distracted," Adrien laughed sheepishly. "But still, I was not acting 'lovesick'."

 "Oh please, you're hopeless," Plagg grumbled, snacking on a piece of cheese from Adrien's plate of snacks.

 Someone knocked on the door to the dressing room.

 “Five minutes until we need you in your place, Agreste!"

 "Thank you! I'll be right out," Adrien called after them. "Just have to do one thing first…" he added to himself, snapping a selfie showing only the bottom half of his face and his outfit while Plagg rolled his eyes.

  "Yes, but even after Master Fu told you about that, you still kissed Marinette!"

Plagg let out a frustrated growl and facepalmed. 

 [Sunshine child: Heyyyyy Alya, so about that thing that you know about. I could super use some advice, if you know what I mean. I'm at a shoot right now, but can you meet me later? It would be late though. I'm meeting Marinette at 2:00 and after I get back I can't leave the house again until like 10:00pm]

  Alya fought the urge to squeal. Meet up with Chat Noir and give advice to a super hero talking about hero stuff, no doubt involving Ladybug?! Like she'd ever pass on that! She composed herself and sent a reply.

[Alya: Sure thing, Agreste. Just meet me at my apartment. We can get some fresh air and a good view.]

She figured he would pick up on her hint to meet her on the roof. It wasn't that subtle. But she did wonder what it was he needed advice about. Something Plagg didn't want to deal with, probably.

[Sunshine child: Thanks! See you later!]

Alya grinned.

Alya sighed dramatically. Well, there go her Ladynoir dreams. She couldn't encourage it now that she knew who Chat Noir was. And besides, if he really didn't know Ladybug's identity, it was just one more reason for her to try and convince him to move on and face what was right there in front of him. It would be so much less complicated, from a relationship standpoint. Plus, obviously she had to root for her best friend.

 "Right then," She said to herself conspiratorially, "Operation Adrienette is a go."

 She had a lot to prepare for tonight. Adrien might not know it, but Alya was as persuasive as she was stubborn.

 "Oh girl, you owe me for this," Alya giggled, opening a new document on her laptop. "Big time."

 Marinette was busy pinning pieces of fabric together meticulously.

 "Thamkss Tikki," she replied around a mouthful of pins.

 Not bad for one afternoon, she thought to herself. 

Marinette sighed and laid back against her chaise.

"And then there's Chat," Marinette murmured. "Who hasn't been back to see me since that disaster evening. And he told Ladybug that he has a date to the soirée, but he didn't tell Marinette that. He also mentioned a girl that he liked besides Ladybug and I thought it was me, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe I freaked him out and made him realize that he really did belong with this other girl. Ugh, is my lovelife just doomed to failure?" She moaned, covering her face with her hands dramatically. 

 "Be right down, Papa!" She yelled back, climbing down through her trap door. When she got to the living room she found Adrien chatting amicably with her father.

 "Now Marinette has told us you'll be dance partners," Tom said with a twinkle in his eye. "Watch your step now, she has two left feet!"

Tom burst into hearty gales of laughter as he pulled poor Adrien into a crushing side hug. "Marinette, I think you've picked the perfect partner!" He boomed. "What an intelligent, humorous, young man!" 

Marinette's face turned red as Adrien gave her an apologetic smile that was underlined by the discomfort of being crushed.

"Oh please, Adrien, call me Tom."

 "Papa!" Marinette chastised, taking Adrien by the hand and pulling him away. "Adrien doesn't need any more smothering, and we have practicing to do."

"It's fine," Adrien croaked out, before clearing his throat to reply a little more evenly, "he's really nice. I like him."

Marinette sighed. "So do I, but he can be embarrassing sometimes. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," Adrien insisted, as they came up through the trap door to her room. "Really. Oh my god, Marinette is that my suit?!" He said excitedly, running over to the mannequin in the corner of her room.

"How did you do this so quickly?!"

He turned to gaze at her in awe and saw the young designer's face flush as she brushed it off nonchalantly.

"Oh, it's nowhere near being done, I just did the basics like the pants and the coat, and it's not sewn yet or anything. There's still a lot more to do."

"Still," Adrien beamed. "You're so talented, Marinette. And also, you gave it coattails!"

Marinette giggled adorably at that. "Well you seemed very excited about the idea, and besides it was very common to have them back then."

 "You're amazing," Adrien replied, coming back over to take her hand. "Really."

"Aha! W-well, it was nothing," she laughed, looking embarrassed.

Adrien suddenly remembered his manners and let go of her hand with some embarrassment of his own. "So, uh," he started, "Do you mind if I pull up some music for us to practice with on your computer?"

"Thanks," he said as he sat down and typed into the search bar, pulling up the song he was looking for. 

A swelling tell-tale chorus of violins emerged from Marinette's speakers as Adrien turned to face her, feeling his heart beat quickly from nerves that he tried not to show.

 "Like this," Adrien murmured, guiding her gently. "Like you're making a box with your feet. Right foot back, left foot back, step together. Then forward left, forward right, and together again."

"And life is like a song…" 

"They are," Adrien replied, inwardly panicking.

I'm looking at you, Marinette. Oh man, am I looking.

 "Yes?" He tried to reply casually.

 "Can I ask you something?" She said quickly.

 Adrien could only nod, choking on any words he had as Marinette began to drown out any rational thought in his head.

 "I found a dream that I could speak to..."

 "Am I…" she took a deep breath to steady herself, "Not good enough for you?"

 "No, Adrien, listen," she said, pulling away from him and brushing her bangs from her eyes. "I don't know if I can do this anymore. I- I don't know what I am to you anymore."

"Marinette, you're- you're amazing."

"Damnit, Adrien, I love you!" Marinette shouted.

 A stunned silence fell over him.

"A-Adrien…" Marinette moaned as he began kissing along her neck.

He felt her fingers tugging at his overshirt and let go of her hair to help her shrug it off.

"Marinette," he gasped hungrily as her fingers found their way under his t-shirt to stroke his abs.

"Please shut up," Marinette commanded, bringing him back into the kiss with her other hand gripping his hair.

"Mari… can- can I touch you?" He breathed, forehead pressed against hers.

"Damn, Mari," he breathed. "You work out or something?"

 "Or s-something," she panted as his hand found its way to cup her breast softly.

"Oh my god, Marinette," he said huskily. "You're perfect."

"Adrien?" She asked, stopping her kisses for a moment.

 "I," he paused, drawing up his courage. "I'm Ch-" 

 Sabine popped the trap door and peeked in with a plate piled high with snickerdoodles.

"May I come in?" She asked.

"Ahaha- of course, Maman! Why wouldn't you be able to do that?" Marinette gushed.

Adrien could have sworn Sabine gave him a knowing look before smiling at her daughter.

"No reason, dear. I brought Adrien's favorite!"

 "T-thanks, Mrs. Cheng," he managed to get out with a nervous smile. "But actually, I was just getting ready to leave. Right Marinette?"

"Right!" Marinette agreed with a nervous smile of her own. "Um, he has to be back home soon."

Sabine tsked. "Well, that's a shame. But Adrien, dear, take some of these cookies with you. I insist," she added with a wink.

 Adrien did his best to look grateful. "Thanks so much. And thanks for the dance, Mari!" He added as he made his way past Sabine with a few cookies in his hand.

 He didn't think he'd ever left a house so quickly once he was past her.

 She seemed very nice, but he really didn't want to stick around chatting with the mother of the girl he just made out with not even minutes before she came into the room. Talk about terror.

Once he was safely out on the street and headed in the direction of home, Plagg popped out of his shirt and whirled around to give him an accusatory glare.

"Not. A. Word, kid." Plagg threatened. "Or I'll tell Master Fu."

"You never struck me as much of a tattle tale," Adrien glared at him. "What has gotten into you?"

"Well I can tell you what hasn't gotten into me in a while- cheese! Now take me home so we can argue about this later and you can realize I was right and it's a stupid idea to reveal yourself to Marinette."

"Ugh, fine," Adrien muttered and stuffed Plagg back into his shirt (with protest from the kwami at being man-handled) and began to walk home.

 He couldn't stay in a bad mood for long though, because he had just kissed Marinette. Again. And this time it was really nice. And not to mention, the biggest thing of all...

Marinette was in love with him.

Chapter Text

"Marinette? Helloooo?" Tikki waved, fluttering in front of her cheek as Marinette stared in shock at the place where Adrien just stood moments ago, kissing her senseless.

"Am… am I dreaming?" She breathed, hardly believing that the past few minutes actually existed in time and weren't just a fever dream of her own fabrication .

"No, silly!" Tikki giggled, bopping her on the nose to try and bring her back to reality. "Adrien really kissed you! And you kissed him back!"

Marinette felt her face flush with a vibrant heat and covered her face in her hands to try and steady her breathing. Slowly she melted into her chair, letting out a quiet, high-pitched sound like a kettle boiling for several moments.

She dared to peek out of her hands and saw that Tikki was sitting on her knee, waiting patiently for her to come back from her freak-out.

"Deep breaths, Marinette," she instructed, giving her the tiniest of supportive pat-pats. "It'll sink in."

It took several more minutes of squealing and freaking out before she could breathe normally again.

"Okay," Marinette muttered, "I'm okay. I'm okay. I'm- I'm not okay! Tikki! What does this mean for us? He said I make him feel-" she drew a deep breath and whisper-screamed her next word. "ALIVE!"

Tikki sighed fondly and floated up to gently boop her holder on the nose. "Oh, young love," she reminisced, shaking her head. "Don't worry, Marinette. All you have to do is give it a little bit of time, then reach out and see how he's feeling. Things will fall into place, I just know it! You and Adrien have been dancing around each other for so long that you've gotten dizzy. You just need to clear your mind and think rationally. Don't forget, you're Ladybug! You can do this!" She finished her pep talk with a little cheer.

Marinette relaxed a little tiny bit and gave her a smile. "Thanks, Tikki. You're right. I need to clear my mind." She looked over at the pile of fabric sitting in the corner, waiting to be coaxed into the shape of a dress. "I think I know just the thing."

Alya was restless. She had maybe gone up to the roof a little early, since it seemed like the family had gone to bed for the night. She had now lost track of how many times she had paced the width of the apartment up here, excitedly waiting for Chat Noir to arrive.

Boy, did she have a surprise for him.

It probably wasn't what Adrien was expecting when he mentioned that he wanted some advice, but Alya was known to occasionally be a little… extra. So what if she had gone to the max to give her best friend a shot with her dreamy schoolgirl crush? No one could blame her for the effort.

And really, was a 20 page long powerpoint presentation on Marinette's value as a romantic partner even enough? She could probably list a million reasons why Adrien should date her already, but if he didn't take the hint by then, there would be no hope for his particular stupidity.

Finally, she spotted him, gleaming black in the moonlight, vaulting across rooftops towards her building.

"Over here!" she mouthed, waving her arms like a landing signal.

Chat Noir landed in front of her a little less gracefully than normal and almost stumbled into her.

"Whoops! Sorry, Alya!" he righted himself just in time with a embarrassed smile.

Alya gave him a raised eyebrow. "Feeling off your game, Agreste?"

Chat looked around nervously. "Only a little. And keep your voice down!"

Alya rolled her eyes and poked his shoulder. "Relax, alley cat. There's no one around. Here, come have a seat."

She led him over to a table set with two chairs. The only things on it were her laptop and a pitcher of lemonade with two glasses.

Chat Noir sat and immediately poured himself a glass. Alya took her seat and leaned in, resting her chin over her folded hands.

"So tell me, what kind of problem does a super hero have that only the Ladyblogger can solve?" she questioned with an inquisitive grin.

Adrien laughed nervously and ran one hand through his hair.

"Okay, so, since I sent that text message a couple of things have changed…"

"I've got time," she shrugged. "What's the scoop?"

"Well, firstly…."

"Oh wait!" She interrupted. "Before you start, can you de-transform? I'd really like to see Plagg again. Besides, he might be helpful."

"Oh! Okay, I guess… Plagg, claws in."

Alya watched with keen fascination as a flurry of green lights swirled over Chat Noir, leaving Adrien Agreste in his place, and a little black cat god which had flown out of his ring.

"Wow," Alya breathed. "Incredible. Plagg, nice to see you again."

Plagg yawned somewhat lazily and nodded her way. "Always nice to be appreciated," he drawled, giving Adrien a pointed look.

"Oh, hush, you spoiled cat," Adrien replied, rolling his eyes and pulling a chunk of what looked to be cheese out of his shirt pocket.

"Mmmm, camembert," he mumbled, stuffing his mouth full of said cheese.

Alya raised an eyebrow. "Camembert?"

Adrien shrugged. "Don't ask me, it's what he likes to eat to recharge. Personally I could do without the smell." He wrinkled his nose a bit, glancing at the hungry kwami who was already licking his paws clean of crumbs.

"You just don't understand how to appreciate its delectable scent," Plagg sniffed. He turned his attention to Alya. "I'm glad to see he took my advice, for once. I told him he needed outside help. He's useless. And he almost revealed himself today," he added.

"Oh, really…" Alya said, leaning forward. "Do tell."

"Well you see," Adrien started, turning red and looking away as he fiddled with his collar. "What happened was-"

"AND," Plagg interrupted dramatically, "He kissed Marinette!"

"HE DID WHAT NOW?" Alya said, completely normally and not at all a little too loudly. "Adrien! When were you going to tell me this?!"

"Um… now?" He offered sheepishly. "I mean it happened today, so…"

"And Marinette didn't tell me!" She gasped, pulling out her phone to type a strongly worded text message to her bff. "That little-"

"No, no, wait!" Adrien begged, grabbing her phone before she could finish and setting it down on the table. "It all happened so fast. Just hear me out. There's more I have to tell you."

Alya sighed, relenting for now. "Okay, sunshine. Lay it on me. Give me all the juicy details." She waggled her eyebrows at him suggestively.

Adrien turned a very flattering shade of rosé.

"Okay, um… let me just- start from the beginning."

And so it was that Alya was told the whole thing. The whole story of Ladybug and Marinette. And everything as it had happened from Adrien's perspective.

"Wait, wait, Marinette kissed Chat Noir?!" Alya exclaimed at one point, interrupting him. "AND SHE DIDN'T TELL ME? Oh boy, I am going to have a talk with that girl about keeping secrets!"

"Well, she can't know that you know she kissed Chat Noir," Plagg pointed out. "Otherwise Adrien's identity is toast."

"I mean… would that really be such a bad thing though?" Adrien asked. "I'm just saying…"

"Shush, you can question the implications of that later," Alya interrupted. "Get back to the story."

"Okay, so…"

The story continued. By the time he was finished, Alya was seeing this golden child in a whole new light. Dude was a player. And she didn't know what to make of it.

"Okay, okay," She said finally. "I need a minute to process this. I was not expecting this story when I prepared for this conversation."

"What do you mean… prepared?" Adrien asked cautiously.

"Oh! Oh I'm so glad you asked," she grinned, opening her laptop and pulling up a very special document. "Please, enjoy."

Adrien read the title and blushed a furious shade of red once again.

"51 reasons why Marinette would make the perfect girlfriend," he read aloud. "Um, Alya, what is-"

"Hush! Just read, Agreste!" she shushed him once again, pouring herself another glass of lemonade as Plagg cackled at Adrien's embarrassment.

Alya sipped her drink demurely, watching with utter delight as Adrien's face gave her plenty of amusing reactions to satisfy her.

Yes, pretty boy. Read up. Read up so you can get your head out of your ass and finally ask my girl out on a real date! She thought with a smile.

Adrien read in complete silence. He was afraid if he dared to open his mouth, nothing would come out but embarrassing squeaks. He was starting to sweat and his heart was fluttering like a little bird trapped in a cage.

6: Marinette is loyal af. She would go to the ends of the earth for you, dummy.

She is loyal. Adrien mused to himself. He thought back on all the times that Marinette had been a true friend to him. And hell, even when they weren't talking to each other, Adrien was certain that if he was in trouble, Marinette would have been there for him.

He read on.

10: Marinette is an absolute 10, my guy. Have you seen her face? That body? Girl's got it going on!

Adrien gulped and quickly took a sip of cold lemonade to try and cool the heat of his sudden rise in temperature.

It was true. Marinette was…. outstandingly beautiful. Even as beautiful as Ladybug. And the way she had kissed him… twice. She was way more attractive than was fair.

Vaguely Adrien wondered if it was possible to die from overheating while thinking about the girl that you love.

The girl I love….

Adrien closed his eyes for a moment and willed himself to think once and for all about who that was.

And suddenly the answer was painfully clear.

Opening his eyes, he found Alya staring at him intently, with hardly concealed excitement.

"Well?" She prompted him.

Adrien felt relief, and he smiled back at her.

"I don't need to read the rest of this list. I already know Marinette is wonderful. And I know what I need to do. Thanks, Alya!"

He finished the rest of his lemonade with a gulp and stood up.

"Time to go, Plagg."

Plagg was steadily ignoring him, sitting on Alya's knee and purring quietly as she scratched behind his tiny ears.

"I think he fell asleep," Alya replied.

"Nah, he's just stubborn and pretending not to hear me," Adrien said, rolling his eyes. "Plagg, claws out!"

"Wait, nooooo!" Plagg whined as he was sucked into the miraculous once more.

"Breathtaking," Alya breathed, watching as the green swirling lights settled and Chat Noir appeared once more. "I wish I had a miraculous!"

"I'll take it up with Ladybug," Chat laughed. "Thanks for the help, and the lemonade."

"Anytime!" She quipped back with a grin. "Just remember what I've taught you!" She called out, as Adrien jumped over the edge of the roof and began vaulting towards home.

Yes, he certainly had had an awakening. And there was only one thing to do about it.

Soon enough, it was Monday morning once again, and once again, Marinette was running late. She flew around her room in a panic, throwing on clothes and gathering her things before opening her trap door and sprinting down the stairs.

"Marinette?" Sabine called after her, halting her in her tracks as she was about to head out. "Just a moment, please."

"But Maman, I'm going to be late!" Marinette whined, spinning around to face her mother.

"You'll be fine dear, this will only take a minute," Her mother replied with a smile.

Marinette walked over to where she stood at the kitchen bar and shifted from foot to foot anxiously.

"Yes, Maman?"

Sabine pulled out a little pink box, wrapped with a bow.

"Your father and I are so proud of the young woman you are growing up to be. And we are so delighted that you've been spending more time with Adrien; he really is a fine young man," She hummed with a smile.

"Mamannnnn," Marinette groaned with embarrassment, "What is that?"

"A gift from us to show you that we trust you, and we want you to be happy, and also safe if you're going to be kissing boys in your bedroom," she gave her daughter a knowing smirk.

Marinette's face flushed dramatically as she snatched the box from her mother's hands and turned around to race to school.

"Okaythanksloveyoubye!" She called over her shoulder as she made her way downstairs. She opened her purse and popped the little pink box in there with Tikki for now. She could think about it later. She really didn't want to be late again, or everyone, including Adrien, would be staring at her as she took her seat.

She just barely made it in time, running into the classroom and sliding in next to Alya just as the bell rang.

Adrien turned around to smile at her.

"Good morning, Marinette!"

"Eep!" Marinette squeaked. "I mean, good morning!"

Adrien then WINKED at her and turned around to face the front.

Marinette suddenly felt a sharp jab in the ribs from Alya's elbow as Miss Bustier began preparing to take roll call.

"Ow!" Marinette whispered. "What was that for?"

"What do you mean?" Alya whispered back. "What was that for?" She demanded glancing towards Adrien with a grin.

Marinette blushed. "I'll tell you later," she mumbled, as Miss Bustier began.

"Adrien Agreste?"

"Present!"

"Chloé Bourgeois?"

"Of course I'm here," Chloé huffed, checking her manicure.

"Ivan Bruel?"

"Here!"

"Alya Césaire?"

"Present, Miss Bustier,"Alya replied evenly.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

"Yes! Hi! I mean, present!" Marinette chirped, jerking her eyes away from Adrien's perfect hair.

Giggles went through the classroom.

"Glad you could make it on time today, Marinette," Miss Bustier replied with amusement.

Adrien turned and gave her another award-winning smile, and Marinette felt herself melting into the seat.

"Me too," she sighed to herself dreamily.

Class crawled by at an agonizing pace. Marinette felt her phone buzz a few times from Alya, and once or twice she attempted to pass her a note as well, since her texts went unanswered. But Marinette didn't dare to put it down in words just yet, as if afraid that doing so would break the spell or the dream she was in. Only in her dreams had Adrien ever kissed her.

And so as soon as the bell rang for the next class, she found herself being dragged by the arm to the hallway unceremoniously by Alya, who cornered her and gave her a pointed look.

"Okay, we have five minutes. Spill!"

Marinette took a deep breath.

"Okay, Okay. I'm still not sure this wasn't a crazy fever dream, but Adrien came over yesterday to practice dancing with me for the soirée. He told me I had pretty eyes and I panicked and started saying all this stuff to him and then-" she paused.

"And then what?!" Alya demanded, taking her by the shoulders and giving her a good shake. "What, woman?!"

"AndthenIdaredhimtodosomethingandhekissedme!" Marinette blurted out.

"Oh my god," Alya gasped. "Oh my god it finally happened. The thing you've been dreaming of. The big smooch. The holy pucker-up. The divine tongue-tangle."

"Alya!" Marinette whined, taking her hands off her shoulders. "Keep your voice down! What if I imagined the whole thing?"

"Oh you didn't," Alya giggled. "No, that totally happened. I already cornered Adrien for details before class."

"You what?!" Marinette squeaked. It seemed to be the only way she could communicate this morning.

"Oh, yeah," Alya grinned. "Golden boy has it in for you big time, girl. Congratulations! I'm so proud of you!"

"Really?" Marinette asked excitedly. "He said he likes me?"

Alya rolled her eyes dramatically.

"Girl. My sweet innocent summer child. He already kissed you. Of course he likes you! Now come on, we're going to be late. We'll meet up with the boys for lunch and you two lovebirds can talk allllll about it. Now let's go!"

And with that she was dragged off to the next class.

"Nino, I need your advice." Adrien started.

"Yeah, bro, of course! What's up?" Nino asked, slinging his arm over his friend's shoulders as they headed to their next class.

"Okay, so… I like Marinette."

"No!" Nino gasped, fake-dramatically. "I never could have guessed!"

"Shut up," Adrien laughed, embarrassed. "I want to ask her to the dance, properly this time. But I need help wording it. Do you have any suggestions from lyrics? I'm sure you know more love songs than I do."

"Oh, my dude," Nino sighed, wiping a fake tear from his eye. "I thought you'd never ask. I've got you."

Adrien grinned. "Okay. Let's do this. Text me your ideas; I want to ask her at lunch."

"No problemo, bro. Trust me."

Adrien felt like his classes were at least twice as long as they usually were. And every time he saw Marinette his heart threatened to burst from his ribcage. He had a plan in place, and he really hoped that it worked out. Already, anxious doubts were creeping into his mind. Was it too much? Was it not enough?

I'm sure Marinette will enjoy your little declaration, lover boy. And as long as you aren't declaring your identity, what do I care?

Hey, I've told you before to stay out of my thoughts, Plagg! I don't think this is how this power is supposed to be used.

Jeez, sensitive much?

Adrien sighed, and glanced at the clock. Just a few more minutes, and he'd find out for himself if Marinette liked it.

But unfortunately for him, Hawkmoth had other plans today.

"Attention, students, came Mr. Damocles's voice over the loudspeaker. There has been an akuma alert. This is not a drill. Please seek shelter in the designated areas."

Aww, bummer. I was hoping to see your display. I'm sure it was going to be embarrassing and entertaining.

Not now, Plagg. We have work to do.

"Students, if you could all file nicely along please-"

But Adrien was already making his way out the door, joining the crowd filling the hallway as he searched for a quick place to hide and transform. The designated akuma hiding place was the locker rooms on the bottom floor, so he needed to slip away before the crowd carried him downstairs and there was no chance. Checking to see that no one was looking at him, he slipped into an empty classroom and hid behind the teacher's desk.

"Plagg, claws out!"

A second later, Chat Noir emerged and crept out the door to vault onto the rooftop and try to get a good idea of where the trouble was.

But the classroom hadn't been empty.

Marinette didn't see who had entered the room, because she was hiding for the same reason, to transform. She had just crouched down behind a bookshelf when she heard the door swing open and she froze, motioning to Tikki to hide once more. Then she heard a boy speaking.

"Plagg, claws out!"

Marinette quickly covered her mouth to stifle her gasp. Chat Noir went to Francoise-Dupont as well?!

She heard Chat leave the room, closing the door after himself.

"Tikki, that was close. We almost saw Chat Noir transform! I can't believe he goes to my school!"

Tikki looked like she was going to say something, but then shook her head.

"We can wonder about it later, Marinette. We have an akuma to stop!"

"You're right," Marinette conceded. "Tikki, spots on!"

It didn't take her long to catch up to Chat, finding him a few rooftops away from the school.

"Why, my lady, you have paws-itively purrfect timing," Chat grinned, throwing her a wink.

Ladybug rolled her eyes but her heart wasn't in it. Despite that, she wanted to resolve this quickly so she could get back to school and see Adrien at lunch.

"Very funny, Chat. And how many times have you used that pun now? Come on, we have business. Where's the akuma?"

Chat Noir pointed, and Ladybug followed his finger to a news broadcast being displayed on a large screen.

"Don't be bemused; it's just the news! I'm Nadia Chamak, reporting live from the scene of a new akuma attack, where it appears that someone is a little tired of liars. It's unclear what happened here, but everyone who gets in the akuma's way is being forced to reveal their biggest secrets on camera! We'll cut to the footage now."

The screen flashed for a moment before shaky footage of a young blonde woman appeared, who tried to run away before being hit by a ray of blue waves, which seemed to emanate from the villain's microphone. It seemed like the akuma was the one holding the camera.

"Secrets, secrets are no fun, unless you share with everyone!" the akuma sang. "I am Truth-Seeker, and you will tell us your biggest secret!"

The woman blinked and stared into the camera. "I cheated on my boyfriend when he traveled to America for a business trip. OH!" She covered her mouth. "I can't believe I said that! Henrie, I'm so sorry, my love!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Liars must be punished for hiding the truth! Say goodbye to Henrie!" Truth-Seeker cackled as the woman was absorbed into the video camera.

Suddenly the camera was turned around and Truth-Seeker showed his face with a grin. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are the biggest liars of all! Come out, come out, and reveal your secret identities to all of us!"

The screen cut back to Nadia.

"Well, there you have it, Parisians. Let's hope Ladybug and Chat Noir come to our aid before everyone airs their dirty laundry- on air. I'm Nadia Chamak, thank you for tuning in."

Ladybug gritted her teeth and turned to Chat.

"Right, I don't like liars either but I'd never do something this extreme. We need to be really careful. If we get his with that truth ray we might reveal our identities to all of Paris!"

Chat nodded. "You're absolutely right, My Lady. We need to figure out how to get close to Truth-Seeker without being too obvious. Hawkmoth is clearly stepping his game up. This is a dangerous akuma. Got any ideas?"

"A few," Ladybug replied with a smile. "Follow me!"

Chapter Text

Hey guys, so it's been a very long time since I was active on ao3, and I just wanted to say thank you to those of you who read this incomplete story and enjoyed it anyway. I'm sorry for any temporary trauma you went through by it being unfinished, lol. All I can really say is that life happened.

However, I am still big into the ML fandom and I'm very active on tumblr and tikok, so check me out on tumblr here: https://www.tumblr.com/blog/view/princessfreakincastiel
or on tiktok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@aimstarbabecosplay?lang=en

And I am getting back into writing for ao3, it's just very unlikely I will continue this story. If you like My Hero Academia I have two new fics out for that series, and I will probably write more cute ML oneshots here in the future, but probably not any more super long projects like this one.

Thanks for understanding! See y'all around!