…

It was time for her to move on, she knew that.

She was twenty-four, now a proud owner of her family's bakery, and still hung up on the boy she had loved from a little more than ten years ago. No, that was wrong.

She was still in love with the boys from back then.

Marinette sighed as she rested her chin on her palm, leaning against the counter as she waited for someone to come through the doors and end her boring day.

Her dear friend, Tikki, sat on the counter and watched her worriedly. The small red kwami didn't have to ask what was troubling her; the aspiring fashion designer had always been an open book to her.

"Marinette," she murmured sadly. "It's been years, you know…"

"Years," echoed Marinette, sighing. "And I still didn't confess to either of them." A soft chuckle escaped her. "You know, I never thought I would love anyone but Adrien but somewhere over the years, that silly kitty stole my heart too. I can't believe how foolish I was – am – loving someone who never saw me like that, and someone who deserved someone not clumsy or awkward."

Marinette sighed again as she pushed herself off the counter and went around to go check on the displays around the shop, still talking to Tikki.

"I mean, Adrien once said he had feelings for someone else and he was never the type to lie about something like that; and Chat Noir, he loves Ladybug, someone confident and amazing – things I am not."

"That's not true!" Tikki protested immediately. "I think you're amazing just the way you are, Marinette!"

Marinette glanced at her with a smile. "Thank you, Tikki, but it's the truth; why else would I refuse to share identities with him? It was better that way."

"But don't you wish you had found out before you two parted ways?" Tikki asked curiously.

Marinette hummed as she eyed a few pastries on a shelf, rearranging them until she was satisfied. "A part of me does, yes," she admitted. "But it's better this way; sure, we defeated Hawkmoth but who's to say he doesn't have supporters out there, supporters who could be lurking around and waiting for one of us to slip up?"

Tikki broke a piece off of the cookie that Marinette had left on the counter for her, popping it into her mouth.

"Marinette, Alya's planning on revealing something at the high school reunion party, right?" She asked, seemingly out of the blue and catching the woman off guard.

"U-Uh, yeah," replied Marinette, startled. "Probably some big gossip she's found; even though she's a big shot reporter now, she still loves her silly gossip rumors, you know?"

"Especially when it comes to Ladybug," remarked Tikki, laughing as she remembered all the times Alya had gone insane over the masked superhero. "I mean, she even cut out photos of Ladybug and Chat Noir and tried to figure out who in the city they could be."

Marinette groaned. "Don't remind me! I still can't believe she thinks Chat Noir is Adrien!"

"Well, it would solve your little lovebug problem," pointed out Tikki. "To have the two boys you love be the same person? What a stroke of luck!"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Firstly, not even I'm that lucky; secondly, it would really be bad luck because think of all the times I rejected Chat and messed up with Adrien; thirdly, it wouldn't solve anything because I already messed up with Chat and Adrien has made it very clear he loves someone else."

"That was in high school though," argued Tikki before she spotted a shadow in the bakery windows. Squeaking, she dove out of sight just as someone walked through the door.

Surprised to hear the bell rather than Tikki's smart reply, Marinette shook her head and continued rearranging the pastries.

"I'll be with you in just a minute," she called out.

"Take your time."

Hearing a rather familiar voice, Marinette's head shot up and she stared at the very boy – or one of them, at least – she had been talking about.

"A-Adrien, is that you?" She exclaimed, surprised. "It's been a while."

Adrien smiled sheepishly. "Good, good…I see you're still working here."

Marinette nodded. "Yeah…my designs haven't taken off like I wanted them to, so I've been here to keep the bread on the table." She gestured towards the pastries. "Get it, bread…?"

Inside, a part of Marinette died; she had spent way too much time with Chat if making lame puns like that came so easily to her.

Luckily, Adrien laughed – out of awkwardness, most likely, but she would take it. Little did she know that a small black kwami was snickering at her pun too.

"So what can I help you with?" Marinette asked.

"Well, I was on my way to the reunion," began Adrien. "And I spotted you in the bakery; are you not going?"

Marinette's eyes widened and she slapped her forehead.

"That's tonight?! Oh, no! I totally forgot! Ugh, Alya is going to kill me if I don't show up…" She shook her head, trying to calm herself. "It's fine, it's fine – I'll just close up a little early and be there a little late…as soon as I make those mini-cakes I promised I would make for my parents…ugh!"

Adrien watched his former classmate panic for a few seconds before he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder, causing her to jump in surprise.

"It's okay, Marinette," he assured her. "I'm sure both Alya and your parents will understand. When do you need the mini-cakes by?"

Marinette, her shoulder tingling from his touch, sighed. "By tomorrow morning. A woman is coming by to pick them up for her daughter's wedding or something."

Adrien nodded. "Will it take you long to make them?"

"No…at most, an hour and a half. But I also need time to get ready for the reunion party and frost the mini-cakes…" Marinette let out another soft groan, mentally berating herself for forgetting; some luck!

"What if I help you?" Adrien offered, cutting her off before she could go into another panic. "I don't mind."

Marinette froze mid-sentence, blinking before she slowly looked at him. "Really? You would do that?" At Adrien's nod, she flung her arms around him and repeatedly kissed his cheek. "Oh, thank you! You have no idea how much I appreciate that!"

It was only when she thought she heard someone snickering did she realize what she was doing and to who. Now red in the face, Marinette pulled away and awkwardly stepped back from the blushing blond.

"U-Uh, well…yeah…um, come to the kitchen, then," she stammered, quickly dashing behind the counter to get some space between them. As she did, she spotted Tikki below the counter shelves, giggling.

Adrien followed her into the kitchen, though only after shushing a very amused Plagg, and was immediately hit in the face with an apron.

"Oh, sorry!" Marinette exclaimed, wincing. Goodness, she had thought she had moved on from her awkward stage but something about this boy just brought it back. "I…uh, didn't want your nice clothes to be ruined."

Adrien smiled at her as he took the apron off his head. "Don't worry about it; I actually forgot what I was wearing."

He didn't think he was too dressed up really, just some dark slacks and a black button-up shirt with a bright green tie. Perhaps it was a bit too Chat Noir, but Plagg had insisted.

Still, Adrien tied the apron around his waist and waited for some commands.

Marinette, meanwhile, was now beginning to get in the zone – the same zone she was in when she realized she only had a few hours to make the bowler hat after defeating Monsieur Pigeon so many years ago.

"Alright! Adrien," she called, moving swiftly around the kitchen and grabbing several ingredients. "Measure two cups of water into this, then pour it into this bowl; after that, add in the flour here and crack the eggs, put only the whites in for now! Oh, and wash your hands first!"

Adrien could only blink, watching the normally awkward girl move around gracefully in the kitchen; sure, she was still a frantic mess but she was certainly in her element. It was mesmerizing, actually, like watching his beloved Lady swing her yo-yo around.

Realizing he was just standing around doing nothing, he shook his head and hurried to do as he was ordered.

Things were going fine for the first forty minutes, and then Adrien's bad luck kicked in as he was making the fourth batch of mini-cakes.

Plagg had gotten bored and flew out of Adrien's shirt pocket, most likely to go snack on one of the cheese danishes on display, but stayed low to the ground to avoid being seen by Marinette; unfortunately, he was also unseen by Adrien, who had just been ready to pour the flour into the bowl.

The poor model went flying, as did the flour that exploded all over the kitchen; luckily, the mini-cakes already made were out in the bakery. The only ones really affected where Marinette and Adrien (and Tikki and Plagg, who had thought they would be safe but evidently not).

Sputtering, a very confused Marinette wiped her face and looked at Adrien, who was stammering an apology. Seeing her crush – no, sorry, one of the loves of her life – covered in the flour made her laugh.

"It's fine, really," she reassured. "I think four batches is enough anyways; we can just clean this up and frost the mini-cakes when they cool down."

Adrien looked down at himself, sighing. "Well, I guess I chose a bad day to wear all black, huh?"

Marinette gave him a small smile. "Yeah, sorry; um, you could throw them in the washer for now. By the time they're dry, we should be done. I'm sure there are some old clothes of my dad's that you could wear."

The blond nodded. "If you don't mind, that would be great," he admitted, sighing in relief.

Marinette glanced at the oven quickly before she led him upstairs to the loft, not too concerned with the flour that she could clean up later. She made him wait in the kitchen while she went to go search for some clothes.

Adrien, meanwhile, took the chance to look around; her place was rather small, especially compared to his own home, but it was cozy. He could tell the family was extremely close, from the various pictures adorning on the wall.

"Wow~ What great luck, Adrien," snickered Plagg, flying into the room. The poor kwami, once black, was covered in flour. "You didn't need to drag me into it though."

"Yeah? I'm sure the one I tripped over was you," retorted Adrien, sighing. "Now I've stalled Marinette even more."

"Well, I don't see why you're complaining; you liiiiiiike her," teased Plagg, dodging the hand swipe from his partner. "I remember when you used to panic because you realized how much you like her but you didn't want to 'betray' Ladybug. Why don't you just ask her out, huh? Not like you have a chance with Ladybug."

"So encouraging," murmured Adrien. "But that's ridiculous; surely she has someone in her life by now. Ladybug too. And it's not fair to Marinette if I ask her out while I still love Ladybug."

Plagg shrugged. "Humans are so weird; this is why I stick to my cheese! Much better than girls!"

"As I said years ago, girls smell far much better than cheese."

It was at that moment that Adrien heard Marinette coming back so he shushed Plagg away and smiled at the young designer, still coated in flour.

"Sorry, I couldn't find anything smaller," apologized Marinette, handing Adrien an old shirt of her dad's. It wasn't that it was old – her dad was just an abnormally large man and she knew his shirt would swallow Adrien's frame up. "Um, you can change in my bathroom upstairs."

She patted Adrien on the shoulder in an attempt to assure him once more it was fine, but she only made more flour explode into the air. "Oops."

Adrien laughed, clutching the shirt. "Thank you. I'll go change now."

He went upstairs, unaware of Marinette's breakdown explosion once she realized she had just let Adrien into her room, and quickly locked himself in the bathroom. He quickly changed, using the sink to wash himself off too, and found that the shirt did indeed swallow up his frame. It went past his knees and kept sliding down his shoulders.

"You look like a little kid," snickered Plagg, sitting on the sink. The little kwami was upset he had gotten wet, but there was no other choice. "That thing's huge on you!"

Adrien shook his head, choosing not to respond as he collected his flour-coated clothes and stepped out of the bathroom. He found Marinette sitting on her bed, now dressed in a pair of pajama pants and a tank top, retying her hair.

She smiled once she saw him. "Well, at least you have something to wear."

Oh, he looks adorable, Marinette mentally gushed.

Adrien cracked a smile. "Yeah, that's true."

Don't stare, don't stare. Don't let her/him catch you staring.

The blond held up his clothes. "So…um…"

"Right!" Marinette leaped to her feet, taking the clothes from him. "Let me just take these, and they should be clean and dried in about forty minutes. That gives us enough time to finish frosting the mini-cakes and for me to get ready!"

She went to go put the clothes in the washer, Adrien following her like a stray cat.

"So how are we decorating them?" He asked curiously as they went back into the kitchen in the bakery.

Marinette laughed; she had been extremely amused when she heard the order from her parents.

"The woman is holding a Ladybug and Chat Noir themed wedding," she replied, pulling out the necessary frosting materials. "She wants it to be all lovey-dovey though too, so I came up with a specific design. Don't worry; we're not putting the design on every one of them. Most of them will have little ladybugs or cats on them."

"That's…unique," remarked Adrien. "Are the bride and groom dressed as our beloved superheroes too?"

Marinette shook her head, smiling as she decorated one of the mini-cakes.

"No; evidently, the whole city decided there would be no one dressing as them in weddings until Ladybug and Chat Noir married for real," she explained, focused on not messing up the decorations. "As if that would happen."

Adrien frowned slightly. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, I mean – Chat Noir is definitely a flirt; he must flirt with many girls, not just Ladybug."

"But he doesn't! I-I mean, what if he doesn't; what if he only flirts with Ladybug, truly loves her?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "If that was the case, I'm sure he would be very disappointed if he ever got to see the girl behind the mask. I mean, no one knows Chat Noir and Ladybug's identities; they probably don't even know each other's. Ladybug may be very different without the mask on."

Adrien leaned against the counter, watching her design; he couldn't make out the pattern quite yet.

"So? I'm sure Chat Noir is different behind the mask too."

"Yeah, but if Chat is only interested in Ladybug, then who's to say he will like the girl behind the mask? He must like her because she's confident and this great hero, right? I don't think he'd be very happy if he found out Ladybug was just this plucky awkward little girl with big dreams and nothing to show for."

Adrien opened his mouth to interrupt, to argue, but Marinette continued speaking.

"I mean, even if he did, for whatever reason, what if Ladybug liked someone else? What if she liked Chat back but she was too scared to say so? What if she was too scared to reveal herself to him, to let him see she's not all that? And what if she's confused by these two boys, these two wonderful boys who she loves so much? What if she spends every night tossing and turning, wondering why didn't she confess all those years ago? Why she didn't give Chat a chance? Why she didn't tell him how she truly felt? How she feels incomplete without him, how she doesn't know how she feels anymore, how he and this other boy are just wrecking with her heart and she doesn't even see either of them anymore? How she just wants to figure her feelings out? How she wants to be the confident Ladybug, who knows exactly what to do to save the day, but she's stuck as a clumsy failure with either the greatest luck ever or the worst?"

Marinette finished off the mini-cake's design, not even realizing what she had done, what she said, who she had spoken to.

"How she's just…Marinette Dupain-Cheng, ordinary girl."

She placed the mini-cake on the sheet, finally revealing the special design she had created; it was a ladybug and a small cat with a pink rose in between them. Nothing grand, sure, but it meant a lot.

Marinette stared at the design for just a moment before she burst into tears, covering her face with her hands. Her whole body wracked with sobs, the poor thing shaking more than a stray cat left in the rain.

She just wanted to love someone, wanted someone to love her back; she had pushed Chat away so many times he probably hated her by now, and she never had a chance with Adrien. The two boys she loved so much…she had ruined everything…everything!

Suddenly, there were two strong but gentle hands on her wrists, pulling her hands from her face. Before she could react though, those hands were cupping her cheeks and a soft pair of lips were pressed against hers.

With a jolt, she realized it was Adrien's – it was Adrien who was kissing her, who was holding her so lovingly, so familiarly…

A moment later, he pulled away and for the first time, Marinette realized how green his eyes were; she had always known, of course, but she had never seen them so close. And when they were so close, she realized how familiar they were to her. They were not as bright as she remembered, but she would recognize that pair of mischievous eyes anywhere.

"It's you," she whispered.

Tikki's words from earlier echoed in her head.

To have the two boys you love be the same person? What a stroke of luck!

And Marinette began to laugh, clutching Adrien's hands tightly. The blond began to laugh as well, finding the whole situation as hilarious as she did.

"It's you!" Marinette repeated, laughing even more.

"And it's you!" Adrien joined in, using the counter as support. However, he never let go of her hands.

Plagg and Tikki, having been witnesses to everything, took that as their cue to come out of their hiding spots. They shared looks, looks that said everything that needed to be said without words.

Finally, Adrien and Marinette calmed down.

"How did I not see it was you?" He murmured, squeezing her hand. "It was so obvious; we were always missing class at the same time…you had the same hairstyle, have the same laugh, and eyes!"

Marinette smiled, shaking her head. "Your allergies – that's what should have tipped me off, if not your same blond hair and bright green eyes. I mean, how many people are allergic to feathers?"

Adrien laughed. "Not many people," he admitted, lifting her hand and kissing it. "I can't believe you've been here all this time, my Lady."

He was delighted in the fact that he could get her to turn such a lovely pink color; it was always adorable on Marinette, and the fact that he now knew he could get Ladybug to turn that color made his day. Well, finding out the two women he loved were the same person was probably what made his day but whatever.

Marinette squeezed his hand, despite the blush she wore. "So I guess that means we're…well, we're finally together?"

"I guess so," murmured Adrien, smiling. "I don't mind – do you?"

"Not at all," assured Marinette quickly, beaming. "You don't know how relieved I am to find out that you two are the same person. I mean, I always loved Adrien but soon enough, I found myself loving Chat Noir too and I just didn't know what to do!"

"Believe me; I know how you feel," assured Adrien, stealing another kiss, leaving them both blushing. "I love you, Marinette."

"And I love you, Adrien," whispered the designer, smiling brightly.

"As cute and wondrous as this all is," began Tikki, startling the two superheroes. "I do believe you have some frosting to do, as well as get ready for a certain party?"

"They'll never make it in time," commented Plagg, nibbling on a cheese Danish he had snagged.

Marinette and Adrien exchanged looks, looks shared between those who knew each other so well.

"Yes, we can!" They promised, rushing to finish decorate the mini-cakes.

They were a team, after all.

…

I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.

Amazing – the first fanfiction I write in over a year, and it's because I'm shipping trash who finished an incredibly sad fanfiction by someone else.

I hope you all liked it~ Hopefully, I'll have more time soon enough to write more stories (or finish writing my other stories…oops).