Marinette looks out over the park, Alya's voice fading into background noise as she continued her latest account on Ladybug's exploits. Marinette usually tried to listen, she really did, but not only had she been there unknown to Alya, but she had also read her friend's blog post about it as well. Marinette's gaze wanders to the trees, happily noting that some leaves were already changing color. Fall was such a nice time of year, for many reasons, but the color of the trees lining the streets was one of her favorite things. The colors made nature so lively. She knows that the leaves were dying, technically, but the sea of fiery leaves seemed so alive, as if they were living ten times more to cope with their incoming death. She can just imagine going on a walk to admire all the colors with Adrien, the brisk air prompting a shiver and an excuse to move closer-

"Marinette! Hellooooo?" Alya cuts into Marinette's daydream, waving a hand in front of her face. "The look on your face makes me think you were dreaming of Adrien again. Were you listening at all?"

Marinette stutters, a blush sweeping across her face as Alya guesses exactly what she's thinking about. It would be scary how accurate she was, but considering how often Marinette fell into a daydream, it wasn't that hard to guess her thoughts. "I… heard a little bit of it," she replies sheepishly, offering a small smile.

"When did you stop listening?"

"Um… When Ladybug showed up?"

Alya throws her hands up and shakes her head, but she's still smiling. She couldn't truly be mad at her friend for her daydreams. It was just another adorable part of Marinette. Still, she was able to feel some annoyance as Marinette's attention once again wandered, this time to a stand just off the path they were walking. As Alya opens her mouth to say something, Marinette excitedly grabs her hand and pulls her to the stand, eyes sparkling.

In a moment Marinette was already holding a small bunny charm, cooing at how cute it was. Marinette goes through the display, picking up more and more charms, each one simple but dearly cute. She stares at them, trying to decide which she wants as her brow furrows in concentration. She already has 6 in her hands as she hears an "Ah-ha!" to her right. When she turns, Alya is triumphantly holding up a ladybug charm.

"This is perfect! Marinette, do-" Alya stops mid sentence as she sees the small collection already in Marinette's hand. She stifles a laugh. "Can't choose?"

"They're just all so cute!" Marinette cries in exasperation, placing them back on the table carefully, wary of the look the stand owner was giving her. As she places the last one down, she spies something out the corner of her eye. A small, round bell charm.

Just like Chat Noir's, she thinks to herself as she picks it up, a smile easily taking over her lips. I wonder if he has any use for a charm…

"Found your favorite?"

"Oh! Um, maybe….?" He probably wouldn't need anything like this. And I don't even have any reason to give it to him! "Maybe- maybe not."

"Marinette, you smiled as soon as you saw it. You should just buy it." Alya's tone is matter of fact.

The smile wasn't because of the charm, really! "You think?"

Alya shrugs as she pays for her own charm. "Why not? You like it."

But will he? No, wait, this is stupid. "Okay. I'll buy it. It's cute, isn't it?"

Alya nods in response, attaching her own charm to her bag as Marinette pays for the bell. Instead of attaching it to anything, she slips it into her pocket. I'll decide what to do with it later. I don't even know that I'll have a chance to give it to him, anyway!

"Now, as I was saying earlier…" Alya begins, and Marinette giggles as her friend continues the story of Ladybug. Some things never changed.

"Mission accomplished!" Ladybug and Chat Noir chime in unison, bumping fists. Chat grins, leaning closer.

"We're flawless together, my Lady, as usual."

Ladybug laughs, pushing Chat away with a finger. "We are partners, after all. I'll see you later, kitty cat." She's about to bound away when Chat replies.

"I'll be there with bells on," he says, tapping the bell around his neck and sounding a little too smug that he could turn the saying into a pun.

She stops, suddenly remembering the charm she bought. She had been carrying it in her pocket for weeks, and Marinette had sat in her room staring at the charm countless times before putting it away with no decisions made. But she was Ladybug now, and she felt much more decisive. She has some time left, so she turns back to Chat.

"Oh? Forget your goodbye kiss?" Chat teases, though there is more curiosity than mischief in his eyes at the moment. She rarely stays long after a fight because she was so cautious about revealing her identity. Ladybug doesn't reply as she pulls out the charm, holding it out to him.

"A birthday present. It's not much, but I thought of you when I saw it."

"Birthday present? It's not-"

"Not your birthday, I know. But it will be eventually, or already has been… I can't know it, but I thought I'd give you something…" Ladybug can feel her confidence slipping away as Chat doesn't do anything and just stares. After another moment, she pulls her arm back a little, her smile falling. She shouldn't have done this. It was weird, wasn't it?

But seeing Ladybug pull into herself seems to snap Chat out of a trance, and he finally springs into action. He grabs the charm and then Ladybug herself, sweeping her into a hug and spinning her around, despite her sounds of protest. He's laughing soon enough, and Ladybug can feel herself blushing, just a little.

"It's just a charm…" she mutters into his shoulder, giving up on attempting to escape. He's stopped spinning her around, but his grip hasn't lightened.

"Ah, but it's the thought that counts. And I never knew that thoughts of me plagued your everyday existence! If you had just said…" Chat wiggles his eyebrows, and Ladybug laughs even as she finally pushes him off.

"Not many people I know use bells as a fashion statement. Don't look too much into it." But her words don't seem to penetrate the happy haze that Chat is in, and his smile is infectious.

"I'll treasure it forever. My own lucky charm," Chat practically purrs.

Another spot disappears from Ladybug's earrings, and she knows she can't stay any longer. "I'm… glad you like it, Chat." She smiles, then, a warm smile that matches the glowing feeling in her chest that his excitement caused. "Even if it is just a silly charm."

"Ah-ah-ah. Lucky charm," he corrects, swinging the charm back and forth to punctuate his words. She rolls her eyes.

"Okay, lucky charm. You'll probably need it." She laughs at his overly affronted look, and then she's bounding away with a call of "See you, alley cat!"

Chat stays, staring at the charm with a fond smile for several long moments. It was cute, sure, but the fact that Ladybug had bought it for him, had thought of him at all… An excited grin overtakes his face, even as a beep has him rushing for cover. As Adrien slips out and begins his walk home, the charm seems to give off a comforting warmth, radiating from his palm to the rest of his body and keeping a smile on his face. How lucky…!

Adrien leans back in his chair, twirling the charm in his hand. It has already been a few days since he had received the gift from Ladybug, but he still finds himself smiling as he looks at the bell. He sets it down next to Plagg, though on further consideration he moves it farther away. Wouldn't want him tarnish his precious gift with stray cheese crumbs. Plagg, who is currently shoving cheese into his mouth (as per usual) doesn't seem to notice Adrien's thought process. He glances at the charm and then back to his meal.

"Why do you just keep the charm on your desk, huh? I thought you liked the gift."

Adrien sighs. They had been over this every day since he had received the gift, and the answer hadn't changed. "Ladybug doesn't want our identities revealed. What if she saw it? She would know it was me."

"But isn't that what you want?" Plagg asks, finishing off his cheese and laying back contentedly. Adrien is much less at ease.

"It's not what she wants…" The words sound weak, even to Adrien.

"It's just a charm anyway, who's gonna notice it? And what's the chance she'll even see you? C'mon, just put it to use."

"The chance is probably higher than we think." He doesn't have much confidence in those words. "Haven't you seen Alya's investigative reports?" Adrien can feel his heart speeding up as he thinks about it. The idea that Ladybug was his age, maybe even in his school, was incredibly alluring. But it seemed too good to be true.

"Live a little! Put the charm on your phone already."

Adrien's weak resolve finally crumbles at Plagg's encouragement, and he grabs the charm again. It's kind of sad to deny the charm its only use, anyway…

He finds a small grin on his face as he holds up his phone, the bell charm swinging slightly. It was innocuous enough. No one would notice, right? He doesn't think he pulls that much attention, anyway. It's probably fine.

Marinette stares at the charm on Adrien's phone, attention completely pulled away from the lesson. Not that that was entirely odd for her- she spent a lot of time watching Adrien instead of listening. That had enabled her to memorize most details about Adrien and his stuff, and she was positive that the charm was new. And exactly like the one she had given to Chat Noir. I should have given it to Adrien- wait, no, he already had it. Or maybe that's new. I haven't seen it before. I wonder when he got it? Did he buy it for himself or did someone give it to him?

Her inner turmoil is interrupted by a nudge from Alya, who has always tried to save Marinette from daydreams, at least when the material gets complicated. When she doesn't respond right away, Alya follows her gaze and finds it concentrated on Adrien's phone, sitting innocently on the desk beside his notebook. She's confused for a few moments before she notices the charm, a sly smile slipping onto her face as she puts together a story. She nudges Marinette again, getting her attention this time, and offers a whispered "Good for you," before returning to the lesson. Marinette looks at her with confusion, but there isn't time to explain, because the teacher finally calls out for Marinette's attention. She stutters an apology, and begins furiously taking notes to take her mind off of whatever was happening.

As class ends for the morning, Alya immediately starts the conversation she had been itching to have. "I didn't know you gave the charm to Adrien. It looks like he likes it, too." She winks, but Marinette just shakes her head.

"I wish I had given it to him, but I gave it to-" Marinette cuts herself off, and then frowns. "I, uh… I lost it, actually. A couple days ago."

Alya studies Marinette's face for a moment, and then shakes her head. "So he just happens to have an identical charm to the one you bought?"

"I… guess?" Unless he's… No, that's impossible. Her Adrien could never be. Just the idea of Adrien doing those things, saying those things... Marinette thinks her head might explode.

"If you really lost it, maybe he found it! It's a conversation starter at least. You should go talk to him. Bring it up."

"E-eh? No, Alya-"

"Hey Adrien! Is that a new charm on your phone?" Alya calls, running to catch up with him. Marinette's frozen for a moment, but she follows behind soon enough, blushing and staring at the ground. "I just bought this ladybug one, isn't it cute?"

Adrien looks surprised and concerned for a moment as Alya points out his charm, but he quickly regains his cool as Alya keeps talking. He smiles at the ladybug charm. Alya was definitely one of Ladybug's most dedicated fans. Not her number one, of course. No, that was him. "Don't you already have a ladybug phone charm?"

Alya waves him off. "It was an impulse buy. Marinette pulled me over to the stand, so it's her fault. She bought something, too, though, so at least we're even."

Adrien turns to Marinette, seeming to expect a continuation from her. She looks up at him, and makes eye contact for a solid second before she gets overwhelmed and looks to the side. "I bought a bell charm just like that, but I lost it."

Adrien's eyes widen just a fraction. They could have bought them at the same place as Ladybug, then! He composes himself as he replies. "That's too bad. Where did you get it?" He suddenly realizes that his question seems completely unrelated, so he belatedly tacks on a small explanation. "You could go buy another, if you wanted," he finishes lamely.

Marinette smiles sweetly, but shakes her head. "No, it's just a silly charm."

The words strike Adrien, and he doesn't even notice that he didn't get an answer to his question. Those words were common enough, but something about they way they were said…

"We got it at a stand in the park. Didn't seem like a permanent thing. What about you, then? How'd you get your charm?" Alya cuts any surfacing memories short as she leans in just a little. "Because your charm shows up just as Marinette loses hers. Can't be a coincidence, can it?"

The other two look at each other, both wondering how much of a coincidence it really could be. But eventually, Adrien speaks, leaving both with only vague wonderings. "Ah, sorry, but I don't think it's the same charm you lost. A friend gave it to me a couple days ago."

Alya seems more defeated at this news than Marinette, who is still just staring at Adrien. But the usual awestruck look is missing, and instead her brow is furrowed, just a little, and her head is cocked to the side. "Who-"

"Adrien, hey! Are you ready to go?" Nino calls, waving his arms. Marinette clamps her mouth shut, shaking her head as is to chase the thoughts away. There's no way. There's definitely no way. Right?

"Just a sec!" Adrien replies before turning back to Marinette. "Were you about to ask something?"

"Was I? Hm, I already forgot! Sorry," Marinette replies, lightly knocking her hand against her head with a forced laugh to cover her panic. "You should get going!"

"...Okay, if you're sure."

Marinette nods again, her smile more genuine now, though her reaction to her own thoughts still had her speaking too loudly. "You don't have that much free time, so you should get going."

Adrien nods, looking at Marinette one last time. She blushes and drops her gaze as he offers a smile and a wave to the two girls, running off to catch up with Nino. Alya, who had fallen quiet as she watched this last exchange, finally speaks up.

"What were you going to ask?"

"Nothing, just… How much do you need before something stops being a coincidence?"

((So, that's actually the end of the story, for now!. Marinette's a little more suspicious, but otherwise this story slips back into canon. If I ever get more plot bunnies for this story, I'll keep going, but this is tentatively complete!))