Notes are at the bottom. I just wanna say a HUGE thank you to Amy for being the nicest, most patient, most helpful beta EVER! And Taylor for giving me permission to use her art as the cover :D

Cover image: nsfwtay . tumblr (.com) post/136593914800/the-real-sinners-here

"The Ile de Re. It's a beautiful island just off the west coast of France. It's rich in history, having been traded and fought for by surrounding countries since the early 1300's! The particular fight that we're interested in, of course, is the capture of the island in 1625, when the Protestant Duke of Soubise led a revolt against the King, Louis the XIII…"

The history teacher, Ms. Bustier, began pointing to a topographical map of the island she had taped over the board at the front of the class using a red laser pointer to point out specific areas that held historical significance to the lesson.

Adrien cringed in his chair, pulling his eyes away from the board to stare blankly at his open book. He always hated when she used the laser pointer. It was such a lazy way of teaching, why didn't she just point with her finger or a ruler like the other teachers? Why did she have to stand five feet from the board and indicate with the jittery red dot some beach where some old guy died? It was stupid. Laser pointers were stupid. That red dot was stupid. He had to have it.

Shaking his head vigorously to erase the thought from his mind, he sighed. He had been spending so much time lately as Chat Noir he was starting to feel like a cat more than a boy. Yesterday, he had caught himself staring blindly at a butterfly in the bushes by the front entranceway to the school, watching as it fluttered from leaf to leaf. He probably would have pounced on it too, had his buddy, Nino, not elbowed him in the side, breaking his unnerving concentration.

It was not like the city was in any more danger than usual, either. In fact, it had been a good amount of time since the last Akuma attack. Yet every night, without fail, he suited up as the mischievous cat for a routine patrol with his Lady. Normally he would not patrol every night, maybe twice a week or more if his schedule would allow. However, after one night patrolling with Ladybug where she had let it slip she was having trouble sleeping, he had made the suggestion of increasing the amount of times they patrolled together, to tire her out more. At least, that was the reason he told her.

His lady was all he ever dreamed about, of course he would never let a chance pass him by to spend more time with her. He had hoped the constant interaction would eventually wear her guard down around him, maybe give him a bit of a clue to finding out who she was as a civilian. Not that he would ever invade her privacy, but he figured if he found out the secret on his own, on accident per say, that wasn't breaking any boundaries, right? And while he knew he felt more comfortable as his superhero persona, he never forgot how much pull his civilian life had. Having a super famous designer for a father, being the only heir to the family business and all its money, and being a rather popular part-time model probably did not help his ego, but if they would get Ladybug's attention, he would use anything.

Suddenly, the class erupted into cheers, some jumping out of their chair to show their excitement while others began enthusiastically talking to one another in fast, high pitched voices, hands waving and motioning about.

"W—What did I miss?" Adrien looked around wildly, confused as to why everyone was suddenly so thrilled to be in History class.

"Dude, didn't you hear? We're going on a field trip! For the whole weekend!" Nino jostled him as he slung an arm over his shoulders, grinning at him like a fool who had just won the lottery.

"O-Oh?" Adrien stuttered out, taken aback by the sudden and unexpected weight on his shoulders and the closeness of his best friend. What was so great about a field trip? They had taken them before to the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay. They hadn't been all that exciting.

"Bro, you've got to be kidding me! Don't you get it? Three days and two nights with no parents. That means staying up all night—"

"Karaoke!" Kim cheered from the back of the class, getting a hurrah in response from a few of the others.

"Eating junk food!" Rose quietly exclaimed, blushing slightly as everyone's eyes turned to her.

"Telling scary stories." Juleka stood behind Rose, resting a hand on her smaller friend's shoulder for reassurance.

"Playing games!" Alya chimed in, Adrien turning his eyes to watch as she smiled down at the two boys.

"Yea, like truth or dare." Nino added, giving her a smile that must have been his attempt at suave, but only got him a scoff in response from his target, Alya dropped her smile and threw her eraser at him. Nino immediately dislodged himself from his blond friend while he tried to defend himself from the attack, chuckling as it bounced off his shoulder.

Everyone began talking over one another, the noise in the classroom skyrocketing as they excitedly chatted about what they thought was going to be the best part of this class trip, but there was one voice Adrien had not heard. Curious, he turned around in his seat again, this time looking for the girl who sat directly behind him. Expecting to find her yammering on with enthusiasm like the rest of his classmates, Adrien was shocked to find her asleep in her seat, head resting on her crossed arms over her book.

"She hasn't been sleeping lately." Alya offered in explanation, looking sorrowfully at her best friend, his obvious confusion at the situation having caught her attention.

Marinette's sleeping habits over the last few weeks had been slowly starting to effect her day to day morale. Alya had first noticed it when her friend had started adding a cup of coffee to her morning routine and was, surprisingly, showing up on time or early to school. When she had asked why the sudden change, Marinette had simply stated 'not sleeping' and ended the conversation, not wanting to give any more details on the matter. Alya, being the understanding friend, didn't push for more.

Adrien looked on at the sleeping girl, worry clear on his face as he watched her steady breathing flutter the hair around her mouth. First Ladybug, now Marinette. He started wondering if there was some sort of Akuma going around causing people to lose sleep.

Before he could think any further on the matter, the bell sounded that signaled the end of class. Turning back to his desk and gathering his books into his bag, his attention was drawn back to his excited classmates as they all piled out of the room still talking about the trip. How amazing would it be to take a trip like this with his friends? To stay up late and play games, talk all night, and eat piles of junk food without a care in the world? But Adrien knew he was not meant to have these things. His life was not as carefree as other kids his age. He had a strict schedule to follow where almost every minute of every day was planned for him. Photoshoots, fittings, appearances, not to mention his extra curricular activities. No, he knew better than to get his hopes up. Besides, the chance of his entire weekend being free were one in a million. Or worse.

One in a million.

That was what he said. He assumed he would have had a better chance of picking out Ladybug's civilian self in a crowd than the weekend of the school trip being free of any appointments. Yet here he was, bag packed and going over his checklist of things on his phone while his driver pulled the car around front for him, Natalie rambling on about his father's expectations for him once he returned.

"And don't forget, on Wednesday, there's a photoshoot scheduled for after school, so you'll have to skip your fencing class—" Natalie said, never removing her eyes from her tablet as she scrolled through his schedule, making sure she had checked and double checked all his appointments for him.

"Natalie, I know. You've already said that," Adrien interrupted her, trying to calm her nerves while switching applications on his phone and smiling to himself as he scrolled through the missed text messages from Nino.

N- Dude, are you really gonna be able to make it?

A- Yea! I'm on my way now!

N- Sick! We're gonna have a blast! I was able to sneak some serious junk food from my house. Dude, you're gonna love it!

The car arrived at the front gate, the gorilla of a driver getting out to open the door for Adrien as he descended the stairs, oblivious to his surroundings while he stared at his phone and laughed. Throwing his bag in first, he happily jumped into the back, feeling almost giddy as the euphoria of the upcoming adventure started to effect him.

He spent the entirety of the short car ride to the school texting back and forth to Nino about all the cool things they would do on this trip. It was not often that he got an opportunity like this and he was not about to miss anything.

When they pulled up to the front of the school, he could see Nino waving enthusiastically as he jogged up to the car. With a quick 'thanks for the ride' to his driver, he threw open the door and jumped out, bag slung over his shoulder and cellphone still in hand.

"Hey! Aw man, this is gonna be so sick!" Nino threw an arm around his buddy's shoulders, smiling like a fool as he steered Adrien towards the already loading bus. They met up with Alya and Marinette on the way, the latter of the two giving an extra large yawn as they walked up.

"Good morning, guys!" Nino waved to greet the girls, Adrien mirroring him and giving a small wave of his own.

"Good morning, Nino, Adrien," Alya welcomed.

Alya smiled as the guys made their way over to them, elbowing Marinette to save her friend from the embarrassment of showing her crush her tonsils. The girl coughed loudly as she was jabbed in the ribs mid-yawn, covering her mouth while she tried to regain her composure. Her face heated up when she noticed the worried look on Adrien's face.

"G-g-good morning, Adrien!" Marinette yelled, her voice hitching up at the boy's name and almost coming out as a squeak. Unfortunately, of course, this only caused more blood to rush to her already hot cheeks, setting her fate in stone as the blond boy continued to look after her with worry.

Through a stroke of sheer luck, the bus honked its horn twice, signaling all remaining stragglers to hurry and board. Nino took the lead, a certain bounce in his step as he led the group the few steps to the bus's door. The be-speckled boy was obviously the happiest in the class over the trip and had no problem showing it as he took the few steps up into the bus two at a time, giving Kim a high five once he made it to the top.

Adrien chuckled at the display. He was wondering if his friend's mood was contagious because as he took hold of the railing to the stairs, he could not help but feel a little bit of that giddiness himself.

This was going to be fun.

The bus dropped them off at the train station with just enough time for the teacher to pass out their tickets and make sure all were accounted for before they had to board. The three hour train ride to the small island was not as bad as Adrien had been anticipating, Nino made sure of that. The dark-skinned youth kept everyone's spirits high with impromptu Karaoke, which Kim got the most enjoyment out of, and tales of all the cool games he had managed to sneak from his house.

Everyone was keeping busy during the drive, all except Marinette, whose eyes closed the moment she sat down and had not so much as twitched the entire ride. Alya would check on her every few minutes, but the girl never moved, her slow steady breathing the only sign she was still alive.

Once the train began approaching the final station located on the eastern side of the island, the teacher called the classes attention and began reciting their schedule for the day. Since a large part of the day had been used in travel time, they would be starting the trip off with a quick lunch at the station's cafe, followed by a short bus ride to their hotel where they would be assigned rooms, two to a room, and be given exactly thirty minutes to freshen up and change before they set out to one of the Museums on the list of "Historical Sights to See".

As luck would have it, Adrien had been paired up with Nino as roommates. Once the two were given their key and the class was dismissed for their thirty minutes of reprieve time, the boys flew up the flight of stairs, threw open their door and immediately fought over the bed closest to the window. Nino won after effectively knocking his best friend off the bed with a pillow to the face.

Adrien, half-jokingly and half-grudgingly picked up his bag from the floor and placed it on the bed closest to the bathroom, beginning to unpack a few of his things as Nino unceremoniously turned his bag upside down on his bed and emptied the contents in one fell swoop. The amount of card games, small board games, and even video games that he had managed to smuggle from his house was astounding. The blond picked up a copy of Smash Brothers Brawl for the Nintendo Wii U and gave his friend a questioning look.

"What? Max said he was going to bring the console!" Nino defended, as he grabbed the game from his friend's hands and shoved it back into his bag. When the two started going through their stash, Adrien taking an immediate liking to a card game by the name of Exploding Kittens, there was a knock on their door, the voice of Ms. Bustier echoing through, letting them know that they had 5 minutes to be down in the lobby. Nino quickly hid his prizes back into the safety of his bag and secured it under his bed.

Once the two boys made it downstairs, the tour began. It was boring, to say the least. History had never been Adrien's favorite subject, but there was something about the gentle breeze rolling off the ocean and the quiet murmur of the other tourist groups that seemed to make the whole ordeal enjoyable. The group spent three hours walking along the edge of a ruined castle while the teacher went on and on about how a great battle took place here centuries ago. Something about Romans ruling the world. He could swear he heard something about the Dutch in there at one point.

It was not until the sun began to reach for the horizon that Ms. Bustier noticed the time. She gave a sheepish smile to her charges, brushing off the late time with an apology for having lost herself in the history of the island. Thankfully, they had not wandered far from the Museum and would easily be able to make it back to the lodge in time for dinner.

Dinner was served in the restaurant attached to the hotel. It was not five stars, to which Chloe didn't miss complaining loudly about, but it was different than most were used to, using fresh ingredients grown on the island and fish caught from the piers by fisherman earlier that morning. It was exactly what the group of teens needed after a day of traveling and trudging through history. The kids finished their meals, a few going for seconds, and were pleasantly stuffed and ready to relax. Ms. Bustier had struck up a conversation with the hotel's cook regarding their tour schedule for tomorrow, hoping for a little local insight on some of the more harder to get to historical sights, and Nino saw this as a perfect opportunity to spring his plan into action. His "party all night while the parents are away" plan, that was.

He signaled to the closest classmates, Kim, Juleka, and Rose, and whispered something even Adrien could not hear. Once he was finished, the other three nodded and immediately began to spread their message like wildfire to the rest of the class. No sooner had Adrien deciphered the meaning behind his friends secrecy did he start to see the a few of his classmates excuse themselves from their tables, informing their teacher as they passed her that they were retiring for the night. Too absorbed in her conversation, she saw no issue with this and bid them a goodnight.

Over the course of the next 20 minutes, Adrien watched as, two by two, his classmates got up from their empty plates and went up to their rooms, supposedly tired out from the day and going to sleep early. Finally, all that was left was Nino, Adrien, Alya, and Rose.

"AWWW Man! I'm so tired!" Nino said loudly, stretching his arms above his head. As he got up, he gave a quick wink to Alya and turned to face their teacher. "Ms. Bustier, I think I'm gonna head up to my room. That alright?"

"Huh? Oh, yes, of course. Have a good night, Nino. Big day tomorrow, make sure you get plenty of rest," Ms. Bustier said with a wave of her hand, never pulling her attention away from the cook as their talk had changed from the island to their personal lives.

Nino grinned triumphantly and grabbed Adrien's arm as he passed by, pulling the blond boy out of his chair as we went. He stumbled to keep up the pace with his be-speckled friend as they went up the stairs, Nino practically bouncing as he walked the few steps from the staircase to their room. Their door was slightly ajar and an exceptional amount of muffled noise was already coming from behind it. When Nino pushed it open further, Adrien was confronted with the realization of what exactly had transpired downstairs.

Every one of their classmates that had left dinner early was now piled into their small, two bed room. It seemed Alix had been the first to find the bag hiding the games as she sat cross-legged at the end of Nino's bed with it in her lap, rifling through the treasures within as if she were looking for something in particular. Max, as Nino had mentioned earlier, had indeed been able to sneak out his Nintendo Wii U and currently was in the process of getting it hooked up to the room's TV with the help of Ivan. Kim and Juleka were sitting at the head of Nino's bed, going through a large binder that was filled to the brim with sets of lyrics, no doubt the songs that were on the Karaoke disk that was on the bedside table beside them. Nathanael and Mylene were sitting on Adrien's bed playing a card game that had little dwarves, spears, and swords printed on them, the box discarded on the floor, but unreadable at the angle it had fallen. Chloe and Sabrina were nowhere in sight.

"Finally! I thought we'd never get to relax," Alya's voice sounded from behind Adrien, Rose at her side as they looked into the room between the two boys to see what the holdup was.

"Well, don't you worry, your bestest buddy Nino will make sure tonight is everything you hoped it would be," Nino answered, bowing into a deep, low bow to imitate a knight in front of his princess, glancing up to the exasperated girl and giving her a wink for the second time tonight. Alya rolled her eyes at the show, pushing past him and into the room, but not before Adrien caught sight of the smile playing on her lips and the slight blush now warming her cheeks. Rose, obviously finding the entire encounter delightfully adorable, giggled as she followed Alya into the room, immediately taking a seat with Nathanael and Mylene and being dealt into their card game.

It was then that Adrien noticed a certain lack of cheer from the room. Like a light that had never been turned on and only now had he noticed just how dark it was in the room without it.

"Where's Marinette?" Adrien looked around, taking a few steps further into the room as he asked. Alya turned from where she had been bent over watching Max and Ivan.

"Oh, she wasn't feeling well about halfway through dinner and went to bed early. Girl hasn't been doing too great lately. All that lack of sleep is really getting to her," she said as she crossed her arms over her chest. Lowering her head in thought and worry over her room mate, Alya couldn't help, but remember the deep circles under her friends eyes when she'd excused herself from dinner earlier.

Nino could feel the atmosphere between his two best friends starting to take a serious nose dive and needed to think of a way to stop that. Fast.

"H—Hey, Max! How's that Wii U coming along? Need any help?" He asked quickly, stuttering over his words a little in his haste. Max lifted his head from where he was hunched over the console on the floor, giving Nino a surprised, but understanding smile as he replied.

"Oh, uh, no, I don't believe so. The collective effort between Ivan and myself should prove be more—"

"I got it!" Ivan exclaimed as the TV began to blare the menu selection screen's background music for Super Smash Brothers Brawl, characters bouncing idly waiting for their chance to beat the tar out of each other.

After Alix practically pounced on the TV's remote and immediately turned down the volume to a more reasonable level, the entire room erupted into cheers. As the group began to break down a battle plan for a small tournament, Nino glanced at Alya out of the corner of his eye.

His plan was working. Alya had lifted her head and was watching the rest of the room with a small smile on her lips. The worry and concern had not been completely chased from her eyes, but Nino was not about to stop yet. He would make her enjoy the night one way or another.

Adrien, too, was starting to feel the overall mood of the room lift his worries from his mind. Tonight was not a night to dwell on things he could not control, much less things he had no right sticking his nose into in the first place. That's right, tonight was a once in a lifetime chance to just be a kid and have fun.

As the first round of the make-shift battle royal was getting underway, the blond boy moved to take a seat on the floor at the foot of his own bed. He watched as Alix, Max, Ivan, and Kim chose their characters carefully only to bicker endlessly over the stage. This went on for fifteen minutes before Alix chose random before anyone could protest further.

When the room filled with the sounds of hyaaah's and aaaargh's as the game characters brutally bludgeoned one another, Adrien felt a slight tap on his right shoulder. Looking up, he saw Rose smiling sweetly as she quietly handed him one of the opened bag of chips she had managed to sneak into her bag for the trip. He took the bag with a quick nod and smile of his own, popping a salty chip into his mouth.

The hours flew by as more and more people were eliminated from the tournament, some drifting off to play board or card games while most hung around and rooted for their favorite to win until it was down to just two. The final battle was to be between Max and Adrien.

Max, who was exceptional with any character in the game, was choosing to play it safe against the surprised veteran-like skill that Adrien had turned out to have as he selected his main choice: Star Fox. Apparently when you are confined to your room alone for most of your childhood, and homeschooled for the rest, you get pretty good at video games.

Adrien, still being relatively new to the multi-player game, had been using Link exclusively during all the previous fights. He had originally chosen him strictly because the Legend of Zelda games had always been his favorite, but after playing a few rounds with the sword fighter, he had realized just how perfect a fit the character made for his style.

According to the rules that Kim made up on the spot, the final battle was to take place on the map labeled Final Destination, a short map with no obstructions or platforms to jump on or hide behind. A perfect setting for a 1v1 match.

The map loaded, dropping the two characters onto either side of the platform before a quick countdown began to flash on the screen. The buzzer sounded and they were off, Link immediately throwing a bomb followed closely by a well placed arrow to the sky. He knew Star Fox would have to jump to avoid the explosion.

The two were lost in concentration as they ducked and bobbed and weaved out of each other's way. All the while they kept a distance from one another, perfectly timed shots or a good use of bombs keeping their battle percentages slowly climbing.

The fight looked almost entirely one-sided as Adrien made Link use the grappling hook to grab Star Fox and drag him halfway across the map, bringing him within range of his Master Sword. As everyone prepared for what they thought was the inevitable defeat of their be-speckled friend, Max used his dash move to have Star Fox zip past Link right before the blade was brought down, stopping and turning on his heels behind the blond swordsman. Without wasting a second, Star Fox grabbed Link from behind and, using his defensive shield as a boost, turned to throw him off the map, blasting him with his laser gun when he tried to use his grappling hook to get back into the field.

An eruption went off on the screen, signaling Link's demise and the end of the battle.

"Wow! Way to go, Max!" Kim jumped from his seat on the bed as he pumped his arms in the air, crying out in excitement.

"Dude, how'd you do that last move?" Nino asked as he leaned over the victor, looking curiously at the controller for any secret buttons he might have missed.

"You both fought so well!" Rose cheered from her position at the end of Adrien's bed, raising the metal dinner spoon in her hand as she mimicked Kim's earlier display. Turning around to look at her, Adrien was baffled about the spoon until he noticed a nearly finished tube of raw cookie dough in her lap. He had always heard it tasted amazing raw, but Nathalie had absolutely forbidden it, stating that the possibility of catching salmonella or any number of food-related illnesses from eating raw foods was far too high for someone of his importance to take. Besides, he was a model. All sweets were almost entirely out of the question.

"Nice job, Adrien," Alya said, signaling for a fist bump. Adrien smiled as he raised his fist to hers, loving how this one night had made him feel so much closer to his classmates than he had felt all year. Normally Nino, his best friend and main pillar of support, was the only connection he would have to the rest of his class. But tonight, each classmate had made their own little effort to reach out to him. His mind wandered to the girl who was not present, the one he had noticed missing in the little things throughout the night. The way no one had jumped to challenge Kim when he had called himself the 'best at this game', or how no one had taken the lead to organize the tournament, which had left the group trying to find an order that pleased everyone for thirty minutes. There was no one falling off the bed in excitement after they had won a round. Well, there was that one time Nathanael scared himself off the bed, but he meant in a different way. A more adorable way.

Wait.

Did he just think—

"Oh dude! Weak!" Nino proclaimed loudly from his place on the floor between the beds. Alya turned her attention away from Alix, who had been showing her her family's heirloom watch, to looking at Nino beside her with a quizzical look.

"What is it?" She asked, slightly irritated having just had him practically scream in her ear.

"We're out of chips!" Nino explained, holding up the empty bag of Sour Cream and Onion chips for emphasis.

"Yea, we're getting a little low on soda, too," Ivan said from his spot beside Mylene on Adrien's bed. He reached over the edge of the bed closest to the wall and produced a half empty 16oz bottle of Pepsi, the last bottle remaining from the group's collective stash of goodies. The sound of disheartened groans echoed throughout the room.

"It's ok. I can go get some more for us," Adrien offered, standing up and stretching his sore muscles after sitting in the same spot for hours. He remembered seeing a convenience store just a few blocks down the main road when they were on the hike earlier this afternoon.

"Good lookin' out, homie! I'll come with you!" Nino made a motion to get up with him, but Adrien raised a hand to stop him.

"No, it's ok. It's just down the street. Besides, it'll be harder to sneak out if there's two of us." Adrien's quick thinking allowed him to come up with a cover story to keep Nino from joining him, waving his hands to emphasize his point for his best friend to stay where he was. It was not that he did not want the company, or that he was even going to be doing anything his friend could not know about, like transforming into Chat Noir, but he had seen how hard Nino had been trying to get closer to Alya all evening and now the two were finally looking cozy together, all scrunched up between the two beds and surrounded by blankets and playing cards. The two had been playing any two-person card game they could find once they were both knocked out of the tournament early on, keeping relatively to themselves and the blond boy could tell Nino was loving every second of it.

Adrien grabbed his bag from the space between the wall and bed and quickly dug through it to find his phone and wallet. He almost never kept his phone on his person since the only time it ever rang was from Nathalie. Or Nino texting him, but most of the time he knew when to expect those kinds of messages.

Using the rouse of having a hard time finding his wallet, Adrien quickly checked on Plagg. He had tucked the kwami into his bag when they had first arrived back from the tour, right before dinner. He had made sure to pack extra helpings of cheese, each day's portion safety sealed in ziplock bags since he knew Plagg had not figured out how to get those open yet. He chalked it up to the lack of opposable thumbs.

The little cat god was sleeping soundly in the empty cheese container, having pulled one of Adrien's socks in with him to create a soft bed. He gave him a soft pat between the ears before grabbing his wallet and zipping the bag closed once more. His kwami was not half bad.

Well, when he kept his mouth shut.

As he placed his bag back in it's safe spot beside the wall, Rose brought herself to the edge of the bed, catching his attention.

"Um, would you mind, maybe, getting more cookie dough?" she asked softly, her large blue eyes seemingly never-ending in her pale white face framed by pale blond hair.

"Oh, uh, sure. No problem," Adrien answered, a little taken aback to have those large doe eyes pointed at him. His answer earned him a sweet smile from the fairy-like girl and a thumbs up from Juleka from across the room. That was weird.

Before he could be assaulted with any more strange requests, Adrien shoved his phone and wallet into his sweatshirt pocket and was out the door.

As he walked downstairs to the lobby, he was not surprised to find the place empty. The lights had been dimmed to barely a glow, probably left on for guests who would be returning or even leaving at this ungodly hour, like himself. He made the short walk from the hallway to the front door, a wave of relief washing over him as the electronic doors opened automatically upon his approach.

Good thing they're not locked, he thought. I'd hate to have to go get Plagg to break out of here. As he walked through the doors, a grin split his face.

"Like a cat burglar." Unable to control himself, he snickered at his own joke and he pulled his hood up over his head, immediately stuffing his hands into his sweatshirt pockets to hide them from the cold. Making his way down the uninhabited street, he pulled out his phone to check his GPS, confirming he was going in the right direction. According to the map, he should only have to go straight for two more blocks followed by a sharp right. It shouldn't take that long honestly, and the cool air mixing with the salty smell from the ocean was making it rather enjoyable.

As he rounded the corner, he could see the bright lights of the convenience store shining just a block away. Suddenly, a girl bumped into his shoulder and rushed past him without so much as a hurried apology, her three friends following close behind as they ran in the opposite direction.

"This way! Come on!"

"I can't believe she's here! Are you sure it was her?"

"Definitely!"

Adrien watched as the local girls ran down the street and took a sharp left one block away. They don't look distressed or scared, he thought, so it can't be an Akuma. Especially this far out of the city, but they were definitely running after something.

While his curiosity was nagging at him to investigate, he reluctantly turned back to his path, steering himself into the small convenience store and quickly going through his mental shopping list.

After a few minutes in the store, Adrien had successfully bought two bags full of goodies. Aside from the few things he had been sent out for, he had also taken it upon himself to get snacks for tomorrow night's possible game night as well. He hoped his friends would not see it as presumptuous that he had prepared for something they had not exactly planned for, but he was enjoying tonight so much that he didn't want it to end yet. Besides, it was rare that they went on trips overnight so why not make the most of them, right?

With his bags in hand, Adrien left the late night shop and began making his way back towards the hotel. He was only half a block away from the convenience store before he heard a loud scream from just above his head followed by an even louder crash as a body fell from the sky and hit the ground behind him. Hard. He quickly turned around to find the source of the noise to be sprawled out on the concrete, rubbing its sore butt from the fall and muttering to itself about being so clumsy.

My eyes are playing tricks on me again, he thought. This usually only happened after a long night patrolling or a particularly difficult battle with an Akuma, but he had not been doing either tonight, and yet there she was. Ladybug. Or at least his mind was tricking him into thinking it was Ladybug. Flopped on the sidewalk. Complaining about her sore butt.

This could not be real, his lady was back in Paris, probably patrolling the night without him to tire herself out, as she had been doing every night for the past week. Yet despite the logical side of his brain screaming these facts at him, he could not turn his eyes away from the red and black spots decorating her thin frame.

"Ladybug! Where'd you go?"

"Come back!"

The voices echoed through the quiet neighborhood, bouncing off the dark houses and businesses from one street over. That's when it clicked. The girls that had run past him earlier. They weren't running from something, they were running to something. To where Ladybug was. And now they were going to come running here.

Quickly, Adrien combined the bags into one hand, using his now free hand to grab Ladybug's wrist from behind to try and help pull her to her feet. He trained his eyes on the block he had watched the local girls disappear down minutes ago.

"H-huh?" Ladybug stammered as she looked at the hand around her wrist, following the arm up to its owner, her eyes nearly bugging out of her head as they fell on the blond headed boy with the determined look in his eye. "A—Adrien?!"

"Hurry, Ladybug. They're going to find you if you stay here." Adrien kept his face away, scanning the horizon for any sign of movement. They were lucky to not have been found yet, but they needed cover and fast. Adrien felt the female hero pull herself to her feet, his grip on her wrist slipping until her hand laid firmly in his. He knew his face was heating up at the more intimate contact, but the voices growing louder kept his mind from going completely off track.

"There." He had spotted a small alcove next to the convenience store, most likely an alley that lead to the back entrance, and began to run towards it. He felt rather than saw Ladybug follow suit. They ducked into the narrow passage, finding a suitable sized dumpster just a few steps in that would give them enough cover to not be seen from the street. Silently, the two crouched down behind the trash, their hands still entwined and the voices still growing louder.

Adrien could feel his heartrate speed up as the footsteps grew louder, bouncing off the walls and echoing down throughout the block. There were more of them than had passed him earlier, running quickly past the alley way without a second glance and calling out to the others ahead, looking for any sign of their missing superhero. Seconds felt like hours as the two waited in silence for the group to pass them, watching as their shadows played tricks with the small bit of light that filtered in from the street lamps. He could barely hear anything past the pounding of the blood in his ears and his erratic breathing that he desperately tried to get under control. This was why he was startled when the sound of a frustrated sigh came from behind him.

"Stupid," Ladybug muttered under her breath, her free hand coming up to ball in her hair. "I'm so stupid."

Her words drew Adrien back from peering around the dumpster, looking at her honestly for the first time since he had made his presence known to her. She looked tired, even more so than normal. Her hair was a mess, both from the wind and her own gloved hand running through it. When she finally removed her free hand from her face,, he could see that her eyes were bloodshot and strained, as if even now she were fighting to keep them open.

"I can't believe I slipped." Ladybug closed her hand into a fist, clenching it tight and closing her eyes. "I...I shouldn't be out here in the first place."

Her voice fell down into a whisper as she placed the fist against her forehead. "Stupid. So… so stu-"

"You're not stupid, Ladybug," Adrien interrupted, the hand which wrapped around hers squeezing in what he hoped was a comforting manner. He placed the bags of snacks down beside him and turned his body so he could face her completely. His hand, now free, reached for hers to pull it away from her face.

Ladybug carefully looked up at him with tired eyes, their normal shine that reflected everything that was bright in Adrien's world dimmed and dull, masked by fatigue and something that looked too close to defeat. He felt his heart clench at the sight, his breath catch and his throat tighten, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms and protect her from all that was wrong in her world. Because for someone that brought him so much joy, she should never be allowed to know sorrow.

"You're not stupid," he repeated, lowering his voice to barely a whisper. "You're amazing. You're smart and strong and beautiful."

He could feel his cheeks begin to burn with embarrassment, but he could not stop. Not yet. She needed to hear this more than he needed to shy away from humiliating himself in front of the love of his life.

"You risk your life every day to save people. You're kind to everyone, e-even those that don't deserve it. You're s-selfless and i-incredible..."

Adrien mentally kicked himself for tripping over his own tongue. His words, no matter how true, were not coming out as they should and ended up making him feel like a fool. Yet during his little speech, Ladybug's sapphire blue eyes had never once wavered from his, the distraught look they had once shown having been chased away by his words. The tightness in her posture and clenched jaw had relaxed remarkably and both of her hands still rested inside his own, showing no signs of wanting to remove them.

He swallowed loudly, feeling as though his tongue were drier than a desert, but knowing he needed to continue. He needed her to see, even if it was just a glimpse of what he saw.

"Y-You're so unbelievable and b-brave a-and you deserve the w-world." His stuttering was getting worse, and he could definitely feel the blush slowly encasing his face and neck, but the sight of how his words were affecting her, chasing away the darkness from her eyes, gave him strength. Strength to carry on until the corner of Ladybug's lips tilted up into the smallest of smiles. Such a small movement, yet it destroyed what little bit of courage he had left as if she had lifted a car over her head and threatened to drop it on him. He wouldn't have minded, honestly. Well, maybe a bit.

"Uh…D-did I…did I mention h-how b-b-beautiful you a-are…?" Adrien could not think, could barely breathe. What was he saying? How did he even get here? Maybe he had been knocked out and was lying unconscious on the side of the street. Maybe this a dream, because when Ladybug's smile widened and her soft laugh answered him, he knew this could not be real.

This had to be a dream. Another glorious dream.

"Yes, you did," Ladybug answered, making sure to keep her voice to a whisper so they would not be found. Adrien watched how her face lit up with the laugh, her cheeks glowing with a rosy tint and her sky blue eyes sparkling behind fluttering dark eyelashes.

This was it. The moment in his dream where he would always spill his guts, lay his heart bare for her to see, to judge, and where she would graciously accept it and he would wake up shortly after, the feeling of her love still coursing through his veins.

Adrien opened his mouth, ready to spill his heart, his hands tightening around hers as he pulled together what little courage he had left.

"Can I…ask you something?" he asked, his eyes never wavering from hers, the lump in his throat threatening to choke him before he even got out the full question.

Ladybug said nothing, but gave a small nod in response, her smile lifting just lightly at the corners. Her eyes continued to look at his, expecting, waiting, as if she knew what was coming, but had left it up to him to decide their fate.

With her so close, he could see the happiness across her face. It was in the way her smile broadened at his returned steady gaze. This was not the same Ladybug he saw as Chat Noir, or the same one that had ever been seen by any news reporters or post on the Ladyblog. This Ladybug was entirely new and only for him.

Just for Adrien.

"Can I kiss you?" Adrien felt his whole body tense once the question left his lips, his mind going blank as he watched the effect ripple through her. The smile that had once lit up her eyes faded to leave behind a look of shock. What once was a light rosy dusting across her cheeks blossomed into a dark red blush that enveloped her face right up to her mask. He could hear her swallow, her small pink tongue darting out to lick her suddenly dry lips. He watched the action in silent agony, wanting to claim those lips and wanting to do it five minutes ago.

Her hands spasmed slightly in his as she carefully pulled him closer to her, her eyes never wavering from his as she swallowed once more. His heart thundered in his chest for a moment before she gave him a small nod. Adrien felt his breath hitch in his throat as he realized what that small motion said. This was it, the moment he would wake up abruptly, ending his dream before he ever got to feel her lips against his. But this was no dream. There would be no alarm to buzz in his ear or Plagg to jump on his chest demanding food. This was it. This was real.

Slowly, carefully, he began to lean forward, closing the gap between them. He watched in awe as she closed her eyes and began to mirror him, leaning her upper body closer. Just before their lips touched, Adrien closed his eyes tight, his hands tightening around hers to more solidify the reality of it all.

Her lips were soft. And warm. And slightly wet from when she'd licked them earlier, but he was more surprised at how easily they fit into his. It was like they filled in all the spaces perfectly, like a puzzle piece snapping into place, so perfect and yet so strangely familiar.

The touch was gentle at first, their lips barely a whisper against one another, but when he pushed ever so slightly harder and felt her push back, the strong surge of happiness that flooded his veins was exhilarating. He could feel her bangs against his, her nose nuzzled beside his own, her hands holding onto his just as tightly as he held hers.

Before he pushed his limit, Adrien reluctantly pulled himself back from her lips, taking a much needed breath of fresh air as he did. The kiss was everything he'd dreamed it would be and more, yet while he wanted to stay closer, the last thing he wanted to do was overstep his boundaries. Despite it all, he was a gentlemen and he would never force a lady to do anything she did not want to do.

Still, despite having broken off the kiss, he couldn't bring himself to pull away entirely, resting his forehead against hers and keeping their noses just slightly touching, her warm breath tickling his already tingling lips. He carefully opened his eyes, focusing immediately on her parted lips before trailing his vision upwards. Her unfocused blue eyes were just barely open, their gaze focused on what he could only assume were his own lips.

He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it when he realized he didn't know what to say. What could he say? Thanks? Care for another? Something about the weather? Deciding against trying to be suave, Adrien decided instead to think about something else, like how suddenly he felt he needed a drink of water. Or a bottle. Or twelve bottles. The ocean wasn't that far, could he drink that?

Licking his lips to try and curb his thirst, he felt more than saw the reaction it had on his companion. One of her hands jumped in his and slid up to his wrist, grabbing ahold and pulling him minutely closer, their noses bumping again as he heard the tiniest sound escape her lips. Had Ladybug just whimpered?

As if to test the waters, Adrien returned the gesture and slid his hand up her forearm, slowly, tentatively, feeling the texture of her suit against his fingertips until he could hook a finger around the back of her elbow. Slowly, he used the leverage it granted to pull her closer, her hand brushing against his ribs and sending shivers even through his sweatshirt. Her touch was like fire as she trailed her hand down his side to finally rest at his hip just above his pants waistband, one finger slipping underneath his shirt to press against the taut skin beneath.

His mind was swimming in the idea of pulling her roughly against him and kissing her the way he had fantasized about, hard, rough, giving up oxygen in exchange for her tongue down his throat. But there was that small voice in the back of his head screaming how this wasn't a simple fantasy during Physics class. This was real, she was real, and he needed to respect that. Instead, he opted to copy his earlier movement on her other arm, slowly sliding his hand up her forearm and around her elbow, letting his fingertips drag lightly as he went until he had both his hands around the backs of her arms.

Her now free hand moved to press against his chest, her fingers spreading wide as she placed her palm just over his heart, his pectoral muscle tensing at her touch. Ladybug's eyes lowered from his lips to her hand, flexing her fingers slightly to watch how the fabric of his sweatshirt slid over his skin to follow her movement. Adrien sucked in a breath at the sensation, his eyes glued to hers as she stared downwards, but his reaction was not lost to her. His gasp seemed to give her enough courage to move her other hand down by his waist slowly upwards, her finger tips having wormed their way underneath his shirt's hem somewhere along the way.

She carefully slid her hand up from his pants waistband to the hip bone, her gloved palm sliding over the bone slowly, her thumb pressing down to outline the shape of it as it passed. Against his will, his hands seized slightly around the backs of her arms, pulling her closer as his whole body tensed at the feeling that her touch gave to him. It felt like something was spreading from the places that she touched, like a poison was seeping into him, urging him to lose control, to let his primal instincts take over, to just push her against the nearest hard surface and rut into her until she clung to him and cried out his name.

His mind was reeling as he refocused his eyes to hers, the closer proximity making it harder to see anything else in the alley way around them. She was still staring intently at her hand over his heart when he felt it, her body was slowly leaning closer to him. Her hands pushed into him with more pressure and two soft lumps joined her hand at his chest, pressing into him, so soft and warm.

The realization at what he was feeling hit Adrien like a ton of bricks, the sound it made in his head symbolizing the last of his resolve shattering into a million pieces as he ran his hands up over her shoulders, cradling her face and lifting her mouth to meet his. Hungrily, he pushed his lips to hers, their teeth clinking together painfully, but too far gone to care, using her sudden gasp in surprise to slip his tongue inside and explore.

Her mouth was so warm, her taste so sweet as he roamed her mouth with his tongue, a rush of courage hitting him when he felt her own tentative tongue join the fray. Sliding one of his hands from her cheek to the back of her head, he slipped his fingers into her hair, pulling it loose of its famous pigtail and reveling in the feel of the free locks flowing around his hand. Suddenly, his vision went white behind his eyelids as he felt a surge of energy shoot through his nerves, stemming from his hips.

Ladybug had pressed her thumb against his hip bone again, this time rubbing circles around it as the rest of her fingers massaged his side. The feeling was amazing and only destroying his control that much more, driving his tongue to move faster and his hand to ball up in her hair. It wasn't until he felt her other hand slowly walking its way up his chest underneath his shirt that he had to pull away from her lips, lifting his face to the sky to moan, forgetting entirely that they needed to keep quiet.

The sound of his groan resonated through her, her lust-clouded eyes opening lazily and falling upon his freshly exposed neck. Without a moment's hesitation, she dove forward, latching on to the spot where his shoulder met his neck with teeth and tongue. The sudden movement more than caught Adrien by surprise, throwing his balance off and sending him crashing into the wall behind him, his back slamming against the brick and his feet coming out from under him as his butt hit the ground, his head bouncing off the wall hard, causing the world around him to swim.

Ladybug was not going to be deterred that easily as she fell with him, the motion only pushing her breasts into him more and sending wonderful waves of the same energy her touch had generated before throughout his entire body.

He felt her hand use the momentum to shoot up his front, hiking his shirt and sweatshirt up past his chest as he marveled in the feeling of the suit's texture against his pectoral. Her teeth gave a hard nip to his neck causing him to moan in response, the hand he had left in her hair tightening its hold, scraping his fingernails against her scalp. She removed her mouth with a loud pop, looking at the large red mark she'd left in her wake as if it were her life's greatest work, licking it once, twice, before kissing it tenderly and moving to trail more kisses up to his jaw.

While her lips laid a trail of soft kisses up his throat, she couldn't help but open her eyes to see the fruits of her labor bared before her. Adrien's eyes were half lidded, his vision unfocused as he stared at the sky, his mouth open, puffing out shallow breaths through kiss-swollen lips. The sight made something in her lower stomach tighten, made her push forward to straddle his thighs, placing a knee on either side of his hips. The warmth that spread from the areas where they were joined burned her like a fire, yet she chased it, thrusting against his front and feeling the motion reciprocated, Adrien's own body jerking into her as a response.

The sensations running rampant through his body were turning out to be too much for him to handle, his body acting on impulse like a puppet having its strings pulled. He felt her rock into him, the ever growing pressure between his hips spiking at the feel of her thighs pressing down on his own, her weight so solid against him.

Leaning forward, Ladybug reclaimed his lips with her own, the kiss sloppy and entirely one-sided as Adrien did his best just to keep up, his tongue licked over her lips as she pulled his bottom lip between her teeth. After a few false starts, the two started to fall back into rhythm, Adrien meeting her forceful kisses with his own well placed nips of teeth and tightening of the hand in her hair. All the while, she kept pushing her body against his front, each brush of her breasts against his exposed chest sending a fresh wave of white hot energy through his nerves.

Adrien started to feel something building inside him, like a cup that was filling, constantly filling, threatening to spill over at any moment. He wanted it. He needed it. The thought alone was enough to drive him crazy, to force him to pull her mouth harder into his using his hand in her hair as leverage, to push his chest into her open hand with more fervor, relishing in the feel of her breath hitching at the sudden change.

He lifted his free hand to place it against the small of her back, pulling her body flush against his with a quick tug, rocking up into her with more urgency as he felt himself near the edge. He could feel his back straining with the building pleasure, his legs trembling and his movements becoming frantic, his hands pulling her so hard into himself he was sure he was bruising her, but it was not enough, not yet. He needed more.

Suddenly, Ladybug's hands were at his shoulders and pushing, using her superhero strength to separate them, their lips parting with an audible pop. She looked down at him with unfocused eyes, her lips still tingling and most definitely swollen, her whole body tightened like a rubber band stretched beyond it's limit, ready to snap. With the backdrop of the clear night sky behind her, Adrien could have sworn he was looking up at some sort of ethereal being descended from the heavens, sent to kill him.

His body was still ringing with the pleasure from earlier, but seeing her now, he could almost feel himself snap back to the reality of the situation. During his lust-filled state, he had completely forgotten to look for signs of discomfort on her part. Had he pushed too far? Had he crossed the line?

Be-Beep

The sound was so foreign, it took Adrien a moment to realize what exactly he had just heard. Then it dawned on him, coupled with Ladybug's sudden look of panic and the disappearing spots on her miraculous, her transformation was about to wear off, and judging from the lack of spots on the earring, she didn't have much time left at all. Had he really not heard that earlier? Wait, hadn't she? Did that mean that she'd been as far gone as he was?

"I—I need to go…" Ladybug said, having to clear her throat before she was able to finish her thought. Slowly, she made a movement to pull herself off him, using her hands on his shoulders to help push herself to her feet.

Her knees shook slightly, but otherwise she stayed standing. Her body gave out a pulse from between her legs, the feeling of him pressed against her lower abdomen still burning into her flesh like there should have been something there, visible to the naked eye, a brand of some kind.

Carefully avoiding eye contact, she reached for her yoyo at her side and began to lift it above her head, eyeing a particular chimney a block away. Just as she was about to let her arm fly, Adrien's hand grabbed for her empty hand, holding on tightly and demanding her attention.

"Please, wait!" He cried out, his own voice deeper and raspy, having not taken the time to clear his throat or his mind before she untangled herself from him.

Reluctantly, she turned her face to him, her breath catching in her throat at the sight of him. His hair was mussed from where it had been rubbed against the wall behind him, his lips were so red and kiss-swollen, his emerald eyes watching her, silently pleading for her to not ignore him, to not sweep him under the rug like it was a mistake. His shirt was still hiked up, but it had thankfully fallen to cover his chest, leaving his washboard abs exposed to the chilly night air. His pants had ridden down past his hip bones, giving her a dangerous reminder of what had just transpired. Did she do that? Her eyes, however, suddenly noticed the bulge in his jeans, even more prominent because of his pants having been pulled down and the way he was leaning backwards, somewhat sitting on the small of his back. Oh yea, she definitely did that.

The sight brought a fresh wave of blood to her cheeks, her throat suddenly becoming extremely dry and tight, and that pulsing in between her legs demanding to not be ignored.

"P-Please…" Adrien could feel her eyes on him, inspecting him, and knew she saw how she had affected him, his arousal apparent to the world, but if he tried to cover himself now, he felt he would die from embarrassment. Besides, he didn't have that much time left.

"I…I want to see you again. I-I mean, can I?" He asked, his eyes never leaving hers, watching as they made the slow trek back up his body to finally meet his gaze again, the state he was in obviously affecting her more than he assumed, the heat in her stare laid bare.

Ladybug opened her mouth, then closed it tight, not trusting her voice and not sure how to answer him. She wanted to see him again-hell, she didn't want to be done seeing him now-but another beep resounded from her earring, and if she didn't leave soon, she would ruin everything. Without any time to spare, she nodded. The small gesture lit up Adrien's face in the most wonderful way, his smile wide and his gorgeous white teeth gleaming between his well-kissed pink lips. His eyes shone up at her and made her heart flutter almost painfully in her chest.

"Tomorrow, b-by the boardwalk," he stuttered. His grip on her hand loosened, giving her the sign that she was free to leave and keep her secret identity secret for another day.

Ladybug quickly turned back towards her original task, lifting her yoyo back over her head-when had she lowered it?- and posed to throw. With a quick flick of her wrist, she felt the satisfying snap of her yoyo making contact, the string pulled taut in her hand. She moved to grip the string with both hands, but paused for a moment, turning her head slightly to the side, not making eye contact yet making sure her words would be heard.

"Till tomorrow."

And with that, she was gone.

Adrien stayed sitting against the wall of the alley for a few minutes longer, waiting for his body to cool down and his heart rate to stop threatening to kill him. He ran a hand through his hair, wincing when he passed over an exceptionally sore spot on his shoulder. Had he hit it when he hit the wall? Touching it gently with his fingertips, he could feel that it was not a cut or puncture, but the pain was reminiscent of something he'd felt earlier.

Now with a purpose, Adrien began to pick himself up off the ground, making sure to grab his discarded bag of snacks and drinks before sneaking out of the alcove, carefully checking that the coast was clear first, of course.

Slowly, he made his way over to the closest shop's window, the dark insides making his reflection that much clearer. There it was, clear as day, a hickey the size of a golfball at the junction where shoulder turned into neck.

Ladybug had marked him.

He was hers.

His face immediately flushed at the thought as he readjusted his shirt in an attempt to hide the brand, failing miserably and deciding he would just have to keep his sweatshirt on for the rest of the night. Zipping the aforementioned article up as high as it would go and pulling his hood back over his head, he resumed his walk back towards the hotel. He needed to think of a good excuse as to why he took so long getting snacks. And knowing Nino, it had to be air-tight.

He also needed to think of an even better excuse to get him out of gaming tomorrow. And there was no way he could forget an outfit to hide his new branding that now throbbed above his collarbone, demanding his undying attention.

This was going to be a long night.

NOTES!

Sorry this took way longer than I expected, but since you were so nice to give me a prompt, I wanted to try and make it the best I could. This is the Ladrien level 4 COOKIE DOUGH part of your request. The level 5 BEACH part will be next.

I was a little worried I made this too sinful (since they are "kids") till .com showed me Ladybug and the Bees by BullySquadess and I realized I could go so much further than this! So prepare for the level 5 part to be much more sinful :D

Also! Big thank you to Hchano, LBC, Raven, Mich, Amy, Emi, Denise, Juliette, and Pilot for being so super awesome and supportive and putting up with my obsessive Ladrien feels and constant screaming during calls XD And helping me name this beast!

Please like the original post on tumblr at: miraculous-prompt-trash . tumblr (.com) / post/138655579698/is-it-wrong-to-request-ladrien-sin-4-5-with-the