Chat Noir was dumbfounded at the sight when he suddenly felt Marinette pull out of his grip.

"ALYA! NO!"

She was already bolting across the street to where Alya was recording the scene, Nino calling to her from the inside of the cafe. Chat ran right after her, determined to get them all the safety when a giant wooden wheel ran through between them. A figure in a giant purple hood floated above it, pointing to Chat when it stopped, separating the trio from him.

"I am Arcana, and no one is going to escape their fate! Yours ends today when I get your Miraculous, Chat Noir!"

Chat looked through the spokes, meeting eyes with Marinette. All previous tension between them had disappeared, and in her eyes courage burned bright. She nodded back at him without a word and ran off with the protesting blogger and his best friend in tow.

Now relieved that they were gone, Chat Noir turned back to the villain and smirked, pulling his staff out and getting into stance. With Alya streaming live, that only meant Ladybug would be alerted and here any moment. He just had to buy some time.

"I'm more of a luck kind of guy, myself. What are you going to do, read my palm?"

The wheel disintegrated in a puff of purple matter just like Animan's transformations did, rematerializing in Arcana's hand as a card deck box that she strapped onto her gloved right arm. Chat watched carefully, noting the box as a possible item in his mind.

Arcana floated back to the ground, drawing a card with her left hand. Flipping it face up towards her, she laughed. "No. You're going to read mine!"

She jumped up quickly. "CHARIOT!"

What was that saying? 'Nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs?' Suddenly Chat knew how that anxiety actually felt, using his staff to vault himself over the chariot that suddenly formed and sped towards him. With an ugly squeal, it turned and charged towards him again.

He rolled out of the way, but not quick enough when he felt a graze across his back. Cursing mentally, he staggered, eyes wide at the villain who stopped the cart. She only had her right, ungloved hand held out.

'Plagg, what did she do?' He was panicking. With Dark Cupid and The Puppeteer, it only took one hit for him to be controlled. The kwami was silent for a few seconds but Plagg's anxiety collided with his own. 'She didn't do anything to you! If there was something wrong with you, I'd know!'

His eyes snapped back up, fingers tight around the staff. Every part of his body subconsciously tensed as he confirmed he was in full control. If she wasn't controlling him, then what was that all about? The chariot disappeared and her ungloved hand hovered over the deck before drawing a card.

"Oh my…a knight?" Arcana glanced at the card and then back at him. She approached him quickly and Chat backed away with the same pace, still a little shaken. Her voice was at a whisper only loud enough for him to hear.

"Arrogant, rash, so easily bored of his everyday life. Quick-witted and sly, this person cannot be trusted and should be indisposed before he causes more harm to those who help him."

A shiver ran down Chat's spine as he brought up his staff to defend whatever came from this card. These descriptions were generic enough, and he was sure that anyone could guess those kinds of things from his superhero persona. Still, Ladybug wasn't here and he couldn't figure out the trick behind the different attacks yet.

"So I see you've read my forums on the Ladyblog! Got any other theories to share?" Goading attacks was the only plan he had at the moment. He jumped to take a swipe but the villain took the same jump back. The tip of his tail continuously twitched and he couldn't shake the cold feeling seeping through his body.

Still holding the first card, Arcana drew another. Her eyes smiled, the rest of her face covered by a giant scarf. "I've got a few. How about your emotional life, Chat Noir? Things have grown stagnant, haven't they? It's right there under your nose, but you just can't seem to put it into words." Her voice was venomous.

This was bad. This was really, really bad.

The pressure in his chest tightened and suddenly he couldn't remember how to breathe. Plagg was yelling at him in his head but he was shaking and everything in his body was telling him to run. Run, before anything else could be peeled away. His staff was barely extended to lift him to the nearest rooftop before he heard the rush of water behind him.

"CHAT! HOLD ON!"

An arm wrapped tightly around his waist and the fingers digging painfully into his stomach snapped him out of his daze. Dark hair whipped against his face as he realized they were soaring in the air. His head fit into the junction of her neck and he could only ogle at the four torrents of water spilling over the street where he just stood. One of the cards in Arcana's hand was disintegrating into purple smoke, but the other was still there.

The two of them tumbled onto the ground further away, Ladybug's arm still around him. Chat gasped for air, coughing violently. The warmth of her touch calmed him and the panic subsided enough for him to stand on shaky legs. She pulled his face with both hands and that true blue helped him focus again. She was concerned, but not nearly as afraid. She didn't know.

"Please, my Lady, don't let her catch you- she knows so much, I don't-, How-" his worries all spilled out at once.

She shooshed him before looping his arm around her neck and her arm around his waist, casting her yo-yo to leap them onto the roof – they were at his school, he only just realized. She cradled his face gently.

"Are you okay? Just shake your head for yes and no." He nodded.

"If she touches you does she control you?" He shook his head and she let out a strained breath.

"She- her cards. She knows about some of my emotional problems. I don't know how much she can find out but each card she draws tells her more about you." He finally choked out.

He only got a glimpse over her shoulder before yelling a warning and pulling her behind him. The floating wooden staves swung hard, drumming him in the head, back, and knees and he crumpled in pain instantly but he didn't stop blocking his partner.

"Chat, move!" Ladybug shoved him back, yo-yo swinging out and breaking the staves as they swung for her. As each one snapped and dissolved, he felt his pain lessen. Leaning on his staff, he stood up and looked at the track field behind the school and spotted the hooded figure watching them. He saw the card disappear from her hand, his own still in her grasp.

"Let's go, my Lady. Any more fur pulling and this cat will be bald, and I don't think you'd like that sight much." He reassured her with a smile and she looked back at him, not making any remarks on the metaphor. They both leaped at the same time, her yo-yo catching a tree branch to swing down and his staff ready to break his fall.

Arcana had a new card in her hand.

A purple light encased his hands and he was frozen in mid-air. His body weight strained his wrists, as if he was hung from a rope. He couldn't move his hands. He couldn't even call Cataclysm. Looking up, all he saw was an infinity sign looped around his wrists.

"Ladybug! Don't worry about me! Find the item, I think it's the box!"

Ladybug turned to look for a moment before swinging at Arcana, keeping her distance. Arcana dodged each move, and Chat kicked the air helplessly, trying to worm his way free.

The yo-yo snagged onto the hood, pulling it down but not off. Finally, Arcana showed some fear on her face as she leapt away, pulling it back up to cover her head. Ladybug looked triumphant, closing the distance between them and prepping another swing at the trailing ends of the hood's ties.

He saw both cards disintegrate and he was suddenly falling.

His heart hammered in his chest as he landed on his feet painfully and tried to run – he had to save her. If anything about her own identity let slip he knew there was no Lucky Charm that could undo it. She protected her civilian self with thick walls even to him, and he feared just one card draw could tear it in two.

But he could only watch as Arcana reached out with her ungloved hand, just swiping Ladybug's hair and pulling out a ribbon in the process. Her hair fell lose and whipped around her face, Chat only getting a glimpse of horrified eyes that must have mirrored his own.

"You poor thing." A new card was in Arcana's hand. "You're addicted, and it's killing you inside."

"No!" He tried to strike from overhead, but Arcana dodged, jumping back to lean down and whisper into Ladybug's ear. Ladybug recoiled in a way he never saw before. She was truly scared, leaping back to regroup with him.

A new card was drawn, and nine swords hovered in the air above them. Chat spun his baton to protect from above and Ladybug swung at the sides to guard their ground. One by one they refracted and dug into the ground until one remained. The fallen swords stabbed into the dirt in a circle around them.

"Ugh, we have to end this, quick! Lucky charm!" Up went her yo-yo, and down from the sky came…

"A shovel? If anyone's got the dirt, it's her on us!" Okay, maybe not the best pun for the odds at the moment. Ladybug only glanced at him before scraping the ground with the shovel, her eyes darting all over the field.

The last sword came soaring high above them and by instinct Chat vaulted up to knock it out of the air.

Before he could connect it vanished into smoke.

It happened all in slow motion to him. He turned his head back to Arcana, who had a new card in her hand, and he twisted his body to turn to his partner, who was overshadowed by five overturned giant goblets that hung in the air for a moment before falling. The red and black shovel skittered across the ground closer to Chat by the time his feet touched the ground.

"LADYBUG!" She was calling to him but not even her fists banging on the glass dome made a sound. He struck the glass with the shovel, but it didn't crack. She didn't have time and he had one trick left, but before he could call his power, Arcana leaped to the top of the goblet.

"Ah-ah-ah, don't even think of using Cataclysm. This is a part of her so who knows what it's connected to?" the villain mocked. A pink silhouette masked her face and she turned her head slightly. "No! Not yet! Not until they meet their fated end!" She yelled, turning back to Chat.

With a snap of her fingers, the goblet that Ladybug was in began to fill slowly with a deep purple liquid, pouring from the top like an hourglass. She was franticly looking at him, but her words couldn't cross the barrier between them. Her eyes only read of regret.

His hand gripped right around the shovel's handle. Chat struck again and again, voice ripping from his throat and Arcana just stood there, watching.

'Use the lucky charm, idiot!' Plagg yelled in his head. That anxious feeling from the beginning of the battle was eating him alive, but his eyes darted around, hoping that whatever ingenuity the charm had would pass onto him.

It was a shovel. It only had one use.

The darkness was already up to Ladybug's neck and she tried to climb higher in the dome, but her grip kept slipping. She was mouthing something to him in the last few inches left of air, but he only could catch the word 'dirt'.

There was only one thing a shovel could do. He dug it into the ground, shut his eyes, praying desperately, and flung the earth up at the glass.

The screech in response opened them.

Looking up, the glass was cracked and quickly draining water that turned clear. The cards in Arcana's hand had turned to smoke.

"How?! You can't purify my cards like that! I should be the one in control, how can you have the power to do that?" It was as if another person had appeared before them. Arcana shrunk away, falling off the breaking top of the dome and scooting back like a spider on the ground.

Ladybug was striking the glass with her yo-yo from the inside, finally shattering the casing and freeing herself. With a yell, she snagged the hood and tore it off, but no akuma came from it. Both of them stood ready as Arcana scrambled back up and drew another card. Ladybug was freed. They could take on whatever came up. Arcana looked at the card and her face fell.

"No! You lied to me Hawkmoth! You told me I had control over my fate!" Fear broke Arcana's face as she cursed at the card in her hand. The familiar pink butterfly silhouette mapped across her face, and she doubled over, yelling in pain.

Both heroes stood frozen at the sight. Chat shivered violently at how the akuma victim pleaded to no one, before the mark vanished from her face and she teetered, drawing another card. With the hood torn off, a silver coin on a chain stuck out against the dark costume, swaying wildly from her neck.

He didn't need to glance at Ladybug to know she came to the same conclusion. Her earring beeped twice. Arcana no longer could read them. For the first time in a while, Chat took a calm, deep breath.

They could do this. All revealed inner struggles aside; he knew they could make it.

"Let's go!" he roared, leaping forward, staff prepped for a parry. Arcana's eyes were wide as she swiped back with the card, a sword forming in her hands and two others clattering to the ground uselessly. The sword was easily knocked out of her hands before she drew another card, backing away until her back was against one of the walls of the school.

Ten gleaming swords hovered above Arcana's head. She sounded tired, expression not changing as her face was lit by the soft pink glow of the mark. "They've always been fated to succeed and win, Hawkmoth. The cards won't let me fight back when they favor them. It's over."

There was a cry, and a shaky arm rose above her head, conducting the swords to point at Chat Noir. With each swipe of his staff, the flying swords disappeared on contact, and he felt Ladybug bound past him, the yo-yo wrapping quickly around the victim's raised arm, dragging her to the ground and closer to them.

"Chat! The necklace, quick! Hawkmoth is trying to control her body!"

The silver broke and bent easily, and by the fourth beep of Ladybug's earrings, their fists met together in victory as Miraculous Cure wiped over the city. They were tired and emotionally drained, but they were smiling. Her wide smile made his heart quietly flutter, but he frowned from how weak it was compared to the last few evenings with Marinette. Maybe he was letting go.

"Do you mind doing aftercare? You didn't use Cataclysm so you have just a little more time than me." Her yo-yo was already in her hands as she looked for the nearest ledge to jump to.

"Don't worry, my Lady, I'll hold down the fort!" He gave her a salute and a wink. Ladybug was about to throw when she suddenly turned around again.

"Oh! Um, m-make sure you stick around out of sight if you can. Marinette told me she was with you before the attack and she n-needed to talk to you about something since she won't be free later."

Chat raised an eyebrow at her, but before he could say anything she took off onto the roof of the school. He turned back to the akuma victim who still sat on the ground, dazed. The silver necklace in his hand was now restored, and he silently handed it back to her.

"My lucky coin!" she quickly put it back on, breathing a sigh of relief. Chat sat on the ground in front of her.

"Do you…can you tell me the meaning of a couple fortune telling cards?" His voice was unsure, and he didn't know how to approach the topic after that battle. The girl looked back at him before reaching into her purse and hesitantly pulling out a card box.

"You'd have to tell me the order they came up in. But yeah, I can."

As soon as his Miraculous rang the first beep, he excused himself from the victim and found a nice hiding spot in an alleyway between the school and the next building. The girl was able to explain his progression of cards from the fight, but he left Ladybug's unasked. Her personal problems and life were staying on her side of the wall, and he respected that.

His clarified reading left him with a strange sense of confidence. All things suggested that things were following the rocky path, but there was plenty space for things to go wrong. A mix of luck and fate. It was reassuring, in a way. He wasn't aimlessly stumbling nor was he bound to one ending.

Two beeps. Four minutes until he turned back.

'Kid, I'm exhausted. Just tell her when she gets here and get it over with. Not even all the Camembert in the world would convince me to transform again tonight.' Plagg's voice in his head was weak. His stomach churned from anxiety and guilt.

"Here, kitty kitty kitty!"

There was nothing he could do to stop the laughter bubbling up his throat, and he didn't want to. He faintly heard her feet against the ground and when she found him he was leaning against the wall, a hand covering his mouth but he made no effort to actually stifle himself.

"Well, what did you expect? I can't just be calling your name running all around campus!" She was pouting. He just noticed her hair was down, reveling in the new sight of wavy dark locks framing her face – she was out of breath, she really must have been running all over.

The third warning beeped. He gripped his hand over his ring hand.

"So. This is it then." Her voice was soft.

"Yeah."

"Did you still need one more practice?"

"No." He breathed out and brought her closer. "I just needed your support. Thank you so much, Marinette. Really." Her heart was racing and so was his. He held her close for a while, still looking at her face, flushed from exhaustion.

"Chat…" She whispered his name, but said nothing else. Her mouth worked silently and her brow was furrowed, but in the end she took a breath, held him at arms length, and smiled at him.

"It's the real thing this time. She'll say yes for sure. Good luck!"

Wait…Wait. Wait!

But with the last warning from his ring, she let go and started running, He knew he couldn't chase after her with one minute left. As soon as she turned the corner, Plagg gave out and his costume fell away. The kwami wordlessly dove into his pocket, knocking something else out of it.

Her good luck bracelet.

He picked it up gently and screwed his eyes shut. There was something burning inside of him, crawling up his throat and spreading to the tips of his arms and legs.

He ran.

He ran as fast as he could, spotting her still figure standing outside the school gates with her back turned to him. He was silent as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her to hide on the inside of the wall, away from the street's view. She whipped around with a fist, but her grunt of effort climbed up to a yell when she saw his face.

"aaaaaaAAAAAAAAdrien?! What are you doing he- I don't understand, what's wrong?" Her eyes were wide with fear, and she was struggling to pull her wrist out of his grip. But he wasn't letting go. Not after all that time he spent with her, deceiving her and putting all his emotional weight on her.

"Look! I know it sounds like this has come from nowhere, but I really have liked you a lot for a while now!"

So this is how it came out in the end.

And after all that effort just a minute ago too.

She didn't make a sound besides a sharp inhale, and her face reflected the same reaction from the first time she heard that sentence. Adrien gently pulled her a little closer, taking her hand in both of his with her bracelet held between both their palms. Blue eyes were looking but not focused on him. He couldn't keep contact and stared at their hands instead while he willed the flush of his face to die down.

"That whole thing about practice was a lie. I was scared and I chickened out and you ended up suffering more because of me." He swore his heart would give out after all the strain from today alone. "I'm a scaredy-cat, and I'm not as great of a person outside of my mask. But I'm done running away."

Somehow, he found the courage to meet her eyes. "Every practice was the truth and I meant all of it. I-I admire everything I got to know about you after all this time, Marinette."

Her head tilted down and the free hand she had tightened into a fist over her chest. The confidence left him, words now finally said.

"Princess? Please, say something." His voice returned to the weakness it had in every practice.

She pulled her hand out of his grip and shoved him back with both her hands. He stumbled back but didn't fall, the bracelet still safe in his hands. Every muscle in his body tensed and he shrunk back. "I'm sor-"

"You stupid cat!" Her eyes were full of tears and she marched forward, shoving him back again forcefully. Her fists struck his chest repeatedly with effort, but they were not attacks. Soon they dulled down and gripped his overshirt instead. He wasn't exactly sure how good this turnout was. One fist came up to rub her eyes - he wanted to do so himself, but he was afraid that any movement would scare her away. She stared at him, eyes flickering all over his face as she caught her breath.

"I spend all week agonizing over my feelings for both of you, and you confessing to someone else, only to find out this?" she demanded finally.

Yeeeep that must have been the final straw. His heart finally lost its rhythm, skipping beats erratically. But he felt just fine. The goofy Chat grin on his face was proof.

"So you like me back, then?" He must have looked ridiculous, but he didn't care. Marinette snorted at his face, looking away for a second to think.

Her face flushed deeply as she muttered, "Of course, who else can bear to put up with you this last week without going insane? It has to be me."

He closed the gap between them and swung her around in a tight hug, her laughter joining his. The weight was finally lifted from his tired shoulders and he felt like he was flying. Stopping, he brought his face close to hers.

"W-wait!" Flailing hands covered his mouth and pushed his head gently back. He never had seen her flush this deep before. "It's, um, it's all still kind of shocking for me right now." An awkward grin graced her face apologetically.

"Of course, princess. I can wait." He brought his forehead to touch hers, feeling the warmth from her face as strong as his own.

Her pulse was leaping so fast under his touch. He wondered briefly if she heard his beat just the same.