Hi everyone!

I am officially Miraculous Ladybug trash and this is the proof.

i have fallen hard and fast into this fandom and this was an idea that would not get out of my head. It was also a fic that would not stop! Honestly, it was only supposed to go four about five pages and it somehow morphed into twenty four.

I really should be working on my Merlin fic, but Miraculous Ladybug has taken a hold of me and refuses to let go. This is my first attempt at writing something for this fandom, so I'm a little nervous.

Also, this has mentions of the Origin episodes in it. Are we still putting up spoiler alerts for that? I also make a brief mention about the Princess Fragrance episode so SPOILER ALERT if you haven't see those episodes!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug. If I did, these losers would have realised they love each other by now.

Amour Chassé-Croisé

Star-Crossed Love

"Uhh, come again?" Asked Ladybug uncertainly.

That in itself was surprising, for as long as Chat Noir had known her, his Lady had rarely been uncertain. Perhaps on their first go as heroes of Paris, when they'd first been given their Miraculouses and when she didn't feel like she deserved to be Ladybug, then she had been uncertain. But since then? Never. Ladybug and uncertainty didn't go together.

She was always fierce, passionate, in control, never wavering when things went wrong.

(At least in Chat's opinion, but he could never find fault in his Lady).

However, in this moment, he couldn't really blame her for feeling uncertain because he was feeling the exact same. After all, why would they expect that the whole reason they'd been called into the interview they were currently having was because someone wanted to make a children's cartoon out of them?

A TV show? Really? Perhaps he'd misheard them? When he and his Lady had got called in, they'd expected an Akuma attack, not 'we're making a cartoon about you guys and we want you to hear what we've got so far!'

(Although he was surprised and uncertain about the whole idea, the giant anime fan side of Chat was buzzing at the thought. If they made a transformation sequence for Chat Noir, it would have to be incredible! Magical girl – boy – catboy – poses and all).

Chat and his partner sat looking dumbfounded at the TV producers seated across from them. They had introduced themselves as Benjamin and Adeline, and they'd called the two superheroes to the Grand Paris Hotel in order to talk about their show. Not that Ladybug and Chat had any idea about that when they'd arrived.

"We're calling it 'Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir'," repeated Benjamin, an executive producer. He was a tall man, with brown eyes, dark hair, and a wide grin on his face as he explains their idea.

It was then that the co-producer sitting beside him spoke up. Adeline reminds Chat a bit of Nathalie: dark hair, blue eyes, glasses and an equally as serious expression on her face as his Father's assistant. She is quite the contrast to Benjamin, but Chat figured that the two balanced each other out when it came to producing TV shows.

Like Ladybug and I, Chat mused. Two opposites – good luck and bad luck – working together to accomplish a goal.

"We wanted to speak to you today to get your thoughts on the matter, and to talk to you about characterisation," Adeline said.

The producers voice broke Chat out of his thoughts and he turned to face Ladybug, sending her the silent question of, 'What do you think we should do?' It was a look he'd sent her many times before, during the countless Akuma battles they'd been in, and she had always taken the lead. He'd follow her in this, like always. He trusted her judgement.

"If you don't mind," said Ladybug, still sounding somewhat uncertain about the whole scenario, but nowhere near as shocked as she was when it was first brought up. "I'd like to discuss this in private with my partner."

The two producers nod. "Of course," they chorus and head to the door.

"We'll give you all the time you need," Benjamin said, holding the door open for his partner before disappearing through it himself. It closed with a quiet 'click' and then Chat was left alone with his Lady. A situation Chat would normally always take to bust out a pun or flirt, but Ladybug seemed lost in thought and Chat doubted she'd appreciate either of them. (She'd say she didn't appreciate at any time, but he knows she secretly likes the puns – even if she won't admit it – and as for the flirting? Chat holds on to the hope that one day he'll win her heart. After all, she already has his).

"What do you think we should do, Chat?" His Lady eventually asked, shifting so she was facing him on the lounge they sat on and breaking the contemplative silence that had formed between them.

Chat shrugged, "I don't really have a problem with it. If they want to make a cartoon about us, let them do it."

"But this could be huge, Chat," Ladybug argued. "We already get enough attention from – uh, what was it called? – the Ladyblog? Do we really need anymore?"

"Whatever happens, we can deal with it," Chat promised, reaching out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. To his surprise, she didn't bat it away. "Together, as a team, like we always do. I don't think it's going to be as bad as you think it would be, my Lady."

Ladybug was silent as she processed his words. When she came to a decision, she nodded. "Okay," she said, before pausing and sending a pointed look to his hand that was still on her shoulder. Chat sheepishly pulled it away, but he couldn't fight the smile that it put on his face. That was more like his Lady.

"But we're going to have to be smart about this," she continued. "We don't tell them about our kwami. They don't need to know them. They've already mentioned the Miraculouses, but they only know that because every single Akumatised person demands we give them up."

"Not much we can do about that," Chat replied ruefully. "But I agree that we shouldn't mention anything about our kwami."

"Or anything about our personal lives," Ladybug added. "Think about it – if we tell them what we're like as our civilian selves, our identities could be compromised. We can't risk that. They can make up whatever they want about us, so long as it isn't horrible."

Chat wanted to argue that he'd love to know more about her personal life, but he knew it was pointless. Ladybug was adamant that their lives stay separate, and although he yearned to know who was behind the mask, he wouldn't push her to reveal herself.

That could ruin their relationship and he loved her too much to risk that.

"Very well, my Lady," he agreed. "Is there anything else you think we should cover before we call them back in?"

"I also don't want much to do with the actual making of the show. Life is hectic enough as it is."

"Agreed," Chat said. He couldn't imagine trying to fit even more activities into his already full schedule. "Anything else?"

Silenced reigned as Ladybug considered his question. "No," she replied at last. "I think that's it."

Chat sent her a comforting smile. "Don't worry about it too much, Buginette. A cartoon about us sounds fun. What's the worst that could happen?"

Ladybug looked like she wanted to list the numerous bad things that could happen from this idea, but instead she took a deep breath, stood up, and crossed over to the door. She poked her head out and called to Benjamin and Adeline, before moving to re-join him on back on the lounge.

"So, what did you decide?" Benjamin asked once they were all seated.

"We agree to the idea of a TV show, but we have a few conditions," Ladybug answered.

"Of course," the two producers replied.

"First and foremost, we tell you nothing about our personal lives," Ladybug said. "This is simply for safety and privacy reasons. The less people know about us, the better. We're giving you free reign on our civilian lives. You can make up our names, ages, you name it."

"We were thinking Bridgette and Félix, if you weren't up for telling us your own names," Benjamin put in.

Chat's eyebrows rose in surprise. Did he really come across as a Félix? And did these guys seriously think that he and Ladybug were just going to walk in and tell them their civilian identities? Was that wishful thinking, or what?

"Uh, no, we're not telling you our names, so Bridgette and Félix are fine," Ladybug said, seeming surprised at the names as well.

"Secondly," Chat spoke up, veering the conversation away from names. "We don't want much to do with the production. We're busy people, so we don't want to be called in to comment on characterisation, or fighting styles, or Akumas, or anything like that. Understand?"

Benjamin and Adeline nodded.

"We're giving you free reign," Ladybug repeated. "It may sound harsh to say that we can't help you with everything, but we honestly can't. Between being superheroes and being our normal selves, there's only so much we can do. We have other responsibilities."

We're only human, Chat wanted to say, but it seemed like Benjamin and Adeline got the picture.

"We understand," Benjamin said.

"We won't press you for details," Adeline promised.

"Good," Chat said, sounding pleased, before turning serious. "Now there's one more thing I wanted to talk to you about." They all turned to him in interest, even Ladybug, who was frowning, probably trying to work out what Chat was going to say. They'd covered the conditions he and Ladybug had specified, after all.

But this was an important one that needed to be addressed.

"Cat puns," Chat said seriously.

Ladybug groaned, putting her head in her hands. "Chat, no."

"Chat, yes."

Ladybug groaned again and Chat turned to Benjamin and Adeline. "However you characterise me, I have to say cat puns. My puns are, after all-"

"-Minou, don't you are-"

"Purr-tty clawsome."

Ladybug let out a long suffering sigh and the two producers laughed.

Chat faced Ladybug. "See, my Lady? They liked my puns."

"No they didn't, they just laughed in pity."

"Me-ouch!" Chat said dramatically, putting a hand to his chest. "You wound me, Buginette."

Ladybug rolled her eyes and she moved to flick his bell, "You'll live, Chaton."

She then turned to face the producers again. The smile she had from Chat's puns fading into a serious expression. "There's one more thing I want to cover with you two, and if you get this wrong in your characterisation and production, then I will be severely disappointed with the show."

"Yes?" Benjamin asked.

Ladybug gestured to Chat, "Chat Noir is not my sidekick, as he is sometimes shown in the media. I seem to get a lot more attention and praise than he does and it's not fair."

Chat started at his Lady in surprise. He went to open his mouth and argue. To state that he didn't care that she got more attention than he did – she deserved it. She was Ladybug! He didn't care at all what the media said about him, so long as he could continue being Chat Noir and saving Paris by her side. Besides, it wasn't as if all of Paris hated him. It was just that his Lady, his beautiful, radiant Lady, received more praise and he, the unlucky, black cat, simply didn't. But as he went to speak, Ladybug raised a hand to stall him.

"Chat Noir is my partner," she told Benjamin and Adeline. "I couldn't save Paris without him. I trust him with my life. He is my best friend. My equal. And if you portray him as anything less than that, then you really don't understand our partnership at all."

"My Lady," Chat said in awe, but the rest of his words were lost as he took in the passionate expression on her face. She wouldn't give ground on this. Not until she knew that Benjamin and Adeline understood what she meant.

God, it just made him love her even more.

"Ladybug would be nothing without Chat Noir. Remember that," she finished.

Benjamin and Adeline were smiling and Chat could almost see the gears turning in their hands as they tried to work out how they used what had been covered in the last few minutes of conversation in their characterisation. "We understand," the two producers said.

"And the reverse is true as well," Chat spoke up. "My Lady says that she would be nothing without me, but I would be nothing without her. We're a team. We couldn't save Paris without one another."

(Chat is certain that Ladybug was capable of saving Paris on her own, but it was nice to hear her say otherwise.)

The conversation didn't last much longer after that. Soon enough, they bade goodbye to Benjamin and Adeline, but not before Ladybug suggested they look up the Ladyblog for information on the two of them. Chat had to fight the grin of his face at that one so as to not give away the fact that he knew the one who ran the blog. But he had to admit it was a good suggestion. If anyone had information on the two heroes of Paris, it was Alya.

With that, they left the Grand Paris Hotel, said goodbye to one another and disappeared off to their civilian lives, with the promise to meet back up later for patrol.

It was a few days later and Marinette managed to forget about the TV show meeting. Between school, homework, helping her parents in the bakery, patrols and Akuma attacks, it slipped her mind. At least until she came to school and was standing at the front stairs (surprisingly early, for once) and Alya came tearing up to her, absolutely beaming.

"Girl! You will never guess what happened!" Her best friend exclaimed.

"What?" Marinette asked, startled at her friends behaviour.

"I've been asked to be an advisor on a new Ladybug and Chat Noir cartoon that's in production! Me! They called me this morning and asked. Apparently Ladybug herself suggested me because I run the Ladyblog! Ladybug, Marinette! Ladybug! I mean, it was one thing for her to sit and have an interview with me, but now she suggested me to the showrunners and ahhhhhh, I can't believe this!"

Alya looked ecstatic and Marinette couldn't keep the smile off her face. She didn't know if Benjamin and Adeline would take her advice and look up the Ladyblog, but apparently they'd gone one step further than that and contact Alya herself.

"That's amazing! Congratulations, Alya!" Marinette cried, hugging her friend tightly.

"What's going on?" Asked a new voice.

Alya and Marinette separated to see Nino approaching them, Adrien at his side. It was the former who had spoken, but Marinette automatically felt herself blushing and getting nervous in the presence of her crush.

She tried to push the feelings away. This was Alya's moment, not time to freak out around Adrien.

"A-A-Alya's got some exciting news!" Marinette managed to get out.

Alya beamed as she told them about the show, and Nino and Adrien both were ecstatic for her. They congratulated her and fist bumps were given out.

The moment was ruined, like most good moments were, by Chloé Bourgeois.

"Ladybug show or not," their snobby classmate said, interjecting herself into the conversation. "Anything that has you helping in it is bound to be awful."

"Yeah," Sabrina agreed, by Chloé's side, as always.

Marinette glared at the Mayor's daughter, anger building up inside of her.

"That's not nice, Chloé," Adrien admonished, and Nino nodded his head in agreement, shooting Chloé a sour look.

"Go away, we don't want you here," Alya snapped before the prissy teenager could reply to Adrien.

"Well how rude!" Chloé huffed. "I'm allowed to be here if I want! And besides, Adrien loves talking to me."

"But we don't like talking to you!" Marinette said, scowling at Chloé. "This is Alya's moment and you're ruining it, just because you're jealous it didn't happen to you!"

Silence followed Marinette's words. A crowd had started to grow around them now, made up of their classmates and everyone looked on – sufficiently impressed – as Marinette managed to stand up to Chloé (which wasn't that surprising because the two of them argued all the time) but more so the fact that she'd done it in Adrien's presence without stuttering at all.

Apparently fury and the righteous need to stick up for your friends and put self-centred teenage girls in their place cured shyness. Who would have known?

Calm down, Marinette, the secret hero told herself. It's just Chloé. Don't let her get to you.

Chloé scoffed, "Just because your friend managed to get involved in some tacky Ladybug show-"

"-Ladybug and Chat Noir," Marinette cut in.

Okay, no. Now she had tried to insult Marinette's two best friends. That wasn't gonna fly.

Chloé looked confused at the interruption. "What?"

"Firstly," Marinette said, frowning deeply and looking exceedingly angry at the blonde standing before her. "Don't try and ruin things for Alya, or say that the show is 'awful' or 'tacky' simply because she is involved in it. Alya deserves it. She risks her life and puts herself in danger to get footage for the Ladyblog. She deserves this. What do you do? Nothing! I mean, you're the reason most of the people in our class have been akumatised!"

Everyone was staring at Marinette in shock, but she didn't care. She just kept going. "And secondly, it is Ladybug and Chat Noir! I don't know where everyone keeps getting this idea that Ladybug is more important than Chat Noir, because she's not. They're partners. They're equals! Ladybug would be nothing without Chat Noir! And if you were half the Ladybug fan that you claim to be, you would know that!"

If she had been more attentive, she would have noticed Adrien stiffening at her words. But since she was solely focused on putting Chloé in her place, and defending her two best friends, both Alya and Chat Noir, she didn't see the look of surprise and recognition flitter onto Adrien's features.

"So next time maybe you should just mind your own business Chloé and stop trying to ruin everyone's day. If only your spoiled and self-centred attitude was as easy to cleanse as an akuma," Marinette finished, before latching a hold of Alya's arm and dragging up her up the school steps without another word.

Adrien stared after the retreating forms of Marinette and Alya.

His classmates were doing much the same as him. They were all in such shock at Marinette's … explosion that no one really knew what to do. They knew that Marinette and Chloé had their spats, but that seemed like a whole other level.

But for Adrien, he was surprised for an entirely different reason.

Chat Noir is my partner … My equal, his Lady had said to Benjamin and Adeline. Ladybug would be nothing without Chat Noir.

They're partners. They're equals! Ladybug would be nothing without Chat Noir! Marinette had said only minutes before.

The same similar words.

The same hairstyle.

The same beautiful blue eyes.

The same passion when defending someone.

The same voice.

God, why hadn't he seen it before?!

He was an idiot!

Marinette, he thought as he watched her disappear inside the school. Marinette is my Lady.

That in itself was surprising, but it was even more so when he compared how she acted around him as Adrien to that when he was Chat. But still, he was sure it was her.

Or at least he was mostly sure. He was 95% sure. He just needed that 5% more of proof.

But how do I get it? He wondered. Should I even try to prove it's her? Ladybug has always been adamant we never reveal our identities. But she is right there! I'm sure that Marinette is Ladybug. She's my Lady and I love her and she's right there!

The thought gave him pause.

He loved her.

He loved Marinette.

It made him think back to what he had said when they'd first banded together as Ladybug and Chat Noir: Doesn't matter who's under that mask, but I love her, this girl.

Just because he'd found out who she was didn't change his feelings. Everything he loved about his Lady was present in Marinette. After all, Marinette was Ladybug, with or without the mask. Everything that made Ladbug, Ladybug, had to first be present in his shy classmate.

And who cares if she was shy? Adrien didn't act like Chat when he was out of the mask so how could he expect his Lady to?

(Although he'd by lying if he said he didn't want to know why she was so painfully shy around him. Maybe it was because she liked to design and his Father was a famous designer and Adrien a famous model?)

Whatever the case, Marinette was Ladybug and she'd been right there all along.

It put a wide grin on his face.

"….Adrikins … Adrikins … Adrikins!"

Adrien jumped, startled. He turned to see Chloé, who had been trying to get his attention. He also realised that most of their class had gone inside while he, Nino, Chloé and Sabrina still remained.

His childhood friend didn't look impressed at being ignored.

"Finally!" She huffed. "First Marinette yells at me for no reason and then you don't even pay attention when I'm talking to you."

Ah, now it's really easy to see where Ladybug's apparent dislike for Chloé comes from, Adrien observed.

"Sorry, Chloé," he said, "I was just lost in thought."

"About how awful Marinette is? Can you believe her? Going off at me like that?"

Adrien frowned, instantly feeling protective of his Lady. "Well, no. I agree with her."

"You – what?" Chloé asked, dumbfounded.

Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien could see Nino and Sabrina also look at him in surprise.

"What you said to Alya was mean, Chloé," Adrien said. "And I agree with Marinette with what she said about Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"You agree with Marinette over me?! That lower-class, good-for-nothing bakers daughter?!" She demanded.

"I think Marinette is amazing, Chloé. You shouldn't talk about her that way."

Chloé merely gaped at him before letting out an inhuman shriek of rage and stalking off, Sabrina following dutifully behind her.

"Dude," Nino said as soon as Chloé was out of earshot.

Adrien turned to him, "What?"

"Okay, first of all, good on you for saying that to Chloé, but since when do you think Marinette is amazing?"

Adrien froze. "Uh – well," he faltered. Because really, how could he explain that he just had a gigantic epiphany that the love of his life was really the girl who sat behind him in class?

"Dude!" Nino exclaimed. "Do you have a crush on Marinette?!"

"No!" Adrien denied immediately, sounding defensive; to his horror, a blush flared up on his cheeks.

"You do!" Nino crowed in delight. "Since when has this been a thing?! Oh dude, Alya is gonna love this. We've been trying to set you up with Marinette for ages."

"You what?"

"Because you know Marinette has a thing for you, right?" Nino babbled on. "Like, how can you not? She hasn't exactly been subtle."

Adrien gaped at his best friend, before waving his hands to get Nino's attention and make him stop talking. "Nino, stop, stop. What are you talking about? Marinette doesn't have a thing for me. I know she's shy, but isn't that because of who my Father and I are? We are famous, it's understandable that she's shy. I mean, I admit I'd hoped she would have gotten over it by now but … What?" Adrien trailed off uncertainly as he took in Nino's expression.

"Dude."

"What?"

"Dude."

"What?"

"Duuuuuude."

"Nino!" Adrien growled in frustration. "What?"

Nino wrapped an arm around Adrien's shoulders and shook him. "You, bro, are the most oblivious person I have ever met," he said as he steered them off to class.

A confused expression came over Adrien's face. "Huh?"

Nino sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Nino."

"Marinette likes you, man. As in like, like. As in big time like. She's got a huge crush on you. That's why she's so shy around you. She likes you so much that she can't get the words out." Nino paused, looking momentarily guilty. "I'm breaking the friend code by telling you this, but it's okay because you like her too."

Adrien was shocked. "I – she – Marinette – what?"

Nino snickered. "Now you're stuttering like her. You're a match made in heaven."

"Marinette doesn't like me like that," Adrien said, shaking his head.

Nino sighed again, sounding frustrated. "She totally does. I guarantee that if you go into class right now and talk to her, even if it's just to say hello, she'll turn bright red and stutter out a reply."

"But she always does that."

"Yeah, because she likes you," Nino said as they approached their classroom.

"I don't think-"

"-She does," Nino cut him off, before prodding Adrien though the door and towards Marinette.

There she was, sitting at the desk behind him like she always was. She didn't look angry anymore and was simply talking to Alya. She had her head turned in Alya's direction, so she didn't seem them enter the classroom, but Adrien still felt his heart pound as he looked at her.

There she was. Right there. This whole time.

His Lady.

Marinette dragged Alya away from the others, into the school and their deserted classroom. She let go of her best friend and angrily sat in her seat with a huff.

"Marinette, girl, what was that?" Alya asked, taking a seat beside her.

"Chloé is painful," Marinette said with a frown. "She shouldn't have tried to ruin your moment."

"And I appreciate you sticking up for me," Alya said. "But I've never seen you go off quite like that."

"I don't really know what came over me," Marinette replied, already feeling her anger draining away as she just quietly sat and talked with her best friend. "But I'll always stick up for you, Alya."

"Likewise, girl. But you also seemed pretty intense about Ladybug and Chat Noir, what's up with that?"

Marinette sighed. "It's just what I said. Chat Noir deserves more praise than he gets. Ladybug is great, sure, but she wouldn't be able to do what she does without him. People tend to forget that. It just … rubs me the wrong way, I guess."

Alya looked thoughtful and nodded. "I agree with you," she said. "As much as I adore Ladybug, Chat Noir is important too."

Her friends words brought a smile to Marinette's lips.

"And guess what?" Alya said, a teasing tone to her voice.

"You went off at Chloé, said all of that stuff without a single stutter in front of Adrien. You go girl! You didn't seem shy at all."

Marinette froze with a gasp. "Oh no! I blew up in front of Adrien! He's gonna think I have anger issues! What am I going to do! Now he'll think I'm weirder than normal!" With a groan, Marinette slumped over and banged her head on her desk.

Alya sighed, "What am I going to do with you?"

Hearing her friends voice reminded Marinette that this was, as she had said to Chloé minutes before, Alya's moment. This wasn't a time for Marinette to have an Adrien-induced freak out. So she sat up, turned to her best friend and said, "Enough about me, or Chloé, or Adrien. Tell me about this Ladybug and Chat Noir cartoon."

Alya broke out in an excited smile and immediately launched into describing exactly what the TV producers had said to her in their phone call. Marinette listened intently as the rest of their class slowly filed into the classroom. Some of them shot Marinette a few curious looks, clearly wondering how she was feeling after her argument with Chloé, but she didn't pay them any mind. She also didn't pay Chloé any attention when she and Sabrina walked in, despite the fact that the Mayor's daughter glared at her as she took her seat.

No, her attention was all on Alya. At least, it was until Adrien and Nino entered the classroom, and her crush decided to come right up to them, Nino right beside him.

"Hey Marinette, Alya, are you girls okay?" Adrien asked.

Adrien is talking to me, Adrien is talking to me, Adrien is talking to me! She shrieked in her mind. Reply! Quick!

"W-w-we, uh, um, w-we're fine," she shuttered, cheeks blushing red. Mortified, she turned to Alya, sending her a clear 'help me!' look. However, since her face was turned she missed the expression of surprise on Adrien's face, and the very quick blush that adorned his cheeks, or the expression of smug satisfaction that Nino had as the DJ elbowed the model in the ribs.

Alya didn't though, and she caught on real quick. Feeling elated that Adrien had finally caught onto how wonderful Marinette was, she decided to help the two along. "Yeah, we're fine. We were just talking about the Ladybug and Chat Noir show and how great it was that Mari stood up to Chloé like that. Don't you think it was great?"

Marinette was sending her best friend wide-eyed looks of distress. Alya what are you doing?! I can't talk to him! Help! She mentally cried.

"Yeah!" Nino agreed, drawing Marinette's attention to him. "I mean, it's always good to see you put Chloé in her place, but that one was particularly awesome. What about you, Adrien? She was amazing, don't you think?"

Marinette didn't understand why Adrien elbowed Nino in the ribs for that, but she was pretty sure her heart exploded when he said. "Of course, you were great, Marinette, and I really agree with what you said about Ladybug and Chat Noir."

He agrees with me?! He thinks I'm great?! Marinette thought hysterically.

"T-thank you, A-Adrien. I'm not that great, you're great – I mean, um – w-what were you saying? – Uh, yeah, Ch-Chat Noir deserves recognition, he's not a sidekick – he's great. Yes, great."

Thankfully the teacher came in to call the class into order and Marinette was saved from humiliating herself any further. Nino and Adrien took their seats and Marinette slumped forward, burying her head in her arms.

Positioned as she was, she didn't notice Nino pass Adrien the note that had 'I TOLD YOU SO' written on it in huge letters. No, Marinette was just praying that a whole would open up in the ground and swallow her whole.

The weeks following that day were pretty normal, if you disregarded the fact that Adrien kept paying attention to her!

She didn't know why but he kept talking to her, asking her questions and attempting to get to know her. She would have been over the moon about it if she wasn't focusing on trying not to spontaneously combust with nerves every time Adrien spoke to her.

And the puns!

Did Adrien always like puns? Because she couldn't remember him ever using them, but he kept slipping them into conversation, making her, Alya and Nino both laugh and groan at him.

They were nothing like Chat Noir's cat puns – Marinette wasn't entirely how she'd cope if she heard Adrien make a cat pun – but they were still puns and Adrien was still making them, and looking utterly satisfied when they groaned at him to stop.

Alya and Nino were no help. They'd see Adrien talk to Marinette, her inevitable freak out and 'save me!' looks, but they ignored them. Instead, Alya and Nino seemed determined to leave her and Adrien alone for as long as possible.

Marinette had to admit that she was slowly calming down in Adrien's presence. She didn't stutter quite as much and was beginning to have actual conversations with him. He had even offered to help her learn Chinese (something that Marinette had to try very, very hard not to squeal in excitement over when he first suggested it.)

Then even spent time together in her room playing Ultimate Mecha Strike III (She had taken down all her Adrien posters so he wouldn't see them when he came around. They now lived in a drawer in her desk). Their battles were intense, but Marinette won more often than not. Not that she cared when she lost, because Adrien's dorky victory dance and the expression on his face when he was victorious more than made up for losing.

Chloé had also been extra painful following their argument, but that was to be expected. Honestly, it was a miracle no one had been akumatised because of her. Chloé especially didn't like how much time Marinette and Adrien were spending together and was exceptionally vocal about it, but Marinette ignored her.

Another strange thing that kept happening was that Chat Noir kept visiting on her at her home. His original excuse for visiting was that he was in the neighbour on patrol and decided to visit 'his Princess' on a whim, but then he kept coming back.

Despite the fact these visits made her anxious that he identity had been discovered, she had come to enjoy when Chat turned up. She liked getting to know him as a person, despite the fact that it was something she discouraged when she was Ladybug. She learnt that he liked anime (she'd gotten a twenty minute lecture on exactly why Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood was 'clawsome' and she should 'totally watch it'), she learnt that he played piano, his favourite artist was Jagged Stone, he disliked camembert cheese, he was an only child, he came from a wealthy family and yes he was aware he had cat-like tendencies, he didn't need to be teased with a laser pointer, Princess! (Marinette had laughed hard at that, and no matter how many times she did it, he would always chase the laser).

With everything that was going on, Marinette had forgotten about the 'Miraculous' TV show. It wasn't until Alya mentioned that she'd heard one of the producers' say they wanted to show what they'd made to Ladybug and Chat Noir that she even thought about it.

However, it wasn't until weeks later that she and Chat Noir received the invite to come and see the shows progress.

"We know you wanted to be kept out of the production process," Adeline said as she and Benjamin showed the two superheroes around the studio. "But we wanted to show you where we were up to and get some feedback from you, if that would be alright?"

"Of course," Chat said and he and Ladybug were shown into a lounge room where a giant TV was set up. "As busy as we are, I've been looking forward to seeing what you have come up with."

Ladybug – Marinette, he was now 99% certain, he was just waiting on that extra 1% - nodded in agreement.

"Well take a seat," Benjamin said, gesturing to the lounge with a smile. "We just have some short clips to show you and some audio of the theme song that we've been working on."

Chat and Ladybug sat down and Benjamin connected his computer to the TV. Within minutes they had seen the shows version of their transformations, which was interesting without the whole 'Kwamis go into the Miraculous' part. Then they were played the theme song, and Chat had to admit that it was pretty catchy.

A Ladybug, a lucky charm, Lady Magic and Lady Luck!

Ladybug had seemed upset until Chat Noir got his own verse, then she was happy.

They were about to give feedback on everything they'd been shown when a scream pierced the air.

Ladybug and Chat were on their feet in seconds. "We need to go! We're sorry!" Ladybug cried, before rushing from the room.

Chat was about to follow her when he heard Benjamin cry out behind him.

"Wait!"

Chat turned around, "Yes?"

"You love her, don't you? We already had that planned in the show, but it is so obvious from the way you look at her. You love her. Are you okay with us using that as a plot point? Because if you're not, it can go."

Chat sighed. This really wasn't the time for this. His Lady needed him! "I love her," he said. "I have loved her from the beginning of our partnership and I will never stop. While I am unsure of how my Lady feels about me, my feelings for her never change. If anything, they grow stronger. I don't care what you use for your plot, because I am certain of my feelings for her and no matter how they're portrayed on a show, they are never going to change. Now I could stand here for hours and give you example after example of how much I love her, but there is an akuma on the loose and my Lady needs me! You may think your show is important, but nothing is more important to me than her. Now stay here until the danger passes and don't go outside!"

With that, he ran out the door, but not before he heard an uncharacteristically awed Adeline say, "That was beautiful. Can we use that?"

When he finally caught up to his Lady, she was already engaged in battle on the street outside the studio. The akumatised villain was a girl with pale skin, enraged hazel eyes, frazzled red hair and was wearing a white, knee-length dress that looked like it was covered in a random combination of black letters, words and numbers; in her hand there was pen that she held onto tightly.

"Nice of you to join us, Minou," Ladybug said.

"Sorry, my Lady. Our friends Ben and Adeline wanted me to stick around and chat."

Ladybug groaned. "Oh, you did not just use your own name for a pun."

"I did."

"You're awful."

"I think you mean 'pawful'. But what are we dealing with?"

"I am Lady Education!" The villain shouted, introducing herself. "I worked for days for my assessment, under constant stress and I still failed! Everyone says that studying isn't hard and that I shouldn't be so worried about it, but I'll prove them wrong! I'm here to prove education is a nightmare, but before I do that, why don't you two give me your Miraculouses?"

"Never!" Ladybug cried, before turning to Chat. "I think the akuma is in the pen."

"Right," Chat said, getting out his baton and settling into a fighting stance; Ladybug readied her yoyo.

Lady Education snarled at them. "Word Count!" She cried, pointing her pen towards them. From the tip of the pen came a blast of jumbled up words and letters, much like the pattern on her dress.

Ladybug and Chat instantly swung their weapons to deflect the attack, before charging in to try and take the pen.

"Deadline!" A line appeared on the ground before them, spanning a few metres wide and Chat and Ladybug instantly ran into an invisible wall.

Lady Education laughed harshly. "Don't you know the importance of a deadline?! You can never submit anything past it!"

The two superheroes groaned in frustration and darted around the line, advancing on the villain once more.

"All Nighter!" Their foe yelled, shooting a bright red blast of energy from her pen. This time Lady Education's attack wasn't aimed at them, but the poor civilians on the street who had yet to rush to safety. A group of about ten different men, women and children were all covered in the red light and when it faded they instantly looked exhausted. Their eyes were half closed and one of them even started yawning.

"Get their Miraculouses!" Lady Education commanded.

The group advanced on Ladybug and Chat Noir, their arms outstretched. "Yes, Lady Education," they chorused.

Chat groaned inwardly. Great, he thought. Another mindless akumatised army.

"Don't worry about this, Ladybug!" Chat called to his partner. "I'll handle this. You get the akuma."

"Right!" Ladybug replied and she charged off towards Lady Education.

Chat focused on the group of followers in front of him. "Sorry," he said. "While I can sympathise with pulling all nighters, you're not getting past me or our Miraculouses. I think it's time you all had a cat nap!"

Ten against one weren't great odds, but Chat had dealt with far worse. He charged at then, staff raised, and began knocking them down. He dodged their attacks by leaping over them and kept them back by using his staff.

They were not getting past him.

At least, that was what he told himself until one snuck up behind him and managed to knock his feet out from under him. Chat collapsed on the ground with and 'oof!' His baton flew from his hand as he fell.

"Chat!" Ladybug cried in alarm at seeing him down.

He was up in seconds, scooping his staff up as he stood. "I'm okay!"

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted, throwing her yoyo up into the air; apparently his Lady thought that the akuma attack had gone on for long enough.

Ladybug's charm finished and she was rewarded with a red and black spotted mirror.

"A mirror?" Ladybug questioned. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Chat went to run at Lady Education, fully prepared to distract her while his partner came up with a plan on how to use her charm.

"I tire of this and I want your Miraculouses," Lady Education said before he could move, aiming her pen in his direction. "Join me, Chat Noir! All Nighter!"

Chat darted out of the way "No," he said, sounding frustrated. "I've been made to hate my Lady, I've been turned into a puppet, and I've been forced into becoming a singing, fragrant, mindless follower. Not that I can remember doing any of that, but it doesn't matter. Ladybug is my partner and I'm not going to be used against her again! Cataclysm!" The bad luck energy bubbled in his palm and he ran at her villain.

"All nighter!"

Lady Education sent another attack his way, but before it could hit him, something intercepted it. A red and black spotted mirror came into the attacks path and redirected it up into the air. This gave Chat the chance he needed to skim his hand along the ground at Lady Education's feet. Much like when they were up against Rogercop, the ground beneath their foe crumbled, getting them stuck from the waist up.

With a swing of her yoyo, Ladybug had the akumatised villain caught in its infinite string. With that, she plucked the pen from Lady Education's fingers and stamped it beneath her foot. From there it was business as usual as Ladybug cleansed the akuma and her cry of "Miraculous Ladybug!" set everything back in order.

"Bien joué!" They chorused, doing their celebratory fist bump.

Lady Education turned back into a dazed and confused civilian that Ladybug comforted, saying that she didn't get the greatest marks in the world all the time either, but that wasn't a bad thing.

"You learn from you mistakes," she told the girl with a smile.

A beep from his ring distracted Chat from staring admiringly at his partner.

"Sounds like it's time for me to go, my Lady," he said. "Unless you want me to stick around and you can see how beautiful I really am under this mask?"

Ladybug stood and helped the normal Lady Education stand, before turning to Chat. She scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Keep dreaming, Chaton," she said, bopping him on the nose.

"Dreaming of you? Always?" He shot back with a wink, before bowing low. "Au Revoir, my Lady!"

His goodbye said, he extended his baton and vaulted onto the rooftops of Paris, dashing away to find a place to transform back to Adrien.

See you tomorrow, Buginette, he thought as he ran. Or should that be 'See you tomorrow, Marinette'?

Marinette was exhausted by the time she got home.

"Are you alright, Marinette?" Tikki asked in concern.

She sent a tired smile to her kwami friend. "Yeah, Tikki, I'm just a little worn out."

Tikki flew up to give Marinette's cheek a hug. "You did well today, Marinette."

"Thank you."

"Akuma aside, did you enjoy what you saw at the studio?"

Marinette nodded. "Yeah, I did. It was interesting to see my transformation without you involved." She sent Tikki a smile. "But I much prefer our version."

Tikki hugged her again. "And what did you think of the song?"

"I was very catchy," Marinette replied. "I already have the 'oh, oh, oh' part stuck in my head."

Tikki laughed, "Well maybe you should try doing some homework, that'll get it out of your head."

Marinette groaned, but sat at her desk, humming the songs tune as she went.

(Tikki was wrong. The song didn't get out of her head).

The next morning was typical for Adrien.

The Gorilla dropped him off, Chloé tried to drag his attention away from Marinette, Marinette blushed at said attention, Nino called him 'Dude', and Alya looked on at their antics with fond exasperation.

It wasn't until right before lunch that he noticed something not so typical.

Marinette was humming a very familiar tune.

There is was. That 1% of proof he was looking for.

It was the theme song they'd been shown the day before. Adrien knew that only a handful of people would have heard it since the show was still in production. There was no way Marinette would have known it. Not unless she'd been shown it personally. Not unless she'd sat beside him, dressed in red and black, listened to that (admittedly catchy) song and got it stuck in her head.

I knew it was you, my Lady, Adrien thought, a bright smile appearing on his face.

"Girl, what are you humming?" He heard Alya whisper to Marinette.

"Hmm?"

"You've been humming but I don't recognise the tune. What is it?"

"Oh, uh – just a song my Maman used to sing to me when I was little," Marinette lied.

The girls stopped talking due to a pointed stare from the teacher and Marinette stopped her humming after that. When the class was finally were released for lunch, Adrien took it as his chance to talk to Marinette. However, when he approached her as she was packing up her things he heard her singing under her breath.

"I'm Chat Noir, always there. I've got super-powerful powers..."

She was singing his verse.

That pleased him more than it probably should.

He also noticed that Marinette had quite a nice singing voice. But Adrien was more focused on the fact he was about to reveal himself to his Lady.

His heart pounded as he asked, "Marinette, can I talk to you?"

Instantly, her cheeks blushed red. "U-uh, yes?

Adrien glanced over to where Alya and Nino were waiting for them to go to lunch. "Privately? Please?"

If possible, Marinette turned even redder. Alya and Nino sported identical, beaming smiles. "We'll see you guys later!" They said in unison, before ducking out of the room.

Marinette stood out of her seat. "So – um – what did you want to talk about?"

Adrien's mind blanked. How was he supposed to say this?!

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, but no words came out.

You're Chat Noir! He told himself. Act like it!

Taking a deep breath and drawing on some of the courage he used as Chat, he finally spoke. "That song you were humming and singing before. What was it?"

Marinette looked surprised, like it was the last thing she expected him to ask. "Uh – well…"

"See, I know that song," Adrien went on as Marinette floundered to find an answer to his question.

Her expression changed to one of confusion.

"I myself only heard it yesterday," he continued. "And there's only a few people in Paris can say they actually have heard it."

Marinette looked absolutely bewildered.

"And I just have to say … You have a beautiful singing voice, my Lady."

Adrien held his breath as he watched different expression flicker across Marinette's face: confusion, recognition, shock.

"… Chat?" Marinette eventually breathed out. She looked astounded, much like how he felt when he first began to suspect her.

"At your service, my Lady," he said with an extravagant bow; he couldn't keep the smile from his face.

In contrast, Marinette looked startled and ready to run any minute. It did bring Adrien's feelings down a bit, but he could understand that it was a lot to take in.

"… You're Chat Noir?"

He nodded, sending her a small smile. "Hi, Princess."

"Oh my god," she said, covering her mouth in shock.

She just kept staring at him, eyes wide.

"I think you broke her," Plagg said, floating out of Adrien's pocket.

"Plagg!" Adrien hissed, frowning at the kwami before holding his hand out for him to settle on. "Be nice!"

The ever-present bag at Marinette's hip popped open and out came a red blur. "Plagg!" A small voice cried in delight.

Adrien looked on in surprise as the red blur tackled Plagg, pulling him off of Adrien's hand, up into the air and into a hug. Adrien realised that this must be Ladybug's kwami and he studied her with interest when she let go of Plagg.

Small, red, and spotted with big, blue eyes … she looked adorable.

"It's so good to see you!" The red kwami said excitedly.

"It's good to see you too, Tikki," Plagg replied, his warm tone of voice surprising Adrien.

"And it's nice to officially meet you, Adrien!" The apparently-named Tikki said, flying up to Adrien and giving him a wide smile.

"It's nice to meet you too," he said, unable to help the smile that came onto his face. She was just too cute.

Tikki went back over to Marinette, who was still just standing there in shock. "There's your proof that's he's Chat Noir, Marinette," she said. "Plagg transforms Adrien into Chat like I turn you into Ladybug."

"I – just – what?" Marinette babbled.

Adrien looked down, feeling nervous. His smile faded. "I know you didn't want to share our identities, but when you were defending me to Benjamin and Adeline and to Chloé … you said nearly the exact same thing. I noticed and then just kept noticing similarities. I've had my suspicions for a while, but didn't know for sure until I heard you humming that tune. I'm sorry if you're disappointed that it's me."

Adrien was quite aware that he'd said all of that to his shoes, but he didn't feel confident enough to look up. He heard Marinette shuffle forwards and then felt her hand gently cup his cheek and get him to raise his head.

"Oh, Minou," she said, breaking out in a small smile. "I could never be disappointed in you."

A tentative grin tugged at Adrien's lips. "Really?"

"I'll admit, it's a big shock. I'm honestly surprised I didn't faint at the news, or that I'm even able to form coherent sentences right now," she admitted, blushing. "But you're my best friend. My partner. You could never disappoint me."

Adrien slowly reached up to where her hand was covering his cheek. He gently took it off and pressed it to his lips. It was an action he had done countless times before, but this time it was totally different.

"Thank you, my Lady," he murmured.

Marinette blushed scarlet.

He was vaguely aware that Tikki and Plagg had floated off somewhere to give the two of them some privacy; he was thankful for that.

"Y-You're not disappointed it's me?" Marinette asked.

"Of course I'm not disappointed," he said. "I was so happy when I worked out it was you. My Lady turned out to be the amazing girl behind me."

Marinette let out an embarrassed laugh. "I'm not amazing. Ladybug is amazing, I'm just me."

"You are Ladybug," Adrien said earnestly, putting his hands on her shoulders. "You might not think it, but all the amazing things that are in Ladybug have to be in you first. You're the hero, Marinette. Ladybug is just the mask."

"I…" Marinette sounded uncertain.

"You're the hero, Marinette," Adrien said, taking her hands in his. He took a deep breath and continued speaking. "And I … I love you."

Marinette's mouth opened in shock, but Adrien just kept going. He'd finally told her exactly how he felt, he couldn't just stop there. "I know you've always pushed me away when I've tried to flirt or tried to even remotely begin to explain how wonderful I think you are … but I really do love you, you know? Learning who you were under your mask didn't change my feelings for you. If anything it made them stronger. I could keep talking until I lost my voice, but it still wouldn't adequately explain how much I love you. And I know, I know, you don't feel the same, but I can't keep going without you knowing that I love you, Marinette, and that is not going to change."

Adrien's heart was hammering in his chest. He'd finally told her how much she meant to him. But she was just staring at him with her mouth hanging open. Silence stretched between them.

"Marinette, please," he all but begged. "Say something."

"I always spurned Chat Noir's advances because I was already in love with someone else," Marinette said at last.

Adrien cringed and looked down, heartbroken. Oh God, how was he supposed to deal with the rejection? It hurt more than all the hits he had ever taken as Chat Noir.

"You see, there's a boy in my class that I'm head over heels for," Marinette went on and Adrien listened, even if it pained him. "Admittedly, I didn't like him at first. I thought he was a snobby rich kid like Chloé and that he had put gum on my seat…"

Adrien froze and slowly looked up, his eyes wide.

Marinette smiled at him. "But then there was a moment after school. He came up to me in the rain and explained that he really was trying to get the gum off my seat. This beautiful, lonely boy, who was still a bit unsure about how school worked or how to make friends, but wanted to try anyway. Then he gave me his umbrella, and laughed when it snapped closed on my head and ever since then, my heart has been his."

"Marinette," Adrien said in awe.

"I love you, Adrien," she said. "I always have."

Now it was his turn to gape at her. He stared at her in wonder before pulling her in for a tight hug. She yelped in surprised, but quickly hugged him back. "Thank you," he murmured into her ear.

They pulled away from each other, but still held each other in their arms.

"My Lady … May I – may I kiss you?" He asked.

Marinette's cheeks flushed red, making him smile. Her blushes were quite endearing.

"I – I would like that very much, Minou," she replied.

Adrien's heart soared as he leant in. His eyes slid shut and Marinette tilted her head up to meet him. Their lips met in soft and sweet first kiss. Adrien's hands were on her waist, holding her close, as she wrapped her arms around his neck. They kissed once, twice, three times, before the number of kisses became unknown and all that mattered was them – Adrien and Marinette, Ladybug and Chat Noir – finally together after pining for each other for so long.

The moment was ruined, like most good moments were, by Chloé Bourgeois.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!" The daughter of the mayor shrieked.

Adrien and Marinette jumped apart, turning in unison to see that their entire class were staring at them. Alya, Nino, Chloé, Sabrina, Rose, Juleka, Kim, Mylène, Max, Alix, Nathanaël and Ivan were all crowded by the classroom door and gaping at them.

"We just wanted to know what you were doing!" Nino rushed to explain, gesturing to himself and Alya. "We couldn't hear you, we were just watching because we were sure that you were going to tell Marinette you liked her. But then everyone started noticing and wanted to watch too because like, come on dude, we've been waiting for this for months and –"

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Chloé shrieked again, cutting Nino off.

"I think that's obvious, Chloé," Alya said with an eye roll.

"Get away from Adrien!" Chloé snapped, stalking towards Marinette.

Adrien instantly stood protectively in front of his Lady. "Chloé, calm down."

"No! She forced you to kiss her! How dare she?!"

Adrien frowned and Marinette stepped forward. They stood side by side; it reminded him of when they would face down an akumatised villain, except this time they were just dealing with an exceptionally aggravated and spoilt teenage girl.

"I didn't force him to do anything!" Marinette said hotly.

"Exactly," Adrien agreed. "In fact, I asked if I could kiss her."

"WHAT?!" Chloé shouted, and everyone winced at her volume.

"It's something I've wanted to do for a while, to be honest," Adrien said, not ashamed to admit it.

Chloé looked between the two of them, seeming scandalised. She then let out a screech of rage and stormed out of the classroom; Sabrina followed meekly in her wake.

Adrien looked at Marinette and said, "I think she took that well."

"As always, you and I have a different definition of 'well.'"

Adrien drew her into his arms. "Aw, come on, Princess. It wasn't that bad."

A familiar Ladybug-esque smirk appeared on her face as she bopped him on the nose. "Well, we've had worse."

It was the sound of someone clearing their throat that reminded the pair that they had an audience.

Suddenly aware of how Ladybug and Chat Noir-ish they were acting in that moment, they separated and turned to their classmates. Their friends were looking at them with various expressions of shock and surprise.

A silence stretched between them. It was ultimately broken by Alya. "Yeah!" The blogger cheered. "Go Marinette! Go Adrien! I knew you guys would work out how perfect you were for each other!" The rest of the class broke out in their own cheers and congratulations. They swarmed the new couple, and hug and fist bumps were given all around.

Inevitably though, Adrien and Marinette's eyes would find each other while they were being congratulated by their friends, making them feel like they were the only two in the room again. Alya and Nino must have picked up on their desire to be alone, because their two best friends began herding the rest of the class out of the room to give them some privacy.

When they were alone again, they stood with hands intertwined. "So what does this make us, my Lady?" He asked.

"Partners," she answered immediately. "In saving Paris and in everything else."

He beamed at her and leant in to give her another soft kiss. "That would make me the happiest cat in Paris," he said as he pulled away.

Marinette snorted. "You dork."

"But I'm your dork."

That made her blush.

A smirk appeared on Adrien's face. "Speaking of cats, there's something I've been saving for this occasion."

Marinette must have seen something in his expression, because she started to say, "Chaton, don't you-"

"- Looks like the cat's out of the bag, my Lady."

She groaned, "Adrien, no."

He laughed, "Adrien, yes."

He had other cat puns saved up for that moment, but she distracted him by pulling him in for another kiss. He lost himself in the sensation of kissing her. Her hands were buried in his hair, and his were at her waist, holding her as close to him as they could possibly get. His heartbeat was racing and his thoughts were made up of only one mantra: Marinette, Marinette, Marinette…

He was drunk on her kisses. They were intoxicating. It was bliss. He wanted more.

What was he thinking of before this? Oh right – puns.

Marinette kissed him a little more forcefully, letting out a soft moan as she did.

… Ah, well, the puns could wait.

Authors Note:

So there you have it! My first attempt at ML fanfiction.

I actually found this really difficult to write. Especially the akuma battle. I do not have the creativity to think of random everyday objects and how they could be used to defeat a bad guy. Nor can I think of any good puns.

Still, this show is adorable and I am in love with it. Marinette and Adrien are such dorks. Why can't they just get it together and get together already?!

But yeah, let me know what you though of in the reviews!

Much love,

Leisey

xx