This takes place at some unspecified point after season one of Miraculous Ladybug. It features an ambiguous ending, so if that's not your thing, move along. There will be at least one more piece in this series. Title is from "Something I Need" by OneRepublic.

Disclaimer: I don't own ML.

It's an impossible mission, and both Ladybug and Chat Noir know it.

Hawk-Moth has sent out more akumas than ever, ensnaring dozens of people. Everyone who could flee, did. Everyone who couldn't is a victim of the akumatized villains. There may be a few survivors hiding out, but there can't be many. Paris has never been so empty.

Ladybug and Chat Noir tried their best, but there were two of them against dozens of akumas. They managed to purify three. It wasn't enough.

And now, Ladybug and Chat Noir are trapped in an empty house, door barred to keep anyone from getting it. "What do we do?" Chat asks, pacing back and forth. He keeps running his hands through his hair. The tufts are messier than Ladybug's ever seen them before.

"We need to get to Hawk-Moth," Ladybug states. "If we can defeat him, it'll break his hold on the akumas. We know he has a Miraculous somewhere. We just need to find where it is."

"How do we get to him?" Chat counters. "He's got all of the akumatized villains guarding him."

"I don't know," Ladybug admits. "We can't get past all his defenses. If we could sneak around somehow..."

"You need to get to him," Chat tells Ladybug, stopping in his pacing to look her in the eye. "You can purify the akumas. I can be a distraction-"

"What?" Ladybug interrupts. "No way. I'm not sending you out there alone!"

"At least one of us needs to get to Hawk-Moth, and you're the better option!" Chat retorts. "You need-" He abruptly stops talking as his ring beeps, showing a single green pad left. He used Cataclysm earlier, back when they thought there was just one akumatized villain to take care of. Ladybug's hand jumps to her ears as her earrings beep out a warning as well. She'll last longer than Chat, but not by much.

"We're out of time," Ladybug whispers. They're going to change back. They haven't defeated Hawk-Moth, and they're going to change back.

Chat runs into the other room. They're in a house, left abandoned when its owners either fled or were taken out by the akumatized villains. Ladybug can hear Chat going through the cupboards in the kitchen. He comes back with an assortment of food in his arms, which he dumps on the table.

"If your kwami is anything like mine, he'll need food before you can turn back to Ladybug," Chat explains.

"She," Ladybug corrects absently. "My kwami is female." She picks up a pack of cookies. That'll be Tikki's favorite. Chat grabs a set of cheese crackers. "Should we go into other rooms?" Ladybug suggests. "Until we can change back?"

"Do we have to?" Chat asks, and there's something about his tone that makes Ladybug keep quiet for a moment, to hear his reasoning. "After this battle ends, either Hawk-Moth is going to be defeated or knowing each other's identities is going to be the least of our problems. Does keeping our identities a secret from each other really matter anymore?"

Ladybug's automatic reaction is that yes, it does matter. But there's something vulnerable in Chat's eyes. He's as scared as she is, Ladybug realizes. And he has a point. Either way, it won't really matter tomorrow if they know who the other is.

"Okay," Ladybug states after a long moment. "Tikki, spots off."

"Plagg, come on out," Chat adds. There's a flash of light as they both transform back.

Tikki falls into Marinette's outstretched hands. She hears Chat Noir hiss in shock. Biting her lip, Marinette looks up...

And sees Adrien Agreste, staring at her with wide eyes. "Marinette?" he gasps.

"Adrien?" Marinette chokes out. The familiar panic at being near her crush doesn't come. Perhaps it's because he's Chat as well. Perhaps it's because Marinette knows it's probably too late for that to matter. Either way, she feels more comfortable in front of Adrien than she ever has before.

"You're Ladybug?" Adrien whispers. Marinette forces a smile.

"In the flesh," she replies. "Are you disappointed?"

"Disappointed?!" Adrien repeats in shock. Before he can say anything else, his kwami flies into the side of his head.

"Where can I get some cheese around here?" he demands. "I'm starving!"

Marinette abruptly remembers her own kwami too. For a moment, the conversation is put on hold while Marinette and Adrien get out food for their kwamis. Marinette's mind is whirring. Chat Noir is Adrien? Alya had said it, long enough ago it felt like a lifetime had passed, but Marinette had dismissed it. And now she's found out that it's true. Maybe she didn't know as much about Adrien or Chat as she thought she did.

"You were never at the scene of an akuma attack, were you," Adrien remarks, a rueful smile on his face. "And if you were, it was before Ladybug arrived."

"Well, Ladybug and Marinette couldn't exactly be in the same place," Marinette replies. "Alya suspected you once. I thought she was crazy."

"How did you manage to keep it a secret from her?" Adrien asks, sounding impressed. "She runs a blog all about Ladybug. It was hard enough for me to keep it from Nino, and he's not obsessed with Chat Noir."

"It took a lot of luck," Marinette admits. "She got close a few times."

"I should have known it was you," Adrien remarks. "Someone kind and brave. It should have been obvious." Marinette is certain her cheeks are bright red.

"You're so different as Chat," she replies, trying to change the topic. "Which one of you is the real one?"

"Both, in a way," Adrien replies with a shrug. "Chat is me without any inhibitions. But he's a bit over the top. It's fun, but now how I'd normally act."

"Ladybug is the same," Marinette replies. "The mask means I don't have to worry."

"Exactly," Adrien agrees. "With the mask on, no one knows who you are. No one's waiting for you to mess up. No one's staring, not like they stare at me without it."

"People are more honest," Marinette adds. Adrien nods.

"I think this is the longest conversation we've had without our costumes," he remarks.

"I have a crush on you," Marinette admits in a rush. Adrien's eyes go wide. Marinette figures it doesn't do any harm to tell him now, all things considered.

"I- You do?" Adrien looks stunned. "But why... You know how much I love Ladybug. Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know you did," Marinette corrects. "I knew Chat Noir liked Ladybug. I didn't know about Adrien."

"Is that why you stuttered so much around me?" Adrien asks. Marinette nods.

"I was embarrassed," she admits. In for a penny, out for a pound. "Too bad we didn't know our secret identities, or something could have happened."

"We can kiss right now, for luck," Adrien suggests, and the smile on his face is half Chat confidence, half Adrien honesty. Marinette finds herself nodding.

"We need all the luck we can get," she remarks, stepping forward.

Adrien is a good kisser. She's always imagined he would be. The kiss is short, but they don't have time for anything longer. Still, it's good, as far as last kisses go.

"We should go out there," Marinette says, peering out the window. "We need to put a stop to this."

"Are you sure you won't let me go alone?" Adrien asks. "If anything happens to you, think of how your parents will feel. Think of Alya-"

"We're partners," Marinette interrupts firmly. "We're going out there together."

Their kwamis are ready to go. "Tikki, spots on!" Marinette cries as Adrien yells, "Plagg, claws out!" A minute later, they're both in costume. Ladybug bites her lip as she looks out the window again.

"I think we're going to have to just go for it. There's no real way to avoid the akumas."

"We should try not to engage them as much as possible," Chat adds. "We can't waste time fighting them. We need to get to Hawk-Moth."

"Are you ready?" Ladybug asks, going to the door. Chat grabs the table they shoved in front of it and starts to drag it out of the way. "Wait!" Ladybug cries, an idea coming to her. "Let's go out the roof."

"Clever, my Lady," Chat replies, winking. "A paw-sitively great idea."

Ladybug rolls her eyes as she runs up the stairs. Luckily, there's a little rooftop garden and a trap door to get up there. Ladybug and Chat pause for a moment, looking at each other.

"Shall we?" Ladybug asks. Chat grins.

"Let's go." He pushes up the trap door and the both rush through it. A flying akumatized villain sees them immediately and the fight is on.

"I love you," Ladybug breathes to Chat, not expecting him to hear it. She's forgotten about his cat hearing.

"Love you too," he replies, squeezing her arm with his free hand.

"You ready, kitty?" Ladybug asks. "This might not go well." That's an understatement and they both know it. This is a suicide mission.

"My Lady," Chat replies, "it would be an honor to die alongside you."

Ladybug forces a smile. "The honor is all mine," she replies, and they're off.