Well here's another Miraculous one-shot! I like AUs too much. That's literally my problem.

-Ash

Adrien knew that their means of contact would get him into trouble one day. Okay granted, he hadn't really suspected that, but now he was thinking on his toes to get Volpina off his ass.

The first time he had met with Ladybug as himself was the day his father was in absolute danger. That's all he had really been focused on. Hiding his ring from his lady wasn't the biggest priority in mind. He had been careful to make sure that Chat and Adrien were seen by Ladybug enough in hopes she wouldn't try to contact him as his superhero counterpart while he was Adrien. He happened to luck out that time, but not this time.

Volpina pushed her way into his room through the window. He hoped that he could make her see reason, but when she started spouting about Ladybug's jealously he realized very quickly there was no getting through to her. Volpina simply wanted their miraculous, to defeat his lady, and him. That was it.

"Ladybug's jealous because she's not as powerful as me," she boasted.

Adrien felt himself lean back from her presence when his ring suddenly flashed with a beep. Ladybug was trying to call him, and Volpina was right here.

The fox akuma eyed him. "What was that?"

"Oh, it was just my ring. It's a smart ring. You know the smart watches that people have? It's like that. But—it's a ring," he bumbled out.

She nodded in understanding. "Oh I see, well you don't need to contact anyone because now you have me."

He felt a wave of relief flow through his body when his lady stormed in through the window. Maybe black cats weren't as unlucky as he thought.

o~o~o~o

Adrien sprinted into class after lunch as quickly as he could. Hawkmoth was really working him and Ladybug ragged with all of the akumas he had been creating lately.

As he slid into his seat he glanced at Nino with a small grin. He was certainly getting better at sneaking around than before. His friend gave him a curt nod before turning back to Alya behind him.

Great. He was the third wheel again.

Just as Miss Bustier turned her back to start writing on the board, he noticed a head peak in through one of the windows. His eyebrows shot up when he saw Marinette slowly creep to the classroom door. She carefully clicked the door open, sprinted in the room, and whirled around his and Nino's desk before slipping into her spot next to Alya. Adrien swiveled to watch her achieve her goal as she reached her seat.

She let out a sigh of relief before Miss Bustier spun back around, seeming to have not noticed Marinette's entrance.

"Adrien, do you find Marinette more interesting than the assignment on the board?"

He immediately swung his head forward so fast he almost gave himself whiplash. Adrien shook his head. "No, ma'am. Sorry."

She chuckled at his antics. "Just pay attention, please."

He gave a quick nod before shooting one last glance at Marinette behind him. Her freckled face had completely flushed to the tips of her ears.

Great, just what he needed. He hadn't meant to embarrass her. Now she'd never talk to him.

Nino gave a snort beside him before whispering. "Dude, are you sure you're not secretly dating Marinette? You guys always miss school around the same time."

Adrien flinched back immediately and gave Nino an irritated glance. He kept his voice low as he began copying down the assignment on the board. "You've got it all wrong. Marinette's just a friend."

His friend leaned over and cupped a hand around Adrien's ear to whisper. "It's okay if you like her. I get that it's 'Bro-Code' to not date girls that friends have liked, but Alya and I are going strong, man. It doesn't bother me a bit that you like Marinette."

The blond merely shook his head and pushed Nino away. "Marinette barely talks to me anyway, and shhh you're going to get me in trouble again."

Miss Bustier spun back around on her heal and eyed the pair. "What did I say about paying attention? Adrien, Nino: talk again and you'll both be heading to the principal's office."

Adrien felt his nostrils flare as he glared at his best friend. Nino just grinned at the blond before patting him on the back.

Forget it, black cats were just as unlucky as he had assumed.

o~o~o~o

Lunch could not come soon enough. He and Nino had decided to just eat in front of the school today on the steps. Nino claimed that he "wouldn't get lost on his way back" if they stayed at the school. Well it wasn't like he could tell his best friend that he was a secret super hero, so getting confused about when to come back from lunch seemed like the best option.

"You really don't have a thing with Marinette," Nino eyed him as he popped open his soda can.

Adrien gave a shrug. "How can I have a thing with Marinette if she doesn't talk to me that much? After the gaming tournament she's been able to communicate more, but she gets so flustered around me. I can't figure out why."

Nino sucked his drink up with a start, choking and cackling on the liquid. Adrien panicked and patted his friend on the back in hopes of some type of comfort. Nino rubbed his watery eyes and wiped the access liquid from his mouth. He massaged his chest to regain his breath.

Adrien furrowed his brows as he pulled his hand away from Nino's person. "Wrong pipe?"

"Yeah, you, um, surprised me with that comment, dude," he replied ragged.

The blond cocked his head in confusion with a raised brow. "What?"

Nino sighed. "Alya's going to kill me for this."

"Kill you for what?"

Nino wasn't making any sense. What was so important involving Marinette that Alya would kill him for telling?

"Marinette has a crush on you."

Oh. Well then.

Adrien blinked. "She—what?"

"She likes you. A lot. Posters all over her room of you, gazing at you from afar, and babbling around you because she gets distracted by your 'beautiful face,'" he replied adding air quotations with his fingers.

He gaped at him. "Since when?"

Nino shrugged. "According to Alya, since the umbrella thing."

Adrien froze, recalling his first day of school when Marinette was angry with him. He apologized to her before handing her his umbrella. The way she looked at him. Oh no.

The blond couldn't help the flush that spread across his cheeks. He groaned before leaning back against the steps.

"What's so bad about Marinette having a crush on you, man? She's super cool."

He sighed. "I know, and maybe if I didn't—er,"

Leaning over towards him, Nino gave a smirk. "Maybe if you didn't have a major crush on Ladybug, you'd give her a chance?"

Adrien stiffened. "H-How did you…?"

Nino snorted and waved him off. "You're not exactly discreet, dude. Remember the akuma at The Challenge? And you basically pushed me out of the way to get to Ladybug? I saw you blushing, bro, you were way too obvious."

"Was it that bad?"

"No different than how Marinette looks at you."

Adrien winced at the comment. It felt like a low blow as guilt swelled in his chest. He chewed his lip before eyeing his friend. "What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to act around Marinette now that I know she likes me?"

His friend chuckled. "Aren't you the one who usually gives the relationship advice?"

"To others! I've never experienced it myself!"

"Hot, model Adrien Agreste has never had a girlfriend before?"

"No! It's not like I've been free to come and go from my house as I please, Nino. My father would think having a girlfriend is a waste of time."

Nino plopped a hand down on his friend's shoulder. "Your old man needs to lighten up a bit. Having relationships is part of growing up. I mean, they only get serious when you're older. Little kid relationships mean nothing. Did you at least experience that?"

He grimaced. "If you consider Chloe forcing me into fake weddings all the time as such, then yes. Regretfully."

Nino squeezed his shoulder. "I'm so sorry."

Adrien groaned as he dug the heels of his palm into his eyes. "So, what now?"

"Play it cool around Marinette. Make her feel more at ease around you. If you guys develop a real friendship, then maybe you'll see she's really great."

"But Nino—"

He held up a hand to hush him. "Look, I know you like Ladybug, but do you even know her in real life? Aren't you just idolizing her from afar? Do you know her as a person?"

More than you know…

"Isn't that what Marinette is doing to me?"

Nino shook his head. "Marinette does know you, my dude. She thinks you're kind, caring, and a real standup guy. She's overheard us talking about your dad before. She's always worried about you. She may think your face is beautiful, but she can see past it. Marinette a real bro, ya know?"

Adrien stared at Nino in surprise. Was Marinette really that observant of his life? To the point that she was actually concerned about his wellbeing with his father?

"Is she—borderline stalking me?"

"Aren't you doing that to Ladybug?"

Adrien rolled his eyes. But internally… he knew Nino was right.

o~o~o~o

When Marinette sauntered into Miss Mendeleiev's room on time, Adrien had to admit he was on edge. He knew how to deal with Chloe's advances. She was straight forward and hung on him, but she had thick skin and only thought of herself so it was simple to turn her down per se.

But Marinette was a completely different story.

She was kind, gracious, and awkward at times. Brave too, except around him apparently. Did girls really get that nervous around boys they liked? Ladybug didn't do that around Chat… so maybe she really didn't like him at all. Although—Ladybug did seem to stumble on her words around Adrien so maybe that meant something.

Woah.

Wait.

Marinette stumbled on her words around him—Adrien, him—and so did Ladybug? But when he was around Marinette during the Evillustrator akuma as Chat she acted completely confident around him. Like—Ladybug.

Now that was interesting.

Adrien gazed at Marinette carefully as she continued to her seat. She glanced over and noticed his stare, which he returned with a smile. "Good afternoon, Marinette. How was your lunch?"

She gaped like a fish for a moment. He assumed she was gathering her words. "I-It was fine. Thanks for asking. How was yours?"

Adrien draped an arm around Nino's shoulders. "We just ate on the stairs today."

His best friend snorted. "I was trying to prevent this dude from being late again."

Marinette giggled lightly at comment. Adrien felt himself pale. That sounded oddly similar to his lady's laugh. He blinked away his thoughts and shook his head.

Marinette gave a slight tilt of her head. "You, um, you okay, Adrien?"

He swallowed thickly. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I zoned out there for a second. That's why I have Nino, he keeps me in line."

"Damn straight!" Nino chirped as he shook Adrien jokily.

The raven haired girl gave a smile before walking past them to her seat next to Alya. Her friend bumped her on the shoulder with a grin and a thumbs up.

Adrien sighed to himself. What was he doing? He couldn't just compare random girls to Ladybug just because they liked him. That's just wishful thinking.

Although…

The blond spun his seat to glance back at Marinette. Maybe she did look a little like her. Same hair, same eyes, but that didn't mean anything exactly. Did it?

"Dude, I know I told you about her crush on you, but staring at her isn't going to change anything. Unless you do like her?"

Nino's voice rocketed him back to earth. He turned to his friend. "Sorry, I just can't believe someone as beautiful as Marinette could like me."

It slipped out before he could stop it. What did he just say? Did he just say Marinette was "beautiful?" It's like he wanted to die.

Nino judged him with his elbow. "Oooh, what's that? You think she's beautiful?"

"Who wouldn't?"

He snorted. "Well, I can give you a few guesses." Nino threw his thumb over in Chloe's direction.

Adrien chuckled at the retort. "You've got me there."

Suddenly, Miss Mendeleiev burst into her classroom with a stack of papers in hand. The entire class groaned at the woman as she made her entrance. She slammed the stack onto the desk at the front of the room.

"Partner projects," she announced instantly.

Everyone began glancing around the room in search of their friend they'd like to partner with. She smirked and crossed her arms. "I'm choosing your partners. They will be assigned, so that means no switching."

The chorus of groans returned.

Adrien glanced at Nino and shrugged. He couldn't ignore the pathetic whine behind him though. The blond spun around to see Marinette's head plopped down on the table.

Alya was leaned over her friend rubbing her back. "Surely luck will be on your side this time."

She shook her head as she buried her face into her folded arms. "No, I'm going to end up with Chloe again. I can't do this."

"Attention!"

Adrien snapped his head back to the front of the classroom. He still wasn't used to teachers yelling across the room.

Miss Mendeleiev picked up her clipboard in front of her and ran over the class names. "Okay, I'm going to go through these quickly. So listen for your name carefully. So our pairs are: Nino and Ivan, Mylene and Sabrina, Rose and Max, Alya and Chloe, Juleka and Kim, Alix and Nathaniel, and Marinette and Adrien. That's everyone correct?"

Adrien immediately brought his hand up to his mouth to cover his smirk. Guess luck was on his and Marinette's side today. He wasn't sure how he was going to deal with the fact that Marinette liked him, but she wasn't pronouncing her love for him all the time. It would be fine.

Right?

"Alright, move to sit with your partners."

He glanced behind him to see Alya giving Marinette a fist bump. "I'll give her hell for you, girl," she said as she stood to go move by Chloe.

Adrien couldn't resist the slight quirk of his lips. Marinette turned her attention to the blond, and their eyes immediately locked. She smiled lightly at him. "Do you want to move or me to move?"

Oh yeah. They were supposed to be swapping seats.

He blinked in realization. "Ah, I can move. It's not very gentlemanly to make my lady move now is it?"

When Marinette flinched back slightly, the motion didn't go unnoticed by Adrien. "What did you call me?"

What had he said? "Um?"

"Did you call me 'my lady'?"

Did he? He hadn't noticed. Great. That meant he still had Ladybug on the brain.

He shook his head as he grabbed his bag to slide in the seat beside her. "I did? I'm sorry. I meant 'my lady' as in we're partners. You're my partner."

Marinette's brows furrowed. "Partner."

"Project partners," he beamed.

She nodded swiftly. "Yeah."

Adrien cocked his head like a confused cat. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah! Yes!" she blurted before regaining her composure. "I'm sorry, you just—what you were saying was, er, familiar. I—you just reminded me of someone. That's all."

Someone like Chat Noir? The pesky little voice in the back of his mind whispered. It sounded oddly like Plagg.

Stop that! He retorted with a grimace to himself. "Oh, I see."

With that, they fell into silence as Miss Mendeleiev began going over the assignment.

The blond glanced at Marinette's ears as if trying to prove something, anything to himself. Thinking that Marinette could be Ladybug was just a passing thought, but now it wouldn't leave his mind. It was if he couldn't un-think it.

He noticed the dim red studs, perfectly round, clipped in her ear. He wondered what would happen if he touched them. What if he could know just by feeling them? Adrien's fingers idly ran over his silver ring as he gazed at her own jewelry. Was that her Miraculous? Was Marinette actually Ladybug?

Would they beep and blink if he tried to call her as Chat Noir?

The thought took him by storm. It might be creepy to follow her, but if he transformed and called her then he could know for sure. He didn't even notice he was still staring at her earring until her hand came up to touch it. Adrien's eyes darted up to see Marinette completely flushed as she gazed back at him. Oh, God he was staring at her. He probably looked like he was downright ogling her. When her blue bell eyes met his, it was the most awkward eye contact he'd ever experienced. He just wanted to curl up and run away.

She was still looking at him. Why was she still looking at him? He glanced down to see her holding out a sheet of paper for him to take. Their assignment. Oh.

He smiled before taking the sheet from her hand and glancing over the instructions. A presentation that had to include a board. Well that was good. He had Marinette as a partner, and she's artistic. They're project should be easy.

When Miss Mendeleiev was done lecturing and ended class, Adrien knew he had to immediately apologize to Marinette. She went to stand, and he caught her by the wrist. Her face flushed as she turned to look at him. "Y-Yes?"

"I'm sorry for staring at you earlier. I just haven't been myself today, I guess. I think our projects going to be great, especially with you designing it."

Her lips twitched slightly at the corner into a small smile. "It's okay. Thank you."

"I'm willing to do whatever. I'll buy the supplies if I need to, or I could write the entire paper part and you do the board. Or I could help with the board. It's up to you, really," he said quickly.

Was he babbling?

He was most definitely babbling.

"We'll figure it out. Would you like to meet somewhere to work on it?"

Adrien chewed his lip while humming in thought. "I wouldn't mind going back to your house again, if you don't mind. My father's really strict, and I doubt he'd let me have a girl in my room without someone breathing down my shoulder. Plus, your dad makes awesome food."

Her eyes seemed to widen with panic for a moment. He caught the distraught look and immediately backpedaled. "Is that not alright? If we need to meet at my house I could try to talk him into it. I just thought that since your parents were cool, it'd be a much—calmer environment."

Marinette shook her head quickly. "No, no! It's just that—my room's a disaster so I'd have to go home and clean it up. I-If you were planning on coming today that is."

"No, it doesn't have to be today," he said quickly. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and held it up. "What if we exchange numbers? We can make plans over the weekend."

"U-Uh. Um. Yeah, that'd be g-great," she replied as she plucked her phone out her bag nervously. Her shaky fingers couldn't grip it tightly, and they both jerked when the phone fell to the floor with a clack!

Adrien bent down the retrieve it as the raven haired girl before him bumbled out an apology. He chuckled at her before holding the phone back up to her. "It's fine, but—why don't I be in charge of putting the numbers in the phone, okay?"

Marinette gave a nod while patting her password into the phone before handing it over to the boy. He clicked his number in with ease and handed the device back to her. While grabbing his own phone, he stared at her expectantly. "What's your number?"

"Oh! Um, 555-4837."

After pressing the numbers in, he slipped the phone back into his pocket. "Okay, we're all set Marinette. I'll text you and we'll figure out what time is good, alright?"

The girl bobbed her head in agreement. "Sounds great! I'll—uh, talk you later then?"

"Yup!"

"Well, bye!" she chirped as she spun on her heal to flee the classroom.

Adrien placed a hand on his chest as he sighed in relief. Nothing too awkward happened, other than him staring at her earrings like a werido. Oh that's right. Her earrings.

Clenching his brows in determination, he knew he had to transform and follow Marinette to discover the truth.

o~o~o~o

After saying his final goodbyes to Nino, Adrien fled behind the school. He opened his over shirt, allowing his kwami to fly out.

"Sooo, what was with you and pigtails today? Thinking about getting a new lady love?" Plagg teased as his chosen stared at him unamused.

Adrien sighed. "Actually, the exact opposite. I think Marinette might be Ladybug."

The kwami seemed surprised. "Really? You thought of that all on your own?"

He cocked a brow. "What're you trying to say, Plagg?"

Plagg gave a shrug. "Well, it's not like you're one to actually come up suspicions. You usually just listen to whatever the Ladyblog girl thinks."

"I do not!" he retorted before actually giving that comment some thought. "Okay, maybe a little. But Alya is a good journalist, and she's never steered me wrong. Other than the whole Lady Wifi incident. If Marinette is Ladybug, then that means Alya was right about her attending our school."

The kwami gave a groan. "Enough of this chit-chat, where's my camembert? I'm starving!"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Not time for cheese, Plagg. I have to transform and see if Marinette's actually Ladybug. I need to do it before she gets home."

"You're going to make me transform you before you feed me? You can't be serious!"

"Plagg, c'mon! This is important!"

"How are you planning on finding out if Marinette is Ladybug by transforming anyway?" the cat kwami asked as he flew up into Adrien's face.

The blond scoffed. "I'm going to follow her and call her on my baton. It's simple."

Plagg moaned before running his paws over his face. "You're going to make her Miraculous go off? Isn't that like cheating?"

"It's the only way to confirm it!"

"But what if she transforms thinking there's an emergency? What then?"

"Then I apologize?"

He sighed. "Adrien, if Marinette is Ladybug, what are you going to do with that information? Tell her who you are? She doesn't want to know."

"But she likes me, Plagg," the blond retorted as he gestured to himself. "If I tell her I'm Adrien, then I'll finally have a chance of being with the girl of my dreams."

Plagg crossed his arms. "What if the opposite happens? What if her dislike for Chat overshadows her like for Adrien?"

"She doesn't dislike Chat Noir, does she? If she likes me then maybe she doesn't flirt with me as Chat because she likes Adrien me."

"Ugh, this is all so confusing! I just want camembert!"

Adrien clasped his hands together to beg his kwami. "Plagg, if you just transform me and let me see if it's true then I swear I will get you two whole wheels of camembert when we get home. But you have to let me do this. Marinette's probably almost home now, so I have to hurry."

The kwami eyed him. "Promise?"

"Promise."

"Fineeee," he groaned.

"Thank you, Plagg! Claws out!"

o~o~o~o

Adrien sprinted on the rooftop in the direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery. She lived right across from the school, but hopefully she hadn't left exactly when school ended. He prayed that maybe, just maybe, some type of luck would rub off on him. The leather clad superhero was not disappointed when he saw Marinette chatting with Alya in front of her parents' store. He whipped his baton from its holder and pushed the screen up. The blond wanted to call her right then and there, but with Alya standing there he knew he'd basically reveal her identity if Marinette was Ladybug.

He glanced over and saw the Gorilla standing outside the limo searching for him. He had to do this soon. Shoo, Alya, shoo!

The blond sighed in relief when Alya and Marinette said their goodbyes, waving each other off. When Alya turned her back, he clicked call on his baton. The reaction took a second, but he recognized the same chime that came from his ring when called.

Marinette's hands flew up to her earrings. She glanced around before zipping inside her home.

Adrien couldn't help the full blown grin that spread across his face as she fled. Marinette was Ladybug. It wasn't too long after that he saw a bright flash of light from Marinette's room, and suddenly his lady was jumping off the balcony. His eyes widened with panic when she noticed him.

What now!?

She sprinted over to him. "Chat, what is it? Is there an akuma?"

Adrien opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. "Uhhh…"

Those blue bell eyes glared at him. She crossed her arms in irritation. "What were you calling me for, kitty? I wasn't transformed, and my earrings flashed. You could have blown my identity."

You have no idea.

"Well, my lady—it seems that, uh…"

Crash!

The pair flinched at the sound. Adrien whipped his head around towards the sound, only to see smoke floating upward from across the rooftops. "Oh would you look at that, an akuma?"

Ladybug eyed him. "You got lucky this time," she warned before zipping off with her yoyo towards the damage.

o~o~o~o

"Miraculous Ladybug!" she cried as she tossed her item into the air. Her ladybug magic flying across the town as Adrien helped citizens away from the wreckage. The magic soared in their direction, freeing the rest of the civilians.

They took a moment for their triumphant fist bump.

Adrien turned to her. "I'll help some of these people home, why don't you take the other half?"

She gave a nod. "Right. I'll see you later, Chat Noir."

He bowed to her. "Anytime, my lady."

Adrien took to the crowd and began escorting civilians home. That akuma was an interesting one, that's for sure. They'd never had a situation with so many hostages. He wanted to make sure all the citizens were safe and sound in their homes.

As he finished his rounds, he realized he was back near the school where this day had begun. He glanced up at the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Noticing that the light had just flickered on, the blond assumed that Marinette had just made it home.

Should he just go confront her and tell her that he knows? How would she react when he told her? How would he tell her? Should he tell her that he's Adrien Agreste?

He bounced down onto her balcony before tapping on the trap door. The door clicked and flew open. There was Marinette staring at him in alarm. "C-Chat Noir? What're you doing here?"

"Heya, Princess. Just doing a check on citizens to make sure no one was still frazzled from the akuma attack. You okay? You seem kind of jumpy?"

Marinette climbed out onto her terrace. "I'm fine. Just surprised is all. Not every day a superhero shows up at your room."

He couldn't stop the smirk playing at his lips. "I get it." Adrien then gasped dramatically. "Oh, no! I forgot to check with Ladybug and make sure she got her civilians to safety. Excuse me for a second, Princess. I need to give Ladybug a call," he said as he pulled his baton from his back.

Marinette jolted towards him. "Ah, is that necessary? Don't you trust that your partner could do a good job?"

Adrien chewed his lip to fight back a grin. "Of course, I trust my lady. I just wanted to make sure there's no one else I need to check on," he extended the screen out of his baton.

She failed her arms defense. "Wait! A-Are you hungry? I'm sure you're hungry from your patrol. Let me go get you some croissants or something."

The blond snatched her wrist, stopping her movement. Marinette whipped her head back in his direction to face him. His emerald eyes bored into hers as he pressed the call button. The girl flinched when her earrings chimed and flashed. Her eyes squeezed tightly as she shied away from him.

Adrien reached out and hooked his knuckle under her chin. She slowly peaked one eye open, obviously reluctant to do so. He smiled at her. "It's okay."

"How'd you know?"

He licked his lips in thought. "I was just able to put some of the pieces together."

She nodded before having her own realization. Marinette's mouth dropped, and she shoved him backwards by his shoulders. "That's why you called me today! You were trying to see if you were right about who I was!"

Adrien gave a nervous laugh as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah… Yeah. Guilty."

Her hands plopped right onto her waist. "Yeah, well, that girl I was hanging out with is my best friend. She also runs the Ladyblog! If my earrings had gone off in front of her, she would have definitely known!"

He scoffed. "As if I would have let Alya see your earring go off. I'm not that dumb, Marinette."

The raven haired girl squinted her eyes at him suspiciously. "How'd you know her name?"

Adrien's eyes flickered away from hers. "I've see the Ladyblog tons of times, my lady. Of course, I know her name."

She crossed her arms. "Nuh uh. I don't believe you. Do you go to my school? Is that how you figured me out?"

"You were being pretty obvious today."

"Obvious how?"

"You got flustered when I called you 'my lady'."

Marinette stared at him, puzzled. "But you always call me…" her voice trailed off in thought before she gasped in realization.

Adrien hunkered nervously. Would she be angry with him? He knew she liked him as Adrien, but would it be okay that Adrien was Chat Noir?

"A-Adrien?"

He bobbed his head. "Guilty again."

She gaped at him. "Adrien. Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir? You're Adrien?!"

The blond nodded swiftly. "I—I know this will come a surprise. This day has just been so crazy. First I find out you like me, and then I find out you're Ladybug, now you know I'm Chat and I-"

"Who told you?"

Adrien blinked at her. "Told me what?"

"Told you that I…er, have, um…" she was blushing again.

God, she was so cute. How did he never notice before?

"Feelings for me?" he finished with a tilt of his head. "Nino told me. Apparently it was obvious to everyone but me."

Marinette's hands swiftly flew to her face. "This is so embarrassing. I didn't even get to tell you myself. I didn't ruin our partnership, did I?"

He smiled at her. "You could never."

Suddenly, his ring let out a loud beep. Oh, no. Plagg. He would have to face his wrath, but maybe if Marinette was still around it would soften the blow. Adrien glanced at Marinette nervously. "Do you mind if I…?"

She shook her head. "No, go ahead."

"Claws in," he said as green energy absorbed his form leaving Adrien Agreste's face staring back at her. She obviously had not been prepared. At all.

Her eyes were wide as she gazed at him. "Sorry, maybe it wasn't the best idea."

"Adrien! I can't believe you did this to me! I've been in that ring for hours," Plagg cried as he flew into his chosen's face.

"Ah, Marinette this is Plagg. Plagg, Marinette," Adrien said as he gestured between the two.

Marinette smiled at the creature. "Your kwami, I'm assuming?"

Plagg flew up her. "Yup! So you're the masked sweetheart, huh? You know, I had a feeling you two would be love birds after the first day of school. Adrien ignored me of course because he was already hung up on Ladybug," the kwami cooed as he glanced between the pair.

Adrien immediately felt his heart plummet to his stomach when a flush spread across his lady's face again.

"Plagg! She doesn't know!"

"Ohh, oops! Well, it's what you get for not feeding me. Those two wheels of cheese better be the best I've ever eaten."

"Plagg!"

All three of them jumped with a start as they turned to face the new voice. Adrien saw a little, red kwami floating next to Marinette's shoulder. Her name was Tikki, he remembered. The creature sighed. "Are you still harassing your chosens?"

The cat kwami gave a snort. "Of course, how else am I going to get respect?"

Tikki ran a paw down her face. "What're we ever going to do with you?" she turned her attention to the blond boy before her. "Hi Adrien, I'm Tikki. Marinette's kwami."

He held out a finger to her, and she perched there with a smile. "I figured that. Do you eat cheese too?"

Marinette cut in. "Tikki eats cookies."

"Ah, lucky. Plagg only eats camembert, so I have to smell like stinky cheese all the time."

The raven haired girl giggled awkwardly. The air was suddenly stiff between them, and neither knew how to react. Tikki took notice and pulled Plagg by his arm. "Why don't we go inside and let them talk? This is a big deal for them."

"But I'm hungry!"

"We can figure something out," Tikki said as she coaxed Plagg back towards Marinette's room. She sent a wink back at the pair before following Plagg inside.

They stood in silence for a moment. Both nervously trying to figure out something to say.

"I-I'm sorry that I revealed myself like that. I shouldn't have come on so strong," Adrien stated as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Marinette shook her head. "N-No! I'm just—still surprised is all. You act a lot differently as Chat than Adrien."

"I wish I didn't. I act more like Chat around people I'm comfortable with. I guess Ladybug and Nino were the only ones to see that side of me."

"And me as me when you were Chat," she replied before pausing. "Why did you act like that around me?"

He shifted nervously. "Ah… I wanted to see what you thought of Chat. You were always nervous around Adrien me, so I was curious."

"Well I guess you know why that is now…"

He nodded. "I do."

Her eyes went downcast. "You must think I'm like Chloe. In love with your face and not the person underneath."

Adrien's eyes widened as her words sank in. He gripped her shoulders tightly. "That's not true at all. If anything, I'd say you know me better than anyone. You know me as Chat and Adrien. No one else can say that, Princess."

Marinette clenched her fist. "R-Really?"

"Of course," he shifted slightly. "Did you, um, understand what Plagg meant?"

"I picked up a little bit…"

Adrien smiled lightly before running one of his hands down her arm to caress her hand. He lifted her palm to his lips before lightly pressing a kiss there. "I've been trying to tell you for so long. You mean the world to me. And I…" he gulped in a breath to gather his courage. "I love you."

Marinette released a sigh. "You—do?"

"I do," he replied as he took her opposite hand in his. "I'm so glad it's you, Marinette. I can't imagine Ladybug being anyone more perfect."

"I'm glad you're my kitty too, Adrien. I can't believe we got this lucky."

He snorted at her. "You're right. Luck was definitely on our side."

The pair stared at each other a moment. Adrien's eyes flicked down at Marinette's lips then back to her eyes. He chewed his lip as he gathered his courage. "Can I kiss you?"

"Yes," she murmured softly.

Adrien cupped Marinette's cheeks in his hands before pulling her flush against him. He bent down and pressed his lips to hers soundly. He felt her arms trail upward and around his neck. His thumbs raked across her skin as their lips danced together. All he could think about was how soft her lips were, how nice it was to kiss her, and how magical everything felt.

Yep. Black cats were way luckier than he originally thought.