It was halfway through second period when Alya asked Marionette if she was going to Adrien's fencing competition. They were sitting together at the back of art history class.

"Nino invited me but I thought you'd want to go too, since your crush will be all hot and sweaty," she winked.

"Alya!" Mari blushed, "I won't even be able to tell who he is when they're all wearing masks."

"I guess so."

"I'll still go though," Mari said smiling, "When is it?"

"Saturday!"

Mari's eyes widened. Imaginary waves rose up and engulfed her. Marinette's heart started sinking into the deep dark depths of a red sea, with her mind splashing and waving.

"Are you okay?" Alya asked, putting one hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I… I'm fine… I just…" Marinette mumbled, "I'm gonna go to the washroom."

She left the room and ran over to the bathroom, locking herself in one of the stalls. She tried calming herself. If she went to the competition on Saturday she'd be so close to Chat. Or whoever he truly was. Thinking about it made her heart beat like a rabid drummer. Was this more than friendship? When she thought of him she couldn't stop smiling and the tummy akumas returned. But the same thing happened when she thought about Adrien. But it couldn't be anything more than friendship. She pushed the thought away. He was her partner. And that was all. She stayed a few minutes longer to slow her breath and heart.

When Mari returned from the washroom Alya held her friend's hand and told her she was probably just nervous because Adrien was getting closer. Marinette wished it was just that. Chat and Adrien were going to compete on Saturday, whether she liked it or not.

After school, Marinette began walking home. Clouds floated aimlessly overhead with just a small wind that moved the girl's hair around. Tikki zipped herself out of Marinette's bag and flew up into her big warm jacket so they could talk.

"Marinette! Are we patrolling tonight?"

"No, not tonight. I have way too much homework," she sighed. Tikki pouted.

"Well, I'm having a nice bubble bath. Like the one you made for me last week?"

"That's doable," Marinette smiled. Last week she had heated up some water, filled a bowl with bubble liquid, and put some flower petals in it for Tikki. Sometimes little Kwami's need relaxing time too.

She got back to her house, said hi to her parents, and ran upstairs to her bedroom. She put on her pink striped pyjamas and ended up working on some boring geography homework for a few hours; It was nice getting her mind out of her boy problems. After she was done, she made a nice bath for Tikki and placed it on the windowsill for her friend. Tikki was very grateful and settled into the warm water and bubbles. Mari smiled and decided to go read a book on her bed.

It was 21:00 when Marinette was startled by a tap tap on her balcony window. Looking up, she saw two glowing green eyes looking at her through the glass. Her eyes swept the scene in front of her: Tikki asleep in her little bathtub and Chat Noir unlocking her window. He didn't see Tikki. Actually, he didn't even see her until the window came open and pushed her little bathtub off the frame. The bowl came crashing down and shattered all over the floor. Tikki managed to stay relatively afloat and blinked her eyes trying to wake up.

"I… I'm so sorry! I just needed someone to talk to! What…" He began to say, but it was too late. Marinette was kneeling on her bed with glass and water all over the floor, Tikki was floating in the middle of the room looking at the intruder, and Chat Noir was staring at both of them. His eyes settled on Tikki. She looked at him with pleading wide eyes.

"Is that what I think it is?" He asked. He was perched on the window frame.

"I…" Marinette began to say. But she couldn't think of any lie about Tikki that would seem mildly plausible.

"You're Ladybug," Chat Noir whispered, looking between her and the kwami, "You're…"

And before Marinette could say anything else, the cat boy was gone.

"Well, at least now he knows," Marinette sighed.

"What just happened?"

"Go sleep, Tikki," Marinette said, "I'll clean up this mess."

And she did, all the while thinking about every time Chat wanted to know who she was. Why did he get so scared? He could have shown her himself at this point too. I mean, he wouldn't tell anyone who she was.

…Would he?

She had to confront him. She didn't know if he'd tell anyone but if he did it would ruin everything. Where would she see Chat next?

And then it hit her: the fencing competition.

For the rest of the week Marinette spent her waking hours thinking about her situation. She thought about how she would figure out who Chat Noir was when they were wearing masks, and figured she would watch closely to the competitor's fighting styles. Chat was nimble, quick, and did more dodging than anything else. Hopefully he fought like this without his costume too. Marinette figured she would know who he was because the judges would call out names during the competition. It was all figured out. For a few nights that week, she bounded through Paris hoping she'd see her feline friend but to no avail. On the night before the fencing competition, Ladybug made her way to the old factory building. It was such a beautiful night.

She stepped onto the dead garden atop the roof and looked at the old destroyed graffiti lining the walls. Names and tags were painted haphazardly along the tallest wall, giving a rough impression to her. Stepping closer to the bench, Ladybug stopped.

Carved into the wall with what looked to be claws were the words: Maybe I'm scared because you mean more to me than any other person. You are everything I think about, everything I need, everything I want. Below this was an arrow pointing to the ground. Ladybug looked down. She began to see large red letters spray painted on to the floor and she backed up enough to read the poem they wrote.

If kisses were raindrops,

I'd send you showers.

If hugs were seconds,

I'd send you hours.

If smiles were water,

I'd send you the sea.

If love was a person,

I'd send you me.

She couldn't believe it. She looked around but there was no sign of Chat Noir on the premises. Her eyes welled up and Ladybug couldn't help but cry. She cried because she didn't know what to do; her heart was taken by both Adrien and Chat. How? Why? Why did life give people such dilemmas like this?

The girl wiped her eyes and went to the bench. She pulled out the plastic bin, reached inside, and took out the brown cardboard box inside. With a deep breath, she opened it.

Inside were photographs, drawings, and lists. Writing scrawled on every page, with portraits of young girls circled and crossed out. It made Chat look a little obsessive. While flipping through the pages, Ladybug realized what all these items were. Chat was trying to figure out who ladybug was. Right at the bottom of the box was a snapshot of Marinette with the words "maybe" written beside her face. He had drawn a little mask on the photograph's face in pen. On the back side of the photograph he had drawn a little heart.

Marinette met Alya and Nino at Alya's house early Saturday morning. Alya ushered her friend inside and got her a cup of hot coffee with sugar.

"Did you want to borrow some of my clothes, Mari?" Alya asked, looking at her and sipping her drink.

"I thought I was wearing something nice! Should I change?" Marinette asked, looking down at her lilac blouse and brown skirt. Alya raised an eyebrow. Nino was sitting at the breakfast table with his eyes closed bobbing his head to some music on his earphones.

"I bought a dress yesterday that I know will look good on you. Come on," Alya said while making her way upstairs, "Close your eyes."

Marinette closed her eyes and sat on Alya's bed. She could hear ruffling around.

"Okay!"

Marinette opened her eyes and gasped. Her friend was holding up a short A-line dress with a close collar and no sleeves. It had ribbons near the collar. It was red with black polka dots.

"Alya! I can't wear that. I- I can't…" Marinette sighed, looking lustfully at the dress.

"I know you want to wear it. Put it on," Alya urged, smiling. And Marinette did. She looked beautiful in it. Even Nino gave her a thumbs up when she came back down the stairs.

Alya's brother drove the group to the centre where the event was taking place and let them go in themselves. He told them that he'd pick them up in a few hours. Once they went inside, Nino couldn't help but look around for his best friend.

"I know they section the groups off by school but I heard they are trying something a little different this year due to the high number of competitors," Nino said, giving his jacket into coat check. The group made their way into the large gym-like area and took seat near the side. They talked and hoped Adrien would do well. Nino told them that quite a few students from their school were competing today, but Marinette felt nervous for another reason. She concentrated on following the uniformed students who were walking around the sidelines, noticing when they took their helmets off. She was hopeful for Adrien but wanted to find Chat instead.

"Good morning, everyone, " A loud booming voice spoke on the intercom, "We will be commencing the competition shortly. This year, we are starting by pairing off students by school. Everyone starts at once and our judges will be walking around. If a competitor gets a tap on their shoulder, they're out. The remaining students will compete for the prize and recognition."

Marinette's heart was beating so fast she thought it would burst out of her chest. She watched while hundreds of students walked out from the side of the stadium and were paired up with students from other schools. It was difficult to tell from what school anyone was even in. Nino kept pointing and whispering every time he thought he recognized someone. Alya laughed every time.

As the whistle was blown and the competition started, Marinette watched diligently from her seat. It took a while for losing students to be ushered away and winners to be paired with others. She observed contestants with utmost caution, noticing the smallest slip up and hand movement. And then she saw him.

Chat Noir.

His movements were perfect. He was the right height, the right body type, and had the right gestures. What really gave him away was the claw-like form his back hand made though. Marinette almost giggled when she realized this. Her stomach butterflies wiggled and danced while she buzzed in her chair. After a while, around 15 students were left including Chat.

"That is the end of the preliminary competition. We are sorry to all the students who didn't make it. After a half hour break, return to the main hall for the finals. Good luck, winners!" A loud voice spoke.

"Dang! He didn't even mention which schools are left," Nino said sadly. Marinette watched the students as the remaining ones bowed. She followed Chat with her eyes. He turned his head and looked right at her. She couldn't help but feel as though she needed to follow him.

"I'll be right back, guys," Marinette said to her friends. She rushed off while keeping Chat in her view; She noticed he made a turn and walked into the locker room with the words "Escrime #3" on a paper taped to the door. She followed him in and locked the door behind her.

Chat stopped in the middle of the room. Marinette walked to him and put herself in between the lockers and where he was.

"Chat, I saw your note on the rooftop," She said quietly, lovingly. He didn't say anything. Marinette backed up to the lockers. He came closer.

"I feel the same way," Marinette whispered gently. Chat's shoulder's relaxed and he reached up, unbuckling the back of his helmet. He came closer… And just as he started taking the helmet off, Marinette reached out and stopped him. She could see his mouth and a part of his nose.

"Not yet, not yet," She whispered as she put her face close to his. Chat Noir then pressed his lips against Marinette's with electricity that made her legs go numb. She opened her mouth to let him in and he put a gloved hand on her neck. He gently pressed her against the lockers and Marinette couldn't help but smile as she kissed him as if he was her love who had come back from sea. Chat made a light grunt as Marinette reached out to his waist to bring the boy closer. His lips were so soft. His motions so passionate yet so gentle. She reached up to take his helmet off…

Bam bam bam.

Someone was knocking on the door. Chat stopped, turned, and headed for the noise. She still couldn't see the boy's face. He unlocked the door and looked out at a very frustrated man.

"Where have you been? Adrien, you're on next!" The man said. Marinette put her hands up to her face and silently gasped. Adrien lifted his helmet and looked at Marinette. It was true. She… She had kissed Adrien. She had kissed Adrien in a locker room. She… Adrien was Chat Noir!

He smiled at her slyly and winked. And then he was gone.

Marinette slid down the lockers onto the floor and couldn't help but start laughing. All the signs, all the hints. It was so obvious. Adrien… Adrien had written that poem for her. Adrien had loved her. He had loved her so much.

And she loved him too.