Marinette's weekend passes uneventfully. After another dreaded berating and hours working in the bakery, Marinette is ecstatic to return to school—which is something that doesn't happen often.

She makes it to class early, surprising the professor (hey, waking up on time + living next door = punctuality!).

Without an over-curious Alya to peer over her shoulder, Marinette jots down a list of possible candidates for Chat's true identity. She writes down all the male names she knows, intending to search the student directory for the rest.

Marinette doesn't notice the trickle of classmates entering through the door until Alya exclaims, "What? Mari's here before me? What a day, what a day!"

Marinette looks up, stashing the sheet of paper in her school bag. "Oh, yeah. Morning, Alya."

Alya drops her bag on the floor, moving in besides her best friend. "What's got you up and early?"

Marinette shrugs. "I guess it's a one-time wonder. I can't be late all the time."

Alya snorts. "You really do need the help sometimes." She cocks her head. "Hey, is something wrong?"

"No. Why?"

"You seem a little… distracted." Alya waves a hand at Marinette. "Heck, you totally missed Adrien walking into the classroom."

Marinette looks down at the row of desks below, seeing that, indeed, Adrien (and Nino) has already arrived. "Oh, I guess I did."

Alya blinks. "Seriously, girl? You're usually more… chipper, especially when it comes to Adrien," she says in a hushed voice. "Are you sure you're alright? Are you sick? Tired?"

Marinette shakes her head, patting her friend's arm. "Yes, yes, I'm completely okay. Don't worry about me."

Alya's lips turn up into a small smile. "I'm your BFF, it's my job to worry."

"Then at least don't worry for nothing."

"I'll see what I can do."

Marinette and Alya share smiles and weekend tales, waiting for the official start of class. The pair can't help but overhear the conversation below.

"Don't you look happy today," Nino comments. Sure enough, Adrien does appear to be in a good mood today; the boy's posture is relaxed and his voice is noticeably lighter.

"Do I? I suppose," Adrien hums. "I had a really nice dream last night. Spoke to the girl of, well, my dreams."

"It's too bad she's not real, dude. From what I see of you now, it must have been really nice." Nino laughs and punches Adrien's shoulder lightly.

The blonde shakes his head. "I know she's there," he only says before the professor takes her spot at the front of the class and calls role.

"Did you hear that?" Alya nudges Marinette with her elbow, oblivious to said boy's eavesdropping. "Adrien's dream girl. I wonder what she's like."

Marinette shrugs. "Probably pretty, nice, smart, the works. Possibly blonde. He looks like a blonde type of guy."

Alya rolls her eyes. "Maybe because he is blonde? What about you, Marinette? I thought you'd be the first to suggest yourself as his dream girl. Do I have to do everything for you?"

"Pssh, no. I'm just—"

Alya gasps. "Or maybe… you'd rather be someone else's dream girl?"

Marinette's cheeks ignite with color. "I—what? N-nah!"

"Ohmigod," Alya breathes. "You've totally moves on. Is there someone else?" Marinette doesn't say anything, only blushes. "I knew it. Who is it? Do I know them? Are they in this class?"

"Well, um..." Marinette misses Adrien's soft snort. "He-I… eh?" She shrugs her shoulders, turning her head and pretending to take notes to evade the question.

"Oookay," Alya scoffs. "I'll just ask again during lunch, then."

"Shh," Marinette puts her finger to her lips and winks. "It's class time, after all."

During lunch hour, Adrien drags Nino over to where the girls sit. Nino complies with ease, albeit curious about the new seating arrangement.

"Hey, ladies," Adrien greets, planting his lunch on the table across from Marinette. She looks up from her meal and replies with a simple hello.

Nino follows suit. "Hi. Sorry if we're interrupting anything."

"Not at all," answers Alya. "What brings you to this side of town?"

Adrien smiles. "Just thought it'd be nice to eat lunch together today. We didn't get to talk before class today," he points out.

Nino raises his brow. Adrien admits that he isn't usually the one to try and initiate conversation with the two; that job is typically Alya and Nino's. He shrugs at his best friend and takes a bite from his meal.

Marinette sneaks a piece of paper from her bag and scribbles something quickly onto it. While Alya and Nino are occupied talking together, Adrien peers at Marinette, trying to guess what she's thinking.

Has she got any suspects? he wonders, Am I one of them? Has she even started looking? Helloooo, Princess, your knight is right in front of you.

"Not Nathanaël, not Kim…" she mutters softly to herself, a long scratch after each name she whispers. "Nor Nino… not anyone in this class, actually."

Wait, what? She's going in the wrong direction.

"What have you got there, Marinette?" Adrien asks, a halo of innocence above his head.

"Oh, um, nothing." Marinette blushes and puts the sheet away. "Just some notes for myself."

"Okay," he says, nodding.

Marinette sits at the table awkwardly, hands in her lap. She looks around the room at the other students behind him, gaze lingering on a handful of them. Which ones, he can't tell—not that any of them are right, if she is indeed looking for himself.

"Do you remember that day when Mylène was akumatized?" Marinette asks him.

"Yes? What about it?"

"You know how she had taken some of the students in our class, yes? You were one of them, if I can remember correctly."

Adrien's lips part. Oh. That's right. Crap. Supposedly he was—he recalled Ladybug asking for him. He had crouched behind a cocoon and pretended that Adrien was trapped within. Now, he knows, so had Marinette, but if he denied the fact now, that'd practically be giving it away. She's too smart for that.

"I—I was, yes. And you were, too?"

Marinette pauses. "Yeah."

"It was really weird, wasn't it? Akumas have used our classmates many times," Adrien continued, "I don't believe you were ever one."

Marinette shakes her head. "No. Now that you think of it, I don't think you have, either."

Yes! Come on, Marinette, another clue!

"But that's probably because you're so kind and level-headed," she reasons, smiling.

Nooo.

Before Adrien can respond, Alya turns and sweeps Marinette away in conversation.

Adrien sighs, pushing food around his plate with a fork. He feels Nino nudge his side.

"You looked pretty eager to talk to Marinette," Nino observes, waggling his brows. "Has she finally caught your eye?"

The edges of Adrien's lips turn up. "I'm head-over-heels for her."

"Dude, that's great! You should totally ask her out; I have a very good feeling she'll say yes."

"And I have reason to believe she'll say no. At least, not right now," says Adrien. But hey, she's already my girlfriend, technically.

Nino blanches. "Are you kidding me? She's finally able to talk to you normally and you think she's not into you?"

The blonde glances at said girl, eyes soaking in the beauty of her. His Princess, His Lady. "I just want her to make the first move."

"Good luck with that, man." Nino claps him on the shoulder. "I'll ask Alya and see if she can get Marinette up to the task."

"Um, thanks?"

"No problem, dude. What are friends for?"

Adrien knows Marinette wouldn't ask him out because she's with Chat, who in turn is waiting for her to figure out that he is he!

Maybe Adrien should have just told her who he was. It would be a lot less complicated. Curse his frustrating sense of humor.

Marinette sits on the gym bleachers next to Alya, a miniature paper mask held up to her eyes. She tries to match it to every passing blonde, but none of them fits the image of Chat in her head.

Turning away from watching the volleyball game in the center of the gym, Alya stares at her friend. "What are you doing?" she asks, bewildered.

Marinette lowers the bit of paper. "Just wondering if, uh, Chat Noir could be one of the students here." Hopefully Alya won't beat her to the chase. It's a small surprise that Marinette hasn't been caught as Ladybug yet.

"Oh, yeah, I've wondered that. Remember that picture of Adrien I edited? Close, but not quite."

Marinette giggles. "There's no way that dork of a catboy could be Adrien. They're completely different."

"Who are different?" Nino climbs up the bleachers to sit on the row below them. Adrien, part of the volleyball game, is still down on the gym floor.

"Adrien and Chat Noir," supplies Alya. "I think I have to agree with Marinette on that one."

Nino shrugs. "Who knows? Maybe that's what he wants you to think. It's always the quiet ones, as they say. Heck, Marinette here could be Ladybug herself."

Marinette blushes, bringing a hand behind her head. "Ahaha, no, I couldn't be her. I mean, have you seen me?"

Alya clicks her tongue. "Please, if Mari is Ladybug and I haven't found out after all this time, I give you permission to strip me of my journalism title and toss me in clown school."

Marinette forces out a chuckle. "Don't listen to her; she's joking," she says quickly. Poor Alya.

"You and Adrien are actually pretty fit," Alya nods. "I've seen you play before. If Ladybug has to be a girl in our class, I'd place my money on you. But what are the chances she even goes here, am I right?"

"Yeah…" Marinette forces a smile on her face. I've gotta get them off of Ladybug. "So, uh, if you had to pick a boy in our class to be Chat, who would you think?"

Alya and Nino ponder the question.

"Probably, no, not him…" mumbles Alya.

"I think… maybe… nah," mirrors Nino.

The two look at each other for a moment before deciding in unison, "Adrien."

Marinette looks at the boy in question,then to her friends. "Really? Why do you say that?"

"Blonde hair, green eyes, roughly the same size," Alya states. "Almost the same voice."

"Adrien is more outgoing once you really get to know him," adds Nino, "and he fences, something Chat seems to be good at, if you watch him with his staff."

Marinette nods. "I could see that, but their personalities are too contrasting. There's silly, flirty, joking Chat..." A dreamy smile blossoms on her face at the thought of the boy. "He's… pretty great."

Alya pokes her shoulder. "Woah, is Chat that other person you like?" she squeals.

Nino blinks. "What, Marinette, you're crushing on Chat?"

Marinette gasps, blushing. "Alya, shush! You don't have to announce it to the whole world."

Alya raises her palms in surrender. "Sorry, sorry."

"Wait," Nino blurts, holding out a hand. "I thought you liked Adrien."

Marinette puts her head in her hands, the small paper mask fluttering down between the gap in the bleachers. "Does everyone know my love life now?'

"Mari, it's blindingly obvious you liked the guy."

Marinette hears Nino mutter something under his breath. She could have sworn it sounded like "poor Adrien," but that wouldn't make sense. It's not as if Adrien likes her, or anything.

She can feel the bleachers move as someone climbs up the steps but doesn't look up.

"Hey," Alya and Nino call.

"Hi, guys," pants Adrien, partially out of breath from the game.

Marinette raises her head, surprised to see the boy's gaze focused on her. Adrien's gym shirt clings to his skin, riding up at the hem as he lowers down to the bench besides his best friend, revealing a sliver of skin. Marinette blushes, looking away, but not before her eyes catch on the familiar unkemptness of his hair.

Huh, she thinks. Looks a bit like Chat's.

"Hey, dude, we were just talking about you."

"Really?" quizzes the blonde.

Marinette's lips press into a tight line. Not about my crush! she shouts at Nino in her head.

"We thought you'd make a pretty good Chat Noir," he says instead.

Marinette deflates in relief, but perks up as she notes Adrien pale slightly despite still being flushed from playing.

"Y-yeah? You think so?" Adrien rubs his neck. "How come?"

"You two are similar enough, but Marinette's still convinced otherwise." Alya says, tilting her head in the girl's direction.

Adrien's face flashes with annoyance, but the emotion is quickly brushed away. "I think I'd make a very good Chat Noir," he counters, looking at Marinette.

Marinette bites her lip. Adrien's gaze dips quickly to her mouth and back up, making her cheeks warm a degree.

"Well, I mean… you two are… different," she simply states, tugging at a loose thread in her gym shorts.

Adrien doesn't pull his eyes from hers. Marinette can feel herself sinking into his achingly familiar green irises. "How so?"

Marinette says nothing, only giving a shrug.

Adrien finally looks away from her. "I mean, have you ever seen me and Chat in the same room together?"

Alya laughs. "If you were really Chat Noir, I'm sure you'd be trying very hard right now to not get us to make the connection."

"You never know," Adrien hums, flicking his eyes towards Marinette. There's a mischievous look there, but he turns away before she can be sure. It still raises butterflies in her stomach all the same.

###

The final bell rings, signaling the end of the school day. Marinette walks with Alya to the front doors, half surprised to see the boys waiting for them.

Adrien and Nino cease their conversation to greet the pair. The four teens walk down the entry stairs together, when Marinette trips, arms flailing on the way down. "Ack!"

Her breath is lodged in her throat as she squeezes her eyes shut, expecting to collide with the hard steps, when a hand wraps around her torso, pulling up her up. Marinette is tugged to Adrien's chest, gasping at the sudden proximity to her former crush's face.

He smiles back down at her, a little nervous. "Are you okay? That would have been a nasty fall. We wouldn't want you peppered with more bruises."

Marinette blinks rapidly, swallowing around her cotton-ball tongue. "I'm f-fine, thanks."

Adrien takes a second too long to release her (a fact not gone unnoticed by the two watching friends). The comforting pressure of his arm around her waist is removed. The sensation is… oddly familiar. Her brain tries to revive a memory of another person at another time, but the moment passes fleetingly.

Thankfully, Marinette and the rest of her party make it down the rest of the stairs without accident.

"Do you want to go to the movies with us, Mari? Adrien's schedule is clear today, for once," asks Alya, as they reach the edge of the street.

Marinette shakes her head. "I can't," she sighs, "I'm grounded until Friday."

"That's paw-sitively un-fur-tunate," Adrien jokes, meeting Marinette's eyes. A sly smile creeps onto his face, eyebrow raised in a challenge.

A click resonates through her head and a wave of realization floods her mind. Marinette is sure her heart has stopped.

"Wow, dude, that was terrible," Nino groans, covering his face with a hand.

"Oh my god," Marinette dead-pans.

Adrien grins, a silly lopsided smile full of love and amusement. It's utterly and completely Chat.

"Oh," she whispers to herself. "Oh god." It's him. It was him the whole time.

Alya and Nino share a look of confusion before their jaws drop to the floor as Marinette shakily points a finger, takes a deep breath, and…

"AAAAAAAAHHH!"

Adrien breaks out into heavy laughter, bending over and clutching his side. Everyone in the vicinity stops and stares.

"AAAAAA—" In a rush, Marinette grabs Adrien's face and pulls him into a kiss, stomping on his foot simultaneously.

The kiss is brief and chaste as Marinette pulls back, palms flying to her cheeks."—AAAAAAHH! You ass. Are you kidding me? My two damn crushes were the same person this whole time? I had to get over you! I bet this entire time you've been laughing at me in your head while you watched me try to figure it out."

Adrien chuckles, eyes glittering. "Miss me, Princess?"

Marinette twists her lips, about to make a snarky reply when Alya exclaims, "Can someone tell us what in the world is going on?"

Marinette blinks, having temporarily forgotten their present company. She turns to Alya and Nino slowly, thinking of something that would explain Marinette's sudden...familiarity… with Adrien, a boy to whom just a few days before she could only stutter, much less yell at and kiss.

"W-w-well, I, uh, we—"

"Met anonymously online and started, er, getting to know each other better, so to speak," Adrien finishes, scratching his neck and threading his fingers through hers. "Last week, I knew it was her, first. I was waiting for her to connect the dots to me."

"So you two," gathers Nino, waving a finger between the couple and squinting. "Have been, what, online dating or something? For how long? And you've never told me about this? Dude!"

Alya purses her lips. "You better tell me the deets, girl, because this is a damn big surprise."

Marinette lets out a breathy laugh, looking sideways at Adrien, her masked cat. "Yeah, I guess we have a lot to tell them… tomorrow."

The next day, everyone is talking about famous Adrien Agreste's new girlfriend.

Chloe fumes, barely holding back a nasty torrent of ill-willed words. The sobs of many fangirls can be heard on nearly every street. Nathanaël mopes to himself at the back of the class.

Alya and Nino are their most fervent supporters. At long last, their dorky friends have gotten their stuff together and are finally—finally—dating.

Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng are surprised at their daughter's sudden change of affection, but let it slide... more or less. Adrien Agreste is a nice, well-behaved, handsome young man—and this time they know his name.

The city notices the newfound intimacy between the masked heroes. Now, Ladybug happily accepts (and returns) her partner's flirting, and there's even a peck or two after an akuma attack.

When no one is around to notice, the two kwamiis are jubilant to be once again united. They love to tease the pair about previous close-calls and obvious obliviousness.

However, the most change comes from the couple themselves. Shy Marinette and reserved Adrien are both infinitely more confident. Their easy banter is shocking to those who have only witnessed their stutter-stuffed words. Adrien spews cat puns with no restraint, often met with groans of protest from his girlfriend.

No one can deny the fact that together, they are happy. That together, they are the face of true love.