Tom and Sabine weren't blind. They could see how Chat Noir looked at their daughter when she was Ladybug. He absolutely adored her, and it showed constantly. She cared for him as well, but as a friend.

Once upon a time, they might have shipped Ladybug and Chat Noir together, since their partnership was incredibly strong and they seemed to read each other's minds at times. But ever since they met the boy who Marinette had a crush on- so polite, so kind, and rather good-looking to boot... well. The focus of their shipping had promptly switched directions.

The only question now was how to gently dissuade Chat Noir's affections away from Ladybug, since Ladybug was Marinette and Marinette liked Adrien and Tom and Sabine heartily approved of Adrien. It would be better for Chat Noir in the long run if he moved on, really, so that he wouldn't be crushed when he inevitably worked up the courage to confess to Ladybug.

How they could dissuade him was a whole different question, though. Even if they could figure out what they could possibly say, the whole matter of actually running into Chat Noir at a convenient time to talk was a whole other box of worms. They were always busy in the bakery.

They had never expected Chat Noir to burst into the storage room of their bakery in a frantic rush to find a place to detransform.

Chat Noir was panicking just a little bit as his Miraculous ran down. He had barely had time for his regular fist bump with Ladybug before he bolted, trying to find somewhere safe to release his transformation. The streets seemed unusually busy, even the alleys not private enough to safely release his transformation. He let out a relieved breath as he saw Marinette's parents' bakery appear in front of him. He could release his transformation there, and if her parents saw Adrien leaving the house, it wouldn't be that big of a deal. He could always claim that he was there to ask Marinette for notes he had missed when he was at a photoshoot.

Silently thanking Marinette for the tour she had given him of her house and the bakery, Chat Noir found the open window to the bakery storage room quickly enough and bounded in, rolling in through the window and landing on the floor. He breathed out a sigh of relief, bending over to rest his hands on his knees as his transformation unraveled. Too close. Way too close.

And then he looked up. Standing at the door, their mouths hanging open, were Marinette's parents.

Oh no.

"Um... hi?" Adrien tried weakly, one hand coming up to wave before flopping back down to his side. He bit his lip, trying to think of something, anything to say. Tom and Sabine continued to look flabbergasted.

"Cheeeeeese," Plagg groaned, apparently unconcerned that Adrien's identity had just been revealed jeez Plagg get your priorities in order as he flopped down listlessly on a sack of flour. A cloud of white dust puffed up into the air and settled on the small black kwami. "So huuuuuungry..."

"Please don't tell anyone," Adrien begged finally, widening his eyes into what his mom had once called his kitten pout. He hadn't used the expression since she vanished, so he had no idea whether it still remained as effective now that he was several years older. "It's really dangerous for people to know, since-"

"Since Hawkmoth could target you directly, we know," Tom cut across him cheerfully, his dropped jaw picking itself up and spreading into a wide grin as he recovered from his surprise. "Don't worry about it, son. Your secret is safe with us, right honey?"

Sabine nodded eagerly, her smile spreading as wide as Tom's. Adrien blinked, not sure whether he should be confused or relieved.

"Now, your kwami said something about cheese?" Tom glanced over at the small shape as he spoke. Plagg's ears twitched, suddenly interested. "Will cheese bread do?"

Plagg perked up immediately, energy suddenly restored as he shot over to Tom in a black blur. "YES PLEASE!"

Adrien found himself shuffled into the bakery's kitchen with Tom as Sabine manned the front counter. Tom was a whirlwind around the kitchen, Plagg riding on the man's shoulder as he happily munched his way through the supply of day-old cheese bread Tom had had on hand.

"We tend not to have too many leftovers we can't use," Tom told Adrien as he worked. "We have a couple restaurants that will buy day-old bread for stuffing, croutons, bread pudding, and meatloaf. We use some in our own home, of course. Anything beyond that gets donated."

"That's awesome," Adrien commented. "How do you decide how much to make each day? Isn't it hard to predict?"

Tom chuckled, handing Adrien a croissant. "At first, yes. But I have a very good clerk working the front counter- very beautiful too, I might add," Tom tacked on, raising his voice enough for his wife to hear him as she passed in the hallway. Adrien could hear her laugh. "It didn't take us too long to figure out the patterns of what breads were most popular and what days have the most visitors. There's a weekly cycle, as well as a yearly one- holidays and all, you know. We also have extra dough for most of our breads refrigerated, so if we do run out earlier than normal, it doesn't take long to make more. For big or unusual orders, our normal customers usually warn us in advance."

Adrien nodded, practically inhaling the croissant before realizing that he should at least try not to eat like a starving lion. Tom only chuckled at the look on Adrien's face before passing him a bagel.

"I couldn't-" Adrien started, embarrassed at his own behavior, but Tom only chuckled and patted his back.

"There's no shame in being hungry. You're a growing boy, and a very active one at that. You look a tad peaky, too. Do they feed you right at home?"

"They- yes- well, uh, they try, at least-" Adrien stammered, caught off guard. Surely Tom wasn't insinuating that his father was purposefully restricting his food? Gabriel Agreste wouldn't do that. If he weren't Chat Noir, the food he got at home would definitely be enough. He had been losing weight recently, though, something he was a bit concerned about.

"They can't account for all the exercise you get as Chat Noir," Tom finished for him cheerfully. He slid a tray of bread into the oven and set a timer before turning back around to face Adrien. "Well, we can certainly help you with that. Not all of our leftovers have to go to restaurants."

"You don't have to do that," Adrien insisted, his cheeks getting pink. Getting charity was new. "I wouldn't want to take away from your bakery's profits. I'm fine, really."

"Paris can't have one of its superheroes passing out mid-battle for want of food. Besides, the bakery makes plenty even without selling leftovers to restaurants." Humming loudly, Tom beamed at Adrien and started taking out ingredients to decorate a series of small cakes that sat on the counter. The message was clear: I'm doing this no matter how much you protest. Adrien couldn't say he wasn't thankful. He also suspected that Mr. Dupain would probably start baking extras just for him and pretend that it was an accident. As the man offered Adrien a fruit tart, Adrien could only smile and accept it with a murmured thanks.

Marinette had the best parents, honestly. Once it grew late enough that Adrien had to go home, they sent him on his way with a complimentary bag of rolls and fruit tarts, which got tucked into his messenger bag. Plagg had been given cheese bread for the road. The kwami was making the most obnoxious chewing noises Adrien had ever heard, and the blond model found himself incredibly thankful that the streets were as empty as they were. While he liked to think that he had gotten better at coming up with excuses on the fly since becoming Chat Noir, he had no idea how he would explain his kwami's noises.

"I'm glad they found out," Plagg said between bites. "Their cheese bread is the best. Can we visit every day?"

Adrien groaned. "No. I'm not taking advantage of them like that. Every other day, tops. And stop snuggling up to them like a cat. I know perfectly well you just want them to think you're cute so they'll feed you more."

Plagg snickered. "But I am cute!"

Tom hummed happily as he sent Adrien on his way with a bag of day-old bread (and some fresh things as well, not that he would admit it). He had noticed the model looking a little pale and drawn the last few times he had stopped by to see Marinette and had tried to feed the boy then. Now that he understood just why the boy was looking so thin, he could do something about it.

"I wonder how much he gets to eat at home," Tom commented that night as he and Sabine got ready for bed. They hadn't had a chance to discuss the afternoon's events much, since they were busy in the shop until it closed and then Marinette was with them. "I mean, they had to notice that he was getting thinner, right?"

"I'm sure they did. Perhaps he's about to get another growth spurt, and that's why he's gotten thinner recently?" Sabine suggested. "Or maybe it's because of all of the attacks recently. Marinette certainly has been eating more."

Tom huffed out a laugh. "I still can't believe that Adrien is Chat Noir. Who would have thought?"

"You do realize what that means, right?" Sabine's voice was teasing. Tom turned to her with his eyebrows raised. She giggled at him. "Marinette likes Adrien, who is Chat Noir and likes Ladybug, who is Marinette!"

A smile slowly split Tom's face. "So... we still ship Ladynoir?"

"Oh, definitely."

Adrien was confused. Very, very confused. Tom and Sabine had always been friendly when he came over to work on projects or play video games with Marinette (she had ridiculously good reflexes, meaning that he actually had to try to win), sometimes to the point of being a little too friendly. He had suspected on more than one occasion that they were trying to set him up with their daughter. He had thought that maybe they would tone down on the set-ups now that they knew that he was Chat Noir and in love with Ladybug but no, they seemed to be even more enthusiastic about it.

Equally oddly, they seemed to be incredibly enthusiastic about Ladybug and Chat Noir... or, as he once overheard them calling it, Ladynoir.

Ladybug had definitely noticed it too, judging by the exasperated glance he once saw her shoot in Tom and Sabine's direction.

It would have made sense if Marinette was Ladybug, but she wasn't. The video that Mariette had brought to school months ago had put that theory to rest for once and for all, since it showed both her and Marinette at the same time.

Adrien decided not to question it too much. It was perfectly possible that Marinette's parents just wanted him to be happy.

...it was still strange, though.

The shift in Marinette's parents' attitude towards him wasn't the only thing Adrien had noticed changing in the weeks since they found out.

He was growing again.

It hadn't started right away, of course. The spaces in between his ribs filled back in first, no longer uncomfortably bony. His cheeks weren't quite so sallow anymore and the makeup artists had commented on it, saying that they no longer needed to use quite so much makeup to make him camera ready. He had more energy, and he could trace it all back to the bread and treats he was getting from Tom and Sabine. Whenever they could manage it, the baker and his wife were foisting off leftovers from their family meals on him as well. No matter how much Adrien protested when they gave him food, he couldn't deny that it was nice to not have his stomach growling quite so constantly.

And then came the growing.

"Those pants simply do not fit you correctly!" Pierre fussed as Adrien tried to situate himself into a desired pose. "Ugh! No, no, this will never work!"

Confused, Adrien looked down at himself. The clothes he wore to model always fit. After all, they were made to his measurements. But sure enough, the hem of the pants was a good half-inch high, and the shirt seemed a bit shorter than usual and tight across his shoulders. Adrien wondered if his father perhaps had hired a new intern to sew things, then dismissed the idea. His father only hired the best of designers and seamstresses to work for him. There probably had been a miscommunication in the measurements, or maybe a computer had glitched when printing out the pattern pieces.

"Go change out of that outfit and put on the next one," Pierre ordered. "I will tell Nathalie that the piece needs to be remade. Go, go, go!"

Adrien jogged back towards the changing rooms, wincing slightly as his toes rubbed up against the ends of his shoes. His feet had been feeling increasingly pinched recently with his shoes on, and it was only the fact that they felt fine when his feet were bare or when he was Chat Noir that kept him from asking Nathalie to research possible foot injuries.

Next outfit in place, Adrien jogged back out. Pierre frowned as soon as he saw Adrien and the model skidded to a halt, eyes wide. He had been positive that he hadn't messed up his hair or makeup when he was changing. He'd been very careful, just like always.

As it turned out, that wasn't what Pierre was concerned about at all.

"Pants are too short, shirt is too short and too tight, jacket..." Pierre gave it a sharp tug, trying to close it. It didn't reach. "Jacket shoulders are far too narrow. Next outfit!"

The next outfit was rejected, as was the one following it. Pierre was frowning now and Nathalie was on the phone with Adrien's father. Adrien could hear the yelling from the phone from where he stood.

"Mr. Agreste said to have an intern measure everything to check on sizes," Nathalie reported as soon as she hung up. Seconds later, a terrified-looking intern was produced and immediately shuffled off to the wardrobe by Nathalie. Not even five minutes later, they were back and looking confused.

"Everything should be the right size," Nathalie reported. Then her eyes fell on Adrien and she frowned. "Francie, take Adrien's measurements for me, please."

Adrien straightened up immediately as the intern scuttled around him, pressing the tape measure against him and calling out numbers. Nathalie's expression turned surprised as she scribbled down the numbers on her clipboard. As soon as Francie finished, Nathalie straightened with a strange expression- was that a smile?

"I think Adrien's part of the photoshoot will have to be delayed, Pierre," she said, her voice falling back into calm authority. "The female models are ready, though. I'll send them out. Adrien's shoot will have to be rescheduled once I find out when the remade clothes will be done."

Pierre let out what was possibly the most exasperated sound that Adrien had ever heard in his life. "But the shoot must be done in time to get the pictures edited for publication! This is unprofessional to not have the right sized clothes and-"

Nathalie held up her hand, effortlessly silencing the irate photographer. He eyed her irritably as she checked something on her clipboard before speaking.

"New clothes will be made as quickly as possible, Pierre. We just didn't anticipate Adrien growing, let alone growing as much as he did. From now on, we'll take his measurements before making anything for a photoshoot. He's finally hit his growth spurt, it seems."

Adrien blinked in confusion. "But I already had my growth spurt," he protested. While he certainly wasn't the tallest person in their class, he certainly wasn't short, either. He had been growing before he became Chat Noir, and only stopped about a month into the superhero business. He had been a bit let down that he had turned out shorter than both his mother and his father, but he had gotten over it.

Eventually.

Nathalie only shook her head as she steered him back to the changing rooms. "It seems as though you are in the middle of another. Change back into your regular clothes, though somehow I suspect those might not fit right, either. I'll talk to your father about getting you a new wardrobe in your new size."

"But I might grow out of that too if I'm still growing," Adrien protested, heading back to the dressing room regardless. "I haven't noticed anything wrong with my normal clothes. They're not tailored so closely as the thing I wear for shoots."

Nathalie was already punching something into her tablet. "We wouldn't buy you too much until you've stopped growing for sure, if that's what you're worried about." She sent a sharp look at his shoes. "New shoes will be on the list too, I think. Your feet look like they're about to burst out."

"Thanks, Nathalie!"

"Well don't you look dapper today!" were the first words out of Sabine's mouth when Adrien saw her next. She smiled at him as she rung up his purchases (he pretended not to notice when she slipped in a couple extra things without charging him). "New wardrobe?"

Adrien handed over his money with a grin. "Yeah, I've been growing a lot recently. Almost everything I own is too short or too tight now. I hadn't even noticed until my photographer had a meltdown at a shoot." Looking back, he should have noticed, even if his everyday wear was looser and longer than the clothes he usually modelled. His new clothes didn't stretch across his shoulders like the old ones did, and the shoes...

He really liked having toe room. His foot pains mysteriously vanished as soon as he got new, larger shoes.

Sabine laughed. "Well, it shouldn't have been a surprise. Your body needed the energy to grow and you just weren't getting enough."

Adrien blinked, surprised. He hadn't thought about that. He accepted the bakery bag on autopilot. Was he really growing now because of the extra food? If so, he'd really have to thank Tom and Sabine.

Pierre and Sabine weren't the only ones to comment on his sudden growth spurt. Chloe ended up hanging off his arm, feeling up his muscles as Adrien tried to get away.

"Adrikins! Come here for a minute!" Chloe practically pounced on Adrien as soon as he appeared at school in short sleeves for the first time. She plastered herself to his side, hands wrapping possessively around his upper arm. "Ooh, have you been working out? These muscles are yummy."

Adrien only just managed to hold back a wince. Yummy? He wasn't some sort of dessert. Chloe was sliding her hands up and down his exposed upper arm with a predatory sort of grin, making Adrien wish he had worn his normal elbow-length jacket even though it was all kinds of hot outside. They were starting to attract a crowd, and more than a few girls in the group were eying him up in the same sort of way Chloe was.

A nun's outfit was starting to sound really attractive, heat be damned.

"Chloe, get off please," Adrien said, pushing lightly and then a bit harder when Chloe continued to cling. "Seriously, it's too warm outside to be doing this."

"You should ask Nathalie to buy you some sleeveless shirts," Chloe said, completely ignoring Adrien's request. He pushed at her harder. "I bet you have some gorgeous shoulder muscles, mmm? Maybe you can do some swimsuit shoots this summer."

"Miss Bourgeois! Kindly remove yourself from Mr. Agreste's arm this minute! That is not appropriate behavior!" Ms. Mendeleiev's voice rang out over the courtyard and Chloe immediately let go of Adrien's arm, stepping back to look for the purple-haired teacher. Adrien took the opportunity to vanish into the crowd, looking for Nino as he fled up the stairs. Instead of Nino, he found two girls cracking up on the second floor.

"What's so funny?" Adrien asked, sliding up to stand next to Marinette. She straightened up with a gasping snicker, coughing a few times as she tried to get enough air to answer him. A peal of laughter from Alya set her off again and it was a few minutes before the two of them calmed down enough to answer.

"I've been practicing ventriloquism- you know, throwing my voice so it sounds like it's coming from somewhere else," Alya gasped out with another snicker. "And you know how I've been doing those teacher impersonations? Well, combine the two of those and-"

"Wait, you were the one who got Chloe off of me? You're the best, Alya!"

Alya grinned. "It was Marinette's idea. You were looking a bit trapped."

"Just a bit. Chloe gets clingy as an octopus sometimes." He grinned down at Marinette, giving her a sideways hug in thanks. His friend went pink. "I'm never wearing short sleeves again if that's the response I get, I swear."

Chat Noir hadn't realized how much time he spent crouched, sitting, or otherwise not straightened up around Ladybug until he caught her staring at his back in utter disbelief one night during patrol. He turned around grinning, trying to think of some witty quip when she blurted out, "When did you get so tall?"

Chat blinked in confusion. "...I've been growing..."

Ladybug huffed in exasperation, marching forward until they were practically toe-to-toe. Chat Noir tried not to smirk at the height difference as she glared up at him. "I knew you were growing, but this much? Stoooooop. You're making me look small."

"You do that just fine on your own," Chat Noir teased, rolling his shoulders and straightening up to his full height. He laughed as Ladybug rolled onto her tiptoes, trying to look taller. "And I can't stop, won't stop-"

He was cut off as Ladybug leapt up, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and dangling off of him from behind, her feet hanging above the ground. "You're already tall enough, you can stop growing now."

Chat Noir spun around, smirking at the way it made Ladybug swing outward. "Nope."

"Pleaaaaase."

"NEVER."

He could feel Ladybug latch on more securely. "I've heard tall people have more health problems."

"Really."

"Uh-huh. Something about the heart having to work harder to pump blood further."

"If you say so."

"I'm just concerned for your health, really." The breathless giggles Ladybug was making gave away the fact that she was kidding. Chat Noir stopped spinning and started bouncing up and down on his toes, grinning as his partner's laughter got louder. She swatted at his shoulder and missed, yelping when she nearly slipped off. He hoisted her back up, holding onto Ladybug's knees as she adjusted her grip on his shoulders.

"Do you like the view from up here?" Chat Noir teased. "I know you normally don't see it from so high up..."

"I've been higher." Ladybug hooked her chin over his shoulder and Chat resisted the urge to purr. Instead, he decided to keep on teasing her.

"You're just like a tiny little backpack." He bounced around the rooftop, still holding onto Ladybug's legs so she stayed securely on his back. "Light as a feather! I could carry you around all day without noticing."

Ladybug only snorted. "Don't forget I can still yank you around by the tail, kitty."

He laughed. "Oh, I know."

Ladybug teasing him about his sudden growth spurt was so much different than Chloe doing it. He was more comfortable getting close to Ladybug, for sure- after all, over a year of fighting together had pretty much eliminated any personal space bubble between them- and Ladybug was joking about it, not trying to feel up his muscles. There was a trust between them that if either of them was uncomfortable with something, the other would back off immediately.

Chat found that he rarely ever wanted Ladybug to give him more space. In fact, less space between them was often preferable, and normally it never happened outside of akuma battles. Ladybug must have been in a really good mood if she was willing to be so playful now.

They spent a solid ten minutes dancing around the rooftops, Ladybug teasingly hanging off Chat Noir's shoulders as he laughed and bounced around.

Down below, hidden from the view of the heroes, Tom and Sabine watched their daughter and the boy who was sure to be their son-in-law someday as they teased each other playfully.

Tom chuckled. "I'm never going to let them forget that we figured it out before they did."

"I can't wait until they figure things out," Sabine said happily, letting out an aww as Chat Noir tugged Ladybug into his arms before leaping from one rooftop to another.

"They're made for each other."

This is the final part of Finding Out. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story! As always, reviews make my day. :)