Here is the final conclusion! Enjoy

Adrienne set her brush down on the vanity and leaned forward to stare harshly at her reflection in the mirror. Even with copious amounts of makeup, the dark circles under her eyes were still visible. She had been able to tame her hair at least but it was little consolation when she looked like she hadn't slept in a week.

With a sigh, she pushed away from the vanity.

In truth she really hadn't gotten much sleep last night. Her mind wouldn't shut off, trying to process all the little similarities between Lady Beetle and Marin. Everything that she had once chalked up to a coincidence, she now had to reconsider. Everything she once knew to be true, she had to second-guess. By the time dawn finally rolled around, she had reached the conclusion that the two men in her heart were in fact one and the same—or at least she was almost sure they were. But being sure and being almost sure were two entirely different things... and that uncertainty weighed heavy on her and left her in a state of unease all day.

It was too much change happening too fast.

And what made matters worse was that she didn't know how she felt about this new revelation. It wasn't like Marin being Lady Beetle was a bad thing; if anything it made things less complicated for her! And yet her heart was in a gray area somewhere between elation and nervousness.

"You'd better hurry or you'll be late for the party." Plagg's voice chimed from her headboard, breaking her from her thoughts.

Adrienne looked over at him, giving a noncommittal nod before moving to the white dress bag at the end of her bed. She unzipped it to reveal the silken gown that Nathan had told her her to wear. It was a recent design of her mother's and very beautiful, to be sure. Adrienne had worn it before at a photo shoot but only for a few minutes.

She pulled it out of the bag and held it out at arm's length, admiring the fine stitching and glimmering sequins that ran along the sleeves, before turning toward her bathroom to put it on.

As she got dressed, her mind wandered back to Marin and Lady Beetle. Or really just Marin. Who was Lady Beetle. She was about ninety-six percent sure he was, anyway. No wait, ninety-seven percent. No wait—

Adrienne sighed, looking up helplessly at the ceiling.

If she thought talking with him after kissing him was difficult, then seeing him again after all this would be impossible. At least she had the rest of the weekend (assuming there were no Akuma attacks) to sort things out and get her nerves together before she'd have to face him.

Curse her luck.

In being so caught up in her thoughts about Marin, it had completely slipped her mind that the very important and very high-brow party that she was at was the same one Chat Noire and Lady Beetle had been invited to weeks prior. Seeing as Chat was already expected to attend as Adrienne, she had politely declined the invitation. Lady Beetle, on the other hand, had agreed to go. No doubt it was to avoid offending Mayor Bourgeois, but now it was putting her in a pickle.

Right across from her stood Lady Beetle, his back to her. He had only been at the party a couple minutes and had yet to notice her. Thankfully, her mother and Nathan were on the other side of the room conversing with other people of importance. Adrienne could easily slip away without them noticing, but before she could make the decision to do so, Lady Beetle whirled around to face her. Their eyes met instantly.

At first, his expression was surprised, much like her own—she hadn't expected him to turn around so quickly—before it morphed into something else entirely and she found herself mirroring it right back at him. Recognition. And it hit them both like lightning.

He knew.

Somehow, some way, he knew that she was Chat Noire.

And she knew.

With one look at his bright blue eyes, the bluest pair she had ever seen, she knew with certainty that he was Marin Dupain-Cheng.

More importantly, she could tell they each knew the other knew.

Adrienne felt the breath leave her lungs as the full reality of the situation dawned on her. Neither could tear their eyes away from the other's, caught in a silent stand-off while the rest of the party carried on around them.

The moment was only broken by a hand touching Lady Beetle's shoulder and even then she could tell it took him great effort to look away from her. As soon as he did, she felt control return to her limbs and she quickly spun on her heels. She needed to get away, to think and talk with Plagg without everyone's eyes on her.

She searched the area for somewhere private she could go and noticed a staircase off to the side of the room. It led to the unlit upper level of the event hall, where the guests were not permitted. With a glance back at Lady Beetle to check if he was still occupied (he was), she quickly stole off toward the stairs.

Lady Beetle weaved his way through the crowd of party guests, politely waving off the ones that approached him for conversation. His pulse was pounding in his ears and he could hardly focus on anything but finding his way to Adrienne, whom he'd seen slipping off to the second floor.

Adrienne was Chat Noire.

A week ago, he would have told anyone that idea was crazy talk, but after noticing for himself that the two of them smelled exactly the same, he'd started to question just how crazy it actually was. Suddenly other similarities between Adrienne and Chat Noire stood out in his mind and he could no longer convince himself it was a coincidence. The possibility was too tangible now.

And it was a bit scary, too. Because as soon as it became clear to him, it filled him with hope and excitement. Those were things that could easily be crushed if he was wrong, and fear of that happening kept him from confronting Chat about it. He was eternally grateful that his feline partner hadn't shown up on Marin's balcony last night. He wasn't ready to face her yet.

But Marin had learned long ago that fate had a sense of humor.

On the Mayor's invitation, he had to attend a party in honor of some important person he had never heard of. He had figured it would be a breeze, because Chat had opted out of going, and it would give him time to focus on something other than the girl. It never crossed his mind that the reason she had declined was that she was already going... as Adrienne.

That was, until he was in the middle of a conversation with some politician and he spotted Gabrielle Agreste and her head assistant—Nathan was his name, Marin dimly recalled—across the room. He thought nothing of it at first; she was a famous fashion designer in the city so of course she would be invited to an event like this. It was only logical. Then, the realization hit him that if they were there, chances were that Adrienne would be too.

It sent his heart rate skyrocketing and he muttered an apology to the politician before swiveling around to scan the room for the blonde. He didn't have to look far. As as soon as he turned, she was standing mere steps away from him.

The moment his eyes met hers, he knew.

And the recognition on her own face was impossible to mistake; she knew he was Marin. But unlike the fear or anger he expected to feel at having his identity revealed, he felt relieved and happy. The only regret he had was not being able to tell her himself.

He needed to speak with her. While he was happy about this turn of events, he didn't know how she felt. For all he knew, she could be the one who was angry about it. Maybe she even felt hurt. But there were too many eyes on them and he could already tell they were rousing suspicion by staring at each other like this.

He had been about to try and communicate the need for privacy to her when a hand clamped down on his shoulder. It took great resolve for him to break her gaze and when he was able to look back, she was gone.

Now, though, Lady Beetle was standing at the base of the staircase. He knew this was where she had run off to, but he wondered if he was right to follow. She might need some space and it would be wrong of him to intrude on that. However, not going after her at all could be an even greater mistake, and he didn't want to risk missing this opportunity just because he was scared.

He swallowed down the nerves and began ascending the staircase.

Plagg watched as Adrienne paced back and forth in a dark corner she had secluded herself into. She was nervously wringing her hands together and worrying herself silly the entire time she had been upstairs. "Running away was a bad idea," she said not for the first time.

"I don't think so." He replied and she stopped mid-step to stare at him. "It's not like you could hash it out in the middle of the party. It's better that you left before something disastrous could happen."

Her mouth opened to dispute him but he continued. "He'll come up here eventually to find you and you can talk then."

Adrienne tilted her head in consideration then shook it morosely. "But what if he is upset and doesn't show up? He might not like that I'm Adrienne."

Plagg scoffed. "That's hardly an issue."

"What do you mean?" Adrienne asks, genuinely confused. Not the issue? That was the issue. If Marin didn't like Adrienne, then nothing would work out.

The Kwami was about to answer but his gaze moved past her and he shook his head. "Why not ask him yourself?"

"Adrienne."

The voice made the blonde nearly jump out of her skin, and she whirled around to come face-to-face with red spots and blue eyes. She felt Plagg duck into her small purse.

"Marin." She breathed out and he flinched.

"So I guess you do know," he said with a small chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck. Nervousness was emanating off him and she found some relief in the fact that she wasn't the only one unsure how to approach this.

"You know I'm Chat Noire." She said after a moment. It was a statement, not a question.

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah."

A silence pressed between them and she thought it would continue forever until Marin cleared his throat.

"About what you were wondering..." he said, his eyes slowly meeting hers. "It's not an issue."

She blinked at him, quickly biting down the surge of hope that came with his words. She couldn't afford to let herself get carried away yet. Licking her lips first, she asked. "You mean...?"

"You being Adrienne. I don't mind." Marin clarified. His gaze dropped from hers then, and he added on quietly. "More than you know."

"More than I..." She mumbled, her brows furrowing as she tried to process what he had said and what it could even mean.

"Adrienne." Marin said firmly, bringing her attention back to him. He worried his bottom lip momentarily before the the hesitation on his face was washed away by resolve. He met her gaze evenly. "Adrienne, I've always been in love with you."

Adrienne blinked at him, her face turning red as the confession slowly registered. He was in love with her, her mind sang, and an immeasurable joy filled her entire being. She couldn't have contained her smile if she tried, and she didn't, even when he bashfully continued talking.

"I actually fell for you twice. First as Adrienne, and then as Chat." His face tinged with a blush as he watched her smile grow wider.

Happiness practically radiated off her and the more Chat Noire side of her came out to play when she spoke. "You charmed me twice yourself, Handsome. You really are an amazing sweet talker to do that."

Clearly, he wasn't used to something so Chat Noire coming from Adrienne as he practically choked on air at her words, his entire face and ears turning red. A laugh bubbled out of her at his reaction and affectionately she patted his back as he coughed.

"You shouldn't spring things like that on me." Marin said once he had regained composure and stood up straight.

Adrienne grinned, ready to respond with something just as Chat-like when they both realized how close to each other they were and went speechless. The din from the party carried up through the banisters from downstairs to fill their sudden silence, but it sounded a million miles away.

He moved first, her shoulders pressing into the wall behind her as he rushed forward to capture her mouth with his. She thrilled as his left hand quickly found the small of her back, while his right wound its way to her upper arm.

Her own hands wandered, one to his forearm and the other up to his face, brushing along the edge of his mask. Her fingers trailed downward, over the bare skin of his cheek, and lingered on his jaw. The gentle touches only prompted Marin to deepen the kiss. And oh, were his lips just searing on hers.

This kiss was nothing like the other night's, which had been chaste and nervous. Tonight it was as if he couldn't get enough of her as he pressed her further and further into the wall. It made her weak in the knees and she had to grab onto his shoulder for support.

Only when both their lungs burned for air did he pull away, leaving Adrienne's head spinning. Marin didn't seem in a much better state as he tried to catch his breath, his face flushed so red it was hard to tell where his mask ended and his skin began.

'This is a good look on him,' Adrienne's addled brain noted with a small and complacent smirk.

Marin raised a brow. "What are you smiling at?"

She gave a dismissive shake of her head, keeping her appreciation of his flushed appearance to herself, before ducking down to meet his lips again. Her advance took him by surprise but he eased back into it with little resistance.

Adrienne was just itching to run her fingers through his bangs, her left hand twitching where it had migrated to the nape of his neck. But somewhere in the back of her mind she knew Paris' beloved superhero suddenly reappearing at an important social event with mussed hair wouldn't go unnoticed.

So she let her hand slide down his back instead until she reached his hips. Her other hand followed suit and she used this new leverage to tug him impossibly closer to her. Marin made a strangled noise and pulled away enough to level her with an even look. "Easy now," he warned. "We are still in public."

"Why do I have a feline that's more a reminder to yourself than to me?"

Marin sputtered at that, turning somehow even redder than before, and Adrienne had the decency to look at least halfway sorry (though the other half was quite chuffed).

"You're going to be the death of me, Kitten," he chastised, but the tone in his voice was too affectionate to truly be stern.

She grinned in response, her eyes sparkling warmly at the nickname before she sobered. "We probably should head back before someone comes looking for us," she said, and Marin tried to keep the disappointment off his face. She saw it regardless though, and her lips turned up mischievously.

In a blink, she had their positions flipped so that he was the one pinned to the wall. She smiled warmly at him before she leaned in to give him one last kiss. It was chaste but long-lasting and made him all sorts of weak.

"Then I'll excuse myself first," Adrienne said as she pulled away. He could only nod mutely, not trusting himself to speak, and she sauntered away, pleased, if a bit reluctant.

As soon as she was out of sight, Marin slid against the wall until he reached the floor. He sat there silently, an awe-struck expression on his face. Slowly, a smile worked its way onto his lips and he brushed his bangs back with a chuckle.

"What did I get myself into...?"

EXTRA:

Marin stopped walking when he heard his name called and turned to see Alim running towards him. The two had made plans to meet up this morning, his friend claiming he had some major news for him. He had no clue what it could be about but knowing Alim, it had to be something related to the Ladyblog.

"What's up?" Marin asked around the straw of his soda.

Alim gave a distasteful look at the bright turquoise liquid—he was never a fan of the stuff and frankly didn't know why Marin liked it—before wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulder and leading them both to a nearby bench.

Marin silently sipped his drink as Alim pulled out his phone. He kept the screen carefully pressed to his chest and Marin raised a brow. "Dude," Alim began. "I hate to be the one to break this to you but it seems your chances with Adrienne are over."

Slowly, he lowered his phone so Marin could see the image on the screen. "Look... I happened to catch them at last night's event." Marin leaned forward to take a better look.

On the display was a very HD photo of Lady Beetle and Adrienne. But not just any photo, oh no. Specifically, it was a snapshot of them making out at the party.

"With competition like that it's best just to mov—"

Alim didn't get to finish as Marin spit out his entire mouthful of soda onto the phone. Alim cried out, outraged, as the blue liquid coated his device, while Marin coughed profusely, his entire face red for reasons beyond just choking on his drink.