Hey!

Wow, it took me a while to write this one. I have been uber busy with work, theatre and face painting. Yes! I've gotten back into theatre and it's great! We've had a show on the last two weeks, and even though I'm only doing props and the curtains this time around, it's still been pretty full out.

Thankfully during the show I don't have to do too much until the scene changes. So I've spent the scenes writing fics in my notebooks. Still, I didn't have this one handy and it has been SO close to finishing for two weeks! But now it's finally done! And it is so full of fluff!

And no, this isn't the last chapter. This is one of the longer fics I have planned. Yay! A long fic! Maybe I won't just be a One Shot Wonder for this fandom.

Anyway, enjoy!

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In the Dark

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A bright pink light assaulted Chat Noir's eyes in the dark of the closet and instantly he slammed them closed. For a split second he thought he had glimpsed the figure of a familiar girl in familiar clothes, with a familiar bag sitting at her hip. It was all so familiar, but he hadn't gotten enough of a look to be sure he knew her. And he wasn't going to.

No matter who she was under the mask, this was his Lady, and he wasn't going to break her trust. She didn't want to know each other's identity, and though he didn't like it, he respected her decision. He wasn't going to look, no matter how much his curiosity begged him. No matter how he wanted to look because he was sure he knew that bag! He just had to look at it a moment longer...

No! No, he wasn't going to look, he was going to keep his eyes closed or his back turned. He was not going to look at her.

He almost broke that vow right away when a small gasp broke the silence between them. But he forced his eyes to stay closed.

"Tikki?" she questioned. "Tikki?!" Her voice was a strange mix of Ladybug's and someone else's. With the cloaking magic in their suits no longer active, it was a little strange. Because that was Ladybug's voice, it was always Ladybug's voice, just the way he heard it almost every night. But it was also the voice of someone else... someone familiar. His fists tightened as he realised that he probably knew her. "Tikki, where are you?!"

The panic in her voice snapped him out of his thoughts as another realisation dawned on him. She couldn't see. It was probably pitch black in here. Despite the fact that he had his eyes closed, he would easily be able to see everything except colours if he did open them. But Ladybug didn't have night vision, not as Ladybug and certainly not as herself.

"I'm right here, M – Ladybug!" The new voice was small and sweet, though incredibly tired. He could almost picture the owner of it being as adorable as she sounded. It must be her Kwami.

"H-hold on a moment, I'll get you a cookie." He heard her shuffling around, opening her bag and grabbing something. As she was doing this, he blindly turned to the door, turned his staff sideways and extended it so it barred the door. It wouldn't really stop Rogercop if he tried to get in, but it would give them time. "You're on my shoulder, right?" Ladybug said to her Kwami. "H-have you got it? I don't want to knock you off."

"Um... hold on... Oh! I felt it. Yep, I've got it now." Ladybug let out a sigh of relief.

"I forgot that neither of you could see in the dark," he commented quietly. She made a strange strangled noise at that, somewhere between a squeak and a cringe. He could practically feel her tense up, even though he wasn't near enough to touch her. He was confused about what had made her act like that for a moment before it clicked Oh no! She thought he could see her! "O-oh, don't worry, my Lady. My eyes are closed. I haven't peeked, I promise."

"Y-you haven't?" she whispered timidly.

He shook his head before remembering she couldn't see it. "Nope. You don't want to know each others identities yet. I'm not going to break your trust on that, no matter how tempting it is."

She was silent a moment, then he felt her move forward. A hand reached out towards him and he felt it gently brush up from his chest where it landed, until she found his cheek. Then she leaned in and pressed a small kiss to his cheek. This close her smell was intoxicating. She smelled like fresh baking. He'd noticed that about her last time, but had put it down to the fact that they were in a bakery. But no, the sweet smell was coming from her. He breathed out a sigh, feeling himself start to tremble. Ladybug had just kissed his cheek, and her heavenly scent filled the small space so much it was hard for him to concentrate.

"Thank you," she murmured quietly. "That - that really means a lot. Thank you, Kitty,"

"A-anytime," he replied breathlessly.

"Wh-what happened though? I don't remember anything after we got here. Did Puppeteer get a hold of me? Are you okay? Did she get your doll too? Why did my transformation run out?"

"Slow down," he told her, placing his hands on her shoulders. An indignant squeak had him retracting one hand as he felt it come down on a small figure. "Oops! Sorry, Tikki! Ah... You don't have to worry, Ladybug. Most of it is under control. She managed to turn you into one of her puppet people. You weren't easy to fight, even if you all were controlled by a four year old."

"Six," she corrected, probably with a roll of her eyes.

"Right, anyway, so I managed to destroy Evillustrator and Rogercop's weapons and free you and Alya, but not before she made you use Lucky Charm. Those two won't be much trouble anymore and Puppeteer is just out there without her minions or dolls. As soon as you're ready we can end all of this and free that poor child. Seriously, what kind of bastard Akumatizes a child?!"

"What kind of person Akumatizes anyone? But I do have to say, Evilizing Manon was low. Hold on... if you destroyed their weapons then why haven't you changed back yet?"

"I didn't use Cataclysm," he said simply. "Just my own two claws and maybe a cable or two. Little ball of destruction here." The cheek and pride in his voice was undeniable, and she snorted in response.

"Pfft, nice. So, Alya's okay?"

"Last I saw her, you had a minute left on your earrings and she was herself, running away from Evillustrator and Rogercop... But she'll be fine. Puppeteer's probably called them back to help get us now. And apparently she's been taking self defence classes because her best friend worries about her. She dealt with them before I even could. She's pretty good."

"Don't you go getting a crush on her, now," she teased. "I know you and your tough girls."

"Nah," he chucked. "You know my heart belongs to you, my Lady." He would have wagged his eyebrows if he could have. "Besides, I couldn't steal her away from Nino."

He felt her tense again... Did... did she know Nino?

"Nino? Is – is that her boyfriend?" she asked carefully.

He shrugged. "Who knows with those two."

There was silence for a while, but slowly he felt the tension leave the air. "So, how did you free us anyway?"

"Ah..." He rubbed at the back of his head awkwardly. "I kind of... ripped the dolls to pieces."

"What?!"

"I know, I know!" he cried. "I feel horrible about it, but it was the only thing I could think to do. I had the four of you hunting me down trying to get a hold of the Chat Noir doll, and if they got that it was game over. And I thought... well, if there wasn't a doll then they couldn't use it. I kinda just took a guess that destroying the dolls would break the spell. I was really worried that it would hurt you instead like voodoo or something, but it was my only chance." He sighed. "I feel really bad about it. Marinette must have worked so hard on those... I mean, I know that your Miraculous Cure will probably fix them, but still..."

"I'm sure Marinette will be fine," Tikki pipped up. "Like you said, they should be fixed by the cure. But even then, I'm sure she would understand why you did it."

He felt a smile tug at his lips. "Thanks, Tikki. I know I'm just being silly. Of course she would understand. She's pretty great like that. Sweetest person I know. Maybe I should drop her off a gift to say sorry anyway though..."

He was so deep in his pondering that he didn't hear the small gasp that escaped his partner. Nor did he have time to as a loud thump came from the door. They both jumped in surprise before something crashed against the door again and Chat rushed to brace it.

"How are you going there, Tikki?" Ladybug asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

"I'm sorry, I'm almost done!" she squeaked around a mouthful.

"I guess she doesn't down a whole cookie like Plagg does cheese," he said wryly.

"Plagg's a glutton," Tikki shot back.

"Tikki, I have seen you inhale three cookies at once! Which is seriously impressive considering how tiny she is."

Chat's laugh was cut off as there was another crash at his back. "Okay, I don't mean to rush you, but sometime soon would be really good. This will only hold him off for so long."

"I thought you said they wouldn't be anymore trouble!" Ladybug worried.

"Well, it's not exactly like they can do much without their weapons," he countered. "I mean, once we go out there, this fight is in the bag. But Rogercop is still strong enough to break down this door and you're not transformed yet!"

"Okay, fair point."

There was another smash against the door and Chat heard parts of the door start to splinter. Considering the circumstances, it was a sound that was quite sickening. They needed to hurry.

"Ah, Ladybug!" he said urgently.

"I know, I know!" said shot back, her voice sounding frantic. "Tikki?"

"Nearly done! I'm sorry! I need to eat slower when I'm recharging or I don't gain any energy back! Is there somewhere we could hide?"

"I don't know," he told them. "I'd have to actually open my eyes to look for one. Speaking of, I don't know how much longer I can keep them closed with this guy pummelling the door into my back!" There was another crash and this time the splintering of the door was audible to even Ladybug and Tikki. He felt the door nudge open slightly, and he was jolted forward. Thankfully the door hit his staff and didn't open more than a fraction. He turned around, finally opening his eyes so he could see the damage. The wood around the lock was completely shredded up and broken where it had all but been torn out by the force of the impact. The door was open by a few inches, light spilling into the small cupboard. Ladybug would probably be able to see now.

Suddenly a blue, metal covered hand slammed into the door jamb, gripping onto the side of it as he tried to pry it open.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir. Come out, come out and give me your Miraculous~. Hide and Seek is over. I found you~!" The taunting child's words sounded incredibly odd coming from the deep robotic voice of Rogercop.

"T-Tikki!" Ladybug squeaked.

"Ready!" Tikki cried and instant later.

No sooner had she said this, Ladybug was ready with her call. "Spots on!"

Even though he wasn't looking, he could still see the bright pink light that filled the room. It took all his willpower not to turn around and watch what he knew would be a breath-taking transformation. Right as the light faded, he saw Rogercop's hand slip away and his eyes widened. He was going to ram the door again. In a split second, he was turning and grabbing Ladybug by the wrist, dragging her against the wall with him. She squeaked in protest, but he ignored it. Through the crack in the door he could see Rogercop backed up and starting to charge. He quickly grabbed his staff and shrunk it back down to a baton. He snatched it away from the door and made sure to hold Ladybug back against the wall so she wouldn't get hurt.

The moment his arm was clear, the huge form of Rogercop came barrelling through the door with a crash. The door smacked loudly against the other wall and Rogercop charged right past them, going so fast that he crashed into the end of the cupboard, his head stuck through the wall. Still holding Ladybug's wrist, he dashed out of the cupboard, taking her with him. Evillustrator was waiting for them, his stance low and his arms spread out slightly as if he was waiting to pounce on them… It really didn't take much for Chat to extend his baton again and sweep his feet out from under him. Evillustrator went down with a yelp and an 'oof' when he hit the ground. Chat was prepared to attack again as soon as Evillustrator got up... but he didn't. He stayed down.

"Right, now to find Puppeteer," he said. He turned to look at Ladybug, only to find her staring at him in awe. But catching him looking at her, she quickly schooled her features into her usual confident smirk.

"Quite impressive, Kitty," she told him. "Looks like you can do pretty well without me."

"I'd never do this without you. Not if I can help it." His voice was firm, but he knew that there was a fondness burning in his eyes. Ladybug certainly noticed and it seemed to give her pause, she looked a little shaken by the statement and he floundered to cover up his

intentions. "I mean, I can't exactly purify Akuma like you can. I'd be doomed on my own."

"Y-yeah, that's true. Right… Puppeteeter," she stuttered. "Where would she be?"

Chat looked around. "She was in here before… Well, we're still here, so she can't be far."

"When did you get so smart?" she chuckled.

"How do you know I haven't always been this smart? Maybe I just play a little dumb." He winked at her, heading out of the room.

Ladybug's brow furrowed in confusion. "Why would you do that?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm kind of expected to be the best at everything, including academics, at home. It's nice to just relax a little when I'm Chat. Besides, being the brains is your thing." He turned back and opened the door. Though his tone was light, it certainly gave the impression that the discussion was over.

Ladybug chewed on her lip, trying and failing not to mull over the very personal information she had found out about her partner. If he was expected to be the best at everything… did that mean he had a very strict upbringing? Was he different when he wasn't suited up? Did her playful kitten act as exuberant as he did because he couldn't act like that normally? If he did, then that certainly put everything about him in a new light…

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. That was his personal life. Something she had decided not to get involved in. She couldn't, not if she wanted to keep their identities secret. She was already on the edge of breaking that promise without knowing more about him than she needed to.

"Hey, you okay?" His voice snapped her out of her revere and she saw him looking back at her in concern.

"Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's go before Evillustrator and Rogercop decide to get off their butts and come get us."

Chat chuckled at that, then paused a moment, a look of concentration on his face and his ears twitching slightly. "That way," he said matter of fact, pointing off down the hall. "She was talking to Hawkmoth about a new plan of attack. I don't think they're getting very far."

"Sounds like you exhausted all her options," Ladybug smirked, following him as he headed off in the direction he pointed in a jog.

"Fingers crossed. So, you got a plan for this?"

"Not really," she shrugged, "Manon's just a child. I'm really hoping it will be as easy as going in, grabbing the tainted item and breaking it."

"Right, and the Akuma would be in… her… wand? I don't know. That's the only thing I could see on her."

"That's it!" she cried, stopping a moment before charging forward with more vigour. "Her wand! Manon had it in her bag today!" She looked over to Chat and found that he had stopped, staring at her in surprise. "What?" she asked. Then she realised what she'd said. She'd pretty much told him that she knew Manon out of her suit. "Oh! I- I um..."

"I didn't hear anything," he told her with an easy smile, catching back up with her.

"Liar."

"Okay, so I totally heard." His smile became a full, cheeky grin. "But I didn't hear anything if you didn't want me to."

"You're a dork!" she snorted. "…Thanks."

"You ready?" he asked as they came towards a door, choosing to let the previous conversation drop. "We don't have long. Evillustrator and Rogercop are running after us. We've got a minute at best."

"Right. This should be a piece of cake anyway."

"Ready?"

She nodded. "One..."

"Two..."

"Three!" they both hissed together, charging at the door and forcing it open.

A quick second check around the room showed that it was empty, aside from Puppeteer, her back turned to them as she shouted orders at her two remaining puppets. Her wand was held high in the air, and she didn't initially notice them charge in. In the split second it took for her to turn around and look at them in surprise, Ladybug's yoyo had shot out and snagged the wand, pulling it from the child's grasp.

In one swift motion, Ladybug caught the wand and snapped it over her knee. The black butterfly fluttered out and she caught it, happily wishing it goodbye after she purified it. Then she looked about almost in confusion. It felt like something was... missing?

Then her eyes landed on Chat, who stood with his open hand out towards her. Not ready for their fist-bump, but offering her something. Looking closer, she saw that there was a small item in his hand. A tiny cylindrical item that was red with black spots... It was a laser pointer.

"What's this?" she asked him.

"Your Lucky Charm," he replied, a faint blush appearing just below the edge of his mask. "I nabbed it off the floor in the other room. I thought you might need it."

"You're amazing, you know that, right?" she said, taking it from him.

He just shrugged in reply, not seeming to agree or disagree with her statement. For a moment she wanted to grab him and really reassure him that 'yes, he really was amazing' and 'yes, she really cared for him and he meant the world to her'. But she thought better of it, and with a small shake of her head, she threw the Lucky Charm into the air, shouting her call.

Instantly, an army of little magical ladybugs swarmed through the building sweeping past anything that was damaged and fixing it back to normal. A small pile of five hand stitched dolls appeared nearby, all whole and perfect. Not a scratch, tear or mark on them. Chat sighed in relief.

They both watched with smiles on their faces as black magic bubbled off Manon and she was returned to normal.

"Good job!" they said, fist-bumping. Of course, this got Manon's attention and her eyes lit up.

"Ahh! Ladybug! Chat Noir!" She ran up and hugged Ladybug's leg. "You guys are so cool! You always win and defeat the bad guys. And my babysitter makes really pretty dolls of you! And I really want them!"

Ladybug laughed. "I could imagine. Though, maybe you should ask your mother if you're allowed them first. I'm sure Marinette would make you some if your mum let you."

Manon's eyes grew wide. "She will?! Please, Ladybug! You have to get her to make me them! You're her best friend! She'll listen to you!"

"Best friend?" Chat asked, his tone teasing as he raised an eyebrow. Ladybug just gave him an annoyed squint as she picked the little girl up.

"Yeah! When me and the unicorn girl, Alya got stuck on the carousel! Marinette told Ladybug about us, because they're best friends!"

"I see," he said, smiling brightly at the child.

"Well then, it looks like we have a friend in common, my Lady," he said, not looking at her as he booped the grinning child on the nose. "Marinette is a good friend of mine too," he told her. "Isn't she lucky to have two superhero friends?"

"Yeah! I wish I has superhero friends too!"

Chat pouted. "Aww, what do you mean wish? I thought I was your friend!"

Manon giggled, covering her face with her hands as she giggled in delight. "I'm friends with Chat Noir!" she declared in a whisper to Ladybug as they started off back to the lobby where Nadia was probably waiting anxiously for her daughter.

"Of course you are," Ladybug told her. "And Chat is a wonderful friend. And guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm your friend too," she said, pressing their noses together, making the girl squeal with happiness.

As they made their way back to the lobby, they continued to chat playfully. Chat carried three of the dolls in his arms, having given the Ladybug and Chat Noir dolls to Manon to carry till they got there.

When they did, she wriggled her way out of Ladybug's arms and dropped the dolls. Ladybug picked them up again with a fond roll of her eyes.

"Mama!" she cried. "Guess what? Guess what?!"

"Wh-what?" Nadia stuttered, sweeping Manon up into her arms. She honestly just looked relieved that her daughter was alright.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir are my friends now!"

"Are they?"

"Mmhm," the little girl hummed, nodding vigorously.

Hugging her daughter tight, Nadia looked over Manon's shoulder at Ladybug and Chat Noir and mouthed a thank you at them. The two heroes nodded, and then bounded off out the door, waving to Manon as they went. It wasn't long till they were a block away on top of a roof.

"Here, I'll take those," Ladybug said reaching her hand out for Chat to give her the dolls. "I'll drop them back to Marinette's."

"But I-" Chat looked down at the dolls, seeming torn. Then he sighed, holding them out to her. "Okay." She was about to ask if he was okay when a bright smile spread across his face. "I have something to do anyway. See you later, Ladybug!" And with that, he dashed off before she could say or do anything else.

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Later that night, Marinette was startled by the sound of tapping from her roof. She looked up to her sky light in time to see cheeky green eyes disappear and a black figure slink back into the shadows. She raced up the ladder, trying to get to her roof in time to catch him, but she was too late. Chat was nowhere to be found. What she did see, however, was a rather large box on the ground. It was wrapped in black paper with a bright green bow.

He had done it. He had actually gone and gotten her an apology gift for something that didn't even matter anymore.

She smiled and shook her head as she looked at the note attached. When she spoke, her voice was soft and fond.

"Idiot."