The next day at school, Marinette observed every boy extra carefully. As they were all sitting down, she looked at each one and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Alya noticed her observance.

"Looking for someone?" She asked teasingly.

"No! No I'm just wondering… what if someone in our class is Ladybug or Chat Noir?"

"If they were I would've found out by now, trust me I've done enough research to determine we don't know either of them." Alya was so positive, Marinette had to bite her tongue to keep from giggling.

"Yeah you're right. I bet they're not even teenagers." Marinette said casually. Just then Adrien walked in and waved at the both of them, Marinette blushed and waved back. He sat and turned around to talk to them.

"You guys okay after yesterday? That was some pretty scary stuff being in the same room with a supervillain." He seemed genuinely concerned which Marinette found touching.

"I'm better than okay! That video I got has gotten so many hits on the Ladyblog! I've gotten at least 500 more readers now!" Alya exclaimed ecstatically.

"Congrats!" Marinette and Adrien both said.

"So don't forget the play is still on for tonight, but I doubt you guys will have any problems!" Alya said. Marinette gasped, having forgotten about that. Just then the school day started and they all had to be quiet. Marinette couldn't concentrate though, and kept looking around for her cat. No one seemed to be acting strange at all, making it utterly impossible for Marinette to figure it out. She could ask Adrien who he told, because she knew he told Chat Noir-

Wait a minute! Marinette had an epiphany and had to cover her mouth to keep from screaming. She looked at Adrien and he looked back having heard her gasp, smiled slightly and winked when he saw her expression. She looked on his hand and sure enough there was a silver ring on the same finger Chat always had his Miraculous. All the puzzle pieces fell into place and Marinette couldn't believe she'd been so stupid! He had looked and sounded just like Chat Noir and even disappeared around the same time she had transformed. Even the problems with his father made sense now, she had heard Adrien complain about his father before! She couldn't contain her excitement and waited eagerly for the bell to ring.

Eventually lunchtime came and she immediately looked to Adrien with a smirk and he smiled back, and without words he followed her to a secluded area outside the building. Alya and Nino watched with interest at the wordless exchange. Once hidden, Marinette let out the laughter she'd been holding in and hugged him, and he quickly returned the embrace.

"You damn cat!" She whispered to him.

"Hello m'Lady, thank goodness you figured it out, I was gonna start dropping hints." He said laughing as well.

"We've been so stupid this whole time, not realizing we were sitting only a few feet away from each other." Marinette said grinning, unable to contain her joy at having found her Chat.

"Yeah I felt pretty dumb when you made that comment last night." He was smiling as widely as she was.

"Well we figured it out now. And we're both playing ourselves in the play tonight, how ironic is that?" She said.

"And I get to kiss you again." Adrien said in his Chat Noir voice.

"Who says you don't get to kiss me right now?" Marinette replied flirtily. They both leaned in and kissed, and Marinette knew why Chat had savored that first kiss last night. It felt so amazing once you knew who was on the other side of the mask. Marinette's heart fluttered and the kiss deepened, lasting longer than all their others. Little did the couple know, that as they were kissing, Nino and Alya had been watching out of earshot with interest and giggles.

"Told ya they'd end up together before the play dude!" Nino whispered to her.

"You still technically were wrong since opening night was last night." Alya reminded him, smiling with joy for her best friend.

"But that's only a technicality! I still won!" Nino insisted. Turning away from the corner, Alya turned to him and stood closer.

"I'm pretty sure I won." She whispered, leaning in flirtatiously. The two kissed as well, having been dating secretly for a little while now.

Marinette brought Adrien to the bakery for lunch, and the two had quiches on the terrace which Adrien devoured. Marinette's parents remembered Adrien from the gaming tournament, and gladly distracted him while Marinette took down all her posters of him in her room. They were glad to see Marinette so happy. Since the two were alone, Adrien and Marinette had conversation about their alter egos.

"But seriously, why the cat puns?" Marinette asked.

"Because I'm a cat! Plus cat puns are-"

"Don't say it!" Marinette warned.

"Pawsome!" Adrien said cheekily. Marinette punched him jokingly in the arm.

"But seriously, you never say puns at school. In fact you act like a completely different person as Chat." She commented. "Why is that?"

"Well… my father controls so much of my life that I have to be totally compliant and obedient, that was part of the deal for me going to public school. Being Chat Noir is when I can be truly myself." He said honestly, the mood suddenly gloomy. Marinette felt bad for making him sad, and put her hand on his.

"I'm sorry, it must be awful to have a father that controlling." She said.

"It's fine, it's not your fault. Plus you are the only person who knows exactly who I am so that's cool." He said smiling.

"Yes I get to hear those awful puns all the time, lucky me." She said jokingly, smiling sweetly.

"You wound me with your harsh words m'Lady!" He said, channeling Chat.

"You ridiculous kitty!" She said, kissing him lightly. It all seemed so natural again, and Marinette wondered why. Suddenly they heard a noise from Adrien's bag, and Plagg emerged with a piece of cheese.

"Oh my gosh you two are so cute it makes me wanna vomit!" He said, fake gagging. Marinette stared at the odd creature, having only had experience with kwamis with Tikki. Adrien noticed the confusion.

"This is Plagg, my kwami." He explained. Tikki decided to emerge at that moment, a cookie in her hand.

"And this is Tikki, my kwami." Marinette said in way of introduction.

"Hi Adrien, hi Plagg." Tikki's voice became visibly more strained when she said hi to Plagg, obviously annoyed by the messy tiny cat creature.

"Oh hey Tikki! Haven't seen you in like a decade!"

"Two decades actually, thank goodness." Tikki replied, muttering the last part.

"Who were we with then? Mae and Damien right?" Plagg asked. "Oh they were a funny story, you two think you had it interesting? Well they were actually ex-boyfriend and girlfriend! And they fell in love as most Ladybug and Chat Noir's do, and it was so awkward when they found out each other's identity!" Plagg said. The couple just laughed at the silly creatures and went back to kissing.

Marinette stood behind the curtain, breathing heavily with nervousness, waiting to go on the stage. She gulped and felt someone take her hand, and smiled at Adrien when she saw it was him.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you an original work of our drama club… The Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir!" The announcer declared, sending the crowd into a frenzy of cheers. The curtain rose revealing Ladybug and Chat Noir, who smirked at one another and played their roles perfectly. They acted beautifully, defeating Chloe the 'akuma' all while stealing knowing glances at one another. Then the time came to de-evilize the fake butterfly. Catching it with her yo-yo, Marinette said the all too familiar words.

"Bye-bye little butterfly." She waved goodbye at the 'butterfly' and turned back to Adrien. "I thought I'd lost you back there."

"You'll never lose me, I'm never leaving you my Lady."

"I don't know what I'd do without you…"

"And I don't know what I'd do without you…" They leaned in and exchanged another knowing look, both smirking at the irony of the situation, and kissed to a standing ovation.