Adrien Agreste has had it up to his eyeballs with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He wants to catapult her across Paris, serenade her on piano, and kiss her so hard that neither of them can breathe.

At first, his wild, racing brain seems completely unreasonable until he lands on the third thought. Because firstly, Marinette is wonderful and sweet and gentle and he's been so oblivious to her feelings all this time and now he can't even take his eyes off of her. Secondly, he's been wildly in love with her since the first time they met and he doesn't mean the time where she saw him trying to remove gum from her seat.

He's talking about crashing into each other headlong at full speed and subsequently becoming tied up in her yo-yo. Because Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug and he's not sure how he has missed it for so long.

His pencil makes an angry streak across his chemistry assignment and Nino gives him a curious glance. He's been out of it all day, and very clearly, but Marinette is sitting right behind him looking exhausted and adorable. He feels about as good as she looks, but the intensity in his mind is keeping him wide awake.

Adrien dutifully erases the line across his page and returns to solving the tough question he had zoned out on. He tries to get back in the zone, but it's hard because his mind is wandering like crazy and Ladybug is still sitting right behind him. Adrien loudly and unashamedly drops his head to the table, drawing several startled looks.

Nino leans over to poke him, but Chloé cuts him off. "Leave him. He gets like this occasionally."

"I know," Nino replies because he is Adrien's best friend and knows him better than almost anyone. "Usually not during school, though."

Chloé's pocket mirror audibly clicks shut. "He had a shoot this morning and is probably just tired."

He knows Nino wants to disagree with Chloé, but he doesn't and Adrien is grateful for his childhood friend. She understands his panic because he dealt with a similar panic attack last night. Queen Bee had been far less graceful than she anticipated, but Chat Noir had found it hilarious. Until that is, his own confusion started clearing up and he went crazy himself.

Between Gabriel and Andre's insistent upper-class events, and the amount of trouble their fathers went through to try and keep them away from akuma attacks, it was only a matter of time before Queen Bee and Chat Noir had picked the same closet to transform. Adrien had found it funny. Chloé had not.

Adrien hadn't really been surprised by Chloé's secret identity. After all, she had a distinct personality and it was pretty easy to tie the controlling Queen Bee to the perfection-obsessed Chloé Bourgeois. She had also readily admitted that she had her suspicions about Adrien, but she just hadn't been able to complete the puzzle. Knowing each other's identities made slipping away easier, as Chloé was a master of excuses and Adrien's usually fell flat on their faces.

Queen Bee had predicted that Vixen would slip up next and give something away. Neither of them had been expecting Marinette and Ladybug to both be sporting a new haircut on the same day, or the fact that Marinette showed up to school the next day with a poorly-covered black eye in just the right place for it to have been a coincidence.

Adrien probably wouldn't have realised it if Chloé hadn't viciously dragged him into an empty room and practically screamed the truth to his face. The following events had led to Chloé transforming and flying away from the school with Chat Noir hot on her heels. Then they'd both sworn obscenities off the top of a rooftop and Chloé had done a whole lot more ranting.

"Does anyone understand number seven?" Alix asks, her voice heavy with frustration. Adrien raises his hand without lifting his head. There's shuffle of feet and he finally looks up.

Alix and Kim are both standing over his desk, looking at him expectantly. Adrien spins his half-finished homework towards them, showing them his solution. Alix reads his answer with a furrowed brow, but she nods as she sees his final answer. Kim looks confused still, but he leaves with Alix, pestering her about something or other and she smacks him on the shoulder to get him to shut up.

Adrien tries to get back to doing question twelve, the god awful question from hell, when there's a timid tap on his shoulder. He turns around so quickly that he nearly gets whiplash and the adorable surprised look on Marinette's face is worth it. Her hand is still extended and her reflexes are obviously slowed, but she snaps back quickly.

"Could you explain number nine to me?" she asks, her voice soft and gentle.

Adrien wants to shove the chemistry books away and lean across the desks and kiss her. But the eyes of the teacher and Marinette's best friend are both on him and he's not quite sure who is scarier. He brings his paper up to Marinette's desk and runs through the offending question slowly and Marinette nods as he goes along.

A lock of her newly chopped hair slides from behind her ear and she tucks it back quickly, but Adrien has already lost his focus because she's blinking her big blue eyes at him and she's so cute. Something sharp pricks his ankle and he flinches. He knows Plagg bit him and he's mad, but he did need the encouragement. Adrien finishes the question with Marinette before spinning around again and dropping straight to the desk.

From behind him, he hears Alya talking to Marinette. "Did you kill him, girl?"

"I just asked for help on a question," Marinette answers, sounding bewildered. It's cute. Adrien swears into the wood of the desk, not loud enough for anyone else to hear.

"He's distracted and tired," Nino offers, echoing Chloé's words, though even he doesn't sound convinced.

When the bell goes for lunch, Adrien shoots out of his seat, grabbing his bag strap, and practically flees from the classroom. Chloé follows him persistently, cornering him before he can disappear outside. Her fingers wrap around his arm tightly and she drags him in the opposite direction of the door.

"If I'm dealing with this today, you are too," she hisses. "At least I'm not acting like I've been bitten by a poisonous snake named Marinette."

"You're better at acting," Adrien whines in reply, straining against her grip. She doesn't relent.

Queen Bee is strong and Adrien really doesn't want to actually get in a fight with Chloé. "You're the model," she points out. "How you've gone so long without the entirety of Paris knowing your secret is a complete mystery to me."

Chloé drags him back to the area where most of their class eats lunch and pointedly drops him into the seat next to Nino and sits on his other side, sealing off his escape. Marinette is across from him, talking with Rose and Alya about something that has her hands waving wildly in a gesture that Adrien recognises from Ladybug when she's running on a lot of adrenaline.

He hates how he still sees them as two people because Marinette is Ladybug, and every gesture they have belongs to both of them. It still feels like too much to handle so soon, but every time he even twitches in the direction away from the table, Chloé's hand is on his arm in warning.

Adrien suffers through lunch but does entirely too much staring.

It's not Chloé, but Alya who drags him into a storage closet after the last bell of the day goes. She adjusts her glasses and crosses her arms over her chest. Adrien is suddenly very, very afraid. Alya is Nino's girlfriend and Marinette's best friend and they're friends too and he knows exactly how fiery she is.

"If you hurt her, you deal with me," Alya says.

Adrien blinks. "Who?" He plays off his panic as confusion, but his mind and heart are racing in time.

"I saw you staring at her all day today. My girl looks adorable in her new haircut, and it's about time you realised that fact."

Adrien lifts his hands up quickly, trying to lie his way out. "Alya, I wasn't staring at Marinette for that reason!"

"But you were staring."

"It's more of observing," he argues. "She just looks different with the short hair. I'm not used to it. Plus she's not doing a very good job of hiding her black eye."

Alya's eyes narrow. "You're lying, but let's assume you have a good reason for doing so. Anyways, you'll treat her right or face my fists, Agreste."

Adrien blinks at the blogger as she slides out of the closet, her threat left hanging in the air between them. As soon as she's gone, Adrien kicks a janitor's bucket and sends it rolling into the wall. He lets off a string of curses in a mix of French, Mandarin, and English.

The door opens seconds later and Nino's peering in at him in the dark closet from the brightly lit hallway. "Any reason my girlfriend dragged you into a closet?"

Adrien runs a hand through his hair, mustering his most convincing smile. "None that she mentioned."

Nino shrugs and opens the door wider. They're all well accustomed to Alya's strange habits. Adrien steps out and his gaze immediately finds Marinette standing nearby, talking with Chloé and Sabrina. Chloé spots him and Adrien instantly hates the gleam that appears in her eyes.

"Adrien! Just who I was looking for!" Chloé strides over to him, taking him by the arm for the umpteenth time and drags him back towards Marinette.

Red flags raise and sirens start going off in his head as Adrien has a full brain meltdown. Marinette is smiling at him and he can't even bring himself to get a simple greeting off his tongue. He's staring at her again, blatantly, and Chloé jerks on his arm to get his attention.

"I was just saying that the chemistry term project is coming up, and I hear it's a partner project. I'm obviously going to work with Sabrina, but maybe you two," she looks pointedly from Marinette to Adrien, "should work together."

Adrien gets a fire extinguisher. He smothers the flaming control panels in his brain and flashes the best smile he can muster. "Sorry, Mari, Chlo, but I already promised Nino that we'd work together." Before anyone, especially his extra-confused best friend standing nearby, can argue, Adrien makes his escape.

He grabs Nino's arm as he basically runs away and he feels the burning glare from Chloé on his back as Marinette and Sabrina politely call their farewells. Adrien doesn't stop dragging Nino until they're on the front steps of the school. His shoulders hunch and he takes a deep breath, finally straightening his posture.

"Dude, I mean I'd like to work on the project with you, but you hadn't promised me or anything. Why'd you say no to Mari?" Nino asks.

Adrien shrugs. "I don't know. I guess I just wanted another excuse to be able to steal you from Alya. We haven't hung out enough recently."

Nino laughs. "Well, that's mostly your fault."

"I'm not saying it isn't," Adrien agrees. He's thankful for Nino's nature of not being untrusting or super nosy.

Patrol is painful. Queen Bee gleefully takes Vixen and claims the east half of Paris, awkwardly leaving Adrien with Marinette and the west half of the city. Of course, she's not Marinette right now, she's Ladybug, but they're the same person and Adrien is trying really hard to unsee it, but it just isn't happening.

They get as far as the Eiffel Tower before Ladybug stops and wraps her yo-yo around his wrist. He freezes and turns to face her. Ladybug doesn't look too concerned, just a little confused. Behind her red mask, Marinette's blue eyes glitter curiously. Adrien nearly throws himself off the tower.

"Chat, what's wrong? You've been acting weird all patrol."

He lets out a sigh and clips his baton back to his belt. "I'm just, dealing with some stuff."

Ladybug steps closer to him before taking his hand. She sits down on the edge of the tower and pulls him down after her. Their legs brush together and Adrien feels like he's on fire. "We've got time, if you want to talk about it," she offers.

He laughs and pulls away from her gentle touch. "Unfortunately, I don't think you can help me with this, My Lady."

She frowns. "Now I know something is really wrong. Did I do something, chaton?"

"No," he assures because she didn't. She's just been being Marinette and Ladybug and he's finally seeing all of her.

It's overwhelming because Ladybug is so beautiful, but in his mind, she had achieved near god-status. For her to be Marinette, to be so close, it seems unreal. Especially since Adrien had only recently discovered Marinette's crush the size of Jupiter. He'd felt stupid for not seeing it, but Marinette had taken everything in stride, treating him no different than usual.

"You do trust me though, don't you?" she asks softly. She touches his arm again and he doesn't run away this time.

"With my life," he promises. "This is just something in my real life I'm working on."

She nods slowly. "Okay." She leans her head on his shoulder and his arm finds its way around her shoulder.

Lately, their patrols have lost almost all efficiency, especially since Queen Bee and Vixen proved themselves more than capable. Usually, they picked a spot above the city with a good vantage point and just talked. Adrien likes talking to Ladybug. He also likes talking to Marinette but now there's so much he can only say to one side of her and he's not sure what counts as acceptable in this situation.

"Don't shut me out, Chat," she says after a moment.

Adrien's arm tightens on his shoulder. He may not be used to this whole Marinette-Ladybug thing yet, but he's not losing her now. "Never."

It's the middle of their English midterm when Adrien's akuma senses start tingling. His senses had started as a joke between him and Nino when he correctly predicted the arrival of several akuma. Adrien knows it's just his instincts and the leftover energy from his transformations that makes his senses far more alert and puts him on edge.

He shoves his paper forward and barely has time to yell for his classmates to get down before the window closest to the teacher's desk shatters. His classmates drop, some screaming in surprise. Adrien twists his ring and curses under his breath. He glances around quickly to make sure that everyone has hit the floor, they have, before Chloé catches his eye.

She looks a little worried and Adrien knows they need to find out what kind of akuma they're dealing with. Screams from down below drift through the open window and he flinches. Adrien pokes his head above his desk and checks the surroundings for safety. As he stands, the ground shakes violently and he tumbles backwards, landing right beside Marinette where she is huddled under her desk.

Her hand fists in his t-shirt and pulls him under the cover next to her. They are pressed together for precious seconds and Adrien can hear both of their hearts pounding furiously. Her hand stays pressed into his back and his eyes lock with hers. Tension crackles between them, but they stay perfectly quiet.

When no other tremors pass in a couple seconds, they start to get to their feet, slowly and cautiously. Chloé catches Adrien's eye and he waves her forth. She grabs Sabrina's arm and pulls her towards the door.

"Get out of here," Adrien encourages his classmates. Rose and Juleka follow Chloé quickly and Max, Kim, and Alix go next.

Ivan leads Mylene out and then the classroom is nearly empty. Marinette has disappeared from his side and Adrien wonders if she's slipped out to transform, but then he sees her crouched over their English teacher. Madame Bustier is lying on the floor and she appears motionless. Adrien feels sick.

He hurries to Marinette's side and watches her gently cushion their teacher's head with her arm, putting her in the rescue position. Marinette looks up at Adrien and he's relieved by the lack of fear in her expression.

"She's alright, just unconscious. She might have hit her head on something when the window broke but she wasn't cut by any of the broken glass," Marinette explained.

"We have to go," Alya says urgently.

Adrien's head snaps in her direction. Alya and Nino are standing at the door to the classroom. He had thought they left with the rest of the class, but then he realises that Alya would never leave Marinette alone unless she had too. It was the same for Nino and him. While he admired their loyalty, they needed to get to safety so Marinette and he could transform.

"Right," Marinette agrees.

She takes two steps towards him before another window explodes and the building shakes violently again. Nino and Alya tumble out of the classroom and Marinette and Adrien fall forwards. Adrien grabs Marinette around the waist and crawls quickly under the nearest desk and waits tensely. Alya and Nino hide on either side of the doorway, and Adrien hears the breathing of another person.

A thud on the desk over their heads has Marinette flinching, and Adrien's arms tense around her. The akuma is in their classroom.

"Shame," an unknown female voice sneers. "I could have sworn there were still students in here."

Marinette shakily points out Madame Bustier to Adrien. He sees her, mostly hidden by her own desk, and Adrien prays that the akuma doesn't find their teacher, their friends, or them. Adrien notices that his bag, across the aisle, is twitching and he knows that Plagg is awake. He's too far away from Adrien for him to transform, but he has no idea if Marinette has her kwami close enough.

"Hey!" a shout calls, snagging the attention of the akuma. Adrien recognises it as Queen Bee and relaxes. Thank god for Chloé. "Looking for someone?"

There's a snarl and the akuma's feet spring off of the desk. The last window breaks open and Adrien knows that Chloé has bought them precious time. He hopes Alya will hurry so that Vixen is with Queen Bee so she's not fighting alone, but he has to get Marinette to the fight. Adrien crawls out from under the desk, pulling Marinette along by the hand.

The entrance to the classroom is mostly destroyed, but there is no longer any sign of Alya or Nino and Adrien hopes they're safe. Still, there's no way out for civilian Marinette and Adrien so one or both of them will need to be transformed.

Marinette is standing at the empty frame of the window, staring outside as Queen Bee clashes with the akuma. A couple seconds pass before Vixen arrives, throwing herself into the fight. Even if they defeat the akuma, Ladybug has to purify it and right now, Marinette is stuck with Adrien. He knows she won't transform in front of him.

"Mari," he calls. She turns to look at him. He reads fear and uncertainty in her expression and he smiles. "You need to go help them."

She stares. "What did you just say?"

"Transform," Adrien insists. Marinette gapes at him. She looks like she's about to deny it, but he holds up his hand instead. "I already know. Now go, they need you."

She looks conflicted for only a moment longer before she calls her transformation. In a flash of pink, Marinette is gone and Ladybug is in her place. Somehow, seeing her transform makes everything so much more real and Adrien's heart races.

Ladybug readies her yo-yo, but glances back at him. "Adrien, stay safe."

He nods and Ladybug zips away to save the day. He waits a minute after she leaves before calling his own transformation and leaping into battle.

Someone taps on his window and Adrien's head jerks away from his computer. Ladybug is perched precariously on the sill outside and she's frowning through the glass at him. Adrien jolts up and crosses his room in five steps. He pushes the glass aside and Ladybug slides into his room.

She stands on the carpet, looking everywhere but at him, for almost a minute. Adrien clears his throat and she finally looks at him. Ladybug says nothing, and Adrien knows she's searching for the right words, but he beats her to the punch.

"I'm guessing this is about yesterday," he offers as an opener.

This snaps Ladybug out of her stupor, and she lets out a breathy sigh. "Adrien, how did you find out?"

His lips curl into a half-smile. "Lots of little cues, but I think the new hairstyle was the icing on the cake." Ladybug touches her short hair self-consciously. "I mean," he continues, "it was pretty easy once I had the major clue. You're not very good at covering black eyes, Mari."

"You haven't told anyone?"

"Of course not," he promises.

"You have to promise me that you won't tell a soul about this," she urges.

Adrien laughs. "Mari, I promise I won't tell anyone. Besides, I'm impressed. You're Ladybug. That's pretty damn cool."

She smiles a little. "It's not an easy job," she replies evenly.

Adrien knows exactly what she's talking about. It's tiring all the time, it's physically straining, and an emotional roller coaster too. Still, he wouldn't trade that kind of freedom for anything. He is Chat Noir just as much as Marinette is Ladybug.

"Does anyone else know?" she asks him after a second.

Adrien considers hiding Chloé's knowledge, but the vulnerable look in Marinette's eyes won't let him. "Chloé does," he admits. "And," he continues, "it probably won't be long before Alya can figure it out."

Marinette panics. "Chloé? How does Chloé know?" Her voice rises in pitch and Adrien steps towards her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Mar, it's okay."

"No it's not!" she says, pulling away. "Chloé will ruin me. And if Alya finds out, I am so dead meat."

"Marinette!" Adrien practically yells. She quiets and looks at him. He laughs a little. "It's okay," he promises. "If anything, we're the three people you'd want to know about this."

"No one should know," Ladybug fires back.

Adrien steps away, raising his hands in surrender. "We're your friends."

"It's my identity we're talking about!"

"No one will say anything, I promise."

Ladybug starts pacing the length of the room, her yo-yo swinging from one hand. "Adrien, I'm already screwed. I'm Ladybug and I'm Marinette and if someone else finds out, god forbid if Hawk Moth finds out, then this is all going to go to hell! I promised Chat Noir that we'd never let a civilian find out about our identities. I can't tell him about any of this!"

Adrien snaps. He can't help it.

"Maybe it's time we stopped keeping secrets between us!"

Ladybug freezes. She spins to face him, her whole body tense. She tries to say something, but the words die on her tongue and Adrien watches the shock reel through her eyes. Her chest heaves in surprise and she stares at him.

He wishes he could retract the words and just slam his face into a wall. But, he's said them, and now he has to live with them. He's terrified of what Marinette's reaction will be, because currently, shock is the only thing he can read from her.

"Marinette," he murmurs gently.

Her reaction is definitely not what he is expecting. Ladybug sprints for the window, throwing herself out of it and swinging off on her yo-yo. Adrien curses and spins around in his room.

"Plagg! Claws out!"

His drowsy kwami is sucked into his ring and the familiar transformation washes over him. He then jumps out his window, extending his staff to propel him, and pursues Marinette.

He catches her on the outskirts of the main city. He launches himself forward and catches her around the waist, dragging them both safely to the nearest roof. Ladybug stumbles away from them as they land, but she doesn't run this time. She stares at him with wide eyes.

"Please," he begs, "Mari, let me explain."

She starts shaking and turns away, wrapping her arms around herself. It takes him a second to realise she's laughing, not crying and he's confused.

Abruptly she stops laughing and turns back to him. "So you've known for how long?"

"Since the haircut," he admits carefully.

Ladybug pulls at her hair. "Two weeks? You've known for two weeks and you said nothing?"

"You wanted us to keep our identities secret, so I didn't tell you. I thought that would make it better."

She laughs again, but it sounds sharp and forced. He steps towards her and she steps back. "Oh my god Adrien, do you realise how much I hate myself for not figuring it out? And how the hell does Chloé know?"

"She's Queen Bee," he replies bluntly. Ladybug stares. "And Alya is-"

"Vixen," she finishes. "I admittedly figured Alya's identity out quickly once the Ladyblog started prying less." Ladybug shakes her head and starts pacing the length of the roof.

Adrien shifts awkwardly. It's exactly the scene that had just played out in his bedroom. "Marinette, please, talk to me."

She sighs and throws her hands up. "All this time I was worried. I was worried about protecting you when you would have been just fine and I was so worried about loving Chat Noir because it felt wrong to love Adrien and Chat Noir."

He brightens. "Wait, say that again?"

She stops and stares at him. "You seriously couldn't tell?" He shakes his head and she groans. "Oh my god, you dumb cat, I was not subtle at all."

Adrien feels a stupid grin crossing his face. He walks towards her and takes Ladybug's surprised face in his hands and kisses her. She is still against him for a moment before she kisses him back with equal ferocity.

"Thanks," he whispers when they break apart.

Ladybug laughs and all but collapses against him, burrowing into his chest as she hugs him. "What is my life?"

"Pretty amazing," Adrien offers.

She pinches him and he jumps away, startled. She's laughing at him again and he pouts.

Her laughter dies and she frowns. "This doesn't quite feel real," she says. "For so long it's been Marinette and Ladybug as two separate people and now I don't have to be both of them separately, and you're Adrien and Chat Noir and I still can't believe this."

"Claws in," he says and drops his transformation. He stands before her as Adrien, not Chat Noir, and smiles.

"Spots off," Ladybug says and a pink flash of light turns her back into Marinette.

Adrien steps towards her, tentatively reaching for her cheek. "Does it feel real now?"

Marinette grabs his collar and kisses him hard. "Yeah," she whispers breathlessly after she pulls away. "It's real."

Author's Note: So I have made a return to Miraculous Ladybug. This was fuelled by a sudden spurt of inspiration and I kind of like where it went. There's more TLC coming soon, and potentially more Riverdale. I guess it's all about where my mind takes me next.

AO3: nicole_writes
Tumblr: nicolewrites

- Nicole