She paced below his window for twenty minutes, her resolve ping-ponging back and forth in her mind. Which would be better? Should Marinette show up and be like, Surprise! I'm Ladybug! Or the other way around? Would he believe Marinette? Would revealing her true identity as Ladybug be too much of a shock? Where was the miraculous instruction manual for this situation?!

Then she looked up, and her decision was made for her. Leaning on the windowsill of the open window and looking down on her in amusement was none other than Adrien.

"Am I interrupting something?" He smiled at her sweetly and she rolled her eyes.

"Arrogant ass," she muttered, grabbing her yo-yo and lassoing it around his waist. She smiled as he moved to brace himself against the window frame while she used him as an anchor to swing into his room. Landing next to him, she retracted the yo-yo and mimicked his innocent smile. He broke first, laughing and putting his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. I promise I only watched you mutter to yourself for five minutes. Ten tops."

She groaned, but realized it could have been worse.

"Seriously though," she looked over at him then, his expression matching his words. "I'm glad you're here. I needed to talk to you."

"Yeah, me too," she responded, but looked at him critically. "You first?"

"No-yeah, actually. I need to say this."

He walked over and took a seat on the couch, and she was immediately concerned. They usually sat on the floor but apparently this was a couch conversation. She sat, pushing aside her own agenda as she took in the nervous expression on his face.

"Adrien?" She reached over and laid a hand on his knee and his eyes shot to hers. "What is it? What happened? Does it have to do with...with Marinette? Did something happen on your date?"

"No!" He exclaimed leaning back. "No, of course not. Or, well- yes," he admitted, and stood to start pacing in front of her. She leaned back into the couch, crossing her legs beneath her as he processed what he wanted to say.

"She was great. Better than great. She's phenomenal! When she smiles...when she laughs!" He looked over at her joyously, and Ladybug knew she must be blushing. Then Adrien's expression became pained.

"But?" Ladybug prompted and Adrien froze.

"But," he repeated and shook his head. "But, as much as I am falling for her-and make no mistake, I am falling and falling hard-I'm already in love-" he looked at her directly then. "I keep trying to forget it, to focus on my very real, very strong, feelings for this amazing girl, but I can't entirely because I'm already in love with you."

She stared at him in shock. She'd known, of course, that there was someone else, but never had she expected for Adrien to be conflicted over his feelings for Marinette because he was in love with...well...Marinette in a costume. She was jealous, actually. Because suddenly it was just her who had apparently drawn the short stick. Adrien's problem was solved. He was actually in love with one person. Her.

Her heart seemed to expand at the realization that he had fallen in love with both sides of her. All of her. She saw the warring of his heart and pushed aside her own conflicted feelings for a moment. She needed to put him out of his misery. With a smile, she got up and walked over to him, laying a hand on his chest.

"You really should have let me go first," she whispered, looking up at his pained expression and lifting a hand to smooth his furrowed brow. "Tikki, spots off!"

The rubescent glow of her transformation enveloped them, before fading and leaving her, Marinette, standing before him. Adrien blinked twice, before stumbling backwards. His calves made contact with the couch and he plopped unceremoniously onto the down cushions.

"You're Ladybug," he murmured to himself, staring at the patterns of the throw rug, before finally looking up to meet her eyes. His smile was hesitant at first. "I'm not dreaming."

"No," she agreed, watching the progression of his reaction carefully. Then he broke out in a grin and move towards her, but she held a hand up and he froze.

She wanted nothing more than to let him come, to fall into his embrace and press her face into the safe haven of his neck.. but then she remembered her own predicament and sighed. If she didn't do this now, she'd never have the strength again.

"I love you too, Adrien." She responded simply. He smiled wider, but his brows furrowed in confusion, as if hearing a stipulation to her words coming even before she said it. "But," she said finally, and he winced. "There's-there's someone else."

She watched as his posture stiffened, before he leaned away from her, sinking back into the couch. Feeling her resolve slip away, she rushed to continue.

"I'm so sorry," she felt tears threaten at the corner of her eyes but pressed on. "I've been in love with you for what seems like forever, and I still am. The more I know you, the more I love you, Adrien. But then...It's the same with him. I've spent so long denying my feelings for him, but when we were talking last week, I realized I couldn't ignore them any longer." She started pacing in front of the couch, caught in the hurricane of her own admission just as Adrien had been not moments ago. "And I know it may be impossible, and I want to be with you. Truly, Adrien, I do," She turned to look in his direction, but not at him. "But I won't lie to you, and I can't lie to myself anymore. Chat has managed to wedge his way into my heart and I don't think he's budging anytime soon."

She took a deep breath and finally turned to look at him. He sat, staring at her, mouth agape at her revelation. Then his eyes seemed to look past her, taking on an unfocused glaze.

"Chat. You're in love with Chat Noir."

"I'm so sorry," she wiped angrily at a tear. "You've been so honest with me, and I've done nothing but deceive you. I just didn't know how to tell you this without telling you who I really was-and then I didn't realize the half of it myself until last week-and-and-arghh!" She threw her hands up and walked to look out the still open window. "This is so much more complicated than it needs to be. I'm sorry." She let her head drop into her hands in aggravation. In the reflection of the closed window next to her, she could just make out the hazy reflection of Adrien's face, still bewildered.

"How can you love Chat Noir and love me?"

She cringed. His words were soft, as if in wonder, but it felt like an accusation. Tears started to stream down her face and she immediately called her transformation.

"I'm so sorry," she sobbed one last time, before swinging out the window, knowing she had ruined everything.

It was nearly dawn by the time Marinette gave up on getting any semblance of sleep that night. She'd restlessly moved throughout her room for hours, organizing already perfect shelves, and cleaning her already immaculate room. She just needed to move. At least when she was moving, she didn't have to think, to ponder everything she should have done differently or to feel the shockwaves her mistakes had caused.

But she was angry. Irrationally at Adrien and Chat for being wonderful and making her feel this way, but mainly at herself for being such an idiot. If only Adrien had paled in comparison to her imaginations… If only she could ignore Chat... If only she had realized her feelings for him sooner, before everything with Adrien had become so real…

But there was nothing she could do about that now. She'd made her bed, and now she had to lie in it.

Even when she'd thought she'd exhausted herself enough, she was still uneasy; so, with a huff, she lugged her blanket and cat pillow onto her balcony. Laying down, she focused on the dwindling night sky, and tried to let her mind drift off into the horizon.

Then he showed up, and any pretense of peace she held on to was shattered.

He landed on her railing with an effortless grace, but his typical swagger was absent and the smirk was missing from his face.

"Hey Princess," his voice resonated within her like it always did, but his approach was tentative, almost shy. It was as if he was afraid that, with the wrong word, she'd vanish into thin air.

"Hey, Chat," she looked over at him and managed a smile, trying to not let her mood affect him. She was the maker of her own woes. She'd dragged Adrien into that carelessly; she wouldn't do the same to Chat.

"So, um.." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "I need to tell you something."

She laid there and inexplicably burst into tears at those words. There wasn't one reason, really. Maybe it had just been inevitable. She'd avoided it the entire night, but in the light of one more revelation, she just couldn't handle it anymore.

Chat was at her side in an instant.

"Hey, hey, hey. Mari? What is it? What did I do?" He laid down on the blankets next to her and she rolled into his embrace, breathing in his familiar scent as he rubbed soothing circles into her back. She relaxed into his arms, immediately calmed by his easy presence.

And there was her problem. How could two people make her feel so right? When she was with Chat, she knew it was him. But when she was with Adrien, he was undeniably right for her too. It was maddening.

"Mari?" Chat's voice rumbled through her, gently inquisitive and she breathed him in.

"I'm sorry, Chat. I just can't right now. Not tonight. I've already ruined everything, and-You need to tell me something, and I promise I'll listen, but please don't make me. Not right now," she trailed off, looking at him through her tears, and begging him to understand her incoherent babble. She couldn't string it together better right now even if she tried.

He started to stroke her hair and she leaned further into him.

"You haven't ruined everything," he said finally, with a conviction that she wanted to believe.

"Chat, you don't know the half of it. I've made a mess of everything. Me and my damn fickle heart that can't make up it's mind. You-" she shook her head, her forehead chaffing the texture of his suit covering his shoulder. "If you knew, you'd hate me too."

"I could never hate you," he whispered fervently, and she let out a humorless laugh.

"You're just saying that."

"No. Marinette, look at me," he squeezed her waist closer, waiting until she turned her gaze up at him. "I. Could never. Hate. You." He stared deeply into her eyes, punctuating every word clearly. "And neither does Adrien."

She stared at him, shocked by his words. She'd never told Chat about Adrien. There was no way he could know...

"You can't possibly know that," she whispered, never breaking eye contact.

"Can't I?" He shook his head slightly, gazing down at her with a soft smile as he reached up to push her bangs off her forehead. "Oh Marinette. We've really made a mess of this, haven't we?"

He leaned down, kissing her forehead as he released his transformation. When he pulled back again, Marinette's hands tightened into fists, crumpling sweatshirt she'd worn all those months ago and pulling him closer. Her heart started to race, but she felt the tension fall off her shoulders just as the sick feeling that had been brewing in her stomach all night finally seeped away.

"It's you?" Her lips moved, but she barely heard her voice. He smiled nonetheless.

"You ran away before it even hit me what was happening," he explained just as quietly. "I couldn't believe it, bug. No one has ever seen all of me. Loved all of me."

"I thought I lost you," she stuttered, her lip quivering as Adrien gazed down at her with an unmistakable look of love.

"Impossible," he breathed before his lips crashed against hers and he kissed her for the second time that night. She pulled him closer as the sun crossed the horizon, chasing away the shadow of secrets and bringing them into the light of a new day.

In the arms of their one love.