Marinette's stomach was still doing flips as she detransformed and headed to her locker, while her brain couldn't stop chanting, He likes me! He likes me! He really, really likes me! No matter what he said to her as a civilian, his feelings for Ladybug were still as strong as ever. He hadn't moved on, as she'd feared. He wasn't going to be distracted by the next pretty face. She wasn't in any danger of losing him.

And she'd kissed him! That left her more giddy than anything.

The hallways were still almost deserted. Classes were always slow to start back up after an akuma attack, so she took a moment to pull up the Ladyblog on her phone. She'd been focusing on the akuma too much to really appreciate Cat Noir's reaction to her flirting. She hunched over the small screen, greedily drinking in his stunned expressions, his flustered blushes, his every loving smile sent when her back was turned.

Even in costume and spouting dumb cat puns to get her attention, Adrien was so adorable. And he was so thoughtful, so romantic, so kind. She was so doomed. And he liked her back!

Alya's hand had jerked in excitement and shook the video feed when Ladybug had pulled Cat Noir in for the kiss, and Marinette stifled a giggle. She wasn't sure where her confidence to do that had come from, but she was certainly enjoying Alya's closeup of his face after she'd run out. Tingles went through her whole body when Alya said he had it bad, and he'd agreed. He'd agreed!

When the video ended, she played it again, skipping to the very end when Cat Noir touched his lips after she'd run out.

"There you are!" Adrien's jubilant voice called from down the hallway.

Marinette yelped and tried to tuck the phone out of sight before he reached her. She tapped the screen frantically as she hid it behind her back, trying to pause the video.

"Hey, Adrien! Get through the akuma attack okay?"

She heard the video still playing quietly, but she wasn't sure if he could. She swiped her fingers against the screen, hoping it would navigate to a different page.

"Yeah," he said, stepping closer to her than she expected and smiling. "I'm fine, thanks. You- well, you were obviously fine, too."

"I am, th-" She almost thanked him for his help, but she was saved by a loud, tinny crash coming from her phone, followed by Alya's voice asking if Cat Noir was okay, and him starting to complain about the livestream. Marinette squeaked and whipped her phone out in front of her. She hadn't navigated away. She'd somehow turned the volume up? How the heck had she done that?!

"Are you..." Adrien started to ask, but phone-Alya interrupted him.

"Wow. You've got it so bad."

"Turn off!" Marinette whimpered, poking at the screen. She could feel his eyes on her, but even so she couldn't help the giddy giggle when he admitted to Alya that he knew. Of course he would have caught her rewatching the video. He'd think she was some crazed Ladynoir shipper. To be fair, she kind of was at this point. She sighed in relief when the video stopped playing, cutting off Alya's post-akuma commentary. When she looked back up, Adrien was leaning against the lockers next to her, arms crossed and self-satisfied smile plastered across his face.

"Rewatching the entire highlight reel, or you just enjoying the kissing scene? Hmm?"

You seemed to enjoy it, Kitty, she thought.

He inched his way closer to her, smiling. "Today was pretty spectacular. Well, Ladybug's always spectacular." Her heart sped up, faster than it had when fighting the akuma. She wanted to return the compliment, but she didn't trust herself enough to speak, and he kept talking. "She's the most amazing- I mean, you're amazing too, Marinette." And he put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her even closer.

Students started trickling back into the hallway as he rambled. Was she reading too much into the situation? Because the look that he was giving her was just like the ones he'd been giving Ladybug throughout the whole video. Was she misinterpreting his body language? Because the hand on her shoulder seemed to say that he wanted to keep unmasked Marinette close. Was she missing some crucial bit of information? Because why would he be smiling at her like that, when it was Ladybug who had kissed him?

"Oh," she breathed. "You figured it out, too. Didn't you?" She started to giggle. "That explains a lot. I thought I was the only one."

"Too?" he asked. He pulled back his hand in surprise, but let it hover awkwardly in the space between them. "Figured out? Figured... what out exactly?"

"That's what yesterday was about, wasn't it?" He hadn't moved on as soon as someone new caught his attention. He'd been seeking her out in both forms!

"You knew?" he asked. "About..."

He seemed hesitant to say it out loud, so she reached up and pulled on her ear, showing off an earring. "It seems we have a lot in common." She paused and then whispered, "Cat Noir."

Mr. Damocles' voice came over the intercom, announcing that the akuma had been neutralized and students were free to return to their classrooms. People peeked out behind doors and looked around, and several ventured out into the hallway. Adrien took the increased noise as an opportunity to scoot even closer to her, so he could still be heard even though he whispered. "And I spent all that time worrying that you were going to be mad I found you out."

He was so close, but Marinette didn't even jump when the backs of their hands brushed. "I think we need to work on our communication skills, because I spent all yesterday wondering what was going on with you. And... and panicking. There was a lot of panicking that happened."

Adrien chuckled. "I could tell that much."

"I should have just talked to you about it. Sorry."

Across the hallway somewhere, she heard noisy whispering, but she didn't pause to look at who was causing it. Watching Adrien's face morph from mushy to relieved to thoughtful was much too entertaining.

"In the interest of communication, can I ask you something?"

She nodded, and his hand reached up to brush a stray hair out of her face. She glowed under his gentle touch. The whispering became louder and more excited, but Adrien's voice got quieter.

"Why did you kiss me? N-not that I'm complaining or anything! It's just..."

Because I wanted to! "Because I wasn't sure if you'd changed your mind or you weren't just as serious about me as you claimed," she said. She'd been testing his personality more than anything. Though it seemed stupid now. Of course he hadn't moved on! Look at his sappy face!

"And what did you learn?"

She reached up and booped him on the nose. "That you're a very smitten kitten."

She watched him, expecting him to reach for her, kiss her knuckles, declare that she was right, but instead he stood up a little straighter, pulling his head back from her slightly. Her stomach dropped. Had- Had she been wrong? Her nerves jangled in alarm. Why was he retreating?

"One more question," he said. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but... who is he?"

"Who's who?"

"You said-" Adrien looked a little confused, and he took a step away from her, like he was bracing himself for something. The action made a gap between them in more ways than one. She wanted to pull him back, but she wasn't sure if that would make it worse. He took a quick breath and said, "You told me you liked someone else. Who is it?"

Marinette sighed, half in relief, half in frustration. She'd spent the better part of the last year trying to get this boy to see that she adored him, and she'd done such a terrible job at it.

"I mean, you don't have to tell me," he said, taking her sigh the wrong way. "I was just... I mean, I really like you, and I was just wondering, but if you don't think it's my business, I understand."

He took another step away, but she grabbed his hand before he could get very far. "Y-You."

"What?"

She took a deep breath and willed herself not to stutter. She'd been dreaming of telling Adrien this for months. She wasn't going to mess it up now that the moment had arrived. "The 'other boy,'" she put air quotes around it with her right hand, keeping a firm grip on him with her left, "is you."

"Me?" he asked, eyes rounding. "This whole time?"

She let her broad smile at him be her response.

"So you... meant it? The, the flirting and that kiss? You really meant it? Wait. Is that why you always get so flustered around me?"

This time, her blush was her answer. "Uh, yeah. I can get pretty nervous trying not to look dumb around you, but I only make it worse. That, and your face is really distracting." She slapped a hand over her mouth. Gah, what was she saying? His Cat side was going to have a field day with that information.

"Oh, really." He smirked at her and closed the gap between them. Yup. There it was. His arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close. The whispering started up again. "This is very useful in-fur-mation about a very purr-tty young lady."

"N-nope," she said, pulling away and looking at the floor to hide her blush. "I hear enough cats as it- cat puns as it is. Not loing to glisten – ugh! – going to listen, to them f-from you."

"Hey, it worked!"

"S-shut up."

"Shame. I've been saving the best ones for our big reveal." He cupped her cheek with his hand, guiding her face toward his. "I guess the-"

Her stomach stomach flipped and her lips tingled with anticipation, but she still had the sense to interrupt him. "If you say, 'the cat's out of the bag,' I'm breaking up with you."

Adrien jerked back, terror evident across his face. "Please don't br- wait. Are we dating?"

"Uh. Yes?" She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes contentedly. Their faces drifted closer together. "I mean, if you want, we could. It's okay with me." She tilted her head to avoid his nose, then closer her eyes. "And I won't break up with you for something as silly as a lame pun."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I guess the cat's-"

There was no way she was going to let him finish that sentence. Her fingers slipped from his hair to his neck and pulled him down the rest of the way. He melted against her, pun forgotten.

When she pulled away, she rested her lips against his cheek, and murmured softly, "Think you're going to remember this one, Kitty?"

"This one what?" he asked dreamily.

"Kiss, silly. You don't remember the Dark Cupid one."

"Wait, you kissed me just now?" She turned just enough to see the corner of his eye crinkling in delight. One of his arms was still around her waist, the other wrapped tightly around her shoulders, while her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck. "I don't remember any kiss," he said. "Guess you'll just have to do it again to remind me."

He had no trouble in convincing her.

The hallway was full of students, but no one was paying them much attention. There was still that incessant whispering coming from somewhere, though. Was it getting louder? She stopped wondering about it when he pulled her in for a third kiss.

"I can't believe it took us this long to figure it out," she said a minute later. She tucked her head under his chin. "We're both kind of stupid, aren't we?"

He chuckled, and she felt it rumble through his chest. "Definitely not as smart as scissors."

"Shut uuuuuppp!"

"Alya!" the whisperer said.

Marinette's eyes flew open as Adrien's arms fell away from her. He'd heard it too.

"Nino, you ruined it!" Alya said. A tall caddy of cleaning supplies stood against the opposite wall, and their two best friends were crouched behind it, peeking around the side. Nino was on his hands and knees. Alya leaned over him, bracing both elbows into his back to keep her phone steady.

"Well, you have pointy elbows! Get off!"

"Whatever," she said, scrambling up. "I got what I came for. Two ships sailing in one day! HA!"

Marinette covered her face with her hands. Oh, she'd been hearing about both of those videos for months.

Adrien just laughed, throwing his arms around Marinette's shoulders in a tight squeeze. "Send me a copy, will you?" he asked. Alya flashed him a thumbs up, and he turned back to Marinette and kissed her temple. "Now, about those 100 love letters you're writing me."

The End

Author's note: Thank you, everyone, for reading all the way to the end. :) Thank you for liking my story. And thank you for the reviews (and the advice). I've loved reading your reactions! I've got two short things I want to write, then I'll be launching into another longer fic, which was ruined by the Glactiator episode. Ha ha. Oh, well. You'll just have to pretend that one never happened. It'll be more angsty than this, where Mari finds out his identity first and is upset about it. Probably won't start posting for two or three months, but it's coming!

Incorrect Miraculous Quote
Marinette: I made this friendship bracelet for you.
Adrien: You know, I'm not really a jewelry person.
Marinette: You don't have to wear it.
Adrien: No, I'm gonna wear it forever. Back off.
-Bob's Burgers