AN: These kids, this show. It's so cute I love it. And like, grandiose, high-stress reveals are great, but what if it just, like, happened and it's the biggest surprise of their lives still at a stupidly mundane moment? Because I thought about it the other day and I kinda want it. So I wrote about it. Anyway, enjoy and read and review. Or don't. I do hope you enjoy, though.

000

"This might be the worst day of my life," Adrien whined. Marinette looked up at him, rolled her eyes at his uncharacteristic dramatics, and grunted in response, pulling her scarf up more tightly around her face, attempting to keep out the bitter wind as the two walked up the school's front steps.

At her grunt, Adrien looked down, and wordlessly handed off the paper coffee cup in his gloved hands. She took the cup with a nod, pulled down her scarf and quickly took a sip, the scalding black coffee burning the back of her throat, but clearing her head in the process.

"Thanks," she croaked, as she handed back the cup.

On any other day, Marinette would have died. Or fainted. At least gasped. Because OH MY GOD she swapped spit with ADRIEN AGRESTE and he was being so kind and considerate and they were stuck in a very unideal situation together but it was TOGETHER and what a bonding moment and it would have been the a very good day in, if not the best day of, her life.

Instead, it might just be the worst day of her life.

Because, unfortunately, it was a Saturday. Saturday December 22 to be precise. At six o'clock in the morning.

And the last akuma attack had ended at 4:45 AM.

So, with two hours of sleep, three energy drinks, and that sip of black coffee, Marinette was walking into school with Adrien to take her final exam for Literature class.

On Shakespeare. Worth 40% of their grade.

For the semester that had ended yesterday.

Once they reached the top of the steps, Adrien leaned forward to open the door, waving his hand in an 'after you' gesture that on any other day would have had Marinette blushing like a bride.

Instead she was slightly annoyed.

She bit her tongue to keep the highly irrational scoff in and walked into the school's entrance to see a yawning Miss Bustier.

"Good morning Marinette, Adrien," Miss Bustier said with another yawn. "I'll be proctoring your exam in the library. The heat in the rest of the building's been turned off for Christmas break." Both nodded and meekly followed the patient and unnaturally accommodating teacher. Marinette shuddered just thinking about what would've happened if they'd missed Miss Medeleeve's final Physics exam.

Because Miss Bustier was honestly ridiculously accommodating.

On Monday, during the Literature exam hour, there'd been an akuma attack across town. Marinette later told the kind teacher she'd accidently overslept (a completely plausible explanation). Five minutes later, a highly apologetic Adrien rushed in, saying he'd gotten caught at his father's fashion show last night late into the night, and had also overslept.

Miss Bustier had smiled, calmed their nerves, asked them not to discuss the test with those students who'd already completed it, and please stay in during the lunch break Tuesday to take the exam.

On Tuesday, of course, there was an akuma attack during the lunch break.

Marinette had rushed into Miss Bustier's classroom during the last five minutes of lunch, to hear Adrien explaining to the teacher that his mother's brother from America was in town for Christmas, and Adrien had gone to make sure he was all right during the akuma attack. Which, awwww, what a sweet boy.

But also, it meant Marinette had to step up her excuse game.

Marinette had cobbled some explanation together about her maman's anxiety after Nonna had been akumatized and how Maman wanted her to check in during akuma attacks, but Marinette's phone had been dead so she just ran home and….

Ms. Bustier had smiled kindly, placed one of her hands on each of theirs, and asked them to stay after school Thursday, the next time she had free to proctor their exam.

Obviously Hawkmoth had spies who didn't want Marinette to take her literature exam.

The Thursday akuma had been another student at school, Stress Ball, who couldn't take the pressures of exam week and was putting people to sleep whist simultaneously flooding all of Paris with multi-colored stress balls. All students had fled the building before school had ended, so Miss Bustier didn't need an excuse from Marinette.

"All right," Miss Bustier had said with a very, very deep breath Friday morning. "I don't have time to proctor an exam today, and, knowing the luck you two have, there will probably be an akuma attack anyway. So," she said, after another very deep breath through her clenched teeth. "I have to be on a flight to Salzburg at ten Saturday morning. The two of you will both be here at six o'clock sharp, and you will complete your exam then."

Which was fair. So fair. Miss Bustier was taking time out of her weekend, her life to let them take the exam worth 40% of their grade and (hopefully) pass her class and let this be over and done.

But then, an akuma attacked at 2:30 in the morning.

2:30 IN THE MORNING!

She was going to fucking kill Hawkmoth.

Because a Marinette after finals week, working on no sleep and who also dealt with four akumas in five days was a not a Marinette anyone wanted to cross.

Turning back to her present suffering, Marinette filed into the cold and empty library behind Ms. Bustier, Adrien on her tail, and sat down at a table. Adrien took the seat next to her and Ms. Bustier handed them both thick packets of papers, the dreaded and elusive Literature exam.

"There are a few things I need to finish up in the classroom. I'll be back in about twenty minutes. I trust both of you not to cheat, or to leave the library unless it's an emergency."

"Yes, Ms. Bustier," they answered, and watched as their teacher left the room, door shutting ominously behind her, echoing throughout the empty shelves surrounding them.

Adrien shrugged out of his coat, revealing a black sweater proclaiming "Joyeux Noël" in a very loud neon green. The sight of such a Nino gift made Marinette smile. Gabriel Agreste definitely did not see what his son was wearing before he left the house that morning.

Marinette took off her coat as well, but elected to keep the black scarf wrapped tightly around her neck. It left her in just leggings and an oversized red sweater that was so comfortable she was ready to curl up in a ball and just sleep inside of it. Or maybe she was just that tired.

"Ugh," Adrien groaned, flipping his thumb through the numerous test pages.

"'Come what come may, time and the hour runs through the roughest day.'" Marinette quoted carelessly, the Macbeth flashcards she'd run through on her walk to school on her mind.

Adrien actually beamed at her, smile nearly blinding in the dark library.

Marinette felt herself blushing, and turned down the test finally. She worked for about ten minutes, flying through the multiple choice questions before coming to the first essay question:

23. Discuss the role of mistaken identity in Twelfth Night. Who is mistaken for whom, and what do these mix-ups signify?

Marinette took a moment to yawn, and wipe the tired out of her eyes with the heels of her hands before going to answer the question.

Except, now, her pen was dead.

Her fucking pen was dead.

She went through the motions, drawing curly-cues in the margins, blotting the tip of the pen with her tongue, even shaking it before going to check her bag for an extra pen that she definitely didn't put in there this morning.

This was the worst day ever.

"Do you have an extra pen I could use, Chaton?" Marinette asked with a sigh, trying her dead pen one last time before throwing it across the table in disgust.

"Yeah, give me a sec, Bug," he answered as he stifled a yawn and then reached into his bag and handed her the extra pen with a flourish.

"Anything for my lady," he said, winking tiredly. Marinette rolled her eyes but mumbled out a thanks and turned back to the test.

In Twelfth Night, mistaken identity is the main driver of the plot. Viola disguises herself as her twin brother—

Marinette was very impressed by the quality of her newly borrowed pen. It was sleek and elegant, and the words arrived so smoothly and beautifully on the page Marinette nearly didn't recognize her own handwriting. And, Jesus, was that actual gold on the cap?

Well, it was probably one of those stupid expensive pens Mr. Agreste always got Adrien for Christmases and birthdays. Adrien probably had twenty stupid expensive pens sitting around his room, might as well use them—

Wait.

Adrien's pen.

Adrien.

Adrien.

Whom she called chaton.

Chaton.

And he fucking responded.

By calling her bug.

And my lady.

The scratching of both pens stopped at the same time, leaving the library in an eerie silence. Mouth slightly open, eyes wide, Marinette looked up slowly at the classmate to her left.

To the boy she'd been crushing so hard on she actually died just thinking about it.

To the boy she'd playfully turned down about 1,001 times since the first time he'd met her.

Her stare met Adrien's bulging green eyes, his mouth open similarly to hers.

"Oh my fucking God."

"This might be the best day of my life."

fin