THIS IS POST OBLIVIO. THERE ARE SPOILERS. Just saying.

OK… So this is the first time that I've started posting before I had the whole story finished. And polished. And typed up. SO… we'll see how it goes. I do have this mapped out in my head, so hopefully none of the characters go majorly off script (I'm looking at you Plagg!)

I don't own anything related to Miraculous: The Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. OK. That's a big fat lie. I own the Funko Pops, as well as plushies of Plagg and Tikki. What I don't own is any of the rights to the characters. Or the show. Or to, well, anything, really.

One week after the fight with Oblivio, and Marinette was different. Not in any major way, but in a million little ones. Yes, she had kissed Chat Noir (AGAIN!) and she couldn't remember why, but she knew she'd done if for the pleasure of it this time, rather than to rescue her partner. It was possible that it was kissing him that had shifted things inside her, but Marinette was fairly certain that it was the events leading up to that kiss, everything that she couldn't remember, that had changed her. Oh, she'd tried everything she could think of to jog her memory, checking her phone for pictures (nothing new), calls made or received (her log was a complete blank), even returning to the Montparnasse tower to see if anything was familiar, but even the note she'd left herself on the elevator wall was no longer visible.

The most noticeable change, the one that made Alya's jaw drop, was the way she could now speak with Adrien. It wasn't any different that the way she spoke with everyone else; she didn't stutter, fumble for words, or blush when she made eye contact. Her stomach was full of butterflies, as usual, but she didn't feel the paralyzing fear of making a fool of herself in front of him. He was just Adrien, and she trusted his acceptance of her.

And then, there were the dreams. In her mind, she'd be out running the rooftops of Paris with her partner, but soon, her mask would drop, and she would no longer be Ladybug, merely Marinette. Chat Noir's mask would drop away, too, leaving Adrien Agreste running beside her. The more times she had this dream, which had been coming nightly, the more similarities she saw between her kitty and her crush during her waking hours. The physical ones were obvious, now that she took the time to look: both were green eyed blondes, close in height and build, similar age, and had the same feather allergy. The similarities she saw that rattled her the most were the personality traits. On the surface, one would have said that they were opposites, but the innate kindness, courage and generosity was there in both boys, as was the sadness that lingered in their eyes at unguarded moments, even as they presented smiles to the world. The more she thought about it, the more it seemed right that they were the same person.

Unfortunately, Tikki didn't remember anything from their battle with Oblivio either, and although she did know Chat Noir's true identity, Tikki wouldn't say anything else to Marinette, other than to trust her instincts. Resolving to talk to Chat about it at her next opportunity, she tried to concentrate on her homework.

Hawkmoth obliged her the next day at school. After a restless night, filled with more dreams of Adrien as Chat Noir, Marinette had arrived (surprisingly) 10 minutes before the start of school, and had managed a heated debate with Adrien and Max about what to expect from the upcoming Ultimate Mecha Strike 4. Miss Bustier had just started talking about the new French Romantic Poets, when crashes followed by screaming erupted from the street outside the school. Immediately, Marinette's hand shot up, asking to use the bathroom. As she reached the doorway, she heard Adrien's voice behind her, also asking to be excused. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind, to be examined later, right now, she needed to focus on the upcoming battle. She rushed to the bathroom, hoping it was empty, and her good luck held. Transforming into Ladybug, she launched herself out of the window, and swung onto the rooftop, only moments after Chat Noir, where together, they surveyed the scene below.

The Akumatized victim was a gardener of some sort, clad in overalls of fluorescent green, and dark green shirt, a gardener's half apron and wellies. Around him, roots and sprouts were pushing their way out of the ground and out of buildings, tangling people in their web of vines, rendering them immobile.

In the sheltered alcove created by the stairs up to the school's entrance, Ladybug noticed Alya, filming the scene for the Ladyblog, Nino hovering behind, ready to pull her to safety should things get really ugly. Turning her attention back to the Akuma, she asked her partner, "What do you thing? Spade or apron?"

"Definitely spade." Chat replied. "The seed bombs come from the apron pocket, but he is using the spade to direct where the vines grow."

A few seconds of observation confirmed Chat's analysis for her. Spinning her yo-yo to fend off any vines that crept her way, Ladybug leaped from the roof and stepped into the street in front of the Akuma. Chat Noir landed to her right, twirling his baton in a similarly defensive maneuver. "I don't know what someone did to vind you up", he called out, "but I know we can get to the root of your problem!"

The akuma pointed his shovel at them and roared, "I am Plantagenet. I am tired of the city taking away all the green spaces and covering over gardens. I am here to take back the city for the plants." With this declaration, he lobbed a seed ball at Chat Noir, which bounced off his baton shield, but exploded into vines with the impact, scattering them across the ground. Snaking out and around his defenses, following the guidance of the spade, one of the vines reached out to wrap itself around Chat's ankle. Slipping out of its hold before it was able to tighten its grip, Chat Noir flipped himself out of range with a series on handsprings and a shout of "Leaf me alone you nasty vines!"

Leaping to higher ground, Ladybug called upon her lucky charm, and glanced around for something to use with the large foam block she was given. Her eyes lit upon the block, Chat Noir, and Plantagenet's spade. A plan formed itself in her mind, and she called "Ready?" to her partner. At his nod, she ran full speed at the Akuma, dodging roots and sprouts that reached out towards her, the seed missiles mostly being aimed towards her partner, who was doing his best to create a distraction. She wrapped her yo-yo around Plantagenet's spade arm, and yanking it down, lodged the blade into the foam block. Chat Noir's cry of "Cataclysm" rang out, and he brought the simmering darkness that had gathered in his hand down onto the handle of the spade. "I don't understand where all this anger stems from", he quipped, as a deep purple butterfly fluttered up and out of the shattered remnants of the spade.

Ladybug rolled her eyes as she readied her yo-yo to purify the Akuma. "No more evildoing for you little Akuma. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha! " A pause as the butterfly was released. "Bye bye little butterfly!" Tossing the foam block up into the air, and calling the words 'Miraculous Ladybug' to return the city back to its normal, vineless state, Ladybug watched the scarlet insects fly around, healing the damage done to the city, and she centered herself for the question that she had to ask Chat. The partners grinned at each other, bumped fists, and, after escorting the victim over to the first responders for treatment, they turned to take their leave of each other. Ladybug hesitated, then put her hand on Chat Noir's forearm, stopping him from bounding away. "Kitty? Can I talk to you?" His ring beeped, showing 2 pads gone, so she quickly continued, "Not right now. Meet me tonight? 9pm? On top of the Musee d'Orsay?"

She looked unsure, almost nervous, and Chat found himself agreeing and starting to worry about her, even before he'd finished processing her words. "Is everything OK, M'Lady? Am I starting to grow on you?"

"I'm fine." She sighed and shook her head. "We'd better get going. Thank you for meeting with me tonight."

He smiled in response as she spun out her yo-yo string and sped away. "For you, always."