"Woo!" Rena Rouge cheered as she landed on the rooftop, flute in one hand, the other on her hip. "Now how was that?"

"Very impressive," Ladybug agreed as she and Carapace landed next to her. "It takes a lot of effort to create a complex illusion. That will be really useful in our next akuma fight."

Rena couldn't hold in a squeal. "Next one– as in we're going to help you in the next fight guaranteed?"

Ladybug grinned. "What? Do you think we've been taking you on patrols just for fun?"

"It'll be awesome to put all this training to the test," Carapace replied, swinging his shield about.

Rena's necklace began beeping, giving her only a minute before she detransformed. Ladybug's eyes darted between the two of them, but having not used Shell-ter, Carapace wasn't on a timer. Struggling against a smirk she pulled out her yoyo, opening up her communicator.

"I'm not exactly sure when I'll call upon you guys, I might need to go straight for the akuma depending on what it's doing, but do be prepared to be called in for a battle soon."

Rena's necklace beeped one more time, her transformation fading away, a tired Trixx bursting out from the Miraculous. Alya caught the kwami in her outstretched hand, cuddling him happily. The fox let out a small chirp at the affection, curling up in her palm. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a bag of raspberries she knew Trixx loved. He perked up immediately, gobbling down the fruit as it was offered to him.

"I guess you'll be needing this back," Alya said, getting ready to pull off her necklace. Carapace moved to do the same with his bracelet, and her eyes widened.

"No need to rush, let's take a moment to rest, we were out pretty late," Ladybug said quickly, waving a hand dismissively, and to her relief they both stopped taking off their Miraculouses. "The two of you make an awesome team, you're just as in sync as me and Chat are!"

Carapace smiled, taking Alya's hand. Ladybug's hand tightened on her yoyo, but this wasn't quite what she wanted. They were getting closer, so she watched them out of the corner of her eyes, pretending to mess around with her yoyo so they wouldn't wonder why she had it out.

"We try our best," Carapace replied, running his thumb over the back of Alya's hand. "I just follow this pretty girl's lead, she's best at the superhero-ing stuff."

Alya smirked, stepping in front of him. "I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit, pretty boy."

She then grabbed him by his hood, pulling him into a kiss. Ladybug grinned as they embraced, holding up her yoyo and snapping a photo. They failed to notice, whisked away in their kiss, so she took the opportunity to snag a few more. She looked down at her prizes, trying to hold back a laugh as she texted Chat.

[Got them.]

"I think you two can do this later," Ladybug said, clearing her throat. They suddenly seemed to remember they weren't alone, breaking apart, blushing.

"Sorry, dude," Carapace said quickly, pulling of his bracelet, and with a flash of green light he was Nino once more. Wayzz zipped out from the jewel, he and Nino doing their little handshake. A small smile flickered over Ladybug's face, glad to see Wayzz in high spirits. He hovered next to Nino's shoulder, expression falling slightly as Nino held out his Miraculous to her.

There was no mistaking the sadness in their gazes as she took the jewels, the duo saying goodbye to their kwamis they had grown so close to. It was very different than when she had first introduced them to the Miraculous, where the powers and superhero-ing had drawn their attention. Now their eyes were locked on the kwamis as they were drawn into their now-dormant Miraculouses. She carefully slipped them into hammerspace her yoyo provided. She smiled at her friends and teammates, who had their arms around each other.

"You'll be okay with getting down?" She checked. She had come up here many times with them as Marinette so she knew they were fine, but they didn't know who she was.

"Yep, don't worry about us, dude," Nino replied.

"Well, in that case, bug out!" She called, throwing her yoyo off at a nearby building. The string went taut, and with a single tug she was flying through the air. She landed on another roof, taking off running as she retracted her yoyo. It vibrated in her hand, and she looked down to read the message from Chat.

[Perfect. Tomorrow then, My Lady?]

She grinned. [Tomorrow.]

Adrien met her outside of the bakery like he usually did in the morning, but instead of his usual soft expression there was a gleam in his green eyes– a mischievous look that was quite rare for when they were out of costume. She flashed him a smile as she stepped outside, calling goodbye to her mom before they headed off to school.

He offered her his hand with a bit more flourish than necessary, pressing his lips to the back of her hand. "Shall we be off, Princess?"

"That excited, huh?" She asked with a laugh as they headed off to school. Technically Adrien wasn't supposed to be walking to school– but what Gabriel Agreste didn't know couldn't hurt him. Every morning Adrien's bodyguard dropped him off at the bakery, and they headed to school from there. It was right across the street, but they were sure that his father would still throw a fit if he knew.

"Revenge is a sweet dish, My Lady, and I can't wait to serve it," He replied, green eyes glancing around to make sure no one could hear them as he used her nickname. They were careful about keeping their alter egos separated, especially after the little delightful pickle they had found themselves in after Adrien had been found kissing a superhero instead of his girlfriend.

Thank goodness Marinette had convinced Alya to delete the picture, and fortunately there were no copies of it floating about the web, meaning the story hadn't become much more than whispers flying about the school. Adrien didn't know what he would have done if tabloids had caught wind of that– meaning his father would have. Despite all this their two best friends still liked to bring it up on occasion, especially the fact that she had apparently kissed Chat Noir, and how they were both okay with that. They just laughed it off the best they could, but unfortunately cheating wasn't exactly a topic most people were willing to drop.

"Can I see it?" Adrien asked with a grin, and she pulled out her phone to show him the picture of Carapace and Alya kissing. "Oh, this is going to be gold!" He chortled. "Pure gold, I tell you!"

"Just remember to wipe that grin off of your face and play your part," Marinette reminded him as they reached the school– and instantly Adrien's face was stoic. It startled her how easily he could change expressions at times, but as a model he could easily slip into almost any role.

One thing that could never fool Marinette, though, was his smile. His 'model' smile and his real smile were very different, and when he pulled out his fake model smile she knew something was wrong. She'd do anything to protect his true smile.

"Hey dudes!" Nino called, one arm around Alya, the other waving towards them.

"Hey Nino!" Adrien replied as he reached them, carefully making sure that he didn't make eye contact with Alya. "How are you doing, is everything okay?"

"Of course dude? Why wouldn't it be?" Nino blinked at the sudden concern, Adrien's questions having not been causal, and he put an arm around his shoulder. He gave Nino a grim smile, before guiding his best friend into the school, shooting a glare over his shoulder back at Alya.

"What?" Alya blined in confusion as her boyfriend was dragged away. "Marinette, what was that about?"

Marinette was careful not to make eye contact with her. "Um, what?" She asked, allowing her voice to go guiltily high. "I dunno what you're talking about! Everything's fine, let's get to class!"

"Mari–" She began, but she was already hurrying towards the building without an explanation. Alya's brow furrowed in confusion, increasing her pace to catch up to Marinette, who still wasn't looking at her.

Marinette did feel a little bit bad when she saw the hurt expression on Alya's face, and decided to tone back her wariness just a bit. She gave her a smile, though allowed a trace of nervousness to cross her gaze, and slowed down a bit as they headed up towards the classroom. Adrien on the other hand, was relentless.

Stormy green eyes glared at Alya the moment she walked into class, arms crossed. Alya paused in the doorway, looking at Adrien in absolute confusion, then at Nino in hope he'd have some anwer. He just shrugged, mouthing 'sorry babe', and Adrien threw and arm around his shoulder. Nino shifted uncertainly, not uncomfortable at the contact, just not sure as to what was going on.

"Marinette, is Adrien mad at me?" Alya asked quietly as they made their way to their seats, Adrien glowering at her the entire time.

"Haha, what makes you say that?" She said quickly.

"Mari, what's going on?" Alya demanded.

"So! You guys up to lunch at my place?" Marinette asked, giving Adrien a meaningful look. They weren't going to let this go on any longer than lunch, that wouldn't be fair. She could see the frustration in Alya's gaze, but also the worry, clearly wondering what she had done wrong.

"Sounds awesome, dudette," Nino replied, shifting. "Perhaps we could, er, talk or something?"

"Talking would be good," Adrien replied coolly. "Some answers would be appreciated."

"Bro, what's up with you today?"

"Yeah– what did I do?" Alya said, scowling at Adrien.

He scowled right back. "We'll talk at lunch, Cesaire."

Adrien was ruthlessly protective of Nino throughout their next few classes– even stealing him as his lab partner from Alya despite his best friend's protests. Marinette didn't know whether to laugh or comfort Alya, who seemed to be stuck somewhere between concerned and fuming. Her frustration was clear, but so was her worry.

"What did I do?" She practically begged as the lunch bell finally rang. "I know you know what's going on, I've seen how you've been acting. Why is he so mad at me? He was fine yesterday at school! And I haven't seen him since!"

"I dunno..." Marinette said uncertainly, shifting. "Let's just go grab some lunch, I guess."

"Mari?"

"Come on Alya," She replied, knowing she couldn't break character now. The boys were waiting for them by the door, and Adrien carefully wedged Nino between himself and Marinette, leaving Alya on the edges of the group. Nobody said anything as they headed over to the bakery, Nino awkwardly glancing between the three of them.

Sabine had four lunches ready for them when they arrived, Marinette having texted her earlier about their plans to come here during the break. She was smiling happily as they entered, which quickly turned to concern when she saw the clear tension between them.

"We'll be up in my room, Mom, if that's okay," Marinette said, grabbing one of the plates from the counter. The others followed suit, thanking Sabine before they all headed upstairs. Alya hurried forward so she could be next to Nino, who put an arm around their waist. Adrien took this as his cue to let out a snort, before silence settled about them.

Lunch was awkward to say the least, all of them sitting on the floor of her room as they ate, no one knowing how to break the silence.

"Okay," Alya growled as they were half way through their meal. "I'm sick of this– what is going on?"

"You know what you did," Adrien snapped back, crossing his arms. There was a playful spark in his eyes, but his scowl was more than enough to cover it up.

"No I don't!" Alya cried in frustration. "What did I do, Adrien? Why are you so mad? I'm sorry, for whatever it was– okay?"

"It's not me you should be apologizing to," Adrien said, tilting his head towards Nino. "But rather your boyfriend."

"What?" Nino yelped. "Alya didn't do anything, man!"

"Yes she did," He growled, hands curled into fists. "And here she is acting like nothing even happened last night."

"What?" She stared at them in confusion.

"Alya... we saw you," Marinette said in a small voice. "There's no point trying to hide it, okay? I don't know why you did that... but I know you're a good person so please just tell Nino the truth! He'll forgive you!"

"I didn't do anything!" She protested.

"Yes you did!" Adrien cried, slamming a fist against the floor. "We saw you Alya, you were kissing someone else! You're cheating on Nino!"

Silence.

"What?" She cried. "Guys, I d-don't know who or what you saw, but I'd never cheat on Nino. This has to be a misunderstanding."

"Yeah dudes, Alya is as loyal as they come!" Nino said, pulling her close. Adrien gave Marinette a meaningful look, and she pretended to hesitate for a few seconds, before pulling out her phone. She already had the photo she had taken last night as Ladybug pulled up, which she turned for Nino and Alya to see.

Any guilt for pulling this act flew out the window the moment she saw their faces as they stared at the picture of Carapace and Alya kissing. They both paled, eyes widening in shock, alarm, then finally settling on a confused-horror. After a moment Nino flushed a little bit, looking like he was trying to say something, though just a few stuttering sounds came out. Alya just blankly stared at the photo, as if trying to make sense of it all.

"That's you, isn't it?" Adrien demanded.

"Y-yes, but–" Alya began, before freezing up when she realized that was probably the worst answer. "I mean no, that can't possibly be me, who took this picture–?"

"Mari took it– and I recognize you, that is you! You just said yes!" Adrien snarled. "You were kissing Carapace! Why am I even surprised though, of course you'd jump at the chance to kiss a superhero, even if that means cheating on your own boyfriend!"

"Dude, slow down," Nino said. "This is a misunderstanding, you see– er– I'm–"

"Nino you can't!" Alya hissed, so quietly that they barely heard it. Adrien and Marinette glanced at each other, fighting smirks as they watched their friends panic. They couldn't reveal their identities and explain that Nino was Carapace, and they already had confirmed that this was indeed Alya so they couldn't play it off as someone else. They were cornered, and their only option was to admit that she had kissed 'someone else'. Confess to cheating, even when she hadn't.

"I'm sure it was just a mistake," Marinette said hurriedly, concern in her voice. "This is Alya after all. She just needs to apologize and–!"

"Apologize! She cheated on Nino! He's like a brother to me, I can't just stand here and do nothing!" Adrien shouted, both of them eyeing their friends out of the corner of their vision. They both knew how they felt, panicked, though probably flattered at how much they cared about them. It was the same thing they had felt when Alya had accused Adrien of cheating on Marinette.

"You know how much Alya loves heros, it was probably just an accident!" Marinette said. "She probably meant to kiss him on the cheek as a hello and missed–"

"You've seen the photos Mari, that was no little peck!" Adrien turned towards Nino. "You can't just sit there and act like nothing happened. Stand up for yourself, Nino. Take a break from each other even if you want to give her a second chance so badly, but this isn't something to just brush off. I won't let you!"

"I wasn't cheating on Nino!" Alya shouted.

"You kissed Carapace!"

"I love Nino!"

"Then explain what happened!" Adrien snarled. "You hurt my bro– so you have to deal with me now!"

"Dude," Nino said softly. "I, erm, I'm thankful for the support, but me and Alya should talk about this... alone. We'll sort this out, man, it's cool."

"No way," Adrien growled, glaring at Alya. "We're discussing this now. I want the honest truth, because that's what you deserve. Why did you betray Nino like this?"

"I, um... I was a..." Alya was fumbling for words, and for once the reporter seemed at a loss for them. She looked at Nino desperately, as if hoping he'd have some explanation to give. Both looked so panicked, eyes wide as they struggled for an answer– but none could get both of them out of this.

Marinette was the first to crack, a small snort of a laugh escaping from her. Everyone looked at her, and she couldn't hold it back any longer, bursting out laughing. Adrien snickered as well, grinning as he joined her. Alya and Nino looked between them in pure confusion, which only resulted in another burst of laughter.

"The look on your guys' faces!" Marinette chortled. "Like a deer caught in the headlights!"

"More like a fox caught in the headlights," Adrien said, giving the two of them the widest grin he could. If possible Alya and Nino paled even further, letting out small and uncertain chuckles.

"Heh heh, fox, why would you say fox?" Nino said quickly. "None of us are foxes, or have outfits that remotely resemble them– ouch!"

Alya had sharply elbowed Nino right in the ribs.

"No point in trying to hide it," Adrien said with a smirk. "We know who you guys are, Rena, Carapace."

"Oh no, oh no, no no..." Alya whispered. "You guys aren't supposed to know! No one's supposed to know, this is bad, this is bad bad bad..."

Nino on the other hand, frowned. He reached out, plucking Marinette's phone from her hand and stared down at the picture. "You said you took this photo, right?"

"Sure did," Marinette said smugly.

"But for it to be at this angle, and this close... that would have to mean you guys were on the roof with us and..." He looked up at them in confusion, and you could see the moment the realization passed over his face, amber eyes widening. He physically recoiled, jumping back. "Oh my sweet kwami!"

"You'd think the turtle would be the slower one," Adrien said, while Nino pointed at them with a shaking finger, it switching back and forth between the two of them. Meanwhile Alya was still panicking over the fact their identities had been discovered.

"You two are–!" Nino cried, pausing, then swallowed. "Okay, Nino dude, you got this. Your friends are heroes, no different than your girlfriend being one... yeah, this is normal."

"They'll never give us our Miraculouses again!" Alya said, still panicking, apparently not listening to a word of what the others' were saying. "We failed Ladybug! I'll never get to see Trixx again or–"

"Alya!" Nino cried.

"What?!"

He shoved the phone in her face. "Marinette took this!"

"I know! We were discovered! This is bad!"

"If Mari took this photo that means she was on the roof with us!" Nino pressed, no longer shouting, just staring right at Alya as he waited for this information to sink in. Alya's face was blank for a moment as she processed this, blinking.

"Looks like operation payback was a success," Marinette said, enjoying her friends' confusion a bit too much.

He held out his fist as she raised hers, the two fistbumping each other, voices calling in unison: "Pound it!"

Marinette had to cover her ears at the shriek that followed.

If Nino had been flabbergasted, Alya had put him to shame. She and Adrien burst out into giggles once more as she pointed between them, short babbles escaping her mouth in what seemed to be an attempt to talk. She just stared at them in shock, eyes drifting to the earrings she wore then to the ring on Adrien's finger, more sounds coming from her. Finally she just let out a small whimper, leaning against Nino.

"Stop laughing!" Alya cried at them a minute later, once she had somewhat recovered from the shock. "You two are– this entire time you've guys have been– You guys are Ladybug and Chat Noir!" She pulled at her hair. "You two have been right in front of me this whole time and I didn't even realize..."

"This was hands down the funniest way to tell you guys," Marinette said.

"Funny?! That was a mean prank to pull! I thought you guys actually thought I was cheating on Nino and I didn't know what to do and... and..." Alya paused, staring at them. "Wait, so this means when Adrien was kissing Ladybug... that meant he was actually kissing... oooooo."

"Consider this as payback, sneaky fox," Adrien said with a smirk. "You backed us into a corner, it was only fitting for us to do the same. Just be glad I didn't chew you out in front of the entire school like you did for me."

"You didn't have to act like you hated me for the whole day!"

"Yes I did~" He said in a singsong voice, before chuckling. "Man, we've been waiting ages to pull this prank on you guys. But we had to wait for when one of you was transformed and the other wasn't, and then for you guys to kiss while you were like that. It took us like seven patrols to finally get that picture."

"Is that why you've taken us on so many patrols out of the blue?" Alya demanded. "So you could prank us, not train us?" She paused. "Oh gosh, I am not going to get used to this... my friends are Ladybug and Chat Noir..."

"You will in time," Marinette replied. "It took us some time to adjust too once we revealed our identities."

"I wrote fanfiction about you guys!" Alya cried. "Then asked you to read it!"

Marinette gave her a pointed look, before taking a long sip of her drink. Hazel eyes widened again in realization, and Alya buried her head into her hands, muttering under her breath.

"What is it now, babe?" Nino asked, leaning towards her, seemingly taking this much better than she was.

"Marinette would always write Rena Rouge and Carapace fanfiction..." Alya grumbled. "Asked me to read and edit them everytime I sent her Ladynoir fics... it was payback. All of it was just payback."

"I just wanted you to feel as embarrassed as I did reading fics about myself," Marinette said with a grin.

"And all those nice things you said about Rena?" Alya asked. "Was that just payback for me fangirling over Ladybug?"

"Of course not, I told you Rena was my favorite superhero and that's no lie," Marinette replied. "I didn't pick the Ladyblogger and my biggest fan to have a Miraculous– I picked my very best friend and someone I trust to have one."

"Oh, get over here girl!" Alya cried, reaching out and dragging Marinette into a bear hug.

"I thought I was your favorite hero!" Adrien protested.

"Sorry Kitty, but Chat Noir is the most annoying hero," Marinette replied, sticking out her tongue at him from over Alya's shoulder. "If it means anything you are my favorite hero to kiss."

"I am the most kissable," He said with a dramatic flip of his hair.

"Get over yourself, dude," Nino replied– and all four of them burst out laughing.

"I thought we couldn't reveal our identities," Alya said as they began to calm down. "You told me everything had to be a secret, so why did you tell us who you are now?"

"Well if we're going to be a team, we need to be able to trust each other completely," Marinette replied. "It will be easier to coordinate during attacks and make plans out of costume. Also, I really don't like lying– and I'm sick of having to keep this a secret from you."

"Team?" Nino asked, blinking.

"Oh yeah," Adrien said with a Chat-like grin. "Did we mention that we didn't just come here to prank you guys? We have a gift for you too."

From his pocket he pulled out a familiar bracelet, and from her purse Marinette pulled out a necklace. Alya took in a sharp breath at the sight of her Miraculous, while Nino's eyes lit up with excitement at his. They held out the jewels to their friends, which were snatched right out of their hands with no hesitation. Two bursts of light filled the room, their kwamis being released from them.

"Nino!" Wayzz cried, zipping straight towards Nino. He cupped the Turtle in his hands, bringing him close to his chest in a hug.

"Little dude!" Nino said happily as he held him, then wasted no time to slip the bracelet on his wrist. "It's only been one day, but I've missed you!"

Alya was looking at them, hope in her eyes as she slipped on the necklace. "Does this mean what I think it does?"

Marinette smiled, watching as Trixx buried himself into Alya's hair, who scratched the top of his head. "We want you guys to wear your Miraculouses full time now. Become permanent heros, just like us."

Tikki and Plagg came out from their hiding spots, dancing about the humans happily and chirping greetings to the other kwamis. Neither Trixx nor Wayzz seemed keen to leave their chosen though, especially Wayzz, currently curled up on Nino's shoulder. Eventually Tikki settled onto Marinette's knee, and Plagg began digging through Adrien's bag in search of cheese. Alya was watching their kwamis with awe, before looking at them with a huge smile.

"Wow," She said softly. "This is amazing, like a dream come true."

"You're officially a superhero," Marinette said. "Full time."

"No girl, I'm officially a superhero with my best friend and my boyfriend. And some annoying sunshine boy that likes to dress up as a cat," She said, leaning back. "Also I get to be with Trixx, I've missed this little guy so much."

"I've missed you too," Trixx said, burrowed away somewhere in Alya's hair. "It's so hard being bonded with someone but being stuck in the Miracle Box. We're going to have so much fun now!"

"So, um, we just wear our Miraculouses all the time?" Nino checked, offering some of his sandwich to Wayzz.

"Yes, try to keep them inconspicuous though," Tikki said. "Have a causal story ready on where you got it in case it's brought up in conversation– fumbling around for a story just sounds suspicious."

"As for your kwamis make sure you have food for them at all times, not just when we take you out on patrol," Adrien added. "You never know when you need to transform or recharge. Or they're just gluttons like Plagg."

"Am not!" A muffled voice protested from Adrien's bag, which was soon followed by the sound of chewing.

Everyone let out a laugh.