Author's Note:

I do not own any of these characters.

Adrien opened his eyes as soon as the paper floated down and rested on the hand his ring used to be on. He was wide awake upon realizing his ring was missing. He scanned the note quickly, causing it to disintegrate in his hand. He ran towards his closet and looked for a disguise.

The Mr. Banana costume he still needed to return after defeating Kwami Buster was the first thing he saw. Not wanting to waste any time, he hopped in it and snuck out of the mansion as quickly as possible. Along the way, he found a scooter and broom with he could wear on his back.

Not sure exactly where to go, he headed towards the school. He was about to head into the park to cut across it as he saw Master Fu pedaling as fast as he could and then he saw Marinette running after him in her pajamas and calling his name. He stopped. Stunned by the sight.

He was brought out of his thoughts as a large, blue sentimonster landed between Master Fu and Marinette. He watched as Marinette ran back towards the bakery. As soon as a covered biker exited the bakery, he set an intercept course.

"Hi there, Bugaboo." Adrien felt that was the best way to confirm Marinette really was Ladybug. If she responded as he expected, it would simply confirm his suspicions.

"Cat Noir? Is that you?" Not exactly, confirmation, but not a denial either.

"Of course it is. Who else would you expect to be by your side?"

"Isn't that costume of yours a little unsafe?"

"Only on the outside. I've got a helmet and pads on under my banana peel, Bugaboo." Adrien wanted to try it one more time just to make sure.

"If you call me Bugaboo one more time, I'll start calling you BanaNoir."

"As you wish, Bugaboo." Adrien finally had the confirmation he needed.

Outside of Ladybug voluntarily getting them swallowed by the sentimonster, he considered it relatively standard fight once they got their miraculouses back.

Adrien knew this was bad. He knew if anyone else found out that he knew Ladybug's identity that he and Marinette would both have to quit being superheroes. Plagg didn't even know he knew. Adrien was intent on keeping this to himself as long as possible. It was an accident, after all.

He pondered how he could've seen Marinette as Multi-Mouse and Ladybug there at the same time. It had just happened earlier that week after all. He thought for certain that Marinette couldn't be Ladybug after what he saw on the roof. Now he knew otherwise.

Then it occurred to him that all of the kwamis were at the fight. He'd been learning about the other kwamis with Master Fu and how to merge them if the situation absolutely required it. But he'd also been warned that using more than one kwami at a time could be dangerous to the wearer. After mentally reviewing the list of kwamis in his head and their powers, he remembered that Trixx could cast illusions. Trixx was Rena Rouge's kwami. Could it have been that Rena Rouge was recruited by Ladybug to stage the illusion?

The more he thought about it, the more he talked himself out of it. If Ladybug had asked Rena Rouge to make the illusion, she'd given away the fact she was Marinette, unless... Rena Rouge already knew her identity. But that was highly unlikely given that only Ladybug knew the other heroes' identities.

She was certainly using the Mouse Miraculous since she really was Multi-Mouse, and she must've merged with Plagg to use Cataclysm to destroy Kwami Buster's trap. She also would've needed to use Ladybug's Lucky Charm to trap the akuma. She wouldn't have had enough time to give Ladybug her earrings back without letting the akuma get away.

Perhaps she also used Trixx to cast the illusion. But that would've been joining four kwamis together, unless being Multi-Mouse meant she could unify her smaller selves individually. Perhaps that made it possible for her to not hurt herself.

It also means she was covering her tracks on Star Train. She had actually been on the train and not teleported to it. His mind began to wonder further back, comparing Marinette and Ladybug and how fast Ladybug would show up when Marinette had been around. He had to keep himself from facepalming as he thought about the times they had been stuck together in a location by an akuma or had both shown up when no akuma alert was officially issued.

As much of a mystery as it was, and his theories could be correct or not, he knew he needed to come up with a plan to win Marinette over from Luka. He must be the boy she's been rejecting him for all these months. Since she's friends with Juleka, she could have been crushing on Luka for years now. Perhaps Luka still sees her like a little sister and that's why they aren't dating.

He looked over to where Plagg was romancing a wedge of camembert. He needed to formulate a plan that wouldn't make Plagg suspicious either. Plagg knew he only considered Marinette a friend. Although, he just now realized after looking back on things that he was slightly more than friendly at times. And then his face fell when the memory of the ice rink flooded back to him. Not only did he need to get Luka out of her head, but he now needed to try to convince Marinette that he wasn't dating Kagami.

The first phase of Adrien's plan was to figure out why Marinette was always stuttering around him. He needed to know if she was just fangirling, or if she didn't like him. Both of those were plausible explanations for her stuttering... especially when she didn't do it around anyone else. He waited patiently in the locker room and rounded the corner when she opened her locker.

She closed the locker, and he greeted with the a usual, "Hello, Marinette."

She jumped and faced him, letting out an adorable squeak in the process. Perhaps Multi-Mouse wasn't a bad fit for her. "A-Adrien! W-Whup's at?"

Adrien looked at her for a second before it registered what she was trying to say. "I'm sorry I've forgotten about my promise to you."

"P-P-Promise? What promise?"

"To let you attend a photoshoot. I have one after school today if you can make it." This was it. If she was fangirling, she'd accept and if she didn't like him, she'd decline.

"T-Today?" She pulled out her phone and looked through her calendar. "I'm free, but let me check with my parents. W-Where's it going to be?"

"It'll be at the park near your apartment."

She hit a few buttons on her phone, being careful not to let him see her screen. "Hi, mama? A-Adrien asked me to go to a photoshoot after school. Is that okay?... Thanks, mama." She looked at him and nodded. "I can go. Do I need to bring anything?"

"Just your curiosity."

"My cursiosity?"

"You said you were into fashion, right?"

"R-Right!" She winked and shot him some finger guns. "Fashion! I'm totally into fashion."

Adrien laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "I'll see you in class." He walked away and let Marinette recompose herself for class, figuring to himself she was definitely fangirling over him.

"That's a-perfect, Adrien. You really love-a zee spaghetti today. No?" Adrien didn't respond. Much like the other 53 times Vincent had praised him that afternoon. Instead, he continued staring at Marinette.

Vincent turned suddenly to Marinette. "Come... you take dee pictures with Mister Adrien."

"Oh no... I'm not a model. I couldn't possibly..."

"Please? For me?" Adrien had his soft eyes on her and she caved. After getting dressed and having her makeup touched up for the bright lights, Adrien could only respond, "Wow!"

Marinette looked at him shyly and played with her hair a little. She felt uncomfortable with it down. "I-Is... this... okay?"

"You're absolutely beautiful." Adrien let out unconsciously. Marinette noticeably turned bright red, even under the added makeup.

"Okay, you here and-a you here." Vincent instructed. "Magnifico!" Adrien and Marinette didn't need any other direction as they were already staring lovingly into each other's eyes. "Now. Miss... turn around and-a lean against Mister Adrien." Marinette laid her head back onto Adrien's shoulder as his arm naturally curled itself around her waist. "Yes! Magnifico!"

After several more positions, Vincent was thoroughly pleased and let the teens head back to the dressing rooms to get back into their street clothes. "Thanks, Vincent." Adrien smiled happily.

"No, Mister Adrien. Thank you! Your father should-a be very pleased wis dees."

After Adrien's makeup had been removed and he was left alone to change clothes, Plagg floated out with a smirk on his face. "You still going to claim Pigtails is just a friend?"

Phase two of his plan was now commencing, make Plagg not suspect he knows Marinette is Ladybug but is falling for Marinette also. "I-I don't know anymore, Plagg. How can I betray Ladybug like that though? I thought Marinette was just going to enjoy the technical things of the photoshoot, but the way she looked at me when we were modeling together... it made my heart skip a beat."

"You should've seen the way you were looking at her. You're lucky Ladybug doesn't know your identity, or she might actually get jealous of you looking at another girl that way."

Adrien slid his jacket back on without saying anything else. He opened it up for Plagg to hide and then exited the room. He waited a few minutes for Marinette to exit her dressing room. As soon as she did, he stood up and rushed over to her. "W-What did you think?"

"Awesome... Absolutely awesome." Marinette smiled at him genuinely. "Thank you for inviting me. I just hope I didn't ruin those last few poses."

Adrien frowned a little. "Why do you say stuff like that?"

"It's just that I know I'm not a model. I'm sure I could've messed up in so many small ways."

"You were perfect." Adrien grabbed her hands. "You were beautiful and did the poses in one try. If Vincent didn't like something, he would've said so and adjusted us."

"Y-You really think so? I was beautiful?"

"No... Not was. You are beautiful, Marinette. I'm sorry I never told you before." Marinette blushed deeply and suddenly found the floor very interesting. Adrien pulled her head back up with a gentle hand under her chin. "This might be a little forward, but do you think we could catch a movie, or get some ice cream sometime?"

"J-Just us?" Marinette's voice dropped to a whisper. "L-Like a... date?"

Adrien moved the hand he'd still had under her chin, swept it lightly over her cheek, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yes."

"B-But... what about Kagami? I thought the two of you were dating."

Adrien scratched the back of his neck. "We didn't really do anything after the ice-skating rink. I wasn't able to commit to her at that point. But... It's okay if you were hoping Luka would take to the movies instead. I'd certainly understand."

"Oh! Luka! No... he and I are just friends."

"Then we're both free to go on a date together. My offer still stands. Would you like to go on a date with me?"

"I-I love you-TO... I'd love to!" Marinette's eyes started glancing between Adrien's eyes and his lips. Adrien wondered if this was what it was like just before Alya caught a picture of them kissing after defeating Oblivio.

Adrien wet his lips and cleared his throat. "M-May I?"

Marinette smiled and then lifted herself up and closed the distance. Their lips touched and both teens pulled into it. After they broke apart, both of them suddenly found it very difficult to stand.

Adrien knew that kissing Marinette was likely just going to stoke her fangirling. But he was determined to do whatever it took to get into a relationship, even if that meant it was shallow at first. He was certain he could deepen their relationship from the inside. But now, it was time for Phase 3 at patrol, "Plagg! Claws Out!"

Cat Noir got to the meeting point early and began pacing. His nervous energy over meeting up with Ladybug for the first time since learning her identity was through the roof... and it showed. It showed so much that he didn't even hear Ladybug land on the roof and he certainly didn't hear her first question.

"Cat?" She hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder, shocking him out of his trance and making him jump 50 feet in the air. After landing and just looking at her wide-eyed, she continued slowly, "Are... are you okay?"

"F-Fine! I'm fine. I'm purrfectly okay. Nothing going on here!" Cat Noir smiled at her hoping she bought his word vomit.

Ladybug deadpanned at him. "Okay, now I know somethings going on." Her expression softened. "What is it, Kitty? You can talk to me."

Cat Noir hung his head. "I-I'm sorry, My Lady."

"Sorry? For what?"

"I... uh... I think I might have developed feelings for another girl."

"Oh, Cat... You don't have to apologize for that. I'm happy for you... really!"

"I can't help but feel like I'm cheating on you."

"While I have to admit I've been flattered a few times, you know as well as I do that dating as superheroes isn't a possibility. I don't want you holding out hope for me when you have someone that can make you happy now. Besides..." Ladybug just spaced out a little after that.

"Besides... besides what?"

Ladybug snapped to and a smile ghosted her lips. "I... uh... I think the boy I like likes me back." The blush on her face peeked out from below her mask, much to Cat Noir's amusement even though he couldn't show it.

"That's... uh... great news." Cat Noir tried to sound a little sad.

Ladybug placed her hand on his shoulder again. "You see, Kitty. This just means you should give that other girl a chance."

Cat Noir hung his head and then glanced to the side before replying, "I guess you're right."

As they headed out for patrol, Cat Noir was pleased with himself at pulling off Phase 3. He was certain Ladybug... or rather Marinette... didn't suspect he knew her identity.

Plagg swirled out of the ring after returning to the Agreste Mansion. He eyed Adrien suspiciously. "You do realize I can hear your thoughts when we're transformed, right?"

Adrien face fell. All his work at trying to protect Ladybug... and to a smaller extent... himself. "You can't say anything, Plagg. It'll mean Marinette can't be Ladybug anymore. I couldn't live with myself if she lost being Ladybug because of me. And... I don't want to lose you either." Adrien's voice was dejected.

"It's not my rule to enforce. But I can't deny it if Master Fu asks me directly. So, don't make him suspicious. As far as Sugar Cube is concerned, I can handle her if she gets suspicious."

"Sugar Cube?"

"Tikki… Ladybug's kwami."

"Oh... okay. Thanks, Plagg. You're the best. How about an extra piece of camembert?"

"You don't have to ask me twice..." Plaggs words trailed behind him as he zipped over to his cheese cabinet.

Later that evening as they relaxed, Adrien finally admitted, "I'm glad you know. It was hard trying to keep it to myself. It was starting to affect me."

"No kidding. I don't think I've had a kitten jump as high as you did tonight." Plagg smirked at the boy who had suddenly turned beet red.

"She scared me..." Adrien pouted. "She usually can't sneak up on me." Plagg just snickered some more. "Oh... shut up!"

Plagg was practically rolling in midair now. After he finally stopped laughing, he decided to rib Adrien a little bit more. "So... where are you and your very good friend going on your first date?"

"Ha... ha... very funny. I'm never going to hear the end of this, am I?"

"Nope!"

Adrien just shook his head, grateful for Plagg and hopeful for his future with Marinette.

Many, many years later, after Hawk Moth was defeated by his estranged son, Master Fu had retired, and their first child was just 3 months old, Ladybug finally told Cat Noir she was ready for the reveal. That was the day she learned that her superhero partner was her partner in every other way also.