"M'Lady, I have a question for you." Paris was quiet and Ladybug and Chat Noir found themselves sitting on top of the Eiffel Tower, basking in the light of the moon, the two savoring one another's company.

Ladybug turned her attention to her partner, giving him a small smile. "What is it, Chaton?"

"Do your lips taste like strawberry?"

The question honestly caught Ladybug off guard, but instead of scoffing, rolling her eyes and deftly avoiding the subject like she usually would she shrugged. "Do you want to find out?" Chat started at the girl sitting beside him, unsure of what to make of the situation. Was he reading this correctly? Did Ladybug just give him permission to kiss her? What was this world coming to? He watched as Ladybug stood up and rolled her shoulders back, trying to not stare at her accentuated curves, the way the suit hugged her in all the right places. She turned around to look at him, smiling, her blue eyes bubbling with playfulness. "Why don't you come find me, Adrien? Bonne nuit, Chaton," and just like that she was flying away through the night sky, the moon illuminating her.

It took him a moment to realize he needed to replay her last words in his head. 'Why don't you come find me, Adrien?' Adrien. She had called him Adrien. He wasn't making that up, was he? This wasn't a case of wishful thinking? Ladybug had called him Adrien. She knew who he was. Ladybug knew that Adrien was Chat Noir, and he didn't know what to do with that information. He just sat there, on the Eiffel Tower, staring into the night.

When Marinette found out Adrien was her loyal partner she freaked out a little. Or a lot. She was a bit prone to freaking out when it came to Adrien Agreste. After an akuma battle the two separated and she really didn't mean to see him detransform but the dumb cat just jumped into the first alley he could find and did not look throughly to make sure no one was watching and she knew she was going to have to give him a piece of her mind next time she saw- Adrien. Adrien was standing the in alley. He didn't see her, of course. Ladybug was on the roof above. He walked out, hands in his pocket, whistling as he jollily sauntered away like he hadn't just been the superhero Chat Noir. That self-satisfied smirk on his face was the only think to betray his identity. Her knees buckles beneath her, no longer able to hold her weight. The shock was simply too much for her to handle.

Marinette detransformed on the roof when her time as Ladybug expired and Tikki was thrown from the earrings. "You know, huh?" was all the kwami said. Marinette weakly nodded, eyes fixated on a stray pebble that sat on the roof. "Surprise..." was the only response Tikki could come up with.

One call to the fire department and a lecture later Marinette was finally able to process the information her brain had taken in. Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette, therefore, Adrien Agreste was in love with Marinette. Adrien was in love with her. He just didn't know it.

At school the day after Ladybug left Chat Noir stranded on the roof with just the words 'Why don't you come find me, Adrien?' he was a wreck.

"Bro, what happened?" Nino looked at his friend with genuine concern. The usual model look had vanished. Adrien Agreste looked like a normal teenager, for once, which was alarming. His hair was even messier than it was when he was Chat, his clothes were slightly wrinkled and looked like they had been grabbed out of a hamper instead of his closet, he was wearing glasses. No one knew Adrien wore glasses.

"Long night."

Marinette felt bad for being the cause of this, but the day after she found out she was a total wreck. This was just revenge he didn't know he deserved. She couldn't help but feel just the slightest bit satisfied. She wasn't heartless, though, and knew something like this would happen. She pulled an energy drink out of her bag, one of those zero calorie ones that she knew Chat, and by extension, Adrien, occasionally drank. "Adrien, you want this? I think you need it more than I do." She passed him the drink and he shot her a grateful look.

"Merci beacoup." He gratefully accepted the drink, opening it hastily.

"De rein," she replied, a smile dancing on her lips.

"Did you just get through an entire conversation with Adrien without stuttering?" Alya was looking at Marinette like she had sprouted an extra head or something.

"I guess I did?" It was a lot easier to talk to Adrien when she knew how much of a dork he was. He was her partner in crime... or partner in anti-crime? They were two halves of a whole and knowing that Chat was hiding somewhere inside Adrien made her feel relaxed around him. He was no longer someone who was out of her reach. She looked back down at the boy, hoping he would understand the hint she left for him.

The energy drink she had given to him was strawberry flavored. He threw the can away after class, not catching the hint. No problem. She wasn't so mean as to tell her kitty to look for her then not help him out on the way. He had no way of knowing who she was.

At lunch Marinette went home and grabbed the dozen cupcakes she made the night before. She suspected the energy drink wouldn't be enough to tip him off, but strawberry cupcakes decorated with pink strawberry flavored frosting topped with one of her father's strawberry macarons... surely he would understand.

Marinette came back from lunch with a box of four cupcakes. It would be suspicious if she only gave one to Adrien so she would just use the classic sample from the bakery excuse. She passed one out to Nino and Alya before taking special care to give on to Adrien. She made sure he had the prettiest of the batch. They happily enjoyed the cupcakes on their way back to class. "Hey, Marinette, can I say something?" Adrien spoke. She gave him her undivided attention. This was it. He was going to ask her if she was Ladybug.

"What is it, Adrien?" Little butterflies started fluttering in her stomach.

"Do you-" he licked his lips, gathering some of the stray frosting that had collected there. "Do you think you could add those rainbow sprinkles to these next time?"

She wanted to bash her head against a wall. Or his. Someone's head needed to meet the wall. "Yeah, sure." She was slightly breathless but she hoped he didn't catch on.

"Awesome!" They walked back into class and the conversation was finished. No mention of Ladybug. Just rainbow sprinkles.

Time for Plan C.

During physics Marinette asked Adrien if he would come over after school to help her with her physics homework. She genuinely needed help and Adrien was the best in class. Luckily he had nothing scheduled this afternoon (something she already knew) so he agreed to come. They walked to her house together after Adrien dismissed his driver and she welcomed him up to her room (the posters had all been taken down upon discovering Adrien was Chat). "Can you set up?" she asked. "I'll go grab us some snacks."

He nodded. "Alright." She was only gone a moment before she returned with a plate of strawberries, which he eyes suspiciously. "Are you on a strawberry kick, Marinette?"

"No, but I thought you were." Her voice was innocent enough, but her heart was pounding like a jackhammer in her chest. "I mean, you asked if my lips tasted like strawberries last night."

"Oh." He looked at the plate of strawberries and then into her her eyes. "You're Ladybug. Explains all the strawberries then." His face looked akin to a strawberry. Still, he leaned in and kissed her, sweetly, but passionately, running his tongue over her bottom lip. "Nope," he laughed, "they taste like chocolate."


I've been on a bit of a one-shot kick…