Alya had had enough. She was tired of seeing Marinette stutter as she repeatedly tried to talk to her crush in vain. As her best friend, she had an obligation to help her out, and so, she took matters into her own hands…

Locking eyes with the boy across the courtyard, she motioned for him to follow her. She walked over to the green stairwell near the entrance of the school and watched as Nino approached her.

"What are you up to, Alya?" Nino questioned, who noticed the telltale gleam of mischief in her eyes.

"We're going to do some matchmaking with Marinette and pretty boy," she responded with a smirk.

"What do I need to do?"

-ML-

Marinette could not afford to be late again. With a swift kiss to her mother's cheek, she grabbed a bag of cookies and was out the door. As she sprinted to the school, she dropped a couple of treats into her purse for Tikki, and wished desperately that role call hadn't started yet. She ran through the doors, but abruptly stopped when she noticed that students were still chatting in the courtyard. Exhaling in relief, she walked over to Alya, who was wearing a strangely gleeful expression.

"Hey, Alya! What's up?" she said.

"Nothing yet" her friend responded, her foot tapping excitedly as she grinned.

Marinette looked at Alya in confusion. "What's that supposed to me-"

"Oh, look at the time! We've got physics class. Let's go!" Alya interrupted. And without another word, she took Marinette's wrist and started walking towards the entrance of the school.

"Alya, Physics is that way-"

Marinette stopped talking as she noticed a flustered Adrien being pushed by Nino in the same direction as she was headed. Involuntarily, her cheeks flamed and eyes widened, but she mostly felt puzzled as to why Alya as well as Nino were acting so strangely.

Alya stopped pulling her when they came in front of a closet door. Nino and Adrien joined them right after.

Winking at the confused teenagers, Alya remarked "You'll thank me for this" before shouting "Now, Nino!"

Nino opened the closet door with a flourish and Alya shoved the two inside before shutting it quickly with a cackle. She walked away with a spring in her step as she twirled a key around her finger, Nino following her with an amused chuckle.

-ML-

Marinette was going to kill Alya once she got out of this stupid closet. If she ever got out. Taking deep breaths, she turned around to face Adrien's wide-eyed gaze and gave him a smile that probably looked like she was crazy. She proceeded to kick at the door and yank the handle as hard as she could.

She knew what Alya was trying to do, but this was too much. Being in such a close proximity with Adrien would cause her to either combust or melt into a puddle. Speaking of the blonde, he stared at Marinette's frantic attempts to get out. Was she really so averse to being here with him that she wanted to get out so desperately? His heart sank, and he sat down on the floor slowly. Why did Nino and Alya lock them up in here, anyway?

"Uh, Mari-Marinette? I don't think that's going to work," he spoke up.

She suddenly stopped, and before she could make a fool out of herself further, she slid to the floor, leaning against the closet door, sitting directly across Adrien.

She gave him an uneasy smile which he returned in earnest. Looking away, she cursed her inability to start a conversation with him, even when Alya had given her the perfect opportunity.

Just as Marinette was about to try to talk about the physics homework with Adrien, she heard a crash accompanied by screams.

Eyes widening, Marinette face palmed her forehead in agitation. Great. An akuma.

How would she be able to transform when-

She stole a glance at the blonde, and became curious when he was staring back at her as if he was thinking deeply about something. Why did he look so… determined?

Just as Marinette made up her mind to transform, and disregard the fact a civilian was with her, Adrien stood up at the same time she did.

"Look-"

"Marinette."

His serious tone halted her words.

"Marinette, I, I can trust you, right?"

She nodded slowly, and was about to ask what was he doing, when he suddenly extended his hand in front of him and shouted "Plagg, claws out!"

Oh.

Oh.

Her mouth opened as a newly transformed Chat Noir stood in front of her. He seemed uneasy yet determined.

"We'll talk later, Princess" he said, and promptly Cataclysmed the locked closet door and ran outside. "Stay safe!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Marinette was glued to the floor as she processed the new information in her head. Adrien was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was Adrien. Shaking her head a little, she shoved those thoughts aside as she transformed into Ladybug. Right now, she needed to focus.

The akuma was a tricky one to defeat; she was called Queen Candy and had tried trapping people in heaps of sticky lollipops. One Lucky Charm later, the akuma was purified and the school returned to normal. After exchanging a hesitant fist bump with her partner, Ladybug fled the scene, much to Chat's puzzlement and regret.

Swinging into an empty classroom, she checked her surroundings before detransforming. Marinette ran out to find Adrien; she needed to talk to him. Suddenly, she collided into someone, and was about to fall when she was caught. It was Adrien. Of course. Marinette blushed faintly, but then remembered her mission and dragged a stuttering Adrien into the classroom. Everyone was still recovering from the attack, so nobody took notice to them. She took him inside and faced him.

"Look, Marinette, I'm sorry I sprung that-"

She hushed his frantic thoughts with a finger to her mouth, motioning for him to be silent.

"It's okay, Chat. You did what you had to do to stop the akuma. It's kind of funny, though, that you transformed in front of me."

"What-"

"Spots on, Tikki!"

With a burst of pink light, she transformed into Ladybug. He could only gape in shock as she smiled at him.

"I guess it was only fair to reveal myself as well. Surprise!" she giggled.

Adrien slowly smiled and shook his head in astonishment. "I'm so glad it's you, Marinette," he said. He looked hesitant, though.

"You're...you're not upset that it was me all along, right?"

She shook her head quickly, firmly saying "I wouldn't want it to be anyone else, Adrien."

He hugged her fiercely, and she returned the gesture, releasing the transformation in the process.

"And I'm glad it's you, too."

-ML-

"So, I take it that my intervention went well."

"Alya, I would murder you, but I'm way too happy to do so," Marinette replied.

"Have fun, you two" Alya grinned. She waved at the new couple, who walked away hand-in-hand, and sighed in contentment.

"Mission accomplished."