"I was afraid you wouldn't come." Chat said, as he sat on the edge of the roof in their usual meeting place, a look of uncertainty on his face and the nervousness he held in his heart dancing in his eyes. Ladybug walked towards him from across the rooftop, with a look on her face like she wanted to

either kill him or kiss him— Chat hoped it was the latter.

"What do you want, Chat?"

"S-sorry My Lady, but… I have to tell you something."

"Is it really so important that it can't wait until next week?" she huffed, tired and annoyed at how curious she was.

"I—" he sighed, building up the courage to tell her why he had dragged her out at such an unearthly hour. "Th-thank you for the card, Marinette."

Silence.

Her eyes shot open, wide as saucers, her face growing hot as his words sunk in.

"Y-you… H-how?"

Chat's hand found the back of his head out of nervous habit as he fought down the twist in his gut.

"Your handwriting… y-you dot all your i's with hearts… a-and when you signed Jagged Stone's CD, well… it only took so long to figure it out…"

More silence.

"Are you mad?" he asked, concern rising in his voice as his eyes flitted from the ground to her face.

"…n—no. Just… shocked is all." she squeaked, her face very near the same shade as her suit. "I-I just, you— Chat— Adrien— I can't— I didn't—"

"Didn't expect me?" Chat finished, observing his Lady, not sure if he wanted to know the answer to his question.

"I— no… I didn't."

"Oh."

"B-but I'm glad it's you!" She squeaked, slowly slipping into a flustered mess as Chat's face became one with Adrien's in her mind, "honestly I'm so glad it's you I really like you and this is amazing and I've always loved yo— your work! a-and… and I'm rambling again…" She sighed, hiding behind her hands before she could blurt out anything else that would embarrass her for life. "Why can't I think around you?" She said in frustration, Chat's soft laugh only making her hide her face more.

"Oh my lady," Chat said, shifting from his perch on the roof to place his hands lightly atop hers, "And I thought I was the only one."

Ladybug slowly brought her face up to look at him, only to have his smiling eyes send a new wave of warmth through her cheeks.

"It was you, all along." she said, fulling merging the two faces in her head as she studied his smile. He nodded slightly, his eyes never straying from hers.

"H-how do I know this isn't a trick?" She said, skepticism finally creeping into her thoughts. Chat merely laughed and said, "I'll prove it to you if you want."

"Plagg, release transformation!" With that, Ladybug was engulfed in green light as Chat's transformation faded into the Parisian skyline, leaving none other but Adrien Agreste standing before her, with a little black blob floating around his head demanding cheese.

Ladybug stood dumbstruck, jaw slack and eyes wide as she took in the blonde before her. He laughed a nervous laugh, his hand finding its way back to the back of his neck as his Kwami settled on his shoulder.

"Hi," he said, his eyes shying away with the realization that he was Adrien, not Chat, standing with his Lady.

"It really is you," she breathed, chest heaving up in down as she scrambled to still her heart. Then something rose in her chest that even she didn't expect— she laughed. As she laughed her arms found their way around Adrien's shoulders and her mirth spread to his chest as he too burst out laughing in pure relief and joy. They stood there, embracing until the laughter subsided and all that was left was the warmth of each other's arms. She pulled back first, resting one hand on his shoulder as she smiled up at him.

"I-I'm glad it's you, Adrien." She said, cheeks suddenly red under his gaze.

"I'm glad it's you, too, Marinette." he said, smiling as his Kwami said something under its breath with a tone of sarcasm.

"Oh, yeah, um, this is Plagg—" Before Ladybug could mutter a greeting, the little black cat was up close to her face, eyes narrowed as he demanded "Why don't you let Tikki out? It took you idiots long enough!" he sneered, a good natured smile spreading across his ebony face.

"O-oh, right," with a nervous glance back to Adrien, Ladybug released her transformation. A pink glow engulfed the rooftop on which they stood, and moments later Tikki tackle hugged Plagg in a fit of giggles. The two teens looked on with amusement as the Kwamis chatted happily between them.

"We should let you dorks talk," Plagg said with a playful tone in his tiny voice, "I'm sure you have a lot to catch up with each other." With an encouraging smile from Tikki, the Kwamis zipped off to a chimney and started a rigorous discussion about whether cheese was better than cookies.

The two stood there for a moment just staring at each other, a blushy but comfortable silence settling between them. Adrien was the first to speak, finding the one question among the hundreds rattling around in his brain that he most wanted to know the answer to—

"Did you mean it? W-what you said in the card, I mean." his face turning a shade of red that would rival his lady's suit.

"Every word."

The smile that spread across Adrien's face at that moment in time, was a smile Marinette would carry with her for the rest of her days. His eyes shone and he bounced ever slightly in his place for a moment before he dove in and hugged her, a laugh escaping from her lips as he pulled her close.

"I take it you meant what you said then," she said, delighted to see this side of Adrien outside of the mask.

"Three-hundred percent yes, my lady,"

"Even though I'm just an ordinary girl outside the mask?"

"What do you mean, ordinary? you're the least 'ordinary' girl I've ever met, Marinette."

"But would you have noticed me without the mask…?"

"I did notice you. Every day." Adrien pulled back to get a better view of her face, his hand trailing up to her cheek as he lost himself in her eyes. "I thought you were amazing, kind, considerate, and beautiful— I wanted to get to know you better, but I didn't know how to talk to you," he laughed softly, "you would always make the most adorable squeak sounds right before you ran to hide behind Alya..." his sentence trailed off, his eyelids drooping as their faces inched closer, breath mingling for a moment before the distance closed between them. His touch was gentle, slow but passionate; causing a galaxy of stars to explode in her mind as she kissed him back, arms finding their way around his neck as she ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer.

"Gross humans," said Plagg, crinkling his nose at the scene, but smiling ever so slightly. Tikki giggled, grabbing hold of the little black cat's paw, pulling him away from the side of the chimney where they were perched, "come on, I think I saw a bakery down below us. They might have cookies."

With that, the two Kwamis zipped off into the Parisian night air, leaving the teens on the roof surrounded by the city lights and the warmth of each other's arms.