Marinette slid into her seat, panting.
"Girl, seriously?! Late for class again?!"
"I- I'm sorry, Alya... I truly..."
She was interrupted as another figure came running into the classroom. This person had unruly blond hair and piercing green eyes- Adrien.
He, too, was panting heavily for breath as he took his seat next to Nino.
"Ew! What-" Alya pinched her nose, speaking in a nasally whisper, "what's that smell?"
Adrien turned a bright red.
"Dude, don't tell me you forgot to put on deodorant," Nino whined, "I've gotta sit next to you all day!"
"No, I- I didn't forget to put on deodorant. I just-"
Marinette hesitantly sniffed the air. "Why, that- that's camembert! I'd know that scent anywhere!"
"Oh, yeah," Adrien agreed readily, almost too much so, "I mean, what with your parents running a bakery and all..."
He was playing with his hands and visibly sweating. And the rambling... Everyone knew that Adrien Agreste hardly ever rambled.
Marinette's eyes narrowed, but she kept her mouth shut.
She knew that smell, but not because of the bakery... But she couldn't risk anything. She couldn't risk revealing her identity- and quite possibly Adrien's. At least, not now.
"Seriously, Plagg? Seriously? I put up with your camembert obsession because- well, you know. But- enough to make me smell? Too much, okay?"
Plagg simply shrugged, looking about to say something but deciding against it. Good thing, too, because Marinette chose that exact moment to enter the very broom closet that Adrien had hidden himself in.
"Camembert. I'm familiar with the smell. But not because my parents own a bakery. It's something that kind of stays with you, especially if you know someone who constantly smells of it. Am I right... Chat Noir?"
Adrien stumbled for words, unwittingly telling Marinette the truth through his strangled silence.
Finally, he spoke. "You- you won't tell anyone?"
"Never," she stated, crossing her heart, "besides, I've got secrets of my own."
"Oh?"
"What? I'm not gonna tell."
She turned to go and his face fell. "But-"
"You'll know in time," she said, turning back, "but... I'm glad it's you."
Quickly, she kissed his cheek and left.