Miraculous Day marks the anniversary of Ladybug and Chat Noir's first day on the job, so the students dress as Paris' beloved superheroes. A special dance is held for Ladybug and Chat Noir the same night where the two heroes must attend. But how will Marinette and Adrien handle their double-lives on and after Miraculous Day? [Now officially an A.U. set after season 1]

*This is Rated T because of the occasional mild profanity and mature mindset*

Chapter 1

"That was exhausting!" Marinette panted to Tikki, "Thank goodness that battle finally ended." She fell back on her bed and let out a heavy sigh. Tikki popped out of Marinette's purse and whirled around in front of her, equally tired out from the earlier fight against one of Hawkmoth's akumatized victims.

Facing Marinette, Tikki added, "At least you captured and purified the akuma," the red kwami rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, "but you could've done without Chat Noir preventing you from transforming at first…"

"Hey! It's not his fault," Marinette huffed, "he got to the battle before I could change and it's a good thing he 'saved' me. It would've been a million times worse if he saw me transform!" Marinette sprawled her arms and legs across her loft bed and Tikki lied down on the bed to the left of Marinette's head. She nuzzled Marinette's cheek before letting out a sigh of exhaustion as well.

"Say, Marinette, what do you think of Chat Noir?" Tikki inquired. It had been a while since the two of them delved into the topic of the masked cat.

"Well, he-" Marinette hesitated before continuing, "he's a good fighter, he's loyal, and smart, I guess…but he's also cocky…and a flirt…" Marinette's voice trailed off as she got lost in thought. Tikki pushed herself off the bed and hovered in front of Marinette's face to look her in the eyes. She gave the blue-haired girl a cheeky grin and crossed her arms. "What is it, Tikki?" Marinette asked.

"Is that it? I feel like you're holding something back," Tikki smiled and nudged Marinette's cheek again. "Do you like him as more than a partner, Marinette?" the bug-like creature winked at her. This was uncharted territory, talking about love interests other than the infamous Adrien Agreste. Marinette's face turned as bright red as her Ladybug suit and she scrambled to get off of her bed and on her feet.

"What? No! Maybe? No!" Marinette cried out, "You're forgetting that I like Adrien, Tikki! I mean, if Adrien wasn't in the picture…what am I saying? Why wouldn't Adrien be in the picture? A world without Adrien in the picture is simply horrible!" Marinette started pacing around her room and scratched the back of her head. Tikki sat on the edge of Marinette's bed and watched below as the fidgeting high schooler broke down into a frenzy.

"Marinette, no need to get all flustered. It was a simple question," Tikki reassured her her sweet, sing-song voice. She flew over to Marinette, who relocated herself to her desk. Marinette swiveled around in her pink chair and plopped her head down in front of her computer. "Are you okay?" Tikki asked her. The bluenette groaned and turned her face to look at Tikki.

"Yeah," Marinette sighed, "it's just been a long day and I'm pretty tired..." She yawned and stretched her arms out to the side before she pushed away from her desk and rolled across the room on her swivel chair. She popped up and strolled over to her changing screen and changed into her pink and white pajamas. Marinette yawned again and lugged herself over to her vanity where she took out her pigtails and began brushing through her hair. Marinette plopped herself down in her swivel chair and maneuvered it back to her desk, in front of her computer.

"Ladybug saves Paris from an akuma attack but Marinette can't save herself from her homework," Marinette grumbled. She reached for her backpack and pulled out her tablet, history textbook, and notebook. Tikki floated up to her chosen and nuzzled where her shoulder met her neck, lying down and playing with Marinette's hair. The Parisian teen set out all of her schoolwork in front of her and began work on it, which seemed like a lot for only the third day of the new school year.

It was close to midnight when Marinette started to doze off until she heard a loud thud on her roof. "Gah!" Marinette jolted up from her desk, sending Tikki flying across the room and landing on her chaise. "Hide, Tikki! I think someone's up there," the blue-haired girl squeaked, pointing to the ceiling. Tikki shook off her surprise at being flung and zoomed into Marinette's pants pocket as she crept up the staircase leading to her bed.

Marinette slowly lifted the hatch that lead outside to her balcony and climbed out, the cool, night air sending goosebumps down her bare arms. She stood frozen in place, eyes wide and mouth agape to see who was standing before her.

His sly grin and shaggy blond hair, his blazing green eyes and his strong stature. Why it was none other than—

"Chat Noir!" she squawked, "Wh-What are you doing here? At my house! At midnight!" Marinette flailed her arms in disbelief and slight frustration.

"Why, hello, little lady," Chat got down on one knee and kissed Marinette's hand, painting a rosy blush across her cheeks for a brief moment. Marinette quickly pulled her hand away and furrowed her brows. She stared at him for a short while, her mind racing with questions. Why was he here? she thought, Why come to see me? Of all the citizens in Paris? Why does he have to annoy me? Marinette was first to break the silence between them.

"So, are you going to tell me what you're doing here?" Marinette impatiently questioned. Cat Noir gracefully jumped to his feet and smirked at her as he ran his gloved hand through his wild hair.

"Am I not allowed to drop by and see how my princess is doing?" Marinette cringed at the nickname he gave her, "Especially after that Rumbleree character almost got you…you're pretty lucky I was there to save you," he flexed his muscles and winked at Marinette.

Rumbleree, as he called himself, was the akumatized truck driver who wanted everyone out of his way so he had a clear road to travel on, tired of traffic and reckless drivers. He picked a fight with anyone in his path, Marinette being one of the many Parisians Rumbleree went after. Before she could transform to stop him, Chat swooped in and carried her far away from the battle before Rumbleree could actually get to Marinette, making Ladybug extra late to the battlefield.

The blue-haired girl was too tired at this point and so late at night to bother playing 'fangirl' with Chat Noir like she had the last time she encountered him as her civilian self, so she remained still, unsure of how to handle the situation.

"Okay …" Marinette stretched her voice, which was unusually high. "But why just appear out of nowhere in the middle of the night? I could have been asleep!" She implied, exasperated and frantic. She didn't want to risk him seeing Tikki, so the sooner she found out what he wanted, the sooner he would leave and she could actually get to sleep.

"Well, you were only doing your homework," the blond purred, "And last time I checked, people don't sleep with their lights on." He jiggled an eyebrow at her and the corners of his mouth curled up into a grin. He pulled out his baton from behind his back and spun it around until it grew to the length of a cane. He proceeded to place it behind his head, resting it on his shoulders and looped his arms over it.

Marinette began panicking, wondering how long he had been watching her. She feared Chat saw her red ladybug kwami flying around her room. Then he would know she was Ladybug—unless he already knew, and that was why he was here right now. There were too many wild assumptions and questions racing through Marinette's sleep-deprived brain that almost anything seemed possible.

"Wh-What, w-were you spying on me?!" she accused, sweat rolling down her back, antsy to find what exactly the cat-boy knew.

He studied her, eying the blue-haired girl up and down, until he chuckled to himself, "Is this an interrogation?" Chat Noir shifted his weight to the side and chortled, gripping onto his staff a bit tighter.

Marinette looked furious as he laughed at her bubbling concern. She fiddled with the ends of her hair, realizing it was still down and that she was in fact, in her pajamas...braless. She was standing before Chat Noir with her hair all disheveled and down, in her pajamas, with no makeup on and no bra. Marinette was quick to cross her arms to cover her chest before that kitty got any ideas on sneaking a peek.

"You…saw…you…didn't see…um…" Marinette stuttered as she twisted her hair with her trembling fingers, "You didn't happen to see my kw-OW!" the bluenette yelped and jumped back a couple steps after being Tikki pinched her leg from inside Marinette's pocket. She forgot the kwami was nestled in there after being so used to having Tikki hide her purse. Marinette read between the lines and figured out that Tikki didn't want her to tell Chat Noir, in case he didn't know, something Marinette would have never done had she been well rested and not all punchy from barely catching a wink. Better safe than sorry, Marinette heard Tikki's voice echoing in her mind.

"Are you okay?" Marinette snapped back to reality when she heard Chat's voice. He cocked his head to the side, appearing genuinely concerned for her well-being.

"Ah…yep! Y-Yeah, all's good in the hood…heh…" Marinette jittered, thinking of an excuse for her outburst, "I just um…fell…today, yeah, that's it! And my…shoulder…has been spasming," Marinette spewed the words out almost too quickly, but she hoped that her partner bought her story. She sealed the deal with a wide, toothy smile and over-exaggeratedly rubbing her shoulder, pretending it hurt.

"Well, you know," his voice lowered yet softened, "I give the best shoulder rubs—ask anyone," Chat Noir smirked. He spun his staff around from behind his head, resting one end on the ground and resting his arms on the other end. He leaned in closer to Marinette and in a hushed voice, whispered, "What do you say, Purr-incess?" He flashed her one of his signature crooked grins.

"I-uh-I-" Marinette choked on her words, surprised at Chat's sudden gesture, "Yeah, right! Go home, Chat Noir," she giggled as she started to usher him off of her balcony. When he didn't respond, Marinette studied him, noticing how his demeanor changed when she mentioned "home".

Chat Noir was lost in thought, thinking about his home life and how he didn't want to go back to it—not just yet, at least. "Sorry, Marinette," the blond sighed, he scratched the back of his head with his gloved hand, "I, um, don't really have a home to go back to," he fibbed as he crossed his arms and bowed his head. It was sort of true, though, he really didn't have a home. Chat Noir had a house where he lived, but not a home. He had only a broken home, but he didn't want Marinette to know that, so a white lie couldn't hurt.

"Oh," Marinette's eyes grew wide at the new discovery. The air became heavy between them and deafening silence danced throughout it. "I didn't know. I'm sorry, Chat," the bluenette was unaware how close they had gotten to each other until their elbows brushed against one another's. Breaking the silence, Marinette piped up, "Do you want something from the bakery?"

Chat Noir's eyes lit up with glee and nodded, flabbergasted at Marinette's kindness. "You know," he began, "Once you feed a stray cat, you have a hard time getting rid of him," he winked.

"That better not be the case with you," Marinette muttered.

.

.

.

Chat Noir was leaning against the staircase next to Marinette's desk where she was slaving away on her history homework. She had to write a short essay on a current event and Chat convinced her to write about him saving her from the akumatized victim earlier. It was easy enough, after all, he was right there, nibbling on a croissant.

Marinette hoped her parents didn't hear her sneaking into the bakery to get Cat Noir something to eat. The only copious baked goods they had were croissants, so Marinette swiped one thinking it would be hardly noticeable if one was missing. She felt bad for leaving the cat-boy on her balcony while she got the pastry, but used the time to remove the posters of Adrien she had plastered on her bedroom walls and the countless photographs she had littered around her room. She didn't need Chat Noir mocking her about her high school crush, or telling Adrien about it, for that matter.

"So," Chat Noir began, crumbs falling from the corners of his mouth, "What do you need to know?" He flashed Marinette a cheeky grin, cheeks full of buttery bread. Marinette rolled her eyes at him, but realized she was acting too much like the way Ladybug does with Cat Noir. She forced a smile as she sat up straighter in her chair, clutching her notebook and pencil.

"Well…um…how about we start with what happened during the battle?" Marinette suggested in a shy voice, "Like, um, what happened after you…you…you know…" Marinette didn't want to say it, mostly because she didn't need saving when Chat Noir did just that. However, she was grateful for the unwanted assistance he gave her, had he not slowed down her transformation into Ladybug. It showed her how caring that silly alley cat could be with getting innocent bystanders to safety.

"…saved your life?" Cat finished the blue-haired girl's sentence with a look of satisfaction. He continued to stuff his face with the croissant, cupping his free hand under his chin to catch the falling crumbs. Something about his mannerisms when eating was oddly familiar to Marinette; maybe she'd seen him do that before on patrol? No, they never really ate together when they were suited up. It didn't matter, she just needed to focus on getting that assignment finished.

"Yeah, sure," Marinette stammered, "Why don't you walk me through the battle and I'll take notes?" She didn't need Chat to retell the fight—she lived it just under two hours ago! Of course, Marinette couldn't tell him that; revealing identities was definitely not on the list of things to do tonight.

The black-clad hero rambled on about how he and Ladybug fought Rumbleree outside the park by streetlamp light. Battling Hawkmoth's victims always seemed more challenging and dangerous at night—Marinette can recall several instances, one in particular being when Chat Noir and her civilian self had teamed up against the Evillustrator. Marinette nodded along as Chat continued retelling the story of the battle between the two superheroes and Rumbleree, jotting down notes and mentally correcting the details he got mixed up.

"I think that about does it, Marinette," Chat Noir exclaimed, smiling at her after finishing the croissant. "Thanks, again, for the snack. A superhero, like myself, has to eat to keep his energy up," the blond grinned. Marinette rolled her eyes at his cockiness with a small smile and glanced at her clock. It was past two in the morning, meaning she would have to get up for school in less than five hours.

"Oh, gosh! I didn't realize how late it had gotten," Marinette squeaked, flailing her arms in a frenzy. "Thanks a bunch for helping with my assignment, you really didn't have to—especially after you, well…came to my rescue. I'm not saying I'm not grateful for that, which I am…grateful, that is. But you didn't have to take your time to check on me and practically do my homework for me, is what I mean to say. But then again I did give you the pastry, but, of course, a croissant doesn't amount to—GAH!" Marinette was cut off from her babbling when she felt another pinch from Tikki, still in her pocket. She took the hint to stop flabbing her gums and let out a weak giggle. "Shoulder spasms," Marinette insisted; at least Chat Noir went along with it.

"It's no problem, Marinette," the cat-boy said in a hushed voice, remembering her parents were downstairs sleeping. "And hey, maybe next visit there'll be time for that shoulder rub," Chat smirked, gesturing to her shoulder. He chuckled to himself, giving a salute to Marinette as he turned and headed for the window above her chaise. He pushed the glass window open, letting a cool night breeze flow in and linger around Marinette's room. Chat Noir pulled himself up and sat in the frame with one leg still dangling in Marinette's bedroom. "Goodnight, purr-incess," Chat chimed, his brilliant green eyes sparkling in the moonlight "By the way, your hair looks nice down," he added with a wink before lunging from the window sill.

Marinette watched as the blond leapt away in the dark of the Parisian night, bounding across rooftops with his staff. She still couldn't believe that he came to visit her as Marinette. What if he had seen Tikki? Or worse, Marinette transform into or back from Ladybug! What if that's the real reason he came to see her? All of these "what-if's" continued to swim through Marinette's tired, boggled mind.

"Okay, I think you've had enough excitement for one night," Tikki chirped, zipping out of her hiding spot and before Marinette's bluebell eyes. "Off to bed, now, you have school tomorrow!"