It was an accident or at least Marinette would swear so if anyone were to catch them; she pressed closer, pushing into the pool of power, of confidence that Tikki gave her.

Adrien molded against her, and Ladybug as she was now and would be until the wee hours of the morning when she snuck back home, wondered if there was anything more overwhelming than the bliss met when she was close to him.

She always tried to stay logical whenever she was Ladybug. Chat Noir could goof off; she could not.

Marinette though whenever she was just herself despite everything lost a layer of confidence, became a nervous wreck, let her emotions take more control over her than logic and reason; Adrien brought out her Marinette yet whenever she was Ladybug, she was just confident enough to nearly bury it under the thin layer of her suit.

She gasped when he pressed closer, fingers wrapped just a little over dark blue black hair, and his lips a persistent though not dominant force against her own; it was weird to feel enough confidence, enough power, to know that she'd taken over the kiss, that this was normal, and that that was okay.

Ladybug took a deep breath; this was everything that she wanted as a civilian, but could not have there.

She pressed her fingers carefully around him, not minding that he let her have control though she often found herself feeling guilty to meet the strength, the dominance, that everyone seemed to hold over him.

This had all started on a faithful day when she'd saved his life and the way he stared up at her and then, when he took over her mind yet would let her swing by and just talk.

She'd learned her way around the Agreste mansion, feeling relieved to be able to just talk to Adrien like this, but then they'd accidentally got too close one day, fingers electrified from where they touched.

Her blue bell eyes had found pretty green ones, and then they were pressing closer, but they didn't kiss that day: just sat close.

She'd known it was wrong when she'd met up with him just a few nights later, knew that she ran the risk of him discovering her identity, knew that this was all that she could have, yet she found herself unbelievably greedy at that notion.

The first time they kissed, Adrien and Ladybug, felt like electricity licking up their veins, becoming fire on the way; it burned and shocked and yet left them craving more.

She'd learned that this was not how Ladybugs were supposed to act, but all that she could think when her lips met his was how it felt so good, sucked the thoughts out of her mind, and left her clinging for more.

With this knowledge, this hyper awareness, she'd stopped stuttering around Adrien as Marinette, opened up more, but still was aware of that thin line between them, still knew that her secret still had to be kept.

She doubted he'd ever notice her civilian identity like that; they'd became friends however. He'd visit her house, and she'd pretend that her heart was not in nervous titters and that she didn't have both the confidence and the wariness of wanting to lean over and kiss him, wondering if the sparks were still there when she was just Marinette.

Marinette had wanted to take control, finally had the confidence in a weird roundabout way to do so, but knew that her secret was at stake and that he can't know, knew that he probably wouldn't love Marinette half as well as he loved Ladybug.

For now though, she was Ladybug; the ball was in her court, and she was winning.

She took a deep breath as they pulled apart, too slow to stop the gentle kisses to her neck, turned into soft yet nervous love bites; she'd marked him before, transforming model skin into carefully hidden hickeys that would last for days and often made his photo shoots harder. His father hated it, but those were the days when she was falling apart where he couldn't see, where she wanted that little bit of reassurance, and knew that he'd give it to her. He never complained about them though she always felt pride when her eyes locked on them at school when hiding them became too much effort.

Today, she was slow; she'd always had it as a mostly unspoken rule that while she could mark him in places less obvious, he could never mark her. She'd whispered that if he knew her behind the mask, she couldn't risk her identity being exposed. She couldn't risk him falling out of love with her either; it was too perfect for every day that it lasted.

Adrien pulled back fast, "I-I'm sorry, Ladybug." He couldn't breathe quick enough to fuel the barrage of words that were already escaping, "I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's okay," She sighed; they were small, but she still felt the nerves hit her belly like someone had decided that jackhammers made good, murder weapons and took out the pain on her belly instead.

"I'm sorry." His green eyes were apologetic, and Ladybug couldn't help pressing a soft and innocent kiss to his lips to reassure him and couldn't help mussing up his blond hair in the vaguest hint of a pet that he leaned into, surprising her immensely.

She pressed gentle kisses on his neck and collarbone, not biting, not marking; she didn't think that she could. What if he found her out and never loved her again?
Her heart beat a weak and weary, staccato rhythm in her chest, and she wondered not for the first time how'd they'd got into this mes.

"Adrien, Adrien," She took a steadying breath, "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Ladybug," He took a deep breath, "I won't."

She ran her fingers gently through his hair, letting them drop to smooth out the collar of his shirt, and wondered how they'd came to be so messily involved with each other; she'd only wanted to have a normal, loving relationship with him yet found herself absolutely smitten with him and balancing what could only lead to their downfall in their relationship.

"I love you." She was honestly terrified of how he'd react come the morning when her marks, his love, was still sketched all over her without a mask to hide behind.

"I love you too, Ladybug." His voice was breathless, but it was loving too.