Shandy: Heck, we can't stop writing these stories.

Candy: It's because everything is so inspiring.

Shandy: It came from a rumor that we heard about Chat Noir falling for Rena Rouge.

Candy: That doesn't matter- what matters is that we wrote this!

Shandy: This takes place about five or four years after season one, so they're all aged up.

Candy: We hope you enjoy the story!

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Diary Entry

'Thoughts.'

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Adrien had just got home from patrol with Rena Rouge and praising Ladybug without her being there. Of course, ever since some newspapers had decided to make it look like the two of them were dating, they decided to use the time to be more like friends, talking about Ladybug, akumas, and Hawkmoth only.

Ladybug wasn't as eager to spend time with her friends in recent times, ever since the first newspaper. In fact, he hadn't seen her in a little more than a week.

It wasn't worrying, she had been doing this a lot more recently, but he still worried.

Especially since she had taken it upon herself to find his classmate and friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who had ran away from her home for some reason a few weeks ago. Adrien knew her parents weren't to blame, but he had an idea that Chloe had something to do with it.

They were all worried.

He walked into the bathroom as Plagg flew to the cheese stash. Adrien was eighteen now- he could move out if he wanted to, but he wanted to wait until after he was done with school.

But what he saw wasn't his reflection.

Instead, in the mirror, a ghostly version of Marinette appeared, looking around worriedly. Adrien rubbed his eyes, but she was still there.

"What the…"

"Adrien, I don't know if you're there or if you can hear me…" She shifted around nervously. "But I need your help. Something strange has happened to me and only you, being Chat Noir, can help me." Adrien gasped. "Yes, I know you're a superhero of Paris, but now's not the time-" A door slamming could be heard, and Marinette's eyes widened. "I'm using the last of my magical energy to give you my Diary. I want you to read the first entry, and then the last ten entries. You can read the other's later- I have no time to explain. Please, help me Adrien!" And then she pushed the Diary through the mirror, a note saying the very thing that she said on there on top of the Diary that fell with a 'clunk' to the counter.

Adrien rushed to the window, placing his hand upon it.

"Marinette? Marinette? Mari?" He asked, almost frantically. No one answere, and he let his hand fall away from the mirror. He reached for her diary, picking it up.

It was solid- not a fragment of his imagination. He could feel the papers and could smell Marinette's scent on it.

Could this contain answers to what he was looking for? The reason why Mari ran away? Would it tell her what she needed help with? How to fix this mess? And magical energy? When had she learned that he was Chat Noir? What was she so worried- so panicked about? How on earth did she get into his mirror?

There would only be one way to find out.

"Is something wrong, Adrien?" Plagg asked.

"Marinette appeared in the mirror and gave this to me." He said, combing a hand through his hair.

"Oh, juicy secrets! Let me read!" Plagg said happily. He flew over to the Diary, but Adrien hid it behind his back.

"No, you're not reading her diary. There's probably a lot of secrets in here, and she trusted me with them. Not you."

"Oh, you're no fun!" Plagg whined, pulling out some Camembert. "At least I have my delicious Camembert!" He flew away and went somewhere- probably the trash can. Adrien took the diary and went over to his bed.

The faster he got this done, the faster he would be able to help Marinette.

He opened it up to the first page.

Dear Diary,

Hello! My name's Marinette Dupain-Cheng! I'm thirteen, and today was my second day of school! But this Diary isn't going to contain just any secret. There's something about me that, no one knows yet. It's a secret just between you and me- no one else is allowed to know this! A few days ago, I got a pair of magical earrings, and along with it, a tiny magical creature named a kwami. Her name's Tikki. She allows me to transform into Paris' super hero- Ladybug!

Adrien pulled away from the Diary in shock.

Marinette was Ladybug?!

But Ladybug had been seen multiple times in the time span that Marinette had been missing. Of course, Marinette wouldn't be seen- if she was she would be turned in. So she was still in Paris.

But he still wanted to know what was going on.

Anyway, I should tell you about what happened today. You see, I had given up on being Ladybug-

"When did she give up on being Ladybug?" Adrien asked himself. "She's always been Ladybug. When was there a time that there wasn't a… Ladybug…" He remembered how she had looked so down about herself when they began to battle with Stone Heart. How she was late to the fight.

And this boy- Adrien Agreste, son of my favorite fashion designer, supposedly placed a piece of gum on my seat. Decided right then and there that he was just like Chloe, and I'm not going to indulge you further on the subject.

Adrien winced. He remembered that well, but they had made up.

Right?

I had chosen Alya to replace me as Ladybug, slipping my earrings into her bag, but she ran out to videotape the battle before she could put it on, or even notice that they were there! I followed her and saw not only her getting trapped behind a car, but Chat Noir get kidnapped by Stone Heart's army of stone creatures! I knew I had to do something, so I pulled out the earrings, put them on, and became Ladybug again.

Adrien smiled. He was glad she did. He wouldn't have been able to do any of this without her.

On that note, Chat Noir, no matter how annoying he is, is an amazing friend. He knew exactly what to say to get me to feel better. He gave me the courage to be Ladybug again. To stand up for what's right. I wouldn't be Ladybug without him. I think he flirted with me before I swung away, but I'm not sure. Either way, I promised myself that I wouldn't date people that I work with, and I'm pretty sure being a superhero counts as work.

Adrien laughed a bit. That made sense- no wonder she always rejected him.

And then after that, and after school, Adrien (the kid who supposedly placed the gum on my seat) told me that it was Chloe and Sabrina. That was believable- they often did that to me before this year.

Adrien frowned. He would have to talk to Chloe about that. She really needed to be put in her place- even though she was supposedly 'maturer' than she had been.

Anyway, it was raining when he told me this, and he also told me that he didn't have many friends, that he was Homeschooled until this point in life, and admitted that he was new to all of this. He handed me his umbrella, and I looked him in the eye. I-I don't know what came over me then. I could see how sincere he was in his gesture- how truthful his words were, how the kindness in his eyes shined and made him look like an angel had descended from heaven.

And I fell.

Adrien's breath hitched.

I have know all of the guys in my grade since kindergarten. He's the only one that went to such lengths to ask for my forgiveness. He's the only one that expressively wanted to be friends with me, even when I accused him of doing wrong. He's different. A good kind of different.

Anyway, I couldn't say a proper goodbye to him before I went, I was stuttering too much. Then I walked home to write this all down, and that's where I am right now. Writing this down. Alya, my new best friend, is definitely going to interrogate me after this. I doubt I'll be able to say a proper sentence to his face ever again.

So, goodbye until next time!

Love, Marinette.

Adrien lowered her Diary and breathed in and out slowly.

She liked him?

All that time, when she had been stuttering around him- it was because she had had a crush on him?

And that was another reason why she kept rejecting him as Chat- she was in love with him as Adrien!

He flipped to the front, where the sticky note still was. The last ten entries, it read. It also said that he could read the others if he wanted to. He flipped through the ones after the first entry, quickly and quietly.

For every akuma, there was a diary entry. Every akuma that they fought, she had written it down in here. Those akumas were about every day to every other day- sometimes two in the same day. She wrote an entry for each and every one. He skimmed through them. Well, more like read them and laughed, and cried, and slapped his forehead.

She had pickpocketed his and Alya's phones? Let him think his scarf was from his dad just so that he could smile? Had such a hard time designing the Derby?

It was mesmerizing.

He couldn't understand why she'd run away.

"Kid, it's time for bed, you have school in the morning." Plagg said. Adrien glanced up from Mari's Diary to see what time it was.

It was midnight.

He blinked. Had so much time really passed?

"You're right." Adrien laid down. "I'll have to read the other entries later. Night Plagg."

"Nigh Adrien."

After Adrien went to sleep, Plagg opened the Diary and looked at where Tikki's name was. Marinette was writing down word for word what advice the other kwami had given her.

He hadn't felt her presence for a while now. It was worrying. This Diary held the secrets to Tikki's wearabouts. Unfortunately, he wasn't an expert in reading. He could say anything he wanted, and others would hear it as their native language. Same with what he wrote, and when people talked to him, but writing for him to read? Give him a break- he was still learning.

"You better read this fast, kid." Plagg said. "I can't do anything for Tikki until you figure out what happened to them." And then he closed it and flew off to do something.

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