Chat Noir had an idea.

"Bugaboo, when do you think you will be okay with telling me who you are under that mask?"

"When Hawkmoth is gone and there is no more danger in knowing who we are."

"What if whoever gave us our Miraculous takes them back before we get the chance to tell each other?"

"We'll find a way."

Chat Noir knew he shouldn't push the subject. Ladybug had the right idea with keeping their identities a secret from one another. There were too many risk, too much danger at the moment. But he could not stop himself from wanting to know.

"How about this? We each write a letter," Chat said.

"A letter?"

"Yeah, we each write a letter with our name and a little bit of info on ourselves. We'll give each other the letter and keep it hidden away until the day we defeat Hawkmoth. This way if we lose our Miraculous before we can tell each other, we will still have a way of knowing."

Chat Noir was honestly rather proud of his idea. It was a simple one but one that could work.

"Okay, but how will I know you won't read the letter as soon as I give it to you? There's a saying about cats and curiosity you know," she teased.

Chat had planned for this.

"We each seal the envelope in a way that's hard to recreate, you know like wax seals or a doodle along the seal so that if we tried to reseal or get a new envelope it would be obvious. Then every few months we can bring the letter with us to show we haven't broken the seal."

The smile on Ladybug's face gave him even more confidence that his plan was a good one.

"You've really thought this out. Okay, next time we meet up we'll bring a letter."

It took all he had not to jump up in joy.

"But what should we write in them?" asked Ladybug.

"How about our name, our birthday, maybe some basic info like favorite color, and an email or phone number that won't change so we can contact each other?" suggested Chat.

"I think this is a good idea."

The next time they had a chance to meet up without an Akuma attacking the city was a little less than a week later on the 22nd of February.

Chat Noir could barely contain his excitement. His lady trusted him enough to give him a letter that would have her name. He wouldn't have to worry about never finding out who she was because now he had her name in a cute pink envelope.

"When should we bring our letters to check the seal?" asked Ladybug.

"How about the first of every other month? We can start with April 1st."

"I'm fine with that, but maybe we should do it on April 2nd. I have a feeling that there's going to be an Akuma that day."

"Good point. So, April 2nd?"

"April 2nd," she confirmed.

As soon as Adrien was home in his room, he stashed the letter away in his bottom desk drawer. He made a quick note to see if he could have a lock added to that drawer. Extra security was always welcome in keeping a secret.

"You know you're going to be tempted to read that letter Adrien," said Plagg.

"I know. But I won't. This is Ladybug's trust in me and I won't betray that."

Everyone could tell that Adrien was happier than usual.

Adrien's classmates didn't know what was going on, but there was no denying that something good must have happened to him the day before. He smiled through a physics test, didn't mind taking on one of Kim's dares, and didn't even seem too bothered with Chloe's usual clinginess.

Nothing could ruin his mood.

Not even Marinette tripping on the steps and knocking him over as they made their way out of the school.

"Oh Adrien! I'm so sorry. I was reading this flier and I should have been looking at where I was going."

Adrien tried to hush her as he helped her to her feet.

"Marinette, I'm fine. Don't worry."

She continued to ramble on and about how sorry she was but Adrien was more interested in the flier she held.

"There's going to be another Ultimate Mecha Strike Tournament III?"

"What? Oh this," she pointed at the paper, "yeah Max was telling me about it. He can't make it that day and was asking if I wanted to join the tournament. I'm not sure if I'm gonna do it or not since I'm already kinda busy with some other stuff and it's another partner event so I can't go if I don't have a partner and I'm rambling now aren't I…"

"A little," he did his best not to laugh at her flustered expression, "You know, I don't mind being your partner. It's fun playing with you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, what day is it? I'll need to make sure my schedule is cleared."

"It's April 3rd, it's a Monday so the tournament is in the afternoon."

"Who schedules a tournament on a Monday? No wonder Max can't make it."

Adrien took a quick look at the calendar on his phone. His father usually scheduled big events he absolutely could not miss 3 months in advance, so see that the day had no scheduled event meant he was free for the tournament.

"Looks like I'm good, I'll just have Nathalie save the day so I don't get a last-minute photo shoot scheduled."

"Great."

Adrien looked back to his phone to check the next day he was free.

"I'm a bit busy the rest of this week and up until Monday so can we meet up next Tuesday?"

Marinette nodded quickly as she said, "Sure, that sounds great."

Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien could see the Gorilla pulling up in front of the school to take him home.

"Ah, gotta go. See you."

"S-see you."

As he entered the car, Adrien could see Marinette jumping for joy with the flier held close to his chest.

He was glad he could make his friend happy.

For the most part, Adrien had an amazing time with Marinette.

For the next four week, he either went to her house or she went to his two times a week so they could practice for the tournament.

They didn't really need to practice. Their gaming was in sync and all their practice battles had been won with ease. Even if they played against other teams online, the two of them had no trouble winning.

They just both really liked playing together.

It didn't take them long to start playing other games after a few rounds of Ultimate Mecha Strike III.

By the fifth week, practicing for the tournament had just become an excuse for Adrien and Marinette to hang out. They weren't even playing it anymore and instead decided that other games would be better at testing who is the best.

"Seriously? Blue shell?"

"You're the one that suggested Mario Kart so I'm not going easy on you."

"What if I gave you tickets to the next fashion show my father hosts?"

"As tempting as that is, my pride would be hurt too much if I were to give into a bribe."

"Fine, I give up."

Adrien pushed his chair away from Marinette and looked over at her desk. He noticed what appeared to be a work in progress Chat Noir plush doll.

"What's this?" he asked while pointing at the half-finished doll. "I thought you already made a Chat Noir doll?"

Marinette looked around as if she was making sure no one else was in the room.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

"Sure."

"He sometimes visits me."

Adrien pretended to be surprised by what he already knew, "Chat Noir visits you?"

"I don't think he goes out of his way to visit me, but every time I'm out on my balcony when he passes by, he always stops to at least say hello. I know he probably stops by whenever he sees someone but he cheers me up sometimes after a bad day. I'm making him that doll as a thank you gift."

"That's very sweet. I don't think anyone has given Chat Noir anything, unless you count the statue to him and Ladybug."

Marinette stood up and walked over to where Adrien was. She moved some of the pieces out of the way before picking up a pink spotted box. She opened it with a key a took out a green heart.

"I even made a heart for the doll. I keep it in this my box so I don't lose it."

"That's so cool Marinette."

But Adrien's attention was not on the heart she showed him, but letter that was kept under the heart. A green envelope with a black cat paw drawn over the flap of the envelope.

His letter to Ladybug.

Just then his phone rang, telling him that it was time to head home.

As soon as he reached his room, Adrien grabbed the nearest pillow and screamed into it.

"What's wrong kid?" asked Plagg as he popped out of Adrien's discarded school bag.

"I messed up," he replied. "Do you remember the letters me and Ladybug exchanged?"

"Did you open the letter like I said you would?"

"No, I saw the letter I wrote to Ladybug in Marinette's room."

"Maybe she is taking care of the letter for Ladybug," said Plagg but there was no confidence in his voice.

"Come on Plagg, you know Ladybug would never risk someone else holding on to that letter."

Adrien sighed and let himself drop face first onto his bed. Plagg floated over.

"You're going to suffocate yourself like that, then there will be no one to give me camembert and I'll starve."

Not getting a response from Adrien, Plagg decided to poke him until he groaned and lifted himself off the bed and sat normally.

"I don't know what I'm going to do Plagg. We said we wouldn't tell each other just yet and here I am knowing who she is. I don't even know how I'm going to react when I see her again."

"Well look on the bright side, tomorrow is April Fool's day and there will probably be an Akuma that will take up anytime you could have used to talk to her. You will have one more day to think things over."

"Yeah," mumbled Adrien. "One more day to figure out how to tell her."

Surprisingly, there was no Akuma on April Fool's day. Even though it was a day dedicated to causing mischief, Ladybug and Chat Noir were not needed to stop an angry citizen.

It was good for the two of them, that meant another day they could relax and not get thrown half way across Paris.

But it was bad for Chat Noir because this meant he did not have one more day to think things over like Plagg had said. At least he wouldn't have to show his letter until the next day.

They both met up at the Eiffel Tower after making their rounds across the city.

As soon as he landed besides her he said, "My Lady, what would you say if I told you I knew who you were, but I haven't opened the envelope?"

She stayed quiet for a moment before a genuine laugh filled the air around them.

"I'd say this is your worst April Fool's prank yet."

"But you've only know me for one April Fool's before this one."

"Exactly."

"Meowch, I didn't even prank you last year."

"If you had, I'm sure it would have been just as bad as your puns."

"Oh, come on," he says while nudging her with his elbow, "you know you like my puns."

"Only sometimes Chat, only sometimes."

"I'm fine with that."

They stood there quiet, simply enjoying the night and each other's company. But they couldn't stay like that for long. It was getting late.

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you…" he trails off.

Chat Noir watched her leave before sitting down to have a moment to think in peace.

As soon as she left, his guilt and nerves returned. It was easy to forget his troubles when they just talked. Her jokes and smiles made him forget. But Ladybug's absence brought it all back.

He had to tell her tomorrow.

He'd tell her as he shows her the letter, still perfectly sealed, that he knew who she was.

But when they met up the next day, he couldn't do it.

Chat Noir knew his Lady would not be mad at him for finding out. She was an understanding person and would most likely find a way to blame herself over him seeing his letter in her room.

He wasn't scared of her being angry at all.

He feared his Lady being disappointed in who he was.

He didn't have a real reason as to why he felt she would be disappointed in him. It was more of an irrational fear that came with caring so much about someone. The last thing he wanted was to have her not like who he was without his mask on.

And for Ladybug to know how he found out, he'd have to tell her he is Adrien Agreste.

The letter was kept in her room, a place she only invited a few friends to and Chat Noir had no reason to be in Marinette's room.

Sure, he had visited her a few times while he made his way around the city on patrol. But only when she was outside on her balcony. He might stop to talk for a bit when he saw her. She even gave him some of her hot chocolate when it was a cold night. But he had never been invited into her room.

If he didn't tell her the truth, she could easily assume that he had broken into her room and looked through her private possessions.

He couldn't tell her.

Not yet.

The next day was the Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament and the two beat it with ease.

But if you were to ask Adrien what happened during the tournament, he wouldn't have been able to tell you a thing.

Adrien had been incredibly nervous. Not because of the tournament, but because he was spending time with Marinette. He was so worried over the chance that something he would do or say around Marinette would give him away the tournament, besides that fact that they had won, was a complete blur to him.

All Adrien wanted to do was go home and sort out his feelings, to figure out a way to tell Ladybug the truth. But he could not drop out of the tournament. He could not let Marinette down.

As soon they were done and had accepted their congratulations on winning the tournament, Adrien readied himself to tell Marinette he needed to head home.

He didn't expect to be invited to dinner.

"Dinner at your place?"

"Yeah, you don't have to come if you don't want to but my parents wanted to thank you for partnering with me. I think they also have some idea in their head that they don't feed you at your place."

He really couldn't say no to her.

"Sure, let me just call Nathalie."

Dinner with the Dupain-Cheng family was so lively that Adrien nearly forgot the secret he held. It wasn't until Marinette walked him to the door on his way out that he remembered what was making him so anxious. The silence in the car didn't help and as soon as he made it home, be ran straight for his room and locked the door.

"You okay kid? You've been so tense since you saw your letter in the girl's room."

It was nice to see Plagg concerned for him, to know someone cared, but he still felt off. There was no point in lying to Plagg.

"No, I'm not okay. I need to think."

"Want a run around the city to clear your head?"

"No asking for camembert?"

"I'm feeling generous today. Don't get used to it kid."

Adrien could tell what Plagg meant. Despite his attitude, Plagg really did care about him.

"Okay then. Plagg, Claws out."

Running around the city might not have been the best idea. It didn't take very long for Chat Noir to end up running by the Dupain-Cheng's bakery and seeing Marinette on her balcony.

Chat Noir saw two options and he didn't like either of them.

He could turn back before she sees him and pretend he didn't see her. This meant he was running away from talk about the letter again, not something he wanted to do because he needed to talk to her.

Or, he could hop over to her balcony and tell her.

Neither were good options.

He landed behind her.

"You seem really happy today."

At the sound of his voice, Marinette jumps and sprays him in the face with the water she had been using to water her plants.

"Chat! Don't sneak up on me like that. I didn't hear you at all."

"I'm going to ignore the water to the face and just take it as a complement. You know people say I'm just dripping with good looks."

"Who let you watch anime again?"

"I see you took my advice and watched Ouran."

"Yup," was her only answer before she bounces back to spraying water on her plants.

Her joy could be seen from miles away.

"So, what's got you so happy today? I haven't been around here much so what could pawssibly have made you so happy."

"I was in a gaming tournament today and won first place with my friend."

"Congratulations Princess, I'm so happy for you."

"It was a lot of fun. Even better is it gave me time to hang out with Adrien."

"Who's Adrien? A boy you like?" he teased.

"Yeah"

He froze.

"I've had a crush on him for a while but I've been too shy to really even talk to him outside of school. I feel like playing video games with him really helped us get closer."

He needed to tell her.

"Marinette? What if I told you…"

He hesitates, trying to build up the courage to tell her. But when he looks at her, the way the moonlight hits her face takes his breathe away, leaving him speechless.

"What if you told me what Chat?"

"N-nothing."

Chat's mind was racing. No matter how many times he told himself to say it, to tell her he knows, the words refused to leave his mouth.

"Chat, are you okay?"

The worry and concern in her voice could have melted him then and there.

All he could think was that she was too good for him.

Too kind, too caring, too thoughtful, too beautiful, too brave, too amazing for someone like him.

As he was lost in thought, Marinette moved closer. She studied his face for any sign of what was going on in his head.

"Chat? You're starting to worry me."

Pulled from his thoughts, Chat Noir responds, "I'm fine, it's nothing, just a lot on my mind lately."

"You can tell me anything, I can keep a secret and it's not like if anyone will believe me if I tell them you peed yourself in public or something."

Her joke managed to get a small laugh out of him, "I know. I just don't know how to say things sometimes."

"I'm here if you need anything. It's the least I could do for you considering all you've done for me."

"Oh, and what have I done for you?"

"You mean besides saving me, my friends, and all of Paris from Hawkmoth?"

"But that's something I do for everyone, I'm a superhero after all. What have I done for you?"

Marinette pauses before pointed at him then herself, "This, you stopping to visit every now and then is something you've done for me. Superheroes protect the city but they don't have to make friends with the people they've saved."

In that moment, all he could think about was how much he did not deserve to even know someone as kind as Marinette.

He just needed to let it out.

Now.

"Marinette, what if I told you I didn't visit every person that I see when I'm out? That you're the only person I stop for? That I'm in love with you?"

She froze. A strained laugh left her lips.

"Very funny Chat, don't you know that April Fools was two days ago."

"I'm not joking."

"Are you just saying this because I said that I liked someone else."

Chat Noir hadn't expected things to go smoothly but he didn't like how it was turning out.

"No, I was planning on telling you either way. That's why I came tonight."

"But you like Ladybug."

"I know."

That's when it clicked.

"You weren't joking on April Fool's day."

"No," said Chat Noir.

The silence that followed his words was almost deafening. Marinette had to fill that silence.

"How did you find out?"

Before he could even open his mouth to respond she says, "Wait! I don't want to know."

"You don't?"

"Well," she said, "I know you didn't read the letter, and I trust that you didn't try to figure me out by following me. It was all an accident, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was."

"Then I don't need to know and we can leave it at that. If you tell me that you saw me somewhere or I said a certain thing that tipped you off, it might help me figure out who you are."

"What if I want to tell you who I am?"

"Chat you know we can't, it's dangerous enough with you knowing who I am."

"I'm fine with the danger."

"But I'm not!"

Both Chat Noir and Marinette are surprised that she raised her voice at him.

"Sorry… I didn't mean to yell. I care about you Chat, I don't want you in anymore danger than you already are just being Chat Noir."

"I don't get why it's so dangerous for us to know. If we are careful not to let Hawkmoth take control of us, we won't have anything to worry about. It's not like we are going to turn against each other."

"I know but can we just keep this reveal one-sided, for now at least? It's not that I don't want to know, I do, I just don't want to risk anything."

"You're so stubborn, but I understand."

"Thank you Chat."

He took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. "Anything for you Princess."

He dropped his hand but she didn't let go. They simply stayed like that for a moment, letting everything sink in. Running the words he had spoken earlier through his head, Chat realized he said something implied he originally only visited because he knew she was Ladybug.

"Oh, in case I may have confused you earlier, I didn't know you were Ladybug when I first started coming by. I only found out recently."

"Then why did you start coming by?"

"Because I liked your company."

She didn't say anything in response, instead leaning against him with their hands still together.

Chat Noir was sure he was dreaming.

"I should go before it gets too late."

"Before you go."

Marinette races back into her room leaving Chat alone for a moment before popping up from the trap door with something hidden behind her back.

"I have something for you."

"What is it?" he asks despite having a pretty good idea of what it is.

She handed it over to his so he could see. "It's a Chat Noir doll."

He knew she was making it for him, but seeing the end product really touched his heart.

"Thank you Princess."

He took a risk and planted a kiss to her cheek.

"Goodnight."

And he was off before she could react, but at least he saw her face go red.

He was coming by tomorrow to see his Princess no matter what.