((A/N I had to tweak and reupload this, so please bear with me? Also my first chaptered fic so please be nice. The 3rd chapter is based on the first verse and a half of the song Perfect by Marianas Trench)

Ladybug bounded off the building's roof at a higher speed than she ever had.

Beep beep, beep beep!

Her earrings reminded her for the 4th time that she was about to transform, whether she was in her own room or not. It was the 4th time that month she had almost revealed herself to her partner and she was starting to feel like maybe she was doing it on purpose? Not having the time to dwell on it, she ducked into a close by alleyway to allow herself to be consumed by red light. Tikki flew out from her place in the miraculous and wheezed in front of her owner before slowly entering the normal purse, to be met with a power regenerative cookie. While Marinette walked slower in her civilian form, there was also a long walk to think on. The bright sun showered down on her and warmed her face and whole body, catching the girl's attention as her first thought of the long walk.

Maybe I should dig out that pretty sundress I did last summer? Where could that even be? Had I lent it to Alya and forgotten?

Those were normal enough thoughts, though they slowly transformed into ones of her crush, that was actually pretty normal too.

I wonder if Adrien would complement it? Would he even notice? You know if he did, you wouldn't be able to form a real sentence to answer him, so why worry about it? Maybe Chat would notice?

Her thoughts were ever persistent to bring her back to what she was considering when she bounded off of the roofs just moments before.

Maybe Chat would notice. Probably not, he seems pretty oblivious to that kinda thing when I'm not under my mask. Now if Ladybug wore a sundress, maybe he would. It would also look silly to wear a dress over the suit so that was out of the question. Why do I care if he notices me?

That last question was the one that rebounded in her head. It was also the last one she asked herself before she entered her family bakery. It was only 1:30, much earlier than if school hadn't been canceled because of an akuma, Tom and Sabine working as diligently as ever. The business was unfazed by the attack, people still needed sweets for offices or homes or whatever else. She vaguely recalled a wedding cake being ordered for today, which would explain the elegantly stacked, 3-tiered, white cake sitting in the back fridge.

Is that wedding gonna be canceled like school was? Would their special day get ruined or did it not affect them at all? It was a pretty quick clean up but had one of the important players like the bride or groom been hurt? Wasn't the cake supposed to be picked up by now?

Almost as if they read her mind, Tom called for his wife to start ringing up the special cake while he helped load it into a car.

I guess it hadn't been canceled? Or would they come get the cake regardless?

Without it even processing that she was asking aloud, Marinette talked to her dad as he put a protective box around the dessert.

"If a wedding is canceled or postponed, do they still come pick up the cakes?"

Her dad thought this over for a second before finally answering.

"Hmm- it really just depends? I've had one bride come pick it up and tell me she was gonna toss it in the groom's face for leaving her the day before the wedding"

He chuckled at the memory, pausing for reaction from Mari, who acted in mock horror

"That's terrible! Him leaving her and her tossing it!"

"Yeah, but you can't tell me he didn't have it coming. Uhh, I've had a one or two brides call and ask if I could hold it for an extra few days then never come to get it. That one seemed pointless to me honestly, they didn't try to ask for a refund or anything. Just didn't want to deal with it I guess?"

He shrugged and hoisted the cake, transporting it carefully to the van waiting outside.

"It really just depends on who it's happening to, darling. Why?"

"No reason, I guess, I just haven't seen a lot of the wedding cakes not get picked up but I'm sure some get canceled sometimes so I was curious."

With that, they changed the subject but Marinette's mind continued to wander as she went up to her room.

I wonder what a wedding with Adrien would be like. Lavish and classical, probably. Would a wedding with Chat be like that too?

What?

No.

That's- no. She was just worn out, that's all. Chat had been extra flirty today, that's why she was thinking of him in that way. That's all.

Before she could dive too far down into that thought, Tikki zipped out of her purse and greeted her.

"Tikki, why am I thinking about Chat so much lately? And why am I letting myself almost detransform near him more and more?"

"Well, do you want him to know who you are? That sounds like the simple answer to me"

She sighed and slumped onto her bed.

"No? I'd be putting him in even more danger than he already is as my partner. If someone found out he knows my civilian self, Hawkmoth or an akuma could torture him to get the information! I'd never put him in that kind of danger willingly"

It was as if Tikki had been practicing this speech for the whole time she had been the powerful god. Like she had to give it to many other chosen girls before.

"Marinette. He could be hurt like that just because he knows you at all. Everyone always assumes you know each other's identities anyway, how would it be any different if he actually knew? It'd be a great relief to have someone as a civilian that you could talk to you know. I don't fully understand the human aspects of this job like Chat would."

She had never heard her kwami sound so serious about something. These were all thoughts she had had in the past but hearing someone else say them made all the difference. There was a long pause before Marinette could find a flaw in what Tikki had said. She sat, still paused. She considered not even saying what her thoughts were screaming at her until her mouth opened and she was saying them anyway.

"But what if he's disappointed in who I am?"

Tikki didn't have a good answer for that one and decided Marinette wouldn't listen to whatever she had to say anyway.

Over the next couple days, Chat was the only topic she could really concentrate on. Note taking was impossible. She had forgotten to ever ask about the dress or search for it at all. Sleeping was restless, Chat haunted her dreams, horrified at what he finds when she reveals who she really is. Even talking to Alya was hard, mostly stuttering like she did when she talked to Adrien before she got more comfortable around him. Alya was her best friend, nothing should make her disheveled enough for that to happen. She was stressed about this like never before. The thought had passed her mind sometimes since they teamed up moths ago, but never like this. Why was it affecting her so much all of the sudden? She had been fine before the last akuma attack and it hadn't even been that close of a call to her secret being out.

Alya worked all day at school to weasel what was wrong out of Marinette. Nothing worked. She even avoided making fun of her when she almost walked into a door earlier that day. She felt sorry for the poor girl but couldn't even begin to chip away at what was bugging her. Alya called her dad to let him know she'd be late getting home and walked Marinette home.

"You know eventually you'll have to tell me what's wrong. It's impossible to dodge me forever and it's only Wednesday so don't even think about trying to avoid me at school too. I've still got 2 days to bug the hell out of you. Or you could make it easy on me and just come out with it. It's obvious something's up."

Marinette sighed deeply but tried to focus on what was being said to her but everything was moving in slow motion.

"I love you, you know I do, but I don't know what to say. If I could put it all into words I would've already but-"
She trailed off while they walked, finishing her sentence with vauge hand gestures and a disgruntled sound instead of real words. But Alya still seemed to understand and gave up fighting it.

Marinette took her time going up to her room through the bakery. The last words Alya said to her rang in her head as she sat her school stuff down.

I hope you figure whatever this is out soon. I miss my bestie.

She sat down at her desk and pulled out her notebooks slowly, wanting to get some kind of start on her homework. She knew if she didn't start soon she'd never finish it. About halfway through the first question, her head hit the desk and she was spiraling agiain. Tikki floated next to the head slumped onto the stack of books and papers. The kwami finally couldn't handle her friend being this stressed anymore. She had to step in and take action, telling her what she really needed to hear.

"Marinette it's time for you to face this thing. It's been keeping you up at night and stressing you out so much. I hate seeing you like this, it's heartbreaking. And everyone is starting to notice, not just Alya. Your poor parents are worried sick."

Her head slowly lifted and looked up before falling back down and groaning loudly.

Tikki's squeaks sounded just as serious as when she gave her initial speech.

"We're lucky there was no akuma attack since you started thinking about all of this because you haven't been on your game. You need to talk to the healer. The one you took me to when I was sick. He's wise and can guide you better than I ever could, Marinette."

((Thank you so much for reading! This is the first of 3 chapters. It's my first chaptered fic so I'm keeping her tiny. Any reviews are greatly appreciated!))