A/N: I've been in this fandom for just over a day, and I'm posting this trash. Why? How should I know, and why should you care? Just- enjoy the story while I go contemplate my life choices.

Zipping through the air above the quiet streets (and most roofs, actually), Ladybug hummed quietly to herself. Unlike it was normally, tonight, the city of Paris was still. There was no villain attacking for once, and she was admittedly enjoying it. As nice as it felt to save the day, having a night off was even better. Briefly, she wondered where Chat had run off to. Then she figured that it didn't matter. It was normal for them to split up during patrols and besides, he probably just had to change back.

She was so sure of this conclusion in fact, that Ladybug stumbled when she spotted a familiar head of blonde hair walking down an empty street. Almost quicker than she could process, her shock turned to irritation. To her, it wasn't important if there was no danger or not. She expected Chat to be on patrol with her, or at least give her a heads up before taking to the streets, especially somewhere so far off his course. Her mind was made up. Setting her face in what she hoped was a stubborn glare, Ladybug dropped to the ground in front of him. The first thing she saw brought her up short.

There, clutching a shopping bag to his chest as he panted in surprise at Ladybug's arrival, was a very familiar set of green eyes.

"Ad-" Ladybug caught himself, squeezing her eyes shut and mentally scolding herself for her near slip-up. She was Ladybug, and that meant she couldn't know Adrien's name.

The boy was staring at her with wide eyes, his chest still moving in and out heavily as he tried to control his surprise at seeing the superhero land right in front of him. Ladybug tore her gaze away from her crush as she resumed the search of her surroundings, even more on-edge now that Adrien was apparently with her so close to Chat. She let her eyes sweep up and down the street, instinctively searching for danger or for something about to go down, even as she scrutinizes the shadows, waiting for a movement or clue to where Chat had hidden himself. At least Adrien didn't appear to have seen him. Something told her the two of them wouldn't get along.

He had gotten over his shock quicker than she would have liked and was starting to get a little anxious from the way that Ladybug was acting. Normally, she would be more friendly and talkative, but there were two things wrong with that idea. Firstly, if she tried to say anything in front of him, all that would come out with a bunch of nonsense. Plus, he was sure to recognize her voice. Should she deepen it? She was pretty good at that sort of thing, but for the moment, he wasn't talking, so there was no reason to-

"L-Ladybug," he mumbled. "What is it?"

She tensed at the sound of her name, letting out a loud string of curses. Mentally, of course. What was it her mom sometimes said? 'Mind over matter'? Well, that could work. After all, right now she's not Marinette, clutzy fashion designer with a huge crush on the boy in front of her. She's Ladybug, completely capable superhero who has no problem talking to guys. Especially guys she doesn't even know.

Drawing herself together, Ladybug softly cleared her throat, pulling her throat muscles tight as she altered the pitch and depth of her voice like her old acting teacher had taught her to when playing a male role. It would sound ridiculous, but hopefully it would be enough to fool even her crush.

"It's nothing... citizen?" Wow, that sure sounded believable. "I thought I noticed something, but it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. I guess the late night patrols are getting to me." She forced a laugh, feeling herself go red from embarrassment under her mask. At least it was dark. And she was wearing a mask.

Adrien smiled at this, chuckling into his hand and visibly relaxing instantly at her words. She stared, not having expected her horrible performance to have a positive affect. Hesitantly, she smiled back. Then he took a hesitant step forward, setting his grocery bag down on the ground, though he quickly forgot about it.

"Ladybug. You…probably don't know me, but I-"

"A month ago," She interrupted, making his breath hitch. "You were the person in the limo when me and Chat Noir stopped Mimeman, right?"

He nodded enthusiastically, his eyes wide at having been recognized and remembered so easily. Especially after only a single meeting when they didn't even speak to each other. Actually, that was probably a mistake on her part. She should've played innocent.

"How have you been? Staying out of trouble?" Ladybug asked anyway. Too late to turn back, after all, so she decided to roll with it.

Adrien chuckled a little nervously, seeming on edge even as he took another step closer. He was now within Ladybug's personal space bubble, closer than she usually allowed anyone to get in superhero mode. At this range, her yo-yo or any other means of defense would be nearly helpless to stop the thrust of a knife or the path of a bullet. But that was the very last thing Ladybug was worried about, considering that this is Adrien. Even if it did, it wasn't like she would be able dodge. She could hardly even walk properly around him on a good day.

"I've been…well. Really well. I've thought about that day a lot, Ladybug." For a second, she almost thought his gaze had flickered down to her lips, but when she blinked again, his focus is back on her eyes, so she brushed the thought away.

The grin on her face was probably visible even in the dark, she realized, but she couldn't have stopped it from forming even if she had tried. The blush that was starting to creep its way across her face was a little more worrisome, but the way she figured, it wasn't like that would be an important detail to him.

Adrien was now only a foot away from her, and Ladybug idly wondered if he wanted to give her a hug. The idea was super adorable, and made her want to squeal, but she didn't really associate Adrien with that sort of behavior. Maybe that was something he would do though. In all honesty, she really didn't know him as well as she would like to.

"I've been thinking that I never really got the chance to thank you properly for saving my life." He picked up the conversation again, pulling Ladybug from her thoughts. Not that she cared. "So…" Adrien trailed off, throwing an uncharacteristically nervous look over his shoulder before looking back at Ladybug, taking one more step forward. "Thank you."

And then Adrien did something that she hadn't been expecting in the slightest.

He kissed her.

Her mind stuttered to an immediate halt, and her eyes widened behind her mask as she looked up at her long term crush. Adrien's eyes were shut tight, and though he was blushing as well, her shade no doubt put even her costume to shame. Had her mind been working properly, Ladybug might have thought it was appropriate to be embarrassed.

Her fingers twitched in the air, feeling the instinct to grab hold of him. Slowly, Ladybug's rational thought started to restart as the pressure on her mouth increased. Adrien was leaning into the kiss ever so slightly, his full lips pressing firmly against her's. The only thing separating them was the few inches of air still left between the two.

In that single moment, Ladybug finally came to understand something.

She understood why Adrien sometimes became flustered, or would look away when he talked about Ladybug, as he often did. She understood the love letter she had found in the trash on Valentine's day. Tikki had been only half right with her deduction. The letter wasn't about Marinette. It was about Ladybug. Adrien was in love with her superhero alter ego. Now that she saw the truth, it just seemed so painfully obvious. She wondered how she had never seen it before. Probably because she hadn't wanted to.

The thought flashed through her mind in an instant and left the young hero breathless, even more so than the lips pressing firmly against her lips.

Those realizations met, Ladybug- no, Marinette tried to savor the moment, relishing in the affection that Adrien was giving her, even if he didn't know it was her. Letting her hands rise to softly grip him by the shoulders, Marinette let herself press her lips back against the his, her mind blanking as she actively struggled to make the kiss good. It was her first after all - unless you counted the situation with Chat Noir, which she didn't - so it wasn't as if she'd had a lot of practice.

Adrien reacted with the enthusiasm she had been hoping and waiting for. He closed the small distance still between them, reaching up and gently cupping her cheek, tilting her head up towards him. The tips of his fingers were dangerously close to her earrings, but for once, she wasn't worried about someone removing them.

Marinette let this go on for a few more long, drawn-out perfect seconds before she was overcome with an utter sense of wrongness at the situation. This wasn't right.

This wasn't how she wanted it. Even as Adrien responded even more enthusiastically, his free hand moving to settle snuggly on her hip, Marinette's brain finally stopped being numb and kicked back into action again.

This wasn't how she wanted Adrien. She wanted him as Marinette, not as Ladybug. Marinette may have been Ladybug, but Ladybug wasn't Marinette; there was a difference between who she was during school and who she became when she was alone. She wanted Adrien not just in her private life, but also around when she was a civilian. She wanted him as a part of her life, as someone that she could talk to about anything, anytime that she wanted, wherever they may be. She didn't want a devoted fan.

Her mind made up, Marinette took a moment to relish the feeling of Adrien's body flush against her's, especially with how thin her outfit was. She could feel his heat leaking in through her outfit, even though her brain told her that they weren't actually touching, skin on skin.

Berating herself a little bit at having to do this, Marinette pushed softly against Adrien's shoulders, separating them. She pulled back a bit, the look on his face at their separation churning her stomach uncomfortably. She smiled kindly behind her mask, her hands dropping loosely from their place around his neck. Her chest hurt at the thought that he wouldn't remember her this way; he'd remember Ladybug, and probably would be zoned out during class for the next week thinking about this moment. Well, there went the already limited time she had to talk to him. Somehow though, Marinette couldn't bring herself to regret her actions. Maybe she would once she got home.

"What's your name?" she asked softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Adrien stared back blankly for a second, probably still high from the kiss, then blinked, coming back down to Earth. He winced, looking abashed at having acted so forward without having even introduced himself. When he spoke, his voice was also scarcely louder than a murmur. Not that she could blame him.

"It's Adrien. Adrien Agreste."

Marinette grinned widely, leaning in and giving him a soft kiss on the cheek that made her face flare. Then she forced herself to step back, though the action took more effort than it should have and emotionally wounded her. Her heart broke a little at the thought of having to leave him there, alone. She knew the city well-enough to be sure that he was nowhere near home.
"You're welcome, Adrien Agreste." By now, she wasn't even bothering with trying to disguise her voice, though he didn't seem to notice.

As soon as the words had finished leaving her mouth, Ladybug blew him a quick kiss accompanied by a smirk before she leapt into the air. Her yo-yo was in her hand before she even consciously thought of the action. It was habit by now, and she quickly latched onto the roof of a building and was off. Before she had gotten more than a dozen yards away however, Adrien's shout brought her to a halt.

"Wait!" he called, his voice almost frantic. It was clear he was trying to stay calm, to not let her know how much the idea of her leaving upset him. It wasn't working.

Ladybug turned in the air, looking at the boy questioningly, though very clearly pleased. Her grin only widened at his follow-up question.

"Can I…can I see you again, maybe?"

She chuckled into her hand, noticing for the first time from her viewpoint how much he looked like Chat. A stupid idea, she knew, but it was still funny to think about.

"Who knows, Adrien Agreste?" She says teasingly. "It's a small city, after all." With those parting words, Marinette Dupain-Cheng flew off into the darkness, leaving behind her very flustered partner.

A/N: The worst part is, I have another one planned.