Some akumas were more difficult to handle than others, that was just how it was. Ladybug and Chat Noir had accepted that fact long ago, but that didn't make it any less annoying. Currently the pair was running for their lives from Heart Breaker, a poor girl who's heart had been (you guessed it) broken heartlessly by her boyfriend of three and a half years who was moving to America and thought it would be best to dump her over text saying that their relationship wouldn't have lasted much longer anyways. The usual tack tick of distract and grab hadn't worked out, so now it was plan B. Run and think of a new plan. Heart Breaker was flinging black hearts that exploded upon contact with the ground creating craters and large crowds of smoke making it hard to see. Ladybug tried to think of any new angle or detail that they could somehow use to their advantage. "Maybe if we-"

"Ladybug, look out!" Chat shouted, pulling the heroine from her thoughts. She turned her head to look at Chat skeptically, but instead she fell face first into one of the large craters Heart breaker had caused. She tumbled ungracefully down to the bottom of the deep crater, hitting several rocky bumps on the way down. She groaned in pain as she lay at the bottom clutching her ankle that had taken the brunt of the fall.

"That's definitely sprained if not broken," she thought as she chewed on her lip trying to not think about the pain. "Lucky charm!" she shouted and prayed for a miracle. A small bag of flash powder fell in her lap. "What the heck are we supposed to do with this?"

"In coming LB!" Chat shouted as he dropped down beside her. "That looked pawsitively clawful M'lady. Are you alright?" Ladybug sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I'll feel better once this is over. Can you get us out of here?"

"Of course," he replied slipping an arm around her waist and slamming the staff into the ground. Ladybug flung her arms around his next, clutching the bag of flash powder in her right hand, as Chat rapidly propelled them upward. Ladybug took this time to think.

"Hey! I got a plan."

"Good timing. What are we doing?"

"Throw me right in front of her and then be there to snatch the locket."

"Do what?"

"Just trust me!" She snapped, grabbing her yoyo in her other hand. Chat looked at her skeptically before dropping her. Ladybug plummeted toward Heart Breaker and right before she hit the ground she threw the flash powder of the ground and hooked her yoyo on a light pole and swung away. The flash powder exploded emitting a flash of light that blinded Heart Breaker. Chat Noir swiped the locket from her neck and threw it to Ladybug. She smashed it and purified the akuma reverting the cit back to normal. She gently lowered herself to the ground from the light post she'd been hanging from onto the ground. Chat rushed to her side and slipped an arm under her shoulders to support her weight noticing the way she winced as she put weight on her ankle. Her earrings beeped which brought a sense of frustration and panic as she looked for a place to hide so she could change back.

"Cure not work on your ankle?"

"Guess not but I'll be fine. You can go I'm ok."

"Ladybug, please let me help you you're hurt."

"Chat I'm fine. Please I'm going to change back soon."

"At least let me walk you take you to your street. I won't know where you actually live or anything, I just want to make sure you get home."

"Chat-"

"Bugiboo, please," he pleaded. Ladybug studied his face for a moment before a beep of her earrings made her decision.

"Fine you can take me to my intersection but that's it. I can hobble home from there or call my parents to come get me."

"I should take you straight to a doctor," he replied scooping her up into his arms. She smacked his shoulder playfully.

"Chat it's really ok. I'm sure a little ice, a bandage, and some painkillers and I'll be good as new," she giggled as he jumped up to the roof and ran. The second beep of her earrings.

"Where am I going?"

"Do you know the Dupain-Cheng Bakery?"

"You mean the bakery that makes the best treats in Paris? Why of course I know it."

"Just drop me off across the street from there and I'll walk the rest of the way."

"Bugiboo trust me when I say this you need to see a doctor."

"Chat-"

"Here we are," he cut her off as jumped down from the roof and set her on her feet by the lamp post. Ladybug smiled up at Chat.

"Thank you for bringing me home Kitty," she said as she leaned up and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Chat felt his cheeks heat up and he rubbed the back of his neck. Ladybug giggled A third beep of her earrings brought them both back to reality.

"Well I should get going," he said nonchalantly.

"Yeah I guess you better."

"My lady, I bid you good night," he replied as he bowed and kissed her hand. Ladybug smiled as she watched Chat run jumping from rooftop to rooftop. After a bright flash of pink light, Marinette stood staring up at the night sky of Paris. Tikki quietly munched on cookies in her purse as Marinette hobbled across the street. She quietly unlocked the barker door and slipped inside. She tried to walk up the stairs, but her ankle was throbbing in pain. She instead had to hop as quietly as she could into the apartment upstairs. Marinette made her way into their kitchen and grabbed a small bag. She quickly filled it with ice and then looked at the ladder that led up to her room.

"Tikki, do you think you could carry this for me? I don't know how else I'm going to get up there," Marinette whispered. Tikki smiled at her, flew out of the purse, and grabbed the bag of ice. Marinette quietly and carefully climbed up the ladder to her bedroom trying desperately not to wake her parents. Tikki flew up behind her cradling the bag of ice in her arms. Marinette hopped around her bedroom, picking up a towel and a few pillows off of her chaise, before flopping down on her bad. She carefully propped her foot up on two of he pillows, wrapped the ice in the towel, and gently placed it on top of her ankle. Marinette groaned in pain and leaned against the wall. "Marinette, I think Chat Noir is right. You need to have a doctor look at your ankle," Tikki said as she pulled Marinette's backpack over to her.

"But Tikki! When am I going to have tome to do that? I have mountains of homework to do and I can't miss anymore school!"

"Marinette," the kwami replied shaking her head, "you need to take care of yourself, or else you won't be able to defend Paris and fight Hawkmoth!"

"Tikki, I know that. I'm just not sure how I'm going to explain this to my parents," Marinette mumbled, looking down at her swollen foot.

"I'm sure you'll think of something."

"I guess you're right, but it doesn't mean I have to like it," she grumbled as she stretched out her shoulders. Tikki giggled and hugged Marinette's neck. Marinette sighed. It was now or never. "Mamma! Papa!"

7:45 A.M. The Next Morning

"What happened to you?" Alya asked as she stared at her best friend. Marinette sighed and shifted on her crutches.

"I fell down my ladder last night and broke my ankle," she replied gesturing to the factor boot that encased her right leg.

"Girl! You've got to be more careful!" Alya scolded, "Here, let me care this." She snatched the backpack of Marinette's shoulders and Marinette sighed in relief. Taking away the excess wight made it so much easier to move around. The two began the long journey to their classroom. Marinette could walk…sort of. The crutches took the majority of her weight off of her ankle, which would allow it to heal more quickly. Upon entering the classroom, Marinette could feel the eyes on her. She heard Chloe make a snide comment, but paid no attention to it. She hobbled over to her seat as fast as she could and put her head down on her desk.

"You ok, Marinette?" Marinette slowly raised her head up and looked into piercing green eyes.

"Y-yeah I'm ok. My foot's j-just a li-little sore," she replied fighting the blush crawling up her cheeks. Adrien smiled.

"What happened?"

"Oh, I-I fell down my-my ladder last night. Clumsy me," she rambled.

"Well that must have hurt. I hope you feel better," he replied turning back around. Marinette smiled as she stared at the back of his head. Meanwhile Adrien was thinking this was almost too good to be true. Adrien had been suspicious of Marinette for some time now, but this was icing on the cake. Sure she was clumsy and hurt herself often, but showing up with a broken ankle the next day after his lady sustained the same injury the night before? Some how he wasn't sure he could call this a coincidence.

"Well, I might just have to pay my dear princess a visit tonight." He thought to himself.

10:30 P.M. The Dupain-Cheng Bakery

The beautiful city of Paris was relatively quiet Chat observed as her jumped from roof top to roof top. Given the number of Hawkmoth's akuma attacks recently, a calm quiet night was more than welcome. He paused on the roof of the bakery, cradling a medium sized gift bag and flowers in his right arm. Chat may have thrown together a little care package on his way home from school. (Ok "little" might not be the best word to describe it. The bag contained two boxes of chocolate, a silly get well card, four of the latest fashion magazines, and a little black cat stuffed animal for her to cuddle with. He'd almost gotten a ladybug print tumblr mug for her to put drinks in, but somehow he thought that made his suspicions a little too obvious.) Chat smiled and shook his head. He wasn't completely sure that Marinette was Ladybug, but just the thought of possibly knowing his Lady's identity made him excited and nervous all at the same time. He stooped down and softly knocked on the hatch. There was a slight pause, and he briefly wondered if she was sleeping or just wanted to be alone, then he heard her get up and hobble around her room.

"It's open," she said quietly. Chat flipped the hatch up and dropped down landing silently on the floor. He looked up and smiled. Marinette looked at him with curious questioning eyes. She looked extremely tired, but still almost happy to see him. He hair was down from it's usual pigtails, falling naturally around her face, and she was wearing pink pajama shorts and a black t-shirt.

"Evening princess. I heard about your pawsitively clawful injury and I was out on patrol so I thought I'd bring you a get well package," he said smoothly as he walked over and placed the bag on the chaise lounge in front of her and handed her the flowers.

"Wow. Thanks Chat. You really didn't have to," Marinette replied sheepishly as she leaned over and set the flowers on her desk. Chat chuckled.

"It's no trouble at all princess," he replied grinning, and sat down on the floor in front of her. Chat's eyes danced with amusement as she pulled each item out of the bag. He almost burst out laughing when she held pu the little black cat. Marinette raised an eyebrow and he just shrugged.

"You know Chat, Ladybug might get jealous if she finds out that you've been sending care packages to other girls," she teased.

"I'm certain that my Lady wouldn't frown upon me doing good for the civilians of Paris. Besides you're the only girl I've personally given a gift to," he shot back. Marinette rolled her eyes and opened one of the boxes of chocolate.

"Seriously though, thank you. You didn't have to do any of this," she mumbled. Chat smiled and grabbed one of her hands.

"Anything for you princess," he replied brushing his lips against the back of her hand. A light blush coated her cheeks, but she didn't tear her hand away choosing instead to let him play with her fingers. "So how's your ankle?" he asked nonchalantly as he compared the size of their hands.

"It feels like someone is crushing it with every move and this book is super itchy!" she whined, scratching at the top of her shin that peaked out the top of her boot. Chat glanced down at the boot and a wicked grin spread across his face.

"Can I sign it?"

"What?"

"Can I sign it?" He asked lightly tapping his finger lightly against the side of the boot.

"Um sure if you really want to," she replied. Chat got up and wandered over to her desk and picked up a silver sharpie. Marinette hoisted her leg up onto the chaise and stretched it out in front of her. He knelt down beside her and looked at the boot trying to figure out where to sign. "How 'bout here?" Marinette suggested pointing to a spot along the the side of the boot toward the inside edge of her shin. "I'm not trying to hide it," she mumbled, "I just don't want people asking me a million questions or my class' bully telling me I wrote that myself because I don't have any real friends." Chat tried to keep his face blank, but on the inside he was screaming. He knew that Chloe made everyone's life a little difficult, but he didn't know she made Marinette that miserable. He looked up at Marinette, but chose not to say anything. He turned the boot slightly and scribbled "Feel better soon princess" and drew a small cat beside it. He leaned back to admire his work. Marinette smiled and yawned beginning to dose off. Chat chuckled quietly and scooped her into his arms. He gently laid her down on her bed. Chat pulled the blanket up over her and tucked the little black cat in her arms. Marinette snuggled deeper into her bed, sighing contently. He smiled, leaned forward, and softly kissed her forehead.

"Sleep well, my princess," he whispered, still smiling. Chat crept up the ladder out onto the roof, and closed the hatch behind him. He began his journey home, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and thought about all that had happened recently. He thought about his Lady and he thought about Marinette. "If Marinette isn't Ladybug, them man am I in trouble," he muttered to himself. If he looked behind him, he would've seen that Marinette had gotten up to watch him go.

"Old habits die hard," she laughed thinking about all the times that she had watched him until he was out of sight, after battling an akuma. Marinette touched her forehead, brushing over the spot Chat had kissed.

"Marinette?" Tikki asked as she came out from her hiding spot. "Are you alright?"

"Honestly Tikki, I don't know," she replied as she hobbled back to her bed. "My silly kitty is making it very hard for me not to fall in love with him."

"What about Adrien?"

"I don't know!" she groaned, "I mean Adrien is so kind and sweet and perfect, but Chat is so charming and adorable and-and"

"Perfect?" Tikki suggested, as she sat down on Marinette's stomach.

"Yes! God Tikki, I feel like my heart is being torn in two because I head of heels for Adrien, but Chat has slowly found his way into my heart and I care so much about him. I-"

"Oh Marinette," the little kwami sighed and hugged her charge around the neck. "It's alright. It's very natural for you to be feeling this way."

"Really?" Marinette sniffled, trying to stop the tears of frustration.

"Of course, every Ladybug feels a strong devotion and loyalty to her cat. The two of them are partners, perfectly made to suit one another. Neither wants any harm to come to other and will rise their lives to protect the other from harm."

"Harm isn't quite what I was worried about," she muttered, "Tikki, can I ask you something?"

"Of course Marinette."

"Do Ladybug and Chat Noir usually share their identities with each other?" she asked hesitantly, almost afraid of the answer.

"Well honestly it's something that kind of ends up happening. Someone slips up or a battle lasts longer than the transformation can hold up."

"Do they usually end up romantically involved or just friends or like-"

"Marinette, Chat Noir and Ladybug are always the perfect match for each other. You are the light in his world of darkness and destruction, and in return he is there to destroy anything that prevents you from obtaining your happiness and cleansing the world. Romance can sometimes weave its way into the relationship," Tikki explained. Marinette placed her arm over her eyes.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"That is entirely up to you, Marinette."

"I just don't want to screw this up, with either of them. I've just started making head way with Adrien but Chat is one of my closest friends."

"Then-" A scream from the neighborhood cut off their conversation.

"Well duty calls," Marinette said as she sat up.

"Marinette, you can't be serious," Tikki replied as she stared at Marinette.

"Of course I'm serious. Paris needs Ladybug."

"But-"

"No buts. Tikki spots on!"

"Marinette wait!" Tikki cried but she was cut of when she she was pulled into the miraculous. Ladybug glanced down at her foot.

"Oh c'mon!" she groaned seeing that the boot was still there. This was going to give it away for sure, but she didn't have time to worry about that. She hooked her yoyo on the building and swung out into Paris.

"I am Trash Collector and I will rid this city of the filth!" The man cried. Ladybug observed the scene from the top of a building. She watch him pick two people and hurl them into a large dumpster that seemed to be eating them.

"Lovely night m'lady, even if its a little trashy," Chat chuckled as he landed beside her on the roof.

"I couldn't agree more Chat."

"Interesting choice of footwear," he remarked eyes wandering down to the boot on her foot.

"Doctor's orders Kitty, although it might make fighting a little harder," she replied.

"Well then why don't we make this quick and take out the trash."

"Chat I swear your puns get worse and worse," Ladybug laughed as she sprung into action swinging down into the park.

"You wound me madam," he joked as he took off behind her. This battle was much easier than the previous akuma. Neither of them had to use their special powers, which left them a bit of time to just be together after the battle. "Well m'lady, I have to say even with injured you still are the greatest hero I know," he said as he leaned up against a tree. Ladybug smiled at him and plopped down on a bench.

"Don't sell yourself short Chat, you're pretty awesome too," she replied glancing up at him. His eyes danced with amusement and genuine happiness. Chat glanced briefly at the boot, before the beeping of his ring drew his attention.

"M'lady, I bid you goodnight," he said as he took her hand in his and kissed it. Ladybug looked at their hands. Chat stared to pull away, but Ladybug gripped his hand.

"Wait, just wait." Chat looked down at her with an almost surprised looked on his face. Ladybug felt a light blush coat her cheeks, but she'd already made her decision. So it was now or never. She took a deep breath and whispered, "Spots Off." With a blinding flash of pink light the transformation dissolved. Tikki smiled at Marinette before slipping into her coin purse. Chat snapped his eyes shut.

"Ladybug-"

"Chat look at me."

"Are you sure?"

"It's time you knew, and I kind of have the feeling that you might already know," she replied. Chat slowly opened his eyes and stared into baby blue eyes that he knew all too well.

"Marinette, it is you," he mumbled smile forming on his face as his heart kept for joy.

"Um, yeah it is," she laughed smiling at his excited face and dropped his hand, "I hope you're not disappointed."

"Disappointed?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, "What on god's green earth would make you think I'm disappointed?"

"Because I'm not anything special. I'm just plain, boring Marinette. I'm the baker's daughter with dreams of being a designer. I've been hopelessly in love with the same boy of three years, and just recently I've begun falling in love with a certain kitty cat I happen to respect and admire."

"Princess you are far from boring," Chat replied looking completely love struck. "And I'm so luck that I got to fall in love with you twice. It was Marinette's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"Chat? Do you know me as a civilian?"

"My apologies princess," Chat chuckled, "I think this might clear a few things up. Claws in." Marinette shielded her eyes with her arm as the green light lit up the night. Hesitantly, she lowered her arm.

"Finally! I thought that would never end and I'm hungry," Plagg whined. Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Plagg, shush! They need sometime to talk," Tikki scolded as she flew up and dragged him off.

"No way, Adrien?" she asked in awe.

"The one and only," he replied bowing.

"I can't believe it's been you this whole time," Marinette giggled.

"So Mari, may I know who this other boy is that has a piece of your heart?" he asked remembering her comment from earlier. She shook her head smiling fondly at him.

"It's you silly alley cat," she chuckled.

"Huh?"

"Yeah, apparently that has been obvious to everyone but you."

"Chock up another point for me being dense," he laughed sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"No we've both been incredibly dense and oblivious," she replied lacing their fingers together, "but I think you figured it out."

"Well, the broken foot was kind of a give away."

"It really is. I'm surprised Alya hasn't pieced it together yet."

"She might, but I'm sure you'll think of some way to divert her."

"Hopefully," she replied yawning. Adrien smiled.

"Let's go m'lady, I'll take you home," he said and pulled her to her feet. Marinette wobbled a bit and Adrien slid an arm around her waist to steady her. She grabbed his face with her hands and pulled it down to hers. It was a gentle kiss, just a soft brushing of lips, but for them it was more meaningful and romantic than any sloppy make out session could ever be.

7:40 The Next Morning

Marinette thanked her father for the ride to school and hobbled out of the car toward Alya. Her foot still hurt like hell but it felt a little bit better than it had the previous day, or maybe it was the painkillers (that was beside the point, at least she didn't feel quite as awful). "Oh look it Maritrash, our resident klutz," Chloe cackled as she and Sabrina walked by. Marniette rolled her eyes and looked at the stairs of the school building with a disdainful expression.

"Don't pay any attention to them girl," Alya said patting her shoulder. "Can -I"

"Need a hand babe?" Adrien asked cheerfully as he walked up beside her. Alya glanced at Marinette with an expression that said explain.

"Yeah that would be great," she replied, thinking he was going to carry her back pack for her and take away the excess weight. She didn't expect what happened next. Adrien grinned, handing her backpack and crutches to Alya, and slipped an arm under her knees and the other around her waist. Marinette let out a small eep as he scooped her into his arms and ascended the stairs.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?" Chloe shrieked. Adrien smiled as he gently set Marinette back on her feet, arm still around her waist to steady her while they waited for Alya to come up with the crutches.

"What? A guy can't help out his girlfriend," he asked nonchalantly and kissed her forehead. Marinette felt herself blush. Alya let out a victory shout and Chloe screamed in anger.

"You're certainly not subtle, kitty," she whispered laughing and lightly smacked his chest. That familiar Cheshire Cat grin found its way onto his face.

"No I'm not, but you wouldn't have it any other way."

"Very true," she replied leaning her head on his shoulder.