Marinette was staring at the back of Adrien's head again. The blonde waves glinted like gold in the weak light filtering in the windows of the classroom. She sighed quietly and looked out. Cloudy, grey, cold, drizzly. Felt a lot like her current mood. She was exhausted. Hawkmoth had released three akumas, and fighting Sightseer, KidCrush and The SpeedDemon were vicious enough, without running out of juice midbattle and nearly transforming in front of Noir. By the grace of some helpful god, she managed to hurl herself through a window and duck quickly enough that the cat hadn't caught sight of her. It had taken close to thirty minutes to find a food source for Tikki, as they were in the middle of the industrial district and said neighborhood was not known for it's fine cuisine or plethora of restaurants. She ended up sprinting halfway across town and slamming headfirst into her family's bakery doors. She fished out her key, dropped it twice then slipped in, ducking behind the counter to avoid her mother seeing her during her usual two a.m. sneak snack (at least that's her father referred to it as).

"Marinette! Are you paying attention?" the teacher's sharp screech of a voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Er….Yes!"

"Pay attention. I will send you to the principal if you keep this up."

"Yes mam."

She shot a look at Chloe when she giggled loudly, adding in a carrying whisper that she was probably daydreaming about being just like her. "Think I'd rather swallow all the broken glass in Paris then be anything like that brat." she muttered to Alya.

Without warning, the entire building shook violently. The entire class let out a collective yelp and they all dove under the desks, looking to each other for any clue as to what was going on. Marinette already knew, and she felt dread settle into her stomach. There was no way her tired body and exhausted mind could cope with the stress of being Ladybug today. It put heavy strain on her and in her condition, she might just flop to the ground and immediately change back. But she still had to go. Paris and it's citizens were under her protection and she couldn't just let Chat Noir handle the fiasco on his own. That was the thought that sent her sprinting to the washroom to transform. "Tikki, spots on!"

She staggered from the washroom and landed herself on the roof, being met by a very enthusiastic Chat Noir. "Hey LB, worried you weren't gonna show!"

Marinette forced a smile and a sharp retort. "Well, I know you can't do it on your own!"

"It's the power of our love that keeps this cat going strong m'lady!"

"Y-yeah, I'm sure." that was sad. She couldn't even muster objection to his flirts right now.

Breaking the conversation off, she leapt nimbly to the next roof then the next, her tired muscles screaming in protest the entire way. Today, Chat kept up with her easily, which she took as a sign of being utterly tired out.

They found the akuma quickly. A towering, hulk of a monster with broad shoulders and the ability to control electricity. Chat, take his left side and I'l-" she couldn't finish. With a small groan, she fell to the ground, her breath coming in harsh pants. "T-Tikki….what…." her miraculous began to beep shrilly and before she could hoist herself from the ground, all of the power slipped away, leaving her disguiseless and, after a moment, unconscious. `

Chat Noir yelled for Ladybug as she slipped to the ground, clutching herself tightly. "Ladybug! Are you okay?! Ladybug!" he raced to her side, but was stopped dead when her miraculous gave out and revealed her identity to him. "M...Marinette? You're…."

Marinette woke up with every muscle in her body screaming. She felt like she had just run a thousand miles and she had the sweat covering her to prove it. She moaned weakly and rolled over, regretting it immediately. Her body gave a sharp twinge in protest and the only thing she found herself thankful for was that whatever she was lying on was soft and warm. "Tikki?" she grumbled, cracking open an eye slowly. Why did the sun have to be so bright? She rolled away from it and covered her face, shocked to find that she was running a mighty fever. "Tikki, what happened?"

"Marinette! You're awake!"

"Sadly…"

"How do you feel?"

How did she feel? Like death warmed over, warmed over. Like how the bottom of a well used public bin must feel. Terrible, in other words.

"I'm okay."

"That's such a relief! I was super worried!"

"Did….Chat see m-"

The hatch to her room clicked softly and Tikki went scrambling to hide. Oh...I'm in my room, is all Marinette could register before her mother's worried head poked into the room. "Marinette! You're up! How are you feeling? Do you still have a fever?" She's so worried….Marinette smiled guiltily and shook her head. "I'm fine ma. Don't worry so much."

"That's good. I brought some medicine up for you, I want you to take it, alright?"

"Okay mom. I will." She reached out for the cup, tossing back the chalky liquid inside with a grimace. "Ugh…" she mumbled, rubbing her tongue over the roof of her mouth to get the bitter taste off of it. "Rest well. I love you."

It took around 15 minutes for the medicine to kick in, and she rested her head on the pillow, stretching and yawning, feeling blissfully light. She heard a soft thump outside her window, but was far too sleepy to hazard a glance. "Marinette…" that was Chat Noir, wasn't it? She slipped a tiny bit more, and the next few moments came to her in flashes. Chat pushing his forehead against hers, taking her hand and placing it on his chest over his heart, then moving it to his face to nuzzle her, then kissing each of the slender fingers, then dropping countless kisses on her flushed cheeks and forehead and eyes. Him brushing her hair from her face then gently kissing her temple. "Sleep well bug-a-boo." he whispered before slipping out the window and disappearing into the night.

Adrien's POV

The shock took a while to set in. Ladybug, his precious Bug-a-boo was actually Marinette. He felt no disappointment at the thought, in fact, the only feeling was a wave of relief. He was falling for Marinette, and slowly inching away from Ladybug, because he couldn't bring himself to want something he probably could never have. But, Marinette had been her all along? He was surprised he hadn't noticed all along once the mask came off. They shared the blue black hair falling carelessly over the eyes, the beautiful bluebell eyes that seemed to suck all the light surrounding them into their depths. The sweet smile, the slender body and height. Everything was the same. But, he had just thought that blushing, stuttering, awkward Marinette couldn't be strong, fearless Ladybug. He shook his hair from his eyes as his miraculous gave out and quickly climbed through his window. He looked around his room, eyeing the various pictures of LB that he had pinned to several areas. He sighed and flung himself onto the bed. His head ached, but he could feel joy spiraling up from the pit of his stomach. No more long nights comparing the two, no more lamenting the fact that he didn't know Ladybug. He was free from that horrible torture. He grinned and shoved Plagg aside, burying his face into his pillow and laughing. Thank god.

He poked his head up at the sudden thought that occurred to him. Was he going to tell Marinette his identity? He probably should, to square things between them, but...did he really want Chat Noir and Ladybug's dynamic to change? He thought back to the teasing, the playful banter and complete comfort between them. Could he really risk that? He shook his head. No, he couldn't. Not yet, at least.

Hawkmoth grinned in the darkness of his lair. Ladybug was Marinette Dupan-Cheng, an ordinary highschooler, and one associated with Chat Noir. He called an Akuma to him, stroking it's silky wing softly. "Go, my little Akuma, and destroy everything she loves."