The clock stops ticking for a few minutes, Marinette still lost in those bright green orbs. Adrien continues staring at her and she suddenly sees the resemblance between him and Chat Noir. The blonde hair, the green eyes, the flawless tan skin and the perfect physique. Every piece of the puzzle falls into place.

In her mind, she puts him in the tight black leather suit and indeed, that's her flirty kitten.

So basically, let's get this straight, Marinette.

You like Adrien.

Adrien is Chat Noir.

It means you like Chat Noir.

The realization settles inside her but she feels slightly strange because she's always seen Chat as her trusted partner. Her close friend that she mostly spends time with when they're saving Paris.

Which they do practically every day, mind you.

So how is it she hasn't noticed this before? Why hasn't she realized that the boy of her dreams is actually a partner of her alter ego? More importantly, how on earth has she realized this now?

The answer comes to her very easily as her bluebell eyes sweep over the staff in his hand and then the yoyo clutched in her fist.

Aaaand she wants to bang her head against a wall.

Great, Marinette, just great. You just showed everyone that you're Ladybug. You could've beat those kidnappers outside of school but noooooo, you just had to reveal that you're Paris's most famous superhero whom Hawkmoth wants dead.

I applaud to you, Miss. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Sometimes, Marinette hates the little scolding voice in her head.

She turns to the moment at hand, her gaze coming over to Adrien only to find him still staring at her, his well shaped jaw hanging. She then looks over to the rest of the people around them, swallows and shoots them a tight smile.

And suddenly, a clap breaks out from someone's hands, everyone twisting around to see Nathaniel clapping, a shy smile adorning his lips. It doesn't take time as the the gears in all of their head start functioning again and they all too, began applauding and hooting.

"Marinette! Adrien! Marinette! Adrien! Marinette! Adrien!"

They all are cheering, shouting both of their names with excitement. The only one who isn't doing so is Chloé, the rich blonde still pressed against the lockers and looking at Marinette like she wants to spit on her but she can't as if she's afraid that Marinette will knock her out with a mere yoyo.

Breath getting caught in her lungs, Marinette smiles gently, clasping her hands behind her back as they all continue cheering and clapping. Though she blinks, cheeks warming up as a faint 'm'lady' escapes from Adrien's lips but she acts like she didn't hear it, ignoring how he still stands frozen beside her.

She needs to get her thoughts cleared.

(MIRACULOUS)

Thankfully, they all leave school early because of the kidnapping session. A number of police cars are around the building, Sabrina's father engaged in a conversation with the principal as his men pick up the unconscious forms of the masked men. And to make things even more complex, the news reporters are there as well.

Silently stepping on the sidewalk, Marinette releases a heavy sigh, feeling relieved that nobody had noticed her leaving.

"Tikki's gonna be so mad," She mumbles, sapphire eyes looking upwards and meeting the dark black clouds hovering above her.

Something wet falls on her nose and soon it's raining.

Marinette swallows again, straightening her shoulders and letting out a puff of air from between her lips as if it would get all her thoughts cleared.

She only walks a few steps when she hears someone calling her name.

"Marinette!"

That voice sounded familiar; familiar enough to send chills down her spine and she swiftly twists around, heart leaping up to her throat as her eyes spot Adrien running towards her.

He has a black umbrella in his hand, his wet sunny locks sticking to his forehead as he runs towards her. It reminds her of their first encounter, sending butterflies fluttering through her stomach.

"Marinette!" He yells again and then she realizes that he's gotten closer to her.

Without thinking much, Marinette breaks into a run, heart hammering in her chest as she increases her pace. She cranes her neck to look back, Adrien blinking at her with surprise, his eyes asking her the silent question that why is she running away from him.

The French-Asian girl chews on her bottom lip, not wanting to answer. But her eyes widen as a flash of determination lights up Adrien's wet face and he miraculously increases his pace too, chasing her.

"Marinette, please!" He shouts out, pleading. "I just wanna talk to you!"

Her heart clenches in her chest and she imagines that Chat Noir is chasing Ladybug.

She shakes her head, water splashing beneath her pink sneakers and clouds thundering above her. She makes her way to the road, still ahead of Adrien. Then his shout fills her ears.

"Marinette, watch out!"

For a second, she doesn't understand what he means but when she sees the upcoming bus, she gets the idea.

Digging his heels into the sidewalk, Adrien comes to a sudden halt, eyes widening to the size of frying pans as he watches Marinette push herself onto her fingers tips before flipping over the bus in a very elegant manner that he knows only his lady can accomplish.

Her fleets hitting the other side of the sidewalk, water splashes all around her but Marinette doesn't have time to think about her wet clothes so she bolts forward, leaving behind a dazzled blonde model.

Feeling that she had finally lost him, the blunette sprints around the corner of an alleyway. She throws herself against the cold wall, chest heaving as rain falls over her small figure. A sudden dash of pink catches her eye and she feels like crying.

"Oh, Tikki!" She presses herself more into the wall, "How can I be so reckless? I can't believe I gave myself away!"

Her kwami offers a gentle smile, floating closer to her face. "It's alright, Marinette. Maybe they didn't find out."

"You didn't see Ayla, Tikki! Her face read the fact that she found out that I'm Ladybug! And Adrien... Oh, Tikki! He's—He's Chat Noir! I couldn't even talk to him!"

Marinette lets out a whimper, hoping that her kwami couldn't see the tears because of the rain.

"Marinette," Tikki begins softly, "Everything will be alrig—"

Not knowing why her kwami had paused, Marinette's gaze follows at what Tikki was staring at and soon, the bluenette found herself gazing at the enormous television screen on a building.

A picture of her and Adrien was on it, a look of bravery sparkling in their eyes. It seemed like a photo taken during their fight with the kidnappers.

The headlines read: MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG AND ADRIEN AGRESTE, TWO BRAVE TEENAGERS WHO SAVED MR. BOURGEOIS'S DAUGHTER AND THE ENTIRE SCHOOL. ARE THESE TWO THE FAMOUS LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR?

Marinette wants to faint.