(A/N): So our two loveable heroes are back! I know I gave you guys the first chapter almost directly after Why Superheroes Need Their Sleep finished, and I know there are some of you who've had to wait ever so patiently since then. I want to thank you for you patience and understanding. I've been exploring other fandoms and finishing my other MLB story (Spotted Snowballs, now complete - Yay I managed it!) and I feel like I'm always saying life got in the way but juggling work and University studies (A novel a week is the pace for one class atm, barely keeping up there) a Creative Writing class and an Independent Dissertation/Research Project thing has kept me insanely busy lately. Also working in a Supermarket at Christmas/New Year is simply two months of madness.
But I digress.
Welcome back, you guys!
I am totally psyched about the challenges I face in this tale; Plagg's iciness towards Marinette, Adrinette trying to find out how they work together now as civilians, Hawkmoth being awful as per and - it's on everybody's minds, I know - Alya and Nino knowing!
But I'm looking forward to meeting and addressing each element head on and seeing where it takes us!
You are all wonderful and I value your feedback and comments of support and criticism. (Even the comments that are just Pterodactyl noises and keyboard mashing, those make me laugh an inordinate amount.) This is a true work in progress like most of my work - I have no idea where we're headed right now. Although I do have a preliminary last chapter already, so I guess that's something. It means that I can at least guarantee nobody dies.
Exciting, right? :D
Happy reading!

Chapter Two

"Chloé!" LadyBug hissed, wondering why she was so surprised.

"Oh, not again!" Cat groaned, his shoulders slumping just a little as they looked across the corridor. "Can't she just get a grip?"

LadyBug snorted, adjusting her yo-yo and twining the strings between the fingers of one hand.

"Chloé doesn't do getting a grip. She does getting what she wants and screaming about it when she doesn't."

Cat Noir only hummed in agreement, his eyes darting around the area as he took in everything. LadyBug paused to look at him, feeling something odd in her chest.

"I didn't know about your friendship with her." she said slowly, looking down at her yo-yo. "That whole time when we were protecting her and I was being awful, all those times I've complained about her and I didn't even stop to think she could be your friend."

"I know." he reassured her, giving her a lopsided smile she answered with a wince, "Don't worry about it. We were friends before, but… I don't think I like her very much any more. I feel kinda guilty about it."

LadyBug set her jaw as a scream reminded her of where she was. She took one last look at the sadness surrounding Cat and bent over to press a kiss beside one of his cat ears. When he looked at her in surprise she only smiled, her cheeks staining pink.

"We can talk about it, if you like." she promised, and was rewarded with his beaming, cocky grin.

"Later?" he asked, sounding hopeful, "When I get around to giving you that kiss?"

LadyBug blushed so furiously she wobbled, almost losing her balance and lowering her eyebrows to try and scowl at him. Her hand reached out to press two fingers to his cheek, turn it gently in the direction of their battle.

It was familiar, soothing almost, to do that.

Cat laughed, loud and joyful as she threw out her yo-yo and swung away, bounding after her with his Sabre out, ready.

They were back, back, back!

LBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLB

Marinette's head snapped up at the gentle tap, her eyes bluer than the sky above him had been before dusk. When they caught his, she smiled. It was a lovely expression, lighting up her eyes, brightening the freckles scattered on her nose. Cat felt it warm him, despite the cooling night air. Marinette made her way over and pushed the window open for him, moving backwards to give him space to drop to the floor.

He flashed her a winning grin, loving the way she rolled her eyes and hid her smile as she went back to her seat on her bed, picking up her textbook again. He watched her for a few seconds before releasing his transformation, feeling the tingle of magic as it unpeeled itself from his skin.

Marinette and Adrien watched as Plagg fluttered, giving them a brief look before floating over to join Tikki by the dresser. The ladybug kwami zipped around him, her voice quiet but excitable as always. Marinette bit her lip to hide her grimace, the flicker of pain that flashed a line of ice through her abdomen.

Some day, hopefully someday soon, she would convince the little black cat that she was worthy of the mask, worthy of Tikki and her power. And she would prove she was worthy of Adrien, that she could fix what she had broken.

"Hi."

Marinette turned her eyes on him and the gentle smile on his lips made it hard not to smile back, not that she tried to resist.

"Hey."

Adrien's smile widened, his eyes lighting as he watched the familiar pale pink curl lazily across her cheeks.

"I missed you." he said, before he'd meant to, ending with a soft chuckle and rubbing at his neck.

Marinette's cheeks grasped hold of the colour, beautiful and inviting. Her smile made his stomach fill with wings. She swallowed the instinctive urge to play his comment off, tease him. It had only been a few hours since they'd left the school grounds, headed their separate ways home. She felt a flicker of anxious fear, but she braved it anyway.

"Me too." she admitted quietly. "I…" she broke off with a nervous giggle, ducking her head and then bravely tucking a lock of hair behind one ear. Her fringe fell in her eyes when she looked up again.

Adrien felt the strength of his feelings rise like a solid thing in his stomach. He was lost, and he knew it. And he loved it.

"I like this you." she said, her words reminding him of precious conversations, ones she had only braved so far when on patrol, her face half hidden by bold red and black spots.

When he only smiled wider, her eyes glinted in amusement.

"You're… I can't- Every time I think I've gotten used to it it hits me all over again. You're… You're like Cat Noir but… sweeter. Like Adrien but… Well, I don't really know how to say it."

"Better." he whispered as he took a step towards her, half asking.

She reached out to wrap her arms around his waist as he came close enough.

"Yes." she created, tugging him into a tight hug, her cheek resting just right on his chest. "Cheekier." she added as an afterthought, and she giggled as she sensed him smirk.

"Why, Milady, you like my cheekiness after all."

Marinette closed her eyes and held him close with a contented sigh.

"I've always loved it, Chaton. I just… wasn't brave enough to show it."

"Just like I liked you, Mari. Sweet and shy sometimes but wicked and funny when you were with Cat Noir. You opened up so much and you were so… you."

Marinette laughed, and then made a humming noise in agreement.

"It's always been easier to be around Cat than Adrien. Not in a bad way, just… easier."

"Because of…" Adrien trailed off, but it was clear what he meant.

Marinette felt herself flush from head to toe, still shy about talking so openly about how she felt. It was true she could broach the subject when she had her suit on, but as herself it was somehow much more difficult, scarier. The mask of Ladybug somehow acted as a defence, a wall of sorts.

But it was getting easier. And she was trying.

"Shut up." she answered, trying her best to hide the smile she knew he'd hear so clearly in his voice.

He chuckled in response.

"But it's so difficult to keep quiet about it!" he taunted, pulling back to turn his gleaming green eyes on her.

The scarlet in her cheeks made him giddy, the fondness in her eyes combined with that gorgeous amused irritation he so loved… Could he truly be blamed for feeling so emboldened?

"After all, my partner has this huge crush on me. Can you blame me for being a bit… excited about it?"

She rolled her eyes and gave an over-dramatic sigh to cover the way her heart was racing, shoving him playfully and moving back to cross her arms and give him a barely-there glare. Her face was scarlet.

"You're not excited, you're boasting."

"Well…" Adrien said, turning those mischievous eyes on her and holding her gaze for an endless heartbeat, his smirk softening into a warm, butterfly-inducing smile that made Marinette's knees weak, "If you had the prettiest, sweetest and cleverest girl in all of France returning your affections, wouldn't you be boasting too?"

Marinette stared at him, feeling herself choking up unexpectedly, her eyes damp. She gave a nervous, bashful laugh and looked down at her feet before letting out her breath. Her heart was doing somersaults and she wasn't sure whether she wanted to swing through the night screaming joyously at the top of her lungs or lock herself in the bathroom to try and prevent hyperventilation.

"Who knew the great Cat Noir, akuma-fighter and fearless savour of Paris, was such a softy at heart?" she whispered, embarrassed and giddy and lost in his eyes the second she looked back up.

Adrien turned pink but he didn't look away from her, his eyes adoring.

"You did." he answered.

Marinette smiled, looking down at her feet as it became a grin and overtook her commands.

"I did."

"You're my partner and my friend first and foremost." he said, after a long, comfortably quiet moment like that.

Marinette looked up to see him watching her, his eyes heavy with that emotion she knew was love.

"But I do… I do like you, Mari. A lot."

He shuffled, looking uncomfortable and out of place. Somewhere closer to the Adrien she used to know than Cat Noir. Marinette was terrified, suddenly and fiercely, in that moment. But she took a breath and she swallowed hard and she closed her eyes.

And then she looked at him, her smile true and fond.

"I like you a lot too." she admitted in a whisper he almost didn't hear.

Adrien grinned, lovely and bright and lighting up his eyes so that they positively sparkled.

"Mecha Strike III?" he asked, reaching for her hand to pull her over to the desk. "I learned a new combo move and I want to see if it can beat you."

Surprisingly, Marinette was perfectly okay with the change of subject, relieved to find she wasn't even the least bit offended. Rejection didn't sting at her. Instead she felt exactly right, like they were where she needed them to be. If she forced herself to address it, there was no doubt. She belonged utterly to Adrien, and hoped he was hers in return. That much was truer than anything else she knew.

But where they were right now? It was a beautiful type of perfection.

"It won't." she grinned, tossing him a controller and taking the chair next to his as he switched the game on for them. "My new armour is the best."

Adrien laughed, and when he looked over as Marinette signed in, watching the TV light flicker over her face as she chose her saved character, he felt his chest warm in that familiar, pleasant way. She was his friend and his partner and very possibly that something else, all of her wrapped up and labelled Marinette. He couldn't ask for better, and even if he could he wouldn't.

She was his Bugaboo, after all.