A/N: Welcome back to another one of my Miraculous chapters (pun intended).

Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous, the characters, or my house which currently is sitting at 'Why did I buy this place?!' levels of interest.

*UPDATE 4/9/19 - The fic has been edited to be more streamlined and to clear up some issues I was seeing with my character development. Please start back at the first chapter and reread the story as a few details have changed. Hope you enjoy the newer version as much as the older one.*

With an Akuma attack having occurred just that morning, the likelihood of Hawk Moth sending out another villain was incredibly low. Knowing that their enemy's kwami must be limited in the same way theirs were, it was easy to find patterns in his behavior. That he was drawing on his own abilities to power the akumas meant that he was limited in what he could affect and when. Just as they needed time to regain strength after using their special power, so would their enemy.

They had also learned from their Kwami and in their discussions with Master Fu, that the more power expended, the longer it took for them to build up their strength again. With each recent Akuma being much more dangerous than when they had originally began their long battle, the time between attacks had increased telling them that Hawk Moth still had to play by the rules of the Miraculous.

Even still, both heroes of Paris took to the streets a few times a week to patrol just to err on the side of caution. It had the added benefit of intimidating some of the less-than-lawful citizens who were out each night. While they had legally only been given permission to battle Akumatized victims, which wouldn't have mattered to them since they were the only ones who could, they had been expressly told in a private security council meeting that they were not allowed to be vigilantes. Of course they didn't always obey that rule. When one of them came across a mugging or violent altercation, the police would show up to find a suspect tied to a light pole or a bench. Thankfully they had never been attributed to apprehending those criminals and the Paris Inspecteur général appeared to not question any 'anonymous civilian arrests.' Rumors were enough to scare off most criminals when Ladybug and Chat Noir were around.

It seemed that they had been spotted early that night since the city remained relatively quiet. After traversing their respective individual paths, the two met up on the top platform of the Eiffel Tower. It was a favorite of the two, for both the view and how it reduced the amount of gawkers since they were too high up.

"Evening, M'Lady." Chat swung up onto the narrow beam his partner was currently perched on. Ladybug offered him a friendly wave, returning to swinging her feet casually. "How are you on this fine night?"

"Better than this morning. Finally got that soot smell out of my nose." She couldn't help the cringe that accompanied the irritated wiggle of her nose.

"I know!" Chat dropped next to her and absentmindedly scrubbed at his own. "Your power fixes the whole city, puts out fires, heals any injury, yet we still get stuck smelling burnt toast for hours on end." Ladybug giggled at the way her partner suddenly went cross-eyed trying to look down to the tip of his nose as if expecting to see more soot.

"Yes, well, luckily we get a break tonight I think. That last one probably benched Hawk Moth for at least a couple weeks." Those were the times that Ladybug loved the most. When the pressure was off and she was free to just run around the city, to enjoy being the girl she always wished she could be in her everyday life. The grace and power she had as Ladybug never translated back to her normal self. Over the last few years she had certainly become more confident, more self-assured, but it was always missing that rush she could only experience when sailing over rooftops and scaling monuments with ease.

"I don't mind that. I can certainly use a break." Ladybug looked over at her partner, a little perplexed. She knew he absolutely adored being Chat Noir, would look for any excuse to just get out of the house and run around the city. She still didn't know who he was, but he had made it very clear over the years that the freedom he got to have as Chat was invigorating and made his day-to-day life easier. "Homework," he replied to her puzzled expression. That certainly cleared it up for her. She often was far behind on assignments herself.

Though she didn't know him outside of the mask, or so she would tell herself, she knew that they both were students. It had been a rather amusing patrol when Chat had shown up with a backpack and sat next to her while working on an essay. She also knew they were about the same age. It still didn't give her much to go on with learning his identity, but then again they weren't really supposed to do that anyway. They had both been warned by their respective Kwamis and Master Fu that secrecy was vital until their enemy could be defeated.

"Yeah. I might finally be able to catch up on some sleep."

"Probably won't help you get to school on time though, huh?" Ladybug softly smacked her partner's shoulder at the tease. She had confided in him that she wasn't much of a morning person and rarely made it out of bed to get to school before class started. And by 'rarely' she meant possibly once a month. Her duties as Ladybug had only made that harder since she was often out most nights until late. Chat on the other hand could be out until two in the morning with her and according to him be up and at school before the first bell even rang. She despised him for that.

"I should never have said anything to you." Chat snickered before turning to look back out over the lights beneath them, spread throughout the city.

"So… Any progress with that boy yet?" She grimaced at the question. Since the two of them couldn't discuss much in their lives without potentially revealing information about themselves, the two avoided things like where they might work or what assignments they had in school or any interesting goings-on with their families, they stuck to the regular standards for most teenagers. Music, movies, and affairs of the heart.

"No?"

Chat threw his head back in exasperation. "It's been three years, Bugaboo." It hurt for him to say it since he still held a torch for his lady, but he had learned a long time ago that she may never see him that way so he would instead support anything that would make her happy. "What's been stopping you from telling him?"

'You mean besides you, Chaton? Wait NO!' A bit stunned by her own thoughts and unable to formulate an answer, she Instead settled for a shrug, the most common non-committal answer ever devised.

Chat sighed before tapping his leg into hers. "If it hasn't gone away yet then it's not simply a schoolgirl crush anymore."

"I know! Jeez, you sound like my best girl friend."

"Getting on your case again?" He knew from past conversations that his lady's friends often tried to give her a helping nudge towards admitting her feelings to her mystery guy, but he could tell she was never able to go through with it. It was especially easy to know when those conversations did happen as Ladybug would tend to get really frustrated whenever the subject came up.

"We're really good friends! I just…can't seem to get past the part where…you know," she trailed off lamely.

"Where 'friend' becomes friendlier." Chat's brow waggled at her while she gave him a playful shove. The two sat quietly for a few minutes, letting their eyes rove over the French city.

"What about you, minou? Have anyone special in your life these days?" Chat gave her a sidelong glance.

"You know my heart will always belong to you M'Lady." Ladybug rolled her eyes at the sentiment but couldn't contain the small blush reddening her cheeks beneath the mask.

"Really? No one at all has caught the eye of my dashing Chaton?" It wasn't that she didn't appreciate the affection given to her, but she wanted her partner to be happy. To be able to have someone to go home to at night, or at least take out for coffee once in a while. 'Why couldn't that be m- AH! No! Bad Marinette!'

"Well…" The one word, full of hesitation and uncertainty immediately caught her attention. He had never mentioned anyone before, not in their three years of being a crime fighting duo. She scooted closer until she was pressed right next to him, an eager glint in her eye. Chat laughed a bit nervously. "Okay, okay. There is…one person, I guess. I mean, I don't think it's romantic. Maybe? I don't know. It's very confusing."

Seeing how it was difficult for him to really explore those feelings, Ladybug leaned back onto the platform and laid down pulling him to lay down next to her. Staring up at the stars always seemed to help them open up to each other about certain things. Possibly because they could whisper their secrets to the sky where no one could judge them. Hearing a deep breath come from her fellow hero she waited patiently, ready to listen should he care to tell.

It took a few minutes but eventually his tension lessened and he became more relaxed. "We've been friends for a while. Few years."

"Do I know her?"

"Yeah. I don't know if you know her outside of the suit, but you've met her on occasion." He chuckled for a moment. "We've both had to swing her out of trouble more than once. She's one of those 'need to help but forget to watch themselves' type of person." Ladybug laughed softly. She knew exactly the type he was talking about. Far too often there had been times when ordinary citizens would try to help them by evacuating others or trying to run damage control. Those were the more helpful individuals. Others though took it upon themselves to try and distract the villain usually ending up with them having to be rescued or put under a spell.

"Sounds like a real stubborn girl." Chat flashed her a smile, part genuine and part smirk.

"You have no idea. Anyways," he continued, "I've been going to see her sometimes. Always as friends." Ladybug nodded in understanding, her situation remarkably similar. "Lately though…I don't know." He trailed off, nervousness back in his voice.

Ladybug reached down and took his hand in hers, squeezing it reassuringly. "You don't have to say anything, Chaton. But I'll listen if you want to." She felt a slight tingling in her fingers, the urge to interlace hers with his being very strong. The mention of there being another lady in her Chaton's eyes was causing a small of ember of jealousy to flare up. 'Think of Adrien. Think of Adrien.'

Closing his eyes, Chat smiled at her touch. She still was his lady and any affection from her, even platonic, was treasured. "A few months ago she just…looked at me. And it wasn't new, it was the same look I'd seen dozens of times. But this time…"

"Butterflies in your chest and a frog in your throat?" He looked over at her, eyes wide. She giggled while pushing against his shoulder. "I have that every time I'm around y-him." 'Get ahold of yourself! You love Adrien, remember?'

Though his mind was occupied on the other girl at that moment, he still winced at the mention of his lady's mystery man. He sighed, his thoughts in a jumbled mess. "How do I know if it's anything more?"

Ladybug didn't say anything for a few minutes while she tried to think of a way to explain it. Finally when she spoke it was in a soft, caring voice. "There's crushes, mon Chaton, and then there's the real thing." He listened with rapt attention, not daring to ask questions in worry she would stop. "If you want to be next to her and take her out on dates and want to just look at her all day, then it's most likely you've gotten close enough to develop a crush. But if you want to be a shoulder for her to cry on. If you want to be there for her when she has a nightmare at two in the morning. If she tells you she's sick and you walk a mile in the rain to bring her soup. Well then, Minou, it's more."

While he didn't utter anything more, she could feel him tense up further. A quick look his way had her seeing a mix of elation, fear, and confusion. If it really was that he was in love with this other person, she could understand what his expressions were about, especially if he still carried a torch for her. 'Both of us are such a mixed bag. He's in love with me and another girl who doesn't know it. I'm in love with him and another boy who doesn't know it. If ever there was an encyclopedia entry about 'passing ships in the night' I think we would both be pictured in it. Wait…' Her eyes widened suddenly. 'Did I just say I love Chat?!'

Coughing to distract herself and hopefully not let her partner see what must be a look of panic in her eyes she quickly tried to move on with the conversation. "Does she uh, know you outside of the suit?" If it was someone he interacted with on a day-to-day basis then expressing his feelings would be less complicated. If not…

Chat shook his head. "I mean, we're friends but I don't think she sees me in that way."

'Well. That's a whole lot more complicated.' She almost chuckled, though sadly, at how alike their situations were. "Poor girl must be blind then. You're a total cat-ch."

A shrill beeping came from Chat's staff slung along his back. Sliding it forward he took at look at the display and blanched. "Oh no! I'm gonna be late!" He leapt to his feet and turned to his spotted partner. "Thanks Bugaboo for the talk. It helped a lot." She could only offer a quick wave before he launched himself off the structure and was gone into the night.

Sitting up herself, Ladybug resumed kicking her feet, though this time the motions were much slower, more absentminded than with any real purpose. She reflected on how much they had come to know and trust each other over the years and she hoped that her kitten would find a way to be happy. Soon though with his absence came the thoughts of her best friend and how she was still miffed about her 'surprise' earlier that day.

"Springing a surprise party on me is bad enough, but expecting everyone to hit a bar on a Wednesday night? Half the class will be…hung…over…" Her eyes suddenly widened at remembering that her birthday, which was tomorrow, was on a Wednesday. Meaning today was Tuesday. "La vache!"

It was rare that Ladybug ever took a straight path towards her home. The risk of attracting any attention to her movements was always something she took very seriously. However, there were those times when she found herself late for something important leading her to race across town as quickly as se could. Normally it was something to do with her parents or if Alya randomly stopped by just after an Akuma fight and wanted to show her the footage she captured. That night though was something she really did not want to miss.

Her speed thankfully brought her back to the roof of her family's bakery within a few minutes. With a hasty glance around she hurriedly opened the trapdoor and slunk inside before dropping her transformation.

The red form of one of her dearest and closest friends flitted in front of her with a slight frown. "That was really irresponsible, Marinette. Someone could have seen you."

"I know, TIkki." Marinette's voice was muffled by her shirt which had gotten snagged around her head when she tried to take it off. "I was late and you know I have to be back here first!" She finally managed to get free of the offending garment and tossed it haphazardly into her hamper. Her pants soon joined it before she began rushing around to find a pair of comfortable pajamas to change into.

Tikki couldn't help but sigh. She knew her Chosen wasn't the most careful but she was definitely her favorite. The hearts and minds of all the Ladybugs throughout the ages had always been pure and full of life and hope and dreams, and that was what made Tikki so happy to be with them. Each one was special to her and the memories she shared with them would forever be with her. Marinette though was different. Marinette was Tikki in human form. Full of generosity, selflessness, dreams, desires, and a creative spirit unlike anything the kwami had been exposed to in her very long life. It was why they worked so well together. And though her Chosen may be a bit too emotional, it only made her love the girl more. 'And really I can't say anything about her being this way about boys. Heaven only knows the way Plagg can just wink at me and I go to pieces.'

Tikki was about to say more when a soft thump landed outside. "Tikki, hide!" The kwami needed no such suggestion though as she had already ducked into her own little house Marinette had made for her.

A quick rap on the trapdoor overhead caused Marinette to spin around frantically making sure anything embarrassing was out of sight and out of mind. She started heading over to where the ladder was with the intent on opening it until a light breeze through her window tickled her bare legs reminding her that her pajamas were still laid out on the bed. A shrill 'Eep' escaped her while she tried to hurriedly put them on. A couple minutes later she finally managed to open the trapdoor leading to the roof and stood back.

A long form in skintight black leather gracefully dropped down into the room. "Evening purr-incess. Ready for tonight?"

Marinette grinned and held up a dvd case and a previously made bag of popcorn.

Roughly two years ago…

"Stand still, you mangy feline!"

Chat Noir scoffed. It was a rather too common one for him to hear and honestly he was getting a bit bored of it. "Mange? Seriously? You can't come up with a better name to insult me with? What, do all you villains get the same script but just fill in the blanks where your unimaginative name goes?"

The quip seemed to rock the newest Akuma victim for a moment. "Sh-shut up!" Chat chuckled when a large snowball flew towards his head which he quickly dodged. Wherever the snow broke apart, sheets of ice took their place. Already half of the nearby stores were coated and frozen shut, the occupants beginning to feel a very unnatural chill sweeping over them. Considering how warm the weather had been, none of them were wearing anything meant to keep out the cold.

Running up and over a car positioned in the middle of street, empty and abandoned by the owner when the attack had began, the feline hero knew he needed to end this quickly. Sizing up his newest opponent, Chat kept a close eye on any nearby civilians while preparing himself to avoid getting hit by the flying snow.

It was not his first time squaring off against an icy villain, though it was certainly a first of what he was seeing. Never had he imagined that a twenty-foot tall snowman would be attempting to freeze him solid, yet there he was. Staring at what he could only describe as a fond childhood memory turned nightmare. Especially since the carrot nose was nearly four feet long.

"Seriously, who comes up with a name like Snowstorm? That's a weather report." He narrowly avoided another sheet of ice that had appeared before him, but kept up his taunts to throw his opponent off-balance.

'C'mon, M'Lady. Kinda need your help right about now.' While the snowman was slow and his attacks mostly avoidable, he knew that one lucky hit meant he would be a popsicle and pretty much helpless.

"Give up and give me-"

"Your Miraculous," Chat finished for him with a yawn. "Same script, different actor." The Akuma let out a frustrated shriek and began pulling snow from his own body, gathering it up into a ball big enough to freeze half the street.

Chat looked around quickly, hoping to find a way to stop the newest threat to his, and everyone else's, health. What he saw though made his stomach clench in fear.

Directly off the side of the road in one of the few alleyways not currently filled with snow and ice stood his classmate and close friend, Marinette. She was not keeping her eyes on the Akuma which he found surprising for a moment, but appeared to be glancing up and down the street as if trying to spot someone.

He knew it would be useless to shout at her to get back, Marinette wasn't the type to simply cut and run if she thought she could help, but he couldn't very well ignore her either. Especially as Snowstorm seemed to be finished collecting the gigantic ball of ammo he had been building.

Seeing the snowman's arm winding up for a heavy pitch, Chat leapt towards the alley and quickly grabbed the suddenly shocked teenager before extending his staff and launching them both into the air, just in time to watch as that side of the street turned into one big ice rink.

Landing a couple of rooftops away, the superhero turned to his bewildered friend. "Uh, Chat Noir! Thanks! I can't believe I was almost frozen."

Something in her expression was off, he could tell. But he really did not have the time to dwell on it as the Akuma was now turning the corner and slowly heading their way. "Always happy to lend a paw, Purr-incess," he said with an extravagant bow. Gripping her hand softly, Chat raised it to his lips and kissed the back of it. Knowing Marinette as he did in his civilian form, he expected to see a heavy blush or at least hear a stammer. What he got however was a much different girl.

Marinette simply smirked at him and shoved his shoulder lightly. "Don't you have a job to do, kitty cat?"

"Right you are, Princess!" Turning on his heels, Chat extended his staff again. Sparing a quick look over his shoulder, he gave her a wink. "Stay outta trouble, now." Launching himself from the roof, Chat Noir landed on the large round head and began kicking the snow away causing the snow monster to yell out a few well chosen curses.

He didn't see the young girl dip back around a chimney, nor did he notice his partner suddenly reappearing on the opposite side. All he did know was that his feet were getting cold.

It had been a tricky opponent to defeat, Marinette thought to herself while climbing the stairwell back to her classroom. The Akuma had been hiding in a scarf that was barely visible whenever the snowman had gathered enough snow from it's own body to throw their way. In order to have a chance at getting it, Marinette had been forced to get far too close for comfort, especially as the temperature plummeted near him. Dodging the thrown ice was a challenge but it allowed her partner to drop down behind him and snag the end of the scarf with his Cataclysm.

The snowman had melted down to reveal a young child, eleven or twelve that was bundled up in several sweaters, an odd thing to see in early fall. It turned out that the young boy's mother was extremely overprotective and had put a lot of layers on him, the end result of the kid being bullied at school for it. After everything had been fixed with her Miraculous Ladybug and the frozen citizens had been thawed out, Marinette had been forced to race back to the school. She arrived a few minutes late to class but Akuma attacks usually gave students a short grace period.

It was unsurprising that Adrien showed up a few minutes late as well. While Marinette seemed to be prone to finding ridiculous ways to trip or knock things over, Adrien had a knack for being caught in Akuma attacks. Already he had been mummified, turned into a knight, changed into a mirror image of Reflecta, changed into solid gold, forced to dance and sing so he wouldn't be turned into a statue, and numerous other problems. Thankfully his father hadn't gotten wind of any of it or he may have pulled Adrien from school again.

"Dude. Frozen again?" Nino nudged him with a bit of a cheerful expression on his face. Though being caught in an attack was a stressful event and not normally something to laugh about, seeing his friend walking in under his own power without seeming too bothered by what had gone down outside relieved all of his tension.

"Nah. I was at the cafe down the road and the door got hit. Was stuck inside." He shrugged before giving his friend a sly grin. "Thankfully they have this amazing hot chocolate with cinnamon flakes." Nino laughed and slapped his back.

Just behind them Alya was processing the raw footage she had gotten of the fight and uploading it to her blog. Marinette was too busy staring at the back of Adrien's head to notice. She may have gotten closer to him as a friend and had reached the point of being able to have a conversation without becoming tongue-tied, it still didn't keep her from daydreaming about the boy.

Alya finished and turned to her friend, rolling her eyes when she saw the dreamy expression and dopey smile on her lips. She nudged Marinette enough to shake her from it. "So a little birdie told me that a certain black cat swept you off your feet." Alya flashed her a wink which made the young girl blush.

"Wh-what?! No!" Marinette spluttered. "I mean, well sort of, but not like that!" Alya smirked while she let Marinette stumble over the events. "I was almost hit by the snowman and Chat Noir grabbed me and hauled me to the roof to get me out of harms way."

"So where were you? You came in late, though I suppose that's not too surprising for you," she joked.

"I made my way down off the roof and I was going to come back to school but then I got hit by another snowball and ended up trapped for a little while. Thankfully not too long since Ladybug and Chat Noir took out the Akuma really quick. Do you know how freezing it is inside a block of magical ice, especially without a coat?"

Distracted, Marinette didn't notice Adrien's sudden slump in front of her. Nino did see the droop in his friend's expression but chalked it up to maybe a late reaction to being in the middle of an attack.

Instead Adrien was internally scolding himself. 'I can't believe I let Marinette get hurt.'

The thought stayed with him for the rest of the day, even through dinner and his evening Chinese lesson. Once the rest of the house had quieted for the night, and with his mind still consumed by his failure to protect his friend, Adrien transformed and slipped out into the darkness.

The last light to usually go out at the Dupain Cheng bakery was located at the very top of the building. If anyone was to be on a nearby rooftop they would see a teenage girl bent over a desk scribbling away madly or hunched over a sewing machine while fabric met stitch in remarkably brilliant designs. However, nobody ever went up to the roof on those buildings as they were fairly crowded and not quite high enough to see anything beyond an occasional full moon.

Of course that only applied to those unable to climb to extraordinary heights and perch on outcroppings, which currently one figure was doing, his black outfit vanishing in the thin moonlight barely seen through the heavy clouds overhead.

His cat slit pupils were able to pierce through the darkness to see the girl inside the dimly lit room. It was almost amusing to see her moving so absentmindedly much as she did during school hours. What he did find interesting was how she seemed to be having a one-sided conversation with herself, arms flapping about in extreme gestures.

Worried that it could have something to do with her being attacked, Chat extended his staff and pole-vaulted across to her balcony. His cat-like reflexes made sure his landing was silent, enough that even the nearby pigeons didn't spook, though the quiet sneeze he made certainly had them fluttering away.

'Damn allergies.'

Unfortunately while he had hoped to check on Marinette without worrying her or really bothering her night, that sneeze gave him away.

"Chat Noir?"

The trapdoor next to him had suddenly opened and a curious head popped out. Black hair mussed and partially pulled from her customary pigtails, Marinette gave the superhero a quizzical look.

"H-hey, purr-incess. How are you this fine evening?"

The almost unnoticeable hesitation in his voice made her smirk. Catching her partner by surprise always brought a smile to her lips, though even more when she was simple Marinette instead of the 'Miraculous Ladybug.' It was easy then, seeing how smitten he was with her alter-ego.

"I'm alright. What brings you to my balcony? If you are looking for some of those chocolate covered pastries you like so much you may have to wait until the morning for some fresh ones."

Chat licked his lips at the thought of his favorite treat and made a mental note to swing by as Adrien on his way to school, he shook his head slightly. "No, Princess. I wanted to see if you were okay after the attack. I-…" he paused before swallowing hard. "I'm sorry I didn't keep you safe today."

Her heart ached for her Chaton. She knew how much he cared for all the people of Paris, just as she did, and to believe that they had failed anyone was something that weighed heavily on them. Reaching out, she placed a hand on his shoulder causing a start to go through his body.

"You didn't fail to help me, Chaton. You saved me. It was just some bad timing that the Akuma turned the corner just as I did."

Chat sighed heavily before running his claws through his unkempt hair. "Maybe so, but I still feel responsible."

Seeing how upset he was, Marinette knew she couldn't just leave her partner feeling so down. "Hey, Chat. Why don't you come inside. I think there may be some leftover pastries from this afternoon."

Chat couldn't but lick his lips at the hint of the Dupain-Cheng confections. If there was one thing he was willing to cheat on his diet for, it was the famous chocolate croissants at the best bakery in Paris.

Present Day

"Dammit, Minou! Give me that popcorn!"

Chat couldn't help but laugh while he leapt from chaise to bed to ladder all the while grinning like a maniac, the movie playing all but forgotten.