-Adrien-

"Adrien? You awake, dude?" Nino asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

Adrien cracked open an eye, seeing Nino holding back laughter as Marinette scowled over him. "No… Is the movie already over?" Adrien mumbled back.

"We're the last ones in the theater." Marinette stated plainly. She folded her arms over her chest.

Adrien paused for a moment, yawning as he stood up from his seat. "...So how did it end?"

Nino suddenly burst out laughing as Marinette rolled her eyes. "Unbelievable." Alya said scornfully. Adrien couldn't tell if she was talking about him or Nino.

"Adrien we bought tickets to this movie only because you wanted to go." Marinette said sharply as Alya shoved Nino to make him stop laughing.

"Uh… sorry? I didn't get much sleep last night and-"

"Oh cut the excuses! We've been dating for almost two weeks, Adrien!" Marinette said.

Adrien smiled sheepishly as he awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Um… I'm still sorry." He said quietly.

Marinette groaned and rolled her eyes, but Adrien could've sworn he saw her smile.

"We're going to have to ask you to leave." A deep voice suddenly spoke. They all turned towards the security guard who looked down at them with a stern glare.

"Sorry sir. He fell asleep and-" Marinette began to say before the guard interrupted her.

"Cut the excuses! Out!" The guard pointed a finger towards the exit.

The four teenagers guilty stood and filed out of the row. As Adrien passed the guard he saw him do a double take. He immediately saw suspicion fill the guards eyes. Oh no. Adrien thought to himself as he quickened his step until he was side by side Marinette.

"What a way to start off the weekend." Nino grumbled.

"We better head out." Alya said, taking hold of Nino's hand.

"We'll see you tomorrow then?" Marinette asked, taking Adrien's own hand.

Nino smirked. "Maybe Adrien will actually stay awake tomorrow." Alya elbowed Nino.

"I'm not a sloth!" Adrien said, defending himself.

"Of course you're not. Now let's go." Marinette said, a hint of a smile on her annoyed filled face. Adrien and Marinette turned away from Nino and Alya before glancing over their shoulders and waving. Once they were far enough away from Nino and Alya that they wouldn't be overheard, Adrien looked over at Marinette with worry.

"Are you really mad at me?" He asked. Please don't be mad… Please don't be mad…

Marinette smiled. "Only a little." She said, nudging him playfully.

Adrien smiled back for a brief second. "Well… I think that guard believes that rumor that's been floating around."

Marinette looked at Adrien. "What? Really?" Adrien nodded. "Why are people suddenly believing that you're Chat Noir? Where did it even come from?" She asked, more to herself then to Adrien.

"Maybe it was because of Imperiumal?" Adrien suggested.

Marinette shuddered. "Maybe. Who knows what he did when you were under his control." She said quietly.

The two fell silent, the slowly dropping sun lengthening their shadows. Finally Adrien spoke again. "I haven't seen my father in two weeks. I haven't seen him since Imperiumal was defeated."

Marinette looked up at Adrien. "Do we really have to talk about Imperiumal right now?"

Adrien could tell the memory of the akuma hurt her, but he had to bring him up. Ever since he was defeated it had seemed as if everything had just blown over everyone's heads. Only a few mentioned the akuma now. "I know you don't, but I think my father disappearing is because of Imperiumal."

"How could it? You defeated him, remember?" Marinette said, a small spark of hurt in her eyes.

Remember… I don't remember anything. Adrien sighed. "I'm just worried about him. I haven't even had any photoshoots! Nathalie won't tell me anything either. Although, she has mentioned that she's going to have to leave on a trip soon to take care of the company."

"Let's talk about this back at the balcony." Marinette suggested. "I don't feel necessarily safe out here in the open."

Adrien smiled. "Are you saying I'm not enough to protect you?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I can protect myself kitty." She said, nudging him playfully with her hip.

Adrien laughed. "That I know, but wouldn't it be easier with someone by your side?"

At this Marinette looked thoughtfully down at the ground as if the question was hard to decipher before meeting Adrien's eyes again. "Of course." She smiled. "And I wouldn't want it to be anyone else but you."

Adrien and Marinette were leaning against the railing together not too long afterwards, the sun just a sliver over the horizon. "Could you tell me more about the month I missed?" Adrien asked quietly, looking over at Marinette. Her hair shone brightly with lights that hung across her balcony, and her eyes sparkled with hope and joy, and now that he knew she was Ladybug, he could always see that familiar determination. The determination that she would always do everything in her power to keep the ones she loved and Paris safe.

And he loved it.

Marinette smiled sadly. "Well… You called me pri-"

"Princess?" Adrien finished for her.

Marinette's eyes darted to his. "H-how did you…?"

"You certainly look like one." Adrien explained. He leaned in closer to her, smiling cheekily as he always did as Chat Noir. "Don't you, purrincess?"

Her initial surprise fell from her expression and she giggled. Adrien almost died of how cute it was.

"Now Chaton, if I'm your princess, what does that make you?" She asked, tapping his nose. Adrien's nose wrinkled in response and he pulled away.

"I guess… your knight in leather armor?" He suggested, bowing deeply.

Marinette laughed again. "What good does leather armor do?"

Adrien straightened, his smile widening. "Why it's not the armor that protects me, but my love for my princess."

Marinette's cheeks flushed that adorable pink that Adrien loved, and she smiled. "Oh for heaven's sake, Chaton! You're too cheesy for your own good."

Adrien snorted. "Not as cheesy as Plagg's Camembert I hope."

"I heard that!" The black kwami shouted back in response.

Adrien and Marinette laughed in response and turned back towards the railing, Adrien wrapping his arm around Marinette as she laid her head on his chest. Neither of them said a word for a while.

"What if Imperiumal really is back?" Adrien finally said, breaking the sweet silence.

"Adrien, I don't think your father's gone because of Imperiumal. He's probably just trying to catch up on work since you were out of modeling for a month."

"For two weeks? My father really isn't one to take time."

Marinette sighed. "Maybe you should go looking for him then."

"Maybe." Adrien replied.

"Now about that guard?" Marinette prompted. "You think he believes that stupid rumor?"

"Almost everyone believes it."

Marinette groaned. "Well hopefully it'll just blow over, right?"

Adrien shrugged. He wanted to bring Imperiumal back into the conversation, but he felt as if it could wait for another day. When he had opened his eyes and seen Ladybug crying, he had known something was horribly wrong. And he was right. It was still disorientating to think that he had lost a month of his life. And because of an akuma no less! After that Ladybug had shown her identity to Adrien as being Marinette, and right after that they had started dating. It was nice to be able to smile and laugh without worrying of any golden pendulums or dark indigo eyes. However, even though the akuma was defeated, there was still destruction and problems that they had to clean up after him. Adrien sighed and looked over at where the sun had been. All that was left was a small smudge of light.

"The sun's down." Marinette mused.

Adrien nodded. "Time for patrol?" He asked.

Marinette smiled. "Of course!" She answered, her smiling widening as she stepped away from the railing to transform. Adrien did the same.

"Tikki, spots on!"

"Plagg, claws out!"

Soon the two superheroes were bounding across the cities of paris, racing each other playfully as the early night wind brushed across their masks.

"Race you to the Eiffel Tower!" Chat Noir called out, padding across the rooftops on all fours. Ladybug ran right alongside him. She laughed.

"Oh please, kitty! You know you don't stand a chance!" She shouted back, quickening her pace. Chat chuckled.

"We'll see about that." He said under his breath, speeding up to pull ahead of his lady.

Slowly but surely, he caught up with Ladybug and he began to take longer strides, practically leaping. He was just about to jump ahead of her when someone suddenly screamed "Chat Noir!"

Chat's heart jumped and he lost his footing, slipping off of the roof he was on and plummeting to the street below. He landed hard on his back, just barely rolling out of the way of a car that honked in either surprise or annoyment.

Chat groaned in pain as he lay sprawled on he sidewalk. He slowly sat up, rubbing his head. People around him were staring at him in shock. He didn't blame them. He wouldn't want it to start raining cats and dogs either.

Soon a crowd had gathered around Chat, people muttering and even a few pulled out their phones to snap a picture. Chat was just about to get on his feet and leap away when the cry came again.

"Chat Noir!" Chat quickly stood, ignoring his body that screamed in protest. "Chat Noir!" Finally the person who continued to scream his name came into view, shoving their way through the crowd. Chat's ears flattened against his head, and he internally groaned. It was a reporter. The cameraman quickly came through the crowd as well, his gigantic camera pointed straight at the superhero. The reporter held a microphone out in front of her, practically shoving it into Chat's chest. "Chat Noir are you really Adrien Agreste?" She asked, her eyes wide yet determined to get an answer.

Chat looked around at the crowd again. Now almost everyone had their phones out, no doubt recording the whole thing. "No! No I'm not!" Chat quickly answered, cursing himself for replying so quickly.

Instantly the whole crowd exploded, the reporter shouting to try to be heard. Everyone was asking the same thing. "Are you Adrien Agreste?" Chat held up his hands to ward off everyone.

"Chat!" Ladybug suddenly shouted, landing behind the crowd. They instantly parted, and Ladybug jogged over to Chat. "What's going on here?"

The reporter lady instantly seized upon her chance. "Ladybug, can you confirm the identity of Chat Noir as Adrien Agreste?"

Ladybug's eyes narrowed. "He is not Adrien Agreste, and I'd expect everyone to respect our hidden identities." She said, the amount of authority in her voice made Chat want to bow. "Excuse us." She added, grabbing Chat's hand. They both leaped up onto a nearby rooftop and quickly ran away from the crowd, their questions and shouts being lost in the wind.

Soon Ladybug stopped and she let go of Chat's hand. She turned towards him, her eyes full of worry. "What happened? I was almost to Eiffel Tower when I realized you weren't behind me! I was worried!"

Chat sighed, sitting down on the roof they had stopped on. He winced slightly as his aching back and head throbbed slightly. "Someone screamed my name and it startled me so I… fell." He said, his cheeks turning slightly red underneath his mask. "Turns out it was a reporter and then the crowd formed. I don't know why I didn't just leave."

Ladybug let out a relieved sigh. "Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you didn't get attacked by an akuma or something." She held out her hand and helped Chat stand again. "Looks like you took a pretty rough fall though."

"I guess you could say that." Chat replied with a smile. "I did fall off of a building's roof."

Ladybug smiled guilty. "Sorry. I should've noticed you were gone sooner. Then I could've gotten you out of there quicker."

Chat shrugged. "It's fine, really. I'm getting used to all of the flash mobs and everyone asking if I'm Adrien."

"We'll get it worked out. I promise. Maybe I could ask the mayor to organize a conference, and I could announce publicly that you aren't Adrien Agreste." Ladybug offered, smiling hopefully.

An idea suddenly popped into Chat's head. "My father's probably staying shut in his office all day because he thinks I'm Adrien! He's probably trying to figure it out!"

Ladybug glanced over towards the direction of the Agreste Mansion, seemingly unfazed by the sudden change of subject. "Well, only one way to find out. Let's go check on him." Chat Noir nodded and they jumped off towards the mansion.