Hello friends! Sorry about the wait this week. It's been a little crazy at my house. :) But I'm almost done writing this, so it should be all up pretty soon. I do think it'll be up before I leave for Arkansas, so no worries there.

Also-this chapter is a bit longer because I couldn't really break it up, nor did I really wish to. It connected too well, and I felt bad about not updating earlier this week. So you get a longer one today. :) I hope that doesn't offend any of you.

NOTE: There are some spoilers from Season 2. Well, I don't know if I'd say spoilers. Maybe just references? Nothing too dramatic and earthshattering...anyway, there are some references to the season opener, The Collector. So if you haven't seen it yet, maybe go look it up before reading this.

Okay, I'm done talking. :) Enjoy!

Quickly, Adrien slipped behind a garbage can and transformed into Cat Noir.

Ladybug dropped to the ground beside him. "Hey kitty. Long time no see."

"A pleasure, m'lady, as always." Cat Noir's heart fluttered as he smiled at his partner. It was the first time he'd seen her in the costume after Poison Ivy, and he wondered how he didn't recognize Marinette before. Her smile was radiant, and her eyes sparkled. "Hey, want to stop by the Eiffel Tower after we're done here? I know where there's a great view."

"As much as I'd like to..." Ladybug sighed. "We need to get back to class. I've missed too much as it is."

"Whatever you say, Bugs." Cat Noir nodded toward the street. "Shall we go so what's got the police all riled up?"

"After you," Ladybug gestured out toward the city, bowing slightly.

Cat Noir grinned and launched himself upward, Ladybug close behind him.

"Watch yourself, bubbles!" Cat Noir called behind him as he perched on a lamp post.

Ladybug scoffed as she landed next to him. "What am I, a fish?"

Cat Noir smirked. "Cats like fish, m'lady."

Ladybug gagged. "Okay, Whiskers, let's reel in the fishing line a little more. You've already caught me, remember?" She shook her head. "You get more flirtatious when you change. How does that work?"

Cat Noir shrugged. "Maybe because I fell in love with you first."

Ladybug stared at him, her eyes hardening. "So...so you like me more as Ladybug than as...as my other form?"

Cat Noir's stomach dropped like a stone. "What? No, of course not."

Ladybug shook her head angrily. "I knew that you didn't really like me!"

"Bugaboo!" Cat Noir protested, jumping to his feet.

"Ladybug! Cat Noir!" A police officer was racing toward the two superheroes, his eyes wild.

Ladybug started and slipped, her arms wind milling as she began to tumble off the lamp post. Without thinking, Cat Noir reached out and hooked an arm around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"I've got you," he said gently. Ladybug's eyes softened as she met his bright green eyes with her own. Then they widened as she remembered the officer beneath them. Cat Noir flushed and stepped away, then bounded off the light.

"What can we do for you, officer?" Ladybug called, sliding down the post like a fireman's pole.

"Someone robbed the Louvre!" The man exclaimed. "He's good, I don't know if we can catch him."

"Don't worry, officer," Cat Noir assured him. "We'll take care of him." He glanced at his partner. "Right, m'lady?"

Ladybug sighed. "I guess we'll finish this later, kitty." She straightened and forced a smile for the officer. "Cat's right, sir! We're on it!"

"Thank you!" The officer saluted as Ladybug flicked her yo-yo around a telephone pole. Cat Noir clicked open his staff and vaulted up onto the rooftop.

"Let's get this over with," Ladybug grumbled, jumping over a small chimney stack.

"Mar..." Cat Noir stopped himself. "Ladybug, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that you weren't...I mean, my girlfriend wasn't-"

"Look, Cat Noir," Ladybug cut across him. "We don't have time for this right now. Paris is more important. We'll sort out our relationship after." She said the word 'relationship' carefully, as if she were afraid of it breaking if she spoke it aloud.

Cat Noir's heart plummeted. "I-I'm sorry, Ladybug."

"Just...be careful." Ladybug glanced at Cat Noir, and Cat Noir caught some of Marinette's earlier anxiety in her eyes.

"You too," he replied, his heart lifting.

Ladybug nodded once and jumped off the rooftop, swinging on her yo-yo on toward the Louvre.

Cat Noir sighed, following with his staff.

Ladybug landed on the giant crystal pyramid and slid carefully down the side. Cat Noir mimicked her, sliding a couple of feet behind her. Suddenly, Ladybug turned and latched her yo-yo back on the pyramid's point, holding herself back. Cat Noir yelped as he crashed into her, clutching her shoulders.

"Watch it, Whiskers!" Ladybug braced her feet against the glass.

"Sorry!" Cat Noir apologized. "Good thing cats always land on their feet, right?"

"Not now, Cat." Ladybug sighed. "Let's just get that akuma and get out of here. I'm missing an important lunch date."

"Important, you say?" Cat Noir squeezed Ladybug's shoulders. "How important?"

Ladybug gazed at Cat Noir steadily. "Very."

Suddenly the doors beneath them swung open, and a young man came rushing out. He wore a shiny black tuxedo and a sparkling red top hat, but a black mask stretched across his face. He clutched a black cane with a red sphere at the top.

"Finally! Something that truly is one of a kind." He held out the painting he'd been clutching under his arm.

"It's the curator!" Cat Noir breathed. "I wonder why he was akumatized."

"Hey!" Ladybug bounded off the pyramid. "That doesn't belong to you!"

The man looked up as Ladybug landed in front of him. He smirked, his eyes narrowing. "Ah, Ladybug. Another completely unique character. I might just have to take your jewel to add to my collection."

"Heard that before," Ladybug said briskly. Cat Noir leapt off the glass structure and rolled to catch his fall, coming up right behind Ladybug. "The Collector said that too. And yet, I still have my earrings." She frowned, turning to Cat Noir. "Wait a second, he was...he was-"

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir clapped a hand over her mouth nervously. "We'll talk about that later! Let's finish here first, okay?" He pulled his hand away as Ladybug nodded.

"Are you afraid, Ladybug?" The akumatized curator taunted, brandishing his cane. "Come closer! I'd love to see those earrings!"

"Watch out!" Ladybug grabbed Cat Noir's hand and yanked him out of the way. They jumped up together out of the waves of light flowing out of the cane.

"You said that guy is the curator?" Ladybug called, unslinging her yo-yo.

"Yeah!" Cat Noir clicked open his staff. "Which makes sense why he loves to have things that are unique. I wonder what his power is."

"You will forever be immortalized!" The curator promised from several feet below. "I promise I'll take good care of you!"

Ladybug pursed her lips. "That answer your question?"

"More or less." Cat Noir shot a glance toward Ladybug. "Business as usual? I'll distract him, you move in from behind?"

"No!" Ladybug said hastily. "I-I'll distract him. You break the painting."

Cat Noir felt a flash of confusion. "What about your yo-yo? Isn't that more of a distance weapon?"

"N-No. I'll go first, cover me." Ladybug hooked her yo-yo around a balcony and swung closer to the curator. "Hey curator, I'm over here!"

"What's gotten into her?" Cat Noir muttered, also running towards the villain. "She hates going first."

Ladybug was fighting the curator viciously, her yo-yo becoming a flash of red and black in the air. The curator was using his cane like a sword, lashing in and out with the red tip. The painting was still clutched under his arm.

Cat Noir crept around the fight to come in from behind. His eyes fell on Ladybug as she fought; her tongue protruded out the corner of her mouth, and her eyes were narrowed in concentration. He stopped and gazed at her openly, picturing Marinette beneath the mask. His heart quickened, and he smiled. Ladybug caught his gaze and scowled dangerously at him. Cat Noir started and continued to creep closer.

"Don't think you can sneak up on me!" The curator snarled, whipping around and swinging his cane at Cat Noir.

"No!" Ladybug screamed.

Cat Noir instinctively dropped, landing on his hands in a push-up position, and the cane swung harmlessly above him.

"Whew," He grunted. "That was too close." He put his weight on his hands and swung his legs around, knocking the curator's legs out from under him.

"Fools!" The curator growled as he tumbled to the ground, the painting falling from his grasp.

"Huh. That was easy." Cat Noir shrugged, reaching for the canvas.

"Wait, Cat Noir!" Ladybug cried, grasping his shoulder. "He still has his cane!"

The curator snarled, rolling over. He grabbed the painting and yanked it away from Cat Noir's outstretched hand.

"Watch out!" Ladybug grabbed her partner's staff from his belt and clicked it open. She lunged forward, parrying the black cane that was pointed at Cat Noir's chest.

"Yikes!" Cat Noir gulped, his eyes widened. "Thanks, m'lady!"

"No problem!" Ladybug panted, spinning the curator's cane out of his hand with Cat Noir's black staff. The villain gasped as his cane flew away from him, and he ran after it frantically.

"New plan?" Cat Noir prompted, holding out his hand for his staff.

"Not really." Ladybug pressed his stick into his palm as she pulled out her yo-yo. "Lucky charm!" She threw her yo-yo up in the air with a flash of light. A fencing blade fell into her hands.

"A fencing sword?" She said doubtfully, holding up the thin blade.

"A sabre, technically," Cat Noir corrected, his eyes widening. He latched his staff back onto his belt. "I've only trained with a sabre for a couple weeks now."

Ladybug looked down at the sword in her hands. "Hm." She glanced up and scanned her surroundings. He hesitated, glancing up at her partner apprehensively.

"What is it?" Cat Noir asked curiously. He rubbed at his cheek. "Do I have dirt on my face?"

"No..." Ladybug trailed off, her fists tightening on the sabre. Cat Noir studied her.

"You seem nervous. What is it?"

"I-I know I need to let you do the sword fighting..." She hesitated. "But I don't want you to get hurt."

"Hey, I'll be fine." Cat Noir grinned. "Fencing is my thing. Don't worry about me!" He reached out and grabbed the red and black sabre from Ladybug. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing with this."

"Don't let him hit you!" Ladybug said anxiously, grabbing his arm.

Cat Noir felt a thrill at her touch. He put his hand over hers and squeezed it. "Come on, Bugaboo. You know I have nine lives." He pulled away from her grip and dashed back toward the curator.

"En garde, sir!" Cat Noir lunged forward, his blade flashing in the sunlight.

"You dare-" The man sneered, but Cat Noir cut at his cane and the villain was forced to defend himself.

"There you go, it's not that hard." Cat Noir grinned as his opponent tried to parry his sabre and counterattack. Cat Noir flicked the cane to the side and feinted to the right. The curator desperately held up his cane, but Cat Noir shifted his balance and went on the attack. His eyes narrowed as he lunged and cut and extended, trying to gain the upper hand. Finally, the curator stumbled back, dropping the painting and grasping the cane with both hands, holding it like a quarterstaff to stop Cat Noir's slashings.

Ladybug's yo-yo zipped in toward the painting and wrapped around the wooden frame.

"Down you go," Cat Noir grunted, shoving the curator back with his blade. The man spluttered as he reeled back.

Cat Noir turned back to watch Ladybug put her foot through the canvas. A dark, silky butterfly rose away from the torn painting.
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma." Ladybug spun her yo-yo and flung it at the akuma. "Time to de-evilize!"

Cat Noir beamed as Ladybug encased the akuma in her yo-yo.

"Gotcha!" She cried. Cat Noir walked back over to her as she reopened her yo-yo.

"Bye bye, little butterfly!"

"Here." Cat Noir handed her the sabre.

"Thanks." Ladybug smiled up at her partner and took the sabre. Then she threw it up into the air and cried, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A billion small ladybugs burst out of the sabre and zoomed around the painting, repairing the hole from Ladybug's foot. The curator's black and red outfit faded in a black cloud, and he rose to his feet.

"Pound it!" Ladybug and Cat Noir said simultaneously, giving each other a fist bump. Ladybug's earrings beeped warningly.

"Oh!" Ladybug hesitated as she pulled out her yo-yo.

"Wait, Ladybug." Cat Noir grabbed her wrist. "Listen, we need to talk. I-"

"Not here!" Ladybug hissed, nodding meaningfully at the confused curator.

Cat Noir nodded, reaching behind his back and unlatching his staff. He slipped an arm around Ladybug's waist and vaulted up onto the rooftops.

"Cat!" Ladybug squirmed, but Cat Noir's grip was strong. "Where are we going?"

"Your favorite place, m'lady." Cat Noir grinned, clicking his staff to its regular length and stashing it back on his belt. "Where else?"

Ladybug glanced up as the shadow of the Eiffel Tower loomed over them, her eyes wide. "Cat...Adrien...you don't have to do this." She clutched him tighter. "I-I understand."

"You understand what?" Cat Noir slid down the slant of a rooftop and landed in an alley behind a row of dumpsters.

Ladybug's earrings beeped one last time, and Tikki zoomed out of her earrings. Ladybug's black and red suit vanished in a flash of light. The kwami shook her head tiredly.

"Come here, Tikki." Marinette popped open her purse and let Tikki land in her open palm.

"Thanks, Marinette." Tikki smiled weakly as Marinette set her delicately in her clutch purse.

Cat Noir studied Marinette, his bright green eyes flashing. "What do you understand?"

Marinette sighed. "You said so yourself. Ladybug is who you really love. Marinette is just a nobody." She folded her arms across her chest, her gaze falling. "Just a clumsy, ditzy, incompetent girl who can't even talk to the boy she likes."

"Oh Marinette." Cat Noir held out his ring. "Plagg, claws in." Cat Noir glowed momentarily, and his black costume disappeared. The black kwami appeared at his master's shoulder, watching silently.

"Come on." Adrien wrapped an arm around Marinette's shoulders, leading her out into the sunlight. "I want to show you something."

Marinette's heart fluttered as she walked down the street with Adrien's arm around her.

"Let's just sit here for a moment," Adrien suggested, leading Marinette toward a bench beneath the tall iron structure.

"This is our bench," Marinette murmured, running her hand across the armrest.

"Exactly." Adrien beamed, sitting down on the wooden beams. "This is where we started."

"We?" Marinette's lips twitched into a smile.

Adrien nodded. "We. Us. Ladybug and Cat Noir. Adrien and Marinette." He scratched the back of his neck. "At least, I hope that we did."

"What do you mean?" Marinette blurted, her cheeks turning red. "As in...as in we're together? Dating? Going out?"

Adrien laughed nervously. "Yes?"

Marinette sighed happily. "Someone pinch me; this has got to be a dream."

"I'll do better than that." Adrien lifted his arm from Marinette's shoulder and rested his hand on her cheek. Then he pulled her face towards his and kissed her soundly. Marinette's eyes popped open as Adrien's lips pressed up against hers. Then her eyelids fluttered closed and she kissed him back.

Finally, Marinette pulled away, slightly breathless.

"Okay, you convinced me." She put her hands over her flaming cheeks. "But...but Adrien, do you really like me? Marinette?"

"Of course." Adrien clasped her hands.

"But you love Ladybug."

"Marinette, you are Ladybug." Adrien smiled softly. "And not just with the costume. You have the same determination and bravery, the same intelligence and intellect, the same compassion and kindness..." He shook his head in amazement. "I love it even more in you. I see it every day. You're real, Marinette." He brushed a strand of hair out of her face. "Knowing it's you behind the mask just amplifies my adoration for you, because I know you inside and out." His smile widened. "With and without the mask."

"But Marinette is so unsure and clumsy..." Marinette trailed off staring down at her lap.

"Is she?" Adrien said softly. "I don't see it." He squeezed her hands. "Listen, m'lady. I see a beautiful, confident, kind, brave young lady here next to me." He tilted his head. "And I saw that before prom. Now I see my bugaboo, the same beautiful young lady, and I-I love it. Everything about you."

The knot in Marinette's stomach loosened. "Thank you." Marinette blinked back tears. "Thank you, Adrien."

"Always." Adrien encased his girlfriend in a hug.

Marinette rested her head on Adrien's shoulder and gazed up at the Eiffel Tower. "I guess I shouldn't have been that surprised that you were Cat Noir. You sure know how to turn a girl's head."

Adrien chuckled and squeezed Marinette once more before pulling away. "I call it like I see it, Bugs."

"Adrien does," Marinette agreed. "But Cat Noir is quite the flirt." She smiled wryly. "Which one is the real you?"

Adrien frowned, pondering the question seriously. "Somewhere in the middle, I think. Adrien Agreste has to maintain the image that his father needs, but Cat Noir also takes on the qualities of his character." Adrien grinned. "I feel so free when I'm wearing the mask. Like I can be whoever I want without anyone judging me and telling me to change."

Marinette smiled, nodding. "Me too."

Adrien scooted closer to Marinette and put his arm around her. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Sure."

"What was up with you today?" Adrien questioned. "You were so nervous, and you hate taking the head-on approach." He shook his head in confusion. "What was wrong?"

Marinette bit her lip. "I told you; I'm worried about you, kitty." She pulled her knees up into her chest, leaning forward so that Adrien's arm fell off her shoulder. "If something happened to you in battle-because of me-I'd never forgive myself."

"Marinette, you've got to trust me. Trust us," Adrien urged. "I know that you'll always come out on top, with or without your yo-yo and lucky charm. That's why Cat Noir is more reckless and impulsive; he trusts Ladybug completely." He raised an eyebrow. "Do you?"

"I'm not perfect, Adrien!" Marinette burst out. "I'm not this amazing superhero who can turn back the sun. I doubt myself, okay? And I make mistakes. Sometimes big ones."

Adrien nodded patiently. "Everyone does, Marinette. But you fix them. You change so that you never make the same mistake twice." He smiled, putting a hand on her knee. "That's something I love about you."

Marinette stared at the ground, not answering.

"Marinette," Adrien began, putting both his hands on her shoulders. "All of Paris believes in you. Everyone knows that Ladybug and Cat Noir always win." He paused, thinking. "Can you at least trust them?"

Marinette looked up at him, panicked. "Trust Paris? All of it?"

"What about Ladybug?" Adrien requested softly, gazing steadily at her. "I trusted her enough to give her my Miraculous. Do you trust her enough to keep me safe?"

"I-I don't know..." Marinette said, clenching her hands in her lap. "What if she messes up?"

Adrien shrugged. "Then she'll fix it. She always does." He reached out and squeezed Marinette's hand encouragingly.

Marinette smiled weakly. "She does, doesn't she?" She leaned up against Adrien, and her stomach growled loudly.

Adrien burst out laughing. "Lunch. Right. Come on, Bugaboo. Let's get you something to eat."

Read and review! Thanks for reading! Stay tuned!