Chapter Four

Cat Noir's eyes flitted around her room, taking in every single picture of Adrien. She had wondered if he was really serious about liking her. Well, she was about to find out, and she wasn't sure she was going to like the answer. Plus, this was not the time to be upsetting him. Hawk Moth didn't need both of them to be easy targets.

"Listen," she said, trying to think of something to soften the blow. Was there some sort of cover story she could pull together? She didn't want to lie to him, but she didn't want to see him hurt either. "About the pictures..." Her mind went blank.

"Well," he finally said. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, and then he smirked. "Looks like somebody's got a huge crush on Adrien Agreste."

Marinette spluttered. "W-what?! No, I d-don't!"

"Oh, yes, you do. You're even blushing."

Marinette covered her cheeks with Tikki's cookies to try to hide the worst of it, but the look on Cat Noir's face said it was no use. She hadn't been expecting to be teased about this. She hadn't been expecting a smile, the brightest and most beautiful she'd ever seen him wear.

"I design stuff. Those are there for inspiration."

"Oh, so Adrien is inspiring? Good to know."

How was his smiling getting bigger?

"Clothes- design- inspire. Ugh, stop laughing!" She shoved him, but it didn't dampen his mood. Though this was completely mortifying, she was actually relieved. At least one of them was having a good time. And it seriously uncomplicated their partnership if they were both happy being only friends. This was good. So where was that twinge of disappointment coming from?

"Hey, Princess, I actually know this guy in real life." He leaned toward her, like he wanted to tell her a secret. "Want me to talk to him for you?"

"Would you? I mean, no! I want to talk to him!" She waved her arms at him, not sure what point she was trying to emphasize. "I-I mean, I don't have a crush on him. I don't know what talking you- I mean, what you're talking about. No crush. You can ask anyone."

He looked away, back at the framed picture on her desk. "I'm going to ask all these Adriens."

She took the opportunity to glance at the computer screen. Had she turned it off that morning, or was it just sleeping? She did not want him to see her collage background. Or the schedule. She would never hear the end of it.

When her eyes found Cat Noir's, he was still smiling, but he seemed suddenly hesitant. "Can I... tell you who I am?"

"What?" Where had that come from? "No."

His smile and the tips of his cat ears drooped very slightly. "Please, I want you to know."

She waved off his response, shaking her head. "It's too dangerous. Wait. Is this what you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Ah." He took a step back and shook his head, obviously trying to refocus. "I actually wanted to see if I could meet your kwami, see if he or she's got any ideas about what we should do."

"She, actually." Marinette put a hand to the mouth of her bag and faltered. Everything suddenly felt more real. Her partner was going to meet her kwami. She was Ladybug unmasked, and all three of them knew it. She steeled herself, then opened the purse.

"HI!" Tikki came streaking out, straight toward Cat Noir's face. He jumped back in surprise. "I'm Tikki! Plagg probably never tells you this, so I'm going to. I think you're doing a great job! It's nice to finally meet you in person."

Cat Noir looked stunned for the second time in five minutes. "You're officially my favorite kwami."

Tikki giggled. "Plagg takes some getting used to. He means well, though."

Marinette held up a cookie, which Tikki happily started eating in her open palm. "Plagg? He's not that bad is he?"

"Ehh," Cat Noir said. "He's... Plagg. And kind of annoying."

They both watched Tikki munch contentedly for a few seconds. This isn't as weird as I thought it would be.

"I agree with your father," Tikki said as she finished her first cookie and grabbed the next one. "We can get through this together."

"Has anything like this happened before?" Cat Noir asked her. His eyes kept flicking toward the pictures scattered around the room, and Marinette was having a hard time keeping her face blank.

"Of course!"

"Really?" Cat Noir sounded hopeful. "How'd it turn out?"

"Easier to control than this," Marinette said. "Last time, people continents away weren't hearing about it within minutes. Right?"

"This is the first time since the internet that it's happened, but I don't think that matters much."

"What?!" Marinette almost shrieked. "What?! You were the one who said I couldn't tell anyone! How are you being so calm about this?"

Tikki put her cookie down, floated to Marinette's nose, and gave it a tiny, tiny hug. It tickled. "There's still an akuma loose. You two should be focusing on that. There's no sense worrying about something you don't have control over."

"The victim needs our help, too," Cat Noir said.

Marinette sighed. Chantal was really the last person she wanted to help right now, but they were both right. It wasn't the akuma victim's fault, and they had a job to do. "We still don't have a plan on how to catch her."

"I was thinking about that," Cat Noir said. "She got your identity when she touched you, right?"

Marinette nodded, the memory turning her insides to ice. "We still don't know what she wants, though." Or where she is. She looked out the window. Rivulets of water distorted the view of the neighboring buildings, but no akuma stared back at her.

"We have one thing she wants." He put a hand on his chest.

"Absolutely not."

"We have to stop her."

"We are not using you or your identity as bait." Marinette scrutinized him through squinted eyes. True, she didn't have any better ideas, but she couldn't help but feel that part of his offering was based on the hope that he'd be revealed to her.

Tikki bobbed between them, quietly crunching on her snack.

"I'm open to other ideas," he said.

Sabine's voice floated, muffled, up through the trapdoor. "Kids! Alya's here!"

"I'll just hide out here," Tikki said, drifting up toward the bed. "We don't want to give away all your secrets."

"We'll think of something," Marinette said to Cat Noir, reaching down to grab the trapdoor's handle. "This is awful, and I'm not letting it happen to you, but we probably shouldn't make Alya wait."

"Girl! Get down here or I'm coming up there!"

Cat Noir chuckled and helped lift the trapdoor, holding it open for her. "Ladies first," he said with a wink.

Author note: Oh, man, this chapter was so much fun, I can't even tell you. Next chapter: Alya! How long will it take her to break down and start asking questions? (Pft. Not very long.)

I started posting this on AO3, so if you pre-"fur" that site, go check it out. It's under the same title and username. Ah ha ha. Lame cat puns. Adrien would be so proud.