The sound of several female students around him screaming distracted Adrien from the akuma behind him. He would have to put aside finding his Lady until the akuma had been taken out and purified. That is, once he could run away from her fast enough and find a place to transform. However, finding somewhere proved to be another story.

Looking around his scattering peers, Adrien started picking out a place he could run with the akuma on his tail. He could hear her yelling out something, maybe his name or maybe a threat, but he paid no attention to what she was trying to say. He had to get away.

Not the bug I want to bug me….

His mind suddenly went to the boy's locker room, one of the only places that gave him even the slightest of chances to transform. The akuma was a girl, he was boy, and they had both been raised in polite society, right? Well, he hoped he was right because that was exactly where he was going. Inside though, politeness flew out the window because people were everywhere. Adrien found himself more than once pushing a fellow classmate aside just the tiniest of bits so he could make his way through the mass of panic.

From his pocket, he heard Plagg's muffled shouts, "Just hip check them already!"

Behind him, he heard someone crash into a wall and the thud sent a chill down his spine. Adrien felt like everything was going in slow motion, his legs running through goo as the screams of the children resounded through the air. The doors in front of him were approaching way too slowly for his liking, almost like a glitch in a video game where the end never came in sight. His heart rate sped up and the pounding against his sternum was the only reason time seemed to return to normal. Harsh and heavy breath coughed out of him as he continued to blitz down the corridor. The sound of the akuma's footsteps slamming against the floor became a metronome as she chased after him. Adrien wished he could transform into Cat Noir, but the akuma was right behind him. There was no time.

As the doors to the locker room slammed open due to the force of his entry, Adrien darted over to the corner of the room, fear surging under his skin. The doors barely closed before the akuma charged into the room behind him. Trying to keep his breathing controlled, Adrien made his way to the wall in between two rows of lockers, hoping it would give him enough time to transform-and maybe enough coverage to think.

Yet, luck has never been his friend. Before he could lift his shirt to reveal Plagg and turn into the city's beloved black cat, the akuma rounded the corner. Her pointed legs, sharp as ice picks, clipped as she gracefully strode forward, a sickening grin on her face. And though she was colored in white and red, an allure of pure and sweet, the heart that rested on her chest seemed just ask fake as her demeanor.

"Oh, my little blonde boy, why do you run away from me so? Don't you realise that you're supposed to be running towards me?" she cooed. "I am your one true love bug after all." Adrien frowned at the statement, his green eyes finally taking in the rest of her appearance. The akuma had antenna protruding from her head, and two large wings cascading down her back, fluttering slightly with every step. They were yellow seeping into orange to grey, but instead of seeing a pretty butterfly, all he saw was a poisonous frog.

"Come my love, kneel to your queen and let us be together," her voice rang. "I'm ten times better than any of the other lowlifes you know." Once again, time seemed to slow down to Adrien as the akuma before him lifted her hand towards him palm down, watching as her wings started to glow a bright pink as they extended, quivering slightly. Feeling a surge of his feline loyalty, Adrien let a grin spread upon his face only ever seen during his time as Cat Noir.

"I don't kneel down so easily." Even as her wings twitched in anger, her floating hand halting, and the once sickly sweet smile on her face was replaced by an expression of anger, Adrien felt no regret at proclaiming at least to himself he was already loyal to someone else.

It didn't change the fact that she was getting way too close for comfort, his hair standing on edge at the mere closeness of her presence. If she was indeed a bug, then his skin shivered like her presence sent creepy crawlies to march onto him. With a churning stomach, he decided that if his reaction was any indication, Adrien definitely needed to slip out and get away from the akuma who seemed persistent at trying to make him fall under whatever spell she had.

Quickly averting his gaze from the akuma before him, he analysed the possibility of sliding past either side of her. All he had to do was fake her out one side and automatically turn heel to the other. Although his chances looked slim, Adrien was determined to get out and lend a hand to his Lady. Just as he was about to make a dash for it, his back leaving the wall, the akuma's once floating hand came flying up towards his neck, and grabbed him.

Slammed back against the wall, Adrien felt all the air escape from his lungs. The grip at his throat was tight and he knew that she would leave a bruise. His cells screamed for oxygen as the blonde-haired boy gasped for breath unsuccessfully. Her fingers squeezed harder and the room was reduced to only her and him. Adrien's hands reached up and grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her away, nails digging into her skin.

"I am Love Bug, and you will love me," the akuma snarled, raising her shimmering wings in a threatening manner, flapping and flapping like a cuckoo clock bird. Dark spots started clouding Adrien's vision, the abyss of unconsciousness suddenly starting to take hold of the boy due to lack of air. As the spots became larger and obstructed more of his vision, he heard a shout in the distance and maybe, he thought, he only got lucky because of an angel's prayer.

A figure started running towards Love Bug from what Adrien could make out through his blurred and faded vision, but he didn't need to see to know who it was. Without removing her hand from his throat, Love Bug went to turn around and face the person who was barrelling down the passage towards them.'Love Bug's hand was ripped from Adrien's throat right before the figure bounded off of the lockers and straight into her side, slamming her into the lockers.

The sudden rush of oxygen entering his lungs as he landed on the floor was painful, the next few gasps even more so as his lungs got used to the regular flow of air again. It was both a blessing and curse, to breathe to live while it felt as if Death himself scrapped his esophagus. As his vision cleared, he looked towards his savior, the strikingly familiar red and black making his eyes widen, but he couldn't help his knowing grin.

My Lady is always there when I need her.

"Stay away from him," Ladybug growled, her yoyo grasped in one hand, her other arm out in front of him in a protective gesture. Despite the near death experience, Adrien took a few moments to revel in being near his love, for as always, she proved to be remarkable and strong. However, her sudden appearance caused Love Bug to become even angrier at the situation and the girl's face turned bright red.

(Personally, he thought that Love Bug's scarlet flustered blush was just as red as Ladybug's suit. Not like he was going to say that.)

Just as she was about to speak, a bright purple light in the shape of Love Bug's mask appeared over her disgruntled face, an eerie whisper accompanying its appearance.

"Forget the boy! Get me Ladybug's Miraculous!" At the voice's command, Love Bug's gaze zeroed in on Ladybug, and with a screech, she charged.

Adrien had always seen that mask appear on the akuma's face, the sharp outline of a butterfly with pointed wings, but he has never really heard the voice as clear today. It bothered him, made him angry that the person on the other side controlling his victims could sound so calm as they were causing havoc.

At the Love Bug's sudden enraged movement, Ladybug gave one last worried glance at the blonde boy behind her before swinging her yoyo and leaping towards the akuma. Adrien felt his eyes widen at how reckless his Lady was being. It was normally him that charged into the fight first, and only with very good reasons. He was made for combat, claws and baton just perfect for smacking people. Ladybug on the other hand, she was the one who could cleanse all the damage done-even the damage he had done with nails that destroyed all.

Adrien suddenly found himself panicking about the dark-haired girl in front of him. In the back of his mind, he knew that his Lady could take care of herself, he'd seen it before, but that didn't stop the words escaping his mouth with a yell, "Ladybug! Be careful!"

As he shouted out to the hero, a flash of pain erupted in his throat, causing his hand to fly to his neck. It burned, almost like he swallowed fire, and a metallic taste crept up onto his tongue. A coughing fit ensued straight after, there was no way he could use his voice after the pressure that had been applied on his throat.

Over the sound of his coughs, Adrien heard a loud shout from Ladybug. Looking up from the ground, hand still over his mouth, Adrien's gaze locked onto Ladybug wiping blood from her lip. In that moment, sky blue and green converged for a moment, and he was sure that his lack of breath wasn't because of the bruise forming at his throat. Ladybug pulled her arm back, yoyo in hand and threw it at the smirking akuma.

At the sight of the yoyo, Love Bug extended her wings and tried to rise up above them out of range of the yoyo, until her wings started hitting the lockers on either side of her. As her wings hit the metal, it reminded him of cacophonous cymbals crashing, ringing through the air like a failed band class rehearsal.

The passageway was too small for her to fly. They had that advantage, at least-which thank god Ladybug oozed good luck because Adrien was positive if he was left on his own, then well...this fight would be very different. Love Bug looked at the lockers either side of her, a furious expression plastered on her face as if the lockers personally insulted her for existing and actively refused to let her fly. In a way, they did, but what could an inanimate object actually do when it was bolted to the ground? When Ladybug finally looked up towards the akuma, Love Bug's snarl turned into a sick grin before she raced out of the locker room.

A part of him wanted to race out after her, but seeing the tan flesh of hands and not black leather put a damper on his plans. Maybe if he just "fled" to safety and got to a classroom, he had a chance of actually being useful in this fight. What use was he if the offense of this team needed to be protected by the person he had sworn to protect? He was about to make a move for it, but his Lady lingered a second too long in her spot.

Ladybug coughed before turning around, eyes wide and the blood on her lips dry. Her worried expression made it look like she wanted to say something. Though cracked and bloodied, white teeth bit at her lip for a moment before she winced in pain. Emotions flashed across her eyes, though: worry, concern, and maybe something more. She was about to take a step forward, but then stilled as if there was a barrier between her and him. Instead, the dark-haired girl started running after the akuma, her retreat almost louder than any words she could have said.

For a moment, Adrien looked after his Lady in shock, before he willed himself to rise to his feet. Chanting the same mantra over and over in his head. My Lady needs me. Not like he needed to tell that to himself, that was the same mantra he said every day. It was what he did for a living after all. My Lady needs me was the exact reason he got out of bed each morning and went to bed with a smile.

Loving Ladybug, helping Ladybug was just a part of his DNA.

Still coughing from the pressure Love Bug had applied to his throat, Adrien ran out of the locker room and scoured the school area for any signs of the two battling. He couldn't waste any time transforming when his Lady was in serious danger of being hurt. The sound of terrified screams and shrieking caught the boy's attention, and Adrien started into a sprint. It was like there was a countdown clock he couldn't see, but despite the burning in his breath, he didn't run any slower. When he got to the mass of students, crying and afraid, he barely caught sight of the door to the roof swinging closed. And for the normally kept together model, he almost let a curse fall from his lips in public.

Of course Love Bug would go to the roof. She was able to fly. The open sky would be the perfect battlefield for her with no lockers or small hallways to stop her. An unrestrained akuma was all they needed, he thought bitterly as he dashed to the stairs. Once again, Adrien raced towards the battle, ready to aid his Lady if need be. Because really, mask or no mask, who was going to tell him otherwise?

Like the rest of the day, time slowed down in the stairwell too, each second stretched so thin it rivaled the air on Mount Everest. His footsteps echoed and ricocheted off the walls, much like a marching army going into battle. Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. But what he lacked in numbers, because literally he was the only who was racing to fight an angry butterfly, he made up in determination.

It coursed through him, springing him forward as he leapt from step to step. His Lady needed him, even if she didn't know it and he was going to be in the thick of it to just make sure she would be okay. After all, if anything ever happened to her-well, there would be a price to pay.

Adrien made it all the way up the stairs, his breathing finally becoming easier as he made it to the top. Charging his way through the door, he entered the new battlefield where anything was a crapshoot and made of Hail Marys. From the access door, Adrien saw Ladybug throw her yoyo at a smirking Love Bug who had flown high into the air. Flight had changed her, made her bolder and more sure of herself. Despite the fact that Love Bug was supposed to be a pretty butterfly, made up of bright colors to attract the eye, he wondered if she was actually a moth in disguise. For they did that, some moths did. Pretended to be beautiful creatures that they just weren't otherwise. And perhaps Love Bug was the same as them, caught up in camouflage and pretend, because that way she currently was didn't make him want to love her.

As the yoyo flew through the air closer and closer to their enemy, the smirk fell off of Love Bug's face. Sometimes Adrien wondered if Ladybug's yo-yo had a homing device because honestly, it always knew exactly where to go. From her toss, the red and polka dotted weapon sailed through the air making the most perfect arc, going on target to wrap around the rival bug. The endless string continued to fall seamlessly from the device, whizzing through the air with endless grace.

At the very last second, Love Bug's lips turned sinister and she ducked under the range of the projectile. It was just a split second movement, but one moment she was there, and the next she was not. Ladybug's yoyo returned to her hand with a loud thump, with Love Bug right behind it flying at full speed. A cruel smile on her face, the akuma used her bright orange wings to balance herself and kick Ladybug in her side.

Two sharp feet, much like icicles, crashed into the superhero's side and the world stood still. As Cat Noir, Adrien would have leapt in front of his Lady without second thought because that's what he did. While transformed, he was tough, strong, and built for the rough and tumble. Sure, it would hurt-it always did, but it was totally worth it, because Ladybug always healed him in the end anyway. She always made sure of that.

Ladybug let out a blood curdling scream at the impact, the sound worming into his brain to haunt him at a later date. The thud of her body hitting the ground though, bones and all, as she bounced like a ball would haunt him even further. There was a pause and grunt and the world moved once again, because despite how bad it all looked, Ladybug wasn't dead. Clutching her side, her face scrunched up, the dark-haired girl doubled-over in pain.

"Ladybug!"

Her name tore out of his mouth just as easily as it would have if he was dressed as Cat Noir. Because if neither of these two girls knew it, he knew it. He knew Ladybug on a personal level and he just saw his best friend get tossed aside like she was nothing.

Tired of sitting on the sidelines, Adrien let the rage fuel him and before he knew it, he was right in front of Ladybug. Exactly where he needed to be. He could feel the smoke burning from his eyes and his teeth grit as he looked at the foe in front of them.

"If you really wanted to be a bug full of love," he started. "Then you wouldn't go around hurting people!"

Now, during all of this, the world panned away from Adrien and focused instead on Ladybug. Maybe it was the ringing in her own ears or maybe it was just the shock of watching Adrien defend her so valiantly unarmed and unafraid, but despite all the pain and the hurt, warmth glowed in Ladybug's heart.

She knew that Adrien was Cat Noir. She knew it for a fact, but with a mask or not, seeing her partner willingly defend her made her chest feel so tight even when everything was going wrong. And perhaps it was the wrongness of the situation that really made everything click for her. Because maybe, as he charged just like he always did, maybe he really did love her like he claimed.

Her best friend, her other half, refused to let anything happen to her and even if he didn't know all of her, maybe the part of her he did know was enough. Because Adrien knew Marinette as well and he was never unkind to her as her civilian self, but watching him love so effortlessly as in this current moment was almost too much. She knew that Cat Noir always wore his heart on his sleeve, but now it was plain and open for the world to see, thumping and pumping clear as day.

It was the courage he had, true courage to love and not be afraid of the repercussions. From where she sat, looking at the muscles that tugged at Adrien's back, Marinette realized she had a lot more in common with Love Bug than she cared to think. For this girl, most likely just as sweet as she was currently evil, loved Adrien too in her own way. But neither of them were as strong as the object of their affection, for he never took or forced his love. Made it clear, yes. He always made his feelings known, but despite that Ladybug never returned him, it didn't make him bitter or angry or turn him into their current problem. He just continued and loved and stayed by her side.

Because that's what love really is, echoed through her mind.

A part of her wondered if her change of heart was because that she knew that Cat was now Adrien, but a larger part of her knew that wasn't the case. In a strange turn of events, the two most important boys in her life just become one. So, weird yes. It was very weird and odd and strange, but not unwanted.

Not unwanted at all. Though she wondered if he would feel the same...

However, her thoughts were shattered when Love Bug's voice vibrated through the air.

"Why can't you just love me?!" Her shout electrifies the air, making all their hair stand on end.

Outraged at Adrien's defiance, Love Bug turned to the person she blamed the most, seething with anger. If it wasn't for her, if she just wasn't here, then Love Bug could have had all that she desired. She dived straight for Ladybug as the dark-haired girl was recovering from her earlier strike, and bit straight into her shoulder before Ladybug could throw her yoyo.

Another loud scream was heard from Adrien's beloved partner, but Adrien refused to falter, gritting his teeth, he looked around until he found a stray stick to hold. It was old, colored a faded green as the paint started to peel away after being too long in the sun. He gripped the wood in his hands, much like how Love Bug held him by the windpipe earlier and ran over to help Ladybug.

He swung the wood into Love Bug's back, causing her to retreat from the dark-haired girl. Adrien took a defensive stance in front of Ladybug. He wouldn't let her become hurt again this battle.

"I learned not long ago," he yelled back, "that loving someone isn't about being loved, but it's about just loving them!"

Those words shot through Ladybug's heart, flaring up and lighting her veins with fire to just not be lost in her own head any longer. Despite that her side ached, her head hurt, and her new wound throbbed with pain, on shaky feet she stood up, pushing herself off the ground with wobbly hands and legs. Adrien gave her a sidelong look, concern coloring his face as he saw her move.

"You okay, L-Ladybug?" he asked. She knew he was about to say "LB" but then corrected himself last second.

In return, she gave him a small smile and nodded, the desire to win with her partner spurring her further. Looking around, she saw Love Bug's chest heave up and down as she seethed at Adrien's words, but the purple mask came back so she decided to whisper to the model.

With a low voice, she called him over. "Do you think you can follow my lead?"

The smirk that he gave her was so Cat she almost started laughing, but she kept it to herself. "Of course, Ladybug." As an afterthought, he added. "I think...I know who it is," he said as realization dawned on him. "It's Mirelle!"

Gesturing with his eyes, he continued. "I've been trying to figure out why she's been so hung on me...but I haven't seen her all day. She has been acting kind of weird recently too."

Ladybug only nodded once more, her heart going out to the young weather girl, because really, she was very sweet. Looking back at the akuma whose wings were starting to glow a little too suspiciously, Ladybug bit her lip in an attempt to try and think straight. She couldn't have Adrien hurt.

Placing a hand on her shoulder, the blonde-boy gave the red and black hero a warm smile. "Come on my Lady, we've been through a lot worse than this, we can take her on." Distracted by each other, the duo missed Love Bug's evil monologue on what it was exactly her wings were about to do. And like always, everything made total sense and for the first time that day, she felt like her and Cat weren't on opposite sides, but instead on the same team.

"Go for her legs and I'll do the rest," she let the order fall easily from her lips, just as if he was dressed in black.

Giving her a small grin, he charged off towards Love Bug, a war cry trying to rip from his mouth, but it ended up sounding garbled. What he hadn't expected was her to recklessly run right behind him towards Love Bug at the same time. Though, his distraction did its job as Love Bug's face turned surprised when Adrien jumped and hit her square in the shins, making the stick in hands shatter on impact.

Love Bug was so caught off guard that she didn't see Ladybug trailing behind Adrien. Using his shoulders like a pommel horse, Ladybug sprang into the air and reached out for the heart card on Love Bug's chest as the girl doubled over in the air, trying to cradle her slightly injured shins.

Ripping the card in two, the tear releasing the akuma inside, trying to fly away to where it had come, but that couldn't happen on Ladybug's watch. Gripping her yoyo with a flush of pain spreading through her shoulder as she did so, she opened her yoyo and then threw it at the black butterfly.

"No more evil doing for you little akuma!" she shouted as her yoyo arched towards the object of most of their trouble. "Time to de-evilize!" Once it had captured the black butterfly, the yoyo flung back into Ladybug's hand. "Gotcha!"

Bringing the yoyo up to her chest, Ladybug pressed on the top causing the lid of the object to open, releasing the once blackened insect. "Bye-bye, little butterfly."

Ladybug watched as the butterfly flew away, its white wings a welcome sight to the duo. Ignoring the searing pain in her shoulder, in a moment of wondering if it would actually work as they had never gone through a battle without using 'Lucky Charm', Ladybug threw her yoyo up into the air to fix everything that had been destroyed. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Adrien and Ladybug watched as the small ladybugs flew around and fixed all of the destruction that Love Bug had caused in the school and as Love Bug once again returned to being Mirelle.

Although the ladybugs had fixed all the major damages, the blood from Ladybug's injury still sat on her lips, a gruesome reminder of how serious the battle had been. Out of pure exhaustion, Ladybug collapsed to the floor. The battle wounds still felt like they were being stabbed over and over again, the pain searing itself into her long term memory. Adrien watched from the sideline as tears appeared in her eyes. But Ladybug was Ladybug so she refused to let them to fall.

With a worried expression, Adrien shuffled over to the Valentine's Day card that had been repaired with Ladybug's healing power. Picking up the heart shaped card, Adrien made his way over the Mirelle who had become really confused at why she was on the roof with nobody but Adrien and Ladybug. A pang of guilt thrummed in him as he exhaled a small sigh.

Despite how drained the blonde boy felt, he bore a smile as he approached the girl, who stood up to greet him, taking in all his scrapes and newly formed bruises. Confusion painted her fingers, her pretty brows furrowed as he came closer.

"Here you go Mirelle, I believe this is yours." Mirelle looked down to the card that Adrien was holding out, her eyes widening at the object in his hands. Swallowing slightly, she shook her head at him.

"No, it was meant for you. Keep it." Mirelle reached out and pushed the letter to Adrien's chest, the boy's eyes widening slightly and flickering over to Ladybug. With the akuma having taken his entire focus, he had forgotten what he had set out to do.

It was awkward standing there: with the girl he loved and the girl he rejected.

Looking back and forth between the model in front of her, and the polka dotted hero, Mirelle quietly slipped away back to the roof access door and went back to class mumbling a slight sorry as she left. Though the words went unheard by all ears.

The door closed, clicking signalling that both Adrien and Ladybug were alone. And finally, all the pain, fear, and anger bubbled up that he had to contain all day. He marched over to Ladybug until he was only a few feet away from her with his lips pressed together firmly.

"What do you think you were doing?" At his words, Ladybug looked up at her unmasked partner. His voice was a rising crescendo, starting low like thunder before striking like lightning. "Were you deliberately putting yourself in harm's way!?" He wasn't yelling very loud, but it was sharp and direct and filled with hurt. Adrien ran a hand through his hair, the stress of seeing Ladybug in constant danger finally catching up to him and causing his hands to shake violently.

"You're one to talk! The first thing you do if you see me in danger is put yourself in my place!" she shouted back, getting up and stomping over to him the best she could, trying not to wince at the amount of pain flooding her system. "How do you think that makes me feel, Cat?"

At the name of his alter ego, Adrien flinched as she mentioned his hypocrisy. Because she was right-she was always right, because he would always, without a doubt, do anything in his power to protect her.

"How do you think it makes me feel when there is a very real chance of you getting hurt in my place? Why would you do that to me?" Tear sprung to her eyes and Ladybug lifted her left hand to wipe them away, lowering her head in the process. And he had never wanted to kick himself more than in this moment because he made the love of his life cry.

"What would I do if I actually lost you?" Adrien's worried gaze shifted into one of concern as he watched her shoulders shake. He moved forward to her, lifting up her head to wipe away her tears with the back of his fingers. The tears caught easily and slowed as bright blue eyes stared wide at him, unsure what he would really do. Wordlessly, he started looking over her injuries, and decided that a trip to the hospital was inevitable. The ladybugs might have healed other damages, but not the ones done to their bodies.

Adrien ran his thumb around the corner of her mouth, the dried blood taking most of his focus. His thumb skimmed over the rest of her lip, slow and gentle, before resting on the apple of her cheek. His eyes moved to her shoulder, the bite still fresh, red and glistening as it seeped through her suit. He finally looked into her eyes when she lifted her injured arm to rest her hand on his, leaning fully into his touch.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, his fingers smoothing the shell of her ear and tangling in her hair. Ladybug pressed her cheek into his palm a bit more too, closing her eyes as she reveled in this moment between them: this cusp of something new.

"It's alright, we were both worried about the other," Ladybug responded before a frown appeared on her face. She went to look at Adrien's hand before he curled his fingers into his palm. She turned her gaze upward, trying to find an answer within his eyes, but was only faced with a small smile. She could see all his feelings of affection within his gaze, and was reminded of the endeavour he had pursued throughout the day.

Sighing, she glanced at the ground somewhat before collapsing quite ungracefully. Looking up at Adrien as she tried her best not to lay down on the floor in absolute exhaustion, Ladybug idly thought that maybe, lying down would relieve from the pain that plagued her shoulder and rib. Before she remembered what Adrien had been doing all day.

"I saw you looking around the school today, have any success in finding the lucky girl?" She smiled softly as she waited for his response.

Adrien stood there for a moment, his smile dropping and his face easing into a calm look as he joined her on the ground. "You tell me." The smile that had once graced Ladybug's lips fell away, and she looked away once again, wincing vaguely as a dull throb started pulsing in her head.

"You… You don't know who I really am Cat…" she started, a pained look crossing her features. "You don't know me. You think you do, but, how could you? You don't know anything about me, Adrien, how can you possibly say you love me?" Ladybug brought her gaze back up to the model before her.

Adrien felt his heart roll in the same turmoil that he saw on her face when they finally locked eyes. He knew that the girl in front of him returned his feelings as much as he loved her. That when she found the note in the bin that fateful Valentine's Day, it wasn't Cat Noir writing to a superhero, but a boy writing to his classmate.

Taking a serious expression, Adrien reached over and grabbed her hands in his, softly pressing a small kiss to the back of it. He then lifted his gaze to her, and looked her straight in the eyes.

"Ladybug," he began, "this you is all I've ever known. You don't get to decide I wouldn't love the rest." Ladybug sucked in her breath suddenly, the seriousness of his confession shocking her slightly. She shuffled slightly, considering how Cat had always behaved, and how Adrien had fought for her, and by her. The poem flashed in her mind's eye before she finally collected her thoughts.

If Adrien hadn't been regarding Ladybug so closely, he would have missed her soft 'okay' before she released her transformation. Adrien felt like time had slowed down as a bright glow surrounded her body, before the light disappeared, his kwami flying out to meet hers. In Adrien's eyes, not even the heavens could compete with the beauty that his Lady held before him. It was as if the gods themselves had graced her with beauty only the stars should have ever held, and yet, she was sitting in front of him.

The love of his life had been sitting behind him all this time, but now, he would never let her out of his sight.

Reaching over, he pulled her into his chest, as if she was the most fragile thing on the planet, even though he knew that if it came down to it, Marinette could whoop his ass any day of the week.

In the background, Adrien could vaguely hear a female giggle, accompanied by Plagg calling out what he assumed was Marinette's kwami's name.

"Tikki!" Plagg whispered, and Adrien could hear the smile in his voice. "I told you!"

His whispered were responded to in kind with more giggles, and the sound of Tikki trying to shush his floating friend.

"Shush, shush, don't ruin the moment!"

Taking the chance to take a look at his hands, and her mind away from their two floating kwami, Marinette grabbed them and brought them into her line of sight, eyes widening as she saw what they were covered in.

"You…. Your hands are covered in splinters!" Marinette looked at the boy, a small frown on her face as Adrien smiled a with a hint of guilt in his expression.

"They can look at my hands when we get there," he told her, slipping his arms under her legs and back, waiting until she looped her arms around his neck for support before he stood up. He chuckled softly as her unamused expression.

"Who can look at your hands?" she asked as he started striding forward.

"The doctors." Marinette opened her mouth to respond, but before she could get a word in, Adrien continued. "No buts, we're going to the hospital and you can kick and whine all you like, but I want to take care of you, so let me, my Lady."

Adrien reveled in the feel of her head resting on his shoulder as he made his way towards the stairs that led down to the school. He wouldn't wish for anything else.