Ladybug stood in a recording studio hours later. It was dark outside and she was exhausted. She could tell he was too, but he seemed better at hiding it.
"So… why did you dress up as Ladybug?" Chat stood beside the black grand piano and looked at her.
Ladybug blushed and looked off to the side. "I get stage fright. I couldn't sing… so… Alya got this idea for me to dress up in one of my old Halloween costumes…"
Chat laughed and then abruptly stopped when he noticed her horrified face. "It's just. I thought I recognized it from somewhere. Alix's Halloween party a few years back, right?"
Marinette shied away from him. "Like your costume was better." She mumbled under her breath.
"Hey being a cinnamon roll is a perfectly good costume." Chat defended himself.
"Sure it is. If-" Marinette smirked at him before she was interrupted.
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? I HAD TO BEND BACKWARDS FOR YOU!" Natalie rushed into the room and Ladybug watched his shoulders fall and him retreat into himself.
"Sorry." Chat's voice went quiet.
"IT BETTER NOT HAPPEN AGAIN! I CAN'T KEEP LYING FOR YOU, Adrien!" Natalie's voice began to soften when her eyes fell on the girl. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright. She knows." Chat rubbed the bridge of his nose and soon removed his mask. "This is Ladybug."
"Um… Marinette." She removed her mask and held out her hand to Natalie.
"Oh, the girl in your father's design school." Natalie smiled and shook her hand. "Top of his classes at that school, I've heard. He has his eyes on you." She laughed and gave her a warm smile.
"Please don't tell Monsieur Agreste." Marinette begged.
"Don't worry. I won't as long as you sing, as well as, Adrien claims you do." Natalie smiled with something darker behind it. "Wow. Top of your classes and a siren. You're one lucky girl. But of course you are a Ladybug."
Marinette laughed nervously and dropped their shake. "Yeah… You got it."
Adrien couldn't cut the tension in the room with a metal bo staff if he wanted to. "Anyway, we need to work on this song."
"I'll leave you two to it." Natalie smiled and left the room.
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm really sorry about that."
"Nope, it's fine. It's only my hope for a future…" Marinette wanted to cry.
Adrien set the papers down and took her hands in his. He dropped to his knees. "I promise to help you and keep you from losing everything you worked towards. I promise that I won't let him take your future away. Not like he is doing with mine."
"You deserve so much better." A tear fell down Marinette's cheek.
"As do you." He kissed the backs of her hands and got up off his knees to brush the tear from her soft cheek. "Forget the deal. Forget helping me sabotage it. It seems like we have to actually try. I'll still help you write songs. I just don't want you to have to give up your grades and image. I'm already ruined and broken. You're not."
Marinette grabbed his face and kissed his soft lips before looking into his eyes with her forehead on his. "You're not broken, Adrien. You're the piece I've been missing."
He sighed and kissed her harder.
Marinette pulled away grasping his leather jacket and slowly opened her eyes. "We should work on this song."
"Right." He sighed and nodded before pulling away entirely.
Adrien put his mask on and Marinette followed suit. He walked over and grabbed two metal stools from the other side of the room and brought them over. Ladybug sat on one of the stools and watched him walk over and grab an electric guitar.
Ladybug adjusted her mask and smiled lovingly at him.
"Alright, let's do this." Chat smirked at her with a derpy love filled smile.
Ladybug giggled and covered her mouth.
"What?" Chat smiled at her.
"You just-look really cute." Ladybug blushed.
Chat rested his wrist on the body of the guitar again and looked at her sideways before leaning into her and lightly fluttering a kiss along her soft red lips. "You are too."
He started strumming again. "Now, let's focus. We have a future to save."
"Right." Ladybug became determined.
Marinette sat on her couch eating macarons and looking over the lyrics. She cleared her throat and started to practice the song.
Her phone went off in the middle of the song and she sighed and answered it.
"So…?" Alya played with the remote to her television, as she sat on the couch. "Do you feel any better?"
"I do, actually. I think I just needed more water." Marinette nervously tapped on her guitar.
"And… nothing else happened? You didn't run into anyone mysterious? Or... show up somewhere you weren't supposed to…." Alya raised an eyebrow."effectively, ditching me for a dark and brooding Rock star?"
"Nino told you?" Marinette sighed and hid her face in her hand.
"Maybe." Alya spoke and flicked a piece of fuzz off the couch arm.
"Look, after Adrien took me home... I ran into Chat- later." Marinette stumbled over her words.
"And…" Alya smirked trying to force details from her.
"And… I may have done some things… I may or may not regret later?" Marinette bit her finger.
"Girl… I knew it!" Alya laughed. "You have it bad."
"Shush!" Marinette put her finger to her lips.
"So, how was he?" Alya pried further.
"Ama...zing." Marinette swooned.
Alya laughed and looked over at Nino who was making gestures for her to abort the conversation. "I'm really happy for you, Mari. I may question your morals though. Aren't you dating a certain someone? That being said… what are you gonna tell Adrien?"
"Um…" Marinette tried to figure out a way around this situation. "I think he'll understand."
"He'll understand that his girlfriend just went and had sex with some other man?" Alya's face became serious.
"Yeah! Ya know… We weren't really… dating." Marinette cringed. She didn't believe this at all. Of course he'd be mad...if he hadn't been the other man as well.
"I don't believe you, but okay then…" Alya was skeptical.
Nino was rubbing the back of his neck nervously. He obviously knew something that she didn't.
Alya looked over at Nino then bit her lip. "Mari?"
"Hm?" Marinette perked up.
"What's going on?" Alya gave a questioning look.
"No-nothing!" Marinette smiled with her eyes shut tight.
"Nino is over here sweating bullets. So, if you don't tell me? He will. One way or another. I have my ways." She winked at her nervous boyfriend.
He swallowed hard and sulked out of the room dialing a number on his phone.
"Something tells me… he's off calling a certain someone to warn them." Alya smirked with an evil expression. "Fess up, girl."
Marinette sighed. "Look, can I come over and talk about this? It'll all be over soon anyway."
"Alright, head over girl." Alya looked at Nino on the phone.
"Yeah, man. Come on over." Nino hung up his phone.
Alya smiled knowingly. "Someone else might be here too."
Nino sighed and shook his head at her when she hung up the phone. "You know this isn't right, right?"
"Oh, I think you two owe me." Alya glared at him. "I worked so hard to get Mari to where she is and now I find out something weird is going on and no one is going to let me in on it?"
"Just- don't panic or post it on your blog like you do." Nino's shoulders fell. "Seriously. It'd ruin everything."
"Fine. No phone." Alya tossed her phone on a counter far from her reach.
"Thanks." Nino sighed, fell onto the couch, and threw his headphones onto his ears.
Marinette sat on the couch and fidgetted her fingers in her lap. Adrien awkwardly sat next to her flipping through his phone.
"So, anyone care to let me in on this little secret." Alya stood in the middle of the family room with her hands on her hips.
No one said a thing. Nino sat on the chair fidgeting in his seat with his lips tightly pressed together. Marinette couldn't look at her best friend.
Adrien finally cleared his throat. "For the record… I didn't know Nino knew."
"Dude! I own half that club!" Nino protested. "I hear the password from your mouth like every night."
"Shush, dude!" Adrien had a horrified expression on his face.
"Alright! Enough! What is this about?" Alya stuck her arms out to make it stop. "What about this club?" She looked at Nino.
"He never told you about the club?" Marinette finally peered at Alya amazed by this new information.
"No, I know nothing about a club. I know he does DJing at places, but I had no idea he owned half of a venue." Alya glared at Nino and then at Adrien. "I'm guessing you own the other half?"
"Well… sorta." Adrien cringed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Chat Noir owns the other half." Nino blurted out.
"Nino…" Adrien hissed at his best friend.
Alya's eyes grew big and her mouth fell open. She looked between Nino and Adrien. She then ran to grab her phone. Marinette jumped off the couch and grabbed her arm to keep her from getting it. "NO BLOG!"
"Mari. I'm not blogging. I was going to google something." Alya hissed offended.
Marinette slowly let her grip loosen. Alya typed in Chat Noir and clicked images. She held her phone out. "Look at me." She looked at Adrien, who reluctantly did as she instructed. "Shit." The similarities were uncanny. "Why have I never noticed before?"
"Because the idea of THAT being that was impossible to you." Marinette gestured from the image of Chat to the plain poised man on the couch. "They're polar opposites, really."
"I find that offensive." Adrien shook his head from side to side in a way that appeared more Chat-like.
"Alright, well I see it now when he acts like that." Alya smiled behind her phone.
"Can we put the phone down now?" Marinette held out her hand to shield her face.
"Yeah." Alya put her phone back on the counter and paced the room. "So… then what happened between you two." She pointed at Marinette and Adrien. "That's why Adrien wouldn't care..."
"You told her!" Adrien's eyes grew wide and he looked over at Marinette.
"Not in detail. Plus, she guessed it. I'm thinking because SOMEONE spilt the info in the first place!" Marinette glared at Nino.
He put his hands in the air. "Don't look at me. She figured it out alone. All I said was that Ladybug was at the club with Chat."
"That's enough to go off of, Nino…" Marinette whined and hid her face.
"It really is." Adrien agreed just as awkwardly.
"So… what's the new plan?" Alya sat on another chair across from them.
"My father's personal assistant found out who Ladybug is and threatened if she didn't sing as well as I claimed… she'd lose all her credit at school." Adrien sighed and leaned back on the couch. "Basically, she can kiss her fashion career goodbye." He waved his hand. "Also my father may have had a few choice words…"
"But she wants to write music for bands anyway." Alya shrugged.
"Well, that part of the deal still stands. I get her in to write songs if…" Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Oh! Here's where the Chat side comes out. Just wait for it." Marinette laughed and stuck her hand out with her other arm crossed across her chest to emphasize. "Go ahead. Tell them."
"If she dates me." Adrien groaned.
"Yeah, not so sweet and perfect are ya?" Marinette laughed.
"But… Mari has loved you since High School." Alya pointed out.
"She loved Adrien." Adrien sighed.
"I'm pretty sure a part of her loves Chat too." Alya laughed and looked at a blushing Marinette. "You can cut the act around me. I saw it a mile away, sweetheart."
"Alya…" Marinette held her head in her hands.
"You love both sides of Adrien, don't you? I can see it. Hell, the whole world can see it." Alya bit her lip with a smile and handed her the newspaper with the headline.
Adrien groaned at the sight of it.
"When did this happen?" Marinette held the paper out horrified.
"A few days or so ago. I figured you would have seen it. Or that lover boy over there would have shown you it." Alya shrugged and looked over at Adrien.
Marinette looked over at her boyfriend with tear brimmed eyes.
Adrien sighed and rested an arm on the back of the couch. "Before I met up with you to sing that song… my father burst into my apartment and asked me about that." He gestured towards the paper. "He told me to stay away from you because you're special and I'd only ruin you."
"And you felt the need to hide that from me?!" Marinette sniffed and glared at him.
"Yes." Adrien closed his eyes and sighed.
Marinette stood up and wanted to run. She wanted to be anywhere but there.
"Mari?" Adrien stood up and reached out to her.
She balled her hands into fists at her sides and turned to face him. "Don't Mari me! You should have told me! I had a right to know!" She poked him in the chest before poking her own.
"I know. I know." Adrien held his hands up in defeat. "I didn't want to involve you in my father's affairs."
"It's too late!" She grabbed him by the front of his shirt before dropping it and turning away, crossing her arms. "It's too late."
"OKAY! EVERYONE COOL IT!" Alya held out her arms."MARI!"
Marinette looked at her horrified.
"Sit." Alya seethed and directed her back to the couch with her finger. "You too, Agreste!"
Adrien's face was in shock. They both sat back on the couch.
"Now… Mari. I know for a fact that you have loved Adrien for a long… time. Longer than I've been with Nino. I also know that you have fallen for Chat. They're the same damn man. Correct?"
"Yes…" She wrung her hands on the hem of her shirt.
"Thought so." Alya smiled and sat back." So, who cares if his father is a power hungry psychopath. And who cares that Adrien is a narcissistic rock star."
"Hey!" Adrien pouted at her, while Marinette giggled behind her hand.
"You love each one can break that." Alya smiled warmly at them.
"From the sounds coming from Chat's office…" Nino started to speak with a laugh and looked over to see Adrien with a death glare.
"I swear to God, Nino…" Adrien threatened his best friend shaking his finger.
"And.. there's the Chat I've seen." Alya smirked and crossed her arms.
"No! This is the real Adrien!" Adrien turned his glare to her. "We're the same DAMN person!"
"I believe I just said that." Alya held her hands up in front of her.
"The Adrien at school is the one that has to put up a front. I have to be a brand, a name, and a commodity. Chat is when I get to be myself. I get to be over the top. I get to be free. However, recently I got caught, okay? I need out. So, I made this elaborate plan with my manager to sabotage myself. To start over as a new name to get away from my father again." Adrien crossed his arms and had a serious expression on his face. "It was working well until Natalie threatened Mari. Plans changed." He sighed and closed his eyes. "It's not just about me anymore. It's about her now too."
"It should have always been equal." Alya pointed out.
Adrien nodded. "That's true."
"Anyway… I wanna see this famous club you two run." Alya looked between Nino and Adrien.
"You can't go dressed like that." Nino and Adrien spoke in unison.
"What's wrong with my outfit?" Alya pulled on her brown plaid button down top.
Nino and Adrien rolled their eyes. "It's not that kind of club, sweetheart." Adrien cocked his head and mocked her from earlier with how she spoke to Marinette.
"I think I like the Chat on a leash better." Alya used her pointed finger to solidify her comment with her arm crossed across her chest.
"Seriously…" Adrien whined in disbelief.
"Just saying. He was nicer." Alya looked at him and shrugged.
"Oye." Adrien rolled his eyes.
"Look I'll help her get into costume." Marinette stood up and pushed Alya's back to lead her to her room.
"But I wasn't done…" Alya held up a pointer finger in protest.
"And.. when we're done you'll have plenty of time." Marinette looked back at the guys and gave a sheepish smile.
"Welp, I should go change clothes." Adrien slapped his thighs and pushed off them to get up.
"I'm sorry, man. I didn't know she'd put it all together." Nino apologized to his best friend.
Adrien shrugged and put his hands in his pockets. "It's Alya, man. She was bound to figure it out. Besides. I won't be Chat Noir forever."
Nino sighed and smiled at his best friend with a nod. "I'll get ready."
Adrien nodded and walked out the door. "Meet you there."
Nino nodded back and watched his friend leave.