The rush of the wind in her hair was amazing, cool air whipping tendrils free from the usual ribbons. She'd known the feel of it tugging her strands far more gently while in costume, yo-yo swinging from beams and ledges to rooftops.

But it usually was far more muted. Tikki's protection must actually keep it back most of the time. It was a simple matter of practicality. Ladybug couldn't fight if she was forever fixing her hair.

It wasn't like this was the first time she had been dashed across the rooftops outside of her alter ego's protective costume. But last time was in a hasty, madcap scramble away from Gamer, with her practically being held against his chest but the speed of his forward motion.

This was a different rhythm, one her usually rash partner had taken great pains to slow down. He was vaulting from rooftop to rooftop, as she clung to his back. Her arms carefully wound around his shoulders, her legs wrapped above his hips.

Marinette feared moving too much might throw off his sense of balance. It would have taken her a great deal of focus to even try to carry someone else across the rooftops. But in her case, it would have required a good deal more arm strength to balance the added weight, even though she wasn't really a slouch in that department.

She bit her lip, all too aware that her partner was definitely not.

Had his shoulders always been so broad?

The flushed heat on her cheeks was a testament to that. Absently, she let one hand press to her face, willing the blush to subside.

It only took an instant to regret it.

Gasping for breath, she readjusted her grip over his shoulders.

"Oof!" Chat grunted, slowing his already lumbering pace to a crawl, balancing them both impossibly atop the extended baton between the buildings. "You alright back there, Princess."

"Yep!" She chirped, her voice half an octave too high. "Just lost my grip for a second there?"

He peered over his shoulder. "Need me to stop for a minute, Princess?"

She blinked, trying not to laugh at the absurdity of the situation. She knew Chat was just being considerate. Silly nickname aside, it felt mildly patronizing. Mostly because she could get herself around just fine, if she could have gotten in her own suit without him realizing. She just knew all too well that she wasn't nearly so well protected outside of the suit.

"I can tough it out," Marinette insisted, meeting his green eyes as he peered over his shoulder. It was oddly fascinating to watch as the catlike pupils narrowed into pinpricks, as his lids hooded.

Marinette blinked, forcing her eyes away and tightening her grip har arms had around his shoulders. "Anyways. We'll need all the time we can get to help you out."

Chat Noir pat her arms gently with his free hand, before his hand returned to the baton and propelled them both onwards in uncharacteristic silence.

But she could swear that his cheeks were just the slightest bit red.

Huh. Weird. Maybe all of these repeats were tiring him out.

"Your friends should be around soon, Princess." Chat dashed off, shooting her that all too familiar salute as he spun on his heel and dashed off over the nearby rooftops.

Marinette watched him go from the darkness of the alley, more than a little worried about his well being. She hated to see him hurt. And if he felt poorly, how would they possibly locate the Akuma and break free of this loop.

Not that she didn't have enough to worry about right now. Her fingers tightened on the strap of her purse.

Now. She had to work with Adrien.

Not just work with him. She had to work with him to find a way to beat this Akuma. Without her costume. Without her Ladybug confidence. And preferably, without making a total fool of herself.

Her friends - all of them - were depending on her.

"Marinette." Tikki pressed her tiny face into her cheek, nuzzling her. "You'll be fine."

Leaning in to the comfort, Marinette blew the stray strand of hair out of her face, before realizing that wouldn't do. She reached up to adjust the bow, before she realized that her hands had been trembling.

Tikki flit in front of her eyes. "Just remember: This is mission. If it helps, just pretend that Adrien is Chat Noir."

Marinette chuckled, finger combing the hair back into place.

"I know," her kwami giggled warmly. "It is silly. But you two work together so easily, even when he is being ridiculous. You're worrying so much with Adrien that you don't just get to enjoy hanging out with him."

As she re-tied her ribbon, Marinette sighed. "I know. But I can't just stop worrying…"

"Hmmm…" Tikki tilted her large head, tapping her tiny paw to her cheek. "Well, think about it this way. If Chat Noir is right, that means even if you mess up, Adrien probably won't remember it tomorrow."

"So even if I did mess up, no one will be there to remember…"

"Except for Chat Noir, of course."

Marinette grinned tightly. "Of course. But he won't be anywhere near there."

Adrien adjusted his overshirt as he ran down the back alley and into the open square. Nino and Alya still had yet to arrive, but there was still about 45 minutes before the ceremony was due to start. Marinette was busy staring up at the City Hall building, hands clutching her pale pink purse.

"Oh! Marinette! There you are." He beamed, waving her way.

She smiled, turning for only a fleeting moment in his direction, before her eyes darted back up to the building as quickly as they had turned towards him. "Hey, Adrien."

Blinking, he felt his smile slip a bit. She hadn't seemed so anxious earlier. Out of comfort, he placed a hand on her shoulder, his thumb gesturing behind them both. "There's a building nearby that a friend recommended. For the view."

Marinette exhaled, nodding up at him. She could hardly even blink or smile; it was taking almost every ounce of energy not to look at the hand that was resting on her shoulder.

She wanted - more than anything - not to move from that spot.

But she really doesn't have time to burn. She needed to figure out where Chloe is, because she could actually spoil their whole plan.

His smile widened. "You, ready?"

Her lips dared to curl up in a nervous smile, not quite meeting his eyes as he steered her in the right direction, a taller building only a half block away from City Hall.

Once he had ducked into a doorway, Marinette was right on his heels matching his pace despite his slightly longer stride.

She studiously avoided looking at him, watching the hallways for anyone who might bar their way.

"Are you alright?"

She smiled, her eyes darting down the side hall before moving back ahead of them. "Just a bit anxious."

"No need to worry. Our friend in black scoped this all out ahead." Adrien grinned, holding open the elevator door as she trailed behind him with a silly half bow. "Need a lift?"

Marinette blinked in surprise for a split second before snorting indelicately. Well! That was one way to make it easier for her to pretend he was actually her punster partner. "Really?" She rolled her eyes up to the ceiling but her smile had only grown wider.

He chuckled, pressing his back against the side of the elevator opposite her. "Our friend said he could even get us down later if we run into any trouble."

"You talked to him, then?"

"Yeah. An early morning jog..."

Huh. Chat must have been very busy this morning.

"So," Adrien mused aloud as the elevator approached the roof. "We need to try to spot Chloe and Sabrina and then we move over to City Hall?"

Marinette smiled up at him with a nod, as the door chimed open and she lead them both to the roof's edge. "Right. First, we figure out where we need to avoid. Then we need to find Sabrina's Dad and figure out some way to get him to tell us what he knows."

Adrien scanned the upstairs windows, while her eyes drifted to the ground. She heaved a sigh. "That's not good."

Adrien frowned, trying to match the direction of her gaze. "What's up?"

Marinette gestured to the front entrance, was ringed with at least a police officer stationed at each giant door. "I'm just hoping we can manage to get inside."

Adrien squinted down at the entrance. "Any ideas?"

Wincing, she turned her back against the concrete ledge. "I dunno. I can think of maybe one idea offhand. But it kind of depends on me to do something that I'm really bad at."

He blinked, clearly more than a little confused.

Her arms folded atop her knees, dipping her chin down. "Chat Noir is counting on us. His days keep repeating, right? So what if I screw it up? How many times is it going to take before that Akuma starts causing chaos? I mean, what if I ruin the only advantage they seem to have right now?"

Adrien smiled gently, sitting down at her side. "Well. You're not exactly alone, right?"

She tilted her head at him, eyes narrowed as she desperately hoped she wasn't blushing too hard. "Right?"

He bumped his shoulder against hers, grinning as he pulled a little bit of a smile out of her. "Right. So...tell me what can I do to help."

Author's Notes:

I already have most of Chapter 12 drafted, although even that keeps expanding.

So many ideas, so little time to write! But you all have been really great and supportive, so I decided to break it into two rather than make one monster chapter that will probably not get posted until the weekend (at best).

Curious about updates? Find me on Tumblr at the same author name. :)