Author's Note:

I do not own any of these characters.


It was a few months later, and despite no longer feeling the pressure to wait until their wedding, they still had not taken that step. However, it was now Marinette's birthday and special occasions had a way of just flowing into such situations. Adrien was prepared for what might happen. Marinette was prepared for what might happen.

But first... they had a small party with just Nino and Alya on top of the hotel. Chloe was there also. She wasn't interested in swimming or joining in any of the fun in the pool, but she had arranged for them to be the only ones there and she only did that on the condition she could be up there to work on her tan. Having Chloe nearby put a little damper on the mood as she'd occasionally make a remark to be sure her presence hadn't been forgotten.

The irony that all five superheroes were together and that Chloe was the only one who didn't realize it was apparent to the other four. They'd gotten into the habit of calling her Queen Bee whenever she'd done something that was obviously designed to draw attention to herself. Chloe would huff at the comment, mumble something, and then go back to ignoring them for another five minutes or so before saying something again. All four of the friends knew she was a valuable team member as Queen Bee, but also knew she still had an ego the size of France. They had discussed on occasion whether to let Chloe know their identities, the consensus was generally that they didn't know if she could be trusted to not tell anyone given the fact that all of Paris knew she was Queen Bee.

Splashing around in the pool and playing games such as Marco Polo and Chicken kept everyone pretty well focused and neither Adrien nor Marinette seemed to be flustered about seeing so much of the other's skin. Perhaps it was the fact they were not alone or perhaps the fact that it wasn't an intimate setting. However, the periodic lull in the activity allowed them to check each other out, until one would catch the other. When caught, a quick blush was usually followed by a suggestion for the next game.

However, about an hour into the pool party, the sound of screams wafted up to the pool area and all five of the teens looked out to see an akuma victim battling the police. The victim didn't really have distinctive features. He... or she, as it was hard to tell... was more of a shapeless mass that resembled a human in its features, but that was about the only resemblance. Instead of immediately running off, the teens watched the victim battle the police from afar so they could get an idea of what they were up against.

Chloe, naturally, tried to reassure the others that they were okay on top of the hotel and if needed, she'd have to leave them to help Ladybug. The other four just looked at each other and then back to the akuma victim. The biggest thing they noticed was that the human shaped blob could fire part of itself towards the police and pin them down. Then, when the police had surrounded the victim, it split into smaller parts to battle on all fronts at the same time. This immediately told Marinette that she would likely need one or more of the others to help fight, much like with Sapotis.

While Chloe was still watching the fight, the other four backed up slowly to try and not draw her attention. It was going to be difficult to not have Chloe get suspicious if one or more of them left. The trio of friends looked at Marinette, who was looking over her shoulder at Chloe to make sure she hadn't noticed them retreat from the edge. Marinette turned back around to face them, "I think we're going to need all five of us for this one. How do we play the Chloe issue? Should we bring her with us to pick up the other three miraculouses or should one of us run off to retrieve them and return?"

"I could pretend I'm going to go get footage for the Ladyblog?" Alya offered. "I think Chloe would buy it and then, when nothing is posted, I'll just say I wasn't able to get close enough."

"I think she can keep our secret. She's really tried to be the best superhero she can be," Adrien pondered out loud. "She's even been getting a lot better in her civilian life also. It might be time to show her we trust her."

"Dude, I don't know. With all of us disappearing, it's going to be hard to explain either way," Nino interjected. "I say it's Marinette's call."

The trio again turned and waited on Marinette. Chloe had been good about her dating Adrien, almost to the point where she almost considered her a friend. She had certainly improved enough in the past months to not only quit bullying Marinette, but everyone else in general. She was still self-absorbed most of the time, but she had stopped being mean to others at least. Marinette looked up and into Adrien's eyes. "We trust her. I think she's earned it."

The quartet moved back over to Chloe's position as she was still watching the fight, of which the police were losing horribly, but had somehow been able to keep the victim's attention enough to keep it from moving out of the area it was in. "Hey Chloe," Marinette started.

"Yes..." came a distant reply from Chloe who hadn't even turned her head.

"We need you to come with us so you can help Ladybug with the fight," Marinette advised.

Chloe's face twisted in confusion, "Why would going with you help Ladybug find me to give me my miraculous?"

"Has Ladybug, or even Cat Noir, joined the fight yet?" Marinette asked.

"Not yet," Chloe responded.

"Exactly," Marinette stated in a serious enough voice that Chloe actually turned her head to look at Marinette. "That's why you need to come with us."

Chloe looked at all four teens who had very serious expressions. She landed on Adrien who nodded at her, letting her know to trust Marinette. "O-Okay..." Chloe said and then followed them off the roof.


"Hello team," Master Fu greeted the five teens. Alya and Nino had met Master Fu previously so they could retrieve their miraculous if Marinette and Adrien were unable to come themselves. Chloe however was looking around wide-eyed wondering who this was and why he referred to them as a team.

"Chloe," Marinette began, "this is Master Fu, the Guardian of the Miraculouses." Chloe's eyes got even wider. She was meeting the person who guarded the miraculouses. She never thought she'd be trusted enough to actual meet him. But she knew Ladybug was not the keeper of her miraculous based on the previous times she had stated she needed to return it.

"It's... an honor to meet you... Master Fu," Chloe said, a little dazed.

"I see that you've earned Ladybug's trust to know about me and the others," Master Fu said. "It's imperative that you keep everyone else's identity a secret even though Paris knows about your identity." Chloe nodded and Master Fu continued. "Also, do not come here unless you are either with Ladybug or Cat Noir unless they are unable to come themselves. You should only come by yourself in emergencies like Rena Rouge and Carapace."

"I understand," Chloe responded. "You can count on me."

"We know we can," Marinette said. "You've proven that you've changed and that we can trust you."

"I think I'm beginning to understand, but I don't think it'll actually be real to me until I see it," Chloe said hesitantly and guessing that she was already with the other team members.

"Tikki, Spots On!" Marinette transformed in front of Chloe and she inhaled sharply and then looked at Adrien.

"Plagg, Claws Out!" Adrien transformed into Cat Noir and winked at Chloe. She grinned sadly and then turned to Alya who had just been handed her miraculous by Master Fu.

"Trixx, Let's Pounce!" Rena Rouge was now standing in front of Chloe and nodded. Chloe turned to Nino and nodded.

"Wayzz, Shell On!" Nino was now Carapace and grinning widely. Chloe turned back to Master Fu who held out her Miraculous Box.

Chloe took the box and opened it. Pollen appeared before her, "What can I do for you, My Queen?" Chloe looked back at everyone else. She had never really felt like one of the team, even though she knew they thought she was a valuable member as they'd reassure her from time to time. But now, tears were welling up in her eyes at this new feeling of warmth she hadn't had in a long time. The sense of belonging.

"Pollen, Buzz On!" Chloe called out and was transformed into Queen Bee. "Thank you," she whispered.

Ladybug walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You earned it by showing you could change and become a better you." Ladybug smiled brightly and Queen Bee wiped a tear from her cheek. "Okay, let's go!" Ladybug called out and the team ran out of Master Fu's shop and to where the akuma had been fighting the police.


"Pound It!" was heard around the five sided fist bump as the heroes smiled at each other. It was a difficult akuma and they were all tired. They headed to the top of the hotel and detransformed. Chloe, Alya, and Nino handed over their miraculouses to Marinette.

Chloe just shook her head slightly, smiled, and said, "I never would've guessed, but I should've always known that only Marinette Dupain-Cheng could be Ladybug and would protect me even when she had every reason not to. And just so you know, you can trust me to keep your secrets despite how I've treated you before because you helped me become a better person and because you trusted me with this secret." Marinette smiled and nodded at Chloe.

The group decided not to return to the pool party so they could rest up after the fight. They gathered their clothes and said their goodbyes. Marinette and Adrien dropped off the miraculouses with Master Fu who expressed his satisfaction that the team had finally bonded completely.

Adrien was walking Marinette home as they had planned to spend the rest of the day together, even before the akuma cut the pool party short. "Hey," Adrien started, "I just realized you've had to fight an akuma on your last two birthdays. How about I give you a massage to help you relax."

"Do you really know how to give a massage, or are you just wanting to feel me up," she smirked and waggled her eyebrows at him. "Because, the answer is yes either way."

"Are you feline frisky, My Lady?" Adrien retorted with his Cat Noir swagger. Marinette just kissed his cheek in response. "Do you have massage oils at home?" he asked, a little more serious now.

"Do I look like I have massage oils laying around my house?" Marinette responded sarcastically while rolling her eyes widely to drive home the point. Adrien stayed quiet at that, remembering how he sometimes took for granted that he didn't have a normal teenage life. A quick stop by his room and he came out with a massage table and oils. Marinette shook her head and got into the car as he had also enlisted the help of his bodyguard to drive them the short trip to the bakery.

In the back of the car, Adrien smiled nervously and said, "I bumped into Nathalie coming back out. She smirked at me. I think she has the wrong idea." Adrien rubbed the back of his neck and blushed a little.

"The way we've been acting lately," Marinette added, "I think everyone has the wrong idea about where we are in our relationship. But, it's none of their business. Just ours." She leaned over and gave Adrien a kiss.

They got out of the car at the bakery and headed upstairs, ignoring the looks given to them by Marinette's parents. Once up in Marinette's room, Adrien made short work of setting up the massage table. "I've gotten a few pointers from my masseuse as I've often needed to massage my shoulders after a battle. However, this will be my first time giving a massage." He grinned innocently at Marinette. "But... uh... you can get undressed to whatever level you're comfortable and slide under the sheet. I'll be back in a few minutes. I'm going to go downstairs and warm up the oils."

Marinette watched him leave and looked at Tikki. "It might be his first time giving a massage, but it's definitely my first time getting a massage. I don't think I'd realize it if he did something wrong." Tikki just giggled. "He stated whatever state of undress I was comfortable with, though. I always thought you got completely undressed for a massage?"

"You can. Most people do. But some people are more comfortable keeping their under garments on," Tikki explained. Marinette started getting undressed while contemplating how undressed she wanted to get. She sighed a little and then grinned to herself as Tikki flew off with Plagg to relax on the balcony (they certainly didn't want to watch what they thought would eventually happen). Marinette slipped off her bra and panties placing them in a location to make sure her state of undress was obvious to Adrien upon his return. She slid under the sheet and awaited his return.


Adrien knocked and waited for Marinette to call out that it was okay before he returned to her room. He set down the oils and noticed her under garments. Marinette smirked as she heard him gulp before turning to face her. She was on the table face up and he grimaced a little. "I forgot to mention that... at least I... start face down." Marinette smiled as Adrien held up the far side of the sheet and she flipped over.

Marinette felt him fold the sheet down to her waist leaving her bare back exposed. She was now very happy to be starting face down. He applied some oil to her back and its warmth felt good against her skin. He rubbed the oil over her back with a decent amount of pressure so he could feel which muscles were tight and needed to be massaged. His hands were strong she noted. Which was good as some of her muscles had akuma sized knots in them. Adrien focused on the hardest knots first switching between using the palm of his hands and using a closed fist. He even used his forearms and elbows from time to time as needed.

Adrien was so focused on the actual act of giving the massage that the state of her undress barely affected him until he had to move from one area to another. Marinette on the other hand, was being more and more aroused the more she relaxed. She loved the feeling of his hands rubbing over her and the feeling of his hands piercing down into her muscles to relieve the tension.

After working on her back, he worked each arm in turn, paying careful attention to the palms of her hands. When he moved to one of her legs, he moved the sheet to cover her back and arms again and then uncovered one leg just below her buttocks. He didn't neglect her glutes, he just didn't uncover them. It sent shivers through her body and she couldn't wait to flip over and have him work the front of her body. The backs of her calves were especially tight and he spent a decent amount of time working them. She loved how methodical he was and how much attention he was paying to every inch of her body.

After working the other leg, he gave her a folded towel and said it was for her chest. The towel was almost as warm as the oils. He lifted the far side of the sheet again allowing her to roll over and cover her breasts with the towel before laying the sheet back over her. Marinette smiled at how professional he was acting, like a real masseuse. She figured he'd know how they acted since he apparently had one. She was grateful for the added towel on her chest as certain areas he worked would arouse her more than others and she knew the sheet itself was too thin to hide any situation that might try to make itself known.

He had pulled the sheet down to her waist again so he could work her torso. He was extra careful to try not to graze any sensitive areas. However, just having his hands on her was enough to drive her wild at times. If it wasn't also so relaxing, she'd have likely tackled him by now. She grinned widely as he massaged her lower abdomen, approaching a rather sensitive area... little did she know what was coming. But first, he moved to each arm in turn massaging her biceps and triceps. He paid extra attention to her fingers this time, massaging them individually and sending electric shocks through her body. She was surprised at how massaging her fingers made her feel. She certainly wouldn't have guessed.

He covered her torso and arms again and she knew what was coming next if he was following the same pattern from when she was face down. He uncovered one leg and folded the sheet right along the crease where her leg joined her hip. She didn't feel like anything sensitive had been uncovered, but it was very close. He started with the outside of her thighs, which was quite pleasant and relaxing. Then he moved into her inner thigh. She inhaled sharply at the feeling of his strong hands. While he didn't get close to anything compromising, she was still in ecstasy at his touch in that general area. She wasn't sure if it was normal, but she almost got off just from him massaging her inner thigh. She actually had to move her hand from her side and cover her mouth. This caused her to blush dramatically and Adrien moved on to her leg and foot. She could've sworn she was sweating.

She was afraid she would be ticklish with him massaging her feet. However, his strong hands and the way he massaged them was actually very relaxing, so relaxing she almost nodded off. However, it was time to focus on her other leg and she could feel him repositioning the sheet again. He massaged the outside of the thigh, which was still very relaxing. She knew what was next and wondered if the previous inner thigh experience was going to cause to skip the other one. As he worked his way down to her leg, she knew it had. "It's okay," she whispered, indicating that she expected him to give both inner thighs the same treatment. He took a deep breath and shook his head a little before moving back to her midriff so he could face her leg from the proper direction.

His touch was strong and dug into her inner thigh nearly sending her into convulsions of pure pleasure. She had to cover her mouth again and felt Adrien tease up a little. However, he finished her thigh and then her leg. He gave just a much attention to her other foot and again she was surprised at how fast she could go from nearly exploding to nearly falling asleep. Massaging her feet also seemed to relax over parts of her body. For example, her shoulder would unwind a little in back as he massaged a certain area of her foot.

He moved to her head and started massaging her collar bones. She was sure he had massaged her shoulders when she was face down and thought maybe he was getting a little handsy until she realized how tense the top and front of her shoulders really were. Again, he was extra careful not to rub anything he shouldn't and focus just on her muscles. And then he did it.

He tilted her head up and dug his fingers into the back of her head, right where the spine and skull meet. It felt like he was going to dig his way into her brain. She never realized how much stress she carried in those muscles. As he worked them, releasing the stress, he moved down her neck and back over her shoulders, chasing the stress away. He moved to her face and was so gentle and relaxing that she could've sworn she heard herself snoring. He finished with a kiss on her forehead and whispered, "I love you." He said he was done and that she should relax a little, and when ready, go shower the oils off.

She laid there and listened to him leave the room. She laid there even longer, relishing at how relaxed she was. He might not have been a professional masseuse, but apparently he was a quick study. Her body had gone through such extremes that she was both exhausted and relaxed at the same time. She slowly sat up and scratched her head, looking around. She eventually convinced her legs to move her off of the table and onto them. She used the towel to wrap herself up and grabbed a change of clothes before heading down to take a shower.


After her shower, she found Adrien sitting in the living room watching television with her father. She sat down beside Adrien and said, "There's no way I can compete with that." Tom chuckled a little and winked at Adrien.

"Happy birthday," Adrien said and then gave her a chaste kiss. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I can get you a professional massage sometime if you want."

"No way!" Marinette nearly shouted. "You are the only one allowed to give me a massage. After that experience, I don't think anyone else could compete." She blushed hard as she noticed her father smirking and realized what he must have thought happened. "Papa!" she chastised. "It was just a massage." Tom let out a hearty chuckle, nodded, and then winked. He knew he didn't need to say anything to make Marinette go full on embarrassed. Sure enough, she was beet red and hopped up, grabbing Adrien's hand, and practically dragged him back to her room.

"Have fun!" she heard her father call out before she started taking the stairs two steps at a time. Finally alone in the room with Adrien she just smiled nervously and then went to help him pack up his massage table. Adrien joined her and they quietly worked side by side until Marinette's embarrassment finally faded enough for her to talk again.

"I'm sorry if Papa said anything to embarrass you," she finally said, still too embarrassed herself to look Adrien in the eyes. She finally got the courage up and saw Adrien rubbing the back of his neck.

"As... as long as you enjoyed it," he said sheepishly. Marinette looked in front of where Adrien was standing and noticed he was right in front of her under garments that she had taken off earlier. All Adrien saw was a red flash push past him and noticed the garments were gone when he looked down again. Marinette was on the other side of the room, tossing them into her laundry basket.

Adrien figured he should ask instead of assume, "What are our plans for tonight?" He looked up at Marinette who was still red, thinking he was asking about whether she wanted to be with him. "I-I mean, are we having a sleep over or not. I need to know if I need a night bag brought over for me."

Marinette exhaled, she was way too flustered from the conversations that occurred after her shower to be expected to think clearly. While the massage was more than she expected it to be, more relaxing and more arousing, the shower had given her a chance to calm down, only to be flustered by her father's innuendoes. She hadn't thought far enough ahead to decide if they were going to have a sleep over or not.

She hung her head and then looked at Adrien who nodded. "I understand," he said. She smiled at him for knowing her so well. She knew she wouldn't be able to think straight all night given her current condition if Adrien was going to sleep over. She was thankful that he could tell without her needing to explain. It had been a long day after all.


Author's Note:

As being someone who has had both professional massages and ones from my wife (and given her massages also), I can attest to the fact professional massages are (and should be) much less arousing assuming you have a real professional masseuse.