Once more, Marinette's heart fluttered as the doorbell of the patisserie jingled and Adrien walked in. She still felt silly, but she wasn't the only one.

Adrien looked at Marinette as he walked into the bakery, and suddenly he wondered if he could go through with his plan. It was dirty, and he knew it, but it would be worth it if he got the information he wanted. Besides, if Marinette really was Ladybug, it wouldn't matter that much.

His plan was simple. He had noticed that when he first saw Marinette, she seemed much more at ease than he had remembered her being in high school. He figured it was because she was more independent now. But then, she had gotten progressively more uncomfortable, fidgety, and stuttery the longer he had been with her. He figured it was probably because he was a model, and she probably had a celebrity crush on him, like all the other girls seemed to. As much as he wished it otherwise, he assumed that must be it. So, he was going to use her weakness against her: flirt with her until she couldn't handle it anymore, work in a few pet names Chat Noir had given Ladybug, and gauge her reaction. Hopefully, by the end, she would accidentally reveal to him. Simple, really.

Simple, until he realised that he really couldn't manipulate Marinette like that. She was far too sweet and trusting. He shook his head, frustrated that his last resort was falling through, and all because he couldn't bring himself to risk hurting Marinette. Fine, that wasn't a bad thing, but it was still frustrating.

He walked up to the counter with a friendly smile on his face. "Hey, Marinette. Could I get a box of macaroons to go?"

He noticed the flush on her cheeks and the way she avoided his gaze, as well as the fact that she merely nodded in response before turning to fill his order.

"Cat got your tongue?" He joked.

Marinette froze for a split second. She knew that voice. And it wasn't Adrien's. "What are you doing here, Chat?" She turned around, expecting Chat Noir to be waiting in line behind Adrien.

Instead, Adrien was there alone, a shell-shocked expression on his face. "Wh- what did you call me?"

Marinette's eyes widened in shock and confusion. "I-- I thought I heard..."

"Chat Noir?"

Marinette nodded, then shoved the box of macaroons at Adrien. "I'm sorry, that was weird. I need to go... I need to go... Um, could you excuse me?" She turned and dashed through the back of the bakery, and ascended to her house.

Adrien stood at the counter with the box of macaroons he still hadn't paid for in his hand. Nobody else was in the bakery, so he just left the box on the counter. Maybe next time he'd have more luck.

XXXX

Determined to weed the truth out of Marinette with as little underhandedness as possible, Adrien returned to the bakery on the following afternoon. He hoped to have a casual conversation with her, so this time after Marinette filled his order, he leaned against the counter and began snacking, glad the bakery was empty again.

"So, Marinette," he began, "how is it, being back?"

Marinette jeered a glance at him, then stiffly answered, "It's been great, and I like working at my parents' bakery."

Adrien let out a little laugh, watching Marinette out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, it's all right, m'lady, you don't need to be afraid of me!"

The start she gave at his little nickname did not escape him. "I'm not," she said, a tad defensively.

"Well, other than working here, what have you been up to?"

"Um. Just hanging about, I guess. I've gone for coffee with Alya a few times. You know. Not much." Marinette was fiddling with the flattened boxes on the counter. Suddenly, she turned around and began 'tidying' the rest of the area. "I've been enjoying walking in the park. Reminds me of when I was in high school for some reason."

"I get that. They used to love doing photo shoots there back then, and I remember seeing you sometimes."

A silence ensued, and finally Marinette broke in, "So, do you still do photo shoots there?"

"Oh, not much. They prefer indoor settings now, and I really have been avoiding modeling more recently. I prefer engineering!"

"Oh."

Adrien tapped his fingers on the counter, searching for something to say. Suddenly, without any warning, he blurted out, "Listen, Marinette, I've been meaning to ask, and since no one's around, maybe now's the best time, but I can't figure out how to do this subtlely or with tact, so can you just tell me if you're Ladybug?" His eyes widened, like he hadn't planned on saying that either, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. "I'm sorry, never mind, forget I asked that, I guess I'm just a little obsessed, and maybe I see Ladybug everywhere I go."

Marinette, still stunned, watched him head for the door, completely forgetting his box of sweets. Right as his hand reached the door handle, she gasped. He turned around, with a questioning look on his face. Marinette's face was pale, and her mouth hung open.

Adrien realised that there were tears falling off her face, and suddenly he felt like kicking himself. "Oh, Marinette, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that!" He dashed for the counter again, and reached over to take her hand. "I've just been thinking it for a long time, and suddenly I just couldn't hold it in anymore!"

Marinette nodded, the shocked expression gone. She was still crying. "I think I need to sit down," she whispered.

Adrien went around the counter and helped her to a seat.

"How did you know?" Marinette asked.

Adrien fought the urge to whoop. He was right! "When you came back, and Ladybug arrived shortly after, and then lots of little things happened to make me almost certain," he explained.

"But I didn't show myself to anyone but Chat as Ladybug!" Marinette's eyes widened. "Oh. You're Chat."

Adrien couldn't help it. Her reaction was so different from what he was expecting! He burst into laughter, and had to grip the edge of the counter to keep himself upright.

Marinette sniffed. "I don't know why I'm crying," she stated matter-of-factly.

The door of the kitchen opened, and Tom loomed before them. He looked at Marinette sitting on a stool, tears streaming down her face, and Adrien behind the counter, in a hysterical fit of laughter.

When Marinette saw the look on his face, she started laughing, too.

"Young man," said Tom. "You'd better have a pretty good explanation for this."

_

Hey, guys. Sorry this kinda flopped toward the end. I kind of prefer reading to writing sometimes... I hope to finally finish my other Miraculous fic, "Told You So (Sequel to Tell You Later)" soon, and maybe those will be better. Anyway, I hope I didn't let you down too much, I just ran out of inspiration and knew that if I didn't finish it I never would, and I didn't want to leave you hanging (for the second time, if you've already started my other fic). :D Thanks for reading!

Au revoir

P. S. If the title seems really out there, it's because I was planning on this story going a different direction than it actually took me.