Overcome with a wave of emotions, Marinette fell out of the chair, tugging along with her the pair of black pants she'd just finished up sewing the leg of. The inseam was completed but she had not yet flipped right side out to check for any issues with the stitching.

Unrestrained tears streamed from her eyes. 'Oh! Was it truly him?'

What if it wasn't him? What if someone else inherited the Chat Miraculous? And somehow managed to get it activated after all this time.

Brows furrowed, Marinette brushed the welling tears from her eyes, standing up to run over to her computer. She needed to get a better look at that picture; the picture on mobile hardly did it justice.

She chuckled ruefully at the title. The Chat Returns.

She would know his form anywhere. She was sure of it. But in the half dark, without a clear view of his face?

She couldn't be sure.

She skimmed the article. It was clear that Alya had posted it very early in the morning, getting the scoop before every other reporter in the city in the process. But it looked like this Chat must have really talked to Alya.

Chuckling, her finger skimmed over the title, suspecting his hand in it.

It was giving her hope, where she hadn't dared to let herself in some time.

Her feet tapping on the floor, Marinette sat back in her chair, debating herself.

It was only 10:30 pm now. She had been working late, trying to make the costumes since Alya seemed to be so pleased with the idea. She had planned to produce and ship a few test costumes to Alya with guidance to have her send them to a proper tailor and check the sizing and note any adjustments. She could do the fixes herself when she arrived.

But maybe it was time to expedite the timetable.

The austere apartment that she had here never really felt like home. She lived at the office more often, throwing herself into her work. Travelling to see her parents when she'd wanted the feel of home. But without Chat Noir around, even home had started to feel empty.

Her fingers flew over the keyboard, finding the next available flight to Paris. The price tag no longer mattered.

If she grabbed the work bag still in her office that was still unpacked from her last flight, she could just barely make a 1 am flight and be in Paris by tomorrow night. She might not get in until early evening, but she could grab a quick shower and a fresh change of clothes to catch Alya in person.

And, if she was still very lucky, perhaps even the Chat himself.

It was only some hours later, safely through airport security and onboard the plane above the Atlantic that Marinette got a link to the article from Alya herself.

Biting her lip, she weighed her options, deciding it might be best to tell Alya she was inbound.

Maybe she could even catch a shower there and do a bit of laundry while she and Alya caught up. If not, she could always make hotel arrangements during her layover if the wi-fi signal continued to be unstable.

It was nearly seven in the morning but Alya's phone had been buzzing endlessly for the past hour or so with messages of congratulations and offers for her to be interviewed on camera as well. The odds of her actually managing to fall back asleep was low. She dragged her hand over her face, figuring she might as well get up and be productive.

She muted the phone so Nino could sleep, before getting herself up out of bed to grab a shower and get ready to sit in front of the camera.

With a sigh, she realized she ought to reach of Jalil to get a more formal line on what, if anything, to say about the pending exhibit. She'd padded across the cold bathroom tiles for a minute before Marinette came to mind. In her haste and the early morning rush of getting the article up and getting Adrien safely back to his hotel, she'd never sent a copy on to Marinette. If she'd sent it then, it might be a more reasonable hour. Instead it now had to be the middle of the night for her, but she'd still freak out.

With a smirk, Alya sent her an email with the link and started the shower.

She could figure out how to deal with Jalil soon enough.

When Alya screamed, Nino and Zoe had come running.

"Maman?" The loud rapping on the door jolted her out of her now-stunned silence.

"Babe? Are you alright?"

"Yeah!" Alya clamped her hand over her mouth, re-shuffling the towel she'd been using to dry off. "Just give me a minute."

There was no way Marinette should have answered that fast, especially not with the hour.

Instead she'd sent back four little words.

Marinette: I'm on my way.

Alya was still trying to puzzle out how this all was possible. When they'd texted the day before, Marinette hadn't given the slightest indication she would be back so soon. She'd only just wrapped up the previous tour and couldn't have slept in her own bed more than a night or two.

She hadn't been any better prepared for the next message that came through.

Marinette: I need a pick up at the airport when I get in round 8:30 pm. Kind of wanted to chat with you if I could. But I can arrange for a cab if you've already got plans.

Alya bolted out the door, scrambling straight to her laptop.

"Babe?" Nino frowned, backing out of her way. He'd sent Zoe down to grab some cereal. "What's going on?"

"Marinette is on her way here."

"like right now?" He frowned. "Wasn't she just in town?"

"Yep!" Alya confirmed, leaning heavily onto the bed. "And she's on a plane right now."

"I thought you said she was working on a project."

"That's what she told me." Alya nodded, booting the laptop up and grabbing the robe from the foot of her bed where she'd discarded it. "I know she's fast and all, but I don't think she could make four costumes in six hours and then just hop on a plane."

Nino chuckled. "She does manage to get a lot done when she's focused."

"Of course," Alya muttered. "Finally! Okay, so if she was doing this…"

"What are you thinking here?" Nino crossed his arms, watching the flurry of activity. "That she saw the picture and got on the plane?"

Alya smirked. "That's exactly what I think."

Nino blinked. "I always knew Marinette was kind of close to Chat Noir. Well, really Adrien, I guess. But you really think she'd drop everything?"

"I'm trying to prove it, actually." Alya tossed him her phone. "Do me a favor and ask her what airline we should pick her up from?"

Nino nodded, keying in her passcode and sent along the message while she pulled up the available flights.

Within a few minutes more, the pair were convinced. No other timeline really fit. Alya even let Nino scroll back through her previous day's text log to see that Marinette hadn't been planning to travel as of yesterday morning.

Nino flopped back on the bed, as Alya set about getting dressed. "You think she maybe had a thing for Chat Noir?"

Alya arched a brow, donning her bra. "You and I both know she had a major crush on Adrien."

"But they're one in the same."

She nodded, hands on her hips. "You and I both know that. But Adrien has spent years pining after Ladybug, which means that poor girl is going to be walking into heartbreak."

Nino sighed. "So we keep them apart."

"I don't think we have any choice, really."

Adrien headed into the museum. It had been days since he'd been there last, but now he was ecstatic. He had not one but two Kwami to help uncover the secrets. Not to mention much better context from Wayzz to understand what might be safe enough to share with the public.

Plagg could hardly keep himself hidden away. Apparently, he'd had enough of sleep to last at least the rest of Adrien's natural lifetime and kept peering out of the bag.

He passed Alix and Kim as he headed into Jalil's office.

Alix was clearly irritated with Kim. "You don't have to keep following me, you know?"

"Well!" Kim's face went scarlet, the veins on his neck bulged as he clenched his jaw. "If you'd just tell me, I wouldn't have to follow you."

"Look." Alix huffed, lowering her voice. "Jalil isn't doing okay. He's not eating, getting withdrawn. He hadn't been handling things well since Père died."

Kim grunted. "It's not your job to take care of him."

Alix wheeled on him in an instant. "You know I'm all he has here right now."

Adrien blinked, backing away slightly. He really didn't want to get involved in any couple's spats.

Alya and Nino could always banter with the best of them, but Kim and Alix? They had always been ruthlessly competitive even when they all were kids. If their potential to be Akumatized had any indication, they had to be positively combustible.

Frankly, he had just gotten Plagg back in his life.

"I can keep an eye on him."

"Would you?" Alix grinned, breathing a sigh of relief. She pulled a card out of her pocket and handed it to Adrien. "Look. If you have any issues with Jalil, could you call me?"

"Huh…" Adrien gaped at the card, his fingers catching on the embossing. "Detective?"

"Got a problem with that?"

Adrien grinned. "Not at all. If anyone could take on Paris's criminals— "

Kim grinned proudly. "It would be the two of us."

Alix—Detective Kubdel, Adrien corrected himself mentally—patted Kim's arm patronizingly. "Sure, it is, Kim."

Adrien coughed. "So, you both are partners?"

Alix snorted. "Who else do you think they trusted to keep this one in line?"

Kim narrowed his eyes, his arms crossing over his chest. "Wait. What did you think we were?"

"Oh." Adrien's eyes widened as he exaggeratedly checked his wrist—sans watch—for the time. He really didn't want to die today. "Sorry, I didn't realize I was so late. Jalil will be looking for me. Let's catch up again later."

Kim watched Adrien scurry back down the hallway. "Did he think we were-?"

"Dating?" Alix scowled, hands on her hips shifting the line of her suit jacket out of place. "Yeah, probably."

"Gross." Kim chided, watching her reaction carefully. He still wasn't entirely sure what was up with her lately. He had backtracked her actions through the museum even today, but he still hadn't had much luck. Unfortunately, that meant he'd have to stay after – and figure out some excuse for him to do so that wouldn't make her suspicious.

"Hah!" Alix sneered, her lips quirking in satisfaction as she stalked back towards the museum entrance. "This from the man who literally eats with his mouth open."

"I had a cold." He groused, right on her heels. "How else was I supposed to breathe?"

She snorted. "Clearly, you weren't."

Jalil was pleased. "Did you see?"

"The news?" Adrien asked, dropping his bag down beside the chair, carefully setting it down on the floor. "I did. Did you figure out how to incorporate them into the exhibit?"

"Madame Lahiffe had a number of ideas, thankfully." Jalil grinned, sitting against his desk. "Interview with the returned hero for sure. She's gotten ahold of some of the old battle footage from the news, including some clips that never made it to air."

"Nice." Adrien agreed, pleased that Alya had managed to appease Jalil at least. He'd needed the break from the brunt of his worries, and he definitely owed her now.

"Isn't it?" Jalil preened. "And imagine, if Ladybug were to return as well."

Adrien inhaled deeply. He'd spent half his lifetime imagining just that very thing. "That would be Miraculous."

After wading back through the trial that was customs, Marinette picked up her bags inside baggage claim.

She still wasn't entirely sure that she was ready to do this. But she didn't know who else she could turn to. Who else she might be able to trust with this secret that had been ruling her life for so long.

What little sleep she had gotten on the plane left her prone to nightmares. What if it really wasn't her Chat Noir? What if he had moved on, just like everyone else in her life?

She'd woken up, jarred and sober, but even more resolute. Even if she didn't have Chat Noir at her side, she would do her darnedest to bring Tikki back. Clearly it was possible.

And this Chat Noir somehow held the secret in his claws.

She and Alya had grown apart, mostly because of the physical distance her lack of aging had required. But it was normal, too, as people sometimes do when career and kids and tempers and friends moving away all hit at once.

Alya never really seemed to blame her, but she never really understood why she had to.

But maybe it was time.

Alya had pulled her into a fierce hug where she met her on the curb. "I swear, Marinette."

"Hmm?" She pulled back, far happier to see Alya in person than she'd had a right to be.

"What crazy overpriced product are you using?" Alya patted her face. "It's been at least a decade since we saw each other last in person and you hardly look a day older."

Marinette hefted her bag into the trunk, a rueful smile on her face. "I'll save the beauty secrets for when we're not in a public place."

Alya lifted a brow. "Maybe we should go back to your hotel, then."

Marinette had stared out the window, the weight of the exhaustion from her mad dash across the globe was finally catching up with her.

Alya was going to be mad. She was certain of it.

And she had every right to be.

"Because I am Ladybug."

Alya gaped, if she hadn't already been sitting down – at Marinette's insistence – she might have fallen over.

Marinette tapped the earrings. "I don't know if you remember these, but I've been wearing them almost as long as I've known you."

Alya grimaced. Mostly she punched her in the shoulder because she'd missed hanging out with her best friend all these years. And because she missed all the signs of her own best friend being the superheroine she'd so admired.

But as frustrated as she was, she also understood why Marinette couldn't say anything. Alya understood all too well the need for the secrecy, especially after her own failed attempt when she'd been turned into Lady Wifi.

The little mysteries had come together, the disappearances, how tired Marinette had been all the time. All of it had tied together seamlessly in her memories.

"I don't get it?"

Marinette winced, looking up at her with veiled eyes. "Get what?"

Alya crossed her arms. "Why it makes perfect sense now. I might not remember everything, but no one was paying closer attention than I was. Even the timing makes sense, so why couldn't I make sense of it then."

Marinette sighed. "Well, that was probably thanks to Tikki…"

Alya arched a brow, leaning a bit closer to urge her friend on. "Tikki?"

"My Kwami," Marinette confirmed, her fingers drifting absently up to her earlobes. "She was the being that gave me my powers. When I would transform, she would be pulled into my earrings."

"But you can't transform?"

"Not since that day…"

Alya nodded, her lips pressing into a thin line. She knew that Chat Noir, Hawkmoth, and everything else disappeared that day, and she never really understood why. It was really disheartening, doing so much for so long and then having it all abruptly end.

It had to be all that much worse for Marinette. To have had that freedom and power - all to lose it so suddenly.

Blinking, she realized that Marinette had gone quiet, bracing against the dislike, against the anger that she'd clearly been expecting. That she clearly thought she deserved.

Alya sighed, softly punching her in the shoulder.

Stunned, blue eyes gazed up at her. "What?"

"I understand all that, girl." Alya dropped her hand on Marinette's shoulder. "To be honest, it makes a lot of sense, especially considering how often you ran off. But all that secrecy has meant that I've missed hanging out with my best friend all these years. After Nino, of course."

Marinette's shoulders fell, exhaling in obvious relief.

Alya hugged her. "When I think about everything that you've missed out on. How much I would have loved to have you here to be around Zoe for longer."

Marinette frowned. "I know. But with Chat Noir gone, too…"

"You didn't know where he had gone?" Alya blanched, trailing off. "I thought for sure…"

"I didn't even know what had happened to me. I ended up at the hospital with a bunch of other injured people." Marinette tugged her shorter locks behind her ear. "They must have thought I was just walking by. And honestly, I couldn't remember the energy blast that knocked us all back. I was never even sure if it was an Akuma, or Hawkmoth, or the Guardian. I remember Hawkmoth was there himself, which itself was unusual."

Alya blanched. "Woah." Adrien had never mentioned any of that.

Marinette shook her head, slumping back in her chair. "It all just happened really fast, you know? I thought we had gotten the Akuma down, but then Hawkmoth seemed to be there, advancing on Chat Noir. I wasn't even sure if I had gotten the Lucky Charm launched. With what little I could piece together after, there was too much that was uncertain."

Alya nodded. "And then you couldn't transform."

"Yeah." Marinette's face fell. Her eyes were dull and lifeless, as her fingers lingered over the earrings. "The thing that gave me my powers, she's been trapped in the earrings since that day."

Frowning, Alya tapped her fingers on the chair arm, if she'd still had any lingering doubts from her own reporting instincts, Marinette's words just dispelled them. "Chat Noir said the same thing, you know?"

"He did?" Marinette perked up, standing up from the chair to pace the small room. "So, it really is him?"

Alya smiled softly. "As best as I could tell, yes."

Her friend looked near to tears, but joyful ones this time. "Puns and all?"

Alya leveled a deadpan stare. "That was basically my first clue."

Marinette giggled, blowing a puff of air out of her cheeks as she let herself flop back onto the bed. "I'm glad. It was like losing my other best friend. One I could never really share with the rest of the world. And when he was gone, but I couldn't even tell anyone I lost him."

Alya set herself down on the bed beside her. "It's a good thing he seems to be willing to patrol a bit then."

"He didn't reach out to you?"

Alya flinched. "Well, he did come to me for the exclusive…"

Stifling another yawn, Marinette smiled. "I told you that you did a lot for us. I know I never really forgot."

"Neither did I." Alya ruffled her hair, affectionately. "Coincidentally, you're in luck, girl. Working on this project for…well for you, I guess."

Marinette chuckled, her eyes half lidded but stayed as focused as she could.

"Anyways, I've run into a really good researcher who is familiar with the Miraculous himself."

"Oh?" Marinette's eyebrows rose, as she sat back up. "Did he help Chat Noir?"

Alya grinned, arms crossed in front of her chest. "Well…not exactly. But I really think you ought to meet him."

Marinette nodded.

"Tomorrow, though." Alya stood, gathering her friend's shoulder into a half hug. "You need to catch up on sleep."

Marinette smirked. "Okay, Mom."

"Just for that, you're going to bed without supper, young lady." Alya grinned, booping her on the nose. "You forget just how much Mom practice I've had.

Marinette snickered, toeing her shoes off her feet. "It's really good to see you, Alya."

Alya winked, pulling the door mostly closed behind her. "It's good to see you, too."