'Sup? Yeah, I really think my updating will be all over the place for the foreseeable future. I'll always try and update for at least once a week, so you don't have to worry about large gaps between updating. It's just the popularity of my other story exploded waaaay more than I was expecting so I wanna make sure I update that story too, and I'm in my final weeks of university now so yeeaahhh…that's terrifying. Gotta get myself a job, finish my last assignment and sort graduation stuff out…help…me…

Mental breakdowns aside, once again I can't thank you enough for supporting this story. Whether through reviewing, favouriting, following or simply just reading every chapter. It's what makes me keep writing.

Chapter Twenty-One: My Lady, My Princess

No.

No.

No.

No.

No no no no no no no.

He…he had been right. He had been right all along! Marinette…Marinette Dupain-Cheng…the sweet clumsy girl who sat behind him in class…his princess was…his lady! Despite his suspicions these past few weeks, the confirmation could still not have come as more of a shock. Adrien didn't know what to do…he didn't know how to feel. All he could do was continually pace his room, practically burning holes in his floor as he did so. He had been at this for hours now. It was nearly midnight and he should be getting some sleep but, how could he? How could he even attempt to sleep now that he knew the truth? The truth. He didn't know how to handle it. Over and over again he replayed the memory, as if his mind was a damaged record player, of the moment he saw his lady transform into Marinette.

The bump on her head…the scarf…all of it had just sent his suspicions on high alert again. It was the exact same bump he had seen on Marinette's head in the library that day. The scarf Ladybug had made him was made out of the exact same wool that Marinette had shown him when they had bumped into each other while she was shopping. All of those coincidences were eating away at him. His mind had never been such a swirling mess. Everything was just too uncanny, and it was eating away at him.

Without thinking, he had just begun following her. It was like his body was on autopilot. Half of his mind had been screaming him, demanding to know what he was doing. It was an invasion of Ladybug's privacy and disrespected the rules that Ladybug had carefully put in place for both of their safety. Yet, on the other hand, his mind had to know. In that moment, it was like he had been trying, and failing, to resist the urge to open Pandora's box. Now the box was open, leaving nothing but chaos. His heart had almost stopped in his chest when he saw Ladybug land on Marinette's balcony. It felt so wrong watching her like that, but if he was already onto her secret, was simply confirming his suspicions such a terrible thing? In a burst of pink light, Marinette then stood where Ladybug had been, and he could just about make out a little red kwami flying around her.

Adrien tightly gripped the scarf he still carried in his hands at the memory. Everything felt so surreal that Adrien was beginning to wonder if he was dreaming. He was so stupid! His true love had been so close to him all along and it had taken him so long to notice! All this time, his lady was sat behind him in class, hanging out with him, shared his friends, Alya and…oh god! He had tried to set up the love of his life with his best friend that one time! Adrien nearly tore his hair out at that thought. An unpleasant sensation bubbled in his chest at the memory of Marinette and Nino together at the zoo, him coaching Nino on how to ask her out…how could he have been so stupid?! Marinette was his and he had just nearly palmed her off onto his best friend!

Wait…

Marinette was his. Man, he really needed to try and calm down. He wasn't even sure how he felt about Marinette. She was so different from his lady and totally not the person he expected Ladybug to be under her mask. Ladybug was so confident, so graceful and fluid in her movements while Marinette…shy, quiet Marinette who could barely string a sentence together most of the time and always somehow managed to trip over, even though there would be nothing there. But yet, at the same time, they were also so similar. Aside from similar appearances, they were both stubborn, sweet and kind with a fierce determination to do the right thing and fight for what they believed in.

How could he not have spotted this sooner? How could he have been so stupid?!

"Plagg…" Adrien found himself calling out as he froze on the spot, his eyes wide and unblinking while his hands were glued into his hair, gripping the golden strands tightly like a lifeline.

His kwami was no help though. Why did Adrien even expect otherwise? Instead of replying, Plagg merely burst out into loud roars of laughter which only succeeded in making Adrien feel even worse.

"You – should –" Plagg managed to gasp out between bouts of uncontrollable laughter, "See – your – face!"

Before Adrien had time to react, his phone hovered in front of his face before the blinding flash of the camera on his phone caused him to flinch back slightly. Plagg continued to giggle from behind Adrien's phone, struggling to keep a grip on it before he turned around and attempted to show Adrien the photo. Adrien looked away though, embarrassed and annoyed. He was glad his kwami found this whole thing amusing.

"I just had to snap a picture." Plagg's laughter had calmed down some, but giggles still escaped his mouth every time he gazed at Adrien or the phone he was still holding. "This moment is just too priceless."

"I'm glad you think this is funny." Adrien grumbled before speaking up and snatching his phone off the chuckling black kwami. "And give me my phone back! How did you even get into it anyway?"

Plagg rolled his eyes. "Oh please, your password is more than obvious."

Adrien's cheeks turned pink, refusing to comment on that, while making a mental note that he needed to change it, lest his mischievous annoying kwami get his filthy paws on it again.

"I've just come across the biggest discovery of my life and all you can do is laugh and make jokes." Adrien frowned at his companion.

"Came across?" Plagg repeated, astonished, "You followed her!"

"I had to!" Adrien explained, growing more and more frantic. "It only confirmed what I practically already knew."

"Ladybug's going to kill you," Plagg sang before laughing, "Or should I say, Marinette."

Adrien gulped. Plagg was right.

"The love of your life was so close to you the entire time and you never even noticed." Plagg continued to tease.

"Yes, thank you, Plagg, I'm well aware." Adrien muttered in frustration before he began pacing again. Okay, Adrien, stay calm, he chanted to himself. Ladybug had been sitting behind him at school this whole time, that was no big deal. Oh, who was he kidding? This was a massive, huge, humongous deal! How long had he been waiting for this day? To find out who his lady really was behind her mask? To get to know the real her? He just didn't realise that he technically did know the real her.

"I can't believe it," Adrien whispered, "Cute, sweet, amazing Marinette…is Ladybug."

"I think someone's in loooovvveee." Plagg began making kissing noises.

"Am not!" Adrien quickly retorted before he froze. The times he had spent spying on her both as Adrien and Chat Noir, getting to know her, tutoring her…he had found himself growing relatively attached to her. He had always viewed her as a great friend, one of the first friends he had made when he first started school. But lately, he was starting to see her for the lovely, kind-hearted girl she really was. He found himself drawn to her for reasons he was unable to explain…until now. He had been worried that this weird attraction towards her was just because he suspected she was Ladybug. So he did his best to back off a little bit, feeling guilty and unsure. But now, looking back…the thought of Marinette sent his heart racing and his mind became utterly and completely consumed by her. It had startled him when he had that dream of him referring to Ladybug as Marinette while under the spell of Dreamscape. He really liked Marinette…a lot, and he loved Ladybug. Adrien was beginning to feel…lucky. He was extremely lucky; he could have his cake and eat it. Marinette was so beautiful and sweet, kind, loving, talented…oh god…

"I'm in love with Marinette." Adrien whispered, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips. "I'm in love with Marinette!"

"Hallelujah! He realises at last." Plagg rolled his eyes before he began nibbling on a block of cheese.

However, Adrien barely registered what Plagg had said. Instead, he couldn't get the thought of Marinette out of his head. His lady, his princess. They were one in the same and oh, how he loved her for it. His heart skipped a beat in his chest before picking back up, this time beating more rapidly, swelling up in his chest until it felt like it was about to burst. Butterflies fluttered around his stomach, sending a pleasurable tingle up his back causing him to shudder slightly. He felt like he was floating amongst the clouds, weightless and so happy he felt like he might continue floating up into space. Marinette's beautiful face appeared before him, smiling at him, laughing with him as they floated through the clouds together.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Plagg's question sent Adrien crashing back down to reality with a painful bump.

"Oh, I…" Adrien rubbed the back of his head. "I…don't know."

Plagg facepalmed.

"I'll think of something though." Adrien quickly reassured his kwami, though internally, he was panicking like mad. What was he going to do now? Just because he had found out the truth didn't mean he was out of the woods yet. It didn't mean that him and Marinette were now going to run into the sunset together, holding hands and gazing lovingly into each other's eyes – as much as Adrien wanted that to happen. This was going to take some careful planning and consideration. He knew that she was Ladybug. But he also knew that she didn't know that he knew.

At those confusing and panicked thoughts, Adrien found himself collapsing onto his bed, subconsciously reaching out to grip the beautiful green scarf she had made from him. He brought it to his nose and sniffed. It smelt just like her: sweet like strawberries but also the faint scent of freshly baked bread. It sent a shiver throughout his entire body. She smelled so delectable. Adrien had to shake his head in order to force himself to focus again. Should he tell Marinette that he knew? How would he do that? Should he expose his own identity too? Uh, Plagg was right. Marinette was going to kill him. Especially if he just straight up told her the truth. Hey Marinette, I was beginning to suspect you were Ladybug, so I followed you and watched you transform and oh yeah, I'm Chat Noir by the way. Adrien scowled; that definitely wouldn't go down well. He would be a dead kitty if he did that. So what was the best way forward? Act natural and pretend nothing happened? He knew he couldn't do that either. Adrien groaned as he struggled to focus on forming a plan. All he wanted to do right now was head over to Marinette's place and kiss her senseless.

That's when a horrible thought came crashing down in Adrien, burying him and pinning him to his bed like a heavy pile of rubble. The weight of the reality of this thought felt like it would crush him to death. He was pretty sure Marinette didn't even like him that much. No romantic runs into the sunset then. That thought made Adrien whimper and curl up into a tight ball. What else would explain why Marinette could never talk to him properly? Had she never forgiven him for the chewing gum incident? Had she not believed him when he explained he was only trying to remove it and that it wasn't him that had placed it there?

Adrien gasped and clutched his chest as another horrifying thought hit him. Marinette liked someone else. Someone that was not him. That unpleasant feeling bubbled in Adrien's chest again at the thought of Marinette having eyes for someone else. The rage he felt scared him slightly and that's when he tried to force himself to calm down. He needed to know who this person was. What if he was horrible and wouldn't treat Marinette with all of the respect and love that she deserved. He had to know.

Without pausing to think about things properly, Adrien grabbed his phone and immediately brought up his list of contacts. After finding who he wanted to talk to, Adrien pressed the phone to his ear, gripping it tightly to a point where it felt like the phone would break under the pressure of his hand that was beginning to tremble slightly as he waited for him to answer. It took a while, but he finally answered.

"Hello?" Nino's groggy voice croaked from the other side of the line.

"Nino! It's Adrien!" Adrien gasped out.

"Yeah, I know," Nino grumbled, "It's nearly one o'clock in the morning, why are you calling?"

"Marinette likes someone and I…" Adrien paused as he realised how crazy he was sounding. He cleared his throat and began trying to talk more casually. "And, y'know, I was just wondering who it was? Since you're going out with her best friend, I figured you would have all the gossip."

Nino was quiet for a few minutes.

"You called me at this time…to ask me that? Dude…"

"I just…" Adrien pinched the bridge of his nose. "I need to know."

Again, Nino remained quiet for a few minutes.

"Look, dude, I don't know what you're talking about."

This made Adrien frown. Nino was a really bad liar. He always had been. What was the big deal with Marinette's crush that his own best friend felt the need to hide it from him? Adrien knew that Nino knew. So, why was he hiding it? Were Adrien's worst fears about to be confirmed? Was it someone horrible?

"Don't lie to me, Nino." Adrien demanded, growing even more frustrated and panicky.

"I'm not lying, bro!"

"Yes you are!"

Nino paused for a moment again. "Wait, why do you want to know anyway?" His voice was heavy with suspicion.

Adrien could feel his face turning bright red despite no one being present. Words got caught in his throat as Nino waited patiently for his answer, not saying a word. Oh great, he'd landed himself in it now. How was he going to explain himself out of this one? He had just called Nino without thinking, panicking over who Marinette had a crush on. Now he was deeply regretting it. His embarrassment wasn't helped by the sound of Plagg sniggering from his little corner in Adrien's room. Adrien shot his kwami a glare before he went back to desperately coming up with an excuse.

"I-I-I just…" Adrien stuttered like a moron. "I was just curious…in case this person is – errr – being horrible to Marinette. She seems to be on edge a lot lately."

"Yeah, you like her, don't you?" Nino replied without missing a beat. At this new information, Nino instantly sounded more awake and alert.

"What? No!" Adrien tried to protest, his face growing hotter and hotter.

"Uh-huh." Nino chuckled. "So when did this happen? I thought you were never gunna realise your feelings, dude."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Adrien continued to stubbornly lie.

"Oh come on, we all see the way you look at her."

"You do?" Adrien nearly began choking.

"Yeah, it's obvious, man."

Adrien gulped before looking down in sadness and shame. "Okay, so maybe I do have a slight crush on her. But I heard that she likes someone and I'm worried that I'm going to come in between something. If Marinette wants to be with someone else…I don't wanna come in between that."

Nino sighed and chuckled lightly before replying, "I wouldn't worry about that, dude."

"What do you mean? I don't understand."

"Just go for it, Adrien."

"But she likes someone!"

"Like I said, don't worry about it."

"You are making no sense!" Adrien gasped out in frustration. "Who is it that Marinette likes?"

Nino groaned. "It's not my secret to tell. But seriously, don't worry about it. Just talk to Marinette, ask her out and you'll see."

Adrien let out a small cry of annoyance. "I think your mind is still clouded with sleep."

Nino chuckled. "Maybe. You admitting your feelings for Mari; it does feel like a dream."

Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Look, just don't worry about it. Talk to Marinette tomorrow; ask her out. I'll see you tomorrow." Nino explained before he hung up.

Adrien pulled his phone away from his ear and stared down at it in a state of confusion and annoyance. "Thanks for nothing!" He shouted down at it before tossing his phone onto his bed. All the while Plagg could not stop cackling at him.

"I'm glad you think it's funny." Adrien pouted, burying his head under his pillow.

"I don't think it's funny." Plagg joked. "I think it's hilarious."

Adrien groaned.

"Out of all the black cat miraculous holders I've had, you're definitely the funniest by far."

"Gee, thanks." Adrien mumbled, his voice muffled by the pillow he had clutched tightly over his head. Plagg chuckled again, but otherwise remained silent, happily eating his camembert. Adrien pulled his pillow tighter over his head, pressing his face into his sheets, suffocating himself. What did Nino mean by everything he had said? His best friend seemed to think it was a good idea to just straight up ask Marinette out, but why? If Marinette had a crush on someone, how could that result in success for Adrien? Was all this one big elaborate prank on Nino's part? To get his hopes up and ask Marinette out, only to get rejected? No. Nino wouldn't do that, and Adrien felt guilty for even slightly entertaining the idea in the first place.

He couldn't just straight up ask Marinette out. It would be too out of the blue, too weird and he would likely get rejected because of this crush that she had on someone else. Plus, there was the issue as to whether or not she even liked him in the first place. He needed to get to know her better and allow her to get to know him. Then maybe, Adrien hoped, this crush she had on someone else would fade and she would fall in love with him just as much as he loved her. He needed her to get to know both sides of him, both as Chat and as Adrien so when the time came for him to tell her the truth, she would be more accepting of the idea. Maybe he could drop hints as Chat and she could figure it out for herself like he had done. That way, no one had to get hurt.

This plan was starting to sound more and more tempting to Adrien. It seemed almost fool proof. He would tell her the truth…one day. But until then, they could get to know each other better, both in and out of the costume and accept both sides of each other. Then it would come as less of a surprise and shock to Marinette when everything was revealed and maybe, just maybe, she'd spare his life. Then they could be together forever.

Adrien smiled as his plan came together in his mind. This was the best way forward for everyone involved. Now that he knew who Ladybug was, he could keep an eye on her and protect her better, especially with all of this strange stuff that seemed to be happening to her lately. He should start visiting her during the night again, just to make sure that no one was around and invading her dreams. Those thoughts caused Adrien to frown and pull himself out from under his pillow. Someone was out there, and they were after his lady. The weight of the conversation he had with Ladybug earlier finally began to properly sink in. He wanted to smack himself. He had been so distracted with his discovery of Ladybug's true identity that he had put her wellbeing aside. That very thought was like stab to the stomach. Okay, it was definitely a good thing he knew her true identity. He could keep an eye on her during the day as Adrien and keep an eye on her at night as Chat Noir.

With a gasp at the thought of Marinette being all alone right now, unprotected, vulnerable, Adrien bolted upright and began heading towards his window, his hand twitching, ready to summon Plagg to transform him.

"I know what you're thinking and no." Plagg warned from the other side of his room.

"What?"

"You're thinking of going to see Marinette, aren't you?" Plagg glared at him, starting to morph into his very rare serious mood.

"I need to make sure she's okay…the peacock miraculous…" Adrien's desperate begging was cut off by his kwami.

"Marinette will be fine without you for tonight." Plagg explained. "She has her own kwami to keep an eye on her, remember? Tikki is more than capable of looking after her. Besides…I don't think it is the peacock miraculous that's doing this…"

"Well, what else can it be?" Adrien demanded.

Plagg sighed, "I know, what Ladybug described does sound like the act of the peacock miraculous holder but there's one important detail which disproves that theory."

"And what's that?"

"The fact that Marinette is waking up with injuries she's receiving in her dreams." Plagg looked deep in thought. "Kid, I don't think Marinette is really dreaming at all."

Adrien frowned in confusion and horror. "What do you mean?"

"Of course Marinette is laying there asleep, but what she's experiencing can't be dreams. Sure, like Ladybug said her kwami suggested to her, it could be a bad omen as any hint of imbalance between Chat Noir and Ladybug is a bad sign, but if that was truly the case, then you'd be having those dreams too." Plagg explained. "The only time you did was when you were under the spell of Dreamscape which is what makes me wonder…perhaps you and Ladybug shared a consciousness during that experience."

"So…our minds merged or something?"

"In a way. The chosen Ladybug and Chat Noir are always interlinked spiritually. Dreamscape's magic must have seen this and seen your similar desires and that's what made you share the same dream. I think the fact that you were harming each other is an incredibly bad omen just like last time, only I think there's a lot more to this one." Plagg looked incredibly worried which made Adrien panic even more. Plagg never ever showed his more serious and worried side. He was always so carefree. So this must be something serious if it had even Plagg on edge.

"But I wouldn't – no – couldn't ever harm Ladybug!" Adrien spoke those words as if they were the most vile, putrid taste that he had ever had in his mouth.

"You say that now." Plagg mumbled low enough that Adrien didn't hear.

"And what to do you mean by there being more to it than last time?" Adrien asked, his eyes wide with fear.

"I think someone is communicating these omens to Marinette." Plagg stated, frowning in concentration.

"Like, telepathically?"

"Perhaps." Plagg replied "That's why Marinette maintains injuries. It's because she's experiencing something that's very real. Someone, somewhere, is reaching out to her and putting her on an existing plain to show her these visions. It happened to her during your battle with Dreamscape; you got caught up in it. That's the best way I can try and describe it."

Adrien frowned. "I think I get it."

"If it was the peacock miraculous, Marinette wouldn't be receiving these injuries. The peacock miraculous, although they could convince you that you have an injury, it would all be in your mind. No one else would be able to see it." Plagg slowly took a bite out of his camembert and began staring into space while Adrien stood in the middle of his room, frozen in shock.

"I never knew you could be so clever and serious." Adrien whispered, looking at his kwami in a whole new light.

"I have my moments." Plagg shrugged before taking a huge bite of cheese, chewing loudly. "But I could be wrong," He continued, his voice muffled by his mouthful of camembert, "Run it by Ladybug. Her kwami should be able to hear and then maybe she can better help Ladybug."

Adrien nodded once, "I will." Anything that might help Marinette, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

Starting to feel sleepy, Adrien headed back over to his bed, though despite his tired state, he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep. Too many thoughts and fears were whirling around in his head, pounding against the inside of his skull, begging for attention. Each one battled to be at the forefront of his mind to the point where it was making Adrien dizzy. Hoping to calm himself down, Adrien brought the green scarf up to his nose again and sniffed, breathing in Marinette's scent and instantly he felt his nerves beginning to relax. He'd see her again tomorrow. He could make sure she was okay and set his plan into motion.

Relaxing even more, Adrien ran his fingers over the soft wool before he frowned when he noticed that there was something about this scarf that seemed familiar. That's when Adrien pulled the scarf away from his face to get a better look at it. That design…it was so similar to…

Leaping out of bed, Adrien darted over to his closet and opened it before rifling through his clothes until he found what he was looking for. The blue scarf was tied loosely around a hanger towards the back of his closet and Adrien instantly grabbed it, pulling it out and holding it next to the green one Ladybug had given him. They were almost identical in design and style. Adrien knew that Marinette was a fan of his father but not to the extent in which she could almost perfectly replicate one of his designs. Letting the blue scarf hang more loosely in his hand, a new colour on the back suddenly caught his attention; a detail he'd never noticed before. Flipping the scarf over, he noticed a small signature stitched onto the bottom of the scarf.

Marinette.

Marinette? Marinette! Marinette always signed her work so did that mean…Marinette had designed his blue scarf? But Nathalie said that…what…how? Adrien's mind went back to the day of his fourteenth birthday. He didn't remember seeing Marinette much that day apart from…at the front of school when she had tried to talk to him. Of course! She had a present in her hand that moment; Adrien had never truly realised until now. This was supposed to have been a gift from Marinette! And yet…right to her face, he said it had been from his father. Why didn't she correct him?

With a small smile, Adrien clutched both scarves to his chest before wrapping them both around his neck. Plagg shot him a strange look which Adrien ignored. With a dreamy sigh, Adrien walked back over to his bed and climbed in. If Marinette had made this especially for him for his birthday then surely that meant she must like him at least a little. Maybe she didn't really hate him that much after all. Did this mean he was in with a chance? The thought gave him some hope at least. Burying his nose in the scarves, not caring how hot he was beginning to feel in them, Adrien slowly drifted to sleep, a peaceful and hopeful smile on his face.

A more Adrien focused chapter for you guys. Think I'll give a shout out in the next chapter to anyone who manages to correctly guess what Adrien's password was, lol. Feel free to let me know what you think in a review as it's always more than helpful and inspires me to keep going. See you soon! Hope you all have a lovely week.