Caline Bustier knew her class better than she let on. She made a point of it, and she tried to use her knowledge to do what she thought was best for their growth.
For instance, she knew that Juleka and Rose were practically inseparable, so sometimes she made them work with other people just so they'd learn how. Chloe, on the other hand, was vulnerable underneath her spoiled brat exterior. Separating her from Sabrina and putting her with people who didn't like her just served to harden that exterior. She knew that Ivan and Kim didn't get along well, so if she did put them in the same group, it was important to put a mediator in as well, like Max or Marinette.
She knew Alya sometimes needed someone to temper and focus her enthusiasm, that Nino had trouble concentrating without background music, that Alix was motivated by competition, that Mylène was both more anxious and braver than she appeared, that Adrien took everything at face value, and that Nathaniel hid a temper beneath his shyness.
Then there were the things she suspected, which mostly had to do with who had a crush on whom, and this was the stuff she secretly lived for. Currently, she suspected that Max had a crush on Kim who had a crush on Alix. She knew that Nathaniel still held a place in his heart for Marinette, but she suspected that he and his writer friend from the class next door might be dating. She knew that Juleka and Rose were going out, but she suspected they might not be doing so exclusively. She knew that Marinette had a painfully obvious crush on Adrien, and she suspected that Adrien had recently begun to fall for Marinette.
Which was why she had to bite back a small squee of delight at the scene that unfolded before her that morning.
Marinette was late again, which was normal, but something was amiss. Mlle Bustier had heard Marinette's name whispered more than once, in conjunction with Adrien's. Adrien was already there, looking paler and messier than usual, seemingly unaware of the sidelong glances his classmates kept throwing him. Nino and Alya were chatting with him, although their chatter seemed a touch strained, and Adrien was nodding along politely. Occasionally one of them would ask something along the lines of "are you sure you're better?" and he'd roll his eyes and laugh it off.
Mlle Bustier frowned. Having been one of the first victims, she hadn't witnessed most of the akuma fight yesterday, and she hadn't had this class in the afternoon. But she had watched the footage that evening, and winced in sympathy when Lady Wifi had exposed Marinette's crush on Adrien and then proceeded to lock them in the closet together. She hoped things wouldn't be too awkward between the two teens. If Marinette turned up at all, that is.
She sighed and cleared her throat. She had work to do.
"I hope you all have your signed permission slips for the class trip," she said to the class at large. "Max, could you collect them for me please?"
There was a reluctant flurry of activity as students moved back to their designated seats and rummaged in their bags, handing the slips of paper to Max.
Adrien raised his hand. "I've left my bag in my locker," he said. "Can I go get it?"
Mlle Bustier nodded and Adrien got up to leave the classroom. He was halfway to the door when it banged open and Marinette careened into him. They bounced comically off each other and fell backwards onto the floor.
"Ow!" they both cried, sitting up and rubbing chins and foreheads. Then they saw each other and froze.
It looked for all the world like they were meeting for the first time, falling in love at first sight. Like something in a romance movie. The silence between them spread to the rest of the class, whose attention had been drawn by the commotion. Everyone's eyes flickered between Marinette's face and Adrien's, taking in the sudden similarities in their expressions: the same shy blush, the same sweet awe in their eyes, the same tension and uncertainty and want in their postures. The class held its collective breath, and it occurred to Mlle Bustier that perhaps she ought to take pity on them and break it, but something about the way they were looking at each other made her hesitate: they weren't embarassed. They were mesmerized.
Adrien moved first, pulling himself back up slowly, his gaze still locked on Marinette's. Once he was more or less upright, he held out a hand to help her up, and a tiny, hopeful smile graced the corner of his mouth as he waited for her reaction.
His smile echoed on her face as she reached up hesitantly to accept his hand, and when she was finally standing next to him, and they were still staring and smiling and blushing at each other, their hands dropped, still holding each other, and their fingers intertwined tightly, unmistakeably.
The class exploded. Whoops and cheers and whistles erupted from around the room, making the new couple jump and blush even harder, subconsciously moving closer to each other as they realized they were the center of attention. Alya was on them in seconds, hugging them both and screaming, soon to be joined by Nino and Rose, while the rest of the class jumped and shouted and hugged each other. Chloe's outraged screeches were drowned out by the general pandemonium, with Sabrina trying to calm her down, although she was unable to keep the smile off her face as she glanced at them.
Mlle Bustier, ever aware of the risk of an akuma around events like this one, noted Nathaniel's sad smile and Lila's pout. Nobody seemed devastated, though – she knew Chloe had a tendency to overdramatize, and she suspected her current reaction was more for show than anything else – so finally she called for quiet again and told everyone to go back to their seats.
Adrien had been blushing furiously into his hands for several minutes while Nino teased him relentlessly, before he remembered why he'd gotten up in the first place and had to ask Mlle Bustier for permission to leave again.
Mlle Bustier toned her grin down to a benevolent smile. "Try not to start a riot this time," she said. She had to bite back a laugh as he nodded and ran from the classroom, red-faced but beaming.
Tikki phased into Adrien's satchel and poked Plagg awake. "How are you feeling?" she whispered.
Plagg scowled. "I was dreaming of cheese," he complained. "Why did you wake me?"
"I was worried!"
"Well, there's no need. Your Lucky Charm healed me. Nice touch, by the way, making it a slice of camembert."
Tikki rolled her eyes. "I thought of you and that's what came out. I still can't believe it worked."
Plagg raised one whiskered eyebrow. "Was it not supposed to work?"
"Well, we've never done that before, have we?" she said. "It was a theory they found in the Guardian book."
"The Guardians who wrote that thing knew what they were doing," Plagg said, yawning. "Your kid's clever, I knew she'd find a way to heal me somehow. And with minimal damage this time!"
It was Tikki's turn to scowl. "That doesn't mean you can stuff your face with cheese and hope for the best! This can't happen again, Plagg!"
Plagg raised his paws appeasingly. "Okay, okay, Sugarcube, I'll be more careful. But for your information, I didn't stuff my face with cheese. Adrien had ordered me a rare one, and apparently it didn't agree with me."
Tikki shook her head. "They revealed their identities to each other because of this. I hope nothing bad will come of it."
"What do you mean, isn't this great? They can be together now!" Plagg nudged Tikki with his paw. "Don't tell me you're not happy for them because I won't believe you."
Tikki smiled begrudgingly. Their charges were adorable. She still got that warm fuzzy feeling in her heart when she remembered their last kiss the night before; Adrien finally transformed back into Chat Noir and clinging to Marinette like a lifeline, Marinette in her pyjamas with her hands reverently cupping Chat Noir's cheeks like she'd found hidden treasure. Their eyes shining happily in the darkness, smiles and hushed voices not wanting it to end, even though they'd be seeing each other again in just a few hours.
Tikki had had to intervene eventually, shooing Chat Noir off the balcony and Marinette down to her bed. Marinette had whisper-squealed into her pillow for a good ten minutes before finally relaxing enough to lie still, and even then, Tikki doubted she'd really slept.
"Wan' shom cheej?" Plagg's question cut through her reminiscing. He had opened a box of camembert and was offering her some.
Tikki made a face. "Thanks, Stinky, but I think I'll go back to my macarons," she said.
"C'mon, stay with me!" said Plagg. "I was dormant for two days. Tell me what happened while I was sick!"
"Adrien didn't tell you?"
"Sort of. Between the yells and the hugs, I didn't really catch much of it."
Tikki smiled. "Well, you missed two akumas," she began. "One of them..."
The fire alarm went off, and they froze. The bag was jostled as Adrien stood with the rest of his classmates, and Tikki zipped back to her spot in Marinette's handbag as the word "akuma" echoed questioningly amongst the students. Marinette appeared to be busying herself with her school bag, probably stalling so she could transform once the class was deserted.
"Are they all gone?" she heard Adrien whisper close by.
Marinette giggled. "You're right, this is easier," she said.
"I'm right more often than you think, M'lady."
"Don't call me that when we're out of costume!" Marinette scolded. Tikki poked her head out of the purse in time to see Adrien's smirk – the one he usually reserved for when he was Chat Noir – turn into a pout.
"Fine," he said, before grinning again. "Guess I'll just have to think up new nicknames for you."
Marinette blushed and Adrien's eyes softened as he gazed at her. Tikki cleared her throat, unable to keep the smile off her face.
Marinette jumped. "Oh! Right, the akuma!"
Adrien laughed. "Ready, Plagg?"
Plagg flew out of his bag, threw a slice of camembert into the air and caught it, swallowing it down with one gulp. Both of the teens grimaced.
"Ready!"
"Plagg, claws out!"
"Tikki, spots on!"
The akuma was baby Auguste again. Ladybug was beginning to think that none of the times he'd been akumatized had been intentional on Hawkmoth's part. Now they knew how it was done, trapping and de-evilizing him was easy enough that they didn't even have to use Lucky Charm or Cataclysm, which gave them time to find Auguste's mother and hand him back to her, and for her to treat them to ice cream.
By the time they'd finished and said their goodbyes, it was almost lunch time, and Ladybug was dead on her feet.
"I could sleep for a week," she complained as they wandered hand in hand over the rooftops in the direction of their school. They'd quickly decided not to show that they were together yet, in case someone smart (Alya) made the connection. As soon as they were out of sight on the roofs of Paris, though, they had gravitated towards each other like magnets.
"But then I wouldn't get to see you," whined Chat Noir.
"You'll live," she deadpanned. Knowing it was Adrien under the mask sent the blood to her cheeks whenever he flirted, but Ladybug had been happy to find that it hadn't much affected their banter.
"I won't, M'lady," Chat laid a paw against his forehead and adressed the sky dramatically. "Without you in my life, I would wither and die."
Ladybug snorted. "You'd live because you'd be sleeping too," she said. "I can tell you're not over your cold, Chat Noir. You need even more sleep than me right now."
"Wanna skip with me and sleep all afternoon?" He flashed her a wicked grin, and she gasped.
"Ad- You of all people, skipping school?"
"I like school, but it's got nothing on spending time with you, Bugaboo." He stopped walking as they reached the edge of the roof they were on and stood facing her, pulling her to a stop as well to take her other hand. Part of her melted in the softness of his gaze.
"You have got to stop calling me Bugaboo," she said, smiling even as her nose scrunched up in mock-disgust.
"Never." He grinned. "And get ready because I'm gonna have a whole repertoire of nicknames for your civilian side."
"Nooo," she groaned.
"Oh yes Princess."
"Adrien can't call me Princess, that's your name for Marinette!"
"Chat Noir can't date Marinette, so Adrien gets to call you Princess."
She groaned again.
"C'mon, Princess. Cupcake. Snuggle Muffin."
"You are not calling me Snuggle Muffin," she laughed, poking his chest without letting go of his hand. "Or Cupcake!"
"Why not? They're bakery themed!"
"Exactly," she said.
"Mon p'tit chou à la crème?"
"Urgh," she gagged, and he laughed.
"Fine, no baked goods. How about... ma minette?" he raised an eyebrow under his mask.
"I feel like that's a bit too Chat Noir themed," she said.
He was inching closer now, the laughter and fondness in his eyes slowly giving way to something even warmer.
"Ma belle, ma douce, mon ange," he murmured, as though daring to for the first time."Mon coeur, mon amour, ma chérie." The way her heart beat forward in her chest, as though pulling her towards him, surprised her. These were common terms of endearment, ones she'd heard many couples use. Her parents called each other "mon coeur" all the time. She would never have guessed that hearing them from him could make her cheeks flush and her skin tingle and her breath catch in her throat.
She untangled her fingers from his only to tangle them in his hair instead, pulling him to her for a kiss, but he resisted at the last second, nudging her nose with his and pausing bare millimeters away from her lips. She whined and stood on her tiptoes to chase him, and he let out a low chuckle, teasing her with his breath. He wound his arms around her, closing all the spaces between their bodies. The contact awakened the embers he'd left under her skin the night before. His claws were tiny, tickling pinpricks through the fabric of her suit, and he ran one of them slowly up her spine, igniting soft trails of sparks in their wake. When his hand reached the nape of her neck he dragged his claw gently over the bare skin of her jawline, raising goosebumps on her neck, his thumbnail barely grazing her bottom lip. He was right there and he wouldn't let her get to him. She met his eyes, pleading silently, and saw green fire.
He's driving me crazy, she thought. He's driving us both crazy.
"Chat..." she breathed – and then his mouth was on hers, hot and demanding, like she'd been teasing him and not the other way around. A moan escaped her and he returned it with a one of his own, so low and hungry it was almost a growl. Determined to give him a taste of his own medicine, she caught his lower lip between both of hers and ran the tip of her tongue experimentally along the length of it before pulling away: it worked – his claws grasped her tighter as he chased her lips, exacting revenge until she was putty in his claws.
By the time they pulled apart, gasping for breath, she was dizzy with heat and had no idea what time it was.
"We, should, probably eat something," she panted.
"I could eat you right now," he breathed into her neck, and she bit her lip to silence a breathy moan that would have probably set him off again.
"I mean it, Chat," she said, smiling. "Much as I would love to... keep doing this, our parents are expecting us for lunch."
Chat Noir groaned into her shoulder. "You're right and I hate it."
"Sorry," she giggled. "Would it make you feel better if you ate at my place?"
"I'd love to, but the condition for me going to school today was that I go back home at lunch time to take my medicine," he grumbled. "They're pretty strict when it comes to my health."
He sighed and pulled away from her, catching hold of her hands and pulling them both to his lips.
"I love you," he said, and his smile was warm like the sun. "I still can't believe this is real."
"Me neither," Ladybug replied, with a shy smile of her own. "I've been in love with you for so long, and I didn't even realize you loved me back."
"We're both guilty of that."
It took at least another ten minutes of kisses and sweet nothings for them to tear away from each other. By the time Ladybug detransformed in the park next to her house, there was only half an hour left until they'd see each other at school again.
"You're late," Sabine sing-songed, shaking a finger at her as she handed sandwiches to a customer.
"Sorry, Maman," said Marinette, kissing her mother. "Can I take a couple of the small quiches to go? I'll eat at school so I'm not late for class."
"Sure, honey, help yourself."
"Where's my kiss?" Her father mock-sulked from his place behind the till.
Marinette knew better than to try and squeeze in behind the counter at rush hour, so she blew him a kiss instead. "Love you, Papa."
"I love you too, honey," he said. "By the way, who's the second quiche for? Your boyfriend?"
Marinette blushed and grinned as she bagged the quiches. "Yep," she squeaked, and ran out of the shop, fleeing whoops and cheers from the customers as well as her parents.
She'd have to get used to the embarassment. Alya still felt bad about shutting them in the closet while she was akumatized, but that wouldn't last long, and Marinette had no doubt she'd be as merciless as Nino by tomorrow.
Adrien joined her as she reached the school steps.
"You didn't even eat, did you?" she accused him as they made their way back to class, ignoring the stares and whispers that followed them. News travelled fast, apparently.
"Mn," he answered noncommittally. She held up the pastry bag with a smirk, and his eyes lit up. "I love you so much," he said, grabbing the bag.
"Hey, one of those is for me!"
He grinned, blushing slightly. "Sorry. I just really like your food."
"I know," she said as they finished mounting the steps to their classroom. She eyed the door. "Ready for round two of relentless teasing from our so-called besties?"
"Bring it on," he replied through a mouthful of quiche.
When they entered, though, Alya was whispering to Nino, hunched over her phone. "Guys, get over here!" she hissed excitedly when she saw them. "You won't believe the scoop I just got!"
Marinette glanced at the photo on her phone and paled. Standing on the edge of a rooftop, quite far from the ground but clear as day, were Chat Noir and Ladybug, kissing like their lives depended on it.
"Oh my god," she whispered.
"Right?!" Alya squealed quietly.
"Looks like you two aren't the only ones who started dating recently," Nino teased, nudging Adrien with his elbow.
Adrien said nothing. He looked tense, and Marinette's stomach dropped. If he was panicking, they were screwed.
Nino knew better. "Bro, I know you're holding back a pun. Just say it."
Alya looked up expectantly, and Adrien's eyes flitted to Marinette's, taking in her expression as it went from panic to horror. He bit back a grin.
Don't you dare, she mouthed.
"Cat'souttathebag!"
She was going to kill him, she thought, as Alya's surprised laughter echoed around the room.
"Thanks for the headline," Alya giggled.
"No problem," Adrien replied, winking at Marinette. She rolled her eyes, relaxing. They could handle this.
Together, they could handle anything.