Author's Note:

I do not own any of these characters.

Marinette sat on her bed staring at the miracle egg that she's had in her possession for all of two hours. She would have been in this position sooner, but ice cream with the class, plus Kagami and Luka, was right after everything that had happened.

She took a deep breath, looking at Tikki and Wayzz. "So? How does this work? Do you go back into the miracle... egg, Wayzz? Or are you the kwami that has to stay with the guardian? And if so, what does that mean for Tikki?"

"Generally, I am the one who stays with the guardian so we can shelter the miracle... egg, as you put it. But this is the first time we've had an active Ladybug also be the guardian. It's also discouraged, as you well know, to wear two miraculouses at the same time. So, it's highly unprecedented."

"You do have the option... though I'd rather you didn't... to give the earrings to a new Ladybug and be just the guradian."

"Oh, Tikki! I wouldn't want to do that. You're very important to me. Unless I can't be Ladybug for some reason, I'd want to continue being Ladybug."

"For the safety of the miracle egg, then you need to wear the bracelet also. Just having it on you isn't enough."

"Can I wear it somewhere other than my wrist? I'm afraid Alya and Nino would recognize it if I wear it on my wrist."

"Unfortunately not. Master Fu tried to put it on his ankle once... to hide it better. The transformation did not take."

"What about wearing a jacket with longer sleeves?"

"Or maybe... I could wear another wrist band over it?"

"Neither of those will work. If something blocks me from getting into the miraculous, it becomes part of the transformation and messes with the powers."

"So, my choices are to chance it and leave you in the miracle egg... or risk my identity being discovered because I picked holders that knew me in my civilian life. Right?"

"That about sums it up," Wayzz smiled nervously. Master Fu's 'no-identity' rule was hammered into them pretty hard. "However... there is the option to go ahead and reveal your identity to them before they find out for themselves."

"B-B-But... Wouldn't I need to give up my miraculous?"

"No," Tikki explained. "That was Master Fu's rule. It does not have to be your rule."

"But... I always thought I'd do the reveal with Cat Noir first."

"Cat Noir would likely recognize the bracelet also. He did spend quite a bit of time with Master Fu." Wayzz started getting more hopeful.

"Do you think Hawk Moth would recognize it?"

"Likely not," Wayzz added. "Master Fu transformed rather quickly when Hawk Moth confronted him."

Marinette took a deep breath. "Let's do this. I'll talk to Cat Noir tonight during patrol, and then I'll talk to Alya and Nino tomorrow."

Ladybug actually beat Cat Noir to their normal meeting spot for patrol. Unfortunately, this did not help her anxiety. It only gave her more time to pace nervously, which was exactly what she was doing when Cat Noir landed on the roof silently. She wouldn't have even noticed he was there if he hadn't snuck up behind her and followed her until she turned around... bumping straight into him and screaming at the top of her lungs.

Cat Noir was too busy tending to his now ringing ears to smirk over surprising her. He barely heard her yell at him. "Cat Noir! How many times have I told you NOT to sneak up behind me?"

Still tending to his delicate hearing, he whispered, "Sorry... I just learned my lesson... the hard way. I swear I'll never sneak up behind you again as long as you promise to never scream that loud again."

Ladybug shook off her tense muscles from being scared. Her demeanor immediately changed as she remembered the big-ticket item on her list tonight. She nervously played with the bracelet on her wrist. "I'll try, Kitty."

Cat Noir noticed the bracelet. "Oh. I see you have Master Fu's bracelet. Are you going to be okay having two miraculouses on you all the time?"

"I should be... as long as I minimize unifying Tikki and Wayzz."

"Speaking of Wayzz, where is he?"

Wayzz flew out from Ladybug's pig tail he was hiding in. "Right here, Cat Noir. It's good to see you again."

"Likewise. I'm sorry it's not under better circumstances."

"That makes three of us, Cat." Ladybug continued playing with the bracelet. Wayzz flew back into Ladybug's pig tail to give them some semblance of privacy.

"Just let me know what I can do to help. I know this is a big responsibility being the new guardian. So, anything... whatsoever... just ask. I'll be happy to help."

"Thanks, Cat. There... there is something we need to do." Cat Noir's ears perked up. "I don't want to take a chance that you run into my civilian self and notice me wearing the bracelet. You'd learn my identity for sure."

Cat Noir swallowed hard. "D-Does that mean..." Ladybug held up a finger to stop him.

"It means... we're going to get ahead of that and do the reveal now... on purpose instead of on accident. You deserve to be the first person I tell... and well, I don't want Carapace to accidentally find out before you. So, we're not going to leave it up to chance."

Cat Noir looked more hesitant than Ladybug expected. "I'm sorry we're being forced into this. I know you wanted to wait until after we defeated Hawk Moth."

"It seems we're going to be forced to do a lot of things now. But... are you okay. You don't seem as excited I expected you to be."

"It's just... I'm finally trying to move on. I'm afraid seeing you... the you behind the mask... might implode any progress I've made, no matter how small it might have been so far."

"That's understandable, Kitty." They looked at each other for a few more seconds before Ladybug continued. "Let's close our eyes and detransform. Then we can open our eyes on the count of three. That way, neither of us has a chance to back out. It'll be... like ripping off a band-aid."

Cat Noir nodded and closed his eyes and waited a few seconds for Ladybug to close her eyes. "Plagg. Claws In."

"Tikki. Spots Off." Tikki and Wayzz pulled Plagg off to hide and watch from afar. "One... Two... Three."

Both teens opened their eyes at the same time. "M-Marinette?"

"A-Adrien?"

"H-How? I saw both of you together after we defeated Kwami Buster."

"Trixx. I cast an illusion to throw you off from my identity because Master Fu would have taken away our miraculouses. How were both of you there after we defeated Gorizilla?"

"Wayhem. He hid under the helmet with a life-size carboard cutout of my face. He thought I was afraid and was hiding in a nearby building." They both laughed a little. Adrien started scratching the back of his neck and Marinette began tapping her fingers together.

"So... All this time, huh?"

"Y-Yeah. All this time." Adrien swallowed hard. "So... uh... I guess Luka's the guy you've been rejecting me for." Adrien smiled sadly.

Marinette's face contorted with confusion. "I just met Luka a few months ago. When we fought Captain Hardrock. He's nice... but I'm not sure I can give him my whole heart like he deserves. He's just giving me as much time and space as I need to get over my crush."

"Then... who was the boy you mentioned after Glaciator?"

Marinette sighed heavily and hung her head. She couldn't bear to lie to him again. Not now. Not being her partner. He deserved the truth. "Y-You. Adrien you."

Adrien's eyes widened in shock. "But... you always said you weren't into me. Why? Why'd you lie?"

"I was scared. Unlike you, I didn't have the confidence to tell you how I felt. I didn't want to lose our friendship. And... the few times you actually questioned me about my feelings were right after I had been completely embarrassed. I didn't want you to find out that way. I wanted to have the courage to confess my feelings to you. Not have them outed."

Adrien hung his head and clenched his fists. "You took away my ability to make my own decisions."

"And what would have happened if I had told you? Not knowing I was Ladybug... you would've told me how awesome of a friend I was but that you couldn't return my feelings. Am I right?"

Adrien's fists unclenched. "Yes."

Both teens stood there dejectedly. After another minute, Adrien looked up at Marinette. He picked up her hand with his, causing her to look at him. "Is... Is it... too late? For us?"

"What about Kagami?"

"She doesn't deserve half my heart any more than Luka deserves half your heart."

"You'd break up with her... just like that?"

"We're not officially dating. She wants to, and she's pressuring me to move forward, but I haven't agreed."

"Really?" Adrien nodded. "You looked really cozy earlier when we all got ice cream."

"So did you and Luka. He was practically serenading you with his guitar."

Marinette grimaced. "It's... not just Kagami. There's something else that happened... that you don't remember because Bunnix and I fixed the timeline."

"W-What? What happened that was so bad you had to fix the timeline."

"Remember when I dropped off that beret from your Brazilian Fan Club?" Adrien nodded. "And then we met that night on the roof and I just said that I had done it... and you didn't understand what I was saying?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Now that I know your identity, I think I've figured out what happened in between."

"What?"

"I had originally tried to leave the beret for you as myself, but you were late getting back from fencing. So, I transformed and left it in your room. In the original timeline, I left my name on the note. So that you'd know it was from me, Marinette me. You must've seen me leaving your room and put two-and-two together."

"That... makes sense."

"Well, as I left, Bunnix showed up and took me to the future. It was... it was a disastrous future. Paris was flooded. The Eiffel Tower was on its side. The moon looked like it had been destroyed by a laser. You... you had been akumatized. You were completely white... except for your eyes. They were blue. You called yourself Chat Blanc."

Adrien swallowed hard. "W-What happened that caused me to get akumatized?"

"I don't know exactly. But you knew I was Marinette even though I was there as Ladybug. During part of the fight, you said it was our love that had destroyed the world."

"Oh no..."

"At one point, you sent me falling into the water. I saw ashen statues of me... as Ladybug... and Hawk Moth. He must've akumatized you during a fight and you must've cataclysmed everything around you."

"I-I'd never hurt you. I swear!"

"I know you'd never do it when you're in your right mind. But I don't know if you did it on purpose or accident in that timeline. There are so many things I didn't learn. So many questions from that timeline I'll likely never get the answer for."

"My Lady..." Adrien placed a hand on Marinette's cheek and she leaned into it. He gently wiped away a stray tear with his thumb.

"I had Bunnix take me back further than when she picked me up so I could erase my name... which seemed to have fixed the timeline so that you were never akumatized."

"But she's not here... not this time. So, whatever it was must've been fixed. If us getting together was going to destroy the future, wouldn't she have come back to stop us?"

"You're assuming we'll be together, Kitty. Maybe she's not here because we don't get together."

"I-I can't accept that! I can't accept that we've already wasted almost an entire year... that we've both almost given up on each other only to find out we really did love each other... and that we missed our chance at being happy together because of something that happened in a timeline that no longer exists!"

"Adrien!"

Adrien clenched his fists again. He turned away from Marinette and lifted his head towards the universe. He released a primal scream. "I don't accept that fate! I don't accept that we just barely missed each other!" Marinette threw her arms around him and held him from the side. With just as much force, but quieter, he continued. "I'm going to live by my own will, not by fate!"

Adrien collapsed into Marinette's arms, causing both of them to collapsed to the rooftop. Marinette held him close. She didn't think the reveal was going to be all roses like she expected Cat Noir... Adrien... to have thought. But she didn't think it was going to be this emotionally draining. She rocked Adrien back and forth as he let it all out.

After several minutes he finally pulled himself together. "The only thing that could akumatize me right now... or ever... is losing you. Please... I can't. I can't lose you. Please tell me it's not too late. Please."

All the cement walls Marinette had constructed around her heart after Chat Blanc that she thought would keep it from happening exploded into dust. "It's not, Kitty. It's not too late."

Adrien turned his head to look at her, but only saw her closed eyes as her lips crashed into his. He closed his eyes and poured all of his longing into that kiss. He wanted... no he needed... her to know how much he loved her, how much he wanted her to love him. As they broke apart to catch their breaths, Adrien said, "I love you, Marinette."

"I love you too, Adrien." A year's worth of pent up longing bust forth and they were once again kissing. Eventually they collapsed all the way to laying on their backs and looking up at the few stars they could see defying the city lights.

Adrien rolled onto his side and wrapped his arm around Marinette's waist. He snuggled as closely to her as he physically could. She wrapped an arm under his neck and started stroking his ear.

Marinette rolled onto her side, facing Adrien. They stared into each other's eyes. All of the tension between them slowly dissipated. A year's worth of rejections and missed and messed up confessions unwound around their hearts.

The bells at Notre Dame began to toll. Marinette listened as the hour was chimed, 23:00. She marveled at how late it ended up being before they got to that point where everything between them was finally finding its new normal. "Do you need to get home? Will you be missed?"

"No. Father is in a business meeting that Nathalie said would run well into the night. She went ahead and gave me my schedule for after supper and through lunch tomorrow. I think the meeting is running so late they're planning on sleeping in."

"Hm. So, you don't have to rush off."

"I wouldn't rush off anyway. But, are you going to be missed?"

"No. Mama and Papa always go to bed early because they have to be up early to bake before opening the bakery."

"What time do you have to be home before they get up?"

"About 04:00."

"Mm. So... can I keep you out until 03:55?"

Marinette giggled. "Silly Kitty. I have to have a reveal with Carapace and Rena Rouge tomorrow. Otherwise they might figure it out because of the bracelet."

"Ooh! Can I come?"

"Are you free tomorrow?"

"I have some time after my photoshoot tomorrow."

Marinette's phone rang. She looked at it and saw it was Alya on video chat. She pushed the button on her phone, showing Alya and Nino. "Hi Alya!"

"Hey girl! Whatcha doing... with... Adrien?"

"Hi Alya. Hi Nino." Adrien responded without answering Alya's question. "What are the two of you doing together so late?"

"We just got done watching a movie before Nino escorts me home. Now... answer my question Agreste. Did you kidnap Marinette?"

"Alya!" Marinette put her hand over her face... the hand attached to the arm that had the bracelet on it.

"Dude! Is that..."

"Marinette! What do you have on your wrist?"

Marinette quickly dropped her hand and looked at Adrien. She mouthed, "That didn't take long."

Adrien quirked an eyebrow and mouthed, "Them?" And then nodded while rolling his eyes. "Of course it's them."

"Uh... Alya... Do you have time to meet us before you go home?"

"No... But I'll make time if you care to explain where you got that... bracelet."

"Where are you now?" Adrien asked for Marinette.

"We're still at the theater, dude."

"We'll meet you there in five minutes. Wait for us outside." Marinette pushed the button on her phone to hang up. "Tikki! Plagg! Wayzz! Time to go."

The three kwamis flew back over. "Plagg! Claws Out!"

"Tikki! Spots On!"

Alya and Nino were mulling around the front of the theater. Alya tapped her foot and exclaimed, "Where are they?"

To answer her question, a red blur came out of the dark sky and picked her up off her feet. Nino didn't have a chance to say anything before Cat Noir had lifted him off the ground.

Ladybug and Cat Noir set their friends down on the nearest rooftop. "L-Ladybug! Cat Noir! What's wrong?"

"Is there an akuma, dudes? We're expecting our friends any time. They were going to..." Nino looked at Ladybug's wrist and saw the Turtle Miraculous. "Marinette?"

Alya turned to Nino and then followed his gaze. There on Ladybug's wrist was the same bracelet she had just seen on Marinette's wrist. "No way!"

"Tikki. Spots Off." A bright flash of pink made Alya and Nino cover their eyes. When it faded, they looked back and saw Marinette.

"Girl! You've got A LOT of explaining to do! First off, why did you ditch Adrien and come here with Cat Noir? Second off, so Cat Noir knows your identity too now, I guess. Third off... Adrien?"

"Plagg. Claws In." After another bright green flash of light, Adrien was now standing next to Marinette.

"Dude!"

"I knew you'd have figured out my identity after seeing me wear the bracelet. So, I knew I had to reveal my identity to each of you. I was planning on doing it tomorrow with the two of you and with Cat Noir... Adrien... tonight during patrol. I figured he deserved to be the first to know."

"It's cool, dudette. We understand."

Adrien placed an arm around Marinette's shoulder. "Imagine our surprise when we turned out to be each other tonight. We had... a lot of talking to do. You called Marinette not too long after we had finally worked through everything."

"You two did look... comfy... when I called." Alya winked at them, eliciting a pair of matching blushes.

"Wayzz, Tikki, Plagg, you can come out." The three kwamis emerged and Wayzz immediately went to give Nino a fist bump.

"Hey little dude. It's great to see you again."

"Likewise, Nino."

"So, uh, Marinette... since we know your identities now, do we get to keep Wayzz and Trixx full time?" Alya smiled innocently.

Marinette looked a little sad as her three friends looked at her. "I have to keep Wayzz so I can protect the other miraculouses. I can give him to you for a fight if needed, like we did when Master Fu was the guardian."

"Master Who?" Alya asked, pushing up her glasses on her nose.

"Master Fu was the old guardian," Adrien answered for Marinette. "He made Ladybug... Marinette... the new guardian today."

Marinette was fiddling with the bracelet again. "Okay girl... I know there's more you need to say, but you're nervous... so just spill."

"Hawk Moth knows your and Nino's identity. He might not know Nino was Carapace, but he knows Nino showed up with everyone else when Miracle Queen summoned all the miraculous holders."

"Oh... So that's what happened today. Bummer, dude."

"Even though he knows, it doesn't mean he's going to target them like he did with Chloe, does it?" Adrien looked worried on behalf of his friends.

"It doesn't. But I think it's safest to not give out any other miraculouses full time right now. At least, until after we're sure he's not targeting anyone that showed up when called by Miracle Queen today."

"We understand." Alya squeezed Nino's hand. "But what can we do to help?"

"Firstly, don't tell anyone our identities. Don't even tell anyone you know our identities. If Hawk Moth found out, you'd definitely be a target like Master Fu was." Alya and Nino nodded. "It's best to just play dumb. But I think we can let Trixx out whenever you come over to hang out. I'm sure you'd both enjoy that."

Alya nodded excitedly. "It'd be great!"

"Secondly, you've got to get out from under Lila's spell. I think she's actively working with Hawk Moth, even though I can't prove it."

"Girl! Why are you always picking on... Oh... I guess you've known the whole time she wasn't friends with Ladybug, huh?"

"That was a pretty big tip off to me that she was a liar from day one."

"I'm so sorry for not believing you. But... I never would've thought she'd actually be working with Hawk Moth."

"She hates Ladybug," Adrien added. "She even tried to separate us during a fight by trying to act injured, just so that Ladybug could be defeated."

"Wow! I'm gonna..."

"Not confront her." Alya blinked at Marinette.

"Why not, dude?"

"She'll just figure out another lie to cover her tracks. She's that good. She even got Mr. Damocles to feel sorry for her by saying it was a medical condition. That's how I was unsuspended."

"I had to convince her to do that at that horrendous disaster of a photoshoot."

"Y-You did that? Thanks, Kitty." Marinette blushed.

"Okay you too. You're going to have to stop calling each other by your superhero pet names like My Lady, Kitty, Bugaboo, Chaton..." Alya was holding up her fingers until Marinette placed her hand over them. "Well, at least as civilians."

"Thank you, Alya. I guess I didn't realize it. We'll certainly work on it, right Adrien?"

Adrien nodded. "It won't be easy, but I know it's important."

Alya's phone beeped. "It's 23:45. I've got to be home soon."

Marinette and Adrien transformed, and took their friends to an alley near Alya's. The extra speed gave them enough time to say their goodbyes a little more leisurely.

When school started a few weeks later, hardly anyone commented on Marinette's new bracelet. And those who did, accepted her excuse that she just felt like accessorizing.