WARNING; Ok everyone I'm just warning you now. The beginning of this chapter has an Akuma, and she's not a pretty sight. No spoilers, but if you can't handle rancidity and appauling hygiene with food products (like descriptions of mould and rancid food), my recommendation is to read until the dynamic duo get to the second elevator, then pick back up when you see Maria. Do a search of the page to get you to the right spot.

Ring ring!

Adrien Agreste winched an eye open, glaring at whatever it was that dared to impede upon is beauty sleep.

Ring ring!

He heard no movement from Ladybug, it was like she was used to sleeping through obnoxious noises like phones and alarms in the morning or something.

Ring ring!

It took him a moment to remember how to use the muscles in his arm, and then another to get them to function correctly.

Ring ring!

'Alright, alright,' he sat up halfheartedly, his voice cracking from sleep. He fumbled in the darkness for the phone that was on the bedside table between the two beds.

'Hello?'

'Yes? Hello? Is this Chat Noir?' The voice was urgent and hurried.

He rubbed at his face groggily. 'That's me. What's going on?'

'It's Maria, she'd slept through her alarm and didn't get the batter prepped and Chef Simon threw a fit and- and-' the voice blathered. 'Now she's calling herself Madam Moisissure and is spoiling all the ingredients in the ship's storage rooms,'

'Calm down.' Adrien sat up straighter. 'We'll be right down. Tell me where you are.' He seized his pillow and threw it at Ladybug, who shifted, muttering something.

'Room Service's main kitchens. I heard you have permission to go anywhere in the ship, go to Elevators 4 and hit the lowest level! Get here quickly, please!' She hung up, and Adrien could hear maniacal laughter in the background.

Elevators 4 went through the second block of guests quarters, and they'd need to go through the main gallery for that.

Adrien threw aside his blankets and hauled himself up in the pitch blackness of pre-dawn.

'Ladybug!' He felt over her bed until he found her figure, and shook her. 'It's an akuma, time to move!'

'Hng?' Ladybug rolled over. 'Whaz going on?'

'Plagg?' He hunted around for him, running his fingers through his sheets. 'Plagg where are you?'

Ladybug yawned loudly, stretching, before slowly sitting up. 'Try the cheese.'

Adrien stormed over to where he thought the cheese was, and nearly fell over said cheese in the process. He picked it up and shook it violently, and a little kwami fell out.

'What in the hell do you want?' Plagg grumbled. 'Do you know what time it is?'

'Not a clue. Plagg, transforme-moi!'

'Tikki! Transforme-moi!'

As soon as he was done he raced over to the doorway and threw the lights on.

Ladybug was still sitting in bed, and blinked sleepily up at him. 'Oooh this better be good.'

'We're needed down in the kitchens.' He rubbed at his face again to try and clear some of the sleep. 'What time is it?'

She picked up her phone from the bedside table. 'Just after four in the morning.' Reluctantly, she pulled herself out of bed, and followed him out the door.

'You were right about him being here,' she added as she snatched up their passes from the dining table.

'Right now, let's just deal with this.' His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool, and he could tell she felt much the same. 'That's a conversation for the morning.'

'It is the morning.'

'Don't remind me.'

She shook her head, patting her face. 'This shouldn't count as morning though.' He opened the door to allow her to pass through first, and she hurried through it. 'This is still goddamn nighttime.'

They raced down the corridor, and mashed the button on the lift. 'What have you heard?' She paused. 'How did you hear it?'

'You didn't hear the phone ringing?'

She looked a little sheepish. 'Sorry.' She apologised.

He waved a dismissive hand at her. 'Don't worry about it. There's a girl named Maria in the Room Service kitchens who's morning has been spoiled, so she's doing the same all the food in the ship's store rooms.'

'Of course.' Ladybug stared at the display showing the elevator floor number climb. 'Do we know if she's dangerous to humans?'

'The girl on the phone didn't really want to find out.'

The doors slid open and they raced inside, Chat hammering on the button for the main gallery.

'I hope you know how to get there,' she rubbed her eyes with the palm of both hands vigorously.

'Let me be your humble, yet dashingly handsome guide.' He smiled at her.

She stared at the reflection of the elevator doors for a long moment while the lift descended a few floors.

'If this is just in a series of storage rooms, or, cooler rooms or what have you, do you think the other chefs didn't think of shutting the door behind her and sealing her in while we get there?' She wondered aloud.

'It seems like a pretty good plan of action,' Chat commented. 'It'd be a good starting point for this.' He paused. 'I wonder how exactly she's spoiling the food as well? I'm picturing something like Reflectika, or Pixelator, or something. Just point and zap.'

'We'll just have to be ready for anything.'

The doors opened, and they hurried across the gallery, Chat leading the way to a less ornate set of lifts. 'It's this one,' he confirmed, noting the number between the two elevators.

He pushed the button, and was mildly surprised to have the lift doors open immediately.

They raced through, and he swiped their pass and pressed the lowest on the "staff only" section.

It felt like an eternity for them to get down to the kitchens, which easily felt way below sea level.

Chat made a joke about opening a window just before the doors opened, resulting in a swat from Ladybug.

They burst onto the scene, onto what was once an industrialised kitchen. But everywhere there was food, rancid and mouldy. The walls were covered, and the smell was overpowering.

Cowering in the opposing corner was a kitchen hand, who looked like she was surrounded by her own sick.

They raced over to her, holding their noses as politely as they could. 'What happened!?' Ladybug demanded.

'It's Madame Moisissure,' she whimpered, clutching her stomach. 'The food,' she coughed violently for a long moment, 'she'll give you the worst food poisoning, even if you haven't eaten anything since your evening meal.'

Chat looked around at the wide open cooking area, and at the three adjacent doors. 'Which way did she go?'

The girl pointed with a shaky finger.

Ladybug located the doorway, then looked back at the girl. 'I'm so sorry this happened to you.' She said solemnly, patting the girl's head. 'If you can, go back to your room and lie down near your bathroom.'

The girl nodded, and looked a little calmer for Ladybug's words.

'Come on,' Ladybug said to Chat and straightened. 'Time to go to work.'

'Right.' Chat tread as carefully as he could towards the door. Even the counter tops weren't safe, as masses of ruined food lay in destruction. 'Pardon me for saying this, but I don't think I'll be ordering in for the rest of the trip.'

Ladybug turned a delicate shade of green, but shook her head, her hand on the door handle. 'Everything will be as spic and span as it was before Madame Moisissure showed up for her shift.' She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than Chat Noir. 'Get ready,'

She slammed the door open, to see a sight she wish she couldn't.

The walls, even the ceiling of the passageway was positively covered in mould. The doors that lined it had different colours of mould climbing up the frames and doors themselves, and were mixing in between.

The further they went in, the worse it got, until suddenly-

'There you are!' Madame Moisissure appeared through a door, and the smell was positively appalling. 'I've been waiting for you, Ladybug and Chat Noir! I nearly missed you two!'

Ladybug found herself nearly gagging, and Chat threw both hands over his nose and mouth in horror. She was a multitude of colours, of blue, and green, and white, with her hair turned long runny bright orange tendrils of goop and her skin fuzzy and greeny-blue like spoiled fruit. She wore a light, floaty-white dress that looked almost lighter than air, or more like the white mould that grows on improperly-kept spreads or most other improperly-kept foods, and smelled worse than anything the two had ever encountered. Combined. In her left hand she held a washcloth, and her nails glittered purple.

'Give me Princess Fragrance any day!' Chat looked sideways at Ladybug. 'This is just clawful!'

'You two will hand over your miraculouses nicely, or else!' Madam Moisissure demanded, raising a hand menacingly towards them, and they instinctively ducked.

'No way!' Ladybug shot back, but immediately started coughing.

Madame Moisissure advanced, and Ladybug shoved Chat through a white-blue-grey-encrusted doorway.

'What are you doing!?' Chat said, landing heavily against a shelving unit in the tiny storage room as Ladybug pulled the door shut behind them. 'I thought we were supposed to get away from the mould?'

'This is bread mould. Pastry mould. It's harmless.' She looked around at the sealed jars of now-nastiness. 'It looks like they were storing sourdough here.'

'It looks like you know a lot about pastries.' Chat took a breath as Ladybug flinched. 'At least it smells a bit better in here.'

'It doesn't, normally.' Ladybug tried to say as casually as she could. 'It's creepy how it's climbing the walls,'

Chat noticed the slow creep up the door, and raised a hand carefully, ready to set up his cataclysm if needed. 'How are we supposed to stop someone we can't get near?'

'If she escapes into the rest of the ship, she'll do some serious damage.' Ladybug nodded. 'But you're right, she's,' she made a disgusted noise. 'The poor girl.'

'I'll bet her Akuma's in her washcloth.' Chat pointed out.

Ladybug paused to think about it. 'I think you're right.'

There was a polite knocking on the door, and the two superheroes flinched.

'I'm ready to fight you whenever you are,' came the voice through the door, and the mould on it grew faster and faster. 'If you don't hurry up,' Madame Moisissure was using a sing-song tone. 'I'll have to come and get you,'

Ladybug passed a bright pink sourdough jar to Chat, before grabbing an armload herself. 'You get the door, I'll start throwing.'

Chat nodded, and readied the door.

Then, all of a sudden, he whipped it open, and by the time Madame Moisissure had realised it she was getting pelted with varying coloured jars, which exploded open on impact with surprising force.

Chat leapt back and grabbed an armload in order to help with the assault, and Moisissure retreated, back down the hallway from whence she came.

It seemed like they had the advantage, until-

'Enough!' Madame Moisissure screeched, and waved her washcloth in their direction.

Without warning, the remaining jars in their hands exploded violently, showering them in shattered glass and poisonous sourdough.

Ladybug could feel she was bleeding on a few places on her face, but she was grateful that her suit had taken the worst of the damage. She glanced sideways at Chat Noir, who was looking much the same. He made to rub at a cut on his temple, but she seized his hand before he could.

'Leave it!'

'What? Why? You said bread mould was fine?'

'Typical bread mould is!' She gestured down at the (bright pink) back of his hand. 'That isn't! You don't want any sort of mould in your bloodstream!'

Moisissure rushed them again, and Ladybug performed a spectacular feat of gymnastics to avoid it. As Madame Moisissure passed, Ladybug released her yoyo against the left wrist of the akuma, drawing it back to her, and seized the edge of the washcloth with her other hand.

She attempted to wrench the akumatised washcloth free, but deep black mould sprang up from it and aggressively swept its way up her arm to her elbow before her fingers broke free.

'What do you think you're doing?' Madame Moisissure accused her with a pointing finger.

Chat appeared behind her suddenly, his left hand glowing with black orbs, and made to seize the cloth from her outstretched hand, but Moisissure twisted slightly, and suddenly the pinkness on his suit seized him and slammed him down onto the ground, pinning his hand under him.

Ladybug moved again, seemingly uncaring about her blacked limb, stepping straight over him and landing a perfect punch straight into Moisissure's gut, sending her flying backwards through the end of the passageway and into the open kitchen area.

Madame Moisissure caught herself before she landed, but was immediately caught up in Ladybug's yoyo.

'Chat! Get the cloth!' Ladybug secured the string, watching the black mould creep up it towards her.

Chat sprang forward, the control over him gone, and reached for the cloth-

Moisissure leapt sideways at the last minute, leaving Chat to accidentally disintegrate a workbench.

Chat swore under his breath, but kept moving towards the akuma.

Moisissure leapt backwards and rolled, yanking Ladybug along with her, and forcing her to retract her yoyo to catch herself before she flew into the industrial, thankfully off ovens.

'She's not playing fair, this one,' Chat called, racing towards Ladybug to check on her.

Ladybug went to rub her head, then froze and glared accusingly at her hand. Then she activated her Lucky Charm.

Chat stepped up to plate and swung his baton to the ready to buy time. 'Don't bite off more than you can chew,' he advised Madame Moisissure. 'Your eyes might be bigger than your stomach.'

'Oh shut up, mangy cat.' Madame Moisissure shot, stalking around the tables towards them. 'You're really spoiling my morning, you know that?'

'Tsk tsk tsk,' Chat waved a finger at her, 'I already used that one. Keep up.' His ring bleeped at him, and Ladybug appeared next to him with a set of noise-cancelling headset in hand.

Chat looked at her. 'I have no id-ear.'

'I have no idea either.' She admitted, before frowning at him.

He shrugged. 'What can I say, I'm punny?'

She rolled her eyes, before glaring at Madame Moisissure. She tested the clasping strength of the headset absentmindedly, ignoring the black mould that crept up the top of her arm, and also seemed to sniff inquisitorialy at the headset.

Madame Moisissure laughed, guesturing suddenly, and the black mould nearly yanked her arm out of its socket in its attempt to throw her sideways into Chat.

Chat dived out of the way, and rushed Moisissure, attacking with his staff. Moisissure ducked and weaved between the tables to avoid him, still laughing.

Ladybug had landed painfully against a stack of drawers, and now painfully stood up. But an idea had come to her.

She leapt up onto the tables in order to make a more direct route towards the duelling two, and danced her way over in between the piles of mould.

At this point though, she was beyond caring.

However she cared enough to know that if that mould on her shoulder touched her bare skin, she was doomed.

'Duck, Chat Noir!' Ladybug shouted, and in his moment of distraction, Moisissure hit him straight in the face with spores from her cloth, and he turned violently green, his knees buckling.

That was enough of an opportunity for Ladybug, and she slammed the headphones tightly over Moisissure's head.

Without thinking, Madame Moisissure dropped her cloth in favour of attempting to remove the headset's clamping grip. Chat seized it and threw it towards Ladybug in the next row of benches, who caught it and tore it neatly in half.

A purple butterfly appeared, and with a deft swing of a yoyo it was caught. 'You've done enough harm, petite akuma. I'll free you from evil!'

Chat hauled himself into sight over the work station, looking ashen. He gave Ladybug a thumbs up. 'Great job!'

Ladybug smiled at him, before seizing the headphones back and lightly tossing them into the air just before Moisissure made for her. 'Miraculous Ladybug!'

Ladybug's earrings bleeped at her loudly as the miraculous effect swept around the room, restoring it to its prestine state.

They gathered around Chat for a moment, before moving onto Ladybug herself, freeing them of mould.

Eventually, the room stopped shifting, and Ladybug moved over to Chat Noir. 'Are you alright?'

'I think so,' he stood up gingerly, checking the three pads left on the paw on his ring.

Madame Moisissure returned back to her normal state; a red-haired young woman in chef whites, who fell to her knees.

'What happened?' She questioned immediately, before consulting the time on her watch. 'Oh my god, Chef Simon's going to hamstring me,' she nearly whispered.

'Calm down,' Ladybug said. 'Everything's going to be alright.'

'But it's nearly five thirty and I haven't even started,' she nearly sobbed. 'What am I going to do?'

Both Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculouses bleeped their second to last bleep, and Ladybug made a snap descision. 'I can help you. Chat Noir will have a word with this Chef Simon. You'll be alright.'

'But, but,'

'But, my lady,' Chat looked at her in wonder, 'your earrings,-'

'Give us five minutes with your stock, I want to have a look at what you have.' Ladybug spoke over him. 'Maria, wasn't it? Can you put together a list of everything that needs to be done, in order of priority?'

'Of, of course,' Maria looked star struck for a moment, before looking about her for a paper and pen.

Ladybug seized Chat's wrist and started dragging him towards the storage rooms they had been in before.

'Also,' Chat added as he stumbled along, 'seriously wash your hands before handling anything. Anything.'

Maria nodded.

Ladybug pulled them through the doorway, and pulled the door shut behind them.

'My lady, I don't think-'

Ladybug slammed a hand over Chat's eyes, and within two seconds he could feel the magic remove the suit from the skin of her palm.

His own miraculous bleeped its last and he was detransformed; Adrien Agreste standing there in his pajamas in mute shock with a girls hand over his eyes.

'L-Ladybug?' He questioned after a moment.

'Shut up,' Ladybug replied. 'I have my eyes closed too. Don't worry.' He felt a kwami land atop his head as she continued. 'We just need to find food for Tikki and Plagg, and then we can go and help that girl.'

'Right. Okay.' The strangeness of it all hit him, and he couldn't help but grin. He pulled his head back out from her grip, his eyes remaining shut tight. 'How'm'I supposed to find anything like this?' He laughed.

There was a pause, before, '...I'm not really sure?' She giggled back. 'Hold on, I'll turn around and have a look. Keep your eyes shut,'

'Of course,' he waited for what seemed like an eternity. Plagg atop his head was unusually quiet, he must have gone back to sleep. 'By the way,' he said, grinning. 'I won the bet,'

'Which bet was that?' She said distractedly, and sounding like she was farther away.

'I bet that the first akuma would be to do with waiting, cleaning or cooking staff. Yours was one of the guests bowling, or doing one of the activities.'

He heard her audibly misstep. 'I-I don't remember anything like that,' she avoided. 'I'm going to go into this room here, they have packet biscuits stored here.' Her voice got a little more echo-y as she did so. 'You can open your eyes, but don't look in here.'

'Dough not worry about it, my lady,' he said, and opened them, immediately striding further down the hall.

A cookie flung its way through a doorway, but bounced needlessly against the opposing wall.

After further exploration, Adrien eventually found the cooler rooms, and in them the produce, and then the dairy.

The variety wasn't large, but he found a wedge of a passable camembert and offered it up to the kwami atop his head.

And Tikki peered at him over his hairline. 'Nice pajamas, Adrien, cute cat.' She nodded down at the embroided feline on his shirt.

'Tikki?' He questioned, lowering the cheese. 'What are you doing?'

'Oh nothing,' she said innocently, 'I think M-Ladybug grabbed the wrong kwami by mistake?'

'Have you been sitting there this whole time?' He pointed out.

'Yep,' she nodded. 'You'll just have to go and find her to get Plagg back,' she smiled at him.

'Are you up to something?' He questioned suspiciously.

'No?' The little kwami shrugged. 'Not at all?'

He gave her an unconvinced look, before stepping back out of the little store-room. 'Ladybug?' He called. 'Plagg?'

'Chat?' She called back. 'Tikki?'

'I'm here, Ladybug!' Tikki returned.

'Did you find any cheese?' Plagg's little voice shouted.

Adrien sighed. 'Yes,' he approached her doorway, and she stepped out unthinkingly.

His eyes dropped straight at his feet, and simultaneously, she slammed her hands over her face.

'Morning Plagg,' Tikki greeted overhead cheerfully.

'Morning Tikki,' Plagg returned, floating over to take the cheese out of Adrien's hand.

But Adrien could not help but memorise the details he could see.

Her pyjama pants were pink with tiny black spots, and her delicate pale feet were bare.

He had seen her without her mask.

But curse it all, he hadn't been paying attention enough to get a good look before he looked away.

Yet he shouldn't think that, they were dangerous thoughts.

But he knew she was lovely beyond compare.

'I'm going to,' her toes stood uncertainly for a moment, before she shuffled sideways back through the door.

He turned to sit on the cold floor, looking still the other way.

He could hear her hissing worriedly at her kwami, who seemed a little nonchalant about the whole ordeal.

Plagg sat in his open hands, chowing down on cheese without concern.

'So,' Plagg said, swallowing a huge mouthful, 'what did you see?'

Ladybug went quiet, waiting for his answer.

'Nothing.' He said, and it was only a half-lie.

Nothing important, after all.

Plagg shrugged, but he could almost feel the relief from the next room.

'But, Ladybug,' he looked up at the ceiling. 'You should know that I truly don't mind who you are under the mask,'

Ladybug laughed nervously. 'You say that,'

'But? But what?' Adrien shrugged. 'You're not a supervillan. Whoever you are, it's okay,'

Ladybug stepped out of the doorway, fully transformed and determinedly not looking in his direction. 'I will think about this when it isn't a quarter to six in the morning. We need to get back to Maria.'

Adrien put a comforting hand on her shoulder. 'There's no pressure, whatsoever.'

She looked at the bare hand, and the white ring, then watched as Plagg was sucked into it.

Ten seconds later Chat Noir was standing behind her, and he smiled at her. 'How do you solve a problem like Maria?' He questioned her in a sing-sing tone.

'How do you catch a cloud and pin it down?' Ladybug returned, smiling back.

He started back towards the main doorway back to the kitchens. 'How do you find a word that means Maria?'

She followed him. 'A flibberty-gibbert? A will-o-the-wisp?'

'A clown.'

Ladybug looked around at the now sparkling corridor, 'Many a thing you know you'd like to tell her,' then glanced back into the room that held the sourdough jars, 'many a thing she ought to understand?'

'But how do you make her stay, and listen to all you say,'

'How do you keep a wave upon the sand?'

'Oh how do you solve a problem like Mariaaa?' He went for the high notes, and her eyebrows raised as he nailed them. 'Howww do you hoold a mooonbeammm, innnn yourr haaaaand?' He winked, and opened the remaining door for her with a flourish like a bow.

She grinned at him, tousling his hair, before stepping through. 'Right, Maria,' she said towards the girl who was hunched anxiously over a cooking station. 'What needs doing?'

'I've written that list,' Maria started, proffing the piece of paper.

'I'll go find a phone.' Chat said, and ducked across the kitchen to the doorway where Maria was pointing. 'Thank you,' he nodded towards her, then headed through it, into what looked like an office.

He decided to avoid the papers on the desk, and instead looked at the large organisational whiteboard on one wall.

In big letters, he saw the words "IF EMERGENCY, DIAL:" followed by a number. Beneath it was "IF NOT EMERGENCY; RECONSIDER."

He shook his head slightly, before moving over to the phone.

It took a long minute before the line connected, and Chat realised how tired he was.

'Hello?' Came a groggy tone.

'Hi there, this is Chat Noir.' He said, swinging his tail loosely in his hand. 'To whom am I speaking?'

'Simon. Chef Simon Green.'

'Fantastic.' Chat nodded. 'Simon, we've had a bit of a mishap down in the Room Service kitchens, but everything's all tidied up now. Unfortunately, we're a teensy bit behind schedule, but Ladybug and I are helping out to pick up the pace.' He paused. 'Also, what are the names of the two girls who were working the breads this morning?'

There was a pause, before, 'Maria, and Alice. What happened?' He said dangerously.

'We will explain everything when we are caught up. But trust me when I say this,' Chat took a dramatic pause, 'you do not want the news of what happened with this akuma getting out.'

'Are you threatening me?'

Chat shook his head. 'No, no, it's the honest truth. But I need to get back to helping out. Also, because of this akuma, Alice has decided to take the morning off. She may return, we will see. I need to go, but if I hear you're mistreating your workers, we will have words.'

Chat hung up without waiting to hear what Simon's response would be, turned on his heel and left the office.

To see Ladybug, covered in flour.

She was up to her elbows kneading dough, and was wearing an apron.

Chat had to take a second to recover from the sight.

Over next to Chat Maria was prepping ovens, but Chat found himself unnoticing. He shook his head to clear it. 'How can I help?'

Maria offered him a white apron exactly like Ladybugs.

'You can come and take over this.' She said. 'How clean are your paws, Kitty?'

He looked down at his claws. 'I'm, not sure?' He looked at Maria, who was returning to professionalism. 'I'll wash them anyway, just to be safe.'

He threw on the apron as he crossed the floor to the sink. 'What happened to you?'

Maria tried to look innocent. 'Nothing?'

He looked up from washing his hands, and shot her an unconvinced look.

And suddenly, he himself was covered in flour.

He span, and retaliated with the warm droplets from his hands straight into Ladybug's face, who yelped in laughter.

'Hey!' She dropped the now-empty flour packet.

'You went for me first!' He retaliated, grinning. 'Is this a challenge, my lady?'

Maria was laughing herself, and crossed the room back over to where the two were.

Shyly, she threw a handful of flour at Chat, who took the opportunity to show the most dramatic death scene he'd ever put on.

It was so good, he was rather proud.

Ladybug did not seem to share his enthusiasm, even when he tried to stagger into her waiting arms to take his final breath.

'Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on, the basking rocks thy seasick-weary bark!' Chat threw himself over her instead, forcing her to catch him princess style lest he knock them both over. 'Here's to my love! Oh true apothecary,' he shot an accusing look back at Maria, who was laughing, 'thy drugs are quick. Here's to my love!' He made half an attempt to reach towards her face, before slumping completely, the back of his wrist to his forehead dramatically.

Ladybug dropped him to the floor heartlessly.

Maria snorted in a highly unladylike manner, and Ladybug laughed along as well.

Ladybug and Chat Noir crawled back into their respective beds some hours later, and slept until noon.

Adrien awoke, refreshed and starving.

He sat up, stretched, and looked around sleepily.

The door had been left ajar, and sunlight streamed in through the open sliding door, a wonderful sea breeze chasing after it.

Beyond it, Ladybug was leaning against the balcony, looking at the marina around them.

The scene was so picturesque, he couldn't help reaching for his phone to snap a silent photo.

'Good morning,' he called to her, hiding his phone and getting out of bed.

She jumped slightly and made to turn, before- 'Hold on a second, I need to find Plagg.'

'Alright.' She nodded. 'Good morning to you. Even though it's afternoon, presently.'

Adrien shook Plagg out of the sealed cheese, and transformed. 'Oh? What time is it?'

'Twelve forty-five.' She indicated in a direction beyond his sight, and he joined her out on the balcony. Following her line of sight, he saw a huge clock-tower overlooked the marina, the black hands of it faded slightly from the salt.

'I see we've landed in Bordeaux,' he looked around a little further. 'Do you want to look around this afternoon?'

She nodded, and took another sip from the mug she held.

'What are you drinking?'

'Coffee. I had it ordered up.' She looked a little abashed. 'I wasn't sure how much longer you were going to sleep for.' She paused. 'Do you want some?'

He took the mug from her, taking some himself. 'Not bad.' He leant against the barrier next to her. 'So by the way, I won the bet,' he eyebrowed her.

'Which bet was that?' She ignored the eyebrowing, and continued gazing out over the marina towards the ocean.

'The one about how I would get a kiss if the first Akuma on the ship was one of the cooking staff.'

Ladybug froze. 'I, can't say I remember that one?'

'Are you sure?' Chat looked at her slyly. 'We were sitting on the captain's roof, and I bet that the first akuma would be one of the waiting, cooking or cleaning staff. You thought it was going to be a guest invovled in one of the activities.'

'Isn't there something else that needs talking about? Like how it means that Papillon is definitely here on the ship or not?'

'It makes sense that he's here considering how far away we are from Paris, and how akuma's seem to only happen there. Thus Papillon is here.' He did not look away. 'But you're avoiding the point.'

'Papillon is here, that is the point.' Ladybug said firmly.

'You owe me a kiss,' Chat pointed out.

'I do not,' she said stubbornly.

He nodded persistently.

She seized the now-empty mug of coffee back, and pretended to take a sip. 'There. An indirect kiss.'

He shook his head. 'That doesn't count,'

She sighed, hanging her head.

Inexplicably, her mind raced back to that morning, when she had inadvertently albeit momentarily seen him without his mask.

From the brief glimpse that she had seen, the face beneath the mask seemed strangely familiar. It was almost like he had a strange, yet striking resemblance to one Adrien Agreste.

Of course, there was no way it could be the same person.

Well, first of all, their personalities were completely different.

There was no way.

Was there?

'My lady,' he peered under her hanging head to look up at her. 'You can't run, you did bet,' he smiled. 'Or are you backing out?' He grinned.

Nope, there was no way that was Adrien Agreste who was asking Ladybug for a kiss.

With that sorted, Ladybug straightened. 'Never.'

He tilted his head questioningly. 'Shall I close my eyes for you?'

She gave him a withering look, but he shut them casually. Subtly, he leant forward, like he was going to receive a heartfelt kiss and more from Ladybug.

Ladybug thought she was going to die.

Her mind couldn't get past the idea of Adrien doing the exact same thing, and her brain was short-circuiting.

He peeked an eye open. 'Ready when you are, my lady,'

She had half a mind to push him over the edge of the balcony and into the water below.

With that minor irritation fixed carefully in her mind to ward off any Adrien-related emotions, she seized him by the bell and yanked him down to her level.

In his surprise his eyes flew open, and got a front seat view of Ladybug pressing her lips to his, briefly but sweetly.

In an instant it was over, but Chat Noir's knees liquefied.

'Geez,' Ladybug said, leaning against the balcony edge again, her chin in her hand. 'My first two kisses to Chat Noir. What would my parents say.'

Chat tried and failed to pull himself together. 'I'm sure they'd be highly flattered, having Ladybug as a daughter,' he grinned, before pausing. 'Wait, two?'

Ladybug looked sideways at him. 'If you don't remember then I shan't tell you.'

'I, you,' he stared at her, 'what? That's not fair!'

'So, Papillon is here.' She started. 'But we can't really search the whole ship for him considering that, like you said, he's not going to be wandering around the ship, for pretty obvious reasons.' The more she found herself denying the idea of Chat's identity, the more her brain tried to agree.

'We've kissed before?' Chat demanded, and was ignored.

There was the whole thing of Tikki's highly negative reaction.

But Tikki liked Adrien, so why would she react so strongly?

'Please tell me,' Chat landed a hand on her shoulder, and looked at her imploringly.

Damn it, when he looked like that it was hard to disagree. And it was harder now, now that Ladybug had noticed the resemblance.

'Fine. Do you remember when Heartbreaker was getting Paris to hate each other last valentine's day?' She looked at him. 'You went under his spell. You were going to use your cataclysm on me. I kissed you to free you from the spell. I threw you at Heartbreaker to get his broach. End of story.'

'But, why don't I remember that?' He sagged against the balcony in defeat.

'Because you were under his power.' She shrugged. 'It's more common than you think.'

'What, me being under your power or receiving kisses from you?' He winked at her. 'Both are true.'

She gave him such a dry look that he was concerned for the marina around them. 'I'm going to shower, and then do you want to find breakfast, or brunch, in Bordeaux?'

He nodded. 'Shall I get the disguises?'

'Let's make an official appearance, but if you bring them that would be best I'd say.'

'Fair enough.' He followed her retreat back into the bedroom.

She disappeared through the opposing door, dropped the coffee mug off on the coffee table in the living room, then disappeared into the bathroom.

Chat slumped onto his bed, then waited to hear the lock on the bathroom door click before releasing his transformation.

'Did you know?' Adrien questioned aloud, as Plagg landed on the pillow next to him.

'Know what? And when are you going to open that cheese?'

'I think I need a minute,' Adrien admitted, pressing his hands against his face, taking deep breaths.

In the next room, Marinette was doing much the same.

Tikki was looking at her inquisitorialy from the vanity, while Marinette was staring at shower products blankly.

'What am I going to do, Tikki?' She questioned.

'About what?'

'I saw Chat Noir without his mask. He looks just like Adrien Agreste. I didn't see all the details, but,' she shook her head. 'how can two so completely different people look so similar?'

'Why don't you ask him about it?' Tikki questioned.

'Who?'

'Adrien. or Chat. It doesn't matter.' Tikki smiled knowingly.

'But,' Marinette flinched. 'I can't just talk to Adrien.'

'Weren't you planning on talking to him a lot on this holiday?'

'Th-that's different.'

Tikki raised an eyebrow at her.

'Tikki, I can't just,-, I don't know how to handle this,' she admitted. 'Now when I look at Chat I see Adrien, and my brain falls out the back of my head.'

'I was saying that Chat's pretty crazy about you too, you know,'

'But they're completely different, personality-wise!'

'How so?'

'Chat's loud, and self-important, and a massive flirt! Adrien is a quiet, calm gentleman!'

Tikki paused, considering her next words. 'Maybe it's a Bruce Wayne and Batman situation?'

'What, so Chat is everything Adrien wants to be? Adrien's got a wild personality underneath?' She turned the shower on, and got under the water. 'It just doesn't make sense.'

Tikki shrugged.

'I mean, what on earth would I say to them? "By the way, are you of any relation to Adrien Agreste? A cousin, maybe?"' Marinette shook her head.

There was no way they couldn't be related though, those eyes were so similar. 'I had no idea he actually had green eyes.' She admitted.

'What makes you say that?' Tikki questioned. 'You see Chat Noir all the time.'

'But Chat has those weird lenses that mean he can see in the dark. He might've been blue-eyed under them, or something.'

Tikki paused, then shrugged again.

'I still doubt they're the same person.' Marinette said, more to herself than Tikki. 'But if they're related, then it would make sense why Chat's used to being around high-class company, even if he doesn't like it.'

Marinette pondered the other things that she had noticed on the trip quietly, chewing on her thumbnail.

'So you're not going to think about how you just kissed a member of Adrien Agreste's family then?' Tikki pointed out.

Marinette nearly fell over. 'It's just Chat. It doesn't mean anything.'

Tikki sighed, rolling her eyes heavenward.

Hi guys, I'm going to start splitting days down the middle as needed because these chapters are just too damn long. It's a weird change of pace for me to have such long chapters? You all know me, I used to be much more for the ~thousand word bites, but writing this I actually had a lot more fun writing this with mega-long days. I'm just a bit worried there's too much information? Let me know what you think?

Also, I'm sorry about the updates for chapter one, but I think I've worked it into something that I can live with, so go ahead and re-read if you've been with this story since the last few chapters? Hopefully you all like that chapter much better as well? Again, let me know what you think?

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed it!