Have you ever written a chapter and for got to upload it? Yeah, sorry 'bout that. Hope you enjoy!

Waking up some time around lunch, Marinette felt her stomach growl and her head bang. With a groan and a few choice swear words after slipping on the ladder while clambering out of bed, the ravenette found half a plate of pastries currently being demolished by her tiny little companion. Wordlessly, Marinette sat down at her desk and began eating just as enthusiastically as Tikki.

They barely even acknowledged each other.

The past few days had really taken it out of Marinette, and she would be content with going to get another plate, filled doubly compared to the first, and head back to bed; eating in a half comatose state was never a good idea, but she could feel her eyes drooping as she tucked into her third croissant. Blinking back the tiredness brought on by her kwami's cure the night before, Marinette rubbed her eyes to make sure that what she was seeing was real.

With a laboured swallow, she wiped her mouth and reached for the glass of water while trying to fathom what she was seeing. The window over her desk was covered in greenery, and the side effects of Tikki's unrelinquished power suddenly dawned on her.

"Oh crap, it's still growing!"

With a long and drawn out head roll, Tikki used what energy she had to unenthusiastically float up to sit on the window frame. She rested her head against the cold glass and tiredly stared at the leaves on the other side. With obvious exhaustion, the red being spoke slowly. "It, finally stopped… about four, this… morning." Tikki sighed, "I think, I may have over… done it."

Marinette managed to stand and hold out her hands to catch the tiny being as she flopped backwards from where she was perched. The ravenette sat back down with an uncontrolled thump and her chair rolled a little with the impact. Marinette yawned, "h…ow do we, fi-x this?"

Tikki lay in Marinette's cupped hands, completely limp as she inhaled deeply and let out a long blow of breath. "Just, focus… next time, you throw… the charm…" she stared off to behind her holder's head, "this… has happened, before… Amazon… bu' that wa' wa~y back… didn't nee' fixin'…" She trailed off with a sleepy mumble about Chat Noir which Marinette could not quite decipher and began snoring softly in her makeshift bed of Marinette's palms.

Seeing that Tikki was asleep again, the teen gently placed her back in her cubby and stood up to make her way to the kitchen. Finding a stray piece of fabric on the floor with her foot, the teen managed to stumble towards her trap door and continued to clumsily make her way down to get more food. Not quite making it back to bed, the secret heroine flopped lazily onto the couch and fell asleep after demolishing a plate of sandwiches left out by her maman.

Adrien noted that school had practically gone back to normal. There were no distractions causing the hormone fuelled teens to act abnormally, and there was no Lila making any ludicrous claims of any sort. The Italian was not coming back to school which was a plus that Adrien could appreciate, Nathalie had also informed him that she would no longer be an employee of Gabriel and that the girl was not to approach him under any circumstances. He was a witness after all: if it went to court and it was heard that she had tried to speak to him, it would seriously damage her case. The blonde was just grateful that the allegations were being taken seriously and that she had not manipulated her way out of punishment. Yet.

Another who would be relieved to hear of Lila's permanent absence from school was Marinette. A few of their classmates had tried to contact her, but it appeared that the ravenette's phone was switched off. Although the notable absence of Marinette was playing on his mind, the blonde was comforted in knowing that her parents were just keeping her off in order to rest after a stressful couple of days.

Adrien felt himself smile at just the thought of her, and the memory of catching her and keeping her close had his cheeks blushing. Even though he had not had the opportunity to speak to her after the Akuma attack, he was happy that she was able to sleep.

Plagg had explained the shared draining effects that the unrestricted use of a power had on a kwami and it's permanent holder, effects Adrien seriously hoped he would never have to experience; the teen hero was grateful that Marinette's parents were understanding. He was worried though, knowing that his lady was out for the count, at least for the rest of day, that Hawkmoth might use this as an opportunity to take full advantage of her depleted state. If Plagg had been able to explain the after effects of last night's cure, then so would the villain's kwami. With areas of Paris within a two mile radius now resembling something out of Jumanji, while also being pristine and completely rejuvenated, it would be obvious what had happened… it would only take Hawkmoth a few well phrased questions to his own kwami and he would have all the information that Adrien had.

That was not good.

'At least the school has something else to talk about apart from everyone's infatuation with Marinette…'

Another reason Adrien was glad that Marinette had been kept off was the fact that it gave him time to think about how he would break it to Marinette that:

A. He was completely and utterly one-hundred-percent in love with her, and he had come to this conclusion before he knew who she was so there would be no way his knowing that she lay under the mask could be an influence on his heart;

And…

B. Secret identities sucked, they had wasted way too much time skirting around each other to waste another minute without the other…

Adrien knew he needed a better way to phrase the second one, and he was also aware that he needed to work out how exactly to approach her. Did he:

A. Go to see her as Adrien and just let the cat out of the bag, or pocket. Literally;

B. Land on her roof top and expose himself by detransforming, and once again, letting the cat out of the bag;

Or…

C. Wait to see her while they were both transformed and have an open conversation about learning each other's identities.

The last one seemed the most appropriate, especially since Plagg had said dropping a bombshell on his Purrincess unexpectedly, when she was so exhausted, would probably have detrimental effects on how they proceed afterwards.

'I hate it when Plagg has a point…'

Adrien sighed and Nino helpfully elbowed him out of his thoughts and back into the room. "Dude! Concentrate, you'll be seeing Marinette tomorrow," he sniggered quietly as to not draw attention to them, "if you don't go and see her after classes."

Adrien rolled his eyes, he had obviously not been hiding how distracted he was as well as he thought. "Yeah, you're right."

Nino shuffled smugly and shot a smirk back at his girlfriend before turning sheepish, "and I wouldn't worry about Luka now either…" The teen adjusted his headphones around his neck, "it went a little south last night after you left."

Adrien kind of gathered it had, after the poor young man became akumatised, but seeing how the musician had run off with his face in hands the night prior had caused Adrien to feel sympathetic towards Luka. After having some time to reflect, the blonde had realised that he too had experienced his own fair share of rejection, from unfortunately the same person, and it had never been a fun occasion.

"Nino," Adrien tried to convey his desire to not hear about it, and thankfully Nino took the hint.

"Well, just know that Luka is certainly not the guy that Marinette wants."

Although it was a comfort to know that their mutual feelings were reciprocated, finally, Adrien could not help but feel guilty about how he acted the night before. He seriously hoped that Chloé would end up being far more than a distraction, and he was confident with how she was being that day: the heiress had failed to insult anyone during the morning, and she had even dressed slightly more casually.

Alya was willing to risk everything too, by attempting to check the teen's temperature, but Adrien had insisted on the flabbergasted brunette keeping her hands to herself.

It was not until the bell went, that Alya, who had been almost avoiding him, pulled Adrien to one side with a glance to her boyfriend which told the DJ to keep going. The blonde was surprised to see how serious Alya seemed as soon as everyone left them in the classroom alone, and he felt himself become somewhat apprehensive by the way she searched his features and spoke with quiet haste.

"Where was Ladybug last night?"

That was not the question he expected. "Wha-"

"Cut the crap, I worked it out a couple of days ago."

"I-I don't kno-"

"You act the same around Marinette in and out of the mask."

"…"

"I compared pictures."

"…"

"And with Ladybug not showing up last night, and that bizarre miracle cure…" She poked his sternum with her pointy index finger, "you're the only one who can give me answers, so spill."

Finding an entrance to Marinette's balcony was not going to be easy, Chat was just glad that it was not too late for a house call as his alter ego. Landing behind the bakery and dropping his transformation, the now maskless blonde made his way to the back entrance of the bakery, hoping that Marinette's parents were still around so he could check up on his classmate… partner… love of his life…

The interrogation from Alya earlier had shocked the blonde into resembling a gaping fish. His silence had only frustrated the worried blogger further and her need for answers only intensified. The hero had finally managed some slightly coherent words to placate her somewhat, but Alya seemed to be on the same train of thought as he was: will Hawkmoth take full advantage of an absent Ladybug?

'At least I can ask for copies of the pictures without it seeming weird now…'

Apparently Alya had figured out that the heroine was not available to fight, and had surmised that either Ladybug's Kwami had taken the reins or an inexperienced soul had lost control. Adrien had to remind himself that Alya had been given a Miraculous: that, pieced together with the amount of digging she did on the heroes, led her to a pretty accurate conclusion. At least he knew his secret was safe… but Plagg had reminded him that now it was necessary to tell Marinette everything.

After a happily smiling Sabine had granted him entrance, and had informed Adrien that "she's still pretty tired so I doubt you'll get much sense out of her," the blonde found her sitting up on the sofa. The room was darker than it had been the previous day due to the amount of foliage covering the panes, but Adrien could see that Marinette was fast asleep and catching flies with her head resting back on the cushions.

She was adorable!

Even with a tiny amount of drool slipping down her chin.

Adrien could feel himself smiling at her like a lovesick kitten, and knew that Plagg would no doubt tease him for his goofy expression later. Sitting down next to her after placing the bowl of soup her maman had sent up on the coffee table, the blonde felt guilty about trying to wake her. Marinette looked so peaceful, and as she stirred and shifted, causing her to cuddle into him, Adrien could not resist running a hand through her disheveled locks.

For a moment he was back in the imaginary field with Marinette, eating cupcakes and giggling coyly while enjoying the peace brought on by the lavender fragrance floating to his nostrils. He could stay sitting with the teen cuddled next to him for as long as they would be allowed, but it was important for Marinette to eat.

With his arm now placed around her shoulders, the blonde attempted to rouse her gently, speaking quietly with the hope of not startling the dark haired beauty. "Marinette? It's time to wake up," she grumbled incoherently and cuddled further into him, Adrien repressed a fond chuckle. "Come on, your mother's sent up soup."

"Mmph…" she clutched at the over shirt Adrien was wearing and spoke into it, causing her voice to come out muffled. "I don' wanna."

"Don't be like that," Adrien teased and had to suppress the need to call her princess while his heart thumped against his chest as she nuzzled into him. "The sooner you wake, the sooner you can get back to bed."

"Why you in my bed?" She whined pathetically before adding in a tired but playful manner, "don' y'know abou' wa'in' to be asked."

Adrien felt his cheeks flush, he needed to make sure she knew they were definitely not in her bed, and began to retract his arm only for Marinette to grumble again.

"Don' mooff. Comfy."

"Mari," he whispered, trying to get her to sit up a little, "we're not on your bed, you fell asleep on the sofa."

"Siwwy Kitty," she began to sit up independently and turned her hazy gaze onto him, "you can' be in…" Her blue eyes bugged out and she took a sharp inhale. "Adrien?!"

"Hehe," he rubbed his nape sheepishly, "hi."

Marinette blinked slowly a few times as her gaze moved from his nervous smile, the arm slowly retracting from her shoulders, and where she had left drool on his overshirt. "Wha-how'd, why, I-"

"Your mother let me up." He hurried to explain, "I sat down and tried to wake you gently…" Adrien trailed off while Marinette continued to stare wide-eyed at him. "You've got soup!" He attempted to seem cheery, but was aware of how awkward he appeared.

Marinette finally looked at the meal on the table, and then dragged a clumsy hand down her face and wiped her chin to rid it of any residue from her drool. "Gawd, what time is it?"

"A little after five," the blonde offered, "I can't stay too long as I have to be home for dinner, but I wanted to come and check on you."

Obviously starting to wake up, Marinette took in her surroundings and stretched out the tiredness from her frame. She yawned. "Tha-ank-oooOo~ so-rry, I'm just really… tired."

"It's been a rough couple of days for you," Adrien placed his hand on her shoulder as she leaned forward and rubbed the exhaustion from her eyes. "You're bound to be tired after all that's happened."

"Y-yeah," she stifled another yawn but did not turn to look at him. Stirring the soup with a ripped piece of bread, the ravenette stared thoughtfully at her food.

Adrien worried his bottom lip, he needed to speak to her about everything, but the way her stirring slowed and her head slowly lowered had him guessing that she was falling asleep again. "Marinette?"

The teen next to him jerked upright, and the way she blinked her wide eyes in his direction confirmed that she had been in the process of drifting off again. "Yes!"

He sighed fondly, "I think you need your bed more than anything else." She nodded with a laboured breath and rubbed her forehead, the blonde stood up and quickly picked her up without warning to which she let out a small 'eep'. Marinette's widened eyes and slightly parted lips accompanying the blush spreading across her cheeks caused Adrien to falter slightly. "Is… this okay?"

The beauty nodded slowly and relaxed by placing her head on his chest, it was only then that he realised he had caught her like this the night prior, and noted that Alya might have a point in the similarities between his civilian and masked selves. Carrying her bridal style towards the stairs leading up to her room, the blonde stepped carefully through the dimly lit room and made sure not to jostle her too much as he carried her up the staircase. Relieved to find her trap door open, he gently entered her bedroom and headed straight for her bed. The teen in his arms had already fallen asleep, if her steady breathing was anything to go by, and Adrien was just happy that he was able to tuck her in again for the second day in a row.

"Good night Princess," he refrained from purring it out, and then placed a soft kiss on her forehead. The blonde was surprised when her hand snaked around his wrist as he pulled away, but smiled while butterflies stirred in his stomach with her mumbled thanks and an incoherent noise that could have been 'Kitty'.

Reaching the main area of her room once more, Adrien gestured for Plagg to come out, only to find he was already gone. The blonde did not have to wait too long for Plagg to appear at his side again however, and it was obvious where he had been. "Tikki's still a bit out of it, but she should be okay with a few more hours rest." His green cat eyes glanced back in the direction he came, "any chance you could see if they will send up some cookies for 'Marinette', then Tikki can recover quicker."

"I'll do what I can," Adrien smiled, "I can always pop some over later tonight if not."

Plagg huffed and looked to the window he had entered through the night before that was completely covered, "you'll have to work out how to get in."

Adrien winked and held out a hand for Plagg to sit on, "I have that invitation to come back for coffee if you remember. At least if I knock on a window downstairs before they go to bed, I can just say that I'm checking up on Marinette after last night."

"And Chat Noir always checks up on akuma victims does he?" Plagg replied with his nasal tone laced with amusement, "or are you hoping they won't ask any questions?"

The blonde deadpanned, "I'm hoping that I can provide them with some kind of explanation as to when the jungle will be gone from their house."

"Tikki's told me that Pigtails knows how to sort it, let's just hope they're both recovered enough for when Hawkmoth strikes again."

Thanks for reading! And for the reviews, follows and faves! What are your thiughts on this latest instalment? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Take it easy!

Lady Rhi X