A/N: Had a plot bunny. Wrote this in a few sessions and it has three parts.

Marinette sat in her chair, spinning idly, thinking about her upcoming birthday. She and her friends were planning on a picnic in the park on Friday after school, her parents were going to bake them endless treats, and she couldn't be more excited. And the icing on the cake? Adrien was going to be there! His father agreed to let him spend a weekend afternoon with her and their friends. As an expert on his schedule, Marinette knew how rare of a treat that was.

"Marinette, for your birthday I have been thinking and trying to come up with the perfect gift for you."

"Oh, Tikki, having you by my side every day is gift enough. I don't know who I would be without you and Ladybug!" Tikki flew to her cheek and snuggled against her.

"You are the best Ladybug I've ever had the luck of meeting and for that reason I wanted to give you something extra special for your birthday this year," Tikki landed in Marinette's outstretched hands and looked up thoughtfully.

"We kwami have all sorts of magical powers and you know that with the Ladybug earrings and the Chat ring someone would be granted one wish. Well, alone we still have power to grant small wishes with small prices and, as long as it is nothing too monumental, I would like to allow you one wish from me."

"Oh, Tikki, I couldn't! I wouldn't want you to have to pay any kind of price for my wish."

"No, no... as long as it was small enough it would only mean I'm a little sleepy the next day. You may have to give me some extra cookies but since your parents are the best bakers in all of Paris I don't think that will be too difficult to do," Tikki smiled large and Marinette giggled, sitting back in her chair to contemplate the offer.

One small wish? The possibilities were endless!

"Tikki, I appreciate the offer but there isn't anything I want that would be worth exhausting you even a little. What if Paris needs saving? You are a priority to the city and to me as my friend. Not even Adrien falling in love with me would be worth you!" Marinette gave Tikki a little caress with her thumb and Tikki nodded.

"Okay, Marinette..." Tikki said and flew to the dollhouse where the other kwami were playing.

Marinette sighed, her thoughts drifting to Adrien (as they often did). He was still a huge source of comfort and even though she was a lot less nervous around him these days she still tended to get flustered in his presence. He was such a kind, selfless, beautiful person on the inside and even if she didn't have the courage to tell him, she was so fortunate to at least be his friend.

Sighing, she picked up her forgotten pencil and started working on her homework again. She needed to focus! If she didn't finish her studying she would have to work this weekend and that would be a mood killer for her birthday plans.

"Marinette, I thought of the perfect wish!" It was Friday morning, her actual birthday, and Marinette was being poked in the cheek by her little kwami.

"What's it?" Marinette sat up sluggishly and brushed away some of the hair stuck to her cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Marinette! I know what wish to give you!" Tikki was bouncing in the air, twirling and fluttering with excitement.

"Tikki, I told you I don't want to make a wish at your expense."

"I can show you what it would be like if Adrien was in love with you!" Tikki said proudly, ignoring Marinette's protest.

"In-in Adrien love w-with me?!" Marinette shook her head, the words were falling out of her in disarray as she considered the offer.

"Yes! I can create a parallel reality that you can live in for two hours - a reality where Adrien is in love with you."

"Two hours?" Marinette said with wide eyes. "What happens when the time runs out?"

"We go back to right now!" Tikki clapped her tiny hands and did a barrel roll in the air.

"You can make Adrien love me for an hour?"

"No. I cannot make someone love you, Marinette. I can only show you would it would be like if he did love you. It won't be real, it will just be what could be."

"And then I'll come back to this moment as if nothing happened?" Marinette asked for clarification.

"Yes!" Tikki was beaming.

"What about you, Tikki? Will you be alright if we do this?" Marinette frowned, pouting a little. This was her biggest worry, after all. She didn't want to hurt Tikki for a literal pipe dream.

"I will just need cookies. I'm really only creating a realistic dream for you and stopping time for two hours - simple time management!" Tikki said flippantly as if stopping time for two entire hours was nothing to worry about.

Marinette was skeptical but... she trusted Tikki. If she was sure that this was easy and painless, and that there wouldn't be any severe repercussions, then would it be so bad to live out two hours in a dream life? Two hours to see what life would be like if Adrien loved her! The mere thought made her squeak out loud and blush.

"You promise you won't be harmed, Tikki?" Marinette said slowly. Tikki did a victory dance and nodded enthusiastically.

"I will be fine! You deserve this Marinette! You have been working so hard to protect the city, guard the miracle box, and take on the role as a guardian. I want to do this for you."

"Okay," Marinette said, covering her face in nervous excitement. "What do I need to do?"

"Just lay back and close your eyes. Once you're in the dream world you'll have a wrist watch - it will be a countdown timer. When it goes to zero you will be back here waking up again."

"Okay, Tikki, I trust you. And... thank you for this." Marinette lay back in her bed and closed her eyes. From behind her closed lids she sensed a bright light and then there was nothing at all.

"Girl you are the clumsiest person I have ever met!" When Marinette's eyes popped open she was greeted with the face of her best friend and an extended hand. She grasped Alya's hand and was pulled off the ground quickly. Looking around, she realized she was in the hallway just outside of their classroom.

"Only you would be able to trip over nothing. How does your head feel? It didn't sound so good against the floor..."

Marinette surveyed her surroundings. It looked like a completely normal day at school: her classmates were exiting the classroom and people were milling about at their lockers and talking to friends. Marinette looked down at the watch on her wrist and saw the single hand tick to the right. It didn't have normal 1 through 12 numbers on it, but instead read "END" at the top. Once the hand made a full rotation her time would be up!

"I feel great, Alya! Just slipped, I'm fine." Marinette smiled at her friend and tried to find a real clock on the wall so she could figure out what time of the day it was.

"Alright then, if you say so..." Alya said with a shrug. "Let's get to the park, everyone will be there soon! I'm sure your parents have set it up. And of course you don't want to miss Adrien when he arrives," Alya stressed her crushes' name and Marinette smiled brighter.

It was already after school and they were headed to her picnic birthday party. Where Adrien would be. Where Adrien would be in love with her! She had to stop herself from running to the park but she was unable to prevent the skip in her step.

"Do you think Adrien got me a present?" Marinette dared to inquire to Alya. Based on the answer she hoped to find out exactly how this reality was structured. Was Adrien her boyfriend? Did they hold hands in this reality? Was he going to sit next to her at the picnic? What did Alya think of them being in love?

"I'm sure he did, Marinette. Although I'm also sure he hasn't had it ready for the last year like you have for him..." Alya poked her friends side and Marinette blushed. Even though they were in love she still had a pile of ungiven gifts? Eek! Maybe this reality wouldn't be a complete 180, but that was to be expected.

At the park her parents set up blankets, cushions, and a table with an assortment of snacks and desserts for all of her friends. It was lovely and Marinette was so completely grateful - she was very lucky to have her parents.

As everyone started to arrive at the park the blankets and cushions started to be claimed. Marinette stayed on her feet, certain she wouldn't be able to sit still, and greeted her friends as they approached to wish her a Happy Birthday. As exciting as it was that her friends were all there together in the park, it was Adrien she was most looking forward to seeing. When she spotted him with Nino, walking directly towards her, she tried to not overreact with excitement. It was happening! This was Adrien in love with her!

"Hi, Marinette!" He waved at her and Marinette smiled brightly, waving back enthusiastically. "I am so happy my dad let me come to the picnic today, there's nowhere I'd rather be than spending your birthday with you."

Marinette nodded, unable to trust the words that may fall out of her mouth.

"I brought you this gift." He handed her the green gift bag in his hands and she withstood the urge to hug it possessively to her once it was in her arms.

"Thank you, Adrien! I'm so glad you're here too. I'm also happier for your father - er, I mean - I-I'm happy your father allowed you. To be here, at my Birthday party... that's for me. With everyone else, of course, but with me too. Since its for me and you - I mean my birthday...heh..." Marinette felt herself turn red as she rambled. Okay. She supposed not everything would change from one little wish.

"I hope you like your gift, Marinette," Adrien said with another smile and seemed completely unbothered by her overwhelming greeting. "C'mon Nino, let's sit by Rose and Alya..." Adrien grabbed Nino's arm and dragged him away.

Marinette stared. That was it? Her brow narrowed in confusion. That was Adrien in love with her? She looked down at the gift bag and wondered what was inside. Maybe the gift would shed some light on his feelings that the greeting hadn't. It was, after all, only their first interaction. Marinette shook her head and set down the bag beside her other gifts. She couldn't open it now (that would be rude), but she made a note to make sure it was the first gift she would get to once it was time to open the presents. For now, she was going to enjoy her party and watch for more signs of Adrien's love for her.

One hour later and it was not going well.

Marinette's excitement-fueled attitude had melted into forced grins and empty smiles.

Adrien didn't make any effort to sit beside her. Adrien didn't flirt or joke with her. Adrien didn't try to hold her hand. Adrien didn't even look at her any more than he normally did.

What was going on?

Was Tikki's magic malfunctioning? Her watch was still ticking down the minutes and yet absolutely nothing seemed different than any other day. Was making this wish a terrible idea? Was Tikki okay? She was able to sneak a peek into her purse briefly and saw that Tikki was sleeping comfortably in her favorite pocket, looking content and not sick at all. So... why was everything exactly the same as always?

Marinette was trying very, very hard to enjoy her birthday but the disappointment was coming in waves.

And, of course, what could make this fantasy world any worse? An akuma attack. When the siren went off the entire mood of the picnic changed from light-hearted to panicked. Marinette's parents began to shuffle and direct everyone towards the carousel where there was some overhead coverage. In the fuss and confusion Marinette was able to escape in the opposite direction and hide behind a few bushes. Tikki floated out of her purse slowly, yawning.

"Are you sure you can handle this, Tikki? You look tired." Marinette offered her familiar a cookie and she gladly accepted the treat.

"We can do this, Marinette," she said through a mouthful of cookie. Marinette frowned and waited for Tikki to swallow. This was the first opportunity she had to speak to her kwami in this dream world.

"Is... is this right, Tikki? The wish? Is it going... correctly?"

"What do you mean, Marinette?"

"I mean... Adrien is acting like normal. Completely, utterly... normal," Marinette said with no inflection. Tikki stared at her and bobbed up and down in the affirmative.

"I am sure my magic is working, Marinette. You'll wake up in a little bit." Marinette pouted and sighed.

"But-" A shriek from a nearby completely interrupted her train of thought and she remembered that, despite it being a perfect dream world, there was still an akuma that needed to be stopped.

"Spots on!"

"Good afternoon, M'lady," Chat Noir was at her side in an instant, smiling despite the akuma.

"Hi, Chat," she said in a flat voice. She didn't mean to be a total downer on her birthday but considering this wasn't even real she didn't see the point in faking it when it was just her and Chat.

"Something wrong, M'lady?" Chat sent her a calculative look and Ladybug just sighed.

"Nothing worth discussing now. We have a city to save," Ladybug swung her yoyo and darted towards the woman currently floating above the rooftops on a cloud. Chat frowned but followed after his partner.

Cloud 9 was a woman who was overtired, having worked a double-shift at work, and then got unexpectedly laid off. The lightening bolts that she was sending in the direction of the civilians (and the superheroes) would instantly put the victim into a deep sleep. The irony was not lost on Ladybug as she swung around the city, dodging lightening that could cause her to fall asleep within her dream.

Chat Noir was his typical self, spewing puns and flirting in-between dodges and hits to the akumatized woman. Surprisingly, Ladybug found herself laughing at a few of his jokes and the frustration she had been feeling was chipped away a little more with each pun.

At one point he completely saved her from a lightening bolt, picking her up in his arms and tucking her to his chest. "No need to fall asleep, Bugaboo, the Chat of your dreams is already right here." He winked and she rolled her eyes.

The akuma was in the woman's employee badge. With a well-timed Cataclysm after using Ladybug's alarm clock Lucky Charm, the woman was detransformed and dazed, looking guilty and apologizing profusely for any damage she caused during her unfortunate akumtization.

Ladybug sighed and quickly tried to excuse herself. She was wasting minutes of this dream day and even though it wasn't turning out how she expected there must have been something she was missing. She was determined to figure it out.

"Hey Bugaboo," Chat approached her with a slight jog, noticing that she was starting to leave. "Can we talk up there really quickly?" He pointed to a building nearby and before he could even reach for his baton she had wrapped an arm around her partner and lofted them up and onto the rooftop of the building he pointed to.

"I love it when you sweep me off my feet, Ladybug," Chat gave a devious smirk and his ring beeped for the first time - his four minute warning. Ladybug just scoffed good-naturedly.

"Yeah, Chat?" she gave a half smile and give him her full attention. He was her partner and one of her best friends, even in dreamland.

"I hope you're having a good day today. You really kicked butt out there," he extended a hand and it landed on her upper arm, giving her a small squeeze of encouragement.

"Thanks, Chat," Ladybug said, mildly confused.

"I-I got you something extra. For your birthday," Chat said softly and a faint blush appeared below his mask, while Ladybug's face paled. He reached down and she realized there was a messily-wrapped, rectangular box on the rooftop and he was picking it up and - what?!

"Chat! How do you know-," Ladybug glanced around nervously, "How did you know it's my birthday?" she demanded, her eyes narrowing. How was this part of her dreamland?! First Adrien didn't love her, and now Chat knew things about her civilian life.

"Um... what?" Chat looked genuinely perplexed and Ladybug was trying to wrap her head around the implications. Chat seemed to notice her distress and took a step towards her, arms outstretched and the box still in one hand. "Marinette-,"

"CHAT!" Ladybug yelled in shock, backing away from her partner, her own arms now flailing between them. "Nope, no, no, no, no..."

"Calm down Marin-,"

"Don't call me that!" she interrupted him, shocked as her real name tumbled out of his mouth like it meant nothing at all. Like this was normal. Tikki must have messed up. There was no other explanation!

"Ladybug!" Chat looked alarmed, his brow furrowed, but he backed away from her.

"Don't say my name! You don't know who I am, this isn't real. Tikki made a mistake. We need to go home. Now. I need to get out of here!"

"Ladybug, you're not making any sense. I wanted to give you your other present, away from everyone else. We agreed this is how it had to be... we had to keep it a secret for now." Chat looked at her sadly and Ladybug felt her heart rate increase, a desperate need to escape taking over.

"Stop talking, stop, stop!" She lurched forward and her hand covered his lips. His eyes widened but he did as she asked and stopped speaking. "This is all wrong, Chat, and I can't listen to you anymore because if I do, if I find something out that I shouldn't, we could be in serious danger. I'm sorry. I have to go."

She lowered her hand and backed away from him and towards the edge of the building.

"Wait, Marinette, please don't go. I know you're scared, but I thought we agreed..." he looked crushed. "I love you."

Ladybug felt a pang in her chest as she realized what mistake Tikki had made. It made her eyes well up with tears at the sad, broken look in her partner's eyes. She had mistakenly been transported her into a world where Chat loved her, not Adrien.

"You won't remember any of this, Chat. Don't worry. Trust me." She tried to reassure him but he looked floored by her words, rather than comforted.

"I don't want to forget! What are you going to do?" Her own earrings started beeping frantically, the sign that her transformation was about to fall, and Ladybug had no other choice but to leave him right there on the top of the building.

"I'm sorry, Chat." And she truly meant it.

She detransformed near the park and immediately opened her hands to catch Tikki, who fell into the palms of her hands in a faint. Oh no! Tikki was already expending a lot of magic to help her with this gift, and then she had transformed during the two hours. Marinette withdrew a macaron and tried to feed it to her tired kwami, who somehow managed to munch on it her sleepy state. Marinette sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get the answers to her questions just yet. She looked down at the watch and saw that there was only ten short minutes left of this daydream (ahem, nightmare) and debated hiding out in the alleyway instead of returning to her party for the remaining time.

But Adrien was at the park. Even if it wasn't real it was better to spend time with Adrien than without him. So she squared her shoulders and headed back to the party.

When she arrived mostly everyone was situated back in their spots on the picnic blankets. Alya immediately ran towards her started asking if she saw anything noteworthy about Ladybug or Chat Noir during the akuma attack.

"We were worried you must have gotten zapped, since you took so long to get back!" Rose approached her as well and Marinette shook her head.

"No, luckily I didn't get zapped. But I did have to run further than I expected when the akuma started chasing me. After all of that running I think I need a snack," Marinette moved towards the dessert table with a smile. Adrien was standing near it, his face screwed up in a frown. He was looking at the treats sadly.

"Hi, um, Adrien. Did you try the croissants? I know how much you like the chocolate ones. I mean, I think that's what you like. Maybe... heh," Marinette busied herself with getting a plate ready for him, piling on the pastries she knew he liked best.

"Marinette..." he shook his head and looked around at the rest of their classmates, as if gauging everyone's behavior.

"Here you go!" Marinette pushed the plate into his hands and he accepted it without much grace.

"What's going on with you? I tried to give you your gift and now you're shoving pastries in my face," Adrien looked irritated, and it made Marinette's heart skip a beat. She had never seen Adrien look irritated at her. What had she done?

"Your-your gift?" The gift! She spun around, looking towards the piles from her friends and found the green bag which she remembered was the one Adrien brought. She picked it off the table but when she turned towards Adrien he only offered her a look of complete exasperation, which had the smile falling off her face almost immediately.

What the heck was going on in this reality? First Adrien was completely blowing her off; now he was upset with her.

"Not that one," Adrien shook his head and shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Look, I'm just glad my dad let me come to the picnic so I could be here to celebrate your birthday. Let's enjoy ourselves. Forget the gifts." He reached forward and removed the gift bag from her hands, placing it back on the table with the other gifts. "Come on," he then grabbed her hand and Marinette felt her face heat up. Now this was more like what she expected!

She allowed Adrien to guide her to two empty spots on the blanket and they sat beside one another. Marinette tried not to squeal. Adrien was holding her hand! Adrien was sitting next to her! Adrien was... forcing a smile. Adrien looked annoyed.

Marinette didn't even bother to stop staring at him. There were mere minutes left of this fake reality and she still had so many questions. Nothing was adding up. What was the point in trying to act normal when none of it was real anyways?

"Adrien, is something wrong?" Marinette asked, worrying her lip. She knew that more than Adrien could hear her but it didn't matter. Something inside of her was pulling her to figure this out. Adrien made a 'pft' noise and rolled his eyes. Marinette's own eyes went wide, not understanding this at all.

"Are you serious, Marinette?" His eyes shifted to the people surrounding them, very aware of their attention.

"Yes! What's the matter?" She said loudly and a quiet hush fell over the entire group. Marinette looked down at her watch - there was one minute left. Just sixty more seconds to figure this out.

"Marinette, are you alright?" Alya's hand was suddenly on her shoulder. "Maybe we should take a walk..." She felt the tug as her friend tried to make her stand up and walk away from Adrien. Adrien who was supposed to be in love with her. Adrien who was annoyed with her. Adrien who had all the answers. She wasn't going anywhere.

"No!" Marinette pulled her shoulder away from Alya and instead leaned towards Adrien, taking his hand in hers gently. He sucked in a breath when their hands made contact and his eyes went wide. "I thought you loved me, Adrien..." Marinette said quietly, her eyes eager and open, waiting to hear his response.

Her watch beeped and her eyes flickered down. Thirty seconds left!

"I-Marinette," Adrien's eyes shifted again and he looked uncomfortable and shocked. Marinette hated that she was the reason he was reacting like this - that she was the reason he looked so upset... and it wasn't even real. But she had to know. Her heart was pounding and every instinct inside of her was telling her to press on.

"Please, Adrien," she said with a small frown, trying not to sound too desperate as the seconds trickled away.

"You know I do..." he said it almost reluctantly, unhappily. But the collective gasp of the people around them alerted her to the fact that none of them had known he loved her. Only she knew, apparently. But why? And why was he so unhappy about it?

"Are you embarrassed?" she asked sadly, straightforward. The sheer desperation in her voice wasn't even phasing her. If this was real she would be mortified.

"No! No!" He wretched his hands from her grip and stood up, looking extremely bothered. "How could you say that to me? This was your idea! What's wrong with you?!"

Marinette scrambled to her feet, at a complete loss.

Ten.

"Adrien I don't understand."

Nine.

"You were shoving me away ten minutes ago and now we're sitting here and you're doing this," he gestured between the two of them and at all their spectating friends.

Eight.

"Ten minutes ago? I-I was running away from the akuma," she fumbled through her lie.

Seven.

Adrien scoffed.

Six

"With me," he said pointedly, staring directly into her eyes as if challenging her.

Five.

Marinette breathed in.

Four.

And out.

Three.

Her eyes widened, because the only logical thing, the only thing that could possibly make this puzzle come together...

Two.

If they had been together that meant...

One.

"Chat?"