A/N: Thank you for giving my MLB fanfic a chance, but before you read, I wanted to warn you about some things.

First, there's a HIGH chance this fic won't get finished. Usually when I have a story, there's an ending in sight, but for this one I have no clue, most likely because it follows so closely to the actual show's timeline. But my brains been itching with this idea for an episode, and I figured this would be a good place to share it. I have about eight chapters planned, but I do have a few more ideas for chapters developing. So, you can expect at least ten to twelve chapters.

The second warning are the pairings. I've seen some reviews that get really angry at the author for not disclosing all pairings in the description, even if the story doesn't end with that pairing. Personally, I hate this because it spoils the story for me. If you're like me and don't want to get spoiled, then SPOILER ALERT! Skip this paragraph if you don't want to know this story's pairings. Okay, you've been warned. The story begins with Adrien and Kagami already as a couple. Eventually, Luka and Marinette will become a couple, but both couples will break up resulting in the end ship being with Marinette and Adrien (and all of their other love square pairings). Nino and Alya will start out as a couple and stay a couple throughout the story. Same with Ivan and Mylene if I decide to give them screen time. If I decide to add any other couples, then I will put a disclaimer before the chapter.

The third warning deals with one minor change to the timeline. This version starts off with Adrien and Kagami dating. I wrote this after seeing spoilers for Desperata and thought they were dating. Then I watched the episode and realized they weren't but decided to keep what I wrote.

And the last warning is not really a warning, but I think it's good to let you know early on. Even though the show mostly focuses on Marinette, the story will probably focus more on Adrien. It's not that I'm trying to focus on him but because Adrien's my favorite character, so I'll naturally focus on his perspective. I'll do my best to keep it balanced between the two main characters, but this may be more Adrien focused.

And with that, finally, here is the chapter.

The Real Marinette

"Miraculous ladybug!" Ladybug shouts. Red ladybugs sweep through the air and Paris returns to its original self.

"Pound it!" Chat Noir punches, but Ladybug hesitates. She looks down at her feet and her face burns bright red. "Something wrong M'Lady?"

"Chat Noir, I don't know what to do. I feel so conflicted."

"Conflicted about what?"
"I don't think I can hide it anymore. I have feelings for you, Chat! I have for a while now."

Ladybug tries to hide her face, but Chat reaches out and grabs both of her hands. He bends down to look into her eyes.

"Ladybug?"

"I have feelings for you, but I'm worried about you finding out the real me. What if, you don't like her."

"That won't happen! I love you! I'll love you no matter what!"

The timer buzzes, and they detransform. Ladybug first, then Chat Noir. They stand in front of each other in their civilian attire.

"Marinette?"

"Marinette? Ladybug? You're … Ladybug?" Adrien moans in his sleep. Plagg watches over him, worried about what he is dreaming about.

"This is bad." Plagg mumbles. "What should I do?" He floats over to the window and looks out at the nighttime scenery.

Plagg closes his eyes and concentrates. "Tikki? Are you awake?" Plagg hopes Tikki will hear his telepathy. "Can you hear me?"

"Plagg! What the heck did you wake me up for?! D'you have any idea what time it is?!"

"I forgot how cranky Sugar Cube gets when she wakes up." Plagg says to himself.

"I heard that!"

"Tikki, we have an emergency. It's about Chat Noir."

"What happened?" On the other side of Paris, Tikki floats around Marinette's room. She gets to Marinette's bed and watches over her.

"I think my owner figured out Ladybug's identity."

"What makes you say that?"

"He muttered her name in his sleep just now, and he was, like, 'you're … Ladybug?'" Plagg mocks Adrien's voice.

"Oh deer."

"How's your owner? Does she suspect anything?"

Tikki looks down at Marinette. Marinette rolls around in her bed and mumbles in her sleep. "Adrien! You're so … hot."

"I don't think so."

"That's good."

"Has anything happened to make him suspect?"

"No. I don't think so. It's just been the dream."

"Well, just because it's a dream doesn't mean he'll remember it in the morning, and if he does, try your best to not let him find out. They can't know each other's identities. You know what Master Fu will do."

Plagg hovers over to Adrien's bed. "Ladybug, you're … Marinette…" Adrien mutters.

"I know, Tikki. I know."

The next morning, Adrien wakes up to the alarm on his phone.

"Noooo! I want to keep dreaming." Adrien moans.

Plagg zips to Adrien's side. "Rise and shine sleepy head! You don't want to be late for school."

"Plagg, I had the weirdest dream. I dreamt that I found out Ladybug's identity, and it was Marinette. And Marinette was in love with me too."

"Buah! Marinette? Ladybug? Don't be ridiculous! Marinette can barely walk a straight line. There's no way she's Ladybug!"

"I know it seemed weird, but the dream seemed," Adrien scratches his head trying to find the words. "Real somehow."

"But don't all dreams seem real in a way?"

"I guess, but this was different. It's like, my dream was trying to tell me something I already know."

"Okay, let's go with that. Freud would say that your dream is a manifestation of what your subconscious' desires. Maybe, you want Ladybug to be Marinette because you're secretly in love with her." Plagg suggests. He tries hard not to be obvious about his hidden intentions to pair up Adrien and Marinette.

"Plagg, don't be ridiculous. Marinette's just a friend." Plagg rolls his eyes as Adrien leaves to the bathroom.

"Marinette's just a friend." Plagg mocks Adrien's voice. "If I hear him say that one more time, I'll barf."

"By the way," Adrien calls out from the bathroom. "I'm surprised you didn't ask for Camembert yet. Is something wrong?"

"What's wrong is that you didn't offer it to me first thing in the morning." Plagg zips across the room to Adrien. "How long have I been living here, and you still don't know the routine?! The nerve!"

Marinette gets to school before the bell rings and greets Alya by the entrance. Before she enters the building, Adrien's limo drives up, and Adrien walks out.

"Morning guys." Adrien waves.

"Morning Adrien." Alya waves back and nudges Marinette to do the same.

"Mo-morning A-Adrien." Marinette stutters.

Adrien quickly climbs the stairs to talk to the two girls. "How have your days been so far?"

"Eh, the same." Alya remarks.

Adrien pins his focus on Marinette, and she notices. "You doing good, I-I-I mean I'm doing good both. I mean, also!" Adrien inches closer to Marinette and backs her into the school. Her face turns red.

"How about you?" Marinette's smile twitches revealing her nerves. She looks around Adrien for an escape but can't find one. They continue backing into the school while Adrien analyzes the blue hue of Marinette's eyes. "A-Adrien?"

"Ladybug?" He whispers.

Marinette's face goes pale. She plants her feet down forcing Adrien to stop. "What did you just say?"

Adrien's stunned. He rarely hears Marinette not stuttering that hearing her calm, clear voice seems jarring. He studies her closer. Marinette's always looked like Ladybug, but her stance in this moment seems surer and more confident. The unwavering, powerful presence reminds him of the times he's fought alongside his partner.

"Everything okay here?"

Adrien and Marinette turn to see Luka standing next to them.

"We're just chatting." Adrien says.

The bell rings.

"We should get going."

"Adrien." Marinette grabs his forearm, surprising him more. "I don't know where you got that idea, but you're wrong." Marinette lets go of his arm expecting him to leave, but he doesn't.

"But you know, things would make sense if I'm right." Adrien adjusts his bag and runs to his classroom. "See you later, Luka." Luka waves back.

"Is everything really alright?" Luka asks Marinette. "It looked like you were being cornered, there."

"Everything's fine, but I appreciate your concern."

"If you need anything, I'm happy to help anytime."

"Thank you, Luka, but I'm really fine."

Luka waves behind him as he heads to class. When his back is turned, Marinette heaves a big sigh and slumps her shoulders. Alya comes up from behind and slings her arm around Marinette. "Well, well. If it isn't the average life of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Two boys at her side." Alya smirks.

Marinette buries her face in her hands. "This is bad."

"What is?"

"I think Adrien's found out my secret."

"About damn time! He should know how you feel about him." Marinette runs in a different direction from her classroom.

"Where are you going?" Alya calls out. "Class is starting soon. Marinette!"

Marinette barges into the bathroom and blocks the door with her back. "This is a disaster. A disaster!" She screams out. "Tikki, do you know if I did anything to make Adrien suspect my identity?"

Tikki flies out of Marinette's pouch. "I don't know Marinette, but you need to be careful around him."

"Ugh, why! Why is it the guy that I have a crush on have to suspect my identity! As if I wasn't nervous around him already!" Marinette pulls at her hair. "We need to figure out how to keep him from suspecting me."

"I agree, but how?"

Throughout the day, Adrien eyes Marinette. In the classroom, during break, even during PE. He watches her as she stumbles around the basketball court. He laughs as she tries to get the ball to bounce instead of roll at her feet. He laughs so hard that he doesn't see his own ball from the boy's game flying towards him. "Adrien! Watch out!" Nino calls out, but Adrien didn't notice in time. The ball hits Adrien's back.

Nino runs to help him. "You okay, dude?" Nino offers a hand.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks."

"What's with you? You've been out of it all day."

"I'm fine, Nino. Don't worry. It's just one of those days, you know?" Adrien glances at Marinette and catches her looking at him. She jumps back from surprise but quickly goes back to playing the game. Adrien giggles.

"Dude, you've been staring at Marinette a lot today. You're not planning to cheat on Kagami, are you?"

"Huh? Of course not." Adrien says.

"But you keep looking at her with love eyes."

"What?"

"You know, love eyes. You look at her as if you have hearts in your eyes." Nino forms his hands in the shape of a heart. "You better make up your mind about who you like before you hurt your girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?!" Adrien and Nino turn towards the bench and sees Chloe standing with shaking fists at her sides. "Adrikins, you have a girlfriend!"

"I guess." Adrien scratches his head.

"What do you mean, you guess?"

"Kagami and I only recently started going out."

"Kagami?! That fencing nerd with one facial expression? Why her?"

"Uh, well." Adrien hesitates to answer, and Chloe has no patience to wait. "I can't believe this!" She runs off, and Sabrina leaves the girls' game to chase after her.

Chloe sits on a bench in the bathroom and cries while Sabrina rubs Chloe's shoulders to console her.

"I can't *heave* believe *heave* this! *Heave*. When did *heave* Adrien *heave* and that, that –" Chloe continues to cry.

"There, there, Chloe. You're much prettier than that tiny sword girl and have a better fashion sense. She doesn't even use a real sword."

It doesn't help. Chloe continues to cry, and Hawkmoth hears it.

Hawkmoth opens his windowpane to see out into Paris. "Ah, a young love. Your first love always hurts the most. I should know." A white butterfly lands on Hawkmoth's palm. He gives an evil laugh as he cups the butterfly. It turns it into an akuma. "Fly away, my little akuma, and evilize her!"

Chloe is still crying in the bathroom when the akuma finds her. Sabrina is the first to notice it.

"Chloe! Watch out! There's an akuma here!"

"I don't care anymore!" The akuma enters Chloe's sunglasses allowing Hawkmoth to send her a message.

"Duchess Medusa, I am Hawkmoth. With one look into your eyes, anyone will fall in love with you. No one will be able to resist you. Especially Adrien Agreste. All I want in exchange are Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."

"Everyone will love me." Purple smog bubbles out of Chloe as she changes into Duchess Medusa. Her sunglasses morph into a diamond crown that rest upon her blonde, snake-like hair. Her eyeshadow becomes bright and glittery pink while her lips turn deep red. Her outfit changes into a white, sleeveless, turtleneck dress that reaches just above her knees. Along her arms are gold and pink tattoos that interlace like vines on her skin and extend from her shoulders to her fingertips. The transformation finishes with a pair of white high heels.

"Ch-Chloe?" Sabrina stutters.

Medusa jerks her head towards Sabrina. Their eyes meet, and Sabrina falls for Chloe. Love at first sight.

"Sabrina, do you love me?" The Duchess coos. She seductively walks towards Sabrina and pets Sabrina's face with the back of her hand.

"Of course." Sabrina melts.

Medusa leans in to whisper into Sabrina's ear. "Then bring me Adrien."

A/N: I have a new found respect for the writers and how they come up with the villain names.