Chapter 2

Marinette stepped into a nearby closet, so that she could get her act together away from Master Fu and Chat Noir. She created some space for herself among the hangers, opened her bag, and let Tikki fly out.

"Oh my, Marinette, this is crazy!" the Kwami cried, giving Marinette the biggest hug she could manage with her tiny body.

"You're telling me. This is the last thing I want, Tikki," she sobbed, letting her tears flow. The Kwami didn't say a word, since she understood that there was nothing she could do or say to make any difference. Marinette took down her defenses and let all her emotions swirl around in her head. She felt a lot of different things, but fear stood out among the rest. How could this be happening to her? Was it all a dream? She slumped to the floor of the closet, bringing a few spare coats down with her by accident. For the longest time, Marinette just sat there and cried. There was no way she could confront Chat Noir while she didn't have her own feelings under control. When her tears were finally dry, she stood up and took a deep breath.

"Tikki, spots on. There is no sense in delaying the inevitable, so let's get this over with." Tikki obliged, and Marinette was replaced by Ladybug. She stepped out into the hall and walked softly back to the cot where Chat Noir had been. To her relief, she found him sitting up and drinking water, and he looked perfectly healthy. Ladybug was so relieved to see him conscious that she forgot about her worries and practically attacked Chat with a hug.

"Oofh! Ladybug!" he laughed, returning the strong embrace. While he knew it was a friendly hug, he savored the feeling of her in his arms and stroked her dark hair. He was glad to see her, but he was also confused. Hadn't Marinette been the one to save him? Where did she go? Chat's questions dissipated into the back of his mind as he relished the proximity to Ladybug.

"This is certainly new! If almost dying gets me this much attention from you, I'll have to try it again sometime, m'lady," he said with a signature wink.

"Shut up, Kitty. I was worried about you."

"I love you too, Bugaboo." Ladybug rolled her eyes at his shameless attempts at flirting. However, she remembered that she needed to… ahem… get with him… and her attitude changed.

"Let's get out of here, yeah?" she asked, standing up and extending out her hand to him.

"I thought you'd never ask," Chat smirked, gratefully accepting her hand.

'Heaven help me,' Ladybug prayed, and the two of them went to a secluded spot underneath a bridge. Ladybug was on pins and needles the entire time. Would she be able to convince Chat to be with her in the most intimate way, without asking questions? Master Fu had given her the pill, but also a key card to a hotel. She refused to reveal her identity to him, so going to her house was out of the question. Everything was planned to a T, and everything was in place, but it all came down to Chat. How could she ask him to do this without breaking his heart?

Chat was extremely confused. Ladybug had never wanted to spend time with him when they weren't in battle or on patrol. He sensed some nervousness in her voice, and he wanted nothing more than to comfort her. However, he had no clue what was wrong. Her face remained stoic as she sat down on a large rock near the river. Chat sat down next to her and didn't let go of her hand.

"Chat, I have something I need to talk to you about," Ladybug said quietly. Chat, one who always would lighten the mood with a pun, knew that now was no time for a joke. He just wanted to know what was making his love so upset.

"You know you can tell me anything, Ladybug," he reassured her. He took both of her hands in his own.

"While you were out, unconscious I mean, Master Fu explained that HawkMoth is only going to get stronger. While we are also strong, miraculous holders were not designed to defeat other miraculous holders. Since he sides with evil, he is stronger. Master Fu said that the only way to beat him would be to … erm, combine our powers… in an… intimate way," Ladybug started, desperately trying not to lie.

"I'm not sure I follow you," Chat said, looking to her face for any explanation. Ladybug kept herself from meeting his gaze.

"I'm not totally sure how it works," she said, which was not entirely a lie," but it means that we have to…"

"We have to what?"

"We have to sleep. Together. Not like, actual sleep, no… that would be pointless, I mean..." Ladybug stuttered. Chat Noir leapt up from the rock in anger.

"Wait, pause. Ladybug, stop it! This isn't funny," he growled. Ladybug sighed.

"I wish I was kidding, believe me."

"Hold on, you're being serious? Why would that do anything to help us?"

"Master Fu said we need to combine our powers of creation and destruction by… having sex… and in time it will give us some sort of divine power to defeat HawkMoth." Ladybug was blushing profusely now.

"Wow, HawkMoth is getting me laid? He may be our sworn enemy, but I'll have to thank him for this one," Chat joked, and Ladybug gasped in shock.

"Chat! This is serious stuff!"

"I know, I know. Geez. Never in a million years would I have predicted this." He scratched the back of his head nervously and stared at the river. After a few seconds, he regained his composure and knelt in front of Ladybug, who was almost shaking with nerves.

"Ladybug, are you sure about this? I don't care what Fu says, if you're uncomfortable with this, we don't have to go through with it."

As much as Ladybug would have loved to take him up on that offer, she knew that she didn't have a choice. Watching Cat Noir almost die today was a real wake-up call. They would never defeat HawkMoth on their own.

"I'm sure."

Chat Noir knew that she was serious when she pulled out a key card to Chloe's family's hotel. He didn't want to be as excited as he was. He could tell how nervous Ladybug was, and he felt a little ashamed of himself. Unfortunately, his desires took over, and the southern region of his body was starting to feel some heat. Furthermore, he was excited to find out the identity of his masked lady. They clearly could not do-the-deed in their suits, and he had been dying to know who she really was ever since they met. For Ladybug's comfort, he kept his thoughts to himself as they traveled across the city. The two didn't share a word as they snuck in to the hotel through the door on the roof and found their room. A large, king-sized bed was prominent in the center of the room, and Chat could tell that Ladybug was doing her best to avoid looking at it. Suddenly, she went to the light switch and turned it off.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Chat exclaimed, and his night vision adjusted to the darkness.

"Our identities have to remain secret, remember?"

"You've got to be kidding me, Ladybug, we're about to have sex! You really expect us to do it completely in the dark?" he asked, unable to keep the slight whine out of his voice.

"That's exactly what I expect. Now, you transform back first. I know you'll use your night vision if I do."

Chat Noir groaned, but he did as she asked. In a few seconds, he was Adrien Agreste again, and he could only assume that Ladybug was her normal self. He was itching to run over to the light switch and turn it back on, but he didn't want to break her trust in a moment like this. He tried to listen for her movements, but there were none.

"My lady?" Adrien called. He found it strange to be using his Chat lines in his human form, but he didn't want to scare her.

"I'm here," Marinette said in a small voice. She had used the cloak of darkness to swallow the pill she had been given, and she gave a quick prayer that it would work. Then, she turned her attention to the boy in the room. She tried to imagine what Chat looked like as a human, but she could never get the image of his black cat ears and tail out of her mind. Without warning, warm arms enveloped Marinette's small body and held her close.

"It's going to be okay, Ladybug. I know this is weird, and scary, and I'm scared, too. But if at any point you want to stop, we will," Adrien promised.

"The same goes for you, okay?" Marinette stated, and Adrien was shocked. He had been so focused on comforting her that he never imagined that she would think to comfort him. It made his heart soar. However, there was no way in hell he would ever want this to end if Ladybug was okay with it.

"Thank you, m'lady." An awkward silence fell over the two after that, and Adrien felt a lot of nerves rush over him. He had never been with a girl before, and he wasn't sure what to expect from Ladybug. Would she just want to get it over with as soon as possible? Would this successfully combine their powers? Would she want to do it again? How long…

His thoughts were interrupted when Ladybug raised her lips to meet his. He had not seen that one coming! Immediately, Adrien melted into the kiss, running his hand through her medium-length hair. He let out all his pent-up passion into the kiss, deepening it when he got the chance. Her hands started playing with his hair, lingering on the spot where his cat ears normally were.

He ran one hand along the side of her waist, causing Marinette to shiver. Adrien was encouraged by the way she reacted, giving him the confidence to grab her by the waist and pull her closer. She responded by wrapping her arms around his neck. The kiss went on like this for a while as the two found themselves to be more comfortable with each other. Adrien let her lead the way, since he was doing everything in his power to not scare her. Still, he could only restrain himself for so long as his temptation was building within him by the second.

Marinette's fingers played with the hem of his shirt, and he wasted no time in removing it. She let her fingers explore his bare chest, and he loved the feeling of electricity that came from her touch.

Marinette was feeling conflicted. She was strangely excited by the thought of Chat Noir in his human form, but she knew that it wasn't love. She was still in love with Adrien. Since they weren't together, this technically wasn't cheating, but it still felt wrong. Still, she had to admit that she was really turned on by whoever was beneath the mask.

"You're beautiful, Ladybug," Adrien breathed.

"You can't even see me, Kitty," Marinette giggled. He smiled, glad to have eased some of her nerves.

"It doesn't matter. I know that without a doubt, you are the most stunning girl in Paris." With that, he found her lips again and kissed her more. She eagerly returned the kiss, and he lifted himself onto the bed so that he was resting on his elbows above her. Without warning, he pulled away.

"Ladybug, don't we need… protection?" Adrien asked warily.

"No! I mean, that would ruin the process of combining our powers," Marinette stuttered, and Adrien could tell something was off. Before he could question it any further, Marinette had pulled him back into the kiss and his thoughts were clouded by lust.

After everything was over, the two collapsed onto the bed. Adrien put his arm around Marinette, his Ladybug, and pulled her close.

"Chat, I've got to go," she explained, squirming to get out of his grasp. She blindly searched for her clothes, doing her best to put on what felt small enough to be her own.

"Ladybug, wait!" Adrien called, leaping up to find her.

"Chat, you have to stay here, you can't watch me leave," Marinette begged. With a sigh, Adrien knew that he would oblige. He reached out into the dark and found her hand, pulling her into a hug. He nuzzled his head into her hair and took in her scent, trying his best to capture this moment in a memory. Strangely enough, he smelled freshly baked cookies and a hint of lavender. His senses went into overdrive as he remembered smelling the same thing earlier, but when was that?

Marinette struggled out of his embrace and raced out the door, leaving Adrien alone. Suddenly, he remembered the smell and was brought back to the moment he was being carried to Master Fu's by his classmate. That's when everything clicked into place. They had the same eyes, the same dark hair, and the same selfless attitude. How could he have missed this?

"Marinette?"