A/N: This is pretty much the reveal I have in my multi-part story "Confessions of a Teenage Superhero". Enjoy!

Chapter 2 - Flirting with Disaster

Paris's superheroes ran across the rooftops, enjoying the night's patrol. It was half-serious and half playful as they raced each other to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug won, as per usual. Panting, she sat down, waiting for her partner to arrive a few seconds later.

"Good one!" she panted. "You gave me a run for the money today, Chat".

"Happy to oblige, Milady," Chat replied with a Cheshire grin on his face. "I love spending time with you."

"Hmmm…" she looked over the city, just marveling at its beauty. "I love living in Paris."

"The City of Love for sure."

Ladybug punched Chat's shoulder, "You're just a huge romantic, aren't you, Kitty."

"Always and forever, Bugaboo."

"Don't call me Bugaboo." Ladybug sat lost in thought. Her mind drifted toward Adrien and today's failed attempt at confessing her love. She sighed.

"What's with the melancholy, Milady?"

Marinette thought about it for a moment or two. She loved her partner - he was her absolute best friend, and she loved working with him, but… this was different. "It's something to do with my civilian life. I … I'm not sure what I can say without revealing who I am. Plus… I don't want to hurt you, Kitty." She looked down.

Chat put his arm around her shoulder, put his claw under her chin, and brought her eyes up to his. "Whatever it is, you can trust me, Ladybug. I purromise."

"It's just… um… you promise you won't be too hurt?" she pleaded.

"Bugaboo, Miladybug, I love you. I am here for you. Like I said, always and forever."

"That's just it." she tried again. "I know you have feelings for me, and I keep rejecting your advances because of the boy I love in my civilian life."

Chat's face fell. He knew this, but it still hurt. He put on a brave face and his model's smile. If he had to be relegated to the friend zone then so be it - at least he'd still be friends with his lady. "It's ok, Ladybug. I know you don't feel the same way about me. I'm still your partner and, more importantly, your friend. Please, talk to me."

"Ok," Marinette took a deep breath. "So… I tried to confess to Ad - the boy I like today. I was almost there when something … well, someone, interrupted us and I just couldn't get it out. I mean, I've had this crush for three years now and it KILLS me that he sees me as just a friend and is totally clueless that I'm in love with him." Ladybug started to tear up, so Chat just hugged her closer, putting all the love he felt into the contact.

"He's an idiot if he can't see how wonderful you are." He looked into those gorgeous bluebell eyes. "You're smart, creative, brave," he moved a strand of hair behind her ear, "beautiful, confident, and the best friend this black cat has ever known."

"Confident, ha." she laughed ironically. "Me? Confident?"

He looked at her seriously. "I can't imagine you not being confident. Able to speak your mind. I mean, look at your speech to the people of Paris back when we first started. You reassured all of Paris that we were here to stop Hawkmoth."

"That's just it, Chat. I can be confident with most people, or in the mask, but around him? I become a madly clumsy, inarticulate fool bumbling my words. Especially in my civilian form. It's like I've got diarrhea of the mouth."

"Well, that doesn't sound too appetizing," Chat joked.

Ladybug playfully punched him on the shoulder again. "The thing is, if I can't tell him how I feel, then how can I know if he likes me that way, too? Or if it would go anywhere at all? And I need to know if it will go anywhere before…" She thought a minute. "You know, I sort of envy the way you're able to just tell me your feelings."

Chat got serious for a moment. "It wasn't that easy," he said. "I tend to hide it behind joking and flirting."

"What can I do, Kitty? I've tried and tried, but nothing works."

"Flirt."

"What?"

"Flirt with him."

"I'm not sure how."

"Wanna practice," Chat smirked. "Come on, Bugaboo. You won't know until you try."

Ladybug looked up at her partner, thought a moment or two, and then said, "Don't get too close to the railing. I don't want you falling hard for me a second time."

Chat smiled. "I'm sure you'd rescue this kitty cat's heart," he said as he took her hand and kissed her knuckles.

Ladybug looked up at his green eyes and moved her hand up along his arm until it brushed over his collar bone. Then she flicked his bell. "Listen, pussycat, I know you like me." She stood up. "But you'll have to catch me!" She ran to the other side of the platform.

"What do I get when I win?" he smirked.

"Hmmm," Ladybug put a finger to her lower lip as she pretended to think. "Let me see… What would you want as your reward, my knight in shining leather?"

Chat leaped forward, Ladybug just skirting out of his grasp. "What I've wanted for three years. A kiss from Milady."

"You had one of those with Dark Cupid."

"Let me be more specific. A kiss to remember." He leaned in close, and Ladybug pushed him back by his nose, as she usually did, laughing. Chat quickly grabbed her by the waist. "Gotcha!" he shouted in triumph.

"That you did, Kitty," she said as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"See? You can flirt, too," he said. "I enjoyed that, you know."

"But with you, I'm a little more confident. No pressure."

"Bugaboo, you are Ladybug both in and out of the mask. Just summon up some of your Ladybug courage and flirt with your idiot of a crush."

"I can't do it," she sighed.

"Oh, yes you can. Because if you don't, I'm going to pun-ish you." he tickled her.

"Stop, Chat. Oh, this is a cat-astrophe!"

"I think it's purrfect." Chat said in a low voice. Ladybug bopped him on the nose. Ladybug needs to get this idiot out of her system if I am going to have any chance at all, Adrien thought. He thought about it a moment or two.

Ladybug looked at Chat as he suddenly smirked and got a twinkle in his eye. "Oh, no. I know that look," she said.

"Ladybug, I'm issuing you a challenge," Chat said. "A bet, if you will."

"What's the bet?"

"I challenge you to flirt with your crush, so you will know once and for all where this blind idiot of yours stands."

"What are the stakes?"

"Well, if you complete the challenge and he likes you, then you have your reward. I'll leave you alone. If you complete the challenge and he doesn't feel the same way, then I get to continue purrsuing you. But if you chicken out, you go on a date with me. One date."

Marinette thought about it. She could find herself falling for her kitty. Would have most likely already have fallen for him if it wasn't for Adrien.

"Challenge accepted," she said. "I'll report how it goes on our next patrol."

"Hey, Alya! Hi, Nino" The pair were startled at Marinette's greeting.

"You're here early," said Alya.

"Yeah. I had something I wanted to take care of," she said as she sat down, summoning up some of her Ladybug confidence. Alya and Nino just looked at her. Not only was she sitting on Adrien's desk, but she had ditched her normal outfit for a more form-fitting blouse and a flowing skirt. They didn't see a certain blond model sneak in the door.

"New outfit, Marinette," asked Adrien.

Marinette jumped, just a little. Then she took a steadying breath as she summoned up some of the courage she had as Ladybug, just as she'd promised Chat she would. "Yup. This is something I've been working on for a while. I finished it last night and wanted to show it off today." she said, gesturing over the ensemble, pointing out the ladybugs and black cats sewn into the skirt. "What do you think?"

"I think it's beautiful, Marinette," Adrien said with a smile.

Taking every ounce of confidence she'd been able to summon, Marinette swallowed hard. Then said, "Not as beautiful as you, Sunshine." She then bopped him on the nose and hopped off his desk. "I've got tons of ideas in my sketchbook based on Ladybug and Chat Noir. This is just the first one I've completed. Would you like to see more?" Marinette winked, then bounced to her seat, noticing Adrien's blush.

Nino and Alya just stared.

"Girl, what has gotten into you," Alya whispered to Marinette as she slid into her seat, trying not to tremble. "You've been trying to do something like that for as long as I've known you."

"Let's just say I've accepted the challenge of getting Adrien to notice me as more than just a friend."

"That must have been some challenge," Alya quipped.

"That it certainly was. But I'm not about to lose this bet." Marinette silently thanked Chat for issuing the challenge, as she's not sure she'd have been able to overcome her shy stuttering otherwise. But like she told Alya, this was one bet she didn't plan to lose.

Adrien just sat silently, blushing from head to toe. What is up with my Everyday Ladybug today? He thought.

"Psst, Marinette," whispered Alya. "What's got into you today?" Marinette went as red as Ladybug's spotted attire. "Come on, girl, spill!"

Instead of answering, Marinette pulled out her phone and replied by text.

M: I met up with a friend last night. We got talking about our love lives, and he challenged me to make passes at Adrien.

Al: He? Is this the same guy that confessed to you the other day?

M: Yes, actually.

Al: He challenged you?

M: Actually, it's more like a bet.

Al: A bet? Come on, girl. SPILL! What were the terms?

M: That if I couldn't flirt with Adrien, I had to go on a date with him. And I am NOT going to lose this and go on a date with him.

Al: I see.

Al: Was the outfit part of the bet?

M: No. I figured that if I was going to win this bet, I was going to give it my all. What do you think?

Al: You have half the boys drooling over you today, M. Including Adrien and Nino. Thanks for that, by the way.

M: Then it's working?

Al: I'll have to check with Nino to be sure. But I think so.

"… and that's why we always use personal protective gear in the lab." Mrs. Mendeleiev was saying.

Suddenly, everybody's phones started going off. AKUMA ALERT!

Marinette breathed a heavy sigh. I was just getting started, she thought. At least I can tell Chat that I've met his challenge.

Adrien sighed heavily as he flopped onto his bed. He'd had a weird day. Between Marinette flirting with him and Ladybug kissing his frog self during the Akuma attack so he could be Chat Noir again, his heart and emotions were all over the place. He sighed again.

"Thinking about your Lady Love? Or is it Pigtails this time?" Plagg snarked.

"Plagg, shut up. I'm thinking."

"Who are you thinking about," the Kwami asked.

"Plagg!" Adrien was quiet for a minute or two, then decided he needed to talk to somebody - even if it was Plagg. "Did Marinette seem… odd to you today?"

"She's a teenage girl. She seems odd every day."

"Get serious," Adrien said to the floating cat. "Normally she can't string two words together around me, and suddenly… I don't know. It's like someone flipped a switch and now there's a different person in Marinette's body."

"Why do you think that is," asked the Kwami.

Adrien thought about it a minute. "I wish I knew, Plagg." The Kwami just rolled his eyes. "I mean she's confident around everyone else. Just not me. At least, not until today when she started flirting at me. And did you see that outfit she made?" He didn't realize it, but his face started turning red at the thought of seeing Marinette in something like that again.

He sighed heavily. "What am I going to do, Plagg? I pledged my heart to Ladybug, and now here comes Marinette. I like her, she's a great friend. And I don't want to ruin that. Besides, I feel like I'd be betraying Milady if I start to have feelings for a … friend." He looked off into the distance, thinking about two girls and trying to sort out his feelings.

Plagg patted Adrien's shoulder. "Kid, like I've said before. You need to open your eyes."

"Huh?" Adrien said as he looked toward the magical creature.

"You'll figure it out. Eventually." Tikki, I swear to all of creation that next time YOU'RE getting the mopey one.

The next morning, Marinette made sure she was on time for school. She wanted to arrive just a little early, so she had time to flirt with Adrien again.

Alya was waiting for her on the school steps. "Dang, girl. I thought it looked good on the mannequin, but this? All the guys are going to go crazy! And I really do want one of those t-shirts."

"Maybe I can make one for you," the designer said.

"With as much as you do for the class and everything, you really ought to start charging for your commissions. You are talented!"

"I like making gifts for friends," she said.

Alya caught movement in the corner of her eye as a certain DJ came up to them.

"Morning, Babe," Alya said.

"Hey, my foxy lady," Nino grinned. Then he looked at Marinette. "Woah, Dudette! That's some outfit today." He swallowed a little. "If I weren't already taken by the world's best blogger, my old crush might just come back."

The designer blushed a little. "Is it really that good?"

"Girl, if Adrien is blind to you in that outfit, I'd say he needs an optometrist. Or a shrink," said Alya. The three friends laughed at that.

Just then, they heard a car door shut and looked over as said model was getting out of the car. Adrien waved toward the threesome, not noticing Marinette's full ensemble as she was somewhat hidden behind Nino & Alya.

"Morning, guys," he said as he approached his friends.

"Morning, Adrien."

"Yo, Dude."

"Morning, Sunshine," said Marinette, stepping out from behind her best friend. Adrien's jaw dropped seeing her outfit. Summoning some of her Ladybug courage and flashing a bright smile she said, "What's the matter, Hot Stuff? Cat got your tongue?"

Adrien nearly choked. Does she know? No… she can't know. He didn't notice, but Nino nearly choked as well. Alya stared at her boyfriend.

Marinette lifted Adrien's chin with her finger so she could look into his eyes. "Come on, Adrien. We'll be late." Then she simply walked away.

Adrien, Nino, and Alya followed Marinette to class, where she placed her things at her seat. "I think it's a little warm in here," she said as she took off her jacket to place on her chair.

"Yeah, warm," Adrien said as he stared at what the jacket revealed.

The shirt's coloring was split in two, right down the middle. Across the chest was a domino mask, split in half. The half on the left was red with black polka dots and showed up nicely against the black background. The right half was black against the red background. The neckline was a soft curve, and it had standard, t-shirt length sleeves. The stitching was also themed. On the black half, the decorative stitching was Chat Noir's signature neon green, while on the red half the decorative stitching was black. The material was stretchy and soft, similar to spandex, and very comfortable. On the back of the t-shirt, you could see Lady Noir plainly, but if you looked closer you could see it said Ladybug and Chat Noir (with the word "bug" and "Chat" in a smaller font), showing the full names and yet bringing to mind the pairing that most of Paris wanted to see happen. Or at least a certain feline partner did.

Adrien's jaw dropped. "Wow," he said. "M-Mm-Marinette?"

"Yes?"

"H…" (he cleared his throat). "How many L-Ladybug and Chat Noir inspired items are in that p-portfolio of yours?" Why am I stuttering? It's just Marinette! Beautiful, kind, extremely talented Marinette. And that shirt shows off her curves nicely. Wait… what?

"Um… quite a lot. I mean, they're out there every day, risking their lives to keep Paris safe. They're quite an inspiration."

"So are you."

"What?"

The model thought fast. "So are you, um, going to enter the Gabriel Fashions design contest?"

"I hadn't thought about it. I mean, designers will be entering from all over France, and probably from around the world." She looked downcast, losing a bit of her confidence. "I'm not sure I could compete at that level."

This time, it was Adrien's turn to put a finger under Marinette's chin and make her look into his eyes. "It's worth a try, though. Right? I mean, look at what you've accomplished already!"

Marinette's heart was beating about a million kilometers a minute. "If, um, if you say so," she blushed, looking down for a minute. Then she cleared her throat and looked right into Adrien's gorgeous green eyes. "You know, I was thinking of adding more heroes to the mix. You know, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and so on."

"Girl, that would be awesome!" squeaked Alya, bringing the two out of their reverie. "Maybe do a Rena Rouge and Carapace shirt similar to the Lady Noir one you're wearing?" the reporter asked hopefully.

"Hmm.," said Marinette. "You may be on to something." She picked up the edge of her skirt. "I was thinking of adding more of the heroes on the skirt here," she said pointing to empty spaces in the skirt's design. "That's something to think about. Or should I do designs based strictly on a particular hero?"

Adrien cleared his throat as he tried to clear his mind. "Marinette, whatever you decide to do with your portfolio, I know you can hold your own in the contest," he said.

"Do you think so?"

"Yes. I bet you'll place very highly, if not an outright win."

"Adrien, you are one of my best friends in the entire world," Marinette said. "But if I decide to enter this contest, I want it to be on my own merits. No helping with the judges. Okay?"

Adrien grasped his chest in mock pain. "I would never use my influence at Gabriel to influence a contest," he said. "That's just wrong."

"And that's just one of the reasons I love you," said Marinette. Then she turned about as red as her superheroine uniform. Did I really just say that out loud? Oh, crap!

Adrien was shocked. His sweet, kind, beautiful friend was turning beet red after that statement. She looked just as shocked as he felt. Oh, wow, Adrien thought. And all this time I thought she was just nervous around me because of who my father is. All those years of trying to get to know her better, and … she had a crush on me? Plagg was right. I am blind. Adrien just looked at her, stunned, his face also turning a beautiful shade of red. He needed to respond. But how?

After about a minute of complete silence, Adrien plucked up some of his inner Chat Noir, took Marinette's hand in his, and kissed her knuckles. "Thank you, Marinette."

"Pay up," The two teens, not really having paid attention to anything else, looked toward their best friends as Nino put a Euro into his girlfriend's hand. "I TOLD you she'd confess first."

"Wait," said Adrien. "You bet on our love life?"

Before they could answer, Marinette started to laugh, a somewhat hollow sound. "Oh, this is a cat-astrophe," she said, thinking about her feline-themed partner and the results of their bet. "Flirt, he said. You'll never know until you try, he said. When I see him again, I may just skin that leather hide of his. What a disaster! This is just purrfect. Aargh!" She buried her face in her hands.

"Marinette?" Adrien was stunned a second time. "Was that... cat puns?"

"Um, yeah," she looked up. "Sorry, I don't know what I was thinking."

Adrien looked closer at Marinette. Really looked. Over the past day or so, she had shown a confidence he rarely saw in her. And yet… it seemed familiar. He started to picture a red and black mask over her eyes.

"Marinette, I need to ask you something," Adrien said, swallowing hard. "Why," he cleared his throat again. "Um, why have you been so... flirty with me lately?"

"You want the truth?" she asked, burying her face in her arms as she lay her head on her desk.

"Yes, please."

Marinette sighed. Well, the cat was truly out of the bag anyway, so she may as well go for it. "Adrien, the truth is...," she swallowed hard and looked up. "The truth is I've had a huge crush on you ever since you gave me your umbrella on that first day of school three years ago. But I've been tongue-tied every time I try to let you know how I feel."

"What changed?"

"A friend issued me a challenge."

"A challenge?"

"More of a bet, actually. You see, he's had a crush on me for a long time, but I can't return those feelings because of…" she gestured to Adrien. "He's a really nice guy and a great friend, but," she looked up. "Until I know where I stand with you, I can't move forward. He challenged me to flirt with you."

Adrien stopped dead in his tracks. This seemed very familiar. He swallowed hard. "Let me guess. If you weren't able to flirt with me, if you lost that bet, you'd have to go on a date with him?" he asked, hoping it was true.

Marinette looked up and stared into Adrien's eyes. "That's exactly it. And I didn't have a clue how to flirt, so we practiced. I think he liked it a little too much."

Oh, God. I HAVE been an idiot. "I think your practice made purrfect," Adrien punned. Marinette looked up at him sharply and saw what she could swear was a patented Chat Noir smirk on Adrien's face. "Marinette, my ma-madly clumsy Everyday Ladybug, I think we need to talk."

Marinette took a sharp breath and replied, "Agreed. I think I've stung this confession out long enough. No use letting it tangle us up any further." When she saw the huge smile on his face she knew he understood the reference. There was no denying it. Her long-time crush was her superhero partner.

"If you two are quite finished, I think it's time for class to begin," said Ms. Bustier.

"Talk to you at lunch," Adrien asked.

"Absolutely."

Neither Adrien nor Marinette could concentrate much on the lesson as they were both trying to sort out how they felt about what they just discovered about each other.

Marinette is Milady. My "everyday Ladybug" is the actual Ladybug. Marinette is my superhero partner and my best friend. How could I not have noticed before? She sits behind me in class… and so on was going through Adrien's head.

Marinette's thoughts were more along the lines of Oh my God! I've rejected Chat in favor of Adrien. But Adrien IS Chat. My crush is my superhero partner. I've been rejecting Adrien for Adrien. OMG! I've kissed Adrien at least three times now! Of course, one of those times he was a frog, but…

In short, the lunch period couldn't get there fast enough.

As the lunch bell rang, Nino grabbed Alya and took her to lunch saying they had things of their own to discuss, while Adrien took Marinette's hand and they went to the nearby park. They sat down on a bench, making sure there was nobody else around.

They looked at each other, quietly trying to figure out what to say. Adrien broke the silence first.

"Milady? It is you, isn't it?"

"Yes, Kitty, it's me." Marinette looked into Adrien's green eyes. "I don't know whether to thank you or skin you for issuing me that challenge." She sighed heavily. "I'm an idiot," she said.

"No more than me. I told you that crush of yours was a blind idiot. And I was right," Adrien blushed. "I can't believe that I didn't see it before."

"What gets me is that I was rejecting you because of my crush on … well, you."

"Now that you know the boy behind the mask, are you… okay?"

"Oh, Adrien, I'm more than OK. To think that my crush and my superhero partner are one and the same. I told you the night you issued that challenge that if it hadn't been for my crush I would probably have developed feelings for Chat."

"And I was being torn in two realizing I had feelings for both Ladybug, who I had dedicated my heart to, and the fantastic girl in my class that I was finally starting to see when she started flirting with me."

"So," Marinette looked shyly up at Adrien. "What do we do now that we know?"

"Just kiss her already, you idiot!" said a small voice. "Enough with all this sweetness, I need cheese!"

"Plagg!" said another small voice. "Let it be. They need to figure this out themselves."

The teens looked up to see the bug and black cat kwamis hovering nearby.

"Nice to see you again, Tikki," said the teenage supermodel.

"Good to see you too, Adrien," the creature of creation replied.

"Hey, Plagg," said Marinette.

"Hello, Pigtails," said the creature of destruction. "You really need to kiss this idiot kid. He's been pining for you something awful."

"Plagg!" both Tikki and Adrien yelled at the same time.

"Come on, Stinky Sock. Let's leave them be for a while," Tikki said as she grabbed the black kwami's hand.

"Anything for you, Sugarcube," he responded fondly as they disappeared into a nearby tree.

"So…" said Adrien shyly.

"So…" said Marinette. Then she did something she never thought she'd do in a million years. She reached toward Adrien and kissed him, full on the lips. He was surprised at first, but then naturally just leaned into the kiss, deepening it, reaching for her waist and supporting her back. It was sweet, tender, and held all of the pent up feelings that they hadn't been able to express for over three years. They only broke apart once they needed some air.

"Wow," said Adrien. "That was…," he thought for a moment, "… definitely a kiss to remember."

"Unlike the other times?"

"It's not fair that you remember that kiss during Dark Cupid and I don't," Adrien pouted.

"Truth be told, I only did that to get my partner back." Marinette bopped Adrien on the nose. "I had no idea I was kissing the love of my life at the time," she grinned.

"We're going to need to go over just about every conversation we've ever had," Adrien said.

"Yeah," sighed Marinette. "You know something? Alya was right about that Frog Prince kiss the other day. There definitely had to be some feelings there for the kiss to break the Akuma's spell."

"I'm glad there was."

The alarm on the phone started to beep. "I think we ought to grab something before we go in, don't you?" Adrien asked. "My treat. Consider this a first date."

Marinette blushed, but accepted Adrien's arm as they called for their kwamis and headed out of the park, bought some food from a cart, then walked toward the school.

"Adrien, are we ... official?"

Adrien stopped for a brief moment, then turned to the petite girl beside him. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"

"Yes, Adrien."

"It's about time!" yelled a hidden black cat creature.

A/N: To see the rest of the story (still in progress), check out "Confessions of a Teenage Superhero", also on .