AN: This fanfic is based off of the Bakery Enemies AU by Buggachat. It came to me when I was thinking that it would be a great plot twist if Adrian actually *does* have the peacock miraculous, and how Marinette would react is she found it before she learned he was Chat Noir. (And let's face it, Bugga has been absolutely torturing us recently, so it's a miscommunication I could definitely see happening!) I'm honestly not super happy with it, especially the end, so I'll probably come back in the future to fix it.

Marinette stared at the broach in her hand. She couldn't believe it. After all this time… all her suspicions were true. Adrian really had helped his father all those years ago.

She had started to think she was wrong. She had hoped she was wrong. So when he had invited her into his place for coffee after a rare day off spent with Alya and Nino, she had jumped on it, eager to prove to herself that she had been jumping to conclusions.

But when she snuck into his room when she said she was going to the bathroom, there it was. The miraculous was just sitting there in plain sight, leaning against a framed picture of a blonde woman who she recognized as Adrian's mother. The poor woman's body had been in the basement when she and Chat Noir had defeated Hawkmoth. It wasn't something she was likely to forget anytime soon.

Suddenly needing to escape, she pocketed the dormant miraculous and rushed out of the room.

"Adrian… I'm so sorry, I just got an urgent message and need to leave." She said as she hurried to the door and started putting her coat on.

"Are your parents ok?" He asked with a worried look on his face.

She looked up sharply. "Yes! Yes, they're fine. It's not them. It's something else. No one is hurt or anything, I'm just needed somewhere else." She looked away as she talked, unable to keep eye contact.

"Oh… OK. Will you be alright on your own?"

"I will be fine Adrian. I just have to go! I'll see you at the bakery." She said as she rushed out the door, already starting to feel the panic of knowing that the next time he saw her he would know about her theft. He would figure out that she was Ladybug, and he'd be out for revenge. She needed to get home quickly to find a new hiding place for the miraculous and figure out how to protect her parents.

As she rushed through the streets towards her home something amazing happened, something she had nearly given up hope on ever happening again.

Her earrings suddenly heated up and started to glow pink. She barely had time to duck into an alley before a sudden beam of light appeared and dropped Tikki right into her hands.

"Tikki! Oh I'm so glad to see you! I wish there was time to talk! I missed you so much! Listen, I don't have a lot of time to explain, but I really need to see Chat as soon as possible. It's about the miraculous. Are you up for that? I still keep a cookie in my bag for you, just in case." She rattled off in a rush as she hugged the little kwami to her.

"Slow down, Marinette. What do you need to talk to him about?"

"I found the peacock holder, and I think my family might be in danger!"

"In that case," Tikki dove into the bag and popped out with a cookie in her mouth. "Let's go!"

Ladybug waited atop the Eiffel Tower, her foot tapping impatiently. She had passed Alya on her way here, and she was sure the news would spread quickly that Ladybug had made a sudden appearance. Even though Chat already knew where to meet, she was sure her location was already all over social media. This is where they always met. Her only concern was whether he would be having a long heartfelt reunion with his kwami or not. Hopefully news that Ladybug was making an appearance would bring him out sooner.

She let out a sigh of relief when she heard the familiar thump of Chat's boots behind her. He must have been on his phone when the notification came in, because she had only been there a couple minutes. She had been expecting a much longer wait.

She turned, and a sob caught in her throat as she caught sight of him for the first time in years. All the feelings she had been struggling with on her own since their separation suddenly surged to the surface, and they rushed into each other's arms and held each other for a second, but the urgency of the present situation made Ladybug pull back sooner than she'd have liked.

"I know who the peacock holder is!"

Ladybug and Chat Noir blinked in surprise as they spoke in unison.

"Let me go first, Milady. There have been some new developments, and you need to know what's happening." He brought his hand up and scratched the back of his head, a sure sign he was nervous.

"Right after Hawkmoth was defeated, I realized who the peacock must be, but I couldn't find you so I went after it myself. I was able to retrieve it, and I've protected it all this time. Until… today. I made a mistake. I trusted someone, allowed her to get too close to me, and she stole it! I thought we were friends, but she stole it! I doubt that she knows what she has, but now that the miraculous are working again she'll find out as soon as she puts on the broach! We have to get it back before that happens!"

As Chat had told his story his ears had drawn back and his tail lashed as he got progressively more upset. Meanwhile, Ladybug's eyes had slowly gone wider in disbelief. Until she suddenly started laughing.

"Wha… Ladybug! There's nothing funny about this! We could have a new super villain on our hands! I mean… I can't imagine her doing that… but I couldn't imagine her stealing from me either! Why are you still laughing?!" Chat looked on in shock.

Ladybug gasped, trying to get control of herself. "Oh Chat… Chatton… I just… I can't believe it's you! It all makes sense now. All the puns… and the pictures… and the talking to yourself… and your…" she suddenly stopped laughing and got quiet as the implications of Hawkmoth identity hit her. "Your father… Oh Kitty!" She threw her arms around him again.

"L-Ladybug? What are you talking about?"

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you Adrian," his eyes widened as she pulled back with tears starting to form in her eyes, "and I'm sorry I took this."

She pulled out the peacock miraculous and held it out.

Chat looked confused for a second, before his eyes filled with understanding. He looked into her eyes, "Marinette? But… but you said those earrings were new…"

Ladybug bit her lip. "I thought for a long time that you were the peacock holder. Who else would want to help Hawkmoth bring back his wife, if not his son? Eventually, as I got to know you as Adrian, I started to see what a good person you are, but I was still scared that you were acting, so… I lied. I'm sorry, Chat! I think part of me knew you were Adrian, but I refused to believe it. My fear kept me from trusting myself… from trusting you. Can you forgive me?"

Chat's mouth lifted in a small smile. "I guess I can understand why you'd think that… I probably would have too in your position. Of course I forgive you. It was actually my father's assistant, Nathalie. She was in love with him… that's why she did it. But she was almost like family and she was sick, so after my father went to jail and I confronted her about it, she gave me the miraculous." He looked away sadly. "I guess after everything we can't pick back up where we left off… I'm Hawkmoth's son after all, so I'll never be completely trustworthy, and even if you could… if it were ever to get out, the media would crucify you. I should probably give the ring back."

Ladybug quickly grabbed both his hands with hers as he moved to take off the ring. "Don't you dare!"

She took a deep breath. "Spots off."

A pink glow surrounded them, and she looked into his eyes without her mask. "Adrian, you are my partner, and I trust you with my life."

She let go and sat down, dangling her legs off the side of the Eiffel Tower, and patted the space next to her. "Come on. We have a lot of stuff to catch up on."

Sabine was standing at the register when she noticed a familiar pair headed for the bakery out the window. She poked her head through the door to the back room and called, "Tom! It's finally happening!" Tom hurried over to peek out the door just in time to see Marinette and Adrian holding hands as they entered the bakery.