I somehow managed to make it home undetected. I put my hair up into a hat and stayed leaned back in my car seat the whole ride back. The driver- one that Mr. Agreste hired to cart me around- seem detached from the scenario. Not that I blamed him; I doubt my mega-rich future father-in-law paid him enough to care.

The driver dropped me off around the back. The mansion was quiet, all things considered. I'm sure Mr. Agreste was home but walled off doing his own thing somewhere. My parents were both at the bakery and Adrien was at his fencing lesson. Perfect time for me to sneak some extra work in. Or on second thought, maybe not; I was still emotionally spent from the previous week's events. Entering my room- without seeing a soul on my way to it- I tossed my backpack onto the sofa and fell stomach first on my bed. I was laying there, breathing quietly and resting my eyes for a moment. Just a moment. They reopened at a frantic red kwami zooming into my room.

"Marinette! We have a problem!" "What is it, Tikki?" I asked with a yawn. Her eyes were very large and shaken, which didn't catch my immediate attention. She flew right up to my face all panicked. "I saw Plagg leaving the kitchen downstairs! He's here!" Ok, THAT caught my attention. Shooting up like I shot, I locked eyes with her. "What?! Nugh, he must have gotten lost looking for me in this maze of a mansion. Course he'd find the kitchen," I rolled my eyes now intensely unimpressed. I loved that kwami but seriously! Could he think with his head instead of his stomach sometime? Is that too much to ask? Is it?! "What should we do? What if someone else sees him?" Tikki's little voice was trembling. I gave her a pitiful reassuring look. "Don't worry. I'll find him before someone else does. I hope Adrien's still at his fencing lesson."

My kwami led me carefully down the silent hallway. It was so barren, you could hear a pin drop. "Which direction did he go?" I inquired. "I saw him heading in Adrien's wing of the house." "What?! Does Plagg really think I'd go into Adrien's room while he's not there? Or before we're even married, for that matter? Ugh! Him and his dumb logic! Come on! We gotta find him before Adrien gets home!"

Too late. We froze just shy of the corner to the front entrance. I pressed my back and arms up against the wall to stay out of view; you could hear the front door open from here. There were two voices, one of which I immediately grasped. Tikki peered at me with anxiety as I let out a terrified gasp.

"Master Agreste, shall I fetch you a fresh set of towels?" The butler asked my fiancé. "Oh no! Adrien's back!" I whispered, nervously looking back at my kwami. "That's fine, thank you; I've got some in my room. I'm gonna go have a shower. Can you please let Marinette know that I'm home?" "Of course, sir," the butler replied. "Adrien's going to his room! Plagg might still be in there! What if he sees him?!" I was also starting to panic. This was bad! Really bad! "You could always say Plagg is one of your stuffed toys. Adrien doesn't know what kwamis are and so would have no reason not to believe you," Tikki suggested. I blinked at her in revelation. "Good idea! I just need to find him first! Ugh, I'm going to kill Plagg! Why couldn't he just wait in my room for me?!" "He probably couldn't find your room," she rolled her eyes, also unimpressed with her fellow kwami presently. "I'll draw him a goddamn map!" I growled, arching my eyebrows. We were running out of time!

We followed the oblivious Adrien, trying to stay out of sight the entire way. He was busy checking his phone as he casually strolled back to his wing of the house. I wasn't lying when I said I'd never been to this part of the manor; I had no idea where we were or what any of these rooms were. Eventually Adrien reached a particularly big door, which he proceeded to open and go inside. It was left open a sliver, just enough for Tikki to poke her head through and look for Plagg. I plastered myself up against the wall beside the door, staring down at her with dread. "Do you see him?" I asked her in a tiny whisper. But Tikki didn't answer. Instead she kept gawking in the interior with her jaw suddenly hanging open. She wore this expression of disbelief which startled me. When she failed to give me a verbal reply, I slid closer toward the crack in the door to have a listen for myself.

"Eh, it was pretty good. I won two matches; lost one," that's Adrien; he's talking to someone. Must be on the phone. "Anyway, I'm going to shower then go see Marinette." Uh oh, he's gonna come looking for me now! Things just keep getting more and more complicated. "Did it ever occur to you that she might be studying? You heard what Grinds said," wait, I instantly halted; blood freezing everywhere in my veins. I know that voice…

I know that voice!

"Mmmmmm, maybe you're right. Can you go check on her and let me know if she's working please? I don't want to interrupt her if she is." Oh… Oh my god, my eyes progressively enlarged. How…. How is this possible? No, it's not possible. Adrien can't be talking to who I think he is; it's simply impossible. If he's speaking to Plagg, then that would make him….. He would be… My lips slowly started to part without my conscious realisation.

There was a loud groan inside Adrien's room. "What?! You're gonna make me do all the work? Why not just text her? She's YOUR fiancée," That's Plagg's voice- I'm sure of it! "You know she never has her phone on when she's studying. Come on, do this for me," and that's….. Adrien. Plagg huffed. "You know, you worry too much.

You'd think after nine years of dating you'd have realized that she's always ok by now."

My feet were already heading back to my room. I don't remember getting back; I'm honestly not sure how I made it there in one piece. My door opened and I stumbled inside, unable to see or even hear anything. Losing my footing, I forcefully bumped into a stand table. I crashed into it that the vase on it rolled off on the other side; it shattered to pieces on the floor. Not that I heard or saw the crash. I couldn't see anything but pure white, all sounds were fuzzy static to me. My hand unconsciously lifted to cover my mouth as I used my other hand to prop myself up with help from the table. My body felt numb; I couldn't control my arms or legs.

I think I was in a state of shock.

"Marinette!" Tikki meanwhile was worried sick over me. I didn't hear her or look at her; my eyes were just out into a blanket of white, endless space. My kwami watched me in horror but quickly hid at another arrival. Plagg popped into my room through the door, not saying anything at first until he saw me. "Marinette?" His voice was suddenly concerned. My feet took a tumble backwards, making me accidently knock over another item of glass. It smashed on the floor along with the other. This very much alarmed Plagg. "Marinette! Are you ok…..?"

He was cut off by my hand shooting through the air, grabbing onto him tightly. I brought him very close to my face, finally able to see again. "Talk!" I was practically screaming at the top of my lungs. "I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Plagg's little hands flew up in front of his face. But I wasn't backing down. Not now….. "Adrien! He's….. He's Cat Noir, isn't he?!" This horrified glimmer shimmered across Plagg's eyes, but he tried to stay nonchalant about the whole thing. "Whaaaaaaaaat? No way. Your crazy. How can Adrien be Cat Noir? He doesn't have Cat Noir's black ring with the green paw on it." "But he does have a ring!" I gasped. Just like how I have Ladybug earrings that look different when I'm in my civilian form…. My fingers slowly unclasped around Plagg's body, my eyes drifting aimlessly back into space. "How did I not see it? I've known Cat Noir for ten years….. How did I not know I was living with my own boyfriend?" I couldn't believe it. I literally could not believe it….

Plagg gave a little shake and glanced at me. "Look. Our magic is so that when someone transforms, they mentally become a different person to the outside observer. That's just a fancy way of saying that it stops you from recognizing the person. The spell only breaks when the person un-transforms in front of you." "So….. Cat Noir and Adrien will continue to look like different people to me until I see him transform back?" My lips stuttered. "Bingo," he nodded. "Adrien is….. Cat Noir. Adrien is Cat Noir! My fiancé and my boyfriend are the same person!" My voice rose again to a shout.

The black kwami immediately flew up to my mouth to silence me. "Listen to me, Marinette. You've got to stay quiet about this! Adrien can't know that you know." "Stay quiet? Stay quiet?! How can you expect me to stay quiet?! How can I not run into his arms right now?!" I hollered back. But poor Plagg was panicked, waving his little hands around frantically. "No! You can't! Adrien must never know!" "Why not?!" "Because no one's supposed to know his secret identity; it's the rule!" But I wasn't convinced just yet. I wanted to go to Cat Noir; I wanted to hold him close in my arms! "What happens if someone breaks the rule? Will Adrien lose his powers?" "I dunno, but best not to test it and find out. It's a decree as old as time. Please, Marinette; you have to do this, for his sake and yours." "But he's my boyfriend! I love him! I have to go to him; I have to be where he is!" My hand slammed hard into my heart for emphasis. "You are where he is! You live under the same roof together, Marinette," Plagg was still pleading with me. "But he's….!" "You're going to marry him. What more do you want?" He interrupted me. Only here did I pause to blink dumbfounded at the kwami. "Marry…..?" Plagg's little head nodded resolutely. "You're getting married.

You're marrying Adrien."

My jaw hung open for a moment in momentarily disbelief at the words being told to me. "Marriage…. That's right! I'm marrying him! I'm marrying Cat Noir! My Cat Noir!" This profound joy spread across my face. This caused Plagg to let out a long sigh of relief. "You've got the rest of your lives together; you've just got to keep this secret for the rest of it as well." "But what am I supposed to do? Adrien will suspect something when I stop acting like I'm repulsed by his touch," forget that; it'll take all my willpower not to throw my arms around him and cover his face in kisses each time I see him. Plagg shrugged his tiny shoulders. "Well Cat Noir said you two could be friends; he didn't say what kind of friends." "Plagg!" I frowned, shooting him a disapproving glare. His hands rose up in front of him defensively again. "I'm just saying!"

Now it was my turn to let out a sigh. "He's going to find out sooner or later….." "He doesn't have to. Adrien can spend his whole life with you being blissfully unaware," Plagg quickly countered. "I don't know how I can manage that." "You've got to try, Marinette. Just act like you always have before; he'll never know the difference." "But you're still going to have act like I don't know, which means checking on me like you did before," I reasoned, causing the kwami to moan. "Ugh, I know, I know," he rolled his eyes. I watched him for a minute before smiling- a real, content, electrified smile. "Adrien is Cat Noir…. Adrien is my boyfriend, and my fiancé. I'm going to marry the love of my life," I suddenly felt like the luckiest woman alive. Thanks Mr. Agreste for forcing me into this arranged marriage! It couldn't have worked out better if I planned it.

Plagg's eyes grew widely as I reached out to take hold of him again. I pulled him in for a kiss, giving him a peck on the cheek. This horrified look washed over his stunned face. "Blech! What are you doing?!" But I simply nuzzled my nose into his soft cheek, keeping him close. "Oh, Plagg; you wonderful kwami. I'm so incredibly happy! I love him; I love Cat Noir so much." "Yes, yes, we know. The whole world knows that you're head over heels for each other." "Tell him that I love him…. Go tell Cat Noir that no matter, I'll love him. Tell Adrien that….. Tell him that I can't stop loving him, forever more.

And don't worry. I'll keep this our little secret."