After a particularly challenging akuma, Marinette watched as Adrien stood in place of her Cat Noir. He exchanged a few words with his kwami and disappeared around the corner, completely oblivious to Marinette`s shock.

Cat Noir, her partner, her kitty, her best friend, was Adrien Agreste.

The entire future she had spent so long hoping and planning for was reduced to a fanciful dream.

She laughed. How silly of me to not recognize the love of my life right before my eyes.

All this time the girl Adrien had been in love with had been Ladybug.

She cried. How ridiculous of me to think I could be what Adrien wanted.

Marinette took down all the pictures of Adrien on her walls.

She changed her computer wallpaper.

She threw out Adrien's schedule (she had it memorized already, but the gesture was symbolic).

She put away the drawings of her fantasies of a future with him.

When her heart would ache, she would whisper "Moving on. One step at a time."

At school she allowed herself to be near him, to laugh with him, to listen to him, without the stress of making a good impression. It was painful, yes, but it was also liberating.

She told herself that being friends with Adrien was better.

She repeated it so often that, after a while, she believed it.

Mostly.

Cat Noir was another matter entirely. At first, Ladybug considered telling him she was now seeing someone, but she couldn't possibly lie to him.

She considered taking the honest route, but the very idea frightened her so that she pushed the thought away.

But he deserved to know, if he still wanted to.

She would give him the option.

A different sized (but no less nauseating) hunk of fear and worry settled itself at the bottom of her stomach at this course of action, but she was determined.

She would be vulnerable, even if it meant seeing the look on his face when he realized he wasn't at all in love with the girl he wanted to give his heart to.

The next battle they faced had Cat Noir worrying. The entire time Ladybug had seemed on edge, and now that she had Lucky Charmed everything back to normal, she still looked worried instead of happy.

Traditionally a rushed fist bump ended their time together, but this time when he offered his fist, she instead reached for his wrist and tugged, signaling she wanted him to follow.

She led him to a rooftop they had frequented for serious conversations.

"Do you have some time for us to talk about… stuff? I brought Tikki some cookies, but I'm not sure if your kwami is into that kind of thing."

Cat Noir was instantly uneasy.

There she stood, avoiding his gaze, her hands fiddling with her yoyo.

It was a few moments before he realized he hadn't answered her yet.

"I have some cheese for Plagg, and my schedule is all clear Milady." He said, trying to catch her eye as he smiled.

It almost looked like she was disappointed.

"Umm. Great! I'll just… duck over here for a second." At least he wasn't the only one who was nervous.

After letting Plagg recharge, he stepped out from behind his respective billboard and vaulted back to the rooftop where Ladybug was already sitting, her arms wrapped around her legs rather than casually swinging over the edge.

"Is everything okay Bugaboo?" He asked, trying to be lighthearted but knowing whatever she had to say was serious.

"I know who you are." She whispered, so quietly he wondered if he had heard her wrong.

She continued, her voice growing louder.

"I accidentally saw you detransform after the last akuma. I recognized you easily enough, and I know I should have called out and said something, but I was shocked and scared. I didn't know what to do or what to say. I wasn't even sure if I wanted to tell you that I found out because-"

She took a shaky breath, her voice tight, and turned to look at him.

"Because you're my best friend Cat Noir."

He saw the raw emotion in her eyes, she was practically trembling. He reached for her hesitantly, but pulled back, unsure if his touch would be accepted despite her declaration. He didn't feel brave enough to face that possible rejection.

That had been happening more and more recently.

She continued, her voice quieting again.

"I couldn't bear to lose you as a friend, kitty. You mean so much to me. I was afraid that if I knew who you were, everything about our relationship would change. Please believe that I didn't mean for this to happen…

"So," she rallied, "what I wanted to say, really, was that I'm sorry I knew and didn't say anything but here I am now, and if you want to know who I am… I'll show you."

At this, she looked down, and Cat Noir was grateful for a break from the eye contact because he felt as if his chest was going to burst from it all. There was so much to think and feel and process, but in the moment all he could think of was that his Lady was overwhelmed with... what? Fear? Sadness? Pain? Whatever it was, she was struggling.

He wanted to make it all go away.

"It's ok Bugaboo." He said, and her tears finally spilled over.

She allowed him to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It's not your fault, you didn't do this on purpose, there's no need to apologize."

"You're not upset?"

"If I'm upset it's only because you're upset." She laughed wetly.

"How do you always know the right thing to say." He stopped himself from making a joke and instead pocketed her words away for later.

Letting him go would physically hurt. His leaving would be even more painful.

But she knew he wouldn't leave.

"What do you want me to do?" She asked.

He thought for a moment.

"I want whatever you want, Milady. I want you to tell me who you are when you're ready, not because you feel like you need to even the playing field." He said, nudging her playfully.

Her shoulders relaxed.

Boldly, he reached over and used his knuckle to turn her head so she was looking at him.

"You're not ready yet. And that's ok."

Finally, she smiled, and he drew an inaudible breath at how beautiful she looked in the glow of twilight.

Too soon, she turned her gaze away. He ignored the painful squeeze of his heart.

"Thank you Chaton." The nickname took some weight off his chest, and he smiled.

"Anything for you Bugaboo." He didn't miss the sad smile she wore, so he did what only he did best.

He made her laugh.

"More importantly, I'm sure you're purrfectly overjoyed to find that your partner is the one and only exceedingly handsome supermodel, Adrien Agreste." Her giggle was exactly what he was hoping to hear.

"Overjoyed is one way to put it." She said, wiping away a few stray tears with the back of her hand.

"Oh, you wound me Milady." She laughed at Cat Noir's dramatic declaration, but she noticed that the other went to the back of his neck. He wasn't looking her in the eye either.

"Kitty, look at me." She waited for his eyes to meet hers.

"Knowing who you are beneath that mask doesn't change anything. You're still my best friend. I wouldn't trade you for the world." She smiled softly, but feeling herself in danger of revealing the depth of her feelings for him on her face, she opted to lay her head on his shoulder, perhaps the lesser of the two dangers.

Her words simultaneously inflicted pain and offered comfort to them both. Even if they couldn't be lovers, they were still friends.

They settled into a comfortable conversation for the next hour before Ladybug stood up to say good night.

His heart got the better of him.

"Can I ask you for a favor?" Her smile lost some of its easiness.

"Anything for you Chaton." She said, and he recognized her echoing his own words.

He felt warm.

"Can you-? I mean, could you-? Agh! Why is this so hard?" She laughed, her Ladybug confidence returning as she rested one hand on a cocked hip.

"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" She teased.

Her humor gave him the courage he needed.

"Could you please say my name?" He said, the passion in his heart spilling into his voice far more than he had intended, but not nearly as much as he felt.

Several expressions crossed her pretty face; shock, nervousness, apprehension. He thought perhaps there had been the slightest flash of pain, before she seemed to relax.

She stepped closer, hands clasped behind her back, and leaned her face towards his. Her proximity and eye contact were enough to make his own face warm.

"Adrien." He swooned, relishing in the sound of his name coming from her lips.

"Bonne nuit, Adrien." She said, and he couldn't help the goofy smile that lit up his face. He loved the way it sounded coming from her.

He replayed it over and over in his mind, still smiling and still picturing her as he fell asleep.

"I think that went pretty well." Tikki chirped near Marinette's ear that night once they were home.

"I think you're right Tikki, it went better than I thought. I still can't handle the thought of him seeing the real me, though." Marinette sighed, almost tripping over the carpet on her way to bed.

"Ladybug is the real you, Marinette." The kwami tutted.

"Marinette can't yoyo through Paris and purify akumas." She countered fluffing her pillow agitatedly.

"Adrien didn't fall in love with Ladybug because of those things, and to say that he did would be calling him superficial." Tikki crossed her arms, proud of her own comeback.

Marinette naturally had no response.

"I have to let him go, Tikki. If Adrien was going to turn my way, even just a little, he would have by now."

The kwami opened her mouth to respond, but she noticed Marinette surreptitiously dashing away a tear, and she couldn't bring herself to insist that she continue holding on to her "unrequited" love.

"I am going to be the best dang friend he's ever had. He won't know what hit him." Marinette whispered as bravely as she could.

Tikki patted her cheek, determined to believe that because they were made for each other, things would work themselves out eventually.

Marinette was not going to be late for school.

She had prepped her clothes and lunch the night before, made sure she got to bed on time, and set several alarms.

It was part of her plan to become a better friend to Adrien. She knew if she was sitting at her desk when he arrived then at least she wouldn't have to worry about tripping over both her words and her feet.

This was Cat Noir, she had no reason to be nervous around her partner.

Her face heated up just thinking about all the puns and flirting that technically Adrien had directed at her…

She frowned, choosing instead to focus on how much she cared and wanted to be close to him as a regular person, and not just as superheroes.

She practically marched her way to school, practicing several "Good morning Adrien"s and "How was your day yesterday"s and memorized a few conversation starters but just as she was reaching the top step of the school, he interrupted her carefully thought-out plan.

"Marinette!"

That voice. She could hardly believe his voice had never given him away before.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself before turning around to face him.

He's my best friend. She recited to herself for the umpteenth time.

"Guten morgen Adrien!" GERMAN!? That's what decides to fly out of my mouth? Her face warmed. Focus. Focus. Focus!

Adrien didn't miss a beat. She had, of course, said stranger things before.

"A guten morgen to you too." He chirped back with a smile, finally catching up with her.

She felt a fist squeeze her heart at the sight of that smile, and for a second she was frozen with her mouth slightly ajar.

She closed her eyes and shut her mouth, willing herself to calm down.

Cat Noir. He's Cat Noir.

"Are you ok?" She could picture her kitty asking her the same thing as he had so many times before.

Another deep breath before she opened her eyes and tried speaking again.

His eyes. Soooo green.

"Dine and Fandy!" She felt her cheeks burning.

Don't look at him. Just pretend he's wearing that catsuit.

She looked away. Deep breaths!

"Fine and dandy. I meant fine and dandy." That was better!

"That's good to hear!" He said cheerfully. She could feel his eyes on her, but avoiding his gaze seemed to help so she looked at him just long enough to smile before turning to go inside the school.

"How are you?" She had practiced those three words at least a dozen times that morning, and she felt immensely proud of herself at the execution.

"I'm good! I'm glad it's Friday."

We're walking together! And talking! We're having a conversation!

Knock it off! You walk and talk and fight beside Cat Noir all the time!

She was honestly grateful that Adrien didn't seem to mind the long pauses before she answered anything he said today. She didn't dare try looking at him though.

"M-me too. Do you plans? Do have plans for the weekend?" That could have been a lot worse.

"This weekend, well…" He continued talking and at first the best she could do was nod, but by the time they reached her desks, she was practically grinning at the progress she had made in such a short amount of time.

"We could have a study session at my house." She offered after talking about Nino and Alya's concern for the upcoming test.

"Really? That sounds awesome! I'll try to talk my father into it!" She made the mistake of looking up at the moment he was smiling at her again.

She almost squeaked but at that moment Alya and Nino chose to come in arguing about something trivial that distracted Adrien and allowed Marinette to panic in peace.

Progress was progress. He still made her nervous, but talking to him like she would her partner wasn't impossible.

Practice makes perfect.

As soon as Nino and Adrien started a separate conversation, Alya turned to Marinette who seemed particularly preoccupied with reviewing her notes rather than staring at Adrien and hanging onto his every word as per usual.

"Marinette. What gives?" She whispered.

"What gives about what?" She smiled, blinking innocently.

Alya was having none of it.

"What's going on with you and-" She waggled her eyebrows at Adrien.

"Nothing. As always." She said, almost flatly.

"Are you ok? This doesn't seem like you. Normally you'd be sitting there acting… you know." She tried to keep her voice down.

"I'm good! I promise!" A pointed look from Alya led Marinette to tear a small piece of paper from her notebook. It hurt less to write it rather than whisper it aloud.

I want to try thinking of him as a friend. I want to be his friend.

"But girl! It's love!" Alya hadn't meant for her whisper to be so loud, but thankfully Nino and Adrien continued discussing some sort of obscure music genre.

Marinette passed her another note.

If something was going to happen, it would have by now. I'm tired of waiting for something that isn't gonna happen. We're better off as friends. I'm counting on you to support me.

That did it. As much as it pained Alya to see her friend give up, she wanted to be supportive.

She reached over and gave Marinette an affectionate hug.

This just means my matchmaking skills are going to have to be just a hint more subtle.

"That's ok dude, I really should get going." Nino said, trying not to appear as if he was in a rush and wondering how clueless Adrien could possibly be.

If there were a contest in obliviousness, he'd win in a heartbeat.

Nino fought back a chuckle as Marinette stuck her nose further in their book. Alya would be glad to hear that it seemed like Marinette was at least squirming.

It had been Alya's idea to leave them alone on this rare occasion when Adrien's father let him out of the house.

Nino wasn't complaining. He loved his friend but he was looking forward to taking Alya on a date today while the two spent some quality time together.

"Well, I hope your dentist's appointment goes well." Adrien smiled before standing to walk Nino out.

"Thanks dude! But no worries about walking me out, you've got tons to study for! Bye Marinette!" Nino registered Marinette's hand and a squeaky "bye" coming from behind her book.

Hang in there dudette, you got this!

"Um, ok then, see you tomorrow?"

"Most def!" Nino called, scrambling down the stairs before Alya could text him to beat it again.

Nino hoped his friends could see the writing on the wall sooner rather than later.

Double dates would be fun.

There is nothing to freak out about, Marinette. You're supposed to be studying. S-T-U-D-Y-I-N-G. There is no need to even speak to him. It's just another hangout with Cat Noir.

She tried to appear as focused on her studying as possible, then maybe he would take the hint and not try to start up a conversation.

Marinette tried not to question Alya and Nino's excuses to leave early or freak out over the fact that she and Adrien were alone now. Instead she forced herself to focus on the words on the page.

After a few deep breaths, her heartbeat returned to something resembling normalcy.

She was tempted to look at him, but that never ended well. Instead, she dove headfirst into the exciting era of the French Revolution.

After about 15 minutes of silence, in which Marinette had tried and failed to read the same page several times and was about to give up, Adrien spoke.

"Marinette, sorry if I'm getting in the way of your studying, but I'm having trouble focusing over here. Can we take a break?"

Marinette let out a big sigh. At least I'm not the only one.

"I was just about to say the same thing." Still can't look him in the eye…

"Do you want to play some Ultimate Mecha Strike III?" She said, avoiding eye contact while busying herself with straightening her papers, trying to squash the butterflies that were trying to take flight in her belly from his perfectly friendly gaze.

"That sounds awesome!" She felt him grin.

"Awesome!" She parroted, relieved that it hadn't come out all garbled.

Maybe this could be a great opportunity to get more used to his face since he wouldn't be looking directly at her and instead would be looking at the screen.

"Wanna be player 1?" She asked, extending her favorite controller.

Adrien was glad Marinette had agreed to take a break with him, and even happier that she had practically read his mind when she offered to play video games.

Still, she had hardly looked at him at all before Alya and Nino had left, and had certainly not even looked in his general direction since their departure.

He liked that he and Marinette had been spending more time together. She was kind and sweet with a heart of gold, but after a while he noticed that she didn't make a lot of eye contact with him.

At first he thought it was one of her quirks.

He was used to her quirkiness, but lately he was getting convinced that she seemed almost determined not to look at him. Had he done something wrong?

Maybe he was overthinking things, but it still bothered him.

He looked over at her as they played, but she was completely immersed in the game, eyes focused as she was close to beating him.

With a final combo, Marinette won, stood up, did a little dance and finally, finally, looked at him with a smile on her face.

But the eye contact was short lived.

She sat down, breaking eye contact with a nervous chuckle before moving to choose a different character.

"Best two out of three?" She offered.

"Have I done something wrong?" She dropped her controller and he almost facepalmed.

Nice going, Adrien. Real subtle.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. It's just, it feels like you've been avoiding eye contact with me lately. I was wondering if maybe I had done something. I don't know. Maybe it's nothing and I'm just overreacting, sorry. Don't worry about it."

He turned his attention to the screen again, flipping through the list of characters.

Had he just babbled?

Surprisingly, she started to answer him, although her eyes stayed glued to the controller in her lap.

"No, no, that's right."

Ouch. He almost winced.

"I mean, you're right. I mean about the eye contact. Not about the doing something wrong. Thing." She continued.

"Oh." Was all that came out of him. He wasn't sure what to say. Think of something!

"Um, if you don't want to talk about it, that's ok. We can try best two out of three…"

"No." She said weakly, before clearing her throat.

"No, I think this is a good idea." Her words came out stronger that time.

She turned in her chair to face him, so he turned to face her as well, but as soon as she lifted her gaze and their eyes locked, she turned around again.

"This is harder than I expected." She said, crossing her legs underneath her.

"Do you want me to turn around?" He asked.

"I'd rather look at you, if that's ok… It's just difficult to talk if you're… Oh! I've got it!" She reached over to a drawer and pulled out a pair of dark sunglasses.

"Is it ok if I wear these while we're talking?" Although her eyes stayed on the glasses in her hands, she moved to sit facing him.

So she wants to look me in the eye without me looking into her eyes… He had donned sunglasses before to keep paparazzi from seeing him, they made him feel less vulnerable.

Maybe Marinette wanted to feel less vulnerable with him.

"Of course! Whatever makes you feel comfortable." She rewarded him with a smile, still sans eye contact.

Once the sunglasses effectively shielded her eyes from him, she breathed deeply, smiled at him directly, to his surprise, and started with,

"Adrien, it's not you, it's me."

Adrien looked at her with pure confusion written all over his face.

She couldn't help it, she laughed.

"Sorry, I've always wanted to use that line." This was brilliant. She felt her body relax. Somehow, the sunglasses gave her the courage she needed.

It was almost like wearing the mask when she was Ladybug.

"Let me try again." She took a breath, reminding herself that unless she was honest about her feelings and worked through them until they were strictly platonic, this was never going to work.

"Adrien, I like you."