This is something I had in mind for long. I hope you'll enjoy the crack and fluff.

I definitely can't get enough of them acting like awkward dorks in love.

It all started like any usual Saturday morning, or at least, Marinette thought so. She had breakfast with her parents, and kept a piece of croissant for Tikki. She then had a long, warm, and gorgeous-smelling shower, before eventually going out for a walk along the Seine. The weather was perfect, she had bought her favorite raspberry bubble tea, and there was no akuma in sight…

Actually, she was starting to consider that it might be the best day she had in a long time. That was until she stumbled upon a news stand on her way home. A magazine had suddenly caught her eye; absolutely not because said magazine had Adrien Agreste on the front cover. Not at all. Well, okay, maybe that played a part. Still, it was not the reason she ended up buying and bringing it home.

Lying on her chaise longue, she was now leisurely flipping through the pages of the magazine. She focused on a double page with flirting tips, the tip of her tongue darting out at the corner of her mouth. She was so engrossed in her reading that she didn't hear the moment when the trapdoor lifted, letting someone through.

"Well, well, well, looks like you have unearthed one more product for your personal 'drooling over hot stuff' collection."

Marinette squeaked, throwing the magazine across the room, said magazine striking her unexpected guest straight in the face.

"Alya!" Marinette yelped. "You weren't taught to knock before entering, were you?"

"I did knock," she replied. "Twice." Her lips stretched in a sly grin as she crooked an eyebrow at her.

Marinette internally groaned, her face turning a few shades redder. "It's not what you think, Alya."

"Is that so? So you weren't looking at the rendering of Gabriel's new swimsuit collection on sunshine boy? Or was it at the summer mixed fragrance mist from Gabriel?" she inquired, the corner of her lips stretching wider if possible. "I must admit I never understood those fragrance commercials; it's not like you can smell the perfume through the pictures. Although, Buttercup looks gorgeous shirtless; perhaps you could ask him to have a smell of the product straight from his body." Alya wiggled her brows in a suggestive way, Marinette's skin color now giving her Ladybug's suit a run for its money.

"You're wrong. So freaking wrong…" Marinette mumbled as she stood up and walked over to her best friend, bending down to grab her magazine only for Alya to beat her to it. She realized it had impossibly landed on the same double page she was reading a minute before—talking about Ladybug luck… no way! Unlucky her.

Alya picked up the magazine, almost burying her nose between the page as she scrutinized Marinette's very interesting reading.

"Ten tips that will seriously up your flirting game. Really, girl?"

"Shush you." Marinette knew the answer was juvenile but she felt in a vulnerable position right now, hence the silly kindergartner defense mechanism.

"Tip one: Start off with something cheesy to break the ice," Alya read out loud, huffing as she did. "Well, like: 'Hello, Adrien's voicemail, uh, this is Marinette, who, uh, has a message for you, of course, cause it's, uh, your phone.' Alya got intentionally tongue tied, giving a perfect imitation of her best friend. "Yup, that one is definitely not for you."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Alya. It's truly appreciated," Marinette bitterly 'humph'ed as she crossed her arms.

"Wait. I've one you can handle pretty well. Tip four: Master the bump-and-flatter. 'Accidentally' run into your crush at a crowded party. You can laugh and say, "Oh, sorry. I become a total klutz around cute people." They'll be immediately flattered," read Alya, her lips slightly pursing. "Though you have already tried a few times and Buttercup's still as oblivious as ever."

"I'll tell you again: you're wrong. It's absolutely not what it looks like."

Yet, it didn't prevent Alya from stopping. Actually, she didn't even look convinced by Marinette's baby doll eyes, nor her vain objections as she resumed her reading, listing another tip.

"Tip ten, last but not least: Always smile when you're talking to him/her," Alya huffed so hard that Marinette was sure her bestie just spit on her magazine. Ugh.

Enough was enough, Marinette snatched the incriminating 'Teens bible' from Alya's hands and glared at her.

"I do smile when I'm talking to him!" Marinette pointed out, her voice rising an octave. "I smile all the time. See." She put on her most beautiful smile, her lips stretching to reveal a mouthful of white shiny pearls. "Clean sheeth, fresh breath, nishe shmile," she uttered through gritted teeth.

Alya took a step closer, bringing one of her hands to rest on top of her shoulder as she gave Marinette a helpless smile. "Of course you have a pretty smile, girl. No one ever doubted it. It's just that sometimes… well, look." Taking her phone out from her pocket, Alya let her thumb slide and tapped on the screen a few times. She then turned it towards Marinette, showing her a few pictures she had of their little group, where Marinette smiled oddly if Adrien was around. "In some situations, I don't need to draw you a picture because these ones speak for themselves, your smile is a little psycho…" She scrolled through a few photos, and Marinette's smile turned into that same peculiar grin, imitating the one on the screen as if she looked through a mirror when she realized that Alya was right.

It felt a bit like a slap in the face, and Marinette suddenly felt the need to sit down. She collapsed back on her chaise lounge, a heavy sigh punctuating her landfall. Alya sat down next to her, gently leaning on her side.

"Listen, girl, these articles are utterly ridiculous."

Marinette snorted, glancing sideways at her best friend. "You sound just like Chloé."

"Okay, I don't know if I'll continue to be nice to you if you keep this up." Alya folded her arms over her chest, showing a reproving glare.

"You know I'm only joking. Keep going. " Marinette prompted her as she nudged her shoulder.

Alya's stance relaxed, and she unfolded her arms before reaching out to slowly take the magazine back from Marinette's hold. She grabbed it, and suddenly crumpled it up, making a ball with it, shooting it straight into the trash—swift smash.

"This is bullshit," Alya spurted out. "Besides, you don't need that. You don't have to pretend; to use ready-made pick up lines coming straight from a prepubescent magazine, nor to force yourself to smile when you feel vulnerable. Just be yourself, Marinette; your true self is a pure ball of light shining brighter than the sunshine when it kisses the Zenith." Her smile and gaze were eloquent as she spoke with renewed conviction. "And if you really want to do something for him to notice you, just show him what you're worth. Just gotta ignite the light, let it shine and go with the flow. You're Ladybug for God's sake, I know for a fact that you can be truthful and confident."

Alya's words pulled at her heart strings, and Marinette felt the familiar prick of tears soon threatening to pool in her eyes. She swallowed the urge to cry and wrapped her arms around her best friend, locking her in a bone-crushing hug. Letting go of her and feeling some poise come back in full force. She stood up, puffing her chest in a determined attitude.

"You're right!" Marinette stated, her voice assured as she clenched both her hands and pumped her fists in the air. "I just need Ladybug's confidence with a pinch of Marinette's thoughtfulness." Her fierce gaze clearly showed that she was now a girl on a mission. "Tikki, spots on!" Pink glow wrapped Marinette before she swept her best friend off her feet, carrying her princess-style.

"Hold on!" Alya yelped as Marinette, now in full Ladybug-spotted-confidence, dragged her out on her balcony, then straight in the hubbub of the Parisian streets. "I didn't say you had to take it that far! You're Ladybug even without the mask! Besides, I'm not sure it's a good idea to go after Adrien as Paris's savior," Alya stated matter-of-factly.

The heroine jumped from a rooftop to another, before landing on a balcony—Alya's balcony.

"I didn't say I was going after Adrien." She winked at her best friend before already getting her yoyo ready to zip her away. "Thanks for the talk, you're the best, Alya. You're right. I just need to go with the flow and allow myself to follow his lead rather than my brain; let him flirt, laugh at his jokes, keep saving his cute little tush when he's reckless, and who knows… maybe I could even learn to pun?" Her yoyo hooked up around a chimney and she pulled on it tightly before letting herself hauled in the air. "Bug out!"

Last thing Ladybug heard from afar was a scream of questionable human origin—if it hadn't been for Alya being over the moon, and beyond, at the knowledge that #Ladynoir might soon be the new hashtag trend all over the place.

Chat Noir didn't know which fly had bitten his Lady but he started to worry she might have fever…or worse: what if it actually was the hatching of Covid-19? Should he hurry to get a mask as soon as possible? Book an appointment for a PCR test? Two appointments?

It all began when he had started to blurt out random pick up lines on her. Nothing unusual though; he was the best when it came to bringing these on. But instead of telling him to stop flirting, like she did almost on a daily basis, she actually flirted back with pretty good punch lines.

His favorite being: "You know, I could make you very happy."

"Why? Are you leaving?"

Then she flicked his bell and winked at him with a cunning grin stretching at the corner of her cherry lips.

One could have mistaken that behavior for a rejection, but he knew better. She could do worse than that to cool him down. This… this my friend, was tentative flirting in all his glorious Ladybug-ness.

But this wasn't all. This was only the beginning of a strange evening patrol, stranger than Stranger Things itself—high level.

Because, of course, Chat had taken advantage of the situation, and he had eventually ended up quoting Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise as he hopelessly tried to keep the flirting mood on. He had pretended to adjust his invisible cowboy hat then went for it, delivering his line smoothly. "I may be an outlaw, darling, but you're the one stealing my heart."

He had been ready to see her roll her eyes, huffing blatantly. Yet, she laughed and flicked his bell again.

She. Did. Flick. His. Bell. TWICE IN A ROW.

Oh, dear. He wasn't sure he could take much more of it. His heartbeat was already skyrocketing—it was giving the Ariane rocket's speed to reach cloud nine a run for its money. Did someone attach his Lady to this rocket to send her into orbit? Because he wasn't sure she still had both her feet rooted to the ground.

Yet, that wasn't all… The highlight of their patrol had only begun a few minutes ago, when she started punning, and oh, boy! She was so friggin good at it! Well, let's face the truth; she had a good teacher in the matter.

But he was the master punner. So when an akuma happened to sowing discord during their patrol time, what's more when it turned out to be Mr. Banana, or rather, Badana, (probably the stupidest akuma ever) Chat Noir couldn't help but put on a show and master the bantering.

"Do you know why bananas go to the doctor?" Chat asked as they exchanged their trademark pound it. Of course, they may be stupid akumas, but at least said akumas were easy to defeat. Although… Simpleman gave them a pretty hard time with a well-thought-out power.

"I don't know but you're going to tell me."

"They're not peeling well." Chat Noir shrugged, a small smirk popping at the corner of his lips.

"Hm, okay, that one is pretty apeeling, indeed," Ladybug conceded, her lips pursing as she punned in her turn.

His heart fluttered. Gosh, this woman was a water mirage in the middle of the desert. A mirage in… Wait. No, false alarm; he had touched her when they banged their fists—phew, he could breathe again.

"Not as apeeling as you, m'Lady," Chat cooed. "I'm bananas for you," he whispered as he leaned closer, wiggling his eyebrows at her. "Let's never split."

"Sometimes, too much is too much, mon Chaton," she snorted, bringing her hand flat against her mouth to muffle a girlish giggle.

There was a third bell-flicking happening, and he started to get pretty confused by his Lady's behavior. He didn't want to get the wrong signals there or set his hopes too high; he'd already done that, and the fall ended up being pretty painful.

"C'mon, Bug, let's admit it, these banana puns were the cherry on top."

"I thought we were talking about bananas… What is it? Are you a market gardener or what?"

"Could be a vocation amongst a melon. Let's try it with vegetables." Chat Noir held a finger up, the tip of his tongue darting at the corner of his mouth, while he tried to focus and think quickly about something to come up with. It didn't take long before he finger-gunned at his Lady, winking as he smoothly delivered line after line. "I like you from my head tomatoes. You broc my world. My heart beets for you. P—" the last pun died in his throat as he realized it would probably be going too far: 'Peas' be my girlfriend. He cleared his throat, and tried to bounce off something else. "I could also probably be a florist because you make me feel daisy and aloe you vera muc—" His teeth gritted and he berated himself for getting carried away again. But he couldn't help; she was smiling so brightly, her cheeks dusting in a lovely dark pink hue as she laughed at his puns so heartily.

She blossomed in front of him like the most beautiful flower in the world. He was rooting for her, and this time, there was no pun intended.

If her partner kept this up, the spotted heroine was going to pee herself, and she was pretty sure it'd kill the glamor if she marked her territory this way.

Oh, gosh! What was she actually thinking?

First, she wasn't the cat, he was.

Second, did she really just settle for Chat Noir to be her 'territory?' Like… her belonging? Like in her, 'her's?'

Third, at which point had 'go with the flow' turned into 'take the startrain one way to the final stop?'

She couldn't help but grin smittenly and laugh at each and every puns, unable to take her eyes off him.

If she was a girl on a mission, she could also say he was very determined considering he put some effort into never let the smile on her face disappear again, and to damp her pants.

"Oh dear, these puns are so cliché." Ladybug howled as he now came up with animals' puns.

"You're just jealous because I'm making bee's puns instead of ladybug's, but I can also be spot on with these ones, you know. Just like you." He grinned, giving her a cheesy wink, and twirled his baton, extending it down to the ground before leaning in nonchalantly, both arms crossed atop of it.

"You've already used that one a bunch of times which means you're pretty much spots off," she blurted out, mimicking quotation marks along with her pun as she leaned over his baton. She raised a finger, ready to poke his nose when she froze mid-way, still holding her finger up in front of him.

She didn't have the time to swallow back her words—she could already feel the energy of her detransformation kick off her spotted suit. She squeaked loudly and buried her face between her hands as a protective reflex in a vain attempt to… to do whatever would make her avoid facing the unfortunate result of what her mouth had spilled. She was trying to avoid whatever upcoming mess was on its way—which was pretty stupid and useless anyway, she realized.

In the meantime, she heard Chat Noir yelp and his baton hit the ground with a 'clang', before he yelped once more. Well, what was done was done, and it was obviously time to face the music.

"I swear it on Marinette Dupain-Cheng's name, I haven't seen you, M'Lady!" Chat Noir shrieked.

Marinette slowly spread two fingers, nervously peering at her partner, only to be met with his back (and his pretty little tush, ahem). It also looked as if his hands were covering his eyes. As if his hands had always been there. Was he really serious?

Her hands swiftly slid off her face, her arms coming to rest over her chest as she folded them. She then tilted her head, her eyes glaring at the back of her partner's head as if ready to burn a hole in his golden mane. "Why would you swear on Marinette's name among all?" she inquired, her fingers drumming impatiently on her elbows. She raised an inquisitive brow though she knew he couldn't see her puzzled expression.

"Uh, because…be-because…uh…" Chat Noir babbled. His tail was restlessly sweeping the ground with more vigor than that of a dog waiting for his owner to come back home after a long day. "I-Is it a trick qu-question?"

"Aha. Nice try."

"I…I don't know what you m-mean," Chat squeaked, sounding like the mouse trapped by the cat. It should've been the other way round… but after the initial shock of what she had just done, she just finally felt relieved and somehow powerful.

"Chat Noir." She stamped her foot, her voice stern.

"What were we talking about déja, huh, Ma-Ma-Ma-M'Lady?" Chat Noir stumbled over her nickname, his voice shaking as he once more jeopardized his new found knowledge.

"Save it, Chaton."

The sweep of her partner's tail came to a stop, and she could see his shoulders slouching, his stance relaxing as if he was giving up an internal fight.

"Okay, I… I saw you," he finally admitted, his back still turned. "You caught me off guard. It went on too fast for me to have enough time to close my eyes, when I did, it was too late; I had already caught a glimpse of your clothes. I'm sorry," he sighed. One of his clawed-hands moved up, rubbing the nape of his neck.

"It's not your fault. I'm the one who tried to impress you with puns and ended up using a miscalculated one," she mumbled, looking to the side. Her eyes met her kwami's, who just nodded and motioned for Marinette to go ahead. Not ever blaming her, nor trying to stop her.

"You tried to impress me?" Chat gasped aloud. His cat-like ears perked up and his back straightened as his tail started to move again.

Marinette hummed as she nervously fidgeted with her hands, her fingers lacing together. She then took a hesitant step forward, Chat's back straightening a little more as he heard her come closer. She used the chance of not being able to see his scrutinizing gaze to take a deep breath and unburden her heart.

"I did," she whispered in a trembling voice. "I was hoping to get closer to you so I could figure out the exact nature of my feelings for you. It turns out that I got the answer and got carried away in the meantime," she confessed, anticipation coalescing in her belly while waiting for her partner's reaction.

It was no longer Ladybug who was speaking, but Marinette, and she was not quite sure if her confession would now have the same kind of effect upon him. Chat Noir. Her partner—who fell in love with Ladybug, not Marinette.

"Can I turn around?" Again, his body came to a complete standstill as he waited for permission, not ever pressuring her into things she wasn't ready for.

"No. I m-mean…not yet, or I will never get this out."

Chat Noir stayed quiet, and nodding slightly, he gave her the cue that he was respecting her will.

Marinette gulped, thick saliva coating her throat as she eventually took the big plunge. "I think I might be in love with you. I don't know how, why or when it happened, but it did happen," she admitted, her voice already sounding breathless. "Though, I do know when I started to realize that perhaps my feelings weren't what I believed they were. It all started the day you left your Miraculous atop of the Grand Palais. At first I was mad at you… but then… Then I realized I didn't need a partner… It was something else. Do you want to know what it was?" she inquired as she chewed on her bottom lip.

Her partner nodded again, still carefully listening to her.

"I didn't need a partner. I needed you. I need you. Not because you can read my mind like no one else, not because you know the drill and do the right thing, the right time, the right way…" she started to explain, unspoken emotion palpable in her pitch and hanging in the air between them. "I need you because you're the only one who can pick me up when I'm down. I need you because you give me the strength and courage to fight; maybe it's the way you make me feel safe or the way you always know what to say or do whenever I'm in a downward spiral. And most of all, I need you because you put a smile on my face every single day that no one else could ever do." She smiled as she said that—no matter the emotion that washed over her at the time, she still smiled thanks to him, thanks to the way he made her feel. And yeah, her grin was kind of lopsided from trying to hold back her tears, but she kept on smiling. "So yes, from that day on, I realized I needed you, and you kept proving it ever since. You made the tiny spark inside of me grow and spread like wildfires, caysing my world to instantly burn."

There was a deafening beat of silence, and she saw Chat's hand balling into fists at his sides, his back tensing. He clenched then slowly relaxed his tight grip, repeating the gesture a couple of times as he kept quiet.

"Chat? Say something. Please…"

Taken aback. Speechless. Taken aback. There were no other words that could describe how Chat Noir felt right now. There was so much to say. So much bottled up inside of his heart and waiting to burst out. Yet, there was still some kind of unsettledness that was holding him back despite his Lady's, Marinette's, affectionate confession. He was reluctant to let his heart speak, unwilling to rush things, afraid to set his hopes too high… After all, he was the one who's been rejected for so long for another.

"W-what about Bu-Buttercup? Is he the reason why you're not sure if you're in love with… me?" His fists clenched once more as he let the question hang between them, not daring to turn around and see the obvious and heartbreaking answer written all over her face.

"Yes," she whispered. "Adrien is the reason why I need time to shed some light on my confused feelings, but one thing is for sure, I do care about you beyond simple friendship or partnership."

The mention of his real name caused him to flinch.

"Adrien? Adrien Agreste?" He was sure he was very red in the face by now, putting his Lady's suit to shame.

"Yes. I'm sorry it's a lot to take in, I know but… can you please turn around, Chaton?"

"If I'm turning around now, there's no going back because… I'm in love with you Marinette. It washes over me so strongly that I'm going to take you down with me in this whirlwind—it's unavoidable if I look into your eyes right now, and before it happens, there's something you must know," Chat Noir confessed, his voice already submerged by the emotion. "We never had to force love. We were drowning in it the moment we met," he fondly whispered. Independently of his own will, his tail flopped to the ground in a heart shape. He couldn't help the smitten reaction now that he knew there never was anyone else than her. "You fell for me twice without even knowing it. Just like I fell for you in front of, and behind the mask."

"Adrien… It's you." He heard the gasp in her voice as she sucked her breath in. "Of course it had to be you… and me; us. It had to be us. It always has been."

He felt her hand gently coming to rest over his shoulder, causing him to jerk a little, but once the surprise overcame, his own hand moved to rest on top of hers.

"I'm going to turn around now," Chat's voice faltered, not sounding quite louder than a whisper. "I feel the urge to hold you tight and never let you go."

"Do it," Marinette giggled, a mixture of happiness and shyness filling her carefree laughter. The echo of so many emotions merged in one heartfelt laugh sounded like music to his ears.

Slowly turning around, he let go of her hand, their eyes locking briefly, but neither of them was ready for such an overwhelming intensity. It felt as if a thunderbolt hit him, and ran along his spine deep down his toes. He was so caught up in their momentum, he didn't even notice when it started to rain around them, the sound of thunder clattering in the dark sky. He was too far gone and he didn't know whether he was going to melt on the spot, or whether he was going to cry, so before one could happen (or both), he pulled Marinette into a bone-crushing hug.

Burying his nose in her wet hair and taking a sharp inhale, he basked in the lingering scent of red fruits and flowers from her shampoo. "I'm happy it's you," he whispered, slowly pulling back to grab his baton and unfold an umbrella above their heads. One of his hands, still pressed in the small of her back, started to move slowly, his claws gently scratching her spine in a reassuring touch. "Can… can I kiss you?" He asked, his gaze already darting to her cherry lips before returning to her bluebell eyes.

Instead of answering, Marinette gingerly leaned in. He eagerly met her halfway, his lips brushing against hers as feathery as the dandelion seeds that fly away when one blows them into the wind. He kissed her softly, but without inhibition. Kissed her to pour out his final confession, to relieve any doubt. To quench her mouth in a way the rain hadn't yet.

Marinette instantly relaxed underneath his touch, one restless hand finding the back of his neck, the other his jaw. He allowed himself to get lost in the way she kissed him back: how her fingers twitched against his heated skin, how the act of returning the kiss changes from tentatively settling as the two of them now being whole to him claiming her as his. She tasted of love and home, with a sweetness mingling through it—strawberries. Strawberries; it would definitely become Chat's favorite fruit from now on, right after passion fruit.

Chat Noir slowly withdrew, only granting the narrowest space as he kept her close, one arm wrapping around her waist, his lips still lingering a mere millimeters from hers as he whispered his detransformation.

His eyes on hers, he saw how the tables turned; the slight fluttering of her eyelids and the blushes surrounding her freckles as she recovered from seeing the truth becoming real. She was suddenly less mastered in the puns and banter, but he was there to give her a slight push in the right direction. Slowly, but surely, he knew they would be alright anyway.

"You know, if it helps I can crack a joke or two. I also know quite a few model's puns." The corner of Adrien's lips curled in a cheeky grin, and her reaction came promptly as she rolled her eyes and huffed.

"I'll have to put up with you punning in and out of the mask from now on, won't I?" She nudged his shoulder with hers.

"Says the one who decided to pun her way to my heart."

"You're not going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Never." Adrien grinned.

"Shush you."

"Make me." His grin only widened and he winked at her before closing his eyes, his lips puckering in her direction.

He realized something as she did; he would definitely need to improve and increase his supply of puns if it meant he would get more kisses.

Please, don't mind the "You're spots off." which is 'gramatically wrong'. Ladybug tries to play the pun and beat Chat Noir to it by refering to her spots and making a 'ladybug' pun.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the reading. I had a lot of fun writing it. Feel free to leave a review.

See you soon for more stories, Miraculous kisses!