Ladybug's so very shocked at Cat Noir's question - having dinner tonight, together, as superheroes - that she very nearly forgets to help the next civilian down the stairs. It's Cat Noir's earnest expression that snaps her out of her shock, eyes dilated slightly more than usual as he gives her a smile that probably makes most girls swoon. "Dinner? As superheroes?"

Cat Noir nods, helping another person down to the ground, and says "Yeah! We're only together when we're saving Paris, so what do you say? Wouldn't you actually like to get to know one another?" He adores his sister, he really does. But he wants to get to know his Lady himself, not through the - admittedly, reliable - medium of his sister.

Ladybug stutters "That's so thoughtful of you, Kitty. But I can't, I've got to- erm- we- I've already got plans, with some friends."

Cat Noir nods, glancing at his still-winded sister - she moved everyone else out of the way, lifting over two dozen cars and getting all the civilians out of the way, while they stopped the bus itself, so she's understandably a little tired - and says "Well, if they end early, come and join me, M'Lady."

Adrien gets to his room, his blood simply boiling after Nathalie's pronouncement of Gabriel's intention to eat his meal in his office yet again. Honestly, what's the point of making me eat at that gigantic table if he's not even going to join me?

On the other hand, having to choke down food while next to Hawk Moth would be next to impossible.

Plagg flies out from Adrien's jacket, holding the extra-large slice of Camembert Adrien swiped for him when Nathalie wasn't in the room, and says "Think of it this way, Kitten. You'll head out early tonight and meet up with one of our partners."

Adrien takes a deep breath, trying to calm down and push the rage down as usual, and forces himself to think on his plans for dinner - real dinner - with Ladybug tonight. Maybe she won't show, but she said maybe - and maybe is good enough for him, at least when it comes to his Bugaboo. They've had each others' backs for too long for it not to be - especially when it's down to the wire, no pun intended that time, and just Ladybug to finish everything.

Maybe she won't show, but maybe she will - and, even if Ladybug doesn't show for whatever reason, his sister is on patrol that night despite their protests. She'll undoubtedly find him, she always manages to somehow.

Dragon Fyre's leaping from rooftop to rooftop, mentally cursing Gabriel Agreste - he wouldn't let Adrien go out, so now Marinette's been bluer than her hair all day.

And I was so caught up trying to keep her from getting Akumatized that I forgot about Adrien!

Honestly, if the guy would just lighten up on Adrien when he's got no plans to do anything with him, things would be much simpler for everyone.

Of course, this is Hawk Moth I'm talking about. The same Hawk Moth that would Akumatize his own son and kill the world without a second's hesitation.

When she gets to the right rooftop, having followed Cat Noir's tracking signal - thank you, Plagg, for activating it! - she finds him playing 'She loves me, she loves me not' with the candles he set up on the railing of the rooftop. It's a fairly secluded spot, with a magnificent view of the Seine River and the Eiffel Tower in the distance…were all the candles lit up, with all the flower petals strewn around the roof, it'd be extremely romantic.

As it is, with her brother curling into himself, it just looks oh-so depressing.

"Oh, Brother," she breathes out, landing on the roof gently, "c'mere." She promptly finds herself tackled by one highly upset Cat, arms wrapping around her even as his shoulders start to shake.

About five minutes later, the two of them are sitting against the chimney as Cat Noir winds down at last while Dragon Fyre runs her fingers through his hair. Cat Noir hiccups, then dejectedly mutters "I know she said she might not come…but I'd really gotten my hopes up…"

Dragon Fyre says "I know, Kitty." Damn Gabriel Agreste to hell and back, damn him! This is all his damned fault, as per usual!

After a moment, Cat Noir pushes back slightly to stare up at his sister, and says "Plagg just told me to tell you something. He said it's time for Plan B."

Dragon Fyre sighs, then says "I see." And, incidentally, she agrees. She just spent the last five minutes holding her brother as he fell apart in her arms, and the past few hours trying to keep Marinette from getting Akumatized after her mini-meltdown at Andre's.

Cat Noir pulls her out of her thoughts, asking "Sis? What's Plan B?"

Dragon Fyre says "Broken-hearted Miraculous Holders don't make good Superheroes, Brother. Plan B is…you find out Ladybug's identity, and damn the consequences."

Cat Noir's jaw drops, and Plagg's voice rings in his head. Every ladybug and Black Cat pair has gotten together since the first time our Miraculous' were used, Adrien. It's like the Wish, the universe needs balance. That's why each pair is specially chosen, a pair that would not only be good superheroes but would come together on their own. But in all the Holders we've had, neither Tikki or I have ever seen anything quite like this. That's why Bloom and I came up with Plan B.

Cat Noir sniffles, and asks "In case this scenario ever happened?"

Dragon Fyre nods, and says "Yeah, in case one or both of you reaches your breaking point…and it happened tonight."

Cat Noir sits up in alarm, asking "Ladybug? Did something happen to her? Is she alright?"

Dragon Fyre pulls him back down, saying "She's alive, Kitty. And, physically, she's fine. She's just been down in the dumps for half a day is all."

Cat Noir sighs in relief, then asks "What happened?" If someone hurt his Lady...well, he's a fencer in and out of the suit. And he doesn't need Plagg's strength to fence.

After a minute, Dragon Fyre says "Gabriel happened, Brother."

The blonde boy growls, the way a cat will growl wiling its throat, and asks "What'd he do this time?"

After a moment, Dragon Fyre says "Kept you from hanging out with friends and having some of Andre's ice cream." It takes exactly sixty seconds for Cat Noir to connect the dots - he was supposed to be with Bloom, Marinette, Nino and his girlfriend Alya, and Ivan and Mylene. All of whom have been Akumatized except for Bloom and Marinette. And Bloom is right in front of him, the most incredible sister he could ask for.

Which only leaves...Marinette.

Dragon Fyre watches as her brother blinks for a moment, the shock written all over his face at the revelation. After a bit, he slowly says "So...two of the most amazing, incredible, resourceful ladies I know...are actually the same incredible, endlessly kind, super-special woman? Marinette, our Everyday Ladybug, who got Ivan and Mylene together, who put together all those events...she's really Ladybug?" At the red-head's nod, he gets the most love-struck expression on his face she's ever seen. On anyone, for that matter.

And then he gets a confused look on his face, asking "I know Marinette's single...so why's she keep turning me down?"

Dragon Fyre grins, even as she mentally apologizes to her best friend and promises it's for a good cause, and says "You're about to understand why you two drive me up the Eiffel Tower, Brother. You're in love with Ladybug, who's also Marinette, who's got a crush the size of the Eiffel Tower on one Adrien Agreste. Who just so happens to be Cat Noir, and has Ladybug-colored blinders on." Dragon Fyre watches for a moment, waiting to see what her brother's reaction will be - but, there's nothing. Even his Aura is silent.

Until suddenly he's sweeping her off her feet, spinning her around by the waist. "SHE LIKE ME, SHE LIKES ME, SHE LIKES ME!" Dragon Fyre holds onto her brother's shoulders as he quite literally jumps for joy and swings her around wildly. And then he drops her to her feet, takes her face, and starts kissing her literally everywhere that isn't her mouth - cheeks, forehead, nose, eyelids, every square inch of her face that isn't her lips.

And then he's whirling around to head over to Marinette's place, fully intending to change back, reveal himself, and kiss her senseless in that exact order. And confess that he's head over heels for her, as Cat Noir and Adrien Agreste, and would she do him the incredible honor of being his girlfriend and his Lady.

Dragon Fyre just manages to catch him by his tail, saying "Hold up there, big guy!" She made a promise, and she's not going to break it!

Marinette jumps when there's a thumping sound, followed by a familiar voice saying "Hello." When she turns around, she sees Cat Noir balancing on the top of the chimney.

"Cat Noir? What are you doing here? Don't you have superhero-y things to do?"

Cat Noir shakes his head, saying "No. My sister said she'd handle it for the night, though I know she'd drop it all if I asked her to come keep me company."

Part of Marinette wants to be upset about that - they're superheroes, they have a responsibility to protect the city! - but a larger part acknowledges the detail that the police do exist and the city won't burn down if they don't do Patrol one night. And that they're a family in all but blood, at this point - and, for Dragon Fyre, family will always come first.

Cat Noir pulls her out of her thoughts, leaping down to the railing and saying "But…I don't want to be alone tonight. Do you mind if I hang out here for a bit?" Marinette nods, resisting the urge to run her hands through his messy blonde hair to make him purr, and he sits down on the railing. "Marinette, right? We've run into each other a few times."

Marinette nods, not daring to open her mouth and potentially give away her identity right then and there - she would, to, it would be so easy to just say the phrase and ask what's wrong. But she can't - not only because they can't tell each other, but who knows who might be close enough to overhear.

Cat Noir, meanwhile, is using every bit of self-control he has to not spin around and kiss his Lady - his sister pointed out the very real, mood-killing detail that they have to be smarter than they were in Cat Blanc's timeline. That they can't go public with everything, or else the world will end. And Hawk Moth will tear the two of them apart to make it happen, even if he wants to bring his wife back.

As much as he wants to just jump in head-first like he always does, wants to declare his love for his lady like he does during - most - Akuma fights…he knows she's right. And that she's looking out for both of them.

So, he'll go along with this plan. Make Marinette fall for Cat Noir - she already loves his more reserved self, but he needs her to accept his bad puns, his silly jokes, and his terrible timing when it comes to flirting with her. He needs her to love all of him, not just Gabriel Agreste's perfect son - luckily for him, his sister has already let him in on the little secret that she's not nearly so averse to his puns as she'd like him to think; his timing is atrocious, apparently, but when they aren't saving the city she cracks up over them.

After a moment, the cat-themed superhero asks "So, what's got the Akuma class's Everyday Ladybug so down tonight?"

Marinette wipes at her tear-stained cheeks with the back of her hand, saying "Just me ruining an evening out with some of my friends because my crush couldn't come and I overreacted. Puberty sucks." Especially one week a month...like this one.

Cat Noir asks "Who's your crush? Maybe I could help?"

Marinette shakes her head, saying "Adrien's locked up in his prison of a mansion whenever he's not out at photoshoots or at school. I've seen it once, when I went to drop off a scarf I made for him as a birthday present…even the drop-box was locked up tight."

Marinette goes on about how she knows he couldn't come, that his father has him on a leash so tight it's practically strangling him…but all the blonde boy can think about right now is the scarf. The scarf his father got for him…except he didn't. Marinette did. No, she made it for him - Kwamis, how did it take him this long to figure out his Bugaboo has been right there all this time?!

Suddenly, every single time his sister has said they drive her up a wall makes all the sense in the world.

Making a snap decision, Cat Noir gets down from the railing and says "I've got something to show you." The detail that she doesn't even ask, just takes his hand and hangs onto him with her eyes closed - snuggling into his chest, no less! - warms him to the very bone. He's so down with Plan B.

AN: Hey! Yes, Plan B has come into effect! And, yes, I'm completely comfortable blaming Marinette's reaction to Adrien not being able to attend on puberty and all that comes with it. I mean, it's the explanation that fits best when he's been kept from fun stuff with friends before.

At any rate, it's a double. Enjoy, and I hope you like it!