It was a good thing Marinette lived so close to the school, she sprinted the whole where there, and even then made it just barely in time for roll-call. She jumped through the door, just as it was closing, and took two steps at a time to make it to her seat by Alya.

Adrien and Nino both looked up when she breezed by. Nino tipped his hat in greeting, and then dug back into his backpack for his tablet. Adrien however, followed Marinette with his eyes, as everything else in the room seemed to fall away. He ended up paying so much attention to her that he missed responding the first time his name was called for attendance. Trying to refocus, Adrien turned forward and apologized to the teacher for not responding right away. Roll-call and morning announcements led into history. The dates, events, and places merged together in a even drone. Adrien had already read the textbook, reference materials, and a couple peer-reviewed articles on the subject and could recite it on demand. His mind wasn't on the past, it was on the present...and presently, on the very cute sleepy girl sitting behind him.

Marinette was trying to cover up the yawns that plagued her with her hands, but each little sigh that escaped her made Adrien's ears prick. He had kept her up to late as Chat Noir, and now here she was trying to make it through the morning with barely any sleep. The next sound was no sweet little sigh, but the hollow growl of a hungry stomach. A few of their peers giggled, and looked over at Marinette, who hunched her shoulders in embarrassment. "Skipped breakfast," she whispered to those around her, with a red face.

When the class returned to their notes they did not notice Marinette peek into her purse at a very hungry kwami, whose stomach had been the true culprit of the loud bear-like growl. Marinette dug in her bag, but even her back-up macaroons had been used up the other day fighting the last akuma. "Sorry, I'll have to get a snack for you later," she whispered apologetically to Tikki.

"Ms. Bustier! DuPAIN-Cheng is being weird and talking to her stomach!" Chloe declared loudly to the teacher, shooting Marinette a reproachful sneer. "Can't you get her to be quiet so we don't have to listen to her!"

"Chloe, maybe instead of criticizing one of our fellow students, we could offer some help," Ms. Bustier turned from the board, and lifted her hand up from Chloe to Marinette.

"It's okay Mame," Marinette rushed to assure her teacher, and everyone who was starting to stare. "I'm fine, really!"

"As long as you are sure," the teacher paused to check, before returning to the lesson.

Adrien pulled out a small paper bag from his backpack, and leaned back over the edge of Marinette, and Alya's desk. "I've got some chocolate covered expresso beans if you want," he offered, setting them on the edge of the table. "I have such a packed schedule, and some unexpected late nights so many times, sometimes they help me to stay awake...sorry, I don't really have anything else with me," Adrien edged the bag closer to her.

Marinette looked from the small offering to the face of Adrien "Thank you...um...you're really sweet...I mean...that is really sweet."

Alya elbowed her BFF under the table, smiling at the transaction.

Marinette moved her hand forward to pick out one of the chocolate covered expresso beans, when Chloe tried to swipe the bag.

"If anyone needs extra energy to deal with all of you, it is me!" Chloe declared with a hiss. Her hand hit Marinette's, and the bag tipped over, causing loose chocolate covered expresso beans to scatter across the table and onto the floor.

"Chloe! You could have had some too. Now look what you did," Adrien whispered, trying to help clean up the mess Chloe had made.

"What I did?! She is the one who is always dropping things and making a mess! Ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous," Chloe pouted, plunking herself back down in her own seat, without lifting a finger to help collect the dropped prize.

Their teacher looked back over her shoulder, and cleared her throat. "My dear students would do best to keep in mind that this information will undoubtedly be on their test next week," she warned.

The students straightened up in their seats, and tried to look diligent. Many of the tiny chocolate beans were now spread out under foot like pebbles. Marinette and Adrien managed to salvage some from the table back into the package, but the rest were lost...well, almost all of them. A few of the chocolate projectiles had dropped into Marinette's purse during the altercation with Chloe, bouncing off the head of a particularly hungry kwami. As Marinette tried to refocus on the lesson, Tikki analyzed the tiny chocolate seeds that had rained down upon her. She looked at them with their shiny dark finish. She smelled the sweet chocolatey aroma, with a hint of roasted coffee. She had never tried these sweets before, and although she always tended to be cautious, she was certainly willing to try new things...especially when her stomach threatened to give her away again. What could one little teeny tiny chocolate hurt?

Tikki held the treat between her arms, and bit down on it. Surprisingly it had a satisfying crunch at the center, and a strangely bitter-sweet core. Not at all unpleasant, just unexpected. Tikki savored the first bite in her mouth, considering the flavor. She popped the rest into her mouth, and the extra chocolate smoothed out the sharper aspects of the flavor profile making it almost sweet and tangy. There was another sensation moving it's way to the kwami's core. It was like her very being was being supercharged with energy and positivity. She felt...GOOD...so alive...so powerful! She needed more of those little chocolate things!

Tikki scrambled around the bottom of Marinette's purse finding one or two more. They didn't last long. As soon as she had gobbled them up, she peaked her head out of Marinette's purse and spotted some more under Marinette's chair. No more did caution make her stay out of sight. The concept of being spotted by one of these teens never even crossed the creation kwami's mind in this moment. She followed the trail of chocolate expresso further and further. Lucky as a Ladybug, none of the oblivious kids in the class noticed the tiny creature scavenging treats near their feet. Even Marinette and Adrien were clueless to the danger of exposure they currently face. Only Plagg, watching wide-eyed from Adrien's bookbag spotted her.

The black cat kwami angerly made motions at his kwami counterpart from the bag. Tikki glanced up at him, but ignored his frantic gestures. Plagg pointed at her, and then whipped his paw back at Marinette's purse communicating silently in no uncertain terms that she was to get out of sight. Tikki responded by sticking out her tongue at him, and slowly, and deliberately moving another expresso bean to her mouth. The cat kwami bristled, and stole away from his own safe hiding spot, and zipped up in front of her. He grabbed her arm, but she pushed him off, going for another bean. Plagg tugged on her leg, trying to slow her down and drag her back. She fought back, and within moments they were rolling around underneath Marinette's feet.

"What are you thinking!" Plagg whisper-yelled at her. "Get back, or you'll be seen!"

"So what!" Tikki shot back, without bothering to lower her voice.

The teacher and students turned to Marinette, who had gone white as a ghost hearing Tikki's protest. "I uh...I just wanted to know...so what...I mean, how does this history lesson impact us today?" she tried to cover, her voice strained as if her throat had closed.

"Making connections from the past to the present," Ms. Bustier responded in a satisfied voice. "Very good question Marinette..." Then the teacher started to compare and contrast political decisions in different points of history, which had a lasting lesson to the development of Parisian culture.

Marinette took this opportunity to duck down, and look under her feet for her uncharacteristically brash kwami.

Plagg dove for cover, just before Marinette spotted him. Marinette tried to grab for Tikki, but she avoided her weilder, and moved to the beans under Alya's chair. Alya look questionably at Marinette, who had just bumped her head under their desk, and was grasping at the ground by their feet. Alya ducked her head under their desk to, and Marinette pointed panicking at her reckless Ladybug kwami. Alya realized right away the risk of exposure her friend faced, and grabbed Tikki. Their relief did not last though, because no sooner had Alya got her hands on the little goddess of creation, than the kwami fazed through her hands, and disappeared out of the classroom.

Marinette and Alya exchanged a look of pure and complete panic!

"I need to got to the bathroom!" they both announced, standing to their feet with their hands up.

"Both of you?" Ms. Bustier turned and raised an eyebrow at them.

They looked at each other, and then back at their teacher and nodded.

"One at a time," Ms. Bustier instructed. "Alya, you do first, and Marinette can go when you get back. We have to actually focus today!"

"Um...I don't really have to go as bad...Marinette can go first," Alya sat down, and pushed Marinette towards the door.

"Okay fine. Let's get back to this exciting moment in our history!" their teacher sighed exasperatedly.

Marinette shot Alya a look of gratitude, and then had headed out of the class in search of her escaped kwami.

Adrien looked back at Alya, who nervously looked after Marinette. Then he looked to where Marinette had disappeared out into the hallway. A insistent tug on his sleeve made him glance down at Plagg, who was mostly concealed by his white button up shirt. Plagg urgently made the ASL sign for 'trouble' whirling his paws in the air, and Adrien shot up his hand.

"Yes, Adrien, what is it? You have a question?" Ms. Bustier asked.

"I'm feeling sick, can I go to the bathroom!" Adrien crossed his arms across his stomach, and bit his lip. His sorrowful big green eyes looked up at his teacher welling up with sincerity.

"Yes, of course," Ms. Bustier said in concern.

"I can take him. I happen to be certified with premiers Secours en Equipe de niveau 2!" Lila piped up from the back row loudly. "My first aide is equal to one of Paris' fine firefighters. I once saved XY from choking on a coconut shrimp at Guy Savoy!"

"If anyone should take Adrien to see the nurse it is ME!" Chloe snapped, with Sabrina nodding in agreement. "Adrien is my oldest friend! No one knows what is best for him better than ME!"

"I don't need anyone to take me, I just don't feel good and need to get to the bathroom!" Adrien protested.

"You should never be alone if you're unwell! I will make sure you're taken care of," Lila persisted.

"You will not! I will!" Chloe snapped, glaring at Lila.

"I don't want either of you girls taking me to the bathroom!" Adrien burst. "What about some privacy!"

"Adrien's right," Ms. Bustier ushered Adrien to the door. "Go ahead Adrien, but maybe stop by the nurse on your way back just in case."

"Thanks," Adrien said, not waiting another moment for Lila and Chloe to try to interject. He grabbed his bag, and was out the door in a flash. He ducked around the hallway, and turned the corner. Looking around, he pulled open the side of his shirt to find Plagg staring up at him from his inside pocket. "What's going on Plagg?" Adrien asked. "Another akuma?"

"Worse!" Plagg exclaimed. "I have a feeling Ladybug's kwami has gone off the deep-end again!"

"Oh no! Not another galette craving!" Adrien looked at Plagg with concern.

"Uh...no...not galette,"Plagg rubbed his paws together nervously. "I'm afraid the effects of the particular food Tikki's gotten into this time might be a bit more extreme."

"More extreme that a galactic-sized galette!" Adrien gaped. "Okay, we've got to find Ladybug!"

"I uh...don't think that's going to be a problem!" Plagg looked up above the school courtyard to see a visibly irritable Ladybug pacing on the roof, throwing her arms up in the air.

Adrien ducked into the nearby janitor's closest, and transformed. Then he made quick work of vaulting himself up to the roof to join Ladybug.

"Mi'Lady? What are you doing on top of this school's roof?" Chat Noir asked cautiously. "Plagg thought Tikki might be in trouble...um...are you okay?"

"No! We are not okay!" Ladybug announced, still pacing with breathless speed. "Have you ever seen a chipmunk high on coffee? I haven't! But if I had, it would be a million gazillion times better than this! I just transformed to catch Tikki because she totally took off on me, and now I feel like my heart is racing a billion miles per hour! Why do I have such a headache! Where can a person get some coffee around here?! Ugh...I hate coffee...why do I NEED it so bad! Maybe I like coffee. No, I changed my mind! I absolutely LOVE coffee...oh and chocolate! Chocolate too! Hey! That guy has coffee!" Ladybug chattered at super-sonic speed. Without taking a breath she had swung her yoyo to the nearest building and jumped down to street level yelling, "Coffffffeeeee!"

"Oh sweet kwamis what has happened to you LB?!" Chat Noir shook his head, and leapt after her. He barely made it in time. Ladybug had already lifted up a startled citizen holding a paper coffee cup in his hand, and she was interrogating him to find out where he had gotten it.

"Alright Ladybug, put down the nice man, and let's go find you your own coffee?" Chat Noir coaxed her, prying her hands off the man's shirt.

"You know where I can get a coffee!" Ladybug dropped the startled man, and turned enthusiastically to Chat Noir with a crazed look in her eye.

"Uh...on second thought, maybe you've had enough..." Chat Noir stepped back from her.

"If you won't take me out for coffee, I will find some myself," Ladybug snapped.

"Okay, okay, I'll take you out for coffee," Chat Noir put of his hands in surrender. "Geez I never thought you'd be so determined to have me take you out!" he tried to tease.

Ladybug paused, and her mouth popped open in surprise, but she wasn't sure what to say. It seemed like a her head was a bee-hive full of buzzing thoughts that she just couldn't organize.

Her eyes stared back at him, making Chat Noir worry about having Ladybug tied to whatever was going on with her kwami. Clearly it was having a major effect on her. "Ladybug, maybe you should detransform and try to find a way to calm down your Tikki," Chat Noir suggested.

"If I detransform she'll try to get away again, and I don't know what she'll do!" Ladybug looked up at Chat Noir, running her hands through her hair. "I can try to control her as Ladybug, but it is so hard to think right now. I just need a some coffee so I can think."

"Okay, if you're sure," Chat Noir agreed apprehensively. "I guess know a good coffee shop around the corner..."

"Great! Let's go!" Ladybug chirped, and spun on her heel in the general vicinity of the café.

Chat Noir had to trot to keep up with the wired Ladybug. She kept making a beeline for the direction he had indicated, and pushed her way through the café doors. She breathed in deeply, with a heavy sigh. The aroma of roasted coffee made her eyes dilate till they were almost totally black. She stepped forward to the counter in front of a young barista, and clenched the countertop, denting it with her kwami-fueled strength.

"Two coffees please!" Chat Noir steeped in, "and better make her's a decaf!"

Ladybug shot Chat Noir the dirtiest look he had ever seen, and he visibly cringed. "Fine, fine, not decaf," he recanted.

The barista looked back and forth between the two of them, and decided (wisely) not to comment, but commence filling two cups with the steaming hot brown liquid. Chat Noir offered to pay, but the girl shook her head, and assured them it was on the house for the two heroes.

As soon as Ladybug had her cup in her hand she tried to gulp it down, yelping as she burned her tongue.

"Usually I'm the one too hot to handle!" Chat Noir tried to interject cheerfully.

"Yes, yes, everyone knows you're a total hottie," Ladybug commented distractedly looking back over the counter toward the frazzled barista. "Hey...um Sam wasn't it...yeah, Sam, is there anything you have that has cold caffeine? Like...I don't know...a ice cappuccino or something? I can't wait for this to cool down!"

"You...you think I'm a...a...total hottie?!" Chat Noir stammered in shock.

Ladybug didn't answer him. She was too busy trying to get another hit of caffeine for her kwami-crazed craving.

The girl behind the counter held up a large cup and said, "if you need a quick pick me up you could always try an iced espresso. It is pretty refreshing, and has a stronger flavor than iced coffee."

Ladybug vibrated her head up and down staring intently as the worker, Sam, drowned the crisp ice cubes in dark espresso, and drizzled creamy milk and a simple syrup overtop. The cup had not even passed over the counter when Ladybug grabbed it and started guzzling it down. "More!" she demanded slapping the empty cup back on the counter. The girl at the counter looked a little startled, but obliged. Once more as soon as Ladybug had the refill she took the full cup like a shot.

"Wow! O-Kay! Looks like that must've been really good, but we better be going now!" Chat Noir took Ladybug firmly by both shoulders and steered her towards the door. "Thank you so much again!" he called over his shoulder to Sam the barista.

"But I still need more!" Ladybug whined as Chat Noir practically dragged her over the threshold of the café doorway.

"And I need my partner back!" Chat Noir scolded her, keeping a firm grip on her, so she didn't barge right back in to the coffee shop. "Look, I think the only way we're going to get through this is to separate you from your kwami, and give her time to chill out," Chat Noir reasoned.

"But what if I can't control her?!" Ladybug whispered, clutching her chest where her heart was racing.

"We've got to try. Let's find somewhere out of the way, just in case!" Chat Noir put a supportive arm around Ladybug. "I've got it! Jardin du Sénat! Luxembourg Gardens will give us the space to keep her clear of direct temptation."

"Okay," Ladybug surrendered, and allowed Chat Noir to take the lead and guide her on, holding onto her waist, and using his baton to quickly make his way to the wide-open 56.8 acres of manicured green lawns of the massive city garden. Chat Noir wondered what it was that had convinced her to follow his lead to easily. She had always been the driving force in their partnership, and yet here she was trusting him enough to know which way they should turn. For some reason she held on tighter to him. Once they got there, Ladybug was absolutely trembling with accelerated caffeine coursing through her being.

They ducked by the Medici Fountain, and Ladybug looked around the tree lined fountain and long rectangular pool. Luckily it was quieter than normal, being still early on a work day, and fairly overcast. She found a discrete corner of the carved stone, and shifted on her feet. She looked at Chat Noir still standing near, and cleared her throat. "So, I'll just release her now...are you sure we shouldn't just think about this over another cup of coffee?" Ladybug stalled.

"You can do this!" Chat Noir encouraged. "We've just got to get Tikki to calm down till the caffeine is out of her system."

"Okay...are you ready?" Ladybug asked.

Chat Noir tied his belt over his eyes, and gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up.

"Tkki, Sport Off," Ladybug commanded, and her spots fell away.

Tikki zipped from the earrings, and moved erratically, as if unsure if she should linger or take off.

"Tikki!" Marinette implored her, suddenly feeling the exaggerated caffeinated effects lifted from her. "I've felt the intensity of your temptation draw you in again, but you've got to get control over yourself."

"I'm fine," Tikki responded in a clipped tone. "I'm just tired of always being controlled. Wanting more, but being the reserved, patient one! Well I've had enough. I'm tired of waiting around, solving everyone else's problems! I'm the kwami of all creation!"

"You don't want to be denied what you want, but obsession goes beyond just loving something," Chat Noir stepped in front of Tikki with his eyes bound.

"You are blind not only to the world, but also your own feelings. You're both the obsessed ones! Both of you are so twisted around in the 'love' department. You don't even know what love is!" Tikki accused agitatedly.

"Love is where even if it costs you everything, even loosing the one you love and not getting to be part of their life, you still want them to be happy. Obsession is where you only think about yourself, and want to possess the object of your affection," Chat Noir said passionately.

"Huh, maybe the cat isn't as clueless as I thought," Tikki allowed, but then she stiffened. "Pretty words, but in action you both have been so near-sighted. You claim you care about each other, but when was the last time you put each other before yourselves?!"

"We do all the time!" Marinette protested. "Chat Noir has given his very life for me countless times, and he has never hesitated to tell me how he feels."

"...And I can always trust Ladybug to come through for me!" Chat Noir joined in. "

"I never said you were not amazing partners when it came to protecting Paris, but when the heart is involved you keep each other at bay! I'm tired of it! Tired of holding back, and being the responsible patient one! What has a kwami got to do to get a decent cup of coffee around here!"

"Tikki, please! You were able to fight your cravings before remember! Don't let them control you!" Marinette pleaded.

"Just so YOU can control me!" Tikki snapped, taking on sparks of power in agitation. "You just have to control everything and everyone around you!"

"What?! This isn't you! You know I care about you! We've always been a team!" Marinette whispered in a hurt voice.

"I'm sorry," Tikki seemed torn, but determined. She gave one brief last glance at Marinette before speeding away like a red flash, easily dodging Chat Noir's attempt to block her path.

"NO!" Marinette called after her, but she was long gone. Marinette collapsed down against the fountain and burst into tears.

"Mi'Lady, don't worry. We can track her down. We'll get her back!" Chat Noir tried to console her, while still blindfolded.

Suddenly there was a deafening sound of some kind of explosion. The sky was tinged red as if sunset had already gripped the sky. The skyline of Paris was littered with fountains of chocolate and coffee spouting out of every coffee show in the city. Chocolate covered expresso beans started multiplying, filling up enclosed spaces, and bursting through broken windows to spill out into the streets. Tikki has unleashed her creative power on the world once more!

"How?!" Marinette gasped through choked sobs. "How can we get through to her?"

"Bugaboo, there is a reason every Ladybug has her Chat Noir!" Chat Noir smiled.

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Hi readers! Are you enjoying this story? This chapter was for all those caffeine fans out there;)

A huge thank you for all of you who left such encouraging reviews!

I'd love to know what parts have been your favorite so far. Let me know in a pm or review. Like or follow so you don't miss what happens when Chat Noir and (unknown to him...for now) Marinette, must confront Tikki.