I forgot to do this on the last chapter but I want to send out a gigantic thank you to my friend DearestMrIcarus who previewed both chapter 21 and 22 and helped me improve on them .

The battle still continued to play on Alya's phone as Adrien painfully waited for Marinette to answer him. Between everyone around them, she had barely heard his whisper. "Is everything okay between us?"

She saw the fear in his eyes. The bluenette wanted to explain the reason why she pulled him away. She wanted to take that fear right away but couldn't, not with people around. They shared a look and he understood her immediately. That was the advantage of working as a team for so long. They knew how to communicate and read each other like no one else could. The blond quickly relaxed, understanding her underlying message of "I love you and we will talk about this later."

In the meantime, he was forced to see himself hurt her on the screen. It was horrific to see that fight, yet he found himself unable to take his eyes off it. Wishing to see for himself what he had done. Looking at those scenes he wanted to beat himself for it. He knew that in the end, she won, as usual, and he came back to normal, but that didn't stop the uneasy feeling he had while watching that battle.

Lucky the bell rang stopping that whole "view party" and everyone went to class instead. The queasy feeling of those scenes still weighed on him. The rest of the morning he acted as normal as he could, and she did the same, but neither could resist staring too long or blushing while looking at the other.

During lunch was the moment the bluenette finally got her chance. Careful not be seen, she pulled him into an empty classroom and locked the door. She not only wanted to be with him, but more importantly, to explain why she pulled him away.

The second the door was locked. He immediately grabbed onto her, holding her tightly and apologizing. "I'm so sorry. You and Kitten are my everything, and I can't believe I hurt both of you like that. Granted I didn't know, but still. I should never have let myself get akumatized. I was so horrible to you."

With her hand reaching for his blond locks and a warm smile, she tried to calm him down. "It's okay Kitty. It's not your fault..."

But he interrupted. "If it's not my fault then why didn't you tell me about what I did to Luka yesterday, and to the city, and more importantly to you. It was so awful. Why did you hide all those atrocities?"

"I didn't want you to blame yourself. Chat Blanc wasn't you. I know you and he wasn't you. The only one responsible for this is Hawkmoth. It's his fault."

"If you really think Hawkmoth is to blame, why did you look so scared when watching the fights?"

"No. I wasn't scared." She lied. She was a little terrified remembering those moments, but who wouldn't be? However, she knew that the one in the video wasn't her Adrien. She knew her kitty was the one in front of her and that she had no reason to fear. "Hawkmoth is the one responsible for this, not you." She answered truthfully this time.

He was happy that she didn't hold any of it against him. "I still can't believe that video. I need to know everything that happened. Please tell me all that akumatized me did." He was practically begging.

Marinette sighed before explaining everything in great detail. She told him how he used his cataclysm on Luka, and then went after Master Fu, and ended by telling how he would have used his cataclysm on her if she hadn't told him about Kitten and her identity.

Small tears began to form in his eyes, and he became shocked to know how close he was to losing her and their child. "I'm so sorry." He apologized, feeling no words could ever be enough. He almost tried to cataclysm her, after all. How could she even look at him? What would he even be without her?

"Stop apologizing. Hawkmoth is the guilty one not you." She told him in hopes he would cease blaming himself.

Adrien finally understood she was right, but that didn't change the fact that since he lost his mother, he was scared of losing anyone else, so he cherished and protected everyone in his life. Now the thought that Marinette and Kitten were so close to being cataclysmed away was enough to make him tremble. The love of his life and his child were almost gone, and it would have been Hawkmoth's fault.

Looking at him, she could see the horrified expression on his face. It showed his fear of losing her and his anger towards the villain. Holding his hand to bring him back from his thoughts, she assured him, "Adrien, it's okay. You were saved. Me and Kitten didn't get hurt. Paris is back to normal and we are together, and neither me nor Kitten are going anywhere."

"But..." She quickly silenced him with a kiss. Another "But..." escaped his lips that was also silenced in the same way as the one before. Under her soothing touch and kiss he felt at home. Slowly he pulled her closer. He wanted to hold and protect her in his arms. He knew at that moment that he would not let anyone hurt her or Kitten, and that Hawkmoth would definitely pay for akumatizing him.

Feeling safe in his tight embrace, she decided this was the right moment to explain why she kept her distance from him earlier. "I'm sorry if I scared you out there, but yesterday Chat was all over me, and now the day after, I'm suddenly with Adrien? I didn't think the exposure would get this big. If we admit our relationship now, people will easily find out your identity and then it's only a step away from knowing mine."

"Don't you think it's too much? People won't know. Besides that, does it even matter? Hawkmoth almost surely does. Why can't we just tell everyone, so we can be like this without worrying if someone sees us or not."

She sighed, "We have to be careful. He can come after us, our families, friends, or even Kitten." She rested her hand on her stomach, and both of them shared a frightened look. Hawkmoth coming for Kitten had not been something Adrien even considered up to this point and was something Marinette feared a lot. The bluenette, moving beyond the serious danger on their child, continued, "I spoke to Master yesterday before going home, and we agreed it would be easier to protect everyone if the identities remained a secret to everyone else even if Hawkmoth already knows who we are. He also told us to be extremely cautious, he wanted our miraculous, but I convinced him we could handle it. I gave him my word."

Marinette was speaking, but all he heard was Ladybug. It was incredible how he hadn't noticed how similar they were. Right now, he saw the strong determined Ladybug in the amazingly sweet and delicate Marinette. "You're so right Bugaboo. We have to be careful for our families, friends, and especially Kitten. Besides, if people knew I was also Chat, then I would have double the attention on me and I'd lose my freedom. But it still makes me sad that I can't scream at the wind that I am dating the most amazing girl in the world."

"It sucks that we have to keep us a secret for a little while longer. Until this whole Chat Blanc and Marinette fiasco blows over, we have to be sneaky." She gave him a teasing poke on the nose.

"I hope it doesn't last long, so I can properly call you my girlfriend." He pulled her into a tight hug.

After giggling at his actions, she stopped and stood still in his arms. She admitted, "I just wish there was something we could do instead of waiting to see what Hawkmoth does. I wish we could just handle him so that everyone, including us, could be safe. It would be great if we could defeat him, so we didn't have to live in fear. Just be able to be us, and Kitten, and happy."

He felt the same way as her. There was nothing more he wanted than to send the villain away from their lives. He wanted him gone, especially after Chat Blanc. "Don't worry. I promise that he will be defeated." His tone was deadly serious. "I also vow to protect you and Kitten against anything. No one will come close to you or Kitten without going through me." He assured her, "If Hawkmoth even dares to lay a finger on you, he won't know what hit him."

They kissed, letting themselves forget about the world around them. It was just the three of them, and it was perfect. There were no miraculous, no Hawkmoth, no teen pregnancy, and no secrets. All they felt right there was love.

Under his strong and powerful embrace, she felt protected. It was old fashion, but she really felt like a princess around him. "I love you My Kitty. And as your reward for being so perfect, I brought you and Plagg some snacks." Marinette took the treats out of her bag.

Immediately reacting to the mention of food, the black kwami launched out of Adrien's jacket at superspeed. "Don't ever let her go," the kwami said as he devoured the food.

"I won't Plagg." Adrien assured his hungry kwami, who seemed too distracted to care. The black kwami had stayed silent during that whole sappy talk, but now that food was on the line, he couldn't resist.

"Leave something for Adrien." Tikki flew out of Marinette's bag and reprimanded her counterpart.

"Don't worry. I'm used to it." Adrien laughed "I got the short straw on the kwami side."

"Don't say that. Plagg is also amazing." Marinette defended the small cat kwami.

"You bet I am." The black kwami defended himself and flew immediately to the bluenette, who began petting him on the head. "I'm like cheese. I'm an acquired taste. Some people just don't appreciate my exquisite flavor." The cat kwami snickered as he swallowed a macaroon whole.

"You know I appreciate you, Plagg. You're my best friend." Adrien said in his favor.

"Don't worry. Plagg is just on his sugar high. It'll blow over." Tikki reassured the blond as she sat on his shoulder.

Not to be outdone by Tikki, Plagg flew out and sat on Adrien's shoulder also. "Of course I'm on a sugar high. My sugar cube is next to me and she is right, I'll forgive you Adrien, but you have to let me stay in Marinette's bag with Tikki for the rest of the day." Adrien nodded, giving his kwami permission to stay with Tikki. The red kwami sighed while Plagg smiled with glee.

"We should get going now," Marinette said, opening her bag for the kwamis to enter.

"Fine," he pouted, sad that they couldn't stay a little longer.

She unlocked the door and looked around before leaving the room. He soon followed behind. Unfortunately, they weren't as careful as they would have hoped since both Alya and Lila saw them leave. The whispering between Marinette and Adrien along with the looks between them had not gone unnoticed by either of the girls. So, each on their own, had followed the two. Alya was thrilled by her friend while Lila was completely enraged. This only magnified her desire for revenge. It wasn't enough that Marinette had thrown up on her and that she got all the sympathy, but she was also taking Adrien away? This wouldn't go unpunished. Her revenge had been put on hold since she was still trying to investigate more about that old man in a Hawaiian shirt. He had to be important to Marinette since she went to him when she was broken down and crying. So, Lila expected to use him for her plans, but so far, he seemed to be just a boring and useless man.

While Lila burned with rage, Marinette and Adrien rejoiced with the happiness that comes with a new relationship. Despite him trying to stay away as he promised, he still spent the afternoon texting, whispering, and sending notes to Marinette to know if she was feeling too cold or too warm, if she had been sleeping enough and eating enough, if she still remembered he loved her, and if she knew how much he loved her.

Marinette smiled at him and always answered back, adding as many hearts and drawings of kisses as possible. Neither paid attention in class. It was all back and forth of the secret messages and looking around to make sure they weren't caught. It was as exciting as it was romantic.

At the end of the day, and after most of the students left, the only ones that remained in the classroom were Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette... while Lila, still consumed with anger, stayed at the doorway eavesdropping.

Inside the room, Alya and Nino both prevented Marinette and Adrien from leaving. "So, are you and Adrien together now? And does he know?" Alya asked, holding nothing back.

The bluenette paused for a few seconds to think, but eventually decided that there was no point in hiding it from Alya. It was against her plan, but with her best friends reporting skills, there really was no point in hiding it from her.

"Yes, we are a couple and he does know I'm pregnant." This was not a shock for anyone in the room but was for Lila. Her rage only grew hearing the news of Marinette being with pregnant with Adrien's kid.

"Dude, so you are the father?" Nino said surprised and looking at his bro. He already knew about the pregnancy but had no idea his friend was the baby's dad.

"Yes," Adrien replied completely shocked his friends knew about Kitten before he did.

Marinette seemed surprised that Nino knew and quickly turned to Alya " He knew"

Before Alya had a chance to speak, he clarified "She didn't tell me, Dudette. I happened to hear you talking to Alya. It was an accident."

"Nino. Why didn't you tell me anything?" Adrien finally managed to ask his friend.

Nervously, he explained, "Because I didn't know it was yours, bro. I figured it was most likely Luka's. After last night, I even considered Chat Noir to be the father." Alya's eyes went wide as if she had a revelation, but that went unnoticed by her boyfriend and her nervous friends. Nino continued his conversation unaware of the storm racing inside Alya's mind. "I never figured you and Marinette would go that far. I also wasn't supposed to know, so I couldn't tell you. Still, I tried to be supportive with Marinette. I tried being a good buddy to her, so she knew she wasn't alone."

"Thank you, Nino, for being such a good friend." Marinette smiled at him appreciatively.

With a pout, Adrien said, "I still can't believe you told Alya first, and that even Nino knew before me."

"Doesn't matter now sunshine boy. What matters is that my assumption on the father was right, and that you and Marinette are together." Alya said with a smile and regaining her composure and trying to act normal. It was only an assumption, and she was a professional, so she could not let that shock her. Although her assumption on the baby's father was right, so this one could be too.

"Yes we are." They both said together as Adrien placed his arm around Marinette. When he did that, Alya took the time to compare their height differences and overall body posture. This was it. It matched. She was absolutely sure she was right, but she had to test it out. "This is all very great, but the only thing better would be if Chat Noir and Ladybug also became a couple. How funny would that be?" She noticed the slight exchange of looks between Adrien and Marinette. It had to be true. Her best friends were likely Paris most famous superheroes.

Nino asked, "How soon are you going to start telling people?"

"We aren't sure," Adrien said remembering Marinette wanted to keep it a secret. "My father still doesn't know, and we want to keep us a secret for a while to avoid his wrath and the media." He covered brilliantly.

Marinette calmed down. Alya and Nino were easier to fool than she expected. She felt bad for not telling the truth, but it was safer this way. How would they react to knowing their best friends were heroes?

Sadly, to break the moment, Adrien's phone buzzed reminding him it was time to go home.

Alya, Nino, and Marinette decided to use the time to talk and go for a walk in the park. Not noticing Lila was behind them. Eventually, even they had to go, leaving Marinette alone to watch the happy families playing with their kids. She couldn't wait to be able for her and Adrien to play with Kitten like that.

"I noticed you and Adrien today. You guys seemed very close." Lila's voice broke the bluenette out of her happy thoughts.

"Me and Adrien? No! There isn't anything between us!" She tried to cover.

"Are you sure? I think there is a lot going on between the two of you." Lila's smile as she looked at Marinette's stomach, made the bluenette gulp. Somehow she knew.

Marinette slowly began walking backward as Lila got closer. "You don't think he actually loves you, do you? He is too good for you. And between us, we both know why he's really with you." She taunted Marinette and rejoiced to see the stairs that were right behind where the bluenette was walking.

"You're wrong!" Marinette argued.

"Am I? How about we test it out?" Lila took another step closer and Marinette found herself on the edge of the stairs. She didn't have a way out but down and she had a bad feeling that Lila was willing to push her.

"Everything okay, here?" Nino's sudden question was enough to startle them. The bluenette's heart was racing, and with Lila's overconfidence, neither had seen him approach them. Without a second to think, Marinette rushed past Lila and next to him.

"We were just talking," Lila defended herself as she swiftly made her exit. "See you later Marinette."

"Are you okay?" Nino asked, noticing the pale look on Marinette's face. She nodded, but he didn't seem to believe it. Seeing this scene, he was happy he had to come back.

"Can you walk me home?"

"Sure." He made sure Lila was completely gone before asking Marinette, "What was happening here?"

"Nothing." She lied. She knew that if she told the truth, Nino might not believe her... or most likely, he would believe her and go straight to tell Adrien. She knew that if her boyfriend knew, he would get worried and overprotective. She didn't want to worry Adrien.

Not very far from there, and still upset that she had been stopped, Lila monologued. "She got lucky this time! But I will get my way! She and her child will be destroyed, leaving Adrien for me. Having him will be both my revenge against her, and also my reward." Suddenly, her phone rang with a call from none other than Gabriel Agreste's number. She accepted the call, knowing he would be the ideal person to help her.