Ladybug waited patiently on top of the Louvre. She paced back and forth, the tip of her thumb in her mouth as she lightly bit along it. If the suit wasn't there she would be chewing on her nail. The anticipation was killing her. She knew why it was taking long, but it seemed to be taking too long for her. Ever since she saw that video in class the worry in her mind increased higher than it was before.

One boy had already filled many of her thoughts today. When at school she did her best to avoid Adrien as much as possible, fearing that she wouldn't have the courage to face him outright. Though she would have to see him tomorrow, at her party. But now it was a different boy who occupied her thoughts, one clad in leather and made the worst puns.

"I don't know him outside the suit, so what if he is injured again? Fell down some stairs and is in agony? Or the damage was worse than previously thought and he may never walk again?" She stopped for a moment and gave herself a small slap on her cheek.

"I can't think like that. This is Cat Noir we are talking about. That kitty always pulls through."

Just as she finished that sentence she heard the familiar sound of a pair of boots landing on the ground behind her. She quickly turned around, seeing the blond hero store his staff in his holster.

"Sorry that I am late m'lady. Had to be extra careful not to reopen the stitches. Don't feel like getting yelled at by you if I got here too fast." He spouted with that trademark grin. The happiness in his eyes did its best to hide the slightly twinge of pain behind them.

Ladybug ran to him, about to tackle him into a hug before stopping herself short of touching him. This got a confused look from the Cat as he tilted his head. Ladybug gently wrapped her arms around him, resting her head against his cool chest.

"Sorry about that. That would have been the second time today I hugged a friend of mine without thinking of their injury." She spoke softly and felt his arm wrap around her. The other hand resting in her head and giving it a small pat.

"What? A friend of yours hurt their back or something?" Cat Noir chuckled and looked down at her, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Well no not exactly." She broke the hug, taking a step back as both hands rested behind her back, looking down in embarrassment.. "He was mugged last night. Saved an old man from a guy but was stabbed in the process. When I saw him today I just sorta….jumped on him outta worry and relief."

A blush grew across her cheeks, being barely visible underneath her mask. When she looked up she saw the same flush on his cheeks, unable to look at her face.

"Y-you don't say?" Cat said as he slowly made his way to the edge of the roof, his fingers tapping along each other, a nervous tick Ladybug had noticed he had over the years.

"Yeah, made a fool of myself. I don't plan on that happening twice today." She said with a small giggle. When she looked up at him she saw a tension in his body language. His shoulders were stiff and his tail began to move at a quickened pace. But she decided to look past this and get to the main point she wanted to make.

"I am glad that you are ok though. I have something I want to discuss with you. Something important." Her tone became serious as she made her way to his side. Her hands pressed together as her thumbs began to twiddle.

"You know that you can tell me anything. As long as it's not that you are retiring. Because I am not allowing you to do that." He said in a somewhat playful tone, obvious to her that he was trying to ease the tension that she conjured up.

She just gave him a warm smile, gesturing him to follow her as she sat down at the edge of the rooftop. Cat slowly bent down, sitting a respectable distance away from her. She decided to close the gap, pushing her shoulder to him and forcing his arm around her. Her arm wrapped around his waist, as if trying to pull her closer than he could.

"I..I gotta make sure that you are safe by my side. Ain't losing my kitten anytime soon." She spoke softly and closed her eyes.

To anybody looking at them they would assume it was romantic the way they held each other. But to Ladybug, this was the ultimate comfort spot in the best friend she could ask for. Setting aside the small crush she might have, this isn't what she needed with him. And he knew that as well. Having his hand resting on her in a way you would console a crying friend. Intimate, but noninvasive.

Almost half an hour passed in comfortable silence. The pair looked at the horizon together, the silence being broken by Ladybug.

"I saw on the Ladyblog today the footage that Alya girl captured. The one of the fight last night." Her voice was soft as she looked up at him, feeling his whole body stiffen at this. "I couldn't help but get angry all over again at the sight. I ended up breaking my desk at school cause I was gripping it too hard. Embarrassed myself in front of the entire class." She ended with a small giggle.

When hearing this information Cat Noir almost jumped from his spot. If not for Ladybug holding him he would be standing right now.

"That's….pretty crazy actually." He stood up slowly, making his way out of her grasp despite the protest on her face. He walked a few feet away from her as he crossed his arms.

"It's just that watching that video and seeing it all happen again made me so mad. Made me feel like I could have...should have done more to protect you. But I had a lot of thinking to do today, from when my mind wasn't occupied, and I came to a consensus." Ladybug stood up, walking over to her partner and making him turn around.

"I am going to give the rest of the Miraculous out to the other heroes. Monarda wants our Miraculous and she clearly will do anything in her power to get them. She started a war, and we need an army." She grabbed his left hand, squeezing it tight as her right hand rested on his cheek.

"I am gonna need my second in command to help my lead. So you better get some rest and heal as fast as possible. I am handing them out tomorrow. But I can't run the risk of getting them all out." She took a step back, looking at the horizon.

"It would probably be best to hand out the ones that we know for sure. We can't risk having newbies come out the woodworks and potentially get hurt because of inexperience." Cat Noir chimed in as he stood next to her, looking down at his shorter companion.

"You're right. But we will need a system in place. We don't need like 8 heroes coming in and fighting one Akuma. It will still mostly be you and me, but if things get tough we call in a friend. Gonna need a way to communicate with them all, but without revealing identities. Sorry to say that I can't tell you them yet. Other than it not being my place to disclose them, if they feel the need to they can. But that is not an excuse to reveal yourself mister." She pointed a finger at him and gave a stern look.

"I would never! Cross my heart and risk my nine lives!" He held his left hand up and made a cross motion with his right.

Ladybug gave a small smile, flicking his bell gently as she leaned in. "Well it is time I get home. Homework isn't going to do itself unfortunately. And you better be careful getting home too. See you later!"

She jumped off the building, slinging her yoyo toward a building and swung off toward her home.

Adrien had just landed in the solitude of his room, detransforming as he stood up. He slowly walked toward his desk, setting his hands upon the surface and took a deep breath.

"What's plaguing your mind this time? It wouldn't be cheese now would it?" Plagg asked just as he grabbed a piece of camembert.

"Marinette is Ladybug."

Plagg spat the cheese out his mouth and dropped it. He zipped his way to Adrien, floating in front of him while waving his arms frantically.

"What are you talking about? That makes no sense! You have gone completely crazy this time."

"Then how do you explain the things she told me? Things she said happened to her today that happened to Marinette." Adrien turned to the Kwami, a serious look on his face the creature had never seen before.

"Just pure coincidence…. she's lying…...tax right off?"

"Plagg!"

"Alright fine!" Plagg took a deep breath, looking at Adrien in the eyes. " You figured it out. And now I can finally say this. Marinette is Ladybug."

At hearing these words Adrien just sunk down in his desk chair. He raked his fingers through his golden locks and threw his head back. A wide smile plastered his face, a look of happiness Plagg had never seen before.

"What are you gonna do with this information?" The tiny god asked as he sat upon the model's shoulder.

"I am gonna make sure she is the happiest girl in the world."

Adrien's smile was wide on his face, the excitement was pouring out of him and through him. The woman he loved, and the woman he yearned for for years were one and the same. He couldn't have wished for a better fate.

There was a slight knock on the door, breaking Adrien from his thoughts. He called for them to come in, seeing Nathalie enter his room with her tablet in tow.

"Adrien it is time for dinner. Come along now." She spoke in her usual time, ever the professional and serious woman.

Adrien followed after her, his mind wondering about the possibilities of tomorrow and the party. The party. He let out a gasp as he stopped on the stairway.

'I completely forgot about the party! I need to ask father….but will he let me go?'

"Is something the matter Adrien?" Nathalie asked as she turned to the teenager, he head cocked slightly in confusion.

"N-no, nothing at all. I was wondering though if you can't talk to father for me, let him know I would like to speak with him at his earliest convenience." Adrien continued to walk with Nathalie, his voice quivering some at the request. He hated to have to go through Nathalie to talk with his father, he felt like a client trying to schedule a meeting.

"I am afraid that will not be possible Adrien." Her tone was stoic and finite. A tone Adrien was familiar with. It meant no more talking of this topic.

Adrien dropped his head in defeat, making his way to the dining hall. When he entered the room he saw his father, waiting patiently as he was trying to fix his hair with a compact mirror.

"Father? What are you doing here? I almost never see you at dinner time." Adrien's surprise was hard to mask and was made very apparent as he almost shouted those words.

"Is it illegal for me to eat dinner with my own son? Is this that teenage rebellion I heard so much about? I can leave if you truly want to be alone and make your poor father eat all by himself."

Gabriel began to stand up, but slowly, as if...as if he were joking. Adrien noticed the corners of his mouth were up a bit, a smile was on his face!

"N-no! This is perfectly fine!" Adrien shouted as he rushed to his seat. Anytime to be able to see his father was one he cherished. "I expected that you would be busy. I asked Nathalie when I would be able to talk with you and she said that wouldn't be possible."

"I see. Nathalie being coy and dodging your question. Well son, I am letting you know now that schedule has changed drastically. Due to recent events, the secret project I have been working on for years….is discontinued. Never to be worked on again."

"Secret project? What do you mean?"

"There was a special project I was working on these last few years. I devoted every free moment I had to it and it became an obsession to me. I couldn't stop working on it, and I honestly probably wouldn't have stopped if things were different. This project….was something for your mother. I had hoped this project could change things...but it hasn't.

"And before you ask, no I will not tell you what it was. It is best left buried in the past. It was something I could work on only if I had a certain tool. But due to the robbery recently, that item was stolen. It was a one of a kind tool I needed and without it I could not continue. With my project retired, I have elected to use my new found time to spend with my son."

Adrien looked at his father dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. This secret project for his mother? What could it have been? A clothing design? A task force using advanced technology to locate his mother? Tax Evasion? It could honestly be anything.

"But there is another matter of which I would like to discuss. It involves a certain Dupain-Cheng and the way you and her have been acting recently."

Adrien couldn't help but hold his breath at those words. It is true that Marinette was hanging around the mansion more than anyone else, he didn't think that his father had noticed nor cared really.

"W-what could you possibly mean father?" Adrien stuttered as he looked down at his plate, seeing their cook bring out their dinner. A piece of marinated chicken breasts with a side of steamed broccoli and helping of mashed potatoes. Adrien grabbed his fork and began to stuff his mouth with the mini green trees, doing his best to avoid talking.

"I am just making sure that everything is on the up and up. I am not expecting any mini Adrien's to be running around my home anytime soon now am I?" Gabriel asked as he looked up at his son with a cocked eyebrow.

At these words Adrien almost choked on his food. He quickly drank a glass of water, coughing a bit as he shot a look at his father.

"N-no! Nothing like that has happened at all!" Adrien's voice quivered as he spotted Nathalie, covering her mouth as she looked away. Obviously trying to hide her own laugh.

"Good. We don't need you to do anything rash or stupid when you are so young. However, before you depart for your room, young man, we are going to have a discussion about your true feelings for this girl."