Cat froze, Shadowmoth's voice melting into the background as the taste of vanilla filled his senses. He relaxed his arms, letting them slip down to his lady's waist. He pulled her into his lap, his tongue caressing her bottom lip.

She opened her mouth, allowing him to deepen the kiss as the butterfly phased out of his belt. It fluttered around the room, and Ladybug broke the kiss to address it.

She stood up, moving away from Cat. Before the butterfly could get away, she swung her yoyo, capturing and purifying it in one well-practiced motion.

"Bye, bye little butterfly," she said, turning around to look at Cat.

He stood, staring at her as a light blush covered her cheeks. She shivered under his powerful eyes as his hand caressed her cheek. She leaned into his touch, despite herself.

"What does this mean, Ladybug," he asked, not daring to speak above a whisper.

"You tell me, Adrien," she said, and he stepped back.

"I guess you knowing my identity was inevitable after that performance, wasn't it," he said, looking at his ring instead of her.

"It was a pretty passionate one," she said, taking his hands in her own. "I'm so sorry, Adrien."

"I can't believe any of it. It doesn't feel real. But, I can't stop seeing her in there," he said, clenching his eyes shut as tears escaped them.

Ladybug ran her thumb across his cheek, wiping away the tears. He looked at her, the light she always admired missing from his eyes. "We'll fix this."

"How," he asked, sounding more like a boy than the young man she had come to know.

"I don't know. But, we can get his miraculouses. It may not fix everything, but it's a start."

"Aren't you going to take my miraculous. You know who I am," he said.

Ladybug shook her head. "As long as I'm Ladybug, you are the only Cat Noir for me."

"Milady, is that a declaration of love I hear," he said, a small smile forming at the corner of his lips.

"You have no idea," she said, bringing his lips to meet hers.

He matched her pace, picking her legs up as she wrapped them around his waist. He pinned her against the wall, letting his hands roam up and down her sides to cheeks and into her hair. She ran her hands through his hair, pulling the strands. Soon, the two stopped to breathe, Ladybug's legs slipping until her feet were planted on the ground once more.

"Can I please know who you are," Cat asked, his desperation seeping through every pore in his body.

"You know I can't show you," Ladybug said, trying to turn away from him, but he held her face to his.

"You already know who I am, and we know who Shadowmoth is. Don't you think it's time," he said.

Ladybug suddenly remembered who he was. This wasn't Cat Noir anymore. This was Adrien. Perfect, beautiful, kind Adrien. And she was just Marinette. Would he be okay when he found out who she was? Would he regret kissing her. Her eyes widened. She kissed Adrien Agreste.

"What if you don't like the person underneath the mask," she asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

"I told you before. I will love the girl under the mask, whoever she is. You are Ladybug, with or without the suit," he said, wiping away her tears.

"You can't know that. I'm so different," she said, shaking her head.

"Would you have ever thought that I was Cat," he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not in a million years," she said, laughing through her cries.

"It's time, Milady. Please," he said, dropping his own transformation.

She shielded her eyes as Cat disappeared, and Adrien took his place. Even though she knew, seeing him holding her hands still took her breath away. Adrien loved her even if it was just as Ladybug.

"Okay," she said, closing her eyes. "Spots off."

Silence. Moment after moment of silence. Marinette slowly opened her eyes one by one, expecting to see sadness or disappointment. Instead, Adrien's eyes shown with tears and the biggest smile she ever saw on his face.

"Found you," he said, bringing her lips to meet his own.

They kissed like each other's lips was more important than oxygen. The hunger, the desperation, the years of pining after the other in different forms, all coming to the surface as the secrets disappeared with their secret identities. At least, the most important ones.

Later, after the energy faded into calm, Adrien pulled Marinette into his lap, refusing to let her go for even a second.

"So, what's the plan," he said, rubbing circles into the back of her hand.

"We need to go on the offense. Stop waiting for him to akumatize anyone else. He didn't get anything from your thoughts when he tried to akumatize you, did he," Marinette asked, leaning back to look at him.

"No. My thoughts shifted to something else pretty quickly," he said, laughing when she smacked his chest.

"I couldn't think of anything else. I couldn't risk you getting akumatized."

"I know," he said, bringing her hand to his lips. "I'm here."

"We need to tell Panthera what we found out. I hope she's not too angry with us, but she didn't want to include you in the plan, and I was afraid that she really was working with Shadowmoth, and it was all a trap. I still can't believe she was right," Marinette said, relaxing against his chest.

"I'll talk to her. I owe her an apology anyway."

"Yeah, what is going on between the two of you exactly?"

Adrien twisted his ring with his finger. "It's a long story and not completely mine to tell."

"Okay, I trust you, Kitty. We're going to need her help to bring Shadowmoth down. We're going to need other miraculous holders as well. I'll come up with a plan and let you know. How are you going to get in touch with Panthera? She usually only shows up during an akuma attack."

"I have my ways, Milady," he said, kissing the palm of her hand.

The two transformed back and went their separate ways. Marinette dropped her transformation and started screaming into her pillow.

"Isss Lady Guardian okay," Sass said as he and the other kwami gathered around the girl.

"She's fine," Tikki said, grabbing a cookie from the leftover plate, "She just found out that her crush is Cat Noir."

"Are you sure it was a good idea for them to know, Tikki," Wayzz asked, looking between Marinette and the red kwami.

"It was unavoidable. They found the identity of Shadowmoth."

The group collectively gasped, and Marinette resurfaced from her pillow.

"He's Gabriel Agreste," she said, answering the question written on their faces.

"Does this mean that we will see Nooroo and Duusu soon," Trixx said, wringing his hands.

"I hope so," she said, scratching the side of his head.

The kwamis cheered, hugging each other. Marinette smiled but could not join in their celebration. She knew the price they all would pay to end this, Adrien especially.

Meanwhile in the Agreste home, Adrien collapsed on his bed. Plagg grabbed a piece of camembert and floated back over to his holder.

"Are you okay, Kid," he asked as he ate.

"No," Adrien said, wiping his eyes before tears could form. "I'm suffocating. Being under the same roof as him, as her."

He ran to the bathroom, emptying the contents of his stomach into the toilet. Plagg followed, tail between his legs.

"It'll be over soon. At least you found out who Ladybug is, right," Plagg said, hoping to cheer Adrien up.

"Yeah, that's true," he said, a small smile forming, "I should've known. I can't believe she's been right under my nose this entire time."

"You still need to talk to dancer girl," Plagg reminded him.

Adrien grimaced, shaking his head. "I know. I just don't know what to say to her. I'm sorry doesn't seem like enough."

"Well, you did tell her that the two of you weren't family. And that she needed to leave your real family alone," he said.

"I didn't say all of that."

"You might as well have," Plagg said, finishing his cheese.

Adrien sighed, laying his head against the cool, hard floor. He hadn't screwed up that bad, had he?

"Look, you can't fix anything tonight. She's supposed to be at the studio tomorrow; you can talk to her then. Try to get some sleep, Kid," Plagg said, placing a paw on his holder's shoulder.

Adrien let out a breathy laugh. "Easier said than done when the enemy you've been fighting for three years is literally two floors below you."

"You have to try. You can't fight him tonight or by yourself. Trust Ladybug. When has her plans ever failed?"

"You're right," Adrien said, slowly pushing himself into a standing position.

He shuffled to bed, trying to let the soft covers envelope him in a sense of security to no avail.

The next day, Adrien felt worse than before. Using his trusty concealer to hide the bags under his eyes, he walked down the stairs and out of his prison, thankful to not run into his father. He let his driver take him to Cassandra's studio, handing him a new action figure as his compensation.

Cassandra didn't turn around, using the mirror to detect his presence.

"What do you want," she said, continuing to stretch.

"You were right. Father is you know who," he said, causing her to almost fall as she turned to face him.

"You went without me? She told you," she asked, jaw tense.

"Of course, she told me. We're partners, Cassandra," he said.

"Well, I didn't want to say I told you so, but there it is," Cassandra said, turning around to continue her stretches.

"Cassandra," Adrien started, but she cut him off.

"No, Adrien. I'm sorry I was right, okay? But I thought you trusted me more than that. And I certainly thought of you as family, at this point. I thought you did too," she said, her shoulders slumping before becoming rigid once more.

"I do. You're my sister," he said, and she turned around, barre forgotten.

"You didn't act like it. What's Ladybug's plan," she asked, crossing her arms.

"She's gathering the other miraculous holders," he said.

"Place and time," she said, tapping her foot.

"Eifel Tower, nine tomorrow night. We need to talk about this," Adrien said, reaching for her hands.

Cassandra put them in the air, backing away. "I'll be there because I promised. Now, I need to practice, Adrien. I mean it," she said, turning the music on and breaking into dance.

"Cass, please," he said, but she turned the music up louder in response, putting the remote back in a pocket in her leggings.

"No. We're not partners, we're not family, we're not even friends. I'll help you defeat Shadowmoth and go back to London. And you can go on with whatever you have going on with Ladybug."

Adrien sighed but left as she asked.