A/N: Requests take priority over my own ideas, which is why I filled out a new request today. I hope to follow it up with the Balcony Scene chapter soon! :D

ANSWERS TO REVIEWS:

Tempest5221: Aw, thanks! I really actually suck at writing suggestive scenes, so the positive feedback took me by surprise :3

Marichat4evaaaa: haha Thank you so much for your lovely reviews, they made my day! :3 I'm really glad you liked the chapters so far, I hope this is what you imagined when you wrote the request for the sequel to Chapter 38. Feel free to tell me if I should change/improve something! :D

Prompt: Continuation of Chapter 38: "My Responsibilities" Fluff ensues! MORE Adrienette than Marichat really…

Rated: T

My Responsibilities - Sequel

"Kid, at least try not to float off the ground would ya?" Plagg grumbled from the inside of Adrien's shirt, rolling his eyes at the radiant aura the boy was expelling.

Adrien grinned far too widely to be considered "normal", "I can't help it Plagg!" he whisper-shouted to his kwami, careful to keep his voice low, "My lady and princess are the same person! What did I do to get so lucky?!" stars were in his eyes and Plagg sighed.

Today would be a long day, he knew.

Adrien tried to school his features into a calm smile, but he couldn't help the shit-eating grin when he spotted Marinette in her seat – unusually early. Directing his beaming smile towards Nino and Alya, Adrien only had eyes for his princess, "Good morning everyone!" he was sure he seemed a bit too suspicious, but the happiness in his heart couldn't be squished no matter what, not even through multiple akuma attacks today.

Marinette's face was immediately on fire and Adrien finally understood her previous reactions toward him. It wasn't that she had been avoiding him or behaving nervously around him because she had disliked him, it was because maybe – just maybe she felt the same way, if last night had been anything to go by.

When he sat down and turned around in his seat to flash a bright, kind smile at Marinette, which, now that she looked closer, undoubtedly screamed Chat, he could finally see the striking resemblance to her alter ego.

The hair, the eyes, the smile, her quick thinking, her fearlessness when dealing with akuma attacks (which he always found a little odd for a civilian) and just…everything.

And he noticed she was staring too.

Probably trying to piece his Chat and Adrien persona together and see the similarities just like he had. He couldn't help it, he had to chuckle and flash a typical Chat grin, wide and all teeth, "I can't believe what a hot day today is, you've cat to be kitten meow,"

His eyes shot towards bright blue to look for a reaction and he could see she was physically withholding from instinctively reacting to the familiar puns, how he'd never noticed this before, he had no idea.

Nino shot him a look while Alya looked back and forth between her unusually calm friend, "Dude…not again, I thought I said the ladies didn't like puns," he sighed playfully.

Adrien couldn't help but grin like the cat that got the canary as his gaze quickly locked with Marinette, "Well…purrhaps some of them not, but I know someone who does," he grinned cheekily. He knew he was behaving completely out of the norm, he knew he was probably scaring his friends, he also knew there may be newsflashes of the sunshine model boy having a knack for puns coursing through the media some time soon, but he couldn't help it.

She was right there!

And she was fighting down a smile!

Adrien felt his heart swoon.

He seriously had no idea how he didn't figure it out before.

Marinette hadn't had a wink of sleep. Partly because she was half-expecting for Chat- err, Adrien, no Chat….her partner to visit her again in the middle of the night and tell her that what Tikki had said was absolutely crazy and totally not true, and partly because she thought staying awake as long as she could would somehow change the reality of what had happened.

The question was did she want the past events to change?

No, no she didn't.

Marinette wasn't always honest with herself, but this time she had to be. She couldn't believe her pun-spewing, adorable and brash kitty was also the calm, collected and sweet Adrien.

And suddenly, her mind brought her to a distant memory in the past, when she had been writing in her diary one day.

In a world without Adrien, I might give Chat Noir a chance…

She had never realized that she didn't need to choose, that her heart wasn't conflicted over two guys – one her longlasting crush on a boy so far out of her league and the other her precious partner and dear friend whom she started to feel for more.

Marinette was happy but-

Oh no.

"I can't believe what a hot day today is, you've cat to be kitten meow," Adrien's grin, now the longer she focused on it, reminded her every bit of the Cheshire grin her feline partner mostly wore.

How was she so stupid?

Almost immediately, the nearly instinctive impulse of giving a witty comeback or a playful pun herself threatened to overwhelm her and Marinette had to physically hold her mouth discreetly with her hand to stop herself from accidentally saying something out lou-

"Hellooo earth to Marinette!" Alya waved her hand in front of her face and Marinette tore her eyes away from the far too familiar, captivating eyes of her partner, classmate, friend-something-more to focus on Alya.

The girl looked more than a little suspicious, "What's gotten into you? You've been spacing out for a while there," she shot Adrien a quick look before leaning in to whisper, "And you hadn't exploded or fallen into a puddle of goo when sunshine child talked or smiled at you," she thought about the pun Adrien had said while looking at Marinette with a suspiciously large grin, "And you didn't die when he grinned at you like he won the lottery, just what's going on? Did something happen?" she smirked, watching from the corner of her eye how Nino was trying to get similar information out of his friend.

Marinette quickly shook her head, "N-no, I- no! I don't know what you mean A-Alya! Nothing happened!" her eyes briefly shot toward Adrien, who, very briefly, smirked at her and a small glare settled onto her features, trying to telepathically tell him that they were both behaving too much like their alter egos for anyone not get suspicious, "B-besides, I uh, I-I was just so um, s-shocked when Adrien came and I uh-"

Suddenly, it was much harder for Marinette to act like her usual shy, nervous self around her crush. Why? Because her crush was at the same time one of her closest friends, a friend she had fought alongside with for a long while now, a friend she came to know on a deeper level outside of fighting, out of her mask, a friend she, until a half a year ago, had started considering as something more than just a friend.

"Marinetteeee!" Alya grew frustrated at her dazed friend, snapping her fingers in front of her face to get her attention, while a certain blond was discreetly looking at them to gauge their interactions.

Marinette jumped, "S-sorry!" she held up her hands apologetically.

Alya sighed deeply, "There's the Marinette I know, still you're acting weird girl," she gave her a last side-long glance before she turned around to pay attention at the arrival of Mme Bustier, "We'll talk about this later," she whispered, promise filling her eyes.

However, despite the classes dragging on, two individuals couldn't seem to pay any real attention to it, all the while thinking the same thing.

I can't believe I was so blind!

And then, the akuma alert went off on all of their phones and almost as if it was routine – Marinette and Adrien shared a shaky, knowing glance with each-other, uncertainty still reflected within their eyes as Mme Bustier directed her class outside to safety.

They were the first ones to shuffle out and slip away from the rest, unnoticed.

This had been the first time they were trying to find a hiding spot together, all the while not saying a single word as they finally rounded the corner of their school building, away from prying eyes and ears and coming to a stop.

The gravity of their situation settled in and they both looked at each-other. Despite Adrien's earlier bravado, he seemed a little lost now, with an akuma out on the loose (just where was Chloe?) and their only recently discovered identities facing each-other.

They had to act, they had a job to do, but for some reason, none of them moved.

A black blur zipped out of Adrien's shirt and in-between the stunned duo, "Ugh, you're making me sick, humans and their cheesiness,"

A red blur flew out of Marinette's purse and glared at her counterpart, "Plagg! You promised you wouldn't tell!" Tikki was slowly floating closer to the cat kwami and Plagg had fear written all over his face.

"I-I swear I didn't say anything Tikki! You have to believe me!" Plagg quickly flew behind the protection of Adrien's shoulder, "The kid figured it out himself, surprisingly!"

Adrien glared down at his kwami while Tikki crossed her arms, a similar expression on her face as Plagg said, "Besides, how does your chosen know who my kitten is? I'm pretty sure he hadn't said a word last night!" uncharacteristic heat filled the red kwami's cheeks.

"T-that…I…" oh no, it was her that had broken her own rules this time, not the stupid god of destruction as was the norm.

Plagg stuck his tongue out at her as he cackled, "HA! See? Who's a rule-breaker now, huh bug?" he grinned, floating forth from behind his makeshift shield to cross his arms smugly.

Tikki frowned, "Plagg-"

Suddenly, two voices interrupted the kwami pair, "Um…I hate to interrupt but…shouldn't we transform?" Marinette and Adrien both shot each-other looks and Tikki heeded her chosen's words.

"The akuma! Right!" Tikki looked ready for battle and even Plagg's ears perked up in interest.

Marinette stared down at her feet shyly then as Adrien looked at her, "I…I hadn't meant to…" she bit her lip, "I'm…glad you figured it out but…are you?" Marinette's whispered words made a reassuring smile settle on Adrien's features as he rested a warm, familiar hand on her shoulder.

His gaze softened, "Of course, m'lady, I wouldn't have it any other way," he grinned gently, before he looked away sadly, his voice quiet, "…Are you?"

For a brief moment, none of them said anything as their kwami's watched in silence, until a gentle hand on his forearm caught Adrien's attention. Marinette's smile was genuine and a reassurance shone in her eyes, Ladybug's, his princess' eyes, "Of course, kitty,"

Adrien smiled warmly and Marinette mirrored his expression, both simply gazing at each-other, drinking in each-other's familiar features, until a loud, "KISS!" made their heads whip around to the culprit.

It was none other than Plagg, currently shushed vehemently by Tikki, who tried closing her little paws over Plagg's mouth to shut him up and not interrupt the scene, "Umm…sorry," she grinned sheepishly.

Heat shot to their cheeks, but at the sound of a distant crash and the screams of Paris' citizens, all bashfulness and shyness was forgotten.

It was time to transform.

Sharing a meaningful, serious look with one another, they both nodded.

"Plagg-"

"Tikki-"

"Claws out! / Spots on!"

With a flash of red and green, Ladybug and Chat Noir stood in the place of Marinette and Adrien and once again, the heroes took a moment to just gaze at each-other.

Ladybug took out her yoyo while Chat Noir readied his staff, "Ready princess?" he grinned and adopted a stance.

Ladybug smirked and took one of her own, "As I'll ever be, kitty,"

With practiced movements, they were on the scene in minutes, their teamwork and synchronization oddly even more smooth than all those other times they've fought together and both superheroes couldn't help but think that, maybe the knowledge of fighting side-by-side with the person they both cherished and held so close to their heart was the same person they had tried so hard to keep their distance from romantically.

But now it all made sense and the burdens from their hearts were finally lifted. Ladybug felt lighter, faster on her feet and Chat felt more powerful and agile in his attacks, perfectly moving in sync with his lady and adjusting accordingly.

They finished the akuma off quicker than either of them expected and with a final call of Lucky Charm to fix everything, they quickly fled the scene, together, to detransform.

It was the peaceful scene of watching their kwamis eat and recharge that prompted Adrien to finally speak after the akuma attack, "I mean it Marinette, I'm really glad it was you," when she looked into his eyes, she saw nothing but the truth and she expected no less from her kitty.

Marinette smiled shyly, "I'm…really glad too Adrien. To think not too long ago I was freaking out over liking two guys that was actually one and the same…" she giggled, "I can't believe my luck,"

Adrien smiled warmly, gaze softening as he scooted just a bit closer to her on the ground, "You took the words right out of meow mouth, m'lady,"

Marinette shot him a playfully annoyed look, "Careful kitty, Alya is already suspicious of how we acted today, we have to keep the banter at a minimum until they get used to the idea of our civilian halves becoming more than friends,"

Adrien smiled giddily, "Yeah, Nino is too, he kept thinking I was going crazy from the heat of the sun," he chuckled, until heat flooded his cheeks again, "Uh…m-more than friends?"

Marinette's eyes flew open and she slapped her hands to her face, trying to hide herself from him, "A-ah, I-I'm so sorry! I d-didn't mean to uh, to jump to c-conclusions and-"

Two warm hands gently pried her own away from her face and her vision was filled with warm, laughing green eyes at her. Adrien's voice was low but clear as day, "You've made me the luckiest cat in the world princess!" he grinned, chuckling despite the blush on his cheeks.

Marinette smiled shyly, giggling along with him, "And you've made me purrety happy too kitty," she giggled and Adrien froze before her.

His eyes, those so very familiar Chat eyes, were filled with happy tears as he tenderly held her hands clasped in his, "You punned! I can give up all my nine lives for this!"

They both laughed, unaware of the knowing smiles on their kwami's faces as the two magical being shared a triumphant look of their own.

Hope you enjoyed it! Thank you for reading everyone. :3