Marinette rushed into the College Francois-DuPont building, pink backpack swung loosely over her shoulder, just a mere 10 minutes away from the start of school. However, compared to the time the teen normally got to school, before the arrival of her kwami Tikki, miraculous earrings and a whole other secret life protecting Paris from evil super villains as Ladybug, she was downright late. And Marinette couldn't afford to be late. Not again.

"I'm late, I'm late, I'm late..." Marinette frantically cried out, more to herself than anyone else. Besides, the rest of the school was already used to this from her; she had done it so often. Every day, to be exact. "I'm late, I'm late, I'm- oof!" Marinette's foot had reached for the ground right in front of her, only to find empty space. It took her a second to fully comprehend what had just happened, and realize that she had missed an entire stair! But it was too late, as she had already tipped off balance, and lurched forwards with a jerk, as her feet desperately searched the floor.

Marinette's backpack slipped off her shoulder, falling with a loud THUMP on the ground, as the raven-haired teen tumbled into a couple of rolls, until finally coming to a stop by knocking straight into something. Or rather, someone.

Chloe was chatting away on her sparkly, golden phone, the other hand wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate all the way from Belgium. She couldn't not brag about it to everyone on her contacts list, which, by the way, was even longer than her father's, the mayor of Paris and owner of the Grand Paris hotel.

"My Daddy-kins got this for me, all the way from B- oof!" Chloe didn't get to finish her sentence, because the next thing she knew, something had slammed right into her, nudging her hand, a lot, therefore spilling her mug of hot chocolate- all over her! "AHHH! Hot, hot, hot, hot, HOT!" The blond teenager was furious, to say the least. Her satin shirt was now smeared brown all over the front. And not to mention how scalding hot the drink was. Chloe flushed a burning red and scowled.

"Someone get me some napkins!" She demanded in a high pitched, aggravated voice, while stamping her foot. Chloe fervently glanced around, searching for whoever had the nerve to do this. "Who did this? Who?"

Suddenly, her gaze fell downward at the raven-haired then who was sitting on the floor rubbing her head. Chloe's lips curved into a snarl.

"Maribrat!"

Marinette looked up, fully registering exactly who she had bumped into.

"Chloe?" She asked, looking at the huge brown stain and then at a now empty cup rolling a little ways off. "That was an accident..." What? Accident or not, Marinette was not about to apologize to Chloe!

"You did that on purpose!" The blond shrieked, pointing a finger at the blue-nette. Marinette in turn, crossed her arms over her chest.

"I didn't Chloe. I literally just tripped!"

"Yeah, and spilled my drink!"

"That was on you!"

"Just because you wear a trash bag, doesn't mean you have to make my outfit look like one too!"

"My clothes are way better than yours, Chloe!"

"Mine are way more expensive!"

"My family works hard!"

"I don't have to! Everyone adores me!"

"They do not..."

~Meanwhile~

Adrien and Nino walked into the door of Francois-DuPont College, joking and laughing about Adrien's newest magazine, until a frantic looking girl approached the pair of boys.

"Hey dudes, any of you see Marinette around? I can't find her anywhere," came the voice of Alya, the creator of the Ladyblog; Adrien's favorite website, and needless to say, Marinette's best friend.

Nino rubbed his head and shrugged replying to the red haired teen apologetically. "Sorry Alya. Haven't seen her." Adrien looked around the hall, hoping to catch a glimpse of his shy, creative classmate. He had to say, he was disappointed when she didn't catch his eye. Adrien shook his head.

"Haven't seen her," he replies, as Alya pulls out her phone, bringing it up to her ear.

"Ugh, She isn't picking up!" The reporter cried out, throwing her hands down in frustration.

Bringing her hand up to her head, Alya ran a hand through her hair. "I swear, Marinette does this way too much! She'll disappear and not return any of my calls."

Nino raised an eyebrow and nudged Adrien with his elbow.

"My man Adrien is the same way. He just disappears at random times."

Alya tapped her chin in thought, and Nino rubbed his head as well. Adrien fiddled with his ring, playing along.

He had no idea what they were thinking about, but he did not like the sound of where this was going. Suddenly, both of their heads turned towards Adrien, whose own head snapped up at the sudden attention.

"What?" He asked, keeping a straight face, even though he felt Plagg fidgeting nervously in his jacket pocket; When Plagg takes his mind off of Camembert long enough to actually be worried about something, Adrien learned that's when you know there is something worth worrying about.

Hey, being a model for the great Agreste Brand had its perks, like being an awesome lier, which came in handy way too much when you were secretly a superhero saving Paris. Nonetheless, he could feel a small sweat coming out of nervousness at the groundbreaking discovery Alya was sure to make. But then Alya blinked and turned her attention back to her phone.

"She's probably just late for school again..." Alya said, launching into another explanation; or a rant.

He wasn't quite sure which. Adrien could tell Nino was trying his best to act interested, even if Alya was talking so much he could barely keep up. He smiled to himself and was about to tease his best friend when his ears picked up voices. Voices, that sounded exactly like Marinette...and Chloe!

Adrien quickly glanced around to see if Alya and Nino had heard as well, but was surprised to see that they were now engaged in a conversation about Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Resisting the urge to jump in with his own thoughts, (because you know ), Adrien wondered how come the voices were so distinct to him when no one else seemed to hear a thing. Suddenly, realization dawned on him. Of course, he thought, mentally facepalming himself. Turning into Cat Noir must have sharpened my cat-related senses, like my hearing. Adrien takes a step in the direction of the voices, when another, much clearer, voice stops him.

"You coming dude?" Nino asked as Adrien glanced over his shoulder to see the pair already starting to walk to class. Alya chimed in, putting her phone in her bag and adjusting the strap on her shoulder.

"Yeah, there's no point waiting for Mari. It'll probably take her a while to get here anyways."

"I-" Adrien stopped, then hesitated. Chloe and Marinette together did not sound good, and he needed to check it out. But without backup from Nino and Alya. "I'll catch up," he replied instead, giving them a tentative yet convincing smile.

"Okay…" Nino said slowly, then shrugged and walked towards class with Alya. Adrien followed the voices to a spot behind the stairs where he could see Chloe and Marinette's shadows peeking out. As he got nearer, he heard Chloe exclaim her last statement.

"He will never , not if you were the last person in Paris, like a pathetic, poor, loser like you Maribrat!'

That seemed like the final word in the girls' exchange because Marinette was silent afterwards. That was when he decided to step in. As he stepped into their line of vision from where he was, it took Adrien a couple of seconds to fully realize exactly what kind of situation he had walked in on. Marinette was on the floor, her pink backpack with all her books and supplies for school scattered around her as a single tear slid down her cheek. This went unnoticed by the bully staring down at her, hands on her hips with a menacing smile on her make-up ridden face.

Adrien's heart broke at Marinette's forlorn expression and vaguely wondered what effect Chloe's words had on the normally strong girl. To be fair, the only one Chloe was even kind of nice to was him. His childhood had been hard enough with his overprotective father, empty home, and being a perfect public model for the Agreste brand.

Especially with Chloe being the only kid his age his dad had ever approved of, her being the mayor's daughter and all. In fact, the only thing that had ever kept him from running away from it all had been his mother. But now, she was gone too. But he never let it get to his mood. Adrien understood that Chloe's mother had left too, but she had an adoring dad that doted on her, giving her every need while he couldn't even look his father in the eye. While he had his own outlet, Cat Noir, Chloe couldn't use sweet Marinette as her outlet.

He wouldn't allow it.

"Stop!" He cried out. Both girls immediately turned to face him, their surprise clearly visible on their faces. Chloe recovered fairly quickly and her face broke into a smile.

" Adrikins !" She shrieked, throwing her arms around him. Immediately he felt his Cat Noir instincts take over as he pushed the blond teen off of him. He saw the spoiled seem taken aback at his sudden change in behavior towards her, but thought nothing of it at the moment. Chloe had crossed a line, and Adrien was far too exhausted to deal with her in a friendly, overly-diplomatic manner.

"Chloe, that wasn't nice," he told her, crossing his arms over his chest. The cast her a disapproving stare, which to be honest, he hadn't had much practice with. Clearly, his lack of experience with acting stern showed, because Chloe looked appalled rather than intimidated, which wasn't quite what he was going for.

"But she spilled my drink!" The blonde tean tried to defend herself by pointing towards Marinette, who was still sitting on the floor trying to recover from seeing Adrien, her long-time, major, some-might-even-call-obsessive, crush coming to her rescue from the she-devil in blonde highlights and pink lip-gloss, known to Paris as Chloe.

"On purpose!" Chloe added, throwing her arms up in the air for dramatic effect. Being the mayor's daughter, Chloe had learned one thing other than the fact that 24 karat gold was the way to go: If you want to get what you want, or persuade others that you aren't the villain, (even if you most likely are), the more dramatic you are, the more they'll give you what you want. Hearing this however, Marinette felt she owed it to herself, and Adrien, to at least attempt to speak up.

"I-" She tried to start, but was cut off by Adrien who apparently hadn't heard her, caught up as he was in trying to defend her.

"I'm sure it was an accident," the boy defended, positive, even though he hadn't been there himself, that an accident was all it was. "Mark wouldn't do it on purpose." This, he knew was true, even if Chloe didn't quite believe it.

"But-" the spoiled girl tried to reason with her friend, but Adrien wouldn't hear from her anymore.

"Save it Chloe," he cut her off, as well as any remnants of their friendship. He couldn't be friends with someone like her anymore. "You need to be nicer. Until then, please … go… somewhere else," He told her, for lack of a better phrase. She may be incredibly rude, and an all out terrible person, but he knew he couldn't stoop to her level by telling her to simply "get lost", no matter how much he wanted to.

All Marinette could think of in the moment, through her dream-like state was that even madder than she, or anyone for that matter, had ever seen him, Adrien was still so... perfect and nice. How could anyone not fall head over heels in love with someone like that? Marinette's dream-like trance was broken by the sound of Chloe's noisy, designer heels click-clacking away, as the spoiled mayor's daughter quickly left the scene with an angry huff. Suddenly, Adrien's bright green eyes turned onto her.

Reaching down to help the raven-haired girl, Adrien took her warm hand, gently pulling her to her feet. As he let her hand linger in his, the currently un-transformed hero felt his Cat Noir instincts kick in, as he resisted the great urge to bring Marinette's soft hand up higher and press his lips against it. However he kept those feelings at bay, until he was actually in costume. Until then, he merely asked the teen worriedly, "Are you okay, Princess?'' Marinette brushed herself off, thinking only of the fact that she was now going to be late... again!

"Y-yeah, I'm good,'' she replies, giving him a shy wave and turning around to walk back to class, confident that she hadn't said anything potentially weird to the love of her life. Until a couple seconds later, when the truth of Adrien's words had truly sunk in, causing her mind to go into overdrive, and for the teen to stop in her tracks.

"Wait a minute,'' Marinette whispered to herself, before turning on her heel to face the blond boy once more, too caught up in her raging thoughts to even bother to be worried about talking to Adrien once more.

He, on the other hand, was still standing in that very spot, intending to watch Marinette leave, to ensure that Chloe didn't seek her out again. And yes, also because it was the first time she had managed to say 3 words to him without stuttering... much.

But suddenly, he watched her freeze in her tracks, and for a split second, his mind went into akuma-attack mode. What is it? Is she okay? Is there an akuma? Is-

"What did you just call me? Marinette asked him, whirling around, her face dead serious, giving him a different kind of worry.

He blinked in surprise, tilting his head in confusion. "Princess? What I… always call you?" It always seemed to be the most natural thing that escaped his lips around her. Other than a few huffs here and there, the girl had never shown any outright opposition against the name. So why was she questioning it now…?

Marinette only shook her head violently, this not being the answer she wanted to hear. How could he be so casual about it? Just calling her that? Was it Adrien giving her a cute nickname (which normally she'd be ecstatic about), or did he really not notice it?

"No, no, no. Someone else calls me Princess," she insisted, stepping closer. Her mind went into overdrive. There was only one person who-

"Really?" She glanced up at Adrien, whose green eyes had narrowed. "Who else calls you that?" Was it just her, or did he sound… jealous, somehow? While she'd be a blushing mess at his possessive tone, right now she couldn't help but analyze and catalogue every interaction she had with him. His mannerisms, his jokes, his nature when he was with their friends… it all pointed to one thing.

Marinette realized in equal parts horror and relief (if that was even possible) what this could all mean. And she wasn't too sure how to feel about it all.

Adrien, on the other hand, was internally fuming. Who in the world would take his nickname for his princess? He hadn't even noticed how much this bothered him until he became aware of a stinging sensation in his palms - he had clenched his hands into fists hard enough to leave indents from his nails. Immediately he loosed his fists, admonished at himself for acting like he had full right to whatever people called Marinette.

But still… who else calls her "Princess?" I need to know the name… for research purposes of course.

Softly, the raven-haired girl uttered the words in a whisper, taking care that other people weren't spectators to this conversation. "C-Cat Noir." Saying them out loud made them feel all the more real. Does this mean it's highly probable that Adrien - my crush - is actually my partner? Carefully, she watched his reaction, a little puzzled when his expression turned to one of complete and utter relief.

"Oh," he laughed with a bright smile. "That's just me."

Marinette blinked once, and all of a sudden, it was as if a dam had broken. Guilt and regret flooded his face, as it paled. "Oh shit." In any other situation, she would have laughed. But not now. Not when his identity, the one thing they were supposed to keep from each other, had just been revealed. And in the stupidest of ways, too.

Adrien broke out into a nervous laugh, ducking his head and rubbing awkwardly at the back of his neck. He had just revealed his identity. To a civilian. Ladybug was going to murder him during patrol tonight. "Is there… uh, any way we can just… forget about it?" He cringed at how weak that sounded even to his own ears. And Marinette? The girl looked like she was mixed between punching him and running away.

"Okay bye," he yelped quickly, turning on his heel to go… somewhere where he could contemplate his (very poor) life choices. Honestly, this was probably why he had the Black Cat Miraculous in the first place. I can practically hear Plagg laughing at me already.

Marinette stood there in surprise for a second before leaping after Adrien - no, Cat Noir's - retreating figure. She grasped his wrist, holding him back gently. When he turned to look at her, she couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't recognized those emerald eyes before. "How can we just forget about this?" She whispered aggressively. After looking around once to ensure that people were no longer watching their interaction, the teen dragged a reluctant Adrien into the locker room.

Once she had ensured that no one else was there, Marinette whipped around, hands flying everywhere in her anger. "What were you thinking?" She asked, taking note of the way his green eyes were wide, watching her every movement. On another day, she'd feel self-conscious about dragging Adrien into a secluded spot to yell at him. Heck, she was surprised she was getting out a full sentence. But sue her, he had made a stupid mistake. As long as she didn't let her personal emotions get in the way, she'd be fine.

"You have to be more careful, Adrien. You revealed yourself to me, and I definitely won't be spreading this, but what if you had done it in front of Alya? Or worse, Chloe? It would have been all over the headlines! You would have put yourself in danger, and I can't bear that." Oops, so much for not showing personal emotions. "That's dangerous, Chaton. Hawk Moth could find you."

Marinette forced herself to calm down, and when she looked up, she saw Adrien with his head hung, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I… I'm really sorry Princess." She blinked at the nickname, still not fully accustomed to how...how natural it sounded from his mouth. "I'll try to be more careful next-" He paused, staring down at her with narrowed eyes. She fidgeted a little. Was his gaze always that intense? "You called me Chaton," he accused, and she mentally cursed. "You called me Kitty," he repeated, with more emphasis.

Immediately, Marinette's eyes widened, and she bit her tongue at her obvious blunder. Just as fast, she schooled her expression into something more neutral, taking a hesitant step back. "What? No...no I didn't," the superhero tried to deflect, hoping to brush the matter off casually. "You must have heard wrong." However, Adrien wasn't having any of it. He knew what she had said. In his heart, he knew it was true. The stakes were too high for it not to be.

The blond took a step closer, one for every step she took back. "No, that's what you said," he pushed, gaining a bit of satisfaction in the startled look in the girl's eyes. He knew Ladybug - and Marinette - well enough to recognize that look...they were one in the same. And looking closer, it was all too obvious they the two of them were, in fact, the same person. "Only one person calls me that," he finished softly.

Marinette ducked her head, avoiding the pleading gaze of his green eyes, so, SO similar to Cat's...of course they were, because- This was too much to process, she didn't need to reveal her own identity on top of it. But judging by the way he was hanging on her words, something told her that perhaps he already knew the answer and was simply waiting for her to admit it. Well, Ladybug was nothing if not a hopeless fighter.

"No, I didn't," she tried again, very well aware of how weak it sounded, even to herself. Adrien cocked his head to the side.

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"Yes, you did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't."

"Did."

The two of them went back and forth for a minute or so, with Marinette taking tentative steps backwards as her defenses weakened and weakened, and Adrien continued to follow her forward to make up for the space between them. Until the girl felt her back hit the locker, and suddenly the air felt electric. The boy hovered over her, his hands on either side of her head, effectively caging her in.

But the way he was gazing down at her, all earnest and longing, finally caused her to give in. She couldn't hide this. Not from him. Not Cat Noir, her best friend, her partner, her...her soulmate, if she could go that far. They were each other's half, destruction and creation. Whatever came from this newfound broken barrier, they would face it - together.

"Alright, yes...I didn call you that. Because it's what I always call you," she relented, missing the warmth of his figure as he stepped back in shock. Marinette rubbed her arms, ducking her gaze. She hadn't even considered his reaction. He loved Ladybug because she was heroic and confident and badass. She was just...Marinette. Shy, clumsy, Marinette.

"You're Ladybug," he whispered, and a little hesitantly, she looked up. His face was full of awe, and she recognized the expression he wore, one of utter love and adoration - one he only wore for Ladybug. And now, for her.

"And you're Cat Noir," she replied with a breathless giggle, afraid of shattering the fragile magic that covered them like a blanket. Adrien reached a hand out, tucking a stray strand of her hair behind her ear with a shy smile. For a second, the two just stood there, gazing at each other with a shared kind of understanding. Then, he threw his arms around her, pulling the girl into a tight hug.

"I knew I'd love the girl behind the mask, no matter who she was. Of course it's you, Marinette," he whispered, clutching her tighter. Slowly, Marinette wrapped her arms around him as well, resting her head on his shoulder. "It was always you." I didn't think I'd have the luxury of loving both of my favorite boys… maybe this really was meant to be.

All of a sudden, a giant thump resonated in the locker room, and the two practically sprang away from each other. They looked towards the door with wide eyes, though no one was more surprised than the girl who stood in the doorway, notebooks scattered on the floor.

"What did you two just say?" Alya stood, adjusting her glasses as she narrowed her eyes at Adrien and Marinette. Both of them had gone missing before class started so she had gone looking all over the school to find them - this wasn't what she had expected.

The two superheroes froze, both turning into stammering messes as they tried to come up with some sort of excuse.

"Uh, I needed Marinette's help on… math! Yes, math. Cause we have that big test coming up today, remember?" Adrien got out, as the raven-haired girl nodded along frantically. This didn't seem to satisfy Alya though, as she only pointed a finger accusingly.

"Weren't you private tutored?" She questioned, and Adrien could only shrug in response.

"I… he asked me to help, and come on, Alya, you know I couldn't say no! And-...uh…" Marinette stammered a bit, eyes falling everywhere but on her best friend. She could lie to everyone in the world, but never could seem to lie to Alya. At least, not about anything regarding Adrien. That was when her best friend always saw right through her, and no doubt would right now.

The blond noticed her visibly struggling, and he wracked his brain for something, anything to distract the reporter standing in front of them with her hands crossed and eyes narrowed. What gets Alya more excited than the miraculouses? Immediately, his eyes widened as the perfect excuse came to mind.

"We're dating!" He blurted out, grabbing the teen's hand as two pairs of eyes turned onto him.

"What?" Both girls said at the same time. While Alya sounded absolutely thrilled, Marinette seemed completely bewildered.

""Yeah, we- wait, we are?" The raven-haired girl asked shyly, cheeks flushing a crimson hue. He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, growing shy himself.

"I...uh...I mean, if you want?" Adrien offered softly, and the moment felt strangely intimate for the both of them, as though they were encased within their own little bubble - which was promptly burst by Alya clearing her throat to get their attention.

She looked overly excited… and just a little bit confused. But as she opened her mouth to no doubt question their (rather abrupt) alibi, Marinette finally snapped to her senses. She grabbed his hand, yelling a quick goodbye before all but pulling him out of the room. With a shrug directed towards Alya's still perplexed face, he let himself be pulled long, leaving the other teen in the room with her thoughts.

Alya turned towards Nino, who had just walked in with a yawn. "Yo Alya, where did you go? You kind of just ran off, and I was trying to find yo-"

"I swear they did!" She screamed, jabbing a finger into his chest. Nino startled, eyes wide as he looked over his near-manic girlfriend. Unfortunately, this wasn't a rare sight for him anyways, and he sighed, letting her continue her rant. That was all he really could do. "I swear they said something and admitted their identities as Ladybug and Cat Noir! It wasn't nothing," she insisted to him, looking up at the boy imploringly.

Nino just shrugged, swinging an arm around the girl's shoulders in an attempt to soothe her. "It sounded like nothing to me," he informed, to which she huffed, crossing her hands over her chest. "I mean, can you imagine it?" He laughed, an attempt to placate her. "Marinette and Adrien?" The idea was as ridiculous as suggesting that Hawk Moth was Gabriel Agreste!

Alya tapped her chin in thought, humming to signify that she had heard him. "I guess you're right," she conceded, and Nino let out a sigh of relief. Alya wouldn't be arguing about this for at least another half an hour - or until she found something else to passionately chase down. "Those two are way too oblivious. I'm surprised they managed to confess to each other."

At this, Nino pulled away, instead jumping up and down excitedly like a 5-year-old who had just been granted access to his christmas presents early. This was why Alya loved him, after all. "They finally confessed?" He repeated, the shock clear in his tone. Alya nodded with a bright smile, realizing that this was actually the discoverment of the century. "Yes!" Nino did a fist pump, and Alya couldn't deny how amazing it felt to know that there would be no more of Marinette's creepy stalking (she hoped).

Both of them walked away, finally heading to class where no doubt Madame Bustier was going to give them her signature look for being late. Oh well. If they spent the route chatting animatedly about how excited they were for their best friends, then she could hear them gush about it too. No doubt the rest of the school would be as overjoyed as they were...well, except for Chloe, but that was a given.

Hiding as inconspicuous as possible behind two pillars (as inconspicuous as the two teen heroes were capable of being, at least), Marinette and Adrien watched their friends walk away. She felt a little bad about lying to them, especially when they looked so happy...Although, was it really lying? She turned towards Adrien, suddenly feeling heat rise up in her face at his bright green eyes.

Calm down Mari… it's just Cat Noir.

Speaking of which, that talk was certainly more important than discussing...whatever they were now. The other talk would have to wait. The sense of urgency that came with being Ladybug flooded through her veins, and she nodded at him, determined. "We need to find someplace and seriously talk," she said, feeling her Ladybug confidence return to her. Adrien cocked his head, flashing her a lopsided grin that she came to instantly recognize as Cat Noir's.

"About the superhero thing or the...dating thing? Are you finally going to confess your love for me Milady?" Marinette rolled her eyes, reaching over to shove lightly at him.

"Sure, whatever Chaton. But really, we need to talk. About..." she fought the blush that was threatening to blossom on her cheeks as she averted her gaze, dropping it to the floor. "...both of those things, I guess." Adrien smiled, reaching over and intertwining their hands. His heart beamed. Though they didn't know what they would do after this (secret identities were meant to stay secret for a reason after all), he was certain that they would face it...together.

"Let's go then...princess." With that, he pulled her along as they ran, headed towards a secluded spot of the building to have a long and necessary discussion.

As if a dog caught on a scent, Alya froze as soon as she heard the word "superhero" be uttered from somewhere behind them. She turned around sharply, ignoring Nino's questions. Less than a minute later, Adrien and Marinette's figures were spotted speed-walking somewhere off to the side - away from the classrooms. Smelling a story, Alya pulled out her phone, always ready to record. "To wherever they're going!" She announced, following after the two teens with her camera out. She missed Nino's heavy sigh.

"Here we go again."