All rights to Miraculous Ladybug belong to Zagtoon, Method Animation, Thomas Astruc, and Disney. This is my own creative work.

…

…Why wasn't anybody saying anything?

Her eyes remained clamped shut. It was taking all her self-control not to burst into a sobbing mess of apologies and half-baked explanations.

The silence was torture. She expected screams, camera flashes, people yanking her arms off or stretching her face like a doll. Heck, she expected nuclear warheads being launched. Alya should have been screaming to make this the headline on the Ladyblog. Chloe should be killing herself for making her hated enemy her idol. Nino… well, he was a relaxed guy. He would be taking it all in stride or he outright fainted because no one on the planet could be that chill.

Tikki was right. Tikki was a plushie goddess whose word was law and scripture. If she got out of this alive, she would never disobey her Kwami again. She would get ten times as many macaroons if Marinette survived the night.

Adrien, she'd never be able to face him again!

.

Wait, Adrien was next to her. Why wasn't he saying anything?

Marinette cracked an eye open. She expected an eyeful of shock all over the teen hearthrob's face.

What she did not expect was the green slit eye of her crime-fighting partner peeking right back at her.

"GAH!"

They both screamed and jumped back.

"Ladybug!?" "Cat Noir!?"

Fake ears, belt tail, clawed hands, full-body leather catsuit, and trademark clueless boy look. It was Cat Noir without a doubt… Actually, doubts were at a surplus at that moment. She was waltzing with doubt and getting spun like a top by it.

"I… I thought you… How did…" They both spoke at once.

She was certain she had been talking to Adrien just a second ago. The girl pointed a shaking finger and caught him doing the same thing. Their wide eyes went narrowed at once too like the famous mirror sketch. They had both met by the gate before Alya dragged them in, addressed all their friends with familiarity, he was even polite to Chloe in his normal way. It was most certainly his voice, his sophisticated charm; everything pointed to Adrien.

Did he and Cat… always have similar sounding voices?

"…Ladybug?"

Marinette flinched. At Alya's voice, she turned back to the crowd of dropped jaws. The girl blinked forgetting for a moment that she was a ladybug caught in the headlights. Even the ever-vocal Chloe Bourgeois, who caused this mess, had nothing to say, opting instead to babble and point a shaking finger between the two of them.

"Cat Noir?" Nino asked, completely wide-eyed. The boy by her side, whoever he was, flinched as well.

"Uh… HA!" Marinette barked out a laugh. "HAHAHAHA! You guys are a riot! Me, Ladybug? I mean, come on! Do you guys think I could possibly be the real Ladybug!?"

"Wait, Marinette?"

She had noticed that Alya had her phone in hand, trigger finger on the record button. She needed to keep moving to dodge this bullet. The girl slackened her shoulders in a casual Marinette-sort of way.

"Yeah. I mean, geez Alya. If I'd known this costume would get that kind of reaction, I would have just mentioned it beforehand." Marinette shrugged. "I think I got you too good!"

"No kidding, right?" Adrien/Cat laughed, sounding a bit forced himself. "I mean, I just threw this thing on so I wouldn't be late. A little warning goes a long way, right?"

"Wait, what?" Marinette asked him, blinking.

"Well, you guys remember that music video with Clara Nightingale, right?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. How could she forget? It was one of the most incredible and stressful moments of her life. She'd gotten to hold his hand 'like lovers do' per the idol's instruction. She'd also been a second away from blowing her biggest secret to the world. "I held onto the costume afterwards and thought it would be a shame if I didn't get to wear it in full, so, here we are!"

Oh… Oh!

It was Adrien in a Cat Noir costume. The world could start spinning again.

"Ohhh…" Nino echoed her thoughts. "So you guys are wearing costumes…"

"T-That's right! Same here; I got to hold onto the Ladybug costume, since, you know, I was picked to play the part. It just sat there, looking pretty in my closet. I didn't think I'd ever get the chance to wear it again. But you know, I thought it was a total waste, really, and considering what happened to my first costume and everything-"

Marinette was rambling again; she cursed herself for her seventy-five thousand horsepower motormouth. But the rest of the class had begun to back away, their faces returning to normal. A few chuckles escaped their lips. Marinette had to bite back a sigh of utter relief and force her legs to remain upright.

"So, Marinette." Adrien's voice caught her attention again. "With that outfit, I'm guessing you're a fan of Ladybug's?"

"Uh, well, I…" The girl scrambled for an answer. Something to appease Adrien, because she just recalled, she was talking to him, and something to keep her cover. She twiddled her fingers and shifted her eyes away. "Well, I… she's fine. Well, not fine, but okay. Or good, but you know, not THAT good! She's kinda… a lot of a lot?"

"A lot of a lot?" He repeated, blinking. "So you… don't like her?"

"No, I mean yes! I mean, a little bit 'cause she's a little much? Or, let me rephrase that, she's too much little… because she's a bug!" Marinette face-palmed and ran her hand down her face. "I mean, everybody hypes her up so much due to her being a superhero. I just see that and her and think, 'what's the big deal,' you know?"

He frowned. Did she say something wrong? Rivers of sweat were going down her skin now.

Marinette bit her lip. "Uh, so… you're here as… Cat Noir! Interesting choice… are you a fan of his?"

"Well, yeah!" His entire face lit up as bright as the park. "He's totally awesome! I-I mean, doing the stuff he does: jumping off buildings, fighting bad guys, all those crazy stunts! Plus, he fights for Ladybug and all the people in Paris! He cares about everyone and does all these… incredible things every day and does it all with a smile! Who wouldn't think that's awesome!?"

Marinette was taken aback.

Adrien never got that excited about anything. And about Cat, of all things?

The starry-eyed fanboy look he wore was… rather adorable, really, if not unexpected.

"H-Ha!" Chloe was the first to recover, pointing straight at Marinette. "As I expected. There is no way anyone could believe this sorry buffoon was the real Ladybug! It's ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!"

"Uh, you looked pretty convinced like the rest of us, Sherlock." Alya quipped.

"But she's right!" Marinette shouted again. "There really isn't any way I could be Ladybug!"

"Don't sell yourself short, though," Adrien said, making her blush again. "You're still pretty amazing."

Chloe grabbed him by the arm like a leech with makeup. "There's no way Adrien could be the actual Cat Noir either! My Adri-kins is the truly amazing one! That tabby cat is just a nobody! Nothing more than Ladybug's little pawn!"

Marinette saw Adrien almost grimace, though he held it back. She could swear his fake ears drooped a little as well.

Her fists were clenching as well.

.

After the first dance with doom everyone broke up and went out among the grounds. The night was young, and the snacks were fresh, and guests were looking to get into the party mood with sweet cider and nice chats with friends. Marinette was just hoping to get her heartbeat down to a manageable level.

She headed towards the snack table with her legs still wobbling. A couple of random bystanders noticed her and chuckled at her chicken legs, or just gaped at her costume. The girl gave a polite wave and a smile, all with a nervous twitch that could not even be genetically traced to the female superhero. Her gaze had been locked on a certain point while her hand fumbled and reached out until it brushed on the cloth.

"Marinette, over here!" Marinette looked to Rose calling her and saw her female classmates.

The girls were all there having already made for the treats themselves. The table was decked from front to back in desserts, frosting and toppings sparkling, with clear themes on Ladybug and Cat Noir. From red and black cakes to black cookies with red spots and towers of red and black macaroons. Marinette gulped and settled for a cup of apple cider.

Marinette's father walked towards them, humming his old baker's tune. He nearly dropped the new three-layer cake in his hands. "L-Ladybug!?"

The girl's cider went down her windpipe. She choked, pounding her chest.

"We didn't expect to see you here." Her mother came close behind catching the cake. "We'd have thought there would be an announcement or something. Is Cat Noir here as well?"

Marinette coughed, gasped, for dear life and mercy.

"Uh, Ladybug?" Her father asked.

She took a deep breath. "MACAROONS!" The girl screamed. She snatched the top five from the tower and shoved them into her mouth all at once.

"Um… well, I'm very pleased you like our bakery's macaroons…"

Alya and the girls came up to them, her best friend laughing all the way. "Real convincing, right? Sorry Mr. Dupain but all we've got here is one spazzy stand-in."

Both her parents raised a brow. She inhaled another five macaroons.

"It's Marinette, sir." Mylene offered more helpfully. Alya was definitely having a laugh at her expense. "She had this costume in her closet from the time she almost starred in Clara Nightingale's music video. She decided to wear it after what happened with her other costume."

Her parents seemed to believe it. Her giant of a father smiled. "That's wonderful you found another costume. You look great, honey."

"Yes, but… it's strange," said her mother with a finger on her chin. "I don't think I ever saw you coming home that day with that stage costume. I thought you said you had to return it."

Her pupils near vanished into the void of her whites. A red blur everyone assumed was her hand went for a strawberry Danish. In the next second it was jammed into her mouth. Everyone blinked and took a step back for good measure while strawberry jam ran down her rosy cheeks.

"Mind saving some for the rest of us?" Alix asked.

Marinette wiped her face and swallowed. She gave a shaky laugh and rolled her eyes in a certain direction and froze.

Sabine cleared her throat. "Yes, Marinette. While we're glad you like the snacks, would you mind serving some to the other guests? We'd like everyone to get a taste if you don't mind."

"Ha!" Alya laughed with Alix following. "Imagine Ladybug going around and serving food to everybody like a waitress! Now THAT would be something for the Ladyblog!"

"Uh, yeah, got it mom!" Marinette took the plate of macaroons and cupcakes. "Handing out snacks now!"

The trick here was that however Ladybug would do it, Marinette needed to do the opposite. Though she had a heart of gold, Ladybug was no servant, and even if she were, she would do it with the utmost poise and grace. She may have even found a way to make a spectacle of it.

Marinette certainly made a spectacle of herself.

The disguised hero stumbled around the park ground as though walking on ten-foot stilts with no conception of a straight line. As predicted, they all gasped seeing her in costume; Ladybug the hero, running like a maniac, serving sweets at a party in her honor. She let loose tossing her tray in the air with one guest, catching it an inch away from his head. With another, she spun and swiped the metal to where it near collided with a man's jaw had he not ducked. A third found her dessert on her head rather than in her mouth after a near trip on a pebble.

In her hands a simple metal food tray had been turned into a weapon. She pictured dodging explosions, any proper footing the site of a land mine waiting with sadistic patience. Her playacting had earned her more than a few glares.

Marinette's frenzied pirouette was on overdrive when Alya grabbed her shoulders.

"Okay, girl. I think you've nearly killed enough people and desserts for tonight." She smiled.

"Uh, sorry. You know me, the klutz of legends."

"Doesn't take a journalist to see why." Marinette blanked seeing Alya smirking out her peripheral. "You've been ogling a certain cat-boy this whole time!"

"Oh… yeah. That's what you meant…"

"It's kinda cute, don't you think?" Marinette heard Rose squeak out as the other girls approached them. "To be honest, I never really saw him as such an admirer of Cat Noir. They're just so different."

Marinette could safely agree, returning her tray to the table.

Cat Noir and Adrien. Those two were like night and day.

After an extended period of knowing both boys, she could safely say that Adrien was divine perfection and Cat was, well, Cat. Adrien was the scarlet red macaroon left on the tray with a gentle sweetness that caressed and made the taste buds sing. Cat Noir was the tart black macaroon with a kick in its flavor only the strong-willed could savor. Both held special places in her heart, but at specific coordinates, with a wide berth between them. Two flavors that were incompatible.

At least, she thought that was the case.

That was the thing. When Adrien's cloak was off, Marinette could swear it really was Cat Noir by her side. Even now, seeing him across the way, laughing with the guys, her mind was jumbling names and faces together. Alya made the comparison several times between the two boys before, but she refused to even consider it.

Now…

She had to ask herself. How well did she know her crush or her partner?

Alya leaned in from her shoulder. "You're staring again…"

She was, but Alya's catch wasn't what startled her. It was the fact that he was staring right back.

If Adrien had fur like his namesake, it would be standing on end. Somewhere between the latest video game or movie to the turnout for the ball, the conversation took a sharp turn to his own costume. The boy had deliberately been trying to lead them away. He preferred to have left his focus on other things.

Nino poked a finger on his bicep. "Dude, can you believe this costume? I didn't think your dad was THAT good."

"Indeed." Max replied from the back staring at his tail. "The level of craftsmanship is superb."

"Guys, it's not that big of a deal really. My dad always goes all out when it comes to his work."

That was so true, it hurt. Apparently, not even having a son could change that.

Nino stood and leaned in, looking ready to rip the truth out of his soul through the eyes. His face slid, squinting, while Adrien started sweating. "Cat eyes."

"Wha-"

"You got cat eyes, bro. Like slits and everything. How'd you pull that one off?"

"Oh, uh… contact lenses?"

"I thought those were just for your pupils…" Nathaniel noted. "I didn't think they covered the whites too."

"These are… special contact lenses, for the whole eye." Adrien scratched his neck. He rubbed his eyelid to give the look as well. "They make them for costumes like this, or so I've read."

"What about your tail?" Kim chuckled with a sip of his cider. "Could've sworn I saw it wagging. Does that mean you're a happy little kitty?"

"Cats' tails don't wag when they're happy. That is for dogs. A cat's tail wags when they're upset." Max offered.

Adrien could not say he was upset, really. The boy considered himself an even-tempered person. A childhood spent mostly indoors without the full range of emotions needed to navigate real life would do that. If he had to give it another word, it would be 'uneasy' or 'tense.' It wasn't serious, and yet 'uneasy' or 'tense' was enough to trigger the small jolt from his back to his skull.

His fake tail was twitching, fidgeting, curling with every second of extra attention.

He swayed his hips back and forth and bobbed on his soles. "I'm just feeling a little dizzy. See? It just moves with the rest of me."

"You're dizzy?" Nino asked. "On what, cider?"

"It's a… little too sweet?"

"Better lay off the stuff then." Nino grabbed his cup and set it aside. Adrien gaped reaching out for it with twitching fingers. He almost never got the chance to taste anything sweet. "You made a deal with the devil for one free normal teen night and us dudes are gonna make it a night to remember!"

Adrien smiled at his best friend. The two shared one of their classic fist bumps. "Thanks, Nino. Frankly, I'm just glad I made it here. With a costume like this, I didn't think I'd even get to the car without my father freaking out."

Kim gulped the last of his cider and brushed the dribble of his lips. Adrien grimaced. "Does your dad have a thing against Cat Noir or something?"

"Uh, I'm pretty sure his dad has a thing against fun." Nino shot a finger at the athlete. "Cat Noir's all about fun. Mystery solved."

Adrien rolled his eyes. They settled on a familiar direction.

"You're doing it again…" Ivan chuckled.

All the boys were giving him knowing looks, the kind that could lead to scandal and weeks' worth of teasing. Adrien blinked, swallowing a lump. Even he had caught himself staring at Marinette from across the park talking to the girls and her parents… in that costume. His fingers curled and uncurled hoping the blood would rush to his brain and trigger an excuse that would save his dignity. Nothing.

"You've been staring at Marinette for quite a while." Max lifted his arm and typed into his phone he had somehow attached there. "Approximately twelve point three six minutes, by my calculation…"

"That's a lot of staring…" Nino rubbed his chin quirking his brow.

Kim laid back on his left shoulder. "Dude, did you really think we didn't notice?"

"Come on, guys. Can you blame me?" Adrien slid away and stared at her fully. "I mean, she looks so much like Ladybug. She sounds like Ladybug-"

"She sure doesn't act like Ladybug." Ivan noted.

Everyone looked to the girl, who was now a chaotic twister in a skintight suit. She was dancing around and assaulting gests with her dessert tray more than serving them. The boys had to wince at some near fatal but tasty accidents with some guests. Adrien gave a warm grin, nonetheless, at the wacky charm that was all Marinette's.

"Maybe not, but Marinette is special too." Nathaniel stated with a fresh blush. "She's kind, and always thinks of others. She's never afraid to be honest with people, and she can be creative…"

All true, Adrien noted.

Those who knew Marinette could all vouch for her many good traits. She was the Ladybug that was there for them in all the little ways that made them see the silver lining in the clouds. The way she made others feel good about themselves, how she could lose herself in ideas she could bring to life in the moments between. Her smile, her hair, her gentle hands, and bluebell eyes that made you think of clear skies and sunny days…

Wait, what?

"ADRI-KINS!" Chloe's shrill call of his pet-name crashed into his ears. She came quick after.

No one, not even him, would ever know how he could force a smile onto his face in the blink of an eye.

Chloe hugged him hard like a metal clamp. "Oh, Adri-kins, I know you missed me! I had to rush over here to talk to you before you were derived of my presence for too long."

"Yeah… always nice to see you, Chloe."

It would be nicer if she could keep her distance, but, childhood friend. What could he do?

Chloe caught his line of sight drifting over to Marinette, who was staring at him. An eon must have passed in the moment they his green and her blue crossed. They both turned away in record time. Adrien pinballed his attention to his paw-like shoes or Chloe's arms on his lithe frame or his ring on his finger.

"Oh, don't EVEN waste your time with that waste of space, Adri-kins." Chloe hissed in her ear with a gallon's worth of venom in her voice. "Who's she fooling with that tawdy get-up, anyway? She could never be like Ladybug."

Adrien was not so sure of that. Whatever the case, Marinette certainly looked… beautiful.

He was watching her, she was watching him, but across the park far from the class, someone was watching them both.

An auburn-colored top peeked out from behind the fountain. Hazel eyes drifted between the two racing with glee. The sparkle morphed into tiny stars seeing them so casually standing there.

"It's them… it's really them." She whispered. "Okay… I'm going to do this. I'm really going to do this…"

I was not expecting this story to be updated so fast. Gotta say, I'm on a roll here, but I'm also rushing to put together the details for my crossover.

Poor lovebirds, though. It'd be impossible not to stare given the circumstances. And who might we have keeping an eye on them both?

Not much to my notes this time, so let's move on to the reviews:

Stag-beetle: Glad to hear it. Hope you'll stick around.

KaliAnn: Never underestimate the power of puppy-dog eyes. Though I imagine Tikki will have a bit to say when this is over.

XTheauthorthatneverwasX: It is an interesting dynamic to work with. Aside from them balancing being their normal selves, there's the added fact that their heads are being screwed with. We'll see that more in the next couple of chapters.

Guest: That's true. I mean, I know this show wants to portray a strong heroine in Ladybug, but I think it's detrimental to portray her as utterly perfect. I just see it more and more as I watch episodes that are ultimately saying that Cat is incompetent at his job and boys always need girls to save them. Not very "equal" in my opinion.

LunaWolf44: I don't know if everyone knows their identities. It all comes down to how well they play it off. So far it seems to be working, but let's see how long it lasts.

I'm glad to hear people saying I've portrayed the characters true to self. Especially since I have been made aware this is a concept most fans have approached already. The more I've developed myself as a writer, the more OOC moments have come to make me cringe. It makes me confident for my next work after this one. Anyway, at the rate I'm going, expect the next chapter to come sometime this weekend.

As always, review, favorite, follow! Until next time!