I'd say I was sorry about the cliffhanger, but that'd be lying. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Day 26 – Sick Day

Ladybug and Chat Noir had made quick work of the akuma. The Barber ended up being a young woman who had been on the receiving end of a terrible haircut and was seeking revenge by cursing all of Paris with the ugliest hairstyles imaginable.

Chat was eager to get back to the janitors closet where he'd left Marinette, but he needed to make sure Ladybug was alright. During the battle, she had seemed a little off.

Ladybug sneezed beside him and groaned.

"Are you alright, My Lady?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine," She croaked. "I just need to get home. I think I'm coming down with something."

"I can get you some medicine and come back," he offered. "I still have time left on my miraculous."

She sneezed again and rubbed her forehead. "No, I'll be fine–"

Ladybug burst into a coughing fit before she could finish her thought. Chat rubbed his hand over her back. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Her coughs caused her to fall backwards and slump down against the wall in the alley. She shook her head. "I don't know," she managed between coughs.

Chat knelt beside his partner. "What can I do to help?" He held his hand up to her forehead. She felt warm, but he wasn't sure if it was from the exertion of battle, the radiation of their super powers, or his gloves deceiving him. Her half lidded eyes peered up at him.

"My earrings –" she warned.

But it was too late.

Her coughing had covered up the last beep of her miraculous. Chat watched in horror as Ladybug was engulfed in a flood of pink light. He shut his eyes tight a fraction of a second too late.

Chat Noir had seen her without her mask.

Ladybug was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

His Lady was his Princess.

His emotions overloaded with guilt and excitement and confusion and elation. Eyes still screwed shut, all he could do was apologize over and over again for breaking her trust.

Marinette sneezed and Chat's eyes snapped open. "It's ok," she managed, her voice gravelly. "Take me home?"

Chat nodded and gathered her in his arms. She smiled lazily and wrapped her arms around his neck before closing her eyes and falling asleep.

He eyed her sleeping form letting all the pieces fall into place in his mind. Marinette was Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette. He had fallen in love with her twice and hadn't realized it. He was conflicted over his feelings for both sides of her. He chuckled lightly at the irony.

Chat leaped from rooftop to rooftop as gently as he could. He paused when he made it to her balcony.

"It would be suspicious if she just appeared in her room," a squeaky voice coming from Marinette's purse echoed his thoughts.

"Tikki?"

"It's good to see you again," The kwami beamed at him.

"Likewise," he said, returning her smile. "How should I get her inside?"

"You should detransform," Tikki said. "There's an alley around the corner."

"Right," he said dropping down. He called off his transformation with Marinette still asleep in his arms.

Adrien walked around the corner and let himself in the side door of the bakery. Tom stopped him in the hallway.

"Adrien! Is everything alright? Why aren't you at school? What happened to Marinette?"

"I think she's sick," Adrien explained. "I offered to help her get home and I guess she fell asleep on the way over."

Tom nodded. "I'll go let Sabine know. Do you need me to help you take her upstairs?"

Adrien shook his head. "I'll manage, but thank you."

Tom pat his back and let Adrien slide past him and up the stairs to her loft.

He set her down on her bed silently praying she wouldn't wake up to another coughing attack. She only stirred for a moment before settling into the blankets. He draped her comforter over her and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.

"What are you doing?"

"Be quiet, Plagg," Tikki whispered. "She needs to sleep."

"Yeah, and I need to eat," Plagg grumbled.

Adrien sat up and fished some cheese from his bag. "Sorry, Plagg. Here you go," he whispered as the kwami snatched it from Adrien's hand.

"Finally," Plagg moaned finding a private corner of the room. "I'm going to enjoy this in peace and quiet. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Tikki, do I need to grab you something?" Adrien asked, ignoring Plagg entirely.

"No, there's always spare cookies in her purse. But thank you," she smiled.

Adrien turned his attention back to his… Girlfriend? Partner? He wasn't sure what was going to become of this relationship now that he knew her identity.

Adrien sighed. "Is she going to be mad that I found out who she is?"

Tikki was silent for a while and Adrien started to panic. "I don't know," she said finally.

"Are we going to have to give up our miraculous?"

Tikki shrugged. "Even if you gave up your miraculous, you'd still know her identity. Also, as guardian, she wouldn't have much of a reason to take your miraculous from you. No one could replace you as Chat Noir."

Adrien wasn't sure what to think. A million more questions were running through his head. He put his head in his hands willing his mind to stop thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. Stop thinking of the danger he possibly put her through. Stop wondering if this was going to change everything.

He had finally given up Ladybug to pursue Marinette. And now the irony was killing him. He knew from the beginning that there was no way he was ever going to stop loving Ladybug, and he had always known that. His love for her had changed, but he still loved her. And knowing that the girl behind the mask was the same girl who had snuck in and made a home in his heart made him love her even more.

But… how did she feel about him now that he had betrayed her trust? Seen her true identity? How could he ask her to trust him again after this?

"She needs rest," Tikki whispered beside him.

"Yeah," he agreed. He was loathe to leave her especially since he had only just found her. But Tikki was right. He would let her rest and they would have to talk later.

Adrien moved to climb down the ladder, but something tugged on his sleeve.

"Stay," Marinette croaked from behind him.

He smiled warmly. "Always, Princess."