Adrien had never been grateful for an Akuma attack before and he felt a bit guilty about it now but he was glad to get away from having to explain himself to Marinette. He had expected her to be angry or feel uncomfortable around him when he next saw her as Chat Noir, but instead she had seemed genuinely concerned for him. He shook his head, how could that girl be so selfless? Something inside him felt warm at the thought that Marinette cared for Chat Noir but as he neared the scene of the Akuma attack he turned his focus back to the streets of Paris, busy with fleeing civilians and police officers trying to contain the situation until he and Ladybug arrived to take care of things.

Adrien felt another stab of guilt as he realized he was about come face to face with a girl he wasn't ready to talk to for the second time that day. As he propelled himself across the rooftops, dodging a flock of agitated pigeons escaping the mayhem below he questioned himself. If he thought about it there was no reason to feel guilty, Ladybug had been clear with him about her feelings, that she didn't see him in a romantic way. Surely she wouldn't really care if he set his sights on someone else? But then again, she was always so strict about their identities, insisting that entangling their civilian and superhero lives in any way was a threat to them and to the people they protected. What if she got mad at him for involving a regular girl in his superhero life? He frowned, annoyed at the thought. He didn't necessarily want to pursue Marinette in that way but it wouldn't be reasonable for Ladybug to expect Chat Noir to stay single for the rest of his life!

He was shaken out of his hypothetical argument with Ladybug by the appearance of the latest Akuma victim on the street below him. A boy, probably close to Adrien's age, dressed in a bizarre combination of neon and cargo shorts was riding a skateboard that was flying down the pavement at high speed, laughing maniacally. He was wearing a dark metallic helmet with a clear blue visor over his eyes and as he rode past fleeing civilians he raised a hand to the side of his face, tapping the blue plastic and emitting a pulse of light that seemed to freeze the people he passed.

"You all need to chill out!" He laughed again and Chat Noir rolled his eyes.

"Looks like you're not the only one who likes a bad joke." A familiar voice came from behind him and Adrien turned quickly to see Ladybug surveying the scene only a few feet away.

"Hey, my jokes are hilarious." Adrien sassed back.

Ladybug turned to smile at him, one eyebrow arched above her eye dubiously and his heart skipped a beat. He looked away quickly, feeling himself blushing as he turned back towards the Akuma terrorizing the streets.

"Looks like a…skater that can freeze people?" He tried to explain the situation to her and Ladybug frowned.

"Well then I bet the Akuma's in his skateboard?" she pondered.

"Probably" Chat Noir nodded, "Only one way to find out."

He launched himself off the roof and Ladybug followed as they pursued the skater.

Adrien managed to forget his troubling emotions in the flurried activity that followed but once the Akuma victim was sitting, confused and defeated at their feet after Ladybug managed to break his skateboard AND his helmet (surprisingly the location of the Akuma) the adrenaline wore off and watching her purify the Akuma he felt the guilt sitting in the pit of his stomach. He still had feelings for her, even if she didn't return them, and he didn't want anything to keep her from trusting him. She smiled at him as the effects of Miraculous Ladybug washed over the city streets, returning everything to how it had been before the attack.

"Pound it!" her voice was chipper as she reached out to fist bump him in their traditonal victory move but he didn't reciprocate the gesture.

"Chat Noir? Are you ok?"

That question again. He flinched, starting to feel even worse.

"I have to tell you something." He couldn't look her in the eye, instead casting his gaze down and holding one arm guiltily.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was warm with concern and he frowned.

"I…I…kissed another girl, as Chat Noir."

"Oh…" She sounded a lot less surprised then he expected and he looked back up at her curiously. She suddenly stammered

"Uh, I mean, oh wow! That's…"She trailed off, no longer meeting his gaze.

"Good?" She finally offered, slightly tilting her head to one side.

"Good?" He repeated confused.

"Bad?" She seemed just as unsure as he was.

"I…don't know."

She frowned at him,

"Well…" Her cheeks were slightly flushed pink but he wasn't looking at her so he didn't notice,

"Do…you like her?"

"No!" He answered too quickly and she looked surprised.

"I mean…not as much as…you" Adrien blushed and his voice trailed off. He was looking at the ground again. They both stood in awkward silence for a moment and then Ladybug started speaking, her voice soft and apologetic,

"My feelings still haven't changed…maybe…"

He looked up at her and her eyes were cast down, but she looked sad.

"If this girl likes you, Chat Noir…"

"She doesn't" He interrupted her, not wanting to hear Ladybug tell him to go after someone else. He wasn't ready to let go of her yet.

"She doesn't like Chat Noir. She told me she likes a boy in her class"

He knew he was sort of lying and he tried to ignore another pang of guilt. She looked at him in shock, then her eyes narrowed as she squinted at him skeptically.

"Then why did you kiss her?"

He felt himself blushing and he ruffled the back of his hair,

"I don't know…"

Ladybug raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to explain more. He sighed, trying to think how to word this.

"I guess because she was going on about how great this guy is and…well…it was really nice…and then she said she felt like they weren't meant to be and she looked so sad so…I don't know…"

He wrapped his arms around himself, still blushing. Ladybug was squinting at him, obviously annoyed,

"That doesn't make any sense. If you bad for someone you don't just kiss them!"

"Well I wanted her to feel better!" He mumbled defensively.

"How would kissing you make her feel better about her crush on someone else?"

Adrien rubbed his hands through his hair more aggressively, agitated,

"Because, that someone else is also ME! I'm the guy in her class!"

He knew he was getting close to personal territory but he was desperate to keep Ladybug from assuming he was a total creep who went around forcing himself on sad girls. Besides, he hadn't actually said it was Marinette that he'd kissed so it was unlikely she'd find out anything more about Adrien's true identity.

This was all such a confusing mess to him that he didn't think anything of the look of surprise growing on Ladybug's face. Her eyes were growing wide and he assumed he had been right, she was disappointed in him. Her earrings beeped again and she blinked rapidly,

"Wow um…I'm so sorry but…I have to go…see you later!"

Suddenly she was running off, slinging her yoyo onto a lamppost and swinging into the air, onto a nearby building and then dropping out of sight. Adrien sighed again, turning in the opposite direction and ducking into an alleyway to de-transform.

"Well that went well." Plagg was now sitting in Adrien's palm, rubbing his face with tiny black paws, "Cheese please!"

Adrien groaned,

"She HATES ME! Did you see how she just took off like that?"

"Her time was up." Plagg shrugged, floating lazily into the pocket of Adrien's shirt to look for cheese himself.

"You don't have anything in here!"

Adrien rolled his eyes,

"I left it in my bag at school. You can make it another fifteen minutes."

Plagg disagreed, grumbling under his breath as Adrien exited the alley and headed back to class.

Adrien is Chat Noir.

Adrien. Is. Chat. Noir!

Marinette could feel how red her face was, even after she had changed back, holding Tikki in her hands, staring in shock at her Kwami friend.

"Tikki."

Her Kwami looked up at her, eyes wide in surprise,

"Yeah."

"ADRIEN IS CHAT NOIR!" Marinette's voice came out in a high gasp.

Her mind flashed back to all the time she'd spent with Chat Noir, working together but always avoiding his advances. She remembered how faithful he'd been, constantly putting himself in harm's way to protect her, despite his carefree attitude. And then she remembered their interactions that previous night,

"ADRIEN KISSED ME!"

It took all her willpower not to scream with excitement. Her face was on fire now, and she had unconsciously started squeezing Tikki.

"Marinette! Calm down!" The little red sprite tried to reassure her friend, squirming out from between Marinette's fingers. Suddenly Marinette felt realization dawning on her, crushing her just as she'd begun to have hope

"Adrien…is in love with Ladybug…"

Her shoulders slumped. It was one of her worst fears come true.

"He'll really never like me…" she felt tears starting to well up in her eyes. Tikki frowned sympathetically and put a tiny hand on Marinette's shoulder.

"That's not true! Chat Noir kissed you, Marinette! His feelings could be changing already!"

Marinette bit her lip, staring at her feet,

"You heard what he said…he just…felt bad for me. Ugh I'm such an idiot!"

She rubbed her palms against her eyes, sighing. Her kwami watched her, feeling her human friend's pain and sighing too,

"Don't say that Marinette, you're amazing! As Ladybug and Marinette! You should never feel bad for caring for another person, regardless of whether or not they return your feelings."

Marinette peered at her through her bangs, sniffling slightly. Tikki smiled gently,

"Besides, you never know what the future holds."

Marinette sniffed again,

"I guess…"

Tikki patted her shoulder again,

"Now, we had better get back to school, you've been gone for quite a bit!" Her kwami reminded her.

"Oh my GOD everyone probably thinks I'm still IN THE BATHROOM!"

She felt herself blushing again and Tikki stifled a giggle as she flew back into her friend's jacket, hiding herself as Marinette sprinted down the sidewalk.