Chapter 3: Valentine Plans

As Adrien continued to talk to Kagami about Marinette, Marinette herself had her hands full with what was happening at her parents' bakery. Like every other year, whenever Tom and Sabine announced one of their famous holiday specialties, people would come from all over Paris to taste them. It was hard to tell which of their holiday specialties sold the most, but one could admit that the specialty they had come up with for Valentine's Day was one of the most popular. Over the years Tom and Sabine tried to come up with a sweet treat for that special day of the year. Their first attempts did indeed create delicious sweets, but it was only five years earlier that they came up with the one that would become the sweet treat that their bakery would be known for years to come, the Love Palmiers. This sweet treat was basically a giant palmier made of pink puff-pastry and then covered with strawberry jelly. A delicious treat that was sold only on the week before Valentine's Day, and on Valentine's Day itself.

Tom and Sabine loved to advertise that this special palmier should be shared, not only because it was a very large palmier, but also because it was the kind of sweet treat that lovers would love to share over a cup of coffee, or a mug of hot cocoa. And just like it happened every year, as soon as they placed the sign advertising them on the shop's window, announcing that it was Love Palmiers season, people rushed in to buy them. On top of that, that year they had decided to also hand out flyers, advertising them, as well as posting it on the bakery's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts. They believed there was no reason for anyone not to know that they were selling them.

The first batches of Love Palmiers Tom had spent making, before the bakery opened in the morning, disappeared in a flash, forcing him to make more. Around midday, they were all gone, but Sabine warned the customers that after lunch there would be. She almost regretted saying that, because people continued to come to the bakery to buy more Love Palmiers, and she had to be in two places at once; behind the counter, serving the customers, and on the back, helping Tom with the palmiers, as well as the rest of the baking goods. Luckily, Marinette arrived from school, and she asked her to lend her a hand, so she could help her husband.

"Let me just put my backpack in my bedroom, and I'll be right back, mom." -Marinette told Sabine. –"Well, there goes the chance of being able to work on some of my sketches this afternoon… oh, come on, Marinette, who are you trying to kid with those words? You knew very well that mom and dad were going to need your help this afternoon, and most likely the rest of the week. Now, move your feet, the customers won't stop entering the bakery, just because you want to." -she thought to herself, as she climbed the stairs.

After going upstairs to her bedroom to leave her backpack, Marinette came down, ready to help her parents. Getting behind the counter, she began serving the customers, while Sabine stepped into the back to help Tom. With the two of them prepping everything, production increased much faster than before.

"I'm sorry, Marinette, but you know that…" -Sabine apologized to her daughter.

"I know, mom, don't worry. I know that these days are just like this." -Marinette smiled at her.

"Thanks for understanding, honey." -Sabine smiled at her. –"I hate to do this to her, especially since she came from school, but we don't have another option. Tom and I must really start thinking about hiring someone to help us during the holiday." -she thought to herself, while she made her way to the back.

Always with a smile, Marinette wasted no time in serving each customer that entered the bakery. Though some of the more usual customers came looking for fresh-baked bread, the majority of customers were there to buy Love Palmiers.

"Guess mom and dad's idea to advertise these palmiers on the Internet paid off. We're going to run out of them soon, if dad doesn't bring me another batch of them." -Marinette thought to herself, as she carefully placed another of the Love Palmiers inside a box.

The only good thing about having to serve all those customers was that it gave Marinette an excuse to be at the bakery, smelling the delicious scent of fresh baked bread and sweet treats. Those scents had always been able to do two things to her; first, it improved her humour, when she was feeling sad, angry or simply exhausted; and second, it always managed to spark up her imagination and creativity. Sometimes, when people asked her how she managed to come up with such beautiful and original designs, she would playfully comment that the reason why some of her designs were so good, was because she lived over the best place in the world to get good ideas.

"I'll never get tired of these scents… they're so good." -Marinette thought to herself, giggling lightly, only to be called back down to earth, by one of the customers. –"Oh, forgive me. Just give a minute." -she apologized herself, with a smile.

This went on for at least another hour, when the customers began to be less and less. Sighing, Marinette thanked God for less people entering the bakery, because during the time she spent serving them, she hardly had time to breathe, let alone rest for a moment. Seeing herself alone, she mischievously grabbed a macaron and ate it in two bites. After all that worked, she deserved a treat. Thinking that one was not enough, she grabbed another and ate it as well, without feeling guilty about it.

"Mmmm… it's a good thing my Ladybug powers don't let me gain weight. Otherwise, eating these delicious macarons all the time, I would become a whale in no time." -Marinette thought to herself. –"Which reminds me, I need to take something to Tikki, when I go up. I forgot to stock back the cookie jar in my bedroom yesterday, and she's got to be super hungry, by now." -she thought.

"Hey, girl!" -a voice was heard behind Marinette, startling her. Turning around, she saw it was none other than Alya, her best-friend. –"Let me guess, you had your mind somewhere else?"

"Y-Yeah, you could say that." -Marinette chuckled. She was so focused in her thoughts; she did not even hear Alya entering the bakery. –"So, what brings you and Trixx here?" -she asked her, knowing that her kwami was hiding in one of the pockets of the parka she was wearing that afternoon. A second later, she saw the fox kwami's tiny head and ears springing out of the parka's left front pocket. –"Oh, hi, Trixx."

"Hello, Marinette." -Trixx said, waving her little paw at her. –"Isn't Tikki with you?" -the fox kwami asked her.

"No, she's upstairs resting." -Marinette answered her.

"We saw the sign outside, promoting your parents' Love Palmiers. Do you still have one, or have you sold them all?" -Alya playfully asked her.

"All sold out. But my dad's making more as we speak. The next batch should be ready in 30 minutes." -Marinette smiled at Alya. –"Why? Do you want one to share with Nino?" -she asked her, with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Actually, I want two. One to eat with Nino, when we're out patrolling tonight. And another to eat, right now." -Alya whispered at Marinette's ear, making her giggle.

"Naughty girl." -Marinette giggled, making Alya giggle along with her. –"Well, you'll have to wait a little, until they're done." -she said.

"I don't mind waiting. Anything your parents bake, is worth waiting for." -Alya told her, when she saw Marinette's mom coming from the back, -"Oh, hello, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!" -she exclaimed, signalling Trixx to hide, before Sabine saw her.

"Oh, good afternoon, Alya. Have you come to see Marinette?" -Sabine asked.

"Actually, I came here looking for two of those delicious Love Palmiers you and your husband bake so well. But Marinette has already told me that I have to wait a little bit for them." -Alya declared.

"Don't worry, they will be out of the oven in about 10 minutes. Then, we just need to let them cool, before decorating." -Sabine said. –"If you want to, why don't you two go upstairs, and I'll tell you when they're ready?" -she suggested to them.

"Are you sure, mom? We just stay here and chat, if you want to." –

"There's no need, honey. I think the worst is over for today. I'll take over counter duty from here on." -Sabine smiled.

"Well, if she doesn't have to stay at the counter, then, can I borrow her for half an hour?" -Alya asked her. –"What do you say, Marinette? Let's go for a quick walk?" -she asked her.

"Go ahead, honey, enjoy yourself. You've earned it." -Sabine told her.

"Alright, mom. If it's okay with you. I'll go." -Marinette declared, before turning to Alya. –"Let me just put on something a little warmer, and we can go, okay?" -she said, with the intention of also getting Tikki.

"Oh, honey, since you're going could you take the advertising flyers that are on top of the living room's coffee table and place them on the neighbourhood's mailboxes?" -Sabine asked her.

"Sure, mom." -Marinette said.

Equipped with her warmest parka, and with Tikki inside one of the parka's pockets, Marinette grabbed the flyers advertising the bakery and its Love Palmiers, that were on top of the coffee table and left with Alya, to enjoy a fun half-hour with her. While walking down the street, Marinette stopped in every mailbox and inserted a flyer. It did not take long for half of them to have been distributed, especially, because she had Alya helping her out. She was sure that they would be gone before one could say "Ladybug and Rena Rouge, best friends forever".

"You know, usually having to place these into the mailboxes is such a bummer, because it always takes me forever to do it. but having you to help me out, makes it a lot easier and faster, not to mention fun." -Marinette said, as she inserted another flyer into a mailbox.

"My pleasure, girl. Besides, it's like you said, this way you end up finishing it a lot faster." -Alya said, as she too inserted a flyer into a mailbox.

"But tell me the truth, did you really come to my parents' bakery just to get two Love Palmiers, or did you come to do something else?" -Marinette asked Alya. She knew her best-friend too well, and knew that

"Well, I wanted, and still want those Love Palmiers. You know they are delicious and I have a sweet tooth, just like Nino." -Alya told her. –"But you're right, it's not the only reason I went to their bakery. I also came to talk to you about something that I wanted to talk with you alone, today at school, but did not have the time, thanks to Miss Bustier's extra assignments and the lack of privacy." –she admitted.

"I knew it! I know you too well, Alya Cesaire!" -Marinette exclaimed in a playful tone. –"What is it that you wanted to talk to me about, then?" -she asked her.

"It's about Valentine's Day… did you forget what you told me the night that we were fighting Bebop?" -Alya asked her.

(Flashback)

Bebop had just sent Grizzly Bear and Carapace flying into the air, by blowing his saxophone and releasing a ginormous sound wave, which propelled them into the air, leaving Ladybug and Rena Rouge alone in front of him. Things were not looking good for them. Bebop had proved that he was a lot stronger than they had initially thought. When they first encountered him, the whole team believed that they would be able to stop him in a couple of minutes. But when he showed them his powers, they immediately realized that defeating him was going to be a lot harder than they expected. It did not take long for him to split up the whole team into smaller teams, who were each dealing with a different problem. Still, even split, the heroes tried their best to solve the problems that had been laid in front of them.

Silently signalling Rena Rouge, Ladybug told her to follow her lead. Combining their attacks, the girls tried to catch Bebop off guard, as they charged against him. They believed that they had managed to trick him, as the Ladybug and the Rena Rouge that charged against him were just illusions conjured by the fox heroine to distract him, while the real heroes attacked him from behind. But Bebop saw what they were planning form the very start, and waited until the very last second to give them the treatment he had given to Carapace and Grizzly Bear. Blown away by the sound wave created by Bebop's saxophone, the girls ended up going through the wall of a building. When they finally stopped, they saw themselves inside someone's office. The impact had been quite big and they were both covered in rubble, as well as pieces of broken furniture. Rena Rouge fainted on impact, but not Ladybug. It took most of the scarlet heroine's strength and willpower to remain conscious. Sating on the floor, she looked around to see where they had landed, and quickly assumed that the there was no one around. Noticing Rena Rouge on the ground, with her eyes closed, she wasted no time in checking to see if she was alright.

"Come on, Alya, wake up!" -Ladybug exclaimed, as she shook the fox heroine, trying to wake her up. A few seconds later, Rena Rouge opened her eyes. –"Are you alright? Come on, speak to me! Did you break anything?"

"I-I'm okay. Just a little dizzy." -Rena Rouge said, as she tried to get herself back up. –"Whoa… okay, m-make that really dizzy." -she said, as she sat on the floor. She was feeling her head dizzy, and her body slightly battered, especially her right shoulder and arm, which had been the first things to go through the brick wall.

"Good, because I'm going to need your help… not only now, but also after as well." -Ladybug told her, relieved to see her friend was alright.

"After? What are you talking about, girl?" -Rena Rouge asked her.

"I know this is not the place or time to tell you this, but I've decided that I'm going to tell Adrien about my feelings, on Valentine's Day." -Ladybug declared. –"And I'm going to need your help to find the best way to propose to him."

Upon hearing Ladybug saying that, Rena Rouge jumped into her arms and hugged her, ignoring the pain that was coursing through her back, right arm and shoulder. She would be lying, if she said that she was not over the Moon with that news. She and Carapace had been trying to get her and a certain kitty cat to be together, and now she was hearing her say that she was going to take the initiative and tell him about her true feelings for him.

"You're right, this really isn't the time or the place for it, but I'm really happy for you, girl." -Rena Rouge told her, as they broke the hug. –"Whatever you need, I'll be there to help you."

"Thanks, and... watch out!" –Ladybug yelled, as she pushed Rena Rouge, while also dodging to the left. A second later, a large piece of rubble fell from the ceiling, just where there were before. –"And we better get out of here, before the rest of the ceiling comes down on us." -she said, as she helped her friend get up.

"Ouch… yeah, I don't want to end up with more bruises than the ones I already have." -Rena Rouge told her. –"I know this is hardly the time to talk about this either, but I'll say it anyway… even with our accelerated healing factor, the bruises tend to take at least a day or two to disappear completely. It's alright, while we're in the winter and we have to wear winter clothes. But once the weather starts to get warmer, it's going to be harder to

"Then, may I suggest that we don't get used like a punching bag by the bad guys?" -Ladybug suggested with a grin, on her face, as the two of them made their way to the whole in the wall they had created, when they were thrown against it, peeking their outside, to see if Bebop was still around. –"I don't see him anywhere." -she said.

"Well, guess we'll just have to go and look for him." -Rena Rouge declared, knowing that night was far from ending.

"Alright, come on. I'll give you a lift." -Ladybug said, as she shot her yo-yo, wrapping it around a statue on the top of a nearby building it. –"We've got to find that jazz-loving Akuma." -she declared.

"You know that I can fly, right?" -Rena Rouge chuckled.

"I know, but there's no reason for the two of us to waste energy, if the other is willing to give her a little ride." -Ladybug said, as she placed her left arm around Rena's waist and swung them both out of there. –"Plus, we're going to need to save our energy for later. This Akuma's a lot harder than I thought." -she said, while they are already in mid-air.

"Makes sense… but like I said, I can fly. I could have given you a lift, as well." -Rena Rouge pointed out.

"Oh, come on, I hardly get to swing from building to building with someone in my arms." -Ladybug confessed. –"Just give me this, okay?" -she said, which made the fox heroine chuckle.

"Alright, alright, whatever you say, fearless leader." -Rena said, which in turn made Ladybug also chuckle.

(End of Flashback)

It was only when Alya told her that, that Marinette's brain remembered about that conversation they had two nights before.

"Oh, that! I completely forgot about it!" -Marinette said, a little embarrassed.

"Girl, how could you forget about something like that? I mean, you were the one who even decided to tell it to me, when we were in the middle of a fight." -Alya kept reminding her.

"Sorry, it's just that… well, you know that I tend to forget about what I say during a battle." -Marinette told her. –"But now we can talk about it… I mean, after we finish distributing these flyers." -she said, pointing to the small number of flyers that she was still holding.

"Alright, let's get this done with, so we can talk. You've got to tell me what you have in mind for the big reveal, girl." -Alya smiled.

Ten minutes later, when the last flyer was placed inside a mailbox, the girls made their way to a nearby park, so they could talk about the issue regarding Marinette's proposal to Adrien. The wind began to blow from north, but nor too strongly, which was fine for the two of them. As long as it did not begin to blow too much, the parkas they were wearing would protect them. Still, as a precaution they put on the beanies that brought with them, in case it got colder. Buying themselves a bag of popcorn to share between them and their kwamis, from a popcorn stand that was at the entrance of the park when they entered, they found an empty park bench, underneath an old oak tree, where they began talking about how Marinette intended to propose to Adrien.

"So, let me get this straight, initially you were thinking about just going to him and tell him what you really feel about him?" -Alya asked her, as she grabbed some popcorn, slipped them inside the pocket where Trixx was hiding, so she could eat. –"It's a solid plan, I'll give her that. And knowing that he's head over heels for her, as much as she is for him, it'll work for sure. She knows they have chemistry together, but she doesn't know just how much." -she thought to herself.

"Yes, pretty much that. But I don't know anymore." -Marinette sighed, as she ate a popcorn.

"You don't know what anymore, girl?" -Alya asked her, as she too ate a popcorn.

"She doesn't know anymore, if she needs to come up with something a little more special." -Tikki's voice was heard from inside the pocket she was hiding in. –"I already told her that simplicity is the best way to achieve what she wants." -she said.

"Your kwami's got a point. Sometimes complicating things is not the way to go. You can't go wrong with a simple "Hey, Adrien, I love you very much. Would you like to date me?", Marinette." -Alya suggested her.

"But I don't want to this just be a simple proposal. I want this to be something… something really special, Alya." -Marinette sighed, as she tried to explain what was in both her mind and her heart. –"Tikki and Trixx don't know about this, but you do… you've seen over these two years that we met Adrien, dozens of girls at our school asking him to date them and to be their boyfriend. Heck, even Chloe tried to, more than once… I don't want to be just another girl. I want him to see that I'm truly in love with him, and that I want to be with him, do you understand?" -she asked her. –"I want him to see that I'm not just another girl who wants to date him because he looks handsome. I want him to see me more than just a friend. I want him to see that I truly love him, more than anything else, Alya."

It was hard for Alya not to understand what she was talking about. Unlike most girls, who when looking at Adrien, just saw a handsome blond boy with the prettiest green eyes ever, Marinette saw so much more. She saw a blond boy that was handsome, with the prettiest green eyes ever, but who had a gentle soul, a kind smile, and who was always there for their friends and the people he loves and cares about. In sum, she saw someone she could love for the rest of her life, both for his handsome looks, and for his beautiful personality and soul.

"I understand, girl, believe me, I do." -Alya said, as she caressed Marinette's shoulder. –"You want to do something memorable, that makes him understand just how much he means to you, and how much you want to be with him, I get it." –she smiled. –"Nino did the same with me… of course, all it took was a beautiful song and a custom made love bracelet, which he himself did and that I should use it, but I don't have anything that goes with it, because he chose to make it green and pink… but I'm digressing here. What I'm trying to say is that I know what you mean. And I promise you, we'll find the best way possible for that to happen, Marinette."

"I suggested her that she could propose to him as Ladybug, but she doesn't want that." -Tikki spoke, as Marinette handed her another popcorn.

"And why wouldn't you want that? That's so perfect! You show up, as the beautiful scarlet heroine in front of Adrien, and tell him that you love him. You two kiss, and voilá, romance is born!" -Alya declared with an enthusiastic voice. –"Okay, maybe I'm getting a little too ahead of myself, but you know what I mean, Marinette. It's the perfect setting. Plus, he won't be expecting it." -she smirked.

"No, Alya, that won't do." -Marinette sighed. –"I want Adrien to like me for me. I want him to see that it's Marinette who loves him, not Ladybug." -she said, whispering the last part. –"And before you say that were both the same person, you're right, and I'm beginning to accept that fact. But this is something I want to do as myself, not as my super self, do you understand me?"

After hearing her say that, Alya just wanted to slap some sense into Marinette, but she could not, because she understood what she was saying. She knew that she had always considered Ladybug to be a separate personality of her own person, and though she was beginning to accept that they were one and the same, she understood why she wanted to propose to Adrien as herself, and not as Ladybug.

"I understand you, Marinette. But now, you're going to hear me out on this, okay?" -Alya told her with a gentle and caring voice. –"I know that at first you considered your hero self to be a separate personality, and by that, a totally different person. And I'm happy that you are beginning to see that that is not true, and accept that you and her are the very same person, with the only difference being that Ladybug wears a suit and a mask, and you don't." -she smiled. –"I understand that you want to do this as yourself, but it wouldn't be a bad thing, if your other self could lend you a hand, doing it. Maybe you could, I don't know show up as her, and then revert to your true self and tell him about your feelings for him?"

When Alya told her that, Marinette felt that such an idea was not a bad idea. Showing up like Ladybug, and the revert to her true self, she would be able to tell Adrien just what went in her heart. Still, it was not the perfect idea that she was looking for. Marinette wanted it all to be perfect, just like in the movies she had seen, or in the books she had read. Of course, that was wishful thinking, but it did stop her from wanting it to happen. But she decided that she was not going to discard it, just because it did not gather all the elements the perfect idea needed.

"I can see by the look in your eyes that you don't think that's a bad idea." -Alya commented, always smiling. –"Still, if you think it's not what you want to do, we can put that on the pile of "good and/or acceptable ideas", and if we don't find anything better, we can go back to it, what do you say?" -she asked her.

"A-Alright, I guess we can put that one in the "maybes", for now." -Marinette asserted with her head.

"Good. We can think of other ideas, and leave that one on stand-by." -Alya declared. –"By the way, what are you going to give him? I mean, I know it's usually the boy who should give something to the girl, as a proof of his love for her, but this is the 21st century, girl. It doesn't have to be that way, of course, but since you're the one who's going to take the initiative, it's got to be you to give him something, as a token of your feelings for him." -she said.

It was then that Marinette remembered that she had not thought about that. She had imagined the whole thing hundreds, if not thousands of times in her mind. But in none of them, did she remember about the gift that would seal the beginning of their relationship as a couple. And what could she offer him? Unlike Adrien, her parents did not have the money to buy half the city of Paris, if they felt like it, so an expensive gift was out of the question. She could give him something made by her, but what could she give him that he did not have already? Thinking about it, she put the option of maybe knitting him a scarf, like she did before. She knew he had loved the blue scarf she had given him for Christmas, but she did not want to repeat herself. She did not want to give him the same thing twice. And the more the thought about it, the more she realized, she had no idea what she could give him, when professing her love for him.

"Actually, I haven't thought about it." -Marinette admitted in a shy voice.

"You haven't?! Girl, what were you thinking? That was the first thing you should have thought about." -Alya told her. –"But don't worry, you still have time to decide it."

"But I don't know what to give to him." -Marinette admitted.

"You'll find something. Besides, I'm not the only one whom you can ask for help. You got the whole girl squad to help you. I bet even Chloe wouldn't mind giving you a hand." -Alya chuckled.

No matter how much they had seen Chloe change over the past months, the idea of her acting courteously towards others, as well as treating everyone nice and engaging in trivial conversation, without throwing insults or comebacks, was still too wild to be believed, and if they had not seen it all with their own eyes, both Marinette and Alya would not believe it, given how the blonde treated everyone, whom she believed was above her. So, the idea of Chloe helping Marinette out with telling Adrien how she felt about him, was

"After everything we've all been through together, I'm ready to believe anything." -Marinette giggled. –"If Chloe hadn't changed the way she did, I can almost imagine how'd she react, if I asked her to help me out." -she declared, imagining the whole scene in her mind.

"She would say something like "You are asking me for my help, Dupain-Cheng?! Why would I do that?! The thought of it is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" -Alya said, mimicking Chloe's voice and mannerisms, before bursting into laughs, followed by Marinette, who also began to laugh.

"Yeah… that's… that's so Chloe!" -Marinette laughed. "But let's stop saying… those things. We shouldn't talk about… about her that way. She's our friend now, and she's saved our lives more... more times than we can remember by now" -she said, trying to supress the laughter, only to laugh even harder, as tears ran down her face.

"O-Okay, okay, okay, I'm going to stop impersonating her." -Alya said, as she did her best to stop laughing.

"A little warning, the next time you girls start laughing like that!" -Trixx exclaimed angrily from inside her hideout. Because of all that laughing, both Tikki and herself were shaken pretty hard inside the pockets. –"I almost bit my tongue."

"Sorry, Trixx. But you know how I am. When I begin to laugh, I can't stop right away." -Alya said, as she petted Trixx and handed her another popcorn, as a way to say she was sorry.

"Sorry about that, Tikki." -Marinette also apologized to her kwami.

"That's okay. I'm alright." -Tikki said, as she peeked out of the pocket and winked at Marinette.

"Either way, going back to what I was saying, you've got every girl in our class ready to help you with suggestions, and even ideas for this to work." -Alya told Marinette. –"I would even suggest the boys, but you know that none of them can keep a secret… not even Nino, and I should know it." -she giggled. –"Well, there's Nathaniel… he's usually good at keeping secrets, but it's best if we don't risk it. We don't want a certain kitty cat to know what you're going to do on Valentine's Day, do we?"

Marinette was about to answer her, when she felt her cell phone vibrating inside her purse. Thinking that it might be her mother telling her that the Love Palmiers were done and that Alya could come and get them, whenever she wanted, the blue-haired teenager pulled it out of the purse. But to her surprise, it was not her mother calling. In fact, it was not even a phone call. It was a text from one of the apps she had downloaded into her phone, "Akuma Attack", the app that warned people whenever an Akuma attack was happening, and where it was taking place. It had been created to work along the warning system, whenever an Akuma attacked. Until then, the two had worked together like a charm, and a good thing too, because the young heroes had decided to use it to know whenever they were needed.

"Not now…" -Marinette thought to herself. The last thing she needed was another Akuma running amok in the city. She had hardly been able to get her strength back from the previous battle.

"Oh, no…we got trouble, Marinette." -Alya said, as she also checked her cell phone.

"I know. An Akuma attack" -Marinette sighed. –"Just what we needed." -she sighed again.

"A hero's job is never done." -Alya said, as they got up from the bench, knowing that they had to go and stop that Akuma. –"Let's hope we're not the only ones who respond to this." -she said. –"And let's also hope that this one isn't powered by a Scarlet Akuma Butterfly."

"You guys ready to go to work?" -Marinette asked the kwamis.

"Always." -Tikki stated.

"Say the magic word, and let's do it." -Trixx declared.

I'm on a roll here. I have to say this chapter took a little longer, because I had guests at home, and you know what they say, you can't entertain guests and write at the same time. So we now know that both Adrien and Marinette have plans to tell one another how they truly feel about each other... but things are never that easy, when I write them. xD And now, we have a new Akuma on the loose. Who might it be? We'll just have to wait and see. Also, this chapter also gave me the opportunity to write an almost solo chapter between Marinette and Alya, which I love to do, because they're the best of friends, and I feel like there are things they can only talk to one another, and no one else, not even their kwamis.

In other news, I guess I scored another big one with this AU of mine. For those of you who still have to watch "Felix", the last episode from season 3 that still needed to air, you might not want to continue to read after this sentence (you have been warned, spoilers from this pont on). Guess what? I predicted that Adrien's mom, Emilie, has a twin sister... I only missed on her name. While I named her Elodie, the series named her Amelie. I will be changing her name in "Miraculous Team: Sands of Time" so it reflects the show's canon... as for Felix appearing in this AU, I'm not sure. I mean, I'm keeping Adrien's aunt single in my AU, so, if Felix ever appears, he'll be Adrien's cousin, from his father's side of the family, but as I said, I'm not sure if he will appear.

As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestions to improve this story, or following sequels.