a/n: ok, so this one was supposed to be up yesterday before Fluff Week ended, but I got distracted working on something else. XD But here it is! The last prompt! And it was supposed to only be like, 1k, and super silly, but it just did not want to end. So I hope that makes up for it being late. I could have kept going with it, but I'm tired, lol. Also, I'm open to continuing this series, should more prompts/challenges arrive! For now, though, I'm marking it complete. Thank you for reading, I'll shut up now! (I'll edit this tomorrow. There are probably mistakes.)

Lovesquare Fluff Week Day 7: Height differences. / LadyNoir

Marinette was used to Alya talking about Ladybug. She was used to hearing all the updates on the Ladyblog. Played dumb when akumas were mentioned. Acted surprised and amazed when Alya told her about how Ladybug and Chat Noir won each battle. It was second nature, at this point.

What she hadn't been expecting was for Alya to talk about putting up a trivia page.

"Think about it," Alya persisted excitedly, her hands clasping together. "It'd be so cool! We could learn neat facts about our favorite superheroes!"

"Um, Alya," Marinette began, trying to do some damage control. "That might not be the smartest idea. Doesn't that put their secret identities at risk? Besides, they deserve just as much privacy as you and me."

But Alya was already in that mode where she was dead-set on reaching her goal and nothing else mattered. Marinette could tell her words had gone right over her head. She looked at Nino for help.

"Nino?" she asked tentatively. "Don't you think it's a bit extreme?"

Nino blinked upon being addressed so suddenly, but his surprise shifted into a thoughtful expression. "I dunno, dude. It does seem like it's an invasion of privacy. But it would be cool to like, know their birthdays. Maybe not the birth year, but the month and day! We could send them birthday wishes and stuff."

That was a good idea, in theory. But it would be awkward and risky because everyone in her class—including Alya and Nino—knew her birthday. Sure, she could just make up a fake one and roll with it, but what if she forgot? What if she mixed up the days? Way, way too risky.

"What about Rena Rouge and Carapace?" she tried again, trying not to sound too desperate. "Are you going to ask them for personal information, too?"

There it was. Her way out. Nino and Alya looked at each other in something akin to panic, but Nino cleared his throat, recovering quickly. "Uh, actually, Alya, she has a point. They have secret identities to protect."

Alya's shoulders slumped. "Yeah. I see." She flashed Marinette a quick, apologetic smile. "Sorry, girl. I just got so excited. It'd be so cool if we could do it! Like how certain websites tell you how tall celebrities are. For all we know, Ladybug could be as tall as you or me!"

Uh-oh. Marinette needed to get this under control and fast.

Her eyes widened even further when Adrien's voice asked curiously from behind her, "Why do you want to know how tall Ladybug is?"

"Alya was considering making a trivia page on the Ladyblog, but I don't think she's going to do it," Nino answered, looking noticeably perkier than Marinette.

Adrien made a strange noise, which prompted Marinette to turn around to look at him curiously. His eyes were blown wide like hers had been when she'd first heard of Alya's idea, and he went slightly pale like the mere suggestion of it horrified him—or at the very least, surprised him. But the horror quickly disappeared, instead shifting into something much lighter. Amusement. Like there was some inside joke that Marinette didn't know about. He said, "Oh, I see."

Marinette wondered what he thought on the subject. She did not dare say that out loud, lest she look like a blubbering idiot in front of Adrien. That, and she felt uncomfortable with continuing on this topic. She had a secret identity to protect, after all.

That thought went out the window when Alya said, "You know, Marinette, you're probably closer to her height than me."

Double uh-oh.

Suddenly Adrien's eyes lit up. "Wow, Marinette. She might actually be right. You're around her height."

How would you know that?

But the words never left her lips. Didn't get the chance. Because she was completely mortified by the very thought of them coming close to figuring her out. She squeaked and stammered, not knowing what else to do.

"Um, I—I doubt that," she said, very unconvincingly, feeling her face grow hotter, hotter, hotter. This was getting so bad. They were stepping into dangerous waters. Despite her nervousness, however, she shot them her brightest smile. Wide enough to make her face hurt. She blurted, "Uh! Anyway! Gotta go to the bathroom! You know, before class starts!"

She darted out of the classroom before anyone could stop her, moving like she was running after an akuma. She did not stop until she reached her destination, and only after checking each stall to prove that the bathroom was empty did she open her purse and let Tikki out.

"Tikki," she said hysterically. "This is a disaster! What if Alya actually decides to go through with this trivia thing?"

Tikki, though, looked less than worried. She smiled gently up at Marinette. "Nino and Alya already told you that it was a bad idea, didn't they? It was very smart of you to bring up Carapace and Rena Rouge."

"Maybe, but..." She bit her lip nervously. "Alya has a tendency to get carried away sometimes. What if she changes her mind? They just pointed out that I'm her height! Which makes perfect sense because Ladybug is, hello, me."

"I don't think she'll do that," Tikki reassured. "Besides, they probably won't think much of it. The magic protects your identity, and it does that for a reason."

Marinette wasn't entirely convinced. "But Adrien guessed right on point. And there's no way that he would know!"

Abruptly, Tikki looked alarmed at the mention of Adrien. Almost panicked. But she was quick to school her expression, just like Adrien had done minutes before. She smiled again. "Adrien doesn't exactly keep his admiration for Ladybug on the down-low."

The thought made her face feel warm again. Warmer than warm. If she were to look in a mirror right now, she was sure she was blushing. Adrien? Like Ladybug? But that didn't mean he liked-liked her!

"Ugh," she said, burying her face into her hands and peering at Tikki through the cracks of her fingers. Mumbled again, "This is a disaster."

Tikki just kept smiling, a softness in her eyes that existed for only her. "It's going to be fine, Marinette."

It was not fine.

It was not fine because, as soon as Ladybug got to her meeting place for patrol, she was pacing. Chat was not here yet. She needed Chat to be here so they could do their routine and she could go home just to pace some more.

Maybe she was thinking too hard on this. But if Alya persisted with the idea of the trivia page, how would she deflect the scrutiny? This was not good for her head. Or her heart. Or any other part of her body, for that matter.

"Good evening, My Lady," came a familiar, smooth voice. "Hey, Ladybug, are... are you ok?"

"Fine," she squeaked, immediately turning to face him. "You're late."

She didn't say it as an accusation. It was merely an observation. She wasn't angry, not really. She herself was late to patrol sometimes. But it probably came out as an accusation because Chat suddenly winced, rubbing his neck sheepishly.

"Sorry," he said, chuckling nervously. "I kind of got distracted with... oh, never mind. It's not important."

That made Ladybug pause in her steps. She raised a brow, genuinely curious. "What? Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong," he assured her quickly. "I just, um... I heard something interesting today and..."

Ladybug blinked. "And...?"

"It's really silly," he said, his cheeks turning pink. "I heard that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was around your height! And I was curious! So I may have... dropped by... just to see if she was home, and... well, she wasn't. Maybe she was out or something, though! It's fine."

Ladybug's stomach sank somewhere near her feet. Her eyes bulged, frozen with shock, as the magnitude of Chat's words hit her. It caught on. Oh, no... it had caught on. The word was already spreading.

This is a disaster! This is awful! This is absolutely, truly, dreadfully awful! Tikki said the magic would protect me!

Except... wait.

"You.. went to her house?" she whispered, eyes still wide. She hadn't seen or heard Chat before she left for patrol. Still. This called for even more damage control. She cleared her throat and continued, "Chat, that's um... that's dangerous. What if somebody had seen you?"

"I didn't go in or anything," he said quickly, raising his hands in mock surrender. "I just knocked, and when she didn't answer I left! That's all!" Then he curled in on himself, looking down in shame. "You're right, Ladybug. I'm sorry. I promise I wasn't trying to put you or Marinette at risk. I was just curious."

Immediately, her anxiety and irritation were put on hold. She hadn't meant to reprimand or upset him. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Chat's feelings with her scolding. Especially because, for all Chat's confidence and jokes, he was actually quite frail. He was one of the most sensitive people she knew.

"Kitty..." she hedged, walking over to him. Her hand came to rest on his shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. Gave him her warmest smile. "I know you didn't mean any harm. Don't beat yourself up about it, ok? I doubt Marinette would hold you responsible for what Alya said, anyway."

Chat tensed under her hand. "How did you know it was Alya?"

Ladybug froze again. The softness was gone in an instant, replaced swiftly by horror. She took a step back, mortified. "Wh-what?"

Chat looked equally stunned. "You said—"

"No, I didn't. I didn't say anything." She whirled around, trying not to hyperventilate. "I didn't. Nope. Absolutely not."

"Um, My Lady. Yeah, you did," he said slowly. "I heard you."

"You didn't hear anything. In fact, you heard the opposite of something. You heard nothing!"

She'd screwed up. She'd screwed up bad. Gosh, what were Master Fu and Tikki going to think? She'd been told over and over again since she was chosen as Ladybug that keeping her identity secret was extremely important, and with just a few words, she'd blew it.

This is not happening. This is not happening.

Except she was saying it out loud, over and over again, like her voice was enough to make it true. She paced and paced, her whole body starting to shake with the—

"Ladybug," Chat was calling out, his fingertips brushing against her arm. "Ladybug, hey, breathe. It's ok."

"It's not," she blurted, her voice strained with hysteria. "This is bad. I blew it. I can't believe that I—"

"Hey." He was holding her now, meeting her gaze. His eyes were full of adoration and warmth. "It's ok, Ladybug. Really. It was an accident. If anything, this is my fault. I shouldn't have said anything."

She swallowed and swallowed again. Her eyes were damp when she looked at him. "You... you know who I am."

"Do you want to make it fair? Do you want to know who I am?"

"No!"

Chat winced, and then looked hurt. Rejected, even. "I see."

"No, Chat, that's... that's not what I meant, I promise," Ladybug went on hastily. "Honest. I just meant... darn it, Tikki is going to be so mad at me. She told me it would be fine! She did! And it's not! I—"

Her voice broke. She felt like sobbing.

"Hey, hey, hey," Chat kept repeating. "You didn't do it on purpose. And... and I couldn't be happier, knowing who you are."

Hesitantly, timidly, she met his eyes once more. Her panic dimmed somewhat. "...really?"

Suddenly he grinned. "It actually makes so much sense."

That confused her. "What? Why?"

"Because of your insistence that you weren't Ladybug's height. And how fast you bolted when I agreed with Alya."

"Chat, that doesn't—"

She stopped as she processed his words. As she connected all the dots. Her eyes were so wide that it almost hurt. Chat was grinning like a kid in a candy store.

"...are you serious?" she murmured softly. "Oh my goodness. You're serious."

"Surprise?"

"A-Adrien?"

"That's me," he said happily. "This is... wow."

"Tikki was right," she said in awe. "The magic really was protecting us. I mean, you... you sit right in front of me!"

His eyes were twinkling, and suddenly he was lifting her up, twirling her in a circle. "My Lady... you've made me the happiest I've ever been."

And she was giggling, returning his embrace, because they were so silly. For so long, her partner was right in front of her. Literally. And she didn't know. Honestly, she felt stupid for not knowing.

Wait a second.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Adrien just called her his lady. Adrien had been calling her his lady since day one. Adrien had confessed his love to her multiple times, and she'd turned him down. For himself.

Oh, boy. Ladybug needed to sit down for this one.