Chapter 11: Dance

A/N: Holy shit have you guys seen the trailer for season 2?AHHHHHH!

Adrien had come to school early to see Marinette, hoping she would be would be there early as well considering how late she normally was to class. He had asked his chauffer if he could be dropped off behind the school, "to avoid the reporters" he reasoned. Nathalie was cautious at first, but eventually relented.

He stepped out of the car and waited for it to drive away before he went up to the school, no one was behind the building which was good. Marinette wasn't there just yet so Adrien went to wait beneath a low hanging tree. A few minutes passed until he heard a flash behind him and saw Marinette running up to his spot, she looked tense.

Adrien tried to appear calm, to make it seem like yesterday didn't happen the way it did. Like he wasn't still angry, thought he was, just a little bit. He waited for her to speak first.

She took a deep breath before saying anything.

"I'm sorry about yesterday," She said.

He nodded in response, hoping she had more to say.

"I was being irrational. I was nervous, and worried about you, but I was also holding you back. I know that you can take care of yourself but I was just so scared that you would get hurt again," She continued, "It wasn't right of me to keep you from your Miraculous, I was reminded of that last night."

"By Nino?" He asked, it seemed like Nino was in the same boat as Marinette, did he change his mind?

"No, by Plagg," She said with a smile as the mentioned kwami floated out of her purse.

"Plagg!" Adrien excitedly greeted him. Plagg responded by rubbing up against Adrien's cheek in affection, he was so glad to see him.

"He can be very convincing when he wants to be," Marinette said with a smile as she watched them, "And the other piece too."

Marinette reached her hands up but Adrien didn't see the ring on them, where was it? He watched as she reached behind her head and pulled a string off her neck, dangling at the end was his Miraculous. He bowed his head as she reached over it to put the makeshift necklace around his neck.

It hung low on him, the ring resting over his heart. Marinette put her hand on his chest, over the ring, and looked intensely into his eyes.

"No one is to know that you have to back again, don't let anyone see that you're wearing it," She said, her voice low and serious, "As far as the public is aware, Ladybug still has your Miraculous."

Adrien nodded as she took her hand off his chest, that meant no transforming either, Chat Noir was not to be seen. He slipped the ring under his shirt so no one would see it. It was back with him.

There was a pause between them as Adrien thought over what he wanted to say.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," He finally mumbled, "I didn't mean to, and I didn't want to upset you."

"It's okay, I understand," She let a small smile grace her lips, "Lets got to class."

He took her offered hand as they snuck around the school to the front, careful not to let any of the reporters spot them, in class they let go and greeted Alya and Nino warmly.

Adrien spent his lunch with Marinette, Alya, and Nino, the air between them more pleasant than it had been left at yesterday.

"I'm guessing that you two have made up from yesterday?" Alya asked.

"Yes, I gave Adrien his Miraculous back," Marinette confirmed.

It hurt Adrien to see how Nino pursed his lips but said nothing, he still disagreed with the decision. But it didn't matter, Adrien had Plagg and the Miraculous back, Nino couldn't change that.

"So are you two going to go off and do some "special Miraculous training"?" Alya suddenly asked, everyone looked at her.

"W-what?" Marinette asked incredulously.

"Wow, that came out much more lewd than I meant it to be," Alya let out a laugh before explaining herself, "What I mean is, you mentioned taking some time to train and get Adrien used to being Chat Noir again, will you be doing that? And doing whatever special "Miraculous training" you had been doing before Marinette."

Adrien looked at Marinette in curiosity, she had been doing some sort of training while he was out? What could that possibly mean? Marinette shared a look with him that said they would talk about it later when they were alone.

"We likely will," Marinette answered, "Not too much, but just something to start with."

Adrien smiled, he was more than content with that, spending some time as Chat Noir would be good. He only needed to find a way to head off without his father being concerned with where he was.

"When?" He finally asked after thinking over it for a bit, "It'll be harder for me to sneak out past my dad, especially since, well since he knows. He's be monitoring where I go and when I leave and everything."

Everyone thought about it between bites.

"You, you could say that you're going to hang out with me at my place? And then head off with Marinette?" Nino finally offered, there was a reluctance in his voice, like he didn't want to help Adrien out with this.

"I thought of that, but it's hard enough just to get you to hang out with me at my house, it's unlikely that he'll let me out to see you," Adrien replied.

"It's worth a shot, and I mean we don't really have anything else," Alya said looking between everyone.

Nobody offered any other ideas and Adrien sighed, "I suppose I could try," he said thinking of the best way to phrase his question in order for his father to most likely say yes.

"Tomorrow?" Marinette offered.

"Tomorrow," Adrien answered.

Nino went with Adrien the next day as extra support in asking his father if they could "hang out and do homework and Nino's house". Adrien had told Nathalie that he would walk home with Nino, but he knew that she and the Gorilla were following them from a distance to make sure that they made it there in one piece. That was fine, he was glad to have a moment with Nino alone.

Even if the walk was tense with their silence.

Eventually Nino reached out and grabbed Adrien's hand, stopping him where he was.

"Adrien are you sure you're ready?" He asked.

Adrien's shoulders slumped as he let out a small sigh of irritation, of course this would come up again.

"Yes of course I'm sure," He said turning around and letting a relaxed smile on his face to show Nino that he was in fact ready, "It's not going to be anything too big, just some light sparring and getting used to being Chat Noir again."

"I know, I know," Nino sighed, squeezing Adrien's hand, "But… you seem, rather unaffected by what happened."

Adrien raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean by that?" He asked in genuine curiosity.

Nino rubbed his neck and looked away for a moment, trying to think of what to say, "What I mean is…" He started slowly, Adrien watched him as he did so, "Well, Marinette was rather torn up about just seeing you get hurt, we all were, but she was having nightmares about it, when she had to carry you to the ER. And, well, you were the one who was actually stabbed. I guess, are you ready, like are you okay, psychologically?"

Adrien paused mulling over the thought, he hadn't told Nino about the night he broke down and called Marinette two weeks ago, mostly because he felt childish afterwards and didn't want anyone to know out of embarrassment. He had guessed it was the medication that made him completely break down. Aside from that, he really hadn't had any issues except for a feeling of general loneliness.

He couldn't really remember what had happened during the event was the issue. He remembered a shock of pain and his transformation releasing and losing feeling and someone screaming, but everything following that was a huge blur. Likely the shock setting in, he guessed. Adrien knew there was a video that Alya caught, of him getting stabbed, the entire thing recorded for the world to see, but he didn't watch it. He didn't want to watch it, there was something surreal about seeing yourself get hurt in such a way.

Adrien shook his head, "I feel fine. I mean I don't really remember anything, so, what can I be messed up about that I don't remember?" Adrien asked with a weak smile, he really did feel fine, "I'm okay Nino, in fact I've been better now that I've been able to get out of the house."

Nino still looked concerned but let a small smile onto his face, he pulled Adrien into a hug, and Adrien happily complied. He barely caught Nino mumble "I sure hope so," into his shoulder.

They stood like that for a bit, just reassuring that each was okay. Adrien gave one last squeeze that Nino returned before they let go of each other.

"Just make sure we actually have time to hang out once you and Marinette are done," Nino said with brighter smile as they continued in the direction that they were going.

"Of course I will, besides, I would never miss an opportunity to eat your parent's cooking," Adrien said with a dreamy look. Nino laughed and bumped against him.

They walked in a more comfortable silence before spotting the couple of reporters still hanging in front of Adrien's house, he was hoping they would all be gone by the end of today, but evidently he wasn't that lucky. Nathalie and the Gorilla pulled up next to where they stopped and opened the car door for them, they climbed inside and entered the house through the garage. Nathalie and the Gorilla waited for them in the car as they climbed out, knowing what they were going to ask Adrien's father and that it would likely either result in them driving both boys to Nino's home or just driving Nino home.

Nathalie had told Adrien that his father was available at the moment as she checked what must have been his schedule. Adrien voiced his appreciation at the information but it didn't help the nervous twist in his stomach.

Adrien and Nino walked side by side as they made their way the Gabriel's office, the door was open a crack but Adrien couldn't hear any other voices coming through the door, good. He knocked on the door and waited for his father's response.

"Come in," He said calmly.

Adrien shared a quick look with Nino before he pushed open the door.

"Bonjour Adrien," His father said with a small smile that quickly dropped into a frown when he saw Nino, "Bonjour Nino."

"Bonjour Monsieur Agreste," Nino said with a tight lipped formality that he reserved only for Adrien's father.

"Adrien I usually ask that you inform me beforehand if you are going to invite you friends over," Gabriel quickly ignored Nino's presence.

"I know this is a bit last minute, but it was kind of just a spur of the moment decision between us to hang out," Adrien's father stared at him unimpressed, it made him nervous, but he needed to ask, "I was actually wondering if I could go over to Nino's house this evening to study and have dinner."

He wasn't sure how but his father's frown got even deeper.

"Have dinner there? But we have a fine chef here, and you're both already here," His father replied smoothly, something Adrien and Nino had heard rather frequently in the early months of their friendship.

"My parents…" Nino finally spoke up, he tended to avoid doing so as he would often snap at Gabriel and make situations worse, but Adrien noted how he chose his words carefully, "My parents were hoping to see Adrien, it's been a while and they want to see that he's okay and have some time to catch up with him."

Adrien's father moved his lips to the side, knowing that what Nino was said was true, Nino's parents adored Adrien and treated him much like family, Adrien realized it had been a while since he had last seen them. While Gabriel didn't trust Nino to his entirety, he had met Nino's parents and voiced his trust in them. It was an agonizingly long minute that Gabriel thought over his decision before finally sighing and letting Adrien go.

"But make sure your home at 9 at the very latest," Gabriel quickly followed.

"Of course father, thank you very much!" Adrien responded before he and Nino went back to the car.

They drove to Nino's home and Adrien informed Nathalie that he would call when he was ready to come home and watched her and the Gorilla drive off. Nino and Adrien entered the front door of the apartment complex hallway where they couldn't be seen, Adrien pulled his phone out of his bag and sent a message to Marinette saying he would be at her place soon before handing the device to Nino, who looked at it oddly.

"Stars above know my dad wouldn't haven't even thought about letting me out of the house if he didn't have a tracker in my phone," Adrien explained, Nino nodded in understanding.

"Do you know if anything else of yours might be tracked?" Nino asked.

Adrien stopped and thought about it, just to be safe, he gave his bag to Nino as well.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours," Adrien said pulling Nino into another hug. He returned the hug with a quiet wish to "stay safe" into Adrien's shoulder.

They let go and Nino headed down the hall while Adrien peeked just outside the door before slipping out and walking in the direction of Marinette's house as casually as he could. Plagg peeked out of his jacket and Adrien turned his attention to him.

"So are you going to tell me about Marinette's special "Miraculous training" was?" Adrien asked.

"No," Plagg said with a sly smile, "She'll tell you that herself."

Adrien sighed, he had spent much of last night talking with Plagg and catching up with him (and giving him lots of cheese). The topic of Marinette's special training had come up last night, but Plagg refused to explain what it was, purely to spite Adrien he was sure. Nevertheless, it was good to have the little pain in his butt back at his side.

He arrived at Marinette's bakery to find her waiting for him out front. She gave a wave in greeting and told him to follow her, he knew where they were going, Plagg had told him last night, but still he wondered how long it would take to get there without their using Miraculous. Adrien was about to ask about Marinette's special training when he saw a small red bug with bright blue eyes peek its head out from Marinette's jacket. He stared at it in awe, wondering what it was until he realized what it must have been.

"Is this your kwami?" He asked, they smiled at him.

"Oh, yeah I guess you two haven't actually met yet," Marinette said stopping and turning around, her kwami slid around to rest on her shoulder and look at Adrien, "Adrien, this is my Kwami, Tikki."

"A pleasure to meet you," Adrien greeted with a bow.

"And a pleasure to finally become formally aquatinted with you," They greeted back with a smile and a bow of their own.

"So polite and formal, nothing like you Plagg," Adrien teased as Marinette continued forward.

"Oh sure, she's polite now, but wait 'til you know her for a millennia," Plagg snorted from Adrien's shoulder.

"I don't know Plagg, I've known her for some time and I'd say she's prey nice," Marinette said as she walked, Adrien caught Tikki stick her tongue out at Plagg.

"A millennia," Plagg reemphasized.

After a minute more of walking and finding themselves in a secluded alleyway Marinette spun around to look at Adrien again. This wasn't an abandoned warehouse.

"Ready to be whisked away?" Marinette asked.

"What? Marinette what's going on?" Adrien asked back as Marinette pulled a black knit hat out of the tote bag she carried with her.

"Well, the fastest way for us to travel would be as Ladybug and Chat Noir," She began, reaching up to put the hat on Adrien's head, he didn't stop her, instead waiting to see what she was going to do, "But it's best if Chat Noir isn't seen, and Adrien can't be seen with Ladybug for the same reason," She shoved the hat on his head so that it covered his eyes.

"Marinette, what-" Adrien began to ask as he pulled the hat off his eyes but heard Marinette suddenly transform.

"So for now, you're just and unknown civilian that I'm taking home," Ladybug said with a smile.

Adrien glanced at his reflection in a puddle, if the hat was pulled down low enough to hide his hair he really couldn't be recognized. It could be anyone in jeans and a black windbreaker, Adrien usually refrained from wearing anything designer to purposefully spite his father.

"A fair point," He said pulling the hat down low above his eyes as Ladybug turned around and squatted down, "Wait I'm lost again."

"It's a piggyback, Adrien, hop on," She answered simply.

"Oh, wouldn't it be better if you whisked me away bridal style," Adrien said dreamily whilst climbing onto her back.

"I wouldn't be able to use my arms as well if I did that," She replied while adjusting him on her back and pulling out her yo-yo, "Hold on."

Adrien almost screamed as she launched her yo-yo out and began to swing up to the roof of a building, it was different from when he wasn't launching himself into the air wildly. He also felt more out of balance in not being transformed, he trusted Ladybug, yes, it was just different being carried by her as just a civilian.

After a few minutes of swinging around and running from rooftop to rooftop, Ladybug landed before the warehouse Plagg described. A flock of pigeons was disturbed and looked back at them as Ladybug lowered Adrien off her back. They entered and turned to each other.

"Alright, we'll just do some light movements and sparring for today," She said, nodding in silent confirmation that he could put on his Miraculous again.

Adrien couldn't help his smile as he pulled the ring out from under his shirt and slid it onto his finger, the string still around his neck. Adrien barely realized how small the ring was and how it quickly readjusted to fit his finger.

"You ready Plagg?" Adrien asked him excitedly.

Plagg nodded in response and Adrien called out for his transformation. The string disappeared with the transformation as he went through the motions feeling like himself again but better once he was done. Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo and spun it around with a look of "you ready?" before they sprang up and began to run around.

Being Chat Noir again felt wonderful. He had missed the ability to move with such power and speed, he had missed the familiar feeling of freedom that being Chat Noir had always brought, and he had missed working with his lady. They worked well together and he had missed it during the several weeks that he was out.

It was obvious when they had begun to spar that Ladybug was holding back, still afraid of hurting him. That was okay, as he found that he ran out of energy much faster than he typically would as Chat Noir, he couldn't quite bring himself to hit his hardest either, being too out of practice. A little less than an hour of straight practice and sparring and they stopped, taking a breath.

"I think this was a good start for today," Ladybug said with a smile.

Chat nodded back at her, sitting on the ground in the middle of the warehouse, a bit out of breath. He watched as she released her transformation to sit down with him, he did the same, letting his ring slide off his hand and dangle around his neck, and immediately felt even more tired as he became Adrien again, stars he shouldn't have done that. Marinette reached into her tote bag and pulled out a couple bottles of water, she handed one to him and he eagerly drank it down. He watched as she took her own gulp of water before pulling out some cheese for Plagg, a cookie for Tikki, and finally a Tupperware of sliced fruit from her tote bag.

"You are quite prepared," Adrien laughed, taking some of the offered fruit and sighing in relief as he bit down into the juicy morsel.

Marinette looked to the side in a shy manner as she took a bite of her own fruit, "I just wanted to make sure that you didn't get too worn out," She said offering him more fruit.

"And it is much appreciated," Adrien replied, taking more fruit as Marinette visibly relaxed.

They all four sat in silence eating until they were back up to par.

"So, what was the "special Miraculous training" that you were doing while I was out?" Adrien finally asked. He had forgotten before in his excitement to be Chat Noir again but now it was bothering him.

"I was practicing using the Chat Miraculous," She answered back simply, much too simply.

"Wait, wait, what? Why?" Adrien asked.

This time Marinette hesitated, "Well, when you were… out, I had thought over what would happen if Papillon would strike again. What I would do to fight against him, and somehow I got on the topic of what would happen if our roles were switched, if I was the one injured and you were on your own to possibly fight Papillon," She chose her words cautiously.

While he knew there was something she wasn't telling him, he was shocked by the thought of their positions being swapped. He never wanted what happened to him to happen to anyone else, especially not her. Adrien looked hard at Marinette, hoping she would explain further.

"And uh, even if it was only just an akuma attack, well you might have some trouble," She continued, "The only way you would be able to purify the akuma is through the Coccinelle Miraculous, and well, you- you and I- have had next to no experience working with each other's Miraculous. So I was practicing with the Chat Miraculous."

Adrien nodded, thinking over what she said. It made sense, he remembers the useless feeling when he first started acting as Chat Noir of learning that Ladybug was the only one to purify an akuma.

"So am I going to practice using the Coccinelle Miraculous?" Adrien asked.

"Not today, later. Today was just for you to get used to being Chat Noir again," She answered.

"Ok," It sounded exciting, getting to be Ladybug. He briefly wondered if his costume would look the same as hers or look similar to his costume as Chat, Adrien was about to ask but Marinette stood up and offered her hand to him.

"We should get going, this was a good start for today," She said as he took her hand and pulled him up.

"That's all? Are you sure?" Adrien whined.

"I know it may not seem like a lot, but it's only the first day, and you can't push yourself too hard on the first day," Marinette replied easily.

Adrien sighed at her sound logic, he really couldn't argue with the small ache in his side, unused to such a large amount of physical movement just yet. The few physical therapy sessions he had gone to had mostly been breathing exercises and light yoga stretches to get his abdomen used to moving again, nothing like this.

Marinette put the Tupperware and water bottles back into her bag and called for Tikki to transform her one last time. Adrien tucked his ring away in his shirt while Plagg flew into his pocket. Pulling the hat farther down on his head to be sure it was secure, he climbed onto Ladybug's back so they could head off once again.

It only took a few minutes to arrive at Nino's home, they landed outside the building to an empty alleyway. Adrien climbed off her back and gave her a light kiss.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Adrien said, briefly catching the flustered look on Ladybug's face that she quickly tried to shake away.

"Y-Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow," And with that she swung off.

"I saw that!" Nino shouted from his window, causing Adrien to jump.

"Shut up!" Adrien immediately yelled back looking up at Nino smirking from his second story window.

Nino stuck a tongue out at him and Adrien rushed to the front door of Nino's building.

A/N: Am I ever going to have a non-Ladrien kiss? Lmao who knows.

Like two sentences of this chapter was planned and everything else was just a vague idea. The conversation between Nino and Adrien was completely unplanned, but it was good cause is addressed some things I completely forgot about in the last two chapters. Also getting from place to place in this chapter was really difficult due to logic holes I had dug myself into.