Chat Noir stood anxiously outside Marinette's trapdoor. He knocked again and she opened it and stepped outside, somewhat surprised to see him standing there, looking as though he'd committed some atrocity.

"Chat Noir? Why are you on my balcony? It's nearly midnight!" she eyed him a little suspiciously. "Is something wrong?"

"Umm….yes, well no…n-not exactly wrong, just…umm s-something happened. I didn't mean for it to happen, honest, but I think I need to tell you….and you might be mad at me." he finally stammered out.

"W-What happened? Why do you think I'll be mad?" she questioned.

"Well…you see, umm…I know" he told her, as he shrunk back a little.

"O-Oh…and what exactly do you know?" Marinette questioned as a look of dread began to settle on her face.

"I…know…t-that," he took a deep breath and continued, "you are Ladybug." he told her, still with a nervous quiver to his voice.

"M-me? Ladybug? That's ridiculous Chat! Why anyone would ever think I could be—" she started.

"I saw you detransform. Today. In the alleyway." He stated matter-of-factly.

Marinette looked shell-shocked. Completely taken off guard. She glanced around nervously, similar to the way he'd seen her many times before trying to figure out a particularly difficult Lucky Charm, trying to find something, anything, to help her. Only this time, instead of a puzzle to solve or a villain to defeat, it was as though she was trying to find some way to convince him that what he'd seen with his own eyes was somehow wrong, or to come up with some excuse, any other explanation than the one they both knew was true.

Failing to come up with anything she finally spoke, "I don't suppose there's any point in telling you that you're wrong, huh?" Then she did the absolute last thing Chat ever expected. She began to laugh, softly at first and then more and more until tears were streaming down her face. Finally she took a deep breath and calmed down enough to say, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I laughed like that. It's just. . .I never. . ." she trailed off, not quite sure what to say.

"So. . .you're not mad at me?" Chat asked quietly, "I swear I didn't mean to find out, I just turned the corner and there you were…."

"Mad? Chat why would I be mad at you? We've been partners long enough that I know I can trust you! I believe that you didn't mean to find out, and I'm glad that you were honest with me about it. Honestly! I just hope you're not too disappointed. I doubt you were expecting Ladybug to be someone like me. . ." she began to ramble in her typical Marinette way.

"Someone like you…someone…like YOU! Marinette, how could Ladybug be anyone except you?" his interruption startling her. "Honestly, I was kicking myself when I found out! I couldn't believe I'd never worked it out before. It's kind of unsettling actually, it makes me wonder what else I've been blind to. There've been so many times I should've put it together, really!" he said earnestly.

"R-really? Wait, does that mean we know each other? Outside the mask, I mean." she wondered out loud, more to herself than him.

"Well. . .y" he began.

"Wait…don't answer that!" she nearly shouted, startling Chat so much that he actually took a step back.

"Don't you want to know who I am? My civilian identity I mean?" he questioned a bit shyly, not sure he wanted to know her answer. If she said yes, then he'd have to comply and what if she was disappointed in him being Adrien, sure they were friends now but it hadn't always been easy, for so long it seemed she could barely talk to him but that had gotten better with time, he didn't want to go backward. If she said no, well. . .he didn't know if he could take it. Surely that would mean she saw him as a superhero partner only, not the romance he'd always hoped for, less than a friend even. He stood quietly, these thoughts running through his head as he waited for her to speak.

"Yes…no, I-I mean I DO want to know, I've always wanted to know, I'm just not sure it's a good idea. We kept our identities secret for a reason, you know that." She said, reaching out to take his hand and reassure him, "I'm not angry that you discovered my identity…honestly, I'm not; but we can't pretend that it doesn't change things. It makes us vulnerable, and I'm not sure doubling that vulnerability is a wise decision right now. A superhero has to follow her head, not her heart. My wanting to know isn't the only thing we have to consider." She squeezed his hand again.

There was a moment of silence as Chat processed some of what she said. "So what do you think we should do?"

"I don't know, I was planning to see Master Fu tomorrow. Maybe I could get some advice from him and of course I'll ask Tikki in the morning. She's sleeping, or I'd ask her now. . .did Plagg have an opinion?" she questioned.

He chuckled, "Plagg only gives opinions on cheese, or on how things that are not cheese should be more like cheese."

She laughed, "Yeah…we've met. I thought, or maybe hoped, that he was more helpful once you got to know him a bit more."

"Yeah…not really." They both snickered at that before Chat became serious again, "Thank you, for taking this so well. I wasn't sure how you were going to react, I know how important keeping your identity secret was…is." this time it was him giving her hand a soft squeeze, hoping to offer a bit of reassurance.

"Well, I'll admit I didn't want anyone to know and certainly never planned on this, but if someone had to find out, I'm glad it's you. I'll speak to Master and we can meet tomorrow evening and talk again. That is if you want to…I mean." she said, releasing his hand as if she'd just realized how long they'd been holding hands.

Not deterred Chat gave a dramatic bow, "Of course, that sounds purr-fect Milady!" his mood greatly improved by the way things had turned out, "I'll be by tomorrow night at 10, if that's okay with you."

Rolling her eyes at the return of his infamous puns she answered, "That sounds wonderful Chat. Now it is very late, I think we should both try to get some sleep."

"You're right, of course. Until tomorrow then.", he said taking her hand back and placing a soft kiss on it, just like he'd done many times before to Ladybug, only it seemed as though things had changed in a way he couldn't quite explain. Maybe it was because instead of Ladybug's usual bold rebuttal or teasing, Marinette didn't pull away and, maybe he was imagining things, but he could swear he saw the loveliest pink color dust her cheeks.

"Goodnight Chat." she told him as she opened the trapdoor back to her room and climbed inside.

"Goodnight, Princess" he said, unable to contain the grin spreading across his face, as he took off, back to his room, knowing it would take several hours before he would be able to settle down enough to get any rest, let alone sleep.

Author's Note: I couldn't stop myself and got this chapter done a bit earlier than I expected and, good news, I hope to have another one done fairly soon. Don't get used to daily updates though! Reviews/Comments are always welcome and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. I do not own any of the characters!