Adrien had spent all day replaying the conversation on Marinette's balcony over and over again. He could hardly believe how well it had gone. Less than twenty-four hours ago he was a nervous wreck; now he felt like he was on top of the world, and he couldn't wait to see her again. Thank goodness it was a Sunday, so his extracurricular activities were few and he'd been able to spend most of the day in his room, out of sight and out of mind.

"She wasn't angry, not even a little" he told Plagg for the hundredth time. "And she said she trusts me" he repeated proudly.

"Well, you've been partners for ages…I'd be worried if she didn't trust you" Plagg replied, visibly annoyed. "Didn't I say it would be fine?"

"I always knew Marinette was amazing," he gushed, ignoring Plagg's surly comments. "And I get to see her again, tonight. We'll sit together and talk and it will be wonderful…" he was already imagining the way things would change, all the little things he'd longed to know about his superhero partner were open to him now.

Sure, as Adrien, he and Marinette were friends but she always seemed so reserved around him or like it took some special effort to be with him. To be fair, things had gotten much better than when they'd first become friends, she used to not even be able to talk to him without stuttering and stammering or mixing her words up, but that hadn't been an issue for about a year. He thought she was finally feeling more comfortable with him and that they were becoming better friends, but there was still something different in the way she treated him. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something was holding her back from being open with him the way she was with their other friends, but now as Chat the possibilities were endless.

Adrien came out of his reverie just in time to hear the end of Plagg's ranting. "Humph…meanwhile I'll have to be working, all so you can go see your girlfriend. I expect extra cheese for this."

"How many times do I have to tell you Plagg, Marinette is not my girlfriend." Adrien repeated automatically.

"But you want her to be" said Plagg simply.

And with that, Adrien was rendered completely speechless, because he did want Marinette to be his girlfriend. He wanted it more than anything he'd ever wanted before. Sure, he'd been head-over-heels for Ladybug practically since they'd met, but about six weeks ago he'd finally admitted, at least to himself, that he was nursing a bit of crush on Marinette as well. He'd tried to brush it off for a long time, tried to convince himself that Ladybug was the only one he had feelings for, that Marinette was just a friend, that his desire to get to know her better, to be closer to her was just him wanting to be a better friend. Finally, he'd relented at Nino's last party when he couldn't deny the jealously seeping through every vein in his body watching as Luka asked Marinette to dance and seeing the blush on her cheeks as she accepted. Plagg had teased him mercilessly that night, something about his princess and the troubadour, Adrien had been too angry to really listen. Now, though it turned out the two girls he'd fallen for were really just one incredible girl, and his heart belonged completely to her.

Just then something occurred to him, "YOU…" he started, rounding on Plagg, "All this time, you knew that Ladybug and Marinette were the same person. All those comments…and the teasing? W-WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU" he furiously whispered, trying desperately not to shout lest Nathalie hear.

Plagg flew straight to Adrien's face with an exaggerated innocent look "Wrong with me? I was helping…"

"Help. . .helping? How exactly was it helpful?" Adrien questioned as his face got redder and redder.

"You were the one going on and on about how much you loooove the bug, right?"

"Yeah, so…."

"So I was just pointing you in the right direction. See, helpful!" Plagg cackled cheerfully.

"But you never told me anything, you just teased me and tried to make me doubt myself and my feelings" Adrien countered

"I couldn't just tell you her identity, it's against the rules. Besides, it's better this way…" Plagg argued.

"Better! How is this better?"

"Look kid, all this time you thought Marinette could never be more than just your friend because blah, blah, blah Ladybug, right?"

"I was…being loyal…."

"Oh so, you're saying it never mattered who was under the mask, you'd have loved them anyway?"

"Well, no…yes…maybe. I don't know, besides it IS Marinette under the mask, so what does it matter"

"It might matter to her, now I need cheese. All this lovey dovey stuff has made me hungry."

"Ugh…..it's time to go anyway….but this conversation isn't over. Plagg, Claws Out"

Author's Note: So this chapter was a little harder for me since I struggle with dialogue a bit. Anyway, hope you all enjoy! Next time we find out Master Fu's advice! Thanks to everyone for the follows, favorites and comments! I appreciate you all! As a reminder I own none of the characters!