"Adrien was so cute yesterday!" I squealed to Alya over the phone. I couldn't keep in my excitement over how intimate we had gotten on our search for Nino's perfect proposal venue. Usually we went to lunch together and talked about various trivial things, but this... this was different. This felt so passionate.

"Okay...so spill it! What did he do?"

"It's hard to explain," I began. "We just got really close. He was treating me as if I was his girlfriend or something. It felt…..really nice." My body was on fire as I remembered every touch and every embrace from the day before. He had been so gentle, and so sincere. He had sounded truly heartbroken when he discovered that I had had a crush on him in high school. I was sitting in my computer chair and currently twirling a piece of my loose hair. I may or may not have been looking at one Adrien's new photo shoots on my computer screen.

"Girl, you have got it bad, and from the sounds of it I think Adrien does, too." Alya paused thinking to herself. "But… it's hard for me to tell just hearing things second hand. I think that it's time that the four amigos get back together. I'm dying to see the chemistry between you two."

The thought of Alya seeing me with Adrien sent shivers down my spine. Everything between Adrien and me was so personal. Letting Alya see that was a bit terrifying. Would Adrien act differently around me in front of our friends, or would he continue to show his flirtatious side? Did I even want Alya to see Adrien flirt with me? Something just felt wrong with that. Almost like exposing a secret that wasn't meant to be shared.

Alya could sense the hesitation in my silence. "Don't worry about it, Mare, I'll set everything up. It will be just like old times."

"Aren't you excited to be with all of your friends again?" Tikki asked after I had gotten off the phone. I slumped down in my chaise allowing my arms to spread like wings by my side as I glared at the ceiling without even really seeing it. All I could see was Adrien's gentle smile which was sometimes replaced by a more mischievous grin.

"I don't know, Tikki," I sighed. "It's different this time. It won't be the same. Alya and Nino are practically engaged, and Adrien and I are… well….. I don't even know what we are! How are we supposed to act in front of them? Do we act like friends like we always did, or do we act like a couple?" I pulled my hands to my face burrowing into them. "I don't know what to do, Tikki! I'm so confused!"

Tikki flew over grabbing one of my hands and pulling it from me face. "It'll all work out, Marinette. Don't worry. You don't have to have your relationship with Adrien figured out yet. Just have fun. Don't think about it and let things happen naturally."

Of course, Tikki was right. I was just overthinking things, as usual. "Thanks, Tikki. You always know just what to say."

The next day, Alya called to give me a lowdown of the plan. We would all meet at the carnival that was in town the following day. That meant that I had one more day to keep whatever was going on with Adrien and me just between us. I quickly got dressed, brushed my hair, keeping it loose, and headed to work.

As I drove into the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of a golden haired boy walking towards the door. My heart skipped a beat at the unexpected sight of my, well, whatever he was. Tikki had been singing along with a song on my radio, but flew into my bag as I parked the car. A tapping on my window caused me to jump and throw my bag across the seat. I turned to see a soft pair of green eyes peering in at me through the glass causing my pulse to quicken.

"Adrien!" I said accusingly after I had gathered my things and opened the door. "You scared me!"

"Let me help you," he said with a peaceful grin as he reached out his hand to help me get out of the car. "I couldn't miss a chance to walk my little lady into work today, could I?" With these words, his gentle smile morphed into a playful almost sinister looking smirk.

My mind immediately drifted to the letter that I had written to Chat. Had he seen it yet. Had he replied? Two full nights had passed since I had left it; maybe it was possible that he had responded already….

"Marinette, are you okay? I know I'm fascinating to look at and all, at least that's what I'm told, but I seriously feel like you're about to stare a hole right through me."

Adrien's words snapped me back to attention. I hadn't even realized that I had been staring at him. Heat rushed to my cheeks in embarrassment. "Oh, uh…. I wasn't looking at you. I mean… it's not like I wouldn't want to…. uh…. I mean… I was just thinking about…...someone.. I mean…. something else." Why was I stammering again?

"Ouch, I'm hurt," Adrien teased while placing his hands over his heart. "And who might my little princess be dreaming about while her knight is standing right before her?"

Even though Adrien was teasing me, there was something about the look in his eyes that told me that he truly was a little wounded by what I had said. I couldn't tell him that I had been thinking about Chat, but maybe I could tell him part of the truth. I cupped my hands around his which were still atop of his chest and smiled.

"I'm sorry, you just made me think of someone that I haven't seen in a long time. I doubt I'll ever see that person again. Now," I added as I wrapped my fingers around his right hand and pulled him away from the car, "let's go inside! We wouldn't want to be late."

"So," Adrien began as we had just sat down to eat. We had both packed our lunches today and decided to go to a park, just down the street, for lunch. It was a beautiful midsummer day with a light breeze to break up the heat. Birds were joyously singing in the trees and squirrels chased each other at magnificent speeds. The flowers were all still in bloom bringing with them the sweet scent of pollen. We picked a level spot in the grass underneath a protective oak. We had just placed down our blanket and pulled out our food when Adrien began to speak. "Are you excited about going to the carnival with Nino and Alya?"

Honestly, I wasn't. Being on display in front of two of my best friends did not meet my criteria of fun. "Um," I hesitantly spoke, "I'm really glad that I will get to be with you."

"But you're not happy to be going with Nino and Alya?" he asked. Geez, Adrien was way to perceptive.

"Uh," I stammered again, "it's not that I don't want to spend time with them. It's just…. It's just that….."

"You don't know what they will think about us, right?" Adrien placed his hand on top of mine which was just resting on the ground in support of me as I was leaning back. We were sitting next to each other shoulder to shoulder and we were both staring into the distance watching a a few squirrels play in the trees.

"I guess so," I meekly responded. "I don't even know what we are, so how am I supposed to know how to act around Alya?"

"Act like my girlfriend," Adrien shrugged as he continued to watch the squirrels with such a nonchalance that I nearly did not catch what he had said.

I jerked my head in his direction as I shrieked, "WHAT?!"

He turned to look at me with his mesmerizing eyes. The whole world seemed to stop as I became entranced in his gaze. The sounds of the birds and the breeze faded into the background, and the only thing I could see was Adrien's beautifully sincere face. "Don't be surprised, Mari," he hummed, "that's what you are? Isn't it?"

I couldn't respond. I couldn't even breathe. Could this really be happening? Did Adrien Agreste view me as his girlfriend?

"Look," he continued, "we eat lunch together everyday. We hold hands. We even sometimes find ourselves lost in an intimate embrace." He took a deep breath and then placed his hand under my chin. "It's moments like that, Mari, that take my breath away. They make me want to get to know you more, so that I can get closer to you. Marinette, every moment spent with you is the best moment of my day….. So, yea. I think of you as my girlfriend. What do you say?"

My body froze as his words sunk in. Adrien, gorgeous Adrien, wanted me, Marinette Dupain-Cheng to be his girlfriend. My head began to spin as a surge of electricity flowed through my veins. I had dreamed of this moment for most of my life, and now I couldn't even come up with anything to say. No words could describe the pure euphoric feeling that was overtaking me.

"I'll take your silence as a yes," Adrien grinned as he removed his hand from my chin and lifted my hand placing a kiss upon it. "We will show Alya and Nino just what a cute couple we make."

"Tikki, Spots On!" I yelled as I allowed my transformation to take over me. After Adrien had kissed my hand, we finished our lunch and walked back to work hand in hand. I could barely form a sentence around Adrien again because I was so nervous at the fact that we were now officially girlfriend and boyfriend. Adrien just thought that my failed attempts at speech were cute, and they even caused him to blush just a little.

Now, I needed to release the pent up energy and nervousness that I was holding inside. My body felt as if it would explode from pure joy, and just had to let that happiness escape. Being Ladybug was the perfect solution. I ran across the rooftops at record speed enjoying the burn that was building up inside my legs. I would have perused the roofs of Paris for much longer had I not felt a single raindrop fall upon my cheek. I looked up to see an ominous looking sky and heard a faint crack of thunder booming in the distance. How had I not noticed the arrival of this storm earlier?

I quickly headed towards the Eiffel Tower to retrieve the box that I had left for Chat Noir. I knew that I didn't have long until the soft drizzle became a downpour, so I hastily opened the lid. My chest tightened and a warm tingling sensation spread throughout my body as I laid my eyes on a green parchment that had taken the place of my white one. Chat Noir had actually responded. I couldn't believe it. He was back, and he had been right here within the past two days.

I had to quickly close the lid before the intrusive rain could get its grip upon my letter. With a swing of my yoyo, I hastily returned to my balcony where I was greeted with a cold, crisp deluge of water. Thankfully, after reverting back into my civilian self, the only thing that remained wet was my hair which was dripping on the floor.

"Shouldn't you dry your hair off, Marinette?" Tikki asked when she got a look at the state I was in. Even though I slightly uncomfortable with my cold, sopping wet hair soaking into my dry clothing, I didn't care.

"No time Tikki, I have to read this letter," I blurted as I opened the lid and quickly unfolded the paper. My hands were shaking and my heart was performing backflips as I gazed upon the carefully written letter. The cursive writing was so pristine, that it hardly seemed possible that a human could have written it.

Ladybug,

It was so nice to hear from you M'Lady. I'm glad that you are happy working your dream job. I haven't quite found my perfect job yet, but I can't say that I'm not happy working where I am. For me, it's all about the people that I work with. Life is going purrfectly well for me right now. This is probably the happiest I have ever been.

Now, don't get me wrong. I do miss spending time with you. If it wasn't for spotting your box on the Eiffel Tower, then I probably would have never transformed back into Chat Noir. Thanks for that. I had nearly forgotten how much I enjoyed being a cat.

Till Next Time,

Chat

It was weird thinking of Chat Noir not being, well, Chat Noir. He actually missed being a cat, and that was all I had ever seen him as. That thought made me realize how little I truly knew my former partner. What was his life like outside of the mask? Honestly, I had never really cared when I was younger, but now I wished that I could have known the boy underneath. Then, maybe I wouldn't have lost him for so long. I picked up my pen and grabbed a pink sheet of paper to write my reply.

Chat,

It's weird thinking of you as anyone other than Chat Noir. I guess I never really knew you at all did I? I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for never really trying to get know you. That was a mistake.

I'm glad to know that I can talk to you now. That makes me really happy.

Thanks for responding,

LB

"There," I said with satisfaction at my completed letter. "Short and sweet. I guess I'll have to wait until tomorrow to place it back. I really don't want to get back out in that rain."

I folded the letter and placed it back in the tiny box. Tikki flew over and landed on the lid. "I'm glad to see you're so happy, Marinette. I know you regret not getting to know Chat, but now is your chance. I told you that you would get to talk to him again someday. This wasn't exactly what I imagined, but it will do, for now."

"Thanks, Tikki."

I left the box on my desk and climbed up the ladder to my bed. After a few minutes of laying in silence, I finally tried to talk to Tikki. "I'm really glad to have this opportunity, Tikki. I already feel so much better just knowing that he is out there and that he is doing okay." I turned over to find Tikki already sleeping on the pillow next to me. Her even breaths were quite comforting, making it that much harder to keep my own eyes open.

I rolled back over to my back and allowed the events of the day to replay in mind. Adrien had become my boyfriend. It didn't seem real. Chat Noir had responded to my letter. That also didn't seem real. I hoped that I wouldn't wake up to find that this has all been a dream. It would be a cruel reality without Adrien and Chat in my life. I had already spent four years like that, and I didn't know if I could bear going through that again. Visions of Adrien and Chat danced through my mind eventually molding themselves into dreams that carried throughout the entire night. The next morning, I could not remember those dreams, but I knew that they had been happy ones, and that was all that mattered.