Aaand I'm back with part two. There's more language and a bit of MariChat hanky-panky in this one, but it still falls within the realm of the Teen rating.

Thank you for the reviews and encouragement on part one, I hope you all like this one as well!

***Edit: I apologize for both Adrien's over-dramatic reaction, and the painfully trite dialogue at the beginning of the fight, the the first version of this chapter. I was writing super late at night, so I'm going to go ahead and blame it on sleep deprivation. ;) I have since edited those portions, and I'm now much happier with them. Hopefully, you will be too!

Also, I'd like to give a shout out to my wonderful husband for calling me on the lazy writing, and pushing me to do better. Thanks, love! (Before anyone freaks out, I asked him to read critically. If he didn't call me on that stuff, I'd be mad!)

A dark form, barely more than a shadow, made its way into the underground garage. Inside, there was a wash of green light, and moments later a sleek grey Audi tore out onto the streets, a distinctive blonde at the wheel. On the roof across the street from that garage a young woman sat back on her heels, her eyes wide with shock and understanding. She knew that car, she knew who owned it. And suddenly, a great many things started to make a great deal of sense.

After transforming, Adrien carelessly tossed a circle of cheese onto the passenger seat for Plagg. Then he was off into the night, desperate to escape from what he had just done.

What had he been thinking?

A few sweet words from her, and his mind had shut down. Ladybug had made it clear that she wanted to keep their relationship platonic, and he'd always respected that, until tonight. He'd lost his head and blown through every boundary she'd ever set between them. He hadn't attacked her, but he'd pounced on her, and now, surely, he had lost even her friendship. All he wanted now was to drive.

Initially, he had the presence of mind to keep his speed controlled. Outside the city, with the road open before him, he flew. It was late, and there were few other cars on the road. He pushed until the needle edged into the red, but he didn't back off. He kept it there, forcing himself to devote his entire mind to controlling the car, and leaving no room for his tortured thoughts.

Eventually, his demons spent, he slowed. He left the highway, parked in an empty lot, and leaned forward to rest his head on the steering wheel.

"Are you done?"

"Fuck off, Plagg."

"You mind telling me what that was about?"

"I said, fuck off!"

"Are you freaking out because you kissed her?" Plagg flew up to hover near Adrien's head. "Because from what I could tell, she wasn't complaining."

He laughed bitterly. "How could she? I had my tongue down her throat."

"She kissed you back, you idiot." Adrien scoffed, and Plagg rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Do you honestly think that Ladybug would have let you get away with that, if she hadn't wanted it?"

Adrien lifted his head and looked at the kwami, considering. "Probably not," he finally mumbled.

"Probably not? Kid, if she didn't want that kiss, you'd have known. You'd have probably found yourself on the opposite side of that deck, with her handprint on your face."

He frowned, thinking about it. Plagg was right; she'd never been shy about putting him in his place before. Why didn't she this time? Unless…she really did want to kiss him. And idiot that he was, he'd tucked tail and ran as if—as if he'd been repulsed. "Merde, I really am an idiot." He'd fucked up, alright. Not when he kissed her, but when he ran.

"Kid, I've been telling you that for years."

Adrien dropped his head back to the steering wheel with a groan. Now what? He still didn't see how he could face her again, after that.

"Go home, kid. Get me a plate of camembert, and get some sleep. You can figure it out tomorrow."

Marinette dropped through the skylight into her room, and dropped her transformation. While Tikki helped herself to a cookie, Marinette rummaged around in her bag and pulled out her sketchbook, flipping quickly to the page where she had drawn both Adrien and Chat.

She stared.

Adrien is Chat Noir.

That was the thought that had been circling itself in her head, from the time that she'd seen the car peel out of the garage. She'd vacillated between doubt and certainty the whole way home. After all, she hadn't seen what happened inside the garage. Perhaps it had been only a coincidence. But, no. She had seen that green light before, and she knew what it meant. And even had she not recognized Adrien in the car, that was his building and his car. No, it was no coincidence.

Now, she was staring at the evidence before her, drawn by her own hand. She's drawn the two men in exactly the same way, with the same hooded, haunted expression. The face was the same. The only difference was the mask. Marinette sat heavily in her desk chair and propped her head in her hands.

Adrien is Chat Noir.

On some level, she must have known. The drawings told it plainly. Had she been willfully blind? How could she have possibly ignored what was right in front of her face?

A sob tore from her throat and she collapsed forward onto her desk, cradling her head on her arms. She was furious and ashamed, and heartbroken.

Adrien was Chat Noir, and she had failed him, twice.

Tikki, who had long since finished her snack, floated over to where Marinette sat sobbing at her desk, and landed on the girl's arm. She pulled a thick lock of hair from her chosen's face, and hooked it behind her ear so that she could see her. "Marinette?"

"Oh, Tikki!" She turned her face to look at her kwami. "I feel awful!"

"Sshhh, Marinette."

"B-but Adrien is—"

"Chat Noir, yes, I know."

Her head snapped up. "You knew?" she asked incredulously.

Tikki hesitated. "I…suspected. I didn't know for sure until tonight."

Marinette's eyes slid closed. Even Tikki had been more aware than she was.

"Please, Marinette, don't beat yourself up. Sometimes, it's easier to see these things when you aren't in the middle of them."

"It doesn't matter." She sniffled, and reached for a tissue from the box on her desk. "I should have been there for him."

"You did what you thought was best, for Adrien. You couldn't have known that he would take it the wrong way. And as for Chat… Well, you're human, Marinette. You make mistakes. Now that you know, you can fix it."

"I guess you're right, Tikki, but it doesn't make me feel any better about any of it." She pushed away from her desk and moved to pull pajamas out of her armoir. "I mean, what do I do?"

"I don't know. Do you want to tell him, about who you are?"

Marinette paused for a moment, a soft cotton tee in her hands. "I—I don't know. Should I? You've always been so insistent that I never tell anyone."

"Normally, I would say no. But, this is different. You and Adrien are different. I think…yes, I think that you should tell him. And, Marinette?"

Marinette paused again to meet the Kwami's eyes.

"You also need to tell him how you feel. It's time."

Marinette forced herself out of bed early the next morning, despite the fact that she'd gone to bed so late. It took three cups of coffee to animate her, but still, she did it. It was Wednesday, which meant more algebra. More importantly, it meant an opportunity to spend time with Adrien, and to begin repairing what had gone wrong with them.

She wasn't going to waste it, and Marinette was a girl with a plan.

Once dressed and sufficiently caffeinated, she went to the bakery downstairs and collected a selection of pastries to take with her. Then, with a wave to her stunned parents, she was out the door a full two hours early.

On the way to the guys' apartment, she stopped at their favorite café and got 4 coffees to go: An Americano with lots of cream but no sugar for Nino; a hazelnut latte with extra sugar for Alya; a vanilla latte for Adrien, and a mocha latte for herself. Thus armed with both breakfast and coffee, she continued to their apartment and let herself in through the unlocked door. She set her burdens on the counter in the small kitchen, and found a bleary-eyed Alya sitting at the table, a nearly-empty coffee cup between her hands. From up the hall, she could hear the water running in the bathroom. Nino, or Adrien?

Marinette smiled. "I thought I'd find you here," she said to her friend, removing the cup and replacing it with the fresh latte.

She blinked owlishly at the coffee, and then at Marinette. "Are you real?"

"Yes, I'm real. And so are the coffee, and the pastries in there on the counter. You're welcome."

"You are a sweet angel of mercy," she said with feeling. She took a long pull on the coffee, humming in her throat. "Perfect. I think I love you. Will you marry me?"

Marinette laughed. "What about Nino?"

"Nino didn't get up early to bring me coffee." She frowned. "Wait. You got up early?"

"Yeah. I thought I'd go in to class with Adrien today. You know, keep him company?"

Alya lit up. "Oh, that's a great idea! I'm not sure he'll wake up in time, though. He got in really late last night."

Ah, so it was Nino in the shower then. She shrugged, and pulled the vanilla latte from the drink carrier. "Then I'll just go wake him up. After all, we wouldn't want his coffee to get cold." She ignored the way Alya's eyes bugged out of her head, and went up the hall to his door. There, though, her bravado faltered. She'd been here, in this apartment, many times, but she'd never been in his room. Taking a deep breath, she lifted her empty hand and tapped gently on the door.

"A-Adrien?" Silence. She tapped a bit harder. "Adrien, may I come in?" Still nothing. She knocked firmly. At the continued silence, she frowned, and looked back at Alya, who was watching her in fascination from the end of the hall. Alya held her hand out in a clear gesture of expectation, and Marinette turned back to the door, her hand on the knob. It turned freely, and she cracked the door open a bit. "Adrien? It's Marinette." She eased the door open, and stepped inside. "I'm coming in, ok?"

His room was dark, and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. When they had, she set the coffee on his desk and moved to the window, and having belatedly realized that he might sleep in the nude, studiously avoided the bed in the middle. She tugged open the black-out curtains to let the morning light into his room, but she left the blinds. There was a muffled groan and the rustling of sheets from the bed. Steeling herself, she turned to look. She needn't have bothered; he was almost completely hidden by a thick comforter, and all she could see was the thick forearm he'd thrown over the pillow on his face. "Adrien? I brought coffee."

The arm flexed, and the pillow shifted. "Marinette?"

His voice was sleep-rough, and Marinette made a point of ignoring the effect it had on her heart rate. She smiled brightly, and crossed back to the door. "I put your coffee on your desk. I'll wait for you out here!" And with that, she whisked herself out of the room and closed the door behind her.

"I cannot believe you just did that."

"Huh?" She saw that Nino had joined Alya at the end of the hall, and both were snickering.

"Dude, you just waltzed right in there, yanked open his curtains, and demanded he get up."

She leaned against the door frame. "I did not!"

There was a subtle draft of air, and Adrien said from right behind her, "You did."

Marinette shrieked in surprise, jumping away from the door with a hand pressed to her heart. Alya and Nino just laughed. "W-well, maybe I did," she said, scowling at them. She turned back to Adrien. "But at least I brought you coffee!"

They elected to walk to class, rather than taking his car. There was no need; it wasn't that far, they had plenty of time, and while cold, the day was sunny. Adrien glanced at the woman walking next to him, and wondered for the hundredth time what had possessed her to do what she had that morning. Marinette didn't oversleep as much as she used to, but she was never early. And she'd clearly gone out of her way, bringing not just pastries from her parents' bakery, but his favorite coffee, as well.

The morning had felt almost like it had when they were still at Lycée, before the nightmare had started. It had felt good, and reminded him how much he missed those days. After leaving Nino and Alya behind, though, Marinette had been quiet and withdrawn. He couldn't figure her out. Finally he decided to just ask her.

His question seemed to startle her, as if she'd been lost in thought. She blushed lightly, and glanced at him sheepishly. "You said yesterday that you have to maintain your enrollment here, and I realized that that's why you never miss class. Well, except for Monday. So, I thought I would come over to make sure you got up in time, and made it to class."

He quirked an eyebrow. "Couldn't you have just called?"

Her blush deepened. "I could have. But then you wouldn't have had your favorite coffee."

"That is true." He smiled gratefully at her. "Thank you for that, by the way. You will have to let me return the favor sometime."

"Actually, I was wondering, would you want to get lunch or something later, after class?"

Adrien stopped walking and looked at her in surprise. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, did you just ask me out?"

At this, her blush deepened to a point that he hadn't seen on her in years. "N-no! I mean, not exactly. There's something I need to talk to you about."

What he really wanted to do was talk to Ladybug, but since he wouldn't see her until that night, he nodded to Marinette. "Sure. Lunch sounds good." He smiled, and tapped her bag. "I don't suppose you have the notes from Monday's class in there, do you?"

She smiled happily at him.

"As a matter of fact, I do."

They were about halfway through their algebra class when one of the other professors interrupted them with a message for their teacher. He came into the room, walked straight to her, and spoke urgently into her ear. As he spoke, the woman's face turned a sickly grey color, and she stumbled to the nearest chair to sit. The other teacher squeezed the woman's shoulder sympathetically, then turned to the class. "There has been an akuma attack near the catacombs." At this, murmurs went through the room. "Mme. Durand is…close to the victim. The rest of your class has been cancelled for today."

Marinette and Adrien stood with the rest of the class and began to filter out of the large room, and then, out of the building. Adrien paused on the side walk, and snagged her elbow. "So, I think I forgot something back at the apartment." He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and with a start, she recognized the gesture as something that both he and Chat did often. "Since class was cancelled, I'm going to run back and get it."

She blinked at Adrien, at Chat Noir, and realized that soon, they wouldn't have to think of reasons to ditch one another to transform. She smiled, and nodded. "Sure! I'm going to go to the library, and use the time to study."

He smiled in relief. "Hey, maybe I can catch up with you there, later?"

"Okay. Later, then."

"Later!"

She watched him jog away, and then went in the opposite direction, grinning like an idiot. 'Later' was going to come a lot sooner than he thought.

Adrien ducked into a nearby building, and went straight to the nearest stairwell to transform. He took the stairs to the roof, and once there, paused for a moment to orient himself. He knew only that the akuma was 'near the catacombs', so he headed in that general direction, keeping his ears perked for screams. It didn't take long for him to begin hearing them.

He didn't immediately see the akuma, but he knew immediately that it was a bad one. The people fleeing from it were screaming in true terror, in a way that he had not often seen. The quality of those screams was such that they made his hair stand on end. He picked up speed, wanting to put himself between the akuma and the people of Paris as soon as possible.

When he found it, the akuma was just east of the Montparnasse Cemetery. In appearance, it was unremarkable; there was no elaborate or flamboyant costume. He was a man in late middle age, with thinning hair, a ruddy complexion, and a cheap suit. Physically, he was marked as an akuma only by the twin purple voids where his eyes should have been, and the shimmering purple-black knife he held in his hand. But Chat didn't need to see the eyes or even the knife to know that he had the right guy. The akuma had gone on a violent rampage, visciously maiming and killing anyone he could get his hands on, and he was covered in gore.

Chat Noir shuddered, and felt his gorge rise. A few of the bloodied people he saw were still alive; most were dead, their glassy eyes staring sightlessly. Blood pooled in the street. This was by far the worst one they had yet faced, and he knew that it was going to be a brutal fight. He reminded himself that if they could free the man of his possession, and cleanse the akuma, that Ladybug's magic would restore the city to what it had been before the akuma had attacked—including restoring those lives that were taken.

He leapt to the street not far from where the akuma paced along at a measured, methodical pace, and landed with an intentional clatter. The akuma turned to him with a sneer, and began to stalk back the way he'd come.

"Ah, there you are, Chat. I am The Butcher. Not a terribly original name, I know, but it's apt. What do you think of my handiwork?"

"I think that even after you're freed, we're going to need to find you a nice padded room for a while."

The Butcher chuckled darkly. "Oh, I don't think so. I'm enjoying this too much to let you spoil it. All I have to do is collect a few trinkets from you and your partner, and Hawkmoth said that I can make Paris my playground."

Chat pulled his lips back in a snarl. "The hell you will."

The gore-spattered akuma flipped the knife in his hand, grinning evilly. "How are you going to stop me?" He returned arrogantly, and threw the knife with deadly accuracy.

He jumped out of the way, but he didn't move quite fast enough. The blade clipped him on his left side, just below his heart. It wasn't bad, but it hurt like the very devil.

Ladybug landed on a car right behind him, her pale face stark against the red of her suit. "Now Chat, let's not taunt the nasty akuma, please."

"How kind of you to join us, little bug." The Butcher continued to stalk purposefully toward them. He lifted his hand, and the eerie knife flew back to it. "I think perhaps I will start with you. Surely Hawkmoth won't mind if I simply carve your ears from your body, will he?"

"You're not going to touch her!" Chat snarled, charging the akuma. With another evil grin, The Butcher ran to meet Chat, his bloody knife raised.

Ladybug watched in horror as the two clashed, that wicked knife flashing far too close to her partner's body far too many times for her peace of mind. Desperate to end this awful fight now, she called for her lucky charm. A small photograph fluttered down into her hand, and she started at it in confusion.

The photo was of a young woman about Marinette's age, with long auburn hair and blue eyes. The girl looked familiar, but at first, she couldn't place her. Then, all of a sudden, it clicked. "Mon dieu," she whispered, staring at the photo sadly. "I know what to do."

She stood, and jumped from the top of the car. The two men were no longer grappling, but circling each other warily. She approached them calmly. "They butchered her, didn't they?"

The Butcher froze, then spun to face her. "Shut up!"

"They butchered your little girl, and left her mangled body for you to find."

Chat moved toward her, nervously. "Ladybug?"

At the same time, the akuma took a menacing step, and brandished the knife. "I said shut up!"

"Ladybug, please, let's just get the knife and break it so we can be finished."

"It's not in the knife. Is it, Butcher?" She darted her eyes at Chat, and widened them briefly. Then she held the picture up to the akuma. "It's in this photo, of your daughter. The one you always kept near your heart." That last bit was only a guess, and she prayed that she was right.

"What? No! How did you get that?!" He lunged for the photo, desperate to reclaim the reminder of his lost child. While he was distracted, Chat darted in, pulled the real photo from the pocket of The Buthcher's suit jacket, and used his forward momentum to roll out of the way.

At the same time, the Butcher realized their ploy, and shifted his weight so that he lunged not for the picture, but for Ladybug herself. When Chat came to his feet, it was to see that the Butcher held Ladybug pinned against his body with one arm slung across her shoulders, and his knife poised at her throat. As he watched, The Butcher drew the blade lightly across her skin, drawing a thin red line that crossed her throat and angled up toward her ear. Somehow, her skin had paled even further, but she didn't look frightened. She looked mad as hell.

Chat faced him, gripping his staff tightly, the photo having been stuffed into his own pocket. "Let her go."

"Not until I get my souvenir." He edged the knife up a bit higher, and Ladybug felt it bite into the delicate skin where her ear met her neck.

Furious, she brought her head forward and slammed it back into his face, crushing his nose with a sickening thud. Then she used the force of the strike to send them both crashing backward, to the ground. His arm loosened in surprise, and she rolled away, coming to her feet in a fighting stance.

"Mon dieu, your ear!"

She raised a hand to her ear, and hissed when she felt that it had been partially severed. His knife must have cut her when she'd jerked her head. Ladybug swiped angrily at the warm blood running down the side of her face, and glared at the Butcher, who still lay dazed on the ground.

She rounded on Chat, holding her hand out for the picture. He handed it to her, and she ripped it in half far more aggressively than necessary, throwing the rent paper to the ground. She pulled her yoyo from her hip and captured the butterfly as she always did, but before she could release it, Chat shoved her to the ground.

"What the—CHAT!" The Butcher was on his feet, an expression of unholy glee on his face. He held her partner in a macabre mockery of affection, his knife buried to the hilt in Chat's side. She knew in an instant that Chat had taken a blow meant for her. With a ragged scream, she flew at the akuma and planted her fist in the middle of his ruined nose. He released Chats body in surprised agony.

She caught him, and lowered him to the ground gently. Then she released the now cleansed butterfly into the air, and threw the crumpled photograph up after it. Never before had she put so much of herself into her "Miraculous Ladybug!" cry as she did that day.

Her job done, she gathered Adrien to her chest, and even though she knew that he would be alright, she wept as her magic swept the city.

As the magic swept over them, Adrien could feel the blinding pain in his side recede, and the strength returning to his body. He became aware of his surroundings as he had not been before, and realized that a sobbing Ladybug was clutching him to her body.

She had done it, then. Her magic had erased everything but the memories of the attack. He brought his arms up to wrap them around her. She stiffened, and pulled away to look at his face.

"Chat?"

"I'm ok, milady," he said, sitting up.

"Oh, you stupid, stupid cat!" She threw herself at him, throwing him momentarily off balance, and crushed her lips to his. She broke the kiss as abruptly as she'd started it, framing his face between her hands. "You stupid, reckless, wonderful cat! Don't ever do that to me again!" She kissed him again, and then she was standing and yanking him up after her. "Come on, Chat. We said that we would talk later, and now it's later. Besides, my earrings are beeping."

"What? What are you—"

"I'll explain, but not until we can get away from here." She gestured with a subtle tilt of her head, and he saw what she had already noticed: their audience.

He nodded. "Where?"

She hesitated. "The Dupain-Cheng bakery."

His eyebrows flew up. Marinette's bakery? "Alright. After you, milady."

As they moved quickly through the city, he wondered just what in the hell was going on. Normally, this was about the time that she was making a quick getaway, so that she could de-transform without revealing her precious identity. But now, she wanted to talk?

They landed lightly on Marinette's rooftop balcony, and Ladybug pulled open the skylight door. "Come on, in here."

"But, we can't just—"

"Chat! Please, just, trust me?"

Gritting his teeth, he followed her down into Marinette's room. "Would you please explain to me—oomph!"

She'd thrown herself at him again. Her arms were locked around his neck, she'd pressed the entire length of her body flush against him, and she was kissing him as if she might never kiss anyone again. He was confused beyond belief, but at that moment, he barely possessed the mental capacity to process the fact that Ladybug—his Ladybug—was pressed intimately against him in a way that he had dreamed but never expected, much less why she might be doing so in Marinette's bedroom. He lost himself to the feeling of her body in his arms, and the feverish way she kissed him. She opened her mouth and drew his lower lip between her teeth, then thrust her tongue into his mouth, deepening the kiss. Inundated by the experience, he slid his hands down over the small of her back to grip her derrière, and lift her more fully against him.

So engrossed were they that neither of them noticed when her earrings gave a final warning beep. The pink light of her transformation was able to penetrate the fog in his brain, though. Apparently it had hers, as well. She tore her mouth away and pressed him even closer, so that he was looking over her shoulder, and could not see her.

It wasn't until the bitter disappointment shot through him that he realized how desperately he wanted her to reveal herself, but he didn't try to force it. He just rested his chin on her shoulder and held her tighter, trying to calm the rapid tattoo of his heart.

They stayed that way for several tense moments, as their breathing slowed and he waited for her to speak. He knew that something had changed between them, and he knew that whatever she had to say, it was going to change things further. He thought he was prepared. She drew in a breath to speak, and he held his.

"Chat, I know who you are."

He wasn't prepared. At all. He released his held breath in a "puh" of surprise, and tried to pull away, but she held him firm.

"No, wait! Please, Adrien, I'm not done."

The shock went through him again, even greater this time, at hearing his name on her lips. He said nothing, but held her still tighter.

"I know who you are, and…I want you to know who I am. But, I want you to know, now, that…" She paused, and drew in a deep, unsteady breath. He suddenly became aware of a tremor in her voice, and realized that she was just as uncertain and vulnerable in this moment as he was. "I need you to know that I love you. I love all of you. I was already planning to tell you, even before"—her breath caught on a sob, and she continued in a rush—"even before today. But I almost lost you and even though I knew you would be ok, I was—I was shattered. I just—I need you to know that I love you."

He absorbed her words with shock, and yet every word from her mouth was like rain falling onto parched earth. Slowly, they sank in and began to heal the broken places inside.

Ladybug loved him.

Ladybug loved him!

Slowly, he began to relax his grip on her body, and though he felt her doing the same in response, she did not let go entirely, or move away from him at all. "Do I know you? Beyond—"

"Yes." Her voice was small, and even more uncertain than before.

"Show me." He felt her fingers clutch at his neck, but she didn't move. He closed his eyes, worried now that she wouldn't let him see her after all. And he needed it to come from her. He needed it to be her choice, to know that he hadn't taken it from her. "Please, milady? If you want me to know, show me."

Marinette bit her lip at his words. She wanted this, but now that she had come to the point, all of her old insecurities had come roaring back. Once upon a time, he'd been attracted to her, she knew. He'd even claimed to love her a time or two, but she hadn't taken him seriously, and eventually, he'd quit trying. At the time, she'd been relieved. Now, that she finally knew her own heart, she worried that she'd lost her chance. And when he finally saw the girl behind the mask, would he be disappointed? Adrien had never seemed to care for her as more than a friend, or shown any inclination to develop their friendship further.

But the time for doubts had passed. She'd already laid all of her cards on the table. All, save this one.

"Okay," she finally said, and stepped back from him. She heard his breath catch, but she wasn't brave enough to look at his face, to see the recognition light his eyes or the wonder in his expression. She stood with her eyes on the floor between them, one hand tightly gripping the opposite arm anxiously.

He stepped to her and breathed her name, tipping her face up to his with a gentle hand. Her eyes were closed, her lashes spiked with tears. "Marinette," he said again. "Look at me."

She opened liquid eyes, and saw reflected in his face all that she felt. He was standing close enough so that his leather-clad body only just brushed her sweater, and he still cradled her face in one hand. "I have been in love with you, Ladybug, since the day we met." Her lips parted on an indrawn breath, and he placed his finger against them. "It was never about the costume, or the magic. All I have ever wanted is the woman underneath." He moved his hand from its place over her mouth, to the back of her neck. "To know that that woman has been right in front of me all this time, to know that she was you…" He trailed off, shaking his head. "I love you, Marinette."

He kissed her then, brushing his mouth over hers in a gentle caress. She swayed into him, savoring the firm, supple feel of his mouth on hers as she had not been able to do in any of their other kisses. Those had been frantic kisses, born of pain or fear or relief. This one was both an exploration and an affirmation. She released her death grip on her arm, and put her hands to his waist, enjoying the feel of warm leather under her palms. As they continued their gentle kiss, she slid her hands up to his chest and over his shoulders, where she linked her arms loosely behind his neck.

Adrien still had one hand tangled in her hair; he set the other at her hip and tugged her closer, closing the distance between their bodies. He deepened the kiss, and the banked passion between them flared once again. Her hands slid back to his face, and she ran her thumbs over his mask.

Marinette leaned away, frowning. "Get rid of this. I want to see you."

Smiling, he released the transformation to stand before her not as Chat Noir, but as Adrien. The mask disappeared from beneath her fingers, leaving them to rest on the bare skin of his face. She drew her thumbs over his cheeks again, and stared at him as if seeing him for the first time. A smile broke over her face and she pulled him to her again, to resume their kiss as if they'd never stopped.

Dimly, they were aware of an annoyed Plagg demanding cheese, and a chagrined Tikki shushing him. She, at least, had been considerate enough to make herself scarce as soon as Marinette had transformed. Now, she grabbed Plagg by the paw and hauled him to her sanctuary, where she told him to sit down, shut up, and have a cookie. Plagg, being a smart kwami, made only a token protest ("What, no camembert?") before subsiding to a tiny cushion with the proffered cookie.