Yay I'm getting more caught up with my homework so I have more spare time this weekend! That means you might just see the next chapter for this story on Sunday instead of Monday! :D So, I've been really seeing this story getting heaps and HEAPS of love and that means so much to me, thank you guys! ^^

It's so great to see so amazing readers taking the time to read my story, just makes me feel really loved ^.^ And because I post this story on deviantART, I've been getting more watchers because of it! So that actually means that there are more people following this story than it says above in the stats. ;)

But enough of that, let's get to more fluff! Oh man, I love writing this story! :D

Miraculous Ladybug (C) Thomas Astruc/ Zagtoon

Chapter 22 – Keeping It Secret

During dinner, Adrien remained upstairs, thinking long and hard about the events of today and how they led him to have to stay with Marinette. Although now it didn't bother him because he and Marinette were good friends and since he knew who she really was, it was more thrilling and heart racing to be spending so much time with her.

He looked up at Marinette's kwami, it was just as adorable as Marinette was; only miniature sized and looking more like a ladybug. Adrien chuckled at how cute the kwami seemed and reached a finger out towards her, caressing her chin as Tikki allowed it, humming at the gentle feel of a rub.

"You're so adorable, how can Marinette have such a cute kwami as you when she's already cute enough?" Adrien teased, blushing slightly as he thought of what he just said about Marinette.

The ladybug kwami giggled as she saw the tinted colour on the blonde's cheeks. "Did you think she was cute before you knew?"

It was a good question, had he always found her cute? Before he found out, his love was only for Ladybug but he had to admit that their first amusing moment together out in the rain was awfully cute. At the time however, he found her as a new friend he could spend some time with to get to know. He couldn't help but agree with Tikki on this one.

"Well I guess you got me there on that one." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck.

Then not long later, Marinette came back upstairs with some food for Adrien, she let him eat in peace by going back downstairs and helping her parents out around the kitchen. A little while later, Marinette came back upstairs with some extra pillows for Adrien, she wasn't sure exactly where he would sleep, but she knew he wasn't going to be sleeping on the ground, and neither was she.

Even though they knew they loved each other, they were still trying to grasp the reality of it, so there was no way the two of them could sleep in the same bed so soon. Luckily she remembered she had another sort of bed in her room that Adrien could sleep on, but it was smaller than her own bed so she worried if it would be too uncomfortable for him, she laid out some sheets on it anyway and then turned to a hunger satisfied teen.

"Your parents make a great meal." He complimented, smiling at her.

Marinette giggled nervously, before she rubbed the back of her neck nervously and gestured to her setup. "Is this too small for you?" She asked.

Adrien walked up to the bed and examined it, compared to his own it was definitely smaller and looked more like a combination of both a sofa and a bed, which made Adrien smirk in amusement before he shook his head. "It is a little small..." He admitted, not wanting to let Marinette down. "But don't worry I think it'll do, I don't mind my feet hanging off, it's no big deal." He assured, resting a hand on her shoulder.

"Well...if you say so." Marinette replied, her cheeks heating up from his touch.

The blonde teen smiled in response before he yawned with a hand covering his mouth. "I think it's time we go to sleep. Today has been a really long day...and we have school tomorrow." He reminded, sighing in frustration at the thought of school.

Marinette knew exactly what he was thinking, how were they going to make this work without anyone else noticing. Without his miraculous, Adrien couldn't hide out as Cat Noir and do patrols around Paris. They knew that without his miraculous there were very limited things Adrien could do to hide from Marinette's parents.

They knew that lying to her parents wasn't a good thing, but what choice did they have? Adrien literally had nowhere else to go. There was no way he was going back home after all he had been through today, as much as he wanted to go back there and beat the hell out of his father, he couldn't because he knew he couldn't without Ladybug's help, aside from the fact that she said they need each other, Adrien still felt powerless compared to Ladybug. He didn't have much to fight with.

All he had were his fencing and karate lessons, but he had dropped out of karate a while ago because it was taking up too much of his time. But Adrien knew that his father didn't swordfight or kick and punch, he didn't have an idea on his own father's fighting style because it seemed like he didn't have one at all.

It was then that he realised that his father had much more power over him now even more than he did before. Since he was Hawkmoth and they both knew who each other were, there was no doubt he was going to be on the lookout for his son.

He started to think of how he could go to school in this condition, Marinette thought the same. She worried herself more to think that Adrien didn't have much defence without her, despite her advice to him earlier, he had more of an advantage if he had his miraculous, and then it stung his heart even more when he remembered where his miraculous was, it made his heart beat quicken in a sudden panic.

"Marinette...what if my father's already started using my miraculous...?" He asked nervously, sitting on what they both called his bed as he wrapped his arms around his chest.

Marinette sat on the bed with him, she sat an inch closer to him than she did before, leaving almost nothing less than a finger between their thighs. She knew Hawkmoth had possession of Adrien's miraculous, but she remembered distinctly that Hawkmoth wasn't going to use it until he had the full balance of good luck and bad luck.

It made her thoughts sadden as she thought of the irony in how Adrien possessed bad luck in this very moment in spite of not having his miraculous anymore.

"I don't think he has. "She responded in assurance. "I remember him saying he needs my miraculous too to have the balance right." She explained, her hand resting on Adrien's shoulder.

Adrien looked up at the serious yet adoring Marinette, he couldn't help but loved the way she looked, even though she was holding a sincere and serious expression, he still found her loving and adorable. It made him smile and gaze into her eyes.

"You're really adorable Marinette, have I told you that recently?" He asked almost suggestively, his mood lifted by Marinette's words.

The navy haired teen blushed at the thought before moving away from him slightly in shyness, feeling embarrassment and her nervous side kick in, she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was letting his Cat Noir identity seep through his real one around her, she hoped it would only be around her and no one else.

"N-no..." She muttered, before looking back on all the times she was with him when they were in their superhero forms. "And I don't think you told me at Cat Noir either." She added.

"Oh." Adrien replied, a little dumbfounded he hadn't told her that before. "Oh well, better late than ever." He stated with a shrug as he relaxed his muscles.

Marinette giggled in reply before she got off her bed and proceeded to get ready for bed, Adrien looked away in a respectful manner, even though Marinette still found it extremely embarrassing to be getting changed right in front of him even though he wasn't looking at all.

It wasn't long later that both of them were in their beds with the trap door locked for the night and only Marinette's lamp was turned on. Tikki was tucked next to Marinette's pillow ready to fall asleep, meanwhile Marinette stayed sitting up in her bed talking with Adrien.

"You know...I've never had this sort of thing happen before." She admitted, biting her lip a little.

Adrien rested his body weight in one arm as he scratched the back of his neck a little. "I know, I've never been allowed to sleep at anyone else's house before." He exclaimed, blushing slightly as he realised his first sleepover away from home was with the love of his life.

Marinette hummed and nodded in agreement, but she was also stating another fact. "That, and the fact that I don't know how long you're staying with me."

Those words caused an eerie silence to echo around Adrien as his now positive expression began to deepen down into the negative area, his lips moulding into a frown and his eyebrows lowered as he hung his head down low, intertwining his fingers together.

It didn't take long for Marinette to realise what she just said, she shook her head in guilt before she crawled over to the edge of her bed to get a clearer shot of Adrien from upstairs. "I'm sorry Adrien, but I know that together we can fix all of this."

All she heard was a long sad sigh before he looked up at Marinette. "You're right, let's just work things out here first then we'll get there. But we can't take too long, who knows what my father could be up to next." He explained, deep worry pitting down to his gut.

"Just try not to think about it too much." She added, wanting Adrien to have a peaceful sleep.

Adrien hummed and nodded with a small smile in response before he wriggled himself into the soft sheets and made himself comfortable. It wasn't long later that he felt his eyelids weigh down on him and close for the night. With all the strength he could, he called out to Marinette.

"Good night, Marinette."

"Good night to you too, Adrien."

Marinette slowly made her way back into her bed, she stared at the ceiling for a full minute as she took in the whole reality of what was going on in that very moment.

Adrien was in her room, sleeping in her room. Adrien Agreste, who after so long was revealed to be Ladybug's loyal friend and heroic partner Cat Noir was sleeping in her room. It was nothing like she dreamed of; her dreams were of the two of them cuddling on a big queen sized bed with the pillows custom made by her. As she flicked the last light switch off, she turned to her side with a hand resting under her head as she stared off into the almost blackness across her room in thought.

At the start of the day she was woken up by Alya, now she was going to bed with the love of her life sleeping in her room. So much had happened today, and she feared that tomorrow at school might make things turn bad for the worst. She didn't want that to happen, and she simply didn't want to think about it now. So she took deep breaths to relax herself, and then eventually she dozed off to sleep.

As the next day arrived, so did the stresses of a new day. It started off with a bang, or more of a knock as Marinette's father Tom was calling for her. This startled both teens awake and caused Adrien to panic and hide under the sheets he was sleeping in while Marinette almost collapsed rushing down the stairs to her trap door.

"Sorry, I forgot it's my turn to help set up shop." Marinette called out sheepishly, before unlocking the latch to allow his father to open it.

As soon as the latch was free, the door came wide open within a second; a mildly crossed and confused father was looking right at her. "Marinette, since when do you lock your door. You can trust us, can't you?" He asked in a sincere tone, worried that his daughter would have some trust issues.

Marinette bit her lips the instant he said that, she quickly turned her head to where Adrien was hiding, she started to think of whether to tell her parents or not, but decided to cover it up with a lie.

"Um, who knows? Maybe a robber could come in?" She implied, shining and guilty grin before she laughed nervously.

So Tom let his daughter get ready and join him downstairs to help him set up the bakery for the day, all she had to do was put some signs up and clean the front counter right before some customers started to pour in. This took all of half an hour before she raced back upstairs to see Adrien putting his shoes on with Tikki floating near his side, Marinette raised an eyebrow in suspicion as her kwami giggled at her.

"What are you giggling about?" Marinette questioned her kwami, pressing her lips firmly together into a pout as her hands rested against her hips.

Tikki continued to giggle before Adrien looked up at her, feeling amused himself at what Tikki told him before Marinette walked in. This frustrated and confused Marinette even more as she growled in impatience with no response.

"Don't worry about it Marinette, it's nothing to worry about." Adrien assured, snickering at the end as he looked back at the kwami.

"What? Tell me!" Marinette demanded, putting her foot down in frustration.

After another interval of laughing, Adrien found it unfair to frustrate Marinette this way. So he came clean. "Tikki was just telling me how much of a clumsy girl you were whenever you were around me." He explained, before realising something else. "Oh, and you used to not make sense around me much. Up until we became friends we talked like normal people.

Marinette hummed in agreement, but she didn't like those first few days where she thought Adrien was a part of a prank with Chloe, but now she knew that they were only just friends, and now that Marinette knew who he really liked, she could definitely see that Chloe's relationship with Adrien was mostly one sided.

And then, this made her gasp in sudden panic as she realised that they both had to be at school, but it was impossible for them to not make a scene in front of their friends if they're seen walking together like this. But then again, why was it like that? Were he and she finally dating after so long? Marinette wondered.

She knew he hadn't officially asked her out since all of this happened, she knew he wanted to ask her on that night, but she had to turn him down because her miraculous was running out of time and because at the time she thought she loved a completely different person. But now since they both know it was mutual; all along, does that make them dating?

Marinette wanted to clarify with Adrien first, even if he was or wasn't they still couldn't be seen together without millions of questions being asked she had to know just to be sure.

"Hey...A-Adrien..." She stuttered, her nervousness taking over the moment she approached him,

Adrien greeted her with a warming smile. "Good morning Marinette, did you sleep well?" he asked, gently touching both hands with hers.

The navy haired teen nodded, but then an incredibly serious and worried expression was printed all over her face. "I need to take you somewhere so that no one would suspect you came from here." She started to explain, hoping that her idea would actually work.

Adrien liked the idea, it didn't draw attention, and just like Marinette he was unsure as to whether he and she were a couple by now in spite of no one asking.

So as the next hour arrived, Marinette quickly transformed into ladybug and swung from building to building with Adrien hanging by her shoulder. Eventually she landed a good distance away from the school hidden in an alleyway where she let go of Adrien and prepared to leave before Adrien touched her shoulder, prompting her to stay a little while longer.

"Ladybug-Marinette...what should I call you?" He began to say, before he grew confused with which name to call her now.

"Call me Ladybug when I'm Ladybug, for the sake of my secret identity." She answered in a serious tone, before raising an eyebrow as to why Adrien didn't let her leave straight away.

"Oh...okay." He replied, looking down for a short moment before looking back up at her with his lips parted slightly.

Ladybug grew confused, she had to leave so she could make her way back home and meet up with Alya just outside her house, because knowing after what happened the day before it wouldn't be a surprise to see her best friend waiting for her outside the bakery.

"What is it Adrien? Is something wrong-"

Before Ladybug could even finish her sentence, her lips were locked with a kiss. Her eyes widened as the sudden rush of warm blood gushed through her body, her lips softening and moistening from the touch of Adrien's against hers. Her heart melted as she slowly closed her eyes while Adrien pulled her in for a more deeper and passionate kiss.

Ladybug grabbed the back of his head as she moaned softly while they kissed, Adrien's arms were wrapped around her slim body before he slowly pulled away, feeling the lip gloss from Ladybug's on his own lips. He licked them subtly with a gentle warm smile.

"That's to confirm that we are together." He declared, smiling at Ladybug who had cheeks as red as her own mask.

"Oh...uh right." She replied nervously, before giving him a quick wave and then swinging away with her yoyo.

Adrien looked up at her with an adoring smile, he sighed as his eyes followed her every move. He was head over heels in love with her and he didn't know how he was going to hide it away when he was around Marinette. It was going to take a lot of holding back, and he was already holding back on all the negativity he received from yesterday.

Today was going to be a challenge for both of them.

Okay I think I fell asleep halfway through that...lol jk. XD But if some of this chapter doesn't make sense it's because I was growing tired, but near the end I managed to wake myself up a little but to bust out a little but more of this Chapter. However if some of it doesn't make sense please don't hesitate to tell me. ^^

So Adrien sealed it with a kiss, what's going to happen at school then? Find out in the next Chapter on more likely Sunday! :D