Hello again. I won't be able to update this weekend because I'll be at Intercon P, so I'll try to update the Monday after.

Paris at Night:

Alex sits on the roof of one of the houses next to the Agreste mansion, looking out for Ladybug. It was only his second night in Paris, but he had to see if his suspicions were correct. As he was hoping, because of how strange it'd be to find someone on the rooftops, Ladybug swings over to him with a questioning look on her face. "Um, sir, are you alright? Why are you up here?"

"I wanted to speak with you, Marinette." He doesn't miss the soft gasp she emits, nor the slight widening of her eyes.

"S-sir, I don't know what you're talking about…" she feebly tries to deny it, but he shakes his head.

"Marinette, do not lie to me. When I was sitting in your class, I recognized your earrings as the same ones as Ladybug wears." He looks up at her and smiles kindly. "I was hoping I'd find Ladybug while I was in Paris. How lucky I was to find her in my cousin's classroom."

Marinette bites her lip and looks at him with unsteady eyes. "What do you want from me?"

Alex sighs and stares at the earrings. "How is Tikki?"

"Tikki? But how do you-" She de-transforms, and the moment she does, Tikki practically launches herself into Alex's body.

"Alex! It really is you!" Tikki affectionately rubs her head against his, smiling happily. "And thank you for asking, Alex, I'm doing well. How have you been in London? Is it peaceful?"

He nods and smiles. "Yeah, it's been peaceful, though a little boring. Life is nice, but I miss being Ladybug sometimes."

Marinette gasps as she watches Alex and Tikki play catch up. "You were a Ladybug?"

"Yes. In London, we had our own Hawkmoth, and I became Ladybug while some girl became Chat Noir. Your earrings were my cufflinks. Tikki was a wonderful companion for the three years that I was Ladybug." Alex smiles fondly at the little kwami, who nuzzles herself into the pocket of his jacket.

"Chocolate chip cookies! You still carry these around?" Tikki happily munches on one.

Alex chuckles a bit. "Yeah, it's force of habit, I suppose. Even after you left, I just got so used to carrying around cookies and things like that in my pockets that I ended up continuing to do that." He tilts his head up at Marinette. "I have been keeping tabs on you and your Chat. How have you been faring as Ladybug?"

Marinette sits down next to him, watching Tikki eat away at the cookie. "It's taken some adjustment, but I think I've gotten the hang of things. I think the hardest thing is just hiding my identity from everyone-you're the only one who seems to have figured it out."

"Ah, but you have to remember, I was a Ladybug myself. Not to mention that as Ladybug, I had tried my hardest to figure out who my Chat Noir was."

"Um, Alex….did you and your Chat ever reveal your civilian identities to each other?"

Alex freezes up a bit, and Tikki looks up at him with concern, rubbing his arm a bit. "Alex...are you alright?"

"Ah...yeah….I'm fine...and no...Chat and I never ended up revealing our identities to each other, even after we defeated our Hawkmoth...she felt it was for the best…"

Marinette looks at him with wide eyes. "Oh….I'm so sorry...did...did you love her?"

There's a long pause of silence before he finally answers. "Yes...I loved her then and I still do...sometimes I wish I tried harder to change her mind...but I know that it wouldn't have done any good. I wonder though if she ever thinks of me, though…"

Marinette thinks it over a bit before speaking again. "Alex...my Chat….he keeps saying how he loves me and wishes to know who I am under the mask. Should...should I let him?"

He shakes his head. "Just because that's what I wanted from my Chat doesn't mean you should do the same thing. Don't force yourself to do something you're not comfortable with. If you're not ready to show Chat your civilian identity, he will respect that. If he truly does care for you in the ways he says he does, then he'll wait until you're ready. Even if it ends up like where I am now, where I'll be waiting forever just to never find out who she was, and who I'm still in love with."

"...I'm sorry."

"Don't be. There's nothing you or I could have done about it"

The Morning After:

While speaking with a distracted Marinette, Terese puts away the pad of paper and pen she had used to sketch in while her cousin completed her lessons. As she reaches into her bag, she smiles wistfully at the small package of Camembert cheese that she had in there. Even though she no longer had Plagg with her, his tastes rubbed off on her, and she would eat some every once and awhile, still carrying the whole package out of old habits.

The presence of the cheese did not go unnoticed by Plagg, and as soon as she turned away from her bag, he dove in, happily unwrapping the delightful Camembert.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't realize that Terese had already shut her bag, and was walking off with Alya and Marinette. "Oh, go on without me. I think I left my phone behind in the classroom."

Plagg waits patiently in the bag, waiting for his moment to slip out, but as soon as the bag opens, he sees a familiar face. "Plagg! What are you doing in my bag?" Terese beams at him and pulls him out, along with the package of Camembert.

"I'll see you later, Nino! I think I left something behind in the classroom!" Adrien races the the corridors, searching for Plagg frantically. Where on Earth could you have managed to escape to now?

To his shock, when he turns into the doorway of his classroom, his eyes fall upon the scene of Plagg happily swallowing an entire package of Camembert before floating onto Terese's shoulder. When Plagg spots Adrien, he floats over happily. "Plagg?! What are you doing? You're not supposed to reveal yourself to anyone-you know that!"

Plagg waves him off dismissively, and Terese smiles at him. "Adrien, there's no need to worry. Your secret is safe with me. I was the Chat Noir before you. I know how to keep identities secret."

"W-what? You were the previous Chat Noir?"

"Yes, I was. That ring you're wearing-that was my Miraculous as well. With Plagg, I was Chat Noir of London, and I fought with my Ladybug to defeat our Hawkmoth. Those were some lovely times. Are you faring well as Chat Noir?" Terese sits on top of one of the desks and gently strokes Plagg's head.

Adrien nods, processing everything that had just been presented to him. "Yeah...it took a while, but I know what I'm doing now. I think the most difficult part is dealing with Plagg."

Terese laughs a bit as Plagg huffs from where he's lying on her knee. "Yes, Plagg is very special. But I'm glad he was by my side those three years when I was Chat Noir."

The time passes quickly as Terese answers his questions about her time as Chat Noir, and Adrien finally manages to ask the question that had been tugging at the back of his mind the entire conversation. "Terese...did you and Ladybug ever end up getting into a relationship together?"

The moment he finished his question, he knew he hit a sore spot. "...no….my Ladybug and I never got into a relationship...despite the fact that he really did...I know he wanted to, and he wanted to know who I was under the mask...but I couldn't get myself to tell him. I didn't want to disappoint him by showing him the ordinary, plain, disappointing girl I actually am. He loved me as Chat Noir. And I'm hoping that he found someone else-someone who loves him as much as he does, and someone he won't be disappointed in."

"I don't think he'd be disappointed at all, Terese. I think he'd be thrilled to finally know who you are. If he really loves you, he'll love all of you. With or without the mask."

Terese purses her lips and sighs. "I don't know. The past is the past. I can't change what happened back then, I can't change the fact that I refused to show him who I was, even after Hawkmoth was gone." She looks up at him with a rueful smile. "Let me guess, you love Ladybug?"

"You could tell?" Adrien's eyes widen.

"I could tell that you wanted to ask that question for quite some time after we started this conversation. I'm going to guess that you and Ladybug have the same situation my Ladybug and I had, except with swapped roles?"

Adrien nods. "Yes...that's about right."

She sighs. "That's what I thought. My advice to you? Just give her space. Forcing her is going to do no good, and when she feels that she trusts you enough, she'll reveal herself to you. There's no way to rush it, there's no way to make things any easier. It's hard allowing yourself to be vulnerable to another person."

"I guess so…" Adrien absentmindedly rubs his arm as Plagg straightens out his hair a bit on his head. "Can I get your honest opinion? Do you think I have a shot with Ladybug? A real chance?"

Terese simply smiles and shrugs. "For sure? I can't say. But you're a charming boy who has good looks. I'd imagine you have a strong chance of winning her over some day. After all, you show that you care a lot about her, enough to respect her wishes of keeping her civilian identity a secret, and you're willing to wait for her-I'd say that alone gives you a good shot.

The bell rings, and Terese walks over to the seat at Marinette's desk. "Good luck, Adrien. I send my best wishes for you and your Ladybug."

Alright, that's what I've got for now, and I'll see you all hopefully on Monday.

À plus tard, readers.