It was one thing to arrange a meeting, it was another thing to actually go to it.

Marinette swallowed as she called out to Tikki, "Time to do it, Tikki. Wish me luck!" Tikki smiled and held up a crossed-fingers sign.

"Tikki! Spots on!" Tikki zoomed straight into her earring, the red orbs slowly morphing into a shape of a ladybug's shell. Marinette swept a hand over her blue eyes as a red and black mask magically appeared. Her outfit replaced her usual dress of clothing, and her trusty yo-yo hung at her side.

She took a deep breath, and plunged into the sky.

Meanwhile, Adrien was trying to look his best.

Plagg groaned as Adrien threw another article of clothing on the bed. "Adrien, what's with all of this junk? Just dress like you normally do, you're even pickier about an outfit than the girls in your school," he complained. Adrien shot a glare at his kwami friend. "Can I help that I'm meeting up with Ladybug? The girl I'm in like- love- with?" Plagg stretched. "As far as she knows, she doesn't know you. You're the crazed fanboy that only got an audience because her friend pulled you a favor."

Adrien finally relented and slumped against his wardrobe. "You're right, Plagg, I just don't know what to do. If I went as Cat Noir-" "If you went as Cat Noir," Plagg interrupted, "Ladybug'll ask where you hid Adrien." Adrien let out a small laugh. "You know what? You're right. I'll just be myself- as Adrien." Plagg nodded, then whined, "That's good and all, but I'm dying for some Camembert. Got any?"

Rolling his eyes, Adrien tossed him a packet of Camembert that he so skillfully hid in his desk. "Score!" Plagg leaped up and began to gnaw at the wrapping. "You better eat that fast, 'cause you're taking a shower," warned Adrien.

"WHAT? WHY? You know how much cats hate the water!"

Adrien gave his friend a look. "I am not going to show up to this meeting smelling like stinky cheese."

"But you're not gonna be the one smelling like that, I will."

"Just hurry up and eat, cat."

For once, Ladybug wasn't the one late.

Actually, she had to rephrase that. Marinette was the one that was always late, Ladybug was on time and always ready for a crisis. But this crisis wasn't like one she had to face before.

She practically hopped on the balls of her feet. "Where is he?" she muttered, looking around for Cat- Adrien.

"I'm here!"

Ladybug turned around to see Adrien, puffing and out of breath. "Sorry I'm late, I just… had something to take care of," he said breathlessly. Ladybug took a deep inhale. "So what did you want me for?" she asked. She was extremely surprised that her voice didn't waver.

He frowned. "Huh?"

"Marinette told me that you asked to arrange a meeting with me. What did you need?" Adrien fidgeted a bit. I'm making him fidget- this is going well. "Well, I just… really wanted to meet with you. See, I originally had Cat Noir to show up and meet you, but he had business tonight, so…" he trailed off.

In her mind's eye, something was tugging at her brain. Was it that Adrien smelled a little different? No, that wasn't it. The way he was twisting his ring? His ring.

Ladybug remembered the events of the past few days, about how Adrien had woken up to Nightmare's spell. "I remember you, you woke up when I was fighting Nightmare," she said. Hopefully, she would gain some intel on who Adrien really was.

He nodded. "I'm sorry for that, I don't know how I got there- I was just, uh… passing through when I, you know, passed out." Ladybug snorted at that. "Ha. Anyway, Marinette tells me that you're a pretty good friend," she said, pressing her chances. Adrien's eyebrows raised high. "Really? That's nice to hear."

"A friend of Marinette's is a friend of mine."

Adrien's eyes were gleaming. "Now, that's really nice to hear." Ladybug sighed. "If only Cat Noir was more like you." Adrien's smile disappeared. "Huh?"

"Because, you know, he's all play. I have a feeling that you two know each other very well, isn't that right?" Did he just swallow? "Yeah, we're pretty close buds. We're stuck together like this." He crossed his fingers.

Ladybug gave a little smile. "Well, that's nice to hear too."

Adrien looked away, and Ladybug wished she had something interesting to say.

"Cat Noir. What do you think of him?"

Ladybug blinked. "Sorry, what?" "What do you think of Cat Noir?" said Adrien, a little more urgently. She frowned. "Well, first off, he's a very flirty cat. A kitty that likes to play on more than one occasion." She laughed a bit. Adrien blinked, then laughed as well. "That's him, all right."

She thought for a moment, "But he's also very dependable, and is always there to save my buggy hide whenever I'm screwed for trouble. That's why I love that witty kitty." Adrien's breath caught.

Ladybug swung her yo-yo around a post as she shouted, "Sorry, I got to go. I'll see you around, Adrien," she said, smiling.

Then she was gone, like a phoenix to the embers.

Adrien turned dizzily to Plagg, who was flying in front of his face. "Did you hear that, Plagg? She loves me." Plagg shook his head. "She meant it in a friendly way, Adrien- ugh."

Adrien didn't hear Plagg as he stumbled through the streets, making his way home.

Marinette couldn't sleep.

Even Tikki's nagging couldn't lull her to sleep, and that was saying something. "Tikki, we need to talk."

Tikki flew out of her purse. "What is it, Marinette?" She had a determined expression on her face. "I want to know the true identity of Cat Noir." Tikki looked shocked. "What? But you said that you should never reveal your identity to anybody! Even your teammate! Even if Cat Noir does allow you to see his true self, there's no saying it might be someone who's a complete creep-"

Marinette stopped Tikki. "I know he's not a creep because I think he's… Adrien," she said slowly. Tikki said thoughtfully, "Is it because you found him passed out on the street next to you?" Marinette shook her head. "No… I mean, yes, but not just that. His attitude today kind of reminded me of Cat Noir. Did you hear him? He's friends with Cat Noir. He also called me his bugaboo-"

Tikki stopped her. "Marinette, even as far as you went today, I don't think it's a good idea to dig into this. I mean, Alya's already started this nonsense up, if you start thinking like that your priorities are going to get all mixed up. Remember, your life depends on Paris." Marinette shivered. "Yeah, I know. But if Cat Noir is Adrien-" Tikki sighed. "If he is, then the only way you'll know is if he transforms back into Adrien, both of you willing. Besides, if you end up knowing that he is Adrien, you might be a little less comfortable with Cat Noir the next time you fight an akuma."

Marinette smiled as she scooped Tikki up in her hands. "What did I do to deserve you, Tikki?"

But she still couldn't sleep that night.