"Tikki would say this is a terrible idea and taking far too many risks."

"So I shouldn't do it, then?"

"Are you kidding? This is going to be *hilarious*, kid! Go for it!"

Ladybug eyed the nondescript bag Adrien was holding as she set him down on the rooftop. "Picnic midnight snack?"

"Nope! My brilliant idea for a truly romantic date. I know you're sad that we can't go do cheesy romantic couple things around Paris together in public, but I have a plan! One glorious day of eating ice cream and wandering parks and riding rickshaws, and whatever else strikes your fancy."

Ladybug looked intrigued but dubious. "And... it's in this bag?"

"Yep!" Adrien beamed, reached into the bag, and handed Ladybug a bulky bundle packaged in clear plastic. Ladybug stared.

"Is this... a Ladybug costume?"

"Yep! An ordinary, machine-made, off-the-shelf Ladybug costume just like the ones hundreds of your fans will be wandering around Paris in on Halloween! Wear it over your Ladybug suit, and nobody will take a second glance. And see?" He pulled out another package. "I can be Chat Noir! We'll match!"

Ladybug stared at her package, then Adrien's face, then his package,
then back at his face again. "I honestly can't tell if this is brilliant or utterly ridiculous."

"Probably both", said Adrien cheerfully. "Is it a date?"

Marinette looked at the outfit spread out on her bed. It was recognizably a Ladybug costume, all right, but not a high-end one. The legs ended in black elastic cuffs at the ankles, presumably to allow the wearer proper shoes; the mask had an obvious black ribbon attached; the zipper seam in the back was quite prominent and slightly crooked; and the spots were appliqued on in a not-quite-matching fabric with black machine-embroidered edges. In short, it was a costume no one would ever expect Marinette to wear, let alone Ladybug.

It was perfect.

Tikki was hovering next to Marinette with a worried expression. "Marinette, are you sure about this? It seems so risky. Particularly for Adrien. And you already see him all the time, both as Marinette *and* Ladybug!"

"It was his idea, Tikki. He knows the risks. And... he wants to have a real date with me, Tikki! Romantic walks along the Seine! Sweethearts ice cream with Andre! When am I ever going to have another opportunity like this?" She twirled, her face dreamy. "An actual romantic date with Adrien, during the day, without having to hide! We never get do do that, Tikki. And we won't, until Hawk Moth is defeated. That could be *ages*!"

Tikki sighed. "I can tell you're determined. And I want you to have a wonderful day. Just be careful, Marinette!"

"Yes, Tikki, I will be careful. Just like I said the last hundred times you said that..." Marinette rolled her eyes.

Tikki gave a tinkling laugh. "I'm sorry, Marinette. I just worry, because I care about you, and Hawk Moth is much too clever. But you know I like Adrien, right? The two of you are so good together. You deserve some time to be happy."

Marinette looked at Tikki with a surprised smile. "Thanks, Tikki!" She leaned her cheek into Tikki in their equivalent of a hug.

"So what are you going to do if you run into someone who recognizes Adrien?"

"Pretend to be Marinette, of course!"

Tikki's eyes widened in alarm. "You can't, Marinette! The masks are magic- that's why Adrien hasn't recognized you by now- but there are limits. And anyone who recognizes Adrien might recognize you, on top of giving your identity away to him."

Marinette sighed. "I wish I *could* tell him, Tikki. I'm afraid that he'll be disappointed and angry when he does find out, but the deception is so hard. I guess we'll just have to be extra-careful to avoid everyone."

Tikki flew up to give her a miniature hug. "I know it's hard. But with Hawk Moth potentially so close to him, we can't risk it. It won't be forever. I promise."

"Hello, bugaboo!"

Ladybug jumped and spun around. "Chat? What are you doing... " Her voice trailed off as she realized that the black mask around the brilliant green eyes was obviously made of felt, the perky black ears on the bright gold hair had pink linings and fake fur tufts on top, and the giant bell was hung on a ribbon collar. "Adrien!"

"Gotcha!" He grinned. "And you must admit, with this quality of costume, the only way I could pull that off is with your back to me. I hope I didn't startle you too much." He took Ladybug's double-gloved hand in his own black-gloved fingers, a wicked gleam in his eye. "But since I'm *not* Chat, I hope that means I can do *this*." He pulled her close, wiggled his eyebrows at her, and then kissed her; a long, gentle loving kiss that asked nothing and spoke silently of deep affection. Ladybug stiffened briefly slightly in surprise before relaxing into the kiss, reaching out to pull Adrien closer with a murmured "yes".

Eventually, reluctantly, they pulled apart far enough to look at each other. Adrien was gazing at Ladybug with open delight; Ladybug looked happily dazed. "You look beautiful in sunlight, my heart." Adrien hugged her close again, and then stepped back with a bounce in his step. "But we have a whole afternoon to explore, and I promised my lady a grand romantic outing. So- shall we?" He grinned widely and held out his hand with a Chat Noir-style sweeping bow.

Ladybug blinked at him, her cheeks pink. "Buh? Uh. Er. Um. Yes?" She reached out slowly take his hand.

"Chat got your tongue, I see! Well, since I'm the cat today, I certainly can't complain." He smirked, but it rapidly melted into a simple, happy grin as he looped his arm into hers and led them both away.

The streets were starting to fill with costumed passers-by, on their way to parties and candy-collecting. Ladybug and Chat Noir were, unsurprisingly, popular choices, and for once the two of them blended invisibly into the crowd. "I blame you, my heart, for showing me how much fun it is to go out in disguise," Adrien murmured in Ladybug's ear. "I've been doing it when I can since you got me that ridiculous hoodie, and it's wonderful. I don't get interrupted by random strangers trying to take pictures of me every few blocks."

He led Ladybug to a rickshaw parked a few blocks away and nodded to the driver, who was clearly expecting them. Inside, Ladybug discovered a small bouquet of roses and baby's breath on the seat waiting for her. "Are these for me?" she asked in surprise as the rickshaw started to roll off to its apparently predetermined destination.

"Yep!" said Adrien cheerfully. "All yours. I wanted to get forget-me-nots, because roses are, after all, pretty cliche, but it turns out they don't actually put those in bouquets. So, red roses for my Ladybug it was."

Ladybug lifted the bouquet to her nose to smell the flowers and then tilted it up curiously as something rattled against her hand. "A... key?" she asked, fingering the silver charm on the red ribbon wrapping the base of the bouquet.

Adrien blushed, reached into his pocket, and pulled out a small silver heart-shaped lock to show her. "The key to my heart. Um. I figured, I shouldn't get you jewelry, because you can't wear it without giving something away. And I shouldn't get you something big and recognizable, just in case I know you and I see it. But I wanted to get you *something* special, so... I thought this might be easy to hide but important enough to mean something."

Ladybug looked at the key, then looked back up at Adrien. Her eyes filled with tears, and Adrien suddenly looked very worried.

"Um... you don't have to keep it if you don't want to, I hope it wasn't..." His stammering apology was interrupted by a giant, tight hug from Ladybug.

When she finally let go, her eyes were still damp but she was smiling. "Of *course* I want to keep it, silly. This is just one of the sweetest things anyone has ever done for me." She hugged him again. "Thank you. Um... will the flowers fall apart without the ribbon?"

"No, there's wire underneath." His smile returned, wider this time, as he watched Ladybug untie the ribbon from the flowers and retie it around her neck, so the key hung under her chin. She tucked it under her spandex neckline and smiled.

"There. It should be safe and sound even if I get into a fight, at least until I can get it home."

Adrien tilted his head and looked at her, glanced at the rickshaw driver, and leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "So... what *does* happen to anything you put on over your suit if you detransform?"

Ladybug giggled and whispered back. "No idea. Tikki just rolled her eyes at me and said I wouldn't lose it, but she was grumpy enough about my taking risks that I don't know if she wouldn't tell me or didn't know."

"Well then. Guess we'll find out!" He grinned at her and leaned back, arms behind his head, smiling as though the whole world was perfect.

The rickshaw dropped them off along the river, where Andre's ice cream cart was set up on the embankment despite the cooling weather. "Oh, my sweet little lovebirds! This is your first time together here, is it not? And in matching costumes, no less!" Adrien and Ladybug smiled shyly at each other, squeezing their clasped hands. "Hmmm... for you, I think chocolate and raspberry and a special surprise, a perfect combination so that love never dies!"

"A surprise, huh? I wonder what it is," commented Adrien as they wandered over to a nearby bench. "Good thing neither of us has food allergies."

Ladybug shyly offered him a spoonful of the mystery flavor, then tried some herself. "Hmmm... caramel, I think? Good combination with the other two."

"As good a combination as we are?" asked Adrien with a grin and a bit of Chat Noir flair.

Ladybug rolled her eyes, blushed, and leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek. "No such thing." Adrien grinned even more. There was a small gagging noise, and Adrien started coughing.

"Sorry, ice cream went down the wrong way." He smiled at Ladybug, his elbow jabbing sharply into the small bag at his waist. The groaning noise it made was almost inaudible.

At their next stop, Adrien paused on the shore of the lake to point. "The Romantic Temple! I... er... ok, I admit, I found it on the internet, but it sounded really cool. And I wanted to take you somewhere as beautiful as you were."

Ladybug looked at him sideways. "Did you practice that line?"

Adrien rubbed his hair behind the cheap cat ears, looking sheepish. "Well... yes."

"You're adorable." She leaned over to kiss his cheek, just under the silly mask.

"It's also supposed to not be very busy, and I thought it would be nice to go somewhere where we could spend some time without there being too many people around."

He led Ladybug down to a dock where a rowboat awaited them and politely handed her down onto one of the seats before sitting down himself and taking the oars. A great deal of splashing ensued. The boat moved. A little bit. Sideways.

"...Adrien, do you actually know how to row?" Ladybug was grinning.

"Er... well... no." Adrien looked sheepish but grinned cheerfully. "I thought it would be easy! Oars go in the water, boat moves, right?"

Ladybug giggled, then looked around to see if anyone was watching. "Pick up the oars and pretend to row." Adrien looked at her in confusion as she pulled out her yoyo, looked around again, and sent it spinning across the water to anchor itself around one of the natural stone pillars across the water. She grinned at Adrien, put a finger to her lips, and started slowly pulling the boat across the lake. Progress was smooth for the remainder of the trip, except for the brief pauses when the two of them caught each other's eyes and burst out laughing.

On the other side, Adrien ducked into the shadows in the back of a peaceful natural-looking grotto. "Aha! Good. Nobody found it." He came back bearing a grin and a large picnic basket. "Dinner! Nothing too fancy, I'm afraid, but it's all stuff that should taste good cold."

In the cooling late afternoon air, under trees whose leaves were starting to become winter-sparse, they had no competition for the little faux-ruin temple. Crumbs lay scattered and forgotten in the blue quilted blanket that had turned from picnic spot to cozy wrap as the two costumed lovers leaned on each other peacefully and watched the fading sunlight cover Paris in gold.

"I think this may have been the best day of my life," Adrien said eventually, breaking the comfortable silence.

Ladybug sighed happily. "Me too. And... thank you, for thinking of this. I never expected us to get to have a day quite so ordinary. It was... wonderful."

They smiled into each other's eyes and leaned in for a kiss.

*BOOM*

The noise echoed across the lake, followed moments later by the sound of sirens in the distance and a rising cloud. Ladybug sighed. "That's my cue, I think..."

Adrien sighed and kissed her nose one last time before clambering to his feet and offering her a hand up. "I'll get cleaned up here and head home. We were about out of time anyway. You can call me later tonight, after you're done with the akuma. If you need to redo your transformation, the grottos down below looked pretty secluded." Then he grinned. "Hang on a moment! Don't want to forget this..." He gently removed the cheap fabric mask from her face and handed it to her.

Ladybug grinned back and started down the hill, but paused at the edge of the little temple. "I just wanted to say... I love you, Adrien. And thank you."

"I love you too." Adrien smiled after her and then bundled the picnic things together as fast as he could and hid them in a nearby bush. "Plagg, we need to get going as soon as she won't see us. How're you doing?"

Plagg popped his head out of the little bag at Adrien's hip. "I'm practically dying in here! You've been smothering me in sugary syrup all day! I need cheeeeese before I faint from the overwhelming sweetness!"

"I gave you plenty of camembert with dinner. And I even gave you that cheesy popcorn you asked for so you'd have something to nibble on and stay quiet. You can have more cheese later!" He watched a red figure zip away across the lake. "Right, time to get to work. Plagg, claws out!"

Chat Noir landed next to Ladybug on the roof and surveyed the scene. The park before them was crowded with open graves and walking skeletons, and a figure in a tattered black hooded robe floated above the bony crowd, waving a scythe and glowing with eerie purple light. As the scythe swung, spinning crescents of silver light flew off in all directions. Where the light struck, open graves opened beneath the feet of screaming passers-by, who fell in only to climb back out in a new and ghastly form. Trees withered into sticks, and buildings crumbled into ruined piles. Ladybug was frowning at the view.

"Is it just me, or is this a bit... grim, for Hawk Moth? I know it's Halloween, but usually his villians are a lot more, well, cheerful."

"Well, it is the *grim* reaper, milady." Chat Noir's tone was light, but he too looked disturbed as he took in the necromantic gathering below. "I guess he's just *dying* to meet us?"

Ladybug rolled her eyes, but the jokes seemed to have helped put her back in her usual fighting mode. "Right. Well, we've fought mummies and knights, so I suppose skeletons aren't *that* different. Can you keep the small ones off of me, while I try and spot the akuma?"

Chat Noir bowed flamboyantly. "Your wish is my command." Stick spinning over his head, he leaped off into the middle of the crowd and started to take down the small army three bony figures at a time. As the cowled figure turned to investigate the disruption, Ladybug swung down into a tree to get a better view, muttering to herself.

"Hmmm... I can't imagine the scythe is an original... wait, what's that on its hand?" One hand of the looming monster was bare, while the other was wrapped in what looked like purple bandages. Before she could see anything more, the black-robed figure turned towards her, candle-flame eyes glowing in its skull-like face, and swung its scythe in her direction. Ladybug somersaulted away to new cover just in time as the tree she'd been hiding in exploded into dust.

"I am Little Death! I shall bring the terror of the grave to all of Paris, and raise all people again in my service! Ladybug and Chat Noir, you cannot hope to defeat me. Army of the undying, take their miraculous!" the figure boomed.

"Yeah, I'm afraid I've got a bone to pick with that idea", called Chat Noir in a cocky voice, as hundreds of skulls turned to face him and the pressure of combat around him increased. "How's it going, Ladybug? I wouldn't say I'm in *grave* danger just yet, but I wouldn't complain about a hand!"

"Look at *his* hand, Chat Noir!" Ladybug yelled as she ran towards her necromantic opponent. "I think the akuma is in there!" With a giant leap, she reached out to grab the creature's arm, but was intercepted by a backhanded swing of the shaft of the scythe and flung across the park before she reached it. She barely jumped away before a deep grave opened where she had just been standing. Around her, a circle of skeletons advanced, arms outstretched.

"Lucky charm!"

Ladybug looked down at the heavy red and black spotted object she held. "A... blanket? What do I do with this?" She quickly glanced around the battlefield looking for clues. "Aha! Not too complicated this time... Chat Noir! Be ready to destroy the scythe!"

"Understood, milady!"

Clutching fingers just missed Ladybug's feet as she swung herself upwards to the roof of an adjacent five-story block of flats. With a complex flick of her yoyo, she soared out again into the air over the park, dropping the spotted blanket so that it draped itself completely over the hooded figure. In a blink, Ladybug dropped down herself, wrapping the now-blinded monster in her yoyo strings so it was mostly immobilized.

Chat Noir needed no cues; he was already racing towards them, running along the bony skulls of the skeletal crowd as though they were cobblestones as he invoked his Cataclysm. A leap and a swipe later, the scythe crumbled into black dust and Chat Noir landed in a smooth crouch, purple cloth fluttering in his clawed hand. Ladybug jumped down to join him, grabbing the other end of the cloth to tear it in two and release the fluttering black butterfly.

When the akuma had been cleansed and Miraculous Ladybug had restored the world to normal, the confused person lying at Ladybug and Chat Noir's feet turned out to be a boy of no more than twelve; his akumatized wrappings a nondescript band of black cloth. Ladybug helped him to his feet and handed him the cloth. "You're safe now. What happened?"

"My brother's friends said they were going to take me to a party, but it was a secret, so they blindfolded me." He looked down at the cloth in his hands. "But... when we stopped moving, they left me alone and ran away. And when I took the blindfold off, I was in the catacombs and there were bones everywhere..." He shuddered. "I was scared! And the next thing I knew I was here. Did you rescue me, Ladybug?" He looked at her with hopeful brown eyes.

Ladybug smiled. "I helped. But these nice police officers can get you back to your family and give your brother a talking-to to pass along to his friends." She handed off the confused boy to the swarming emergency workers, and turned to Chat Noir as her earring gave its first beeped warning.

"It's time to go, but I think it may be time to remind the mayor about that anti-bullying campaign. You'd think after the past few months kids would know better than to play mean practical jokes like that!"

Chat Noir nodded. "It's not Chloe this time, so maybe he'll be more willing to listen." He looked over at his partner as his ring beeped. "This cat is about to turn into a pumpkin- but are you all right, milady? That was not quite our usual cheerful epic battle."

Ladybug nodded with a wry smile. "And I was having such a good day before this, too! I won't let Hawk Moth's bad mood spoil it. Take care of yourself too, Chat. Bug out!" She gave a little wave and leapt into the night sky. Chat looked after her until she was out of sight, sighed, and then took to the rooftops himself.

Late that night, Adrien leaned on a pillar of the little Romantic Temple, gazing up at the stars as he fingered the small silver lock in his hand.

"Ugh. Come *on*, kid, are you done staring at nothing yet?" Plagg whined, hovering nearby. "I'm bored! I thought we were just going to come and rescue any abandoned cheese, and now you've been making sappy faces at the sky for *ages*. I want to go home! It's warm, and my camembert is waiting."

Adrien smiled, not moving. "Just give me a minute, Plagg."

Plagg rolled his eyes. "That's what you said last time. What are you doing, anyway?"

Adrien finally dragged his gaze down from the heavens to give Plagg a half-hearted glare along with his poorly suppressed smile. "I'm trying to capture a little bit of my perfect day again, thank you very much. I want to go to bed thinking about Ladybug, not about walking skeletons. You have no sense of romance whatsoever."

Plagg harumphed. "Romance doesn't get me *cheese*. At least until you start dating girls who will feed me. What's the point?"

Adrien laughed. "All right, all right. I get the hint. Come on, then. Plagg, claws out!"

Marinette lay on her bed, holding the silver key over her head and watching it twist slowly on its red ribbon. "I still can't quite believe he gave this to me. He said it was the key to his heart, Tikki!"

Tikki smiled and gave an enthusiastic midair twirl. "I *told* you you didn't need to worry about him liking you, Marinette!"

"He likes Ladybug..."

Tikki flew up to look sternly into Marinette's eyes. "...and Ladybug is you, you *know* that, Marinette! And haven't you been saying all evening that he planned the perfect day for you?"

Marinette's smile went dreamy. "Yeeahhh."

"He loves *you*, Marinette, not the mask. Even if he doesn't know it yet."

"Do you really think so, Tikki?"

"I know so, Marinette. And you would too, if you weren't so busy worrying about it. Now, put that away and go to sleep, you have school in the morning!"

Marinette reluctantly rolled over, gave the key a gentle kiss, and tucked it carefully into the same lockbox that protected her diary before turning out the light.

After several minutes, Marinette spoke up again, this time in a more serious tone. "Tikki... today's akuma was scarier than usual. Do you think something's wrong with Hawk Moth?"

Tikki made a distressed humming noise. "I hope not, he'd dangerous enough as it is. But... you have to be at least somewhat unstable to become a supervillain mastermind. We should tell Master Wu next time we see him, just in case." She flew over and gave Marinette a reassuring bump on the nose. "But we can't do anything about Hawk Moth right now, and there's no point in making yourself stressed thinking about it. Sleep, Marinette. Sleep..."