Chapter Five: Cheese

During Mr Pigeon, the waiter accidentally brings the plate of camembert to Ladybug instead of Chat Noir. She takes it up to him herself, finding more than she bargained for behind door number 139...

"Your camembert, Mademoiselle."

"Huh...?"

Ladybug turned from the windows to find a waiter in smart livery standing behind her. He carried a silver tray; as she turned, he lifted the cover off it with a flourish, to reveal:

"Ugh-!"

She took an involuntary step back. Whoa, there was no mistaking that smell! It was as if all the cheese-shops in Paris had been crammed under the cloche and left to mature for a few months! She liked cheese as much as the next person, but this was too much - it was seriously ripe!

"Sainte Lacau sur les cruz, 24 months aged," the waiter stated, as if the stench was something to be proud of. "You wanted it runny, mademoiselle?"

Ladybug fought the urge to pinch her nose in disgust; she didn't want to offend, though she was feeling slightly offended herself right now. "I-I don't want it at all," she gasped, trying not to inhale too deeply. "I didn't ask for any..."

In an instant, the immaculate façade of the professional servant underwent a drastic change: his face coloured, his posture went rigid, and he took on a generally more ruffled appearance. "I-I apologize profusely, mademoiselle," he stuttered, clearly embarrassed. "I'm so sorry, w-we're not in the habit of making such mistakes here at the Grand... I was told that I was to take this to the super-hero upstairs-"

"Well, there was a fifty-fifty chance which of us it would be," Ladybug said, a lot more kindly. Now that the shock of the overwhelming odour had worn off, she felt sorry for the poor man - a place as fancy as this probably didn't tolerate too many gaffs of this kind from its employees!

"S-so that means," the waiter went on, "the young gentleman in room 139 is-"

"Yes, he's the one who asked for it."

She remembered now; just before he had gone up in the lift, Chat Noir had requested this cheese specifically. When the mayor had looked askance at her, she had only shrugged; it was only occurred to her a minute later that it must be for his kwami, but she couldn't exactly tell Mr Bourgeoise that anyway. Unless Chat was actually just a cheap-skate, taking the opportunity to feast upon an expensive snack...

"R-right. Sorry again, mademoiselle, I'll take monsieur his order right away."

"Wait!" Ladybug called out, taking a step after the waiter as he began to speed away from her. "I'm take it myself, if you don't mind."

"I wouldn't dream of imposing-"

"No, I'd actually prefer to do it." The man still looked painfully apologetic; she smiled reassuringly at him. "I need to have a tactical discussion with my partner anyway, so it's no trouble at all."

That, and his transformation had probably worn out by now; he wouldn't want to risk someone seeing him out of costume. If anyone was going to accidentally discover who he was, it was far better for it to be her than anyone else - not that she wanted it to come to that!

Having finally prised the waiter away from his burden, she carried the tray through the hotel's hallways, marvelling at the bizarre turns her life tended to take. She had signed up for the hat-design competition just that morning, but it felt like days ago now; who would've thought that she would be carrying a wheel of camembert through the Grand Paris by mid-afternoon?

She glanced at the tray, then held it out at arm's length, trying to keep the pervasive perfume as far away from herself as possible. Can a kwami really eat this? she wondered - she certainly couldn't picture Tikki enjoying it! Come to think of it, cookies were round, and so was the wheel of camembert; perhaps kwami only ate circular foods? She'd have to ask Tikki later on.

She arrived at the specified door, scoffing slightly at the numbers. Really, 13 and 9 for a black cat? Perhaps someone with a sense of humour had assigned him that room - probably the same joker who had told the waiter to take the camembert to Ladybug!

Speaking of jokers, she wondered what Chat Noir had been doing for all this time. She could picture him luxuriating on a plush bed, propped up on a pile of cushions, asking her to feed him pieces of camembert as if they were peeled grapes - in which case she would ram a pillow over his head, if only to keep his identity hidden!

Balancing the tray on the palm of one hand, she reached out and rapped sharply on the closed door. She sincerely hoped he wouldn't branch out from puns to knock-knock jokes.

"W-who is it?" a tentative voice asked from within.

Ladybug hesitated despite herself. It took her all her time to recognize that voice; it sounded nothing like the cocky, over-confident Chat Noir that she knew. She reminded herself that it wasn't really her partner behind the door - it was whoever he became when he wasn't transformed. The realization made her feel strangely nervous. She had never been this close to Chat while he was out of costume; even with a solid door between them, it was a little disconcerting.

"It's me," she called back, not knowing how else to announce herself. In case that wasn't clear enough, she added: "I've brought some cheese for your kwami."

"Oh, t-thank you!" There was no mistaking it, he sounded anxious - he even went so far as to stutter! It was kind of reassuring to know that he found it as uncomfortable to be caught out of the costume as she did. She had half-expected him to fling the door open and yank her inside, insisting that she gaze upon the gorgeousness of his unmasked visage against her will; she had kept her free-hand balled in a fist just in case.

"Can you leave it outside the door?"

"Yeah, sure..." Good, she could make her delivery and get away from this awkward situation as fast as possible - discussions of pigeon flight-paths could wait until later!

She was about to set the tray down, when it occurred to her to scan the corridor, just in case someone was watching. An instant later, she was glad she had: a metallic glimmer from a bracket set in the ceiling caught her eye.

"No, I can't, there's a security camera out here!"

It appeared to be trained on this particular door. Was it some kind of conspiracy? she thought, frowning to herself. Had someone manipulated these events to try and capture footage of them while they were unmasked? She quickly realized that the idea was silly; she doubted anyone would go to such an effort, especially since it was only chance that the pigeons had led them to The Grand at all. It was more likely just a freakish string of unlucky events - her partner was a black cat, after all! She remembered that bad luck was said to come in threes. The misplaced cheese and the well-placed camera made two - maybe the third was his allergy to feathers? But that seemed to be worth a whole mountain of misfortune on its own...

"Move away from the door," she ordered him, using the same voice she used in the middle of their battles; she hoped it would lend them both a bit of confidence. The way they were acting over something so simple was a bit silly! "I'll open it and leave the tray just inside; I promise I won't look. You can come and get it as soon as the door is closed."

"R-right!" She thought she heard him shuffle back a few paces. She hoped he had, for his own sake; if she came through the door and found him right in front of her, she would send him flying!

Taking a deep breath, telling herself that opening a mere door was nothing to get so nervous about, she turned the handle and pushed. A sliver of hotel suite was revealed to her: she caught glimpses of thick carpet, luxurious drapes, various pieces of furniture in tastefully neutral shades - but no sign of a blonde head anywhere. She breathed a sigh of relief, then bent down, carefully lowering her tray upon the threshold.

"What do you mean it can't be done in time?!"

Ladybug jolted so hard, the camembert nearly tumbled off the tray; she righted it again just in time, her pulse racing. She recognized that voice - it was Chloe Bourgeoise, and she was coming this way!

"I was under the impression that you were the best seamstress in Paris! Was that just pretension? I'm paying you enough, aren't I? If my father has to hear about this-"

The voice was steadily coming closer. In a flurry of panic, Ladybug slipped inside the room, eased the door closed behind her, and stood with her back to it, listening. She was just in time: a few moments later, the voice drew level with her hiding place. There was only one set of footsteps - Chloe was apparently talking on the phone.

"I don't care if you have other orders - that's not my problem! I asked for it today, and I expect it today! You're a grown woman, aren't you? This is a contest for high-school students; if a high-schooler is expected to make a simple hat in the allotted time, I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to-"

The voice faded into the distance. Ladybug gritted her teeth, boiling with rage; it was a wonder the wheel of cheese didn't instantaneously melt in her grasp. Chloe, that filthy cheat! Instead of making an entry for the hat contest herself, she was hiring a professional seamstress to-

"L-ladybug...?"

She almost jumped five foot in the air. Distracted by her fury, she had forgotten about the other occupant of the room! He had spoken from somewhere to her left; she instantly turned her head as far right as she could.

"Er... hi!" she said, irritated to find that her voice was pitched a few notes higher than it should be. She struggled to reclaim her composure - she didn't want him to know how nervous she was to be right next to him while he was out of costume! "Sorry, someone was coming and I sort of panicked, I didn't mean to-"

"Oh, t-that's fine," he said, and she was gratified to note that he sounded as ill-at-ease as she felt. "There's plenty of room in here for us both..." He said that, but it didn't feel like it - when she didn't want to be anywhere remotely in view of him, the walls seemed to be awfully close!

She finally remembered the tray in her hand. "Here, I've got your-"

"Oh, thank you-"

She held out the platter, looking at it out of the corner of her eye to make sure he took it from her without incident. Instead of a hand, something black hovered at the edge of her vision; she bit back a yelp of surprise, turning to look despite herself.

A tiny creature was perched upon the tray, fussing and cooing over its contents. It was black all over, with pointed ears and a tail that flicked from side to side in apparent ecstasy. If she hadn't been so enthralled by the sight of it, she would have marvelled at how it didn't seem to at all mind the stench.

"Finally!" the thing muttered, in an aggravated tone. "My strength was so depleted, I could barely move!" It instantly refuted this statement by hovering over the camembert, inspecting it from every angle; the glowing green eyes wore a wrapt expression.

"Plagg!" a scolding voice hissed somewhere to her left; she turned her head away a degree, taking care not to look at the speaker, but keeping an eye on - Plagg, was it? She had seen a few magic things by now, but a tiny floating cat was somehow still bizarre enough to fascinate her!

"What?" Plagg muttered, breaking off a chunk of cheese in his tiny paw. "I've been starved, and I'm not waiting a moment longer! This is what room service is for, isn't it?"

The hunk of camembert looked too big for his mouth, but he tossed it back, revealing two rows of pointed teeth. They looked strangely predatory for such a diminutive creature; but then, they were in keeping with the features of a cat. After several more mouthfuls and a chorus of delighted mumblings at the tastiness of his treat, Plagg glanced up, finally noticing that the girl who held the tray was staring at him, transfixed.

"Hi there, Miss Bug!" he said, throwing her a genial wave. He didn't pause in his gorging, having apparently decided that some polite table-conversation was called for. "How's Tikki doing?"

Ladybug realized that she couldn't immediately find her voice. It was too weird; since Tikki was the only kwami she had ever known, she had subconsciously decided that she was what the accepted appearance for a kwami was like. At seeing something so much like Tikki, and yet so very different - the whisking tail, the drooping whiskers, the pitch-black colour and luminous eyes! - she was momentarily taken aback.

His eyes narrowed at her, annoyance and suspicion mingling in his gaze. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" he chided her. "You do know who Tikki is, don't you? If you're just an imposter in a fancy suit-"

"N-no, of course I'm not!" She was roused from her stupor by her sense of outrage. "Sorry, Tikki's good, I've just... never seen a kwami other than her before..."

He smirked, looking gratified. "Feast your eyes then, toots! I've long maintained that I'm the handsomest kwami around!"

"Plagg!" said the voice to her left again - this time with increased impatience. "I'm glad you're having fun, but this is no time for idle chit-chat. We still have an akuma to catch!"

"Oh, yeah!" Ladybug tried to re-focus; her observation of the flocks of birds had long-since slipped her mind. "I meant to talk to you about our plan going on from here-"

"Hmph, spoilsports the pair of you," Plagg muttered. He seized what was left of the camembert and tossed it in his mouth, swallowing it in one mighty gulp. Ladybug couldn't help but be impressed: if she had one complaint against her own kwami, it was that Tikki could be a slow eater, taking far longer than she would like to recover her strength.

Something of her admiration must have shown in her face; Plagg eyed her with interest, his expression turning sly. "Hey, Miss Bug, what do you really think of my Chat Noir? He likes you a lot, though he doesn't have the guts to-"

A pale hand shot out, grasping Plagg round the middle and whisking him out of sight. She hastily averted her gaze again, startled. She had actually seen part of her uncloaked partner! It was kind of odd... even if it was just a hand without its black-clawed glove, a hand with smooth nails and slender fingers, wearing a silver ring... huh, the ring looked sort of familiar, but then she saw him wearing his Miraculous every time they-

The sounds of an apparent struggled drifted across from her left. "Hey, watch it!" she heard the black kwami whine; she could recognized his voice now. "You'll give me indigestion, man-handling me like that!"

"Indigestion is the least of your problems!" the voice of her partner railed back, in a furious whisper. "What are you doing, Plagg?! Why did you go and say -"

"I was helping, you doofus! If you'd let me finish-"

"That was not helping! If you find it so entertaining to embarrass me-"

"I was not being embarrassing! You're just being gutless, and I-"

"Do not talk about guts with me, not after you just bloated yourself on-"

"Hey, I was hungry! Why do you have to-"

Ladybug had to admit their banter was kind of funny - though a bit tiresome, under the circumstances. The pair were bickering away like bratty brothers, much to her mystification - to think that a thousands-year-old guardian spirit would behave like this! Then again, Tikki often made her feel like she had a slightly-bossy older sister, so maybe it made sense...

What didn't make sense was where the tiny kwami had managed to put all that cheese - the platter was now completely bare! How could a creature so small devour something with such a huge stench? Curiosity getting the better of her, she glanced at the tray in her hand. Sure enough, the silver was spotless; it appeared to have been licked clean, such was its highly-polished state.

As polished as a mirror...

It took her a moment to fully register what she was seeing. If she had realized sooner, she would have instantly looked away again.

Reflected in the tray, she saw a face framed by blonde hair. It was upside-down, distorted slightly by the tray's surface, and wearing a bemused expression she had never seen on it before; but she knew that face. There was no way she couldn't recognize it: every day, she saw it staring back at her from the posters on her wall, out of the background on her computer monitor, from pages of glossy magazines, across the classroom at school every day-

"Adrien!"

She shrieked out the name without thinking; she managed to scare herself, dropping the tray to the carpet with a muffled thump. Her hands flew to her face, though her eyes were left uncovered; not really knowing what she was doing, she wheeled around to her left and saw-

The same face she had seen reflected in the tray gaped back at her, mouth open in an aghast expression.

"A-A-A-Adrien?!" she stammered again, her voice seemingly disembodied. Just like when he was around her when she was in civilian form, she had no control over what she was saying; to her utter shame, she began to babble at him. "You're Adrien! But Chat, he was here... but now you're here... but Chat was just... Chat and Adrien... if you're Adrien, then Chat is... you are..."

It was doubtful how much of this garbled monologue the boy opposite her managed to take in; he seemed to be suffering from shock himself. A black blur floated out from behind him, hovering near his shoulder.

"Well, that's one way of doing it," Plagg purred, looking highly amused.

Adrien groaned. "This is not how I wanted to do it," he muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. "I totally wasn't prepared for this! If we were going to reveal our identities, we should have at least-"

"C-Chat...?" Ladybug asked, uncertainly. Adrien was standing right where Chat Noir had been, and she was in front of the only door in and out of the room; unless Chat had climbed out the window or hidden himself in the closet... but then why was Adrien here, talking to Chat's kwami? It looked like... it seemed impossible, but it was... he must be...

Adrien was watching her warily. Seeing that she was gaping at him wordlessly, he took it upon himself to break the silence. He drew up his shoulders; she could see the cat-like hunch in them now. The genial, slightly-goofy grin she was so accustomed to was hovering around his lips, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Hi there, Buginette!" he said, in a brave attempt at his usual breeziness. "As you can see, I am Adrien Agreste when I'm not being Chat Noir. I'm, um, flattered that you seem to have heard of me. You've already met Plagg-" he shot the kwami a filthy look; Plagg prudently remained quiet "-and I'd love to properly make your acquaintance, but there's a pigeon-man out there somewhere, not to mention several missing policemen who need our help, so if we can postpone proper introductions until later-"

Introductions?! How could she be introduced to him when she saw him every day and had his pictures plastered everywhere and only obsessed over him every waking moment of her life oh my god!

"Uh, my Lady...?" He took a tentative step towards her, resting a hand on her shoulder; without the glove, it somehow felt warmer and softer through the layer of her suit. "Are you alright? You're, um, kind of freaking meow-t..."

She blinked, startled by the spectacle she had just witnessed. Did Adrien Agreste... was she dreaming, or did he just...

"Was that supposed to be a pun...?" she asked, with a valiant return of her usual exasperation. Apparently puns were her trigger-point; even when they were coming from the boy whose trainer-clad feet trod the very ground she worshipped...

He grinned at her, and it was as if he had transformed before her eyes: he suddenly morphed so that it was no longer Adrien, but Chat-without-his-mask standing there in front of her. "You know me, my Lady - always kitten around!"

She managed to emit something that was midway between a chuckle and a groan. She was confused; she wanted to let Adrien know how witty and adorable he was, but... that was definitely a Chat joke, and they never impressed her! If she laughed, she supposed it was mostly only nerves... oh god, how was she supposed to deal with this right now?!

He seemed to be reassured by her response; he heaved a sigh of relief. "What do you say we go and cage a rare bird, my Lady? Though hopefully we can get it despite my disadvantage... fat lot of good, having a partner who sneezes within sniffing-range of our feathered friend..."

"Chat..." He looked so despondent, her natural instinct was to reach out and comfort him. Just as her hand closed on his, she became acutely aware that she was touching Adrien Agreste! Before she could completely freak out over that, a new thought suddenly occurred to her. "The feathers-! The hat-! It's no good, my design - you can't wear the hat! You'll sneeze and blow all the other entries away if I present the design like I had planned! I'll have to revise it, but there's barely any time and I-!"

"Hat...?" he repeated, his face clouded by confusion. "Can you possibly mean... the derby-hat contest? But then you..."

It only then dawned on her what she had said; she could eat her stupid hat, oh god, why had she blurted that out?! Now he would know that she went to his school, and she-

He was looking at her, a heart-rending mix of bafflement and fear in his eyes. She only then realized how stressful his must be for him: on top of not being able to deal with all the feathers and halting their pursuit of the akuma in the middle of their battle, he had just revealed his biggest secret to her, in a way that he had been totally unprepared for. If all that had happened to her, she'd be feeling terrible right now... he must be...

He must be so scared...

"Hey, it's okay," she said, reaching out to gently stroke the back of the hand she still held. "I'm sorry I found out like this, it was an accident, and... well, I-I'm a little bit surprised, er... um, actually that's an understatement, but... w-we're not quite as unknown to each other as you'd think..."

She really should be thinking through what she was about to do - or, even better, waiting until she had discussed it with Tikki - but there was no time; he was upset now, and she couldn't bear to see the uncertainty in those beautiful green eyes any longer.

She took a few steps away from him, just barely losing touch with his hand... and dropped her transformation.

To his credit, he yelped and covered his eyes with his hands; then, realizing that she had meant to do it, he slowly looked through his fingers, and saw-

Marinette stood opposite him, her hand still outstretched towards him, a very anxious smile on her lips, a red object hovering just beside her earlobe. He wondered for a second if he was having some sort of episode: a shocked hallucination, in reaction to what had just happened to him... but as he stood, staring and blinking in amazement, the vision in front of him was did not fade an iota...

"H-hi," she said, giving him a bashful wave that was so Marinette, there was no way he was merely imagining it... she really was standing right where Ladybug had just been...

"Marinette...?" he asked, barely trusting his senses - they had betrayed him enough today, damn these allergies! "Is that you? Are you really...?"

"... am I really so hopelessly clumsy all the time, yet somehow manage to be Ladybug when I put on a pair of earrings?" Her voice sounded strange - slightly hysterical - and she was twisting her hands together, not quite looking at him. "Yep, that's me - Ladybug, despite all my ineptness! Tikki has a lot to do with that-" the red creature zipped in close to nuzzle her cheek, he realized it must be her kwami "-but yeah, if we're making introductions, then I-"

She didn't get any further.

She squeaked with shock when he dashed forward and enveloped her in a hug so strong, he lifted her right off the floor and spun her around several times. She had often fantasized about snuggling up against Adrien in her daydreams, but this scenario was too outlandish even for her vivid imagination! She clung to him, too astounded - and too dizzy - to do anything else.

"It's you!" he was saying over and over, as if it were a celebratory chant. "It's you! It's you! Oh my god, it's really you! I'm so glad it's you! You have no idea how terrified I was, when you were looking at me and I had no idea how you'd react and I was sure I had no idea who you were and I-"

His exuberant speech suddenly came to a halt; he seemed to only then realize what he was doing. He hastily set her down, taking care to place her gently on her feet; she looked back at him dazedly. "S-sorry, I shouldn't have... it was just such a relief... I d-didn't mean to..."

"I-it's f-f-fine," she managed to say, her face practically on fire with the intensity of her blush.

"Um," said an apologetic voice from somewhere beside Marinette. Adrien's eyes fastened on the red shape in surprise; up until now, he hadn't heard it speak. "This is, uh, lovely and all, but... shouldn't you two be going after the akuma? It's been a while now, and the policemen are still-"

"I thought you liked cute things, Tikki!"

At Plagg's teasing purr, both Marinette and Adrien squeaked in embarrassment, jumping a step further away from each other. They were so amazed at how perfectly the other had mirrored their own action, they gaped at each other all over again.

Plagg laughed heartily. "Oh, geez! You pair were obviously made for one another!"

"I agree," Tikki admitted, with a small smile; then her expression became serious again. "But we don't have time for this right now! I know you've both had a bit of a shock, but there's an akuma on the loose, and the citizens of Paris are waiting for you!"

"You're right." Adrien was the first to pull himself together - though not without a serious effort. He went over and peered at the little red creature; she drifted up to his eye-level obligingly. "Tikki, is it? Good to know that one of us is still focused on the task at hand!"

Tikki beamed at him, practically glowing at the compliment.

"Bossiness is not an admirable trait!"

"Plagg!" both Tikki and Adrien yelled at him. Adrien sighed. "I think it's time you went back inside the Miraculous, before you can't say anything else. Plagg, transform me!"

There was a flash of green light, coinciding with Plagg's mutter of protest; when it cleared, Chat Noir stood in Adrien's place. He grinned at Marinette sheepishly - it was weird to be in costume when she wasn't, knowing who they both were now!

"Ready to go, Princess?" he asked, trying to prompt her, since she had gone back to staring open-mouthed at him; it was making him nervous all over again. "If we're going to cage that bird, we'd better shake a tail-feather!"

At his words, something happened: all she did was shift her stance and place her hands on her hips, but it was as if she had just donned the costume that he knew and loved. She raised an eyebrow at him, lips quirked in a coy smile.

"For someone with an aversion to feathers, you're quite the bird-brain!"

He had to take a deep breath, marvelling at how things had changed. That was his Lady right there, and she was Marinette, the classmate who sat behind him every single day in school-! This was going to take some serious getting used to! Luckily, his sense of humour hadn't suffered from the shock; he dipped her a gallant bow, raising his head to flash her a wink. "That's what happens, my Lady, when you put a cat among the pigeons!"

She groaned - why hadn't she seen that one coming! - and shared a look with Tikki that seemed to say: can you believe this?! The kwami giggled in sympathy, then gestured encouragingly towards her earrings. There would be a complete Marinette freak-out session over all this before the day was through; but it would have to wait until later, when Ladybug's work was done! Luckily, Marinette took the hint, shooting her a grateful smile.

"Tikki, transform me!"

When the rosy flash of light subsided, the usual confidence that came with becoming Ladybug didn't seem quite as effective as usual. Marinette was very aware that oh god, this suit leaves very little to the imagination and Adrien Agreste is standing right there, staring at me... oh god, I'm staring at Adrien Agreste and he's right there, wearing a skin-tight cat suit!

She laughed nervously, trying to focus on the battle ahead. "Ready to let the feathers fly, Chaton?"

He came out of his own trance, giving her a broad grin. "As they say, birds of a feather flock together - after you, my Lady!"

He chivalrously held the window open for her, letting her leap out first. She passed him as quickly as she could, her mind working torturously: oh god oh god Adrien could be checking out my behind in this skimpy suit! Oh god, what if he gets in front of me and I start checking out his behind in his skimpy suit?! Oh god I can't take this Tikki please help me...

Luckily, Chat Noir seemed content to run alongside her. "Where are we headed?" he asked, when he had followed her across several city blocks without uttering a word.

Ladybug looked up with a start. She had forgotten all about the bird formations she had spied through the hotel window; luckily, they seemed to be headed in the right direction. "Follow the flight path!" she told him.

He trained his gaze upwards as well. "Understood," he called back to her, keeping pace with her as they sprinted through a landscape of chimneys.

Adrien does what I tell him to do, she allowed herself to think as she navigated the roofs on auto-pilot, seeing him expertly leap and tumble alongside her out of the corner of her eye. This was all going to take a lot of getting used to!

"That went reasonably well."

It was a quarter of an hour later, and they were leaning against the exterior wall of the Palais. With Mr Pigeon defeated, they had somersaulted out the window and landed in the street below, dropping their transformations just in time: a police car had zipped past moments later, full of officers who had come to check on their captured colleagues. Marinette was feeding cookies to Tikki, while Plagg complained at Adrien, who was all out of cheese. He only grudgingly fell silent when Adrien promised to start saving up his allowance to purchase the same extravagant type of camembert he had been served at The Grand Paris.

Marinette hung her head with a groan. "You think that went well?!"

Adrien shrugged. "Despite the circumstances," he suggested.

Marinette slumped against the wall, hugging herself in a paroxysm of shame. "I was totally useless..."

All through the fight, she had been distracted. She had at least managed to use her Lucky Charm pretty well; but then, when she had lunged for the bird-whistle, her hand had landed on top of Chat Noir's - on top of Adrien's - and she'd frozen up, snatching her hand away before she realized what she was doing. It was Chat who'd had the presence of mind to lift his fist and bring it down on Mr Pigeon's hand, crushing the whistle beneath it. He'd then had to prompt Ladybug to capture the akuma; she'd been too busy berating herself to notice that it was fluttering away.

He reached out to pat her on the shoulder consolingly. "You did no worse than me. I wrecked our surprise attack by sneezing at the worst possible time!"

She smiled gratefully at him, trying to suppress her fluttering stomach at the presence of his touch. "At least you had a legitimate excuse. I just..."

"It's been an eventful day," he said, kindly. He straightened suddenly, glancing fearfully at his watch. "Event! Today! The competition ends in less than half an hour! I have to be there to help Father with the judging! And you - what about your entry? Shouldn't you be-"

"It's alright." Marinette leaned back, watching a stray pigeon flap away into the clear blue sky. "I've given up on it - there's not enough time. Besides, I overheard Chloe back at the hotel; she's hired a professional seamstress to make her design. There's no way I could compete-"

"Are you kidding?!" Adrien pushed himself off the wall with sudden determination; he looked incensed. "I can't believe she'd do that! No, wait, actually I can believe she would. But she shouldn't get away with it - and you shouldn't give up either!" He pulled out his phone, beginning to text furiously. "What do you have left to do?"

Marinette reluctantly stood up; she honestly couldn't see how she could pull it off, having lost so much time and with the deadline looming way too closely. "Not that much. A bit of stitching around the band... and there was a piece of trim I thought of, but I'd need to go and get-"

He triumphantly held up his phone. "My driver will be here in... two minutes! Where do you need to go?" Seeing her look wonderingly at him, he offered his hand, smiling encouragingly. "Come on, Princess - you're going to the ball, and your coach is on its way!"

For once, she didn't scoff or snark at his joke. She simply took his hand, her insides fluttering again when he squeezed it gently.

One minute and forty-six seconds later, Adrien's car screamed up to the curb. When the driver had gotten the message, he had been frantic: he was to pick up his charge as soon as possible, from the middle of an area where there had just been an akuma attack. He expected to be directed to drive to a hospital, or to a doctor's clinic; to a convenience store for bandages, at very best.

Instead, his passenger flung open the door, pulling a young girl into the car beside him. "It's an emergency!" he declared, peering over the partition at his anxious chauffeur. "We need you to take us to the florist on Gottlieb Street, quick as you can!"

Afterwards, Marinette honestly wasn't sure how she managed it.

Sure, compared to defeating an akuma, finishing her derby-hat was not such a big deal. Still, it was a relatively small deal at the end of a very big day.

Maybe, after everything else that had happened, she just no longer had the capacity to panic over anything any more. Maybe plain-old Marinette had temporarily gone on leave, letting the part of her that was Ladybug take over in her stead.

Or maybe it was because Chat Noir was there every step of the way, supporting her and watching her back.

Adrien accompanied her to the florist, then escorted her back to her place. While she attached the hat-band to the brim, he fussed over the box she would use to transport it in, lining it with tissue-paper in a practiced motion that suggested he had done it before. She had no time to freak out over the fact that he was there in her room, a foot away from her while she worked, complimenting her efforts and encouraging her progress with a stunning frequency. She also didn't have time to take down any of her posters of him; luckily, he seemed to be too preoccupied to notice them.

It was he who saw that they had barely five minutes left and ushered her to the car, despite her protests. She was forced to make the last few stitches during the drive, grumbling at every bump in the road that unsteadied her hand, while he cheerfully ignored her. The completed derby-hat finally went into the box, just as the car pulled up opposite the school's entrance.

She didn't have time to notice how he held her hand as he pulled her toward the courtyard; didn't have time to notice when he finally dropped his grasp to take his place beside Mr Damocles, just as the screen of the tablet in Nathalie's hands came to life; didn't even have time to glance at her classmates' entries, as Alya urgently hissed questions at her.

Until her best friend mentioned it, she didn't even notice that Chloe stood beside a plinth upon which a hat that was identical - well, almost identical - to her own stood in readiness.

She saw Alya glowering furiously, balling her fists in readiness for a fight. Across the courtyard, oblivious to his father's critique and Chloe's ingratiating boasts, she saw Adrien tense, his gaze almost livid. She saw him frown, set his shoulders, half-turn towards the judging panel-

Worried that he would make a scene before even Alya had a chance to do so, she waved frantically to him; once she caught his attention, she made a placating gesture, signalling to him to lie low. He looked confused, but gave a tiny nod, obediently returning to his place.

Huh. It still amazed her that he completely commanded her heart, and yet she could boss him around as if it was nothing...

"Want me to take care of her?" asked Alya, who had watched this silent exchange in a state of bewilderment.

Marinette didn't look at her. Her eyes were focused on Adrien - on her partner, who was always willing to follow her lead, implicitly trusted her judgement, had complete and total faith in her ability. She squared her shoulders a little more. She was Ladybug - and she had a botched akuma-capture to make up for!

"No, leave it to me," she whispered back to Alya. She heard her friend's quiet gasp of surprise... and smiled a sly smile. The kind of smile that Ladybug usually wore when she had a plan. Across from her, Adrien beamed. He recognized that look - it meant that Chloe's retribution would be swift and brutal.

It was disconcerting, having Gabriel Agreste scrutinize her work. It was nerve-wracking, hearing his inevitable denouncement. It was... only mildly infuriating to have to wait out Chloe's show of theatrics. It was unnerving to have Mr Agreste fix his eyes on her when she offered him an explanation (even if he wasn't there in person). But her nerves seemed to now be knit from pure steel, as strong and unbreakable as the string of her yoyo.

She took a deep breath, and began her defence of her work.

"Everything is handmade on my derby-hat, from the embroidery, to the weaving of the headband, through to the seam of the edge. I'm the one who created everything - save for this embellishment." She gestured at the decoration that was fixed to the hat-band. "My original concept included a feather as trim; however, in light of your son's allergy to feathers - which really should have been included in the design brief, since it is such a common ornamentation for hats, and an important consideration for the sake of the model - the final version was altered to include a suitable replacement. And finally, the hat has a particularity that only its true creator could know about-"

She turned the hat over, feeling the gaze of everyone riveted on her, feeling the power of it pulse through her, knowing that she had this as surely as if she had just cast her Lucky Charm:

"I signed it."

The moment Chloe's hat toppled from its pedestal, it also dropped from the podium; she knew then that she was victorious.

Adrien was beaming delightedly at her from behind the judging panel; she caught his eye and winked at him. They were too far away to share their customary fist-bump - it would have been far too much of a give-away in front of Alya anyway - but the action, and the words that accompanied it, seemed to cross the space between them.

'Bien joué!'

"Man, what a day!"

Adrien was slumped on a bench in the school courtyard beside her, each of his long, lithe limbs stretched out at a different angle. He still had her hat on his head; in stark contrast to the jaunty way he had donned it when her win had been announced, it was now pulled half-down over his face. He would've had an excellent view of the hand-stitched inner lining, if he'd had Chat Noir's night-vision.

Marinette looked up from her phone. She had been energetically texting her parents, filling them in on everything that had happened (well, nearly everything). From the look of it - based on the long delays in between responses - Alya was doing the same, filling them in on some minor details; given the way her eyes kept darting between herself and her model , she had a pretty good idea what extra info her parents were receiving. Her mother's cryptic instructions to 'go celebrate with someone special' were telling. Oh god, could this day get any more insane...

She smiled at Adrien's words. "Would you say it went well, despite the circumstances?"

He chuckled and sat up, pushing the hat back properly onto his head; she was treated to the sight of those gorgeous green eyes glinting sideways at her. "Yes, I would say that. You handled it all superbly!"

She fumbled her phone back into her purse, taking care not to jostle Tikki, who silently smiled her congratulations up at her. She could have sworn that she'd caught Plagg waving at her from behind Adrien's collar a minute ago - maybe he was just trying to hassle her for cheese.

"If I did okay, it was only because I had my amazing partner to support me," she said, wishing she didn't blush so easily.

To her great surprise, his face became suffused with a subtle flush; he smiled almost shyly. "N-no, I didn't really do that much," he protested. The little hitch in his voice took her completely unawares; it made her stomach flip in a very gratifying manner. Did he just... stutter at her? "All I did," he went on, "was to stand by, totally amazed, as my amazing partner presented her amazing hat in an amazing way, then amazed an amazingly unfair cheat with her amazingly eloquent, unassailable defence of an amazing design. It was amazing! How many 'amazes' was that?"

"I lost count," Marinette muttered, fighting hard to contain an internal fit of squeals. Who knew that Adrien could be such a dork - it was adorable! But she didn't dare let Chat Noir know that, if he found out it would only make him even more insufferable!

"A maze of amazes," Adrien declared, looking very self-satisfied. "I amaze myself sometimes!" She groaned, but couldn't help wearing a grin; he knew it, beaming contentedly to himself. "Congratulations, by the way," he added, tipping the brim of her hat in salute. "It was very well-deserved... I think. With everything else that has happened, I haven't had a chance to properly look at it yet!"

He took the hat off and held it in front of him, turning it this way and that, admiring it from every side. She watched him anxiously.

"It's incredible!" he finally declared, with such sincerity she almost melted right through the slats of the bench she sat on.

"Y-you're just saying t-that because your father approved it!" She desperately tried to just brush it off, her face a fiery scarlet.

He firmly shook his head. "Oh no, my assessment counts for just as much on its own - I have impeccable taste!" Having delivered this quip - and succeeded in lessening her blush by a few shades of red with it - he went back to examining the hat. "What is this...?"

He pointed to the grey plume that was attached to the hat-band with a red bead. He ran a gentle finger over it; it was surprisingly soft. It looked a bit like a feather, but...

"No allergies?" she asked, in a lightly teasing tone.

He smiled ruefully - not only did his Lady now know who he was, she was also aware of his weakness! "Nope, not a single sneeze! But what is it? Is that some sort of... flower?"

She chuckled - he mustn't have ever seen this before! Oh boy, when she explained...

"It's a type of plant. It's called a... a cat's tail..."

His eyebrows shot up. He gave her a questioning look. "Cat's tail? Seriously?"

"Y-yeah..." she bashfully glanced aside. "I, uh, I p-pass that florist every day on the way to school, and, um... e-every time I see it, it r-reminds me of Chat..."

He smirked delightedly, looking more than a little flattered. "It's purr-fect!" He placed it on his head again, carefully smoothing the brim. "Purr-fect for Chat Noir, of course! Perhaps he should model it instead of me?"

Marinette giggled - she was still getting used to the fact that they were one and the same person! "That's a good idea," she joked right back at him, marvelling at how daring she was able to be - a marked difference from how she had hidden behind this very bench from him this morning! "Perhaps you should ask Mr Agreste if our Chaton can take your place in the photo shoot?"

He waggled his eyebrows at her. "Or maybe he can just wear it for patrol once it is no longer needed in the Agreste style archives. I'm sure Ladybug would enjoy looking at it - not to mention gazing in admiration at the handsome hero beneath it! Don't you think so, my Lady?"

Marinette had no clue what to say in answer to that; she turned a shade of crimson that would have rivaled Tikki's complexion. He was... he was flirting with her oh god if every fight against an akuma was going to be like this she would never be able to aim her yoyo straight ever again!

She was saved from having to respond by Alya; perhaps having noticed her dilemma from a distance and opted to come to her rescue, she tactfully interrupted, approaching them with her phone in hand. "Hey guys, how about a photo of the designer and model?" she suggested. Her tone was innocent, but she shot Marinette a look that said: girl, we have got to commemorate this!

"Sure," Adrien said, apparently not noticing any subtext. He straightened the hat, adjusted a stray lock of hair, and moved a little closer to Marinette, until their arms just barely touched. Struggling to ignore the electric currents shooting through her from the contact of his skin against hers - oh god - she somehow managed to stay upright, wearing an ecstatic smile that quite possibly extended beyond the sides of her face. She felt even better when she chanced a glance sideways and noticed how his own face was ever-so-slightly tinged pink...

Alya gazed gleefully at screen of her phone, taking in how cute they were together - and how close her best friend looked to exploding from pure happiness! "Smile for the camera, kids!" she ordered them, like a photographer taking a class portrait, drawing out the moment to make it last longer - Marinette could thank her for it with a gazillion croissants later on! "Say cheese!"

At her words, both Adrien and Marinette simultaneously darted each other quizzical looks.

Cheese? That had been the thing behind the start of this whole affair! They shared a meaningful glance, suppressing identical fits of laughter. Just as when they fought side-by-side as their superhero selves, some unspoken agreement passed between them; they weren't at all surprised when, a moment later, they spoke in unison.

"Camembert!" they both said as one, leaning towards each other without any further hesitation. He draped his arm around her shoulder in a way that seemed completely natural; while her own, with far less nerves than one might expect, curled instinctively round his waist.

Between them, they could feel Plagg struggling beneath the folds of Adrien's shirt. They faintly heard his complaint that they were taunting him, talking about his favourite food without having any to give to him.

Author's note: this chapter turned out a lot longer than I thought it would! That is going to become a common complaint from me, I can tell. I was like 'yeah, a chapter on cheese, nice and simple, shouldn't take long...' and then it ballooned in size (a bit like Plagg after eating a whole wheel of camembert). I thought I'd mix it up a bit; it feels like most of my story ideas (both complete and as-yet-unwritten) involve Adrien finding out first and having to break it gently to Marinette. I wanted to write at least one chapter where Marinette found out who he is first - and has a total mental flip over it!

In case anyone is wondering, these chapters aren't in chronological order by episode; in fact, they don't have *any* order, I just dip into my store of ideas and write about whatever the heck I feel like at the time. I have no idea yet what the next 'item' will be, so stay tuned!

By the way, I think I've mentioned before that I have a long-format Miraculous story also currently in the works. I haven't given away the title here, since I was planning on renaming it; previously it was known as 'School of Luck', but I have since changed it to 'A Class Act'. If you haven't already checked it out yet, please consider it! ~ W.J.