Guuuyyyyssss. Can you believe there are only like 5 chapters left in this book? 5! Anyway, this episode is that of Ephemeral, which means we are going to get some more Gabriel perspective, not that anyone has been asking for it.

This episode is another one that really makes the idea of Adrien being a sentimonster seem plausible. Mainly because of the way it focuses on Gabriel touching his ring while he talks to Adrien as if doing so will make him comply. Once again, Adrien is 100% not a sentimonster in this book, though I did dabble with the idea at one point in time.

I still don't think he is, but that the creators just want to mess with us but who knows? Not me. But since he isn't in this story it will give me the opportunity to mess with Gabriel's character a bit so that will be fun. Anyway! On with the story!

OoOoOoOoO

Adrien didn't understand his father. He was certain he never had and probably never would. Ever since the fashion show where he had been turned to gold and almost murdered by Style Queen, his father had been letting himself be seen in public more often.

Perhaps seen in public wasn't quite the right description. It wasn't like he was going for morning jogs. But the elder Agreste had started to have more meetings and interviews outside of skype calls and emails.

Today his father was supposed to be interviewed for his 100th fashion collection. A collection that was being dedicated to his mother. It was just shy of two years since his mother's...disappearance. If anyone ever spoke of Adrien's mother to his father, it was imperative that they referred to her absence as a disappearance, not a death. It didn't matter how much time passed, as far as his father was concerned, his wife was missing, not dead. Never dead.

It broke Adrien's heart to see how desperately his father clung to ghost of his mother. He missed her to. Terribly. But Adrien had come to accept that as much as it pained him, his mother was gone. His father would never have such acceptance. He would never let her go.

Adrien was beginning to believe that his father feared, someday no one would remember that she ever existed. That if he didn't hold on as tightly as he could, that perhaps one day he would forget too. Because memories fall apart. And then you're left with nothing, left not even with a ghost but with its shadow. His father would rather she haunt them both forever than ever give her the opportunity to slip away. Allowing her to fall apart in his memory and everyone else's, somehow dying all over again.

Originally, Adrien was simply accompanying his father to the interview, but as they approached their destination, his father's demeanor changed. Triggered by some force unknown to Adrien.

"Adrien, I'm just not feeling well enough. You will have to represent me."

"But Father, you're launching your hundredth collection tonight! You're the one the journalists want to interview, not me." Adrien argued in confusion. His father had seemed fine when they left. He watches as his father fidgets with his wedding ring. A tick Adrien had noticed over the years. It was something he tended to do when anxious or irritable.

"Adrien, I am your father, and I am giving you the responsibility to attend this press conference. Under no circumstances will you leave that room until it's finished. All I'm asking is that you honor my work and the memory of your mother. Do we have an agreement?"

Adrien sighed. "Yes, father."

In the conference room Adrien could see the look of surprise and perhaps disappointment amongst the crowd when he took the seat that had been meant for his father. He apologized to them, explaining that his father was feeling unwell and that he would be answering their questions.

"The one-hundredth collection of the brand Gabriel is dedicated to your recently departed mother." The interviewer asked. "How do you feel about this dedication?"

Adrien's smile fell at the mention of his mother. It was a hard question to answer. How did he feel about this dedication? That through his work, his father had built a shrine to the past in his mother's name. After all, they never had a funeral.

"Since I can remember, everything my father has done, he's done for her." He answered, earning admirable looks from most of the people. A far more heartwarming answer than the one that came to mind. "My father loved my mother very much, and I think this dedication is a way for those who love this collection to be able to love her a little bit too in a sense."

The questions continued when Adrien noticed Ladybug and a handful of the others fly overhead while chasing an akumatized villain. No one in the conference room seemed fazed, the villain wasn't attacking their location anyway. Adrien felt the urge to find some excuse to go help but Nathalie, who was monitoring the interview from back home spoke through Bluetooth in his ear, reminding him that his father was counting on him. All Adrien could do was hope that Ladybug and the others could make do without him as he proceeded on with the interview.

OoOoOoO

Ladybug joined Viperion in the sewer so that she could retrieve his miraculous. The fight villain had taken a few extra hands this time around due to Chat Noir being unreachable, however in the end they were able to get the job done and that was what mattered. Or at least, that what she had thought. Grand Master Su-Han seemed to think otherwise as he appeared in the sewer as well with a scowl on his face.

"Nine! You used nine Miraculous to defeat a single villain, when Chat Noir could have just used his Cataclysm!" He scolded.

"I had to," Ladybug explained. "Chat Noir was missing!"

"What do you mean missing? You can't just let the holder of the most powerful Miraculous go about as he pleases!" Su-Han argued. "What if he started making his own decisions, or acted it out? Like ShadowMoth!?"

Ladybug gave him a flat look. "Chat Noir? Act like Shadow Moth? Wow. Are you blowing this out of proportion just a little?"

Su-Han did not agree. He had been the Celestial Guardian for a very long time. And in that came knowing how imperative it was for the miraculous to be monitored very closely so that it did not land in the wrong hands. Su-Han was already skeptical of Fu's choice in holders, and knowing that one them, especially the cat, was in the hands of someone no one knew the identity of did not sit well with him.

"Not at all. In fact, you should find out who Chat Noir really is, so you can have better control over him." He told her a matter of fact.

"What? No way! We can't know our true identities! It would be too dangerous if Shadow Moth got a hold of one of us!"

"I. Don't. Care! Deal with this problem quickly, otherwise I will take back his Miraculous as soon as he shows a whisker! And I'll choose the new Chat Noir myself!"

"Okay, okay, alright." Ladybug folded. "What if you knew who he was, would that work?"

Su-Han thought it over. "I... I suppose so. But I'm warning you, if you don't succeed..."

"I get it. Chat Noir will be replaced."

Su-Han grunts before literally hoping away. Luka, who had watched the interaction silently looked to Ladybug for confirmation.

"Are you really going to do as he asks?"

"Do I really have a choice in the matter?" Ladybug sighed. "I can't fight the Celestial Guardian, and I don't want the risk of losing our Chat Noir. I'm gonna need both of you."

The two departed for a short time so that Ladybug could feed both Tikki and Sass before diving into her plan. When they met back up, it was in another sewer system, this one closer to the Eiffel tower. She then gave Luka his miraculous, allowing him to transform into Viperion and explained her plan.

"How are you going to get Su-Han to know Chat Noir's identity without knowing it yourself?"

"Remember why you must all ignore who Chat Noir and I really are?" She asks.

So, ShadowMoth leaves us alone when we're not superheroes? If we don't know who you are, we're of no interest to him."

"Yes. But in fact, if worse comes to worst, a Miraculous holder could know Chat Noir's identity or mine, but not both." Luka's brain flashed the images of Ladybug and Chat Noir when they had gone up against Wish Maker.

"But for Chat Noir and me, it's different. If we knew each other's identities, all would take is just for one of us to be akumatized to betray the other. When I meet Chat Noir at the top of the tower I will ask him to reveal his identity."

"And I will stay here and listen in."

"Correct. On my signal you will then use your power of second chance. I will forget, but you will not."

"Wouldn't it be simpler if I just asked?" Viperion questioned.

Ladybug sighed. "Unfortunately, not. Chat Noir knows how important his identity is, he won't just tell you. If I'm being honest, I'm not even sure if he will tell me. There was a point in time where it was all he wanted to do but I can't say for certain that that is the case anymore."

"What if he doesn't tell you?" Viperion asks. Ladybug shakes her head and lets out a long slow breath.

"I don't know. There is one person who might know Chat's identity, but I doubt she would tell us either."

"I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm asking too many questions," Viperion said. "But I must ask, why not just tell Chat Noir about Su-Han? Explain the situation and then Chat could just tell reveal his identity to the man himself."

"Yeah, I thought about that too..." Ladybug answered. "The thing is, Chat Noir...he takes things very personally." She tried to explain. "If I tell him Su-han wants to know his identity to keep tabs on him, he won't take it well. Especially because he knows Su-Han doesn't know my identity. He will see that as the celestial guardian trusting me but not him to not go rouge like ShadowMoth."

"To be fair, that's kind of understandable."

"Of course, it is. Which is why I don't want to do this to begin with but I'm not seeing a whole lot of options." she said dejectedly.

Viperion placed a hand on her shoulder. "You do what you feel is best. I'm here to help." Ladybug smiled at Luka, thanking him, before heading to the tower.

Once up there, she called Chat Noir. He apologized for his absence which Ladybug brushed off, instructing him to come meet her. It didn't take long for Chat to arrive, but she could tell be his demeanor that he was nervous she was going to scold him for not being reachable. Signaling Viperion, he used the power of his second chance and the countdown began. She needed to get Chat Noir to reveal himself to her in time for Viperion to use his power again.

"I'm sorry, but I really couldn't make it earlier." Chat said once he got closer.

Ladybug waved it off dismissively. "Hey, no big deal! That's the good thing about a team. It's not just the two of us anymore!"

Chat, though relieved, was also confused. Ladybug had sounded so serious over the phone. "Oh, yeah... So then, why did you need me exactly?"

Ladybug turned away and made her way to the railing at the edge of the tower, leaning on it. "Well... actually, it's kind of linked to what happened today. I've given it a lot of thought ever since I became guardian, you know? And, I've realized that... you were right after all." With a deep breath she turns to Chat. "We should tell each other our secret identities."

Chat Noir by the statement. "What? I thought it was important that we not do that. It's to keep us safe remember?" taken back

"I thought so." Ladybug said, walking over to chat and taking his hands in hers. "But when you didn't show up today, I didn't know how to locate you because we can't communicate when we're not transformed. If something bad happened to one of us when we're not heroes, we could know about it." She explained stepping back. "It would make us stronger. We'd be able to defeat ShadowMoth quicker!"

"You really think so?" Chat asked, and Ladybug could feel herself growing guilty. She took no joy in manipulating her friend this way. All she could do was remind herself that in a few moments, it would be as if this conversation never happened.

"I do." She confirmed.

Chat was certain he still didn't understand why Ladybug would change her mind about their identities being a secret to one another. She had always been so abetment about it. Insistent even. However, he supposed that he couldn't be too surprised. After all, she had shared her identity with someone else, and even gave him the green light to do the same if so chose. This was different though. He knew it was. There was a much higher risk involved in he and her knowing each other's secret identities.

"M'lady, trust is a two-way street. The only way I can trust your choices is if I know what they are. I may not always understand the choices you make, but I'll always trust them."

"Okay." He then agreed. "Let's do this. Go ahead M'lady. Guardians first."

Ladybug tensed at his words. "No..you can go first."

"We can do it together?"

"No, I mean it. You go first. I'm... feeling kind of... awkward." She told him, holding herself uncomfortably.

Chat nodded. It was okay. He had pictured doing this many times before.

"Alright...I'm...I'm Adrien Agreste."

He wasn't sure what reaction he was expecting from Ladybug, but for her to burst into laughter wasn't it.

"Ha! And I'm Audrey Bourgeois!" She mocks. "You? Adrien Agreste? There's no way! You two aren't alike at all!"

Instead of arguing, Chat called claws in and detransformed, revealing himself to her.

"See? It's me. Adrien Agreste. Surprise." He spoke with jazz hands. "How about you?"

Below in the sewer, Viperion spoke to Ladybug through his earpiece.

"I got the name Ladybug, shall I rewind?" He asked.

Ladybug blinked, her shock not passing as quickly as she would hope. Her brain suddenly felt like it was on fire as every detail that she had ignored flashed all at once.

"No— Wait— Not— Not yet." She muttered. Adrien. Adrien is Chat Noir. Chat Noir is Adrien.

Somewhere
In a well hidden place
Buried deep in my soul
Concealed behind my ego
Secured by the impenetrable walls of past history
-And unconvinced promises
There's this tiny box-
It is sealed with honesty
And the sanctity of mutual respect & admiration.
And in this hidden box –
Are my unexpressed feelings
For you."

Ladybug laughed. "Me and Chat, no chance." Lucy gave her a small smile but it didn't really reach her eyes.

"Yeah. Right."

"He talks about you a lot though." Ladybug admitted with a knowing smile. Lucy gave a small laugh from her nose.

"All terrible I hope." She joked.

"Never." Ladybug confirmed.

Once down stairs Lucy paused as the trio exited the building. Noticing it immediately, Adrien furrowed his brows at her.

"Everything alright Lucy?"

Lucy looked between her two friends and gave a light smile. She grabbed the front strap of her messenger bag and tapped her finger a few times before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm gonna head out though."

"No!" Both Marinette and Adrien shouted at her in unison, causing Lucy to jump a little.

"I'm sorry." Ladybug said softly. "I know you lost your dad not that long ago. You must miss him."

"I missed him when he was alive," Lucy spoke honestly. She walked over to her bed and took a seat, slumping over to rest her forearms on top of her thighs. "Why did you come here with this? Why trust me with this information? Not to be ungrateful that you do it's just...you've always been a little...distant from me."

Ladybug placed the folder down on Lucy's desk and sighed. "I try not to mix business with pleasure. It's safer for everyone involved. However, I trust Chat with my life. And Chat trusts you. Therefore, I do too. You're his friend." And you're my friend too.

"So, Lucy, would you like to dance?"

"Yeah, and I can't wait to know more, M'Lady-tective. So, who's the suspect?" He asked leaning on his staff.

"Gabriel Agreste." She said simply and Chat almost fell over at the name.

His father. That was who she thought Hawkmoth was?

"Proof?" He asked defensively.

"Uh...I can't really tell you... it's a secret.." Ladybug stuttered out.

"She wouldn't tell me either, apparently Ladybug has a secret source she doesn't want to share," Tigress said rolling her eyes. Ladybug sighed at her before bringing her attention back to Chat.

"I talked to Lucy too. She agreed it was worth looking into."

"Lucy...she also thinks Mr. Agreste is Hawkmoth?"

"Not exactly. I brought it up though and with her own deduction, she concluded that it was a possibility. Lucy is pretty close friends with Agreste's son, Adrien. Believe me, she wasn't keen on the idea of him being Hawkmoth either. But look at his logo on almost everything."

"A butterfly." Chat gritted his teeth.

"Are you alright Chat?" Ladybug asked, noticing his demeanor shift.

With a grim determination Chat extended his staff. "It's time to get to the bottom of this."

"However, it has come to some people's attention that there may be a third party in the midst."

"W-what?" Ladybug asked and Tigress almost fell over in laughter.

"Oh no...no no. There is no love triangle here." She laughed gesturing between herself and her two partners.

Nadja gave Tigress a small apologetic smile. "Well, I'm glad that you have made that clear, but I actually wasn't talking referring to you Tigress. It is of speculation that there might be another woman in your life Chat Noir. A civilian."

"I came here to do some sketching! I can't believe we've run into each other here! Hey, would you like to—?" She explained, holding up her sketchbook. Adrien nodded before a sudden realization hit him.

"Hey, did you come here with Lucy?" He asked, looking around for her once again. By the pillars with the other girls, Lucy ducked down as the others gave her a curious look.

"Lucy? Oh..um, no. I didn't."

"Huh, I saw her earlier during my shoot. I tried to catch up to her but then the Akuma happened and well, I guess I was hoping she was still around." Adrien explained rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, tonight, I had this special dinner set up for..." He trailed off, not sure how much he should really say.

"Lucy.." Marinette said softly. Chat stiffened a bit at the name. Marinette coughed. "Heh, I mean, sorry if I'm wrong. Its just after the whole...Prime Queen incident...I just assumed.."

Chat scowled a little. "Prime Queen...right." If it hadn't been for that villain, maybe things wouldn't be so messed up now. I have gotten so accustomed to you keeping secrets and needing to lie to me for the sake of your identity...that I forgot how good at it you are. How easy it is for you. Her words still rang in his head.

"You're in love with Lucy." It wasn't a question.

"Marinette?"

"Yes?"

"Have you ever wanted to be with someone so bad, but you instead keep being hit with the realization that it may never work out the way you want it to?"

Heartache was something Marinette was used to feeling for herself. She was not, however, used to feeling it for someone else. Especially not the carefree Chat Noir. He carried so much sadness and loneliness, so much heartache. Yet he put his identity first. He persevered. As Ladybug, she respected that. She understood that. She'd had the strangest desire to shrink Chat and tuck him in her pocket. She mentally chided herself. He was a comrade, not her little brother. He wouldn't appreciate the gesture. She thought about Adrien and the never-ending need she had to earn his affection and attention. Like it would validate her. Yet at every turn, it seemed that fate was pushing him in a different direction.

"Constantly." She spoke, her throat felt tight.

"So what do you do?"

"Keep trying." She answered honestly.

"Gonna tell me how stupid this was?" He asked as he brought his head back down. Ladybug shook her head no.

"Chat...I don't want to step on your hopes. I care about you. You are more than just my partner, you are my friend and I want you to be happy. You and Lucy...it's not smart. My opinion on that has not changed but...Love is stupid sometimes." She admitted and Chat looked at her. "We cannot help who we love. Lucy is...she's great. I really want this to work out for you, I do, I just...I'm worried."

"Me too." Chat said quietly.

"Talk to her." Ladybug continued. "Maybe things will work out...maybe they won't, but you both deserve to be on the same page. I'm not the one to give out love advice. I have my own issues in that department..."

"M'lady has love troubles of her own huh? Who's the lucky guy? Anyone, I know?" Chat asked with a grin.

"Didn't I tell you Adrien kinda looks like Chat Noir," Alya spoke, as they both watched him appear on stage in a Chat Noir costume. The only thing he was missing was a mask.

"What?! No way!"

Ladybug and Chat appeared just after but before either of them could say anything to one another, they both caught sight of their frozen middle finger flipping friends. Noticing Lucy at the heart of their stance she shook her head and looked at Chat.

"Your little girlfriend is such a punk sometimes you know that?"

Chat grinned while looking at Lucy admirably. "Yeah. She sure is."

"Yeah, I prefer this version, too. I couldn't have pulled off playing Cat Noir." Adrien added getting an eye roll and nudge from Lucy who sat on the arm of the couch.

"I know," Marinette said dismissively. "Worlds apart!" Lucy and Adrien gave Marinette a curious look.

"Didn't know you knew Chat Noir so well Marinette," Lucy said with a small smirk. Marinette got up from her seat and ran over to Adrien, not wanting to have offended him.

"What I meant was that you'd be more lame as Chat Noir than in real life. No! N-Not that you're lame in real life, right? It's just, compared to Chat Noir, you're just, I mean...you don't look a thing like him, that's what I mean."

"Mari...you have such a way with words." Lucy joked as Adrien chuckled.

"And you don't look a thing like Ladybug either."

"She's..." Where did he begin? "Kind...and funny. She has these eyes that I sometimes feel like I might drown in..." He closed his eyes and smiles. "And when I am with her I feel..."

"Happy?" Marinette interjected in a whim.

"Home." He corrected.

Marinette's heart hammered in her chest at his description. "Do...do I know her?"

"Yeah," He replied looking at her. "Lucy."

"But I know it's only a matter of time. You know how amazing she is. Any guy would be an idiot for not seeing it!"

Ladybug crossed her arms and leaned against the brick wall as she peered inside the window. A mild annoyance filtered inside her as she thought of Adrien's confession a few weeks prior.

"Oh he sees it alright, don't worry, so far it doesn't seem that she's noticed." Ladybug muttered only for Chat to raise an eyebrow at her.

"Wait what?"

"What?" Ladybug repeated, alarmed by her own externally made thoughts.

"You know someone who likes Lucy? Do you know Lucy as a civilian!?" Chat stood, making Ladybug back away from him in panic.

"What?! No! Of course not! That's crazy! You're crazy!" She brought a hand to her earing. "Boop Boop boop! Oh, would you look at that! I'm about to transform back! BYE!" She shouted yo-yoing away.

"Well, actually, Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, Marinette, here's the thing." Chat begins, trying to be honest. "You're really nice people and this meal is delicious and by far the friendliest I've had in a long time." He places a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Marinette, you're an awesome girl, and I get that you have feelings for me. After all, I'm awesome in so many ways, even I could fall in love with myself!" Chat says, attempting a joke that no one finds funny.

"Anyway, I'm afraid my heart belongs to someone else." Marinette looks up at him and Lucy's amused stare softens. "Even if she and I can never really be together. Even if she ends up loving somebody else. I'm in love with Lucy." He says, locking eyes with Lucy who's shoulders slump slightly as she frowns. Chat brings his eyes to Marinette and looks at her apologetically. "I'm really sorry, Marinette."

"There is no me and Chat. Not really." Lucy spoke quietly. "We both have had to come to try and accept that...and so do you." Marinette felt like a child being told even though her parents were getting divorced that it wasn't her fault and they still loved her. Although she didn't see Chat as any kind of parental figure, she did see two people who clearly had very strong feelings for one another, and yet...Sometimes love isn't enough you know?

"Would you say...with one hundred percent certainty, that you were in love with Lucy?"

"No Ladybug. I wasn't in love with Lucy," he told her, Ladybug looked at him surprised but before she could reply he spoke again. "That would mean I stopped. I am in love with Lucy. She wasn't a fling or a passing phase, I fell in love with her. Just because I chose Paris, Chose to keep being Chat Noir, doesn't make that go away. Being together...it wouldn't work out. It puts her in danger...it puts us in danger. More so than we already are. I am not with Lucy, because I can't be, not because I don't want to be."

Ladybug nodded and bit her lip in thought. Chat watched her and tapped his claws against the metal railing.

"Why the sudden interest in my Love life M'Ladybug?" Ladybug felt heat rush to her face, embarrassed for having asked her question in the first place.

"Eh, it's just...what happens if..or when she finds..." She hesitated. "Someone new? She isn't supposed to wait for you forever right?" Chat frowned and gripped the railing, looking down at the streets below and Ladybug instantly regretted her meddling.

"Wait! I'm sorry! I just meant-"

"It's alright Ladybug." Chat told her. "Lucy's happiness is something of utmost importance to me. I would never ask her to wait around for something I couldn't give her. When Lucy finds another It will be hard. It will be hard to see her move on but it will be worth it to know she is happy and being given every once of love back that she gives out. She deserves it." Ladybug smiled softly at Chat, but something about it didn't quite meet her eyes. "Are you alright Ladybug? Really?"

"Remember when I told you I was having...love troubles?" She asked him, fidgeting with her fingers.

"Yes, of course."

"Turns out that might be even more trouble than before. The guy I have feelings for, I know him in my civilian form. I found out recently that he is harboring feelings for a friend of mine."

"Lucy girl," Alya called out to a dazed-looking Lucy. "You got something you want to tell me?" She then asked holding out her phone. On the screen was a photo she had taken of Lucy and Chat Noir after she and Nino came to. The photo was of them sharing a very heated-looking kiss, a kiss neither party could remember. Ladybug's eyes widened while Chat couldn't help but grin at the image.

"Send that to me, would ya?" He asked with a wink.

"Tell me, Bunnix," Chat Noir says leaning towards her. "in the future, are you and I like…" He makes a heart with his hands.

"Chat!" Ladybug scolds but Bunnix only smiles at him.

"If I tell you your future, your choices become a lot less...yours."

"That's not a no!" Chat jokes.

"With that being said, if you really want to tell someone your secret identity...well, it would make me a hypocrite to try and stop you."

Chat's eyes widen slightly, somewhat surprised that Ladybug would openly give her approval for him to reveal himself to someone.

"Now, I know who it is you might want to tell, but it needs to be somebody else."

"There is no one else." Chat responded without missing a beat.

"I understand." Adrien spoke at her hesitance. "It's never easy to show your true self to someone. You'd wonder what the other person would think of you if they'll like you. It's hard for me, too, you know? Imagine the stories that I have come up with when you saved my life as Adrien, or when you wanted to give me another Miraculous! It was awful having to hide Chat Noir from you. I'm so glad I don't have to do that anymore! I hope you're not too disappointed. You don't have to worry though. Who ever you are under the mask...you'll still always be Ladybug. My friend, my partner in...well, maybe not crime..."He laughs awkwardly. "My point is..." Adrien thought back to Lucy and smiled. "Regardless of if you share your identity with me or not, I will be right here. Whenever you're ready."

From in her ear, Ladybug could hear Viperion warning her that they were running out of time. Viperion tensed as he felt himself detransform, the opportunity to go back slipping from their grasp. This was it. Ladybug knew Chat Noir's identity. There was no changing it now.

"I am... Ma— Ma— Mari— madly awkward!"

"It's okay." Adrien assured her. "Besides, you know who I am now, so you know where to find me."

Ladybug backed away from Adrien, pulling out her yo-yo. She needed to get out of there. "Uhh, right! I'll take my think to time— er— uh— see you sooner!" She yelled, swinging away.

OoOoO

"What made you change your mind?" Luka asks, handing his miraculous over.

"I guess...I just want to see how it works out..." Ladybug responded, still a little uncertain herself.

Luka eyed her carefully. Although in general it seemed Marinette was in fact no longer interested in perusing a romantic relationship with Adrien, he couldn't help but wonder why knowing his identity was now something she felt she needed to hold on to.

"I thought it was too dangerous?"

"He still doesn't know my identity, and I plan to keep it that way. Now I have to deal with Master Su-Han."

OoOoOoO

Marinette sat at her desk looking over her photos, still trying to process the new information she had. Tikki floated in front of her with a smile.

"Isn't it wonderful Marinette!" She said gleefully. "Chat Noir didn't end up all alone after all! And Adrien doesn't have to worry about Lucy's lingering feelings for Chat because they are the same person!"

"Yeah..." Marinette answered in an unconvincing tone. Tikki raised a brow.

"What's wrong? I thought you would be happy for them?"

"I am!" Marinette clarified. "It's just...I was in love with Adrien for so long but I was never in love with Chat Noir. Yet...here he was...Adrien technically...showering me with affection and I rejected him over and over. How could I love someone as much as I thought I had, and never connect the dots?"

"It's not completely your fault Marinette. I told you before your miraculous protects you as from having your identity discovered involuntarily." Tikki explained.

"Maybe, but Lucy knew. I mean...she didn't know know...but she had told me on more than one occasion how alike she found them. I thought she was crazy to think it...and in the end she was right."

It's a hard pill to swallow when you have to admit, even to yourself, that you were wrong about the person you were certain was perfect for you.

OoOoOoO

Adrien impatiently waited for Lucy to connect to his skype call, drumming his fingers against his keyboard until her face illuminated on his screen.

"Lucy!" He greeted, grinning from ear to ear. Lucy raised her brows, taken back by his intensely good mood.

"I take it the interview went well?"

He chuckled. "I mean...yes, it did, but that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I have news to share. You'll never believe it."

"Oh boy. Okay, come on! Lay it on me man."

"Ladybug knows my identity."

Lucy blinked at him. "She...I'm sorry, what? Ladybug knows-"

"Ladybug knows my identity." Adrein repeated.

"Wh-how?"

"I told her."

Lucy rubbed her face with her hands in frustration. "What do you mean you told her? You just went up and said hey Ladybug look over here claws off?!"

Adrien rolled his eyes. "Of course not. We met up this evening. While I was at the interview an Akumatized villain attacked, and she couldn't reach me. She said she had been thinking about it for a while and after today realized that, although dangerous, knowing how to get in touch with one another outside of our hero forms would be beneficial. We can work together better if we know one another's identity."

"Yeah, beneficial for ShadowMoth." Lucy snorted. Adrien gave her a disapproving look.

"Lucy, come on."

"Can you blame me for being concerned and even a litter aggravated? I'm sorry, I just don't understand why the rules keep changing. What if one of your gets akumatized?"

"That's not going to happen."

"But what if it does!? Adrien you can't see the future."

"Lucy." Adrien spoke, his voice holding a firmness to it. "I know your worried. I'll be honest, I am a little too. I don't know why Ladybug's mind changed. Even with her explanation. But I trust her wholeheartedly to be able to make well thought out calls regarding anything that has to do with the miraculous."

Lucy sighed. "Okay...alright, fine. So, you know each other's identities. Now what?"

"Well, she knows mine." Adrien clarified with a shrug. "Now I just have to wait for her to be ready to share hers and then-"

"Wait!" Lucy shouted, holding her hand up to the computer. "Hold the phone, back up, rewind. She knows your identity, but you don't know hers? Why?!"

"She got cold feet." Adrien explains casually. "It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?! Adrien seriously?"

"Listen, remember how long it took me to finally work up the courage to tell you my identity after-"

"Yeah, after Ladybug said it was okay. It's not the same thing."

"It's kind of the same thing." Adrien defended. "I was worried that once you knew the truth it would change things between us in a negative way. It's not unreasonable to assume Ladybug might feel similarly. That I might see her less as the strong, courageous, unbeatable Ladybug and more so a vulnerable...human." He explained. "The armor comes off when we remove our masks, both literally and figuratively. It's scary, Lucy."

Through the screen, Adrien watched Lucy fiddle with her watch necklace and sigh.

"I get that." She spoke quietly.

"I know you do."

OOoOoOoOo

The next few days, Marinette had a constant headache. Every turn she made when she saw Adrien on a poster or billboard, his face would change to that of Chat Noir. In all the photos she had of him along with her friends, she saw Chat Noir. When he spoke, she could hear Chat clearly, making stupid puns and jokes. Was he always like this? As she stood on Luka's houseboat, watching Adrien, Luka and the others perform, she could once again see Adrien as Chat Noir as he played away on the keyboard. It was all too much. Needing some time to breathe, Marinette went toward the back of the boat, taking a seat on the couch and placing her head in her hands. When would she be able to get over this?

Luka, noticing Marinette's escape, put down his guitar and followed her, taking a seat beside her on the couch.

"I feel like you're not hearing the same tune anymore when you look at Adrien." He spoke. Marinette looked past Luka and back over to Adrien, who she still couldn't stop seeing as Chat Noir.

"Luka, have you ever thought you knew a person really well only to find out that they have a secret side to them that you couldn't possibly imagine?"

If only you knew. Luka thought to himself before answering knowingly. "Yes."

And did it... completely change your way of seeing them? Like suddenly, everything feels strange 'cause you don't really know them anymore?"

"Quite the opposite, actually. Once I got over the shock, it helped me to get to know them better, and like them even more."

There was something in Luka's tone and the way he was looking at her that made Marinette want to inquire more about the person he was talking about. Before she could, he left the couch and headed back over to the others. Letting his words sink in, Marinette looked back over to Adrien, suddenly able to see him clearly again.

The next several days after that Marinette took the time to let her mind see and shift between the two personas and the things that connected them together. The kindness, bravery, the silly jokes, the trust he had in her, and the love he carried for Lucy. Marinette could see it now.

After defeating their most recent Akuma, The Mime, rain began to trickle down from the sky. Chat Noir extended his staff, opening the umbrella function and extending his arm to cover them both. A flicker of lightning flashes, and once again, Ladybug can see Adrien.

"I just wanted you to know that I was only trying to take the chewing gum off your seat. I swear. I've never been to school before. I've never had friends. It's all sort of new to me."

It was almost crazy for her to believe that this boy went from someone she thought she would despise, to a boy she loved, to someone who she considered one of her closest and more dear friends.

"Pound it."

The rain came and went, and the pair landed in a nearby alleyway. Calling claws out, Adrien appeared in his civilian attire and told Ladybug goodbye. Every time they parted ways Ladybug was taken back with how easy it was for him to walk away. She had expected him to pester her, or even hang around suggestively to see if she would finally give in, but he never did. Instead, he carried on as always. As if nothing had changed.

"Wait!" She called out, taking hold of his wrist. "I'm ready." Before she could let herself talk herself out of it, she called spots off and, in that moment, it was no longer Chat Noir and Ladybug, nor was it Adrien and Ladybug. It was simply Adrien and Marinette.

Anxiousness filled Marinette to the brim as Adrien stared at her. His eyes widened, and mouth gaped as he took in the person in front of him.

"Say something." Marinette demanded. "Are you disappointed?"

"Am I...?" Adrien blinked at her rapidly before taking a large step forward. "Of course I'm not disappointed. I just found out two of the most important people in my life are actually the same person." He told her, bringing his arms around her and engulfing her in a hug.

Tikki and Plagg look at one another, uncertain about what would unfold now that the two knew each other's identities. After all, they had seen it before, and although every experience was different, many of them ended poorly. Although both Kwamis hoped for the best, the odds were against the two heroes now.

The two pulled away from their hug and looked at one another..

"Is this weird?" Marinette asked. "I feel like it's weird."

"It's only as weird as we make it." Adrien comforted, rubbing the back of his neck with a small laugh.

"I guess since it doesn't really matter anymore...does Lucy know...?" Marinette asked curiously. Adrien smiled.

"She does." He confirmed.

"How did she take it?"

Adrien thought of that night with a lazy smile only for it to shift after picturing Lucy slapping him in his sleep and yelling at him, back over to them making up right after. Marinette squinted at the mixture of expressions flowing across Adrien's face with slight concern before he finally seemed to come back to the present.

"Pretty good I think."

"Good..." Marinette responded slowly, clearing her throat. "I'm glad you guys are happy."

"We are."

"You know," Marinette started, using this moment of confidence and courage to lay everything she had on the table before she swallowed it down forever. "I used to have a bit of a crush on you." She said with a laugh, trying to play if off as casually as possible.

"I know." Adrien answered with a grin, and with that Marinette's smile vanished and was replaced with a look of panic.

"You know!? How?! Was it that obvious!? Everyone said you had no idea! When did you figure it out!?"

Adrien thought again, back to the morning after his confession to Lucy. They had put their things in their lockers and were headed to the homeroom when Marinette called out to Lucy with Alya beside her.

"Lucy! Did you manage to complete question 17 on our science homework? Me and Alya were at it all night over the phone and are at a loss."

Lucy bared her teeth apologetically. "Yeaaaah, no. I'll be straight up with you most of those questions went right over my head. I'm usually pretty good at science but this whole chapter I have been just scraping by. Fortunately, this beautiful boy right here was able to help with his wrinkly brain." She gestured to Adrien.

Marinette threw herself at Adrien desperately. "Gah! Adrien please help! If I turn in one more incomplete assignment to Ms. Mendeleiev she will kill meeeeee!"

Lucy laughed as Adrien smiled and placed his hands on each of Marinette's arms, offering her a reassuring smile. "I got your back Marinette, don't worry. We can go over it at lunch."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Marinette said, giving him a quick hug before clearly coming back to reality and spacing herself from the boy. "See you in class!" She said running off. Alya rolled her eyes after Marinette before sending Adrien and thank you finger gun and following.

"To think she used to have a crush on me." Adrien said absent mindedly before Lucy grabbed him by the collar, bringing his face close to her.

"Adrien. You see my shoes?" Lucy asked. Adrien cast his eyes downward to look at her shoes, nodding. "I really like them." She added.

"Uh, yeah, they are nice shoes. You wear them all the time." he said confused.

"Exactly, so imagine how upsetting it would be if I had to ruin them by shoving my foot up your ass."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Uh...very..eh, very upsetting...?"

"It would be." Lucy confirmed. "But that is exactly what I will do if Marinette ever finds out that I told you about her feelings towards you. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good." She then said with a smile, kissing him on the cheek and releasing him from her death grip. "Come on, don't want to be late."

Adrien's eye twitched at the memory.

"Just a hunch I had a while back."

"A hunch? And you never said anything?"

"Well, I didn't want to embarrass you or anything...Besides! It hardly matters now!"

"Right!" Marinette agreed, shaking her head. "You're right. It doesn't."

"This is going to be a gamer changer for us Marinette, I can feel it." Adrien spoke confidently, placing a hand on her shoulder. Marinette, infected with his upbeat attitude nodded in agreement.

OoOoOoOo

"So," Adrien spoke over the phone a few days later while spinning around in his computer chair. "My schedule is looking pretty free, so I was thinking you, me movie, tomorrow, around 3?"

Lucy groaned through the phone line. "I'm sorry amore. I have to work at the museum on Saturday. Unless we see it after? A little after 5?"

Adrien sighed. "I have an evening shoot. Bummer, I was really hoping to see that new comedy I showed you the trailer for."

"I'm sorry," Lucy apologized. "Maybe another day? Or you can even see if someone else is free? Nino?"

"Yeah, I can...ugh, no, never mind. He has his brother tomorrow."

"Shoot."

Another sigh escapes Adrien as he drums his fingers on his desk in thought. "I don't know. Maybe I can see if Marinette is free."

"Marinette? You two really seem to be a lot closer these days." Lucy commented. Adrien raised a brow and smirked.

"You jealous? I will remind you that the original plan was to go with you." Lucy laughed on the other end.

"Not jealous but intrigued. Obviously, you guys have always been friendly, but it seems like overnight you two formed some kind of bond."

"I guess you could say we have. Marinette's always been someone I felt I could rely on and it seems she is finally seeing me as someone she can rely on too."

Although Adrien couldn't see it, Lucy nodded. "Well, by all means, see if Marinette is free to go check out the movie."

"Alright, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night, I love you."

"Love you too sweets. Sleep tight."

After hanging up, Adrien scrolled through his contacts until he came to Marinette's name and hit dial. A few rings in and she answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Marinette, are you by any chance free tomorrow around 3pm?"

"Tomorrow? Uh...yeah. Why?"

"There is this movie I have been wanting to see called "The Hitman's Bodyguard" and I wanted to know if you would be interested in seeing it with me?"

"Me? Really?" Marinette asked. "Why not go with Lucy?"

"I was going to, but she has to work. I could wait until another time, but you know how my schedule fluctuates."

"Oh! Well, yeah sure. That could be fun. We could do a patrol after."

"Sure. I just have to be back by six. I have a photoshoot in the evening."

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow then. Good night Adrien."

"Sweet dreams M'lady." Adrien said, ending the call. Unknown to him, his father had come to his door to speak with him but froze after hearing Adrien's words.

OoOoOoOoOo

Gabriel couldn't believe what he had discovered. His son was Chat Noir. His head ached at the realization. How could he not have noticed? Sure, there was a point in time where the possibility had crossed his mind. It had made him so convinced that in the process of proving he had put his son's life in great danger. Everyone had thought they saw Adrien and Chat Noir together on the news all those months ago, but it was clear now that they, as well as he, were put under a ruse.

When morning came, Gabriel had made a decision. He was going to show Adrien the truth. The morning sun rose, and Gabriel called for his son, leading him to the painting that also worked as a secret entrance to the lower and upper levels of his lair.

Adrien eyes widen as the elevator took him down, instructing Plagg to stay hidden away. As he walked across the metal bridge a industrial type of casket opened. Adrien wasn't prepared to see his mother inside of it, perfectly preserved.

Unhappy memories are persistent. They're specific, and it's the details that refuse to leave us alone. Though a happy memory may stay with you just as long as one that makes you miserable, what you remember softens over time. What you recall is simply that you were happy, not necessarily the individual moments that brought about your joy.

But the memory of something painful does just the opposite. It retains its original shape, all bony fingers and pointy elbows. Every time it returns, you get a quick poke in the eye or jab in the stomach. The memory of being unhappy has the power to hurt us long after the fact. We feel the injury anew each and every time we think of it.

Seeing his mother this way, so much the same as the last time he saw her, managed to open up the wounds on Adrien's heart that he fought tooth and nail to close.

"One hundred weeks since she disappeared. One hundred times have I wanted to tell you." Gabriel speak, coming up from behind Adrien, removing his scarf and revealing the two miraculous underneath it. "Nooroo, Duusu, dual metamorphosis!"

In front of Adrien, his father is no more, instead stands the cold eyes of the man he had been looking to get rid of. ShadowMoth.

"One hundred times have I tried to seize Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous to bring her back! To think that this illusion was right here right under my roof!"

ShadowMoth releases an Akuma, which enters Adrien's phone. "Ephemeral, I am your father, ShadowMoth. I'm giving you the power to speed up time and help me bring your mother back. All I ask in return are Ladybug's Miraculous... and yours."

"No! You can't ask me to do that! No, no!"

ShadowMoth stared down at his son in pity. How could he not understand? All he wanted was his wife back. Why would his son not want to see his mother again? It didn't matter. Adrien was still a child in his eyes. He didn't understand the magnitude of the situation. That was why he had to be akumatized.

ShadowMoth fidgeted with his wedding ring. His son wasn't like him. He wasn't willing to walk through the darkness to get to the light. That was okay. He would carry him through it.

"Do you understand me, son?"

"Yes father..." Adrien says, succumbing to the Akuma and handing over his miraculous.

Each of us has something within us which won't be denied, even if it makes us scream aloud to die. We are what we are, that's all. Like the old Celtic legend of the bird with the thorn in its breast, singing its heart out and dying. Because it must, its self-knowledge can't affect or change the outcome, can it? Everyone is singing their own little song, convinced it's the most wonderful song the world has ever heard. Don't you see? We create our own thorns, and never stop to count the cost. All we can do is suffer the pain, and tell ourselves it is well worth it.

ShadowMoth takes the ring and places it on his finger. Plagg races out and calls for his power but is stopped.

"Enough, kwami! I am your master now." Behind him, Adrien transforms into Ephemeral.

OoOoOoOoOo Almost through it guys.

When Marinette got to the theater it was empty. She didn't think much of it being that for the first time in a long time she had actually shown up early to something. The screen wasn't even displaying previews yet. She took a seat in the front row and munched on some popcorn while she waited. Hearing the doors open behind her she turned to see if it was Adrien but was shocked to see it was ShadowMoth. Or should it be ShadowNoir? His outfit had changed, giving major black panther vibes.

"Hello, Ladybug!" ShadowNoir greeted menacingly.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette called, changing to Ladybug and immediately calling for her Lucky Charm. In her hand fell a stopwatch with the time 1:00am.

"Could this be the hour of your defeat?"

The feeling of a touch on her back caused Ladybug to look over her shoulder. Behind her an Akumatized Adrien stands frowning at her. He has pale, light lilac colored skin and glowing pupil-less brilliant magenta eyes and wears a purple jumpsuit that covers most of his body, except for his eyes and the area of his nose and mouth. The suit possesses shoulder pads, gloves and knee-high boots that are of a darker shade of violet and glowing pink outlines and a black line around the waist. There are sets of three black arrows pointing down on his torso and members and a pointy helmet on his head with the same color of the suit with a black coloration at the front outlined by a glowing pink line and black arrows at the sides.

"I'm sorry, I promise this won't take long." He speaks and the arrows on his body begin to flicker, inserting the energy into his chest and speeding up Ladybug's de-transformation.

"Time flies when we're having fun!" ShadowMoth calls out, full of one liners this evening. Ladybug attempts to run off, pulling out her communicator and taking a picture of the watch. "Running is pointless! In just a few seconds you'll be a simple young girl without powers again!"

In the last seconds she had, Ladybug sent her message to Luka and prayed he gets it.

"Those earrings are MINE!" ShadowNoir growls, picking up Marinette and removing her earrings.

"No!No, no! Adrien! Help!" Off to the side, Ephemeral twitches, his inner concious fighting to be free, only to lose. ShadowNoir tosses Marinette to the side.

"Finally! My greatest wish will come true!"

OoOoOoO

Luka sat on his bed, playing his guitar when his phone buzzed beside him. Picking it up, he finds a message from an unknown user.

"Sass is in my sewing box? Marinette!" Jumping up from the couch Luka races to his bike and heads toward Marinette's house. He doesn't know what's going on, but it was clear she was in some kind of big trouble revealing herself like that.

When he got to her home, he practically crashed through the bakery doors, startling Sabine and Tom. Luka quickly apologized and ran upstairs to Marinette's room and called for Sass.

"Don't worry, he knows." Sass assures the other Kwamis, frightened from his sudden arrival.

"Sass, Marinette sent me this. I think she wants me to go back to this exact moment. But she knows I can no longer do that." Luka explained, holding up his phone to show the picture of the stopwatch.

"You can't, but I can. I can go back to any temporal marker that has been placed in the past."

"But when a Kwami uses their power without a holder it always has disastrous consequences!" Barkk explained.

Wayzz floats over to Sass. "The situation must really be desperate for the guardian to suggest that!"

A harsh red-light flashes from outside, along with a loud bang. Luka and the Kwami's go over to the window in panic.

"Oh no! Not that, not again! It's the end of the world!"

"What's going on?!" Luka asks.

"ShadowMoth must have taken control of Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous, and he made a wish!" Sass told him.

"But what has that got to do with the end of the world?"

"Imagine the world as your school notebook. Everything inside is written in blue, but now you want it to be red instead. Before you can rewrite anything in the color you'd like, you have to erase everything that's already been written in blue!" Sass explained.

"That's what happens when someone makes a wish! The universe is destroyed, and then entirely rebuilt! But who knows how..." Said Barkk.

The light from outside flashes more intensely, along with another loud bang.

"Sass, hurry!"

"Second Chance!"

OoOoOoOoO

Signaling Viperion, he used the power of his second chance and the countdown began. She needed to get Chat Noir to reveal himself to her in time for Viperion to use his power again.

"I'm sorry, but I really couldn't make it—"

Around them the lights of the city begin flashing alternately, while the malfunctioning cars are making a lot of noise. The heroes look over the ledge in confusion.

"What on earth is happening?" Ladybug asks aloud. It's then that random anomalies begin showing up and disappearing. "It's like history's all jumbled up!"

A woman then appears behind them. She had pixi cut brown hair and her outfit was a medieval style of chainmail. If the red and black spot pattern didn't give it way, her sudden use of a yo-yo certainly did. The woman was a former Ladybug.

"Hark, what are those voices I hear? Bertrand? Gilles? My, what sorcery is this?" Before she can reach them, she disappears.

"Time has gone crazy! Or maybe I have..." Chat says.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Viperion! Viperion, can you hear me?" She calls out through her ear piece with no response. "Follow me!" She tells Chat Noir, leading him to the sewer where she had left Viperion.

"Ladybug, can you hear me?" Viperion calls, as Ladybug and Chat Noir appear behind him.

"Viperion! I've gotta talk to Sass!" Luka quickly detransforms, and Sass appears.

"I'm so sorry, Ladybug, I had no choice!"

"What happened?"

"I'm not really sure. I just saw a photo of a lucky charm, a watch showing 1 am." Sass explains.

"Do you understand any of this?" Chat asks still very confused.

"When kwamis use their power without a holder, it always has magical and disastrous consequences. And Sass's power is to turn back time!"

"So time has gotten all mixed up!" Chat pieces together. He still didn't understand why Sass was had to travel back through time, nor did he understand why Viperion was here to begin with, but as it turned out time was of the essence. It would have to wait.

"So how do you fix it?" Luka asks.

"Maybe we can get Lucy?" Chat suggests.

"Lucy? What could she do?"

Ladybug shoots Chat Noir and annoyed look, who in return smiles at her apologetically. She groans before answering.

"Lucy holds the miraculous of the bunny. Like the snake its power involves time travel." Ladybug explained.

"I'm afraid she can't be used as a solution." Sass told Chat. "The bunny miraculous interfering with a jumbled timeline caused by my own power would inevitably make things worse."

"Stay here, Luka!" Ladybug instructed at the sound of more destruction above them. Peeking through street, Ladybug and Chat Noir saw anomalies from their past such as Gamer and Montparnasse.

"Woah, I'm getting major Déjà vu right now!" Ladybug says.

"It's time to have a genius idea, m'lady!"

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug calls, and a scale weight appears.

"Do you think this will be enough to tip the balance of time?" Chat Jokes, but he couldn't be more on point.

"Oh, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures! This organization coordinates the hours of the whole world with its satellite! It's right near Paris!"

"Which means the satellite is just above our heads! We fix it, we fix all the connected devices that depend on time to function! How are we going to know the exact time to program onto the satellite?"

(Can I just say what a silly solution that is. Because it is. I mean there are a lot of solutions that are silly in this show but in regard to fixing a time line... *Sighs in kid show*)

"Thanks to this countdown, I still have a way to know what time it is for real. When it gets to the end, that'll mean that it's exactly 1:05 am. That's what we'll program into the satellite. Time to suit up!"

"Mmm. But, what's the plan with all the apparitions?" Chat asks, pulling out his special cheese.

"Leave them to my magical ladybugs."

OoOoOoOo

Once the correct time was put into the satellite, time itself seemed to readjust. Ladybug called her miraculous ladybugs, and the apparitions were swept away in time.

" Meow, meow, meow... Meow-meow! " Chat sang the Star Wars theme.

"That's a pretty tune, what is it?"

"A classical piece. Thus spoke Catathustra." Astro Chat joked. "By the way, what did you wanna talk about earlier, up on the Eiffel Tower?"

"Oh, nothing important. Forget about it." Cosmo bug said. Chat frowned a little. He was certain that it was defiantly not nothing. After all she had sounded so serious over the communicator, and Viperion had been waiting down in the sewer below them. No. Ladybug was once again keeping something from him. He didn't bother pushing. Instead, he let it go and headed home.

Ladybug had considered telling Chat Noir the truth. She was sure he was hoping for an explanation. Instead, she chose against it. In fact, her whole plan was something she decided to toss out the window. When she landed on the roof of her home, Master Su-Han was waiting for her. This time, however, she decided to do what she should have done in the first place.

"So, do you know who Chat Noir is yet?"

"No." She told him simply.

"What? I thought I had warned you—"

"I don't want to know. I've proven to you a hundred times that I'm a good guardian, and Chat Noir and I have proven to you a hundred times that we were exceptional superheroes, and you! How many times have you told us that we were messing up, when that was totally untrue? You're judging us based on your own fears, and not on our actions!"

"You're right, little Ladybug." Su-Han agreed with a sigh. Ladybug swallowed, relieved that he wasn't going to fight her on this. "Perhaps I'm worrying over nothing. What's for sure is that one doesn't come across a guardian like you every century." He reaches out his fist. "How do you say again?"

Ladybug smiles and holds out her own. "Pound it."

Alright! There is the chapter. I started it at like 8am this morning and sat here the entire day to get this out! Whoo hoo! The next chapter will be the "Gabriel Agreste" and the return of Felix! Its also the chapter some of you have been waiting for. The one where Gabriel finally finds out the extent of Adrien and Lucy's relationship! Anyway, remember to comment and vote and all that jazz! I love seeing your thoughts!

Till next time, I will see you in the next chapter! Chow for now!