Chat joined his partner outside, nearly recoiling from the crowd's roar. His senses were still a bit on the fritz. At least now he could see clear enough to distinguish faces. Didn't help his headache, though. Ladybug stood at the apex of the crowd, talking with their favorite reporter. She was grinning brightly as she spoke into the camera phone. The painting still sat against her hip. Chat caught Alya's eye and was quickly waved over. He obliged with a smile.

"Chat, any words on your victory, tonight?" The redhead asked eagerly.

"Was there ever any doubt?" The hero said. "Milady and I are a purrfect team. Of course we were going to win."

"So, why was it you were nowhere to be seen during the final showdown?"

All of his bravado wilted away at her words. Ears drooping, he let out a nervous laugh as he tried to come up with some sort of retort. Thankfully, Ladybug came to his rescue.

"Even with our impeccable teamwork, Spades isn't someone to be taken lightly. The battle inside was a tough one, and Chat as well as many others needed time to recover from it."

"There were injuries?"

Ladybug laughed. "Nothing worse than some bruises, I assure you. And maybe a few broken prides."

'Speak for yourself,' Chat thought. He fought the urge to touch his nose.

"So, all in all, despite the tough fight, Paris' heroes came out on top. Any parting words for the Thief of Spades?"

Ladybug puffed her chest with a smug grin. "Absolutely. If she ever wants to try again, we'll be ready and waiting."

"You got that right!" Chat said.

The duo's locked eyes. With a grin, they shared their signature fist bump. Alya decided to wrap up the interview there and turned off her phone. From there, other fans of the heroes began to come forth for autographs and the like. An officer relieved Ladybug of the painting, and the two set to work happily. They went down the line, one after another until a set of deep blue eyes caught Chat's green ones. Luna gave him her best fangirl smile as she offered him a paper to sign.

"You guys are amazing!" She gushed. "I can't believe Paris has actual superheroes!"

Chat gave her a sly smirk as he drew a paw print. "I take it you're mew to the city?"

"Just moved here last month, actually. I only recently got the chance to really explore it."

"Well, I'm sure you'll love it here," Ladybug said as she took the paper to sign next.

Luna beamed. "I already do. Oh, is the painting going to be back on display anytime soon?"

'And there it is,' Chat thought. Of course she was here to check up on it. If it were him, he'd probably start planning another attempt, too.

"Probably not," Ladybug said. "The museum's curator will most likely want to appraise the piece first. Just to make sure it didn't sustain any damages."

"Not to mention Mayor Bourgeois will want Officer Roger and co. to keep a close eye on it in case the thief wants to try again," Chat added.

The actress nodded. "Fair enough. That's probably what I would do, too. It would suck to have done all that work for nothing."

The leather-clad boy frowned. He didn't like the way she said that. Luna caught his stare and chose to flash him an all too smug smile and wink. The hairs on his neck stood up. She couldn't have...

Ladybug made a move to continue on but stopped when she noticed her partner's odd spacing. "Everything okay?" She asked him.

Chat blinked. "Yeah... uh... excuse me for a sec..." He walked off, heading back for the Louvre. He was moving so fast that he nearly ran into an officer that was leaving. He mumbled a soft sorry.

"No harm done," the man said as he passed.

Chat continued on inside but hesitated to give the man a second glance. He seemed familiar... and what was he holding? The teen shook his head and kept going. He had other things to worry about.

Ladybug had stood still for a moment, gaping after her chaton. What was with him? Chat was becoming less and less like himself, and it worried her. She gave the crowd a quick apology before following him inside, hopefully to get some answers. She found him next to Mayor Bourgeois and Officer Roger, staring intently at the painting. The mayor looked a bit miffed at the hero and was drumming his fingers on his arm to prove it.

"I fail to see why this is necessary, Chat Noir," he said. "You got it back from her, didn't you?"

The blond didn't answer. Instead, he continued to stare at the artwork, lips pressed into a hard line. Ladybug came up beside him, frowning.

"Chat, what's going on?"

"All that work for nothing," he muttered.

Ladybug's brow furrowed even more. "What?"

He tilted the canvas toward her. "Do you see what I see?"

"See what?" Her eyes scanned the green landscape but saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Chat, what am I looking for?"

"At the base of the tree, near the bottom left."

She gave him an odd look before examining closer. It wasn't long before she finally saw it. Nestled against the base of one of the trees was a small black cat hidden in the shadows. It was barely noticeable to anyone giving it a passing glance. Hell, the only reason Ladybug saw it at all was because of the small red dot painted on its ear. A small red bug.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ladybug said.

"What? What is it?!" The mayor demanded.

The duo shared a look. Neither one wanted to break the news to him. Finally, Ladybug cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, Mayor Bourgeois. It looks like we had the wool pulled over our eyes."

"Meaning?"

"This isn't the painting, sir," Chat said. "I think Spades had the same idea you did."

"What are you talking about? Give it here!"

Chat offered him the canvas and more or less had it torn from his grip. Mayor Bourgeois studied it from top to bottom, trying and failing to see what they had. Even Roger was scratching his head at it.

"Are you sure?" the cop asked. "I mean I can't tell any difference."

"Oh, I'm sure," Chat said in a deadpan.

Both adults looked at him with spurning. With a sigh, the teen took the canvas and flipped it so they all could see the back. There, neatly sewn into the center, was an Ace of Spades playing card.

Luna said her goodbyes to Alya and Nino and cheerfully made her way to the black car waiting for her. Collins was leaning against the driver's door, hands neatly tucked into his pockets. As she approached, he stood and opened her door for her.

"Have fun with your friends?" he asked.

"Always," she said before climbing in. Her hand immediately fell on the black tube that waited for her in the seat. She bit at her lips to fight her giddiness. Damn, did this feel good.

"Please don't open that, now, Lunabelle," Collins said. He slunk into the driver's seat and started the engine. "I had a hell of a time getting the damned thing in there to begin with."

"You act like I'm gonna flaunt it out the window," Luna said with a laugh.

The nanny quirked a brow into the rear-view window. "You mean the thought hasn't crossed your mind?"

She stuck her tongue out at him much to his enjoyment. They spent the drive home in relative silence. Luna watched the world pass out her window, the night's events replaying in her mind. Collins' hazel eyes stole glances at her periodically, but he held his tongue. He knew his charge well enough to know if he asked what was bothering her, he'd likely get little more than a cold shoulder. Didn't mean he couldn't worry, though. When they pulled into their driveway and parked, he turned to look at her fully in the back seat.

"I'm thinking pizza, tonight," he said. "Maybe a couple sundaes to celebrate?"

Luna's face lit up. "With gummy bears?"

"What normal teenager likes gummy bears on their ice cream?"

"Says the guy who smothers his in butterscotch."

"Hey, butterscotch is delicious!" the nanny said as they got out of the vehicle.

Luna tucked the tube under her arm and smirked. "Butterscotch is for the weak, and natural selection is coming for you."

"Get inside, already, ya brat."

The actress chuckled even more as Collins ruffled her hair. They went inside and began to settle in for the night. Collins set about making dinner while Luna changed into a tank and shorts. She spent some time in the mirror checking her bruises with a frown. She was likely going to be sore in the morning. Totally worth it.

The doorbell rang, making the teen frown. "Collins, you getting that?" she called out.

"Not if you want to eat!"

Luna groaned as she made her way downstairs. Part of her questioned what could be so difficult about a damn pizza when she opened the door. "HellooooOOOOO JEEZ!"

She was greeted to the sight of a very worse for wear Adrien. His nose had darkened to a deep purple that nearly overshadowed the dark circles under his eyes. His stance was slightly slouched, hands tucked into his jean pockets. He gave a small nod at her reaction. "That bad, huh?"

"That truck must really hate you."

Adrien scratched his brow. "Kinda hope not." Luna bit her cheek. Yeah, definitely awkward. A couple of seconds crept by in silence before the boy cleared is throat. "Do you think I could, uh..."

Luna blinked. "Oh. Oh, right! Come in." She stepped aside so he could enter. Adrien rubbed his neck. He was starting to question why he came over at all. It's not like he could convince her to give the painting back, which had more or less been the idea. Though, he pretty much figured he just wanted an excuse from going home right away. He really didn't want to explain why he look like he blocked a bat with his face.

"Soooo," Luna said, scratching her head. "...you want some ice?"

"Uh... It actually doesn't hurt all that much, anymore," Adrien said. "Kinda forgot about it during the whole 'temporary blindness' thing."

"I'm really sorry. It was a total accident... The nose, not the blindness...thing..."

"Y'know, I figured as much considering you told me to smile for the camera? God, that must've been an awful picture. My mouth was open and everything."

Luna couldn't help it; she laughed. Adrien found himself smiling, too. The tension between them eased away. This... this they could handle. Still grinning, Luna licked her lips. "So, how upset was she when she found out it was a fake?"

Adrien heaved out a sigh. "She... handled it pretty well... Mayor Bourgeois wasn't too happy, though. That man has a very colorful vocabulary."

"You guys got chewed out, huh?"

"That's a nice way of putting it."

Luna swayed on her feet. "And how did the public react?"

"Don't know. We have been sworn to secrecy. The public is not allowed to know the great Thief of Spades outsmarted us." He added a flourishing bow.

"D'aww, but how am I supposed to gloat?" Luna said with a pout. "You're just sucking the fun out of it for me."

"I believe that's the idea."

"Adrien?"

They both turned to see Collins standing in the hallway, drying his hands on a dish rag. The blond boy frowned. As the man came towards them, light bulbs went off in the hero's head.

"This is a surprise," the nanny said. "To what do we owe the...Oh my God, what happened to-"

"It was you!"

Collins blinked at the sudden outburst. "Excuse me?"

"You were the police officer! That's why you sounded familia-" Adrien's eyes widened. "You had it, didn't you?!"

"Had what?" Confusion grew on the older man's face.

Horror painted Luna's face as the boy continued to talk. "The painting! You had it and you literally walked right past me with it! God, I'm such an idiot!"

"Yeah, I'll say," Luna muttered, burying her face in her hand.

Collins looked between them, then folded his arms. "Okay, then, Adrien. I'll admit it; I did disguise myself as an officer, earlier. I don't recall seeing you there, though. Exactly when did we pass each other?"

"I..." A whole new set of lights went off for the teen. He glanced at Luna, who had both hands pressed together in front of her mouth. The way she was staring a hole into the floor spoke volumes. Heat filled Adrien's face. "You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Pretty sure I promised not to tell anyone," Luna said.

"Oh... right..." He looked back a Collins, who seemed more than a little bemused by the situation. "Any chance you can just forget what I said before?"

The nanny raised his hands with a smile. "It never happened. Are you staying for dinner? We're all out of kitty chow, but I think I have some tuna cans somewhere."

Adrien made a sound that was somewhere between a groan and a whine. He hid his face in his hands, ignoring the dull ache of his nose. Luna looked at him.

"You really suck at the whole 'secret identity' thing, kitten."

"Please, shut up."