Adrien grew anxious as he saw Nathalie handing his father a bracelet that he had made by hand just as dinner was coming to a close. His father observed the bracelet narrowing his eyes like when he was criticizing his own designs.

"What is it?"

"It's a gift I've made for my friend, for a surprise party we're all planning today," Adrien said feeling a little weird using his friends' full name. "You know, my friend who won the fashion contest, Marinus Dupain-Cheng?"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes as he held the bracelet in his hand. "I don't remember giving you permission to go to your friend's birthday party."

"Please, Father! We've been planning it for days now. I've already studied and finished my homework ahead of time and Nathalie says that there's nothing else for me to do." Adrien pleaded. He noticed his father glancing towards Nathalie before nodding.

"Alright then." He said simply before drinking his tea.

"Thank you, Father." Adrien said as stood up. He took his bracelet back from Nathalie and then ran back to his room. As he walked back in he saw Plagg munching on a piece of Camembert on his desk.

"What do you think, Plagg?" Adrien asked holding out the bracelet towards his Kwami.

Plagg sniffed the bracelet then looked up at his partner in discontent. "Ugh, what's the point of giving someone something that can't be eaten and doesn't have a scent?"

And almost immediately Adrien's previous joy suddenly warped into anxiety. "You think Marin won't like it?"

"Well if you gave me that, I'd be seriously offended. Why don't you buy him something? Isn't that bakery boy a fan of your old man? Just give him a brand jacket or something, why are you giving him a bracelet?"

That was true, Marin would probably be extremely happy getting something that was handmade by his father. But oddly enough, as much of a fan as Marin was the topic of his father's work never came up that much if at all. He knew his friend was the kind to always gift handmade presents, only buying them when he was sure of what he was gifting. But something like this, something that he made on his own...

Adrien sighed as he sat at his desk, pulling out the lucky charm bracelet that Marin had gifted him months ago, a kind of pseudo birthday present to him. It had helped him out during his studying and fencing competitions and slowly become extremely precious to him the more his and Marin's friendship grew stronger.

"I always carry the lucky charm he gave me wherever I go, it always helped me out alot." Adrien felt a little nervous. He'd seen the jewelry that Marin made by hand, compared to the amazing stuff he made... "I just thought I'd return the favor. Since he's kinda frail I thought it would be nice to make him a protective charm."

"Hmph, there's not protecting that guy from his crippling bad luck."

"Plagg, that's not nice." Adrien scolded, turning back towards his Kwami now on his bed.

"Well it's true isn't it?

Adrien recalled that fond memory as he waited for his friend near the entrance. A smile drew on his face as he saw him running towards the school, almost late as usual, though oddly enough he didn't come from his house. "Overslept again?" Adrien asked in expectation as he saw a white box in Marin's hands, his mouth already watering.

"Maybe." Marin gasped, trying to catch his breath, placing his hands on his knees.

"You're more out of breath than usual, did you go somewhere or something?"

"What?! No!" Marin immediately responded defensively. Adrien then noticed that he was rubbing the back of his neck nervously, implying that his best friend was lying about something, he just wasn't sure as to what. "Why, did you hear something?"

"No...should I have?" Adrien asked a little playfully, now wildly curious. "Where were you this morning?"

"...Nowhere." Marin said already walking towards their first class together with the box in hand.

"Come on, tell me." Adrien asked folding his hands behind his back. "Where would you go that's so important that you of all people would wake up early, today of all days? Is there something especially important about today?"

"No, there's nothing." Marin tried to say as he tried his best to avert his gaze.

"Really?" Adrien asked, tilted his head with a mischievously grin on his face. "Are you lying?"

"Say one more word and no cookies!" Marin retorted as his face started to turn red with embarrassment. As much as Adrien wanted to pry further, he wanted his hands on those cookies more.

"Fine, fine." Adrien said. "So we're still on for you giving me cookies later, right?"

Marin sighed heavily, but couldn't help but smirk at his best friend's brattiness. "You say that like I have a choice in that matter."

"I'm good friends with the best manga publisher in Japan, you know. I can talk to them about your comic book project if you like."

Marin heard Lila saying to Nathaniel as she next to him at their shared desk in the back row. Had he realized what kind of mental torture it was, sitting next to a girl that was arguably the worst person he'd ever met, he would've taken the seat next to Adrien earlier. But what could he do, actually have the audacity to sit near his best friend when he promised he'd help out Lila?

At least this was the last class before lunch, then he could actually relax for a while. His leg started to shake reflexively as he eyed his phone, just waiting for the bell to ring.

"I've graded your mock exam papers. Most of you did quite well, some better than others. Marin, could you see me after class please?" Miss Bustier asked, and promptly crushed his growing relief.

A bad feeling settled in Marin's stomach. Usually, it was never a good thing when a teacher had to talk to you, much less pull you away from the eyes of the entire class. As the lunch bell rang, he waited until the entire class cleared out before walking down towards the front. He saw Adrien waiting for him outside and then waved towards him, signaling that he'd catch up later. He saw his best friend looking at him in concern just before closing the door behind him, now leaving him alone with the teacher.

"Would you mind handing over your bag please?" Marin was taken aback by her request. He clutched the handle of his bag, hoping that Tikki would phase out just as he handed his bag over to his teacher, without complaint. He watched nervously as she rummaged around through, hopefully not about to pull out a fairy that was as ancient as time itself. "Today, someone placed an anonymous note on my desk, claiming that you'd stolen the exam answers, could you please explain what this is?" The teacher asked as she pulled out an answer key from Marin's messenger bag.

"I...I don't-" Marin stammered as his head felt fuzzy. "I didn't steal it!"

Miss Bustier sighed as she crossed her arms. "Marin, I believe that you're a good student, but you've been acting strange since this year began. Is it possible that you've taken on too many commitments and may had a relapse in judgment? You're my aid, after all, you'd have the chance to take it."

"No it's nothing like that at all- I would never do something like this! Someone must've planted that piece of paper in my bag!" He tried to reason, but could see that his teacher wasn't buying it.

"Why would want to do something like that? Everyone likes you very much, I can't imagine anyone wanting to frame you for something like this." Miss Bustier said, and then sighed heavily. "I've already talked with about this but he wants to see you in his office."

"But-" Marin tried to say but was cut off.

"I don't like this any more than you do, but the sooner we talk this out the sooner we can deal with this."

"What's going on?" Adrien asked, walking up Alya as there was a crowd of his classmates were gathered around the lockers.

"No idea." She said, and they both watched as Marin has had locker open, and had a panicked look on his face.

"I didn't steal anything-"

"Marinus Dupain-Cheng you are suspended until further notice. Please wait in my office until we can bring your parents in to discuss this further." Adrien reflexively hid behind the lockers as the principal and Marin walked past. His heart sank watching his friend hang his head in defeat.

"What the heck is going on?!" Alya asked flabbergasted as she and Adrien exchanged a worried expression.

"You guys didn't overhear?" Adrien turned to see Lila walking towards them with a sad expression on her face, one that immediately made Adrien suspicious.

"Apparently, people's missing items showed up in Marin's locker. He's been taking stuff for a while and then hiding them in his locker."

"That's crazy! Marin would never do something like that!" Alya immediately said. "He's the guy known for misplacing his things!"

"I'm just telling you what I overheard few teachers saying." Lila whimpered, clutching her arm as she averted her gaze. "Adrien, weren't you missing something?"

"Huh?" Adrien looked at her in surprise.

"I saw Marin taking something out of your bag a while back. I thought it was nothing, but..."

"That true?" Alya asked.

"What? No, well." Adrien said reflexively, but then thought a moment. "I did have his notebook in my bag, he was probably getting it back." He reasoned.

"No, it wasn't a notebook," Lila said, but then the bell rang signaling the start of free period. "You should check, the box."

Adrien walked towards Marin's open locker, seeing a small white box meant for cakes, one that was from his parent's bakery. As he opened it, he saw an array of small items that everyone had been missing; Mylene's buttons, Kim's sweatband, Sabrina's headband, Nathaniel's inking pens, Juleka's bass pic, Rose's perfume bottle, and-

"Hey, that's my phone charm." Alya said picking it up from the box, but what Adrien saw was more important as he picked up his Lucky charm. "Is that yours?"

"Yeah..." Adrien said. "I lost this a while ago, almost lost my mind over it."

"We agree that there's no way that Marin took any of these things right?" Alya said putting her Ladybug charm back on her phone.

"For sure." Adrien said.

"We can't prove anything without evidence. I'll poke around a bit, you try and talk to Marin, we need to know what's going on." Alya said as she and Adrien rand in different directions.

Adrien texted his bodyguard, telling him that he had a mandatory study hall after school, and he'd review his Chinese there. Not waiting for an answer he waited outside the principal's said angrily as he brushed past her just as he saw the principal's door opening.

"Marin." Adrien greeted but noticed that his friend wasn't very responsive as his eyes looked dull.

"My mom's going to kill me."

"That's what you're worried about?" Adrien gently asked, trying to lighten his friend's mood, but really had no idea what to say in a situation like this. He reached out his hand towards him, but held back as he saw Marin putting his hands on his face. "Hey, Marin, Alya and I found the stuff that was in your locker."

Immediately his friend looked at him in a panic.

"We know something's up, there's no way you'd take anything from anyone. Do you have any idea who'd want to set you up like this?"

Marin sighed heavily. "No, I don't...I didn't even go to my locker this morning. Sorry Adrien, I have to go home now."

"Ah, alright, see you later?" Adrien asked, but didn't get an answer as Marin walked down the stairs from the school entrance.

Adrien couldn't help but clutch the lucky charm in his hand. Just because his bracelet was in the box of stolen items wouldn't just remove suspicion from his friend. Someone had to take responsibility if Mr. Damocles was ever going to be swayed. But as he was about to turn back into the school he saw that Marin was going him, instead, he was walking towards the riverfront, and trailing behind him was an Akuma.

Marin walked down the stairs towards the riverfront under the bridge. During midday, there wouldn't be anyone around to see him. What kind of day was this? It started off well enough, he dropped off the jacket that he made for Adrien and was going to tell him at lunch that he made special orange peppermint flavored. Honestly, a flavor palette that was disgusting to him, but for some reason Adrien loved. Now here he was, about to be thrown out of school, was avoiding going home with the knowledge that his parents would be extremely upset, so he was hiding under a bridge to escape his problems.

He reached into his back pocket, taking out the lucky charm that was gifted to him. A gift that didn't work at all, in fact, it seemed like that ever since he picked it up all his bad luck had turned worse. Whoever had gifted it was probably someone who was laughing behind his back, because at the end of the day all he was was just a huge joke. He clutched it in his hand tightly, but just as he was about to toss it into the river he overheard footsteps racing towards him.

"Plagg, claws on! Cataclysm!"

He heard Adrien's voice, but his entire world turned sideways as he saw an Akuma being destroyed before his eyes, and then Chat Noir's face- Adrien's face, hovering before his as they were knocked to the ground.

"Sure. Why not." Marin said in defeat as he just saw his best friend, love of his life, transform into the person he cared for the most. The two stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity before Chat Noir, before Adrien realized what had just done.

"I... I'm sorry, I couldn't let that...let that Akuma..." Chat Noir tried to reason, but fear took hold as he could see the way his friend looked at him. He quickly stood up, taking a step back, but holding out his hand before his best friend to help him to his feet. But he quickly grew vulnerable as he saw Marin handing his head, not even looking up at him.

"You're Chat Noir." Marin said, standing up as Chat Noir tensed up before him. Part of Marin wanted to just scream out at him, chastise him, be furious at him, but mostly just cry out in agony. "Out of everyone in Paris..." Marin voice hitched as he had to cover his mouth, suddenly feeling nauseated.

"Marin-" Chat Noir said trying to reach out towards him, but Marin recoiled not even looking at him taking a step away, not even able to look at him. "If you'd let me just explain-"

"Just...stay away from me." Marin said coldly, turning his back towards his best friend, started off in a walk before he picked up the pace, eventually sprinting away as fast as he could.

"So let's recap, right. Marin was accused of stealing the answers to the mock exam- Adrikins, are you listening?" Alya asked as Adrien and Nino sat on the staircase before her.

"Yeah...yeah." Adrien rambled with a headache. He'd lost track of Marin after he ran away. As it turned out he hadn't gone home, and was somewhere out in the city doing who knows what, and Adrien had to sit here trying not to lose his mind.

"Charge 1: Apparently the paper with the answers for the exam was found in Marin's schoolbag, from an anonymous tip who no one knows the origin of. Even Miss Bustier says that she found it on her desk this morning. Charge 2: A box that was from The Dupain-Cheng family bakery was found in Marin's locker, one that contained items that were missing from students. Mr. Damocles and the rest of the teachers were informed that items were going missing but no one saw anything. Until Lila thought she saw Marin taking something out of you bag Adrien."

"You think Lila has something to do with this?" Nino asked.

"It's hard to say. You've known Marin the longest, you think he'd do anything like this Nino?" Alya asked.

"No way, if you asked, Marin would be the one to actually help you look for anything that went missing. Plus we all know how much he actually studies." Nino said gently jabbing Adrien in the side with his elbow.

"I totally believe you, but the evidence is stacked against him. Did you get a chance to talk to our boy, Adrien?" Alya asked.

"Kind of, but he didn't say much before running off. Just that he didn't do it, and his mom was probably going to kill him when she found out about this." Adrien recalled, trying to push away the memory of what happened right after.

"Okay well, I tried to check for clues, but I didn't find anything. The lockers were wiped clean, that box only had Adrien's fingerprints, and the note only had Miss Bustier's fingerprints."

"Wait, you just have everyone fingerprint patterns memorized? Are we just accepting this?" Nino asked in surprise.

"No, no. There was only one set on each piece of evidence, luckily Adrien and Miss Bustier are good sports about this kinda stuff." Alya said as Adrien held up his hands now marked with black ink. "And without any leads, it's hard to say who could've done this." Alya sighed.

"...I think Lila might have done this." Adrien said boldly garnering the attention of both of his friends.

"Lila?" Alya and Nino asked in surprise.

"I thought she and Marin were on good terms, what makes you think that she did it?" Nino inquired.

"It's kind of hard to explain, but she's a bad egg." Adrien said. "All I know is she's not above lying, manipulating, and getting other people in trouble to get her way."

"That's a little harsh dude." Nino said. "She seems pretty alright to me."

"Yeah, do you have anything solid you back up what you're accusing her of?" Alya asked.

Adrien hesitated for a moment before taking out his bracelet. "Alya, you were there when we found this in the box right? Along with the rest of the stolen stuff?"

"Yeah, it's where we found my phone charm." Alya said.

" I lost this a while ago, which is strange because I'd never go anywhere without it. Then it just pops up all of a sudden in Marin's locker of all places?" Adrien pointed out.

"Well yeah, that and the rest of the stolen stuff," Alya said.

"But here's the thing, this good luck charm was a gift from Marin. He gave it to me months before Lila even joined the class full time."

"So what you're saying is..." Nino said as he started to put the pieces together.

"Why would Marin steal something that originally belonged to him and put it with a bunch of the other stolen items? The only one who could have taken it was Lila, back when she came over to my place to study."

"And you think just because of that Lila is the one who framed him?" Alya asked as she looked more interested as to what Adrien was saying.

"I do think that Marin and Lila had something going on. Whenever we'd hang out he always seemed uncomfortable about when she hung around or I brought her up.

Alya took a deep breath. "Adrien I hate to say it, but that's all circumstantial. We can't go to the Principal with only suspicions.

"Alya-" Adrien tried to argue back, standing up.

"First off, a culprit always leaves clues. If you're so quick to accuse Lila, you might just overlook another potential baddie, or baddies." Alya said.

"Right, but Marin only got suspended because someone clearly set him up. Whoever did this was pretty smart, all they needed to do was leave the note on Miss Bustiers desk and let everyone else arouse suspicion. It's the perfect crime." Nino observed.

"You're not actually saying we take this lying down, are you? Adrien asked, standing up before his friend.

"Of course not dude, but there's no way to tell who did this." Nino said defensively. Suddenly, all their phones rang out with an Akuma alert.

"This is Nadja Chamack, live from the Arc de Triomphe, where Ladybug is battling against a new supervillain! Adrien's eyes widened in surprise as he saw a familiar blue woman fighting his partner."

"Ohhhhh, what a scoop!" Alya's eyes lit up, no doubt about to bike down into the city just to snap a shot of the new villain.

"No no no." Nino suddenly said, "Cupcake, I love you, but are you really going to try and pursue this over helping your best friend."

Alya looked conflicted. Looking between the screen and her friends clearly judging her. "Uggghhhhhhhh, you're right." She sighed.

Adrien grasped his phone in hand, walking past Alya. "I'm going to try and find Marin.

"Now?" Alya asked. "The city's on Akuma alert."

"You know me, I can't sit still, ever." Adrien said, but just before he was about to walk towards the entrance of the school he turned back towards his friends."Hey, if it was me being accused, how far do you think Marin would take this?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he'd fight someone, maybe even yell," Nino said with an air of certainty.

"Yeah, especially if it was our precious Adrikins."

"What do you mean "especially"?" Adrien asked as he started to feel a little embarrassed.

"Dude. Nino said with a knowing expression. "He spoils you to heck. Like, he spoils everyone, but you take it to a whole new level."

"He does not..." Adrien was about to argue, but realized how futile it was to. Now realizing how much he actually relied on his best friend. But then snapped back to reality as he saw both Nino and Alya smiling at him mischievously, clearly up to no good. "Okay bye." Adrien then quickly sped off of campus, quickly finding a hiding place within a nearby alleyway.

Adrien took a deep breath as Plagg then hovered before him, not even saying a word as he pouted. His expression softened as he could sense his Kwamis worry. "Don't look at me like that. I'll feel more guilty than I already do."

"Well, you should! What were you thinking?!"

"That's the thing, I wasn't, Plagg." Adrien said as he clutched his shirt.

"You realize what happens now don't you?" Plagg asked as he dropped his previous attitude.

Adrien nodded as he hugged his Kwami close. "Yeah...you're one of my best friends Plagg."

"Ugh- enough of that mushy stuff! We have to go and help your lady, don't we?" Plagg snapped as he pulled back from his hug.

"We're a team, just like you and I are on the same team. Plagg, claws on!"

"What kind of day is this?!" Marin yelled at himself as he found himself hidden in an alleyway, pacing as well as he could within the narrow hall with his face scarlet red. Earlier that mistake wasn't his fault, now this was all on him. His mind was hazy, he couldn't sense the Akuma headed straight for him. He trained to keep his emotions under control now, everything was terrible. Now he was trying not to replay every single moment he shared with Chat Noir before he was Adrien.

"Chat Noir- Adrien, saved you!" Tikki said as she hovered before him.

"Tikki! There was hundreds of ways he could've handled this situation, but he chose to act in the worst way possible, now..." Marin stopped talking for a moment as the weight of the situation hit him. "He has to give up his Miraculous because I couldn't control my emotions."

"Marin," Tikki said more gently. "you can't be in control at all times, you're human, it's natural that you'd want to feel upset over being accused."

"It's not just that Tikki, you know that. I've trained for exactly this, and the one time I drop my guard my partner, who is actually my best friend, decides to handle it himself. Now Chat Noir's identity is out in the open all thanks to me." Marin said in defeat, resting his back against the wall holding his face in his hands.

"If you had been akumatized, nothing could have stopped you from handing your Miraculous over to Hawkmoth." Tikki said as she hovered before her owner. "If your true identity had been revealed then everyone would've known who you were. Hawkmoth would've found his direct connection to Master Fu, and you'd have to go into hiding just like him. Adrien didn't just save you, he saved all of us. There would have been no more Ladybug to protect Paris, end of story."

Marin averted his gaze as he then grasped his arms. "But now there's going to be no more Chat Noir." He took into account what his Kwami was trying to say, but this whole situation still made his head spin. Just to add fuel to the flame by some forsaken will of the universe, the Akuma alert beeped on his phone. Marin took it out, quickly scanning over the news much to his chagrin.

"Sure, why not add Mayura onto this day. Not like I had plans to curl up into a ball in my room and just ugly cry myself into an early grave." Marin said pessimistically as he quickly realized that implication of Mayura and someone who looked exactly like him fighting her on live television. The whole scenario just reeked trap, especially since Mayura just happened to appear in a highly populated part of the city.

Marin then immediately pulled up his contacts quickly scrolling through until he found who he was looking for.

"What are you doing?" Tikki asked. "We have to get there before Chat Noir."

"I know, but this time, we have a chance to get the jump on Mayura. We can't waste this opportunity and just jump into battle."

Chat Noir landed on top of the Arc de Triomphe, watching as Ladybug was taking on Mayura toe to toe.

"My Lady!" Chat Noir called out, but then immediately regretted it as he distracted his partner long enough for Mayura to critically hit him, sending him tumbling to the ground. Chat Noir gasped as he knelt next to his partner. "You okay?" He asked.

"Don't worry about me-" Ladybug said, but as he tried to stand up he winced and held his side in pain.

"Not until- huh?" Chat Noir was about to say before Ladybug rested his head on his shoulder, using him as a crutch.

"Sorry, I'm holding you back..." Ladybug gasped as he turned his head towards him.

Internally, Chat Noir was screaming at himself, begging his head to stop beating like a drum.

"I've always gone out of my way to hide my true feelings for you, but I just can't do it anymore."

Chat Noir froze as he held Ladybug lacing their fingers together.

"After all this time, I've realized that you're always here for me, even when I keep rejecting you. Your feelings haven't changed, and mine are growing stronger every day. I can't keep pretending anymore."

Chat Noir remained frozen as he realized just how close he and his partner were to each other. He was frozen in place, his heart racing in anticipation-

Then all of a sudden Chat Noir was knocked back, next thing he knew he was looking up towards another Ladybug who had his eyes narrowed at him.

"Seriously?" The other Ladybug said with displeased expression and his arms crossed.

Chat Noir's ears flattened with embarrassment as he saw the two Ladybug's before him, one of them a fake. "In my defense. One of you is a very convincing copy." He said as he took out his staff looking between the two of them.

"Chat Noir, he's trying to pull the wool over your eyes. He must be a fan of Ladybug who's been akumatized by Hawk Moth!" One of the Ladybug's said, the injured one, who struggled to stand.

"Just think for a second, your priority isn't your partner, it's Mayura!" The other Ladybug tried to reason, sounding a little agitated.

But then Chat Noir suddenly felt something held against his neck as Mayura grabbed him from behind.

"No one move." The villainess said coldly.

The agitated Ladybug immediately grabbed his yo-yo, glaring at Mayura while still keeping one eye on the other Ladybug. While the injured Ladybug suddenly stood normally, now looking docile as he took out his yo-yo. Somehow, Chat Noir believed that he wasn't getting out of this situation, or this day without getting tongue-lashed.

"We meet again Ladybug." Mayura said with a sinister smile on her face. "Do it."

"Senticharm!" The formerly injured Ladybug said, throwing up his yo-yo and receiving a large blaster, now aimed at what was clearly the real Ladybug.

"Let him go Mayura." Ladybug demanded.

"Of course. Once you give me your Miraculous." Mayura said as the imposter-Bug pointed his blaster at Ladybug's back.

Ladybug looked back at imposter-bug, then back at Mayura and his partner; who was shaking his head. "Don't do it." Chat Noir said.

"Fine. Just don't hurt him." Ladybug said and Chat Noir's heart sank into a pit.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN FINE?!" Chat Noir snapped at his partner who was walking towards Mayura at gunpoint. He couldn't believe it, Ladybug would never- oh. Chat Noir's ears then perked up as a wave of realization washed over him. He glanced at his partner, then at the imposter-bug, then at Mayura who's eyes were glued on his partner before them.

"Have to admit. This sentimonster is your most elaborate yet, save for that one flaw."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it's missing my bugaboo's temper. But here's the thing that not everyone knows." Chat Noir said as his partner began to remove his earrings. "My Ladybug really likes making friends behind my back."

Right on cue Ladybug revealed himself to be Rena Rouge in disguise, just as Mayura was knocked to the ground; kicked by Ladybug from behind. Chat Noir then was tackled to the ground as the imposter-bug started blasting them. They took cover on one of the arc's while Rena Rouge jumped on the other side.

"Whatever it takes, steal their Miraculous and don't hold back!" Mayura called out.

Chat Noir was pushed against a stone wall, blushing furiously as he looked up towards his partner's face, more focused on the battle than their proximity. "So, you wanna tell me what's happening here?"

"Do you?" Ladybug said rather coldly, not even looking at his partner. "You were tricked by a sentimonster."

"Hey, give me some credit here, he looks exactly like you." Chat Noir sighed. "Not everyone can sense Amoks."

"You never think before you act do you?" Ladybug huffed as Chat Noir suddenly felt a rush of guilt; realizing that this could be his last time fighting alongside his partner.

"What can I say? When it comes to you, I never hesitate." He noticed Ladybug flinch slightly, but he didn't say anything as now they had to focus on getting out of there in one piece. "Got any hint of where the amok is?"

Ladybug nodded, peeking over the edge. "Mayura has the possessed item with her."

"So do the three of us take out that deviously handsome copy and then the bird witch?" Chat Noir asked.

"Rena Rouge has already used up her power. I told her to retreat once she was exposed. It's on us to take them out."

"Just the way I like it." Chat Noir said with a smile.

He saw a smile

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug said throwing up his yo-yo in the air, from it he received a fork. It only took a moment for the two of them to easily think of a plan and not even a second later, Chat Noir folded his hands together for Ladybug to jump on. His partner gained enough height to land on the skylight on the monument, digging the metal fork into it effectively stunning both Senti-bug and Mayura. Chat Noir then followed up by dashing towards the sentimonster, no longer hesitating at the reflection of his partner.

"You know I usually never hit a lady, let alone my Lady. But for you, I'll make an exception." Chat Noir said as he knocked Senti-bug off-balance, pinning him to the ground with his arms behind his back. He then watched as Ladybug kicked something out of Mayura's hand and then used his yo-yo to bind her, removing any chance of escape.

"It's over Mayura." Ladybug said as he stood over her.

Chat Noir's heart raced with anticipation, if they were to actually find out the villainess's true identity then they would have a way to find out who Hawkoth really was. However, he saw Ladybug hesitate for a moment as he looked down towards Mayura. But Chat Noir didn't have a chance to ask as his eyes widened in shock. Ladybug was then grabbed by someone who landed on the roof along with them, struggling to escape as there before them was Hawkmoth in the flesh.

"My Lady!" Chat Noir called out, feeling a familiar sense of helplessness that he felt earlier that day. He looked around quickly, then saw what was kicked out of Mayura's hand, a key chain of the Eiffel Tower that was fallen before them. He couldn't hold the Senti-bug in place and also save his partner. But ultimately, there was no other choice. He released Senti-bug and made a mad dash towards Hawkmoth just as Mayura was about to free herself from her bindings.

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir said, leaping towards the two villains. Hawkmoth released Ladybug who then fell into Chat Noir's arms with his Cataclysm still pointed at the two villains. Ladybug coughed, trying to catch his breath, but still was on guard as their two greatest foes stood before them. Hawkmoth stood before Mayura who held out her hand.

"I release you from existence," Mayura said and both Chat Noir and Ladybug looked behind them to see the Sentimonter clutch their chest in pain, looking at them helplessly before disappearing altogether along with the Amok.

"Her Miraculous-" Ladybug was about to say but didn't have the chance as Hawkmoth then disappeared along with Mayura. Chat Noir watched as Ladybug walked over to the keychain of the Eiffel Tower, the formerly possessed item that gave life to his doppelganger. "Sentimonster's aren't meant to be used like this. Especially not by someone like her..." He said gripping it in his hand. He then shook his head, no doubt trying to push away the negative memories as he threw the fork into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug said, and everything turned back to normal.

"Huh." Chat Noir hummed as he walked up towards his partner. "Kinda always thought that you had to purify an Akuma or an Amok for that to work." Chat Noir said, just as his heart started to hurt looking at his partner. "I'm sorry about earlier, for falling for that copy of you...twice. You didn't have to save me back there though, you could've just taken out Mayura then and we'd know her identity by now."

Ladybug looked back him with a sincere look on his face. "Just Ladybug by itself doesn't sound half as cool, without Chat Noir to back it up."

Chat Noir averted his gaze as he clenched his fists. "You shouldn't say things like that to me."

"It's true though." He heard Ladybug say as he walked towards him. "We're partners, no matter what."

"Ahhhhh- why do you have to be like that?!" Chat Noir grimaced as he scratched the back of his head.

"Like what?"

"Someone who can just sweep me off my feet just a single look. You, someone who couldn't even look your own copies in the eye!" Chat Noir admitted as he squatted down to try and hide his flushed expression.

"I-It's not my fault! It's embarrassing!" Ladybug suddenly snapped as his face turned red with embarrassment. "You're the one who got the cool costume while I'm running around Paris in polka dots!"

Chat Noir then looked up towards his partner who very rarely looked so off-balance. His face softened into a smile as he chuckled then rested his hands in his arms, still squatting down to hide his face. "I must have dreamed about this moment over a million times." He said in melancholy. "where I'd reveal my identity to you and confess how my I'm actually in love with you and how I want us to run away together to somewhere out of Hawmoths reach. Maybe some remote island where's we could just be happy with each other's company and adopt a hamster named..." All of a sudden his words were broken by Ladybug's Miraculous beeping. As Chat Noir realized their time was shorter than he anticipated he took a deep breath. "well, I guess it doesn't matter now." He said as he stood up facing his partner honestly, only slightly wishing that he was taller than him for this one instance. "I love you. Probably more than you realize, and I'm sorry for everything."

"W-why are you telling me this now?" Ladybug asked, looking a little disturbed more confused at what was happening right now.

Chat Noir squeezed his eyes shut, desperately wanting to hold onto his friends' hand, but knew he didn't have the right to reach out towards him anymore.

"I...I transformed in front of someone. My identity is out there in the open so I can't be Chat Noir anymore." He said, and winced as he saw the shock and heartbreak in Ladybug's eyes.

"Why are you telling me this?" Ladybug asked.

"Because I have to-"

"NO!" Ladybug suddenly snapped at him angrily. "Why are you telling me this happened?! If you didn't, if you hadn't told me then everything would've been fine! Why couldn't you have kept it a secret?!" His partner asked almost accusing him.

Chat Noir stared at his partner for a moment, taken aback until a mournful smile broke out on his face. "Because that's not what you would've done." He said honestly, taking the hit that was Ladybug's look of betrayal written all over his face. Even so, he took a few paces forward until he was standing next to him, both of them looking in different directions. "I already said bye to Plagg. Look after him for me?"

"It's insulting you even have to ask." Ladybug said angrily.

He deserved the it, having their last moments with the person he loved most end on a bitter note.

Chat Noir said with a smile as both of their Miraculous beeped for the final time.

"Was it worth it at least?" Ladybug asked as the distance between them wedged further with each passing moment.

Chat Noir chuckled, pushing his hair back as he looked up towards the sky. "Had to be, who would ever want to give up all this willingly?"

Next thing he knew, Ladybug grabbed his hand, forcing him to look at his definite expression.

"No matter what you say, it's not over." Ladybug said boldly, making Chat Noir's ears perk up in surprise. "You can't confess how you feel and not expect me to respond."

Chat Noir couldn't help but smile mischievously at his partner."Responses and resolution are overrated. It's the suspense that's the addicting part."

The two then broke under the serious overtone, resting their foreheads against each other as they tightened their grasp to each other. Chat Noir closed his eyes, believing that it would hurt less if he didn't have to see his partner leaving. But it was somehow worse once he no longer felt the warmth of Ladybug's hand, opening his eyes to a now lonelier place.

That night Marin sat on his bed as Plagg hovered before him holding his Miraculous in his hands. He had already returned Trixx to Master Fu and had planned to do the same for Plagg.

"I'm sor-" Marin was about to say just before the Kwami of Destruction hissed at him.

"Hey! if I have another apology today, I am going to bite someone. " Plagg huffed as he then sat on Marin's hand. "You're not a bad person, Adrien's not a bad person. It was just a bad situation. This isn't on you, and this isn't on him."

"But- OW!" Marin winced as Plagg immediately bit his thumb, enough to pinch him but not draw blood.

"I mean it!" Plagg said.

"Alright alright...but, are you really okay with this? Once I give you back, Master Fu will probably choose another Chat Noir."

Both Tikki and Plagg exchanged a look before Plagg turned back towards Marin. "Getting new owners is expected, after all, humans live such short lives."

"We're expected to adapt once we get new owners, if ever." Tikki chimed in as she hovered before Marin's face alongside Plagg. "This wouldn't be anything new for Plagg."

Marin averted his gaze, knowing that both Kwami's were right. Unlike him, they had far more experience with something like this, with changing and adapting to new situations even if the conditions weren't favorable.

"But..." Plagg added, looking away sheepishly. "Look after him, would you? He's a mess. Without me to look out for him who knows what kind of trouble he could get himself in."

"Yeah, I promise." Marin nodded as Plagg returned to his Miraculous, turning the ring back to it's original form atop his hand. Marin clutched the ring with both of his hands, holding it close to his chest as he could sense Plagg within.

"What are you going to do now?" Tikki asked. "Once you give it back, Master Fu will begin his search for a new Chat Noir."

Marin closed his eyes, trying to process his entire day.

The next morning, Marin opened his eyes, still wearing his school clothes from yesterday, still clutching the ring of Destruction in his hand along with his cat body pillow. He didn't want to walk up, but he knew all too well once he was up he was up.

Just brushing his teeth and washing his face, he walked down the stairs towards the bakery. His parents had already told him yesterday that he would be helping out in the bakery, which was nothing new. But he doubted that even baking would-

"There you are Dupain Cheung!"

As Marin stepped into the bakery he saw an unexpected sight, Chloe of all people standing in his parent's shop at an ungodly hour. Marin turned towards his parents who took the hint and left the room. Marin waited until he heard their footsteps within their living room before he spoke up.

"Chloe? What are you doing here?" Marin asked with a little hesitation.

"I just came to tell you that you're going to school today." She said crossing her arms with a frown on her face.

Marin furrowed his brows in displeasure, thinking that maybe Chloe hadn't heard the news yet- or just chose to ignore it. "Chloe, I'm suspended."

"Not anymore you're not." She said with her hands on her hips. "As it turns out, you can't be suspended just from some anonymous tips along with literally all of the class getting angry over circumstantial evidence."

"But the answer key-"

"Was planted in your bag, and really reflects more on Miss Bustier for not immediately reporting it missing when she couldn't find it. Plus there's no telling who gave her that note, so for as we know it was just a set up to make you look bad."

"The stolen items-"

"All returned with your friends acting as character witnesses to how much of a good boy you are. Once you pick apart supposed facts, this whole mess really just falls apart. Now are you going to school or not?"

"That...can't just be it. Nothing is ever solved-"

"Do you want to go back to school?" Chole interrupted, looking up directly at him with an annoyed look on her face.

"Y-yeah."

"Then stop being a brat about this." She said, then turning around so fast her ponytail hit his face. "I...may have also pulled some strings, but don't think I'm being nice or anything. You just helped me out so I'm returning the favor. "

"When did I help you-"

"You airhead!" Chloe chided looking back at him but then calmed down for a moment as she averted her gaze. "I just can't stand anyone messing with you other than me! Think of this as just good karma for when you were there to help me out when I needed it." Chloe said curtly, not even waiting for an answer as she left the shop quickly, leaving him stunned.

"What was that about?" Tikki asked as she noted a small smile break out on Marin's face.

"It's kinda a long story." He said rubbing the back of his head. But then felt butterflies in his stomach as he realized that he now had to go to school with a reputation on his back. But as he shoved his hands in his pocket, he realized that Plagg's, Adrien's, Miraculous was still in there. Almost immediately he recalled that he'd have to do the unthinkable, actually converse with Adrien- Chat Noir, like nothing was wrong. He had to see the person he fell in love with after he told him, his best friend in the world, to stay away. "I really am the worst..."

Notes:

-This episode is 0 to 100, and then from 100 to 9000 and then from 9000 to, yes I did just cram all of that into one episode (This chapter got my heart hurt)

-If I've learned anything from playing Ace Attorney it's that even if you know who the culprit is, you can't prove anything without heaping loads of evidence and a punch of frustration.

- Marin doesn't call out Lila in particular because he doesn't have any reason to believe she would go so far. They don't have the same height of animosity as canon Marinette and Lila.

- For the sake of contrived plot there's no Scarlet Moth. (what am I saying this whole chapter is convoluted contrivance)

- Marin's Akumatized form would be Prince Pierrot in contrast to Princess Justice. And just like with Chat Noir, if Ladybug was akumatized, it would be something completely different. (and if he had gone through with being Akumatized then it would bring Paris to her knees. But it shall be saved should ever Marinette get Akumatized)

- Adrien protect, Adrien atacc, but more importantly, he just wants to do what's right by himself and his super best friends

-Originally, this was going to be cut into two parts, for reasons, but I just went with the full episode. Now it's like, 2/3 of what I originally planned.

-This is going somewhere. I promise.

- Also calm down, they're just super best friends.