I'm back, long hiatus, I know, it was unplanned and I hope the next chapter comes out sooner. Now onto the chapter.

Ladybug stood on top of the Kidz Plus studio. She was wondering what she was going to say Cat Noir. Never mentioning her crush on... herself would be optimal but there was a voice screaming from the back of her head that told her otherwise. She had a bad feeling that Cat Noir, bless his cute loving heart, had found out that Marinette confessed her feelings to... herself and would try to be the wingman in their relationship. The relationship between herself and herself.

She suddenly felt like calling in sick (could she even do that?), she didn't know how she could avoid this situation. It was easier when it was just with Cat Noir. They were two different people and back when she didn't have feelings for him, all she had to do was just accept his rejection and wipe away fake tears. Aside from the fact that her papa got akumatized, everyone got out unscathed.

Memories of that day filled her head again and she wanted to call in sick. It wasn't too late for that.

"Hey there, Bugaboo!" It was too late for that. "Hope you weren't waiting too long." Ladybug turned around to face Cat Noir. They hadn't even done anything yet he had a huge chesrian grin on his face.

"No, you didn't keep me waiting. I just got here a minute ago." Despite trying to keep a calm demeanor, she could tell that Cat Noir was onto her. It wouldn't take a genius to figure that one out though. She was fidgeting and sweating too much, clearly trying to hide something.

He looked at her intently and she silently prayed that he wouldn't ask her about her love life. "You know, Bugaboo, you seem a bit tense for today. I think I know just what you need to relax."

"What's that?"

"It's a surprise!" He explained excitedly as he pulled out his pole, "just follow me and you won't regret it."

Considering the position she was in, he could stab her in an alleyway and she wouldn't regret it. Thinking about iterally any thing else other than the fact that she supposedly has a crush on herself is a million times better for her. "Alright then, Cat," she pulled out her yo-yo, "lead the way."

Cat Noir catapulted himself into the air with his pole and Ladybug threw her yo-yo in the same direction as him. As they were jumping over the city of Paris, she made sure to do her due diligence and look around. Even though she was being led to a mysterious secondary location, she was still on the clock and if there was an akuma, she needed to know about it. For the most part, everyone seemed the same as usual. Friends spending time together, parents with their kids, school students doing extra circular activities. Wait a minute, she knew that school...

She suddenly paid attention to where they were and realized that they were at Collège Françoise Dupont, Cat Noir's never been here for non-akuma reasons so there's nothing here he would be interested in. She looked up and saw Cat Noir finally land at his final location. It was her family's bakery. Was it too late to call in sick?

The shock of seeing her house made her lose her focus and she messed up her landing. She fell from nearly 50 meters from the air and landed directly on her face yet that was the least painful part of her current situation.

"Cat! Why did you bring me here!?"

"Like I said, you need to relax and there's no better to relax than eating good food. The owners are really nice and..."

"And they're the parents of Marinette!" Ladybug finished. "Cat, we cannot go in there!"

"Bugaboo, I get it. You're nervous about your crush on Marinette, I know what that's like and how hard it can be, which is why we're just getting pastries. Besides, Marinette's probably in her room doing homework right now."

Ladybug managed a smile, it was clearly a forced smile but she managed to muster one. "Yooooooou're riiiight. She's a student, there's no way that we'll see her. Yep! Never see her when we walk in there."

Cat Noir accepted her answer and they walked in.

Walking in here like this felt weird. She lived here yet in this moment, she felt like a stranger. There were two people standing in line together and as soon as the two of them walked in, all heads turned to them.

"Woah," one of the customers said, "it's Ladybug and Cat Noir!"

"Can I get your autograph!" Another one said.

Ladybug was still too shocked to say anything. Should she say anything? She barely trusted her own mouth to avoid saying something about her new crush on Marinette. Why couldn't she just think about something else?

Luckily, Cat Noir was still as talkative as ever. "Sure, we'll gladly sign anything you want. We love meeting fans." The customers squealed excitedly, as they both signed their autographs on their pastry box. Once they were done, they both left the bakery cheerfully and Ladybug heard one of shout "this is the best day of my life!" It made her feel happy, not only do they have to worry about two less people getting akumatized today, she was happy knowing that she could be a comforting presence in other people's lives.

Her own life not so much.

Now that it was just the two of them, they could order. It also meant that they could leave quicker.

"What would you two like?" Her maman was asking so nicely but Ladybug still couldn't find the strength to open her mouth. At this point, she might just blab her secret identity to everyone here.

She looked at Cat Noir. He was about to say something but then stopped. "I just realized that I don't carry any money on me. Sorry m'lady but could I borrow..."

"Nonsense," her papa interrupted. "You two have saved Paris from unimaginably threats countless times. This one is on us!"

She could tell that made him happy. Maybe she could use this to her advantage in the future. He liked pastries so they could go to a completely different bakery and... no! Focus! Now is not the time to think about going on a date with Cat Noir. She had to get out of here immediately.

"And what about you, Ladybug?" She didn't even realize that Cat Noir had said his order. Even though she lived here and could eat anything in the bakery any time she wanted, she still got choice paralysis. What is she supposed to chose? Something different than what Marinette would chose? But then what would Marinette chose? She was already a very indecisive person and it wouldn't be right to take advantage of her parents' generosity and say something like "one of everything."

After standing there for the longest three seconds of her life, she finally decided on her order. "Some strawberry macaroons would be good." She liked macaroons and she knew that it would make Tikki happy.

"Oh that's a great choice!" Her maman pulled out a box of macaroons for her and a bag of whatever pastry that Cat Noir ordered. "Y'know, strawberry macaroons are actually my daughter's favorite macaroons."

No! No! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! This wasn't happening. This was not happening.

"Oh really, Mrs. Cheng? Sounds like Marinette has great taste."

"She is the daughter to two bakers, I would sure hope she has great taste." The two of them giggled at the comment but Ladybug stood there gaping like a fish. This whole situation was a disaster. Why did her maman bring that up? And why did Cat Noir have to be so charming?

She considered just sprinting away. Run all the way to Shang-Hai and live with her uncle Wang and Fei for the rest of her life. She could do it. She could start running right now and no one could stop her.

Her gaping expression hadn't gone unnoticed by her papa though. He asked, "Ladybug, are you okay? You look worried."

"Yeah, I'm fine... I'm just..." She realized there was no way around it, she could only go through it "really surprised about that. It's especially nice..." she was really saying this on purpose now "because now I know I like the same types of macaroons as the person I... am in love with."

The room went silent. It's almost as if time stood still. But just as quickly as the silence started, the bakery was filled with cheers. Her parents and Cat Noir were all excited to hear the news. She couldn't make out what any of them were saying to each other because they were all talking over each other.

Once the initial shock wore off, her papa walked up to her and asked the dreaded question. "Would you like to come over for dinner one day?"

Suffered so much second hand embarrassment writing this chapter. At this rate, Marinette is going to convince all of Paris that she's in love with herself. Anyway, hopefully the next one comes out sooner and have a good day my dudes.