Marinette tugged on fresh pants, hopping from foot to foot to get them snug into place. Adrien's picture grinned cutely back at her. She slouched, breathing out hopes, dreams, and love. Perfect Adrien, so very close to her life. Perfect... purr-fect... Chat... All those terrible puns. Unrelenting flirtations at the most inappropriate times. The childish banter.

Marinette snagged the photo free, drawing black tangles in his hair, and a mask around his eyes. Adrien is Chat Noir, but Chat Noir is also Adrien. Even knowing the truth, she could hardly consolidate the facts. They're different people. But they're not. In other words, she has a crush on Chat Noir? ...Does she still like him?

A train wrecked in her brain, burning fire, and innocent children screamed. Does she still love Adrien?

She searched up a picture of Chat Noir. Forcing it closer to her lips, she pinched the sides of her computer screen, and kissed it.

She yanked away.

Did it feel magical? Were there sparks?

The scientific method was failing her. Honestly, she needed to kiss the real deal to know for sure.

She put out her brain fire, and demanded everyone to calm down so she could think, while she scolded that one rampant thought, "no, we're not kissing anyone!"

Perplexed, she pulled down the map of Adrien's schedule. Chat Noirs schedule. She hummed contemplatively as she put his alter ego into perspective. Chat has fencing practice, Chinese lessons... piano... photo shoots...

Marinette yanked the map and let go, allowing it to reroll and smack into place. When does he allow for time to go on patrols or fight akuma? Akuma attacks are unplanned, he can't go to all his lessons or appointments and make time for an akuma. He has no down time.

She absently took her book bag, strolling downstairs.

And what about that down time? When does that cat have time to laze around and do nothing? She thought him lackadaisical for all the times he's tried to rope her into silly outings, but on the contrary, he's constantly working.

"Marinette?" Her father in the bakery paused mid stir of his batter as she passed. "When did you come home?"

The screams in her brain had evolved into a mass of confused chattering, blocking outside noise. The occasional, "are we okay!?" blurted from a train wreck survivor to remind her that she didn't know how she felt about him anymore.

But how is he not stressed? He has to keep a double life with an unrelenting schedule. The occasional instances she has a job, a favor, or class president duties, compressed her mental health enough that she wanted to explode sometimes.

His shining green eyes started back at her, so innocent, his only time to goof off is when he's fighting an akuma. No wonder he loves it so much. But that's awful. She felt her own eyes misting. Despite his own well-being, he's actively doing the most to be the best partner to her.

"How are you so strong?" She asked.

"I'm what?" He concentrated on her expression but nothing puzzled him into her thoughts.

It was then, Marinette realized, she hadn't been staring at his photo, but instead mindlessly followed her daily path to school. Where she was sitting in her seat. Right in front of him.

She squawked, clamping her teeth shut a moment before she ducked under her desk as though he were a Truth Bomb™ about to pop.

"Can we switch seats?" The Truth Bomb™ asked Alya.

Her dear, sweet, wing woman elbowed and winked at Marinette, unknowing of her plight. She finger gunned all the way down as Adrien slid smoothly next to Marinette.

She could feel his sights targeting, barrel loaded, and finger on the trigger.

"She's scared of Chat Noir?" a young, wide eyed survivor in the wreckage of her thoughts voiced.

She's... scared of Chat Noir?

From under the desk she glared at him. Adrien's curious innocent eyes peered back and she balked.

Boldly, she blindfolded herself with a notebook in retaliation, and leaned close to harshly whisper, "stop wearing Adrien's face, you coward."

"I don't think it works like that," he whispered back.

School began and she had to cosplay as a student in front of him while the denizens of her mind were begging for freedom.

She's Ladybug. He's Chat Noir. She's supposed to be in control here. Yet he's the level headed one. Ugh, and he's probably gloating over that too. What's to stop her from ordering him to transform so they could have a normal talk?

What is stopping her?

She rounded on him.

He blinked those brilliant emerald orbs, and she swallowed a carnal scream.

Almost died.

He took his phone out, probably to text her since talking was failing her horribly, then hastily slipped it back into his bag.

No, what was that? She mouthed at him.

He twitched his shoulders, barely paying her mind, as if he had only been learning like a good little student this whole time.

She grabbed his bag.

He pulled it back.

This wasn't up for negotiation, she was getting it from that lousy cat whether he agreed or not.

"If you're done?" The teacher interrupted them.

"Uh..." Adrien let go in response. Then thought better of it, and reached as Marinette pulled away.

"Both of you," the teacher exasperated, "principal's office."

"The principal's office?" Adrien squeaked. Outside the classroom, Adrien stared blankly at the ground. "I've never been sent to the principal's office."

Marinette, who had a punch card for her visits to Damocles, mock pouted at him. "Boo-hoo."

"Hey," He crossed his arms, "You could show some form of sympath— my phone!"

She darted up the stairs with it, accusatively pointing out the screen from a safe distance. "Why!?"

His wallpaper adorned her sleeping face, framed in pink flowers and glitter.

He pouted, tapping his index fingers together shyly. "But you were so cute, M'lady."

And there it is. The line; crossed.

She deleted it.

"Noooo!" He cradled his phone when she tossed it back. "I spent so long getting the right angle."

"This isn't going to work," she crouched, curled behind her knees. She clutched the sides of her head and bemoaned, "you're Chat, but you're Adrien." She looked up, tear-stricken. "I'm so sorry, that was awful watching you get so upset. We can take as many photos as you want."

"Marinette," he was touched by her sincerity. "It's okay, I have a whole new photo album of you," he gingerly smiled. "On my computer at home."

Marinette turned away to reclaim a fragment of inner peace, and failed. Her entire body shook before she erupted on him, "you fleabag!"

Adrien fumbled for his book bag, dropped it, then held it as a shield between them. When she got too close, he blurted, "you have photos of me all over your room!"

She flailed, catching herself with a hand on the railing.

"You're paid to do those!"

Adrien gave her his wallet.

She clutched it, threatening, "I swear to kwami."

Doors slammed open in succession, and suddenly every person in the building poured out into the courtyard, running to the exits.

"What's going on?" Adrien asked.

"Get to high ground!" Nino shouted.

Although scattered, everyone generally headed in the direction of the Eiffel Tower upon exiting.

In the distance buildings disappeared, toppling sideways as they descended into the ground. Sludge like blue lava oozed through the city, engulfing everything in sight.

"Looks like an akuma." Adrien said, but Marinette had already vanished.

In the bathroom, Marinette banged her head repeatedly into the tile wall. "This is going to be a disaster, I can feel it."

"We can't control the outcome, only the moments we're in," Tikki divulged with a giggle. "You and him work well together, that's a fact."

"Ladybug and Chat Noir work well together. Marinette and Adrien..." she shook her head. "I just have to avoid thinking too hard about it. Tikki—!"

Adrien busted through the door, shouting, "Plagg! Cla—!"

Adrien and Marinette caught the other's eye, frozen.

Marinette, red faced, cupped her earrings. "Can't a girl have some privacy?!"

Confused, Adrien covered his ring, wondering what kind of decency he shattered as he side-shuffled into a stall.

Neither shouted their code phrases. Marinette stared down the stall door, wondering who would crack first.

"This is the men's bathroom, Marinette," Adrien helpfully pointed out.

"GAH," Marinette yelped. "TIKKISPOTSON!"

The akuma surfed over blue sludge that spewed from her hands. A sea coated the streets of Paris. Anything caught in the flood slowly sank into it. Buildings, street lights, civilians. The akumatized villain appeared seamlessly yellow. Just... yellow, no akumatized object to be seen.

"We go from an akuma no one noticed to one you can't miss." Chat Noir said as he leapt to the rooftop beside her.

She watched him, crouched like a cat. Her mind screamed, "Adrien! That's Adrien! You have a crush on him! Does he know!? How can he know!? But does he know!?"

"M'lady?" He swiped a palm across her blank stare.

"You're just-!" She blurted, red faced. "-so aesthetically pleasing!"

He flicked an ear to recover from her volume. "Thank you?"

"The pictures! That's why I have them!"

"Oh," a lightbulb flicked on, and he smiled. "I have pictures of you cause I like you."

Ladybugs systems shut down. All the electricity zapped from her body, as the whirr of machines powering off echoed through the server room. He deflected her half-lies with the truth. Slowly, her systems booted back up. The machines breathed back to life and a brain denizen pulled themselves up to the control panel. They pressed all the switches but nothing was online yet.

"Ladybug!" Chat yanked her back, she skidded back onto her bottom, her teeth chattering from the momentum. She fell onto her side trying to get up, in place of her arm she attempted to use was a dripping blob of blue goo.

Chat swung at the villain, his metal rod hit goo and dissolved in two. He landed on a sinking street lamp, summoning his cataclysm instead.

"What are you going to touch with that?" the akuma chuckled. "My butterfly went for a swim. If you want to find it, you'll have to jump in too."

He leapt backwards, standing with his back to Ladybug at their previous perch. She reached for her compact, gasping when she discovered the goo absorbed it too.

Chat dropped, coating his power into the rooftop, kicking up a dust cloud from the rubble.

"What-?" Ladybug couldn't finish before Chat had her over his shoulder. Speeding them away to safety.

Dumbly she stared at the akuma laughing at their retreat, the dust overtaking their figure.

"Let's regroup at my house!" She yelled over the wind.

Author's Note

Hey Mayuralover! It has been awhile -3- I've been home with a fresh baby so these stories beckon me. I'd like to finish this one before publishing more. I'm so bad at leaving them unfinished. But I think any ending is better than none considering the amount of abandoned fics in this site -3-;;; mine included.