"I don't have much time left, y'know!" Marinette called to the cat-boy at her side. "Let's rap this up!"
Cat Noir was in the air, trying to dodge the projectile kitties that pounced his way. "That's a little easier said than done!" he shouted, jumping over a white kitten hell-bent on sinking its claws into him.
Marinette ran toward the crazy cat-lady and grabbed the bracelet off her wrist, throwing it to the ground. Today her Lucky Charm just didn't quite work out, but quick use of the annoying cat-boy seemed to always work. She released the evil from the little butterfly and sent it on its way before she realized there was basically no time left.
"Nice work, My Lady," Chat said with a grin. He held his hand out for a fistbump with his eyes shut, waiting ever so patiently. But he never got what he wanted. He opened his eyes to see Ladybug was missing. "Ladybug?" he called, scanning around. He caught sight of the blue hair and smiled, deciding to sneak up on her, since he still had a few minutes.
Marinette sighed behind the pillar she hid behind. That was quite close. If Chat hadn't shut his eyes, he would have seen her change back!
"Beh!" the cat shouted, scaring Marinette half out of shoes. "Wait – Marinette?" he said dejectedly.
"Ch-chat Noir!" Marinette stuttered. "Um! I think I saw Ladybug go that way," she pointed in the other direction, hoping the cat would take the bait. He looked down the hall and sighed. He wouldn't have enough time to catch her, so he gave up.
"Nah, I guess I'll just get going!" he waved goodbye and took off into the rafters to get far enough away. Once he changed back, he fell to the ground with a pout spread across his face.
"Oh, what's your issue?" Plagg teased. "Didn't get a fistbump from your wittle crushy?"
"Shush!" Adrien blushed. "I wonder what Marinette was doing there, though..." he questioned allowed. The fight was in town hall, and if he'd heard her and Alya correctly, they should have been at the library.
"Maybe she's got a secret to hide...?" Plagg suggested, resting on Adrien's shoulder. Adrien pushed him off with an eye roll before they started to leave. "I'm just saying, you thought she was your Ladybug!"
"There's no way," Adrien said. "They're too different!"
"I'm here, what do you need?" Ladybug's voice cut through the silence. Adrien spun around, his tail twitching happily.
"Just wanted to talk!" he said excitedly. To be honest, he was fairly surprised the girl actually showed up. "We never get to do that, y'know," he winked and took several unnecessary steps closer, causing Ladybug to back up a bit.
"That's because we're supposed to only use these powers to fight evil, remember?" Adrien waved it off, to Ladybug's annoyance. "So, what did you want to talk about, Kitty-Cat?" she asked.
"So, I know we're not supposed to reveal our identities, but since we work together and kinda seem to be, like, the same age and everything, maybe it would beneficial if we-"
"No, Chat," Ladybug cut him off. "We're not supposed to tell anyone, not even each other." She crossed her arms, watching the cat-boy try to force a pout and make her feel sorry for him.
"What's it going to hurt?!" he whined. "What if we know each other, wouldn't it be cool?!"
"Ha ha, if that's all you wanted, I'm going home," Ladybug turned on her heel, ready to leave.
"And where would that be?" Chat tried.
"Nice try, but it's none of your business."
"Adrien, I hope whatever you happen to be doodling is more important than class, otherwise we may have a problem." Adrien looked up fearfully to see the teacher staring down at him. He grinned sheepishly and covered his notebook with his arm. Said notebook was then yanked out from under his arm.
"H-hey, I need that!" he shouted, grabbing for the book.
"I don't believe doodling Miss Ladybug is more important than your education," she fussed, tossing the notebook down, "so you will stay after class for ten minutes and finish the work you didn't complete."
The embarrassment may have been bad enough if it had been left at the teacher calling him out. However, his classmates wouldn't dare leave it there. Their oooohs and awwwws made it almost unbearable, and Adrien wanted nothing more than to bolt out of the room.
As everyone left the room, Adrien buried his head in his notebook to finish his work. He kept his head turned away from the others, not daring to meet any of their gazes. The teacher left the room, so Plagg was able to park himself on the desktop.
"Tough break there," the black cat snickered.
"I can't believe I have to stay in here, this is so dumb..." Adrien grumbled. "Do you understand Chemistry?" he asked, hoping maybe Plagg could make this go quicker.
"No, I'm a cat."
"I know, I know, I should've remembered!" Marinette giggled, tossing open the door to their classroom. She'd forgotten her phone in the room, and that was the last thing she wanted to leave behind. Well, maybe besides Tikki.
Of course, Adrien freaked out in his desperate attempt to hide the miraculous on his desk. "M-Marinette!" he stuttered as he tossed the bag overtop of poor Plagg.
The girl froze where she stood, unsure of what the desperate display was all about. "Are you alright, Adrien?" she asked.
"What, me? Yeah, I'm fine, everything's perfect," Adrien tried to reassure. The bag moved around, so he dropped a fist down on top of it. "What makes you ask?"
Marinette raised an eyebrow and stepped closer. She tried to lift up the back, but it was effectively smooshed back down. "What's under there?" she asked slowly.
"N-nothing!"
"It stinks in here, you jerk!" Plagg's voice rang out.
"Oh, like you're one to talk!" Adrien lifted the bag and pressed his face inside. "Be quiet you dumb cat!"
It only took a moment for it to click for Marinette. "Ch-Chat Noir?" she stuttered out.
Adrien's head popped back out, his eyes wide. "Whoops! Time's up, gotta go!" he stuffed his notebook in his bag and flew out the door.
"Did My Lady invite me here for a reason?" Chat Noir asked. Marinette could feel him standing right behind herself, but she didn't expect him to be as close as he was.
"Y-yes," she said, wringing her hands nervously. "Adrien, I think I should tell you something."
Adrien could feel his stomach drop, and all color in his face drained away. She knew who he was? How? "Wh-what is it, Ladybug?" he asked nervously.
Marinette sighed and transformed back into her normal self, squeezing her eyes shut tightly. She could've sworn there was a squeal in front of her, but she convinced herself she was imagining things.
"Marinette?" Adrien squeaked. Plagg sat down on his shoulder, muttering 'I told you so' under his breath. "H-how, when...what?!"
"Please don't freak out too bad!" Marinette practically pleaded. The frozen freak-out look on Adrien's face had her rolling her eyes, and she was questioning the crush she had on him. He was an absolute dork, apparently, and she shouldn't have ever been so scared to talk to him. She felt arms go around her, and her feet go off the ground, so responded the way she would have as Ladybug, "Put me down!" She squirmed and kicked, but there was no way Adrien was putting her down.
"This is awesome!" Adrien laughed, "I can see My Lady any time I want!" Of course a flick to the nose made him finally put her down.
"We can't let this change how we work, OK?" Marinette tried to reason with the boy. "When the masks go on, you're Chat Noir and I'm Ladybug, no questions."
"Right, right, got it," Adrien said. He smirked and tossed an arm around the girl, "But without them, you're still my Bugaboo!"
"What did I see in you?" Marinette asked with a giggle. A blush was evident on her face, but she just kept telling herself that this was also Chat Noir she was with, not just Adrien, the boy she'd been crushing on since forever.
"What was that?" Adrien asked.
"Nothing!" Marinette smiled.
