Archive of Our Own

Adrien knew that he had classes the next morning. He's well-aware of what time it is, and how obvious it is that he's way past his household’s curfew.

He's also aware of the fact that he shouldn't keep this up because he needs to be the perfect student to continue going to the lycee like a normal child should be. 

But after everything that was revealed to him earlier that day, he's unsure if his thoughts wouldn't keep him awake. 

Overwhelming wasn't even cutting it on the list of words that could describe how much in turmoil his emotions are. 

The blond spared a brief glance towards his currently sleeping kwami, adding some questions meant for the creature about what's going to happen to them, to him, after a very detrimental possibility was said. 

It's because of that book, he lamented. if I didn't have that stupid idea of stealing it, things wouldn't have escalated into something that will permanently change my life once everyone decides to take the giant step forward.

He cradled his face in his hands as thousands of scenarios play out in his head— all ending to either his demise, or everyone turning their backs against him. 

All because of that stupid book. His mind kept repeating like a chant, a spell he wanted to cast to put the blame on, instead of blaming himself for the snowball that's about to crash him down due to what happened earlier…

Ladybug and Chat Noir were standing in the middle of the room while an old man silently went through the book— Adrien’s book at what seemed like a healer’s place. 

The latter doesn't have any clue what's been going on and has been helplessly looking around the place for any clues.

To add on, this guy beside Ladybug felt a bit too familiar but he couldn't put his finger on it. He tried searching for any clues in his memories, but to no avail. 

 

He had a lot of questions inside his head as his eyes roamed helplessly at the place. 

Who the heck is this old man? Why does he know about him and his lady? Why is Ladybug treating him like they already knew each other? 

And lastly, why is he examining the book his father had inside his vault? 

He had a lot more questions swimming in his head but those were the ones he wanted anyone to provide him an answer with as soon as possible. 

 

So he tried asking his partner. 

 

“Milady,” He called the spotted heroine after coughing, “Care to tell me what's going on?”

Ladybug on the other hand widened her eyes, as if she completely forgot the fact that she pulled him with her to this man’s place. 

“Oh! I'm so sorry, Chat! I…” It was obvious to him that she was fumbling for her words as she tried to applogize and explain to him (albeit in the usual Ladybug panic garble he's used to by now).

Not expecting the reaction from the heroine, Chat’s face morphed into surprise… then into affection as he gave her a reassuring smile. 

Ladybug saw it and stopped stuttering and took a few deep breaths.

 

She then gestured her left hand to the old man who's still  reading the book to finally introduce him. 

“He's Master Fu. He was the one who gave us the miraculouses.” 

 

Chat froze. He was the one that gave him his freedom in the form of his ring?

 

Why didn't she tell me sooner? He thought. 

I would've come up to him himself so I could thank him for changing my life! 

 

He wasn't aware that his inner thoughts were translated into audible mumbles— not until he saw his Lady looking at him apologetically. 

“I'm sorry– We were waiting for the right time to introduce him to you, Chat.”

 

Chat crossed his arms at the response. “So, if this book wasn't stolen, I won't be able to know about him yet?” 

Ladybug gave him another apologetic look, and Adrien started to feel sorry for making her feel bad a few times than usual today.

 

“I'm sorry, Chat. I wasn't supposed to know either, but Tikki got sick a few weeks ago and I had to get her to a doctor without compromising my civilian identity.” The spotted heroine explained.

“Tikki was the one who led me here.” She finished, voice heavy with guilt. 

 

Chat’s gaze softened as he placed a hand on her shoulder, “It's alright, Ladybug. I just thought that you're purposefully leaving me out of the loop–” 

 

“You? Out of loop? Oh, I would never do that!” His lady declared, which made him smile. She responded with her own smile, albeit looking a bit more exhausted than usual.

“It's just that… things have been going so fast– as a superheroine and as a civilian.” She sounded tired while telling him a bit about her life. 

He looked at her face and saw that she also looked like it… at least, as much as he can see on her face with their masks on.

 

“I'm just… having a hard time balancing both recently.” He gave her a sympathetic smile as a response.

He could absolutely relate to that– not only does he have to balance his superhero life and school life, but he also has to keep up with his modelling work and the other extracurricular activities his father puts him in. 

 

Their little conversation got cut off when Master Fu, the guy who gave them their Miraculouses, closed the book quite loudly. 

Chat thought it was intentional to get both of their attention. 

 

“I apologize for not properly introducing myself to you, Chat Noir.” The old man started.

“I am Wang Fu. And I was the one who gave you the Miraculouses.” He said as he properly faced Chat and smiled at him.

 

The cat hero can finally see his features a bit more clearly– wait a minute. 

 

“You're the man I helped on the first day of school!” He exclaimed, finally recognizing where he saw him. 

 

Master Fu nodded as a response, “I am the remaining guardian of the Miraculous.” The old man explains. 

“I used to use my own when I was younger, but I can't just transform now that I'm at this age…” 

 

Treating the old man’s words like a clue, the two heroes spotted a green thing floating beside his head.

It turns out that it's a Kwami, just like Tikki and Plagg. 

The green kwami bowed its head as it introduced itself, “Good day, Ladybug, Chat Noir. My name is Wayzz. I am Master Fu’s Kwami and also the Kwami of Protection.”

 

Chat nodded at the kwami as Ladybug greeted Wayzz. 

 

Master Fu continued speaking after the short introduction, “As the guardian, it is my responsibility to keep the remaining miraculouses safe… Alas, I still happened to lose two of them…”

 

Not one, but two? Chat thought. What if Hawkmoth has both? 

 

“The lost Miraculouses are the Butterfly and the Peacock. One– the butterfly– is being used by your nemesis going by the name of Hawkmoth. While the Peacock is damaged and is harmful to use when in that condition.” 

“Master,” Ladybug interjected, “Why are you telling this to us now? Is it related to the book that The Collector– Gabriel Agreste– lost?” She asked as she gestured to the book in the guardian’s arms. 

 

Master Fu nodded, “This.” He lifted the book with one hand, “This book is the Grimoire. I've lost this alongside the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculouses.” 

 

He then fixed his gaze on Chat as he changed his tone, much more serious than earlier, “If this Gabriel Agreste had this book, he might've been the one who got the lost Miraculouses as well.”

Chat’s vision darkened the moment his mind processed what the guardian just said.

There's no way that he's saying what he thinks he meant, right? 

 

“So…” Chat started, speaking as slow as he could, “Does that mean–?” 

“–That Gabriel Agreste might be Hawkmoth? Yes.” Ladybug finished. 

 

Chat’s knees started getting weak upon the revelation. 

Good thing he was right by the sofa so he could at least hold on to it to not fall over from the news while he regains his composure. 

 

I can't fall apart here, he repeats inside his head like a mantra; that'll reveal who I am behind the mask to Ladybug, and she's been clear about us not revealing ourselves to each other. 

 

Especially not in front of the one who gave us these jewels in the first place. 

 

He then took a few deep, but discrete breaths. 

 

I can't fall apart here. I can't let him take away the one thing that freed me from my suffocating life. 

 

His own father being Hawkmoth is a news he's not expecting to hear when he was dragged here by his Lady.

Thinking about the possibility in his head is one thing, but having someone else confirm his thoughts is another. 

 

His mind then started thinking about excuses to say in defense of his own father being their archnemesis. 

 

Sadly, he couldn't think of one on the spot.

 

If his father is Hawkmoth, it would make sense why he doesn't see his father too often.

It would also explain the vault hidden behind a ginormous painting of his mom inside his father's office. 

If the grimoire is memorabilia he got somewhere else– like from the auction, or if it was gifted–, he would've displayed it instead of locking it, right?

It wouldn't make any sense that he would hide it in a vault… right?

 

Most of all, it would also explain why his mom went missing one day, and it would also give an answer on why Hawkmoth wants both of their miraculouses— so his father could wish to find her mom, wherever she is. 

 

Upon this realization, it dawned on him that his mind is in much more distress than he realized.

 

Oblivious to Chat Noir’s inner turmoil, Ladybug called his name to make a plan to confirm their suspicions. 

Upon realizing that the leather-clad hero is unresponsive, Ladybug rapidly tapped his shoulders to bring him back to his senses.

 

“Chat!” He heard the spotted heroine call his name. He rapidly blinked to bring back his senses to the present. 

“Are you alright?” Ladybug asked, voice and face laced with concern. “Since we're told that Gabriel Agreste could be Hawkmoth, you've been out of it…” 

 

Chat immediately shook his head to avoid her getting suspicious about his identity– now realizing that Master Fu intently looking at him meant that he knew who he was behind the mask, and was giving him an early heads up. 

“I was just… concerned about his son! Adrien Agreste, was it?” He blurted out as an excuse, trying to address himself like it wasn't himself he's talking about. 

 

He was about to ramble more about his fake concer about himself in third person when Ladybug looked at the floor, sadness visible on her face. “Yeah… I bet he won't just get punished for losing the book, but will probably be harmed once we confront his father.” 

 

Master Fu placed his hands on each of the heroes’ shoulders, “That's why we need a plan– to confirm if he is Hawkmoth,” He then eyed Chat Noir discreetly, “and to put his son to safety before the confrontation.”

He was then asked by Master Fu to go hide somewhere inside his abode and detransform because they need to talk to Plagg about the plan. 

 

As much as he wanted to complain about being left out of what they're planning to do, he's unsure if he can still be outside discussing plans about unveiling his father’s identity in front of him. 

 

Maybe Master Fu is doing this out of consideration for me, he thought. 

 

He found a pile of boxes tall enough to hide in and detransformed. 

After giving Plagg his cheese and providing him instructions (which was cut off rudely by Plagg almost immediately phasing out to meet the guardian himself), he let his mind wander far away from the situation at hand. 

“You're still not asleep?” He was so out of it that he didn't see Plagg wake up and fly to his face only for the Kwami to reprimand him for staying up late. 

“You can't blame me, Plagg. I have too much to think about.” Adrien says, sighing as he gazes at the sky visible to his windows. 

“Do you want to transform?” The cat kwami offered. Adrien shook his head, “I'm too tired to transform, Plagg.” 

Plagg pretended to fall asleep a few hours ago thinking that Adrien would pay the revelation no mind. 

In the kwami’s mind, the butterfly supervillain’s identity hasn't been confirmed yet, and thought that Adrien has been thinking the same way. 

Alas, he was wrong. Not only did he actually fall asleep, he woke up on his still awake holder thinking deeply about what unfolded earlier today. 

After Chat detransformed, he immediately realized where they were and went to where Master Fu was, only for him to see the guardian’s face being way more serious than he's used to. 

Also, “Why is Ladybug also here?” Plagg asked, curious. “I thought you ordered me and Tikki not to get close to each other to not compromise their identities?” 

He then floated by Ladybug’s face and introduced himself, “Plagg. Chat Noir’s Kwami.”

 

“The situation has changed, Plagg.” He heard Master Fu respond to his question as soon as he was done introducing himself.

He turned to meet the elder’s gaze, only to be met by deadly serious eyes. “We might have a clue about Hawkmoth’s identity and we need your help to confirm it.” 

And in order for him to confirm it, he needs Adrien asleep. 

Both Master Fu and Ladybug have asked Plagg to not let Adrien know about it yet, lest they put him in danger. Master Fu’s intent look on him also commands him to protect his boy from leaking out his secret identity carelessly as well. 

He countered it by telling Fu that “they could just get more heroes to help the two”, which surprised Ladybug. 

He was then confused about the heroine’s reaction and asked her about it, “You knew that he's the guardian and have given you and my holder the Miraculouses. Obviously he still has some hidden somewhere.” He said as he narrowed his eyes on the location of Master Fu’s Miracle Box.

The guardian changed the topic after his statement. 

Now he needs to find a way to make Adrien sleep, and if it takes being a bit… cheesy… to do so, then so be it.

He floated at the top of the blond’s head to curl up on it. 

“Don't worry too much about what happened earlier, kid.” His attempt comforting his holder started.

“We don't have confirmation yet. Plus, you still need to find who Ladybug handed the book to so your old folk won't get mad at you anymore.” He was giving Adrien’s head light taps as he tried staying curled up on top of his head. 

“You can't do that if you don't go to school tomorrow because you overslept.” 

He had no idea how that convinced Adrien, but he heard his holder thank him as he was scooped out of his head and back to the bed. The blond lied down shortly afterwards and tried closing his eyes. 

A few minutes later, Plagg can hear his holder’s breath evened, so he carefully floated off his bed and phased out of Adrien’s room to enact their plan. 

Their plan is simple– since kwamis can phase through walls, all he has to do is to phase through the house and search for any clues, mainly the peacock and butterfly brooches. 

He started searching through Gabriel Agreste’s office– where they found the grimoire. 

Now that he's looking at it intently, he finally realized that the brooch that was in there with the grimoire is the lost (and indeed, damaged) Peacock Miraculous. 

Oh no. 

This is good news to them, but not too much of a good news to his holder. 

He started to worry about how Adrien would react but immediately cut his worries off to try and concentrate at the matters at hand.

If he's going to worry, he's going to do it later with Ladybug and the guardian. 

Right now he needs to finish his job. 

He steeled his resolve to finally have an obvious confirmation to the most damning suspicion they have. 

Time to go to Gabriel Agreste’s room. 

Like he suspected, the Butterfly Miraculous is on Gabriel Agreste’s tie, and Nooroo, the butterfly kwami, is sleeping rather uncomfortably by the man’s bedside table.

There was enough distance between Adrien and his dad’s room for both of the kwami’s senses to be out of reach, and he really can't phase through freely unless he wanted to get caught by apparently their archnemesis. 

Plagg floated by the sleeping kwami and pulled him out of the room. 

He was confident that Nooroo will sense him in his sleep and will wake up before they both need to pass through the walls.

–and he was right. 

Nooroo immediately woke up the moment Plagg got close enough and excitedly phased through the bedroom with the cat kwami. 

The poor kwami happily filled him up on intel about not only his holder’s goal, but also his base underneath the mansion. 

Plagg bid Nooroo farewell after an hour of talking (as well as sneakily eating snacks in the refrigerator together) and went back to Adrien’s room to give himself some breathing time. 

The amount of information Nooroo provided to him can probably be useful to Ladybug as she formulates plans in the most ridiculous ways one can imagine (as stated by his holder– his senses are blurred while inside the ring). 

He checked Adrien’s bed to see the blond finally sleeping soundly on his huge bed. 

The cat kwami silently gave Adrien his apologies for leaving his side temporarily before flying out through the windows. 

His next destination would be Ladybug’s house.

Which is easy enough since Tikki’s owner is the daughter of the best bakery in all of Paris (again, deemed by Adrien). 

Since Adrien and this girl their classmates call Marinette are seated near each other, it wasn't hard for him and the ladybug kwami to know who their respective holders are. 

“Ladybug! Wake up!” Plagg called out after phasing through the Dupain-Cheng rooftop to float in front of the sleeping Marinette’s face. 

Tikki, sensing her partner being near, woke up first. “Plagg! My holder filled me in about what you're going to do– are you done already?” 

Plagg smirked, “Of course I am, sugar cube!” He then looked at the civilian identity of Ladybug currently sleeping on her bed as he added in the most serious voice he could muster. “You should wake your holder up for this.” 

After a few minutes of Tikki trying her best to shake Marinette’s body to wake her up, Marinette finally opened her eyes. 

“Tikki?” Marinette grumbled, still half asleep. “What's wrong— Did Hawkmoth akumatized someone agai–” 

“Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.” Plagg cuts her off by revealing the result of his “work”. 

This made Marinette’s mind fully awake as she jolted up. 

“WHA—” She covered her mouth to not shout at the top of her lungs and possibly wake up her parents downstairs. 

Her eyes still wide as saucers, she looked at the source of the voice, which is apparently Chat Noir’s kwami that she met earlier. 

“What?” She whisper-shouted at Plagg. 

Realizing that Chat Noir’s kwami is in her room, knowing who she is behind her costume, she also couldn't help but ask the question.

“How did you know who I am?” 

Plagg rolled his eyes, “Kwamis can sense each other when they're in close proximity, you know. I can sense her inside your bag everyday.”

“I didn't–” Marinette shot back at him as she saw Tikki glaring at Plagg, as if she's trying to kill him with her stare.

Did he say something wrong? She wondered, trying to recall what the kwami just said. 

And repeated the exact verbatim of it inside her head. Slowly. 

Wait a minute— 

“When have you sensed Tikki?” She interrogated, “You said that you can detect each other if you're close to each other, and you said you sense her every. day.” 

The gears inside her head started moving despite her wanting to keep their identities secret. 

She saw Plagg attempt to cover his mouth upon realizing what he just said and Tikki pulling his whiskers to bring him to the other side of her room; Most likely to reprimand him for being too careless about his owner’s identity. 

After a few minutes, both of them floated back to Marinette’s bed and sat by the mattress. 

“So…” Tikki started, probably to smoothen out Plagg’s blunder earlier.

“I've always sensed Plagg at school. But the feeling disappears as quickly as I felt it– which is probably the same with Plagg.” Marinette nodded in understanding. 

If that's the case, then I understand what Plagg meant earlier. 

Plagg backed her up, “Besides, you left Fu’s place earlier than us.”

She did leave ahead of Plagg, but they really didn't talk about anything else– he just asked the guy for Camembert and left the place with Adrien, absolutely disappointed. 

It was a convenient reason for his slip-up earlier, though, so he decided to add it on… completely ignoring Tikki’s instruction for him to shut up.

“More importantly.” Tikki took the lead on the conversation once more, “We need to enact the plan, now that we know that Gabriel Agreste is indeed Hawkmoth.” the Ladybug kwami said, now eyeing her holder.

Marinette apparently understood what she meant. “Oh yeah, the plan!” She exclaimed. She then opened the hatch to her rooftop and called for her transformation. “Spots on!”

She then used her yo-yo to fling herself out of the room to Master Fu’s, knowing that Plagg is floating close behind. 

The plan after Hawkmoth’s identity is confirmed was for Marinette to go to Master Fu’s and borrow the rest of the Miraculouses and give them to people she could trust. 

Then, have Plagg come back to Chat so he can wake him up, transform, and go to the Agreste Mansion to inform Hawkmoth’s son, Adrien Agreste about what they've discovered and bring him to safety.

After reaching Master Fu’s house, Plagg went ahead and woke up Wayzz so the kwami could wake up the guardian. 

Marinette then detransformed and went inside after Wayzz unlocked the door for her. 

While Master Fu was unlocking the miracle box to give Marinette the rest of the Miraculouses, Fu instructed Plagg to fly back to his holder so he could “bring Adrien to safety in advance.” 

He wanted to stay so he and his holder won't be left out but he realized that he'll fly for quite a while to get back at the Agreste Mansion (which is the complete opposite direction of where the guardian is currently staying).

He begrudgingly floated back to the Agreste Mansion but despite their plan, he didn't wake Adrien up yet. 

He still needed to think of a way to tell Ladybug that Adrien is safe without the heroine trying to make sure about the kid’s whereabouts and compromising his holder’s identity. 

What he did instead is to dive at his hidden Camembert stash and eat a few slices.

Floating on his own for that long has been tiring, not to mention the emotional stress he's experiencing because of all the revelations within a day.

He might act nonchalant about it, but he's distressed about how his holder feels and how he could do absolutely nothing about it.

While he's munching on his late night snack, he hears light tapping on Adrien’s window. 

Shoot. He froze. Ladybug’s here. 

He carefully peeked out of his stash to see what's going to happen next. 

Ladybug has apparently entered the bedroom and is now pulling out her yo-yo to check any responses from Chat Noir. 

“Did Plagg really fly that far just to tell us about the plan?” He heard her say while she was tapping the screen of her communicator impatiently. 

Plagg squinted his eyes after seeing something shiny by Ladybug’s arm. 

Is that– what is she doing here with the Snake Miraculous? Plagg questioned, which was immediately answered by what Ladybug whispered next.

“I hope this Miraculous will keep him safe, whatever hiding place Chat will put him in.”

Did he hear that one right? 

She's going to give his holder, the wielder of the Black Cat Miraculous, another one? 

Not like she knew about that, anyways— but that doesn't help Plagg that much. 

He knew.

And of all Miraculouses, why the Snake? Him and Sass are acquaintances, but he's a Cat, and well, Sass is a Snake. 

Those two really doesn't mix well together.

People call that “food chain” or whatever his holder was searching at the magic screen he once called a “computer monitor”. 

He can't let that happen, he thought as his cat attributes come into light. 

Adrien is my holder. He can't be a holder of another one! 

Fighting the urge to come out because he knew that Tikki would definitely kill him if he compromised Adrien’s identity now, he attempted to gobble down a wheel of camembert. 

Unbeknownst to Plagg’s struggle somewhere in Adrien’s room, Ladybug roamed her eyes around, finally landing her eyes on the sleeping blond by his bed. 

She was internally debating whether she wakes him up herself and give him the miraculous or wait for Chat Noir to come over, give him the instructions and the miraculous to him, and then leave so she can give the other miraculous away to trusted people.

The spotted heroine is now fiddling with the bracelet on her left wrist as she looks at it. 

She specifically picked the Snake Miraculous for Adrien so that despite being hidden, he'll still have a part on the plan— he'll be the safety net just in case the plan had any holes in it. 

Ladybug wanted to inform Chat to tell Adrien to transform with the Snake Miraculous as soon as he was led into safety, and then activate the Snake’s special ability, “Second Chance”, put on a communicator so he can listen to the battlefield and her instructions on when to pull back the snake on the bracelet. 

She was also going to say a keyword to be covert about the fact that the Snake is activated on the sidelines and will provide it to Adrien before they confront his father. 

The plan involving Adrien sounded great inside her head. 

Like, why wouldn't it be? They'll have a failsafe and Adrien could clear his name once the entirety of Paris knows Hawkmoth’s identity. 

But now it's all a matter of “will she be the one who will give the love of her life the news that will change his life”, or “will he leave that to Chat Noir, who is still not responding to any of her messages”?.

Is he not transformed yet? She thought. Can Plagg not wake him up? 

Ladybug sighed. She can't just wait here– their time is running out. She still needed to distribute the rest of the miraculouses, tell them about the plans for each holders, and enact the surprise attack inside the Agreste mansion.

She started walking towards Adrien to wake him up when she heard noises near the door.

===========

Plagg has been trying his best to contain himself, but the  wheel of Camembert he was trying to eat collided with the walls of his hideout– the other trash can on the side parallel to the door. 

He knew she'd notice the noise– superheroes have heightened senses, after all. 

He decided to phase out of his stash and went under Adrien’s bed to spy on the situation closely. 

===========

Ladybug went to the source of the noise, only to see nothing but trash by the bin. She shrugged, then walked back to where Adrien is– still sleeping soundly on his bed. 

She couldn't believe it either, but she had to do this for their plan to move forward. 

After taking a deep breath, she shook Adrien in attempts of waking him up. “Adrien?” She calls out, loud enough to have hum hear it, but not shout-y that it'll also wake his housemates. 

A small whimper comes out of Adrien’s mouth as he slowly faces who's waking him up. 

“Oh, good. You're awake.” He heard a familiar voice and thought he's still dreaming as he still has his eyes closed. 

Well he did, before he heard a whisper coming from the very familiar voice who called his name earlier, 

“I really thought Chat would do this himself, but…” 

His senses woke up at the mention of his superhero name and he jolted out of the bed, startling the poor superheroine who woke him up. 

“Are you okay? I'm so sorry I woke you up— Chat’s supposed to do this–” The heroine immediately rambled. 

He then saw Ladybug bury her face in her hands, “Ugh, this is such a disaster!”

“Ladybug?” He questioned. The spotted heroine looked up at him upon hearing her name. 

Why is she here? Did she discover his identity? 

As his thoughts slowly filled with questions, Ladybug took it as an opportunity to pull herself together. 

As soon as she did, she coughed to get the blond’s attention. “You’re fully awake. That's good.” She started, fiddling with the bracelet on her wrist once again. 

Adrien could've sworn he heard her add “Now I don't need to startle him…” under her breath, but he could still be hallucinating.

“I know this isn't the right time for you but uh… We've confirmed something after the incident with your father yesterday.”

Oh. The blond then internally sighed in relief. 

Good, his identity isn't compromised. 

But Adrien then realized that she's here to confirm what they talked about yesterday.

And with his Lady’s choice of words, there's no denying it anymore. 

Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth.

His father is the current wielder of the Butterfly Miraculous and the one terrorizing Paris just to get his hands on his and Ladybug’s miraculouses. 

“Chat Noir was supposedly the one that'll do this, but he's not responding to my messages–” Ladybug rambled, completely oblivious that she's talking with Chat Noir’s civilian identity at the moment. 

“–Plagg is still probably on his way to him–” 

Wait, what? Adrien wondered, What did she mean by “Plagg is still on his way to him”? 

The blond added that question onto the pile inside his head the moment he saw Plagg’s supposed spot beside his pillow was empty.

Ladybug on the other hand continues her explanation, “So, I'll be the one carrying you out to a safe place!” 

“Wait!” Adrien said, feigning ignorance, “Why would you and Chat Noir bring me to a safe place? Is someone threatening my life? What have you confirmed during the incident with my father yesterday?”

The heroine probably realized that she hadn't provided that important context to Adrien yet as she visibly froze in place. 

If he's not also Chat Noir, he wouldn't know what's happening and would've been more confused than he's showing at the moment. 

Thank goodness his partner isn't reading too much between the lines, else it'll be obvious that he's only pretending to be confused.

“Oh– Oops.” She says as she scratches the back of her neck. She then coughed and straightened her back, probably attempting to look and sound serious. 

“Your father, Gabriel Agreste, has been identified as Hawkmoth.” 

“Oh.” Was the only thing Adrien could muster. 

He wanted to act more devastated but he couldn't bring himself to. In the back of his mind, Adrien has already accepted that fact, but he's not feeling anything after hearing the words of confirmation from Ladybug herself. 

In an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere, Ladybug switched back to her “more jovial” behavior that Adrien only sees when he's outside the suit. Seems like she read him well this time.

“I know! It's shocking! He's your father and you're his son! I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if my Papa was revealed to be Paris’ main terrorizer… But things happened, and the book– ah yes, the book!” She exclaimed.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng will give you that later at school– she's your classmate, right–” Ladybug started rambling once again. 

Adrien, on the other hand, is still processing what's unfolding in front of him that he started zoning out of their conversation to fully digest the information bomb that she dropped. 

Who could've thought that all it'll take to discover who their enemy is was stealing his father's book in the vault, who happens to be the grimoire containing information about the Miraculouses? 

Absolutely not the Adrien that time when he and Plagg stole that book.

Hell, if he told that Adrien what that action would snowball into, he'd probably won't believe him. 

He was then brought back to reality when he saw his lady pulled a bracelet out of her wrist and handed it out to him, “Adrien Agreste, this is the Miraculous of the Snake. It will give you the power of Intuition and will help us win the final battle against Hawkmoth. Can I entrust you to use this power for good?” 

The blond gaped at her as she tilted her head to the side, confused. 

In Ladybug’s eyes, there's nothing wrong with her handing out a Miraculous to a civilian who's set to be hidden somewhere in Paris. 

But to Adrien Agreste, who is also Chat Noir, it is such an impossible task. 

I don't think we can even wield multiple miraculouses at once! Adrien thought, panic starting to seep through his expression.

How can he tell her no without compromising his identity?

The heroine, however, treated his wordless reaction as a negative response and looked down to his room’s floor.

“Did… Did I say something wrong…?” Ladybug asked, voice filled with confusion and guilt. 

Adrien felt bad for her, but he doesn't know how to properly respond to her request, so he tried settling for a safer answer instead.

“I'll think about i–” 

“NO, YOU WON'T!” A third voice came under Adrien’s pillow. Adrien– and he assumes Ladybug as well– whipped his head to the source of the voice and he saw Plagg phase out of his pillow, his little paws crossed and his expression obviously angry. 

He's pretty sure Ladybug saw the kwami float out in the open as well but he can't just stand there in defeat!

Immediately filled with adrenaline because of what's happening, the blond ran to where Plagg was floating out of panic– he can't reveal his identity now!

He wanted their reveal to be more personal, more intimate— just the two of them, in an atmosphere that is absolutely not like one they're in at the moment. 

Plagg seems to know what Adrien’s about to do, so he flies towards Ladybug to fully show himself to her. 

Plagg, no! He tried catching the kwami but to no avail. 

Ashamed, he couldn't even turn around from facing the pillow as soon as Plagg started zooming in on Ladybug, whom he assumed was on the other end of the bed. 

“I came out to tell you face to face that you CANNOT give Chat Noir the Snake Miraculous!” Plagg says angrily. 

Whoa— why is the god of destruction angry? Adrien wondered as his thoughts were put on hold after hearing Plagg’s voice. 

“Plagg? What do you…” Ladybug understandably trailed out, probably only processing what Plagg just revealed to her. 

Adrien couldn't do anything but put his head on his hands. 

Game over, he said to himself, she already knows I'm Chat Noir. 

She finally knows how pathetic her partner is for having a lame civilian identity and a supervillain as a father. It's understandable to him if she finds him detestable now. 

Still facing the wall by his bed, he slumped his shoulders as he started thinking about how he would explain himself and how he would apologize for Plagg’s behavior. 

Maybe telling him that I won't buy him any camembert for 3 months would suffice as a punishment. He thought. 

Plagg might hate me, but I can't just let the fact that he revealed his identity to my partner aside. 

After a few moments that felt like forever for the 3 in Adrien’s room, Ladybug broke the ice.

“So, that's why Chat wasn't replying to me…” She said, her voice sounded like she's talking more to herself than to the other two in the room. 

Adrien lifted his head to look where his superhero partner was and he saw her sitting down on his couch, with Plagg hovering over her. 

Either Plagg guided her to sit down by the couch (in which he doesn't know how the kwami would do because he's visibly mad), or Ladybug herself sat down due to shock. 

Since he wasn't looking, he didn't know what happened and he doesn't think he can extract any information from the two at the moment. 

So he turned away from his wall to listen.

“Why the hell would you think giving Adrien a Miraculous was a great idea?” Plagg started lecturing Ladybug, who's obviously still bewildered at how she discovered Chat’s identity by the way she's frozen solid by the couch. 

“...” Adrien wondered how she walked from his bed to the couch if she's still catatonic (heh, cat-atonic, his mind joked) upon the revelation– maybe she still had enough brainpower to go to the couch before her brain started completely processing what the black cat kwami said? 

“I thought the plan was to put Adrien in a safe place and let him stay there so his father won't hold him hostage!” Plagg then threw his paws in the air and turned his small body away from the spotted hero as he continued rambling. 

“...” Still no response from his Lady, Adrien observed. She's probably just letting him speak. 

“Now you march in here carrying the Miraculous of the Snake! The Snake, among all other choices you surely had!” The Kwami then whipped his head around and hovered right in front of Ladybug’s space, making her head lean backwards.

Adrien initially planned to interfere with his holder, but he's afraid that Plagg might accidentally cataclysm him and everyone else due to his rage. 

So he decided to just continue sitting to watch the scene unfold on a safe distance– by his bed. 

The blond quietly shifted to sit at the edge of his bed while watching his kwami reprimand his superhero partner while Ladybug, the usually logical one, has been rendered speechless throughout the kwami’s fit of rage.

“I have no qualms with Sass himself, but c'mon! My kid isn't a good match with the Snake! What were you thinking? Besides, he's already my holder– no one else can claim my territory!”  

Okay, he finally understood why Plagg impulsively phased out after hearing Ladybug offer him a Miraculous– it was the kwami’s cat tendencies. 

Of course, Adrien thought, he's the black cat kwami after all! Of course he, of all cats, would be territorial… of me… 

Alright, that realization was kind of awkward for him… He wanted to change the topic inside his head now. 

The blond decides that he'd put his attention back to the scene and waited for anyone to speak. Finally hearing a few seconds of silence from his room’s sofa, he let out a sigh of relief. 

The poor blond thought his heart had enough surprises the entire day– from his father being the supervillain they're fighting against, to Plagg revealing his identity due to his cat tendencies. 

He didn't think his heart could take any more surprises.  

Well, that was until Plagg forcefully let him in on another grand revelation the moment he started opening his mouth again.

“Just because you like him doesn't mean you can make him involved with your plan! He's going to fight against his father!” Adrien assumes Ladybug’s eyes widened the same time he did as she quickly cut the kwami off by calling his name, 

“Plagg–!” his Lady attempted swatting Plagg off like a fly. The kwami in question just flew away from Ladybug’s reach while darkly chuckling, a smirk evident on his face.

“What, am I wrong?” Plagg teased, still smirking at the Ladybug heroine. 

The kwami then sneaked a glance at his holder and he saw Adrien holding on to the mattress like his life depended on it while his mouth was wide open out of shock. 

The sight made his grin wider. 

Well, the kwami thought, I already revealed his identity– might as well make the ball continue rolling. 

Besides, he's starting to get sick of Adrien’s obliviousness.

His holder was so tunnel-visioned about his love for Ladybug that he doesn't realize that Ladybug herself has been in love with his civilian identity all this time! 

Plagg doesn't know how Tikki feels about it, knowing that she probably figured it out faster than him, but he's more than sure that she shares his opinion about this matter. 

The Kwami of Misfortune’s thoughts was then cut short when he heard his holder’s partner making incomprehensible noises by the sofa.

Adrien, on the other hand, manages to recover and glares at Plagg the moment the kwami looks away from Ladybug to sneak a glance at him. 

The blond thought he's probably gauging his reaction to what was just said. 

I swear this kwami knows what he's doing. He thought as he made his glare look sharper. 

Adrien then realize it was of no use as he sees Plagg’s grin became a bit wider after seeing how he responded with the news.

He knew we'd both react like this once he said that! 

Their intense staring contest was then interrupted by the heroine’s incomprehensible noises by the sofa.

===========

Ladybug wanted to shout, then flee, and squeal at the same time, but all she can do is to make strained noises. 

She needs to calm down, she scolded herself. This is absolutely not how a superheroine should react. 

Pulling herself together she then shakily took a deep breath– loudly, one might add– and stared back at Plagg, who to her has been looking at her the entire time. 

“I planned this so that Adrien can have a chance to contribute something to the team so he can easily clear his name in public.” The red heroine started explaining, 

“Besides, he just discovered that his dad is a supervillain– he's probably scared and feeling unsafe!” She crossed her arms and looked away from Plagg’s eyes, completely forgetting the fact that the said guy is in the room with them.

“So, I wanted to give him a Miraculous so that he could protect himself!” 

Alright, those are actually good reasons, Adrien remarked as he slowly nods his head in agreement. 

Leave it to my Lady to think a lot of steps ahead!

He then saw Ladybug pointing a finger at Plagg as she turned her now intense gaze back to the kwami.

“You probably knew what was going to happen and yet you didn't even think of any reason to why I shouldn't give him any Miraculous– I don't know that he already has one and that one Miraculous he have is you!” His partner whisper-screamed at the kwami. 

“I know that! But I knew who he was! You know I can protect him from his father, God forbid he does something to his own son– now I feel unsafe from you!” Plagg huffs and rolled his eyes. 

“You wanted my holder to replace me– even if only temporarily! What if he mindlessly said yes because he's head over heels for you? In which he almost did earlier!” Plagg spewed out, gaining a strained “Hey!” from Adrien, still sitting at the edge of his bed.

“What if that one time turns into more times? Now I’m feeling scared and insecure!” The kwami said, voice tinged with jealousy.

Not knowing what to do to assure Plagg that she would never have him replaced by Sass or any other miraculous in Adrien’s possession, Ladybug unclasped the same bracelet she was supposed to give Adrien earlier as an autopilot action.

She somehow realized what she was doing and managed to wear it back before Plagg started scolding her.

At the same time, Adrien made his move and started walking towards the sofa to finally join in the conversation. 

Which means he saw the spotted heroine meekly handling the kwami the same bracelet she was handing Adrien earlier, saying, “Would you like a Miraculous?” 

Maybe it's because of how ridiculous Ladybug’s notion was, but Adrien felt laughter bubbling to the surface and he didn't even bother bottling it up.

The blond ended up bursting out laughing while Ladybug and Plagg looked at him incredulously. 

“Are you kitten me, my Lady?” Adrien somehow had the breath to put forward his Chat–ness in the current situation. “Sass will eat up my cat– food chain and all– I can't let that happen!” He said as he continued laughing. 

That gesture confirmed what Ladybug needed to confirm about Chat Noir’s identity.

Of course– only Chat Noir can pull out a cat pun in a situation like this! Ladybug remarked, evidently exasperated.

Realizing that her crush has been endlessly chasing her superheroine tail, she sighed in exhaustion as she whispered something to herself. 

===========

Plagg, on the other hand, was elated upon hearing his holder’s words. 

He knew it was the cat in him that lashed out on Ladybug, but hearing Adrien implying that he's declining Ladybug’s– the love of his life’s– request of temporarily replacing him has made him so happy that he's now unconsciously purring. 

===========

Now, Adrien wouldn't have caught on to what the heroine whispered under her breath, but he's Chat– meaning he has enhanced hearing and was able to understand that she said, “I can't believe I've been friend-zoned by the same guy who has been pursuing me in our superhero identities…” with a voice full of bitterness in it. 

Ladybug got friendzoned by him? Adrien thought, clearly bewildered that he, whom everyone knew has been in love with Ladybug, have put her in the friend zone? 

The blond then tried recalling any encounters they had in his civilian form that possibly made him utter words that can be misunderstood as him friendzoning her but nothing came to mind.

Does this mean that Ladybug knew him even in her civilian identity? He thought as gears started working inside his head. 

Well, that doesn't narrow it down. His face turned sour upon realizing that fact. 

I am a model – everyone in Paris knows my name and face! 

While Adrien was left alone with his thoughts, Plagg, being the black cat kwami, naturally heard what she said as well.

Despite his quite loud purring, he can still hear sounds around him! He's a kwami for heaven's sake!

After seemingly being against her the entire time since her arrival, the creature is now giving her head pats as he said “Oh– you don't know the half of it! I'm so tired of him not seeing your feelings for him when all he needs to do is look behind!” 

Surprisingly able to still hear his kwami reply to Ladybug, he found the way Plagg emphasized the last word suspicious– but what does it even mean? Ladybug and Plagg are right in front of him at the moment. 

Ladybug shushing the kwami off, however, made something inside Adrien’s head light up. 

But that would mean that Ladybug is– his brain needs to calm down as he still needs confirmation about this assumption.

Adrien sat on the floor, in front of Ladybug before he started asking for information. He needs to confirm this based on gauging her reaction. 

“Plagg, what do you mean, ‘behind’?” 

“Behind means behind!” Ladybug answered for his kwami. “What else would that mean?” She continued, feigning ignorance. 

Adrien wasn't satisfied by the response he got, so he tried again. “Ladybug, when have I even friend-zoned you?” 

The spotted heroine, clearly exhausted by the amount of reveals that happened within the same day, responded frustratingly, “You do that all the time.” She complained as she huffed and crossed her arms.

“It was extremely tiring to hear “she's just a friend!” or “she's a very good friend!” everytime someone brings up my name when everyone in the entire school– probably the entirety of Paris knows about how much I like you!”

After a wreck of a confession, Ladybug then groaned while she put her head in her hands. “This is a disaster!” 

Her voice muffled from her face being covered, “Where's a Snake Miraculous bearer when you needed one? I would've asked them to activate second chance before this catastrophe happened!” 

“You mean chat-astrophe?” Adrien butted in in an attempt to lighten up the atmosphere and he could've sworn he saw Ladybug roll her eyes as she responded with a muffled, “Oh, shut up.” while her face is still buried in her hands. 

Plagg was pretty sure that his holder already knew who his superhero partner was and he didn't want to waste any more ‘moments’ like this.

He still wanted to fight Adrien’s father and channel all of his kid’s loneliness to convert it into rage for the fight. 

If his holder isn't ready to fight his own father when the moment comes, his duty is to fight him himself to protect Adrien from harm. 

He doesn't want to admit it out loud, but he wanted his holder to be happy. 

“Alright! Are you lovebirds done?” The kwami teased as he hovered in between the two. 

He then looked at Adrien. “You can transform, too, you know.” only to be answered by a “Not yet” by his holder. 

Just how many minutes are these two going to waste? 

A bit irritated for having 0 progress after a few minutes, Plagg exploded once again– this time on both of them, 

“Adrien– just tell me if you want to fight your father or not, I could cataclysm him for you if you just say the word–” 

He rolled his eyes then looked at Ladybug, who is slowly recovering by Adrien’s sofa, “And you, Marinette–”

“PLAGG!” This was Ladybug’s reaction, while “WHAT?” was Adrien’s response.

Both of them covered their mouths while looking at each other’s eyes– both as wide as saucer’s– while Plagg rolled his eyes once again at the reaction… 

Usually, kwamis can't say other holder’s names when their identities aren't revealed to that certain holder yet. And when they try doing so, bubbles will be summoned in their mouth to completely muffle their attempt of saying a holder’s name.

Plagg tested the waters to discover if he can finally say Marinette’s name out loud because he knew from experience that he can say other holder’s names as long as his own holder knows it as well.

With him being able to say it out loud, that could only mean that his holder figured it out and was only looking for confirmation on Ladybug’s end. 

As for both Adrien and Ladybug– Marinette– the two of them looked away as they muttered apologies for screaming in the middle of the night.

If  the earlier argument by his kwami and Ladybug was within a safe volume range, Adrien’s now sure that Nathalie heard that and will definitely go check up on him now.

“So, you finally figured out who she is, kid?” Plagg teased his holder as Adrien stared him down. 

“No, Plagg. You said her name!”

“Which meant that you figured it out yourself.” He nonchalantly stated. 

The Kwami then decided to drop some important information regarding the ‘secret identity things’,

“For your information, Kwamis aren't meant to just be able to say other holder’s names if their own doesn't know said holder’s identity! And no kwami– even Tikki and me– can bypass that system.” 

“So…” Ladybug gasped,”That rule gets lifted when your holder knows who the other one is?” Plagg bobbed his head as a response. 

“I swear I haven't figured it out before Plagg even said it–” Adrien started defending himself when Ladybug cuts her off, 

“Oh, quit it, Agreste!” She rolled her eyes. 

“Plagg said it himself– no one can bypass that system unless his own holder knows who the other one is.” Ladybug said in a matter-of-factly manner.

Adrien wanted to reply that Plagg lies to get his way sometimes. But before he could open his mouth, Ladybug took over the conversation once again.

“Unless there's another girl you considered as ‘just a friend’ aside from Marinette Dupain-Cheng…” 

As soon as the superheroine’s voice faltered, a loud knock on the door was heard, followed by an “Adrien, are you still awake?” afterwards. 

Everyone inside the room panicked– Nathalie definitely heard the other voices inside Adrien's room! 

Adrien managed to pull himself together and provided instructions on where his superhero partner should hide, while Plagg practically ran towards his cheese stash in the trash. 

Nathalie knocked again from outside his room, “I'm coming in.” 

Adrien, while his current room companions are hiding, ran towards the bed and dived under the sheets to pretend that he's asleep.

Everyone held their breaths as the sound of the door opening echoed through the walls of Adrien’s room. 

Plagg phased out of his hiding spot to keep tabs on Gabriel Agreste’s assistant. 

He saw Nathalie opening the lights to double-check if there's someone else inside the currently sleeping Agreste inside the room. 

Once satisfied with her search, Nathalie turned off the lights and took her exit. 

Plagg, from his side of the room, announced that Nathalie had gone outside. 

Adrien quickly got out of bed to run towards the door and lock it. 

Once the click of the doorknob’s lock was heard, all of them finally released the breaths they've been holding since Nathalie came inside. 

Marinette came out from behind the bathroom’s door, still wearing the Ladybug suit. “That was scary!” 

“That's how closely I was monitored.” Adrien said, sighing. The two of them sat on the sofa, while Plagg hovered over them. 

“So how are you getting out?” Ladybug asked, curious. 

“Aren't there surveillance cameras inside here as well?” 

“There was.” Plagg answered for him, like it was enough explanation for how he basically ruined all of the cameras every time his father installed them inside his room.

It was Adrien's turn to roll his eyes.

“And to answer your question about me going out,” Adrien interjects, gesturing towards the windows, “That's your answer."

“Oh.”

Silence enveloped the room for the second time since Ladybug went into Adrien's room. But the air this time wasn't full of tension, it's full of awkwardness. 

And Plagg, bored and irritated out of his mind because of these two idiot holders, decided to break the silence once again. 

“Now what, lovebirds? Are you two going to smooch your way until the sun rises or are we finally giving this story a close so you two can finally be free?”

The two awkwardly looked at each other as they got reprimanded by the Kwami of the Black Cat Miraculous. Adrien scratched the back of his neck while Marinette, still wearing her costume, shied away. 

“Milady– can we talk about this once everything is over?” Adrien asks, his other hand gesturing to the two of them. Ladybug, now blushing, nodded silently as her response. 

Plagg watched that exchange with disdain. I swear to god I would cataclysm myself if they don't get this over with already, he says. 

The creature then called out to Ladybug, 

“Can you detransform and tell me and Tikki everything you're planning already– there's no use for your transformation now that everyone in this room knows who you are.” 

To this, Ladybug shifts her gaze between Plagg and Adrien, probably seeking any confirmation from the blond.

Ladybug doesn't know why she's looking back and forth between the kwami and his holder at the moment either. 

Is she asking for permission to detransform? Probably. 

Is she scared that confirming to Adrien that she's plain, old, clumsy Marinette would make his admiration for Ladybug completely fade away? Absolutely. 

But she's a superhero. And superheroes know how to separate their civilian lives from their hero ones.

Especially since they're about to do some serious talk regarding the elephant in the room which is Gabriel Agreste. 

Her thoughts get interrupted when she sees Adrien smile at her like she's the most precious thing in his world in her peripherals. 

“Go on, Ladybug.” His words laced with something Marinette couldn't describe but she felt comforted by it.

"If you don't want me to look, then I'll look away.” He assured, garnering another eye roll from their audience. 

“Oh come on! Just detransform! I want to see Tikki now!” The black cat whines.

“Sorry about his cattitude. I didn't know he'd be catty with the two of us today.” Adrien smiled slyly as Ladybug looked at him in exasperation.

He definitely is Chat, Ladybug thought to herself. Again, no one aside from him would be able to pun in a situation like this. 

“If you promise to not pun throughout our conversation today, I won't mind detransforming with you looking.” A lie. 

Of course she would mind, that's her crush! 

Who kept friendzoning her civilian identity for her superheroine persona! 

Nothing big!

“No purr-omises~” He sing-songed, making Ladybug roll her eyes. 

“Then I'll be looking away instead.” She said as she stood up and walked towards the other side of the room. After a few deep breaths, she then called out her transformation. 

Ladybug’s supersuit faded away with the flash of the bright light from the detransformation. 

Once the ordeal is over, the one standing where Ladybug was earlier is now Adrien's classmate and their class representative, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

Even after she completely detransformed and Tikki immediately pulled Plagg out of earshot, Marinette still didn't move to face the room. 

Truth be told, she's absolutely terrified.

She felt so naked without her supersuit.

And on top of that, she's inside Adrien Agreste's bedroom! 

Her crush’s bedroom! 

She woke Adrien Agreste up in the middle of his beauty sleep to tell him… 

… to tell him information he already knows; Marinette realized, because he's Chat Noir. 

How is he even holding up right now? She questions. 

“Well, if you turn around, I could tell you how.” Came in a voice from right behind her, making her jump and looked at the source in reflex. 

Instead of the blond supermodel, Chat Noir himself is now standing in front of her. 

“When did you even transform?” Marinette asked, confused mainly because she thought that her partner didn't have much time to transform. 

Chat scratched the back of his neck as Marinette looked around for any signs of Plagg. 

Right. He's in the ring. Marinette reminded herself– which also made her remember something from the conversations they've had earlier, 

“You weren't even confused when I mentioned Plagg’s name to you while I was rambling earlier!” Marinette buried her face in her hands.

“Ugh– I should've known! The signs were already there– you were not looking too surprised about the news and all– you were even the one who reminded me to tell you that your dad is Hawkmoth! Which you already knew! Because you're Chat Noir!” Marinette rambled out of frustration, voice muffled due to her rambling while her face was still buried in her hands.

Tikki saw what was unfolding and floated over to Marinette to offer some comfort. 

Chat placed a hand on his partner's shoulder, “Milady, I'm still in disbelief from everything, trust me.”

This made Marinette look at him. 

Chat took this as a sign to continue talking, 

“When me and Plagg stole that book, we thought it was just a book of fashion that I could read so I could bond over it with my father… I never thought that that idea would snowball into… this…” He then sighed. 

The fact is, he's already accepted that his father is Hawkmoth. 

It just… makes sense to him. 

He doesn't know how and why either, but it just does. 

“But I'm glad that his evil deeds will be over soon. I honestly just want my father back…” He trailed off as he saw Marinette moving towards him– apparently to encase him in a hug. 

“Oh, Chat…” Marinette's muffled voice cooed. Adrien can feel her hands moving up and down his back as she tries to comfort him. 

“You're the bravest, the strongest, and the most confident person I have ever known” Marinette then lets go of the hug to cup Chat’s cheek, despite her nerves screaming at her because she's currently trying to comfort the Adrien Agreste.

She didn't care, because right now Chat needs her. 

He needed his Lady.

And she is Ladybug, in or out of the costume. 

With her newfound conviction, she spilled the words she's been longing to say since the moment she stepped foot inside his room, “I promise we'll get through this together. It's you and me against the world, remember?”

“Thank you, Ladybug.” Chat says, voice full of gratitude and sincerity as he hugged her back.

Marinette then tries lightening up the atmosphere as she broke the hug, “Why did you even transform in the first place? I just called off mine– and the step-by-step of the plan is something our kwamis need to know themselves as well…” 

Chat ran a hand through his hair, “Plagg apparently returned from Tikki’s grasp on him to annoy me while you were calling your transformation off, so I called mine to shut him up.” 

“Let me guess, he still has the cattitude?” She teased.

Chat gasped, “You– you punned!” 

“No harm in doing it once in a while” She shrugged, smirking. 

Adrien seeing her Lady smile that same smile Ladybug does just made him realize that Marinette is indeed, the girl of his dreams. 

How could he be so blind? 

“Oh, tell me about it!” Came a response from above his head.

Alright, he absolutely said that thought out loud. 

Well, that or his expression was so easy to read that even Plagg can decipher what he was thinking.

He jumped in surprise hearing Plagg, since he doesn't remember calling his detransformation phrase which means one thing— Plagg forcefully detransformed him, probably because he has had enough hearing his holder's thoughts. 

Well, Adrien thought, that's what happens when you unceremoniously drop information bomb after information bomb. 

“Can you two just—” He froze mid-sentence, and by the looks of it, Tikki is probably giving him a murderous glare somewhere inside Adrien's bedroom because of his attitude.

“Can we just please talk about the plan. I promise to give you both enough time and to shut up the entire time you talk to each other, but not this time!” The black cat kwami whined.

If the whine was for him having to play nice, or for begging, the two holders would never know.

The kwami then added, “I want to cataclysm his dad so bad!” as quick as he could after his complaints. 

“Right. The plan.” Marinette then looked over to Adrien, concern on her face. “Do you still want to hear it with what's happened?” 

The blond smiled at her. “I'm all ears, Milady. It's you and me against the world." 

"Right." Ladybug said, giving him a kind smile. "You and me against the world."