Cat Noir lay flat on his back, being chilled through by the cool smoothness of the stone that made up Marinette's balcony. He listened carefully and could hear the sound of mindless flowing traffic, the soft chime of the bakery bell, and the muffled arguing between a girl and her kwami.

He couldn't quite make out the words, whether from their indecipherable nature or because of the fried processers of his brain he wasn't sure. What he would hear if he tried to listen was also beyond him, everything sort of was at that exact moment in time. He felt like he was in a gigantic tank at an aquarium that had been drained of all water, leaving him in a dim sealed space all on his own. He knew water was meant to be there, and some part of him feared the moment it all came crashing down because when it did, he would almost certainly drown.

The water was flooding the aquarium now, and he felt like he was desperately trying to remember how to swim.

He sighed, sound passing his lips in a vague cry of distress because he had no idea how to fix this. He didn't know what to say, he didn't even know what he wanted to hear. What could he say? Why did something so good feel so bad?

That thought settled in, drawing out the seconds he lay still and did nothing as he considered that line of reasoning again. Something so good... because... it was good. That's how he felt at any rate, it was good. They knew. He was him and she was her and they knew. This balcony... this home... all those nights, whether spent skating or patrolling the city all that mattered is that all those nights were spent together. And all those school days... all those smiles in the halls.

What did he want?

He tried to think it through, sitting up and staring sightlessly at the still locked hatch.

What did he want to happen if and when that hatch opened?

He tried to imagine it, the simple glass pane lifting away and finally letting him enter. Letting him see her.

That's what he wanted, he supposed. He wanted to see her, and see her as all of her. He wanted to look at her and know she was Ladybug, just like she had looked at him in the seclusion of that locker room and known he was Cat Noir.

He wanted to see all of her for the first time, and still feel that hot overwhelming feeling in his chest.

Cat Noir nodded once, purely for himself as his mind started to function again, planning. He had to get in, normally he would respect her privacy but this was extremely important and a unique circumstance... aaaand if he was invited in it wasn't really trespassing at all. But there was no way she was going to let him in and Tikki seemed to have lost her battle, so that left...

He grinned slightly.

Hadn't Tom and Sabine always been so welcoming?

--

"Marinette!" her father's voice echoed up to her, cutting in to her breakdown time. She lifted her head from the pillows slightly just in time to hear her father say, "Your friend Adrien is here to see you!"

She went stiff, wide blue eyes staring down into the lower level of her room as Tikki gasped adorably to her left.

"He didn't..." she whispered in disbelief, watching her stairs like a hawk as her heart pounded in her ears to the beat of approaching footsteps.

"He DID!" Tikki squealed in delight, giggling happily when the hatch in the floor opened and a sheepish Adrien popped his head in with a weak smile before clambering inside.

"Y-you used my parents!?" she cried indignantly, trying to find something to say and settling on something trivial.

Small though it was Adrien still laughed nervously, looking down at the ground.

"Well you didn't want me wrecking your ceiling so this was the next best option..." he defended himself lamely, finding actually being in her room slightly... terrifying.

The tension was so thick between them he wondered idly how he wasn't suffocating from it, his comparison to the flooding aquarium returning to mind.

Adrien stood stiffly directly next to the now closed hatch, the space of her room familiar but also entirely alien in this new and frightening context. He couldn't look at her, barely able to keep his place as the silence stretched on.

He flinched when he heard her move, any break in their silence jarring as she quietly moved down the steps to stand on the same level as him. And he still hadn't looked at her.

She didn't say anything, countless words on the ends of both of their tongues as they both looked away from each other. She examined the dust on the windowsill... he examined minute details of the floor.

And neither of them spoke... even though both of them had so much to say. That was probably the worst part for them both... they both had so much to say but no words with which to say them.

So slowly Adrien raised his gaze, action being his only aide in fixing... everything. Fixing the rift between him and the person that mattered the most, he could see that now. He could always see how much Ladybug mattered to him, always knew that... but then Marinette would smile out on the ice... skating backwards just to show off. And just like that she was so important too... and it had confused him.

Funny... how the most confusing thing had always made the most sense, because as he looked at her, just as she looked up at him... he could see all of her.

And that feeling did not fade.

Marinette gasped at the intensity she saw in his eyes, the green of them so deep and filled with... everything. So many things she couldn't even name... and then he had crossed the gap, for a moment so desperate to do something that he abandoned his trepidation and just... held her.

That's the only way she could describe it. It wasn't quite a hug...

He just held her, and she swore she could feel her heart stop when he suddenly said, "I'm so happy it's you..."

To the side so as not to intrude Tikki and Plagg had quietly slipped away to hover over Marinette's desk together, the ancient powerful gods watching the scene with varying reactions. When Marinette's breath had left her and she looked up into Adrien's face, and when she choked up from how overwhelming everything was and just... held him too... Tikki smiled.

"Isn't it sweet Plagg?" Tikki sighed happily, her hands to her cheeks as the two awkward teens laughed and refused to part. The red kwami looked over at her scowling counterpart, saying, "They're in love! They're finally on the same page!"

"Same page?" Plagg scoffed, the sound warping into a laugh as he said, "In whose book!?"

"What do you mean?" she demanded, instantly irritated that, as usual, her partner was being pessimistic about something that was so clearly fantastic.

"The only one with all the cards here is pigtails," Plagg pointed out, scoffing again as the two teens giggled nervously and pulled apart, both red in the face and looking away from each other. "She knows everything now and Adrien is still left guessing."

"What are you talking about!?" Tikki huffed, whizzing over to get in Plagg's face a little in her passion. "They love each other!"

Plagg rolled his bright green eyes and crossed his arms, somehow managing to float in the air even lazier then before. "NO," he countered, "he loves her and she knows that."

"And Marinette loves Adrien," Tikki stated harshly, thinking Plagg was just being simple again, but was surprised when he suddenly gestured wildly out towards the pair in the center of the room in frustration.

"And does he know that!? No, he does not." When Tikki just stared at him blankly he sighed and said, "Don't overestimate him, Ms. Smells-like-chocolate might have openly admitted to participating in the competition to impress him but his self-esteem is so low I guarantee you he's got no clue she's in love with him."

Tikki blinked, her tiny mouth open comically wide in disbelief until Plagg found the image so funny he was cackling aloud.

"There's no way he's that dense!" Tikki cried out, and Plagg was honestly impressed that Adrien hadn't heard, or maybe he had and he was ignoring it.

Plagg shrugged, grinning at his partner. "I've been with him for a while and trust me, he is."

"We have to tell him," Tikki said resolutely, surprising Plagg by looking like she was ready to storm off and do it right then.

"Woah woah woah!" Plagg shouted, grabbing her and holding her back, "Don't just go charging in there!"

"She won't do it on her own!" Tikki groaned, sagging into Plagg's arms and curling dramatically into him, at which he rolled his eyes. He worked with absolute drama queens. "She won't tell him her true feelings and everything will be ruined!"

Plagg was now the limp one, looking up at the ceiling as Tikki bawled into his chest looking like he'd much rather be doing something else besides consoling his sometimes emotional counterpart.

"You get so invested in these love stories," Plagg sighed, although he was probably just as invested this time around, not that he'd ever say as much.

As Tikki continued to talk, saying something like, "Well not everyone only feels emotions for pressed milk curds!" Plagg lolled his head around while he groaned, until he caught sight of something hanging on Marinette's wall. A lot of something's hanging from Marinette's wall actually.

Tikki looked up when Plagg's slow cackle started to build, concerned with the deviousness she heard there and freezing when she tracked his gaze to the slightly obsessive collage of Adrien photos on the wall.

"You think we should tell him?" Plagg laughed, "I know how to tell him."

Adrien stood in front of Marinette, their hold finally broken but they still stood close together. Neither of them had spoken for some time, but he felt the need to say again, "I'm happy it's you Marinette..." His eyes dropped to the floor, every action and shift in weight betraying his uncertainty. "I'm sorry I was so pushy and... urgent but I- I just wanted to see you and- I don't know... I don't know, I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry for running," she blurted out, the words so sudden and tense that he actually jumped. "I'm sorry for ditching you I was just so freaked out I-" her words were getting more and more crowded, her whole body tense and Adrien stared at her in wide eyed fright. "I was so afraid and freaked out and overwhelmed and I knew it would upset you and it would upset me too and I just wanted to stay but I couldn't so I ran an-and I-I'm..." Adrien felt something akin to pain in his heart when he heard the wobble in her voice, like suddenly she might cry and all at once his hands were gripping her shoulders and he was speaking without thought, saying the first thing his heart wanted to.

"Ice Flower," he said urgently, cutting her off and demanding her attention with the old nickname, the nickname that became a song that became a dance and... so much more than all of that. The name that became a story that wasn't quite done. "Look at me, please."

When she didn't immediately comply he smiled softly, his tone slightly musical as he said, "Pleaase?"

She smiled a little back, but it was a little while more before she looked up into his eyes. Cat's eyes.

He grinned at her a moment before saying quietly, "I don't blame you for running. It was big and... scary. And I'm sorry, for putting you in such a tough spot, forcing you to deal with something like that on the fly. But..." his own gaze dropped, his smile still in place but gentle now. "We still made a good team right? Me and you?"

There was silence, well... relative silence, Plagg was making some kind of ruckus in the background, but after a while Marinette chuckled breathily.

"Yeah..."

"Yeah what?" he pressed, his smile widening a little when he spotted her rolling her eyes.

"Yeah we make a good team," she said again, laughing a little in exasperation, looking into his eyes for a second before looking away. It was hard to look at him and not see a mask, or look at herself and not see her suit. It was all out in the open now... it was all so... exposed.

It wasn't as awful as she thought it might be...

"Still could have done that better," she muttered under her breath, and he laughed, taking his hands back to cross his arms.

"Says Ms. Hero who ran for the hills."

"You said you didn't blame me!" she scoffed, amazed at the tense yet somehow genuine joking between them.

"Doesn't mean it wasn't a little ridiculous," he shot back, wanting her smile more than anything. It made things feel a little more normal.

However silence lapsed over them again and he fidgeted uncomfortably. This wasn't meant to be this way.

Adrien took a deep breath, and then reached forward to grab her shoulders again, slowly dragging her to sit down on the floor with him despite her protests. She squeaked as she plopped down and he bit back a grin, remembering something similar from all the times he would pull her down onto his piano bench to listen for a while.

"Okay," he finally spoke, his voice stupidly shaky but he forged on, staring into her deep blue eyes. "Ehem... alright. U-um-" he was losing confidence in his idea, he knew she was going to make fun of him but he felt like this is what they needed. He swallowed before saying, "Hello Ms. My name is Adrien."

"What?" she asked, tilting her head but he held up a hand, asking without words for her to hear him out.

"Um, my name is Adrien Agreste. I go to Collège Françoise Dupont here in Paris and I'm fifteen years old." Marinette stared at him blankly, an entertained yet hesitant smile on her face when he added, "And, you might have heard of me, I also double my days as the superhero Cat Noir."

Just like that it clicked, and an embarrassed giggle slipped out as she looked down at the ground. She understood what he meant now, and it made sense. He wanted to meet her again.

"W-well," she tried to start, sighing and shaking her head when she heard him laugh before looking up into his face. "Well, Mr. Agreste," she played along, smiling slightly at his excited grin, "My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. As luck would have it," his grin widened, "I also go to Collège Françoise Dupont and am fifteen years old. And, you might have heard of me, I tend to spend my free time as the superhero of Paris, Ladybug."

His handsome face twisted into one of false consideration when he said, "Ladybug... Ladybug... mmm, nope. Never heard of you."

She snorted with laughter, reaching up to cover her mouth but he was already laughing at her.

"Alright so now I know if I ever do hear of this Ladybug, she'll be snorting."

"Shut up!"

He chuckled, glad that she was smiling even if she was flushed. He continued with his game, grinning at her as he asked, "Okay Ms. Ladybug, tell me a little about yourself."

"A little about me? But I thought you had never heard of me, why would you care?" she teased, and it was remarkable as she watched it happen. She watched him smile at how she teased him, and could see him there. Could see Cat Noir. That's who it was... through all of this it was always Cat Noir, and it was always Adrien, with or without the mask. As silly as this little... roleplay was, she understood the point of it. They were meeting all of them, the Adrien that was also Cat Noir, and the Marinette that was also Ladybug.

"Well," Adrien said with all too familiar lilt in his voice, "someone as beautiful as you is bound to be just as interesting."

She gasped quietly at what would typically be a run of the mill line for Cat Noir, burning red at hearing something like that come from... Adrien... while she was still Marinette, but when she looked up she could see how red he was as well and ended up laughing.

"Silly Cat..." she found herself saying, just like she might have any other day, and the tense giggle that came from her counterpart just made her laugh again. He had been brave to try flirting again but it seemed to make him just as flustered now for some reason.

"A little about myself..." she said almost to herself, tilting her head in thought, "well... I suppose-"

She started to talk, Adrien leaning forward over his crossed legs as he listened intently. She shared things he knew, like her love for designing and sewing, and some things she never had to opportunity to share, like her love of animals and architecture. It was bizarre and she petered off into silence more than once, but each and every time he would gently encourage her to continue, a soft smile on his face.

It was one of those times where Adrien asked her another quiet question to get her to keep talking when they heard a strangled cry in the back of the room, behind where Adrien was sat. The super duo looked over to see Tikki smiling as innocently as possible, Plagg's face shoved into the desk as he writhed about wildly with several pieces of paper in his grasp.

"Uh... Tikki?" Marinette questioned, and although she had been looking at them Tikki pretended to notice them for the first time.

"Oh! Yes? What is it?"

"Is Plagg causing you trouble?" Adrien asked, looking on as Tikki continued to hold Plagg down with slight concern.

"No!" she squeaked, ripping some of the paper away and shoving them one by one behind the desk as Plagg yowled in fury, "No trouble! Don't you kids mind us, we're just playing! You keep on talking!"

"Adrien!!" Plagg called out, flailing even more dramatically than before, "YOU GOT TO SEE THIS!!"

"No!" Tikki cut him off, grabbing the last piece of paper and flying off at top speed across the room, "You'll ruin everything!!"

"Give it to me! Give it to me!" Plagg demanded, taking off after her, tackling her midair and sending the two of them bouncing off of Marinette's lounge.

"Tikki!" Marinette exclaimed, Adrien's consistent apologies making up a stream of background noise as Marinette started to stand, before suddenly Tikki appeared again waving dismissively.

"I'm alright! It's alright, really! You kids just keep talking!"

"Give it back you beetle!" Plagg screeched, before halting mid tackle and turning around with an evil grin. "There are more in here, you're gonna love it Adrien!"

"Plagg!!" Tikki whined again, flying after him and tackling him to the ground while he swapped rapidly between cackling and hissing.

The kwamis were moving too rapidly for their charges to capture them, so while constantly looking over their shoulders in vague concern they continued to chat.

"Sorry about Plagg uh... just ignore him," Adrien said with a nervous laugh, fiddling with his collar and shooting a sharp glare behind him when he heard another hiss.

"He seems... lively," Marinette laughed, watching Tikki grab Plagg by the tail and pull him into the darkness beneath her desk.

"He's usually the laziest thing alive I have no idea what's gotten in to him," he sighed in response, shaking his head when he heard something crash.

"He's probably just excited to see Tikki, I'm sure they know each other."

"That would make some sense I guess... Uh, if he breaks anything I'll-"

"Don't worry about it! Uh... well Mr. Cat Noir," she tried to tease, and he grinned a little, "tell me a little about you."

"Weeell did I mention I'm a superhero?"