"Adrien is Cat Noir!?!?"

Tikki whisper yelled, her entire tiny body vibrating with the effort. Her eyes were bug wide, and Plagg just watched her breakdown smiling at how his little game was playing out.

"Quite the handsome cat yeah? I'm pretty fond of him myself, even if he is a dunce. He can't even see the girl he's falling for is STILL Ladybug!"

"I- he- ADRIEN IS CAT NOIR!?"

"YES!" he whisper yelled back, snickering at her reaction. This was just as funny as he was hoping it would be. "You didn't spot it before? As soon as Adrien spent more than a second with Marinette I had her pegged!"

Tikki still had enough brain power to resent that, huffing and crossing her arms.

"I had my suspicions!"

"Oh sure," he teased, starting to wander off farther into the bookstore with Tikki on his heels. "As soon as I heard she was a baker I had it down. It's just like you to pick a girl with steady access to sweets!"

Tikki flew out ahead of his to bop him on the head, scowling adorably.

"That is not why I picked her! I'm not you cheese head!"

"I only picked the cheese guy once and that was a terrible decision."

Plagg chuckled at the memory, recklessly wandering around the isles of towering dusty books sticking out haphazardly every which way. Tikki was more cautious, but knew their charges and the owner were the only humans around.

Their charges...

"We- we have to tell them!"

Plagg stopped dead, his eyes shooting wide as he flew in front of her, waving his arms wildly.

"What!? No way! We can't say a word!"

"Why not!?"

"That's so boring!" he whined dramatically, twirling in the air. "This is so much funnier!"

Tikki gasped, putting her hands on her hips. "Funny!? This isn't about funny Plagg this is huge! This is a big deal!!"

Plagg was backing up without looking, too busy fighting with Tikki to notice the teetering pile of books on a shelf at his level. He bumped into it, and zipped away with a squeal as it started to fall in on him. Tikki just sighed and shook her head, flying in to drag him out of sight before one of the humans came by to check what the noise was.

In the back of the shop Adrien tensed and repressed a groan when he heard the sound of falling books, Plagg's mischievous smile coming to mind. Hopefully the others didn't catch it... stupid cat. Always knocking crap over.

"I don't see what the problem is," Plagg whispered, wandering off yet again.

"How can you not see the problem!? It's- it's a love... square! How confusing is that!? We can make them happy!"

Plagg raised an eyebrow at that, gesturing to their miraculous wielders who could be seen below them some distance away. "They seem pretty happy to me!"

Tikki huffed and searched for words, but her exasperation was dulled slightly when she looked over the scene.

Marinette was holding some book, seemingly nervous as she shared it with Adrien. The boy however couldn't be more ecstatic, asking her questions and following behind her closely as they wound through the isles together. He would hop around a little before grabbing some random book, trying to guess at what sort of things she might like and looking overjoyed every time he was right.

It made Tikki smile.

"See?" Plagg pressed, "They're fine! And watching him get all confused about his new crush on the same girl is

"How can you play a joke like this on your boy?" she sighed, frowning at the cat while he scattered a bunch of loose pages around.

"The joke plays itself! I'm just watching." He paused in his playing to look over at his old friend, sighing when he saw she had her 'stern face' on. "I thought you would be excited Tikki! You love all this lovey dovey stuff."

"That's why I think we should tell them! They can be together!"

"It seems to me that's gonna happen anyways, I mean look at them! I'm pretty sure Adrien is the only one who doesn't know Marinette likes him, and he's going to be in so deep soon he's only going to see spots." Plagg crossed his arms, betraying the fact that he had put more thought into his actions than he let on. "If he falls in love with who she really is then that means more doesn't it?"

Tikki froze with a tiny gasp, impressed with the childish trickster. It was easy to forget that he had a brain when all he ever did was cause trouble and eat cheese.

"Well... maybe. But still-"

"They should tell each other, or we can out them." He shrugged, "Both would be funny I think. You choose."

"Why should I choose!?"

"Cause you're the one complaining!"

Tikki pouted and flew a short distance away to sit on top of a book shelf, looking down. They had wandered up to a small second floor at some point, and Marinette was just visible behind a set of display cases. She was laughing and joking, Adrien responding in kind somewhere out of sight. She looked so at ease... and it suddenly made so much more sense. Tikki laughed to herself, shaking her head.

Of course they would latch on to each other so quickly, they had more in common then they even knew. They were already best friends, they were just meeting each other again and it was all falling into place even quicker than the first time. Sure they were still giggly and nervous, but there was an unshakeable companionship already in place.

Tikki smiled gently, her heart feeling incredibly at peace.

Her powers, the powers of the miraculous stone Marinette wielded, were one half of a whole. Plagg was the complimenting force to her existence, and even if he constantly reeked of cheese he was her oldest and greatest friend. They had been side by side for centuries, and being the hopeless romantic she was she had hopes that those chosen to use their powers were much the same. Not every Ladybug and Cat Noir fell in love, romantically speaking, but each one was a half of a whole. It had only happened a few times, where the humans who became Ladybug and Cat Noir were two portions of a single soul, but it had always spawned a deep and unbeatable love. So far this love had always been platonic, or romantically one sided, but for the first time it looked like they might finally be on the same page. Or at least had the potential to be. At the very least the friendship was already forming.

Tikki sighed, dreaming of a future where everything worked out. There was so much about Marinette that summed up everything Ladybug was meant to be, didn't she deserve her Cat Noir? Of course it was Adrien, she should have seen it before. It was written in stardust that those two would be drawn together.

Plagg looked over to where the red kwami was daydreaming and rolled his eyes. No doubt she was weaving some gag inducing tale about soulmates in her head, spinning things wildly out of proportion. He never understood why things had to be so complicated. He did his best to help, but the solutions to everyone's problems always seemed crystal clear, they just had some useless hang up with it.

'I'm in love with Ladybug,' Adrien might say.

'Tell her,' Plagg would reply, but his boy would sigh and throw himself onto his bed, saying that it wasn't that simple. It really was though, just say it. He didn't get the problem.

'This person is awful.'

'Get rid of them.'

'I can't.' Ugh. He never understood. Cheese was much better than problems, he didn't get why anyone bothered having them.

"Maybe you're right..." Tikki admitted slowly, "We should let them tell each other but... oooh this is so frustrating!" She bounced up and down dramatically. "How can I bear it now that I know?! It's going to drive me nuts!"

"I know!" Plagg cheered, cackling aloud.

Tikki grumbled and pouted, flying forward to push Plagg so he spun out into the open air like an astronaut in space. He wiggled around squeaking for a moment before he got his bearings, rushing back to rough house a little more. It had been an age since he last saw Tikki, it was good to tease the goody two shoes again, though he couldn't say he missed her too much. She was with him one way or another at all times, it was hard to miss someone when you knew they were always there. As long as there was bad luck there was good luck, so as long as there was Plagg there was Tikki.

Adrien was sitting in an old worn chair by the back wall, watching intently as Marinette paced back and forth with a book in her hands. She was speaking so quickly he had to work to pluck the words out, but every time he managed to understand what she was saying he would end up laughing and losing his place again. She had obviously read the book he had picked out at some point, and was not exactly happy with how it ended, but in order for Adrien to understand why the ending was so bad she was giving a brief/ not so brief synopsis of the story and it was hilarious. He felt sort of bad, he really was trying to pay attention, but he kept getting distracted. There was a lot of dust in the air and it would cling to her hair as she walked, softening the dark color. She still had a sweater on, which he was grateful for since she was still sick, and it was cute and baggy. She had a scarf that was a bright, warm red color and he wondered idly if she made it herself. She certainly could, she could probably make anything she was wearing even her shoes. Well maybe not, he wasn't sure if she could do shoes but it sounded likely.

She was so... natural, and it made his heart warm. This was the Marinette he had seen from afar, the one he had wanted to meet. He was finally hearing all of her jokes and it had only taken a little push from him, a little effort to show her he wanted to know her and she had come to him willingly. She was so bright and giving, handing him her friendship with a smile, and he silently decided that the world needed more people like Marinette. Someone warm and brave who cared about the people around them.

"-and its just totally, ugh! Right?" he tuned in as she was finishing and he felt a spike of panic. Oops, he had definitely missed the plot twist.

"Yeah absolutely!" he said enthusiastically, relieved when she nodded.

"I'm glad you agree! The book was worth way more than such a stupid twist, it's like the author didn't even care!"

He laughed uncertainly, trying to catch up with what he had missed using context clues but she seemed about done with her speech.

"I'm sorry I super went into a rant just then... I- we can go if-"

"Woah no! No I liked listening its fine! This place is cool we don't have to leave if you don't want to," he reassured her, hopping to his feet to pick up a small stack of books he had accumulated and standing beside her, signaling he was ready to keep exploring. She gave him a soft smile before looking down at his pile and grinning more broadly.

"You're getting that wizard series? I thought you said you weren't a big reader."

"Oh well I-" he was a little embarrassed to admit his reasoning, but forged on. "You said it was really good so I figured I would try it."

"Oh!" she exclaimed cutely, "You can borrow mine then if you want, I only have the first two but you can see if you like it before you get the others."

"Thanks! Okay yeah we can do that, do you want to borrow anything of mine so it's even? I- well I don't have a lot of books and I don't know if you play games but..." he petered off, wondering if he was being stupid again but something seemed to click in her head.

"How about you pick one of your favorites and I'll try it, you said you like the Legend of Zelda right? I think my dad has a... gamecube, if there is one for that."

Marinette giggled at how he jumped a little, his face lighting up at the suggestion.

"You would love Wind Waker! Yeah you can borrow that one I know you'll like it! I can teach you how to play too if you get stuck."

The two of them wandered around for a little while more before Adrien decided it was time to get back, taking advantage of the slight lull in the pounding rain. It was only going to rain harder the longer they waited, so they should probably leave when it was as light as possible.

When they got to the door the two of them slipped on their jackets and almost left before Adrien saw a flash of black clinging to the exposed back of Marinette's coat, obviously having been caught out.

Adrien squashed a startled noise in his throat that still sounded like a strangled yelp, and Marinette turned to face him in confusion, tilting her head to look at him. There was nothing more terrifying for Adrien then seeing Plagg looking over Marinette's shoulder at him, just barely out of her peripheral vision. That stupid cat was covered in dust, what had he been doing!? He was going to be seen!

"I uh I- wow would you look at that real quick?" He pointed at some random poster on the wall.

"Uhh... why?" she asked, which was a pretty fair question considering it was weird request.

"Just trust me?" he said lamely, and she took his troubled expression to mean that he was asking genuinely. With a raised eyebrow and a shrug she did as he asked and turned her back to him, jumping when she felt his hands pat at her shoulder blade rather roughly. Before she could turn around Adrien had sprinted away, dodging quickly behind a shelf before popping back into view.

"Uh there was a gigantic spider on your back and I didn't want you to freak out," he covered with a nervous laugh, nearly jumping out of his skin when she shrieked and slapped at her back.

"EW EW NO EW ARE THERE MORE!?"

He stared at her in startled confusion for a second before he burst into laughter, earning a withering scowl from her before she stomped outside and left him to catch up, shouting any apologies he could manage between bouts of laughter.

Plagg cuddled into the steadily warming layers of Adrien's jacket, trying to get more comfortable than he had been when he was roughly shoved inside. It wasn't his fault he had almost been caught, Tikki was the one who had booted him out into the open while Marinette was putting on her coat. Maybe he should have been waiting in Adrien's to begin with but whatever, would it have been so bad if the girl had peeked down to check on Tikki and seen the both of them? She would have screamed way louder than if she had seen a little spider, it would have been great. He snickered at the very idea. He should have insisted on staying.

Adrien had finally gotten Marinette to forgive him for laughing at her when they were almost back at the house. She was still pouting at him, but it was mostly out of stubbornness now, occasionally forgetting that she was pretending to be mad and smiling anyways. They were trading the thermos back and forth, wanting to drain the cider a little so Sabine didn't scold them when they turned the final corner and the bakery came into view.

Adrien's heart sank and he stopped walking completely, just standing with his hood up in the rain. Well, he supposed it had to happen sooner or later...

He recognized that car.

"You're in trouble... aren't you?" Marinette said it quietly, looking at his carefully reserved face with unease.

He nodded slowly, looking up when he felt the rain stop falling against the material of the hood. Marinette stood close to him, holding out her umbrella and looking at him with reassuring power in her eyes. He met her gaze, enjoying the proximity while they shared their private room in the rain once again before reaching out to hug her.

She jumped a little in surprise, but returned it, leaning into him and trying to pour all of her strength into him. She had dreamed about hugging him a hundred times over, but had hoped it wouldn't be in an effort to steel him for whatever awaited him. It shouldn't be too bad... but he would definitely be punished.

The hug was warm, and comfortable. It didn't feel awkward at all. Just nice.

"Thanks," he said simply, smiling at her as he pulled away. "Focus on feeling better okay? I had a lot of fun."

"Okay," she replied, putting a hand on his shoulder for a moment before turning to face the bakery again. "I can show you more neat places whenever I can see you again, alright?"

He nodded, deciding to not say anything, just smile. He flipped his hood down, starting to work on the clasps to return it as they stepped through the door, interrupting an ongoing conversation.

"-was trying to do something nice for my daughter, I will gladly speak with Mr. Agreste myself if you would-"

"No," Natalie was responding curtly to Tom, though she seemed to have personal reserves with doing so. "Mr. Agreste has requested to not be bothered with this matter anymore than he already has besides being notified that his son is home."

The adults turned as the children entered, Adrien's face a careful neutral as he addressed his father's assistant.

"Hi Natalie."

"Hello Adrien," she answered, "I assume you understand that your father isn't pleased with you being brought to the principal's office and then promptly ditching school to go visit a classmate?"

Adrien nodded, denying nothing. "Yeah, but Marinette was sick and I wanted to check on her. I'll go with you now though." When he had told Natalie where he was he had figured she would show up to get him, he had just hoped it would be later.

Natalie had been expecting more, but she supposed that the both of them were numbed at this point. She watched as Adrien hugged the baker's goodbye and she reassessed something in her mind. This was the worst part of her job, she decided.

The baker's had more concern in their eyes for this boy than she had ever seen from his father, and something about that sent a chill down her back. Yes, being sent to take Adrien away from a warm friendly place back to his too big home, that was the worst part of her job.

She looked at the way the two classmates responded to each other, and that same chill settled on her spine. She made no fuss about waiting for the girl to dart upstairs to grab something, wanting to prolong Adrien's moments in the bakery if only a little. However, once Adrien had collected a pair of books and returned some swath of leather he held, there was no more time to be stretched, and they left.

She had grown used to seeing such a young boy quietly comply with the wishes of his father in silence, and she hated that.

Natalie sat in the back of the car with him instead of up front, something she rarely did. She made no attempt to speak with him, they were not close in that way, but some fundamental part of her didn't want to leave him alone. She wondered if her presence was of any comfort to him... she hoped that it was.

Adrien was silent, gripping the two books tightly as he stared out the window, the rain growing worse. It was still early in the day, only about a half hour since school would have let out, but the rain clouds made it look darker than that.

He didn't think about much, just watching the rain. He had learned to be careful in situations like this, to be reserved. It damaged his pride to do so, and it had become harder to manage ever since he had become Cat Noir, but it needed to be done. Sometimes fighting battles was about doing the safe thing, and ultimately it was just better to stay out of his father's way.

.