"Pound..." Ladybug started saying, her fist out. But she stopped, realizing that Chat Noir wasn't fist bumping her back.

"I'm sorry Ladybug. I have to go," he said, walking away and taking his baton from his lower back.

"Wait!" Ladybug called out before he could leave. "I need to talk to you."

He looked at her. "Can it wait until next time?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, it can't wait."

Putting the baton back, he walked over to her. "Okay, what's going on?" he asked.

Ladybug's heart was racing as she closed the distance between them. "I, uh... I wanted to tell you..." She put her hand up to her hair, running her fingers through the strands of her pigtail. "I..."

He looked at her confused, putting his hands on her shoulders. "What is it?"

"I love you Chat," she whispered.

His eyes grew wide and he stepped back in surprise. He must have misheard her. It almost sounded like she said... no, that's not possible. "Wh... what did you just say?" he asked.

She paused momentarily. "I said that I love you." She gave him a small smile. "I want us to be together. I've realized something over the last couple of weeks. I've realized how much I care about you... and I wanted to tell you that I've fallen in love with you."

"But... but what about the boy you were in love with?" Chat Noir asked.

"It, um... didn't work out," Ladybug said, looking down for a moment before looking back at him. "So I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me sometime."

He couldn't believe his ears. Ladybug was confessing her love for him. After all the time they spent working together, she was finally interested in dating him. He couldn't remember how many times he dreamed about this moment. How he would feel. What he would say.

What came out of his mouth next was something he had never imagined saying.

"I'm sorry Ladybug, but I can't."

Her face fell. "You can't?" she repeated, clearly shocked.

Chat Noir shook his head. "I'm sorry. You're wonderful. It's just that I... I can't."

"But... I thought that this is what you wanted."

"I did want it. But... I'm sorry, I... I'm in love with someone else."

There was silence for a minute before he spoke again.

"I love someone else. And even if it takes forever, I'm going to wait for her to accept me and we're going to be together. Because she's worth it. She's worth everything to me. I... I'm really sorry Ladybug."

"No, don't be sorry. I understand," she insisted, tears welling up in her eyes. A small smile crossed her lips. "She sounds like a lucky girl."

Chat Noir moved up to her again. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah," she said, reaching up and wiping a tear away. "Yeah, I'm going to be fine. Don't worry about me." She pulled him in for a hug as her earrings started beeping.

After a minute they separated. "Well, what are you waiting for?" Ladybug asked him, smiling. "Go get her!"

He smiled brightly. "Thanks Ladybug," he said, grabbing his baton and taking off.

************************************

Chat Noir flew across the rooftops as fast as he could go. He landed in the empty classroom and quickly moved to the desk. "Marinette?" he asked, looking for her. She wasn't there.

He started panicking. Where could she be? She said she would stay here until he got back. Something bad couldn't have happened, could it?

"Claws in," he said, detransforming. Adrien caught Plagg and got a piece of Camembert for him. Then he ran out into the hallway, searching for Marinette.

Now that the akuma alert had been called off, students were once again making their way to their afternoon classes. Adrien quickly checked the chemistry classroom and found Alya and Nino, but no Marinette.

After searching the other classrooms and the courtyard, he went outside. Still no sign of her. Running out of options, he hurried to the park.

His heart skipped a beat when his eyes landed on the beautiful blunette. "Marinette!" he yelled out, sprinting over to her.

She turned around at hearing his voice, the open umbrella resting over her shoulder. He ran up and stopped in front of her.

"I, uh... I didn't want you to lose this," Marinette explained, looking up at the umbrella fondly.

Adrien tried to catch his breath. "Marinette, I love you. Please give me another chance," he said, stepping right up to her.

She smiled sweetly at him. "I love you too. But do me a favor."

Adrien couldn't breathe again. "Anything," he squeaked out.

She smiled wider. "Don't call me 'Ladybug' anymore. People might look at us weird. 'Princess' or 'Marinette' is fine."

Adrien nodded. Then suddenly he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, leaning her back slightly. She put her free arm around his neck, her other hand still holding the umbrella.