They should have seen it coming, really. Marinette knew Alya. Their little moment here? It was bound to end explosively. The couple was just breaking apart from their kiss when the door opened in a swift movement.

"I knew it!" She gave Marinette a look "just talking my ass"

Busted.

The pair turned to where a very satisfied Alya and a quite relieved Nino were standing (hereally didn't want to bust into his friends' making out). Marinette and Adrien shared a look before he shrugged and placed his arm on her shoulders. He was pretty sure they already saw his jealous display of affection, so there was no need to hide anymore.

Marinette, however was a bit more apologetic towards Alya "I…kind of was going to tell you today, when we were at your house, but I got distracted"

Alya's eyes widened slightly, remembering their earlier conversation. "Alright then. Then I'll just say I'm happy you finally got your crap together, the teenage longing was getting a bit much" Alya said, before finally adding "And I'm just going to tell you that if you'd held off on your secret for just… one more week, you wouldn't have cost me fifty euro"

What? They had a bet going? "Seriously?" Adrien deadpanned towards Nino who simply shrugged.

"Seemed like a good idea at the time…" answered Nino, before adding "thanks by the way"

Marinette didn't even have it in her to be annoyed. First, she was glad that the secret was finally out; and second, that everyone was being so normal. Well, as normal as they usually could be. "I think we should just go back inside" Marinette said, "I think everything is about to start"

The group of friends made their way inside the ballroom, Adrien's hand resting on Marinette's shoulders. It was public now, he didn't care who he saw. The music was starting and the students were heading towards the dance floor. Adrien and Marinette began walking towards the group, before she paused and looked towards their two friends "Are you guys coming?"

The pair in question looked at each other in question before shrugging their shoulders "In a bit" Alya said… as of now, she'd prefer to give the little lovebirds some space. Before they started being all lovey and gross.

Sabrina was Chloé's best friend. She would help the blonde with achieving everything she desired. It had been a part of her everyday life for so long, that she just wasn't sure how to function without that part of her life. Not that Chloé noticed her efforts, most of the time. The blonde mostly noticed when something went wrong. And judging from what Sabrina was seeing, something was about to go very, very wrong.

It was no secret that Chloé liked Adrien. Unfortunately, Adrien was currently not only dancing but making googly eyes at Marinette. Out of every girl that could have been on the receiving end of his attention; Marinette was the absolute worst, Chloé was going to freak out. Sabrina had tasked herself with creating a path for Chloé to walk through without any problem. But at the sight of their classmates… she froze.

Chloé of course, was lost in her own daydream. Adrien hadn't said no to the dance (who would tell her no, really), so she was about to collect on that promise when she crashed into Sabrina's back. "Hey!" Chloé said, thoroughly annoyed at her friend "Move it Sabrina, jeez". The meek redhead turned her wide eyed look at her best friend, and Chloé attempted to look for what Sabrina had been looking. And it was then, that the blonde girl saw it.

Adrien, her perfect future boyfriend, Adrien Agreste was dancing with Marinette Dupain Cheng. That… girl, who was not worthy of this amount of good luck. There was nothing specialabout her; her parents were bakers, for crying out loud. She was so plain. Not like her, Chloé Bourgeois was anything but plain. She was the mayor's daughter! She was a socialite!

And then… Adrien had leaned over and kissed her. He had kissed Marinette. Right there whereeveryone could see them. Her delicate hands gripped her dress and she decided to head over there. But thankfully, Alya was on top of things.

If there was anything one could say about Alya, was that she was a good friend. Sure, she was going to corner Marinette and get every single detail from the girl and just why she'd kept this a secret! But yes, now that Marinette was finally together with Adrien, she was not going to let their resident spoiled girl ruin their first public outing. "Chloe, don't you dare!" Alya said, stepping in front of the blonde girl.

Now, Chloe would have pushed past Alya and done what she wanted anyway; but there was far too many people watching. It was too public, and you couldn't really play victim when there was evidence. She'd have to do something later. Chloe glared at Alya, her blue eyes narrowed, "Whatever" she said, sneering down at the other girl before turning around and hurrying away, stumbling back into Sabrina who was behind her, "Sabrina get out of my way!" she pushed the meek redhead out of the way, spilling the fruity drink that the redhead was holding right on top of her dress. "Ugh. You are just so useless!"

Sabrina should have warned her! Or something. As of now, it was easier to blame her friend;at least until she figured out a way to get back at that …girl.

Once Chloe had left the scene, the people around them went right back to their own groups. After all, Chloé Bourgeois throwing a fit was an everyday occurrence; and if her venomous behavior hadn't been directed to anyone…It just wasn't worthy of anyone's attention.

Other than Sabrina. Of course.

But no one looked at the redhead, the front of her mint colored dress stained with the remains of the orangey drink. Sabrina only looked as Chloe left somewhere, not even looking behind to see if her friend was there, and no one made a right move to see if she was ok.

Just like always, really.

But her dress, it was completely ruined, so the girl hurried towards the bathroom, and glanced at the reflection in the mirror. Her dress was stained, and she could see where her skin was sticky with the sugary drink. Even the brooch was destroyed, the flowers silky petals stained with orange and red. It was a present from her parents! Just for this party! And unlike Chloé,she didn't get jewelry on a regular basis. She dampened a paper towel and dabbed at her skin and dress, but the damage was already done. Her eyes stung with angry tears as she rinsed it under the faucet, her anger, and frustration calling out to Hawkmoth.

"Spotlight" Hawkmoth said as a dazed look appeared on the girl's face. "You've been ignored, disrespected. It seems like no one cares about what happened to you…" The outlines of a butterfly appearing in front of her bespectacled face. "I can help you get the respect, the attention you deserve, do you want my help?"

"Yes"

"That was surprisingly easy"

Nino shrugged "Who knows with Chloé, really" he said, the way the blonde's head worked was a mystery to everyone. "At least she didn't make a mess in here, so that's always good" The boy rubbed the back of his head. Unbeknown to him, Alya had been correct in her interpretation of their interactions during the previous weeks. He had tried, but even if she was a girl he'd know his whole life, Alya could definitely be intimidating. She was just soassertive sometimes that he wasn't quite sure on how to react with her. Besides, his flirting skills were almost nonexistent "So…"

"I like this song" Alya announced.

Well. That opening he could use. "Uh… so, do you want to dance maybe?" he asked.

It was all the invitation she required, "Sure!" she grabbed ahold of his hand "let's go". The pair joined their friends on the dance floor, greeting them cheerfully as they all began to dance together.

A couple songs later, because, as Alya would later complain to Marinette, 'she did not get to have good things because the world hated her'; a loud crash interrupted them. Every eye turned towards the south entrance, where a big hole replaced the ballroom. The akuma was a woman this time, the feminine form wearing a long flowy dress, her body hovering off the ground surrounded by a bright light. The glasses that could easily identify her as Sabrina were transformed into a pair of goggles, protecting her eyes from the world.

"There's a monster!" a girl screamed, causing the akuma to focus her attention on her.

"I am not a monster" the powerful voice said "I am spotlight, and I will not be ignored!" With that, she pointed one hand to the girl, a beam of blue light shooting out of her palm, and the girl immediately began turning transparent, like a crystal sculpture, frozen in her spot.

That was when the chaos began.

Marinette and Adrien shared a look, they had to flee the scene and get somewhere where they could transform. "Let's go" Marinette said, "We have to get out before she gets to us" Adrien's hand closed on hers as they began to walk towards the closest exit. They had to find a place to transform now.

Alya's phone was out in a flash, but Nino took charge of that and began dragging a backwards Alya towards one of the opposite exits. At her sputtering complaints he shook his head, his arm firm as he tried to direct his friend towards a safe spot. "Nope" he said, "you can film from the outside"

"But Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here soon!" she said, her phone fixed on the action, "I can have

"Last time you were almost sacrificed, remember?" Nino pointed out, "We're leaving." With that, the two of them began to head towards the door, as quickly as the mass of moving teenagers would allow.

Marinette and Adrien had gained some distance on them, and were almost out of the door. They wanted to transform, but first they needed to make sure that they had made it out of the danger zone. And the longer they took to transform; the longer time Spotlight had to zap people into the zombies she seemed to be making.

Thankfully, all through the chaos, it was easy to find a door marked 'Storage. Authorized personnel only' and the couple quickly ducked inside, their disappearance ignored by the panicked people outside.

It was a small room, where they evidently kept the supplies to tend to the hotel upstairs. Travel sized toiletries were carefully stacked on one table and there was an abandoned cart filled with sheets that were probably going to take to the laundry room.

The duo transformed, two flashes lighting up the room quickly as they donned their superhero gear. Marinette, set on her Ladybug mode, walked towards a window, peeking her head outside as she plotted out a plan "I can swing from here and you can jump on that beam" she said, her eyes mapping out a route for the both of them. "Let's meet on top of the ballroom" she said, her expression determined. "Ready?" It didn't matter if they smashed their way in, her healing light would take care of everything else afterwards.

"Ready"

Marinette Ladybug nodded, her yo-yo firm in her hand as she began to climb out the window, before pausing for a second and retreating for a second "Be careful, okay?" she said, stepping on the tip of her toes to kiss his cheek softly, "Meet you there!" she finished, before launching herself out the window, swinging towards her destination. Adrien Chat's eyebrow raised for a second; she was the one adamant on the 'no touching while on duty' rule. But hey, he wasn't about to complain. He waited a couple of seconds before looking outside and making his way towards the roof.

The duo made it inside the ballroom unnoticed. They crawled quietly to get a good view of the situation. "Not good" Marinette whispered.

Spotlight was clearly stronger. She was bigger in size, and it seemed that every person she managed to hit, besides turning into a transparent statue, added to her power. She was surrounded by them now, but there were still some people left inside that needed to be evacuated.

"I can't tell where the Akuma is" he said, her form didn't show any sort of point that might hold its weakness.

"Me neither" she bit her lower lip, her brow furrowed as she thought. "We'll worry about that later; we need to get her away from the people left in here. Are you ready?"

He nodded and sent a wink in her direction, before crouching and taking a running start towards the main floor. His hand gripped one of the banners that decorated the ballroom, and the slow tear slowed his fall enough so that his landing was soft and graceful.

Such a flair for the dramatic, that one.

As for her? She launched her yoyo, swinging herself into position, facing their villain. "Alright Spotlight" she said, swinging her yoyo beside her, assuming her battle stance. Chat took her side, watching her back from any sort of attack. "Give up now!"

"Just because finally people are paying attention to me?" The Akuma stood tall, "You wouldn't understand!" Her face contorted into an ugly sneer "Of course you wouldn't. Little ladybug, with her precious Chat Noir… All of Paris loves you!" She aimed her hand at them and if it wasn't for quick reflexes and the fact that the spinning yoyo provided a safe shield; they would have been in serious trouble.

"The light beam!" A voice called out from under a nearby table. Marinette could recognize her as a girl from a grade below them. The lower part of her dress was singed "Be careful, it burns!"

The duo eyed the hole on the wall behind Spotlight… Well, that was good to know. Though it added another complex layer to the fight,

"We need to get everyone out of here" she said,

"I can distract her, get them out" Chat said, and using his baton, he pole-vaulted towards one of the walls.

She ran, towards the tables, ushering the students and staff that had lagged behind. Gathering them all underneath the upturned table that used to hold the refreshments. "When I say go… you run" She said. "We'll keep her distracted, but you have to go. Understood?"

The group nodded, eyeing with scared eyes as Chat jumped to and from different places on the ballroom, barely avoiding the beams of light, which left burn marks on the walls.

Meanwhile, She aimed her yoyo at the same banner that Chat had used on his way down to the ballroom, detaching the last corner and swinging it towards the Akuma. She succeeded and the fabric covered Spotlight's face; giving Chat a reprieve from his evasive maneuvers and a chance for her to turn to the group "Go! NOW!" she shouted to them, half her attention divided between them and the struggling akuma and the group who was scrambling out of the ballroom. Thankfully, they were quick and they'd all made it outside. She turned to Chat "They're all out I think" she said

"I don't see anyone else" he replied, his green eyes scanning the room quickly; but they didn't have the chance to keep on discussing, since Spotlight had

"You TOOK THEM!" Spotlight shrieked "They were MINE" she aimed her hand at them, a powerful yellow beam straight in their direction.

The duo jumped out of the way, just as a beam destroyed the place they were standing before. Ladybug rolled, crouched behind the same upturned table she had seen the girl before. Chat had crouched behind another piece of furniture and was currently peeking out

He tucked and rolled effortlessly towards Ladybug, peeking carefully towards where the akuma had absolutely destroyed what was left of the stage. And she had still to find where the Akuma was hiding, "I still can't see it"

"I'm thinking either her bracelet, glasses or that flower thing she has " he said, signaling to his own chest area. It was just about the only few accessories she seemed to be wearing other than the actual dress. And he'd rather not have to undress an akuma, thankyouverymuch.

"Don't let her zap you" She said, hiding behind an overturned table. "We need to get her out of here. We'll never get to her in here" The ballroom was far too open, there weren't enough places they could hide. And with her powers, a straight on attack was far too dangerous.

"Roof?"

"That could work" She said, her blue eyes looking around quickly working out the logistics involved in their plan. "There's a skylight over there… if we make her follow us, that'd take us straight to the roof"

He nodded, "Leave that to me" he said, twirling his baton for a second as he crouched in a start position. "Are you ready?" he asked her, waiting for her nod before running out. The look on his face was taunting amusement, as he dodged the attacks thrown by the akuma. He parkoured from wall to wall until he reached the skylight, supporting his feet on the edge as he smashed his baton against the glass, breaking it into pieces that fell all over the Akuma.

This, of course, angered her greatly. Spotlight aimed her hands up at Chat but the blond disappeared through the opening. "Aaaaaargh!" the akuma screamed in frustration as she began hovering up, and as Ladybug noticed, not really fast. Clearly she was more of a hovererthan a flier and this was good information to have.

When she was sure that she could move again without getting zapped to death, she flung her yoyo at the same window she'd used to enter the ballroom and climbed out of it with a practiced ease. She then made her way to the roof, where Chat was jumping back and forward, avoiding her attacks with ease.

She realized that Spotlight was raising her hand so she swung her yoyo at her, so that it wrapped tightly around her hand, and she yanked, hard. "No you don't" she growled, the strength in her pull making the Akuma tumble on the roof.

A few of the roof tiles tumbled down, sliding down the slanted roof and crashing down the side of the building. They had to be careful.

"Always in time my Lady" Called out Chat, his voice flirty as he twirled his baton.

"Not now!" she said, as she recovered her yo yo, rolling her eyes at Chat's chuckles. That boy,honestly. Timing!

"You people" the akuma said, standing up and brushing its hair out of her face "You don't understand how easy you have it, do you?" she pressed her hands together and light began gathering, she began to separate her hands and it was clear what weapon she was going to use now.

Fireballs? Great.

Chat flew off towards Ladybug, avoiding the attack narrowly. "You have to cool off lady!" he said, sliding on the roof, some tiles flying off as he slowed down, his stance ready to jump off again. Ladybug swung off her yoyo in front of them, effectively creating a shield for now, causing the latest fireball to ricochet back towards the Akuma, causing it to stumble back a few steps and scream in rage.

"Chat…"

"Sorry" he said, grinning at the girl.

"LOOK AT ME" the akuma screamed, "Stop ignoring me!" she fired short beams of light at them, which had them scrambling to find a safe spot. Eventually, they hid behind the maintenance access on the roof.

"I think I got it" Ladybug said "She protected her chest, probably hiding that flower brooch she has" She wasn't sure but it was worth a shot.

Chat nodded "worth a try… we need to hurry up though" he said, eyeing the dots on her earrings, she was down to two… it wouldn't last long.

"Cover me for a second, I need to get lucky charm." Chat nodded and was off. She quickly invoked her magical power, then looked at the item in her hands. What? She quickly looked around, trying to find the clues to finish this quickly.

But then, she looked up and saw Chat flat on the ground, the akuma advancing menacingly towards him. "Give me the miraculous!" The Akuma said, one of her hands stretched out to him, and the other holding what could only be described as a fireball.

No. Ladybug decided to repeat her strategy and threw her yoyo at her arm, again yanking it back so that she wouldn't be able launch her fireball at him.

The problem was that while that strategy worked, it also left Ladybug tied to Spotlight… meaning that one swift swing of the Akuma's strong arm, sent the heroine flying. She managed to land on the roof, but the tile she stepped on was loose, which caused her to slip and fall backwards with a loud yelp. She somehow managed to hold on to the edge of the roof, but she knew that everything was about to go to hell… Her miraculous was just almost out of time, and while she was climbing back on the roof… this was just not good. "Hold on Tikki" she muttered under her breath, "just a little bit longer" She had the lucky charm in hand, she just needed to use it.

Her earring was beeping loudly, she was sure she was down to her last spot, but the akuma was advancing back on Chat and she just couldn't let that happen.

"GO BACK!" he said, fully aware of the beeping. She didn't have enough time. "I'll hold her off for now" She needed to feed Tikki and then get back here.

"I got it!" she insisted, standing by his side as she looked at the raging akuma, who then turned her attention back to her, giving Chat the opportunity to get back on his feet and gain a better ground. They were finishing this now.

Ladybug jumped and kicked her, making her stumble and giving her the seconds she needed managing to go around her and next to Chat "You…" he began, ready to insist that she'd go and recharge, but she shook her head.

"We're almost done." she said. If this didn't work out, she'd retreat, but she could make it, she knew it. Besides, the akuma was dangerous, and one of those fireballs could seriously hurt Adrien. And they were so close that it wasn't a chance she wanted to take. "On my mark" she told him, eyeing as the Akuma began "Trip her and I'll get the brooch"

Alright then, "Now!" she said, and they both launched at a very surprised Akuma, who thanks to Chat's baton, fell promptly on her back, leaving her brooch completely exposed for a second. After that, it was child's play. The brooch was destroyed, and the butterfly cleansed.

The only issue was that her earrings were beeping nonstop. She had never gotten this much time out of the earrings and now that it was all over… she was beginning to worry.

A very confused Sabrina was sitting on the roof, fearfully looking around. "What… what happened"

"Nothings wrong, you're safe now!" she didn't have time for their accustomed fist bump, and Adrien noticed the look on her face. "Take her back inside" she told him. "I have to go now"the beeping wasn't stopping. She could hear Tikki's voice alerting her that she was out of time.She readied her yoyo and walked past Chat "I'll be at the supply room" she said, before taking a running start and swinging away.

Chat began ushering Sabrina towards the maintenance door, "Alright then, pretty lady, time to get you back to your friends" Sabrina was already inside, when he saw it. The flash of light, so familiar for whenever they transformed back to their normal selves… but they were outside and she had been flying off… No. This couldn't be. He shouldn't have been able to see the flash of light. She couldn't have transformed outside… Marinette would have fallen… there was nowhere else for her to go. Chat closed the door, leaving Sabrina inside. as he raced to the border of the building, looking for his girlfriend. "LADYBUG" he called out, but heard no answer. He just wanted to see a sign, any sign that assured him that she'd made it. But the night was dark and he couldn't see her anywhere… What if he just went straight to the room… same route he'd taken to get here…

"You won't make it." Plagg said, his voice uncharacteristically serious. "I can't hold on" They would have to go the normal way. "Get the girl inside and ditch her…I can't do anything else"

Chat's face was conflicted, he wanted to try and reach that window; but Plagg sounded far too serious for once. And Chat believed him. The blond sighed; he needed to run now. He hurriedly directed Sabrina towards the ballroom, which was thankfully restored again. He then found the first empty room he could to transform back into himself and then ran.

He needed to find Marinette before the people were let back into the hotel.

Marinette's transformation hit just as she'd reached the window, and she'd thankfully had managed to get her body through the opening before losing her powers. Unfortunately her landing had been less than smooth. Her body hit the border of one of the laundry carts and the air was knocked out right out of her lungs. She could hear Adrien's scared cry out for Ladybug, she just did not have the air inside her lungs to answer.

Marinette coughed, wincing as she tried to gasp to refill her lungs again. She whimpered, her body sore from the rough landing she'd taken. She began to lift herself up, supporting her weight on her hands and knees as she looked around. "Tikki!" she whispered, crawling towards her Kwami, who was splayed on the ground in a similar position. "Oh no, are you hurt?" she felt terrible right now. This was all her fault. She should have left…

The Kwami nodded, exhaustion clear on her tiny face "I'm… I need to rest" Marinette looked for her purse; damn it; she'd left it at the ballroom. She needed to get Tikki something to eat. Time to leave this room.

The dark haired girl began to push herself up, using one hand to hold on to the cart by her side and the other cradling the Kwami carefully. "Ow" her face contorted slightly, pain hummed, wincing as her sore body complained at the effort.

"Marinette, are you hurt?" Tikki said, worried looking at the wincing girl.

"I… don't think so." she said, she was sore and she was tired; but she'd live. Marinette kicked off her heels, "I fell wrong on my ankle, but I don't think it's broken" She extended her leg and rolled her feet; looking satisfied when she was able to do so without any issues. "I'm ok" she said, taking a deep breath; finally standing up straight, a wince marring her face as her sore muscles complained at the effort.

Now that she was safe and had transformed back… she realized just how bad a decision that had been. She'd almost ran out of time with her transformation. And if she had taken onemore minute on that rooftop… she could have died. The drop, from where she'd swung was substantial. It was probably her good luck powers that got Tikki to hold on as much as she had. "That was… close".

Adrien had reached the Laundry room as fast as his legs allowed him, and had hesitated for a second before opening the door quietly. He was terrified at the idea of Marinette not being there. He walked inside, closing the door as quiet as he he'd opened it, letting go of a breath that he didn't know he was holding, when he heard the ruffling of fabric and Marinette's soft voice as she talked to Tikki.

He felt the need to intervene. "That was too close" Adrien's expression was deadly serious and Plagg was for once quiet as he floated near him, before heading to his Kwami companion; dragging one of the sweet snacks that Adrien had managed to grab on his mad dash towards the storage room.

Marinette gasped as she turned around, her sore throat resenting the sudden intake of air, "You scared me" she said, as the blond walked over there. "Are you okay?" He looked fine, other than the expression on his face, but it was never a bad thing to ask.

Adrien's face was serious "Marinette, you almost didn't make it" he said "I saw the flash"

Marinette turned to look at him, her hands going to the dress, lifting it up so she could walk more easily towards him; without her heels, the hem dragged slightly on the floor. "I'm finethough" His green eyes trailed over her face, as if looking for any sort of evidence of an injury. "I'm just sore… nothing happened". She knew she'd taken a huge risk; but thankfully, it had worked out just fine, there was no need to keep worrying about it. She knew now, she needed to recharge during long battles. "I know it was risky" she told him, "It won't happen again"

As for Adrien; he was now on the receiving end of the worry that Marinette had felt so many times when he'd be the one to take the hit for her. When he realized that her transformation had ran out, and knowing that he couldn't do anything about it. "You should have gone and de-transformed. Should have given Tikki a chance to regain her energy" he said, his expression serious and non-changing. She had almost not made it.

Yes. That would have been the better plan, but she'd miscalculated. "I thought I had the time" she said "she was advancing on you" she told him; for someone as meek and malleable as Sabrina, she'd been terrifyingly strong as an Akuma. "I wasn't going to leave you there!"

"I could have waited!" he said "held her off while you came back." The blond sighed exasperatedly "Marinette, you almost fell." he said, not able to even say what had really terrified him. She could have died. A couple seconds later, and she definitely could have.

Marinette grabbed his hands and placed them on each side of her face "Adrien. I'm fine. I'mhere" she told him.

His thumbs traced a soft circle on her cheek, feeling slightly more at ease, now that he had her close. This was not how tonight was supposed to go down. But then again, nothing really went according to plans when it came to things like this. Hawkmoth was always on the lookout for a chance to get their miraculous, and that wasn't going to stop. It was just… tonight had been difficult, and he'd been so scared for her. And that was something that he'd never really felt before. Sure, he'd been somewhat worried, but she was always on top of everything, so his worry was always short lived and easy to ignore. He completely understood now why they had to be careful while in their personas, because any sort of weakness that Hawkmoth could spot between them would be abused to hurt them.

He just placed his hands on the side of her face, tilting it up so he could look at her better and pressed his lips against hers. There was just so much he needed to say to her, and he had no idea how to do so. He had been scared, downright terrified at the thought of losing her. There was also the elation when he got to the room, and was finally assured that she'd made it, she was okay; and of course, he was frustrated, because she could be just as stubborn like he was when it came to things like this.

Stop. He needed not to think about that, not now.

His hands tilted her face slightly, and he pulled her lower lip between his, nipping at it softly. Marinette sighed against him and pulled him closer, her fingers reaching into his hair, as she tugged his head down to her. Her right hand was at his waist, her fingers gripping the fabric, clinging on to him for dear life. Her tongue traced the outline of his lips, and it was like the air between them shifted; and then they were kissing, really kissing.

Adrien grunted, low and deep in her chest, his feet stumbling forward as he moved, pressing his pretty girlfriend against the table behind them; because he needed to feel her closer, so much closer, because everything that had been before just simply wasn't enough. His hand gripped her hip, his fingers digging into her, pressing her as close to him as he could; before it slid up to her waist and then to the small of her back, his grip strong and desperate.

Her lips had the faint taste of the lip balm she liked to use, the sweet, fruity generic flavor being his line back to sanity at this moment, and he didn't want to let go of her anytime soon. She was fine, they made it and they were fine. He pressed his palm on the table behind her, bracing himself as he leaned over her, his eyes closed tight as he pulled her lower lip between his, thoroughly enjoying the squirm that it earned him.

Marinette could feel the edge of the table digging into her tailbone, and considering everything, it might be sore tomorrow, but right now she couldn't find it in her to care about everything but kissing him. She stood up taller, her current shoe less state being of no help in getting closer to him.

His hand left their spot on the table, reaching to her face, his fingers diving into her dark hair as he tilted her face to the side, separating from her lips to trail small kisses on her jawline. He busied himself kissing where her jawline met her neck, and the breathy sound of his name leaving her lips was reward enough. Her hands left him and braced themselves against the table behind her, tilting her head back to give him all the access he could ever need as long as he kept doing that.

She could hear the low grumble coming from him as both hands made their way to her hips and in one swift movement, he lifted her up and set her on top of the table, quickly reacquainting his mouth with her neck, tasting the spot right above her rapid pulse. One of her shaky hands reached behind her, so that she could have some balance and wouldn't topple backwards. Her other hand reached to his head, tangling in his blond locks, bringing him closer to her skin.

Her legs pressed against the sides of his hips, the pressure emboldening him to keep going, as he changed from kissing to biting on the delicate skin on her neck. There was far too much fabric between them, the full skirt of her dress being an obstacle to bring her as close as he wanted to, but he'd take what he could get. He broke apart to press soft kisses to where his teeth had been but was abruptly separated from her, as Marinette's hands went to his face, dragging him immediately back to her lips, kissing him again with renewed fervor.

Until a cough interrupted them. Of course. The couple broke apart quickly, still embraced as they turned their attention to the source. Plagg. The look on Adrien's face was pure exasperation as he turned towards his kwami. Seriously, the little feline had what could be considered the worst timing in the world.

"Ahem" the feline kwami cleared his throat to get the couple's attention "So, now that you completely made sure that Marinette's face is okay" He floated about, keeping his back to them because no one wanted to see that. "How about we go?"

Tikki appeared by his side, looking better now that she'd eaten something "I hear people outside," she said "I think you should go and see what's going on".

While the kwamis had a point, the two had a rough time breaking apart. Marinette was still sitting on the table, her hands by her side as she tried to even out her breathing. "We…" It took her a second to realize that the raspy, shuddery voice was her own. Marinette licked her lips, "we should get back to the ballroom" she finished, her fingers trailing over her neck, trailing over the remnants of Adrien's excursion. She hopped off the table, linking her fingers with his for a brief second before going off to get ready to leave.

Adrien watched wordlessly, a dazed look on his face as she put on her shoes and smoothed out her dress. Marinette licked her lips, a new blush tinging her face before she chanced a shy glance at Adrien.

He just needed a minute before leaving.

A couple minutes later, they had snuck out of the room and were quietly walking back towards the ballroom; his arm slung over her shoulders and her head resting against him. He'd draped his jacket over her shoulders, hoping that the collar on the jacket covered a small red spot on her neck, which was probably better left unseen.

People passed by them on every direction, some going to and back from the ballroom… it seemed that the party was mostly over. By now, the silence was beginning to worry him a little "Mari?" he said, lowering his head to whisper by her ear.

"Hmm?"

"Was that… ok?" He felt so awkward asking that, but the last thing he wanted to do was… pressure her into anything. He hated the fact that his face was heating up, but willed his expression to stay normal.

She didn't look up at him as she answered, but he could see the blush reaching the top of her cheeks, the freckles that dusted her face hiding behind the pink color. "Mmhmm" she hummed, nodding her head and squeezing his fingers lightly. More than okay. Really.

Adrien chuckled, and lightly squeezed her against him.

"There you are!" Alya's voice made them stop in their tracks. The girl was walking with Nino by his side and was holding in her hands what seemed to be Marinette's purse. "We looked everywhere for you… outside. Where were you?"

Adrien and Marinette shared a look before he hurried an explanation "Uh… we got stuck inside, so we just hid while everything got sorted out"

Nino simply snorted at that explanation, an amused look taking over his face. Alya looked at her friend then back at the couple, her brown eyes glancing between her friend's neck and Adrien's face.

At least he had the grace to blush at Alya's amused look. He should probably tell Marinette that he might have left a souvenir on her so that she took precautions when she got home. He'd prefer that her father didn't found out about him as the 'guy who chewed his daughter's neck'.

"Hey guys!" Mylene interrupted the group, a sweet look on her face. "Are you guys coming?"

The couple turned a confused look at his friends, and Nino was quick to explain. "So" the boy began "This is over" he gestured towards the ballroom door. "But Alix said we could go hang out at her place. Get something to eat or something"

That actually sounded… fun. With everything that had happened, they'd barely had a chance to greet their friends. "It is pretty early" Marinette said, turning towards her boyfriend. They had all gotten dressed up for this… it'd be a shame to get back home so early.

"Sure" Adrien said, he just needed not to call his driver for a while. The conditions for his attending had been carefully stipulated, and since it was only Natalie at home to verify his arrival time… As long as he got home before his curfew, it would be fine.

"Great!" Mylene said, "Hurry up, we're all waiting outside!" the girl smiled at them and hurried off towards the exit.

The four friends stood for a second, before Alya said "Come on crazy kids" She said, "Let's go before they leave without us." She hooked her arm with Nino's as they walked "And don't worry Mari, I have concealer on my bag so we can solve that" she finished, brown eyes glancing at her neck teasingly.

Marinette's eyes widened as her hand flew to her neck, feeling her face and neck heat up with a blush. Adrien just pulled the collar on the jacket so that it would cover her neck better and flashed an apologetic smile at his girlfriend.

Nino just plain out burst out laughing. "Told you they were not trapped" he told Alya and grinned at her "pay up"

The girl huffed "Double or nothing next time?" She asked him

"Sure"

"Eventually I'm going to tell them off for betting on us" Marinette said, watching as their friends got ahead of them on their way out. "I'll let them have this tonight" At least until she got a chance to speak with Alya in private.

As the friends piled into a taxi to go to Alix's house, Adrien felt… actually happy. Sure, the formal had been ruined, and sometimes their secret identities were an actual obstacle into normal lives… but now, he realized, as Alya brought out her cellphone for a group selfie, and their two friends squished them in the middle, he found that he didn't care.

Being Adrien Agreste wasn't normal, and he'd been in that reality all his life. Until now. Being Chat Noir wasn't normal either, but at least his life now had a new different kind of crazy normalcy that he could definitely get used to.