When Marinette woke from sleep, the smell of spring filled the air around her so strongly that she thought her lungs might sprout flowers. She opened her eyes and sighed in contentment, even though her back was aching from sleeping on the hard floor of the gym. Marinette looked up and gazed at Adrien, who was locking her in his embrace. Her cheek was resting on his shoulder, and his face was turned towards hers so that while they were asleep, her forehead was touching his lips.

Marinette gazed at his sleeping face and smiled. A feeling of calm and peacefulness settled in her heart as she studied his eyelids and lashes and nose and lips. She blushed when she realised that his lips were slightly swollen. She was sure hers were as well.

As though he could feel her staring at him, Adrien soon woke and blinked his eyes open. He looked down at Marinette, stunned for a moment before recalling the situation before him. When he had done so, he smiled at her and pulled her closer to him, stroking her hair once they were in a comfortable position.

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

Marinette blushed at the sound of his voice. In such a state, it was intoxicating. She squinted at the clock behind him, illuminated by the moonlight that poured in through the window. "It's two in the morning," she said, surprised. She felt like she just had the longest, deepest sleep that lasted centuries.

"Oh, wow," Adrien said, closing his eyes again. "Where are our kwami?"

"They went outside last night when we were…" Marinette blushed again. She cursed herself for feeling so flustered. This was Adrien, the loving boy she had spent months with in this very room and got to know so deeply, deeper than anyone in her entire life. And this was also Chat Noir, the annoying cat that understood her so well, even if she didn't quite understand herself. And what were they when she had finally pieced them together? He was the boy she loves.

Marinette looked into Adrien's eyes, shocked to see amusement dancing in them. "When we were what, Purrincess?" he teased with a mischievous grin.

"Did you forget already?" she asked, pretending to be upset even though a smile was threading lightly on her face.

"I think I might need you to jog my memory," Adrien whispered.

Marinette wanted very badly to say no, but the way he was looking at her was far too enthralling. So for now, Marinette didn't care about playing hard to get. All she cared about was the look on Adrien's face and his lips that were beckoning her to him. And so she grabbed his shirt to pull him even closer to her and kissed him again for the millionth time that night.

They walked hand in hand through the streets, feeling the cool night breeze caressing their skin and hair. Tikki and Plagg were nestled in Marinette's pouch, sound asleep. It was almost three in the morning as they made their way home slowly. The streets were empty and there seemed to be a faraway music that filled the air around them. They were quiet as they walked, content in the calming silence.

Adrien stole glances at Marinette occasionally, a sleepy smile on his face. He had always imagined being with Marinette/Ladybug, but he never thought it would be like this. The feeling was far too wonderful that before, he was incapable of imagining or comprehending what this feeling would actually be like. He looked to the sky, silently wishing the sun would never rise, and the night would go on forever.

When they finally made it to the bakery, Adrien transformed into Chat Noir and used his stick to lift both of them up into Marinette's balcony. She couldn't walk in through the front door, because she had called her parents the night before to tell them that she was safe and would be home late, and that they shouldn't wait up for her. And when she meant late, she meant around 11 o'clock, not 3 in the morning.

Tikki was awoken by the movements, and peered out the bag with tired eyes.

"Could I say goodbye to Plagg?" she asked sleepily once they were in Marinette's room.

"Sure," Chat Noir said with a smile, and in a flash, he transformed back into Adrien. Plagg floated tiredly to Tikki and once he had embraced her, he began snoring, falling asleep on her tiny shoulder. Marinette giggled and told Adrien she would bring some cheesecake for him tomorrow, to which Adrien gratefully thanked her for. He waited for a few moments, watching Tikki pat Plagg on the back in sluggish motions. Her eyes were closed too, and Adrien worriedly reached into his jacket to pull out some cheese for his poor kwami, who he knew was as tired as Tikki was.

Plagg's nose twitched at the smell, even in sleep, and when he had woken up, his sleepy eyes stared at the cheese, which Adrien fed to him with a small smile.

"Ready to go, Plagg?" he asked after Plagg had swallowed down the cheese. He nodded and gave a final hug to Tikki and Marinette's cheek. When Adrien had transformed into Chat Noir, he stroked Tikki's head gently with a finger before turning to Marinette. He gave her a bow and winked. "I had a great time tonight, my lady. We should do it again some time."

"All we did was kiss and fall asleep."

"And wasn't that just perfect?" Chat Noir grinned.

"Just two things I didn't like: falling asleep on the hard floor and your puns."

"I can guarantee that sleeping on the floor won't happen again, but no promises on the puns. If you want me, you'll have to take them too."

Marinette pretended to think about it, earning a fit of laughter from Chat Noir. "I know you find them endearing," he said, poking her shoulders.

She brushed his hand away, laughing. "Well kitty, that I catnot purrossibly deny."

Chat Noir beamed at her, ecstatic at her use of puns. He placed both hands on her face, leaning down to meet her lips. What was meant to be a short peck dragged out into a long and sensual kiss as Marinette wound her fingers through Chat Noir's hair and he held onto her waist tightly, stroking her sides. Marinette sighed into the kiss, causing him to respond eagerly by deepening it, and only breaking apart minutes later to catch a breath. Marinette stared up at him with dark eyes, taking in his tousled blond hair and dilated pupils and swollen lips.

Has he always looked this irresistible? Marinette wondered to herself. She kissed him again, unable to keep herself away, and Chat Noir giggled against her lips at her eagerness. He stroked her cheeks when she finally pulled away, saying breathlessly, "I need to go, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Marinette nodded, finally feeling the weight of her eyelids. Chat Noir giggled again as he leaned forward, giving her a short kiss before jumping out of her room and into the night.

"Late night?" Alya asked with a grin.

"Hmm? Mmmyeah."

Alya laughed and gestured at Adrien, who had his head down and was conspicuously sleeping on his desk. Luckily for them both, the teacher wasn't in class yet. "Looks like somebody else had a late night. Coincidence? Marinette?"

"Wha- what?"

"I'm guessing yesterday went well?"

Marinette rubbed sleep from her eyes and looked at her friend. She smiled upon seeing the look on Alya's face. Nino was looking at them both, and he placed a hand over Marinette's, happy for her and Adrien. Marinette sighed in contentment and looked at Adrien, sound asleep. It was only until he let out a loud snore that her eyes widened, and the three friends erupted in laughter that caused him to wake, looking around in innocent shock.

He turned around to look at Marinette, as though to rush to her safety if she needed him, but when he realised that he had simply fallen asleep and the loud, sudden noise that woke him up was the sound of his friends' laughter, he began laughing too, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Marinette met his eyes and smiled. It looks like they weren't in a state for gym later. But for once, she wasn't worried; she knew they no longer needed gym as an excuse to spend time together. After all, they weren't just workout buddies. They were so much more.

Hi everyone.

Firstly, sorry for taking so long for this last chapter. It was a combination of not being able to function after that ladynoir scene in Volpina and not wanting Workout Buddies to come to an end. But alas, it has! It's been an amazing ride, I love this story very much. And so I'm sad that it's over. I would like to thank all of you for your encouragement and support (I'm sorry for not replying to the reviews because I don't know how to reply! Is there a button? Does it not exist? Help?). It really meant a lot, seriously, the proof is how this turned from a 3-chapter story to 10 whole chapters! And thank you so much for reading, I hope there were some lessons that you've managed to take away, like how love takes effort, but it is always worth it. :)

Workout Buddies has a special place in my heart, so thank you for allowing me to share it with you! It's time for me to get back to my one-shots, and hopefully, maybe another new story will come our way. See you soon!

Lots of miraculous love,
WB