Chat Noir was serenading the city again.

This time, he had managed to find an old acoustic guitar somewhere, though where Ladybug didn't even want to consider.

She had heard him, of course. Even if he had been on the other side of the city, there was always someone on the Ladyblog who would spot him and start streaming, and she would always watch. She didn't know how many instruments he could play (There were already five videos of him singing and playing songs all over Paris, and each time he had a different instrument) but he was very good. And this time, he had been close.

So, she had gone to hear him in person. Or, well, in superhero.

She felt rather than saw Chat's grin as she landed on the roof behind him. The sun was setting on the Parisian skyline, the Eiffel Tower dead center to the glowing star that still clung on to the ending day.

"I'd heard of music being able to summon magical beings, but I'd never thought My Lady would be one of them." Chat's smooth voice drifted across the rooftop to her, and she cursed his enhanced hearing. She had hoped to be able to sit quietly and listen in on him play.

"Well, it WAS a beautiful song…" She walked over to Chat Noir's side, careful to make it appear as though her feet were wandering and carrying her there of their own will, rather than her making the conscious decision. It had been a beautiful song, and she wanted to encourage Chat to keep playing.

It seems she needn't have worried though. Chat's claws effortlessly flew over the guitar strings, producing another, more melancholy tune. "A beautiful song for a beautiful lady! Of course, I should have known!" His ears perked up at her giggle, and Ladybug couldn't help but notice that that his smile seems a little wider, his eyes a little brighter for her acknowledgement of his joke.

"Why such a sad one, though? Shouldn't the great Chat Noir play only the happiest of tunes?"

Chat's fingers missed a chord, the discordant note ringing out between them as his playing stopped. Acid green eyes flicked to hers, seeming to search Ladybug's face. Chat's ears fell flat against her head, and she knew she'd said something wrong.

Instead of telling her that she'd crossed some line, however, Chat looked back out over the city. Shifting the guitar, he adjusted the strings in silence, then began to play, a happier sounding tune. But it was obvious his heart wasn't in it, and she didn't feel any joy in the song at all. So, without thinking, Marinette reached out and placed her hand over Chat's.

His eyes snapped to hers again, and the song faded out again as Chat's gloved hands stopped flying over the strings. For a moment, she just stared into them, searching, looking for any emotion in them. However, Chat was obviously a master at masking things beneath his actual mask, and so all she got was a blank stare and an empty grin in response to her probing look.

Ladybug reached over him with her other hand, and gently tugged the guitar from him and setting it in her own lap. She checked it's tuning, face scrunched in concentration, so she missed Chat's look of confusion.

It had been a while since Marinette had played guitar. Her father, Tom Dupain, had learned how to play at a young age, and had even written music for it from time to time- something her mother adored about the man, especially since for their first anniversary as a couple he had serenaded her at a dinner on a boat down the river Seine. Tom had taught Marinette how to play, and even shown her how to write notes, but he'd told her that the music itself had to come from her heart.

So, with that in mind, Marinette called to her mind the knowledge of the notes, gave a few experimental plucks at the strings of the guitar, and began to play as melancholy a song as she could. The notes came easy, and for a moment, so did the tears- both from her and Chat- as she put her own pain into the song. The pain of Marinette's unrequited love for Adrien, the pain of wondering if her fashion designs would ever be good enough… and the pain she went through whenever Ladybug saw her partner- her best friend in the world next to Alya- hurt protecting his superhero partner.

For Ladybug, this song was notes, and she had lost herself to them. But they apparently stirred something in Chat, and he began to sing, in a voice loud enough for all of Paris, with emotion that only someone that had known him as long as Ladybug had could feel.

Here I sit in the City of Love

But there is no one to love me

Not the angels in the skies above

Nor anyone here on earth

Has ever shown me the love that I seek

And no one knows my world is bleak

So send me someone whom I can love

Send this poor kitten a sweet turtledove

To love him and hold him oh so tight

And give him a home tonight

Even my mother forsake poor me

When she left me all alone

So every night I watch the sea

And wonder where she went

And why she left this poor lonely cat

To wonder where she may be at

So send me someone whom I can love

Send this poor kitten a sweet turtledove

To love and hold him oh so tight

And give him a home tonight

All alone in Paris France

I'm the saddest kitten of all

While the couples laugh and dance

I sit here lonely and sing

To the city whose streets I nightly wander

With thoughts of love in my head to ponder

So send me someone whom I can love

Send this sweet kitten a sweet turtle dove

To love and hold me oh so tight

And please give me a home tonight

Ladybug couldn't help the tears that streamed from her eyes as Chat let the last lyric ring out over Paris. She'd watched Chat's eyes fill with tears as he'd started singing, and as the last teardrops fell from his eyes with the last notes filling the air, she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder. Chat looked at her, and gave her that same smile she'd seen him give her on numerous occasions- a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Her grip on his shoulder tightened, and Ladybug pulled Chat into her arms. The hug was a bit awkward with the guitar in her lap, but she tried to put as much love as she could into it.

Chat hesitated a moment, then wrapped him arms around her as well, letting out a small sob. "Why… Why do they all leave me, Ladybug?"

Ladybug felt her own sob choke out, and she tightened her grip on Chat. "I… I don't know, minou. But I'm never going to leave you."

She let him sob into her shoulder as her own silent tears for the boy in her arms fell, sliding down the leather on his back. They stayed embraced in each other's arms for what felt like hours. The crying was over, but neither one wanted to let go, to be forced back into the real world. But finally, with a sigh, Ladybug pulled away, and Chat gave her a warm smile as she stood. "Thank you, M'lady. Maybe… Maybe next time, I'll have that happy song you wanted."

She looked at his eyes, and she saw-his love for her, his loyalty and devotion, how much he cared. It scared her, but… At the same time, she didn't want to let it go. So, she stepped back to him, stood on her toes, tilted her head, and planted her lips on his. Chat quickly melted into the kiss, his arms wrapping around her, pulling her closer, almost feeling desperate with a need to never let her go. The kiss was electric, and Marinette felt heat searing through her blood from it.

She pulled away from him again, stepping back this time. This time, they were both smiling deliriously, as though the kiss had brought them some to new height that they were just now coming down from. Chat smiled at her, even as his ring started to beep.

"Well, it sounds like that's my cue to take my leave, My Lady…" Chat grinned ruefully, before turning and heading for the edge of the roof. Ladybug reached her hand out to stop him, wanting to drag him back and hold him in her arms, to kiss him again.

But their identities needed to remain a secret, didn't they?

Ladybug watched as Chat turned to give her his signature two-fingered salute before he raced away across the rooftops, before turning to zip away herself. Then she saw the guitar Chat had been playing, left abandoned on the rooftop. The red-clad superheroine walked over and picked up the guitar, examining it. Then, with a shrug, she fit the guitar's securing strap over her shoulder, made sure the instrument was secure across her back, and zipped away.

Chat Noir raced across the rooftops of Paris, enjoying the cool night air. He had patrol tonight, but he'd finished an hour ago-much to his delight- and had decided to take the time to just be free. The night had always been the leather-clad superhero's favorite time, ever since he'd first put on the mask. His ability to disappear, to be a shadow among the streets and rooftops of the City of Lights was an irony he relished.

Chat stopped to consider his surroundings, noticing with some surprise he was near the Dupain- Cheng bakery. It's been a while since I've gone to see my purr-incess. With a Chesire- cat grin, Chat Noir began stalking towards the bakery. He'd been back a few times since the Evillistrator incident, but had only ever stopped by the balcony.

Tonight though, Chat Noir would be making a window stop.

Chat landed silently on the window sill, raising his hand to tap on the glass with a mischievous grin. Even with the lights on inside Marinette's room, his eyes would be glowing in the darkness, and he hoped he could make her jump several meters out of her chair.

But, with his claw poised to rap on the windowpane, Chat paused. There was a familiar tune floating out through the glass, a melancholy song that tugged desperately at his heartstrings.

For the first time, Chat actually looked into Marinette's room. Her curtains were pulled back, and he could see the raven-haired girl sitting in a computer chair, her hair down instead of in its usual pigtails, plucking at a guitar. Chat's breath caught in his throat as he looked closely at the instrument. There was no possible way for it to be there, but somehow the guitar the superhero had been playing the day before was in Marinette's hands, and she was playing it masterfully.

And then Marinette opened her mouth and started to sing, and realization almost swept Chat off his feet.

Somewhere out in the City of Lights,

My poor little black kitten is lost

He must be scared and alone at nights

Since he's so far from me, his home

But I know that someday he'll find his way home

And then no longer will my black cat roam

I'll be the one that you can love

I'll always be the sweet turtledove

I'll love you and hold you oh so tight

And my home is your home tonight.

"Chat?!"

Chat had lost himself in the music, and so when Marinette yelled, he actually fell off of Marinette's windowsill. He scrambled in vain for purchase on the brick surface of the bakery, before accepting his fate and bracing for impact.

Chat hit the ground three stories below with a solid thud. Though he'd had worse falls, and the suit absorbed most of the impact, Chat still had the breath knocked out of him. The superhero laid flat on his back on the sidewalk, eyes wide as he tried to process all of the information that was rolling into his brain at the moment. Marinette… is Ladybug? Was Ladybug sitting behind me? All this time, I had no idea Ladybug was sitting behind me?! Also, ouch, that hurt.

Marinette's head poked out of her window, looking down at him. From three stories down he couldn't read her expression, but he could imagine it. The hurt, the disappointment, the anger that would be there, all because he hadn't waited on the balcony but had gone instead to her window.

With a soft groan, Chat picked himself up from the sidewalk, reaching behind him to pull out his baton. With a click, the baton extended, and he rose, past Marinette in the window, to land on her balcony. Below, he heard the window slide shut, and Marinette say something to someone- probably explaining away the noise to her parents- before she moved towards the trapdoor for her balcony.

Chat watched Marinette pull herself up through her trapdoor, his mind still whirling from his own revelation. He didn't say a word as she walked over to him, her expression unreadable. Chat prepared himself to be yelled at, punched, any number of unpleasant but appropriate reactions whirling through his head as he waited for the worst.

Instead, Marinette planted herself in front of him like a scolding parent, arms crossed over her chest, looking at him as though she were disappointed. "You could have used your baton to stop that fall, you know."

Chat blinked at her slowly, then looked down at the baton still in his hands, before pulling his gaze back up to Marinette, who was still giving him that disappointed look. He said the only thing that he could at that moment, the only thing that made sense. "You… You're Ladybug."

Marinette stared at him, then turned away. But he had already seen the look coming over her face, and he could hear it in her voice: Worry. "Yes." The raven-haired girl's voice was a barely audible whisper, something Chat had never heard from either Marinette or Ladybug.

Chat stood stock still for a moment, his mind still processing this information. He watched Marinette start to tremble, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. Something hit the ground in front of the raven-haired girl with a soft plop, and Chat realized she was crying.

"I-I understand if you're disappointed. After all, I'm no one spec- "Whatever Marinette had been about to say was cut off with a gasp, as Chat Noir's arms wrapped around her from behind, and the superhero's head buried itself in her hair. She felt teardrops fall onto her head, as Chat sniffled.

"M-my lady, I am so sorry. I should have known it was you sitting behind me this whole time. I should have known that the girl who lead our class so confidently and skillfully was also the girl I had fought supervillains with all over Paris. I should have known…" Chat turned Marinette around to face him. "I should have known that the girl I love was the amazing girl right in front of my face this whole time."

Marinette studied him closely, her eyes wide. "…A-adrien?"

"At your service, purr-incess." Chat bowed, bringing her hand close to his lips. He stopped just short, though, and looked up at her. "And Marinette… I couldn't be happier that you were my lady all along." With that, he brought her hand all the way to his lips. It felt so different to brush his lips across her knuckles instead of the thick material of their suits, but he thought he might enjoy this more.

"A-adrien Agreste? You're Chat Noir?" Chat stared at Marinette as her mind seemed to explode at this revelation. "T-there's no way! You- Adrien was there when we fought- no, wait, he wasn't, but what about with the Bubbler- no, he was missing then too…" The raven-haired girl kept talking as she started pacing, listing off all the reasons Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir couldn't be the same person… And finding flaws with every reason almost immediately. Chat watched her for a moment, an amused expression on his face.

Finally, though, Chat caught her hand as she turned to pace away from him again, pulling Marinette to his chest and looking down in her eyes. His green eyes searched her bluebell ones for a moment, and he traced his thumb over her lips hesitantly. "Can I kiss you, princess?"

Marinette sputtered at the question, then managed to squeak out a "Yes!" Chat leaned down, his lips barely centimeters from hers. "Plagg, claws off," Adrien whisper as he pressed his lips to hers, and a green light washed over them as his transformation released. A red blob-which Adrien could only assume to be Ladybug's kwami- rushed to tackle Plagg as he came out of the ring, and both disappeared in a blur of motion.

The second kiss was just as passionate as the first, with Marinette wrapping her arms around Adrien's neck and the blond model placing his hands on the raven-haired girl's hips. The two of them practically melted into each other, years of pent-up love and longing pouring into the kiss that they were sharing.

Adrien pulled back first, breathless, his eyes wide from the energy of the kiss. "I love you."

Marinette stroked her hand down his cheek, smiling. "Welcome home, Chaton."

A/N: This is the longest one-shot I've ever written, and I think it turned out very well. I would like to thank a dear friend of mine for proof-reading this and helping me to write the end, and I hope that you all enjoy this!

The song in here is an original I wrote just for this fic, but other than the lyrics, I haven't done any work on turning it into an actual song, and I really have no plans to do so in the future, so for right now the lyrics are all that exists for this song.