The Intern was quite possibly one of the most frustrating akuma that Ladybug and Chat Noir had ever faced. She had the power to force people to do her bidding, for one thing. The army of mini-Interns was easy enough to identify with their bland grey suits, but they really made it difficult to get close to the akuma.

And just to make things even harder, a botched Lucky Charm - Cataclysm combo had sent the superheroes fleeing from the enraged akuma, racing over rooftops in an attempt to put some distance between them and the akuma.

"Split up or stay together?" Chat Noir panted as he flat-out sprinted along a roof, vaulting over a street without pausing. "Ugh, she's still on our tail!"

"Stay together! If we split up, there's no way for us to know if the other person is in trouble." Ladybug dodged a thrown brick as she abruptly changed directions. Chat Noir skidded after her with barely a pause. "Using our communicators would only slow us down. We can split up once we've lost the akuma."

"Gotcha, My Lady."

"Why don't you give up now?" the Intern roared from behind them. "Give me your Miraculous, Ladybug and Chat Noir, and I won't turn you into my minions. If you make a fuss..." There was a pause, and both superheroes could picture in their mind's eye the unnerving grin the Intern would doubtless be giving them- well, giving their backs, at any rate. "Well, I think you would look good in a suit!"

"No thanks, that shade of grey washes me out!" Chat Noir shouted over his shoulder.

"And those suits are so out of fashion!" Ladybug chimed in, vaulting over a chimney. "And they're so poorly tailored, really."

The akuma positively howled.

"We're getting close to Collège Françoise-Dupont," Chat Noir warned as he and Ladybug zig-zagged over the streets. "I'm guessing that they let out for the day when the attack hit earlier, but there still might be people hanging around."

"We'll have to risk it." Throwing a glance over her shoulder, Ladybug ran faster. "Besides, there've been so many attacks there that I know the building like the back of my hand. We can lose the akuma there and find a hiding place to detransform."

Chat Noir nodded, but he still looked a bit uncertain. "Bugaboo, I only have three minutes left."

"We'll have to lose him fast, then." Ladybug's expression went determined, completely and utterly focused as they charged forward. "We can go in the back area where we defeated Horrificator. There's a lot of places to hide back there!"

Chat Noir nodded, and in unison the superheroes jumped from the line of houses next to the park onto the roof of the school. They dropped down quickly and dodged into the shadows as they raced for the doors that they knew led to the guts of the school.

"Two minutes, my Lady," Chat Noir panted as they sprinted down the dimly-lit hallways. The Intern's laughter echoed behind them. "What happens if he hits us while we're not transformed?"

"I don't know!" Ladybug slid around a corner, nearly running over a custodian as she ran. "Let's not find out!"

They sprinted silently then, footsteps almost inaudible as they sped through the rarely-seen parts of the school, diving into the boiler room and out of sight. In stark contrast to their silent flight, they could hear the Intern's roars as she chased them, though she was falling farther and farther behind as they headed deeper into the enclosed space. As soon as she was in the boiler room she stopped, confused by the maze of equipment blocking her view. Ladybug grinned, picking up a wrench from an abandoned toolbox close to her. All she needed was a little distraction, and she and Chat Noir could go back out the way they came.

"I know you're in here," the Intern yelled, her voice echoing as she wandered further into the room. "You can't escape now! I'll catch you and then you can work under me. It's all a matter of time-"

Ladybug wound up and threw the wrench as far as she could over the boilers. It clattered to the floor at the back of the room, making it sound like one of the superheroes had tripped back there. It was the oldest trick in the book, really, but akumas weren't known for being particularly bright. The Intern was no different. She positively lit up as she charged forward eagerly, letting out a shout of triumph. Ladybug and Chat Noir took their chance and charged back out the entrance, making a beeline for the main part of the school.

"No minions," Chat Noir noted in a whisper as they slid to a stop in front of the door leading to the rest of the school. "The school doors must be locked, and they aren't superpowered like the Intern is, so they can't get in."

"That's good news for us." Ladybug opened the door a crack and then threw it wide open when she saw the coast was clear. "Careful closing the door, we don't want the Intern hearing."

Chat Noir nodded and shut the door carefully. It didn't even make a click.

And then the superheroes ran.

"Less than a minute," Chat Noir panted as they tried yet another closet door and found it locked. "Maybe we can find something on the second level?" They were screwed if there wasn't anything. They had been lucky that the school's doors were locked and capable of keeping the Intern out, but if they wasted too much time searching for a place to recharge they would lose the head start they had gotten. Add on the fact that they would have to find two closets, one for him and one for Ladybug, and their chances of actually succeeding in this were plummeting into the single digits.

...okay, maybe he was spending too much time with Max.

"Let's try the closet in the library!" Ladybug suggested as she launched herself upwards. "It's always open, and it's a little bigger than some of the others in the school."

O...kay? Chat Noir blinked, puzzled (why would it matter if the closet was larger? It was hardly as though either of them would have any particular problem fitting into an average-sized closet unless it was packed full of cleaning supplies. If they tried being in the same closet they might into some problems, but it was hardly...as...though...

Surely Ladybug wasn't planning for them to share a closet while they recharged?

Ladybug, it turned out, was planning exactly that. With not even thirty seconds more time left than he had, it wasn't as though she would be able to find her own hiding place in time.

"We'll just have to stand back-to-back while we detransform," Ladybug said as she followed Chat Noir into the closet and pulled the door shut behind them. He gulped as the latch clicked. "And it's pretty dark in here, especially since the library lights are off, so it's not like we'd be able to see each other anyway..."

Chat Noir swallowed hard and nodded, then remembered that Ladybug couldn't see him. "R-right! Of course, makes perfect sense, yup, d-d-definitely don't mind sharing, not at all-"

Ladybug giggled and Chat Noir practically facepalmed. Not at all smooth Agreste, good job.

A flash of green light lit up the small space as Chat Noir's transformation finally unraveled. Both superheroes squeezed their eyes closed, and a moment later pink light lit up the closet as well. Adrien squeezed his eyes closed harder until the pink light faded, fighting the temptation to peek because really, Ladybug was right there and if only he knew who she was...

"It's definitely too dark to see anything," Ladybug (Civilian Ladybug! He was right next to civilian Ladybug for the first time since last year's end-of-year picnic!) said. She shifted against Adrien's back. "So, uh, maybe we could turn around, because my face is right up against the shelf of cleaners and they smell awful."

"Ah, and I smell better?" Still, Adrien pressed against the wall and twisted around. They were a jumble of bumping elbows and knees and shoulders as both of them turned in the closet. Even though the closet was larger than most in the school (at least according to Ladybug; he wasn't going to question how she got that information), it still wasn't huge. They had to avoid hitting the walls and door, since the thud of elbow against wood could easily give them away. Still, it didn't take too long to settle into a comfortable position. Adrien let his arms settle lightly around his partner's waist as her arms wrapped around him. Ladybug was letting her forehead rest against his shoulder, though he wasn't going to get himself overly excited about it. It could easily be more out of convenience than anything else; after all, they did have very little space to work with.

There was a whoosh of air past Adrien's face and soon he felt the familiar weight of Plagg sitting on his head. From the smell, he had grabbed a chunk of Camembert cheese from the stash in Adrien's jacket.

"Actually, the shelving smelled better," Ladybug suddenly joked, making as if she were about to turn back around. Adrien's arms tightened around her and she quivered in a silent giggle. "What is that? Cheese? Gym socks?"

"Camembert cheese," Adrien admitted sheepishly. "I know it smells, but my kwami refuses to eat anything else. It makes me smell awful, and I know my best friend wants to comment about it, but he's too polite."

Ladybug giggled, and this time, a higher giggle joined hers.

Ladybug's kwami. She sounded adorable.

"My kwami likes cookies," Ladybug offered after a moment. "Any kind, really, which is really convenient. I like making cookies, and she likes eating them." Another giggle, making Adrien's heart skip a beat. It should be against the law to sound so cute. "And I like eating them too, of course!"

"Of course." Feeling bold, Adrien let his nose drop to the crown of his partner's head. She smelled lovely (utterly unfair considering that her nose was hovering just about where Plagg's cheese stash normally sat; the stupid kwami wasn't helping him make a good impression at all), like sugar and cinnamon and freshly baked things. Maybe she had just made a batch of cookies for her kwami that morning, Adrien mused, though on second thought that didn't quite make sense. Unless Ladybug got up crazy early (and she had told him before that she was very much not a morning person), there was no way she could have made cookies before school. Perhaps she had taken the time at lunch, or maybe she came from a home that smelled that wonderful all the time...

Okay, he had to stop before he drifted off into daydreams of baking treats with Ladybug in her home, in a kitchen that curiously resembled Marinette's.

"Tikki, are you almost ready?" Ladybug asked after a minute of silence, broken only by muted munching. "Because I think I can hear the Intern."

Sure enough, muted roars were getting closer and closer. They became clearer after a few seconds, making Adrien guess that the akuma had probably entered the courtyard. They all held their breaths, waiting to see if the Intern would enter the library.

"I'll be ready in another minute," Ladybug's kwami whispered into the tense silence. "I just have to finish my cookie."

"Don't rush me," Plagg whined from on top of Adrien's head a second later. "I'm enjoying my cheese."

"ENJOY IT FASTER!" three voices hissed in unison before a quick round of shushing went around the closet.

If things hadn't been so tense, Adrien would have been tempted to let out a decidedly uncool giggle. What were the chances of all three of them speaking at once?

"The Intern is getting further away, I think," Ladybug whispered after a few further moments of quiet. "Her voice was getting quieter before it stopped. I bet she left the school."

Adrien only nodded, knowing that as close as she was, Ladybug would be able to feel it. He closed his eyes again as she shifted anxiously, letting himself enjoy these last few moments he had with her outside the suit. They didn't get to do this often, just stand next to each other and breathe, and getting to be together outside the suit? Pppft, that never happened. So really, who could blame him for hugging Ladybug a little tighter and enjoying the feel of her silky-soft hair against his face and the feeling of her breath against his shoulder?

No one, that was who.

Voices in the library made them both jump back and for a moment, Adrien mourned the loss of Ladybug's body next to his. The next second, he was scrambling forward to catch Ladybug after a thud and quiet grumble alerted him to the fact that Ladybug had startled straight back into the shelving. He caught her elbows and pulled her close to him again as they both strained to hear the voices.

"We need to transform," Ladybug whispered as the voices got closer. "Tikki?"

"I'm ready," her kwami replied immediately in the same hushed voice. "And Plagg is too, don't listen to him if he says he needs more cheese."

Adrien let his hands slide down Ladybug's arms to squeeze her hands. "Ready?"

"Don't forget to close your eyes," Ladybug replied, but she didn't let go of him. "On three?"

"Right." Nervous, Adrien squeezed his eyes shut. It would have been better to turn away from each other to transform, surely, just to reduce the temptation to peek (and that temptation was strong, but he wasn't going to disrespect his Lady like that), but with the voices getting ever closer they couldn't risk the time it would take. The voices were students, he was sure, and surely didn't mean any harm, but if they happened to check the closet, they...

...well, actually, they would just find two collège aged students in very close quarters, which wasn't reason for immediate suspicion, but then he and Ladybug wouldn't be able to avoid seeing each other without acting really weird. Besides, if the students recognized him, it would inevitably get back to Nino and Alya (and Marinette, by extension), and he really didn't want to face that line of questioning, especially considering that he had last texted Nino that he was safely cloistered at home, far away from any rampaging akumas.

"One..."

The voices were almost right outside the closet. They were incredibly familiar, but Adrien couldn't place them with the nerves flaring up in his stomach.

"Two..."

Ladybug's voice had grown quiet, barely above a whisper.

"...three! Transform me!"

In unison, pink and green light lit up the small closet. Adrien squeezed his eyes shut against the light, though it didn't help much. The clashing colors lit up his eyelids for a long second before dying back down. He blinked his eyes open once he felt Ladybug shifting away to reach for the door handle. She pushed it open, and they met the wide-eyed stare of Alya and Nino as they stood right outside the closet, clearly about to grab the door handle themselves.

Well, it was definitely a good thing that they had been able to transform.

"Ladybug! Chat Noir!" Alya exclaimed, taking a respectful step back. "We didn't realize that you were here! We were just looking for some classmates of ours that went missing near the start of the attack."

"I'm sure they'll show up," Ladybug said, though Chat Noir could detect a nervous hint to her voice. "Uh, did you happen to notice which way the Intern went? Chat Noir and I had to lose her to recharge."

"Whoa, they were detransformed?" Alya said in a breathy voice before she shook off her sudden starry-eyed daze. Chat Noir had to suppress a chuckle- Alya probably was wishing that she had opened the closet door a minute sooner. "Yeah, the Intern headed for the Eiffel Tower. I think she wanted to increase the size of her army, but most people are hiding inside now until she gets defeated."

"That's good advice. You should stay hidden as well," Ladybug said, heading for the library's exit. "The Intern's army doesn't need to get any larger. She'll be hard enough to fight as it is."

"We'll stay out of it," Nino promised, ignoring Alya's crestfallen expression. "Alya might want an interview later, though, to make up for missing the fight."

"We can do that!" Chat Noir called over his shoulder and he followed Ladybug out through the maze of bookshelves. "Maybe sometime this weekend would work?"

He only got a glance of Alya's face-splitting grin before the door closed behind them.

"I've never seen both Ladybug and Chat Noir have to recharge in the middle of a fight before," Alya said later that afternoon as she told Marinette and Adrien about what had happened in the library as the four of them headed back to class. She was a bit sad about missing the end of the fight with the Intern ("I heard it was epic!") but the excitement over seeing Ladybug and Chat Noir- and coming so close to running into them in their civilian identities- completely made up for the letdown. "But do you know what that proves? They totally know who each other's identities are!"

"Alyaaaa..." Marinette sighed at the same time Adrien subtly rolled his eyes. Know each other's identities? Hah. "They still might not. I mean, who's to say they looked?"

"It would be inconvenient not to look," Alya argued. "And do you know what else that suggests?"

Adrien grinned at Marinette's mumbled "No, but I'm sure you'll tell us". His friend was hilarious when she wasn't busy being nervous around him.

"I bet that they're dating in real life! I mean, that closet was tiny. They would have had to be standing really close together, and if you're going to be that close, you have to be really comfortable with each other. They've probably been dating forever."

Adrien barely restrained his snort. I wish.

"Besides, there's so much evidence in their interactions that tells me that they're dating. Trust me, I'm a romance expert," Alya insisted when both Adrien and Marinette (and, to some degree, Nino) looked unconvinced. "Rose agreed with me. And, to prove it to you, I'll ask them when I interview them this weekend! They'll say yes, I'm sure of it."

Adrien sincerely doubted it.

"But enough about that!" Nino exclaimed before Alya could say anything else. "I'm just glad to see you two are safe! A bunch of people went missing during the Intern's attacks and then when we couldn't get a hold of either of you during the attack! We were really worried."

Adrien blinked, confused. He, of course, had a reason for not answering his phone during attacks, but Marinette? She should have been safely at home. He hadn't noticed her among the ranks of the Intern's army, either during the fight or afterwards. So what had she been doing?

"I was, ah, busy with my homework," Marinette claimed immediately, blue eyes going innocently wide. "I got a little behind earlier this week when I was working on a design and, y'know, it took a lot of time, and so I figured that if I didn't want to get in trouble I should take advantage of the time off from classes and get some stuff done."

Alya raised a suspicious eyebrow. "And you didn't check your phone at all?"

Marinette giggled. It sounded a little high-pitched, but maybe Adrien was just hearing things. "I'm not you, Alya. I'm hardly married to my phone. It was in my bag and I forgot about it."

"Hmm." Alya didn't look totally convinced, but still she left Marinette along and turned on Adrien instead. "And you, Agreste? Did you have your phone off as well?"

"Err..." Actually, that had been the excuse Adrien was going to go for, but he doubted Alya would accept that now. "No, I was listening to some online tutorials that my Chinese teacher assigned me. He wants me to work on my pronunciation."

Alya rolled her eyes. "Ugh. Nerds, both of you. At least you're safe. We were worried." She whirled around in front of their group, stopping them. "In fact, I was so worried that I demand a group hug. C'mon, all of you."

Adrien grinned as they all came together. The hug was hardly comfortable- it was a few too many people all together and too many different heights, plus Nino's elbow was digging into his side- but it was still nice. Marinette was tucked under his left arm up against his side, pink-cheeked and adorable as she smiled up at him. She smelled strangely familiar, like baked treats and fresh bread, but Adrien supposed that that was hardly a surprise considering where she lived. Still, the smell seemed even more familiar than that, like he had smelled it just recently even though he hadn't been to the bakery for a while. The scent tickled something in the back of his mind, something important that he really should remember.

So where had he smelled that exact same scent before?

A/N: So this is the end of this story/series of drabbles. I hope you enjoyed them (even if it was frustrating watching two idiots being oblivious)! Please review, it makes my day :)