The thing about being a superhero was that you got so used to saving the day, that it grew to be second nature. You just did it. You didn't stop to think about the best time and place. It was pure, involuntary reaction.

It was as if by sheer virtue of spending nearly a quarter of day with heightened senses and a suit that kept him safe from nearly every harm that Adrien started to grow reckless in the rest of his waking hours. Like the freedom and personality he let loose behind that mask slowly started to trickle through.

To be perfectly honest, he hadn't really noticed it at first.

It was the little things. Catching something-a watch, perhaps?-falling out of the corner of his eye and snagging it out of the air before it hit the ground here. Catching a glass knocked off the table there. Snatching a whole bundle of papers out of mid-air before they had fallen, scattered to the floor.

It had almost become a game for him. A challenge to himself to keep the bright and pleasant world of school and friends around him upright to buffer the drudgery of his otherwise overly packed schedule. To keep his superhero skills sharp, to keep his friends safe and happy.

He didn't want things to get broken. He didn't want to see his friends hurt or sad. Not if he could actually help it. And Plagg knew, he was certainly capable. His instincts had been finely honed by the near daily extensive training he got beneath the mask.

But somewhere along the way, he ended up catching friend whenever they might trip.

And really, who knew someone could trip so often?

Sure, there had been once or twice where Chloe had actively tripped Marinette, acting on some version of jealousy. It was unfortunate and small of her, but Marinette was quick to turn around and call her on it. Now, Chloe had mostly ignored her as much as possible. He could only hope Chloe had learned some sort of lesson and grown from the bad experience.

Nearly as often, Marinette managed to trip over nothing at all. He had been actually kind of amazed that she didn't end up just covered in scrapes and bruises and limping all over the school grounds.

Her clumsiness had occurred to him as equal parts endearing and awkward. It seemed so at odds with the fact that she was actually otherwise quite capable and determined to conquer everything she put her mind to.

He hadn't remembered the first day that he happened to be walking out in the hallways, close to where she would inevitably start to fall. He didn't recall the conversation that he and Nino had been having as they walked back from lunch.

He didn't really recall catching a glimpse of her tumble starting, nor did he recall holding out his arms and half catching her mid-fall.

"Are you alright?"

No. His recollection started with the cherry red blush staining her cheeks, with her impossibly wide, too blue eyes. And with the words that tumbled carelessly from her lips.

"F-fine. I'm okay." She blinked, breaking her gaze from his. Righting herself and pulling out of his arms, an embarrassed blush burned to the tips of her ears.

He had smiled softly at that. Marinette really was rather adorable.

"I'm just madly clumsy."

Adrien knew what falling felt like. He had plummeted through the air at breakneck speeds on more than one occasion. And when he had lost the means to save himself, his lady had come to the rescue with a smile.

A smile that looked suspiciously like the one currently plastered on his friend's face.

"C'mon, girl. We're going to be late."

He stared dumbstruck as she let Alta tug her away down the hall. As Alya looked back at him, a suspicious smile curving her lips.

He exhaled. There would be time for him to worry about Alya later.

Madly clumsy.

Those words were indelibly etched into his memory, even though he hadn't heard them in some time.

He hadn't heard them from her.

At least, he didn't think so.

Madly clumsy.

Ladybug was only outright clumsy on those first days, when he too was still getting his footing. Getting tossed around by Akuma didn't really count.

What were the odds that his amazing partner who had captured his heart long ago was one in the same with his amazing friend?

With his luck, it hadn't seemed likely. But perhaps if Ladybug's own luck was in the mix as well…

He felt his legs give out from under him, crashing him back to the reality of the ground.

"Bro?" Nino had extended his hand, pulling him back up onto still shaky legs. "You doing alright there? I'm not really fast enough to catch you."

He heard Plagg chuckling from the bag and rushed to cover it with his own self-deprecating chuckle.

Adrien didn't retain much from that day's lesson at school. He was far more focused on the possibility.

Ladybug had been nothing if not adamant about them keep their identities hidden, so wasn't it better to leave it as it was? To leave the little bit of mystery, that little bit of uncertainty. He could never really say he knew for sure because he isn't certain. Not 100%.

Now, he couldn't fight the instinct to linger a bit longer near Marinette.

To watch those all-too-similar pigtails bounce before his eyes, just as he had seen while spending hours upon hours chasing on Ladybug's heels across the rooftops of Paris.

To wait for that moment in case she should fall.

To savor the moment in holding her up for that extra second or two longer than necessary getting lost in those half shade different eyes, the freckles dotting her nose. To imagine that pretty pink blush that washed over Marinette's cheeks might actually be hiding behind Ladybug's red and black spotted mask.

To hope that the darkness and the distance might be hiding even more elusive hints to confirm that his partner and his friend were in fact one in the same.

He hadn't gone looking for her, but he might just have found her after all.

And now he had the means to prove it to himself-by any means necessary.

Author's Notes:

All standard disclaimers apply.

What? Another work. My April Fool's joke this year is really on myself.

This idea got stuck in my head last night, and I had to hammer it out to be satisfied and distract myself from REAL LIFE (TM). I still need a beta reader to pass over it, so all errors right now are totally my own and making the bad decisions of staying up too late to write this.

If there is any interest, I'm thinking about doing at least one more drabble in this series for whenever I inevitably get stuck on one of my WIP projects.

Feedback and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, as it really does help me to improve my writing.