Hey Everyone, It's been a while since I've worked on this story. But now I'm back for a while and hope to make some real progress on it. I'd like to thank my Beta koreantrash101 for helping and editing when I started, and I hope you enjoy the story as it progresses. I've done a little tweaking, it's not a lot, but I think its come out a little better. So give another read through and let me know.

Three years…. three long years since receiving the ladybug miraculous. Three years since meeting Chat Noir. Three years of fighting Hawkmoth and his akumatized victims, thwarting his attempts of taking the miraculous we carry, and keeping Paris' citizens safe.

Marinette couldn't believe how much time had passed but upon reflection, it felt so much longer than it seemed. In the three years that had passed she had been able to keep her two lives separate and her identity a secret, though a certain alley cat often tried to pry. But as time went by, Chat was a constant presence in her life both in and out of the mask, as he frequently visited her civilian half after the incident with Evillustrator, and began to make her question why she continued to withhold her identity from him. Why would it be so bad for the one person she trusted most to share the one secret that separated them from being any closer? No more having to carefully think of how much to say as they patrolled the city, or having to worry about hiding from each other after a battle.

Someone jostled her slightly, jerking her from her thoughts. She turned to locate the source, and then all thought processing went out the window. Staring down at her were a pair of great emerald pools, which took no time at all to drown herself in. She barely noticed Adrien saying something and shook her head to focus herself again. "I'm sorry, c-could you s-say that again?"

He smiled softly at her, just about breaking her focus in the process. "Class ended a few minutes ago, and I had come back to get some notes I had forgotten when I noticed you still sitting there."

Startled, she looked around to find the class completely empty. She looked back to the boy next to her and gave a nervous laugh while avoiding his gaze before saying, "Guess I got lost in thought. T-Thanks f-f-for checking on me, it was r-really kind of you."

His brow rose slightly for a moment at her stuttering. After all this time, he still made her so nervous; even though she was hoping the feeling would fade, he could always make her heart race and thoughts scatter. 'Kind of how I feel when I'm around Chat' she thought absently, then almost jumped out of her seat, 'Wait… When did I start thinking that way about him?'

Brow still raised at her silence, the look in his beautiful eyes turned from questioning to one of concern. "Are you alright? Is there something you want to talk about?" he asked.

She was about to reject the offer, but thought that this may finally be her chance to get closer to him. So, digging for the courage that seemed to always be there when she transformed. She looked back up to him, a weak smile attempting to form on her lips. "I just have a lot on my plate right now. With trying to keep up with school, helping mama and papa with the bakery, and doing some projects on the side for a little money; I guess it's gotten a little overwhelming." She felt proud that she made it through without a single stutter and mentally patted herself on the back.

Adrien looked down, nodding in thought and understanding. He pulled his phone out and tapped it a few times. "Do you want to go for a walk?" he asked, looking back up at her, "My schedule's pretty clear today, and you look like you could use some air. Plus, I wouldn't mind stretching my legs before going back to the confines of my own home."

Now she panics. He wants to go on a walk with me? Is he just being nice, or is it pity? And why did he seem so sad when talking about his home? She shakes her head from the thoughts, but kept the last in her mind to inquire about later. "Sure, but why don't we stop by my place first and drop our bags off?" she says before she can start thinking about it again.

He nodded to her while letting his father know what he would be doing, and she collected her things. They exited the school, heading for the Dupain-Cheng bakery. As they made their way down the street, they fell into an awkward silence. So Marinette looked around to take in her surroundings.

The weather had begun to turn cold as autumn progressed, but not yet cold enough to bundle. So the light jacket she wore with sleeves only reaching just past her elbow and capris were still tolerable with the current temperature. She noticed the leaves were changing color as well, becoming a beautiful palette of reds and golds. Added together with the evening sunlight set a picturesque scene before them. She smiled at the view before her, losing herself in it.

Adrien cleared his throat, causing her to turn her head to look at him. His face seemed oddly flushed, but she shrugged it off as they rounded the corner of the street, the bakery now in sight.

"S-so," he began, then cleared his throat again at the small crack in his voice. Now it was her turn to raise an eyebrow "You said you were doing some projects on the side? What did you mean by that?"

"Well, I've been making some outfits by request and shipping them out. After a few shirts and dresses I made for Alya, people began asking where she got them. When she started telling people I made them, I started getting requests. At first they were only in person, but then Alya posted some stuff about them on one of her blogs and I started getting some by email. It's still a small group and they are mostly the same people, but I'm able to get some money out of it, so that's a plus."

He smiled brightly at her and said, "I'm glad you're getting recognized for your obviously amazing talent. Maybe I can speak to my father about commissioning you for an outfit. He was very pleased with your work from the competition a few years ago," and leaned conspiratorially, "which is not easy to do, believe me. I'm sure he'd be happy to see your designs again."

Marinette blushed at the praise given by her fashion idols son, "I wouldn't go that far, and I don't want you to go out of your way for anything. I'm sure he has plenty of experienced designers, instead of someone like me." she said as she looked away sadly.

She noticed Adrien was taken off guard by the remark in the way his eyes widened, and he quickly replied that she was definitely worth being asked for a commission. "Like I said before, my father loved your work and I would be surprised if he would refuse an opportunity to see such a talent slip through his fingers," he added. And much to her embarrassment, the blush returned.

They had stopped just outside the bakery to finish their talk and Marinette took the window of pause to slip inside and greet her parents, who were sitting at the counter seeming to be preoccupied with scrubbing something on the counter. "Hi mama, hi papa! Adrien and I are going to go for a walk so we're leaving our things here for now."

"Hi M. Dupain, Mme. Dupain-Cheng. I hope you don't mind me borrowing your daughter for a bit," he nodded politely to her parents.

"Not at all!" boomed her father. "But please, call me Tom," he added with a smile.

"Take all the time you need!" her mother said, smiling slyly. "And you can call me Sabine. Now, would you like something warm to nibble on while you walk? You look absolutely starved," her mother added after looking at the thin boy before her. She turned and pulled out some freshly baked croissants.

"Momma! Papa! Don't embarrass me!" Marinette whined at her parents.

Adrien told her it was fine, but seemed to be hesitatant for a moment before taking a smaller one to nibble on. He gave a quick thanks and they excused themselves, starting up the stairs to the apartment above to drop off their bags.

While Adrien fell back as they entered the living area on the upper floor, Marinette proceeded to her room up the stairs and placed her bag down next to her desk when a red dot suddenly appeared in her vision. "Oh my goodness, Marinette!" exclaimed Tikki. The little kwami seemed more jovial than normal. "Adrien asked you to go on a walk! And you've been talking to him without stuttering! I'm so PROUD of you!" she gushed at her charge.

Marinette blushed at the praise and tucked her hair behind her ear nervously. "We'll see how long that lasts."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. You've been doing fine this far and I'm sure yo-"

They heard a knock at the open hatch leading to her room and Adrien asking if he could come up. She froze as she looked above her desk at the collage of him plastered all over. "C-could you wait in the living room for me? I'm just putting on something a little warmer." She called. after hearing him agree, she breathed a sigh of relief, narrowly avoiding a chatastrophe. She paused, then face palmed at the awful pun she made, even if it was in her head. 'I've been hanging around that alley cat a little too much.'

After a moment of changing to stick with what she told Adrien earlier, she joined him in the living room. He took a moment to praise her selfmade outfit as she appeared down her stairs, telling her that this was exactly why he was going to ask his father about the commission.

She hastily brushed the compliments aside to keep from falling back to a stuttering pool on the ground. "So now that we've talked about me, let's talk about you," Marinette said as they headed down and out the bakery's back door.

Adrien gave her a sidelong glance, his body tensed in what seemed to be a sign of nervousness. "What do you mean?"

"Well, earlier you didn't seem very happy with the idea of heading home. Is there anything you wanted to talk about?"

He looked away, contemplating what to tell her. After a moment she had almost said he didn't need to answer, but right when he seemed ready to talk they heard a loud crash followed by people screaming and running down the street. She fell into a defensive stance out of instinct. 'Why does this ALWAYS happen!' She thought to herself, then realized what she was doing and corrected herself before he noticed.

"Get back inside and make sure your folks are alright," Adrien stated and started down the alley between the buildings, his voice taking a tone of authority she rarely heard from him. "I'm going to make sure everyone nearby isn't in any danger." He rushed off before she could get a word in edgewise.

Frustrated by being left behind so suddenly, she took a quick sweep of the alley and transformed when no one was watching. Looking around the block to find him nowhere in sight and assuming he found a place to hide, she began to swing down the street toward the source of the chaos.

After reaching the akumatized victim and landing on the corner of the street closest to it, she heard a familiar taunt from behind. "Been waiting for you Bugaboo." She barely managed to stop her fist from sending him two blocks away.

"Now, is that any way to greet your one true love?" he teased as he put a hand on her fist and slowly lowered it.

She ignored the faint flutter in her chest as she took in his relaxed form leaning against his staff. A mischievous smile gracing his lips. "Getting more bold by the day, aren't you Chaton?" she asked, forming a smirk of her own.

"Only when good luck flies my way," he replied, winking at her. "Let's take care of this, shall we?" Then he jumped into the fold to hold the akuma at bay while Ladybug assisted here and there, attempting to formulate a plan to get the akuma.

After what seemed like hours of fighting, and a few too many close calls, they succeeded in cleansing the akuma and righting the damage done by the victim.

While standing on a rooftop watching the scene they had just left, ladybug catches Chat Noir's attention. "Is it just me, or do the akuma seem to be getting stronger?"

He nodded in a morose agreement. "We barely managed this one, and it hasn't been the first recently."

"If this keeps up we won't last much longer."

After a moment's hesitation, he decided to say, "I've been trying to work some things out, and I think I may be on a lead to Hawkmoths' Identity, but I'm not one hundred percent sure and want to check into it before I get our hopes up."

The statement surprised her as much as it confused her. She thought he would let her in on something this big. Voicing her offense at not being included in this earlier, he tells her he wanted to be sure of it before coming to her to move any further.

While the response pacified her, she was still concerned for him. She began to care for him more and more as the days passed, almost as much as she had come to care for Adrien. He was still so far away. Chat was right here - and had been here for some time - waiting to be more. With him attempting something that may put him in danger of facing hawkmoth, it gave her resolution to speak. "I've been thinking…" she began, catching his attention with the thoughtful and serious tone as she spoke. "Maybe with things the way they are, it would better help us both if we knew each other….. without the masks."

Watching his expression go from confusion to shock, she was unsure what his response would be. His ring chimed its first warning, advising him of the oncoming revert to his civilian self. Gulping, Chat looked at her closely, even going as far as to move close and stare into her sparkling bluebell eyes, making her feel slightly nervous. But that all went away after staring into his eyes, finding only calm in the luminescent green orbs before her. "Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked, the question coming out as barely a whisper.