AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is it, the final chapter!

I just wanted to say how wonderful this short journey has been. I'm used to writing for a different fandom, and the response to this story has been more than I ever would have expected. Every new review, favorite, and follower made my day. I may not have always responded, but know that I read each review, and I treasure them all (especially the one I had to translate from French! :D ). You guys are nothing short of amazing. From the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU :D

And now back to Marinette and Adrien...enjoy!

Chapter 13: In This Together

Marinette was stunned, wide-eyed, and for a moment, her mind went blank. This can't be real, can it? Cat Noir knows who I am?! Oddly, it was the alert from his ring, the second toe disappearing from his Miraculous that brought her back to reality. Cat Noir didn't have long before his powers gave out, and he'd transform back.

She grabbed the earrings from his hand and hurried started to put them on, taking a step away from him.

"You know who I am? How did you find out?"

"I kind of figured it out for myself, last night. I'm sorry for what I said, Marinette. I was just angry that you didn't trust me."

"I…" Marinette said hesitantly, her heart still racing from the thought that Cat Noir had learned her secret identity. Her mind reeled with the implications of what this now meant, and tried to remember what things she had told Cat already, both as herself and as Ladybug.

Tiki came into view and immediately rushed to Marinette. She embraced her cheek, and Marinette raised a hand to hold her close.

"Thank goodness you're alright!" Tiki exclaimed. "When you took off your Miraculous...I was so worried."

"I'm so sorry, Tiki, I never should have done that. I was just upset and wanted some time alone to think."

Cat Noir's ring gave another ping, another alert.

"I'll go over there and stand guard while you change back," Marinette said in a rush, taking a step toward the door, but Cat Noir stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him, her brow furrowed.

"It's okay, Marinette. I trust you." The silence stretched on for a second. "Stay," he pleaded.

She took a deep, shaky breath, her heart pounding in her chest. She met his eyes, already so familiar from all of their time together, and nodded. "I guess the cat's already half out of the bag, huh?"

Cat Noir took her hand, giving it a light squeeze as he smiled.

"Plagg, claws in."

The energy drained from him, the power that formed his mask and suit dissolving, reforming into Plagg, and Marinette was left staring blankly at the boy she'd had a crush on for forever, her hand still held tightly in his.

"A-Adrien…?" she mumbled in a quiet voice. Her shoulders slumped. "Of course you're Adrien - as if this whole fiasco wasn't embarrassing enough." She couldn't look at him, turning her eyes to the floor. She felt her cheeks warming, and bit her lip.

Adrien reached out with his free hand to touch her cheek, applying soft pressure to turn her face to look at him. "You don't have to be embarrassed. I was really happy when I found out it was you, Marinette. You already know how I feel about you, and then when I learned that you like me back…" He shook his head. "Now there's nothing stopping from doing this."

Adrien moved closer, tilting her face up to meet his. His head descended, and his lips brushed hers in the gentlest whisper of a kiss. Afterwards, he pulled back and looked into her eyes.

"Ugh, do I have to watch this?" Plagg complained from behind them.

"Consider it payback for not telling who she was," Adrien said over his shoulder. He turned back toward her, running a nervous hand through his hair. His other hand let go of hers. "Sorry if that was too much. I've just wanted to do that for a really long time."

Marinette's gaze didn't waver, although her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. Cat Noir was Adrien. Her trusted partner, her friend, and the boy she liked were all the same person, and he'd just kissed her. It should be confusing, but it wasn't; somehow it just all made sense. It felt right.

"Kitty…" she murmured softly, slowly raising her arms to wrap them around his neck, and pressed her lips against his. This kiss was more insistent, a promise of feelings accepted, and returned. Adrien's arms snaked around her waist and pulled her close.

"Um, guys, I hate to be with Plagg on this one, but we should really get moving," Tiki commented.

Reluctantly, they separated, their eyes both shining with hope in their newfound discovery. Adrien offered his hand to her again, Plagg and Tiki zooming in to hide under the outermost layer of their clothing. Marinette placed her hand in his, giving him a shy smile before they headed for the door, and freedom.

Hawk Moth stood in his lair, eyes glued to the monitor, watching as Adrien and Marinette ran from the building, hand-in-hand. His trap had succeeded in drawing in someone, he'd just not expected it to be his own son. He frowned. Adrien had feelings for this girl, that much was evident, but she had a connection to Cat Noir. He would have to think more on this.

"I was sure she was the key to bringing down Ladybug and Cat Noir," he uttered, clenching his fist.

He remembered his admiration for her spirit, when she had fought against him in the small defiant ways she could. And Adrien...his boy was more like his mother than he'd realized, barging into danger the way he had to get to her. Adrien would no doubt lie to him when he got home about where he had been.

"Nooroo, dark wings fall!"

Nooroo formed, and cast his eyes on the ground.

Gabriel Agreste stated, "It appears I was mistaken about using Miss Dupain-Cheng, but one day, I will make my wish come true."

"Of course, Master," Nooroo replied.

Several blocks away, Adrien and Marinette finally stopped running in a deserted alleyway, breathing heavy. They met each other's gaze and laughed.

"This is so much easier as Ladybug," Marinette commented between breaths.

Adrien was bent over as well, trying to catch his own breath. "Tell me about it. Hey, why don't we-?"

She shook her head. "I have to get home," she responded. "My parents…"

"Right," Adrien winced, but nodded in agreement. "I'm sure Father has Nathalie and my bodyguard searching all over town for me right now. We'd better go back. But, I'll see you tomorrow, right? That is, assuming Father doesn't ground me forever."

"Tomorrow? But it's Saturday; there's no school tomorrow. Oh, do you mean for patrol?"

"No, the concert," Adrien stated, leaning closer to her. "You were going to ask me, weren't you Bugaboo?" he pouted, and the look was so Cat Noir that it took her aback.

"This...is going to take some getting used to," she said with a nervous chuckle, feeling her face warm. "I always thought you were just teasing me with that stuff."

"Never, I meant every word," he replied. "Oh, that reminds me; I found your purse. I left it in the electrical box near your balcony."

"Thank goodness," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "And, yes, I was planning to ask you, at least until Chloe showed up."

"Chloe," Adrien said with a sigh, a small wrinkle forming on his head.

"I know she's your friend, and she did invite you first. You must see something in her," Marinette joked. "But, I should get going. I don't want to leave mom and dad waiting."

"I want to go to the concert with you," Adrien declared. "But you're right; it wouldn't be right to ditch Chloe like that. I guess I should still meet up with her. But hey, meet me on the roof about an hour before sunset, okay? I have an idea for our project."

"The project...I'd nearly forgotten. Hope against the darkness - you know, that thought actually got me through." She lowered her head. "You got me through that. Thanks, Adrien."

"Marinette…" Adrien said, pulling her into a quick hug, grateful again that she was safe. "I'm just happy you can talk to me now. For a while, I thought you must have hated me."

She shook her head. "Never, but I think knowing that you're Cat helps. It's hard to feel nervous when I know what a silly kitty you are," She smiled. "Until tomorrow, then."

He pulled her hand up to his lips, brushing a light kiss across her knuckles. "Until then, my lady."

Cat Noir paced the rooftop. She's going to show, right? He checked the time, but he was still early. The sun was approaching the horizon, and he hoped she'd show up soon. Then, he spotted her, swinging in to land on the roof near him.

"Hey kitty," she greeted, walking over to him. "So what's this great idea of yours?"

He smiled. "You're looking at it."

"Huh?" she said, looking around. "Oh, us! You don't think that's cheating a little bit? No one else is going to be able to get Ladybug and Cat Noir to pose for them like that."

Walking closer, he clasped her hand in his, looking down at it. His green eyes flicked up to meet hers. "Ladybug, you're my hope against the darkness. I can't think of anything better for our photo entry."

His words coaxed a smile from her, and she had to agree.

They took a few moments to set up the camera. It took a few tries, a tripod, Cat Noir's staff, and quite a bit of manipulating of Ladybug's yo-yo, but they finally got it into to right position. Cat hit the timer on the camera and they took their positions, hands clasped, faces turned slightly toward each other, with the sunset and the Eiffel Tower in the background. Their bodies would be mostly in silhouette against the brightness of the landscape of Paris.

"The true meaning of Paris," Ladybug said, looking up into his eyes.

"Yeah, hope...and love.."

The camera clicked from behind them, catching both a little off guard. Ladybug rushed to check it. Not bad, she decided.

Looking over at Cat Noir, she said, "You know, I can't stop thinking about Hawk Moth...I wonder what happened to the akuma that attacked me, and the one that flew out of Commandant."

"Whatever his plan is, we'll be ready," Cat Noir replied closing his fist.

Ladybug smiled, "You're right. We're in this together."

They took a few more shots just to be sure, and disassembled the messy configuration. They flipped through the photos together on the view screen, and nodded to one another, satisfied with the results.

"Do you think we'll win?" Adrien asked.

Ladybug flicked the bell at his neck, ringing it, then pulled on it gently, bringing him closer. Grinning, she whispered, "I'd say we already did."

THE END