Landing in a tree in order to spy outside your crush's window was definitely not something Ladybug ever saw herself doing. She knew Tikki was going to let her have it when she eventually made it home.

"He's awake!" She gasped in delight when she saw his bedroom light on, illuminating his entire room for the streets of Paris to see. Her mouth opened in awe as he paced back and forth. She furrowed her eyebrows. It was late. Why was he still up? In his hands, she noticed an item that eventually slid its way into his mouth.

She had to get closer.

With a swing of her yo-yo, it wrapped itself around the edge of the roof above his bedroom. Ladybug slid down the string like she was Spider-Man and hung there while curling her legs in close to her body. She couldn't be seen by him! That would be a total disaster!

Soft mumbling could be heard from inside the room but his windows were shut so it was impossible to make out. With a careful tilt of her head, Ladybug leaned left to see what was going on. At the sight of Adrien, she let out a soft yelp and jerked her head back away from the window. Cheeks darkened as her palms began to sweat. She caught him changing!

Her chest was pounding and she carefully leaned back to see.

With a toothbrush in his mouth, Adrien slipped a black pajama t-shirt over his head and Ladybug almost fell from her current position. The way the sleeves gripped his toned arms… she couldn't stop looking.

"EEP!"

The slightest glance at the top of his boxers was enough to cause her to lose her balance as she pulled away, eyes squeezed shut. She wiggled on her yo-yo but her hot hands failed her as they slipped. Ladybug spiraled down towards the ground but shot out her yo-yo again to connect to the nearest sturdy surface. Her face paused a few feet from the ground and she breathed out, purely in shock from what she had just seen. Sure she hadn't seen all that much but Adrien… his boxers… the colour…

"I need a cold shower!" Ladybug wiped the sweat from her forehead and lowered down until her padded feet touched the ground. She hadn't meant to see Adrien change! The colour of her cheeks argued otherwise but she swung her yo-yo in the direction of her home. How was she to face Adrien at school now that she knew that he had Ladybug themed boxers!? Why did he have them at all!?

The minute she transformed back, Marinette landed on her bed as her back sunk into the mattress after a few bounces. Her cheeks had not returned to their normal colour yet and her chest still heaved. Eyes full of guilt met a rather cross looking kwami.

Marinette hesitated. "I… uh…" She awkwardly giggled as Tikki's eyes lowered further. "W-What…?"

"You peeked through his window," Tikki stated, dumbfounded.

"...And…?"

"Marinette," Tikki said firmly, tiny arms crossed.

"Okay it was bad!" The girl admitted, sitting upright. "But I had to!"

"You had to?" Tikki's eyebrow raised in disbelief as Marinette waved her arms in the air.

"Yes!" she cried out in desperation. "It was a severe situation!"

"Severe enough you'd risk getting caught by either Adrien or another person?" Tikki raised both eyebrows. Her mouth closed as she watched her chosen wave her arms back and forth in an attempt to defend herself. All the little kwami could do was sigh in hopelessness and shake her head. "I think you need to go to bed." She curled in her usual spot behind the giant cat pillow. "Sleep is good for clearing your mind."

Marinette fanned her face. "I'm going to have a quick shower first. It's really hot in here!" Grabbing a towel, she dashed towards her bathroom in hopes to rinse off the sinful thing her eyes had seen.

Clothes were quickly shed and she tiptoed in. The second the curtain slid behind her, ice cold water splashed, covering her body. With a yelp, her hand reached for the tap to raise the temperature a smidge. Satisfied, Marinette sighed, fully relaxing. The water slid down her skin, coating her body entirely. Within just seconds of being in the refreshing water, her internal body temperature began returning to normal. Marinette sucked in a breath and stood, leaning her head back. Water danced across her face and the horrible feelings were quickly washed away.

Until she turned off the faucet.

A towel patted her face and she stopped all movements while her mind filled back up with all those horrible nagging thoughts. It was as if the cold water was her guard. Without it, she was back to where she first started.

"Stupid," she murmured, squeezing the water out of her hair with the towel for a second time that night. Her fingers squeezed tightly as a shadow of familiar cat ears poured into her mind. Soon the towel was wrapped around her chest with her palms resting against the counter. Peering at herself in the mirror, Marinette glared at her reflection.

"Starting now, no more thoughts of… you know who."

After scolding herself, she nodded and grabbed a hairbrush. As it slowly worked its magic through her soggy strands, her mind welcomed many thoughts of Adrien. It was fine until a reminder of his… undergarments appeared. She dropped her brush and with a bang, it fell into the sink. Her hands ran down her face before she yanked open a drawer in annoyance to retrieve her two hair elastics. With the flick of the last elastic, her hair was now out of her face.

She sighed. "I hope I feel better tomorrow morning…"

Marinette awoke the next morning in a frazzled mess.

"Why didn't my alarm go off!?" she exclaimed, buttoning up her pink capris. Her breathing was heightened but she remained still as Tikki completed her pigtails for her.

"It went off for a good half an hour," Tikki stated, tugging one of the pigtails snug. "I tried to wake you. I'm surprised your parents didn't come up to check on you."

All Marinette could do was groan, slipping her backpack onto her back. "Come on Tikki, I can't be late!" Her hands opened her purse to allow the red kwami inside.

"Hi Mom! Hi Papa!" Marinette quickly yelled. Her footing was almost lost as she trudged down the steps but she managed to land on the main level of the bakery with no falls. Quick cheek kisses were exchanged and a warm pastry rested in Marinette's hands.

"Have a great day at school Sweetie!" Sabine called out with a warm smile across her face.

"I will Mom!" Marinette cried out, slamming open the bakery door. "Bye!"

Panting and panting, she charged through the city sidewalks until the large building was in view. Pushing her body harder, she bumped through her school's doors and beelined it for homeroom. The bell she was so used to hearing everyday rang throughout her ears the second she stepped foot into the classroom.

Not even focusing on her surroundings but instead of the fact that she made it on time, Marinette keeled over, almost blowing out a lung. She felt her entire body burning from the workout it was just given but was relieved she wasn't late.

After taking a few seconds to get control of herself, her spine straightened back up. To her surprise, the classroom was buzzing louder than normal and everyone was huddled around Alya's desk.

Curious, Marinette took a few steps over. What was the commotion about? A few kids were blocking her seat so she did her best to hover over top of the crowd. "What's going on?"

Kim and Max shifted to kindly allow her to enter the circle.

"Hey Marinette! You gotta check this out!" Kim exclaimed, pointing a finger over to Alya.

Marinette's nose scrunched as she squinted her eyes tightly. Alya's phone screen was too small to read. "What is it?"

"GIRL!" Alya stood up, practically knocking down a couple of their classmates. "I texted you this morning! Isn't it CRAZY!?"

That was when her pulse began activating. She had been in too much of a rush to check her phone like she normally did in the morning.

"Sorry Alya," the girl said. "I was in a rush so I didn't check my phone. What's going on?"

"OH! So you DON'T KNOW!?"

Alya was screaming. It had to be big.

"Just tell me!" Marinette clapped her hands together impatiently. It was becoming too much.

"LOOK. JUST LOOK." Alya held out her phone with a large picture on it.

The now cold croissant that was supposed to be Marinette's breakfast suffered a terrible death when it met the floor. Her eyes darted the article title. The photo was dark but the content in it was as clear as day.

"Crazy or WHAT!?"

Marinette didn't move. She couldn't breathe. She lost all colour from her face.

Ladybug was in the news.

Marinette reread the title once more with feelings of nausea drifting up into the back of her throat.

Peeping Tom Ladybug.

There she was, practically hanging upside down in front of Adrien's window just like she had been last night. Someone had caught her. It hadn't been that late out but it certainly wasn't before midnight. Adrien couldn't be seen through the window but it was painfully obvious as to who's window she was in front of.

Taking some footsteps backwards, Marinette felt her entire world go blurry. Her body rocking back and forth.

"Who knew that Ladybug had the hots for Adrien!" Kim grinned, holding back a laugh.

"There is a 94% chance that she in fact does!" Max stated, typing on his calculator, showing everyone his study results.

Alya must have noticed Marinette's stunned reaction. "Girl? You okay?"

Marinette's breathing deepened to a point where it hurt to breathe. "I.."

A look of sympathy crossed her best friend's face. "Hey, it'll be okay. It's not like they're dating or something…" Her facial expression changed as her mouth widened. "What if they are and Adrien isn't telling us!?"

Nino scoffed, hands on his hips. "Yeah, as if! My best bud would tell me everything! Especially something as big as dating a superhero!"

Marinette could finally find her voice. The entire classroom and who was all in it faded into the background as her mind did its best to straighten out. "A-Alya…?"

"Yes girl?"

"Did you… post it to The Ladyblog…?" Marinette asked even though it was already too late. If the Ladyblog didn't post it, the photo would surely spread like wildfire.

"Of course!" Alya's grin showed everything but mercy. "One of my readers sent the picture to me. It's too juicy not to post!"

"I… I need to go to the bathroom!" Marinette stuttered and shoved past the crowd of classmates. Her legs had lost feeling minutes ago and it was a miracle to how she even managed to speed walk through the halls. Reaching an arm out, the door to the women's washroom flew open so fast that it hit the brick wall.

With a thud, Marinette slumped onto the toilet with the lid closed. Her fingers flew across her phone's keyboard and within seconds, the dreaded article appeared on the screen. The pain entered her chest and tried to constrict her.

A little voice was heard by the corner of her face. "This is-"

"I don't want to hear it Tikki," Marinette grumbled, eyes not leaving the screen as they skimmed the article in its entirety.

"Marinette, I'm not going to lecture you," Tikki said in a gentle tone but her chosen was having none of it.

Ladybug caught spying on the famous Adrien Agreste!

Does Paris' superhero have a crush on the famous fashion model?

Silent tears fought their way through and dripped onto Marinette's pink capris as she stared mouth wide at the photo.

Tikki cast a worried glance at her chosen's stiff body. The painful silence in the stall was enough to concern the kwami. "Marinette?"

The girl shook her head without saying a word. Her pigtails swayed from side to side before gently resting against her neck. "Wha-" She cleared her cracking voice. "What do I do…?" With a sniff, Marinette wiped her eyes on her sleeve. "I messed everything up!"

A tiny paw rubbed the upset girl's upper back. "Everyone makes mistakes. Let's just think this one-"

"Now everyone thinks Ladybug is some, some creep!" Marinette cried out in exasperation. "And now Adrien thinks that too!"

Tikki flew to face Marinette. "I don't think Adrien thinks badly of Ladybug." She floated in midair, paws on her hips. "He's probably surprised, sure, but…" She trailed off at the look of Marinette's face.

"I've ruined my chances with Adrien!" Hands flew up to her cheeks as she continued her panicked rant. "If he ever found out my identity, he'd officially never speak to me again!"

"Mari-"

"And how am I supposed to go out now as Ladybug and protect Paris? Everyone will laugh at me and talk about how much of a stalker I am!"

The more she spilled, the louder her voice became and soon she was basically yelling.

"I've ruined Ladybug's reputation! I don't deserve to hold her miraculous anymore!"

"Marinette, breathe!"

The girl held her breath at first before letting go and reluctantly following her kwami's demand. Her chest heaved upwards and back down as the air exited her mouth.

"Please calm down!" Tikki pleaded. "We can't think straight if we panic."

Marinette did her best to do as she was told but her breath was shaking. Another breath was sucked into her lungs. "Tikki…" she whined pathetically. "Please help me..."

"Let's just go back to class for now before everyone wonders where you went," Tikki said with a hint of uneasiness in her voice. "We can talk about this later."

Marinette shook her head with a frown. "I can't! I feel like I'm going to throw up!"

A voice echoed within the washroom. "Marinette?"

In an instant, Marinette quieted down and inched Tikki back into her purse. She wiped her eyes on her shirt and swallowed, hoping her voice was clear enough. "Yeah?"

"Girl, is everything okay?" Alya asked from outside the stall. "You just vanished from class." Her best friend's shadow appeared from under the stall.

"Uhhhh yeah!" Marinette patted a piece of toilet paper under her nose to avoid it leaking. She'd have to blow it after Alya left to avoid suspicions. "I just had to use the bathroom really bad."

A laugh echoed the washroom and bounced off the walls. "I guess so! You raced out of there before I could say anything!"

Marinette faked out a laugh and shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, my stomach hasn't been good this morning…" Her voice trailed off, hoping her lie was good enough to satisfy her friend.

"Nino has some kombucha at his desk that I'm sure he'll let you have," Alya said. "Well, maybe take a few sips of." A chuckle escaped her throat. "He's been addicted to that stuff lately."

Marinette smiled at the kindness of her friend and at the fact that her lie had been believed.

Alya let out a giddy laugh. "I still can't believe that picture! I'm dying to know what Adrien thinks about it!"

Marinette felt her heart drop to the floor at the mention of her crush's name. "He hasn't seen it?"

"Yeah, he has. His Dad kept him home for the day until the news dies down," Alya explained. The water at the sink ran for a few moments before turning off again. "So he doesn't get attacked or something."

Marinette could hear the paper towel dispenser being pulled on.

"Okay girl, I'll meet you in class!" Alya cried out. "I'll let Miss Bustier know you're having tummy troubles."

"Okay!" Marinette called back and waited until the washroom was in silence again. The piece of toilet paper she had been holding, tapped the bottom of her nose again and she gave a hard blow into it. With a loud, over dramatic sigh, she unlocked the stall and checked herself out in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy so she sprayed a few handfuls of water on her face to calm the swelling down.

With a silent prayer, Marinette hoped Hawkmoth would lay low, at least for today.

I could not wait any longer. I had to post this. Oh god Marinette...what did you do!?