Marinette had decided to travel light, carrying only her purse to finally meet Chat face to face. The bag was slightly larger than normal, since she needed one big enough to hold both Tikki and her present for Chat Noir—the second present. She carefully nestled the gift to one side; a kitty ear hat for her faux partner. One that would match the gloves she'd already given him.

Tikki chirped warmly, flitting happily around her head. "Are you ready, Marinette?"

She inhaled deeply, lifting the purse onto her shoulder. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Tikki pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "For a little extra luck."

Marinette nodded.

As Tikki dove into her bag, she hurried down the stairs from her room.

Her mother was in the kitchen prepping a kettle of tea, already dressed for bed; she was clearly exhausted from the long day. And although they'd just finished dinner an hour earlier, Marinette could already hear her father's loud snoring from the bedroom. Her parents had opened the shop early for a catering order for the mayor. Marinette had even come down mid-morning to help out so they could focus on the deliveries.

Her mother sighed. "I didn't figure you'd be headed out so late. You've been so good about getting up early with that seasonal job."

"I might have had a little extra incentive to get there on time." She shrugged. "Honestly, I kind of miss it."

Sabine frowned at her daughter. "Marinette, I could swear you said your job was stressful."

"Well," She smiled fondly. "Not all of it.

Her mother simply shook her head, ruffling her daughter's hair fondly as Marinette leaned in to kiss her mother's cheek.

"Ack! I've got to get going!" Marinette gasped as she caught the time on the kitchen clock. "I'll see you later."

"Don't stay out too late, my dear. You haven't entirely lost the rewards of all that hard work."

"Not yet, anyways!" Laughing, Marinette hurried out into the evening, rushing towards the Metro.

She needed to leave now in order to arrive on time.


Soon enough, Marinette arrived at the esplanade, presenting her ticket on her phone when she'd arrived in the elevator queue. It was a little early, she knew. But she couldn't afford to be late; she was even going to take the elevator up to the first floor, just to be safe. It had cost a little bit more but it would give her a bit more time to quell her worries.

As the elevator lurched upwards, she gripped her bag tightly.

As sweet as Chat had been, over the years and in the recent job, what finally swayed her was the fact that he'd now somehow managed to fall for her twice over.

The only real difference was that this time, she'd been ready—and willing—to fall right back for him…

There was no doubt in her mind that it was the right time to let feelings freely flow between them both…

If she truly was as lucky as she hoped, and… if he was as clever as she thought, Chat Noir would be able to add it all up.

To figure out just who she really was… and with that, how she really felt about him.

At least the butterflies at war in her stomach weren't as vicious as the ones she'd grown far too used to fighting beside him.


Hands buried in his pockets, Adrien rushed up the stairs of the Tower. He wasn't late, but the hour was much closer than he was comfortable with. Plagg stuck close, lingering in his jacket pocket.

He breathed a little more easily now than when he had started to scale the stairs between the ground and the tower's lower floor, small bouquet of flowers in hand.

Plagg grumbled. "I don't know why she had to make it so complicated. You could have just met downstairs."

"I dunno," he murmured, wistfully, zipping his jacket up a little further. "It is a little crowded down there. Besides, I think it's a pretty romantic choice from her."

Even from up this high, it still looked a little crowded in the queuing space of the esplanade. This late, the best they'd been able to do was get tickets that were a few minutes apart. Meeting upstairs had been the simplest solution. And the stairs were a little bit cheaper… allowing him to save just enough to get her a small bouquet of roses from a nearby shop.

He'd even taken care to wear his nicest outfit, one that Marinette had complimented more than once, though she'd probably not known he was listening.

Of course, he'd had to pull the sweater over it so he could prove who he really was…

Since they were both going to meeting outside of costume—for the first time as far as she was concerned—Marinette really wouldn't have any other way to know it was him otherwise. Even if he knew his work partner was her.

Adrien was sure he'd thought of everything.

They even had the email as a fail safe. Though from what he could tell from the ground, the signal here wasn't as reliable as he'd hoped. He was far too used to the miraculously reliable baton over the years...

Climbing flight after flight, Adrien kept replaying the secret hope he'd seen on Marinette's face last night, especially when she'd seen just how happy Alya and Nino were.

He'd recognized that expression. He'd seen it often enough in the mirror every day for years now.

When she'd been talking about him, Marinette had the sweetest smile on her face.

Hope had spurred his heart onwards. He tightened the grip on the flowers.

Adrien breathed easily, as the end of the stairway came into sight.


Once he reached the first floor, Adrien headed straight towards the queuing space for the upper level from the stairway on the East Tower. His ticket time for the elevator was only about ten minutes away.

He peered around, scanning for a familiar face. Intuitively, he knew it would be highly unlikely, even with the holiday crowds.

But somehow, he was in luck, as he spotted a familiar hairstyle across the way.

Marinette stood on the Skywalk, practically straight across the tower from where he was now. She leaned against the rail, peering up in wonder at the arches above.

His pulse raced, the hammering of his heart thrummed in his ears. Ecstatic, Adrien rushed around the crowds of people who gathered at the periphery, anxious to get to her side...

He rounded the curve, peeking across as often as he could to make sure she didn't move before he got there.

He hadn't exactly asked what her ticket time was; but now that he thought about it, Marinette moving over to catch the elevator suddenly felt like a very real possibility.

He moved faster. Until he saw something that had brought him to a sudden, stunned halt.

Adrien hadn't considered that Marinette would have moved into the arms of another guy in the process.

Gaping, he dazedly lurched forward.

From here, he could tell it was definitely Marinette.

It was very hard to tell just who she was hugging, especially with the poor light and distance. Even the pane of glass stood in the way.

It became all too clear once he could make out the clothes.

Luka…

Their old friend was there alone, hugging Marinette tightly.

Adrien felt the flowers start to slip from his grasp… but in his shock, he couldn't bring himself to stop them with his usual rapid reaction.

He knew hadn't been as close to his friends. Not as much as before.

Not after all his Father had done…

But he had been so, so certain that they had separated years ago…

But if that was the case, then why was Marinette was smiling sunnily, as she pulled back from the hug to gaze up at Luka?

Adrien turned, stumbling back out of her sight behind the nearest the metal beam.

Though he had avoided the elevator on the way up, he couldn't help but feel a little motion sickness when it suddenly felt like the tower began to spin around him.

He scrubbed his hand over his face as doubt ratcheted up in his mind, and he felt Plagg burrow closer beneath the layers he was wearing, in a show of comfort. Adrien's posture bent as he slumped back against the rail.

It hadn't even occurred to him that Marinette might be here for any other reason. Maybe he had been wrong all along… maybe Marinette wasn't there to meet up with him…

Maybe he had hoped so much for the girl he'd been working with to be her, that he'd somehow managed to convince himself it was—and had invented reasons for it to be.

It was just… even her words—her situation—all seemed to match up with what he knew about Marinette. With what he had thought he'd known about her history…

Maybe he'd just been fooling himself, all along.

Forlorn, Adrien peered down at the ground. Sighing he scooped up the now sad looking little bouquet. It wouldn't do to bail.

Not now.

If his partner from the mall was still some other girl, he still owed it to a friend to show up…

He'd promised after all...


Marinette had been filing away possible plans of attack as she waited. There was no sense fretting. It would all come to a head soon enough, but if she could distract herself from her anxious nerves...

Besides, this was generally a level they avoided to let as many people as possible escape to safety when any Akuma struck. The plus side was that it provided one of the best views of the structure as a whole.

She hadn't been expecting a hand to land on her shoulder. "Now there's a familiar face!"

Marinette's eyes widened, and she slowly turned around. "Luka!"

"Hey!" She smiled, more than willing to accept the hug he offered. "I wouldn't have thought I'd run into you here. It's been months, hasn't it?"

He smiled warmly. "Juleka and I were taking Mom out to dinner here at the Tower."

She stepped back, peering around. "Are Rose and Kagami here, too?"

He nodded, glancing fondly back over his shoulder. "The girls all decided to hit the restrooms in the restaurant before we all tried to catch the elevator back down."

"Did you guys just get back from Japan?" Marinette inquired.

Luka closed his eyes. "Just a few days ago, I guess? The time all seems a little fuzzy. But Kagami was really happy to see her Grandmother."

"Oh, geez," Marinette frowned, glancing fretfully down at her phone. "I really wish I could stick around and say hello to everyone…"

Luka's smile softened. "Have plans?"

Marinette winced. "A timed-ticket in fact. I'm meeting someone up on the observation deck and I really don't want to be late…"

Luka ducked back down to hug her again. "We'll see you later this week, then?"

"Count on it!"

With a final wave, Marinette raced over to the queue.

She inhaled deeply, steadying herself as she took the last elevator up.

Seeing a familiar face who had fought alongside them? It had only bolstered her courage.

She knew was ready for this. She had to be.

The elevator doors opened.

The crowd was gathered around the inside of the lower level. It wasn't a surprise, not on such a chilly night. But she only peered around for a few moments before it was clear that there wasn't anyone obviously waiting.

Her fingers grazed over the purse and the present contained within, and she squared her shoulders as she walked up the final set of stairs.

She walked around three sides of the top most level. From what she could tell, there were very few visitors who had come alone. Mostly couples and a few young families.

She'd nearly completed one circuit around the tower when she spotted blonde hair on a man standing by himself, leaning against the rail and peering out over the Parisian skies.

She beamed, striding forward with every scrap of hard won, Ladybug confidence...

At least until a very familiar blue scarf threw her for a loop.

Gasping, Marinette ducked behind the nearest wall, well out of his sight.

Her fingers fanned out over her breastbone, the dizzying euphoria swept out from under the tide of rising butterflies, leaving her with a lump in her throat.

Adrien?

She'd been prepared. Prepared for basically anything but this.

Marinette inhaled sharply. She had only just been able to get Adrien out of her mind. To focus on Chat Noir…

She closed her eyes, breathing deeply through her nose to calm herself.

She peered back around the edge of the stand, worried… watching, waiting. Her nails bit crescent moons into her palms.

In the wake of the final battle with Hawkmoth, she had already been holding a lot of guilt for her part in bringing down Hawkmoth. Only to have it all resurface all too keenly now.

Marinette ran her fingers through her hair, as the wind whipped tendrils against her face..

Most of their friends believed Adrien had suddenly pulled away, after his Father had "retired" to the countryside; rather, they'd let him pull away, without understanding why… though many of them had really been there when Hawkmoth was unmasked.

But… if Adrien was her partner, that also meant that he'd been dealing with all of this as Chat Noir. Alone.

Marinette nibbled at her lips, watching him more closely.

Adrien stepped back, gazing distantly out across the city lights, his gloved hand barely grazing the chilled metal of the rail. His jacket was drawn tightly closed against the frigid winds, as he pulled the scarf up higher to cover his ears.

She shook her head, forcing herself to focus.

She had to be sure it was truly him—truly Chat Noir.

Marinette's eyes darted around, doing a familiar sweep for inspiration. If the sweater wasn't possible to see… then that only left the phone.

Marinette tugged off her gloves to type out a quick message. 'Did you make it here okay?'

She looked back up… but he was gone.

Marinette rushed to where he'd just been standing only to come up empty.

Frantic, she glanced around, eyes wide in growing panic.


Adrien tightened the scarf around his cheeks against the growing bluster. A dizzying flurry of wet snow spiraled, winding errantly to the ground.

This was a mistake. This was where he had hope…

Where his endless affection for Ladybug had started after all.

And now… it would also be where he'd gotten his hopes up to meet Marinette… and that had been an awful misunderstanding on his part.

That was bad enough… and his friend still hadn't shown.

It was too chilly to linger. He was much too used to being up here in magical leather. The scarf had only done so much…

He decided to head back downstairs and send her an email.

Head bowed, he stepped onto the elevator for the long ride down…

"Adrien!" echoed through the air. Just before the doors closed.

He looked up, only just gazing into those lovely blue eyes before the car pulled away.

His hands shook as the car surged back down. There was hardly anyone better in Paris to know that the cars couldn't stop until they'd reached the end. Not without a genuine emergency.

The phone vibrated in his pocket. 'Did you make it here okay?'

Wincing, Adrien struggled to type back a reply. 'I think we must have just missed one another.'

His thumb hovered over the send button, as a rumbled shout rippled through the crowds.

"It's Ladybug!" One of the smaller riders, announced to the car mostly filled with tourists.

Pocketing his phone, Adrien scanned around for the nearest escape. He wanted nothing more than to get out and transform… to rush back up to Marinette, no matter what he might have seen.

But if Ladybug was here… there was a threat here too. He needed to get his partner and lure whatever it was as far away from Marinette as possible.


As soon as he got off the elevator and was able to break free of the crowd, Adrien ducked behind a beam, transforming to catch up with Ladybug.

He had barely vaulted upwards more than a few beams back up to the top when Ladybug found him.

Chat was even more shocked when Ladybug half tackle glomped him and laid a big kiss on his cheek.

He backpedaled a little, out of her grasp. Confusion furrowed his brows. "Where is the Akuma?"

Ladybug tilted her head. "What Akuma?"

Chat shook his head. "I'm sorry, Ladybug. I really need to get back up to the top of the tower."

She drew back, spotting the sheer desperation in his eyes. "What? Why?"

He peered back up to the Tower's observation deck. "She's waiting for me."

Ladybug's gaze softened. "Who, Kitty?"

"Marinette…"

Her lips curved upwards slowly, just as they did when she knew the battle was won. Beaming, she winked at him... "Well, it turns out, you're in luck..."

Slowly, Chat Noir met her gaze head on. Blinking, searching, she could practically see each of the mental gears click seamlessly into place.

"Marinette?" Chat Noir—Adrien, she corrected—breathed.

When she nodded, her own smile trembling slightly, Chat bounded in, hugging her for all he was worth.

Ladybug's smile widened, and she hugged him back—just as fiercely—balanced on her tiptoes. "I never imagined it would be you…" she whispered into his neck.

"Is that a bad thing?"

She pulled back, only just enough to plainly see his face, one hand resting just over his heart. To gaze up into his eyes. "Never, Kitty." Her fingers petting into his hair in the way she'd so often done, when he'd sought ought her comfort. Her reassurance. "Never."

He beamed, sitting down in the chair. "I'm never usually this lucky…"

"Oh, I know Kitty." She smirked… finally coming to terms with it. "That's usually my job."

Chat Noir ducked his face down, pressing the nose of his mask neatly to hers. "Maybe I could borrow a little bit of luck?"

"Purrhaps that could be arranged…" Her gloved fingertips traced lazy, comforting circles over the nape of his neck.

He flashed a smile, a sliver of gleaming white slashing through the growing night. Her only warning before he ducked a bit further, clawed gloves gently cradling her back as his lips met hers in the middle.

Ladybug breathed him in, relishing his closeness. Delighting in the soft, reverent pressure.

Until even that wasn't enough.

Chat Noir was being a little too gentle. It was clear that in his mind, he was kissing Marinette. Only, she was Ladybug, too. She had fended off, and defeated scores of villains at his side.

Determined, she stepped closer, stepping onto the metal toes of his boots to close the height gap between them.

As she nibbled at his lower lip, he practically purred.

Even more so, when she wound both her hands around his shoulders, lifting herself up even closer. Rising up on her toes, she'd reapplied herself to her mission more forcefully.

When she eventually came up for air, Chat sighed. Half-lidded amusement followed, before his head tilted against her. "You know that's going to end up on the Ladyblog."

Ladybug laughed aloud. "Honestly, I can't think of a better present for Alya..."

"Not a present for you?" Chat—Adrien—leered. "Guess I'll need a bit more practice then..."

She pressed her finger against his lips, which he promptly pressed with another sweetly, tender kiss, using only the faintest pressure.

"So you came… even though you knew it was me?" Chat whispered, a little misty eyed.

"I came because I knew it was you."

Ladybug's hand reached down, letting her fingers entwine with his.

"Ah…" Chat Noir gulped, wordlessly peering down at their joined hands. He squeezed her hand, gently pressing his forehead to hers. His soft chuckle nearly carried away on the wind. "I was here because I was so sure it was Marinette I had been working with…"

"Oh…" she breathed, eyes widening. Her tongue darted out, wetting her lips. "Oh, my gosh… We're ridiculous."

"Utterly ridiculous." He grinned, green eyes gazing directly into hers.

Ladybug groaned at his oddly nostalgic reference, bumping her free elbow against him.

That silly cat only smiled more broadly. "Honestly, I wouldn't have it any other way..."

"Me either," she mused, watching in rapt fascination as he lifted their joined hands to gently press his lips to knuckles.


They cuddled up on the tower for another hour, ignoring the cold and nestling together as close as they could.

"We probably ought to head back down." She finally murmured, shivering slightly.

"Do we have to?" Chat sighed, lips just inches from her ear. "I was just starting to get comfortable."

She snorted. "Well, if you don't want me to give you your gift…."

"You brought me a gift?" His head lifted, watching her in awe. His kitty ears perked, standing at full attention. He blinked slowly. "You've already given me a few…"

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Not that I really knew that at the time…" She shrugged, moving to stand beside him. "Of course, I might have made you something to go with those gloves I gave you."

"Oh?" He echoed.

With a wicked grin, her yo-yo shot out into the night to find someplace safe for them both to detransform.

Chat Noir followed. Just as he always did.

The roof of the Trocadero would do nicely…

The soft rush of pink and green was the only activity on the rooftop this late into the evening.

Grinning, Marinette reached into her purse, pulling out the far more subtle green wrapping paper.

He was just as slow to unwrap her present as he had been only hours before when transformed. Adrien gaped with mischievous joy when he'd spotted the ears.

Unrepentant, he tugged the hat onto his head, wrapping his arms around her again to lift her off her feet and spin her in joyous circles. "You can't ever take this one back, you know."

"I wouldn't want to…" Marinette chuckled as he set her back onto solid ground. She rose up on her toes to tap his nose. "I know it was a little on the nose," she smirked, "but I figured it was time for you to know. I just didn't figure we would have missed each other..."

"Oh, no!" Adrien grimaced, raking a leather glove into his hair. "I'd nearly forgotten…"

"What?" Marinette frowned, her hand resting upon his arm.

His hands fell to his side. "I dropped your bouquet…"

Marinette smiled fondly. "You brought me flowers?"

Disheartened, his head fell backwards. "I lost your flowers."

A silly smile lingered on her lips, as she leaned against him. Wordlessly, he mirrored her actions. "I guess it's lucky I already have a rose from you at home. Well, two actually."

"Two?"

"Mmmhmmm," Marinette smiled, tilting her head, watching as he did the mental math. "Mind if I ask what color you got me this time?"

Adrien flushed, tugging his hat a little further down over his eyes. "They were red, of course."

"Oh?" Her eyes widened, in undisguised wonder at his darkening cheeks. A shiver raced down her spine. "Were they really?"

Nodding, Adrien hugged her closer, purposely hiding his flushed cheeks. "C'mon. You must be getting cold. Let me walk you home."

She looped her arm in his, enjoying her slow walk home with the man she'd fallen for.

Three times over.


Adrien had kissed her at the door, ever the gentleman as he'd safely ushered her inside.

Marinette pulled back, pleasantly dazed at that final kiss. Even after the past hour or so, she was still not entirely ready to let him go.

At least she wasn't the only one so affected. Adrien had the silliest grin on his face as he leaned against the open doorway. "See you soon?" He whispered, pressing a furtive kiss on her forehead before he pulled away.

"Purrhaps even sooner than you think…" She countered.

"Really?" Adrien blinked.

Marinette tapped her lower lip, fond mischief lighting up her eyes. "I was thinking about setting out an extra sweets up on my balcony for any of the heroes of Paris who might be inclined to drop in."

The softest, sweetest smile curled across his lips, before he pressed them once more to her lips. "That sounds like a purrfect idea."

"I thought so," she grinned.

After he stood back from the door, Marinette raced up the stairs. She needed to quickly (and quietly) raid the kitchen, before she headed up to her bedroom for the night.

After all, it was cold outside.