"Miraculous Mr Bug."

Mr Bug was standing not too far from Marinette's balcony. After Rena returned with the akuma, he called for Tikki to transform him and summoned his 'Lucky Charm'. One throw in the air later and everything was Miraculously back to normal.

"So, Mr Bug, have you had a fun afternoon?"

Adrien glared at Alya, she must have been joking right. His afternoon consisted of a reenactment of Marinette's favourite film; High School Musical, including a full duetted version of 'Breaking Free'. (Adrien would never admit to this, but he fully let his inner Troy shine). Then Marinette proclaimed her love for him, then Chat Noir, then him again, before wondering where her pizza was and passing out.

She slept for a good fifteen minutes on his lap whilst he read her latest interview in a teen magazine. Who knew Ladybug liked to go on day trips to IKEA? He always thought she just needed additional storage. He then moved her to lay her on the couch, propping her up by a pillow or two.

Calling off their transformations in Marinette's room they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchenette.

"So where is she now?" Alya asked.

"She passed out on the sofa about an hour ago." Adrien replied, as he grabbed a cookie from the side, and tossed it to Tikki to recharge.

"Have Tom and Sabine been up?"

"Sabine dropped us off some cookies and wanted to discuss with me what happened last night?" His arm reached up and to the back of his neck, his face showing a rather wonderful shade of pink. "I don't think she was too happy about me staying here without being informed beforehand."

"Well she better get used to it. You and their precious daughter will be doing more than sleeping up there in less than a month." Alya fed Trixx, dropping Adrien a wink.

His face blushed and he wasn't sure where to look. He was still getting used to the fact he'd been making out regularly with his old school friend/recent crush, who he also died for without any consideration, and who threw him off tall buildings. That mixed with how nervous she'd been around him in college just confused his emotions.

He knows he always called her their 'everyday Ladybug' but he never actually expected her to be Ladybug. Well he had the suspicion a couple of times, but she'd tricked him. She'd tricked him well.

"Har har," Adrien said, sarcastically. He looked down at his watch. It had been four hours. "We better wake her up, it's time for her next painkillers. Plagg." He called out.

Nothing.

"Plagg?" He called again to no response.

Suddenly he remembered something the kwami had questioned earlier.

"Do you think we get the same buzz as the holder?"

Tikki had been disgusted that he'd even thought about that, after all he was the God of Destruction, he couldn't just fly free without his care for inhibition.

Running to the table, he searched for Marinette's tablets. Finding them hidden under the magazine he was reading before he went to meet Alya, he noticed that four were missing in total.

"Adrien, we have a problem," Alya came running until the lounge, phone held aloft, Tikki and Trixx following behind.

"It wouldn't have anything to do with a certain Lady Noire, would it?" Adrien asked, eyes firmly on the foil packet in his hand.

"How did you guess?" Alya responded. He held up the packet and Alya gasped.

"It looks like Plagg wanted to test his theory?"

Tikki squealed, dropping the cookie on the floor.

•••••

20 minutes earlier ...

Marinette woke herself up whimpering. The pain in her leg had suddenly increased tenfold, so she guessed her pain killers had worn off. Wow, what a trip she went on with those. Her memories were all a little confused but she was almost certain Adrien had brought her a pizza. Did he strip as well? No, no, she certainly would have remembered that joy.

"Look who's back with us." Marinette looked at the table to see the mischievous black kwami sitting in a box of Camembert, a ring swinging around his paw.

"Plagg? Why are you here? Where's Tikki?"

"Mr Bug has taken over your day shift. There was an akuma alert and you weren't exactly in the best of states to be swinging around Paris. Especially with what happened last night?"

Marinette placed her hands over her face and screamed. She really was the worst Ladybug ever! Chat must be so disappointing with her, she can't even stick to her own rules.

"Is Chat ok? He must think I'm the worst Ladybug in history?"

Plagg burst out laughing

"Far from it, Purrincess."

Marinette flushed at the endearment, before she was struck with something with equal effect of a lightning bolt.

"Does he know who I am?"

"It's not my place to say." He turned his head and looked out the window.

"Oh no, oh no," she'd messed up, she'd messed up big time. She knew she shouldn't have said she was in Nice. "Plagg, pass me those tablets, please?"

Plagg flew over and grabbed hold of the codeine, passing them back to Marinette.

"You know, I always wondered if they would affect me if you transformed." He said it so casually Marinette didn't even think of it as a worrying idea.

"We could always try it." She shrugged.

She popped one of the pills into her hand and looked at it. Was one enough? When she took the two earlier the pain completely disappeared, and nothing that bad happened? Right?

"Are you only taking one, will that be enough?" Plagg asked.

Marinette stared at the pill again in her hand. Two couldn't be that bad right? A sharp pain shot through her leg making her wince. Without any hesitation she placed two in her mouth and swallowed them down with water.

"Good girl," Plagg commented, causing Marinette to laugh.

"You know, Tikki told me she could protect my leg whilst transformed. Can you do the same?"

"For you, Pigtails, anything."

•••••

Alya and Adrien sat on the couch watching the news, both waiting for their kwami's to finish an extra snack. They were going to need it, as currently, standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower, was Lady Noire calling out to Papillon.

"I've had enough, I'm getting married in a couple of weeks and I want to take you down before I officially become 'Lady Noir'.. So come on Papillon, if you think you're the greatest villain Paris has ever had, bring it on! I've taken down the other two, I can take you down too."

Adrien rubbed his hands over his face and called on his transformation. It was one thing calling Papillon out, but to do with the wrong kwami, that was a whole other level of stupidness. Plus, she'd just announced to Paris they were getting married.

Oh, Marinette!

"Your wife has a death wish." Alya said, bring Trixx into her necklace.

"I'm going to kill Plagg." Mr Bug pulled out his yo-yo and began to ping the other heroes asking them to stand on rooftops around Paris, before heading towards Marinette's room and accessing the Miracle box. Unfortunately, because he wasn't a guardian, he couldn't have direct access to the miracle box so he'd manually have to take them. Luckily, from the earlier battle there are still holders out there to sprint straight into action.

"What are you going to do?" Rena asked, now fully in costume, flute at the ready.

"Save her ass, it's obvious Papillon will attack, she's an easy target at the moment. What was she thinking?"

"I don't think this was completely her idea, the blame needs to be split here."

"You're right," he sighed, "I shouldn't have left her."

Rena looked at him gobsmacked.

"No, you idiot. I mean your furry friend."

"Plagg?"

"Yes, Plagg! Now come on, you go and join Nino, Ryuko and Pegasus, I'll find the others to hand out the Miraculous." Mr Bug handed them over to Rena before she noticed a particular one missing.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Rena said.

Mr Bug shrugged and looked away shyly, kicking one foot against the floor.

"You do realise they haven't been together since they were fourteen, and she called him by your name multiple times."

The snake Miraculous was missing, and one thing they would most certainly need was a second chance.

"I'll fuse the two together, I've done it before." Mr Bug replied.

"I don't think so. Your job is to get your own Miraculous back. If we're going into the endgame we need Ladybug and Chat Noir, not Mr Bug and Lady Noire."

A sudden explosion pulled the heroes up onto the balcony. They looked over to see a mist cover the Eiffel Tower and a black blob on a pole moving away through Paris' smoke filled skies.

"I can't believe this is how it's going to end." Mr Bug exclaimed as he swung out his yo-yo.

"Oh well, at least it won't be your father this time, sunshine."

And Rena was right, Papillon wasn't his father. This time it was his cousin.