Whoever had placed the highest position at Cloud Nine obviously had never had a boyfriend like Chat Noir, because nine was such a low number compared to where she was sitting at the moment. After he'd asked her to 'officially' be his girlfriend, the night had been full of stolen kisses and nervous giggles. This was her first real boyfriend, and she was pretty certain he was the love of her life.

The time here had done exactly what she'd wanted it to. It had cleared her mind and allowed her to see who she truly wanted: the guy standing opposite her.

The remaining couples for the Mr and Mrs Valentine Island were currently gathered backstage, Adrien giving her and Chat Noir a death glare.

Seriously, she'd never met anyone as unhinged as Adrien before. She was slightly worried he might have some kind of schizophrenia. Maybe when they get back to Paris she could ask Nino if he'd noticed anything unusual, and, if he had, why he hadn't tried to turn her away from him instead of laying down the yellow brick road for her to follow.

"We have five teams and will whittle down to three tonight." Anthoney was as enthusiastic as always, and tonight he'd come dressed for the occasion in a maroon suit and bright green pocket square. She was almost certain that he had wanted to honour their supercolours but failed epically. He had "fashion disaster" written all over him.

She had her arms wrapped around her boyfriend and her body pressed against his. His own hands rested on her lower back, dangerously close to her butt. If it had been up to her, they would've had their amazing meal, forgotten the dessert, and headed straight back to the room.

"What's the challenge?" Adrien asked, his eyes firmly placed on Chat Noir's. Anthoney's own eyes lit up to a terrifying wattage.

"Great question, Signor Agreste. Tonight will be a challenge of strength. You will need to hold your partner for as long as you can."

"I think these two should be disqualified from the competition then. How are we meant to compete against super strength?"

It was on the top of her tongue to ask him exactly who he was implying by these two, but it was quite obvious and she would just sound petty—even though obviously she was.

"We've already been through this, Adrien. 'Power down' means power down. We're just people wearing masks." The way Chat Noir had said Adrien's name sent unease straight to her gut. Something wasn't right, and as cross as she was with Adrien and his split personality, there was something deeper between her boyfriend and her old crush. Did Chat Noir know Adrien? Talk about having beef!

"Prove it!" Adrien said, his eyes glaring into them.

"How are we meant to prove it! We detransform, we reveal our identities, and that wouldn't be good for anyone," she answered.

Adrien snorted, crossing his arms over his chest and turning his head away from them. "A lie, if I ever heard one."

"Why would we lie? We're superheroes," Chat Noir said, backing her up.

"A super idiot more like."

She could feel the growl vibrating through his chest. It seemed the power down didn't cover the intense rage he was suddenly feeling towards Adrien. In a quick movement, she placed her hand over Chat Noir's chest and looked at Kagami. Maybe she could reason with her (ex) friend.

"Listen, we're here to compete fair and square. The power down leaves nothing more than quantum masking. I promise we're not cheating."

Kagami took hold of Adrien's arm, and now Ladybug was fully aware that everyone taking part in this competition was staring at them.

"I trust them," Kagami said, delicately placing a hand to Adrien's face and turning him to face her, the look of love evident between them .

Uncontrollably, a sharp stabbing pain pierced through her heart, the pain was that of a thousand needles. Chat's arm tightened around her, holding her firmly and close.

"Thank you, Kagami." She nodded. Turning them both, Kagami walked away Adrien looking behind with a stare that could implode the Earth or blow up the moon.

"That guy gives me a whole new sense of rage."

Ladybug couldn't deny how handsome her partner looked when his jaw was clenched tight and he looked like he was about to incite anarchy. She'd never been a fan of bad boys, but she was changing her opinion.

Stepping in front of him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pushing up to press a small kiss on his tight jawline. "You know, you look hot when you're angry. You get this intense smoulder, which makes me want to get you to purr."

Tearing his eyes away from where Adrien and Kagami had just headed, he looked down at her, those wild green eyes calling to her in ways they hadn't before—so personal, so knowing.

A shiver ran down the length of her spine as his fingers trailed after, causing the most delicious reaction in her heart and on her arms. The goosebumps appearing definitely had nothing to do with the weather.

The corner of his mouth twitched. "You know, I can become quite the predator when someone homes in on my own."

Her own lips mirrored his. "And am I your own?"

Shaking his head, he moved his lips closer to her ear. "You're my everything."

She couldn't stop the groan leaving her lips, so instead of embarrassing herself with a noise made for behind closed doors, she placed her mouth onto his, allowing him to swallow the illicit sound. God, he was one hell of a kisser.

Her hands trailed down his arms, and towards his waist, edging closer and closer to her new favourite part of his body.

"Are we already?" Anthoney's broken English doused them like a bucket of cold water. Damn you, Anthoney!

"Sure," Chat Noir huffed, looking as deflated as she felt. "Can I just..." he coughed, breaking the sentence and looking around. He pulled her closer to him and suddenly she knew exactly what he was about to say. His voice lowered as he bent towards Anthoney. "Would you mind just giving us one moment, per favore?"

Anthoney looked between them, his eyebrows causing him to look like he was in the middle of the most complicated equation known to man...until he worked it out. "Oh, yes...I..." He coughed before, turning on his heel and walking away.

With a deep sigh, Chat Noir chuckled, lowering his head to hers, his smile dazzling under the perfectly placed fairy lights. "What spell do you have me under, M'Lady?"

She chuckled, pressing a soft kiss on his lips. "I did warn you about the pink power up, Chaton." She dropped him a wink, before turning around and heading towards the stage. The noise of his feet pounding following behind her was a welcoming sound to her once damaged heart.

"Ladies and gentleman, we are down to five couples in our search for finding Mr and Mrs Valentine Island, however, after tonight we will be down to the final three."

Cheers and chants sounded out around the area, a mixture of 'LadyNoir' and 'Adrigami' battling for dominance. She stood at the end of the line of hopefuls, Kagami and Adrien next to them, as Chat Noir slipped behind, resting his hands on her hips.

"We've got this, Bugaboo," he said quietly, though not quiet enough that Adrien wouldn't have heard.

"The contest tonight is one of strength. One partner must hold the other for as long as possible. The last three couples standing will move onto the final round, the last couple standing in that round will be crowned the winner and will receive a wonderful date on our resort's private yacht."

The sound from the audience maximised out, and Ladybug couldn't help the excited flutter in her stomach. A date on a yacht would be amazing. She could imagine it now, cracking out her most risque bikini and laying on the front of the yacht drinking champagne with the man of her dreams. She looked up at Chat Noir, wondering if he had the same thoughts too, instead finding him in an intense stare off with Adrien.

"We have verified that Ladybug and Chat Noir have no superpowers and are only coated in quantum masking to protect their identities."

Verified my ass! She thought. They literally just had her word for it.

"So, couples, please get yourselves into position. If you drop your partner by accident or on purpose you will be eliminated." Anthoney began to make his way down the line, checking all the partnerships out and seeing if he could offer any advice.

Considering he looked as though he'd struggle to hold a small child, she didn't think he'd be much help.

"What are you thinking?" Ladybug asked, turning around to face her partner.

"I'm thinking maybe holding you in front of me would be easiest. What about you?"

She looked at Adrigami and thought about how they were positioning themselves. A piggyback. Scrunching her lips, she looked down the line at some of the others.

"Hey," Chat's voice was soft and sweet, calling her back to him. "Don't worry about them. It's just us. Me and you—together as always."

"Together," she repeated. She smiled up at him, and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"You're going down, super freaks," Félix sneered.

"Oh, wow! Did you come up with that all by yourself?" Chat Noir responded, his hands falling to her hips.

"Ready," Anthoney called out.

"Actually, I had some help..." Adrien said, a hint of a smile on his face.

"Set."

"Oh, yeah? From who?" Chat asked, bending his knees to lower to her level, ready to hoist her up onto his hips.

"Your momma."

"Go!"

The sound of an exhale came from Chat Noir, and his face turned to stone again, but this time there was more there. It seemed Adrien had hit a nerve. He lifted her up with surprising ease and power, and, if she hadn't been holding on so tightly, she was almost certain he would have yeeted her out into space.

"Oh, sorry, did I speak out of turn?" Adrien's innocence didn't fool anymore, and she turned her head to face a very unapologetic looking Adrien. Chat Noir grabbing her tighter. His face remained like stone, not a hint of anything except success.

His hands supported under her dress, cupping together and creating a chair, and keeping her modesty for her. He was holding her with so much care, yet his face only said one thing. He was undeniably seething, his eyes dark and mean.

"The great ol' Chat Noir has nothing to say? Well, isn't that interesting." Adrien laughed, and she noticed Kagami was looking uncomfortable with the sudden exchange.

"Hey," Ladybug whispered, one of her hands leaving his shoulder and stroking along the sharp outlines of his face. He didn't move. He was barely even blinking. "Kitty?"

Slowly, his eyes closed and opened, the deep, harsh green which had taken over softened into that green she adored so much. The soft landscaping of a summer's day. He looked into her eyes, and she brought her other hand up, confident he was holding her securely.

"Kitty," she said softer. "It's okay. I'm here. Come back to me." Keeping her hands on either side of his face, she moved forward, pressing her lips to his warm (slightly sweaty) forehead. The smile of his lips grew as she moved away.

"Thank you, M'Lady."

"Now, let's shut this good-for-nothing pretty boy up by winning the challenge. Are you with me?"

His eyes lit up like fireflies in the night sky. "You don't ever need to ask."

Hoisting her higher, as though she weighed nothing, he secured her more, holding her tightly into his chest and supporting her back.

"Maybe it's time for your own smack talk," Ladybug encouraged.

His eyes began to light up, igniting the burn behind the glare, a playful look of her curious little kitty.

"Oh, so you think you're strong, huh? Too bad your strength is as overrated as an actor's muscle suit."

Ladybug was positive he could do better than that. It seemed Adrien had knocked him off course more than she'd thought.

"Wow! Hit me where it hurts, why don't you?" Adrien started laughing, clearly at Chat Noir, not with him. She turned her head to look at Adrien and Kagami, pleased to see little beads of sweat coating the blond's forehead. He was struggling already.

She took the moment to think about how she felt in Chat Noir's arms, and even without the powers, he was holding her with ease. "Try again, Chaton," she whispered. "I know you can do better than that." Placing a soft kiss under his ear, she felt his smile widen.

"I've seen toddlers wrestle their way out of stronger hugs than your so-called strength."

Adrien laughed again, his voice sounding a little weaker and a little more strained than it had a moment ago. "These are getting worse. No wonder Ladybug sometimes runs you halfway across Paris. Anything to get you away from her."

His voice was faltering, as was Kagami as she began to slipdown Adrien's back. Her arms had started to straighten, her bum pointing in the direction of the floor, and she looked incredibly uncomfortable, but not as much as Adrien who looked like he was in the midst of being strangled.

Ladybug was surprised. She thought Kagami would be stronger because of all the fencing training, but her arms were locked and her face looked a lot more aggressive than usual.

The heat of the night surrounded them, and where her arms met around Chat Noir's neck was starting to become a lot more slippery thanks to the sweat. A quick look around and she noticed two of the five couples drop down to the floor, the most excruciating thuds echoed in the area as they hit the floor.

She concentrated back on Chat Noir. "Another."

Chat Noir looked at her with a glistening in his eyes before turning his head back to Adrien, Kagami now hanging just behind his knees. "Flexing those muscles is more for show than any real-world application, isn't it Adrien? Maybe next time you can try intimidating a feather before claiming you're tough."

Adrien's face shot to Chat Noir's, his arms loosening from where they held Kagami's legs.

As if in slow motion, Kagami continued her mission to the floor, sliding down his body like a fireman down a pole, landing with a rather painful thump on the floor. Part of her wanted to feel for Kagami—and even Adrien—but he'd started it. It was a matter of principle that Chat Noir and she had finished it.

Adrien stood glaring at Chat Noir, his face like a python ready to strike. To say he wasn't happy was an understatement, but her partner mirrored the exact same expression. Whatever was between them, there was certainly no love lost.