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Marinette arrived at the park, heading in the direction of the bench. She mentally cheered, trying to encourage herself without backing out or having second thoughts. Sure, she may stumble over her words, trip over a tree root (again), or do something that'll make her look weird. Yet, her optimism fought off all that paranoia.

   "I can do this! I am a brave, strong, and fierce woman warrior! If I can handle Chloe and Lila, I can handle talking to a golden god of sunshine," Marinette said to herself, earning a raised eyebrow from a passerby.

   The bluenette spotted the bench ahead, seeing Adrien patiently waiting and reading through the notes with a smile. Marinette's heart rate spiked the moment those emerald eyes shifted away from the papers to her. Adrien's smiled widened and gave a cheery wave.

   Suddenly, all her courage, strength, and ferociousness flew out the window. Marinette now felt cowardly, weak in the knees, and as feisty as a tame puppy. Fortunately, her feet continued forward instead of retreating.

   "I have all my notes organized so it'll be easier to follow along and understand the lesson better," Adrien said, patting the empty seat next to him to welcome her. Marinette sat down and slipped her book bag off to sit on the ground.

   "Y-You didn't have to-to do that. I'm sure I will underst-stand them perfectly fine," she replied, proud of herself for merely stuttering. Adrien shrugged and handed over his notes for her to copy.

"Nonsense, think of it as...me thanking you," the blonde said, earning a confused look from the bluenette.

"Thank me for what?" Marinette asked, unable to recall anything she has done to deserve such praise. She really only guided him to some of the classes they had together. Marinette is sure anyone else could have helped Adrien out if he needed it. Honestly, it is no big deal in the bluenette's eyes.

"Just for being there for me," Adrien answered softly. Marinette can hear the multiple meanings behind his genuine words. She grew silent, a warm feeling bubbling in her chest again and nodded her head. If she spoke, she knew only gibberish would be the only thing said.

Marinette copied down the notes while continuing to chat with Adrien. It felt more right and natural talking with him than Luka. In a sense, it's like they've known each other all their whole lives. When in actuality, it's only been a little over a year.

"After I left the store, this weirdly parkour black cat jumped me and somehow stole my Camembert cheese out from my bag. So, I chased him down," Adrien told his story.

"You chased down an alley cat just for some cheese? You could have just went back into the store and bought more," Marinette explained, raising an eyebrow.

"In hindsight, it wasn't my brightest moment and it eventually leads to that," Adrien replied, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, "Then, I found that cat again, saw it being abused by two jerks, found out it had a mate, took the two cats to the vet, found out the red cat is going to have babies and took them home without my guardian knowing. I didn't want Plagg out on the streets with a hurt foot."

"Plagg?" Marinette questioned, "Wait, the red cat is going to have kittens? Can I see them when they are born?"

"That's what I named him," Adrien answered, "Also, who knows when those kittens are going to be born. It could be another month and those two cats will be long gone before-"

Adrien felt his phone vibrate and checked it. A message from the Gorilla popped up on his screen. The blonde read the message before his eyes widened in surprise.

"...or, they could be coming right now."

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"They're so cute!" Tikki squealed, eyes glimmering in wonder and a never-ending smile adorning her face.

Before Adrien and Marinette left for the Gorilla'a apartment to see the kittens, Marinette asked if she could bring Tikki along. Adrien didn't see any reason why Tikki couldn't come along and gladly agreed. When they arrived, the Gorilla had to immediately leave for his new job and didn't want to leave the cats alone.

Now, the two teens and seven-year-old are fawning over the newborns. Plagg sat next to his mate, who is laying on her side and sleeping. Their four kittens are drinking their mother's milk, softly mewling away.

"Looks like the three black ones are males and the red runt of the litter is female," Marinette pointed out, kneeling next to her half-sister.

"Can I name one? Pretty please!" Tikki begged, "I'm a really really good name giver!"

"Sure, you can name them all if you want. Except, I already named Plagg," Adrien said, earning a look from the said elder black cat.

"You haven't named the mama cat?" Tikki questioned, looking at the elder red cat.

"No, I couldn't think of a good-fitting name for her," Adrien admitted. Tikki hummed in thought, eyeing the kittens. She inspected each of their features, noticing a couple of differences. The redheaded girl turned to the biggest kitten first.

   "I think I'll name you...Chat Noir!" Tikki chirped, resulting in Adrien and Marinette perking up at the familiar name.

   "That's...an interesting name. How did you think of it?" Marinette asked a little too quickly. The seven-year-old tilted her head towards Marinette in confusion.

   "Because he's a black cat. Duh," Tikki sassily answered as if it is obvious (which it is). Marinette nodded, thinking Tikki had found the many letters from "Chat Noir" she kept in a box or reading it in her diary.

   Tikki moved to the next black kitten with white paws, "You can be Rouge."

   "Oh!" she added, continuing to the smallest black cat with some white on its head and tipped his tail, "and your name can be Camembert!"

   Adrien nearly snorted while Plagg sharply looked at the blonde unamused.  Marinette merely smiled, shaking her head a bit amused by the name.

   Adrien had told the story of how he met the cats to Tikki on the way to the apartment. The little girl couldn't stop laughing at the cheese part (especially the part when Adrien chased down Plagg).

   Tikki looked at the last kitten, the runt of the litter and the only red kitten, "Cookie, your name is definitely going to be Cookie."

"So, Chat Noir, Rouge, Camembert, and Cookie," Marinette listed, pointing to each kitten to their name.

"Don't forget, Tikki," Tikki informed, pointing at the mama cat.

"You're naming her Tikki?" Adrien questioned, earning a nod from the young girl.

"Yeah, she's a lucky girl," Tikki said, gently and looked at the two teens, "She has everything she needs—a beautiful family. Even if they do live on the street, she'll be their lucky charm to guide them to good things like you, Adrien!"

Adrien is stunned with astonishment, not expecting to get such a sweet compliment from this seven-year-old. His shock melted into joy. The blonde only knew a limited amount about kids, reviewing several negative and positive things online. In the short time he's known Tikki, none of those negative comments showed (except for the sassy part).

"You know..." Adrien started, unable to look at the girls and shyly scratching the side of his cheek, "...I think that's a great name. It's...a fitting name for the both of you."

"I agree," Marinette piped in, giving her half-sister a side hug.

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Sabine stood in their home's kitchen making supper when the front door opened. Marinette and Tikki walked in talking before the teen noticed the woman. The air between the niece and aunt is still pretty thick. Yet, it slowly started getting thinner at the end of the break.

"Welcome back," Sabine greeted, trying to begin some form of conversation. She hates how quiet a room gets every time she walks in. Sabine wishes everything can go back to normal but knew that things will never be the same again.

   "Hi," Marinette awkwardly replied, giving a little wave, "What's for supper?"

   "Chicken, rice, and cooked carrots," Sabine answered, "It'll be done shortly."

   "Okay," Marinette replied before heading up to her room. Tikki headed over to the living to continue to play with her toys.

   Marinette sighed once the trap door is fully closed. She headed over to her desk's chair, sitting down. So much has happened over break and it is nice to have a breather.

   Yet, it only could last so long.

   "Marinette!"

   The bluenette screamed in fright, falling off her chair and landing on the floor. She scurried to her feet, frantically searching for the voice and raised her arms into a "ready to fight" stance.

   "Who said that?" Marinette asked, still unable to find the person.

   "Uh, girl? Turn around."

   The bluenette turned to her monitor to see Alya's face on her screen. Marinette's face flushed in embarrassment before returning to her seat. She awkwardly cleared her voice, "O-Oh...hi, Alya. Is there something you need?"

   Alya shook her head, rolling her eyes. Then, her features turned serious, "There's something I wanted to discuss with you...and apologize for not giving you my notes."

"Okay, what did you want to discuss?" The bluenette asked before narrowing her eyes at her best friend, "If this is about Lila-"

It took merely a moment for Alya's features to morph from reporter mode into a weird confirming look. Marinette sighed. She really isn't in the mood to hear Alya rant again about how Lila is some sort of legend when she's really a myth.

"Hear me out," Alya urged, "Trust me, you're going to want to get in on this too."

"Fine, what's so "amazing" about Lila this time?" Marinette monotonously asked, frowning. Alya grabbed her phone and typed on it for a moment. Marinette's device alerted her of a message. She picked it up, wondering why Alya video called if she was just going to text her something. Yet, the bluenette understood why once opening the message and seeing the picture.

Bluebell eyes widened in shock but not in disbelief. Marinette wouldn't go as far as to say she isn't surprised Lila lied again but that she'd take it this far for attention. How desperate is she for popularity and attention?

Either way, this is an all new level of low, especially with this sort of topic. Teenage pregnancy should be taken seriously, not as a joke or a faux. Then, she one-ups it to say it's a celebrity's baby—Adrien's! Marinette still can't believe how her entire class fell for it so easily.

"They're starstruck," Marinette reminded herself, "Even though everything that comes out of that fox's mouth is a lie, she makes it believable like she has actually experienced the things she says."

Marinette scoffed in disgust. Alya nodded in agreement before feeling her face fall in guilt. Sure, the ombré-haired teen is glad she finally sees the truth but it is Marinette who knew all along. She tried to tell everyone but nobody believed her, not even Alya.

Alya was too caught up in something that never existed. As a reporter—a person who is supposed to seek the truth—she felt shameful for not researching any further than words out of someone's mouth.

"I want to deeply apologize to you, Marinette," Alya genuinely said, messing with a nearby notepad filled with rubbish information. She tossed the notepad into a trash can under her desk without hesitation.

"You were telling the truth this entire time but I still fell for it," she continued, shamefully, "I want to be a reporter when I grow up but I jump to conclusions way too fast. Maybe, I should stop before I get ahead of myself to the point I actually get into trouble."

"Alya," Marinette finally spoke, not liking how much this is eating away at Alya, "You're an amazing reporter. Yes, you do jump to conclusions. But, you're great at writing interesting topics, brave enough to dive into anything dangerous just to get answers, and have this curiously enthusiastic energy that makes people want to know more."

Alya still seemed unsure but smiled.

"You know what, it's my dream to be a reporter. I shouldn't give up on it so easily. So, I'm going to work on stopping my bad habits and do better. Patience was never my strong suit but if it'll give me the truth, it's worth improving," Alya decided, determinedly and feeling a bit better.

Marinette's glad to see the fire returning to her friend's eyes, burning brighter than ever. She knows Alya will be the best at her job and she'll always have support from her family to her fans.

"This scoop will be my first in starting anew," Alya said, "We can let this tyrant continue her reign of lies any longer. It's time to kicked Lila off her throne and tell everyone the truth. That's why I need your help and my recent associate."

"Associate?" Marinette questioned.

"Alix," Alya answered, "She's the one who helped me see the errors of my way. Anyway, are you in?"

Marinette hesitated. She would've definitely been on board if it isn't for the fact that retaliation is never the answer. Yes, Lila is evil. Yet, wouldn't it be even worse if Marinette suddenly starts fighting back.

"Uh oh, you're thinking. Which means, you're going weak on me," Alya stated, earning her best friend's confused attention.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She asked.

"I probably shouldn't assume this, but is Lila bullying you in some way? Like, threats, blackmail or something," Alya listed, worriedly. Marinette kept silent, knowing she's a terrible liar. This time, it is Marinette giving a weird confirming look.

"Exactly. If Lila's bullying you, I'm not going to let that stand any longer and help you burn that witch to the stake. She needs to be stopped before this gets any more out of hand than it needs too," Alya explained, "I wasn't there in your time of need, let me help you now."

"This could ruin her life," Marinette argued.

"She ruined her own life the moment she decided to lie for attention," Alya retorted, "I think she's already cross too many lines."

The bluenette thought over it for a bit longer before slowly beginning to nod. Why is she even defending Lila? Alya's right. Lila has already done so much. Why not get some revenge?

"Alright, I'm in."

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