Marinette's jaw dropped. "I- you're- No... you must be mistaken," she managed. "How could I be Ladybug?" Suddenly, it struck her. "Milady... Chat!"

Adrien smirked, very much enjoying the moment.

"How-? There's no way... You can't possibly..." Marinette closed her mouth, noticing Adrien's expression. "Oh shut up you crazy cat."

"I'm not saying anything," Adrien refuted, eyebrows raised. "It's rare I get to see you speechless, LB."

"Well, someone has to lead the way," Marinette told him, enjoying their banter. Her eyes darted to Adrien's hand. "Oh my... You have to get that patched up, Adrien!"

"Oh right," Adrien remembered. "Well, I'll be back." He kissed her hand and darted off into the long hallway.

Shaking her head at Adrien's retreating figure, Marinette stood patiently at the end of the hallway until she heard the expected groans of frustration. Smiling, she slowly walked into the kitchen where he sat on the floor, surrounded by cotton balls, scissors, Neosporin, and a pile of bandages.

Marinette stood over Adrien, crossing her arms knowingly.

"How the-?" Adrien glanced up at Marinette's looming figure, realization dawning in his eyes. "You knew this would happen! You- you're evil, Marinette!"

Marinette bit her lip, stifling a laugh. "I always tell you not to rush headfirst into battle," she reminded, grinning. "Looks like that applies to your normal life too." She sighed. "Come on, Adrien. You can't bandage yourself with two hands if you're bandaging one of them."

"Yeah, well not all of us contemplate every single thing we do," Adrien argued, frowning.

"Clearly." Marinette squatted next to him and picked up a few cut bandages, getting ready to wrap the finger when she saw the cut. "Jeez, how much Neosporin did you put on that?"

Adrien groaned. "I've never bandaged myself, okay?"

"Do your bodyguards handle that?" she teased, wiping off the Neosporin with a cotton ball and carefully wrapping the bandage around his finger. "There. All better."

"I don't know," Adrien smirked. "It would be much better if it had a kiss from a certain someone."

Marinette's eyes widened. Sure, she was used to Chat's flirting, but she has never heard him be so forward. Ignoring her pounding heart, she returned the smile. "In your dreams, chaton."

Before she could contemplate what was happening, Adrien had shot out, fast as lightening, and planted a kiss on Marinette's cheek. Her squeak of surprise, followed by the crimson blush that coated her cheeks, made it totally worth it.

The adorable moment was interrupted by a loud yawn from Adrien's shirt pocket and an excited squeak from Marinette's purse.

Blurs of black, green, and red shot out from both locations with familiar voices.

"Plagg!"

"Tikki?"

The two kwamis flew between Marinette and Adrien, embracing tightly. When they let go, Marinette thought she noticed tears in Tikki's eyes.

"Two thousand years, Plagg." Tikki managed. "It's been two thousand years."

A smile tugged at the corner of Plagg's mouth. "Feels like it took longer for these two idiots to figure it out."

"Plagg!" Tikki chided. "They weren't supposed to figure out in the first place!"

"Well yeah," Plagg dismissed. "But that just means I get to spend more time with my favorite kwami. Besides me, of course."

If kwamis could blush, Marinette was pretty sure Tikki would have.

"Okay should we head back," Adrien interrupted, oblivious as ever. "Alya and Nino must be wondering."

"Adrien!" Marinette chided, conspicuously gesturing to Tikki and Plagg.

"It's alright, Marinette," Tikki giggled. "Plagg and I can stay here if that's okay with you both."

Adrien nodded. "Just be careful. And don't raid all the cheese, Plagg, or I'm not giving you Camembert for a week." He gave Plagg a pointed look, which the kwami surprisingly heeded.

"Sounds good," Marinette agreed, rising and holding a hand out for Adrien.

Adrien stood up and opened the kitchen door with a dramatic flourish, grinning at Marinette's amused smile. "After you milady."

*~*~*~*~*

Marinette rolled out of bed after snoozing her alarm for the fifth time, ignoring her pounding headache. She, Adrien, Alya, and Nino had stayed up until 1am finishing the costumes and had consumed far too many energy drinks in the process.

Honestly, Marinette was surprised she had been able to wake up in the first place.

"Excited, Marinette?" Tikki chirped, flying over with the mask to Marinette's Chat Noir outfit. "It's finally Superhero Day!"

Marinette rubbed her eyes, groaning at the bright light. "Aren't you energetic today, Tikki?" she teased. "Had fun with Plagg last night?"

"Marinette!" Tikki chided, appalled.

"Sorry," she apologized, not sorry at all. "Okay, you're right, let's get ready!"

After a quick shower and breakfast, Marinette carefully changed into the intricate suit, maneuvering in the oddest ways to prevent ripping any stitched. Honestly, if she didn't have Ladybug's flexibility, she doubted she would have been able to put the suit on. The sheer number of zippers and clumsy stitching didn't help, considering they had spent far more time on Nino and Alya's suits than their own.

"I think that's it!" Marinette sighed, zipping up her suit. "Jeez, how does Adrien wear this constantly?"

Tikki laughed. "His suit is as comfortable as your Ladybug suit, thanks to the magic. A replica... I can't guarantee."

"Fair enough," Marinette agreed, grabbing her bag and pulling on her mask. Waving bye to her parents she headed out the door, wondering what to expect in a school full of Ladybugs and Chat Noirs.

*~*~*~*~*

"Woah."

The school was swarming with Ladybugs. Every few people, Marinette would see a Chat Noir, but generally it was all black and red spots. It felt odd to see so many of her classmates in replicas of her costume, and some were extremely impressive.

She wasn't surprised by Chloe's or Sabrina's, after already having seen the costumes multiple times as Ladybug. But Mylene's was incredible, down to the perfect yo-yo replica and hair ribbons. And a certain other Ladybug costume stuck out of the crowd, walking towards her with a confident gait...

"Why hello there, milady," Adrien whispered, bringing Marinette's hand to his lips. "May I just say you look extra beautiful today?"

Marinette laughed. "Isn't that a bit narcissistic?" she teased.

"It's only narcissistic if it's not true. And you know firsthand how pawsome this cat is."

Crossing her arms, Marinette groaned. "Does this mean I have to listen to your puns in civilian life too?"

"Only you," Adrien confirmed sweetly. "Besides, you know you love them- about as much as you love me."

"I'll say yes to the second one, but not the first," Marinette conceded. "Shouldn't I be making the puns today? I'm feline pretty claw-ver in this Chat suit." She placed a hand on her hip, sporting a proud smirk.

Adrien looked like he was about to faint. "Have I ever told you how much I love you?"

"I'm sure you could say it again." Marinette looked around, grinning at the number of Ladybugs and Chat Noirs strolling through the halls. "Come on, chaton, let's get to class."

"Dude!" Nino said, running over and clapping Adrien's back. "Look at all these amazing costumes."

"Oh I have to get this for the Ladyblog," Alya agreed, swinging an arm around Marinette. "What do you have to say about the sheer number of Ladybug costumes here?" she interviewed.

"Uhh," Marinette stalled, scratching her head. "It's kind of awesome, and I'm sure Ladybug would be honored. But I'm glad that so many people dressed as Chat Noir, too." She gestured to her own costume. "He's just as important as Ladybug when it comes to saving Paris."

She gave Adrien an inconspicuous wink as Alya turned the camera to the hallway. "Well said! Now let's check out some of these other costumes..."

"It's pretty nice, huh?" Adrien muttered, wrapping his arms around Marinette when Nino and Alya were out of sight. "Being honored by our whole school like this."

"It is," Marinette agreed. "I wonder how Ladybug and Chat Noir would respond to it." She suppressed a grin.

"Oh we don't have to wonder for long," Adrien teased, managing a sly smirk. "A little birdie told me they were planning to visit the school in second period."

"Is that so? Then I suppose they'd better get going."