Ladybug leapt from one building to the next under a hazy purple sky, the rooftops slick with early morning dew but her enhanced abilities from the miraculous magic helped her glide across them with ease. She stopped atop one roof, crouching on it in a catlike position as she scanned the expanse of a city below her.

"Can you see him, my little Kit-Cat?"

A female voice sounded from behind Ladybug, accompanied by the familiar zip of her yo-yo.

"Don't call me that Chat," she replied, glancing to the side as the red clad hero landed next to her.

Their eyes locked for a brief moment as tough drawn to each other while they sat together beneath the slowly brightening sky, sun just peaking over the horizon.

Marinette broke the contact first, snapping her head back to focus on the city below. There was a tightening feeling in her chest that felt the same as how she used to feel when around Adrien. This was her partner Chat, a person she never before had feelings for who also currently wore her face which made her feelings slightly awkward, but still, above all else he was Adrien, the boy she couldn't help but love, and she had seen more of his body in the past week than she has ever seen of another boy in her entire life.

The past several days had been hectic to say the least, but during them her crush was the last thing on her mind. So why now? Was it because only a couple of hours ago she and Adrien had their little heart to heart?

Ladybug shook her head to clear those thoughts. Now wasn't the time for that, they had an akuma to catch.

Chat noticed the action.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, just trying to concentrate."

After their apologies Ladybug and Chat had continued to laugh and share stories throughout the night as they sat in the brilliant lights of the Eiffel Tower. Easily losing track of time they ended up chatting all night until the sky turned a lighter shade of blueish purple. That was when they sensed the akuma. After being Paris' heroes for a while they had developed something similar to a sixth sense, knowing when there's an akuma before they can see it.

The two fell silent once more as they scanned the surrounding area. Ladybug's cat ears twitched, picking up the faint sound of screams in the distance.

Though the light was still dim, Chat noticed Ladybug's body tense up.

"Where is he?"

Ladybug pointed in the direction of their school.

"Somewhere over there."

Chat grinned. "Right. After you My Lady." He gave his partner a small curtsey and waited for her to leap from the rooftop before following after her. He could have used his yo-yo and gone ahead of her as it was a faster travel method, but he was used to following behind his Ladybug and watching her back as she went. Although it was a different back now, it was the same person.

A warm smile crept onto his face as he watched his partner in front of him. This was his partner and his love, so strong and confident. Chat's smile started to falter. He wasn't anything like her, self-conscious and unable to stand up for others while in his civilian form. Maybe one day he would be worthy enough to stand next to her, no longer feeling as though he was only allowed to watch her from behind.

Chat had to stifle a giggle as he thought about the past several days. He had gone through plenty of embarrassing moments while in Marinette's body. His Lady on the other hand probably hadn't been embarrassed by anything while in his body.

"What's so funny?" Ladybug looked behind her in confusion.

Chat gave her a Chesire sized grin. "Nothing, I was thinking of something."

Before even reaching the school, the two could already locate the akuma. By then the sun had fully made its way above the horizon, lighting up the sky and Paris with its golden rays.

The akumatized victim called himself Expandor and he wore an outfit similar to that of a construction worker. His power allowed him to absorb people to become larger and stronger. By the time Ladybug and Chat had reached him he was nearly as tall as most of the buildings.

Chat was the first to leap into action, launching himself at Expandor.

"You sure are causing some big problems, aren't you!" He shouted, taking out his yo-yo and whipping it forward. He moved flung the yo-yo skillfully to it to wrap around Expandor's arm and tugging it tight.

"You're getting a lot better with that," Ladybug commented as she leaped over to stand next to her partner.

"It pleases me to hear my Kitten say that. I've been practising you know." He ended off his statement with a wink.

Ladybug felt a thump in her chest, but she didn't have time to ponder over the feelings though because Chat was suddenly flung in their air.

Expandor had yanked his arm in an attempt to free it and in turn was now swinging Chat around in the air as if he was the yo-yo.

Ladybug went back into her serious mode, taking out her baton.

'You better work!' she mentally shouted to it. She positioned and aimed the baton, willing for it to extend. The end shot out and slammed into Expandor's arm. The impact was hard enough to untie the yo-yo and send Chat flying.

'He'll be fine,' she thought as her partner was propelled through the sky.

Getting back to the battle, Ladybug leapt into the air and proceeded to beat Expandor with her baton. It felt like a waste using her weapon as though it was nothing more than a baseball bat, but she wasn't really sure what else to do with it. She preferred her yo-yo which had a multitude of uses.

"I'm back!"

Ladybug glanced to the side where Chat stood on a nearby building, leaves sticking out of his pigtailed hair.

"Nice to see you again." While distracted she accidentally extended her baton which worked in her favour as it slammed into Exandor's face. "Try finding which item the akuma is possessing."

"Right!"

Chat focused in on the enemy, trying to locate which item stood out. Expandor seemed to have gotten bored of fighting Ladybug though, turning away from her and launching his fist at Chat. Chat easily jumped out of the way in time, but that caused Expandor's boulder sized fist to smash into the building. The force of the impact caused the entire top half of the building to explode off, sending large hunks of debris in all directions.

The two heroes dodged the flying projectiles.

"This isn't good, we have to defeat him fast before he hurts someone!" Ladybug called over to her partner.

Chat nodded and continued to swing himself around Expandor looking for the object while Ladybug engaged in battle. His eyes eventually landed on Expandor's tool belt, in one of the slots was a screwdriver coloured a murky purple colour.

"His screwdriver, I think that's where the akuma is!" He shouted.

Ladybug located the screwdriver and tried to leap forward to grab it, but Expandor only had to flick his wrist to send her flying away. Chat tried to reach it as well but was also slapped away.

Chat and Ladybug pushed themselves up from the ground.

"We don't have time for this," Ladybug said, "summon Lucky Charm while I'll distract him."

Chat nodded and Ladybug dashed forward to gain the attention of Expandor. While she was doing so, Chat called upon Lucky Charm

Out of the air fell a red and black spotted can of spray paint.

"It's a can of spray paint," Chat called to Ladybug, "what should I do with it?"

"I'm" Ladybug blocked a hit from Expandor with her baton, "a little busy here. Figure something out."

"What!?" Chat was taken aback. Ladybug was always the one with the plans, not him! "He looked down at the can. "What the heck am I supposed to do with this?"

He looked back to Ladybug who was fully engaged in battle with Expandor, if he distracted her now she might get hurt.

Clenching the can in his hand, he scanned the area, and his gaze focusing in on Expandor's eyes.

Chat smirked and leapt forward. "This better work!" He called out as he made his way in front of Expandor's face. Holding out the spray can he gave it a shake and pressed down on the top. Red misty paint sprayed out all over Expandor's eyes.

The giant howled in a mixture of anger and pain, raising his arms to try and wipe at his stinging eyes.

Taking this chance, Ladybug managed to get a hold of the screwdriver and smash it. A purplish black butterfly flew out and Chat took out his yo-yo and swung it around, launching it at the akuma.

The two of them held their breath during the couple of seconds it took to purify the akuma, and when it finally flew out they both released a disappointed sigh.

Just like the butterfly sitting in Marinette's room, this one was only half white.

Ladybug quickly cupped the butterfly in her hands and waited while Chat threw the can of spray paint in the air. Millions of little butterflies exploded out of it and began swarming around the city.

They looked at each other and both let out another sigh, neither of them feeling like this situation was worthy of their signature fist bump.

"Excuse me."

Ladybug and Chat glumly looked up at a news reporter who had approached the now safe scene.

"Are you two going to fix that?"

She was pointing in the direction behind them. The duo looked to each other, confused, before looking in the direction of the lady's finger.

The building, the one Expandor had smashed, was only partly fixed. The entire top was still missing and there were chunks of it laying sprawled across the road.

They looked back to each other, this time eyes filled with panic.

"So," the news reporter asked again, "are you going to fix it?"

Her eyes were filled with confusion and expectations.

"We-we..." Chat trailed off, not sure how he was supposed to explain everything to the lady.

"We have to go!" Ladybug grabbed Chat's arm and yanked him away, using her baton to launch them into the air and away from the disappointed eyes of the public.

~.~.~.~.~

"So, what are we going to do?" Adrien and Marinette had transformed back and were currently sitting outside the gates to their school. Adrien had his eyes fixed on the ground as the horrible feeling of having failed Paris tightened his chest.

Marinette put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We just need to work harder, we'll fix all of this, don't worry."

Adrien nodded but didn't look up.

"You shouldn't worry over what you couldn't do, just how you're going to fix it in the future," Marinette continued, "for now we should focus on fixing this problem."

Adrien raised his head a little and gave her a small smile. "I guess you're right."

Marinette's cheeks flushed and she looked away.

"Anyways, we should buy a carrier for the akuma and head to class, but looking at the time we'll most definitely be late." She lowered her eyes to stare at her purse which Adrien wore. The only place they could think of putting the akuma in for the time being was in there.

Adrien gave her a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I'll take one for the team and be late for class."

"You say you're taking one for the team but you being late will go on my record, not yours," Marinette grumbled.

"Oh...right." Adrien scratched the back of his head.

"It's fine," she sighed, "don't worry about it. Just try to get back to school as quickly as possible."

"Don't worry My Lady, I will do just that." He performed a chivalrous bow to which Marinette rolled her eyes and headed towards their school.

Adrien turned and hurriedly made his way to the small store where he and Marinette had bought the bug cage for their first half purified akuma. He chose out a second cage that was identical to the one currently sitting in his room.

"Ready to go?" Tikki asked from his pouch without opening it so that the akuma couldn't fly free.

"Yeah, I just have to pay."

Adrien passed through a couple of aisles on his way to the cash, absentmindedly scanning the shelves as went by. His eyes skimmed from one item to the next. 'This really is a store that sells everything' he noted to himself as he took in all of the random knick-knacks being sold.

Finally, as he got to the end of one aisle his eyes moved across a particular item that made him do a double take. He stood there for a moment, unable to take his eyes off of the item, before slowly backing up so that he stood beside it.

He knew he had to quickly buy the bug cage and leave, but some unknown force was stopping him.

He looked left; nobody was there, right; empty as well, then his gaze traveled back to the shelf. He raised shaky hand and swallowed a nervous lump that was beginning to form in his throat.

Why was he feeling so nervous, it wasn't like he was doing anything wrong?

Adrien shook his head in an attempt to dispel the anxiety. Right, he was allowed to buy anything he wanted, France was a free country. He started to move his hand towards the shelf, but hesitated with his hand midair. His cheeks began to burn up and he anxiously looked to the left and right again to assure himself that the coast was clear.

"Adrien?"

He jumped at the sudden call from within Marinette's purse and without thinking, grabbed the item off of the shelf.

"Have you bought it yet?"

"I-in a second," his voice was shaky.

He powerwalked to the cashier as quickly as he could, whipping his head from side to side as he went and holding the item close to him in case there was anybody there.

Reaching the cashier felt like a milestone, all he had to do was pay and be out of there. Adrien let out a sigh of relief and dropped the contents in his arms onto the table.

"Hey," the female voice brought his attention to the cashier, "aren't you that girl from a couple of days ago?"

It took Adrien's brain a couple of second's for to process before he recognized the lady as the same cashier from when he and Marinette bought their first bug cage together.

"Oh, ya, nice to see you again?" His reply came out sounding more like a question, he wasn't really sure what he was supposed to say to a person he thought he would never see again.

The girl looked around a bit, then brought her attention back to him.

"I see you're not with your boyfriend today."

Adrien blushed slightly at the fact that she thought him and Marinette were in a relationship, but let her comment slide.

He shook his head. "No, he's at school."

"Shouldn't you be at school too?" The cashier gave him a teasing grin. "Playing hooky I see."

"No, no, of course not!" Adrien waved his hands in front of him. "I'm just picking up something for me and my...boyfriend."

The cashier laughed and looked at the items on the counter. Her smile immediately dropped as she focused in on one item in particular. Her head shot back up to stare at Adrien, then went back down to the items.

She picked up one of the items and looked at Adrien with concern on her face. As soon as Adrien realized what she was holding his face turned a bright shade of pink.

"Don't tell me your boyfriend is making you skip school to buy this."

Adrien turned his head to the side to avoid eye contact and squeezed his arm to try and calm himself down.

"N-no...he isn't..."

"Your boyfriend is that Agreste kid, right? I knew I recognized him from somewhere. Listen, you can't trust rich kids like him, they think they can get away with anything just because they have money."

Adrien nervously flicked his eyes to her but looked away once again when he saw her face. Being a model he was used to hearing negative remarks about himself, but he still tried to defend himself if only a little.

"He wouldn't do anything bad..." His voice came out in a nervous squeak and trailed off in the end.

"Just a couple of days ago I saw him take your wallet from you, and now he's making you buy this!" The lady argued. "You shouldn't let him walk all over you or order you around, and you definitely shouldn't let him do weird things with you," she glanced down at the item in her hand as she said that. "If he ever makes you feel uncomfortable, don't be afraid to say no."

Adrien's blush intensified and his mouth gaped open, this lady was seriously misinterpreting everything.

"Uhh..." it took him a moment to find his words, "thanksfortheadviceIhavetogotoschoolnowbye!"

He slapped down more than enough money for what he way buying, grabbed the bug carrier and his personal item from the lady's hands, then turned on his heels and ran out of the store. He continued to run for a couple of blocks until he finally let himself sow down and take a deep breath of relief.

"What was that about?"

Adrien jumped as he saw Tikki poke her head out of Marinette's purse, holding onto the akuma.

"NOTHING!" Adrien shoved his item behind his back and help out the bug carrier. "Here!"

Tikki looked up at him for a couple of seconds and it took all of his effort to make himself not look guilty. She eventually gave up and guided the akuma into the bug carrier, locking it safely in place.

"You should hurry to school," Tikki commented and Adrien nodded in reply.

He first stopped by Marinette's house, dropping off the bug carrier next to the first akuma and shoving the item he bought behind some drawers on Marinette's desk, just in case anybody came in.

With that, he left for school prepared for the lecture he would face for being an hour late.

~.~.~.~.~

I'm not dead and I haven't dropped this story! It's been what, 8 months? I'm so sorry to everyone for making you wait so long for this chapter update as life has been super busy. On a good note, this semester of school is almost over and then I'll have a little over a month off for exams and Christmas vacation where I can hopefully get a lot of writing done. I have everything planned out until the end for this story, it's just that I've been having trouble finding time to write.

As always, if you have any suggestions of funny things you think should happen just tell me in the comments and I'll see if I can add it into the story.

I hope you enjoyed this update, and have a great day!