After 27 days of waiting, I can finally write this and share it with you all! This idea is one of my favorites for identity reveals, if not my favorite. There's just something about the atmosphere that I adore.                                                                                                             -Colorado

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Out of all the classes in the world, Marinette had never expected P.E. to be one of her favorites.

Granted, she didn't always enjoy gym class. Before collège, Marinette had always been rather quiet in class. She stuck to the shadows instead of the limelight. She had friends, sure, but all of them had their own groups and Marinette didn't want to impose.

Meeting Alya had really brought her out of her shell. Now, she had a group and was the class president! She had come a long way socially, beginning to stand up for herself and hanging with people in her class.

Her achievements physically however, was all due to receiving the Ladybug miraculous. While she was still incredibly clumsy while she was Marinette, it had gotten a lot better. Her physical strength had increased a lot too, and she was able to lift heavy weights with no problem. And some of the punches and kicks she had thrown? They sometimes scared even her.

So while younger Marinette never enjoyed P.E. that much, teenage Marinette absolutely loved it. It was one of the only times she was able to show off all the progress she had made while fighting supervillains on the daily. She had to admit she acted a bit more like Ladybug than Marinette while she was in gym class. She didn't worry about her clumsiness or if Adrien was watching her while she was pummeling Kim with dodge balls.

So when M. D'Argencourt announced they would be starting their self defense unit, Marinette was excited, really excited.

"Now that akumas have become part of the normal, you all must learn how to protect yourself from a possible attack. While I have none of you ever have to go hand to hand with an akuma, it is always better to be prepared. That is why I have decided to expand the usual self defense unit we do." M. D'Argencourt explained.

"This year, you will be paired with another classmate to spar with them. They will be your partner for the entire unit and I'll select them based on multiple attributes."

An excited whisper ran throughout the room as M. D'Argencourt continued to explain. The appeal of sparring Chloe or Lila, was very appealing to Marinette.

"However! If I observe any unwarranted violence towards another student, there will be consequences. The school wants everyone to have a safe and effective time and if I think there is potential danger between two students, I will alert M. Damocles." M. D'Argencourt glanced at Chloe, before quickly looking back towards the class.

"That said, I understand that there can be accidents while you are sparring. Because of this, we will spend a week learning how to spar safely and how to defend yourself without hurting the other person. At the end of the unit, you and someone of your same skill level will spar in front of the class. This may be your partner, but it may not be. Is that clear?"

The class rang out affirmatives.

"Good. Now, I will be seeing students one-on-one to see what skill set they have to help decide what partner they should have for the unit. M. Agreste, you are up first."

Adrien nodded, and followed his fencing teacher to the mat.

"The rest of you can talk amongst yourselves." M. D'Argencourt waved over his shoulder.

Automatically, Alya grabbed Marinette's arm and dragged her to the corner of the room, taking Nino with them on the way. 

"Okay Marinette, I saw that smirk. You wanna spill?" She smirked.

"What can I say? I'm excited! And hey, maybe this will finally teach you to stop running towards attacks." Marinette said, glaring at her best friend.

"It's for the blog! I have several thousands of people who look forward to my updates, not to mention my dignity as a reporter. You don't want me to lose my pride, do you?" She sniffed.

"If it means you're going to be safe. You have been captured too many times for my liking." Nino said.

"And you haven't?" Alya shot back.

"Well, at least I didn't respond to being used as a sacrifice by asking to get an interview."

"It was how I stalled for time!"

"Yeah-huh, sure."

"Marinette, you've got to help me here!" Alya cried.

"Oh no, don't drag me into this." Marinette waved her hands around. "Besides, I'd take Nino's side anyway."

"Betrayed by my own best friend." Alya fake sobbed. "Whatever shall I do with this fate? How can I go on living knowing that she had decided to side with the enemy? I can't!" She put her hand to her forehead. "Goodbye, cruel world." She sank to the floor, sniffing.

"So dramatic." Marinette remarked.

"I'm not speaking to you, traitor." She stuck her tongue out.

"Nino and I just want to keep you safe. We worry about you, ya know."

"You really want to talk about getting too close to attacks?" Alya raised her eyebrows. "Do you remember what happened last week? I'm pretty sure you're the one who got the school talking about doing this!"

"Wait, what happened last week?" Nino asked.

"Nothing." Marinette muttered.

"Nothing my butt! This girl decides to go and knock the akuma out!" Alya accused.

"Wait, that was you? I heard about that on the news!" Nino's eyes widened.

"It was nothing really. She was about to attack her friend and I was behind her holding a pipe for science class, so I decided to swing it and it knocked her out. I didn't expect it to be that powerful, but I guess doing work for the bakery does more than I thought."

"Could you imagine getting your strength naturally like that instead of having to go to the gym? Can't relate." Alya complained.

"You two are both far more active than me."

"So how come you're the best at gym?" Nino asked.

"Luck and practice." She smirked.

"I've seen the acrobatics you do during dodgeball, I don't think that's just luck." Alya raised an eyebrow.

"What can I say?" She shrugged. "Going to the school where akuma's attack the most has its benefits." 

"Hey guys, what are we chatting about?" Adrien asked, jogging over to them.

"Marinette's acrobatics skills." Alya said.

"Ah. Makes sense." Adrien nodded. "They're very impressive."

"Thanks, Adri." Marinette smiled. "Is M. D'Argencourt done with you already?"

"I think mine was a lot shorter because he knew some of the skills I had already."

"He's your fencing instructor, right?" Alya asked.

"Yep. It's not exactly the same thing, but he already knew how agile I am."

"You and Marinette are going to be the death of us." Nino sighed.

"Hey, don't sell yourself short!" Marinette bumped shoulders with him. "I seem to remember you being in the top six when we did our final last semester."

"I guess so. Anyway, Adrien, who do you think you'll be paired with?"

"I don't know. It really doesn't matter to me, as long as it's not Chloe."

"What, you don't want to take the opportunity?" Marinette teased.

"I'm pretty sure she would only make an excuse and not fight me at all." Adrien muttered. "I wouldn't mind being paired with Kim. It'd be nice to have a challenge."

"Being paired with Alix would be fun." Marinette nodded.

"You think you can take her?" Adrien asked.

"I mean, not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm rather experienced when it comes to self defense."

Adrien hummed.

"I'm not surprised. I've heard about some of the close calls you've had with akumas."

"Yeah," Marinette scratched the back of her neck. "After my father got akumatized, I decided to look into self defense courses and taught myself."

"Your dad got akumatized?" Alya yelped. "Why didn't I hear about this?"

"It just never came up." Marinette waved it off, but that did nothing to stop her cheeks pinking. "It's not exactly something I like talking about, so..."

"Oh, I'm sorry, girl. Having a family member get akumatized really sucks." Alya said, bumping into her shoulder.

"Yeah."

"Mlle. Césaire! You are up."

"Wish me luck guys." Alya winked and walked towards the instructor. 

"I wouldn't mind getting paired with you either, Adrien." Nino said.

"Me too. It'd be so much fun if we got partnered together." Adrien grinned. "I'd teach you all sorts of insider information."

"Yeah, cuz you're such an expert on self defense." Marinette teased.

"I am, really! My father has made me take all sorts of classes. In fact, I bet I could beat anyone here in a sparring match."

"Oh yeah? Is that a threat?" Marinette cocked her hips to the side.

"No, it's a promise." Adrien's eyes narrowed.

"Fine, if you're such an expert, why don't you take me on?" Marinette smirked.

"You better be prepared to lose."

Marinette let out a laugh at Adrien's threat.

He really didn't know what he was getting into, did he? Neither did she, of course, but Marinette hadn't realized that, yet.

"I'm pretty sure that there will be only one winner, and it won't be you."

He snorted.

"We'll see about that."

It was almost cute how sure of himself he was. So confident that he would win and maybe if she was being truthful about her self defense experiences, he would. However, she paraded around the city daily and fought all sorts of monsters. Not to mention her sparring practice with Chat Noir whenever they were bored on patrol.

She would obviously be the victor.

Little did she know that Adrien was thinking the exact same thing. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"And you two both have had previous self defense and sparring practice?" M. D'Argencourt asked again.

"Yes, sir!" Adrien and Marinette chorused.

"So you two know how to be safe, but still be effective in getting your opponent down?" M. D'Argencourt narrowed his eyes at the two teens.

"Yes, sir!"

"I will be monitoring the spar, just in case." He turned his nose up.

"We wouldn't expect anything less." Marinette reassured him.

"Make this worth my time, you two. I don't want to be staying at school for some lackluster fight."

"Oh, don't worry." Adrien grinned a wild grin. "We will." 

They had somehow managed to convince M. D'Argencourt to stay after school to supervise. Could Marinette have waited until partner assignments were up? Yeah, she could, but the prospect of sweet victory was too good to pass up.

"En garde!" M. D'Argencourt called as they got onto the mat.

Marinette immediately assumed the position she did when she and Chat Noir would spar. After all, this would be just like it. She was even going up against another blonde boy. How funny how life works like that.

"Prêts?"

Marinette took a breath in and blew it out, along with any nerves. She had done this before, many times. Sure, it had been with an akuma or her partner and not Adrien, but still. She had experience and she was going to do great.

"Allez!" 

Immediately the two surged forward towards each other. Adrien, surprisingly, threw the first punch. Aiming straight for her gut, Marinette easily blocked it. Adrien's eyes widened, but quickly rebounded, going for a kick instead. Of course, she was able to dodge it.

It was almost child's play.

Marinette smirked. Now, it was her turn. She lunged for his gut, knowing she could take him down from there. He dodged, but Marinette was able to land a punch to his arm. He gritted his teeth when the blow hit.

Marinette's grin widened, knowing she got him. Adrien took this to his advantage and landed a punch straight to her gut. It didn't hurt much, that wasn't the goal, but it was enough to knock the wind out of her.

Alright, don't underestimate him. He was quick on his feet, too.

And thus, the spar truly began.

Gone was the hesitance they showed between attacks. Gone were the small worries of hurting the other. Gone was the hero in them worrying about the ethics of sparring with a civilian.

All that was left was the tantalizing taste of a sweet, sweet, victory.

Punches were thrown, kicks were made, a few of them even landed. But Marinette was surprised with how long Adrien had lasted. He had even managed to get her a few times! Before long, she was running out of breath.

How could this be happening?

She was Ladybug for Heaven's sake!

Back and forth and back and forth the fight went. Punches, kicks, blocks, it was all a blur to Marinette. She only had one goal in mind:

'Get him down.'

"I'm surprised you've lasted this long, Marinette." Adrien heaved, throwing another kick at her.

"I could say the same." She landed a punch to the chest. It did nothing. Darn his pectorals!

"Told you I was good." She took a punch to the arm, making her eyes narrow further.

"Well, guess what?" She spat out, preparing her next move.

"Hmm?"

Smirking, Marinette threw a punch at Adrien's chest, he dodged to the left, an incredibly predictable move, and Marinette kicked his legs out from underneath him.

"Woah!"

"I'm still better." She grinned, pinning him to the ground.

Adrien raised his eyebrows, grabbed her shoulders, and flipped her.

"I wouldn't be so sure."

Wrapping her arms around his leg, she turned him back, too preoccupied with the fight to notice the close proximity.

Adrien, for all his gentlemanly talents, shoved her off of him and they both stood back up.

So it began again.

'Wham!'

'Foop.'

'Thwomp!'

'Bam!'

Every kick, every punch, every throw, was a calculated move between them. Perfectly in tandem with one another. Every punch Adrien threw, every kick Marinette striked back with, it was all a dance and the battlefield was their stage.

Almost as if she knew what was happening before it happened, Adrien launched a punch at her jaw on her left, then on her right, then a kick to the waist, all one after the other. Marinette recognized the move easily, doing several flips to avoid the attacks.

Seriously, he was so predictable sometimes.

She surged forward, aiming to go for yet another kick in the stomach.

'One punch, two punch, and... kick!'

He caught her leg, and flung it to the side. She lost her balance and he nearly landed a punch to her chest, but she got his hand just in time.

He pulled this every time! Didn't he have anything new? 

Like clockwork, she threw another one of her typical moves. Two punches to the side of the head and a kick to the knees.

"Man, m'lady." He grinned. "Are you running out of ideas already?" She gritted her teeth.

Ohhh she would show that cat!

"I'm just getting started, kitty."

And the fight went on.

They had abandoned the mat at what point, she wasn't sure. All she knew was that her partner was going down.

"You're getting predictable, kitty." She sang as she dodged another one of his blows.

"You sure about that, bugaboo?" He smirked.

"Absolutely." She teased, throwing another punch. "Why would I still be here if you weren't?"

"Well, maybe you've forgotten to expect the unexpected." He said, throwing another one of his signature kicks.

"I'm waiting." She raised an eyebrow as she landed another kick.

"Okay." He threw a kick towards her center and immediately, she spun to the left to avoid it, but he was already there and grabbed her, pulling her down with him to the ground and flipping them over. "Got you." He grinned that annoyingly adorable grin of his.

"Well, I-."

'Tweet.' A whistle rang through the air, breaking the moments.

"Well, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, M. Agreste, color me impressed." M. D'Argencourt applauded as Marinette's brain slowly started to work again.

M. Agreste? But, she was fighting with Chat Noir!

... Right?

But if that was the case, why would M. D'Argencourt be there?

"But I'm afraid I promised to be somewhere soon and I need to leave, which means you two need to pack your bags and go home."

Marinette slowly turned her head up to face the blond boy above her.

It wasn't the cocky face of her partner, but the shocked face of Adrien Agreste staring back at her.

"What?" She whispered.

"Gah! I-I'm so sorry!" Adrien quickly got off of her. "I don't know what came over me, Marinette, really." He offered her his hand.

"U-um, no problem. I got carried away, too." She said carefully, her thoughts all sorts of jumbled up.

She could've sworn she was sparring with Chat Noir, he even used all of the same moves! Yet, it was Adrien Agreste who was standing in front of her. Not her partner. So, why did she confuse the two?

Well, of course they were similar and her and Adrien sparring had been nearly identical to the way her and Chat sparred, so she just got them confused. Yeah, that's all! Adrien fought and acted in a similar way to Chat Noir while fighting, it made sense that she would confuse the two! They had the same jokes and fighting styles and nicknames and-.

Wait.

Why did he-?

How did he-?

Oh.

Oh.

Marinette snapped her head to the boy so fast, she felt her neck pop. Yep, that was him alright. That was her partner. The same messy blond hair, the same sparkling green eyes, the same competitive spirit, how did she not see it before? 

He was taking a drink of water, his brows furrowed, before suddenly having a coughing fit. Ah, he was probably having a similar revelation to hers. Sure enough, his wide eyes turned to meet hers. She gave him a nervous smile and a small wave.

A grin broke out over his face as he winked and cocked his hips.

Marinette stifled her laugh. He was such a dork, sometimes.

Shaking her head, she walked over to him, texting her parents she would be staying at the school even longer. They had a lot to talk about, after all.

"Patrol?" She asked him innocently.

"Sure." He said, his grin widened. "Maybe you'll teach me some more sparring moves since I'm becoming so predictable."

Marinette snorted.

"Sure thing, kitty. You've gotta be prepared for our new unit, after all." She said, poking him in the chest.

"But of course." He picked up her hand and placed a kiss on it. "I'm counting down the minutes from when we can spar again." Marinette rolled her eyes at his antics, but she was smiling the biggest grin he'd ever seen.

The next day when they were partnered for the unit, they showed no hesitation in giving their all. After all, that was their partner they were with, there was no room for nerves between the two of them. 

They were far too close for anything trivial like that. 

And when they got top marks a few weeks later, no one was surprised.  

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This didn't turn out exactly like I had expected it to, but I still really loved writing this. It's probably going to be one of my favorites. Reveals caused by gym class are superior. That is all.                                                                                                  -Colorado