It was like rain. But instead of water it was tiny shards of concrete, falling down from the ceiling.

Ladybug was darting through the school, looking for trapped students. The building had suffered a lot of damage on the left side of the school. There was a gaping hole in the ceiling for starters. Plus, the foundation was unstable after Rock Man unleashed his earthquake.

Ladybug didn't expect things to go out of hand so quickly.

She raced through the school, keeping an eye out for any trapped students. Her gaze caught sight of a fellow classmate, Max, who was crouched beside a piece of fallen debris.

"Ladybug!" Max exclaimed with relief. His eyes were wide with fear. Ladybug had never seen the boy so afraid.

He frantically pointed to the heap of debris. "My friend is trapped beneath this rubble. I'm afraid he doesn't have long before his safety is compromised!"

Ladybug's heartbeat quickened. Was it Adrien? She immediately reached for her yoyo.

"Please help," Max said quickly.

"It'll be okay," Ladybug nodded firmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. She then leaned in closer to the pile of debris at an attempt to call for the trapped student. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

"Y-Yes!" the deep voice replied, his voice shaken. It was no doubt Nathanael. "Help me Ladybug!"

"I'll get you out of there! Just stay calm!" Ladybug yelled. She threw her yoyo and the string wrapped around a large chunk of rock. With a grunt, she began to pull.

Ladybug's arms screamed with effort as she began to pry the rock off Nathanael. Finally, with another grunt, the rock slid off slowly and rested in front of Ladybug. She was always astounded by her immense strength, but that was one of her physical abilities that got enhanced when she transformed.

Nathanael slowly lifted his head. His face was covered with dirt and grime. His eyes scanned his surroundings before he stepped out of the pile of debris surrounding him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he noticed the sketch pad in his hand was not damaged.

"Thank you, Ladybug," Nathanael said quietly, brushing a piece of his hair out of his face.

Ladybug was breathing heavily from the adrenaline. She smiled and nodded at the boy, grateful that he wasn't injured. "No problem. Be careful getting out, okay? I have to make sure there aren't any other trapped students."

Max and Nathanael nodded simultaneously before jogging off down a hallway to the stable side of the school so they could leave safely.

Ladybug stood up, wondering where her partner was.

As if on cue, Chat landed besides Ladybug, a grin on his face. It was very out of place considering they were on a mission to rescue trapped students, but she wasn't going to question it.

"Hello, m'lady," Chat bowed.

"Save your charm for later, kitty cat. We need to continue finding any trapped students," Ladybug said.

"Already did," Chat nodded. "Checked the entire school. Other than a few people, which I took care of, there was no one else in danger."

"Are you sure?" Ladybug said hesitantly. Her mind flashed to Adrien, Alya, and Nino. She desperately hoped they were safe.

"Yes," Chat replied. "Everyone is outside."

Ladybug immediately ran to the nearest exit and looked upon the crowd of people watching. She skipped down a few steps before stopping. Her eyes scouted for her close friends.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that Alya and Nino were safely standing together near a police car. But her heart froze.

Where was Adrien?

Chat joined Ladybug outside, his ears perked up curiously. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Chat," Ladybug choked out, grabbing his wrist. "Did you rescue Adrien Agreste?"

Chat's eyes widened as his face turned pale. He gulped before answering, a crooked smile on his face. "Uh, of course, he's standing with everyone else. Don't worry."

"I don't see him," Ladybug replied, her head snapping back towards the crowd. Her eyes flashed to Ms. Bustier, who was standing with a few of the students. If Adrien wasn't with Nino or Ms. Bustier...

Ladybug quickly leaned in closer to Chat, the blood in her veins running cold. She felt like her whole world was crashing down on her. "Did you save him or not?!"

Chat paused for a moment, his eyes unreadable. But the expression on his face was full of guilt. Ladybug's heart dropped in her chest as she feared the worst.

She sprinted past Chat and back into the building, her heart thumping rapidly. Adrien was in danger; or so she believed.

"Come back!" Chat yelled after her, his limbs feeling like jello. Guilt consumed his insides. Ladybug was risking her life for no reason because Adrien was standing beside her the whole time.

Ladybug could get hurt and Chat was going to be responsible for it.

He quickly ran behind a tree and released his transformation. Plagg came spiraling out of the ring and landed in his hands.

"What are you doing?" Plagg growled annoyingly.

"There's no way Ladybug would listen to me as Chat, so I have to do this," Adrien whispered frantically. "Hide Plagg."

He emerged from behind the tree and ran back to the crowd of onlookers. He found Alya and Nino and raced up to his friends.

"Dude!" Nino exclaimed, his head turning towards the boy. "Where the heck were you? We were worried sick."

"I was... calling my father to let him know I was safe," Adrien lied. His eyes frantically glanced up at the building, hoping Ladybug would notice him standing beside Nino.

*

"Adrien!" Ladybug yelled, running through the damaged side of the school. The floor shook uneasily beneath her. "Are you here?"

She heard a snap and looked up at the ceiling. A chunk of debris was falling towards her. She quickly jumped out of the way before it hit her.

"That was close," Ladybug breathed.

She moved past a window, the sun shining through and lighting up her surroundings. The hallway was an absolute mess. If Adrien was around there, he'd have to be trapped underneath rubble. She was about to crouch down and move some rubble when a voice called her name.

"Ladybug!"

She turned her head and looked out the window. She saw Alya waving one of her hands around in the air, the other hand holding her phone.

Ladybug glanced over at Nino who was smiling proudly, and then to the next face, which sent a wave of happiness down her spine.

Adrien!

Ladybug didn't know how he got there, but Chat was telling her the truth after all. She was so relieved Adrien was safe.

Ladybug stood on the window sill and launched herself off the building with her yoyo. She landed on the ground in front of the crowd of people, waving proudly as the onlookers erupted with cheer.

Nadja Chamack approached Ladybug, a microphone in her hand.

"Ladybug," Nadja began, a camera man over her shoulder. "That was a daring rescue you did for the city of Paris. Many lives were saved today. Tell us, why did you go back into the building if everyone was already saved? Were you doubting yourself?"

"Not at all," Ladybug smiled. Her eyes flashed to Adrien who was talking to Nino. "It never hurts to double check, though."

"Great point," Nadja replied. "Paris cannot thank you enough, Ladybug."

"And neither can I," Ladybug winked. "The police force and the citizens have been very cooperative with my efforts, and that makes my job a lot easier."

"Thank you again," Nadja nodded. She then turned back to the camera. "That concludes our quick interview with Ladybug..."

Ladybug felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around. Alya was standing there, a wide smile on her face.

"Ladybug! Do you mind if I snatch an exclusive interview with you for the Ladyblog?" Alya asked.

"Sure," Ladybug smiled.

Alya immediately pulled out her phone and pointed it at herself.

"Hey peeps!" she exclaimed. "Alya here. Today, I'm bringing you an exclusive interview with the girl herself, Ladybug!"

Alya flipped the phone around and pointed it at Ladybug. "So, we have to know. What happened to the bad guy? He kinda just ran away! Are you worried?"

Ladybug waved her hand in the air. "I'm not worried at all. Me and Chat Noir are on the case. Rock Man will be stopped!"

"Nice," Alya nodded with a smile. Then, she raised an eyebrow and looked around. "Speaking of Chat Noir, where'd he go?"

Ladybug blinked. Chat had disappeared rather suddenly. He usually stuck around until after the interviews.

"Uh, I guess he had other matters to attend to in his personal life."

"Guess so!" Alya smiled. "I also saw that you rescued a few of my classmates. Did you recognize them by any chance?"

"Psh, no way," Ladybug chuckled nervously.

"Aww," Alya mumbled. She flipped her phone around so it pointed at her again and gave a wide smile. "Well, that's all the questions I have for Ladybug today. Thanks for tuning it to the Ladyblog! And remember, stay connected!"

Alya pressed a button on her phone before tucking it back into her bag. "Thanks again! I have to go find my friend," Alya said. She looked around and narrowed her eyes. "Where is that girl..."

Ladybug widened her eyes. "U-Uh, right! See ya!" She quickly threw her yoyo in the air and soared away.

Ladybug landed behind a tree in the park which wasn't too far from the school and released her transformation. Tikki spiraled out.

"Way to go, Marinette!" the kwami exclaimed. "I knew you could handle it."

"And now I need to handle the fact that Alya is currently looking for me!" Marinette squealed quickly. She started running towards the school as Tikki hurriedly jumped into her purse.

The crowd of people had dispersed a little bit, police were still nearby in case Rock Man decided to show up again. The school looked bad now that Marinette looked at it from another standpoint. Well, the left side did anyways.

Would she have school? She hoped. That was the only time she could be with Adrien!

Marinette found Alya walking around, looking for her.

"Alya!" Marinette yelled, waving her hand in the air.

The brunette snapped her head towards Marinette and smiled.

"Girl!" Alya said, engulfing Marinette in a hug. "I was so worried!"

"So were my parents," Marinette chuckled. "So... that's why I went home to tell them I was okay!"

"Sure took you long enough," Alya said, raising an eyebrow. "And how dare you not tell me first! You need to stop doing that."

"Sorry," Marinette laughed, shrugging.

"You think we're gonna have school?" Alya asked, her voice low as they walked past Mr. Damocles.

"I hope," Marinette sighed.

"Maybe they'll move the class to the right side of the building? Ya know, where it isn't in ruins and a total safety hazard."

Marinette nodded as Alya took out her phone and waved it in the air.

"I snatched a totally awesome interview with Ladybug!" she exclaimed.

Marinette faked a gasp of surprise. She reached for the phone. "Really? Let me see!"

"Nuh uh," Alya chuckled. "Not until I upload this to the Ladyblog. Remember what happened last time?"

"You're right," Marinette laughed.

Marinette was still incredibly clumsy; that aspect about her hadn't changed. And after all these years of being Ladybug, Alya still hadn't figured it out.

Adrien, however, was a different story. The way he looked at her sometimes. The spark of recognition in his eyes that would quickly fizzle out after some contemplation. He was closer to figuring out Marinette's identity than Alya.

Would it be a bad thing if he found out? Maybe.

Marinette didn't want to endanger Adrien by him knowing her superhero pastime. That's one thing that Tikki told her when she first received the Miraculous.

To keep her friends and family safe, they couldn't know Ladybug's identity. Otherwise, Hawkmoth would use their knowledge to his advantage and blackmail Ladybug with the safety of her loved ones.

She couldn't put them in that situation.

Some days, it was hard keeping the secret from her parents. From Alya. From Adrien. But at the end of the day, she knew it had to be done. And she'd keep her secret until someone figured it out themselves.

And Adrien was close to that conclusion.

"Girl?" Alya said, her eyebrow raised. She was waving her hand in front of Marinette's face.

"Uh, yeah?" Marinette asked, snapping out of her thoughts.

"You kinda spaced for a second there."

"Oh, I was just thinking about stuff," Marinette chuckled nervously.

"If by 'stuff' you mean Adrien, because here he comes!" Alya whisper-yelled.

Marinette turned around suddenly, a cheesy smile on her face. Adrien approached her with Nino not too far behind.

"Hey Marinette," Adrien greeted, his eyes flashing over to the school. "That was crazy, huh?"

"Y-Yeah," Marinette replied. "I was lucky that Chat Noir saved me."

Adrien paused for a moment, his eyes dancing over Marinette. She gulped. Was the play on words too much? Did she already reveal her secret identity to him by using the word 'lucky'?

"Yeah," Adrien said finally, a smile warming his face. "Glad everyone made it out okay."

"Me too," Marinette nodded. She crossed her arms. "Are we still working on the project at your house?"

Adrien widened his eyes, seemingly caught off guard by the question. "Oh, uh, sure. If you want." His eyes danced over her again.

"Okay," Marinette smiled, not noticing his gaze. She pulled out her phone and checked the time. It was 11:06 a.m.

"I better go," Adrien said suddenly, checking his phone. "Nathalie is waiting for me and she probably won't be happy."

"Oh," Marinette frowned. "Sorry about that. If it's too much trouble, you can cancel the project thing at your house."

"No, it's fine," Adrien reassured her. He tucked his phone back into his pocket before waving. "See ya later."

Marinette watched him walk away, her heart fluttering. "He's so kind," she said slowly.

Alya face-palmed herself. "Oh, girl."

*

Adrien opened the car door of his limo and slid inside. His eyebrows creased as he stared out the window.

His mind flashed to Marinette. Her earrings he finally saw with his own eyes when he was talking to her outside the school. Her attitude when she's with him as Chat Noir. Of course, the hair. It all matched Ladybug.

It astounded him.

But Adrien couldn't be for sure. He needed to see it with his own eyes. He'd been formulating this idea for years. And only now had he actually put the pieces together.