Lady Noir's POV

"Finally, there you are!" I practically scream at Mister Bug, dodging all of Mother Nature's attacks.

The ladybug lands next to me and lassos his yo-yo around the akumatized villain.

"Sorry, I... uh... had to think about something," he mumbles with his cheeks redder than his costume.

I slam my baton into the villain, causing her to fall down to the ground and we both charge towards her.

"Think? Think?! It doesn't take five minutes to think, bug brain!" I shout, sprinting to avoid Mother Nature's thorn covered vines. "I had to hold her back all by myself!"

He snickers. "Sorry Buginette..."

I freeze from shock, then get slammed in the face with a vine, throwing me backwards and slamming my back into a brick wall. I slowly slide down the wall and lay limp on the ground, trying to catch my breath. Mister Bug dashes towards me with a concerned face.

"D-Did you just call me bugi-nette?!" I choke, laying limp against the wall.

Buginette sounds dangerously similar to Marinette.

"N-No! I mean, yeah, but it's just French! Nothing more!" He quickly stutters, not acting like his usual self.

"French?!" I scoff.

"Uh, yeah! You know, when -ette is added to a noun it makes it a smaller version of that noun!"

I frown.

"I-I'm just calling you Little Bug in a cute affectionate way! N-Nothing else!" He replies, almost like he's trying to hide something.

I roll my eyes. "I'm literally not a bug anymore though. I'm a cat, thanks to your ring."

He freezes, like I just caught him.

"Enough with the chit-chat!" Screams Mother Nature, interrupting our conversation and wrapping a vine around Chat's waist, dragging him towards her.

I hear his scream, totally caught off guard, and I can't help but laugh. God, he's so pathetic at times. I just smile and dash towards the battle scene, prepping to free my partner.

"My lady, the akuma is in her bow!" He screams, caught tightly in Mother Nature's vines.

I nod confidently. Mother Nature shoots a large vine towards me at lightning speed. I flip and land on the vine, then sprint upwards towards her. I jump above her head, then whip my arm around just as I'm falling behind her, staring straight at the bow tying her hair back.

"Cataclysm!"

I slam my hand on the ribbon and clutch it tightly, watching as the velvet silk bow disintegrates into ash in my hands. I land and watch as the tiny black akuma flies upwards.

Mother Nature collapses on the ground, and her tight grasp around Mister Bug weakens. He gracefully lands, swings his yo-yo, catches the akuma, and sends the pure white butterfly on its way, with a 'miraculous Mister Bug' to finish the routine, changing everything back to how it was. We calm the victim, then send her off.

"Hey, your miraculous hasn't beeped yet," Mister Bug points out. "Do you want to talk for a sec?"

I almost deny him, but then look towards the bridge and bite my lip. Adrien isn't there. He probably ran away for safety. I sigh, and look back at Mister Bug.

I smile. "Sure, we've got a lot of catching up to do."

Mister Bug's POV

We climb up a building and sit with our legs dangling over the side, watching the sky slowly change from orange to pink to purple.

"So, uh..." I mutter, trying to find away to talk to the love of my life.

Out of the blue she places her hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. My eyes widen and my heart beat pounds against my chest. Her beautiful blue eyes stare at me, making me lose my breath.

"You haven't been acting like yourself at all today! What on earth happened, love bug?" She giggles.

Love bug. God, I love it when she calls me that.

"I just, uh, I..."

I shut my mouth. She would be furious if I told her I found out her identity. Plus, I want to get to know her more as Marinette, without looking at her as Lady Noir or Ladybug.

"... I found out I could use my lucky charm in real life without having to transform," I continue.

She nods. "Same here, but with my cataclysm. Have you noticed any side effects?"

"No," I say, shaking my head, but then freeze. "Actually, that was a lie. When I used it earlier, I felt-

"- YOU USED IT EARLIER?!" She screams.

I snicker. Yep, that's my lady.

"Yeah, but -"

"- NO BUTS, YOU BUG BRAIN!"

"Hey! You used your cataclysm too, let me point out!" I argue.

She crosses her arms and sticks her nose up in the air. "Actually, I only used it once, on pure accident."

"Well, I'm proud to tell you I have my new powers under control."

She scoffs. "Yeah, as if!"

I smirk. "Alright then, what's your favorite animal?"

"Cats?" she replies, curious.

I roll my neck, then hold my hand out in front of me. "Lucky Charm!"

Suddenly a bright pink light flashes in front of us, and a stuffed toy cat falls into my hands. I turn to face Lady Noir and hand the black kitten to her.

"For my lady," I murmur.

She gently holds the toy cat in her hand, and her cheeks heat up. She gently smiles and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

My cheeks heat up too.

"You're the reason I like cats, you know," she explains with a smile, looking down at the toy.

I lean towards her, still looking at the pink sky. "So, you really haven't been using your cataclysm?"

She shakes her head. "I'm... I'm too scared. I don't know the consequences. I don't know what will happen. Like what if-"

She gasps, turning towards me.

"-It grows!"

I look at my lady, confused. She gets on her knees and faces me, placing her hands on my cheek and gently brushing my hair to the side. Her breaths get faster, and her pupils grow small.

"It's growing on you. The dark magic - I mean. One of lines have grown towards the edges of your right eye ..." she replies in a hushed voice. "They're starting to turn red... like your suit..."

I quickly brush my hair back over my ears, and slightly covering my right eye, to get her to stop worrying.

"Do you think that the costume is trying to... grow on you?" She whispers. "Is it growing because of your lucky charms, or because of your transformations?"

I grab her arms and bring her into a tight hug. "No, my lady, I'm sure that's not it-"

"- What if your earrings are growing on you so you can't escape? Like, what if this is all Hawkmoth's plan?" She whispers into my shoulder, with tears falling down her cheeks.

"No, that's not tru-"

"- what if this happened because we transformed under the akuma's influence? I mean, we were both changed into Reflekta when we switched our miraculouses. We changed into superheroes with dark magic running through us below the skin. What if the dark magic affected us?"

I keep my mouth shut. Even I'm starting to think this might be true.

She clutches my back hard as she cries into my shoulder. "What if he's making our miraculouses grow on us? If it gets worse, he'll be able to spot us in a crowd. He could easily win if he knows our identities!"

I pull out of our hug and force her to stare at me in the eyes.

"Everything will be fine! We don't know what's happening, or why we can't switch back, but everything will be fine!" I shout, blinking back tears.

She freezes, but then leans in and hugs me tight.

"Thanks, Chat."

"You know I'm not-"

"-you will always be Chat, whether you like it or not."

I chuckle, and hold her tightly.

After a minute, we break apart and I wave goodbye. She smiles and leaves me alone up on the building by myself. I use my yo-yo and swing myself to my house, not bothering to go back to the bridge. If I know my lady, and I'm pretty sure I do, she'll want to go back home right about now.

And as soon as I land in my bedroom and de-transform, I get a text from Marinette.

Princess: hey, I'm sorry but I ran back home to stay safe from the akuma. I hope you aren't mad. See you at school tmmr!

I smile and slip my phone back into my pocket. Tikki flies out from her hiding place and greets me.

"I know that face," she giggles. "Did you find out?"

I nod and fall backwards into my bed, staring straight at the ceiling.

"Marinette is my lady," I whisper in awe.

"I bet she's not 'just a friend' now, huh?"

"Tikki!" I whine, playfully tossing a pillow towards her.

Her laughter fills the air like a melody and she flies over to me, resting on my head as I lay on my back on my bed.

"So, you knew the whole time?" I mutter, still star-stuck from my new discovery.

"It was a mess seeing how you and her would interact!" She giggles.

I roll over on my stomach and hug my pillow. I pull up a picture of Marinette on my phone and stare at her. She's so beautiful. She's courageous and smart, but most importantly, kind. She's everything you could want in a girl.

With someone as elegant and wonderful as her, I can't help but imagine what beautiful things she's doing right now...

Marinette's POV

"PLAGG, STOP TOSSING MY UNDERWEAR ACROSS MY ROOM! THOSE ARE FRESH OUT OF THE DRIER!"

"I won't stop until you give me cheese!" The tiny black kwami shouts back in a raspy voice.

I dive towards him and miss, slamming myself face first into my dresser, and falling limply to the floor. Books previously balanced on my dresser come crashing down, falling on my head. I growl and scramble up, chasing after my kwami.

"My parents already think I'm insane, you know! I've taken so much cheese from our kitchen that they think I'm going crazy!" I scream, sprinting after Plagg, who's now holding a bright neon pair of underwear in his hands. "Just give me back my underwear! Don't be gross!"

My mom suddenly opens my trap door to my bedroom and peaks her head in. "Marinette, what's going on up the-"

A pair of my freshly-cleaned underwear drops right on her head.

I can only imagine Plagg's smug face right now as he hides behind my books.

My mom stares at me in pure shock. "Marinette, are you sure you're alrig-"

"I'M PERFECTLY FINE! BYE, MOM!" I shout, pushing her back down my ladder and stomping on the trapdoor.

Plagg explodes in mischievous laughter, rolling on his back. "I'm pretty sure they think you're already insane, kid!"

He flies to my dresser and pulls out socks, and throws them at me.

"Now give me food! I'm starving!" He whines.

I growl, and continue my rampage, chasing after the tiny black kwami, trying to get my laundry back.

Eventually we calm down, both exhausted from running around my room. I collapse on my bed, panting heavily. Plagg just laughs.

"I can't believe you had all of that energy to run around, even after your akuma battle with Mister Bug. Impressive," Plagg remarks.

"Yeah. He acted different today, by the way. He actually stuttered, believe it or not. Mister Bug stuttered," I laugh.

Plagg rolls his eyes. "Leave it to my kid to act like an idiot in front of his crush."

I giggle.

"Hey, have you been using your powers lately? Have you noticed anything different?" Plagg asks suddently.

I sit up in bed, and look around. "Actually, I haven't used my power in civilian form since the akuma battle at school."

"You wanna try?" Plagg suggests.

I hesitate, but then nod.

I climb down my ladder from my bed and walk over to my notebook. I tear out a piece of paper, and rest it on my table.

"Cataclysm," I mutter, touching the paper, turning it into ash.

I wait a second, and I'm surprised when nothing happens. I just simply sigh and shake my head.

"Guess nothing happened," I reply to Plagg.

He freezes, and looks at my hand.

"Take another guess, kid."

I look down at my hand with the ring on my finger and gasp. The dark magic has grown even more. Dark black lines crawl down my hand, past my knuckle.

"I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen," I whisper quietly with my face gone pale.

"So, your theory is true then," Plagg comments. "Basically any time you use your miraculous, whether it's transforming or using your cataclysm, the dark magic coming from your ring grows."

I slowly nod, terrified. "This happened because we transformed while under the influence of an akuma. The dark magic from the akuma itself was trapped in the ring."

"How are you going to hide it?" Plagg mutters.

I sigh and place my hands over my knees, pondering. I glance at my desk, and my first aid kit greets me back.

"I'll wrap a bandage around my finger, at least, for now. That'll cover up the dark lines coming from my ring until they reach my knuckle,"

"You know that's not gonna last long, right? You're gonna need another strategy soon," Plagg remarks, flying upside down.

I sigh. "I don't have much of a choice."

heyyy!! sorry for not posting yesterday i was at a sleepover

oh!! also, sorry about the short chapter. the next one will be longer.

make sure to send screen shots of typos to my instagram (chats_lady)

AND PRESS THAT STAR BABEY!!¡!¡!!