[Marinette's POV]

I stand in the school courtyard, watching the crowds of chatting students leave for home.

I was in a pretty gloomy mood after what happened in the library. Adrien is so kind-hearted and sweet and genuine, he doesn't seem like the shallow type. But maybe that's why he idolises Ladybug and not me... I'm sure this will all settle down by tomorrow. I know Adrien is a good person and I'm not losing faith in my love for him.

"Hey Marinette. Ready to go?"

I turn around to see Louis smiling sweetly. His deep green eyes calm me. Such a caring gaze, it reminds me of someone...

"Yeah, let's go. I was thinking, we don't have time to explore the whole city of Paris but I would love to show you the Trocadero because I hang out there a lot with my friends and classmates, plus it's got a great view of the Eifel tower." I say.

"That sounds great." Louis replies happily.

Louis is a pretty nice guy too, I hope we can be friends. He seems so trustworthy and dependable. We talked the whole way to the Trocadero. There was never a dull moment, we just got on so naturally. It's like, even though I barely know him I feel so comfortable around him as if I've known him for some time.

"My favourite spot is up on the roof. I like to sit there and look over the city." I tell Louis. "But how about we take a look inside first? You've never been here right."

As we reach the front doors of the Trocadero, Louis skips ahead to open the door for me. He steps aside and holds it open.

"My Lady." Louis says, gesturing for me to go in.

My heart skips a beat. "W-What...did you say?"

Suddenly it hits me. The familiarity in his expression, the reason I feel so comfortable with him... It couldn't be...?

Louis becomes flustered by my reaction. He scratches his blushing face nervously. "Oh, was that too cheesy? I—I thought it would be charming."

"No...No, it wasn't cheesy. I mean it was but—but not in a bad way." I say. "I guess it just took me by surprise because it's not a very common phrase. You know, it's rare for someone to say that."

I watch Louis closely but he doesn't seem to react to my suspicions.

"Well, shall we go inside?" He says casually.

Either Louis is really good at acting or I'm losing it.

"Er, yeah." I reply.

I take Louis for a little tour around the Trocadero. I would have liked to stay up on the roof for a bit but I have to get home before dark and we still haven't gone to the Eifel tower. So Louis and I leave the Trocadero and begin our walk to the Eifel tower. We start to hear sirens wailing in the distance as we walk. The sound grows louder and louder until we find the source of it in our path. Police cars are blocking the road with an ambulance parked nearby.

"I wonder what's happened." Louis says worriedly.

"I'll be right back. I wonna check it out." I reply before jogging off.

Has someone been hurt? Akumatized?

I approach the scene to see a pile-up of three smashed cars. I jump in fright as a loud, high-pitched scream rings out from the car crash.

"Oh, shoot. Marinette I have to go!" I hear Louis shout from behind me.

Louis's hasted leave is not my concern right now. Someone must be in trouble, I have to find a place to transform.

I look around frantically only to see Cat Noir jump down out of nowhere. I slowly turn to the direction that Louis took off in...but he has disappeared. I whip round to face Cat Noir again and squint my eyes as I study him.

Louis rushed to leave once we came across the accident and then Cat Noir just happened to show up right after? Louis might not have blonde hair but he doesn't have crazy cat eyes either. Tiki did say that recognition outside the magic costume is not as simple as putting two faces together. But Louis claims to have never seen Paris before. Then again, he could have just said that as an excuse to go on a 'date' with me...

Argh, I don't know! There is equal proof for both possibilities.

Ladybug is a superhero not a detective. I think there is a girl stuck under those cars. Cat Noir is trying to lift them with his staff but it's not working. I need to help.

"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir yells, slamming his hand down on one of the cars.

The car begins to rust and dissolve away. Cat Noir quickly snatches up the girl from within just before the two other cars collapse. The crowd cheers as Cat Noir gently puts down the girl.

I let out a breath of relief. I can always count on Cat Noir.

.

I sit in my swivel chair with my elbow resting on my desk and my head in my hand as I stare at the photo of Cat Noir hanging on my wall.

"It doesn't make sense," Tiki says. "Louis only just moved to Paris."

"He could just be saying that to divert suspicion. Maybe he frequently relocates within the city to hide his identity. Or maybe he's stalking me because he knows I'm Ladybug!" I conspire.

"I think you've been hanging around Alya too much." Tiki giggles.

"Well whatever his story is, it's pretty coincidental that we ran into each other. Maybe Cat Noir was right about us being destined to be together." I say. "N-not that I want that!" I add hastily. I sigh and look over the cluster of Adrien pictures surrounding the one of Cat Noir. "I'm just saying, maybe I keep striking out with Adrien because fate has other plans..."

.

.

[Adrien's POV]

Nino and I are hanging in the school courtyard because we still have a few minutes until school starts. Marinette walks through the front doors and takes a look around before approaching us. My spirit lifts as I watch her walk towards us. It's nice to see her without Louis nearby. Speaking of him, I wonder how their little outing went yesterday afternoon. Not that I care, I'm just glad to talk to my actual friend without him floating around.

"Hey Marinette!" I greet happily.

"Have you guys seen Louis?" Marinette asks immediately.

I freeze, shocked that I didn't even get a hello.

"Uh...no, sorry." Nino answers.

"Hmm." Marinette turns and walks away.

Th-That's it? She doesn't even have time for her friends now? Marinette is usually such a kind and friendly person. She always stops to talk to people, even the people she isn't close with. Something's definitely up.

"I'll see you in class." I say to Nino before following after Marinette.

I trail her sneakily as she makes her way up to the library. I keep my distance so that Marinette doesn't think I'm stalking her—because I'm not. I'm just on a mission of curiosity to seek the truth.

I follow Marinette as she searches the library, hiding in the bookshelves to conceal myself. It is then that I hear her talking to someone. Has she found Louis? No, the voice is really quiet. I think she's on the phone with someone, probably Alya.

I press my ear against the bookshelf that separates me from Marinette.

"What do I do when I see him? Should I confront him? But what if I'm wrong, I'm going to sound crazy if I walk on up to a guy I just met and accuse him of being a superhero in disguise." Marinette whispers. "Maybe you're right...but I just can't shake it. Louis has so much in common with Cat Noir, don't you think it's a tinsie bit shady that he disappeared yesterday when we came across the car accident?"

I intake a sharp breath, trying to muffle my surprise.

Marinette sighs. "You're right, I should be getting to class. I guess this will just have to wait."

What is happening? Marinette thinks Louis is Cat Noir? Seriously, that guy?! I'm way cooler than him! I can't believe this! First he tries to take advantage of my friend and then he uses my superhero identity to swoon her! I don't think so.

I wait for Marinette to leave before rushing to class. I slide into my seat just as Ms Bustier walks through the door.

"Where were you?" Asks Nino.

I lower my voice to a hushed whisper. "You won't believe this. Marinette thinks Louis is Cat Noir."

"So you went off to eavesdrop." Nino concludes, answering his own question.

I can't believe Nino isn't reacting to this. He might be a relatively chill guy but this is ridiculous. Doesn't Marinette have a thing for Cat Noir? What if she starts dating Louis because she thinks he's me! No way am I going to let this guy take credit for my charm.

"You don't think Marinette is crushing on Louis because she thinks he's a superhero, do you?" I ask Nino worriedly.

"Nah man, Marinette isn't shallow like that." Nino says. "Besides, I don't think she's into flirts like Cat Noir.

"I don't know, Cat Noir's pretty smokin'. I don't think any girl would be able to resist if they had the chance to date him." I reply.

Nino shrugs.

Marinette was pretty keen to find Louis this morning, she must have the hots for him now. But there is no way I'm letting him take credit for my charms. I'll just have to make sure Marinette sees Cat Noir at the same time as Louis.

.

[Marinette's POV]

Tiki gave me a bit of a scold in the library this morning about getting my priorities in order. She was right though, I was almost late for class because I was looking around for Louis. I decided to put it off until the end of the day and use my spare time to work on my research project. I even worked through my lunch breaks but that was primarily because I didn't feel like dealing with the tension between Adrien and Louis. I hope Louis found some other friends to sit with.

I rush out of class as soon as the bell rings and wait outside the school. Soon the crowd of students emerge from the building with Louis among them.

"Oh, hey Marinette." Louis says. "I didn't see you today, where were you?"

"Sorry, I was studying in the library." I reply.

"Do you want to go for a walk? We could hang out in the park for a bit." Louis proposes.

"Sure!" I agree happily.

Louis and I begin walking towards the park. What should I do? I really want to talk to him about Cat Noir but I feel as though I don't have enough evidence. It's not like he would just admit it to me. I'll sound stupid if I confront him out of nowhere.

Once we reach the park, Louis and I take a seat on one of the benches.

"So, where did you run off to yesterday?" I ask, trying to pry out some information.

"I'm really sorry about that. I got a text from my mum saying she had to rush my dog to the vet. He must have eaten something poisonous. It looked pretty bad so my mum wanted me to be there in case I had to say goodbye. He's my best friend, you know." Louis tells me.

"Oh...I'm so sorry." I reply.

Do I feel sorry for Louis? Sad for his dog? Or is this...disappointment?

I guess I was really building this up. I thought I had found Cat Noir. I thought I would finally get to meet him without the mask.

No, I shouldn't just give up. That could be an excuse. Alya always tells me that everyone is a suspect until proven with absolute certainty that it is impossible, and that would only be if—

A black blur flies down from the sky and lands in front of us. The figure rises and flicks his golden hair aside, his bright green eyes locked on me.

"C-Cat Noir?" I say in surprise. "But—"

I look at Louis. He looks just as startled as I am.

Cat Noir and Louis here in front of me at the same time. This is proof that they are not the same person, but...is this just a coincidence?

"But what? I just wanted to pay a special visit to a special girl." Cat Noir bops me on the nose.

What. WHAT? Since when were Cat Noir and I so chummy? It can't be! Has he found out my secret identity?

"I don't understand the relationship here. How do you know him?" Louis questions.

Cat Noir glares down at Louis. "Everyone knows me," He leans on his staff and turns back to me with a smirk. "And Marinette here is my unconditional admirer. That's why I came here after all. I heard you were looking for me little lady, so I decided to save you the trouble by coming to you." Cat Noir purses his lips and taps his finger on his chin as if innocently confused. "That is why you're hanging around this guy isn't it? Because you thought he was me?"

Louis turns on me angrily. "Is that true? You only wanted to be friends with me because you thought I was some pretty-boy superhero?!"

"That's rude." Cat Noir says.

"That's not how it is I swear—" I try.

"I thought you were a nice, genuine girl but you're just some groupie trying to take advantage of me." Louis interrupts. "If you don't like me for who I am then don't associate with me."

I watch sadly as Louis grabs his schoolbag and storms away. This whole park scene seems familiar to me. It reminds me of when I lost my temper as Ladybug and went off at Lila in front of Adrien because I was jealous.

Adrien...

I haven't talked to him since he acted up in the library the other day. I'm in no position to judge him for his bitter attitude, I get jealous all the time and even once caused someone to get akumatized because of it. Although it's a bit of a longshot to assume Adrien was jealous. I know he's a very good friend and he's loyal so maybe he really was just unwilling to trust Louis because he didn't want me to get hurt. Either way is flattering. Adrien's concern for my wellbeing means the world to me no matter what his reasoning is.

Cat Noir's voice disrupts my thoughts, reminding me that he is still here. "Oh boy, I didn't intend to cause a fight." He apologises.

"No, it's okay. I guess it's my fault for jumping to conclusions but I honestly wanted to be friends with Louis way before I suspected he was, well, you." I answer. "Actually...how did you know I thought that?"

"I know everything." Cat Noir winks.

Heat prickles at the surface of my cheeks. Why am I blushing? I don't even understand what that means.

[Adrien's POV]

Marinette claims she wasn't hanging with Louis because she thought he was me. Why then? I guess Marinette is a pretty sociable person, she wants to be friends with everyone. I mean, there's no way she hung out with Louis because she liked him, right? He's totally not her type, they would make a terrible couple.

"So..." I say casually. "I hope I didn't ruin any kind of relationship here. You—You didn't like that guy, did you?"

Marinette laughs and waves her hand dismissively. "No, no. Not in that way."

For some reason my chest feels lighter. As if a weight has been lifted that I didn't even know was there.

"Oh Marinette!" Sings a voice.

I turn to see Louis wearing in a green skinsuit with black scales of justice on the chest. Slung round his shoulder is a black satchel from which he withdraws a magnifying glass.

"Let's see if you'll be honest with me now." He says.

"He's been akumatized!" I exclaim, readying my stance.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. I only seek the truth!" Louis holds up his magnifying glass and focuses it on Marinette. "Were you only interested in me because you thought I was Cat Noir?"

"No—ARGH!" Marinette hollers in pain.

"You can't lie to me Marinette." Louis sneers.

"Stop it!" I swing my staff at Louis but he doges it.

His control over Marinette breaks. She gasps for air and collapses to the ground. Louis grabs my arm, twists it round my back and using his free hand, points his magnifier at Marinette again.

"It won't hurt if you tell me the truth Marinette." He says.

"That's not a fair question, of course the thought of you being Cat Noir interested me a little. Who wouldn't be curious?" Marinette answers. "But I swear it's not because I'm in love with Cat Noir."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing." I pout.

Louis tightens his grip on my arm. It feels as though he's going to rip it right out of the socket.

"Arugh!" I cry out.

"Louis please stop this!" Marinette begs. "This is not who you are. Hawk Moth is manipulating you!"

"You know all about manipulation, don't you?" Louis replies. "What's the matter? I thought you wanted me to have superpowers."

"You want the truth?" Marinette says angrily. "Cat Noir may be annoying at times, and waaay too cocky for me but he's also selfless and brave, he's dependable and he cares for people—that's what makes him a hero, not his superpowers! It's who he is!"

My racing heart settles and the pain seems to ease as I listen to Marinette. Warmth rises in my chest.

"Maybe I thought you were Cat Noir because I thought you were a good person, I saw some of him in you, but the way you're acting now...You're no superhero. You don't possess even half of the compassion that Cat Noir does!" Marinette finishes.

Louis growls in rage. The hand he holds the magnifying glass in shakes. His arm drops as if he is tired. I use the opportunity to break free from his arm lock.

"I think he can only ask you one question at a time." I tell Marinette. "Run to safety, quick, while his hold on you is broken!"

I occupy Louis in combat as Marinette sprints away. I can't fight this guy alone if he gains control over me and if he does then he could ask me who my secret identity is. Ladybug better hurry up.

[Narrator's POV]

"Tiki, spots on!"

Ladybug sprints back to the park where Cat Noir is fighting Louis, aka the Seeker of Truth.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir exclaims happily. "Don't look into his magnifying glass. If he gets a hold of you he can ask you anything, even your identity!"

While Cat Noir is distracted by Ladybugs arrival, Louis kicks him to the ground. He climbs on top of Cat Noir, holds him down and shoves the magnifier in his face.

"Tell me, who are you Cat Noir? Who are you really?" Louis hisses.

Cat Noir grits his teeth but the longer he withholds the truth, the more pain sears through his body. Ladybug throws her yoyo, wrapping it around the magnifying glass and pulling it from Louis's hands. Cat Noir heaves a gasp of breath and shoves Louis off him.

"No more evil doing for you!" Ladybug smashes the magnifying glass on the ground but nothing happens. "What? The akuma's not in here!"

Louis laughs and reaches into his black satchel. "What do we have here? Perhaps this will reveal your true self." He withdraws a hand mirror. "The truth cannot hide from me. Take a look and see."

"Don't look into the mirror! If it reveals who you are inside, the reflection is bound to be your secret identity." Ladybug advices.

Louis points the mirror at Cat Noir and the glass swirls.

"No!" Cat Noir yells. "Cataclysm!" He lunges forwards, pouncing onto Louis and destroying the mirror in his deathly grip. "Argh, no akuma in this one either!"

Louis kicks Cat Noir off of him and reaches for his bag again. Ladybug quickly slings her yoyo at his wrist to stop him.

"He's pulling all these gadgets from that bag." Ladybug says. "Of course, his schoolbag! The akuma must be in there."

Ladybug yanks on her yoyo, causing Louis to topple to the ground. While he is recovering, she retracts her yoyo from him and extends it into the air.

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouts.

A spotted match box falls into Ladybug's hands.

Meanwhile, Louis has gotten up off the ground and is opening his satchel. Cat Noir swings his leg and wacks Louis's arm away from his bag. The two then begin to engage in combat.

"I can't get close enough to snatch it!" Cat Noir says, swiping at Louis's bag.

"Then we make him take it off!" Ladybug lights a match and throws it at Louis but it misses and snuffs out in the soil. "Cat Noir get out of the way, I need him to stop moving!"

"If I don't preoccupy him he'll fabricate another weapon." Cat Noir steps away from Louis despite his objections, choosing to trust Ladybug.

Louis smirks and opens his bag again but before he has a chance to reach inside, Ladybug lights another match and throws it in.

"Ouch!" Louis retracts his hand as the bag bursts into flames. He cries out in panic and struggles desperately to take it off. Louis throws the bag onto the ground and stamps out the fire. From the pile of black ash that was once his bag, flies out an akuma.

"Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug captures the akuma in her yoyo before it can get away and releases it as a white butterfly. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Ladybug throws up her matchbox and it disappears in a pop of red light. The light spreads around the park and fixes everything up, including Louis.

"What happened?" Louis asks, looking around.

"Pound it." Cat Noir holds up his fist and his ring beeps.

"We best be off. See you next time." Ladybug quickly fist bumps Cat Noir before extending her yoyo onto a nearby building and swinging away.

[Adrien's POV]

I look down at the pads on my ring. I still have time.

I extend my staff and volt myself onto the rooftops.

I should check on Marinette. It was my fault that Louis got akumatized, I have to let her know that everything is okay.

I leap from building to building, making my way to the bakery. I land on Marinette's balcony and knock on the hatch door. After a few seconds of silence, I knock again. This time the hatchet slowly opens and Marinette peeps out.

"Cat Noir? What are you doing here?" She questions, climbing onto the balcony with me.

"I wanted to make sure you got home safely." I answer.

"Oh, okay. Um...I'm safe." Marinette says, rocking on her heels awkwardly.

"Right. I guess you just left so abruptly we didn't get a chance to talk." I reply.

"...About?" Marinette says slowly.

"Oh, you know. I wanted to let you know that everything's okay now. Louis is okay."

"Well if everything's good then," Marinette turns to leave.

"Wait!" I call out, reaching out my hand desperately. I retract my outstretched arm and scratch the back of my neck awkwardly. "And...And maybe I wanted to talk about what happened in the park. I wanted to apologise, or thank you—I'm not really sure, maybe both?"

My ring beeps as another pad disappears.

"I'm not sure what you mean." Marinette replies. "Cat Noir, you should leave before you change back."

"I...I wanted to know if you meant what you said about me being a hero." I say, ignoring my miraculous. The words just seem to spill out without me even being aware that I was thinking them, but now that they have been said it seems impossible that I never noticed the yearning curiosity tugging at my heart.

Marinette stops and looks at me sincerely. "Of course I meant it. Why?"

I feel at ease, like a great need has been fulfilled. Whether I'm Cat Noir or Adrien, everyone is always raging about my looks. No one's ever talked about me the way Marinette did in the park. It was brief but I could sense the emotion, the passion in her words. This whole time I thought Marinette had the hots for me because I'm a superhero but Nino was right, she isn't shallow like that.

"Well, I think I should apologise for misunderstanding you. I've treated you like you're just some fangirl but you're not." I answer. "And secondly, I want to thank you. This whole time I've thought that my miraculous is what makes me great but you look beyond that, Marinette. You appreciate me as a person. As Paris's protector. You're more than Cat Noir's groupie, you're my friend."

Marinette seems lost for words. She just stands there looking deep into my eyes but I find her gaze calming.

My ring beeps again, interrupting the soothing silence.

"I should go. See you around!" I jump off the balcony and land on the sidewalk below just before changing back into my normal self.

"That was sickeningly sweet." Plagg says. "I take it you've learnt your lesson today about how harmful jealousy can be."

"It is true to say that jealousy harmed Louis by akumatising him but I don't see how that relates to me." I reply. "I learnt my lesson about judging too quickly. I was wrong to make assumptions about Marinette so maybe I was wrong about Louis too."

"Fine. If you're still not ready to admit your raging jealousy then whatever because it doesn't matter what your reasons were, you still acted like a douche. As long as you repent for your attitude towards Marinette and Louis then I don't care." Plagg concludes.

"Don't worry Plagg, I'm not done apologising just yet." I say.

[Marinette's POV]

"...This whole time I've thought that my miraculous is what makes me great but you look beyond that, Marinette. You appreciate me as a person. As Paris's protector. You're more than Cat Noir's groupie, you're my friend."

I'm left speechless by Cat Noir's admission. He's always joking around so whenever he says something sincere like this it catches me off guard. I just stand there silently, my heart racing. I find myself getting lost in his deep, emerald eyes.

I hear a faint beeping and before I know it, Cat Noir is making his leave. For some reason I feel as though I don't want him to go but I'm frozen in place. I can do nothing but watch sadly as he disappears from sight. Suddenly I feel detached. Abandoned, as if I wasn't yet finished with his company. I feel...slightly forlorn.

I make my way inside absentmindedly, assuming my usual seat at my desk in front of my photo wall. I stare up at my picture of Cat Noir and read over his message,

To the mewtiful Marinette,

Cat Noir thinks you're purrrfect ;)

Signed: Chat

My heart pounds longingly. Could it be that I really was paying extra attention to Louis because I thought he was Cat Noir? But...why would that be?

Plagg's words ring in my head, "Perhaps now his identity means something to you..."

"I'm sorry Marinette," Tiki says. "I know you were really hoping Louis to be Cat Noir."

"No I wasn't!" I reply. "I-I mean, hope is the wrong word. That sounds like I desperately desired to meet him—which I don't. I was just driven by curiosity, that's all.

.

[Narrator's POV]

Later that night, Ladybug and Cat Noir are patrolling the city.

"Hey Chat..." Ladybug says. "Do you think if we met outside costume we would recognise each other?"

"I don't know how I could possibly overlook such a strong character." Cat Noir replies.

"I suppose I would know immediately if I heard your puns." Ladybug giggles. "But I dunno, I sort of blend into the crowd when I'm not Ladybug."

"And I stick out of the crowd for all the wrong reasons. I'm not sure if you would ever consider my two halves to be one," Cat Noir says. "Although they are both equally awesome." He adds, flexing his muscles.

"Come on, I would recognise that arrogance from a mile away." Ladybug teases.

Cat Noir sighs. "In all seriousness, I'm not quite the same without this mask. You could say that my family is a bit uptight. Everything is proper and in order, no one steps out of line. That's why having these powers is so awesome because I can say and do whatever I want. Really let loose you know."

"It's interesting how much confidence can change a person." Ladybug says. "You say you would recognise my strong character but I'm not strong at all without my miraculous."

Cat Noir smiles up at the starry night sky. "I used to think the same thing about myself...but I met a girl today who looked beyond that. She said it's not the powers that make a hero, it's who they are as a person. That girl...her outlook on life really inspires me."

Ladybug stares at Cat Noir. Was he talking about her?

"Hmm?" She smiles cheekily. "Does the kitty have a crush?"

"W-What? No!" Cat Noir stammers.

Ladybug laughs. "Just teasing, Chatton."

Cat Noir clears his throat and composes himself. "I knew that."

Ladybug sighs a deep breath. "So, do you think we'll ever really meet?"

"Of course, my Lady." Cat Noir turns to Ladybug with a smile. "It's fate."