With Dark Cupid and his new accomplice looking for Ladybug, the heroine herself was still hiding in Le Grand Paris's lobby, but had one thing to take care of before going back out to fight.

"You gotta get out of here. Your friend Kim has been turned into Dark Cupid and I don't know what he'll do if he finds you here." Ladybug warned Chloé and Sabrina, hoping that they would clear out and get to safety.

"Moi? But how could he possibly have a vendetta against me?" Chloé questioned the heroine, clearly not remembering what she had done to Kim earlier.

"Who doesn't?" Ladybug muttered to herself, not having enough patience to deal with Chloé's lies and behavior. But she didn't have much choice after the heiress came over and wrapped her arm around Ladybug's shoulders, keeping her from leaving.

"Duh! It's because of this. Everyone would love to get their hands on it." Chloé remarked, pointing to the poster of Adrien just outside the hotel and leaving Ladybug surprised by the sight of it. "That's Adrien, a super hot and rich guy in my class! He's hot for me of course." the blonde brat explained, thinking Ladybug wasn't familiar with the famous model.

"Not according to the poem." Ladybug remarked under her breath, tired of Chloé's lying before Sabrina pushed herself between them.

"It's alive!" Sabrina cried as she pointed at the poster of Adrien as the poster as it began to seemingly walk into the hotel, the two non-superheroes running back to their hiding place.

While Ladybug quickly stood at the ready, the poster came through the lobby door and from behind it emerged Dark Cupid, who flew into the air above the girls. The evil cherub then started to fire his arrows at Sabrina and Chloé, forcing Ladybug to deflect them with her yo-yo by using the weapon as a shield. After a few arrows, Ladybug lowered her shield and ran towards Dark Cupid, leaping into the air and landing on the akuma before springboarding off of him to land on the ground behind him. After she landed, the spotted heroine grabbed Chloé with her yo-yo, wrapping the heiress in the cord and dragging her towards herself.

"Daddy!" Chloé shrieked as she was dragged out of the hotel by the retreating Ladybug, soon pulled back to her feet and freed from the yo-yo.

"Run, Chloé, run!" Ladybug shouted to the blonde brat, Chloé following the order and running away with Sabrina; who had escaped Dark Cupid's fire, following behind. Ladybug was looking to follow too, but she was stopped by Chat Noir when he dropped down from above and stood in front of the red heroine.

"Well, well, Ladybug." Chat Noir greeted the spotted hero in a mocking tone, resting his staff along his shoulders while Dark Cupid flew above them in his pursuit of Chloé.

"I don't want to fight you, Chat Noir. You're my friend!" Ladybug warned the feline, her yo-yo held tight in her hand in the event she needed to defend herself from her partner. Despite the training they had received, Ladybug was still having a little trouble in her close combat attacks when going against Chat Noir. Needless to say, she was worried.

"Ugh, that friendliness. It's so revolting. You are definitely not and have not ever been my friend!" Chat Noir snarled, pacing the ground as he lazily twirled his staff behind him before driving it into the ground in his hate-filled rant.

Following that, Ladybug started to spin her yo-yo into a shield before Chat Noir leapt into the air with help from his staff, swinging his staff directly at Ladybug. Fortunately for her, she dodged it by using her yo-yo to pull herself onto a lamppost next to her, making Chat Noir pierce the ground instead. Seeing that Ladybug had evaded him, Chat Noir looked up just in time to see the red heroine jump onto the roof and run away, the hero in black now pursuing her. The chase continued across the rooftops, with Chat Noir trying to hit Ladybug with his staff any chance he could.

"You are a coward, you know that right? You're running away from me instead of facing me like a true hero!" the feline hero shouted at his prey, running on all fours.

"It's not cowardly. It's a smart tactic." Ladybug called back, jumping over a gap in the rooftop path before she kept running.

"Like it's a smart tactic for you to use me as a human shield!?" Chat Noir shouted as he kept chasing her, jumping over the same gap with a flip through the air for dramatic flare.

"I've never once wanted to do that! You're the one that is always insistent on protecting me!" Ladybug protested as she ran, still trying to keep ahead of her possessed partner.

"But you've never stopped me, have you?!" Chat Noir angrily questioned her before throwing his staff at her, the weapon flying right at the back of Ladybug's head before she felt its presence.

"You never gave me a chance to stop you!" Ladybug yelled back as she turned to catch the staff, only to throw it back at her partner for him to play fetch and buy her some more time to get away.

"If the mighty Ladybug really cared, you would have found a way! The only explanation is that you don't and haven't cared about me since the day we met!" Chat Noir growled as he went back for his staff, fortunately only needing to go back a building or two to retrieve his staff and continue the chase.

"I do care about you, kitty! More than you could possibly know!" Ladybug cried out as she wiped a few stray tears leaking from her eyes, hurt by his words as she kept running on the rooftops.

"LIAR!" Chat Noir bellowed, now increasing his running to be nipping at her heels as the chase continued.

But after a few more buildings, Ladybug found herself at the end of their path, having to stop herself from falling off and heading to the ground below. With the rooftops now at an end, Ladybug had no choice but to stand her ground and use her yo-yo to grab Chat Noir's staff to keep him from attacking her and try to pull him towards her.

"Why are you so full of hate, Chat Noir?!" Ladybug questioned her possessed partner, Chat Noir managing to hold his ground despite her pulling and not moving from his spot.

"Because hate conquers all!" Chat Noir declared, a manic look in his eyes that left Ladybug unsettled.

"I hate to burst your bubble, but hate doesn't conquer all. Love does!" Ladybug argued, still trying to pull Chat Noir towards her. But it was at that moment, that she remembered what Miss Bustier and Rose said earlier in class about love, giving her a crazy idea

"You're just buying time! Fight!" Chat Noir yelled, followed by him breaking his staff in two to release the grip Ladybug's yo-yo had on his weapon. But all that did was let Ladybug retract her weapon and put it back on her hip, which she took in stride to enact her plan.

"I'll do better than that." Ladybug remarked after she put her yo-yo away, a smirk appearing on her lips before she started advancing on the hero in black.

"Huh?" Chat Noir wondered aloud, only to start backing away as Ladybug walked up to him.

"Come on, kitty kitty, just a peck..." Ladybug said to the feline as she walked towards his retreating form, soon trying to kiss him. But due to Chat Noir backing away a little bit quicker and jumping away, she missed. "Dang it! So close!" the spotted heroine muttered to herself in frustration, followed by her following after him as he kept back away from her, now in worry.

"Get back, you savage!" Chat Noir fearfully exclaimed after he reached the edge of the roof, trying to hold his ground but ultimately turning tail and running away from her.

"Here, kitty kitty kitty! Come here!" Ladybug called out as she ran after Chat Noir, the chase between them spanning across the rooftops as she tried to catch him and break the spell.

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While Ladybug was trying to break the spell on Chat Noir, Dark Cupid was flying above the streets of Paris after spotting Chloé running away from him.

"You can't outrun me, Chloé!" Dark Cupid called out to the escaping girl, taunting Chloé from above.

But while the heiress was trying to escape Dark Cupid, she rounded a corner on a city block and failed to see a flower stand in her path due to her keeping her eye on the akuma. As a result, Chloé crashed into the stand, getting covered in the pitted soil as she tumbled to the ground in front of several surrounding civilians.

"Help!" Chloé pleaded as she looked up at the civilians, only for them to see Dark Cupid coming towards the scene and run away as fast as they could. Now wondering why they ran away, Chloé picked herself up and turned to see Dark Cupid hovering behind her, his bow drawn and aimed at her.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Chloé. Now you'll get what you deserve." Dark Cupid declared, ready to fire the arrow at the blonde brat.

"MY HAIR!" Chloé suddenly whined, stopping Dark Cupid from firing the arrow as he stared at her in shock and surprise. "There is nothing worse in this world than a bad hair day!" the blonde brat exclaimed as she rose to her feet.

"First, Ladybug wrinkles my new jacket, second, you totally ruined my hair!" Chloé complained, having had enough of being thrown around that day. "Just go ahead and just change me already! This day can't get any worse." the blonde brat relented, throwing her arms wide open and giving Dark Cupid an easy target. But to her surprise, he didn't take the shot.

"I don't need to waste this arrow on you. Your heart is so dark and shriveled that there's no room for love." Dark Cupid realized as he put the arrow back in his quiver, followed by him laughing at the blonde before he flew away, leaving Chloé in shock due to his words.

"Ugh! How dare you talk to me like that?" Chloé yelled at the retreating akuma, running after him before she suddenly bumped into Sabrina, falling to the ground again. "Why are you just standing there? Help me up!" the heiress demanded the redhead, only to look up and see Sabrina's lips were now black. She had been hit by Dark Cupid!!

"Ha! Do you think I'd help someone as stuck up as you?" Sabrina mocked Chloé, quickly pulling her phone out of her pocket and taking a picture of Chloé's current appearance. "Wait till everyone gets a load of this!" the bespeckled girl remarked, unknowingly repeating Chloé's earlier words to Kim before running away with a cackle.

"Ughhh... this is just perfect." Chloé groaned as her head lowered to the ground, realizing that this was karma for what she had done that day.

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A ways away from where Chloé had fallen, Chat Noir was still being chased by Ladybug up on the rooftops. But when they had reached the front of the Agreste Mansion, Ladybug finally caught up to her rogue partner and threw her yo-yo at Chat Noir's leg while mid-leap in the air. The weapon was then tied around the feline's ankle before Ladybug tugged back on it, forcing Chat Noir to drop towards the ground, his staff escaping his hand before he was quickly tied to a lamppost. With her possessed partner now unable to get away, Ladybug perched herself on top of the lamppost and lowered herself to Chat Noir, hanging upside down in front of the now frightened feline.

"No, NO!" Chat Noir exclaimed when he saw Ladybug in front of him, now trying to break free from his binds.

"Don't worry, I'm not looking forward to it either." Ladybug tiredly assured, followed by her leaning closer to Chat Noir so she could kiss him. But her efforts were resisted when Chat Noir leaned away from her attempts, dodging the pecks before Ladybug decided to grab ahold of his nose to prevent him from dodging anymore. "I can't believe I'm doing this. Jim's going to have a field day if this gets out." the spotted heroine muttered to herself, a little annoyed that her first kiss wouldn't be with Adrien instead of being used to save her partner.

But regardless of how she felt about the situation, Ladybug leaned in towards a whimpering Chat Noir and tried to kiss him again. Seconds before she could, however, one of Dark Cupid's arrows appeared between them and prompted a surprised Ladybug to quickly right herself before dropping to the ground. While Dark Cupid drew closer, he fired more arrows at Ladybug, forcing her to retract her yo-yo and release Chat Noir in the process of dodging the volley sent her way. Now freed, Chat Noir retrieved his fallen staff and joined back up with Dark Cupid in front of the free-standing fountain while Ladybug retreated behind one of the surrounding trees.

"How are you gonna fight both of us now, bug eyes?" Chat Noir taunted the hiding superheroine, he and Dark Cupid fist-bumping each other before the hero in black called on his... "Cataclysm!" the feline shouted, summoning his powers with a manic grin.

"I've often wondered what would happen if I used my Cataclysm on someone." Chat Noir admitted aloud with a smirk, looking at the bubbling power in his hand in thought. But while Chat Noir and Dark Cupid waited for Ladybug to come out and fight them, the heroine in red decided to fight fire with fire and call upon her...

"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug proclaimed, calling on her powers and receiving..."A candy apple? What am I supposed to do with this?" the spotted hero wondered to herself when the object landed in her hand, unsure of how it would be helpful.

"Think, Ladybug..." Ladybug muttered before peeking out from behind the tree to look around and come up with a plan. No sooner than she did, the fountain, Chat Noir's ring and Dark Cupid's brooch were highlighted within her mind's eye, causing the gears in her brain to work overtime. "Got it!" the red heroine exclaimed when she had her plan, quickly coming out of her hiding place with her yo-yo at the ready.

"I've got a Valentine's gift for you!" Ladybug taunted her foes, spinning her yo-yo into a shield just as Chat Noir and Dark Cupid both charged at her.

The akuma took Ladybug's left while Chat Noir took the right, Dark Cupid firing his arrows at her as he glided through the air. With the new volley of arrows, Ladybug used her yo-yo to protect herself from all sides as Dark Cupid flew around her to try and find an opening, only to stop and fly higher into the air. Thinking she could finally catch a break, the heroine in red still kept her eyes on the akuma and failed to see Chat Noir trying to strike at her from behind. Fortunately for Ladybug, she had spotted him advancing in the corner of her eye and managed to evade Chat Noir's Cataclysm by limboing just before he could use it on her.

After Chat Noir had passed by Ladybug, she righted herself and grabbed him by his belt, pulling him back towards her before using him as a springboard to fly into the air. While she flew through the sky, Ladybug passed by the hovering Dark Cupid and threw her Lucky Charm at the evil cherub's head, the candy apple sticking to him. In response, Dark Cupid pulled the candy apple off of him while Ladybug sailed towards the statue on top of the fountain, only to see that the Lucky Charm was stuck to his hand now.

"Looks like you've got yourself in a sticky situation!" Ladybug slyly remarked after she landed on the statue, watching as Dark Cupid removed the candy apple from his hand and tried to shoot an arrow at her. Unfortunately for him, the akuma's hand got stuck to the bow and prevented him from firing the projectile at his enemy.

"Ladybug!!" Dark Cupid roared in frustration, only for Ladybug to jump down from the fountain statue and land on one of the decorative sphinxes near the bottom.

"And now, for the pussy-cat!" Ladybug said, watching as Chat Noir fully recovered from her earlier jumping on him before he stood back onto his feet with a snarl.

Wasting no more time, Chat Noir pounced toward Ladybug with a yell, forcing the red heroine to jump to another one of the decorative sphinxes as he landed on the one she was previously on. Chat Noir repeated the action and forced Ladybug to jump clear from the fountain altogether, leaving her open for him to pounce on top of her, sending them both to the ground. After a fair bit of rolling, the two of them ended up with Chat Noir crouching on top of Ladybug and pinning her to the ground with his Cataclysm at the ready to use.

"Chat Noir, her Miraculous!" Dark Cupid demanded as he flew to the ground, landing in front of the fountain.

"With pleasure!" Chat Noir replied, focusing on Ladybug while Dark Cupid washed his hands clean of the stickiness from the candy apple in the fountain. "Finally, I'll find out who you are, Ladybug!" the hero in black declared, using his free hand to touch Ladybug's earrings and making her nervous.

"Your little secret will be out of the bag!" Chat Noir exclaimed. But before Chat Noir can even start taking her earrings out, Ladybug uses the opening presented to her and grabs his face, pulling him in to kiss him.

If you'd later ask Ladybug why she took so long to break away from Chat Noir instead of just giving him a peck, she would deny it with a passion that she enjoyed it. But regardless of how long the two heroes were kissing, the spell was broken a second after Ladybug finally pulled away, Chat Noir's black lip stain dissolving in a flurry of bubbles.

"Huh? Wh-what am I doing here?" Chat Noir questioned after letting Ladybug out from under him and looking around to see he was not where he previously was. But Ladybug didn't give him much more processing time as she stood back onto her feet and grabbed Chat Noir's hand, lifting him onto her shoulders and carrying him.

"No time! The quiver pin, Chat Noir! Now!" Ladybug explained before she threw Chat Noir at Dark Cupid, making the poor feline scream as he sailed through the air and landed right on top of the akuma. "Grab it! Grab the pin!" the heroine in red yelled, watching as Chat Noir accidentally destroyed the sash with his Cataclysm after knocking the evil cherub to the ground.

"No!" Dark Cupid cried when he saw that his pin was left vulnerable, only having a second to try and grab it before Chat Noir took the pin off of him.

"Sorry, I'm going to need that." Chat Noir said to the akuma, turning his attention back to his partner. "Happy Valentine's Day!" the hero in black cheered, throwing the quiver pin to Ladybug and prompting her to catch it.

"Awww, you shouldn't have..." Ladybug squealed in fake joy, followed by her letting the jeweled pin drop to the ground "Whoops!" the spotted heroine cried in false despair before she stomped on the pin to release the akuma, letting the corrupted insect fly into the air.

"No more evildoing for you, little akuma." Ladybug exclaimed as she opened her yo-yo to reveal the sparkling pool of cleansing energy inside of it. "Time to de-evilize!" the heroine in red shouted before she threw her yo-yo toward the akuma, catching it in her yo-yo.

"Gotcha!" Ladybug cheered when the yo-yo was back in her hands. A second later, she released the purified akuma, setting the white butterfly free. "Bye, bye little butterfly," the spotted heroine said as the butterfly flew away, right before throwing the Lucky Charm up into the air.

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug cried out, summoning the cleansing cure and the magic ladybugs. Immediately, the damage done by Dark Cupid was reversed, releasing the couples affected by the akuma's hate arrows from its spell and snapping out anyone else put under the spell too. This also included snapping Alya out of the trance as she was about to cut a picture of her and Marinette in half and bringing Sabrina back from her scribbling on Chloé's framed Adrien poster.

However, the cure was unable to restore the framed piece of paper, leading Chloé to sob in despair at the sight of the now-ruined poster. The last thing to be restored to normal was Kim, who was quickly transformed back to his normal self and left confused as to why he was not at the Pont des Arts bridge... until he saw Ladybug and Chat Noir nearby.

"Pound it!" Ladybug & Chat Noir cheered as they fist-bumped each other, just seconds before Ladybug's Miraculous beeped its first warning.

"Oops! Gotta run!" Ladybug exclaimed, quickly turning to find a place to hide.

"Wait, Ladybug!" Chat Noir called out to Ladybug, stopping her in her tracks before she turned to face him. "I gotta tell you something." the feline began, hoping to finally tell Ladybug his true feelings for her.

"Look, Chat Noir... about the kiss...I had to break the spell, or..." Ladybug stammered, not sure of how to explain herself.

"Kiss? What kiss?" Chat Noir questioned, revealing that he didn't remember what had happened just moments ago... much to Ladybug's relief. "No, I just wanted to say..." the hero in black continued, only for the beep of his Miraculous to interrupt him.

"You might want to watch out, Chat Noir. Your ring is flashing." Ladybug warned, grateful for the escape from the conversation presented to her just as her own Miraculous beeped in a warning.

"Yours too!" Chat Noir pointed out, causing Ladybug to laugh at their situation.

"We're about to turn into pumpkins, and I'd rather not see that." Ladybug quipped, a smile on her face due to her relief before she turned to leave. "I'll see you later, kitty." the spotted heroine farewelled, triggering the both of them to run away in opposite directions to find places to transform back to normal.

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Meanwhile in Hawkmoth's lair... let's just say that the resident terrorist was not happy with having the Miraculous so close in his possession, only to be thwarted yet again.

"Grrr... blasted Ladybug! Blasted Valentine's Day!" Hawkmoth shouted in anguish as the lair window closed up, leaving him and his multiple remaining butterflies in darkness yet again. But despite his most recent defeat, it wouldn't stop him from trying again at a later date... as usual.

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A while later at the Place des Vosges park, Marinette had just arrived when she saw the postman appearing to open the mailbox full of letters. But instead of going over to retrieve her letter to Adrien, Marinette just watched him from the corner of the park's gate entrance.

"Hey, here's your chance to get your card back!" Tikki exclaimed from Marinette's purse, poking her head out and bringing her holder's attention to her.

"Yeah. But that was before..." Marinette began, leaving Tikki to look up at her in confusion as she turned away from the park entrance and abandoned her observation of the mailman.

"Before what? Tell me!" Tikki begged, wanting to know what Marinette had to say.

"I realized that even with all this hate everywhere, love still wins. But if I wanna win over Adrien, he needs to know the truth about how I feel." Marinette explained, revealing that she was going to take the risk and let Adrien discover her feelings for him.

"Ah! This is a big day!" Tikki cheered, happy that Marinette was taking such a big step. With that, Marinette headed back home to rest after the long day she had... only to realize that she might have not signed the card after she stretched herself onto her chaise.

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Meanwhile, in the Agreste Mansion, Adrien returned home after the fight and was greeted by Plagg recounting what had happened. But he excluded the kiss and instead focused on when Chat Noir was rude to Ladybug.

"Can you believe all the horrible thoughtless things you said to Ladybug!?" Plagg laughed as Adrien mopily trudged over to his bed, the black kwami eating a piece of Camembert after he retold the earlier events. But Adrien was not as amused as his kwami... if anything he was appalled by his unconscious actions.

"You think it's funny, huh? Ugh!" Adrien groaned in despair, landing face-first on his bed as he began moping about his chances of being with Ladybug now thrown into the trash.

"What's the big deal?" Plagg questioned, floating above his holder and not understanding why Adrien was so upset about earlier. "You weren't even yourself when you did this, and she knows it! Besides, you've got so many cards from all these lady fans of yours! Take your pick!" the small flying cat encouraged as he flew to the stack of aforementioned cards that Placide I.T. had brought up, trying to cheer Adrien up before he started digging through the cards.

But as Plagg dug through the cards, he came across Marinette's heart-shaped one and tiredly tossed the card to Adrien while he was still face down on his bed. However, when he felt the air shift around the card as it landed next to his head, Adrien opened his previously closed eyes and saw the card, further left surprised when he opened it to read it.

"Whoa, hold up! Someone answered my poem? But I threw it away!" Adrien exclaimed, rising from his bed in surprise and sitting up before he started to read the poem. " 'Your hair shines like the sun, your eyes are gorgeous green, I look at you and wonder about your innermost thoughts and dreams. Yes, your Valentine I will be, our love will be so true, together for eternity, my heart belongs to you.' " the blonde read aloud while Plagg flew to his side, Adrien gasping in shock, surprise and flattery after reading the poem.

"Ugh! Well, anyone who writes as sickeningly sweet as you must be your soulmate." Plagg groaned, finding the piece of literature too sweet for his tastes... even after having hopeless romantics for all of his holders throughout history. You'd think he'd be used to it by now.

"But it isn't signed..." Adrien observed after looking at the bottom of the card, disappointed that he didn't know how had given him such a thoughtful poem.

Seconds later, a ladybug flew into the room and landed on the card, surprising Adrien with its presence before it flew away again. Left in awe by the little beetle, Adiren got up from his bed and followed the ladybug to the window, stopping to watch it fly away in wonder.

"Do you think it could have come from Ladybug, Plagg?" the model wondered, swooning as he leaned against his window and sank to the floor, all while Plagg watched him in exasperation.

"Oh, please." Plagg remarked, finding Adrien's behavior a little over the top for an unsigned card. But unbeknownst to either the kwami or boy, they had no idea how right Adrien's guess had been.

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After Marinette had realized that she might have not signed the letter to Adrien, she immediately called Alya over to tell her the news. Needless to say, when the two girls met up in Marinette's room, Alya spared no mercy in interrogating the designer about when she wrote the letter earlier.

"What do you mean, you don't remember? Did you sign the card or not?" Alya questioned Marinette, standing behind the pigtailed girl as she tried to recall if she had.

"I don't know! The ladybug came along while I was writing, then you were yapping about your blog, and then... It's all a blur!" Marinette exclaimed, admitting to not remembering if she had at all. "In any case, I think it's safe to say that I didn't sign it." the red-tipped-haired girl decided, immediately causing Alya to laugh hysterically at the news.

"I don't believe you! The girl didn't even sign it!" Alya crowed, her voice high due to her laughter. "I love you and all, but sometimes you seriously bug me! You know that right?" the reporter asked, triggering the both of them to laugh at the turn of events.

'Yet another love confession attempt down the figurative drain.' Marinette gloomily thought to herself amid her laughter, disappointed in her inability to tell Adrien how she felt.

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(Time Skip)

A while after Alya had come to Marinette's house, the reporter left and Marinette proceeded with her usual routine before night would come around. Despite the earlier events of the day, Marinette had planned to head down to Stone Arc to see if Styx had gotten the Gaggletacks in... seeing as she had a hunch on a possible Changeling. So she had to wait for night to come to sneak out when her parents were asleep, which would make sure Marinette didn't need to be extra careful in sneaking out. During that time, she had her usual video call with Jim and Toby, who were still recovering from their introduction to NotEnrique and were struggling to sneak him to Trollmarket. After the botched babysitting job Jim had done, the Nuñez's became very protective of their youngest child and barely left him alone anymore. However, that didn't stop them from trying to get the proof needed to convince Vendel about the bridge, much to Marinette's fondness for their tenacity.

But when her parents finally went to bed, Marinette quietly climbed up to her balcony and transformed into Ladybug, soon swinging over to Notre Dame. The trek to the iconic area wasn't very long since Marinette's house was across from Notre Dame, so Ladybug arrived rather quickly. Upon landing next to the alcove hiding Stone Arc's entrance, Ladybug pulled out her Horngazel and opened the door to the hidden city, climbing down the stairs towards it. After she reached the bottom and began making her trek towards Styx's stall, she was intrigued to find the city buzzing with activity and yet not Nox at his stall when passing by. Taking note of that detail, Ladybug continued on and soon arrived at Styx's stall, seeing the familiar white-skinned Troll carrying a box of her wares to the front.

"Hello, Styx!" Ladybug greeted the shopkeeper, causing Styx to look up from her task to see Ladybug coming toward her.

"Well, well well, if it isn't one of my favorite customers. How are you, Ladybug?" Styx asked, setting the box in her arms onto the counter with a smile.

"Doing... good, thanks for asking." Ladybug hesitantly replied, looking off to the side as she spoke. However, despite her words, Styx could tell something was wrong... but decided to let her bring it up if she wanted to.

"So what brings you this time?" Styx questioned as she placed her hands on the shop front countertop, leaning over it towards the spotted heroine.

"Sorry to say that this isn't a social visit. I'm here to see if you have the Gaggeltacks in stock." Ladybug explained, earning a smirk and an amused nod from the shopkeeper.

"You truly are the embodiment of your Miraculous, seeing as they came in just this morning." Styx reported, happy to share the news and causing a relieved smile to appear on Ladybug's face.

"Really? That's great!" Ladybug cheered, grateful for the news and to find that her visit wasn't in vain.

"They're in the back for safekeeping. Come on in." Styx said as she gestured for Ladybug to come with her, leading them both into her shop. But as she walked in, Ladybug soon saw that Maray wasn't inside the shop.

"Where's Maray? She's usually with you." Ladybug asked, curious to not see the little Troll girl anywhere in sight while Styx entered the back room to get the Gaggletacks.

"She's asleep at home. Wednesdays are the only times I come in for the nighttime business hours, and I usually manage by myself." Styx explained from the back room, her voice carrying through the open door while Ladybug arrived in the center of the shop to wait.

"Good to know for future reference." Ladybug admitted, filing away the new tidbit for later use.

"Indeed." Styx agreed, followed by her coming out of the back room with a wooden chest in her hands and waving her hand to summon a table to appear in front of Ladybug. Once the table was in place, Styx placed the chest onto the table and placed her hands on the sides of it while Ladybug took a step forward. "And here they are. Fresh from Scotland's Trollmarket." the white-skinned Troll declared, which only seemed to leave Ladybug confused by the news.

"Scotland? Why not Heartstone?" Ladybug asked, intrigued by the origin of the relics.

"Eh, Gut said 'No' when I asked him to send two over to me. So I had to go to someone else." Styx replied, a tired tone filling her voice as she opened the chest to reveal the pair of Gaggletacks lying on a bed of velvet fabric. "In any case, my supplier in Scotland is more reliable for these relics." the shopkeeper admitted, all while Ladybug smiled at the sight of the Gaggletacks.

"I'm just glad Chat and I got them now. This will help take a load off on finding possible Changelings." Ladybug admitted as she gently touched one of the Gaggletacks with a faraway look in her eye, which Styx saw and decided to dig a little bit.

"Something tells me that there's something else weighing down on you." Styx observed, shocking Ladybug out of her staring at the relics and back at her. "Care to share?" the white-skinned Troll asked, causing the heroine in red to slump over herself a little.

"You know how I said that I was doing good?" Ladybug asked, to which Styx nodded in reply. "Admittedly, I've been better." the spotted heroine explained, a frown appearing on her lips and earning a wince from Styx.

"Oh... what happened?" Styx questioned, grimacing at the young heroine in anticipation of what news she had.

"Are you familiar with any human holidays?" Ladybug asked, crossing her arms over her chest defensively.

"Several actually, thanks to the salvage runners talking their mouths off at the pub." Styx replied, taking her hands off the table and placing them on her hips.

"Well, today was Valentine's Day. The holiday where humans-" Ladybug began to explain.

"I'm well aware of what happens on Valentine's Day, so you don't need to explain." Styx interrupted, already well versed in the holiday thanks to her time living up on the surface. "The holiday is so well known down here that Nox is taking Tarnite out on a date outside of the city." the shopkeeper brought up, surprising Ladybug with the news.

"That explains why I didn't see him when coming over. Good for them, though." Ladybug observed, glad to know why Nox was absent when she passed by his stall on the way over.

"Yes. It's about time their courting started getting deeper." Styx said, reflecting on how long it took the two Trolls to get together despite clearly having feelings for each other for years. "Anyway, continue with your story." the white-skinned Troll encouraged, hoping to focus on Ladybug's story.

"Long story short, someone got akumatized into a hate-spreading akuma and managed to hit Chat Noir, putting him under his spell. And to break the spell, I..." Ladybug continued, glad to focus on her tale before she trailed off towards the bit she was still hung up on, looking to the ground with red cheeks.

"Let me guess... you had to kiss him?" Styx guessed, causing Ladybug to look at her in shock.

"How did you guess that!?" Ladybug gasped, her eyes wide.

"Normally, any spells revolving around hate tend to be cured with love. Especially true love." Styx explained, revealing a well-known fact in sorcery. "And from the sounds of it... that's what brought Chat Noir out of the spell on him." the shopkeeper cheekily observed, a smirk on her lips as Ladybug looked at her like she was crazy.

"NO! ABSOLUTELY NOT!!! I'm in love with someone else!" Ladybug exclaimed, appalled by Styx's claim while the Troll giggled at her reaction.

"Well, it doesn't seem like it if that kiss is bothering you so much." Styx pointed out, holding back a full laugh before she placed her elbows on the table in between her and Ladybug, leaning over it while still smirking. "Tell me... was it a peck on the lips or full-on?" the white-skinned Troll asked, steepling her fingers together and placing her chin on top of her joined hands.

"... Full-on." Ladybug muttered, once again redirecting her gaze to the floor.

"And did you pull back right away or did you linger?" Styx gently pressed, an eyebrow raised at the young heroine as she dug for more information.

"... Lingered." Ladybug softly admitted as her cheeks turned red, now feeling embarrassed.

"And was there a bit of ton-" "Styx!" Ladybug shouted, glaring at the smirking troll.

"Forgive an old woman for her nonsense Ladybug, it was too fun not to ask," the troll teased. "But regardless, there you have your answer... you might be falling for your partner." Styx announced, lifting her head from her hands and standing up straight once more.

"I'M NOT!!" Ladybug shouted, looking up from the ground and back at Styx, her cheeks still a fiery red. "It... probably has something to do with him being more open with me lately." the red heroine supplied as she turned away from Styx, trying to reason with herself why she hadn't taken a professional approach to kissing her partner.

"Yeah! I'm just unconsciously being more affectionate to him. That's it." Ladybug declared, not seeing Styx face-palm herself due to how ridiculous Ladybug sounded.

'Never in my life have I seen someone in such deep denial!!' Styx internally growled, finding Ladybug's reasoning to sound more like a rambling of denial. 'But... I'll take what I can get with these two.ʼ the shopkeeper thought to herself, letting her hand drop from her face and return to her side.

"Whatever you say, Ladybug." Styx finally replied, having had enough of Ladybug's denial and hoping to help her out a little bit. "But can I offer a little bit of advice?" the while-skinned Troll asked, causing Ladybug to nod 'yes'.

"Believe it or not, I was madly in love once... and had my fair share of challenges because of it. A lot like you, actually." Styx regaled, leaving Ladybug in surprise at the new information about her shopkeeper friend and how she seemed to be able to relate to her.

"How did you manage?" Ladybug questioned, wanting to know if she could use the same method to help herself out.

"I carried on through the challenges, worked through them and took the support my partner had given me. And I know if you don't let today get you down... you'll be just fine." Styx replied, having faith in Ladybug being able to get through her struggles in the love department. "A big part of growing up is understanding that life doesn't always go the way you planned it. So you just gotta roll with what you get, and make the most of it." the shopkeeper advised, leaving the spotted heroine in deep contemplation as she thought through the advice she had been given.

"Well when you put it like that, it does sound pretty easy." Ladybug admitted, deciding to take the advice to heart to continue working through her struggles. "Thanks, Styx. You seem to always know just what to say." the spotted heroine thanked the Troll, glad to have someone listen to her problem since she knew Jim would only use it as ammunition for his claims on Chat Noir being a better match for her.

"My pleasure, Ladybug." Styx replied, happy to help out. "Now you better get going before it gets any later. Deya knows that tomorrow might have more challenges ahead." the white-skinned Troll added, allowing Ladybug to remember that she did have school the next morning and needed to get home and get a good night's sleep.

"Yeah, I better get home." Ladybug replied, reaching to close the chest holding the Gaggletacks and pulling it into her arms. "It was nice catching up with you, Styx." the heroine in red cheerfully remarked, causing a smile to appear on the Troll's face.

"You too, Ladybug. I do hope you come back down for a social visit soon." Styx responded as she watched Ladybug walk to the exit of her shop.

"Will do! See you later, Styx! And say 'hi' to Maray for me, too!" Ladybug exclaimed as she neared the shop front, stepping past the threshold.

"Absolutely! See you soon!" Styx called out while Ladybug finally exited the tent, followed by her sighing in exasperation after the heroine was out of earshot."These two are going to be the death of me if they keep being so oblivious!" the shopkeeper groaned as she sank onto the table in front of her, banging her head on it in her frustration. But after a good minute of her mopping, Styx lifted herself from the table and lightly rubbed her dully throbbing forehead before dragging her hand down her face.

"Here's to hoping that will change soon." Styx voiced before she stepped away from the table, waving her hand to put the table back where it previously was and start packing up some of her wares. After the little chore, Styx went back to the shop front and waited for more customers to come, hoping to get her mind off of the headache that was Adrien and Marientte's love life.

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On the other side of the world in Arcadia, Jim was climbing down the stairs to the kitchen, hoping to get some breakfast started before heading to school. But before he reached the bottom of the stairs, he spotted Barbara in the dining room while on the phone, who hadn't heard or seen him yet as she was occupied.

'Wonder who's she talking to?' Jim wondered as he peeked around the stairs, watching Barbara as she walked around the dining room while holding her phone close to her face.

"So, why did you want to call me Walter?" Barbara asked the person on the other end, now revealing to the eavesdropping Jim that she was talking to his history teacher.

'Stirckler? Why's he calling mom, now?' Jim wondered to himself, now leaning his ear past the stairs to listen in on the conversation.

"Well, I'm sure you are aware that it's Valentine's Day. I was wondering if you were free and would like to accompany me to dinner at that new restaurant tonight." Strickler spoke through the speaker of Barbara's phone, unknowingly giving Jim the answers he desired... even if he didn't like what he was hearing so far.

"Like... a date?" Barbara bashfully asked her friend, her cheeks dusted with a red glow at the prospect.

"If you want it to be... then yes." Strickler replied from his end, causing Jim's eyes to widen and his jaw to drop to the floor like an anvil when hearing Strickler confirm the status of the meet-up.

'WHAT THE-!' Jim yelled in his internal monologue, having to pull himself back from the end of the stairs to prevent revealing himself to his mom and subsequently his eavesdropping.

"In that case, I would love to have dinner with you tonight." Barbara announced, a smile on her face as she spoke.

"Wonderful! I will come to your house at 7:30 to pick you up for dinner." Strickler declared, his voice carrying his shared excitement for their now official date.

"And they say chivalry is dead." Barbara teased, causing Jim to roll his eyes and quietly groan before continuing to listen to his mom's reply. "7:30 is perfect. I'll see you then!" the doctor happily continued, practically buzzing.

"Until then, Barbara. Adieu!" Strickler farewelled Barbara, the call ending seconds after and letting Barbara happily sigh to herself with a smile on her lips before she walked to the kitchen, unaware of Jim still processing. It did take him a few seconds to take in the conversation he just heard, but Jim managed to compose himself to climb down the rest of the stairs and stand at the foot of them.

"Well, it's official..." Jim muttered to himself as he began to walk to the kitchen, "I owe Mari 20 euros." the Trollhunter finished as he entered the kitchen and headed over to join his mom, starting to make them breakfast while his mind was still on the conversation he just heard. While he was happy that his mom was joining out on a date... Jim didn't like the idea of it being with Strickler.