"Where did you go last night, Marinette?" Her mother folded her arms and stared at the now extremely nervous girl. Sabine just wanted her daughter to admit she's Ladybug to her parents. But of course, she would make up some weird excuse yet again.

"Uh, I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk! Heh, heh..." The young girl nervously rubbed her neck.

"At 2 am? No wonder you're always sleeping in." Sabine raised an eyebrow. "But why didn't you leave through the front door?"

Marinette bit her lip. "I... didn't want to wake you up! Yeah, that's why." She took a croissant and gave her mother a kiss on the cheek. "I'm off to school. Bye!" The blunette raced out the door, eager to get away from her mother's gaze.

"Don't worry dear." Tom came up behind his wife. "She'll tell us eventually."

Later, Alya confronts her friend about her leaving all the time whenever an akuma is released.

"Marinette, you always leave! Even if it's halfway across Paris!" She watched the now very nervous girl fidget with her fingers. This was always a sign she was going to lie. "And don't lie to me, where do you go?"

Marinette sighed and glanced around. "Alya, can you come to the bakery later? I'll spill then, promise." She placed a hand on her heart, and held one up. "Cat's honor." Alya looked as confused as she felt, why would Marinette say 'cat's honor'? It held no significance, except maybe referring to Chat Noir. 

Adrien happened to be walking past them, and heard Marinette quoting his alter-ego. But how would she ever know I said that? Shrugging it off, he waved to the girls and went to find Nino. Probably coincidence.

At the bakery, Marinette found herself pacing nervously in front of her parents and Alya.

"Come on Marinette, quit stalling!" Alya stared at her friend. What would get her so worked up?

"Uhh... First of all, don't freak out. And... Alya you have to swear to secrecy!"

Alya nodded, confusion written across her face. Why would she need to swear to secrecy? She could keep a secret. The only thing Marinette would think Alya would spill is Ladybug's identi- oh.

"I'm Ladybug. Surprise?" Marinette did weak jazz hands as her parents smiled proudly and Alya's jaw dropped.

"We knew." Sabine said with a smug look in her eyes.

"WHAT?!" The blunette screeched. How in the name of Ladybug's tights did they know?! Well, it's kinda obvious, I'm surprised Alya didn't figure it out... OH NO ALYA!! 
The nervous girl glanced at her best friend who was groaning.

"I am the worst detective ever!" She sighed exasperatedly. Marinette let her breath out in relief.

"I thought you were going to freak out and hate me..." Marinette walked over to a tray and got a cookie for Tikki. "Tikki? Do you want a cookie?" The small red kwami flew out of her purse and nibbled on the freshly made chocolate-chip sweet.

"AHH SHE'S SO CUTE!" Alya shrieked in delight as she gawked at the kwami, who giggled and waved. Marinette smiled affectionately at Tikki as she nuzzled her cheek. "Does she transform you?"

Tikki nodded and floated in front of her face. "Hi! I'm Tikki, Marinette's kwami! She talks about you a lot, almost as much as Adrien!"

Marinette's face went red. "Tikki!"

Alya giggled and then gasped. "But if Adrien has a crush on Ladybug than doesn't that mean he technically has a crush on you?!" Marinette smiled sadly and shook her head.

"Ladybug isn't Marinette, Als. Ladybug is the ideal super-heroine, exactly who she needs to be. I am not Ladybug, she is an entirely different persona." Alya nodded at her words, a contemplative look on her face.

An idea seemed to come to her as she said, "Mind giving me an interview? Maybe if you say that on camera, Adrien will give up and look at Marinette?" The brunette grinned, and her best friend giggled and nodded. 

"Let's set it up, maybe on a roof somewhere, where no-one can run up to us?"

LATER

"Hey guys, it's Alya and I scored an interview with Ladybug! What a scoop! Hey Ladybug, ready for some questions?" Alya grinned at her best friend in a mask, who was standing on a roof with a gorgeous view of the Eiffel tower. She gave her friend a wink before a dazzling smile.

"I'm ready, Alya!"

"Alright, first question. What were your thoughts when you first became Ladybug?" Alya was asking this for her viewers, and because she was genuinely curious. She had only known Marinette for so long, and she wanted to get to know her friend better.

Ladybug shrugged. "I thought I wasn't cut out for the job. Underneath this mask, I'm an entirely different person. Ladybug's meant to be a hero - she needs to be perfect in order to effectively save everyone with little to no causalities. I even tried to pass the job off to someone else! But I pulled it together and did what I had to do, and then it'd be weird for Ladybug to just change. But, being myself, I am certainly different from Ladybug, even if I may be her."

"Wow, see, Ladybug had doubts too! Well, we all believe in you! Next - what do you think about all your adoring fans? Some even claim to love you!" Alya winked. She definitely asked that so she'd end up thinking of Adrien. Ladybug, however didn't blush.

"I think it's flattering, but as I said before, Ladybug is an image, an ideal. Chase after someone more likely to love you than  someone who isn't entirely real. You all are in love with a mask, nothing more." Her voice smoothly covered all her bases, leaving off with a chuckle. Alya raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"Ladybug love advice? Ooh! Do you have anyone special in mind?" That time Ladybug blushed.

"I-I'm not going to say names, but Chat, if you're watching this, I do know about your feelings for me, and the reason I keep rejecting you is not because you're not good enough, or because I don't feel anything for you, but it's because I need to focus on saving people first, my best friend second. The job of a heroine doesn't allow much for love, but to answer your question, Alya, I do have a crush and embarrass myself daily around him." Ladybug winked at the camera and smiled genuinely.

Little did she know Chat happened to be watching the live interview right then and there, with tears pricking his eyes. She would feel terrible if she saw Chat Noir curled up sobbing, but probably worse if she saw Adrien Agreste curled up for the same reason. Of course she had her eye on someone else. He wasn't - wait, no, she said it wasn't because he wasn't good enough. She just didn't want a relationship with her mask on.

Wait. He was in love with a mask. Damn it.

"Alright, how many hints can you give about your identity?" Alya wiggled her eyebrows and Ladybug giggled. SHE ALREADY KNEW SUCKERS!

"None, really. If you all knew who I am, you would lose trust in me, and that is something I can't have. I need your trust if I am to be your protector, otherwise, what's the use? That's why I'll ask, Alya, would you instead of trying to unmask Chat Noir and I, would you like to be our official coverage? Interviews, occasional fights, maybe even some moments with Chat and I? Seeing as there's practically nothing I can say to keep you from trying to film us. Even though I wish you would, I don't want you to get hurt." She frowned but quickly replaced it with a smile. Alya squealed and nodded frantically.

"You hear that peeps?! Ladybug herself has asked me to be her official coverage! Well, that means no more Ladybug identity, but oh my god Ladyblog is being ungraded!" Alya grinned happily as Ladybug's earrings beeped.

"Well, Alya, I have to go before I de-transform. Great job on the Ladyblog, I read it all the time!" Ladybug saluted and Alya turned the camera on herself.

"There you go, all, an exclusive interview with Ladybug! Update y'all later! Alya out!" Turning off the camera, she grinned as Ladybug brings them down off the roof and de-transformed into Marinette. "Thanks girl!" They hugged and chatted cheerfully, walking back to Marinette's for a sleepover.

In the morning

"MARINETTE WAKE UP GIRL!" Alya shook awake the blunette, who groaned and swatted away her hand. 

"Five more minutes..." She mumbled, burying her head in her pillow before being rudely lifted into the light. "AHH IT BURNS!" She screamed, covering her bluebell eyes.

"Nuh-uh, up, up, up! No wonder you're always late, you procrastinate! Hey, that rhymes!" Alya grinned and dragged her friend up. "Get dressed, you'll be early for once!"

"Ugh... I'm up, I'm up!" Marinette leapt up and rushed around her room, frantically putting on her clothes before freezing with her jacket half on. "It's not five minutes until class starts, is it?"

Alya grinned again and shook her head. Marinette sighed. "Hey, since you're not totally late, why don't you wear something different? Show off your muscles a bit, maybe?"

The other girl contemplated that for a moment before a sly smirk overtook her face. Marinette gathered up in her arms a black tank top (that ironically and unironically had a cat face on it) and white skinny jeans. Heading into her bathroom, she brushed out her hair and decided to leave it out today, before changing. She even dared to add a thin line of eyeliner, a few brushes of mascara and a swipe of lip gloss. As soon as she exited the bathroom, Alya whooped.

"Woo, Mari, looking hot! C'mon, let's go get croissants and head up." The two laughed and headed downstairs. Marinette's parents complimented her outfit as they walked out the door. Crossing the road to the school, Nino waved them over.

"Hey Alya, congrats on the interview, and dudinette, what's with the change of style? Looks good." He threw an arm around Marinette's shoulders and she rolled her eyes, shoving him off.

"Woke up early thanks to Alya and decided to switch it up a bit. And she wanted me to show off." the bluebell eyed girl shrugged. Nino raised an eyebrow.

"Show off what?" At Nino's question, she exchanged a look with Alya and flexed an arm, showing off her biceps. All of a sudden, Kim ran over.

"WHEN DID YOU GET SO STRONG?!" He stared at her arm, poking it a couple times, and she laughed before literally lifting him off the ground and throwing him over her shoulders. At that moment Adrien got out of the car to see Marinette holding Kim up by herself and not even breaking a sweat. His mouth dropped.

"Ever since I started working out, Kim!" She teased and put him down (somehow), placing a hand on her hip and smirking. He grinned at her.

"You are so on my team next time in sport." With that, he waved and jogged back over to Max. Adrien regained his composure and walks over to the three, one of which was gaping, one of which was smiling proudly, and the last was snickering.

"Hey Nino, Alya, Marinette. Did... Did I just see what I think I saw?" He stared directly at the blunette who was feeling more confident than usual. She smirked and flipped her hair dramatically.

"You mean, I lifted Kim without breaking a nail? Maybe. But, you know, could just have been a trick of the light." She winked and flounced inside, Adrien trying hard not to stare at the sway of her hips or her toned body.

"Ahem, whipped, ahem." Nino coughed and chuckled, dragging the model inside.

Later again

Marinette and friends were at the park with some of her family's famous croissants when an akuma came out of nowhere.

"Oh my god, it's Mirelle!" Alya exclaimed, pointing at the girl in a weird outfit.

"I am Weather-girl, and I predict lightning and heartbreak!" She yelled, pointing a weird stick up to the sky. Marinette rolled her eyes and leaned over to Alya.

"Didn't Hawkmoth already do a weather-girl?" She murmured, careful to make sure Adrien and Nino didn't hear. Alya snorted with laughter, which caught their attention. Marinette quickly diverted, saying, "Alright, you guys get to safety."

Adrien's brow furrowed. "We three? What about you? No way are we leaving you."

Marinette face-palmed and sighed. "You really aren't making this easy for me, Agreste," she muttered under her breath. Alya quickly came to the rescue by pushing the Nino out of the way of a blast of lightning. But that meant Marinette was stuck with Adrien. Groaning, she grabbed his wrist and ran towards a building, shoving him in and closing the door behind her.

"Marinette?" He broke her out of her muttering and pacing to stare at him.

"Adrien, can I trust you?" Her voice was serious and her eyes filled with determination. Adrien could've sworn he'd seen that look before... He nodded. "I mean, could I trust you with my life if I needed to?" This time she strode up to him and placed her petite hands on his shoulders. His heart beat somewhat faster.

"Absolutely." He replied, trying to get his breathing under control. She sighed again.

"I cannot believe I'm about to do this again," she muttered before calling out to no-one in particular. "Tikki, spots on!"

~*le transformation sequence plus sarcastic jazz hands*~

"I trust you watched the interview last night?" He nodded, speechless. "Then, you know, no. Ladybug is a heroine first, I don't care if you're Adrien Agreste or the freaking Mayor, no romance for Ladybug." She marched up to the door, only to be halted by someone calling out.

"Plagg, claws out!"

ONE FIGHT SCENE LATER

"Pound it!"

"So, princess. What a love square we got ourselves into." Chat wiggled his eyebrows and Ladybug laughed.

"Seems we did. But really, Ladybug is strictly business. Marinette is fine, but no Ladybug." She warned again, glancing at his bright green eyes. He grinned.

"Why'd you think I called you princess?"

Not one of my best one's, but wanted to get it done. POUND IT MIRACULUERS i think it's that...? Correct me later. PEACE OUT PEEPS

[2018] CHRIST PAST CAITLYN HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A FUCKIN CONSISTENT TENSE?! also overuse of 'grinned' much. smh. also i hate this bye