Once the leather-clad boy had disappeared into the quiet evening and the skylight was secured closed behind him, Marinette slowly turned to her emerging kwami, worry washing over her like a tidal wave. "Do you think I did anything wrong, Tikki? Why would he suddenly push me away like that?"

Her little red friend chuckled reassuringly. "Marinette, he tried to reveal himself to you. He heavily insisted on it. If anything, you were the one to push him away tonight. I think he wants a real relationship with you, without his mask getting in the way."

The young lady sighed dejectedly, looking at her trap door, a deep longing for her silly kitty omnipresent in her gaze. "I felt that too, but it's way too dangerous… I… If someone notices him visiting every single night it's going to bad enough. We can't risk him being seen arriving as Chat Noir and then being whoever he is in my room. Besides, I thought he still looked really preoccupied tonight. I think something's bothering him."

"Did it ever occurred to you that maybe you are what's on his mind? That he might be just as scared as you are about what's happening between you two?"

"Why would the great Chat Noir be scared of kissing a girl?" mused Marinette out loud.

Tikki chuckled softly. "You really think that's all there is between you two? Kisses? Can you honestly tell me you don't harbor any feelings toward your partner, Marinette?"

The young woman huffed. "I already told you about that, Tikki. I think I might just be in love with him. But I don't get why he would be scared of what's between us."

"Think about it the other way around. How do you feel about him finding out that you are Ladybug?"

Tikki knew she had gotten her point across when her charge suddenly fell silent, suddenly absorbed in the contemplation of her blankets.

"And yet, he was willing to show you his real face tonight, so you two could build a relationship together on a healthy basis. So no, I don't think you did anything to scare him away, apart perhaps from refusing to let him to do so. You're overthinking all of this, Marinette. Just give him time to sort it all out, like he so kindly asked you to, and use that time to overcome your own insecurities."

Marinette grunted impatiently. "But I miss him already!"

The red kwami burst out laughing. "You're only eighteen, Marinette! You have all of your lives ahead of you once you finally stop dancing around each other!"

"But-"

"No buts, young lady," Tikki cut her off. "Now, you're going right back to sleep, and we'll overthink this as much as you want tomorrow morning."

---

True to his words, Chat Noir didn't come back the day after. Nor the day after that one.

Days of absence quickly turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months.

Soon enough, it had been roughly two months since Marinette had managed to get her hands on Chat Noir as herself. She did receive a message from his staff from time to time, but he kept telling her he was too busy to drop by her place. He had assured her more than once it had nothing to do with his feelings towards her, but that he'd completely understand if she'd move on.

But moving on wasn't even an option for her. Apparently, the saying that absence makes the heart grow fonder was every bit true.

Thinking about him, thinking back about what they had done to each other that fateful night got her weak to the knees. Thinking about his kisses, about his voice, about his touch on her skin was driving her crazy. She missed him so bad it ached just to think about her dear kitty, but Marinette feared that if she started putting pressure on him to see him again, he'd just bail out on her and never come back at all. It didn't help that akuma attacks were scarce during that time, so she didn't spend much more time with him as her heroic alter-ego.

To add to her already very full plate, it seemed Adrien had made it his personal mission to get as close as humanly possible to her. He spent every possible free second of every day with her, chatting about just about anything, carrying her stuff between classes and treating her to lunch every now and then. He openly acted like he was actively pursuing her, and it confused her way more than she'd care to admit out loud, even to Tikki.

So it was very welcome when she heard a blood-curdling scream coming from outside the school. She could very well use the distraction and almost ran toward the danger.

---

Adrien was going insane.

Spending so much time with her every single day yet without being allowed to kiss her, to touch her, to tell her how much he adored her, was slowly but surely breaking his mind piece by piece. All of his body ached for her, and the only thing restraining him from telling her everything right on the spot was the gut-clenching fear of losing her for good if he did so against her will.

So he tried to be patient. He kept texting her with Chat's phone every now and then, his answers shorts and empty, telling her over and over again his schedule was so hectic he barely even had time to sleep. He kept hoping that time would drive her away painlessly from his heroic counterpart. And that hopefully she'd then be able to open her heart again to him as Adrien.

But the wait, the longing, was slowly but surely taking its toll on him. Every fiber of his being desperately missed her and her everlasting lack of response to his romantic pursuit as Adrien was beginning to drive him crazy.

But he couldn't bring himself to stop trying.

He loved her so much it scared him if he was to be entirely honest with himself, but he was willing to do anything in order to be with her, the right way this time around. Even if it meant losing his mind.

Nonetheless, he was going mad waiting for a sign, anything to encourage him to take their relationship further as Marinette and Adrien, but it never seemed to come.

So when he heard the ear-piercing scream coming from the street, he didn't even bother finding a plausible excuse for his sudden absence. He just bolted through the door without so much as a second thought, all too happy to join her in the only aspect of their relationship that wasn't weird already, as Ladybug and Chat Noir.

He couldn't have been more wrong in his whole life.

---

It was the first akuma they had gotten in over six weeks, and when he spotted her from afar, crouched on the roof of some building, scanning Paris' streets trying to localize the akumatized citizen, his heart came to a stop in his chest. It wasn't the first akuma since he realized who she really was, but this time around, he had gotten time to wrap his mind around it.

How could he have been so blind? The same blue-black pigtails, the same cerulean blue piercing yet soft gaze. The same kindness and selflessness oozing from every single pore of her porcelain skin. Both of her personas were so brave, righteous, witty, curious, and amazing in their own way that he didn't quite understand how he didn't make the connection before.

But now, boy did he, and he had to remind himself constantly that she didn't know Marinette and Ladybug were one and only woman in his mind, one wonderful girl who he was head over heels for. Otherwise, he'd pounce on her right then, kissing her senseless, and whatever the akuma was would be left alone dealing with itself on its own.

Instead, he landed softly beside her, forcing a friendly greeting in his voice. "Glad to see you, m'lady. Been a while."

She stiffened upon hearing his voice but smiled back. He was unable to tell if she too was feeling the electricity between them. "Hi, Chaton. Still, haven't found it."

The air thickened, the tension in the air almost palpable. Chat Noir grunted quietly, forcing himself to focus on the task at hand.

Suddenly, another blood-curdling screech pierced the silence of the peaceful afternoon. "Men of Paris, fear my wrath! You shall suffer at the hands of the Bride just like the worthless pieces of shit you all are!"

"Gotcha," they whispered in sync. Trying to ignore the everlasting tension between them, Ladybug swung her yo-yo toward the lean lady wearing a beautiful wedding dress made of sparkling white lace clinging prettily at her torso, and a skirt that surely would have been gorgeous if someone hadn't ripped it to tatters just below her knees. She wore high heeled blood red shoes and a shredded black wedding veil that hid most of her facial features. From what Chat could see from where he was trying to follow his Lady, the face of the akumatized citizen was covered in smudged makeup, dark streaks of mascara going down her cheeks. Her hair was tucked back in a complicated bun, with some flowers tucked into it. It was clear even to a clueless young adult that today had been supposed her special day, and that something had gone very wrong.

Chat Noir followed Ladybug closely, propelling himself with his baton, his gaze never leaving the Bride. He had to find the akuma at all costs. Scanning it relentlessly, he finally noticed a big diamond shining on her left hand, but it had a strange vibe like it wasn't as bright as it should have been. He caught up with the beautiful lady running in front of him and nudged her softly. "M'lady, look at her ring."

Ladybug stopped dead her tracks, causing him to involuntary trip over his feet. "You're right, Chat. Something's off with it. You know the drill?"

He chuckled, happy to resume their usual dynamic. "I distract her, you work your magic."

"Game on, kitty."

---

This felt right.

Alright, him distracting the akuma while she was trying to restrain herself from pouncing on him and kissing him until they both forgot their very names wasn't the ideal situation. But fighting with him just felt right in some weird way nonetheless.

The Bride suddenly grabbed the arm of an unsuspecting male citizen, who got instantly turned into a salt statue. Worry quickly washed over her. "Chat, whatever you do, don't ever touch her. We don't want you turning into one of those, right?"

He giggled, easily and recklessly dodging an attack from the akumatized woman. "Don't you worry Lady, I'm gonna watch my paws-"

However, as soon as the words left his lips, the Bride somehow managed to get her sorrowful hands on him, instantly turning the feline into a salt statue as she had done to every man that had been unfortunate enough to cross her path that day. Ladybug groaned, refusing to admit defeat already. "Don't you worry, Chat. I'm gonna make it all right."

A very weird lucky charm later (how exactly was a life-sized doll of Chat Noir supposed to help her?) she managed to swing herself above the bride, dropping the doll in a fashion that made it seem like Chat Noir had jumped before the akumatized citizen. It confused the Bride only one split-second, but it was more than enough for Ladybug to pounce and snatch her ring from her unsuspecting finger. She was able without any real struggle to cure the akumatized engagement ring, and then use her magic to return things to their previous state, Chat's salt statue along with every man unlucky enough to have been at the wrong place at the wrong moment returning to a very living state in the process.

Seeing Chat slowly unfreeze and smile at her sheepishly made her heart come to a stop. She wasn't ready to talk to Chat Noir, not yet.

So instead, she vanished into the night, leaving a very confused Chat Noir dealing on his own with the press and a poor bride left alone at the altar. She left him clueless and fidgeting to find an excuse to explain to the media why she, Ladybug, and disappeared without even a smile or even the ghost of an explanation.