Chat's pressure on her hand was comforting, and Ladybug gripped onto it tightly.

"Ready?" The trust in his voice was supportive and calming, but even so, she had to take a couple of deep breaths before nodding.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"It'll be fine, my lady. Just stay calm, and it'll go smoothly."

She swallowed, and nodded again. After looking at her for further confirmation, Chat gripped her hand again, and the two walked out from under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower into the fading light of Parisian dusk. They didn't have to wait long. Now they were visible, people could be seen pointing and staring at the two, some people running over immediately, and Ladybug rolled her eyes.

"Told you."

Chat smiled gently, tugging her closer and leaning back against one of the pillars holding up the monument.

"But this is good, isn't it? This is all part of the plan."

Frowning slightly, Ladybug rubbed her eyes with tired fingers.

"Yeah, but still."

"It'll be fine, Ladybug." Chat promised. "Not long now- I expect the reporters will be here any second."

Sure enough, now that word had gotten around that Paris' superheroes were back once more, journalists, fans and TV crews were flocking to the area before three minutes had passed.

"Ladybug!"

"Chat Noir, is it true-"

"Where have you been?"

"Was it Hawkmoth?"

"Over here, Ladybug!"

There was a huge crowd gathering around the two, and only Paris' respectfulness and the heroes' prestigious reputation kept the teens from being totally swamped and trampled. Even so, it was getting claustrophobic as the last light of day began to vanish and the throng grew even more.

"Should we take this higher?" Ladybug murmured to Chat, gripping his hand tightly as she plastered a smile onto the face and tried to look at every camera at once.

"I think that would be for the best," he admitted tensely, and Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the same time he extended his baton. The crowd groaned in disappointment as they flew upwards, only placated when they realised they weren't leaving, just going higher to be more visible and have more control.

Standing on a beam twenty metres above the ground, Ladybug felt a bizarre amount calmer. She took a deep breath before stepping forwards and giving a smile to the people below. She saw helicopters in the distance, and knew that this would be on every TV screen in Paris. The camera lenses flashing at her from below would be sure to pick up her every facial expression, too. This needed to work.

Spreading her arms wide in a welcoming gesture, Ladybug addressed the crowd.

"Paris!" She called, and the crowd hushed immediately, knowing it was about to get the answers it had been craving for weeks. "It's good to see you again. I'm sorry it's been so long, but unfortunately, I was unavoidably detained."

A murmur of a laugh rippled through the crowd, and a warmth spread through Ladybug's chest as she saw the smiling faces of the people she worked so hard to protect. She had missed being Ladybug.

"I know you must all want answers," she continued confidently, "so tonight, Chat Noir and I are here to give them to you. As I'm sure you're all aware, nearly four weeks ago there was an occurrence at a bank on the Champs-Elysees, during which there was an explosion. Upon hearing this, Chat Noir and I arrived on the scene and began to help civilians leave the dangerous area. Once the fire was put out, we continued to do so, until the perpetrators of the explosion appeared and began to announce their intention- to rob the bank and harm those who got in their way. Two men then went inside, and Chat and I proceeded to de-arm the three remaining. We did so, and were about to enter the bank when one of the robbers inside managed to get two shots out before I could relieve him of his weapon. The first shot missed, but the second didn't. I was hit."

There was a collective gasp from the crowd, despite the fact that they'd either heard this or seen footage of it already. It was the shock of hearing it from their supposedly-indestructible heroine's mouth that made it all the more real. The citizens listened intently to her following words.

"I was hit in the shoulder," Ladybug lied, separating her story further from the one people knew to be Marinette's. "It was not a fatal wound, obviously, but it was enough to de-rail me ever so slightly. I have spent the last four weeks in a secure and to-remain-private location, healing and getting back my strength. I- and Chat Noir, I'm sure- am pleased to announce that I am once more fully functional," Chat snorted from behind her at her choice of words, "and am ready to continue protecting and saving the city and people I love. I can only apologise for any uncertainty or fear I may have caused during my absence, but I can assure you all that I am in full health and prepared to take whatever hits life decides to throw at me. In short: Ladybug's back."

oOo

"That was great, Marinette!" Alya squealed as the two heroes dropped through Marinette's ceiling hatch to land on the girl's bed. Nino and Alya were sitting around Mari's computer, watching the live streams coming from the Eiffel Tower. As far as Tom and Sabine knew, their daughter and Adrien were up there too, and they were far too engrossed in watching the superheroes to check on the group. This had made it easy for them to plan their city-wide address, something Mari had been itching to do for days.

"Thank god it's over." She sighed, releasing her transformation as she slid the hatch shut. Adrien let his own go as he clambered down the ladder to flop on the pile of sleeping bags the four had on Mari's floor.

"That was surprisingly nerve-racking," he admitted, his voice muffled by the bedding. He rolled over to look at her as she slipped down to sit next to him. "But they all love you so much more now. You're like a martyr as well as a heroine."

"If you had a manager or publicist, they'd be congratulating you on your PR stunt," Nino agreed, flicking off the monitor and taking a bite of his now-cold leftover pizza. "Now you're not just the girl who saves Paris, you're the girl who gets shot to save Paris. This is great for your image."

"Yeah, because I got shot for my image." Mari's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I only did it because Mister Hot-Head here couldn't wait three minutes for the police to arrive, despite the fact he had about thirty seconds left, himself, before his transformation ran out."

Adrien's face went scarlet, guilt churning in his stomach even as Marinette ruffled his hair and smiled at him exasperatedly.

"Well, I- you know... Mari...-" He threw himself face-first onto the pillows they had stacked next to the sleeping bags. "Please, don't guilt trip me again, I already feel awful."

Grabbing him by the shoulder, Marinette hauled him back up and, smiling, pressed a short kiss to his mouth.

"Kitty, I'm just teasing."

"Still." Adrien didn't look at her. "That's what happened though, isn't it?"

Mari rolled her eyes.

"Don't lets go into this again, Adrien. You've saved me god knows how many times, and you can't let me take the hit for you once without feeling like a shmuck. Give yourself a break, for the love of god."

"He's awful, isn't he?" Plagg muttered from his pile of camembert up by Marinette's bed. "Don't let him get any momentum or you'll be hearing about what a lousy, dishonourable, despicable human being he is all night."

Adrien threw a pillow at the kwami, but felt oddly reassured, especially when Marinette whacked him in the face with a cushion.

"Hear that?" She giggled while he spat feathers out of his mouth. "You're not dishonourable, and I forgive you. So shut up."

Alya, who had been watching all of this with a large, triumphant grin on her face, snorted.

"Never thought I'd see the day where Marinette would be able to hit Adrien in the face with a pillow and openly flirt with him. You guys really are miraculous, huh?"

Adrien rolled his eyes, and startled Marinette (now scarlet) by yanking her into him for a kiss. He drew back and looked smugly at Alya.

"That better?"

"You make me sick." She replied, and Nino (who had been leaning in for a kiss of his own) pulled back, looking affronted.

"Fine. No Mr DJ for you tonight then." He slipped off his chair to join the other two on the floor, grinning when Alya scowled.

"Please, you know you can't resist this." She gestured to herself proudly and Nino mimed being blinded by her beauty. The other laughed, especially when Alya practically belly-flopped off her chair and onto Nino. The four teenagers and two kwamis just sat for a while, chuckling and enjoying each other's company before footsteps could be heard sounding on the stairs below. The kwamis hid quietly as the trapdoor opened and Sabine poked her head through.

"Everyone doing okay?" She asked, and a chorus of agreements sounded from the teenagers.

"We were about to change into pajamas, Mama." Marinette told her, pigtails awry from wriggling about amongst the sleeping bags.

"Okay, well try not to be too loud. Tom's going to go to bed soon." Sabine smiled, and made to go downstairs before turning back to the children. "Did you guys hear about what happened at the Eiffel Tower."

"Yes!" Alya crowed, her Ladyblogger side not needing much encouragement to show itself, despite the fact she now knew how close she was to her heroine. "Ladybug is back! I'm so glad, Chat's had to deal with akumas himself for the past few weeks, and there's only so many butterflies he can trap before he runs out of mason jars."

Adrien buried his face in a pillow to mask his laughter while Sabine looked faintly amused.

"Yes, well, I'm glad Ladybug's okay."

"Everyone's so relieved. Half of Paris thought she was dead." Nino's words brought a snort out of Marinette, and he smirked. "Good to have her back, though."

"It is." Sabine agreed. "Well, goodnight guys, I'll see you in the morning. How do pancakes sound for breakfast?"

From the yells and energetic nods, she guessed that was an affirmation, so she smiled and quietly shut the trapdoor.

Once alone, the teenagers smiled at each other secretively.

"Well, I'm not dead." Marinette told them, leaning back luxuriously on the sleeping bags. Adrien took advantage of her position to get revenge, and promptly smacked her in the face with her own pillow, earning himself a squeal.

"Thank god. I don't know how Paris would survive without you, my Lady." He replied smoothly, ignoring the glare she was giving him.

"I'm surprised it didn't already combust," Nino added, trying not to spill hot chocolate everywhere as he took a sip. "We hadn't seen hide nor hair of Ladybug for four weeks- since she'd gotten shot. I can't believe you two left it this long to give a public address."

"Meh. You'll survive." Marinette said indifferently. "But now it's time to relax. I'm free, I have two legs again and I no longer have a hole in my spleen."

"Took you long enough." Adrien muttered, and Mari gave him a shove. He chuckled, and wrapped his arms around her. He pulled her towards him until she was lying between his legs, her back to his chest. "It's good to have you back, my lady."

"Get a room." Alya groaned, but smiled when Mari twisted around to peck her boyfriend on the lips.

"Good to be back."