Author's Note: Thank you all for the reviews, favourites, and follows. You have all been very kind and encouraging. I'm glad you had enjoyed this fic and I hope you continue to enjoy the final chapter.

Adrien blearily dressed himself the next morning as he went through his morning routine in a daze.

As soon as he realised that Ladybug said she would see him in school it immediately occurred to him that a. she knew who he was, and b. she went to school with him. This meant two horrible things. First he had managed to give away his secret identity and should therefore have his superhero licence taking away from him for being such a dunderhead, and secondly he was a blind idiot who hadn't noticed Ladybug in her civilian form despite vowing he would recognise her anywhere.

Understandably he spent the rest of the night racking his brains at what he could have done to give himself away and who on earth Ladybug could be.

Unfortunately he came to no satisfactory conclusion whatsoever.

In an attempt to distract himself Adrien checked his social media to see if any of the other Akuma victims were still affected. He was pleased to see that Ladybug had nothing to worry about as #TrueLoveKissIsReal blew up all over Twitter. Stories poured out on his colleges' feeds on how their parents or their partners or their siblings or their dearest friends had cured them when they had given them a reassuring kiss.

It was rather heart-warming.

And immediately brought the memory of Marinette's soft, sweet, lips against his.

Which gave him another thing to stress about.

"Hem, hem," Nathalie coughed pointedly. Adrien jumped, startled, as he realised he had been sitting at the dining table nibbling at his breakfast as Nathalie droned on about his day without noticing he had even left his bedroom. "Adrien," Nathalie said quietly but sternly, "I wanted to have a word with you about this."

She held up her phone to reveal her own Twitter feed where #TrueLoveKissIsReal popped up multiple times.

"You father is, of course, unaware of the situation," Nathalie carried on calmly, "he believes that Ladybug had cured you as she usually does in these sort of situations and I see no reason why I should enlighten him otherwise." Adrien sighed in relief. He really didn't want a discussion with his father about his romantic life. He wasn't entirely too sure how it would end and he was terrified of the possibilities. "Providing," Nathalie added sternly, "you tell me who exactly cured you."

"Oh," Adrien felt his cheeks burn in embarrassment, "itwasMarinette!" he mumbled hastily. "She bumped into me and I sort of accidentally pulled her on top of me."

There is a beat of silence as Nathalie's cool stare bored into him. Adrien shifted uncomfortably as he felt his cheeks get hotter and hotter. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Nathalie inquired. Adrien nodded hastily, unsure if his voice would work this very moment. "I see," Nathalie said quietly, "she's a good one."

Adrien blinked bewilderedly.

"Have a good day, Adrien," Nathalie said as she stood up, "and give my regards to Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Adrien's jaw dropped at that.

Did…did….did Nathalie just approve of Marinette?!

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Marinette was trying very hard to not freak out.

When it first occurred to her that Chat Noir and Adrien were one and the same she barely hung up in time before she rolled over and screamed into her pillow. Again. for various reasons, like realising that she kissed Chat Noir AGAIN because he is Adrien, and realising that for the last ten months or so Adrien has been kissing her hand because he is Chat Noir, and realising that she has been crushing on Chat Noir because he is Adrien, and realising that Adrien has called her Princess and My Lady and flirted with her outrageously because he is Chat Noir.

Then her transformation wore off and one look into Tiki's eyes and Marinette knew that she knew which led to a lot of general yelling and freaking out.

Then Marinette began to hyperventilate.

It took a lot of soothing nuzzles and cookies from Tiki to calm Marinette down.

Then Marinette had a flashback to her accidental kiss in the shower and that led to more hyperventilating as she had visions of Adrien being so disgusted about her lips being on his that he no longer wanted to be her crime fighting partner and she loses the two most important guys in her life (after her father, of course!) in one fell swoop.

Understandably Marinette did not sleep at all that night as she laid there flat out on her back staring up at the ceiling as her thoughts jumped to one worst case scenario to the next.

"Don't be silly Marinette!" Tiki chided her repeatedly. "It didn't sound like Adrien was upset about the kiss when he told you as Ladybug about it, did it?"

"N-no-no" Marinette stammered back in reply as she felt her cheeks heat up, "but he might have just been nice about it because that's what he has always been like with or without the mask. He's so nice."

"Exactly!" Tiki exclaimed. "so he's not going to have you arrested for sexual assault, or take out a restraining order, or asked to be transferred to a new school, or give up Plagg, or have you deported, or anything else equally ridiculous and horrendous that you can think up."

"But-"

"Nothing bad is going to happen, Marinette," Tiki said firmly, "now hurry up. You're going to be late for school."

"GAH!"

Marinette sped through the flat, flew down the stairs, shouted out a goodbye to her parents over her shoulder, before she dashed down the street.

By the time she reached the school grounds she was completely out of breathe and almost collapsed against the school entrance as she desperately tried to catch her breathe.

As soon as she did though she began to lose it all over again as she realised she was mere minutes away from seeing Adrien/Chat Noir for the first time since they kissed and she found out his identity.

"Oh Tiki!" she whispered-screamed as she rifled through her locker. "What am I going to do?!"

"It's going to be okay, Marinette," Tiki said reassuringly, "all you have to do is act like yourself."

"Which version?!" Marinette hissed desperately. "The crazy, babbling, incoherent version or the confident yet stupidly blind superhero ver-"

A warm hand suddenly clasped her shoulder, scorching her skin through her jacket and t-shirt. "Hey," the equally warm and familiar voice murmured in her ear, "Mari-"

"EEK!" Marinette screeched as she whirled round and clutched her bag to her chest. She caught sight of Adrien's face and immediately flushed in embarrassment as she felt like she could simply die. "O-o-oh!" she stammered out. "A-A-A-Adrien! You startled me!"

"Sorry!" Adrien mumbled abashed as he self-consciously scratched back of his head, "I didn't mean to startle you."

She wanted to tell him that it was all right or give him a reassuring smile or make a joke, call him Kitty, and scratch his chin.

Instead all she could do was stay rooted to the spot as her cheeks quickly made its way through the various shades of pink and red available while the accidental kiss flashed back into her mind for the hundred thousandth billionth time.

"So….I…erm….ah….you…."

"Yeah!" Marinette squeaked in reply to Adrien's incoherent babble. "I mean…ah…erm…um….err….gah!"

There is a painfully long silence as Marinette kept her eyes on the floor. COME ON! She silently screamed to herself. THIS CHAT FREAKING NOIR! YOUR ANNOYING PUN-DROPPING PARTNER, YOUR BEST FRIEND, THE GUY YOU HAVE KISSED TW – OH MY GOD!

"So," Adrien coughed, "I….erm….given our presentation some thought."

"O-o-oh?"

"Yeah," Adrien shifted on his feet sheepishly, "we never picked a Fairy Tale so I was thinking, that, erm," his cheeks turned a faint, adorable, pink that made Marinette's heart flutter, "the Princess and the Frog….it kinda suits us, doesn't it?"

Marinette's temper rippled at that. He thought a story about a spoilt, self-centred, Princess that couldn't keep her word suited them?! "Am I being compared to Chloe?!" she yelled crossly. "Why does everyone keep doing that?!"

Okay everyone didn't but having both Sabrina and an Akuma do it in one evening kinda made it a sore subject for her.

"W-w-what?!" Adrien yelped. "No! I didn't mean it like that! I-I-I just meant that yesterday I looked like a frog and then a…." he trailed off as his cheeks deepened into a brighter shade of pink. "Well," he mumbled, "a kiss from you changed me back."

Marinette's mouth made a small 'O' shape of surprise as her cheeks burned in flattered embarrassment. He did, as Chat, always call her Princess. "Oh!" she managed to choke out. "Th-th-that's actually rather sweet."

"Err…thanks," Adrien mumbled as he scratched the back of his head again, "So, erm, I thought we could, you know, talk about the moral of the story. You know, not judging a book by its cover, and it's what's on the inside that matters, and love is about the person not what they look like."

"I think that's a great idea!" Marinette said way too enthusiastically and winced simultaneously at how desperately eager she must sound.

"I'm glad," Adrien smiled softly. There was a beat of silence and then Adrien coughed awkwardly to clear his throat. "So I, erm, wanted to thank you….for you know, being a good friend to me yesterday, and for…well everything."

Both of their cheeks burned simultaneously at the implication and Marinette had no doubt that the kiss was on both of their brains at this very moment

"You're welcome!" Marinette squeaked. "Anytime!"

She then wanted to scream into her hands when it occurred to her that she kinda suggested that she would kiss him anytime.

Oh my freaking God!

Adrien flushed at that and Marinette couldn't help but hope that the same thought had occurred to him. They were so in sync with one another as Ladybug and Chat Noir that she couldn't help hope it transferred into their bond as civilians as well.

Marinette really wished she could summon up her Ladybug courage and just grab hold of him by the shirt lapels and snog the living daylights out of him and then tell him that she knows he's Chat Noir and she's Ladybug before she kissed him some more.

Unfortunately, like every other time she wished something similar in the past (the snogging the living daylights out of him part), all of her Ladybug courage had decided to go on a holiday and she found herself frozen as she tried to say something, anything, to her partner.

Finally after what felt like a century she managed to finally open her mouth just as Adrien opened his and –

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRING!

….The bell rang loudly and obnoxiously making them both jump.

Marinette gasped as she clutched where her heart roughly was. It felt like it was going to burst right out of her chest it was racing so fast. She took great big gulping breathes to try and calm herself down while Adrien blinked rapidly to recover his composure.

"…That's the bell," Adrien stated, "I suppose we should hop to it, eh?" he winked cheesily at that while his soft, sweet, smile quickly blossomed into the familiar, cheeky, grin she always associated with Chat Noir.

If she ever had any doubt after last night then it was completely banished from this point onwards.

Only Chat could come up with a pun like that.

Marinette rolled her eyes at that. "Urgh!" she groaned loudly as they began to move towards the classroom, "that's not funny whatsoever."

"Really?" Adrien pouted. "And here I was hoping that you would find that punny."

"Oh God! No Kitty!" she cried out. "I am begging you here! Do not use our presentation as an opportunity to make frog puns!"

"But My La- wait," Adrien halted to a stop. His beautiful green eyes wide with shock as he stared at her. "What?!"

Goddamnit!

Of all the way to tell him that she knew and who she was, she didn't think she would do it accidentally because he made a pun! Urgh! Her and her big mouth!

"Y-y-you heard me," she stuttered her cheeks burned and her eyes fell to the floor. She really didn't want to see his disappointment when it really clicked in his mind that boring, plain, clumsy, stammering Marinette was Ladybug. "No frog puns, Kitty."

Adrien's mouth dropped open almost unattractively and then he slammed it close before he opened it again only to have no words come back. This repeated itself several times before finally some actual words escaped his mouth. "It was talking about the kiss," he croaked, "that's what gave me away."

"Uh-huh!" Marinette squeaked.

There is another prolonged silence as Marinette struggled to find a way to voice her fears. Are you disappointed it's me? She silently screamed to herself. Do you still want to be my partner? Are you going to have me arrested for kissing you? Do you never want to kiss again?

She squealed when he suddenly scooped her up and spun her round before holding her in a lovely, tight, embrace that simultaneously comforted her (it was a hug from Chat after all) and fulfilled all her dreams and therefore excited her (it was also a hug from Adrien!).

"I'm so glad it's you," he murmured into her hair. Her heart skipped a joyful beat at that as her fears melted away. "I just can't believe I didn't have the froggiest idea when it was so obvious."

She smacked him in the chest for that one.

"Sorry, sorry," Adrien laughed, "last one! Purr-mise!"

Somehow she didn't believe him whatsoever.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLB

Adrien felt like he was walking on air.

He had never felt this happy before in his life. He finally found his Lady and she was one of the best, truest, and sweetest friends he ever had. He also found himself looking at virtually a whole week in her company. A whole week where he can hopefully woo her properly in between research and making a presentation.

And then there's the fact that they had kissed!

He would much rather it hadn't been such an awkward, accidental, embarrassing moment but still….they had kissed! And her kiss broke the spell on him which meant there was true love between them!

He really couldn't wait for class to be over so he could really talk to Marinette properly.

He had hesitatingly bumped his hand against hers as they wandered down the corridor as he tried to be brave and actually hold her hand. Fortunately she was much braver than him as her fingers slide through his and gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

Though he was pretty sure her face was redder than her Ladybug suit and that his face wasn't that far behind, he still felt like he could skip for joy.

"ADRI-KINS!" Adrien and Marinette wince simultaneously as Chloe's shrill voice screeched throughout the class room. Adrien didn't have a moment to even breathe when Chloe suddenly slammed into him. The sheer force of her body weight ripped his hand out of Marinette's as he staggered back several steps. "I KNEW IT!" Chloe squealed delightedly. "I knew that my true love kiss in our shared dream would cure you! We are meant to be you and I! Don't worry my sweet, darling, Adri-kins! I will rescue you from that evil, gold-digging, Marinette. Bleh!"

"Chloe!" Adrien squirmed from beneath Chloe's arms. "I don't need rescuing from Marinette! And you didn't cure me!"

"Nonsense, Adri-kins!" Chloe cooed in a sickly sweet voice that made the hairs on the back of Adrien's neck prickle. "Marinette is obviously working the long game by declaring herself as your work partner. She's making herself appear all nice and sweet so you won't think she's marry you for your money when in reality she totally is."

"EXCUSE ME?!" Marinette exploded furiously. "I am so not a gold-digger unlike you. You evil, mali-"

"Marinette stood by me when I was ugly," Adrien said firmly as he shoved a wide-eyed Chloe away. "You couldn't get rid of me fast enough yesterday. I think I know who is my real friend and wants to be with the real me."

"Don't be silly, Adri-kins!" Chloe battered her eyelashes. "I don't want you for your money. I'm rich! Why would I want you for your money?"

"No, you just want a trophy boyfriend to hang off on your arm like a bracelet or something," Adrien said bitterly, "well strangely enough Chloe I don't want that. I don't want you."

Chloe gasped melodramatically at that. "How could you say that?!" she wailed. "I'm your future Mrs Agreste!"

"No," Adrien said coldly, "you are not, you never were, and you never will be the future Mrs Agreste," he reached out and slipped his hand back into Marinette's before he pulled her close. "Marinette is my true love and one day she will be my future Mrs Agreste."

And, because he wanted to and because he knew it would really rub salt in Chloe's perceived wounds, he pressed a gentle but firm kiss on Marinette's forehead.

"Meep!" Marinette squeaked.

"ARGH!" Chloe screamed furiously. "I won't accept this!" she stomped her foot childishly. "I won't! I won't! I won't!"

"I, erm," Adrien rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, "would you please go out on a date with me sometime, Marinette?"

"Y-y-yes!" Marinette stammered and squealed simultaneously. "I would love to!"

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Chloe's howl of utter denial was almost drowned out by the rest of the class applauding and cheering. The realisation that they were not alone and all of their friends had been watching the entire thing caused Marinette and Adrien to flush in embarrassment (and sheer happiness!).

"All right, Class," Ms Bustier said firmly as she stepped into the classroom, "settle down. Chloe, please, drop the dramatics. We have a busy day ahead of us."

"Dude!" Nino whispered as he offered his fist up. "That was awesome!"

"I think," Adrien murmured back as he bumped his fist against Nino's, "you mean it was pawsome!"

He grinned as he could virtually hear Marinette's eyes roll behind him.

He was just so blissfully happy!

He had found out the identity of Ladybug but more importantly he found out that Marinette was a real, true, friend who truly loved him with all her heart no matter how annoying she might find his puns or how incoherent her speech became. He could grow old, fat, and bald and know that she would still be by his side, devotedly in love with him as much as he was in her.

Also he got to tell Chloe where to stick it for the first time ever!

You know the Akuma attack did him more favours than he could ever imagine….he ought to send Hawk Moth thank you flowers.

(Especially since Adrien and Marinette also totally aced their presentation and had celebrated with their eighty-seventh kiss – yes, he counts them! – since they agreed to date. Adrien had never been so ecstatic to pass an assignment before in his life.)