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Adrien must have studied at that photo for over three hours, cumulatively, at this point. It hadn't even been 24 hours since the events of it. It had helped that Alya and others in his class hadn't stopped talking about it. There were even signs people had pasted around the city, celebrating. Alya hadn't stopped gloating about one upping Nadia Chamack. The older reporter had covered the news from the Ladyblog, and had tried connecting it to the interview that she'd done with the two before she got akumatised. Alya had admitted that it was a well done piece, but still proudly showed anyone who would listen the part of the interview where Alya had video called in, and the two gushed over television. Adrien had been more than happy to gush with her, even though he had to keep it toned down a bit. Plagg didn't care about his comments about Ladybug, Nino wasn't too interested in shipping other people, and Chloe had a severe distaste for Chat Noir that made bringing up almost disheartening. Marinette was oddly disinterested too. He hadn't talked with her about it since he heard her telling Alya that obviously if Ladybug said she didn't like Chat Noir then she didn't. That was disheartening. If Marinette didn't think it could work, then he wouldn't talk to her about it. She could be very convincing, and he'd always felt she was smarter than him. Adrien would just rather live in denial. He did a good job of it too, up until Marinette had apparently had enough of all the LadyNoir talk. He couldn't very well avoid hearing about it when the girl in question and Alya were sitting right behind him, waiting for their afternoon classes to start. "You said that Ladybug said that she liked another boy, right? And on the video before she got hit by Oblivion, she was telling Chat Noir that they weren't a couple. Why would she suddenly change her mind about him, even if she had forgotten him? Those feelings wouldn't be there." This was why he hasn't asked Marinette. Even Alya didn't have an answer to that. The rest of the day, Adrien tried to keep his confused mess to himself. As he sat though Physics, all he could think about were Marinette's points rattling around in his head. Adrien just liked to think that Ladybug secretly liked Chat Noir, even if she liked this other boy too. But to hear Marinette talk about it... It seemed a little far fetched. Doubts about Ladybug's true feelings troubled him as he rode home in the car, as he went to his room, as he practiced piano, as he tried to do his homework. After reading the same math problem for the third time in a row and realizing it wasn't actually math, it was his sheet music. It was time to take a break after that. He skated up and down the ramp in his room, faster than he normally went, trying to keep up with his racing mind. He recalled waking up, arms around Ladybug. Her head had been tucked under his, and she held him back. When she pulled away, he'd felt the cold from where she'd been pressed against him. She was obviously shocked, and had instantly assumed that he'd pulled her there. He whipped around at the top of the ramp and skated to the bottom, jumping off his board. He stomped over to his computer, ignoring Plagg lazily watching him from the back of the couch and pulled up the photo again. Yes, she was definitely leaning into it. He was not the only one. He couldn't see where her hands were, but it was clear she wasn't pushing against him or anything. This kiss was definitely consensual, and, if Alya was to believed, even enjoyed. "If you stare at that photo and sigh for another five minutes, I'm Cataclysming your computer."Adrien rolled his eyes. "I just don't get it, Plagg! I mean, the more I think about Marinette's words, the more right I think she is. It just doesn't seem likely that Ladybug could just forget her crush for me, and knowing my luck, she'd be wearing something from him. Maybe she'd even have a photo of him on her phone." He sighed, slouching onto his arms. "Ladybug's not the type to kiss without any kind of proof. She had to have thought we were together. I don't know how either of us would have come to that conclusion either.""Maybe she had an album of Chat Noir photos on her phone like you have one of Ladybug?" Ears burning, Adrien scoffed and tried not to entertain it. Plagg drifted in view, hovering in front of his computer screen. Adrien buried his head further into his arms, and ignored the kwami, though that didn't stop his muffled words from being heard. "More likely she has photos of Adrien Agreste." Plagg nodded. "That does seem more likely. Tons of random girls have crushes on you."Clarity suddenly descended on Adrien. He cleared his throat, which was now suddenly very dry. "What... what if she's one of those girls?" He stood up, causing Plagg to fall from where he'd just sat down on Adrien's head. "Plagg, what if Ladybug has a crush on Adrien?" He was pacing now, mind flicking through all of the times she'd saved him in civilian form. She'd lost the bee miraculous trying to rescue him. She'd done everything she could to save him from Riposte and Gorizilla, even asking him to jump. All of the blushes and the sincere smiles flashed through his mind. The only time he'd ever seen her almost give up her miraculous was when she thought Volpina had him captured. She'd been willing to sacrifice her identity for his guaranteed safety. Adrien stopped in the middle of his room, allowing his mind to process everything. He walked slowly to his bed, thinking and then rethinking everything over and over. It all made sense.Flopping on his bed, he looked over at his side table to the the answer to his Valentine's Day poem. This was Ladybug's handwriting. He had no idea how she'd gotten it, but obviously she'd realized it was about her and responded!Plagg drifted cautiously over as Adrien stared at the ceiling. Eventually, he spoke up. "Are you okay, kid?" "Ladybug... likes me."