Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ladybug and Chat Noir were tired. The current akuma victim-turned-villain wasn’t incredibly dangerous, exactly, but they were FAST. The civilians were all either cowering in the nearby buildings or moving in slow motion on the streets below, dealing with the effects of the akuma’s blasts.

Chat knew if either of them were hit, they’d be pretty much useless, but it would be better him than his partner. Ladybug, with her ability to capture and cleanse the akuma, was to be protected at all costs. He stumbled back to a standing position after pulling her out of the way from an attack. Turning to check if she was okay, he saw her narrowly avoid another strike. Damn it. They couldn’t get anywhere like this!

“Ladybug, we can’t defeat this villain on our own, we need help!” he shouted at her, spinning his baton in front of her and bouncing back two beams.

“And where do you suppose- AGH! we get that help from, Chaton?” she yelled back, barely swinging her yoyo around to form a shield in time for that last beam.

The duo made their way towards the edge of the roof, a combination of tactics and it being unavoidable with the onslaught of blasts from the akuma. “Why don’t you both take a break and SLOOOOW DOWN!” the akuma (Leisurely Pace) sang at the heroes in a voice as soothing as gravel in a high speed blender.

Chat gritted his teeth in frustration at the entire situation. “You’re the guardian now, can’t you give someone a miraculous?” He immediately regretted letting the anooyance show in his voice. He knew full well how much of a burden was on Ladybug since Master Fu had named her Guardian.

Ladybug dodged another attack from Leisurely Pace, grabbing Chat Noir’s arm and pulling him off the edge of the building. Using her yoyo, she lowered them safely to the ground and they wasted no time running and jumping as far as they could get until they found themselves in an alleyway. Leisurely Pace hadn’t seen where they’d ended up, but it wouldn’t take too long for them to be found. The attacks may have made others slow, but Leisurely was quick.

Ladybug took a moment to catch her breath and sort out the words before spitting them out bitterly. “That’s a great idea, kitty, except ALL the temporary miraculous users have been exposed!” Because of me, she thought dejectedly. No point venting about that right now. She knew Chat could be counted on to make her feel better, but she didn’t think she deserved it. Not anymore. She’d lost her other miraculous holders and had almost lost him as well. And here she was yelling at him, again.

“I.. I didn’t mean that to sound like I’m upset with YOU, Kitty. I’m mad at myself and it slipped out. I’m sorry... I-”

Chat Noir closed the short distance between the two, his claw-like boots touching her toes.

“Ladybug, it’s okay. And you shouldn’t bla-” Ladybug’s fingers on his lips shushed him up.

“We don’t have time and I don’t want to be told it’s not my fault right now, because it is and now I have no one to ask for help who knows how to use a miraculous!”

Chat Noir couldn’t hide his frown but he decided not to push her on the blame issue for the time being, because a brilliant face popped into his head and he wanted to kick himself for not thinking of the clever girl sooner.

“Marinette!” He said the name with reverence and glee, realizing she could definitely help them out of this mess.

Ladybug’s face paled instantly and her eyes grew wide.

“Wha... what? Chat... how did.. When.. What??” her breathing got faster and more shallow and Chat tilted his head at her in confusion. Surely she hadn’t forgotten...?

“Ladybug?” he looked at her with pure concern in his features. “You remember when we fought Kwamibuster, right?”

Ladybug seemed to relax at that. ‘Ah. That’s what he meant. Of course he doesn’t know who you are, Marinette. Calm down!’

She nodded slowly up at him, her color coming back to her face. Of course, there was still a problem...

“Kitty, that’s a great idea, but.. um… I think Marinette is uh.. Unavailable….” ‘Please don’t ask for details, please don’t ask for details, please don’t-’

“What? Why? I took her to her balcony right before the fight started. She should still be there. I’ll even take the miraculous to her!” His grin was wider than Ladybug had seen it in a while.

He really loved the thought of presenting a miraculous to someone, especially if it could be Marinette. She was so incredible!

Ladybug tried to come up with something.... anything... even remotely believable for why Marinette couldn’t be asked to join them. There had to be something.... someone else maybe... .. WAIT.

“Adrien Agreste!”

Chat’s pupils turned to thin slivers and his grin fell immediately as he gaped at her. “Wha-what??”

Ladybug didn’t seem to notice her partner’s panic and continued..

“I gave him the snake miraculous, back when we fought-”

“Desperada”, Chat finished, glumly.

“Er… yes. I didn’t know think I had told you about that… it ended up not working out too well, and Luka used it instead. Chat, are you alright? What’s wrong?” She rushed to her partner who looked like a child who had been told Christmas was cancelled.

He realllly didn’t want to remember his failures that day.

Letting out a small sigh, he looked into Ladybug’s eyes.

“I don’t think that’s going to work, either, my... Ladybug. Adrien is… also unavailable.” His eyes darted back and forth between hers, as if he was watching them play table tennis over her nose.

Ladybug wasn’t so easily convinced, however.

“What do you mean 'unavailable’? He was helping people hide just before you joined me. Hold on, I’ll go get the miraculous and find him. He’s had a LOT of practice with it, so this time I’m sure it will work out!”

Her smile was so… genuine and full of what looked like… pride? Chat felt butterflies that had nothing to do with Hawk Moth fluttering in his throat and stomach, but he couldn’t let her go on a wild goose chase when the goose was already right in front of her.

“No!” He grabbed her wrist just before she could release her yoyo out. “Chat, what the hell?”

“Adrien can’t use the snake miraculous. It was a disaster for him last time!”

Ladybug narrowed her eyes. “What do you even know about it, Chat? You didn’t even show up that day until after he’d given up and suggested Luka use it instead. How did you even KNOW he had used it, let alone that it 'was a disaster’ for him, hmm?” Huh. Chat didn’t know finger quotes could look angry.

He swallowed and desperately tried to think of something to get him out of this tangle up. He could hear Leisurely Pace yelling for them, demanding their miraculous, and generally causing more destruction for them to sort through later, and his mind eventually landed on Ladybug’s earlier excuse…

“Wait, why can’t I go find Marinette? She’s much better at this sort of thing than Adrien was! She even unified Mullo and Plagg! That takes a lot of strength to pull off, and she was amazing at it!” his eyes shone at the memory of Multimouse boldly asking him for his ring as he hid in a banana suit… of her bringing it back to him as promised, of her problem solving skills that rivaled Ladybug’s… and of her handing back the mouse miraculous and detransforming into his klutzy and awkward classmate. She definitely wasn’t either of those things that day… Realizing Ladybug had been talking, he tried to tune in as if he hadn’t been lost in his own thoughts when time was so precious.

“… the bakery and her parents are probably there so it would be impossible to get her the miraculous without them seeing, and that wouldn’t be safe.. look, Chat, we can’t waste anymore time. Why don’t you want Adrien using a miraculous? Why don’t you trust him? Why don’t you trust ME? We don’t have a lot of options, but as much as you don’t like this, I’m the one who has to make the final decisions. Will you help me with this, or not?” Her eyes were shining, but this time with unshed tears.

Chat reached his hand out, palm up, wordlessly asking to take her own. Sighing, she rested her hand in his and looked into his eyes, trying to hide the hurt in her own.

“Ladybug, it’s not that I don’t trust you. Please believe me when I say this.. there is no one in this world I trust more than you, my lady. You’re going to have to find Marinette. Please forgive me for this. I know it’s not ideal, but…” Chat Noir closed his eyes.

It was Ladybug’s turn to tilt her head to the side. “Chat..? What are you-”

“Plagg, claws in.”

….

…

After a few quiet moments, Adrien opened his eyes.

Ladybug had her hands over her face again, and the parts he could see matched the red of her gloves so well they almost disappeared entirely. She made a small noise that sounded like a mouse.

“….Ladybug? Can… can you say something? A-anything?” His voice cracked with anxiety. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked hopefully at Plagg, who had wisely chosen to keep his mouth shut, for a change.

Ladybug wasn’t sure how to talk anymore, but her partner, her friend, her crush… was looking at her as though his heart was in her hands. She realized it really was in her hands and ran to him and threw her arms around him, letting out a strangled laugh.

“Abrien! I can’t retrieve... betrieve... this... you! I can’t.. I can’t profess all, processor. Process this. Now I mean... but.. we... tefinitely dalk once we defeat this akuma!”

Ladybug was stuttering and jumbling her words now? Because she found out his identity? Adrien felt something akin to deja vu but couldn’t quite place it..

“So, my lady, think you should go get someone to help who isn’t already a superhero?” he pulled his signature flirtatious smirk (which worked waaaay better without the mask covering his eyebrows, Ladybug noticed). She pulled back from him, unsure how to deal with his flirtations knowing it was (AND HAS ALWAYS BEEN) Adrien doing the flirting.

“Um….” she was more than panicking and not sure she could handle detransforming or telling him who she was at this particular moment, but also didn’t know how to explain that she still couldn’t go get Marinette to help them...

A deeper and more annoyed voice spoke from somewhere in Adrien’s shirt. “Look, Ladybug, the sooner you get this over with, the sooner you can both unify Tikki and me with other kwamis to give you kids more power. He’s going to find out anyway, since we all know you can’t speak coherently around him anymore, knowing who he really is and all... ” Plagg’s voice trailed off with a slight snickering sound.

Ladybug looked anywhere but at the boy in front of her, eyes darting around, ears trained on the voice of the akuma villain still searching for them, inching closer.

Adrien raised an eyebrow and looked closer at the woman standing before him. Her face was as red as her mask, and her fingertips kept idly poking into each other as she avoided his gaze.

Why was she so nervous around him? The stuttering, the blushing.. She was acting just like-

Finally the miraculous magic faded, as his brain made the final connections.

“Marinette.”

Not a question. She may have fooled him during Kwamibuster, but he knew now who his Lady was, and his grin from earlier came back tenfold.

Bluebell eyes finally found their way to meet his and she bit her bottom lip and nodded once.

“MARINETTE!” Ladybug stepped back, startled, as Adrien ran towards her and wrapped his arms under hers. As he lifted her up and spun her around, she finally let out another squeak and he couldn’t help but laugh at the adorable sound. She was definitely his little Multimouse!

Wait. His... she wasn’t his anything. Well, his partner sure, but...

He stopped spinning and gently set her down, making sure her feet were under her properly before letting go.

“I’m sorry, Mar- Ladybug. I got a bit excited. I should have asked before.. Before picking you up like that.”

Ladybug nodded mutely. Her face wasn’t revealing her thoughts or feelings and it was giving Adrien more anxiety than he thought he could handle.

“Um... should we each use a second miraculous?”

That seemed to get her attention.

“Oh! Yeah. Yeah, that’s.. That's a great idea! I’ll just.. Go get them, yeah?” She walked backward a few steps, stumbling slightly on a bump in the asphalt before catching herself and plastering an awkward grin on her face.

“BRB!” Throwing her her yoyo, Ladybug was gone a moment later, leaving Adrien and Plagg alone in the alley.

Adrien frowned after her.

“She really just said ‘bee are bee’, right kid?”

“Yep.”

“Ha.”

“Plagg, does Ladybug... no, Marinette hate me? I mean, I know she doesn’t but... why is she freaking out so much? Even you said she won’t be able to talk to me now that she knows. Marinette and I are friends, so why does she seem so.... so afraid?” The last word was spoken hardly any louder than a whisper. The thought that Marinette might be afraid of him, of having him as her partner, it hurt. He’d rather she was mad or disappointed, but this? Maybe she wishes she hadn’t returned the ring to him in New York after all.

The cat kwami watched his chosen’s face shift as undoubtedly dark thoughts went through the teen’s mind. Sure it was entertaining seeing the two dance around each other, but Plagg drew the line when his chosen was hurting.

“She doesn’t hate you, kid, I promise. But I have to ask a very important question.”

Adrien looked at the kwami, eyebrows raised expectantly.

“How do you really feel about her? About Marinette?”

The question threw Adrien off for a moment.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly what I asked.”

“Riight. I guess... I mean... I love her, right?... She’s amazing, and clever, and brave, and-”

“I didn’t ask what you feel about LADYBUG, Adrien. I asked how you feel about MARINETTE.”

There was a pause. A breeze came through the alley and they could both hear Leisurely Pace’s voice carrying on it, closer than before. It’s a good thing the bakery isn’t too far. Marinette... er... Ladybug should be back soon.

Speaking of... he heard the zip of her yoyo and instinctually tried to hide Plagg before remembering she already knew who he was now. Ladybug knew who he was. Marinette knew who Chat Noir was. HE knew Marinette was Ladybug. Oh. Okay, this is fine. This is... completely fine.

…

…

“...ien? Adrien? Can you hear me?”

Cool hands gently caressed his forehead, fingers weaving into his hair. He liked this. A lot. But then he remembered that he and Ladybug were supposed to be fighting an akuma and he sat up quickly, bumping his head into Marinette’s face.

“OW!”

“OOF!”

“Sorry!” they both spoke at the same time.

Marinette’s face was still very red, but she had that determined gleam in her eyes he knew and loved so much. The look she made when defending her classmates against bullies, leading them when there was danger, and vowing to face his father while calling him a sock (it... never mind long story).

Wait. Marinette’s gleam. Not Ladybug’s. He decided to file that for later.

With her help, he got up from the ground and dusted off his designer jeans. Plagg stifled a chuckle and Tikki glared lovingly at him.

“H-here. You do have experience with this one, both as Aspik and unified with Plagg, and I think it’ll be the most useful since the akuma is so fast. We can’t risk getting hit, so Second Chance will be crucial. Cataclysm, too, to destroy the object... then I’ll need Mirage on top of my Lucky Charm. Maybe we can trick the akuma and go in from behind.”

No stutter (well barely). No bashfulness. The blush was still there, but this.. This was Ladybug doing what needs to be done. No.. This was Marinette. All of it.

Adrien placed the bracelet around his wrist, his eyes never leaving her face in the process. Everything about her was amazing, even before he knew she was Ladybug, and his admiration was ready to burst.

Calling on their base transformations, the two leapt up to the roof of the nearest building. They could see Leisurely Pace, only half a block away from their hiding place below. More civilians were walking in slow motion, more windows were smashed, and more debris littered the streets, but Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other and grinned. They had each other, and nothing could stop them.

“Tikki, Trixx, UNIFY!”

“Plagg, Sass, UNIFY!”

Chapter Text

“UNIFY!”

The two voices shouted in unison and their suits shifted as Trixx and Sass were each merged with one of the superheroes.

The battle went much smoother after that, with the hiccups being rectified by a quick swipe on a wrist.

Ladybug used an illusion to trick Leisurely Pace into thinking she and Chat Noir were hit, causing the akuma to gasp with excitement and rush towards them to undoubtedly take their miraculouses from them.

Their confusion as the heroes dissipated from their grasp lasted long enough for Chat Noir to Cataclysm the remote control that had been shooting out the blasts. Sure enough, a black butterfly popped out and Ladybug made quick work with her yoyo to de-evilise it and send it on its way.

One “Miraculous Ladybug” later, and she held out her fist as she always did, only to see Chat staring at it as if it would bite him.

“Chat?”

He startled slightly, his eyes raising up to meet hers before sheepishly reaching out with his own fist and letting out a quiet “good job”.

The victim sat on the street before them, blinking owlishly at the whole scene. “Um, excuse me but... why am I here? Did... did I get akumatised?”

The heroes put their practiced smiles on and turned toward them. “Yes, but everything is okay now. Here’s a number for a counselor who specializes in helping akuma victims. She’s really great and can help point you in the direction of other services you may need as well!” Ladybug’s smile grew genuinely as she handed the person a card from her yoyo. There had been a few “therapists” popping up, wanting to cash in on the trauma Paris had been suffering, but every once in a while, a gem came along who truly cared. This particular counselor knew that the majority of victims struggled with issues beyond just a bad day with bad emotions, and had a long list of resources for clients who needed help finding jobs, housing, even fun hobbies and social activities.

The person stood up and thanked the heroes before wandering away, leaving the two alone.

Even Alya wasn’t around. She must have been caught by one of the blasts early on and was too far away now to come beg for a few words for her blog. Ladybug’s heart warmed at the thought of her friend, even if she WAS a bit too obsessed with her reporting....

And her other friend... the one standing right next to her, the one she’d been fighting Hawk Moth with for about a year now, the one who also sat in front of her in some of her classes and causing her to get distract-

“-bug? Are you in there? I mean, that’s a joke, I know you’re there, I just.. You haven’t really moved or said anything for a bit and I was getting kind of worried but if you’re not wanting to talk that’s okay I can leave I’m probably rambling a bit ha, y-you do that too well not you Ladybug but you M-Marinette but you are Marinette and I....” Chat physically placed his hand over his mouth to stop the word salad but it was too late. Ladybug was staring at him as if he’d grown a second head. So much for being suave, he thought to himself.

‘What am I DOING? This is Marinette. And Ladybug, sure, but... she’s just your friend from school who kicks your ass at video games and gets flustered when anyone dances with her and fights like hell for those around her and.. Why am I so nervous now? Because we know each other’s identities? She’s not freaking out, so why am I? Get it TOGETHER, Agreste!’

Three feet away, Ladybug was repetitively brushing her fingertips against her thumbs, a stim that typically helped her calm down when sorting her thoughts. These events were not exactly typical, however, and she wouldn’t be surprised if the magical suit that could withstand being thrown against concrete and asphalt and even offer significant protection from being impaled was worn through before her transformation ran out.

Marinette was brave. Braver than most people her age for sure but also braver than many adults who had years of experience at Life under their belts. But finding out that Chat Noir was Adrien? She wasn’t sure how to process this. They had an akuma to fight before, no time to stop and think beyond the initial reaction, but now? Now they stood a few feet apart, jewelry beeping in warning that their suits would vanish soon, and her mouth too dry to even swallow the lump in her throat.

She was vaguely aware that Chat had been trying to get her attention. He was rambling about something. The beeping at her earlobes knocked her out of her thoughts long enough for her to point at them and then up at the roof. Chat’s nod of understanding was all she needed and she swung out her yoyo and pulled herself up.

Moments later she heard Chat’s baton twitter and his feet gently thump down behind her. She turned to look at him, eyes glued to his bell. ‘Adrien has a bell as an accessory.. What would his father say if he knew?’ Ladybug chuckled out loud, causing Chat to tilt his head slightly. Then, after a final beep from both miraculouses, their transformations fell away leave two teenagers standing on a rooftop in Paris with matching blushes, refusing to meet each other’s eyes.

“So, uh.... hi.”

“Y-yeah, heh. Hi.”

This was going to be just fine.

Chapter Text

Marinette had spent over a year crushing on the blond boy currently standing in front of her. She’d also spent more than a year turning down every one of his advances. Without knowing it was him, sure, but still... the newly discovered knowledge was making her head spin like a lubed up pinwheel in a tornado.

Her thoughts were racing, too. ‘Chat Noir is... Adrien? Adrien is in love with ME? Wait... Ladybug... But I’M Ladybug.. And I’ve... I’ve...’

“I’VE KISSED ADRIEN AGRESTE?!”

Oops. She hadn’t meant to say that out loud, let alone shout it in the subject’s face. Her own face turned more scarlet and she slapped a hand over her mouth.

Adrien’s shock melted cooly into a smirk, allowing his inner Chat to override his nerves.

“Twice.” He held up two fingers to punctuate his statement. Internally he was a mess, but he didn’t want Marinette to know that. She was already pretty nervous around him as things were before and he definitely didn’t want to make things worse.

“R-right. Twice. Yeah... heh.” She rubbed the back of her neck, mirroring Adrien’s usual nervous habit, before cautiously looking up into the green eyes of her partner. He still had the smirk on his face but it wasn’t as sure as she was used to seeing. His eyes were swimming, not able to decide between her eyes, nose, forehead, chin, or lips... as a place to focus on. They finally settled on the fringe of hair in front of her eyes, from what she could tell.

Marinette tried to formulate sentences in her head, something to clear the awkwardness between them, some way to show him nothing had to change now that they knew (even if she knew that would be a lie...). Adrien’s face had lost the smirk and darkened into something full of worry and hurt. Had she caused him to feel that? ‘Mari, FIX THIS, DAMNIT!’

A soft yet broken voice flowed to her ears like reluctant molasses on a cold day, almost too quiet for her to hear.

“I.. Suppose this means you’ll be needing this back then, right?”

She watched, mutely, as he began pulling the ring off his finger, her eyes widening in shock and confusion.

“WHAT?!”

Ah, there’s her voice again.

“Don’t even THINK about trying that again, you stupid fucking cat! PUT IT BACK ON NOW!”

“SHE NEVER SAID TO DO THAT, YOU IDIOT!”

Adrien stepped back, his eyes and mouth wide in shock at the verbal outrage from the woman in front of him and the black cat kwami who had zoomed to her side. He obediently shoved the ring back down over his knuckle and swallowed loudly. Plagg and Marinette were both pretty intimidating on their own, but together? He involuntarily shuddered at the raw power the two of them could have before bringing his thoughts back to the current situation.

“Right. Sorry. I just thought.. Since you know who I am now.. Before, we were told we’d have to give up our Miraculous if we found out each other’s identities...” he trailed off, not sure how else to explain why he had even considered giving up his ring again.

Marinette’s face softened and she seemed to relax a bit at a topic change she was comfortable with. She smiled kindly at Plagg, who went back to the corner of the roof where he and Tikki had been waiting. She knew he had felt Adrien's intentions with his ring and didn't blame his outburst anymore than her own.

“That was what Master Fu said, Kitty. And it was still safer for us not to know, but.. Well, I’m the guardian now and I make the rules. You didn’t want to waste time earlier and made a choice with the pros and cons weighed in. Even believing I’d take your Miraculous away from you, you did what you thought needed to be done. I.. I’m proud of you, Kitty.” Her eyes were shining as he met them with his own, his ears burning from the compliment.

“Thank you, My.. Marinette. That really means a lot to me.”

She smiled at him in response, stepping forward to close the gap he had made earlier. She reached out to his right hand, wordlessly asking permission to hold it in her own, and he obliged. Running her finger lightly over his ring, she whispered “You know I can’t do this without you, Kitty. I can’t be Ladybug without YOU, specifically. I... I realize it’ll be different now, but.. but if you’re willing to stick with it, then so am I.”

His hand closed over her inquisitive fingers and he gently pulled them to his lips before softly kissing her knuckles. “Of course, Bug. You and me against the world. Right?”

Marinette could literally not get any redder at this point and she let out a tiny squeak of surprise as she felt the velvety touch on her skin. Chat Noir had kissed (or attempted to kiss) her hand many times, but without her suit covering her hands (and yeah okay, without the mask covering ADRIEN’S face), the effect was much different. The kiss itself was softer than the brush of a butterfly wing, yet it sent electricity through her arm and up and down her spine causing her whole body to shiver slightly.

Adrien misinterpreted the shivering and quickly dropped her hand. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean.. Shit. I’ll stop, I promise! I know you don’t feel that way about me, and it’s not an excuse, but finding out you’re Marinette was like... falling in love all over again and I just.. UGH.” He had his face buried in his hands, wishing he could simply teleport somewhere far away from her until he could sort out his feelings.

Ladybug was Marinette. He had thought so before, and it had filled him with joy. Now, he knew it was true, and he had to reign in his feelings before messing things up AGAIN. ‘She seemed pretty upset about having kissed you, and you had to go and point out she kissed you TWICE. Freaking dumbass. She’s so uncomfortable right now, just look at her!’ His inner dialogue was not being kind to him, but he obeyed and brought his hands down far enough to look at Marinette.

She wasn’t moving. She seemed to be as lost in thought as he was and he felt anxious about what was going on in her mind. Was she reconsidering taking away his miraculous? Would she tell him she didn’t want to see him outside of Akuma attacks from now on? Would they still be friends at school? Would she tell him who the boy was she liked now that their identities weren’t secret anymore? Why would he need to know? And isn’t it Luka? ‘What does he have that I don’t have?’ he thought to himself, not jealously at all. Okay maybe a little.

Marinette had been repeating something in her mind a few times, not sure if she had heard it correctly and too afraid to ask him to clarify in case she hadn’t. ‘Finding out you’re Marinette was like falling in love all over again...’ What? WHAT?

“WHAT??”

She cursed her brain-to-mouth connection yet again. Why can’t it keep up? Why can’t it do the things it’s supposed to do when it’s supposed to do it?

Adrien blinked at her. Had he spoken any of that out loud? God he hoped not. Then what was she asking about?

“Um... not sure which part you’re referring to, Mari...”

Her turn to blink, and swallow quickly while carefully picking which words to say.

“Love with Marinette me not Ladyme? I mean Ladybug me??”

So much for careful planning.

“Well, uh.. Both? I’ve been in love with Ladybug since the day we met, but I’ve been falling for Marin- you- for a while now. I just hadn’t acted on it because of my feelings for Ladybug. Which is also you. But it’s okay!” he rushed, noticing her eyes widening in what he interpreted as more discomfort. “I still cherish your friendship, on both sides of the mask. I.. I hope my feelings for you won’t get in the way of that....”

Marinette’s knees buckled under her slightly and she stumbled before catching her balance again.

“A-adrien...?”

“Yeah?” His voice was quiet. He prepared himself for the rejection and willed himself not to feel too hurt. It’s not like she can control who she has feelings for, after all. He’ll love her as a friend, as she loves him.

“You’re the boy.”

“The... boy?” he was confused. He was generally good at deciphering Marinette’s word salads, but he couldn’t tell if this was an encouraging phrase (You’re the MAN!) or an insult (You’re just a little kid!).. It wasn’t like her to try and insult someone though, so that can’t be it...

“The other boy. The one I like. The- the one I’ve been in love with for a while...” her voice had trailed off into a whisper but his ears caught every word. He saw her fidgeting with her fingertips, brushing them against each other nervously. 'She was in love with ME? Since when??'

“Since that day you gave me your umbrella, after I yelled at you about the gum on my seat..”

Oh. He’d said that out loud, hadn’t he. At least she had been fine answeri-

“WAIT, WHAT? That was like, the first or second day we knew each other? You didn’t know anything about me! How could you have been in love with me??” He didn’t mean to sound so upset, but he WAS a model after all. He didn’t like the thought of someone, especially Marinette, falling for him because of his looks, though that didn't seem like her anyway...

Ladybug’s confidence decided to make an appearance and Marinette’s eyes gleamed mischievously.

“Remind me again when you fell in love with Ladybug? You just mentioned it, didn’t you?” she feigned a thoughtful look. “Oh, that’s right! THE DAY WE MET!” Her smirk was enough to rival Chat Noir’s and Adrien couldn’t help but feel both proud and a little scared of the shift.

“Though to answer your question, I may have just met you, but you looked past my snap judgment of you and tried to make amends, and you bared your soul to me even though I didn’t deserve it. Then you gave me your umbrella. It was like an olive branch, a peace offering, and I was grateful to accept it. I was happy to have a chance to get to know you, to be your friend. But then...” she took in a deep breath.

He leaned forward, intently.

“Then the fucking useless thing closed on my head and you let out the most gorgeously UNromantic guffaw I’ve EVER heard.” Adrien snorted at the memory and her description of it and she smiled up at him before she continuing. “I knew at that moment that I wanted more than anything to be the one to make you laugh like that again, someday.... Everyday.... Always.”

Adrien’s breath caught in his throat. He had planned on saying something witty or punny but the end of her confession had him unable to breathe. Her face held concern and he blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears from falling out. How had such a funny memory made him feel so.. vulnerable? So loved?

She loved him. Really, truly loved him. He decided he could let his body do what it needed to for a change. He knew she wouldn’t judge him or make him feel bad for it. The first few tears that slid down his cheeks startled him anyway, but he resisted the urge to swipe them away. He wasn’t going to be reprimanded or told to “man up”. Not by Marinette. Never by Marinette. He knew this deep in his soul and he looked into her worried face and smiled as brightly as he had in over a year.

“Marinette. I fucking love you.”

Startled laughter peeled out of her as she threw her head back in relief and glee.

“Oh my god you dork.”

“Mari...”

“What?”

“Say iiiiit.”

“Say WHAT?”

“Purr-leeeease?”

“Fine! I fucking love you too, you stupid cat! Happy?” her smile betrayed her mock frustrations and he beamed at her before twisting his lips into a smirk.

“Purr-fectly, My Lady.”

“Ugh, I’m going to regret ALL of this, aren’t I?” she shoved at him playfully but he caught her by the wrists and tugged her into his chest.

“Oh? You think so?” he practically purred into the top of her head.

He felt her stiffen slightly at the increased contact between their bodies. Before he could pull away to avoid scaring her, he felt her arms wrap around his back. The collar of his over shirt brushed against her cheek and she giggled before rubbing it against his chest to scratch the resulting ticklish feeling away.

“You’re so cute, Marinette. You know that, right?”

She tried not to feel flustered again, but failed. This was going to take some getting used to.

“S-so you’re too! I mean, you are. Also. UGH!”

He laughed gently into her hair and wrapped his arms around the back of her neck, cradling her head carefully against his chest.

“Hey, Mari?”

“Hmm?” she hummed into his shirt.

“I’m glad it’s you, more than you can ever know.”

She pulled away enough to be able to look up into his face, his green eyes shimmering down at her.

“Me too. That it’s you, I mean.” she bit her lip as her eyes strayed down to his. Her face had calmed down by now but the blush came back in full force as she saw his tongue dart out slightly onto his bottom lip. ‘Oh god, Mari, stop looking at his lips before you do something stupid like k-’

“...iss you?”

What?

“What?” Marinette repeated out loud.

“May I kiss you? If it’s too soon, I understand, don’t worry, I don’t want you to feel like you have to or anything!” his hands had come back up in a placating gesture. Marinette would have laughed at his rambling if not for the pained expression on his face. Poor boy thought she’d reject him. She supposed both of them were a bit awkward, after having chased after the other for so long without knowing.

She smiled reassuringly at him and nodded her head. “Yes, purr-lease!” Shit. Had she meant to pun? She wasn’t sure. Would he ever let her forget punning right before their first (third, but whatever) kiss? Definitely not, if the look on his face is anything to go by.

Adrien grinned and leaned down into her space, leaving just enough room for her to close the gap or reconsider.

She chose the first option and he felt a sigh of relief leave him as their lips met. Awkward, tentative, and sweet.

This time, no miraculous ladybug would erase the memory. This time, they both knew who the other was. This time, the moment belonged to them both, and nothing would take it from them.

Chapter Text

---------

A loud and obnoxious buzzing noise filled the room and Marinette groaned into her pillow. She knew she shouldn’t have stayed up so late the night before, but after remembering the events of the previous day and evening, she felt a burst of energy and leapt out of bed with a delighted squeal.

---

Yesterday, after she and Adrien had shared their first kiss (that they’d both remember) and parted ways, Ladybug had swung home with a red face and a borderline unsafe heart rate.

Landing on her balcony with a minor stumble, she muttered her detransformation and threw herself onto her bed from the skylight. Grabbing her pillow and shoving her face into it, she let out a scream and was afraid the feathers and cloth wouldn’t muffle it enough to keep her parents from hearing it from the bakery. After a few moments, she sat up and hugged the pillow into her lap, a thoughtful expression on her face.

Tikki floated down onto it with a freshly retrieved cookie in her paws. “How are you doing, Marinette?”

“I just realized I’m going to have to replace my pillows, Tikki. Adrien is allergic to feathers!”

Tikki smirked, waiting for her chosen to realize what she had said and the implications of it. It didn’t take long.

“Oh my god! Not that I expect A-Adrien to share my bed or- or anything like that! I mean, not right away... Maybe someday? AAGH!” She shoved the pillow to her face and screamed again. Tikki took another bite from the cookie and smiled lovingly at the red-faced girl in front of her.

Once Marinette had calmed down, they spent the next hour or so talking about what had happened and what changes to expect. Marinette was a bit frustrated that Tikki had known it was Adrien since the Dark Owl incident and not clued her in at least a little bit, but she knew she couldn’t blame the kwami. If she had known his identity sooner, she was sure it would have made fighting much more difficult, especially watching him sacrifice himself for her. Not that it would be easy to see it now, but at least they had had more time to get to know each other on both sides of the masks before finding out. ‘Silver linings, Marinette, silver linings!’

She wondered how Adrien was faring with Plagg and was tempted to send him a quick message when she heard her phone ding with a notification. She blushed when she saw it was from her kitty, knowing that they had the same idea at the same time.

Adrien <3: Hey Mari, are you up?

Marinette: Yeah, hey. You okay?

Adrien <3: Yeah, just... wondering about something...

Marinette: Oh?

Adrien <3: Yeah, I never actually asked and don’t want to assume anything...

Marinette: ….? Yes?

She held her phone so tightly her knuckles started turning white as she watched the three little dots bouncing around as he typed. Why was this making her so nervous? They had JUST KISSED, for fuck’s sake. This shouldn't be so nerve-wracking.

Adrien <3: Actually, this would be better in person, sorry.

Adrien <3: You’ll be at school tomorrow, right?

Marinette slumped her shoulders and let out a groan.

Marinette: Yeah, I will, but... what is it you wanted to ask? Why can’t it be over text?

Adrien <3: Well, I think it’s just... better? To be in person. I don’t know... I’ve never really done this before??

Marinette: ..???

Adrien <3: Okay, Plagg is threatening to run away if I don’t ask now, so... um...

Adrien <3: Marinette, will you go out with me?

A few moments passed and Tikki realized her chosen hadn’t taken in a breath for a bit longer than normal for a human. “Marinette, are you going to answer him?” she asked gently. Marinette blinked a few times before turning to look into Tikki’s big blue eyes. “I... it’s happening. Adrien asked me out, Tikki. He asked me out!” Tikki frowned. “What did you think he was going to ask? You both confessed your feelings to each other like 2 hours ago... did you forget that?” “N-no, I just... I don’t know, Tikki! I’m still processing everything!!”

---

Not too far away, another young hero was restlessly tapping his foot against his desk, eyes glued to his phone screen and hands getting clammy.

“Stop worrying so much, kid, she probably just dropped her phone or something. You know how clumsy Pigtails can be.” Plagg tried to reassure the nervous teen, noticing how antsy Adrien was getting while waiting for Marinette to answer. She hadn’t even started typing out a response and Adrien was sure he had fucked something up. Plagg sighed, correctly interpreting his chosen’s train of thought. ‘This poor kid has no confidence sometimes...’

“Look Adrien, Pigtails has been in love with you for ages. Have you really forgotten she almost kissed you when she thought you were a statue? Something about ‘entwined for all eternity....’ Kid. She’s crazy about you. Emphasis on the ‘crazy’... as you have been crazy for Ladybug. Only difference is she never told you, and now you’re mistaking that with a lack of genuine interest and overthinking it and it’s driving ME crazy!”

Finally, Adrien looked up at the frustrated kwami and quirked his lips into a small smile. “Thanks, Plagg. I needed to hear that.” He reached out his long fingers to give Plagg a quick scratch under the chin. The kwami leaned into the touch, almost letting out a small purr before catching himself and going back to pretending to be uninterested. It didn’t go unnoticed and Adrien let out a chuckle before setting his phone down on the desk. He got up and stretched for a bit, wiping his palms on his pajama pants before giving in to his anxieties once more and picking up the phone to stare at the screen.

There were dots bouncing along the bottom. Marinette was typing.

Princess: she sayt ues1

Adrien frowned in confusion. What is that supposed to mean?

More dots.

Princess: Yes!

Princess: Omg, Tikki stole my phone because I “was taking too long”

Princess: I’m so sorry! I kinda... panicked? Though it was really funny watching Tikki type with her stubby little arms... But yes, I would LOVE to go out with you! <3

Princess: Aaghh! Didn’t mea to send the heart emoki!!1

Princess: Emoji* Omg I’m sorry!

Adrien started breathing again, smiling happily at Marinette’s obviously flustered typing. Laughing quietly to himself, he typed back.

Adrien: Lol, it’s okay Princess, calm down. I’m pretty sure we’re waaay beyond sending heart “emokis” to each other after what happened earlier, don’t you think? 😉 <3

Princess: … Ugh. I guess you’re right. It’ll just take me some time to get used to, I think. I hope that’s okay?

He could feel her nervousness through the bright screen and felt his chest tighten. She was just as scared as he was, wasn’t she? Flustered Marinette, Brave Marinette... they were one in the same and he loved that about her. He loved HER.

Adrien: I love you, Marinette. I will remind you as much as you need. Under one condition...

Princess: Omg. I love you too. And of course, what is it?

----------

Marinette held her phone to her chest, a content smile on her face and happy tears sneaking their way out from the corners of her eyes.

She scrolled up and re-read the response several times before they ended their conversation, promising to see each other the next day at school. Before she plugged her phone in for the night, she scrolled back one last time:

Adrien <3: Please remind me that you love me, too? I know I’ll be able to handle anything that comes my way, no matter how terrible or scary or heartbreaking, so long as you, my love, are there to tell me you love me.

------------------------

Marinette got ready quicker than usual, running down the steps two at a time and nearly smacking into her father at the bottom.

“Woah there, Mari. Where’s the fire?” he teased her lovingly before kissing the top of her head. “And good morning! You’re up and dressed already?”

Rolling her eyes at his teasing, Marinette pushed past him with a giggle. “Yes, papa, I’m really excited about school today. I’ll tell you and mama about it later, I promise!”

Ignoring his questioning look, she ran to the kitchen and grabbed some fruit and a few pastries that didn’t sell the previous day and slipped out the front door without another word.

Tom shook his head, chuckling to himself, and made a mental note to prepare Sabine for whatever news their daughter had for them that afternoon.

------------------

By the time Adrien’s car had pulled up to the school, he was feeling clammy and nervous again. He hadn’t said anything to his father (not like he’d had the chance...) and wasn’t sure if he should have told Marinette to keep things quiet at first or just go with the flow... He hadn’t worried too much with Kagami. Mostly because her mother and his father were working on some kind of project together and both seemed to encourage the two teens spending time together, but also because Kagami was the one who had initiated everything between them. It hadn’t lasted long, sure, but his father hadn’t made any negative comments about the relationship (which Adrien felt was a very strong word for whatever it was anyway...). He was pulled from his thoughts as Nino met him on the stairs.

“Hey man!” After their signature handshake fist bump combo, the two friends made their way into their home classroom.

Marinette was already sitting in her seat, hands clasped over a pastry box, nervously biting her lower lip while listening to Alya complain about missing the action from yesterday’s battle. Adrien’s heart melted at the site.

The two girls looked up as the boys made their way to their own seats, momentarily halting Alya’s ranting. “Hey, guess who showed up EARLY for a change!” She pointed excitedly at Marinette who groaned and buried her face in her hands. Nino pretended to faint in shock and Adrien grinned wickedly before suggesting “Maybe she was... eager... to see a certain someone this morning, hmm Marinette?”

Alya and Nino looked at the girl whose ears had turned red and back to Adrien again. “Are we missing something here, dude?”

Adrien calmly (at least outwardly) sauntered over to Marinette’s seat and sat next to her, pushing her hips with his own until she slid over and he had enough room. Alya gaped at the action, waiting to see how her best friend would handle the close contact and obvious flirtatious behavior from her crush. To her surprise, Marinette simply closed her eyes and took a deep breath, in and out, before opening her eyes and turning to the smirking model seated against her.

Licking her lips and flicking her eyes to HIS lips long enough for him to notice, she retorted “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say YOU were the eager one here, Agreste.”

“Huh” words seemed to be failing him at the moment.

He was vaguely aware of Alya gasping and pointing her phone at them while Nino shouted something along the lines of “way to go, dudette!”, but his focus was on his Lady. She had leaned in close to him, a mischievous grin on her face, and grabbed onto the collar of his over-shirt. Before he could think of anything witty to say, she pulled him down by his shirt and firmly pressed her lips onto his.

Their faces were both red and the startled squeaking noise he made wasn’t the most attractive noise to come out of him, but neither of them seemed to care, or notice their best friends and a few other classmates clapping and whooping in excitement.

The kiss didn’t last too long, but Adrien and Marinette could both feel the passion behind it. The warmth, the love, and the promise.

Pulling away slowly, Marinette grinned at the slack-jawed blond and leaned in again to whisper in his ear “Come see me tonight, Chaton.”

His face brighter red than Ladybug’s suit, Adrien mutely nodded before returning to his seat, noticing more classmates had made their way into the room and class would be starting soon.

He heard Alya hissing at Marinette, demanding details. Nino high fived him with a “Duuuude it’s about time!” and a huge grin. The students who had witnessed the action wasted no time letting the newcomers know and by the time their teacher showed up, everyone was chattering about the recent class romance development. Most were happy for the two, of course, and that more than balanced out the outraged cries and glares of the minority.

Adrien sighed happily as class began, acutely aware of Marinette doing the same behind him.

Things were looking bright, and whatever the future held, Marinette and Adrien knew that they would face it together and come out on the other side.

---------------------------------