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Chapter Text

This is not how Marinette planned it.

To be fair, she didn't plan it at all.

She decided in her head that she wouldn’t reveal her identity to Chat Noir until they had defeated Shadow Moth. Not earlier because it could endanger the world,  because the villain would use it against them, and as Bunnyx proved to her, it would end in literal world disaster. 

Marinette didn't want that.

But of course things had to go wrong for her.

It would be weird if they didn’t.

She was locked up with Adrien (why exactly with him of all people available????) in the attic. They found themselves there because Ms. Bustier had asked them to bring the materials needed for their lesson today, but bad luck would have it that a villain under akuma's control had locked the door and so left them there.

After checking the room several times, Marinette realized that the only other way out than the door was through the window, only to exit through the window she would have to transform herself into Ladybug, and she couldn't do that in front of Adrien.

The villain sowed terror, Tikki wriggled in her purse, restless and Marinette ran out of ideas.

She took a deep breath. She had to tell Adrien that she was Ladybug.

"Don’t worry. I'm sure Ladybug will get here soon and free us," Adrien assured her, wanting to comfort her. She smiled slightly. In her spirit, she wished that Chat Noir would come instead of her, but she knew that either he wasn't there yet or he was busy fighting the akuma.

She took another deep breath to mentally prepare for it. It's now or never.

"Ladybug won’t come."

Adrien blinked a few times and looked at her confused.

"Why-"

"Tikki, spots on," she continued before he could add anything. She closed her eyes. 

When she opened them, Adrien was standing in front of her with his mouth open.

"Ladybug?! But I...but you-! But I don't...what?!"

She sighed. 

"It's probably not what you expected, but I don't have time to talk about it," she started after a while. "I shouldn't have done it at all, but unfortunately the situation demanded it" she walked closer to him "Adrien, I trust you and I know that you will keep this information to yourself. I hope it won't change your perception of me too much." she finished, sent him a small smile and moved towards the window.

"I'm Chat Noir!" he sputtered out before he realized what he was saying. 

Ladybug stopped. He covered his mouth with his hand. 

"What...?" She asked, without turning toward him. He swallowed.

"Uhh...umm...."

"Adrien..." she repeated, turning around with a deadpan expression "what?"

I'm screwed.

"Well, looks like the cat's out of the bag! Haha!" a new voice spoke up. Adrien and Marinette simultaneously opened their eyes wider.

"Plagg!" he growled at his laughing kwami.

Meanwhile, Ladybug stood as if she had been struck. 

Adrien is Chat Noir.

Adrien is Chat Noir.

Adrien. Is. Chat. Noir.

Oh. My. God.

"Marinette?"

She shook her head, snapping out of her trance. They didn't have time for that now, Paris needed them.

"Nevermind, we don't have time for that now. Transform and I'll see you downstairs" she opened the window "we'll talk about it later." She threw him a warning glance and jumped out.

"Someone’s in trouble hereeee!" Plagg spoke up, in a singing voice.

"Shut up Plagg and claws out!"

                           ***

They didn't talk about it later.

That's because literally a few hours later they had a fight (a real fight) with Shadow Moth and defeated him.

They really defeated him.

It's just that, she didn't feel any satisfaction from it after seeing who was hiding under the mask.

The greatest fashion designer, her idol altogether, Gabriel Agreste.

She expected everything, but not this.

Gabriel Agreste who was...Adrien!

She quickly turned to Chat Noir, who, however, was gone.

She sighed quietly as she watched the police arrest Gabriel. She wanted to call him, but in the end she decided that it was probably better for him to digest this information on his own. 

After all, it's not everyday that you learn that your own father is your greatest enemy.

                          ***

The only upside to this whole situation was that his mother never really died/went missing.

His father, his fucking father, kept her in some shitty basement that he had no idea existed until today. He stole a miraculous, became a fucking villain, hurt people every day, tried to steal his and Marinette's miraculous under the pretext that he was doing it for him (of course Gabriel didn't use those specific words because he didn't know Adrien was hiding under the mask. He was lucky that Adrien had to hide his identity or he wouldn't have ended up in jail), to fix his family and so on.

He snorted. Right.

"There was nothing to fix anymore, father," he muttered under his breath.

He pulled his hood over his head, leaned against the back of the chair and looked at his phone, which had been off for days. When the internet was flooded with news that famed designer Gabriel Agreste was the Hawk/Shadow Moth, he threw the phone on the floor. 

Wanting it or not, he quickly got himself a new one, but he hadn't turned it on once yet.

He wasn't ready.

He wasn't ready for messages from strangers telling him how sorry they felt for him, from friends who were worried about him, possibly also from teachers at school.

And especially from Marinette.

He avoided her civilian form, avoided her as Ladybug, and felt bad about it.

But he just couldn't.

He knew they had to talk about everything, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

He looked up at the hospital ceiling, sighing heavily. He rubbed his eyes. He had to go get coffee because he was getting sleepy again. 

He got up, stretched, glanced at the person on the bed then left the room. 

He yawned, passing nurses in his path. 

"Adrien, you should go home and sleep," Plagg spoke up when they found themselves in a more empty part of the hospital. 

"I'm not going home, Plagg. It's too..." he broke off, stopping at the coffee machine.

Empty.

"I can't leave my mom now," he said instead, "I don't want her to be alone among strangers when she wakes up."

In the end, the doctors told him there was a chance his mother would wake up. He clung to that hope because it was the only thing he had left.

Plagg flew out of his sweatshirt pocket and stopped in front of his face.

"Then maybe you can at least sleep here. Seriously, you're already drinking too much of that coffee, eventually something will happen to you," he said, booping him on the nose with his paw. Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Relax, I promise it's my last one," he assured him, "now hide because someone else will see you and then Ladybug will really be angry," he joked, trying to cheer up the atmosphere, but it sounded weak even by his standards. 

Fortunately, Plagg did the request anyway and Adrien, with his new coffee, headed back to the room.

"You know you'll have to talk to her at some point? If not on patrol, then at school."

He sighed, taking a sip of coffee. The hot drink instantly relaxed him.

"I know, Plagg. I'll take care of it soon, I swear."

"If you need anything, you can always count on me, kitten."

He smiled.

"Thanks."

He opened the door of the room and immediately regretted going for that coffee.

Sitting on the bed was a very awake and very confused Emilie Agreste. She was looking around the room when her gaze finally came to rest on the figure in the doorway.

"Adrien?"

He barely heard the sound of a coffee mug crashing.

"...Mom?"

Chapter Text

When she wanted to give Adrien time to assimilate everything on his own, she didn't quite mean that it would be a week without any sign of life.

There was literally no contact with him. If it hadn't been for the news on TV that Emilie Agreste had awakened from her coma, she wouldn't even have known if the boy was alive.

He was avoiding her. She was sure of it. Especially how he didn't show up for patrols, when she was surrounded by fans wanting a photo and the kids asked her "Ladybug where's Chat Noir?" and she had to make something up so as not to damage his reputation. She understood the kids, she herself missed her Chaton very much. 

He didn't show up at school either, although in this case he had a better excuse and everyone was just worried about him. 

She was so concerned about all of this that she woke up much earlier than usual and for the first time in a while she wasn't late for school, she even showed up a few minutes before Alya, which shocked not only her, but also the rest of the class.

Alya Césaire walked through the door into the classroom and jumped up slightly when she saw Marinette at her desk. She blinked a few times then put her hands on her hips.

"No way," she began.

"What?" Marinette asked, sensing where this conversation was leading.

"It’s gotta be a dream. It can't be physically possible!"

Before Marinette could answer anything, Nino Lahiffe entered the classroom.

"What’s going on? What's Marinette doing here so early?" he called out confused after seeing his colleague. Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on! You guys act as if it was assigned to me somewhere that I have to always be late. I know how to come on time," she explained, crossing her arms over her chest in a gesture of being 'offended'. 

Nino and Alya exchanged glances after which Alya laughed, kissed Nino on the cheek and sat down next to her best friend. 

"So, what made you not come late today?" She asked, resting her chin on her hand, looking at Marinette with curiosity in her eyes.

The superheroine looked at her, as if only understanding what Alya was asking her. She thought for a moment about her answer.

"Just work stuff," she used the code name on purpose, but she knew that Alya would understand that it was about superhero issues "well, and Adrien..." she added a little quieter, looking away. 

Normally, Alya would have smiled slyly (like the fox she was) and said something to tease her, but for the past couple of days as the subject of the blonde boy came up everyone was thinking only one thing, and it wasn't that Marinette was madly in love with him. 

Ayla opened her mouth to respond something to this, when Chloe Bourgeois in the flesh entered the room. She looked as if she literally got out of bed five minutes ago.

Her hair was tied up in a messy bun, wearing a blue hoodie that definitely didn't belong to her judging by the size, black leggings and some sneakers probably borrowed from Zoe, judging by the style.

The old Chloe (from a few months ago) would have cried/screamed seeing herself in such clothes, with such behavior, with the kind of people she was now hanging out with.

It's amazing how much someone can change in just a few months. It shouldn’t be forgotten that a very big impact in this had Luka Couffaine who helped, still helps, Chloe to change for the better.

Marinette of a few months ago, would never have said so, she would have even felt disgusted, sympathized with Luka, but now?

Now she really enjoyed the happiness of the two, she was especially happy that Chloe helped Luka soothe the pain of their breakup. For this, Marinette was probably most grateful to her.

"I don't know what surprises me more," Alya spoke up, pulling Marinette out of her reverie, "that Chloe Bourgeois came to school three minutes before the lesson started looking messy or that Marinette Dupain-Cheng wasn’t late for the first time in her life," she finished, smirking. Marinette sighed.

Chloe looked up from her phone, seeing her always late friend at her desk, she raised one eyebrow, smiling slightly. 

"Hey, Marinette, Alya."

"Hey, Chloe," Mari replied, rolling her eyes. Alya laughed and waved.

"Is that my brother's hoodie?" Juleka said, looking at the blonde carefully.

Hearing this, Chloe flushed.

"No!" she denied quickly although her red cheeks said it all. 

Juleka leaned against the back of her chair, apparently satisfied with the answer. 

After that, Ms. Bustier came in and the lesson began.

                           ***

At lunch break, Marinette sat down at the table that was the so-called 'The Girls' Table.' While waiting for her friends, she took out her phone and first texted Alya. Then she went to a private group chat with female superheroes and also wrote there. She sighed, looking around the room. She felt a bit jealous seeing other students so happy, without any worries. Meanwhile, she at only sixteen had to worry about school, saving Paris, still on top of that she couldn't get her cat partner out of her head. She looked at the phone again.

Alya
I thought you were patrolling with Chat Noir today?

She bit her lower lip. Right, Alya didn't know that Adrien was Chat. Before she could text back, one by one the girls began to sit at the table.

"There were so many people today in that restroom, did you notice?" Alya asked Chloe, sitting down. Chloe nodded.

"It’s ridiculous, I can't remember the last time it was this bad," she added, correcting her bun. 

Once all the girls were seated, Marinette caught eye contact with Alya and mouthed to her: I'll explain to you later, to which the girl nodded.

"So what Miss Bourgeois," Alix began after a while. "what happened that you came today looking so messy? You, the queen of fashion," she smirked.

"Yeah, aren't these Zoe's sneakers, by any chance?"

After that, all eyes turned to Chloe, who snorted.

"Please, I can't remember the last time I was dressed to fashion standards, I'm surprised my mother hasn't disowned me yet," she replied, rolling her eyes. When Chloe changed her behavior and started spending time with her half-sister, she began to notice what their mother really was like, and if she didn't care, Chloe decided she wouldn't either.

She shook her head and started playing with the bracelet she got from her boyfriend, wanting to distract herself from what she was saying.

Marinette's gaze softened. Chloe tried to hide it, but they all knew that the situation with her mother was hurting her.

"Chloe..."

"No, stop it," she rubbed her eyes with her arm and looked at her friends with determination in her eyes, "I'm changing for Luka, for my dad, for Zoe, for you and for myself. It was my own decision, and if my mother doesn't understand that..." she paused, taking a deep breath "then it's her loss," she finished, smiling at them. 

After this speech, the teenagers got up from their chairs and hugged her.

"Okay, now tell us why you were late," Alix reminded them when they all returned to their seats. She rested her chin on her hands and looked at Chloe with a knowing look, the rest of the girls agreed with her.

Chloe blushed.

"I slept at Luka's."

Hearing the answer, the table immediately became noisy. 

"What!?"

"No way!"

"Gee, you have to tell us everything!"

Chloe blushed even more than was possible and began to tell.

Marinette smiled. She was glad she had these girls because at least they made her feel like the rest of the kids at the cafeteria.

Chapter Text

Ladybug sighed, watching the city. She always enjoyed patrols, but patrols without Chat Noir weren’t the same. Even when she patrolled with other miraculous holders it wasn't the same as with her partner. 

Everything was different without him, she felt that even the stars had changed a bit.

It was starting to annoy her. She just wanted to see him, they didn't even have to talk, she just wanted to see him whole and alive, how much she would give to have him come here and tell some of his unfunny jokes, and she would still laugh because she secretly liked them, and for everything to go back to normal because she missed him so much and-

Someone landed on the roof next to her making her jump.

"Wow, you don't tend to get surprised on daily so you must have been high up in the clouds," Alya's voice rang out and Marinette instantly calmed down, glad that the one time she lowered her guard, it was in front of her best friend and not some criminal.

"Uhh, yeah" she shook her head, returning to the ground "sorry, got lost in thoughts."

Rena Rouge sat down next to her, crossing her legs. 

"About?"

Marinette bit her lower lip. She couldn't reveal Chat Noir's identity without his knowledge, consent and presence so she had to say it this way so as not to reveal too much. Besides, if Adrien wanted to, he could tell her himself, couldn't he?

"Chat Noir," she replied, "and Adrien, of course, because who else," she added, looking at the streets.

"Hey what was that about with Chat Noir by the way?" Alya asked with a little curiosity in her voice. 

"He said that he had a bit of turmoil in his civilian life and had to take a break for a few days," she explained, which was not a lie. 

"Sure, understandable, happens to the best of us," she commented, "when he comes back tell him 'hi' from me."

She smiled slightly.

"Will do."

After that it got silent. Both girls focused on the patrol, although Alya definitely more so. Marinette won't lie that she did too because she continued to mostly sit thoughtfully.

"Do you think I should go to his house and talk to him?" Finally, since the arrival of Rena, Ladybug actually looked at her. 

Alya raised one eyebrow, smirking.

"To Chat Noir's place?"

She bit her tongue before she could foolishly answer 'yes'. She rolled her eyes, for an act.

"No, to Adrien's."

Alya blinked a few times then looked away and scratched her forearm.

"Speaking of which...come on, you have to see something," she replied, standing up. Marinette frowned, also standing up.

"Okay?"

Rena jumped off the roof, LB right behind her.

                          *** 

After landing on the ground, Marinette immediately knew where they were.

"Rena, what are we doing in front of Adrien's..." she broke off, looking ahead.

She didn't expect to see a sign with the words For Sale and a phone number underneath. 

"It wasn’t really out in public," Alya began to say at one point, Marinette glanced at her, "however, I managed to find information on the Internet that right after Emilie Agreste awoke from her coma and left the hospital, she put the house up for sale and moved out with her son, no one knows where. I’m sorry, Mari."

Marinette swallowed. He probably didn’t leave Paris. He would tell her. Right?

Was this his way of repaying her by constantly lying and pushing him away? Honestly, it wouldn't surprise her because she definitely deserved it.

She didn't even know when tears came to her eyes, and she was being hugged by her best friend. She leaned into her.

"It's okay, LB. It's not likely he would have moved out of town without saying goodbye, especially since he now lives with his mom. They probably just moved to another street to have peace from the paparazzi," she comforted her, stroking her hair. 

Ladybug stepped back.

"Are you sure?" she asked. She had never felt so much like Marinette while being in Ladybug's costume.

Alya smiled broadly and wiped her tears from her cheeks.

"Well, of course! Trust me."

She nodded.

"I trust you," she replied and they hugged again.

           
                         ***

She promised Alya that after finishing her patrol with her, she would go home to sleep right away, but she couldn't.

She came to 'their' place, sat down and hid her head in her knees.

Why isn't he here?

Why isn’t he talking to her?

He definitely wasn’t scared by the fact that Marinette is Ladybug, right?

She sighed. 

She didn't know how long she sat like that, but finally she heard someone near her, landing on the roof.

"Leave me alone, Rena, I don't want to talk anymore," she merely muttered.

"Ouch, I didn't know I looked so much like a fox."

She immediately opened her eyes upon hearing this voice. She raised her head and turned it to the right, in her mind begging for it to not be some hallucination.

He was here.

He was standing a few meters away from her, in all his leather glory. He smiled at her a little uncertainly, his left cat ear drooping slightly.

"Chat!" She called out, jumping up from her seat, quickly hugging him.

Chat Noir embraced her, barely catching his balance.

"Wow, hey, bugaboo, what a nice greeting," he commented. 

It made her feel warm inside after hearing his voice, plus it was probably the first time she was happy to hear that nickname. 

Eventually, however, the spell wore off. She stepped back and slapped him lightly on the back of the head.

"You stupid cat!"

He rubbed the sore spot, wincing a little.

"Okay, I deserved that."

Marinette put her arms around herself and sighed quietly.

"I know you needed time to process all this, but you could at least text me," she said.

This time Adrien sighed.

"I know, and I'm sorry," he began, "I shouldn't have cut myself off from everyone, I shouldn't have avoided you, it's just that when all this came out, our identities, Shadow Moth, plus my mom, it..." he took a deep breath "it was too much for me, especially when all this news started coming out," he explained, looking away and grabbing his shoulder. His tail tucked between his legs, and his ears flattened on his head.

Her gaze softened. She approached him again and put her hand on his cheek which made him look at her. 

"Chaton, I'm not angry about it, I never was. I know it was difficult for you, I only wish I could have been there for you then, but now I'm just glad you came back to me," she replied, smiling at him. 

Chat smiled back and rested his forehead against hers. 

"Thanks, Ladybug."

"Always, Chat Noir."

They stood like that for a moment, when suddenly Chat moved away, opened his eyes wider as if he had just realized something, his ears stood up straight, and he looked at her happily.

"M'lady, I know your identity!" he announced.

Ladybug blinked a few times then started laughing. Leave it to her partner to state the obvious thing after the fact.

Although, all in all, he didn't have time to enjoy it, and she to lecture him and tell him how dangerous and irresponsible it was.

But it didn't matter now.

They had defeated Hawk/Shadow Moth.

He couldn't hurt them anymore. 

Besides, she was going to reveal her identity to him anyway after the defeat of the villain so what difference did it make?

Now, for the first time, she would let herself enjoy it too.

Her partner was also her longtime crush. 

Right, they needed to talk about that too.

But that's for later. 

"Well, and I think I know yours," she replied, booping him on the nose, "okay, now come on. I missed our patrols, we need to catch up," she continued, grabbing his hand. Adrien sent her a confused look.

"Isn't it a little late for that?" he asked.

"It's never too late for that!" she called out and pulled him along.

It's possible that they may have woken up a few residents with their voices and laughter, but this once, they didn’t care because they were finally together again.

Ladybug and Chat Noir.

As it should be.

Chapter Text

'Patrol' quickly turned into joking, laughing, playing and just hanging around. Besides, she had just finished patrolling with Rena Rouge so she figured that if she and Chat Noir now goofed around for a bit, nothing would happen.

Before she knew it, they found themselves in the park. Continuing to laugh and have fun, they didn't really look where they were going, and Marinette, being Marinette, tripped. She squealed, pulled Adrien with her and they rolled (thankfully on the grass). 

Chat pulled himself up a bit, Ladybug opened her eyes (when did she close them?) realizing that she was currently under her partner, however that may sound....

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She blushed slightly, looking away.

"Yeah, sorry, I'm so clumsy," she merely muttered.

"Hey, that’s not true," he replied to this, she looked at him "happens to the best of us," he assured.

"Really?"

He nodded.

"Seriously, I can't count how many times I tripped or fell. You're not the only one, m'lady," he assured, laughing lightly.

She smiled gently, watching him. Sure, she and Chat Noir had been in this position before, but it always lasted only a moment because it usually happened during a fight, and even if they wanted to (which, of course, they never did) they didn't have time to stay that way longer.

Now, however, they weren’t fighting. It was just them, alone. No one would get in their way. No akumas, no fans, no reporters. 

Just him and her.

She wasn't sure if it was this particular thought that led to it, but in an instant she had was cupping his cheeks and he was sending her a confused look. Before he could speak, Marinette pulled him close and kissed him.

She didn't have to wait long. Adrien kissed back rather quickly, putting his hands on her waist. She turned them so that she was on top and, continuing the kiss, tangled her hands in his hair.

"Marinette...are we-"

"Shh, later," she replied in a hushed voice.

Adrien nodded, sat down so that Marinette was sitting on his lap, then began to kiss his partner on the neck. She moaned.

"Careful, Kitty Cat, I'm not sure if you know what you're signing up for," she interjected, nevertheless, in a teasing tone. 

Chat stepped back and looked at her. There was amusement and lust in his eyes at the same time, and the worst part was,

that Marinette found it very hot. 

"You started it, Bugaboo," he purred, smirking at her. 

She rolled her eyes and pulled him towards her to be face to face with him.

"Oh hush now, you silly cat," she said, and once again kissed his mouth.

                          ***  

It was hard to say where exactly Marinette's mind gone blank.

She remembered kissing, lots of kissing, saying something about going home, detransforming and going to sleep.

Therefore, she had a right to wake up confused. 

She frowned when she felt a hand on her right hip and someone's face tucked in her hair. 

However, she quickly deduced that it was Adrien and that they had magically ended up in bed together. For a moment a horrible thought went through her head that they could-

She opened her eyes wider and gently lifted the covers and...she wasn’t naked. She breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately winced when she saw that she was dressed in yesterday's clothes and would have to wash the sheets. 

She looked around. It was hard to tell what time it was because she didn't have her phone with her, and the light that came through her half-open blinds was practically nonexistent so she was betting that it might have been late at night or early in the morning.

She would have tried to go back to sleep because she was still quite tired, but her pigtails were starting to dig into her skin, plus the vision of sleeping in the clothes she was outside and at school in, didn't appeal to her very much.

She had to wake Adrien up.

She sighed. She bit her lower lip, wondering how to do it smartly. 

"Adrien?"

Silence answered her. She tried again.

"Adrien, wake up."

Now he groaned and moved a little. Mari considered it a minor victory.

"Come on, chaton, get up."

"Mmmh...Ladybug...?" he finally spoke up in a sleepy voice.

She rolled her eyes.

"Close. I need you to wake up because I need to get up," she continued.

This apparently had an effect, because the face hidden in her hair disappeared, as well as the hand on her hip.

He moved away, stretched and opened his eyes. Seeing his sleepy look, she smiled slightly. 

"Mari?"

"Hey, Kitty."

Adrien frowned, only to open his eyes wider a moment later when memories of their earlier 'patrol' reached him. He sat up.

"Did we..." he began, lifting the covers. She shook her head.

"No," she added aloud. 

Just as she had done before, he also breathed a sigh of relief.

"I mean, not that I wouldn't want to! Because I would want to! But under different conditions when you want it too and you're ready because I wouldn't want to hurt you and-

Marinette smiled gently even though her partner was already babbling.

She also sat up.

"Adrien, I understand," she interjected, wanting to interrupt his babbling, "and thank you, that’s sweet," she finished and kissed him on the cheek. 

She turned around, turned on the lamp so she could see something and began to untangle her pigtails. She didn't have to look in the mirror to know that she was blushing, the fact that her whole face was burning was enough.

When did she start showing Adrien Agreste affection so casually?

"What time is it?" he asked, looking around the room.

She searched her phone with her eyes, put the hair ties on the place next to the sleeping Tikki and Plagg and unlocked her phone. 

"Uhhh 4.50," she replied.

Hearing this, Adrien jumped up. Marinette had a feeling that if her bed had been on the floor he would have jumped off it like he got burned.

"Ah look how the time flies haha. I just  remembered that I have to go now because...uhhh...I have to help the neighbor shave his cat!" he announced, and Marinette blinked a few times.

What the fu-

Adrien facepalmed probably understanding himself how this excuse sounded. She moved closer. 

"Try again?"

He sighed and looked at her.

"I have to get home before my mom gets up so there is no suspicion," he confessed. She smiled.

"There you go, was that so hard?"

He huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"No."

She laughed.

"I know it's a habit, it's okay," she assured him, "I'm sure it will happen to me plenty of times too."

Adrien sent her a smile, leaned over and put a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

"You look really pretty when you’re wearing your hair down," he commented. Marinette blushed again.

"Thanks."

After that he woke up Plagg, who only frowned a little and said goodbye to Tikki, said the words of his transformation, but before he could leave he looked at her.

"I wanted to say 'see you at school' but I realized that I actually don't know what day today is."

"Saturday."

He nodded.

"Adrien, there is one more thing we need to talk about," she reminded.

The difficult one.

"I know. "

She bit her lower lip.

"My parents are going out for a couple of hours today," she began, without looking at him, "and if you have time, could you come by my place later and we'll talk it over?" she suggested. She glanced at him.

He thought about it. Finally he smiled slightly.

"Sure," he agreed "but now, unfortunately, your knight in leather armor must bid you farewell" he added at which Mari giggled.

"I will miss him very much," she replied, smirking. 

"Thanks for having me over, m'lady. It was great," he kissed her forehead and left before she could react.

Marinette slumped on the bed, covering her face with a pillow.

"Marinette?" Tikki asked, confused.

"Tikki, I think I lost my mind."

Tikki just laughed.

Chapter Text

After Adrien left, Marinette took a shower, changed her clothes and went back to sleep. 

Her mom woke her up around ten o'clock, she ate breakfast, got dressed, sat with her parents for a bit, even made a quick patrol on which she helped two girls get their kitten off a tree, which of course reminded her of the conversation she had to have with her partner today.

Then she went home and got on with her homework. In the meantime, Alya called.

"Ughh, why did Ms. Mendeleiev have to put so much homework on us? We don't even do that much in a week!" complained her friend. 

Marinette rolled her eyes, smirking.

"Okay, but nevermind. I heard that someone recently saw Chat Noir in the city," she looked surprised at the phone "is it true? Did you meet up? Did you talk to him?"

'Did you meet up?'

He stood a few meters away from her, in all his leather glory. He smiled at her a little uncertainly, his left cat ear drooped slightly.

'Did you talk to him?'

Before he could speak, Marinette pulled him close and kissed him.

She didn't have to wait long. Adrien kissed back rather quickly, putting his hands on her waist. She turned them so that she was on top and, continuing the kiss, tangled her hands in his hair.

Adrien nodded, sat up so that Marinette was sitting on his lap, then began to kiss his partner on the neck. She moaned.

"Marinette?"

She shook her head.

"Yes, yes, I saw him. We kiss...uhh...I mean, we talked. Me. With Chat Noir. Yes."

"Are you okay? That math seems to have already chewed your brain," Alya commented, jokingly. Marinette snickered.

She was about to reply when she noticed a notification on her phone. 

A text message.

From Adrien.

Adrien
I'll be there in 10😽

She took the phone in her hands and texted back. She bit her lower lip. She had to brush Alya off. It was still far too early to tell her anything.

First she would have to come up with a special excuse for everyone named: 'How come you don't stutter in front of Adrien anymore?'

Because, obviously, she couldn't go and say, Oh, you know, it turned out that Adrien is also my partner Chat Noir, whom I've known since forever because I'm Ladybug-

That would probably be the easiest option, but if she wanted to still have a private life then she had to lie. The upside was at least that now she could carry the burden together with Adrien.

"Look Alya, I have to go. I have to finish homework and my mom wanted me to clean my room, you know how it is."

Sometimes she was afraid of how easily these lies came out of her mouth. 

"Sure, I understand. Good luck with the cleaning, girl! Call me later."

"I will! Bye!" And she hung up.

She quietly let the air out of her lungs and started another assignment.

When she was halfway through, she heard a knock on her ceiling flap. She jumped up slightly.

"Tikki," she turned to her kwami, sighing "can you let Chat Noir in?" she asked. 

Tikki nodded and flew through the trapdoor. A moment later she returned, followed by the Parisian superhero.

"Can't you get in like a human? Through the door?" She asked, turning to face him in her chair. She folded her arms over her chest.

"Umm..."

"Could you at least get off my bed when you’re wearing these shoes? I just changed the sheets," she continued, not letting him answer.

Adrien looked at his shoes, then at her, and then at the bed.

"Oh, uhh, yeah, sorry," he replied and jumped off the bed. 

He looked around the room. Not knowing where to sit, he sat down on the floor. 

Marinette watched him closely the whole time.

"What are you doing?"

He blinked a few times.

"I'm sitting. "

She rolled her eyes.

"I can see that much. I meant, why are you still in your suit," she specified.

Adrien thought for a moment, then looked at her and smiled widely.

"Um you know, I feel more confident that way! Heh..." he replied absolutely unsure of his words. 

"Mhm."

Marinette stood up and walked over to him. 

"Adrien, let Plagg out," she said.

"But why."

She pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing loudly. Right, it could turn out that Adrien was hiding under the mask, but she shouldn’t forget that it was still also Chat Noir, who could get on her nerves.

"Because," she began in a calm tone, "I need to talk to Adrien," she explained, realizing how it sounded.

"Can't you talk to Chat Noir instead?" he suggested, smiling sweetly at her. Marinette frowned, and his face fell.

"Besides, I didn't want Plagg to hear this conversation," she added.

This got his attention.

"Wait, kwami that can do that?"

She nodded.

"Single words sometimes. For example, once Tikki repeated to me what I heard then as Ladybug," she replied, and Tikki sitting on her shoulder nodded.

He blinked.

"Okay, Claws in," he said the words for detransformation and after a moment Adrien was in front of her, "I don’t want Plagg to eavesdrop."

Hearing this Plagg looked highly offended.

"Me, eavesdropping? How can you accuse me of such a thing, Adrien?"

Adrien rolled his eyes. At this point Tikki decided to take the initiative.

"Come on, Plagg, we'll look for something to eat," she said, grabbed Plagg's paw, and the two kwami left the room, leaving their guardians alone.

Not knowing what to do with herself, Marinette sat down on the floor next to Adrien.

That's when she noticed that her partner was not dressed in the outfit she saw him in every day.

He was now dressed in a black thick hoodie, the same color sweatpants and sneakers.

For the first time since she met him, Adrien really looked relaxed and comfortable with himself.

She was glad that he finally could be who he really was and no longer had to pretend in front of anyone, and never would again if Marinette had anything to say about it.

She would do a lot to make her Kitten happy.

"Adrien-"

"Marinette-"

They started simultaneously after which they both looked away.

"Sorry, you go first," he added, scratching his shoulder.

She took a deep breath. Now or never.

"Adrien, I..." she started, but quickly interrupted, grimacing. This was harder than she thought "look, I've always liked you, but for some time now I've also started to like Chat Noir although I didn't want to admit it because I've only loved you for so long, and I know you love Ladybug, but I'm not what you think i-mphmh!"

This time she was interrupted by his lips on hers. He was kissing her.

Adrien Agreste was kissing her on the lips!!!

However, instead of reacting in any way, she froze. 

It's not like she never kissed him because she won't count how many times she kissed Chat Noir to save him, to distract someone's attention from them, or that one time when Alya showed them a photo of them kissing and she didn't remember it.

Or even the incident yesterday where she was kissing Chat Noir, knowing it was Adrien.

But now there was something different about that kiss. It was gentle, a light brushing of the lips as if he was giving her space to pull away, not a greedy, lust-filled one like last night.

Marinette blinked a few times when Adrien pulled away from her.

"I fell in love with Ladybug the first day I met her and I love her to this day," he began, looking into her eyes, "for her courage, her kindness, that she can always just look at Charm and immediately knows what we have to do, that she always defends the weak, I could list to my heart's content, but you know Marinette, whose qualities are these too?" she shook her head slightly "yours because you are Ladybug, with or without the mask, you are the girl of my dreams and I love you because you are my friend, my partner and my lady. Nothing changes that," he finished.

She bit her lower lip, feeling tears in her eyes. He tilted his head to the side.

"M'lady, did I-"

She grabbed his neck and pulled him close.

"Oh, Kitty, I'm sorry I rejected you so many times," she said, resting her forehead against his, "It took me a long time to understand that, but I love you too. Both of you. You. You mean the whole world to me chaton, and I will never again make you suffer because of me," she added and hugged him.

Adrien hid his face in her hair.

"Merci, M'lady."

"We just have to come up with an excuse for how come I don't stutter in your presence anymore," she added, and Adrien started laughing.

Chapter Text

The couple spent the rest of the weekend together, never parting for an inch. They sat either at Marinette's or Adrien's house (Marinette finally had a chance to meet her boyfriend’s mom, who immediately took a liking to her, happy that her son had found himself such a darling girl. That time Adrien blushed, and Marinette giggled). 

On Monday morning before school, they decided to do a short patrol. Apparently it wasn't very necessary, but they both missed it. 

"If I can be honest...I never believed that you would let yourself be asked out on a date or something, and now there we go! Ladybug sits on my lap and cuddles into my chest, it sounds like something pulled out of my dreams, are you sure this isn't a dream?"

Ladybug giggled. Looking at their relationship so far, it really sounded absurd.

"No chaton, it's not a dream."

"Phew."

She giggled again and snuggled in more. A moment didn't pass, and she began to feel and hear that distinctive purr. She smiled softly. It was so peaceful.

The sun was just rising, the city was slowly waking up, and Marinette was ready to fall asleep right here and now, in Adrien's purring embrace, heedless of cares. 

"If Alya saw us now I'm sure we would end up on the front page of Ladyblog," he spoke up at one point, in a hushed voice.

She laughed lightly.

"That's for sure," she replied and thought about it. 

Alya.

She bit her lower lip. She had to tell Adrien. She promised herself that she wouldn't hide anything from him again.

"Adrien..." she began, pulling back slightly.

"Hmm?"

She took a deep breath.

"Alya knows that I'm Ladybug," she said.

For a moment there was silence. Her anxiety skyrocketed. Please say something-

"Oh..."

'Oh?' 'Oh' never means anything good!

"I’m sorry!" she continued before he could add anything "I didn't plan this, I really wanted to tell you first, but it all crushed me. School, being Ladybug, the lies, that I became the Guardian...I had to tell someone, and Alya is my best friend and-"

"Hey! Mari, look at me."

Chat Noir grabbed her shoulders and only that made her look at him.

"I'm not angry about it. I know it was too much for you and I understand that. You couldn't tell me because it would have been too dangerous. Really, I understand," he assured her.

She smiled and kissed him briefly.

"Merci, chaton."

"De rien, m'lady."

After that she got off his lap and stood up.

"I would love to stay and sit like this some more, but we have to get going for school," she reminded. Chat groaned.

"Ughh, right. My first day at school in a week," he commented, wincing slightly. 

"You'll be fine, now get up. "

Adrien obeyed, stretched and looked around.

"Uhh m'lady, do you realize that now we‘lol have to walk miles to get back for our backpacks?" he asked, leaning on his baton.

Hearing this, Marinette smirked.

"Don't worry about that, Kitten, I've planned everything," she replied, booped his nose and opened her yo-yo. 

At that moment she was really glad that she hadn’t yet decided to entrust all the miraculous to their temporary owners permanently.

She pulled out the horse miraculous and put it on.

"Tikki, Kaalki, unify. "

He smiled looking at his girlfriend.

"Hey, Pegabug."

The superheroine winked at him and turned to the left.

"Bon Voyage!" she called out, creating a portal. She leaned slightly, pulled out her backpack and Adrien's bag and the portal closed. She looked at him satisfied.

"Clever," he commented.

"Kaalki, divide."

She took off the glasses, tucked them back into her yoyo and put her backpack over one shoulder.

"Okay, now how do you want to get to school? It would be a little weird if someone saw Ladybug and Chat Noir flying through town with school backpacks," Chat remarked.

"I have an idea for that too, come on," she replied and jumped off the roof.

Adrien took his bag and followed her.

                                ***

Adrien wasn't sure how, but by some miracle through side streets they managed to reach the school unnoticed.

Marinette did a brief recon then returned and nodded.

"Clear. Spots off."

"Claws in."

He put his bag down on the ground and leaned against the wall. She leaned next to him, touching him with her shoulder.

"How much time do we actually have left till the lesson?" He asked after a moment of silence.

"Fifteen minutes," she replied after pulling out her phone.

He nodded and silence fell again. He involuntarily grabbed her hand.

"Are you nervous?"

"A little," she admitted, biting her lip, "you?" she looked at him.

"Yeah," he confessed, "but you know, what's it to us?" he added.

"Exactly," she nodded, "we did more difficult things than talking to our friends."

"We defeated Shadow Moth."

"Yep."

Adrien swallowed.

"We can do that," he continued.

"Mhm."

He took a deep breath and turned to his lady.

"You and me against the world, M'lady?"

She blinked a few times then smiled slightly.

"As always, Kitty."

Sending each other encouraging glances one last time, holding hands, they set off towards the school.

Chapter Text

Marinette had never been as stressed as she was in that moment.

They had one version established which they would tell their friends, but she was still afraid that:

- they wouldn't believe them
- they would still magically discover that Marinette is Ladybug and then what-

"Mari?"

She shook her head, snapping out of her panic.

Adrien stood in front of her with worry painted on his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah," she rubbed her forehead "sorry, I was thinking."

He tilted his head to the side.

"Are you sure you're ready for this? We can always come back tomorrow-"

She sent him a look.

"Adrien."

"Okay okay! I just wanted to help," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

Marinette nevertheless smiled gently. She came closer and cupped his cheeks, which made him look at her.

"I'm sorry, I know you meant well, but seriously, I'm fine, I just got too wound up."

Adrien also smiled. She moved closer to kiss him, when-

"Marinette?"

"Adrien?"

She froze, catching eye contact with her boyfriend. However, he only bit his lower lip and looked away so Marinette did what she knew best.

She panicked.

She jumped away from Adrien like she got burned, blushing.

Luka, Chloe, Alya and Nino looked at the couple confused.

Chloe and Alya exchanged glances after which the redhead smiled that way (damn you, Alya) and walked over to her friends.

She put her arm around Adrien, 'leaning' on him.

"So, Agreste, I see you finally saw through and realized that your dream girl is right under your nose," she said.

Hearing this, Marinette facepalmed, and Adrien laughed lightly, blushing.

"To think that all this time she was so close," he said and Marinette smiled at him. Her kitty. Her partner. Her best friend. Her Adrien.

Her everything.

Alya squealed.

"Oh my god! This is actually happening. I want to know all the details!!!" she announced, and Marinette smiled a little less confidently. Yeah. All the details...

Adrien glanced at her then grabbed her hand making her feel better. Meanwhile, Nino, Luka and Chloe came closer. 

"You don't even know how happy I am that you will finally stop dancing around each other. It was getting really tiring," Chloe said, keeping her arms crossed over her chest, but was smirking at them. 

Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances.

"Yes. We're happy too," she said and Adrien looked at her affectionately.

Alya awwed and hugged Nino, Chloe and Luka smiled wider, she leaned against him and he put his arm around her. 

Yes. 

Marinette was really happy to finally have what she had always wanted.

[***]

"I'm nervous," Marinette spoke up a few hours later as she and Adrien sat in her room waiting for Alya to arrive. The two decided that they would start by revealing Chat Noir's identity to her (strictly Adrien's decision but Marinette agreed), and then see what would happen next. They wanted to reveal their identities to the rest of the team, but Marinette was afraid of what they would think of her when they saw who was hiding under Ladybug's mask.

"I'm not," Adrien replied, lying sprawled on her couch, and honestly, now she could see in his every move, when they weren’t at school, Chat Noir. She wondered how she hadn't seen it before. 

Sure, before the identities got revealed, there were times when she saw some similarities between them, but then there didn't seem to be that many. 

Still, she was glad that Adrien felt comfortable with her to be himself. 

"How is that possible?! I mean, it's your identity! Aren't you even a little nervous?"

Adrien shrugged and sat up straight. 

"Honestly, I was only nervous before revealing my identity to you. I was afraid of what you would think of me, that you would be disappointed. Everyone else is a side thing," he replied. 

When he finished, she smiled gently. She stood up, walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"Adrien, whoever you would be under that mask, it would never make me think of you differently or be disappointed. You're my partner, I wouldn't trade you for anyone else," she assured him. He looked at her.

"How come I never noticed how similar you two are. After all, you are her," he said softly. 

She smiled again. Great minds think alike, as they say.

"I think we both just needed a big kick under the name 'Locked in the attic with no way out.' " she joked. Adrien laughed.

"I guess you're right."

She huffed.

"I'm always right, kitty," she teased and booped him on the nose, instead of the way she normally would have poked his bell. Adrien just smirked at her. 

The moment was interrupted by a knock on the flap to Marinette's room.

"Come in!"

Alya stepped inside.

"Hi! Oh Adrien, hey. I need to start to get used to the fact that you will be here often now," she said with amusement in her voice. Marinette laughed nervously. Adrien smiled at Alya. Alya walked closer.

"What's up? You texted that you wanted to talk."

Marinette took a deep breath. Adrien took her hand.

"Alya we have to tell you something," she began. Alya looked then at her then at him and her gaze turned to horror.

"Marinette, tell me that you're not-" she interrupted, but Mari guessed what she meant. She opened her eyes wider, blushing.

"NO!" she denied quickly. Adrien cleared his throat. She glanced at him. He was as red as a tomato. "I'm not. "

Alya breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's good. Then, what did you want talk about?" 

"Um..."

Marinette blinked a few times. She suddenly ran out of words. Everything she had written down in her head to tell Alya suddenly disappeared.

"Easy, Bugaboo, I'll take care of it," her boyfriend said to her. She saw Alya frown slightly hearing the nickname. She nodded.

"Okay," she replied quietly.

He sent her his charming smile, which so far she had only seen on Chat's face but for the first time it actually worked on her.

"Plagg, claws out!"

Green light appeared and then Chat Noir was sitting next to her. Alya opened her mouth wide.

"Hey, Alya. It's meow-tastic to see you," he said and Marinette rolled her eyes. Adrien and his cat puns.

Poor Alya still with her jaw hanging open looked at her then at him. 

"Alya?" Marinette finally spoke up.

"But I...but you...but...he...you...Ladybug and Chat Noir?" she squealed then lost consciousness. It's a good thing Marinette expected something similar and left the mattress close to the flap.

"Too soon?" Adrien asked, smiling innocently. Marinette facepalmed.

[***]

A few days later Ladybug called a meeting with all the superheroes at their hideout. Alya actually managed to get herself together and was finally able to get out full sentences in their presence (of course, she had to yell at them that they were idiots and only they were capable of rejecting themselves for themselves.)

Marinette went back and forth, waiting for everyone to show up.

"Nervous?" Adrien asked, sending her a comforting smile. She looked at him and sighed. Of course, Chat Noir was already with her and she was really glad he was here. Nevertheless, his presence helped her a lot. 

"Very much," she confessed. He pulled her close to him.

"If you're not ready then we don't have to do it. Don't do anything against yourself, Mari," he said, embracing her.

She shook her head.

"No, I can do it. It all depends on them if they want to," she replied. Adrien nodded.

"Okay. Remember that I am with you, m'lady."

She smiled slightly.

"I know, kitty. "

She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. He kissed back.

"You and me against the world?" She asked when they pulled away. Adrien blinked then smiled.

"As always."

After a few minutes, when everyone had arrived, Ladybug took a deep breath. Chat squeezed her hand and moved away slightly, but was still close to her. She stood up straight. She was the leader after all, wasn’t she? She could do this.

"I called you here today to talk about one thing. It will definitely be strange for you to hear this from me, but in view of recent events, I have been doing a lot of thinking. Shadow Moth has been defeated, but we still don't have the butterfly and peacock miraculous. A new evil may be lurking just around the corner, and I think what I'm about to say will only help us," she took another deep breath to calm down, then continued, "I've been thinking about revealing our identities between us, including me and Chat Noir. There is not always time to notify each of you individually when we need you, and knowing each other's identities would make it easier, but it is strictly your decision and I will respect it," she finished. 

The group looked at her, then at each other, and started talking among themselves. She swallowed. Chat Noir stood next to her.

"God I was so stressed. How did it go?" She asked looking at him. 

"It was good. Relax, Bugaboo," he replied. She huffed.

"Easy for you to say, you don't worry about revealing your identity to anyone," she remarked, crossing her arms over her chest. Adrien smirked.

"It makes life very easy, you should try it," he teased. Marinette rolled her eyes, but smiled. She punched him lightly on the shoulder at which he laughed.

"Ha ha. Don't get so ahead of yourself, chaton," she replied, although amusement and tenderness were audible in her voice.

Finally, the group convened. Rena Rouge stepped forward. 

"Ladybug," she began, "we unanimously agreed on your decision," she said, smiling. She nodded. Chat grabbed her hand again and she squeezed his with gratitude. 

She saw how everyone lined up in a circle. How one by one they began to say the words of their detransformation. How Mylene and Ivan looked at each other with surprise and love. How Nathaniel and Marc surprised laughed and hugged. How Chloe and Luka looked at each other after which Chloe with tears in her eyes, kissed him. As Nino and Alya, even though they knew for a long time, hugged each other tightly. When everyone finished, they looked in their direction. 

Marinette turned to her partner, who was looking at her as he had always looked at her. With fondness. 

"Ready?" He asked quietly. She smiled.

"Ready."

"Claws in."

"Spots off."

She heard everyone gasping as conversations and disbelief began, but Marinette muted it all and focused on Adrien.

"Hi."

"Hi."

Adrien was smiling widely at her and she couldn't hold back any longer. She pulled him close and kissed him. Again she heard even bigger gasps than before. She laughed in her head.

She decided that she really liked accidents.