#caged ml

“Chat Noir?” Ladybug called, in concern. “Chat Noir, are you with me? Please say something. Anything.”

Only a cracking noise whizzed out of his mouth, lips remaining parted.

Ladybug placed her hands on his cheeks. “Chat?” she called. Still no response. “Chat Noir, listen to me: I know you’re in shock. It’s the exact same way I felt yesterday when I found out about you. And you have every right to feel like this.

“But like me, you’re gonna have to freak out after we’re done, because right now I need you. I need my partner to defeat this akuma. Can I count on my partner, please?”

Slowly, his jaw closed, and clenched. Along with that move, he nodded.

“Okay,” Ladybug breathed. “Good, okay. I promise we can talk more after. But right now, let’s kick some akuma butt.”

She proceeded to grab his wrist and drag him towards the exit of the alley. Chat Noir, much like she had already suspected would happen, was staring blankly. Merely letting himself be dragged. Ladybug squeezed his hand, in hopes to bring him back to reality. Yet the only response she got was several blinks.

I can’t tell whether this is better or worse than my freak out, she thought. How did I manage to get through Birdcage? She started to go through the events of that day, attempting to find the moment it clicked for her.

“THERE YOU ARE!” Ladybug looked right on time to pull Chat Noir and throw him the other way, as another giant pie swept past behind her, where he used to be. As the akuma sent another yellow beam from his wand, she blocked it with the spinning of her yoyo.

“I think the akuma is in the wand!” she yelled at her partner, blocking two more light beams. “We need to get that!”

Ladybug waited. And waited, blocking beam after beam. Chat Noir should’ve moved by now to distract the villain. She gambled a glance his way, only to find him standing still, hands by his chest like he was holding a tablet, staring into space.

“CHAT NOIR!” she called.

“I-I—” he said at last. “I’M FREAKING OUT!”

“I KNOW!” she yelled back. Definitely worse than me. “But I need you to focus! We can’t talk about it unless we beat this guy!”

“That’s—” Chat Noir started, but seemed to have changed his mind about what he was going to say. “That’s good incentive.”

The next second, the cat hero had jumped away attracting the attention of the akuma. Finally. Ladybug let out a breath of relief as she caught a break from the blocking, instead attempting to wrap her weapon around the wand. But the villain was quicker than she anticipated. After several failed attempts, she called on a change of technique.

“You have us running circles around you, and we don’t even know what to call you,” she said, hoping to slow him down with the art of stalling.

“Need a few ideas?” Chat Noir chimed in. “Is it The Magician? No, wait, already taken. Maybe The Trickster? Joker? Harlequin?”

“Call me Clownface!” the man yelled, swishing his purple cape.

Ladybug stopped whatever retort she was going to say, her face contorting instead.

“Did you just say that your name is Clownface?” Chat Noir asked as he landed next to her.

“Indeed!” the akuma confirmed proudly.

“Clownface?” Ladybug parroted, turning to her partner. The second their eyes met, there were simultaneous snorts, right as they started laughing. Hard.

“Clownface!” Chat Noir wheezed.

“That’s the dumbest name I’ve ever heard!” Ladybug barked, followed by more laughs.

“Just when you think Hawkmoth can’t get any dumber!” Chat Noir cackled.

“Stop laughing!” Clownface yelled. But it only made Ladybug grab her sides, letting out another shriek of laughter.

“I-HA-I can’t!” Chat Noir held on to his knees. “I’m-I’m dying!”

Clownface growled. “FINE! See if you laugh now!” He pressed his red nose, causing it to shine yellow for two seconds. A portal appeared behind him out of thin air and several small elephants came through it.

Ladybug yelped and jumped out of the way. Before she could fall over, though, Chat Noir instantly grabbed her, accidentally carrying her bridal style. The girl looked at him, shocked for a second. Her cheeks instantly warmed, as so did Chat Noir’s, followed by a shared embarrassed smile.

However, the moment lasted only a second, interrupted by the sound of a roaring lion coming out of the portal. They both screamed and Chat Noir started running the opposite direction. Still carrying Ladybug.

“Chat, hold on!” she commanded, proceeded by sending her yoyo to the nearest chimney. Chat Noir instantly grabbed on to her waist and they both were sent in the air, landing on top of an apartment rooftop.

“Nothing’s working!” Ladybug screeched. “And now I’m not so sure the akuma is in the wand. Did you see what he did with the nose?”

“You’re Marinette!” Chat Noir yelled.

“Say it louder, I don’t think Hawkmoth heard you!”

“How did you do this when you found out about me?!”

“I barely did!” Ladybug retorted. “I don’t know, I just suddenly realized that it was more important to save Paris than to freak out over a boy. N-Not that you’re just any boy! You’re the boy I love! I didn’t mean it that way, I meant—Gah! Now I’m freaking out!”

BANG

The building they were on suddenly trembled, and Chat Noir had to steady her. They both peeked over the edge to see the animals from the portal slamming against the wall. It took a proper look to notice the animals weren’t exactly real. They acted like real animals, but their colors were off. And it wasn’t just the bright costumes they were wearing.

“He’s like a Jack of all trades,” Ladybug muttered, rubbing her chin. “Where is he getting all this stuff from?”

She looked at Chat Noir, hoping to get an idea. But he was once again staring off into space.

“Chat Noir?”

“Ladybug, I’m in love with you,” he said, still slightly unfocused.

Yet, it didn’t stop Ladybug from blushing. “If you keep saying things like that, I’m going to lose focus.”

The attempt at the feeble joke did nothing to wake him out of his stupor. Letting out a loud huff, she smacked his arm, finally causing a flinch from him.

“Snap out of it!” she scolded.

“I’m sorry!” he apologized as he rubbed his arm. “But none of this feels real!”

“I know, but it is, and there’s many civilians that are depending on us!”

“I’m useless without my sanity!”

Ladybug groaned while she facepalmed. This was way worse than when she found out. So, a change of strategy was probably necessary.

“Come on!” She grabbed his wrist and led him across rooftops. Some of them with parts melted by the giant toxic pies. They were finally near Clownface again back on the streets, but they hid behind a column of a nearby building.

“Chat, listen to me,” Ladybug said, grabbing his shoulders. “I know how you’re feeling. We are going to talk about this. But right now, I need you to distract that clown, so we can beat him, and get back to our civilian lives. Do this for me, please.”

“I-I—” Chat Noir stammered. Before he could get a word out, Ladybug jumped into the fray, hoping that endangering her life might at least break him into survival mode.

And it worked.

As a giant pie nearly missed Ladybug, Chat Noir let out a battle cry and was waving his staff against Clownface. Not as graceful as he usually did, but it would have to do for the moment. With the akuma distracted, Ladybug studied his wardrobe, hoping to find whatever they had missed. So far, he could shoot beams from his wand and create portals with his nose. The pies, however, seemed to appear out of thin air. One second he had nothing, and the next he was throwing one across the street.

With that clue, she blocked and dodged several beams to get to her partner.

“I need you to keep an eye out for the pies,” she said.

“They’re hard to miss,” he retorted with wide eyes.

“No, I mean I need you to see where they’re coming from.”

“He usually brings them from behind his back,” Chat Noir responded.

“What?!” They both blocked several beams. “When did you notice that?”

“Right before he almost hit you.”

“Great job, chaton!” Ladybug used her free hand to give him a quick scratch under his chin, which sent his cheeks ablaze. “We need to find a way to get that cape out of the way, then.”

“Easier said than done,” Chat Noir said in a dreamy state, his movements slowing down. Enough that Ladybug had to tackle him so he wouldn’t get hit. In the process, Chat Noir accidentally dropped his baton, which rolled on the ground near Clownface, causing him to trip and fall face-flat on the pavement. The drop caused the cape to fall over his head, revealing his back.

“Oh my gosh, Chat, Chat!” Ladybug rapidly tapped her partner’s shoulder before pointing. “The box! The akuma is in the box!”

“How did we miss that?” Chat Noir gaped.

As if to answer his question, Clownface finally got the cape off his head, and it covered the box. Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged looks and nodded.

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug called as Chat Noir shot off to distract the villain and, hopefully, get rid of that cape. On her hands landed a spotted mixer, and her eyes immediately started scanning the vicinity, until landing on a construction site with fresh cement on the sidewalk, plus wire fence and traffic cones.

She knew exactly what to do.

Ladybug placed two fingers in her mouth and whistled to catch the attention of both Chat Noir and Clownface. As soon as they turned to her, she ran the opposite direction, directly into the construction site. Right before stepping on the cement, she jumped to the car on the other side, taking the barbed wire along.

Unfortunately for Clownface, he saw the cement too late, stepping deep into it. As he started struggling, Ladybug wrapped a piece of the wire to the mixer and called on Chat Noir. He didn’t need to be told twice, immediately taking the other end of the wire and using his staff to slide down behind the akuma to hook the wire to the cape.

“Ready!” he hollered. Ladybug turned on the mixer and the wire started wrapping around it until it couldn’t pull anymore. A Cataclysm later, the box disintegrated and an akuma was purified. Before she could call on Miraculous Ladybug, Chat Noir pulled out the civilian to firm ground.

A flutter of Ladybugs traveled the city, repairing every inch melted by giant pies and making the animals disappear. As everything became right, she made sure the civilian was okay.

* * *

The whole fight had been a blur to Chat Noir. He was aware they fought. He knew they won. He also knew he had been lucid for only ten percent of it. With the ladybugs finishing their last sweep through the city, clarity finally arrived to him.

The clarity that the girl smiling next to him was no longer a stranger.

“Bien joué?” Ladybug asked. He didn’t even notice when she had finished taking care of the civilian. Chat Noir only stared at her fist.

She was Marinette. Ladybug, the Ladybug, was Marinette. And she revealed herself in the most dramatic way imaginable. Far more dramatic than him. Something he never thought she was capable of.

He needed to process. Properly.

“No,” he said, taking Ladybug aback. “We’re not done. Just, akuma, yes. Us, no.”

“Chat—”

“Nope. I need to properly freak out now.”

Chat Noir turned on his heels and vaulted over the buildings. Behind him, he could hear the zipping sound of Ladybug’s yoyo, followed by her light footsteps. At last, they landed on a flat rooftop, perfect for pacing around. Which he did like a big cat in a small cage.

“Chat Noir?” Ladybug asked tentatively the second she arrived. “Are you okay?”

“Nu-uh.” He shook his head, continuing his pacing. “You’re Marinette. Ladybug, my partner, and the first girl I fell in love with, is Marinette. Oh gosh, I kissed Ladybug. I kissed Ladybug! When I was kissing Marinette, I was kissing Ladybug. Wait, so, did I never get over Ladybug?”

“I guess, technically, no?” Ladybug said with a wince. “But you didn’t know that.”

“R-Right.” Chat Noir lowered his hands from his hair, finally slowing down his steps and turning his gaze to Ladybug. To Marinette.

“The same thing happened to me,” she said suddenly. “I thought I had moved on, but I was just falling deeper in love with you.”

There was a last beep and a pink light washed over Ladybug, and there she stood. Marinette. The girl he was in love with. For the second time, it seemed. Or perhaps fell deeper for.

“Sooo,” she drawled, looking away, “this is what I’ve been trying to tell you. Actually, I was planning on telling you the next time you would’ve visited me at home. But then Birdcage happened, and I found out about you. And then the paparazzi, and the video, and Clownface. So… yeeeah.”

“You’re Ladybug,” Chat Noir repeated for what seemed like the twentieth time in the last hour. His eyes moved back and forth between Marinette and a small creature that dove into her purse to take out a cookie. A red kwami, he immediately realized. “You, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are Ladybug.”

“Mhmm,” she nodded. “I know it’s a lot to take in. I myself almost had a total meltdown after I found out about you.”

“Birdcage!” he blurted out. “That’s why you were so off your game! You had just found out my identity and you were freaking out. Of course! No wonder…”

“Yeah…” Marinette pressed her lips together. “Are you feeling better?”

“Me?!” Chat Noir’s voice cracked. There was a moment of silence as he asked himself that very question. Am I okay about all this? Did we just go in circles around each other? And then he started chuckling. “You were right. This is hilarious!”

He then started wholeheartedly laughing. This was insane! What were the chances that, of all the girls in the city, he would end up falling for the very girl he had already loved? It was like the universe decided to play a game with them and torture them for mere amusement. Even worse, they could’ve been together long before if they had known each other’s identities shortly after getting their miraculouses.

“Adrien?” Marinette called, seeming slightly worried. And he couldn’t blame her. He must look like a maniac, laughing for no real reason. He then remembered the suit he was wearing, staring at his gloved hands. Yet, his real name was what he was being called. He had almost forgotten she knew.

“Ladybug,” he whispered again, finally with a heart willing to slow down. “This whole time.”

“Y-Yeah,” Marinette stammered, tucking a stray hair behind her ear. He could feel warmth fill up his chest with the gesture. Something so subtle, so soft, so beautiful.

Both so Ladybug, and so Marinette.

“You’re the girl I’m in love with,” he said. The words set Marinette’s cheeks ablaze, and he hoped to the gods that it was a good thing.

“Yeah,” she chuckled. Yet, her hands fiddled with each other, as if debating on her next words. Until, at last, she decided to say: “You’re also the boy I’m in love with.”

The ramming of Chat Noir’s heart against his chest returned, but this time, it was full of elation. Gone was the panic, replaced instead with pure, unabashed joy. And as his lips stretched into a toothy smile, the ring gave its last warnings before washing him in green sparkles. Leaving him in his civilian clothes.

He didn’t care, though. She knew. He knew.

Marinette squeaked, as Adrien had lifted her off the ground in a hug and twirled her around, letting out another laugh. He was sure she had been about to say something else before he grabbed her, but he didn’t care. He heard what he needed.

“You love me!” he whooped. “You actually love me!”

“Oh my gosh, Adrien, put me down!” Marinette giggled.

“Never!” Adrien proclaimed. Yet, still placed her on the ground, arms still around her. “Ladybug, Marinette, is in love with me. And they’re the same person.”

“We are,” she breathed. “And you’re both Adrien and Chat Noir.”

“I am.” Adrien pulled away to look at her beautiful bluebell eyes. “I guess the cat’s out of—”

“I swear that if you finish that sentence, I will punch you,” Marinette threatened.

Adrien chuckled some more. “Oh, I’m sorry. Didn’t want to offend my Princess. Or,” he leaned closer to her, “should I call you My Lady, instead.”

The girl bit her lip, having a hard time hiding a giddy smile and a clear blush.

“Whichever is fine, as long as you let me kiss you properly this time.”

“Whenever you’d li—”

He didn’t finish his sentence, for Marinette had grabbed his face and pulled it onto her lips. This kiss was nothing like the others they experienced before. There was no hesitation, no awkwardness, no desperation. They were pressed as close as they should be. They moved at the right, synchronized pace. It was perfect. Everything Adrien had wanted it to be, and more. As they softly broke apart, Adrien traced his thumb on her cheek, letting out a light laugh.

“This is such a relief!” Adrien sighed. “We don’t have to hide! We can go on dates, have picnics, visit each other whenever we want—”

“Wait, Adrien, we can’t,” Marinette interrupted.

“But we know—”

“The city doesn’t know, remember?”

Adrien opened his mouth, but left it hanging, remembering every single event from the past few weeks.

“Crap.”

“What is it with you cursing lat—oh right, you’re Chat Noir,” Marinette slid a hand down her face.

“No, you’re right,” Adrien responded. “I messed up. Everyone thinks you’re cheating on me with, well, me.”

“To be fair, our privacy has been invaded to illegal levels,” she said.

“Then what now?” Adrien asked, sliding his hands down her arms to hold her hands.

“I think we’ll have to wait until the story dies and after Annabelle’s lawsuit is resolved,” Marinette responded.

“After the lawsuit resolution?!” Adrien screeched. “That could take months! You have any idea how long a legal process is?”

“It is?” Marinette squeaked. “I don’t know, I’ve never experienced one!”

“There’s no way I’m waiting months to take you out on a—”

“MARINETTE!!!”

The ground shook, and both teens had to cover their ears from the booming voice. The shaking stopped. Marinette and Adrien exchanged looks right before running to the edge of the building, towards the direction the voice came from.

“Another one?” Marinette questioned under her breath.

“We just beat one,” Adrien said. “And why are they calling your name?”

“MARINETTE!!!”

Afar into the city, they could see a glimpse of what looked like soundwaves, followed by crashing sounds and car alarms.

“No,” Marinette breathed, hands slowly going up to her head. “This is bad. Worse than bad. It’s a total disaster! The akumas are looking for me. Hawkmoth knows he can use me against you. My life is over. I’ll have to move outta Paris, change my name and give up being Ladybug. It’s over. It’s all o—”

“Hey, hey,” Adrien softly interrupted. It wasn’t until she saw him kneeling in front of her that she realized she was sitting against the wall. “It’s gonna be okay. We’ll figure this out. And if my father decided to have your mother on his side, he’ll make sure your reputation gets scrubbed clean. And I know there’s more we can do as Ladybug and Chat Noir to help clean this mess. You’re not alone. I’m here for you. I’m always here for you, Marinette.”

Her breaths started becoming steadier. Adrien took a moment to look at the red kwami, looking for some validation. The being simply nodded, as if approving of his handling of the situation. Next to her, Plagg was already halfway through his emergency cheese. Like they were gearing up for battle.

“Okay,” Marinette whispered, catching his attention. “Okay, um, how upset do you think people are over everything that happened?”

“Honestly, I don’t think they have to be upset about your alleged cheating to be looking for you,” Adrien reasoned, sitting on his knees and placing a hand on his chin. “Clownface didn’t seem to care about our situation at all. He was just looking for you. For us.”

“So,” Marinette continued his train of thought, “it means they’re getting direct instructions from Hawkmoth to search for me. And considering how public my image has become these last few days, I’m easy to identify.”

“And if Hawkmoth is certain he can get at least one miraculous by using you, when you’re in a vulnerable position right now, that means…”

“He’ll stop at nothing,” both Adrien and Marinette said in unison.

“We have to show him that his plan is flawed,” Marinette determined, that commanding look that made Adrien putty back in her eyes.

“It’s a good thing Hawkmoth can’t find Marinette if Ladybug’s around,” he smiled, a gesture that Marinette immediately returned.

With renewed confidence, Marinette stood up, Tikki already at her side after finishing the cookie. She called on her transformation and Adrien marveled at the light show before him. Seeing the girl he fell in love with become the girl he had always been in love with, it was surreal.

“Gosh, I love you,” he said with a wistful sigh.

“You think you can handle it, chaton?” she asked with a smirk.

This time, he was ready. He had his freak out. He saw who she was. He was more than ready to fight alongside the love of his life.

“Absolutely.” With that, he called on his own transformation, glad Plagg didn’t need to be told to eat, having already gobbled the emergency cheese he kept with him at all times.

Ladybug and Chat Noir watched towards the horizon, from where the sounds waves were coming from. With one last nod to each other, they jumped back into the fray.

* * *

They had beaten the akuma fairly quickly. But shortly after it, another one came. And then another one, once the previous one was beaten. It was an unprecedented event. Akumas were showing up with only few breaks between, and they were all calling out one name: Marinette.

It seemed she had been right. Hawkmoth saw the news and was taking full advantage of the knowledge that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was important to Chat Noir. And clearly, he felt that information was ripe to exploit. Even worse, there were also a lot of fans upset by the implication that some girl was cheating on their beloved cat superhero or their favorite model. Making half of the akumas fans.

The trickiest part had been getting what they needed to recharge their kwamis. After the second akuma, they ran out food to give them. Even worse, Ladybug was getting the short end of the stick, considering that Chat Noir didn’t always need to use his own power. They managed to restock that time, but by the sixth akuma, Ladybug needed a second helping.

“I’m exhausted,” Marinette wheezed, her hands on her knees as the suit melted off her. “Oh, Tikki, are you alright?”

The kwami let out what sounded like a chirp. Probably too tired to even speak.

“Come on, there’s a bakery around the corner,” Chat Noir said as he led her outside the alley they were standing in. Arriving at the bakery, there was a short line in front of the counter. Thankfully, they didn’t seem to notice their presence, too engrossed watching the television behind the cashier.

Marinette took a moment to look at the faces of the customers, most watching with a concern she hadn’t seen since Stoneheart. The images on the screen, while they may seem like any other day, it had the distinctive factor that every single battle shown happened on the same day. Even the reporter recounting the events seemed tired, with the words ‘HAWKMOTH ON A RAMPAGE’ sliding at the bottom of the screen.

“You think he’ll akumatize any more people today?” Marinette asked her partner, as she tightened the hold on her purse.

“I really hope not,” Chat Noir sighed. “I’m so tired, I think my paws might fall off.”

“Doesn’t Hawkmoth get tired?”

“He’s not the one doing the work,” he grunted.

“What can I get you?” the girl behind the cash register asked. Marinette ordered a generous amount of sweets, even though she hoped she wouldn’t have to use them for what was left of the afternoon. As they waited for their order, she returned to watching the television, showing the numerous attacks of the day.

She could feel something on the back of her mind. A concern, a pattern. Something was very peculiar about Hawkmoth’s tactics.

“What are you thinking?” Chat Noir asked suddenly.

Marinette gave him a quick glance. “Is it just me, or were the akumas kinda easy to beat?”

“I was able to avoid using my power on most of them,” he responded, looking at the hand that could use said power. “You think Hawkmoth is getting sloppy?”

“The opposite,” she said with a hum. “I can’t shake off the feeling that he’s getting ready for something. Tiring us out on purpose, so we’re not ready for something bigger. Maybe he knows something we don’t. Or senses something we can’t.”

The cashier handed them a bag of sweets, which Marinette immediately stuffed as best as she could in her purse. But her eyes continued trained on the television.

“Well, whatever he’s planning, we’ll be ready for it,” Chat Noir assured.

Just as he said that, the image changed to a live broadcast in front of a mansion. Wait, that mansion looked familiar…

“Father?” Chat Noir uttered. Indeed, Gabriel Agreste entered the screen, standing in front of a group of journalists holding microphones and cellphones to him. Why was he giving a press conference?

“Good afternoon,” Gabriel said. “As you all know, the reputation of my son and his classmate has been put into question these last few weeks due to unfortunate comments from superhero Chat Noir. In light of such comments, the privacy of two teenaged children has been violated several times already, and it has recently reached new heights of social media bullying and harassment. Due to these careless actions and preposterous allegations against two children, my legal team has decided to take legal action against the reporter Annabelle Billard, on slander and defamation charges.

This decision was taken after filling a formal complaint for lack of ethics against the production company behind the Margot and Dorian Show. After speaking with the producer, I was assured Ms. Billard will be relieved of her job effective immediately for breaking ethical guides and broadcasting laws. This is merely the first of several actions that my legal team will be taking against her.

Because this is now an ongoing case, I will not be taking any questions at this time. Thank you.”

The people around them proceeded jumpstart conversations, some commenting on Mr. Agreste’s excessiveness while others went along the lines of ‘good riddance.’ As for Marinette and Chat Noir, they exchanged looks of concern.

“That’s not good, is it?” Chat Noir commented.

“Annabelle’s life has just been ruined,” Marinette responded, feeling a tightness in her throat. “I think he just angered the worst person that can be akumatized right now.”

“You really think that’s all it will take to get her akumatized?”

As if to respond his question, the image on the television flickered, and whatever was playing after the press conference was replaced by a shadowy image. The heroes’ eyes widened, watching as their worst fears unfolded.

Her knees gave out and she landed on them. There were about three pairs of hands immediately on her, and several people calling her name. Some said that it was going to be okay. Others kept asking how it had happened. But the voice of the person whose hand was on her cheek seemed less worried about any of that.

“Don’t let him win,” he said, low enough for no one else to hear him, but loud enough for her to do so. “You’re strong, Marinette. The last thing you need right now is to get akumatized. Don’t let him in.”

Marinette raised her gaze, her eyes meeting Adrien’s determined ones. A look she had mostly seen in his alter ego. The second he noticed she heard him, he smiled at her and said: “I am so sorry.”

“You’re sorry?!” Chloé screeched, silencing most of their classmates. “She kisses another guy the same day as you and you’re apologizing?!”

“Why do I have to repeat myself!” Adrien snapped. “I kissed her without her consent. Nobody gets to judge her when I was the one who messed up! And it’s not her fault her privacy got invaded.”

“You mean it’s not her fault she got caught red-handed!”

“Oh, shut up,” Félix cut in. Everyone turned to him. “In case you haven’t noticed, Marinette didn’t want this so-called fame. If you wanted people to pay more attention to you, maybe you should help resolve this instead of complaining that she has more attention than you.”

Chloé crossed her arms and huffed, pointing her nose away.

“I’m just amazed that Marinette managed to woo the two most desired boys in all of Paris,” Lila commented.

“Not helping!” Alya shouted. “Marinette, I need to know that you’re at least conscious.”

There was a pause. The whole room quieted down, waiting for Marinette to say something. Most with genuine concern for her well-being. Many dying to know her side of the story. Some, wondering how she had been capable of doing something so out of character, as far as they knew.

Marinette swallowed. She could barely look at anyone, especially when she didn’t have answers she could voice to her friends. Because the truth was not meant for them. Or anyone, for that matter. Because it was a secret between her and Adrien.

“When was this?” she resolved to ask instead.

There was a collective sigh of relief.

“About twenty minutes ago,” Alya responded. “Right about the time Adrien got to school.”

“Your father?”

Adrien cringed. “I have about seven missed calls and thirteen messages from Nathalie.”

“Even I got a few calls,” Nino added. “You know it’s bad when they call the ‘bad influence’.” He made air quotes as he said the last two words.

Marinette covered her mouth with both her hands, trying to steady her breaths.

“I’m not exaggerating anymore,” she whispered. “This is a disaster. I made this disaster.”

“No, it’s my fault.”

“Hey, no, don’t say that.”

Adrien and Alya spoke at the same time. They exchanged looks and then turned to the rest of the room, looking for support. Unfortunately, it seemed that that would be harder to get this time around.

“I mean,” Kim started, unsure, “she did kiss two boys…”

“Guys! I told you—”

“It’s Adrien’s fault,” Nathaniel interrupted said boy.

“I second that.” Alix raised her hand. “Let Adrien take the fall.”

“But didn’t we just get proof that Marinette lied about being involved with Chat Noir?” Sabrina pointed out.

“That is conjecture at this moment,” Max stepped in. “We don’t have all the facts to make a fair, unbiased opinion on the matter. We would need to know all sides of this incident.”

“If there’s one thing I know,” Chloé spoke again, staring at her nails, “it’s that we’ve been here for ten minutes already, and not once has Dupain-Cheng even tried to defend herself. That’s pretty damning evidence to me.”

The classmates looked at each other, as if reading each other’s minds. Even Marinette could tell what they were thinking: Chloé had a point. And worse, she was right, and Marinette knew it. But how was she supposed to defend herself from this without outing Adrien’s secret identity?

“Marinette,” Juleka said, “what did happen?”

“I-I…” the girl in question stammered. She could feel tears threatening to escape her eyelids. Marinette had endured many embarrassing moments in her life. Some even traumatizing. But this… she couldn’t even chalk it up to her clumsiness. No matter what she said, there was no saving her from this one.

“You don’t have to protect me,” Adrien said, as if knowing what she was thinking. “I can handle the backlash.”

“We want to hear it from her!” Rose cut in. Marinette swallowed again.

“I’m sorry about yesterday, Rose,” she blurted out. “It’s my fault you had one of your worst days of your life. I gave you the worst advice possible. I was selfish, and—”

“We’re not talking about that,” the blonde said. Marinette’s brows furrowed. “Tell us how Adrien and Chat Noir kissed you without your consent.”

Marinette looked closely at Rose. Her eyes were almost encouraging. Was this her way of saying that she forgave her?

“You don’t have to answer that,” Alya intervened. “In fact, you don’t have to answer anything from anyone. Your privacy got invaded, and that is unacceptable. This isn’t your fault.”

“No…”

“You didn’t ask to be followed everywhere by paparazzi.”

“I didn’t…”

“And it’s not your fault that Chat Noir told your biggest secrets in an interview.”

“It wasn’t.”

“Exactly. It’s not your fault that you became famous.”

“No, it’s yours.” Marinette finalized.

Alya opened her mouth as if to agree, but instantly frowned.

“Wait, what?”

“This is your fault,” Marinette repeated, at last finding the strength to get on her feet. “If you hadn’t posted my rescues of Chat Noir and written that article on the Ladyblog, none of this would have happened.”

There was a murmur in the room.

“Marinette—” Nino tried.

“NO!” she yelled. “I did not ask to have pictures taken in my own home. I did not ask to be recorded after an interview was over. I did not ask to be put on the spot for rescuing a superhero. I did not ask to be recorded saving Chat Noir. I did not want to be interviewed by the Ladyblog. And I certainly did not ask to be a freaking celebrity.

“You did this!” Marinette pointed at Alya.

“You’re blaming me?!” said girl gasped.

“Tsk, typical,” Chloé huffed. “Why don’t you take responsibility, instead of blaming—”

“I didn’t push you to save Chat Noir!” Alya continued, ignoring the mayor’s daughter.

“And I didn’t ask you to record it!” Marinette retorted.

“Well excuse me for running back to look for my friend, who disappeared in the middle of a freaking akuma attack. Like you always do!”

“I don’t see the reason to keep recording to look for a friend.”

“It’s called multitasking. How was I supposed to know you would end up rescuing a superhero for the second time?”

The door suddenly burst open, interrupting the unexpected row between the two friends. In came Ms. Bustier and Principal Damocles. The man gave them a stern look, while the teacher gave them one of disappointment.

“Why aren’t any of you in Ms. Bustier’s class?” he confronted.

The students exchanged gazes. It seemed that in their heated debate, they missed the ring of the bell. By then, they were already twelve minutes late to class.

“Unless all of you want to be doing chores in the school for a week, I suggest you all follow your teacher to her classroom.”

Several students looked at the ground as they walked out, while others gave Marinette worried looks. Before they had all left, Principal Damocles spoke again.

“Félix! Take this note to Mrs. Mendeleiev. You will come to my office after lunch time.” Félix bowed his head in understanding, as he took the note. “And you two!” He pointed at Marinette and Adrien, who instantly halted. “Your parents are in my office. Come along with me.”

The teens gulped simultaneously, exchanging worried glances. Resigned to their fate, they quietly made their way towards the principal’s office. Softly, a hand wrapped around Marinette’s, squeezing it in an attempt to comfort her. Her heartbeat quickened, thinking of what might happen now. Of how much trouble they were in. Of how Mr. Agreste was capable of destroying every one of her dreams.

Principal Damocles opened the door to his office and inside Sabine and Mr. Agreste stood from their chairs. Both had hands placed on their shoulders, by Tom and Nathalie, respectively. Marinette gulped again: This was the first time she had ever seen Gabriel Agreste in their school.

“Because there are reporters surrounding the school as we speak,” Principal Damocles started, “I have created what I hope is a safe space for all of you to resolve this situation and decide on what your next steps will be. Marinette, Adrien, please take a seat.”

The two teenagers obliged, taking the chairs in the middle, while Sabine and Gabriel sat back down next to their children. Meanwhile, the principal sat behind his desk, chin resting on the tip of his fingers.

“I encourage all of you to say your piece,” Principal Damocles insisted.

“I told you not to see her again,” Gabriel started, without hesitation. “Look at the mess she has placed you in.”

“Who’s to say your son is not to blame here?!” Tom immediately defended his daughter.

“It wasn’t my son caught making out with two different people in one day.”

“Father—”

“It wasn’t my daughter who kissed someone without their consent,” Sabine intervened.

“Maman—”

“How dare you insinuate my son would do such a thing?”

“Well, actually—”

“Did you not look at that picture?” Sabine interrupted Adrien again. “Marinette clearly looked taken by surprise.”

“I mean, maybe—”

“My son is far more educated than that,” Gabriel spat.

“Parents, please—”

“Do we get a say in this?!” Marinette said loudly, standing from her chair, letting go of Adrien’s hand. The outburst made the adults shut up. “None of you were there, yet you’re assuming you know everything.”

“All right then,” Gabriel said coldly, piercing his eyes through her. “What did happen, Ms. Marinette?”

She opened her mouth to respond but was immediately taken over by fear. Fear that he would think she’s simply badmouthing his son. Fear that he may dislike her even more if she told him what happened. Fear that he wouldn’t let her be with Adrien.

“This is my fault,” said boy intervened, even though he looked nauseous. “I-I made this mess.”

“Adrien, there’s no need to protect a girl who’s clearly a bad influence,” Gabriel spoke.

“How dare you—” Tom had to make sure Sabine didn’t stand from her chair.

“I’m not protecting her!” Adrien said with new determination, despite the color of his face rapidly turning a light shade of green. “I’m trying to tell you what happened.”

“You don’t have to do this,” Marinette found herself insisting. “You could be taken out of school.”

The blond’s eyes focused on hers, as he gave her a reassuring smile.

“You know that I can’t sit by when I see an injustice happening,” he said to her. “Let me be brave. As brave as you.”

Marinette could feel her heart drum faster. She couldn’t help but be reminded of all the times Chat Noir had sacrificed himself for Ladybug. And now, he was doing the same for her civilian identity. Was this his way of showing love?

“Okay,” she whispered, sitting back down.

Adrien took a deep breath. “I…disobeyed you, Father.” His voice came out shakier than expected. “You told me that I couldn’t be seen with her, but I kept looking for her because I…I developed feelings for her. And so, I asked her to meet me yesterday for lunch, because I was planning to confess, but before I did, I…kissed her.

“She didn’t ask me to do it, she didn’t know what I was gonna talk about with her, nor did she express any romantic interest in me. I-I just…” Adrien shrunk down in his seat. “I just went for it.”

“Is that true?” Tom immediately asked his daughter.

“Yes,” Marinette sighed. “I had no idea he had feelings for me, and much less that he was gonna confess yesterday. I was so surprised, I froze. Then the akuma came and trapped us. That’s when he finished confessing.”

“You kissed a girl without her consent?” Gabriel said quietly. Marinette didn’t think Adrien could make himself look any smaller, yet, somehow, he managed to do it.

“I got caught up in the moment,” he muttered.

“Caught up in the moment,” Gabriel parroted. “I thought I taught you better than this. Nevertheless, that is better than being cheated on. I’m assuming Chat Noir is your real boyfriend, Ms. Marinette?”

Marinette squeaked, as her face started burning. Several ‘uh’s and ‘um’s escaped her. She sought Adrien’s face for some form of answer, but instead, the boy had covered his mouth and was looking at her wide eyed. As if wanting to hear the answer, too. She internally groaned.

“I-I don’t have an answer to that.” The adults in the room watched her questioningly. She flailed her arms. “I mean, because I-I don’t know! I mean, we didn’t really confirm anything? We don’t know what we are right now.” She paused. “But we did decide that it was best we don’t hang out anymore, after he confronted the paparazzi.”

“I see.” Gabriel turned away from her, stroking his chin. “He must really care about you, if he’s willing to make such a sacrifice.”

“He does,” Marinette responded absentmindedly. But was quickly reminded of who she was talking to. “But that doesn’t matter, because a relationship with a superhero isn’t viable, and… other stuff. Mr. Agreste, I am so sorry Adrien has been mixed up in all this. I never meant for any of this to happen.”

“No, don’t apologize,” Adrien intervened. “This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have kissed you without your permission. I should’ve been more mindful of paparazzies. I should’ve—”

“You should’ve nothing,” Sabine interrupted. The group turned to her. “You’re kids! You shouldn’t have to deal with any of this. Marinette didn’t even want to be a public figure. All of this is—” Her eyes widened as an idea occurred to her. “I want to sue!”

Gabriel blinked, while Tom gave his wife a concerned look.

“Dear—”

“No, I have had it,” she continued. “These people, these grown, adult people have dragged my daughter’s name through the mud for the sake of ratings and their own benefit. They invaded not just her privacy, but that of my home when they took pictures where we’re supposed to be safe. We have rights. This is in complete violation of the law and I want to see them suffer the consequences for messing with my family. And you, Gabriel Agreste, are going to help me.”

Gabriel squared his shoulders when Sabine pointed at him. Yet his eyes immediately relaxed.

“And why should I do that?”

“Because it is also your responsibility.”

“I don’t see how that’s—”

“Father,” Adrien warned. “This last one would’ve never happened if it hadn’t been for me. We—I owe it to Marinette.”

The man stared at his son, as if mulling over his words. He lifted his chin, adjusting his tie.

“Nathalie, set up a meeting with my lawyer today, and give Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng my office phone number.”

“Yes, sir,” Nathalie nodded, immediately giving Marinette’s parents business cards.

“Give Nathalie a way to contact you, and we will let you know what my lawyer says.”

“What’s your phone number?” Nathalie asked Marinette’s parents. Without hesitation, they both gave their cellphone numbers and bakery landline, in case they didn’t have their phones with them.

“Good, good, I’m glad you’ve come to an agreement,” Principal Damocles said. “Now, would you like to take your children home? I’ve noticed the paparazzi leave when they’re in class, but come back around lunch and after the day is over. If Marinette and Adrien leave now, there’s a higher chance they’ll get by unnoticed.”

“That’s an excellent idea.” Gabriel rose to his feet. “Come, Adrien. We’re leaving.”

“Wait, Father—”

“The longer we wait, the more likely those obnoxious reporters will be out there. Now move along.”

Without even checking that his son was following, Gabriel walked out the door. Nathalie followed, but stopped outside, waiting for Adrien. The boy sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, looking back at Marinette.

“Stop.” She took one of his hands. “We’ll get through this. We can get through anything.”

“How are you so positive about that?”

“I—”

“Adrien,” Nathalie called. Marinette pressed her lips together.

“I’ll tell you later,” she resolved to say. “I’ll send you my new number, so we can talk.”

“Okay,” Adrien grinned.

With a last forlorn look, he let go. Shortly after, Marinette and her parents followed. From what the girl could sense, she was about to have an unpleasant day with her parents.

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

“I can’t believe her!” Alya ranted, as she and Nino sat down in a café during lunch. “I really thought Marinette was the kind of person to take responsibility for her own actions. And yet, here we are, with her blaming me! Ugh, she’s such a… Bah!”

There was a pause.

“Is that how you really feel?” Nino asked with a deadpan stare.

“NO!” Alya exclaimed, right as she slammed her face against the table. When she spoke again, her voice came out muffled. “This is so stupid. And it’s all my stupid fault.”

“Alya—”

“She’s right,” the redhead lamented, raising her face, chin resting on the table. “I was so caught up in having an exclusive, I didn’t think about how Marinette felt about the whole thing. I can’t believe I actually thought I was doing her a favor.”

“You couldn’t have known Marinette was gonna save Chat Noir a second time,” Nino tried to reason.

“No, but I could’ve deleted the video. Especially when reporters started harassing her.”

“They would’ve harassed her anyway,” Nino pointed out. “There was already a copy of your video up on several websites about twenty minutes after you finished recording. And only five minutes after you finished recording, there was already a cut-up version online of the video, from when Marinette rescued him. You know how fast fans can be. And your blog has many.”

“That makes me even angrier!” Alya screeched, rising from her chair, hands tensed in the shape of claws. “The amount of people stealing my videos is insane! I can take gifs or stills, but whole videos?! Grr! People have no respect for my work!”

“Honey,” Nino muttered, giving her a sympathetic look. With a sigh, Alya sat back down.

“I feel awful,” she admitted. “I want to fix it, but I haven’t got the slightest clue on how.”

“Hey.” He placed a hand over hers. “You’ll figure it out. You’re the smartest girl I know, and I know you’ll find something that can help Marinette in this mess.”

“You’re sweet,” Alya complimented, giving him a fond smile. “But, no matter how smart I am, I honestly don’t see how I can—”

There was a clatter in a nearby table.

“Watch where you’re walking, old man!” a woman yelled at a short man on his knees and hands, next to their table.

“I am terribly sorry—”

“You should be sorry!” the woman interrupted the man. “You’ve spilled my tea all over the table!”

Alya stood up on instinct.

“Hey, he said he’s sorry,” she intervened, crouching to help the victim. “I’m sure one of the waiters can replace your tea.”

“Ugh. Why are you people always so gross,” the woman sneered, flipping away her greying blonde hair.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Alya said in a low voice, narrowing her eyes at the woman. Meanwhile, behind Alya there was a sound of a moving chair.

“This isn’t even worth it. Come along, Jean.”

Without another look at Alya and the short man, the woman stood from her chair and left, her date immediately following. Alya took a deep breath to calm her rage, before turning back to the old man.

“I’m so sorry you had to deal with that. Are you okay?” she asked.

“I could ask the same thing, young lady. That woman was quite rude to you.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Yes. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Is there anything you need?”

“Hmm.” The old man stroked his goatee. “That is a generous offer, but I must get going. Have a good afternoon, young lady.”

Without another word, he turned and left the café. Alya sighed turning back to her table, to find Nino standing, as if ready to jump on someone.

“It’s over,” she said, when she returned to her chair.

“Are you okay?” Nino asked, finally sitting back down.

“Barely,” Alya muttered. “I’m not hungry anymore.”

“Me neither.”

They sat silently for a minute.

“I’m going home,” she sighed. “I’m gonna try to figure something out about the mess I made.”

“Okay. I’ll see if I can get a hold of Adrien then. See if he’s okay.”

“Sounds good…”

“I’ll see you later.”

With a quick peck on the lips, Alya bid goodbye to her boyfriend before making her way home. She used the time it took from the café to her apartment to think of possible solutions. Yet nothing sounded likely to work. It was either pointless, or impossible.

As she finally reached her room, Alya threw herself on the desk chair, bookbag in her lap. She groaned. There just had to be a way to fix this mess. Something, anything. She opened her bag to take out her tablet, except…

“Huh?” Alya said, as she took out something that wasn’t hers.

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

“Marinette, please talk to us,” Tom begged for the seventh time since the family had gotten home.

Yet the girl remained quiet on the living room couch. Now that she was away from people’s prying eyes, she was starting to realize how embarrassed she was. Mortified. Not to mention, her reputation was forever ruined. She had always known dating a superhero would mean endangering her family. It never occurred to her the impact it would have on her own personal life.

Sabine sat next to her. Lightly, she placed a hand over her daughter’s.

“It’s okay to not be okay,” she said quietly. “You have every right to not be okay.”

Marinette pressed her lips together. There was so much she wanted to say but couldn’t. Yet, at the same time, she needed to vent.

“I hate this,” she admitted. “I feel like I can’t do anything without being watched or judged. And worse, I feel like I keep endangering my loved ones. Only for doing what I thought was right. I am so tired of having to look over my shoulder whenever I wanna do… anything.”

“Hopefully, soon you won’t have to,” Sabine comforted. “I will do everything in my power to make all this better. Even if I have to make a deal with the devil.”

Marinette snorted. “Mr. Agreste isn’t so bad. He’s just scary.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Tom muttered. “Anyone who calls a kid a bad influence is twisted in my book.”

“Papa…”

“Marinette?” Sabine caught the girl’s attention. “Is there something else you need to talk about?”

There it is, Marinette thought. Her gaze turned down to her knees, wondering if her parents were partly judging her, even if they wouldn’t say it out loud. Maybe not about kissing two boys. But definitely about feeling like they had been lied to.

“I didn’t realize I had feelings for Chat Noir until last Saturday,” she said, hoping to answer some of their questions. “When he said that thing about never being with me on TV, it hurt me. And then… He visited that night and told me he didn’t mean it. One thing led to another, and…”

Marinette looked up to see both her parents exchanging wide-eyed looks.

“What did you do?” Sabine asked, looking almost scared.

“Well,” Marinette frowned, “we kissed.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“Praise be.”

Both parents responded in unison, Tom going as far as placing a hand on Sabine in relief. When they noticed Marinette’s confused stare they cleared up.

“We thought you were gonna say something else,” Tom admitted.

“Something else?”

“Yes,” Sabine said. “That you did something more.”

“Oh? OH!” Marinette yelped the second she realized what they meant. “Papa, Maman, no! We just kissed, nothing more! Oh my gosh!”

She proceeded to cover her face with a different kind of embarrassment from the one she had been experiencing during the day.

“Sorry, just needed to make sure,” Sabine chuckled. “But you do know that with all this happening, he can’t visit anymore, right?”

“And if he does, he has to use the front door,” Tom added.

“I know, I know,” Marinette assured them. “Trust me, after yesterday, I don’t think he’ll dare come near here anyway. We agreed it’s not safe anymore.”

“Okay, good,” Tom nodded.

“If you guys don’t mind, I need some time for myself.”

“Oh yeah, of course,” Sabine said. “Just do me one favor—”

“I won’t go out into the balcony,” Marinette assured them.

With several more reassuring remarks, she climbed up the stairs to her room. She opened the trapdoor that led to her room, hoping to finally get some guidance from her wisest friend. Only to shriek and quickly close the door.

“Marinette, everything okay?” Sabine called from the living room.

“Yeap!” Marinette squeaked. “Everything’s great! Fine! Just, pinched my finger on the door. Yeap, that’s what happened!”

She let out a nervous laugh, until receiving an ‘okay’ in response. When she was sure her parents wouldn’t be coming, she peeked inside her room, to confirm that she did not, in fact, imagine Chat Noir nervously sitting on her chaise. He then proceeded to bashfully wave.

Marinette climbed to her room as fast as she could and locked the door underneath her.

“What are you doing here?!” she whispered-yelled. “I told you I’d call you later. Won’t your father notice you’re gone?”

“He’s too busy talking to lawyers,” he reasoned. “Also, I may have been freaking out home alone.”

Marinette’s eyes softened. Chat Noir scooted on the chaise and patted the space next to him. The girl did as suggested and sat next to him.

“I don’t understand,” he said quietly. “I destroyed the camera. That picture should not exist.”

“He probably removed the memory card when you were chasing him,” Marinette reasoned. “We couldn’t have known we were being taken pictures of. Twice.”

“This is all my fault,” Chat Noir covered his face.

“Hey, no, don’t. If Alya had never recorded me, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“Marinette, she didn’t know.”

“She knew I was uncomfortable being interviewed,” she growled. “And yet, she still wrote about me after Entangler.”

“May I remind you that you made the conscious choice to go to Nadja’s interview?”

Marinette bit her lip, right before covering her face. “Ugh, what have I done?”

“I’m sure you and Alya will make up,” he reassured her. “I know reporting is important to her, but she would never purposefully try to ruin your life.”

“I know. And I know I can’t blame her for everything, I’ve also made bad decisions—”

“And me,” he added.

“I’m just so tired of all this.”

“Me too.”

They sat in sad silence for several seconds.

“In case you were wondering, no one saw me,” Chat Noir suddenly said. “I was very careful about how I got here. But I did notice that there’s a bunch of reporters and paparazzies standing outside our school. I don’t think they know we’re not there.”

“So, no chance any of them are looking through my window right now?”

“Not that I could see.”

Marinette sighed.

“This is so unfair. I shouldn’t be feeling like this in my own room.”

“Hmm.”

Chat Noir stood up and offered a hand towards Marinette. She looked at it questioningly.

“They have no idea we’re not in school. No one is looking this way. And I know a great rooftop Ladybug and I use where no one can see us.”

“What if someone sees you carrying me?”

The boy placed the hand on his chin, looking around the room. He ran towards her dresser to pull out a pink beanie and a scarf. From her desk, he took a prototype of Jagged Stone’s Eiffel Tower glasses. All items were offered to her.

“So no one knows it’s you,” he said with a grin.

Marinette couldn’t help but chuckle at how quickly he found a solution.

“I guess it would be nice to get away from it all. But I can’t be gone for long.”

“Deal,” Chat Noir chirped.

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

Soon enough, they were sitting on Ladybug and Chat Noir’s usual spot for meetings. A tall rooftop that oversaw most of Paris. And high enough for no other buildings to see what was on top.

“I like to come here a lot, even when Ladybug’s not around,” Chat Noir said, overlooking the city. “It’s a nice spot to relax and not be bothered.”

“It really is.” Marinette smiled, freeing herself from the disguise the boy had given her.

“So,” he turned to look at her, “since we’re alone, now you can tell me the thing you needed to tell me?”

Marinette almost choked on her own saliva.

“Oh!” she squeaked. “The thing! Right.”

“Sooo,” Chat Noir said in a sing-song tone, leaning towards her. “What is this secret of yours that’s keeping us apart?”

“A very important secret, that only you can know,” she said slightly more relaxed. She then turned to him. “Before I do, I want you to know that it’s okay if you freak out or have a mental breakdown. I mean, I did.”

“Are you a secret murderer or something?”

“Ha! I promise it’s not bad. In fact, you might laugh, instead. I mean, I think it’s hilarious.”

“I know there’s a chance you genuinely think that, but I’m starting to get nervous—”

CRASH

Marinette and Chat Noir stood up on instinct at the sound of exploding windows, followed by screams.

“You’re kidding me,” Marinette breathed.

“Another one?” Chat Noir said, standing on his feet and taking his baton. “Talk about a busy week.”

“Wait!” she called, rising to her feet. “Let me finish first.”

“You know you can just say it, right?”

“I know I can say it, I’m worried about how you’re gonna react.”

“You said it’s not something bad!”

“It’s not, but—”

“THERE YOU ARE!” A voice bellowed behind Chat Noir. The two teens turned to see a large man, looking like an inflated birthday party clown, floating from a balloon. As he got high enough, the balloons popped, and he landed with a loud thud on the rooftop. “Hawkmoth was right. You two lovebirds are so predictable.”

“Wait, I thought this place was secret!” Marinette said out loud. Chat Noir looked back at her, with fear.

“MARINETTE, RUN!” he yelled.

Marinette didn’t need to be told twice. Her feet had started to take steps back before she turned to run in the other direction of the akuma, towards the fire escape. She even did her best to not look back when she heard the sound of Chat Noir grunting. Like he had just gotten hit.

He can take it, she thought, forcing herself to continue. He can take anything. He’s Chat Noir, he can take it.

It wasn’t enough. She stopped to look back. Her head had barely turned when she had to duck from an incoming giant pie. Marinette glanced at the where the dessert landed, melting the rooftop concrete, before she had to dodge again from another.

“Hold still!” the akuma yelled, with two more pies on his hands. The second one of those was flying, an arm crashed into her. Next thing she knew, she was being swept away from that rooftop, carried by her partner.

“I need to get you somewhere safe!”

“I just need somewhere to hide!” Marinette insisted. “We don’t have to go too far.”

“I’m not letting anything happen to you.”

“Chat Noir, I’m serious! Just go to any nearby alley. You’ll see why!”

“I’m not letting you stay in an—”

Both teens yelped as one of the pies hit a chimney Chat Noir was about to land on. They were sent rolling down a slopped rooftop, and would’ve fallen on the street below, if the superhero hadn’t encrusted his baton into a wall.

“That was close,” Chat Noir panted. “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine,” Marinette assured him from his other arm. “How are we gonna get out of this one?”

“Uuuh…” The boy was staring away into the distance. Marinette was about to look, when she heard a ‘boo,’ and something hit the side of her head.

“Ow! Was that a Styrofoam cup?” she said, looking at the crowd that was forming beneath them, the one Chat Noir had been staring at.

“I don’t think this public is very fond of you.”

“And neither am I!” the akuma shouted.

Another pie hit the building right above where Chat Noir’s baton was holding for dear life. The crowd on the sidewalk screamed and ran away, as the wall melted enough to loosen the superhero’s weapon. The couple landed hard on the concrete, with Chat Noir taking most of the hit, while he protected Marinette’s head.

“Right where I want you!” the villain yelled. “Now tell me where Ladybug is, or your girlfriend here will be at front row seat of my next trick.”

“Nobody hurts Marinette on my watch!” Chat Noir yelled, stepping in front of her, making a battle pose.

“Could you please stop saying things like that in public!” Marinette scolded, still seeing some civilians hiding behind cars.

“Come on, I know you secretly like it when I act as your knight in catsuit armor.”

Chat Noir grinned at her, wiggling his eyebrows. Marinette could feel her whole face burning when she smacked a hand to her face.

“Oh gosh, you’re such a dork,” she said under her breath.

“Enough flirting!” the villain shouted, right as a yellow light shot towards Marinette from a wand he pointed at her.

Chat Noir was too late. The light hit her. Though, she seemed… fine.

“Marinette, are you okay?!”

“I…I feel fine…”

As if on cue, a small red balloon they hadn’t noticed hanging off her started rapidly filling up. When it was floating above her, it started pulling her up from her abdomen, where a thick string was newly wrapped around.

“Chat Noir!” she called as her feet left the ground. The boy immediately jumped just in time to grab her hand.

“Gotcha!” Chat Noir said triumphantly. However, his victory was short-lived, for he was immediately lifted off his feet. As if he weighed less than a feather.

“Let go!”

“I can’t!” He started to look around him.

“We can’t both be in trouble!”

The balloon sped up, rising by three stories in three seconds.

“No!” Chat Noir’s baton extended towards a drain pipe from a nearby rooftop, but it was too late. “Crap! I can’t drop now!”

Marinette watched her surroundings, hoping to find something Chat Noir could use. Instead, all she could see were perfect places to wrap her yoyo around. Something she didn’t have in the moment.

But she desperately needed.

“Chat Noir, I need to tell you the thing right now!” she yelled over the wind far above the city.

“We can talk about whatever it is when we’re back on the ground. Right now, I need to think!”

“But it’s really important!” she desperately said, seeing how people were starting to look like ants. “I promise we’ll get out of this as soon as I say it!”

“Marinette, I really need to think. Could you please let me think!”

The girl took a deep breath.

“Chat, I really, really, really need to tell you the thing,” she insisted.

“What could possibly be so important that it can’t wait ‘til after we’re out of this?” he retorted, irritated.

“Too important!” she yelled. Chat’s brows furrowed, debating whether to keep arguing or not. But before he could decide, Marinette was speaking again. “Chat, I’m—”

POP

The two teens were suddenly screaming, falling. Chat Noir pressed Marinette to his chest, making sure his back was facing down.

“What are you doing?!” Marinette yelled, a sliver of panic bubbling up inside her.

“I can take the hit,” Chat Noir said.

“Not from this height you can’t!”

He smiled. “You’re worth every sacrifice.”

Marinette could have sworn the world had gotten silent. She could tell he knew full well what would happen to him if they weren’t suddenly rescued. He hoped for one of two things: that Ladybug would save them, or that he would take the full force of the fall and she would at least survive.

You stupid self-sacrificing cat.

“No,” she affirmed. With the agility of Ladybug, Marinette pushed herself away from him enough to position them face down to slow their fall. She then pulled him as close to her as possible.

“Marinette, what are you doing?!”

“I’ve been trying to do this right, but there’s no right way to do this,” she yelled against the wind. “So screw doing it right. It didn’t work for you anyway.”

“What are you—”

Chat Noir cringed, too shocked to have run to catch her. Not that Marinette wasn’t used to getting hurt over her clumsiness, but still. Ever the gentleman, he felt responsible for letting her fall over.

“Great, and now you’ve killed her,” he whispered to himself. “Way to go, Adrien.”

As soon as he finished lamenting himself, he slid to his knees next to her. Strangely enough, she didn’t exactly faint, like he thought. Her eyes and mouth were still open, but unfocused. Did he break her?

“Marinette?” he tried again.

A very faint, whining sound escaped her. Like a deflating balloon. I have officially made her insane.

“Are you alive?”

“I-I-I-I…” She trailed off.

“Do you need me to carry you?”

“Still…conscious,” she breathed, eyes staring off.

Chat Noir tapped his chin for a moment, and then proceeded to smirk.

“If you stay limp, I’m gonna have to carry you over my shoulder again.”

Marinette’s eyes focused at last, right at his cat-like ones. Chat Noir’s smoulder softened into the smiles he reserved only for her. At least now he knew it was only shock.

“We have to go now, before anyone realizes you’re stuck with Chat Noir instead of Adrien.”

Chat Noir extended his hand towards her. For a moment she remained frozen, and he worried that she would stay so. Right before he decided to put his palm away, she grabbed it with a shaky hand. Chat Noir proceeded to quickly pull her to her feet, in case she changed her mind.

As soon as she tried to walk, her knees wobbled, prompting the boy to place one of her arms around his neck. She didn’t seem to actually need it, but one could never be too careful. Once in front of the bars of the cage, he called on his power to disintegrate it. Once the bars were destroyed, Chat Noir lifted Marinette to carry her bridal style.

“Hold on tight,” he said. Marinette stared at him with wide eyes and tightened her grip on his neck. With the suit on now, the boy was able make a powerful jump from the cage to the rooftop. He ran several blocks, hoping to get as far as possible from the crime scene. Just in case.

At last, he jumped down to another alley. One that didn’t have a metal trap stuck above them.

“Okay, I think you’re safe here,” he said, as he placed her down on her feet. He ran to the edge of the alley, looking into the street. “Just promise me you won’t go looking for trouble.”

When he turned back to look at her, Marinette was… exactly where he left her. Staring at the wall. Mouth agape. I really did break her, he thought.

“Marinette,” Chat Noir called, but she didn’t seem to be registering what was happening. “Marinette, look at me, please.” He took her face in his hands and stared intently at her. “I know this is a shock, but I need you to promise me you won’t go looking for trouble and that you’ll stay safe. Okay? I need you to say something, please.”

“Uh-huh.” She nodded.

“Great,” Chat Noir sighed. Suddenly, his lips turned into a smug grin. “I would kiss you now, Princess, but I’ll wait for when you’re no longer catatonic.”

With great satisfaction, Chat Noir watched the girl he liked turn as red as a tomato. He then turned, gave her a two-fingered salute from the side, and vaulted away. Although it hadn’t been the confession he had in mind, he had to admit it felt awesome to finally let it out of his chest.

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

Marinette stared after Chat Noir… Adrien…. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, until he was no longer visible. And remained still, staring in his direction.

“Marinette?” she heard the voice of Tikki.

Yet remained frozen. A statue in a random alley in Paris. She inhaled deeply.

“WHAT THE FU—”

“Marinette!” Tikki interrupted.

“TIKKI!” Marinette shot back. “He—Adrien—Chat Noir—same—THIS IS INSANE!”

“I know.” The kwami spoke sympathetically. “But there’s an akuma running around.”

“I need a moment!” Marinette yelled.

She took several deep breaths, laying her back against the alley wall. She felt the cogs of her brain finally unstuck, helping her process what she had just found out. Was she sure she saw what she saw? Did she dream it? Was Adrien really Chat Noir?

Okay, list, she thought.

Famous.

Check.

Blond and green eyes.

Check.

Calls me Princess.

No, but calls me Mari, a nickname Chat Noir has used occasionally.

Terribly timed puns and cocky attitude.

…

Marinette’s thoughts immediately went to that time he punned and teased her for sliding on the floor, after running from reporters outside the school. In fact, she could have sworn he almost called her Princess that day. And then he proceeded to be cocky on how he found a loophole on his father’s instructions about being seen with her.

“Oh my gosh, he is Chat,” Marinette gasped, hands going to her pigtails. A louder gasp escaped her lips. “I kissed Adrien on Saturday!”

“Marinette?”

But she didn’t listen. She was seeing that night again in her mind’s eye, but instead of Chat Noir, it was Adrien. Her cheeks were about to combust. Her hands went to her face. And an embarrassed scream resounded in the alley.

“This whole time I was falling for Adrien all over again!” her muffled voice said. “Ugh, this explains why he’s been trying to find conversation with me so much lately. It’s how he got the espresso joke. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe he knew of my crush this whole time and—”

Her hands pulled away from her face. “He had planned to tell me his identity. Me, Marinette, the civilian.”

“Oh.” Tikki covered her tiny mouth. Marinette looked at her, remembering her own plan to reveal her identity to Chat Noir. A decision she came to, because he’s not a civilian.

“He told me,” Marinette breathed. “Chat Noir told his identity to a civilian!”

“But you’re not just a civilian,” Tikki pointed out.

“But he doesn’t know that!” Marinette screeched. “To him, I’m just an average civilian who needs rescuing. He doesn’t know the real reason I’ve rescued him so many times. Or why it’s so important to me that he doesn’t get hit by an akuma. He… How dare he tell a civilian his identity! That goes completely against miraculous rules.”

“Marinette!” The kwami zipped up to her charge’s face and placed her paws on Marinette’s chin. “I know this is a lot to take in, but unfortunately you’re going to have to process later. There’s an akuma on the loose and Chat Noir needs your help right now.”

The girl groaned. “Why won’t akumas respect my need to have a mental breakdown.”

Tikki gave her a sympathetic look

“Okay,” Marinette relented, letting out a deep sigh. “Okay, okay, I’ll freak out later. And scold Chat Noir.” Tikki giggled, helping Marinette with the tension in her heart. “Okay. Tikki, transform me!”

A minute later, Ladybug was soaring through the rooftops. While she looked determined and focused, her mind was struggling to not bounce back to her recent discovery. Well, more like atomic bomb that was thrown at her.

She swung for several blocks, until she saw Chat Noir come out from what looked like a cheese shop. Probably recharging. She stopped on top of a chimney, staring as he ran off. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

Yes, she was angry at him. But it didn’t change how she felt about him. Feelings that she had to do her best to keep at bay for the sake professionalism. Ladybug groaned, yet continued her path to the akuma.

At last, she saw Birdcage, already engaged in battle against Chat Noir. With a twirl, Ladybug landed next to him.

“Welcome to the cage-fight, LB,” Chat Noir quipped.

“Not now,” she snapped, still reeling from his revelation.

“Feeling a little catty today?”

How is this guy and Adrien the same person? Ladybug screamed in her head.

“Let’s just focus, please.”

“Really? No comeback? Come on, I’m in a good mood today.”

“Are you seri—”

Her sentence was left incomplete when Chat Noir dove to her rescue, as a cage appeared under their feet.

“Well, well, well.” Birdcage drawled. “Looks like Ladybug is off her little superhero game.”

“Please, Ladybug is always on top of her game. Right LB?”

Ladybug could sense Chat Noir turn to her. But Birdcage was right. While her body was in the fight, her mind wasn’t. All she could think about was that if anything happened to Chat Noir, that was Adrien getting hurt. She was also upset that Chat Noir could act like nothing important had just happened.

Wait, was there something she was supposed to answer?

Ladybug was once again being whisked away by her partner, narrowly avoiding another giant cage. But this time, Chat Noir dragged her further away; away from the fight. The two of them landed on one of the many historic buildings. The boy rested her against the hot zinc, as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” he asked, searching her eyes. “What is it? I can tell you’re distracted, so don’t even try to hide it.”

Ladybug breathed heavily. Am I okay? AM I?

“No, I’m not okay!” she burst, grabbing his arms. “It’s barely midday and I can’t even catch my breath for a second!”

“I’m sorry you’ve been having a bad day!” Chat Noir spoke up. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve been having a pretty off day, too.”

“You just said you were in a good mood!”

“Partly!” he confessed. Ladybug blinked, so he continued. “Yes, something really awesome happened to me, but that awesome thing might just end up blowing up in my face and leave me loveless for the rest of my life. So later may not be as awesome as the rash decision I took earlier. But guess what? I’m not going to focus on that when we have an akuma to save Paris from.”

Ladybug’s lips turned into a line as she digested his words.

“Ugh, you’re right,” she lamented. “I’m sorry, I’m just still overwhelmed with something I just found out.”

Chat Noir gasped, slapping hands on his cheeks. “Are you pregnant?”

“Oh my gosh, Chat, no!” Ladybug covered her stomach, as if to protect it from pregnancy, even though she knew full well that it was impossible. “When you put it that way, what I found out doesn’t seem so bad anymore.”

“Can you fight then?” he asked.

Ladybug hesitated, before looking into his eyes. Adrien Agreste’s eyes. She had already had a hard time fighting akumas knowing she had feelings for him. Now she had to do it knowing his identity and that there was a new set of baggage between them.

“I need a minute.”

He’s Chat Noir. He’s Chat Noir. He’s Chat Noir. She repeated the mantra in her head, taking quick glimpses at him. Hoping she wouldn’t accidentally call him by his real name during battle.

“Okay,” she said, after a deep breath. “I think I’ll—”

A metallic floor appeared out of thin air under their feet, and metal bars surrounded them. Due to the uneven surface of the rooftop, the cage slid off the edge. As they were falling, Ladybug spun her yo-yo fast enough to melt the bars. Immediately after, Chat Noir grabbed her waist and extended his staff until it struck the building.

What was left of the cage crashed on the ground below, as the boy kept a firm hold on his partner with one arm, and hanged on his staff with the other hand. It was lucky the cage was heavier than them. Otherwise Ladybug wouldn’t had been able to make that hole, much like she did with a bus during their fight with Stormy Weather.

“You two are so annoying!” a voice complained from the bottom, as the heroes climbed on the staff. “I can see why Hawkmoth wants your miraculous.”

“Go!” Chat Noir yelled.

Without a second thought, Ladybug wrapped her arm around him and swung them both away from Birdcage. Lucky for Chat Noir, he was able to dislodge the staff just in time to take it with him.

As they landed on the street, Ladybug took a deep breath, only to inhale that familiar expensive cologne.

“Why do you have to smell so good?” she whined.

“Huh?!” Chat Noir screeched.

“N-NOT YOU!” Ladybug panicked, taking a meter-length step away. “I-I mean, not that you don’t smell good, but I-I m-meant, uuhh—THAT!”

“The vape store?”

“No!” She smacked her forehead. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Did you lose an antenna or something?” Chat Noir asked, in a tone that was filled with infuriatingly genuine concern for Ladybug.

“I don’t know if I can get through this fight,” she admitted.

“Well, isn’t that good news for me,” Birdcage said, clasping her hands together.

It wasn’t until the threat was in front of them that Ladybug took a second to take in her surroundings. There were cages all around the block, with people and cars trapped in them. Many were clamoring for her to save them.

Paris was counting on her and she was freaking out over a boy.

“No,” she said quietly. “I am not making this easy for you, Hawkmoth. The citizens of Paris come first!”

“Let’s see about that!”

And there it was. Birdcage placed her hands together over her chest, where there was a silver necklace Ladybug hadn’t noticed before. The object glowed and the duo of heroes had to dodge another cage.

“It’s in the necklace!” Ladybug informed her partner. “I think that if we immobilize her arms, we’ll be able to take it away.”

They jumped again.

“We need to get close to her first,” Chat Noir said. “But these cages are not helping.”

They rolled and crouched behind a car.

“I’m gonna need a distraction, see if I can summon a Lucky Charm that could help me with that.”

“On it,” her partner responded automatically, already getting up to his feet. However, he was quickly yanked back, as Ladybug had grabbed his tail.

“Ah, sorry.” He tilted his head. Ladybug bit her lip. “I just wanted to say… Be careful, please.”

Chat Noir gave her a smile. “Whatever happens, I know you got my back, LB.”

Without giving her a chance to say anything else, the boy jumped out of their hiding place and ran the opposite way. Birdcage took the bait, and Ladybug was able to summon her power. On her hands landed a pirate’s hook.

A quick look around the stores nearby, the craft store caught her attention. At least one of the things she needed was definitely in there. With Birdcage distracted, Ladybug was able to easily cross the street and rummage the place for a small mirror and super glue. The kind used for cosplay armor.

She dashed back to the street, to see in the distance Chat Noir using Cataclysm on a cage he had been trapped in. It was now or never.

So Ladybug ran towards the battling duo, while squeezing the contents of the tube inside the pirate’s hook. Once that was done, she wrapped the string of her yo-yo on the hook and called: “Hey, Birdcage!”

The villain turned just in time to be blinded by the reflection of the mirror Ladybug picked up from the store. When she raised her hand, the hero took the opportunity to slam the pirate hook on it.

When Birdcage came to realize what happened, she tried to take off the hook, with no avail. Meanwhile, Ladybug had jumped over a street lamp, placing the string over it. As she pulled, the villain wailed as she was lifted off the ground.

“Chat Noir, the akuma!”

“Got it!” he called, the second he swiped the akumatized necklace and threw it towards his partner.

Ladybug caught it, dropped it on the ground and crushed it with her foot. A minute later, she had cleansed the butterfly and was throwing the pirate hook, which had been left hanging on its own when Birdcage’s weight had won over. The millions of ladybugs fluttered over the city, getting rid of all the cages.

The purple substance washed away from Rose, leaving her looking small and defenseless on the ground. Ladybug couldn’t help but feel responsible for her grieving. She had been so blinded by her own feelings that morning, that she forgot the world wasn’t as rosy as she had liked to believe. And finding out Chat Noir and Adrien were the same person only further reminded her that the world was more complicated than it seemed that morning.

She slowly crouched to Rose’s level and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Are you okay?” she asked. Ladybug knew the answer, but she still felt it was important to show she cared.

Rose, however, seemed to either ignore her, or simply not hear her. Her expression was blank, staring into space. Ladybug wanted to say something else, but before she could make up her mind, Juleka was calling her girlfriend from afar.

“Rose, it’s okay,” she whispered, the second she got close enough to embrace her. “You’re okay. Everything’s okay. And what’s not, will be.”

The quiet words seemed to be just what the blonde girl needed to hear. Her trance was broken, and she returned the hug Juleka gave her, with her eyes squeezed shut.

“I told them,” Rose sobbed. “I told them, and they said it’s just a phase. That I’ll be normal when I’m older. Like I’m not normal now.”

“I’m so sorry,” Juleka said, stroking her girlfriend’s hair. “But you’re not alone. You’re never alone, not while I’m here.”

“I can’t go back there. They got so angry when I told them they were wrong.”

“You can stay with me,” Juleka offered. “You know my mom has no problem with you staying home.”

“I felt so trapped, Jules.”

“You’re not,” the dark-haired girl stressed, pulling away enough to look at Rose’s bright blue eyes. “Me, my brother, my mom, our friends, you don’t have to pretend for any of us.”

The blond sniffed and nodded. Juleka rested her forehead against Rose’s and gave her several comforting kisses. When the tears subsided, she helped her to her feet.

“Thank you, Ladybug,” Juleka said, finally taking notice of the heroes.

“It’s what I’m here for,” she responded. But despite her words, she felt highly responsible for what happened. She should’ve asked for more context. She should’ve taken in consideration that, despite her love troubles, she didn’t have to go through a situation like Rose’s. That it wasn’t a fair comparison her love life to Rose’s.

“Um…” Ladybug hesitated. Then took a deep breath. “I saw Marinette. She was beating herself up for giving you such bad advice. She’s very sorry for taking it so lightly.”

Rose sighed. “I think it was still bound to happen someday. But…” Her gaze fell to the ground. “I need some time.”

“Of course,” she immediately agreed. “I’m sure she’ll understand. Take all the time you need.” She stood up straighter. “You don’t owe anyone anything.”

“Thank you,” Rose smiled. Tightening her grip on Juleka, the couple turned and walked away.

“Bien joué?” Chat Noir said next to Ladybug, lifting a fist.

“Bien joué,” she said with a wary tone, as she bumped his fist. Speaking of messy love lives: “Hey, Chat I, um… I-I ran into Marinette on my way here, a-and…”

“Oh no,” Chat Noir muttered, muscles tensing.

“She wants to talk to you,” she blurted as fast as she could. “Uuh, she said to, um, meet her at the usual spot, above the bakery.”

“I am so dead,” he said under his breath, his claws going up to his hair.

“Really?” Ladybug couldn’t help but drawl out, folding her arms. “Did something happen?”

“Uuuh,” Chat Noir squeaked, looking like an anxious owl. Possibly the first time Ladybug ever heard his voice crack like that. In both of his identities. “Noooooo.”

The liar! She gasped internally. To my face. Oh, he’s getting one heck of an earful when I tell him.

An earful she was tempted to give him at that very moment. She had planned on telling him her identity anyway, so why not?

“Chat Noir, I don’t believe you for—”

“I’ll tell you later,” he rushed in to say. “I have to tell you anyway, but not right now. I want to sort it out with Marinette first.”

BEEP BEEP

“Why with her first?” What am I saying? I am her.

“Because when I left her, she was pretty freaked out,” he said, already taking steps backwards. “I can’t just leave her like that, much less when I know that conversation with you is gonna take a while. She’s too important to me to just leave her like that.”

Ladybug opened her mouth to argue, but instantly changed her mind. She was still feeling a lot of emotions about what she found out, but she had to admit his reasons for not telling Ladybug yet were noble.

Her earrings beeped for their last minute, as so did Chat Noir’s ring.

“I gotta go,” Chat Noir said as he turned around and vaulted away.

Ladybug tried calling after him, but he was gone. She huffed as she zipped away towards the bakery. Although she had seriously considered revealing her identity right there, maybe doing it as Marinette was for the best.

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

It had been thirty minutes since Marinette arrived home. She had sent a message to Alya through social media, letting her know she was okay. This, because in her hurry to get home, she left her bookbag, and phone, in her school locker.

She tried designing something, anything, but her mind kept looking at the clock on her computer. She went outside, hoping to see Chat Noir jumping his way there. Nothing. She went back inside, where she ended up rolling the spray-bottle he gave her around the floor. Sometime later, she was back outside, furiously spraying water on her plants.

Seriously? After all that talk about not leaving me confused and how I’m sooo important to him, he dares to just leave me—

There was a loud clank behind her, as she watered her lavenders. She froze. Her heart started beating louder. Her eyes widened.

“Hey Princess,” the cocky voice of Chatdrien said.

And he dares to call me by a flirty nickname.

“Took you long enough to—” She stopped mid-sentence, for she had turned around and was immediately greeted by a fully bloomed red rose almost tickling her nose.

“I do hope my royal highness can forgive this feline for taking its time grooming,” Chat Noir said in a theatrical tone. Almost immediately followed by a nervously whispered: “And recharge and psyching myself for this.”

Marinette blinked, before giving Chat Noir a deadpanned look.

“Is that one of my roses?” she asked.

Chat cringed guiltily. “They’re as beautiful as you, don’t you think?”

The girl’s eyes squinted further, as she raised the hand holding the bottle.

“What.” Spray. “Were.” Spray. “You.” Spay. “Thinking?!”

Marinette sprayed him three more times, despite his protests and flailing arms.

“Hey, stop! Cut it out!”

“You revealed yourself to a civilian. What the heck?!” Three more sprays.

“Wait, what?” he yelped, finally getting a hold of her wrist. Marinette gasped as he stared at her eyes intently. “That’s what you’re mad about?”

The second he finished that sentence, Marinette scowled and pushed the nozzle a few more times. Quickly, Chat Noir confiscated the now cursed gift and placed it aside.

“Let’s talk, please,” he begged.

“I’m a civilian, Chat. How could you tell me?”

“I didn’t have much of a choice, now did I? And you were right about me being the only one able to get us out of there.”

“Couldn’t you come up with some excuse so I wouldn’t look?”

“I could’ve, but why would I, when I was gonna tell you anyway?”

“Exactly, you were going to tell me your identity!”

“Why do you think I kissed you?!”

Marinette gaped. “Kissing me was your way of telling me?!”

“NO! That’s not what I meant!” Chat Noir dragged his hands over his face. “I figured it would be fine to kiss you because I was gonna tell you right after. I didn’t expect for my confession to get interrupted.”

“Our confessions always get interrupted,” Marinette pointed out.

“My confession to you was not supposed to involve an akuma!”

“Well, it did, and it still doesn’t change the fact that you told your identity to a civilian.”

“Jeez, it’s like getting lectured by Ladybug,” Chat Noir complained, crossing his arms. “I thought you would be happy to find out who I am.”

“Chat Noir, that’s not the point. I just don’t understand what made you think telling your identity to a civilian was a good idea.”

“Plagg said it was fine.”

Marinette paused. Wait, then that means… Chat…Adrien, told his kwami he wanted to tell me. Plagg, knowing my identity, gave his blessing. That sneaky little cat.

“Would you feel better if I detransformed?”

“NO!” Marinette blurted out. “Sorry! I’m just still not used to it.”

“Oh. Wait…” Chat Noir squinted at her. “You said that was not the point. Does that mean you are happy to find out my identity?”

Marinette squeaked. She really had to be careful with the words she was vomiting.

“N-Nooo, th-that’s not—Psh! I didn’t say that.”

“You definitely did,” he purred, leaning towards her. “Is my Princess being bashful now?”

“Stooop!” Marinette took several steps back and tried to pace in the small space of the balcony. “This is… I don’t know.”

“Marinette—”

“You could’ve talked to me any day,” she finally expressed. “We share the same classrooms. We see each other every day. Why couldn’t you talk to me as Adrien?”

“I tried! But you were just so different and… fascinating when I’m Chat Noir. I got… curious.”

“Curious?”

“Why you were so sassy with me, yet shy with, well, me.”

“I’m guessing you figured out the reason pretty early on.”

“Yes, I found out you were in love with me.”

She stopped. Were Marinette’s cheeks about to explode? They sure felt like it. How was this happening? When had her life turned into this?

“Hey, it’s okay,” Chat Noir soothed, holding on to her wrists. When had she covered her face? “If it makes you feel any better, finding out why you loved me was one of the main reasons I started seeing you differently. Very few people get to see me beyond my fame and money. It was super flattering when you told me the reasons.”

“Wait, if you’ve been Adrien this whole time, how come you told Nadja I’m in love with you?”

…

“Uuuh.” It was Chat Noir’s turn to blush. He pointedly looked away from her, scratching the back of his head. “I didn’t… Did I?”

“Chat Noir—”

“Okay!” he squeezed his eyes shut. “I may have subconsciously tried to claim you as taken. BeforeIknewIhadfeelingsforyou!”

Marinette made a face that looked like someone had slapped her.

“Are you seriously that insecure?!”

“Yes!” Chat Noir admitted, taking Marinette aback. “You know how father treats me. And you have any idea how desired you are?”

“Me? Desired?!” she sputtered.

“Nathaniel, Nino, Félix. Heck, I think even Lila is getting a crush on you.”

“Oh my gosh, stop.” Marinette placed a hand on the side of her face, as if trying to hide from nonexistent people. “Either way, that doesn’t excuse it. I thought you just let slip a secret I told you, not that you were claiming me.”

“Is it worse?”

“I don’t know anymore, my feelings for you are clouding my judgement.”

There was an awkward pause. How was this both a dream come true and a total disaster? How had it become both very complicated and so much simpler?

“Look,” Chat Noir spoke quietly. “I’m sorry for my less than stellar moments. Telling your secret in Nadja’s interview, being jealous of Félix, all that stuff. But mostly, I’m sorry this reveal hasn’t gone as smoothly as I had initially hoped.”

“This is all just so overwhelming,” she muttered.

“But I promise that it’s real,” he said in a determined tone.

“Is it? I mean, psh, duh, of course it has to be,” she rambled. “I mean, we totally kissed last Saturday, and now today. Which I still can’t believe it happened. Was it real, though? Is this even real? Ugh, what am I even saying—”

“Marinette.”

“Huh?”

Chat Noir grabbed her face with both of his hands and pulled her into a fierce kiss. Marinette had raised her hands, as if to push him away, but instead ended up resting them on his chest. This one was nothing like the one they shared last Saturday. Or the one-sided kiss from earlier that day.

This time, Marinette fully sunk into his lips. Whatever softness and hesitance had been there the first time they kissed was gone. Instead, there was a sureness of their actions. The knowledge that they both wanted it and felt the same way for each other. That this was what they desired.

Perhaps she was complicating herself too much. Perhaps it was pointless to keep making a big deal of such things. She was sure that the claws that softly caressed from her face to her hair was enough to simply let every doubt go. Who cared about such trivial things when the boy she loved had just slipped his tongue into her mouth?

Just like she was feeling overwhelmed by discovering that Chat Noir was Adrien, chances were that he would feel the same way when he found out she’s Ladybug. Of course, she still hadn’t told him, but who cares right now?

He would care, a voice that sounded very much like Tikki responded in the back of her brain.

…

Dammit!

“Wait, no!” Marinette squeaked, pushing herself away from him. “What are we doing?!”

“I don’t know!” Chat Noir responded, in the same manic tone as her. He then proceeded to crouch, with his hands in his hair.

This was a disaster. It was clear she wasn’t the only one freaking out. And that was without her own confession. Marinette couldn’t imagine how much worse this could potentially get when he finds out she’s Ladybug.

Oh, that’s gonna be fun. She groaned internally.

“Okay,” she said, softening her tone. “Okay, okay. Let’s just… Let’s take a step back. You said telling me your identity was your plan?”

“Of course!” Chat Noir said, in a matter-of-fact tone. And finally letting go of his hair. “I had to tell the girl I’m in love with my—”

But he stopped abruptly. And Marinette tensed.

They stared at each other.

Did he just…?

“Lo-love?” The word came out as if said by a chipmunk.

“I-I, uuh…” Chat Noir seemed to be at a loss. Like not even he knew where that came from. “Love,” he said, with a look of realization.

His eyes quickly turned to her, and he was back on his feet.

“I’m in love with you, Marinette,” he declared. “I am so stupidly, insanely and ridiculously in love with you.”

Marinette could have sworn the ground beneath her feet turned into mushy, fluffy clouds. Her own body felt lighter than a feather. This had to be a dream. The two boys that she had fallen in love with were one of the same, and he returned her feelings? That just like her, he fell for her on both sides of the mask?

“Pinch me,” she breathed out loud.

Chat Noir turned a new shade of red. “Huh?” he said nervously.

Knowing him, Marinette was sure his mind was already in the gutter. She shook her head, trying to figure out a more coherent response to what was the most important declaration Adrien ever made.

Adrien. Chat Noir. Now, officially, the one and only love of her life.

“I know it’s a lot,” he continued, “and it’s okay if you don’t feel the same way—”

“NoIdo!” Marinette blurted out. Looking at Chat Noir’s bewildered face, she tried to soften her features. “I mean, I really do feel the same way. It’s just…”

My secret identity, she finished mentally. It was the last obstacle left for them to have an honest relationship.

“You’re wondering about Ladybug, aren’t you?” he suddenly said.

Marinette cocked her head. “Huh?”

“I know I said I loved her,” he continued, oblivious to Marinette’s confusion. “But the truth is that, while I do care about her, with you I have so much more that I could never have with her.” He took her hands in his. “While Ladybug is brave, you are so much braver. I’ve seen you fight off akumas and rescue people, even when you don’t have superpowers.

“You understand me in ways I have never felt understood. You’re always the word of comfort I need. Somehow, it’s like you always know what to say to make me feel better. And to be better. Marinette, you inspire me to be a better person and superhero. And, you like my puns! No one else likes my puns.

“What I’m saying is that I rather be with someone who appreciates every part of me, at any moment. Both when I’m at my highest and at my lowest.”

Marinette was dead. She had to be dead and sent off to Heaven to be hearing such beautiful words from the person she had dreamt of for so long. A little weird, because he was explaining the reasons why he chose her over her alter ego. Nevertheless, she knew what he meant, and that was all that mattered.

“Oh, Adrien,” she let slip. “I knew you could be poetic, but that was…” She sighed.

“You called me Adrien,” he whispered, slightly closer now. “Does that mean I’m outta the woods?”

“I-I…”

She was sure she had a speech of her own somewhere in her mind, but the intoxicating smell of Adrien made her lose her words. She could feel his breath even closer to her lips. Oh, if he knew who he was actually kissing—

“Wait!” Marinette pulled back suddenly. I can’t kiss him! Not yet! Not until…

Until I tell him my identity.

“Wait, I can’t do this. Not yet.” She hastily added the last part, to make sure he didn’t think she was rejecting him. “There’s something I have to tell you first.”

“Okay? What is it?”

“I just… need a minute.”

Marinette pulled away from Chat Noir and started pacing the small balcony, trying to build up the courage to say it. Something that would have been so much easier if she didn’t already know he’s Adrien.

“Okay, I can do this,” she told herself. “It’ll be fine, because I’m fine. And if I’m fine, he’ll be fine.”

“What’s fine? Now I’m freaked out.”

“I’m sorry,” Marinette squeaked, turning back to him. “Okay. Okayokayokayokay. I can do this.” She took a deep breath. “Chat Noir, there’s something important I have to tell…”

But her words were left hanging, her attention on a glare behind Chat Noir.

“What is that?”

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

Chat Noir turned around, looking to where Marinette was pointing behind him. On the rooftop of the next building, there was a glare shining off a…

Camera.

As soon as his eyes locked on the lens, the man behind it jumped and immediately started running.

Unfortunate for the photographer, Chat Noir was seeing red. Just when he thought things were finally settling. Without skipping a beat, the superhero vaulted to the offensive building and chased after the man.

The paparazzi ran through the entrance leading to the staircase. The door had almost closed, when Chat Noir yanked it open. He looked down to see the man already two flights down the stairs. With the agility of a cat, Chat Noir ran on all fours, skipping at least five steps at the time, and bouncing off the walls to speed up his turns.

In less than four turns, Chat Noir pounced on the paparazzi.

“Cataclysm!” he yelled. Without hesitation, Chat Noir grabbed the camera, disintegrating it in his hand.

“What the hell, man!” the paparazzi gasped. “You have any idea how expensive cameras are?”

“Maybe you should have thought of that before invading my privacy!” Chat Noir snapped back. “How dare you take pictures of Marinette in her own home. That is her private property. Her family could sue you for this.”

“That terrace is plenty visible for anyone on a rooftop,” the man argued.

Chat Noir growled, grabbing the paparazzi’s shirt and pulling him close.

“I swear to you,” he whispered menacingly, “if you dare try something like this again, I will make you regret it.”

“Never knew Chat Noir was in the business of making threats, considering you’re supposed to be a superhero.”

“I’m a hero to anyone who needs saving,” Chat Noir said. “Even if it’s not an akuma what they need saving from.”

The hero then dropped the paparazzi on the floor and pointed at him.

“You stay away from Marinette.”

The young man gulped. Nevertheless, he ran off down the stairs without another word. Chat Noir took several calming breaths and headed back to the rooftop. From there, he could see Marinette walking around the balcony, looking on every direction. Probably checking for any other paparazzi.

It was a reminder of another important reason of why he wanted to tell her his identity: they no longer had to risk getting caught as Chat Noir and Marinette. It was far easier to explain her friendship with her classmate than one with a superhero.

With one last sigh, Chat Noir vaulted across the buildings, landing safely on the girl’s home.

“Did you get him?” she asked.

“I may have destroyed his camera.” As if to confirm the fact, his ring beeped.

“He must’ve not liked that,” Marinette cringed.

“It’s his own fault for invading our privacy.”

“He still saw us, though…”

There was a pause, as Chat Noir processed what she said.

“You really think he saw us kiss?”

“I think it’s very possible.”

They stood awkwardly for a minute, both wondering their next move and embarrassed that some one else might have seen them kiss. Especially when they weren’t sure of what they were. Were they a couple? Were they still friends? Would they become more than friends?

“Maybe it’s best you go,” Marinette said quietly. “I don’t think we’re safe hanging out here anymore.”

“Clearly,” Chat Noir scoffed. “Good thing I don’t have to be Chat Noir for us to hang out anymore.”

“Riiight. About that,” Marinette said, immediately making the boy freak out internally. “You think we could meet up tomorrow for lunch? There’s something I really need to tell you, but right now, I don’t think it’s safe here.”

Chat Noir mentally let out a breath of relief. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Right now, I don’t even dare to go into your room. Although, can’t you just call me?”

“I want to say it in person,” Marinette cleared up. “Plus, I accidentally left my phone in my locker, so I wouldn’t even be able to call you if I wanted.”

“Gotcha.” Chat Noir gave her finger guns. “So, tomorrow?”

Marinette nodded. Chat Noir had been about to lean in, hoping to give her another kiss. But the way her eyes shifted to the side reminded him that it wasn’t safe. So he backed up to the railing instead.

“I guess I’ll see you around then, Princess,” he bid.

“Will do, chaton.”

He gave her one of his trademark toothy grins, just as he climbed the railing and vaulted away. As he jumped across the rooftops, the events of the day unfolded in his mind. The first kiss, the cage, the reveal, the spray bottle, the second kiss, the confession…

Chat Noir couldn’t believe he admitted to being in love with Marinette. He had been so careful to take it easy. But when the moment of truth came, the word simply slipped out. Yet he was happy it did.

While the day hadn’t exactly been what he imagined, it still felt like a dream. One that had plastered a seemingly permanent smile on his face. Because, for the first time ever, there was a real chance he was going to be in a relationship with someone he was in love with. Like something out of a movie.

Sure, there had been hiccups here and there, but at the end of the day, he wouldn’t have to hide any part of himself. Because that last, amazing kiss with Marinette just made this day the best one he’d ever had so far. And there was no silly scandal that could ruin his mood.

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

The next morning, Marinette was tumbling around her room as she got dressed, hoping she wouldn’t arrive too late to school. Since she left her phone in school, she had no alarm to wake her on time. When she looked at her computer after getting up, it showed she only had fifteen minutes left for class.

She sped down the stairs and out the apartment, ignoring her mother’s insistent calls behind her. Down on the sidewalk, she could see a crowd of reporters making their way towards the bakery but ignored them, instead taking advantage of the fact that they were later than usual.

As Marinette arrived at François Dupont, she went up the steps two at a time. By the time she got to the entrance of the noisy school, she had to stop for a minute to catch her breath. After all, she didn’t want to look too winded when she saw Adrien again.

Still getting used to that, she thought, finally able to stand up straight and walk her way to the lockers.

Except that it got oddly…quiet.

Marinette looked around the school, only to notice most of the students were staring at her. Which was something she was not used to as a civilian.

Oh gosh, did I forget to wear pants?! She patted her legs, making sure they were covered by fabric. Her shirt and jacket were also in place, so she hadn’t accidentally worn her pajamas to school. Was it her hair? Nope. Face? Didn’t seem like it.

Marinette slowly walked towards the lockers, trying to not make eye contact with anyone. Yet, she could still feel hundreds of eyes following her every step.

She could feel her heartbeat increase. Almost like she could sense something very bad was about to happen. But then again, how many times had she made things seem worse than they actually were? Yes, that must be it. She must be paranoid.

With a deep breath, she opened the door to the lockers… Only to find her entire class in the middle of a heated argument.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about!” Alya yelled at Chloé.

“Oh, pah-lease. You can defend her all you want. Doesn’t change what she is: a lying, wretched—”

“She’s not a liar,” interjected Lila. “I know what a real liar sounds like, and she’s not one.”

“Of course you would know, Lie-la,” Chloé sneered.

“How many times do I have to repeat the same thing.” The voice of Adrien came from the farthest point of the bench between the locker rows. “You’re crapping on the wrong person.”

“And since when do you curse?”

“Since I got done with all this.”

“You weren’t even supposed to be involved,” Nino chimed in next to him.

“Ugh.” Chloé raised her arms. “Why does everyone refuse to see what’s right in front of you?”

“Because she’s not like that!” Nathaniel spoke louder than he usually did. “She would never.”

“She can be careless, though,” Rose said quietly.

There was a sudden loud gasp in the room, and a lone ‘ha!’ from Chloé.

“Rose,” Adrien said, aghast. “You’re not seriously agreeing with Chloé, are you?”

“Not fully agreeing,” Rose tried to amend. “But you have to admit she’s far from—”

But as her eyes wandered through the room, she suddenly caught Marinette’s gaze. Her mouth shut, and her cheeks turned a deep shade of scarlet. The rest of their classmates turned to follow Rose’s line of sight, and a chorus of noises of discomfort invaded the room.

“Speak of the she-devil!” Chloé cheered.

A deafening silence followed. Marinette looked around at the people she never thought to catch talking about her behind her back.

“Why is my integrity being questioned when I’m not here?” Marinette asked.

There was an exchange of looks between the classmates. Some very pointed looks between Alya, Nino and Adrien, that showed more worry than embarrassment. Marinette’s heart thudded louder.

“She has to see it,” Félix, who had been in the corner, spoke up.

“What are you doing here?” Alya followed immediately, rushing up to Marinette. “I’ve been calling you for like thirty minutes to tell you not to come.”

“I left my phone in the locker yesterday, remember?” Marinette defended herself. “I have to see what?”

“No,” Adrien intervened. “She should wait before she sees it.”

“What difference does it make?” Chloé groaned. “She already did it. It’s not like it’s a surprise to her.”

“I’ll decide what I see and don’t see,” Marinette said firmly. “See what?”

Alya took out her phone, but hesitated. “Why didn’t you have your phone today, of all days.” She muttered miserably.

“Can you guys please leave?” Adrien begged.

“No way,” Kim responded, as if speaking for the whole class. “Marinette’s gonna need a lot of support when she sees it.”

Could Marinette’s heart get any louder? At this point, it sounded like a bong that had gone up to her ears. Meanwhile, Alya bit her lip, as she tapped the screen of her phone.

“You guys are scaring me now,” Marinette admitted. “What is so bad that you think I need support?”

There was a tap on her arm. Alya was handing her phone over.

“It’s… It’s bad.”

Marinette frowned. Nevertheless, she took the phone. She looked at the screen, where a player was ready, paused in what looked to be the Margot and Dorian Show. What could those two idiots have to say after the success that was the interview last Saturday?

“So, you’re not making fun of me?”

“Dude, no way,” Nino reassured him. “Now I get to be your wingman!”

“My what?!” Adrien jolted.

“Have you thought about how you’re gonna confess?”

“Nino!” the blond screeched, stopping their walk to the place he wasn’t ready to arrive to. “Slow down, man. You’re literally the first person I tell, so, please, down the pressure.”

“Oh, right,” Nino snickered. “Sorry, dude. It’s just that I’ve had Alya pushing me to help for way too long already, and now I actually can. And you two would make a great couple. I’d love to see you two together.”

Adrien’s cheeks quickly started heating up.

“You really think so?”

“You two idiots are made for each other.”

“Gee, thanks,” Adrien deadpanned.

“You have no idea how long Marinette’s been crushing on you, dude!” Nino exclaimed. “Seriously. For the longest time, I think you were the only one to not notice her feelings.”

Adrien cringed. “I have an idea,” he muttered.

“Oh, right. Chat Noir outed you,” Nino chuckled.

The grimace on the blond’s face deepened. Definitely not his finest moment, now made worse with the realization of why he did it in the first place.

“Sure,” he said through gritted teeth. “Anyway,” Adrien grabbed Nino and pulled him behind a pillar of a building. “I don’t know what to do. I feel like I’m gonna lose it any second. You realize I almost confessed to her back there?”

“Woah, I thought you hung back just to be alone with her, not to freaking confess.”

“I wasn’t planning to,” Adrien said. “We were talking, and it just…For one second there, it just felt right. Ya know?”

“Look at mah boy, all grown up.” Nino wiped a fake tear from his eye. “But since you’re telling me now that you like her, I’m guessing you didn’t get to.”

“Nooo,” Adrien whined, covering his face. “Alya called on us before I could, and I didn’t wanna rush it. I wanna do it right.” He paused. “Which is why I told her we’d talk at lunchtime tomorrow.”

Nino let out an excited gasp.

“Way to go, my man.” He slapped his buddy’s bicep. “That’s what I’m talking abou—”

“No, you don’t understand,” Adrien said, grabbing his friend by his shoulders and staring with crazed eyes. “What was I thinking?! I wanna tell her so badly, but I wasn’t thinking ‘bout what I’m gonna tell her. I just invited her, just like that! What if she doesn’t believe me? What if I say the wrong thing? Or worse: what if she says she loves me and wants to be with me? I’ve never been in a relationship! It’s easy to flirt when deep down you know it’s going nowhere, but when you know it’s gonna happen, it’s so freaking scary, and what if we do get—”

“Okay, dude. Breathe,” Nino spoke up, raising his hands at eye-level and letting Adrien’s fall.

Adrien straightened and inhaled deeply, but the images of the worst possible scenarios kept running through his brain like an old movie reel. He wanted all of it out of his chest so badly. How had he been patient with Ladybug for so long, yet almost crumbled when it came to Marinette?

“First of all,” Nino continued, his hands making motions for his buddy to inhale and exhale, “you’re getting waaay ahead of yourself. You don’t even know how far you guys will get. And secondly, this is Marinette we’re talking about. Even if she didn’t like you that way -which she does- she would never do something to hurt you. And you gotta remember, even if you mess up, Marinette is a very forgiving person. She forgave Félix, for crying out loud.”

Adrien exhaled, body less jittery.

“You’re right,” he said, prompting Nino to finish his calming movements. “Although,” he added suddenly, feeling the nervousness come back, “there’s something else.”

Nino hummed in confusion. So, Adrien continued.

“I did something. Something that ended up in me invading more of her privacy than I should’ve, without her knowing. It’s something I have to tell her, but I’m afraid she’ll feel betrayed. And after Lila and Félix, I don’t know how much betrayal Marinette can take.”

“Did you do it on purpose?”

“Well, no…”

“Then that already sets you apart from Félix and Lila,” Nino resolved. “Those two did things on purpose, and Marinette still forgave them. If whatever you did was an accident, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

“What if it’s a big secret?”

“Dude,” Nino place a hand on his friend’s shoulder, “you can say all you want to psych yourself outta this, but I will keep insisting that you tell her how you feel. Even if she says no, at least you won’t be left wondering of what could’ve happened.”

Adrien stared for a moment.

“Wasn’t that your advice to me? To just go for it?”

“Oh, gosh, I forgot you used to have a crush on her!” Adrien gasped, his hands going to his head. “I know you have Alya, but are you okay with me liking a girl you used to like?”

“Psh,” Nino waved a hand. “No sweat, dude. That crush lasted like thirty minutes. And honestly, I think you guys would be cute together.”

“Cute?!”

“Yes, cute. Alya’s word, not mine.”

Adrien could feel his cheeks become warmer at the thought of other people approving of a relationship between him and Marinette. More and more, getting together seemed like a very real possibility. And what was more, it seemed everyone was rooting for them. And on both sides of his mask, to boot.

“But seriously,” Nino continued, “I think you guys would be great together.”

“But what about—”

“And if you’re worried about what your old man will say,” he interrupted, “send him to the same place you did when you ran off to school.”

The blond couldn’t help but snort at that last one. That was exactly the last excuse he was going to throw.

“You’re right,” he finally conceded, resting his back against the pillar. “I have to do what my heart tells me. And I shouldn’t let my fears control me.”

“Right on, man,” Nino said, lightly elbowing his friend. “So, what are you gonna say to her?”

“The truth. All of it.”

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

“You’re smiling,” Alya said in a sing-song voice.

Marinette yelped, covering her mouth with her school bag. It was already Monday morning, and as the two girls walked inside the school, she still felt those pesky ladybugs fluttering in her stomach every time she thought of Chat Noir.

“Relax, girl.” Alya waved a hand dismissively. “This is the happiest I’ve seen you since your days of fame started. It’s nice, for a change.”

“I guess.” Marinette lowered the bag, the grin still in place. “I just can’t stop thinking about that kiss. He was so… gentle. Like he wanted to make sure he wasn’t stepping out of line. And he kept holding my hand. Can you believe I could feel his warmth through his suit? And then, before he left, he called me beautiful!”

“Aww,” Alya cooed. “You’re so cute, I’m gonna puke.”

“Hey!” Marinette stomped her foot. “I had to hear you drone on and on about Nino when you two started. Now you’re stuck with lovesick me.”

“Lovesick?”

“Stooop,” Marinette whined, her gaze shying away.

“You said it, not me,” Alya chuckled. “So, does that mean you’re in love with him?”

Marinette almost choked on her own saliva and turned, avoiding the question. In the process, she accidentally bumped into a smaller body.

“Sorry, I didn’t—Rose! Good morning!” Marinette chirped.

“Oh! Um, hi. ‘Morning,” Rose responded. Yet, her eyes barely took notice of Marinette.

She and Alya exchanged looks at the other girl’s unusual behavior.

“Hey, is everything alright?” Marinette asked.

“Huh? O-oh. Sorry, I’ve been thinking about other things—I mean, I’m distracted. Sorry, Ma-Marinette—”

“Rose,” Marinette said loudly, hoping to get her friend’s attention. And succeeding. “I know you well enough to know there’s something wrong. If you wanna talk about it, We’re here. Whatever it is.”

Alya nodded at Marinette’s words. Yet Rose hunched, her gaze still wandering around. After a deep sigh, she finally looked at the girl she had bumped into.

“You always have the best advice, and you know what it’s like to be judged, but…” She lowered her voice. “Your parents are so supportive.”

“Are you worried about your parents?” Marinette asked.

Rose bit her lip, as if regretting to speak. As Marinette gave her a reassuring smile, the small girl burst.

“I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell my parents Juleka and I are more than friends, but I’m afraid of how they’ll react, because I don’t know their opinion on the subject, and others like us, and I don’twannalosemyrelationshipwiththemtobewithmygirlfriend.”

She took a deep breath, and let out a whimper, lips pouting nervously. Marinette and Alya glanced at each other again, clearly not expecting the heavy information Rose had just blurted out. Almost simultaneously, they both softened their looks at their classmate.

“I wouldn’t compare the opinions of thousands of strangers with the opinions of parents,” Marinette started. “I know we care more about parents’ opinions than that of people we don’t even know.”

Rose let out a defeated sigh.

“Anyway,” Marinette continued, “I don’t know if I’m the best person to be asking, but if you want my advice—”

“I do.”

“—I say some risks are worth taking,” she said.

“Umm…” Alya muttered. But Marinette continued.

“I understand you’re worried, but you’ll never know unless you take the plunge.”

“You really think everything will be alright?” Rose asked, almost desperately.

“It wouldn’t hurt to hope for the best,” Marinette grinned.

Right then, the school bell rang. Rose quickly bid them farewell and ran off to their classroom, while Marinette and Alya took their time to reach their destination.

“Looks like someone is seeing things behind rose-colored glasses,” Alya commented.

“What?”

“I haven’t seen you this positive about outcomes in several weeks already.”

“Well,” Marinette said, oblivious to Alya’s wary tone. “I think it’s about time we stop thinking about the worst-case scenario for everything. If there’s anything I’ve learned these weeks, it’s that good can come out of the worst circumstances.”

“I don’t know…”

At that moment, Marinette’s phone vibrated, distracting her from the conversation. On the screen popped up a message from one of the people she least expected.

Are we still on for the talk?

The girl smiled, right before quickly responding to Adrien. If she was being honest with herself, she felt like she could be a sincere friend now that she was in love with someone else. A friend that he probably needed more in that moment, instead of a girl with a crush and a huge paparazzi target on her back.

As they entered the classroom, Marinette had just sent her response when she looked up and found Adrien focused on his phone. Smiling and blushing. Wonder what has him so giddy.

“’Morning,” she greeted.

As if stabbed by an electric rod, Adrien jumped from his seat and glued the phone to his chest. When his eyes connected with hers, he gave her a lopsided smile, accompanied by a shy wave.

“Good morning,” he said slowly.

Marinette opened her mouth to ask if he was okay but was interrupted by Ms. Bustier’s entrance. Instead, she gave Adrien a small nod and walked to her seat behind him. As soon as she was out of his line of sight, she noticed him slump forward and put his phone away. She really hoped whatever he had to tell her would not be bad.

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

It was lunchtime, and Nino knew better than to intervene in something that was not his business. Adrien made it very clear that, not only did he want privacy, but that he could do it on his own. So, he decided to take the extra time to visit one of the few electronics store left near the school.

And yet, somehow, it turned out he wouldn’t spend lunchtime as alone as he thought he would. There was a tap on Nino’s shoulder that made him lower his headphones to his neck.

“Hey Nino, have you seen Marinette?” the voice of Alya danced through his ears. “I haven’t seen her since she ran off for lunch, and I’ve been looking—”

“Oh, babe!” Nino cheered, clutching his girlfriend’s biceps. “I am so glad you found me. Have I got news for you.”

“Oooh, a scoop.” Alya vibrated, putting her hands together and seeming to have completely forgotten what she had been asking. “What is it? What happened?”

“Adrien happened. He finally admitted he has a crush on Marinette. And it gets better: he’s gonna confess.”

“Wait, what?!”

“I know!” Nino continued, oblivious to Alya’s distress. “I thought he’d stay in denial forever. But he admitted it to me yesterday and I convinced him to tell her how he feels. This is amazing, isn’t it?”

“No, Nino, this is bad!” Alya cut in, grabbing his shirt. “This is not good at all. Marinette has moved on!”

“Wait, moved on?!” Nino raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

“That’s what she and I were talking about yesterday,” she explained. “Marinette kissed another boy recently. And I think she’s in love with him.”

Nino gaped for a moment.

“Don’t tell me it’s Chat Noir,” he whined.

“That secret I will take to my grave,” Alya retorted. “But that’s not the point! Marinette is really into this other guy, and she’s kinda vulnerable right now. Even if Adrien gets a yes, Marinette is confused, and I think seriously considering the other guy. He could potentially get his heart broken. We can’t let him confess!”

“Is that why you interrupted them yesterday?”

“Focus, Nino!” Alya now squashing his cheeks with her hands. “When is Adrien confessing?!”

Nino let out a smushed gasp. “Now!”

“NOW?!”

“NOW!”

He immediately took her hand and started power-walking down the sidewalk, back to the school.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” he said loudly. “You’ve been begging me for months to help you wingman Adrien with Marinette. You had to know I was gonna act the first chance I got.”

“I literally found out less than twenty-four hours ago,” Alya explained.

“So you interrupted them on purpose yesterday then, didn’t you?”

“Huh?”

“They we’re finally alone, behind everyone else,” Nino clarified. “Literally everyone was ignoring them because they were finally talking, and then you went and yelled at them for falling behind.”

“Oh, that.” Alya rolled her eyes. “Uh, duh. He’s been so freaking obvious about his crush lately. But I had already noticed Marinette had been getting over him, and yesterday she confirmed it. It’s my duty as her best friend to protect her.”

“Yeah, like you protected her from the press?” Nino said under his breath.

But not low enough for his girlfriend to not hear it. Alya stopped, looking like she had been slapped on the face. The boy was instantly regretting opening his mouth.

“Nino Lahiffe,” she started, in a low, menacing voice, “if it weren’t because you gave your boy some really bad advice, I would go off on you so hard, you wouldn’t be able to crawl outta your cave for ten days. But if you ever say that again, you will regret it.”

Nino sighed, already sensing a very long conversation they would have at a later time. If Marinette didn’t snap before then, of course. There was only so much that girl could let pass. And her reactions to Lila, Félix and Chloé were proof that her patience was already wearing thin.

“Let’s just go,” he said instead, dragging her to the school once again. “Before it’s too late.”

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

Marinette could swear the day was purposely dragging. Every five minutes that passed felt like five hours. Even the teachers seemed to be talking slower.

She just wanted this day to be over. She wanted it to be tomorrow evening. She wanted it to be time to confess to Chat Noir. She wanted to tell that boy how much she had fallen for him and wanted to be with more than friends with him. But alas, she had to wait for the natural pain-staking passing of time.

She did hope, however, that whatever Adrien wanted to tell her would be exciting enough to make the day seem shorter.

Marinette approached the park where Adrien asked her to meet up. She took several glances to her surroundings, making sure it was clear of paparazzi. Lastly, she looked towards the picnic tables on the other side of the fenced space. There, looking nervous, was Adrien. He was usually cool-headed, so: what could possibly unsettle him so?

She trudged her way there, starting to get nervous herself. What if it was bad? What if he suddenly said that he didn’t want to be friends with her anymore? Or worse. What if he now hated her for the mess she placed him in?

A resounding gulp went down Marinette’s throat. She took deep breaths, reminding herself of Tikki’s and Alya’s words about the crazy scenarios she always came up with. It didn’t do any good to dwell on events that had never happened.

She passed by Adrien and sat in front of him, startling him.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you,” she chuckled.

“No, it’s fine,” Adrien muttered. He proceeded to clear his throat. “I’m glad to see you’re still in a good mood after the weekend.”

“Yeah.” Marinette grinned. “A lot of good things happened.”

“I bet,” Adrien uttered again. Marinette tilted her head, but in the end decided to ignore the comment.

“Sooo, what is it that you wanted to talk about?” she pushed.

“Right, uh…” Adrien tried to start, but he seemed to be at a loss, scratching the back of his head. “You know, uh…I just wanted to, um…tell you something important.”

“Everything okay?” The girl’s brows furrowed. “Did something happen? Is it about the press? Are they bothering you?”

“What? No, no,” Adrien waved his hands. “No, things are fine in that front.”

“Oh, good,” Marinette sighed in relief. “You sound so serious, I’m imagining the worst.”

“No, it’s not something bad. I mean,” he winced, “I hope not.”

“Hey,” Marinette placed a hand on his arm, that was resting on the table. “You can tell me anything and I won’t judge you. Even if what you need is help hiding a dead body.”

Adrien chuckled. “You know, I still can’t get used to you not stuttering around me.”

“Oh.” Marinette averted her gaze and scratched the back of her head. “Yeah, I-I guess I’ve learned to control it, or something.”

“Hmm,” Adrien nodded teasingly, with a hand on his chin. “Or something.”

“Anyway,” Marinette loudly interrupted, “You said there’s something you wanna talk about?”

“Ah.” Adrien quickly seem to turn as pink as one of her father’s finest macarons. “Right, the talk… I’m honestly terrified on how you’re gonna take what I’m about to say, with everything that’s happened.”

“You already said it’s not bad, so there shouldn’t be anything to worry about.”

“I don’t know, I think this will be a little hard to swallow.”

“Adrien,” Marinette said softly, returning her hand to his arm. “I get being scared about how others see you, but nothing could ever make me think less of you. I may not think of you as this perfect being, but you’re still the sweet guy who gave me his umbrella when I thought you’d put gum on my seat. You’re one of the most amazing people I know. And I’m sure that whatever it is that you want to tell me, it can never—”

But Marinette didn’t get to finish her monologue, for Adrien had leaned across the table and crashed his lips against hers.

Her mind went completely blank, as if all higher brain functions had been disabled. She felt her body so disconnected from her senses, she barely noticed the distinct sound of Alya gasping and Nino smacking his face.

And before she could do anything, Adrien’s lips had already left hers. Her eyes were still wide, as he let out a wistful sigh.

“Marinette,” he breathed, his gaze wandering around her. “I-I’m…” Adrien’s brows furrowed, as he stared at something behind her.

“Y-You—” Marinette started, but was immediately cut off.

“LOOK OUT!”

The girl’s body was enveloped by Adrien’s arms, who had jumped over the table and pulled her out of the way from what looked like a giant cage that fell from the sky. The two crashed on the dirt, with the boy covering her head protectively.

The sudden move was enough to get Marinette out of her trance. She quickly searched for the source of the giant cage, but just as she saw a stranger moving towards them (and Nino dragging Alya away in the distance), Adrien pulled her to her feet and made her run with him.

“MARINETTE!!!” a young girl’s voice bellowed, followed by the sound of crashing metal and screaming.

Marinette looked just in time to see a girl dressed in what looked like a metal-colored dress, except that the skirt was shaped like a birdcage, and her legs were actually covered by leggings. Smaller birdcages covered her shoulders and biceps, imitating puff sleeves. If Marinette was being honest with herself, the girl looked…familiar.

“Why are you stopping?!” Adrien yelled.

Just then he tried pulling her into an alley, but it was too late. The akuma made a cage appear from thin air under their feet. The cage scraped up the small opening, until it got stuck almost three stories high.

The two teenagers stumbled to the ground. When they realized what happened, they crawled to the edge of the cool floor, to where the bars were. Down on the sidewalk was the villain, smirking up at them.

“How does it feel, Marinette?” she taunted. “To be trapped in a life you don’t want? I will make sure this isn’t a phase.”

“Who are you? What are you talking about?”

“You ruined my life!” the akuma yelled. “And now, I will ruin yours. I will make sure your parents are just as unsupportive as mine.”

“Parents?” Marinette’s eyes widened, as a gasp escaped her lips. “Rose?!”

“Birdcage!” the girl yelled back. “You don’t get to call me by my captors name for me. You’re so distracted in your own happiness, you can’t see not everyone has the same circumstances as you.”

“I thought I was giving good advice. I’m sorry, Rose!”

“Save it!” Birdcage spat. “Let’s see how you fare being just as trapped as me.”

With those last words, she walked away.

“Rose! ROSE!” Marinette called, but the villain was gone.

Marinette gaped for several more seconds, hoping against all sense that Birdcage would come back. As reality sunk in, her face slid down the bars. Talk about those rose-colored glasses Alya mentioned. And just when she thought today couldn’t go by any slower! Now she had to wait for Chat Noir to turn up and free her, so she could transform into Ladybug.

Chat Noir.

The boy she kissed the previous Saturday.

Would find her with a boy who kissed her less than ten minutes ago.

The boy she was previously in love with.

Suddenly, she wasn’t very excited on seeing Chat Noir again. All those dorky smiles from that morning: gone. All she could see was betrayal on her partner’s face. Maybe even hurt.

“Any exits over there?” Adrien called from behind her, interrupting her thoughts.

Wait…

Her assessment suddenly turned backwards. Marinette didn’t ask to be kissed. Adrien just went for it, without her permission. What if Chat Noir got angry instead? What if he ended up going on a jealousy rage against Adrien? She wouldn’t put it past him, considering it wouldn’t be the first time he acted recklessly over his feelings. How did everything get so stupidly messy in one weekend?

“Marinette?” The touch of a hand on her shoulder made her jump several feet away. Staring at her was a confounded Adrien.

“I’m fine!” she squeaked. “I mean, we’re fine. I mean, no, me-fine. It’s all good. Except for the fact that we’re trapped. He heh, yeah, that’s actually bad. But it’s fine, we’ll be fi—Could you please stay over there?” she added the last bit as Adrien took steps towards her.

The boy stopped in his tracks. He seemed to have finally remembered what happened before their current predicament, for he took a step back, pointedly looking away.

“Sorry,” he muttered.

Marinette averted her gaze, too. “We’ll talk about it later. Let’s just…wait. Quietly. Far from each other.”

With those last words, she sat on the metallic floor, with her purse ready on her lap. Just in case. After a minute or so, Adrien did the same on the other side of the cage, stealing glances at her occasionally.

They waited for anyone to turn up. As the minutes ticked by, both of them grew increasingly impatient. For Marinette, she couldn’t stop thinking about the situation she was in. Not the fact that she was stuck in a cage, unable to transform. It wasn’t the first time she found herself trapped and powerless.

No, it was more the Adrien-kissed-me-after-Chat-Noir-did-the-same-last-Saturday situation. To think her life couldn’t get any messier in these last six weeks, she had to add a ridiculous love triangle to her problems.

When did this become my life?! She screamed internally.

And Adrien shifting his eyes from her to the wall, and back to her, was not helping matters. And worse, Chat Noir was taking forever to get there.

Ten minutes passed. Nothing.

Twenty minutes. Chat Noir had to already be aware there was an akuma on the loose.

Thirty minutes. Where the heck is that damn cat?!

Tikki kept giving her worrying looks from the opening of her purse. The longer they stayed there, the more mayhem Birdcage could cause. And what was more, Marinette couldn’t take the awkward silence anymore.

“Okay!” Marinette finally let out. She stood up and made her way towards Adrien, who was playing with his phone. “Since it seems we’re gonna be here a while, might as well make one tiny, itsy bit of a question, Adrien: why the hell did you kiss me?!”

Adrien winced. Slowly, he put his phone away and stood up to face her. With the guiltiest expression Marinette had ever seen on him, he responded: “I got caught up in the moment.”

“The moment?” Marinette sputtered. “I didn’t think I’d—I mean, I didn’t create a… Did I create a moment? Oh no, please tell me I didn’t—”

“No,” Adrien cut in, placing his hands on her shoulders. “No, it wasn’t… You were just saying a lot of nice things about me, and I got caught up in it.”

“Oh,” Marinette sighed in relief. But almost immediately, she took that breath back. “Wait. You…like me?”

Adrien’s hands clenched on her, and she could have sworn his jaw tensed.

“Do you like Chat Noir?” he blurted out instead.

“I asked you first,” she shot back.

“Depends on your answer to my question.”

“Why does it matter?”

“I have my reasons.”

“Just answer the question, Adrien. Do you like me?”

“I can’t say.”

“Then I can’t answer your question.”

“Fine! Yes, I like you!”

Wind got caught in Marinette’s throat, almost making her choke. Yes, she pushed it, but a part of her still hoped he would answer differently. But of course, that wasn’t the case. There was no way this was happening, especially now. Now, of all times. It was just her luck.

She let out a groan of misery, along with several mumbled ‘this can’t be happening’. All the while her hands covered her face.

“You haven’t answered my question about Chat Noir,” she heard Adrien state.

Separating her fingers to peek at him, Marinette hesitated to respond. Between him and Chat, he wasn’t the person she wanted to tell first, much less after what just happened. Yet, the least she could do was be honest with him.

“I’m sorry, Adrien,” she whispered, closing her eyes. Meanwhile, the hands that were on her shoulders slowly pulled away. “This is very complicated. But I had kinda decided to give up on you.”

“Why?” Adrien asked. Although, he didn’t sound upset, like she thought he would. Instead, he sounded genuinely curious.

She opened her eyes again, but most of her face was still covered.

“I-I have my reasons—”

“Because of Chat Noir?” Adrien intervened.

“Well!” Marinette flailed her arms. “Well yeah, because of Chat Noir. Yes, I have feelings for a boy who dresses like a cat and jumps around Paris. Happy?”

She expected him to look sad, or angry even. She didn’t expect him to chuckle.

“So you traded one celebrity for another celebrity?” he snickered.

“Chat Noir isn’t just some celebrity, or superhero, for that matter,” Marinette defended. “Chat Noir is… No, my Chat, the Chat I know is one of my best friends, who’s saved my life more times than I can count. He’s kind, courageous, always looks for ways to make me laugh and is willing to do everything in his power to protect me, even if it means putting his own wishes aside. Chat is…” she let out a wistful sigh. “Chat is amazing. His good looks and kissing skills are just a bonus.”

“K-kissing sk-skills?” Adrien stuttered.

Marinette’s eyes widened, registering the amount of information she had let out. Her cheeks turned hot. Her arms where flailing again.

“I-I mean, not that I-we, buh, uh…ugh!” she groaned miserably, covering her face again. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please don’t tell anyone.”

“Pfft.” Marinette raised her head, just in time to see Adrien bark in laughter. She blinked, bewildered, as the boy wrapped his arms around her. “I’ve told you before,” he said, “you can trust me with your life, Marinette.”

Oh no.

“Nope!” Marinette suddenly pushed herself away from the boy’s embrace. “Stop it. That’s…no. You’re confusing me. I already made up my mind. And I don’t want Chat to see us like this when he rescues us.”

“What makes you so sure he’s the one who’s gonna save us?”

“Because he’s the one with the power to disintegrate metal.”

There was a beat. They stared at each other for a moment, Marinette with a triumphant smirk and Adrien with eyes almost popping out of his skull.

“Aw, crap.” Marinette stared, never having heard Adrien use a cuss word in her life. And she continues to stare as he started running around the cage, forcing the bars as if hoping they would suddenly bend open an exit.

“Adrien, what are you doing?” she asked, exasperated.

“There has to be a way out,” he muttered, yet Marinette could still hear him. “I refuse for it to happen this way. Not like this.”

“For what to happen like this?” Marinette frowned.

“Agh, dammit!”

Pushing himself from the bars, Adrien strutted in Marinette’s direction with new determination in his eyes. The next second, his hands were in hers.

“Marinette,” he started, with a slight tremble in his voice. “I just want you to know that none of this went according to plan, and this is not the way I wanted to tell you. I’ve wanted to tell you for weeks now, but I was told I couldn’t. But with everything that’s happened, I can’t keep it a secret anymore. I was gonna tell you today anyway, but not like this. Just know that I’m sorry for confusing you so much, and I’m sorry you have to find out this way.”

With those last words, he took a step back, letting go of her hands. Marinette continued staring with a puzzled expression, trying to decipher what he meant.

But her questions would soon be answered for Adrien lifted a fist and yelled three words:

So instead, she squeezed the gloved hand she was holding, and moved her lips in a slow rhythm. A rhythm Chat Noir immediately followed. It was soft and tender, with an emotion Marinette couldn’t make out at the moment. But it felt important. Too important to simply dismiss.

Until, after what felt like days, their lips broke apart.

As her daze started to clear up, the reality of what happened started to sink in. What she did. Her previously lidded eyes now grew wide, focused on Chat Noir’s equally surprised ones.

It only took one second for both of them to jerk away from each other in shock. Their hands released from one another and took hold of the railing instead, all the while they stared away towards the lights of Paris.

“Did…did we just—”

“Yeap,” Marinette interrupted, not wanting to hear the end of that sentence.

“Sh-should…should we…”

“Nope,” Marinette intervened again, but Chat Noir had already trailed away before she spoke.

They stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do next. She chanced a glance towards him, just in time to see him do the same. The moment their gazes connected, their cheeks turned red and their eyes averted once more.

Should they talk about it? I’m not sure if I’m ready for that.

Should they kiss again? Definitely. Marinette gulped at how quickly that response came into her mind.

Should they ignore it and pretend it never happened?

…

I can’t, she thought to herself, the memory of the kiss already seared into her brain.

“Ahem.” Marinette jumped at the reminder that said boy was still standing next to her. “Maybe I-I should just, um…you know…go?”

Her gaze finally snapped towards him, just in time to see him starting to climb the railing.

“No!” she blurted out, grabbing his wrist.

Chat Noir looked back at her, eyes the size of saucers. Yet Marinette didn’t let go. She wanted to at least say something. Anything. But couldn’t find the right words.

“I-I…” she tried. “I mean…you, me…we…this…”

Oh, this is a disaster, she thought miserably. She took a deep breath, and Chat Noir turned to her fully. He opened and closed his mouth several times, unsure.

“We don’t have to talk about it now,” he said at last, eyes softening. When Marinette’s hold loosened, he slipped his hand into hers. “Honestly, I’m not ready to talk about it.”

“Right,” Marinette breathed. “It’s…complicated.”

“Yeah,” he whispered.

It then occurred to her that what was probably going through his mind was the same thing that was going through hers. Not only had they both said to like different people, but they had just done exactly what they had been denying for weeks to the press.

There were in so much trouble.

“We have to talk about it, though,” Marinette whispered. “And soon.”

“I know,” Chat Noir agreed. “But I need to figure out some things first.”

“Me too.”

They sighed in unison. They stood quiet for a minute, processing the situation. Oh, did Marinette want to try to figure out what this was. But it was too sudden, and there was too much at stake.

“I should go,” Chat Noir repeated, yet didn’t make much of an effort to move. Instead, he tucked a stray hair behind Marinette’s ear.

“Y-yeah.” She could feel the strong temptation to lean into those soft lips again. But she had to fight it. She had to be, at least, a little responsible.

She cleared her throat. “Good night, Chat Noir.”

The boy smiled. “Good night, Marinette.”

He brought her hand to his lips and gave it a soft kiss that made Marinette shiver. Looking hesitant, he backed into the railing. Instead of giving his usual two-fingered salute, he gave her a sheepish wave. Marinette returned it with a lopsided grin and watched as Chat Noir tried to climb the railing while keeping eye contact with her. Causing him to slip.

“Chat!” Marinette extended a hand.

“I’m okay!” Chat Noir assured, holding tightly to the metal, letting out a nervous giggle. “G-good night, beautiful.”

Marinette’s heart skipped a beat and her cheeks took on a rosy color once again. That was the third time he called her that. Yet it had never affected her like it was doing now, where her stomach wanted to fly away from her being in a swarm of ladybugs. A feeling that sent electricity through every one of her nerves, giving her goosebumps.

He thinks I’m beautiful.

“Good night, handsome,” she let slip in her daze.

It wasn’t until he started to look more flushed than before, that Marinette registered the words that escaped her mouth. Immediately, she clapped her hands to her lips, surprised at her own words.

“I-I mean…” she tried to retract. “Normal goodbye. Like, f-friendly good night. Not handsome. N-not that you aren’t handsome. You’re gorgeous. B-but I-I didn’t mean to say that, like that—I mean, I meant it friendly like, not like ‘good night, hot stuff,’ you know?”

Kill me, she whined internally. All the while Chat Noir simply stared at her, turning darker by the second. In an attempt to make herself look casual, she tried leaning against the railing. Unfortunately, her hand only grabbed air, making her stumble. Ultimately, she managed to grab the railing and make the most casual pose she could muster. Yet continued smiling like an idiot.

Chat Noir blinked several times, until a nervous giggle escaped him.

“Y-yeah,” he snorted. “Friendly.” He paused, his eyes shifting from her to the ground. With a deep breath and squaring his shoulders, he said: “We’ll talk about this next time I see you. Promise.”

Again, that pesky jolt in her stomach. The thing that reminded Marinette this was not a one-time thing. She knew it in her gut: this was about to get ten times more complicated.

Not trusting herself to speak, she merely nodded. Chat Noir did the same, holding tightly to his position on the railing. It was an unspoken truth that passed between them: if they said another word, they would fall into impulse again. So, instead, they remained quiet, even after Chat turned away and disappeared into the rooftops of Paris.

Marinette continued staring to the direction in which he left. Slowly, she turned to the trapdoor leading to her room, absentmindedly grabbing the blanket on the patio chair as she entered it. She took quiet steps down from the loft, the cloth forgotten halfway to her chaise. Still in her stupor, she softly sat on the cushioned seat.

Finally, she took a large gulp of breath.

“TIKKI!” she screamed.

“What?! What is it?!” Tikki said, as she zipped down from the loft, expression of panicked confusion.

“I-I… I-I… I kissed Chat Noir!” Marinette finally let out, hands at the sides of her face.

----

“Oh, come on,” Plagg said, trying to get a look at Adrien’s face, which was pressed against the floor of his bedroom. “It’s not that bad.”

But all that came out of Adrien were muffled whines. Plagg sighed.

“I can’t understand you,” he deadpanned. “I can’t help you if I can’t understand you.”

Adrien let out an annoyed breath, but turned his head enough to speak clearly.

“Plagg, I kissed her. I. Kissed. HER!” he whined. “This is a disaster!”

----

“Why?” Tikki asked, genuinely confused.

“Why?!” Marinette sputtered, arms flailing. “Why do you think?! We’ve just proven every paparazzi and reporter in Paris that they were right. That there is something between us more than friendship. And what’s worse, I don’t even know how to feel about all this!”

With that last statement, Marinette fell back into the chaise. Tikki gave her charge a concerned look before floating up to her chest and resting there.

“How do you feel about all this?” the kwami asked.

Marinette looked at the little goddess for a moment. Did she really had to answer that question? Yeah, her brain supplied.

“Well,” she sighed, “for starters, you were right. I do have feelings for Chat Noir. I’m not sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way, he grew on me. I used to think he was just flirty and couldn’t take things seriously, even if his life depended on it. Literally. But now,” she let out a wistful breath. “I know now he’s so much kinder than I ever gave him credit for. He’s sweet, brave, funny, cool, and a hell of a dancer,” she added, reminiscing on the night they danced to Jagged Stone’s Rocking Tonight With You.

“He’s been there for me more than anyone in my life, besides my parents,” she continued. “Even when that whole thing with the press blew up, he still remained by my side, whether it was fighting off reporters or akumas. And whether I was civilian or superhero. He’s loyal, and caring, and just…” another breath escaped her lips. “He’s amazing.”

“Then what’s the problem?” Tikki asked.

Marinette pursed her lips. “Well…”

----

“I still have feelings for Ladybug,” Adrien responded, now lying flat on the floor. “I never decided on what I wanted to do, or who I would pursue. And then I went and kissed Marinette. Just like that! I didn’t even ask her if she wanted to kiss. She’s probably not even over me… civilian me… And I went and kissed her! Like some creepy weirdo!”

Adrien slapped his hands over his face, letting out another whine of misery.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” he drawled. “I probably just confused her and made her question my feelings for people, since now, in her eyes, I can’t stay loyal to one love.”

“What would make you think she doesn’t have feelings for Chat Noir?” Plagg inquired, folding his tiny legs and placing a paw on his chin.

“Why would she?” Adrien snapped, sitting up and revealing his face again. “Not only am I competing against myself, I haven’t given her much reason to prefer Chat Noir over Adrien. In her eyes, Chat Noir has feelings for Ladybug, while Adrien is a free agent. It would make more sense for her to choose civilian me and not superhero me. Especially when superhero me went and kissed her!”

“Ugh, I get it, you kissed her,” Plagg groaned, dragging his paws over his face. “Let me ask you something, though: what makes you think she can’t have feelings for superhero you? I mean, I can’t always remember what happens when you’re transformed, but I don’t remember her pushing you away or anything. Did she?”

“Well— no,” Adrien said suddenly. “But I don’t think—”

“Did you push yourself to her?”

“Not really,” the boy answered honestly. “Actually, she was pretty—”

But he cut himself short, reminiscing on the event. How he had leaned forward, and, if his memory served him right, she…

Adrien gasped.

----

“It was mutual!” Marinette screeched, pulling on her pigtails and sitting up once again. “He leaned in when I did! He… he wanted to kiss me…”

“See?” Tikki encouraged. “He’s not a lost cause. On the contrary, he likes you whether you wear a mask or not!”

“Uuugh,” Marinette groaned, resting her face on her hands. “That’s just even more confusing. He likes me and…me. If I want to pursue him, I’d have to choose with which side of the mask to do it. And I don’t even know if I want to!”

“Then what do you want?” Tikki asked pointedly.

----

Adrien stared at the little god that gave him his powers.

“I. don’t. KNOW!” he said, flailing his arms. “I don’t even know what I’m feeling for two amazing girls!”

“I’m not asking you what you feel,” Plagg urged, already running out of patience. “I’m asking what you want. What do you want for yourself?”

“I want to be happy!”

“And you think you can be happier with Marinette?”

“Yes!” Adrien responded without thinking.

Plagg smirked. It took several seconds for the boy to realize what he said, but when he did, his body slumped forward. He gaped, eyes big as dinner plates.

“I…I wanna be with Marinette, over Ladybug,” he said, slowly.

“Took you long enough,” the kwami sighed, floating as if he were in an invisible hammock.

----

“How is this possible?!” Marinette screeched.

“It happens,” Tikki assured her. “You must have found something in Chat that made him more worth your time.”

“Bu-but—”

Suddenly, Marinette jumped from her chaise and ran to her desk, where her last remaining picture of Adrien stood in a frame. The girl sat on the swivel chair for several seconds, staring at the picture. She then groaned and smacked her head against the hard surface.

“I am not worthy,” she whined dramatically. “My heart has betrayed you. I should just go live in a cave, with the dozens of cats Chat Noir will bring me, because I fell to his spell, and why are you laughing Tikki?!”

“Sorry,” the small goddess giggled. “You can be very dramatic sometimes.”

“With good reason!” Marinette argued.

“Marinette,” the kwami said soothingly, taking a seat in front of her charge’s face. “You can’t betray someone you were never with in the first place. Your free to follow your heart’s desires, if you wish. You don’t have to keep yourself closed off to prove devotion. And besides, what’s the point of denying yourself happiness for someone you’re not even sure you want to be with anymore?”

Marinette blinked. “You’re way too wise for my liking sometimes.”

Tikki arched one of her non-existent brows. The girl sighed.

----

“I guess you have a point,” Adrien conceded, now sitting crossed legged. “Honestly, I… I really, really, really want to be with her. But…”

“But what?” Plagg drawled, still in the hammock like position.

“It wouldn’t feel right to blow her off as one of my identities, while conquering her with the other.”

The kwami’s forehead crinkled. “I don’t get it.”

“I mean,” Adrien clarified, “I can’t sweep her off her feet as Chat Noir, while barely acknowledging her at school, or reveal a crush as Adrien, while staying away from her as Chat Noir. Either way, I’d feel like I’m taking advantage of her.”

“But you still get the girl,” Plagg reasoned. “I feel like I’m missing something.”

“I fell for her while going through this media mess as Chat Noir. That’s something that I don’t want to erase if we were in a relationship. But it would be inevitable if I go after her as Adrien.”

“Then conquer her as Chat Noir.”

“I can’t date her as a superhero. It wouldn’t be fair to her. We wouldn’t even be able to go out on dates in public. We wouldn’t last a month. And of course, it’s not safe. If anybody gets wind that we are dating, the press will have a field day.”

----

“I just don’t see any way we can make this work, without at least one of us revealing our identities,” Marinette lamented, her chin now resting on her folded arms. “And that’s the biggest problem. We’re not supposed to know who we are. Ugh, this is all my fault. I knew making friends with him in my civilian identity was a bad idea. But did I listen to reason? Nooo, I just had to go and do it anyway. So much for responsible.”

She let out a heavy sigh.

“What was I thinking. How could I think for even one shining moment that this could work? It can never work. Not like this. Even if I were to try as Ladybug, I’m not even sure if he feels the same way, judging by today. He hasn’t even called me My Lady. Not to my face, at least. He’s barely even flirting with superhero me, but was totally flirting with civilian me. But I can’t…” she frowned, “We can’t happen. I can’t love him.”

“Wait, love?” Tikki inquired, leaning forward and eyes wide.

Marinette gave a weak smile. “Yeah. Love.”

“You just found out about your feelings,” the kwami insisted. “You can’t tell me that, all of a sudden, you’re in love with Chat Noir?!”

“That’s the thing!” the girl said, sitting straight. “It’s not sudden. I’ve always known I love him as a friend, I just hadn’t realized I’ve fallen for him romantically. If I’m being honest with myself, Chat has given me more reason to love him than anyone else.” She took the framed picture of Adrien. “I love Adrien…But I think I love Chat even more. And you were right, Tikki. My love for Chat doesn’t mean I didn’t love Adrien. Otherwise I still wouldn’t hold a place in my heart for him. I still have feelings for him, but…”

Marinette’s shoulders slumped. With a hint of hesitance, she placed the picture face down.

“Adrien is great,” she whispered. “But I want Chat Noir now… But I can’t have him.”

There was silence. It was an odd feeling. Even though Marinette hadn’t been with either boy, she suddenly felt very lonely. As if she had broken up a long-term relationship. Being a superhero sure had its downsides.

“Maybe,” Tikki started, “you can tell Chat Noir your identity.”

----

Adrien’s head whipped towards Plagg.

“That I can what?!”

“Ya heard me,” the kwami shrugged.

“But you told me I can’t.”

----

“I know,” Tikki agreed. “Keeping identities secret is usually the safer route, especially when Chat Noir gets affected by akumas so often. But I’ve lived long enough to see where this is going.”

“What do you mean?” Marinette frowned.

----

“Welp,” Plagg started, stroking one of his whiskers, “when other miraculous holders keep secrets from their loved one, it tends to take a toll in the relationship. Most of them end up breaking for that reason.”

“That’s not very encouraging,” Adrien muttered, now laying on his stomach on the couch, his arm hanging off the edge.

----

“While it is true that it’s easier to fight against Hawkmoth when neither of you know who the person under the mask is, it may not be as easy when your relationship becomes strained by emotional complications. Besides,” Tikki smiled, “while I appreciate Master Fu’s caution, and admire him for it, I believe we shouldn’t underestimate you two. You have proven to be one of the best paired Ladybug and Chat Noir we’ve seen in centuries. And I believe in you, Marinette.”

The girl gaped. Was she hearing this right?

“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Marinette breathed.

The kwami nodded. “You’re ready.”

----

“You can tell her,” Plagg said, almost dismissively. All after convincing Adrien she was trustworthy and that they were being too cautious anyway. “Trust me, it’s no big deal. I’m sure Ladybug would understand. Or don’t tell her, whatever floats your boat.”

“No, I-I,” the corner of Adrien’s lip twitched. “I want to tell Marinette… Are you sure, though?”

----

“Positive,” Tikki assured. “I wouldn’t suggest it otherwise.”

Marinette’s lips quickly curled into the biggest grin she had had all month. With a happy squeal, she grabbed Tikki and nuzzled her with her cheek.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou, oooooohhhhhthankyousomuchTikki!” she cheered. This was possibly the greatest news she had heard in a long time.

“Wow, you really do love him,” the kwami giggled.

The girl stopped her movements, suddenly pulling her little friend away. Yet, despite her embarrassed grin, a light pink blush dusted her freckled face.

“I-I…I do. I love him.” Her cheeks turned darker, but her smile grew wider. “I love Chat Noir.” She let out a chuckle. “I love Chat Noir!”

----

“I really think I can love Marinette,” Adrien said, letting out a wistful sigh, now looking at the high ceiling. “Honestly, I think we can be great together. Maybe even better than whatever I could’ve had with Ladybug. Especially if I don’t have to hide any secrets.” He snorted. “I’m sure Marinette will be thrilled when she finds out who I am.”

“That’s something I’d love to see,” Plagg cackled, bringing a piece of Camembert to the coffee table.

Adrien couldn’t help but chuckle at the thought. “Honestly, I kinda wanna see it myself. Knowing her, she’ll probably flip out. Maybe even call me a few names. Or she’ll be too embarrassed to talk. I can just imagine her.”

“Ha! And I thought I was the mischievous one.”

“I’m not making fun of her,” Adrien scowled at the kwami. “It’s more like…adorable.”

“Agh, blergh,” Plagg feigned a gag, before munching on the piece of cheese. “Dis is wha’ I wa’ af’aid o’.” He swallowed. “You’re gonna be even more annoying now, aren’t you?”

“Plagg!”

----

Tikki giggled as Marinette turned impossibly redder.

“It’s not gonna be like that,” the girl assured, suddenly closing her hand in a fist and giving a determined smile. “Not this time. I don’t have to worry about whether Chat Noir notices me or not. I know he does already. So, I can just go ahead and confess.”

“Just like that?” the kwami said, sounding almost giddy.

“Just like that,” Marinette nodded. “I want to.”

“So when are you going to do it?”

Marinette tapped a finger to her lips in thought. “Tuesday,” she responded. “He always comes on Tuesdays, so I’ll tell him then. I’ll confess and tell him I’m Ladybug.” As she said that, a shiver went down her spine. “Wow, I’m gonna tell Chat Noir my identity. I never thought I’d see the day. I’m actually—”

----

“—Excited,” Adrien breathed, sitting up from the couch. “I finally get to tell someone I’m Chat Noir. Someone who cares for me, whether I wear the suit or not.”

“When are you planning on doing it?” Plagg questioned, popping the last piece of cheese in his mouth.

“Monday,” the boy responded without missing a beat. “At lunch, I’ll invite her to eat, and I’ll tell her everything.”

----

“I’ll confess everything,” Marinette and Adrien said in unison in their respective rooms, unbeknownst to each other.

Saying Marinette was nervous sounded like a serious understatement. If it were not for the fact that she was sitting, her legs would have given away by now. But she had to tell her. There was no way she could keep it a secret. At least, the feelings part. In case anything with the press came up again, which Marinette expected to happen soon.

That’s why she was sitting on a bench with Alya, overlooking the Seine, half-listening to a story about forum discourse in the Ladyblog.

“But yeah, now that I’ve updated the commenting policy in the blog, there should be less incidents like the one with Chloé,” she said. “So now that I’m done sharing my woes and triumphs, tell me the real reason you wanted to hang out.”

“Of course,” Marinette chuckled. “And here I thought I’d be able to say the phrase ‘I need your advice’.”

“You are talking to your resident Marinette expert,” Alya mockingly bragged, a hand on her chest. “I know when my girl seeks the wisdom of yours truly.”

Marinette barked out a laugh, helping her release some of the jitters that had built up since the previous day.

“Alya, I’m in so much trouble,” Marinette lamented. “I need your advice, not only as my friend, but as my public relations agent.”

“Oh no, what happened now?” Alya groaned. “Did you save Ladybug this time? Or do people think you have a crush on her?”

“No!” Marinette let out with a laugh. “It’s… it’s not public.”

“Thank goodness,” Alya let out a breath of relief. “So what happened?”

“U-um… weeell,” Marinette bit her nails. “I-I guess I should start off by saying that, um… you and maman were right.”

“About?”

Marinette cringed. “About…uh…um…”

Alya sighed, resting her chin on her hand. Like she was preparing herself for the next words to take an eternity to come out. The action alone made Marinette jittery once again. She squeezed her eyes shut, and blurted out: “Chat Noir and I kissed last night!”

There was a pause. When it felt like minutes had passed, Marinette dared to open one of her eyes, only to find Alya gaping at her. She opened her other eye and was about to elaborate, when…

“You WHAT?!” the redhead finally screeched.

Marinette couldn’t help but whimper, recoiling into herself.

“I know!” she flailed her arms. “I’m surprised myself!”

“Wait, stop, timeout,” Alya made the gesture of the last word. The girls sat still for a moment, until the redhead brought her feet up on the bench and sat on her knees. “How? Like, when did this happen? I was with you for half of the day yesterday. How did I miss that? And didn’t Chat say he wouldn’t be with you, like, ever?”

“He lied!” Marinette responded giddily. “He said he only said that to shut Annabelle up. And after you left, I went out.”

With almost no filter, Marinette proceeded to tell her best friend everything that happened with Félix and Chat Noir. She also admitted the real reason she started hanging out with Félix, only to be countered with an ‘I knew it!’ from Alya. Finally, she got to the part of what happened on her balcony, letting out wistful sighs and staring into space in a daze.

“I just can’t believe I didn’t see it before,” Marinette grinned. “It took me like half a second to realize the moment I fell for Adrien, and yet it took me weeks to see it with Chat.”

“That’s because you,” Alya poked her friend’s nose, “weren’t hung up on another guy when you fell for Adrien.”

“Yeah,” the girl in pigtails sighed. “But now I know, and I don’t know how I can act like a normal person in front of him. Worse, in front of other people, like reporters!”

“Easy there, M,” Alya comforted. “I’m sure we can figure that out eventually. But you know this means you two can’t appear together for an interview in a while, right?”

“I figured,” Marinette frowned. “Knowing me, there’s no way I can act like nothing’s going on. Not for a while, at least.”

“Exactly,” the young reporter agreed. “I think you guys need to talk this out before going to another interview. Now, as your friend, I need to ask: what do you plan on doing?”

“Um…” Marinette scratched the back of her head. “Well, I—”

“Marinette!” someone called from the stairs leading down to where they were.

The two girls turned to see Lila running their way, waving her hand high in the air.

“Why are you friends with that girl?” Alya whispered through gritted teeth.

“Be nice,” Marinette scolded, then turning to the newcomer. “Hey, Lila! Didn’t expect to see you around.”

“Thought I needed some fresh air,” the girl with the chestnut brown hair sighed. “But I’m so happy to have bumped into you! I was looking for a good store where I can go buy fabrics, but since I don’t have a way to contact you, I was looking through the Internet. But so far, the options it gives me are not that great.”

“Then you’re lucky you found the right person,” Marinette chirped. She was about to get off her seat, but Alya held her down.

“Do we really have to?” she whined.

“People can change, Alya,” the designer stated. “Don’t you think we all deserve a chance to show the best of ourselves?”

While Alya hesitated, she ended up letting go and following the other two.

“Just because I was turned into a villain that looked like a superhero, doesn’t mean the real superhero is not out there,” Lila argued.

“Even if a superhero Volpina were to show up, you really think she could be taken seriously?” Alya retorted. “The people have already seen Volpina as a bad guy twice. It would be hard to clean that image.”

“But not impossible,” Lila pointed out. “Yes, it would be hard, but the real Volpina is somewhere out there. Somewhere exists the fox miraculous, and whoever has it is a true superhero.”

Marinette groaned for the thirteenth time as her old friend debated with her new friend. On the bright side, the argument seemed to be amicable. On the downside, they wouldn’t let go. They had been at it since the fabrics store, all the way to the Trocadéro. She had just opened her mouth to contribute, but a new call interrupted her.

“Yo! Alya! Marinette!”

The girls turned in the direction of the call, to see Nino and Adrien walking their way. Marinette’s heart hitched at the sight of the boy she proclaimed to love before the previous night. She didn’t think to see him so soon after somewhat getting over him. Yet, she felt…light.

“Hey, guys!” Alya said next to her. “Daddy Agreste let his prisoner outta the cage?”

“Apparently Sundays are the old man’s exception, right Adrien?” Nino elbowed his best friend.

“Huh?” Adrien uttered. It wasn’t until that moment that Marinette realized he had been staring at her since they got there, making a shiver go up her spine. “Uh, right, yeah. Sundays are free.”

“Awesome!” Alya cheered. “We were thinking about getting lunch now. Wanna join?”

“Uuuh…”

“Sure,” Nino interrupted the blond. “Where you headed?”

“There’s this nice café near Marinette’s that they say is amazing,” Alya gushed.

“Yeah. I heard their espresso has quite the punch,” Marinette giggled, thinking of the mess she and Chat Noir made the previous day in that very same café.

To her surprise, she heard Adrien snort at the joke, despite the loud noises of crowds around them. Yet he almost immediately covered his mouth and started… Blushing? Had she ever seen him blush? Not that she could remember. Did she have the guts to tease him about it? It wasn’t like she was very conscious about his opinion anymore.

Oh.

That’s how I’ve been talking to him, she realized.

While six weeks ago she would have been horrified at the thought of getting over Adrien, present her couldn’t help but grin. The idea that she could potentially be happy with the boy who was also her partner, the one person she trusted with her own life, literally, sent ladybugs fluttering in her stomach.

Amusingly enough, that made her much more comfortable around Adrien. She felt more herself, and even came up with ideas to lightly torture him. She had just opened her mouth to do just that, when Lila spoke up.

“I still think we should go to Geneviève’s,” she recommended. “They’re new, fresh and have some of the nicest art I’ve seen in a café.”

“Oh, I’ve been there.” Nino snapped his fingers. “They have some of Nathaniel’s art up on their walls. It’s all local, small-time artists.”

“You didn’t tell me they have Nat’s art,” Alya scolded the chestnut-haired girl.

“Didn’t know,” Lila shrugged.

“’Kay, change of plans,” the redhead shouted dramatically and pointed to the opposite direction. “Onwards to Geneviève’s!”

Marinette giggled at her friend’s antics and laughed harder when Nino and Lila told her she was going the wrong way. The group walked for several minutes until they reached a small café with a colorful sign on the entrance. Like a fancy graffiti.

Inside, there were several booths along the walls and various tables in the middle. From the looks of it, the theme was quite appealing to many, with most of the seats taken and waiters with colorful uniforms rushing around the floor. The walls were filled with artwork of all sizes and styles. Next to the booth closest to the window, there was a particularly colorful drawing of Ladybug, which Marinette immediately recognized.

“This is it,” she squealed, siting in the booth. “This is where we’re sitting, right next to Nat’s work.”

Her antics were quickly met with a giggle from Adrien, while the others took the seat across from her. This left the blond sitting next to her. For the next few minutes, the group was engrossed in conversation, mostly about school and their classmates. On her part, Marinette couldn’t help but notice someone was unusually quiet.

“Something on your mind?” she asked.

Adrien raised his gaze, almost startled. “Uh, a lot, honestly.”

“Wanna talk about it?”

He let out a shuddered breath. “I’m still deciding if I should talk about it or not.”

“Is it bad?” she asked with a frown.

“No! No, not at all. Just confusing.”

“Oh, okay.” Marinette went quiet for a moment, until deciding to change the subject. “So, was it just me, or did you actually laugh at my joke earlier?”

“What?”

“The one of the espresso?” she cleared up. She then proceeded to lean closer and smirk. “I never knew you could turn so red.”

“I blushed?!” Adrien practically shrieked, a hand flying to his cheek. Marinette laughed.

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me. No one will know how much of a dork you actually are.”

“Thanks, I guess?” he said, with a lopsided grin.

She turned back to the other three, in hopes of joining the conversation, but Adrien spoke again.

“So, how’re you doing?” he asked, scratching the back of his head.

“Pretty good, actually,” Marinette shrugged. “You should’ve seen how these two made peace.”

She then proceeded to animatedly recount the journey from the Seine to the fabrics store with Alya and Lila, how they had turned from reluctant company to sworn frenemies in less than two hours. As the story progressed, the others joined, the two in question adding their sides to it. And somehow, they landed on the Volpina debate once again.

To which Adrien sided with Lila, for once.

“But it’s true!” he insisted. “I saw the hero in a book once. She’s real.”

“Exactly!” Lila landed her fist on the table in triumph. “That’s actually how I knew about her. I saw the book too, and that’s how I became Volpina. My akuma was a version of something I aspired for.”

“Like Nathaniel,” Marinette added. “Evillustrator was actually his version of Super Nat, that got twisted into an akuma by Hawkmoth.”

“I don’t remember wanting to be Lady Wifi,” Alya pouted, as she handed the bill to the waitress, with all their money pooled together.

“I still weep at the thought of my Bubbler outfit,” Nino added.

“Every akuma is different,” Adrien said. “Some turn you into something you yearn to be, others give you powers that can help you in your goal and others are a twisted version of something that you are. It all depends on what you’re feeling in the moment of corruption.”

“And others can turn into real-life people, like Copycat,” Marinette added, starting to slide out of the booth with the others. “If someone could turn into someone else, or a girl version of that someone, like Chatte Noire, it’s not such a stretch to think Lila turned into a real-life hero as her akuma.”

“See!” Lila chirped. “She gets it.”

“Of course she gets it,” Adrien breathed wistfully. When four heads turned to him, he sputtered: “B-Because she’s smart! And totally on our side, right Mari?”

“It’s not about being on anyone’s side,” she cleared up, stepping out of the café and keeping the door open for the rest to file out. “It’s just a theory that I support about the real Volpina. But, that doesn’t mean Alya is in the wrong when it comes to how the real one could possibly be perceived now.”

“And that’s my point!” the redhead screeched. “Even if she is real, we’d still have a hard time trusting her.”

“Yeah but that still doesn’t negate the fact that—”

But Adrien didn’t get to finish his sentence, as he bumped into someone when they reached the corner of the sidewalk.

“Oh, sorr…” He trailed off, as he got a good look at who he accidentally stumbled to. “Félix”

Marinette grew stiff. Last time she saw him, she dropped him to the ground after yelling at him for sort-of pretending to be Chat Noir. He was the guy that turned out not to be who she kissed the previous night.

“Hello, Adrien,” Félix nodded, before turning to her. “Marinette.”

The girl in pigtails partly wanted to crawl into a hole, remembering how, at one point, she genuinely thought he was Chat Noir. For how obvious it was that she clearly made a mistake, that Chat Noir wouldn’t be able to keep his jokes at bay, no matter how careful he had to be with his image.

But the other part was fully conscious about the fact that, although Félix didn’t outright lie, his intentions were exactly what had happened. Lonely or not, it didn’t change the fact that he had hoped she confused him for Chat.

So, in true stubborn fashion, Marinette pouted, crossed her arms, and turned her head away from him.

“I’m not talking to you,” she said.

“I’m sorry about what I did,” he apologized quietly, almost making Marinette turn back to look at him. “I shouldn’t have done that. It was wrong.”

Marinette let out an exasperated breath. She was about to turn around, when Adrien placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Hear him out,” he whispered. The girl frowned, yet did as suggested anyway, with a scowl directed at Félix.

“What did you do?” Lila inquired, while Alya took a step closer to Marinette, like a bodyguard.

Félix glanced at the Italian for a second. “What I did was dumb, uncalled for and insensitive. I Should’ve never let you think I was someone else.”

“Wait, whatta you mean—” Nino started, but was cut off by a loud gasp from Lila.

“You didn’t.”

“He did,” Alya confirmed, now taking a step in front of Marinette.

“Wait, who… Oh no,” The bespectacled boy now took a step closer to the girl in question. “I knew you were up to no good.”

Marinette was suddenly very aware of how everyone else banded around her, ready to gang up on Félix. What was more, she noticed the boy take a step back, his thumb nervously stroking the book he was holding. The same book that was infected the previous day.

The thought that he could be akumatized again struck her, and she realized being stubborn, with her friends surrounding her, was probably not the wisest decision in that moment.

“Um, guys, it’s fine,” she said, trying to lower the steam. “I’m fine, really.”

“It didn’t sound fine when you told me the story earlier,” Alya retorted.

“Hey, guys, c’mon,” Adrien intervened. “He’s trying to apologize. I think he deserves at least a little benefit of the doubt.”

“Since when are you on his side?” Lila asked suspiciously. “Heck, you were the one who was jea—”

“LET’S not jump into conclusions,” Adrien cut in, before she could finish. “And I think you’re the last one who should call someone out for lying.”

Lila gaped. “Oh, that’s low, Agreste.”

“Stop, please!” Marinette interrupted. She let out a sigh before stepping aside from Alya and turning to look at them all. “Thank you all for coming to my defense, really. But I’m gonna have to kinda side with Adrien on this one. Of course,” she continued hastily when she saw everyone getting ready to protest, “this doesn’t necessarily mean I condone Félix’s actions. On the contrary, I’m still mad about what he did, but… Lila, weren’t you happy that I forgave you for lying to Annabelle?”

The Italian’s gaze lowered to the pavement, as she shuffled her feet.

“If someone is willing to apologize, and they recognize what they did wrong, I think they deserve a second chance.” Marinette looked directly at Félix now. “Do you promise to never do something like that again?”

A calm smile crossed the boy’s lips. “I think I rather make real friends, the right way. Plus, unless I wanna get beat up by Chat Noir, I think I should do as he and Ladybug asked.”

“Beat up by Chat Noir?” Marinette parroted.

“I-I don’t think he would,” Adrien added sheepishly.

“I hope not,” Félix chuckled. “He was pretty miffed about the whole thing.”

“Yeah…” Marinette agreed, rubbing her arm.

“So, you forgive me?”

The girl stood straighter. “Under one condition: Next time you see Chat, you have to apologize to him.”

“You know, he also—”

“I already scolded him about it. But you know he had good reason to be upset.”

“Yeah, he was very explicit about it in the end.”

Marinette frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, he—” but he stopped abruptly, looking at the rest of the group. He cleared his throat. “Now that I think about it, I don’t think it’s my place.”

What did Chat say?! The girl’s curiosity had just increased tenfold. Whatever he said, it sounded like it had been defining enough for Félix to actually feel cautious about her partner. Did it have to do with her? Did he threaten him? That sounded unlike him.

Wait.

What if Félix was lying again? Creating doubt?

But what if not? What if it was something important?

“I’m sure it’s no big deal,” Adrien suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

“It wasn’t,” Félix immediately agreed, giving Marinette the funny feeling he was latching into the first excuse he heard. “Anyway, I’m glad I got to tell you that. I see you’re busy, so I’ll go my way now.”

With another curt not, he turned on his heels and started walking away. Marinette stared after him, her fingers fiddling with each other for a few seconds.

“Wait!” she shouted, running over to Félix, careful not to bump into other people. “Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!”

She skidded, almost tripping, when she reached him. The boy arched an eyebrow, yet continued walking.

“Tell me,” Marinette begged after him. “If you tell me, I’ll be able to tell if you really meant what you said.”

“I really don’t think it’s my place,” Félix insisted.

“If you tell me, I’ll be more forgiving.”

“Are you blackmailing me now?”

“It’s not blackmail if I don’t have information about you,” she reasoned. “Think of it as material to earn your forgiveness.”

“You really want to know, don’t you?”

“Very, very much,” Marinette whined.

Félix sighed. “I don’t think Chat would be very happy if I tell you what he said.”

“Was it bad?”

“Depends on your definition of bad. I don’t think it was, for you.”

“For me?”

Félix stopped, Marinette quickly following. The boy seemed to hesitate for a moment, yet ultimately decided to speak.

“He told me he lied in the show. About what you were worried about, remember?”

“Oh. He told you about that?”

Félix’s head tilted. “You already know?”

“He told me last night,” she confirmed, with a nod. “But I don’t see how that means he would beat you up.”

“Well,” he averted his gaze, hesitant to say the next part, “he admitted to me that he was jealous when I asked him what his problem was.”

Marinette’s eyes widened. That was… bold of Chat Noir to do. Risky. Kinda dumb.

“I think he said it out of impulse, or adrenaline after the battle,” Félix shrugged. “But it did explain why he was so upset about the whole thing.”

“Oh my gosh,” Marinette couldn’t help saying, smacking a hand to her face. “That dork is gonna get himself in serious trouble if he can’t learn to control himself.”

“Hey,” the blond placed a hand on her shoulder. “Look on the bright side: he likes you. Isn’t that what you were worried about?”

The girl’s heart almost escaped through her mouth with that statement. Her breath became uneven, betraying the nervousness she was trying to hide.

“I-I-I’m not—That’s not… I-I don’t know what—”

“Don’t worry.” He smiled. “Your secret’s safe with me. I do mean it when I say I want real friends.”

Marinette let out a shuddered breath. While she was glad Félix was being nice about the whole thing, it worried her that he noticed it so quickly. If he figured it out by the conversation they had yesterday, and Alya had already noticed her feelings weeks before she realized them herself, how long did she have until the media officially caught on?

Or…was it possible someone had already caught on?

She needed to talk to Chat, as soon as possible. If only she could contact him before Tuesday, somehow.

“Everything okay?”

Marinette jumped at Adrien’s sudden arrival.

“Yes!” she yelped. “I think…”

“It is,” Félix nodded.

“That’s good,” Adrien sighed, as the rest of the group joined them.

“Does that mean we have to be nice to him now?” Lila piped up.

“I don’t know if I have the energy to add another questionable member to our group,” Alya said, rubbing her temple.

“Alyaaa…”

“He’s not so bad,” Adrien shrugged. Marinette’s gaze snapped towards him.

“Look,” Nino started, “we’re all going the same way, might as well get to know him better anyway. See if he deserves the second chance.”

“Well then, buckle up, Mr. Chess Champion,” Alya stepped up and poked Félix’s arm, “because you’re about to be interrogated by the most protective best friend and most insane blogger in Paris.”

Félix rolled his eyes and started walking. Yet, that didn’t deter the blogger from following him, making all kinds of questions that were not being answered. Meanwhile, Nino glanced towards Marinette and Adrien, and quickly turned to Lila.

“So, you this way too?” he asked lamely.

“Duh,” Lila uttered, jutting out her jaw.

“How did you find out of Geneviève’s, anyway?” he pushed for conversation, starting to walk in the direction Alya and Félix had.

The question worked, as Lila happily started telling him a story about how she went there with her father. Marinette arched a brow, having a nagging feeling Nino pulled her his way on purpose. Why, though? Well, whatever the case, she and Adrien were now by themselves on the back.

“Unless we wanna fall behind…” she said, gesturing to the sidewalk ahead.

Adrien blinked, seeming lost. “I-I, um, with you?”

Marinette let out an offended gasp.

“Not that it’s bad!” Adrien quickly amended. But the girl huffed and started walking away. The boy quickly matched her pace. “It’s actually nice, I get to talk to you. We don’t talk often, not like this.”

“Like this?” she stopped, puzzled.

“Outside of class, I mean,” he cleared up.

Marinette scrunched her nose and continued walking.

“I just mean that I can get to know you better,” Adrien continued. “I feel we don’t talk much, nor hang out enough.”

“You remember we’re not supposed to be seen together, right?”

“I don’t care what Father says,” he shrugged. “I rather risk getting grounded than not talk to you again.”

She turned to stare at him. “That’s sweet!” she expressed with a grin. “But I wouldn’t want to get you in trouble.”

“Chi-uh, buh, psh, no trouble at all,” Adrien sputtered, scratching the back of his head. “I-I mean, I don’t care about trouble. I laugh in the face of trouble!”

“Pfft,” Marinette snorted, shoulders shaking from the laughter she was attempting to smother. “I’m sure you do.”

From the corner of her eye, she noticed Adrien give her a toothy grin she had never seen. One that fully reached his eyes. She had seen him laugh before, but never simply grin like a dork as he was doing at that moment. Marinette looked ahead at the others.

Nino and Lila had joined Alya in their quest of crowding Félix, and possibly make him uncomfortable, from the looks of it. Yet, despite their silly antics, the new addition to the group didn’t seem bothered. In fact, he almost seemed to be enjoying their company.

Like a person having real friends for the first time in his life.

Marinette sighed contentedly.

“What is it?” Adrien asked next to her.

She hummed, with a slight shake of her head. “I’m happy.”

“Really?”

“Mhmm,” Marinette smiled. “Just yesterday I was scolding Félix. And last week Lila didn’t even wanna talk to me. Yet here they are today. Odd little group we have, don’t we?”

“You have a knack for making the oddest friends,” Adrien commented with a shrug. “You can hit someone on the head with a watering can, and still make friends with them.”

Marinette snorted. “Yeah… Wait, how do you know I hit Chat on the head?”

Adrien visibly stiffened. “Uhh—Wild guess,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck and letting out a nervous giggle.

“Has Chat been talking to you?” The girl narrowed her eyes.

“No!” Adrien responded quickly. “No. Not at all. I was just guessing. It was a watering can, right? I mean, that’s what I remember you saying to Nadja.”

“Yeah,” Marinette smiled. “He took it really well, though. He even praised me for my strength, the dork.”

“You seem very fond of that memory,” the blond commented.

“It’s what brought us together. After that he started talking to me more, and visiting several times a week.” She gave a nostalgic chuckle. “In fact, that event is so memorable, that two weeks ago, Chat gifted me a spray bottle because—”

But she stopped her story abruptly. Why was she telling Adrien all this? Since when had she felt so comfortable with him to tell those kinds of secrets?

“I’m listening” Adrien said.

“Um… You know what? That’s between us.”

“Oh, you have secrets between yourselves,” the blond teased.

“No! Yes…” Marinette involuntarily started blushing, her mind quickly jumping to the previous night. “Hopefully for not much longer,” she muttered.

“Not much longer?” Adrien said, sounding breathless.

“I-It’s a long story,” the designer added, her cheeks turning even darker.

“Did something happen?” he pushed.

“Weeell…” She scratched the back of her head.

“Did he say or do something bad?”

“No, not at all,” Marinette shook her head. “Chat Noir is not that kind of person. He’s actually very sweet. I just need to talk to him, that’s all.”

“May I ask what about?”

Marinette turned to look directly at Adrien, who seemed almost eager to hear her answer.

“Why?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“What?”

“Why do you want to know?”

The boy cleared his throat and placed his hands in his pockets.

“Just trying to make conversation.” He looked ahead for a moment, but then stared at her again from the corner of his eye.

Marinette frowned. “Are you okay?”

“Me? Grate! I mean, great!” he sputtered. “No need to worry about this caaaaaa—sual! Casual dude, just strolling with his friends. Heh, heh.” He scratched the back of his head, for what seemed like the hundredth time already. “I’m fine. Good. Great. Awesome. Pur—Perfect! Perfect.”

“Hey,” she placed a hand on his arm, making him let out an ungodly yelp. “Take it easy. What’s up with you? Why are you so jumpy?”

“Uuuhhh.”

“You can talk to me,” she tried reassuring him, giving one of her trademark smiles. “We’re friends, right?”

Adrien turned his head to look at her fully, his lips parting. Marinette could almost swear she could see a million thoughts run behind his eyes. The stare was so intense, she hadn’t realized they stopped walking.

Well, she may have decided to give up on him romantically, but that didn’t stop her from appreciating his friendship.

“I-I…” he stuttered.

Marinette tilted her head, hoping to assure him she was listening. Adrien visibly gulped. A light warmth softly covered the hand she had placed on his arm: his palm, she figured, as she hadn’t looked. He let out a shuddered breath, yet his gaze became determined.

“Marinette,” he breathed, stepping in front of her. “There’s something I have to tell you.”

“Oh?”

“And I need you to believe me when I say it.”

“Okay?”

He took a deep breath. “Marinette,” he bit his lip, attempting to hold a grin, “Marinette, I’m—”

“Hey, you two!” Alya called from behind him. Adrien slumped and shut his eyes. “You joining us or what?”

“In a minute!” Marinette called, and turned back to the boy before her. “You were saying?”

“Um…” he averted his gaze. “I-I… I don’t wanna say it rushed.”

“Oh, it’s long?” Marinette questioned. Adrien nodded. “Okay. How about tomorrow? Lunchtime, so we don’t have to worry if one of us—me—gets to class late. How’s that?”

Adrien blinked. “You’re the best,” he grinned.

Marinette merely giggled before directing them back to the group.

Adrien could feel his heart trying to break out of his ribcage. He had been so close.

So. Close.

It took an impulsive thought to make him start saying the words he wanted so badly. Now, all courage seemed to have ran off into the wind, jumping like a black cat in an alley after a loud noise. He almost felt dizzy from the rush of adrenaline.

He quietly kept a hand over his chest, trying to calm the nerves that were currently wrecking him. Would he still feel like this the next day? Could he really stand this feeling for almost twenty-four hours?

I’m gonna die, he whined miserably in his head. We could’ve been great. I’ll miss you in the afterlife. Bye, I will lov—Woah, too far.

“Dude, you okay?” Adrien startled when Nino whispered to his ear. The boy in the cap raised his hands in surrender. “Whoa, chill. Didn’t mean to freak you out.”

The blond clutched his shirt, becoming jittery now. Nino noticed, what was stopping everyone else to see it too? What if Marinette asked? What if he wouldn’t be able to hold himself from doing something stupid? Like confessing?

But confess what? That he liked her of that he was Chat Noir? Either one was equally nerve-wrecking. And telling her that he liked her before revealing his identity would probably just confuse her. Or he would doom himself to be with her as Adrien, without ever sharing that special bond they had developed in the last few weeks. Forever trapped in a lie, where she would probably leave him in the end anyway, for running off to save Paris in the middle of dates without explanations. Then he would lose her, and she would never know—

A sharp elbow hit his arm.

“Man, they’re leaving,” Nino scolded, gesturing towards the rest of the group.

One quick scan to his surroundings confirmed that everyone else was about to head their own way, with Lila and Félix heading east, while Marinette and Alya were heading west. And he and Nino had to continue north.

“ByeMarinette!” Adrien blurted out. When he realized his mistake, he sputtered more. “And Alya, and Lila, and Félix. I’ll see ya guys.”

He raised finger guns, hoping he was not coming off as dumb as he felt. Alya and Félix gave him perplexed looks, while Lila and Marinette did their best to hide the laughter trying to bloom out of them. What was more, from the corner of his eye, he could see Nino shake his head.

“Bye, Adrien,” Lila said, as she turned to leave.

“It was nice seeing you again,” Félix bid farewell, with a curt nod, before going in the same direction as the Italian.

“Please make sure he doesn’t walk into a lamppost or something,” Alya sighed, in mock defeat.

“Yes, dudette,” Nino obliged, giving a two-fingered salute.

“Well, see you around, Adrien,” Marinette said with a cute wave and that shinning beam of hers. That smile that he had grown to love so much, that sent ladybugs fluttering from his stomach, through his body. Even as she turned and walked away, the feeling wouldn’t leave, forever etched beneath his skin.

Beside him, Nino snorted out a laugh, but Adrien barely paid mind.

“So, we still got a good hour before your old man starts bugging us, so are you up for some ice cream?”

“Uuh…” Adrien uttered, his eyes still trained on the back of Marinette’s head.

“Dude, I swear you’re gonna love this place,” Nino promised, searching his phone for the address. “I haven’t been there myself, but my dad brought me some last Tuesday, and—”