0.

Adrien finds out first.

He doesn’t mean to, of course – he’s tumbling headfirst out of the alley he propelled himself into, having shed his transformation somewhere between six and ten feet in the air (not his most graceful effort, he’ll admit), when he sees none other than Marinette Dupain-Cheng sneaking a kwami into her purse. She’s glancing over her shoulder, back pressed against the tree she must have ducked behind after the akuma battle.

Thankfully, she’s looking away from him because Adrien doesn’t move from where he’s sprawled on the sidewalk. In fact, he thinks he might just live here for the foreseeable future, just him and the concrete, trying to forget that Marinette Dupain-Cheng is Ladybug, of course she is, it’s just his luck.

To think, just the other day after the picnic, he was hugging his pillow and gushing to a very disgusted Plagg about how lucky he was to know two of the most amazing girls in Paris, and miraculously, it turns out they’re the exact same person. Of course, Ladybug has to be Marinette Dupain-Cheng: class-president, prodigy fashion designer, and artist for two of Jagged Stone’s album covers. His lady never does things by halves.

Adrien wants to cry into the sidewalk. He’s been beating back a slow wave of feelings for Marinette for the past month (because he was determined that his heart belonged only to his lady), but with this new realization, he doesn’t think he’ll make it. This can be how the obituaries describe him – at one with the concrete, clothes smeared with alley dirt, having hit his head against every third rung of the ladder he grabbed to slow his fall.

A businesswoman steps over him. Her phone is glued between her head and shoulder, and her hands are busy taking notes, but she doesn’t miss a beat while walking, like moaning teenage boys having existential crises while lying supine in the middle of the street are everyday occurrences.

Then again, thanks to Hawkmoth, this was probably less exciting than an average Tuesday.

A shadow falls over him. Adrien peeks one eye out from behind his forearm and sees a concerned-looking Nino peering down at him.

“Uh, you good, bro?”

I realized that I’m in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and that I can never look Marinette Dupain-Cheng in the eyes again on the same day, Adrien wants to cry.

He turns onto his stomach and pulls his white overshirt over his head. “I’m peachy,” he says instead.

And if his voice breaks in the middle of the word, and he sounds more “I’m having a midlife crisis at the tender age of fifteen” than “peachy” – well, he’s sure Nino wouldn’t notice the difference anyways.

5.

Nino notices it immediately.

To be fair, it’d be difficult not to notice – he’s slumped over his desk Monday morning nursing a juice box like it’s coffee when Adrien stomps into the room like a man on a mission, shoulders set and expression hard. He passes by his own seat without glancing at it, walks determinedly up the stairs and careens to a stop in front of where Marinette and Alya are discussing the Ladyblog. Well, more accurately, where Alya is gesticulating wildly about the Ladyblog while Marinette looks like she has long abandoned any pretense of being an attentive friend and is currently attempting to melt into the ground to sleep for another twelve to sixteen hours.

Adrien’s face is red.

Nino slurps at his juice box.

Upon seeing Adrien standing near them like a statue in winter, Alya immediately stops her gesticulating (let nobody tell Nino that his girlfriend isn’t the best wingman on the planet). She punches Marinette none too gently in the shoulder.

Marinette doesn’t stir.

“Oh, good morning, Adrien, you look absolutely dashing today.” Another punch. “Marinette thinks you look pretty too.” This time, by the sound of it, there’s a kick underneath the desk.

Marinette jerks upright, the picture of sleepy annoyance. “What.”

“Don’t you think Adrien looks pretty today?” Alya prods.

Marinette squints at Adrien, who’s still standing stock still at her side, red enough for Crayola to feel inadequate about the vibrancy of their own colors. “He’s always pretty,” she mutters groggily.

Nino’s mildly impressed. Who knew a half-asleep Marinette could be so smooth?

Adrien must have been equally flummoxed because he flushes hard enough that he could have passed for Ladybug in terms of color scheme. His grip tightens to absurdity on his bag. For a moment, it looks like he might be able to power through the embarrassment, but then his entire face crumples, like an especially flimsy and garishly red house of cards, and he flees, ducking under a surprised Miss Bustier in the doorway.

Nino turns back around in his seat to see a now fully awake Marinette blinking in confusion. Her eyes haven’t moved from where Adrien had been standing, and a light blush is beginning to crawl up her cheeks. Upon seeing half the class staring at her with varying degrees of amusement and bafflement, she groans and buries her head in her arms. Alya pats her back sympathetically, and Nino reaches across the distance between their desks to do the same.

“Was it something I said?” Marinette’s voice is muffled and tinged terribly with something like despair.

Nino meets his girlfriend’s accusing eyes, which are clearly asking, “What the hell is going on with your boy?” He shrugs the best he can with one available shoulder, the other arm still attempting to console an inconsolable Marinette.

Where Adrien is concerned, Nino learned a long time ago to let go of things like taking showers in the middle of akuma attacks and jumping off skyscrapers and flopping like a headless fish in front of obvious crushes.

There’s only so much Adrien-related stress that Nino can take.

4.

In her defense, when Marinette tumbles into the locker room after making a likely nonsensical excuse to Miss Bustier, eight apologies for her accidental bluntness at the ready, she isn’t expecting to see Adrien clutching a black blob to his chest and bewailing his woes with all the tragedy of particularly upset Shakespeare protagonist.

She skids to a stop at a row of lockers and, before she can consider the legal and societal consequences of eavesdropping, ducks down behind them. The little blob in Adrien’s hands wriggles, and two unamused green eyes flop into view.

Marinette blinks. That’s a kwami.

“Why am I like this, Plagg?” Adrien half-wails. “I couldn’t even talk to her. It was like I didn’t know what words were. Why didn’t I know what words were?”

The blob blinks lazily. “’Cause you’re a hopeless romantic.”

That is so very obviously a kwami.

“I know words. I know lots of words. Big words even.”

“Sure, kid.”

But that means –

“I can even put those words into sentences. I’m doing it right now.”

“Uh huh.”

Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir.

In some ingrained last-ditch effort at identity perseverance, Marinette shoves her phone into her mouth and silently screams around it. Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. But that means all those times Chat told Ladybug he loved her– If Adrien is Chat–

That means Adrien is in love with Ladybug.

Marinette resists curling into a ball and wailing. Oh, god, she should have known. Of course Adrien would be in love with Ladybug – she’s so cool, and she saves Paris, and she has perfect hair, and he has perfect hair, and they would be perfect together, and how’s Marinette supposed to compete with that?

Just as she’s considering rolling into one of the lockers and living there for the rest of her life, a small movement at her side hastily drags her back to reality. Tikki’s blinking up at her disapprovingly. Marinette hates when Tikki blinks at her disapprovingly; it’s inexplicably effective. Marinette’s current theory is that the high eye to face size ratio in kwamis make every emotion –

Wait a minute. Kwamis. Marinette has a kwami. Marinette is Ladybug. Which means if Adrien’s Chat Noir, and Chat Noir’s in love with Ladybug, and Marinette is Ladybug, then by the transitive power of love…

Marinette leaps to her feet triumphantly. “Adrien’s in love with me!” she declares, almost giddy with joy.

There’s a beat of silence – all-consuming silence, silence long enough for all her momentary happiness to freeze solid and clink to the ground. Ever so slowly, she turns, trying to keep her movements as predictable as possible.

Adrien stares at her with all the composure of a startled fawn. One of his hands is shoved up his shirt, where there’s a – once again, so terribly obvious – lump the shape of a kwami. The other hand flails around a moment before settling at the back of his neck. It’s such a shy, endearing gesture that Marinette immediately feels herself melt. She’s content enough to sink into the ground and become Marinette-goo for the next two weeks. And then they’ll date and go see movies, and she’ll propose one day on top of the Eiffel tower (the section with no gawking tourists), and he’ll say yes, and then they’ll get married on a beach in October, and her parents will make them a Ladybug and Chat Noir themed cake, and Plagg can be the flower cat, and Tikki will be the ring bearer, and Adrien’ll talk about how amazing and eloquent her love confession was in his vows–

Wait, that’s right. The love confession.

Marinette takes a breath. The locker room at school right after finding out her partner’s secret identity via somewhat accidental eavesdropping wasn’t the ideal confession scenario she’d always imagined, but Marinette could make do.

“Adrien,” she says, vaguely aware of how hopelessly lovestruck her voice sounded. “Adrien, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you for a long time now.” She steps forwards and grabs the hand that’s not still trying to stuff a wriggling kwami out of her view. “I –”

The locker room doors burst open.

“You guys in here?” Alya calls.

Nino’s head pokes in after her. He looks bemusedly at their intertwined fingers. “Are we interrupting something?”

“No!” Adrien almost screeches, and it says something about how very in love Marinette is that she even finds his screeching cute. He pulls his overshirt together over the Plagg lump the best he can with only one free hand since she’s refusing to ever let go of his other.

“Yes,” Marinette says, glaring at Nino. “Very clearly, yes.”

“Miss Bustier sent us after you guys.” Alya raises an eyebrow. “Those were some dramatic exits you two pulled.”

“We have to drag you guys back to class too, unfortunately,” Nino says. “Sorry.”

Marinette frowns. She was so close. Usually, by now, she would have dissolved into an incomprehensible mess, but something (probably adrenaline, so much adrenaline) was driving her. She doesn’t want to stop when she’s so close, but Miss Bustier being disappointed in the both of them would be a fate worse than death.

Sighing, Marinette begrudgingly lets go of Adrien’s hand. Now that she’s no longer caught in the hazy daydream of proposal-wedding-honeymoon-cake, she can see that he’s flushed red all the way down to his neckline. A quick touch to her own face reveals that she’s not much better.

Nevertheless, she’s not discouraged. It’s barely noon, after all – an entire day full of potential love confession-worthy moments awaits.

3.

“So, you avoided Marinette all day? That’s cold, dude.”

Adrien presses his face further into the bench he’s lying on. The wood is uneven and pokes into his cheek at some places. It’s all he deserves, really. “I know, I’m the worst,” he says.

Nino nudges Adrien’s head with his leg as he tries to get comfortable in the remaining thirty centimeters worth of space not taken up by Adrien’s body. “I wouldn’t say the worst. There’s always Hawkmoth.”

Adrien glances up at Nino. “That’s such a low bar, man.” It must be worse than he thinks.

“You just gotta take your own advice. Remember?” Nino removes his hat, puffs up, and does an absolutely terrible impression of Adrien’s voice. “’Marinette’s never going to fall in love with a statue.’ What ever happened to that?”

“That Adrien was a naïve fool. Unblemished by the casualties of life.” Adrien pulls at his shirt, wishing that it had a hood he could hide in. “You have to help me, Nino.”

Nino snickers, obviously equipped with a very fine sense of irony. Adrien wants to say that it’s very much not appreciated. Still, he lets Nino physically drag him off the bench and to his feet.

Adrien doesn’t even know why he’s so worried. How is this any different than confessing to Ladybug as Chat? But Chat’s cool and suave and makes people swoon while Adrien is decidedly not so. And what if Marinette doesn’t like him back? Of course, he’ll cherish her friendship forever because she’s so utterly wonderful, and he’s just thankful to be beside her as classmates and partners.

But also, Adrien might die.

“I don’t know,” he says, “What if Marinette doesn’t like me back?”

Nino stops from where he’s dusting off Adrien’s shirt. “Are you serious, dude?”

“She’s so cool! And I’m so… me.”

Nino looks like he’s four misplaced words away from strangling Adrien. It’s a surprisingly unfamiliar expression. Usually, Nino has endless patience for Adrien’s tragic bemoaning.

“Marinette totally likes you,” Nino says after a deep breath. “Trust me, man, she thinks you’re cool and pretty and all that jazz. You just got to tell her how you feel.”

Adrien blinks. “She thinks I’m pretty?” he asks hopefully.

“You are literally a model.”

She thinks he’s pretty. He tries not to melt. “I think she’s pretty too.”

“Cool, but don’t tell me that.” Nino bodily turns Adrien around and points to where Alya and Marinette are walking along the river towards them. “Tell her.”

Adrien freezes. “Nino, what did you do?”

“My hand may have slipped and accidentally texted my girlfriend our location.” Adrien can hear him grinning, that traitor. “I believe in you.”

“Nino, you said you would help me!”

“This is totally me helping. I read somewhere that we learn best under intense, in-the-moment pressure.”

“That is so decidedly untrue. Nino.”

“Wow!” Nino calls out in a voice that would not sound casual to even the gentlest of acting critics. “If it isn’t my girlfriend, Alya. What a remarkable coincidence. Would you like to walk down this very romantic river with me?”

Alya’s grinning too, which means she must also be in on this nefarious scheme. “Nino! I am so surprised. Yes, I will go with you. It’s a shame I must leave my best friend Marinette here. Ah, well, surely someone else will keep her company.”

The two of them walk away with truly impressive speed.

Marinette smiles softly and does a half-wave with one hand. It’s painstakingly adorable. Adrien can’t look at her directly.

“Hi, Adrien,” she says.

Say something, you idiot, a voice that sounds disturbingly like Plagg yells in his head. “Hi,” he manages to choke out. Good, now say her name. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Not her full – that’s it, I give up.

Maybe Adrien was freaking out enough that his poor neurons have gained access to kwami telepathy.

“Marinette,” he tries again. Just be Chat. Just be Chat. “You’re a thief.”

She stares at him, looking strangely and suddenly guilty. “What?”

“I mean, are you a heart? Because I’m a thief. And you stole it.”

Maybe if he asks his dad, he can go back to being homeschooled.

Marinette laughs nervously. “If this is about that time I took your phone, I promise I was only borrowing it, and it’s because it had this voicemail on it that was super embarrassing, you know–”

Homeschooling wasn’t that bad. He was terribly lonely sometimes and used to line his stuffed animals along his bed and hold entire conversations with them, but at least he wouldn’t be in this situation right now.

“–and I thought that if you didn’t like me like that, you know, that’s not how I wanted you to find out, and if you really didn’t, then I would be really embarrassed–”

Sure, he’d miss Nino and Alya. And maybe even Plagg.

“–and I promise I meant to give it back eventually, and I wore oven mitts and everything!”

But then… he would never know Marinette Dupain-Cheng, his lady – the girl’s fallen hopelessly in love with.

Adrien squares his shoulders. Takes a breath.

“Marinette, I really– I mean, I think I might–” He can do this. “I love–”

“Citizens of Paris. Fear me! For I am the Green Machine, and I will make sure everyone in this city gets their daily required nutrients.”

Adrien and Marinette share a glance.

“Well, that’s not so bad,” she shrugs.

“Also, I am banning bread.”

Marinette’s expression darkens. “I changed my mind, we need to destroy him.”

Adrien feels his heartbeat quicken. “We?”

She jumps and hastily backs away. “Uh, I meant, we should run. And destroy him by being good civilians and hiding. Because we’re civilians. Bye, Adrien!”

Adrien blinks. She couldn’t possibly know that he’s Chat Noir, could she? He’s so sure that his strategy for hiding Plagg this morning in the locker room was foolproof – no way she could have seen through his brilliant improvisation. But could she still know? Or does she just know he knows? Or maybe she knows but thinks he doesn’t know she knows, but he actually does know–

“Kid, are you going to keep standing there, or are we going to help Ladybug?” Plagg bumps his head none too gently into Adrien’s nose. “Your thinking’s giving me a headache.”

Adrien sighs. At least he’ll always have Plagg.

“Alright, Plagg – claws out!”

2.

Alya’s not sure what she’s expecting when Ladybug swings headfirst into her room that afternoon.

To be honest, she isn’t expecting Ladybug at all, but months of finely honed reporter instincts have her fingers reaching for her phone before her mind can even process the situation.

“Ladybug!” Alya says, pressing record. “What a surprise! Can you tell us how exactly the Green Machine was–”

In a single graceful movement, Ladybug has a palm against Alya’s mouth, the other hand slipping the phone from her grasp with an ease that Alya found highly suspicious. Who would have thought that one of Paris’s superheroes had such sticky fingers?

“Alya, I need to talk to you off the record.”

Alya’s eyes widen. “Rena Rouge?” she asks, only it comes out muffled behind Ladybug’s palm.

Ladybug laughs awkwardly and takes a step back, handing the phone back to her. “No, it’s not superhero related.” She scratches the back of her neck, looking suddenly shy. “Actually, it’s pretty personal, but I couldn’t think of anyone else to go to, and you give great advice– I mean, you certainly seem like you give great advice. Because, you know, reporters are observant and all.”

Alya puffs up a little, basking in the praise that’s coming from Ladybug of all people. “Well, I do give great advice. My best friend can vouch for me. Let me call her–”

“No!” Alya’s phone flies out of her hand and hits the back wall before she can blink. Ladybug laughs nervously and guides them to flop onto Alya’s bed instead. “Let’s just talk, okay?”

Alya feels like she should be more offended on her phone’s behalf, but she’s too excited at the prospect of hanging out sleepover-style with Ladybug to protest. She rolls onto her stomach and cradles her chin in her hands.

“Alright, girl. Spill.”

Ladybug leans back onto her hands. There’s a soft blush on her cheeks that has Alya itching to grab the nearest device capable of photography and snap endless pictures, but she resists.

“There’s this boy,” Ladybug says, which definitely isn’t what Alya’s expecting, but she’s flexible. It’s one of the perks of being an intrepid reporter. “And I really like him.”

“It’s not Carapace, is it?”

“What? No, no, it’s not Carapace.”

“Good, I like Carapace.”

“It’s Chat Noir.”

Ha! Nino owes Alya twenty euros.

“And the thing is,” Ladybug continues, “I know he likes me. He likes Ladybug. And I always rejected him because I kind of had my own crush, but I accidentally sort of found out his secret identity the other day, and it turns out I’ve liked him all along – I mean, what are the chances, really – but now I don’t know if he likes me me or if he just likes the mask because I’ve tried to confess to him, and he keeps avoiding me, and if it turns out he does hate me, then we’ll never get married and have two dogs and a hamster–”

Alya feels her own eyes widening more and more the longer the rant progresses and hastily holds up her hands before her eyebrows can touch her hairline. “Whoa, there, Ladybug.”

Ladybug’s mouth snaps closed, and for a moment, she looks almost mortified at how caught up she had been with her own words.

“First off,” Alya says, “if this thing with Chat Noir doesn’t work out, then I gotta introduce you to my friend Marinette – you two would get along great.”

Ladybug flushes. “I–”

“Second, I’m going to tell you the same thing I told her. You got to stop listening to your crazy nonsense brain and just tell him how you feel.”

As a superhero, Ladybug always looks larger than life, but now, she suddenly seems very small. “But what if he doesn’t like what’s behind the mask?”

“Do you only like the one side of Chat Noir?”

“Of course not.” She looks utterly offended that Alya would even suggest otherwise. “I accept all of– Oh.”

Alya smiles and reaches for Ladybug’s yo-yo. “Here, you guys can talk to each other on this, right? Call him right now.”

“He detransformed after the battle and ran away from me, I don’t think he’ll pick up.”

“Then text him! Do it now, before you chicken out.” Alya jumps to her feet and plants herself between Ladybug and the window. “I won’t let you leave until you do.”

Ladybug stares at her yo-yo for a moment; then, all at once, determination blossoms across her face. “I’ll do it,” she declares.

Her fingers move faster than Alya’s expecting, and in no time at all, Ladybug lets out a sigh of relief and presses the send button.

“That was quick,” Alya comments.

Ladybug laughs, rubbing the back of her neck. “Well, it’s been a long time coming.” Her yo-yo chimes. “Ah, he responded!”

Alya leans in eagerly. “What did he say?”

There’s no reply.

“Ladybug?”

Ladybug’s entire face has drained of color, her suit now standing out in stark contrast against her skin. Then, as if moving in slow motion, her entire body crumples forwards, and she brings her arms up to cover her head.

A fiery protective rage washes over Alya. “Five minutes alone with him as Rena Rouge, that’s all I’m asking.”

Ladybug giggles and groans almost simultaneously. “It’s not that.”

“That’s fine, I’ll fight him now, no powers needed.”

“No, no, it’s just–” Ladybug groans again, slumping forwards. “I pressed the wrong contact. I sent that text to Chloe Bourgeois.”

1.

Under normal circumstances, Marinette thinks she would have been overjoyed about sitting on the edge of a fountain next to Adrien Agreste in a park devoid of all other people. In fact, awkward tension aside, she’s still very much overjoyed. But it’s time to take Alya’s advice – to take her own advice. She coughs, summons up as much Ladybug courage as she can muster, and turns to face him.

“Adrien, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.” She takes a breath. “I’m Ladybug.”

There’s a beat of silence – certainly not what Marinette was expecting – and then Adrien laughs softly. His cheeks seem permanently stained with red.

“Yeah, I kind of knew that.”

She blinks. “You knew?”

“Just for a day! And I found out by accident. I didn’t mean to, I promise.” He turns to meet her eyes. “I’m Chat Noir.”

Marinette blinks again. “Uh, yeah.”

Adrien flushes to the roots of his hair. “Wait, you knew?”

“You were crying to your kwami in the locker room.”

“But I hid Plagg expertly the moment I saw you!”

“You shoved him up your shirt. He was still moving.”

“But I thought–” He buries his face in his hands. “I can be sneaky.”

She pats him awkwardly on the shoulder and tries not to think about the very loud and obvious bell on Chat’s collar. “The sneakiest.”

Adrien seems to recover a bit at the praise and takes her hand. “Then you must know what I’ve been trying to tell you, m’lady.”

The honorific, which was once the cause of many an eyeroll, suddenly makes Marinette feel very warm and goopy inside. “Go on,” she smiles.

“I love–”

An astonishingly loud peal of thunder cracks through the air, and the sky breaks open, soaking them to the bone in seconds. Marinette pushes back her dripping mop of hair and physically forces herself not to stomp like a petulant child.

“Oh, come on!”

+1

“I can’t believe you and Chloe dated for twenty-seven minutes.”

Adrien’s grinning into his towel as Marinette huffs and falls back onto her chaise. She’s changed into fluffy sweatpants and a T-shirt, and his heart is doing somersaults around in his chest.

“It’s not my fault Chat and Chloe both start with the same letters. And it was seven minutes at most. The other twenty was spent trying to convince her that it really was just a misunderstanding.”

He laughs and gives his hair one last rub before letting the towel fall into her laundry hamper. “It’s really nice of your parents to let me stay here to wait out the storm.” He tugs on the hem of his shirt. “And thanks for letting me borrow some of your clothes. I’m amazed you had something exactly my size.”

Marinette laughs, sounding oddly nervous. “The consequences of having amazing luck, I’m sure. It’s certainly not something that was designed for you specifically.”

“I’m the lucky one m’lady.”

“You’re going to keep calling me that now?”

Adrien tries and probably fails to hide a grin. “When we’re alone, sure.”

She sighs, a half-smile on her lips, before scooting back in the chaise and extending an arm. “Come here, kitty.”

The blush that had been plaguing him for the past day and a half returns with a vengeance. “You mean with– With you?”

There’s a very Ladybug-like smirk on Marinette’s face. “There’s room for two.”

He hastily plops onto the chaise with none of the elegance he was hoping for and tries to hide his burning cheeks when she laughs and pulls him into a more comfortable position. Head pillowed in the crook of her arm, he stretches out a hesitant hand and can’t stop the ridiculous grin from blooming across his face when she takes it.

“Marinette, I love–”

He feels soft lips in his hair and stutters to a stop. His lungs seem to have forgotten how to take in air.

When Marinette laughs at his sudden lack of voice, he feels the vibrations from her chest wrap around him. She kisses him again.

Suddenly, the clouds above burst open, letting loose a downpour of rain. A deluge that had him soaked through in seconds, with no time to find shelter nearby. He looked across the now vacant grounds and he sighed at this continued chain of luck, or lack thereof.

He ran a hand through his dripping hair, pushing back the drenched pieces sticking to his forehead. Thunder echoed in the air, sounding off a warning and reminding him further that his raincoat that he had packed was probably still stuck on a conveyor belt at the Charles de Gaulle airport.

So caught up in all his misgivings, Adrien didn’t even notice the bright white umbrella held above his head. He glanced to his side to see her, radiant and bright even in the storm, her hair only slightly damp and her smile just as lovely as ever.

He frowned at her umbrella, of course she came prepared, whereas he was merely making a mess of everything.

“I’m sorry,” he grimaced.

Her smile dropped and she tipped her head to the side with her brows creasing in concern. “Why are you sorry?” she asked.

“This trip...” he waved a hand in the air, as if the weather perfectly summarized his failure. He turned to her and quickly noticed her arm was stretched up in an effort to cover the two of them with her umbrella. Jumping slightly, he reached out to hold it for her and she let him, patting his hand to grab his attention again.

He sighed, “I wanted it do be perfect…”

“And it has been!” She countered, grabbing his free hand and squeezing it reassuringly.  

Adrien laughed at her stubbornness but he knew their trip was a mess, a total disaster, she deserved so much more and so far he hadn’t been able to deliver. He shook his head.

A soft hand brushed over the raindrops running down his cheek. “Hey,” she spoke, strong and determined, but just as soft and gentle as ever.

He looked at her to see her bright blue eyes burn through him, reminding him of evening patrols and being rescued in her arms, falling in love with her over and over again and seeing the flash of memories to her in her wedding dress...to her in her spots...and her in nothing at all.

He loved her so much.

But despite all that he couldn’t help but be self-deprecating over the whole situation.  

Seeing that she had his attention, she leaned in further, her hand using his shoulder as balance. He just about flinched away at her almost angry expression before feeling the trickle of rain run down his back, he was stuck, caught under the intensity of her eyes.

“This has been the best honeymoon, I’ve ever had!” she said.

“This is the only honeymoon you’ve ever had,” he answered back dryly, his shoulders slumping.

“Oh? And how would you know, Chaton?” she winked, standing up on the tips of her toes to peck him gently on the cheek with a kiss. “For all you know I could be living a double life!”

He raised a brow, chuckling under his breath. His reached for her before she could move away, wrapping his arm gently around her waist to hold her close. “You mean on top of the one you already have, My Lady?”

She giggled and he smiled in response, twin blush rising to both their cheeks as they leaned towards each other.

“Well,” she laughed, as she looked up at the umbrella above them, “Maybe so...but I think, any honeymoon, as long as I’m with you, would be perfect!”

They smiled at each other as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He bowed down to meet her and for a moment found contentment in simply holding her close. Their foreheads touched and she didn’t seem to mind his dripping hair. Her breath felt warm on his cheek and their noses bumped slightly, all he had to do was turn just the slightest amount in order to reach her lips—

“Plus I like the rain!” she added, leaning back just as quick, breaking the moment. Adrien blinked, caught off guard and most of all disappointed.

“This is more like a typhoon…” he muttered under his breath. He pursed his lips, a little hurt to have missed out on another opportunity for a kiss.

She glanced at him for a second, pecking his lips with a quick kiss that had him swooning instantly before continuing on, glaring teasingly at him as she ran a hand through his hair, “... you pull off this whole ‘wet cat’ look very well! I’ll have to bring this up for next season’s line!”

Adrien glared down at her.

“You wouldn’t,” he declared.

“Well Mr. Agreste, I don’t know what do tell you, but I think you have me sorely underestimated if you don’t think i would!”

He laughed, sighing at her charm.  

“You’re absolutely right, Mrs. Agreste,” he countered, “How could I ever doubt you!” And with that he leaned forward to nuzzle her neck. She giggled, finding herself tickled by his rain soaked hair.

After a moment, she arched out from under his attack and pushed him back with a finger on his nose.

“Regardless,” she giggled, “I think this whole trip has been magical, plus look!” She gestured around the square, “it’s like we have the whole place to ourselves!”

In the distance lightning flashed, the sky rumbled in warning.

“How intimate,” Adrien laughed. “It’s because we’re the only ones stupid enough to be out in this weather!”

“Stupid? Or adventurous?” she offered.

“How about…” he paused, thinking through their current state, “ill-informed on the weather?”

“How about...too blissfully in love to pay attention to such trivialities?”

Adrien laughed, “Both, both is—”

He was interrupted by her lips on his, suddenly pulled in even closer, the pounding of the rain and roaring of thunder fast forgotten as her tongue washed all his nerves and troubles away. He felt lighting in his veins and the rumbling of thunder beat in his heart as she smothered away any past concerns he had. Her lips were soft and warm and he shivered, gripping her jacket as she nibbled his lower lip. His hold on her umbrella loosened as he lost himself more and more in her touch, her being, her everything.

“Marinette,” he sighed as she she broke away for a moment before she recaptured him again, casting her spell. He held onto her tightly, wrapping both arms around her waist to bring her closer.

They never intended to reveal themselves to one another.

At least, not anytime soon. Ladybug said it was safer for both of them to remain anonymous, even to one another. Cat Noir may not have liked it, but he had to agree. It was for the best.

They never intended to reveal themselves. Which is why it came as such a shock when it actually happened.

Ladybug was racing over the rooftops, zigzagging between buildings and alleyways to shake off any remaining media and de-transform in peace.

She dropped down into a familiar alleyway, near the school and away from prying eyes. There were mere seconds left on her transformation, and suddenly Ladybug realized she wasn’t alone.

On the other end of the alleyway, eyes wide as saucers and the last pad on his Miraculous beeping frantically, was Cat Noir.

There wasn’t time to process what was happening, no time to turn away or close their eyes. They could only stare, frozen in place, as their transformations wore off, and suddenly they weren’t Ladybug and Cat Noir anymore.

In their places were Marinette and Adrien, classmates, friends, and apparently partners.

All of that had happened after an early morning akuma attack just before the start of classes. Now, just a few hours after a jarring reveal, the two of them were forced to act natural, like nothing had changed, like they hadn’t just discovered that their superhero best friend had been so close all along, while they worked on their history project.

There hadn’t been enough time to process everything.

Adrien?! He had been Cat Noir the whole time?

Sure, the two of them were friends. They hung out all the time, whether it was alone or with other friends. She was finally starting to act like a regular person around him, slowly getting over the way her words turned to soup in front of him. Now she had to deal with the fact that her amazing, smart, kind, handsome, perfect crush was also her silly, brave, kind, amazing partner, too! How could she possibly be expected to act like a normal person in front of him now that she knew both sides of him?

Adrien, for his part, wasn’t much better off. Ladybug was right there. He’d looked for His Lady in every blue eyed, dark haired girl he’d come across in the hopes of finding her, only to have her sitting behind him in class the entire time. He lamented the missed opportunities, but they didn’t really matter any more. What mattered was that they knew now.

“Hello,” Alya said in her sing-song, are-you-paying-attention voice. Of course neither of them had been. “Did you guys hear me? The Holiday Gala at Le Grand Paris?”

“What about it?” Marinette asked, hoping to distract herself from the blond boy across from her.

Alya rolled her eyes. “Are we going?”

“Isn’t that one of Chloe’s dad’s parties?” Nino wondered. “How are we even going to get in when she hates most of us?”

“My mother is the head chef,” Alya pointed out. “She has her ways. Besides, I’m sure Mister Adrikins Agreste over there is already on the guest list.”

“Yeah,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, “Chloe’s been talking about this party for a while. My father’s all for it because it will be a good networking opportunity. There won’t be many people our age there, so it would be great if you guys can make it! I bet even Chloe would enjoy the company. These things can get exhausting when it’s just businessmen and company representatives.” Adrien turned to Marinette. She wasn’t sure if it was just her imagination, but something in his eyes seemed more...heated, more intense than usual. It made heat rise from her neck to her cheeks. “There will be a lot of people in the fashion industry there, too. You could make some good connections, Marinette.”

Marinette made a quiet, strangled noise in the back of her throat. “Really?” She managed to squeak out, “That’s wait! I-I can’t the great to a party!” Oh, no, of course the word soup would come back at a time like this! She groaned and took a steadying breath. “I mean, I can’t wait to go. To the party.”

Alya gave her a strange look. It had been quite some time since Marinette had been this nervous around Adrien. Alya must know that something was up for her to suddenly revert to this kind of behavior again.

If Adrien noticed, he didn’t say anything. Instead, he simply smiled at her, the same way Adrien always smiled at Marinette, as if their whole world hadn’t changed just hours ago. “It might be a good opportunity to show off your design skills.”

Marinette gave a single stiff nod. She did have a few works in progress that she could have done in time.

“Great!” Alya said, clapping her hands together twice, “it’s settled, then. I’ll tell my mom we’re all on board. The Gala is in two weeks, so clear your schedules. Nino, my dress is going to be orange, just so you know.”

“Why are you telling me that?” Nino asked.

Alya groaned. “So that your suit can match, obviously.”

“This isn’t some American high school prom, Al,” Nino pointed out, “dates don’t need to buy each other corsages and match perfectly.”

“What’s so wrong with matching? You look good in orange!”

“It’s a white tie event! I’m not showing up to a high class event like this looking like I just walked off of an American teen rom-com…”

Marinette giggled as she watched her friends argue playfully, swinging her legs idly under the table. She had nearly forgotten about her earlier revelation until her foot casually brushed up against Adrien’s leg.

The heat returned to her face immediately as the two of them made eye contact. They stared at one another for just a moment before quickly averting their gazes.

This whole identity reveal thing was a disaster, after all.

Marinette flung herself onto her chaise lounge with a groan.

That had to be the longest school day she’d ever been through.

She couldn’t stop staring at Adrien--even more than usual. She’d been trying to match him up to her image of Cat Noir, and she was finding it easier and easier to do the more she thought about it. Now that she’d been stewing the entire day, she was thinking a bit more clearly and it actually made sense. She and Adrien were practically the only people that hadn’t been akumatized. Besides that, he and Cat Noir were more similar than she realized, for good reason. Beyond the fact that they were both tall, blond haired boys with green eyes, they both had terrible senses of humor. They were both extremely skilled in a fight, with Adrien’s fencing skills and Cat Noir’s amazing reflexes with his staff. And both of them were quick on their feet, able to catch her quickly when she fell.

That last thought made her heart skip a beat.

She’d always been in love with Adrien, that was an undisputed fact nearly since the two had met. And Cat Noir had always held a special place in her heart as her partner and best friend, maybe even a little bit more than that if she was being honest with herself.

To have those two incredibly precious people suddenly morph into one amazing, funny, handsome, kind, smart, miraculous package was just...too much.

How could she possibly be expected to face them both at once?

“It’s Marinette,” Adrien sighed, flopping onto his bed.

He hadn’t really had time to process the sudden reveal of Ladybug’s identity that day, not with school and work and activities cramming his schedule, and his brain.

But now that he had a couple of hours to himself, his mind began to wander.

Marinette was Ladybug.

Ladybug was Marinette.

It made sense, really. He could kick himself for not seeing it sooner. It wasn’t like the signs weren’t there, he just hadn’t noticed. Hadn’t been looking at what was right in front of him--or rather, right behind him.

Now that he knew that his amazing friend and beloved partner were one in the same, he couldn’t keep the grin off of his face. He didn’t think he could love Ladybug any more than he already did, but apparently he could. Knowing the girl behind the mask had made his love for her grow tenfold.

“Gross,” Plagg said from his perch on Adrien’s desk, “would you stop sighing like that? It’s ruining my appetite.”

“I can’t help it, Plagg,” Adrien said, picturing Marinette’s blushing face from that afternoon, remembering the way her lovely bluebell eyes caught the light in the library. “She’s just so great.”

Plagg made a gagging noise. “Just ask her out already, then. If you’re going to be this disgusting, at least do something about it.”

That was it!

Adrien hopped up out of bed and grabbed Plagg off of the desk. “Plagg, you’re a genius!” He said, dropping a kiss to the top of his kwami’s head.

The little black cat made a hacking sound, but Adrien ignored it in favor of spinning around in a circle. He just had to confess.

Marinette tried to pass the next week at school as naturally as she could.

Unfortunately for her, “natural” didn’t come easily to her. It never had.

If she thought her word soup had been bad around Adrien in the beginning, it had nothing on this. It was as if her tongue turned to lead any time she saw him, which was literally all the time. It was like he was purposefully getting in her way any chance he got.

Forget discussing the aftermath of their revealed identities, Marinette couldn’t even holding a friendly conversation with the guy. It was like she was in middle school all over again, and she absolutely hated it.

How was she supposed to fight off akumas if she couldn’t even say “hello” to her partner in the hallways?!

To make matters worse, Adrien had developed this habit of touching her any time he saw her, something he did regularly as Cat Noir that seemed to carry over into their civilian lives. Every time he brushed her hand with his, or nudged her with his shoulder, an electric current would run through her body, temporarily short circuiting her brain.

“I don’t know what to do, Tikki!” Marinette complained after an especially stressful day. “What if I can never talk to him like a normal person again?”

“You can do it, Marinette.” Her Kwami encouraged. “How did you learn how to talk to Adrien the first time?”

Marinette considered that. There had to be at least some reason she’d started talking to Adrien normally, didn’t there? “I guess...it was because I got used to him? We started to talk more outside of class, and we spent time alone together, and eventually my words did what they were supposed to.”

“Then maybe you just need to get used to him again!” Tikki suggested. “This was quite a shock to you, right? It’s a lot to handle, and your brain needs time to connect everything. If you spend time with him, as Adrien and Cat Noir, then maybe your words will do what they’re supposed to like before.”

It was a possibility, for sure. Marinette still worried what might happen if something went wrong, though. What if she said something totally weird and ended up chasing him off? She’d had enough close calls with that. What if she called him “hot stuff” to his face this time instead of to his voice mail? Or something even more embarrassing? It was bad enough to say those things to Adrien when he was just Adrien, but Cat Noir, too? She couldn’t even begin to imagine how mortified she would be.

She couldn’t let this setback get in the way of protecting Paris though. She had a responsibility to her city first and her heart second, so for the sake of her city, she had to figure out how to talk to Adrien/Cat Noir like a normal person ASAP.

Their first patrol since their accidental reveal was definitely a bit...strange.

Typically the night began with Cat Noir prattling off a number of jokes, some light hearted banter and flirting, and maybe a spar. This night was different, though.

Because now they knew who it was under the mask.

They had tried to tell themselves that knowing the person under the mask wouldn’t change anything. Cat was still Cat and Ladybug was still Ladybug.

Yet as much as they reminded themselves of that fact, things between them were still strained. Cat Noir was more careful with his words, and Ladybug more guarded with her previously casual physical contact.

After an especially quiet circuit around the city, the two of them found themselves sitting on a rooftop with a calculated amount of space between them. They hadn’t spoken much that night, or that day at school. Or really in the entire week following the accident.

Things were starting to get awkward, and they both hated it. But of course, neither of them knew how to make things right, either.

They just couldn’t figure out where they stood anymore.

“It’s been really quiet tonight, huh M--my--Marinette?” Cat Noir winced. Real smooth.

Ladybug jumped at his sudden use of her real name. “Y-yeah! Super quiet.”

“Maybe Hawkmoth decided to retire?”

“We can only hope,” she giggled.

Then it was quiet again.

Marinette could kick herself. This was Cat Noir. She should at least be able to crack a joke with him or something, but instead she was sitting there not sure of what to say and making a complete fool of herself. She was so stupid!

Unable to take the pressure anymore, Ladybug began to rise to her feet.

“Hey, um, Ladybug,” Cat Noir said hesitantly in a tone so un-Cat-like, but so very Adrien that she couldn’t believe it. “Before we call it a night, can I ask you something?”

Ladybug paused. “Of course.”

Cat Noir scrambled to his feet in front of her in a move that was so unlike what she expected of Adrien. She was beginning to see that the reason she had such a hard time connecting the two of them in the beginning was because he really did act like a different person with the mask on. When he was Adrien, he was this picture of perfection: well groomed, well behaved, well mannered, always smiling that model smile. But when he was Cat Noir, it was like he could really let his hair down. The wild streak that Adrien occasionally hinted at with a stray wink and a sly grin, or a particularly well placed pun came out full force.

Marinette both understood why she never connected the two and wanted to smack herself for not seeing it sooner.

Standing in front of her was both well mannered, poised Adrien Agreste and the silly tom cat, Cat Noir, wrapped up into one phenomenal person that she got to call her best friend and partner.

Her best friend and partner who had apparently just asked her a question that she had completely missed. He looked at her expectantly, and Marinette rattled her brain to figure out what he had just said, but she just had not been listening at all.

“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” She said with a flush.

“I asked if you would go to the Holiday Gala with me.”

Marinette though she was imagining the question. Had he really just…

Looking once again at the way he glanced at her before quickly glancing away, not so casually rubbing the back of his neck in his usual nervous habit, Marinette knew the question was very real.

“Aren’t you going with Chloe?” She asked, immediately wanting to smack herself. That was so not what she should be saying right now.

“What?! Chloe?” Cat held up both of his hands and shook his head. “No, no, Chloe isn’t...I’m not...I’m not going with Chloe. No.”

“Then…” Ladybug averted her eyes, not quite able to meet his dead on. “Yes, I’ll go with you.”

Cat Noir’s grin was blinding under the dim city lights. “Great! Then, I’ll pick you up at your house before the party?”

Ladybug nodded. “That sounds good.”

“Alright,” he laughed. “Great!” He pulled out his staff and extended it, already ready to take off. “I”ll see you then!” With that, Cat Noir jumped off the side of the building and vaulted on to the next one, heading home without any further adieu.

“You know, I’ll still see you at school tomorrow, too, right?” She called after him.

His only response was a distant whoop. Ladybug shook her head. She should be following the alley cat’s example and heading home as well. She had a dress to finish, and only seven days left to finish it.

In the days leading up to the Holiday Gala, Marinette should have been working on her dress, but as the day approached she couldn’t seem to take her mind off of her partner. The snow kept patrols short, and he had been pulled out of school more often than usual to attend networking events with his father.

So instead of working on the gown she would be wearing to what was likely going to be one of the most glamorous nights of her entire life, Marinette found herself working on Adrien’s Christmas present.

There were two things she knew Adrien loved: sweets and handmade gifts. All these years later, he still carried around the lucky charm she’d given him. Not that she was much better. She’d fastened the one he made her to her purse so that it was always with her.

Fortunately, Marinette was skilled at two things in particular: making food and making gifts.

She’d been planning this gift for a while now, ever since Adrien started complaining about a sore back, supposedly from all of the photo shoots his father had him doing this season. Now that Marinette had a little more perspective on the matter, she had a feeling his sore muscles had more to do with being thrown off of buildings and battling supervillains than with posing for cameras, though that probably didn’t help much. Fortunately, she’d recalled a conversation with Cat Noir on a similar matter only a few days before the reveal about how much of a pain the cold weather was moments before he draped himself around her and begged her to be his hot water bottle for the rest of the winter.

She grinned to herself as she finished sewing a zipper into her gift. Working on finishing this had taken some time away from finishing her Gala dress, but she had a feeling that his reaction would make it all worth it.

Marinette quickly wrapped the present, tossing in some hand made Christmas chocolates and tying the bag off with a bow.

“When are you going to give it to him?” Tikki asked, landing on the bag’s stiff, straw handles.

Marinette was focused on the card, sticking her tongue out as she drew out the careful calligraphy. She hummed thoughtfully. “I think I’ll do it tomorrow.”

“Aren’t you guys exchanging gifts next week, though?” Tikki asked. Marinette and her friends typically exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve, but things were different this year.

“I think it’ll be worth it to give this to him a little bit early this year,” Marinette explained. “Things have been a little tense ever since our...little accident last week, but I think he’s trying to make things normal again. That’s probably why he asked me to the Gala with him.”

“Are you sure he didn’t ask you because he genuinely wants you to be his date? Like, in a romantic way?”

Marinette paused over the front of the card, pondering over how to address it. “We’re friends, Tikki. We’ve been friends for years, and I’m pretty sure that he just wants to go to this party as friends.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Tikki warned. “Have you forgotten the way Cat Noir flirts with you?”

“That doesn’t mean anything. We’ve always played that game with each other. Besides, he never flirts that way with Marinette, and he hasn’t done it at all recently. I guess it’s weird now that we know each other.”

Tikki gave Marinette a skeptical look, but didn’t press the issue further.

Marinette sighed and scribbled down the address on the front of the card without any more hesitation and shoved it into the bag, unintentionally knocking her kwami from her perch.

“Hey!” Tikki protested.

Marinette winced. “Sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

Her kwami grumbled, causing Marinette to giggle. She glanced at her mannequin and the nearly finished gown. The Gala was only a couple of days away, and Adrien was taking her as his date. She couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Tikki was right. She didn’t want to get her hopes up for anything, but if something did happen…

Marinette shook her head. She couldn’t get caught up in thoughts like that.

She turned off her light and headed up the ladder to her loft bed. She would just start small, take things one step at a time. She would give Adrien his Christmas present tomorrow, put the finishing touches on her dress, and go to the gala with Adrien. He would take one look at her amazing dress and decide that he couldn’t live without her anymore. Her kitty cat would sweep her off her feet and propose on the spot, and they would get married, have three kids, and a cat. The power of their love for each other would overwhelm the entire city, and Hawkmoth would have no choice but to surrender, and they would live happily ever after...

Marinette groaned as she flopped on her bed, heart racing in her chest again. She pulled her stuffed cat from the top of her bed and cradled it against her chest. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t help herself from dreaming.

“Dude,” Nino said, smacking Adrien on the shoulder when they met up on the school steps, “why didn’t you tell me you were taking Marinette to the Gala?”

Adrien winced and rubbed his shoulder. He’d overdone it on patrol the night before. Ladybug had the night off, and he’d been going solo. Unfortunately, even though she hadn’t been with him, Adrien’s thoughts had been thoroughly consumed with Marinette the entire night. He’d been distracted and taken a pretty bad tumble when he tried to land on a ledge that was just a little bit out of his range. “You knew she was going…”

“Yeah, but I thought we were just meeting up there. You never said you were bringing her as your date! I had to hear about it from Alya!” Nino complained. “Are you finally making your move, dude?”

“What do you mean ‘finally’?” Adrien asked, removing his scarf as they passed through the school entryway. He felt his cheeks heating up.

“I mean have you finally realized that you and Marinette are made for each other?”

In an uncharacteristically clumsy moment, Adrien stumbled. “We’re what?”  Sure, Adrien had always thought that, about Ladybug at least. The two of them were Yin and Yang, two halves of the same whole. Of course, since Marinette was Ladybug, it went without saying that the sentiment extended to the girl behind the mask as well. In fact, the feeling that they belonged together had never been stronger. But there was no reason for Nino to know about all of that.

His best friend shrugged. “It’s obvious, my guy. You and Marinette would be a great couple. Everyone thinks so. I’m proud of you for finally making a move.”

“Everyone thinks so?” Adrien repeated.

“Everyone since college, bro.”

Adrien didn’t have time to mull over that revelation as the two of them entered the classroom. His attention first landed on Marinette, who was unusually early to class, bent over her desk as she sewed fabric flowers to a hair clip. He wondered how late she’d been up working on her dress. He knew she had a tendency to hyperfixate on her projects.

He was just about to greet her when Nino nudged his arm and pointed at Adrien’s desk.

On his desk right in front of Marinette’s was a large green bag with a carefully tied silver bow and small card nearly hidden in a ton of carefully arranged silver tissue paper.

Adrien glanced up at Marinette again, but she was very deliberately not looking at him. She just carried on looping the thread through the fabric flowers and securing them to the clip in her hands.

He sat down at his desk and plucked the card from the tissue paper. The card was hand painted, with little pictures of holly decorating the border. The address in the center written in delicate red calligraphy brought a huge grin to Adrien’s face.

“To keep you warm and ease your pains. Merry Christmas, mon chaton.”  

The card wasn’t signed, but it wasn’t hard to figure out who had left it there.

“Are you going to open it?” Nino prompted.

Adrien glanced at his friend and resisted the urge to turn and look at his Lady behind him.

He carefully untied the ribbon and began pulling out the tissue paper. Inside the bag was a small package of chocolates, decorated with little white chocolate cats and snowflakes that warmed his heart. He dug a little deeper in the bag until his fingers brushed against soft, plush fabric. He gripped what felt like a pillow with a hard center and lifted it out of the bag.

In his hands was a clearly hand stitched, cinnamon roll shaped pillow that was about half the size of his torso and plump with stuffing. He traced his fingers along the spiral in the center and the bronze, shimmering threads of cinnamon sugar that made the plush look good enough to eat. He ran his thumbs over the seams, wondering how long it had taken her to make such an amazing gift, when he felt a hidden zipper. Curious, he opened up the cinnamon roll from the side.

Inside of the delicious looking bun was a large, empty hot water bottle. Hadn’t he just told Ladybug the week prior that he was looking into getting one of these? When had she found the time to put this together? And in the shape of one of his favorite sweets, too…

“Dude,” Nino gave a low, impressed whistle. “That thing looks good enough to eat! What does the card say?”

Adrien pressed a finger to his lips and grinned conspiratorially. “That’s a secret.”

He could hear Marinette stifle a  giggle behind him, which only made his grin grow wider. Nino glanced between the two of them, his confusion evident on his face. “What…”

Adrien winked at his friend. “Don’t worry about it.”

Nino cringed and took his seat next to Adrien. “That was gross, bro. Don’t do that again.”

Adrien chuckled and clutched the cinnamon roll to his chest, savoring its warmth even without the hot water bottle.

Only one day left until the Gala.

Adrien had pulled Marinette aside after classes to thank her for the gift, and she was right when she predicted that the extra time put into it would make his reaction worth it. As he held up the cinnamon roll pillow, his eyes had sparkled in a way that she typically only saw when he was Cat Noir, soaring over the streets of Paris. It had sent her heart soaring to see so much joy bubbling out of him. She even felt a little bit closer to him now. She was thankful that her gift had fulfilled its purpose.

The only problem was that she had put herself more behind schedule than she originally thought. Marinette cursed her inability to do things simply as she sewed a few last minute rose embellishments into the bodice of the gown. She’d had some extra shimmering thread left over from Adrien’s present, and she wanted to put it to good use. The extra touch would definitely be worth it, but at what cost? She was working so quickly that she’d inadvertently stabbed herself six or seven times with her embroidery needle in the past hour and a half. Her fingers were covered with bandages. If this went on, she’d have to wear gloves at the gala just to be presentable.

“You should take a break, Marinette,” Tikki urged.

“Can’t,” she muttered around a mouth full of pins. She pulled out another as she incorporated the tiny fabric rose into the embroidery pattern. “Need to finish.”

She only had a day to finish. Alya had already booked them for hair appointments that could take a couple of hours, so there would be no time to work the day of. Things had to be absolutely perfect.

Tikki watched as her charge pricked herself for the eighth time as she secured another flower to the bodice. There was no doubt that the dress was beautiful, but Tikki worried about Marinette’s health. Sure, she and Adrien were finally starting to warm up to one another again after the shock of the unplanned reveal, but had they rushed things a bit too much? Marinette swore this wasn’t a date, but Tikki still worried. Marinette was deep in denial about Adrien/Cat Noir’s feelings for her despite the fact that they were glaringly obvious. Now more than ever, he looked at her as if she hung the stars in the sky. When he finally confessed, Tikki had a feeling that it would knock Marinette completely off her feet.

The day of the gala snuck up on Adrien. He’d been formulating his plan for days, ever since Marinette agreed to be his date.

This was the night he was finally going to confess to his Lady.

In just a couple of hours, he would go to her house to pick her up. They would dance together, laugh at silly jokes, and when the moment was right, he would tell her how he had felt since the beginning and kiss her senseless. It was perfect.

“Tonight’s the night, Plagg,” Adrien said, ladybugs doing a giddy dance in his stomach. “I’m finally going to do it.”

His kwami rolled his eyes. “Just don’t make a fool of yourself.”

Adrien looped his cravat around his neck and tied a simple knot at his collar. “I wasn’t planning on it, but thanks for the confidence.”

It was finally happening. He was finally going to tell his Lady he loved her, and his pessimistic kwami was not going to bring him down.

Marinette wasn’t ready, but she was going to have to be.

The night was finally here.

Alya had left about an hour ago after they finished their hair appointments and doing their makeup in Marinette’s room. Nino would be picking Alya up soon as well. Marinette was staring at herself in the mirror, looking for anything left in her hair or makeup that she needed to fix.

“You look amazing, Marinette,” Tikki said. “Adrien’s not going to know what to do with himself when he sees you.”

Marinette opened her mouth to remind her kwami once again that, as much as she wanted it to be, this was definitely not a date, but she was interrupted by a knock on the downstairs door.

Marinette heard her mother answer the door and immediately panicked. It was never a good idea to leave her parents alone with Adrien for too long, she’d learned that the first time he came over. They were bound to say something embarrassing.

Marinette grabbed her coat and purse from the back of her desk chair. “Quick, Tikki!”

Her kwami nodded and zipped into the small bag.

“Marinette,” her mother called from downstairs, “A very handsome young man is waiting for you.”

Marinette felt the heat rush to her cheeks as she lifted the trap door. “I’m coming!”

Marinette gathered her dress and carefully descended the stairs, careful not to trip in her kitten heels.

She kept her eyes on the ground until she reached the bottom. When she finally stood on solid ground, she finally looked up. Adrien was sitting in the kitchen having a conversation with her father. He had on a suit that most certainly was from his father’s winter formal line: A five piece suit that consisted of perfectly tailored jet black pants and a jacket. The white dress shirt underneath was perfectly pressed, so much so that it didn’t look real, not that Marinette could expect any less from the son of a fashion powerhouse like Gabriel Agreste. But what really caught her attention was the waistcoat-tie-hankerchief matching set. It brought a pop of burgundy to his outfit. All three silken pieces were embroidered with the same, slightly darker red floral pattern, making the already eye catching suit appear even more distinguished. What was more, the colors were a near exact match to Marinette’s own dress, as well as the rising flush in her cheeks.

When Adrien caught sight of Marinette, his breath caught in his throat. He rose from his seat and rounded the island, his conversation with her father all but forgotten.

She looked...miraculous.

Her gown must have taken ages. On top of the amazing Christmas gift, Adrien wondered if she had gotten any sleep at all over the past week. The floor length organza ball gown was just formal enough to call itself white tie, without overdoing it. The off shoulder sleeves, adorned with fabric roses and golden embroidery swooped into a lovely sweetheart neckline that showed off Marinette’s prominent collar bones. Her hair was pulled back into a high, full bun, with the rose hair clip she’d been working on in school that week at the center. A few loose curls gently framed her face, softening her appearance slightly. The only jewlery she wore were her miraculous stones, black and inactive, catching the light and giving the appearance of black jade.

Adrien was glad he’d requested this color. After seeing the shade of the hair clip in class that week, he’d specifically asked his father to switch from the blue suit he’d been intending to wear to this one. Nino may not have been into matching, but Adrien wanted everyone at this party to know that Marinette was his Lady. By the end of the night, he hoped she would be for real.

Marinette’s parents watched as the two kids seemed to get lost in their own little world.

Tom nudged his wife slightly, “did they start dating already, and we just missed the memo?”

Sabine hummed, “I’m sure Marinette would have said something if that were the case.”

When it became obvious that the two teenagers had reached an impasse, Tom cleared his throat to bring them out of their daze.

Marinette shook herself off first, turning to wish her parents a good night. “I’ll be back before midnight, I promise.”

Adrien finally found his tongue. “I’ll take good care of her tonight,” he promised her parents.

Tom nodded, unable to hide the mirth in his eyes. “See to it that you do.”

Tom and Sabine both saw the kids off to meet Adrien’s driver downstairs, equally pleased and amused that, if the look in that young man’s eye was anything to go off of, their hopes for their daughter’s crush would likely be coming to fruition that night.

The ride to Le Grand Paris was...a bit awkward, much like the rest of their interactions had been lately, though it was blessedly short. It seemed that for all of the progress they had made towards being normal in the past week, it had all vanished in that evening. If they had been just Ladybug and Cat Noir, they could have bantered playfully, maybe even flirted a little bit on the way over. Cat Noir could have winked at her and said how purrfect that color was on her, and Ladybug could have booped his nose and teased him about looking so dashing for a tom cat.

If they had been just Marinette and Adrien, they may not have flirted, but at the very least Adrien would have complimented the amazing handiwork on her gown, and told her how impressive it was that she finished it in such a short amount of time. Marinette could have fought through her rapidly beating heart and subsequent nerves to tell Adrien that she was so glad he asked her to come with him that night. They would have been comfortable in either situation.

Unfortunately, instead of being just one or the other, they lied somewhere in between, simultaneously both and neither at the same time, leaving them at a loss for words. Which approach was the most natural for the situation? Which persona should they embody in the presence of their partner and friend?

They didn’t have much time to ponder that question before they arrived at the hotel. Their tense time on their own was abruptly brought to an end as they entered the ballroom, the party already in full swing. They were greeted immediately upon their entrance by a whirlwind of friends, acquaintances, and familiar figures of influence. People flew by in a blur; Jagged Stone, Nadja Chamack, Mayor Bourgeois, Alya, Nino, Kagami, even Chloe stopped by to say a civil hello.

By the next time Marinette even had a moment to breathe, her worries over how to behave had virtually disappeared.

She sighed in relief near the refreshments table as Adrien handed her a glass of sparkling cider.

“Are you sure this is your first time at one of these parties,” he asked, “you’re holding up really well.”

“Definitely never done this before,” Marinette said, taking a sip of her drink. “Is this what you have to do working for your father?”

Adrien nodded. “Sometimes. Get ready, future designer, the fashion world is all about networking.”

Marinette scanned the room, taking in the beautiful works of art some of the party guests were wearing. “Well,” She said thoughtfully, “if I get to see such amazing designs and talk to such awesome people every time, I guess I don’t mind that much. Besides, chaos is nothing new to me.” She deliberately tucked her hair behind her ear, letting her miraculous catch the lights from the dance floor.

Adrien caught her meaning and chuckled. “I guess you’re right about that.”

He looked at his flute full of cider and considered his next move as he watched the bubbles pop to the surface. He could do this. He wasn’t about to lose his nerve. He scanned the room and found a door leading out to a balcony with just the lightest dusting of snow and a beautiful view of their favorite spot in the city: The Eiffel Tower. “Hey, Marinette.”

She turned to him, bluebell eyes glittering and a soft smile painted across her face making Adrien’s breath catch at how lovely she looked with that expression.

He swallowed a deep breath and summoned a little bit of Cat Noir’s courage before he spoke again. “Do you mind if we take a step outside for a moment?” He indicated the balcony door.

Her brows knit together for a moment, but she smiled nonetheless. “Of course. It’s a bit warm in here anyway.”

She shifted her purse on her shoulder and placed her glass on the table, ready to follow him across the room to the balcony’s doors, when suddenly Chloe returned with an elderly gentleman in tow.

“Adrikins,” She said, ignoring Marinette. “I have someone you should meet. He’s a friend of daddy’s, and he is a huge fan of your father’s line.”

Adrien shot Marinette a look, apologizing for the interruption without words.

Marinette smiled, understanding what he meant to say. She silently assured him that it was fine by shrugging her shoulders good naturedly and shaking her head. As Chloe continued to prattle on about the man at her side, Marinette pointed down the hallway and mouthed, “I’ll be right back.”

Adrien nodded and watched her go. As he spoke with the man who’s name he had already forgotten, he realized just how easy things were with Marinette when they weren’t so caught up in their own nerves. The ability to communicate without words had been with them since their first Akuma. He didn’t share that kind of trust, closeness, and understanding with anyone else, so knowing that he still had it with Marinette even outside of the suit was an incredible realization. It was something he never wanted to lose.

When Marinette returned to the ballroom, Adrien wasn’t where she left him. He must have been dragged off by Chloe to meet more of her father’s friends and work associates. Marinette had done her fair share of mingling that evening, especially after Jagged Stone had introduced her to some of his acquaintances in the music industry and declaring her “the best up and coming talent in the design industry” that he had “personally discovered”.

She would be leaving the evening with a number of business cards as well as a few possible commissions for future projects. She would have to send Mrs. Cesaire a thank you gift basket for getting her the invitation.

She stopped to talk to Alya and Nino for a bit, neither of whom had seen Adrien in a while, before Nino took Alya out to the dance floor when their favorite song started up.

Marinette glanced around the room one last time, looking for any sign of glimmering blond hair. When her attempt to find him failed, she sighed and wiped the sweat from the back of her neck.

It was way too hot in there.

Marinette could feel the sweat in her hair. If she didn’t get away, all of her curls would fall completely from the humidity. She cursed her heavy Chinese hair for it’s inability to hold a style. When no one was looking, she snagged a bottle of sparkling cider and a glass and slipped out the door to the balcony.

“Marinette,” Tikki said, popping out of Marinette’s purse, “It’s freezing out here! You’re going to get sick!”

Marinette shook her head. “I won’t be out here long. I just want to cool off a bit.”

The night with Adrien and the rest of her friends had been absolutely magical, and she knew she would have to go home soon, but she wanted to hold onto the magic for just a little bit longer. The music from the ballroom poured out of open windows and balcony doors. Marinette gazed upon the Eiffel Tower, the symbol of her city, the city that she and her Cat protected together.

As beautiful as the view was, she could think of one that would be even better.

Tucking the bottle under one arm and shifting her grip on the glass, Marinette approached the ridged siding of the building and the heavy lattice that led up to the roof.

“Marinette!” her kwami protested. “That’s too dangerous!”

Marinette giggled, too busy riding the joyful high of the evening to be concerned with her kwami’s warnings. “I’ll be fine, Tikki. Besides, it’s plenty sturdy.”

She tucked her friend back into her purse and closed the clasp before putting her hands to the lattice siding. In the spring, there would be vines with climbing roses and ivy down the entire side of the hotel, but it was the dead of winter. Marinette was glad that she didn’t have to navigate prickly thorns and delicate flower buds. It took some maneuvering and a reliance on her Ladybug agility, but Marinette managed to climb over the balcony’s railing and scale up the side of the hotel until she was perched on the edge of the rooftop, looking over her city with its twinkling lights glistening off of a light dusting of snow. With her long skirt billowing in the breeze, Marinette took a sip of her cider.

As she looked over her city and listened to the music and laughter drifting up from the gala, she could only reflect on how much her life was changing. She was going into her final year of lycee, and soon her future would be ahead of her. Just tonight, she’d made so many connections with big names in her industry. Building relationships with any of them would make the path to success in the fashion world so much easier. And on top of all of that, her favorite black cat was at her side.

At first, knowing that Adrien was her partner had been terrifying. Even tonight, it had taken them some time to get used to one another.

But that didn’t change the fact that he was her’s, and her love for him was growing brighter every day. Even seeing the smallest things in him brought her joy, from the way he teased her on the battlefield, to their friendly banter during patrols, and especially that look in his eye that he got when he was just so happy, just the way he had looked when thanking her for the cinnamon roll the other day.

It had been scary at first, but Marinette quickly realized that she wouldn’t want anyone else for her partner. She was even thankful for the reveal happening when it had. The thought of her future was still a little bit scary, but with Cat Noir by her side, Marinette was sure she could face anything.

Marinette happily hummed along with the song pouring out of the window, and felt a familiar presence as the sound of footfalls behind her reached her ears.

“What have we here?” He asked, approaching her from behind. “What is this princess doing hiding away from everyone a top her tower?”

Marinette grinned at the way her old nickname fell so easily from Adrien’s lips. She had actually missed the nicknames from him in the past couple of weeks. “I just wanted some time to myself.”

A warm jacket suddenly draped across her shoulders, but it was too thin to be the winter coat she had worn to the party. “If you stay out here with nothing to keep you warm, you’ll get sick.”

Marinette pulled the jacket closer, realizing it was from Adrien’s suit. It smelled like him, like sunshine, grass, and the tiniest hint of camembert cheese.

“But how will you keep warm if you give me this?” She asked, finally glancing over her shoulder.

Adrien stood on the roof’s ledge slightly above her, hand extended towards her to help her to her feet. “I’ll manage.”

She took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

“Sorry I was pulled away earlier,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “You know how Chloe can be.”

Marinette nodded sympathetically. She certainly did understand. “It’s alright.”

The moments passed, and the upbeat song that had been playing shifted to a slower, more intimate tune. Marinette didn’t miss the fact that Adrien still hadn’t let go of her hand, and wondered if maybe Tikki had been right after all…

“My Lady,” Adrien said, the use of her nickname startling her out of her thoughts and making her heart race in a way that only her name on his lips ever could. He bent over her hand in a move that was very Cat Noir and kissed her knuckles. “May I have this dance?”

Marinette giggled. Seeing him finally fall so naturally into the mannerisms of his alterego was simultaneously strange and comforting. “Of course, Chaton.”

He pulled her arm up to his shoulder before circling it around her waist. He set the pace by leading her in a slow dance to match the tempo of the ballad and guided her around their makeshift rooftop dance floor.

“I really wanted to talk to you tonight.” Adrien said conversationally.

“Isn’t that what we’ve been doing?” Marinette teased.

“I don’t want to just talk to you,” he clarified, “I mean, I do love talking to you, but I need to tell you something, something important. Will you hear me out?”

Marinette felt a tingling sensation in the tips of her fingers and her heart constricted in her chest. She felt as though there were a thousand little ladybugs dancing in her stomach. She didn’t trust herself to speak without making word soup in that moment, so she simply nodded.

“Marinette, you’re one of the most important people in my life, as my friend and as my partner. I’ve wanted to say this to you for a while, years, actually, and I’ve even tried a few times, but something always got in the way. But now that I know how amazing you really are, knowing you as Marinette and as My Lady, I can’t keep this inside any longer.” Adrien’s grip tightened at her waist, and a light flush rose in his cheeks. When he met her eyes, there was a heat behind his gaze, the same one she’d begun to notice more and more since the reveal.

The ladybugs in her stomach picked up the tempo as her heart attempted to beat its way out of her ribcage completely.

“The truth is,” he said, “I’m completely in love with you. I have been practically since we met. And knowing that you’re both my fantastic friend as well as my crazy awesome partner only makes me love you more. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but if it’s possible, I want to be with you. I want to dance with you like this, and kiss you under the stars, and share every moment I can with you, because the more I know about you, the less time I ever want to spend apart.”

Marinette felt like she couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t fair. Why did he have to be so good with words when she could barely string  a sentence together?

“Do you think...that could be possible?” He asked, lowering his eyes in a shy manner that she wasn’t used to seeing from him.

“I, um” Marinette said, her voice cracking with the weight of the emotion she was feeling, “I think that I...I’ve always wanted that, too.” This was her partner, her best friend, the person who has had her back and believed in her since the beginning, even when she didn’t believe in herself. Here was this amazing person who was kind, smart, generous, and sometimes even funny. Knowing that he has been by her side this whole time was almost more than she could take, and suddenly this amazing person was telling her that he was in love with her? She felt herself growing light headed and wondered if this could even be real.

“I love you, too,” she whispered, sure that if she said anything more she would completely fall apart in his arms.

As soon as the words left her lips, Adrien acted on pure impulse and threw his arms around Marinette, crushing her to his chest. “Please,” he murmured, “Say that again.”

Marinette wiggled a bit so that she could speak up, “I-I love you.”

She could feel him practically collapse against her as his grip tightened even more. “I love you, too.”

It was like a dream. They stayed like that for some time, simply repeating those special words over and over again as one song changed to another and the moon rose high in the sky.

Marinette was definitely breaking curfew, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

“Thank you for being here with me,” Adrien said.

The music had changed to a familiar tune that set them off dancing again. Marinette smiled as they swayed in a circle on the rooftop. “Thank you for asking me.”

He brought her close to his chest again, pressing his lips into her hair. “I love this song,” Adrien whispered against her.  He began to hum the tune into her ear as he guided her in a more intricate dance.

“So do I,” Marinette said, savoring the way his heart thrummed against her fingers.

“We are still kids but we’re so in love, fighting against all odds,” Adrien sang along with the music, right into her ear, drawing an embarrassed giggle from Marinette as she buried her face in his chest. “I know we’ll be alright this time.” Adrien took Marinette’s hand, drawing her out to spin under his arm before pulling her back into him and continuing his serenade. “Darling, just hold my hand, be my girl I’ll be your man. I see my future in your eyes.” He took another chance and dipped her back, forcing her to clutch tighter at his forearms until he brought her back upright again. “Baby I’m dancing in the dark with you between my arms, barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song, when I saw you in that dress looking so beautiful, I don’t deserve this, darling you look perfect tonight.” At the end of the refrain, Adrien bent down and nuzzled his nose against her’s.

She smiled and pressed her forehead against his. “I love you.” She murmured for the hundredth time that night.

Adrien smiled like it was the very first time, and snuggled even closer to her.

Their reveal had definitely been nothing like either of them had expected. It had been unplanned, rockey, and awkward at times, but it had been what brought them together on this rooftop, keeping each other warm on a cold winter night. There was no where else either of them would rather be. Things were absolutely perfect just the way they were.

“Merry Christmas, Lovebug.” Adrien said, pressing a soft kiss to the top of Marinette’s head.