#ml_ugwc

He started bouncing, filled with giddiness. He still couldn’t believe it. Marinette, of all people. This was the best day of his life!

“I knew it!” he gushed. “I knew we knew each other. I told you we know each other!”

“What?! We know each other? Wait!” Marinette lifted a hand. “Don’t answer that, I don’t wanna know.”

Chat Noir’s grin became wider, and his bouncing intensified.

“You’re Marinette,” he repeated in a sing-song manner. “Class president, awesome designer, badass gamer, amazing Marinette. This is the greatest thing ever!”

The girl visibly blushed at the compliments, which only fueled Chat Noir’s excitement.

“Plagg, detran—”

“Nononono!” the girl slapped a hand to his mouth, forcing him to cut off his words. She scowled at him. “It’s bad enough that you know my identity, I cannot know yours.”

“Mphm!” Chat Noir tried tell her he wanted to, but her palm prevented any actual speech to come out from him.

“I said no, Chat,” Marinette repeated. Yeap, she’s definitely Ladybug, Chat Noir concluded. Because really, who else could understand him without uttering a single word? “It’s too dangerous.”

The boy deflated. Of course she would still try to stick to the rules. But come on, we know each other!

“I need you to promise me you won’t try to detransform, please?” she said pointedly. He growled, to which Marinette gave him a warning look. At last, he sighed and nodded.

Slowly, the unmasked heroine removed her hand. Chat exhaled the breath her hand had held, right before perking up again.

“If I can’t detransform, can I, at least, tell you who I am?” he spoke with the same giddiness as earlier.

“No, Chat,” Marinette scolded, fists on her hips. “You know the rule: no one can know our identities, not even us. It’s for our safety and our loved ones.” She sighed, her arms slumping down. “I know it sucks, but this is how it has to be. We can still keep yours safe.”

Chat crossed his arms. “Aren’t you at least a little curious?”

Marinette visibly stiffened. She scrunched her nose before closing her eyes and saying: “That is neither here nor there.”

While it was not what he wanted to hear, Chat found himself elate the moment he noticed her cheeks become pink. Oh, she’s definitely curious.

“Are you sure about that?” he teased with a smirk. The girl grimaced, like she was fighting herself internally.

“No!” she finally said, waving her arms in negation. “My feelings on the matter are not what’s priority here. You can’t tell me.”

Chat Noir whined like a puppy, his arms finally falling from their place on his chest.

“You’re too cruel.”

Marinette rolled her eyes halfheartedly. He could tell something else was on her mind. After a moment of hesitation, she straightened her posture and placed her hands on his shoulders.

“Chat Noir, I need you to promise me you won’t reveal yourself to me in your civilian form.”

“But—”

“Please!”

Chat sighed. “Fine. I promise I won’t tell you I’m Chat Noir in my civilian form.”

“Good,” Marinette released a breath of relief. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it almost immediately. Then opened it again. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

Chat couldn’t help but smirk at the thought that she would be seeing him much sooner than she thought.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “See you around.”

With those last words, Marinette turned on her heels and ran the opposite direction. Chat could only stare after her, petrified by the information he had just received. She turned a corner and vanished from view.

A last beep resounded in the empty alley and a green light washed over Chat Noir’s body, leaving him as Adrien once again. Yet, he barely registered it. He was still staring off to where Marinette had just disappeared.

Marinette. Marinette who sits right behind him in French class. Marinette who kicked his butt several times in Ultimate Mecha Strike. Marinette who gave him a lucky charm. Marinette who helped him with Evillustrator.

His friend Marinette.

Adrien sighed contentedly. At last, he knew Ladybug’s identity, and couldn’t be any more in love with her.

“Ugh, I’m gonna barf,” the black creature floating next to his head complained, adding a gagging effect to his comment. But Adrien didn’t care. He knew he was smiling like an idiot, but he had never been happier.

“Marinette is Ladybug,” he spoke in a daze. “Ladybug is Marinette.”

“Great. Yey, you found the love of your life,” Plagg said in a bored tone. “Now what?”

It felt like a bubble popped around Adrien. He blinked, the reminder of her warning sinking in. He almost deflated, but as he replayed what he promised, he realized something.

“I may have promised not to tell her I’m Chat Noir, but…” a devious smile spread on his face, “it wouldn’t be my fault if she guessed it by accident.”

Plagg blinked.

“Oh boy, here we go,” he sighed, shaking his head.

Marinette still couldn’t believe Chat Noir knew who she was. Even more so, that he had been so giddy about it, too. Like finding out Marinette and Ladybug were one and the same had been the greatest discovery of his life.

She was still kicking herself for how she handled the situation, going over the hundreds of things she could have done to stop him from seeing her detransform. But instead, she stood frozen the moment her magical suit wore off. Yet at the same time, Tikki’s words echoed through her mind, reminding her that accidents happen. And that’s what it had been: an accident.

For the time being, Marinette only hoped he followed through with not exposing his civilian self. But if she was being honest with herself, she doubted Chat Noir would keep his identity secret for long. He had never been very fond of the kwami-imposed rule, despite dutifully following it. Multiple times he had expressed desires to reveal their identities, but never acted on it. However, this time it was different. He knew hers, and chances were he was going to throw the rules out the window this once. Heck, for all I know, the next guy with blond hair and green eyes to seek me out will be Chat.

“Hey, Marinette!” The girl’s arms flailed as a hand, belonging to Adrien Agreste, slammed against the locker next to hers.

“H-hi Adrien,” she gave a nervous snort, prompting her to slap a hand to her mouth. Adrien arched an eyebrow. She removed the hand to uncover a sheepish grin.

“So it has come to my attention that you and I don’t talk as much as we should,” he practically purred. Marinette could already feel her heart skip a few beats.

“Think you so—I-I mean, you think so?” She mentally slapped a hand to her face. When would she ever form a coherent sentence in front of the guy?

“Yeah,” Adrien took a step forward. “Now why is that?”

“Uh-buh…I-uh…heh,” she cleared her throat, “I-I don’t know.”

Adrien hummed, a hand on his chin. Suddenly, he leaned forward, only mere inches away from her.

“It really is a shame we don’t talk more,” he almost whispered, with a smirk Marinette had never seen on the boy’s face. “In fact, I dare say it is a crime you and I don’t spend more time together.”

Saliva got caught in her windpipe, making her go into a sudden coughing fit. To Marinette’s dismay, Adrien took back one of his steps.

“You okay?” he snickered. One of Marinette’s worst nightmare seemed to be becoming true: making a fool of herself. Someone please tell me this isn’t real. After managing to control her cough, she responded with a weak ‘yes.’

“And by the way, Marinette, have I told how amazing I think you are?” he purred once again. Thankfully, the girl’s mouth had gone dry, saving her from another saliva mishap. Instead, a nervous laugh escaped her lips.

“I-I think you said it once,” she responded honestly, while internally screaming at the repeated compliment.

Huh. Guys seem to be quite keen in complimenting me this week.

“Well, I’ll say it again: you’re amazing Marinette,” he said, finishing it off with a slow wink.

Marinette blinked. Adrien was acting… weird. Was…was he flirting with her? No, he can’t be flirting with me. Can he? Guys flirting with her wasn’t exactly a common occurrence for her. They mostly just went out and confessed… while akumatized or after they no longer liked her. The most experience she had had with the subject was Chat Noir, but he wasn’t really serious about it… Okay, maybe he’s a little serious about it.

She shook her head. I have to be imagining things. Why would Adrien start flirting with me all of a sudden?

“T-thanks,” she said breathlessly.

“And not just that,” Adrien continued his praises. “I’ve also noticed that you can kick butt quite gracefully.”

Ha, graceful. She internally cringed remembering the time she hit her head with her own yo-yo. As Ladybug. Trying to break ice with it.

“But you know,” he leaned towards her once again, “I bet that you would kick butt even better with me as your partner. In fact, I think you and I could make a great team in just about anything,” he said in the most carefree tone she had ever heard. “I mean—”

And then he did something she never, ever would have thought she’d see Adrien Agreste do: he flexed.

“These would look great helping you out in anything you need,” and to finish it off, he winked. A move that was… familiar. Irritating, for some reason.

“Are you okay?” The question came out before she could stop it, but that strange, nagging feeling at the back of her head was not allowing her to feel bad about it. Something was different, but she wasn’t sure if he was just flirting or trying to tell her something. Or was he possessed?

“Terrific,” he responded almost immediately, once again a hand holding his weight against the lockers. “Never better, in fact.”

“Are you sure?” Marinette asked with furrowed brows.

“Pawsitive,” he smirked wider now. Marinette’s frown deepened at what sounded to her like a pun. Of course, she could have misheard. Right? She opened and closed her mouth several times, trying to figure out what to say. A part of her wanted to ask if he had just made a cat pun, while the other part wanted to change the subject.

But her struggle was short-lived, for Adrien decided to continue.

“Are you okay?” he asked with amusement. Unfortunate for Marinette, she was only able to get a few er’s and um’s out. To which Adrien decided to ask one last question: “Cat got your tongue… Princess?”

Her brain short-circuited. Princess. It was the first thought able to get through. Princess. A word she had heard someone call her once. Twice? Three times? She lost count. If he wasn’t calling her Princess, he was calling her…

My Lady.

Her eyes slowly widened, as realization dawned on her. No…way, her mind argued. But it was useless. There was no unseeing it now. There was no unhearing those words. That nickname. That pun. It was him.

And he did the complete opposite of what she asked him.

All of a sudden, the shock disappeared, and was quickly replaced with a scolding frown, fists clenching on her sides.

Adrien’s eyes widened. “Uh oh.”

Marinette launched at the blond, but only caught air, as he shot away like a bullet to the lockers exit. Without having to think it twice, the girl sped after him.

While half her mind was still trying to process the fact that Adrien, of all people, was Chat Noir, the other half was too rattled to care. I should have known the first thing he would do was flirt. She mentally kicked herself. And right after I told him not to tell me his identity. Should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to resist.

“COME BACK HERE, YOU MANGY CAT!” she yelled after him, as they reached the school courtyard, ignoring all the other students on lunch break.

“NOPE!” Adrien called back, grabbing onto the stair railing to go up to the second floor faster. Marinette did her best to keep up, but was unable to skip as many steps as Adrien. Damn his long legs!

She followed the blond until he skidded to turn to a classroom. Marinette copied his moves into the room. When she was finally in, Adrien was on the other side of the room, debating where to run next. The pig-tailed girl slammed her hands on the first desk she could find.

“You?! YOU?!” was all Marinette could get out.

“I told you we knew each other,” Adrien retorted triumphantly. “And you doubted my cat instincts.”

“And then you went and told me anyway!” she reprimanded. “Even after I specifically told you not to.”

“Well, technically I never told you,” he corrected with a smug smile. “You told me not to tell you, you never said anything about not making it easier for you to figure it out.”

Marinette let out a loud growl of frustration, which she followed with running around the desks. Adrien took the opportunity to run towards the door. In the process, Marinette’s hand managed to grab his over-shirt by the back of the collar, but Adrien was quick enough to take off the clothing piece and keep running.

She gaped at the white cloth on her hand.

“Oi! Come back here traitor!” a tiny head popped out of an inside pocket of the shirt. Chat’s kwami. Adrien’s kwami. He abandoned him! Marinette growled this time and resumed her pursuit, this time with a cat being yelling: “Get ‘im!”

They were once again out in the hallways, in their unplanned game of cat and mouse. Except this time, Marinette was the cat. They were nearing the stairs again when the designer figured she wanted to stop this already.

But how? She wondered inwardly. A question that did not need much thought, as an idea occurred to her as they got closer to the ground floor. Perhaps it wasn’t the most graceful of ideas, but…

Screw it!

A yelped resonated. Marinette had pounced on Adrien, making them both fall to the ground. They wrestled on the ground for a moment, Marinette using his white shirt as a weapon, until a tiny ‘ouch’ reminded her there was a little kwami in it and left it aside. Finally, the pig-tailed girl managed to pin the boy down, sitting on his stomach.

“Are you kidding me?!” she almost yelled. Adrien quickly made an X sign with his arms.

“I couldn’t help myself,” he laughed, which only irritated her more. She made a noise between a growl and a groan and started trying to move his arms away. In the process, her hand slipped to his side, accidentally poking him and making him try to jerk away from her.

They stopped. Two pairs of wide eyes stared at each other for a moment. Slowly, Marinette’s lips curled into a smirk.

“NO!” Adrien’s arms shot up to grab Marinette’s before she could start her tickling attack. Her wrist in one of his hands and her hand tangled in his other. They struggled, pushing as hard as they could to get the other to give up.

“You are in so much trouble!” Marinette half laughed, half growled.

“But you should’ve seen your face!” Adrien retorted, with more amusement in his voice.

“You weren’t supposed to do that!”

“But it was so funny!”

“It was not funny!”

“I beg to differ, My Lady.”

Marinette stopped. By instinct, and habit, he followed. Their bodies stilled, the weight of the revelations finally sinking in. Strangely, it wasn’t heavy, like she had thought it would be. In fact, it was the exact opposite. She had never felt lighter. What was more, Adrien seemed to feel the same thing, proving it by giving a toothy smile.

It wasn’t his usual careful, reserved smiles, too preoccupied with the Gabriel brand. It was a carefree grin, one that actually reached his eyes, that showed every one of his pearly whites. One that she had seen many times, whether he was committing a mischievous act or after they rolled away in a fight and ended in a suggestive position. All that was missing was a black mask.

A snort escaped Marinette’s lips, but this time, she didn’t bother trying to cover it up. Instead, a hearty cackle followed it.

“You’re a dork,” she said between giggles.

“Hey, I’m not a dork. I’m hilarious,” Adrien retorted, starting to laugh, too.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night, chaton.” The boy pouted, prompting another snicker from the girl. After a few more, she took a deep breath and looked back at him.

Yeah, he’s definitely Chat.

“Come on,” she spoke, at last. Taking his over-shirt from the ground, she got off her partner and helped him up. Once standing straight, the two stared for a moment, somewhat still processing what had just happened, a new comfort forming between them. Almost shyly, Marinette gave Adrien his shirt back, giving him a pointed look for his kwami. Adrien rubbed the back of his head with his free hand, but almost immediately looked back at her.

“Wanna eat lunch together?” he asked suddenly. Marinette could feel her cheeks heat up slightly. She cleared her throat.

“I’d like that,” she almost whispered it. A softer smile curled Adrien’s lips.

Everything’s gonna be alright, Marinette thought in bliss.

They turned to walk back to the lockers, but froze on their tracks. They had been so distracted by their game, they hadn’t realized the audience that had formed near them. Their entire class was standing before them, staring with amusement. All except for Chloé, who looked positively livid. Too angry to come out of her stupor. As for their best friends, Nino was holding tightly to his headphones, furiously biting his lip to hold back laughter, while Alya was holding her phone up, device almost forgotten and her jaw hanging. A clicking sound from her, though, brought everyone back to reality.

Most of the class erupted in cheers. Kim made a loud wolf-whistle. Rose was squealing like a fangirl. A grumpy Max handed five euros to Alix. Even a few unknowns joined the crowd, more out of curiosity than anything. At this point, Marinette’s face was scorching hot.

“NOPE!” Adrien suddenly snapped. Without even asking, he grabbed her hand to drag her back to the lockers.

“I thought you were always the one who wanted to make public any kind of relationship between us,” she teased, as she let herself be dragged.

“This is different!” he whined, not looking back at her.

“How so?”

But he didn’t respond. Although Marinette could only see a part of his face, she could distinguish a dark shade of scarlet coloring it. While Marinette was used to playfully turning him down, perhaps, just this once, she could indulge a little in it.