Chapter 7: Year of the Rat

START THE STORY HERE: Ao3 or FFnet

Three days. Three days of fighting with himself, of disbelief and wonder, of staring at pigtails and soft pink lips that he want to taste again, of Nino’s elbow jabbing his side, and Alya’s suspicious glare. Three days of staying as close as he dared to Marinette, of keeping her within arm's reach, of aching to run his fingers through her hair, of telling her that he knew. 

Three nights of scattered dreams with frantic kisses and whispered pleas. Three nights of tantalizing curves beneath his hands, of polka-dots and pajamas, of skin and squeaks and cries of desire in his ears. Three nights of passion that woke him in a cold sweat and in need of a shower.

In some ways, Adrien wished that he could just go back to simple dreams of a cute girl in a mouse costume. But instead, he found himself crossing the unspoken boundaries with Ladybug and her identity. The need to know with absolute certainty forced his hand, sending him hopping into the night to perch hidden across the street from a familiar rooftop balcony in enough time for observation. 

Patrols usually began at a designated meeting place, allowing them both to transform in secret and arrive in unidentified safety. But tonight - he was going to wait and watch. If Marinette Dupain-Cheng really was Ladybug, she would need to leave from her balcony. So, he waited. 

The hatch opened with five minutes until meeting time, Marinette appearing from within. Although he strained to hear, distance kept him from understanding whatever she spoke with wild animated arm movements. But his enhanced sight made it easy to see her favourite pajamas - the ones from his dreams - before she was enveloped in a brilliant light that transformed her into his beloved Ladybug. When her yo-yo whizzed past and hooked to a nearby chimney before she swung into the night, he pressed himself against his hiding spot, closing his eyes to remain hidden. 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng. 

When she vanished from view, he allowed his legs to give out, crumpling to the rooftop. He could hardly believe that the curse of the black cat would ever allow him the wonder of falling in love with the same girl twice. He needed time to breathe. Time to focus on what this meant and how exactly he was going to handle telling her. Because there was no way he couldn’t tell her now. 

He didn’t know how long he sat there trying to calm his erratic breathing and excited heartbeat, but the ringing of his baton startled him to his feet and sent him running. Ladybug’s worried voice sounded over the speaker, asking where he was. He simply breathed an apology and clicked it closed in time to vault over the night sky to their meeting place. 

There, standing on their favourite rooftop, stood Marinette Dupain-Cheng in the red suit with black spots he had long been in love with. Marinette’s eyes stared at him through the spotted mask. Marinette’s voice asking him if  everything was ok. Of course it was ok. It was better than ok. It was perfect. She was perfect. 

READ THE REST OF THE CHAPTER: 

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22319299/chapters/53521795

FFnet: https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13481293/7/I-Dream-of-Mousey

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Happy Chinese New Year! :)

Man it's been fun to write this and to read all your comments along the way. Thanks so much for joining me! :D As usual, thanks to @livrever​ for being my sounding board / beta / cool writing friend and for laughing with me at all the random double entendres that kept popping up. ;)

I admit, this story was way out of my usual writing style and I have a new appreciation for real smut writers, let me tell you!