“I’d like you to do a supplemental reading this weekend to fill in some of your historical gaps.”
Gaps was one word for it. She took the assignment without complaint though she wasn’t sure when she’d be able to do it.
“Girl! Why didn’t you say something?” Alya asked as they walked to their next class.
Marinette shrugged. “Because I do want to fill in my historical gaps?”
Like in an abstract way if she could just suddenly know it the way she knew how to swing through the city on a yo-yo. Not the I want to dedicate hours of my life to this kind of way.
“But you don’t have to do that all in one weekend!”
“Do you think old me would have said something?” Marinette doesn’t know why she’s asking. She hates the comparisons, but it’s like a scab she can’t help but pick at it when her friends and family keep commenting on how she’s different.
“You like the green one? I thought pink was your favorite color.”
It was! But that didn’t mean pink was always best for every single accessory.
“That’s a beautiful drawing,” her maman said of the sketch of her father. “Have you sketched any new designs recently?”
She hadn’t. She didn’t want to. Clothes weren’t interesting. But she knew her mother wanted her to say yes, so she hedged.
Lila had spilled coffee on Marinette’s bag in art class. It had definitely been on purpose. Marinette glared at the girl as she resolutely gathered all her things to clean elsewhere rather than dignifying Lila with a response.
“That was totally on purpose. Why didn’t you say anything?” Alya had asked after the fact.
Marinette piled her bag’s belongings carefully on a bench while she wrung out the backpack itself. “Didn’t really want her to know that she was getting to me.” Marinette’s diary had revealed that when Marinette make accusations against Lila, the other girl usually managed to twist it back on Marinette. She didn’t really want to make the same mistake when Lila didn’t believe she was holding a grudge. “Why?”
“Well, you used to always call her out on things. Chloé too.”
Marinette sighed. At least people had stopped asking what she remembered. Maybe they had finally figured out that she really didn’t remember anything.
But it seemed other people did and Marinette now was apparently different than the Marinette of old, and now Marinette was never sure if that was a good or bad thing.
“If old you thought the teacher was being unfair or unreasonable, she definitely would have said something, but she would have been totally silent than if she just didn’t have time.”
And thank goodness Alya was willing to be straightforward about such questions. Her parents were not. They were so diplomatic about answering such questions, but they always seemed sad.
She felt like she was disappointing them.
“What do you mean? You’re not disappointing them!” Alya had objected.
“But I am. They want me to be her, and when I’m not, they’re sad.”
“They’re just worried about you.”
Marinette pressed her lips together. Yeah Marientte definitely knew that they were worried. Paranoid was more apt. They constantly texted, wanting to know where she was, to remind her to put on a helmet, and asking for check ins everytime a friggin’ akuma alert went off.
Which made it that much harder to get away to be Ladybug.
And she loved being Ladybug.
Her parents would probably be horrified.
“I just wish being me as I am now was okay.”
“Of course it’s okay.”
“But it isn’t , Marinette insisted, wanting to tug at her pigtails. She didn’t know how to explain, and Alya was looking at her with glassy eyes and Marinette knew she was disappointing her, too, though Alya was better at hiding it than anyone.
“You know that she’s you, right?” Alya asked softly.
Marinette shrugged. She might be, but it didn’t seem to matter to anyone else.
…
Literature had become more bearable now that they were starting a new novel. It was a story that no one in the class had read before. Marinette found the story riveting.
“Really?” Adrien asked. They had been partnered for a small presentation on the use of imagery in the book’s first three chapters. “What’s your favorite part so far?”
Goodness, he was so earnest. Even when they had been paired he had been so sweet about it when she was obviously the weaker link of the two of them.
“Sorry you were saddled with me for this project,” she had said.
“Marinette, you are the best partner to have in this whole world. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Her cheeks had burned. Was this guy for real? She might’ve maybe understood what it was old Marinette had liked about him.
Really she probably would have fallen for him too if it wasn’t for the fact that Chat Noir was right there guarding her life and being serving as the best sounding board and confidant a girl could ask for.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked after the most recent akuma.
She was fine. She just didn’t want to stop being Ladybug yet. Being Ladybug made sense. Being Ladybug was simple and something she was good at. Marinette’s life was so complicated.
“I’m okay,” she said, determined for it to be true.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Like, how did he do that?!
But fifteen minutes later they were sitting side by side on the Eiffel Tower each with their own ice cream cones as she vented to him about her mundane problems.
“I hate history. It’s the subject I know, like nothing about and my teacher— he’s trying to be patient, but he clearly doesn’t know what to do with me. He keeps assigning extra readings, but even when I have time to read them. They don’t mean anything.”
“That must be frustrating.”
She snorted. Understatement. “Even places on a map feel no more real than the map at the beginning of the fantasy novel we’re reading in literature.”
“I don’t know about history itself, but maybe we could do something about the geography?”
He stands up, and offers her a hand, which she of course takes. He pulls her to her feet like she’s a princess and pulls out a box of colored cheeses from his baton.
“What’s that?”
“These are power ups for our Kwamis.”
“We can power up our Kwamis?”
He offers her a piece of cheese. “Eat this one.” He takes one of the same color.
Soon they’re transformed. They have airtight helmets and wings. He levitates just barely into the air. She doesn’t move, staring dumbly at his offered hand.
“Come on. I’ll show you.” His voice resounds inside her helmet. It feels both like he’s far away and like he’s all around her.
She again takes it, because she’d trust him to take her anywhere.
He led her on a low altitude tour of Paris, pointing out landmarks that are historically significant. But he doesn’t just recount events. When he speaks of kings and dukes, he tells a story. And suddenly King Louis VI and King Louis the XIV are not only separated by time, but by personality and vision.
They’ve been flying for hours already, when he takes her higher. They’re above the clouds, starting to see the curvature of the earth when he points out Normandy, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Spain.
And then they’re further out, beyond even air they can breathe, and the Earth shines below them, a glowing blue marble in a vastness of inky blackness.
She can’t breathe as she takes in the sight. There’s a whole world down there. It’s so big, bigger than any of her problems, and yet it’s so small when they’re out here in space.
His voice is still describing the places they can see. Continents and oceans, but she can’t process the words anymore.
“M’lady?” he asks, floating to her side with yet another hand reaching out, offering her support again and again.
“You’re amazing!” she says, and is awarded with pink blooming underneath his visor. And he was. How did old Marinette never see or notice?!
He never takes anything seriously.
He’s always cracking jokes.
He flirts with everyone.
Marinette had slammed the diary closed after she read it. What the hell had old Marinette been talking about?!
She had started a new diary after that, and it definitely wasn’t Adrien she had been writing about.
Looking at his eyes now, even with only five weeks of memories she’s absolutely certain he’s the sweetest, most genuine boy that lives on the planet he just showed her. And he didn’t just show it to her. He made her see it, he made it real in a way that no one else had.
She reaches for his hand, lets their fingers interlock, and it feels right.
Holding his hand, she’s not worried about how she’s different or the same. It doesn’t matter what she remembers or has forgotten. With him, she feels like a whole complete person.
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Okay, but like while the fandom is out here arguing, let me tell you this LadyNoir idea I had: *slight s4 spoilers
So, with Marinette being the new guardian and being able to make these anti akuma charms or whatever shit, I'd imagine she would give them to Chat first because he absolutely cannot be akumatized, it's out of the question. *chat blanc war flashbacks*
Now thinking about what Su Han said about Plagg roaming free, she decides that Chat Noir may tell her his identity if he chooses since she is the guardian and would need to know where to retrieve his ring in case of emergency.
Chat meets her up on some roof, right next to a billboard of Adrien's face, and decides he wants to see if LB can guess who he is, so he invites her to ask him questions.
LB: what's your favorite color?
CN: oh, c'mon, bugaboo, you can do better than that... green obviously.
So she starts asking him questions about his family (any siblings? No.) Where he goes to school (Francois-dupont. She knew it!) What he does in his normal life?
CN: I'm actually really famous if you can believe it. Everyone in Paris loves me. They plaster my face all over town.
LB: pfft, yeah right.
CN: really, I'm looking at 12 of me right now. *nods to the billboard*
LB: But that would mean... you're... No!
CN:
LB: you're lying
CN: would I ever lie to you?
So he detransforms, and flashes her a mischievous smile like "I guess the cat's out of the bag now."
LB is like OH SHIT YOURE ADRIEN AGRESTE IVE BEEN SAVING PARIS WITH ADRIEN AGRESTE ADRIEN AGRESTE IS MY GOOFY PARTNER THATS IN LOVE WITH ME OH MY GOD
Adrien is like um, are you okay, m'lady?
"Adrien just called me m'lady I'm-"
Ladybug just buries her face in her hands, and Adrien is like, is everything okay?
LB: No! 🙈 I've been rejecting you for months!
Adrien: well, I know you have someone else that you love, but I can't help how I feel about you.
LB: Yes, I have someone else that I love. Someone who totally isn't you because that would be very irresponsible to be in love with my partner who I didn't know was my partner until just now. We have a job to do. We can't be in love.
Adrien:
So, Ladybug is just spiraling like I can't be in love with you, why did you have to be the boy of my dreams? Why do you have to be in love with me??
Adrien: so, this boy you like...
Ladybug: it's not you!
Adrien: I know.
Ladybug:
Okay, that's a lie. It is you.
Adrien: Wait, really? :D
Ladybug: but that doesn't change the fact that we cant be together!
Adrien: why not? We love each other, isn't that enough?
Ladybug: well, a while back there was this other timeline and you got akumatized and told me our love destroyed the world, and-
Adrien: yeah, but now we have these *holds up akuma charm* so isn't it fine?
Ladybug: okay, but what if you are in danger and theres also a building full of people about to collapse, how do I choose?
Adrien: well, since you know who I am now, you don't have to worry about me. Most of the time when an akuma has been after Adrien, you've prolonged it by aggressively protecting me. Now you don't have to.
Ladybug: But 😖😖
Adrien: Ladybug, if you love me, I won't ever stop asking you to be together. It's not fair.
Ladybug: yeah, but we made a promise to protect Paris.
Adrien: and we will. Have you considered that maybe we will be stronger and more united now?
Ladybug: but what if-
Adrien: it works?
Ladybug gives him the
Adrien: you and I give so much to the city. Is it so wrong for us to be happy?
Ladybug can't resist, she knows she shouldn't, but she kisses him. For a long time. And Adrien just wraps his arms around her. When she finally pulls away, her eyes are tortured, but she wants to be with him just as badly. She agrees to be with him but only as Ladybug and Chat Noir. And their jobs come first. Adrien agrees. They makeout some more. Paris loses its collective shit when Ladybug and Chat Noir do their next interview holding hands and Ladybug kisses his cheek goodbye. Alya knew they were in love. Marinette still can't fucking believe Adrien is Chat Noir or that they're technically dating now. She needs a nap.
Give me Chat Noir (post partial reveal, like before Chat Blanc) insisting that Ladybug give Multimouse her Miraculous, just for shits and giggles and to see how many crazy excuses Marinette comes up with. One day he (somehow) figures out a way to get the Miraculous to Marinette before she becomes Ladybug and just.
"Wow that's weird. Ladybug still hasn't shown up? She's usually so much more responsible than this..."
For @adrinetteapril 2020 - Posted to AO3 & FFN - (Chapter 1 is here)
You won’t understand a lot of this chapter without at least the 2 before it.
Rated G
Chapter 26: Sick Day
Summary: Of akuma’s, reveals, and headaches
Ladybug and Chat Noir had made quick work of the akuma. The Barber ended up being a young woman who had been on the receiving end of a terrible haircut and was seeking revenge by cursing all of Paris with the ugliest hairstyles imaginable.
Chat was eager to get back to the janitors closet where he’d left Marinette, but he needed to make sure Ladybug was alright. During the battle, she had seemed a little off.
Ladybug sneezed beside him and groaned.
“Are you alright, My Lady?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine,” She croaked. “I just need to get home. I think I’m coming down with something.”
“I can get you some medicine and come back,” he offered. “I still have time left on my miraculous.”
She sneezed again and rubbed her forehead. “No, I’ll be fine–”
Ladybug burst into a coughing fit before she could finish her thought. Chat rubbed his hand over her back. “Are you sure you’re alright?”
Her coughs caused her to fall backwards and slump down against the wall in the alley. She shook her head. “I don’t know,” she managed between coughs.
Chat knelt beside his partner. “What can I do to help?” He held his hand up to her forehead. She felt warm, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the exertion of battle, the radiation of their super powers, or his gloves deceiving him. Her half lidded eyes peered up at him.
“My earrings –” she warned.
But it was too late.
Her coughing had covered up the last beep of her miraculous. Chat watched in horror as Ladybug was engulfed in a flood of pink light. He shut his eyes tight a fraction of a second too late.
Chat Noir had seen her without her mask.
Ladybug was Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
His Lady was his Princess.
His emotions overloaded with guilt and excitement and confusion and elation. Eyes still screwed shut, all he could do was apologize over and over again for breaking her trust.
Marinette sneezed and Chat’s eyes snapped open. “It’s ok,” she managed, her voice gravelly. “Take me home?”
Chat nodded and gathered her in his arms. She smiled lazily and wrapped her arms around his neck before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
He eyed her sleeping form letting all the pieces fall into place in his mind. Marinette was Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette. He had fallen in love with her twice and hadn’t realized it. He was conflicted over his feelings for both sides of her. He chuckled lightly at the irony.
Chat leaped from rooftop to rooftop as gently as he could. He paused when he made it to her balcony.
“It would be suspicious if she just appeared in her room,” a squeaky voice coming from Marinette’s purse echoed his thoughts.
“Tikki?”
“It’s good to see you again,” The kwami beamed at him.
“Likewise,” he said, returning her smile. “How should I get her inside?”
“You should detransform,” Tikki said. “There’s an alley around the corner.”
“Right,” he said dropping down. He called off his transformation with Marinette still asleep in his arms.
Adrien walked around the corner and let himself in the side door of the bakery. Tom stopped him in the hallway.
“Adrien! Is everything alright? Why aren’t you at school? What happened to Marinette?”
“I think she’s sick,” Adrien explained. “I offered to help her get home and I guess she fell asleep on the way over.”
Tom nodded. “I’ll go let Sabine know. Do you need me to help you take her upstairs?”
Adrien shook his head. “I’ll manage, but thank you.”
Tom pat his back and let Adrien slide past him and up the stairs to her loft.
He set her down on her bed silently praying she wouldn’t wake up to another coughing attack. She only stirred for a moment before settling into the blankets. He draped her comforter over her and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
“What are you doing?”
“Be quiet, Plagg,” Tikki whispered. “She needs to sleep.”
“Yeah, and I need to eat,” Plagg grumbled.
Adrien sat up and fished some cheese from his bag. “Sorry, Plagg. Here you go,” he whispered as the kwami snatched it from Adrien’s hand.
“Finally,” Plagg moaned finding a private corner of the room. “I’m going to enjoy this in peace and quiet. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Tikki, do I need to grab you something?” Adrien asked, ignoring Plagg entirely.
“No, there’s always spare cookies in her purse. But thank you,” she smiled.
Adrien turned his attention back to his… Girlfriend? Partner? He wasn’t sure what was going to become of this relationship now that he knew her identity.
Adrien sighed. “Is she going to be mad that I found out who she is?”
Tikki was silent for a while and Adrien started to panic. “I don’t know,” she said finally.
“Are we going to have to give up our miraculous?”
Tikki shrugged. “Even if you gave up your miraculous, you’d still know her identity. Also, as guardian, she wouldn’t have much of a reason to take your miraculous from you. No one could replace you as Chat Noir.”
Adrien wasn’t sure what to think. A million more questions were running through his head. He put his head in his hands willing his mind to stop thinking about all the ways this could go wrong. Stop thinking of the danger he possibly put her through. Stop wondering if this was going to change everything.
He had finally given up Ladybug to pursue Marinette. And now the irony was killing him. He knew from the beginning that there was no way he was ever going to stop loving Ladybug, and he had always known that. His love for her had changed, but he still loved her. And knowing that the girl behind the mask was the same girl who had snuck in and made a home in his heart made him love her even more.
But… how did she feel about him now that he had betrayed her trust? Seen her true identity? How could he ask her to trust him again after this?
“She needs rest,” Tikki whispered beside him.
“Yeah,” he agreed. He was loathe to leave her especially since he had only just found her. But Tikki was right. He would let her rest and they would have to talk later.
Adrien moved to climb down the ladder, but something tugged on his sleeve.
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To start at the beginning, chapter 1 is here on AO3 or here on tumblr
Summary: Time jump. A few months later and team Miraculous are defeating akumatized victims faster than ever.Still, there is that question that no one had been addressing, is Marinette, err, Ladybug, ready to start dating?
...
Ladybug and Chat Noir and their new team had made some adjustments over the next few months...
Viperion and Pegasus were almost instantly permanent back up heroes. Of course, they only came to the akuma battles when they were contacted by either Ladybug or Chat Noir.
They also only patrolled at night and when it was dark, just to get a feel for the city and to hide their permanent status of holding their own miraculous from Hawkmoth for as long as possible. Thus far, only the main team knew that they could possibly carry their miraculous with them.
Chloe and Kagami were brought on almost immediately as the go to back up part time wielders as well. The team came up with a way to contact them through secret phones as well and to be met up with by Ladybug or occasionally Chat Noir with the help of Pegasus to deliver their Miraculous to avoid any traps that might have been set up by Hawkmoth. Having Pegasus around and the use of the secret phones worked remarkably well for that.
Eventually, Rena Rouge and Carapace were trusted part timers again as well. Carapace was granted the use of the Turtle miraculous first and two weeks later Rena Rouge was called upon after being benched for six weeks. (After severe changes to how the Ladyblog was run, several retractions and apologies, and several interviews that gave false information that was removed, of course.)
The team was growing stronger and the battles were also shorter, which really helped out Adrien and Marinette with their personal lives as well.
Marinette being Marinette of course forgave all of her friends eventually, but it took time. The trust took a little longer, but she gave it once more when she was ready to.
It was a nice bonus that Marinette’s friendship with Adrien grew stronger than ever.
Unfortunately for Adrien, well, he found himself feeling guilty about being far more attracted to his really good friend than he was comfortable with, especially since he still felt devoted to his Lady and it seemed like she and Luka were growing closer. He felt both guilt and jealousy, but he couldn’t explain why.
Adrien was almost to the point when he thought that he should ask Ladybug about it, or maybe even Viperion, after all, he found that the older boy was pretty good about advice and he had forgiven him for being so close to the girl that they both loved. Not that Ladybug was dating either of them after two months, but even Chat Noir began to feel like the passage of time was important somehow.
Viperion himself had also gone above and beyond in trying to make sure that everything ran smoothly between himself, Chat Noir and Ladybug. Ladybug tried to be more trusting and kinder with Chat Noir, asking his opinion and such and only hid from him what the Guardian insisted that she should hide from him. Chat Noir in turn learned to pun and flirt less during the main battle, but tried to respect her boundaries as well.
Viperion avoided flirting with Ladybug in front of Chat Noir after the first couple of weeks as well once the team noticed that that was a thing that seemed to come to the snake naturally, not that he did it very it often. He obviously still cared for her and he still was able to get her to blush a bit faster than the cat, which made teamwork difficult between all of them, thus the need for them both to tone down the flirting competitions with their Lady and respect Ladybug’s right to choose her own suitor. As a result, the team had been working better than ever .
Still, as time grew closer for Marinette to finish her self-imposed abstinence from dating or allowing herself to fall for someone, Luka knew that they needed to have a conversation about the Cat.
…
“My sweet Melody,” Viperion hesitantly asked Ladybug on one of their few patrol nights together, without Chat having joined them yet that is, “can I ask you a favor?”
Smiling and thankful for the darkness of night and her mask to hide her blush, Marinette replied, “yes, my hot-blooded reptile?”
Viperion blushed and his heart pounded as she slid up next to him, taking his breath away. Which happened every time she used her new nick name for him that she had come up with all on her own a couple of weeks ago that she only used when they were in private like this after all.
He cleared his throat as her flirtatious behavior made something come alive in his heart song as he thought, Marinette is successfully driving me insane.
She had been trying to weaken his wish to give her some time to herself after giving up on Adrien after all, and he knew that she was probably ready to move on for real now, it had been more than enough time after all. Still, they were hesitant to cross that bridge.
Viperion couldn’t help thinking, my Melody is a persistent one. I’ll give her that.
Luka sighed and then brushed a stray hair out of her face for her as he struggled to suggest perhaps the craziest idea that he’d ever had, but he needed to put it out there. “Ladybug, I think there is something important that needs to be done before we can even consider dating.”
“Oh, Ladybug is it now?” She stepped back and put her hands on her hips authoritatively as she addressed him, “sounds like this is a professional conversation.”
He nodded, “in a way, it is. I think…” he took a breath finding it harder to say than he thought it would be, “I-I think that you need to give the Cat a chance.”
“WHAT?!” She looked at him in surprise and shock before she managed to reply as she weakly pointed from him to herself, “but… but I thought that y-you and… and I?”
Then she began to frown, obviously feeling a bit rejected.
Oh, Ma-Ma-Marinette I didn’t mean to hurt you!
He immediately held out his hands to placate her, “wait, no, please don’t think like that my Melody. I’m not denying that I want to date you, as myself, and I will take you out, I promise you that.”
She finally calmed down and he swallowed before telling her, “after you’ve given him a chance, that is, if you’ll still have me....”
“But, but, why?!” She demanded but then sighed and closed in on herself as she hugged herself as she added quietly, “I thought that you liked me.”
Luka drew her close and hugged her before he kissed the top of her head, wishing that he’d never caused her to doubt his love. “Don’t take this the wrong way, please.” He tried to reassure her as he rubbed her arm reassuringly, still surprised at how easily touch came to them when they were suited up, “I care about you My Melody, more than you know. I just think that it would be good for you both to have some closure like this. You’ll never know if you don’t give him a chance for him to show you both why it either will or won’t work like this.”
She shook her head, “how can I date him if I can’t even know who he is though? Have you thought of that? And what about us?”
Viperion nodded as he looked pained as he patted her shoulder as he admitted, “I do want to explore what there could be between us. I-I understand, in theory anyway, why you can’t date Chat Noir as Ladybug, but I really don’t think that he does and well, I also think that it would be good for you both to at least make an attempt. For the team and for your partnership. It’s another thing that you need to wrap up before you move on without considering him. That way, there is closure there, for both of you.”
…
Ladybug looked up at him as she wondered, how does he know that I’ve been fighting an attraction to Chat?
Ladybug pouted and drew closer to Viperion to hug him briefly as she whispered, “while I like Chat Noir as a friend and partner Viperion,” she took a breath before admitting, “I don’t see how it would work. I mean, I know he’s kind of attractive in his own way, but it… it just can’t work with the need to keep our identities secret from each other. I can’t risk everyone for a what if or even when there is a reveal.”
She stepped away from him as she explained again, “this is a dangerous job Viperion and I have to work closely with Chat, I don’t see how I could do it if… if I had more than friendly feelings for him.”
Then she swallowed, “it’s hard enough working with you, but at least I know who you are and I can separate our two lives and focus on the battle when we fight together. That’s not possible with Chat.”
“Still, I think for your partnership to keep working, he would appreciate the gesture.” Viperion nodded as he thoughtfully added, “I know that it’s not the same as with us Ladybug, but like I said, I don’t think that Chat Noir knows or understands that.”
It’s tempting though, Ladybug thought as she took another step away from Viperion, putting a respectable distance between them for a moment. Not that I’ll admit to it.
Landing silently nearby, having overheard the last part of their conversation Chat Noir asked teasingly, “that Chat knows what pray tell? Speaking badly about me behind my back purr-haps Viperion?”
Ladybug scoffed softly, “like he’d ever do that Chaton.”
Chat Noir nodded, “Purr-cisely. Our Lady ought to know that I was just teasing you by now, but seriously, what’s up? What don’t I know?”
Ladybug rolled her eyes and held one hand up to her head as if she was developing a headache as she waved at Viperion as she forced herself to admit, “he’s trying to convince me to let you take me out on a date.”
Heaven help me.
“REALLY?” Chat Noir brightened with glee, before calming down and coughing once, “I mean, really? Sounds great! How’s next Saturday?”
Ladybug gave Viperion the evil eye, and thus the negotiations began…
…
Eventually, despite it being difficult for him, Viperion negotiated some terms between Chat Noir and Ladybug over the course of three patrols. Viperion had to privately promise a date between Luka and Marinette the next weekend after her date with the Cat for a whole Saturday if she’d just go and see what it might be like to date the cat.
They came up with four main rules or terms.
The date with Chat would not last longer than half a day.
Handholding only, and especially no kisses on the lips.
No revealing of identities.
Have an open mind.
Most of them were Ladybug’s conditions of course, Chat’s was only that she come and give him a chance, which was the last condition basically.
Ladybug went, reluctantly, especially after the bribery.
Chat Noir was a bit, shall we say eager and enthusiastic about it, much to her surprise.
They were exceptionally lucky that no akumas showed up for their date, but that meant that it had to be just that, a date.
The black cat made it a somewhat public and over the top date... at first. She was shocked at all the thought that he put into it, the end result being almost four dates rolled up into one.
They started with a lavish boat ride and lunch on a floating restaurant along the Seine with a small orchestra playing in the back ground. Ladybug was almost overwhelmed when she found out that Chat had somehow rented out the whole floating restaurant on their private boat tour as they ate their four-star rated meal. The paparazzi when they returned to shore was easy enough to avoid thanks to his baton, but still, it was a bit unnerving.
After lunch, they donned very poor disguises to catch the afternoon matinee, where they shared a popcorn together, and then they took a walk in one of the lesser known public gardens together. Then they finished their date with a small picnic on the top of the Eiffel tower.
Ladybug had to admit that she was impressed, but confused afterwards.
…
As they were finishing their dessert under a full moon on a picnic blanket laid out on the top of the Eiffel Tower, Ladybug had to ask her Kitty, “Chat, while I appreciate all of the effort that you put into this, uh, date? I have to admit that I’m kind of confused. I mean, why did you pick the fancy boat ride and orchestra to start with?”
Chat Noir put down his plate, setting it aside so he could scoot closer to her and take her hand. “Ladybug, Milady, I know that you don’t want to reveal our identities, but I wanted you to know that I’m not exactly a poor alley cat.” She was about to protest this little bit of information but he held up his other hand to stop her.
“My Lady, someday, when we finally discover each other’s identities, you’ll understand. I know the media was buzzing about us while we were there on deck on that boat, but frankly, I get a dose of that kind of attention everyday in my daily life.” He looked sad all of a sudden.
“Chat, I thought we said we wouldn’t reveal ourselves…” She lightly scolded him anyway.
Chat Noir shook his head, “I’m not. I would feel like I was lying to you if I didn’t tell you about some of the major aspects of my life, or to have at least shown you or have warned you about it somehow. I know I don’t live a normal life. It’s a bit much, well, stifling sometimes.”
He cleared his throat, “Chat Noir is more of the real me. I don’t have to hide my personality or be the perfect, well, whatever.”
He waved his hand, “so instead of telling you who I am, I showed you a bit of what my life is like today. It may seem like a glamorous life, but it’s pretty lonely and I have to be careful of what I’m saying or doing at all times just so that I don’t ruin the image of my family or my,” he coughs, “my parents’ business. I didn’t think that it would be fair of me to court you without you knowing that.”
Chat Noir then patted her hand to reassure her, “I know that civilian me is not as free as you know the Chat side of me is and frankly, it’s not the best life if you ask me. Being Chat Noir allows me to be free from that restrictive lifestyle, but when I uh, become myself, it’s still waiting there for me. Waiting for me to try to hide parts of myself from the world, not just the heroic identity we both have and well, I can’t escape it, no matter how much I try. Not completely anyway.”
She nodded, “oh.”
She’d never really thought about it, but if Chat was as wealthy as Adrien, it would make sense if he had a similar lifestyle as a civilian. She never thought much about how restrictive it was, but she had to give her Kitty some credit because Chat had a good point.
So she had to admit, “honestly, I kind of suspected that you were, well, wealthy.”
He snickered, “you could say that.”
“Well, I hope you know that doesn’t matter to me.” She tried to reassure him.
“I know you well enough My Lady that it wouldn’t, but still, I thought that it might be a good thing to warn you about. I haven’t met many girls that are genuinely interested in the real me, but only in my name and what I represent. It’s exhausting not knowing who to fully trust.”
“Well, I appreciate you telling me, although that’s honestly not an issue for me.”
“I kind of thought it wouldn’t be, but still, I wanted to give you a glimpse into that world.”
“Oh, well, thank you?” Ladybug looked away for a moment before she nodded to herself as she bit her lip for a moment before she hesitantly asked, “what about the rest?”
Her Kitty gave her one of his crooked smiles, “well, the reason why the matinee was low key was because the most fun that I’ve ever had was with a friend when we kind of did the same thing.” He looked away as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck, as a slight blush peeking out from underneath his mask, “we didn’t get to see all of it, well, most of the movie anyway because of an akuma attack, but I thought that you might enjoy it too.”
Ladybug blinked at him as she pondered, this sounds kind of familiar…
She tried to ignore her suspicions as she tried not to think about it as she tried to move on, “SOooo, explain to me where a picnic on the top of the Eiffel tower comes in.”
“Well, we are superheroes and I thought that it might be romantic?” Chat Noir told her with a shrug.
“Uh, huh. What did you do, take out a poll with your friends about what would be more romantic?” She asked him with a raised eyebrow jokingly as she thought about how Adrien had been asking their friends what kind of romantic date Ladybug and Chat Noir would have if they went on a date together, as if the idea was stressing him out somehow...
Don’t go there Marinette…
Alya of course had turned it into a poll on the Ladyblog and surprisingly, here they were using the top pick, something that Alya had only shared with her, Nino and a certain someone else. The official results would be announced tomorrow in one of Alya’s articles.
That’s when she noticed that Chat Noir was sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck and grinned at her in a VERY familiar way…
Her mental processes betrayed her as she thought as she came to the logical conclusion, OH NO…
------
Dun Dun Dun! Sorry about the delayed update, I had a really bad cold and forgot to update tumblr. I hope to have the last two chapters up soon.
Her earrings had given their final warning over 30 seconds ago.
She smiled in relief as the street she was looking for came into view.
Her heart raced as she sprinted toward an alley, jumping not a moment too soon— she was engulfed in pink light a second later.
Ladybug jumped down near the entrance of the alley. She flipped, transforming in midair, and landed as Marinette Dupain Cheng.
Her landing wasn’t exactly graceful; she wobbled as she secured her footing but she didn’t fall. She held out her hands another second later, catching the exhausted red kwami as she appeared.
“Great job, Tikki!”
“You, too, Marinette. That akuma was a tough one...”
Marinette nodded and smiled. “You’re right. But it’s nothing that we can’t handle.”
Tikki smiled back.
Then she looked at something over her chosen’s shoulder, her eyes wide.
“Ma—”
“Marinette!!” a voice called from around the corner of the alley, out of sight on the street.
“They’re looking for me!” Marinette held out her purse, “quick, Tikki, hide!”
Tikki did as she requested, and Marinette ran out toward the street just as a small group of teenagers made their way to sidewalk outside the alley.
Rose, Juleka, and Luka smiled in relief when they saw her.
“There you are, we were worried about you!” Rose cried.
“Where were you?” Juleka asked, her voice quiet.
“Oh no! I’m sorry, I was, um, transformed by the akuma! I only just got turned back and got a little lost and uh, now I’m here!”
Her friends nodded, accepting her story.
Luka grinned. “You’re a funny girl, Marinette. We were still going to catch the movie if you still wanted to join us?”
Rose and Juleka smiled and linked arms as Luka spoke and started walking down the street, letting Luka and Marinette talk.
She watched them start off and realized she hadn’t answered Luka yet.
“Groovy! I mean, movie! I mean—“ She took a breath “I would love to go to the movies with you.”
Luka gave her a small, warm smile and held out his arm.
Marinette blushed as she linked her arm with his and they started after Rose and Juleka.
Luka and Marinette walked down the street and out of sight of the alley.
and Chat Noir slowly walked out of the shadows of the alley.
