Chapter Text
“Marinette!”
The sound of Chat Noir’s wrecked cry bounced off the windows and walls of nearby buildings. Ladybug squeezed her eyes shut and tried to focus on other things; the whistle of the wind as it whipped past her ears, the dull ache of impact in her hips and knees as she landed leap after leap across the rooftops, the sick feeling creeping up her throat, the hot tears on her cheeks.
Once again, she found herself wondering why she was running from him. Hadn’t he proven himself enough by now? Hadn’t he shown her his loyalty time and time again, both with and without his mask? There was no reason to run, she thought as she launched herself off another chimney.
Behind her, she could hear the metallic clang of Chat’s staff as it made impact with the ground, vaulting him after her. “Marinette, stop!”
Suddenly, without a single beep of warning, her transformation dropped, and so did Marinette. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in a silent, terrified scream as she plummeted toward the street below. Marinette reached upwards, toward the furious-looking red kwami that hovered above her, but her hand was instead caught by a leather-clad, clawed grip.
Chat lowered her down to the sidewalk gently, but only for a moment before his arm slid around her waist and they were airborne. Before she could protest, he vaulted them toward a secluded corner of a nearby rooftop. “We need to talk about this. Now.” His voice was quiet, but hard.
He let her down again, stepping away to take in the sight of her. She glanced up, but found it difficult to meet his burning green eyes. “Are-aren’t you going to de-transform, too?” she inquired softly.
“No,” he replied. “I’m staying just like this. Because as much as Adrien would have wanted to know that his girlfriend was Ladybug, Chat Noir deserves to know the identity of his partner first.” He didn’t raise his voice, didn’t sound angry, but Marinette could tell he wasn’t pleased.
Tikki swooped over to them, and surprised Marinette by settling onto Chat’s shoulder. If the action startled him as well, he didn’t let it show. He just stood there, staring expectantly at her.
“Why does it feel like you’re ganging up on me?” Marinette muttered, still not meeting her boyfriend’s insistent gaze.
“Nobody’s ganging up on you, Marinette, but it’s time. You’ve avoided this long enough, don’t you think?” Tikki responded evenly. “I’ve supported you in your decision to keep your civilian life separate, but Ladybug and Chat Noir’s partnership is a balance based on trust. Chat Noir has made it clear he trusts you. You need to do the same for him.”
Marinette nodded stiffly, but still didn’t raise her eyes. She flinched when she heard Chat let out a frustrated, tired sigh.
“Mari- my Lady,” he said softly, stepping forward into her space again, reaching out and taking her hand. “You’re one of the bravest people I know. It’s one of the reasons I love you. Please, be brave for me now.”
Marinette let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, used the back of her hand to wipe at her tear-streaked face, and lifted her eyes defiantly to lock gazes with her partner, her mouth set in a hard line. She was shocked to see him greeting her with a warm, adoring smile.
“There’s my bugaboo,” he murmured fondly.
Her resolve cracked, her eyes welled with tears again, and she closed the short distance between them to fall into his waiting arms. She buried her head against his collarbone and let out a shuddering sob. She felt the low rumble in Chat’s chest as he chuckled, and he reached up to stroke soothingly at her hair.
“You’re not angry?” Marinette managed to squeak out and she roped her arms around his frame.
After a pause, he shook his head. “No. I’m upset you didn’t tell me sooner, but I did tell you to take your time and go at your own pace, so I can’t be angry about that.” He pulled back a bit to take her face between his hands and scrutinize her properly. “I’m kind of annoyed at myself though. How could I not notice my own girlfriend and partner were the same person! Your disguise isn’t even that good!”
“Hey!” Marinette laughed and swatted at his arm playfully. “Yours is no better!”
His grin widened at the sound of her giggle, and he pulled her closer again, pressing their foreheads together. “Plagg, claws in,” he whispered, letting his eyes slide closed as a wave of dark energy swirled and hissed around him, melting away his black leather armor.
“Does this mean you two are finally going to get your acts together and stop being such morons?” the black cat kwami whined as he flopped dramatically onto Adrien’s shoulder. Tikki rolled her eyes at him, but reached over and affectionately tugged one of his whiskers.
“What say you, my Lady?” Adrien inquired, his thumbs stroking soft circles over her cheeks. “No more secrets? Just you and me?”
“Well… I do have one more secret,” she admitted, ducking her head and flushing deeply.
“Tell me.”
“I… I’vehadahugecrushonyoupracticallysincewemet,” she confessed in one long, frantic rush.
Adrien took a moment to understand what she said and process it before he chortled, lifting her face back up to his with his finger. “Why, buginette, I thought you knew. It was the same for me.” With that, he pressed his lips to hers, sweetly, chastely, slowly. She felt his lips twist into a Cheshire-like smirk. “Besides, you totally forgot to take down your pictures of me one time when I came by as Chat Noir.”
His girlfriend’s reply was a playful nip at his lower lip and a whisper against his lips. “Tikki, spots on.”
Paris’s beloved superheroes were curled together on the chair of the balcony above the Boulangerie Patisserie, legs intertwined and hands pulling at hips and waists and settling between shoulder blades to press ever closer. Chat Noir had one clawed finger hooked into the neckline of Ladybug’s suit, pulling the stretchy fabric down so he could have better access to nuzzle and kiss her neck. Ladybug pulled at her boyfriend’s hip again, rolling him over on top of her and turning her head to bury her face in his tousled hair.
“You won’t be able to see the meteor shower like this,” Chat murmured against the skin of her throat before nipping the spot, leaving another small mark, gentle enough to be gone by morning but his for tonight. He lifted himself up, not enough to release the heat built up between them, but enough to look down at her properly.
“Don’t care,” she breathed, rubbing circles into his hip with one hand while the other trailed up his side to settle on his chest. “This view is better.”
“Who could’ve guessed,” Chat mused, affectionately shaking his head. “Sweet little Marinette being so bold. I’m glad I was so purr-sistant on getting to know the real you.”
Marinette simply rolled her eyes and giggled, snaking the hand on his chest up to the back of his neck, pulling him down into another kiss. She never would’ve guessed there would come a day when she would lose track of how many times she had kissed Adrien Agreste.
A loud beeping suddenly broke the comfortable quiet, and a moment later, Chat’s transformation fell away.
“That’s enough of that,” a nasal voice drawled. “I’m starving, and you two attempting to eat each other’s faces isn’t going to help.” Plagg let himself fall dramatically onto Ladybug’s lap, pawing at her knee. “I know you have something cheesy and delicious for me in that house. Feed me.”
Ladybug raised a quizzical eyebrow at him, but couldn’t help a small giggle. “Oh, you poor thing. C’mon, let’s hunt down a snack.” She gently scooped up the kwami in her palm, rolling out from under Adrien. She let her transformation drop as well, and Tikki immediately swooped over to nuzzle Adrien’s cheek before settling in to ride on his shoulder as the group headed down to Marinette’s room through the trap door.
Marinette left the group to sneak down to the kitchen, and returned a few minutes later with leftover treats from the bakery: a plate of cookies, chocolate chip for Tikki and snickerdoodle for Adrien, a strawberry tarte for herself, and a large cheese Danish for Plagg. They sat in a small huddle on the rug, finally able to discuss akuma, miraculous, and Hawkmoth as a group. The conversation slowly died as the two kwami fell asleep, and Adrien and Marinette made their way quietly downstairs, with an unconscious Plagg tucked into Adrien’s pocket.
“It’s a long walk home without superpowers to help. You’ll be alright getting back?” Marinette asked as she walked him out front.
“I’ll manage,” her boyfriend replied, proudly holding up a baggie of extra cookies for the road. “It’s a purr-fect evening for a stroll, after all. And I’ll have you in my thoughts to keep me company.”
Marinette snorted and pulled him closer by the collar of his shirt. “Dork,” she giggled against his lips.
“Only for you, my Lady,” he promised, kissing her in return.
She watched him walk off into the night, and waited until he rounded the corner and out of site before slipping back inside. She made her way up to her bedroom, put on pajamas, and finally fell into bed.
The kwami sluggishly opened one eye at the feeling of Marinette’s head hitting the pillow on which she’d been sleeping. “So, it wasn’t as catastrophic as you though, huh?” the ladybug-like creature quipped.
“Don’t you start punning now, too,” Marinette scolded playfully, stroking Tikki’s head with her fingertip and snuggling deeper under her pink blankets. “But you’re right. I think we’re going to be okay. As Marinette and Adrien and as Ladybug and Chat Noir.”
“Told you so,” the kwami agreed with a huge yawn and with that, she rolled over and was fast asleep again within seconds.
Marinette smiled warmly at the tiny creature, curling against her oversized cat pillow. With a blissful sigh, she closed her eyes and let herself slip off to sleep with adoring thoughts of her partner drifting through her mind, wondering how she ever got to be so lucky.