Chapter Text
It was time. Marinette was scared, but she trusted her kitty. Who else would take an arrow for her? Who else would take a hit and be erased, just for her sake? No one, that’s who. Her kitty was her partner, and she knew it was time to trust him the same way he trusted her. If only she wasn’t so scared!
“Tikki, I don’t know…” Marinette was uneasily pacing her room, wringing her hands and talking to her kwami as she waited for the clock to display the time for her to leave to meet Chat for patrol. “I mean, what if he isn’t impressed? What if he doesn’t like me? What if we know each other and he knows what a clumsy loser I am?”
“What if he does know you?” Tikki asked, floating to look her nervous bug in the eye. “What if he knows how firmly you stand up to Chloe on a daily basis? What if he knows how you helped protect your classmates against the Dark Knight? What if he knows how kind and funny and compassionate you are? What if he does know you?”
Marinette was speechless. She knew she wasn’t horrible, but to hear her kwami speak made her sound like she was… well, like she was Ladybug, even without the suit.
“I guess I really am her, suit or no, huh?” Marinette asked softly. The thought warmed her more than she’d thought it could. It also steeled her resolve. “Alright, then. I’m ready. Spots on!”
Ladybug landed lightly on the rooftop, gazing at the distant, bright form of the Eiffel Tower. She knew her kitty would arrive any moment, but she wasn’t nervous. She already had a plan, and she was more than ready to follow it. All she need now was a certain alley cat…
“What a purrfect evening, made even more clawsome by you, My Lady.” Right on time. “Have I kept you waiting?”
Ladybug slowly turned to take in her partner, the person she trusted more than anyone else. His messy blond hair ruffled in the slight breeze, and his green eyes glowed with laughter and exhilaration. He quirked an eyebrow at her, waiting for her response.
“No, chaton, you never make me wait.” He never did. No matter what, she knew that he would always be there, right by her side. She beamed at him. “Come on, kitty. I wanna show you something.”
Off they went. The wind blew her hair back, and the chill bit at her face in a delightful fashion. The gray and black rooftop shingles blurred beneath her racing feet, each step sure and powerful. Confidence and energy replace her blood, pumping through her heart. She knew, without a doubt, that she was Marinette, protector of Paris, and that it was her partner by her side, now and forever.
Finally, chests heaving, they slowed, Chat following her lead. She took him to the outskirts of the city, to a rundown shack in the middle of nowhere. Fields stretched far into the distance, and not a soul was to be seen. She calmly led her kitty into the shadows of the ramshackle structure. Finally, she turned to face him, knowing her face was illuminated by the moonlight, just like his.
“My Lady?” Chat finally asked. “What’s going on?”
“I wanted to meet you, Chat.” Ladybug explained calmly. Her silly kitty was still confused, though.
“But we met on that roof…?” He phrased it like a question, making her smile.
“No, chaton, I mean really meet you, face to face.” She grinned. “No masks.”
It finally sunk in. “Really? Oh, Ladybug, this is awesome! I won’t tell anyone, I swear, I’ll keep your secret till death, I promise!”
“Calm down, Chat!” Ladybug laughed, gently grabbing his shoulder. “I know you will. I’ve always known you will. I haven’t let this happen before now because, well, I wasn’t ready. But I am now.”
Chat’s eyes were wide, full of joy and wonder. “Okay, My Lady. How do you want to do this?”
Even now, when he was trembling with excitement enough to burst, he was waiting for her cue. It warmed Marinette’s heart. “At the same time. Ready?”
They didn’t need to count down, or even nod. Words and even gestures couldn’t come close to how they communicated. Words would never be enough for what they had. Gestures were always too slow to make. So, as always, they acted as one.
“Claws in!”
“Spots off!”
Two blinding flashes of light, then-
“Adrien?!”
“Marinette!”
The breath was knocked out of her lungs as her crush/partner scooped her up and spun her around. Adrien freaking Agreste was her leather clad partner?! Her best friend?!
“Oh, Marinette, thank God it’s you!” Adrien(Chat?) was talking, while swinger her(her! Marinette!) around. “I was hoping my Lady would be someone kind, but I never dreamed I would be so lucky to have it be you! You’re so amazing and funny and sweet and kind and-“
“Chat!” Marinette yelped, laughing. How could she not be happy? Her one true love was her kitty! Sure, she’d be mortified later, but right now Chat was just so happy, it was infectious! “Put me down!”
Adrien set her down, but he kept her wrapped in his arms. He couldn’t believe that shy, sweet Marinette was Ladybug! Adrien knew it fit-both girls were brave and smart-but at the same time, Adrien couldn’t believe he was so lucky. Good things like this, like Marinette, just didn’t happen to him! This was awesome!
“Sorry, Ladybug, uh, Marinette, I guess I’m a bit excited.” Understatement of the year. “I’m just so glad it’s you!”
Marinette, his Lady, smiled at his bashfully, and he felt his heart stop. It can’t be real for someone to be this cute! His Lady was going to kill him! Marinette was always so cute on her own, but coupled with his Lady’s bravery and defiance, well, it was a new idea, and he was loving it.
Wait, this isn’t new… I’ve seen Marinette fiery and defiant before, too! He realized. Back in class, when she had yelled at him…
“Wait!” he yelped, gaping at Marinette. “That day in class, when you dressed as me! You were defending… oh my god, Ladybug was literally shouting my praises!”
Marinette flushed bright red, making his heart soar higher. Then the full memory of Marinette-of his Lady-in his-his!-leather cat suit finally settled and… oh my. Thankfully, Marinette talking yanked his mind out of the gutter.
“Of course I was going to defend my kitty!” Marinette snipped, if a bit embarrassedly. “He’s-you’re my partner, and without you I would be so lost! You’re the one that encouraged me to face Stone Heart the second time. I would have given up without you.”
The last part was whispered, but he still heard it. Without him? Ladybug? Quit? It wasn’t adding up. “Marinette, Ladybug never quits. Neither does Marinette. And, since you’re both one amazing, perfect person, that means you’re basically incapable of quitting.”
“No, Ch-Adrien, I would’ve.” Marinette was adamant. “At that point, I was so unsure, so scared, I would have walked away and given up. I gained my confidence over time, but only because my partner believed in me. Only because you believed in me, mon minou.”
Adrien’s heart officially stopped, started, and stopped again. Marinette wasn’t cute-oh, no, far from it, in fact. She was… beautiful, stunning, gorgeous… words just weren’t enough. What she was doing to his poor, kitty heart just wasn’t fair.
He gazed into her bluebell eyes, asking a silent question. She, without moving or speaking, approved. He leaned in, his breath hitching in excitement, as his lips neared hers. Her hands-so small, yet so strong-were resting on his chest, no doubt feeling his stop-start-stop-start heartbeat. Their lips barely brushed when…
“Aren’t you two done yet? I want cheese!” Plagg’s voice shattered the silence of the night.
Gestures just weren’t enough for Adrien as he tried to catch his devious kwami.