Chapter Text
“Thank you, Marinette and Chloe. Your presentation on Chat Noir was quite enlightening.”
“Thank you, Ms. Bustier.” Marinette smiled, while Chloe just nodded.
Marinette didn’t know if she chose Chat Noir because she felt doing Ladybug was too self-centred, or because she wanted to do Chat Noir. As she much as she tried to deny the latter, the probability of it being true was much higher.
Convincing Chloe to allow them to choose Chat Noir wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be. Yes, Marinette did have to call herself out, convincing Chloe that they should choose Chat since Ladybug had rudely taken Chloe’s miraculous away from her. Marinette wasn’t a fan of putting herself down, but when she saw the adorable smile that spread across Adrien’s lips after she finished their presentation, she felt that it was all worth it. As much as she tried to convince herself that it didn’t mean anything, she couldn’t ignore the tiny voice is in her head telling her that it meant everything.
“Alright, Students! We now have the last presentation of the day. Adrien and Alya, you may begin.”
“Thank you, Ms. Bustier.” Adrien said.
Marinette gasped as she read the title of Alya and Adrien’s presentation, as it was projected onto the large screen in front of the class.
5 REASONS WHY CHAT NOIR LOVES LADYBUG
“For our presentation, me and Alya have added a little twist.” Adrien began. “Instead of reading points off a slide, we’ve decided to interview someone who we feel, is most adequate to answer this question” Adrien began.
“We all know who Ladybug is. The heroine of Paris. The epitome of bravery, selflessness, and kindness. She constantly puts herself in danger for us, for Paris.”
“Though a lot of us haven’t gotten the chance to meet Ladybug personally, to actually get to know the girl who saves us every day, we do know someone who does.”
Alya quickly ran back to the laptop, clicking on the next slide, which contained a video. Alya clicked play, grinning madly.
“Welcome to “Spill it!” With Alya Cesaire! On today’s episode, I have with me, one of Paris’s top superheroes…. Chat Noir!”
As soon as Alya finished her introduction, Chat Noir landed face first onto the sofa beside the one that Alya was seated on, groaning.
“I’m Okay!” Chat mumbled, making a thumbs up with his hand as his face was still buried into the cushions.
“We’ll be right back…”
The whole class giggled at that, as Adrien explained how Chat Noir insisted they keep it in, saying how it played a part in showing how real Chat Noir actually was.
Marinette knew it was simply because he wouldn’t want to do another take, but she simply smiled.
“Alright, and we’re back!” Alya announced, pointing at herself and a now up-right Chat Noir.
“So, Chat Noir. We heard that you’ve got five reasons why you love Ladybug, and you want to share them. Is that true?”
“Yes!” Chat exclaimed. “Well, there are actually millions of reasons. But I don’t think we’ve got that much time, Alya, so I’ve narrowed it down to five.” Chat smirked.
“Alright then, so without any further ado… tell us about your first reason, Chat Noir.”
“Well, my first reason is that she’s the bravest girl I’ve ever met. However, don’t be fooled. She wasn’t born ready to be Ladybug. I remember the first time she transformed, she basically fell from the sky and crashed into me!” he chuckled. “But when we fought Stoneheart, and she promised every citizen of Paris that she would keep them safe, and vowed that we would take Hawkmoth’s miraculous, really was the exact moment I fell in love with her.” Chat gushed.
“Wow, Ladybug really is one lucky girl. Now, what’s reason number two?”
“Well, she’s selfless. She’s a normal girl, you know? With aspirations, and hopes, and dreams. Yet she has to put all those things aside sometimes just to protect Paris, but she doesn’t even mind. She constantly puts her life in danger just to save Paris, to protect all of you. She doesn’t care whether or not she makes it out safe. She only cares whether all of you, the civilians, make it out safe. Even people she doesn’t even know.
“I couldn’t agree more. I know I don’t know Ladybug as well as you do, but I’ve got to say that that girl is amazing.”
“I couldn’t agree more, Alya. Now on to reason three. Her kindness. Even before we started dating, she was always, always kind to me. If I was sad, she always gave me a shoulder to cry on. Whenever I was in self-doubt, she’d reassure me, making me feel useful, important, special. When I told her I’d never had a movie-night before, she went out of her to way to create the perfect evening to help me experience one. She made me a scarf just so that I’d have something to remember her by when she’s not around.” Chat explained, the softest smile she’d ever seen spread across his lips. “This one’s kind of silly, but she makes the most AMAZING baked goods and brings them to me sometimes on patrols” He grinned.
“Chat Noir, I swear you’re going to get us all crying.”
Chat Noir only chuckled.
“I don’t know if we’re ready to hear more… but what’s reason number 4?”
“Well, she’s the smartest girl I’ve ever met, Alya. Have you seen the way she comes up with plans during Akuma Attacks?! Its mind-blowing. I could only dream of being half as smart as she is. She’s an actual GENIUS, and the fact that hawk-moth thinks he even stands a chance against someone like her is hilarious. You know, she’s also so, so stubborn. Once she sets her mind on something, there’s no convincing her otherwise. That may not sound like something good to most people, but to me, it’s just one of those things that make her even more irresistible.
“Oh my goodness…” Alya choked between tears. “Well? You going to tell us reason number 5 or was your plan to kill us by reason 4?”
“Nah, I’ve got one more up my sleeve” Chat beamed. “Okay, let me just preface. I know this one’s going to sound super superficial, but I swear anyone with eyes would probably agree with me. She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever laid my eyes on. She’s got these gorgeous blue-bell eyes, eyes you could get lost in for centuries. Dark, raven hair, so soft it could threaten silk. She has these cute little freckles; freckles I’d gladly spend the rest of my life counting. Whenever she’s deep in thought, she scrunches her nose in the cutest way possible. But honestly, the most beautiful thing about her, is her heart.
“You know, I never thought soulmates were real. But after seeing you and her, I don’t think it’s possible that you two aren’t destined to be together.”
“Me too, Alya.” Chat sighed, before continuing. “I love her. More than I could ever put into words. She’s the best thing that has ever happened to me. For a while, I never knew what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The future’s always something that has scared me, but with her, I’m never afraid. I know that if I have her, it’ll be okay, we’ll be okay. I’m ready to dedicate my whole life to trying to make her as happy as she makes me.
“Goddamnit, Chat Noir! This is an interview, not a wedding!”
“Hey! You’re the one who asked the questions!”
And with that, Alya and Adrien concluded their presentation, the class erupting into a fit of cheering and clapping.
However, Marinette could barely move. She felt rooted to her place, tears streaming down her face as she tried to hide her face behind her hands.
Before she knew it, Adrien took her hand in his, leading her outside the classroom and into a storage closet a few meters away.
“Marinette, I’m so, so sorry for what I-”
Marinette crashed her lips onto his, hugging him so hard she felt she might have cracked his rib-cage as her lips danced with his.
Adrien pulled away for a fraction of a second, “M’lady, I think we need to talk-”
“No talking. Please.” She begged, her eyes hooded and lips swollen.
She quickly recaptured her lips in his, pouring all the pent-up emotion she’d kept bottled up for so long into that one kiss.
Marinette could taste salty tears against Adrien’s lips, becoming drunk on his intoxicating fragrance. He bit down on her bottom lip, begging for entrance. She obliged in seconds, inviting his tongue to explore her mouth, shivering as he began tracing the roof of her mouth. She soon felt herself being lifted up into Adrien’s arms, then backed up against the wall as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Adrien soon began trailing kisses from her mouth, along her jaw, and then down her neck.
“Ah! Adrien…” she sighed against him.
“I love you, Marinette. I’m so, so sorry.” He mumbled against the skin of her neck.
“Oh kitty… I’m sorry too. I should’ve told you sooner.”
“It’s okay, Bugaboo.”
“But please, can we worry about that later?”
“Of course.”
The two of them were on Marinette’s bed, Marinette lying down against a set of pillows as Adrien laid his head on Marinette’s lap.
“So… Do you think we should talk about it now, minou?” Marinette asked, running her fingers through Adrien’s hair.
“Yeah…” Adrien sighed.
“Alright.” Marinette smiled. “But Adrien, the thing I’m about to tell you, is, well, extremely complicated.”
“Okay…”
“W-Well, in another timeline, you got akumatized-”
“W-What?!”
“Wait, l-let me finish. You... You knew my name, too. And you told me that our love did that to the world.”
“Did what to the world?”
“D-Destroyed it…” Marinette confessed, looking into Adrien’s eyes in an attempt to sooth him.
Despite her efforts, Adrien reacted just as shocked as she had expected him to, jumping up from her lap. All the colour drained from his face, his eyes widening as his mouth opened, no words coming out.
“Adrien…” Marinette said, wrapping her arms around him as she pulled him into a hug, running her arms down his shoulders. “It’s okay… I fixed everything…”
“M-Marinette” Adrien choked, “What was I called? My akumatized, well, form?”
“Chat Blanc...” Marinette whispered, hugging Adrien tighter.
“I’m so, so sorry…” Adrien muttered, Marinette’s heart breaking at how scared, how vulnerable he sounded.
“Shhh…” Marinette breathed. “It’s okay. It won’t happen again, I promise.”
“H-How can you say that?”
“Because I’m giving you this.” Marinette said, smiling weakly as she picked up a tiny, circular charm from the shelves above her bed. The charm itself was pure black, with a neon-green paw print engraved in the centre. “See? Now you’ll be safe, Chaton.”
“T-Thank you, Marinette,” Adrien mumbled, before engulfing her in a hug.
Marinette giggled at the way Adrien nuzzled his nose against the crook of her neck.
“You know, I don’t know if I told you this kitty, but, what you and Alya did that day… that was… god I can’t even put it into words.” Marinette grinned, feeling the way Adrien’s lips travelled across her collarbone.
“It was nothing, m’lady. Especially after how I’d treated you.”
“Kitty…” Marinette sighed, the feeling of Adrien’s lips against her skin burning throughout her body.
“M’lady…”
“Wait…” Marinette pulled away mid-kiss, earning herself a pout from Adrien.
“What’s wrong Bugaboo?” Adrien asked.
“Alya doesn’t know you’re Chat Noir… does she?”
“M-Maybe...” Adrien panicked; his gaze suddenly fixed on the floor.
“Adrien!” Marinette gasped, using her hands to hold his chin and bring it closer to her face, so that he was looking her straight in the eye.
“I didn’t do it on, purpose! I swear! She just guessed…”
“Of course, she did…” Marinette sighed. “Oh well, nothing we can do about it now. I think we’ve spent enough time overthinking Alya finding out our identities.”
Adrien simply nodded.
“At least now we won’t have to worry about her finding out about our relationship now, minou.” Marinette giggled.
“Yeah, and she helped me win back my lady’s heart” He smirked.
“Who said you ever lost it, Chaton?”
“God, m’lady. You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”
“Mmm… only a bit.” She teased, her fingers running down his shirt.
“You know…” Adrien began, “I think we owe Alya a lot. I mean she’s the reason we’re still here, together, right?”
“Damn right you do!” yelled Alya, causing the pair to jump.
“Alya!!!” Marinette yelped, pulling away from Adrien. “How long have you been here?!”
“About 5 minutes. I tried shouting your names, but once I saw what you guys were doing, I just decided to wait.” She smiled mischievously. “You know, maybe you guys should think twice before making out in some random school hallway. But honestly, I should’ve expected this from the king and queen of PDA.”
“Shut up!”