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It was a party the likes of which modern Paris had never seen. Music blared from speakers at the numerous, spontaneous street parties. Whole roads were closed as people spilled out onto them, laughing, and dancing and chanting rhymes in celebration.
It was done. Hawkmoth was defeated. Their heroes had prevailed, and it was time to celebrate the fact.
For Marinette, everything seemed surreal. Granted that could have been the exhaustion, she hadn’t been able to get much sleep over the past twenty-four hours, still riding the adrenaline high of finally taking care of the biggest problem in her life. Tikki was resting calmly, nestled in the depths her bag. She and Chat weren’t due to make an appearance for another couple of hours. She had time to let it soak- to enjoy herself.
“You ok, babe?”
Alya came to stand by her side, on the edges of the crowd. She glowed with happiness, a crown of red and black flowers nestled on her head, and her cheeks tinged pink.
“Yeah,” Marinette grinned wide, feeling a hazy sense of pride swelling within her. It still hadn’t sunk in, what her and Chat had accomplished. Half of her still expected to wake up next morning hearing the familiar alert from the Ladyblog about the latest akuma. “Just- it’s so crazy, you know?”
Alya beamed, reaching up to place a pair of black cat ears on Marinette’s head. “Totally!” she squeaked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “This is the best night of my life!”
Nino wobbled over, eyes glazed, a myriad of lipstick imprints all over his face, and Marinette couldn’t help but chuckle. “I can see that.”
“Adrien not here yet?” Nino asked with a wrinkled nose, as he was bumped by an inebriated party-goer dressed in what could only be described as a “rave Ladybug” style. “My bro is sleepin’ on this party! He needs to hurry up already.”
“He’s supposed to meet us soon,” Marinette replied, feeling the usual pang in her chest, the one she always got when she thought of her former crush, and was about to suggest texting him when a familiar pair of glowing green eyes attracted her attention. They were across the street, hidden in the shadows of an alley, but Marinette would know them anywhere. “Why don’t we grab some drinks before he shows?”
“Good idea!” Alya cried, tugging Nino back into the throng of people.
It was easy enough to lose them in the crowd, and Marinette weaved her way through the warm bodies, never losing sight of those eyes. Her heart flipped, the fantasticalness of the situation flooded her senses. She’d dreamed of this moment so many times.
But, when she stepped into the shadowy alley and felt Chat Noir’s arms sweep her into a fierce embrace, she realised this was better. So much better than anything she could have imagined.
Except for one thing.
“So, do you think you and Ladybug will tell each other who you are now?” she asked later, nestled on Chat’s lap whilst they watched the partying crowd on the streets below them, very much aware of how her words created sparks in the air, how close she was to being burned.
Idly, Chat played with the cat-ears on Marinette’s head (for which he’d already teased her relentless, until she’d flicked his nose). She snuggled into his chest, desperate for the closeness. He probably thought it was due to watching him fight from afar, almost losing his miraculous, and being helpless to stop it. He was half right.
After a while he spoke, his words slow and careful. “I guess? We haven’t really talked about it, not for a long time… not since…”
She tried not to wince. She really did. But she knew exactly what he was talking about, the conversation he referenced. She’d been the one to break his heart first hand after all, and she knew exactly what it felt like. Long ago, another blond had broken her heart.
But that was the past.
Chat, misreading her reaction, pulled her back towards his chest and placed a reassuring kiss to her shoulder. “But you don’t have to worry! It wouldn’t change anything between us. I haven’t felt that way about her in a long-”
“I know,” Marinette interrupted, running her fingers through his hair, smiling when he leaned into the touch and began to purr. “I know.”
“I’d tell you,” he mumbled, and her ministrations stopped. All the air left her lungs in one fell swoop. “I… I want to.”
Marinette paused, her mind reeling, and by god was she sick of that feeling. It had been twenty-four hours of non-stop emotional tumbling and she wanted it to stop. She wanted to breathe.
Standing up, she walked a few paces away, the light from the street below suddenly shining on her face. When she turned to face Chat, she was unsurprised to see him standing too, an unreadable expression on face. “Princess…” he floundered, casting his eyes downward.
“Dance with me,” she supplied, extending her hand. Chat frowned, confused by her reaction to his confession, so she elaborated further. “W- you and Ladybug- you did it! You beat the bad guy. I don’t think now is the time to talk about heavy stuff.” She smiled warmly at him, ignoring the jolt of panic striking her heart. “I promise we will, we’ll talk about everything. But right now? I want to dance. With you.”
I want to dance with the guy who didn’t break my heart, and pretend I didn’t break his once upon a time. I want to hope things will be ok between us even though everything’s changing.
And so, they did. Amongst the shadows, yet to step into the light in so many ways, Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chat Noir created a dance entirely of their own, away from the eyes of the world. They laughed and kissed, whispered sweet nothings and promises of tomorrow.
They hoped.