Work Text:
Chat Noir’s hand trembled as it hovered over the door handle. The conflicting feelings inside him raged. If he opened the door, he would finally know the true identity of his partner and the love of his life, but she may never forgive him for going against her wishes. If he didn’t open the door, her trust would remain intact, but he would be left forever wondering if he had thrown away his only chance at meeting the girl behind the mask.
Ladybug’s words echoed in his mind. Our identities must remain a secret, even from ourselves. He knew that she only had their best interests at heart. It really was safer that no one know, lest their identities fall into the wrong hands and their friends and family be used against them.
On the other hand, if only the two of them knew, they could be even greater assets to each other. They would know where to find each other in times of need rather than waiting and hoping the other would show up. They could help each other find places to transform and detransform, and corroborate their stories so they always matched. They could meet up outside of the uniforms to make plans for the next akuma attack and to eventually find and defeat Papillon.
All of this back and forth happened in a split second, though it felt more like an hour. He could feel Plagg’s irritation vibrating through him. The pink flash of Ladybug’s detransformation had already subsided, and he knew he needed to make a decision soon.
Suddenly, he heard her start to speak in a low voice. He realized she must be talking to her kwami. That meant no more mask, no more suit, no more mystery.
The thought of her standing there with no more than a wooden door between them was the final straw. Chat Noir put all of his might into his grip on the door handle and pulled.
The first thing his brain processed was a small, red and black figure floating in the air. It was about the same size as Plagg and looked like a ladybug, so clearly, that must be Ladybug’s kwami. Speaking of Ladybug, his brain reminded him. He tore his gaze from the kwami and found himself staring into the shocked but familiar eyes of...
“Marinette!?”
Marinette took a step back, startled by the circumstances. “Chat Noir, what are you doing?? Didn’t you hear me? This isn’t supposed to happen! No one is meant to know about our true identities! Oh no, you silly, stupid cat. What are we going to do now?”
What she didn’t know was that he hadn’t heard a single word she said. He was far too busy making a thousand and one connections in his mind.
Of course it was Marinette. How could he not see it? The iridescent black of her hair, those bluebell eyes. How had he been so blind? Her constant tardiness coupled with lame excuses, not unlike his own. Her persistent positivity and willingness to help others, even if it meant sacrificing her time and energy. It all made so much sense now. Of course it was her.
Joy bubbled up inside him and escaped in the form of incredulous laughter.
Marinette’s eyebrows inverted, taking her expression from worried to pissed off. “This isn’t funny, Chat Noir!” Then, as if something else just clicked in her mind, her face fell into one of embarrassment, a blush creeping over the bridge of her nose.
Chat Noir’s laughter caught in his throat. He suddenly realized that she thought that he was laughing at her. That he was disappointed that after such a long build-up, Ladybug turned out to be just Marinette.
Man, could she be any more wrong.
He moved toward her with his hands up like he was trying to stop that train of thought before it could go any further. In response, she drew her arms around herself defensively.
“Look, Chat, I’m sorry if this isn’t what you were hoping for, but now you know.”
As he approached her, he reached out and set his hands gently on her shoulders. Marinette—his Ladybug—peered up at him with caution in her eyes. In that moment, he realized he would do anything just for another chance to look into those sincere, blue eyes.
“No, no, Marinette, it’s not that,” he began. “I just can’t believe you’ve been right under my nose this whole time.”
Marinette looked questioningly over at her kwami, who simply shrugged.
Chat Noir smiled and closed his eyes, thoroughly at peace with what he was about to do.
“Plagg, claws in.”
Immediately, the familiar sensation rushed over him, beginning at the tips of his extremities and ending at the crown of his head. He exhaled with the relief he always felt at being released from the responsibilities of a superhero. He savored the moment before finally opening his eyes to the very first person in his life from whom he held no secrets.
Marinette stared unblinking at him, mouth agape.
“A-...Adrien?” she managed.
“In the flesh,” he quipped with a wink. “Hey there, Bugaboo.”
Marinette spluttered, “B-but that’s not possible! I know everything about you, how could I not know??”
Adrien chuckled. “That’s what I thought too. I guess part of the magic of the miraculous is maintaining the mystery of our identities, no matter how well someone knows us.” He looked for Plagg to confirm his theory, but he was engaged in a silent conversation with Marinette’s kwami (whose name he should probably figure out). They seemed familiar with each other.
Then something about Marinette’s protest caught up with him.
“Wait, what do you mean you know everything about me?”
Marinette’s face flushed a shade of pink to match the lining of her jacket.
“O-oh, well, uh...I mean, not everything, but, um...” Her stammering made Adrien realize that that was one of the reasons he had never pegged her for his heroine: Ladybug never tripped over her words like that. It was endearing, though.
“You see...” she continued. “I’ve kind of...had a crazy huge...crush on you?”
That wasn’t what Adrien had expected. “Really?”
She nodded sheepishly.
He guessed that explained why she was so nervous around him all the time. He’d never made the connection. No wonder he hadn’t realized who she was.
Hang on, he thought. If she likes me and she’s Ladybug...
He couldn’t help it. He burst out in a fit of giggles again.
But this time, when he got a hold of himself, Marinette looked hurt and ashamed. He needed to stop doing that.
“Oh, Marinette, no, you don’t understand. Don’t you remember? Chat Noir is completely head-over-heels for Ladybug.” He raised his eyebrows meaningfully.
Marinette’s eyes widened with realization. “You mean...all this time...?”
“We’ve been dancing circles around each other with absolutely no idea?” he finished. “So it would seem, my Lady.”
“Oh, Adrien,” she sighed. Then her expression darkened again. “But Adrien, you should know that Marinette is a different person than Ladybug. You may not feel the same way about me as you do about her.”
Adrien thought again about how optimistic and selfless they both were, and smiled. “I don’t think you’re that different from her. Besides, Adrien and Chat Noir are different too, but they do have one thing in common. They’re both very lucky.”
“Huh?” Marinette puzzled. “Why is that?”
Adrien brushed the back of his fingers against her cheek. “It’s not every day you find out you’re in love with your best friend.”
Marinette giggled, and at the same time, her eyes began to water. She leaned into Adrien’s touch, still smiling even as she let the tears fall.
Adrien inched his face closer to hers. “Marinette...” he said lowly.
“Adrien...” she whispered.
“...Can I finally have that kiss now?” he smirked.
Marinette rolled her eyes and huffed a laugh. “Okay,” she said, swiping away a tear. “Silly kitty.”
He couldn’t help but grin at her so freely using his nickname to his civilian form.
He carefully put his hands on her waist, and in turn, she drew her arms around his neck. He instantly felt an overwhelming sense of tranquility and belonging, and he thought he could stay this way forever.
The distance between them slowly disappeared until finally, their mouths met. It was pure and sweet, more an acknowledgement of this new aspect to their relationship than anything. They would have to spend some time adjusting to their new dynamic, which was fine by Adrien. The two kwamis flew happily around them, and Adrien couldn’t imagine a more perfect moment.
When they separated, Adrien found Marinette’s eyes staring up at him in awe, and he could only imagine he looked the same to her.
After a few moments, Marinette looked away bashfully.
“So, um...what do we do now?”
Adrien pondered all of the things that they clearly needed to talk about, and figured they should probably take it one step at a time.
“Maybe we could start with some ice cream?”
Marinette seemed satisfied with this idea. Both of their kwamis returned to their respective hiding places.
As they exited the closet—carefully, after checking that their surroundings were clear and they wouldn’t be discovered—Adrien felt Marinette’s fingers intertwine with his. They walked out together, hand in hand, completely changed yet entirely the same.
Adrien knew there would be challenges on the journey ahead of them, but every time he saw his own happiness reflected in those bluebell eyes, he knew he made the right choice.
fin