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It was a cold, dismal day and Marinette was sitting in the cafeteria alone. A few tables away was the majority of her class, all fawning over the newest addition to the student body. Marinette was trying to ignore them all and focus on a sketch, but no matter what she tried, the dress just wouldn’t look right.
Marinette heard laughter and glanced up despite her reluctance to pay any attention to them. She just couldn’t help looking. She watched as the group laughed together, smiles and delight on their faces. Her gaze fell on Alya, who was eagerly typing on her phone and glancing back up at Lila.
Marinette watched Lila and Alya talk and felt something in her snap. She didn’t expect a soft noise to accompany the feeling, or to feel a sharp pain in her palm. When she looked down at her hand she was shocked to see that she had broken her pencil and that part of it had splintered into her flesh. She watched as a small trickle of blood welled from the splinters and she inhaled sharply. It was actually pretty bad. She tried to open her palm a little to drop the largest pencil pieces, but it hurt so badly that she gasped and clenched her hand tighter. That just pushed the splinters further into her skin. Her pain increased and she squeezed her eyes shut in silent agony.
“Marinette?”
She blinked against tears to see Adrien standing beside her chair. She wanted to respond but her mouth was thick like cotton and she couldn’t seem to form the words.
“You’re bleeding ,” he realized, reaching out to softly take her wrist. She breathed deeply, wincing. There wasn’t a lot of blood, but there was enough to make a further mess of her hand.
“What’s your pain level?” He asked, examining her hand without touching it. Marinette distantly marvelled that he was touching her— that he was so close to her.
She swallowed. “It’s hard to— I don’t know—”
“That’s okay, try not to move your hand.” He very carefully took her elbow and moved it. She followed his lead, letting him cautiously guide her to rest her arm across her chest to support it.
“We should get you to the nurse.” He said. He grabbed her bag and sketchbook.
“I’ll bring your things.” He gave her a soft, supportive smile. “It’s going to be okay, Marinette.”
He helped her stand, sending that same distant part of herself reeling, and she tried to focus on breathing. The pain wasn’t as bad when she was careful to keep her hand still, so she tried to do that too.
Adrien put a hand on the small of her back to guide her from the room, which took them past their classmates. Marinette heard a sharp snort as they passed. She glanced over on reflex.
“Wow, the lengths some people will go to for attention.” Lila laughed again, but she was met with uneasy silence from the people around her. It seemed that that comment was a little too far for everyone’s tastes. Adrien froze, going rigid. Marinette felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment and anger. She opened her mouth to speak, but a sharp wave of pain distracted her and Adrien beat her to it.
“Marinette wouldn’t do that.” Adrien snapped, his face twisting with sudden anger. “Just because you have no self respect doesn’t mean that the rest of us would go around seeking attention like you do.”
Lila looked taken aback and so did the rest of the class— but no one said anything. Nobody knew how to respond to that— even Lila herself. There was a long pause before she plastered on an apologetic expression.
“Adrien, I was just joking— I didn’t mean that.” She said.
Adrien looked at her for a moment before shaking his head slowly. “Is anything that comes out of your mouth not total bullshit?” He asked.
Marinette’s jaw dropped and so did her peers’. There were gasps and disbelief was written on everyone’s faces.
“I mean, the very first story you flaunted was a lie. I was there when Ladybug confronted you about being ‘her best friend’. She’d never even met you before. So if you lied about that, and pretty much everything else, why should I or Marinette believe that you were ‘just joking’?” He shook his head again, disgust evident in his expression.
“Marinette’s bleeding , so I’m going to take her to the nurse, I suggest that you take some time to come up with an apology for what you said.” With that, Adrien turned away from the table and carefully guided Marinette towards the door. She walked with him in stunned silence until they were out of the cafeteria. She was very careful with her hand.
“Thank you.” She said belatedly, glancing up at him. His jaw was clenched and he took a deep breath. His features relaxed and by the time he looked down at her he was smiling kindly.
“Anytime, Marinette.” He said.
She looked back down at her hand. It didn’t hurt as badly as it had when she had initially pierced her skin with the pencil splinters, but it was still pretty painful.
“I’m surprised you had the grip to do that.” He said.
She didn’t know what to say to that. ‘Well hot stuff, I’m a superhero so I work out a lot.’ sounded about right in her head but it wasn’t something she could ever actually say to him. Not only because she couldn’t reveal her identity, but because she was pretty sure she’d never be able to call Adrien ‘hot stuff’ to his face.
“Does it hurt a lot when you don’t move your hand?” he asked. She minutely shook her head, afraid to jostle her hand.
“And it doesn’t hurt as much as it did at first.”
“That’s good, I think.” Adrien smiled sheepishly. “I have first aid training but I’ve got no idea how much pencil splinters should be bothering you.”
Marinette thought that in other circumstances she might laugh at that, but with the pain that her hand was causing her she just smiled a little.
“I’m sorry Lila said what she did.” Adrien said, his tone becoming somber. “I knew she was giving you a hard time but I didn’t realize just how bad it was getting.”
Marinette looked away. “It’s not your fault.”
“Still— I don’t think ignoring her is the right thing to do anymore. I think we should take it to the principal or Ms Bustier.” Adrien said.
“I don’t have proof of any of it, except for just now. She’ll twist whatever I say against me.” Marinette sighed. “Maybe she’ll stop after what you said.” Marinette thought there was little chance of that, but she hoped Lila would leave her alone.
Adrien shrugged. “I hope so. She’ll have to if she wants to save face after today. I just hope I didn’t make it worse.” He paused, halting their progress down the hall.
“Marinette, if she keeps bothering you, please tell me. I’ve got your back.” He said, meeting her eyes. “If I can help you with anything , just ask.”
Marinette tried to speak but her words caught in her throat. She swallowed thickly. “Okay,” she got out. Adrien smiled softly.
They’d reached the nurse’s office by now and Mrs Auguste poked her head out. When she saw the blood that was dripping down Marinette’s hand she ushered them inside.
“Miss Dupain-Cheng! What happened?” The woman was old but kindly, with an ernest disposition. She reached up to take Marinette’s hand into her own to look at the damage. Marinette winced at the movement.
“She snapped a pencil.” Adrien said, offering a smile to the old nurse.
Mrs Auguste clucked her tongue. “My, my, I have half a mind to send you to the hospital. Mr Agreste, could you go to the front desk and ask Ms Drouhard to call her parents?”
Adrien nodded politely and put one hand on Marinette’s shoulder.
“Will you be okay?” He asked. She nodded and he stepped away to do as he was asked.
Marinette watched him go and marvelled at the situation. Normally passive and polite Adrien had become assertive and angry in a moment’s notice on her behalf. Her mind was swirling with the past few minutes’ events and she felt a little lightheaded. Mrs Auguste seemed to sense this and had her sit down. The nurse had her take some light painkillers and decided that she was going to have Marinette go to the hospital after all.
“It’s not too serious, dear, but I’m just not equipped to get some of these splinters out, and I think you’ll need some heavier medication for when they’re removed.” Mrs Auguste said. She busied herself with carefully taking the largest parts of the pencil out of Marinette’s slightly cupped palm. It hurt her a little when the pieces brushed against the splinters, but the nurse was careful not to touch anything that was penetrating her skin. Marinette clenched her teeth during the process. Mrs Auguste threw the pieces away and washed her hands.
“Sit tight, dear, I’m sure one of your parents will be around shortly.” The older woman then left the room to go talk to Ms Drouhard.
Marinette said nothing in response as the woman left. Instead, she waited until the nurse was gone and then felt around with her good hand for her purse to check on Tikki. The little red sprite phased out of the purse to alight upon Marinette’s legs.
“Oh, Marinette, are you okay?” The kwami fretted.
“I’ll be okay, Tikki. Though I don’t know if I’ll be able to draw for a while.” Marinette said.
“I’m so sorry, Marinette, that looks awful.” Tikki flew up to rest her paws on Marinette’s cheek. She carefully wiped away some of the wetness there.
“Thank you, Tikki, but it’s not your fault.” Marinette said, trying to smile. The sound of footsteps made Tikki zip away and Adrien peeked into the room.
“They’re sending me to class, are you sure you’ll be okay?” He asked.
Marinette felt her shyness return in force, but she batted it away with the fact that he was checking on her. He cared! She could do this! She focused her mind on the pain in her hand to ground herself.
“I’ll be okay.” She said. “Thanks for everything, Adrien.” Marinette could hardly believe she’d been able to get all of that out.
“Okay, but remember to let me know if you need anything, you have my number, right?”
Marinette nodded and tried to smile through her pain and embarrassment. Adrien smiled sympathetically.
“I’ll see you later.” He said, retreating from the doorway. Marinette watched him disappear, her heart jumping in her chest. She waited with a half smile until she heard her maman hurry into the office. She took a deep breath, ready to go to the hospital and have her hand fixed.
Adrien stepped out of his car with an uneasy feeling. He was a lot more worried about Marinette than he had let on. He had forgotten to give her things back earlier in the office, which he was okay with because it gave him an excuse to check on her. He was very, very worried that she might become akumatized because of Lila, and he didn’t know if he could fight Marinette.
She was the kindest person he knew. She was brave, smart and resourceful. She reminded him of Ladybug. She was one of his closest friends— though the irony was that she didn’t know just how close they were. She had no idea that Adrien was the same Chat Noir that visited her for video games and treats nearly every other night.
But he was visiting as Adrien, so he had to watch himself carefully. He couldn’t be too overly familiar with her. He was her friend, so it made sense that he might visit, especially to deliver her things, but he couldn’t act like he did as Chat. For starters, he had to enter through the front door.
Adrien rang the bell next to the Dupain-Cheng family’s main door, the one around the corner and up a flight of stairs from the bakery front. It was around 6 in the evening, so Mrs Cheng answered the door fairly quickly. She smiled to see him.
“Hello, Adrien. It’s good to see you— are you here to see Marinette?”
He nodded, smiling politely like he had long been taught to do. “Yes, Mrs Cheng. Marinette left some of her things at school, so I wanted to bring them by.” He held up Marinette’s backpack as emphasis.
“That’s very thoughtful of you, dear, thank you. Come right in, Marinette’s in her room.” Mrs Cheng ushered him into the house and sent him on his way up the stairs to her daughter’s room.
Adrien knocked on the trapdoor. “Hey Marinette, it’s Adrien. I brought your backpack.”
He heard movement and what sounded like a surprised eep. He smiled— she was so easy to startle, and the way she flustered and blushed was very endearing.
The trapdoor was yanked open and he saw Marinette kneeling over the opening. “Adrien!” She said, clearly surprised to see him. “I— thanks.”
She paused. “Do you—do you want to come up?” She asked, gesturing over her shoulder with her left hand.
“If you don’t mind,” he said, walking the rest of the way up the stairs once she moved out of the way.
“Where would you like this?” He asked, holding up her bag.
“Oh, on the floor by the desk is okay.” She said. He set the bag down where she pointed, then straightened to look at her for a moment. His eyes focused on her injury. Her right hand was wrapped in bandages and her fingers twitched as she shuffled shyly. He hoped she wasn’t in any pain.
“How’s your hand?” He asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. It wasn’t very proper, but more and more he felt comfortable being casual around her.
“They gave me painkillers, it’s hard to tell. I can’t move it very much with the bandages.” She said, looking down at her hand.
“Are you going to be able to write?” He asked. If she couldn’t take notes then he’d offer to send a copy of his.
Marinette shook her head and walked over to her desk chair to sit. “Not for at least a week. I’m not supposed to draw or sew either.”
Adrien took that as a cue to sit down on the edge of her chaise lounge closest to her. It struck him just how familiar this scene was— he had to lock his body in place so that he wouldn’t skooch back on the chaise and spread out like a cat.
“I could send you copies of my notes if you’d like.” He offered.
She smiled shyly. “Thank you, Adrien.”
“You’re welcome.” He said automatically. Adrien Agreste was nothing if not polite. But he did mean the words more than he usually did.
“So, what did I miss in class today?” She asked, wearing a small grimace.
“Not much, we watched a movie in Ms Mendeleiev’s and Mr Bisset gave a pop quiz, but Mr Gadow just gave a short lecture.” Adrien said, watching Marinette’s fingers twitch.
She nodded. “How bad was the quiz?”
“Not bad, it was just three questions. I’m sure you’ll be able to make it up.”
She shrugged. “What was it about?”
“I can’t ruin the surprise!” Adrien said with mock outrage.
Marinette eyed him for a moment, then she laughed. “I forget that you’re kind’ve ridiculous sometimes.”
Adrien knew he was getting a little too close to sounding like Chat, but he couldn’t help it.
“Marinette, I am never ridiculous.” He said, exaggerating every syllable and putting his hands on his hips.
Marinette laughed again. “You are, too!”
It was Adrien’s turn to laugh. “That’s my deepest, darkest secret. I’m actually a total dork, if you didn’t know.”
Marinette smiled warmly at him, which reminded him of the way she looked at him when he was wearing his mask. It was a look she had never given Adrien before.
He opened his mouth to say something funny, to get her to keep looking at him like that, but his phone rang. The sound shattered the moment and his face twisted in annoyance.
“Sorry, Marinette.” He said as he checked his screen. It was Nathalie.
“That’s okay.” She smiled understandably. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
He nodded at her, smiled, then hurried down the stairs.
“Hello?” He answered his phone.
“Your father wants you home.” Nathalie said, her voice cold and flat. Adrien held in a sigh. He nodded and smiled to Marinette’s mother as he passed her in the kitchen, slipping out of the front door as fast as he could.
“I’m heading down, now.” He said. “Is something wrong?”
“No,” Nathalie said plainly. Adrien gritted his teeth as he pulled out his car keys.
“Then why am I being called home?” He asked as politely as he could. He had been having a moment with Marinette. It was hard to break through her shell sometimes— he was Not Happy™ to be interrupted when she had seemed so comfortable with him. He’d been making progress.
“You’ll have to ask your father.” Nathalie said, no trace of sympathy in her voice.
“Have a good evening, Nathalie.” Adrien said, then he hung up. He stewed for a moment, leaning against his car and glaring at the sunset.
He felt Plagg stir in his jacket pocket and he sighed, trying to let go of his irritation. It was as he was about to open his door that he heard it.
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” A loud thundering came from the right, and as Adrien turned to peer above his car he saw an akuma on the roof opposite Marinette’s home. It was Volpina, though she looked more threatening than her first akumatization. She was a lot more aggressive in appearance, all sharp lines and harsh edges. She wasn’t masquerading as a superhero anymore.
Adrien swore under his breath. He ducked, pulling aside his jacket to let Plagg fly out. The kwami groaned.
“Now what’ve you done kid?” He grumbled.
Adrien ran a hand through his hair. “I was too harsh, I guess.”
“Or maybe Lie-girl is a little unhinged.” Plagg mused. Adrien shrugged.
“You’re probably not wrong about that.” He said.
“Well? You gonna go save your girlfriend or what?”
“She’s not my girlfriend.” Adrien said, shooting Plagg a dark look.
“Whatever, kid.” Plagg said flippantly. Adrien rolled his eyes. He glanced around to check for anyone nearby, then ducked underneath his car. It was going to ruin his clothes to press himself against the asphalt, but he had plenty of those to spare.
“Plagg, claws out.” He murmured, hoping that the green flash of his transformation wouldn’t draw attention. He rolled out from beneath the car and ran to the side of Marinette’s building for cover. He was lucky— for once— because the akuma didn’t seem to notice. She was too focused on talking to Marinette. She had apparently gone up to her roof just a moment before the akuma arrived.
Chat Noir scrambled up the side of the building as quietly as he could and stopped just before reaching the top. He looked up and saw Marinette facing Volpina head on. Her posture was confident. He shook his head— she was like Ladybug alright, except she didn’t have the proper equipment to face an akuma. Chat drew out his baton and extended it, ready to vault over the side of the building and whack the akuma at the right moment.
“He’s not your property,” He heard Marinette say. “And it’s not my fault if he doesn’t like you.”
“You turned him away from me!”
“You did that yourself!”
“How dare you? I’m going to crush you like the insect that you are!”
That one made Chat cringe. He decided that this was the moment to intercede. He propelled himself over the side of the building with a careful jump off of a stone ledge. He landed on the wrought iron railing, causing Marinette to turn towards him.
Before he or Volpina had time to react she was running and pulling herself onto the railing near him. Volpina howled in anger, heading for the two of them. Marinette then flung herself in his direction. Chat had just barely enough time to get his thoughts together to catch her and extend his baton to vault them away from Volpina. The akuma screeched in frustration as she missed them by inches.
Chat Noir couldn’t believe Marinette had just thrown herself at him like she did— the trust implicit in that stunt was akin to what Ladybug had with him. They were friends, close friends at that— but that was insane . She wasn’t a superhero. If he hadn’t caught her she would have gone straight over the edge and fallen to her death.
“That was quite the stunt, Princess.” He said. Her face was close to his, though she was looking behind them towards Volpina.
“Thanks for catching me, kitty cat.” She said, and he swore that he could hear her grinning.
“Are you an adrenaline junky or something?” He asked, focusing on getting them as far away as possible, as quickly as possible.
She laughed breathlessly, and a little hysterically. “Isn’t that a requirement for being a friend of yours?”
“Probably,” He admitted. “Which is why I generally wouldn’t recommend it.”
She laughed again, but tensely this time. “I don’t see her anymore— is that a bad thing or a good thing?”
“I don’t know,” he said, beginning to slow their momentum. “Hopefully Ladybug can find us sooner than later and we can regroup.”
Marinette didn’t respond to that verbally, but her arms tightened around him.
“I’m sure she’s on her way. Someone besides us is bound to have noticed Volpina.” Chat said, trying to reassure her. “And I won’t let Volpina get to you.”
Marinette laughed a little, “I’m not worried about Volpina. Not when I’m with you.”
Chat felt warmth bloom inside his chest. It made sense. If she was trusting enough to do that leap, she trusted him to protect her.
“Normally I’d stash you somewhere safe, but I feel like that’s not the right way to do this one.” Chat said.
“How are you going to fight her, then?” She asked.
“I don’t know, but I’m not leaving you.” He said stubbornly. He felt Marinette sigh.
“Maybe you and Ladybug should use me as bait. We’ve done that before.” Marinette said.
Chat immediately felt cold and shook his head. “No way, that was different. Evillustrator wanted to go on a date with you, not rip you apart.”
“It might be the only way to defeat her— and what if Ladybug can’t get here?”
“She’ll get here.” Chat said firmly.
“We don’t have much time. Volpina is probably circling around to intercept us.” Marinette said. Chat grimaced. Marinette was right about that. But he wasn’t going to let her play bait or give up on Ladybug. His lady had never let him down before; she would be on her way as soon as she heard the news of an akuma.
“We’ll stop so I can call her.” He decided, slowing them further and pivoting to vault into the nearest alley way. As they headed for the ground he shrunk his baton. He set Marinette down carefully and opened the communicator on his weapon.
He called Ladybug. The communicator rang. It rang again. It kept ringing but there was no response. Chat frowned. He brought the baton down and glared at it.
“Chat.” Marinette said, putting her good hand on his shoulder. His gaze flicked over to meet hers. She looked worried. That made him feel bad— he didn’t want his stress to bleed over to her.
“She’ll be here. She must not have heard, but I’m sure her kwami will tell her that I’m trying to reach to her.”
“Chat— I—”
“DUPAIN-CHENG!” Volpina roared. Chat cursed and grabbed Marinette. He pulled her to the side as Volpina fell towards them with a sword pointed their way. Chat wondered where the hell she had gotten it. He pulled out his baton and held it before himself, blocking Volpina’s attack. The weapon didn’t vanish into smoke, so it was real. He swore under his breath.
“You know— this is an extreme reaction over a boy.” He said, blocking every blow that she sent his way. She visibly seethed. He felt Marinette at his back, stepping with him and doing her best not to get in his way.
Chat pressed forward to push Volpina back— going on the offensive. She danced back as he jabbed and extended his baton. He jumped back to get right in front of Marinette. Volpina growled. Chat said nothing. He didn’t feel like making witty banter right now. He let Volpina pace for a moment, obviously deciding what to do. That suited him fine; he had to stall as long as he possibly could to give Ladybug time to arrive.
Something slammed into him from the side and he went flying. Chat let out a yelp as he tumbled away from Marinette. Volpina materialized from the air and the other Volpina faded away. Chat scrambled to get up but she kicked him hard in the face. He felt his nose break, at least he was pretty sure that was what had happened. He fell back, covering his face with one hand and tried to get back onto his feet.
Volpina sent him flying again, even further away from Marinette. He landed a few feet away, blood bubbling from his nose, groaning. He struggled to rise, but Volpina suddenly had her foot on his chest. She pushed down hard— and he felt something crack. She reached for his hand.
“Cataclysm.” He croaked, his hand filling with dark energy. Volpina hesitated.
And then Volpina was gone. Chat got to his feet, despite the awful pain in his chest, quite surprised. Was it his lady?
No— Marinette had tackled Volpina to the ground. The two were grappling, Marinette threw a nice punch, but Volpina got the upper hand quickly.
“I’ll teach you not to mess with me anymore.” Volpina sneered. “If you’d just done what I wanted I wouldn’t have to do this. I warned you, Marinette.”
Chat felt his blood boil. There was something Marinette hadn’t told him— that much was clear. He eyed Volpina, looking for what her akumatized item was. He forced himself to take a deep breath and ignore his pain. He put his right hand behind his back and rushed towards Volpina. He knocked her away with the force of his entire body, stepping over Marinette. He held his hand back out in a warding gesture.
Where was Ladybug?
Marinette struggled to her knees and caught his hand. He glanced at her for a split second and got the message. They needed to run. Chat moved before Volpina could strike. He crouched and Marinette wrapped her arms around him. He dismissed cataclysm and scooped up his baton from the ground as he ran to give them momentum. He vaulted them up into the air and ran down the length of the roof. Volpina followed close behind.
“We need to pick a better hiding spot.” Marinette said, breathless. “And fix your nose.”
“Ladybug will fix it.” He said, his voice sounded strange with his nose full of blood. He jumped over a gap in the roof and let them fall, which surprised Volpina. He used his baton to carefully bring them to the ground at a run. It hurt . Every breath he took exacerbated the ache he felt in his chest and Chat found himself gritting his teeth.
“Chat, Ladybug isn’t coming.” Marinette said, and Chat shook his head.
“No, no she’s coming. She’s just held up.” He insisted. He ran down into a subway station, shouting for people to get out of the way. The jostling he got as he pushed through the crowd sent jolt after jolt of pain through him. The crowd scrambled to run as Volpina followed them down.
“Chat .” Marinette stressed. He could hardly hear her over the chaos they were causing. He shook his head again. He had to believe that Ladybug was on the way. He put on more speed and slid through a train compartment and out the other end. The door closed just as he passed, trapping Volpina in the compartment. He strained to go faster, taking them out the other exit of the subway.
Chat carried Marinette towards the nearest building. It was a theater, and he ran past the tellers straight into the rest of the building. He found the nearest maintenance door and hurried behind it. He stopped then, letting Marinette down. They both caught their breath. He rested a hand on his chest and did his very best to think through his pain.
“I—” Marinette’s fingers twitched in her right hand, and Chat noticed that blood had soaked through her bandage. “ Chat— ”
“Don’t say it.” He said. “Please, don’t—” He turned away, unwilling to listen. He heard Marinette sigh deeply.
“You should leave me behind. Go and find Ladybug. I’m just slowing you down and you’re injured.” She said.
Chat laughed darkly, “Little chance of that, Princess.” There was absolutely no way in hell that he was going to leave her all on her own to get hacked to pieces by a crazed akuma.
“I don’t have magic powers, Chat. Be reasonable—”
Chat let out an angry yowl and punched the wall nearest him. The concrete cracked. Pain shot up through his arm and into his chest, but it made him feel better. If he couldn’t fight the stupid akuma at least he could fight this stupid wall. He hated this whole stupid situation. Marinette went silent.
“I am not leaving you.” He said, practically spitting the words. He took a deep, rattling breath.
“We are going to walk deeper into this building, find a better spot, and wait for Ladybug.” He decided.
“We don’t have time for this.” He heard Marinette mutter. He gritted his teeth.
“Chat—”
“Don’t you start that again .” He said, voice thick with emotion. He was angry and he was worried. He was injured, carrying Marinette slowed him further and he was facing the akuma alone. It wouldn’t be long before Volpina found them again and did another number on him. But he wasn’t going to leave Marinette, he couldn’t . She was his best friend— besides Ladybug herself who was currently MIA. Where the hell was she? He had to believe in her, but in that moment it was hard .
“Ladybug is not coming.” Marinette said firmly. “Because I am already here.”
Chat stumbled in his haste to spin around. It hurt . He gasped, sliding to the ground in pain. That hurt, too.
“Mari, what are you talking about?” He asked through clenched teeth.
Her face was determined; her hands balled into fists. She gazed at him with both steel and fondness in her eyes and it was a look so familiar that it hit him like a ton of bricks.
“Tikki, spots on.” She said, and Chat watched with a slack jaw as pink light enveloped her. It faded away to reveal Ladybug .
“Mari— Ladybug— I—” Everything made so much more sense. All the disappearing, the similarities, all the questions were suddenly answered. If he thought breathing was hard before it was impossible now. He stared at her, mouth agape.
She watched him take it in, then took a deep breath. “I know what we’ve said about revealing identities, but you weren’t going to let me slip away. We can talk later. Right now we have an akuma to fight.”
She’d been right there with him this whole time.
Chat took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure how to feel. He could hardly breathe with his stupid broken nose and wrecked ribs, Marinette was Ladybug and they hadn’t won their stupid battle yet. He was in lots of pain, overjoyed, confused, and tired. But they had things to do.
He nodded slowly. “Okay— but we are going to talk.”
“Yes, I promise.” She said. “Now, let’s go kick Volpina’s butt and fix that nose.”
“I think my ribs are broken, too.” Chat said, struggling to get to his feet. Ladybug muttered something under her breath.
“Maybe you should wait here.” She said, though her tone suggested that she knew that wasn’t going to happen. He gave her a dark look. She threw her hands up in the air.
“Fine. Okay. Let’s go kick Volpina’s ass and fix you .”
Ladybug landed on the top platform of the Eiffel Tower. It was a beautiful night and her suit shielded her from the evening chill. There were no stars to be seen, but the sky was a deep, cloudless black. Chat Noir was already there, sitting on the opposite edge of the steel structure and gazing out at the bright city. She took a deep breath and walked forward to meet him. She knew that he could hear her approach, but she greeted him aloud anyways.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hey, Mari— bug. Maribug.” Chat said the new word like he was having an epiphany. Ladybug made a face and sat beside him.
“Is that my new nickname?” She asked.
“I don’t know, I think I like Buginette better.” He said, turning his head to grin at her.
She rolled her eyes. “That one is worse.”
“What about Princess? Maybe I’ll keep that one.”
“I guess that one’s okay.” She said, kicking her feet a little as they dangled off the edge of the tower. Ladybug smiled to herself— she was so much less nervous now that she was sitting next to him. She had worried that he would be disappointed by her identity, but he seemed the opposite. It made her feel warm inside.
“LB?” He asked, his tone softer.
She looked back up at him. “Yeah, Chat?”
“I’m glad it’s you.” He said, resting a clawed hand atop her uninjured hand.
She blushed despite herself. “I’m glad, I worried that...“ She trailed off, not wanting to put words to that fear.
Chat shook his head resolutely. “I could never be disappointed with you, Marinette. I feel like an idiot for not realizing— but this is pretty much the best day of my life.”
Ladybug blushed again. She’d be lying if she said she had never wondered what it would be like to move on from Adrien and fall in with Chat Noir. It would be nice, she decided. She didn’t know if she would be able to, especially not right away, and she’d have to tell him that— but being with Chat would be as easy as breathing if she wasn’t so in love with someone else.
“Chat— I care about you. A lot. But that other guy I told you about…”
“He’s still there.” Chat finished. His eyes dimmed a little, but he smiled. “It’s okay, LB. I get it. I like you— a lot— but if you don’t feel the same, that’s okay.”
“Thanks for understanding.” She said, and she smiled at him. They sat together in silence for a few minutes.
“I guess I should tell you who I am.” Chat said. Ladybug hesitated for a moment. She felt guilty for revealing her identity because now her family and friends were in danger. But she supposed that now that half the secret was out, there was no point in keeping his identity hidden. He had always been the one who wanted to reveal themselves. She had sometimes wondered if he didn’t have very many loved ones to protect, and thus less to worry about. But the cat was halfway out of the bag. And truth be told, she wanted to know.
“Promise not to be disappointed?” Chat said, an edge to his voice that she didn’t understand. It didn’t sound like the fear of inadequacy that she had struggled with. Ladybug took both of his hands in hers. The suit was protecting her injured hand, so it didn’t hurt.
“I could never be disappointed in you, either.” She said, looking deep into his eyes. He smiled at that and took a deep breath.
“Plagg, claws in.” He closed his eyes. Ladybug watched in awe as his transformation fell away and revealed Adrien Agreste .
“Adrien ?” She gasped— so stunned that she nearly reeled off the Eiffel Tower. That would have been especially bad because he wasn’t transformed anymore and she might have pulled him off with her.
“Surprised?” He asked, smiling sheepishly.
“I— I don’t know what to say .” Ladybug ran one hand through her bangs. “I— you’re Adrien .”
“Yep.” He said.
“Oh my God .” She said, looking at him with disbelief. She blinked, convinced that he would change into someone else in the space of an eyeblink. He didn’t.
“I can’t believe it.” She murmured.
Adrien frowned a little. “I remember you promising you wouldn’t be disappointed.” Her desire for him not to second guess himself overcame her shock.
‘I’m not—” Ladybug assured him. “I’m anything but— I’m thrilled .”
“Really?” He asked, and it was his turn to be surprised.
“Adrien— you’re the other guy!” She said, exuberant. Now that it was sinking in, she grabbed his hands again.
“The other— oh .”
“Yes, oh .” She said.
“You mean that you ...”
She blushed. He grinned, and then he groaned.
“I’ve been in my own way this whole time.” He smacked his forehead.
Ladybug laughed, hard . “And so have I!”
“God, we’re a mess.” He said, shaking his head.
“A complete mess.” Ladybug agreed. They looked at each other and laughed again. Adrien began to shiver, cold without his suit up on the Tower top. He called back his transformation, making Ladybug smile to see his hair turn into a messy mop. She decided that she liked it better that way.
“Princess?” he asked.
“Yeah?”
“Can I kiss you?” He asked, still holding her hands.
She blushed and nodded, unable to contain a wide smile. Her stomach was full of butterflies— or maybe ladybugs was the more appropriate analogy. Chat let go of one of her hands to cup the side of her face.
“I’ve been waiting for this since the day we met.” He said. His voice had lowered in pitch and volume as he stared at her lips.
“So have I,” she said, closing her eyes.
There were no fireworks when their lips met, but there didn’t need to be. It was perfect, despite how awkward and inexperienced they were. One soft kiss led to a few gentle kisses, and then a longer, harder kiss that made her heart go racing.
It was as easy and wonderful as she had ever imagined— but it was better because it was real .
Ladybug smiled widely, breaking the kiss. She opened her eyes and met his gaze. He was smiling too.
“I can’t believe it.” She said.
“Neither can I.” He said.
She smiled shyly, leaning in to kiss him again, when the color suddenly drained from her face.
“Oh no .” She said.
“What is it?’ he asked, alarmed.
“What are we going to tell Nino and Alya?” She asked.
“I didn’t know you were on speaking terms with Alya anymore.” Chat said, causing Ladybug to remember the way that Alya had been treating her the past few weeks.
Chat’s face darkened. “I’m not sure I care what either of them would think about us.” He said. Ladybug would have agreed with that sentiment if it wasn’t for earlier that day.
“Alya visited me earlier, before you did. She said that what Lila said in the cafeteria just didn’t sit right with her. It was so different than anything she had heard her say before and what you said about her not knowing Ladybug made her go digging. She apologized for ever believing Lila… I’m not sure if I forgive her completely yet, but I want to.” Ladybug took a deep breath and squeezed Chat’s hand.
“I think things are going to start looking up. Nino actually came with Alya, he said he was sorry, too. I told Alya I might need a little space for a while, and she said that she understood— but if we show up to school tomorrow like this— ”
“She’ll pounce?” Chat asked, a slight smile curled his lips.
“Exactly.” Ladybug sighed. Chat’s smile turned into a grin. It made her narrow her eyes.
“You won’t be spared, you know.” She pointed out.
Chat hesitated. “You’re probably right about that,” he admitted.
“And we can’t let all of Paris know about us.” Ladybug said, having just realized the bigger problem.
“Why not?” Chat asked, his brow furrowing.
“Because Hawkmoth will use that against us. We’re going to have to be careful .” She said. He grudgingly nodded.
“But we are going to date as Marinette and Adrien, right?” He asked, frowning.
“I mean, as long as we’re on the same page with the dating thing.” He quickly added.
Ladybug laughed and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Yeah, kitty.”
He smiled and turned his face to kiss her. She jolted back.
“But no kissing in costumes.” She said sternly.
Chat raised an eyebrow, smirking. Her cheeks went red.
“Where anyone can see,” she amended.
He leaned in and kissed her again, as if to prove why that amendment was necessary. Ladybug giggled when he pulled away, giddy from everything that had happened in the past few minutes. He kissed her again, grinning. She beamed as she let out a peal of laughter.
“You’re insatiable,” she said. He kissed her nose in answer.
“You’re amazing.” He said. “I’ll never get enough of you.”
“Never?” She asked. She knew that they were young, but she also knew that her heart had decided. Chat— Adrien— he was it for her. She wanted this to work.
“Nope,” he grinned. “Not in a million years.”
She smiled back. “I’ll hold you to that.”
“I’m counting on it.”