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This was hardly ideal, Marinette had to admit. Them on the run on those blasted stairs once again, trying to come up with a plan and having no time to do that.
The simultaneous beeping of their Miraculouses echoed in the cavernous stairwell making their eyes lock on each other in panic.
"We can do this," Chat was quick to reassure her before she got into full-on panic mode. "We've had to recharge before, we know the drill."
And he was right, she realised. They trusted each other, they knew what was at stake. That's why they were such a good team.
As if on command they both stopped running, rooted to their places. This would have to do. She looked into his eyes one last time, for courage, and then closed hers just as her transformation wore off, while a bright light let her know the same thing had happened to him.
She was standing on the edge of a step, which was not a good place to be with your eyes closed. She felt a little dizzy and swayed on the spot. But then two strong arms wound around her, keeping her in place. It was a good thing he was that close to her, somehow ending up on the bottom step from her. Her hands shot up to his shoulders.
Their kwamis must have found their respective snacks to refuel, leaving them alone for the moment. And what was usually a pretty normal situation quickly became awkward. Or not exactly. They were just too close, she thought. Which was not a problem in general, but now that they were just standing there, with their eyes closed, waiting, her senses were too overwhelmed with him. She was too aware of the warmth seeping through her clothes. Of the fabric under her fingers, so unlike the material of his suit. She could hear him breathe, taking quick, shallow breaths. Could almost hear the frantic beating of his heart. He was affected by her closeness too. Of course he would be, after all his proclamations of love she was more than aware of how he felt about her. But what would explain her own feelings?
She then realised something else. She didn't just hear him breathe. She could feel the warm air on her face every time he exhaled. Because he was that close. And because of those stairs, her face was almost at the same height as his. This was too much. Them sharing the same air, their breaths mingling like that. It was too intimate. Too hard to ignore. If she leaned in just a little and...
Their lips meeting startled both of them. She felt his arms tighten around her, while her own hands grasped his shirt. At first it wasn't much, just their lips touching lightly. They could both pull back at any moment, breaking the contact. But they didn't. And then, guided by some instinct deep inside of them, they both tilted their heads in the opposite direction, providing the perfect angle for their mouths to move in the way they wanted. Because she did want that, she realised. There was no point denying that, it was too late for that. She sighed as she felt his lips close over hers. The way they moved was shy, tentative. But the sensation was unlike anything she'd felt before. She hadn't reached that level of intimacy with anyone else but him, but that one kiss hadn't really registered in her mind in the heat of the moment, while the other one she'd forgotten. This was different. And then it all became too much to think clearly.
She didn't think they'd been kissing for that long, but she'd totally lost herself in the moment because she was startled when she heard a small voice say,
"I'm really sorry to be interrupting you, but that akuma is still very much at large," Tikki was saying.
Right, of course, she thought as they reluctantly pulled apart. The temptation to open her eyes and just see him was unbelievably strong. The moment they'd shared wouldn't just go away. She could still feel the lingering touch of his lips on hers.
"Chat," she whispered.
"I'm here, m'lady," came his soft reply. His voice thick with emotion was her undoing. Her eyes flew open before she could stop them. And she came face to face with none other than Adrien. Oh God. Adrien, who she'd just been kissing. Chat, who was in love with her and she had to stop fooling herself was just a friend to her. They were the same person.
"Open your eyes, Adrien," she surprised herself by saying. She needed him to know. To see her too.
He jumped in surprise but then his eyes fluttered open. And widened when he took in the girl in his arms.
"Marinette," he breathed. Still very close to her, the memory of that kiss so fresh.
"I know this is too much, kitty, but we have a job to do," she said gently. "But... what happened just now... hold onto that thought, ok?"
A smile tugged at his lips. Oh God, his lips, she thought just as she saw his eyes dart down to her own mouth. And then their eyes met again, a heated promise mirrored in them.
"Are you ready?" he asked and she nodded. The transformation phrases were uttered without them breaking eye contact. In fact, they still hadn't moved at all. They were still holding each other as they became Ladybug and Chat Noir again. They took in the change with wide eyes and then grinned simultaneously. He leaned in for a quick peck and mumbled,
"I never knew it would take a single step to bring you to the perfect height for kissing."
And then he ran up the stairs, throwing a grin in her direction over his shoulder. She stood with her mouth open in surprise for a second before running after him. He dared tease her now, now of all times! She'd see about that. But later.