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Marinette was supposed to be stretching her legs at the gym bars.
How it ended up with her ogling at Adrien doing the exact same thing she was supposed to be doing while Alya shook her head at her....she honestly had no idea.
"Girl...snap out of it." Her best friend snapped her fingers in front of her. "You have to stop this."
"Whaat, staring at Adrien? Pfft, I'm not doing that at all. Why would I need to stop it if I'm not doing it all, you're crazy." She snapped out of her trance and hurriedly lifted her leg on the bars.
"Uh huh. Sure. I'm the one who's crazy." Alya rolled her eyes.
It was PE, and their usual teacher was off sick. They did have a substitute, except no one knew who it was yet.
People like Chloe and Sabrina were just hoping no one would come so they could continue staring at their screens all day.
"Wow! I wish I could stretch like that!" Alya said to Marinette, while being as flexible as a rubber band herself.
But then again, Alya had possessed the fox miraculous only four times now. While it did increase her flexibility and agility, it was nowhere near Marinette's.
"C'mon, you're doing a great job yourself!" Marinette encouraged as she did the splits effortlessly.
"I bet these reflexes come in handy a lot." Alya said, pondering.
Marinette immediately grew paranoid. What if she was talking about her secret identity as Rena Rouge?! She was supposed to keep it a secret!
Or...what if she knew that Marinette was Ladybug and that's what she meant by that!
"Uh-what do you mean?" Marinette coughed nervously.
Alya seemed to catch herself then, and Marinette heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe she was talking about herself.
"When you're late for school of course!" Alya laughed. "I mean, you could jump over buildings with that much stamina!"
Oh, the irony.
While Marinette was glad Alya had managed to keep her identity secret, it still annoyed her that the joke had to be made at her expense.
"Very funny."
"Sorry, Marinette....but I do know a way to make it up to you." Alya smiled slyly.
Oh no. She knew that look.
"Uh..."
"Hey, Nino!" Alya called from across the gym.
"Yeah?" He had been talking to Adrien, and for a moment, Marinette's worries about Alya's diabolical comics flew away from her mind.
Adrien had just gotten up from stretching his muscles too.
"Oh, Adrien...." Marinette thought in her head dreamily.
"I need to talk to you." Alya was calling. "It's about our date!"
"What date? We didn't plan anything." Nino said from the other side.
Alya facepalmed hard.
"OH! OH, THAT DATE!" Nino said so loudly the chattering students in the gym stopped talking to look at him.
"Uh, loud much?" Chloe glared at him.
"For once, I agree with Chloe." Alya said out of the corner of her mouth.
What?
Before she could comprehend anything, Alya had marched across the gym and dragged Nino away.
Adrien and Marinette looked weirdly at their even more weird friends.
He turned to Marinette, standing on the other end of the gym. He smiled and waved at her.
Marinette, for some reason, blinked and her hand slipped from the bar and she fell flat on the ground.
Alarmed, a few people, including Adrien moved towards her, but with surprising resilience, she had gotten up just as instantly.
"Hi!" She waved brightly.
Adrien, though bemused at her antics, was glad he was able to talk normally to her this year. The year before, she barely talked to him, and when she did, she always stuttered and stammered.
It always bothered him. He was worried that he intimidated her somehow, maybe he said something he should not have.
Now, everything was great between them. It was great, amazing even, to know Marinette more as a friend.
For one thing, he noticed that she had great reflexes, maybe paralleled only by Kim in this room.
Boy, he was not going to like that.
"Adrien!"
He turned at the sound of his name.
At first he dreaded the voice belonging to Chloe, but now that he saw the voice's owner, he desperately wished it did belong to Chloe.
"Hi, Lila." He said, uneasily.
"You are so good with stretches!" She said, excitedly, like the whole episode with Kagami and Onii chan did not happen at all.
"Thank you." He said, stiffly.
"Tell me, is it true that you are the best fencer at Monsieur D'Argencourt's fencing academy?"
"Well, I won't say I'm terrible-" Adrien said, being humble like he was always taught to be. "-but really, I'm a good match for Kagami's skills. You must remember her." He raised an eyebrow meaningfully.
"Oh you mean, that crazy girl who tried to attack me? Is she the best fencer in your class?"
Adrien made no comments on the first sentence. "Yes."
"Did you know that I won a fencing competition in Japan when I was little?"
"Did you really?" Adrien was desperately looking around the room for an escape.
His eyes caught Marinette's.
Also known as the only other person aware of Lila's reputation as a liar.
She looked furious, and Adrien wondered if it was because he wasn't calling Lila out on her lies.
But....it could be true. Lila could have won a fencing tournament.
"Yes! I defeated so many fencers too many rounds to count! I just parried that stick right at their throats!" She said excitedly miming it the completely wrong way.
He gave a tired look towards Marinette who shook her head.
They needed no words.
Show her no mercy.
"Say, Lila." Adrien cleared his throat. "How many fencing competitions have you been in?"
"Oh, tons! I've been fencing since I was 6!"
"Really? I've been fencing since I was 9. You know, the standard minimum age for any fencer to qualify in any tournament? You must be really special if they let you fence so early."
Oh how much he loved letting his Chat Noir side come out.
Lila seemed to realize she had lied to a champion fencer, the best of his age.
"Oh, I-um, yeah!"
"And you know, usually, fencing competitions have only 2 rounds, but the tournament you attended seems to be much more competitive if there are so many rounds! Do you think you could tell me more about the tournament and the way you parried your sabre- I am sorry, what did you call it? A stick? Could you tell me exactly how you won? I want to hear everything!"
"Uh...ummm." Lila was trapped.
Marinette couldn't hear anything, nor could Adrien conveniently look at her now.
And though she had much less patience with Lila than he did, Adrien knew for sure that he felt just as smug as Marinette did.
"Adrien! I heard you play the piano too! I've attended so many concerts!"
She was getting desperate, but this time she was careful to not mention that she was the one practicing the art herself.
Adrien himself, however, wasn't going to waste time humouring her.
"Uh, I actually have to go now." Adrien mumbled, looking around for an excuse. His eyes landed on Marinette.
"Marinette!" He called, and she froze in place. She had moved over to talk to Rose and Juleka.
"I said, we were going to hang out remember?"
She looked confused, but Adrien gave her a wink and she relaxed."Yeah! Come on over!"
"Sorry, Lila!" Adrien shrugged. "You understand."
He didn't need to turn around to know she was fuming.
Adrien was secretly proud of himself for tactfully taking the blame of the excuse on himself instead of Marinette. Lila would definitely have taken it out on her if he had said it the other way around.
"Thank you so much for going along with my excuse." Adrien said to Marinette gratefully, who had separated from Rose and Juleka.
"Oh! No problem!" Marinette laughed....a little nervously again.
Adrien frowned. Did he give off some intimidating vibe? Why was Marinette nervous around him again?
Out of the corner of his eye, Alya and Nino were giving him thumbs ups.
Why, though?
"W-what did she say to you, though?"
Adrien explained everything to her, and she became more relaxed as she complimented his finesse.
"It's about time someone put her in her place. Well done." Marinette said savagely.
Adrien smiled to himself. It was nice to have something that he shared only with Marinette.
Even if said something was knowledge that a certain someone was a liar.
"It is a relief she didn't ask me about baking." Adrien laughed. "I would have been cornered."
"I could tutor you in case you need that knowledge for later." Marinette said, laughing too.
"Wait, you would?"
She panicked again. "Uh, uh, I mean-uh-of course! You could come over to my house! It'll be like you're a member of my family! I mean- my family members will be happy to teach you! Why wouldn't they? You're amazing-AT BAKING! I mean would be-will be-GAH- I'm going to stop talking now." She put her hands over her eyes.
"Sure..." He said, awkwardly. Maybe she was making a joke and he had to go and ask if she was serious. "I'd love to learn."
Before Marinette could say anything, an ear splitting whistle sounded in everyone's ears.
"Boys! Girls! Form a crowd around me!"
Their sub was Monsieur D'Argencourt?
-------
"There, now is everyone seated?" He looked around at everyone's serious faces.
Well, in Kim's and Alix's case, excited, and Chloe's case, least bothered.
"Miss Bourgeois." The fencing master called. "Put your phone away, please."
"Uh, let me think. Stupid PE....or a mound of likes on my Queen Bee fanpage ...." Everyone blinked at her. "Oh come on! All of you obvious know the better choice!"
"Miss Bourgeois." Monsieur D'Argencourt said sternly, holding out his hand for her phone. "I do not tolerate such impudence in my class."
"Ugh, excuse me? I'm Queen Bee!" Chloe stood up angrily. "I don't need to take PE, I basically practice an Olympic sport when I'm out there saving the world!"
"Well, atleast she isn't using her father's position to defend herself anymore...." Marinette whispered in Alya's ear.
"Chloe." Adrien whispered. "Don't."
He had been on the receiving side of Monsieur D'Argencourt's legendary temper once. It was not pretty.
"In that case, Miss Bourgeois, participating in our Official Regulatory Fitness test must be a breeze for you." He said smoothly.
"Say what now?" Chloe said blankly.
Mylene hesitantly raised her hand, "What is this fitness test? Do we have to climb bars or something?"
"I'll be right with you, Miss Harpele, right after Miss Bourgeois hands over her cell phone."
"My daddy will hear about this!" Chloe fumed as she tossed it to him. "Actually, my father is useless. I'll just ask Ladybug to give me my miraculous-"
"Okay, Chloe, we get it!" Alya said loudly, and everyone except Sabrina and Adrien laughed. Chloe plopped herself down with a grumpy look on her face.
"Now, Miss Harpele, do not fret, for you do not need to do anything complex to pass." He said, becoming a lot more calmer.
"Uh.....would you be cool if..." Juleka said, "...we didn't pass?"
"Actually, Miss Couffaine, passing would be in your best interests, for this is a third of your grade!"
"SAY WHAT?!"
"Totally not cool!"
"I've got this in the bag!"
"It'll be the next century by the time you pass the finish line, Kim!"
"RIDICULOUS, UTTERLY RIDICULOUS!"
"Yeah! What Chloe said!"
"Nino-relax- it's not a big deal-"
"NOT A BIG DEAL MARINETTE?! I'm going to post about this in my blog! This is child abuse!"
"But Alya!"
"SILENCE!" The teacher's booming voice cut the outraged chatter between the students. "I will not tolerate this in my class. Now for the rules- NO MORE VOICES OF PROTEST FROM ANY OF YOU." He bellowed the last line as everyone groaned.
Everyone in the class who had been slumped over sat up straight, some choked on their water. The only one who wasn't surprised was Adrien. He was used to this, after all.
"There will be three default rounds. Those who get through them, pass."
"What is he going to make us do? Run in a wheel like a hamster?" Alya whispered to Marinette, who couldn't help but snigger.
"Miss Cesaire, Miss Dupain-Cheng, anything to share with the class?"
"Nothing!" Marinette and Alya chorused.
"Now, here is what you'll have to do. Just run laps around the gym."
"Separately?" Alix asked.
"Altogether. Now, how many are there of you...." He murmured, counting everyone.
"15, eh? Well that settles it. All of you will run in 3 lines of 5, one behind each other, all at the same time. Don't bother standing next to your friends, you won't be next to them when you are running!"
Marinette and Alya, Juleka and Rose, Nathaniel and Alix, Ivan and Mylene, Kim and Max and Adrien and Nino (were almost separated by both Chloe and Lila but were unsuccessful) stuck together anyway.
Chloe barely tolerated being stuck with Sabrina, and Lila tagged along with Juleka and Rose like a third wheel because they were nice.
Kim and Alix pushed past all the others to stand in the first line, dragging poor Max and Nathaniel with them.
"One more rule, those who wish to continue even after three rounds, are more than welcome. The maximum limit is your choice."
Ivan, Mylene, Juleka, Rose, Sabrina were in the last line. Sabrina had happily agreed to Chloe's command to stay in the last line.
Lila (who had been subtly pushed to the second line by Juleka and Rose), Alya, Marinette, Adrien and Nino were in the second. Needless to say, our superhero duo weren't happy about this. In Marinette's case, however, she was basking too much in the glory of getting to run next to Adrien to even think about Lila.
Chloe, Max, Kim, Alix and Nathaniel were in the first line. Chloe looked nonchalantly confident, Max was calculating his chances of survival, Nathaniel was sweating bullets already, and Kim and Alix looked like a huge bull and a tiny tiger ready to leap into action. Against each other.
"PARRY!" Monsieur D'Argencourt yelled.
Those who heard his command stopped, confused. The ones who didn't bother to hear had already sped off, or had knocked into the person in front of them.
"Uh, Monsieur.....this isn't fencing...." Adrien said, awkwardly.
"AW,MAN!" Alix stamped her feet. She had already took off and was hot on Kim's heels.
"I still beat you, chump!'
"I'm sorry, Lila!" Ivan had fallen over onto Lila when he had begun to run.
Marinette was quietly sniggering to herself.
"My apologies. BACK INTO POSITION!" The fencing teacher yelled, his cheeks burning red.
"Ready....set....." he blew his whistle.
-------------------
"Remember to jog, kids! Don't use up all your energy in the first round itself!"
He was right, of course. Marinette could see that Rose was already panting for breath.
Kim and Alix had more energy and tenacity than the whole class put together, and were already neck to neck in the front.
Alya and Marinette kept at a slow steady pace next to Ivan and Mylene. Adrien was using Nino as a human shield against Lila.
Chloe wasn't bothering with Adrien though. She was determined to prove "the stupid candidate who can't win against her father" wrong. Her words. She was faster than everyone, coming up only behind Kim and Alix.
"2ND ROUND" Monsieur D'Argencourt called.
Juleka had picked up speed and started to slowly encourage Rose as well. Ivan and Mylene were right in front of them. Alya and Nino decided to have a fun play race against each other and sped off, leaving their respective best friends alone.
"Hi, again!" Adrien said brightly to Marinette, who smiled nervously after nearly losing her footing.
"ADRIEN!" Lila called. "Wait up!"
Does this girl ever quit? Marinette thought bitterly.
"Apparently not." Adrien muttered and Marinette realized she had said that out loud.
He didn't seem to be bothered by it, though.
Suddenly, Marinette came up with an idea. "What do you say to giving up jogging?"
Adrien's eyes boggled. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
Marinette smiled knowingly.
Both of them sped off, weaving past people(Alya whooped as they passed her and Nino).
Unbeknownst to each other, both of them were beyond confused.
They could not remember being this much in sync with a person until.....well, with their superhero partners.
Marinette was trying to convince herself this was different. Adrien was wayyyyyy different from Chat Noir.
Adrien on the other hand, was looking at Marinette and trying to imagine the same connection he felt with Ladybug.
Eh. It must have been his hopes getting desperate to finally find out who Ladybug was.
----------
"Round 3!" Monsieur D'Argencourt called.
Heaving a huge pant of relief, Rose, Mylene and Nathaniel strayed away from the track.
"Did....we....pass?" Mylene staggered, holding Rose for support.
"As a matter of fact, you did. Please get some water, you're free to watch if you want!" He said, excitedly like watching people run was first class entertainment.
The three of them did sit down to rest for a while though. After some water, Rose found the energy to cheer on for her friends.
Chloe just glared at Rose like her enthusiastic cheerleading was a thorn in her path.
Lila blew kisses at Rose like the track was a red carpet.
"Round 4!"
Juleka and Max staggered their way back. Rose gave both of them a huge hug. "You were amazing!!!"
D'Argencourt smiled one of his rare smiles, Adrien noticed.
Kim and Alix were still at the lead, and were showing no signs of exhaustion.
Chloe was becoming exhausted, but she ran on pure perseverance alone.
"Round 5!"
Sabrina chose to leave and become Rose's cheerleadering partner.
Although she stopped cheering on everyone the moment Chloe gave her a murderous glare.
"Round 6!"
Lila was enthusiastically telling various kinds of lies about the various athletic tournaments she had won.
Alya and Nino were politely listening, though the latter was getting tired by the minute.
Ivan decided to stop, and Monsieur D'Argencourt commended his efforts.
He only had ears for Mylene's praises though.
"Round 7!"
Nino almost collapsed from exhaustion, but he firmly refused Adrien's offer of help when he left the track.
"That was quite impressive, Monsieur Lahiffe! Most people cannot pass more than 5 rounds!"
In the seventh round, Marinette had noticed that Alya had almost twisted her ankle twice while running.
"Marinette! Are you trying to increase your chances of winning?" Lila said with great air of shock as she passed by Marinette trying to convince Alya to retire.
"What?! No!" Marinette said, angrily.
"Well Alya is such a good runner! It seems like you're threatened by her." Lila said, thoughtfully.
"This isn't a competition, Lila." Marinette said, furiously. "And what I talk to my best friend is none of your business!"
"Mari....it's okay." Alya said, pacifyingly. "Lila, thanks for your concern, but my best friend is right." She was being nice, but even Marinette could tell when her friend was triggered. "I twisted my ankle twice. Besides, Nino is getting lonely."
When the round ended, Alya left with an encouraging smile towards Marinette.
"Round 8!"
Lila was left with Chloe, who hated her, Marinette whom she hated, Adrien who wouldn't listen to her like he used to.
Sure, Kim and Alix were nice to her, but at the moment they didn't care about her.
The wind wasn't blowing in her direction. Most of them were cheering on Kim and Alix, Nino and Alya were cheering on their best friends, Sabrina was gazing admiringly at Chloe, even most of the class were whispering about Chloe's determination.
Lila gritted her teeth. Kim and Alix were her "friends". She wouldn't dream of touching Adrien. Marinette was well-liked, and while that wasn't a problem, Adrien would come to her rescue.
Chloe was the odd one out.
She ran straight at her, 'accidentally' sticking out her leg.
Chloe yelped and fell. Timing her movements perfectly, Lila 'fell down' too.
"Oh my god, Chloe! I am so sorry! I got too excited!"
The class was on its feet. Alix pulled on the back of Kim's shirt to stop him from running.
The whole class rushed towards Lila.
"Lila! Are you okay?!"
"Her ankle is twisted!"
To almost everyone's surprise, Adrien and Marinette were the only ones at Chloe's side.
"Are you okay?" Marinette asked as Adrien helped her stand.
"Why are you helping me, Dupain-Cheng?!" Chloe snapped, shaking off even Adrien's arm.
Marinette knew that Chloe couldn't stand her as a civilian, but Ladybug had slowly warmed up to Chloe's loyalty and aptitude as Queen Bee.
"Because...." She looked at Adrien.
"We saw Lila trip you." Adrien whispered to her.
"How dare you?!" Chloe immediately turned towards Lila.
Adrien and Marinette face-palmed behind her back. Chloe may have been loyal, but she lacked tact.
"How dare I what, Chloe?" Lila asked innocently, standing on her uninjured ankle.
"You tripped me on purpose!"
"Relax, Chloe, it was just an accident." Alix said.
"Yeah, you're not even hurt." Alya said.
"Which makes it all the more suspicious!" Chloe yelled. "I was the one who fell on the ground, she fell on me, how could she get hurt?"
"Enough out of everyone." D'Argencourt interrupted. "Mlle. Rossi, you did knock over Mlle. Bourgeois, while I cannot account for your intentions or your injury....I must ask both of you to rest and the test to continue."
Chloe gritted her teeth at Lila and marched over to sit next to Sabrina while the rest of them mollycoddled Lila.
Alya, however, surprisingly said, "Lila...I suggest you walk it off."
Marinette smirked. Her best friend was putting up her guard.
"But Alya-"
"Well, your leg isn't broken, just twisted. It'll wear off soon." Alya said.
Lila made a great show of pain as she walked over and sat next to Juleka and Rose.
"It's much better now, Alya." She said with a strained smile.
Before the race resumed, Chloe gave Adrien a broad smile and Marinette a look that wasn't hateful.
"Round 9!"
Kim, Alix, Marinette and Adrien were the only ones left out.
The competitive duo took the lead as Adrien caught up to Marinette.
"That was smart of you." He said, appreciatively.
Not that he ever thought that Marinette was dumb, but he never imagined having a conversation with Marinette about tact of all things. But he had to admit, it must have taken a lot of self control for her to not burst out the truth.
He was right, she was our everyday Ladybug.
"Helping Chloe? She sure was grateful." Marinette said bitterly.
"No, I mean not exposing Lila. It would have caused an even bigger problem."
Marinette blushed wildly. Something inside her laughed. The last conversation topic she could ever think of having with Adrien was strategy.
Marinette didn't have many opportunities to use strategy. That was all reserved for Ladybug.....and Chat Noir....what was it with her brain and somehow connecting Adrien and Chat together? They weren't the same person!
"Round 10!"
By now, everyone had seemed to grasp the fact that these four had actually completed 10 whole rounds.
Everyone began cheering. Chloe cheered for Adrien, but her eyes followed Marinette, Lila cheered for Alix and Kim.
"CRUSH EM MARINETTE!" Alya roared and Marinette missed a few steps in fear.
"Babe....calm down?" Nino's voice went up to a squeak when he saw Alya's eyes on fire.
"DO IT, CRUSH THEM ALL, YOU GOT THIS! CRUSH EVEN ADRIEN! DON'T GIVE ANYONE ANY MERCY!"
Marinette covered her eyes with one hand while Adrien laughed out loud.
"I.....give up!" Alix collapsed as the 11th round was announced.
"YES! I REIGN SUPREME!" Kim beat his chest like a gorilla as he strayed off the track, jumping up and down.
"Actually, you don't. Adrien and Marinette are still running."
"Wait, what?!" Kim turned around, shocked.
Alix was shocked too, but she recovered faster and started cheering on both of them.
"ADRIEN! MARINETTE! ROCK ON! YEAH!"
"ALRIGHT, ADRIEN, I'LL CHEER YOU ON TOO! GO ON, TRY TO DEFEAT MY BESTIE ATLEAST!"
Alya roared to Adrien's intense amusement and Marinette and Nino's intense embarrassment.
"RUN ADRIEN!" Max called. "YOU TOO MARINETTE!"
"ADRIEN! MARINETTE! ADRIEN! MARINETTE!" Rose, Mylene and Sabrina started a chant, and even Chloe didn't look displeased at the turn of events.
It just hit Marinette that she was the only one of two left in the test. She had lasted 11 rounds! ELEVEN ROUNDS!
"ROUND 12!" Even D'Argencourt was getting into it.
She felt free and weightless. She felt like she could do anything. She felt like Ladybug, even though she wasn't wearing the mask.
She chuckled to herself. Wonder what Chat Noir would have to say about this.
Adrien was on cloud 9. Even though there was no one to knock him over, he was looking forward to landing on his feet and getting back up again. Nothing was going to stop him from finishing this.
He wasn't Adrien, Front Cover of the Weekly anymore. He wasn't Adrien, Gabriel Agreste's perfect son anymore.
He didn't need a mask to be Chat Noir. Chat was a part of him. Chat was who he was.
The only thing missing was Ladybug. He had a cheeky vision of Ladybug in a cheerleading outfit in the stands, yelling out his name.
"ROUND 13! I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH A WONDERFUL DISPLAY OF RUNNING IN ALL MY LIFE!"
Nino and Alya were fighting over cheering on for their friends.
"OVERTAKE HER ADRIEN! YOU'RE TALLER THAN HER!"
"IF YOU OVERTAKE MY BEST FRIEND, I WILL RUN YOU OVER ADRIEN!"
Marinette looked away. This cheering was too much to take. The only thing left to look at was Adrien, who was in step with her every pace.
Not further, not far behind. Her pace was equal to his.
A flash of a memory suddenly rang in her head.
It was her and Chat, jumping over buildings together. There wasn't an Akuma, they just decided to have a fun race together and it ended up in a tie.
Because Ladybug couldn't win against or defeat Chat Noir. How could parts of a whole go against each other?
Adrien couldn't take his eyes off of Marinette either.
He had that same memory. He knew she was having that same memory too.
Turns out Ladybug wasn't his cheerleader, she was his contender.
And he realised that he preferred running with her to running for mere encouragement.
Chat would never dream of competing against Ladybug. Neither of them could win without the other. If one went missing, the other wouldn't rest until it found its other half.
He found her.
She had found him.
Both of them knew they did too.
"ROUND 15!"
They had run a whole two rounds while they had this amazing revelation.
They didn't want to stop. They wanted to bask having found each other, in finding each other all over again.
But they were human. And the human body could only take so much.
Both of them keeled over at the finish line, panting for breath. They had crossed it at the same time.
"MARINETTE!" Alya ran over. She held her friend in a gentle hug. "It's okay! You did it!"
Nino was much less gentle. "YOU DID IT, BROTHA! I KNEW YOU COULD!" He tackled Adrien in a huge hug, knocking the wind out of him.
"That was so good!"
"Amazing!"
"SILENCE! Give them both some space!"
---------
A few bottles of water and hydration later, Adrien and Marinette weren't alone, but they had eyes only for each other.
Adrien was mentally kicking himself for not realizing that the love of his life sat behind him all this time.
He had flirted with Marinette as Chat Noir! It wasn't meant to be serious, but he was actually flirting with Ladybug?!
He was an idiot. If there was a town specifically for idiots, he'd be the mayor.
Marinette's entire body went red.
"I HAD KISSED ADRIEN WHEN I WAS KISSING CHAT NOIR?! TWICE?! AND I WAS REJECTING ADRIEN FOR ...ADRIEN?!" She was screaming in her head.
She wanted to die of embarrassment. How could she face him? How could she face Adrien or Chat- ''THEY'RE THE SAME PERSON MARINETTE!" She corrected herself angrily.
She looked back at Adrien whose eyes hadn't left hers.
He gave her a nervous, yet crooked smile. He nodded towards the Eiffel Tower in the window.
Marinette took a calming breath. They could talk about this. They would talk about this.
It was Chat Noir. Her partner. It was Adrien, her friend.
Both were the love of her life. And the same person.
Adrien waited nervously for Marinette's response. What if she was scared off by his real identity? He couldn't handle his worst nightmare coming true. He didn't want his love hating him.
She smiled back and nodded. Adrien breathed freely again.
It was okay. Everything will be okay.
They would need to sort out a whole lot later, and that would involve words and talking.....
But words could come later.
They didn't need words to find each other. They didn't need words to hold on to the wonderful feeling of finding something lost either.
But the best part was not needing any words to be found.