Work Text:
One day, she was going to find out who this boy was.
And she couldn’t wait to fall in love with him all over again.
Marinette shifted forward enough so she could press her lips just above the bridge of his nose as her hand came up to brush the bangs out of his face. She shut her eyes, keeping her lips there against his smooth skin. Chat stirred slightly, opening his eyes.
Marinette lowered herself so their noses were touching. “Good morning. I still love you.”
Of all the things that ever came out of her mouth, none of them ever got him to chuckle in that deep gravelly tone. His voice was so rough it could be used to smooth timber. “Are you trying to kill me?”
“Me? Never.”
“Uh-huh.”
There was little more conversation they could make at five in the morning, but it wasn’t like they needed it when Marinette buried her nose in his neck again and breathed in his scent. Meanwhile, the hand on her waist was drawing small, slow circles on her back.
“Did’ya sleep well?” She muttered.
Chat hummed, more movement than sound. “Best in forever.” He raised a hand to cup her cheek and lift her eyes up to his. Even without the cat eyes, he looked just as gently at her with that darn adorable smile. “Must be because of you.”
She huffed, a smile and blush on her face. “Can’t go a minute without singing me praises, huh?”
“You make it impawsible.”
She only squealed softly and squeezed him as she nuzzled her nose against his. “Dork.”
“But yours. ”
God, he could say that a million times and she’d never get sick of it.
She ran the tip of her finger from the bridge of his nose to the tip. “My dork.”
Chat, the bestest person she’d ever known, was hers.
Maybe she didn’t know yet who he was, and maybe the urge to just tear her mask off then and there was so strong it could’ve launched Hawkmoth straight into a wall, but she was okay with that. There were so many things they’d yet to come to know and learn, but as long as they had each other by their side, they’d be okay. They always were. All of the hurdles she had jumped over, and all of the near misses she dodged were all worth it to be able to love Chat. It was a constant like him that kept her grounded, and she was just glad she was able to keep returning the favor.
“What’re you gonna do after we leave?” She knew Chat couldn’t tell her everything. That kind of thing was already understood between the two of them, but there wasn’t any harm in wanting to know what her Chat’s day was going to look like. Especially after last night.
“Prob’ly head home, first thing.” When she shot him a serious look, he quelled her rising worry with a lighthearted chuckle. “Don’t worry, I feel much better after being with you.”
“You better be, dumb cat.”
Chat kissed her forehead. Or rather, the bangs on her forehead. “Of course I am. Don’t you forget it.”
Marinette only smirked and cocked her brow. Though, it might’ve been hard to see from beneath the mask. “Mhm. Go on.”
“I might clean myself up a bit before I head off to work.”
“You’re a busy guy?” she joked.
Chat let out a breathy laugh. “Oh, yeah. But after that, I might scroll through the Ladyblog and check out the posts about the attack yesterday. You did an amazing job, by the way.”
She giggled. “Only because I had you by my side.”
Chat sighed dreamily. “Ah, your praise is like sweet nectar to me, m’lady.” He gave her that same smug grin, and she wanted to kiss it off of his stupid, stupid face. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you liked me.”
“Oh, hush you.” She booped his nose with her pointer finger. He scrunched up his nose and smiled. “What else?”
“What else? Well, after that, I…” He looked down at her, wrecking her with the complete closeness he was sharing with her. “I’m gonna be counting down the minutes until I can see you again.”
The breath hitched in her throat.
“Don’t…” she said.
He tilted his head, still smiling. “Don’t what?”
Marinette moved closer so their noses were brushing, their masks bumping. “Don’t say things like that.”
“Why not?” He brushed his thumb against her cheek. “It’s true.”
Her bottom lip jutted out. “Because… I don’t know how much I can take before I just— before I—” A deep breath, and then she spoke. “Before I want to hear your words outside of the mask.”
It was so silent. Not even a voice as much as it was a whisper; it was a shadow of a silent confession. Yet, it was out there and shared between the two of them and it was fragile enough that it could be broken just by looking at it closely enough.
As much as she hated it, Marinette couldn’t help but feel like she was lying. Because she wasn’t waiting for the day anymore. She already wanted him in her everyday life, to share her other favorite moments with him. She wanted him to hold her hand while he walked her to school. She already wanted to sit next to him on the bus to that store on the other side of town where she bought her fabrics. Chat seemed like the type of guy that insisted on spoiling his Lady. And god, she wanted to tell all of her friends about her new boyfriend that she loved so gosh darn much because look at that smile, how could anyone not love it?
Chat placed a quick, chaste kiss on her lips. “It’s okay, Ladybug. Trust me, I know how you feel. Heh, I know it all too well.” Another kiss. “But until then, these moments I have with you are more than enough. The times I spend with you, whether we’re kicking an akuma’s butt or we’re cuddling in a hotel bed, are the moments I live for.”
And there it was again.
“I have fantasies.” she confessed.
“And I do too.”
Wordlessly, she pressed her lips against his for a deeper kiss. She captured his upper lip between hers, and she ran her hand through his locks as he held her close.
“Thank you.” she said when they broke apart.
His eyebrows furrowed, visible even under the mask. “For what?”
She smiled. “For always cheering me up when I need it.”
“Oh, bugaboo.” He pressed their foreheads together. “I’m glad you’re feline better.”
“Chat!” She giggled, nuzzling their noses together.
Even though they didn’t know their names yet, that day would come eventually. That day where they wouldn’t have to scramble to keep their faces behind masks, where they wouldn’t have to hide in dark alleyways or run away from the other for the sake of identities. One day, she’d look at the bare face of Chat Noir and be able to say with full confidence that she loved him. Both sides of the mask.
That day would come. It was only a matter of when.
Adrien faced towards her on the park bench, palms pressed together in front of his mouth. “So, let me get this straight. You’ve had a secret boyfriend for months, and not even Alya knows.”
Marinette blushed. “Well, when you put it like that…”
Adrien laughed, and she slapped him in the shoulder. It wasn’t fair, she was trying to confide in him!
“No no, I get it. I’m uh, actually in the same situation as you, actually.”
“Is this with the girl you loved?”
Adrien huffed. “Yeah, she’s amazing.”
Now, that was a thought. Finally, Adrien found someone that he could love. Someone that loved him back as much as he did her. Maybe Marinette should’ve been jealous. After all, who knows how long she’d spent hopelessly pining after him? But really, past the lovestruck little girl that was still inside her, she really was happy for him.
It was obvious to anyone that saw him talk about this mystery girl that she really had him smitten. As if she could just walk into the room and he wouldn’t do anything less than worship the ground she walked on. Speaking of…
Marinette hummed, leaning in closer. “Hey, have I met this girl before?”
“N-no!” Adrien spluttered. “No, erm, she’s from… from work.” Before she could pry, he hit her with a curveball. “What about you? Have I met your boyfriend?”
And all of a sudden, it felt like her throat clenched up. “Oh, that! No, he…” Hiding her mouth behind her hand, she muttered, “he goes to another school.”
“He does?” Marinette nodded. “Tell me about him.”
“About… him?”
He nodded. “Your boyfriend.”
“Ooh, are you sure?” Jeez, if she got started, who knew how long it’d be before she stopped.
“Please? I wanna know about this guy that gets to have someone as amazing as you.”
As if to fulfill a certain saying about the struggling death of old habits, her cheeks heated. “Well… I’ve known him for quite a while now.” When he nodded to signal her to keep going, she continued. Might as well just go forth with it now! “He’s one of my best friends, actually. He’s a complete dork, and we both know it. I’d never tell it to his face, but his sense of humor is probably my favorite. I know I can trust him, and that he trusts me. He’s… been with me through so much and I can’t imagine my life without him. At all. Do you know how weird it is to imagine a future without that someone?”
Even with her weird, uncoordinated and undignified arm gestures, Adrien listened to her as if she just made perfect sense. “Yeah, I get what you mean.” He chuckled. “And, he sounds amazing, by the way.”
A dreamy sigh escaped her. “He really is. Ooh! What about your mystery girl?”
He laughed nervously. “Oh, are you sure?”
She leaned in close, playfully looking up at him. “Please?”
“Heh, where do I even start?”
She smirked. “Oh, I know the feeling.” Knew it all too well, one would say.
“She’s… an inspiration. Not just to me, but to everyone that meets her. There’s this fire and passion to her that just completely floors me every single time.” He lightly shook his head, as if in disbelief of the girl that he was in love with. Oh, how lucky she was. “She didn’t return my feelings at first. At least, I didn’t think so. But then, there was this one night where she kissed me, and it was like I could see color for the first time. I’ve never felt this way about anyone else, and I’m so, so glad it was her. It could only ever be her.”
Marinette held a hand over her heart. “Aww.”
It was impossible to feel any kind of envy when he just looked so darn happy. If there was another person she knew that deserved to find his own happiness, it would be Adrien Agreste. It didn’t feel like she was missing out on what could’ve been anymore, but all she felt was genuine joy feeding off of his.
Oh, she was so lucky to have so much love around her. In her parents, her friends, with Chat.
If only…
If only she could share some of that love with her partner.
Even after their sleepover over the weekend, especially after the weekend, the thought of introducing a civilian Chat Noir to her friends and family never left her mind. The images of an unmasked Chat fistbumping Nino, of Adrien and Chat having an unending pun-off, Chat getting to taste her parents’ cooking fresh out the kitchen, or just meeting all of the other important people in her life. Maybe it was selfish, but she still wanted that. She wanted it so much that it… hurt.
It hurt to know that there was a world she could give him, but hadn’t yet.
Maybe…
Maybe it was time to change that.
“Marinette, are you okay?”
She hadn’t realized that a tear fell from her face. She promptly wiped it from her face and put on a smile. Not to hide, but to shift her short bittersweet episode. Right, this was supposed to be about Adrien, you klutz!
“Sorry.” Marinette sniffed. “I’m happy for you, Adrien. I was just thinking about something else. That’s all.”
Putting a hand on her shoulder, he gave her that same soft look where it felt like everything was going to be alright in the world. And to be honest, she knew it would. It would be alright because she had people like Adrien and Chat in her world.
Adrien pulled her into a hug, causing her to gasp.
“You know I love you, right?” he whispered in her ear. “Because you’re one of my best friends, too. You mean so much to me.”
She let out a weak chuckle. “Thank you.” Slow arms came around his torso to return the hug, and they both squeezed. Closeness was all that she wanted, and by goodness was Adrien giving it. She’d have to pay him back later. “I love you, too.”
Maybe she wasn’t able to see it before, but she wasn’t losing Adrien by loving Chat. He’d still be there in class, in that seat in front of her. He’d been there ever since his first day; just within her reach and never out of her life. And in a world where superheroes had to sing and dance to free a class of students, that sure helped a hell of a lot.
Adrien would still be close to her. But not as a crush or lover, but as something he’d always been. As a friend.
And one of her best ones at that.
Ladybug shifted so she could sit on Chat’s lap. She was sitting sideways, so she had full access to his ears, mouth, and everything else she loved to smother with her hands. Ha, maybe she’d get to squish his lil’ cheeks again.
They would’ve had a nice view of the sunset over the rooftop if they hadn’t missed it just a few minutes ago. It didn’t matter though, he was a much better sight for sore eyes, anyway. “Jeez, my feet are killing me.” Ladybug slumped, her head resting between the nook between his neck and shoulder. “I swear, if you knew where I lived, I’d ask you to take me home right now so I could finally, finally take a break.”
Chat chuckled, light and free. “That tired, huh?”
She slowly blinked at him. Her eyelids felt like ten kilogram weights, and at any moment she’d shut them and they’d never open again. “You… have no idea.” she slurred. “I’ll be… fine, I’ll just rest my head a lil’, is all…” Closing her eyes, she let herself succumb to the rest. She wasn’t going to sleep on him, just a little snooze to help take the edge off, maybe. “You’re… cozy…”
Slowly, she was starting to drift off into sleep. She hadn’t even noticed that she was starting to fall until she heard Chat sigh. It took some heavy consideration, but eventually, she cracked open a sleepy eye.
Chat’s gaze was downcast to the street below them, but his attention wasn’t on anything there. No, he wasn’t even people watching. His mind was somewhere else. His bottom lip quivered, eyebrows scrunching up.
She was just about to ask what was wrong, but she stopped when he lifted his free hand. He took both of hers and rested them on her lap, idly running his thumb against her knuckles.
His gaze lifted from the street and to the skyline in a wistful stare, like he was searching for an answer. It was in that moment that she read between the way he held her hands in his own, the way he held her so close to him, the way he glossed over the city like a man in a desert trying to find water. She knew, because she’d memorized that look on his face from every single time she’d said ‘no’ when he asked.
He wanted to know who she was.
Chat looked to their joined hands, and she shut her eyes for fear of being caught. She could feel his eyes on her. Did he also wonder what she did in her spare time? What side of Paris she lived in, and what classes she took? Who was she kidding? Of course he did. He’d wanted to know who she was ever since they met all those years ago.
“It’s okay, Ladybug. Trust me, I know how you feel. Heh, I know it all too well.”
He never said that keeping their identities secret was safe, never said that it was for the greater good. The only thing he said about revealing themselves was that he’d wait. He’d wait and wait until that day arrived where they could take off the darn masks. He never stopped waiting, did he? And here she was, just pushing that day farther and farther until it would seem like it never came.
The worst part was that she knew he’d keep waiting. Even if it never did.
…
“I live on Rue Gotlib.”
Her eyes remained closed, she had no way of seeing him when she felt his shoulder tense up as he took a sharp intake of breath. For a while, he didn’t say anything. The only sound between them the distant echoes of traffic and chatter that was like ghosts of a town from how high up they were.
He didn’t say anything. At least, not verbally. His hand held hers tighter, and she repeated, “I live on Rue Gotlib. Just across from Francois Dupont, where I go to school.”
“Ladybug,” he muttered, “what are you doing?”
Her eyes opened to Chat, who had his mouth slightly agape in disbelief. It was as if he was at war with himself whether to keep listening or to block his ears and keep waiting. Goodness, she couldn’t bear to see him wait any longer. She couldn’t bear waiting anymore, either.
“I have a big bedroom, with pink walls.” Her voice was slightly hoarse, as if she was thirsty. Or maybe she was just saying that because of how hard the thumping in her chest was. “There’s a desk in my room where I keep all of my designs, because I want to study fashion and design.”
Chat shook his head. “No. No, this is dangerous,” he interrupted, but she kept going. Her hand went up to caress his cheek while the other stayed in his grasp, still holding on to him. She held onto him tighter.
“When I’m not Ladybug, I like to wear flowers on my outfit. You’ve— you’ve actually met me while I was outside the mask.”
“M’lady, stop.” She looked up to see that there were tears in his eyes. “Please, this isn’t right. You’re— you’re tired, you’re not in the right headspace right now.”
“Don’t you want to know who I am?” she begged, sounding so small it felt like her words could dissipate into the mist.
“Of course I do! It’s all I’ve wanted for as long as I can remember, but— what if you don’t really want me to know and it’s just the sleep talking? What if— what if you regret telling me tomorrow and I—” A tear fell down his cheek. “And I lose you?”
She wiped away the wetness from his face with her thumb; a light graze that spoke volumes louder than they were. “Oh, chaton. You won’t ever lose me, remember? Yes, I’m tired. I’m exhausted. Of not being able to share this whole other side of my life with you.” With both hands, she lifted his knuckles up to her lips, planting her lips there in a kiss.
“Please, let me tell you who I am.”
When she looked into his eyes, his mouth closed into a soft smile. Wordlessly, he nodded.
Marinette took a deep breath.
“My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she said, “and I love you.”
And for a moment, she swore the whole world stood still as she watched his face take it all in.
“Marinette.” Chat whispered, and she fell for him all over again when he finally, finally said her real name. “Marinette.” he said again, and all she could do was smile dumbly and nod.
“Marinette!” he beamed, and that was all the warning she got before he planted his lips on hers.
A small squeak came out of her belly when his arms pulled her so close that his body was pressing against hers, leaving no space between them. As he took her bottom lip between both of his, and as their teeth clacked against each other’s from the sudden movement, both of her hands made their way to his face. One of them holding her palm to his cheek, and the other idly searching through his locks and finding that one spot behind his ear and scratching.
Chat hummed into their kiss, as if there was so much being built up inside of him and he was finally finding some kind of release. She felt the exact same way, and she felt so much lighter because he knew. He knew!
They broke apart, cry-laughing together, because she’d never felt so vulnerable yet so protected. Protected, because she was in the arms of the person she trusted most. Vulnerable, because it was like she was introducing herself for the first time. Maybe in a way, she was.
He wrapped his arms around her as he cried happily into her shoulder. And like coming home, she took him in her arms, holding his head against her neck with a hand while she looked up at the night sky, thanking the stars for the person that was now in her arms despite everything they’d been through. The person that gave so much love and kindness out of his little heart that it was sometimes overwhelming. The person that she’d choose in a million different lifetimes. Her partner, her friend, her lover, her Chat…
“You know I love you, right?” Chat whispered in her ear, “Because you’re not just my best friend. You’re my partner, too. You mean so much to me.”
Marinette gasped.
Her Adrien.
Ladybug pulled his face out of her neck so she could look at his face again. Her eyes darted between the two eyes looking back at her so gleefully. That same look, that same sweet innocent radiance that she couldn’t help but fall for again. There was no way…
“Adrien?”
Chat nodded.
This time, she was the one that lost control of herself.
“It’s you!”
She took him into a bear hug, practically attaching herself to him. Chat returned the hug fervently, squeezing her so tight, but she was holding him even tighter. “It’s you. It’s you, it’s you, it’s you!”
Pulling back to meet his eyes, both of her hands went to the edges of his mask. Her thumbs ran over the edges of it while the tips of her fingers went through his hair. With what she knew now, it was impossible to unsee the boy behind it. It might as well not have been there in the first place!
“Your name is Adrien.”
Chat nodded, still smiling.
“You go to Francois Dupont.”
“I do.” Chat— Adrien, laughed.
“You sit behind me in class!” They both laughed when they said that, resting their foreheads on each other’s as he pulled her in close. “Your job is modelling, but you do really well in science classes, too.” Marinette giggled. “Unlike me.”
Chat pressed their noses together. “That’s why I study with you in the library every Thursday.”
Marinette gasped. “Your secret girlfriend. The one you said you’re in love with…”
He sighed and dreamily shook his head. “It’s always been you, bugaboo.” he said, and it made her laugh. A laugh, that turned into two, then into three. They both laughed, looking like complete idiots but they honestly couldn’t care less.
This time, when she pulled him in for a kiss, it was much softer.
The arms that used to be around her waist were replaced by gentle hands, running up and down on either side of her waist. It was like there was a candle lit inside of her that kept her warm from the tips of her toes to the spaces between her fingers. Spaces which were being filled with his hair, his being. Him.
God, how did she get so lucky? She didn’t know. But she did know that she was never going to let him out of her reach ever again. She thought she struck gold when she finally took that plunge with him on that rooftop countless nights ago, but finding out that he’d already been two of her most treasured people was more than enough to make it feel like her world was just that much brighter. It was brighter because she had him in it. He helped her to see the life and brightness in it and she just loved him so freakin’ much she wanted to stay with him like this forever in his arms.
“I’m so glad it’s you, Adrien.”
When a tear fell from his eyes once again, it was better to see it with a real, genuine smile on his face.
“I’m so glad it was you too, Marinette.” Another kiss on her nose, then on her forehead. The skin there felt like it tingled, even as he left his lips on her forehead. She closed her eyes. “Only you could’ve been my one and only Ladybug.”
As if someone, somewhere lit a candle in the dark, the butterflies in her stomach went crazy. But that was okay. Just his cute smile would purify every single one and make it right again. And if it didn’t, he’d help her through it. He always did, because she would too.
“Hey.” she said.
“Hm?”
“Thank you.” she said, their noses brushing together as their eyes stayed fixed on each other’s. “For everything.
Chat chuckled.
“No. Thank you. ”