Chapter Text
Raising her gaze, Ladybug sighed dreamily . She was sitting at the edge of one of the undistinguished apartment buildings of Paris. A certain cat-themed partner of hers was late and she couldn’t do anything but wait for him. Ladybug closed her eyes, listening very carefully to the surrounding sounds. The night was slowly unfolding over the sleepy city. She could easily discern every sound around her: the whistling of the wind, the low growl of passing cars and… footsteps?
Ladybug sighed again, much less dreamily this time. Obviously, her time of calm and silence had come to an abrupt end. So if Chat were in the earshot of her, it could only mean she was about to hear...
“Good meowning, Bugaboo,” Chat cooed happily, landing near her with a soft thud; she rolled her eyes in response.
“Don’t,” she warned him, rubbing her eyes. “Pun again and I’ll rip your tail out.”
“How very sweet of you,” Chat chuckled and sat near her. “But you can drop your acting. I know full-well that you’re meow-dly in love with my purr-ns.”
Facepalming, Ladybug half-heartedly smacked him on the shoulder.
“Yeah right! Practically can’t live without them,” she sighed, looking around.
Chat only lowered his head in response.
“I can stop… If you want, that is,” he whispered.
“Can you though?” Ladybug asked. Only after she looked at him did she see a sincere sadness and disappointment in his eyes. “I… Crap. Okay, I admit, sometimes they aren’t that bad, but sometimes you make me want to wish that you’d forget about them once and for all.”
“Didn’t you mean ‘fur-get’?” he joked absentmindedly and put a hand to his mouth in an instant. “Sowwy.” His voice broke through his fingers.
“Case and point,” Ladybug chuckled. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”
“That’s right,” Chat admitted, and that got him thinking; A devilish idea suddenly sparked behind his eyes. “You know what, Buginette? Let’s pur-rrange a bet. I bet you wouldn’t even last two weeks without punning. Actually no, scratch that. I know for a fact you can’t.”
“You...You what?” Ladybug arched her eyebrow at his words. “Me? Won’t last? Easy-peasy, Chaton. But if I win… You’re forbidden to pun for a week. No, for two weeks!”
“I accept! And what if I, fur example, win?” he asked ingratiatingly.
Ladybug knew for a fact that she couldn’t lose, so she decided to tease him.
“Well, I could, for example…” she started softly, resting her palm on his hand. “I could kiss you…” Hearing those words, Chat nearly jumped and Marinette tried her best not to laugh or blush again. “... On the cheek.” She casually flicked his nose and laughed, “If only you could see your face right now! It’s nearly as red as my costume!”
“You’re such a meany.” Chat mumbled, angrily rubbing his nose. “How-meow-er, I accept, my Lady.”
“Do you realize you literally can’t win?” Ladybug smirked, offering Chat her hand.
“Ye of little faith!” he said happily, taking her hand. “Who knows? Purr-haps there’s still a chance fur me to win this after all..”
***
“What is it, Chaton? Are you ready to give up?” she cooed with a mockingly innocent voice.
A week had passed since the start of their bet, and each and every Chat’s attempt to make her pun ended up being a catastrophic failure.
“Well…” he added thoughtfully. It didn’t look like he was all that upset. “There’s still an entire week left. Who knows? So many pun-derful a-paw-tunities to throw jokes here and there, don’t you think? Don’t fur-get, I’m a pun-dit after all.”
“You better give up before it’s too late,” Ladybug laughed and closed her eyes. “How did you even agree to this? I’m not sure you can survive without your jokes for two weeks. Hell, not even for one week!”
“Something tells me I’ll be good,” Chat said calmly. “In otter words, purr-pare to lose,” he added, poking his own cheek.
Ladybug felt her cheeks flush as she smacked his forehead.
“Hell will freeze over before I lose to you!” she said, standing to her feet. “Let’s go, we still have a patrolling to do.”
“As you wish, meow Lady,” Chat purred, stretching his arms out. “I still believe that you won’t be able to resist my jokes for much longer. You know what? I’m sure that the ‘other guy’ of yours is pretty fond of puns, too. Although, now that I think about it, considering he still hasn’t seen how a-meow-zing and purr-tiful you are, he’s paw-sitively blind to real beauty,” he added and in an instant jumped away from her, maintaining the safe distance to prevent getting smacked.
“Don’t you dare!” Ladybug shouted angrily, picking up her yo-yo, determined to follow him immediately.
One certain kitty might’ve needed to visit a vet after that patrol.
***
A few more days had passed and Marinette still had exactly zero problem with upholding her end of the bet that is until one fateful day. It was still an early morning and the bluenette was sitting in class, absentmindedly looking at Adrien while she tried to idly listen to Alya, who tried to tell her how she tried to catch Chat Noir and Ladybug on their patrol again. Trying her best not to fall asleep, Marinette thought about the bet with Chat, trying to determine why he would ever initiate such a bet.
And even though Tikki had already tried to convince her chosen one that there was nothing malicious in Chat’s actions, Marinette had a hard time believing it and was waiting for some sort of trickery to happen. But, at the moment, she used those suspicions to distract her mind from falling asleep.
“Don’t fur-get, in this matter, I’m a pun-dit after all,” she heard Adrien say, and her mind immediately clung to that.
Did he just… Pun? she thought nervously. Her recent patrol with Chat immediately sprung into her head as she remembered that it was the same phrase the Chat used before.
That made her think. A lot. Marinette was staring the blond down, as if she were trying to burn a hole through messy locks.
This is stupid, Mari. Yes, Chat… Could’ve been right. And yes, they have some things in common. But this is just a coincidence, right? Law of large numbers, anyone could use this pun. It proves nothing. Right...?
She barely managed to contain a nervous giggle and laid her head on the desk. She had to find a way to shove those thoughts away for a while otherwise, she just might end up doing something incredibly stupid.
And Marinette didn’t have anything to distract herself with during her morning lessons. Nothing. Not lectures. Not even Alya’s soft whispers could take her attention away from two (possibly, just
possibly
, one) blond guy(s).
Marinette’s attention was drawn to sudden screams of terror coming from the street. The bluenette instantly felt her blood start to boil and she, filled with adrenaline, was up and running in no time. She was certain that it was an akuma; she felt it. And so when students started leaving the class, so did she.
Running away from the others, she glanced back for a second. And both to her surprise and dismay, she didn’t see Adrien among the others. Somehow Marinette managed to convince herself that she just didn’t see him in the crowd and left the school, heading for the closest secluded alley she could find. After checking multiple times that she was, in fact, alone, she opened her purse, letting Tikki know that the coast was clear.
“Tikki, I keep thinking that…” she blattered out.
“Marinette,” her kwami stopped her.
“But I can’t get rid of the thought. What if Adrien actually...”
“Marinette,” Tikki repeated. “Time and place for everything. Take care of the akuma and we’ll talk about your love interest after.”
“...Right,” Marinette agreed, blushing a little.
After the transformation, she sprinted toward the approximate location of the akuma.
After Ladybug ran a few blocks and heard another terrified scream. She bolted towards the sound. Landing on a nearby rooftop, she looked down, carefully examining the street below.
In a moment, she heard a soft thud behind her and turned around, startled. She exhaled in relief when she saw Chat smiling happily at her.
“What a pun-derful day, don’t you think? I’m so glad to see you again, Buginette,” he started but noticed how keenly she was looking at him. “Ladybug? Are you okay? Cat got your tongue?”
Ladybug spent another few moments staring her partner down. The thought of what Adrien said before wouldn’t leave her mind. Getting her thoughts together, she shook her head and smacked Chat on the head lightly.
“Meowch!” Chat whined, rubbing his forehead. “What’s that for?”
“You know full-well what that’s for, do you not?” she asked innocently. “You can thank me that your tail is still in place.”
“Thank you very meowch,” Chat laughed sarcastically. “Did you find the akuma yet?”
“I haven’t, not yet,” she responded, turning her attention back to the street. “Just as you did not, I assume.”
“Claw-rrect,” Chat chuckled, following her gaze down the street. “Wow, what the hell happened here?”
Down on the street they saw all the victims of the akuma. People were sitting on the pavement or walking around; many were giggling and others were randomly shouting puns.
“Is this your doing, Chaton?” she asked jokingly, turning her head to Chat.
“How could you imp-ly such a thing?” he asked and held his arm to his chest, trying to look insulted. “I would never allow that gross over mewsage of my beloved puns!”
“I beg to differ,” Ladybug chuckled. “But this time, okay. I believe that it was not your fault.”
A sudden loud blast coming from behind made them both turn around. The heroes gazed up and saw a dark figure in a long, black and purple coat floating above them, hands blazing with devilish violet fire.
“Looking for me?!” the akuma shouted. “How do you like those idiots down there? No one can make fun of me for puns anymore. I’ll be the superior punster and everyone will kneel be-fur-e me! Now I have a pun-finished business with you two. I’m Pun-isher and your Miraculous will be mine!”
“How pawesome!” Chat perked up and immediately stopped himself after getting an unapproving glance from Ladybug. “I mean, pity it’s just an akuma talking.” He added, clearing his throat, “Okay, I’m sorry… Got a bit carried meow-way.”
“Chat…” Ladybug mumbled, rolling her eyes and rubbing her eyes irritatedly. “That’s so unprofessional.”
“Stop your chit-chat at once!” the Punisher shouted. “Prepare to lose!”
***
Chat couldn’t really remember how or when he arrived at the roof of the apartment building, but he gave little thought to it. He had his hands full with his other thoughts. He needed some time and space to think. And his cloudy mind led him here, a place where he could probably have both before she found him just enough time to think about everything and gather all his courage. He was yet to explain his behaviour to Ladybug; it also meant he had to tell her the truth about his suspicions. With that thought he swallowed nervously, Chat put his head to his trembling hands and dove headfirst into his memories.
***
Chat Noir was on a patrol all by himself. Rushing through the city, he was vigilant to any possible signs of an akuma running amok, but he also paid attention to any other non-akuma-related threats as well. That was his primary goal.
And he had a side goal in all of this. This was his only way to vent his emotions; he was always ready to use any excuse to get out and make another run through the city. And Paris never denied him of this pleasure, welcoming its hero into its arms.
Obviously, Plagg was never too enthusiastic about these walks, but Adrien had already experimentally determined how much Camembert he needed to offer to the kwami to persuade him into letting him transform.
And Chat was in the middle of his standard route when he heard a familiar voice calling out to him. He stopped immediately. And even though the voice was familiar, he couldn’t identify it as two conflicted memories jumped to his mind.
Turning his head toward the source of the sound, Chat Noir realized that he was just about to run past the Dupain-Cheng bakery. On the balcony, Chat saw Marinette, who was waving her hand to get his attention.
“Chat Noir!” she called for him again. “I could really use your help!”
Frightened, he felt his fight-or-flight instinct firing up, and in two quick jumps Chat landed near Marinette.
“Purr-incess!”
Upon hearing his words, Marinette instantly regretted her actions.
“What hap-pun-ed? Is something bugging you?”
It took an enormous effort and a significant amount of her self-control to keep cool and not whack him at that very moment. But she managed and gave him a soft smile, awkwardly brushing off strands of hair from her forehead.
“Everything’s alright, nobody’s… ugh, Bugging me.” Marinette sighed, trying very hard not to roll her eyes again. “I just need a second opinion on something,” she added, showing him a few sketches for, obviously, her future designs.
“Are you kitten me?” Chat arched his eyebrow. “You really need this at 12:00 A.M.? Well, first, why aren’t you in bed? You’d better drag yourself and that purr-ty little face of yours into bed. And, second, I know my looks are purr-fect, so I’m everyone’s go-to with all questions purr-taining fashion, but don’t you have a friend to ask for an opinion?”
“Chat, sometimes I really want to hit you,” she said with a loud sigh as her grip on the sheets of paper tightened with flaming irritation.
Chat only could think how cute she was, even when she was angry. In fact, she looked so adorable, that it was his turn to try his hardest to keep his cool and hold back the growing desire to hug her tightly.
“First of all, thank you for your concern, but I need these finished today. Second of all, you’re right and it is, in fact, 12:00 A.M. Which means that all of my friends are sleeping. I’m just lucky I saw you. Will you help me out here?”
***
Sudden loud banging coming from the alley nearby returned Chat to reality. The blond perked up and looked around nervously. He had, apparently, dove too deep into his memories and practically fell asleep right there on the roof. Rubbing his eyes, Chat took his baton with a free hand and stole a quick glance at the clock. Over thirty minutes had passed since he’d arrived there.
He closed his eyes, listening carefully to the surrounding sounds: the noise of cars passing by, soft murmurs of the wind, quiet echoes of distant conversations. And no sign, no trace of his partner. Enough time has passed for her to find him. But she didn’t. She hadn’t even called him. It could, obviously, mean a lot of things. Either she didn’t want to see him which meant there’s no point in waiting or she was just giving him time alone to think about everything.
If his suspicions were correct, then it was certainly the latter. Marinette wouldn’t leave a friend in trouble. She’d do anything to get to the bottom of any problem, go any distance for ones she cared about. And if she came, it would only bolster his suspicions about the true identity of Ladybug.
Marinette was his Lady.
Marinette.
And with the thought that he just might be right, Chat felt instant and pleasant warmth making its way through his entire body. It wasn’t all that easy to believe it, but he couldn’t deny the fact that he enjoyed the feeling either. He wanted it to be true, wanted to be right.
But there was always a chance that he was wrong. For a moment he remembered he once thought that it could be Chloe under the Ladybug’s mask and that thought made him shudder again. Back then, Chat decided that he needed to stop listening to his roaming mind and its crazy suspicions. So he’d stopped and never acted on what his brain presented to him as sound ideas. It didn’t mean, of course, that he’d stopped looking for her. Au contraire.
Chat exhaled and chuckled tiredly, leaning against the wall. He closed his eyes again and, unlike him, his imagination did like to act on suspicions. Instantly it put an image of Marinette wearing Ladybug’s mask in front of his eyes. That image definitely made the fire of his confidence and determination burn brighter.
And he finally decided to give in to that confidence. He was sure. She would certainly come to him. He would stop being blind and would never ever leave the most a-meow-zing and purr-teaful girl in his entire life.
***
Ladybug was standing in the middle of the street. After using her Miraculous cure, she expected that Chat would stick around for their signature fist bump and expectedly put her hand out to him. But she was very confused when Chat made some stupid excuse about losing his transformation and ran away. Ladybug stood in awe for another few dozen seconds, watching him sprint away. She gazed down and touched her earrings absentmindedly. No, she still had plenty of time before her de-transformation. So did he. In this battle, neither of them had to use their powers, which was unusual in and of itself, but Chat’s behavior was even more so.
Sighing deeply, Ladybug decided that she needed help from someone who was far more experienced and wise. She took her yo-yo, carefully regarding it as if she was seeing it for the first time in her life. After she made sure that she wasn’t having second thoughts about her decision, Ladybug swung her yo-yo and jumped onto the roof of the nearest building. She didn’t stop there and ran further and further. She only stopped when she felt confident she was far enough from where the akuma attack took place. After making sure that she was alone and nobody was watching her, she dropped her transformation.
In the blink of an eye, Tikki appeared before her.
“Marinette?” the kwami asked with a tired yawn. “Are you alright?”
“Me? I’m not sure,” Marinette answered, sighing again. She opened her purse and took out a chocolate cookie for Tikki. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. I’m not sure I know what’s happening either. Why was Chat behaving so oddly? What happened?”
“Well…” Tikki started thoughtfully, taking a small bite of her dessert. “We need to carefully think about it. First, tell me when you noticed that his behavior changed?”
“Hmm, let me think…He acted as usual at first,” Marinette intoned, recalling the recent akuma fight. “Puns were there, if it’s any indication.”
“Yeah, saw that too,” the kwami agreed with a quick nod. “Do you remember when everything changed?”
“Yeah, and then the akuma appeared.” Marinette closed her eyes, going through her memories. “He was a bit too happy about it. And then he almost got hit by the Punisher. Damn punster.”
“Yeah…” Tikki asked ingratiatingly. “And then what?”
“And then I got a bit mad at him and said…” Marinnete stopped, swallowing hard. “I said, ‘Are you kitten me? Stop putting yourself and that purr-tty little face of yours in danger’.”
“Yeah, that’s the part I don’t quite understand,” Tikki said, looking at her chosen one. “Technically, you’ve lost and have nothing to say in your defense. You punned, and that’s his reaction to his victory?”
“No Tikki, he probably didn’t even notice that he won.” Marinette slowly sat down on the roof. “I think…” She had to stop to swallow again. “I think Chat Noir knows my real identity.”
“Chat Noir kn…” Tikki slowly started to repeat Marinette’s words, but stopped. “He…He KNOWS WHAT?”
“Do you remember how a few months ago I saw Chat out in the middle of the night and as Marinette, and asked him to help me with sketches?” Marinette said, burrowing her face into her hands.
“I do, but I’m failing to see the relevance” the kwami said, arching her eyebrow.
“And back then he said to me, ‘
You better drag yourself and that purr-tty little face of yours to bed’.”
Upon hearing these words, Tikki opened her eyes wide in disbelief. “So you’re saying…” Tikki said slowly.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying,” Marinette sighed. “He knows. I’m sure of it.”
“And what are you going to do about it?”
“I… I don’t know, Tik,” Marinette hung her head. “There are two possibilities.”
“Only two?” Tikki giggled lightly, coming to sit on her Chosen one’s shoulder. “Knowing you, I thought you’d say twenty.”
Marinette gazed up at Tikki and laughed.
“Yeah, only two,” she answered, rubbing her eyes thoughtfully. “So either he got very nervous because he found out who I am, or…” Marinette suddenly hung her head and burrowed her face into her own palms.
“Or...?” Tikki mused, carefully stroking Marinette’s cheeks.
“Or…” Marinette swallowed hard, the mere thought almost made her cry. “Or Chat ran away because he’s disgusted to know that Ladybug is just a baker’s daughter, just a simple, plain and not-at-all special Marinette.”
“Marinette,” Tikki said with all seriousness in her voice. “Think about it and think carefully. You, allegedly, know the identity of Chat, right?”
“Right,” she answered, sobbing quietly. “Well, ‘allegedly’ is an understatement, Tik. There are way too many coincidences. I didn’t see it before, I see it now.”
“Have it your way,” kwami answered calmly. “If so, who is Chat Noir?”
“He is...” Marinette rubbed her eyes, wiping tears away. “Chat Noir is A-adrien Agreste.”
“E-e-exactly,” Tikki murmured with a soft smile. “And do you think that Adrien Agreste would ever act the way you described toward anyone, let alone to his friend?”
“No freaking way!” Marinette squeaked, suddenly fired up. “He’s the most amazing, kind and wonderful person in my entire life! He would do nothing like this! Oh, wait…”
“The-e-ere you go,” a wide smirk plastered on Tikki’s face. “I’ll repeat my question. What are you going to do about it?”
“I’ll find him!” Marinette exclaimed, jumping to her feet. “Oh my gosh, Tikki, I have to go! He’s probably so nervous! He probably thinks I’ll hate him for that! I should find him as soon as possible! Tikki, spots on!”
***
Ladybug ran forward, jumping from one roof to another and gazing around, looking for him. She didn’t want to make him wait any longer. She could, of course, call him just to make sure he was still in his costume, but she left this idea for later, in case she couldn’t find Chat herself.
“Where are you, mon Chaton ?” Ladybug murmured to herself, swinging her yo-yo again.
After a while, she stopped on the roof of Notre-Dame. Upon landing, she barely managed to maintain her balance, almost falling to her knees.
“Who would have known…” she blurted, holding her hand to her chest while trying to catch her breath. “Who would have known that it would be so hard to find a black cat in Paris?”
“Where are you, damn it,” she whined, stretching her arms up. “Where are y-” as she spoke, she turned around and instantly froze and slapped her own forehead desperately. “How could I be so stupid?!!” she practically screamed, seething. She got ready to swing her yo-yo again.
Stupid! So stupid! How could anyone be so dumb? she thought, rushing toward the only place where her poor and scared kitten could realistically go.
She finally knew where she was supposed to go. She knew, and this knowledge filled her with determination. Just a few minutes after she reached their roof. Chat was sitting near the edge and, apparently, had fallen asleep. The soft thud of her landing immediately woke him up. He jumped up to his feet and looked around, scared. A fair few seconds passed before he broke the silence.
“Ladybug,” he whispered, rubbing his eyes.
“Chat Noir,” she whispered in response, swallowing hard.
“I’m…” He gazed down nervously. “So glad to see you, M-m… My Lady!
“C-Chat Noir,” she repeated, slowly clenching her fists while trying to hide her nervousness. “I know, you know…” Another deep breath. “A-Adrien.”
Chat exhaled sharply, his eyes open wide. He stepped back and closed his eyes, waiting for the worst to happen. However, the worst did not happen immediately, and when he heard her footsteps, he finally gathered enough courage to look at her. To his surprise, he saw Ladybug looking at him with a soft smile.
“Adrien,” she said quietly, taking his hands in hers. “I am not mad at you.”
“You’re not...?” he asked and looked her in the eyes carefully, refusing to believe what he’d just heard. “You’re not mad at me? But I now know that you’re…that you’re M-m…” he stumbled, failing to finish his sentence.
“That I’m Marinette,” she helped him, carefully analyzing his reaction.
“Yes, exactly that, Marinette,” Chat finally managed to speak, looking as carefully at her as she was at him. “And you’re not mad?”
“How could I be, Chaton?” She slowly raised his hand and softly kissed his knuckles. “Thank you.”
“For what, Purr-incess?” He arched his eyebrow. With his free hand, Chat carefully caressed her cheek. “Shouldn’t I be thanking you?”
“You…” Ladybugs started, feeling her cheeks flush. “You didn’t run.”
“I didn’t,” he said, surprised. “Why would I?”
“Well, now you know that Ladybug is just a normal, indiscernible, typical girl,” she chuckled, trying to hide the tears threatening to spill at any moment. “And that your Parisian ‘Superhero’ is just a baker’s daughter.”
“M-My Lady… Marinette!” Chat finally snapped out of it and hugged Ladybug as tightly as he could. “Don’t you think that you’re ‘typical’ or ‘indiscernible!’ Because you’re neither. You are the most wonderful, talented, and kind person that I have ever met! I know your modesty doesn’t allow you to see it, but it’s very obvious for me. And you, Mari, My Lady, are my best friend. And not just that,” Chat Noir took a deep breath, embracing her even tighter. “I love you.”
“Oh, Adrien,” Ladybug moved back slightly and looked at him. There were still tears in the corners of her eyes, but now there was a bright smile on her lips and her cheeks were rose-red. “And I love you, mon Chaton.” She wiped her tears again. “I’m so sorry, that I made you wait fur so long.” She carefully placed her hands onto his shoulders. “Oh, I think I just lost our bet, did I not? Whoops, I’m so clumsy,” she added, feigning surprise.
“Y-you…” Chat swallowed nervously. “You did.”
“Well then, Chaton,” Ladybug whispered, “I think it means that I owe you a kiss on the cheek, don’t I?” She leaned forward and when Chat readily turned his head, Ladybug raised her hand and carefully grasped his chin, stopping him and pressing her lips to his. He immediately closed his eyes and kissed her back.
A seemingly infinite amount of seconds passed before they parted to catch their breath. Marinette opened her eyes smirking widely.
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I AM clumsy,” she said after clearing her throat.
“Well, Purr-incess,” he chuckled, “I really cannot come-purr-lain, can I?”
Ladybug narrowed her eyes, and in one fast move smacked him on the head.
“Meowch,” he whined jokingly. “You do punderstand this can’t stop my a-meow-zing purr-ns, right?”
“Right.” She lowered his head and placed a soft kiss on his neck; his body immediately reacted, sending a way of shivers down his spine. “But this?” Ladybug whispered, lips hovering just before his. “This can.” She smirked again and placed another soft kiss on his lips.