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“Well, this is interesting,” Plagg hummed, coming over to lounge on the piano keys as Adrien trudged through Hanon’s piano exercises.
“What’s that?” Adrien hummed, half paying attention.
“The Mouse Miraculous holder is trying to call you,” Plagg informed.
Adrien’s fingers fumbled as his head jerked sharply to stare at his kwami. “What?! Marinette? Is it Marinette?”
Plagg shrugged unconcernedly, making Adrien sigh in frustration.
“Plagg, transform me,” he commanded just in time to catch the call on the last ring. “Hello?”
“Chat Noir,” she squeaked, sounding startled, surprised that she got a hold of him. “Hi. This is—”
“—Marinette?!” he cut her off. “What is it? What’s wrong?”
“This is Multimouse,” she continued with an air of irritation. “Nothing’s exactly wrong, per se. At least, not yet, but I need your help.”
“Absolutely,” he agreed without condition, eager to help if Marinette were in a bind. “Now? Where should I meet you?”
“You know the Collège Françoise Dupont?”
“Yeah,” he confirmed. “The school where all the kids get akumatized.”
“Meet me on the roof, okay?” she instructed.
“See you soon, Princess,” he replied with a nod, signing off.
“To what do I owe the honor, Mousinette?” Chat Noir greeted with a bow as he landed before her, scooping up her hand for a kiss.
“Are you always such a flirt, Chaton, or is it just me?” she chuckled, tugging her hand away.
Chat shrugged, smiling sheepishly. “What can I say? I think you and Ladybug just bring something out in me.”
She hummed thoughtfully at that response, really considering it before moving on. “…Well. I won’t keep you long. The reason I called you here today is that I think Alya is this close to discovering my identity, and it’s not that I don’t trust Alya, but…”
She cringed.
He nodded sympathetically. “If anyone finds out, you and your family could be in grave danger. All it could take is one slip, and…”
Multimouse nodded sadly. “It’s worse than that, I’m afraid. You see, I wasn’t talking about my identity as Multimouse.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her. “What do you mean?”
She licked her lips and began to fidget nervously. “Chat Noir, I have an even bigger secret. The safety of all of Paris depends on me keeping it safe, but I know if there’s anyone I can trust with this, it’s you. I trust you with my life.”
“Marinette,” he whispered, touched at the amount of faith she had in him.
He stepped forward, placing his hands on her shoulders. “Whatever it is, you can count on me. I won’t let you down.”
“I know you won’t,” she responded with a trusting smile. “Chat Noir…I’m Ladybug.”
He blinked at her as her words refused to compute.
“I need you to take my earrings and give them to Kagami Tsurugi. I’m sure she’ll help us,” Multimouse continued, oblivious to the error message displaying on her partner’s face. “Hopefully, the magic will make her look similar enough to me that Alya will be fooled. Then, all I have to do is stick close to Alya for a couple of akuma fights so that she sees me and ‘Ladybug’ at the same time, and bam! Her doubts will be dispelled, and my identity will be safe!”
Chat Noir frowned.
Multimouse finally noticed his confused expression. “Sorry. I know this is probably a little much to take in, but…”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry, but…Marinette, you can’t be Ladybug.”
Instantly, her hackles went up, and she took a step back from him, crossing her arms and retorting defensively, “Oh? Why? Because I’m such a mess all the time? Because I’m such a klutz, you don’t think I could possibly be Ladybug?”
He winced, holding up his hands in a pacifying gesture. “No. That’s not what I mean at all. For one, Ladybug is totally a mess sometimes. She’s just really good at throwing her energies into a project and making it come together before she goes back to being a disaster. And you’re the same way,” he added encouragingly. “That’s something that’s always impressed me about the two of you.”
“So…it’s that I’m a klutz?” she repeated, pursing her lips.
He shook his head. “Ladybug is a complete klutz. I can’t tell you how many times she’s smacked into billboards and light posts and buildings…not to mention how often she gets tangled up in her own yoyo.”
“Okay. Fine,” Multimouse snorted. “Is it because I’m not as pretty as Ladybug? Because I’ve got news for you. The Miraculous’s magic—”
“—Marinette,” he cooed softly, stepping in to rest one hand on her shoulder while the other gently tipped up her chin. “You’re gorgeous.”
“O-Oh,” she gulped, heart fluttering as her gaze flickered back and forth between his mouth and the undeniable affection he felt towards her that was glowing in his eyes.
“The only reason you can’t be Ladybug is because I’ve seen you two together, remember?” he coaxed.
“Oooooh,” she groaned, pulling away and shaking her head as she started to pace. “…Chat Noir…that was a Mirage.”
He blinked at her. “What?”
“I…I thought you were close to figuring out my identity, so I went to Maître Fu and borrowed all of the Miraculouses,” she explained, gesturing in a very Marinette manner.
His jaw dropped.
Of course, he had noticed that there were a lot of kwamis flying around during that fight, but it had never registered that, in order for that to be possible, someone had to have been wearing their Miraculouses.
“I used the Mouse Miraculous to split myself up so that I could fuse multiple kwamis and use the powers of a bunch of different Miraculouses.” She walked him through the process step by step. “I used Trixx to make a Mirage so that you’d see me ‘expose’ Multimouse’s identity as Marinette while Ladybug was standing there to throw off suspicion that Marinette could be Ladybug.”
An ironic grin formed in the corner of her mouth. “I guess my little rouse worked too well, if you’re still doubting me when I’m telling you my identity to your face.”
“You know…when Multimouse first showed up and asked for my ring, I thought she was Ladybug,” he chuckled, reaching up to rub at the back of his neck. “I guess I should have trusted my instincts more. I know a crazy Ladybug plan when I see one. For a while, I settled on the theory that Ladybug and Marinette were cousins, but…wow.”
He shook his head, taking her in. “My Lady, you are absolutely incredible.”
She looked down at her feet, toeing the rooftop as an azalea pink blush spread across the bridge of her nose. “I’m not that incredible.”
“Marinette, you are,” he stressed, pulling her into his arms and swinging her around—making her laugh giddily—before setting her back down and pulling away just enough to get a good look at her.
“Just when I thought I couldn’t be any more in love with you than I already was,” he whispered in awe.
Her mouth dropped open, and she stared at him, blinking in disbelief. “You…You still love me? Even though I’m Marinette?”
He rolled his eyes, scoffing. “You say that like being Marinette is a bad thing. Buguinette, when I’ve let myself think about it before, Marinette is precisely who I wanted you to be. You are one of the absolute most amazing women I’ve ever met.”
“Oh, Chat Noir,” she breathed, pulling him into a tight hug. “Thank you. I…I don’t always believe in myself the way other people do. For a long time, I didn’t think being Marinette was enough. It took me a while to understand that I was still Ladybug, even when I wasn’t wearing the suit. I’m still working on my self-confidence, so…thank you for seeing the good in me, Chat Noir.”
“It’s all good, Princess,” he whispered, nuzzling her hair and squeezing her back. “…and…it’s Adrien, actually.”
She froze and slowly pulled back. “…Adrien…Agreste?”
He smiled nervously. “Surprise?”
She continued to gape at him. “…I have your face plastered all over my bedroom.”
He nodded. “Yeah. I saw. I know how much you like fashion.”
She shook her head. “I mean…yeah, but…I like your face.”
A confused smile spread across his lips. “Thank you?”
She shook her head again, trying to knock the right words loose. “No! Not your face. I mean, not just your face. I like you!”
His smile started to morph into a frown. “Thank…you? I like you too, Marinette.”
“No!” she stressed. “I’m in love with you! Not just your face,” she repeated. “I hated you at first when I thought you were just like Chloé, but when you were nice to me and explained yourself and offered me your umbrella after I’d been awful to you…I fell in love with you.”
His lips rounded into a small “o”, as he took in the magnitude of what she had said and what that meant.
“You…the guy you turned Chat Noir down for is…me?” he whispered, awestruck and humbled yet again.
She nodded, licking her lips. “Sorry about that. Um…are you mad at me?”
“That depends,” he hummed cautiously. “Will you go out with me now?”
“Please,” she whimpered.
“Then, I’m not mad,” he assured, leaning in to press a tentative kiss to her lips.
She responded enthusiastically, throwing her arms around his neck.
Of course Alya was down in the courtyard and got video and pictures of Chat Noir making out with the new Mouse hero.
It was a small price to pay, though, Marinette decided.
Her plan went off without a hitch. Kagami agreed to be substitute Ladybug for a few fights, and Marinette stuck close to Alya, gaining an unshakable alibi.
It was much to her surprise a few days later when Alya confronted her.
“You know, I think I’ve finally figured out your secret.”
Marinette stiffened, mind racing as she tried to ascertain how her plan had failed.
“I’ve been onto you for about a month now, but now I’m absolutely certain,” Alya informed her. “You and Adrien have been sneaking off to make out during akuma attacks, haven’t you?”
Marinette stared dumbly at her best friend. “I…what?”
“Girl, why didn’t you tell me?” Alya whined, tugging on Marinette’s arm.
Marinette suppressed a groan. All this time, she’d been worried that Alya suspected her of being Ladybug, but…
“It’s…complicated,” she sighed, exhaustion catching up to her.
Adrien was going to get a kick out of this. He’d be smug for days.
The
End