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All attempts to pry the doors open failed, Marinette and Adrien sank to the floor of the elevator. He snuck a glance over at his beautiful classmate. In any other circumstance, Adrien would have been glad to be stuck with the girl who had been slowly making her way into his heart. He wanted to be able to have an actual conversation (maybe even ask her what happened with Luka), but this was extremely inconvenient. At least his lady wasn’t trapped.
From next to him, Marinette said hopefully, “Maybe Chat Noir will come to save us!”
Instead of her statement reassuring Adrien, like he was sure she’d intended it to, he only grew more worried and unsure. He looked down. “Yeah… or Ladybug.”
-
Marinette waited as long as she could before she let herself consider the possibility of transforming in front of Adrien. She had always dreamed that someday very far in the future, after she and Chat had defeated Hawkmoth of course, she could tell Adrien she was Ladybug… but this was too soon. He would never see her the same. And of course she knew she could trust Adrien, but she couldn’t risk his safety. If Hawkmoth somehow found out he knew her identity, Adrien would be targeted. Plus, she had told Chat they couldn’t tell anyone, and she had already broken her own rule once. There was no way she could reveal herself, she decided.
But as the minutes ticked by, she grew more and more worried. What if something had happened to Chat? She would have no choice. She couldn’t hide in here with her crush while the citizens of Paris suffered. Her fingers drifted to her earrings, unaware that Adrien was gazing at his ring. She closed her eyes and gathered the courage to speak.
“I have something to tell you…”
Her eyes widened - Adrien had said the same thing at the same time. A million thoughts raced through her mind. Did he know she was in love with him? Did he have a crush on her? She stammered out, “Oh- uh, you go f-first.”
Adrien’s face softened. His green eyes captured her gaze as he said seriously, “You’re one of my best friends, Marinette. Nobody can know what I’m about to tell you, not even Alya. Can I trust you?”
Marinette, unable to speak, simply nodded. Adrien’s face grew determined.
“Okay. Well… I’m Chat Noir. Ladybug says no one is ever supposed to know, but I’m afraid something has happened to her. I have no other choice.”
Marinette giggled, then froze as she noticed Adrien wasn’t laughing. Her mind replayed those words. I’m Chat Noir. She was still trying to process what that meant when Adrien cried, “Plagg, claws out!” and her brain stopped working entirely. In a flash of green light, the boy she loved transformed into her partner. She stared at Chat Noir, mouth hanging open as he said, “Go find a place to hide, Marinette. And don’t tell anyone.”
Chat Noir - Adrien Agreste - leaped away to join the fight. Marinette sat there on the floor. Tikki peeked her head out of Marinette’s jacket.
“Oh, Marinette, you were never supposed to find out this way… but Paris still needs Ladybug. We can deal with this later. ” The barely restrained panic was apparent in the kwami’s voice. Marinette nodded mutely. Sure, her life just got cataclysmed, but her kitty needed her. Hands shaking a bit, she stood up and transformed.
-
Marinette landed behind an alley after the fight, safely detransforming. She walked back to the bakery like a robot programmed to go home. Her parents descended upon her as she walked through the door.
“Marinette! Sweetie, we were so worried! Are you okay?”
Marinette allowed her parents to hug her before saying, “I’m fine” in a shaky voice. Tom and Sabine exchanged concerned glances as she pushed past them to go up to her room.
As soon as she shut the trapdoor behind her, Marinette collapsed on her bed. Tikki hovered anxiously near her holder.
“I can’t believe it, Tikki,” moaned Marinette. “How could Adrien possibly be Chat Noir? They act so differently!” She buried her face in her pillow. “I’m in love with Adrien, but Adrien is Chat. So I’m technically in love with Chat Noir. I always knew I had a small crush on him, but I never let myself fall for him because of Adrien and it was too dangerous and… this is such a mess, Tikki! What should I do? What if he avoids me now? What if he decides I’m not trustworthy and regrets revealing his identity to me? What if he decides he can’t be Chat Noir anymore?”
Tikki cut her off. “It’s going to be okay, Marinette. You know how strict and demanding Adrien’s father is. Plagg tells me that being Chat Noir is one of the only bright spots in his holder’s life. He feels free when he’s wearing a mask, but his friendship with you and Nino and Alya is genuine. There’s just more to him than you thought. You two have been dancing around each other for a long time.”
Marinette peeked out at her kwami, considering. Then her face turned bright red as she said slowly, “Wait… Chat Noir loves Ladybug. That means… ADRIEN IS IN LOVE WITH ME!” She was briefly elated before she sighed and said, “Well, one side of me anyway.”
Tikki landed on the pillow next to Marinette. “Do you still love Adrien, Marinette? Knowing that he is Chat Noir?”
“I- Of course I do!” exclaimed Marinette. Her eyes softened. “How could I not? We save each other’s lives every day. I trust him more than anyone else in the world. And… I know I pretend otherwise, but I do love his humor as Chat.” She smiled. “I know what I’m going to do.”
-
As they vaulted across the rooftops of Paris later that night on patrol, Adrien was miserable. He knew he should tell Ladybug that his identity was compromised. He should have told her as soon as they defeated Style Queen, but she left so quickly and he honestly wasn’t ready to tell her. He was so scared she might get angry with him, but she had to know. Even if she took his miraculous… Chat’s eyes filled with tears. It was a good thing Ladybug was in front of him. He didn’t want her to see him like this.
Eventually, the duo came to rest at the top of the Eiffel Tower. Adrien sat down on a ledge, dangling his legs in the air. He tensed as he sensed Ladybug coming to sit beside him. She spoke carefully, “Chat, you’re not your usual self tonight. What’s wrong?”
Adrien was surprised by the gentleness in her voice. Ladybug wasn’t usually the one to initiate conversations about their feelings. He tried to keep the misery out of his voice as he responded, “I let you down, Bug.” He knew he’d have to elaborate, but his voice refused to cooperate. He risked a glance over at his lady, whose eyes were filled with concern and- was that nervousness? He froze as she laid a hand on his arm.
“You could never let me down, kitty.”
Adrien squeezed his eyes shut and let the words fall out of his mouth. “I told a civilian my identity today. We were trapped in an elevator together.” He opened his eyes and looked regretfully at his partner. “I didn’t wait long enough for you. I thought you needed my help. I’m sorry.”
Silence. Then, Adrien’s eyes widened as Ladybug pulled him to his feet and hugged him. She mostly just tackle hugged him after he ‘died’- this was new. He felt her small frame clinging to him tightly and smiled, wrapping his arms around her and resting his cheek on her shoulder. He spoke, his voice small, “Does this mean you’re not taking my miraculous?” He felt her laugh, breaths tickling his neck.
“Oh, kitty. I could never. You’re irreplaceable.” She pulled back to look at him. Adrien just gazed at her, eyes shining. “And I’m not mad at you. In fact, I would have done the same thing in your situation.” She looked up at him, smiling like she knew something he didn’t. “Which citizen did you have to tell?”
Adrien responded, “Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
Ladybug looked at him, seeming more nervous by the second, and asked, “What do you think about her? Can we trust her?”
Adrien felt himself smile and said, “There’s no one else I’d rather have told. She’s kind, caring, sweet, and trustworthy. I know she’ll never expose my identity.” He laughed. “I actually call her our ‘Everyday Ladybug.’ She reminds me of you sometimes, M’lady.” It was true. Marinette had endeared herself to him, so much so that he found himself thinking of her almost as often as Ladybug these days.
Ladybug stammered out, “It sounds like you- you know her pretty well outside the mask.” It wasn’t a question.
Adrien dropped his head. “Yeah. Well, I think so. Sometimes it feels like she doesn’t want to be around me. I wish we were closer. But I still consider her one of my best friends, and- and I’m honestly glad she knows now. I hate keeping secrets from the people I care about.”
Ladybug’s mouth formed an o. She turned away from him, like he’d said something unexpected. Adrien was trying to figure out what to say next, wondering if he’d said anything to hurt her, when she spun back around. She said determinedly, “Chat, I think it’s time for us to know each other’s real identities.”
Adrien stopped breathing. “Bug.. are you sure? If this is just because of what happened, I-”
Ladybug flicked his bell. “Shut up, silly kitty, or else I’ll lose my nerve and change my mind.”
Adrien closed his mouth and nodded. “I guess I’ll go first, seeing as I’ve already done this once today. Just… Please don’t think differently of me, okay?”
His lady’s face softened and said, “Don’t worry about that, A- Chat.” Adrien took a deep breath and detransformed.
“Surprise,” he offered meekly, suddenly feeling naked. He had expected Ladybug to react in some way, but she said nothing. Instead, she closed her eyes and a wave of pink light washed over Adrien. Before him stood… Marinette?
He simply stared for a moment, then felt a brilliant grin spread across his face. He whooped, the sound carried away by the wind. The moon shone beautifully on the face of the girl in front of him. The kwamis zipped away to give their holders some privacy.
“Of course it’s you,” he said. He took a step closer to her. He was afraid to touch her, afraid he was dreaming. “I’m so stupid. My Everyday Ladybug. It was always you.”
Marinette smiled softly, her face slowly turning a dark shade of pink. The gears in Adrien’s head kept spinning. He continued, “But then- you already knew! And you-” Adrien blushed as well. “I meant all those things I said, by the way. I would have told you as Adrien, if you’d ever let me without running away.”
Marinette looked embarrassed. “I- I’m sorry, chaton. I’m not as confident as Ladybug.”
Adrien laughed. “Sure you are, bugaboo. I’ve seen you tell off Chloe and Lila. You can’t say otherwise!”
His lady’s face hardened. “They deserved it. And- I was going to tell you in the elevator too. I thought something had happened to Chat- to you, and I trust Adrien- you, so much. I thought I had no choice but to transform, but… you beat me to it.”
Adrien leaned in close. “What a pawsitively tricky situation we got ourselves into, M’lady.”
Instead of swatting at him or rolling her eyes, Ladybug - Marinette - laughed. She actually laughed! At one of his cat puns! It was a beautiful sound. Something clicked in his brain. He scratched the back of his head. “By the way, Marinette… I know I flirt with you every day as Chat Noir. I truly am in love with you… and I think I’ve been falling for you without the suits all this time. But I understand if you don’t want anything to change. And- God. I just wanted to say that… I love you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. With and without the spots.”
-
Marinette short-circuited. Adrien loved her- all of her. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the right words. She squeezed her eyes shut, mentally preparing herself.
“Adrien… Chat. I should tell you that even though I always told Chat that there was another boy, you still managed to make me fall for you a bit. Despite my best efforts.” She sniffed.
Adrien grinned cockily. “I always knew my efforts would win you over, M’lady.”
Marinette rolled her eyes, then grew serious again. “You should also know that the other boy… was you the whole time.” She paused, almost afraid to continue. “I’ve been in love with you, Adrien Agreste, since the day we met. That’s why I’m so clumsy and awkward around you. Please don’t think differently of me.”
Adrien stared at her. Marinette’s heart threatened to tear out of her chest. There. She couldn’t unsay it now. Her breathing grew uneven as Adrien approached her. She squeaked as he swept her up into his arms, then smiled so hard her cheeks hurt when he kissed her forehead. Maybe Tikki was right. Everything is going to be okay.