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Marinette doesn't know how she didn't connect the dots sooner. She should've known better.
From the way Adrien rushes off at random intervals, to the way he blushes and looks away as someone praises Chat Noir, the answer has been right in front of her.
Her boyfriend is having an affair with the guy in a leather catsuit currently standing in his bedroom.
Really, it all made sense now. Chat couldn't stop talking about how perfect his lover is on patrol. And, well, Adrien is pretty close to perfection.
Or at least, she believed that before learning what a lying cheat he is.
“This is ridiculous, Tikki!” Marinette says as she paces her bedroom, throwing her hands up in the air. “I just saw Chat Noir go into Adrien's bedroom! What are they even doing there? Why else would Chat go in there if they weren’t dating?”
“Marinette, I think you’re jumping to-“
“Everything adds up! And the worst part is, Adrien's supposed to be dating me. Me! Why is he having an affair with Chat Noir of all people? Couldn’t it have at least been Ladybug?”
Tikki sighs. “Aren’t you Ladybug?”
“Well, yes, and-“
Suddenly, she hears a knock, and she looks to see a familiar person open the front door of the apartment. Marinette instantly scowls.
“Are you okay, Marinette?” Adrien asks, looking at her with concern with those so-called innocent eyes. “You sound upset.”
"Oh, I sound upset? I'm sorry. You see, I'm just a little ticked off that apparently my boyfriend has been cheating on me!" She glares and stalks off towards the kitchen.
Marinette knows her words were harsh, but she can’t bring herself to care. How in the world is he acting so normal? Hasn’t he realized that this is wrong?
Worst of all is the fact that he’s seeing Chat Noir. She’d thought she could trust her superhero partner. She thought it was them against the world, that they’d always support each other.
Apparently she’d been wrong.
Adrien walks behind her. "Wh- I- Marinette, what? Who told you that, I'm not--"
"Save it, Adrien! I know you're seeing Chat Noir," she spits out.
Of all things, she doesn't expect him to start laughing.
"What the fuck are you laughing at?” Marinette spins around and narrows her eyes. “You have some explaining to do."
"Marinette, love, please calm down." Adrien looks at her so fondly. "What in the world gave you that idea?"
"Chat Noir was in your room earlier."
Marinette can’t help but glare at him. How dare he laugh at her like this as if she’s crazy! As if she’s imagining this! The pieces are right in front of her; he’s clearly seeing Chat Noir, there’s no other way-
“He was.”
Marinette's head snaps towards him. “So you admit it!”
“Admit that Chat Noir was in my room? Yes,” Adrien says, crossing his arms across his chest. “But not in the way you think.”
“Well, what other way could there possibly be?”
He walks over to her, taking her hands into his. She narrows her eyes at him but doesn't pull away. Yet.
Adrien takes a deep breath before speaking. "Chat Noir was in my room because I am Chat Noir."
She blinks at him, her mouth agape. "I- you can't possibly- but you-"
"I can prove it to you, if you'd like. Plagg? You want to come say hi?"
The kwami floats out of Adrien's jacket and greets her. "Nice to see you again, Pigtails. I'd say sorry for eating the last of the cheese, but I'm not really."
Marinette gapes at the kwami in shock as she steps backwards and stares at them in awe. Did Adrien just- is Plagg really-
"Plagg! Sorry, He's a little shit.” Adrien scratches at the back of his neck.
"I- so you're not cheating on me?"
He smirks. "It'd be a little difficult to have an affair with myself, wouldn't it?"
Marinette gapes at him. So this entire time, her boyfriend… had also been her crime fighting partner? She’d never even noticed in the months they’ve lived together, or in the years that they’ve known each other. This entire time…
She groans and presses her face against his shoulder. “I’m so stupid,” she mutters, “the signs were there all along.”
Adrien laughs and presses a kiss to her forehead. “You’re not stupid, Princess. You aren’t supposed to figure it out that easily, that’s what the Miraculous magic is there for.”
“Still,” she mumbles, “I accused you of cheating with yourself! I should have never-“
“Marinette, you’re fine, I promise. It’s funny in hindsight.” He chuckles. “Besides, if I was ever going to cheat on you - not that I ever would! - it would be with Ladybug, not Chat Noir.”
"Good to know you'd still be loyal if you were cheating, then." The words escape her mouth before she can even think.
Adrien stiffens, pulling away to rest his hands on her shoulders. He stares at her for a long moment, searching for something. It must click, judging from the way eyes light up.
"My lady?"
"...Hi?"
He smiles and pulls her in for a kiss. "You've been right here all along, huh," he murmurs.
“And looks like you’ve been right here, too,” she whispers when they pull away. Their eyes meet, and she laughs. “Gosh, we’re so stupid, aren’t we?”
Adrien grins at her. “We’re stupid together! that must count for something, right?”
Marinette boops his nose. “Dork.”
”Your dork, my lady.”
“My dork,” she confirms before pulling him into another kiss.
In the end, Marinette thinks, it’s safe to say that while neither of them are particularly prone to jumping to conclusions, at the very least, she won’t accuse him of cheating with himself again.