Work Text:
Marinette had accepted that there were a lot of things she couldn’t know about Chat. Many things that could somehow reveal his identity, which she wasn’t supposed to know. But he was her best friend. And sometimes she wished she could know more about him.
So when she felt relaxed, usually after a quiet patrol when they just got to hang around, she’d let her guard down.
“Tell me something about you that no one knows,” she said, her eyes on the stars scattered across the night sky. She didn’t need to look at him to know that he’d stiffened, she could see the surprise on his face so clearly in her mind.
“M’lady?”
“If it’s something no one knows, even if you tell me, it won’t be revealing, right?” She shrugged, finally casting a glance in his direction. She could see the uncertainty in his eyes. She’d been so adamant about keeping secrets that she’d scared him that much, she realised.
“I guess,” he sighed, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “Well, I don’t like passion fruit.”
Marinette blinked, sure she’d heard wrong.
“How is this a thing? You’re not supposed to, as far as I know.” She giggled behind her hand, finding the thought that someone would keep track of who likes or doesn’t like passion fruit very amusing. Then again, she knew that it was Adrien’s favourite fruit so maybe it wasn't that strange.
“I’m supposed to, for a reason I can’t say. But I don’t,” he grinned in the darkness. “And no one knows this, I swear!”
“Oh, ok then. That’s very useful information,” Marinette outright laughed then. “I’ll know what flavour of ice cream not to bring on patrol.”
“I prefer coconut,” he winked at her.
“Is this something you shouldn’t be telling me?” She asked, nervously biting her lip, sudden worry replacing her amusement.
“I think plenty of people like coconut, so I’m safe,’ Chat chuckled. He was right, of course. She shouldn't be paranoid.
“Ok, next time it’s coconut ice cream on me!” She promised.
“I can’t wait!”
*
“So, you two go and buy ice cream, we’ll wait for you at home,” Alya told Marinette, looking pointedly at Adrien. She couldn’t be more obvious in her desire to leave the two of them alone, Marinette was sure of this.
“Oh, ok,” she sighed, willing her face not to become as red as her superhero suit. “What kind?”
“I don’t care. Anything works for me,” her friend shrugged.
“Just avoid nuts,” Nino piped in.
“Adrien? You’d like passion fruit-flavoured, right?” She asked, giving up on the fight against her blush as she looked at him. He frowned for a millisecond before smiling softly at her.
“You know me too well.” Marinette practically melted at this statement.
“Ok, we’re goooing,” Alya sang as she dragged Nino away.
“So,” Marinette nearly squeaked when they were alone, wiping her sweaty palms in her jeans. She could do this! “I saw this new passion fruit ice cream, we can just hope the nearby store sells it.”
“I really don’t mind if we buy something else,” he said as they made their way down the street. “If my favourite ice cream is not an option…” They shared a look and said it together.
“Andre’s.”
Marinette laughed along with him, feeling just a little calmer. There was nothing scary about this.
“Yeah, I know, but since we’ll be studying at Alya’s, it makes sense to buy something from the store instead of going in search of Andre, you know,” she explained.
“I know, I know. So it doesn’t matter what flavour we pick.”
“But passion fruit is your favourite!” She insisted. She wanted to make him happy even if it was about something so small.
“Well, actually… Do you want to know a secret?” His furtive glance around them made her giggle.
“Sure.”
“I don’t really like passion fruit.” His voice was so quiet she thought she hadn’t heard right. But he looked so earnest as he waited for her reaction.
“You, you don’t?” This came as a complete shock for her.
“It’s sort of a marketing trick. You’ve probably heard of models being asked about their favourite book and most of them saying something obscure or something very popular because it somehow sounds sophisticated?”
She nodded numbly.
“It’s something like that. It sounds exotic and memorable. When magazines first started running profiles with trivia about me, my father’s marketing team came up with this. It’s also not true that I prefer dogs and not cats, but well.”
Marinette paused in the middle of the street, feeling as if her whole life had been a lie. This was an exaggeration, of course. But it stung that she’d fallen into the trap like every of Adrien’s fans out there. She hadn’t even thought to question the facts she’d read about him, taking them at face value.
“Oh, wow. I- I made you a passion fruit macaron,” she said miserably.
“And this was a great gesture which I appreciated! I’m sure it would have been very good as well!” It was obvious he was trying to comfort her. And he probably meant it but her mind was spinning. “It sucks a little, I know, because even my own friends don’t know. I’m not really allowed to tell anyone, but I trust you.”
Something, something about his words tickled her memory. Passion fruit, she’d heard that recently. Something about not liking passion fruit in particular.
“No one else knows?” She asked, her heartbeat picking up a notch.
“No,” he said instantly, but then seemed to reconsider. “Well, there is one other person I told this but she can’t tell anyone so..”
“Oh my God,” she muttered as the whole truth suddenly dawned on her. “Chat!”
To his credit, he realised his mistake instantly, squeezing his eyes shut.
“Great, just great. I can’t believe I was this stupid.”
“It’s ok,” Marinette mumbled, trying to overcome her own panic to comfort him. This was a big deal. But… well, it was him, her kitty. It was scary but also wonderful.
“I suspected you before and yet I went and told you exactly the thing I shouldn’t have. And you figured it out.” He sounded really disappointed with himself.
“Wait, you did?”
“Yeah. It’s no wonder I decided to trust you with this after all, right, m’lady?” A tentative smile appeared on his lips. She felt her mouth mirroring it.
“Well, it could have been worse,” she concluded.
“Right! Now, let’s go buy that ice cream before Alya and Nino start wondering what’s taking us so long.”
“Oh, Alya will just think her plan to bring us together has worked. Why she thinks that buying ice cream would make you fall in love with me out of the blue, I have no idea!”
His eyes went round at that and Marinette belatedly realised what she’d said. This time there was no point in fighting the flush that crept up her face.
“Oh dear,” she groaned. “One disaster after another.”
“Wait, wait. This is not a disaster! Do you mean to tell me that you were in love with me all along?” He did sound shocked but also so hopeful that she just nodded. She was out of excuses anyway. “Well, Alya’s plan actually worked, you know, just not the way she intended it, probably.” His happy grin made her smile. When he put it like that.
“But they will still need ice cream, so let’s go,” she reminded him.
“They can wait a minute more. But I can’t,” he said, suddenly serious, as he took a step towards her. She gulped. What now? “May I kiss you?”
She felt weak with relief for about a second, because he wasn’t going to tell her anything bad. But then his question really registered and she swayed on the spot. His arms were instantly around her. Always there to catch her, she thought fondly.
“Yes,” she whispered and his lips were on hers before the word was fully out of her mouth. Yep, who cared about secret identities when they could have this.
The kiss was sweeter than any ice cream. In fact, Marinette decided she’d rather spend the rest of the afternoon kissing Adrien than eating ice cream, but sadly this was not an option. Still, it was totally worth it being late and facing Alya’s interrogation by stealing a few more kisses along the way.