Chapter Text
“Alya! We had our memories wiped; it doesn’t count!” Marinette exclaimed, quickly snatching the picture that Alya had been using to taunt her since the day she found out her identity.
“Uh-huh? Girl, you know I love you, but you can just be so oblivious sometimes!”
“Hey!” Marinette interjected, only to be cut off by Alya shushing her, as she pulled out her laptop from her bag and set it on the floor, right in front of where the two girls were seated, surrounded by plates of macarons and croissants Marinette’s papa had just brought up for them.
Marinette knew what was coming, and knowing her best friend, nothing she could say could stop her.
She was sure that the whole of Paris could hear the groan she let out when she saw the PowerPoint presentation opened in front of her.
“Ughhh… Not this again! Look Alya, no matter how much you try to convince me, I do not have any feelings for- “
The rest of her words were cut off by Alya’s childlike giggling as she began presenting her work.
“I hate you.” Marinette mumbled, hiding her face in her hands as she saw the pictures of herself and her partner in black under the unmistakably large title of the work.
5 REASONS WHY LADYBUG SHOULD DATE CHAT NOIR
“Look, Alya, I get what you’re trying to do for Chat but- “
“Who said this was for Chat?”
“What?”
“Please, Mari. You and I both know that Ladynoir has been my OTP since day one”
“I thought it was ‘Adrienette’-”
“Okay, yeah, maybe they were tied, but since you’re saying you’re ready to move on from Adrien, why not give Chat a chance? I mean, you can’t tell me you’ve never looked at him that way. I’ve seen the way you look at him when you think no one’s watching, and girl, I don’t blame you. He literally looks like he could be a model-”
“Jeez, and you wonder why Nino would ever think you have a thing for Chat” Marinette mumbled, rolling her eyes at her best friend’s antics.
However, as much as she wanted to completely deny all of Alya’s claims, she couldn’t ignore the small voice in the back of her head, telling her that Alya was right, that it was only a matter of time till Chat completely captured her heart as his own.
After all, a part of it already belonged to him, anyway.
She didn’t know when, or how, or even why she suddenly started seeing Chat in this way. She’d always known how loyal, kind, caring and god-forbiddingly handsome he was. Her kitty really was a man of his words, for just as he had promised, he had sneaked his way into her heart.
And it looked like he had no intention of leaving.
“…. Marinette? You there?”
“Y-Yeah! Sorry… I-I was just… thinking about the… the chemistry test we have tomorrow! You know how much I hate Ms. Mendeleev, d-don’t you?”
“Well, since you look like a blushing mess right now, I’d beg to differ. In fact, I’d even go as far to say that you loved her. Damn Mari, you really are moving on fast- “
“S-Shut up! Just start w-with your s-stupid presentation, already.” Marinette snapped, suddenly finding the floor interesting.
“Eager, are we?”
The croissant Marinette threw at Alya was enough to answer her question.
REASON NUMBER 1- THEY’RE ALL OVER EACHOTHER DURING AKUMA ATTACKS
“Oh my god….” Marinette groaned, defensively crossing her arms as she glared at Alya.
“What? You haven’t even seen the pictures yet!” Alya stated with feigned innocence, but Marinette could recognize the mischief in her eyes from a mile away.
Alya swiftly continued to the next slide, and there it was- a collage of some of the most compromising positions Ladybug and Chat Noir had found themselves in.
In some of the images, Chat was on top of Ladybug, smirking down at her as she clearly remembered cursing the Akuma for the situation they were in.
In others, she had her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, looking up at him as he leaped effortlessly from building to building using his baton.
There was one where she was scratching Chat Noir’s chin, and Marinette couldn’t help but smile when she saw the adorable look of content on his face.
He really is a cat, she thought.
Her eyes fell on another picture, one of her favorites, if she had to be honest.
Ladybug had her chest pressed up against Chat’s, his breath hot against her forehead as the two of them were backed up against the wall of an impossibly narrow alleyway, hiding from another Akuma. “Lucky Cha-” Ladybug began to call out, only to be interrupted by a gentle rumbling coming from her partner. She looked up at Chat, who was avoiding all eye contact with her. “Ladybug... I-”
“LADYBUG! CHAT NOIR! I’VE FOUND YOU! NOW COME OUT AND GIVE ME YOUR MIRAC-”
“Yeah Yeah, we get it. We’ve heard this phrase, like what, a thousand times, my lady?”
“Yup! And guess what? We’ve won every single time!”
The incident took place only about a week after she heard him purr for the first time, when they were battling Prime Queen. So, she could understand why he was so embarrassed.
“And last but not least…” Alya added in a sing-song voice, awakening Marinette from her stupor.
Marinette wanted to die
“Alya!! You know both these pictures don’t count; I was just telling you that! They both have very valid reasons as to how they happened!”
“Enlighten me.”
“W-Well, the f-first pic was when Kim was akumatized... I-I didn’t have a choice Alya! I had to save Chat! Remember what Ms. Bustier said? Love conquers hate! So… I just kissed Chat to s-save him! Like how the prince kisses the princess to save her in all those fairy tales!”
“Mari, don’t you think you’re missing out on a very important point?”
“Uh-huh? Like what?”
“Only a True Love’s kiss works, not just any kiss! So… If you kissed Chat, and saved him by doing so… that would mean that…”
“S-SHUT UP!”
“God, Mari, you’re so oblivious it literally hurts.”
Marinette groaned as she smacked her friend on the shoulder.
“And as for the second picture, our memories were completely erased, Alya. I have no idea how it could have possibly happened, so it does not mean anything.
“I get it. But just think about it, Mari. Would you really kiss a boy you barely even knew? If you were able to fall in love with him once, in just a few hours, may I add... who's to say it couldn't happen again?”
“I-I...”
“See! But fine, if you’re going to continue to be in denial, so be it. I came prepared”.
Alya’s little smirks were really getting on Marinette’s nerves.
REASON NUMBER 2- NICKNAMES!!!
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Were you seriously that desperate for reasons?”
“Okay, fine. I admit, this wasn’t my best point. But Mari, you’ve got to admit that ‘Bugaboo’ and ‘M’lady’ ARE THE CUTEST THINGS EVER!”
“Are not”
“Are too”
“Are not”
“Are- you know what, fine. Your Kitty seems to really agree with me though.”
Marinette pouted as her friend continued to tease her for what felt like the millionth time that day.
“Aww, don’t be like that Mari,”
“Hmph”
Marinette whined as Alya leaned forward, to once again, move on to the next slide.
REASON NUMBER 3- THEY’RE ALWAYS FLIRTING DURING BATTLE
Marinette’s eyes widened as she read what was written in front of her, ignoring Alya’s maniacal giggling in the background.
“WE WERE NOT FLIRTING!” screeched Marinette, making some incomprehensible gestures with her hands.
“Girl, it doesn’t take an expert to notice the chemistry between you to. You think we don’t see all the little love-struck looks you give each other mid battle? Or your little smirks after whispering god knows what to each other when you think you’re all alone? Or the way he kisses the back of your hand whenever he greets you? I’m a reporter for goodness’ sake!”
“First of all-” Marinette quickly piped up, ready to deny everything Alya had just said.
Even though she knew she was right.
“Nuh-uh-uh, I don’t want to hear it! Now, let’s move onto the next reason. Oooo, this is a good one!” Alya gushed.
REASON NUMBER 4- CHAT NOIR HAS LOVED LADYBUG SINCE THE DAY THEY MET
“C’mon, you and I both know this isn’t true, Al. It’s probably just some silly crush anyway, Chat is a notorious flirt, all of Paris knows that. Just look at the way he treats you, or Vesperia, or K-Kagami…”
“Kagami?” Alya questioned, looking at her quizzically.
“Never mind.”
“Whatever you say, girl. And yes, Chat can be quite boisterous and flirty at times- “
Marinette giggled at that.
“But the way he treats us isn’t the same way he treats you, girl. Sure, he’s kissed our hands a couple of times and thrown in a joke or two, but it’s nothing compared to what he does for you. He doesn’t stare at us instead of the moon at night. He doesn’t declare how perfect, or irresistible we are when he thinks we’re not listening. He doesn’t chase us around the city, hoping to even get a second or two more with us. He doesn’t throw himself in front of an Akuma just to save us.”
Marinette scooted to the side, her eyes falling on the sleeping kwami beside her. She remembered how Tikki had told her just what Alya had just said multiple times, whenever Marinette went on one of her I don’t know if I like Adrien or Chat Noir tangents. She’d always known that Chat had a thing for her, but hearing it from Alya and almost all the kwamis somehow made it feel more real.
Maybe that stupid alley cat really was the one for her after all.
“He only does that stuff for you, Marinette.”
“Alya, I-”
“And look at this” Alya quickly added, leaning towards the laptop to click on a link, for what seemed like a video.
“Wow. Whoever she is-”
“I love that girl.” Marinette finished, her voice barely above a whisper. She knew she shouldn’t have done that, revealing to Alya that she’d watched that clip of Chat from the day they fought Stoneheart one too many times. It reminded her of the time she finished Adrien’s fragrance add in front of the boy. She really needed to learn to keep her mouth shut.
“Marinette-”
“W-What?! Did I s-say, I love that girl?! Pfffttt, no way! I mean, Stone Heart was like ages ago, w-why would I remember that tiny, totally insignificant detail?! I mean, d-do I look like a person who’d watch a video of the guy who’s apparently in love with her confess his feelings for her like ten times every day because he’s just so amazing and adorable and kind and-
“Marinette!” Alya practically yelled, finally bringing an end to Marinette’s insistent rambling.
“S-Sorry,” she mumbled, her cheeks flush.
Great going, Marinette. Now Alya thinks you’re totally in love with him.
She wouldn’t be wrong though, would she?
“Anyway” Marinette gulped, clearly trying to change the topic. “Do you have any more of your reasons left to show me?”
“Well, yeah, I have one. But this one’s kind of a sensitive topic girl, so if you don’t want to talk about it, just tell me the word. Okay?”
“Okay.”
REASON NUMBER 5- CHAT NOIR WOULD SACRIFICE HIS LIFE FOR LADYBUG
Marinette’s face went pale as she read the words so casually displayed on the screen, her breath hitching as she processed them.
“Marinette, wait. This isn’t a reason why you should date him by any means. I-I just wanted to show you how much you mean to that boy. I-I understand that’s what partners do for each other, a-and I actually wasn’t planning on showing you this one, but since you insisted-”
“A-Alya, it’s okay. Don’t apologize.”
Marinette knew how stupid her kitty was, how foolish and rash he could be at times. Yet somehow, most of the time, he was doing all those stupid things for her.
Her thoughts travelled back to a few of the numerous times that that stupid cat had sacrificed himself for her.
When they were fighting Gamer 2.0, and he fell backwards to what could have been his death, simply admitting defeat just because he loved her too much to fight her.
When Kagami was akumatized again, into Lies, and Chat Noir had once again foolishly, and recklessly sacrificed himself for her. He trusted her so much, constantly putting his life in danger for her. His love. His lady.
“You’re crazy! Chat Noir!”
“Crazy for you, m’lady”
“……. Earth to Marinette?”
“Y-Yeah? Sorry, a-about that Alya, kind of got distracted there” she admitted, finally looking up at Alya as she continued playing with the hem of her shirt.
“Marinette, you’ve got tears in your eyes.”
“W-What? No… No, I don’t, I-I mean, why would I be crying?”
Marinette was two occupied by her thoughts to notice tears that had begun welling up in her eyes, threatening to fall at any moment.
Soon enough, the dam finally broke.
Marinette felt an arm wrap around her shoulder, and she relaxed into Alya’s warmth as she whispered into Marinette’s ear how she had nothing to worry about, how she wasn’t alone anymore.
“A-Alya… h-he… he’s just so reckless, a-and stupid and h-he doesn’t think before he acts- “Marinette chocked out between sobs. “A-And I just worry, w-what if I can’t save him one day, what if I fail, and he stays dead Alya?! I c-can’t do this without him! Do you know how much it hurts to constantly see the boy you love being killed again and again? God, I h-hate that stupid cat so much- “
“I think you mean love that stupid cat, Marinette.”
Love. She was the guardian. She wasn’t allowed to love.
But you know what? She’d broken tons of rules already. Why not break another?
Even if everything went wrong, she’d have him, and he’d have her.
After all, they were soulmates.
Yin and Yang.
Creation and Destruction.
Ladybug and Chat Noir.
“I do, Alya. I really do.”