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"I renounce you Plagg."
She gasped loudly, "What?"
"I never want to risk harming anyone ever again, least of all you."
"Wait!" She reached her hand out as she heard him jump.
She felt helpless as she saw the ring on the ground and, without realising, she glanced up to where the patter of his feet could be heard.
Her hands flew up to cover her mouth.
She knew those clothes, that hair, that face. Even if she had only gotten a glimpse of him, she knew it. She knew who he was.
But she stood there. Frozen... abandoned.
The only words that came out if her mouth as she stared at the spot he just exited was, "Chat Noir."
Adrien.
Time skip.
It was useless.
She tried to reach him but she couldn't.
She snatched a random bike and tried to catch up to him.
"ADRIEN!" She screamed, hoping he could hear her.
She pleaded and begged for him to come back.
It was too late.
The car was faster.
She lost him... all of him.
"I love you..." She whispered, as she watched the car move further and further away- she was on the ground.
Adrien... my Chaton. I love you...
She wished she could tell him. She wished she had realised before. The thought of losing Chat Noir had always left a gaping hole in her heart, even more-so than the thought of losing Adrien.
But now she knew they were the same, the hole had grown and spread all over her body.
Without him, she felt empty.
She told Alya she needed to take a walk alone. She promised she wouldn't go far, but at this point she could care less.
Not when Adrien, her Chat... her pun-loving, happy-go-lucky (and how ironic that really was) partner was gone.
She'd slipped the ring on, letting Plagg free, ignoring the surge of magic that immediately flowed through her.
She knew it was a bad idea to wear both the earrings and the ring together, but right now she didn't care. As long as she didn't activate them, she would be fine.
The kwamis sat in her purse as she let out small sobs every now and then, Tikki silently comforting Plagg- who seemed equally as distraught that his holder was gone.
They didn't say anything about her knowing Chat's identity. She was the guardian now. She had the right to know regardless of her insistence on keeping them a secret.
Too late for that...
She wondered where he was right now. Probably already on his father's private jet wallowing in guilt over what had transpired. Even though she had fixed it, she knew he blamed himself. She knew he thought his one mistake meant he wasn't worthy of the miraculous.
She knew she was partially to blame.
She heard a faint whirring from above but she was too caught in her own panic and realisation that she barely even noticed.
"Adrien," she voiced her thoughts out loud, glad she was the only person on the particular street, "I can't do this without- I can't be ladybug without you. It's my fault. I should have heard you out. I should have understood that- I shouldn't have been so selfish. And, oh God, it was me who brought you here in the first place. I convinced your father- I- I caused all of this."
I did this.
She fell to the ground and brought her hands to her face, her sobs becoming more prevalent with each passing second.
Chat.
Adrien.
Oh my god what did I do?
"Don't blame yourself pigtails," a hoarse voice who hadn't spoken for a while went up to her and nuzzled her face.
Marinette never thought she would ever see Plagg so sad. Tikki flew up next to him so both were in her line of sight.
I did this.
"I'm so sorry Plagg. I caused this. I drove him away. I hurt him and I blamed him when really, it's all my fault. I should have trusted him. I shouldn't have been angry at him."
It's my fault.
At this point, she pretty much knew she was hyperventilating. She couldn't feel herself breathing or maybe she was breathing too much? All that went through her head was it's my fault. It's my fault. It's my-
"Shh, Marinette. You need to calm down and take a deep breath," an electronic hand held her face and Marinette found herself looking at Aeon or, more commonly known as Uncanny Valley, "Just follow the counting. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3-"
(So I can't remember if at this point Marinette knows Aeon is Uncanny Valley. I'm just going to assume she does. P.s. if you couldn't tell, yes. She's having a panic attack. Luckily Aeon came.)
It went on like that for a few moments, Aeon counting and Marinette breathing. The two kwamis stayed on either side of her shoulders said nothing as they waited for their ladybug calm down.
"Uncanny Valley? what-what are you doing here?" Marinette finally said.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. New York City needs Ladybug."
"But- I'm- I'm not ladybug!"
"Please don't worry Ladybug. I just got your stress levels to simmer down. It may not be useful for them to rise again."
"But-"
"Fear not. Your secret is safe with me."
"How?"
"I am not human, Ladybug. Therefore the quantum masking meant to confuse human minds, does not work on me."
"I- ok," Marinette sighed, accepting that her secret would be safe with Aeon, "But- I can't be Ladybug. Not without him."
She looked at the ring placed on her finger, and then at Plagg. Aeon watched with curiosity as the blue-haired girl lifted her finger and tickled the air.
"I wish I could help you, Uncanny. Really. But Ladybug is nothing without Chat Noir. I am nothing without him. But I fucked everything up and now he's gone."
Another tear slipped down her already tear stained face as she stumbled up to stand.
"I may have a way to fix that."
She held her palm out and Marinette looked at Plagg for confirmation. Once he nodded, she took the ring off, the magic now fainter than before, and she gave the ring to Aeon.
Please come back to me.
Skip to after they are back in Paris. First patrol back. (Tbh, as guardian, she could have used kaalki but I liked how Aeon showed Adrien the message which motivated him to come back.)
It had been a few days since they were back in Paris. For Adrien, it had been about a week.
He hadn't seen Ladybug, or any of his friends, since he had been back. His schedule had been packed but there were, surprisingly, no akuma attacks during the week.
(Thinking about Hawkmoth made him think about New York. Why he had even been in New York in the first place? The theory he had just made his stomach churn.)
He had gotten a bunch of texts and phone calls from his classmates (though, mostly Nino actually called). He even got a message from Marinette, someone who rarely texted him even though, by now, they had become pretty good friends. (And no he definitely did not have a crush on her no matter what Plagg would say.)
Marinette: hey Adrien. I just want to say that I'm glad you got to come to New York with us. I really enjoyed your company. I just wish that the circumstances had been better so you didn't have to leave when you did.
He really enjoyed his time with her as well. They had spent a lot of moments together in New York and something inside him fluttered at the thought of all of the instances during their trip when it was just them.
Especially their dance. Are you sure you don't have a crush on her?
Marinette: also, I can't elaborate until I see you in person, but I'm really sorry.
He had tried to get her to elaborate but she didn't. She just told him that when she would next see him in person (sooner than he thought) she would give him a proper explanation.
He sighed, not wanting to dwell on it for much longer if she didn't want to answer. Even if his curiosity nagged at him, he wouldn't pressure his sweet classmate.
For now, he could worry about his upcoming patrol with Ladybug, wondering whether after today, anything would change between them once they talked.
Hopefully, that change would be for the better.
Time skip.
They had just finished their patrol and were now sitting next to each other at their usual spot on front of the Eiffel Tower.
Before patrol, they had barely spoken. Both hanging onto their guilt about what had taken place a week earlier.
Now they were sat there, neither of them looking at each other. Neither of them speaking up.
It wasn't like their usual silence after a long patrol where they just wanted to rest for a bit.
No. Both knew they wanted to say something and their brains were wracked with tons of thoughts on how to start their conversation. But the fear and the guilt seemed to make them both fall to cowardice for a few more moments.
"I'm sorry," they both blurted out.
"What? Why are you sorry? Everything that happened was my fault. I'm the one to bla-"
"No kitty. Don't- don't just blame yourself for everything when I'm equally at fault here."
"No you aren't m'lady."
She looked at him and he could see various emotions swirling in her eyes, all at once.
"Yes I am. I was the one who begged your father to bring you to New York. I was the selfish one. I was the one who got angry at you- who disregarded your feelings despite the fact that you are human. Despite the fact that I was the one who wanted your civilian form to be with me. I still got angry and didn't let you explain properly. Didn't remember that you have a life outside of the mask. I forgot that we can't be heroes all the time. I let you down Adrien"
He was shaking his head in disagreement, though he felt confused. She didn't do anything wrong. She shouldn't be apologising.
"M'lady, you didn't let me down. In fact, I was the- wait what?"
Her face morphed into one of surprise. Like she realised she slipped up. She tried to avoid making eye contact with him.
"Did you just-"
"No-"
"Say my name?"
"No."
"Yes you did."
"You must have misheard."
"No. You said it. You said Adrien."
"No I said Chat."
"You said- I heard you say my name."
"Fine! Yes I said it just-"
"You said my name. How did you know my name?"
"Don't freak out."
"Kind of hard not to. You know who I am."
"Please."
"How long- what- I don't mphhh-" She covered his mouth and looked at him seriously. She didn't remove it even when he glared at her. His eyes softened at her troubled expression.
"I'm sorry. Not only for being angry at you but for finding out like this. I know I was the one who was being a stickler for hiding them but it was an accident. I promise. I just-" She sighed, "I just... when you renounced Plagg, I just stood there. I couldn't do anything- I couldn't think past wanting you to come back. I couldn't tear my eyes away when you ran. All I could think was, I couldn't do this, any of this without my partner. Without you. But I just stood there. And when I saw you leave in the car I tried to run after you but it was too late. "
She removed her hand and stepped back, turning her body to face their national monument again. A small tear leaked down her mask and she let it run down her face.
She whispered, and if it wasn't for his enhanced hearing, he wouldn't have known she had said it, "I didn't even have the chance to tell you that I'm in love with you."
Meanwhile, Adrien's mind was whirling. She said she was the one who practically begged his father to let him come to New York. That she had wanted to be around him for the majority of the trip.
There was only one girl who had been brave enough to persuade his father to let him go.
She was kind and amazing and she was courageous. She was special and talented and she always thought about the good of their class. She stood up for her classmates and he even called her their everyday-
Oh.
And he remembered looking back from the car, to see if anyone even cared about him. And she was there, riding a bike, trying to reach them. He could see her lips moving but he couldn't tell if she was crying or it was the rain pelting on her.
Nathalie had been insistent that they didn't stop for anything.
Oh!
All of a sudden, the magic that disguised her, fell. And it all clicked into place. He couldn't have felt happier than he did in that moment.
So this is why she apologised?
And she really said that she was in love with him?
He smiled as he watched her looking at the view. Their view.
He scooted next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, noticing that she didn't tense like she would have if she was talking to Adrien, without knowing he was her Chat.
"Uncanny replayed what you said. That Ladybug was nothing without Chat Noir."
"It's true."
He hummed at her, and didn't mind when she slid her short arm around his waist. He rested his free hand on it and, soon enough, their right hands were tangled. Neither lost their grip.
Neither wanted to.
"Do you know what I think?"
She looked back at him, her curious look making his heart beat a little faster.
"Ladybug may think she is nothing without Chat Noir but Adrien? Adrien Agreste knows that he is nothing without Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
Her mouth fell open, as she gaped at his words.
Somewhere, at the back of his mind, he could hear a small voice telling him how adorable she looked and now would be a good time to k- no! Not now.
"I told you," she fell out of her stupor and a small smile graced her soft, luscious lips, "That I would explain it to you in person."
He brought her even closer- she was practically sitting on his lap by now- and he rested his head on hers.
She could feel the rhythm his heart was making for her. It's erratic thrumming was making her own heart jump leaps and bounds, and soon the rhythm of their drums fell in sync.
"Yeah," he purred, the vibration of his throat gently soothed any of her remaining nerves, "Yeah you did."
He didn't say it but she knew anyways. She knew how he felt, just by the way he clung onto her dearly. How he buried his head into her hair and sighed, contently.
They didn't have to always communicate with words.
Their silent actions were more than enough.
I'm in love with you too.
Bonus (because I like when the class reacts to them)
Time skip. Back at school about a month later. (Shanghai still happened but Marinette and Adrien obviously know who each other are and are dating. Also this is based on me thinking new york and Shanghai happened in like the summer holidays or something. I REFUSE TO BELIEVE ONLY 9 MONTHS HAVE PASSED.)
This is going to be fun, Adrien thought as he smirked into his hand, waiting for his lady to come to school.
It was the first day back at school and exactly a month since Adrien had found out who ladybug was.
The past few weeks had been nothing short of amazing for the both of them. They had kissed (multiple times) and officially became girlfriend and boyfriend. They had honestly had a good laugh when they realised just how badly they were dancing around each other. And now, they were together.
Marinette had also found a way to make him co-guardian of the miraculous, through translating some of the text in the grimoire- the one his father had (which still seemed suspicious to him, collector or not. The coincidences seemed to happen way too often).
He knew that Marinette felt like a huge weight had been lifted off of her shoulder, or it was more like now he could share that weight and neither of them had to be alone to do it. When the time comes, they will be ready to face hawkmoth, and they would do it together.
So now, he was sitting at his desk, Nino next to him, chatting to Alya, and waiting for the girl who washed all of his loneliness away.
There were 5 minutes left until the first class started and he knew she would be here any second now (he had made sure she was awake by calling her several times until she answered her phone).
Alya and Nino didn't know. They had been on vacation like everyone else and neither Marinette or Adrien wanted to tell them over the phone.
They decided it would be funny to see their reaction to Marinette not being a stuttering mess (which he was told was because of her crush on him) and the two of them flirting like it was normal.
Well... it was.
For them at least.
Finally, she entered the class, with 3 minutes left.
As she panted from exhaustion, she let out a breathy laugh, glad she made it on time.
She regained her composure and made her way to her seat.
Their classmates didn't expect her to stop at Adrien's side of the desk but everyone was holding their own breaths, waiting to see how the two would interact.
And boy, oh boy was it a sight to behold.
Adrien brought his fist forward and she lightly bumped it with her own. Neither of their hands moved away. In fact, Adrien seemed to move closer to her and had a mischievous smirk on his face. One, that she matched.
"I told you I'd make it on time today."
Jaws dropped at the notion that Marinette spoke a sentence to Adrien without stuttering.
"So you did."
And what was that smug look on his face?
"You owe me. Especially after what happened yesterday."
She was referring to how her parents caught them in the middle of an impromptu make out session and proceeded to embarrass her by telling him all of her childhood stories (after lecturing the both of them). Adrien gave them some equally embarrassing stories of how much of a mess she used to be around him. (Sometimes she still was. It was adorable.)
He loved her parents almost as much as he loved her.
"I know."
"Well. Give me what you owe me."
"And what would that be?"
The class had been looking back and forth at the two, everyone of them thinking what did we miss?
"I do believe you owe me a kiss."
He laced there hands together and pulled her so she was on his lap. They ignored the gasps of surprise behind them. All they were focused on was each other.
"Well, princess. That is definitely something I can do."
And he did.
He kissed her like his life depended on it, as if if he didn't do it now, he would never be able to do it again. It was urgent and greedy and their mouths moved together quickly. The noise surrounding them became redundant to the sound of their heartbeats against each other. None of the clapping or hollering or the screams of surprise mattered at that moment.
It was just Adrien and Marinette and Ladybug and Chat Noir, expressing their need for each other. It was two halves becoming one.
They could have gone on forever, only pausing for a minimal amount of breathing.
But that's when Miss Bustier decided to walk in and, though she was internally squealing that the two kids her and the rest of the teachers (and possibly the whole of Paris) had been shipping were finally together, she had to be professional and ordered Alya and Nino to pry the two away from each other.
The couple, both slightly flushed at their own display, sat (in Adrien's case, stayed sitting) in their respective seats. They had a matching set of grins plastered on their faces as they relished the reaction they had garnered from the class.
They ignored the furiously hushed whispers of their best friends, promising to explain later, as they waited patiently for their first lesson to start.