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Chapter Text

The full moon hung behind her silhouette, but even the light from galaxies away, couldn’t make him take his eyes off of her.

She was laughing. 

Laughing so hard she was grabbing at her stomach for support, with her eyes beautifully scrunched up, almost brimming with joyful tears.

Chat couldn’t even remember what he said that made her conjure up this reaction, but his heart swelled with curiosity and adoration as he watched her forehead fall onto his shoulder. Her body was slowing down from its onslaught of heavy laughter, and she went back to looking at him once her laughter ceased. 

“I can’t believe you said that to Mr. Ramier. He’s been akumatized how many times?” she asked as a small giggle escaped her again.

His brain tried to think of an answer, but then her smile widened and his thoughts seem to crash all at once.

He desperately tried to make it seem like he was just counting numbers in his head, probably looking like a child doing a difficult math equation in her eyes. She kept staring patiently at him, and Chat tried to ignore the way she tried to stifle from laughing again by biting her lip. 

“I believe its been one hundred and forty-three times as of today,” he declared with a haughty smile, trying to regain his usual egotistical composure. “And I think I unlocked a new superpower during the battle today.

“Oh, is that so?” she asked, clearly playing along with his antics. “ Now what in the world may that new superpower be?”

“The super powerful, ability-enhancing talent of being irresistibly charming,” he finished with a wag of his eyebrows, leaning closer into her space.

Like always, her response was a roll of the eyes, pulling out a dainty finger to push him by the nose and force him back on his butt.

“Really? Because I’m finding your powers to be quite ineffective, and quite resistable.”

Her sarcasm did nothing to phase his demeanor, but the visual of her twitching smile and silky hair being swept in the slight breeze was making his heartbeat stutter ever so slightly.

Chat Noir gave her a sly smirk, pushing down the nerves bundling in his stomach. “My Lady, that's just the tip of the whisker. I also have the power to make hearts skip a beat with my dashing smile.”

It was then that he decided to flash her a gleaming Cheshire grin, and in return, her head tilted with a playful expression.

“Is that so? Well, lucky for you, I also have my own superpower—resisting your charms. It's quite handy, you know.”

He jokingly leaned in, closing his eyes to slits to look into hers. 

“Resisting?” Chat whispered as he enjoyed watching her eyes dance like diamonds. “But M’Lady, it's not about resisting. Why not surrender to your desires?”

“Pfttt,” she laughed with a cocked eyebrow and crossed arms, “What desires?”

His grin turned mischievous. “Those feelings you hide deep, deep down.”

Chat’s smile widened as she looked him over, both of them sitting on the cold tile of a dusty rooftop.

“What feelings are you speaking of?” she asked. “Annoyance or extreme exasperation?”

“Oh, you know what feelings I’m referring to,” he flirted. “But if you need a little reminder, I can be incredibly purr-suasive in opening up that stubborn heart of yours.”

Once again, he attempted to hide his erratic breathing and flushed face with poor humor. 

Chat tried to listen to her breathing pattern, see if her cheeks might tinge pink in response to his flirtations, or maybe if her ears would go red at the tips.

Her face remained blank, and even her body temperature remained normal. 

Damn.

“Aaannnddd I think your poor excuse at flirting is our sign for us to end tonight’s patrol.”

She dusted off her hands and stood up, reaching for her yo-yo before he stopped her.

“W-Wait!”

Ladybug paused, and Chat took the opportunity to jump to his feet and gently hold onto her free hand. All bravado washed off of him, and he seemed to be more like a desperate teenager than anything.

He just needed to ask her what’s been on his mind all night. Looking expectantly up at him, Ladybug’s face shimmered under the moonlight, her eyes sparkling more than ever.

It was quite intimidating to see her beauty up close sometimes.

“I know it’s late, but I’ve been kind of nocturnal lately, so if you can’t sleep or something, I’ll be awake if you want to hang out a little longer tonight,” he offered, trying to push down the rising hope in his chest to see her again. “And just as a friendly reminder, tomorrow is kind of important and I’d really like some company at midnight.”

He nervously looked into her eyes, trying to decipher her answer. 

Ladybug bit her lip in thought. She stared at his hands clasped around hers, and then stared out towards the Tour de l'Horloge. The clocktower seemed to be illuminated just enough by the moonlight for her to read the time. Chat knew it was nearing ten at night, and she usually didn’t go to bed until three-ish. A truly unhealthy habit that he should scold her on in the future, but for right now, he just wanted to selfishly hang on to her presence for just a little longer. Ladybug stared back at him, seemingly tossing two options back and forth in her head. 

They both knew that their three year anniversary of being heroes meant a big day for the two of them tomorrow. The mayor organized a parade in their honor, citizens arranged festivals around the city, and of course, the press wanted a piece of each of them on their front page. And each time every anniversary has rolled around, they always celebrated the first couple of minutes after midnight with each other. Giggling atop dark rooftops, and looking out onto the sparkling city they’ve sacrificed their time and body to protect. 

It had to be tradition at this point, at least, in his eyes it was.

On their first year anniversary of being Ladybug and Chat Noir, she asked to see him again at midnight after their patrol. It was the first time she ever wanted to see him twice in one night, and Adrien went home to brush his teeth, comb his hair, and put on a fresh spritz of cologne. He arrived with a fresh bouquet of flowers, and a heart-shaped box of chocolates like it was their first year of being in a relationship. And surprisingly, she laughed and gratefully accepted the gifts, while also giving him a box of macarons in return.

Adrien remembered savoring each and every macaron when he got home, like it was a delicacy that descended from the heavens.

Their second year anniversary was a bit of a different story. Chat asked if they could meet up after 12, and she agreed nonchalantly. But when she arrived at 11:50, he knew something was bothering her that night. There was no names involved, but she told him about how something happened to her at school, and how her parents yelled at her about her attendance before she left to see him. It was the first time that she came to him to comfort her. And it felt really fucking nice to lend her a shoulder to cry on. It wasn’t until hours later that they realized they’ve been out so late, and they needed to make a guest appearance on a morning show at six a.m..

Ladybug said to hell with it, and they slept for the remaining two hours on the Eiffel Tower together.

That was the night that Chat finally got to confirm that Ladybug was a light snorer.

And now, year three. 

His best memories with her always fell on this fateful day. The third Tuesday of the third month of the year. 

He just wanted yet another perfect night with her. One where he could stay up for hours and talk without thinking about anything else but her.

He could practically hear her just thinking, and Chat tried to give his best, sickly cute, kitten eyes that she’s fallen prey to in the past.

A light sigh tumbled out of Ladybug’s mouth. 

“If I don’t call you, I probably fell asleep,” she smiled as his tail faltered in its rhythm. “But I’ve been a bit nocturnal too as of late, and if I get restless, then I’ll call.”

Her goodbye was short. A small smile and a wave, and then she leapt off the building’s edge and disappeared into the night. 

“Okay, cool! Yeah, call me!” he yelled into the empty darkness.

No reply followed, just silent winds washing past him.

The moon seemed to taunt him, the satellite planet floating in place a little above where Ladybug just stood.

But nonetheless, Chat would leap home satisfied, and wishing to every shooting star that he would see Ladybug again that night.

***

Marinette detransformed quickly, desperately wanting a shower before she saw Chat again. The 

school day was long, and the bakery hours were even longer, and Marinette just wanted to cleanse all of that stress before tomorrow would start.

God, she would have to talk to the mayor and probably entertain Chloe Bourgeois for a bit. Not to mention, Nadia Chamack and her new crew of reporters that were nothing but invasive investigators nowadays.

“Tikki, I’ll be in the bathroom for a bit. There’s macarons on the desk,” she said before grabbing a change of clothes. 

“Wait, Marinette,” Tikki stopped her, zipping in front of her face. “I actually think we need to have a talk for a second.”

Marinette stared curiously at Tikki, sensing the unusual amount of nervousness that emanated from her kwami, rather than the usual exhaustion after being transformed for a long period of time. 

Tikki anxiously eyed the chaise, signaling that whatever she was about to say was something that Marinette should sit down for. 

Marinette had an eyebrow slightly-raised as she made herself comfortable against the chaise pillows. 

“I want to ask what has you so nervous, but the last time I asked you that, the bakery almost burned down from your attempt at baking macarons.”

Marinette supplied a small chuckle to ease Tikki’s obvious nerves, but the kwami was looking erratically between her and the floor, trying to still piece together her words.

“Well… you see, t-there’s. Marinette.. I believe-.. I think….” Tikki stumbled, shaking her small head between every mess-up.

Seeing her kwami’s obvious frustration, Marinette tried to comfort her despite being extremely lost in her attempt of conversation.

“It’s okay Tikki, take your time and breathe.”

The red kwami took a long breath, closing her eyes and looking up at the ceiling before staring back at Marinette.

“There’s something that Master Fu was concerned about before he lost his memories as guardian, and these concerns do regard both you and Chat Noir,” Tikki started off, pausing to see her holder’s expression.

Marinette nodded, albeit a bit confused, signaling her to continue with whatever she was trying to say.

“Usually, it takes about a decade for a Black Cat and Ladybug pair to truly form what we call a ‘perfect bond,’ but in the past years that Master Fu was guardian, we noticed that you and Chat Noir have had a bit of a different case…” 

The kwami took another deep breath before continuing once again.

“Well, I haven’t really explained to you what a miraculous bond is, because I never expected that I would have to do that until way way waaayyy longer down the road, but here we are. Heh,” Tikki gave a sheepish smile. “But a magic bond can only form between a Black Cat and Ladybug user, and is typically very rare because the miraculous is usually never in use long enough to materialize a proper connection.”

Marinette gave a slow nod at this information. “Okay, but what exactly does this bond do?”

Tikki almost seemed hesitant to answer.

 “When a proper bond is formed, the magic shields between the users will slowly dissipate until you’ll be able to easily recognize Chat Noir in and out of the mask, and vice versa.”

Marinette tried to push aside her shock, and instead focused on keeping the conversation going with her kwami.

“I guess that makes sense after ten years of being miraculous wielders together.”

“Yes, but that happening in a matter of ten years might not be the case for the both of you...”

Tikki looked over to her holder to see if Marinette could decipher what the kwami was trying to get at, but she just sported a puzzled expression that turned more and more complexed.

“So, are you saying that Chat Noir and I might have to wait longer than a decade to have this so-called ‘perfect bond’?”

Tikki quickly shook her head. “No, no. It’s really quite… the opposite.”

Marinette’s eyes widened slightly.

“So, you’re saying our bond is going to come faster than expected? Like maybe nine or eight years into being holders?”

Tikki nervously shook her head once to each side.  “Actually, more like three.”

“WHAT?”

Marinette jumped rapidly off from her chaise, and Tikki shushed her before making her sit back down.

“It’s actually not that surprising. You and Chat Noir are in the same age group, live in the same city, I’m actually surprised we didn’t discover this development sooner,” the kwami rushed to explain herself.

“Tikki, our three year anniversary is tomorrow. Tomorrow!” Marinette exclaimed. “I could know Chat Noir’s identity by tomorrow?!”

The small kwami’s avoidance of eye contact was answer enough. 

Marinette let out an unwomanly gasp, and scrambled to the end of the chaise.

“Holy shit.”

“Marinette..” Tikki whispered and moved closer, trying to see if she broke her holder or not.

“Wait, wait, hold on. Just give me a minute,” Marinette said while laying down, and thoughtfully looking up at her ceiling.

I can’t fucking do this, Marinette thought to herself. 

But ok, maybe this won’t actually be that bad

Just Chat Noir… with a face. His very human, non-catlike, face. 

Yeah… just imagine a very normal blond boy, around my age, who also loves to pun a lot in his spare time.

She shut her eyes like her life depended on it.

Yeah, I’m okay... everything will be okay. 

Marinette then bolted upright, heart pounding, and stared at Tikki maniacally.

“Chat Noir has a face!”

“What?” the kwami asked incredulously. “That was not what I expected your response to be.”

Marinette quickly shook her head.

“That wasn’t what I meant to say,” she rushed, almost sheepishly. “Just… what does this exactly mean for Chat Noir and I? What about the Guardian’s identity rules set in place?”

“Well, I thought about that for a bit while you were out on patrol, and honestly…,” Tikki trailed, making the most sincere expression she’s worn all night. “It’s up to you what you want to do from here. You’re the guardian now, not Master Fu, and keeping your identities secret is something he would’ve wanted. But with circumstances like these, I can trust you to make your own rules from here Marinette.”

The girl watched her kwami with wide eyes.

“Wow, that’s honestly one of the nicest things you’ve ever told me,” Marinette’s heart swelled with appreciation. “Your trust means a lot to me, Tikki.”

The kwami sensed Marinette beginning to become sentimental, and also the girl’s hormone imbalance during this time of month, and flew a little backwards.

“Yeah, yeah, your welcome,” Tikki said as she looked shyly away.  “But there is still one last thing I should inform you about before tomorrow starts.”

“Oh no, you’re being ominous again,” Marinette said while sitting up straighter on the chaise.

“Shush, I’m trying to be helpful,”  Tikki lightheartedly quieted her.“And you’ll soon realize that this miraculous bond is a good thing. I was just worried about how you might take it.”

Marinette tilted her head to one side, gripping her knees tightly with both hands.

“Tomorrow starts really, really soon. Is this the type of thing that strikes at midnight and I’ll suddenly be able to know what Chat Noir looks like? How does this work?” Marinette asked, puzzled with how this development could bring anything else but problems for the both of them.

Tikki looked at her thoughtfully. “The bond can only be revealed in one way, and it requires the both of you to be unmasked.”

“So, what do we have to do?” Marinette questioned quizzically. 

“You just have to make direct eye-contact with a maskless Chat Noir.”

Marinette’s jaw dropped open before she realized her reaction and picked it back up.

“So, direct eye-contact is what triggers the miraculous bond?” 

“More or less,” Tikki nodded thoughtfully, not sensing Marinette’s obvious distress.

“So, no eye contact with anyone in my near future,” she gave Tikki a shaky grin and a double thumbs up. “Awesome.”

The kwami gave a giggle, not realizing the seriousness behind Marinette’s words.

“Assuming that you don’t want to reveal your identity to him, you would have to avoid direct eye-contact with any person in your vicinity. Which is crazy.”

Marinette’s eye twitched at the end of her statement. “Yeah… crazy.”

“And there’s one clear advantage of claiming a miraculous bond,” Tikki piped up, trying to catch the girl’s wavering attention. 

“If the bond is put in place, you both will not be susceptible to any other powers by a miraculous.”

The cogs in Marinette’s mind began to move without faltering. 

“Wait, Tikki, does that mean-?”

The kwami nodded with a small smile.

“Yes, once your bond is established, you both will no longer be at risk of getting akumatized by Hawkmoth’s butterflies anymore.”

Slowly, Marinette covered her mouth with her hand, processing the information slowly.

“Oh, shit,” she muttered under her breath.

“All that has to happen is for you, Marinette, to make direct eye contact with Chat Noir’s unmasked identity. Simple as pie,” Tikki sang happily, spinning in the air.

“As a baker’s daughter, I can confidently tell you that pie is actually pretty difficult to make,” she spoke softly into her hand.

“I think you just can’t bake very well, Marinette.”

“Wow! I suddenly can’t hear!” the girl shouted, moving both hands to cover her ears.

Tikki gave a soft smile at her holder, making Marinette slowly drop her arms.

“So, finally, you and Chat Noir are safe, and can know who each other are,” the kwami spoke soundly. “I’m actually surprised you’re not totally freaking out right now.” 

Marinette took a deep breath, pushing down her increasing heart rate.

“That’s because I’m not going to reveal my identity to him.”

Her kwami’s nonexistent eyebrows raised.

“Why…? I anticipated for you to be nervous about the prospect of revealing yourself, but I thought you and Chat Noir have wanted this for forever?”

Marinette shook her head, her eyes scrunching shut and her knee bobbing up and down.

“I always tell him that it’s because of the Guardian’s rules that I won’t reveal myself to him, but that’s just an excuse. I don’t want to,” the girl sighed, her expression clearly worried. 

“Marinette, even I know that Master Fu’s rules can’t be the only thing stopping you from revealing your identity to Chat Noir. I have a feeling that there’s something you’re unwilling to reveal to me, or maybe even to yourself.”

Marinette cocked her head in confusion.

“Tikki, what? That’s not true, I just don’t want to.”

Her kwami gave her a look that seemed to carry a hidden message she couldn’t decipher.

“Whatever’s holding you back from wanting to reveal yourself to Chat Noir, whatever that fear is, you must overcome it one day,” Tikki spoke with a gentle note underneath her voice. 

Her holder’s response was a heavy sigh out of her mouth, crossing both arms in front of her chest. The feelings of pressure and inner torment was probably clear across her face.

The red kwami’s eyes softened, staring at Marinette with light concern.

Marinette caught the stare and shook her head at her kwami. 

“I really don’t want to,” she continued on, panic starting to set in her stomach.

Tikki leaned in cautiously. “But, Marinette, why not?”

“Because-” she started before cutting herself off, and quickly recoiling into herself. Marinette unconsciously brought a hand up to her ear and rubbed the black earring attached to her, trying to find some semblance of bravery in herself. “Because I’m scared.”

She avoided all eye contact with her kwami, and instead looked down. 

Tikki sighed.

Marinette brought a hand up to rub her temple, the information and stress becoming too much at once. 

“I would ask you why you’re scared, but that’s a conversation I think you should be having with Chat Noir instead,” the kwami suggested.

“Thanks,” Marinette let out a breath with genuine relief. She needed a few moments to collect her thoughts before she had to open that can of worms. “Do you mind calling up Plagg and doing that weird telepathy thing you guys do, and tell Chat I’ll meet him later?”

Tikki nodded, her expression blank in emotion.

The tension was palpable between the two of them. Marinette was unwilling to open up completely to Tikki, and the kwami was unable to give her holder the advice she needs.

Marinette nodded back awkwardly, and stood up from the chaise. “I’ll… I’ll be in the shower.”

She walked quickly to the bathroom, and locked the knob behind her. 

Marinette slid down the door until her knees fully bent and the back of her head banged against the barrier between her and her problems.

***

The night air was frustratingly icy. A light shiver raced through Ladybug as she flung herself from building to building. Wondering if her partner was already at their destination spot, she sped up her pace a little, relishing in the way her yo-yo string pulled taut, and how the ache in her muscles burned as she sliced through the air.

As she made a sharp turn, Marinette heard a  faint ‘whoop’ from the other side of the city, and a distinct silhouette rising higher than every building in it’s perimeter.  Then as high as it rose, the  shadowed figure speedily descended, landing on a nearby rooftop.

“There he is,” she smiled as she rocketed towards the Eiffel Tower. 

And as always, she arrived first to their patrol spot, and Marinette took the time to get comfy on one of the beams before Chat could make his appearance. As she surveyed the city to see how far he was, a light thump was heard from the beam above her, causing a trickle of dust to rattle down.

“Pftttt, Chat!” she complained as dirt flew around her. 

He made his appearance by popping his head from above, his tail also showing as it fell to swoop from side-to-side.

“Sorry M’Lady, a-paw-logies if I startled you,” he grinned slightly at the pun.

“I saw you coming from a mile away, but nice try.”

“And I thought I was the one with night vision,” Chat chuckled while expertly crawling down, silent as a… well, silent as a cat. 

Damn, Marinette walked right into that one.

“I also heard you from a mile away. Must I remind you about the many sleeping Parisian children and grandparents at this time?” she responded dryly as he made a show of leaning against the strong pillar behind him. “Why are you standing like that?”

“I actually think I banged up my knee a little bit on the way here, and I’m trying to sit down,” he said, as Chat awkwardly stumbled on to his butt. He fell hard, and his face immediately scrunched into a wince. Marinette had to stop herself from laughing out loud by stuffing her fist into her mouth.

He didn’t fail to catch the action, and immediately straightened his back in embarrassment.

“Not funny.”

“Oh, the most hilarious you’ve ever been actually,” Ladybug retorted, giggling as he frowned playfully.

“Ha ha,” he let out unenthusiastic laugh, but still sported a small grin.  “So, how much time ‘til midnight?”

Marinette turned her head, looking towards one of the many clocktowers planted around the city. 

“About twenty minutes.”

“Hm.”

Chat let out a small nod as she turned back to face him.

Awkward silence stretched between the two of them, and as Marinette realized this, she noticed that she just didn’t have the ‘brain space’ to talk at the moment. Her mind was still swirling with the information that Tikki had told her, and she wondered if Chat was thinking about the same thing.

Ladybug looked over to him, and her partner’s head was peering at the night stars deep in thought.

“So, I’m guessing your kwami gave you the ‘talk’ as well,” she assumed, making his thoughts return back to Earth.

His lips immediately curved into a smile that turned devilish.

“Well, actually, Plagg isn’t fond about talking of the ‘disgusting human mating ritual,’ as he calls it, but-”

“What? Ew! No!” Ladybug yelled in shocked horror. “I was talking about the miraculous bond, you dirty-minded cat!”

Chat chuckled as he watched her range of expressions, and leaned back against the pillar while gleefully taking in her angry glower.

“Yeah, he gave me the talk too,” he spoke softly while his face returned to its spacey, faraway look. “And I wanted to say something about it, but I want to know what you think about the bond first.”

Ladybug nodded, already sensing what his opinion was on the topic. She knew Chat would just want to unmask themselves at the drop of a hat, but Marinette felt extremely hesitant with the prospect.

“Well, ok,” she said. “I think that even though we have this newfound opportunity to discover each other’s identities, I think we shouldn’t explore it.”

All muscles in Chat Noir’s body sagged instantly, his expression puzzled and looking confusedly at her.

“Wait, what?”

Marinette turned her head to face the city instead, not feeling ready to see Chat’s expression for her final blow.

“Chat, we still can’t know each other’s identities.”

The ensuing seconds of silence pummeled hard into Marinette’s chest. Or was that her heartbeat? She couldn’t tell the difference.

“I respect your decision Bug, but with this bond we no longer have to worry about being akumatized by Hawkmoth anymore, and the danger of us revealing our identity to the enemy is gone, so just… why?” he asked with a hesitant pause.

She dragged her sweaty palms across her sides, trying to calm her growing nerves.

“I just think we shouldn’t outwardly seek for each other,” she said with a dramatic flail of her hands.

His eyes dimmed, and Chat began to stand up. Marinette followed the action and watched him pace atop the beam. He suddenly turned to her, his finger pointing towards the sky, with an idea clearly planted in his head.

“What if I make eye-contact with a random girl on the street, and she just so happens to be you? What then?”

She looked off to the side, letting a breath fan out.

“You can’t let that happen,” Marinette said, lacking determination. “Just try to avoid eye-contact with the people around you, and I’ll do the same.”

“Bullshit,” he breathed.

His fists unconsciously clenched at his sides, the action not going unnoticed by Ladybug. She looked down and sighed, her mind exhausted.

“Chat…I’m the guardian, and I think we should try and follow the rules. ”

She watched him drag yet another hand through his ragged hair.

“This gives us an opportunity to have an advantage against Hawkmoth!” Chat began to shout. “We can be stronger, fight better, and work together like a real team.”

Exasperated, Marinette threw her hands and stepped closer to him.

“But what of the guardian’s rules! We’re not supposed to know each other!” 

“When have we ever followed the rules, Ladybug?” he asked, clawing desperately for something to make the girl change her mind. “You’re the guardian now, and you don’t have to follow those rules that those stupid guys from the ‘Order of the Guardians’ make you follow!”

“But we have to try-!”

“Ladybug, what about my friends? My coworkers? My Father? Do I just never look them in the eyes again?”

She shut her mouth and tried to ignore the little tidbit of information that Chat Noir mentioned about himself working.

“You can look at your father,” she spoke under her breath. “I can promise that I am not a father and I do not have a son.”

He let out a humorless laugh.

“You know, you can’t stop me from making eye-contact with every person I pass by on the street,” he spoke deeply. 

Marinette took in his blazing conviction, and gave a weak nod. As Chat settled down, the tension in his shoulders began to slump and quiet fell between them.

“Maybe I might just be lucky enough to run into you,” he whispered, looking distractedly at the stars. “And I think, deep down, you want to accidentally bump into me too.”

His head slowly turned to face her once again.

 “Tell me, that doesn’t sound at least a little nice to you? Not hiding anything between us anymore? Doesn’t that sound just…” Chat trailed off, not wanting to complete the sentence.

“Perfect?” she filled in for him.

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I knew you’d get it.”

Maybe her partner was right. Maybe in a perfect world, that would be perfect. Never having to hide from one another and having a friend outside of the mask to rely on and spend time with, that sounded perfect.

She wanted her perfect world with Chat Noir. 

But right now, she just wasn’t ready.

“Chat…we- you can’t be saying stuff like this, it’s dangerous.”

He breathed hard through the nose, and raked a hand through his hair.

“We’ve been fighting villains that can travel through time, akumas that can turn people into statues, and a man that dresses up in a butterfly costume in our spare time,” he damn near laughed. “Everything is dangerous Ladybug! Even the Cup O’ Noodles I eat at three in the morning has a high risk of giving me cancer, and you don’t see that stopping me from eating them.”

“You should really stop with the Cup O’ Noodles,” she stated with complete seriousness as she watched him rub his temple. “Also, I think you hit your head instead of your knee earlier.”

“My point was not about the Cup O’ Noodles,” he said while crossing his arms in an ‘X’ and closing his eyes in frustration. “Hell, the universe is practically telling us that were ready for this. We can take on anything that comes our way, and we’ve proven ourselves to the point where we can speed up this little ‘miraculous bond’ process and become better for the next akuma. And maybe, finally , I could really get to know who I’ve been fighting alongside with this whole time.”

The more Marinette listened, the more her heart burned.

“I’m not calling you Ladybug forever,” he continued. “Because that name is just a placeholder for your real one.” 

“Chat, please stop.”

Ladybug’s eyes began to well up, but he was unable to notice as his mind traveled a mile per minute.

“I know Plagg doesn’t always give the best advice, but the one thing he told me tonight was that this ,” he motioned his hand between the two of them, “is  a clear wake up call that we’re ready for this. It’ll make us stronger, and we can finally defeat Hawkmoth, and we can finally stop hiding in these stupid masks with each other!”

“Chat, I’m not ready!”

Her voice echoed out into the darkness, effectively causing Chat Noir to pause.

Then his thoughts seemed to sputter down all at once.

“Wait, what?”

Now Chat Noir’s eyes began to clear, no longer blinded by his raw emotions, and he could register that Ladybug was about to cry. She was lightly shaking, and they both didn’t know if it was from the cold winds breezing past them, or because of the conversation they were currently having.

“It’s not the Guardian rules that are holding me back, I don’t want you to know who I am!” she exclaimed as Ladybug’s eyes lit up with a fire he’s never seen. A dark, pungent flame of terror and anxiety.

Startled, Chat lightly jumped, his eyes looking to hers for understanding.

“You don’t mean that.”

She nervously watched as Chat’s eyebrows pinched together, and his cat ears furrowed down.

“Chat, it’s not that I don’t trust you. I trust you more than I trust myself sometimes,”  Marinette rushed to explain herself. “I can trust you with my life, and I trust you so much that I’ll know that I’ll wake up breathing the next morning each time. It’s not about that, I promise,”

Still, Chat’s expression remained puzzled, and still, painfully hurt.

“Then… why?” he softly asked into the night air that distanced them both.

She opened her mouth then quickly closed it. 

How could she explain it to him if she couldn’t even explain it to Tikki, the one she confides in with the most? 

She couldn’t even explain ‘why’ to herself. All Marinette knew was that there was just one reappearing emotion every time she thought about revealing her identity to him.

Fear.

And why? She didn’t know. 

But as she watched Chat’s torn expression, Marinette tried her best to piece together the few shards of understanding in her mind.

“Well… it’s like, there’s this little gnawing at the back of my head, and its eating up my thoughts with how scary revealing our identities could be, because outside all of this..,” she gestured towards the city, her eyes faint compared to Paris’ lights and the faraway stars. “…am I really anything?” 

Marinette’s head turned to face his. 

“Who am I, Chat Noir?” she asked as the question echoed painfully between the two of them. “Not even you , my closest friend, can tell me. Without the Ladybug miraculous, I’m nothing.”

She didn’t even register the tears beginning to brim her eyes until her vision began to cloud. Marinette could sense how the strength behind her expression began to dim, and how her features darkened with the night. 

“I don’t want you to see me as nothing,” she said irresolutely, her voice wobbling instead of strong like she wanted it to be.

This was the truth, she realized, that she didn’t want to tell Tikki. Even with her guidance, Marinette felt like a ship lost at sea. Years of being knocked down in school, both physically and mentally, just made her job as a superhero harder. Where did her confidence go when she transformed back to be Marinette? What happened to the girl that everybody looked up to when she turned back to her average self? Was Ladybug even truly her? 

If Marinette never had to engage in all those years of being pushed around in school, would Marinette be as daring as Ladybug? As outspoken, as courageous, as beautiful as Ladybug was? 

An unspoken question rang countless times in her head… a question that she felt like Chat could almost hear too.

Who is Ladybug?

Marinette’s arms fell limp at her sides, and Chat rushed to pick up both of her hands in his.

“Ladybug’s my partner.”

Chat Noir’s voice was broken like glass shards. 

“She’s the strongest person I know,” he continued, his green eyes staring intensely into hers. “Yeah, maybe I don’t know your name, your favorite movie, or what you look like without polka-dots…”

He let out a little, sad laugh at that. “But I know your heart, and it’s so fucking big that you could fit a horse, a cruise ship, and the fucking Eiffel Tower in that thing.”

“And if there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that the girl under the mask is absolutely everything to me. I will never, ever , see you as nothing.”

He pulled Marinette in closer by the hands, until his view was only encapsulated by her.

“You love everyone, and it fucking hurts me that the only person you feel that you’re incapable of loving is yourself,” he whispered regretfully. His emotions broke open like a dam, and Marinette could feel his tidal wave of guilt rushing towards her.

 “Shit LB, if I knew you felt this way, I never would have so adamantly asked you to reveal yourself. I’m so sorry,” Chat shook his head while staring at their conjoined hands before looking back up. “But, I’m glad you told me. I want you to let me know your fears, your dreams, and your desires. And that’s why were partners, so we can get through these things together.”   

“But aren’t you scared?” she asked with worried eyes. “What if this changes how we see each other? What if it changes us ?”

Chat’s heart ached as he watched her lips wobble, and the beginning of tears drip down her cheeks.

“Ladybug, whoever you are, I’ll always support you. Because I know that this masked person in front of me doesn’t just disappear when she loses some spots,” Chat said as he flashed a dimmer version of his signature grin. “I’m different outside my mask, and I want you to learn about that side of me too. My humorous Chat Noir side, and my more serious counterpart.” 

“You,” she pointed shakily at him. “Serious?”

“Oh, very,” he nodded with pride as he watched the corners of her mouth tilt upwards.

Then almost immediately after, he witnessed how her brain seemed to cloud with doubts.

Even with his reassurances, Chat could still sense her unease. Her insecurities about herself. 

And it broke his heart into pieces.

Chat raised their conjoined hands between them, and let his palms rest against hers with their fingers intertwined. “I wish I could go back in time and tell you everyday how you’re worth everything in this universe. And if we meet one day, outside of all this,” a light breath escaped him as his arms widened, gesturing to the vast and bright world below them. “I’ll tell you then.”

Then, smoothly, he recollected one of her hands with both of his before it could drop to her side. He held it tightly, yet carefully at the same time.

“But if you want to wait, then I’ll wait a thousand years to get to meet the girl underneath Ladybug’s mask. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be there.”

For just a moment, Marinette felt a little in awe, and she failed to notice how her heart warmed as each word spilled from his mouth.

And when the wind picked up, Chat’s bangs flew into his face, effectively causing Ladybug to let out a small, wet laugh. She never even realized that tears were slowly making their way down her face while he spoke, and she let go of his hands to wipe the hair out of his eyes.

When he returned his own smile, wide enough to let his fangs show, her heart swelled with appreciation. 

Marinette jumped to hug him. Her arms wrapped tightly around Chat’s neck, like he was the only thing anchoring her from flying away. And it took a second, but Chat relaxed into her hug, and slowly wrapped his arms around her too. 

As she savored the feeling of being embraced with one another, she noticed how for once, the world was silent. 

No akumas, no honking cars, no screeching birds. 

It was his heartbeat thrumming in her ears, his shaking breath, and her content sighs that would make her feel like her soul was slipping out of reality. She felt untouchable up here with Chat, wrapped soundly in his arms.  It felt safe.

Quiet seconds passed between them, and Marinette relished every single one.

“My favorite movie is ‘Five Feet Apart,’” she whispered into his neck.

Marinette could feel his smile stretch before she heard his laugh. 

“Mine’s ‘Puss in Boots,’” he replied.

“Of course it is.”

He laughed again, and a really, really scary thought popped into the back of her mind.

She could do this forever with him. 

Chapter Text

“No, no, no! Wrong! It’s all wrong!” Mayor Bourgeois yelled at his staff. “Where is the ice sculpture? Where’s the chocolate fountain? Who hired these idiots?!”

His assistant rolled his eyes out of the mayor’s line of vision.

“You, sir. You interviewed each staff member personally before hiring them,” the man said with blank emotion.

“Nonsense, get them out of my sight!”

“...Yes, sir.”

Ladybug watched the scene unfold with an annoyed huff.

“I have the sneaking suspicion that whatever just happened might lead to a nasty akuma soon,” she muttered so only Chat could hear her. “And we would have to be the ones to deal with that, unfortunately.”

“Shh, let me enjoy this cupcake.” The red and green sprinkled dessert was layered with black frosting that coated Chat’s lips as he dug into yet another cupcake.

She let out out a small breath of laughter as she watched his eyes pop open in fascination like a kid on Christmas morning.

Then almost immediately after, a statue crashed to pieces down the staircase adjacent to her. The mayor hurriedly stepped down the other set of stairs and threw both his hands in the air.

“Imbeciles! All of you!” he shouted in anger as he walked in a flurry towards the marble mess. A nearby worker picked up the head of one of the statues in their gloved hands, and Marinette noticed with concealed shock that the large statue was a detailed depiction of herself.

Ladybug ‘tsked’ and shook her head. “The mayor is severely annoying me right now.”

“You and everyone else.”

“I’m baffled that he hasn’t bothered to talk to us yet. We’re on a tight schedule, and he was the one to invite us here so early in the morning.”

“Do you want me to beat him up?”

Ladybug’s face morphed into shock, and then began to laugh at the out-of-the-blue question.

“Down kitty,” she said. “I really don’t want you to end up in jail today. Or any day for that matter.”

He merely gave a half-shrug and a small mischievous smile.

“What? It’ll grab his attention, surely.”

Almost as if on cue, the mayor tumbled across the carpet, falling from who knows where.

Shock gasps rung out throughout the city hall, and reporters clamored to record the mayor’s large debacle. He waved them off in anger, shaking his fist in frustration.

“This might be a long morning,” she sighed, sitting in the chair next to him.

He wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder, and Marinette laid her head lightly on his shoulder.

“Close your eyes and get some rest,” Chat whispered to her. “I’ll tell you when someone needs us.”

She nodded sluggishly against his shoulder and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath before letting the stress release from her body.

And after getting comfortable for only a minute, the sound of a camera flash jolted her awake, making here eyes open wide in surprise.

Once Ladybug’s eyes snapped opened, she immediately made the move of grabbing the hand that was snaking it’s way towards her.

“Woah! You’re quite jumpy!” a female voice gasped. 

Marinette quickly distinguished the figure in front of her, and let go of the hand while giving a sheepish smile in apology.

She immediately sagged back into Chat, and he comfortingly rubbed her shoulder to help lessen her sudden spiked adrenaline.

“Nadia Chamack, head reporter of… this current mess. Extremely sorry for that by the way,” the woman spoke guiltily. 

“No worries, the interview shouldn’t be long, right?” Chat asked for her. 

She also wanted to ask exactly how long they should be cooped up in this building. The mayor had personally contacted them, wanting the pair to make a public announcement to the city. But Nadia had intercepted, fighting for the opportunity to interview them today. Always the peacekeepers, Chat and her agreed to do both in city hall, but Nadia seemed out of her comfort zone interviewing someone outside of her usual recording station. 

“For us, not long at all. We’re already set up in one of the rooms, but were just preparing the crew for the live broadcast, and seeing for any last minute changes before bringing you both in.”

A distant voice, sounding extremely like Mayor Bourgeois firing a security guard for “standing around,” disrupted the reporter’s train of thoughts.

“Although for him, he might make you stay here awhile.”

The superhero pair sighed, looking at each other with tired expressions.

“We’ll survive this,” Chat reassured.

Mayor Bourgeois yelled rapid french in the midst of the background noise.

“... I hope.”

***

“We’re on in…3! 2! 1!”

Lights blasted around the room, momentarily blinding Marinette. On the other hand, Chat stood stock still, not affected by the bright lights whatsoever.

He was always better at these type of things than her.

“Good morning Paris!” Nadia exclaimed with easy enthusiasm. “And to our international fans that are tuning in to watch this exciting segment, good evening, good afternoon, or maybe even good night to you all!”

With her enhanced senses, Marinette could feel the cameras turning to them, zooming in and zooming out. Each movement was caught in her peripheral vision, the lights making her more on edge. She couldn’t even imagine how Chat was feeling right now, her curiosity increasing as she caught his cat ear twitch slightly.

“As you may already know, we are joined by quite the miraculous pair today, Ladybug and Chat Noir!”

A robotic camera arm moved towards Chat, and he gave a wide, natural smile in response.

“We’re overjoyed to be here!”

A moment passed as she just watched the camera move towards her. Chat gave her a slight nudge that went unnoticed by the lens.

“H-Hi everyone! Chat and I are delighted to be graced by your presence today Nadia, and are always appreciative to anyone watching.” Marinette returned a practiced smile, one that she struggled with in the mirror the other day.

She gave a quiet sigh of relief as the camera panned back to Nadia. 

“We’ll start with a quick icebreaker for the pair,” the reported stated, shuffling through her cards and leaning forward once she selected one. “How about…, in your personal lives, do you feel like you’re more of a dog or cat person?”

“Dog, easy,” Ladybug supplied, pushing Chat playfully on the shoulder. 

“Me-owch!” he gasped. “Call the interview off, I’m not feeling very Chat-ty anymore.”

Nadia laughed, setting the cards down on the table.  “Maybe I’ll pick another question, that feline it hit a sore spot.”

Chat’s jaw dropped with a guttural laugh of surprised amusement. 

“Oh, mon dieu,” she sighed.

Ladybug  hand hit her forehead as her partner reached over to high-five Nadia.

***

“That’s all we have for you today! Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget that later on we’ll be checking out Jagged Stone, who will be performing his new song about our very own superhero pair for the very first time live tonight!”

The camera panned to a shot of Ladybug and Chat Noir waving goodbye, wide smiles plastered on both of their faces. 

“It’s been a claw fully amazing time!” Chat shouted from his seat at the very last second.

“And we’re off-air!” the cameraman announced, the stage lights of the crew dimming in response. 

Nadia stood up from her chair and walked to Ladybug, shaking her hand. 

“It’s been a pleasure you two. See you again at Easter?”

“We wouldn’t miss it for the world Nadia,” Chat responded as the woman turned to shake his hand.

The reporter left the room, having most of the crew follow her back into city hall. 

“Really? It’s been a claw fully amazing time? I’ve heard that one hundreds of times,” Ladybug gave a teasing uplifted eyebrow, unaware of the still pulsating red light coming from the camera pointed towards them.

“I only reuse puns in front of you, My Lady. The public can never know that I use you on the regular as my pun guinea pig.”

“I’ve heard the words clawful, pawful, and even falafel come out of your mouth in the midst of an akuma battle! I’m surprised I can even focus at all sometimes around you kitty,” she sighed in mock frustration.

“It’s the skin-tight leather suit that’s distracting you truly, isn’t it?”

“In every single one of your dreams, you wish.”

“Oh but come on, you’ve  had got to have noticed that this six-pack has transformed into an eight-pack recently. I’ve been working out more!”

“You do have one peachy butt, I’ll admit.”

“There’s no way mine outdoes yours, but that means you admit I have no bad side.”

He turned around so his front was facing the still unnoticed camera lens, and he had flexed his arms so Ladybug could see the full package of his back side. 

“Why are you looking at my butt!” Ladybug playfully accused, pinching both his buttcheeks in retaliation. 

He yelped, jumping in the air like a real surprised cat. 

Chat turned back around, rubbing his butt with both hands, with his face in a wince.

“You play dirty,” he whined.

“You’ve always known that Chaton.”

“I like watching you play dirty, specifically against akumas. Watching and experiencing firsthand are very different.”

“You’d rather watch and not be part of the action?” she asked teasingly.

“Well, I didn’t say that. You know I love getting some action.”

His smug smile was wide, and his eyebrows were waving playfully.

She looked down and shook her head laughing. Not pushing him away but not suggesting him to pursue the conversation more either. 

When Ladybug’s eyes returned to meet his, their faces seemed to be closer than they were before. She gave a small, growing smirk.

“You really think you’re up for that, kitty-cat?”

The corner of his grin faltered slightly, showing to be the only sign of his growing nervousness.

“Absolutely.”

Marinette raised her eyebrow, crossing her arms while keeping her smile maintained.

Suddenly, she looked to her left, and his gaze followed.

“Look over there!” Ladybug shouted before bolting in the opposite direction towards the exit. 

Once his brain caught up with what she had done, he ran after her with shocked laughter.

“Hey! Not fair!” he yelled as she swung open the door. 

“Come and get it!”

She slammed the door shut, and ran. 

The sound of their happy laughter mixing harmoniously was followed by the noise of Chat Noir’s boots falling with every running step that traced Ladybug’s path.

The “on” light of the camera continued to blink red.

And it didn’t stop until the cameraman came back with a sandwich in hand, returning from his lunch break with a fatal gasp.

***

Comments (753,209):

@ladybugsrighttoe - 1:43 pm.

ummmm did anyone else watch to the end of the interview? please tell me that was NOT 

scripted. 

• 740k Likes 

              @baguettelover replying to @ladybugsrighttoe

              THAT WAS 100% JUST THEIR NATURAL CHEMISTRY

              - 10.1k Likes

              @SpotsForever replying to @ladybugsrighttoe

              definitely not scripted. This news channel is rated G, and Chat Noir flexing his 

              body should definitely be rated EXPLICIT

              - 12.3k Likes

                            @ chatnoirselbow replying to @SpotsForever

                            FOR REAL LMFAO. i needed some type of warning beforehand in order 

                            to see that eight-pack in 4K without choking

                            - 9.3k Likes

@theOfficialLadyblog - 1:43 pm

OH MY GOD?!??!?!?!?!?? THE END HELLO??!?!?!?

• 840k Likes

@JaggedMusic - 1:56 pm

NOW THAT'S ROCK AND ROLL

• 1.4m Likes

@blueflower - 1:56 pm

i feel depressingly single

• 34k Likes

              @takeDownTheBourgeoisie replying to @blueflower

             yeah this was supposed to be the celebration of an international holiday, but I feel 

             real sad all of a sudden…

             - 6.9k Likes

             @anonymousAO3reader replying to @blueflower

              Literally, like where’s the Chat Noir to my Ladybug??? At this point I’m just 

              living vicariously through them with fanfiction lol

             - 24k Likes

                           @ anonymousAO3writer replying to @anonymousAO3reader

                           you’re so real for that.

                          - 7.1k Likes

@Adrien Agreste - 1:56 pm

What a great couple!

• 1.3m Likes

              @mrs.Agreste2430 replying to @Adrien Agreste

              omg adrien! trying to confirm something for us?? *wink wink*

              - 5.2k Likes

              @kittykatcandy replying to @Adrien Agreste

              YOU TOOK CHAT NOIR’S SPOT OF MOST HANDSOME FACE IN PARIS. 

              On my #hatelist now.

              - 103 Likes

                           @internetHater replying to @kittykatcandy

                            bruh wtf 

                            - 3.8k Likes

@Marinette_Designs - 2:10 pm

They seem like super great friends!

• 14 Likes

              @AlyaTheInstigator replying to @Marinette_Designs

              Girl, you are like the blindest person I’ve ever met.

              - 43 Likes

              @Nino_has_a_girlfriend_backoff replying to @Marinette_Designs

              friends don’t flirt like THAT dude

              - 52 Likes

                           @Adrien Agreste replying to @Nino_has_a_girlfriend_backoff

                            Wow! Very valid point Nino!

                            - 1.8k Likes