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Marinette wasn’t sure how to react to a sleeping Chat Noir who was sprawled on her balcony; this was going to be hard to explain to her parents - why Adrien, who wasn’t in their home, showed up to their breakfast out of her room.
When she had gone up to her balcony after dinner to get ready to leave for patrol, she almost screamed when she saw Chat’s limp form draped across the floor. After realising that he was okay, just asleep, she almost collapsed with relief. It was only once her panic subsided that she spotted a bag next to him, and her concern spiked. Marinette tensed as her eyes scanned the rooftops, the skies, the neighbouring windows and the streets below, only relaxing once she was certain this wasn’t a trap, nor that their safety was compromised.
She quietly picked up his bag and dropped it through the skylight. She then gently tried to rouse him, but when he didn’t wake, she attempted to lift him and carry him over to her skylight, but despite her natural strength as her civilian self, it was no match to the slumbering deadweight that was her partner. It took transforming into Ladybug and some smart manoeuvres with her yo-yo to successfully lower him into her room.
Once back in her room and with the skylight closed securely behind her, she took a moment to observe Chat. The mask hid much, but not enough. His eyes were puffy and red, as if he had been crying. His hand, even in deep sleep, was tightly clasping… the lucky charm Marinette gave to Adrien. What… what was Chat Noir doing with… unless… no, he couldn’t be… right?
Marinette scrambled over to the bag, shaky hands hovered above the zipper. She looked up at Tikki, who had flittered into view, silently asking for permission. Tikki nodded solemnly. Once unzipped, the bag’s contents only confirmed her suspicions. Adrien was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was Adrien. They were one and the same.
She would have freaked out more about this revelation, if it wasn’t for the fact the boy she loved, the partner she trusted, had - while distraught - seemingly sought refuge with her. He needed her right now.
She had tucked him into her bed, retrieved some cheese from her family’s fridge for Plagg once Chat detransformed, and settled herself on her chaise with a spare pillow and blankets. Only a few hours later was she awoken by a panicked yell. She leapt off her chaise, ready to fight whatever danger was awaiting her, when her eyes landed on Chat, who was upright and breathing heavily.
‘Adrien? Are you okay?’
His eyes turned to her, wide and panicked, before relaxing. 'So, you figured me out, huh?’
'Heh, yeah,’ she admitted nervously, before remembering the state he was in when she discovered him. 'Are… are you okay?’
Chat let out a despairing sigh and detransformed. Plagg considered his charge with concern before glancing at Marinette, then silently making his way to the cheese plate Marinette had prepared for him. Adrien pulled his knees to his chest, looking smaller than she had ever seen him.
'I… no,’ he answered quietly. 'My father… my mother…’
Tears started to fall down his cheeks, and she immediately made her way to his side and held him as he cried. The words started spilling out of him - spotting his father with Nooroo, discovering the giant cave-like basements under the mansion, then his mother in a glass casket. In his panic and fear, he packed whatever he could think of, transformed and just ran as fast as feet could take him to wherever he felt the safest. She didn’t know how long they stayed that way, with him unloading his grief and turmoil while she held him.
'I just don’t know what to tell Ladybug,’ Adrien confided. 'Would she even believe me when I say that I had no idea my own father was our nemesis?’
'Well,’ Marinette replied, 'considering you just told Ladybug everything, she’d be happy to tell you she believes you with every fibre of her being.’
They stayed cuddled in each other’s arms until they eventually fell asleep. It wasn’t until they woke up the next morning that she realised that she had a boy - Adrien, her longtime crush - in her room, with no reasonable explanation for his being there. They tried sneaking quietly down to the kitchen, but their plan was spoiled immediately by the sight of her mother staring at them in surprise.
'H-Hey, Maman,’ Marinette stuttered as she attempted an innocent easy-going attitude. 'There’s a totally believable explanation for this, heh…’
'Marinette,’ Maman began, 'if you wanted to have a sleepover with your friends, you didn’t have to sneak them into the house, you know.’