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They don’t have a chance to meet up and talk about what happened until two days after the inadvertent reveal (Marinette had dubbed it “The Incident” at first, but couldn’t stomach the constant reminder of what almost came to be). It’s only to be expected, what with Adrien’s busy schedule of fencing, modeling, Chinese, basketball, it’s a lot, and, if she’s honest with herself, she’s glad she has this time to collect herself.
She still hasn’t gotten over it.
The Incident. The blood.
The nightmares.
It’s a relief to sit behind Adrien, she thinks, to see him and hear him, to know he’s alive and well.
It also gives her a lot to think about.
Adrien is Chat Noir.
Chat is Adrien Agreste.
It’s… it’s jarring to say the least. To know that Adrien is Chat and Chat is Adrien. There’s a part of her that’s absolutely ecstatic over this revelation. Adrien who she likes is Chat Noir who likes her.
But.
But what does this say about her? What does this say about the love she’s held for Adrien all this time?
If anyone asked her for Adrien’s schedule, when his fencing practices are held, who his Chinese teacher is, she could answer without sparing an extra second. She could tell you his favorite food, favorite color, the type of weather he feels most comfortable in. She could tell you the exact shade of his eyes, the hue of his hair, the timber of his voice.
But she couldn’t tell that he was her Chat.
Just like how she couldn’t recognize that Chat Noir is Adrien. She couldn’t see that the one she trusts her life to, the one who’s been relentlessly pursuing her romantically, for so long now she’s not even sure when she hasn’t, is the boy she’s crushing on, the boy she knows everything about.
She thought she knew everything about two of the most important boys in her life.
It turns out she knows nothing.
10pm where we usually meet?
yeah
see you there
Where they usually meet is an inconspicuous building near the splendor of the Eiffel Tower. Close enough to the landmark to be disregarded, and far enough away to not be captured by errant cameras.
Ladybug lands on the rooftop the same moment Chat Noir touches down.
At 9:45.
She chuckles a bit. “Well so much for 10.”
An awkward silence replaces the soft laughter, startlingly loud as the silence rings in their ears as they stand on the roof. It’s been like this for the past 2 days at school too, awkward glances and greetings in the few moments they see each other. She’s fairly certain Alya and Nino have noticed something off about them as well. Alya’s been tossing her worried looks that scream of a soon-to-come-interrogation. Marinette’s thoughts are running wild as they settle on the edge of the roof, close enough feel the heat of each other's skin, but not enough to touch.
“I-... How are you doing? Has your side been hurting at all?”
Huh.
That’s... not what she meant to say.
The nightmares must have been weighing on her more heavily than she had thought. She’s shaken out of her reverie again when she hears gentle laughter from her side. Chat (Adrien) is smiling at her softly in the moonlight.
“I’m fine, My Lady, you made sure of that remember?”
Ah. That’s right. A small blush dusts Marinette’s cheeks as she recalls pulling up Adrien’s shirt to confirm that there was indeed no hole in him.
Ahem.
“Ah- yeah- sorry about that..” Marinette fixes her gaze on the city of Paris and readies herself, “I, I know we have a lot to talk about, but before you say anything, will you let me say my piece?”
She can see see him perk up at her, before solemnly nodding his agreement. “...Thank you.”
Steeling herself for what she’s about to do, Marinette takes a deep breath and—
Let’s her transformation drop.
Chat (Adrien) startles a bit next to her. Resolutely staring ahead, she starts, as Tikki surreptitiously makes her way back into her pouch.
“My name is Marinette. My parents own a bakery and I attend Collège Françoise Dupont as a 9th grade student. I love designing and one of my dreams is to work with Gabriel Agreste one day. Even more, for the longest time now I've been in love with his son, Adrien Agreste—” She can feel she sharpness of his gaze boring holes into her, “—but I’m clumsy and can’t speak around him at all and I'm also forgetful and can’t do anything right at times, and, and that’s me. I’m just… me.”
She takes another breath as she lowers her gaze onto her lap, her hands, anywhere not Chat not Adrien.
“I’m also Ladybug, a superhero who works with a silly cat to save Paris from akuma attacks, to keep Hawk Moth from getting my— our Miraculous. And it’s scary, it's really scary sometimes because I have to be Paris’ hero, I have to be the partner Chat Noir deserves, but how can I be when I’m just Marinette?”
She sees Chat Noir (Adrien Agreste who she is currently spilling her heart to) frown and open his mouth to say something before she treads on, unable to stop now that she’s started. “The other day, he almost died to save me. The partner I trust my life with really did sacrifice his to save mine, and it’s not even the first time—”
Marinette’s voice hitched. Timebreaker, Dark Cupid, Hemstress.
“And I don’t even know how I feel anymore because I found out that that silly partner of mine is the boy I’m in love with, the boy I thought I knew, the partner I thought I knew. But I didn’t. I didn’t know either of them. I couldn’t even tell him apart from Copycat, I couldn’t see what was in front of my face this entire time. I don’t even know if I ever truly loved either one, how can I when I couldn't even realize they were the same person?” Blinking away her tears, Marinette finally looks at Chat.
At Adrien.
“Can you still love Ladybug, knowing who she is? Knowing who Marinette is?”
She doesn’t know how long it’s been since she’s said her piece. All she knows is that the silence is deafening between them, as Chat stares back at her.
Has she ruined things between them? Will Ladybug and Chat Noir ever be able to fight together again? Is he—
Her thoughts are interrupted as Chat Noir’s eyes close, engulfed by a green glow, before Chat becomes Adrien and his eyes open again to meet hers without falter. Vaguely, she realizes that his kwami popped out and is quickly being dragged away by Tikki.
She can feel herself freeze up before he even starts.
Adrien smiles softly as he stares into her eyes, staring right into everything she is, before he speaks. “Now that you’ve said your piece, can I say mine?”
At Marinette’s small, stiff nod, he starts.
“My name is Adrien. My dad is Gabriel Agreste, one of the leading fashion designers of the world. I model for him, along with other extracurriculars, which keeps my schedule busy with school and work. For the longest time now, I’ve been in love with Ladybug.” Marinette flinches, just a bit. “I love her kindness, her dedication as Ladybug, I love how she puts others before her and tries to make everyone happy, and I love being able to be friends with her.”
He reaches for her hand as he leans forward, “I would gladly give my life for hers, because I love her. I’ve dreamed of finally being able to meet her one day, as who she really is, not just with the mask. I told her once, that I’d be able to recognize her anywhere, but I couldn’t do that either.”
Marinette looks at him, confused, it’s not like she was actually ever herself around him.
“I couldn’t see that the only one who had the courage to go after Alix after her watch broke, the one who unhesitatingly placed herself in danger and came up with a way to free ourselves from the Evillustrator, the one who tried to bring back Mylène after she was crying, the one who stood up to Chloe and proved herself and her design in front of my dad, is the one who I’ve been looking for.”
She wants to speak, to say something, to say anything, but Adrien cuts her off as he offers his final words.
“You asked me if I could still love Ladybug, knowing who she is and knowing who Marinette is, and my answer is that I don't know, but I want to. It ends up that I don’t know anything about Ladybug or Marinette either, but I'd like to be able to. I want to know what she’s like everyday, what she likes, what she dislikes, what she’s good at, what she’s not. I want to talk to her everyday and be friends with her, to have fun together.”
Marinette’s eyes are so wide that she’s pretty sure they’re going to pop out soon.
“I’d like to know more about you, to be friends with you, if that’s possible, Marinette.”
Slowly, Adrien cradles Marinette’s cheek, as he shifts even closer. “We don’t have to go anywhere if we don’t want to, but I want to be friends with you, Marinette. Is that okay?”
Marinette stiffens again at his touch, before she relaxes and gently rests her forehead against his.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that, I’d like that a lot.”
It’s not smooth sailing. There’s a pervasive awkwardness that surrounds them every time they see each other, and they thank every deity they can think of that there aren’t many akuma attacks during this period of time, but it’s the small things that bring them closer together.
Shy smiles and morning greetings.
Small jokes here and there.
Group outings with Nino and Alya.
Nighttime assurances.
Really really bad puns.
It’s not perfect, but it’s getting there.