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Waking up to the smell of ginger was the best part of winter.
Marinette had always been luckier than most, a fact helped greatly by the tiny red kwami currently in her purse, and living over a haven of warm, sugary treats during the winter was no exception of that fortune. A fresh batch of Christmas cookies was waiting for her when she went downstairs that morning, and in a decision fueled by optimism and some rare courage, she packed them in one of the bakery's green and red gift boxes and set off to school.
Warmth radiated from the small box cradled in her gloved hands, and the secret superhero smiled to herself as her classmates filtered into the classroom. Excited chatter filled the room, the wintery weather making Marinette's already cheerful classmates even more alert and abuzz. She shared their enthusiasm in every way; there was always something extra special about the Christmas season that made everything a little brighter. Even the thought of giving her crush a gift face-to-face didn't seem as daunting.
Well, it's not like he wouldn't like them.
Naturally, he would love them; only a Scrooge would turn down freshly baked cookies, and Adrien was the farthest thing from a Scrooge. However, the hard part of her plan wasn't getting him to accept her gift; it was mustering up the courage to give it to him.
"You can do it," Alya encouraged from beside her, and for once, Marinette actually felt like she could.
"You're right, I can!" she whispered back, her eyes shining with energy. As if on cue, Adrien walked through the door, laughing at something Nino had said as he trailed behind him. Marinette took a deep breath and waved as she made eye contact with Nino, who gave her a grin and slid into his seat, Adrien following behind.
"Morning, Nino," Alya chirped, winking at Marinette. "Morning, Adrien." Both boys turned around at the sound of their names, Adrien donning his usual gentle smile.
"Good morning, Alya," he replied politely as he turned to Marinette. Her face grew red as they made eye contact. "Good morning, Marinette."
It took a light shove from Alya for Marinette to remember her words.
"A-ah, good morning!" she said a little too hurriedly, tossing a hand behind her head in a shy gesture. Adrien's eyes fell to the wrapped little box in front of her.
"Is this a Christmas present?" he asked curiously, leaning in to get a closer look. "It smells amazing." Marinette could feel her confidence from earlier that morning draining out of her. She looked to Alya, who raised a hand and gently turned her best friend's head back to her crush.
"Uh, you think so? I mean, yeah, of course, I-I mean, they're...um, well..."
"Cookies," Alya whispered to Marinette, as if she'd forgotten how to speak French.
"Cookies! Right, yes, that's what these are." Adrien grinned at her, and the dark-haired girl felt her knees grow weak.
"From your bakery, right? No wonder they smell so good." This could not be happening. Adrien Agreste just complimented her! Well, her family business, but still...oh wait, this was the part where she was supposed to say something back.
"T-thank you!" Marinette stuttered out, her face flushing pink. Adrien gave her a kind smile, and she found herself returning it comfortably. Maybe she could pull off this cookie thing after all...
"Actually, A-Adrien," she began nervously. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Alya giving her a thumbs up and Nino watching intently, grinning in silent support. Adrien's own emerald eyes were locked on her as he patiently waited for her to finish. It was now or never.
"These are for-"
"Adrieeeeen~!" a familiar voice sang out as Chloé strode into the room, Sabrina trailing behind her like a lapdog. Marinette's smile fell as Adrien's attention was turned to the spoiled girl and her seemingly endless chatter. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked over to see Alya's reassuring grin.
"Don't worry," she said calmly, her eyes following Adrien and noting the subtle glint of relief in his eyes when Chloé was forced into her seat by their teacher. "You'll have a chance to give them to him later."
"But what if I don't?"
"That's when we eat them ourselves while planning your next gift to him, of course!" Alya responded with a wink, making Marinette giggle as the class settled down to begin the school day.
As Marinette went through the day's classes, she began to feel that her chances of getting the cookies to Adrien were getting slimmer and slimmer. Any time that she could, Tikki would fly out of the teen's purse and try to offer some encouragement.
"What about now? There's no one around to interrupt this time," she had offered during lunch while the two were ducked behind a snow-covered bush. Adrien sat out on the icy front steps of the school, looking as picturesque as ever. Marinette sighed longingly at the sight of him and clutched the box of cookies to her chest.
"I don't know, Tikki, maybe he wants to be alone right now..." The tiny creature folded her arms.
"Or maybe he's waiting for his dad's assistant to drop off his scarf, like he said he was going to do, and you're just making up excuses?" Marinette frowned at her floating companion.
"I don't make excuses! I'm just trying to be considerate." Tikki gave a little sigh. It was always the same with humans, always letting their fear control them. How could someone be such a confident person one moment and a complete nervous wreck the next when the only difference between the two was a suit of red spandex?
"I bet Ladybug could do it," the red kwami supplied, beginning to run out of ideas. Marinette rolled her eyes.
"I'm not going to transform into Ladybug just to deliver some cookies."
A sudden crash reverberated through the streets, and several students came stampeding out of the school, pursued by a floating girl in a red and white striped dress. The girl let out a malicious cackle as she swung a thin white wand around, spitting pink sparks at the fleeing students. Marinette watched in shock and horror as one of the sparks caught a student in the back, encasing him in striped candy mid-run.
"Now that, I would transform into Ladybug for!" she whispered to Tikki, her eyes still on the villain as more pink sparks flew from her wand. With a nod from her companion, Marinette raced around the edge of the school to transform, leaving the cookies behind the bush. Some things would just have to wait. The best thing she could do now was stop whoever was terrorizing her classmates and hope that Adrien made it to safety.
---
As it would turn out, the moment that the akuma-possessed girl flew from the school building, Adrien vaulted himself over the edge of the stairs and crouched behind a bush of his own. With a little bickering and a promise of a cheesy reward for Plagg, he now perched himself on a nearby lamppost as Chat Noir, patiently waiting for the arrival of his partner. His ears twitched slightly from the cold, but he couldn't say that it bothered him as much as the candy-colored girl making her way down the street and leaving a trail of destruction in her wake.
"Red and white, huh?" a voice began behind him, and the lovestruck cat felt his heart swell. Ladybug stood on the rooftop of the school, her confident grin as radiant as ever. "I suppose it's a good look for the holidays, but I'm partial to red and black myself."
"Any color would look good on you, my lady," Chat crooned, earning him a playful smirk from the masked heroine.
"Funny, I can't seem to imagine you in anything but black."
Screams suddenly rang out from down the street, and the two young heroes looked to see the villain of the day soaring after a bus, grinning gleefully like a child on Christmas Day. Red and white statues littered the crowded avenue, all frozen in terror.
"Yeesh," Chat Noir said with a wince, "Now that's a color I wouldn't look good in." Ladybug met her partner's eyes, and the two nodded in sync.
"Let's go, before anyone else ends up hurt!" Ladybug shouted, leaping off the roof and onto another nearby building. Chat followed behind her, his boots leaving paw-prints in the Parisian snow.
After about fifteen minutes of dodging pink sparks, avoiding patches of ice (or going sliding across them in Chat's case), and a hockey stick Lucky Charm, Ladybug and Chat Noir stood on a rooftop, scanning the previously-terrorized street.
"Ah, look!" Chat exclaimed, holding out a black-gloved hand. A snowflake fluttered into his open palm. The two watched as snow began to fall around them. Ladybug smiled to herself.
"You know, snow always reminded me of powdered sugar," she mused, watching her partner's cat ears twitch as the falling snow brushed them.
"That's a cute comparison," he responded, winking at her. "Made by an even cuter person." Ladybug rolled her eyes and poked at the side of Chat Noir's head.
"Lame. I've heard you do better than that." A single beep resonated between them, and both heroes looked to their Miraculous. Chat's ring was fine, as he hadn't needed to use his Cataclysm attack during the battle, but Ladybug's earrings were missing a spot. Chat Noir smiled at his pigtailed crush, but Ladybug noted the hint of sadness in his typically mischievous eyes.
"Ah, but it looks like you won't be sticking around to hear me do better." The disappointment in his voiced was, unfortunately for him, not masked as well as the object of his affections. Ladybug frowned, watching him turn his gaze back to the snowy landscape. It always stung a little to leave first; she'd never had anyone look as sad to see her go as Chat Noir. Even now, the snow he'd watched fall with such mirth a moment before collected on his drooping ears.
There has to be something I can do to leave him better off than this, Ladybug thought, her gaze drifting around as she searched for ideas. Another beep from her earrings echoed through the air as her earrings lost another spot. Growing panicked, she looked around frantically for an idea. Suddenly, her eyes landed on the school, and she thought of her hidden present. That's it!
"Chat!" she practically shouted, startling the feline hero.
"My lady?!" His voice was urgent, and he reached for the staff strapped to his side, battle-ready.
"Do you mind staying up here for a few more minutes?" Chat Noir's alert expression melted away into one of innocent bewilderment, a small pile of snow sliding off one of his ears.
"Of course not, if it is what my lady wishes." That was all Ladybug needed.
"Stay right here for just a little longer," she instructed, another beep sounding off from her earrings. She was really cutting it close. "I'll be right back!"
With that, Ladybug darted off the rooftop, dashing from building to building faster than she ever had before. Just as she swung herself down into an alley near the school with her yo-yo, her transformation dissipated, Tikki flying into her outstretched palm.
"What are you going to do?" the tiny red familiar asked curiously. Marinette peeked out of the alley, where the rooftop she'd just left was just visible over the horizon. A familiar feline figure still sat amongst the falling snow, right where she'd told him to wait. An amused smile crossed her face. Good kitty.
Turning back to her kwami, Marinette shot her a sweet smile.
"You'll see. Now come on, we don't want to keep him waiting!"
Placing Tikki on her shoulder, Marinette rushed out of the alley. Luckily, the streets were relatively empty thanks to the recent attack. Running up the steps to the school (and nearly slipping and falling on her butt, since her gracefulness and balance seemed to be Ladybug-specific), she hurried to look behind the bush she'd been watching Adrien from earlier. Luckily, her box of cookies was still there, and to her surprise, was untouched by the snow.
"Wow, they're still warm!" she exclaimed upon picking up the box. Tikki giggled beside her, and the pigtailed girl raised an eyebrow. "Did you have something to do with this?"
"Let's just say that I had a hunch you were going to give them to someone today." She really was lucky, especially so to have a sweet guardian like Tikki. Carefully removing the paper lid, Marinette pulled out a snowman-shaped cookie, coincidentally decorated with powdered sugar, and handed it to the kwami, who took it gratefully.
"Ready?" Marinette asked after she finished eating. Tikki nodded enthusiastically, and a moment later, the spot clad superhero returned to the skies of Paris, clutching the box tightly and making a beeline for her partner. He saw her immediately as she leaped closer and closer to him, and his face lit up.
"Ladybug!" he called out to her as she landed flawlessly on the other end of the roof. She ducked her hands behind her back quickly, shielding the present from his line of view. He bounded up to her, his tail twitching with excitement. "You're back!"
"What kind of person would I be if I asked you to wait and then ditched you?" Chat rubbed his chin, pretending to think.
"Hmm...well, I suppose then you wouldn't be someone worthy of being called a 'lady'." Ladybug quirked an eyebrow playfully.
"Oh? Is that why you call me your 'lady'? Because you think I'm worthy?" Chat Noir grinned earnestly down at her and lowered himself into a cheesy bow.
"My lady, you are worthy of every compliment the world can give. The red rose itself pales in comparison to you." Ladybug couldn't help but giggle at his over-the-top attempt at flirting.
"Alright, alright, down kitty. It looks like I gave you a little too much time to think of better lines." Chat smirked up at her, ready to toss out another advance, but his eye caught the small box behind her back.
"Huh?" he inquired, peeking around her to get a better look. "What's that?" Ladybug drew one hand from behind her back and gripped his jaw gently, guiding his gaze back to her.
"Now, now, don't you have any patience? They say curiosity killed the cat, you know."
"They also say that cats have nine lives," he retorted, trying not to show how much he loved the feeling of her warm hand on his face. "Which means that I can be curious eight times and still be fine!" Ladybug laughed, and he beamed, happy to make her smile.
"Well, for the sake of your lives, I might as well show you now." She released his jaw, and he immediately began to miss the warmth of her hand. His longing didn't last, however, for what the masked girl held in her delicate hands could almost make up for the missing contact.
His bright feline eyes widened at the sight of the box in her hands. His lady was giving him a present! A present...that looked exactly like one he'd seen earlier. Who had been holding it? They had to have been someone he was talking to long enough to notice it. Chat began to concentrate as memories of his school day came to him, trying to recall everyone he'd had a conversation with. It couldn't have been Chloé, she never held anything of her own. He didn't remember seeing Sabrina holding it for her either. If it had been Nino, he would've remembered from hanging around him all day...that just left Alya and-
"Well?" Ladybug asked, breaking through his thoughts. "Are you going to take it or not?" Chat's face flushed red in embarrassment, mortified to have seemingly been ignoring the girl of his dreams. He gingerly took the box from her, his features alight with glee.
"My lady, you shouldn't have! At least, not without prior notice so I could produce a gift of my own for you." Ladybug shook her head, her twin pigtails flowing gracefully in the winter breeze.
"Don't mention it. Consider it a treat, kitty," she added with a playful wink. As awed by her as ever, Chat Noir carefully removed the lid, the smell of the cookies immediately assaulting his senses in a way that was all too familiar.
Marinette.
His shy, kind, and creative classmate had had a box from her bakery with her during class that day, one perfectly identical to the one just bestowed upon him by the girl who took up his every thought. The contents inside even carried the same warm smell of ginger and frosting. Chat's mind began to race with possibilities. It was possible that Ladybug had just visited the bakery as a regular customer while in civilian form and that the boxes from that particular bakery were wrapped with the same green and red paper. It made sense, and Chat knew it, but he couldn't seem to stop the comparisons as they ran through his head.
No one had eyes as bright and blue as his Ladybug. Except Marinette, he added thoughtfully. No one in all of Paris could wear their hair in pigtails quite like Ladybug until now, when he could see Marinette wearing them every day like a trademark. Even their differences were somewhat the same, as Marinette's clumsy tumbles in response to being startled began to adopt the same quickness of Ladybug's leaps and bounds.
How could he have not seen this before?
Meanwhile, Ladybug watched in confusion as Chat stood frozen over the open box of cookies. She had at least expected him to try one in front of her, but instead, his cat-like eyes were locked on her in a look much more serious that his usual flirtatious expression. Even his belt-tail, which normally swished around idly, was still.
"Chat?" she started carefully, and his ear twitched in response before he seemed to return to his senses. He shook his head, and his tail began to move slowly, as if he were waking up. Ladybug couldn't help feeling concerned; it wasn't like her partner to zone out like that.
"Ah, sorry..." he began, brushing some snow from the top of his head. "I got a little distracted." He took a cookie and extended the box to Ladybug, who picked out a snowflake-shaped one decorated with intricate white frosting.
"I can see that. Is there something on your mind?" she asked as the two took a seat on the edge of the roof, letting their feet dangle out over the quiet street.
Yeah, you are, Chat Noir considered answering, but that was only part of the truth, as he was running through options on how to subtly pry more information out of the spotted heroine.
"Ah, nothing really," he lied, taking a bite of his gingerbread cookie. Despite his scattered thoughts, the cookie brought a smile to his face. "This cookie is pretty amazing, though." Ladybug beamed with pride, biting off the tip of her own cookie. "Did you make them?"
Ladybug tensed slightly. What did she say to that? They came from her family bakery, so technically she made them indirectly, but having to explain that would give her away! How many people owned bakeries anyway? Even with all the bakeries in Paris, surely he wasn't dense enough not to recognize the large display of cookies and gift boxes identical to the one in his hand that her parents had set up in the shop window.
"Uh, no," she admitted sheepishly, giving him half of the truth. "I bought them from a bakery I know." Chat chewed thoughtfully on the warm gingerbread. Marinette's cookies had come from her bakery, and Ladybug was telling him that she'd bought them. Could it be that if his Ladybug wasn't Marinette herself, she lived close enough to her to frequent her bakery? That put her right in his neighborhood! Chat grew giddy with the thought of Ladybug living near him, and Ladybug watched and snickered as a silly grin spread across his face.
"Okay, seriously, what's on your mind? Your zoning out and weird expressions are starting to freak me out." He shook his head, his messy golden flyaway locks flicking snowflakes into the chilly air.
"So you're worried about me, is that what you're saying?" he replied with a coy grin. Ladybug rolled her bright blue eyes and reached for another cookie, surprised to find them still warm and soft from Tikki's magic. Finishing off his first cookie, Chat Noir reached for a second one as well. "With the gift you gave me and now your fussing over my mental state, I'd dare say that you've finally come around to me."
"Please, Chat," she teased, biting into her cookie. "My only concern for your mental state is whether or not you've gone delusional from all your slipping today." She laughed lightly, a melodic sound that echoed through the snowy streets. Warmth flooded Chat Noir's face and he sighed lovingly.
"Ladybug, you shouldn't laugh like that," he began, leaving her confused. "Music itself might get jealous and fall silent."
"You sound like a literature textbook. Were you read Shakespeare or something before bed as a kitten?" Chat's lovestruck smile turned almost rueful as he remembered his actual bedtime stories: plain, generic children's books mostly read to him by a bored Natalie. If he was lucky, his father's cold, emotionless voice would drone them out to him over a video chat.
"Not exactly," he admitted, "but his works are some of my favorites."
"Surprise, surprise," Ladybug snarked, and Chat stuck out his tongue, tinted blue with frosting, making her giggle. Chat sighed contently, watching the lights of the Eiffel Tower begin to appear through the snow-induced haze. A comfortable silence passed between them, breaking only with the rustling of paper as the two teenage heroes enjoyed their holiday snack together.
"Sorry," Ladybug apologized through crumbs of gingerbread during her fourth cookie. "These were supposed to be a gift for you, but I've eaten like, half of them." Chat Noir chuckled, picking a chocolate chip button off of the suit of his own gingerbread man and placing it in his mouth.
"It's fine, really," he reassured her as he let the chocolate melt against the side of his mouth. "You're the one who bought them in the first place." Ladybug chuckled nervously.
"Hah, yeah..." she mumbled, bringing a hand behind her head in her signature shy gesture. Chat could feel his pulse quicken as a light blush creeped into his cheeks.
Another similarity to Marinette, he noted. That's it, I have to know.
"So, Ladybug," he began, catching her attention. "Have I ever told you that you remind me of someone I know?"
"Is this another one of your lame pick-up lines?"
"No, but do you miss them already? I could come up with one now if you want." Ladybug swatted at him with her half-eaten cookie.
"You wish. What was it that you were saying? I remind you of someone?"
"Ah, yeah! She's one of my classmates, and she wears her hair just like you do." A deep, hollow dread began to well in the pit of Ladybug's stomach.
"W-well," she stuttered, "That's to be expected, right? Lots of girls wear their hair in pigtails!" Chat Noir nodded, her reaction fueling his resolve for confirmation.
"Yeah, I suppose, but it's the funniest thing, really; her hair is just as dark as yours. In fact, it's about the same length too. And she's got the same big, bright blue eyes as you too." Ladybug's eyes went wide as her pulse quickened. Her mind raced to find excuses as she felt the intensity of Chat Noir's stare, as if he were trying to see through her mask.
"This is France, Chat, I'm not the only person with black hair and blue eyes. I know you want to know who I am, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't wonder about your identity too, but is there really any point to getting your hopes up by comparing me to someone who's only similar to me in looks?" Chat Noir put a hand to his chin, miming being in deep thought. He could tell he was losing time to confirm his theory; he had to act fast.
"You're right," he began, his voice sounding dejected. He gave an exaggerated sigh and turned his gaze away from Ladybug. "I give up! You may look alike, but there's really no other similarities between you and Marinette." Ladybug suddenly went stiff, her hands gripping the edge of the roof, already preparing to hoist her to her feet so she could dash off into the flurries of snow.
"M-Marinette?" she choked out. Her throat suddenly felt dry and tight, as if she'd swallowed a handful of sand. "You mean the girl I asked you to guard a few months ago?" Chat Noir nodded, his bell chiming softly with his movement.
"Mm-hm. It was just a silly idea. She's much shyer than you; I must admit, I've only had a few actual conversations with her. Then again, I'm not exactly social when it comes to my classmates either..." He trailed off, and Ladybug's mind was working at full force. Chat Noir was in her class?! She ran through the roster of her class in her mind, trying to quickly deduct who her masked companion could be.
Obviously, I can eliminate all of the girls, Chat's clearly a boy...does he still have blonde hair when untransformed? I know my hair doesn’t change when I transform, is his Miraculous the same way? …Adrien’s hair is the same shade as his...but I can't tell what color Chat's eyes are! Although if they were green normally, he would look a lot like Adrien...wait, didn't I just scold him for judging who I was based on looks alone? But still…no, no, they can’t possibly be the same person. Adrien is far too refined to be Chat Noir. Chat's loud and corny and flirtatious. I mean, it's not like that's a bad thing...but it just isn't Adrien!
"Are there any other traits than appearances that you think I share with Marinette?" Chat paused, trying to think of an answer to give her. He pictured his kind classmate, her hand behind her head in her signature nervous stance. She always seemed to do that around him....
"You're both very selfless. Marinette helps people whenever she can, and she never asks for anything in return. You're obviously the same way, with the whole 'hero of Paris' thing." Chat Noir smiled warmly, and Ladybug couldn't help remembering the kind smile Adrien gave her after she won the hat design contest.
I guess they sort of have the same smile, she noted thoughtfully, But Adrien has a different look in his eyes. Adrien's eyes are kind and sincere. Cat Noir's eyes are usually a little more...wild. But even so, no one else in my class has hair like Adrien...maybe if it were a little messier than usual….
"Marinette's also very clever, just like you. She's actually a designer, and I've seen a couple of her sketches before; they're pretty impressive." Ladybug found herself blushing slightly in shyness. Her sketchbook was one of her most cherished possessions; she knew that only a few select people in the school had ever seen it. Chloé had obviously used it to steal her hat design, so that probably meant that Sabrina had seen it as well. Alya had seen it a few times, but she and the others were all girls. That just left Adrien, and she remembered the day Alya showed it to him. Ladybug sighed softly.
"You seem to think very highly of this girl." Chat ran a hand through his hair, making his mess of golden locks even more tossed.
"I wouldn't really call it that," he began, and Ladybug mentally braced herself for the oncoming insult. If Chat Noir really was Adrien, then he'd undoubtedly heard some unkind opinions of her from Chloé. She didn't dare consider that he'd formed any of his own; she didn't want to put her beloved Adrien at her wretched level.
"I don't know much about her, so I can only go off of what I see," he continued, catching Ladybug's attention. "She hasn't given me any cause to think badly of her, though. One of my other friends is really mean to her, but whenever I want to say something about it, I clam up and I end up not saying anything." Ladybug stifled a laugh.
"You? Not saying anything? I find that hard to believe." Now that she thought of it, Adrien did usually look a bit uncomfortable any time he was around to witness one of Chloé’s tantrums, especially when they were directed at her. Meanwhile, Chat Noir gave her a wicked grin.
"Well, I can see why you'd be doubtful, my lady, as keeping up the image of my alter-ego requires me to be much more suave, sophisticated, and cool- oops." While he was speaking, Chat Noir's wild gesticulation had knocked the last half of Ladybug's cookie from her hand. The two silently watched as it plummeted to the street below and landed in a mound of snow. Ladybug raised an eyebrow, her mouth turned upwards in a challenging smirk.
"You were saying?" He gave her a sheepish grin and she started to laugh. She reached up and ruffled his hair, a gesture that didn't exactly help his windswept style stay in order.
The two each took a breath, unaware that the thoughts eating at them were of each other. What would she do if Chat Noir really did turn out to be Adrien? She could predict his location based on the schedule she had literally attached to her ceiling, what Adrien would pick for lunch that day, how he might react if she finally worked up the nerve to tell him “good morning” first instead of him always being the one to speak to her, and so much more, but Chat? Chat Noir and all the battles that came with him being by her side were unpredictable, unchartered and uncontrollable. Would she be able to handle trying to accept that the spontaneous boy dressed in black leather and spandex and her handsome, cool classmate were the same person? Just the thought of it confused her; the two were just too different.
"So," Ladybug said finally, "If I was Marinette, and no, that doesn't mean that I am, what would you do?" Chat Noir sighed wistfully.
"Ah, that would be...that would be incredible. You'd be right in my class, I'd see you every day!"
"I already see you every day, silly kitty."
"Yes, but that's when we're putting our lives in danger! I'm talking about doing normal stuff, like doing homework together or passing notes in class."
"Ooh, how romantic!" Ladybug replied sarcastically. Chat smirked and raised an eyebrow suggestively.
"Oh, so it's romance you're looking for? In that case..." He paused, and Ladybug looked over, surprised to see that a shy blush coated his fair features, his confident smirk wiped away. "Well, I-I'd try to treat her - er, you - like a princess. I'd get you whatever you want, no matter the expense."
"What if I don't want something flashy and expensive?" she teased, despite the rising heat in her cheeks.
"Then I'd still get you whatever you wanted. I wouldn't care what it is. You could want anything from a quiet date in the park to the Eiffel Tower lit in red and black and I'd do it. Everything I do, I do to make you happy, mon ange." Ladybug was taken aback by the deep sincerity in her partner's voice. Something deep and aching tugged at her heart, wanting desperately to end her partner's longing.
"You're both very selfless," he had said a moment ago. Ladybug couldn't be sure if it was selflessness or her own desperation to keep Chat Noir from her identity that made her want his pining to end so badly, or if it was something else altogether.
"How can you be so sure?" she asked after a long pause. Chat tilted his cat ears to one side curiously.
"That I feel this way for you?" Ladybug nodded, her face serious.
“You barely know me. In fact, this,” she continued, gesturing to her spandex super suit, “is all that you know about me! You don’t know what I like, what I dream of; you don’t even know as much as my favorite color, Chat.” A long pause passed between the two before Chat Noir finally responded.
“I know how I feel when I’m around you,” he said softly. “I know that you’re the only person in my life who knows me for who I really am. Everyone else gets a subdued version of me, one cooked up by my father to make sure I behaved at all times in a way that wouldn’t embarrass him.” He gently took her hands within his own, looking deep into her sky-colored eyes. “When I’m with you, I get to be myself.”
“But that doesn’t have anything to do with me,” Ladybug said softly, taking a hand from his to brush a stray lock of hair from his face. “Your unruly kitty persona is 100% your doing, Chat.” He chuckled, and she allowed him to take back her hand.
“Maybe so, but you still like me for it. I’ve been told my entire life that being who I really am isn’t good enough to win people’s approval; that I have to be an obedient, polite pushover who stays out of trouble if I want to get anywhere in this world, and by ‘get anywhere’, I mean ‘keep my father’s alliance’.” Chat gave Ladybug a rueful smile. “For a while, I actually started to believe it. I mean, it was working at school; everyone seemed to like me for one reason or another: my father’s wealth or my looks. I’ve only made one genuine friend at school.” Ladybug thought of Adrien, and how she really only saw him talking to Nino, with the exception of Chloé throwing herself all over him. The charmed, perfect life she’d always imagined him living suddenly seemed a lot lonelier as Chat went on.
“What about Chloé?” she blurted out, much to his surprise. “Haven’t you two been friends since you were kids?” Chat Noir’s eyes widened in realization, but Ladybug was too wrapped up in her own thoughts to catch it. I was right; It is you.
“Yes, we have,” he began slowly, “But she’s always been a bit…harsh. It was different when she was the only friend I had, but now that we’ve grown up, it’s…I don’t know. I really wish she’d treat people with more respect; she can be a kind person when she wants to be, but she’s been acting downright cruel to someone I’ve been trying to make friends with lately, and it’s not exactly helping my case when she butts in every time I try to talk to her…”
“Is that so?” Ladybug asked, feigning curiosity. “And who’s this new friend of yours?”
“Marinette, actually. Lately, she’s been saying a little more each time I talk to her, although sometimes her friend has to remind her what to say.” He laughed lightly. “Actually, it’s kind of cute.” Ladybug was hoping that her mask could cover her growing blush. Adrien Agreste thinks I’m cute?! Well, Chat Noir thinks I’m cute…Chat Noir who is probably Adrien Agreste in disguise…okay, who am I kidding, there’s no “probably” here at all.
“C-cute, huh?” she began shakily, a little starstruck by the fact that she was holding hands with who she believed to be the disguised love of her life. More and more recounts of different times they’d touched as Ladybug and Chat Noir rushed through her mind, and it took all of her strength to keep herself from screaming. She cleared her throat before speaking again. “If she’s so cute to you, why do you bother chasing after me?” Chat blushed, pulling a hand back to rub at the back of his head, smiling slightly at his imitation of the girl in question.
“Well, it’s like I said earlier…she reminds me of you. I’m able to talk to her a little easier because I see her, and I think of you, and how you like me for who I am. And then…” he continued, sighing softly. “Then, I’m not as scared to be myself anymore.”
“Chat…” He returned his free hand to his side, leaving a single pair of joined hands between them. Ladybug squeezed his hand, taking a deep breath and straightening her back, as if she were bracing herself for something. Chat Noir watched her with concern.
“I need you to tell me something.”
“Anything.”
“Could you ever see yourself loving Marinette the way you love me?”
That’s the oddest question I’ve ever asked someone: hey, do you think you can love me the way you love me? Chat Noir’s silence hurt more with every second it continued, and Ladybug suddenly felt deflated.
“That’s…that’s quite the question,” he said after a moment. She prepared for him to say it, for the boy she’d spent so much of her life pining for to tell her no, that he would never love her as herself. It’s almost funny, she thought, he could easily be feeling the same way.
“I think…ah, how to say this…I think I could learn to. N-not that I don’t care about her now! But, you know, in the romantic sense…I still don’t know much about her. I’d have to get to know more of her than what I can see on the surface, but from what I already know…yes. I can see myself falling in love with a girl like her.” Dancing around the truth was beginning to drive Chat Noir crazy, so finally, he decided to let on what he knew.
“I don’t see why I wouldn’t,” he continued, running his thumb along the back of Ladybug’s hand. She grew red under her mask, and he forced himself to hold in a laugh. She’s turned the same color as her suit. Instead, he carried on. “She’s clever and sweet, creative and ambitious, not to mention confident, brave, bold, and determined. I mean, it takes some serious courage to pick up the task of saving Paris from evil.”
“Hah, that’s the first time anyone’s said that about me-” Realization dawned on the teenage heroine, and looking up, she found that Chat Noir’s eyes shined with excitement. Crud. Well, there’s no sense in keeping it a secret now…
“…when did you figure it out?” Chat gave a light chuckle, not taking his eyes off of his Ladybug.
“Well, you know I’ve been thinking about it all evening; I even brought it up first. It was only confirmed when you asked about Chloé.” Marinette felt like hitting herself. How could she have missed that?! She gave a resigned sigh and reached up to take off her earrings, her kwami flying out of them as she did so. Tikki waved politely at Chat Noir before flying into Marinette's open purse as Ladybug's super suit faded around her, leaving her in her civilian clothes. She could see her breath ghosting in front of her as she took deep breaths, trying to calm herself before the reveal of Chat Noir.
Chat took a few deep breaths himself, fighting down the growing feelings threatening to overwhelm him. Wordlessly, he extended his hand out to Marinette; the hand that wore his Miraculous ring.
Here we go. She gently took his hand, sliding the ring off of Chat's slender finger. His transformation dissolved around him, revealing a face Marinette knew almost too well. She didn't understand why she was surprised; she'd figured it out herself minutes ago. Then again, seeing his identity confirmed in front of her was different from theorizing in her head.
Adrien's green eyes stared intently at Marinette, and suddenly his resemblance to Chat Noir became even clearer; the excitable glint usually carried in the eyes of her partner sparkled dimly in Adrien's, as if he'd automatically begun to hold back that part of himself despite being right in front of the girl he trusted with that part of him the most. As if she needed the extra confirmation, a small black kwami hovered around his head. If she focused, she could hear him whining for something that sounded like cheese, but she'd always had problems focusing when Adrien was around.
"Marinette," he greeted, his voice as polite as ever. Behind him, Tikki was grabbing onto Plagg, trying to drag him away from the two teenagers. The surprise in Marinette's expression melted away, and a new cluster of emotions took its place, leaving her thoughts racing like wild horses. Hours ago, an acknowledgement from Adrien like that would've made Marinette ecstatic, but now, it seemed forced, as if her Chat Noir were being suffocated in Adrien's normal form and polite, unattached remarks were all he could choke out. He seemed to notice her slight frown, and he grew dejected. "...are you disappointed?"
"Adrien..." she began quietly, and he waited patiently for her response. To his surprise, she began to laugh, her head bent towards the ground. Her laughter grew louder and louder, until it rang clear through the frigid Paris air. Looking closer, Adrien could see large tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Marinette?!" She lifted her head, wiping at her tears.
"S-sorry, I wasn't laughing at you," she clarified shakily. "It's just...this is a lot to take in, you know?" More tears began to fall, dropping into her lap and creating dark spots on her pink jeans. "I mean...I've been in love with you...or who I thought you were, for ages," she laughed again, a broken, ragged laugh. "And now I'm finding out that you're not who I thought you were at all...you said yourself that outside of battle, you live through a subdued version of yourself, but...that's the only version I knew, and that's the version I loved!"
Shock and sadness left gaping holes in Adrien's chest like bullet wounds. To find that this girl, his Lady, loved him all along, but loved the wrong side of him, felt more painful than any wound given in a fight.
"So you are disappointed in me..." Just like my father. Hot, burning tears threatened to fall from his emerald eyes, and Adrien squeezed them shut, his hard grip on the edge of the building turning his knuckles white. Wiping a few stray tears away, Marinette regained her composure enough to make out the tears brimming at the edges of Adrien's eyes. Out of habit, all regard for her own feelings disappeared under her desire to console him. He reached up to wipe at the forming teardrops, but Marinette grabbed his wrists before he could, pulling them away from his face.
"Cha- ah, Adrien!" she began, her voice wavering. "I...I need you to listen to me." Adrien said nothing, nodding solemnly and blinking back tears.
"Of course, my Lady." Marinette took a deep breath before releasing Adrien's wrists, slipping her hands into his the way they had been before, while both were transformed.
"Adrien Agreste, I could see myself falling in love with you."
Tearful eyes widened, the first of the tears finally falling to grace his cheeks, flushed and frigid from the cold winds.
"W-what?" He choked out, taken aback by the shy girl's sudden confession.
"A moment ago, I asked you if you could ever learn to love Marinette the way you love Ladybug. You said that you could learn to, that you could see yourself falling for a girl like her." Adrien nodded, confirming his earlier statement. Marinette squeezed his hands, and the warmth from her gloves spread through his body as if she were the sun herself. "Well, I'm trying to tell you that I can too! I can see myself loving you the way you are no matter if you're being Chat Noir then or not!"
"Marinette..."
"Yes, Chat's behavior may not be what I'm used to from you, but in a way, I'm already used to it, and I don't think it's a bad thing in any way! Sure, as Chat, you're a little more boastful and cocky, sometimes stubborn to a fault and determined to the point of annoyance, but you're still you, and that means that you're still kind and caring and smart like the Adrien I've always known. Getting to know this side of you is a bonus." Adrien was speechless; no one had ever accepted him like this before. All his life, the response to his rare, wild bursts of energy and natural playfulness had been shame and reprimands for embarrassing his father. But here he was, sitting on the edge of a building with the only person he can ever say he's loved telling him that he was okay. The idea alone made him too happy for words. One, however, managed to squeak out in the form of a question, a question much like the one Marinette had asked him as Ladybug moments before:
"Why?"
"Why?" Marinette echoed.
"Yes. Not many people have seen the real me as something worth anything before; why do you think getting to know me, as me, is such a good thing?" Marinette's eyes wandered to the skyline, where the city had begun to glow as the snowy afternoon turned to evening.
"Well, for starters, I'll have much more opportunities to hear those terrible cat puns of yours." Adrien laughed, a short, light sound that was carried away on the wind as quickly as it came.
"Terrible? You've gotta be kitten me, my puns are the cat's meow!" Marinette groaned jokingly, pulling away one of her hands to flick at his face. He laughed again, a more genuine sound that made Marinette's cheeks flush red.
"Aside from your claw-ful cat puns, now I know that you're pretty funny. And that you can dance, especially when trying to cause a distraction."
"First of all, that was brilliant, and I have to use that, and secondly, my dancing skills are incredible, and I can't believe you never noticed before. Don't you and Alya go to most of the school dances?" Marinette laughed.
"Sorry, but I'm usually the one trying to blend into the corner like a potted plant during those dances. Doing that takes up a lot of concentration, so no, kitty cat, I can't say that I've ever seen you dance outside of your cat suit." She thought back to her fantasies of how Adrien would dance, which always involved some sort of romantic, elegant dance like the waltz or tango. Her thoughts suddenly shifted to Chat Noir making up his own music and moonwalking through the park during their escapade with Monsieur Pigeon. Well, I suppose it's better than him having two left feet..or paws.
"That's too bad," he continued, "You missed out on some pretty sick moves." Marinette rolled her eyes, giving Adrien a little shove.
"I'm sure I did. You'll have to take me to the next one and help me catch up." Adrien raised an eyebrow in interest as he watched Marinette suddenly tense up, the teenage girl realizing what she'd just said.
"I-I mean, if you want to, you totally don't have to, I'd totally understand if you wanted to go with someone else-"
"Marinette," Adrien interjected, putting an end to her rambling. She smiled sheepishly, throwing her hand behind her head.
"Yes?" Adrien have her a wicked grin that up until then, she'd only associated with Chat Noir.
"I will not only take you to the next dance, I'll do you one better and take you on a date this weekend, but that's if and only if you agree to my terms of this relationship between us."
"Oh really?" Marinette asked, folding her arms and giving the blonde a challenging smirk. "And what might those terms be?" Adrien grinned and pointed at the box between them.
"I'm going to need some more of those cookies." Marinette grinned, giddy with the excitement brought with reciprocated love.
"It's a deal." She extended her right hand to Adrien, who took it with a mischievous look in his eyes. Before she could question him, he pulled her in close, firmly pressing his lips to hers. It took a moment for Marinette to get over her initial surprise, but she eventually closed her eyes and found herself kissing him back earnestly. It was only when he brought a hand around to the back of her neck did she break away.
"GAH!" she shrieked, Adrien pulling backward immediately, his eyes wide and alert. "Your hands are freezing!" He looked at them for a moment, as if the concept of him being cold hadn't crossed his mind.
"Oh, right." Marinette couldn't help giggling at his obliviousness.
"Come on, catnip-for-brains," she said as she carefully made her way to standing. She extended a gloved hand towards Adrien. "I know a place where we can get free hot chocolate. She winked at him playfully, and he beamed up at her.
"Can we get free cookies there too?" Marinette pretended to think for a minute as Tikki and Plagg sailed up from their hiding spot in Marinette's bag.
"Maybe, if you're lucky." Tikki and Marinette shared a look before bursting into giggles, while Adrien shot his small kwami a glare. Plagg folded his tiny arms defensively.
"Don't look at me! I'm absolutely certain that at least 40% of your bad luck comes from you alone."
"I don't know," Adrien began, taking Marinette's hand in his own once more. "I'm feeling pretty lucky right now." The young heroine blushed and squeezed his hand.
"Dork," she shot at him as he placed a kiss on her cheek. Tikki squealed happily, but Plagg made a noise of disgust and perched himself on Adrien's shoulder.
"Humans!" he exclaimed with exasperation in his voice, "I'll never understand why they'd choose something as silly as romance over cheese!" Adrien rolled his eyes.
"I've told you before, Plagg, girls smell better than that awful Camembert you like." Plagg snorted indifferently as Tikki floated up to Marinette's ear.
"Not to put a damper on the mood here," she began, "but how do you two plan on getting down from here untransformed?" The new couple blinked at each other before turning to the skyline, having forgotten that they still stood on an icy rooftop.
"She's got a point," Marinette admitted, and Adrien nodded.
"There had better be cheese wherever we're going, otherwise you can count me out of any sort of transformations for the next week!" Plagg griped.
"You know, I think that's as close to compliance as we'll ever get from him," Adrien chimed, looking at Marinette, his eyes shining with happiness. "I'm ready when you are."
The pigtailed girl nodded first at her new boyfriend, then at her kwami. Adrien gave Plagg a small smile, to which the cat-like kwami responded with a lazy sigh. Releasing Marinette's hand, the two looked out over the city streets, their hearts bursting with eager energy and love for one another. Something told them that school days and night patrols were about to get much more fun for both of them.
"Tikki!"
"Plagg!"
"Transform me!"