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"Are you being serious right now? I actually cannot believe you."
Chat Noir laughs awkwardly and scratches the back of his head. "Well I mean, at least I haven't used my Cataclysm, that means we have quite a while to sort this little problem out-"
"Little problem?!" Marinette laughs, verging on hysterical, as she throws both hands in the air. Or at least, she tries to. One hand is weighed down by Chat's arm, and she comes very close to hitting him in the face. "I think this is a bit more than a little problem, Chat. For crying out loud, we're handcuffed together!"
"You have to admit, Princess, it could be worse," Chat quips, earning himself an eye-roll and a glare. "Anyway, it was an accident. I didn't mean to do it, I swear."
She's suddenly narrowing her eyes at him, turning her head to the side slightly in thought. "You- are you telling the truth? That sounds highly suspicious to me." She shakes her wrist, and the chain jangles. "It's pretty unlikely that you would accidentally do this to us, kitty-cat. You're sure this isn't a set-up?"
"Come on! Would I really do that to you?" he asks her in return. He really wouldn't do it on purpose - he knows how much he could jeopardise her safety by doing so, and Mari being in any real kind of danger like that is something that he hopes he never has to see. Although, really, he knows it's inevitable that it will happen eventually. Akuma attacks are so rampant these days that her chances are increasing by the day; as well as the fact that many akuma attacks seem to happen near the school or to Marinette in general (usually, he admits to himself, as a result of Chloé).
Not that he's not enjoying it... at least a little.
Marinette draws a long sigh. "Well, I don't know what we're supposed to do," she says, tapping her slender fingers on the side of her face. Chat watches them subconciously, enraptured, a cat-like quality of his being to be mesmerised by repetitive movements. "I can't go home with you trailing along behind me, and there's no way you could hide. But I also need to go home or my parents will worry... what am I supposed to do?"
The sun is setting, searing the sky with an orange-pink blush outside the window to the abandoned warehouse they are hiding in. Ladybug and Chat Noir had been fighting a particularly nasty akuma that had gotten Chat into handcuffs, and Ladybug had used her lucky charm, but to no avail. To the complete frustration of the pair of superheroes, the akumatised villain had escaped, leaving Chat Noir cuffed to a pipe in a cupboard and Ladybug with a rapidly depleting amount of energy left. She had had to run.
Marinette had really meant to return as her alternate persona, but Tikki was completely drained and they were nowhere near anywhere that they could acquire any cookies. So she was forced to come up with the next best thing: herself. She would just have to hope that Chat didn't become suspicious and start looking into who she was, because then she would be busted, and that was the last thing she wanted. Chat's relationship with herself as both Marinette and Ladybug was complicated enough as it is. She had bolted in, telling Chat something about hearing yelling and feeling like it was vital that she came and helped, found the key to the handcuffs, and started to try to help him out. But somewhere between the fumbling about in the darkness as they each tried to solve Chat's little complication, and the fact that really they were far closer than Marinette deemed comfortable, they had somehow become attached to each other; and Marinette had groaned as the key had slipped from her fingers and she'd heard it tinkle across the floor.
They had tried to search, but searching is hard when you're locked to another person. It was already dark, and getting darker as the sun slowly sank down, and the cupboard was so full of bits and pieces that even Chat's night vision didn't help with their frantic hunt. Which had led to them standing here.
"If you really do need to get home, it is a bit of a problem," Chat says, leading her towards the door as he considers the situation. "And you're right, there's... really not much of a way for me to hide. What were you doing out here so late anyway?"
She waves a hand dismissively. "Nothing at all, just taking a stroll nearby. I happen to have good hearing, you know."
"Oh really? Me too!" He tells her with a grin, placing his fingers on his chin and leaning close to her face, raising his eyebrows as he stares into her eyes. To his surprise, Marinette holds eye contact with him albeit for another eye-roll. "Looks like we're meant for each other, Princess."
She shakes her head and pushes his face away with one hand, a feeling that Chat vaguely recognises - from Ladybug? Perhaps it isn't the best idea to try to flirt with Marinette. After all, when he's Adrien, she seems to be constantly terrified of him. But the way she acts around Chat... it's entirely different, and something about her draws him to her like a cat to a laser. His conflicted feelings for both Ladybug and Marinette confuse and frustrate him to no end.
"Okay, Chat, the only thing we can do is wait until neither of my parents are in the bakery and get up to my room as quickly as possible," she says firmly. This is the side of Marinette that he rarely sees. "I can yell a hello, and then we can work on getting ourselves out of this mess as quickly as possible. I'm sure a hairpin or a sewing needle will do the trick."
He nods in confirmation. "I have an idea. It'll help us get home quickly - just hold on tight."
Within an instant he's drawn her closer towards him, one cuffed arm around her waist and holding her hand for support, pulling out his staff from behind him and extending it with a dramatic flick of his wrist (which, Marinette knows, is something he doesn't have to do). She realises what's happening at the last second, and is forced to pull her legs around Chat's waist and embrace him tightly with her free arm, even going to the lengths of burying her head in his shoulder. Without her yoyo she feels far more insecure being so high in the air. Even though she trusts Chat with her life, she still wants to take the extra precautions. Or at least, that's what she tells herself.
Feeling the rush of wind on their faces and in their hair is something the both of them enjoy now. It's the feeling of freedom, of adventure, of a world of opportunities. Sometimes it can be frightening too, but not right now; not whilst they're so close in each others' arms. Marinette mentally kicks herself for enjoying being so close to Chat so much.
It doesn't seem like long before they silently drop close to Marinette's house and the bakery. "There's a back door," she whispers, "but it leads in to the living room, and we can't see whether they'll be in there or not. So the bakery door is our best bet."
"Can't we just go in through the balcony?" he asks, squinting up towards the top of the building.
He feels Marinette shake her head. She's still in the same position as they were whilst they were travelling, and she realises this and hastily but carefully untangles herself. "Too risky. They could realise that they haven't heard my feet go up the stairs, or one of them could walk into the bakery as we aren't looking, or anything like that."
"Right. So, on with the original plan, Princess?"
"Let's do it."
To their luck - Marinette thanks Tikki silently - the bakery is only lit softly and her parents aren't anywhere to be seen. The shop has been closed for the day. They push open the door and make their way through the kitchen, Marinette walking normally whilst Chat pads along silently behind her. His ability to move about with little to no noise at all is one of the greatest advantages to his kwami being a cat. Their plan goes without a hitch, and soon they're up in Marinette's room. Whilst Mari rummages around on her desk for something she can use to unlock the handcuffs, Chat looks around, admiring the excessively pink and exceedingly Adrien décor. He leans towards the shot of him on the wall in front of him and notices that the page has an unusual amount of tiny hearts doodled upon it.
"Who's this guy on your wall, some movie star?" he asks, trying not to act suspicious, but he can feel his face grow warmer and is sure it's tinged red. Thank god he has a mask on.
Marinette stares at him in surprise for a second, and then, "Wow, Chaton, you're really out of the loop, aren't you? That's Adrien Agreste. He's a model and he goes to my school, and he's amazing and cool and kind and cute- I mean, he's handsome- I mean! Well, he's a model, so, you know, obviously he has to look good... ugh. Chat Noir, forget everything that I just said."
He wants to drop the subject for her, but he just can't. This is far too intriguing. And if what he's thinking is true, a lot of her behavioural patterns around him would be explained. "Do you like him?"
"As... a friend? Of cou-"
"As more than a friend."
Marinette sighs. It's not that she's powerless against Chat, it's just that she doesn't have the energy to argue with him after the events of the day. "Fine, yes, I like him. What is it to you, anyway? Don't think I don't pay attention to you on Alya's Ladyblog and when you're on the news. Don't you like Ladybug?"
"Aww, Princess, you pay attention to me that closely?" he grins. Marinette finally retrieves a hairpin from behind a box on her desk and tugs him over to her lounger, where they sit down next to each other - not that they have the freedom to move anywhere else. Chat shuffles closer. "I didn't know you cared so deeply about me."
"I literally just told you who I like, you silly cat," she says to him, but she doesn't push him away. "You didn't answer my question."
"What question?" he asks innocently. It's a question that he really doesn't want to answer right now, because suddenly he's not so sure who he likes, what his feelings are doing, what to say. Now that he knows that Marinette likes one half of him, he desperately wants her to like the other half, and he can't risk ruining those chances.
She's fiddling with the cuffs and not looking at him as she answers. "Do you like Ladybug? Or do you act the same way around every person you come across?"
"What exactly are you implying here, Princess?"
"Come on, now you're just dodging the question," she says, glancing up and shooting him an exasperated glare. "Do you flirt with everyone like you flirt with Ladybug or not?"
"You're- no. I don't." Why does Marinette make him feel lost for words, but never Ladybug? There's a long silence as the two sit, waiting until Mari manages to unlock the cuffs and set them both free. But she's clearly getting worked up about the fact that the clip isn't working. After a time, Chat slowly places his hand on top of hers and moves it away. At first he thinks that she's going to protest, but she actually looks more relieved than anything, taking a deep breath and slumping her shoulders as she relaxes.
"What a mess. I don't know how to get these off at all." Suddenly, something seems to pop into her mind. He can almost see it like a light-bulb above her head. She narrows her eyes at him, and her mouth slowly drops open. "This was a set up!"
"What? No! How did you come to that conclusion?" Chat asks, waving his free hand around in surprise, incredulous. "I would never set you up. I'm far too polite and well-mannered for that."
Marinette ignores his attempt at bigging himself up and leans in, close to his face. He swallows hard as he takes in her aroma, coconut and vanilla, and instinctively leans back slightly. "You could have used your Cataclysm this entire time," she hisses. Chat's eyes widen and his mouth drops open too, just as hers did a few seconds ago.
"Ahah... yeah. You're right. So I could..."
"Then why didn't you?"
"I guess it just..." he releases some of the tension in his body and leans forwards again, his voice lowering to a murmur. "...slipped my mind." At least he's being truthful. "Mari."
"Yes?"
"You asked me if I liked Ladybug."
Their faces are still close, so close that their foreheads are almost touching, but neither of them pulls away. Marinette doesn't answer for a few seconds, listening to herself and Chat breathe. They're so close that she can feel his breath on her face. She thinks about what she once wrote in her diary: If there wasn't Adrien, then maybe I'd look at Chat in a different way... well, right now, it certainly seems as if Adrien doesn't exist. In fact, it doesn't seem as if anyone in the world exists other than her and Chat, in their own personal bubble, warm and safe and comfortable. This is a way she can't feel around Adrien.
"I did ask you if you liked Ladybug, yes."
"Well, I do. But I like you, too."
He likes both sides of me.
"Chat..." Marinette squeezes her eyes shut, and suddenly a trainwreck of feelings crash into her head, almost making her dizzy. "I think... I feel the same way."
She likes both sides of me.
All at once their lips are touching, and the world seems to stop around them even more than it already has. Neither of them wants it to end. Chat hears Marinette mumble something as she takes a gasping breath, but he doesn't quite catch what it is before her mouth is on his again, pulling him closer.
He urges Plagg away in his mind. When they open their eyes, he wants Mari to see him for who he is without the mask. He wants both parts of him to belong to her, now and forever.
Her lips taste like coconut and vanilla, too.
After what seems like an eternity - but not an eternity that's long enough for either of them - they pull away. The cuffs have somehow dropped to the floor and come undone without them noticing, but they both think they might have an idea why. For it's not Chat and Marinette who sit facing each other on the lounger any longer.
It's Adrien and Ladybug who stare at each other in shock and disbelief and elation and joy.
Adrien, Chat Noir, Marinette, Ladybug... no matter what mask they had been wearing, they suddenly realise that they have been together the whole time.
"I'm yours," Adrien whispers, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Now, and forever."