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There were very few things Marinette Dupain-Cheng wouldn’t do for Adrien. Probably fewer than strictly necessary, given the fact that she was a superhero and could, in fact, jump off a bridge for him if he asked.
So when he walked up to her and asked if he could get some advice. Of course she said yes. It may have taken a minute or two for her to get out the words properly, but it wasn’t her fault, she thought. Not when he was blushing, and scratching the back of his head, mussing up his golden sunbeam hair, emerald eyes narrowed worriedly, within half a metre of her, smelling like cologne and sweat and cheese?
So now here they were, in her bedroom, all alone. After the last time he was over, she’d left her collection of pictures down, just to be safe. If he came over once, he could end up coming over every day. She had to be ready.
Adrien sat cross-legged on her chaise, munching on a cookie from the plate Marinette’s parents had forced on her when they walked in. She hoped that accepting food from the get-go would keep the both of them out this time. There was also the added bonus that Adrien holding a huge cookie with both hands was absolutely adorable.
“So, what did you want advice about?” Good, Marinette. She didn’t even stutter. This was a good start.
He swallowed his bite of cookie (cute), lowered the rest to his lap (cute), and glanced around her room (c u t e).
“…Marinette. We’re friends, right?” His eyes came back to her. His head was tilted forward a bit, so it was an upward glance through his beautiful long lashes.
“Of course! Of course we are, Adrien!!” She shot up straight in her computer chair. Friends! For now!
“You’d be able to keep whatever I say a secret, right? I just… I really need to talk about some stuff, and I trust you.
“Yes, yes! I won’t tell a soul,” she slammed a hand over her heart. A bit too hard. She might have a bruise later.
“I’ve… got something I’ve been keeping from everyone…”
Her mind filled in the blanks. He was actually an angel. He was sent from heaven. She nodded.
“I’m Chat Noir,” he said, deadly serious.
She nodded.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t heard him. She had. She had 100% heard the words “I’m Chat Noir” come out of his mouth. His lips had even moved along with the sounds. There was no doubt he said it. Her body had just repeated her last motion automatically while her soul left her body.
Poor Adrien seemed to take her blank look and nod as disbelief. “I can prove it,” he said, rattling off multiple anecdotes from times she’d met Chat as Marinette. Things that she hadn’t even mentioned to Alya, much less Adrien.
Marinette’s body tilted her head, giving a slightly stronger nod to show it understood. Her soul patted herself on the back for how outwardly calm she seemed, before returning to its own breakdown.
Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir. Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste. Her partner, Chat Noir, was her crush, Adrien. She had kissed Chat Noir, once. Since Chat Noir = Adrien, that meant she had kissed Adrien. Adrien’s lips had touched her lips for a significant length of time.
“And… Okay, um… I love Ladybug. I REALLY love Ladybug. But she doesn’t seem to take me seriously. So I thought it might be a good idea to get some advice from a girl, and you’re the only one I think I can trust with this…”
Chat Noir AKA Adrien Agreste loves Ladybug. Ladybug is her. Her is Marinette. Chat Noir loves Ladybug, which meant Adrien loves Marinette.
“She wants to keep her identity secret, and I understand that, but I just want to be with her, you know? I love her. It doesn’t matter who she is under the mask.”
Adrien, who loves Marinette, is here, in Marinette’s room. Telling Marinette how much he (Chat Noir) loves her (Ladybug). They have mutual feelings for each other.
They could date. They could be in a romantic relationship.
They could be making out, right now. That’s an actual thing that could happen.
Her out-of-body experience ended.
“…Marinette?” He looked at her again, eyebrows furrowed. God he was so cute.
“Tikki,” she said, voice still surprisingly even. “Spots on.”
Adrien didn’t have more than a second to process the situation before Ladybug suddenly tackled him to the floor.