Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Adrien’s mind was reeling.

She was beautiful, she was resourceful and smart, she had the same two pigtails and the same blue eyes. How had he not seen it before? How had it skipped his mind to consider her? How had he not been able to figure out on his own that Ladybug was Marinette, his classmate and friend?

Then again, she was probably feeling the same way right now. She had been just as astonished when their transformations gave out. They had ducked into an alley as a last resort, seconds ticking down before their identities would be revealed, and they had both understood in that moment that seeing each other in civilian form was the lesser of two evils than the people of Paris – and the media – discovering them. She had stared at him in disbelief. She had lost the ability to speak. She had covered her face with her hands, but not before Adrien caught the crimson shade developing on her cheeks.

He had walked towards her and gently pried her fingers off her face. He had held her hands in his own as she stared up at him with wide eyes and a red face. He had smiled at her, relieved and overjoyed, and had said breathlessly, “I’m glad it’s you.”

She had stuttered and mumbled her way through her response: “I’m glad it’s you too.”

He had beamed at her, and the two teenagers cautiously slipped back out of the alley and into the Parisian streets. They had parted ways, and Adrien looked behind him to watch her go.

He remembered what he’d once said, a long time ago, during their second battle.

“It doesn’t matter who’s behind the mask… I love this girl.”

Now he knew. He loved Marinette Dupain-Cheng. He was head over heels for Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And he was going to do everything in his power to win her over, as if his life depended on it.

Because in a way, it did.
_________________________

Marinette’s hands trembled at her sides as she tried to sleep that night.

The boy whose advances she’d rejected for so long, the boy who had flirted with her and she had occasionally, jokingly flirted back with, the boy who made awful puns and ridiculous jokes in the very heat of battle, the boy who had sacrificed himself multiple times to ensure the safety of her well-being, the boy who was her partner…

That boy was Adrien Agreste. Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste.

The boy who had given her his umbrella on the first day of school, the boy who stopped to wave at her during the middle of his photoshoot, the boy who stood by her side to help when her uncle came to visit from China, the boy who played video games with her in her room, the boy she’d walked in on showering while in his house as Ladybug, the boy whose pictures were literally scattered all over her bedroom walls…

That boy was Chat Noir. Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir.

Her heart beat violently inside of her chest.

She didn’t get much sleep that night at all.
_________________________

Adrien stepped out of the car nervously and looked up at the school. Marinette was in there.

His lady was in there.

And she knew that he knew that she knew his identity. Because he knew hers too.

He swallowed thickly as he ascended the steps to the front doors. He walked through them, gripping the handle of his book bag. He took the stairs up to his homeroom. He walked in.

Their eyes locked immediately.

He instantly gave her a warm, friendly smile. She looked away, her cheeks blushing.

But she smiled too.
_________________________

An akuma attack happened at the school later that week. The first thing Adrien did was whirl around in his seat and look Marinette in the eye. She gave him a knowing nod, and the two excused themselves from the classroom.

Adrien had guessed that knowing each other’s identities might help their partnership, but he couldn’t have known just how true that would be.

The two fought together in complete synch. It was a battle to go down in the books; they defeated the akuma victim in record time, and hardly any other students or teachers got caught in the mix. When Ladybug extended her fist for a fist bump, Chat hesitated. He wanted to celebrate a different way this time – perhaps from now on.

He stepped forward, took her knuckles, and brought it to his lips. He pressed a kiss to it gently.

“Good job.” He said their signature line, but he murmured it in a low whisper, smiling at her.

She stared at him with parted lips.

Their miraculouses started beeping, breaking their reverie, and once again, the two nodded at each other and ran toward separate bathrooms.

When they walked back into their classroom, the room was buzzing about the attack.

As Adrien slid into his seat, he heard Alya behind him lamenting to Marinette that she had been in the bathroom the entire time and missed all the action. He chuckled to himself, and when Nino asked him, “What’s so funny, bro?”, he made up a quick pun.

He made sure to say it loudly enough for the girls to hear, and he grinned widely when he heard a groan behind him.

She was Ladybug, all right.
_________________________

Marinette was doing homework on a rainy night when he visited. He’d knocked on the window that led to the terrace, and when she curiously opened it, Chat Noir tumbled down onto her bed rather ungracefully.

He quickly pulled himself together, climbing down the ladder of her bunk bed, and stood before her.

She stated the obvious rather than questioning why he was there. “You’re soaking wet.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that,” he answered sheepishly. “I just… I didn’t know where else to go.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him as she opened one of her drawers and took out a fluffy towel. She handed it to him and ventured, “What about your home?”

She pictured the Agreste mansion, where she’d been inside a total of three times.

But he shook his head, using the towel to dry his hair. “That’s kind of why I’m here. Um…” He looked down at her questioningly, like he didn’t know where to start.

She stood there awkwardly, realizing once again, that this was Adrien Agreste. Adrien Agreste. In her room. At night.

“Home is terrible,” he blurted.

Her eyes widened.

He kept talking. “My father doesn’t understand me. At all. He’s cold and distant… and I can’t bear to be inside those walls. The house is just like him. Unwelcoming. His secretary pays more attention to my schedule and my life than he does. And she only does it because it’s her job. I… I came here because I needed to be reminded that someone cared about me. And I know you do, Marinette. Because you’re my partner, of course. And I’m sorry for coming, I know it’s late and you’re probably busy, but I couldn’t help myself. I just needed confirmation that… well, that…” His voice broke.

Alarmed and embarrassed at almost losing it, he turned away to look at her walls. What met his gaze was a picture of himself.

Marinette gasped as she realized with horror that she hadn’t taken down a single one of her Adrien Agreste modeling pictures.

They were all over the room.

Chat Noir did a full three-sixty, turning all the way back to her with wide eyes.

They both blushed deeply.

“I… I like fashion,” she explained lamely. “Your modeling portfolio is full of… that.”

“Male fashion,” he clarified, then winced as her blush deepened and she looked down at her feet. He looked down at her feet also, and was momentarily distracted by her pink nail polish.

“Um, about your father,” she said suddenly, and he jerked his attention back up to her face. She looked at him with concern, despite her intense embarrassment. “I’m really sorry to hear about all that.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about.”

“I still am. It’s not right for a parent to treat his child like… like that. You deserve better, Chat. I mean… Adrien.”

He let out a nervous laugh. “You can call me either name. Whenever you want.”

She laughed too, though it sounded more like a cough. “It’s all a bit confusing.”

“Yeah.”

The photos around them seemed to be staring them down. The boy felt heat rise to his cheeks once more, and Marinette finally took a step toward the wall.

“I’ll just… take these down.”

“No!” he found himself blurting. She paused where she was, her hand on one corner of a picture. The two stared at each other.

“I meant, if you want to. Then yeah, take them down. But if you want to keep them up…” his voice went to a whisper. “Then by all means, please keep them up.”

She drew in a sharp intake of breath. Her heart was beating erratically.

“Really.”

“Yes.” He nodded firmly. “If any of these pictures… inspire you, then I’ll know that all those photoshoots were worth it.”

A heavy silence passed between them for a few seconds.

Finally, she whispered, “Okay,” and let go of the picture.

Chat let out a deep breath he didn’t realize he was holding in.

He turned to her desk to notice a little kwami sleeping soundly in a tiny doll bed. He smiled and pointed.

“That’s your kwami?”

“Tikki.” Marinette nodded. “You saw her the day we de-transformed, right?”

“Right, but both of ours kept quiet that day. They let us do the talking.”

“Yours is very cute.” She took a step forward. “A little black cat.”

He wrinkled his nose. “Yeah, cute and hungry. Like, all the time. And it’s the worst craving in the world. He likes camembert.”

She laughed then, a real laugh, one that sprung butterflies within his stomach. “I’m sorry to hear that. Tikki likes cookies. Good thing I live above a bakery, huh?”

“Sure is,” he smiled.

She stopped smiling, and looked at him inquisitively, tilting her head.

“What is it?” he asked.

She spoke slowly. “You said you came here because you needed confirmation. What about?”

Chat looked down at the floor. He used to be so confident as Chat Noir, this alter ego, and he could joke away the seriousness of any situation and flirt with Ladybug all he wanted. Now that Marinette knew who he really was, and vice versa, all that went out the window. Now he was vulnerable, and afraid.

“Adrien?” He looked up as she said his real name.

“Yes?” He whispered.

“Confirmation for what, Minou?”

Her voice was gentle, her expression kind. He was this close to breaking down again.

With a pained look, he admitted, “Confirmation that someone loves me.”

Her eyebrows shot up, and he looked back down.

Foolish, foolish, foolish. He was so foolish.

Of course she couldn’t confirm something like that.

But before he could back away and climb the ladder and exit through the terrace window and dash away in the rain and avoid her for the rest of his life, she stepped toward him. Hesitantly, but she did.

And before he could even realize it, she was hugging him very, very gently.

He inhaled and exhaled, carefully lifting his arms and slowly wrapping them around her. His mind jumped back to the other time they’d hugged – after he thought she’d killed herself in the mouth of a tyrannosaurus rex. She’d been Ladybug back then.

But she was Marinette now, and she had initiated the hug, and he was hugging her back, and they were in the middle of her room, and-

“Of course I love you, Chat. You’re my partner, and… you’re my best friend.”

He rested his chin on her shoulder and closed his eyes.

“Say it again.” He found himself mumbling.

It was too late to be embarrassed. She had photos of him all over the room, for crying out loud.

She paused.

“I love you, Chat.”

He tilted his head and leaned his mouth to her ear. “Say it again. Please.”

This time she whispered it into his ear, sending chills down his spine. “I love you… Adrien.”

Tears brimmed in his eyes, and he forced them with all his willpower to not spill over. Someone loved him back. Perhaps not in the same way he loved her, but she did love him back. She loved him as a friend. What more could he ask for?

“I love you too, Marinette.”

Her hold on him got a bit tighter, and he in turn rested his cheek on the crook of her neck.

He didn’t know it, but they both had butterflies.

When she finally let go, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his chest. He felt lighter than air. He smiled down at her, and she smiled back at him, much in the same way she’d done when he’d taken her bracelet during their video game session so long ago.

They spoke at the same time.

“Well”-

“So…”

Chat cleared his throat. Marinette silenced herself, allowing him to speak. “Well… thank you very much… for that. For letting me into your room, and for… your confirmation. I think I ought to go now.”

“Be safe,” she said before she could stop herself. “I-I mean, in the rain and all.”

He beamed at her. “I will… my lady.”

She blushed at the affectionate nickname, and he let himself out.

When the window was closed, Marinette let out a huge exhalation of breath.

She’d. Hugged. Adrien.

In her room.

And he had accepted her many pictures of him.

He had to know that she liked him.

Chat breathed out a sigh of nervousness as he stood outside in the rain.

He’d hugged Marinette.

In her room.

And he had asked her to tell him she loved him.

She had to know that he liked her.

Chapter Text

It had been a long week of akuma attacks. They’d actually dealt with three of those attacks this past day. Nevertheless, it was the weekend, which meant they had patrol duty for the night. Rest never came easy for a superhero.

Ladybug stood at their usual meeting place, hands on her hips.

Where was he?

She sat herself down on the balcony, swinging her legs over the edge. Heights had become a part of the thrill of putting on the mask. Both she and Chat leaped and bounded atop buildings all the time, sometimes falling from great heights as well. It was simply part of the job.

Despite the high places she’d been, nothing compared to the cliff’s edge that her heart was currently dangling precariously from as of late. Every time she was around Adrien, whether he was a civilian or a hero, she caught herself with her heart in her throat. Ever since last week’s incident in her bedroom – and that hug – she found herself with even more anxiety around him; stumbling over her words often, and stumbling over things and falling around him.

Falling for him… like never before.

“But where is he?” She wondered aloud, looking around the city. Usually he was perfectly punctual, and even earlier than her. Always waiting, ready with a silly pun or a flirtatious remark at her arrival.

She wondered nowadays what the flirting had ever meant.

He never did it as Adrien, nor now as Chat, now that they knew each other’s identities, which she came to understand was a side effect of him knowing that it was her, Marinette, beneath the mask. She understood, with a heavy sigh, that it meant he didn’t really like her. Not really. Perhaps he had genuinely liked her as Ladybug at one point, but all that seemed to go out the window when they revealed themselves to each other. He didn’t treat her the same anymore. No more flirting, no more signs of affection, except for one tiny detail: the kisses on her hand after akuma attacks were taken care of. For the most part, he acted more like Adrien when he was Chat nowadays. Speaking of which…

“Where is that boy?” She shook her head. Tired of waiting, she stood up.

She took out her yo-yo and pressed the communicator option on the inside, waiting as it dialed.

No one picked up.

Feeling trepidation at the realization of what she had to do, she swung her yo-yo toward the next nearest building and zipped away.

Wracked with nervousness, she made her way to the Agreste mansion.
_______________________________

Adrien was out cold on his bed.

It had been a tiring week, and an even more exhausting day, jam-packed with two photoshoots and three akuma attacks. He’d had to flee from the park twice, running toward the same hiding spot as Marinette, who’d happened to be there at the same time as him. They’d transformed together, side by side, and ran out toward the battle. He hadn’t questioned it at the moment, but before he’d gone to sleep, he’d wondered… just what was she doing there at the same park where he was doing a photoshoot?

Now, he was in dreamland, imagining the two of them walking in that park, hand in hand.

It was a wonderful dream.

One that he was rudely and violently shaken awake from.

“Plagg, what’s the big idea?” He muttered with his eyes closed, swinging his pillow in the air toward wherever the kwami may be.

“Oof! Okay Adrien, I didn’t come here to get clobbered.”

His eyes popped open, and he slowly turned around in bed to blink up at the looming figure before him.

Ladybug.

“Marinette!” he cried, before falling off the edge of the bed in a panic and onto the floor. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as she tapped her foot. He noticed that one of the windows to his left was wide open.

“We have patrol tonight, Sleeping Beauty.” She shook her head. “Did you forget?”

He slapped his forehead, getting up. “Yes, I can’t believe I did. I’m so sorry. It’s just that today was draining, and”- He shook his head. “But that’s no excuse.”

“It’s okay, Chaton.” An understanding smile spread across her features, and Adrien couldn’t help staring at her mouth for a moment. Before turning away, of course.

“So… I should probably transform?”

She nodded, turning away herself so that he did not see her cheeks redden. She spoke in an even tone, not betraying her nervous feelings about waking him up in his room. “That you should.”
_______________________________

The two raced each other across the rooftops of Paris.

Patrol went by smoothly. No one was in danger, nothing wrong was happening. All was quiet and peaceful.

That is, everywhere except for within their raging hearts.

“So.” Chat spoke first, interrupting the long-held silence between them.

She shot her masked eyes up at him, waiting.

“We should play a game.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh? A game?”

“Yes.” He smiled at her. “A game to learn more about each other.”

She made a choking sound. “W-why would you want to play a game like that? I mean, what’s the purpose?”

He lifted a shoulder as he spoke, his eyes earnest. “Well, you told me last week… in your room…” They blushed. “…that I was not only your partner, but also your best friend. And that got me thinking.”

“That… got you thinking?” Was it his imagination, or did she look nervous?

“Yes,” he said slowly. “You, I mean, we… we don’t know an awful lot about each other. We’ve had these masks on our faces for so long, and now that I know you’re Marinette… I’m honestly very curious about you. And as best friends, that can’t do. We need to know the important facts.”

“The important facts,” she repeated.

“Yes. I know you’re a baker’s daughter, I know you’re good at sewing, I know you’re our class president. But I don’t know the really, really important facts.”

“Facts such as?” Her voice trembled.

He cocked his head to the side, and she noted that he looked unbearably cute. Model that he was.

“What’s your favorite color, Marinette?”

She looked startled. After a moment of solemn waiting, she burst out a single giggle. “Are you serious?”

“Do I ever kid?” He asked in a teasing voice.

“Try all the time.” She rolled her eyes, unable to help herself. “And they’re always the worst jokes I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“You wound me, my lady.” Chat pressed a hand to his chest dramatically.

She giggled louder, which encouraged him. “I mean, that’s practically your trademark. Bad joker.”

“Oh yeah? Then what’s your trademark? Being the heartbreaker?”

She was silent for a moment, and he panicked. Was that the wrong thing to say?

But she looked up at the moon, then smiled. “We’re both heartbreakers, I’d say. You being the model and all.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you can’t deny that you get a lot of unrequited attention from the girls in our school.”

“…Yeah.” He shrugged. Then a slow smile spread across his features. “Wait, you said we’re both heartbreakers? How do you acknowledge yourself as one, then?”

She didn’t realize it, but he was holding his breath.

“Well… you used to like me, right?” She looked down at her feet, unable to look him in the face. This was Adrien she was talking to, after all.

It was his turn to choke. “I… well, I…”

She put a hand up immediately. “Forget I said anything about the subject.”

“But”-

“I’m serious.” She shook her head and smiled sadly. “Silly crushes happen all the time when you don’t really know a person.”

He frowned. “What do you mea”-

“And anyway, I never answered your question. The game question.”

His shoulders slumped. She clearly didn’t want to talk about his feelings any longer, and from what she’d said about it being a “silly crush”, he was pretty sure he understood the reason why.

Genuinely feeling crushed, he turned away to look at the other side of Paris so that she wouldn’t see the pain on his face. “Yeah?” He kept his voice light. “So what is it, then?”

She looked at the back of his head, his blond tufts sticking out every which way. “Yellow,” she confessed, trying not to let her own eyes fill with tears.

He turned back around and looked at her, and she succeeded in keeping the tears at bay. “Yellow,” he repeated. “Why is that?”

She fumbled for an answer. “I… well… I like… the sun. I like the sun. A lot.”

“Ah.” He smiled. “I like the moon. The nighttime comes with freedom, for me.”

He suddenly tossed his baton over to her. “Your turn.”

“I get the baton?”

“Sure. We’re playing Truth or Truth here. Whoever holds the baton, asks the question.”

“This is a silly game,” she protested.

“I want to learn more about you!” He raised his arms. “Now that we know who we are, aren’t you the least bit curious about me?”

She felt butterflies rise within her at his exclamation.

But she warned herself to calm down. He only liked her as a friend. He was being kind and friendly, because that’s just the kind of person he was.

“I suppose I am.”

“Then fire away, my lady.”

The nickname jumped out at her again, and this time she couldn’t keep quiet about it. “What made you decide to call me ‘your lady’?”

He wagged his finger at her. “Ah, ah, ah. That’s a question about yourself. You can only ask me facts about me. That’s how we learn more about each other.”

And how she’d learn less about his crush on her.

He’d wanted to show his feelings for her, especially since the day they’d revealed themselves to each other. He’d sworn to himself that he would win her over. But now that he knew she thought of his past feelings as just a “silly crush”, he wasn’t so sure anymore that she should know that he still felt the way. And that his feelings were even stronger now.

And as Adrien, he was a bundle of nerves. So now that she knew he was Adrien, even as Chat Noir, he felt like a mess.

“-color then?”

He shot his eyes down at hers. “Sorry?”

“I said, what’s your favorite color then?”

He searched her deep blue eyes for a moment, before knowing his answer. “Ocean blue.”

“You like the ocean?”

“That’s two questions, mon ami.”

She sighed and passed the baton back to him. He chewed on his bottom lip, thinking. She had to restrain herself and her thoughts. How desperately she wanted to kiss that lip that he was chewing on-

“Who’s your favorite musician?” He asked.

“Jagged Stone.”

He perked up. “Really? Me too!”

“He’s the best,” she put her hands in the rock-and-roll position.

“Agreed,” he nodded seriously.

“Remember when he was akumatized?” She laughed.

Chat sighed. “And nearly killed XY? Yeah, great times.”

She grew solemn. “I’ve always wondered if the Lucky Charm brings absolutely everything back to normal. Including”-

“People dying?” He nodded. “I’ve wondered that too. Hopefully we’ll never have to find out.”

After a moment of pause, he tossed the baton back to her. “Your turn.”

“Okay. What kind of TV shows do you like to watch?”

Chat blushed. “Um… you have to promise not to judge.”

She furrowed her brows. “What kind of shows are you watching if you’re worried someone will judge?”

“It’s not the substance, I swear. It’s just the genre.” He scratched the back of his head.

“Well then?”

He shuffled his foot, looking down at it. “Anime,” he confessed.

She blinked. “Why would I judge you for that?”

He looked up. “You don’t?”

She shook her head and smiled. “No.” She didn’t say what she was thinking, which was that it was really cute that he liked anime. “I bet you find some pretty good stuff to watch.”

“I do,” he said eagerly. “All of it is great. There’s horror anime, and slice of life anime, and fantasy anime, which is my favorite because there’s magic and superpowers and whatnot”- He realized he was rambling, so he stopped. “But you… probably don’t care to hear about all that.”

“No, I do! It’s fine if you tell me about it.”

An expression of hope graced his face. “Could you… I mean, would you, by any chance, ever want to… watch… it… with me?”

She suppressed a gasp. It sounded like a date, but she knew it wasn’t one. He didn’t feel that way about her now that he knew who she was. Regardless, her mind screamed at her to say yes, say yes, say YES…

“Of course I would,” she sputtered. “I mean, if that’s all right with you. I mean, of course it’s all right with you; you asked, I mean, yeah, yeah I would… Adrien.”

Chat Noir beamed at her. “Fantastic! You’ll love it, Marinette. I promise. I’ll pick an anime that I know you’ll adore.”

She looked down at the baton in her hands and couldn’t hold back a goofy smile. She was going to watch an anime with Adrien. Which meant he would be coming to her house, or she would be coming to his.

An epiphany struck her. She was spending time with Adrien right now. Just because he was dressed as Chat Noir, didn’t mean he wasn’t Adrien. So she was spending time with Adrien, on a random rooftop, in the middle of the night. And they were playing a game, and learning things about each other, and it was all by his doing. She couldn’t control the heat on her cheeks. This situation was a dream come true. And she was somehow speaking coherently.

That was because he was dressed as Chat, she realized. Despite the fact that she knew he was Adrien, it was still easier to talk to him when he was dressed as Chat.

“What are you thinking?” His voice broke through her reverie. She realized she was still smiling stupidly down at her hands.

“Oh! Uh, I was just thinking of an inside joke between me and Alya.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “You and I need inside jokes.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because we’re best friends. Sure, you’ve got Alya, and I’ve got Nino, but we’ve also got each other. And you were one of my first friends on my first day of school. We’ve known each other for a long time, but we have no inside jokes.”

She laughed. “You’re really trying hard to make up for lost time, aren’t you? What with the game, and with inside jokes.”

He nodded sincerely. “I am. I care a lot about you, Marinette.”

Her heart stopped.

“I… I care about you too,” she said reluctantly. What was the matter with her? She’d just told him last week that she loved him, and now she couldn’t say she cared?

Well, last time when she’d said it, she’d meant it in a platonic way. She loved him as a partner. She loved him as a friend.

But she also loved him in a way that he didn’t love her, and that hurt.

And it was hard to say it in that way.

He smiled at her shyly. “Thank you for caring about me.”

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she passed the baton back to him. “Your turn.”

“Oh yeah.” He looked at her questioningly. Then he grinned. “What do you want our inside joke to be?”

“That’s not an ‘important fact’ question,” she protested.

“Fine, fine, what’s a funny story about you that I don’t know?”

She contemplated for a moment. “Ah! I’ve got one. Once when I was a little girl, I accidentally locked myself into the oven in my parents’ kitchen in the bakery.”

He looked downright horrified. “What on earth happened?”

She laughed. Hard.

“You look like I just told you I killed a person.”

“Yes, you nearly killed yourself!”

She clutched her stomach, giggling at his expression. “Calm down, calm down. I beat the window of the oven, and my papa heard me, opened it, and I crawled out. I’m surprised I didn’t get claustrophobia from the experience. My parents reprimanded me for crawling into the oven in the first place, but later on they laughed, claiming I was so sweet that I tried to become a dessert! It’s funny to look back on.”

Chat shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe you crawled into your oven. No child is that…” he hesitated, and then went ahead and said it. “…stupid.”

“Hey!” she swatted at him, and he laughed. “Take that back! I was sweet as could be! That’s what my parents said!”

“Your parents were probably terrified that their offspring literally tried to bake herself.”

“That they were,” she giggled along with him. “That they were.”

He thought for a moment, and then grinned. “I know what our inside joke will be.”

“What?”

“Whenever either one of us witnesses anyone doing anything stupid”-

“Such as Chloe doing anything ever?”

“Right, such as that; I’ll turn to you, look you dead in the eye, and say, ‘She just crawled into the oven.’”

Ladybug punched Chat in the arm. “Fine, but you’re a mean friend.”

“I’m your best friend,” he teased.

She grabbed the baton from him and said, “All right, ‘best friend’. Your turn. Tell me a story I don’t know about you.”

He proceeded to animatedly relay a long story to her about a photoshoot gone wrong, where another teenage male model and he were told by an Italian photographer to “act like best friends”, and it was translated wrongly to them by the Italian to French translator, and so they thought they were told to “act in love.”

“You’ve… got… to be… joking,” Ladybug cried between peals of laughter.

“I wish I was,” Chat wiped a tear from his own eye, laughing so hard his stomach was about to hurt. “Imagine how we felt, two straight boys, and the photographer kept yelling at us every time we held hands or lovingly looked into each other’s eyes. So we thought we weren’t doing it well enough, so we kept trying harder. And the worst part? The other model’s girlfriend was standing there watching!”

The night went on, the two superheroes passing the baton and learning facts upon facts about each other. Before they knew it, the sun was starting to rise in the distance.

“Oh my goodness,” Ladybug yawned. “We’re both long overdue for sleep.”

“Good thing it’s the weekend,” Chat agreed, nodding his head sleepily. “Well, I’ll see you on Monday morning, my lady. That is, if an akuma attack doesn’t present itself over the next two days.”

“I pray it doesn’t,” she replied, before taking out her yo-yo, ready to swing.

“Wait.”

She paused and looked at him. “Yes?”

He hesitated, then walked toward her and raised his arms in a “come here” gesture. Heart beating wildly, she took the necessary steps and closed the distance between them.

His arms were warm and they surrounded her with the feeling of protection. She closed her eyes and leaned into his chest. With her ear pressed against him, she could hear his own heartbeat. It thrummed loudly and strong. She didn’t want to let go.

Before he let go, he gave her a tight squeeze that made her knees go weak. Then, all too soon, his arms were back to his sides and the two of them were standing a mere inch away from each other. She made the mistake of looking up into his eyes, and in that moment, she felt her body go numb.

“Goodnight, mon ami.” He whispered, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Thank you for waking me up for patrol. The game made all our time worth it. And of course, so did you.” He then backed away, turned around, and leaped off the building.

She remained there for a few more minutes, watching the sunrise ascend over Paris.

She’d said it as a lie when she’d told him she liked yellow because of the sun, but now as she watched the pink and yellow colors over the horizon, she noticed the sun differently for the first time ever. She noticed it the way she noticed him – powerfully beautiful, and always out of reach.

Chapter Text

Monday morning came. Adrien got out of his car and noticed that Nino was talking to Alya at the bottom of the steps. On the left side stood Marinette, alone.

He gave her a little wave as he approached, and she smiled in return. He took his place by her side, and the two stood shoulder-to-shoulder rather than face to face. They looked at the park in front of them.

Adrien spoke first, turning his head slightly to look at her. “Did you have a good weekend?”

She continued to stare out ahead, her cheeks pink. “Yeah, I did! Did you?”

“Yeah!”

Birds chirped above them.

Adrien opened his mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. “I was wondering if maybe”-

“Marinette! Adrien!” Both teens turned around and saw Alya waving them over from where she and Nino stood.

They walked over to the pair, and the four of them stood together until the bell rang.

Nino and Adrien began walking up the steps, and Marinette tried to follow, but Alya grabbed her arm and pulled her back. Adrien stopped short and turned around, smiling at Marinette. “You coming?”

“Oh, yes, we’ll be right there!” Alya answered for her, grinning.

When Adrien turned his attention away, Alya grabbed Marinette by both arms and squealed.

“What is it, Alya?” Marinette asked, bewildered.

“What do you mean, ‘What is it’?” Alya shook her head in disbelief. “Adrien didn’t walk up to Nino this morning, he walked up to you! And the two of you were just standing there side by side like it was nothing! Girl, you’ve got to seriously be on cloud nine right now.”

At that moment it dawned on Marinette that Alya didn’t know a thing about the two of them revealing themselves to each other. Of course she didn’t; she couldn’t know. So to her, for them to merely stand by each other was a monumental thing. She didn’t know about their rooftop conversation on Friday night, and their bedroom conversation a week ago. She didn’t know about their hugs – which were pretty intimate, now that Marinette thought about it – nor did she know about all their adventures together fighting akumas.

But Marinette was not about to break the magic for Alya. She was one of her best friends, and she was excited for her. So Marinette answered, with genuine enthusiasm and with truth, “I am on cloud nine, Alya. You have no idea.”

The two girls squealed and hugged, and then they made their way to homeroom.
___________________________

Classes passed, and the end of the day was at hand. They just had one more class to get through before the final bell rang.

Adrien had tried with all his might all day long to invite Marinette over to his house to watch anime, but they had always been interrupted.

Unable to wait any longer, he shifted in his desk, rummaged in his book bag, and found a torn piece of notebook paper. Passing a note would work. And there was no way they could get interrupted.

He tapped the pen against his chin, wondering how to phrase the question. This was making him nervous, and he hadn’t even passed the note to her yet.

She doesn’t like me that way, he reminded himself. This isn’t a date. This is not a date.

He finally wrote the question down, careful to make his cursive look decent.

It read, “Will you watch anime with a nerd like me? Tonight at seven? Check yes. Check no.”

He folded up the paper, then handed it to Nino under the desk. “Pass it to Marinette,” he whispered.

Nino stretched his arms in a pretend yawn and carefully laid the note on Alya’s side. “From Adrien. Pass it to Marinette,” he hissed.

Alya eyed the note curiously, but handed it under the desk to Marinette. “From Adrien,” she whispered to her.

Marinette’s eyes widened as she unfolded the paper. She read the question once, then twice, then three times over. She tried to calm her heart.

He doesn’t like me that way, she reminded herself. This isn’t a date. This is not a date.

She took out her pen, and with a trembling hand, she checked yes.

She handed it to Alya under the table. “Pass it to Adrien.”

Alya leaned forward in her desk and tapped Nino in the back. He turned around.

“Alya, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette.” Miss Bustier’s voice cut out sharply in the silence. “Just what are you doing?”

The four of them froze.

Miss Bustier walked over to Alya while the rest of the class watched, and she held out her hand. “Come on. Hand me the note.”

Alya shot Marinette a worried look, before handing the teacher the piece of folded paper. The teacher unfolded it and read it silently.

She then furrowed her brows toward the four students. “If no one confesses to being the one who initiated the note passing, I’m afraid I’m going to have to detain Alya after school.”

“It was me, Madame Bustier,” Adrien piped up quickly. “I was the one who wrote the note.”

“And who answered the note?” She asked, eyeing Alya.

“That… was me,” Marinette admitted, her face going red.

The entire class gasped.

Ivan whispered loudly to Alix, “Since when does Adrien Agreste pass notes to Marinette?”

“This is an outrage!” Chloe burst out. “He’s supposed to be passing notes to me! I’m the one everyone adores!”

Miss Bustier pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. She then nodded to Adrien and Marinette. “Very well. The two of you will be in detention for an hour today after school. Thank you for your honesty.”

She then handed the note back to Adrien, who waited until the teacher was back in her desk to unfold it and read it.

A bright smile spread across his face when he saw the red check mark.
___________________________

Detention ticked by slowly.

Adrien and Marinette sat side by side, their shared desk empty.

The rules were: sit still and do not talk to each other.

The substitute teacher who was supervising them was slowly nodding off. Adrien nudged Marinette with his shoulder, grinning.

The two stared at the elderly woman. Her head tipped back, back, back, and her eyes closed. She opened her mouth and began to snore.

Marinette and Adrien giggled quietly.

The woman opened her eyes, waking up again. She shot a look at the two of them, but they sat prim and proper in their seats with their hands folded on the desk, looking like model citizens.

As if in response, she fell promptly back asleep.

Adrien turned to look at Marinette, smiling.

She was, once again, struck by his handsome features. Those big green eyes. That glowing smile.

And he was directing all his attention on her.

But she sighed internally, remembering the truth. He’d friendzoned her. Hardcore. They were “best friends” now. Which was absolutely wonderful, it truly truly was, but…

It was also the saddest situation she’d ever been in in her entire life.

She smiled back at him, suppressing the need to wince.

Adrien leaned in and whispered, “You’re gonna love the movie I’ve picked out for tonight.”

Chills ran up and down her arms. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“What’s it about?”

“You’ll see.”

She frowned suddenly. “Wait. Is this happening at my house or your house?”

“My house.”

“How am I going to be let in? Your father is very strict, is he not?”

Adrien blushed slightly. “Well, I was actually thinking… you could come in the same way you did Friday night. As Ladybug. Just enter my room through the window. I’ll tell Nathalie that I’m taking a nap, and then I’ll lock the bedroom door.”

It was her turn to blush. Hard. “Oh… okay.”

They were going to be in Adrien’s room. And he was going to lock the door.

The elderly woman snored so loudly that she woke herself up again.

She took out a book and opened it, peering at the two over the pages before starting to read.

Marinette itched.

Sitting still for so long was proving to be quite the task.

The seconds ticked by, as if in slow motion, and she stifled the urge to yawn.

Tap, tap.

She looked down at her foot.

Adrien had moved his foot over to hers, and had… tapped it?

She turned to look at him curiously, but he stared straight ahead at the substitute teacher with a blank expression.

The tapping happened again, and this time she looked down quickly enough to see it. He had tapped her foot! She saw it!

She frowned. What was he doing?

Tap, tap.

She stared at him, but he continued to look straight ahead. As she watched him, he tapped her foot again.

Mystified, she tapped his foot in return, and watched the corners of his mouth turn up.

Tap, tap.

She couldn’t help but slowly smile too.

Tap, tap.

She tapped his foot back.

Tap, tap.

He tapped hers.

Tap, tap.

She tapped his.

Adrien swallowed a laugh that was desperately threatening to overcome him. He made a choking noise, and Marinette grinned.

Tap, tap.

Tap, tap.

Tap, tap.

“All right, you two, detention’s over,” the woman stood up abruptly and slammed the book down.

The teenagers froze with their feet on each other, and then quickly brought their legs back to their own sides, and stood up.

Marinette collected her bag while Adrien slung his over his shoulder, and the two filed out of the classroom.

As soon as they were out the door, Marinette groaned wearily. “Sitting still is the worst.”

“Yeah…” Adrien gave her a knowing smile. “It is.”

Her eyes widened as he looked pointedly down at her feet. She looked down too, then caught his eyes. She stared at him, and he winked.

An impish grin broke out across her face, and she mustered up her courage… to wink back.

“See you at seven… my lady.” He kept his voice low, and his eyes glittered with secrecy.

She smiled back at him, and realized he was wrong. They did have an inside joke besides the oven one. They had the biggest inside joke in the universe.

She was Ladybug, and he was Chat Noir.

And they had just suffered through detention together.

If they could get through that, then as partners, they could get through anything.
___________________________

Marinette paced in her room, the clock on her wall reading six forty-five. It was almost time to head over to her crush’s house. To sit in his room. And watch an anime together.

She couldn’t hold back the butterflies.

Her phone buzzed, alerting her to a text message. She looked down and saw that it was from Alya.

It read, “Okay girl. Spill.”

She hesitated, and then responded, “Spill what?”

The phone buzzed again almost immediately.

“What in the world was written in that note from Adrien?!”

She halted. What should she say?

She looked over at Tikki, who was taking a nap in her cozy little spot on the desk. Tikki would tell her to tell the truth to her best friend.

She thought for a moment before typing out her reply. “He invited me over to watch a movie at his house.”

The phone buzzed once, then twice, then a third time.

“OH MY GOSH.”

“YOU’RE JOKING.”

“ARE YOU GOING? MARINETTE? ANSWER ME WOMAN.”

Marinette giggled. Her friend was so excited for her.

The phone buzzed again.

“ARE YOU EXCITED? YOU DON’T SOUND EXCITED. WHY AREN’T YOU RESPONDING. HELLO????”

Marinette decided that approximately right now would be the time to start typing in uppercase letters.

It was a good thing, too. She had a lot of pent-up excitement about the whole situation.

“YES I’M GOING!!! I’M GOING RIGHT NOW! ALYA, I’VE NEVER BEEN MORE EXCITED ABOUT SOMETHING IN MY LIFE.”

“THAT SOUNDS LIKE MY GIRL! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO SAY? OH MY GOSH, WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO WEAR?”

“JUST THE SAME CLOTHES I WORE TO SCHOOL TODAY. GONNA KEEP IT FASHIONABLY CASUAL.”

“GREAT IDEA. YOU’RE A GENIUS. OH MY GOSH, I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! TELL. ME. EVERYTHING ABOUT TONIGHT.”

“I PROMISE I WILL! I LOVE YOU TOO!”

“SO IT’S A DATE RIGHT? IT’S GOTTA BE A DATE. HE LIKES YOU BACK, MARINETTE! I CAN’T BELIEVE IT! I MEAN, I CAN BELIEVE IT, IT’S YOU WE’RE TALKING ABOUT AFTER ALL. AHHHHHHHH!”

Marinette stared down at her phone, conflicted. She knew that it wasn’t a date. But she didn’t want to say that they’d just become friends suddenly, friends who were close enough to hang out after school despite hardly talking to each other a week before, because that would seem fishy to Alya. So she carefully typed out her response.

“I don’t know if it’s a date or not. BUT I PROMISE that I’ll give you ALL the details about tonight, and you can help me figure it out!”

She breathed a sigh of relief. That sounded realistic enough.

The phone buzzed.

“OKAY!!! IT’S TOTALLY A DATE.”

Marinette winced slightly. Oh, how she wished it could be.

She put her phone in her pocket and patted Tikki gently. The little kwami woke up and beamed at Marinette. “Are you ready?” she asked, excited for her human.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Marinette said, her stomach twisting in knots. “Tikki, transform me!”
___________________________

Adrien had locked the door, turned on his large computer hanging on the wall, and had turned his large white couch around so that it faced the monitor. He was wearing his usual clothes minus his jacket, which he’d thrown onto the bed.

The bed.

He looked at his bed, the blue blanket and the two pillows, and he felt a heavy warmth spread throughout his chest. He imagined holding Marinette in that bed, and stroking her hair, and nuzzling her neck…

“Ugh.” He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, ridding himself of the image. “She doesn’t like me that way. I need to stop thinking about her like that.”

Plagg made a “tsk” noise. “And inviting her over to your house will definitely help the matter.”

“Leave me alone, Plagg,” Adrien muttered.

“As you wish. But do you mind giving me some camembert on my way out?”

At that moment, Ladybug swung through the large window which he’d left opened behind them. Adrien whirled around and stared at her, momentarily awed.

She always looked so beautiful.

“Sorry I’m late,” she said, fiddling with her hands.

“No, no, you’re right on time!” Adrien walked over to her and placed an arm around her shoulder.

She melted under his touch, but she did not dare show it.

He let go and gestured toward the room. “Shall we?”

She nodded. “Tikki, de-transform.”

Her transformation gave out before his eyes, and she became Marinette.

His smile deepened. “It’s so cool to watch that, you know.”

She blushed. “Why? It’s just plain old me. I’d think it would be cooler to watch when I transform into Ladybug than when I de-transform.”

He shook his head. “It’s amazing both ways. Trust me.”

“I agree with him, Marinette!” A tiny voice piped up.

Marinette smiled shyly at Adrien. “It’s time you meet my kwami personally. Adrien, this is Tikki. Tikki, Adrien.”

“It’s nice to meet you Adrien!” Tikki floated toward his face and tapped him on the nose.

He laughed. “You’re cute!”

Tikki giggled bashfully. “Aw, shucks, Adrien. I see why Marinette speaks so highly of you.”

Marinette gasped, but Adrien beamed at her with one of his mega-watt smiles.

“She does, does she?”

“Is anyone gonna introduce me?” Plagg whined in the background. Adrien turned to him and beckoned. “C’mere, Plagg. Marinette, this is my kwami, Plagg. Plagg,” his voice became tighter as he clenched his teeth sternly, “This is Marinette.”

“Ah, Marinette. The esteemed Ladybug. A pleasure,” Plagg bowed before her, and she giggled.

“You’re adorable, Plagg.”

Plagg blinked at her, as if hearing these words for the first time. “Why, and what a fine lady she is! Adrien, you picked goo”-

“Aaaand it’s movie time!” Adrien interrupted, swatting the kwami away.

Tikki floated toward the miffed Plagg and took him by the paw. “Come on, Plagg, we have a lot to talk about. We’ll just be outside the window if you guys need us!”

“Okay!” Adrien and Marinette chimed.

The kwamis left, and the two teenagers were left alone. They looked at each other and then both bashfully looked away.

“I’ll just start the movie,” Adrien said, walking toward the monitor.

Marinette admired his desktop screen of his beautiful mother. She remembered the last time she’d been in here, as Ladybug, and he had stepped out of the shower and told her that she had her smile.

Wait a second…

“You weren’t really taking a shower that day that the hypnotist was akumatized, were you?” Marinette raised an eyebrow at him.

Adrien looked at her, surprised, before relaxing his features. “Oh! Uh, yes. No I wasn’t.”

She shook her head and chuckled. “What a funny thing. I knew it was a bit odd for you to be taking a shower while an akuma attack was occurring at your house.”

He laughed too. “Sometimes the excuses I made up so that people wouldn’t know I was Chat Noir were so far-fetched I couldn’t believe anyone bought them.”

“Same here,” she agreed.

“And yet, the strange thing is, they always will believe us.” Adrien clicked on an application on his computer. “They’ll probably believe us no matter what.”

“Speaking of people believing things that aren’t true…” Marinette swallowed. Adrien gave her his full attention. “…I ended up admitting to Alya that I was coming over to your house tonight.”

“So?” Adrien smiled.

“So…” Marinette twiddled her thumbs. “…she thinks it’s a date.”

Adrien’s smile disappeared.

“Oh.”

Marinette sighed. “Yeah. I don’t know what to tell her. Because it seems a bit suspicious to say, ‘No, we’re just friends who hang out’, because we never hung out before. As… civilians.”

Adrien looked like he was thinking hard.

“That is a bit suspicious,” he said finally. “But… I think I know what we can do to keep our friends off our backs.”

“And what is that?”

His heart racing, he looked at her with a pleading expression. “Please don’t misinterpret what I’m about to say. But… we could actually make this a date.”

She wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “Make this… a date?” She whispered.

He lifted his hands in a “don’t-kill-me” demeanor. “What I mean to say is, we can pretend it’s a date. To our friends. That will keep them from getting suspicious about us.”

Her heart sunk. “Are you saying… what I think you’re saying?”

He looked at her with eyebrows raised hopefully. “I’m saying… let’s pretend we’re dating. That way, we can hang out all we want, without getting any questions. You saw how our class reacted today when we passed a note. If we just go ahead and say, ‘yeah, we’re in a relationship’, sure we’ll get teased at first, but then no one will bat an eye at us talking to each other. And it’ll help for when akuma attacks strike… we can be hanging out already, so that we’ll be prepared immediately. We’ll be separated less often, but I’m sure you won’t mind, since we’re already best friends.”

His breath caught in his throat as he waited for her response, and her mind raced with thoughts. Thoughts of this being the most wonderful idea she’d ever heard of, and also thoughts of this being the most painful plan ever concocted.

“How long are we supposed to pretend we’re dating?” She asked helplessly. “What if… what if you fall for someone and then want to take them out, and you can’t? What then?”

Adrien spoke slowly, trying not to betray his feelings. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

She buried her face in her hands. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.”

“Hey,” he said gently, walking over to her and prying her hands away. He held her hands in his own and brought them close to his chest in a tender motion. “Please don’t worry. If it’s too much for you, we don’t have to pretend anything. We can just tell Alya and Nino that we’re friends now. I’m sure they’ll believe us.”

But Marinette shook her head bitterly. He didn’t know. He didn’t know about her crush… but Alya knew. And Alya simply wouldn’t believe her if she told her that they were hanging out as friends.

“No, you’re right, pretending is a good idea,” she found herself saying aloud. “Alya has been convinced for a while now that I like you,” she lied. “I tried to tell her that I only look at you as a friend, but she wouldn’t budge. If we just go out and say we’re dating… well, let’s just say she’ll fall right into whatever we say completely. We’ll have her sold on the idea.”

Adrien’s heart sank to his stomach. So it was true, then. She only viewed him as a friend.

He tried to keep his tone even and light as he spoke. “Great.” Still holding her hands, he got down on one knee before her.

She furrowed her brows. “What are you doi”-

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” A goofy smile was plastered over his face, hiding his pain. He looked up at her hopefully, and savored the moment, as he knew it would be the closest thing to ever asking her the question he so desperately wished he could actually ask. “Will you be my… my pretend girlfriend?”

Marinette swallowed the lump in her throat that had been forming ever since he brought up the idea. This was going to be so painful.

With a fake smile on her quivering lips, she nodded. “Of course, mon ami. It would be an honor, as your best friend and partner. To help our friendship in any way I can, of course.”

He stood up, let go of her hands, and bowed theatrically. He then looked into her eyes earnestly for a moment, and she tried to catch her breath.

“We’re dating now.”

“Yes,” she nodded, in a daze. The words repeated themselves in her mind, as if on a loop.

We’re dating now. We’re dating now. We’re dating now.

“Pretend dating, of course.”

“Yes,” was all she could say.

He ducked his head so she wouldn’t catch his grimace.

She looked away so he wouldn’t see her pain.

Then the two looked at the monitor, at Adrien’s mother’s picture.

“So… the movie?” Marinette tried to make her voice sound happy.

“Ah, yes.” Adrien jumped, clicking the “play” button. “It’s a slice-of-life mixed with fantasy adventure called Kiki’s Delivery Service. A great starter for a new anime watcher.”

“Great,” she said, her lips still quivering slightly.

The two settled on the couch, three inches of space between them.

They enjoyed the movie immensely, but throughout the entire thing, two things bothered the teenagers.

One was the word “pretend”.

The other was the fact that their hands were empty at their sides, when all they wanted to do was hold each other’s.

Chapter Text

Tuesday morning arrived.

Adrien had convinced his bodyguard to take him to school half an hour early, and now he was one of the first students to be there.

He sat on the steps, his leg bouncing with nervousness and anticipation.

He waited.

Ten minutes passed, and several students filed into the school grounds. But none of them was the girl he was waiting for.

Another ten minutes passed. He grew anxious. Nino and Alya would be here soon, and he wanted to make sure they saw him with-

“Marinette!” He brightened as she walked up to the steps. He stood up and waited for her to join his side.

She flushed, taking her place beside him. “Good morning, Adrien,” she said, her voice uneven and hesitant.

He figured she must be nervous too. After all, today was the first day they were going to put on a show.

They saw Alya approaching with Nino at the same, and Chloe in the distance with Sabrina, who were also walking towards him. He swallowed. It was now or never.

“Are you ready?” He whispered to her.

“Ready for what?” She looked up at him.

“For this,” he said softly, before resting his palm against hers, and sliding it up to lace their fingers together. He focused, for a moment, on her hand.

It was very, very soft and small.

They heard several collective gasps. Alya and Nino froze in front of them, staring at their joined hands. Chloe screamed in the distance.

“WHAT are they DOING?” She wailed. Sabrina grabbed her and pulled her into the building with a panicked expression. “First notes, now this?! He’s supposed to hold MY hand!” She was heard screaming from within the school walls, with Sabrina trying – and failing – to pacify her.

“Well, well, well,” Alya said breathlessly, shaking her head at them. She locked her eyes on Marinette, who averted her gaze. This was all too much.

“Adrien, my man!” Nino clapped his hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “You guys are a thing now? Awesome! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“This is our way of telling you,” Adrien said happily. He cleared his throat. “It happened last night… on our date. Didn’t it, Marinette?”

“Oh, yes,” Marinette nodded dumbly, looking from Alya to Nino and back. Her hand was starting to form sweat, but Adrien’s hand was still clamped onto it tightly. She thought she might faint. “We… he asked me out before the movie.”

Alya squealed and grabbed her other hand. “Oh. My. Goodness. Adrien, you have no idea how long this girl has been in love with you. You’ve made her dreams come true!”

Scratch that. Now she was definitely going to faint.

But Adrien shook his head and smoothly replied, “Actually, it’s my dreams that have come true. I’ve liked her for the longest time too.” He beamed down at her, and she smiled weakly back.

“How did you ask her?!” Alya jumped up and down.

Both of the teens in question blushed. Marinette looked up at him and said, “Well… he… got down on one knee. And asked me to be his girlfriend.”

Nino’s eyes widened at Adrien, and Alya screeched.

“Like a PROPOSAL? That is the CUTEST thing I have EVER heard in my entire LIFE! Oh Adrien, MAJOR props!” She threw her arms around the two of them, and they stumbled in her hold, still holding hands.

Nino let out a hearty laugh as Alya let go of them. “Dudes, this made my morning. I say we make a toast to it! After school, let’s all go to the milkshake shop and get ourselves some drinks to celebrate!”

“Milkshakes sound so good right now,” Alya closed her eyes blissfully. “Can we please?”

Adrien and Marinette looked at each other questioningly, and then back at their friends.

They both spoke at once.

“Definitely.”

“Of course.”

“Excellent!” Nino grinned at them. “You two lovebirds can share a milkshake… and so can we…” he softened his voice a bit bashfully as he turned to look at Alya, who beamed at him.

Alya squealed again. “Finally, we can all go on double dates! This is wonderful! Oh, I’m so happy!”

The bell rang, and the students who had been standing around the four of them watching the event transpire turned away to walk up the steps. As the front doors were opened by Kim and Max, Chloe’s scream of rage was heard again.

Adrien sighed.

But Marinette squeezed his hand, very gently, and his face instantly perked up. He looked down at her with what could only be described as adoration, and Marinette’s breath caught in her throat.

His acting felt so… real.

But that was all it was. Acting.

And her heart ached.
________________________

The school day dragged, but it passed.

At the final bell, Alya dragged Adrien and Marinette by the wrists excitedly out of the classroom, Nino in tow. She whooped and hollered and cheered, ready to go to the milkshake shop.

But Adrien had forgotten to check his schedule to make sure he’d be allowed to.

So the four of them stood outside, the three waiting patiently as Adrien called his father’s secretary.

“Nathalie? It’s me. I was wondering, do I have fencing practice today? Okay. Wait, what about that photoshoot? Or is that tomorrow? Oh, tomorrow? Okay, good. Thank you. No reason. All right, goodbye.”

He gave them the thumbs-up, and Alya and Nino cheered. Marinette looked down at her feet.

Alya took Nino by the hand, interlocking their fingers. He smiled at her, and then turned to look at Adrien and Marinette, whose hands were by their sides.

Adrien quickly realized with a start what he was supposed to do again.

He slid his hand into Marinette’s, reveling in how delicate it felt. Recalling how badly he’d wanted to hold her hand last night, he thought contentedly that this “pretend dating” idea maybe wasn’t so bad.

And while she held his hand and walked down the street to the milkshake shop, Marinette briefly thought the same thing.
________________________

They slid into the booth after making their orders and receiving their milkshakes.

Alya talked animatedly about how great it was that they could have double dates from now on, and how she’d held her breath waiting for this day to arrive since forever, and how cute Adrien and Marinette were as a couple.

All this talk, of course, led to some very red-faced teens. Which only encouraged Alya to tease them further.

Finally, her phone buzzed with a notification, interrupting her spiel. She gasped in delight. “I now have ten thousand followers on the Ladyblog! Oh my gosh, two celebrations in one day! Imagine if Ladybug found out about all my followers. She would probably be so proud! Remember that one time I interviewed her? Maybe I can get her to do it again, if I can catch her after the action! I just have to be extra alert for akuma attacks. Oh my gosh, can this day get any better?”

Nino high-fived his girlfriend. Alya beamed.

Marinette thought the irony of it all was going to kill her.

“Congratulations, Alya,” Adrien said. “I’m sure Ladybug would love to give you another interview.” He turned over to Marinette with a knowing grin. “Don’t you think so, Marinette? She’s such a generous superhero, after all.”

Marinette couldn’t help smiling back at him. “You know what I think? I think Chat Noir is due for an interview. We don’t get enough of him on the Ladyblog. What do you think, Alya?”

“Oh yes,” Alya agreed solemnly. “We can never overlook Chat Noir.”

“He is so important,” Marinette said calmly, taking a sip of her milkshake. “He’s like the yin to Ladybug’s yang.”

“I agree,” Adrien nudged her with his shoulder, his voice light and teasing.

Alya eyed both of them with a raised eyebrow. “You guys are such flirts,” she said, smiling widely. “You can’t even talk about superheroes without acting like you’re the only two people in the room.”

“Or in the world,” Nino agreed, chuckling.

Adrien and Marinette both reddened considerably.

“W-well, that’s what happens when you’re in love,” he stated matter-of-factly, putting an arm firmly around Marinette.

She leaned into his touch, unable to help herself. Her mind jumped back to their night on the roof, his arms surrounding her. “Yeah,” she said softly.

“So tell me about yesterday. What was detention like with each other?” Alya rested her chin in her hands and winked at Marinette.

Marinette sputtered. “Well, he, I mean, we… we sat there, and we… and we…”

Adrien spoke up. “You want to know the honest truth? We tapped on each other’s feet the entire time.”

Marinette’s face had gone entirely red. She covered it with her hands.

Alya gasped in delight. “Really?”

Adrien nodded and took his arm off Marinette’s shoulder, much to her combined relief and chagrin. “Mhm. I tapped her foot first, and then she did it back. It was at that moment that I knew that she liked me. So asking her out on our date was a piece of cake.”

Marinette didn’t know how she felt about all this. About him twisting the truth.

She had to remind herself that they had agreed to do this. And it was only natural to lie in order to keep things realistic.

“Yeah,” she piped up, taking the reins. “Adrien was really obvious, by the way. I knew he liked me the moment he passed me the note in class. It was really cute. He asked, ‘Will you watch anime with a nerd like me?’ Totally adorable.”

Adrien laughed nervously beside her as Alya squealed and Nino nodded in approval.

“You say you knew in that moment?” He asked, looking at her out of the corner of his eye.

She looked at him head-on. “Yes, I did,” she said simply.

She didn’t know it, but he gulped.
________________________

After the double date was over, and Alya and Nino had said their goodbyes, Marinette and Adrien stood underneath the milkshake shop canopy and looked at each other shyly.

“You… you did some good acting back there,” Adrien said.

“You… too.” Marinette said.

“Do you want me to walk you home?” Adrien offered.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that,” Marinette said, flustered.

“Just let him walk you home!” Tikki exclaimed from within her purse.

“Yeah,” Plagg chimed in from inside his jacket.

The teenagers paused and then laughed at the indignance of their kwamis, dispelling some of the awkwardness from the air.

“Well, looks like our minds have been made up for us.” Adrien offered his arm to her. “Shall we, my lady?”

Marinette blushed deeply as she took his arm. Would he always have this crazy effect on her?

The two walked silently toward the bakery.

The sun was setting, the sky a brilliant combination of dark blue, pink, orange, and purple.

“Say goodbye to your favorite color,” Adrien said to her as they walked up to her front door, gesturing toward the sun.

Marinette turned her eyes toward the sunset. “Goodbye, yellow,” she murmured. She then opened the door of the bakery. “Thank you for walking”-

“Adrien!” Her parents cried from within.

Both teens jumped.

Marinette’s mother, Sabine, rushed outside, her arms outstretched, and enveloped Adrien in a hug.

What happened next surprised Marinette to no end.

Her father picked him up and squeezed him, letting him down gently before tousling his hair.

“Hello, sir,” Adrien said slowly, alarmed.

“Papa, Mama,” Marinette squeaked. “What are you guys doing?”

“Alya texted me the great news!” Sabine held up her phone happily. “Your father and I are so proud, Marinette. You picked a sweet young man to be your boyfriend.”

Adrien’s cheeks turned pink, and Marinette slapped her hand to her forehead. “Alya…” she moaned.

“Yes, he’s a fine young man indeed!” Marinette’s father said joyfully. “I always liked him. Now come on inside, everybody! We’re having a special dinner in Adrien’s honor!”

“I couldn’t possibly”- Adrien started.

“You must!” Sabine and Tom both exclaimed with hopeful expressions.

Overwhelmed, Adrien looked to Marinette, and then back to her parents. “…Okay,” he finally said, shooting Marinette a look of apology.

Her palms were sweating. Badly.
________________________

The four of them sat at the table.

Adrien ate in contentment. Despite his home having its own personal chef, he knew without a doubt that this meal surpassed any of the meals he had at home. It just… somehow tasted better.

Marinette picked at her food.

“Marinette, darling, eat,” Sabine stressed. “How are you ever going to have another growth spurt if you don’t eat?” Turning to Adrien, she smiled and said, “The doctor says she’s supposed to grow at least another two inches.”

Adrien nodded. “My doctor says I have another five or so inches to go.”

Marinette imagined him taller, and he looked somehow even more perfect. She tried to take a bite out of her dinner. She chewed slowly.

“So.” Tom slapped his hands together, turning to Adrien. “How did the two of you become an item, son?”

“You know what, I’m stuffed,” Marinette announced. “Adrien and I are going to go up to my room and do homework.”

Adrien was glad he’d eaten nearly all of his meal. “It was very delicious, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. Thank you so much.”

“It’s our pleasure, Adrien,” Sabine positively glowed.

“Come on, Adrien,” Marinette emphasized his name. “Let’s go do homework now.”

He followed her up the stairs and through the trap door that opened up to her bedroom.

She closed the door and locked it once they were both standing there, and let out a sigh.

He sighed too.

“I wasn’t anticipating your parents finding out,” he admitted.

“Me neither,” Marinette shook her head. “But now they know, and there’s nothing we can do.”

They stood silently for a moment, and then Adrien spoke again. “I don’t think I realized how much… would have to go into this act.”

“Neither did I.”

Plagg sprung out from inside Adrien’s jacket.

“You two are ridiculous. Just admit to each other- ow!”

Adrien seized him tightly, and the kwami grunted, being pushed back into the jacket.

Marinette eyed him curiously.

Adrien shook his head. “Plagg has some funny ideas sometimes.”

“Ah.”

“So… are we really doing homework?”

“Nope,” her eyes glinted with a hint of excitement. “We’re escaping.”

“We are?”

She nodded, opened her purse, and commanded her kwami, “Tikki, transform me!”

A grin slowly spread across Adrien’s face as he realized how they were going to spend their evening.
________________________

Chat Noir and Ladybug raced each other across the rooftops of Paris. Leaping, bounding, jumping, flying. They hit the roofs with a thud, but took off lighter than air.

Now, they were free. They didn’t have to pretend they were dating and suffer internal turmoil. They could be themselves, and they could touch the sky.

Chat felt like he could sing. It was just him and his lady, swinging across rooftops in a harmony and melody that only they could understand.

She whipped her head back and grinned at him. “Bet you can’t catch me!” she said in a singsong voice.

Exhilarated, Chat took off faster than lightning. But she was faster, and she whooped with delight as he chased after her. She leaped upon one, then two, then three buildings, and by the fourth rooftop, he had caught up with her.

Grabbing hold of her arms, he tried to skid to a stop, but his momentum carried the pair across the entire rooftop, and they tumbled in a heap around and around and around – until they stopped, Chat on top of her body, his arms surrounding her like a castle, his legs around her legs, both of them breathing heavily.

He propped himself up with his arms and looked down at her, and she looked up at him.

It was at that moment, as they stared into each other’s eyes, that the mood between them shifted. Without thinking, Ladybug raised her hands and brought them to his shoulders, admiring the rippling in his arms. He paused.

She brought her attention back to his face with a start, but her hands remained where they were.

With his lips parted, his hair disheveled and messy because of the night’s wind, and his eyes big and round and oh so green, he looked partly like a model and partly like an animal.

And the way his arms were propped up on both her sides, towering over her, felt like something dangerously primal.

She gasped as she breathed, feeling the way his shoulder muscles twitched underneath her hands. She didn’t want to let go. She didn’t know how to let go.

He drew closer to her, and she didn’t stop him.

Eyes wide and fixated on each other, the two stared.

Chat’s heart pounded. “Marinette…”

“Yes?” She whispered, the heat from his body overwhelming her.

“I…” He searched her eyes desperately.

Suddenly, he crushed her. He let his entire body weight fall upon hers, and he slid his hands underneath her body, holding her. His nose went into the crook of her neck, and his eyes fluttered shut. Her hands went out from under him, and she rested them on the small of his back, her arms enveloping him.

“What are we doing?” Ladybug asked, her eyes wide, her chest rising and falling.

Chat pressed his nose further into her covered neck, eyes refusing to open.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled, his hold on her tightening, his body fully resting on top of hers.

Their legs intertwined, and Ladybug’s vision became spotty. She felt heat everywhere.

“Is this… is this something you need right now?” She whispered into his ear.

Chat hesitated, and then gave his answer. “Yes. I just need a hug from a friend.”

A friend, he thought bitterly. Just a friend.

“Okay,” she whispered, and after a moment of contemplation, she gently ran her hands up and down his back in a comforting gesture.

Overcome by the sensation of her hands on his back and his body on top of hers and his feelings for her and the unfairness of their situation, his eyes brimmed with tears. And unlike the last time, this time, he was unable to control them or bid them away.

The tears fell, one by one, until Marinette felt one trickling down her neck underneath her suit. She gasped and turned her head so that they were facing each other while lying down, a mere inch apart.

“Adrien!” She grabbed his face in her hands and pulled him up so that she could look into his eyes. “What’s wrong, Minou?”

He had to think up a lie, fast.

But he couldn’t.

So instead he went with a half-truth. “It’s just… I don’t get hugs often. From anyone. Especially with my mother gone. So for you to hold me like this… it means a lot, Marinette.”

Her expression softened from one of worry to understanding. “Everyone needs hugs,” she said softly. “I’m sorry I questioned you when you did it. I’m just… not used to hugs lying down.” Here, she blushed.

He blushed as well. “We can get up.”

She wanted to tell him no.

He wanted her to tell him no.

But instead, the two helped each other stand up.

And when he kept his hands firmly at his sides, embarrassed by what he’d done, she took the first step forward and wrapped her arms around his middle. He relaxed into her petite form, resting his chin on her shoulder, and embraced her. The two held each other, internal emotions screaming at both of them due to the intimacy, but neither budged.

They were both able to accept that this is what friends did.

Friends hugged.

And, Ladybug realized, this was also what couples did. Perhaps they could use this moment as practice, for their pretend relationship.

But for some reason, she couldn’t bring herself to say that thought out loud.

Because she wanted this moment to be real. It didn’t matter if it was platonic, for him. At least it was real.

“I love you, my friend.” Chat said with a broken voice.

She closed her eyes, her body pressed against him. “I love you too.”

“You’re the greatest friend I’ve ever had.”

She squeezed him. “And you are mine.”

He squeezed back, and butterflies were everywhere.

They began to sway.

“What’s on your mind?” He murmured.

“You don’t want to know,” she whispered.

“Try me,” he whispered back.

What she wanted to say was, “One day was enough. Agreeing to pretend with you was the most painful decision I have ever made. I want to be your girlfriend for real.”

What she said instead was, “I crawled into an oven, and I don’t know how to crawl out.”

“What did you do?” He sunk his lips to her shoulder, gently pressing, and they continued to sway.

“I’m afraid that despite our friendship, there are still some things I can’t tell you, mon ami. There are still some secrets I have, and I ask you to respect that.”

He nodded against her shoulder. “Okay. I have some secrets too.”

“And that’s okay.”

“Right. That’s okay.”

But his mind screamed that it wasn’t okay. He wanted to tell her everything. And he wanted to know everything about her.

They stopped swaying, and she pulled back to look at him. “Feeling better?”

He nodded. “Very much so. Thank you, Marinette.”

“Anytime,” she said without thinking, and then reddened. He didn’t seem to notice, though.

“I suppose it’s getting late,” he said reluctantly.

“Yeah.” She rubbed her own arm, missing the physical contact between them.

“Let’s get ourselves home.” He took out his baton, swinging it.

She in turn took out her yo-yo. “Okay.”

They gave each other one last, lingering look, one that she couldn’t quite read and he couldn’t either, and the two were off to their respective homes.

As Ladybug swung her way to her terrace, she couldn’t help but think that something in their final exchange had definitely been missing.

Something like a kiss.

Chapter Text

Two weeks went by.

Akuma attacks took up most of Marinette’s and Adrien’s time, besides their school and extracurricular activities. When they weren’t fighting akumas in public, they were pretending in public; which mainly meant holding hands whenever they were together.

It became something they were used to. On the weekends, Alya would suggest a double date of some sort. Last weekend it was shopping, this weekend it was ice skating.

Marinette and Adrien shopped, walked, and skated arm in arm, never leaving each other’s side when in public.

But when they were Ladybug and Chat Noir, it was no longer forced. They would fight in synch, run in synch, and leap off buildings in synch. They would exclaim “Good job!” after she tossed her Lucky Charm in the air, and he would kiss her hand. They would celebrate after battles by running across rooftops.

They would, on one occasion or two, spend a few minutes in each other’s arms in the moonlight.

And so they fell into a pattern that was neither pushed nor pulled by anyone, including themselves.

Marinette was afraid to change the pace of their fake relationship, for fear that he would discover that she wasn’t actually pretending.

Adrien was afraid that the pretending would go too far, and that he would lose it, and that she would discover that he wasn’t actually pretending.

And so the two walked on eggshells whenever they held hands or talked to people together. The only solace they had was when they were behind their masks. It became a ritual for them to find a temporary escape in each other when transformed. A ritual they both reveled in.
____________________________

Another week passed, and another weekend fell upon them. Alya and Nino wanted to go to the movie theater, and so Marinette and Adrien dutifully stood behind their friends to buy tickets.

An akuma victim made his presence known within the theater, and Adrien and Marinette rushed outside the exit to transform. When they returned, half of the theater was covered in slimy goo by the akuma’s doing.

They fought for five long minutes, before Ladybug came to a realization.

“The akuma must be in his weapon!” Ladybug exclaimed to Chat, who nodded obediently and got close enough to the villain to set a cataclysm upon his weapon. He then tossed the destroyed pieces over to Ladybug, who smashed them with her leg. “No more evil-doing for you, little akuma.” She purified the akuma, and then tossed her Lucky Charm into the air, crying out, “Lucky Char- OWW!”

She hunched over and grabbed her stomach, wincing in pain. Immediately concerned, Chat rushed to her side and put his hand on her shoulder.

“My lady?”

“Wow!” Alya shouted, hurrying over with her phone camera. “Ladybug and Chat Noir!”

Ladybug squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered. Chat Noir looked over her with worry. “My lady, are you all right?”

Ladybug, very slowly, shook her head “no” at the ground.

Chat put his arm around her, and his other arm under her, and picked her up. She curled into his body and moaned in pain.

“Out of the way please!” He said to Alya, who immediately backed away to let him move through. He got out of the theater and rushed them into an abandoned alley.

He carefully set her down on the ground and knelt down next to her, his hands holding her head on his lap, his eyes round and full of concern.

“What can I do to help you?” He asked her.

She clenched her teeth in pain. “I have no idea. I don’t know what’s happening to me. Everything hurts, Adrien.”

“Plagg, de-transform,” the boy commanded.

“Tikki… de-transform,” the girl said, cringing.

Their transformations gave out, and the teenage boy eyed her up and down, trying to find any signs of what was going wrong.

He halted when he noticed her pants.

“Marinette,” he whispered, his eyes wide.

“What? What is it?” She tried getting up, then winced at the sharp cramp in her stomach.

His hands trembled, but he pointed to her pants.

“LOOK.” He averted his gaze.

She looked down to see blood, and promptly let out a mortified yelp.

It was Adrien’s turn to wince.

She began panicking. “Adrien… I’ve never had my period before… I don’t know what to do!”

“I’ll walk you home,” he said immediately. “I’ll carry you home!”

“No,” she shook her head adamantly. “I am not going to my house like this. I need to go to a bathroom. I need… I need…” Heat spread across her cheeks, and she cramped up again, groaning.

Adrien was at a loss. “Well… do you think… you can stay in this alley, and I can get you… stuff?” He asked helplessly. “And then I’ll walk you home?”

She thought for a moment, and then slowly nodded. “I’m afraid that’s what’s gonna have to happen.” She grimaced. “I’m so so so sorry Adrien.”

“Please don’t apologize,” he said, his cheeks reddening. “I’ll be right back! If you don’t feel safe in this alley, transform back into Ladybug.”

“I think I’m fine,” she said, embarrassed. “Please just hurry.”

“There’s a pharmacy right down the street,” Adrien said, trying not to focus on her pants. “I will hurry.”

The boy ran toward the store, almost getting hit by an oncoming vehicle in his distraction. He whipped out his cell phone and called Alya.

“Adrien? What happened to you guys? An akuma attack happened at the theater and”-

“I know.” Adrien ran into the store, looking this way and that for the feminine product aisle. “Marinette wasn’t feeling well after the attack, so I took her home. You guys enjoy the movie.”

“Okay, Adrien. Tell her I hope she feels better!”

“I will.”

Adrien hung up and walked down each aisle of the store very quickly, until reaching aisle ten. The sign over the aisle stated “diapers, toilet paper, and feminine products”.

“Bingo,” Adrien muttered, walking into the aisle. He was met with a lot of pink.

Which one should he choose? He surveyed the aisle desperately, trying to figure out what kind she might need. Some were tampons, and some were pads. And they all came in different sizes.

“Do you need help, sir?” He jumped and turned around. A kindly looking woman with a nametag smiled down at him.

“Yes please,” Adrien nodded. “My… my girlfriend is sick, and I’m not sure what to get her.”

The woman looked at him sympathetically. “Well aren’t you sweet. Do you know about her flow?”

“Her… what?” He shook his head. “No, this is her first time.”

“Oh!” the woman raised her eyebrows up. “Then you’re going to want to get her these.” She grabbed a pack titled “Maxi-pads” and handed them to him. “And come with me,” she said, beckoning.

He followed her like a lost puppy among the aisles. She brought him to the medicine aisle. “These are painkillers. For cramps.”

He sighed in relief. “Thank you so much, madam! You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

“I’m happy to help,” she said with a smile. She then tilted her head at him. “Say, you look familiar. Aren’t you…?”

“I need to go madam, but thank you so much for your help,” he said quickly, turning away.

She gasped as he tried to walk off. “Adrien Agreste! The famous teen model! Who is your girlfriend, young man?”

He stopped in his tracks and turned back around. He hesitated. But he wasn’t going to lie. He was proud to be dating Marinette. Even if it was all pretend. “Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” she repeated, as if to herself. She then smiled brightly at him. “Well Adrien, I’m happy I could help. Make sure to buy a bottle of water to go with the medicine.”

“I will,” he nodded. “Thanks again!”
____________________________

“Adrien, thank you so much,” Marinette threw her arms around him once she’d stepped out of the theater bathroom.

He hugged her back. “It was my pleasure to help, my lady.”

“I do have one more little problem though,” she admitted, gesturing to her pink pants that were soaked in red in one specific area.

“Oh! Um…” Adrien peeled off his white jacket and handed it to her. “To tie around your middle,” he explained.

She did just that, and shot him an appreciative glance. “You are the bestest friend in the history of best friends,” she said. “This could’ve been the most embarrassing nightmare of my lifetime, but you acted like it was completely normal.”

“It is completely normal,” Adrien said earnestly. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about.”

She knew she didn’t have to. They weren’t around their friends, or anyone who knew them personally. But she took his hand anyway, and interlocked their fingers.

And he didn’t stop her, or let go.

The two walked out of the theater for the third time, this time for good, and walked down the streets of Paris.
____________________________

Marinette’s period lasted approximately a week. During that time, she struggled with cramps, emotions, and a short fuse. The medicine took care of the cramps, Adrien kindly put up with her random outbursts, and her inexplicable rage dealt well with akuma attacks.

After a particularly exhausting fight on the Eiffel Tower, she admitted to him that she wished the medicine could also do something about her back. When he questioned her about it, she explained that she had a strange numbing sensation on her back, and it didn’t exactly help her during their battles. It also hurt to sleep on.

That night Chat Noir showed up, knocking on her terrace window. She let him in, and he sat on her bed, fiddling with his hands awkwardly.

Marinette sat beside him, waiting patiently for him to explain why he was here. She assumed he wanted a hug.

But when he told her to “sit in front of me with your back facing me”, she obeyed curiously, wondering what on earth he was about to do.

All her questions were answered when he sunk his gloved hands into her skin and began kneading.

She couldn’t control the moan that escaped her lips. Embarrassed, she tried to control herself better.

But his hands were doing things to her back that felt so good, and he was doing it all out of the selflessness of his heart, and he didn’t have to do such a boyfriend-type thing to her now; they weren’t in public, but he was doing it anyway, and it only made her fall harder for him than she ever had before.

Chat massaged her back until she fell asleep against him, leaning back and resting her neck on his shoulder. He gently took the sleeping girl by the arms and placed her body down onto the bed, being careful not to wake her as he moved around her and lifted the blankets out from underneath her. He tucked her in. He admired her sleeping form, and her angelic, tired face.

And then he reluctantly whisked himself away out the terrace window.
____________________________

Another school week passed and another weekend fell upon them. This time, Alya wanted to have a picnic. She and Nino packed the sandwiches, and Marinette and Adrien took croissants and sweets from the bakery.

The four of them went to the park and laid their checkered blanket down onto the grass, placing the picnic basket in the middle. Sitting around it, the four teenagers joked and laughed and just had an all-around good time, making both Adrien and Marinette forget, momentarily, that all of this was pretend.

That is, until Alya asked a question that had been on her mind.

“Do you guys kiss?”

Startled, Adrien and Marinette both attempted make a reply, but both were completely incoherent.

“I’m serious, you guys,” Alya tipped her head back easily and laughed, unaware that her two friends were dying inside. “We’re all friends here. You can tell me.”

Marinette was just about to sputter a “no”, when Adrien replied indignantly, “Of course we kiss.”

Marinette shot her head up to look at him, and he blushed when she caught his gaze, and averted his eyes.

“Oh yeah?” Alya smirked, eyes bouncing from him to her and back again. “Then show me.”

Adrien made a choking noise.

Just take me, Marinette silently pleaded to the earth. Take me and swallow me whole.

Not to be outdone, Adrien pointed to Alya. “Well, uh, why don’t YOU show US a kiss? Huh?”

Alya shrugged. “Fine.” She grabbed Nino by the collar and planted a huge peck on his lips. She then turned her gaze to Marinette and winked. “Your turn, girlfriend. You guys have been dating for weeks. Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little PDA.”

“Yeah, dudes,” Nino grinned. “Give each other a kiss. Go on.”

Adrien deflated.

Marinette looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and he looked at her the same way.

Alya laughed out loud. “I can’t believe it. Our class’s cutest couple is kiss-shy?!”

Adrien and Marinette responded at the same time.

“We are NOT kiss-shy.”

“Oh yes, we are totally kiss-shy.”

Alya couldn’t hold back her laughter. “This is so rich! My best friends don’t want to kiss each other in front of me? Well, that’s gonna change today.” She gave them a mischievous smile.

“It’s no big deal, you guys,” Nino said, trying to be helpful. “It’s a way to show each other you love each other. You love each other, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Adrien said hoarsely.

Marinette peeked at him. He was red all over.

She felt terrible. He didn’t want to kiss her. He viewed her as only a friend. The idea of kissing her was probably like a death sentence for him.

“Adrien, for crying out loud, KISS the girl!” Alya slammed her fists down on the grass.

Marinette’s face was suddenly grabbed by two hands, and pulled toward a very red face. Before she knew what was happening, Adrien’s lips had crashed onto hers.

She gasped against his mouth, but she couldn’t pull away. Not with Alya and Nino watching.

And not with his hands on her cheeks, holding her firmly in place.

Her eyes fluttered shut, and she did what she’d thought was the impossible.

She began kissing him back.

The whole world disappeared, giving way to nothing but Adrien. Nothing existed except for Adrien. His lips moved gently against hers, with a slowness that made her head spin, and his hands cupped her face tenderly, his thumbs slightly caressing. She slowly lifted a hand to his neck. He used his hands to slowly tilt her head to the side, and the kiss somehow deepened. He took her bottom lip between his lips, and her body was in flames. He exhaled contentedly through his nose, and she shuddered.

She needed more.

She moved closer to him, pressing her lips deeply into his, and began slowly drawing kisses from his lips. She sucked on his upper lip, on his bottom lip, and then on his upper lip again. He sighed heavily.

And then they heard it. The sound of a camera.

They broke away from each other and both looked at Alya with wide eyes. She wasn’t holding her phone in her hands.

Adrien whipped his head around, and then pointed with a shaky finger toward a man who was running away. “That… that guy! That was a paparazzi!”

Nino and Alya stared at him with wide eyes.

Adrien buried his head in his hands. “Oh no…”

Marinette swallowed hard. “What do you mean, paparazzi? No one knows about our relationship except for the kids at school.”

He shook his head, his face still covered by his hands. “I told a woman at the pharmacy your name last week, because she asked who my girlfriend was. She recognized me as a famous model. At the time, I didn’t think it was a big deal that I told her, but now I’m realizing that she probably tipped the paparazzi off. The picture he just took… that’s gonna… that’s gonna end up on a… oh no…”

“On a what, Adrien?” Marinette asked desperately. “It’s gonna end up on a WHAT?”

She pried his hands off his face, and he looked at her with remorse. “On a tabloid,” he whispered.

“But… is that a bad thing?” Alya cocked her head, confused.

“You don’t understand!” Adrien shook his head. “Tabloids are nasty! They rip people apart! I don’t want to hear or see ANYTHING about my girlfriend that could be negative. Jealous people will write whatever they want to write, and oh my goodness…” He buried his face in his hands again.

“I know exactly how to fix this,” Alya reached into her purse, digging for her phone. “Lovebirds, I want you guys to recreate that adorable kissing scene you did for us. Like, right now.” She held up her phone camera toward them.

Marinette and Adrien looked to each other and flushed.

“Go on, dumb bells,” Alya rolled her eyes. “You did it just now, you can do it again.”

And so, very slowly, Adrien reached out with one hand and grasped Marinette’s neck. And leaned down. And closed his eyes.

And pressed his soft lips to hers again.

Her eyes closed, she leaned into the kiss, and a “click” was heard.

“There,” Alya said. The two broke apart, blushing furiously. “Now I’m going to take this picture, and write an adorable description about you two, and upload it to the Ladyblog. I’m going to say it’s an unconventional post about two people who I care deeply about, and all ten thousand of my followers will see it.” She beamed at them. “See? Who’s worried about a silly tabloid? The Ladyblog is what’s up!”

“Alya, you’re the best,” Adrien sighed in relief. “…Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me, thank yourselves for being the cutest couple I’ve ever witnessed. Those kisses? Straight out of a movie. I loved it. Now, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m starving. Let’s eat!”

Adrien and Marinette were careful to avoid each other’s gaze for the rest of the picnic. At the end of their time together, Adrien left with Nino, and Marinette left with Alya.
____________________________

Adrien couldn’t believe he’d forgotten that they had patrol that night.

It was the weekend. Of COURSE they had patrol that night.

But he’d just kissed her six hours ago.

And she had kissed him back.

He kept trying to tell himself that they’d only done it to save appearances.

But… then he thought about the way her lips had moved against his, and the way she’d tilted her head, and the way she’d moved to get closer to him.

And how everything had seemed to be on fire.

“I’m doomed, Plagg,” he mumbled against his bed sheets, where he’d fallen face first hopelessly.

“Just tell the girl how you feel,” the kwami replied tiredly.

“I can’t do that! She doesn’t feel the same way!”

“Tell that to your kiss.”

He groaned.

“Anyway Adrien, it’s time to go. You don’t want to be late to patrol. Don’t want to keep your lady waiting, hm?”

Adrien nodded, gritting his teeth. Tonight was going to be so difficult. “Plagg, transform me.”
____________________________

Ladybug and Chat Noir stood shoulder-to-shoulder silently, beholding the city before them.

Not a word had been spoken between them since he’d arrived.

Chat took this to be a bad sign.

Ladybug took a few steps forward on the roof they were standing on, and he stepped forward as well.

She sat.

He sat.

She sighed.

He looked at her with a pleading expression, one she didn’t catch, because she wasn’t looking at him. His face begged, “Look at me.”

But she didn’t look at him.

She looked down at her feet, dangling over the edge.

He looked down at his feet as well, cursing his inability to speak to her. When she hadn’t known his identity, he’d been perfectly fine as Chat Noir. But now?

Now he was Adrien, through and through. A nervous mess.

He wanted to reach over and grab her. He wanted to hug her. He wanted-

He wanted to kiss her again.

But now they had no reason to. No people forcing them to.

“So,” she said suddenly, and he jumped with a start.

He turned all his attention on her. “Yes?” he asked breathlessly.

She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and then back down to her feet. “Good job… pretending today.”

He wanted to scream.

“You… too,” he said, and cringed.

“Do you think they believed us? That that wasn’t our first time doing… that?” She fiddled with her hands.

“I’m sure they did,” he said, his stomach churning.

“Well, it technically wasn’t our first time, but…”

His eyes shot up at her. “What do you mean?”

She glanced at him, then quickly looked away. “Do you remember the day Kim got akumatized? Valentine’s Day?”

“Yeah?”

“Well…” she swung her legs, a bundle of nerves. “You were under the forces of the attack, and so you thought you hated me, and I remembered our lesson that day at school, about how love’s true kiss can break the spell, and so I figured, it was worth a shot, so I went ahead and… kissed you.” She looked at him nervously. “I mean, it worked, so that was good.”

He drew in a sharp intake of breath. “My first kiss, and I wasn’t even aware of it,” he said.

She looked at him sympathetically.

“Yeah, and your second kiss, with the same person, who is just your friend.” She shook her head. “I’m really sorry.”

“You’re not just my”-

“Adrien, you don’t have to say anything.”

“No. Yes I do. You’re not just my friend. You’re my BEST friend. You’re my partner. You’re my… my girlfriend.”

She sighed. “Yeah… your pretend girlfriend.”

His heart felt like it had been crushed. “I’m sorry I said anything.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. I know it’s uncomfortable for you. I’m sure the kiss today was pretty uncomfortable too.”

He wanted to rip his hair out. “But it wasn’t,” he said desperately. “It was… nice.”

She looked at him with a start. “Did you say… nice?”

“Yeah.”

Crickets chirped.

“It was so nice,” Chat found himself saying, “that I’d be fine with doing it again. I mean, as long as you would be. Not to say that I’d be just fine, I’d be more than fine, I’d be happy. I’d be happy to kiss you if you were happy to kiss me. I mean… for practice.”

He cursed himself internally for saying that final bit. He’d almost confessed!

“For… practice?” Her voice went up an octave. “You mean… do you think we should… practice?”

“Uh, I don’t know.” Chat’s eyes went wide. “I mean”-

“Because if you think we should, maybe now would be a good time. Since we’re out of the public eye and all.”

“…Oh,” was all Chat could lamely say.

Her shoulders slumped. “But if you don’t think we should”-

“No, yes, I think we should,” he said quickly. “I definitely think we should… practice. You never know when someone will ask us to kiss again. We should be prepared. We should know how to do it.”

“Did I do it wrong today?” she asked softly.

His eyes went even wider. “No! You were… you were perfectly fine.” He swallowed hard. “I think I’m the one who needs the practice.”

Ladybug looked like she was about to object, but she didn’t. She was silent.

“Okay,” she finally whispered. “Then… I guess I’ll just…” She leaned in, then promptly pulled back. She’d never looked more nervous in her life.

Chat realized that it was his time to act. He had to initiate.

Taking a deep breath, he scooted closer to her, close enough that their thighs touched. Their legs were still dangling over the edge.

She looked at him with round eyes and parted lips.

He adored that face.

He adored her eyes.

He adored those lips.

And, he decided, he was going to capture those lips now.

So he did.

He closed his eyes firmly, kissing her. She slowly, slowly, slowly, wound her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around her waist securely.

It didn’t matter that she didn’t like him.

It didn’t matter that all of this was pretend.

It didn’t matter that he was heartbroken.

For now, she was his.

Her lips belonged to him.

And he was going to cherish every second of this moment.

He sighed against her mouth, relaxing into the kiss. She, on the other hand, began to pick up the pace.

It reminded him of their chases across rooftops.

She’d told him so many nights ago, “Bet you can’t catch me!”

And he’d caught up to her, and claimed her, and rested his body against her.

He decided… he was going to do that again.

Chat matched her pace, moving his lips against hers with a level of desperation as she began kissing him faster and faster.

“Mm,” he made a short, soft humming noise out of pure instinct as she took his bottom lip between her lips and began to suck.

“Mmm,” she responded in kind as he took over, taking her upper lip between his and drawing his lips out slowly. He then repeated the action: again, and again, and again.

“Mmmm,” she made that beautiful noise again. His grip around her waist tightened, and he leaned into her, pressing their chests together. His heart was going wild. His body was, too.

Their heads and mouths moved in perfect synch as the kisses grew deeper and deeper. When she wove a hand through his hair, he couldn’t hold back any longer, and slid his tongue into her mouth. He rejoiced when she accepted it, and reciprocated.

He shut his eyes more tightly, despite the fact that they were already closed, and focused all his attention onto their intimate kiss. He slowly, hesitantly closed his lips around her tongue, and sucked on it. She then responded in kind.

His head was getting dizzy. Everywhere he touched her sent sparks into his body. Everywhere she touched him was on fire.

They kissed and they kissed and they kissed until he was sure she was trying to kiss the life out of him. She grasped onto his back and neck like they were her life line, and he held her just as close.

He couldn’t remember what living was like before knowing how her lips felt against his and how her tongue tasted and how her hands held him like he was the air she was breathing.

He didn’t want to remember.

Finally, she pressed one last, long, lingering kiss to his lips, before letting go and leaning back. Her arms carefully removed themselves from his neck and hair, and her body rested against his side for support while she caught her breath.

Panting, Chat placed his hands on his knees. He was hyperaware that she was still leaning on him, and after a moment of waiting to see if she’d pull back – and she didn’t – he rested his head on top of hers.

The pair inhaled and exhaled quietly, relaxing on each other.

He delayed for a moment, before deciding that he really, really wanted to hold her hand.

So he did.

And she didn’t let go.

Heart racing again, he lifted his head off hers so that he could look at her.

She had her head on his shoulder and her eyes were closed.

“Marinette?” he whispered.

“Hmm?” she hummed.

“I… I need to tell you something.”

Her eyes fluttered open and she turned her chin on his shoulder to look deeply into his eyes.

“And what is that?” she whispered.

He searched her beautiful blue eyes for a moment, before deciding that it was now or never. And after a kiss like that, it was time to take another risky step in what he hoped was the right direction.

“I crawled into an oven too.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Oh?”

“Yeah. I lied to my best friend.”

She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked at him head-on. “What did you lie about?”

“My feelings.”

Her eyes searched his. Her voice came out shaky. “What about your feelings?”

He took both her hands, and clutched them to his chest. His eyebrows took a saddened expression, and he swallowed thickly before answering.

“Marinette, I love you. As more than a friend.”

Chapter Text

A terrible combination of hope and fear ignited in Ladybug’s soul.

“…What do you mean by that?” she whispered.

Chat pressed her hands to his heart, his expression hopeless. It was too late to back out. He had to tell her the whole truth now, despite the fact that he knew she’d reject him. Despite the fact that he knew he was digging his own grave.

She was worth the pain.

He looked into her eyes. “That night after patrol, when we were playing Truth or Truth, and you asked me if I used to like you, I wanted to tell you no. I didn’t ‘use’ to like you.”

Ladybug lowered her face in despair. “Oh.”

“I still like you.”

Her eyes shot up at him.

He continued talking, her hands in his hands. “As a matter of fact, one could say that I more than just like you. One could say… that… I love you.” His speech suddenly quickened. “And… one could say that I’ve loved you since the day I first met you. When you defeated that first akuma and saved Paris for the first time. Your bravery, your wit, your tenacity… all those things helped make me fall in love with you.”

“Adrien, I”-

“I know,” his expression turned to pain. “I know you don’t feel the way I do. But please. Even if it’s our last conversation ever… please let me finish.”

She forced herself to be silent.

He tilted his head at her, his eyes sincere. “But do you know what sealed the deal for me? What made me realize that I was sure that you were the only person I could love?”

She stared at him silently, with wide eyes.

He laughed sadly. “When we de-transformed for the first time. And I discovered that you were – are – Marinette Dupain-Cheng. And I realized that the girl who made me laugh on my first day of school, when I was so nervous and lonely, was the same girl who had been there with me through all of our adventures.”

He pressed her hand to his lips affectionately. “I’m a goner for you, Marinette. And I know you don’t feel the same way. And I know this may change our friendship and partnership forever. But I need you to know that when I told you I loved you in your bedroom that first night, I meant it the way I mean it now. Even though for you, it was platonic. For me, it never was. For me, it was never pretend. None of it was pretend. The hand-holding, the hugs…” His voice went to a whisper. “Our kisses.” He shook his head, and his tone changed to one that ached with need and desperation. “So if there’s only one thing you can do for me, please, it’s all I ask. I just need one more kiss. One more, and it will last me a lifetime of being alone. Just one more kiss, my lady. Can you do that for me? Your partner and… and best friend? I know it will mean nothing to you. But”-

“Stop.”

He halted, and almost instantly, there were tears forming in his eyes as a result of her interruption. “I’ve asked for too much,” he whispered, looking down at her hands. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, my lady. I’m so”-

“Chat Noir, Adrien, Minou, I need you to STOP and stand up with me.” Ladybug let go of his hands and placed them on his shoulders. Using him as leverage, she pushed herself up and stood. She then offered him a hand, which he hesitated before taking.

They stood face to face, with Chat’s eyes lowered so that he didn’t meet her eyes.

A single tear trickled down his masked face.

She took his hand in her own, which he looked down at. He closed his fingers slowly over hers, and she did the same. He sniffed, embarrassed that she could see that he was crying.

“I need you to de-transform,” she said softly.

He closed his eyes and nodded obediently. “Okay.”

He squeezed her hand. “Plagg, de-transform.”

“Tikki, de-transform.”

The two teenagers stood before each other as Marinette and Adrien, and their kwamis floated silently away to give them space.

“Why did we do that?” Adrien asked her, his eyes red.

She stepped forward, her hand still in his. “Because,” she whispered, “I wanted to kiss you as myself.”

His eyes wide, he shook his head. “I take back what I said,” he blubbered. “I don’t want to force you to kiss me. You don’t have to. That was selfish of me to ask. That was”-

“Adrien, for goodness’ sake.” Marinette closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his, throwing her arms around his neck.

He kissed her back, confused. His hands found her waist.

She slowly drew her lips away from his, her mouth parted, and looked up at him through her lashes. “Do you have time for one more funny story? I promise it’s better than the oven one. It’s even better than your photoshoot one.”

He slowly nodded in response, bewildered.

Her arms still around his neck, she began to sway, and rested her face against his chest. Adrien swayed with her, his heart in his throat. Smiling, she began speaking softly.

“On my first day of school a year ago, there was a sweet boy who I’d mistaken for a bully. He tried to remove gum from my seat, and I refused to give him the time of day. This was until, of course, we were standing out in the rain, and with kindness I never expected, he offered me his umbrella.”

Adrien swallowed hard, but kept silent.

“I made him laugh, which in turn made me laugh, and then he walked away, and in that moment I knew. I knew that I had fallen… fallen terribly in love with him.”

Adrien gasped and stopped swaying.

Marinette tightened her grip around his neck and pressed her nose into his chest, her eyes closing. She continued speaking into his chest. “From that day on, I was a goner as well. But do you want to know what sealed the deal?”

Tears now fell freely from Adrien’s eyes, and he rested his nose against Marinette’s head. His lips found her hair, and he pressed down roughly. He made a strange noise against the top of her head.

Her hands gently twisted into his blond locks.

“What sealed the deal… was when he de-transformed. And I discovered he was my partner, Chat Noir.”

Adrien’s tears fell onto her hair.

“And do you know why this is a funny story?” Marinette laughed, her own eyes filling with tears of relief. “Because all this time, I thought for sure that he didn’t love me in the same way I loved him. Aren’t we two of the most foolish people you’ve ever heard of?”

She pulled back, just enough to look at him. Both their eyes and cheeks were wet with tears, but neither of them cared.

Adrien never answered her question.

He was too busy kissing her senseless.
________________________________

“C’mere,” Adrien tugged on her hands, grinning.

“Adrien, no,” Marinette squealed as he tried to pull her into his bed.

“Adrien, YES,” Adrien said, taking her by the wrists and pulling. She fell onto the left side of his bed on top of him, giggling.

“This is so inappropriate!” Marinette exclaimed. “We’re fifteen! We’re not supposed to cuddle in bed.”

“Says who?” Adrien asked in a teasing voice. He placed his hands on the small of her back and pressed her body to his. Laying flat on his back, he allowed her to collapse onto his chest.

“How would you feel,” she said breathlessly, “if your father walked in right now?”

“Good thing he’s on a business trip for another week and a half,” Adrien replied in a singsong voice. He tenderly caressed her hair with his hand.

She pushed his hand away. “You are being naughty, Chaton,” she said indignantly as he laughed and pulled her closer to him. The two turned to their sides, facing each other while lying down. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

“You don’t know how crazy I’ve been going, imagining you in my bed,” he whispered. “And ever since our anime movie date, it’s been ten times worse. I have you now, and you and I are going to cuddle in bed. You have no say in the matter.”

“Mon dieu,” Marinette breathed. “No say whatsoever? Whatever will I do? I need Chat Noir to save me.”

Adrien’s grin became cheeky. “That can be arranged,” he said, leaning in close to kiss her again, this time on her lips.

She grinned back wickedly. “You know, Chat Noir is pretty handsome. So much so, that sometimes I catch myself staring at him longer than I should. I’m a taken girl, so these feelings are wrong. If only there was a way I could have you both.” She stuck her bottom lip out in a dramatic pout.

Adrien felt warmth radiate from his chest. He smiled at her with half-lidded eyes, completely content in her arms. “Since we’re on the subject, I struggle with some feelings I shouldn’t have too. Don’t tell anyone, but I’m absolutely wild about Ladybug.”

“Ooh, that spotted mask and that red and black suit,” Marinette teased.

“Yeah,” Adrien said dreamily, sighing. “And those wonderful, big, blue eyes…”

She grabbed him by the shirt collar and tugged, bringing his lips to hers. He hummed happily as she pressed against him, hard. When her lips slowly separated from his, he protested with a moan.

“We shouldn’t kiss too much on your bed, Chaton,” she whispered, only half-teasing. “We could get too carried away.”

His face reddened, but that didn’t deter him from smiling widely at her. “And what’s so wrong about that? You’re mine.”

She giggled. “I love when you talk flirty to me.”

He nuzzled her neck. “As opposed to?”

She thought for a moment. “As opposed to your god-awful Chat Noir puns.”

He quirked an eyebrow up at her. “Why not both?”

“What do you mean, both?”

“What I mean, my dear”- he crushed his lips onto hers, before letting go suddenly –“is that I’m practically smitten as a kitten for you.”

She groaned, grabbed a pillow, and smacked him in the stomach. “Enough!”

He let out a very happy laugh, tugging at her wrists again as she tried to get up. “No!” he chuckled. “Okay, okay, fine, I’m sorry! I’m not smitten as a kitten! I’m not smitten as a kitten! Marinette!”

She wrestled him to get her hands free, and he used the opportunity to flip their bodies over so that he was on top.

He grinned at her mischievously. “You’re stuck with me now.”

She was strong enough to flip them over again. She knew it, and he knew it too. But instead, she surrendered to her boyfriend.

“Fine.” The corners of her lips turned up. “But let go of my wrists, so I can hold you the way I want to.”

He immediately complied, and she threw her arms around his middle, pulling him down so that he was lying on top of her. He closed his eyes and pressed his lips against her bare neck. She shuddered in delight.

“Tonight’s a celebration, you know,” Adrien whispered.

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“And just what are we celebrating, Minou?”

He peppered her neck with kisses, and then got started on her jaw. Between pecks, he spoke. “It’s been one week since we’ve become an actual couple.”

She rolled her eyes. “And it’s been three days since that terrible tabloid hit the streets.”

He groaned against her cheek. “Don’t remind me.”

“It’s a good thing Alya’s blog is so popular, isn’t it?”

“I’m so grateful for her,” Adrien shook his head in amazement. “What a friend. Sacrificing her superhero theme to save her friends. Do you realize what it must be like for a blogger to put their THEME on hold?”

Marinette giggled. “You talk about it like you know the feeling.”

“Well…” Adrien hesitated. “I do know.”

Marinette shot up, almost hitting her head against Adrien’s. “Oh my word.”

“Hold on now…”

“Oh my WORD.”

“I can explain!”

“You have a secret blog?” She breathed, eyes dancing back and forth between his.

He nodded sheepishly. “It’s… definitely not as big as Alya’s, but it’s a Ladybug appreciation blog. I mainly re-post the pictures she uploads from her blog onto mine.”

Marinette grinned. “Show it to me.”

“No!” Adrien’s eyes widened. “I’m not going to do that.”

“Aww, but why not?” she tugged on his shoulders.

“It’s… for personal reasons,” Adrien said, looking over to his computer nervously. “Just let me clean it up, and I’ll show it to you another day.”

“Just what exactly do you need to clean up?” Marinette cocked an eyebrow.

“Nothing!” he squeaked, then widened his eyes in horror at the high pitch of his own voice.

Marinette laughed out loud.

In a last-ditch attempt to distract her from the conversation at hand, Adrien grabbed a pillow and threw it against her stomach.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, grabbing his other pillow.

The two ended up having a ten-minute-long pillow fight, chasing each other around the bedroom and jumping over furniture, laughing all the while.

Their kwamis watched them happily from their own spot on Adrien’s desk, where they’d been snuggling quietly.

Tikki turned to Plagg and whispered, “Aren’t you glad we stayed out of their business and let them figure things out on their own?”

Plagg grumbled. “I could have sped the process up if you’d just let me.”

Tikki poked him in the side. “Ah, but then they wouldn’t be this satisfied, now would they? They needed to learn on their own.”

“I suppose so,” Plagg couldn’t help but smile at her.

As the teenagers laughed and shrieked and shouted and threw pillows at each other, the kwamis settled in for a nice, long nap together. They could finally rest, side by side, knowing that all was right in the world for their beloved humans.