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Before the night was through, Adrien did decide to go out as Chat Noir. He longed to feel the wind on his face he ran across rooftops, leaping and bounding. He still wasn’t feeling amazing, but he felt the desire to go out, and being Chat Noir always made him feel better.
He spent at least twenty minutes just jumping around aimlessly, feeling the freedom he constantly longed for. He stopped on a tall roof, holding his staff in his hand to look up at the sky. It was a nice night, clear and cool. He took in a deep breath and sighed it out, shutting his eyes for a moment. He opened them again, and he swore he could feel the moon on his skin, sighing yet again. He felt happier than he had all day, out there.
Chat Noir almost didn’t hear the sound from behind him. His senses were sharp, though, and he noticed some sort of movement behind him. He snapped his head around, then just blinked. There was a small bird perched on a roof that hadn’t been there before. He must be paranoid from all the crime-fighting, he supposed.
Well, that was until he felt something press against his back and his vision was temporarily covered. He let out a yelp and made to grab the person behind him, but they ducked out of the way and a moment later his vision was covered again.
“Guess who?!” he heard a playful voice chime from behind him. He instantly relaxed, letting out an exasperated sigh this time. He heard her giggle at his noise.
“My Lady? What are you doing out here?”
“I could ask you the same thing,” she replied, moving her hands from his eyes. Chat Noir turned around, looking at her with a fond smile on his face. “It’s past Midnight, and we both have school tomorrow.”
“True. Still, I just had to get out, honestly,” Chat Noir said, putting his hands behind his head.
“Yeah?” Ladybug tilted her head to the side.
Chat Noir nodded. “I had a sort of rough day,” he shrugged. Ladybug raised her brows at him.
“Wanna talk about it?” she asked him, concern lacing her voice.
“Nah, it’s okay. I had a friend with me, this year, so it was alright.”
Ladybug just blinked her eyes at him. “Well, if you ever do wanna talk, tell me, okay? We’re friends,” she told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
Chat Noir laughed, “Of course, Ladybug. Honestly, I have a great set of friends. I’m so glad I met you, and the others I met at school.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Ladybug let her hand slide from his shoulder. “You’re definitely deserving of them.”
Chat Noir shook his head. She sounded exactly like Marinette. For a moment, Chat Noir stopped on that thought, regarding his partner in the dim light of the night. He shook the thought away as quickly as it came. He didn’t want to try to guess Ladybug’s identity. He was too afraid of being wrong, and he didn’t want to make any assumptions.
“I mean it,” Ladybug prodded him in the chest, taking his head shaking as a disagreement. Chat Noir held up his hands.
“I know, I know. I was just thinking of something.” Ladybug regarded him with narrowed eyes. “I promise, I wasn’t disagreeing.”
“Okay,” Ladybug crossed her arms at him for a moment.
“You never told me what brought you out here, this late at night,” Chat Noir pointed out, if only to move the conversation along.
“I.. well, I just felt like coming out, I guess. My mind was kind of whirling from my day; I couldn’t sleep, so I thought air might help.”
“Oh yeah? Was it busy, or something?”
“Ah, um, no,” Ladybug said. She felt her cheeks grow a little warm for what had to be the millionth time since she woke up this morning.
“What happened, then?” Chat Noir said quizzically, leaning in a bit.
“N-nothing,” Ladybug stammered, avoiding his gaze. “I spent the day with a friend, th-that’s all.”
“A friend, or a ‘friend’?” Chat Noir said, teasing. Truthfully, he was in love with Ladybug, but he couldn’t fault her for being interested in somebody else. She didn’t even know who he was, and as badly as he wanted her to love him back, he was content to be one of her best friends.
“Just a friend!” Ladybug said, too quickly. That habit reminded him of somebody else, too, but Adrien didn’t dare let himself take that train of thought.
“What happened?! Did you kiss?” Chat Noir asked, eyes bright despite his heart tearing at the notion. He tilted Ladybug’s chin and raised his brows at her.
“NO,” Ladybug said, pressing her hand to his cheek to turn his face away. “We, well, we cuddled. It was nice, but it was totally platonic. I think he likes somebody else.” Sort of.
“Ah. That’s a shame. I don’t see how someone could not like you,” he said, utmost fondness in his voice. He tried not to entertain ideas about the fact his civilian day and her civilian day sounded very similar, as both were spent cuddling with a ‘just a friend’.
Ladybug sighed a little, scuffing her foot on the rooftop they were standing on. “I’ve told you, I’m not nearly as ‘exciting’ in my civilian life, Chat Noir. I’m clumsy. Hell, I could barely talk to this boy for months before we became friends, I think he thought I disliked him, even?”
“Awh, my Lady. Have you ever actually told him how you felt?” Chat Noir asked. Adrien wanted to know, and, as much as he was avoiding drawing parallels between Marinette and Ladybug, he sort of wanted to question her more about her day now that the idea was in his head. There was a cute girl who could barely talk to him for months, after all.
“Well, not exactly, but I think he gets the idea. We even sort of alluded to it, earlier,” Ladybug winced at the memory. “But, I’d rather be his friend with a crush than not his friend at all.”
“I know how you feel,” Chat Noir said, then his eyes went a little wide. She just gave him a sort of sad smile and he returned it as well as he could.
“Yeah,” Marinette looked down. Part of her wanted to tell Chat Noir she might be coming to feel for him, but she didn’t want to get his hopes up when she was so unsure of her feelings. Earlier that day, when Adrien made that pun, it sent her mind reeling. She’d let it go in the moment, only to recall it when she went over the afternoon in her mind upon arriving home. Honestly, thoughts about both Adrien and Chat Noir were what propelled her out of her house in the middle of the night.
The only thoughts she could produce on the notion that Adrien might be Chat Noir were that it was completely impossible, and if it turned out to be true she might just die on the spot with how overwhelming it would be. Honestly, what luck would she have if she managed to fall for the same boy twice?
Adrien having a crush on Ladybug would make sense, if he were Chat Noir, though it would still make sense if he wasn’t considering she was a popular figure.
Marinette would never allow herself to hope Adrien and Chat Noir were the same person, even if there were some stark similarities to be drawn between the two. She vehemently avoided trying to search for clues, because if she got her hopes up that her crush and her partner were the same person and turned out to be wrong she might end up feeling terrible.
After a prolonged silence, Ladybug scuffed her foot again, glancing at Chat Noir. He looked distant, possibly lost in thought as she’d been. Silence between them was seldom awkward anymore, even though their chat had left off on a bit of an awkward note.
“You sure you’re okay, Chaton?” Ladybug asked him, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. That startled Chat Noir into looking her way.
“Yeah, I’m fine, my Lady,” Chat Noir gave her a smile that definitely didn’t meet his eyes. Ladybug furrowed her brows at him, and drew him into a hug. Chat Noir hugged her tightly, leaning his head on her shoulder.
He breathed in through his nose, and immediately felt drawn back to earlier in the day. Ladybug smelled exactly like the light perfume Marinette had been wearing, with the addition of something sweet like sugar and cinnamon. Like a bakery, perhaps?
Ladybug squeezed him, stroking his back.
“You.. smell nice,” Chat Noir told her, voice faint.
“Hm?” Ladybug asked, tilting back.
“You smell nice. I’m sorry, is that weird?”
Ladybug blinked at him a few times as he looked up at her, some sort of glint in his eyes. She was about to reply “No”, but shut her lips for another beat. “Purrhaps,” she responded, eyes fixed on his own.
For a second, Chat Noir looked disappointed that she thought he was weird, but then he grinned. “You.. just made a pun,” he said, slowly.
“One of the easiest in the book, but, yes, I did,” Ladybug said. He lifted his head completely, but kept his arms around her. She left her arms on his shoulders as they stared at each other.
“Am I the only one with a bout of déjà vu?” Chat Noir whispered, suddenly realizing his heart was pounding in his chest.
Ladybug slowly shook her head no. Her mind was frazzled, as she desperately tried to think of something else she could recall from earlier in the day she could reference, to see if he clued in.
Chat Noir pressed his lips together, then pulled her close to him again. He pressed his cheek to her hair, not unlike how Marinette had done to him earlier. Then, he beat her to the punch. “I, uh, I hope you don’t mind me hanging off you like this,” he said, as nonchalant as he could manage.
Ladybug gripped him, shutting her eyes just as tight. “Of course not, silly kitty,” her breath was quick. “I think we both know I don’t mind at all,” she said quietly.
He managed to pull away from her death grip a few moments later, bringing his hands to her shoulders when her hands dropped from his. She was blinking up at him, almost expectant. Was it enough? Perhaps she was just fooling herself, maybe there was no hidden meaning behind his words and she was reading into every little detail and making it all up.
Ladybug swallowed, frozen in fear and anticipation.
“M-Marinette?” Chat Noir whispered. Ladybug shut her eyes, feeling her chest tighten.
“Adrien?” she asked, opening her eyes again. He breathed a sigh of relief, eyes filling with excitement. He almost dropped the transformation, but they were on top of a roof where people could potentially see them. Hell, they might be able to hear them, but Chat Noir surely hoped not. That would be the blunder of the century.
“Ç’est moi,” Adrien let a slow smile cross his features, looking into her eyes hopefully. He wondered if she was as relieved or excited as he was, but he couldn’t read her expression. She just stared at him, blankly.
Marinette blinked and looked down, shaking her head. “It’s you. I can’t believe it.”
“A-are you upset?” Adrien asked her, thumb stroking her shoulder. She lifted her head, eyes suddenly fearful.
“Nonono, of course I’m not upset!” she put her hands on his chest. “Please, don’t think I’m upset. I’m just. Shocked. Blown away,” Marinette shook her head again. Then, just as a smile had slowly taken over his features, the same look came across her face gradually. She laughed.
“How could I be so blind?” Marinette asked, dropping her head and bumping it against his chest this time. He patted the back of her head as she laughed a little more.
“I was equally so, princess,” he told her. “I mean. I was starting to suspect, but I... I didn’t want to get my hopes up if it didn’t turn out to be you,” he confessed.
Marinette lifted her head, almost headbutting him but he backed away just in time. She winced, then looked at him with confusion. “You were hoping it was me?”
“Well, trying not to hope, but, not because I didn’t want it to be you,” Adrien looked puzzled for a second. “I’m sorry, this sounds bad. It’s like, I wanted it to be you, but I didn’t want to be disappointed if it wasn’t.”
“No, it’s okay. I, uh, I felt the same way, actually,” Ladybug looked down. “Well. No more secret identity between us. The ruse is up. I guess you could say...”
Chat Noir narrowed his eyes are her, “Are you about to-?”
“The cat’s out of the bag,” Ladybug looked up at him with a small grin on her face.
Chat Noir blinked, “I love you. But, I also hate you, because that was so my line.”
Ladybug began to giggle and looped her arms around his neck, pressing her face to his collar.
“I’m just kidding,” he rambled as he returned her hug, “I could never hate you. You’re too wonderful, and amazing.”
“Oh, Chat Noir,” Marinette sighed. She lifted her head once again, looking up at him. Adrien’s heart stopped for a moment, and he felt the night around him stop with it. There was nothing in the world but her.
Chat Noir bent down, closing the short distance between them with a kiss. Ladybug, his Ladybug, kissed him back. He felt as if he were on top of the world, wrapping his arms around her tightly enough to lift her off the ground. He heard Marinette make a noise of surprise and break their kiss with a laugh, holding onto him. Chat Noir spun Ladybug around once before letting her regain her footing, and she kissed him once more.
“I love you too,” Ladybug whispered against his lips, adding “by the way,” as an afterthought.
Chat Noir blushed. Honestly, the red should just stay in his cheeks, because it flooded there often enough.
“So, it’s technically the day after mother’s day, now,” Chat Noir said, hands on Ladybug’s waist.
“Yes, it is. It’s also really late at night and we should probably be asleep,” Ladybug told him, hands pressed on either side of his neck.
“Yeah, we should probably go home soon. But, um, there was another point I wanted to make,” Chat Noir said, sounding much more like Adrien. His voice was quiet, polite, and shy.
“Hmmm? What is it, Adrien?” Ladybug asked, voice quiet as she said his name.
He smiled at her, bashful. “It’s the day after mother’s day, and, also, the day we start going steady?”
Ladybug raised her eyebrows, confused for a tick before she laughed. “Oh, of course! I mean, if you want,” she said.
“Considering we just professed our love for each other,” Adrien shrugged his shoulders.
“Point taken. So, um, we’re dating. That’s that.”
“Yep,” Chat Noir laughed. He was glad their anniversary wouldn’t fall directly on mother’s day. It was kind of nice, having it the day after. He’d have something to look forward to, after a day that would probably always be filled with gloom for him.
“I’m dating Adrien Agreste,” he heard Ladybug whisper. “Slash Chat Noir,” she added, marvel in her voice.
“Ladybug,” Chat Noir cooed in response, holding the same wondrous sentiment. “And my beautiful princess. How could I be so damn lucky? I thought I was bad luck. It must be you,” he decided.
“I’d say we’re both lucky to have each other,” Ladybug told him. She glanced around them, taking in their surroundings. She didn’t want to forget the place, but she did want to get out of there soon enough. Marinette wasn’t sure she would be able to sleep, though.
“And, of course, I’ll take you out on an actual date tomorrow,” Chat Noir promised. “I know asking you to go steady right now sorta skips the first couple stages, but I figured with each of us pining for the other in a certain way, we could afford that.”
Ladybug chuckled, “That’s okay. We don’t really need to ‘get to know’ each other, we already have that started. I’m not opposed to an official date, though.”
“And, there will be many other dates to follow that one, too.”
“I like the sound of that,” Ladybug hummed.
“Okay, good.” Chat Noir gave her a cute grin and she just hugged him again.
“What do we tell Alya and Nino?” Ladybug asked suddenly, looking up. “And, well, everyone. But mostly those two. They’ll kill us if we don’t tell them directly.”
“Ummm. How about, I kissed you yesterday, and then called you this morning and made sure you knew it wasn’t just because I was sad, that I really like you. We can meet up before school and pretend to decide to date when we’re there, so I won’t have to ask you out over the phone.”
Marinette chuckled a little, “You’ll confess over the phone, but not ask me out?”
“It’s not as classy,” Adrien argued.
“Whatever you want, Chaton.” Ladybug leaned up to kiss him one more time. “We should probably get going soon,” she told him. Chat Noir kissed her again, then heaved another sigh.
“I don’t really want to admit it, but you’re right. I should at least attempt to sleep before school tomorrow.”
“Me too,” Ladybug said.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to,” Chat Noir confessed.
“Me neither,” Ladybug whispered, smiling again.
Chat Noir leaned down and stole her lips in another kiss, soft and sweet. Marinette brought her gloved hands to the sides of his face.
The two kissed each other a few more times before finally taking a step back.
“Okay, I need to get going, or we’re going to be out here until sunrise.”
“But wouldn’t that be romantic, my Lady?” Chat Noir slid his arm around her shoulder.
“Don’t tempt me,” Ladybug tapped him on the nose.
“What if I want to tempt you?”
“Don’t,” she repeated. “How about we watch the sunset, tomorrow evening? As part of our date.”
Chat Noir nodded, squeezing her once, “That is a good compromise.”
“I thought so,” Ladybug grinned. “Give your new girlfriend one last kiss?” she asked, eyelashes batting.
“Anything for my Lady,” Chat Noir smiled pecking her once more.
“I’ll see you at school, Adrien,” Ladybug murmured.
“Before school,” Chat Noir reminded her, “we have to officially start dating, in the eyes of the public.”
“Right, of course,” Ladybug giggled. “See you then.”
“Goodnight, Marinette,” he whispered, before she finally moved away from him and grabbed her yoyo. He watched her leave, then left as well, heading home for the night. He felt completely on top of the world as he whisked through the sky. Adrien still didn’t think he would be able to sleep, but he couldn’t wait for the morning to come when he’d see his Lady, when he’d see Marinette, again.