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Of course Marinette can count on Hawkmoth to delay her conference with the principal to discuss her frequently common absences.
Selfishly, she briefly feels relief when hearing the familiar alert on her phone. While running to find a place to hide, Marinette swipes up on the Ladyblog and taps the “Akuma Updates” page. Today the akumatized victim is located near the airport, which unfortunately is farther than normal.
Without thinking, Marinette opens the nearest classroom door with the lights out, however she quickly realizes that the room is not empty.
Well, it is. The music room is cleaned from its usual chaos — chairs are neatly stacked in the back, and the music stands have been placed back onto the racks. Even the table that typically is decorated with sheets of music, has been neatly tidy and organized.
But even though Marinette can see that the dark classroom is absent from another person, the melody coming from the piano near the window proves that assumption wrong.
And It’s nothing like she’s heard before.
Marinette is accustomed to the classical pieces that she plays from her computer in the background when she studies, or the warm jazz music that really fits well with this time of year as the days get colder.
This, however, is something entirely new.
It’s experimental and exciting, even if the piece is more of a lyrical tune. The time signatures go back and forth, and it makes her wish she had more knowledge in music, past the few months she took oboe lessons when she was seven.
Abruptly, the slow and delicate melody transitions into a hasten tempo, shifting the dynamics of the patterns and rhythms. If the previous lyrically inspired melody evokes a feeling of longing and heartache, this transition sparks emotions of excitement and yet dread at the same time.
Marinette begins to walk towards the piano, the akuma threat already drifting away from her mind. She carefully approaches, trying not to disturb whoever the musical artist is behind the keys. As she gets closer, a familiar fluffy mop of hair peaks above the top of the case.
“Adrien?”
The music stops.
“Wait! I-I didn't mean to say that outloud!” Marinette cringes and takes a few steps back while her upper body caves in on herself.
The noise of the piano bench scraping the floor brings her attention to the boy whose face is now fully visible. The embarrassment of interrupting leaves Marinette when she curiously observes his expression.
It’s similar to the panic a child would experience when they get caught doing something that the child was told specifically not to do.
She’s never seen Adrien look so vulnerable before.
The two friends have gotten closer in the past few months as the end of their lycée years approach, and Adrien has shown private pieces of his life to Marinette that even Nino probably isn’t aware of.
So the emotions plastered on his face bewilders her.
“Sorry,” He unconsciously rubs the back of his neck. “I didn’t realize anyone was in here.’
“No it’s okay! I actually just walked in a minute or two ago…”
They stand in awkward silence, both avoiding eye contact with the other.
“That piece you were playing-”
“How did you conference-”
The duo laughs, easing the tension in the room. Adrien reaches and collapses the piano’s fallboard, and then walks closer to Marinette.
“You go first.” He offers.
She grows nervous at the sudden attention he’s focused on her. Marinette might have grown out of the weird stuttering phase, but her crush on him is still the same.
“Oh! Uhm, I was just going to ask what piece you were just playing? I really like– love it, and I wanted to know who the composer was.”
Adrien sheepishly grins. “That was actually written by me. It’s not finished yet, and really I’m not sure when it will be since the only time I get to work on the piece is during the days that the music room is empty.”
“Why can’t you play it at home?”
He sighs. “My father…well, you know how particular he is. He would disapprove of my effort to compose a piece that is so modern and contemporary.”
“Gosh, I’m sorry Adrien, and I’m also really sorry for interrupting!” Marinette places a comforting hand on his arm, and action that has recently become normal.
“Don’t worry Marinette. If anyone had to walk in here, I’m glad that it’s you.”
Heat rises in her cheeks, while her eyes are occupied with memorizing the loving expression on his face.
Another recent development from their closer friendship is the delusional thought (at least Marinette thinks it delusional. Alya does not.) that Adrien may feel something stronger than a simple friendship with her. However every once in a while he’ll offhandedly bring up the girl he’s in love with, and Marinette quickly shuts any speculation of his potential feelings for her, down.
She clears her throat, breaking the intimate moment. “What were you going to say?”
“Oh! I was wondering how your conference with the principal went?”
Marinette eyebrows shoot towards the sky.
“Drat, I forgot! It actually hasn’t happened yet because there’s a level three akuma alert.”
A level three alert means the city is not on lockdown, but everyone should be prepared to move out of harm's way if danger comes near. Paris implemented these tier categories because the frequency of Hawkmoth’s attacks couldn’t jeopardize the city's ability to function as regular any longer. The lowest, level one, is a minimum warning, used for akumatized victims who are passive or confined in a specific area. The highest, a level six, orders everyone in Paris to evacuate the city if possible.
Thankfully, there’s only been a few level sixes.
However as Hawkmoth becomes accustomed to his Miraculous’s ability, the average danger level of the akuma alerts has been rising.
“Which that reminds me.” Marinette continues. “I need to find my parents and make sure that they’re okay.”
Adrien’s face grows pale. “Right, right, and I need to go, uhm, do this thing.”
Even if his excuse is not the most brilliant one, Marinette pays no attention as she bolts out the door.
“I’ll talk to you later!” She calls out.
Instead of making another mistake of walking into an occupied classroom, Marinette decides to leave the school and transform in the nearest empty alleyway.
Eight minutes later, Ladybug arrives in a parking lot at the airport out of breath. Not long after, Chat Noir joins her.
“I haven’t kept you waiting long, have I bugaboo?”
“No, I actually just got here myself.”
“There doesn’t seem to be much destruction.” He gazes at the main building.
Ladybug smirks. “That’s because you haven’t been inside yet.” She doesn’t give him time to react to the roast, and swings her yo-yo. “Come on!”
They arrive at the front doors which open easily, meaning the power isn’t out if the sensors are still working. About sixty feet in front of them is a group of civilians, sprinting towards the exit.
“Ladybug! Chat Noir! Please help us.” A young woman screams.
The two superheroes hold the doors open for them. “I promise we will help, do you know where the akumatized villain is?” She asks.
“It’s further in near the terminals, but my sister and cousin got hit by the akuma and they're frozen back there!”
Chat Noir turns his head concerningly at Ladybug. “The akuma can freeze people?” He asks.
“No.” The young woman shakes her head. “They’re capable of moving, but they don’t want, or rather, they’re unable to.”
“Why?” Ladybug asks.
“I-I’m not sure. My sister got hit first while trying to shield my little cousin. For the first few seconds, she seemed fine, but then she started to clutch her chest and hyperventilate.”
A few tears escape the woman's eyes. “She started yelling about her fiancé dying, and…it’s like…like she was having a panic attack or something!”
Ladybug warily meets Chat’s gaze. “Please get to safety okay?”
“We’ll save your family, I promise.” Chat adds.
The woman and the rest of the group she’s with run out of the building. In the opposite direction, Ladybug and Chat Noir start sprinting to the terminals.
“Do you have any sort of clue what the akuma’s power is exactly?” Chat asks.
Ladybug jumps over a row of seats, flipping and landing back on her feet. “I’m not entirely sure, I’m just hoping that it doesn’t show the future.”
Chat furrows his eyebrows, lost in thought. “Actually…maybe it does show the future, but not a future that’s a hundred percent possible.”
“Like a person's deepest worries about the future.” Ladybug catches on.
“The sister's fiancé may work in a dangerous job, like a policeman or a construction worker.”
“Which would explain her worries about him dying, if that fact is true, and the woman said she was clutching her chest.” Ladybug points out.
Chat extends his baton over the security x-ray scanners. “Maybe it’s not like the sister was having a panic attack, but she literally is!”
“Well in that case, make sure you don’t get hit no matter what. I don’t want to face this villain alone.”
“You got it m’lady.”
They finally reach the terminals and Ladybug is temporarily caught off-guard at the scene. Dozens of people are hunched over in the fetal position screaming and crying on the ground. A shrieking voice pulls her away from the floor and to the akuma who is engulfed in a white flame, while light blue fire flickers away at a place that should be their heart.
“Uhh, bug? You don’t see an object do you?” Chat nervously asks.
Ladybug covers her eyes, blinking a few times from being blinded by the bright light of the akuma. “Unfortunately, no.”
The akuma is already so different from most others. There is no mouth, no clothes, no hair. The only human aspect to the akuma is its glowing blue eyes. The villain has definitely spotted them as it stalks towards the superheroes slowly.
“Is now a good time to call the lucky charm?” Chat yells from behind her.
“Ye–”
A light blue fireball strikes Ladybug’s chest. The feeling is contrasting to the fiery appearance of the akuma, and a icy cold temperature spreads through her veins.
“Ladybug!”
Chat grabs her waist and runs far from the villain, back to the main waiting area of the airport.
Ladybug is slightly aware of him yelling at her, perhaps he’s calling her name, but a high pitch ringing is taking over her hearing senses.
Then suddenly, she’s not in Chat’s warm arms at Paris’s airport, but instead she’s at a place all too familiar despite only physically being there once.
The flooded city slowly freezes, trapping the millions of dead people below. A white claw appears on her shoulder, making her jump and turn around.
Ladybug is no longer Ladybug, she’s Marinette.
Chat Blanc icy glare stares directly in her warm, summer sky eyes.
“No, g-get away from me!” She screams, backing away on the narrow beam of a lopsided Eiffel Tower.
“Cataclysm.”
“No, no, no! Tikki spots on!” Nothing happens. “Tikki?”
Chat Black brings up his right hand. In his palm are Ladybug’s earrings. “Looking for these Marinette?”
He smirks, satisfied with her reaction at hearing her name from his lips. Chat Blanc makes a fist around the earrings, and in one quick motion, launches them into the ocean below.
“No!” Marinette attempts to dive after them, but Chat grabs her wrist with his hand that’s not holding the power of destruction, and pulls her against his chest. He brings his cataclysm between their faces for a brief moment, and lowers it back down.
Marinette looks away from the white zapping energy, and glances back in Chat Blanc’s eyes. Except it’s not his eyes anymore, but instead Chat Noir’s usual green ones. He looks scared and angry all at once. Then he looks quickly at her lips.
Marinette holds her breath, waiting for the moment his cataclysm strikes her .
But that moment doesn’t come.
His lips crashes onto hers instead, and the terror that was just lingering in her entire body disintegrates, as a new, longing and passionate emotion takes over. He wraps his cold glove around her waist and bends his knees, attempting to get closer to her than already possible.
Marinette holds his face in her hands and wipes a single tear running down his cheek with her thumb. She breaks away to catch her breath, only to go back into another kiss.
She’s hungry, desperate to hold onto any amount of love he has left for her – any hope that their life will return to normal.
Chat suddenly breaks apart in a shallow gasp. Marinette abruptly opens her eyes and notices the hand on his chest.
His hand that held the cataclysm.
“Chat…Chat Noir?” She breaks into a sob.
He begins to slowly turn into ash, evaporating in front of her eyes.
“Chat Noir!” She screams more urgently.
He sadly smiles at her and brings his forehead to her own. “I’ll forever love you m’lady.”
Chat places a peck on her lips and then he’s gone.
Everyone in the world, gone.
Except for Marinette.
“No, come back!”
She collapses on her knees, ignoring the pain from hitting the hard metal. Her cries are mixed with screams, and her chest hurts so terribly that her hand grabs at it to make the suffocating feeling go away.
The piece that she heard Adrien play earlier that day starts to play through her head, perfectly capturing the heartache and suffering that encapsulates the feeling in her core.
Her screams turn into coughs, an effect from her exhausted lungs.
Marinette opens her eyes and stares at the grey tiles.
The grey tiles?
She blinks a few times, and turns in all directions to make sure she’s not dreaming anymore. The tightness in her chest silently floats away, and the music that she thought was in her head, is actually real.
A few feet in front of her sits Chat Noir – the real Chat Noir – playing a piano in the waiting area of the airport. She studies his back, noticing his tense shoulders and hung head.
Still, he plays the piece flawlessly, like he did earlier.
Like he did earlier?
Ladybug scrambles up on her feet, finding a new sight on the opposite side of the piano. The akuma stands silently, and its flames have dimmed a significant amount. So significant that Ladybug can see the person under Hawkmoth’s control, which seems to be a teenager a few years younger than her.
The soft blue glow around her heart shines around a pin of a bear, presumably the object where the akuma is hidden.
Ladybug wastes no time jogging around the piano to grab the pin, and snaps the clasp from the body.
The ugly moth escapes from the pin but ends up meeting the same fate as the hundreds before it.
The girl in front of her confusingly looks around. Ladybug is about to offer her a lift when suddenly, comforting arms wrap around her from behind.
She takes a step forward, bracing herself from the weight against her back. She can feel warm breaths against her neck, sending a chill down her spine.
Ladybug pulls the arms around her waist and loosen the grip so she can turn around.
Chat Noir stares back at her, locking her in place.
They don’t say anything, they can’t say anything right this second, so Ladybug wraps her own arms around his neck and pulls him into a hug.
He immediately responds, nuzzling his face between her shoulder and neck.
Ladybug squeezes her eyes, grasping onto the feeling of reality. The non-akumatized Chat against her body, whose music acted as a lifeline.
“Adrien.” She whispers in his ear.
Rather than freezing, which is what Ladybug would do if she heard her civilian self from his mouth, Chat just holds on tighter, lifting her slightly off the ground.
She pulls back, and he reluctantly follows the action.
“Meet me in fifteen at our spot?” She asks.
Chat simply nods, grabbing Ladybug’s hand and squeezes it.
He then lets go and runs towards the terminals where majority of the victims of this akumatized attack are.
Ladybug then turns her attention back to the girl. “Hey, how are you feeling?”
“I don’t remember much.” The girl mumbles.
“That’s completely normal. Do you remember what happened before you got akumatized? Maybe a reason why Hawkmoth targeted you?”
“I remember…getting in a fight with my dad because I kept begging him to let me stay home instead of flying to America to see his side of the family.”
The girl avoids Ladybug’s eyes. “I’m really terrified of flying. So much so to the point I began to convince myself that the plane was going to crash into the Atlantic ocean and everyone was going to die. Stupid, I know.”
“That’s not stupid. Did you know a lot of people are scared of flying? Yours included.” Ladybug does a very Chat-like bow.
The girl giggles. “And,” Ladybug continues “that fear of the worst outcomes coming true in the future, is an outcome of our anxieties. I have my fair share in the feeling as well, having the city's safety on my shoulders and all.”
Ladybug reaches inside her yo-yo, pulling out a protective charm in the colors white and light blue. She briefly pauses at the sight of the pair of colors, bringing her back to the realistic memory of Chat Blanc, but she swallows, urging herself to put that in the back of her head.
“This is a lucky charm.” Ladybug places it in the girl's palms. “It will protect you from being a victim of Hawkmoth again, and although it won’t magically erase any anxious emotions, I hope that having it in your possession will help calm your worries.”
The girl shyly smiles up at her. “Thanks Ladybug.”
—————-
“Hi.” Chat Noir says, arriving at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
“Hey! Did the sister and the cousin of the women get back together safely?”
“Yeah, everyone is okay…mostly okay. They all still remember everything.”
Ladybug aimlessly nods.
“…do you want to talk about it?” He asks.
She sharply turns her head at him.
“I mean, you were screaming so horrifically, and at first it sounded like you were trying to get away from someone, but then, I heard my name.”
“At least.” He continues. “I specifically heard Chat Noir. Not my actual name, but that’s also something I want to know how you figured out.”
Ladybug sighs. “Do you want to come back to my room? I’m not sure I can handle being close to the Eiffel Tower right now.”
“You…you want me to go to your house?”
“I didn’t offer the invitation for no reason. Plus, I think that it’ll explain a lot without having to say anything.”
Chat looks at her warily, but ultimately nods. “Okay. Lead the way, m'lady.”
Together, they start making the short trip back to her balcony. Ladybug notices how particularly close Chat is as they run and leap roof to roof.
When their school becomes near, she glances at him and observes his expression lost in thought. Presumably, wondering if Ladybug goes to the same school as him.
That question doesn’t have to linger for long, since Marinette’s apartment is at the corner of the street. Ladybug swings her yo-yo around the balcony’s railing and backflips onto the roof. Chat Noir lands with a soft thud a few seconds later.
She pulls the hatch to her room up, so they can talk in total privacy. Ladybug falls on her bed and slides down the ladder.
When she finally stops and stands to catch her breath, she looks up to see Chat still hasn’t entered her room.
“Are you coming?” Ladybug asks, as if this situation they’re in is normal.
Chat hesitantly hops inside and climbs down the ladder, staying a few feet from Ladybug.
“You’re-“ He points at her.
“Yeah…”
“But we-“
“I know.”
“Will you let me finish a sentence?” He asks.
She nervously giggles. “Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize! I’m just…wow, I’m really shocked honestly.” Chat runs a hand through his hair, slightly gripping it.
“Me being Ladybug is that shocking?”
“Yes!” He freezes when he spots Ladybug’s small frown. “Wait, it’s not what you think though!”
Chat takes a long breath, taking two steps closer to Ladybug.
“Do you remember Kwamibuster?” Ladybug nods. “Before the whole fight went down, I was really positive that you were Marinette. In fact, I was so sure of it that when you somehow revealed yourself as Multimouse-“
“The Fox Miraculous.” She interjects.
“Right.” Chat continues. “Anyways, when it seemed like at the time there was no chance that Ladybug could be Marinette then…then I was really disappointed.”
Her eyebrows raise. “You were?”
He eagerly nods. “Yes! I felt pretty bad afterwards because it wasn’t fair for me to set an expectation on who you should be, but I guess now it doesn’t really matter.
She nods in agreement, and then turns her back facing him, walking over to take a seat on the chaise. Ladybug drops her transformation, which catches Chat Noir’s breath, and then she pats the spot next to her, offering for him to sit down.
Marinette grips the edge of the chaise, and stares down at the floor. Chat studies her for a few seconds, and then he also releases his transformation.
She didn’t even look up at him.
Adrien fidgets with his ring. “Is me being Chat Noir surprising?” He asks gently.
“Honestly, I’m not sure right this second. I think if it was almost any other scenario I would be surprised, but right now, your identity isn’t really on my mind.” She finally meets his eyes and gives a halfhearted smile. “Isn’t that strange?”
He doesn’t reciprocate the smile, but rather lowers his brows, lost in thought. “Is it…is it okay if I ask about what you saw after you were hit by the akuma?”
“Well, there’s not any more secrets left between us, so I guess I should finally tell you.” Adrien cocks his head hearing the word ‘finally’.
Marinette leans back more, and raises her knees to her chest. Wrapping her arms around them. “Uhm, this part is kind of embarrassing to say out loud, but do you remember when I delivered that beret to you – as Ladybug?”
“The time when you told me it was from my Brazilian fans, but they couldn’t send it because there was a postal strike and–”
She awkwardly coughs. “--yeah that time! Anyways, it may come to you as a surprise, but I actually made that hat.”
“Really? Why didn’t you tell me?” He asks.
She ignores his question. “Actually, now it makes a lot more sense.” Marinette mutters to herself. She looks at Adrien with wide eyes, with all the pieces of the puzzle finally connecting.
“Oh god, I really screwed up!” Marinette’s hands raise, covering her face, and she buries her chin against her legs.
“Marinette?”
She exhales. “When I first placed the gift in your room, you weren't there – at least, I thought you weren't there – but you somehow must have seen me leaving as Ladybug without me realizing.”
“Then…then you saw the gift, which at the time had my name signed on the paper, and I guess you put two and two together like I did today when I heard you playing the piano at the airport. You discovered I was Ladybug.”
Adrien places a hand on her shoulder. “Marinette, I’m really confused.”
“Yeah, I kind of am too. I’m not sure totally what happened in that timeline, but when I was going back to the Trocadéro after delivering the gift, older Bunnyx popped out of the burrow telling me that something bad happened in the future.”
“So she took me to this other timeline, a timeline where you found out my identity that day and the…t-the city…” Tears begin to escape her eyes. Adrien moves his hand from her shoulder to her back, rubbing comforting circles with his fingers.
Marinette takes in a shaky breath and continues. “The city was flooded, and the moon was cracked in half. Nobody was alive. I wasn’t alive. Hawkmoth was dead…and you were akumatized.”
His hand on her back freezes.
“Your suit and hair was white, and your eyes were icy blue, and you knew my identity. You knew that I was Ladybug.”
“And the part that now makes so devastatingly sense to me, is that your akumatized version told me that our love is what destroyed the world.”
“Did I,” Adrien’s voice cracks. “Did I hurt you?”
She hesitantly glances up at him and then looks away, letting out a nervous half-laugh. “You tried to cataclysm me.”
“I tried to kill you?!” He abruptly gets up on his feet.
Marinette mirrors the action. “Adrien, it wasn’t really you. Besides, I captured the akuma that was inside your bell, and you were your normal self again. Other than the fact that you still knew I was Marinette.”
When her words don’t comfort him at all, she grabs the side of his arms. “Hey, everything's okay, I promise, and even though we know each other's identities now, Bunnyx hasn’t shown up. That must be a good sign, right?”
Marinette glances down at his throat, watching him tensely swallow.
“So you saw that me again today?” His voice is low.
“Yes, but I also saw things that didn’t really happen.” She lets go of his arms and turns away to walk toward her desk, hiding the sobs that are threatening to come out.
Marinette opens a striped gold and blue cookie jar for Tikki, grabbing two for both her and Plagg, who unusually doesn’t make a fuss about not having cheese.
Adrien stays planted near the chaise, observing the way Marinette purposefully avoids his face, and her subtle shaking hands as she hands the cookies to the Kwamis.
“You screamed. A lot.” He takes a step towards her. I didn’t…I didn’t kill you, did I?”
“No, you uhm…” The sentence never gets to finish, because the pools of tears begin to cloud her vision, and Marinette audibly weeps. She crouches to the floor with the hands near her temple and the heels of her palms pressed against her eyes.
Adrien strides forward and crouches next to her, offering a hug that she eagerly leans into. He starts to brush her hair with his fingers, tucking the loose strands covering her face behind her ears.
“Shh, you’re okay.” He soothingly tells her. “It wasn’t real.”
When Marinette calms down enough to speak again, she starts to tell him the events that occurred in her head. “One moment you had the cataclysm in one hand, and my earrings in the other. Then the next second you had a hold of me, and my earrings were sinking down the bottom of the flooded city.
“And right before I thought you were going to end my life, you kissed me. It felt…normal? At least how normal you could possibly be in a situation like that, and for a second I believed everything was going to be okay, but then…”
Adrien doesn’t push her, instead he patiently waits and continues holding her.
“You killed yourself.” She starts breaking into sobs again.
“You started to disintegrate r-right in front of my eyes, but of course you had this, stupid smile on your face.” Marinette uncomfortably laughs. “Then you told me you’d l-love me forever, and then you w-were gone.”
If the memory of seeing Chat die in front of her eyes wasn’t replaying in her head, then perhaps she would feel embarrassed of breaking down in Adrien’s arms. Marinette can almost hear the clear whispers that are supposed to be reassuring, but her head is pounding and her ears are ringing, so she tries to ground herself by feeling the beating pulse on his wrist.
A gentle knock echoes from the trapdoor. “Marinette, are you home?”
The two teens look at each other with panic shared in their expressions, but Marinette relaxes because if she’s her normal self and Adrien isn’t Chat Noir, then she honestly doesn’t care if her mother finds the two awkwardly huddled together on her bedroom floor.
“Y-yes! Sorry mama I wasn’t feeling well.”
Sabine took that as a sign to enter Marinette's bedroom, and she immediately stares in surprise at the boy accompanying her daughter.
“Oh, Adrien, I didn’t realize you were over.”
“Sorry I didn’t ask for permission first.” He replies.
“No, no! It’s totally fine. Would you kids like something to eat?”
“Yes, thank you mama.”
Sabine walks back down to the kitchen.
“Ugh, I think I cried my brains out. I’m so tired.” She says while removing herself from Adrien’s arms and stands up.
He follows the action. “Maybe you can get some sleep and we can talk more later?”
“No!” Marinette replies a little too eagerly “It’s fine. Anyways I probably won't be able to sleep because you’ll keep me awake.”
“I’ll keep you awake?”
“Well, I just found out that my classmate has been my superhero partner this whole time.”
A cheesy grin appears on his face “So what I’m hearing is that my pawsome self will float in your mind tonight?”
Marinette playfully groans “Oh god, I don’t know how I never noticed you were Chat Noir with those awful puns.”
“You love them, Bugaboo.” Adrien winks at her.
“Ugh, unfortunately I do, but I only tolerate it because I love you.”
Marinette freezes, playing back the words that left her mouth without thought. However, after everything that had occurred today, she can’t help but bask in the feeling of relief of finally confessing to Adrien. Even if it’s not as romantic as she originally planned.
Adrien stays still, as if the smallest twitch of a hand could evaporate an illusion. “You love me?”
“You really are completely oblivious y’know? I think everyone knew except for you.” She grins.
“Do you remember the first day we met each other — I mean technically we met each other twice on the same day, but I’m referring specifically to our civilian selves?” He nods. “Well, after school, you gave me your umbrella despite the fact that I was a massive jerk to you.”
He jumps in. “It was a valid misunderstanding.”
“Still, I didn’t even hear you out before jumping to conclusions. Really, the only reason I listened to your explanation after school was because I didn’t want to get soaked, but you were so patient and kind with me, and I swear the moment you handed that umbrella to me I was a goner.” Marinette lets out a laugh.
She steps closer to Adrien, reaching out to hold both of his hands. “You still are incredibly patient with me. You always are as Chat Noir when I make the worst decisions, or when I’m horrible to you.”
“But-!”
Marinette places a finger against his lips. “I’m not done.” He nods as she lowers her hand back down.
“You're also incredibly patient when I was awkward, stuttering Marinette, before we got a little closer a few months ago. Everyone else would tease me, or cringe at any interaction I had with you, but you were always…” Marinette pauses, attempting to grasp on the perfect word to describe him.
Adrien looks down at her hands in his and brushes her knuckles with his thumb. “You know that I fell in love with you too that day.”
“You might have mentioned it a few times.”
He giggles. “We are really made for each other, too bad that we both fell in love with the opposite version of each other, or we could’ve saved years of longing.”
Marinette shares his smile, but then starts to form a frown.
“What is it?” He asks.
“I don’t know if we can…” She closes her eyes, and sighs. “the other timeline, the outcome – you being akumatized – was caused by us loving each other.”
He starts to shake his head.
“Adrien, I don’t know if we have the privilege to pursue each other right now. Not at least until we finally have Hawkmoth’s Miraculous.”
“Marinette…”
Her mouth thins in a line. A serious expression similar to Ladybug shifts onto her face. “That means we have to find him faster. Put an end to his terrorism for good.”
Adrien suddenly grabs the sides of her arms. She looks up at him, startled, observing the movement of his eyes meeting hers and glancing to her lips. Marinette flushes, and waits for the moment, but his eyebrows furrow in hesitation.
She slowly lifts her hands to cup his face.
“Is this…is this okay?” He asks.
Marinette nods.
Contrasting to their cautious movements, the two boldly kiss each other, sinking into the reality of finally being able to.
Marinette pulls him in closer, feeling the pulsing heartbeat that matches her own. The feeling is reassuring, and almost great enough to erase the imaginary kiss earlier.
It’s fine this time. He’s okay. We’re okay.
This is real.
She welcomes the new sensations that she didn’t experience in her imagination; the way his nose brushes on her cheek, and the way the pads of his fingers comb up into her hair.
Neither can tell if the buzzing is coming from the intensity running through their veins, or from Marinette’s computer.
In her opinion the kiss is far too short, but when they break apart, she searches up and down his body, double checking that he’s in one piece.
Noticing this action, Adrien grabs one of her hands and brings it up to his chest. “I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere bug.”
Marinette leans her forehead against his chest, sighing with a mixture of relief and content. She lets out an audibly yawn, and after her ears pop, she can feel Adrien chuckle.
“You really are tired huh?”
She nods against his torso and wraps her arms around his neck. Adrien picks her up bridal style, and unable to climb up the ladder with her in his arms, he settles for the chaise.
It’s quite smaller than her bed, so Adrien sits down first and kicks his feet up on the chaise, letting Marinette lay on his lap.
She quickly falls into slumber, and after minutes of gently playing with her hair, Adrien’s eyes close as well. The rhythm of their hearts pulsing into one.
A knock on the door goes unanswered. Sabine opens the trapdoor with a plate filled with snacks from the bakery in her hand, and is surprised to see her daughter and her long-time crush sleeping in each other's arms.
The mother smiles, and grabs a polka dotted blanket off of Marinette’s desk chair, carefully covering the two. When she walks back down she turns the lights off, allowing only the daylight from the windows to flow into the room.
Marinette and her will definitely have a talk about the sudden closeness between the two, but for now, she lets the teenagers rest.
Unknown to her, they really deserve it.