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She was scared. So terribly scared. Horrified even. And she thought the dread the last akuma made her feel was unbearable, but this? She could have lost everything. Not like when all the miraculous were stolen except her own, and Chat’s of course, but that hadn’t been in her care thankfully. No, this was worse because if the current villain got the earrings, all hope would be gone along with it.
She opened the door to the guest room and her suspicions were confirmed.
It had all been some kind of a trick.
Now she was faced with the aftermath of the butterfly holder's newest scheme, and it had been so close. If she had been just a little less paranoid, it would have all been over by now.
Her parents were frightened, confused, lost. For a brief moment she wondered what was running through their head. Did they think this was just a dream, a nightmare, or maybe they were afraid that they were going crazy? Hallucinating?
What a mess this had become, but she knew how to fix it.
This… This may very well have been the hardest decision Marinette had to make. Ever. Or well, one of them… But was there another choice left?
Plenty.
Probably.
She could lie some more…
She thought bitterly, but she just didn’t have it in her. Was it selfish of her that she wanted her parents to understand her? That she desperately craved to be able to be honest with them?
Alya should have been enough.
A traitorous part of her whispered.
And Luka, and Alix, Kagami, Félix… even Nathalie. Oh boy, she really was awful at keeping her secret identity, wasn’t she?
She steeled herself, mind made up. She reached for her mother’s phone and ended the call that was still connected to her great-uncle in Shanghai.
“Mom, dad…” She looked straight at them. Determined, head held high, heart beating wildly in her chest. “We have something to tell you.”
They glanced at each other, eyes widening further.
“What do you mean, ‘we’?” her mother asked.
Marinette would never forget the look on their faces. The sheer terror in their eyes, the distress, and the worry too.
It was now or never.
“Tikki, show yourself!” she called, her voice allowing for a slight tremble at the end. The kwami floated up next to her, looking just as remorseful as she felt, but there was no going back now. She had to do this. She would not back down. “Spots on!”
The adults gasped, expressions nothing but pure shock. They still had a hand around each other as now, in place of the daughter they thought they knew so well, stood none other than Ladybug.
They were frozen in place. Staring, gawking, studying her so intensely she had to fight every urge in her body to not squirm or flee. For a second, she thought her mother was going to faint, she was so pale, but it was her, who snapped out of the trance first.
“Oh, darling,” she whispered. Her voice cracked but she didn’t hesitate anymore as she approached the girl and pulled her into a tight embrace. “It must have been so hard.”
Her father followed right after.
She tensed. It took longer than she’d be willing to admit to be able to relax in their hold, but once she had, she broke down sobbing. She didn’t have to pretend any longer. She was the absolute safest in her parents’ arms. She felt like she was just a little kid again and it felt so good. She could finally let go, even if just for a little while.
She was gasping for air whenever her heaving chest let her, tears were flowing freely on her face, but she wasn’t the only one crying. With all three bodies so close together, Marinette could tell that her parents were hardly faring better. They had their whole world turned upside down just a few minutes ago, but she knew without a doubt, their sorrow wasn’t for themselves. It was for her, their sweet little girl, who had to endure so much alone. The quiet reassurances meant more to her than she could ever express.
“We’re here for you.”
“You did exceptionally well.”
“We’re so proud of you!”
“You held on for so long…”
“We love you so much!”
It was everything she’d longed to hear every time she chose to wear that heavy, dark, awfully cheerful mask.
“Spots off,” she muttered, not wanting to be a hero right now.
Then she heard a choked gasp.
Three pairs of eyes looked at him alarmed and Adrien could not utter a word in his own defence.
There were so many things he wanted to say, needed to, even, but the connection between his brain and body got severed somewhere between walking up the stairs to check on his girlfriend and seeing Ladybug crying in the arms of the mentioned girl’s parents. And then Ladybug became Marinette and the revelation hit him so violently his entire being froze with it.
His thoughts were going so fast it didn’t allow him to react.
Marinette was Ladybug and… Ladybug was Marinette.
It made sense too, in a way. The two most amazing girls in his life were actually the same person, but it still raised so many questions in him. It also answered many.
In only a second, his mind supplied him countless images of her, both as a hero and as a civilian, comparing the two, making the connections, but it also reminded him how impossible it was.
The excuses, her genius strategies, her wonderful personality…
Multimouse…
Her appearance, all the other holders being their class, why she was always so eager to let him get away during akuma attacks…
Ladybug’s appearance today while Marinette was there too…
Adrien didn’t get more time to ponder, though, because his focus settled on Marinette once again.
“No, no ,no,” the girl was frantically muttering as she stared at him with wide, panic-stricken eyes. He wanted to reach out for her, but the moment he began raising his arm, she stepped back unsteadily. “Please, please tell me you didn’t just see that!”
His cautious silence told her what he couldn’t bring himself to.
“This can’t be happening!” the ravenette said in a broken voice.
He felt something in him crack too. She sounded so small, so hurt, he had to make it better. She did not deserve to feel such pain.
“It’s going to be okay…” he told her.
She didn’t seem to believe him, which was to be expected, so he didn’t let it sting.
“I’m still here.” He glanced around the room, the concerned mother and father stared back with hope radiating off them while Tikki was right by her holder’s side. “We’re still here.”
That got her to properly look at him.
“I know things are difficult right now and I don’t have a magic solution for you, but don’t have to have one either.” He walked to her and grabbed her hands. “You’re not alone in this anymore and I know that together, we can overcome any obstacles that the new villain throws at us!”
Those breathtaking bluebell orbs locked with his, still teary and red-rimmed, but they were no longer filled with terror. “Do you really believe that?”
The unsureness in place of her usual confidence was staggering, but he did not let it show.
“More than anything.”
A simple reply without an ounce of hesitation.
He raised a hand to her face to gently wipe away the single tear that escaped, then leaned in to kiss her temple.
She relaxed momentarily, before seeming to remember something.
“But… what if all the secrets I keep…” she started, “What if they will hurt you so much, you’ll hate me?”
He was ready to tell her that’s impossible right away, but when he opened his mouth, he realized what she meant. “This is about my father, isn’t it?”
Marinette pulled back and nodded guiltily. “I have been lying to you about more than just who I am.” The sentence was meek and resigned, like she had already accepted the rejection she was sure would come.
He considered the implications carefully. Not wanting to rush out an answer that’ll make her feel worse, though he knew not replying soon enough would also achieve that. How could he explain that she mattered much more to him than whether his father was truly a hero or not? That he hardly even cared about the truth as long as he had her?
In the end, he went with something different. “So that’s why you’ve been acting off whenever the topic came up?” He made sure to sound soft and not accusatory. “He… he wasn’t a good person, am I right?”
She made a miniscule confirming sound.
If he was honest, he had his suspicions even after they went around asking the people close to the designer about his true nature. At that time, he felt relieved that his father wasn’t a monster, but his doubts kept creeping back in. That was the reason why he wanted Marinette to draw who the man truly was. She always saw people as they really were, so if she could show it to him, then maybe he would have been able to see it too.
Now he understood why the requested art never came. He regretted how much pressure he put on her with it. He pulled her into a hug. He needed to have her close right now, more than anything.
“I’m sorry you had to suffer so much for my happiness.”
Like this, he felt the shuddering whimper more than heard it.
“That’s not all!” She cried, but clung to him tightly, as if hoping he wouldn’t push her away now. Not that he was planning on letting her go anytime soon.
He shushed her while he rubbed her back comfortingly. “Don’t worry about it anymore, okay?” He would not allow his voice to waver, even though he was on the verge of crying too. Not because of what she kept from him, but for how it affected her. Seeing her like this was worse than any pain he could imagine at the moment, except for maybe leaving her in this state, but that was the last thing he was going to do. “You don’t have to tell me… I just want you to know that when you’re ready, I’ll be able to handle it.”
She appeared to be surprised by what he said, so he repeated it, just to be absolutely sure she understood his priorities.
“I promise. Only once you’re ready, and whatever it is, I can handle it.”
She burrowed even closer and her breathing slowly evened out again. “Thank you.”
The two adults in the room gave them another minute to bask in their bubble before addressing the situation again.
“Marinette, dear,” her mother began, “If you’d like to talk some more, then how about we all get comfortable in the living room, and I’ll make us some tea?”
“What a wonderful idea, darling,” added the father.
The girl seemed to think so too. “That sound fantastic, mom. Thank you.” She went to give them another hug as she walked out of the guest room and into the mentioned area.
Adrien gazed after her in wonder, forever in awe of her strength, then he noticed what she was wearing. His cheeks flushed at the sight. He had never seen her in a qipao before. She looked pretty in everything, but like this? She was beyond mesmerizing.
The ravenette turned back from the hallway to see why he wasn’t following, and his heart skipped a beat. “Gorgeous,” he breathed without meaning to.
His face burned when he realized he said that out loud and Marinette tried to sputter out her gratitude, but it ended up in flailing and a jumbled mess of syllables.
They settled for exchanging a shy look before breaking into giggles, while the others in the room watched them with nothing but fondness.
“Come on then, everyone,” Sabine said eventually, “I believe we have some things to talk about.”
Soon they were all sipping their teas calmly. They were aware things were not going to be easy, but they all knew that in the end everything would be alright, because they’d face them together, as a family, and that was what truly mattered.