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She had never understood how it was that Chat Noir always seemed to know when she had a particularly awful day. Maybe it was because he was her partner, maybe it was just sheer dumb luck, but somehow he had this crazy habit of being around whenever she was low, ready to cheer her up.
It hadn’t always been the case. In fact, she could pinpoint it back to about 4 months ago.
A particularly troublesome akuma had caused her to be a good three hours late to school, drenched from head to toe after having to get across town. Her transformation had worn off just moments after she had managed to escape the eager attentions of the press, ducking into an ally as the glowing pink morphed her back into her usual state. Just in time for the torrential downpour to start.
Ms. Mendeleiev, who had never been one to be particularly lenient even on her best days, had wasted no time in scolding her in front of their class, glowering and prodding as Marinette had struggled to come up with any sort of reasonable excuse. Chloe and Sabrina had snickered through the entire affair, and most of the rest of the class had watched with varying degrees of apathy and pity. Worst of all Adrien, who usually was one of the most understanding of her friends when it came to terrible attendance records, had been staring at her as though he had never seen her before.
In his defense, she had rather looked like a drown rat.
The day had not gotten better from there- a pop quiz she had almost certainly failed, her parents grounding her for her unexplained absence which had been prolonged enough that they had been notified, and to top it all off, a deliberate snub as Chloe proceeded to invite everyone in the class- save Marinette and Alya- to attend a VIP party at the hotel.
As soon as her parents had gone to bed she had transformed and hurried off to burn off some of her anger.
She had not expected Chat Noir to show up.
He hadn’t even wasted any time with small talk, simply pulling her into his arms and telling her how proud he was of her.
She had burst into tears, clinging onto the one person who could truly understand the pressures of having a double life as he showered her with affection and soothing endearments.
After that, it had become increasingly common for Chat Noir to show up whenever she had been having a bad time of it.
Sometimes it wouldn’t be in person. Instead, she would find a voicemail waiting for her on her compact phone, or the @ RealChatNoir social media accounts would be blown up with cute memes and posts praising her and her accomplishments.
One time, she and Alya had gotten into a fight after she had missed yet another hang out due to Ladybug related activities. Later that same evening, Chat had shown up at the bloggers house and given her an exclusive interview that had been livestreamed to the Ladyblog. Alya had been so thrilled that her anger over their fight had been all but forgotten.
It was comforting- his miraculous ability to always know when he was needed, and how to pull her out of her own despair. She had come to find herself growing increasingly dependent on his steadfast support.
So now here she was perched on the top deck of the Eiffel tower, waiting.
“And what has My Lady so deep in her thoughts this evening?” a soft voice sounded from the shadows behind her.
Right on schedule.
Ladybug felt herself relax as Chat Noir came to sit next her. The stress and irritation of the day lessened now that she had his calming presence beside her.
“How do you always know when I’ve had a terrible day?” she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder.
“Cats are very intuitive,” he said slyly, tilting his own head against hers and wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “Or perhaps it is a connection born of my eternal love and devotion to you.”
“Ha ha, very funny.”
“You wound me with your scorn, My Lady! I, who would cross oceans and scale mountains to be by your side,” Chat cried dramatically, his free hand going to his forehead like some overwrought Victorian damsel.
“Fine don’t tell me.” She rolled her eyes.
She already had a fairly good guess.
He chuckled a little, shifting restlessly beside her. “Let’s just say I know you better than you think,” he said at last. “Do you want to talk about it?”
She sighed, reaching up to entwine her fingers with his.
“Would it be terribly unheroic of me to just NOT save Chloe the next time there is an akuma attack?” she asked.
“Probably. But I would be lying if I said I didn’t understand the impulse. Thankfully, you will always continue to go above and beyond, and that includes saving people who don’t always seem to deserve it,” Chat said giving her shoulder a soft squeeze.
“You have so much faith in me, Chaton.”
“I am just stating the facts, My Lady,” he said cheerfully.
He didn’t ask for any details about what had happened, instead content to just sit beside her, gazing out at the darkened city below them.
For several minutes they sat in companionable silence. Just the two of them, taking comfort in each others presence, like that was how it was always meant to be.
“What do you think I am like as a civilian? You know, if you had to guess?” she asked softly.
“Why do you ask?” He tensed beside her, his voice tightening in fear and his ears and tail twitching uncontrollably.
Every suspicion that she had solidified in her mind. He knew her. He knew her true identity. Had most likely known for months now.
He always knew when Ladybug was upset because he knew when Marinette was upset. He had discovered her most closely guarded secret and had said nothing, instead, choosing to use this information to watch over her outside of battles as well as during them.
He had arguably spied on her, had definitely hidden things from her.
Somehow all she could feel was relief.
“Just indulge me?” she smiled, turning slightly to look up into his worried green eyes.
He stared at her, brow flinching in concentration as he searched her expression for any signs of anger or betrayal.
She waited, her smile gentle, trying to convey without words that she didn’t blame him. Of the two of them, it had always been she who insisted that they keep their identities secret from each other. She knew that he had on numerous occasions gone out of his way to avoid discovering who she was when it would have been quite simple for him to just give in to temptation. It was no surprise really that he would be afraid to admit that he had found her out, especially if it was an accident.
After a few tense minutes, he finally relaxed slightly, shaking his head a little in embarrassment. He took a deep breath before finally responding to her question.
“I think you are exactly the same as you are right now, My Lady. I think you are kind, and brave, and clever. I think you make the room brighter every time you walk into it.” He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and she nodded encouragingly. “I think you take too much on yourself, and I think you can be a bit ridiculous when you are stressed out. I think you are stubborn, and competitive, and the best friend I could ever want. You are everything I thought you were from the first day I met you and so much more.”
“That is high praise indeed,” Ladybug breathed, feeling her cheeks flush with gratitude and something else that she was hesitant to name.
“Well, it is just a guess,” he teased.
“Right,” she stated dryly, raising one eyebrow and crossing her arms.
He laughed, scratching at the nape of his neck nervously.
“When did you figure it out?” she asked, giving up on the charade at last.
“A few months ago. It was an accident, I swear. You ducked into an alley and I was on the roof of the building above it. You detransformed before I had a chance to look away. When did you figure it out?”
“Don’t turn this around on me, I have no idea who you are! I mean I think it’s safe to say you go to my school, but I only put all this together tonight.”
It was his turn to raise an eyebrow.
She flushed again, this time with embarrassment.
“Ok I might have been getting suspicious for a while now, but only that you knew who I was.”
She looked at him guiltily through her lashes.
“I see,” he climbed to his feet and began pacing distractedly. His tone was mild, but he couldn’t hide the slight tinge of disappointment.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly.
His eyes softened and he looked at her with an expression of infinite fondness.
“Don’t be, I am not exactly as... noticeable in my civilian form,” he teased, a ghost of a smile playing at his lips.
“I doubt that’s the problem,” she said, desperate to find some way to assure him that she was the one who was too selfish and distracted to have figured him out before now, and not that there was somehow something lacking in her adorable nerd of a partner. “After all, if you go to my school then you are well aware that I have a bit of blind spot when it comes to most of the boys who go there. It’s not anything wrong with you, Chaton.”
“I don’t know what you could possibly mean, My Lady.”
“You don’t have to pretend, everyone knows about my hopeless crush,” she confessed, standing herself and turning away in embarrassment.
“Oh… right. Of course I know about that,” he let out an awkward laugh. “Because everyone knows… apparently.”
“It’s my own fault, I am not exactly subtle.”
She sighed staring out at the city and wondering if maybe it was time to move on from her hopeless crush.
“So why isn’t he dating you?”
“Because he’s just a friend, he doesn’t like me that way,” she admitted.
“He has terrible taste, you mean,” Chat muttered, and her breath caught at the defensive jealous cadence in his voice.
“I think you are the only person in existence who would accuse Adrien Agreste of having terrible taste,” she teased, wondering if maybe it was time to really start reexamining her choices.
“Adrien…” Chat sputtered, sounding like he had started choking on something. She turned back towards him and saw him staring at her, dumbfounded.
“I take it back,” he said, his eyes gleaming with something almost hopeful, “he doesn’t have terrible taste.”
“Thank you.”
“He is an idiot.”
“Hey!” Ladybug huffed indignantly. She might be debating the pros and cons of moving on from her long time crush, but that didn’t mean she wanted to see him getting insulted.
“A blind, oblivious idiot who doesn’t know the first thing about women,” Chat said, a hesitant, shy smile lighting up his face.
“He isn’t-”
“Who is going to murder Nino tomorrow for not once bothering to clue him into the fact that the prettiest girl in school has a crush on him, when apparently this is common knowledge.”
“But-” Ladybug stared at Chat, her brain suddenly clicking the pieces together. “Oh…you’re…”
“An idiot?” He smiled sheepishly and took a cautious step towards her.
“Oh my god…”
Ladybug was fairly sure that her heart had stopped. Or maybe it was just beating so fast that she couldn’t distinguish one frantic thump from the next. She turned her face away from him, fixing her eyes resolutely on the city skyline as she tried not to faint.
This whole time, this WHOLE TIME he had been right there. Her own precious, perfect kitten. She could feel relieved, grateful tears pooling behind her eyes as her lips spread into a jubilant grin.
“For what it’s worth, My Lady, I have a sinking suspicion that Adrien is going to have a miraculous moment of clarity sometime in the next 24 hours. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he finally decides to tell you that he has been desperately in love with you all this time and begs you to take pity on his sad oblivious state.”
“And why would you say that?” she asked, still not looking at him, but unable to disguise the happy tremor in her voice.
“I told you before, cats are very intuitive,” he said taking another step closer.
“Do you think that Adrien is going to start making terrible puns all the time now?”
She schooled her expression into a teasing smirk and finally turned towards him.
“Why do you ask?” he replied hesitantly, a hint of worry creeping back into his expression.
She fought down a laugh. As if she would actually let him go because of his love of stupid puns.
“Because I think I would like that,” she said, letting every ounce of love she had for him- her considerate friend and her ridiculous partner- color her words with warmth. “I think I would like that more than anything.”
The smile he gave her was brighter than the sun, and it took every ounce of control she had not to tackle him to the ground.
Instead, she winked and turned away again, walking towards the edge of the tower as if this was just another night. She pulled out her Yoyo, toying with it, as she waited with bated breath for his response.
“I guess we’ll see tomorrow, My Lady,” he said, so quietly she almost couldn’t make out the words over the sound of the wind.
She lasted about 5 seconds before she caved.
“What if- what if I don’t want to wait that long?” she asked coyly, hardly daring to breath.
He laughed delightedly- that same perfect, unrestrained laugh she had fallen for so long ago, and she knew that her own expression must be the most ecstatic, lovesick grin in existence.
“You never know,” he said between chuckles, “you might get lucky.”
There was a flash of green behind her and she let out a soft happy sob.
“Marinette,” he said quietly, removing any last possibility that this was some sort of dream or misunderstanding. She turned around to see Adrien smiling at her. It was as if suddenly everything was perfectly clear, like the clouds parting after a storm to reveal a brilliant sun. It really was him.
Of course it was him. He was he best friend, her other half. Of course he was also her love.
“Marinette, I was wondering if-”
“Yes!” She ran forward and jumped into his arms, “yes, yes a million times yes!”
“You didn’t even let me say anything yet!”
“I don’t care! My answer is yes, Chaton. For as long as you will have me, my answer is always yes.”
“Even when I am oblivious?”
“Yes.”
“Even if I am making terrible puns, or flirting shamelessly with you?”
“Yes.”
He wrapped his arms around her tightly, their faces inches apart.
“Even if I told you that you will never get rid of me? That you are going to be stuck with me for the rest of my nine lives?”
“Shut up and kiss me kitty.”
He didn’t need to be told twice.
FIN