(A/N) I was inspired to write this when I rewatched Megamind for the first time in forever! and it's actually one of my favourite animated films. This has to be the best scene in the entire movie because it's so crushingly romantic in the worst way possible. Angsty Megamind au with Adrien/Chat Noir and Marinette. FYI: Adrien knows Marinette is Ladybug and Marinette knows Adrien knows her secret identity, but she doesn't know that he's Chat Noir. Adrien is too afraid of what his Lady will think when she realises she's fallen for her obnoxious partner in crime.

Adrien sets up a date with him and Marinette/Ladybug only for things to not quite go to plan. Lots of angst and pining.

Also, Disclaimer -I do not own any of the Miraculous or Megamind characters/transcripts.

Enjoy!

...

"To Adrien… for being the only normal thing in my crazy upside-down world."

"…to… being normal."

They stared longingly into one another as they raised their glasses and their minds submitted to the daze that enveloped them.

Adrien watched intently across the table, Marinette bringing the glass flute slowly to her lips. Adrien did the same. And suddenly a strange heat rises to his collar and flows upwards to his cheekbones when he realizes how long he's been staring. Marinette suppresses a giggle, because god! He is adorable! She gives him a once over, finding him especially attractive and totally endearing in his shy, yet cool manner.

"Marinette?"

"yes?"

"say I wasn't so normal… let's say I had two black ears that sat on top of my head and a strange instinct to use puns in all of my sentences -as a random nonspecific example."

He added quickly.

"Would you still enjoy my company?" Adrien waited anxiously for the girl to answer whilst somewhat hoping it would never arrive for the fear of being rejected. Especially after realizing that damn, he could actually be in love with this girl.

"Of course." Marinette chirped a matter-of-factly and simultaneously ripping Adrien out of his daze.

"You don't judge a book by its cover -or person by the outside."

A weight lifted off of Adrien's shoulders at her words. Thankfully she didn't seem to realize who (very specifically) he was talking about.

"Oh, that's a relief to hear." Adrien thought as his body loosened instinctively at the words of Marinette. Sweet, kind Marinette. Adrien's heart fluttered in his chest for mere seconds before he shoved the feeling back down into his stomach.

"-You judge them based on their actions." Marinette finished, looking very satisfied with her own answer and completely unaware of the complexities that lie embedded in the head of the boy sitting across from her.

Immediately Adrien thought of his worst moments around his lady. He knew the way he talked to her was more than a little distasteful in her perspective -almost as if no matter how romantic he tried to be, it only repelled her. All of his cringe-worthy puns, his failed attempts to woo and seduce the beautiful spotted hero, and the feeling of not truly being needed, because chat noir was the sidekick after all. All these thoughts whirred around every corner of his brain. Still, Adrien managed to plaster on a smile and bring back his classic witty charm to the table.

"Well that seems kind of petty, don't you think?" Adrien inquired lightly, his sudden boldness hiding all his insecurities.

Marinette could only giggle and be taken aback by his change of character all at once. And she found him even more loveable.

She let her eyes wander over him again, this time slower. Eyes locking on his lips with hesitant want. Adrien notices this. His eyes widening and his pupils growing to the size of cat's eyes. Because oh. He wants her too.

At the same time, they feel a gravitational pull bringing their faces closer and closer until Marinette could feel his breath tickling her bottom lip. He was nervous. Marinette brought it upon herself to be the final pull that would connect their lips.

Adrien's eyes widened impossibly bigger than before and a rush of heat surged his cheeks and neck. Adrien soon returned the kiss just as desperate with want and desire as Marinette had. Never had Adrien relished such a feeling. Her soft warm lips moulding against his perfectly, accompanied by the sound of their beating hearts. Is this what it felt like to have love and to be loved? If this was it, Adrien wanted more of it.

Marinette found herself deepening the kiss as she leaned over to touch his hand with hers and caress his cheek with the other. His hand was warm except for a cold hard ring he wore on his right ring finger. She brushed lightly over the piece of jewellery and she felt him sigh into the kiss. A blinding light suddenly cascaded over them from within the darkness. The green glow evident even through Marinette's closed eyes.

When the light dissipated Marinette warily opened her eyes, lips still attached to her date. The shock that pelted through her system was enough to force herself away from the man she was just kissing. Only to be confronted by another familiar face instead. Chat Noir stared in panicked dumbstruck at her from across the table.

"What? What!?" Adrien caught a glimpse of his black clawed hands in his peripheral.

Oh. Adrien knew he was fucked. He found himself trying to hide his form from his lady as if she hadn't already noticed his change in appearance.

"Don't look at me, it's just-just a technical glitch. Don't look yet" Adrien let out a sheepish chuckle and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as Marinette stood gawking at the leather-clad superhero in front of her.

"Plagg, claws off." The same green glow flashed in front of her again, and she stared in shock. She was now looking at the same boy she'd fallen in love with once again. His lips swollen from their kiss and cheeks flushed a deep shade of red.

"So… uh, where were we?" Adrien tested, his voice rising an octave with his shoulders tense with unease.

He saw her face melt into what looked like hurt? Disappointment? He wasn't quite sure, but it was very close to the face he often received from his father. Always so… unimpressed. Disconsolate. And he could see the confusion that welled up in her eyes.

"Now- now hold on" Adrien started only to be cut off again

"You!" Marinette cried. The sound of hurt and betrayal was evident, and Adrien felt his heart begin to crumble.

He watched as Marinette tried to search for words only for his heart to deteriorate further when she couldn't seem to bring herself to say anything more. He watched her tear away from him and rush to the exit leaving him there alone.

Plagg looked at his boy, for once seeming to understand the seriousness of the situation and shared the same forlorn expression currently held by his chosen.

There was a heart-wrenching silence as Adrien stood weakly in the darkness of the room. And then he did what he could only think of doing in that moment. He ran after her.

The rain was pouring down harder now. Marinette's gorgeous pink dress and black inky strands were now soaked and dripping like everything else exposed to the elements. She wandered aimlessly down the grey streets of Paris, tears creeping the corners of her eyes. She didn't think to bring a jacket, so the poor girl walked with her arms wrapped around her in attempts to keep herself sheltered from the unruly weather around her. it was dark, and she was thankful that no one was in the streets at this time. She needed to be alone.

Chat Noir leapt across the rooftops, over the streets of Paris careful not to slip on the wet concrete as rain pelted his body. Fear perked in his eyes when he realized how much danger Marinette could get herself into if an Akuma found her in this state. Determined Adrien lunged quicker, bounding over the tallest of buildings to see if he could spot his lady, Marinette.

"Marinette" he whispered beneath his breath. He leapt once more onto the neighbouring rooftop and scanned the area. He was thankful that the streets were largely empty due to the unrelenting rain and blackness of the night. His cat vision proved extremely helpful as his emerald eyes glowered in the dark. Adrien was about to lose hope until -

"-There!" Adrien hissed before launching himself into the air with his trusty baton.

Marinette needed shelter. And fast. She struggled through the rain, grasping her sides for warmth and blinking rapidly to rid the drops of water coming from both the sky and her tear ducts. She looked up and saw the Eiffel tower just ahead of her. she could find shelter there, she thought.

She continued to battle the rain until finally, she made it to the Eiffel tower. She stood there for a minute taking in the beauty of the tower in this heavy rain. The cries and crackles of the sky above were the only sounds preventing the night from its usual silence. And because of the stormy weather, clouds kept the stars hidden making the world around her even more dark and brooding. And then all she could do was think about what happened.

It wasn't long before Chat Noir landed just a few meters away from where she stood under the tower, ripping her out of her thoughts and locking eyes with the blackette. Her eyes were brimming with emotion and she looked like she was bound to break any second.

Chat Noir was the one to break the silence.

"I can explain" Chat started towards her, only for Marinette to turn her back to him, arms grasping her sides tighter and her gaze pointing to the ground. Chat, tempted to reach out to her decided best not to touch her if she didn't respond well to his presence.

His hand lowered dejectedly before looking at her again.

Heart beating out of his chest and tears threatening to spill he suddenly felt a pang of hurt vibrate his chest and gut.

"What about everything you've just said …about judging a book by its cover?"

Marinette seemed to have snapped because at that point she turned to face him, her features twisted into a look of disgust and betrayal. She dared to step towards him.

"Well let's take a look at the contents then, shall we?" Chat knew this was coming but he still wasn't prepared to face his lady, not when he knew exactly the horrible things she was about to say to him. All those he knew -too well. His father made sure of that every day, so he'd know how useless, disappointing, and unworthy he was to have anyone else in his life. He didn't deserve to be loved. He didn't deserve to have love. And yet all he did was try to get that one thing he knew didn't belong to him.

He was the sidekick. Sidekicks don't get the girl or the glory. He was an utter disappointment, failure, catastrophe. He was nothing.

Chat didn't even need to hear the words of the angry woman standing before him to know that he was a disappointment. All the words that rang through his head just now would only have just been reciprocated through her voice. His head hung lowly and he refused to look into her eyes. He couldn't bear to see the one he tried to love for so long, throw away his wishes in one quick glance.

"-and you actually got me to care about you!"

Marinette finished tearfully.

"Why are you so …obsessive?"

"Tricking me? What could you possibly hope to gain?" Chat just wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Even though she's rejected him countless of times as Chat Noir, he had at least thought she'd come to an exception after falling in love with his citizen self. It just didn't make any sense.

Chat Noir finally found the courage to look into her eyes once more. He craved her, wanted her, even loved her. He didn't respond to her last question because he thought the answer to be entirely obvious, yet shameful all at once. He had hoped she'd understand that he genuinely loved her as both ladybug and Marinette despite falling in love with his hero partner first.

"Wait a minute. Oh, I don't believe this" Chat stood silently pleading for her to stop pressing him, to stop milking this shameful crime he committed. He just wanted her to love him like he loved her. But I guess his hero form was too much for her to accept.

"Do you really think that I would ever be with you?" and there it was. The final straw. The end of this fantasy that Adrien had craved would become a reality. He was so close. And now because of his Chat Noir identity, it's all been ripped away from him.

Marinette scrutinized him as she stood tall and mighty over the weak leather-clad form in front of her.

He continued to stare broken and lifelessly into her eyes.

"no." he breathed just above a whisper. His eyes now trained to the ground in hopes that the tears threatening to fall will stay put.

Marinette's shoulders heaved and once again she found herself walking away from Chat and away from the love of her life, Adrien. Never looking back, she returned to walking in the rain.

Chat Noir moved to watch her. to see her walking away one last time.

And finally, since no one was there with him, he released his transformation. Adrien stood heartbroken with only his Kwami to comfort him.

He stayed at the tower. Just in case she decided to come back.