Everyone is at a school dance hosted at a country club. After trying to dance with Adrien and being blocked by Lila at every turn, Marinette goes out to the patio to breathe and be alone.
Marinette steps out onto the patio, trying to calm herself down. The cool spring air feels nice on her flushed face.
"How could I be so lame?" Marinette thinks as she feels her eyes begin to sting with tears. After all the effort her and Alya went through to prepare her for the dance, she still couldn't get anywhere near Adrien.
They'd planned everything for weeks, from the bright red strapless dress Alya insisted she wear to how they would get her close to Adrien at the beginning of the perfect slow song, curtosy of Nino.
What they didn't plan for was Lila being a total brat.
Tikki popped out of Marinette's clutch.
"It'll be okay Marinette! You still have plenty of time to dance with Adrien, and I'm sure your friends will be more than happy to help!"
Marinette let out a sigh. The night was still young, and she still had a chance to get her dance.
She started to head back inside, when she heard screams and, through the window, saw an akumatized student terrorizing everyone.
--
Adrien was miserable. His father actually let him come to the school dance, much to his surprise, and he was being blocked from all of his friends by Lila.
"I have to get away from her so I can actually spend time with my friends. But how?" Adrien wondered as he was being forced into another dance.
"Uh Lila? I actually have to go to the bathroom!" He blurted out. it was the first thing that came to mind, so he went with it.
"Okay," she replied, "I'll come with you! I need to powder my nose anyways!"
Adrien was borderline sprinting to the bathroom to get away from Lila. When he was safely away from her, he text Nino to come save him and let hom know when the coast was clear.
A minute later Adrien heard Nino chatting up Lila, insisting that she come back to the DJ booth to help him pick put a "super cool" song to get everyone pumped up.
"Okay! Let's go!" Adrien heard Nino say way louder than needed. But he got the message. After cou ting to 10 to make sure the coast was clear Adrien bolted out of the restroom and went to find Alya and Marinette.
He found her by the punch bowl, but didn't see Marinette with her.
"Alya! Nino finally saved me from Lila! Where's Marinette?"
"She went outside. She said she needed some air." Alya responded cooly. It almost seemed like she was mad at him, but he wasnt going to push it.
It was at that moment that Adrien heard Rose scream, and turned to see Juleka being akumatized.
"We have to hide! Come on!" Alya yelled as she grabbed his arm.
"Wait! I'm going to find Marinette!" Adrien pulled his arm from her grasp and ran towards the patio doors.
"ADRIEN!" Alya yelled after him as he broke into a sprint.
--
"Quickly, Marinette! We need to transform!" Tikki exclaimed, completely coming out of the clutch.
"I know! Let's go behind the building so no one sees us."
Marinette and Tikki take off around the corner and transform into Ladybug. After finishing the transformation, Ladybug goes around the other side of the building to save her friends and, hopefully, the rest of the night.
--
Adrien luckily made it outside without being noticed by Juleka. As he stepped onto the patio, he saw Marinette running around to the back of the building.
"Where is she going?" he wonders out loud.
"I don't know? But we need to hurry and take care of what's inside before all the cheese is ruined!" says Plagg, coming out of the Adrien's jacket pocket.
"Plagg! I need to make sure she's okay!"
Adrien runs to follow her. As he's about to round the corner, he hears Marinette saying something. For some reason he freezes.
"Did I just hear what I think I heard?" He peeks around the corner to see not Marinette, but his Lady.
He begins shaking, completely in shock from his new discovery.
"Dude! We need to hurry! We can deal with this later!" Plagg snaps, bringing him back to reality.
"You're right. Plagg, claws out!"
He transforms and goes to follow his Lady. He wants to get this taken care of quickly so he can talk to her and finally, hopefully, be with his Lady.
That is, if she'll have him.
--
After deakumatizing Juleka, Ladybug and Chat Noir head off to detransform. Chat follows Ladybug onto the roof, hoping to corner her.
"Chat! What are you doing? You know you can't follow me!" Ladybug lashes out, clearly furious that he even tried.
"My Lady, please! What harm will it do if we know the truth?" Chat responded, trying to give her a chance to tell him on her own.
"I'm sorry, Chat, but you know we can't. It's too dangerous."
Chat takes a deep breath, knowing what he's about to do could ruin everything.
"I know it's you, Marinette."
Ladybug stiffens, not believing what she just heard.
"Excuse me?" she says calmly, which is a miracle seeing as her mind is racing, her hands visibly shaking.
"I saw you transform earlier. I didn't mean to, but I did. Can we get off the roof before we transform back?"
Ladybug nods, stunned into total silence.
After getting off the roof, Marinette transforms back, seeing as there's no point in her wasting anymore of Tikki's energy. Her face is beet red, her ears boiling.
"How did this happen!? How? How? HOW?"
"My Lady?" Chat says quietly, bringing her back to the moment. She looks at him, knowing exactly what he's going to say next.
"Don't even think about it. It's better that only one of us knows about the other," she snaps, "besides-"
"You're wrong," Chat interrupts. "My Lady, all due respect, but you are so wrong. Nothing you say will change my mind."
"Chat, please-"
"No! Look, I know that you're in love with someone else, but I need you to know who I am, to know if I have a chance. I love you, and I do know that. I know you when you're not transformed, and I know that you are the same amazing person with and without the mask. Please, Marinette. Please."
Chat almost chokes on the last words as tears are filling his eyes. Marinette looks at him, completely surprised by this confession from her flirtatious kitty.
She looks at his flushed face, takes a deep breath, and can not believe she is about to say what she's about to say.
"Okay."
Chat Noir's tear-stained face shoots up to look her in the eyes. He nods.
"Okay. Plagg, claws in."
He transforms back, praying that his Lady will let him love her the way she deserves.
Marinette's jaw drops as she stares at Adrien standing in front of her.
"Adrien!? How did I not see it?"
She looks him up and down, seeing evrything she missed before. Those sparkling emerald eyes, his golden hair that looks professionally messy, if that even makes sense. That cute, quirky smile he does when he's embarrassed or feels uncomfortable. How did she never see it before? Of course it was him. Her best friend and love were the same person.
"My Lady? I know this is shocking, but could you please say something? You're making m-"
Marinette doesn't even think about it. She just let's her body move on it's own, pulling her towards him.
She cuts him off, grabbing his face and pulling him in, finally gaining the courage to kiss him.
At first Adrien hesitates, caught comcompletely by surprise. He quickly begins to kiss her back, having waited for this moment for far too long to screw it up now. He grabs her waist and pulls her closer.
"Am I dreaming? Was it really me My Lady was in love with all along?"
They pull away, both blushing. They look at each other eyes filled with bliss. This was the moment they both had waited for, and they were going to savor every second.
That is, until they heard Alya and Nino yelling their names.
"I guess we should head back?" Adrien says, grinning like a kid who got busted taking some candy.
"Yes! They must be worried sick!"
Marinette grabs Adrien's hand and runs towards their friends. It isn't until she sees the look on Alya's face that she realizes she has a lot of explaining to do.
"Where were you two?" Alya questions, clearly looking at their joined hands and not looking like she's worried about them.
"We hid in the bushes until Ladybug found us and told us it was safe!" Marinette explained, her voice getting higher. Adrien looked at her, thinking about how cute she is when she's nervous.
"Uh huh," says Alya, giving Marinette a look to let her know she has some serious explaining to do. "Anyways, let's get back inside! There's time for one more dance, and Nino has the perfect song to play!"
Adrien notices the wink she gives Marinette, thinking to ask about it later. For now, he has something else he needs to ask.
"Marinette, will you do me the honor of allowing me this dance?" He bows and extends his hand, going all out for his Lady.
Marinette nods quickly and stammers "O-o-of sure! Course!...Uh, uh-"
"She saying yes!" Alya interjects, helping her best friend who is turning as red as her dress.
They walk back in, Marinette taking Adrien's hand. As they walk towards the dance floor, Lila steps in their path.
"Adrien! I was soooo scared! Where were you?"
"I went outside to find Marinette when the attack started." He says curtly, trying to stay polite but wanting to dance with Marinette.
"You're so thoughtful! Anyways, will you dance with me one more time?"
Marinette is fuming and about to say something when Adrien beats her to the punch.
"I'm going to dance with Marinette. I've been waiting for this for a long time. Maybe next time."
They walk past her as Lila protest, saying it's the last dance and some other stuff.
Adrien and Marinette go towards the middle of the dance floor. As the song begins, Adrien takes Marinette's waist, and they begin to sway to the rhythm.
Marinette tries to listen to the song, wanting to remember every little detail, but all she can think about is Adrien's eyes looking into her's as he holds her close. She still can't beileve this is all finally happening.
"Adrien, can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"Will you say it again?"
He smiles at her with that playful smile of her best friend.
"Marinette, my Lady, I love you."
She melts closer to him, knowing that she isn't imagining it this time. He truly does love her.
"I love you, too, Adrien."
He leans in and kisses her, ignoring all the shocked gasps ge hears. None of that matters.
All that matters is that they are together, and that nothing, not even Hawkmoth, could tear them apart.