Ramblings

How did Marinette get herself in this mess? She was sitting on her terrace listening to Chat Noir go on about his love problems. Then again it wouldn't bother her if it was just Chat Noir, but ever since she found out it was Adrien Agreste behind the mask the whole time…she was going to go insane. She didn't even want to know, it was an accident.

One day after they defeated an akuma she had already de-transformed and just had to walk in to the same room Chat was using. She remembered it like it was yeasterday. The sheepish look on his face as she gaped at him was burned in to her memory. At first he tried to stutter out excuses, but then finally confessed to being Chat Noir. It probably would've been smart to come out as well and tell him that she's also Ladybug…but for some reason she didn't. Tikki argued with her about it often and told her that she should tell him, but for some reason she just couldn't. It didn't feel right. She knew how much he loved Ladybug, and she could only imagine his disappointment when he finds out the love of his life is not as miraculous in her civilian life. Instead she kept the secret to herself…for almost a month now.

That's how she got in this situation. Sitting on her terrace while Adrien blabbed on about his love for Ladybug. It was actually more of complaining about her lack of love towards him, but either way it bored her if she was completely honest. She asked as politely as possible why he always talked to her about this last week, and he told her it was because she was literally the only one who knew. While he was right and she didn't mind at first making him feel better it got a little overbearing. It started with every few days he'd visit her at night as Chat and then talk all night as Adrien…and then it was every couple days…and then it was everyday. Although he did feel kinda guilty for treating her as his therapist. He made up for it by listening to her when she needed to vent as well as help her any chance he got.

Marinette is a nice girl, and Adrien didn't mind her company. He actually thoroughly enjoyed it. It felt nice being completely himself around someone other than a girl who would never love him back. It felt nice to have a friend who would listen to him about things he just couldn't talk about with Nino. At first he felt kinda awkward and embarrassed that she knew about his secret identity, but the more he got used to it the more grateful he was. He yawned and sighed as he looked out at the city from Marinette's terrace. His lovesick rambles had faded off for a while, but they were always quick to return.

"I don't understand, y'know?" He spoke as he turned around and leaned against the railing to face Marinette who was leaning against her wall.

"Yeah?"

"Like, she trusts me and we trust each other more than anyone. We're partners for Christ's sake! I don't know why she won't just…let me know who she is," he sighed.

"Maybe she can't be bothered," Marinette replied in a bland tone.

"Maybe. I know this all sounds really selfish and childish, but I just can't help but think that if she knew who I really was she'd give me a chance. Am I crazy for thinking that?" He asked. Marinette frowned and tilted her head.

"Depends. Do you think she'll give you a chance because you're Adrien Agreste, a famous model and son of a rich designer?"

"No…maybe? I dunno. I want to impress her, but I don't wanna like brag about anything. I just-" he cut himself off with another sigh and sunk down to support himself with his elbows on the railing.

"I wish I knew who she was," he mumbled. Marinette hummed and removed herself from the wall. The blond plopped down on to the floor and she sat next to him.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because…I just do. It's hard to explain. I guess I just don't want to wait around for the next akuma to see her. I want to make her happy all the time and not just in a leather suit."

"Have you tried telling her that?" Marinette asked even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes. She said things were better this way. We're 'safer' not knowing each others identities," he said making air quotes with his fingers.

"It sounds like Ladybug is just trying to look out for you and protect-"

"Ugh! I don't buy that. I can protect myself and she knows that," he snapped. Marinette was silent at his outburst and he realized how rude he just was.

"Sorry," he muttered and looked away.

"It's okay…"

"I just wanna know. Call it curiosity, but I just wanna know! Why would she hide this from me? What could she possibly be thinking to hold something so important from me?" He glared at the ground and hugged his knees to his chin. Marinette felt her heart race. He was acting childish like the Chat she knew, but he still looked like the Adrien she adored. She felt conflicted with his outburst. Why couldn't he see that there's no guarantee he'll actually like who Ladybug really is? She wanted to shout at him for being so bone-headed and starstruck, but she couldn't reveal too much.

"W-well, what do you know about her? S-she could be scared for all you know," Marinette stuttered.

"Ladybug? Scared? As if," he scoffed.

"She's a p-person too, you know? She has feelings too, a-and I wouldn't be too surprised if she was too scared to reveal who she truly is," she continued. Adrien looked over at her and frowned.

"But why would she be scared?" He questioned.

"Well…maybe Ladybug isn't who you think she is. M-maybe she's not as spectacular as you make her out to be. What if she was s-scared that you wouldn't like who she was behind the mask?" She felt her face flush as she stared at the ground.

"That's ridiculous. Ladybug knows my love for her is nearly unconditional. My love won't change no matter who she is-"

"How do you know that, though? How can you be so confident you won't see her unveiled and think, 'oh god how did I ever like that girl?'," she snapped and glared at him. He blinked at her in surprise.

"Marinette, are you okay?" He asked. That innocent question broke her. She felt her face turn bright red before she quickly turned her head back to stare at the ground.

"I…I'm fine," she muttered and stood up.

"I'm tried. I'm going to bed now," she announced as she walked to her trap door.

"Mari, hold on," Adrien scrambled after her and grabbed her wrist. She looked back at him over her shoulder, but not directly at him. Instead she looked just a little lower than his eyes. It looked like she was a cross between frustrated, angry, and sad.

"You can tell me what's wrong. I've been rambling for hours, I know. I'm sorry, I don't want you to be upset," he said. Her glare hardened as he spoke and she finally connected her eyes to his.

"You're so…dense," she grumbled. His eyebrows shot up.

"E-excuse me?"

"God, your head is just filled with concrete, isn't it? You go on and on about your love for Ladybug, but have you really thought who she might actually be? She could be Chloé, or Alya, or Rose, or any other girl in class. Can you really honestly say you'd even date any of them if they were Ladybug?" She challenged.

"What? Is this really what you're upset about? I thought this was my problem," he said. She groaned and flicked the side of his head.

"You! Are! So! Dense!" She punctuated each word with her fist hitting her palm.

"Wait-"

"Just answer the question," she interrupted impatiently. Adrien frowned and took her clenched fist. He held on to her fist, his cool ring brushing against her skin, until she relaxed and let him hold her hand.

"I love her. I'm not gonna change my opinion on her just because she turns out to be someone I didn't expect. I wouldn't be saying that I love her unless I meant it," he told her. Marinette held his gaze and felt herself crave his love. She knew he loved her, but he didn't know that he loved her. The girl frowned and shook her head.

"Adrien…you're so dumb," she said.

She let go of his hand and instead cupped his face. Before she knew it she was up on her tip toes with her lips on his. Adrien was shocked to feel the girls lips against his, but didn't push her back because he didn't want to hurt her feelings. He held on to the sleeves of her jacket as she kissed him and oddly found himself missing her when she finally pulled back. She frowned up at him, her eyebrows furrowed and her cheeks pink. Adrien felt conflicted, his hands clutching the fabric of her blazer as if for dear life and his gaze locked on hers. He absolutely loved Ladybug, but Marinette…Marinette was soft and real. She was right in front of him. He had to clear his throat and shake himself out of the spell her kiss put him under.

"Listen, Marinette…I'm flattered, really, but you know how I feel about Ladybug," he felt himself regret his words as he said them. Although she seemed rather unaffected by what he had said.

"Adrien…I-I'm…" she trailed off and bit her lip. She couldn't say it.

"I'm…positive that Ladybug is scared out of her mind right now. I can assure you that Ladybug really does feel the same about you. I know that she's absolutely hopelessly in love with you, Adrien," she said instead. He furrowed his brow.

"How? Are you friends with her?" He asked. Marinette smacked her palm to her forehead.

"Oh my god you are so fucking dense why am I in love with you?" She groaned.

"Huh? What was that?"

"Adrien! Please do me a favor and use your brain when you listen to my next words," she urged moving her hands to his shoulders. He nodded.

"Ladybug is in love with you," she told him.

"Okay-" she held her finger over his lips.

"I'm in love with you," she added. He blushed.

"R-really-"

"Remember what I asked? Use your head," she said tapping his temple.

"How would I know how Ladybug feels about you in this moment without talking to her what so ever?" She inquired. He still felt confused.

"I'll give you a hint: she does not have telepathy and I am not a mind reader."

"Marinette, this isn't making any sense," he gave up. She sighed and gave up as well. The girl let go of his shoulders and threw her hands in the air before turning away from him.

"Well I can't just tell you, can I? Because if I told you I don't think you'd believe me!" She shouted.

"What?"

"I can't just say, 'oh isn't it obvious, Adrien? It's so evident that I'm Ladybug' because if I do you'll be like 'lmao Marinette you're crazy,'" she rambled and mimicked his voice as well as moving her hand like a mouth. She was facing him now and he blinked at the information she gave out.

"W-wait, what did you say?"

"And then I'll be like 'oh Adrien! You're so silly! Watch me transform with my little Kwami to show you! Then we can swing off together in to the sunset and have three kids, a dog, and a hamster' and then you'll be like 'oh my god I had no idea! This is so crazy!'," she continued while ignoring him.

"Marinette, back up-"

"And then you'll think 'maybe I don't love ladybug because she's actually a lunatic who shouts at rich models on her terrace at fucking midnight'!" She finished. She was breathing heavy from her outburst and turned red when she realized all the word vomit she had just thrown at him. He was gaping at her like she was crazy, and for good reason because she felt absolutely crazy. They were silent as they stared at each other, and it got awkward fast. Adrien was still processing everything she was telling him, and if what was happening was what he thought was happening then he didn't know what to think.

"Uh…I mean…n-never mind," she stuttered sheepishly and turned back to her trap door.

"You knew I was Chat Noir for like a month and you didn't tell me that you're Ladybug?" Adrien asked, stopping her in her tracks. Her eyes widened as she froze. Oh shit. She laughed nervously and scratched the back of her head.

"W-what? Who said I was L-Ladybug?"

"You did. Just now," he reminded her.

"Oh, I-I was just kidding a-and stuff…"

"Marinette be honest with me," he said and folded his arms over his chest. She sighed in defeat and closed the hatch before walking back over to him.

"Okay, yeah…I'm Ladybug," she confessed.

"Why didn't you tell me when you found out I'm Chat Noir?" He questioned.

"I…I don't know. I-I guess I was just scared because…you're Adrien Agreste, and I'm…Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno. I just…I just felt like you couldn't really love me with way you love Ladybug," she told him. He frowned at her.

"Are you kidding? You're the sweetest person I've ever met. You're kind and you listen to me and you're helpful. Plus, you're absolutely adorable-" he stopped himself after that word and held his hand over his mouth as his cheeks turned bright red. Marinette blushed as well.

"I-I mean…you're absolutely a good person. Y-you ran for president and ended Chloé's tyranny, a-and you do your best to be helpful to others. You smart and y-you're hand writing is pretty and you smell like vanilla and bread a lot…n-not that I smell you! I-it's just something I noticed," he stuttered nervously as she started to smile. He didn't realize how much he had noticed about her. Did he like her before she told him she was Ladybug?

"B-besides, it's a strong scent so anyone could really smell it, but i-it still smells good. I like it-again not that I smell you all the time! I just notice things sometimes, l-like how soft your hair looks a-and how pretty eyes are when you talk about something you like. They're actually pretty all the time…which is a totally normal thing I say about a lot of people!" Why was he still talking? He needed to shut up.

"I mean…wait-" he was finally cut off by her giggling and grinning up at him.

"It's okay. Tell me what else you've noticed," she encouraged. Oh no. She wasn't just kinda cute, she was absolutely adorable. How could someone so endearing be in love with him? Wait. Oh yeah, she was in love wth him. He smirked.

"Oh you know, just little things. Like the freckles on your face, and when you smile really big and it makes you squint your eyes…and you also wiggle your butt when you get excited," he spoke sounding a lot more confident. She turned red and dropped her smile.

"W-what? I do not wiggle my butt," she denied. He chuckled.

"You stomp your heels when you get excited or anxious and it makes your butt wiggle. It's really cute," he informed her. She furrowed her brow and turned redder.

"Why are you looking at my butt anyways? That's so invasive," she accused. He shrugged and unfolded his arms.

"Marinette, I already like you as yourself. I'm not upset that you're Ladybug. If I'm gonna be honest I'm actually kinda glad it's you," he admitted and scratched the back of his head. She softened her expression and found herself at loss for words. Adrien Agreste, Chat Noir, was happy that she was Ladybug.

"You…you are?" She stammered.

"Yeah. I guess over the course of this past month I just got to know you more and…it turns out I like Marinette enough that I'm really happy that it's you," he said reaching out and tucking her hair behind her ear. It was down and he had gotten used to seeing her without her famous twin tails. He honestly didn't know whether he preferred it up or down.

"I…uh…r-really?" She mumbled and nervously played with the tips of her hair. Adrien smiled and stepped closer, narrowing his gaze on her eyes and flicking down to her lips. He cupped her face gently with one hand and slipped the other comfortably over her waist. Her body tensed up for a moment, but quickly relaxed as he pulled her even closer and bent down so their noses were touching.

"Oh course. I love you, Mari," he murmured. She didn't have much time to react before he was kissing her. It was calmer then how she kissed him before. He had more control over himself and he evidently had confidence that she would want to kiss him unlike her. A smile spread across his face as her hands settled over his chest. She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck. When they pulled back they stared at each other and then laughed.

"I can't believe you endured a month of listening to me talk about you," he said. She giggled.

"I can't believe you trusted me enough to do it," she replied. He kissed her once more and grinned at her.

"Can we promise not to keep any more secrets? At least about each other?" He asked. It actually almost sounded like he was begging.

"I think I can do that," she told him with a smile. He sighed with relief and leaned in to kiss her again.

"Thank you, Mari."

"No problem…chaton."