I am finally back after 7 years. It's rare I stray outside of my love for Danny Phantom fanfiction, but I wanted to share a piece I'd recently written. I also hope to start reading some of the other Miraculous fanfiction soon. Here's my first Miraculous story. Enjoy.
"Hey Chat," Marinette spoke up suddenly. The two had been on her balcony for some time now in silence, Mari leaning on the rail and Chat Noir sitting in a cat crouch on top of it.
Chat's ears flicked. "Yes, purr-incess?" He glanced over to her, studying the expression on her face. It was one he knew well from their time in class together, one that meant she was deep in thought. It was the one that she would always brush off when he asked about it as Adrien, only to find her talking to Alya a few minutes later.
In a way, Chat was glad Marinette didn't know his identity. After all, it was the only way he got to talk to her normally. When he spent time with her like this, things weren't awkward at all. She could form full sentence, she would talk about her school days and her friends from class. She would discuss troubles she'd been having or anything on her mind. She wouldn't stutter or try to get away from him as quickly as possible like she was scared of him.
"Chat Noir?" Chat heard and looked at Marinette. She was watching him carefully. "Is everything alright? You seem upset?"
"Me? Upset? I'm feline fine, princess!" he laughed. Mari smiled, though she didn't seem completely convinced. "But what did you want to talk about?" He hoped changing the topic would help.
"Oh…" Mari trailed off. Her shoulders lowered slightly and she glanced back over the rail.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Chat said, cocking his head. He jumped off the rail and stood beside her, putting his hands on her shoulder so she'd face him.
"It's not that. It's just…Chat, why do you come visit me all the time now?"
"What!?" The question threw him off. Why did he come visit her? . . . Why did he come visit her? He thought about it for a moment. But how was he supposed to tell her he cared about her without admitted it aloud? After all, Ladybug wouldn't return his feelings, so he didn't want to have the same thing happen with Mari. "Because you're one of the few people that don't bombard me with questions. You act like I'm a normal person, and you let me be myself. And anyway, I want to protect my princess in case something happens."
"If you're afraid I'm going to get akumatized, you don't have to worry. That won't happen."
Chat's ears turned down, noticeably upset. "I thought the same thing Mari. And then…M'lady had to…" he trailed off, unwilling to talk about that day. Still not ready to admit that the only reason he had gotten into that circumstance was because he had fallen in love with someone who wouldn't return his feelings. Not willing to admit that to anyone, not even his beloved princess.
However, Mari already knew. She was his lady. She had been there; she'd been the one to fight him. If he knew she was Ladybug, the one who rejected him, would he still be sitting on her balcony like this, risking his life to protect her? Then again, he always stays by Ladybug's side, even now. Mari sighed, trying to hide how upset she was for getting him into that mess. Lucky for her, Chat spoke up again.
"Why do you ask? Do you not like me coming by?" Chat was afraid of the answer to that question, afraid he'd get rejected by this beautiful girl before him. If that were to happen, he didn't know how he'd be able to face her, not here, not at school. He didn't want that.
"It's not that." Mari sighed. "I enjoy you coming by. I really do. It's just…" she glanced up into the night sky. "Even after everything that happened, do you still love Ladybug?"
Chat's eyes widened. What? He hadn't really thought about it much, really. He'd been spending so much time with Marinette lately that she was the only person really on his mind since then. But since she seemed to dislike him at school, he couldn't ever find a way to talk to her properly.
"I don't know…" he replied honestly. Mari took a sharp intake of breath. "What is it? Did I say something wrong?"
"Did you give up on her because she rejected you?"
Chat froze. How? How did Marinette know about that? Nobody knew he had confessed to her. Nobody was supposed to find out. "Did Ladybug tell you?" Chat asked, voice cold, eyes narrowed.
"No! Chat, I just happened to overhear it. I'm sorry. I'm sure she didn't mean for you to get so upset over it."
Chat gave in, believing her. After all, he didn't remember much from that day, not anymore. He had tried to push it out of his mind. But as long as Ladybug hadn't told her. As long as no one else knew. But what did Mari know? He'd been going after Ladybug since the first day they met, and every time he tried, he got pushed away, and he began to doubt himself more and more. Maybe that was why he'd been spending so much time with Marinette. She reminded him so much of Ladybug.
However, Mari was asking for another reason. She wanted Chat Noir's advice. Adrien had been acting strange the last few weeks. Like he was hiding something, like he was upset. And yet, he'd still always try to tell her hi, even though she couldn't formulate a sentence around him to save her life. And yet, even though he continuously told her hey, he never hung out with her alone anymore. When they were together, he would rub the back of his neck and try to make an excuse to leave. Like he disliked her. It made her upset. She, too, was beginning to doubt herself more and more as time went by. He never showed romantic interest in any of the girls in class, even Lila and Kagami, but at least he would spend time with them. At least he wouldn't try to get away from them.
The truth was Chat had become her only comfort lately. Even Alya didn't fully understand what was going on. And it wasn't like she could tell her best friend she was slowly falling in love with Paris's superhero either. Then she'd have to explain why she was spending time with him, and possibly even her secret about her being Ladybug. She couldn't tell her that. So she didn't really tell Alya what was going on. She just convinced Alya to stop trying to set her up with Adiren. Mari had slowly began to take down the pictures of Adrien around her room. She wouldn't be able to say what his schedule was anymore either. And ever since Chat had confessed to her as Ladybug this last time, she'd started wondering if she could actually see him in that way. Oddly, the truth was, she could. She did like Chat Noir. Just not as much as she liked Adrien Agreste.
"There's this guy," Mari started, getting Chat's attention again. He seemed a little surprised. His hands fell back to his side.
"And?"
"And, well, I like him a lot. I hated him at first, but then he proved to me he was kind and gentle and caring. He's handsome, and he always helps others in need. I slowly begin to fall in love with him, but it got so bad that I couldn't even talk to him properly. And now, well, I feel invisible to him. He doesn't talk to me anymore, and I don't know what to do."
Mari sighed, not sure why she was even telling him this. Chat Noir just frowned.
"Have you told him how you felt?"
Mari shook her head. "I've tried. So many times. But I could never tell him."
"Any guy would be stupid not to give you a chance," Chat said, looking away from Mari and staring at the potted plant she had by the door. "You should tell him. He's a very lucky guy."
Marinette studied Chat. He seemed upset again. What had she done this time? She supposed she had brought up about what had happened between him and Ladybug. He was probably still really upset over it.
"I wish you could give me a chance."
The words came out just barely a whisper. Marinette could tell he hadn't meant to say those words out loud. The moment he realized it, he froze, his eyes widened as he turned a shade of red and he pointed his face even further away from Marinette.
"Chat…" Mari couldn't believe it. Did he actually…? Or did he know who she was? No way, he couldn't know that. So that meant. "Chat, look at me." Marinette grabbed the hand closest to her. It was enough to get Chat to turn around and face her.
"I'm sorry Marinette, I shouldn't have said that. I-I should go." He stood up, pulling the girl up as well.
"Wait! Chat!" Mari yelled as he snatched his arm away and leapt on the rail before leaping off the balcony.
~.~.~.~
Marinette lay awake in bed that night, the conversation between her and Chat rolling over and over in her mind. So he liked her as Ladybug, as well as Marinette? Or did he just like her because Ladybug had rejected him? But the longer she thought about it, the more sense it made. He had been visiting her for a while now, long before he had confessed to Ladybug. His eyes always lit up when he saw her, and his smile seemed brighter when she was by his side. Even when he'd been hurt, or they'd had a long day of patrol, he'd knock on her trapdoor and drop by to spend a few minutes with her. They would play videogames together, walk around town together. He had even eaten over at her place a couple of times. Her parents loved having him around. It was the little things like that she'd never paid much attention to, especially not when he flirted with her as Ladybug. When she was Ladybug, there was a city that needed to be saved. But as Marinette, she could talk to him more freely about her real life. And he always seemed to be interested. So maybe it was possible that he really did like her all along. Just like she liked both him and Adrien, maybe it was the same with him, he had liked both her and Ladybug, not knowing they were really the same person underneath.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki asked, wishing she could tell the girl that Chat Noir was the same guy she loved. "You need to talk to him."
"But he ran away…"
"You can always find him, Marinette."
~.~.~.~
"Marinette, are you okay?" Alya asked when they walked to school the next morning.
"Yeah, I'm fine Alya." Mari laid her head down on her desk and stared at the empty seat in front of her. "Is Adrien not coming?"
Nino glanced back at her. "No. He said he wasn't feeling well this morning. I'm sure he'll be back tomorrow though."
"I thought you were over Adrien," Alya said, putting her phone down and studying Marinette.
"It's not that Alya, but…I know he doesn't like me. He doesn't talk to me anymore. I still like him. It's just…there's someone else…" she didn't know how to say who it was though, and as much as Alya and Nino pushed her throughout the rest of the day, Marinette refused to say. The closest she got to it was, "He confessed yesterday, but he didn't let me respond." Alya and Nino didn't know what to do, so they tried their best to comfort Marinette and tell her everything would work out. Marinette didn't know how to believe them.
~.~.~.~
"You're fine, why did you miss school?" Plagg asked. Adrien was sitting on the couch, and Plagg was floating above the coffee table eating a piece of camembert.
"I don't know how to face her. I thought I was in love with Ladybug, but the more time I spent with Marinette, the more I actually got to talk to her as Chat Noir, I realized that I liked her. A lot. But she won't have anything to do with me as Adrien. And now I practically told her how I felt."
Plagg sighed. "Kid, I think you should be honest with her. Go talk to her. All you did was run away. She doesn't even know you're Adrien."
"Ugh, Plagg. It's still hard because I know I'm Adrien, and I know she doesn't like me."
"Just talk to her. You never know. Things could still work out. Unless you're still expecting Ladybug to swing from the sky and confess her love for you."
Adrien cringed. Thought he wouldn't be opposed, that wasn't really what he wanted. Not anymore.
~.~.~.~
"There's report of another akuma attack at the Eiffel Tower. Where are Ladybug and Chat Noir?" the TV rung out.
"Plagg, claws out!"
"Tikki, spots on!"
From two different locations, the shouts came, and in less than two minutes, Chat Noir and Ladybug stood side by side at the edge of the Eiffel Tower where an akumatized victim was turning everyone into statues.
They had to break the necklace around the man's neck, but they couldn't get to it. Chat's cataclysm had been used, without much effect on the stone, and Lucky Charm was the only thing left. Chat only had a couple of minutes before he'd transform.
"Hurry up M'Lady…I mean, Ladybug," Chat shouted. The slip up was enough to stall them both. They looked at each other, Ladybug in surprised, Chat in panic. The victim took that opportunity to shoot at Ladybug, but Chat Noir was too quick. He slammed Ladybug out of the way, only to be turned into stone himself.
"Chat Noir!" Ladybug shouted, swinging her yo-yo as she glared at the man. "I will finish this. LUCKY CHARM!" She watched as a wrench fell into her hands. Ugh. Her eyes darted around, trying to find some use for it. At least, she found what she was looking for, sending the akumtized victim falling backwards trapped underneath the fallen Eiffel Tower. She broke the necklace, de-evilized the akuma, and restored everything to normal. However, by the time she got back to where Chat Noir had been he was gone.
~.~.~.~
"I can't believe you kid. You're missing school today too? They're going to become suspicious, you know."
"Ugh, I don't know what to do Plagg."
"GO TO SCHOOL," he shouted. A little while later, Adrien drug himself into the classroom and sat down.
"Morning Nino. Alya. Mari-" He stopped in the middle of her name, seeing she had her head down and was looking away from him. Alya frowned, glancing between the two and watching as Adrien's shoulders sunk and he turned back around with a sigh, head hanging.
"Everything alright, dude?" Nino asked, but Adrien just nodded and rested his head on his arm.
He overheard the girls behind him. "Marinette, what is wrong with you? You were worried about him yesterday, and now you could care less that he's here. Make up your mind, girl. Did something happen?"
"Alya, I told you, I don't want to talk about it."
"Oh don't tell me this is about that other guy you were talking about."
"Alya!" Mari hit the desk hard as she turned to her best friend. She glanced at Adrien, embarrassed when she caught him looking at her.
Other guy?
"Okay, okay, calm down Marinette. We can talk about it later."
~.~.~.~
That was about how the next few days went. Akuma attacks distracted the duo enough, but it was still awkward whenever they were together. And then at school, they all but ignored one another. Nino and Alya tried to make things better, but the two would always make excuses to leave until they didn't know what to do either. They hated seeing their friends act like this, especially when they had been so close to getting them together after all this time.
Then finally, after a couple more days, Marinette set out to go find Chat Noir.
"Where are you going to look?" Tikki asked when Marinette explained what she was going to do.
"I don't know yet, but I'm sure he'll find me."
Sure enough, Chat Noir had, in fact, been watching his princess over time. He would watch as she sat out on the balcony at night, waiting for him to come by. But he was too scared to show himself. This particular night was no different. He was surprised when he didn't see her in her usual spot. He jumped down, glancing around.
"Princess?" He tapped on the trap door, but there was no answer. "Marinette?"
Still no response. Where had she gone?
He decided to look for her in town. After all, she wasn't hard to spot. He could find her. He had to. He wanted to protect her. And protect her he was going to do, no matter what. But he didn't realize the extent of those words until he found her.
"Let me go, creep!" He heard her voice and found her in an alleyway. A strange man was holding her wrist, keeping her on her tip toes.
"No, such a pretty girl shouldn't be here on her own so late at night."
"You will pay for this. He'll come for me, you know."
A hearty laugh came from the man. "The superhero of Paris will come rescue you? Yeah right. He probably doesn't even know you exist."
From where he waited on top of the roof, he could see the tears that formed in her eyes. "He does. He…" she trailed off, losing the will to fight.
The man laughed again, starting to walk off with Marinette in tow.
"Put. Her. Down." Chat growled. The man whirled around, surprised. Chat Noir stood with stick in hand, teeth bared.
"You want her, kitty? Come and get her." The man took off running.
"First of all, don't you dare call me that. Second, yes I do want her." He came down on the man with a crash, biting his arm to get him to drop Marinette. He dragged the man out of the alley and caught a police officer, explaining the situation to him. They gladly took him in as Chat rushed back over to where he had left Marinette sitting on the ground. He scooped her up, returning her to her home. When he reached the balcony, he felt her move.
"Chat?" She opened her eyes and looked at him.
"Are you alright, princess?" He asked, worried. She was shaking. "Did he hurt you? Did he do anything to you? Oh this was my fault; I was supposed to be there to protect you. Why am I so bad at these things?" He felt a hand on his cheek and opened his eyes to see Marinette smiling at him.
"You silly kitty."
"Princess?" Chat was taken aback by her sweet tone.
"You did protect me. You came for me, didn't you? I knew you would. Now, if you don't mind, could you put me down, I think we need to talk."
Chat sat her down, and they walked into her bedroom, both of them sitting beside one another at the edge of her bed. It was the first time he'd been in her room for some time. The first thing he noticed was the bare space above her bed. He could have sworn she used to have pictures up there. Her computer screen saver was one of Chat Noir and Ladybug swinging off the Eiffel Tower. He knew that picture. It was from months ago. They looked so happy there. So carefree.
Then he glanced at the girl beside him. She was looking up at him with curious eyes. He couldn't breathe. He could swear she was closer to him now than before.
"So what did you want to talk about?" he whispered.
"You haven't been back since…" she trailed off, knowing he needed no more explanation.
"I'm sorry, Marinette. I didn't mean to say that. I got scared. I didn't know how to face you. Please, just-" He was cut off and glanced over to see Marinette, her face a light shade of pink.
"Hush kitty, and just kiss me."
"What?" Chat's eyes widened. Was he dreaming? Did she really just…He didn't know what to do, and he sat there surprised until he felt the bed shift beneath him and her lips pressed against his. He kissed her back.
Mariette was scared at first, unsure where her sudden boldness had come from, but glad that it was there. She was glad she was kissing him, and reassured when he kissed her back. They sat there for a moment with their foreheads touching.
"I'm glad you finally came back, Chat."
"Thank you for giving me this chance," he returned.
They smiled, and soon Chat had to go, giving Marinette one last goodnight kiss.
~.~.~.~
The next morning in school, Marinette and Adrien both came in humming to themselves.
"You two are in oddly good moods this morning. Something nice happen? Oh, or maybe you two finally got together!" Alya squealed.
They stopped and looked at each other, then turned to their friends and screamed "no!" Alya and Nino seemed disappointed, though they were glad to see their friends happy again. Even if they still wouldn't talk to each other.
As much as they tried to get the juicy secrets, they just couldn't. This lasted a few weeks. Chat Noir would go over to Marinette's at night, and sometimes even spent the day with her. They would go to school content, even if they ignored each other, which was much more difficult for Adrien since he was excited to be able to see his princess during the day. During akuma attacks, Ladybug could only watch as she saw her beloved in action, unable to tell him who she truly was. But because of everything that had happened, he once again had the blind trust in her they'd had before. Good things did come.
Adrien was still a little upset Mari wouldn't talk to him during school, but he always made sure to tell her hey every single day. At last, she asked about it. It was one of those rare moments they had all four gotten to go outside to eat during lunch break. Adrien and Marinette hadn't tried to go elsewhere, and Nino and Alya were holding hands as they finished their food, sitting across from the other two on the ground.
"You're being nice to me," Marinette stated, looking down at her lap. Alya looked surprised that she had managed a full sentence.
Adrien rubbed the back of his neck. "Marinette, do you dislike me?"
"W-what? Of course n-not!" She glanced up at him, confused where this question had come from. Wasn't he the one who disliked her?
"Oh," came his response.
"Adrien, what's this about?" Alya spoke up.
"Well, Marinette is always avoiding me. She always tries to leave when I'm around, and she wouldn't really talk to me. So I thought that she didn't like me…"
Alya and Nino burst out laughing.
"Did you hear that Marinette?"
"Dude, seriously?"
"What? Did I say something funny?" Adrien looked around. Marinette remained where she was, fists clenched in her lap as she look down, her hair covering her face.
"Adrien, Marinette has been in love with you forever. She was always too nervous to talk to you."
"Wait, what? Marinette, is that true?" Adrien couldn't believe it. No. No way. His princess had been in love with him this entire time? How had he not seen it? So that boy she was asking about that day. The one she spoke so fondly of, the one she cared for so much, that was him? This entire time, he had already been the one on her mind. And yet, he'd been so caught up with Ladybug that he hadn't even noticed. How could he have been so stupid?
Marinette didn't respond.
"Of course it's true! She was upset you stopped talking to her. She thought you hated her. Tell him, Marinette. Tell him how much you like him. Then you can finally be together."
Now Marinette was shaking. "No." The word was quiet, but it made the group go entirely silent.
"Marinette?" Alya asked, putting a hand on her back worriedly.
At last, Marinette did look up. Tears filled her eyes, but they didn't roll down her face. She had stopped shaking, her hands relaxed once more. She pressed her face into a smile towards Alya and Nino. "I think it's about time I tell you something."
"I did like you Adrien. Ever since the day you lent me your umbrella, I was in love with you. But…I found someone else. You pushed me away, and I realized that there was someone else that truly cared about me, even if he didn't want to admit it at first."
Alya's mouth dropped. Her best friend was forming complete sentences around Adrien. Wait. "You don't like Adrien anymore!? When did this happen?"
"I have someone else now," Marinette smiled. Adrien heard his own heart break at the news, but he realized the situation he was in now. He had to tell her. He had to.
"Wait, so you have a boyfriend? And you weren't going to tell us? Marinette!"
The girl threw her hands up. "I didn't know how! You weren't going to believe me if I told you! I-"
They were interrupted when a broadcast came on for an akuma attack.
"Gotta go!" Adrien and Marinette said simultaneously.
"Fine, but you better tell us when this is over, Marinette!" Alya shouted.
Adrien watched as Marinette smiled at her best friend and nodded before running in the opposite direction as him.
He had to tell her…He had to apologize for being so stupid. But how?
After the fight, Adrien returned to school, but Marinette didn't.
Alya and Nino tried to get something out of him, but he claimed he didn't know anything. He admitted that he hadn't realized Marinette liked him though, and so he had pushed her away as an attempt to not force her to be around him. He regretted it. He asked for advice on how to make it up to her.
"Just ask her to forgive you. Maybe you could find her boyfriend and talk to him," Alya suggested. Adrien shook his head.
"I just want to know something that I can do for her that will make her happy. Not mess up her relationship."
Alya thought for a moment. "Hey Adrien, did you know that blue scarf you wear all the time was made by Marinette?"
"Huh?" Was she talking about the scarf his dad had given him?
"Yeah. She took all of her courage to give that to you, but she forgot to sign the card for it. When she found out you thought it was from your dad, she couldn't tell you the truth. She sent you a Valentine's card last year too. She dug through the trash to find the letter you threw away, and tried her best to respond to it. But, of course, knowing Marinette, she forgot to sign it too."
So it wasn't Ladybug who had replied?
"But why wouldn't she tell me all of this then?" Adrien asked, astonished by this. Then he remembered what she told him as Chat Noir. 'I couldn't even talk to him properly. And now, well, I feel invisible to him. I've tried. So many times. But I couldn't tell him.' So that was why. "I know what I'm going to do."
Adrien made up his mind. He didn't need to make her anything. He needed to apologize to her; he needed to tell her the truth. She deserved as much. "I'm going to tell her. I have to." He finally got Plagg to agree.
That night, Chat Noir found his way to Marinette's house, and there she was, waiting on the balcony for him.
"Good evening, purr-incess! How are you tonight?" he purred.
"Good to see you Chat!" Marinette laughed. Chat couldn't believe how relaxed she looked right now, even after everything that happened at school. Speaking of which.
"You never showed back up at school this afternoon, I heard. What happened?"
Marinette sighed. "I didn't know what to do. They were asking me questions I didn't know how to answer. I didn't know how to tell them I was dating you. But I didn't know how to reject Adrien either. I got scared. Chat, I love you, but I…Adrien…" Tears formed in her eyes.
"Princess!" he wrapped his arms around her. "Please don't cry. There's something I need to tell you. He pulled back, looking her in the face, and then he rested his forehead on hers. "You don't need to cry. Please, Marinette. You don't need to worry about anything."
"But I can't date you when I love someone else as well. I thought I was over him. But when he found out today, he didn't run. It was like he never knew at all. Alya told me he had pushed me away because he thought I hated him, and now I just feel so bad."
"Hush Marinette. It's okay." He kissed her. When he pulled back, she was looking at him with wide eyes.
"But how?"
"What do you mean?" Chat asked, confused.
"I like somebody else, Chat Noir. Does that not bother you at all?"
To her amazement, Chat laughed. "That's why I'm here, Marinette." Then he whispered in her ear, "There's something I need to tell you. Close your eyes."
Marinette closed her eyes. "Plagg, claws in." A flash of light later, he laid his forehead on Marinette's. "You can open your eyes," he whispered.
When Marinette did so, she pushed him away and fell on the ground. "A-Adrien! Wait, so you're…" Her eyes widened. Wait, so that means that day that he asked her out as Ladybug, her crush had asked her out? All this time, it had been him. All this time, she'd been rejecting the guy she loved.
Marinette couldn't decide if she should laugh or cry, so she ended up doing both. Poor Chat was confused. His ears turned down, and he watched her, unsure of how to react. "P-princess?"
"I can't believe this. All this time, you were right here. Now it makes sense how you seemed so close to me, even though we didn't meet often, and why everything always felt right with you. Your lame puns, your flirting. I turned down all of it, not realizing it was you. I'm so stupid." She sighed. "I guess that means I should tell you a secret as well."
"Marinette?"
"Tikki, spots on," Mari whispered, remaining on the ground as she turned into Ladybug right before his eyes. She stayed on the ground, eyes closed. "I'm so sorry Adrien. For everything, I'm so sorry. I was so caught up on Adrien that when you told me how you felt, I couldn't return your feelings. I realize now that was when you started to become so distant at school. I had broken your heart without realizing it. And when that happened, I didn't know what to do. And yet, you began to visit me as if nothing had happened. You talked to me about everything, and I was afraid to tell you that I was the one who broke your heart. I was afraid to tell you that I was starting to fall in love with you because I still liked Adrien. I'm so, so stupid."
Adrien smiled, kneeling down and grabbing her hand, kissing the back of it. "M'lady. Everything worked out though it seems. It seems our hearts never steered us wrong."
Marinette finally looked up. She transformed back into Marinette, and Adrien pulled her up and wrapped her in a hug. "I suppose not. But I'm really sorry for what happened."
"I'm sorry as well, Bugaboo." Then he kissed her, passionately.
~.~.~.~
"Good morning, Princess," Adrien said as she walked in the next morning. Marinette blushed and smiled, telling him good morning as well.
"Marinette?" Alya looked at the way her best friend looked at Adrien before exchanging a look with Nino.
"Oh! Morning Alya!" Marinette responded happily. Adrien laughed before turning back around and grabbing a notebook out of his bag.
"Dude, what's going on with Marinette? Did you really just call her that?"
Adrien frowned, glancing at his best friend. "Yeah?"
Nino frowned, but shook his head and didn't say another word about it.
~.~.~.~
"Should we tell him?" Alya asked her boyfriend later that day.
"But are they dating, is my question?" Nino asked.
"He called her princess! Yesterday they basically confessed to each other! And Marinette admitted she had a boyfriend. What if she lied to Adrien and said they broke up?"
"How do you know she didn't?"
"This picture was taken last night. Did you see it? Surely they didn't. Who on earth is going to break up with the superhero of Paris?"
"Is everything alright?" Adrien asked, coming up behind the couple.
"Hey dude, are you and Marinette dating?" Adrien blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Why did you ask that?"
"You called her princess this morning. Yesterday you wouldn't even talk to her. So are you dating or not?"
"I mean, I guess."
"So you don't care that she has a boyfriend already?"
"What are you guys talking about?" Adrien asked.
Alya pulled out her phone. "I got this picture last night when I was going by the bakery to return something to Marinette. I decided to leave them alone, but I thought you should know that you are competing with Chat Noir here for Marinette."
Adrien turned red. Of course Alya had seen this. How was he supposed to explain this when she had proof?
"Um…they broke up?"
Alya arched an eyebrow, knowing for a fact he was lying. Adrien didn't know what to do. Instead he left. With good timing, there was an akuma attack and he got to leave to fight. At the end, Chat Noir kissed Ladybug's hand. "Really kitty?" Ladybug laughed as they parted ways.
"So now you're cheating on Chat Noir with Adrien, and Chat Noir is cheating on you with Ladybug? Marinette, what is going on? Just because he cheats on you doesn't give you good reason to cheat on him. Break up with him if that's the case."
"But Alya-"
"No, Marinette. I'm not longer supporting Chat Noir in any way if he's cheating on my best friend. So please, you have Adrien now. Just dump him. Or is it because he's a superhero that you want to keep him? He's not going to be loyal to you. He's just a big flirt."
"Hey!" Adrien snapped, walking up to where Alya and Nino were yelling at Marinette. "I am not a big flirt! I love Marinette. So leave her alone."
"But she's cheating on…wait. I was talking about Chat Noir, not you," Alya said.
"Good job, Kitty," Marinette mumbled as she got up and walked over to Adrien, grabbing his hand.
Alya's eyes widened. "There's no way."
Adrien and Marinette glanced at each other then back where Alya and Nino were staring at them, mouths gaping open. With a sigh, they knew they had to explain.