Chat Noir was Ladybug's best friend and, by extension, Marinette's as well. She didn't know what she would do without him in her life and as the days trudged on, seeing each other less and less after Hawkmoth's defeat, a dull ache grew in her heart. She'd come to understand that ache as it grew more and more everyday they were apart. Ladybug needed Chat to know who she was. She didn't think her heart could take not seeing him more regularly.
They were sitting shoulder to shoulder on one of the beams of the Eiffel Tower after their bi-weekly patrol, both gazing at Paris below them. "I think I'm ready Chat. I'm ready for us to reveal our identities."
She could see him turn his head to look at her out of her peripheral. "R-really?"
"Yeah, I am. I can't take just seeing you during patrol anymore. I want us to be able to go see the movies we talk about together. I want us to go to that new ice cream place you were telling me about and try every flavor with you. I want us to be able to call each other when we have exciting news or just need to talk after a bad day. I want to teach you how to bake since you told me you don't know how. Most of all, I just want to see you." Ladybug turned her head to meet his eyes.
"Y-you know My Lady, that sounds an awful lot like dating." There was a guarded look of hope written across his face.
"I guess it does, doesn't it? I wouldn't mind calling them dates. People do say the love of your life should be your best friend, after all." Ladybug's lips turned up into a warm smile.
Chat's mouth dropped open at her confession. "I-I love you too, M…" Before he could get past the first phoneme, Ladybug interrupted him.
"Marinette. You can finish that off with Marinette." Ladybug was suddenly very nervous when she saw Chat's face morph into one of utter shock.
"M-Marinette? As in, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" Ladybug rubbed at the back of her neck, a nervous habit she'd picked up from the boy next to her.
She smiled sheepishly. "The one and only." All her worry drained away as Chat laughed, beaming at her.
"Of course it's you. How could it be anyone else? You both are so similar and now it all makes sense. No wonder I had a crush on Marinette."
Ladybug's eyebrows drew together. "Wait, you had a crush on me? Do we know each other Ch…"
"Adrien. You can finish that off with Adrien." Ladybug laughed, this whole situation was just too ironic. Chat's curious look was tinged with a bit of nervousness.
"Let me get this straight, the boy I had a crush on for forever, Adrien Agreste, has actually been my flirty crime fighting partner that I also developed feeling for? Not only that but, I come to find out he had a crush on my civilian self too? This is just too perfect."
Chat laughed. "Wow, we've been kind of dancing circles around each other, haven't we? Maybe we should start making up for all that time we lost with, say, a movie date tomorrow?"
Ladybug leaned over a placed a kiss on her partner's cheek. "Sounds perfect Adrien, Mon Chaton."