Today is the day. Adrien psyched himself up as he waited for the bell to ring and let class out. Today's the day I tell Nath the truth.
The two of them had been dating for almost a year, and while Adrien would've like the first person he told to be Ladybug, she was still against them revealing themselves. He knew she'd probably disapprove if or when she found out, but it didn't feel fair to leave Nathaniel in the dark, especially when he had to bail on so many of their dates because of akumas. Nathaniel always accepted his excuses and told him it was fine, but it didn't relieve the guilt.
When the bell startled him out of his thoughts, he quickly stood, packing his things and turning to wait for Nathaniel. They had decided to head to Adrien's house to study for the upcoming physics test and if they had time afterwards, they were planning to watch a few studio ghibli movies and cuddle. Adrien's dad was out of the country on some business, and Nathalie had gone with him, leaving the house empty except for Adrien. It was the last day before the weekend, so Nathaniel was even able to spend the night if he wanted.
"Hey, Adrien, you okay?" Nathaniel asked, grabbing his shoulder and startling him out of his daze.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm fine, just thinking," He answered with a smile, grabbing Nathaniel's hand off his shoulder so he could hold it.
"If you're sure," Nathaniel said, giving Adrien's hand a quick squeeze before letting go, "I'm ready to head out when you are. I think I'm okay on most of the material, but I'd definitely like to go over it again."
Adrien nodded, grabbing his bag and heading outside, quickly getting the both of them into the waiting car and off to the house. Once they had made it inside the house and to Adrien's room, they got their study supplies out and set up right by the couch.
While Adrien helped Nathaniel with the physics homework, his brain ran on overdrive trying to figure out when the best time to tell him his secret. Would it be rude to interrupt the studying to tell him, or should he wait until the very end? Should he tell him before, or after the movie? What if Nathaniel got mad and left? What if Nathaniel broke up with him?
"Adrien? What's going on? Are you okay?" Nathaniel asked, grabbing Adrien's arm and snapping him out of his daze.
"Oh! Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just spaced out I guess," Adrien smiled, still overturning what he was going to do in his head.
"You know, you can tell me what's bothering you, no matter how small it seems. I don't want you freaking out over something I could help with." Nathaniel smiled, setting his work aside and scooting closer to Adrien.
Adrien let his body relax, shoulders slumping as he sighed, letting his head fall to the side and land on Nathaniel's shoulder.
"I want to tell you something, but I don't know the best time to, or how you'll react," Adrien replied, sighing again as he felt Nathaniel's fingers start to comb through his hair.
"Are you planning on telling me you're cheating on me, cause I'll only accept that if it's with someone cool, like Ladybug."
Adrien choked on a laugh, lifting his head to look Nathaniel in the eye before letting it fall back down.
"No, I'm not cheating on you, and I wouldn't even if Ladybug came in right now and confessed her undying love for me,"
It was Nathaniel's turn to chuckle, fingers pausing for a moment before laying a kiss on Adrien's forehead and resuming the petting.
"It's just," Adrien started, swallowing nervously before clenching his fist, "What if I told you that I was Chat Noir."
"I'd tell you that I already knew that," Nathaniel responded without pause, startling Adrien into fully sitting up and turning to stare straight at Nathaniel.
"What?" He almost screamed, face going pale. "What do you mean you already knew?"
Nathaniel shrugged, letting his hand fall to fidget with the sleeve of his hoodie as Adrien continued to stare at him.
"Did you expect me to not know? I know the magic or whatever changes a few things, but it wasn't really hard to find out. I figured it out while drawing a while ago, but really, that mask covers maybe thirty percent of your face. Is that what you've been stressing about telling me this whole time?"
Adrien let his body slump forward, torso landing in Nathaniel's lap. He let out a chuckle of relief as Nathaniel's fingers returned to combing through his hair.
"Yeah, I didn't think it was fair to you, giving you all those fake excuses and always bailing. I trust you, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
Nathaniel's fingers paused for a quick second before he laughed and let them continue.
"It's fine. Whenever I saw there was an akuma alert, I figured you wouldn't be able to make it. I figure the safety of Paris overrides my want for a cuddle date with my boyfriend. Although, I am definitely owed a few cuddle dates now. Also, I don't know if you know, but you purr sometimes when I pet your hair, which is both really odd and super adorable."
Adrien's face flamed a bright red as he turned to bury his face in Nathaniel's stomach, giving it a quick kiss.
"I'm so lucky to have you Nath," Adrien sighed, closing his eyes and feeling the purr rumble up through his chest. "I'm actually really glad you didn't tell me when you found out. I probably would have freaked out, so thank you for waiting until I was ready to let you know."
Nathaniel smiled, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the couch, fingers not pausing in their movements.
"I'm just glad you trusted me enough to tell me, but I wouldn't have held it against you either way. I'm here for whatever you need, whether it be as Adrien, or Chat Noir."
Adrien took a deep breath, trying to settle his heart that seemed ready to beat out of his chest at Nathaniel's words.
"Hey Nath? I love you."
There was a pause before Nathaniel chuckled, leaning forward to kiss the crown of Adrien's head. "I love you too Adrien. I love you too."