When Marinette first received the invitation from the Mayor to attend the gala he was planning, her first thought was no. There was no way in hell that she was going to be dragged to Chloe's house for a party where she would most likely be attacked by the girl herself in a never-ending word-barf of questions, compliments, and requests to hang out in her free time. Ladybug or no, she would rather die than go to this party.
So, why was she currently working on designing a dress for this exact dance at 11 pm in her room? That was a question that she would love to know the answer to. Along with her other question: How was Chat Noir so good at persuasion. Or, as he would call it, persuasion. She really needed to stop spending so much time around that stupid alley cat.
"I think it's great that you decided to go to the Mayor's party," Tikki said from her spot next to Marinette's sewing machine. The red blob didn't seem to be annoyed in the slightest that Marinette was using the Miraculous for attending a party rather than fighting evil. If anything, that annoying blob of cheerfulness was enjoying the whole thing.
"I'm already regretting this."
"Well, don't. This is a good opportunity to have just plain fun as Ladybug. And while the Miraculous isn't meant for fun, it's not going to hurt anybody if Ladybug has a social life."
"Ladybug's life is already plenty social," Marinette counters, feeling oddly defensive.
"You transform, kick evil butt, flirt with Chat, then go back to Marinette. And while that's great and all, it wouldn't hurt you to go to this party. If anything, it will help you. People love a hero who spends time with the rest of the world."
Rather than fight further with Tikki, she decides to go back to her work. Besides, it would be nearly impossible to get out of this party now. The press have already spread the word of her agreement and Chat wouldn't allow her to leave him alone. All she needs is to find a full-proof way to avoid Chloe at all costs. It can't be that hard.
.o0o.
"Okay, I have a plan," Alya slides into the seat next to Marinette with enough force to slightly collide with the other girl. She quickly repositions before continuing, "And I just need is a herd of various animals and some rope. Oh, and my fearless partner in crime, of course."
Mari giggles, "I'm not going to help you break into the Mayor's house."
"Awww, but why not? Going to this party would fulfill my life. Ladybug and Chat Noir have never gone to a party like this and I am not missing this."
"I agreed to help my parents with this big order that night. I don't think I can get out of it. Plus, sneaking around isn't really my forte."
Alya sighs, "I suppose you're right. You'd end up tripping over your own feet and completely destroying my plan. And then how would I manage to get in?"
"See," Marinette sweeps out her hands in a wide motion as if this would somehow help her logic, "My helping would really just be a burden. You know what you should do, you should ask Nino to help you out with it. I'd bet he'd be more than willing to."
Alya blushed at that, hitting Marinette's arm in retaliation. As if on cue said boy walks through the door to the classroom, followed by the one and only Adrien Agreste, which then causes Marinette to also blush slightly.
The two of them take their seats in front of the two blushing girls, talking about some previous conversation.
"Hey, Nino." Alya begins.
"Yeah?" He spins around in his seat so that he is facing her more.
"I was wondering if you would like to help me out with trying to sneak into the party that the Mayor is having?"
He stares at her for a moment before accepting the offer.
"What about you, Adrien. Want to help in the heist of the century."
Adrien's eyebrows raise slightly at Alya's question.
"It's not a "heist", Alya." Marinette says, "You aren't stealing anything."
Marinette pales at the other's guilty expression before Alya breaks out in a fit of laughter. "I'm just messing with you, Mari. Calm down. You're too high-strung. It's just breaking and entering."
"I'm suddenly not feeling too great about your plans. I'm not sure if I want to be an associate of a criminal." She was only half kidding.
"Anyway," Alya turns back to Adrien, changing the subject. Kind of. "What do you say? Want to be part of my great plan?"
Adrien didn't look too happy about the whole idea either, Marinette noticed. "I'll pass, I have a photo shoot."
Since when? Marinette questioned. Mentally, of course? There was no reason to let the blonde-beauty know that she had been… passionately following him around for the past year. But that wasn't on his schedule for Saturday. He probably just made it up. After all, Marinette made up that thing with her parents. It wouldn't be that strange.
"That sucks."
"Yep."
Ms. Bustier slams the books that she was carrying onto the desk, signaling that she had arrived and that class was starting, which meant that Nino and Adrien had to turn around to face the front and Alya and Marinette must now pay attention. Maybe. Marinette had other things to think about. Mainly regretting her recent decisions.
.o0o.
The night of the Gala had arrived and Marinette didn't feel any more ready than she did a week ago. Though, she had a dress now. So, she guessed she was slightly more prepared.
This was still a mistake.
Chat and she had agreed to meet up at the Eiffel tower before heading to the party together, which she supposed she was thankful for. It was better than having to face the press, and worse Chloe, alone.
Tikki had taught her how to alter the miraculous so that she only kept the mask and the yo-yo, which was nice when needing formal wear for a dance like this. It would really be a burden to have to try to design a dress with the ladybug suit on under it. She had ended up in a black dress with red polka dots that came to a rest at her mid-thigh. It was a sleeveless style with a red bow around the waist. She had black tights on under her 'gown' along with black flats and her hands and arms were covered with long black gloves. No need to leave fingerprints on the estate.
She had left her hair down for once, and while it felt weird to be going out as Ladybug without her signature pigtails, she was also excited about the change in her famous look.
"Oh, why am I doing this?" She asks herself in the mirror. She both wished that she hadn't already transformed so that she could consult Tikki and was happy that she didn't have to deal with what she already knew that the kwami would tell her. It was both annoying and supportive. Marinette knew that she was just being difficult. She just needed to woman up and go face the world. And Chloe. Oh, this was going to be awful, wasn't it?
With that terrible thought in mind, she opened her trapdoor and started on her way to meet Chat. She would be a few minutes early, but would also probably be.
Swinging over the rooftops of Paris, she was happy with her idea to keep her hair down. It was a freeing feeling to have it flowing behind her. She should do this more often. She was lucky though-as she normally was-there wasn't any wind to knock her hair into her face and get stuck in her recently applied makeup. Maybe it was a good thing that she typically kept her hair tied back.
She made it to Eiffel tower in a few minutes and sure enough, Chat was already sitting on a ledge waiting for her.
The party was to start at seven and go until midnight. She didn't feel like arriving right at the start though, she felt it was best to try to let Chloe let off some steam before arriving. She originally suggested that they arrive at eleven, giving Chloe the least amount of time possible to torment her but still give Marinette enough time to chat with the press and show that yes, she did show up like promised, but Chat had wanted to go right at the start. Nine was their compromise.
And nine it was. Or, almost nine. Close enough.
Her feet hit the floor of the tower, and Chat spun around off the ledge to face her.
"You're early, M'lady." He wasted no time in taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.
"So are you," Ladybug pointed out.
"Details," Chat waved off. "Shall we be going?" He did one of those dramatic arm swoops that he was so prone to.
"Yeah, in a minute, Chatton."
Chat was wearing a tuxedo with a green tie, she expected as much. Though, she didn't expect the tux to be Agreste brand. That definitely wasn't cheap. He wouldn't just go out and buy something like that for this, would he? That would be over-board, even for Chat. But, then did he already own it? Why would he own a high-end tux like that? And a green tie that matched his eyes perfectly. Marinette wasn't dumb enough to think that his eyes would look the same in real life, but could he have the same neon green color? Is that even possible?
She was confused about his attire, but that wasn't what made her want to wait a minute. She could figure all this out later. She just needed to syke herself up for this. She didn't think that it would be this nerve-wracking.
She took deep breaths as she looked out over the bright city. It was dark and beautiful. It was beautiful in the day too, but there was something about the night that just made it even more so.
Chat didn't question her, just stood in silence beside her. It was nice to just stand in each other's silence.
She wished they were able to do this more often. Usually, they would only see each other in the chaos of an Akuma attack. Not the most relaxing time.
She glanced over at her partner, only to see him staring at her and not the city lights.
Ladybug cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the small blush that now stained her cheeks. He wasn't able to see it thanks to the mask, but Marinette didn't really like the red-hot feeling underneath her Ladybug mask.
"Let's go." And with that, she extended her arm, the yo-yo flying with it, and set off towards the Bourgeois mansion.
.o0o.
"That's a lot of people," Ladybug muttered to Chat as they approached the 'house'.
They were still pretty far off, but they could clearly make out the little swarms of dots that were the party guests. Or uninvited guests. There was a lot of them. And that was just outside the house. Marinette didn't want to imagine how many were inside the building.
She wondered if Alya was among that crowd. Probably not. Her friend was probably already inside the house, mingling with the other guests and fellow superhero-fanatics.
"That it is," Chat agreed beside her.
They were paused on a building, Marinette not really wanting to take that final step to the party. Well, long set of leaps to the party, but you get the picture.
"You okay?" Chat had noticed her distress, and while he hadn't said anything at the Eiffel tower, he probably found it more important now that she still hadn't gotten over it.
And why hasn't she gotten over it? It was just a dumb get-together. She was Ladybug. She deals with giant monsters every day and wins. What's the big deal about a little party? She could do this.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go to the gala, Minou." She smiles at him, inspired by her pep-talk she had just given to herself.
He smiles back. "Okay."
And with that, they take multiple large leaps to the party.
.o0o.
The inside of the Bourgeois house was covered with party decorations, platters of food, and some very stylish guests.
They had made it through the guarded doors without a hitch beyond some looks of awe, all of which Ladybug made sure to respond with grins and smiles.
As soon as they actually hit the party crowds, they were surrounded by a multitude of people. Many of which were press, snapping photos for their various news-outlets.
They were all quickly sent away by the Mayor. The amount of power that he had was pretty incredible.
"Ah, Ladybug, Chat Noir, I'm so glad you could make it."
"The honor is our's Mr. Mayor." Chat responded with a bow.
"Please, enjoy yourselves. And if the paparazzi are too overbearing, don't be afraid to shew them away and tell me. If I need to, I can kick them out." And with those final words and a smile, he was gone.
"So," Chat started, "What do you want to do first?"
Ladybug didn't have to tell Chat that she had no idea because before he could finish his last word, she was attacked by a... Passionate fan.
"Oh… Hi, Chloe. How are you this evening?" Marinette said to the blond who was clinging to her side in a hug.
"I'm just fantastic now that you're here. It was getting way too boring for my liking. No one seems to get me like you do. Now come on, let's go. I want you to meet my other friends. Though they have nothing on you, don't worry."
By the time that Ladybug had removed Chloe from her figure, she was being dragged away by the same girl towards her "other friends".
"Oh, I wasn't worried." She whispered, sending Chat a pleading look over her shoulder to which he just responded with a shrug.
Ladybug sighed and gave into Chloe's demands, walking with her.
Chat was no help, Marinette had realized.
.o0o.
After speaking for a much longer time than Marinette would've liked with Chloe and her friends, Ladybug was finally able to escape.
Faking a need to use the restroom, she snatched some sparkling water from the drink table and took the closest exit she could find out of the crowded main room.
She needed a break from all of the noise and chaos that came with a party and having no idea where Chat had gone to, she took to the halls alone.
After about five minutes of wondering the vast house, Ladybug decided to just chill up against a wall for a little while.
So, there she sat on the floor, with her back pressed up against the plain white wall behind her, water next to her lap, her hand idly around the cup. She took a set of deep breathes, letting her head fall back to the wall and closed her eyes.
Parties really were never her scene. She prefers small group get-togethers where she knew everyone and there was much less commotion or dealing with whatever attack Hawkmoth had schemed up this time. She didn't want to be talking to random strangers in the house of Chloe Bourgeois. Ladybug mask or not. She should have just stayed home.
At first, Marinette thought the sound of the piano was just a figment of her imagination. But after putting her ear up against the wall behind her, she realized that there was indeed someone playing the piano. There wasn't a door on the wall that she was next to and the hallway went on for much further than just that one room alone, so Ladybug had to maneuver her way around the mansion, letting the sound of the piano tell her if she was getting closer or just failing at her attempt entirely.
Eventually, she found the door to the room where the sweet noise of the piano was originating from. It was a classical piece, the name of which, Marinette had no idea. Marinette was never a musical genius. Doing flips across the skyline was more her speed.
Pushing open the door, Ladybug was greeted by a lone Chat Noir. He was fully immersed in the song that he was playing, not seeming to notice that he had been discovered.
He was good. Really good, Marinette realized.
He must've also gotten bored of the party festivities. It was comforting to know that she wasn't the only one that couldn't stand the setting.
The music went on and on for multiple minutes and Marinette enjoyed herself listening in silence near the doorway.
She had closed the large wooden door, partially out of fear that they would be discovered if the music was allowed to flow through the halls of the estate. Ladybug wanted to spread out this personal concert for as long as she could.
Eventually, Chat stopped playing, and he just sort of stared at the piano, not seeming to know what to do next.
The song had ended, from as far as Marinette could tell, and so she felt that this was good enough a time to break the silence.
"You're pretty good." Chat jumped and his head whipped over to Ladybug. His eyes almost looked afraid until he realized that it was just her.
"Thank you, m'lady." His posture relaxed and he scooted over, leaving Ladybug the option to sit next to him if she so pleased.
She took the offer and stared at the instrument before them. "I don't know how people can learn how to play stuff like this. Especially, whatever that just was. That was impressive. I don't think I have an ounce of musical talent." Marinette said, giggling at the thought of her even trying to play anything close to what Chat just did.
"I've basically been taking lessons my entire life. I don't remember a time when I wasn't supposed to be practicing. And we all have our skills. Yours are just more suited for the world of justice." He smiled over at her at his pun before adding, "And looking incredibly stunning while doing so."
She smiled back, embracing the compliment. "And you're apparently good at both."
"Which both? There were three things there." He held up three fingers. "And I'm pretty sure that piano was one." He took back a finger. "So, what was the third? Being a god of justice or looking incredibly stunning. I have my guess." He smirked, moving the hand that was previously counting down so that he could run it through his hair, making it have an even more tousled look. Speaking of looks, the one that he just gave Ladybug was a chill-worthy one.
She wasn't going to deny that he was attractive, that much was clear. And he knew it. Marinette didn't know what to really say, in temporary shock from that hair move. "Yeah."
He chuckled, sending Marinette out of the trance.
She shook her head as if she could clear it from whatever that was by sheer force. "So, what are you doing in here anyway?"
"It was getting boring, going from stranger to stranger. Half of them just talked to me about hero work and the other half approached me as if I was a normal party-goer, talking about weather or sports. I don't know which one was worse."
"So, who's regretting going to this gala now?" She said, giving him a look. "And, way to help me with that whole Chloe thing. I was standing there talking to her friends for way too long. It was mostly about rich stuff. Their way over-the-top weekend plans or recent splurges. I got a few invites if you were curious. I think I would've preferred the riveting discussion over humidity."
He gave her a shy smile and a mumbled "sorry".
"I escaped if it wasn't obvious. And just sort of ended up mindlessly walking around. I sat down against one of the walls and heard the piano playing. Now I'm here. Thank goodness it was you and not some random someone playing the piano. Do you like playing?"
He shrugged.
"Then why do you play?" Ladybug questioned.
Another shrug. "I'm supposed to, I guess. Though, it was worth it this time. Otherwise, we may have been separated, bored out of our minds, for much longer."
Ladybug smiled over at him, and he gave her a smile in return.
Suddenly, the door burst open, flooding the room with light. They both sprang up, and over the bench, their hero instincts taking over before realizing that the intruder was harmless. In a physical sense.
"There you two are. I should've known that you were hiding in a dark room together somewhere." She gave them a suggestive look and Ladybug felt her cheeks flood with almost as much color as her ladybug suit. If there was anything that the mask was good for, other than protecting their identities, was keeping her blush barely noticeable.
Chat released a breath, clearly somewhat scared of her sudden entrance. "Don't do that, Chlo." Chlo? Why did Chat just call Chloe "Chlo"? She glanced over at him, giving him a weird look. Based off of his expressions, he didn't think he did anything out of the normal.
Chloe walked over to them, linking an arm through each of theirs' and dragged them out of the room. "Let's go back to the party. Daddy's about to give a speech."
Ladybug and Chat Noir let themselves be pulled down the hallways. Marinette mostly because she was getting more and more lost with each turn.
Eventually, the sounds of the gala became noticeable and before she knew it, they were back at the giant room that was covered in chatting people.
Chloe let their arms go as they approach her father, who gives them another warm welcome before making his way over to the stair, likely to give the speech that Chloe had just mentioned.
The talking in the crowd died down, letting the mayor began speaking. "First, I would like to thank you all for coming to my gala. Especially, the one and only protectors of Paris!" He gestured to the two of them and the crowd began clapping.
They both smiled at the group.
Ladybug tilted towards chat, "That didn't make any sense." She whispered.
Chat waved at the crowd and took a deep breath before humming a reply, "I don't think the rest of them seem to notice, though."
Marinette looked out of the sea of people all staring at her and applauding. "Just smile and wave. Smile and wave."
Chat gave her a chuckle.
"I won't keep your attention for too long. I know you all want to get back the party." Mr. Bourgeois continued, taking the attention off of the two heroes. Something that Ladybug was grateful for. She was used to it, being a hero and all, but that didn't mean she always enjoyed it. Especially when she was dressed up and standing in the middle of Chloe's house. "But I would like to tell you that the next song is dedicated, to our heroes. I had it specially written with you two in mind." He said, talking directly to him. Marinette slightly slunk back under his stare.
The mayor got down from the staircase as the music started playing. It was a slow song, but it had a sort of excitement to it. Something that Marinette couldn't quite place.
Everyone else in the room began to partner up, beginning their dancing. Though, she could still feel everyone's eyes on her and chat.
She looked around her, and sure enough, everyone was not-so-subtly staring at the duo.
Then, she spotted Alya. She and Nino had actually managed to sneak in. Part of Marinette knew that she would find a way, she was Alya after all.
Her best friend was smiling behind her phone, which was pointing towards Ladybug. She was most likely live streaming on the ladyblog. It wasn't just the room that was watching but the internet.
Ladybug looked back over at her partner, not knowing what to do.
He made eye contact before giving a very Chat bow. "May I have this dance."
Marinette took a deep breath, "Sure."
There was never going to be a different answer, they both knew that. Who else would they partner up with? Most of the crowd had come with dates for this specific reason, and they were partners anyway.
They started swaying to the music, along with the rest of the guests.
Marinette looked back over at Alya who was struggling to both keep her camera going and dance with Nino at the same time. She couldn't resist a chuckle.
Looking away from her current action was a mistake, as she soon figured out.
Ladybug, who is a superhero who defeats evil on a daily basis and can parkour throughout the city without breaking a sweat, is still Marinette, who can trip over anything and everything and gets tongue-tied around a certain blonde a considerable amount despite seeing him often throughout the past year. And Ladybug tends to have some Marinette moments when it comes to being less than graceful. This, of course, just has to be one of those moments.
Dancing does not equal drop-kicking an enemy, anyway, so it wasn't too much of a surprise when her flat stepped on Chat's dress shoe, and then slipped off of the smooth surface.
Chat, thank God, quickly reacted, holding her around the waist and moving his knee so that her leg stopped slipping.
Ladybug felt a few camera flashes out of the corner of her eye and internally groaned. Her and Chat were in a very dramatic pose at the moment. He had one arm wrapped tightly around her waist, the other hand splayed out on her upper back. Both of her arms were around his shoulders and their legs were in an every-other pattern.
She was still in slight shock from the sudden movement. She took a few deep breaths, her heart still beating rapidly from her slip, before looking up at chat.
He was smirking at her, but it wasn't a mean smirk, really. Chat didn't do mean smirks when it came to her. They were teasing.
But the look in his eye. It was intense, to say the least.
Her breath caught again, for a much different reason this time.
He looked, as she had covered in the piano room earlier, stunning. And a small blush covered her cheeks again.
His tie brought out his eyes even more than usual, and therefore the gaze that was giving her that weird feeling in her chest. And it was hard to ignore the tux that fit him perfectly. His Agreste brand tux.
Marinette's mind suddenly started moving at a sprint. Chat had called Chloe "Chlo" earlier, a nickname usually only used by Adrien. Chat's tux was an Agreste, a very expensive brand, and it was fit perfectly. He didn't really seem out of place at one of these events and seemed to be much more at home than Ladybug, something that Adrien Agreste would be used to. Then, there was the glaringly obvious fact that they looked practically the same. They have the same hair color, Chat's is just more messy than Adrien's. The green eyes. And they have the exact same body shape, as far as Marinette can tell. She practically knows Adrien's measurements by heart, thanks to the multiple magazines she has read in her life, and while she doesn't know Chat's measurements, the skin-tight leather (or whatever it is) doesn't leave too much to the imagination.
Suddenly, the whole world felt like it had just collapsed on Marinette.
"Adrien?" She whispered it so quietly that she was afraid for a moment that he didn't hear her. Then, the previous look that sent her into the whole discovery in the first place disappears, replaced by a much more shocked look.
She was right.
Before Ladybug can really progress what she's doing, she is out of Chat's, no Adrien's hold, and is practically dashing to the nearest window.
.o0o.
The night air was warm, but the wind was cool. It wasn't bitter, just cool. Which was good. The cold cleared her head.
She wasn't too sure why she ran. She didn't know what was happening. It all happened too fast. She slipped and it just all spiraled from there.
She wasn't too sure what she was feeling. She wasn't ashamed, she wasn't scared of him finding out that it was her underneath the mask. It was more the fear of their dynamic being ruined. They had built up a strong bond as Ladybug and Chat Noir over the past year and a half and she didn't want that wrecked. Chat was really important to her, at sometimes more important than she would like to admit. And so was Adrien. But she just got so nervous around Adrien. Yeah, it was getting better, it had to over the few years. With Nino and Alya going out, the four of them hung out a lot.
Adrien was a busy guy, she should know, she knows his schedule better than her own, how was he able to also be the city's hero. That wasn't an easy feat.
And then there was the surprise. All along, the boy that had been pining after Ladybug was the same guy that Marinette had been after. Wait. She has a crush on Chat Noir. And Adrien Agreste, the super kind boy who is also a model, has a crush on her.
She blinked at the city lights.
She was sitting on the edge of the Eiffel tower. She decided pretty quickly against going home. She didn't want the next time she saw Chat to be as their civilian selves. They needed to talk this out.
Chat doesn't know who Ladybug is. This is a realization that she hadn't really thought through yet. And it was a pretty big one. What if he thinks that she rejects him? Thank God she didn't go home.
Ladybug takes another deep breath. She's been doing a lot of those in the past few minutes.
Hopefully, Chat knows where she is and hopefully he comes to her. She didn't want to call him. She didn't want to explain that she was waiting for him at the Eiffel Tower, though she was. Then she would just feel even weirder for running away. Should she have run away? They couldn't have talked in that setting, so that's a pro. But, running away from him after she found out couldn't have been good for his emotions, so that's a con. She could go on.
You're overthinking this. She scolded herself.
You just found out Chat Noir, your partner for over a year is Adrien Agreste. You're not thinking this through enough. She thought back.
Great, now she was arguing with herself.
There was a sudden noise behind her and she was suddenly very afraid and very thankful.
She spun around to face her partner, whose face looked more afraid than she did. Oh, poor Chat.
She left him alone to deal with this, probably making him think that she rejected him. Con. Big con.
"I'm sorry." She says before he can say anything.
She takes a step forward, gnawing on her lip. This may be the scariest talk she has ever had.
"I shouldn't have run off like that." She shook her head at herself and directed her gaze at the floor, "I panicked."
Her eyes flicked back at him and he looked more hurt now. She ran over her last sentence mentally and sirens went off. "No. No, no, no, no, no." She repeated the word over and over, taking a few more steps toward Chat. Adrien. " Not p-panicked like that. I was just really s-surprised and I didn't know what to do. Running was stupid. S-so stupid." She tried to explain as best she could.
She looked back at him, his expression better but still not good.
Suddenly, a green light emitted from his feet and he transformed back to his civilian self. She looked away.
"A-and it was so obvious." She continued, still not looking at him. "I mean, the tux. It was A-Agreste brand, which isn't cheap." She gestured to him blindlessly at 'Agreste'. "You were much more comfortable at the party than I was. And the piano. Oh my gosh, the piano. And then you called Chloe 'Chlo'. And you look," She looked back up at him, cutting her sentence short.
Adrien. Yeah, he transformed back but she didn't fully grasp that it was Adrien.
She took more deep breaths.
Just keep breathing.
A black Kwami flies next to his shoulder, looking back and forth between Ladybug and Adrien. Her stuttering in embarrassment not being an issue due to her rapid-fire speech and just wanting to get it all out. She's not thinking too much at this point.
Ladybug focuses more on her partner's face than anything else.
"And it's all my fault too." Ladybug licks her lips, "I was the one who was always so against sharing our identities. And now this happened. I'm just… I'm sorry. It probably would've been much better off if I had just listened to you and talked to you." A few tears slid down her cheeks and she looked back down at the ground.
Coward. You can't even look him in the eye.
"And now I'm crying when I shouldn't be the one crying because I'm the one who ran away. I'm the one who didn't think. I'm the one that didn't listen."
Warm arms wrap around her before she realizes what's happening, which shocks her the point where she stops breathing. She's afraid of moving at all.
"It's not your fault," Adrien whispers into her shoulder. "It's neither of ours."
He pulled back, holding her shoulders and looking into her eyes.
Ladybug stares at him for a minute before slowly nodding. This seems to satisfy him, and he hugs her again. She brings her arms around him too and pulls him closer.
He's not mad. She reassures herself.
He's not mad. She smiles.
When the finally break apart, Adrien is the first one to speak. He starts off timidly, almost afraid of talking. "Earlier, when you were talking about how it was obvious that I'm Chat, you talked about how I played piano and called Chloe 'Chlo'."
Oh. She didn't realize what she was saying. Well, she was going to tell him who she was anyway.
"Well, that either means that you know me. Like, know me know me. Or are some really intense stalker. And I very much hope for the former and doubt the latter. Which means I know you as Adrien."
She takes another deep breath.
"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Adrien quickly rushes.
"Yeah, I know you," She whispers, bringing her eyes back to him. "And it's only fair that-"
"I don't care about it being fair. If you don't want to tell me, then don't tell me. I don't want you to feel forced into telling me. It's your identity. And you knowing who I am is what I've wanted for a while. If you don't want me to know who you are, that's fine. I'll live. I'm the one head-over-heels for you and that won't change whether I know who you are or not. And if you do want to tell me, that's great too. But no matter what happens or who you are, I don't want it to change us.
Okay?"
"Of course, Chatton. But I do want to tell you. Not just because it's fair. And it is," She says before he can cut in again. But I want you to know."
Ladybug stares at him until he nods. She nods back and with another deep breath, gaining control of her nerves. This is the scariest part about all of this. "Tikki, spots off."
Pink light floods around her feet, illuminating the darkness around them, before moving up her body, just like the green light did for Chat when he transformed back.
Marinette stares out at the city to her right rather than looking back at Chat and rubs her arm nervously.
She can feel Tikki's presence next to her and silently holds a cookie in between her first and middle finger, for the Kwami to take. She knows that she'll be hungry after Marinette's long transformation. And despite the current circumstances, she doesn't want Tikki to starve.
Her head shoots back up out of instinct when she feels the Kwami fly away.
Looking up, she sees that Adrien's kwami have met her halfway between the two teenagers.
Tikki silently offers the black kwami a piece of cookie but it seems to turn it down. Tikki shrugs like she knew it was going to happen and continues to happily eat her cookie.
Tikki looks back at Marinette mid-bite and sees that she's fixated on her and harshly gestures to Adrien, mentally asking her to look at him.
Marinette does as is requested of her and slightly moves her gaze to the right.
She could already see Adrien out of the corner of her eye but looking at him full-on like this just seems to make it even more real. As if that's even possible.
The boy is staring at her, mouth slightly agape in shock. It takes him a moment before he quietly whispers, "Marinette."
She waves back awkwardly at her partner, not really sure how to respond.
Suddenly, Adrien face palms which makes Marinette jump and both kwamis to look over at him as well.
"Now I know how you feel. It's so obvious. How are we so oblivious?"
"Obvious?" Marinette squeaks.
Marinette had never thought of her being ladybug as 'obvious'. They had practically completely different personalities. Ladybug was so… cool. And Marinette was so... Average, clumsy, and shy.
"Yeah. Marinette is really confident at times. Granted, those times are usually not when I'm around but I still catch glimpses of them. You are really calm during an Akuma attack too. Alya has told me about a good amount. Your personalities can actually be really alike. Then, there are the incredibly obvious similar looks."
The amount of times that Marinette has been shocked this night alone is what's incredible. And, yeah. The looks too. He thought they were the same.
"But, Marinette's so clumsy. And Ladybug's... Not."
Adrien shrugs, "And Adrien's not a flirt. The masks just let us have some extra confidence because they're… well, they're masks."
Marinette smiles at him. This may have been the most successful gala she had ever been to. She's never been to a gala before, but still.
"You're wrong, by the way."
Confusion looks very confused for a moment. "What do you mean? You're alike."
"No, not about that."
Marinette takes it back. This is the scariest part of the conversation.
"You s-said you were the one h-head-over-heels." Great, the stuttering is back. Just what Marinette needs right now. And then there was the surprise. All along, the boy that had been pining after Ladybug was the same guy that Marinette had been after.
"Okay, so you know how in movies and books and tv shows and all that, there are a lot of love triangles." She quickly rushes. It's easier to avoid stuttering if she just tries to talk without thinking.
He nods at her and she continues. "So, we're like that. Only we're more like a square or parallelogram or trapezoid or rectangle or whatever shape has four sides."
He still looks confused. Oh, he's going to make her say it, isn't he?
She takes a very dramatic sigh. Both for theatrics and for the need to. "Chat Noir," She points at him. "Likes Ladybug," She points back at herself.
He nods, looking slightly embarrassed.
She nods back. "Marinette." She continues pointing at herself. "Likes Adrien." She whispers, moving her hand at him. She misses the way that the mask hides her blushes. That would be useful right about now.
"Oh."
Marinette bites her lip and looks away.
She glances up at Tikki and the kwami has a hand over her mouth, shocked that Marinette just gave away basically her two biggest secrets to Adrien Agreste. One of them being her feelings.
A big gust of wind suddenly hits, causing Marinette's hair to flow out behind her and a set of chills to run down her spine at the cool air. Though it was cold to the rest of her, it was a good feeling for her burning cheeks.
Marinette looks back over to Adrien whose eyes haven't moved from her.
"Umm, Adrien?" Adrien's kwami suddenly speaks up, breaking the trance and the two holders turn their heads toward the floating blobs. "Not that I don't like watching…" The kwami gestured between the two, "This. But if my internal clock is working correctly, it's about… late. And you have a photoshoot at… early. And if you have to get up, you're going to force me to get up. I'm Plagg by the way." Said kwami waves over at Marinette who returns it awkwardly. "And I'm hungry. So, yeah." So, it wasn't a lie that Adrien made up just for the sake of getting Alya off his back.
Tikki elbows Plagg, or what Marinette imagines as elbowing. It can be hard to tell with the Kwami.
Adrien thinks for a moment before his eyes go wide and he starts patting down his pockets.
Plagg suddenly looked very worried as well. "What's the look for?" He asks suspiciously.
"I didn't bring any cheese with." Adrien gives Plagg a 'whoops' smile.
Plagg blinked once before giving Adrien a death glare. He then moves his gaze over to Marinette, this time looking hopeful and somewhat hopeful.
"I only bought one cookie. Sorry."
"Personally, I think this is a good lesson." Three pairs of eyes move over to Tikki, the constant beam of optimism. "If you weren't such a picky eater and you would have accepted my cookie offer, we wouldn't be in this position right now."
Plagg redirected his death glare at Tikki. "Oh, please. If I were to offer you a piece of cheese, which I wouldn't because cheese is not something that one just 'gives away', you wouldn't take it because you only like foods that contain mostly sugar."
"I could just, I mean, you don't have to say yes. I understand if you don't want to. It might be weird. It's actually a pretty stupid idea. But if you need me to, I could c-carry you back t-to your house." Marinette interrupts before the Kwamis' argument could go any further.
The three others all direct their eyes toward the bluenette, which causes her to blush further. Tikki, out of amazement that Marinette would offer this. Adrien, out of gratefulness, and Plagg out of amusement. He held back a cackle at the girl's awkwardness in the situation. Adrien was not going to shut up after this occurrence.
"Sure. Thanks, Marinette." Adrien gave her a big smile, which she tried to return. But she could only feel incredibly shy, standing there with red coating her face, a bad habit for stuttering, and just offering to carry Adrien back to his house. The same Adrien that she just confessed to.
"N-no problem."
.o0o.
Figuring out how to carry Adrien was an interesting time. It consisted of Marinette not being too sure what to ask or how to ask it and ending up with Adrien telling her that bridal style, which of course resulted in a further blush from Marinette (the mask thankfully covering her cheeks this time).
So, here they were: flying across the city. Ladybug carrying a model across the skyline towards his house as said model tried to hide his face in the crook of the hero's neck. His face was positioned in such a way that whenever he exhaled, Marinette could feel his breath on the bottom of her chin. Thankfully, the suit covered most of her neck. So the chills that his warm breathing was giving her weren't as bad as they could be.
She tried as much as possible to ignore it but decided it was a better strategy on focusing on getting him home faster.
"Where should I land?" Marinette asked over the wind as the Agreste mansion came into view.
"Hmm?" Adrien asked, lifting his head from it's since Marinette's shoulder. "Oh, the roof on the opposite side from where we are. From there, if you can lower us down using your yo-yo, that should be great. The window to my room should be open."
"Right."
She did as was asked of her once they made it to the house. The window was indeed open, and he slowly pushed his hand against the glass before Ladybug dropped them both inside the room.
It was dark, just like the outdoors. Behind them, the moon is the only source of light for the room.
She let Adrien drop from her arms, and Plagg immediately flew out of his pocket, floating to somewhere else in the room, that Marinette couldn't see due to his black fur color blending in with the darkness.
"Thanks again, Mari," Adrien whispered, though it sounded much louder thanks to the quiet surroundings.
"No problem, Minou." She grinned at him, and he smiled back at the nickname.
Then, before Marinette could really understand what she was doing, she leaned forward and their lips made contact.
It was a quick kiss, one to quick for Adrien to really grasp as it was happening because, by the time she pulled away, he was staring at her in mute shock.
Marinette began to panic. Why did she do that? That was so stupid. She wanted to run. But, she had already done that once, and it didn't go as well as it could've.
"Sorry," Ladybug rushed, trying to fix her mistake. "I shouldn't have-"
Adrien cut her off by grabbing her face, one hand on each side. "Naw. It's okay." He smirked at her in a very chat way before reconnecting their lips.
It started off slowly, Marinette raising her own arm to hold his face. But her hands quickly moved to his hair. It was soft. Very soft. And she entangled her fingers in it without a second thought.
Adrien moved his hands from her face to hold her at the waist like he had when she slipped during the dance. The slip that had started this whole thing. Ladybug had never been so happy to have such a clumsy alter ego.
The kiss lasted much longer than the first had, them breaking for air multiple times but continuing very quickly.
Eventually, Marinette broke the kiss and touched his forehead with her own, both their cheeks covered in red. Adrien's much more noticeable than Marinette's, again, thanks to the mask.
"Good luck with your photo shoot." And with that, she was back out the window and on her way home.
That was probably the best choice that Chat had ever made, dragging her to Chloe's house for a gala that would, in any other way, have been completely horrible but somehow wasn't. She'll thank him on Monday. Hopefully, she can get rid of the blush by then.