"Oh my gosh, guys, this could possibly be the biggest day of my life!" Alya's voice echoed through the video Marinette was watching from under her pile of blankets. "Could we finally figure out who Ladybug really is? She didn't have much time left when she walked over here, which would mean-" Alya turned the corner just as a bright pink flash. Marinette watched from the camera's POV as it fell, landing on the floor and showing Marinette's feet. "M-Marinette?!"
"Alya?! What are you doing here?!"
Marinette stopped the video, exiting out of youtube and throwing her phone to the other end of her bed.
Her biggest secret.
Revealed because of that video.
She could hear the crowd outside trying to reach to her and she placed her hands over her ears, glancing at her window. She had covered it with a blanket, blocking her from the view of the fans outside. Her bedroom door was also locked incase anyone got past her parents to try and talk to her.
"Are you okay, Marinette?" Tikki asked.
"I'll be okay." Marinette smiled at Tikki. "As soon as night falls, anyway. Has Chat Noir called yet?"
"No, not yet." Tikki admitted.
"That's weird." Marinette admitted. "I thought that he would be one of the first people to try and talk to me."
'Unless you disappointed him.' A thought whispered in her mind. Marinette shook her head.
"Maybe he wants to give you some space." Tikki said. Marinette smiled.
"Yeah, that's probably it."
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'I need to talk to her. Now.' Adrien thought, scowling. 'But I can't until Alya stops bugging me about it.'
"Come on, Adrien, don't you want to talk to her?" Alya asked, Nino behind her as they stood in front of Adrien, who was standing on the steps in front of his house. "I know how big of a fan of Ladybug you are- this is the perfect opportunity! Besides, we're her friends! We should be there to support her!"
"Alya's got a point, dude." Nino admitted, messing with his cap. "Why won't you come?"
'Because I need to see her as Chat Noir, not Adrien Agreste.'
"Because..." Adrien ran a hand through his hair, finding the right words. "Because we're going about this all wrong."
"What?"
"Alya, you ignored her wish of keeping her secret identity a secret. You violated her privacy, and now everyone else is trying to violate it too!" Adrien spread his arms out. "If my biggest secret was filmed live onto a popular blog all about my alter ego by my best friend, I'd want to hide away in my room and not come out or talk to anyone. Even my friends and family- not at first, anyway." Alya's eyes widened- she probably hadn't thought of it that way. Nino glanced between the two of them.
"She probably just wants to be alone right now. Maybe make an acception for Chat Noir-" 'Hopefully' "-but we should give her that space if she wants it, and encourage others to do that too. Did you ever think of why she might want to keep it a secret? Hawk Moth is a serious threat! Now that her secret identity is out, not only can he target her, but he can use the people that she's close to against her."
"So no matter what you say, Alya." Adrien turned around, opening up his front door. "I'm not going to bother her. Not until she's ready to talk to us about it." He walked inside and closed the door behind him, but he didn't move.
"Dude's got a point, Al'. Maybe we should respect her privacy." He heard Nino say. "Come on, let's go back home."
He could imagine Alya being speechless, and Adrien sighed, running a hand through his hair.
He probably could have said that in a nicer way, but the past was past.
Now was the time to act.
He walked up to his room, placing a 'do not disturb' sign on his door so that Nathalie would know to leave him alone.
"Plagg, Claws Out."
It didn't take long to reach her house, and when he saw the crowd surrounding her parents bakery he nearly growled. He placed his staff right in front of the door, gathering the attention of the reporters and fans, who watched him as he stood on the railing of her balcony. He cupped his hands around his mouth.
"LISTEN UP!" He shouted. Most people quieted down, but the rest (mostly the reporters) only grew louder to make up for those who had stopped.
"Oh my gosh, it's Chat Noir!"
"What's he doing here?"
"Chat Noir?!"
"Chat Noir, what do you think of-"
"Chat Noir, did you-"
"What will you do now-"
"I SAID LISTEN!" He shouted. The people that hadn't listened to him the first time instantly recoiled. He looked down at them. "Are you recording?" At all of their nods, he nodded. "Good." He looked back up, cupping his hands around his mouth so that everyone there could hear him.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT YOU'RE DOING?! CELEBRATING THE FACT THAT YOU KNOW WHO LADYBUG IS?! DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" He paused for a moment to collect his breath before he continued. "IF YOU TRULY RESPECTED MY LADY AND WISHED TO THANK HER FOR SAVING PARIS EVERY DANG DAY, THEN YOU WOULD LEAVE HER ALONE! LET HER TALK WHEN SHE'S READY TO- NOT PESTER HER UNTIL SHE COMES OUT!"
From inside the room below him, Marinette looked up at her skylight, eyes wide. A fond smile spread across her face. Her heart swelled in affection.
"Chat…"
"NOW LEAVE!" He shouted after regaining some more breath. "GO BACK TO YOUR NORMAL LIVES AND STOP BOTHERING MY LADY AND HER FAMILY!"
Everyone stared at him, and he stared back, unwavering. He could hear Marinette's skylight open behind him, and his ear twitched at the sound.
He wanted to turn around so badly, but he knew that if he did, they would never go away.
He cupped his hands around his mouth.
"WELL?!"
"Let's listen to him!" Eyes were instantly drawn to Ivan, who stared right back. "Marinette's done nothing but help all of us!"
"Yeah!" Alix shouted.
"Listen to Chat Noir!" Kim exclaimed.
"Leave Marinette alone." Juleka added. Murmurs spread throughout the crowd.
"I'll call my daddy if you don't!" Chloe's screech finally got people to leave. She then looked right up at Chat Noir, who stared at her in shock. So did the rest of their class. "Tell Marinette that Sabrina's got her homework, and that she owes me a selfie and an autograph!" Then she turned on her heel and walked away, Sabrina by her side. Mylene walked forward.
"Can you tell us when she'll be back?" She asked, looking up at the superhero. "We were gonna throw a thank-you party for her."
"And write her a big thank you note that pops up!" Rose added.
"A-And I was gonna give her some art." Nathaniel admitted, blushing. "And Tom and Sabine were going to make her her favorite cake."
"And we were going to ask Adrien to see if we could host it at his house, Nino if he could DJ, and Alya if she could document it." Max reminded them all.
"I'll see." Chat Noir promised, his heart growing warm. "I'll tell you guys what she says, okay?"
"Thank you, Chat Noir!"
"Hey, it's the least this cat could do." Chat Noir bowed, a grin coming onto his face. "After all, behind every superhero are supportive friends and family. She wouldn't have been able to do it without your support."
"See you later!"
"Bye, Chat Noir!"
"Say hi to Marinette for me!"
"Have a safe walk home!" Chat Noir called after them, waving goodbye. He turned around, and was instantly wrapped in a hug. Familiar black/blue hair tied into pigtails and the smell of cookies and something sweet filled his senses as he hugged her back.
"Thank you, Chat." He heard her whisper, and he smiled.
"Anything for you, milady." He replied instantly. He saw shadows move in the corner of his vision, and he froze.
"Chat?" Marinette pulled away a bit to look up at him, but his eyes didn't leave the shadows.
There hadn't been anything flying or moving over there, and yet the shadows had moved.
Something wasn't right.
Marinette could see it in his eyes and his stance, and she tightened his hold on her.
"Let's go somewhere more private." She whispered, just as tense as he was. He nodded stiffly, picking her up.
Suddenly, something tugged at Chat Noir's ear and he yowled, turning around to look behind him.
But no one was there.
Someone tugged on his tail and he jumped so that he was standing on the railing of her balcony instead, hissing.
There.
There was movement, but nothing was there. His eyes narrowed.
'What's going on here?'
"Chat… I think it's an akuma."
"But where are they?" Chat asked. His ears twitched, listening for something to give the position of the akuma away.
"I… I think it's a shadow." Marinette whispered. "An actual shadow, like Peter Pan's."
Chat Noir's eyebrows narrowed, thinking.
'How are we gonna fight this one?' He thought.
"I have an idea." Marinette admitted. "B-But we need some help. Spots on." Chat Noir froze, eyes widening as she transformed in his arms.
'That… was not how I imagined her transforming in front of me for the first time.' He admitted. He watched as she switched her hold on him, him allowing her to shift so that they were holding onto each other. She flicked her wrist, and her yoyo shot out, attaching it onto another building. She tugged on it, and they leapt away. Out of the corner of his eye, Chat Noir could see the shadow finally come out, toppling over the plants by toppling over the shadows of the plants.
"I saw him." Chat Noir said when Ladybug shifted her grip on her yoyo, starting another swing. He didn't know where they were going, but he was glad to be away from the akuma. "He toppled over your plants by messing with their shadows."
"I figured they could do that." Ladybug muttered. "All the better to ask for help, though I'm not sure that it would work…"
"What are you planning?" He looked u at her.
"As much as I hate to say it… we need to talk to Chloe. And if not Chloe, then Adrien."
Chat Noir's heart skidded to a stop, but he didn't let it distract him from what Ladybug was saying.
"They both have big houses and lots of lights- if we lure the shadow into the light and trap it, then the akumatized object should, hopefully, fall out, and then we can capture the akuma."
"And if that doesn't work?" He watched as she bit her lip before answering.
"Then we'll have to finally take it down at the source." She paused. "And talk to master Fu."
"Master Fu?"
"He's the one who gave us the miraculous." She admitted. "We're not even supposed to know that he exists, and I've been cautioned from visiting him at all."
"Oh."
"I would've told you sooner, but…"
"No, it's okay. We all have our secrets." He admitted as they landed on the Hotel Roof. "Let's go and take care of this akuma."
Ladybug nodded in agreement, and they walked inside. Chat Noir's senses were all over the place, trying to locate and see if the shadow was following them, or close.
It wasn't long until they ran into Chloe, who was walking along with Sabrina to her room.
It was silent.
It was as though everyone but Chat Noir was frozen, and he decided that it would be best to break the ice.
"Chloe." He said after a moment, completely serious. "We need you help."
It was silent for a while more.
"Come, we'll talk in my room." She said, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "It's the most private, and most sophisticated, place to talk." She walked past them in her normal manner, and Ladybug shared a look with Chat Noir before they followed.
Ladybug breathed a small sigh.
She honestly didn't want to talk to any of her classmates yet- especially those who she knew were big fans of Ladybug.
And Chloe was one of the biggest. She fought Alya and Adrien for top Ladybug fan. Difference was that Chloe hated Marinette.
So how was she going to react?
Her room wasn't very far, and once they were inside Chloe gestured to her couch. "Go ahead and sit down- do you want anything?"
"No, we're good." Ladybug asked after Chat nodded at her. Sabrina moved to the door.
"I'm gonna go ahead and make sure that no one comes in." She said, and Chloe nodded her approval. Sabrina smiled and waved happily at Ladybug before she left.
Well, she could take it as an okay thing. Chloe and Sabrina were usually on the same page with everything.
"What do you need help with?" Chloe asked, looking at her fingernails as though she didn't care. She glanced up for a moment after she finished speaking.
Ladybug blinked. This was the first time she had seen this side of Chloe, and she was taken aback.
Chat Noir, however, smiled.
This was the Chloe he knew- the true one that didn't hide behind insults and rude gestures.
"There's an akuma after M-Ladybug-"
"Just go ahead and use Marinette if you need to." Chloe rolled her eyes. "I don't care."
"Uhhh…" Chat glanced at Ladybug and she shrugged. Honestly, she prefered Ladybug while in mask, but if Chloe didn't care she didn't either. Chat Noir noticed this and continued. "After Ladybug- she has a plan of sorts to take it down, but we need to use your roof."
"And spotlights." Ladybug added. "Lots of spotlights."
"And tell me, Dupain-Cheng." Chloe sat up, completely business as she focused all of her attention on Ladybug. "Why'd you save me?"
"Huh?"
"Save me." She repeated. "All those times I was targeted by akumas. Why did you save me?"
"Well…" Ladybug bit her lip. "It doesn't matter who you are, our job is to protect the citizens of Paris. I might have gotten annoyed at times, but when it comes down to it… I'd save you still."
And she meant every word of it. She would still save Chloe- whether she was in civilian form or not. Chat Noir smiled at her and rested a hand on her shoulder supportively.
"Hmn." Chloe leaned back. "You still owe me that autograph and selfie."
"After the akuma." Ladybug nodded with a small smile.
"Of course." Chloe rolled her eyes. "I'll get some personal staff on it- I suppose that you don't want any publicity right now." She stood up and moved to walk out of the room. Chat Noir gave the room a quick glance to see if anything was out of place before looking back at Ladybug.
"That's new." She mused.
"I knew that I saw something good in her." Chat Noir said. "She might be annoying, but down at heart, she's good."
"I'm… actually glad to hear that." She admitted. "With the way that she's always acted around me, I figured that she was downright cruel…"
"Many people make that mistake."
"Do… Do you know her well?" Ladybug asked hesitantly. Chat Noir shrugged, throwing her a grin that he knew would annoy her.
"Maybe."
"Ugh, you insufferable cat!" Ladybug groaned, lightly punching him in the arm. Chat Noir laughed in return, causing her to giggle.
"Actually, I've been meaning to ask…" He said, looking around again. He couldn't help it if he was paranoid- the shadows he had seen in cartoons were hard to defeat, and hard to avoid. Ladybug noticed and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Do… what are we going to do?"
Ladybug tilted her head, confused. "About what?"
"I was thinking that it would only be fair, if I revealed my identity to you at least." He explained softly. "It feels weird, but I also know that you never wanted our identities to be revealed- even to each other. So, I guess I'm asking you what you want."
"To be honest, Chat…" Ladybug paused. "If you really, truly from the bottom of your heart, feel like it's the best course of action, I don't mind. But I want you to really, truly think about it. Every single aspect of it. How everyone would react. And that, if you intend to pursue me, you can't do anything as your other self because then people will draw the dots. We don't need that."
"You're right, as always milady." He said, grabbing her hand and bringing it up for a quick kiss. He had managed to actually land this one on her hand before she pushed him away by his nose, blushing as she observed the stupid grin on his face.
"Silly kitty."
"I have people at the ready for whatever your plan is." Chloe said, walking into the bedroom with an evil smirk on her face. "Of course, while they're getting ready, we just have to do somethings first."
Ladybug swallowed nervously, glancing at Chat with a 'please save me' face.
Chat Noir shrugged, leaning back with an amused smirk on his face, wiggling his eyebrows at her. His body language practically screamed 'I'm gonna enjoy this'.
Ladybug hiffed, her cheeks puffing out in annoyance as she crossed her arms over her chest, turning her back to him. 'Traitor' it read.
At seeing their interaction, Chloe merely smirked.
"And of course, you kitty-cat will just have to join us for this- he does have to make up for my physics homework." Chat Noir almost gagged, sitting up and almost falling off of the couch in shock as he stared at Chloe and at Ladybug's back, which was shaking slightly as she tried to stop her giggles from coming out.
He nearly snarled, but a smile tugged on his lips at seeing his lady giggle.
Truly, he had only fallen for her even more now that he knew who she was.
"Fine." He said, and Ladybug finally turned around to look at him. Mirth was shining in both of their eyes as they shared a look. "Let's get this over with."
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After a few hours (with Sabrina doing most of the work with Ladybug and Chat Noir while Chloe watched, of course), it was finally time.
However, there was a dissagreement.
"No, absolutely not." Chat insisted.
"It's the only way to draw him out." Ladybug insisted.
"You are not using yourself as bait." He nearly spat out the word.
"I agree with the mangy stray." Chloe said, looking indifferent. "Sabrina said that she's willing to do it."
"This shadow thing is after me." Ladybug insisted, glaring at the two. "When it comes, it won't go after Sabrina- it'll go after me. Now, if you'll excuse me-"
"I-It's too dangerous!" Chat Noir called out, placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Why is it suddenly too dangerous? I've been bait before." Ladybug pointed out.
"I-I know." Chat admitted, a blush on his face. "But… both my princess and my lady are very important to me, and-and now that you're one… I-I can't lose you."
Ladybug's gaze softened, and she pulled Chat Noir into a hug.
"You won't." She said with surity. "You'll always be there to protect me. I know that, kitty."
Chat Noir's hold tightened on her, but he wasn't the one who spoke next.
"He's not the only one."
Ladybug blinked, looking at Chloe.
"You have a lot of friends, family, and fans that will protect you if you're in trouble, and who care about you. Don't you dare forget us."
"I won't." Ladybug said, smiling at Chloe. She let Chat Noir go, and he let her go in return, wiping a stray tear from his eyes.
"Good luck, milady."
"Have you met me?" Ladybug asked with a small laugh. Chat Noir laughed as well.
"Yeah, but the thought counts, right?" He asked, and she nodded with a smile. She turned to go, but hesitated, and then went up on her tippy-toes to kiss him on the cheek.
"Thank you, Chat."
He blinked, his face erupting in red, but he nodded anyway, looking like he was on cloud nine. "Y-Your welcome."
Then, taking a deep breath, she walked up and to the center of the roof. Sabrina was already in position, and so was Chloe. Chat Noir moved to his position, and Ladybug sighed.
Now, it was time to wait.
Chat Noir held his hand up high- he'd bring it down when he sensed the shadow was close to Ladybug. If it worked like it did in the cartoons, then The shadow would be stuck, and Ladybug could take the akumatized object.
If it did.
If not, there was always that 'Master' guy who could help them out, and they could take down Hawkmoth.
But they weren't exactly ready for that yet, so he hoped that it didn't come to that.
It was when the sun had set completely that he felt something start to feel off about the area around him.
He watched Ladybug closely, and her shadow. Then he saw it, and tensed.
The shadow moved carefully, aware of what they were doing, but unaware that Chat had seen him. The shadow continued towards Ladybug, and right before the shadow could grab anything, he threw his hand down, and turning on the spotlights. Chloe and Sabrina followed, and he could tell that Ladybug was temporarily blinded.
However, as they had thought, the shadow was stuck, and frozen. Ladybug, still blinking off the shock, reached for the only thing that she should grab- some fabric of sorts. She ripped it in half, and the akuma came fluttering out. Ladybug pulled out her yoyo.
"Gotcha!" She pulled it back to her and dragged her finger down the middle, releasing the now purified butterfly. "Bye-Bye, little butterfly." Then she threw her yoyo up into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"
A loveliness of Ladybugs came out from the yoyo and swirled around, fixing things that they didn't even know were broken. Chat Noir walked up to Ladybug, smiling as she smiled back. They held their fists out.
"Pound it!"
"Wha- Where am I?" A young man suddenly stood up, looking around. Chat Noir recognized him- he was a fellow model who really didn't like being in the spotlight- prefering to be in the background.
Like a shadow.
Chat Noir walked over to him and helped him up. "Everything's okay- you were just akumatized. How about I take you home?"
"A-Alright."
"I'll speak to you later, milady." He said, winking at Ladybug. Ladybug giggled.
"I'll plan on it."
"Now…" Chloe walked forward with a smirk. "I want that selfie and autograph."
"Of course." Ladybug rolled her eyes, but followed Chloe down into the Hotel- Chloe claimed that they both had to be 'perfect' for it, which made Ladybug roll her eyes again.
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Chat Noir hurried to Marinette's house as fast as possible.
He honestly didn't know what was going on.
Why did she kiss him? She always rejected him- why would she kiss him? And why would she do that right as he was starting to believe that he would never win her heart?
He was really confused.
He landed on her railing with absolute precision, hoping down and knocking on her trap door. It was opened almost instantly, Marinette's bluebell eyes reflecting the moon and stars as she smiled.
"Come on in." She said, moving so that he could do so. He landed on her bed, and she instantly wrapped her arms around him in a hug, knocking him off balance and making them fall onto her bed.
"M-Marinette?" He asked, hugging her back.
"I-I'm so happy." She admitted, blushing. "You're amazing, Chat. I hope you know that."
"I do." He sighed, relaxing and nuzzling his nose into her hair. "I do, princess."
"I-I was scared." She admitted. "J-Just a little bit, about what you would think of me." She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. "B-But your opinion hasn't changed… has it?"
"Not at all, Buginette." He said, lifting his head up to nuzzle her nose, causing her to giggle. "Maybe a little, but only for the better."
"How so?" She asked as he leaned back down.
"My love…" He said, gently grabbing her hand and placing a kiss on the back of it. "For you, my love really can only grow."
Thanks to his night vision, he was able to see Marinette blush and duck her head.
"Which brings me to ask…" He swallowed. "What… what was that kiss, earlier?"
"Well…" Marinette shifted a bit, not meeting his gaze. "I-I might have developed a crush on you while still having feelings for my classmate, Adrien Agreste-"
'Wait- what?'
"And then I got confused and thought about it- like really thought about it- and then I decided that whoever made a move first would be the person that I'd be with- and I wasn't counting any of the puns or cheesy pick-up lines that you use, so when you admitted that you really cared for me tonight…" Marinette looking him in the eye, for only a moment, before she looked away as well.
"Well… you made the first move, kitty."
"You… All this time, y-you liked Adrien? Adrien Agreste?"
"Yeah… pretty silly, right?" She asked. "I liked him because he was so sweet and kind and he didn't need to apologize to me that day, but he did anyway and he took my heart and I still like him, but you made your move and I love you and-"
Chat Noir silenced her rambling with his lips, effectively shocking him. Chat Noir pulled away not long after, smirking.
"Princess, do you have any idea what's happened with us?"
"Wh-What do you mean?" She asked, blinking.
"Buginette, we didn't have a live triangle- we had a love square." He said, shaking his head in amusement. Marinette was still confused, and he rolled his eyes, kissing her cheek.
"Plagg, claws in."
A familiar green light came over his vision, and he could see Marinette staring at him with wide eyes. She opened her mouth clearly about to start rambling again, and Adrien placed a finger on her lips, preventing it from coming out.
"Breathe." He told her softly, and she did, slowly calming down. Eventually, she smiled and hugged him again.
"I'm glad it was you." She whispered into his ear.
"I'm glad too." He admitted. "And… And I think that you have more than enough publicity on your hands."
"What are you talking about?"
"W-Well, we're gonna date, right?" He asked. "I-I don't want any more publicity to be on you than you already have, and dating me as Adrien would do the complete opposite, s-so… nights on the Balcony and at the Eiffel tower?"
Marinette blinked, and then she grinned, nuzzling her nose against his.
"I'd love that."