"Bien joué!"
After another successful akuma capture, Rena Rouge gave Ladybug her miraculous back, like promised.
"Thanks for helping me out, Alya." the heroine said, putting the precious necklace carefully inside its box. She kept her gaze on it, frowning a little. "Chat Noir simply disappeared after his transformation wore out, so I would have been in a pinch if it wasn't for Rena Rouge!"
"It really is weird that he never came back after de-transforming, but I'm glad I could be of help!" Alya replied cheerfully and then winked. "You know where to find me if you ever need a new full-time partner!" her tone was playful, but it held a hint of pleading that Ladybug decided to ignore.
After they parted ways, the spotted protagonist rushed to the akuma victim, who was being comforted by Adrien Agreste. The young girl was apparently a hardcore fan of his and was left heartbroken – and consequently akumatized – after being told off by his photographer for interfering in his photoshoot. The whole story seemed a little ridiculous, but it's not like she could blame the girl for chasing after the model. After all, she could relate to her feelings a little.
After leaving the girl with the police officers and her parents, there was a beep coming from Ladybug's earrings, meaning she only had 2 minutes before she would turn back. After she waved goodbye to Adrien and turned around to leave the scene using her yoyo, she felt a tight grip on her arm, which caught her completely off guard.
"Please wait, Ladybug!" the boy implored, nervously. "I know you're in a hurry, but I really need to talk to you. Please meet me tonight at le Marché de Belleville. I will be waiting for you at 10pm."
Ladybug was so taken aback by his words she only managed to mutter an awkward "ok" before flying away as fast as she could. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. Just what in the world could Adrien Agreste, the boy she had a colossal crush on, want to talk to Paris' most famous super-hero about?
After she found a safe spot and de-transformed, she held Tikki tightly against her chest.
"Did you hear that, Tikki?!" the girl squeaked, so happy she could swear she'd forgotten how to breathe for a moment. "He asked to meet me tonight!" she sighed, dreamily. Her mind was already with Adrien, somewhere far away from France.
"No, he asked to meet Ladybug." the kwami retorted, bitter and low. The girl could swear she heard her dreams shattering.
"Geez!" Marinette exclaimed, hurt at her friend's reaction. "Why so salty? I thought you would be happy for me!"
"No, I am!" Tikki gulped, choosing her words carefully. "I'm sorry, Marinette. It's just that I… have a bad feeling about this." The truth was she was worried that Adrien would have decided to reveal his identity to her. But there was no way she could tell her that.
Marinette's crush on the boy who also happened to be Ladybug's partner had never bothered her, because she trusted her owner wouldn't tell him about her identity. However, there was no way Tikki could control Adrien's behavior, especially when not even his kwami seemed to understand the catastrophe such a reveal would bring upon them as a team.
"Don't worry, Tikki!" Marinette reassured her, scratching her cheek gently. "He probably only wants to thank me for saving him or something! He's been getting caught up in a lot of akuma attacks recently after all!"
Adrien knew he had screwed up, once again.
He was present when that girl was akumatized, so he was fast to react as Chat Noir. However, he was forced to use Cataclysm a little too early in the game, because he couldn't fight the akuma on his own for too long. That caused him to de-transform only a little after Ladybug showed up and forced him to leave the battle to recharge.
The moment he transformed back into Adrien, though, he was spotted by the akuma, who, due to the nature of the akumatization, managed to seize him. Ladybug seemed to panic after seeing him be captured and immediately used her Lucky Charm, which probably told her to get help somewhere else, as she came back a few minutes later in Rena Rouge's company.
"I'm a useless partner." the boy murmured, burying his face in his hands.
Ever since Ladybug started bringing new miraculous holders into the picture, the secrets kept growing. The more akumas they defeated, the more he realized just how… dispensable he was. No matter how many times she told him he was irreplaceable, deep down, he knew he wasn't. Hell, he had spent most of their latest encounters either out of commission or just straight up against her.
Chat Noir was incredibly important to Adrien, as he represented everything he wanted to be - a free spirit who could do whatever he felt like and just blurt out whatever he wanted. Adrien wasn't like that, he couldn't possibly be like that. Adrien had responsibilities and schedules, a utopic reputation to maintain, not only to his father but to his fans and even his friends sometimes.
The boy sighed. It's not like he wasn't truly himself as Adrien, he was just… not his full, unchained self. Yet, he had obviously noticed how different his alter ego's admirers were from his own.
Chat Noir was popular amongst young boys because he was strong and quirky and made people laugh. However, there were very few girls who seemed to be interested in him, surprising as it was, especially after Carapace had made his debut.
Adrien, on the other hand, was way more successful with girls. He was also well liked by everyone in school, work, fencing and even in social media. That saddened him a little, but there was not much he could do but accept it.
His recent failed attempts to steal Ladybug's heart as Chat Noir, mixed with his obvious anxiety and inferiority complex towards her gave him a crazy idea. If Adrien Agreste was more likeable than Chat Noir was, he would try to get closer to the lady of his dreams as his civilian form. Maybe she would be more willing to let him into her life.
"I think it could work. I'm sure even Ladybug will take you more seriously without that ridiculous bell on your neck." Plagg said, more invested in the thick slice of camembert he was sucking on.
The boy shook his head at his kwami's uninterested reply and suddenly felt a wave of confidence go through his whole body. He quickly jumped back on his feet and stared at his bedroom windows, grinning proudly.
"I can do this! Tonight, I will tell her how I feel."
Marinette and Adrien had both given the same excuse at home to leave their houses without being noticed – that they were exhausted from school and would rather go to bed especially early that night. No-one seemed to question it. Good.
It was 9:40 when Ladybug arrived at the market they had agreed to meet at and, from the top of a building, she saw the boy was already there, fiddling with his fingernails nervously as he waited. She looked around, there were still quite a few citizens and tourists walking around the streets, which was expected as it was still early in the European capital.
In an attempt to make him notice her without causing too much of a ruckus, the heroine made use of her yoyo and threw it skillfully so that it would land right next to Adrien, who got the message and grabbed it discreetly. Nice, now she waited for his signal and all she had to do was pull.
When he noticed no-one was looking, he pulled it gently, and was immediately carried to the top of the same building where she was. The whole thing went so naturally the heroine didn't even question how a normal civilian knew exactly how to react to her completely out of the ordinary call. That was probably for the best, he thought.
"Um… Hi there!" she greeted as she played with her hair locks nervously. "I hope you don't mind being…" she gestured at her surroundings "here." Little did she know he was more than used to being in high places like that, a thought which made the boy smile warmly at her.
"Oh! Uh, i-it's ok!" he stammered. Huh? Why was he stammering? He never did as Chat Noir…
There was then a very long awkward moment between them, because neither wanted to break the silence. Adrien used the moment to study her features. After all, he had been close to her various times in the last few months – awfully close sometimes – but it was always in tense situations when he didn't get the time to actually do it.
He'd also never seen Ladybug make such an expression. She looked flustered, almost… vulnerable? Could Adrien have that effect on her? No way, they barely knew each other. He brushed it off, scolded himself for being cocky and cleared his throat before speaking.
"S-sorry for calling you here so suddenly. I… uh, have something I would like to tell you." Adrien said, unable to look her in the eye. The whole conversation had gone smoothly in his head. He would tell her he had always loved her and wanted to run away with her, maybe to a faraway island where they could be free as birds and raise a few hamsters together… Yes, it definitely sounded better in his head.
Lost in thought, Ladybug held her gaze on his face, trying to study him. She was expecting him to simply thank her for saving him and his father recently. Perhaps ask how he could repay her, to which she would reply she didn't want anything from him, that his support was enough for her to keep doing her job every single day. Damn, that sounded way too cheesy.
Suddenly, the boy snapped back to reality, ran to her and held her hands. His actions startled her a little. His eyes sparkled with determination as he started speaking, never moving his gaze from her blue eyes, the deepest blue he could imagine.
"Ladybug, you are the best thing that happened to Paris. You are everyone's hopes and dreams, a symbol of justice and harmony we can all count on. It's thanks to you that we can breathe freely during the day and sleep peacefully during the night." he smiled.
The girl in spots smiled back at him. The conversation was going exactly as she was expecting. Adrien wanted to thank Ladybug for all her efforts in person and the thought of it made her unable to stop smiling and her face going pink. His gentleness really was one of a kind and it made her feel warm inside.
"But I'm not here to talk about the other Parisians." He proceeded, his tone suddenly lower, almost like a whisper. He never let go of her hands. "To me, Ladybug, you are so much more than that." Her eyes widened, she didn't understand.
"Over this last year, you became one of the most important people in my life. Every time I see you, my heart flutters and every time we are together, I feel like I can do anything." he cringed a little at that last statement, but it was the truth and the girl seemed to be so shocked she didn't say anything in return. He carried on.
"You may feel like this is coming out of nowhere, and I don't blame you for that." his eyes were set on the floor, he was sad he couldn't tell her the whole truth. "But the time we spent together made me realize…" he squeezed her hands tighter, looked deeply into her eyes and his lips curved into the sweetest smile she'd ever seen in her life. "I'm madly in love with you."
She held her breath.
