somewhere only we know

by njckle

Years later, they meet at their favorite spot.

A/N: AU where Tikki and Plagg recede into their miraculous once Paris is save for the last time, leaving Marinette and Adrien unable to figure out their identities. Stand-alone or coupled with my other fic, showered in stardust

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The forecast doesn't predicted thunderstorms.

It's the middle of summer, clear skies a common occurrence the past few weeks and not a cloud to be seen, so there hadn't been a reason to worry about a turn in the weather- or, at least, Adrien had thought so.

Now it's as if he's crossed into another land, one where gray reigns as divine ruler. Different shades battle across the sky, ash gray fading off into a dark charcoal with coppery stripes blurred at it's edges. Adrien stands beneath the Eiffel Tower, staring at the heavens, willing it to clear up and ultimately regretting not paying heed to the weather reports. The air is warm, humid even, and while the jacket he has protects him from a stray wind, it doesn't offer an ounce of help against the shower that currently has him stranded.

He really should have brought an umbrella. Why did he venture out without one?

Let's meet at our favorite spot, chaton.

Ah, yes, he knows why. His life had been turned upside down, leaving him completely rattled and nervous, all because of one little message on an abandoned blog.

As the number of people out diminishes with the ongoing rain, the Eiffel Tower practically abandoned except for the few stragglers hurrying past, Adrien begins to wonder whether this was a mistake. Who knew if Ladybug had written the message or if she'd even show up if she did. He'd been desperately hoping for this day to come for years, spent so much time searching on his own, only to get nothing to show for it. This outing could end up being the same as all the others.

"Adrien…"

He starts at his name, the voice distinctively feminine, and turns to face the young woman behind him. She's wearing a simple dress that fits her wonderfully, striking against the grey of the world, but completely inappropriate for this downpour, with a thick coat. Despite his hopes, she's dressed in pink and white, not red and black.

"Marinette!" He tries to hide his disappointment, shaking it off with the frantic beats of his heart; like a bird, desperate for flight and companionship, it flutters its wings against the cage of his ribs. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Adrien!" She smiles, does a little jig, and hurries over to him. "I'm meeting a friend. What about you?"

"The same, actually." Despite the fact that their best friends are going steady (with a few rough patches here and there), he doesn't hang out with Marinette as much as he'd like. Their schedules barely matched up, a spur-of-the-moment photoshoot whisking him away or schoolwork demanding most of his time (something that had Nino frustrated to no end). "How have you been?"

"Great!"

He goes through the usual questions, asking her about her family, her health, and so on. Marinette doesn't hesitate to tell him everything, from her internship to the pesky dress that just won't work out. The conversation comes easy, her enthusiasm for the simplest of things infective, and they flow from one topic to another until he's willingly telling her about his own happenings. She listens and laughs at his stories, not an hint of the weird stuttering and strange stares that he remembers in school, and it's one of the most enjoyable conversations he's had in awhile.

Somehow their conversation turn to relationships and he's relieved to find that he's not the only one who's kept himself out of the dating game.

"Adrien…" Marinette suddenly smiles, small and quirky, and Adrien is suddenly reminded of a spotted heroine bringing a finger to her lips and whispering, This will be our little secret, alright Chaton? "The person you're waiting for… it's a girl, isn't it? Someone who's more than a friend."

He feels himself deflating with a nervous flutter in his chest. "Is it that obvious?"

"For you, yes."

He runs his hands through his hair, frustrated. Despite years schooling his expression for the paparazzi, he's still an open book. "I… I don't know what I'm going to say to her when I see her."

Marinette must take pity on him because she steps closer, lifting her umbrella a little higher to accommodate his height. "Walking always helps me think."

He glances around. No sight of Ladybug, not even a hint of red to guide him. There was nothing else to do but wait and he hadn't seen Marinette in so long…

"That sounds great actually."

Under the protection of her umbrella, he follows her along the path around the tower in comfortable silence. Their pace is slow and Adrien feels himself calming down, his anxiety mellowing out with every step.

"So, this girl…"

"This girl," he agrees, sighing. "How do you tell a girl that you haven't seen for years that you're still in love with her?"

A moment after it's out of his mouth Adrien realizes what he'd just said and snaps his jaw shut, his face getting warm. "I-I mean, I-"

Thankfully, Marinette's just as accepting and kind as she was when they were in collège, brushing past his embarrassment with ease. "No, it's fine. I get it, I really do." She's silent for a bit, pondering, and they reach the other side of the courtyard. "Confessions aren't something I'm really good at either." She laughs like she's remembering an old joke. "Did you know I spent years trying to tell one boy how much he meant to me?"

No, he didn't know. "Really?" He wonders who and if they were in their class.

"Most of collège and all of lycée. I was such a clutz and couldn't even last a minute without embarrassing myself. Every time I got the courage to tell him, something happened. I forgot to sign my name on a gift, someone interrupted us, an akuma attack- you name it, it happened."

Unable to help himself, Adrien laughs, too late to cut it off with a cough when he realizes how rude he's being.

Marinette doesn't take offense, instead, giggling along. "I was pretty ridiculous. You should've seen Alya. She was at her wit's end with me."

"I bet."

"Still, I didn't stop. I kept trying and trying, a new plan after the next. I had to tell him how I felt even if he didn't feel the same way." She gives him a side glance, lips quirking up in an almost-smirk that Adrien didn't think she could pull. "You were like that, right?"

There's no point in trying to reject the idea, accepting the fact that it was his turn to be laughed at. "Yes, but ten times worse."

"Really? You always seemed so…"

He raises an eyebrow. "So…?"

"… respectable."

Oh, if she only knew of the countless jokes he'd thrown at his spotted partner, not to mention the shameless way he came onto her. "I've got years of dealing with my father's business partners under my belt. Without it, I'm- and I'm quoting Nino here- 'the most socially awkward and helpless dude when it comes to girls.'"

That gets a laugh out of Marinette and Adrien feels proud. "How is he? I haven't talk to him since he got the gig in London and Alya's been in Martinique for the last month."

"Touring right now. His flight landed in Barcelona this morning, so he's probably catching up on his beauty sleep." That quip earns him another giggle and it's, if Adrien's being completely honest, the cutest thing he's ever heard.

They both look up when the Tower lights up, a burning beacon that gives the world a little more color. Marinette smiles up at it, the soft yellows adding more life to her features, and Adrien finds he likes the sight of her. She's a cool breeze against the stifling seriousness that he faces everyday, from less-than interesting models and nit-picky designers.

"So, did you ever tell your crush?"

She sighs, stepping closer when a soaked Parisian runs by. "No...well, actually, I had this other boy…"

Now, that's something he didn't expect. He grins. "Marinette Dupain. Are you telling me you tried to juggle two boys at once?"

The reaction's immediate: Marinette's cheek turn pink and she puffs them out like a child. "No! I didn't do anything with either of them! The other boy, he kept, well, he kept bugging me!"

"Really?"

"Yes!" she practically groans. "Constantly!"

The image of a boy- of anyone really- bothering Marinette doesn't bode well with him. She's a good person, too good to be having to deal with a persistent heckler. "He didn't try to force you, did he?"

For some reason she finds this funny, exploding into a fit of giggles that leaves Adrien confused. She waves off his concern at her complete three-sixty. "He was a complete gentleman. A bit of a flirt, but totally harmless."

Adrien feels his imaginary fur lie flat. "And you rejected him."

"Yes, except he wouldn't take no for an answer. I would shoot him down and he'd come straight back like a stray cat. I'm telling you, he was determined. He promised that I was the only lady in his life and that no one else could compare." She pats her cheek, sighing in exasperation. "Too bad for him, I wouldn't give up on my crush."

"Why didn't you? Give up on the first guy, I mean? You obviously had options."

"Why didn't you give up on your friend?" Because she was Ladybug, Adrien wants to say, but can't. How could anyone give up on superhero like her? When he doesn't answer, Marinette continues, "She was perfect, right? Could do no wrong, was the best of the best, and no one else could compare."

"I mean, yeah, she was- is amazing." Having his feelings described in that way made it sound like he glorified Ladybug and that's not something he wants. In the beginning he was over the top and, yes, infatuated, but he needed it to show that it was more than that- if not to Ladybug, then to Marinette. "But I was a complete idiot, putting so much pressure on her and expecting her to take it."

They're back to where they started, but there's a silent agreement to walk another round. The rain begins to fall harder, but with their shoulders touching as they huddle closer under the umbrella, Adrien's never felt more content. "Have you ever met someone that you would trust with every little secret? You meet them and talk to them and you think, 'You're what I've been waiting for.'"

"Yes," Marinette says, barely speaking above the rain, "I think I have."

"Then you know how stupid you get. You don't know what to say or what to do to around them, so you say everything you want to say. Except you don't know that's not what you want to say, so comes out wrong and and cheesy and sounds like a lie- except it's not."

Marinette's gaze softens. "You're worried she won't think you're serious."

Once again, she's right on the mark. He should've sought her out earlier and saved himself the time spent freaking out about possible rejection (he makes a note to clear his schedule enough to see her more often). "I'm worried she might be right. I knew her, but I didn't know her. We hung out and talked- I confessed and confessed- but I didn't get to know her. How can you love someone and not know who they are? I don't even know her favorite color or-"

"Pink," Marinette says. At his confused stare, she elaborates, "My favorite color is pink."

Surprisingly enough, he knows that. "Blue."

"I know."

The list of different smiles Marinette has keeps growing, this one sly and knowing. Not only is she bolder than he's ever remembered her being, but she's so much… more. To be honest, he's stumped by it, how confident she is- it's a far cry from what he expected, with how clumsy and eccentric she was around him in school.

He never expected it (never expected to be pouring his guts out in the rain), but likes it far more than he'd like to admit.

There's a strange shift in the back of his head. Like a dark blot on a blank white sheet, it nags to be noticed. He pushes it aside, ignoring the sudden fluttering at his chest and the way he flexes his clammy hands at his sides.

Adulthood suited her well, he finally decides.

"I'm kind of in the same boat." Adrien finds it easier to breathe when Marinette looks away. "For all my talk about telling my crush how I felt, I never actually became friends with him. Close acquaintances, yes, but not friends."

"Why not?"

"I guess… I guess I thought that he wouldn't like me if he actually knew me. I was a klutz, a total loser, a-"

"You were not a loser." The thought of having to convince her doesn't feel right. "I didn't think you were a loser and I'm pretty sure no one else did. In fact, everyone had a crush on you."

That flustered expression comes back, only with more color. "They did not."

"Yes, they did. Trust me, Marinette, everyone had a crush on you."

"It didn't matter if everyone liked me. All that mattered was what my crush thought of me." After a flare of passion, Marinette retreats back, biting her lip. Adrien watches her deflate. "Except… I was so caught up on what he thought about me that I never took the chance to get to know him. I thought I knew what I wanted- which boy I wanted, but…"

"But...?"

"I realized something." Taking a breath, she looks up at him and at that moment he's never realized how blue her eyes are. "They were the same person. Can you believe it? The guy I was crushing on was the one who was chasing after me the whole time. I knew more about this boy than I realized."

He swallows, his stomach twisting for reasons he can't explain. "How does that work out?"

"He would be the perfect student at school- the nicest, most kindest boy you could imagine, always trying to help. But, when no one was looking, he'd be the dorkiest, most loyal person I knew. He always knew how to cheer me up and didn't hesitate to tell me when I was being unreasonable."

"Sounds like a catch."

Marinette nods. "The only problem was he was in love with this other girl. He went on and on about her- how brave, how pretty, how amazing she was. Made me feel like that I couldn't compare, you know?" She tucks her hair back and he sees red shining at her ears. "But then I remembered this boy who always said these wonderful things to me and I started to think that, maybe, I could be as amazing as he believed I could be. I could be just as great as this other girl who stole my crush's heart."

With every passing word, Adrien finds himself more and more absorbed, and can't help but stupidly say, "You are amazing, Marinette."

She's been smiling so much, he notes dazedly, and this current one seems to outshine the rest. "Do you want to know something, Adrien?"

"What?"

"I was girl I was trying to beat. Isn't that silly? By the time I found out I couldn't believe I fell in love with someone just as stupid as me. And I do love him- even if he makes terrible puns. Then again," Marinette grins, "that was something I pawsitively loved about him. That and his model good looks."

Adrien stops and Marinette follows, spinning on her heel to face him.

He looks, really looks. Past the rain, past the expectations he didn't know he set up, he searches for something he didn't think was there- didn't believe could be. He ignores that he's waiting for Ladybug, that he may have already missed her, instead giving this girl from his class the attention she finally deserves.

Plagg had once said that magic was in play, a security against prying eyes and the main defense in keeping their secrets identities from Papillon. What had been a blessing was also a curse, Adrien never recalling more than a lovely smile and blue eyes surrounded by red, the rest of Ladybug a blurred picture.

Except Marinette's standing right in front of him, completely and utterly real.

"You…"

"Me." Marinette plays with the umbrella's handle, suddenly shy. "It's been awhile since I've seen either of them, but I couldn't just leave it like I did… so I left a message to meet at our favorite spot."

The familiar feeling continues, this time the full force of it constricting Adrien's chest, making it difficult for him to breathe. He tries to say something- anything. He must look ridiculous with his mouth opening and closing like a fish on land. After a few attempts, he manages, "Alya's probably freaking out right now."

The bright smile directed at him is dazzling, even more so without a mask to blot out half her face, and he feels the need to blink. Beautiful, his mind whispers, like mom's. "Well, it was the only way to give you back your umbrella."

She offers it to him.

A jagged flash of white lights ups the Paris skyline and, like a bubble being popped, the sounds of the storm around them start again. The pitter-patter of the rain against the metal beams above them, the one's hitting the umbrella, the thunder rolling across the sky, it brings him back to reality. He soaks it all up, like a drop of water seeping into the soil of the earth- it's rejuvenating, this feeling, in a mind boggling kind of way.

Marinette's still holding out the umbrella for him to take, a soft expression on her face.

Hesitantly, he reaches for it.

She jumps back, closing the umbrella with a snap!, and Adrien's pelted with millions of raindrops. He makes a noise something between a strangled hiss and a yell, cringing when the water bypasses his hair and goes straight to his scalp.

Marinette's laugh is almost drowned out by the crackle of thunder. More welcoming of the natural shower, she bounds out of the Eiffel Tower's cover with childish delight. She skips and jumps and twirls, arms open and face tilted towards the heavens; skidding across the slick ground and kicking up her feet in between hopping into shallow puddles, she doesn't seem to care that she's ruining her dress.

Stopping in her play, she turns to look at him through the field of raindrops, lips tilting in a soft smile that has his heart pounding out a thunderous symphony. "What are you just standing there for, chaton?" she calls, swinging her- his umbrella without a care in the world.

By the time he realizes what's happening, his body has already crossed the distance and is reaching for her. He sees bluebell eyes as big as the moon and droplets stuck to thick eyelashes before he's squeezing her to his chest, bringing her as close as he physically can and then some. Pressing his face into the crook of her neck, he closes his eyes and breathes her in. "My Lady… I missed you."

There's a clatter and his umbrella falls at their feet. Slender arms wind around his neck, hugging him back just as fiercely, and he lets out his breath in one great puff. "I missed you too, chaton."

Those words are all it takes for him to melt. She'd been searching for him just as he was for her. Except she'd been there the whole time, right in front of him- no, she'd been sitting right behind him for years. Within sight, within reach, he had been so close from the very beginning, if only he'd been more observant.

"Now," she says when he finally pulls away just enough to look at her full on, "about that confession…"

He kisses her.

He kisses her like they're the last people on Earth, like it's all about to end and he has to make it last while he can. Years have passed, with it wasted moments that could've been spent being with his partner and love of his life. Now he's a starving man making up for lost time with heavy breaths and clingy hands, desperate and hungry for something he thought he'd never have.

Despite his fantasies there's nothing perfect about the moment and he couldn't care less. He doesn't care that her nose is digging into his cheek, that his hair is plastered to his forehead, or that raindrops constantly pelt his face and his clothes are starting to stick to his skin. Doesn't care because Marinette's lips are soft and inviting and he can't get enough of them.

After so long of pinning, of wishing and hoping that he'd meet the love of his life again, he has her right in front of him. She's not a fading memory, but a real, living person who he can touch and taste and love with every part of him.

She pulls away, staring at him with surprise. "Are you… purring?"

Adrien blinks the rain from his eyes, only noticing the strange rumbling centered in his chest when it stops. Purring, he'd been purring. He supposes it's a lasting side-effect from Plagg, a parting gift that served as a solid reassurance that he'd actually been Chat Noir. "Do you like it?"

"I love it." With a laugh, she grabs the lapels of his jacket and pulls him back down. The moment's not the same, not with her smiling so big that he can't properly kiss her. She tries, he knows she does, and that makes him start to laugh.

Bringing a hand to her face, he trails his fingers across her cheek to tangle them in her hair. Marinette hums under him, reminding him of trips to the park, listening to the beetles in the springtime. It has him laughing even more, feeling happier than he has in a long time. "Are you buzzing?"

Her grip on his jacket tightens and he bows his head, eyes only for the smile set so firmly on her face. "Do you like it?"

He grins against her lips. "I love it."