"You really don't know Chat Noir's identity?" Adrien asked. "You don't even have a suspicion?"
"For the last time, Adrien, no," Marinette said with a sigh, flopping down on his couch next to him. "We agreed we'd keep it a secret. No one's supposed to know."
"Oh, right," he said, nodding seriously. "How's that working out so far?" He grinned at her. Tikki, perched on his shoulder, made a high-pitched sound of agreement.
Marinette groaned. "That was an accident. You weren't supposed to know either, or else I'd have let my parents and Alya in on the secret, too."
"But you don't regret me knowing, do you?"
Marinette made a face at him, and he made one back. She laughed and stretched. "No, you dork. I don't regret it."
He smiled, glad to see her so at ease. She worked too hard.
He was the only one in the world who knew exactly how much.
It had been an accident.
How was Ladybug supposed to know Adrien Agreste would be sitting in the alley she dropped into to transform? How was she supposed to know that Adrien Agreste had just detransformed there moments before her?
She had nowhere else to go, and nowhere near enough time to go there. Their eyes locked. Panic was clear on her face.
When he realized, he tried to cover his eyes, but it was too late. He'd seen. She ran.
Marinette didn't speak to him the next day in class, as per usual, but she didn't look at him either. Adrien let this go on for a few days, hoping she would reach out to him, but when she didn't he approached her himself.
He'd laid a hand on her arm. "Marinette? Could I talk to you quick?"
"Uh, sure," Marinette said. She turned to her bewildered best friend. "See you later, Alya."
Alya looked back and forth - at Marinette, at Adrien, back at Marinette. "Tell me everything later," she said under her voice as she left. Adrien pretended he hadn't heard.
There were a few seconds of awkward silence. Adrien rocked back and forth on his feet, uncomfortable. Marinette looked at the sky, hugging her bookbag to her chest. Then they both spoke at once.
"I'm so sorry -"
"Please don't say anything to anyone -"
"If I can help with anything-"
"It would put us all in danger if it got out -"
"Your secret is safe with me, I swear," Adrien said.
Marinette smiled shyly. "Well, thank you," she said. "If someone had to - that is - I trust you. Not to tell, I mean." They both turned pink, laughing slightly.
After a few moments, she asked hesitantly, "Do you want to come have a macaron at my parents' bakery?"
Ever since, he'd wanted to tell her. He felt like a scumbag for not telling her.
But she didn't want to know. He'd asked so many times.
"Aren't you even a little curious? You see him every day, you've fought with him for months, and he could be anyone."
"No, Adrien. I'm fine not knowing," Marinette said. She flipped through a fashion magazine, lying on her chaise on her stomach, bored with the conversation.
"If he found out who you were, would you be upset?" he asked.
"If I hadn't told him?" She considered. "Yeah, probably. Why?"
"Just wondering." He pretended to read.
He felt guilty every time he looked at her. He knew she hated lies. But...he was weak. Selfish.
Marinette and Ladybug were two of the only people on earth who cared if he was around. The odds were he'd lose them both if he told her.
I don't put up with lies.
Chloé totally lied to us earlier. I was not going to listen to a liar.
Chat Noir may annoy me to pieces, but he's never lied to me.
She yawned. "Can we talk about something besides identities? I spend so much time worrying about those…"
"Yeah, no problem." He tossed her a controller. "You feel like losing at Ultimate Mecha Strike III?"
"You wish, Agreste."
"I can vouch for Marinette, Mme Bustier," Adrien said. "She was with me this morning."
Mme Bustier inspected their faces. "You were both saving a cat from a tree on the way to school this morning?"
"Uh. Yes," Marinette said. Adrien nodded.
"Why didn't you just call an authority to get it down?" Mme Bustier asked.
"There was a little girl there," Adrien said. "She was distressed. We wanted to at least wait with her until they could get there."
Marinette was anxiously twisting her fingers together next to him. Mme Bustier sighed.
"Okay, Marinette. But you really have to work on this." She shook her head. "You were always a fairly punctual student until this year. I don't know what's happened to you. Adrien, you've been tardy a great deal yourself."
"I'll try harder," Adrien said, already backing out of the classroom.
"Thank you, Mme Bustier!" Marinette called, following.
Once they were out of earshot, Marinette cringed. "The things I do to keep a secret identity."
"Lucky I could cover for you, huh?" Adrien said.
"What would I do without you?" She bumped him playfully with her shoulder. "Thank you."
"I told you I'd help any way I could," Adrien said. "I've heard your fake excuses for akuma attacks lately. I think it's time I took over, anyway."
Marinette smiled. "So, what's your real excuse for being late this morning?"
"Just overslept." Another lie.
Marinette hummed as they walked. Adrien's thoughts were elsewhere.
Someday you're going to have to tell her, his mind whispered.
I know, he said. I just need more time.
The longer you wait, the worse it will be.
Give me more time.
Ladybug swung into Adrien's room through the window, detransforming as soon as her feet hit the floor. "Ughh," she groaned, throwing herself onto the sofa face-first. Tikki plopped down next to her, looking dead-tired.
"Superhero duties?" Adrien asked casually, flipping through his history textbook from his seat on the floor.
"Yes. We just took out a gigantic akuma a block away, didn't you notice?"
Adrien held up an earbud innocently. "Nah, I guess my music was too loud."
"You know, maybe you should get into the Ladybug suit and do your part for this city once in awhile. Give me a break," Marinette said, voice muffled by the cushion. "I'm exhausted."
"There are cookies on my desk for Tikki. How's the latest akuma victim?"
"Embarrassed but unhurt," Marinette said.
"And how was Chat Noir today?"
"Flirty. For a change."
"It's because he's in love with you, you know," he said casually.
"For the last time, Agreste," Marinette said, rolling over, "that's just his nature. He's flirted with plain old Marinette plenty."
There's a reason for that, Adrien thought. "You can deny the truth as much as you want, bug, but generally a guy doesn't look at a girl he doesn't love like this." He held up his phone, showing a picture from the Ladyblog of a fight from a few months ago.
Ladybug's yo-yo spun, captured in the photo only as a blur. Her face was frozen in a fierce expression as she faced down her enemy. Chat stood behind her, baton raised, ready to back her up. His eyes lingered on her.
There were photos of Chat Noir looking adoringly at Ladybug. There were photos of them sweeping each other off their feet, sitting on each other's laps, taking hits meant for the other. This one wasn't so dramatic, but it had still caught Adrien's attention. Chat Noir was just looking at her - as though there wasn't any reason to look anywhere else. She was it.
Marinette evidently hadn't seen the photo before. She swallowed hard and looked away, forcing a laugh. "That look is nothing. It might even be just a trick of the camera." She scoffed. "Matter of fact, I think I've seen you look at me like that."
Adrien laughed softly, turning the phone back to look at the picture again. "Yeah, Mari. You might be onto something there."
He'd said it under his breath. He hadn't thought she would catch it. His blood froze a few moments later, when he heard her stammer -
"What - what did you say?"
Marinette's eyes were wide. Stunned.
Shoot.
Notes:
looks like there might be room to continue this...hmmm
Thanks for reading! You can find me at peggiecarter on tumblr :)