Hello, my dear readers! I am here with another awesome request. I would've posted it sooner, but I wanted it to be the best it could be.

Presenting the Truth

Requested by Georgia

Normally, I would be taking notes on what Madame Bustier was teaching. I'd occasionally joke with Nino or join in on Alya and Marinette's conversation.

But today, I was just offended.

I am aware that eavesdropping is wrong, but when I hear my name mentioned, I think that's an exception.

Well, my alter ego's name, but still. Chat Noir is me, and I'm Chat Noir.

I might have just chalked it up to admiration, considering I am one of the heroes of Paris, but then I heard the words "he doesn't really love her."

As in, I am not in love with the love of my life. Is she crazy?

I would've turned around and started asking her that question immediately, but class was still in session. I would've drawn too much attention had I jumped up and turned on her like I wanted to.

The second the bell rang, Nino turned and asked what the girls were talking about and after Alya summarized the conversation, I interrupted her.

"Like that's true."

Her eyebrows rose.

"Excuse me?"

"It's so obvious he loves her. Where would you even get the idea of anything different?"

While her mouth opened to answer, it was Marinette's voice that sounded.

"The real world."

I turned my glare on her. She might be my friend, but that idea is unacceptable.

"What do you mean 'the real world'? In the real world, Chat believes that she is a goddess and would do anything for her."

Marinette rolled her eyes and scoffed. Apparently, when she is being a fool, her stutter went away.

"As if. He just likes the idea of her. She's a superhero, so he connects the nonexistent dots to make her seem like a goddess. Not that he actually likes her." She seemed very pleased with her response.

Too bad.

"So, he likes her without liking her? You're still admitting that he likes her."

She didn't seem to anticipate that.

"Wh-b-s-h-he doesn't actually like her! He is only joking when he flirts with Ladybug! He always laughs or does the thing with his eyebrows, or something like that!"

I went to respond, but she kept going.

"And he flirts with every other girl in Paris! When you like someone, you don't do that!"

Warnings of being late cut off my next bout of arguing and I stormed out of the classroom to our next period. I plopped down in my seat without looking at anyone.

I refused to look at any of my friends as I scribbled away in my notebook for the remainder of the day. I could her Nino and Alya laughing, but I never cared enough to tear my eyes away from my notes.

That night, I worked until a very unreasonable time to finish my project, wanting to make it perfect.

I woke up early to triple check that all my ideas were represented perfectly and made sure to sign the bottom as legibly as I could.

I folded it up as neatly as possible and fit it into my bag before heading to school.

I bypassed the area in front where most students were lingering and plowed on ahead to homeroom. I sat at my seat, placed my bag in front of me, and set my hands on top of it. Then, I waited.

It didn't take long for my three friends to show up. When they did, Alya and Nino sat in their seats like usual and Marinette nervously stood in front of mine.

"Yes?" I asked.

Her face went beet red and she looked everywhere but at me.

"I, um, I want to apologize for making you mad yesterday."

"So, you're apologizing for being wrong?"

"No, I'm sorry I explained my thoughts in a way that made you angry."

"Well, I'll accept your apology and help you understand how you are incorrect. Please take a seat."

I stood up, gestured for her to sit down, and took the chart I worked on last night out. I set up my stand, placed the large card on there, then proceeded to take out the last piece needed for my presentation.

The three were gawking at my color-coded chart, but I ignored them.

"Now, you seem to believe that Chat Noir, one of Paris's superheroes, is not in love with his partner," I began. I walked back and forth to make sure all three of them were listening and, because I felt that it was needed, to appear more dramatic.

"Your first argument was that 'he only likes the idea of her, not the real her'. Am I correct?"

She nodded and I copied her nod.

"Okay, so firstly," I snapped out my pointer and pointed towards the first box. "You're still admitting he likes her, which is true. The place where your thought process goes wrong is where you think it's only because she's a superhero. Now, if you look at Exhibit A, you'll see that the first time he gawked at her like she was a superhero was when she faced off with Hawk Moth the first time. This was not simply because she had superhuman abilities, but because she had the bravery, courage, and a kind enough heart to elect herself hero of Paris when pretty much everyone still wasn't sold on her. Yeah, he might've been a bit of the flirt you think of him as at their first meeting, but that was because he just so happened to find someone who he was interested in. As a person. And he had just became a superhero himself when they first met, still high on the power of being one, so it doesn't make sense that he would only like her because of her status.

"But even if he did," I rambled mindlessly. "Would that really be so bad? She earned the status 'superhero' because she helped protect Paris. She is a superhero because of all the good things she's done, which are the things that make her her. So even if he didn't love her for any reason other than being a superhero, he does love her because of what makes her a superhero. The things that make her Ladybug."

I continued to the next box, without waiting for argument. Argument would make me get off track again.

"Second, you said that 'he is only joking when he flirts with Ladybug'. Is this correct?"

She nodded again.

"And you used the examples of 'laughing', 'doing that thing with his eyebrows', and 'stuff like that'. Are these also correct?"

Her head went up and down, albeit quicker and a smaller movement to hid how red she was becoming.

"Do you think it is possible that he only does that to protect himself? That maybe he does those things because, if he doesn't, there's a good possibility he will get hurt when Ladybug declines?"

I waited this time, making sure my words sunk in before continuing.

"As much as we all forget sometimes, the two are just teenagers. We forget this sometimes because they are superheroes and protect us everyday, but that doesn't change what they are. And we should know how it feels to still be a kid, because we are still kids. Just like them. We make mistakes, we get protective of small things, and most importantly, we are human. When we're human, we're vulnerable."

I stopped my pacing to look at each of them.

"When we're vulnerable, we can be hurt. If normal teenagers can act to protect themselves from being hurt, why can't superhero teenagers? They're still teenagers."

I let them adjust to the idea before moving to my next point.

"You also mentioned that 'he flirts with every girl in Paris.' Is that correct?"

Marinette nodded once more, her brows furrowed in thought.

"Well, 'every' doesn't occur that often. One time, actually."

Marinette, as a last attempt at being right, rebutted. "Well, why did he flirt with me? There was absolutely no need to."

I held up one finger, like I was a lecturer, which I was starting to feel like I was.

"Well, there was a reason for him. If you'll direct your eyes to the back…" I flipped the poster over, revealing several pictures of Marinette, each with words next to it. "You'll find the information I got from Chat Noir directly."

Kind of. I mean, I am him. So if I know the information, I can give it to myself directly.

Right? Let's go with that.

I added in the signature I use as him to the bottom. Like an "I approve this message", which I obviously do.

I opened my mouth to explain all the pictures of Marinette, but was interrupted by Alya.

"Wait. You got information directly from Chat Noir?"

"Yes, now you see-"

"So you met him and didn't mention anything to me?"

"I just did. Now, I explained this predicament and he-"

"But you didn't when you actually met him. You didn't even think to text me?"

"Okay, I told him about yesterday and we talked through information to add to this. He mentioned that Marinette was going to bring up that point, so he told me to add this." I gestured to the whole back of the poster. "I was focused on this, so no. I didn't think to tell you. I'll try to think about it next time. Can I get back to my point now?"

She looked ready to argue, but her curiosity about Chat's attraction to her best friend seemed to override that because she quietly nodded.

"Thank you. Now, as I was saying, Chat thought that you would bring that up, so he suggested I add this. Why he flirted with you. If you'll look at Exhibit D, it's you helping out in your family's bakery. This highlights your qualities of helping out and family importance. Both happen to also apply to Ladybug. Now, if you look at this next one, it shows you at the student president election," I continued. This time, I didn't want them to think too much about what I was saying.

I didn't want to think about it much, either. I'd never be able to stop blushing.

I explained each of Marinette's good qualities that Chat would've known about, plus the ones Adrien would've known of. With each one, Marinette got redder and redder. I kept talking to avoid myself having the same fate.

I was comparing Marinette to Ladybug. My friend who seems to hate me to the woman I love with all my heart.

Once I had explained each and every item on the board, I turned back to them, trying to not think about what I was saying.

"You see, Ladybug and Marinette have many things in common. Many of them are things that Chat loves about Ladybug. When Chat flirted with you, he was proving two things. One, you are an amazing person. Two, he has a type. One that you happen to fall into. And just because he loves Ladybug, doesn't mean he can't like someone else. I mean, most people love one person, but they can find people they might've otherwise ended up with. Obviously, Marinette is one of those people to Chat. She does fit his type to a 'T'.

"In conclusion, Chat Noir does do some things that make it seem like he isn't actually in love with Ladybug, but if you look at the overall picture and how he willingly risks his life for her everyday, you'll see that he does love her. Any questions?"

Marinette looked like she wanted the earth to come and swallow her up, but Alya and Nino just looked on in awe.

"You," Nino started. "Seriously thought about it this much?"

"I cared about it this much. It is so obvious he loves her and it isn't right that so many people just brush it off like it isn't real, including Ladybug. He makes it so crystal clear and everyone seems to think he's joking, when he's not."

Alya was looking at me now, showing a sense of pride on her face.

"You're so passionate about this, it's almost like you are Chat."

I waved that off.

"Please, I could only wish to be that cool."

And now she was looking at me like I was crazy.

"Ok-ay, then. Marinette, girl, are you okay?"

Her face was the color of a tomato. Literally. I'm pretty sure that if I held up a ripe tomato next to her face, they would match.

She nodded, but kept her head down.

I guess that means I won, then. Marinette isn't arguing anymore and Alya would probably feature some of this, if not all of it, on her blog.

And just imagine how that one presentation is going to change everything.

There you have it. I really loved this one and I hope y'all did too.