Hi again so soon! I finished this chapter last night but decided to upload today so I get some time to write chapter 3. I'm surprised by how well this fanfic is doing and it gives me more motivation to continue writing! Thank you so much for the kind responses guys!
I'm not sure how long this fanfic will be but probably not more than 5 chapter. But psstt don't trust this girl when she set a number for her chapters because she never keeps it lmao
Shameless promotion again but please do check out my ig yukifrill because I draw and make MLB merchs hohohoho
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[WARNING: CONTAINS MILD SPOILER FROM S2E9 AS THIS IS SET AFTER THAT EPISODE! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISKS!]
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Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!
[Love in the Dark]
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Chapter 2
Marinette fluttered her eyes open and immediately winced at the sudden light. She hovered a hand above her face and tried to look around.
Where was she?
"Mari – Ladybug! You're awake!"
It was Tikki's voice.
"M'lady? How are you feeling?"
Chat's voice sounded a bit far.
She squeezed her eyes shut to ease the pain before she opened them again, now more adjusted to the light. That's when she saw her bare hand.
Wait.
She was out of suit.
Abruptly, she made an attempt to get up to see if Chat had seen her, but a jolt of pain attacked her abdomen and she was forced to lie down on the hard surface again. Only by then did she realize that she was on top of the Eiffel tower, and the memory of their Akuma battle slowly returned into her head.
"Please don't try to get up yet. The pill is still taking effect." Tikki suddenly appeared beside her and stroked her cheek lovingly.
Marinette nodded but still casted a worried glance at Chat's general direction, only to find his back facing her. It was his civilian form. All she saw was blond hair and white shirt… or was it a jacket?
"As for me, M'lady, I didn't see your face. Don't worry, your secret's safe," Chat said in his usual playful tone as he leaned a bit backward so she could hear him better.
Marinette looked at Tikki as the kwami nodded, confirming that Chat really didn't see her. The weight on her shoulder was lifted just like that. She wouldn't want to confront him if he ever knew his Lady was his Princess.
But really, from time to time her kitty would surprise her with how gentlemanly he was. She was very touched that he didn't take this opportunity to find out who she was behind the mask.
"Chat?" she called for him.
"Yes, M'lady?"
"Thanks for everything."
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[One day ago – 01.00 am]
Marinette curled under her blanket, pressing a hand on her stomach like it could ease the pain. Her stomach felt like it was sliced whenever she moved, and there was a tear every time that she blinked. She could feel cold sweat slowly forming and seeping through the fabric of her pajamas. She held her breath, because it was only then that the pain paused, and tried to wiggle her way out of the bed to get her painkillers.
"Marinette, are you hurting again?" Tikki asked, flying to her side.
"Oh," the bluehead looked at her kwami apologetically, her breathing slightly heavy because she'd been holding it. "Did I wake you up? I'm sorry, I just need to get the pills and then go back to sleep."
"Oh, Marinette," Tikki whimpered in sorrow before flying to get the bottle of pills from Marinette's drawer and flew back as quick. "You should've just asked me for help."
Giggling nervously, Marinette tried to get up and rested her back on a pillow before popping a pill into her mouth and swallowing it. Tikki offered her a glass of water, which she accepted gratefully.
"You need to talk to your parents today." Tikki rested on her left shoulder.
She let herself fall further into the pillow and let out a content sigh as the pain slowly dissipated. "I will, Tikki, I will," she mumbled, quickly feeling drowsy. "Is after school alright with you?"
"I think it's perfect!"
They both giggled.
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Adrien groaned and plopped onto his bed.
"Seriously, kid, you've been walking in circle for half an hour. I've been trying to ignore you but there goes my whole patience. What on Earth is it this time?" Plagg whined as he threw the last chunk of Camembert into his large mouth and swallowed it in one go.
Adrien answered but his voice was muffled by the bed.
Plagg nodded. "Oh, I see. Don't think too much about it and go to sleep, please. You're giving me a headache I didn't know I'm capable of having."
Shooting up from his position, Adrien casted his kwami an annoyed look. "You didn't even hear what I said."
"Now that you mention it, I didn't!" Plagg said, with a tone like he just said 'Eureka!' as he opened his arms, earning a deeper frown from his Chosen. "But you know what? It doesn't matter either way because I'll respond with the exact same thing. I would bet my whole secret Camembert stash that it's just another love dilemma that'll mercilessly stir the insides of my stomach."
Groaning, Adrien shifted to a sitting position by the edge of his bed. "Dammit, Plagg, you could at least pretend you ca– Wait, you have a secret stash?"
"I might or might not have a secret stash."
"Ew, Plagg! And I was wondering why my room smells like you all the time! The maids have been asking me about it!"
"Every Chat Noir must have excuses ready for bad smell." Plagg twirled his paw around. "It is the norm around here."
"A norm you apparently didn't care to explain to me for a year." Adrien rolled his eyes and dropped his body onto the bed again, now facing the ceiling. He closed his eyes and remembered the events from the afternoon where he almost spilled the beans to Marinette. He wondered what made him do that.
No. He already knew what.
He was running away from his piano lesson as Chat Noir. It was nothing new. He did that often. Just pretending he was playing piano diligently in his room while in reality he was running around in spandex, as free as a bird. The first time he did it, he came back after half an hour. Because how long could someone play the piano perfectly nonstop without it starting to feel obviously fake? The second time he went, there was an Akuma attack half an hour after he went out so he took almost two hours to return home. And yet, nobody seemed to know he was missing.
Sometimes he wondered if anybody in the house really cared whether he was around.
Honestly, ever since his mother disappeared, Adrien had doubted anybody cared about him genuinely. Sure, now he had Nino, the best friend anyone could ever ask for. And although none of them knew him in depth, he loved all his classmates. And then among those classmates, there was this sweet, brave girl who couldn't seem to form a coherent sentence around him but would whip the ass of anyone who dared to mess with her friends. She was technically one of the first friends he'd made at school, but even after a year, their relationship seemed to be stuck in one place. He always wondered where he went wrong.
And then there was Ladybug. Charismatic and charming, know-it-all Ladybug. The girl who always made him feel like he was on cloud nine. The girl who would always save the day. The girl who stole his heart as she gallantly stood on top of the Eiffel tower and smiled daringly at a villain, promising the citizens that she, with him, would save them no matter what.
She was also the girl who rejected his love by saying he was her best friend.
The girl who felt pain when she broke his heart, trying her best to gather the pieces and fix him up in the kindest way possible.
The girl whose cheek he kissed as his heart disgustingly fluttered even when he accepted her rejection.
The girl who, two months before, broke down when she wasn't able to save a citizen from an Akuma attack.
The girl who carried a bloody body of a victim and brought him to his family by herself.
The girl who cried on his shoulder saying she had failed.
She was the love of his life and nothing could change that. Nobody had ever made him feel the way she did.
But then, there was sweet little Marinette who let him confide in her when his heart was broken by Ladybug the first time. He'd always held her dear. He still kept everything she gave him; the lucky charm, the signed Jagged Stone album, even the plastic bag from her bakery. Because he hadn't actually had friends for the longest time, he had this habit to collect everything a friend gave him. There were not many of them anyway.
And then he remembered that moment he smelled Marinette's scent this afternoon. That moment, in his head, he actually imagined Ladybug instead of his shy friend. But when he arrived in front of her, he knew it couldn't be the love of his life. And he started wondering why they had the same scent. And why he hadn't noticed until that very moment.
When Marinette showed him his bluebell eyes he was striked by overfamiliarity.
It was his Lady's eyes.
"Plagg?"
"Mm-hmm?"
"Do you know who Ladybug really is?"
Plagg's ears perked up before he smirked. Hey, this one could be fun. "Oh yeah, you bet I do. Remember that time you fought the Black Owl? I saw her civilian form, nice and clear! Uh-huh!"
Adrien sighed. "You know what, I think I know who she is."
"You do?" Plagg's eyes went wide as he flew to Adrien's side. "Let's hear who you have in mind. She certainly isn't a celebrity or a model like you've always thought," the kwami ended teasingly.
Adrien closed his eyes again before inhaling.
"I think it's Marinette."
And Plagg's sharp intake of air was all the answer he needed.
TO BE CONTINUED
Did you enjoy the second chapter? I'm not sure if it's too boring because there was barely any interaction between our favorite boy and girl. But fret not, there will be plenty of them in the next chapter! How do you guys think Adrien will reveal himself to his one and only Lady?
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