Episode 1: The One Where Adrien Decides to Transform in Plain Sight
This series will be a series of one-shots of all the times I think that Adrien and Marinette's identities could have been revealed throughout the series. Multiple chapters per episode. I'll update when I update. Feel free to yell at me in the comments. Feel free to recognize that I'll ignore you
Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. All rights go to creators.
AU in which Marinette actually has eyes
Marinette stared at the ice covered merry-go-round. She could see Alya and Manon still trapped inside, pounding on the slick surface, their cries muffled by the frozen water. She looked up to see a girl in a purple dress shooting ice all over the place out of a purple umbrella. Realizing the best thing she could do to help Alya and Manon would be to transform, Marinette sprinted away from the merry-go-round, jumped over a park bench, and landed in a crouch.
Opening up the bag at her hip, Tikki soared out and Marinette yelled, "Time to transform! Tikki, Spots On! Yeah!" After finishing her transformation sequence, Ladybug ran out from her oh-so inconspicuous park bench and stood in the park. Adrien was no where to be seen, and Ladybug could only hope that he'd made it to safety. She was about to charge towards Stormy Weather when she heard a strange voice.
"I'm not here! I'm sleeping!" Ladybug ran towards the voice, thinking it belonged to a civilian who had yet to notice the chaos the most recent Akuma was causing. Following the voice, she saw Adrien smugly holding up a piece of cheese.
"What the heck is Adrien doing?" Ladybug thought. Just as she was about to yell at him to get out of the way, a black blur shot up from a camera bag and straight to the cheese in Adrien's hand. Adrien smirked at the thing, and Ladybug peeked around to get a full view of it and gasped inaudibly. It was a tiny, flying, talking cat. In a weird way, it reminded Marinette of Tikki. But if this thing was a Kwami too, and it was talking to Adrien, then that must mean… no! No way was Adrien Chat Noir! Ladybug shook her head, trying to rid her mind of that ridiculous thought. There had to be another explanation. Before she could think anything else, however, the little Kwami started to speak again.
"For your information, I can smell Camembert in my sleep," the little cat bragged, " It's only one of my many talents." Ladybug stifled a giggle, momentarily forgetting that there was an Akuma on the loose.
"Great," Adrien said, standing up and dropping the cheese and Kwami on the ground, "But there's no time to talk cheese." Then, he said the words that would change Marinette's life forever. "Plagg, Claws Out!" There was a flash of light, and in the place of her long time crush stood her best friend and partner, Chat Noir. He ran off towards the Akuma, and Ladybug sank to the ground, her mind trying to process what she'd just seen. This whole time, she'd been crushing hard on Adrien and he'd been flirting with her, but she'd been unknowingly rejecting him. She probably would have sat under that tree all day trying to stop her mind from exploding, but Tikki's voice in her head brought her back to reality.
"Marinette! There's still the Akuma! We can deal with Adrien being Chat later okay?" Marinette nodded silently and stood up. She ran towards the sounds of fighting, flipping over and water fountain and performing several unnecessary acrobatics along the way.
Twenty minutes later, Ladybug grabbed Stormy Weather's umbrella and snapped it over her knee saying, "Get out of here, you nasty bug!" The Akuma flew out of the broken parasol, and, opening her yo-yo, Ladybug said, "No more evil doing for you, little Akuma. Time to de-evilize! Gotcha!" She snagged the Akuma in her yo-yo and tapped the middle. A pure white butterfly came fluttering out. "Bye bye little butterfly!" Marinette said as she smile and watched the insect ascend. Throwing the towel in the air, she yelled "Miraculous Ladybug!" The black and red waves washed over the entire city, restoring everything to the way it was before Stormy Weather was created.
Stormy Weather turned back into Aurore, saying "What am I doing up here?"
Ladybug and Chat Noir bumped fists and simultaneously said, "Pound it!" Chat's ring beeped, and he gave Ladybug a two fingered mock salute before jumping away over the rooftop of the Kidz+ station. Ladybug made a split second decision before jumping after him, knowing she would go insane if she didn't confront him here and now. He was five feet in front of her, not yet aware she was following him when she said the words that would change his life forever.
"Adrien, wait." Chat Noir skidded to a halt and turned around slowly to face Ladybug.
"H-how do you know that name?" He asked, fear evident in his voice.
"I-I saw you transform." Marinette looked at the ground, ashamed. They'd promised each other that they wouldn't tell each other their secret identities, and by watching Adrien transform she'd broken that promise in the worst way. Chat's miraculous ticked down until he untransformed, but it seemed that he'd hardly noticed. Chat, now Adrien, shoved his hands in his pockets.
"So?" He asked. "Are you disappointed?" He looked down when he said this, as if he expected her to push him away or tell him she'd hoped someone better was her partner.
"Disappointed? Are you insane?" Adrien's head lifted at her words, some hope in his eyes. "You're Adrien Agreste. Kind, sweet, handsome, and thoughtful. If anything, you should be disappointed in me."
"Why would I be disappointed in you, My Lady? I never could be." Adrien looked her straight in the eyes.
Quietly under her breath, Marinette whispered, "Transformation Release." The spots faded away, leaving just Marinette standing on that lonely rooftop with the boy of her dreams. She looked at her shoes, the sky, anywhere but Adrien's dace. "I-I thought you'd be disappointed in me because under the mask, I'm just Marinette. I'm shy and clumsy and can barely speak to you without stuttering or falling over. I'm just…plain." Marinette felt warm hands on her chin, lifting her head up so she was staring straight into Adrien's eyes.
"Marinette. You're anything but plain. You're kind, beautiful, and strong. I can't think of anyone I would rather be Ladybug."
"But…" before she could say anything more to detract from her own self esteem, Adrien pressed his lips against hers. She stiffened for a moment out of shock, but quickly melted into Adrien. His hands pulled her waist closer to him and her hands tangled in his hair. They broke the kiss and rested their foreheads against each other's.
"I love you, Marinette. I always will."
"I love you too, Adrien. I always have."
