Author's Note: Turns out revisiting it didn't take long at all. This chapter picks up at the end of the previous one, so I guess this is the final part of a two shot. The prompts that got me thinking along these lines were actually from a couple days ago, and I couldn't resist a nod to the umbrella scene.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or storyline of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. I make no profit from this story and no copyright infringement is intended. I'm just spending some time with a few of my favorite characters. The story is mine, however, except where directly referencing or quoting an episode.


"Adrien?"

Of all the times for him to show up unannounced, it had to be today? She had been running late this morning and left with no umbrella. That would usually not be a big deal, but in an effort to distract herself from Adrien not coming by on Thursday evenings anymore, she had decided to walk home from her errands and deliberately not be anywhere near the bakery at the time he had been arriving. That's when the unexpected deluge literally soaked her.

Now she stood at the door to her living room looking like a drowned rat while Adrien sat on her couch.

"Marinette? Oh! You got caught in that?" He stood, but looked unsure what else to do.

She shrugged. "Yeah. I wasn't expecting you. Have you been waiting for me long?"

"No. I arrived not long before the rain started, and your mom said I could wait for you up here. Is that okay?"

"Of course it is! You don't have to clear a visit first, you're always welcome. You just have to take me as you find me." She tried to chuckle as she gestured to her sodden state, but the cold was setting in.

He moved his hand to the back of his neck. Something must be on his mind. "You have some time?"

"Sure! But can you give me a few minutes? I'm a bit chilly."

He noticed she was actually shaking. "Mari! I'm sorry! I should have realized. I'll wait here for you. Take your time, no rush."

She headed quickly up the stairs to her room for a towel and some dry clothes. The few minutes had done their damage, however, and she felt chilled to the bone. Forgoing cute for warm, Marinette returned to the living room in fuzzy pants and a black and green hoodie.

Adrien chuckled when he saw her. "You do know it's spring, right? There's no snow out there."

"Shut-up. Once I get cold, it's hard to get warm again." She plunked down on the couch, tucking her legs under her.

Sabine and Tom came in the front door themselves, then. "Oh, Marinette. We didn't see you arrive. You got caught in the rain again, didn't you? Why didn't you just wait it out somewhere?"

"Hey Maman, Papa. I was actually walking through the park when it hit. By the time I got anywhere I would have been able to wait it out, I was already soaked through, so I just came the rest of the way home."

"Well, let me get you some tea, then. Adrien, can I get you anything?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks."

They made small talk while her mom got the tea. Tom placed a plate with a few bakery leftovers on the table in front of the couch, then sat down and asked Adrien what his impressions of that weekend's fashion show were.

"Marinette completely stole the show. Her designs were far and away the best received. I would expect offers to roll in by the dozens."

Tom smiled. "Sabine and I agree, though Marinette thinks it's because we're her parents."

"It is because you're my parents. And you're my friend. You have to say those things." Marinette was blushing.

As they all chatted and Marinette drank her tea, it felt like a continuation of the previous weeks. But for his part, there was an underlying tension that he needed to address, and it all revolved around one word: friend. It had such a positive meaning to all his interactions with Marinette, but now, it also served as a reminder of the distance he wanted to eliminate between them.

He could barely stand staying away from her over the past few days, but he knew the exhaustion and nervous energy from the show would need to be dealt with on her end before she'd be ready to hear what he had to say. Then he couldn't decide if he should call her or send a text to see if she wanted to meet him somewhere. Once he decided text might be best so he didn't start stuttering like he had last Saturday, he typed and erased what felt like thousands of messages and never sent a single one.

Finally, he decided to let the car take him to the place where he most wanted to be on the night he was used to coming. He had to make a move or he'd lose his mind.

Now, after waiting for her to change and then visiting with her parents for half an hour, Adrien wondered if he'd be too obvious by asking to speak with her alone.

"Well, we're going to leave you to whatever it is you have planned. I'm taking my wife out to a movie tonight." Tom rose from the chair he'd been occupying.

Sabine looked surprised, but only for a moment. "I'll grab my jacket, and an umbrella, just in case." The last part was said with a wink.


"How's your week been?"

"Good. Less stress." She smiled. "But almost too quiet. I'm glad you stopped by. So, what's up?"

He turned to face her and noticed she was still shivering, though less noticeably than before. Grabbing the blanket from where it draped over the couch behind him, he wrapped it over her shoulders and tucked it in around her legs.

Unable to longer resist the need to be close to her, and feeling just a little bit bold, he sat back down and pulled her to his side, rubbing his hand up and down her arm as if it would help the blanket do its job more effectively.

"Better?"

She hesitated, holding herself rigid for a minute, then finally relaxed into him. "Mmmhmmm. Getting toasty, now."

"Good. As for why I'm here, I missed you."

"Missed me? We were together all day Saturday for the show, and we've been together on Thursdays for weeks. When would you have time to miss me?" she chuckled.

"See, that's the exact reason I wanted to see you. The idea of not coming by tonight just because there was no upcoming show wasn't working for me. I needed my weekly dose of Marinette. I've come to depend on it, you know. On you."

She lifted her head from his chest, and looked at his face.

He smiled down at her, then used his hand to guide her head back to his chest, where he gently ran his fingers through her mostly dry hair. The contact had a hypnotic effect on both of them and she unconsciously leaned even further into Adrien.

Suddenly his heartbeat ramped up for no reason she could pinpoint, though the evidence was pounding in her ear.

"Marinette, I was wondering—well, hoping—you see, on Saturday, at the show—I hadn't really considered so many things before—but it all hit me at once—and I had to process what was suddenly so new but—so right—and really—not all that different—but it is, so I thought that I should at least talk to you about it—and—and—"

She untangled herself from the blanket and put her hand on Adrien's chest, raising her head again, giving him her full attention. "Adrien? You're sounding a bit like you did on Saturday. Is everything okay?"

He brought his hand up and covered her much smaller one where it rested on him. He inhaled. And exhaled. Maybe he should have rehearsed what he wanted to say before driving over here, but the need to be with her again overrode his thought processes.

"Have you ever had a moment of clarity, where you open your eyes and see what's right in front of you? Where suddenly everything makes perfect sense and you realize how much time you've wasted being oblivious? And you can't wait to fix that? That's what happened Saturday."

"Okay—"

"You're lost, huh?"

She nodded.

"Let me try the direct approach, then, Mari." He lifted his hand to her face, cupping her cheek and looking deep into her eyes.

"I realized in that moment I saw you wearing that gown that my best friend had somehow sneaked in and stolen my heart. I don't know when you did it. Looking back, my guess is I've loved you for a really long time." He smiled softly.

She looked at him, stunned. "Are you—are you s—sure?"

"I've never been more sure of anything, Marinette."

She squeaked, or hiccupped, he wasn't sure exactly what to call the sound she made. Then he watched her eyes fill with tears.

Had he ruined them, then? She couldn't see him that way, and now he'd lost her? He really should have thought more about what he was going to say and how to break this drastic change to her. He'd had a few days to process it and she—

Then, she laughed, clear, full of joy. And threw herself into his arms. Now it was his turn to be shocked.

But he recovered quickly enough to wrap his arms around her and hold on for as long as she'd let him. He inhaled the scent that was uniquely Marinette, a cross between baked goods and fabric, with a little spring rain thrown in tonight after her impromptu shower outside.

After a minute of holding her, she leaned back in his arms, a smile lighting her face.

"Am I dreaming? Did I contract a fever from the rain? Did I understand you correctly?" The last question caused a panicked look to rise in her eyes and the smile to fall from her lips. "Oh, no. I didn't, did I?"

She tried to scramble back from him, but he caught her shoulders, holding her in place.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I love you. Is that what you understood?"

She nodded. "It is, but—humor me. Please. How?"

"How? How could I not? Because you're the single most wonderful person I've ever known. You're patient, kind, generous, loyal, talented, courageous, and strong. You love your friends and family fiercely, there's nothing you won't do for them. And all of that is packaged in an incredibly beautiful woman I have had the privilege of growing closer to for years."

She smiled with tears filling her eyes again. "You answered why. Not how. I—I loved hearing it, don't get me wrong, but I need to hear how."

"How? Mari, I don't understand. I want to, but this is all so new to me, I'm not sure exactly what you're asking."

"How do you love me, Adrien? Like a friend—or—"

The light came on. "Oh, Mari, so, so much more than a friend, though I haven't known it for very long."

He smiled and drew her near with a hand at the back of her neck, gently, slowly. "You've been in my heart for a long time, but that's not what I said. I said you'd stolen it, remember? I don't even have the thing anymore."

He placed a gentle kiss to her forehead.

"That dress, Mari." He released a deep sigh. "Seeing you in that dress short-circuited my brain. All I could do was feel, wave after wave of emotion. I couldn't even speak right, let alone try to convince myself again that friendship was what I was feeling.

"I didn't sleep a whole lot on Saturday night. I went over so many things in my mind, trying to figure out exactly when my feelings changed. I still don't know the answer to that, but I know it has been a while. I've—um—been comparing other girls to you for—well—years. That's why I haven't been dating much. No one could match my friend, so why try to form an attachment less than what I already had? No one seemed worth the effort.

"Sometime before dawn, it crystalized in my brain that the only reason I haven't pursued you, my best, closest friend, is fear. My mind kept you firmly in the safe place of 'friend' so I'd never have to endure the pain of losing you if things didn't work out. But—I want more. Need more."

He pulled her even closer, resting his cheek against hers. Near her ear, he continued in a whisper. "Marinette, I've found you are the most important person in my life. I know it's a risk, but you're the only one I can imagine loving like this. Would you be willing to take a chance on me? On us?"

He pulled back slightly, then rubbed his nose against hers as their eyes fluttered closed. He was so close to her lips, his brain was starting to shut down. He heard her inhale, a little shakily, matching his own uneven breaths. "Can I show you what I found when I discovered my heart was missing?"

She nodded. "I wish you would. Maybe it's my heart. The last time I had it was another rainy day quite a few years ago. A new boy at school gave me his umbrella when I didn't have one, even after a misunderstanding that led me to say some horrible things to him."

He smiled, closing the remaining gap and bringing their lips gently together. The touch was soft at first, feather-light, and yet it was electric, bonding their hearts. How was it possible that something so simple could impact so deeply?

She brought her hands up to his shoulders and pulled him closer, her fingers finding the hair at the base of his neck. He happily wrapped his arms around her waist and reveled in how right she felt in his arms, as if she was always meant to be there.

Home. That was the feeling that encompassed this moment. And hope for what the future held for the two of them.


When Tom and Sabine returned several hours later, she was teasing him about the terrible movie he had dragged her to. "Really, that was the best they could do to save the world? I'm glad Paris had—"

"Shhhh!" Finger to his lips, Tom gestured to the couch where Marinette and Adrien were curled up together, wrapped in each other's arms, sound asleep with the TV playing a long forgotten binge of a show they hadn't really cared about.

Sabine smiled. "You were right. Looks like they did need to have a talk. Okay. The movie was a good idea after all, even if the plot wasn't." She pulled a blanket over the two of them and giggled quietly. She followed her husband back to their bedroom, leaving their two favorite people to some well-deserved rest.