Marinette turned around and saw Adrien leaning against the chimney. His eyes were boring holes into her face and his lips were turned downwards. The stone hard expression on his face sent goosebumps down her body. His threatening appearance only heightened by his leather bodysuit and black mask. Everything leading up to this moment was her fault. He had every right to be angry at her. She had not been the most compliant in the past couple of hours and she was definitely in no position to not talk to him. If anything, it should be the other way around, she didn't deserve for him to chase her down to talk to her.
Just staring at him wasn't going to solve anything, but part of Marinette was screaming "Run! Get away while you still can," and another part of her was screaming "Stay! He deserves a conversation!" Marinette couldn't decide which part of her she really wanted to listen to, so she settled for turning her back to him.
"Marinetteā¦" His voice was stern as if talking to a rowdy child. Marinette's shoulders hunched and she curled into her body, he was being cold. Their dynamic had been ruined and it was because of her. Chat Noir hated her. The love of her life hated her. There was no way the two of them could recover after this. How would they even begin to? This was years of damage and neglect, years of ignoring the main problem.
A single tear slipped out of her eye and she was determined to not let anymore slip out, but when she turned around to face Adrien she couldn't stop herself. One tear after another kept falling from her eyes, she tried to wipe them away but they just kept coming. Every emotion that she had kept bottled inside for all those years was released.
Adrien's face softened when he saw the tears, "Marinetteā¦" he said again.
"Ad-ad-adri" Marinette couldn't even get his name out between sobs. She was pathetic.
Adrien took a step towards her and crouched down to her level.
"Marinette," He said again. lifting his hand to her face to wipe away the falling tears. His forehead creased in thought, he didn't know where to begin.
Adrien closed his eye and took a deep breath.
"Do you hate the idea that I'm Chat Noir?" He slowly opened his eyes to find a shocked Marinette frozen into place.
"No, no no no no no no! I don't hate you! I love you!" She wanted to scream. She wanted to embrace him and tell him that she has never felt hate for him, only love, but her body and mouth had stopped working. They sat in silence for minutes, the only sounds came from the streets of Paris below them.
He took her silence as a confirmation that she did indeed not like the fact the he was Chat Noir. This conclusion broke his heart into two, so he stood up, defeated.
He walked away from her. The girl he was never able to confess his true feelings to. He had been so stupid. If he had made a better attempt at stopping her that night things could have ended differently. Nothing he did had any meaning anymore; everything he had done was to get her to notice him. Maybe she would see him on a billboard somewhere or they would bump into each other in a city he was working in. It was all hopeless dreaming and he knew that, but he couldn't survive without those hopeless dreams. They helped him get out of bed in the morning. Without them, everything just seemed so empty. The world without Marinette's smile was a dark and cold world. He would sell his soul to see that smile he saw when she ran to him outside of the restaurant.
He didn't get it, she was so happy to see him one second and then the next she was horrified, but if she was disappointed that he was Chat then it made sense. He clenched his fist to help him fight the tears that were threatening to spill out of his eyes. Of course she liked Adrien more than Chat. Adrien was who everyone wanted him to be, and Chat was the mess that everyone feared he would turn out to be.
He grabbed for his baton, ready to smash the roof under his feet, but when he lifted his arms up he felt someone crash into him from behind.
"I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry." Marinette cried into his back, Adrien rolled around so that she was laying on his chest.
"About what? I'm the one that should be sorry for turning out to be a huge disappointment." He let out with a sigh.
"Don't you dare say that," Marinette choked out, she was finally getting out of her daze, " You are such a such a strong person. You motivate me to be a better me. I would not be where I am today if you were not there right by my side. There would be Ladybug and Chat Noir without you. You're forgetting that we're a team. I need you more than you let yourself believe. For someone that has lived such a cold life you have a brought a lot of warmth into mine. I am not in love with you because of your pretty face. I love the way that you make jokes during the most inconvenient times, and that you respect and listen to me whenever I'm struggling. Whether I see you as Adrien or Chat Noir, it doesn't matter. I can't pick one or the other! That's impossible! You're one person. No matter what you say I see Chat in Adrien and Adrien in Chat. You're important to me even if you don't think so. Your passion and confidence is so inspiring, and I can't help but smile every time that I see you. I am so happy that you exist. When I saw you outside that restaurant my first reaction was to run to you, and then when I hugged you and saw your face I thought you had resented me for what I did all those years ago and I panicked."
Adrien stared at her wide-eyed, she loved him, and not just for his looks, but for who he was. He was so happy he could explode.
He wrapped his arms tightly around her and buried his head into her neck.
"Adrien!" Marinette screeched at the sudden contact, her face turning bright red.
"I love you," He whispered into her ear
Marinette let out a small gasp.
Adrien pulled away to face her.
"I love you so much that my heart is going to burst." He repeated to her
Marinette smiled down at him, the smile he so longed to see. She had taken his breath away.
"I love you too, you silly kitty!" She laughed and bopped his nose.
Her laugh was contagious and soon Adrien was laughing along with her as well. After so many years they had both finally found their happiness. The iconic duo of idiots had finally gotten together. To everyone else it would be a matter of "it's about time".
Marinette tapped her forehead to his, the smile never leaving her lips.
Adrien placed his hand on her cheek and did what he had been wanting to do for so long. He pulled her face closer to his and kissed her.
Hey! wow so long time no update, I know. Sorry bout that! Soooo I'm thinking maybe one more chapter? Maybe idk yet we'll see how this chapter is received and go from there! Well I hope you enjoyed it and please follow, favorite, and leave a review!
