Chat-Adrien
Ever since he found out that Ladybug loved someone else, Adrien had felt like crap. It hadn't helped any that he had stayed up all night nursing Ladybugs wounds either. But what he couldn't get out of his head was the way Marinette had looked at him under the umbrella.
And if I needed someone to listen to me, the words he had whispered to Marinette under the cover of rain still hung on his lips as he walked home. The rain had let up by the end of the school day so Adrien was able to walk home without using an umbrella. It had been a good thing too because he had avoided Marinette for the rest of the day after he had said what he had to her. But the clouds still haunted the sky.
Adrien had been so confused over the last few days between being rejected by Ladybug and Marinette being kind to him as Chat. And if I needed someone to listen to me, would it be you, is what he almost said before Alya had called out to Marinette. Marinette had told him when he was Chat that Adrien had her along with the rest of his friends. But he still couldn't go to them with his love problems and he couldn't go to Marinette unless he was Chat but that wasn't the same.
Then there was what Ladybug had said to him last night when she had fainted. Silly kitty, you're the one who gave me a reason to fight this time. He had said something similar to Marinette when he told her about his feelings for Ladybug. He had said that Ladybug gave him strength.
Did Marinette tell Ladybug what I had said, Adrien thought as he walked up the steps to his house. He walked in, pondering the fact that she probably did know Ladybug. Ladybug was the one who had told him to work with Marinette that one time. As he was lost in thought, Adrien continued up to his room. He walked in to find a note on his desk that said all of his photo shoots had been canceled due to the rain.
Plagg floated out of his pocket and into the air. The kwami gave his hero a strange look but figured it was another one of his human emotional things that he knew nothing about and cared very little for.
Adrien paced the room, still wondering if Marinette had actually told Ladybug. After some thought he made a decision to just confront her about it. He turned towards the kwami calling for a transformation. Once he was Chat Noir, he went towards the window to leave when he remembered that Alya may be watching. Silently cursing under his breath, he turned and left the room.
With very little chance of being caught by his dad or Natalie, he snuck through the halls and to a guest room towards the back to the mansion. It would take him longer to get to Marinette if he left from this side of the building but he couldn't risk Alya figuring out he was Chat Noir. He leapt out the window and headed off toward Marinette's.
Chat finally reached the small rooftop terrace, perching himself on the railing. He remembered being there the night before. He had just found out about Ladybug's love for another and had wanted to ask Marinette what to do. He knew it was foolish to think she would be awake but he hoped she might be. When she wasn't, he noticed that her window entrance hadn't been latched so he helped himself. Seeing some of his modeling photos made him remember Marinette's crush. He then realized that if Ladybug loved another he would have to respect that and then Marinette would have no competition for his affection. Well Adrien's affection that is. Realizing this, he knew he wouldn't be able to talk to her as Chat until he had figured it all out.
He had thought that as Adrien, he could show some kindness, maybe even some interest, in order to see if his heart could move on past Ladybug. But when he looked into Marinette's eyes under that umbrella, something about them reminded him of the way Ladybug had looked at him when had been captured by the cloth maker the previous night. They were full of concern for him. It had been the other reason he had paused his question. He couldn't look away from her eyes.
"Chat, what are doing here?" Marinette's voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up to see the girl standing at the top of her latter, only her head visible. She climbed up the rest of the way coming into view. Chat noticed that it took her a bit longer to get up the steps, almost like it hurt her, but he never saw her wince. Maybe he was just imagining it.
"It's about to rain, if you're out here when it starts you could get a cold," Marinette scolded the cat. At first he had no response, as if he couldn't speak. Then he flashed a grin at her.
"Don't worry princess, we've got a few minutes before it rains, plus I could always wait out the storm in your room," he raised his eyes playfully. She rolled her eyes and chord was struck in his chest.
"How do you know when it's going to rain?" she teased.
"Animal instinct," he winked, "Cats can almost always tell when it's going to rain." He was back to himself for a moment. The fun and flirty Chat who loved to banter back and forth with Marinette.
"That's so strange because today Adrien knew exactly when it was going to rain as well," and there it was, she was talking about Adrien. It made sense, those were the original terms of their arrangement but for some reason it irked Chat to hear her mention his other self. "A trick, no doubt, he learned from you," she turned to Chat suspiciously.
"What?" he said, honestly confused for a moment.
"Oh don't play coy, I know you and Adrien are acquaintances. Why didn't you say anything, it must've been dreadful hearing me rant about a friend of yours." Her face was full of pity now. Had this girl really believed that clever lie?
"I didn't think it was purr-tinent," he leaned forward, "besides as if your one to talk. You're the one who kept it secret that you were close friends with Ladybug. Even worse, you told what I had said to you that first night. What I had never told anyone," Chat's voice raised a little as he swelled with anger. He hadn't meant to accuse her but here he was, angry and shouting. "At least I never told Adrien what you said about him or all those other things you've said," because you told him yourself, he wanted to say.
Marinette looked at him with those eyes again, full of concern. He knew he really wasn't angry at her and he could see in her eyes that she knew it. But he also saw a hint of guilt there too.
"Chat I didn't tell Ladybug. I would never betray your trust like that. I may have accidently let it slip to Adrien that we see each other every night to talk but that was only after I knew he was your friend. I didn't even tell him why we talked either. Just that we did." She admitted. So that's why she looked guilty, because she thinks she spilled the secret of their meetings together. This almost made Chat laugh, cooling his anger.
"Don't worry, it's no big deal. I think he knew I was talking to someone else anyway." Chat lied.
"But if your friends with Adrien then why didn't you talk to him about Ladybug and all that," Marinette question. Chat froze for a moment, not sure how to answer. Then he remembered something.
"I said we were acquaintances, not friends. I don't know him well enough to talk to him about those type of things. Pus it's always nice to have things from a girl's perspective when you have a girl problem," Chat said scratching his head. It wasn't a lie, Adrien and Chat were two totally different people. That's why Marinette could've never guessed that they were the same person because they actually weren't, not really.
"But you trust him enough to leave the one you love in his care," Marinette said.
"Ladybug was hurt and his house was closest. I needed to know she was safe so I could go clean things up." He explained.
Man, Marinette sure was asking a lot of questions this evening. It was almost like she was trying to get a specific answer out of him. What was this quirky little girl looking to gain from the black cat? Then Chat remembered the other thing that he had wanted to tell Marinette.
"Hey Marinette," His voice instantly changed. His eyes cast down and his word heavy with sorrow. He heard Marinette shift her wait in response to the sudden mood change. She was silent waiting for his next words.
"I found out that Ladybug loves someone else," you could hear the heart break on his voice like scratches on a record. Marinette said nothing. He said nothing else. For a moment they just sat there in silence.
Then suddenly he felt a drop of rain land on his cheek. He had been so distracted that he had forgotten to tell Marinette to go inside. He looked up at her to warn her to go inside as a few more drops began to fall. That's when he noticed that some drops had fallen on her face as well.
The small drops trickled down her face, smearing what he assumed to be concealer. Chat hopped off the railing and walked toward her. He reached out to wipe the raindrops away, removing more concealer and revealing a healing cut.
"Chat, no," Marinette said two seconds too late, throwing a hand to cover the scar. Chat's hand however was in the way, still resting on her cheek. His eyes widened at the realization of what the cut was. The same cut had been on Ladybug's cheek when she had left his house.
"Marinette," He whispered, unable to do anything else. He wanted to say so much, but everything he wanted to say, he had told Marinette once or twice when he thought she was just Marinette. But now he knew who she really was. Marinette was his ladybug.
That explained the exhaustion during class, her constantly being late. That even explained why he had found her awake the night he followed Ladybug and why it took her a bit to get up the stair. Because it was her. She was his Ladybug.
Marinette's cheek brightened as Chat's gloved hand cupped her scratched cheek and pulled her toward him. He couldn't stop himself now that he knew the truth. He leaned forward, pulling her toward him. His other arm wrapped around her back as they were a breath apart. He brought her lips to his, pulling her into him. At first she was tense, but then he felt her relax in his embrace. She placed her hands against his chest for support as she leaned into the kiss. This resulted in him kissing her even more passionately, pulling her towards him a little more desperately.
This was her, the girl he loved. There was no doubt in his mind that it had been her all along. Ladybug and Marinette were one in the same. It had been so obvious that he couldn't believe he hadn't noticed sooner. But now that he knew it was her and now that he knew she loved him, even if it was just part of him, he couldn't let her go.
"Marinette," He spoke softly, pulling away from her. She looked up at him, her cheeks completely flushed. He realized something, "Would you like to have lunch with me at the Café up the street?" He watched her eyes widen as the question reached her ears. She blinked as the rain started to grow heavy. Then she just nodded, unable to speak.
"Good," He whispered, "meet me there during you school lunch break at 12:30. I'll be sitting at a table outside waiting for you." Then he moved his hand away from her face, a gentle smile finding its place on Chat's face. Marinette just stared at him as he backed up, approaching the terrace's edge.
With a two finger salute, Chat fell backwards off the edge of the terrace, disappearing into the rain. His heart now filled with a renewed sense of hope.
…..
Marinette
"I can't believe it," Marinette sat at her desk in shock. She wasn't sure which was more surprising: that she had just agreed to go out to lunch with Chat or that she had actually kissed Chat back.
"I know Marinette," Tikki sympathized, "I can't believe he figured it out either." Marinette looked up and blink for a moment.
"No, It isn't that" Marinette's face still a bright scarlet, "I think I just kissed Adrien. I think Chat and Adrien are the same person. And I just kissed him." Tikki's tiny kwami eyes widened in response to this suspicion of hers.
"What would make you think that Marinette?" Tikki asked slightly surprised. "They don't even act the same." Man Tikki, priorities, Marinette thought.
"Exactly," Marinette said, slamming her fist into her palm.
"I don't see your point." Tikki looked at her hero with confusion.
"Think about it, Ladybug and I are the same person, but to someone who doesn't know that, we are completely different people. We are almost opposites even. I bet the same could be said about Chat and his alter ego." Marinette reclined back into her desk chair and let out a deep sigh.
She interlocked her fingers, placing them over her eyes. How was she supposed to respond to this? She was almost sure Chat was Adrien that Adrien was Chat. The way they both looked at her that day. They held the exact same pain in their eyes, they both looked at her as if she was the only thing keeping them from breaking. They both were allergic to feathers and they both had grabbed ladybug with the same delicate yet passionate hand. The grasp of a man at his wits end.
They seemed so different before, but now she saw the similarities. The look on Adrien's face when he lied to Alya was the same look when Chat had told her that he and Adrien were just acquaintances. The way to two could think on their feet and invaded her personal space.
But the one thing Marinette couldn't figure out was how she felt. She had always loved Adrien, had always admired his strength through facing his difficult circumstances. And of course she respected Chat Noir. He was a noble and honorable hero and he had always had her back. Part of her had always felt a little bad about his unrequited feelings but maybe they weren't so unrequited.
But did she love and Adrien and Chat? If they were the same person, then that would mean she loved Chat as well. There was definitely something between her and Chat. There was no denying it after that kind of kiss. She knew she saw the same traits in Chat that she had noticed in Adrien and vice versa. But did that mean she loved the Adrien side of Chat more than the Chat side of Adrien or were they just two halves of the boy she had learned to love, two sides of the same coin?
"So what are you going to do about it Marinette?" Tikki asked, interrupting Marinette's "Are you still going to go to the lunch date?"
Marinette peeked from under her hands at the magical creature, "I told him I would, but I'm not going to say anything to Adrien at all. I want to see how he reacts to me tomorrow. I need to be sure it's him."
"And what if it is?" She asked Marinette.
"Don't worry Tikki," Marinette paused for a moment, and a Chat like grin appeared on her face. "I've got an idea."