Author's Note:
I do not own any of these characters.
The school week went by quickly. There were two akumas that were relatively weak. But, it was now Friday and Marinette was watching the clock. "One more hour, Tikki," Marinette said anxiously as she looked up from her design book. "I hope I'm doing the right thing."
Tikki smiled, "It certainly can't hurt for the two of you to grow closer; and, this is a great way to do that. Just be careful how much information you give away... at least for now."
"For now?" Marinette stopped coloring to ask and looked at her kwami with her fullest attention. "What do you mean? I thought it was best for us to never share enough information that could give our identities away?"
"Well..." Tikki started and would certainly have blushed from embarrassment if she wasn't already red, "That rule is really for people in your civilian life. It's also a good idea for your miraculous holding partners also, until you feel you can truly trust each other." Tikki glanced up at Marinette as if to apologize for the confusion.
"I've never even considered the possibility of revealing myself to Cat Noir," Marinette whispered with a far off look in her eyes. "But now, now that I want to get closer to him, I guess it's something I need to think about. Wouldn't it be more dangerous for Ladybug and Cat Noir than say... Ladybug and Rena Rouge?"
"Yes," Tikki replied softly, "That's why I never encouraged you to reveal yourself to him sooner. He's been controlled by akumas before, and could be controlled again. So, it's always best to wait and see how well he's able to protect his own identity while being affected before knowing if you can trust him with your identity."
"I never thought about that," Marinette said tapping her chin with a blue colored pencil, deep in thought. "He's done very well at not getting himself revealed, even when he's been controlled."
"He has. And, he has also been very considerate of your choice not to share identities... despite his overwhelming need to know," Tikki added.
"He's been really patient with me, hasn't he?" Marinette asked with a glassed over eyes. "I've been so selfish!"
"Calm down, Marinette," Tikki interrupted before Marinette could start blabbering on about the past. "You were not selfish! You were thinking about the safety of the people you love... and about the safety of the people Cat Noir loves."
A lone tear fell down Marinette's face. "I've dragged his feeling along for so long now. How can I possibly make it up to him? How can he possibly still have any feelings for me?"
Tikki hugged Marinette's cheek. "It'll be okay. You already know he still wants to be more than partners with you. Just because you're just now realizing what emotions he might have been feeling, doesn't mean he didn't think it wasn't worth it."
Marinette smiled at Tikki. Then frowned and looked down, whispering, "I'm scared, Tikki. What if he doesn't like the real me?"
"No way!" Tikki reassured Marinette, "You're already good friends. The only thing he could possibly do after getting to know you better is love you more."
"Thanks, Tikki. It's time we get going. Spots On!"
Ladybug was about 15 minutes early and thought for sure she'd have some time to unwind before Cat Noir showed up, but she was wrong. Cat Noir, true to his nature, was so excited about getting to know Ladybug better that he had shown up 30 minutes early and had decked out their meeting place. There were candles, rose pedals, a couple of blankets for them to sit on, and some desserts to choose from for a post-supper snack.
"Getting a little ahead of ourselves, Chaton?" Ladybug teased as she landed on the blanket opposite of him.
"I just wanted to make sure you knew without a doubt that my feelings for you are just as strong as they've always been," Cat Noir stated as he waggled his eye brows.
Ladybug just blushed and giggled a little. She was truly flattered and it was exactly what she needed to quiet the voices in her head. Then she noticed Cat Noir staring at her, trying to bite back a laugh. "What is it?"
"Sorry My Lady; but, you have something... blue on your chin." Cat Noir pointed out.
Ladybug took a napkin and wetted it a little, then wiped her chin. "Did I get it?" she asked, slightly embarrassed.
"Not quite. Allow me?" he asked with his hand out for the napkin. Ladybug handed him the napkin and he leaned in for a closer look. With surgical precision he wiped the rest of the blue pencil marks off of her chin. He looked at the napkin and asked, "Pencil?"
Ladybug nodded, "One of the things I love doing involves drawing and coloring things. I was doing that before Tikki and I got into a deep conversation about where these conversations might lead."
"I'm sure you're a great artist," Cat Noir stately proudly as he struck a pose. Ladybug giggled at him and then threw a piece of chocolate at him. Cat Noir caught the chocolate in his mouth and swallowed it whole striking another pose as if he had just done a magic trick.
Ladybug clapped and motioned for Cat Noir to sit back down. "I really shouldn't encourage you, but you just brighten my day with your antics sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Cat Noir asked, feigning like he had just been mortally wounded.
"Yes, sometimes!" Ladybug smirked at him. "Sometimes, you do it when we need to be serious and fight an akuma."
"Okay, okay. I get it. You're not a fan of my antics when we're supposed to be working." Cat Noir said with a smile. The smiled dropped a little as did his eyes. "But, until very recently, that was almost the only time we got to see each other."
Ladybug looked away. "I'm sorry... I understand now how much I've put you through. How much I've hurt you."
Cat Noir looked up quickly and leaned in, cupping his hand under Ladybug's chin and pulling her gaze into his. "I never want to hear you say that again. You didn't know at the time. You know now, and I know you're trying to rectify things. And that, My Lady, is the only thing that matters."
Ladybug smiled at Cat Noir. "I'm certainly going to try. Please... please tell me what I can do?" Ladybug's eyes were wet and it was hard to see Cat Noir through the teary film over here eyes. She shook slightly.
"It's okay. Don't be scared. I'm here." Cat Noir said softly. Ladybug scooted over to his blanket and placed her head on his shoulder. Cat Noir rocked her back and forth with soothing shushes and whispers that everything was okay.
A few minutes later, Ladybug wiped her eyes and returned to her blanket, facing Cat Noir. "Thank you. I needed that more than you'll ever know."
Cat Noir just smiled at her knowingly. He picked up a piece of candy and popped it in his mouth and handed the dish to Ladybug. She selected her own piece of candy and ate it while Cat Noir sat the dish back down between them. Cat Noir inhaled deeply and exhaled, looking back up to Ladybug, "So, you and Tikki were talking about where these conversations are going to go?"
"Yes," Ladybug whispered before continuing, "She told me to be careful, you know the whole identity thing, until I was ready."
"Ready?" Cat Noir interrupted with a gape. "Does that mean... eventually..."
"Yes, eventually." Ladybug confirmed as Cat Noir's eyes lit up. She had never seen him smile so brightly. "Calm down, kitty. It might still be a little while. We still need to get to know each other better."
"I'm ready whenever you are, and I promise I won't try to pressure you. I know this is certainly a change from the way things have been, and I'm certain you need time to get used to the idea. But, you can trust me..." Cat Noir just stopped and grinned.
"I know I can trust you, Cat. I'm just still very scared about what you will think. And..." Ladybug continued holding up a hand to keep Cat Noir from interrupting. "I know you think there's nothing for me to be scared of, but that doesn't change the fact that I am."
Cat Noir nodded, "I hope it's not me you're scared of, and just the idea of the reveal itself?"
"I could never be afraid of you, Cat," Ladybug started, "but, I have to get over my own insecurities first. Us getting to know each other better will do that."
Cat Noir giggled, "Ladybug, the bravest person I know, insecure..." and he giggled again with a wink.
"Silly kitty, I'm not insecure as Ladybug, but I certainly am insecure without the mask. So, that's what we're working on here..." Ladybug said, a little distant at the end.
"So, let's get this show on the road and start talking about ourselves," Cat Noir started. "You mentioned earlier that you enjoy drawing and coloring. Anything specific?"
"Well, without getting too specific, yes. I have a narrowed focus on one subject matter for my drawing and coloring instead of being an artist in general." Ladybug added to what she had divulged earlier.
Cat Noir nodded. "Okay, so from the vagueness, I'm guessing it's something specific enough that I might be able to guess your identity if I knew it specifically."
"That's right." Ladybug confirmed. "Okay, now it's your turn. Tell me something about yourself that I might not already know." Ladybug grinned.
"Well, I do several extracurricular activities including working for my family's business, learning a foreign language, learning a musical instrument, and honing my fighting skills." Cat Noir said proudly.
"Wow, Cat! That's a lot. Do you ever sleep?" Ladybug teased. "I help out with my family business also. But, only as needed and as long as it doesn't interfere with school work."
"That must be nice," Cat Noir replied. "For me, the family business comes first, then school. It even comes before friends." Cat Noir looked away slightly.
"Oh, that must be hard." Ladybug whispered apologetically. "Do you not get to spend much time with your friends?"
"Not as much as I'd like. I'm kept to a pretty strict set of rules." Cat Noir said looking away fully. "Getting to be Cat Noir has been such a freeing experience. I finally get to act the way I want to act."
Ladybug swallowed hard. "I promise I'll never complain about your antics ever again. I never knew you couldn't just be yourself, even at home."
Cat Noir glanced back at Ladybug and then looked away again. "It hasn't felt like a home for quite some time now. In fact, it wasn't until I was sick that I actually felt at home somewhere, and that wasn't even at my own home," Cat Noir said so softly that Ladybug didn't quite hear that last part.
He glanced back to Ladybug who had her hand over her mouth and a tear streaking down her cheek. Cat Noir immediately leaned over to take care of the tear and whispered, "Don't cry bugaboo. It just is what it is. I didn't ask for it, but that doesn't mean life is out to get me."
He smiled at her softly when she replied, "I want you to know I'll always be here for you, Chaton. You can count on me to be your family whenever you need one."
Cat Noir glanced between her eyes and her lips, then back. He gulped slightly and then replied, "Thank you."
Ladybug noticed his glances and blushed. She too glanced briefly at his lips before back into his eyes. "I-I think we might be getting a little too deep for our first night of getting to know each other."
"I'm sorry, My Lady. It's so easy talking to you. You make me feel safe, like I can tell you anything." Cat Noir smiled lovingly.
"I feel the same way. I'm just still trying to get over the identity thing and trying to reconcile my feelings. I held on to my crush for so long, that I didn't allow myself to feel that way for you, and now that I'm allowing my heart to run free, it seems to think it's in a horse race." Ladybug smiled nervously.
"Oh, so I make your heart race?" Cat Noir said with a smirk and wiggled his eye brows.
Ladybug smiled, "Be careful, you might ruin the mood. Are you sure you really want to do that?"
Cat Noir gulped, "Not at all, but I did want to give you an out if you needed one."
"Need? Yes. Want? No." Ladybug replied closing the distance between them. Ladybug reached up and traced Cat Noir's bottom lip with her gloved finger. She pulled her hand away and glared at it. What seemed like it should have been a tender moment didn't feel tender at all. She couldn't really feel his lip with her finger, because of the suit. "Cat, I'm sorry."
"For what?" Cat replied, still feeling her touch on his lip.
"Because I think I went too fast. We're still in our suits... and that keeps us from really being able to feel these tender moments." Ladybug said shyly.
"It's okay. I understand. You wanted to feel me, the real me... but, the suit got in the way, right?" Cat Noir ducked a little to look into Ladybug's eyes.
"That's right. And I'm sorry, but I'm just not ready tonight. Maybe... maybe next time." she looked into Cat Noir's eyes longingly.
"I've waited this long. And just knowing that you're even considering your feelings for me is enough to make me wait a lifetime if need be." Cat Noir said dramatically, trying to lighten the mood.
Ladybug smirked, "It won't be a lifetime. Of that, I can assure you."
Ladybug leaned over and kissed his cheek to reassure him. "I best be going before I do something I might regret," She said.
"Until next time," Cat Noir said as he bowed and kissed her hand. Ladybug pulled out her yoyo and zipped away.
Marinette and Tikki had much to talk about as did Adrien and Plagg that night. The conversations were warm and both teenagers were able to get a great night's sleep dreaming about each other and what the future might hold.
The next night was movie night. Adrien arrived about 5 minutes early and greeted everyone. They had a buffet of sandwich related items including various bread, meat, and topping selections. The family built their respective sandwiches and headed into the living room. Adrien and Marinette camped out on the floor like before, giving Tom and Sabine the sofa to themselves. It was a very comfortable time as they watched The Spiderwick Chronicles. Adrien fit right in to the family. They had a great time. Marinette didn't stutter once, and Adrien didn't even notice. She'd even give him elbows into the arm whenever he'd make a joke about something that had happened in the movie.
Towards the end of the evening, after the movie, as Marinette was waiting with Adrien in bakery for his bodyguard, Marinette mentioned, "You seemed to be in high spirits today. Anything you care to share?"
"Oh yeah," Adrien started rubbing the back of his neck. "Well, you remember how I said that my crush didn't return my feelings?"
"Yes," Marinette said hesitantly, almost sorry she had brought it up.
"She's decided to give us a chance. Slowly, at first, but a chance." Adrien beamed.
"That's great," Marinette responded, truly happy for her friend; and, a little happy for herself as she knew she'd done the right thing letting him go as she could see how happy he was. She felt a burden lift she didn't know she had been carrying. She felt she was finally, completely free of her crush. She was truly happy for him and hopeful of her potential future with Cat Noir.