"I've ruined everything, Tikki," Marinette sobbed. "He hates me now He's never coming back. Have I…Have I lost both of them?"
"Marinette," the kwami's voice said soothingly. "I'm sure he'll be back. When has Chat Noir ever held a grudge?"
"What if it's different this time?" she asked, hiccupping. "What if—" There was a tap on the hatch door. Was he back already? He'd only been gone about a half hour. "Hide!"
Tikki zoomed out of sight as Marinette went to unlock the hatch and sure enough, there he was, looking repentant. "I'm sorry, Princess. I didn't mean to upset you."
She swiped at her nose and looked at him in confusion. "I thought I upset you!"
"Nah," he said nonchalantly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. That move was very Adrien. "I was just caught off-guard. You've never said anything about wanting to know who I am before."
Hope blossomed in her chest. "So you're not mad at me?"
Chat Noir smiled. "How could I be mad at you, Bugaboo?"
Marinette's eyes widened in shock and for a moment she couldn't remember how to breathe. "You—how—but—I was so careful!"
"I do give you credit for hiding it as long as you did," he said with a gleam in his eye. "I never would have guessed! But I suppose it's obvious in hindsight. You look exactly the same."
Marinette was still having a hard time processing this at all. "How?" was all she managed to get out.
"Oh, I saw your kwami when I left earlier. I should've known, Plagg—my kwami—pulled the vanishing act this morning claiming he wanted to spend time with someone but cut himself off before saying who. Who else would he want to spend time with here? He knows to stay out of sight," he explained. "Tikki, isn't it?"
"Nice to meet you!" Tikki said, popping out of Marinette's closet.
"Nice to meet you too. Did you enjoy your visit this morning?"
The little bug god nodded. "Oh yes! I haven't seen Plagg properly in ages. It was nice catching up."
Marinette's brain still wasn't working. "How are you so calm about this?" she demanded. She was freaking out! Definitely freaking out.
He smiled at her sheepishly. "I already did my freaking out on a random rooftop. Plagg got an earful but ended up giving me a hard time because he figured it out forever ago. He wouldn't stop laughing about how dense I am."
"You're…not upset." She said it as a statement rather than a question. Honestly, he looked more cheerful than she'd seen him since Hawk Moth's defeat. Why?
"Are you kidding? This is amazing! Two of my favorite people are actually the same person!" he grinned, spreading his arms wide. "I didn't have to—" He cut himself off.
"Didn't have to what?" she asked curiously.
His face turned red and he mumbled something she couldn't catch.
"What was that?"
"I didn't have to choose between you," he said blushing even harder. "Come on, you had to know I had a crush on you as Ladybug."
She did have some idea. But it didn't seem all that serious; he was just a flirt! He had flirted with her as Marinette too, not knowing they were the same person. A thought struck her. "Wait, so you're saying you like me? Marinette me?"
"Uh, yeah," Chat Noir said lamely, rubbing his neck again. "Is that okay?"
It took her several minutes to formulate a coherent response. Chat Noir—Adrien?—liked her? Actually liked her. Both sides of her. That didn't seem possible. She was 95% sure but she needed to know. He'd already outed her secret identity, what was stopping her from doing the same? "That's more than okay, Adrien."
He fell off the chaise in shock. "How long have you known?"
"About three seconds," she laughed. "But I've suspected for several days now. You're just so much the same."
"Really?" He seemed curious. It made sense, considering how subdued his civilian side was compared to how downright silly he acted as Chat Noir. On the surface, the two were as different as could be.
"My first clue was that you both had the same problem at the same time," she admitted. "But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I'd seen glimpses of Chat Noir in Adrien, like when you beat me in Mecha Strike. You look alike and you're both kind, brave, smart…The coincidences stacked up too much."
"You…really believe those things about me?" He looked at her oddly hopeful with a hint of something else she couldn't identify. "But you always seemed so afraid of me, until recently."
"Adrien, the only reason I couldn't talk to you like a normal human being was because I had a crazy crush on you." She sucked in a breath. Well, it was too late to take that back and besides, hadn't he already admitted he liked her?
"What changed? Did you…stop liking me?" His voice was subdued. "You stopped liking me because my dad is a super villain, didn't you."
It broke Marinette's heart to see him look so sad. She walked over and squeezed his shoulder. "No! Of course not. You needed me. Being your friend was the priority and it helped me stop fumbling over my words like an idiot."
"I never thought you were an idiot."
She smiled at him gratefully. "And I would never judge you based on your family. You are your own person, Adrien, and I think you have a bright future ahead of you. Promise."
He let out a small cough and looked up at her with watery eyes, wringing his hands nervously. "Will…will you be in it?"
Oh. Marinette's heart was racing as the implications of that set in. "Well," she tried to play it cool. "I still have to teach you how to frost cupcakes, don't I?"
"Marinette," he said seriously. "Do you really want to be with someone like me?"
His cat eyes met hers intently and she felt heat rush to her cheeks. "Exactly like you."
"Even though I'm a mess," he said doubtfully.
She reached out to touch his cheek. "You're not as much of a mess as you think you are. You're going through something hard right now."
He seized her in a tight, desperate hug. "I don't deserve you."
"You deserve the world, Kitty," she whispered. "I'm sorry I can't do more for you."
"Hey." He tilted her chin up to look at him. "You've done so much and it means the world to me. You mean the world to me. Claws in."
With a flash of green light, Adrien Agreste was standing before her with his heart in his radiant eyes, smiling at her in a way Marinette had never dreamed possible. The moment was interrupted by a black ball of fuzz speaking up in disgust. "Ugh, lovebirds. Get me out of here. Come on, Tikki."
Adrien sighed. "That's Plagg."
Marinette giggled. "Is he always like that?"
"Yep."
They stood there awkwardly, truly seeing each other for the first time. He was gazing at her with such affection she thought she might scream. "WannaplayMechaStrike?"
"Huh?"
"Do you want to play Mecha Strike? Give me a chance to redeem myself since you beat my high score twice." Marinette couldn't go all spazzy on Adrien again. He was Chat Noir. She was comfortable with Chat Noir.
"You're on, my lady!" he said gleefully. "Dibs on player one!"
"Come on, it's my game," she complained but was actually glad he seemed so happy.
They played several rounds (Adrien barely won once, claiming he was distracted by her beauty) and ended up watching Sailor Moon at his request. He was super into it and Marinette couldn't help but giggle. He was such a nerd. Eventually she found herself drifting off curled into his side as he gently stroked her hair. It had been such a crazy day. She never would have seen it ending like this, cuddling with the boy she loved.
