Chapter 7


Walking on the sidewalk, humming a cheerful tone, Adrien Agreste felt at peace with the world.

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It was a Saturday, and he had had no photoshoots or modelling ads scheduled, for once. He had met up with Ladybug last night, and she had smiled at him in such a shy, loving way that made his heart skip by the mere thought of it. His father had been in such an unusually benevolent mood, that he actually told him to go and spend the day with his friends. Which was where he was headed now, to Nino's place.

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The sun was warm, the sky was clear, and by the cheerful expressions on the passer-by's and tourists' faces, they evidently shared his own happy sentiments.

He stopped at the intersection, still humming the song he was singing earlier, when he caught a glimpse of a very familiar pink-clad visage just in his peripheral vision, and his smile grew wider.

He was on the verge of calling out the aspiring designer's name when a sudden thought made him pause.

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With a grin, he sneaked up behind her and covered her eyes. "Guess who?" he said in a sing-song voice.

Marinette froze for a second, having being suddenly accosted, as it were, from behind. But then she recognized the voice, and she felt that familiar blush burn her cheeks and her heart skip a beat.

.

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It was him.

She smirked. Two could play at this game.

"Let me see, would you happen be, I don't know, a certain handsome person?" she said, acting as if deep in thought. Adrien's eyes widened in surprise at her sudden boldness, but he rose to the occasion immediately. "Very handsome." He replied, matching her teasing tone.

"And might you happen to have blond hair?"

"How did you guess?" He smirked, she surely knew who he was by now. He waited for her to say his name, but she never did.

"Oh, and are you extremely brave? Always ready to help others in need?" she prolonged her interrogation, and Adrien was starting to feel a bit confused now. "Of course, I am." He answered nonetheless.

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"Oh my, Chat Noir, whatever are you doing here?" she said in a tone which feigned surprise, and for a moment, Adrien felt his mind go completely and utterly blank.

.

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"Err- What makes you think I'm Chat Noir?" he said, his voice not sounding normal even to his own ears. What?!

He let go of her as he spoke, and she turned around, smiling sweetly at him in a way that was both familiar but different, at the same time. "Am I wrong?" she said archly, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head to the side inquiringly.

He felt his breath catch in his throat. Denials and excuses immediately rose to the surface, but the knowing glint in her blue eyes made him pause. Wait, what's going on?

"After all," she continued as the traffic light turned red, grabbing his hand and pulling him across the street, "You were the one who rather recklessly detransformed in front of me, after all." She glanced sideways at him a little nervously then, trying to gauge his reaction.

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Adrien snapped his head to hers so sharply that he nearly sprained his neck.

Marinette met his eyes fearlessly, but with a hint of shyness still lurking in their blue depths, and smiled. That smile which he had seen a thousand times, on the face of a girl who was amazing and beautiful...

...But infinitely more so without the mask.

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And there, right then, in the middle of the intersection, Adrien Agreste had the greatest revelation of his life. He stopped, numbly, just staring, mind refusing to process anything, senses deaf to the world, just looking at her.

He didn't care that horns were blaring and people yelling at them in irritation as Marinette- as his lady- dragged his hand again and pulled him safely across to the opposite sidewalk. Completely overwhelmed with the sudden realization of the love of his life and his classmate being one and the same, all Adrien could do was stare, as a myriad of thoughts, emotions and memories filled his head to point where it almost started to overheat.

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Then Marinette laughed, a bit self-consciously, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, exposing her shiny black earring. Adrien's eyes were drawn to it like a magnet. "Cat got your tongue?" she shyly asked, looking so sweet and vulnerable in that moment, and something inside Adrien bubbled up joyfully.

Adrien couldn't help it then. He laughed. A real, hearty, deep laugh, that came from the depths of his very being. He didn't even know what he was laughing at- her pun (omigosh my lady just made a pun!) or the way that his hysterical laughter was helping him release some of the craziness he felt at this bizarre turn of events.

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Because he had found his lady, and she was his Marinette and she was laughing along with him at her ridiculous pun.

"No," he managed to wheeze out a moment later, still chuckling, tears running down his cheeks. "The cat didn't. But the ladybug did." He winked.

The blush that bloomed over her cheeks made his heart beat a little more faster and his love grow a lot more larger.

.

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He led her into an alley near Nino's house, which the two had unknowingly and almost unconsciously found their way to.

The two faced each other with bated breath, each one waiting and hoping that the other would initiate something. Marinette looked up into his eyes shyly, and as cerulean blue met peridot green, Adrien felt the world tilt on its axis.

Finally, he couldn't take the suspense anymore and leaned down, holding her face tenderly in his hands and doing what he had only dreamed of doing for so long.

He kissed her, slow and sweet. They were still new yet to this. There was still so much that had to be talked over, ground rules to be decided upon, the future planned out, especially with regards to their alter-egos. Past experiences, memories, co-incidences- everything and anything had to be wondered upon.

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But right now, in that moment, it was just him and her, Adrien and Marinette, who were reveling in what had been for so long just an unattainable fantasy, a hopeful but distant dream, a flight of fancy which they had never imagined could become real.

They kissed and kissed, not willing to let the other go even for a brief moment, as if afraid that when they did, this dream would surely end and take with it the joyful lightheadness and happy realization of having found each other at last.

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But the moment, however sublime, had to end, and they were broken apart by Adrien's ringtone. It was Nino, impatiently wanting to know where he was and why he was taking so long.

Still breathless, Adrien whispered something in Marinette's ear, holding the phone away from his mouth. She nodded, smiling brightly, and he placed it back to his ear. "Yeah, I'm still there. I just wanted to ask you- is it fine if I bring my girlfriend?"

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The way he said the word girlfriend, with so much reverence and lightheaded happiness, made his heart as well as his new girlfriends' somersault. He grinned as Marinette blushed and smiled brightly, matching his own giddy expression. "Yeah, it's someone you know. I'll explain when I get there. Yeah. See you."

He cut the call and turned to Marinette, lovingly stroking a hand over her cheek. "Shall we go, my lady?"

"What are we going to tell Nino and Alya?"

"I'll just tell them that I found the love of my life."

"That makes two of us."

He waggled his eyebrows teasingly. "We think the same. I knew we were meant to be together.

They looked at each other for a moment, then burst out laughing again, because the happiness of having found each other was surely something so great, of such a magnitude that could not be contained within themselves.

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Marinette beamed up her boyfriend, unable to stop her face from smiling widely. "We are, kitty. We are."