A/N: Y'all can stop crying now. Welcome to the lover square landfill, everyone. Seriously tho, guuuuys! I NEVER THOUGHT CHAPTER 6 WOULD MESS YOU UP SO BADLY! I mean yeah, I knew it was bad but not THAT bad, you know?
But rest assured, you have reached safe waters. For now.
Enjoy.
I also want to give a big shout out to my lovely friends at Tumblr, nana-princess and chaton-and-bugaboo for spoiling me with fanart for the fic and so much support! Go give them some love!
post/143328808462/a-doodle-of-the-poor-cat-son-who-just-needs-some
post/142363964484/miraculous-ladybug-babies-looking-at-the-fireworks
post/143325298634/another-piece-of-art-based-on
Disclaimer: As usual, I own nothing.
Adrien dreaded the morning. He didn't have a plan on how to be around Marinette and if he didn't manage to keep his cool, it'd be evident to Alya and Nino that something was wrong. And while yes, both were his friends, having them getting involved in this weird… revelation-make up-argument process that was going on between them was the last thing he needed. All he wanted to do was to sort his thoughts out.
Marinette didn't know, but the way she reacted last night hurt him worse than any hit he took in the accident. He was more confused than ever. Why did she reply like that? Why didn't she play along? Maybe she didn't like the way he kissed her, or maybe she just didn't like him at all. Maybe she wasn't Ladybug in the first place.
He pulled the covers over his head, feeling how tears welled up in his eyes yet again.
He sniffed trying to be quiet so as to not disturb Plagg. Unbeknownst to him, Plagg was entirely aware of the fact that Adrien did not get any sleep. That he spent the entire night crying.
"You okay kid?" he muttered, knowing that the other humans would be waking up soon.
Adrien buried his face on his pillow.
Plagg patted his damp cheek with one of his tiny paws.
"You said we were meant to be," he said between sobs.
Plagg sighed, feeling heavy with guilt. "Not always…" he said. "But in her defense, you weren't exactly being clear."
"I kissed her, Plagg. What else am I supposed to do?"
"Reveal," Plagg said.
As he was about to ask how, Adrien heard Nino's rattling as he opened the door.
"Hey dude! You awake?"
Adrien froze in place and shut his eyes.
"Adrien, bro?" Nino poked him. "Huh."
Nino knocked on the girls' door, whom received him already dressed and ready for the day.
"Adrien's knock-out dead over there," Nino said with a hint of worry. "I think we should stay, it's only one day."
The girls nodded, and although Marinette was conscious staying to watch over Adrien's recovering back-and cold- was the only reasonable way to spend the day, it still put her on an edge. She felt horrible. Terrified. Confused. And most of all, scared. She was scared because if Adrien didn't hate her before, what she did last night would surely break any semblance of friendship they had.
Chat Noir, she thought. Chat Noir must hate me.
She could actually feel her heart break at the thought of that.
"You okay Mari?" Nino asked, noticing her eyes were crystalline with emotion.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said laughing and blinking back the tears. "I think I got an allergy or something. Alya and I were talking about going downstairs to grab some food for everyone, do you want anything in particular?"
Nino shrugged. "Eh, surprise me."
Marinette rushed Alya out the room before Adrien could wake up, sighing with relief once they were in the hallway.
Alya eyed her friend with skepticism but knew better than to try her traditional methods of making Marinette spill. This was something else, she noticed. This was serious.
"You okay, Mari?" Alya asked as they descended on the elevator.
She nodded.
"Because if there's anything you want to talk about, you know I'm here, right?" Alya reached for her shoulder. "I don't care what it is, my lips are sealed, promise. Those two won't hear a word."
Marinette tried to smile back and show gratefulness for Alya, but instead she dropped her head and fixed her eyes on the ground.
"I'm terrible." Before she knew it, tears started rolling out.
"Whoah, girl. It's okay, it's okay."
"No, it's not. Because Adrien will hate me now!"
Okay, so this called for some desperate measures. Alya looked around and pulled Marinette towards the chairs in the pool area, luckily still empty because of how early it was.
"Alright. Tell me what happened."
"He kissed me last night," she sobbed. "I woke up because he was having a coughing fit and I went to check on him and- and we talked and then he kissed me but then I ran away! I'm so stupid Alya. I don't know why I'm so scared. I just… I don't want Adrien to hate me."
"Oh, girl." Alya shook her head and hugged her friend. "Mari, remember all those talks we've had about the dangers of idolizing Adrien?"
She nodded.
"Not gonna say I told you so, but… well… I think you can start by not treating him like he put the stars in the sky. He doesn't bite. It's not like he's going to kill you or anything. And if he kissed you, then that's good news, isn't it? That means he likes you the way you like him. No need to sweat it!"
Marinette sniffed. "He hates me, I'm sure."
Alya laughed. "This is Sunshine we're talking about, Marinette. That guy couldn't hate Hawkmoth if he tried. Apologizing to him, on the other hand… I think that's in order. Because yeah, poor guy must be wondering what he did wrong."
Marinette wiped her tears with the back of her hand and nodded at Alya. "I don't know what I'd do without you."
She shrugged. "Eh, I have to take care of my children, don't I? Come on, crybaby, we need to find food before those two start biting on the furniture or something."
The girls went to the restaurant and grabbed sandwiches, fruit salads, and orange juice for everyone. When they went up to the room again they found a very irritated Adrien with his hands crossed across his chest, glaring at Nino.
"Oookay?" Alya said. "Dudes. Really. What is up with everyone today?"
"Don't mind him, he's just mad he didn't get his way," Nino said.
"I'm fine!"
"Yeah but bros don't go to Disney without their bros."
The girls threw Nino a puzzled glance. "We're staying, Adrien. Period."
"I don't want you guys to lose time because of me." He got up from the bed and went to Nino's room, where his suitcase was, to grab fresh clothes.
Alya opened her mouth to argue with Nino, but he shook his head. Contrary to what the girls - and Marinette specially- thought, Adrien was not an entire saint. Yes, he was very polite and well-mannered, respectful, calm, all that. But that was not to say he didn't have a temper sometimes. It seldom showed, because truth be told, Nino would be the first to attest to his friend's infinite patience. But Adrien could be spoiled sometimes.
"Leave him," Nino said low enough so that Adrien wouldn't hear.
Eyeing Marinette's worried expression and knowing she must have been thinking Adrien's slight irritation was her fault, she pulled Nino aside. "Hey, I know we should stay with Adrien. But I think it's best if we just leave for a while, you know? Just let him breathe. If we all stay here we'll end up ripping each other's heads by the end of the day. Trust me."
Nino glanced at Adrien as he walked past them to the shower.
"He's okay, he just needs rest. And I think a bit of fresh air for everybody else will be good."
"Marinette won't like it," Nino said.
"I got it covered."
After Adrien emerged from the shower, they announced they'd be going to Animal Kingdom after all. Adrien seemed relieved. In part because he'd have the time and solitude he needed to figure out what to make of Marinette's reaction and in part because he wasn't bluffing, he really felt bad that his friends missed a day of sightseeing because he was too reckless.
As they prepared to leave, Alya noticed Marinette lingered behind on purpose.
"Well, I'm all done," she said. "I'll wait for you downstairs. Come on, Nino."
"But-."
"Come. On. Nino." She glanced at Adrien.
"Wha-oh. Oh! Right."
The room suddenly was too small, it lacked air, Marinette felt like she was choking. Adrien lingered by the frame of Nino's room, looking nowhere but to the ground. He made circles with his foot and fought the urge to sprint away.
Tikki poked Marinette's ribs as hard as she could when she heard the silence extended for far too long.
Apologize, Marinette!
"Adrien…"
He nodded in recognition, still not looking up.
"I- I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have acted that way. I wasn't thinking."
Somehow, Marinette's apology managed to bring him down more, she realized. Because as she spoke, he finally looked up to her with a pained expression.
She regretted kissing him. That's what she was saying. Or at least that's what he heard.
"I'm-." She sighed and cursed under her breath. "Dammit."
Just be honest already! You're not moving until you do it. Just look at his face, Marinette. Look what you did.
"I really like you, Adrien." She looked away. "I'm sorry if it didn't seem like it."
Her words were not enough to rescue him from doubt. He remained clutching the frame of the door as support, still evading her eyes.
She walked up to him and pulled him into a hug which he did not immediately reciprocate, but only out of surprise. She did like him! She was just scared! That's what happened. She was scared that they'd reveal their identity. She did have feelings for him.
She sighed, heartbroken because of his lack of response and let go of him. Swallowing back tears, she said, "I understand if you hate me and if you don't want to talk to me ever again. I get that but-."
"So you did like the kiss?"
"What?"
"You don't regret kissing me?"
She pouted. "Of course not. Not at all. What would make you think that?" Stupid cat. Here I am apologizing for breaking you and the only thing you're wondering is if I like the way you kiss.
A shy smile spread across Adrien's lips and pulled her back into his arms to hug her. They sighed. This felt right. This was right. It was only their heads that got in the way.
"I'm really sorry," Marinette repeated.
"It's okay," he said, burying his face on the crook of her neck.
"And… I still don't like cats," she said, trying to sound light about it.
Adrien grumbled, prying a giggle out of her.
"I just like one cat."
Adrien squeezed her tightly. "Hmm." So long as it's me.
Suddenly, the harmony of their embrace was disturbed. Marinette's phone buzzed with a message.
"Girl, you coming? Is everything okay?"
"It's Alya," she explained.
Adrien nodded. "Go, I don't want you to be stuck in here all day."
"I don't mind, really."
"Go, Mari. I'll be fine. Buy some souvenirs for Chat Noir, or something. Don't you have a crush on him?"
She laughed, amazed at how quickly and how naturally Adrien recovered his ability to banter with her. She just fixed her eyes on him, causing for him to blush.
"I think I like models better," she said, and with a bit of confidence she managed to summon out of sheer miracle, she pecked him on the lips.
After she left, Adrien had to plop down on the futon again. He sighed and smiled as wide as he could, the pain and doubt from earlier starting to become a memory. The type of ghost that remained after you accidentally hurt your foot with furniture.
"You two, I swear by the freakin' Kwamis!" Plagg complained. "You two! Just wait until I get a hold of Tikki. You just wait!"
"I'm going to tell her, Plagg," he said, still looking at the ceiling, feeling as if he was floating. "Before it gets any more confusing."
"You better, because if you don't, I will. I'm friggin' tired of this. I am a GOD OF DESTRUCTION. Not some stupid matchmaker! This is ridiculous!"
"How should I do it?" He asked to no one in particular. "Oh, I know! I can take her out to dinner," he said, as he sprung from the mattress and ignoring the slight pain on his back. He paced around as he coughed. "No, no. She doesn't like it when I'm cheesy. I could write her a letter. Nah, too lame. I could-." He caught his reflection on the TV screen, with Plagg trailing behind him. He imagined himself with his leather suit, smiling cockily. He thought of all the things he loved to do and be as Chat Noir. Flirtatious. Confident. Silly. A trickster.
He snickered. "I know. Let's prank her!"
"Because that's not the worst idea ever when it comes to Ladybug," said Plagg, as he rolled his eyes.
The space was nice, Marinette decided. She needed it to process things. It was not often that Chat and her had an argument, but whenever it happened space was always a good thing. It helped them think and word whatever it was that got them in a disagreement. She didn't see why it would be different with Adrien. It also was nice that Nino and Alya were bent on forgetting the events of the day before. This was Disney, after all. They were having a vacation and they were supposed to be having fun, not moping around.
Neither mentioned Adrien when Marinette finally joined them in the bus stop. In fact, they were both great sports. Marinette could see why Nino was Adrien's best friend. He was very kind and tactful about the whole thing, and managed to make her forget they even had been arguing.
The day went by noticeably calmer. They made a game out of snapping animals to each other with silly footnotes and Alya made a point of faceswapping her friends with every animal possible. Once it was well past noon Marinette even dared to snap Adrien, too. It was a peace offering of sorts.
She took a picture of a black panther lazily sunbathing on a rock.
"Hate cats."
Adrien smiled to himself and looked for a picture of Chat Noir on the Ladyblog in his computer. "riiiiiiiiight."
She giggled.
Another snap. The small table next to the futon was covered with wrappings of assorted treats: chips, soda cans, pastries…
"diet goals."
She took a picture of a ladybug that conveniently had landed on the railing of the rhino exhibit they were browsing.
"should I squash it?"
"DDD':"
Then it was a picture of Alya and Nino holding hands without noticing Marinette was watching. "( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)"
"so gross ew."
"ikr?"
"can you imagine being so cheesy? How can they?"
Marinette laughed.
"How's Animal Kingdom so far though?"
"It's nice. We went onto the Everest ride and the It's Tough to Be A Bug one. How are you feeling?"
"Better :)"
"^_^"
"hey uh… can I ask you for a favor?"
She felt her heart skip a beat but forced herself to answer. "sure."
"Can I borrow your blanket? The knitted one? :$"
She sighed. False alarm. "Of course ^_^ It's in the room, inside my backpack."
"thanks. I'm going to drop the phone for a while, I feel like taking a nap :P"
"lazy kitty."
":P"
Adrien smiled contently to himself and disposed to go to the girls' room to find Marinette's blanket. He didn't really need it, but he didn't want to tell Marinette the real reason he asked for it was because he missed her. That would be lame.
"Ohh, it smells so nice in here," Plagg commented, swooshing past Adrien as he opened the door.
"Don't. touch. anything," he warned. "I mean it, Plagg."
He gingerly picked Alya's things from on top of Marinette's and tried not to disorder them as he looked for the blanket.
"Does she have anything to eat in there?" Plagg wondered, ignoring Adrien's warning and plunging into Marinette's travelling backpack.
"Plagg! Get out from there!"
In his haste to grab the blanket and Plagg, Adrien accidentally knocked the backpack and spewed its contents.
"Plagg, come back here!"
The tiny feline god laughed mischievously as he flew around the room with Adrien unable to catch him fast enough. "Come back here you mangy cat! Plagg, I'm not playing! Come ba-."
Crack!
He winced, knowing he was the reason behind that sound of something breaking. He lifted his foot to find a wooden box, a very familiar wooden box, broken at the hinge. His stomach dropped and felt color leaving his face.
"Oh no… oh no oh no oh no! SHIT. PLAGG!" He moaned. "PLAGG! THAT'S- THAT'S THE BOX. OH MY GOD. THAT'S THE BOX!"
More incoherent sounds left him as he paced around the room. He didn't even dare to look at the thing. "Ahhhh she's Ladybug. She totally is Ladybug." He wanted to crawl into a hole or something.
"What's the fuzz about? You already knew that," Plagg commented, licking one of Marinette's lipsticks. It tasted nice.
His voice cracked and snatched the lipstick from him. "I suspected! I didn't have the evidence! Oh no, oh no! Marinette is Ladybug!"
"And you broke her earring box," Plagg noted. "She's gonna think you were snooping through her things."
But it's not like Plagg planned for it or anything. No, he was a good little cat. He didn't prank people like that.
Adrien gulped.
"Shitshitshit!" He kneeled down to put back all the contents in the bag and gingerly picked the two halves of the jewelry box.
Plagg snickered. "You don't even need the Cataclysm to wreck stuff."
Adrien glared at him. "It's not funny."
He tried to stick the pieces together and figure out a way to fix the hinge, but it was useless. It would need a replacement. That much he figured.
He gasped in enlightenment and ran to the other room. He completely emptied his luggage, desperately scrambling his belongings. "Please, please, please be here. Please."
He sighed in relief when his fingers finally came across the carved wood of his own box and exclaimed, "Aha!"
He opened it and tried to replace the little cushion with Marinette's.
"If you keep pulling it like that you're going to break that part, too."
"Don't be ridiculous, I know what I'm-."
Crack!
"Doing."
The cushion where the earrings should rest came off.
He rubbed his face, feeling sick. "She's going to kill me! Plagg, what do I do? She's going to figure it out!"
"Wasn't that what you wanted? It's the perfect prank."
He glared at him. "You little-."
He heard the voice of his friends bubbling from the end side of the hallway.
"No!"
He scrambled to shove his things back into his suitcase along with Marinette's Miraculous box and sprinted to replace hers with his own in her backpack. He ran back to the futon just in time before they opened the door.
"We're back!" Alya announced.
"Hey…" he said, trying to hide the fact he was panting. "You're back early."
"Nah, they close at five," Nino said, collapsing next to him on the futon. "The girls wanted to swim, too. So there's that. How are ya feeling, bro?"
"Much better, thanks," he said with a smile.
"Alya, did you grab my sunscreen?" Adrien heard Marinette ask from the girls' room.
"It's in your backpack."
Adrien tensed up. Please don't grab the Miraculous box. Please don't grab the Miraculous box!
"Found it!"
Minutes later the girls emerged with their swimsuits. Marinette had her hair in a single bun and sported a black bikini with green dots, no wait, paws? They were tiny cat paws. Sweet Kwamis, someone help Adrien Agreste. She was wearing a Chat Noir themed bathing suit.
FUCK. Oh my god. Oh my actual god.
"You guys coming?" Alya asked.
Adrien practically tripped over himself to grab his own bathing suit. In less than three minutes he had changed and was ready to go.
"Hurry up Nino," he said. He was actually considering waiting for him down in the pool. He needed a splash of cold water to get over the picture of Marinette and her Chat Noir bikini, or else things would get… hard, to put it decently.
After promising Marinette a hundred times that he wouldn't swim into the deeper part of the pool, he finally convinced her and the others of joining them in the water. To his dismay, he realized the water did little to calm the fever that spread across his body, stirred by Marinette's oblivious seduction.
It was the fault of that stupid box. Why did he have to find out now, why?
Ladybug. Wearing a Chat Noir themed bikini. HOLY SH-Did she just wink at me?! Yes, she did.
YOU'RE DOING IT ON PURPOSE, LADYBUG!
Ugh, no. Think of something else.
Think of Hawkmoth! Hawkmoth in a bikini.
Ew.
The image was grotesque, but it worked.
"Look alive, Sunshine!" Alya said, as she splashed him. His bangs covered his eyes and did not look too pleased to be soaking.
You ARE an actual cat, Adrien. Marinette thought, amused at his evident annoyance when Alya splashed him again. She knew what her friend was getting at. Alya always teased Adrien about how correct he was all the time. Never shouted, never went wild. Except when she got on his nerves. She could count with her hands the times Alya had successfully made Adrien laugh at the top of his lungs, or made him yell in frustration. But it was always fun to witness.
"Real mature Al-." SPLASH.
"Can't hear you over the sound of you being boring!"
"I'm not going to-." Splash! He coughed, it was Nino this time.
"Bo-ring!"
"It's gonna take more than that to make me-" Splash! He turned to his right with this half insulted, half amused expression to identify the culprit of his latest victimization.
"Boring!" Marinette said, sticking her tongue out at him, laughing.
He smirked. "Oh, that does it, miss," he said, and pounced in pursuit of Marinette and Alya who squealed as they swam away from him.
He managed to separate Marinette from the others and corner her against the edge of the pool. "Adrien- Adrien no." She splashed him, hoping to gain some sort of advantage. But by now he didn't care if his hair was dripping wet. He simply pushed his bangs aside and let this mischievous smirk on his face. She knew that smirk well enough to know that no innocent deed followed after it.
"Adrien…" She laughed. "Adrien, no. Bad kit-ah!"
"Gotcha!"
She squirmed as he trapped her in his arms. "No!" She laughed, hoping he didn't notice how ticklish she was. Some wishful thinking on her part, because he noticed immediately.
"Ticklish, are we?"
She gulped. "Adrien."
"Marinette." Ladybug.
"Eek! No- ah!"
Adrien couldn't help but laugh delighted at his lady's own uncontrollable laughs as he attacked her with tickling fingers.
"Nooo!" she squealed. "Adrieeeeeennn!"
It was just too good to stop, he didn't want her laugh to leave him.
"Adri-!"
"Ow!" Don't ask her how, but she accidentally managed to punch him in the face. And well, this was Ladybug so it wasn't a light kind of punch. "Ow…"
"Oh my gosh, Adrien I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" She fuzzed over him as he clutched his nose.
"'M fine, 'm fine," he said with a muffled voice, still chuckling. "Dang, you have a good left punch!"
She glowed in bright red and replied with a tiny voice, "Sorry!"
Just as they locked glances, just as they began gravitating towards each other, another tsunami swallowed them whole.
"Boring!" Nino and Alya exclaimed.
Adrien and Marinette sneaked smug glances at each other. One thing you never do: mess with Ladybug and Chat Noir. They couldn't really blame them for not knowing, though. But of course, that didn't mean they would let them off easy.
Nino practically jumped onto Alya's arms.
"STO-" Cough, cough!
Mari and Adrien snickered.
"Who's boring now?" Marinette asked.
"YOU PAIR OF SAVAGES!" he cried.
"Water you talking about?"
Marinette had to stop to look and him long and hard.
"What?"
"This is why you can never have nice things, Adrien." Chat, what even. She couldn't help but chuckle, though.
"You still laughed, didn't you?" he said, winking at her.
It only took that moment of distraction to let Alya and Nino come back at them with more blinding splashes. Eventually, their little showdown turned into a pool fight. Alya climbed onto Nino's back, and Marinette convinced Adrien to climb onto hers- no way she was going to climb on him with his back hurt. In retrospect, he shouldn't even be playing, but Adrien made the most of the fact that Mari did not pay attention to that.
I'm on top of Ladybug…
Probably not the best way to phrase this.
"Woah, Mari," Nino noted at the effortless way in which she carried Adrien on her shoulders, while also maintaining her balance. "You sure you don't want to switch?"
Mari smirked, "What, you mean this twig?"
"Hey!"
To Alya's benefit- and Marinette's frustrated, "Don't go easy on her!"- he let Alya and Nino win the match, which only resulted on Marinette and him collapsing onto the water.
The next time it was Marinette and Alya versus the boys- Marinette versus Adrien, and it was Nino who buckled down this time.
"Alright!" Alya exclaimed, while doing a little victory dance with Marinette.
"Psht. That was just luck," Nino said.
"Yeah, just good luck," Adrien seconded.
"Or you know, maybe you just have really, really bad luck," Marinette said. "And also suck."
Adrien laughed.
"Two out of three, losers, come on!" Alya cheered, splashing her friends and climbing onto Mari's shoulders.
"Bro?" Nino said as Adrien climbed up.
"Yeah?"
"Finish them," he said somberly.
"You got it." Confidently, he added to the girls, "Losers pay for dinner."
Them. It was them. They were going to pay for dinner. Because they lost.
Adrien didn't even know how it happened. But if he was honest with himself, it may or may not have to do with the fact that he noticed what a perfect angle he had of Marinette's cleavage from on top of Nino's shoulders.
What the hell is wrong with me? He thought.
Four years of pent up, frustratingly unrequited attraction that suddenly were entirely valid, he suspected. And not just they were valid, but reciprocal, it so seemed.
"Double or nothing," Nino said as he beckoned Adrien to climb up again.
The lifeguard in duty, however, did not share their idea. He was a teenager no older than them, but it was evident he was having a miserable time watching over toddlers and a berserk group of European teenagers.
"You four, out! Out! No pool fights allowed!" He blew on his whistle at the top of his lungs. "I've been watching you, come on, come on, before you squash a kid or something."
The four stayed put, looking confused.
"This is the type of person that would totally get akumatized," Alya commented in French.
"I said out! Don't make me call security!"
"Totally," Adrien agreed.
The quartet complied and got out of the pool, burying the young lifeguard with sheepish smiles and "Désolé, nous ne savions pas."
They picked up their things and settled in the sun chairs to wind down and dry. Marinette was towel-drying her unfortunately loose hair when she noticed something absolutely terrible.
She gasped. For a second, the other three thought she was in some sort of pain.
"What's wrong?" Alya asked.
"My earring!" She said on the verge of tears. "My left earring is missing!" She scrambled everything, including her friends' belongings, looking for the elusive little thing.
"Oh no!" she moaned, having no luck.
Calm down Marinette, calm down. It has to be here somewhere.
She couldn't help but tremble as she browsed the floor.
"Relax girl," Alya said, a bit confused at her friend's reaction. It was only a pair of earrings after all. "I'll get you a new pair," she offered.
"No, these… these are a family heirloom. My parents are going to kill me!" Tikki. Tikki is going to kill me.
Adrien joined the search, just as terrified. Having misplaced the ring a couple times -not that he'd ever admit it- he knew what a nerve-wracking situation that was.
"Did you have them on when you went into the pool?" he asked.
She nodded. Without delay, he jumped in.
The lifeguard blew his whistle again and approached the group. "Tell your friend to get out!"
"She lost something," Alya explained in her broken English. "It's important."
"You should have thought of that before causing trouble."
Adrien emerged, shaking his head at Marinette.
She jumped in, too.
"You, OUT!"
"It's really important!" Marinette pleaded right before submerging with Adrien.
She could hear her pulse thumping. Her thoughts were only scenarios of all the terrible things that would happen if she didn't manage to find the earring. No more Ladybug. Chat Noir would have to fight akumas alone. Not to mention there wouldn't be anyone to cleanse them. Oh, and she could already hear the lengthy, well-deserved lecture from Master Fu.
She wanted to cry.
Adrien signaled up. They gasped to fill up their lungs.
"Relax, we're going to find it. It has to be here."
"What if it isn't?" she asked, a few tears rolling down her cheeks.
He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked squarely into her eyes. "I'll go to the opposite end, you keep looking here, okay? We'll find it. Trust me."
"Okay."
There wasn't a time in Marinette's life when she felt as relieved as when she finally spotted the shiny crystal of the earring glinting back at her. It was innocently laying on the deepest part of the pool, unharmed, untouched. She resurfaced once for air and immediately plunged down to fetch it.
She even forgot to tell Adrien she found it on her way out of the pool.
"I found it," she said to Alya and Nino, still breathless. "I'll be right back, I'm going to put these away," she said, unclipping the other earring from her lobe and grabbing the little purse where Tikki always hid. She didn't even care to dry herself, earning herself a couple of puzzled looks as she walked to the elevator.
"Marinette!" she scolded her wielder, making the most of the privacy.
"I know, Tikki! I'm sorry!"
"You have to be more careful, it was a very close call."
Marinette covered her face with her hands.
"You know you can't transform with only one earring."
She sighed and talked with a muffled voice through her hands. "Yes, I know. I'll put them away. There won't be any akumas here, and hopefully no more park accidents."
Tikki nodded.
"You won't disappear, will you?" Marinette said, longingly.
Tikki giggled and flew around her. "Not if you don't want me to."
"Good."
Back in the pool, Adrien was still desperately combing its floor. He resurfaced yet again for more air and to blink back the chlorine that slowly tormented his eyes.
"Adrien!" Alya called from the edge. "Marinette found it."
He sighed with relief. "Oh good." Noticing she wasn't anywhere to be found, he said, "Where is she?"
"She went upstairs to take them off."
The implications of what that meant almost came to him too late. Almost.
He sprung out of the water, only giving himself time to fetch his satchel, and raced to the elevator.
"What's with him?" Alya asked Nino.
He shrugged. "You get used to it after a while."
"Tell me about it." Alya had her own share of craziness in dealing with some of Marinette's reactions.
"This is bad, this is so bad," he muttered as he raced down the hallway and opened the door to their room.
"Adrien?" Marinette looked surprised. He found her drinking a glass of water.
He gulped.
"What are you doing here?"
She didn't seemed fazed or anything, so that was a good sign. No secret identities spoiled yet.
"Wha-what are you doing here?" he asked too.
She quirked an eyebrow at him as she dumped the glass on the kitchenette's tiny sink. "I came to put my earrings away."
She walked to the room, closely followed by Adrien.
"I don't think that's such a great idea!" he more or less shouted, blocking her way to the room.
"What?"
"I- they look good on you! You should put them on!"
"Thank you, but I think they'll be safer if I just keep them away. I'll get in a lot of trouble if I lose them."
They stood in silence for a moment, Adrien sweating cold.
"Um, would you let me through?"
"Su-sure."
"Thanks."
He bit his knuckle as Marinette browsed through her backpack, strategically with her back against him so he wouldn't see the box when she pulled it out.
His hands ached with anxiety.
No, no, no, no!
There it was, the wooden culprit.
"Ah! Are you sure you don't want to wear them?" he insisted, promptly approaching her, and desperate enough that he might as well snatch it and throw it into the mangroves.
She sneaked at suspicious glance at him. "Yes, I am sure."
"Oh, okay. I'll uh… I'll um- go for some water."
"O…kay?"
He paced around the living room hoping to dig a hole and hide in it forever. It was quiet. So very quiet. Only a couple of seconds before she noticed.
Marinette popped the box's lid open and at first, she didn't find anything particular. Until she tried to clip the earrings back into the soft cushion and discovered it was carved to fit a ring, not earrings.
Huh, that's odd. Why would-
She stopped mid-thought. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She couldn't scream.
A ring. This was the Cat's Ring's box. She didn't wield the cat's Miraculous. Chat Noir did. And Chat Noir was in Disney, too. And… and… It wasn't Nino, nope. Obviously not Alya.
It was…
She gasped, with a shocked scream trapped in her throat.
She wailed in realization. Then the wail turned into a moan. A whimper. A cry. A scream.
That's your cue, Adrien thought.
"AHH!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, dropping the box as if it were made of magma.
Adrien came into the room, only to add onto Marinette's hysteria. She screamed even louder.
"Yo-YOU!" She ran out of voice. "It's you!"
She walked back as he approached.
"Purrprise?"
Oh no, he didn't just make a pun. "REALLY? A PUN?" She exclaimed with the acutest tone she could produce. "Ah! It's you. It is you. You… oh no. You're Adrien. Adrien Agreste."
"Yep, that's my name," he said, patiently as she walked like a caged cat around the room.
"A-and the ring. You have the ring."
He lifted up his right hand. "Yep, always wear it."
"Ahhh!" Another batch of incoherent sounds came out from her. "This… ah… it is you. Ah. No, you can't be. Chat's a dork! You… you're you! You're not a dork!"
"Well, thanks, I guess?"
She covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "No… this is… ah!"
He sighed, more demotivated as Marinette's reaction escalated into what seemed like disappointment.
"Plagg," he muttered. "Claws out."
Marinette sensed the flash of green light and his leather-covered hands as he gently tried to reveal her expression. He looked straight into her eyes, trying not to appear too hurt at her evidently negative reaction.
Not knowing what else to do, she sprinted into the bathroom and locked the door to catch her breath.
Okay, so Adrien really was Chat Noir. Okay.
Breathe Marinette. You can't really say it's an entire surprise. I mean yeah, I had my suspicions but I never really expected them to turn out to be true! Oh my gosh, Adrien is Chat. He really is Chat.
And she couldn't decide how to feel. Shocked? Yeah. Scared? Positively. But also, slowly, surely, better emotions spread across her chest. Like relief, joy, and an unexpectedly powerful wave of affection for Chat Noir. Adrien too, but mostly Chat Noir.
"I'm sorry you're disappointed," she heard him say from the opposite side of the door. His voice denoted an unbelievable sadness. "But I just… I needed to tell you, okay?" His voice cracked and after a long silence he added, "I couldn't take it anymore. Especially after last night. I understand if you want to keep your distance from now on, but I just wanted you to know that…" He sighed. "I fell in love with you from the moment I met you, Ladybug. Not with the suit, with the girl behind the mask." Somehow a laugh escaped him, among his sniffing. "I know you don't really like Chat but I thought since you liked Adrien… maybe if you knew… I'm sorry, Marinette."
Marinette was crying by this point, too. She didn't mean to run away. It was just the shock. But to think things were being misinterpreted again because of her volatile ways fed her up. She clutched her earrings and looked at her reflection. No more, she thought as she put the jewels on. Adrien- Chat- deserves better.
She opened the door and met with Adrien's splotchy face underneath Chat Noir's mask.
"I'm-"
"Tikki, Spots On."
Red engulfed the room for a fraction of a second, before revealing Chat's very own Lady.
Before he could say anything, she tackled him into a hug. "I'm so glad it's you!" she said, trying not to sob. She snuggled against his damp cheeks. "I'm so, so sorry Chat!"
He hugged her as tightly as he could, fearing she might escape in any second.
"Why did you run away?" he asked softly. "Again, I might add."
"I didn't mean to confuse you," she blabbered. "I was just… I was scared." She squeezed him, forgetting about his ailing back. "Because I've had a crush on you for so long, but then I started to realize I really did love you, but then you started noticing me, and I just… I was scared."
He laughed. "Funnily enough, I know exactly when you're talking about me, Chat and me, Adrien."
She laughed breathily. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," he said, petting her damp hair. "Just… please, m'lady, don't leave me hanging like that anymore. I can only take so much."
She nodded. "Okay."
Catching drift of what she just said, his heart skipped a beat and allowed himself to smirk. "So… you just said you love me?"
She sniffed, and felt how her heartbeat accelerated at the excitement in his voice. "Of course I do, silly cat."
"So… you totally are a cat person now."
She couldn't help but laugh. "Oh my god, Chat."
"You are!"
She rolled her eyes and remitted to hug him in silence, delighting in the incredible safety of his arms, his heartbeat. She dissipated the quiet moments after, as her head still was tying loose ends.
She laughed, much to Chat Noir's confusion.
"I'm so freaking stupid," she said. "I've been crushing on the same freakin' person."
He chuckled. "It's not as stupid as never realizing the love of your life literally sat behind you in school for four years."
"Or the fact that your superhero crush lost interest in you because he was interested in your civilian alter ego."
"Or, you know, vice versa."
"Oh my god!," he exclaimed, growling in exasperation.
"What?"
"That stupid fun-size cat! He never told me! It was you, it literally was you this entire time and Plagg never told me!"
She gasped. "Tikki!"
As if on cue, both kwamis detransformed their wielders, leaving them back in their swimming clothes. Adrien tried not to focus on the bikini again, though.
"Plagg!" Tikki exclaimed in joy.
"Tikki!" He responded, allegedly happier than Adrien had ever seen him.
They looked really cute, hugging and floating around each other. As he caught sight of Adrien, his sentiment suddenly changed.
"I swear to the kwamis, Tikki. If I have to deal with another cat as lovesick as this freakin' fly sack, I swear, I'm not transforming them anymore!"
Tikki giggled.
"This is all your bugs' fault. You let them go on and on and on."
"You know the rules, Plagg!"
"Bah, I don't care about the rules. I wish you had to spend an hour with this kid. You'd see what I'm talking about."
"Hey!" Adrien complained.
"Don't listen to him, Adrien. He's just an old, grumpy cat." She floated up to him and did a little bow. "It's really nice to meet you officially," she said, sneaking a glance at Marinette. "I'm Tikki! The god of creation!"
"Nice to meet you, mini lady," he said, bowing with grandeur. "And why officially?"
"Oh no reason, just Marinette's collection of pictures of you in her room."
"TIKKI!"
He smirked. "Oh really?"
"No, don't listen to her!"
"Her whole room is plastered with your face."
Marinette wailed. "Tikki!"
He looked smugly at her and winked. She was redder than the tiny floating bug.
"Don't act so cocky," Plagg intervened. "He has a collection of Ladybug photos. And ugh, if you just read those horrible poems."
"Poems?" Marinette giggled.
Contrary to Marinette's reaction, and although he was also burning in red, he did not deny anything. "Guilty as charged." He swiftly pulled her into his arms and dipped her. "What can I say, my lady? You inspire me."
She snorted but pulled him into a kiss… that never happened because Plagg promptly interrupted them, earning himself some death glares from Adrien.
"Yeah, bite me," Plagg said.
"I presume you must be Plagg," Marinette said giggling at Adrien's irritation with the tiny cat.
Batting a paw at him in dismiss, he said, "That would be correct."
"You're the kwami of destruction," she noted. "And you smell like Camembert- oh! That's why you smell like cheese!" Marinette said to Adrien.
He flushed, embarrassed. "I told you someone ought to notice, Plagg."
"Big deal, it's just your girlfriend."
They looked at each other, laughing nervously.
"Heh…" Marinette gulped.
"Yeah, I guess my secret is safe with her," he said with the brightest, widest smile ever.
"Speaking of cheese," Plagg said, flying in between them, interrupting yet another kiss.
Adrien sighed. "Do. You. Mind?"
"I'm hungry. Feed me."
"Plagg!" Tikki scolded him. "Don't be rude!"
Adrien knew better than to argue though, and immediately went to fetch a pack of Camembert for him. He tossed it onto the bed. "There. Now stop bugging- no pun intended," he said to Tikki.
Marinette laughed and petted Plagg's head as he ate. He purred. "You know, my dad makes Camembert quiches in the bakery."
Plagg's eyes shined with longing. "Ca-Camembert quiches?"
"Mmhm!"
He looked at Adrien. "Give her the ring. I want her to be Chat Noir. You'll be Chat Noir now."
"Plagg!" Tikki and Adrien scolded him while Marinette simply giggled.
"You're a silly kitty."
He purred. "Oh, yes. Behind the ear. That's the spot! She likes me better than you," he teased Adrien.
Adrien crossed his arms and pouted. "That's enough, that's enough." He scooped her away and pulled her onto his lap.
"Jealous, are we?"
"Ha. Ha."
Ensured by this exhilarating new clarity between them, Marinette kissed his nose and then snuggled against his chest. "You shouldn't be, mon minou."
He sighed.
"They're so cute together!" Tikki said to Plagg, who was more than determined to ignore the sickeningly sweet scene. "I knew they'd come around."
From the corner of her eye, Marinette notice Adrien's Miraculous box still lying where she dropped it.
"By the way," she said, breaking their embrace, much to Adrien's disappointment. She lifted the box and quirked an eyebrow at him. "Elaborate."
"It was Plagg's fault!" He said quickly. "I was just looking for your blanket and then Plagg was being naughty and got into your backpack to look for food- he licked your pink lipstick by the way- and I was just trying to get him out of there, so I accidentally knocked the backpack and I was chasing Plagg and then…" he shrunk in shame. "I may or may not need a new hinge to repair your box, heh."
"You stepped on it?"
He nodded.
"Sorry. I'm so sorry! I'll repair it as soon as we're back. I promise m'lady, I do- why are you laughing?"
"It's just a silly box, Adrien. It's okay."
"Don't let Fu hear you say that."
She went back to his arms and nestled in silence, enjoying the sensation of Adrien's body relaxing. He rested his head on hers and kissed her several times, not having enough of how soft her hair felt.
"I'm so happy it's you," Adrien muttered, squeezing her lightly. "You have no idea, my lady."
She squirmed at the sensation of his lips brushing her neck. "I think I may have an idea," she said, contently feeling the bare skin of his chest.
"I mean," he continued. "It's you! You're Ladybug! You're Marinette and ah! Finally!" He chuckled. "Sorry, I've been waiting for this for so long that I guess I can't really control how excited I am."
"Me too." She blushed. "I mean, ever since that time with the umbrella…"
"The umbrella?"
"Yeah, in lycée, remember? Your first day of school? It was raining and you apologized to me about the gum on my seat- which wasn't even your fault, anyway! And you gave me your umbrella so I could walk home. I remember I felt horrible for judging you, and I was awestruck at how kind you were. And I just… I fell."
He felt touched at the clarity with which Marinette remembered that day. "I- I never thought you'd still remember that."
"I still have it, you know? The umbrella."
"My lady…"
She gave him a smile that stole his breath away.
"I remember I was so happy that day," he said. "Because I made friends with you. And then that very same day I met Ladybug, my partner…" He chuckled to himself. "I'm lucky that way, I guess."
"What do you mean?"
"I fell in love with my best friend without even knowing."
He gently pushed her hair from her face so he could lock his eyes with hers. Marinette was hypnotized by his glance, that warm, infinitely kind glance that made her fall in love in the first place.
"You want to know how I fell for you?"
Marinette nodded smiling innocently.
"I remember you were so worried that you weren't cut out to be a superhero. And then I encouraged you, right? But no one had ever listened to me before. And you did. You believed in me. And then, you were so… badass! And brave, and resourceful, and clever…" He laughed. "I was a goner. To be honest, the more we fought together, the more I wondered why you ever doubted that you could be a superhero. You barely ever need me!"
"That's not true, chaton," Marinette intervened. "I wouldn't be Ladybug if you hadn't believed in me first."
Adrien widened his eyes.
"It's true, you know? I didn't want to be Ladybug. But you trusted me, and you barely knew me! Despite the fact that I messed up bad, you really did think I could beat Stoneheart." She snuggled against him. "We're the cat and bug team."
He chuckled. "Don't you mean bug and cat?"
She shrugged. "Same difference."
He leaned in slowly to kiss her, enjoying every second, the anticipation, the sensation of Marinette snaking her hands up to his neck. He could feel her breath, his nose brushed against her skin, inches, bare inches-
KNOCK KNOCK!
Adrien sighed with frustration. Now what? Can't a guy kiss the love of his life in peace?
"Yo, open the door! You two ran off with the room cards!"
It was Nino.
"I'm going to kill him."
a/n: Next stop, EPCOT AND MORE LANDFILL YEAH.
So if you guys have any requests or ideas for the EPCOT chapter, I'm all ears!
