Marinette sat in stunned silence.
Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste.
Why else would he be asking where she'd been? Well, she had practically disappeared, but for all he knew that was normal in the summer. Okay, he did know better than that so soon in the season, but Nino wouldn't have bothered her with it. Alya would, but she also knew when Mari needed space.
Amongst all that, a more pressing question came to her mind: If Adrien is really Chat, what happened to cause all the awful puns?
"Mari, you look like you've seen a ghost. Care to share?" Alya and Nino sat across from her, leaving Adrien—Chat Noir!—to sit beside her.
"N-no. I'm good." She plastered a fake smile onto her face.
"Whatever, Mari. Anyway, I'm telling you boys, there have been Ladybug sightings for the past couple weeks without Chat Noir. It's more than a little weird."
"Maybe he's on vacation," Adrien suggested.
"Or maybe he's having romance problems and decided to approach things the hard way." Marinette kept her tone even, but it was something in the way her shoulders tightened that made everybody curious.
"Or maybe he doesn't want to hurt the people he loves."
Marinette and Adrien stared at each other, now oblivious to Alya and Nino.
"Well, maybe he's making everything worse by being a coward about it."
"Maybe he doesn't know how to be brave enough to admit it!"
"Maybe he should figure out that he's being more of a disappointment to everybody by avoiding the problem!"
Adrien kept staring at Marinette, all the energy leaving his body.
Marinette looked back to her crêpe. "I'm sorry. Chat Noir's business isn't really my business to guess. He's probably hurting."
"Yeah."
"So, anyway, Alya, tell me more about your movie."
"Right, Nino! There was this girl, she wanted to be a lawyer, but her parents said that she had to get married before she started work at a law firm, and…"
Marinette would have fled if Adrien weren't in her way. Maybe it was for the best; she'd already accused him of avoiding the problem anyway. Her phone buzzed while Alya described the details of the movie. When she looked at it, it was a message from Adrien.
"I guess you know. What tipped you off?"
"You called me Nettie. Only Nino calls me that for the most part. And you said you were a model. How many models do I know?" "Also, I'm sitting right next to you."
"I'm aware of that. I just wanted to confirm that you knew." "Promise me you won't tell Ladybug that you figured it out."
Mari pressed her lips together. "I'll tell her if she should ask me for some reason. Other than that, I won't let the cat out of the bag." She smiled to herself. Maybe that would help bridge the rift she'd caused.
Adrien choked and coughed into his elbow.
"Dude, you alright?"
He nodded, giving a thumbs up despite watery eyes. "Just tried to breathe a crêpe."
"Careful. Anyway, then she meets with the competing law firm…"
Mari's phone buzzed again.
"I might kiss you for that later."
"Might?"
"You'll have to wait and see."
"Mari, what was that line again?" Alya tapped on the table as she tried to remember it.
"Uh, which one?"
"When Leïla turns down the bad firm."
"Oh! 'You can keep your law firm and your dog!'" The girls laughed as they remembered the scene, leaving the boys very confused.
Marinette was reading a book that most would find pretty boring—to be fair, it was about different sewing techniques, so it was rather pertinent to her future line of work. Hopeful future line of work. She jumped with she heard something on her balcony. She stood up in front of her bed. "Chat?"
He dropped in without hesitation. "Have I told you that you look beautiful in green?"
Marinette blushed. "Um, no."
Chat Noir slowly bridged the distance between them. "I'm sorry I disappeared. I was scared."
"I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't think about your feelings."
Forgiveness flooded into their gaze as he drew nearer and held her face in his hands.
"Chat?"
"Ouais?"
"Why did you run off?"
He dropped his hands to her shoulders. "I—you scared me with the thought of revealing everything to everybody. I know I yelled at you, and I'm sorry I did."
"I forgive you."
"Marinette?"
"Yes?"
"What made you ask me?"
She rested her hands on his hips. "Because I thought that you having the courage to tell me your secret would give me strength to share mine. I—I'll tell you, I promise. I just need some time to sort it out in my head." Mari leaned forward and let her nose rest on his. "I'm sorry I caught you off guard with it. You were being so vulnerable, and I didn't consider your feelings like I should have because I made a stupid assumption."
"You're forgiven."
Marinette nodded her thanks, relaxing into his grasp when his hands found her face again.
"May I kiss you now?"
She didn't answer, kissing him instead.
He took his time in kissing her back, letting her set the pace like before. He was, however, quick to reciprocate those little touches and grabs and eventually pulled her closer. She stood up taller, enjoying the feel of his hair in her hands and his hands on her hips. She turned her head just enough to mutter, "Pick me up, Chat."
He obliged and bent down and gently grasped under her thighs, avoiding her bed to hold her against the wall. She locked her ankles behind him, holding onto his shoulders.
Where the last kiss had been sloppy, this one was nothing but mutual emotion. He kissed his way down her neck as far as he could before returning to her lips, enjoying the pressure of her breathing against his chest.
They pulled back and laid their foreheads together again.
"Chat?"
"Ouais?"
"Can we cuddle?"
He put her down and let her lead him to her bed. She curled up and invited him to spoon with her.
"You…you don't have to stay as Chat Noir if you don't want to." Marinette played with his fingers on her stomach.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Alright." A flash of green light, and Adrien and Plagg sat there instead. Adrien shooed Plagg, promising cheese later. He settled behind Marinette, planting soft kisses on her shoulder. "Anyway."
"Kiss me again, Adrien."
"But why?"
She thought for a moment. "Do you know how much all the cats in the world weigh?"
He shot her a confused look. "How much?"
"Nobody knows for sure, but it must be an ocelot."
Adrien grinned. "Marinette, I didn't know you liked cat puns."
She grinned back, shifting so he could kiss her easier. He was half on top of her, and this one was gentle and slow. She grasped behind his shoulders, pulling him closer. Their breathing was shallow but easy. He kissed her cheek when she started gasping a little too much. "Easy, Nettie."
"Hush, Chat."
He laughed softly, burying his face in her neck.
"Adrien!"
He kissed there softly, letting his lips slip closer to her shoulder. He looked up at her, gently pulling the strap of her dress to expose her skin. "May I?"
Marinette nodded her consent, so he nibbled softly on the spot and kissed and sucked on it after a while. Her hands clenched in his hair and her cheeks flamed red as he darkened the spot until she gave a soft cry from the pain. He kissed it once more and shifted his weight beside her again.
"Hey."
"Hey."
"Doing alright?"
She hummed an answer, smiling. "Someone needs to be a little more gentle."
"Hm. Maybe."
A/N: No, this isn't the end! We still have a Ladybug reveal to do! Clearly Adrinette and Marichat are paying off. The only thing I haven't done is Ladrien because I'm just not as into it, but we'll see about putting some into one of the chapters. Maybe. Anyway, let me know what you think! Reviews are appreciated! -wwot
