Happy Holidays! :) Thank you so much for waiting. I truly intended to have this out before last week but hit a small internal debate over two options for how this story could go. I hope I chose right and I hope you enjoy! :)

Chapter 10

He was glad he was holding her to his chest because it meant she was unable to read her facial expression.

"Luka." he breathed. "You were- -are in love with..."

"No." She spat out through her whimpers. "No, I meant..."

He felt his heart stop. Who else could have told her they loved her in that single day?! It was bad enough that she had rejected him, and although he was pleased that she might not care for Luka like that, it still left this mystery lover of hers. Who could it be? He wanted to scream his question. Luka was, at least, a somewhat-half-decent-okay person, sometimes. And he lived with his mother and sister so he would hopefully know how to respect women, Adrien thought. But who else would ha...

"How did you know Luka said that?" She wondered.

"I... I have excellent hearing." He answered immediately, his fingers digging into her shoulders. A small flush of warmth flooded to his cheeks at his small slip. "h...h...who?"

"Hi... his name is Adrien." She cried.

Chat felt like he had not heard the words, though he somehow understood the meaning. His entire body froze before the words could make sense in his mind. His heart slowed until it nearly stopped and his eyes stared wide and unblinking. He did not know what he could possibly say as a reply, but it didn't matter because his body took over and he fell into a heavy fit of uncontrollable laughter. The seeming lack of air did not stop his heart from painfully trying to restart with heavy thuds.

"Chat?" Marinette asked in concern for her friend's sudden hysterical outburst. "Chat... what's wrong? Are you okay?"

"A-Adrien..." Chat laughed. "As in Agreste?"

"Yes, of course..." She answered and he started laughing harder. Her hands moved to his back and shoulder as she tried to support him. "He's... in my... class. Are you okay?"

"You are in love..." He breathed through his laughs. "With Adrien... Agreste... The model...?"

"Yes?" She answered, no longer feeling distressed as much as defensive. Why was this so funny to him?

"ooh!" He wheezed. "That's too much!"

"This is not amusing, Chat." She snapped. "He is a good person and a good friend." She hated knowing that a friend was all she really was to him.

Chat laughed harder, his words suddenly more difficult to understand. He was sure, for a moment, that he would lose the ability to breathe and be forced to go without air.

"You..." He breathed heavily, clearly struggling to organize himself. "You... are in love... with Adrien...Agreste."

"Is that wrong?" She demanded, partially defensive and partially worried. Maybe... Maybe she shouldn't have told Chat. He clearly was not taking it well.

"Nothing!" He replied immediately. "You're in love with the model!? As in... since when?" His laughs finally slowed but he was still breathing heavily, as if it were a struggle to take each breath of air.

"Since... Maybe a week after I met him, I suppose." She sat on the small cot and he perched himself on a chair watching her intently. "I really didn't like him when I first met him. I thought he was the only person who could have possibly been ruder than Chloe... but he wasn't and..."

"And you thought he did not like you back." Chat finished, thinking back to weeks before when he'd comforted her, just before they'd first... "So when I came... But what if you're wrong?"

"What are you talking about?" Marinette wondered.

"Shouldn't you be happy then? Shouldn't you tell him you..." He stopped, suddenly realizing that maybe her love for him had become completely past-tense. Maybe he'd waited too long and she'd moved on.

"You're being ridiculous." She replied. "I'm his friend. He's made that very clear. This is just... he wasn't feeling well today."

"I think you're being ridiculous. You don't tell someone you love them because you're not feeling well." He argued, jumping down from his perch to grab her shoulders lightly. "I cannot imagine how this boy could not love everything about you, Marinette. Everything. And I'm sure he's been trying to find a way to tell you. I'm sorry because he is a coward and he caused you all this doubt and pain but..."

She cut him off by kissing him suddenly. His eyes remained wide for a shocked moment, then slowly closed as she wrapped her arms around him. His fingers entered her hair and pulled it out of the pigtails.

Her hair cascaded down the back of her shoulders and allowed him to freely run his gloved fingers through her hair, before lightly tracing down her body. One of his fingers was over her nipple, while the other hand rested on her hip when he stopped and pulled away slightly.

"He told you he loved you today." Chat recalled, suddenly understanding the situation with much more clarity. She loved him-Adrien. She had wanted him but somehow in his busy schedule and blindness, he'd broken her heart and made her think he didn't want her. He was the reason any of this had started. Internally, he kicked himself and called himself names. "Do you still love him?"

"I..." She blinked a few times as if trying to organize her thinking. "I... think."

"Then what is holding you back?" He demanded. "Why wouldn't you tell him you loved him? Don't you know what that must have done to him?"

"I couldn't think!" She cried, tears returning to her eyes. "I- -I'm not used to... I don't know what to say to people when they say these things!"

"Mari." He breathed, keeping his face close to hers. His fingers resting lightly over her nipple caused her great irritation and pleasure. "I want... I need... Claws i-"

She covered his mouth with hers instantly, shutting him up immediately.

"No, Chat!" She hissed over his lips.

"You need to know!" He shouted.

"No!" She snapped pulling away and slapping his hands away from her. His instinct was to reach for her again-she expected him to do that. But instead he stood quietly watching her as she mentally prepared her mini speech. "We can't know!"

"You have to!" He snapped. "Because-"

"No!" She snapped again. And because she was already irritated about telling him about Adrien, feeling much more guilty than she'd expected she could, she added, "And if you cannot respect that I do not wish to know your identity, then you can go."

He watched her for a moment then, before turning on his heel and marching towards the exit. He paused by the stairs leading up.

"I am leaving, " He explained as he turned, "Not because I do not respect your wish to keep my identity a secret, but because I want you to take a chance on Adrien. I know he has not always been purr-fect, but I really think he will try." A small smirk appeared on his lips. "And if he is not, I want you to tell me. So I can kick him back into shape, okay?"

"Chat." She started, stepping forwards with her hand out as if to stop him but he shook his head and took another step backwards.

"No, Marinette." He shook his head. "You deserve more than what I can give you. I will cherish you forever, and maybe one day you will be willing to accept my secret identity, but until then, you deserve to be with someone who isn't hiding behind a mask." He closed the space between them in three long steps, took her hand and kissed it once. "Goodbye, Marinette."

"Chat Noir!" She called as he disappeared out the window. But he was gone. "I can't believe this, Tikki."

"Maybe it's for the best, Marinette." She replied coming out from where she'd been resting inside Marinette's desk. "If Chat Noir thinks Adrien might really be in love with you..."

"But what about Luka? Or Chat?" She wondered.

"How do you feel about them?" Tikki wondered. "You need to make a good decision, Marinette."

"Help me, Tikki." She begged. "What should I do?"

"Follow your heart." Tikki answered. "And take your time. Don't rush your decision."

"But..."

"No But's, Marinette." Tikki snapped.

Marinette had argued a bit with Tikki who believed Marinette had bigger concerns regarding the well-being of Paris rather than picking a boy to like. Still, she offered Marinette comfort and consult as best she could.

Despite this, Marinette was unable to sleep during the night. The next day she was groggy and tired as she inched slowly to school.

"Girl, you are a mess." Alya said patting her on the back.

"Oh, hey Alya. I didn't notice you there." Marinette responded. "How are you?"

"How am I?" Alya repeated. "Marinette, we've been talking for ten minutes! How much sleep did you get last night? Maybe you should go home and rest."

"No, my parents wouldn't want me to miss school." But she felt like she could close her eyes at any minute and they might not open again for a long while.

"Okay, well I think they will understand this time-" She was stopped by Adrien who whooshed in from seemingly no where with a large smile on his face. This, not at all to Alya's surprise, seemed to wake Marinette up.

"Hey guys." Adrien smiled. Marinette smiled widely in response to her surprise, but she could not focus her sleep deprived thoughts enough to speak.

"Hey, Adrien." Alya said, giving Marinette a sly smile. "Oh, look. It's Nino and Rose. I should go see what they're up to. I'll be back in a minute."

"No, Alya, wai-!" Marinette hissed but Alya had slipped away.

"I'm sorry." Adrien said.

"S-sorry about what?" She wondered bashfully. "You didn't interrupt anything! We were just discussing... nothing."

"Oh." He blinked in surprise. "No, I meant about what I said yesterday. I didn't mean to surprise you."

"What?" She gasped. "No, I wasn't surprised! No, I mean, I was- -I wasn't expecting you to... I mean... I didn't think you would say all that but you did and I was surprised but it wasn't a bad surprise at all it was just... a surprise. I was surprised."

"Oh. Yeah," He itched the back of his head awkwardly, wishing he could have the perfect response ready. He'd prepared long enough last night but he already felt like they were off script. "I'm sorry I surprised you."

"It's alright." She blinked.

"I'm really busy."

"Oh." She could feel her heart struggling to coordinate her heart beats. Was he saying he was busy that day? Or too busy to talk to her? And did he not want to see her without Alya around to prevent an awkward moment of silence? She must be hallucinating, she decided, because she was sure she remembered him confessing his love for her just one day before. Wouldn't... Shouldn't he want to speak to her now? But she knew he was generally busy, so she would never hold it against him. "That's okay."

"No, Marinette," He shook his head and stepped closer to her before taking her hand and leading her towards the locker room. Only a few students were there, but none in front of Marinette's locker. After taking a quick look around the area, he took a deep breath and said, "I am really busy. My father has most of my time pre-scheduled and expects me to follow all of his rules which means I can never miss any of my arranged lessons, or waste time on things he doesn't think will get me further in life, and my nights are busy, as I am sure that yours are too, so it would be completely unrealistic and selfish for me to expect that I could make any kind of a relationship, but I want you and I hope you want me too and although I am busy, I want to spend every spare minute I have with you because every minute together would be worth it for me. You don't have to say the same, you don't have to feel the same. I just wanted you to understand that although I can't give you ever moment of my time, I will give you every spare moment and I hope that is enough for now." He took a deep breath, laughed once with relief and asked, "Do you understand?"

"Yes." Marinette responded carefully, then smiled. "I know you are busy."

"But I have nothing planned today after school." He continued. "So, would you maybe want to go see a movie? Or get something to eat?"

"To a movie?" She asked. "Or... you mean like a...?" She did not want to allow herself to hope.

"We could go as friends!" He offered immediately. "If that makes you more comfortable-or maybe as... not friends, if you, maybe, didn't want to go as friends. Just friends, I mean. We don't have to go as just friends unless you want to go as just friends which is fine too."

"I... I wouldn't mind going to a movie or dinner with you." She answered, feeling like she wasn't able to properly speak in that moment. It couldn't be real, she determined. She was in a dream. A beautiful, beautiful dream. Plus, even if it weren't a dream, she would likely have to fight an akuma before it happened. Or fall asleep and be sent home-again. Her rational mind told her to be more realistic because with Ladybug and school, she was also too busy for what she really wanted. But that made Adrien even more perfect, because they would both be so busy, that they wouldn't notice how busy the other one was. Plus, how could she refuse the love of her life? "As a friend or as n-not friends."

A wide, relieved smile crossed his face. "Really?"

"Yes, i-is-I... There is a chance my parents may need me to help in the bakery for a bit, but that will be short." She giggled, awkwardly thinking of an excuse in advance for the probability that she will need to make a quick get-away and transform.

He stared at her blankly for a moment, then understood and smiled. "Yes, of course. I can wait for as long as you-or they-need!" Then he stopped smiling and watched her carefully once more. It caused her a moment of panic because she could not guess what he might say next. "I... If we're... If we're not going as just friends, do you think... I mean... would you mind if we... called it maybe a d-date?"

The blank but openly surprised stare she offered him made him want to turn back time so he never asked the ridiculous question, but then she smiled widely and said "Only if you want. I have to grow now- -go now. I haba-have a c-class and I have to- I will see you after school, okay Adrien?!"

"Alright!" He smiled. "I'll see you after school and uh, in class."

This appeared once again to surprise her, as if she'd forgotten that they were in the same class. Proper words could not form on her lips as she awkwardly, and jittery, , fumbled out of the room.

Adrien smile fondly towards the door she'd exited, took a deep and hopeful breath of relief and followed her out.

I hope you have enjoyed! (this was not my original ending but as I said a few chapters ago when I stopped putting out chapters as quickly, I totally forgot the original story line and lost my written outline).

I think this is the end. I do have ideas on how I could continue so let me know if you want me to! :)

Hope you had fun reading, and happy holidays to all!