The Marinette Project, Chapter 10: A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing
Marinette came down for breakfast a bit bleary-eyed. Not my most restful sleep ever... for some strange reason, she thought.
"Long night?" her mother asked, frying up some eggs.
"You could say that," Marinette said. "I've got... something on my mind. May I?"
"Go ahead," replied Sabine. "Your father won't be in for another ten or fifteen minutes, so we've got time for a little girl talk."
"Chat and I were talking last night about going public, then about his identity... and he came this close to telling me. Then we were on the phone last night, and he came this close to SHOWING ME," said Marinette. She grimaced at the face her mother made and clarified, "HIS IDENTITY, I mean. Yeesh, Mom."
Sabine smirked. "I told you before, I'm sure his telling you isn't far off."
"He might not have to..." Marinette looked anxious. "I'm, like, 99% sure that I know. And he knows that because I told him so."
"How did he react to that?" asked Sabine.
"He actually transformed back while I was on the phone with him. He pranked me by having his shirt over his head when he turned the camera around."
"Hah!" her mother laughed. "I like his sense of humor."
"But we never even used to joke about that, Mom," Marinette argued. "Let alone talk about it seriously, like we did before that. And I just feel like we're going to get really awkward if we keep spending time together in both his identities."
"Can you say who you think that he is?" asked Sabine.
"Oh, you know exactly who I think it is," she grinned. "I used to think that Adrien being Chat was the ultimate in wishful thinking. Now I think it's unavoidable. He checks every single box."
"Should I just tell you who Chat is, under the mask?" Sabine smiled.
Marinette rolled her eyes. "Oh, be serious, Mom."
Sabine shrugged. Suit yourself, then. "What's so awkward about it?"
Marinette closed her eyes, tight. "If Adrien ISN'T Chat and he just wants to stay friends, that's perfect. But if he is, and we spend a lot of time next to each other, and we both know what we're dancing around... that's going to take a lot of willpower for us both to hold back."
"I've never seen Adrien not have control of himself," noted Sabine. "Do you expect him to? I thought you and Adrien talked things out yesterday, and got back to being just friends."
"We did," Marinette confirmed, "so if he's NOT Chat, we should be good. I've got my best friend back. But if he is... and he starts flirting with me as Adrien like he does when he's Chat... there goes my brain until I know for sure."
"If it'll give you any peace of mind, if you think he's giving you signs," suggested Sabine, "Adrien's too much of a gentleman to go after someone else's girlfriend... unless he's the someone else."
"And I'm so sure that he is! But I can't cross that line unless he does. I feel like the girl who knows her boyfriend's about to propose..."
"Which is the SECOND TIME I've heard about marriage in the last two days," Tom growled, walking into the kitchen. "Is there something I should know about?"
Marinette looked at her father, then her mother, slack-jawed.
Sabine smiled and said, "It was a joke, Marinette. Eat your eggs." She gestured at Tom and asked Marinette, "May I?"
She nodded. "Yeah, it's no big secret."
Her mother said, "Tom, we're just talking about your daughter's growing stable of gentlemen."
Marinette blew a raspberry in her direction. "And if her kitten plans on telling her who's behind the mask," she added in her father's direction. "And more to the point, whether she already knows. Which she's sure that she does. And HE knows that SHE's sure that SHE knows."
Tom furrowed his brow. "This is getting complicated already. Can I get a scorecard?"
"Chat and I are perfect together," she continued. "But we kind of have to hide it because, well, masked superhero. We're looking forward to the Masquerade because EVERYONE will be masked there, so we can be a couple in public. But he's been hinting about telling me, partly so that he can do things with me in public without drawing attention..."
"Correct me if I'm wrong..." Tom mused, "but wouldn't you STILL have to hide it, somewhat? If you're out in public kissing some boy in the daytime and your chaton at night, won't people assume they're one and the same, and there goes his secret?"
"Oh!" Marinette made a thoughtful face. "That... is actually a very good point! Yes, we'll still have to be careful. That's why I haven't been screaming 'Hello, world, I'm dating Chat Noir!' yet, so that if he does share his identity with me, I don't have to explain to everyone how I have two boyfriends now. He can be himself in public and Chat in private."
Tom smiled. "Makes sense," he said.
Marinette's phone buzzed with an incoming message.
[Adrien] Good morning! I'm thinking of going to Antoine's Costume Shop today... care to tag along?
"First things first, I guess," she said. "Adrien wants to go shopping for Masquerade costumes... let's see if he has anything else in mind."
Marinette walked out to meet Adrien with a surprised look on her face. "You walked here AGAIN?" she asked. "Adrien! You're going to wear yourself out!"
"Hey, I can't get a learner's permit to drive until next year," he grinned. "And this way, there's nobody rushing me." Plus, I traveled by Chat Express until I got to your block...
"Oh, what am I going to do with you? C'mon," said Marinette, smiling from ear to ear. "Let's go dress you up."
Tom watched the pair through the shop window. As they left, he asked, "That's who she thinks he is?"
"That's him," Sabine said, noting customers around them browsing the croissants. "No names, dear."
"Oh, I know. Do you think it's true?"
"It's hard to say, dear..." It's VERY hard to say since I'm sworn to secrecy, she thought.
"If he isn't, it's a shame," Tom said, watching Adrien's body language. "Adrien's hooked, big time."
"I don't think he'd argue with you on that..."
Antoine's was buzzing, which wasn't surprising - the June Masquerade was barely over a week away. Marinette and Adrien wandered the aisles, admiring this year's offerings.
"So what do you think I should pick?" asked Adrien. "So many choices..."
"It's up to you," Marinette said. "A lot of people try to pick something that's really different from their usual personality. You know, take advantage of being behind a mask and have some fun with it?"
"I know EXACTLY what you mean," Adrien said. He saw Marinette giving him a funny look and added, "...I mean, I'd like to try that too."
"Well, then! I bet we can find you something absolutely purr-fect," she giggled.
Adrien raised an eyebrow. Did she just... naaaaah.
The next aisle had some very familiar costumes. A little too familiar. "Speaking of purr-fect... want to try on a Chat Noir, Adrien?"
"I... don't think they have my size in stock," he stammered. "How about you? I know you said you're going as a princess, but I bet you'd look great in one of those..."
"Are you kidding?" laughed Marinette. "How silly would I look in a Chat Noir costume?"
"I meant the Ladybug next to it. I'm serious!", Adrien said, seeing her flinch. "I think you'd look wonderful in that. Very natural. You've kind of got her hair, you're the right size, and you have those... bluebell eyes like hers..." You know... the more I think about this...
"Moooooooving on," she said, pulling Adrien along. "Mask or no mask, I'm not running around in public in a form-fitting bodystocking, so put that out of your mind, Mister."
"Or I could try on a Ladybug suit myself. You did say 'different than my usual personality...'"
Marinette covered her mouth to muffle a giant laugh. "Okay, THAT I DO want to see."
"Too late, we're in a different aisle now..." he grinned. "What do you think about... that one there?"
"Seriously?" Marinette asked. "I mean, I can kind of see it... and it would kind of fit the fairy tales theme... and it's certainly a departure from your normal personality..."
"Wait here! I've got to try it on." Adrien picked up the costume he'd pointed out and headed for the fitting room.
The door opened, and Marinette's face lit up. "That... actually works on you, Adrien!"
Adrien pranced out of the dressing room in a brightly colored jester's outfit, bells jingling with every move, a multicolored domino mask over his eyes.
"What do you think? Every princess's court needs a jester to make her laugh," he said.
"Mister Prim-and-Proper Model, bouncing like a rubber ball and telling bad jokes? I think we have a winner," beamed Marinette. "Though I can say, the more I think about it, somehow you look very natural with bells on your outfit..."
"You think so?" he grinned. "I feel like more than one bell is too many."
Did he just say...? Marinette shook her head with a smile. These suspicions are getting the best of me.
They wandered the store some more, looking for accessories to round out their outfits. Adrien noticed a jeweled tiara in a glass case and called Marinette over. "What do you think of that?" he asked.
"Ohhhhhhh... that is spectacular!" she cooed. "The design, the sparkle... that gives me some definite ideas."
"How much is it?" wondered Adrien.
"It has to be way out of my remaining budget," Marinette admitted. She looked at the price tag and winced. "Yep, that's big-ticket by costume standards. I'm pretty sure that I can build something pretty close to that with my jewelry supplies at home, though..."
"Or I could..." began Adrien.
"...put that thought out of your mind," admonished Marinette. "I certainly didn't come with you to have you buy me expensive things!"
"You do so many things for me, Marinette," he ventured, "and I feel like I never get to pay you back for those. If I get it for you, it's not to try to win you or buy you, it's because I want to."
"I know that, Adrien! Of course! I just... no, I would feel terrible," she said. "But thank you for the offer. You're always so sweet."
Adrien made a mental note of what and where it was as they went to the counter, where he paid for the jester costume. On the way out, he said "Want to stop for some ice cream or something?"
"Sure," she giggled. "In that price range, I'll let you spoil me."
Adrien and Marinette sat at a table at a nearby ice cream parlor, each enjoying a double-scoop. Marinette went with some hot fudge on hers, Adrien with a little whipped cream.
"Watching that model's figure?" she teased him.
"Kind of," he grinned. "I step on the scale at home so often, I feel like a boxer making weight for a fight sometimes. But I have to have a little fun sometimes..."
"I'm glad. This is nice, being here with you," said Marinette. "I love that we can just go out and do things like this now. I kind of... have a history with ice cream with you," she blushed. "Or ALMOST with you."
"You do?" Adrien tried to place when they'd done this together before.
"In a weird way, it's kind of how I first got closer to my boyfriend," she said. "There was a night that the group was going to Andre's..."
"Ahh," Adrien said, recognizing the reference. Andre's reputation as the most romantic ice cream vendor in all of Paris preceded him significantly. It was said that couples in love who shared his creations would stay in love forever.
"...and I was hoping beyond hope that a certain someone could make it that night, and I could share mine with him, and let that magic do its thing." Marinette batted her eyes at Adrien. "I wonder who that could have been? But your father had you locked down that night, and I acted kind of... dumb at Andre's, and I went home with a heavy heart. Next thing I knew... there he was, on my balcony. My eventual boyfriend, that is, not Andre."
Adrien jumped a little, out of recognition. Wait - THAT night? The night I first visited Marinette, when I told her my feelings for Ladybug? Marinette was heartsick over me THAT NIGHT?
"How, um, did he get up on your balcony?" I kind of have to ask, because as Adrien I shouldn't know.
Marinette got quiet. "Adrien, I know I can trust you. As far as I know, only one other person knows this. Can you keep a secret for me?"
"I promise," he said.
"The guy I'm dating now... and who I think I'm in love with... is Chat Noir."
Marinette looked into Adrien's eyes very intently.
Adrien did his best to act at least a little stunned by her admission, but he knew Marinette could see right through him. "That's... wonderful, Marinette! I'm very happy to hear it," he managed.
"You're looking at me like that doesn't surprise you much," she parried.
"Well... if you'd told me that a month ago, I would've been very surprised," Adrien grinned.
"Me too, actually. It's been quite a couple of weeks." She picked up another spoonful of chocolate. "But now, you're not?"
"What's to be surprised about?" said Adrien. "You're the sweetest girl I've ever known. Anyone should be attracted to that side of you. Just because I was a fool who didn't notice that you're beautiful, too..."
"I..." Marinette struggled for a moment. "You know, if you'd said THAT a month ago, I would've been lunging across this table. Or dead on the floor."
"My loss. Not yours."
"Adrien... speaking of that... I did need to talk with you about something." Marinette had a funny look in her eyes, as if she wasn't quite sure whether to take this where she'd planned to take it. "May I?"
"Please," he invited.
"When I said you were only the second person who knew about me and Chat Noir, I meant it. Alya pried it out of me, and now you. And we're all still in the dark about one thing..." Marinette paused. "Who he is under the mask. I don't even know that yet."
"Uh-huh..."
"I'm, like... 99% sure that I DO know who Chat is. Just in case you think that's interesting..."
Adrien pretended that he had a decent poker face.
"But I've also talked to him about it, and I'm not going to pressure him. So," she continued, her eyes dancing, "I suppose you're wondering what that has to do with YOU, Adrien."
Not really. "Maybe a little..." he replied.
"For all I know... Chat might be you," she smiled. "We've gotten much closer these last few weeks. And I love that. Whether you're him or not, I want you and need you in my life. But if you're not... and I'm not saying that you are or you aren't..."
She watched Adrien hanging on her every word. "...Please, be gentle with me," she finished, quietly.
"What do you mean?" Adrien asked.
"I mean that this time last month, I was crushing so hard on you, Adrien. And for a long time before that. And we talked that out and I'm FINE with that, I promise! But... it really wouldn't take that much for me to fall for you all over again."
Marinette took a breath. "Which, if you ARE secretly Chat Noir... is perfect. Absolutely perfect. But if you're NOT him... I can't let that happen. I can't do that to my Kitty. I never want him to have a reason to doubt me."
Adrien was wide-eyed. "I wouldn't want him to, either. And I'm sure he knows that he never will." Never crossed my mind for a microsecond.
"Heh," she laughed. "Even my mother said that. 'Adrien's too much of a gentleman to go after someone else's girlfriend... unless he was the someone else.'"
He got a kick out of that. Sharp as a whip, like I said...
"But all I'm saying is, if you're not him... be my best friend. Be funny, be sweet, be charming. But go light on the 'you're so beautiful,' okay? I'm flattered that you think so. And kind of amazed," she laughed. "But I still need my brain to process that I'm not chasing after you any more."
"I get it. I'm sorry about that," replied Adrien. "But I want to be honest with you, too. And that means reminding you that you have every reason in the world to be confident about yourself... and to be loved."
Her soft smile told him that what he said hit home. He added, "And I'll promise you this - the day that Adrien Agreste tries to make you fall in love with him, you'll know it for sure."
"That's the problem, Adrien," she said, holding back a happy tear. "You weren't even trying before, and I couldn't help it."
Adrien and Marinette arrived back at the bakery, both with their customary grins in place. I can't help it, thought Marinette. Adrien just makes me giddy being himself, and the thought that he just might be my Kitty in disguise...
"If you want me to make any adjustments on that costume, Adrien, I'll be happy to," she said. "Come by any time, we won't bite."
"I'll give it a long look when I get it home," he replied, "and if there's anything that needs tweaking, you're the one I'll call. You have so much talent at that kind of thing."
A car horn surprised both of them. Adrien looked up and saw Nathalie and his bodyguard at the curb.
"What are you doing here?" Adrien asked, caught off-guard.
"I thought I'd spare you a long walk," smiled Nathalie, "and SOMEONE here wanted more cream puffs." The bodyguard nodded enthusiastically with a mouthful of pastry. "I didn't want to rush you, so I figured we'd wait for you to catch up. Did you find a costume?"
"I did! I'll show you when we get back," he replied. "Marinette... another lovely day. Call me?"
"You know it," she smiled. They leaned in for a friendly hug, then he headed to the waiting car.
Marinette went inside, watching her mother smile enigmatically at her. "What?" she grinned.
"Nothing," said Sabine. "I'm glad you had a good time. He's a charming young man, no matter what he's wearing."
She caught her mother's hint. "Yeah, we talked a little about that. I let Adrien know that I'm keeping him, whether he is you-know-who or not... and hinted that I really think he IS... but if he's not, to turn down the flirting to keep me far away from temptation."
"And did he?"
"How should I know? Adrien could say 'pass the mashed potatoes' to me and it'd sound like a love poem, with that voice..." swooned Marinette. "Oh, I so hope he is. But I'll behave until I know, I promise."
"That's my good girl," said Sabine. "While you're here, can you go back and help your father for a little bit? He's being stubborn today but he could use the extra hands."
"Sure!" Marinette said, putting on an apron and preparing to do battle with baked-goods-in-progress.
Adrien sat in the back seat of the car, mildly wary. Nathalie could certainly be nice when she wanted to be, but granting favors out of the blue wasn't really her usual style.
"So, Nathalie..." he began, "Did you happen to speak with my father about... someone?"
"I did," she smiled. "And believe it or not, he approves, as long as she doesn't interfere with your studies or duties."
"He DOES?" Adrien wasn't complaining... but he was surprised.
"Something about how the happier you are, the less likely he is to get a hard time about piano practice. Or to find a mysteriously empty bedroom and an open window," she grinned. "And he's also fine with you attending the Masquerade with Marinette and your other school friends."
"That's good. Especially since I just spent this much on a costume," laughed Adrien.
"So what did you get, anyway?" inquired Nathalie.
"I'll give you a hint... I'll be there with bells on."
At dinner, Marinette filled her parents in on the costume ideas in progress.
"Adrien will be a cute jester," her mother said, "and I can imagine that he'll have fun with it. Did Chat decide on his yet?"
"He's still debating, I think," said Marinette. "Adrien and I laughed about that; there were so many Chat Noir costumes at the shop that Chat could go as himself and blend right in. But he liked both my knight-in-cloth-armor and handsome prince ideas, and he LOVED that I'll be his Princess. I'll bug him tonight about it so I'll have time to work on both his and mine."
"That he'd approve of Princess Marinette, I had no doubt," grinned Tom, reaching for the broccoli. "That dress you picked out is lovely."
"I... almost added a piece to that today," Marinette replied, "but I stopped that before it happened."
"Oh?" Sabine inquired.
Marinette described the tiara, how Adrien had offered to buy it for her, and how she'd politely declined. "I can make something almost as nice for a fraction of what that one cost. He was SO sweet to offer, but I don't do that to my friends."
"Which was the right thing to do," Tom noted, "even though what it cost probably didn't mean nearly as much to him."
"That is one thing I've always liked about Adrien," Marinette said. "His family has money, but he never flaunts it, ever. He's like the anti-Chloe. He really just wanted to do something nice for me, but that was far too much money. Ice cream, though, THAT I let him buy."
"Ooh! Where did you two go?" her mother asked. "Andre's?"
"Solomon's Ice Cream Parlour, not Andre's," she replied. "Not only was Andre not out today, as far as I know, but Andre's has a certain... romantic reputation, you know? If I'm going to put that magic in play, I'm going with Chat. And speaking of, I may lure him over tonight, so I'm giving you advance warning on that so that bumps on the roof don't startle you."
"Costume talk?" her mother asked.
"Necking?" said her father.
"Why not both?" grinned Marinette, trying not to turn red.
In his room, Adrien modeled the jester costume for Nathalie. "I might have Marinette make an adjustment here and here, but it's pretty close to where I want it already," he noted. "Pretty decent quality for store-bought."
"We certainly could've had something made for you," Nathalie said. "But then you couldn't have gone shopping with your girlfriend, hmmm?"
"Very true," he smiled, then added, "Though I don't want you getting the wrong idea. I am thrilled that Marinette and I are getting so close... but she is a very close friend of mine, not my girlfriend. Not at the moment, at least."
"I wouldn't have guessed that from your body language, or hers. Hadn't she been admiring you for most of the year?" she asked.
Adrien's face fell. "Even YOU knew that?"
Nathalie looked quite surprised. "You didn't? I'd never even been introduced to the girl, and I could tell just by watching her."
"I really didn't... until this past week when we talked it out. Nathalie, I wanted to jump off a building when I found out! She was SO sweet and SO forgiving about it, but I know that I hurt her so much by missing a million hints and signs from her."
He sat on the piano bench, his mood visibly contradicting his festive attire. "She has always been a wonderful friend. She was one of the first friends I made at school, and she's always been so good to me. I just want to do anything I can to make it up to her, for my being such a fool for months."
"Now I'm a little confused," Nathalie said. "She was in love with you, now you know about it, but she's NOT your girlfriend?"
"She has... someone she's seeing at the moment," he said, a little cautiously. "And that's not a line I'd ever cross. Time will tell on that, but even as just a friend she fascinates me."
"Fair enough. I take it you'll be continuing to court her... unofficially in the meantime?" suggested Nathalie.
"I guess you could call it that, even if I'm not trying to be romantic right now," Adrien replied. "I just want to be with her, on her terms. She has the most beautiful smile in the world, and I like being someone who can bring it out for her."
Nathalie smiled - even she had a soft side, it seemed. "Let me know if there are things we can do to help," she said. "Good luck with the Masquerade!"
"I have a feeling that it'll be memorable," said Adrien, thoughtfully...
A few minutes later, Adrien was changing out of his costume when his Chat-phone buzzed. He found a picture message from Marinette, showing two lounge chairs side-by-side on her balcony, with a sign reading THIS SPACE RESERVED on the one on the right.
Looks like my evening's been planned for me... no complaints here.
He sent back:
[Chat Noir] We might only need one of those.
The reply didn't take long:
[Marinette] The second one's there in case the first one wears out.
Ohhhh... she's GOOD, he grinned.
As Chat expected, when he arrived at Marinette's house to see her that evening, he had absolutely no problems with the greeting he received, the company he kept or the seating arrangements.
"So..." Marinette asked, once things returned to a slow simmer, "Have you made any decisions about the Masquerade yet?"
"I have, actually," said Chat. "A couple... and I think you'll like them. First off, the more I think about it, the more I like your Knight idea. The concept sketch you showed me for the 'soft armor' has a lot of possibilities, I know you can make it look fantastic, and every Princess needs a handsome knight to keep her safe from dragons..."
"How many dragons are you expecting at the Masquerade?" she laughed.
"Oh, I think one would be more than enough, don't you?"
"I guess so. Depends on how fireproof we're feeling when it happens. I'll get to work on it," Marinette said. "I have your measurements, and we can accessorize it however you like. We could give you a sword and shield, or just extend your baton a bit and put a fake hilt on it... and if we make you a helmet, that'll help disguise your features. People won't ask 'Why does that medieval knight have a Chat Noir mask on?' all night."
"Plus, big glowy green eyes through a helmet visor will look nicely spooky," Chat added. "Cool! Let me know what I can do to help, or if you just need me to stand there and be a mannequin."
"If I'm draping anything over you, it'll probably be me," winked Marinette. "What else are you thinking?"
"Well... I've been thinking a lot about what we've talked about lately. About you and me. And the other me."
"You... have my complete attention," she responded.
"Marinette," Chat began, "I _really_ want to have you in my life as much as I possibly can. And that means out of costume, too. I know that I can trust you completely. But I also want to make this special for us - you're the only person I ever plan on doing this with. So, I was thinking..."
He watched Marinette's face light up, eagerly. "Let's do the Masquerade together like we planned, the Princess and her Knight. And at the end of the night, when we're alone together, wherever we end up, here or there... you take off your mask, and I'll take off mine. All of them. Once and for all."
"Are you sure, sweetie?" she asked him. "REALLY sure? You can't take this back once you've done it. This is BIG."
"I know it is," he said. "But you're more than worth it. Someone... reminded me of what it would be like to not have to steal moments with you, to go anywhere and do anything with you as myself. I really need that to happen, Marinette. Very soon. So let's do it, and let's do it right."
She embraced him, overwhelmed. "Chat... I hope you know just how happy I am! I'll promise you this - the reward will be worth it. Though you might decide that you like me better with my mask ON..."
"That, I find hard to believe," he said.
"We'll see," she replied, grinning from ear to ear, and held him even tighter.
"So, in the meantime... I'll behave if you will," Chat grinned back. "I'll keep my mask on, or at least my T-shirt over my head, and you'll keep your pajamas on?"
"CHAT!" Marinette hissed. He didn't even have to turn his head to know she was blushing hard; he felt the heat rush to her face, next to his. "I can't believe I even pretended to do that..."
"YOU couldn't believe it? I nearly had a stroke," laughed Chat. "I don't even want to know what my face looked like that whole time, do I?"
"No, you don't," she giggled. "Mostly shocked, with a bit of extremely interested mixed in, which I'll admit was quite the ego boost..."
"You are very beautiful, Marinette," he replied, completely seriously. "I'm sure that every bit of you is just as beautiful... but I don't need to find that out right away. That's... not the reward you were talking about, is it?"
"It isn't..." Now she was SERIOUSLY blushing. "...And thank you for not assuming that it was," she said, sheepishly.
"We're only fourteen, and we've been together, what, about a week? Let's not rush that kind of thing," Chat smiled. "Whatever we build up to, eventually, we build up to. Besides, I kind of have to tell you my identity before we'd even think about anything steamy - as far as I know, most of my costume can't come off unless I transform. Only the belt is detachable."
Now here's a question I'd never thought to ask before, thought Marinette. "So, then, how do you... um... use the litter box?"
Chat got a funny look on his face. "Well, I've never had a problem with it before... but now that you mentioned it, I don't know how I'll ever do it again!"
He saw Marinette's facial expression and added, "...Kidding. Old comic book joke. Trust me, I manage."
Shortly afterwards, Chat said, "If we're going to do this... and I WANT to do this... I have a question, too."
"Shoot," said Marinette.
"Who knows about 'us' so far? I'm working out how to manage my secret identity with other people who know us." he asked. "I mean, your parents, obviously, and if I tell you, you can tell them as long as THEY keep my secret. Our relationship would get crazy in a hurry if they didn't know and suddenly you were dating both my identities." We're already halfway there, anyway, he grinned to himself.
"I did tell Alya, or rather, I let her pry it out of me. So that will be fun to explain to her, but we'll figure out how to handle that. I told my friend Adrien today... but him, I would trust with my life."
Is Chat... BLUSHING at that? she giggled inside. Don't make it TOO easy for me to guess, honey!
"And then, the other night with the girls when we were making Masquerade plans, I, um... oh, boy," stammered Marinette. "I, uh, really need to tell you something. They knew just from the glow around me that I was seeing someone, and they wanted to know who he was. So I told them that..." she trailed off.
"...that you were seeing Adrien?" Chat anticipated.
"Nnnnnnnno... though that's who they all suspected immediately. My throwing myself at Adrien for months wasn't much of a secret," she smiled. "They even helped me with some of my crazier schemes to get his attention. So, yeah, they all asked 'IS IT ADRIEN?' and I said no."
"So who DID you tell them you were dating?" asked Chat, looking confused.
"You... kind of have another secret identity now," Marinette said, with a Please don't kill me expression...
"My name is CHAD?"
Chat Noir looked like he was both amused and horrified by this development. "Chad Black?"
"Alya started it!" protested Marinette. "I just followed her lead. It was either that or the old 'he lives in Canada, you wouldn't know him' bit that never works."
Chat busted up laughing. "No, this works, it's just that... 'Chad?' I feel like I should be wearing an ascot or something. 'Hullo, my name is Chad, have you met Muffy?'"
"It's only temporary!" Marinette said. "One night only, and you'll be under a mask, and that under a costume! I just didn't want you to come with us to the Masquerade and have Rose and Juleka say 'Hi, Chad!' and have you caught off guard."
"Do I need to do, like, a New England accent?" giggled Chat. "I am Chadwick Q. Black the Third, it's so wunnnderful to meet you, lovey."
"That depends. Do you want me to run and hide?"
"I'm kidding, Marinette. I totally get it, and that was a pretty clever way to cover for me," he reassured her.
"Now... I'm not so sure," she worried.
"What do you mean?"
"What if you really ARE named Chad under the mask?" she grinned. "Some trust fund boy with an ascot and a... HEY!"
Chat lunged at her, intent on tickling that thought right out of her mind.
Once she caught her breath, Marinette said, "After the Masquerade, it won't matter. I'll have a handsome new boyfriend to tell them all about, one that I can show off in public. And then when we're alone, I'll have my Kitty to cuddle with. And did I mention one of my Mom's other visitation rules for you?"
"Not sure. Which one?"
"She calls it 'Don't Scandalize the Neighbors.' If things get... 'friskier' was her word... she said to take it downstairs so the neighborhood doesn't get a free show."
"Smart lady," admired Chat. "But I've said that before."
"Which reminds me," flirted Marinette, "I think I left something down in my room. Would you help me look for it?"
"It would be my pleasure, Princess."
"That's a pretty safe bet."
Back at the Agreste mansion, Nathalie gave Gabriel another update about the situation.
"There's something... slightly off about the whole thing, but I can't quite put my finger on it," Nathalie ventured. "This girl was head-over-heels for Adrien for months, he only noticed her as a friend, and now suddenly she's seeing someone else and her roles with Adrien are completely reversed. He's in love - anyone can see that - and she's keeping him friendly. Teenage emotions can be flighty, but this just seems odd, and I don't know that I'll ever get the whole story."
Gabriel nodded, "Go on."
"On the plus side, she seems impossibly sweet from Adrien's descriptions. She's certainly not using him for his money - if anything, she's RESISTING when he wants to spoil her. I still think she'd be a great match for Adrien, but we'll see how this drama plays out. And if you're still planning on using the Masquerade to draw out Ladybug and Chat Noir, you can have your villain watch for a jester and a princess together and avoid them, as that's the costumes they've chosen."
"Good to know. Yes, I think that will go on as planned. With all the crowds and noise and confusion, it shouldn't be hard for my villain du jour to catch Ladybug and Chat Noir at a disadvantage."
He stood up. "Thank you, Nathalie, that will be all for now. Please continue to monitor this. I have a week to plan out one of my... special lessons for Paris's heroes."
Tom and Sabine laid side-by-side in their bedroom, preparing for a good night's sleep.
"So... do you think that Marinette has a good handle on this situation?" Tom asked. "Her chaton is crazy about her, but so is Adrien. What are the chances that her two blonde boys are really one?"
"Pretty... good, I think? I can't really say," Sabine evaded.
"...Why can't you really say?" asked Tom, perceptively. "Do you know something that I don't?"
"...I might."
"Oh, now I have to ask," grinned Tom, sitting up. "Mon amour, what did you do?"
"I may have... stumbled upon it by accident the other day," she admitted. "I said something, he said something, we both looked at each other, he asked 'How did you know?', I said 'You just told me.' It wasn't completely intentional on my part. And I still can't believe that he ADMITTED IT to me! I felt so bad for him; you should have seen the look on his face."
"Well! Remind me not to play poker against you, dear. IS he Adrien?" he asked.
"I can't tell you that," Sabine replied. "I am sworn to secrecy. I'm only the second person who knows the full truth... and Marinette isn't the first."
Tom blinked. "THAT I did not expect. She really doesn't know?"
"Not for sure," said Sabine. "She's positive that she's deduced it, but there's still that twinkling of doubt until he tells her or shows her himself."
"And is she barking up the right tree?"
Sabine winked. "Do you think she is?"
"Like I said earlier, I certainly hope so. They're both marvelous young men. It'll be so much easier for her if they're one and the same."
"Things may be resolved soon, I think," Sabine assured him. "I've spoken with him since then, and he's sincere that he wants her to know. Relationships are so much easier without secrets complicating them."
"Mmm-hmmm." Tom grinned. "So I should go ahead and tell you that I'm Hawkmoth?"
"Go to sleep, you..."
Next time:
* Final preparations for the big event... costume tinkering, identity managing, assault-on-a-public-event-by-a-supervillain planning, travel arrangements, all the normal kinds of things one expects from a Masquerade, right?