**A/N: Sorry for the delay of this chapter. I hope everyone finds the wait worth it. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who left me a review or sent me a PM to wish me well and assure me that you'll be patient. You all absolutely rock!**

CHAPTER 14: ANNOUNCEMENT

"Welcome home, Adrien." Nathalie greeted me at the main doors and escorted me into the dining room. A cheese platter garnished with red grapes rested on the corner of the table, next to a plate with a turkey and baby spinach sandwich. I hugged the bagged thermos Marinette gave me closer to my chest.

"Nathalie?" I was almost afraid to offer her the bag; afraid she'd just throw it away. "Could I have this heated up too?" I gingerly pulled out the thermos, and held it out for her to take. "My friends made it for me to help me recover from being sick yesterday. I would really like to have it for lunch."

Nathalie remained tight-lipped and her posture perfect as she watched me. Her eyes studied me for a moment before she gave a simple, small nod.

"Alright, Adrien. Please get started on the rest of your meal while I have this warmed."

"Thank you, Nathalie."

She returned a few minutes later. Plagg had devoured a decent amount of the cheese platter, but I barely had any of my sandwich. I had no appetite for it. The turkey seemed dry, the spinach bland, and the bread tough.

The soup was fantastic though. Nathalie made sure it wasn't too hot, so the comforting warmth slid down my throat and gently settled in my stomach. Right away I was soothed by the faint scent of lavender. It was coupled with the earthy flavor of the pumpkin base; keeping everything grounded and comforting. While the pumpkin texture was thick and creamy, the soup wasn't heavy. It was almost airy; making me crave more once I had drained my bowl. I was surprised that a creamy lavender soup didn't lull me to sleep, but Marinette's peppering was just spicy enough to wake me up without being overpowering. Same went with the sweet aftertaste. She had a skilled hand at seasoning; probably thanks to her parents' teachings.

I knew how I wanted to complete my earlier sentence now.

Cheng Shifu didn't rename his soup simply to bestow honor on Marinette for standing beside him. It was because both the soup and Marinette were the same. They both brought comfort, warmth, and healing with their gentle sweetness. Both had a surprising amount of spice, and were shockingly grounded for how light they were. For the soup to be made right, care, compassion, and love had to be poured into it; all things Marinette did with everything she touched. The flavor was distinct, but also gentle to avoid overwhelming even something as delicate as the flower Cheng Shifu decorated his soup with. Marinette was the same way: distinct in who she is, but also gentle to avoid overwhelming those around her.

Celestial Soup became Marinette Soup because Cheng Shifu, upon meeting her, realized that his soup was just the personification of his great-niece. At least, that was what I thought. If it were me, that would be why I would have renamed my famous soup.

Could I say any of that to Marinette, though? It felt like all the things I've always wanted to say to Ladybug. Now that I knew who she was behind the mask, would I be able to follow through? Would she even want to hear it?

Ladybug made it obvious that she wasn't interested in Chat Noir being anything other than her partner, so what hope did I have that Marinette would feel any differently towards her friend Adrien? Worse yet, what if I could woo her as Adrien, like Plagg suggested? What then? It would still only be half of me. The refined version of me Father allows out in the world. Could I ever be my Chat Noir half around her?

What if Ladybug always rejected me because she can't stand the goofy, flirty, playful, pun-loving, impulsive half of me? Could I be in a relationship with a girl who made me want to be all those things, and yet keep it all hidden? What kind of life would that be? Would I end up becoming my father?

I shuddered at the prospect and gathered my things to head back to school.

No. A relationship with Marinette would never work if I could only get her to love Adrien. She needed to love Chat Noir as well. How could she, though?

Chat Noir was a pathetic partner. He was a creepasaurus who liked to spy through his classmate's window. He was a liability with the amount of times he got overpowered by akuma supervillains. He was a flirt and a showoff. There was no way Marinette would fall for that.

Worst yet was that Chat Noir was also a cheat; finding out who Ladybug truly was. Once I confessed to that it would be all over. I knew she wouldn't want anything to do with me.

I let out a long, throaty groan that garnered a glance in the rear-view mirror from The Gorilla.

All the comfort the Marinette Soup had given me evaporated as I made my way back to the classroom. Marinette would be in that room. The love of my life would be right there, and I still couldn't do anything about it. I still couldn't hold her, take her hand, or kiss her.

I sat down in my seat and smacked my head against my desk.

"Whoa! Adrien! You alright, dude?" Nino slid close to wrap his arm around my shoulders.

I muttered back a 'yeah' while keeping my face firmly planted against the wood.

"Ya sure? Because you don't look so hot. Something happen with your old man?"

I rocked my head 'no' without lifting it off my desk.

"Are you feeling sick again?"

In truth, I kind of was. Sick of myself. Sick of the predicament I had gotten myself into. Sick of having to stay arms-length away from the girl of my dreams. Sick of secrets. Sick of being a pathetic hero.

I simply moaned as a response.

"Nino!" Alya called out as she ran into the room. "What did you think of- Whoa, Adrien, are you alright?"

I again moaned.

"It wasn't Marinette's soup, was it?"

I bolted upright.

"No! No, the soup you guys made me was amazing. No, it's just-" I sighed as I rested my head back on my desk.

"I think he's still recovering," Nino supplemented.

Alya watched me for a minute. Probably trying to figure out if she should probe further. Marinette walked into the classroom behind her, which pulled her attention from me.

"Good, you're here too! Can someone please tell me what they thought about my latest video?"

"Video? Oh! Was that what my notification was for?" Nino dug his phone out of his pocket. "Sorry, I got distracted by sicko over here."

"Well, quick, check this out! I'm about to burst!" Alya brought up a video she posted on her Ladyblog.

I leaned in to see the phone. She only posted videos on her blog if she came up with a new theory or if she videotaped Ladybug in action. I hadn't missed an akuma attack, did I?

"Hey, peeps!" Alya had recorded herself inside a fancy, but empty, conference room. There wasn't any destruction, and while Alya sounded excited, it wasn't the same adrenaline-rush tone she got whenever she taped Ladybug fighting someone. I hoped that meant she didn't tape an attack. "It's Alya," the recording continued, " from the one and only Ladyblog, and boy do I have some exciting news for you. I'm currently sitting with the Ladybug right now! She has a very special announcement she would like to share with everyone. Ladybug?"

I had to fight back the urge to grab for Alya's phone and hold it so only I could watch. Ladybug was in that room. Marinette was in that room. Alya didn't realize her best friend was in that room, and Ladybug had an announcement to give. I was nervous that it was something bad about me; about my spying or my pathetic performance against Terravenger the day before. Was she going to use the blog to renounce Chat Noir? No! Marinette would never do that. Ladybug would never do that. Maribug would never do that...

"Hello, Paris," Ladybug sat properly, with her legs crossed at her knees and her hands folded on her lap. She spoke calmly and had a hint of a smile. She looked like she had done formal public addresses her whole life. Perfect for a class representative. "As you well know, I'm Ladybug, but what you probably don't know is how I became Ladybug. Or, rather, why I decided to be Ladybug. I have to say that it is largely because of Alya here-"

Off camera, Alya stifled a squeal.

"-and just as largely because of Chat Noir. I think it's important that all of Paris knows how the two of us met."

I gulped and hoped it wasn't loud enough for my friends to hear. My eyes drifted upward, and caught Marinette awkwardly shifting her weight. I wondered if she was scratching the back of her ankle with the top of her other foot, just like when she was giving me the soup. She pretended to watch the video too, but her eyes never seemed to land on the phone. They seemed to dart all over the surface of Nino's and my desk instead. As she wrung her fingers I desperately wanted to take her hands in mine so I could try to calm her.

I don't know how well that would have worked, though. I was having a mild panic attack myself.

"It all started the day Stoneheart first attacked Paris," Ladybug had continued on the video. "While there has always been a Ladybug in the world, that was my first day as the Ladybug you know. I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't even believe I was cut out to be a superhero. I was this goofy, dorky, clumsy girl. I wasn't heroic. I wasn't athletic. I didn't know how to fight. Yet I was picked, so I tried my best."

I choked down my voice to stop myself from yelling that she was wrong. Marinette was always the perfect fit for Ladybug, and I hoped she thought differently about herself now. If she still thought she was just that goofy, dorky, clumsy girl who wasn't heroic, athletic, or a fighter, I would have to prove her wrong.

"As I tried using my magical yo-yo for the first time, I awkwardly shot myself through the air. I fell from the sky and ended up landing into Chat Noir, who was walking between two buildings via his stick. Thankfully, some of my luck kicked in, and while my yo-yo tangled the two of us together, it also snagged on his stick, and stopped us from landing on the street. We awkwardly hung there for a couple of seconds, and do you know what he said to me? 'Nice of you to drop in.'" Ladybug's smile grew for a second as she enjoyed a silent chuckle. She then shook her head at my bad pun, as she always does.

"I crashed into him, knocked him off a three-story building, nearly splatted him on the street, and entangled him in my yo-yo, but he wasn't mad. He was friendly from the second we met as he greeted me with a pathetic little joke."

I remembered that moment. I had been practicing my enhanced balance as Chat Noir by using my baton as a tightrope. There was a scream coming from above me, somehow, so I looked and saw this thin girl with pigtails flailing as she fell from the sky. I reached out to catch her, only for us to get wound together in her yo-yo's string, and then we swung to the side; ending up hanging upside down. She looked so embarrassed, how could I have ever been mad? It was clearly an accident.

I didn't realize Ladybug had remembered our first encounter so vividly.

"Chat Noir got untangled shortly after," Ladybug had continued, "and introduced himself before asking my name. The thing is, my focus was a bit split between him and my attempt to untangle my yo-yo from his stick. I was pulling pretty hard, but I wasn't making any progress. Then, suddenly, his stick shrank to its normal size. I wasn't expecting it, so I ended up pulling it down with my full force. Right onto Chat Noir's head. I had just met my superhero partner, and I conk him in the head with his own stick! It must have really hurt too, the way he was rubbing his head and gritting his teeth."

It had really hurt. My baton is pretty solid, it's metal, and Ladybug is strong! Thankfully, I heal pretty quickly as Chat Noir, so the pain had only lasted a couple of seconds.

"Even after hurting him, he simply picked his stick up and told me not to worry about anything. He was new to the superhero thing too, and was still learning the ropes himself. It was hard for me to believe, though. He was just walking across his stick like a tight rope between two buildings, got untangled from my yo-yo string fairly quickly, and instantly knew I was supposed to be his partner. He was clearly better trained, or at least more prepared, to be a superhero than I was. And yet he treated me like we were equal, like we were on even footing. I was this complete goof and failure at being Ladybug, but he just trusted that I'd get better. He didn't judge me at all."

My eyes fogged over. I got light headed and woozy. All this time I was grateful to Ladybug for treating me like an equal when clearly she was the superior superhero, and she thought the same thing about me?

"Then there was a crash." Ladybug had shifted in her chair. She wasn't as prim and proper anymore as she told her tale. Her legs were uncrossed and she had leaned forward onto her elbows a bit. "One of the skyscrapers had fallen thanks to Stoneheart. I was terrified about having to fight him, but Chat Noir instantly extended his stick so he could pole-vault to the nearest rooftop. When I asked him where he was going, Chat Noir said 'To save Paris' like it was just an everyday thing, like he was telling me he was going to the store or school or work. Then he was gone. Off to fight a supervillain.

"I struggled to keep up as we raced to the stadium where a bunch of high school students were having gym class. Alya, you were one of the students there." Ladybug gestured to her friend behind the camera before addressing the viewers again. "When I arrived Chat Noir had already swooped in to save a boy from Stoneheart. He didn't hesitate. He jumped into the fray and fought this massive rock being one-on-one. Meanwhile, I was frozen on the top of the stadium. I couldn't imagine being able to battle something so scary. I didn't think I could ever be as brave as Chat Noir."

I choked on my heart. I wasn't the brave one. I was the headstrong one. I was the impulsive one. Ladybug was the brave one. Did she really see me like this? I studied Marinette. Her cheeks were rosy, and I could tell she was trying to find a way to sneak to her seat without offending Alya. My chest hurt with each breath I took.

"While Chat Noir was struggling against Stoneheart," the video rolled on, "he called out to me; he asked where I was. There was strain in his voice, like he was worried that he couldn't handle Stoneheart alone, but he still didn't sound angry. He wasn't accusing me of anything. He wasn't scolding me. He was just hoping for backup.

"Then Stoneheart picked up one of the football nets and tossed it at Chat Noir."

"Yeah," Alya chimed in from behind the camera, "I remember. Chat Noir had dodged the net, but-"

"But that meant it came straight at you," Ladybug finished. "I was frozen on the top of that stadium, and Chat was battling Stoneheart. Yet it was Chat Noir who thought fast enough to throw his stick in the way. The net bounced off and landed in front of you, keeping you safe. It was a truly heroic move, and he did it almost on instinct. He didn't even think about the fact that he was now defenseless, and he got captured because of that. Instead, he thought about your safety over his own. That's the mind of a true hero.

"I only reacted finally when you called out to me: 'What are you waiting for, super red bug? The world is watching you.' That was when I snapped out of it and joined in."

"And you were amazing! You were a natural as well. You just needed some added encouragement," Alya offered off screen. "You were the one who figured out how to take down Stoneheart. That's why everyone loves you, and why I started up the Ladyblog."

"Not everyone loved me. I didn't love me. Yes, I had stopped Stoneheart, but I didn't capture his akuma like I should have. It was my first day, and I had forgotten the most important part of my job. That was why Stoneheart came back, and why so many citizens got transformed into copies of him. I was devastated when I found out that I had failed Paris. I had actually renounced myself as Ladybug. Chat Noir knew what he was doing, he could take care of Paris by himself, and if the world needed Ladybug to cleanse the akumas, then someone else could take that job. I wasn't meant to be a superhero."

She had- My eyes darted to Marinette. She wasn't even pretending to look at Alya's phone anymore. She stared at the floor to her left as she fidgeted, rocking from one foot to the next. It was visibly painful for her to hear herself admit to giving up on being Ladybug. She had really thought so little of herself when I thought the world of her?

"The next day, when Stoneheart returned, Chat Noir-"

"Class," Miss Bustier interrupted, "take your seats, please."

Alya groaned and turned off the video. My chest tensed. We weren't done. Ladybug had more to say. Marinette had more to say. What was she going to say about me?

"Alright," Alya whispered to the three of us, "You guys better finish watching and let me know how amazing it was! Got it?"

We all muttered in agreement, then Marinette zipped to her seat behind me, probably grateful to not have to live through that moment again. She had laid herself bare. She was completely vulnerable. She had admitted that we were new to the whole superhero thing, when no one was able to lock down how old she was, thanks to Alya's discovery of a Ladybug superhero hieroglyph. She confessed that she didn't think she was meant to be Ladybug, and had given it up. How will that look to the citizens of Paris? What was she doing? What was her plan? Marinette always had a plan.

The second half of the school day passed by as painfully as the first. Maybe even more so, because all I wanted to do was bring out my phone and watch the rest of Ladybug's confession. I needed to know why she told Alya all of that. Why did she want Alya to post it? Why did the girls call it a 'special announcement'? Announcement of what? My mind flooded with questions.

I wasn't sure if I was going to retain anything any of my teachers told me. As good of a student as I am, I still wasn't able to focus on anything but Marinette. She was my main lesson that day.

When the algebra problems became particularly difficult she would start tapping her desk with the eraser of her pencil, and bounce her foot; softly creaking the floor. In chemistry she let out low growls as she tried to figure out the formulas. During history her pencil frantically scratched at her notepad. I doubt she was taking down notes that quickly. She was probably doodling in the margins or something.

I absorbed every sound she made, and noted when and why she made them. Each noise made me love her even more. She was human, and struggled, but powered through. It was one of the things about Ladybug that drew me to her. She became vulnerable around me, and admitted she wasn't perfect. It made her that much more amazing.

It hurt a little to know that the weakness she seemed to have reserved for only me to see was now on display for the whole world. I wasn't her lone confidant anymore. She was revealing her humanity to everyone; grounding herself.

Although, I couldn't help but admit that opening herself up like that made her seem even more breathtaking. She was so real. How could I not love that?

I wondered if she'd feel the same way about Chat Noir: that the imperfections and flaws made me relatable. I tried to remind myself that Marinette saw good in just about everyone. Maybe she wouldn't be as mad as I kept picturing her. Maybe she'd appreciate that I had already stopped my spying because I knew how wrong it was. Maybe she'd forgive me for finding out she's Ladybug, because I didn't intend to.

I doubted I was right.

The bell rang, and we all gathered our belongings as we headed down to the courtyard for gym. Mr. D'Argencourt stood in the center of the pavement, waiting for us. As I descended the stairs I couldn't keep the last thing Ladybug said in her video out of my head.

"The next day, when Stoneheart returned, Chat Noir-"

Chat Noir what? What did she say? What had I done? I couldn't be in class. I had to know. I knew Mr. D'Argencourt wouldn't let me participate in fencing that afternoon if I cut his gym class, but I doubted I'd be focused enough to train anyway. I didn't care.

He excused me to the infirmary when I told him I felt faint. When I arrived, I was given a small room with a cot in it. The nurse told me to try to nap so I could rest up for the rest of the day. She then closed the door behind her.

I don't think I even made it to the count of six before my phone was out of my pocket and I had the Ladyblog up. There were tons of comments on the video already, but I was afraid to read them. I scrolled to where I had left off, lowered my volume so I wouldn't be found out, and pressed 'play.'

Ladybug was a bit slouched in her chair, and she played with the tips of her gloves. She'd probably be picking at her nails if they were exposed.

"The next day, when Stoneheart returned, Chat Noir instantly ran back to fight him again. He was outnumbered. Stoneheart was already larger than him, and then six of the copies ran in to surround him. It didn't matter to Chat Noir. He fought anyway to try to protect the two girls, and to try to stop Stoneheart from causing more destruction."

Plagg flew out from his hiding spot and watched the video with me.

"Ooo, are we up to the part where you get your butt handed to you while waiting for Ladybug?"

"Shut up, Plagg." He wasn't wrong, though.

"When one of the Stonehearts missed Chat Noir with the car," Ladybug had continued, "it-"

"-came right at me. Again. Because I was filming." Alya's voice dipped, and Ladybug's eyes widened.

"Oh, no! I'm not blaming you. I would, of course, love if you could remain safe, but I'm not blaming you for being in danger. It wasn't your fault. It was Hawk Moth's for akumatizing innocent citizens. That's not the point, though. The point is that Chat Noir did the same thing he did the day before: he threw his stick to deflect the car, even if it did leave him vulnerable. He got captured, and you were safe, but still trapped behind the car.

"Paris needed Ladybug, and as much as I didn't think that was me, I was all Paris had at the time. I became Ladybug again to help save you, and to help Chat Noir to defeat Stoneheart."

She paused to shake her head. I wasn't sure if she was clearing her mind or responding to something Alya did off screen.

"When I helped Chat Noir escape from the Stoneheart copies he amazed me by still being chipper. I had abandoned him, and yet I never once saw him mad. Actually, he flirted with me. He then trusted me when I told him that we needed to take down the main Stoneheart in order to stop the copies. I didn't deserve his trust."

Ladybug wasn't looking in the camera anymore. My throat burned and my muscles twitched as I fought the urge to race to Marinette and hold her. She was wrong. It wasn't her that didn't deserve my trust, it was the other way around. I had betrayed her. I wasn't worthy of her trust, or any of this praise. How could I ever live up to this faith again?

"When we got to the original Stoneheart the police were about to attack him." Ladybug's voice was low, and Alya had to shift forward a little to pick up what she was saying. "I tried to remind them that hurting Stoneheart only made him stronger and larger. That was when one of the cops told me that I should leave taking Stoneheart down to the professionals. I had my chance to stop him and I had screwed it up. He said everything I had thought. I was about to give up being Ladybug a second time.

"That was when Chat Noir did the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me. 'No,' he said. 'The cop's wrong. Because without you Chloé would no longer be here. And because without us they won't make it. And we'll prove that to them. Trust me on this, okay?' And he said it all with such sincerity I couldn't not trust him."

I nearly wept. She remembered? She remembered what I said to her in front of the Eiffel Tower?

"That was when I knew I could do this; that I had to do this. That I was Ladybug. He was already one-hundred-percent my partner. He already had faith and trust in me. He was this great superhero, and yet he still needed me. I was determined to live up to his views of me.

"He deserved the partner he saw in me. Paris deserved the Ladybug he saw. I strived to be the best superhero I could be for all of you, because you deserve me to be. But, in truth, it's Chat Noir that pushes me to be the best I can."

"And you deserve the partner you see in me," I told the video of Ladybug. I could be better. I knew I could be better. I could be the version she was telling the world.

Ladybug then stood up, and placed her fists on her hips in that typical 'superhero' pose. Her smile grew, and I could see the twinkling of her eyes even through the phone.

"It's his turn now. I don't know what happened to make Chat Noir doubt himself, and I don't know any other way to show him how important he is. He may screw up on occasions, but he's still learning how to be a superhero too, just like me, and he always comes through in the end. He couldn't save Paris without me when Stoneheart attacked, but I can't save it without him. We are partners, through and through. I can't be a savior alone. I can't take down Hawk Moth as a solo act.

"So, Chat Noir, if you are hearing this, I hope you understand how much you mean to me. To all of us. And to help you realize it, I'm asking everyone seeing this blog to show Chat Noir how much you love him too. Because he's not just some sidekick. He's the reason I'm here to help defend all of you. To, Mayor Bourgeois, I'm also asking for you to officially make this Sunday 'Chat Noir Day' in appreciation for the best partner I could ever have. Please, wear your black and green on Sunday. Sport your Chat Noir hats and shirts and shoes and backpacks and anything else you can. All of you celebrate me so frequently, and I love you all for it. Now's the time to remind Chat Noir that he's loved just as much. Thank you."

Ladybug then cleared her throat before nodding to Alya. She then opened one of the conference room windows and swung out of frame.

"Wow!" Alya turned the camera back onto herself. "What an announcement! You heard it here first, peeps. This Sunday, show the Black Cat of Paris some love. And feel free to send me your pics to share here on the Ladyblog. Alya out!"

Now I really did feel faint. A Chat Noir appreciation day? I didn't really deserve that, did I?

"A day all about you? Not too shabby. It's a shame no one can know about me. It would be nice to be recognized." Plagg hovered by the phone.

"So, Chat Noir, if you are hearing this, I hope you understand how much you mean to me."

Ladybug really didn't think I was a failure. Marinette honestly believed that I was a great superhero. She had already forgiven me for Terravenger. In fact, she didn't seem to even care. She wanted me by her side. I wasn't sure if she'd feel the same way once she found out about my snooping, but it was a start.

She believed in me, and cared for me, at least as a partner.

Maybe there really was hope left. I pulled out the lucky charm Marinette made.

And I cried myself to sleep as relief washed over me.

**A/N: It was a challenge to write this chapter. Just like with the last one, it kept me about 7 or so re-writes from start to finish. In the end, what broke me through my writers block was switching POV. Marinette has been going through a lot since the Terravenger attack, so I popped in to see how she was handling the chaos between Adrien and Chat Noir. It was in that exercise that I came up with the Ladybug announcement video. I was originally going to have Marinette and Adrien talk about Chat Noir and how great of a partner he was for Ladybug, but I just couldn't get there organically. The video was truly my breakthrough moment for this chapter.

If you want to read my experiment with Mari and how she came up with the video, please check out my side-story "A Plan Forms".

One more chapter to go! Who's excited!? Also, happy Independence Day to all my American readers (I know; a day early, but, whatever)**