Chapter 21 - Revelations, Part 3 (from Adrien/Chat's POV)

My mouth hung open in shock. My true love has really been sitting behind me in class this whole time? I was completely speechless.

"Chat, I know this has to be a lot for you to take in at once. But like I said, I've been one of Chloé's prime targets for abuse. Once she found out I was actually the person she idolized, it did a real number on her. I think she was faced with a dilemma... should she hate Ladybug now because it's me, or should she love me because I'm Ladybug? Thankfully, she chose the latter option. She didn't want to keep disappointing her "hero", and that seemed to wake her up to how much of a jerk she's been to everyone. And then, her sudden attitude change upset the girl who's my best friend, because she saw Chloé starting to warm up to me, and that friend started seeing Chloé as a threat."

Of course. "So…" I asked her, "is this why Alya was akumatized as Shape-Shifter at your house, and why Chloé was there too?"

"Yes," she said, turning her head away from me. "Alya is my closest friend. Chloé had been visiting me at the same time that Flamethrower attacked, and Alya happened to be heavily medicated on painkillers when she stopped by the bakery. My parents told her that Chloé and I were up in my room studying together, but no one was in my room when she came up to check on me. One thing led to another, and her mental state at the time led her into despair, making her susceptible to akumatization. I felt so miserable about it that I ended up telling her the truth, just to help her cope."

"Wow," I said, still stunned. "So Alya and Chloé both know who you are now. So that's why you chose to tell me too?"

"Yeah, something like that. But there's more I need to tell you. First, I chose Alya to be Rena Rouge. And I chose another of my classmates, Nino Lahiffe, to be Carapace, although he doesn't know my true identity… at least, not yet. Next, I originally planned for Alya to be Queen Bee, but then she got glitterized at the Eiffel Tower while protecting me from Style Queen, and I managed to lose the bee miraculous at the same time, which Chloé later found. Also, after my secret had already been compromised, I spoke to Master Fu, and we decided to give all of them their miraculouses to keep permanently, so that they can spring into action at a moment's notice." She paused and looked over at me with relief. "So, now you're all caught up with that, and you know who our other crime-fighting partners are."

Nino? My best friend Nino is Carapace? And Alya is Rena? Wow. So we have four superheroes sitting together in school! If I weren't still in shock, I would have started laughing out loud.

But I also realized what was staring me in the face. Marinette… the girl who always stumbles with her words around me when I'm Adrien… is actually the girl of my dreams! If we hadn't gotten off to a rocky start when we first met, and if I'd been able to see her then for the amazing person she is, then maybe I would have fallen in love with Marinette right then and there. Or at least I want to believe that.

"And please Chat," she continued, "I don't want you to tell me who you are. But I do want you to know one more thing. You're an amazing partner, and you know I always turn down your romantic advances because I'm in love with another boy... but I never told you who. Well, there's a boy in my class that I'm secretly in love with. You probably know who he is… his face is everywhere. He's the fashion model, Adrien Agreste."

I looked over and saw Master Fu wink at me. No, no, no… this was too much for one evening! I love Ladybug, and now I know that she loves me... as Adrien? I'd only ever seen her as a friend before. Now I could barely contain myself. I wanted to jump up and down with joy, and detransform right there in front of her!

But then I thought more about it. All feelings aside, I realized at that moment that, as mature as we are in some ways, we still have a lot of growing up to do, a lot to learn about life - and about each other. If I reveal my true identity to her now, it's only going to make things awkward, and might hamper our ability to work together. Instead, I think I'm seeing a much better way for us to move forward.

"I understand Milady… Princess. I won't stand in the way of your true love. But you said he's someone you're secretly in love with. Don't you think you should tell him how you feel? He needs to hear it for himself. And you both deserve the chance to find out if you are truly meant for each other."

She blushed. "I know… I keep trying to tell him, but I keep screwing it up. I once wrote him a valentine, but then I forgot to sign it. Recently I tried giving him a declaration of my love, but I accidentally swapped it out with a prescription, of all things! And… a while back I tried giving him a scarf as a gift, but he ended up thinking it was from his father. I didn't have the heart to tell him at the time. I'm strong as Ladybug, but I just keep messing things up in my real life."

Wow. I'd already dismissed the idea of that beautiful valentine coming from Marinette. And now I know why she gave me that crazy note on the train. But when she mentioned the scarf, it made me want to explode with anger. Either Nathalie or my father knew exactly where it came from. But I wouldn't let on that I knew anything about it. The fact that Marinette was willing to let me believe that it came from my father meant a lot to me.

"You're a lot stronger than you realize, Marinette. I believe in you, and you should have the same confidence in yourself with or without the Ladybug costume. Trust me when I say that you should tell Adrien how you feel about him, and let him decide for himself how to handle it. And thank you for trusting me with your secret."

"Thank you Kitty. Maybe we should skip our usual patrol tonight, and pick it up tomorrow? Unless an emergency comes up, I just feel like resting tonight."

"As you like, Princess." I stood up and bowed, and helped her to her feet. Truth be told, I felt the same way she did. This was truly an amazing night for me, and was more excitement than I could handle at once.

Master Fu had been sitting silently during our exchange, but now stood up as well. "I sincerely hope this new information will not hinder your ability to work together, Chat Noir. Are you sure you're okay with all of this?"

"Yes Master," I said, giving him a bow as well. "Ladybug and I will always be a strong team."

I looked over at Tikki and smiled, and she smiled back. I was certain that she's known who I really was, and I was impressed that she was able to keep it from Marinette all this time. Speaking of which, I'll have to harass Plagg a bit when I get back, since I'm also sure he knew who SHE was… and that she was swooning over me as Adrien!

Marinette grabbed Fu's hands. "Thank you Master Fu for understanding my situation, and for allowing me to go through with this." He nodded at her. She then turned to her kwami. "Tikki, spots on!"

My Princess transformed back into Milady as I watched. She walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you for the encouragement, Kitty," she giggled. "And for always being supportive of me."

"Not at all. You're an amazing person Marinette, and I have a newfound respect for you."

She smiled, and I felt like my heart was going to burst. With that, she took off and headed for home. I started to leave too, but Master Fu reached out and put his hand on my arm. "You were wise to withhold your identity from her for the time being, Adrien. Honestly I feel it would have been better if she hadn't told you, but I left it up to her. On the positive side, you now know that you both have feelings for each other. I would advise you to not tell her your identity yet. Just take the time to learn more about each other in your everyday lives. I knew that you two were meant for each other, both as a team and as a couple. Just be careful and stay vigilant so that you continue to perform your responsibilities as Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"We will, Master. As for right now, I think I'm the happiest man on earth." We both smiled at each other as I left.