"We have to go to Master Fu." Marinette said suddenly.
Adrien looked at her a bit dizzy. How was it possible that he was still walking in the clouds while she was already standing on the ground?
"I start being afraid that you don't reciprocate even a half of my feelings." He muttered with reproach.
"Excuse me!" she exclaimed indignant.
"Just think about it. Since yesterday it's me who repeats confessions, kisses, hugs… Of course, you don't seem to be too much reluctant …" he added and she glared at him as Ladybug had done so many times before. "But I feel like there's a kind of asymmetry in our relationship."
"Re-Relationship?!" she stuttered.
"If I'm moving too fast, just stop me." He stated, and both kwamis – hidden in a corner – exchanged amused glances. Tomorrow wedding was definitely in the air. "Or at least tell me, what I'm doing wrong…"
"Adrien…" Marinette whispered. "It's not so easy. Just try to understand. You have been my crush for almost two years. All this time, every evening I've been dreaming about such things like we're doing now. Believe me, it isn't easy to accept it when it's so much and so intensive. I still feel like it was a dream…"
"Like yesterday?" he smiled.
"Kind of…" she blushed.
"I liked that."
"Really?"
"You were… uhm… more at ease, I think." He explained. "I feel like I intimidate you or something… And when you're Ladybug, you're always focused on the task. What should I do to let you be yourself?"
"How do you know what I am when I'm myself?" she asked suspiciously.
"Er… I spied on you recently." He admitted embarrassed a little. "I know that you caught me once or twice, so I had to be more careful. Finally, I noticed that you behave differently, when I'm not around you. More naturally. Like yesterday in the rain, when you thought it was a dream. I can't count on a rain every day. So, my question is: what else can I do?"
"I think that knowing that you're Cat Noir can help… A little…" she winked at him.
"That's what I'm talking about!" he grinned seeing she was back.
"I'll try. All I have to do is to put you off the pedestal." She chuckled. "Now, when I know more about you it shouldn't be hard."
"I'm afraid I'll regret soon that I asked you to be yourself…" he joked and embraced her tightly.
"Too late, Kitty!" she climbed her tiptoes and kissed him quickly. "And now, we really have to go to Master Fu!"
"Your Ladybug is showing, M'Lady!" he warned her.
"I can't help it, Adrien. Somewhere at the bottom of my mind I feel that we've breached some principles. I'll calm down as soon as I learn what those rules are and if we can know our identities. Or rather what we should do when we've already known about each other."
"According to Plagg, all the risk lies in hormones."
"What?!" she burst out laughing.
"As an emotionally unstable teenager in love I can start a worldwide crisis…"
"Not worldwide…" Plagg murmured under his breath and Tikki glanced at him amused. "I didn't pin so high hopes on that kid…" he added quickly to cover his emotion.
"I hope Master Fu won't take away our miraculouses." Marinette confessed. "In that case I would choose forgetting everything again."
"You like being Ladybug so much?" Adrien teased.
"I love Tikki so much… I don't want to lose her."
After those words a little red bullet flew through the air and a second later the red kwami was snuggling to Marinette's cheek.
"I can see it's mutual…" Adrien muttered, feeling a hint of jealousy. Not only of Marinette's cheek, but also of that connection between his girlfriend and her kwami. Even though he knew that Plagg was very attached to him, such snuggling was possible only as a last resort.
"Stop complaining, kid…" Plagg muttered, flying closer to his holder.
He didn't snuggle – oh no! Thankfully, he still had his pride! – but landed on the boy's head and ruffled his hair. Adrien smiled under his breath. Any jealousy was pointless, indeed.
"All right! You've convinced me." Adrien said finally to Marinette. "Are we going now or after dinner?"
"I'm not sure…" she sighed. "I'll ask my mom."
"You're going to tell her about the Great Guardian?!"
"Of course not, silly!" she laughed. "I'll ask her if we can go out for a while. I'm not going to tell her where we're going."
"You can do that?"
"Sure." She replied, then realised suddenly, why it was new to him: "Oh… You probably must tell where you're going every single time… Have you got already your own GPS transmitter under your skin?" she looked at him sideways.
"I don't know…" he answered in a serious tone. "I wouldn't be surprised. My father always knows where I am. I mean, where Adrien is. So, maybe I don't have a transmitter. Unless Cat Noir's costume jams the GPS signal…" he wondered, and Marinette hugged him tight.
"That was a joke!" she muttered in his shirt. "Only a joke… It's terrible that you took it seriously!"
"A joke! Of course…" he sighed. His heart was pounding in his chest, as he was so moved by what she did right now. Then he heard muffled 'I love you, Adrien…' and he smiled and whispered: "That's good, Princess. I've already been afraid that you don't…"
"Plagg? Are you crying?" Tikki asked quietly.
"I never cry!" the black kwami growled in reply. "Can we go already?!" he asked louder.
"Yes, we should!" Marinette agreed. "Or we missed dinner."
They went downstairs, holding their hands. This time it was natural and comfortable when their palms fitted perfectly to each other. As if they were made for each other.
Marinette stopped in front of the door to the bakery and before she stepped inside, she took a glance at Adrien. Then she smiled and went in.
"Mom? We'd like to…" but the question died in her mouth.
At the table, next to Sabine Cheng there was Master Fu. Sitting with a cup of tea.