Hi! I wanted to try doing this chapter in Marinette's point-of-view, but I'm not sure if I'll keep alternating between Adrien and Marinette. Hope you enjoy the new chapter!
"Tikki!" I finally yelled exasperated after tossing and turning in her bed for two hours. The little red kwami flew up to me, concerned.
"Calm down, Marinette," the tiny creature said. "What's wrong?"
"This whole thing is wrong," I groaned. "After I finally realize I've loved Chat this whole time, Adrien comes back. Available and flirty. Okay, fake flirty, but still."
Around a week ago I had been on patrol with my partner when he suddenly stopped and broke down into tears. He let out everything, the pressure of his home life, his loneliness, his worry of nobody seeing the true him. I understood him, I felt his pain. It was like I was the one suffering. I held home and stroked his hair, agony washing over me as I watched my kitty grieve. That's when I realized that I was in love with him.
My love overwhelmed me, and at that moment I thought I could get over Adrien for Chat. I was well on my way, too, when my progress was lost after he said he wasn't in love with Kagami. Tonight made me even more head-over-heels for him, too. How can my heart do this to me? I can't love two boys, can I?
"Marinette, I know it seems complicated now, but eventually everything will work out perfectly," Tikki assured, patting me on the cheek.
"I'm not so sure about that, Tikki." I flopped back down on my bed, arms over my eyes. "I know Adrien is the safer choice due to secret identities, but I just…"
"Marinette, there's something you need to know," Tikki said a little guiltily snapping me out of my train of thought. "You've been the guardian for two years now, and I wasn't sure how you would take this. You and Chat Noir don't need to hide your identities anymore."
"What?!" I asked shocked, looking at the tiny creature bewildered. "Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Well, to be honest, Wayzz wasn't sure it was a good idea," Tikki admitted, bowing her head ashamed. "Hawk Moth was very active when you started out and you were so stressed that your emotions were everywhere. But now things are a little calmer and you have become an amazing guardian. You have matured, and I think it's time."
I looked at my kwami, bewildered. I didn't blame her from keeping it from me, I know I was a wreck after Master Fu left. But I'm not exactly very stable right now. I think I need to figure my feelings out for Adrien before the identity reveal. I don't want to confuse Chat and hurt him even more. He's made it very clear that he still loves me after all these years. I don't want to get his hopes up if I really do end up loving Adrien.
"Tikki, you're right," I sigh. "But I'm going to figure out my feelings first."
"Marinette," Tikki sounded frantic. "I don't think that's a good idea. I promise everything will work out if you just—"
"Tikki, I think it's best if I figure everything out before I make everything more of a mess," I said, patting her head before lying back down. I closed my eyes and thought about the two boys I loved. I don't know if I can just stop loving one of them, but I'm sure spending time with both of them would be best to let my heart decide.
Tomorrow was patrol with Chat. I can talk to him about this and make sure that he really does have feelings for me. I just hope he doesn't get hurt after talking about the other boy. I know he must have bitter feelings for Adrien, even though he doesn't know that it is Adrien. Hopefully talking with my partner will help clear my head.
For once, I was early to school. Adrien and I had planned to get there early to make some more "date" plans and how to make our relationship status as public as possible. As much as I hated lying to all our friends except Alya and Nino about this, I knew it was for the best. Adrien needed the publicity, well, his father needed the publicity. Keeping Adrien from his father's cruel punishments and isolation was our main goal, and if it meant keeping it from our friends, then that's what I had to do.
Adrien was sitting in his desk staring into space, and I took a minute to admire the glaze in his emerald eyes as he zoned out. I cleared my throat on my way over there, careful not to startle him. He gave me a small wave before patting the spot beside him. I sat down, and waited for him to say something, but he just stared at me.
I don't know how long we were just staring at each other before I shrank into myself and tried to think of something I forgot this morning. Is my hair messy? Is there something in my teeth? No, I brushed my hair and I haven't even opened my mouth yet.
"Umm…" I mumbled uncomfortably. "What? Is there food on my face?" That snapped him out of it, he immediately tore his gaze away from mine and looked everywhere around the room except for where I was sitting.
"No!" he practically yelled. "I'm just kind of out of it, today. Sorry." I could tell something was wrong, he looked nervous and a little sleep deprived. That father of his probably kept him up late or got him up early to keep Adrien busy and working. Sometimes I just want to transform into Ladybug and go punch his cowardly face until it broke into some sort of emotional expression.
I put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile. "It's okay, I'm nervous, too. But at least with this whole fake dating thing it's a chance for you to get away from that excuse for a father of yours."
He looked shocked, very shocked. I don't know why, but surprise was written all over his face. Then he looked confused. "I thought you liked my father, wasn't he your fashion idol."
"I do like his style," I admitted, removing my hand from his shoulder. "But after knowing you for the past couple of years I am certain I don't like him as a person."
"Thanks, Marinette," he said, a soft smile breaking out on his face. "Well, uh, for not liking my father, I guess?" I giggled a little and he joined after a bit before we got to work on planning.
"I was thinking Alya and I could switch seats," he said after we planned our next date, which was just a stroll around the city to get comfortable with our acting and learn how to navigate through all the reporters and paparazzis.
"That's a great idea," I said, nodding my head. "I know Alya will like it, instead of having to pass her flirty notes to Nino discreetly all throughout class."
We laughed again. When Alya wasn't chasing akumas or typing up new theories for the Ladyblog, she was flirting with her boyfriend. It's actually quite disgusting when you experience it in person.
"Then our classmates will be more convinced. I don't know how they'll take this since you really haven't shown interest in me before, but hopefully all goes well," I said, my cheeks smiling so hard I'm sure they would be sore later. I'm going to be sitting by Adrien Agreste every day during school.
Soon other students began trickling in so our conversation went over to Ultimate Mecha Strike III. I knew we were being watched, the room was silent and one glance away from Adrien I saw that everybody was gawking as I talked to Adrien. Are they really that surprised that I'm speaking coherently to him?
I shrugged it off and continued my conversation with Adrien, aware of all the eyes burning into me. "Maybe you could come over and we could compete sometime?" Adrien asked casually. "I want to see if I can finally beat my girlfriend."
I thought it was quiet before, but the silence in this room was so intense I thought for sure something was going to explode. Like in the movies where there's a moment of nothing and then BOOM! I was right in the end, something did esplode.
"GIRLFRIEND!" Sure enough, a red-faced Chloe was marching toward us with fists clenched. "You have got to be kidding me, Adrikins. Tell me this is a joke!"
"I'm serious Chloe," Adrien replied calmly, taking my hand in his. "Marinette and I are now a couple."
"Since when?" Chloe screamed.
"Last night we went on our first date," Adrien answered, squeezing my hand a little tighter. Chloe's breathing deepened and I'm pretty sure she was growling.
"This is RIDICULOUS! Utterly RIDICULOUS!" And with that Chloe stomped out of the room, trailing a trembling Sabrina behind her.
It wasn't long before our classmates huddled around us, bombarding us with questions. Every time a new student entered they were informed about our relationship status and they too joined the mob that surrounded us.
"How was the date?" asked a shy Nathaniel.
"This is SOOO romantic!" cried a swooning Rose.
"Where did you go?"
"Who confessed first?"
"Did you kiss?" This question caused us to blush, and the memory of our accidental kiss last night flooded my mind. I looked over at Adrien and by the embarrassed look on his face I could tell he was thinking about the same thing. Our blushing did not go unnoticed by Kim.
"Dang! Do you see their faces? I think that's our answer, folks."
"Was it your first kiss?"
"Did you only kiss once?"
On and on the questions went, and we didn't even answer any of them, we didn't have the chance before someone else asked a different question. Eventually Alya entered the classroom with phone in hand, looking up to see the crowd.
"Now what's going on here?" she asked, a knowing smirk on her face. I knew she was going to take this opportunity to embarrass both me and Adrien.
"Marinette and Adrien got hitched," Alix explained calmly.
"Oh, I knew that," Alya said, her smirk widening. I braced myself for what was about to come next. "I caught them kissing in the locker room last week."
Of course. I suppressed the urge to face palm as more questions were thrown at us, none of them receiving an answer. I was never more thankful for class to start. Miss Bustier calmed the crowd and sent them to their seats, telling them to calm down.
"Is everything okay in here?" the concerned teacher asked after settling down the excited teenagers.
"Okay?" Kim practically shouted. "More than okay. Adrien and Marinette are officially a couple."
Nobody could've predicted the reaction from the teacher. She gave a relieved grin, fixed her gaze upon me and Adrien, and said something that put me in shock.
"Finally."
I paced in my room, going over and over in my mind what I planned to tell Chat during patrol. I wanted everything to be the least awkward as possible, and to give Chat a chance to soak in the information. I wasn't sure how to do this gently, but I'm sure everything will work out.
"Okay, Tikki," I said, giving a confident look to my kwami. "I'm ready. Spots on!"
The air felt nice as I yo-yoed my way to the Eiffel Tower, our usual meeting place. Chat was already there, sitting with his hanging legs swinging back and forth. I heard him humming a little tune, and I took a deep breath before coming to sit next to him.
"Hey, Chat," I greeted as casually as possible. He barely acknowledged me before going back to humming and staring out to the city. He had the biggest, goofiest, most crooked grin ever.
"I, uh, needed to talk to you about something. I don't know if we'll do any patrolling tonight," I said nervously, rubbing my left arm with my right hand. He patted the space beside me, barely looking my way. A pang of guilt surged through me. He was in such a great mood, and I was about to ruin it. He deserves to be happy, with all the pressures in his life. Is tonight really a good night to bring up the subject?
"Listen," I started, looking out at the city to avoid eye contact. "I've, uh, been spending more time with that boy I like—"
"Really? That's great," he said, looking overjoyed, confused, and a little sad all at once.
"Well, I'm not so sure. He's amazing, and I know that I love him, but I've been thinking a lot about last week's patrol and about every memory I've had of you since we first met. I think… I think I love you." I had to grab his arm before he tumbled off the tower.
"M'lady, I—this is, well all I ever wanted to hear you say. But there's a problem. I think I'm in love with another girl."
"So you're not in love with me anymore?"
"What?! No, of course I am. I just…" he ran a hand through his wild golden locks. "I'm so confused. Is it possible to love both of you? And if so, how am I supposed to choose?"
"Kitty," I say, looking at him. He understands how I felt. The confusion and torment of being in love with two boys at one time. I placed my hand over his. "I understand. I feel the exact same way. I also have strong feelings for the other boy, and I don't know if I can just ignore those."
We sit in silence after this, watching the lights of the city flicker and gleam through the darkness of the night. I can tell he's contemplating something, and his hand squeezes mine tighter. Thoughts of Adrien fill my head as we look down on Paris. His kindness, his soft smile, the care he shows for others. Even through the hard life he has had the past few years—his mother disappearing, the coldness he receives from his father, being trapped in that mansion that's supposed to be his home—he's always gone out of his way to be there for a friend.
I end patrol early, knowing I'll have a lot to think about tonight. Hours of staring at the ceiling told me one thing: just keep going. Somehow and in some way everything will work out, and I'll know what my heart wants. I close my eyes and drift off to the best sleep I've had in a long time.