How is it September already? I was rather stunned when I realised that my last post for this story was in June. Where did the time go? My apologies for the gap. And for any new followers, mind the rating it's there for a reason ;)

Chapter Seventeen

While Marinette smiled and joked through the dinner with Alya and Nino, her conscience was eating away at her. For years she had been rejecting Chat Noir and never had she considered how that hurt would compound into a deeper wound. Neither of their friends had any idea that Ladybug and Chat Noir sat opposite them, that Adrien spoke of his own hurt rather than a superhero's, and Marinette could do nothing about it – at least not now.

All she'd been able to offer was the sympathetic gesture of squeezing his thigh. To have pulled him into her arms would have alerted their friends of a deeper meaning, of something they could not know. Heck, even Adrien had no idea he was sitting opposite Rena Rouge and Carapace. For the first time, Marinette felt regret eating a cavity beneath her ribs. Secrets hurt people, and only now did she truly see the impact of it.

While Tikki might have believed that concealing identities was important in keeping them safe, it had come with a cruel price. Ladybug had been adamant about hating liars and yet she was one herself. Had she and Chat Noir shared their identities back when they'd first donned their masks things would have been much simpler. Heck, they could have been helping each other all this time, and more importantly she wouldn't have been emotionally scarring her partner.

From the corner of her eye, she watched as Adrien accidently drank from her wine glass and sat it close to his own. Even now he was protecting a secret between them with a dedication she should have known he would always possess. That Chat Noir had always possessed. Perhaps it was the aura of recklessness Chat Noir had exuded when he was a teen that had made him seem less likely to be able to hide the truth if they'd ever expressed it, but suddenly Marinette was doubting the decisions of the past. Hell, even Master Fu had deemed Chat Noir unworthy of knowing miraculous secrets on equal footing until Ladybug had finally given the approval.

Placing herself in her partner's shoes, she began to see just how hard it must have been for Chat Noir being left in the dark. She recalled his bitterness when Rena Rouge had been called upon the first few times and he wasn't given insight into where this new superhero had come from. But there was more to it than that. She remembered how his resilience in taking her romantic rebuffs became less buoyant over the years. How his optimistic attitude to bounce back had reduced with each emotional blow. Only now did she recognise that Chat Noir had gradually eased off his attempts at courtship to settle with merely flirting.

It explained why he was so receptive when they'd been on that rooftop and she'd finally given in to the chemistry between them. Not once had Chat Noir pushed for more, he'd let her set the pace and matched each step forward with one of his own. Had she damaged his confidence so badly?

Marinette's bottom lip quivered as she tried to suppress her need to weep for the hurt she'd caused him. The reality of his feelings came crashing down upon her. Chat Noir had been willing to settle for sex because he thought that was the best he could get from Ladybug. A knot of turmoil tightened in her chest as she looked at things from his point of view. To Chat Noir, their recent time together had been a last desperate hope to finally win over the woman he loved. If she had known he was Adrien, there never would have been a doubt as to her feelings for him. There would have been no suffering from unrequited love, for either of them.

Yet for years, Tikki had known. Plagg had known. Anger hit Marinette like a tidal wave. Why had their kwamis let this go on for so long? Both knew that their miraculous holder was smitten with the other in a bizarre love square. Marinette supposed Plagg was too self-absorbed or perhaps too lazy to care or he just didn't want to piss off Tikki. As for the red kwami, Marinette would be grilling her later.

The gentle touch of Adrien's hand on the back of hers had Marinette returning to the present. "Are you alright? You looked like you zone out there on us."

Marinette offered him a small smile. "Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking about something."

"Probably dessert," Alya offered as she gave a pointed look to the boys who'd been busy chatting instead of eating their dinner.

"Sorry," they said in unison as they quickly scooped up more of their meal and chewed.

"Honestly, it's like I already have kids." Alya joked.

Blue eyes met green briefly before Marinette darted them to her plate, trying to contain her sudden awkwardness. Thankfully, her partner was able to sweep in to her rescue. "Consider it practice for when you two start a family."

Nino almost choked on his mouthful of food, instead he made a strangled cough as he thumped his own chest with his fist. "Dude, don't even go there."

Alya laughed, "He's just shitting himself because Mylene and Ivan are expecting."

"They're having fucking twins." Nino rasped as he downed a mouthful of wine.

"And having been an older sibling of twins, they have my sympathy." Alya chuckled.

Marinette cleared her throat. "Aren't they a bit young to be starting a family?" She ignored Adrien's cocked eyebrow at her comment.

Alya shrugged. "Mylene's always been clucky. Although I suspect the pregnancy might have been a surprise. Not that it matters. She's working in childcare anyway, just means she'll have 'real life' experience too."

Nino nodded, "From what I hear, Ivan's making pretty good money in construction while finishing up his engineering degree. Besides, Mylene's Dad is pretty loaded since he hit it big with the last musical he starred in and we all know how devoted he is to his little girl."

Adrien cocked his head to the side, looking thoughtful. "I'm sure they'll make it work."

"Dude, it gives me chills just imaging becoming a parent so young. I want to live a little before even considering spawning ankle bitters."

"Spawning?" Alya snorted. "Geez, you know how to win a girl's heart with that kind of charm."

Nino grinned wolfishly at his girlfriend. "Hey my animal magnetism must work since you're still with me, babe."

"Well, I only want you for your body not your personality, babe."

The pair cracked up and leaned in for a brief kiss. "I can live with that," Nino grinned.

Marinette aligned her utensils on her plate and cleared her throat. "So how far along is Mylene?"

Pushing her glasses up her nose, Alya squinted her eyes as she racked her brain. "Eighteen weeks I think she said when I saw her. That was like a fortnight ago."

"How did their parents take the news?" Adrien asked in nonchalant fashion as he sipped his wine.

"Okay, I think." Alya stated as she chewed the corner of her thumbnail absently. "I don't think there was any real drama since they've been together so long."

The gentle caress of Adrien's hand coming to rest on her knee had Marinette turning her head towards him. The model gave a subtle nod in the direction of their friends with a questioning lift of his eyebrows. She knew what he was silently asking and now really was the perfect opportunity to drop their own bombshell.

"Actually," Marinette said with a wary glance to her friends. "We have some news of our own."

Keen interest had Alya leaning forward and Nino lowering his cutlery to the table.

Adrien smiled at Marinette with encouragement and finished her statement. "We're expecting a baby too."

"No fucking way!" Alya practically screamed in excitement as she launched to her feet, almost diving over the table to hug her best friend. "That's is… that is just…oh my God, amazing!"

"Shit," Nino said shaking his head. "There must be something in the water. Reminder to self, don't run out of condoms." He looked pointedly at Adrien. "That's what happened, wasn't it?"

The model chuckled and shook his head, "Nope. Just far too eager."

"Well," Nino shrugged, "I can understand that. Marinette has been wanting to jump your bones like forever."

A dark blush stained the designer's cheeks as she glared at Nino. "Shut up."

"What? It's true. You and Alya have been scheming for years. Who am I to judge how you reap your long-awaited reward."

Adrien leaned back in his chair looking highly amused. "I feel so objectified."

"If it leads to lots of sex, dude, why complain?"

"Point taken. Objectify me all you want, princess." Adrien smirked as he leaned into Marinette's side and placed a kiss just below her ear.

"People," Alya interjected. "If you wish to have each other for dessert you need to go home. If you want cake and ice cream, stay."

After saying their goodbyes, Marinette and Adrien left hand in hand as the latter led them to his car. Opening the door of the MG, the model waited for his girlfriend to slip inside before closing the door. Relief washed over Marinette as she glanced up at the building, waving to Alya and Nino who held the curtain open above to wave farewell.

As Adrien clicked his seatbelt into place, she turned to look at him. "That went better than I expected."

His smile was full of warmth and tenderness. "It wasn't so hard, was it?"

"No. But I'm still freaking out about telling our parents. Your father in particular."

"Dinner with him is three weeks away. By then you'll have had the ultrasound and hopefully we can get a copy of the scan showing our little tadpole which we can wave under his nose."

Marinette snorted back a laugh. "Tadpole?"

"I figured we could call bub that or peanut. The thing is tiny at this stage."

"Someone's been doing their homework."

"I subscribed to a pregnancy website that sends weekly emails detailing the baby's development. It's really interesting. I love the comparison in size to a nut, fruit or vegetable. I can't wait to find out which week bub is the size of an aubergine. Maybe that week we can nickname bub Aubie or Ginnie."

"You're terrible," she laughed.

"What? I thought it fun." He said with a cheeky grin before turning from the curb and into the lane of scattered traffic. "Besides, it's not like I can call it kitten or spanner."

"Kitten I get, but spanner? Why would you call it spanner?"

"Spanner in the works," he smirked with an eyebrow wiggle before turning his eyes back to the road.

Marinette shook her head with a wide grin. "Eh, you're incorrigible."

"Irresistible, milady. Irresistible. Hence why you can't help but strip me of my clothes on a regular basis. And in case you weren't aware, although I'm sure you are, I'm very okay with this."

Tilting her head back against the headrest, Marinette couldn't stop herself from giggling as she looked at her partner. But then her good mood ebbed as she recalled the hurt look on his face earlier in the night. Reaching out, she caressed his smooth cheek with the back of her fingers. "I'm sorry about…before."

"Before?" Adrien asked with a puzzled glance.

"When the topic of Chat Noir getting rejected came up. I never really thought about how much it must have hurt you over the years. You've always seemed so bulletproof and emotionally positive. I didn't realise how deeply my words must have cut you."

The smile slipped from Adrien's lips as he concentrated on the road. "You never took me seriously, did you?"

"For the most part, no. Since you flirted as Chat Noir from the beginning of our partnership I simply assumed that was part of who you were. Had I known it was you, that it was Adrien underneath the mask, I would have treated you differently."

"Why?" he rasped with a heavy swallow.

Marinette shrugged her narrow shoulders, feeling sheepish. For years she'd held Adrien Agreste on a golden pedestal, believing nothing but the best of him. Exhaling slowly, she began. "My view on you as my classmate was very different to you as my akuma fighting partner."

Green eyes cut to her briefly. "Because you had a crush on me."

She nodded. "But you also acted differently. As Adrien you weren't a flirt or a womaniser. You were always a serious and respectful gentleman. As Chat Noir you were also a gentleman but your behaviour hinted at a someone who wanted to be a playboy jester, who wasn't necessarily interested in learning the about the person behind the pretty face he was attracted to."

"That's how you saw Chat Noir." There was a hard edge to Adrien's voice as he continued to look out the windscreen. "What about when I put together that romantic rooftop setting? Which you only visited because you felt guilty about standing me up. Where I expressed my feelings. Did that not show you that I was genuine in wanting you? That I cared for you beyond physical attraction?"

"It did," she admitted while curling her hands into fists on her lap. "But I didn't want to be anything more than friends back then. I thought that letting you down gently was the kindest thing to do but instead you seemed more determined to win me over and I grew annoyed when you continued to push when I'd said no."

Adrien let out a sigh. "In my mind, the solution was for you to see beyond the boy you were infatuated with. To see that I was your match, not some regular guy who'd caught your eye."

"Ironically, it was you I was infatuated with. Or more precisely my classmate Adrien Agreste."

The blonde let out a sigh. "If I'd known that then, damn, I would have been so happy."

"But I'm here now, Adrien. We're finally together and I want to do everything I can to make up for hurting you so badly as Ladybug." She reached across to rest her hand on his thigh and he laid his larger hand over hers.

"I appreciate that Marinette. As much as I smiled and tried to brush it off, there were times when I cried into my pillow at being cut down again by the love of my life. Yet at the same time, I often brought it upon myself. I pushed when I shouldn't have. You made it clear you didn't want me but I still tried my damnedest to change your mind. Just young and dumb I guess."

"That makes two of us."

A soft chuckle escaped Adrien's lips as he opened his window and swiped his entry card into the garage beneath his apartment building. Turning into his allocated spot he let out a sigh when he noticed the florescent light above his parking space had blown. "Damn, I'm going to have to call maintenance to get that fixed." Marinette giggled and he turned to look at her. "What?"

"You were going to drive me home."

"Shit," he cursed as he dropped his forehead onto the steering wheel. "I went into autopilot. Sorry."

"Never mind," she uttered as she stroked his thigh with her hand. At first the movement was merely compassionate but then her touch became slower, more deliberate. Climbing higher to brush the fly of his jeans and graze over the bulge contained behind the denim.

With this forehead still on the steering wheel, Adrien's gaze drifted down to his groin. "Are you trying to seduce me, Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

"Maybe," she purred. "Or perhaps I'm simply atoning for past grievances."

Resting his arms on the top of the steering wheel, Adrien turned his head and leaned his cheek on the back of his hand while raising an eyebrow in interest. "And how are you intending to atone exactly?"

Her fingers trailed up over his belt and unbuttoned the base of his shirt. Then that had of hers snaked inside the gap and her soft fingertips began stroking his toned belly in gentle circles. Her fingers scrapped through the coarse line of blonde hairs that led from his navel downward. Then her touch stroked up and down that region in a rhythm that had his breathing increasing.

"You haven't answered me, Marinette."

She gave him a smile of a temptress and his breath caught. "I want you to push back your seat, Adrien, as far as it goes. Then I'm going to undo your belt, unzip your jeans and fondle you until you're almost ready to come. But before you do, I'm going to reapply my lipstick and then I'm going to take you into my mouth, leaving my lipstick marks all around your cock as I suck and lick you to orgasm."

Green eyes were wide, and so too were his pupils. "Damn woman, I love the way you think." Without hesitation he pushed back his seat, moving as far away from the steering wheel as possible while Marinette got out her lipstick and placed it on the dash. Tikki and Plagg ventured out of the car to who knew where, although Adrien honestly didn't care.

Instead he was enraptured by the vision that was Marinette, releasing him from his jeans, stroking him as she'd said she would. Her lips crashed against his in a hungry kiss as she pumped him faster. Their mouths furiously moved together with increasing passion until she finally broke away at his throaty groan. He watched as she traced the cherry lipstick over her lips. Mesmerised as she leaned towards his lap and then that hot luscious mouth encased his knob, her tongue curling around him in the most exquisite torture.

Those blue eyes looked up at him through the dark curtain of her fringe as her dark lipstick smeared over his skin as she bobbed her head, driving him closer to oblivion. With one hand grasping the steering wheel in an iron grip, the other dropped to cup Marinette's cheek, sliding into her hair and holding her in place. Then he threw back his head and bit down on his bottom lip to stifle the throaty growl of utter bliss he wanted to emit.

As he reached his climax, Marinette greedily swallowed down his load as it spurted into that amazing mouth. Closing his eyes, Adrien melted into the seat, sated by the unexpected ravishing of his partner. Eventually his heavy eyelids lifted and he looked down at Marinette who was rearranging his clothing back into place.

A wicked grin spread across his face. "Now that's the kind of atonement that will get you forgiveness."

"Is that so," she smiled back in return.

"Most definitely. Just give me a moment to regroup and you can tell me whether you want to stay over or if I need to drive you home."

"No need to wait, I'm staying with you."

And I've left it open for more sexy times next chapter.

Fingers crossed the next one will be posted a lot sooner. They are due to have that ultrasound after all. Should they find out the sex of the baby or leave it a surprise? Let me know your thoughts.

Thanks for reading (and being so patient - saints, all of you).

FYI... I'll be posting some drafted scenes I cut from this story in my "Snippets of Feelings" drabbles soon - if you're interested please read ;)