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Day 24 - Without the mask

She took another bite of the mint and dark chocolate ice cream, sneaking a glance at her three-month-long, black cat boyfriend. He was thoroughly enjoying his strawberries and cream-blueberry-blackberry combination of ice cream. They were settled next to each other, hidden away on a tall rooftop where they wouldn't be seen.

Despite him letting out happy hums with every bite, she couldn't shake the feeling of unease settling inside of her. It was Saturday, so she knew he'd come over to see her tonight, but he had shown up barely an hour ago in the middle of the afternoon, determined to get ice cream from Andre's with her.

She knew how risky it was for them to be seen together like this, and had told him as much when she saw him. They were dating in secret for a reason, but seeing how tense he seemed to be, how the lightness of his voice seemed strained, she knew something was wrong. His entire face had lit up when she finally agreed, and now here they were.

And now she had to know. "Chat, what's wrong?"

He stopped mid-bite, the spoon still in his mouth as he turned to look at her in surprise, "What's wrong with what?"

"With you." She said point blank, watching his shoulder's pick up as he straightened his back, "I'm with my purrincess, enjoying ice cream and the afternoon sun, why do you think something is wrong?"

He took another bite, almost as if he was trying to prove his point. She looked him over closely, reminding him, "You know this is risky."

He instantly tensed, and she kept going, "We agreed that we had to be different than other couples, because of this." She touched his mask carefully, pulling his sad gaze towards her, "And you know, that I know you better than that. Did something happen?"

His tail swished slightly, and he let out a heavy sigh, "It's nothing, honest."

"Chat Noir." She said seriously.

His ears flattened against his wild mane and he caved, "I want to be like this with you all the time, without the mask."

"You know why we can't." She whispered, wanting the same thing. She hated that she only saw Chat Noir when there was an akuma, or on those rare nights when he was able to sneak away.

"It's not fair." He said sharply, "Being with you makes me happy, we shouldn't have to hide it."

"No, and I wish we could be like this all the time too, but as long as Hawkmoth is out there threatening Paris, it isn't safe. I understand that." She said, lightly scratching the back of his head.

"But it's frustrating." He admitted, "I feel like I'm having to hide my heart, and I want everyone to know where my heart is." He touched the onyx heart pendant around her neck with a claw, "I want to be able to walk up to you and hug you without caring who sees, or having to circle your house ten times to make sure no one realizes where I'm going. I want to hold your hand and pull you close so that everyone can see that you are my purrincess."

She stared down at her ice cream, hating that she was no doubt part of the reason he was feeling this way. As Ladybug, she had warned him what being in a relationship with a civilian could mean, and the absolute potential for disaster that could follow. He'd practically begged, nearly to the point of tears for Ladybug to tell him that it was okay, that everything would be okay. He needed her approval, because he didn't want to go behind her back. He needed her to know how much Marinette meant to him, and how he was willing to do anything to make it work.

When he had offered to give up his Miraculous, she knew that she had to find a way to make it work. He was the only Chat Noir she'd ever want, and she made sure he knew that. He had been ecstatic when she gave him her blessing. He had raced off before she could collect herself, and she had barely made it back into her room when he was dropping onto her balcony.

And god the kiss that followed.

It was a kiss that was burned into her very being. He hadn't said a word when she opened the skylight to let him in. He had gathered her in his arms and instantly kissed her senseless with the hunger of a starving man. His claws had sent small prickles along her back, his arms vice grip on her tightening so that what little breath she managed to hold onto was stolen away faster than she could take them. She could perfectly recall the smell of his leather, and that subtle sweet note underneath the alluring musk. She wanted to douse her pillow in his scent, and fall asleep breathing it in every night. The electricity that sparked at every touch left invisible scars all over her body, scars she would never recover from.

That kiss had changed everything.

Maybe... maybe it was time. Bunnyx hadn't come back to warn her of anymore 'end of the world' scenarios. Her fear of making Chat Blanc a reality had been a big cause of her initial hesitation, but, what if keeping the secret for too long is what triggered it? What if by taking this step, and still keeping the truth from him, was the link that led to Chat Blanc?

Could she prevent it, by being with him outside of the mask?

Her heart picked up speed at the thought. She wanted to know who her boyfriend really was, and whose kiss had firmly grabbed her heart in its unmovable hold. She wanted to know the name of the sweet, unbelievably brave, selfless and caring soul she knew she'd never be able to live without.

"I want everyone to know you are my kitty too you know." She admitted, finally looking back up at him.

He asked instantly, bright anticipation in his beautiful green eyes, "Will you let me show you?"

She smiled lovingly, "You don't make it easy to deny you, you know?"

He threw his arms around her, dropping his ice cream and hers in the process, but she didn't care. She hugged him back, telling him sternly, "I want to know who you are, but I need to know first,"

"Anything." He said interrupting her, pulling back with an excited grin.

She asked seriously, "What brought this on? I know you said you were frustrated, but I know it has to be something more than that. I don't want you to want to tell me just because something happened."

His shoulders slumped, "I can't hide anything from you can I?"

"Not really." She teased, and he pushed her arm slightly with a sad smile.

She took his hand and asked him softer, "Talk to me Kitty. What happened?"

He finally let it out, "My civilian self is... and I say this at the risk of sounding extremely arrogant but I don't mean it that way at all,"

"You're stalling." She said flatly. She knew he wasn't an arrogant person. She wasn't sure that he had a truely mean or narcissistic bone in his entire body.

He started again, "My civilian self is quite popular with girls my age," he added, somewhat embarrassed, "and boys on occasion."

She smirked widely, saying it sarcastically, "Are you implying your own handsomeness, Kitty? Quite full of yourself, aren't you?"

He glared at her, "See, I knew you'd take it that way."

"I'm teasing!" She said quickly, ruffling his hair, "Chat, you are stupidly handsome, even in your mask. I have imagined and daydreamed in the middle of class more than once what your real face looks like. It's not unreasonable that you'd catch a few girls' attention. Or boys."

He said it flatly, "It's not just a few. I have an organized fan-club."

She went silent and he pulled his knees to his chest, resting his head there, "But that's not even the worst of it. The fan-club is actually very caring, and they do their best to try not to let anyone smother me. I actually really appreciate it."

She cleared her throat, trying to get her voice back, "Then, what's the worst of it?"

He tightened his hold around his legs, making himself smaller, "There are girls I go to school with, who try multiple times a day to either make it seem like I'm going out with them, or that I want to. It's getting to the point where it's really starting to make me uncomfortable. I can't even say anything to combat their advances by telling them I have a girlfriend already because as a civilian, I don't. My civilian self getting a girlfriend would be a stupidly big deal for no reason, and even though I already have you, I don't."

"Because I'm dating Chat Noir, not who you are without your mask." She said in understanding, seeing how heavily all of this had been weighing on him as he nodded solemnly.

"How long has this been going on? With the girls at your school?" She asked.

He sighed, "Steadily getting worse since the beginning of the year. It seemed like right after we started dating, I don't know if I just noticed it more but, it seems like it multiplied ten-fold." He sat up quickly and looked at her like he was just realizing it, "I don't like any of them that way Marinette, I swear. I love you absolutely, none of them hold a candle to you."

"Kitty it's okay, I trust you." She tried to assure him.

"I would never date someone as my civilian self as long as I'm dating you. I'm the same person, mask or no mask, and I'd never two-time,"

"Chat." She said quickly, putting her hands on either side of his face to stop his sudden panic, "I know you aren't that person. I completely and explicitly trust you, otherwise I never would have given you my heart."

She kissed him softly, feeling him relax in her hands. His voice was a hoarse whisper, "Please let me just tell you who I am."

"Do I know you outside the mask?" The question slipped out of her before she could stop it, and he started nodding before catching himself.

They both went still, this new information slightly unsettling them both. She let out a shaky breath, "I do, do we, am I, one of those girls at your school?"

"NO!" He told her quickly, seeing the worry in her eyes. "No, I mean, yes we go to school together, but you are one of the only girls who doesn't treat me any differently. I fell in love with you on both sides, deeper and deeper with every passing day. You don't realize how hard it is to have you so close and not be able to act on any of the hundreds of emotions you give me."

She said it a little upset, "So, you get to see me everyday, and I don't get to see you except when you are sneaking into my room - wow that sounded bad," she shook her head, "not the point. That's wrong!"

He smiled slightly, "Princess, you do see me everyday. Every, single, day."

"But I don't know it's you, and you know it's me!" She said upset with herself. He was right under her nose somewhere, and she still couldn't pinpoint him in her mind as she quickly ran through a list of possible suspects.

"Count yourself lucky. I've had so many near slip ups, I think my best friend is starting to suspect I have a crush on you." He said heavily before smirking widely, "Which, I do in fact."

She rolled her eyes, but stopped and started smiling as the idea hit her, "Hide and seek."

He raised an eyebrow, "The kids game? I much prefer a game of Chat and Mouse." He wiggled his eyebrows at her and she pushed him lightly on the nose when he leaned into her. "Down kitty, I'm serious. I have an idea."

He crossed his legs and put his hands in his lap, his ears perked up at attention, "Lay it on me, wise girlfriend of mine."

"We go to school together. We know each other outside of the mask. Girls are making you uncomfortable, and that burns me up,"

"I'll be okay, I can,"

"No, it's unacceptable!" She said sternly, making him go quiet, "You want to tell me who you are, and I want to know who you are so much that I wish I could just peel that stupid mask off your face and kiss you the way you kissed me the day we started dating."

He smiled lopsidedly, his eyes going misty as he thought back to that kiss. His voice trembled heatedly, "You can kiss me like that anytime you want, mask or no mask."

"Don't distract me." She said pointing at him, "Because I will, and that's how we are going to do this."

He blinked twice, his head tilting as he asked, "This?"

"I'm going to find you on Monday at school. I am going to track you down, and make it clear to everyone that not only are you taken, but that you are MINE." She said triumphantly.

He asked curiously, "I love you, and I'm glad that you are so confident, but princess, I've literally been under your nose for three months, longer even, and you've never realized it was me. What makes you so sure you can find me?"

"Well for one, you don't have a girlfriend as a civilian, but you do, me." She posed.

He nodded, "The princess is correct."

She held up two fingers, "Two, girls are attracted to you, and so are boys apparently. And three," she pulled off her black heart pendant and held it out to him, "you have something that belongs to me, and I'm going to get it back."

She dropped the necklace in his hand and he smiled, asking carefully, "You are sure about this? What if you are wrong? Are you going to make me watch you melt some poor guy into a puddle by kissing him senseless?"

"The only guy I'm going to kiss senseless is you." She said confidently. "I'll make sure that there is no mistake, and you can always give me the necklace back as a gift for finding you."

"Do you mind if I add something to your heart?" He asked, "I had it made but realized it would give away too much so I had them take it off."

She smiled, "What was it?"

"The initial of my first name, lined with stones that match my real eye color." He said somewhat mysteriously, almost daring her to ask what the initial and the color were.

"As much as I want to know that, I'll see it on Monday." She promised.

He slipped the necklace into his pocket and stood, holding out his hands to help her up. He put his arms around her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, seeing his Chesire grin spread across his features, "So, does that mean you are breaking up with me Princess?"

She tapped his nose, "Not a chance. You are the same person, remember?" He beamed at her and she told him softly, "Give me one day Kitty, and you'll never be able to get rid of me."

He chuckled, "Sounds purrfect to me."

...

She tugged on her pigtails frustratedly. She was sure that damn Chat of hers was making this hard on purpose. This was their last break before final hour, and she still hadn't found him.

"Don't make a liar out of me." She whispered to herself.

"Hey Marinette."

She instantly let go of her hair and smiled, seeing Adrien standing there with a shy smile, "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not." She said happily, her heart still beat wildly when she saw him. It was wrong how handsome he was.

He sat down on the bench next to her, asking curiously, "Everything okay? You look a little frustrated."

"Oh," she said sheepishly, "No I'm okay I, I am a little frustrated though. I made a sort of, bet, with someone and I'm losing."

He chuckled, "You? I don't think I've ever seen you lose anything."

"I said I'm losing," she said, bumping her shoulder on his lightly, "Not that I lost, not yet."

His beautiful green eyes sparkled, "That's the spirit." He put his head back and let out a relieved sigh, and she asked worried, "Are you okay?"

"Mhmm." He muttered, "Just tired of the effort it takes to avoid people."

Marinette felt her heart clench in anger, "Lila again?"

He nodded, "Yep, but what can I do?"

"Tell her to back off Adrien." She said seriously, "She can't keep plastering herself all over you. God I thought Chloe was bad enough, but Lila makes her look tame."

He smiled at her, but it didn't reach his eyes, "That's the price you pay for being an Agreste."

"That's stupid." She told him, glad to hear him laughing again, "You are a human being, whether your last name is Agreste or not. Don't they have any respect for your personal space?"

"Personal space?" He mocked, "What is this, personal space of which you speak oh wise Marinette? Is it truth, and not a legend of days long since past?"

They both started laughing uncontrollably, Adrien's hand finding hers in the midst of their laughter. Her hand squeezed his absentmindedly, but she instantly let go when she realized what she was doing. He sobered, whispering it worried, "I'm so sorry I didn't mean,"

"No, no it's okay." She said shakily, staring down at her hand. She felt like it was on fire.

"Yo Agreste!" Kim called loudly from across the commons, "We need a tie-breaker opinion!"

Adrien sighed heavily, "Of course they do." He stood and looked at her, "You wanna come?"

"Go ahead, I can see the chaos from here, trust me." She said warily.

"That makes me feel soooo much better Marinette." He said sarcastically, glad to see her smiling again. He walked away from her, the lingering smile dropping from his face.

She still didn't know. He had been dropping hints all day, and she still didn't realize it was him. Was Adrien really so different from his Chat Noir persona that his own girlfriend really couldn't tell it was him... or was the Miraculous magic really THIS strong?

He sighed heavily and approached the group of guys, asking not the least bit curious, "What's the issue this time?"

Ivan told him shaking his head, "It's not an issue, really."

He looked around the group of his male classmates and stopped on Nino, "Then why do you need my opinion?"

"It's not really your opinion we need dude." Nino told him.

"More like you'll prove who's right and who's wrong." Nathaniel explained.

"About?" He pressed, almost instantly wishing he hadn't.

"Are you dating Lila, yes or no?" Kim asked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

He put his fingers to his temples and rubbed them in small circles, "Guys, for the last time, I am not dating Lila."

"She said you bought her a black heart necklace, but were too embarrassed to give it to her." Max told him, eyeing him for a reaction.

He felt his usual calm demeanor slipping, "I didn't buy her anything. The necklace doesn't belong to her, it has an owner."

"So you do have a black heart necklace?" Kim pressed.

He nodded, "Yes, but again, it isn't for Lila."

He felt something grab onto him from behind, familiar olive colored arms going around his neck, "Adrien!"

He rolled his eyes, carefully detaching Lila from his back, "Lila, you can't just jump on me like that from out of nowhere."

"I'm sorry I'm just, so excited. I've been looking for you everywhere!" Lila said happily, "I heard you had something for me, and that there was something you wanted to ask me."

She was trying to trap him, and he wasn't going to let it happen, "You must have heard wrong."

"Oh," she said sadly, dropping her gaze, "I, I guess I must have."

Kim told him, nudging his arm, "Dude it's cool, we know you guys are dating in secret. We won't tell anyone."

He said it louder, sick of holding it in, "I already have a girlfriend and Lila isn't her!"

The guy's all instantly had shocked faces, and Lila's eyes snapped up to his, burning in anger. The usual flitting chatter around the entire commons came to an abrupt halt, and he felt his face warming as he admitted it, "So there. Stop listening to her, because she isn't my girlfriend."

Lila had crocodile tears falling from her eyes, "You, you're cheating on me?"

"I would never do that." He said hard, "Lila, you have never, and will never, be my girlfriend."

"Don't do this Adrien." She said sadly, "Not in front of all these people."

"Lila," he started to warn her, but felt a small hand on his arm. He instantly turned, only seeing a flash of deep blue eyes before a familiar, wonderfully soft set of lips found his. His eyes instantly closed as she pulled his collar, bringing him closer.

Oh thank god- he thought breathlessly.

There was nothing like the feel of Marinette's lips against his. She didn't just spark the fire to life inside of him. She ignited a raging flame that burned like hell but felt like heaven. The sweet smell of her natural scent and the undercurrent of something that he could only label as the smell of home, consumed his senses. He could drown in the addictive scent coming off of her. His arms wrapped around her waist, lifting her up by her thighs the way he had the first time they kissed like this. She nipped his lower lip, sending goosebumps down his entire body as he growled low in his chest where only she would hear. Her small hands cupped his face as the kiss deepened in their desperate attempt to get their fill of the other for the first time without the mask between them. He would never get enough he knew, but he was damn willing to try, for the rest of his life if he had to.

Marinette gasped as she pulled back, trying to get some small measure of air back into her lungs. She rested her forehead against his, his hold on her tightening as he refused to put her down. Never again. He was never going to let her go ever again.

"Mine." She whispered breathlessly, "Mine."

He was trying to control his own breathing, letting out a breathless laugh with his eyes closed, "Hi princess."

She lifted her head and stared into his eyes, smiling so bright she put the sun to shame, "Found you."

He set her back on her feet, his heart swelling ten times over, "And I, believe I have something of yours."

He pulled the small box out of his pocket, opening it so that she could see. He didn't know how it was possible that she was smiling brighter than before.

She lifted the necklace out of the box, the onyx heart filled with a silver letter A, lined with emeralds. She laughed as she stared at the necklace, "You were right. It would have given everything away right from the start."

"I was perfectly okay with that." He said unremorsefully, taking the necklace back from her. She instantly turned around and he put it back around her neck, clasping it before kissing the back of her head. "Mine." He whispered.

She giggled, turning to look at him again. Seeing the necklace out in view around her neck made him want to kiss her senseless all over again. He resisted the urge and took her hand, pulling her closer before realizing that there were multiple phones pointed right at them. He sighed slightly and she said it knowingly, "Well, we knew it was going to happen."

He nodded, "I know. I'm sorry I made you keep it a secret for so long."

Nino busted out laughing, breaking them out of their bubble, "BRO! You've been dating Marinette in secret! No wonder you couldn't pass by her without sighing like a lovesick puppy! I knew you were crushing on her!" Nino wiped the amused tears from his eyes as he said it, still shaking with laughter, "No wonder you kissed her like you were dying, I bet you've been dying to kiss her all day!"

Adrien flushed as the guys started laughing too, "Shut up Nino."

Lila said it nearly screeching, "How dare you! After everything I've done for you,"

"Don't even try it Lila." Marinette snapped, "The ONLY reason I've never said anything was for Adrien's sake. HE was the one who had to keep our relationship a secret, but I am done letting you hang all over MY boyfriend."

"Mister Agreste will never let you date her. I'll tell him what kind of terrible influence she is." Lila threatened.

Adrien smirked, "I told my father this morning about my relationship with Marinette. He was only shocked for the smallest moment, and do you want to know what he said?"

He waited, holding Marinette to his side the way he'd always wanted to, before telling Lila triumphantly, "Finally."

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Au Revoir for now! Á demain!