Chapter 24: Kwami Visits

"Uhhhh…Hi?" Adrien said sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

Marinette just stared at him and blinked a couple of times with her mouth open. Eee…this wasn't good.

"Oh no." He swam backwards as he buried his head in his hands, "This wasn't supposed to happen. This could endanger you and…Ladybug's not going to be happy when she finds out either!"

'This wasn't good.' was a complete understatement. This was disastrous.

"I- "Marinette finally opened her mouth, "You're probably right. This is bad. Not that I know anything about superhero rules, that is, but…er…oh god…I really don't know want to say. Must. Process. This."

Adrien peeked at her leaning back and staring upwards at the ceiling of this rocky cave. Oof.

"I think…I should transform into Cat Noir since I have my ring back. The faster we're done with this akuma, the better. She seems like a handful." Adrien trailed off awkwardly still scratching the back of his neck.

"Plagg, Claws Out!" The green light flashed over him. Thank god that it worked this time!

He caught Marinette staring at curiously leaning against the rock, he blinked confused.

"What?"

"Oh…nothing." She looked away with a hint of pink on her cheeks, "It's just that seeing you transform is…weird…"

She went back to pondering and staring at the ceiling. He couldn't really blame her. It wasn't everyday that you found out that one of your friends (hopefully something more, someday right) was one of Paris's famous superheroes.

"I…let's get out of this cave." And pool, he stared down at the water.

"Wait…" Marinette called after him as he jumped back onto the rocky ground. "You would need Ladybug to defeat the villain, right?"

"Yeah…but she's not here." Odd question.

"But…what if she was?" She said so quietly that he almost didn't hear it.

"Huh?" He tilted his head on confusion.

Marinette sighed as she was nervously fidgeting with her fingers, biting her lip, and avoiding eye-contact with him. Did she know who Ladybug was?

"Tikki, Spots On!" Upon those word, pink light surrounded Marinette as he gasped and witnessed her transformation.

A few moments later, where Marinette stood, was Ladybug.

Oh…who was he kidding? Marinette WAS Ladybug.

Wait…

Marinette was Ladybug!

MARINETTE ACTUALLY WAS LADYBUG!

Two girls he was in love with…Uh…he meant one…But that meant…

"Ma- "Ladybug leaped over to him on her yo-yo and hushed him by putting a finger own his mouth. Don't kiss it, Adrien!

"Don't say anything. Please. At least…. not yet…" She said, "We have to face an akuma and we must put our entire focus on saving Paris as of now. We'll come back to this later."

She removed her finger from his mouth so he could speak. The ghost of it still made his lips tingle eagerly though.

"Okay, milady." Aww…how much he missed that nickname… "Let's kick some akuma butt!"

She rolled her eyes at him with a slight smile on her face. He must say, he was rather good at lightening the mood with his humour. But he knew that this identity reveal wasn't a topic to leave behind.

The next day after the akuma attack, Adrien was in his bed gazing at the window. He hadn't spoken to Marinette, who was ALSO LADYBUG, ever since the akuma attack. There was this awkward air of space between them ever since the reveal…he didn't like it…but…obviously, both of them were going through a hard time.

"Plagg?" He noticed his kwami going to the window with his piece of Camembert, "Where are you going?"

"Uh…nowhere." Plagg lied as Adrien crossed his arms pouting, "Okay fine. I'm going over to meet SugarCube!"

"SugarCube?"

"Uh…Tikki…Ladybug's kwami!"

"Wait, why do you have a cute nickname for her!" Adrien couldn't help but smirk at Plagg.

"Uh-what-ugh. You sappy child! It's not what you're thinking! I call her that because she loves eating sweet stuff like macarons and cookies."

"Sure. That's adorable." Adrien teased as Plagg gagged muttering something about how sappy he was…

"Wait!" Adrien yelled before Plagg called out, "Your going to Marinette's." It just struck him.

"Yeah. You know that. That's actually why I'm goin- "

"Could you maybe find out how she'd doing?" Adrien cut Plagg off fidgeting with his ring.

"Sure, kiddo, but don't drag me into your love matters." Plagg said before zooming off.

He didn't say anything. He was nervous. He didn't know whether Plagg talking for him to Marinette was a good thing or not…but…really…this was a mess.

Meanwhile…

"-at should I do, Tikki? I'm supposed to be guardian! I should know what to do! If Master Fu were here, he'd probably take away our miraculous. But I can't do that to Cat-Adrien, he's too important to me and for the team. We're in this together. We're partners. Ugh! Why is this so hard?" Marinette slammed her head into the pillow as Tikki in her hair to nuzzle and comfort her.

"Will you talk to him?"

"I-I don't know if I'm ready yet! I want to talk to him but at the same time…I'm lost…" Marinette gazed up to look at the red polka dot box in front of her, "I'm a terrible guardian."

"Hey! Don't say that, Marinette! The responsibility was shoved onto you. And you're going through a lot of pressure. At this age, you should be proud of yourself for making so much progress as Ladybug. Being guardian can be hard, but you'll learn along the way, Marinette. You will."

"Thanks, Tikki!" Marinette smiled snuggling her kwami. She didn't know what she'd do without Tikki. She was one of the greatest gifts, life had ever given her in these hard times. Tikki always knew how to put a smile on her face.

"If you're concerned, do you want me to check on Adrien for you?" Tikki suggested

"You really would? Would that be fine?"

"Of course. I'll be back shortly."

"Oh…thank you so much, Tikki! You're the best!" Marinette wrapped Tikki into a warm hug.

"I'll be back." Tikki beamed giving Marinette a kiss on the nose before zooming away.

She hoped that their conversation would go alright.

A few minutes after Tikki left, Marinette heard a slight tap on her window.

Was Tikki back already?

Marinette went towards to the window. Instead of seeing Tikki, she saw…

"Plagg?" Marinette said as he phased in.

"Hey! Where's Suga-Tikki?"

"Oh…uh…she actually left to your place."

"What? Really, no! Why is this turning into a human movie cliché? Don't tell me we'll be jumping between houses back and forth till we meet!" Plagg groaned.

"Uh…" Marinette didn't know what to say. Instead, she asked the thing she needed to know, "How's Adrien doing?"

"Oh my god. You humans. He wanted me to ask you how you were doing!"

"He did?"

"Yup. He did. So, don't make that lovesick expression that you'll do." Plagg said as Marinette blushed.

"I'm not l-lovesick." She crossed her arms and pouted, the pink on her cheeks was giving her away though, "I've told Cat Noir plenty of times that I'm not interested in him in that way."

"Hmm…stubborn and lovesick. You two are definitely made for each other. You're even mushier than my piece of Camembert." Marinette's blush deepened at Plagg's comment.

"I- "

"Don't even try and make excuses, girl! Unlike him, I'm not oblivious." Plagg took a bite into his Camembert.

"Hey! He's only oblivious because of the sheltered life he's lived. With being home-schooled nearly his entire life and having little to no friends till he started school this year. You can't blame him for being oblivious. Not with the sheltered household he had." Marinette went on a rant. He's opened up to her about it hesitantly. He obviously struggled. She'd seen how his life was during the Inverter akuma. She knew she struggled. She honestly wondered how he balanced between being Adrien Agreste and Cat Noir. He was too good of a person.

"I know." Plagg said gravely, "I know my kiddo has gone through a lot, I've seen him weep over his dead mother and mope about his father's restrictions. He has little freedom in his life. Being Cat Noir grants him that freedom. The freedom to explore. The freedom to have fun. The freedom to do good. The freedom to be happy. So, don't think about trying to take- "

"I'm not going to." Marinette answered. "That's something I'll never consider. He's my partner too. And I care about him."

"Good." Plagg nodded as a common sense of understanding passed between them, "You're both partners for a reason. Cheese doesn't pop out just like that. It needs someone to make it. One half is never complete without the other. Even food understands that."

"I know." Marinette nodded, "We're an irreplaceable team."

"I'll take your word for it." Plagg flew towards the window seemingly leaving.

"Oh…and…Marinette?" Plagg called to her. "Take care of the kiddo. Also, please talk to him."

"I will." Marinette assured the kwami as he shared one last nod and flew out the window.

Meanwhile…

"Tikki! Where's Plagg?"

"Shouldn't he be here?" The kwami asked confused.

"He went to visit you."

"Oh…and I came here." Tikki shook her head, "Anyways, Plagg will be fine. My owner is at home. Besides, I've come to talk to you."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Marinette wanted me to check on you."

"Oh…she did." Adrien looked to the side, "I'm fine. I'm a bit confused though."

"I think we all are." Tikki affirmed, "This identity reveal was unexpected, and my owner is contemplating through a several options."

"She is? What is she planning to do?"

"She's not sure. There's nothing much to do in this situation except take precautions."

"Oh…" Adrien said, "She's not planning to take away my miraculous, is she?"

"No! She never would." Tikki assured him, "Besides, you're a good Cat Noir, Adrien. She needs you."

"Oh…" He stated again as pink dusted his cheeks, "Thanks. How is she doing?"

"Fine." Tikki hesitated, "She is a bit overwhelmed though."

"Overwhelmed? Please elaborate."

"Marinette faced difficulties balancing between her normal and superhero life in the past. Now, since she's become guardian, she has even more on her plate. She won't talk about it much, but she honestly does so much work that I can see the strain in her eyes…"

"She's very hardworking." One of the reasons he loved her.

"Yeah. She always tries her best to get work done and please others."

"That's an understatement. She does go through a lot. Helping everyone on a daily basis. Saving the city at the same time. Being a responsible Ladybug. Being a caring friend. Being an awesome class president. Yeah, you're right, she has a lot on her plate…how does she deal with it?" It was admirable. Marinette's determination and sense of good was amazing. She always looks out for others. How was it even possible to be this good? Also, the more he realised, the more she'd bottle up her feelings. She'd rarely ever tell him anything negative about her life. She'd only hint it.

"She takes care of others more than herself. That's how she is."

"She should take care of herself. There are more than many people out there who'd help her." Especially himself. "But she doesn't…you're right…that's just how she is."

He wanted to help her. He wanted to care for her. He wanted to love her.

"That's why she's such an awesome owner. One of the best I've had." Tikki smiled.

"She stands for admiration." Adrien agreed, "She just needs to let other people take care of her more."

"Agreed. She deserves it."

"We'll be there for her, right?" Adrien glanced towards Tikki.

"Always." Tikki smiled at him, "I know I can count on you, Adrien."

The kwami zoomed out of his window with those words.

Adrien's heart fluttered as he stared to the ground. Whatever happened in the future, he knew that he'd always be there to save Marinette. Always.

Sorry for the late update! I was caught up with stuff over the past few days.

Tikki and Marinette are definitely me and my BFF. Whilst Plagg and Adrien are me and my sister. Can anyone else relate?

Also, I'm planning to do a couple of bonus chapters in the end! And I probably will include the akuma fight that you missed in this chapter.