Chapter 8

Nino was shocked. His best friend was Chat Noir. But as he looked around the table, it became clear that he was having the easiest time coping. He could see Alya processing the information and the dawning horror as she realized she had just been handed the scoop of the century, and there was nothing she could do with it. He would hear about this in length later, he was sure. Adrien looked smug. However, it was apparent that his face was stuck like he had forgotten what he was doing with it. The Kwamis all looked like they were struggling to keep a straight face and losing. Marinette looked like her mind had shut down and needed a major power cycle just to reboot. And they were just seconds into the remix their life had just become.

When it became apparent that no one else was capable of coherent speech, the DJ laughed. "Ok, it makes so much more sense now, but you both really need to work on your excuses. Most of them just suck."

Adrien just laughed, and Marinette huffed "Well, excuse me. You try making that many excuses." Then she blushes, realizing that this was precisely the response he was hoping for.

Alya huffed "This is not the place for this discussion." Turning to Marinette. "You started all this. I say we adjourn to your place to finish this, and you're providing snacks."

Adrien offered to pay for a taxi, but it was decided that the walk would help everyone clear their minds, and it wasn't far. They were shaking out their umbrellas within fifteen minutes, all laughing. Adrien had stepped off the curb and soaked his designer shoes and pants clear to the knees. Marinette ran up to the linen closet and grabbed them all some towels, two for Adrien. And brought them down so they could stop dripping before walking on the carpet.

"Go on up. I'll get the snacks." The group climbed the stairs as Marinette darted into the bakery.

"What's the hurry?" Sabine asked.

"I have friends upstairs that want snacks."

"Really, who?"

"Alya, Nino, and Adrien."

Sabine gave the bluenette a crooked smile, "Don't forget their kwamis." And turned as a customer entered the store.

Marinette smiled as she added a few more things to the tray before darting upstairs.

As she entered her attic room, she heard Nino. "You know, I was over here a lot as a kid but this is the first time since she moved up here off the main living floor. She used to complain about not having room to work on her designs."

Entering the room, Marinette closeed the trap door and set the overflowing tray on the little table near the chaise. "Ok, the first order of business is my mother knows who I am. It is also possible she has figured out the three of you. Second, Nino and Alya, it is possible Hawkmoth knows who you are. I don't know if the reset altered his mind like it did ours after Oblivio. Which brings me to point Three. There could be a risk to your families." The silence in the room was deafening for several moments. "I know this is a lot to take in. If you want out, then I understand."

Turning to the tray for the first time, the four humans discovered it empty. The four kwamis were sitting at the desk playing teams Ultimate Mecha Strike on Marinette's computer, two to a controller.

"Really, guys? It's been like three minutes, and you emptied a plate that could have fed a football team!" The bluenette rolled her eyes. Adrien, on the other hand, just raised his eyebrow as his Kwami conspicuously ignored him.

Alya couldn't decide if she wanted to laugh at the scene or cry at the fact she could never report on this.

Moments later, there was a knock at the trap door. It immediately opened, surprising everyone but leaving no time to hide as Sabine entered with one of the large catering trays heaping with fresh treats. The young mother kneeled and greeted each of the tiny gods by name and spoke at length in her native Chinese. Adrien smiled, being the only other person to understand the conversation. She turned to the other humans in the room. "It seems that we have an overabundance of fresh goodies. The Martin wedding was rained out by this stupid storm. The news reports that this weather was caused by a fight last week between the self-proclaimed 'God of Thunder' and a white-haired weather witch over in New York. The weather predicts this will last another three days. Hope you can swim." The four teens still in their panic poses were trying to process what had just happened.

The trap door closed behind Sabine as she returned to the kitchen. "Mar, your mom is so cool." The easy-going DJ once again brining the mood around. He relaxed, pulling his girlfriend into his lap to cuddle as the heroes settled into their war council.

It took hours to hash out the responsibilities of the team and its members. It was well after dinner when the little group finally broke up and went their separate ways. The whole thing could have been done in about Twenty minutes, except Alya, with her ever-inquisitive mind, kept interrupting and asking for details. As well as her hero duties, she was tasked with being the team's publicist and public relations officer.

After she and Nino had left, Marinette and Adrien found themselves walking together under a vast umbrella (provided by Sabine) along the Seine. Being late summer and early evening, the sun was only just beginning to set behind the clouds. The Sky was turning a glorious Crimson through the rain. "Adrien, I need you to do something for me," the bluenette was blushing slightly. "I need you to transform so that we can talk and continue our conversation. I can't do this while looking at your face." Adrien just nodded, looking a little confused. Finding a secluded location under one of the bridges out of the downpour, the two heroes transformed and began jumping from rooftop to rooftop, ignoring the deluge. Taking a seat on a beam of the Eiffel Tower under the observation deck, they watched as the sun set in earnest. Ladybug startled Chat Noir by quietly taking his hand. "You know how I always said I could never return your feelings because there was someone else? Now that we know each other's identities, I can tell you his name." Looking directly into the feline's eyes she confesse, "His name is Adrian Agreste."

Chat looked stunned. "Wait, what?" It took a minute for his mind to begin working again. "So, you kept rejecting me for me." He just shook his head. "Well, I guess we're both a little dense. Every time I spoke to you as Marinette, I was careful to keep you in the friend zone because I was in love with Ladybug. Plagg's going to have a heyday with this one."

As the final splash of light kissed the sky, Marinette leaned over and kissed her Kitty. His tail wrapped around her, and he began purring as the kiss deepened. When they finally broke the kiss, Ladybug was all business. "There are a few things that we need to discuss before too much happens. If we start seeing each other, and I hope we do, we need to decide what the matching is. If Chat Noir and Ladybug start being seen as a couple, and Marinette and Adrien start being seen as a couple at the same time, then people might start seeing things that could be dangerous for the two of us. And at no time should we be seen as a hero paired with a civilian. That's just too much."

Chat just nodded. "So, let me ask as Adrien. Will you as Marinette be my girlfriend?"

"Hell yes! I have been hoping for this since you gave me your umbrella on the steps of the school. I think we should wait until school starts up again before Chat and Ladybug become a thing." She grined evilly, "Alya's gonna kill us." He just smiled and pulls his Lady closer.

"OK, you said there were a couple of things we needed to talk about. What else is there?"

The red-clad superhero fidgeted for a minute. "Well, the Guardian of the temple said my Miracle Box my rules. Chat, I can't do this alone. You are my friend, my confidant, and my partner. Will you also be Co-Guardian with me?"

"It would be my honor, m'lady. Though I will need to know the roster."

She laughed "with what you know, you should be able to guess most of them."