Ritorudeito : I'm glad you still enjoying the story. I really like to read your comments ! I'm sorry to play with your heart... (twice in the last chapter) You're right I can totally imagine Adrien being like "Omg, I was so close ! Damn it !". Beauty chapter? It's a very beautiful compliment. Thanks ! I saw you also like Chat Blanc chapter. I'm so happy ! I hope you'll enjoy this one too !

sorry for playing with your hearts in the previous chapter. I hope you didn't want to strangle me too much. I promise the end of this one will be milder. Good reading.


The 9th step to our Destiny:

Marinette opened her eyes and saw her room.

"No! Not now !" she yelled, tears rolling down her cheeks.

A voice from the lower floor was then heard, slightly muffled by the thickness of the parquet -

"Marinette, is everything okay?"

Sabine, who was on the stairs, was worried about the cry that her daughter had just uttered.

"Yes, yes, mom, it's okay. I was simply surprised when my alarm rang." She replied as calmly as possible, despite the frantic beating of her heart.

"Courage sweetie, it's the last day of the week! Don't be late! Dad made you a bag with some of his new delice. Pistachio croissants!

"Just for that, I hurry mom!" exclaimed Marinette, coming quickly from her bed

Half an hour later, Marinette left the bakery with the special bag in hand. She crossed the street which separated her from the Collège Françoise-Dupont, then took out a hot croissant, which she brought to her mouth with pleasure.

She hurried up the steps leading to the large school door when she felt a hand grip her elbow.

"Hi Marinette!"

"Hello Ch.. Adrien !"

Marinette mentally slapped herself. Although she was almost certain that the two boys who had captured her heart were, finally, one and the same boy: it was neither the place nor the right time to confirm her doubts.

Adrien's voice snapped the girl out of her thoughts.

"Is everything okay, Marinette?"

"Ye.. yes! Everything's fine perfectly ... uh I mean ... perfectly fine! Do you want a croissant? Dad is always afraid that I am starving… Ahah… So, he exaggerates on the quantities he prepares for me."

She hands him the bag, and Adrien happily accepts the gift she gives him.

"Thank you my.. Marinette."

The blond hastened to plant his teeth in the croissant, to detach a piece that filled his mouth,preventing him, at the same time, from allowing another revealing slip to escape.

"Pistachio! It's delicious!" He exclaimed, hurrying to take a second bite.

Marinette chuckled lightly at the gluttony and childish expression of her classmate. He apologized for his excessive enthusiasm, while trying to justify himself, then he met his friend's gaze and they both began to laugh heartily.

The next moment, Marinette and Adrien walked in, still laughing loudly into the school courtyard, drawing on them the eyes of most of the other students.

In the distance, Alya suddenly stopped talking to her boyfriend. Her attention focused to the laughter in the courtyard, only to find that it was her two best friends. She raised an eyebrow questioningly, then turned to Nino again, who shrugged in incomprehension.

Marinette saw the young redhead walk towards them with a determined step. She instantly stopped laughing and swallowed hard at Alya's serious look.

"Hi Alya", she exclaimed as happily as possible.

"Hi guys ! Tell me, you seem very happy this morning ! Can we find out what gets you in this state?"

Meanwhile, Nino, who had joined the small group, held out his fist to Adrien.

"Hi Dude! So what is funny? "

Against all expectations, and to everyone's surprise, it was Marinette who answered.

"We were just laughing at Adrien's excessive gluttony. The poor boy was moaning with happiness with the croissant I gave him this morning", she said, stifling another chuckle.

"Hey ! I did not moan!" He protested, falsely offended. "Okay I admit it. Maybe I vocalized my satisfaction. But you should try Mister Dupain's new pistachio croissants! They are so good they could make a cat able to talk."

Marinette chuckled and Adrien grabbed her by the elbow to pull her towards the stairs, under the stunned gaze of their two best friends. Indeed, it was time to join the classroom because the bell was ringing. The boy laughed again with his classmate.

Alya and Nino, totally confused, followed their two friends up the stairs to enjoy this completely amazing and improbable spectacle.

But what was happening to Marinette this morning?

Marinette sighed in relief : the bell was finally ringing the end of class. Hopefully, if she hurried to put her things away, she could get out of the classroom quickly and avoid being subjected to further questioning of Alya.

Throughout the day, her best friend had tried, on several occasions, to find out what was going on between her and Adrien. She had stressed regularly, and insistently, the significant decrease in stuttering and blushing in Marinette's behavior with Adrien. She had also tried to embed herself in the hilarious conversation the girl had with Adrien at the end of the lunch break, but, fortunately, the beginning of afternoon classes had barely saved them. Alya had barely had time to ask them why they had laughed so hard again, when Miss Mendeleiev was already urging them to enter the science room.

Marinette closed her bag and hastened to take it. She was heading for the exit of the classroom, not without giving a smile to Adrien, who returned it even bigger, when she was stopped by a hand resting on her elbow.

Damn !

"Not so quickly, Marinette, I'm avoiding having a discussion with my best friend Dupain-Cheng: you and me, we have to talk."

Alya then leaned over to whisper in her ear, so that only she could hear what she was going to say.

"I know that you are hiding something from me: I can see that Buttercup is staring at you right now."

"What ?!" Marinette cried with a start, before stumbling. The next second, she found herself sprawled on the floor, between the classroom and the hallway.

"Dupain-Cheng and his two legendary left feet," Chloe muttered, stepping over the classmate she didn't like much.

"Marinette, are you okay ?!" Alya and Adrien exclaimed in one voice, who had knelt down beside her.

The girl put a hand on her forehead, then she sat up slowly, grimacing.

"This time I hit my head" she mumbled through her teeth.

"I'll take you to the infirmary! Can you get up, Marinette?" Adrien asked worriedly.

Marinette slowly nodded.

"It's okay, everything's fine. I'm fine. I don't need to go to the infirmary. Thanks, Adrien."

She stood up cautiously, clutching Adrien's arm so as not to lose her balance, while still holding her aching head.

"It's not negotiable, Marinette!" replied her friend, in a tone without appeal.

The two teenagers walked away under the worried looks of their two best friends.

The corridors empty very quickly as the last bell of the day had announced the start of the weekend. In just a few minutes, the college was deserted.

"We can just sit here for a few moments. I assure you that it is not necessary to go to the infirmary." She said calmly, pointing to the bench not far from them.

Adrien stopped in front of the infirmary door and took a quick look inside. The room was empty: the nurse must have been absent.

"Okay", he replied, making her sit on the bench. "Are you sure you're okay?" he added, still worried.

"Yes, yes, it's okay, don't worry. I am used to it."

Adrien chuckled and Marinette looked at him in despondency.

Of course he was laughing at the awkward Marinette. How could he think that a girl with such awkwardness could be the incredible Ladybug? After this stupid fall, he would most certainly question the possibility that they were both the same person.

He stopped laughing when he noticed that Marinette's features were gradually darkening.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Marinette! I wasn't making fun of you! I… I just think your clumsiness is adorable. She makes you what you are, Marinette: a unique girl full of surprises."

Marinette stifled a gasp of amazement at the boy's confidence, whose cheeks had turned slightly pink. She then gathered all her courage and finally dared to turn to him. Instantly, their eyes met and never left each other.

His Emerald eyes were shining brightly and she instantly gasped at the exchange.

Being made of the potential impacts, and not even thinking about it, Marinette, mesmerized, approached Adrien and put a hand on his cheek. She could almost see the Cat mask drawing on his face, as he looked at her with great fondness.

Adrien? Chat Noir?

Her thoughts were racing frantically in her head. As frantically as her heart was pounding in her chest right now. She was confused and lost. Lost in her feelings and in the flood of emotions she was feeling. What if she was wrong? What if she was about to make a huge mistake?

Chat Noir? Adrien?

"I love you", she whispered softly, while gently stroking his cheek and tracing the invisible outline of the mask of her feline partner.

As soon as the words left her lips, the girl turned as red as her alter-ego's costume. She suddenly tensed and quickly removed her hand from his cheek.

Oh no, Did I really say that out loud?! Did I? Er ... I really said that out loud!

Without a further word, she stood up and fled away. Very far. Far far away.

She wanted to find her house, her bedroom and her bed. She would then take a pillow and scream in it for hours, until her vocal cords were exhausted. And maybe she would even choke on it to die of asphyxiation, rather than die of shame while making fun of herself, again, in front of Adrien Agreste.

What Marinette didn't know, and that she didn't see when she disappeared from the establishment without looking back, it was that she left behind a young boy beaming with happiness, a blissful smile on his lips.

The Sun has set, giving way to night and a moon with silver reflections, full and round.

One of the moon's rays is reflected in the blond hair of the boy, as she watches through the small window. His two feline green irises are luminescent in the semi-darkness of the cabin and give his eyes a supernatural intensity. His cat ears move on his head: now he knows she is there.

He gets up and his Emerald gaze instantly falls into his partner's Sapphire gaze. Without leaving the hypnotic charm of her two magnificent blue eyes, he moves and approaches the large door to open it.

"Are you going to stand there and take root or you like to join me inside?"

She nods and goes into the shelter without a word.

When she walks inside, Ladybug hears soft music rising in the air.

Attracted like a magnet, and not taking her eyes off him, Ladybug approaches him. At the same time, the feline also takes a step forward in the direction of his partner.

For a moment, they remain silent, captivated only by the presence of the other and transported by the melody that cradles their ears.

"Would my Lady do me the honor of offering me this dance?"

Chat Noir takes a step back, bows and gallantly offers his hand to the one who makes his heart beat. A hand she grabbed without hesitation, before sliding her fingers between his.

He puts an arm behind her, puts his hand on the middle of her back, and then lifts their entwined hands up to shoulder height. Slowly, they let themselves be carried away by the slow rhythm of the music.

After a few dance steps, Ladybug lets her hand slip out of her partner's. Instantly, she travels her arms to the back of his neck and hugs him, pulling the feline closer to her. Chat Noir then lets his free hand run behind her back and takes the opportunity to encircle the waist of his partner to reduce the space that still separates them from the perfect embrace.

She buries her head in the feline's shoulder and he rests his head on hers, both continuing to move slowly, guided by the melody.

As they both enjoy this pleasant and heartwarming dance, the cabin is suddenly illuminated by a vivid pink glow, immediately followed by a green glow.

The transformation of the two heroes wears off and they instinctively tighten their embrace. They're just enjoying the last moment just a little longer before their identities are finally revealed.

The next moment the music ends. The girl's legs are shaking and the boy is holding his sucking his breath in. Slowly the two teenagers raise their heads to finally reveal themselves...

"Marinette .."

"Adrien .."

To be continued ...


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Miraculous Kisses !