The Broom Closet
A/N: I'm sure there are a ton of reveal fics, but I'm new here and I've only read a handful so far. This idea came to me and wouldn't leave, so I had to write it. Takes place after New York and season 3, but before season 4 and Shanghai. However, at some point, Luka & Marinette and Adrien & Kagami broke up.
—~~~~~~—
As she began her second school year since becoming Ladybug and the first since she became the Guardian, Marinette had high hopes for herself. The year she'd already spent as Ladybug had helped her become more confident in herself than ever before. Sure, she was still a klutz most days, but at least she was the more confident version of herself than she'd been at the start of the previous school year. Part of why Marinette had such high hopes for the years was because she's also discovered that she and Alya would once again be in the same class. By some miracle, both Adrien and Nino were in their class as well. The one downside was that they'd still have to deal with Chloé for what was the fifth year in a row for Marinette. And of course, once Chloé discovered that Sabrina had been placed in another class, she'd made a quick call to her father to ensure that she and her best friend—servant—were still together. Though not everyone from the year before was in the same class, and despite Chloé being in her class again, Marinette was sure the new school year was going to be great.
Though she'd been busy saving Paris, being the new Guardian of the Miracle Box, and helping her parents in the bakery over her break, Marinette was hopeful that she'd no longer be a sputtering mess when she tried to talk to Adrien. And since things for them with Kagami and Luka respectively had come to crashing halts during the summer, maybe she'd have a chance with him now. If she could find a way to actually admit her feelings for him like her friends kept trying to convince her to do.
CHCHCH
As with every school year, a little while into the year, they had a day dedicated for students to go to different places around Paris and work there on their Work Experience Day. Once again, Chloé had pulled some strings with her father so her class would be spending the day at Le Grand Paris. Thankfully for Alya and Marinette, they hadn't got stuck with what Chloé considered the worst jobs in the hotel their second time around. However, trash duty fell to Leo, a new student who Chloé had instantly zeroed in on as her target to pick on that year after discovering that his father was a garbage man.
"You'll probably end up following in your dad's footsteps anyway," Chloé commented as the jobs were assigned that morning. "Just like I'm going to follow in my daddy's footsteps and become Mayor of Paris. Or maybe I'll go to New York and run my own fashion magazine like my mom. I haven't decided yet," she laughed as she headed behind the front desk where she planned to sit and work on her nails all day.
Marinette watched as Leo clenched his fists into tight balls. "Hey, don't listen to her, Leo," Marinette said, rushing over to Leo to try comforting him and helping him with his anger. "Your dad had a super important job. Probably one of the most important jobs in Paris. If it weren't for your dad helping make sure the streets stay clean, then no one else would be able to go anywhere to do their jobs," she said. She received a small smile from Leo and he released his hands from the fists he'd balled them into. Marinette was hopeful that it meant she wouldn't have to free her classmate from an akumatization that afternoon.
There wasn't much time following that for Marinette to dwell on thoughts of Leo and Chloé's comments to him as she had her own duties to attend to. Though she wasn't the 'gofer' that year, after her original failure the year before, she was determined to avoid making any of the same mistakes twice.
~o~
Shortly after returning to work following their allotted time for lunch, a loud rumbling shook the entire hotel and soon, the TV screens showed images from security cameras of an akumatized Leo searching for Chloé. Rolling her eyes at the fact that Chloé had once again been successful in upsetting a classmate to the point where they could be akumatized to begin with, Marinette went to find a hiding spot where she could transform.
As Ladybug, Marinette met up with Chat Noir on the roof of the hotel where Leo, as the Garbage Man—a real creative name on Hawk Moth's part—was turning the streets of Paris into a landfill. Soon after discovering Ladybug and Chat Noir's presence with him on the roof, the Garbage Man turned on the two to begin trying to get their Miraculouses.
Thanks to a hasty and impulsive move on Chat Noir's part, he wasted his Cataclysm in the same moment Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm. Chat's reckless move momentarily left the two in a difficult situation as they retreated from the roof and entered the halls of the hotel. It wasn't until they reached the dining room a couple minutes later that Ladybug found the items she needed to make her Lucky Charm work. Together, she and Chat Noir worked to quickly destroy the item containing the akuma so she could then free it from Hawk Moth's spell.
Upon returning to himself, Leo was slightly disoriented like most people tended to be after an akumatization. However, a few students as well as their teacher had arrived to aid him right as Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculouses began to give their final beeping warnings before the two would transform back. Since the windows were all closed, Ladybug and Chat Noir raced into the hall, searching for somewhere they could each transform back safely without letting anyone see who they really were.
Ladybug sighed in relief when she found an empty broom closet. She'd quickly de-transform and then return to her classmates, making up some excuse about Ladybug telling her to hide for her safety. "Tikki, spots—" Ladybug cut herself off as the door opened. "Chat, what are you doing here? You can't be here! We're both about to change back!" she exclaimed as her earrings and his ring gave one final warning beep. Neither had time to react as they reverted back to their civilian attire and identities.
CHCHCH
After freeing the Garbage Man from his akumatization, Ladybug and Chat Noir had run into the hall in search of somewhere to hide as they changed back. While Ladybug went one way, Chat Noir went another so they could each protect their secret identities. However, for as familiar as he should have been with Le Grand Paris for as often as he and Ladybug ended up there, Chat Noir found himself turned around and lost.
Chat Noir began to feel uncharacteristically panicked as he realized he had likely only seconds left before he would transform back. Anyone could enter the hall and see him changing back. That would be disastrous and put his friends and family in danger, not that he had much family left to worry about. Thankfully, he spotted a door that clearly led to a closet rather than one of the lavished suites of the hotel he couldn't enter without a key.
He sighed in relief as he swung the door to the small broom closet open and ducked inside to safety. Of course, things couldn't be that simple because someone else was already in the room.
"Chat, what are you doing here? You can't be here! We're both about to change back!" Ladybug exclaimed, looking up as he entered the room.
Chat Noir looked over with wide eyes at the sound of Ladybug's voice. Their gazes met as his ring and her earrings gave their final warning beeps. Before either of them had a chance to react or even think about closing or covering their eyes to protect their and each other's secrets, their Ladybug and Chat Noir disguises melted away so they became two regular teens again.
The pair gasped as they met each other's eyes without their disguises for the first time. Though technically, it wasn't really the first time they were meeting each other's eyes without their masks on because they knew each other in what they sometimes called real life. "Marinette?" Chat Noir, who was once again Adrien Agreste, breathed as they held their locked gazes.
"A-Adrien?" Ladybug, who was now Marinette Dupain-Cheng, stammered, her uneasy voice showing that she was having a more difficult time processing everything than he was. "You—Y-You're Chat Noir?" she questioned, looking like she was nearly ready to faint.
All Adrien could do in that moment was to nod in response as he battled his own inner turmoil. For so long, he'd been in love with Ladybug. He'd called her his lady and M'lady countless times—basically every single time Ladybug and Chat Noir met up to free some akumatized person. Heck, he'd even almost accidentally called her M'lady one time when Ladybug saved him as Adrien. Now here Ladybug was, standing in front of him as he was seeing the real her, and she was seeing the real him. And he'd now discovered that the woman he'd been pining after since the day he first met her was someone who'd become one of his best friends outside of their superhero identities.
What was he supposed to say? He was pretty sure no one wrote a guide about what to do if you ever discovered that you and one of your best friends were superheroes who hadn't shared your identities with each other. What was an appropriate response in this situation? He knew Ladybug had always said it was important for them to keep their identities secret. They were protecting each other, themselves, and all their loved ones in doing so. But now they accidently found out. How did they carry on after finding out when they didn't have anyone to talk to about it all? They couldn't even go to Master Fu because he had no memory of them.
While the thoughts about how to respond circled in his mind, Adrien also began to question the feelings he had for Ladybug. He'd always been in love with Ladybug. She was strong, brave, intelligent, compassionate, confident, and so many other things. But he wasn't in love with Marinette, was he? She was just a friend. A really good friend. A best friend. But Ladybug had become one of his best friends too, and he loved her. He knew he could always trust Ladybug and tell her anything—as long as it didn't reveal his identity.
"A-Adrien?" Marinette's questioning tone brought Adrien out of the millions of thoughts that were racing through his mind.
"Uh, yeah?" he stammered slightly as he met her eyes once again. He could almost see the thousands of gears turning in her mind as she pieced everything together and tried to work through whatever emotions she was feeling in that moment. There was uncertainty in her eyes, but also the strong determination he saw in her eyes all the time when she was Ladybug and was working out how to use her Lucky Charm or was working out some other plan. He realized he'd seen that look in Marinette's eyes before but never pieced it all together because it wasn't something he expected to see. But, now that he'd seen it, he was sure he'd never be able to unsee it. He also couldn't deny that the look was incredibly adorable.
"You—you're really Chat Noir? This isn't some dream?"
"Of course it's not a dream," Plagg pipped in, speaking for the first time since Marinette and Adrien had de-transformed. He floated up so he was at about the same level as Adrien's shoulder. "Now, you have a couple very hungry kwamis on your hands. Do I smell cheese in your pocket, Adrien?" he questioned, giving the air a good sniff.
"Here you go," Adrien said, reaching into his pocket to extract the desired piece of cheese.
"Perfect," Plagg replied, taking the whole piece of cheese and shoving it into his mouth.
"Gross," Tikki commented, appearing at Marinette's shoulder.
"We better get something for you too, Tikki," Marinette said, reaching into her purse to take a macaron. "Here you go," she smiled.
"Thank you," Tikki said, before beginning to take smaller bites of her food in a much more polite manner than Plagg.
"Now, to clear any confusion," Plagg began speaking after dramatically swallowing his cheese. "Adrien has been Chat Noir since he started going to school last year. Other than that one time the two of you thought it would be fun to take your Miraculous off for a little while and they got switched."
"Well, at least how you didn't have your Miraculous makes a lot more sense now," Marinette commented.
"Yeah," Adrien agreed with a laugh.
"And Marinette has been my Miraculous holder since then too, so you two are the only ones who have had the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses since then," Tikki explained, having finished her macaron.
"Okay," Marinette spoke, seeming to be a bit more calm and relaxed than she initially was after the reveal. "But then what about that day your bodyguard got akumatized?" she questioned, bringing her hand to her chin in thought. "You caused a distraction, but I fought with Chat Noir."
"Actually, I recruited Wayhem to pretend to be me by saying that I was too scared to do it so Chat Noir could be there to help you. I knew you needed my Cataclysm," he said, grinning as he met her eyes.
"Oh, yeah—I, um—thanks," Marinette settled on after a moment of stuttering and struggling to find the right words. "Yeeded nou tor frat."
"What?"
"I mean, I needed your help for that. Yeah. Totally. Couldn't have done that without you," she smiled awkwardly in reply.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Adrien questioned, concern etched across his features as he reached to place a comforting hand on her shoulder. Truthfully, she looked a little like she was shaking, and he thought maybe the action could help ground her again.
"Yes. I mean no. Or maybe. I don't know," she admitted, her shoulders falling and her demeanor deflating a little.
"Everything was fine a few minutes ago," Adrien noted. Sure, they'd found out about each other's identities in the last few minutes, but other than that, nothing else had changed. They were still the same people who were really good friends with or without their disguises.
Marinette nodded. "Fine before I knew who you were," she sighed, turning away from him despite the fact that there wasn't really room to do so in the small closet they were hiding in.
"Care to tell me what's wrong?" Adrien questioned, his voice gentle as he stepped slightly to the side so he could look at her face rather than her back when he spoke to her. "We can work this out together. What to do with this new knowledge and everything else. Just like we always have since we became Ladybug and Chat Noir," he suggested comfortingly.
"You mean it?" Marinette asked, turning back towards Adrien so the pair could fully face each other while they talked.
"Absolutely," he confirmed. "What do you say we have no more secrets, if that's okay. If it's not, that's okay too."
Marinette hummed in thought for a few moments, clearly weighing their options and figuring out how to respond and what they should do. "Now that we know each other's identities, I think it's best we don't have secrets. And I guess since I am the Guardian now, it makes sense that I know who you are since Master Fu knew who we were with and without our disguises," she reasoned.
"Purr-fect," Adrien grinned.
"Ye—yeah. Perfect." Marinette spoke, ignoring or missing his pun. "Mou and ye. Cepfert. I mean perfect," Marinette exclaimed, shaking her head to clear the nonsense that she'd spoken.
"Marinette, what's wrong?" Adrien asked, brows scrunching together in concern as he saw the nervousness and uncertainty in her features. "We're being honest with no more secrets. Please talk to me," he gently implored of her.
"Oh, this is going to sound so stupid," Marinette spoke, hiding her face behind her hands as if to hide her embarrassment.
"No it's not. Probably," Plagg said from the shelf above the pair where he and Tikki had decided to sit and wait while their holders talked things over.
"Plagg, not helping," Adrien said, shooting a pointed glare in his kwami's direction, hoping it would prevent Plagg from being unhelpfully helpful. "Now, what's bothering you?"
"You're going to laugh."
"I promise I won't. Whatever it is, it's okay," Adrien spoke, a comforting smile adorning his face in a way he hoped would help Marinette feel comfortable sharing whatever she needed to. "We're a team."
Taking a deep and steadying breath, Marinette prepared herself for the things she needed to say. Adrien waited silently, giving her all the time she needed to compose herself. There were things he wanted to talk about with her and needed to work though with her, but whatever she needed to say was affecting her more than what he needed to say was affecting him. He was more than happy to let her go first. "Okay," Marinette briefly paused again. "Since I found out that you weren't mean or really anything like Chloé and since you offered me your umbrella, I—I've been in love with you. It was so sweet and selfless and I saw a side of you I didn't expect to see. The pictures of you I have in my room aren't because I love fashion and your dad's designs, though I guess it partially is," she trailed off a little. "But because I love you. That's why I denied Chat so many times. You were the other boy I was and am in love with." Though she'd turned to look at the floor rather than meeting Adrien's eyes at some point during her explanation, Marinette met his eyes through her lashes.
Adrien couldn't help but offer Marinette a broad smile as their eyes met again. She was in love with him. Ladybug was admitting to being in love with him! Marinette was in love with him! 'But is she in love with Chat Noir?' he found himself questioning as his excitement came to a grinding halt. She'd denied him so many times, he began to think as the smile on his face dimmed. He was himself when he really was himself as Adrien, but he was himself with more freedom and without the expectations of his father when he was Chat Noir. Did Marinette love that side of him too, or not?
"But how do you feel about Chat?" he asked, breaking the silence that had settled between him.
"Well," Marinette began, reaching for Adrien's hand, then changing her mind and pulling her hand back. "I've spent so long denying you, and denying that I felt anything for Chat," she shook her head. "The truth is that when I thought I was going to lose you, my partner, my Kitty, after what happened in New York, I was scared. I think that was when I realized that I was falling in love with Chat, but I denied it," she admitted, biting her lip nervously as she waited for his response. "You've made it clear that you're in love with Ladybug, but not me," she sighed. "I just—I just needed to be honest with you about everything. No more secrets," she said, looking down again in what was clearly an attempt to hide the sadness Adrien saw in her eyes.
"Marinette," Adrien spoke gently, reaching to take one of her hands in his, and completing the action she'd been unable to. "Look at me, please," he said gently. "I know I made my feelings for Ladybug clear as often as I could," he began once she looked up to meet his eyes. "I fell for Ladybug because of her intelligence and bravery, the way she always comes up with a plan and is there whenever I need her. But I also knew I loved the girl behind the mask. You're everything Ladybug is and so much more. You're the best friend anyone could ask for. Caring, compassionate, always ready to help anyone with anything. That's why you're the best Ladybug.
"And like you'd been denying how you felt about Chat," he continued. "I'd been denying how I felt about you, Marinette. I can't pinpoint exactly when I started falling for you," he said, a small grin playing at the corner of his lips again. "Just that I have. Because you're one of the best friends a person could ever wish for, and I love you, Marinette."
"Awww," Tikki and Plagg spoke together from their perch.
"Guys," Adrien groaned.
"It's just so sweet," Tikki said. "Not that you had to find out each other's identities, but that you've finally realized and admitted how you feel," she gushed.
"Took 'em long enough," Plagg replied with a roll of his eyes, his moment of compassion a few seconds prior slipping away in the blink of an eye.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Adrien said, drawing Marinette's attention away from their kwamis. "Would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?"
"You know, a broom closet isn't exactly where a girl wants to be asked out," Marinette commented with a laugh.
"I guess not," Adrien agreed, using his free hand to scratch the back of his neck in the way he tended to do when he was nervous. "I could, um, try again later."
"I never said no," Marinette replied cheekily.
"So that's a yes?"
"Yes," Marinette confirmed.
Instantly, Adrien's smile crossed his whole face. "So, you know, I'd be pretty honored if you would be my first kiss," he said, a nervousness that was uncharacteristic of him taking over his speech.
"Technically, I might have already been," Marinette said. Suddenly, her eyes widened and she pulled her hand back from Adrien. "Adrien Agreste was my first kiss!" she exclaimed, before hiding her face behind her hands once again.
"No," Adrien replied with a laugh. "Chat Noir was Ladybug's first kiss and vise versa even though I don't remember it," he said. "But Adrien, he's still waiting," he explained. "Marinette," he continued, his voice still soft as he reached to cautiously touch her hands since she was still using them to hide her face. He guided her hands away from her face and into his own hands. "May I?" he asked.
"Yes," Marinette answered with a smile as a small blush appeared on her face.
Adrien made a mental note of how adorable Marinette looked with the blush just barely dusting her cheeks as he leaned down to place a kiss on her lips. In that perfect moment, the two became so lost in their own world that they didn't hear any of the noise that was outside the broom closet.
"There you two are!" Alya exclaimed, pulling the door wide open. Her loud exclamation caused the kissing couple to quickly pull away from each other, and had their kwamis ducking behind the supplies in the closet so they wouldn't be spotted. "We've been looking all over the hotel for you."
"What are you dudes still doing in here?" Nino asked.
"We were hiding," Adrien quickly exclaimed.
"Hiding?" Alya questioned skeptically. "That's really what it looked like you were doing just now."
"We were in the hall when Ladybug and Chat Noir came through battling the akumatized person," Marinette explained. "They told us to hide in here."
"Okay," Nino nodded.
"So Ladybug decided to play matchmaker again and finally got the two of you together?" Alya asked with a smirk.
"I guess you could say that," Adrien agreed.
"Awesome," Nino smiled.
"C'mon," Alya said. "Get out of this musty broom closet. Everyone was still in the dining room so we should head back there."
"Right," Marinette agreed. Alya and Nino turned to head back towards the dining room first since they were blocking the exit from the closet. Marinette and Adrien paused for a moment so Tikki and Plagg could join them again before they followed their best friends back to the dining room hand-in-hand.
Alya was already telling everyone her version of what she'd just learned about how Ladybug played matchmaker again and somehow managed to finally get Adrien and Marinette together. The news was met with cheers from most of the class and a groan from Chloé.
After allowing the class a moment to chat now that everyone was accounted for, their teacher, M. Pascal suggested that everyone return to their work for the day so they could get the most out of the experience despite the lost time during the akuma battle.
~o~
Following the Work Experience Day where she faced the Garbage Man as Ladybug, Marinette knew things would be different. First with knowing her partner's identity, and dating him in real life. But she was the more confident version of herself and was embracing a little more of Ladybug everyday with that confidence. With Chat Noir/her boyfriend/her best friend by her side, she knew things would be just fine.
Bonus:
For the first few days after Leo was akumaized, things were fairly quiet in Paris. Under the cover of night time patrols, Ladybug and Chat Noir shared a few rooftop kisses following the accidental reveal and their decision to begin dating. Though the two were actually incredibly comfortable around each other because of the year they spent as partners, they toned things down and acted more like a normal, new couple when they were around others. The few stolen moments they had alone allowed them more freedom to be as close as they were because of their close friendship and partnership.
However, the lack of an akuma meant that for a few days after Adrien and Marinette became a couple, people didn't see Chat Noir and Ladybug in the light of day.
When an akuma alert went out on Saturday the week of the Work Experience Day, Adrien and Marinette were at their respective homes. From their rooms, upon looking out their windows, they could see where they needed to go. Quickly, the two transformed and headed off in the direction of the terror that was raining down on Paris.
"Afternoon, M'lady," Chat greeted Ladybug, taking her hand in his and placing a kiss on her knuckles as he often did.
"We've got work to do," Ladybug replied, pulling her hand away as she often would and beginning to assess the situation at hand. While dodging hits and making sure citizens were out of the way and to safety, the two worked out their plan together. They figured out where the akuma was and after using their Lucky Charm and Cataclysm, they were successfully able to free the akuma, and Ladybug promptly purified it before setting it free.
"Pound it," Ladybug and Chat Noir spoke simultaneously as they held their fists out to each other. After completing the action, Chat Noir took Ladybug's hand in his and pulled her close to his chest.
"A kiss, M'lady?"
"Chat," Ladybug said, stepping back and poking his chest to move him away from her.
"What?" Chat asked.
'Later,' Ladybug mouthed. "Bug out," she said to everyone who'd gathered around at the end of the fight before throwing her yo-yo into the distance and disappearing.
Chat watched her go momentarily before his ring gave a beep to warn him of his impending transformation back to a civilian. He gave a wave to everyone before using his baton to disappear as well. Though Paris was a large city and finding Ladybug should have been a difficult task, since he was looking for her, finding her was easy for Chat Noir. He spotted Ladybug in an alley between two buildings and dropped down beside her. "Hey," he greeted her.
"Hey," she replied. Ladybug glanced up and down the alley for a moment before speaking again. "Spots off," she said. Her transformation dematerialized around her so Marinette stood in the alley where Ladybug had been seconds before.
"Claws in," Chat spoke so he returned to being Adrien. "Why didn't you let me kiss you back there?" Adrien asked as she retrieved a piece of camembert for Plagg. "Did you not want to kiss me?"
"No, of course I wanted to kiss you. I mean—oh, whatever. I did, but don't you think it would be a little suspicious if Chat Noir and Ladybug were so lovey dovey with each other all of the sudden at the same time as Adrien and Marinette started dating?" Marinette questioned.
Reluctantly, Adrien nodded. Marinette made a good point he hadn't even considered yet. Sure, Paris was a big place, but it could get back to Hawk Moth and Adrien Agreste and Marinette Dupain-Cheng began dating at the same time as Chat Noir and Ladybug. It would put their friends and family in more danger than them knowing each other's identities potentially could. "You're right," Adrien agreed verbally. "But I think I still need to flirt with you, M'lady. Might be suspicious if I suddenly stopped," he said, taking her knuckles to place a kiss on them once again.
"Chat," Marinette laughed at the action she was much more used to seeing from Chat Noir than Adrien Agreste.
"You still owe me a kiss," he noted.
"Oh do I?"
"Yeah," Adrien agreed, pulling her close to his chest to place a tender and loving kiss on her lips.
A few minutes later, the two said their goodbyes to each other before making their way back to their homes. It'd take a little while to get used to their new dynamic and the things they needed to not do as their alter egos, but Adrien and Marinette were sure that they could accomplish anything together.
A/N: This is my first foray into the Miraculous fandom, so forgive me if there are things I got wrong. I'm still learning about the show and rewatching (and I don't know French because I took Latin). But if there are things that I mixed up/ missed/ made a mistake with, please point it out in a respectful way so I can not make that mistake again and improve with any future Miraculous fics.
Thanks for reading,
-CrazyHayniac