A/N: At first I was going to stop and leave you all with just the dream reveal... but I'm a sucker for a HEA!
When she woke up everything was groggy and hazy. She sat up and rubbed her head with her hand.
"Tikki?" she looked around for her little kwami and spotted her curled up and asleep on a pillow. She was out cold. Marinette squinted, trying to remember why Tikki would be so tired.
Hadn't she offered something... a gift... a memory... a secret. It was still fuzzy and the details were very much out of her grasp but she was starting to remember. Tikki offered her to see what it would be like if Adrien loved her. She had two hours. There was a picnic with her friends and... then... she woke up. Marinette couldn't remember.
Slowly, she started getting ready for the day. She had her outfit picked out for her birthday and her backpack ready to head out, but she was still slow to move. Something felt... odd. She knew she was forgetting something very important but she couldn't remember what it was. Despite it being her birthday and a day she usually loved to celebrate, a little bubble of dread was buried deep in her chest and she couldn't understand why.
She had a feeling that the dream-wish had caused her more anxiety than expected. How could Adrien loving her have caused her stress?
Although it was already an hour later Tikki was still sleeping by the time it she left for school. Marinette carefully scooped her up and placed her in her purse along with some extra cookies for the day. Marinette desperately wanted to talk to Tikki but it would have to wait.
Her mother and father greeted her with hugs and birthday wishes, which helped bring a little more excitement to her day, and she scolded herself on the way to school. What Tikki had given her was a look into some fantasy land (that she couldn't even remember). It wasn't real and it most definitely wasn't worth being upset over on today of all days. She needed to focus on her family, friends, and everyone who was coming to celebrate her day in the park after school.
With a new determined attitude Marinette was ready for the day.
It went fine. Everything was fine. She sat down in her room after a long day of socializing and laughing with her friends; she was happy and satisfied and felt very loved. But... something was wrong.
Something she had forgotten that was clawing at her brain.
"Tikki?"
During the picnic Marinette noticed Tikki was feeling better and moving around in her purse. She snuck her a few extra treats throughout the day but there wasn't an opportunity to talk until they arrived home.
"Happy Birthday, Marinette!" Tikki dashed forward and nuzzled against Marinette's cheek which made her smile automatically. Tikki really was her best friend now.
"Thank you, Tikki!"
"The picnic was so much fun and everything was so tasty," Tikki reclined back onto the little bed Marinette had fashioned for her.
"I had such a great day with everyone. But now that we're home I was hoping to talk to you about my dream... your gift."
"Of course, Marinette, what do you want to know?" Tikki nodded.
"Well... I don't remember it completely, Tikki, but the things I do remember aren't settling well with me. Something during it made me very uncomfortable and now for the life of me I can't figure out what I forgot!" Marinette sat back in her desk chair and spun in a circle thoughtfully.
"There must have been something you weren't supposed to learn," Tikki said carefully, her voice a little less happy than it was just seconds before. That got Marinette's attention.
"What do you mean?"
"I still have to follow the rules and... and if somehow the dream broke the rules then I'm not surprised you can't remember. The magic isn't letting you," Tikki explained. Marinette considered her words.
"Do you remember the dream, Tikki?"
"No, I don't. I let my magic control the dream-world. I was very sleepy throughout it all, I was using most of my energy to keep it going. I do know there was an akuma attack in the dream - that made me a little more tired than I expected."
"I'm so sorry, Tikki..." Marinette frowned as she realized how much she'd exhausted her friend for personal gain. It didn't feel right and maybe that was the origin of the regret/guilt/bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.
"So what did Adrien get you?" Tikki flew over to the pile of unopened presents her parents had brought up to her room. She was going to make sure to write thank you notes for all of her friends and wanted to individually unwrap the gifts with care.
"Let's find out!" Marinette reached for the green bag Adrien gifted to her and pulled out the tissues paper from it. Inside were two items and a note: a light pink scarf and an umbrella. Marinette stared at the items on her lap and her brain started going haywire. These were two items that meant a lot to Marinette and... did Adrien have the same sentiments? She reached for the note and read it with hungry eyes.
Marinette,
Happy Birthday! I am so glad I was able to celebrate with you this year.
I hope you didn't open this gift and feel confused. We've been friends for a few years now but there have been a moments in our friendship that meant the most to me, and that's why I decided on these gifts.
I've known for a while now that you made a scarf for me on my birthday. And I know you let me think it was my father's gift to me. At first, I didn't understand. As I got to know you better I was able to figure it out: you were trying to make me happy. You always put others' happiness first and I cannot explain how grateful I am for that. While I didn't make this scarf myself, I did see it and immediately think of you. Honestly, most of the time I see any scarf I think of you now. But this one would look good on you, I think... anyways!
The umbrella, well, I'm not sure if you even remember this but on our first day of school we didn't immediately get along. Eventually we were able to start over and I offered you my umbrella on the way out of the school, which you accepted. That was the moment I considered us friends and am so grateful that you forgot your umbrella that day, and that I could show you a little bit of kindness that you've repaid tenfold over the years. So consider this a long-overdue gift: your very own, much-needed umbrella.
I don't think I'd be able to say all of this aloud so I'll just finish off while I have your attention: You are one of my best friends and I value that more than you know. So thank you, Marinette, for everything and I hope the year ahead brings you great joy.
Your Good Friend,
Adrien
Marinette almost fainted. Her jaw was slack and her cheeks were bright red. He remembered the umbrella! He knew about the scarf! He considered her one of his best friends!
"TIKKI!" Marinette felt a burst of energy and stood up from the chair, dancing around the room like the lovesick fool she was. "He remembered the umbrella! He thought it was special, too!"
Tikki giggled and watched Marinette's antics from the comfort of her little bed.
"I'm putting this right here!" She pinned the note to the center of her board above her desk, so whenever she looked up from her computer or sewing machine she would see it at exact eye-level. She draped the scarf over her shoulders and brought it up to her nose, inhaling. It even smelled like Adrien!
She paraded around the room, practicing theoretical conversations with herself, debating on how to thank him. Should she wear the scarf to school on Monday? Would that look too eager? Or would that be nice?
She flopped down onto her back, laying her bed with the scarf wrapped around her neck. She sighed contentedly, grinning, and kicked her feet in the air with unbound excitement. Adrien was so nice, and sweet, and handsome, and-
Marinette screamed.
Because peering down at her from the window to the balcony were two piercing green eyes that she did not expect to see. She caught herself as she tumbled sideways off of her lofted bed, not-so-gracefully landing on her feet, luckily unscathed.
"Marinette! Are you okay!" Chat was suddenly in her room, hopping down the stairs and crouching next to her on the floor, his arm around her in support. He must have considered her potentially breaking a bone a good excuse to break into her room!
"Chat you nearly scared me to death!"
"Literally... but not on purpose!" Chat hauled her up and dusted off her shoulder for good measure.
"What are you doing here?" she said impatiently, frazzled from her fall.
"Word around the neighborhood is that it's a certain princess's birthday and I figured I'd pay her a visit. You were... um... a little excited so I didn't want to distract you from your, uh, birthday dance? I was waiting."
Marinette turned red as can be. He saw her hopping around like a lunatic mooning over Adrien! GAH! How embarrassing!
"That was nothing, I was just - uh - exercising! Yep, just doing some cardio around the room. Heh," she smiled and clasped her hands together in front of her, trying to hide her embarrassment. (And failing miserably.)
"Whatever you say, princess," Chat smiled and winked, clearly not believing a word out of her mouth. But he didn't press the matter or make fun of her about it. Instead he bounced between his heels and toes and his eyes shifted around the room.
"Been opening your presents?"
"Oh-uh-just the one so far!" Marinette grabbed the edge of her scarf and waved it around a bit, letting the fringes at the end tickle Chat's nose. He swatted it away playfully.
"That's a nice-looking scarf," he said with a little extra enthusiasm and Marinette felt a flood of embarrassment so strong she wanted to disappear into a hole. Had he seen her... hugging it? Oh boy...
"That shade of pink is your favorite, right?" But he was just staring at the scarf, his eyes a little bit eager for the answer.
"Oh, yeah it is," Marinette tried to sound casual and hoped he wasn't thinking she was crazy or anything after witnessing her over-excited antics.
"It looks good on you! Whoever got it for you must really know you well," he said, again with the enthusiasm. Now Marinette was getting suspicious. Why was he so fixated on the scarf unless he did see her rolling around?
"So you heard it was my birthday?" Marinette changed the subject abruptly, doing her best to deflect the conversation away from the scarf (and her behavior).
"Oh yeah! I have a gift for you, its up on the balcony! I dropped it when I saw you fall. Luckily its not fragile or anything." Chat leapt up to the balcony hatch and was back down in seconds, this time with a rectangular box that was not-so-perfectly wrapped. Marinette grinned at the state of it.
"Did you wrap it yourself?" She giggled.
"I tried..." he smiled big and his hand went up behind his head to massage the back of his neck.
"It's great, Chat. I really appreciate that you took the time to do that for me." She smiled and meant it genuinely. Even though it wasn't perfectly straight, it was perfectly thoughtful.
Suddenly an image flashed in her mind: Chat, extending an identical box to Ladybug, on the rooftop of a random building in broad daylight. He looked distressed and he spoke, "Marinette..."
"Welllllll open it!" he clapped his hands and rubbed them together in anticipation. The sound made Marinette completely snap out of her bizarre daydream and she shook her head to clear the image. What was that?
His eyes were flickering from her face to her hands where she held the present. Marinette focused back on the present and followed his suggestion to open it. She peeled back the paper to find a plain, white box and Chat nodded in encouragement as she started to open it. When the top was off she couldn't help but laugh aloud at the content. It was a doll, a Chat Noir doll, that looked like it had been crocheted by someone who did not know how to crochet. And she loved every centimeter of it.
"Chat Noir, this is the most adorable thing I have ever seen," she laughed and set down the box but held the plushie out in front of her, admiring his work.
"I've never crocheted before, so I watched instructional videos online - a lot - and I know it's kind of, um, disproportionate, but I think it turned out pretty good!" He was basically bouncing with excitement, not holding back how proud he was he was of his efforts. Marinette hugged the little plushie against her.
"It's fantastic, you did a wonderful job and I love it."
"I thought you could nickname him Kitten Noir, feel free to tell him how much you secretly love him when you're lonely and missing the real thing," he grinned at her.
Another memory came crashing down on her and the scene played out like a movie in her mind.
Chat was reaching out towards Ladybug, he looked extremely upset.
"Wait, Marinette, please don't go. I know you're scared, but I thought we agreed..." he looked crushed. "I love you."
She sucked in a sharp breath and Chat, in real time, reached out to steady her.
"Are you okay, Marinette? Did you hurt yourself in that fall?" He gave her a brief once-over checking for an injury. Marinette just stared at him, her brow furrowing in confusion.
Those had to be scenes from her dream. Chat was calling her Marinette while she was was transformed into Ladybug. In her dream Chat had known her identity. But... how did that make sense? Why would Chat know her identity in a world where Adrien was in love with her? And why was Chat telling Marinette he loved her?
"I-I'm sorry. I had a head rush. I was up really early today and now I'm up way later than usual. Not that I mind you stopping over, it's just late." She finished her excuse lamely.
"Oh! I should have thought about that. As Chat Noir I'm naturally a night-owl, Chat on the prowl, your nighttime neighborhood watch; so I'm used to being up later than average. I wanted to give you your gift though. I'm sorry for barging in the way I did, but I'm glad you liked it." Chat was taking her head rush as a cue to leave and Marinette didn't stop him. She needed to think, and maybe talk to Tikki.
"Thanks, Chat. I loved your gift and..." She walked over to her bed and placed Kitten Noir on the shelf above her bed. "Now I'll be safe with one of Paris's superheroes watching over me!"
Chat blushed a little under his mask but she barely had time to see it because he started doing his typical farewell bow and was saying his goodbyes to "Princess Marinette". Marinette reached forward and, following her instincts, wrapped her arms around Chat's torso to quickly embrace him in a friendly and grateful hug. His gift and visit had been unexpected but greatly appreciated. Chat didn't miss a beat and hugged her back briefly before climbing to her window and disappearing up onto the balcony.
Once he was fully out of sight Marinette's face scrunched up in confusion: what had those flashes been about?
"Tikki! I had flashes of something. Chat Noir was on a rooftop calling me Marinette and telling me he loved me. It had to be from my dream. Why would that have happened? Did the magic get mixed up?" Marinette recalled the flashes and rounded on Tikki. If that was what the dream had been about then Marientte was certain that's what had unsettled her about it.
Tikki, however, didn't respond for a few moments. "Well, Marinette, magic isn't perfect."
Marinette paused and waited for her to say more but that seemed to be all she intended to speak of the matter. Little bells were going off in Marinette's head and her suspicion grew. Why was Tikki behaving so oddly? Marinette pouted but knew better than to press her little kwami. When Tikki didn't want to talk she was unmoving.
Instead, Marinette started brainstorming. Maybe the magic didn't behave exactly how they expected. It had taken a lot out of Tikki, and an error was definitely a possibility.
Chat was often stopping by and he stayed for up to an hour at a time. She could even say that as her civilian self she probably new him better than she did as Ladybug. Of course they had their own special and irrefutable bond as superheroes (and she wasn't discrediting that), but when Chat was on her rooftop and relaxed he was more vulnerable. That, plus the unexpected gift and visit today, kept leading her brain to only one plausible solution: Chat had a crush on her as Marinette.
She eyed Tikki but didn't inquire. Tikki knew who Chat was and most likely interacted with Plagg sometimes without Marinette knowing. Perhaps Tikki knew about Chat's crush on Marinette and that's why she was refusing to speak any more. It made sense, she supposed...
Ultimately that meant Chat had a crush on her and... her! Oh no! Marinette suddenly felt horribly guilty. Chat probably thought he had a crush on someone new, could even start moving on from his seemingly endless crush on Ladybug, only to fall in love with the same girl! The guilt was mixed with a shameful wave of appreciation. Chat maybe liked her for who she really was, too; boring old Marinette, not just the fantastical superhero Ladybug.
But this was all just a theory! It was all just a silly theory based on a dream that wasn't even real... based on a fantasy.
Based on fantasy...
Did that mean that she wished that Chat loved her? As Marinette? Is that what the dream meant? The panic rising in her chest was sudden and strong. What if she was the one who was secretly in love!? Her eyes landed on one of the few photographs of Adrien that was still posted on her corkboard. No. She loved Adrien. Didn't she? Her eyes then swerved to the little Chat plushie and her cheeks reddened. His gift had been so cute and thoughtful and...
"Tikki help!" Marinette was close to meltdown mode now. "What if I love Chat Noir! What if I love Chat and Adrien? What if Chat loves me?! What did the dream mean? What do I do?"
"Calm down, Marinette. Nothing has to be decided right now. You're allowed to have feelings and sort them out as things unfold in front of you." Tikki floated in front of her and Marinette swallowed but nodded.
"Why don't you put on a movie and try to fall asleep? It could be a nice distraction. Or open the rest of your gifts and start outlining the thank you notes."
Marinette nodded at the second suggestion, liking that idea to take her mind off of whatever the dream-gift had meant, what was bothering her about it, and anything Chat related.
"Gifts. Right. Thank you notes: I'll do that," Marinette started towards the gifts and did what she did best: focus on how she could thank her friends and give back for their amazing gifts to her.
She would figure out how to thank Chat later. Later. Whenever her brain could calm down.
By Monday morning Marinette was still tired. Most of her weekend was spent trying to figure out the dream, its meaning, and where it all went wrong (without Tikki's help, which was becoming increasingly frustrating). Now she was sleepy and walking into her classroom with just a few minutes to spare.
"Hi, Marinette! Did you have a nice birthday weekend?" Adrien was the first person to greet her. When he did she was almost relieved to feel those familiar little butterflies in her stomach and her cheeks heated up in excitement. See, she thought to herself, it's Adrien that I'm in love with!
"It was relaxing and I spent family time together - uh - with my family, of course. Since that's what family times is. Thank you for asking Adrien. I-um-the weather was so nice I wasn't able to use either of your gifts today but at the first sign of bad weather I'll be putting them to use." Marinette messed up the first part of her response but was pleased that by the end that her words were less jumbled.
"I'm glad you liked them," Adrien said shyly and blushed a little. Marinette almost missed her seat as she watched him blush because it was just so adorable she didn't want to look away. Alya laughed and elbowed her gently, nudging her out of her stare.
At lunchtime the four of them, Adrien, Nino, Alya, and Marinette, settled at one of the tables in the courtyard. It was nice to spend a lunch hour with together, since oftentimes one of them had another obligation. It was going well when halfway through their meal Chloe strutted over and plopped down in the empty space next to Adrien.
"Adrikins, I'm so glad you're here today for lunch! I wanted to tell you about my weekend." Chloe had no problem interrupting the conversation he was having with Alya, talking over her rudely.
"Me and Alya are talking right now, Chloe. Maybe later you can tell me about your weekend," Adrien suggested patiently. Marinette was always so impressed with Adrien's kindness and patience, just another reason to add to the list of why she loved him (and not Chat).
"You can not be serious. I'm sure these losers are boring you to tears."
At this Adrien frowned slightly and sighed, sounding irritated. "My friends aren't losers, Chloe, and if you think they are then you must think I am, too, since we all have a lot in common."
"Oh, Adrien, you're hilarious," Chloe brushed her hand against is upper arm and he scooted away from her slightly, closer to Nino, and sent her a side-eyed look of pure irritation.
Marinette knew that she hadn't experienced Adrien irritated often, so when a flash of Adrien's face twisted in an annoyed little pout overcame her thoughts Marinette was surprised. It was another memory; another dream.
Adrien had been annoyed with her? Or irritated by something?
"Chloe, I'm not joking and if you're going to be mean to my friends then we'll have to catch up some other time." Adrien's tone was final. She huffed and flipped her hair, laughing off Adrien's words.
"Fine, I'll call daddy and have him set up an outing for us to spend one-on-one time this weekend." Chloe sounded excited and Adrien didn't respond in any way, but Chloe must have been satisfied with that because she decided to walk away.
"Dude I don't know how you handle her after all of these years," Nino said offhandedly.
"She's really not so bad when it's just the two of us." Adrien sighed but shrugged. "Forget about her, let's just enjoy ourselves."
Marinette would have loved to do that, but her brain was assaulting her with a fresh wave of dream memories and she was increasingly becoming more confused than ever.
"...I'm just glad my dad let me come to the picnic so I could be here to celebrate your birthday... Come on." Adrien was holding her hand and pulling her along.
The scene changed abruptly.
Adrien looked annoyed.
"Adrien, is something wrong?"
Adrien made a 'pfft' noise and rolled his eyes. "Are you serious, Marinette?"
"Yes! What's the matter?" Marinette's voice was raising.
"I thought you loved me, Adrien... Please, Adrien." Almost begging.
"You know I do," Adrien said back.
Even in the present, Marinette's heart skipped a beat at the admission. But the flashes were disjointed and jumping - she was having trouble following along.
"This was your idea! What's wrong with you?" Adrien's voice was raised, too, and he looked hurt.
"Chat?"
Marinette gasped and she was back in the courtyard, her appetite gone. What. Was. That.
"Chat?" Alya's head tilted as she looked at her best friend, repeating the word Marinette had breathed aloud without meaning to. Marinette, however, was so stricken by the flashes that she couldn't focus on anything except recalling the memories that were now surfacing. She stood up on unsteady legs and stuttered out an excuse.
"I-I forgot something - be back." She refused to look at him as she walked away from her friends. No way. WHAT?!
Somehow she made it to the empty locker room without falling over and when she sat down, nearly hyperventilating at this point, Tikki floating into her eyesight was the only thing keeping her centered.
Because in her dream Adrien had been Chat Noir. In her dream her brain had taken two people she cared deeply for and merged them. Tikki's magic, which was supposed to make Adrien fall in love with her also made Chat fall in love with her.
Was this a case of magic-gone-wrong? Or...
"There must have been something you weren't supposed to learn... I still have to follow the rules and if somehow the dream broke the rules then I'm not surprised you can't remember. The magic isn't letting you."
Tikki had told her that. Tikki said the magic was fighting her learning the truth. A truth she wasn't supposed to know... like Chat's identity.
"Adrien is Chat Noir," she said with a shaky voice, her eyes wide and heart beating so heavily in her chest she thought she may pass out.
"No, no, no," Tikki said frantically, her little hands on her cheeks in worry. The tone was not one of denial, but one of regret.
"Tikki, Adrien is Chat Noir! Adrien crocheted me Kitten Noir, Adrien is a total goofball... Adrien is my-my Kitty!" The rollercoaster of emotions was jarring. Shock, horror, relief, joy, more shock... it was all hitting her at once. "Adrien is in love with me!"
Marinette stood up, twirling around in a circle, unable to contain the wave of pure love and optimism that overcame her when she realized that Adrien was in love with her!
And then she abruptly stopped, her jaw slacking and face falling as she realized something else. Adrien was the boy she had been rejecting for years. Adrien was...
"Chat!"
A/N: Uh-oh! I'd love to hear what you think. Thank you for reading!