Hello everyone! I'm back with another oneshot! A quick note before we begin. This fic is very spoiler-heavy for Glaciator 2. I have taken some liberties with the translation of Marinette's dialogue. I do not speak French, so I was going off an English sub, and some of the wording just seemed a little off to me, so I tweaked it. If you're reading this after the English dub has come out, and it's totally off, I apologize. Now, enjoy this alternate ending to the latest episode!
Adrien was always one to indulge a friend, and as Chat Noir, even more so. So even though his day had started with his partner literally chucking him in the bin, leaving him feeling almost the worst he'd ever felt in his life (apart from the weeks after his mother's disappearance) when Marinette demanded his time, he didn't say no.
And now, he reflected, gazing at her glowing face in the twilight, he was glad he hadn't turned her down. The day may have started poorly, but spending time with Marinette, like usual, had really made him feel better.
She stuttered in practicing her confession of love speech, drawing him back to the moment.
"What's wrong? That one was going well."
She groaned. "It just..doesn't sound like me." She paused, biting her lip, hands tightening on the piece of paper grasped in her hands, then gave a deep sigh and began to speak, eyes closed. "The day we met, I judged you unfairly. I thought you were pretentious and superficial. But as I got to know you better, I saw who you truly were inside. Someone gentle, honest, and generous." She paused, opening her eyes, not making eye contact with him, but instead gazing over his head, as if imagining the object of her affections in front of her. Her cheeks glowed, and she gave a smile that made Chat's mind melt a little. "And ever since, I've wanted to tell you something, but every time I try, it's like my mind explodes!"
She giggled softly, and Chat smiled. Marinette really was adorable.
"But this time I think I'm ready," she continued. She lowered her gaze, looking Chat straight in the eye. "I love you...Adrien."
Chat promptly fell off his stool.
"Oh my gosh, Chat Noir, are you alright?" Marinette's hands flew to her mouth as she stared in shock, before quickly kneeling down to help him up.
Chat, trying to remember how to breathe, took the offered hand, rising to his feet. "I—um, I—" his heart pounded in his chest as he tried to process what he had just heard. "A-Adrien? Adrien Agreste? The model? You love Adrien?"
Marinette's cheeks flamed, and she let out a panicked squeak. "Oh! Oh, um, did-did I say Adrien?"
Chat swallowed hard and gave a small nod, and her shoulders fell as she planted her face in her hands, mumbling something.
"Uh, what was that?"
"I'm so embarrassed," she cried, beginning to pace the balcony and gesturing wildly. "You must think I'm some kind of crazy fangirl. But it's not like that, he's in my class, I actually know him. We're very good friends." She smiled softly to herself, before remembering the situation and whirling to face Chat. "Please, you can't tell anyone! I mean, most of my friends already know that I have a crush on him, but he doesn't know! I've been trying to tell him for ages, but I always seem to make a fool of myself. And if I don't tell him at the right time then we'll never get married and have three kids and a hamster…" She trailed off, a dreamy smile crossing her face, before again remembering who she was talking to and grabbing his shoulders with both hands, blurting, "Oh-please-Chat-please-don't-tell-anyone!"
Chat's mind was racing. Was this actually real? Was this really happening? Her grip tightened slightly, and he stared into her desperate eyes, the same bluebell shade as Ladybug's, and all he could do was nod.
She gave a strained smile, and then, to his surprise, drew him into a hug. "Thanks, Chat Noir. I know I can count on you."
He nodded again, and she drew back, her hands dropping to clasp nervously, twitching in her own grip.
"Marinette!" someone called, and they both jumped.
"My dad," she said. "Got to go."
Chat sprung into action, sweeping his baton beneath himself and vaulting off the balcony in one fell swoop. As he raced home over the rooftops, his mind played on repeat the scene he had just left.
"I love you… Adrien."
Releasing his transformation as soon as he rolled through his window, he caught Plagg in his cupped hands. "She loves me! And, and wants to get married and have kids and a hamster and—"
Plagg held up a paw. "Whoa whoa whoa. Cheese first. Then you can have a mental breakdown."
Grabbing a hunk of cheese from the stash, Adrien impatiently waited for his Kwami to eat.
"Marinette is in love with me!"
Plagg raised an eyebrow. "Pigtails finally confessed, did she?"
Adrien frowned at the little deity. "You knew about it?"
"She wasn't exactly subtle," Plagg waved a paw, "Remember the statue thing?"
Adrien shook his head. "What should I do?" Crossing the room, Plagg floating behind, Adrien flopped backward onto his bed. "First Ladybug chucks me in a garbage bin—"
"Which, by the way, totally not cool," frowned Plagg.
Ignoring him, Adrien continued, "And shut me down, maybe for good this time. And now Marinette confesses her love for me, to me! Well, she doesn't know that, but now I know that she knows that she loves me, and I don't know what to do about it!"
Plagg was silent, floating above his pillow.
With a sigh, Adrien sat up, then stood and crossed the room to his desk. Waking up his computer, his mouse moved to hover over the garbage bin file, where his pictures of Ladybug had been dumped, much like she had dumped him earlier that day. Hesitating, he took his hand off the mouse, spinning to face his enormous room and burying his face in his hands.
Plagg slowly hovered over, an unusually contemplative expression on his face. "Kid, look. Maybe it's time to move on? You like Pigtails. And Ladybug has made it clear that she's not interested."
Adrien didn't speak for a minute, but finally lifted his head to look at the little god. "You should have seen her, Plagg. She was radiant."
Plagg didn't ask who he was talking about, knowing that with the way Adrien's day had gone, either girl could fit the description (well, only one girl seeing as they were the same person, not that Adrien would know that).
Adrien spun around in his chair again to face the monitor. Resuming his hold on the mouse, he right-clicked the trash file, hesitating only for a moment before selecting delete permanently. He pulled up his photo file, navigating to the Friends folder, quickly locating a picture of the group taken at a class picnic a couple of months prior. He was standing next to Marinette, an arm around her shoulder for the picture and giving a photo-worthy smile to the camera. He hadn't noticed before, but Marinette was looking at him rather than the photographer, the same tender expression on her face that she had worn when practicing her confession just an hour prior.
Adrien stared at the photo for a long time, trying to reconcile his feelings for a girl who would not love him, and another who already did.
At last, he sent the photo to his phone. It would make a good wallpaper if tomorrow's conversation went well. Turning off his computer, he walked back over to his bed.
"So…" Plagg prompted. "Have you made a decision?"
Adrien sighed again, but it was a sigh of acceptance. "It's time that I stop pining after Ladybug. I had a really good time with Marinette today. Hanging out, going to the movies. She makes me laugh. I think I need that right now."
Plagg grinned a toothy smile. "I think that's a smart choice, Kid. Ooh, and I can't wait to see the look on her face!"
"Oh, which reminds me," Adrien chuckled, smiling innocently at his kwami. "Would you help me practice asking her out?"
Thank you for reading! This is most likely a oneshot, but I have a couple of other Miraculous fics in the works, so feel free to follow me for future updates! I also have another Miraculous oneshot titled "The Chat, the Seamstress, and the Sewing Lessons (Or Lack Thereof)" that you can find on my profile if you're looking for another quick read. Until next time, lovely readers!