(Reveal (And Switch) is an Identity Reveal fanfic that tells two different stories that branches off, creating two different universes. The two different stories will be told in alternating chapters (Ex: Chapter 1: Adrien, Chapter 2: Marinette, Chapter 3: Adrien, etc.) This story takes place after Glacier in Season 2. I have not seen any episodes in season 3 and beyond, so please be sensitive to this when commenting.)

Revealed (And Switched)

Chapter 1: Adrien Part 1

"Adri-kins!"

Familiar with their routine, Adrien caught Chloe in a hug that nearly bowled him over.

"Please stop calling me that. We're not five anymore," he said with good humor. He saw Nino snickering nearby.

The nickname didn't bother him, at least from Chloe. Lately, Nino had been using the cutesy name when they played video games together whenever he trash-talked. Since then, the nickname felt embarrassing.

"Okay, Adrien," Chloe said, which meant she was in a good mood or wasn't listening. "Check out my twitter account. This selfie I took this morning, it's already gotten ten-thousand hits. Isn't that fabulous?" She showed him ten more just like it.

"That's great, Chloe," Adrien said, trying to support his friend's interest even if it wasn't important to him. "Can you show me later? I have to find Marinette."

Chloe pouted. "What do you want with her?"

Adrien frowned at Chloe's tone. Even though the blonde girl was changing, becoming softer, she was still quick to react in a harsh way. But instead of chiding her, he responded with gentleness and kindness. He knew she didn't get those things often at home.

"She and I are science partners. I need to go over some last minute changes to our paper," Adrien explained, holding up the homework.

Chloe harrumphed and pointed. "She's already in the classroom."

As Adrien ascended the stairs to the second level, Chloe joined him, hugging his arm and walking so close, they almost tripped. He had been asked before if he thought Chloe too clingy, but Adrien liked the contact and affection. They had been childhood friends, so it felt familiar, and it was rare for someone to show physically that they cared about him.

Just as Chloe said, Marinette sat at her table, sketching in a book. Alya and Nino sat next to her, looking at something on the former's phone, most likely regarding the Ladyblog. Man, that girl loved Ladybug almost as much as he did.

As he approached, he felt Chloe stiffen. Knowing the two girls didn't get along, Adrien wondered if he should wait. Before he could change his mind, the half-Chinese girl spotted him and smiled.

"D-did you like the thesis I made with the changes?" she stuttered.

Chloe laughed.

"I mean, did you like the changes I made?" Marinette said slower, her cheeks turning pink.

Hoping to diffuse the situation, he ignored Chloe and addressed the question. "Yeah, I liked your opening sentence. I think it will catch the teacher's attention much better. However, here and here I liked what we had before. Oh, and we missed a comma here."

As they went over each paragraph, Marinette's stammer worsened, each time causing Chloe to snicker or snort. Adrien wished Chloe would stop or go find Sabrina. He would have reproached her, but he had learned that taking anyone's side but Chloe's would put her in a darker mood. He didn't want to fight another akumatized Chloe.

Someone else, however, did say something.

"Geez, lay off," Alya stepped in. "Can't you see they're working? They spent a ton of time on that paper."

Chloe's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, a lot of time? Adrien, what do you think of Marinette?"

Adrien didn't think it was an appropriate time to ask that question, but he decided to answer with the hope of diffusing the situation. "Marinette's a smart girl. She's worked very hard on this paper, and I'm glad we are partners. I like working with her."

Marinette beamed.

Chloe smiled, but it didn't look kind. "Yeah, but what do you think of her? Like, is she your friend?"

"Of course, we're friends. No doubt."

Chloe's smile deepened. "Really good friends?"

"Yes."

"So, you think of her as just a friend?"

Adrien wondered why Chloe kept rephrasing the same question over and over. "Yes, we're friends. And I hope that we'll continue to be friends for a long time."

Chloe looked satisfied, patting Adrien's shoulder. "I'm glad to hear it. It's so nice that you two are friends," she said. She then left, calling for Sabrina.

Adrien shook his head and turned back to the homework. "Okay, where were we…? What do you think about switching these two sentences? I think we could…Marinette, are you okay?"

The young woman was biting her lip, looking away as if something was wrong. He knew Chloe could go too far, but he didn't think she said anything bad.

He touched her hand. "Please don't let Chloe get to you. I'm sorry I didn't say anything earlier. It's just…she's my friend, too, and sometimes I don't know what to say."

"I-I understand," Marinette said quietly. "I-I hope you didn't get the imprinted—I mean, important—I mean—"

Adrien raised a hand, stopping her. "Maybe now that Chloe knows that I'm friends with both of you, she'll be nicer."

For some reason, his optimism didn't seem to raise Marinette's spirits.

They worked on the paper until the bell rang and Miss Bustier started the lesson.

"Today, we're starting our unit on poetry," the teacher began. "We'll learn about rhythm, rhyme and theme, and you'll start writing your own poems. By the end of the term, I expect you to write between twenty and thirty poems. At the beginning of each class, I will call on a few of you to read a poem out loud beginning tomorrow, so I suggest you have one or two ready in the morning."

Adrien pulled out his notebook, ready to learn. He liked writing poems. He wasn't so good with stories or essays, but he could do poetry.

"Today's theme that we'll be looking at is 'Love'." Miss Bustier paused, allowing a few students to groan. "I know, I know. When I was your age, the L-word wasn't something I wanted to talk about in public, but it's an important part of poetry. We'll begin by reading some of Shakespeare's sonnets. Please note the structure…"

Adrien was already composing, thinking of a certain girl, red with black dots dancing through his head.

At the end of the day, Adrien went immediately to his room, barely touching the meal Natalie had brought him. He gave the excuse that he had a lot of homework to finish and wanted to go to bed early since he was tired. His father's assistant took no notice of this reason, just bid him a goodnight.

One good thing about being Adrien Agreste, he had enough alone time that nobody noticed if he left home.

He raced through his homework so he could spend extra time on his poems, looking up rhymes and using mental images of Ladybug as inspiration. Plagg, of course, was no help. He spent a good part of the afternoon mocking Adrien and snacking on smelly foods.

As day transformed into night, Adrien donned his darker persona. Once in leather, bell and belt, he opened the window and headed into the darkness. Leaping and climbing the rooftops of Paris in familiar tempo, his mind played around with the poems he had created. All the talk of love and passion in class inspired him. To coin a phrase from the movies, he felt he was both a lover and a fighter, but tonight he hoped to be only one of those things.

Hopping through a window in the Bourgeois hotel, Cat Noir was met with a thunder of applause. He grinned and waved, feeling a thrill at having so many people recognize him for his work and not because he was handsome and wore the right clothes.

He was there to support a charity that his father organized and attended each year, where all the proceeds went to medical research to fight cancer. Gabriel Agrete's mother—Adrien's grandmother—had died of it over a decade ago. Many celebrities of Paris had volunteered to attend the dinner where the richer residents of Paris spent a few hundred dollars a plate to sit at a table with the famous, two of which were Ladybug and Cat Noir.

Searching the crowd, Cat Noir immediately spotted the bright red of Ladybug's suit, conversing with an elderly gentleman and a small girl that must be his granddaughter. It looked like her table would mostly consist of octogenarians and their much younger relatives who were squealing with delight at meeting the heroin.

Lucky. He would have totally paid whatever it took to have dinner with Ladybug. But then, he couldn't be here as Cat Noir. As Adrien, he had been asked to attend since many teenage French girls would pay the high price to be near him. However—to his father's disappointment—he had made up a story about an internet stalker as an excuse to stay out of the public eye for a few weeks.

After a quick wave to Ladybug, he sat at his own table, taking note that many of the diners were elderly widows. He had attended several charities as Adrien in the same circumstances and knew what to expect. Five-course meal, polite questions, and maybe some cheek pinching.

The dinner went according to plan. Amuse bouche. Handsome? Me? Why thank you. Soup. Yes, it is dangerous work. Entrée. I'm happy serving Paris. Main course. Yes, black is a slimming color. Cheese course. Plagg would have been jealous. Dessert. Followed by only one cheek-pincher, and she was a strong one. Hopefully, it wouldn't leave a mark.

Between courses, he glanced at the other celebrities nearby: Jagged Stone, , XY, and even his father had his own table. And of course, his eyes lingered at Ladybug's table, his mind silently repeating his poems.

After the waiters cleared away dishes and napkins, the host of the evening announced the after-dinner entertainment to begin, an auction. Seeing his father slowly make his way to the exit, shaking hands and speaking a quick word here and there, Cat Noir decided to follow his example. It's not like he could bid on a rare Ming vase; he left his wallet in his other superhero costume.

Seeing Ladybug giving a girl of about five years of age a hug, he waited for her to be alone before approaching.

"It looks like I have some competition as your biggest fan, my Lady."

"You aren't even close," Ladybug said, her expression changing to one better suited for bantering. "She has every piece of merchandise ever made of Ladybug, including a custom-made outfit, an almost-exact replica of my yo-yo, and earrings that beep."

Cat Noir whistled. "That's it. I surrender. She has the title."

Ladybug laughed.

Oh, how he loved that laugh. How could he immortalize it in poetry? Bells? No, too cliché. Sunshine?

"Do you want to get out of here?" he asked. "I think I've had my fill of food and socializing."

Ladybug watched the crowd gather for the auction. Nobody lingered nearby. "I guess we can leave. It is getting a little warm in here."

Excitement building, Cat Noir bowed at the open window. "Ladies first."

Throwing her yo-yo, she swung away with Cat Noir on her tail.

They traveled above the streets of Paris before stopping on a rooftop that was a tad higher than the others with a view of the city lights. Ladybug leaned up against a chimney, ready to chat. Their time together wasn't all fighting akumas and charity events; occasionally they strategized together, hypothesized about Hawkmoth's identity, and, yes, even talked about the difficulties of being a teenage superhero.

But this time, he hoped it would be different.

"What's up, Cat?"

With her eyes on his, his mind became a total blank. What was he going to tell her? Something about poetry?

"It's just that…your eyes tonight…they're so blue, they could have been painted…with paint."

Smooth, Cat Noir.

Ladybug gave him a wry smile. "What's up with you tonight? Cat got your tongue?"

"Sorry. It's just, sometimes when you look at me, I become speechless."

Cliché, the cynical side of his mind said. He wanted to punch that cynical side.

Ladybug looked away, her mouth almost frowning.

Come on. Where's the flirty Cat Noir? You can do this.

"It's just, sometimes my word get lost following you. They have to be quick to keep up with you. When you move, it's like you're dancing to music I can't hear. I'd like to join in with the dance, if you'd let me." He held out his hand, invitingly.

She pushed away from the chimney. "Don't do this, Cat Noir."

"Please, just listen to me. I don't want our relationship to be just these masks." He felt that if he could express himself completely, she would feel the same.

Ladybug crossed her arms protectively but didn't say anything. Was that an indication that he should continue? It wasn't encouraging.

Already feeling rejected, he lowered his head. "Never mind. I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry, too. As I told you before, I really like this guy."

"He must really be amazing," Cat Noir said, trying not to pout.

"He is." Ladybug turned her back on him, looking at the stars. "When he looks at me, I feel like a full moon, bursting with soft light. I wish I could be closer to him, but like the stars, it look as if I'm right next to him, but we're miles apart. When he smiles, it's like a song."

"Wow, he does sound amazing." Cat Noir tried to hide his bitterness, but it was buttered all over his words.

"I didn't volunteer this. You're the one who asked," Ladybug defended.

"Sorry. I'm just…if only I had told you sooner, maybe…"

"I've liked him for a long time, Cat. I can't turn off my feelings for him. You are awesome, Cat, and I can't be Ladybug without you. Even if I don't have the same feelings, I still care about you. We're friends."

"Just friends," Cat Noir sighed, lowering his head. "But I also can't turn off my feelings for you. Whenever you're ready, I'm right here."

This seemed to surprise Ladybug. She smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you." A pause. "I think I'm going to go home."

"I'm going to stay out here for a while," Cat Noir said, crouching down. He watched her swing away with a sigh.

What did I expect? That I'd finally wear her down, and she would love me, too? This hadn't been his first rejection, nor had she given the impression that she felt otherwise. Was he a hopeless optimist, or just a glutton for punishment?

The next day, Adrien dragged himself to school, rubbing his eyes and trying not to yawn so widely that it'd crack his jaw. Being rejected a second time was harder than the first, especially since he remained out the entire night, moping.

Now, as he sat at his table and waited for class to start, he pulled out his notebook and reread his attempts at writing sonnets. They were all about Ladybug. He wanted to rip them out and throw them away. He began wadding them, but then remembered Miss Bustier's warning that she could call on anyone.

"Adri-kins!"

Adrien winced. He had asked Chloe not to use that name, but he didn't have the energy to correct her.

With no Nino around, Chloe plopped down next to him, snuggled up close as she chatted animatedly. After a few minutes, she noticed Adrien's mood.

"What's wrong, Adri-kins?"

"Huh?"

"You look…sad?"

Her concern surprised him. She had never been this observant before. She was changing, maturing, even if it was small progress.

"I guess I am a little."

"Why?"

He didn't want to get into his problems, so he lied. "Uh…my poems are just…terrible. Horrible. Shakespeare would cry in his grave if he read them."

"Oh, who cares about that? It's just a stupid assignment. I had Sabrina write a few for me. Spoiler alert: They're all about you."

"Chloe, I'm flattered, but you really should do your own work," Adrien said half-heartedly, thinking she would ignore his admonitions as usual. "School is really important. Besides, I'd much rather hear a poem that you wrote yourself."

"You would?"

"Yeah, of course. Poetry is more beautiful if it comes from the heart."

"Huh."

At that time, Nino walked in, and Chloe relinquished the seat without protest. She walked silently to her table, took out her phone, and started moving her thumbs.

Five minutes later, Miss Bustier entered and began class.

"Settle down. We'll begin by reading a few of your poems. Hmmmm, Chloe, why don't you go first?"

The mayor's daughter looked caught off-guard, but she stood up without protest. Sabrina tried to hand her a few typed papers, but Chloe ignored this, only carrying her phone. She looked almost shy, so unlike Chloe. She read from her device.

"Your hair is blond, as is mine, of course

But you have green eyes while mine are blue

If you were an ad, I'd give you my endorse

I like you more than my closet of shoes."

"I only had time to write one stanza," Chloe said, sounding defensive.

"It was a good start. Did you like writing it?" Miss Bustier asked.

"I guess." She gave a half-smile.

"Now, can anyone give Chloe some constructive criticism?" the teacher asked, addressing the rest of the class.

In previous classes when given creative writing assignments, Miss Bustier encouraged the students to give suggestions to help each other improve their work, but on the condition that they can also say something nice as well.

Rose raised her hand first. "I liked how Chloe made a comparison in her poem but also showed that everyone is different. But maybe instead of saying 'green' or 'blue,' she could use a specific shade, like 'azure' or 'mint'."

"Excellent suggestion. I also liked the duel nature of the poem," Miss Bustier added.

Alya raised her hand. "Except for the last line, the poem wasn't in the ten-syllable format of a sonnet." A pause. "But I thought rhyming 'course' and 'endorse' was kind of clever. She added a humorous element to the poem, so it has a kind of rom-com vibe."

Chloe kept her arms folded, but she seemed pleased about the comments.

Adrien then raised his hand. "I liked the part about liking the person more than a closet of shoes. Knowing Chloe, that's a whole lot. I'd like to read the whole poem when she's done."

"Chloe, it sounds like you have some great feedback. Maybe next time I call on you, you'll be able to read the whole poem."

"I'll try, I guess," Chloe said in her usual manner before sitting down.

"Oh, and that reminds me. You will all be assigned critiquing partners," Miss Bustier announced. "And it's going to be boy/girl partners."

This caused quite a stir.

"Since you're already interested in Chloe's poem, Adrien, you'll be her partner."

"Okay."

There was a groan behind him. When he looked back, he wasn't sure who made it.

"Let's have one more poem read before we move on. Marinette, how about you?"

"Um, okay." She carefully made her way to the front, notebook close to her chest and eyes darting all over.

Adrien mentally cheered her on, sensing her shyness.

Taking a deep breath, she began, eyes locked onto the paper. As she spoke, her voice relaxed, taking on a tone of confidence.

"Like the water, you cause ripples, storming,

Moving outward, shifting all in your path.

And I am a leaf, bobbing and forming

Into something new in the aftermath.

When you look at me, I feel like the moon

Full, bursting with soft light, Serenity.

I wax and wane at the touch of Fortune,

Trying to find my own identity.

I long to be close, to be by your side,

But like the stars at night, luminescent,

We are miles apart. I can't meet your stride.

The world is just too much, too incessant.

When I'm overwhelmed, I return to you

Calming, gentle, your smile sounds like a song."

When she finished, she listened attentively as other students offered comments.

But Adrien blocked this out as his heartbeat drowned out all other sounds. The words and phrases were fresh in his mind from the other night. They were Ladybug's words. It couldn't have been a coincident. There was no other way.

He looked at Marinette in a completely different way. The shape of her lips, the brightness of her eyes, the intonation and inflections in her voice. How did he not see the similarities earlier?

Marinette was Ladybug.

But she hid it well. Along with the resemblances, there were differences. Ladybug never stuttered. Marinette didn't seem as confident as the superheroin. All those times the young woman had tripped or slipped or did something clumsy, they were nothing like the gracefulness of Ladybug.

"Adrien, do you have something to add?"

It was Nino's elbow that broke him out of the mental shock.

"Dude."

"Uh…add?"

"To Marinette's poem? It looked like you had something to say with your mouth hanging open," Miss Bustier said expectantly.

The class tittered at his expense.

"Oh, I…liked it?" he said uncertainly. What could he say? What should he say? His mind wasn't working. He needed time to recover from the mind-blowing news. He grasped onto a thought and ran with it. "I…liked the part about the speaker being the moon since historically it has always been associated with women. However, I was a bit confused by you associating the subject of the poem as water when bodies of water, like the ocean or sea, have always been thought of as feminine as well."

Adrien quickly stopped talking. Did I just accuse Marinette of being a lesbian? Oh crap, please say she won't get offended by that.

"Um…yeah, I-I wasn't too certain about that," Marinette said, blushing. "But it represents him. It added a personal touch, referring to him specifically without using physical description."

"Not to mention," Alya jumped in, "in many mythologies, the ocean is ruled by males, like Poseidon, Triton and Neptune."

Adrien sighed with relief, both that Marinette wasn't embarrassed by his comment and that Ladybug/Marinette was into guys.

As Miss Bustier moved on to lecture about the next type of poem, Adrien tried hard not to follow Marinette back to her seat with his eyes. Ladybug had been near him all this time. She knew him, and he knew her. He would see her every day.

He wanted to celebrate. He wanted to talk to her at that moment. He needed to be in her presence.

But what then? Ladybug still didn't like Cat Noir. Check that; Marinette didn't like Cat Noir. She liked someone else. But who? There was a large possibility that he went to their school. Who could it be?

He thought back on her poem, trying to remember phrases. Marinette used water as a symbol for the guy. Was it Kim? Wasn't he on the swim team? Or it could be Nino? His friend had that habit of blowing bubbles. No, Marinette wouldn't like a guy her best friend was dating. Or was it Nathaniel? He did have that crush on her. Or it could be some guy in a different class. Or a different grade.

And what did she mean: his smile was like a song? What kind of guy smiles like that? Oh, look at my smile, listen to the music.

Grumbling, Adrien took notes but didn't enjoy the lesson, thinking dark thoughts of every male in the school. Without meaning to, Adrien had his first taste of envy for a guy that he didn't even know.