Chapter 6.

Prompts 26-31.

26. Reverse Crush

Slowly Adrien began to drift away to the more rational, mature, just on the cusp of adulthood part of her brain where he was successfully filed into her "one of my dearest friends" folder. She was almost proud of the lack of denial that process included. That was to say absolutely nothing about how now every time a certain leather-clad tomcat smirked or winked her way, she tripped over her tongue all over again.

Which of course, Chat took advantage of to tease her into something even worse. The absolute cheek.

27. Singing

Around the eighteenth time Chat was doing horrible karaoke of "Thomas O'Malley", Marinette swore never to watch another movie with him again.

She broke that promise three days later when she got a copy of Sleeping Beauty and he did nothing but recall how he met her "once upon a dream".

28. Domesticity

For all his dramatics, awful puns and plain silliness, Chat had languidly stapled himself into her daily life with a smoothness and calm that surprised her.

For every afternoon he came in, be it from a finished round of patrolling or just coming out of an Akuma attack, he instantly made himself at home on her bed or chaise and gently prodded her into conversations like how her day was and if she had a nice one. And for those frequently occurring nights that he stayed well past his appointed curfew, always the gentleman, he stayed up with her until her eyes had sunken shut, which left her blinking awake the morning after on her bed tucked under her blankets and sometimes, a pleasant tingling on her forehead.

The domesticity was nice. It was comfortable. And all too easily shattered like porcelain when she found his neatly folded note on her nightstand one such morning. See you later, My Lady. ;)

29. Roses

There was more yelling than there should have been. Marinette had been confused, shocked and over all, utterly terrified. Chat was confused, insistent and tried to be nothing understanding despite her misplaced anger. He didn't understand. How could he understand? That him knowing who she was would do nothing but turn him into a monster?

And she said as much to him. Everything, about Chat Blanc, the destruction of Paris, everything. And when she was done, after just staring at her in quiet horror, all that was left of him was a bouquet of roses on the ground, the abandoned petals scattered like her frantic anger and regret.

30. Trust

On the surface they acted alright; the heroes of Paris as amazing and perfect as they had always been. But underneath it, seen only by trained eyes like those of Alya Cesaire's, they was obviously something different.

Ladybug and Chat Noir seemed so, so much more . . . rigid now compared to how loose they both had been recently. Chat's once bright smile was now dim, the puns coming out much more forced and weaker while Ladybug's once fearless stance seemed wobbly particularly more so when she had difficulty looking Chat straight in the face. Even when the battle was won, Chat was quick to turn tail and scamper once their obligatory "pound it!" was dealt. A few times Ladybug looked like she wanted to follow him, only to lose her nerve at the last second and fly away on her yo-yo.

Something was definitely different. Which is exactly what Alya asked Marinette about right after she got back from patrol. She wasn't ready for tears right off the bat, though; her best friend breaking down to her knees in front of her took priority over her suspicions. None of which included what Marinette revealed to her.

About being brought to some dystopian future where Chat Noir knew who Ladybug was under the mask, somehow turned to the dark side, destroyed her, Hawkmoth AND Paris and how in this timeline, Chat did find out who she was even though she did everything and everything in her power to keep that from happening. When it had failed she then lashed out at Chat Noir, who of course had no idea what had happened, but now was hurt and scared and definitely bitter at her for hiding all this from him even though she stated time and time again that he had her trust both as Ladybug and Marinette. And now, he felt he didn't haven't from either half of her, and it was all her fault.

. . . If there was ever a time to break out Alya's super secret stash of foreign goodies, this was it.

31. Soulmates

Alya told her exactly what she needed to do, after doling out both heavy scoldings and her last few Belgian bonbons. She had to make things right with Chat and, damn it, if she couldn't get the courage to do that, she'd had no right to call herself Ladybug.

She decided to start with what to say. Once that was done, she spent the next two weeks working diligently to put said words on her newest creation, going all out on the design. She was Marinette Dupain-Cheng, inspiring designer after all, and she never did anything halfway. It took a lot of work and toil, but eventually, it paid off into perhaps the most amazing coat she ever created. I only hope he thinks so too.

Which lead her to next get her partner to come. Ever since their fight - Although that was a pretty generous term considering she was the one doing all the yelling -, he only really saw her whenever they did patrol or there was an Akuma. So she sent a simple text. Emergency meeting tonite. 9pm. Please come. She hoped he would forgive for the white lie. She hoped he would forgive her, period.

Night came and Ladybug waited for him. The minutes ticked by to where she was beginning to worry he wouldn't show. Just as she was about to head home with a heavy heart, the sound of boots thumping on the roof sounded behind her and she turned around.

Chat looked awful. His hair seemed even more scruffy than usual, and even with the mask anyone could see the rings under his eyes and redness tinting in the green sclera. Guilt chomped away inside her like Fang had gotten into her insides. Before he could ask what this was all about, she started first; she went right off into a ramble about how sorry she was, how she immensely regretted lying to him about Chat Blanc, the adverted future, everything and most of all, how sorry she was that she hadn't told him who she was sooner.

And once she was through, she shoved her gift at him, him being too stunned by her barrage to do anything but take it. It took him a moment to gather enough of his senses to open it. And once the wrapping was undone, his jaw dropped.

It was incredible; a black windbreaker jacket that was covered on every bit of it's surface with words. No, not words- sentences. Names like "Mon minou", "My Chaton", "My Kitty", and "My silly Puss in Boots" were sewn meticulously here and there in beautiful red cursive, along with phrases like "My Chat's Meow", "You're the Chat's Pajamas" and "You're meow-velous!" that ticked tears into the corners of his eyes. Being a fashion designer's son, he could see that this had taken some serious skill and time to make. Which made it all the more confusing to him. "Why?"

Marinette tried her best to give him a hopeful smile, even as tears were pecking at her own eyes. "Because you're it for me, Chaton. You're my partner, my best friend and my silly knight in leather. I know I wasn't kind to you when we last talked and I am so, so sorry. I let my fear and paranoia cloud my judgement for so long. I thought I was protecting us both by not telling you the truth, but looking back I was just trying to protect myself from the heartbreak of losing the boy I loved to a future that doesn't even exist. You have every right to be mad at me for that and I'll understand if you simply want to be my partner against crime again and nothing more.

"But before you do, please know that I . . . I-I love you Chat Noir. Whoever you are and whatever comes our way, no matter how our road as heroes lead us to, I love you and I will fight for you. Because I may be Ladybug - but I'm nothing without you-"

Chat's form crashing into hers and lifting her up into the biggest bear hug she had ever experienced cut her off. Without thinking about it, her arms and legs went around his shuddering form and held onto him tightly as he spun them around abashedly. "I'm nothing without you, my lady. My Princess. My bugaboo. You're my reason for breathing and I would sooner die than ever turn my back on you."

Her laugh was watery. "Just don't do it anytime soon, okay?"

His nose nuzzled into her shoulder. "I swear, Marinette, only for you."

". . . . . . Can I see you?"

". . . . Aren't you already?"

"No, I mean . . . Can I see you?"

He stiffened against her. ". . . Are you sure?"

"I've never been more sure." She pressed a gentle kiss into the crown of his head before whispering. "Besides, I need to make sure the coat fits without the shoulder pads, after all."

She felt the chuckle against her collarbone warm her heart like a blanket . . . Just before the all-too familiar magic she felt many a time before ghosted against her as it took the guise of Chat Noir with it.

Okay, no more hesitating. No more secrets. This was it.

She took a deep breath, braced herself and leaned herself back . . .

. . . And instantly went blank at Adrien Agreste staring back her, tearful and happy.

Good god almighty, it was a good thing he was holding her because she was going to definitely pass out before this night was over.

Fin.

ME: FINALLY DONE! 2 months late but still, FINISHED! Also, my first multi-chapter fic finished ever! And it took me . . . You know what, let's not think about it.

The ending is admittedly not my best, but after the delay I figured everyone who took the time to read this trash pile of awful prompts deserved a little plot in the end so there you go!

I promise to do better next year. And now I move on to better ficlets, wish me luck! Stay healthy and stay safe everyone!