At Ladybug's words, Raven got an idea and activated her special power, her eyes glowing white.
"LB, give me the cane. Maybe I can see something if I touch it."
Ladybug nodded and handed the destroyed metal to Cat, who walked it over to Raven. She reached to grab it, but all of a sudden it vanished... and Raven's hand made contact with Cat's.
The blond hero gasped as Raven went still, unwillingly seeing whatever his fate was. Behind him, the other heroes discussed what just happened, unaware of the problem. And as Ladybug's earring beeped and she tossed her lucky charm in the air, Cat ignored his own beeping ring and stood frozen as Raven's eyes began moving back and forth... and tears began falling.
As the other heroes leapt away, the detransformed Chloé handed her Miraculous back to a stunned Cat and left, it was only a moment before the white glow faded and Raven's breath turned ragged.
"...Mon merle?" He spoke, worried. Her eyes darted to his- wide, unsure... scared.
"...Adrien?"
Cat felt his heart drop.
Raven blinked through her tears as she took in the boy across from her. Her power had never been wrong… so was he really? Cat Noir was Adrien? Her two loves were the same person? Her guesses were right all this time...?
"Raven...?" Cat's voice pulled her back into the situation, and instantly the girl knew what to do. With a shaky breath, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth.
"We'll take our scars and make 'em stars
Let 'em shine up in the sky
This light is ours"
Turning to face the setting sun, Raven felt Cat's eyes on her as she continued.
"And it will burn on no matter where we are..."
Cat felt his heart drop even lower in his chest. Those lyrics... only one person knew those words besides him...
Could Raven- his beautiful bird- really be his other half's girlfriend? Was life really working out into a beautiful melody?
Taking a shallow breath, he forced his brain to think and his mouth to move.
"Even if we happen to lose our way
We will always be together
So hey, come what may"
"We will shine a little stardust on a new day..." the pair sang together, as Raven turned back to face him.
"...Ella?"
"Adrien."
Across the Seine from the tower and two teens, the Agreste mansion held its own pair of worried humans. Gabriel helped Nathalie into a padded chair in the dining room, leaning on one knee in front of the drained woman.
"I told you never to use the Peacock Miraculous!" He scolded, worried anger coursing through him.
"I had no choice, sir. I had to save you!" Nathalie countered, weakly coughing.
"It's damaged. It's way too dangerous."
"I want to help you all the way to the end. And doing that will help keep our children safe." She softly smiled at him, clearly thinking of Adrien and Ella. Gabriel's glare held for a few seconds more before he sighed and barely smiled "Thank you, Nathalie. For everything. I promise we will win, and protect Adrien and Ella."
The two teens stood there, eyes never leaving the other; incessant beeping pierced the air and Cat's eyes darted down to his ring. Raven let her gaze drift over her boyfriend before she closed her eyes.
"Touch the ground."
In that familiar warmth of color, Raven detransformed, leaving Ella in her place. Grey eyes reappeared and found the green of Cat's while Kiismet settled tiredly on her shoulder.
"...it really is you." He whispered, taking in the sight. Ella nodded, shyly tucking stray hair behind her ear. Kiismet chuckled and poked the teen's cheek; Ella shot her kwami a little look a flash of green filled the teen's vision and left her standing across from the love of her life.
"Adrien..."
"FINALLY!" A loud little voice abruptly shouted, startling the teens. Plagg buzzed from his spot, floating with a face of mock agony. Kiismet giggled from Ella's shoulder and met her fellow kwami midway.
"I swear- this took longer than fermenting camembert!"
"Well there were a lot of extenuating circumstances, Plagg."
"Pish, posh! These two have been dancing around each other in both lives forever! I was gonna die if I had to listen to blondie debate between girls another night!"
"It could have been worse, there could have been the problem with Ladybug liking Cat Noir as well and then it would have been like Egypt five thousand years ago."
"Ugh don't remind me! I still have sand in places there shouldn't be sand!"
The kwamis continued chirping and complaining, making their holders giggle and chuckle. Ella moved her gaze past the two creatures to meet Adrien's eyes, before she moved forward a few steps. Adrien responded by opening his arms, leaving Ella to run into them. The couple squeezed each other tight, enjoying the warmth and the absolute relief of what they just learned. But as they held one another under the setting sun, questions began forming in the blond's mind.
"...what do we do now?" Adrien asked a few minutes after the pair separated, leaning against the railing of the tower deck and hands clasped together.
"What do you want to happen?"
"You're Raven. And I'm Cat Noir. We're not... we're not supposed to know each other's identities." Ella frowned at the tone in Adrien's voice, keeping her eyes on the city below.
"...per the Guardian of the Miraculous, I am the only one who know's everyone's secret identities- with accidentally seeing Ladybug's at the very beginning, Rena Rouge's a while ago, Carapace's and now yours. Queen Bee revealed that herself so there was no need." She chuckled a little, wrapping her arms around herself as the wind picked up, leaving Ella with a shiver. Adrien's arms joined hers and the teens cuddled against the other.
"Am I the only one besides him to know your identity?"
"Yep." Ella nodded, nuzzling her head against Adrien's neck. The blond nuzzled back, remaining silent for a moment, before he continued on his train of thought.
"So what happens now, angel?"
"We continue as normal. Kiismet and I explained to Master Fu that knowing an identity doesn't change how we fight Hawk Moth. If anything, it would aid to keep things going if Ladybug is late or if one of us is unavailable. So I will comply with Master Fu's decision of me being the only one to know identities besides Ladybug and to call on various heroes as the situation dictates alongside Ladybug. Us knowing each other's identities is just gonna be our little secret~" Ella smiled, turning her head and pressing a light kiss against Adrien's neck. She felt her boyfriend shiver at the contact and smirked, kissing a little harder. Adrien let out a shaky breath and stretched his neck a bit, making Ella shift too...
But a vibrating phone startled the pair out of their little mood and Adrien frowned as he pulled out his phone.
"Nino- what's up? Oh yeah, the picnic. Yeah, Ella and I are on our way- my father gave us permission earlier. Cool, we'll be there soon." The blond smiled through the conversation, but sighed when he hung up.
"You still wanna go?" Ella asked, weaseling her way back into Adrien's arms as he returned his phone to his pocket; the teen chuckled and re-enveloped his girlfriend in his grip.
"Yeah we should. We promised, and Marinette really did her best to set the picnic up."
"True. She really wanted to make sure it went well."
Hilariously, it took the teens a few minutes more before they decided to head to the park, calling Gorilla for a ride. It was a quiet drive, the teens just taking the time to register everything that occurred at the tower and what in their lives was about to change.
The Place de Vosges was decorated very nicely, Adrien noted as he helped Ella out of the car. There was a table with a whole bunch of food that everyone contributed, a couple blankets laying on the ground... and of course, the umbrella and chair Chloé brought.
The pair greeted their classmates, going around and giving hugs. Adrien ignored Nino and Alya's knowing smirks and followed Ella over to the table, grabbing a few sweets for the two to share. They chat and flirt as they moved around the table, ignoring the glances of their classmates before they moved to sit on the blanket. Ella grabbed Adrien's hand and dragged him over to the spots to Marinette's right.
"Can we sit here, Mari?" The noirette asked, smiling down at her friend. The blunette nodded excitedly, patting the ground. Ella grinned wide, hurriedly taking her spot next to her best friend and instantly started talking about what happened today. Adrien watched his girlfriend with a tender smile, listening to her "gossip" about the fight and everything. The blond still couldn't believe his girl- the love of his life- was also the amazing Raven and his other half's girlfriend. He knew her secret, and smiling as she turned and met his eyes, and it was a secret he would take to his grave.
The pair interacted with their friends and relived the chaotic events of the day, until Adrien felt his phone go off. Pulling the device from his pocket, he opened message and looked up, noticing his bodyguard waiting at the entrance to the park. He sighed, sliding it back into its spot before placing a hand on Ella's shoulder. The teen glanced at him, read the expression on his face, and frowned sadly.
"Sorry Elle..." Adrien apologized with a sad smile. She just sighed and nodded, shifting to stand.
"What's going on?" Alya asked from Adrien's other side.
"My father wants us to attend a charity event he's throwing, so we gotta go." Adrien stood and lowered his hand, helping Ella up. He moved to lead the way, but stopped, looking around at the event Marinette set up.
"Marinette." He spoke, pulling his friend's attention up to him and Ella.
"I wanted to tell you. Rose was right earlier. You're always helping people. Like that day you helped Juleka overcome her class photo curse. Or when you partnered Nathaniel and Marc together to make that comic book. Or when you helped Ella at the beginning of the year and every time after that. That's why everyone jumped at the chance to help you with the picnic. So today, it was our turn to help you. You're our everyday Ladybug." He smiled down at Marinette, as Ella awed in the background.
"Look at you, Mr. Model, being all cute like that~" she teased, poking his cheek; Adrien smirked and poked her back.
"T-thank you, Adrien. That's really nice of you to say." Marinette thanked, blushing. Adrien nodded.
"Have a good evening, super-Marinette." He bid her goodbye, and the pair waved to the rest of their class before heading towards the car.
The charity event went well, the two teens just going along with the motions of the night. But Ella, as the night went on, couldn't help but worry about her mom. Mr. Agreste said that Nathalie wasn't feeling well and he told her to stay home, but in the time Ella's known her, and same with Adrien, Nathalie's never gotten sick- or sick enough to have to stay home from Mr. Agreste's side at an event.
The car ride was silent, as Ella's worries grew and Adrien tried to reassure her Nathalie would be alright. Once the trio arrived at the manor, the noirette was at her mother's door in a flash, knocking.
"Come in..." The voice called, sounding weaker than it normally did. Ella pushed the wood open and shut the door behind her, finding her mother in bed already.
"Mom. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Ella. Just feeling a little under the weather."
The teen frowned at her words, moving forward and sitting on the edge of the bed at Nathalie's right.
"You seemed fine earlier today. Are you going to the doctor tomorrow? Do you want anything to eat or drink-"
"Ella." The girl shut her mouth, embarrassed that she had been rambling. Nathalie placed a hand over Ella's, her warm skin pressing down on Ella's cold hand.
"I'll be fine. Yes, I'm going to the doctor tomorrow after you and Adrien get dropped at school. No, I'm good for now. You should be going to bed, it's been quite a day." Nathalie reassured, patting her daughter's hand. Ella nodded, though the sinking feeling in her stomach didn't alleviate her worries.
Bidding her mother good nights and feel betters, Ella moved back to her bedroom, shutting the door with a light click.
"She's gonna be okay, beany. Don't worry. It's more than likely just the effects of all the work she's been doing." Kiismet chimed in, buzzing up from Ella's pocket.
"Yeah... you're right, Kiis. I just..." Ella trailed off, but shook her head.
"Never mind, it's nothing. I'm gonna get ready for bed." The kwami nodded, flying over to her pillow while Ella moved to the bathroom. She performed her bedtime routine and changed, taking her hair down from her buns. As she exited the bathroom, combing her fingers through her hair, Ella let her mind wander to earlier.
Adrien was indeed Cat Noir.
And there she was happier than she could ever be.
Ella went and sat on the edge of her bed, finishing combing her hair, when a small knock echoed through her room.
"Come in." She called softly, and smiled as she saw Adrien poke his head into the room.
"I just wanted to come in and say goodnight, especially after what today's been. How's Nathalie?" He said, scooting in and shutting the door behind him. Ella smiled as he walked over and took a seat to her left.
"Mom's fine- she said she's going to the doctor tomorrow when we're at school." Ella informed him, just barely shrugging her shoulders as that sinking feeling settled back into her gut. But she pushed those thoughts back to the side as she locked eyes with her boyfriend.
"So does your goodnight include a kiss?" Ella asked, smirking as Adrien blushed pink and continued to play with the ring on her left hand.
"Maybe~ do you want one?" Adrien asked with a familiar smirk, his 'Cat Noir' personality peeking out from under his normal persona. Ella smiled at him, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his cheek.
"I always think I deserve a goodnight kiss from the love of my life~" she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. She could feel Adrien shiver under her as her breath hit his neck, but he obliged and gently took her chin in his hand, lifting her head and pulling her lips to meet his.
The pair kissed for what felt like forever, as their bodies pressed up against one another and they reveled in the feeling of the other at their side. But after a few moments, air was needed and they pulled apart, panting slightly. Ella smiled gently at her boyfriend as he met her gaze, his fingers back to playing with her ring.
"If I stay here any longer, I don't think I'll be able to leave." He said finally after a few minutes of blissful silence. Ella stifled a laugh, gently swatting him on the shoulder.
"Well then you'd better get up to your room, and I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast."
Adrien chuckled lightly at her but got up and moved to the door. Before he opened it, he turned back and gave Ella a look she knew all too well: that signature Cat Noir smile that made all his fans swoon.
"Goodnight, mon merle~"
"Goodnight, mon chaton~"
*Welcome everyone, to "When A Raven Calls"! This season is gonna be fun to do and it's gonna have lots of turns and more Ella standing up for herself and being a sassy queen- especially with Lila coming back into the picture -shudders- but we're underway!*
