- Chapter 21 -

The few required days had passed, and Marinette woke up this morning to a simple text from Chat Noir: a time and a place. It was all so mysterious and romantic.

This was it. Today was the day. A day she was mentally not prepared for, but her heart had other ideas. It became increasingly hard to focus on anything besides the butterflies floating in her stomach. She kept checking the time repeatedly, as if the minutes couldn't go by fast enough.

Leo gave her a once over from head to toe as she fumbled around the shop, spinning in circles, and hopping from one task to the other.

When she took a breath and paused long enough to reach for her half-full coffee mug, Leo put a delicate hand over the top to stop her from drinking it. "I think you've had quite enough of that."

Marinette frowned. "What?"

"You're practically buzzing already." Leo added playfully. Pulling the mug from her grip. "No more coffee for you."

Marinette felt a devious grin split her lips. If only Leo knew it wasn't just the coffee. The lingering thought made her cheeks flush.

Her friend chuckled. "Babe, you're glowing."

Marinette felt her shoulders tighten up as she regained her composure. "I am not!"

He wagged a finger at her lie. "Oh yeah. It's that after good sex glow."

She was quiet for a few heartbeats. Then let the words fall out of her mouth. "Great sex actually."

Leo howled. "Babe! Good god. TMI." He feigned looking disinterested, leaning away from her and her glow. But, with a dark chuckle, he bumped her hip sharply, knocking her off balance. Marinette promptly punched him in the shoulder.

"We're meeting today." She blurted out.

"Today? As in, today, today?" Leo gasped.

"Yeah, at the Jardin des Plantes."

"Wow. This is huge."

Marinette snatched her mug back and took a small sip. Her mind reeling at his words. This was huge. Too huge. However, she was so excited she could barely stand it.

Her Chat Noir, out of the mask. She wondered if she would even recognize him. Would those green eyes and blonde hair translate to his human form? She knew those rippling muscles did. Gah! Stop it brain.

"Leo, I'm… nervous." she admitted.

"Babe, so am I." He fanned himself dramatically. "I'm sweating."

That made her smile. "Oh Leo. What if… I mean, what if…?" She tried to get the right words out.

"... what if… what if… he's ugly?" Leo teased her.

"Leo!" Marinette scolded.

"Yeah, you're right. We both know he's sexier than sin and chocolate. So no worries there. I mean, can someone even be 'too hot'? I say, absolutely not." He did the little air quotes with his pinkies.

Marinette leaned against the wall. Unable to truly fathom what was about to happen. It pulled her in different emotional directions.

"What if… oh but… what if…" she began to stutter again, hugging herself.

"What if… he's the man of your dreams?" Leo finished, tilting his head inquisitively. "What if he's everything you could ever want and more? What if he's perfect for you in every way? What if this is forever? What if this is your happily ever after?"

Marinette felt herself smile and that smile reached down into her soul. Yeah, what if indeed.

"Just go with it babe. Take the plunge. Be in the moment." Leo reminded her. "What's the worst that could happen? No, strike that, don't even go there. It will be perfect. I know it will be."

"You seem confident." Marinette teased dryly, hiding in her humor, and leaning harder against the wall as if her legs couldn't support the thoughts running through her mind. Her mind was running away with her heart as nerves built within her gut.

Leo moved towards her, pulling her off the wall, and gripping her shoulders tightly. His nose was practically touching hers, and that made Marinette startle. She opened her mouth to speak, but Leo beat her to it.

"No matter what happens, just remember, you are an incredible person. With or without a man by your side." Leo told her, his voice hovering with tears and emotion.

Marinette hummed in approval, nodding. "I know." She whispered.

Leo backed away ever so slightly, rolling his eyes. "Although, I do declare, this one is… well, let's just say, you both deserve each other."

Marinette felt her breath catch. "Oh Leo."

Leo sniffed back his tears, letting her go and stepping away. "God, look at me. I'm already crying and it hasn't even happened yet."

Marinette threw her arms around her friend and newfound business partner. If ever she needed a successor to a Miraculous, she knew exactly who she'd pick.

Leo hugged her back tightly and murmured into her hair. "Oh, just promise you won't punch him in the face?"

Marinette pulled back, chuckling. "Why would I do that?"

Leo smirked. "Just… don't. Okay? Trust me on this. You can punch him anywhere else. Just, not the face. It's too pretty."

"Why would I punch him at all?" Marinette asked, clearly confused. What an odd thing to say.

Leo shrugged. "I dunno. You might, who's to say?" And sauntered away back towards his desk.

"Leo…" Marinette followed after him and stood in his path.

He avoided her gaze. Those all seeing blue eyes that could pierce through his squishy exterior and pull the truth from his lips. He chose to stare at anything else that wasn't her while biting his lower lip.

"I know that look." She baited him. "What do you know?"

He spun around her in a half pirouette. "Moi? I know nothing. Nothing at all. Just a big empty space up here. La la la."

In a burst of speed, Marinette grabbed him by the waist and hauled him back to her. "You know something."

Leo wiggled in her arms trying to break free. "Damn your Xena warrior princess strength." He hissed.

She tightened her grip and Leo squeaked. "I know nothing!"

"This isn't funny." She warned him.

"Who's laughing? I'm the one being squeezed to death here." he wailed. "Are you taking secret judo lessons in the night? How are you always so freakishly strong?"

He was just trying to distract her with his pleas. The truth was, she was barely holding onto him. Slowly, she released him and Leo stumbled forward clutching his ribs.

"Seriously ow." he muttered.

Marinette kept her tone flat. "Leo please, I'm about to walk out that door and meet him for real. You can't do this to me right now."

Leo straightened up, put a hand on his hip, and pointed at her. "It doesn't matter what I know. Or that I've known this whole time and kept it a secret in order to see you fall in love again, but for real this time. I stand by what I said before, you both deserve each other. Five years ago, ten years ago, it doesn't matter anymore. This is your moment. Go get him."

Marinette felt like ice had solidified in her spine. "Leo…You…You…" she practically whispered.

Leo huffed at her and walked towards the front door, grabbing his jacket off the iron coat rack, spray-painted baby pink, and putting it on. "I'll go take a walk. Think about what I said."

"Leo." Marinette hissed his name.

"You know. You knew. And you hid it?" She didn't know if she should feel betrayed or not. But that wasn't what was bothering her. Not really. It was all those other words he used. Words like 'in love' and 'deserve'.

Leo didn't smile, feeling her irritation from across the room. But gave her one last piece of advice before leaving.

"Wear something cute." He called over his shoulder as he opened the door and closed it behind him softly. Looking left, then right, he headed down the sidewalk and out of sight.

She watched him leave and stood alone in her store, feeling like her feet were made of concrete. Leo was the biggest non-secret keeper on the planet. And yet, he had hid this from her. Why did that mean more than it probably should? In their lives of keeping secret identities, why had Chat Noir trusted him?

Her world felt infinitely smaller. Like the dream she was chasing was closer than she ever realized.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket with an incoming call. Shaking, she pulled it out expecting to see Leo's name on the screen. But, it wasn't.

She accepted the call and raised the phone to her ear. "H-Hey Alya."

"Her girl." A short pause. "You okay? You sound upset."

"Leo just… told me something." Marinette explained badly. "And I'm… I'm so confused."

"Confused how?" Alya asked.

Marinette pulled the phone away from her ear to check the time. She had to leave soon. Really soon.

"I gotta go." She told Alya dismissively.

"Yeah, I know, it's the big day. Hold up one minute." Alya insisted.

"Don't tell me you knew too?" Marinette interrupted.

"Knew what?" Alya responded.

"Who he is. Who Chat Noir really is."

"I don't know who he is." Alya told her.

"You promise?"

"I promise. I don't know. And why does it matter that Leo knew?"

Marinette paused.

"Mari?" Alya asked across the silence. "You there?"

Marinette finally found her voice and it was rambling. "It doesn't. It doesn't matter that he knew. But it's what he said. How he said it. He said that he…"

"Mari, calm down. Don't get lost in the details. It doesn't matter."

Marinette took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I want to believe that's true. But Alya, I can't help but think that I'm walking into…"

"Listen to me, you're going to go today because if you don't, you'll regret it. You know you will. Whoever shows up is still someone who cares about you a whole hell of a lot."

Marinette closed her eyes as if in a dream. "I know." she said softly. She had been dreaming about this moment. Imagined it a dozen different ways.

"Then what's the problem?" Alya sassed her.

"What if I'm getting my hopes up?"

What if this gut feeling is wrong? Oh god, but what if it was right?

She could practically hear Alya's smile on the other end of the phone. "Don't you need to go? It's getting late."

"Yeah. I need… to change."

"Go get 'em girl."

Marinette nodded. "Yeah. I'll call you later, okay?"

"You better. Nino's literally going crazy over here. Good luck, okay? Bye."

"Bye."

She pulled the phone away from her ear. Checked the time and gasped slightly before rushing upstairs.


A short while later, she was power walking through the city towards her destination and perhaps her destiny. Destiny? Fuck it, yes, that's exactly what this was. Heart pounding in her chest, her legs powered her faster. She was running now, her boots tapping on the cobblestones. Her long skirt tangling in her legs.

She was excited. Terrified. Then excited again. Dread. Panic. No, that was joy. Ugh, it was difficult to tell the difference. She stopped running, catching her breath as she leaned against a streetlight waiting for traffic to clear.

What would it mean to her to see him standing there? Everything.

Would she be able to handle it? Probably not.

Her phone buzzed with a text message. She dug it out of her purse and smiled at the screen.

(CN): Not planning on standing me up are you?

(Marinette): I'm almost there.

(CN): I'll keep waiting for you.

Good god he beat her there didn't he? She tore away from the streetlight and cut across moving traffic to the other side of the street.

She dialed her phone while she power walked, weaving through tourists like a woman on a mission. He answered on the first ring.

"What are you calling me for?" Leo screeched on the other end of the phone so loudly that she pulled it away from her ear. "Shouldn't you be buried under a pile of sexy cat man right about now?"

"This couldn't wait." Marinette panted. "Leo, I'm so sorry. About everything. I never should have been angry… I was so…"

"Babe! Seriously, apology not necessary…"

"I still had to say it." She wheezed, pacing back and forth while she waited for the pedestrian signal to let her cross the street. "I couldn't have done any of this without you."

"Your sweet ass better be running." Leo scolded her.

"I am." The signal changed and she practically leaped off the curb.

"Go babe. Go, go, go. Call me later. Kisses. Oh my god, Clark. Clark, darling, it's happening. She's doing it!"

Marinette gave the speaker a loud kiss and then hung up.

Marinette was sprinting now, breaking through the main gates of the botanical garden and heading toward the gazebo tucked behind the glass greenhouse. There was a small maze of hedges that led up to the gazebo. She wound her way to the top, seeing a head of blonde hair over the top of the hedges and flowering trees.

If her heart was still beating she couldn't feel it. Nor the rest of her body. It was just the breath escaping her lungs as she ran for the summit. She couldn't look up, not yet. She wasn't quite there yet. Her gaze holding back on the prize sitting within.

She entered the open structure and skidded to a halt. Eyes wide and unfocused. Hair unbound and wild from its ponytail. Her breath burning in her lungs.

Finally, she gathered herself up and focused on the only other person within the gazebo. The reality of the moment crashed over her and she felt her knees weaken.

Oh.

My.

Oh.

God.

Brave, tough, fearless Ladybug – felt herself come apart at the seams.

He was sauntering towards her. The huge smile on his face was practically teasing her.

He approached her slowly, savoring every moment and emotion of her face as she figured it out.

Marinette wondered how she never noticed it before. Even his walk was so distinctly Chat Noir.

He watched her face change from casual amusement, to shock, to disbelief, to boarding on tears. It was so distinctly Marinette.

By the time he stood in front of her, she was crying.

"You're late…" Adrien whispered, but unable to not tease her, even now, "… M'lady." he added gently. He smiled as the words left his lips.

Marinette hiccup laughed at the nickname. It really was him.

"It's… It's…" she stuttered.

"It's me." Adrien finished her thought for her.

He closed the last few inches separating them. He didn't touch her just yet. Just let his presence hover against her body.

Marinette held her hands near her mouth, biting gently on her thumb. Her imagination drew the outline of a simple black mask on his face and kitty ears on top of his head. And, she saw her Chat in him. Saw his strength, his bravery, his kindness, his passion. All the things that both men shared. All the things that made her fall for him once upon a time, only for it to happen all over again.

"I wanted it to be you." She whispered, behind her fingers and through her tears of happiness. Then, she smiled against her fingers and gently shook her head back and forth.

"Really?" he asked, genuinely intrigued.

She nodded. "Yeah. I did."

That was all he needed. His arms encircled her for what felt like the first time. He let out a breath and it came out in a loving sigh.

Marinette forgot her tears and let herself fit perfectly against the front of his body. Her arms hugged him right back.

They stood together for some time, letting their racing heartbeats calm themselves.

Marinette snuggled her face against his chest. She had no words to say to him. She had questions. Oh, so many questions. Her head was spinning with questions. But, she had no words. Only emotions surging within her.

In the not so distant past, the simple sight of him would turn her into a stuttering mess. She didn't trust her voice now, so she kept silent.

They broke their hug at the same time to meet each other's gaze. Marinette saw unshed tears in his unyielding green eyes. Even though he had found her first, he still let the emotions come flooding back once again. He wasn't afraid to show her just how much she meant to him.

Adrien reached for her face, and when she didn't pull away, he let his fingers brush her cheek. Marinette felt her cheeks blush with the sensation of his touch. Adrien traced her cheek like she was too delicate to behold.

"I see you." Adrien said, his green eyes shimmering. "Not as Ladybug. I see you, Marinette. This amazingly, beautiful person that I can't get out of mind. I want to know her."

He leaned into her and let his own mask fall away.

"And I want, no… I need you to see me now, Marinette. See the real me and accept me. The me inside and outside of the mask. I have my own baggage, my own faults. But I want to be free of them. To be the person worthy of you."

Marinette blinked slightly confused eyes at him. Her face flashed with momentary sadness. His tone had been pleading, almost begging her. His old life sealed such darkness within him. Kept him from happiness. Seeing the world, but being locked away from experiencing it.

Her mouth dropped open slightly and she could taste her pulse on her lips.

He was tearing his heart open for her. She could trample it into nothingness or she could accept him with all the willingness he deserved. He was showing her his ultimate vulnerability.

She took his hand touching her cheek and pulled it away. She couldn't think straight with him touching her.

It was Adrien's turn to look confused. He felt the anxiety of rejection wash over him.

"You lied to me." she whispered.

His back went rigid. "Mari…"

She dropped his hand. "You hid from me. Made me think you were someone else. Someone far away."

His face fell. The darkness she thought was gone leaked into his eyes. He trembled. Closing his eyes and turning his head away.

No, she decided. Never again. Not this time. The chase was over. Her hand snapped up and grabbed his chin, holding on tight enough that his eyes widened. That darkness flickered and wavered in his gaze.

"Adrien." She breathed, pushing light into her voice. "Adrien, I see you. It would be impossible for me not to see you."

Her voice swirled around him. Filling every crack, every hole. "The you inside the mask reminded me what it felt like to love and be loved unconditionally in return. He made it so easy and simple for me to fall for him."

She smiled slightly, preparing herself for the next confession. She couldn't believe she was about to say it, after all this time.

"And I fell in love with the man outside the mask years ago. So, it almost feels like nothing's changed at all. I feel like… like I've been here before."

Marinette felt her shoulders relax. The truth came out of her mouth easier than she thought. If 15-year-old her could hear her now, she would scream indefinitely.

She watched a half smile creep up the corner of Adrien's mouth. His eyes were brilliantly green in memory.

"I'm a fool that I did not notice you all those years ago." He confessed, shaking his head. "I will not make that same mistake now. Please, stay with me. Go out with me. Be mine. Whatever label you want to give this. Let's just be together."

She chuckled. "Aren't we already together?" She added slyly, raising an eyebrow.

He threw back his head and laughed. "Well yes, we are. But I was thinking on a more permanent basis. With proper dates. Proper wooing."

"Wooing?" Marinette laughed.

"Sorry, I'm off my game, isn't that what it's called?"

Marinette scrunched up her face in thought. Her eyes were playful as she pretended to think hard on the opportunity presenting itself before her.

"So, you're telling me that you, Adrien Agreste, want to date me, Marinette, for the foreseeable future?"

"Yes?" He asked hopefully.

She smiled brightly and leaned in. "Yeah, that totally works for me."

And then, his face was suddenly all she could see as he pulled her that extra little distance. His mouth hovered centimeters above hers. Marinette forgot to breathe as she mentally begged him to close that gap.

"Tell me you want this." He said, and Marinette could practically taste his words.

"Do you even have to ask?" She practically whined.

"A gentleman always asks." They both lightly chuckled.

Adrien kissed her with laughter lingering on their lips.

They both poured their feelings into that kiss. All the longing, the waiting, the desire, the one-sided love, was finally quenched. It was a timeless kiss.

"I want to spin you in my arms, like they do in the movies." He proclaimed joyously.

"Oh, please, no. That's no cliche. Eeek!" But she laughed immediately as his arms tightened around her waist and her feet were lifted off the ground as they twirled.

"Prepare yourself for cliche, Mari. Prepare for every lovey-dovey, sickeningly sweet romantic thing you've ever heard of. I won't hold back." He told her.

"You're so ridiculous." She practically felt her heart sing.

He set her back down on her feet. "Yeah, but I'm your ridiculous now."

"Should we change the name of the miraculous to ridiculous?" Marinette teased him, snuggling herself into his side.

"Maybe." he admitted.

He guided her to the row of metal benches and they sat together for a long time. There was almost too much to say. Too much to figure out. But, it was day one of perhaps forever. They had time. And it was a wonderful thing to have: all the time in the world to be together.

When any conversation lulled to a comfortable bliss Marinette pulled out her phone, turned the camera on, and held it up to take a selfie of the two of them.

"This is for Leo and Alya. Smile."

Adrien leaned in and kissed her cheek as she snapped the photo. A few taps of the screen and it was sent.

"3." Marinette counted.

"2." Adrien answered.

"1." Marinette finished.

And her phone exploded with text messages.

Fin.


Author's Note: Huge sorry that this chapter isn't my typical length. But there really wasn't much else to say beyond the heartfelt reveal. Another big sorry that this ending was so delayed. I could never find an ending that fit and checked all my boxes. And finally, with some extensive pushing from my beta reader, I got it out. It may not be the ending that everyone wants, but it still is that beautiful happily ever after, mixed with a bit of humor that made this story what it was.

Thank you all for taking this journey with me and for the endless waves of support. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you all are happy and doing well.