Adrien/Cat Noir's P.O.V.-
The closest Marinette ever came to finding out my true identity was when we were both in undergrad. I'd come over as Cat Noir every free night that I could and we'd hang out together. It didn't matter what we were doing, so long as I got to be near her. We'd play games, watch movies, do homework, or even just talk until the wee hours of the morning. On the previous night we decided to stay up late and watch a movie together; nothing too serious, just something light-hearted and casual. It was getting pretty late and we were both tired. The last thing I remember was resting my eyes with my arms protectively wrapped around my girlfriend. In a state of utter, indescribable bliss, I gently shut my eyes.
The next thing I remember was the morning sunlight caressing my face as if shown in through the window. My eyes fluttered opened very slowly, gazing over at the bright light filling the room. It hadn't quite hit me where I was or that I was back in my civilian form. My brain was still honestly half-asleep.
The world came crashing in all around me when I suddenly felt this slight motion on my chest.
I looked down to see Marinette fast asleep on me! Her head was square over my heart with her arm extended out across my torso. We were both in the same clothes as we wore last night. Oh shit! This instant, profound wave of panic set in. We must have fallen asleep like this last night during the movie! Adrien, you idiot! You complete, utter, absolute idiot! What if she waves up and sees me like this?! Why the hell am I back in this form, and where the hell is Plagg?! He must have gotten hungry or something; that must explain why I'm not Cat Noir anymore. Jesus! Talk about the world's worst timing! This could ruin everything! The first night Marinette and I ever spend together and it's totally ruined! Fantastic!
Realizing that I had to get the heck outta there before Marinette- or god forbid her parents- found me, I made an escape plan in three seconds flat. Being as careful as humanly possible, I slid my girlfriend's arm from off around me. I lifted up her head and gently lowered it onto a nearby pillow. Then, without a second look, I tiptoed out of Marinette's room and down the stairs; taking a second to listen if anyone was downstairs before descending. Plagg was still nowhere to be seen but I had a pretty good idea where he was.
"Plagg? Plagg!" I shouted in a paradoxically hushed whisper. The bottom floor was empty- for now. Quick as I could, I made my way over to the kitchen. Opening the fridge door revealed my kwami to me; he was busy stuffing his face with cheese. "Plagg!" My voice cracked. He merely glanced over to me from over his shoulder. "Oh, morning Adrien." "We've gotta go- now!" "But I'm still chewing," he shoved even more cheese into his mouth. I frowned very, very deeply. "Come on! Marinette's parents could be back any minute!" Not wasting anymore like, Plagg let out a little screech as I reached over to grab him. Putting him in my shirt, I tried to find a back exit. It was too risky to transform into Cat Noir and escape now; it was already daylight and one of Marinette's neighbours might see me. Looks like I'll have to do this the old-fashioned way.
I felt like screaming when there was no back door to be found. Now really starting to panic, I saw no other choice by leaving out through the front door. Rushing over to it and unlocking it, you can imagine my surprise when I pulled it open only to find someone else standing on the other side. His fist was raised up in the air like he was just about to knock on the door. At first neither of us reacted; just stood there gawking at each other flabbergasted.
"Uhhhhhhhhh," my lips spattered, unable to think of anything coherent to say. The guy looked equally as tongue-tied. "Is uh, Marinette home?" He inquired, unsure what to make of my presence. "Marinette?" I heard myself repeat. Wait, he's here to see her? Marinette? As in my girlfriend "Marinette"? Still dumbstruck, my head gave a single involuntary nod. "She's uh, um sleeping."
The guy's eyes widened in surprise. "She's still asleep? But I told her I'd be here at eleven to work on our project." Project? Oh! He must mean like a school project! So that must make him one of Marinette's classmates. Wait, did he say eleven? How late did we sleep in?! While I was considering all of that, the man gave me a once over. He did not appear to be amused or impressed.
He was tall, slender, had tannish skin, and blue hair that got progressively lighter near the tips. His eyes were as blue as his hair and very piercing; he instantly reminded me of that famous rock star, Jagged Stone. He could have been a musician himself- I wouldn't put it past him. By all measures he was attractive; I would have been worried if I didn't trust my girlfriend to the moon and back. I knew he never had a shot with Marinette in a million years.
Still, that little nagging feeling gnawed at my stomach. It didn't help when he looked at me with even more intense jealously- jealously and judgement, I'd say. It's like he was sizing me up and was NOT happy that he'd just caught me trying to sneak out of his classmate's apartment. His stance slanted to the side a tad in a show of dominance.
"You…. a friend of Marinette's?" This wasn't so much a question as a demand. Immediately my back arched up in fear. "Uh, n-no! No! I don't know her! I've never met anyone with that name before! I came in here to uh….. to um, visit Tom's bakery! Yeah! Heard it's the best in town!" I sounded like a blithering moron, but who cares. Marinette can't know my civilian identity, which means that he can't either. Seeming to accept my bald-face lie, he eventually stepped off to the side and out of my way; I could feel his eyes on me as I walked by. Still trying to look as innocent as possible, I flashed him a naïve grin. "H-Have a good morning." He didn't wish me one back, instead closing the door without another word. I didn't know if that was a good sign or not.
Ah well; the important thing is that I got out of there before Marinette or her parents saw me. Breathing a sigh of relief, I began to casually walk down the street, doing my best to look not too in a hurry- lest I grab even more attention. Plagg poked his head out of my shirt, gazing up at my face. "Man, you've got to be more careful." "I know! That was too close!" "No more spending the night at Marinette's place." "Oh don't worry; I won't do that again. Nugh, and it was our first time too….." my lips groaned as I tossed my head back. Plagg chuckled. "You and Marinette sure looked cosy together," he teased and my smile couldn't help but return. "Oh, Plagg; that was the best sleep of my life….. Even if the morning wasn't that great." My kwami waved his hand around dismissively. "The point is that you didn't get caught. You're still Cat Noir to Marinette." "Your right; unfortunately that's the way it has to stay. And it will stay that way.
I doubt that Marinette will ever learn my true identity."
I had just come out of the shower, rubbing my wet hair with a towel. I was about to get changed into some casualwear and then either go visit Marinette or do some work of my own, depending on what my kwami reported back to me. My feet had only made it like three steps before Plagg returned. To my surprise he was looking anxious and biting the tip of his hand. His eyes were still on the direction he had just come from, completely unaware of the fact that I was standing right there.
"This is bad; this is bad; this is so bad….." My little kwami repeated to himself. "What's bad?" I inquired, still drying my hair. Plagg's head shot around back my way like I was the ghost of Christmas past. His eyes immediately grew, his flying stopped dead in its tracks. He stared back at me with complete horror, which caught me off guard. "Adrien!" He let out a frantic gasp.
My thoughts instantly went to the worst-case scenario. He had just been to check on my fiancée, after all. "Is it Marinette? Is she ok?!" I suddenly felt unnerved myself. Plagg watched me for a moment before nervously shaking his head. "S-She's fine! She's just fine! This has nothing to do with her!" He told me this, but I could tell he was lying. This only made me worry even more. My expression turned firm.
"Plagg, tell me what's wrong. Where's Marinette? Did something happen to her?" My black kwami hissed through his clenched teeth, looking anywhere but at me. His hands were worriedly brought up to his mouth. "Please don't ask me that, Adrien! I can't tell you!" My heart skipped a beat. "What do you mean you can't tell me? Marinette's my fiancée! You have to tell me if something's wrong!" "Nothing's wrong! Everything's perfectly fine! You gotta trust me on this!" He was pleading with me. In any other case, I would have trusted my old friend without question, but when it came to my beloved future wife…. My hands balled into tight, enraged fists as I continued to glare up at him.
"This is Marinette we're talking about; you NEED to tell me. If she's in trouble, I have to know! Tell me what's wrong, Plagg! Right now!" "Adrien, you don't know what you're asking!" He begged back. But my resolve was absolute. "Yes, I do! I want to know what's the matter with my fiancée! Now tell me!" Plagg put his hands over his ears like he didn't want to hear himself say what he was just about to say. "Nugh! She knows! She knows; she knows; she knows!" He cried, wincing his eyes shut. I blinked at him puzzled. "She knows what?" Again, my kwami then looked at me and drew in a deep breath.
"That….. you're Cat Noir."
I could only stare at Plagg wordlessly for a solid minute. My mind slipped to a quiet, reserved place of pure disbelief. At first it didn't seem possible. How could she…..? But as I let the revelation seep in, the more sense it made. I mean, we lived together and Plagg was used to roaming about the manor by himself. Sooner or later my lady would put the pieces together; she is in PhD, after all. It was foolish of me to think that I could hide it forever, especially after we're married. It was an eventuality. It was….. an eventuality.
The more I thought about it, the lighter- the happier- I became. Marinette figured it out; she knew…. She finally knew that her fiancé and boyfriend of nine years were one and the same person. It finally happened…. Plagg was acting like this was some big, bad thing, but in reality, this was fantastic!
This was wonderful! Utterly magnificent! Now we could finally be like an ordinary couple! I'd still dress up as Cat Noir for her, but we could have a real marriage this way. She'd love both Cat Noir-me and Adrien-me. And I'd love her….. This beaming, unconscious smile blossomed across my face, horrifying Plagg. "She knows…. Marinette knows. This is perfect! This solves everything!"
Plagg flew up in front of my face all of a sudden. He looked like he was about to have a panic attack. "Are you out of your mind, Adrien?! She can't know that you know! She's not even supposed to know! Your identity's supposed to be a secret, remember?!" "But she DOES know! What's the point in pretending that we're oblivious to the fact?" I pressed, only for Plagg to shake his face. "You don't get it! This is really, REALLY bad! Look, I know you and Marinette love each other and everything, but you've got to use your head! Her knowing your secret identity is against the rules!" "And what do you expect me to do? How can I not run to her and take her in my arms?" I demanded. Plagg's eyes rolled. "You guys really are alike," he huffed before meeting my stare head-on once more.
"Listen to me, Adrien. No one can know! This is already too risky as it is. If anyone else ever knew that you knew…" "But Plagg, it's done. There's nothing we can do about it now." "Do you realize how dangerous this is?! The only thing that'd make it worse is if you discovered who Ladybug is," Plagg retorted. I shook my head confidently. "I doubt I'll ever learn who she really is. And that's fine. Marinette has her Cat Noir and Adrien now; that's all that matters to me." "But Adrien, you could lose your powers, or even your memories!"
This definitely caught my undivided attention. "Lose my memories? All of them?" "Yes!" Plagg's head rapidly bobbed up and down. Only then did the reality of the situation begin to hit me. I had so many memories I wanted to keep; so many memories that I cherished. I couldn't forget my mom…..
I couldn't forget Marinette.
My teeth nibbled on my bottom lip thoughtfully. "A-Are you sure that I may lose my memories? Or my powers?" "I don't know for sure, but it's definitely possible! Please, Adrien; try to understand! This is the one rule- the rule above all other rules! I don't know what'll happen cause it's never been broken before, but presumably it's not good. Please, PLEASE, she can't know that you know; nobody can! You both have to pretend that you know nothing. That's the only way you won't get caught….. or punished."
I watched my kwami for some time, contemplating my options. This seemed like a situation too good to be true. If Marinette knew the truth, then we could have a real, regular marriage. She'd love me for me; Adrien-me, I mean. But all that went away if we pretended like we didn't know anything. Still…. I could also see Plagg's point. Marinette wouldn't want me to risk losing my powers, and certainly not my memories, over this. Plus there's Ladybug to consider, and what position she'd be left in if I did lose my kwami. I didn't like it, but this seemed like the only way….. We both knew that I was Cat Noir, Marinette's boyfriend, and neither of us could act on it. "Marinette…. doesn't know that I know….." I said without conscious approval from my brain. Plagg's head slowly nodded. "Yes. As far as she's concerned, you have no idea that she knows. And it's got to stay that way, Adrien. I'm sorry, but we have to keep this as quiet as possible. Marinette will keep your secret; now you have to keep hers."
I let out a defeated, frustrated sigh, shutting my eyes momentarily. This was a rollercoaster of emotions. "Alright, Plagg. I won't let on…. that I know that she knows I'm Cat Noir. Nothing'll change on my part." "This is the way it has to be. I'm sorry, Adrien." My shoulder shrugged, my grin gradually coming back. "Oh well. At least I'm still marrying her." "That's right! You're still going to marry Marinette! At least that hasn't changed," Plagg agreed eagerly. My eyes rolled back over to him. I looked at him and couldn't stop myself from smiling again. "This is getting really convoluted," I chuckled. He shook his head in exasperation. "Tell me about it. And if you think this is bad, just imagine what it would be like if you were marrying Ladybug instead of Marinette on top of everything…" And I laughed. "Well at least we don't have to worry about that. I doubt Marinette as ever even met Ladybug before. And thank goodness for that!
One superhero in this relationship is complicated enough."
