I wasn't surprised when I didn't see either Cat Noir or Adrien- who I knew now to be one and the same person- for the rest of that night. Plagg was probably off the property somewhere having a meltdown and Adrien was undoubtably in his room, blissfully unaware of what had just transpired. It was weird to think that he'd never know that I knew his little secret. No, not little secret; massive secret. Gigantic secret.
It all made sense of all a sudden. How over the moon Adrien was when he found out we were getting married; the custom Cat Noir and Ladybug engagement ring; how he knew I loved flowers so much…. Even just the way he constantly looked at me. He beheld me with as much admiration and adoration as Cat Noir because he was Cat Noir. Adrien was in love with me this whole time…. And I never knew.
Except now I did know, and I couldn't have been happier!
Well, that's not entirely true. In a perfect world we could just be open and honest with each other about our secret identities. But alas, I think that would give both our kwamis a heart attack. Tikki reiterated everything Plagg said once he was gone. How I can never let Adrien or anyone else ever know the truth, how it could ruin everything, and all that blah, blah, blah. It took me nearly an hour to reassure her that I wouldn't spill the metaphorical beans. We went to bed that night contented but with resolve, and I slept very, very well.
The next morning I sprang out of bed bright and early. Tikki woke up with a yawn to find me twirling around my room and humming merrily to myself. She wiped her dozy eyes with her hand and gazed at me. "Morning, Marinette." "Good morning, Tikki! How'd you sleep?" "Not as good as you, by the sounds of it," he remarked, and I giggled before doing another twirl. Then I held up two outfits for her to see. "Which do you think Adrien will like?"
Tikki immediately rolled her eyes, flying up from her pillow. "Oh no. Don't start that again." "Start what?" I questioned puzzled. "You know what you're like when you develop a crush on someone," she retorted. "I've only ever had one crush in my life before." "Yeah, but you've got to remember that Adrien and Cat Noir are the same person." "I know that! It's not like I'm going to see them as two different people anymore." "I know, but…"
Tikki's sentence was cut off by my phone vibrating on my nightstand. A quick check of the screen made me frown. Ugh, that unknown number keeps calling me. Chloe just won't give up! Oh well; better she accosts me over the phone than in the workshop- again. Tikki also peered at the phone over my shoulder. "Chloe?" She inquired, to which I nodded. "When will that girl leave me alone?" "Maybe you should tell Adrien again?" My kwami next suggested. I responded to this by glancing to her once again for a minute, then my eyes slowly lowered back onto my now-still phone. The home screen background was still the same; being that of Cat Noir's face. A second flew by as I stared at it, running my thumb down alongside his cheek. This massive, peaceful smile bloomed over my lips in the most natural, unthinking way possible.
"Ah, Adrrrrrrrrrien," I hummed all swoony-like. Tikki glanced between Cat Noir's photo and my soft, adoring face. "You're not going to act all weird around Adrien now, are you?" "What?! What are you talking about? Course I'm not. Cat Noir and I have known each other for ten years. I think I can keep my composure a-ok," I gave her a thumbs-up for reassurance. She did not appear convinced. "But you could barely say two words to Cat Noir when you first met him. It took you over a whole year just to hold hands." "Pffffffft, that was fourteen-year-old Marinette. That won't happen this time; I am in PhD, after all. I think I've matured a little bit since then, Tikki," my hand flippantly waved away her concern. "Are you sure?" She looked at me concerned. Still shaking my head, I went to get changed. After that I grabbed my backpack and began to head toward my bedroom door. "You worry too much. Everything's going to be fine," were my last assuring words to my kwami, who flew into my backpack's pocket. Sighing happily, I turned the knob and opened the door up.
To my shock, Adrien was on the other side with his fist raised up like he was about to knock on my door. For a long minute neither of us said anything or even moved; we just gawked at one another with bewildered looks on our faces. It gave me a chance to inspect his image, or rather his eyes, before reacting. I don't know how I didn't see it before. The more I looked at him, the more he looked like- or the exact same- as Cat Noir to me. I'll never get over how strong that magic is! But yes, I could see it now; I could tell…. He was Cat Noir; those were Cat Noir's eyes staring back at me. The same eyes that have enchanted me all of these years. The green emerald eyes which woke me up from a seemingly endless slumber…. Cat Noir's eyes.
"Milady, I love you more than I did yesterday…. And less than I will tomorrow."
Before I knew what was happening, my cheeks were blushing a school-girl pink. It was Adrien's reaction to this that brought everything crashing back to reality for me. He himself flinched and began blushing in turn. When I saw this, I immediately remembered that he's not supposed to know…. And I'm doing a pretty bad job of keeping that secret so far.
My back firmly arched, my eyes shifting every which way in an attempt to avoid making eye contact again. "Uh, m-morning! I-I mean good morning, Adrien. How do you….? Um, er, that is, how are you doing this morning?" Oh my god. What the hell is wrong with me?! It's been ten years! We're past this point, aren't we?! How can I sound so stupid in front of him?! I didn't have this problem with Cat Noir anymore! Adrien IS Cat Noir, so why am I suddenly getting tongue-tied?! He's going to get suspicious! Get it together, Marinette!
Collecting myself with an invisible deep inhale, I did my very best to relax my posture; though I was still unable to look him in the eye without instantly blushing again. So I kept my gaze fixed firmly on the handle of my backpack currently in both hands down in front of me. "Erm, h-how did you sleep?" my voice was timid and small now, almost as if I was afraid to speak.
Adrien watched me baffled for another moment before smiling to himself- a real, sincere smile. Almost nostalgic, you could say. "Very well, thank you. How about you?" "Oh, I slept….! I slept good; v-very good, thanks," come on, Marinette. Don't blush! I feel like I'm about to blush any minute! Just hearing the sound of his voice….. His angelic, perfect voice. God, I wanted to throw my arms around him right now. Thinking that only made me clench my backpack handle tighter.
Of course, Adrien- having absolutely no idea what was wrong with me- seemed worried. Though his tone wasn't as concerned as I was expecting. "Is everything ok, Marinette?" "E-Everything's fine! Just fine! I um…. I uh….. I'm just feeling a little woozy this morning; that's all. N-Not that I'm getting sick! No, I'm fine! I'm….. fine," my mouth lingered on this final word. Realizing that I had to make a conscious effort to sound normal, I straightened my posture once again. It took everything I had in me to meet Adrien's stare, and I'm sure I was already blushing while doing it. But I didn't have time to worry about that! Trying to look casual, I thought of something to distract from the lingering romantic tension. I picked the first thing that popped into my head, and that's when I noticed that he was wearing a familiar blue scarf…..
"That's a really nice scarf you're wearing! It's blue; I mean blue looks good on you. I mean it looks nice!" Adrien blinked at me surprised, then peered down to the item in question. "Oh, thank you. Someone very precious made this for me a long time ago," he illuminated with a nostalgic smile, lifting the end up in his fingers. Seeing his contented reaction made me instinctively happy. I couldn't help but grin at him, my eyes softening in the corners. This was the first time this morning that I felt relaxed, natural in his presence again. "Did you like her?" I absent-mindedly blurted out, not realizing that I'd used the pronoun "she" without him making indication that it was a girl who gifted it to him. His smile extended. "Very much so." "Was she pretty?" I carried on, oblivious to the fact that I was revealing too much information for my own good. But Adrien simply, merely, effortlessly looked me straight in the eye.
"She was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
Ok, now my cheeks were glowing a crimson red and I was unable to look him a second time. I was just too overjoyed that I was terrified I might give myself away. Adrien must have mistaken this for jealousy on my part, since his expression immediately turned to one of horror. "A-Ah! But of course she could never hold a candle to you!" My fiancé blushed, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly while back peddling his words. I internally giggled. Poor guy; he has no idea that I know he's Cat Noir. He probably thinks I'm jealous of whoever this "mystery woman" is. Not wanting to make him feel more awkward, I quickly decided to drop the subject. After all, he didn't ask me about my past….
For a moment, neither of us made a peep. We merely stood there on each side of the doorframe, facing the other. Both our eyes glanced to the side, with our cheeks still blushing- mine more than his but I could tell he was feeling bashful. Then, as if trying to banish the teasing unease of the scene, Adrien suddenly spun his heels around. My eyes only returned to him when he began walking down the hall. But I immediately looked away as he paused to glance back at me from over his shoulder. "C-Come on. We'd better get to breakfast," his voice was a tad shaky. Adrien….. My lips parted a sliver on their own.
My vision gradually lifted to envelope him as he kept walking. My heart was beating a mile a minute, my fingers clenching the backpack strap so hard that I thought they might bleed. Adrien, Adrien….. Cat Noir. He's Cat Noir; my Cat Noir is right there in front of me. The man I've loved these past ten years…. The only one I wanted to embrace, and never, ever let go.
"Adrien!" Even I was surprised by the sound of my holler echoing through the wing. Obviously my fiancé stopped and spun back around to face me. He appeared more stunned than anything. Gasping for air a few times, I didn't follow this up with anything right away, but our eyes were instantly locked onto each other's. The longer I stared, the more intense this sensation became. It all comminated into one word in my brain. One single word: mine. Cat Noir or Adrien, it doesn't matter. He's still mine- all mine. And I love him. No matter what I did going forward, I couldn't stop loving him.
This smile involuntarily returned to my face. I looked at him, and I smiled. "Good morning…" was all I said so gently, so affectionately. Adrien simply ogled me in surprise before he too, smiled. He mirrored my expression so profoundly, keeping his hands buried deep in his pants' pockets. Our eyes locked, and we were fourteen years old again on the first entrancing day. Well, at least we were to me. Matching me exactly, he looked at me, and he smiled.
"Good morning."
