A/N: Wrote this in 2 sittings. Just some random identity reveal fluff because why not?


"I'm sorry, Marinette..." and he truly was. As one of his closest friends he never wanted to hurt her.

"Oh." Crestfallen. Meek. Quiet. Foreign words to describe his friend who was usually so vibrant and happy.

"I... understand. I mean, we've always been good friends and I hope it doesn't change." Marinette sounded like she was holding back a sob and Adrien winced.

"I'm sorry."

Based on the look on her face he had just broken her heart.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said.

Adrien watched her turn away and his heart skipped a beat. It didn't feel right. Something inside of himself was screaming. Protesting.

But Ladybug...

"Wait, wait," he ran a few steps to catch up with her and lightly settled his hand on her shoulder to stop her from continuing to walk away. Her head was bowed and she sniffled.

"Erm, I really should go now," she spoke with a thick voice.

Adrien stepped around her so he was facing her. He could see the tear stains down her cheeks.

This was a disaster. It was so very wrong, on a level he couldn't put into words because his heart was the one in control right now, not his brain.

"If-If I didn't love her I think I could love you, Marinette." The words spilled out of his mouth. He wasn't sure where this truth was coming from but he did know it was a truth. A truth he never acknowledged before this very moment, this moment while Marinette cried pretty tears with pink cheeks all thanks to him.

But she didn't reply to his words. Could he blame her? What the heck was she supposed to say to that?

"She doesn't love me back."

He said it, hoping maybe she could understand his position. Maybe she would understand that he understood.

"I-I've already waited years. I don't... I'm scared to know what it's like to let her go. How much will it hurt to force myself to fall out of love with someone?"

Marinette's shoulders tensed.

"I'll let you know," she said in a small voice.

Adrien cringed. Marinette was braver than him. He was almost envious. He didn't know how to reply.

"Who is she?" Marinette asked suddenly, finally looking up from the ground. He couldn't return her feelings... but he could answer this.

"I... it's Ladybug."

Silence.

Tension.

Marinette stared at him blankly.

Until her face contorted into a grimace.

"What?"

Adrien was pretty sure that was rhetorical and so he didn't repeat himself.

"She's not even real," Marinette said bitterly, in a tone he had never heard from her.

Adrien still didn't speak.

"Ladybug?!" she said with exasperation. Her sadness turned into bitterness in the blink of an eye. Adrien recoiled slightly at the abruptness of it all.

"Of course everyone loves Ladybug. She's perfect . She saves the city, she's a hero, she shows up for twenty minutes at a time, disappears, and can do no wrong. Ha!"

Marinette looked between upset and hysterical. Her brows raised, hands twisting.

"I..." Can't tell her I'm Chat. Would it even matter at this point?

"I didn't realize you were just as shallow as everyone else in this city, Adrien. I thought you were different, being in the spotlight yourself. I thought you'd understand that what people see on billboards and interviews isn't real. She's not real. I guess you're doing me a favor."

She walked away and this time he didn't try to stop her.


"Can you believe her!?" Adrien flopped down onto his bed, frustrated. The longer he thought about it the more angry he got. Marinette called him shallow! Marinette wasn't usually so... catty. Or mean. Or jealous.

Shallow?!

"She doesn't know you're Chat Noir, so she has a point."

"She has a...?! Plagg, who's side are you on?"

"I'm on the side of camembert." His little tail lazily wrapped around him as he cuddled into a pillow.

"What if Ladybug told you she was in love with Adrien?" Plagg was both a devil and a devil's advocate today.

"Ladybug isn't like that," he scoffed, brushing off the idea immediately. "I think I've talked to her as Adrien, like, twice."

Plagg stared at his holder with knowing eyes.

"Sounds pretty hypocritical to me."

"Ladybug wouldn't love someone for just their looks," Adrien said passionately, defending his Lady.

But Marinette didn't know he was Chat Noir so... so maybe he could give her a break. He supposed from the outside looking in it could appear disingenuous.

"Either way, I don't like Marinette that way. She's just a friend."

Or was just a friend before that afternoon. The shadow of cringe started looming over him again... he really hoped they were still friends. Not being friends with Marinette... Well, he didn't like the thought. At all.

"What do I do?" He asked aloud.

No answer came to him.


"Ladybug. Of course. Ladybug is perfect. Marinette is... nothing. Will anyone ever like me for the person under the mask, Tikki?"

Marinette had already sobbed her heart out and was onto the wallow-in-misery phase.

"Oh, Marinette, plenty of people love you. So many! You're amazing with or without the miraculous."

Marinette sighed. Of course Tikki was just trying to comfort her.

Adrien was in love with Ladybug. Ha.

She tried to recall the few times they ever interacted and it only added fuel to her anger. Adrien didn't even KNOW Ladybug. Marinette talked to him every day at school, hung out with him nearly every week, went to his birthday parties, knew how he took his coffee...

What a joke.

A sad, pathetic, bitter, not-funny-at-all joke.


She swung between buildings, no destination in mind. The physical work it took to fly around the city kept her mind preoccupied. It made her tired. It dissuaded the anger.

When she heard the familiar sound of feet and metal traveling alongside her she increased her pace. Now she had someone to run away from, something to push herself closer to exhaustion.

Chat was always there for her whether he knew it or not.

They scoured the city for about half an hour until Ladybug stopped on a random rooftop and fell backwards, sprawled out, chest heaving. Super suits helped but it was still her human body under the magic, doing the work.

Chat landed next to her and sat down, his labored breaths a sign that he, too, had been pushing his limits.

"Running away or forward?" Chat asked.

"Away," Ladybug said in a flat voice.

They sat in silence together to catch their breaths.

"Why do you love me?" She broke the quiet.

Chat looked at her, frowning. She was staring into the dark, starless sky, and clearly her thoughts were outside of this moment.

"Because you're beautiful. You care about other people, you're selfless, you trust, you're a leader and I admire that about you. You're funny, smart, kind... I could go on forever," he sighed at his own musings as he got lost in the thought of his lady, who was sitting right beside him.

She covered her face in her hands.

"You could have gotten all of that from an interview." She sounded miserable. Chat frowned.

"What?"

"You don't even know me, do you?" Now she sounded tearful.

"Wha-yes I do, Ladybug! I may not know who you are under the mask, but I know your heart, who you are as a person. Isn't that more important?"

"I am more than Ladybug."

"You ARE Ladybug."

"No, I'm not! I'm shy, and clumsy! I don't have good grades, and I'm always late. I have hobbies and friends I can't tell you about, and so many opinions that you'll never know because I can't tell you. What if... what if I liked chocolate ice cream and you could only love someone who liked vanilla?!"

She was crying.

"Your favorite ice cream is strawberry and that's perfectly fine with me. You can tell me any opinion. I already know you like horror films, not romance ones, and I also know that you want kids one day. I have noticed your time management skills aren't stellar, but it makes sense with who you are. Like I said, you're a leader and selfless. I'm sure that translates into your normal life and you probably have so many projects going on (on top of trying to save the world) that you have trouble balancing them all. But when you commit to something you give it your all, so you dedicate more time to everyone else and then you lose track of your own time. Patrolling, sleeping, your homework, probably your hobbies you're referring to - those all come second to you.

"One day I hope you let me take care of you the way you take care of everyone else."

Ladybug sat up and put her elbows onto her knees.

"Do you think you'd see me? If I walked past you as you crossed the street and offered you a hand with your groceries; do you think you would know it was me?"

Adrien contemplated that.

"What if it wasn't you?"

"Huh?"

"What if tomorrow someone offers me a hand and it isn't you? That's more likely. I'd have to look the other way, turn them down. I don't want to love anyone but you."

"What if you missed out on someone great, waiting for me?"

Kagami had been a nice girl. He tried not to miss out on her, but in the end all he had done was hurt her by beig more in love with Ladybug.

"I tried dating, but she wasn't you so it didn't work out. I hurt her. I regret it," he admitted, still guilty over what happened with Kagami. His heart had never truly been in it.

"But what if you missed ME, waiting for me?"

The hollow tone in which she asked the question sent chills down his spine and up his arms.

The image of Marinette's heartbroken face invaded his mind.

He stared at Ladybug's tear-stained profile. Pretty pink lips turned in a frown that was adorable but he hated to see it. She caught his eye when he didn't reply after a few seconds.

"I... I don't know. Beg for your forgiveness?" His throat was tight. His body was reacting to something, before his mind could catch the reason. His heart thudded heavy in his chest.

Ladybug choked and let out a bitter, humorless laugh.

"The boy I love doesn't like me back. I told him how I feel and he said he's in love with Ladybug." She spat out her own name like it was poison.

Just like Marinette.

Because...

Because he messed up. Big time.


"Plagg..."

"Adrien..."

"Plagg..."

"Adrien..."

"PLAGG WHAT DO I DO?"

Adrien paced his room, fingers threading his hair into knots.

"Do what you said you'd do."

"What's that? What did I say?" he asked frantically for his own advice.

"Beg her for forgiveness."


Marinette almost wanted to skip school. While she was still terribly hurt and heartbroken she wanted to apologize for how she spoke to Adrien the day before. In her own hurt and rejection she had insulted him. It had been unfair and mean to call him shallow. While she sort-of still meant it there's no way he could have known she was Ladybug. A lot of people loved and admired Ladybug, it was a fair crush to have. A crush on an overhyped, exaggerated, falsely idolized persona was still a crush.

On second thought, maybe that apology could hold off until next week.

She pulled herself out of bed and shuffled to her closet.


The irony was not lost on Adrien. Ladybug was in love with Adrien, mr model, but had been rejecting him for years.

The difference was that Marinette was good friends with Adrien and knew him beyond his public image. He could see why Ladybug (Mariette) called Adrien, who had interacted with the superhero less times than fingers he had on one hand, shallow. It did look shallow from the outside looking in.

But she didn't know he was Chat Noir. And maybe (hopefully) knowing that he, Adrien, loved Ladybug beyond her public image would give him a chance. His proof was in the endless confessions and declarations of love that he had given her over the years. Despite his confessions being flashy, amusing, and sometimes (admittedly) over-the-top, it didn't change the fact that they were all completely genuine.

Operation Forgiveness was officially in motion.


He waited for her on the front steps of the schools, and in his impatience debated going to the bakery, but ultimately he didn't want to ambush her.

Of course, in true Marinette fashion she didn't arrive on time so his waiting had been futile.

When she finally made it to class (three minutes late) she looked winded but otherwise fine. She gave her normal awkward wave and apology to the teacher and headed to her seat. Usually she gave him a good morning smile but today she pointedly ignored him, which was fair.

But phew... maybe that was a blessing because now that he saw Marinette, knowing she was Ladybug, he wasn't sure he'd be able to fully form sentences without some breathing exercises of his own. There she was. Blue-black hair, light freckles dotting her nose, shoulders high and confident. Of course Marinette was Ladybug. The magic that protected their identities was broken and it was clear as day. She was beautiful, and now she was real.

He sat in his chair, staring at the board ahead, not listening to one word the teacher was saying. He felt like crying... happy tears, sad tears, shocked tears... he didn't know. But he knew that the love of his freaking life was sitting directly behind him, he was blind, she was beautiful, and they had wasted so much time already not loving each other properly.

He had to fix it.

The bell rang signifying the end of first class and he was dazed, watching everyone gather their things. Time had passed quickly but his thoughts had dragged into repetition.

She walked out of the classroom next to Alya and he was slightly starstruck by her, forgetting momentarily that he needed to get up and follow her in order to talk.

Right. Talk.

He scrambled out of his chair and skidded out of the door, turned his head back and forth trying to find Alya and Marinette. She probably had to go to her locker since she didn't have time before classes. He quickly walked to the locker room, excited and nervous. Anticipating.

He practiced what to say but when he saw her his head went a little blank, starstruck again.

"Marinette?" Okay. Good. He said her name. He could do this!

She sighed and he saw her telltale signs of discomfort: deep breath, pinking cheeks, balled fists. She was bracing herself for a battle. She was so... sigh perfect for him.

"Adrien?" She waved a hand over his face.

Oh crap.

"I wanted to Marinette."

"Uh... huh?" Marinette went to hold her textbook closer to her chest and it somehow slipped out her arms and onto the floor.

"Talk! I wanted, let me help-," Adrien stuttered and bent forward to pick up her fallen books.

He didn't mean to scare her!

And then their heads collided as they both went to retrieve the book.

"Ow!" Marinette stood back up straight, holding her head.

"Agh!" Adrien gasped and sucked in a breath. Great! Now he'd scared her, hurt her, and was making a fool of himself.

He scooped up her books and stood up straight, holding them out to her.

And of course the books roughly collided against her chest, since had had misjudged the distance between them.

"Oof!" Marinette stumbled backwards and Adrien's eyes went wide and he dropped the books, again, as he reached out to grasp her shoulders and keep her upright.

"I'm so sorry! Are you okay?!"

"Um, uh, yeah, wah!" Marinette flapped her arms a little, looking stressed.

Even better, he was stressing her out.

"You two are... a vibe," Alya suddenly appeared, looking bewildered, and held Marinette's books out to her.

"Thanks..." Marinette mumbled and took the books.

"You good?" Alya looked between them suspiciously.

"Great!" Adrien yelled. Loudly. Too loudly. Uncomfortably.

"Uh... let's go," Alya gave him a weird look and pulled Marinette away, rescuing both of them from the awkward interaction.

"Bye!" Marinette squeaked and then ran ahead of Alya and was out of the room in a blink.

Adrien fell back against the locker and groaned.

"Dude, that was rough."

Adrien groaned again.

"What were you trying to do?" Nino asked. "Maybe I can help."

"Apologize," he said. He didn't want to embarrass Marinette by exposing her crush on him if she didn't want others to know. Or if she hated him now. (He hoped not.)

"What did you do? You're a walking ray of sunshine."

Adrien had heard this nickname many times and while he appreciated the kind words he ironically often felt like a black cloud of doom inside. If he was the holder of the Miraculous of destruction, what did that truly mean about him as a person?

"We had a misunderstanding. But I want to talk to her first, sorry Nino."

"No problem, dude, if you need an ear or advice I'm here for you. Marinette is great, I'm sure you'll work it out."

"Yeah, she is," he sighed, imagining her smile and hoping to see it again soon.

"Uh, dude?" Nino smirked.

Adrien cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck, clearly he had been caught daydreaming.

"I'm gonna go," he said quickly and darted out of the room before Nino could ask any more questions.

He could do this!


He was not having good luck doing this.

Every time he almost was able to speak to Marinette someone else would appear or she would run away!

Ladybug was as illusive without the mask as when she was wearing it. So, as they often played on patrol, he was turning it into an unofficial game of tag (or Chat and Bug, as he liked to refer to it).

Instead of approaching her directly he watched how she would slide out of a room. She mostly used Alya as a distraction, poking her in the arm which prompted Alya to start talking about something. Sometimes she would ask another person a question and then wait for them to start getting really into the answer, bring in someone else to carry on the conversation, and then see herself out of the room! That one was crafty...

But he was persistent. He told Nathalie that he had to work on a group project after class, which gave him an extra two hours to try to talk to Marinette. His Lady. Love of his life. The girl he rejected.

The final bell rang and he was pretty sure he hadn't ever made it outside faster. He had to get to the front before her, he had a topic she wouldn't be able to avoid if others tried to pull her away.

She walked out with Alya, as was typical.

"Marinette! I have to talk to you about an art project." He strolled right up to her and didn't give her a chance to not

"Nathaniel is way-,"

"I'm going to design something for my father, I need you."

Okay. The desperation he didn't even try to hide.

"Uh," Marinette's eyes were wide.

"Please?" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Okay..."

"I can walk you home." He reached forward and pulled her backpack away from her, slinging it on his shoulder. Now she couldn't run away. And if she tried, he would have a reason to follow!

"Uh?" Marinette's vocabulary seemed to have disappeared but he didn't care one bit. It was kind of cute to see Ladybug flustered.

They walked in silence for the first block, Adrien wanted to make sure they were really alone when they spoke; no prying eyes from curious classmates. He stopped them in front of the park, near the fountain. The water tricked serenely in the background and he could hear some children laughing in the background. It was a beautiful afternoon.

"I messed up," Adrien said.

Marinette twitched and looked him in the eye, facing him when they stopped walking.

"I told you I thought I could love you if I didn't love her. But that's not right. I said it wrong, backwards... I could only love her if I loved you."

She froze.

"Huh?" Marinette choked - again!

"It's all Marinette. The bravery, the selflessness, sticking up for people, putting yourself second to your friends, family, the city. You're you - that's you. Ladybug is just a costume. And I'm not saying this just to convince you I love you and not Ladybug but-but they're the same. I'm not just a fan boy. I mean, I am, and I do have a Ladybug action figure collection and the limited release poster from last season that was auctioned for charity...

"But its not about that. I've loved you since the first day we met and I'm a blind fool who almost passed up the love of my life, my partner, and the one who makes me feel safe and loved. So please, Marinette, My Lady, Bugaboo... forgive me for not seeing you sooner."

"Ch-chat Noir?" Her eyes were wide.

"Surprise?" he said with a half-smile, hoping this was a good thing.

Marinette looked around, panicked. "We're in-everyone's around!"

Adrien surveyed their surroundings and noted that no one was near enough to hear anything.

"I don't think anyone is close enough to-,"

She squealed and Adrien's sort-of–half-optimistic expression fell into a worried one.

"Look, if you need to take some time-,"

"YES! TIme! I need need that - time - lots of that. Right now. I'm going to stop time, I mean, go to take time. Now. Right now. Bye!"

She ran away, leaving Adrien alone at the park, still holding her school bag.

"That could have gone worse," Plagg said from his collar, slightly muffled under the cloth.

"How could that have gone worse!?" Adrien said, exasperated.

"She could have thrown you into the rubbish bin," Plagg snickered.

Adrien groaned and facepalmed. He would give her until later tonight and then visit her as Chat Noir. He had her backpack, after all, and that's why he had insisted on carrying it. At least one part of the plan hadn't dissolved into chaos.


"Tikki!"

"Marinette…"

"TIKKI!"

"Marinette! Calm down, Marinette!"

Pacing, twitching, tripping - she'd done it all on the way up and into her room. Before she even got home doubled back for a short time, considering returning to the park, before changing her mind and running into the bakery as if an akuma were chasing her.

Panic, luckily, was not the type of emotion Hawkmoth honed in on.

"Adrien! He's ADIREN!"

"He loves me!"

"HE DOESN'T LOVE ME AS MARINETTE THOUGH!"

"He - Chat - said he only wanted Ladybug. He said he couldn't even consider other girls."

"But he said he couldn't love Ladybug without loving Marinette."

"So… so he DOES love me!?"

"But I don't love Chat!"

"Do I, Tikki? Do I love Chat Noir, Tikki?"

"OH MY GOD I THREW ADRIEN AGRESTE INTO A TRASH BIN!"

Marinette fell onto her chaise in a dramatic show of over-thinking.

"Marinette, please calm down!" TIkki flapped her little arms in front of Marinette and flew around her head, trying to get her attention long enough to make Marinette stop her babbling tangent. "Adrien IS Chat Noir. So if you love Adrien then I'd say it's fair to assume that you love Chat, yes. And the same goes for Adrien: if he loves Ladybug then, yes, he does love Marinette."

"Do you think he's struggling as much as I am right now? I just abandoned Adrien there, Tikki!" Marinette hopped up off of the chaise and started towards the door down to the living room.

"He's probably already home, Marinette!" Tikki flew in front of the door so Marinette hesitated leaving. "He has taken time to wrap his head around this, but you just found out. He told you to take some time, it was his idea. I'm sure he's fine, Marinette."

Marinette nodded, dazed, and started pacing again.

"He HAS had time to think. He must have realized last night, on the rooftop. He had hours to think it over and then-and then that stupid Chat bombarded me at the park! You're right, I deserve a few hours just like he got. Right, Tikki?" she bit her bottom lip, stressed.

"I mean, I need to think about this, right? Or maybe I don't? I love Adrien, what do I have to think about?"

"Adrien probably thinks I hate him, I left Adrien at the park all alone, Tikki!"

"You left Chat Noir at the park alone," Tikki sighed, losing some patience.

"Oh yeah. Chat will be fine."

Marinette was clearly having trouble coming to terms with that reality that the two boys were one in the same.

"Adrien will be fine. Say it aloud," Tikki said slowly.

"Chadrien will be fine," Marinette said quickly and then giggled a little hysterically at the twisted mashup of the names.

"Look on the bright side: Adrien isn't shallow like you thought he was last night! It turns out he really does love Ladybug."

"Yeah…" Marinette said sadly, sitting back down on the chaise. "I guess so."

Tikki patiently waited as Marinette finally calmed down.

"Now what do I do?" Marinette said hopelessly.

"Well, you love him, right?"

"I love Adrien…" Marinette said. "They're just so different."

"Are they?" Tikki challenged.

"Chat is so over-the-top! He is loud and tells dumb jokes and can't be serious for more than twenty seconds or his head might explode. Adrien is calm and patient, and he listens whereas Chat just talks and talks." Marinette made a little clap motion with one hand, indicating Chat's incessant talking.

"But I guess… I guess Chat is protective, selfless, and brave. He's very brave. He's sacrificed himself for me more times than I can count (which he really needs to stop doing), and he is always there for me if I need him. Adrien is kind of flakey, busy and distracted. It's like trying to catch smoke when it comes to Adrien."

"Well, consider this, Marinette: you can have the best of both of them. No one is perfect, you will learn to accept his flaws. Do the pros outweigh the cons?"

"Of course!" Marinette said immediately, jumping back to her feet.

"I wouldn't trade Chat for the world; for ANY other partner in the world. Without him I'd have to quit," she looked at Tikki with wide eyes, getting caught up in the fear of losing her partner.

"It looks like you have your answer, then," Tikki said kindly.

Marinette nodded and squealed again, her cheeks pink with the realization: "I love Chat Noir!"


He landed on her rooftop with very little grace. Usually he landed on his feet but his nerves were getting the best of him tonight and he tumbled onto his shoulder when his foot slipped on the railing of her balcony. A potted plant became a casualty of his clumsiness and it cracked with a loud, echoing noise to go along with it.

So much for a quiet entrance.

He saw the shadows from the skylight and knew she was on her way up. He straightened his posture and then tried to push the broken pieces of ceramic from the broken pot into a semi-neat pile.

"It's okay, I can get it in the morning," Marinette's voice was quiet but pleasant. She sounded a lot less nervous than she did when he last saw her at the park and that had to be a good thing, right?

"I'm sorry. I'm a little off kilt tonight, I have a lot on my mind. I can clean it, I just need to borrow a broom and a a bag, oh and a dustpan…" he started listing off cleaning supplies and fumbled a bit with a piece of ceramic he was holding in his hand.

"Chat, just leave it," Marinette put a hand on his shoulder and he froze, not expecting the contact. He stood up straight finally and turned to look at her.

She was smiling.

Okay. Another good sign!

"Hi," he said, and waved. What is wrong with you, Adrien, get it together! "I mean, how are you?"

"I'm okay. Still getting used to everything. But I'm glad you're here. If anything, to help me piece it all together. It's one thing having two ideas of two different people in my head but another to have a person standing in front of me all as one person. Erm, if that makes sense…"

"I know what you meant," he nodded.

"Was it difficult for you? Did I surprise you?" Marinette asked cautiously.

"Not difficult at all," he admitted easily. "You're amazing: Marinette and Ladybug are both amazing. I just met Ladybug first and that blinded me."

Marinette's shoulder sank, as if that wasn't what she wanted to hear.

"Oh…"

"You're struggling," Adrien said plainly, able to read it all over her face and body language.

"A little, but it's still new. You're just so different… Adrien, Chat." She frowned. "You don't make puns at school."

Adrien cringed. "Well at school I have to keep up a certain image. If I get in trouble for telling jokes or seem distracted from my schoolwork then I can be removed from school. I don't want to disappoint my father, so I need to behave. When I'm Chat I don't have to worry about that. I'm free!"

He jumped and spread his arms out, grinning.

"That's terrible. I'm sorry, Adrien," Marinette said sadly. She reached for Chat's hand and squeezed to show some support.

"No, it's okay. I'm just glad I get to go to school and be with friends like Nino. And you. Having friends is amazing. I just have to be careful." He shrugged as if it was completely normal to be threatened to be removed from school.

"I understand," Marinette said, although she was not pleased by the toxic situation he was trapped in.

"Do you want to come inside? I think I'd like to talk to you as Adrien - as yourself. If you are okay with that?" Marinette asked, still holding onto his hand.

"I am Adrien. But sure," Chat grinned and Marinette was a little dazed trying to imagine a grin like that on Adrien's face, but they made their way into her room.

"Ready?" he said, sounding excited. Marinette was apprehensive.

"Claws in!"

Adrien Agreste, in the flesh, in her room, in the late hours of the evening, without her parents knowledge, with two kwamis dancing around the room. It felt like a fever dream.

"Wow," Marinette said.

"Pretty cool, right?" Adrien grinned and… and there it was. Marinette gasped. Chat's toothy feline grin was not quite as wide on the non-magicked face of Adrien. The corner of his lip was more upturned, and his teeth did not have points the way Chat's did. But even without the magical properties the smile was unmistakably the same. Adrien looked devilishly handsome, like a pseudo bad-boy with a secret to hide.

Marinette went red with embarrassment by just how completely attractive he looked. Oh boy.

"I-gah!" Marinette was back to blubbering like an idiot in front of Adrien and it hadn't even been ten seconds.

"What do you think?" Adrien asked, his nervousness coming back slowly since Marinette wasn't saying much at all.

"Gorgeous. I mean-! Gah!" Marinette covered her face with her hands.

Adrien laughed.

"Yeah, I think you are, too," he said, a little quieter, but a little closer.

His hands landed on hers and he pulled them down and away from her face slowly. He was standing close, holding her hands. It was a dream come true.

"Do you think you could love Chat Noir, too?" Adrien asked shyly, his eyes searching hers.

"I think I already do," Marinette admitted slowly.

"You do?" Adrien said, awestruck by the admission.

Marinette nodded slowly and stepped towards Adrien - Chat - her partner, and pulled him into a tight hug.

Adrien immediately returned the hug and buried his face into her hair, exhaling in relief.

"Thank you," he said, tears coming to his eyes from sheer joy.

"I'm sorry for the rubbish bin," she said into his chest, and squeezed him tighter, as if afraid he was going to let go. (Spoiler alert: he was never letting go of his girl.)

Instead, he laughed.

"As long as you promise not to do it again I think I can forgive you."

Marinette nodded against his chest. "I promise!"

He pulled her away from him so he could look into her eyes again. She had tears threatening to spill as well.

"I love you, Marinette."

"I love you too. All of you."

They may or may not have kissed after that.

;)

The end.