Chapter 4: The Reveal

Adrien and Marinette were sitting closely together on the grass, looking up at the stars.

"They're so beautiful," Marinette said.

Adrien tore his eyes away from the stars and looked at her profile. Her dark hair was down, and the moonlight shining down on her gave her a mystical glow. He smiled, looking at her lovingly. "Beautiful."

Marinette looked at Adrien, returning his smile with a blush. She was adorable. He couldn't help but gaze into her sky blue eyes that twinkled like the stars above. He saw her close her eyes and pucker her lips, so he closed his eyes and leaned forward.

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

Adrien opened his eyes and was greeted with his ceiling. It was a dream, but it felt so real. He wanted to kiss her but didn't get too. Stupid alarm clock. He closed his eyes tight, trying to go back to sleep and get back to that dream with no success. He finally pounded his fist on his alarm clock, got up, gave Plagg some cheese and got ready for the day.

It was going to be a busy day. Adrien had a Chinese lesson directly after breakfast, fencing, and he had to practice the piano. He wished it wasn't the weekend. He'd rather be in school. While most people got to relax on the weekends, that wasn't the case for him. His favorite part of life was school. Not only did he love learning, but that's when he got to see his friends. He rarely ever saw them outside of school.

Adrien was finished with his Chinese lesson and fencing class, so it was time for piano practice. His father expected him to learn multiple pieces a week, which was tiring. He loved the piano, but he wanted to play something different, something more happy and upbeat. Fat Chance. His father would never approve of that. He had started working on this particular piece yesterday, and thanks to his good memory and musical skill, he already had it memorized.

Adrien was bored and lonely. He thought back to his dream and suddenly had the urge to see Marinette. He also felt a pang of guilt. It was Ladybug he should be thinking about. Ladybug. He felt an urge to see her as well. More guilt. If only Marinette and Ladybug were the same person. He was ninety percent sure they were but not one hundred percent positive. He had to know. He played his piano recording, transformed and leaped out of his window.

Cat Noir hopped from rooftop to rooftop, searching for his lady. He spotted a red suit with black polka dots a few feet ahead of him and called out to her. She landed on the nearest rooftop, and he followed, landing in front of her.

"Hello, Milady," Cat noir greeted with a smile. "What brings you out on this purrrfect day?"

Ladybug smiled back. "Actually, I was looking for you, Kitty."

"To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"We need to talk," Ladybug stated seriously.

Cat Noir matched her tone. "Yeah, we do. I was looking for you too."

"Not here though." Ladybug took Cat Noir's hand and led him to a secluded section of the roof where no one could see them.

"So," Ladybug started, wringing her hands.

Cat Noir had never seen Ladybug this nervous around him. He found it endearing. He could see this was hard for her, so he just waited patiently.

Ladybug finally continued after a few moments of silence. "I like you, Cat Noir."

The black clad hero was stunned. He had pictured this scene a million times, and it was finally happening? He knew his bugaboo had become less annoyed by his flirting. She didn't always brush him off anymore. She played along…sometimes, but he wasn't expecting this.

"But…" the girl in red continued.

Cat Noir deflated a little. Of course there was a but.

"I'm still in love with someone else."

Cat Noir perked up. "That boy you told me about after we defeated Glaciator?"

Ladybug's eyes widened. "You remember that?"

"I remember everything about you," Cat Noir stated seriously with love in his eyes.

Ladybug smiled shyly and blushed, reminding him of Marinette. His suspicion went up to ninety-two percent. An idea struck him. "What's this other guy like?"

Ladybug's blue eyes sparkled like stars. Ninety-five percent.

"He's a very good friend of mine. He's chivalrous, kind, sweet, handsome," Ladybug said dreamily. "I could go on forever."

He knew Marinette liked Adrien. All of the blushing and awkwardness made it obvious, especially since they started hanging out more. He was sure that Marinette was talking about him on the way to her house last night, and Ladybug was using Marinette's words to describe the boy she loved. Everything fit. One hundred percent.

"Am I a terrible person?" Ladybug's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Of course not. You're the best person I know," Cat Noir reassured his lady.

"But I have feelings for two guys."

"No, you don't, Marinette."

Ladybug stared at her partner, wide eyed.

Cat Noir smiled. "Claws in."

After a green flash of light, Adrien stood in front of Ladybug.

Ladybug just smiled at Adrien. "Spots off."

A red light flashed, leaving Marinette in Ladybug's place.

"I'm happy it's you," they said in unison, then laughed together.

Once the laughter died down, Adrien walked towards Marinette, only leaving an inch of space between them. Marinette's face turned scarlet as Adrien grabbed her hand and gazed at her.

"Marinette, will you be my girlfriend?" Adrien asked, heart pounding.

Marinette looked at Adrien, eyes shining with happiness. "I'd love to be your girlfriend, Adrien."

"I love you, Marinette."

"I love you too, Adrien."

Adrien put his hand on Marinette's cheek, and she leaned into his touch, closing her eyes. He stroked her cheek with his thumb, Marinette's eyes opened slightly, and she puckered her lips. Adrien was about to have his first kiss, that he could remember anyway. He thought it was the same for her, so he wanted it to be special for her. Before he could overthink it anymore, he closed his eyes, leaned down and pressed his lips to hers.

A few moments later they broke apart. Marinette wrapped her arms tightly around Adrien's neck, and he returned her embrace just as tightly.

"I was that obvious, huh?" Marinette asked, her arms still around Adrien.

"It's okay. You figured me out too," Adrien responded with a chuckle. "How does Andre's sound for a first date?"

"That sounds pawsitively purrrfect." Marinette grinned.

Adrien looked at his girlfriend, awestruck. "I love it when you make cat puns."

Marinette giggled and gave her boyfriend a quick kiss before dragging him with her to look for Andre. They found the ice cream man in the park and walked up to him hand in hand.

"Beautiful Marinetta, model boy Adrien. Can I get you some ice cream?" Andre said with a grin.

"Yes please," the couple stated in unison.

Andre started dipping the ice cream. "Peach and BlackBerry, an odd pairing in fact, but often, it's the opposites that attract." He handed Adrien the ice cream and winked, making the pair laugh. They thanked Andre, took their ice cream and sat on a bench. They fed each other the ice cream and came up with a story of how they got together. They obviously couldn't tell anyone the whole truth, so they decided to say that Marinette texted Adrien asking to meet at the park. She confessed her feelings first, and he said he felt the same way. He asked her to be his girlfriend, she said yes, they kissed, and Adrien suggested Andre's for their first date.

After finishing their ice cream, Adrien and Marinette just sat on the bench talking, his arm around her waist. Eventually, they fell asleep with his arm still around her, her head on his shoulder and his head on top of hers with her hand on his chest. Adrien woke up first and decided he better get home before someone noticed he was missing, even though he didn't want to. He looked at Marinette and saw her sleeping, smiling face. He smiled to himself and gently shook her awake. After walking Marinette home and giving her a quick goodbye kiss, Adrien went to the nearest empty alley.

Plagg flew out of Adrien's shirt to float in front of him. "So that finally happened."

"Yes it did," Adrien responded with a smile.

Adrien fed Plagg a piece of cheese and transformed. Once home, he turned off the piano recording, suddenly feeling like playing himself. After piano practice, he did homework. He got most of it done and decided that he would do the rest tomorrow. He was putting his stuff in his school bag when he got a video call from Nino.

"Congrats, dude," Nino said as soon as Adrien answered the phone.

"For what?"

"You and Marinette. Alya just told me."

Adrien smiled. "Thanks, Nino."

Adrien told Nino the story that he and Marinette came up with and talked for another twenty minutes. After getting in bed, Adrien called Marinette, and the two of them talked until they fell asleep. He fell asleep that night truly happy for the first time in a long time.

The next day was Sunday, and unfortunately, Adrien couldn't see Marinette at all. He found out that she had to help out in the bakery all day from their phone call last night. He had a photo shoot that afternoon and had to finish his homework, anyway. He missed her like crazy and made sure to text her throughout the day. He had it bad already.

The next morning at school, Adrien was the only one left in the locker room when Marinette ran inside, straight to her locker. She was facing her open locker, unaware of Adrien's presence, which gave him an idea.

Adrien smirked, tiptoed up behind Marinette and in a slightly louder than normal voice said, "Boo!"

"Ahhh!" Marinette jumped and threw her arms in the air. She turned around, looked surprised to see Adrien, then glared. "Adrien! You startled me!"

"I'm sorry, Marinette." Adrien chuckled. "I love teasing you. You're adorable." He gave her an affectionate smile.

Marinette's face melted into a shy smile, and pink colored her cheeks.

Adrien gave the girl in front him a gentlemanly bow, holding out his hand. "May I walk you to class, Milady?"

Marinette giggled, placing her hand in his. "I'd be honored, kind sir."

After kissing her hand and enjoying the surprised look on her face, Adrien led Marinette to class by the hand. After entering the classroom, all eyes were on the new couple. Alya and Nino just grinned while everyone else looked shocked before smiling, everyone except for Chloe that is. Adrien walked Marinette to her seat and sat on the edge of her desk, watching a scowling Chloe out of the corner of his eye. She began walking toward Adrien, and he inwardly sighed. Here we go.

"What is the meaning of this, Adrikins!?" Chloe shouted once she reached Marinette's desk. "You're not really dating, right?"

Adrien stayed seated but took Marinette's hand again, looking at his childhood friend with annoyance. "Marinette is my girlfriend, Chloe."

"But, I'm a better match for you than her!" Chloe glared at Marinette.

Adrien was angry now. "No one is better for me than Marinette."

"This is ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloe stated and stomped back to her seat.

Adrien was so glad that Lila wasn't there. He didn't feel like dealing with both of the mean girls' reactions to his new relationship status on the same day. He felt a tug on his hand and looked at Marinette. Seeing the affection in her eyes, his anger melted away. "What is it?"

"You're the best."

Adrien smiled and gave Marinette a quick peck on the cheek before taking his own seat.

About an hour into the school day, there was an akuma alert. School was dismissed, and the students were sent home until the trouble was dealt with. Marinette went home so that her parents wouldn't worry, and Adrien went to a nearby hiding spot, transformed and waited for his lady. Ladybug showed up, and the two of them headed toward the akuma.

Defeating the akuma was easier than ever. They were used to knowing exactly what the other wanted them to do in battle, but somehow that got even better. It was like knowing each other's identities strengthened their partnership. They were way more in sync then before, if that was even possible.

After saving the day, Marinette and Adrien, along with the rest of the students returned to school.

"That fight was epic, and I got it all on camera," Alya said excitedly.

"Ladybug and Cat Noir saved the day again," Nino added.

Adrien and Marinette shared a secretive smile. That's how it would always be.