A few weeks passed after Marinette found out Adrien's identity. Their relationship didn't change and Marinette dreaded the fact that she suddenly couldn't talk to him about anything important. She wanted to tell him about her feelings, but every time she considered it, she was too scared of the idea of losing him if he didn't feel the same way about her.

She didn't want to tell him her identity until she told him how she felt about him. Adrien seemed like he always had something to say on the tip of his tongue, but he wasn't saying anything substantial when she tried to let him talk. They kept spending as much time together as they had for the months that were leading up to that day.

Marinette started to spend more time at Adrien's apartment and Nino started spending more time at Alya and Marinette's apartment. Now that Marinette knew that Adrien was Chat Noir, she understood when they couldn't hang out on certain nights when he'd had patrol, but he still didn't understand why she was always busy on Tuesdays.

Chat Noir told Ladybug that his girlfriend found out his identity and she knew she should have told him then that she was his 'girlfriend.' She didn't know why she was scared to tell Adrien the truth about how she felt and the truth about her identity. She found her heart racing every time that Chat mentioned his 'girlfriend.'

He never described their relationship as fake to Ladybug. She secretly hoped it was because he had feelings for her, too, but she was pretty sure it was just because it was simpler for him to just say he was in a relationship. One night on patrol, Ladybug asked Chat Noir if he was planning to attend the Heroes Day Gala that the Mayor was hosting for them.

He said that he wasn't planning to go, so she dropped the conversation there. If he was going to go, she was going to suggest that the two of them should go together, but she didn't want to make him go if he didn't want to. She just figured she would find another time to tell him about her feelings and her identity.

Marinette was shocked one night when she and Adrien were making dinner and he asked her to go to the Heroes Day Gala with him. She felt her heart pound in her chest at the idea that she could still tell him, just like she had planned to as Ladybug. She needed to think her plan through, first.

When she agreed to go to the Gala with him, Adrien practically begged her to wear the AstroChat themed gown that she had shown him the first night that they met. She was certain that she wouldn't be able to talk him out of that idea. She didn't plan to ever wear it in public, but the spark of joy in his eye at the idea was enough to change her mind.

She understood why Chat Noir had told Ladybug he wouldn't be at the Gala. After how much she had told him about the necessity of their secret identities, he probably didn't plan to give her any hints about who he was, even if the hint was one of a few thousand people .

The night of the Gala eventually rolled around and Adrien, driven by Gorille, picked up Marinette from her apartment. Alya and Nino claimed that they were going to have a nice night watching movies together instead of going to the Gala after Adrien offered them an invitation, but Marinette knew that Carapace and Rena Rouge were invited to represent the hero team that evening when Ladybug and Chat Noir said they weren't able to make it.

Marinette was surprised that the table they were placed at during the dinner section was filled with people around their age. Marinette and Adrien were seated next to each other and on Marinette's other side, she was seated next to Kagami, who was seated next to a girl named Zoé, her date.

Next to Zoé, Marinette recognized the girl, Sabrina, from collège. Sabrina was apparently Chloé Bourgeois' date for the evening. Rena Rouge was seated on Chloé's other side and Carapace ended up next to Adrien. Marinette could see how hard Rena had to try to stay calm in the presence of the girl who had been a menace to them in school.

The rest of the table was visibly confused when the boys made jokes about them being set up on another date when Carapace and Rena Rouge first arrived, but Marinette and Rena both laughed at the comments. Now that Marinette knew the boys were friends on both sides of the mask, she loved watching their interactions even more.

Adrien would sometimes mention something that Carapace had mentioned in front of Chat Noir, but Carapace would sometimes mention something that Adrien told Nino. Neither of them questioned the knowledge that the other possessed because they were both hoping the extra information would be brushed under the rug if they didn't draw attention to it.

It worked for the most part. Rena Rouge asked Adrien a question about the fact that he knew Carapace's favorite spot in the city, but Marinette was quick to mention that they talked about it on Adrien's birthday. Adrien was happy to have Marinette there to back him up when he almost let too much about his identity slip.

The four of them spent most of the night talking among themselves. Eventually, Adrien asked Marinette to dance with him and the two heroes were called over to speak with the Mayor. The two danced to a song that Marinette was certain she didn't know the name of. It was the song they danced to on his birthday and she figured the name didn't really matter. As far as she was concerned, now it was just their song.

Rena Rouge and Carapace gave a speech after a while of dancing, then Adrien invited Marinette to join him at what he referred to as a 'secret spot' to watch the fireworks. The 'secret spot' was a balcony a few floors above the room where the Gala was being held, but Marinette couldn't imagine a more beautiful place to watch the fireworks from.

This was her moment, she knew that it was. This was the perfect time to tell Adrien that she has feelings for him. He had his hand on the railing of the balcony and she placed her hand straight on top of his. The action brought a smile to his face and he looked at the girl next to him. She took a breath.

"I have feelings for you," she told him, her voice getting overpowered by the fireworks that shot off around them. He made a motion toward his ear, indicating that he couldn't hear what she said. She rose up on her toes to try to get closer to his ear and repeated the words, "I have feelings for you."

When the fireworks took a momentary break, he got out a quick apology, accompanied by him pointing toward his ear again, he cupped his ear in hopes that he would be able to hear her better. She tried a few more times to confess to him, but he still couldn't hear her. "-in love with you," he was finally able to hear.