Marinette was suspicious, and she felt she had a right to be suspicious. After all, it couldn't possibly be just a coincidence.
Ever since she and her fiancé, Adrien, had moved in together six weeks ago, she had noticed a pattern every time she needed to leave and go on patrol. As the time would approach, Adrien always found a convenient and sometimes ridiculous excuse to leave the apartment.
"Oh look, we're out of milk. I'll get some."
"Ah, I left some important paperwork at the office."
"Um, Nino needs me to help him move…something."
Honestly! And she thought she was the queen of ridiculous excuses.
It had been in the little things that she had started to see the similarities, things you see more when you're living with someone. The way he cocked his head to one side as he read, how he would savour every bite of one of her baked treats, the puns… oh the puns! If she thought Chat had bad timing, Adrien took it to a whole new level - like the time she was in her first major meeting with the other designers at his father's company. A poorly timed text saying "Never tell a woman she can't purse-shoe her dreams" almost had her snorting her coffee all over her soon to be father-in-law.
Of course, she could have been the mature adult she was and just asked him about it. Better yet, she should have just addressed the enormous elephant in the room and told him about her secret identity. She should have done that already, and she knew that, but she had let her own insecurities get the better of her. She trusted Adrien more than anyone, as much as she trusted Chat Noir, and that connection had started to naw at her conscience, but there was that ever present 'what if' playing on her mind.
Marinette being Marinette, she didn't choose to do either of those options. Instead she had the brilliant idea of following her soon to be husband to see for herself. Better yet, she decided to do this the night before their wedding. Yes, after almost a year of planning, the invitation of guests, the designing of her dream dress, the flowers, photographers, the wedding cars and arranging her parents to bake a three tiered cake, Marinette in all her Guardian wisdom decided that tonight she would spy on her fiancé to discover once and for all if he was, in fact, her masked partner that she had rejected for years.
Chat had been oddly insistent that they should have patrol tonight. Adrien was staying at Nino's place since tradition says it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding. Marinette could only imagine what wildly wonderful excuse Adrien would use to get away from his best friend and their long running addiction to playing Ultimate Mecha Strike. Transforming, Ladybug perched herself on a nearby rooftop near Nino's apartment and waited.
Sure enough, Adrien emerged from the apartment building. At first he just stood there, stretching his arms and looking around absentmindedly. He then looked into a black backpack that he had with him before he began walking along the street. Ladybug followed from a distance and observed as Adrien slipped into a side street. A flash of green burst between the buildings and Chat Noir vaulted on his stick up onto the roof and made his way towards their designated meeting place.
Ladybug rested her back against the chimney she was standing next to and placed a hand over her racing heart. Her suspicion was confirmed, Adrien was Chat Noir. She had witnessed irrefutable proof with her own eyes. Sliding down onto her bottom, she released her transformation and caught Tikki in her hand.
"What are we doing?" Tikki asked, confused at the situation. "Why aren't you meeting Chat Noir?"
Marinette gave her Kwami a cookie with a frown on her face. "Tikki, how could you not tell me Adrien is Chat Noir? We're getting married tomorrow for goodness sake!"
"You know I couldn't tell you that Marinette." The little red Kwami said calmly. She took another bite of her cookie before continuing. "As Guardian it was up to you to decide if you wanted to share identities or not, however Plagg did seem to think you would finally figure it out once the two of you moved in together."
Marinette's eyes went wide. "Plagg? How did I not notice him there? No wonder there never seemed to have been any cheese around. I was starting to think Adrien had some weird cheese addiction."
Tikki let out a giggle. "It wasn't easy, believe me. You almost caught him the other night when you stumbled into the kitchen to get a drink of water. When you started shrieking 'mouse' and jumped up onto the chair, Adrien knew it must have been Plagg, but had to play along."
Marinette ran her free hand down her face. "Tikki, what am I going to do? We're both getting married tomorrow…to each other! Oh god I'm actually marrying Chat Noir! I told him I could never love him, but I was already in love with him and he was in love with me, well Ladybug me but then he fell in love with Marinette me and…."
"Does that matter?" Tikki interrupted. "You are both the same two people, with or without the masks."
Marinette stopped hyperventilating for a moment and thought about that. Tikki was right, it didn't matter. Adrien was still Adrien, he just also happened to be her crime fighting partner. Marinette watched as Tikki continued to munch her cookie. In a way, it was a huge weight lifted from her shoulders. No more sneaking around, no more secrets, especially from the man she loved. Her heart skipped a beat. Adrien was Chat, and somehow knowing that just made her love him even more.
"I need to tell him." She said to Tikki, the Kwami nodding in agreement.
"Just say the words."
~~~~~
Ladybug slowed down as she came closer to the rooftop they had agreed to meet on. It was further away than their usual meeting spots, but Chat had been most particular about the location. She could see Chat sitting on a blanket, the moonlight highlighting his hair in the soft summer breeze as he looked up towards the sky. Ladybug hesitated for a moment. How was she going to tell him? Surely it would be a shock to him to find out that his bride happened to also be the same girl that had rejected him in the mask all these years? Was he going to be upset with her? Oh what a mess this was!
She pulled in her long pigtails. Don't be stupid, she scolded herself. This was Adrien, the man she loves, the same man she is marrying in less than twelve hours. Whatever happens tonight would never change that.
Taking a deep breath, Ladybug swung out on her yo-yo and landed softly behind him. She saw his cat ears flicker at the sound, but he didn't turn around.
"Come here. I want to tell you a story." He said quietly, patting the space next to him. Ladybug looked at him curiously, but sat down on the blanket. Chat gave her a soft smile, before looking back up at the sky.
"Chat, before you start…" She said, gaining his attention back. "I…um…there's something we need to talk about. It's important, like, really important and…um."
He leaned forward a little and placed his hand on top of hers. "You know you can talk to me about anything m'lady."
Ladybug could feel her heart thump against her chest. Knowing this was Adrien, her fiancé and in a few more hours her husband, was making her feel weak. Was he flirting with her? Chat had always been respectful of Ladybug's civilian relationship, which was him but that's beside the point because he didn't know she was Ladybug. She vaguely wondered if she should be jealous that he was effectively flirting with her alter ego.
Ladybug swallowed, trying to gain control of her thoughts. "Chat." She started again more firmly. "You know that I'm getting married tomorrow right?"
Chat's mouth dropped open and he placed his other hand over his heart. "You're getting married tomorrow? That's wonderful Bugaboo, so am I."
Ladybug almost lost it with the goofy smile on his face. Why was this so hard to say? "Yes, but…you know what that means don't you?"
Chat looked at her for a moment before he plopped both his hands on her shoulders and gave her a sad look. "M'lady… I can't come to your wedding, and you can't come to mine!" He exclaimed dramatically, his cat ears flattening to his head.
Ladybug blinked at him in disbelief. That was his take away from this?
"Kitty, I think you're missing the point here. We are both getting married on the same day." She emphasised the words while giving him an intense stare. "How were you even planning to be at my wedding? You can't exactly wear your suit."
Chat gave her a confused look. "Of course I'd be wearing my suit." Chat retorted. "What kind of stray do you take for? I'm hardly going to show up to a wedding in shorts and a hula shirt."
Ladybug suppressed a groan as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Why was she marrying this idiot again? Was it too late to back out? Was a divorce before the wedding even possible?
"Chat…" She whined, but whatever she was about to say was cut off by Chat gently placing a clawed finger over her lips.
"Now will you let me tell you my story?" He said softly, a gentle smile playing on his lips. She knew that smile. It was the same smile Adrien would give her when she became flustered and he would patiently wait for her to calm down. Although she was still anxious to tell him, she decided to indulge him for the moment. Nodding her head and he removed his finger. "You'll understand better if you lay down."
"Lay down?" She queried. Chat had already laid back, his head resting on his hands.
"Don't you trust me m'lady?" He teased her. Ladybug absentmindedly bit her lip as she pondered the absurdity of the situation, but relented, laying down beside him.
"Now." He said, sounding satisfied she was playing along and pointing up to the sky. "Do you see that star up there."
"Are we stargazing now Kitty?" She giggled. What was this boy up to?
"Just shush you." He said with a playful smirk. "That star there is Vega."
She tried to follow where he was pointing. "Oh I see it, that bright one right?"
Chat nodded with a hum. "And see that other bright one over there? That one is Altair."
Ladybug looked at the two bright stars. Now she understood why he wanted to come away from the main city, so there was less artificial light.
"One night when I was younger, my mother took me to an observatory and told me the story of Vega and Altair. There are different versions of the story, but she told me that Vega was a celestial princess and Goddess of the Sky. She was born immortal and was lonely in her eternal life. One day she was watching the people on the Earth go about their daily lives and she saw a man called Altair. She was taken by him and came down from the heavens to talk to him. After that day, she snuck away from her family any time she could to be with him, and the two soon fell in love. Vega promised Altair that she would find a way to bring him back with her so they could live together amongst the stars."
Ladybug felt Chat's hand find hers beside her on the blanket. He placed his hand on top of hers, lacing their fingers together and rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.
"What happened next?." She asked, her heart beating faster in her chest.
"Vega's father found out that she had fallen in love with a mere mortal. In his anger, he took Vega's promise to Altair and cruelly twisted it, placing the two lovers on different stars in the sky, separated by the celestial river that we know as the Milky Way."
"That's so sad." Ladybug said. "What happened, Chaton? Were they ever together?" She asked, turning her body towards him to look at him. His eyes glowed in the darkness, but she could see Adrien's eyes in his soft gaze, that look that he always had just for her - on both sides of the mask.
"Vega's father offered the pair one kindness. Every year on the seventh day of the seventh moon, a bridge forms between the two stars where the star crossed lovers could be together for just one night if Altair could cross it. The trip was treacherous though, and sometimes Altair couldn't make it and Vega's tears would fall like rain on the earth below."
Ladybug closed her eyes and felt a tear roll down her cheek as Chat shifted closer to her. He softly kissed her on the forehead before resting his own there. "Don't let your tears fall like the rain m'lady." He whispered. "I'll always cross that bridge to get to you, I'd cross the whole universe if I had to...my Marinette"
Hearing her own name, she opened her eyes to see the way he was looking at her, like she was his whole universe. "How long have you known?"
"A few weeks." He admitted. "I figured the only reason you kept accepting those ridiculous excuses I was making to leave for patrol was because you needed the excuse to leave yourself. That and the cookie crumbs I found in the bed. I knew you hadn't eaten them there and I heard Plagg muttering something about SugarCube and sweets. Honestly I was surprised you hadn't noticed the missing cheese."
"I thought you were eating it." Ladybug tried to defend herself. Chat couldn't help but let out a carefree laugh at her offended look.
She rolled over onto her back and looked up at the stars. "I'm such an idiot." She pouted, folding her arms across her chest, but she couldn't really be as cross as she pretended to be. "I was the one that insisted on keeping up the secret identities and in the end I ended up rejecting you for, well you, and then I find out I'm marrying you anyway." Chat rolled towards her, propping his head on his hand and placing his other hand on top of hers.
"You're not an idiot." He assured her. "You were just doing what you thought was right, I know that. Besides, I'm the lucky one because I got to fall in love with you twice."
"Smooth." She smirked as Chat kissed her cheek and down her jawline. "Shouldn't you be getting back though? Nino will start to wonder where you are."
"He won't." Chat grinned against her neck.
Ladybug pulled back slightly and gave him a suspicious eye. "What did you tell him?"
Chat's eyes darkened with mischief. "The truth. That I was just going to drop by my beautiful fiancée for a little…alone time." He practically purred the words out with a waggle of his eyebrows and sent a shiver down her spine and a fierce blush across her cheeks. Sure she knew this was Adrien, but she wasn't quite ready to see that suggestive look coming from Chat's eyes. She then pushed his face away from her with a giggle.
"You mangy alley cat." She teased, standing up and taking out her yo-yo. "Just for that, you can wait until tomorrow now."
Before she could throw her yo-yo, Chat jumped up, grabbed her wrist and in one swift movement pulled her to his chest.
"Then maybe a kiss will tide me over." He said, hooking a finger under her chin and tilting her eyes to meet his. "Because the next time I kiss you, you will be Mrs Agreste."
"Or Mrs Noir." She smirked, taping him in the nose.
"I like the sound of that." He whispered and smiled, before letting his lips make sweet union with hers.
A/N - This was written for a prompt on the Miraculous Fanworks Discord. If you would like to hang out with other Miraculous creatives, come and join us https/discord.gg/mlfanworks