Chapter 3

Welcome back and thank you for reading!

Adrien sat, astonished, for a few seconds.

"Uh, yeah, Adrien Agreste. That's me. W-what, uh, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, uh…I was in the neighborhood and well, it started raining so I was wondering if I could wait out the storm here until it passes. I h-hope that's okay" she said apologetically.

Adrien looked past her, seeing the sudden downpour that wasn't there just five minutes earlier. Huh, I guess Marinette was right. "Y-yeah, of course, Ladybug! Make yourself at home!" he stuttered out, still flustered from the whole situation.

"Thanks so much! I have no idea where this storm came from, it wasn't even cloudy until a few minutes ago!"

"Yeah, I'm surprised as well! Although a friend of mine did say that it was going to rain tonight. I guess she was right!" he replied. "Would you like some hot tea? I always enjoy a mug during thunderstorms like this."

"Y-yeah, sure! Thank you for your hospitality!"

Adrien got up, still a little shaken, and walked over to the corner of his room, where he had a microwave, sink and a small kettle in the breakfast nook that his father had had installed.

"So, uh…how's the superhero business treating you?" he asked. WHAT? What are you talking about Agreste? God.

"Oh, uh, great! Yeah, things have been going well over the past couple weeks. We actually haven't had to fight an akuma in a while! I'm a bit nervous, actually. I have no idea what Hawkmoth might be planning that would require him to stay dormant for so long."

Adrien took the kettle off the electric stand and poured two cups, gingerly placing a teabag in both. "Don't worry, I'm sure you and Chat Noir will be able to fight it off, just like on Hero's Day!" he reassured.

"I hope you're right" she replied as she took a mug from Adrien and took a small sip. "Oh, wow, this is really good! Thank you."

"No problem. So um, what do you want to do while we wait until the storm passes? I have board games, a computer, we could watch TV! Or play a video game if you want" he suggested.

"Hmmm, oh! Do you have Ultimate Mecha Strike III? I've always been pretty good at that" Ladybug said with confidence.

"Sure do. I have plenty of practice from playing with my friend, though, so be warned! I might destroy you in it" he said, smirking.

"We'll see about that!" she said, with a smirk of her own.

Adrien walked over to his couch and turned on his console, popping in the disc after it had booted up. He took his controller and then handed another one to Ladybug.

"Okay, sign in as a guest. You'll have all of the upgrades I have, which may make this a fair game" he said with bravado.

"Okay, tough guy" she fired back, "Just wait until we start playing and we'll see if it's fair" she said with a small laugh.

The first game lasted all of about thirty seconds, as Ladybug came out victorious. "Yes! Beat that, Agreste!"

"Beginner's luck" said Adrien with a grin. "I'm definitely beating you next game!"

Three games later, and Adrien was physically sweating from the exertion he was putting on the controller. "Come on, come on…NO!" he exclaimed as his mech was once again defeated by Ladybug.

"Well, well, it looks like I'm better than you thought" said Ladybug victoriously.

"Okay, okay" said Adrien, hands up. "You are WAY better than I thought you'd be. How did you get so good?" he asked.

"Hah. A true Ultimate Mecha Strike III player never reveals her methods" she said confidently.

"Ohh, mysterious and beautiful. What other secrets do you have?" he shot back.

There was a second of silence before they both realized their mistakes. Ladybug's heart skipped a beat. Oh God! Isn't that the same line I gave him earlier tonight?! What if he notices?

Adrien froze. WHY DID I SAY THAT? She's going to find out that I love her! Wait a minute. Never reveals her secrets? Huh, isn't that what Marinette told me at the party?

They both sat in silence for what felt like an eternity before Adrien spoke again. "Hey, um, Ladybug?" he asked.

"U-uh, yeah?" she responded, nervously.

"Can I tell you something?"

"O-of course! What's up?"

"I…I really like you. I've liked you for a long time, ever since you saved me from that akuma attack last year. I just…I wanted you to know."

Ladybug's face went red under her mask. Oh my God. He's…he's confessing to me. Now. Say something, Marinette!

"I know, Adrien." Crap, not that!

"Wait, you know?! What do you mean?" he said, flabbergasted.

"I know because…because…" Ladybug started. Okay, Marinette, you've already gotten this far. What's the harm in telling one more person, right?

"Spots off" she said, as a brilliant flash of light engulfed her, causing Adrien to shield his eyes. From her toes to her head, her Ladybug costume was hewn off, as Tikki flew out, exhausted from keeping Marinette transformed for so long. Adrien looked over, still in shock from hearing her detransformation words. There, right next to him, was his classmate and good friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"M-M-Marinette?!" he exclaimed, overwhelmed. "B-but, I, what?"

"I know because…you told me earlier" she said sheepishly.

"I…had no idea, Marinette. Wow. I can't…I can't believe that you're Ladybug" he said, astonished.

"Adrien, I want you to know something too" she started, "You know how I said I had a crush on Chat Noir at the party?"

"Um, yeah, sure."

"Well, that was a lie. It's…it's actually you. I just didn't want to tell you because I didn't know what you would think about me liking you, and I was afraid…but I'm not anymore."

"Oh, Marinette. You know I'd never try to hurt you, even if I didn't end up reciprocating your feelings, right? We're friends! I'd never want to do anything to ruin our friendship. It's dear to me" he said passionately. Wait. SHE LIKES ME TOO?!

"Thanks, Adrien. It means a lot to me-" she started before excitement overcame Adrien.

"Wait, Marinette, you're LADYBUG! OH MY GOD. This changes everything! I had no idea!" he said enthusiastically.

"Haha, yeah, I am. It feels good to finally let you know" she replied.

"Am I the only one, or do other people already know?" he asked.

"Just you and Alya know my secret. Well, Master Fu used to, too, until his memory was erased" she answered.

"Wow. Well I'm honored Lady- I mean, Marinette" he said before a realization struck him. "Oh, so um…I guess you know how I feel about you now" he said.

"Y-yeah, and I you" she responded nervously. "So um, do you…want to go out sometime then?" she asked. Real smooth, Marinette.

"Absolutely! You know I'd never turn down a date with you, Bugaboo-err" he stopped as he realized his fatal mistake.

"Wait, what?!" Marinette said in shock. "W-what did you just call me?"

Adrien tried to save face. "Oh I uhh…you know, it's just a little nickname I thought of just now" he said, laughing nervously.

But it was too late. Marinette's brain had already made all the connections for her. And those connections undoubtedly pointed to Adrien being…"CHAT NOIR?!"

It all made sense. The hair, the eye color, even the devilish good looks linked Adrien and her Kitty perfectly. There was no mistaking it, and no going back now that she knew.

"Uhhh, whoops" was all Adrien could manage with a little "sorry" gesture. Marinette's mind raced. All this time, I've been rejecting the person that I've been trying to get with for over a year?! It all makes sense now. I've never seen Adrien and Chat Noir in the same place. They both have the same smirky grin, I've just never noticed it before! Oh God, Adrien must hate me for always shooting him down as Ladybug!

"Marinette, you okay? You're really quiet" Adrien asked.

"I'm so sorry Adrien. Chat Noir. I have no idea what it must feel like to constantly be rejected by the person that you love. You must hate me" said Marinette, her head in her hands.

"Marinette, I'm fine! Trust me. I could never hate you. You always told me that you were in love with someone else, and I was fine with just letting you be happy with that person. Although now that I know it's been me the whole time, I feel a little better" he said, trying to cheer her up.

Marinette looked up at him. "Well…as long as you're okay, then I'm okay. God, I can't believe we didn't figure it out sooner. I mean, there have to be dozens of times where we came within feet of each other transforming and still didn't notice! What are the odds?" she said, her mood lifting.

"I can't believe it either! To think that the beautiful, intelligent, kind, heroic girl that I was in love with from the moment we met would turn out to be the girl who sat next to me in English is mind-boggling" he paused. "You really are amazing, Marinette."

Marinette melted like snow in the hot sun. "T-thanks, A-Adrien. You're amazing too. From the moment you handed me your umbrella, I haven't been able to get you out of my head."

"Really? You've liked me for that long? Oh God, I've probably missed a ton of hints from you, haven't I?" he asked sheepishly.

"Well, I mean…it's fine, haha, I was probably being way too subtle anyway."

"Maybe, but even still…I'm sorry for being so oblivious, Marinette. I'm not great at this whole romance thing, despite what Chat Noir may tell you" he said jokingly.

Marinette laughed. "You know, despite what Ladybug may have said, I did enjoy your playful flirtation from time to time. In fact, I was actually starting to fall for Chat Noir before the party."

"Really? Wow, I'm flattered, thank you" he said, glowing.

"Well, I still want to go on that date, if it's all the same to you" said Marinette, her confidence reappearing.

"Definitely" replied Adrien.

Suddenly, a loud thunderstrike disrupted the moment, as Marinette jumped, landing closer to Adrien.

"Jumpy, are we?" he teased.

"Shut up, Kitty, she shot back, as she realized how close their faces were. "Hey, Adrien?" she started.

"Yes, Bugabo-" Adrien almost got out before Marinette's lips became entwined with his own in a kiss. It wasn't particularly long, just a few seconds of contact, but it was enough to set Marinette's heart on fire. All of her problems melted away as the space between their bodies was broken. She broke away, speechless, as she opened her eyes to see the same dumbfounded expression on Adrien's face.

"Wow" was all he could utter as he stared into her eyes lovingly.

That is, until they heard a second bang. Not a thunderstrike this time. An akuma.