There were some moments when she wanted to know, badly. It was impossible to not be curious about his identity, especially since she became a guardian of the miracle box. He was her partner and her friend. He could help her. But there was something different, another affair that occupied her mind mercilessly. It was always at night, when she was in her bed, attempting to forget about all of her problems. Occasionally, when she read a book on her balcony. She wanted to forget. About him. About that damned smile.
"Thinking about your prince charming, are we?" he asked, grinning at her.
And that was embarrassing. She forgot entirely that she was on a nightly patrol with Chat Noir. Thinking about Adrien was so addicting to her that she somehow lost her focus. Not for the first time, even today. But she wasn't in school anymore, she was Ladybug now. It was unacceptable. He wasn't going to notice her anytime soon, if ever. He was madly in love with someone else. A secret girl who never liked his jokes. Still, it hurt her. No matter how hard she endeavored to forget, to move on.
"Jealous much, are we?" she answered, as usual, resisting the urge to ask him for advice. She was Ladybug. Strong and independent. Not some child to cry about her own dilemmas to her partner. Especially him.
His cat ears flattened for a brief moment, but before she could catch a sign of it, he grinned again.
"Pawsitively not. This cat is way too handsome to feel down." But deep inside it hurt him, not that he would ever admit that in front of her. She was certainly not in the mood for his flirting. He could feel it.
Minutes passed in silence, and she was once again lost in thoughts about the green-eyed blonde from her class. It was too much for her. Hero duties, school, Chloe, Lila and now him. Who was that girl? And what was so special about her that Adrien looked so lovesick even mentioning her in the conversation. She was lost. Her friends were constantly trying to lift her spirits, even Luka was there for her if she asked. But she couldn't lead him on again. She didn't love him, and that would not be fair. She was glad he understood. He was a lovely boy. But not for her. Only one person could bring a real smile to her face. If only he loved her as she loved him.
"Ok, that's enough. You're worrying me, bug. What's wrong?" Chat asked her calmly, sitting next to her. She realized that she sailed away to the realm of her fantasies for the second time today. Another mistake.
"Nothing, just thinking," she replied casually. She couldn't bring herself to tell him and crash his broken heart even more. He was too good for all of this. Not that she would ever tell him that.
Silence. He seemed to think about something deeply.
Finally, he spoke, "Are you lying?". He turned his gaze and now was looking directly at her. "I know you, something is bugging you."
She couldn't care less about his pun. He wasn't overusing them recently. But his voice sounded too familiar for her liking. Especially in that specific question. She just couldn't place where she heard it before.
"I-I don't know," she answered absently. Then her eyes widened and she added. "No. Of course not. Everything's alright." It was a lame excuse. He didn't buy it. It was clearly written on his face. He raised his brow knowingly. "I don't want to talk about it," she smoothly responded and disappeared into the night with one, fast swing of yo-yo.
'M'lady, what's going on?' he thought before he too faded away in the darkness.
Marinette was feeling dizzy since her arrival from the patrol. What was wrong with her? Adrien was wrong with her. She was feeling sick and hopeless. Moving on seemed to be a lot more difficult than see previously thought. But the other problem was that stupid cat and his goofy smile. It was impossible that for a second, she felt like she was sitting there with Adrien. Her sweet Adrien. And everything because of that one, silly question. She felt like she was going insane. She blamed the stress and lack of sleep. It must have been that. Nothing more than exhaustion. She decided that she will deal with it later, after she gets some quality hours of sleep.
Meanwhile, in the Agreste's mansion, that same Adrien was fighting with his own dilemmas. He knew very well that his Bugaboo was in love with someone else, a mysterious other boy who clearly was as dumb as an ox. Because for him, it was obvious that his lady was the most amazing and beautiful girl in the world. There was nothing that could convince him otherwise. And that boy? She was always saying that she loved him, but at the same time her face was often filled with sorrow. Adrien wasn't stupid, he knew that she suffered from the unreciprocated love just like he was himself. Despite the 'no personal questions, ever' rule, he could understand her feelings very well. Because they were the same as his own.
"What's the deal with the sad face, kid?" Plagg suddenly asked him, floating in front of his face with leftovers of his Camembert piece. He was slowly preparing himself for his chosen's whining about his endless love for Ladybug and his miserable attempts in winning her heart. But he couldn't be prepared for that few sentences he heard as the answer.
"Ladybug is hurting. And I have no idea how to make her smile again. She barely talks to me lately," Adrien responded with a barely audible whisper. He wore almost depressed face expression.
Plagg was taken aback by his words. But he was determined to make sure he understood and heard him correctly.
"You think it can lower your chances at wooing her or—"
"I just want her to be happy," he replied, not looking at his kwami at all.
Plagg looked like his chosen suddenly turn into a giant, taking a wheel of his favorite cheese. Astonishment was as clear as crystal. Pride was filling him from inside. That was his own chosen, teenage boy with a heart as pure as the driven snow. Most of the time, according to his kwami viewpoint.
"You remember that she broke your heart, right?" he once again asked to clarify Adrien's intentions.
"I know, Plagg," — he answered with a soulful smile written on his face — "but it doesn't matter."
"But you always said—"
"I know what I've said before Plagg" — Adrien answered calmly, patting the tiny, black cat on the head — "but honestly, I love her too much to leave her alone with that sadness. Even—"
"Even if you were the one to remain heartbroken?" Plagg interjected with a knowing, sad smile.
"Yes" — he responded instantly — "she deserves a world and even more. I'll be fine." Adrien words echoed in Plagg's head. He clearly matured. He felt guilty that he couldn't tell him who she was. But law is a law.
"I'm proud of you, kid."
"Thank you, Plagg."
Another day at school was difficult for Marinette. Firstly, she was late again, and Ms. Mendeleiev wasn't buying her repetitive excuses about having to help her parents in the bakery. She should remember that teachers were informed by her family that she have no responsibilities associated with their small business when she has to be in school or to do a homework. She was nearly assigned a penalty exercises if it weren't for Adrien's smart rescue. He politely informed Ms. Mendeleiev that they had a history exam scheduled to the same day, and he was looking forward to study for it with his friends — including Marinette. Alya and Nino quickly confirmed that, indeed, they had plans to study together and reassured her how much important this test was for their final grades from said subject.
"T-thank you, A-Adrien," she whispered to him sweetly.
"My pleasure" — he answered, smiling — "See you at the learning session with Alya and Nino." He returned his gaze to the teacher, leaving Marinette flustered by their little conversation.
"See you" — she replied automatically to the back of his head before she realized what he just said — "what!?" she screamed, covering her mouth with a hand.
"Our friend just invite us to study history together while saving your butt from the extra chemistry task if I recall correctly." Alya replied to mortified Marinette.
"But Alya, I think—"
"You'd better not think at all, girl. It was a sweet gesture" — Alya cut her off, not wanting to hear her lamenting — "besides, I've never seen him doing the same for the others. And those tasks are hard as hell, by the way. Ask anyone from the class if you don't believe me."
"But why—"
"Because he likes you, Marinette," she replied to her in a sing-song voice, grinning at her like a madwoman.
Marinette had no strength to argue with her best friend. Alya was always stubborn when it came to her crush on Adrien Agreste. But she didn't know. He wasn't interested at all. He was in love but not with her. It was a normal, kind gesture for a friend. Just a friend.
Simultaneously, Adrien chatted quietly with Nino. Ms. Mendeleiev was busy writing some chemistry formulas on the blackboard and wasn't paying too much attention to her students behavior.
"That's my man. Saving a damsel in distress from the angry dragon," Nino said, patting Adrien on the back.
"Thanks. I've improvised," Adrien replied to Nino's praise.
"And that brilliant idea with studying together. Nice one. Why did you bring Alya and me to it, by the way? You could spend some quality time with the lovely girl alone." Nino was grinning at him as if Alya praised his most recent music record.
"I told you, Nino. Marinette" — Adrien stopped himself for a moment but quickly continued — "she's just a friend." Nino glared at him as if he didn't quite believe his constantly repeated words.
"If you say so." Nino responded unblinking. He sometimes wondered if the clueless boy was ever going to realize it. "Anyway, will your father even let you leave a house to hang out with us?" he asked with a knowing look on his face.
"I think" — Adrien took his phone and quickly typed a short message — "that with a little help from Nathalie I'll manage to come."
"An old 'for the purpose of my education' stunt?" Nino replied, smiling slyly.
"It's for the greater good, am I right?" he answered, laughing.
"You really know how to fool him, dude."
"I must. You met my father and—"
"He's an old and grumpy scumbag?" Nino stopped him in the mid-sentence.
"Exactly."
As a matter of fact, Nathalie managed to convince Mr. Agreste that Adrien needed to stay in school a little longer, as they planned. All of them agreed to study at Marinette's home. Alya and Nino both had little siblings who could be a little too noisy sometimes, even if their respectful parents were attempting to calm them down. Adrien house was out of the question, no one wanted Gabriel Agreste to find out that Adrien was spending his precious time with his friends, even if they planned to study together. As they were walking to the said bakery, Nino and Adrien were excitedly chatting about Adrien's incoming few hours of freedom. Alya was grinning too but, according to Marinette's standpoint, from completely opposite motives. The aspiring designer wasn't talking at all, absorbed by her thoughts. It didn't go unnoticed by blonde model, who was concerned by her lack of enthusiasm.
"Are you ok, Marinette?" he asked quietly, leaving Nino and Alya taking to each other in front of them. For the moment said girl was quiet but quickly gave him a stuttering answer.
"I'm not... blah... Of course! M-me is g-great. I mean" — she quickly took a deep breath — "I mean, I'm feeling great. Why do you ask?" she managed to reply with one, steady and coherent sentence. Adrien smiled at her politely, not reacting to her stutter. She was silently grateful for that. He was always so kind to her, but she didn't know why.
"Well, I assumed that you were not pleased with my idea to study together," he replied with a sad smile. "If that's the case, I get it. I'm sorry."
Marinette was looking at him wide-eyed. He was about to apologize again and excuse himself, but she has beaten him to it with her sentence.
"N-no! l-love you... I mean, I'd love to study with you" — she said but quickly added, panicking — "and Alya and Nino! I'd love to study with all of you," she finally said, blushing madly. Adrien seemed to be more than pleased with her answer.
"Oh, that's great! I thought I accidentally made you uncomfortable. You know if you had other plans I would understand," he responded, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"I don't mind your company, Adrien," she whispered more to herself than for him to hear. But he did anyway.
"I'm glad that you don't," he responded quietly, leaving her flustered for the rest of their short way to her home. Adrien was delighted. Not because of her blushing, she quickly hid herself jogging to talk to Alya but by the fact that she liked his company. He always wanted her to be his friend. He didn't have many of them. His difficult relationship with Ladybug wasn't helping him either. He loved her, she cared about him. But something was missing. He was longing for the warmth. He lost it years ago when his mother went missing. And with Marinette he felt he was important and loved. It was strange for him, she was just a friend, but he loved every second of that feeling. He felt welcomed, and that mattered for him the most.
Studying at Marinette's home went surprisingly good. They managed to prepare themselves for the upcoming exam before Adrien's phone rang, signaling that the time for his 'additional learning' was up. Even Marinette herself managed to speak to Adrien without her becoming completely flustered and miserable. She was glad that they studied together. A little flame of hope kindled timidly in her heart. Alya managed to ask Adrien about his mysterious love interest without him knowing it was information specifically conquered for her. He wasn't in love with Kagami. She was his friend, nothing more. He said that the lady of his dreams was not interested in him at all. She should be ashamed by the fact she felt relieved by that information. Poor Adrien, he had so little love in his life. His mother disappearance, his father cold attitude. And now this. She was conflicted, relieved, but at the same time she felt sorry for him.
"I got to go. Gorilla is waiting for me," he apologized.
Alya and Nino excused themselves before Adrien. They left in a very suspicious hurry, but neither Marinette nor Adrien noticed it this time. Standing in front of the doors of the bakery Adrien turned his gaze to Marinette and smiled. A real, genuine smile.
"I've had a great time. Thank you for your hospitality, Marinette." Then he opened the door and quietly added. "It felt wonderful to visit a real home." And then he left. Marinette's heart was beating like a drum.
Nights were absolutely the most important moments in his life. After an unexpected photoshoot after leaving Marinette's home which lasted until the late evening, Adrien was finally laying on his bed. He was totally exhausted but motivated to patrol the streets of Paris for a few more hours because on the nightly patrol he would see his lady. He was determined to make her feel better.
"Plagg, it's time," he said to his kwami.
"Off to work we go, yupi," Plagg replied with sarcasm clearly audible in his voice. "Faster we go, faster I'll eat more precious cheese."
"Claws out."
Chat Noir arrived at their usual meeting spot before her, as always. A few moments later he heard her landing just a few meters behind him.
"Hi Chat," she greeted him.
"Good evening, My Lady. We have such a won-fur-ful weather today, don't you think?" he replied with his signature cheshire grin.
"Not bad at all, Chat," she answered him.
"Usual sprint around the city, and then we can talk a little?" he asked her with a formal voice. Ladybug felt impressed by his lack of flirting.
"That sounds nice."
After an hour of running and jumping, they sat together at the top of their favorite building. It was very high and no one could spot them there. Ladybug was lost in her thoughts, again. Chat decided to break the silence.
"Paw-don my question but you seem very quiet, lately. What's on your mind, bug?" he asked cautiously. He didn't want her to leave early again because of him.
"I don't know. It's" — she hid her face in her hands — "quite personal. I don't want to talk about it."
Chat Noir wasn't going to leave her alone with her dilemmas. He wanted to help her, even if it was going to hurt — badly.
"But I'm your furr-end" — he insisted — "and furr-ends are helping each other." Her eyes were watery. She didn't let a single tear to fall. Not in front of him.
"I don't want to hurt you, Chat. Again," she whispered. "That's my problem and—"
"And I don't care," he replied instantly. "I want to help you. At all costs." His face was filled with determination.
Something inside her cracked. She was now sobbing openly. She needed to talk to someone. Chat was here for her despite she didn't deserve it. She broke his heart, and now she was going to speak with him about her own crush. Selfish. Chat didn't know how to react. He didn't want her to think he was pushy. But he couldn't stand watching the love of his life crying while doing nothing. He hugged her with a single hand and caressed her back.
"Please, don't cry, Bugaboo. Just tell me what's wrong, and we will find a perfect solution, I promise," he said quietly into her head.
"I can't Chat, you can't—"
"I insist," he responded shortly.
"It will make you sad."
"I don't care about me right now. I'm all ears." he reassured her.
Ladybug become quiet again. He didn't say a word either. He was waiting patiently.
"It's about the boy I-I love," she finally answered. Chat Noir ears flattened and his body tensed. She noticed that. "I told you it'll make you sad and—"
"What about him?" he replied, cutting her off in mid-sentence. He regained his composure. It was for her, and he could deal with his feelings later.
"I love him," she whispered, nearly inaudible.
"I know that much," he said, grinning at her. She was slowly loosening up, and he was going to make it easier for her. "But why are you so absent, lately? He did something to you? I can persuade him to apologize if he hurt you." He clenched his fists.
"No. He didn't do anything wrong," she responded sadly. "He just loves someone else". She was now crying into his leather suit. He instinctually hugged her, and she quickly buried her head into his chest. Chat didn't know what to say. He was in the same situation. But it wasn't about him, it was about her. He wanted her to be happy. Always.
"He told you that?," he decided to direct their conversation in a slightly different way. "Did you tell him? You know what."
"He told me when we were talking, once. I've never had the courage to confess to him. All the more then," she answered him with a cracking voice. He hugged her tighter. He wanted to make sure she knows that he was there for her. Only her. "And then I tried to move on, but he was always so sweet and kind to me in school".
Chat Noir blinked at her. She just told him more about her personal life that ever before. But it wasn't essential for him now. He wanted badly to know who she was, but her well-being was his priority. It was difficult for him, but he desperately wanted to help her solve this.
"And today he saved my butt from penalty homework. He even lied to the teacher that we planned to study together with our friends.
"He did it for me, Chat. And then we went to my house to study together. It all came back. My feelings for him only got stronger. I don't know what to do anymore." she ended her monologue with a loud sigh. She was so madly in love with Adrien. Her Adrien. It was killing her from inside. She couldn't move on. Not from him.
Chat Noir become silent for a moment. He proceeded what she just told him very precisely. It felt familiar. But he felt it would be better not to interrupt her venting. Not when she finally felt comfortable to tell him about it.
"I love him, Chat. Alya is always encouraging me to confess, but I can't. He loves someone else," she said, not noticing her mention of the blogger name. But Chat acknowledged it with puzzlement.
"You know that blogger? She's your friend from school?" he asked automatically without thinking.
"She's my best friend and" — she realized her mistake— "I shouldn't have told you that." She sighed. How many times she told him they couldn't share anything about their personal life? She would be mad at him if he slipped out something similar. What was wrong with her? She knew very well, Adrien was wrong with her.
Chat Noir didn't scold her about it. He was always so kind to her. Sometimes annoying but always kind. And he was lost in thoughts. She was hoping he didn't think that she secretly talk to Alya about them. About superhero them, of course. She didn't know Chat Noir identity. Little did she knew he was very close to knowing hers.
Alya had only one best friend. And he knew that very well. He was so excited that he didn't make any connections about what she said earlier. About her crush. But then he remembered that Ladybug was always serious about their secret identifies.
"I'm sorry, my lady. I shouldn't have asked you about it." he finally said.
"But talking about it with you made me feel better. You shouldn't be sorry about it," she answered honestly.
"I'm not apologizing for that, Bugaboo," he replied nervously. "Please, don't leave me alone. I know I failed you. But we need to talk about it. I need it." he added sadly.
"I'm not going anywhere. What's wrong?" she asked him, looking him in the eyes.
"I didn't want to, but" — he grabbed her hand tightly to make sure she couldn't run away — "I discovered your identity somehow. I'm sorry."
Ladybug frozen. This wasn't good. But she was guardian now. She tensed a bit but tightened her grip on his hand. He was there for her. He did it all for her. She wasn't going to scold him. It wouldn't be fair.
"How? And what is my name?" she asked him unblinking. She wasn't mad but scared. And by the frightened look on his face, he was too.
"Marinette," he whispered, not looking at her.
She tensed again. He knew for real. But how? She only mentioned little information about her day and Alya's name. He must have been very close to them.
"Am I r-right?" he asked nervously.
"Yes." She could have easily lied to him. But she couldn't. It was her partner. He deserved to know. And it was her fault in the first place. "Can I ask you how do you know? Do I know you?"
"Yes," he answered shortly. She wanted to know him for so long. His other half. He now knew her identity. She could ask him. He would answer.
"Can you tell me your name, kitty?" she decided to ask him before she would chicken out. He looked at her. His cat ears were flattened. He was scared. She didn't know why.
"Are you mad at me?" he asked. He looked so fragile At that moment. She couldn't stand it.
"No." she replied. "I wanted to know, too. But I was scared. But here we are now. Talk to me, partner," she said, smiling at him nervously.
"I'm Adrien," he finally said.
And then it clicked. She knew only one person with that name. And he himself said he knew her. Her heart started to beat faster than ever. And then he did something she didn't expect.
"Claws in." His transformation blinded her with green and white light. Sitting next to her was no one else than Adrien Agreste. Her Adrien. She hesitated for a moment but got over her fears and said the magical words.
"Spots off."
They were sitting next to each other, again today. But this time they were not studying for the history exam. They were on a patrol, sitting on the highest rooftop in the neighborhood. Adrien was the first one to break the silence.
"I'm glad it's you, Marinette. No one else could be a better partner than my best friend."
"I'm happy it's you, too." she whispered.
"I know I have no right to ask about it, but" — Adrien nervously scratched the back of his head — "who is that boy that broke your heart?"
Marinette blushed madly but decided that he would figure it out anyway. She told him a few moments ago. They were just too shocked to connect the dots.
"He didn't do anything wrong" — Marinette continued despite the visible protest written on his face — "it was me who didn't tell him, anyway. I couldn't tell you. You seemed so happy when you mentioned the girl you love." she said with a quiet voice, not looking at him. "It's you."
Adrien was confused at first. It was impossible. But then he remembered what she said earlier. He was so happy that his lady loved him. But he was mad at himself for not realizing it sooner.
"I'm sorry, my lady" — he looked her in the eyes — "for not noticing you sooner. But you know I love you with all of my heart."
Marinette was screaming inside her head. Her Adrien just told her that he loved her. But she was hesitant.
"Even now?" she asked, gesturing at herself without the superhero suit.
"Now" — he said, taking her hand into his — "I love you even more," he told her and kissed the back of her hand.
"I love you," she blurted. He knew that, but he was visibly glad to hear that again. "All of you".
"I love all of you, too, Buginette", he replied with a huge grin plastered on his face.
And then they kissed. Surrounded by the beautiful luminance of the nightly moonlight. Everything seemed so easy because they could face their problems together.
"You and me against the world?" she asked him.
"Always."
