Please Keep my Secret

Chapter 5

Sneaking out Saturday morning was far easier than she thought. She was certain her parents were going to ask her to help in the bakery as they did every weekend, but they told her it was okay for her to go out that weekend. It was just before the holiday season after all and it was going to become even busier than before. With a good-bye, she left the house and headed out to see Master Fu.

She gave the door a knock and was relieved when he answered quickly. He smiled at her. "Marinette, this is a surprise," Master Fu stated. "I hope this is a good visit."

"I hope it is, nothing truly terrible," Marinette said. "Just some...advice."

He shifted and let the young girl inside, where he closed the door and guided her to his little sitting table. He sat down and offered her a cup of green tea and she thanked him as she took a sip. It was still warm but cool, but a glance at his spot revealed that he had the tea out for a bit of time already, but Marinette didn't mind. It was still delicious. When settled, Master Fu, gave her a smile.

"What can I help you with, Marinette?"he asked.

"Well, you see, the Akuma attack earlier this week?" Marinette started.

"Yes, your school was on a field trip, right?" Master Fu added.

"Yeah. And Chat Noir and I beat it easily enough. When we separated, I went somewhere to de-transform and Chat Noir did the same. On my way back, I cut through an alley to get back to my class...and I accidentally ran into Chat Noir just as his transformation wore off."

Master Fu's eyes only slightly went wide but he gave a knowing nod. "So you found out Adrien is in fact, Chat Noir?"

Marinette's cheeks went red and gave a nod back. Of course Master Fu knew who Chat Noir was. She knew that he would have, he gave them their Miraculous after all, but hearing him say it out loud still caused her a bit more shock. "We both freaked a little, but now Adrien's...being really nice to me. He says he wants to be my friend, but I think its only because he's scared I'm going to share his secret identity with everyone."

"Of course your not," Master Fu stated.

"Of course not!" Marinette cried. "But no matter how much I assure him, I don't think he's convinced."

Master Fu a serious stare. "He is probably terrified."

Marinette dropped her head down on the table and she let out a sigh. "I know that. I would be to. I just don't know what I can do to let him know that I'm not going to share his secret."

Master Fu took a few moments to think before he opened his mouth. "Did you say he was trying to be your friend?"

"Yes, Master," she answered.

"Well, be his friend," Master Fu suggested. "Have you two made any plans?"

Marinette flushed, and Tikki who had been letting Marinette speak up to this point, opened her mouth. "He invited her to one of his photo shoots tomorrow and then for a romantic walk in the park."

Marinette gasped and her face went completely red and this made Tikki giggle at the sight of the Miraculous holder, who now matched Tikki's red colour. To her horror, Master Fu chuckled with the kwami. When they were done, Master Fu could only smile at Marinette.

"That sounds like a lovely outing planned. If you're having doubts about going, I say you should go. This is the boy you like after all."

Marinette hid her face now and Tikki grabbed her hands and tried to pry them away from her face. Master Fu reached over and placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder to comfort the embarrassed teenager girl. "Now, now Marinette. I think you should go and do two things."

Marinette still covered her face with her hands and did her best to not look at her Master or Kwami, but she did speak, her voice muffled in her hands. "What's that?"

"I want you to go out tomorrow with Adrien, and I want you to have a nice time with him. And to earn all his trust, and I think it is time that you revealed to him your secret."

Her hands flew off her face and she mouth hung open. "B-But Master Fu," she cried. "It's safer if we don't know each other's identities, you told me that!"

He poured himself another cup of tea and nodded. "I did. But everything has a time and a place. And it's probably time you revealed to Adrien that you're his partner. It would bring him peace of mind, but I also believe it would strengthen your bond."

Marinette looked down at her lap and tried to take in his words. "He says he doesn't care who Ladybug is, but I care. No one would ever guess I was her. And I would never have guessed that he was Chat Noir."

"Then, between us three, the secret would be kept safe. Think about it Marinette," Master Fu stated. "Can you promise me that?"

She could feel the corner of her eyes burning, but she used her sleeve to wipe them away and she nodded quickly. "O-Okay. I'll think about it."

"Is there anything else, Marinette?"

She shook her head this time. "No, Master."

He gave her a smile. "You two can work this out, I'm sure."

8 8 8

Adrien was sorting through the outfits his father wanted him to wear for the new line the next day, and he sighed. Nothing really popped out at him, not like it usually did. Not that he liked modelling his father's clothes anyway. He didn't like modelling at all in fact, but as it was something he had to do, he would still put the effort in.

His mind was a million years elsewhere though. The boy model was thinking about his classmate Marinette and their time tomorrow. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't both excited and super nervous about it.

Plagg who had been taking a nap, popped his head up and looked over at the nervous looking teenager. He floated over and peered down at the piles of clothes. "You're gonna wrinkle them and its gonna make your dad pissed."

Adrien wanted to say screw what his dad thought, but he didn't want to actually make his father angry. He didn't want his father to prevent him of having even a little bit of the free he actually had now. So he grabbed the pile of clothes and neatly hung them back up on the rolling rack Nathalie had brought earlier.

"Father is always angry at me," he sighed. "I'm dreading the shoot tomorrow."

"But you're excited for the walk with the bakery girl tomorrow?"

Adrien would be lying if that Plagg said wasn't true. It was so true. He was happy to be going out with a friend, especially one like Marinette. One who was actually interested in the industry. He imagined her with a lot of questions and he hoped he could answer for her. He also could see her face lighting up like he had seen only from a distance. That was something he would be looking forward too in person. Though there was still some nervousness in the pit of his stomach at the thought of his secret getting out. That was natural he thought and tried to focus on just the positive. He wondered if she would show up wearing her own original fashion designs. The jacket he borrowed maybe?

"I think I am excited," he responded after several moments of silence.

Adrien smiled. He actually was.

A/N: Sorry for the short chapter. Its a filler. Next chapter will be a lot longer. I promise. I just wanted to get something out because I have an insanely busy week. The shop I work at is expanding its hours and we have a bunch of staff coming back and I need to retrain them. Our area is very safe right now with only three covid cases (safest place to be in Canada right now) So until next time. New chapter should be out by Sunday or Monday.

Until next time!