Ya'll are gonna like this beauty, I just know it.

Day 25 – Cheek Kiss

Marinette was reeling. Her brain was running on overdrive putting all of the pieces together. She had to admit, she had thought about their big reveal a few times, but never in her life did she imagine who was beneath the mask. Now she knew.

Adrien Agreste was, without a doubt, Chat Noir.

Looking back on it, everything added up. She had only seen Adrien and Chat Noir in the same place once. But did she? She never saw Adrien's face, only the helmet. It would only make sense that Chat would take precautions regarding his civilian identity.

Also, there was the time just a few days ago that Adrien called her Princess on accident, a nickname only Chat Noir would've known. His mannerisms had slowly become more like Chat's over the past couple weeks as well. Not to mention the conversation Ladybug had with Chat about the girl who kissed another boy's cheek. It wasn't a coincidence that Adrien brought Marinette cookies the day after Ladybug had suggested it to Chat. She had been giving Adrien advice on how to win herself over.

Which meant that Chat Noir liked Marinette.

No.

It meant that Adrien liked Ladybug.

No!

It meant that Chat Noir, a boy she has repeatedly turned down over the past year, is actually in fact Adrien Agreste, AKA the love of her life, who has apparently this whole time been in love with Ladybug, her alter ego, and was now in love with Marinette.

Great, now she had a headache.

"You ok?" Adrien asked from his seat beside her in his car.

After the awkwardness of their conversation in his room a few minutes earlier, she wasn't sure if they would ever talk like normal again. She felt that something had changed between them. A lot was said, yet it wasn't enough.

She gave him a weak smile. Adrien's eyes were the same shade of green as Chat's. "Yeah. I just have a headache is all." She sneezed.

"Bless you," he said. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

Marinette shook her head. "No, I don't think so." She sneezed again.

He chuckled. "Are you sure?"

"Not anymore," she laughed before sneezing again.

Still laughing, he reached into his backpack. "Here, I have some tissues if you need them."

She eyed him skeptically. She had never known Chat to be the prepared type. "Why do you just have tissues with you?"

He shrugged. "Natalie adds things to my bag when I'm not looking sometimes. I pretty much have a full on survival kit in here."

She sneezed again. "Well, give Natalie my thanks."

"Will do," he said with a wink. Her heart skipped a beat. It was unnerving to see Adrien act so much like Chat, but at the same time it felt right.

She turned her attention to the window desperately trying to sort out her feelings. She still loved Adrien, and she had been growing fond of Chat and his antics. But… How did she feel knowing the two of them were the same person?

She rubbed her aching forehead and sneezed again.

Finally, the car arrived at the school, but neither moved to get up.

"Listen," Adrien started, his face going red. Marinette slowly started losing the ability to breathe. "I've been meaning to ask you this for a while…" He trailed off before finally meeting her eyes. "I'd love to take you out to dinner or something sometime, if you'd like."

She blinked. "Dinner?"

"Yeah."

"Just the two of us?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's the idea."

Her eyes widened. "Like a date?"

She felt his hand rest on hers and he nodded. "Like a date."

Marinette froze. Adrien Agreste, who was actually her partner Chat Noir, who has been asking her superhero persona advice on how to win and woo her civilian self, was asking her out on a date. A real life date.

'Respond, Marinette,' the voice in her head that sounded suspiciously like Tikki said. 'You look like a crazy person. Say something. Nod your head. Anything!'

She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out so she snapped her jaw shut and nodded dumbly.

She watched as his shy, nervous smile slowly grew into one of pure excitement. He lifted her hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "We can figure out the details later. I have to arrange my schedule with my father. But for now, may I walk you to class?"

She nodded again, still not completely trusting her voice. He got out and ran around the car to open her door and offered his hand.

"Thank you," she said meekly as he helped her out of the car.

She sneezed quite a few more times as they made their way to class and each time, Adrien had another tissue at the ready.

Marinette couldn't help the pang of guilt she felt. Here she was, being taken care of by her partner, and he had no idea she knew his identity. She had to find a way to tell him. It wasn't fair. He deserved to know.

"Hey," she nudged him. "I need to tell you something."

"What is it?"

Marinette looked around. There was too many people. She needed somewhere more private. "Follow me."

She led him down the hallway where they'd bumped into each other by the janitors closet. She glanced around for prying eyes before opening the door and shoving him inside.

Adrien's face was beet red. "Uh, Marinette? What are you doing?"

The space was cramped. There wasn't much room between them, but she didn't have the wherewithal to focus on that. She was on a mission

"I have to tell you something," she repeated.

"Uh, huh," Adrien choked.

She took a deep breath, preparing herself and paused at the sound of a faint scream in the distance.

Her phone buzzed.

Akuma.