A while later, Adrien was curled up with his head in Marinette's lap again, purring softly as she stroked his brown hair. His glasses lay forgotten on the table. Marinette was right, this was definitely one of the best movies he'd ever seen. But something was churning in his mind, and his curiosity was getting the better of him.
"Mari?"
"Hmm?" she asked, watching as Buttercup insisted yet again to the wicked prince that her love would save her. He studied his Lady, and a wave emotion swept through him. Love and safety and sheer terror, all rolled into one.
"Do you…love me?" he blurted. Her eyes snapped to his face in surprise. Great, he berated himself. You'd think I'd at least be able to lead with the right question when it's something this important. She was staring at him, mouth slightly open. No going back now.
"Wh-what?" she asked, looking a bit dazed. He pushed himself up out of her lap to look at her properly. He ran a hand through his hair nervously, peeking up at her through his bangs.
"I…that kiss earlier," he explained disjointedly. "I know it was supposed to be for show, but…" he sighed, blushing in the darkness, hoping against hope he wasn't freaking her out. "…but it really was perfect. It may have not meant anything to you….but it certainly meant everything to me," he finished quietly.
It took a few moments for Marinette to find her voice. "But…but how? You barely remember anything about before, right? How-"
He shook his head sheepishly. "I don't know. I'm just kind of…going by feel right now." He met her eyes through his hair. "If it helps…I remember more about you than about anyone or anything else. You were definitely the most special person in my life before all the mess with my memories. And that's still true now." He took her hand with a small smile, encouraged when she didn't pull away. He was still terrified though as he laid his heart bare for her to see. "Mari, I love you. With everything that I am. You are my other half, the fire in my heart, the music in my head. My partner. My friend. My love. My home. My family." He sighed. "I saw what we were before, in the videos, and I understand if you feel the same as you did then. But you are absolutely perfect for me in every way, and-"
"Yes," she whispered. His eyes widened.
"Wh-what?" he whispered back, barely daring to hope. Had he heard right?
"Yes. I do love you, Adrien," she repeated softly, her eyes brimming with tears, the movie forgotten. He frowned.
"Then what's wrong?" he asked, hoping she wasn't going to tell him it was love like she had for a friend or something else equally heart-shattering. She must have sensed it because she gave a choked laugh.
"Nothing like that," she said. "I…I just thought that your feelings might have gone with the memories. You see…I didn't realize I loved you- truly loved you…until you were gone. At one point, I thought I was never going to be able to tell you-"
Not able to contain himself any longer, he gathered her into his arms, kissing her soundly. Joy radiated through him. She loved him. She loved him. His own eyes filled with tears, as though his subconscious was telling him how much he'd longed for her, how much his heart had ached when things hadn't worked out before. He felt more alive than he'd ever felt in his living memory. His heart was about to burst. He kissed her again, pouring all his love, tenderness and passion into that one gesture. Suddenly, a power radiated through him that was enough to make him gasp in surprise, pulling away.
"Did you…did you feel that?" he whispered in awe. She nodded, her blue eyes wide in shock.
"Adrien! Your- your hair…" He looked at her quizzically before she pulled him with her into the bathroom and his jaw dropped in amazement as he gazed into the mirror.
Staring back at him was his own reflection. His true reflection. His hair was golden blond again, and his emerald eyes shone in wonder.
"How…?" But Marinette just shook her head, not able to say a word.
Tikki and Plagg floated over, but they looked as surprised as he felt.
"Did anything about you change?" He asked, turning his sparkling green gaze on her. She checked herself over.
"I don't…I don't think so," she answered finally.
He checked her appearance once more himself, satisfied that nothing else had changed, before she turned to him, looking serious.
"What are you going to do now?" she asked. "You probably aren't going to be able to hide that before morning. Maman and Papa are going ask questions." She sighed. "Also, I'd hazard a guess that it was magic that changed you back to your real self. Maybe it won't work to hide your hair a second time."
He shrugged unconcernedly. "Maybe it's time to tell them the truth," he suggested. "Really, your parents are probably the only people that are going to notice. When I'm working in the bakery, I'm almost exclusively making pastries in the back, so no one will probably notice the change besides them."
She considered this for a moment. "How are we going to tell them the truth without letting them know about our superpowers?"
His brow furrowed then, and his shoulders slumped in defeat. "Good point," he mumbled.
He put his arm around her shoulders, leading her back to the sofa as he watched her mind whirring away. "We can just tell them we got bored tonight and I decided I was going to dye your hair on a whim," she suggested finally. "That seems like a plausible thing I might do; it's the artist in me." She grinned as if at some inside joke. "If your day normally goes like you said, you'll probably be fine. Just make sure to keep your glasses on, or you'll be recognized for sure." She considered him for a moment before snuggling back into his side. "You know, I've always really liked your glasses. They're quite Clark Kent-esque, don't you think?"
"Huh?" he looked at her, confused. Her jaw dropped.
"Don't tell me you've never watched Superman either?" He shook his head.
"At least, I can't remember that I have," he amended. She sighed.
"Looks like we need to educate you, Kitty," she said in faux-exasperation as she yawned sleepily.
They curled up together, shutting off the television as they did so. Within minutes, they were both asleep.
Marinette woke the next morning to the sun streaming through the window. Her tired eyes picked up a glint of gold. Blearily, she blinked, waiting for the gold glimmer to focus. As she finally caught sight of her handsome partner, sound asleep in his clothes from the day before, she smiled. She happily remembered the previous evening and the beautiful words Adrien had woven together to create a purr-fectly poetic confession of love. He still loved her!
She reached up cautiously to run her fingers gently through his golden locks, marveling at how soft they were. Adrien stirred at her touch, letting out a low moan as he stretched. He blinked sleepily down at her.
"Morning, Bugaboo," he mumbled. She could see a thought cross his mind, and he smiled, tilting her chin gently to meet her lips with his own. "You can't know how many mornings I've wanted to do that," he whispered as he pulled back slightly. She smiled against his lips as he kissed her softly again, studying her face with his shining emerald eyes. Suddenly, there was a disturbance.
"Marinette!" Tikki hissed, flitting past. "Someone's coming!"
Adrien moved so fast it was as though springs were attached to his feet. By the time the door to the apartment opened to admit Sabine, Adrien was nowhere to be seen, leaving Marinette sitting nonplussed on the sofa.
"Morning, cherie," her mother called cheerily as her daughter attempted to wake herself up. "You haven't seen Jean Luc about anywhere, have you?"
Marinette, whose brain was still catching up, gave her mother a look reminiscent of a deer in the headlights. She hurried to hide it. "N-no Maman," she stammered. Her mother was about the call her bluff when Adrien appeared, now dressed in his pajamas- a black v-neck t-shirt and red-and-black spotted sleep pants- and replacing his glasses. His adorable bedhead was sticking up in every direction. Sabine's jaw dropped when she saw him.
"Morning Sabine," he yawned, smirking at Marinette once he had moved past her mother.
"J-Jean Luc! Your hair!" Sabine finally managed, turning to stare at him intently. He waved a hand unconcernedly.
"Mari couldn't sleep last night, so she asked if she could dye my hair," he lied smoothly. "I figured it would be impolite to deny Milady one of her greatest desires." He shot Marinette what he evidently thought to be a winning grin. She rolled her eyes even as her heart skipped a beat.
"You're so extra, Kitty," she scoffed casually, moving to join the other two in the kitchen and pulling out a container of yogurt and some granola before sitting down at the breakfast bar.
Sabine studied Adrien again. "And your eyes! Jean Luc, you look like a completely different person." Adrien stiffened and exchanged an uneasy look with Marinette. They hadn't come up with a cover story for his eyes.
"Uh…color contacts?" He tried sheepishly. Sabine raised an eyebrow at the two guilty-looking young adults.
"Alright, nice try, you two," she said. "Now, how about you tell me what's really going on?"
Adrien was looking a little terrified now, silently asking Marinette what to do. She shrugged helplessly.
"Oh, come on dears!" she said impatiently. "There are very few things that surprise me anymore. I can spot a secret from a mile away," she said with a knowing glint in her eye. Marinette and Adrien's eyes went wide.
"Y-you…you know?" Marinette whispered. Sabine smiled.
"Of course, cherie. What kind of mother would I be if I didn't? I figured it out during your lycée years. Your father…well, it took him a little longer to put the pieces together." Her eyes landed on Adrien. "And I'm purr-fectly certain you have a few little secrets of your own, my dear, if your new look is anything to go by, " she added, watching him shrewdly. His emerald eyes got even wider before he hung his head. The young man opened his mouth, intending to explain, to apologize, but she shook her head, cutting him off.
"You don't have to explain anything, dear. You're part of our family now, no matter what you call yourself."
Adrien's eyes filled, touched at her words and unconditional acceptance of him, before he grabbed Sabine into a tight hug. Marinette was surprised to see his shoulders shaking with quiet sobs as her mother rubbed his back soothingly. Sabine gestured with her eyes, indicating she should approach, so Marinette stood to pull her kitty off of her mother and into her own waiting arms.
"S-sorry, I… I don't know why that affected me like that, I-" he began a moment later, his face still buried in Marinette's shoulder as he scrubbed at his cheeks impatiently, but Marinette cut him off.
"It's alright," she said softly, attempting to calm him by running her fingers through his hair. "Maman's right, you know," she continued, dimly aware of her mother watching them with a small smile. "You have a home with us. For as long as you want it. You're family, Chaton." She could hear his breath catch in his throat as he struggled to keep from breaking down again. A few stray teardrops leaked onto her shirt, but she didn't pay them any mind.
A short while later, after Sabine had returned to the bakery and Adrien had calmed down again, the two of them were sitting contentedly at the breakfast bar as they quietly ate their yogurt and fruit parfaits. Marinette had flipped on the TV, which was playing the news for the morning. Adrien sat beside her, deep in thought. He knew he would need to explain himself to Tom and Sabine, and soon. He owed them at least that much. Sabine evidently had guessed he was Chat Noir anyway. Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad.
In truth, he was much more worried about someone recognizing him as Adrien right now since his hair and eyes had reverted. All it would take would be one person to put two and two together and he'd never have a bit of privacy ever again. Ok, he knew he was probably being dramatic. But he hated the idea of him being a burden or a danger to his new-found family because of his fame. They didn't deserve that. Suddenly, a news story broke through his thoughts.
"The Mayor gathered citizens of Paris this morning for a special announcement," the newscaster was saying, before the clip changed to one of Nathalie giving a speech.
"I thank you, the people of Paris, for standing behind me in the banishment of Ladybug," Nathalie was saying. "Ladybug is nowhere to be found, and accordingly, Hawkmoth has, seemingly, retreated. I appreciate your solidarity against the threat of the Miraculous. In light of this, I declare tomorrow a holiday- Citizen's Day!"
Adrien snapped off the TV set angrily as the spectators cheered, a growl radiating from his throat. "Those idiots," he muttered. "Don't listen to them, Mari. They're most likely being taken for a ride and they're too stupid to realize it. That woman is definitely up to something."
Marinette sighed, not willing to contradict him. "I better get going," she was saying, standing to leave as she gave him a peck on the lips. "I have class in an hour or so and-"
She stopped as he grabbed her arm tightly, pulling her back around to face him. He scowled deeply. "Mari, I thought we talked about this! You can't go out there on your own right now! It's too dangerous!"
"Adrien, I have to go to class," she protested, pulling out of his grip and crossing her arms over her chest. "If I get too far behind in my work, I won't be able to catch up! I have projects due soon, I can't just drop off the face of the earth!"
He stood abruptly, pacing as he gesticulated wildly, raising his voice slightly in his panic. "And what are you going to do if that stalker comes back? It was lucky they didn't try anything last night, but what if they were just…I don't know…scouting for information so they could get to you later? What if they were really trying to follow you home so they could spy on you? Or catch you later unaware while you were sleeping?"
Marinette glared at him. "I can take care of myself," she said shortly.
He rubbed his face under his glasses with both hands in agitation. "We can't give them more opportunities to hurt you, Mari! I don't think…I don't think I could stand it," he finished softly, pulling her gently into his arms and holding her tight. "Please. Please stay." His eyes pleaded with her as he studied her reaction. She looked up at him doubtfully. He sighed. Why did his Lady have to be so damn stubborn?
"If I go and get your textbooks and design supplies, will you stay?" he asked in exasperation, desperately trying to make her see reason. "You can explain the situation to your professors, see if they'll conference-call your lessons and let you hand in your homework via email. You can come stay upstairs with me until it's safe to go home, and I can help with your projects when I'm not working." He could see he was beginning to get through to her. He continued.
"It won't matter if you get behind on your work if they do something unspeakable to you, Mari," he said earnestly, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Please. I need you safe."
She stayed silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Alright, Kitten. I'll stay," she relented. She'd barely gotten the words out when he met her lips in a searing kiss, pouring his simultaneous fear and relief into the gesture.
"Thank you," he whispered, resting his forehead against hers. He knew she wasn't happy about it, but she would be safe. Right now, that was all that mattered.