Adrien woke up in the morning to Plagg laying on his chest. The small Kwami gave a yawn and floated over to the desk where Tikki was sleeping in a pile of cushions. Adrien turned over expecting to find his lady sleeping peacefully next to him.
When he realized, he was alone he pushed himself off the chair, fumbling to the floor as he got tangled in the blanket they were covered with last night. He shot up and rushed down the stairs, "She's gone! I woke up and-" Adrien stopped his sentence sort as he caught the familiar girl turn around in the kitchen. Sabine announced that she was going down to the bakery for a moment and quietly slipped from the room.
Marinette was helping her mother in the kitchen making what looked like a large lunch. For a split second their eyes met and her breath caught. The next she was launching herself through the room and into his arms.
"I'm so sorry Chat! I mean Adrien! I just- thank you." She buried her face in his shoulder holding him tightly but still mindful of his injuries.
He stilled, he was expecting anger, maybe some tears, nothing like this. She was hugging him, using his proper name, apologizing to him. He wrapped his arms around her tightly and refused to let go. "My Lady," He drew a shaking breath, "I'm sorry I couldn't protect you. I'm so happy you're okay."
Marinette broke from his arms and drew in a deep breath. "Adrien Agreste! You are not going to apologize for not getting yourself killed! You aren't supposed to take on all the hits for yourself! We're both important and if I catch you saying that you should have been the one to take the hit one more time so help me I will kick your butt!" Marinette poked his chest to accent each point.
She hugged him again, "Silly Kitty, I need you. I can't do this without you."
Adrien let the tears fall this time and just held her close. They would be okay, she didn't hate him, she cared about him. They would figure out everything else.
Marinette pulled away and wiped her own face free of tears, "Come on, lunch is almost ready. Papa is down stairs doing some things for the bakery, even though it's not open today, but he'll be up to join us in a bit." She dragged him over to a seat and had him sit while she refocused on whatever she was doing in the kitchen.
Sabine came back upstairs smiling at both and greeted Adrien but didn't comment about the previous night. The three of them chatted but avoided subject like last night, and their identities.
Marinette glanced up at her trap door and slide over to Adrien's side for a moment, "What does your Kwami eat? I'm taking mine her lunch in a moment."
Adrien blushed as she whispered lowly in his ear, "Cheese. Camembert specifically."
Marinette nodded and slid over to the fridge and pulled out a small wheel of Camembert cheese and set it on a plate with some cookies. She ducked upstairs quickly, thinking she'd avoided the notice of her mother, and returned to his side.
"They're both still sleeping, I think last night really tired them out." Marinette kept her voice low, "I need you to tell me what excuse you gave them for our wounds but also why you're here."
Adrien glanced between Marinette and her mother, "Um, well, Actually-" before he could even start telling her that her parents were fully aware of their identities Sabine was calling them over for lunch and yelling for Tom to come join them.
They all settled in for a nice meal but the silence was stifling, Adrien didn't know how to handle the situation and Marinette was refusing to talk in case she disputed something Adrien had already said happened.
Sabine and Tom were eating with small knowing smiles watching as both teens squirmed. They were enjoying the way the two of them were still trying to make up excuses. They figured that they had suffered enough though and broke the silence, "Just so we're all clear, we do know that you're Ladybug and Chat Noir."
Marinette sighed and set down her utensils, "How did you find out?" There was no point trying to deny what they already knew, Marinette feared the way her parents would react but she was going to be firm that she wouldn't give up Adrien or being Ladybug no matter what they said.
Sabine chuckled at the determined look in her daughter's eyes, "Well we've known for months about you Marinette. You aren't as quiet as you think at night, plus you're excuses leave something to be desired. As for Adrien, we found out last night."
Adrien chuckled as Marinette blushed at being told she wasn't as sneaky as she thought. It did seem fitting though, Marinette hated lying it would only make sense that she was bad at it.
The conversation flowed easily after that, Marinette told her parents everything about their Kwami's as well as all the fights. Adrien jumped in to add small details or pick up where Marinette left off. The one question they couldn't answer was exactly how they came into possession of their miraculous. Marinette excused herself for a moment and asked Tikki and Plagg to join them.
The two Kwami's were a welcome addition to the table and answered all the questions they could. Sabine and Tom loved the two little gods, with Sabine doting on Tikki and Tom promising Plagg some cheese bread later in the day. Marinette relaxed as she watched her parents accept both sides of her, she also looked at Adrien who watched everything unfold with a small smile. He wasn't used to such acceptance and it left him feeling like he had a place. Marinette slid her hand into his and shot him a brilliant smile. He was always welcome here. They were his family now too.
Lunch finished up and Adrien glanced at the clock, there was no doubt that his absence had finally been noted. He sheepishly mentioned that he should head home. Sabine handed him his clothes that had been washed and shooed him up to Marinette's room to change making him promise to come down and say goodbye to all of them.
He stood in Marinette's room for a moment while Plagg sat on his shoulder.
"It's not going to disappear kid. Come on, we need to get you home before your father kills you. Plus, I want some more cheese."
Adrien scoffed but was pleased with Plagg's words. He changed quickly and gathered the other clothes up before he headed back downstairs.
Sabine took the clothes and promised that she'd buy him some clothes that actually fit. Tom hugged him tightly and lowly thanked him for protecting their daughter. Marinette waved to her parents and promised to return in a bit after walking Adrien home.
The walked in silence for a bit before Marinette finally broke it, "You're not going to be in too much trouble, are you?" She winced as she remembered how emotionless Gabriel Agreste could be. If the time with the bubbler or Jackady was anything to go off she could only imagine the amount of trouble Adrien would be in.
"Don't worry M'lady. Trouble is my middle name." The nickname easily slide off his tongue and for a moment he regretted it until Marinette chuckled.
"I thought your middle name was flirt but I suppose trouble fits just as well." They fell into the ease of banter as they walked. Their relationship was stronger than ever even if somethings still needed to be sorted out. By the time, they arrived at the Agreste Manor Marinette was scoffing at all his puns and trying to hide a smile.
Marinette looked at the towering gate and tried to smile reassuringly, "I'll see you tomorrow, right?" Today was Sunday so they would see each other for school but also for their traditional Monday night patrol.
Adrien glanced at the Manor and nodded, "If not I'll call." He made a mental note to text either Alya or Nino for Marinette's number.
Adrien disappeared inside and Marinette waved from the sidewalk before turning and heading home. Tomorrow would be interesting. They would need time to adjust to everything. But they have each other, they had her parents and they had their friends. Alya and Nino loved them and even if they didn't know they were the protectors of Paris they still supported them. Everything would be okay.
Marinette got home to both of her parents curled up on the couch. This morning had been one to remember. She'd woken up and immediately freaked out upon seeing Adrien curled up next to her. Then she slipped out of her room quietly and came face to face with her mom.
When she tried to stammer out an excuse her mother just directly her to the shower and told her to hurry up so they could start lunch making lunch, Marinette was shocked to see all her wounds bandaged, and grimaced at all the lies she would need to make up to cover this up. When she got out her mother helped her bandage the cuts that still needed to be covered and then ushered her into the kitchen to start lunch.
Finding out they know she was Ladybug wasn't easy but she was grateful they knew.
"Come sit Marinette. We didn't get to talk to just you this afternoon." Tikki gave Marinette a kiss on her cheek, gave a small wave to her parents and then darted upstairs.
"I'm so sorry for keeping this from you. I didn't want you to worry." Marinette approached her parents and hugged them both tightly.
"Oh sweetie, we aren't mad. We're so proud of you. We know that what you're doing is important. We just wanted to make sure you knew that we'd always be here to help you. We'll help Adrien as much as we can as well. It seems like you two are quiet the package deal." Sabine punctuated the end of her sentence with a wink.
Marinette groaned as she thought about her crush on Adrien. She had barely thought about it! She was so busy wrapping her head around him being the flirty, daring Chat that she'd grown so accustomed to. It was both easy and hard to let the two mesh together in her mind. They were the same gentle and caring person, only one was more subdued.
Sabine patted her daughters arm, it was nice to see that in between saving their city from evil akuma's her daughter was just as devastated by crushes as any other girl. Tom on the other hand was slightly angry. Adrien was the perfect boy to steal his little girls heart but that didn't mean he had to like that it had happened so early in her life. Then again, no other teenagers were out there saving the world together every other day either.
Tom excused himself and let the girls have their time. Sabine had cried the evening prior after leaving the two teens to themselves. It was hard to watch their little girl do something that no grown adult would even be able to withstand yet her she was doing what she could for the people she cared about. They never doubted that Marinette would one day do amazing things they had just always assumed it would be in the fashion industry not as a super hero. But their little girl was the most amazing one out there; it only made sense that her destiny was larger than her life itself.
Sabine sat with Marinette and braided her hair back as they talked about Adrien and Chat Noir. It was sweet to see Marinette blush as she got lost in her thoughts of her partner.
As a family, they sat and ate dinner, and then Sabine helped Marinette tend her wounds again. Tikki munched on some cookies for dinner and chatted with Sabine like they were old friends. They both shared some laughs over Marinette's silly behavior around Adrien, much to Marinette's displeasure. It also warmed Marinette's heart to know that Tikki was easily accepted into her family.
After that Marinette was sent to bed early, she needed more rest to heal properly. By the time, she made it up to her room she caught sight of her phone blinking.
The first were a few texts from Alya screaming about how Adrien had texted her asking for Marinette's number, and asking if she needed advice. Marinette chuckled and responded that she'd handle it. Alya was a bit throw off from the confident response but wished her luck and told her that she'd want all the details tomorrow.
The last message was from an unknown number.
Hello M' Lady, What a claw-some day. It was quiet meow-gnificent!
Marinette scoffed and replied: Kitty, your puns aren't getting any better. It fact they're paw-sitively bad.
With just that quick interaction they spent the rest of the night talking and getting to know their civilian selves. Adrien had luckily slipped in unnoticed that afternoon. The photoshoot that he had originally meant to be at was canceled due to the Akuma attack. It was being rescheduled for another day.
Eventually Sabine came up to check on Marinette and found them texting so she demanded that they both get some sleep. They bid each other goodnight and promised to see each other in class.