Defeating La Flore was easier than before. Ladybug and Chat Noir were more in sync than ever and the Parisian citizens loved them for it. Waving to the crowd of admirers with a spotted trowel, Ladybug shouted her power's name and released ladybugs through the city. They flew through the city and surrounded each ivy ball until the captive citizens were free. Finally, they lit lightly upon La Flore, changing her back to a small florist with a a cracked trowel in her lap.
The trowel mended and the hurtful words erased themselves from a nearby flower cart. "I think you need this more than my bugs. Your flowers are beautiful and Paris is happy that you are here." Ladybug smiled and led the woman to her family.
As soon as the woman was safe, Ladybug was surrounded by reporters. "Ladybug! What happened before you disappeared? Ladybug! Why were you able to defeat La Flore so quickly this time? Ladybug, how are you able to defeat these villans? Ladybug, what makes Paris citizens turn into these powered terrors? Should we be afraid?" The crowd pressed closer with every question and Marinette was quickly reaching her stuttering point. As she took a deep breath to answer, a heavy arm fell across her shoulders.
"Purr-lease my dear Paris citizens! My Lady and I don't have all the answers yet, but we will continue to keep everyone safe until we do!" Chat pulled her closer to his side and squeezed her shoulder slightly.
Marinette let Chat take the lead. She leaned into his as he grinned his way through the reporters' questions. It felt nice to take a moment and relax after a long, exhausting day. She snuck a glance up to her kitty's face. He called her his lady. After everything that happened and what he knows now, he still calls her his lady.
Matching beeps sounded through the interviews. "Well I am so sorry, but we must run before this becomes a cat-astrophe!" Chat gave a small salute to the cameras and bounced away on his staff still holding
Ladybug.
He lowered them down onto a low-walled roof. They sat against a crate as they detransformed.
"Better then last time huh Mari?" Adrien smiled at Marinette. She huffed a small laugh and pulled Tikki closer in her arms
"Much better. And less dangerous." She opened her purse and gently placed Tikki onto the pillow sewed specially for her. Marinette held out a hand to Adrien.
"Uhhh?" Adrien looked shocked. "You want my..?" He held up his hand limply.
Mari laughed fully this time. "Plagg kitty. There's room in my bag and I bet he and Tikki will want to catch up." She flattened her hand for emphasis.
"Oh." Adrien reached into his pocket to pull out the small cat, who was very attached to a piece of cheese. He placed him into Marinette's hand and the two kwami settled close to rest.
Marinette looked back to Adrien. "We need to talk about this don't we Adrien." Said Adrien was still blushing from the earlier mix up.
He took in a deep breath and let it out in one go. "I'm Chat Noir."
"Yes."
"You're Ladybug."
"Yes."
"We have somehow fought together all this time and never realized that we sat next to each other literally every day."
"Yes."
Adrien nodded slowly. "The pigtails should have tipped me off."
Marinette tilted her head at Adrien. He was looking past the distant skyline and his eyes were a little glassed over. She nudged him lightly with her elbow. "You okay Adrien?"
He started slightly. "Yes! I mean- I just- uhhhh…" His face deepening in color as he pointedly watched his shoes.
"Are you sure? You got jumpy all of a sudden." Marinette drew her legs up to her chest and leaned her arms on them.
Adrien curled into himself. "I have spent the entirety of my hero career loudly professing my love to you without knowing who you were, then spent a couple years of that hero career very confused because
there was a girl in my class who became one of my closest friends. Then, I had to figure out what I felt for that close friend because I also loved my lady, and now my lady and my first friend are the same person and a lot of things make sense all at once. Too much sense." He rubbed the back of his neck; his ring glinting in the early evening sun. "I think I'm freaked out that I'm not freaked out? I went on autopilot out of shock up until we got here honestly."
Marinette burst out laughing; she couldn't help it. "Adrien, I did the exact same thing when I walked up the steps to my room and found you standing in the middle of my room."
"You did?" Her kitty straightened.
"Adrien I stood there for a full minute and just stared at you remember?"
"No," he waved his hand in front of his face, "my eyes were closed."
Marinette laughed again. "Kitty we may be the most unobservant people in Paris, but we figured it out eventually." She froze. "Wait, wait wait wait." She whipped her entire body to look at Adrien. "Did you say you love me?"
Adrien spluttered, "Uh um I- I meant- um uh er I- yes?" His face was entirely red by this point and he fashioned it into some sort of smile/grimace combination.
Marinette sighed. It still looked adorable on him. "Good." She settled back against the crate and leaned her head on Adrien's shoulder. "Because I've loved both Chat and Adrien for a while now and it makes everything much easier."
She felt a soft tickle on her face as a blond head rested on hers and a hand meeting hers on the ground. Marinette squeezed it and smiled to herself, ready for whatever comes next.
Finally done! Thank you for keeping up with the long hiatuses (and the disappearing kwami at the end oops). I couldn't resist a cliche ending ;)