"Hey man, are you okay?" Nino asked, snapping Adrien out of his little trance.
"Oh, yea. Yes, I'm fine. I just. I just didn't recognize Marinette," Adrien amended. It was partially the truth.
"Yea, she looks different huh? Fantastic in fact! If the dress had spots, it'd remind me of Ladybug's costume! She'd look just like her." His friend laughed and Adrien tried to join him. Nino was probably joking, not at all able to compare the two girls and find likeness. But the more he laughed, the more Adrien realized that there was no way he could have simply mistaken Marinette the way he had.
"Yea, you're right," he muttered. Perhaps he should have reconsidered his thought. Perhaps, he needed to have a brief talk with Marinette. With the same determined stride, he caught up with Marinette and Alya and tapped a shoulder.
"Marinette. May I speak with you a minute?" Even with the mask, Marinette's bulging eyes did not go amiss. Adrien remained stoic. If he showed any emotion, he felt as if he would betray himself.
"Uhm… Okay?" Adrien walked off and Marinette briefly turned to Alya to smile excitedly before following. They headed off to another room, away from the party goers, and Adrien seemed to hesitate. He didn't know where to begin to ask her. He really wasn't even completely certain it was her. Marinette was one of the few friends he had, and was one of first friends he had ever made. It seemed uncomfortable to think of her as Ladybug. But that being said, he didn't think he would have at all minded if his beloved Ladybug was Marinette. She was a charming girl who tended to be a bit shy and awkward. She was caring, hardworking, and had a fantastic design background, not to mention that she had stood up to Chloé on several occasions. He could believe it. He could believe that she was Ladybug. But he wanted to be certain.
"How, are you?" he asked, beginning as vaguely as possible while trying to think of something to say. She tightened her lips tersely.
"I'm fine… why do you ask?" she replied.
"Well you hurt yourself pretty badly earlier…" he mentioned, referring to a landing mishap during their battle before the party. She appeared to misunderstand intentionally.
"When I stumbled down the stairs?" Marinette looked rather relieved and content with his worrying. "No, I'm fine. It happens all the time." She brushed off the situation but Adrien grew resolute. He grabbed hold of her hands and tightened around her right wrist briefly. She flinched.
"No, I didn't mean the stairs, I meant this." His expression hardened and Marinette was getting nervous. She didn't want to have this conversation anymore. "How did you hurt your wrist?" he pryed. She was avoiding eye contact.
"I strained it while sewing up my dress," Marinette fibbed. It was obviously a lie. He didn't want to corner her into telling him. It was the last thing he wanted. He wanted her to be happy to tell him on her own terms. But he couldn't go on knowing he was so close.
"I know we said we wouldn't say anything. I know I promised you that I wouldn't ask. But when you come in dressed like… Well, it's hard not to see it." She didn't say anything and he decided to continue. He loosened his grip entirely on her hands and simply let them sit within his. "If you want to pretend like nothing happened; like this conversation never happened, I can do that. I won't bother you about it anymore. But if you know who I am by now, could I ask you to think about it? My Lady." He bent down and kissed the back of her right hand gently. Marinette panicked and whipped her hand away from him, nearly smacking him in the face. Her eyes were full of concern and fear and she stood silently. He could tell she wanted to run, but what good would it do her? Adrien could see that her entire face had gone red at this point and he was trying to figure out why. Was she angry with him? Flustered? Confused?
The small red bag that Marinette wore (fascinatingly similar to the one she kept on her daily) popped open. From it, appeared a small and timid creature. Adrien's head jerked up when he saw the red kwami and he inhaled so harshly he thought to damage his lungs. His heart was racing and he found it difficult to breath. His mind was being driven mad.
Before him was his love.
His Ladybug.
It was her.
It was truly, truly her.
Marinette looked shocked at the smiling kwami. Or perhaps she felt betrayed. After gaining some sort of composure, he addressed her.
"Hello," he began, "What is your name?" He extended his right hand's index finger, meaning to shake her hand.
"Hello Adrien, my name is Tikki! It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard so much!" Adrien glanced at Marinette, amused and curious about what she had said about him. He could feel his inner Chat Noir escaping him. She was clearly anxious and rather displeased.
"Tikki! You said –!"
"I know," Tikki interrupted, trying to calm Marinette down. She meant no offence and only wished to explain herself. "But seeing what has already happened… And Marinette! Look who you've found! I know you'll be careful. I know I can trust you Marinette. I know you'll be okay." When she spoke the last sentence, she looked at both Adrien and Marinette, speaking to them in confidence that their relationship would be strong.
"Well that makes one of us," Marinette murmured. Adrien approached her again.
"I'm sorry Marinette. I'm sorry things turned out this way. I know it was perhaps not the way you had imagined it. But…" He looked confidently into her sky blue eyes. "I should tell you how happy I am to meet you." Her gaze softened ever so slightly. "I'm happy to know that it is you." I hope you can say the same. He wanted to say it, but he didn't want to force her to comment on it. He may not have liked what she had to say. After a moment of silence, Adrien didn't know what else he could have said. He felt that he was waiting for her to speak, but perhaps she didn't want to. He made move to leave but was stopped immediately with a hand on his arm. A rush of fear and relief washed over him. He would wait as long as she needed him to. She was staring intently at the folds of his jacket when she spoke but he was okay with this.
"I'm happy that it's you too," she said quietly. His heart nearly leapt from his chest. She was incredibly cute. Adrien raised his hand behind her head and pulled her close to him. She did not resist.
Marinette, knowing it was him, knowing it was Chat Noir, knowing it was Adrien, did not resist him.
Instead, she held to him.
They didn't speak anymore. They did not know what words could fill the situation. They did not know what yet to think. Everything was rushing to catch up to the moment and they simply did not care anymore. Tears flowed over Marinette's mask and were soaked up into Adrien's shirt. So many emotions flooded them both and no words could express them. There were just no more words.
Eyes half opened, Adrien traced along the side of Marinette's head and removed her mask, looking straight into her eyes and admiring her face as if he was looking at her for the first time in his life. Marinette reached up slowly and lowered his mask as well, her heart never ceasing. He leaned down slowly, closing his eyes again, and in wordless motion, their long felt desires were finally met.
Author's Note: Hello again! Firstly, I'd like to apologize (a little bit) for ending the last chapter the way I did. I couldn't decide between the ending that seemed plausible, and the ending that people wanted. So I chose both. ^o^ If you liked the ending from the second chapter, then that was the ending. If you liked this ending, then this is the ending. I've kind of structured every chapter so it could have ended whenever the chapter ended, only to have more information come later. Take what you will.
I had originally made plans to post this yesterday, but unfortunately was inflicted with a truck that, upon driving by, tore out a powerline, thus leaving me without Internet. I also had a lot of lesson plans to make… Hopefully the substantial lengthiness of the chapter will be sufficient for an apology. Sorry for the wait!
