Yin and Yang

Chapter 2

Chat Noir followed Ladybug down the creaky staircase that led to the abandoned hotel lobby. His head was swimming with the events of the day: There were five other Miraculouses? Le Papillion was one of them? Le Papillion was close to either Ladybug or himself? Adrien had a sinking feeling it was someone he was close to. His eyes studied the back of Ladybug's head.

He always really liked her hair. It was always up in manageable pigtails, but it looked shiny and soft. He liked the color too. At first it seemed black, but when you looked carefully, it was more like a very dark blue, like the night sky. He felt his stomach somersault.

It was happening. They were going to finally know who they really were. Normally, the prospect would have made him ecstatic, but under the circumstances, he could only feel anxious. What if it ruined everything? What if she was disappointed by him? Or worse, what if he was disappointed by her? What if revealing their identities took away all the mystery and intrigue of their relationship?

He sighed and it didn't escape Ladybug's notice. They reached the bottom of the stairs and she turned to look at him.

"Chat Noir?" she asked, her eyes kind with worry. Despite his whirlwind feelings, he gave her an encouraging smile.

"Yes, my Lady?" he asked. She crossed her arms and looked down at the ground.

"What should we do?" she asked and he took a deep breath in.

"Buginette, you're the one with all the brilliant ideas, remember? I just carry them out and look good doing it" he said with a mischievous smile. To his relief, she giggled.

"Minou, this is serious" she said, still smiling.

"I know, I know. Well, I guess we should look at this sensibly," he said as he considered their options, "We want to stop Le Papillion quickly, yes? It may bring one of us pain knowing someone we're very close to has been doing such horrible things, but I'm sure it will become known to us no matter how long we put it off for. Perhaps we should just deal with it all quickly, rather than drag it out"

"You have a point, Minou, but if we know each other's identities, I worry our loved ones could be put in danger" Ladybug said, the fear evident in her eyes. Chat Noir wanted so badly to hold her and to erase her fear. He knew that she would not appreciate his advances, so he restrained himself.

"Ladybug, I would never give away your identity. After all we've been through together, please trust that I would do everything in my power to keep you and the ones you love safe" Chat Noir said, his paw on his heart. Ladybug looked taken aback by his sincerity.

"Chat Noir, of course I trust you. I don't trust myself. What if you're in danger and I call out your real name and then your family is targeted? What if we get too close and we get reckless?" she asked. Chat Noir took her hand, her anxieties suddenly dissolving his own.

"Ladybug, I know you well enough to know you'll only become a better superhero as time goes on, not a worse one. We always knew it was a risk being superheroes, but it's a greater risk not to. Think of all the people you've saved! They would have been hurt or worse if you weren't there. Plus, if we stop Le Papillion, Paris will be safe, right?" he said. Ladybug put her other hand over his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"You're right. There's nothing we can't handle together" she said smiling and closing her eyes. A blush crept onto Chat Noir's face.

"Yeah! Together!" he sputtered. Ladybug released his hand.

"Alright, Minou, how do we do this?" she asked, suddenly acting much more like herself.

"Huh? Do what?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Reveal ourselves. Should we just revert back now?" she asked.

"No! Absolutely not! This is a very special occasion, my Lady. A dirty, old hotel simply will not do!" he said. Ladybug sighed.

"Where then?" Ladybug asked. Chat Noir thought for a moment and then smiled wide at an incoming idea.

"Why, atop the Eiffel Tower at midnight, of course" he said.

"Minou, don't you think that's a little too dramatic?" she asked with suspicion.

"My Lady, of course! What better place to declare my undying devotion?" he asked with a smirk. She smiled and shook her head.

"Fine, Minou, but don't be depressed when I reject you" she said, poking his shoulder.

"Ah, but Buginette, you're the one who will become cat-atonic when you see my handsome face" he said.

"We'll see about that. Alright, I'll see you tonight Chat Noir!" She said with a wave and then quickly leapt out of an open window. Chat Noir stared after her for awhile, his heart heavy. He let out a sigh. He wasn't as confident as he let on. He was terrified that seeing the real Chat Noir would squash any real potential of her coming to love him.

"No, you have to stay positive" he scolded himself. There was no point in assuming. He took a deep breath in and grabbed his staff. He jumped out of the same window as Ladybug and thoughts of the girl behind the mask danced in his head as he raced home.

Plagg was eating a heavy helping of Camembert as Adrien tore apart his own closet. Thousands of dollars' worth of designer clothes and not a single thing seemed appropriate to meeting the love of his life for the very first time.

"Plagg! What do I do?! I can't find anything!" Adrien asked frantically. Plagg continued to eat his Camembert, uninterested.

"Whatever is fine" Plagg said. Adrien stepped out of his closet to face the Kwami sitting on his couch.

"'Whatever' is not fine, Plagg! This is the first time Ladybug will see me. You don't get a second chance at a first impression" Adrien said as he furrowed his eyebrows so tight he started to feel a headache coming on. Plagg sighed and floated up to Adrien's face.

"I don't know who Ladybug really is, but I can tell you she won't judge you on what you're wearing. Would you love her if she cared about such petty things?" Plagg asked. Adrien looked down.

"No"

"No. Just be yourself" the Kwami advised. Adrien considered him and then looked at his own hands.

"But that's just it Plagg. Who is 'myself'? Am I Adrien Agreste, model and son of Gabriel Agreste? Or am I Chat Noir, protector of Paris?" he asked and his chest tightened. What part of himself should he be with Ladybug? Who was who? What was real and what was the façade?

Plagg pressed a little paw on Adrien's cheek.

"Adrien, you're both. Chat Noir and Adrien, there's no difference. Different sides of the same coin, maybe, but still the same coin. Plus, Ladybug is just like you. She has a side you've never seen either. She'll understand you, just as you'll understand her" Plagg said. Adrien took two fingers and gently stroked the top of Plagg's head.

"Thank you, Plagg. You're right" Adrien said and then ran back to his closet. He grabbed a black button-down shirt and put it on. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbow and straightened the color. He kept his same jeans and tennis shoes. He looked at himself in the mirror on the closet door. Simple, but still a little more formal than his every day wear, just enough to show this was a special occasion. He thought if he wore black, Ladybug may be less shocked than if he wore a lighter color. You know, just a little.

Adrien grabbed his phone from his pocket and looked at the time:

23:32

He gasped. It was so close. He ran back into his room and addressed Plagg.

"Plagg, we need to go!" Adrien said, his voice slightly shaky. As the time approached, he felt increasingly like a bag of nerves. His stomach was doing back-flips on a continuous loop and his heart felt like it might give out if it didn't stop beating so fast. Plagg floated near him again.

"Okay, are you ready?" Plagg asked. Adrien took a deep breath and straightened his back.

"Yeah, I'm ready," he said with a smile, "Plagg! Transform me!"

The cool night air was a welcome relief to Chat Noir's nerves, but his heart rate increased as he got closer and closer to the Eiffel Tower. Ladybug would surely be the death of him at this point.

By the time he reached the top of the tower, Chat Noir's hands were shaking. He just couldn't calm himself down.

Ah, of course, I got here first, he thought, lamenting that he had to spend another five or so minutes fretting by himself. He went over to the railing and looked out at Paris. It truly was a beautiful city at night. Streets lamps glistened like stars and the inky-black sky covered the city like a warm blanket. He had chosen his spot well.

"Minou, did we really have to meet so late? This is cutting into my beauty sleep"

Chat Noir spun around and saw Ladybug smiling at him.

She's here, he thought and his heart pounded harder than ever before.

"Ladybug! Yes! That way no one would see us!" Adrien said, a little louder than what was necessary. Ladybug, surprised by the fact he didn't attempt a joke at "beauty sleep", approached him.

"Ah, Chat Noir, are you nervous?" she asked.

"Huh? Me? Nervous? Never!" he said as he dropped his staff, but quickly recovered and caught it. Ladybug giggled and he sighed, "Ah, maybe a little"

"It's okay. I am too" she confessed.

"There's no reason to be. It's really no big deal!"

"Y-yeah!"

"We should just get it over with" Chat Noir suggested.

"Chat Noir, I don't know…"

"Oh, no! I did not spend the past eight hours on the verge of vomiting for us not to go through with this!" Chat Noir said.

"I know! I know. I don't know why I'm so scared"

Then, Chat Noir had an idea. He offered his fist with the pinky finger extended.

"Well, then let's make a promise. Let's promise that no matter who we are, we'll always be partners, and we'll always be friends, and we'll always be there for each other. No matter what. Deal?" Chat Noir asked. Ladybug looked at his pinky finger for a couple of seconds and then at him. A small smile crept onto her face as she interlocked her pinky finger with his.

"It's a promise" she said. Suddenly, Chat Noir felt calm. It was all going to be okay.

"Ladies first" he said, taking back his hand.

"No, no, no! You first! I insist!" she said.

"But, ladies first" Chat Noir shot back, now less calm. Ladybug sighed.

"Okay, let's do it together" she suggested.

"On the count of three?"

She nodded. They took an inhale together.

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

Together, they jumped into the unknown. Chat Noir felt his alter ego fade away as Adrien Agreste appeared. The de-transformation was complete, but he kept his eyes shut for the briefest of moments, just enough to gather the courage to open them.

He let out the breath he'd been holding and dared to open his eyes.

Two sapphire eyes stared back at him in shocked wonder. They were his Lady's eyes and for the briefest of moments, he thought she hadn't transformed at all, but then he noticed the bare skin where her mask should be. He took in her face and realized, perhaps a little slowly, that he knew that face. He knew that face far better than he ever imagined he would.

That face belonged to Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng?

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Marinette.

Of course. Of course, it was Marinette. He was a fool for not figuring it out sooner. She was always late to class on days he was, she was never around when an Akuma attacked, and how could he have missed those eyes?

Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

Adrien looked at her in stunned silence for God knows how long, but she did the same. He almost forgot that he was just as exposed as she and, when he remembered, he suddenly felt naked. What was she thinking?

She looked stunned. She stared at him like it was absolutely improbable that he should exist, yet here he was, existing.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng" he said, her name dripping out of his mouth like it was the only name it was ever supposed to say. Hearing her name seemed to break her out of her stupor and her hands raised to her cheeks. A searing red blush also rose to them and she was suddenly mortified.

"Aaaaaah! Adrien Agreste?! Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste?! Oh no! Oooooh!" she said, starting to panic. Adrien was torn between being elated that Ladybug had said his real name twice or being heart-broken that she was distressed by who he was.

"Marinette? Is it bad that I am Adrien Agreste?" he asked and Marinette looked at him. Adrien worried she was on the verge of tears.

"No! Of course, not! I've just been so-uh, well rude to you" she said and Adrien laughed.

"That's what you're worried about? I like it when you tease me. It makes me feel like a human being instead of just Gabriel Agreste's son. It's one of the reasons I li-" he paused, not quite ready to confess that yet, "I don't want you to treat me differently now that you know who I am without the mask"

Marinette looked at him with wide-eyed wonder again. He can't believe he never noticed how beautiful her eyes were.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, he thought for the hundredth time, Ladybug is Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

"You were Chat Noir? The whole time? But you're so different" she said.

"I could say the same about you, my Lady. Since when has Ladybug been shy?" he asked. Hearing Adrien refer to her as "my Lady" seemed to send a bolt of lightening through her.

"Well, I'm not really shy. I just get shy sometimes"

"I understand. I'm like that too. I keep appearances well as Adrien Agreste, but I feel much more like myself as Chat Noir" he said and he worried this wasn't the answer she wanted.

"Minou, it's really you?" she asked, and she blushed as she used her nickname for Chat Noir.

"Yes, it's me" he said and he extended his hand, "It's nice to meet you, Marinette"

She took it with a warm smile and Adrien felt his heart pound like thunder.

"It's nice to meet you too, Adrien"

AN: Woohoo! They met. Now they're going to be really confused by their Feelings™. Such is life lol.

I had the day off today and decided and do an update for this since you guys are like…crazy awesome. I've never gotten such a response from a fic before. I woke up this morning with like 42 e-mails in my inbox haha. Thank you guys so much! Comments and reviews keep me going so thanks a lot!

A guest said I should try poetry and like dude, thanks. That's super nice of you and I have dabbled a bit! I'm mostly just a sentimental nerd so.

The next chapter is going to be good and angsty and I make no apologies.