Most of the reviewers have asked me to continue this story, so here I go. I hope you like.
...
Chat had always imagined how the big reveal would be like. The time where there'd be no more secrets, no more walls between them. When he would finally know his lady, when she would finally know him and all would be right in the world. He should of figured that the reality would be totally different.
He laid still on the street, the breath literally knocked out of him and watched as the akuma prepared to end him. Chat knew this is usually the part where you're supposed to see your life flash before your eyes, but all he could think about was his Ladybug. Marinette. The pain in her eyes, the tears falling down her face. The words she had said, in which he realized now she was completely justified in believing. Would she miss him? Mourn him, feel guilt over his untimely demise? Perhaps, if he had made better choices, there would have been a better ending to his story. One where he was finally happy, where he got everything he had ever wanted.
Oh, well, Adrien thought as he closed his eyes as the akuma finally lunged forward to kill him. At least I'll be in a better place.
...
2 months ago...
Adrien leaped through buildings, hurrying to school after the successful defeat of yet another villain. This one had been Belladonna, a plant-based villain that could spray a sweet smelling poison able to cause hallucinations and paralysis, depending on the amount inhaled. She had shown up during lunch break. Thankfully, with the help of the Lucky Charm ( a giant polka dotted fan), the duo managed to save the florist as well as Paris in record time. He smiled to himself as he landed on top of the roof of his school, about three minutes to spare. It had been three weeks since his talk with Ladybug and it seems as though things were back on track. His lady had even taken the time to give a two-fingered salute before she had swung away.
It was nice to see her spirits lifted, especially when he recalled exactly what had been making her sad. In a lot of ways, her worries and insecurities mirrored his own. His worry that Adrien Agreste wasn't good enough, that eventually whoever had decided he was fit to be Chat Noir would show up one day, claiming they made a huge mistake. The feeling of self-doubt and sadness that plagued your every thought.
But his lady was so much. She was amazing, the reason Paris was still safe. She was so smart and worth everything. She...was at his school.
Adrien watched in shock as his lady landed on her hind legs in the middle of the empty garden at the back of the school. He squeezed himself flat on the roof, keeping his eyes on her as she looked around, making sure she was alone. Erroneously reassured, he watched in shock as she started to turn back. Before he could even think about closing his eyes or turning around, he watched as Ladybug became his classmate, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.
His mouth hanging open, he watched as a small red creature-obviously her kwami-moved into the small purse she always carried around and quickly rushed into the school. Chat rose up, stupor with shock. Then he pinched himself, claws and all digging into his hand. Nope, not dreaming. But why...how..?
Just then, the bell rang. He quickly shook his head to clear it. School first. He'll think about what he just found out later. He leaped off the roof, making sure to cover any and all possible options of possible spectators, then changed back. Plagued appeared beside him, looking grumpier then usual.
"Yo, where's my cam-"
"Not now, Plagg." He said tightly, stuffing him in his bag and quickly running to class. Adrien knew he would pay for that later, but didn't have the time to care. He was too busy psyching himself up. It's okay, he thought to himself, it's just Marinette. Forget the fact that she's Ladybug, your Ladybug, just until the end of the day. He took a deep breath as he felt a sense of calm settle in his stomach.
That calm went out the window as he walked into class and the first thing he saw were those sea-blue eyes, without a mask of red and black framing it. He barely heard the teacher welcoming back to class as he felt an intense blush spread across his face. He turned his eyes to the floor as he quickly walked to his desk and quite literally fell into the seat. His friend, Nino, was looking worriedly at him. "Hey dude. You okay?"
He gave him a weak smile, trying desperately to ignore the fact that he was sitting in front of Marinette, who could see his every move, awkward and otherwise. "I'm just great."
...
Throughout the whole lesson, he couldn't focus. I mean, how would anyone else react to knowing the girl you've been crushing on for months was sitting right behind you, seeing and critiquing your every move. Adrien was almost too afraid to shift lest the squeak of the chair sounded like he was farting.
I mean, this was like an inventor discovering Leonardo Da Vinci's notebook to bettering technology, like tasting the most creamy, buttery vanilla cake after years of dealing with mediocre versions. He felt in awe, stupefied, flabbergasted and, quite frankly, more than a little stupid. He thought of every instance Marinette had interacted with Chat Noir: the Evillustrator, Gamer, Puppeteer. While her reactions seemed common to a citizen in danger, he now realized they were either too orchestrated or too casual.
The way he and Ladybug just happened to be some place you couldn't be unless you were already inside when the victim was akumatized, like Kung Food, Horrificator, Darkblade. He remembered his surprise in meeting her in those trapped areas, but had been too focused on their jobs to really think on it. The history textbook, her hair style, the way she seemed to know every single one of the classmates that were either akumatized or targets of an akuma. He could very well kick himself for hours for how obvious it was. He had speculated so many times on her identity, yet he never picked up on these clues or connected the dots. He had a serious urge to kick his own ass for his obliviousness.
"Adrien," he jolted upright as he heard his name was firmly called. He looked up to see his teacher staring at him with both concern and annoyance. "Is everything alright?" He could feel the eyes of his classmates burning holes into a different section of his head. Especially the one whose gaze effected him the most. His face turned as red as a brick at that thought.
"Yes," he replied quietly, keeping his head low. "I'm fine, thank you."
Since his interrupted revelations, the classes seem to stretch on for a torturous eternity. The clock ticked by so slowly, it seemed as though it was counting hours rather than seconds. All he wanted was a little time to himself so he could properly process all this and figure out his next course of action. His head was swimming and felt like his heart was constricting, making each breath he took a chore.
When the bell rang for lunch, he almost passed out with relief. Rather than make himself look like a bigger weirdo, he quickly packed up his things without making eye contact with anyone and rushed out the door to meet the Gorilla outside.
They reach his house in minutes and after saying a quick hello to Nathalie, his dad having left her in charge while he took a month off to do some business in Italy, he barreled down the hallway. He reached the confines of his room, bolted the lock and promptly collapsed to the ground.
Plagg, in a rare moment of comfort, floated out of his jacket and placed a tiny hand on his forehead. "Breathe kid, breathe." He seemed to understand that he had a decent reason for cutting off his cat kwami and Adrien appreciated the treatment and patience of his little friend. He took a deep breath, slowly exhaling it out before he spoke in a low voice.
"Marinette is Ladybug. The girl that sits behind me in school is Ladybug. How did I not see this?" He had meant the question to be rhetorical and was surprised when Plagg answered in a serious tone.
"It's the ring. Or the earrings in her case. They're designed to make you almost...a blur to other people. Maybe they notice similarities, such as your hair and eyes, but even if they may guess once in a while, they'll never be able to tell it's you." He gave a little shrug as he continued, "I don't know exactly how it all works, so don't ask. It also might have to do with your bad luck. Who knows?"
Adrien, opened his mouth to ask a question, then hesitated, not sure what to say. "Did you...did you know who Ladybug was this whole time?" He asked, voice coming out small and lost. He didn't know how he would react if Plagg had kept a secret like that from him. Maybe he was rube and insulting, but he considered him one of his closest friends.
There was a long pause on Plagg's end. "No... I really didn't. The kwamis of the Miraculous holders could never know who had what, or it'd be harder to keep it a secret. It was for the chosen's discretion. But I did suspect, like you, that it was someone you knew."
Adrien nodded absently as he processed that. His brain was running a mile a minute, looking for answers to his current predicament. "What should I do? I mean I know Ladybug didn't want anyone to know who she is but I know now. And then...I always thought that Marinette was awesome and that I would love the girl behind the mask..?"
Plagg seemed to ponder on his runoff sentences. "On the first issue, I'd say keep quiet. I mean, it's not your fault she was sloppy. Besides, it's been a little while since that talk you two had and I think she needs some time to realize she doesn't have to be perfect to be Ladybug. That what her deal was before, right?" Adrien nodded at his kwami's question as he grabbed a glass of water from his desk.
"About the second one...at least you know now the girl of your dreams likes you." At that, the water moved from Adrien's mouth to the floor as he spat it out. He turned sharply to stare at his friend. "WHAT?!"
"That poem you threw away? Didn't you say that valentine answering it was from Ladybug? Well, if she had wrote all that mushy stuff, now you know for certain your soulmate is just as smitten with you as you are with her."
The valentine..? Wait! THE VALENTINE! Adrien almost full on hyperventilating as he realized that everything he had said in that poem fit Marinette to a tee. And if Ladybug/Marinette had really answered his poem, that meant...that MEANT..!
Suddenly, Ladybug 's attitude around him, Adrien Agreste, made sense. If she, Marinette, liked him and was so shy because of her crush, it was only logical that it would leak into her Ladybug persona. And it stood to reason why she never took him seriously or reciprocated his feelings. She'd been too fixated on Adrien to see Chat Noir. Just like he'd been too in love with Ladybug to see Marinette the way she had probably wanted him to.
He remembered the way she had complimented him when Simon Says had been attacking and especially the way she'd reacted with Lila. While most of it may have been because she was lying, he's sure part of it may have been her fear he would believe the lies and like another girl. And he couldn't really fault her for that, love can make you act pretty childish. He knew from experience, seeing he had caused Copycat the same way.
"So...should I ask her out or something? I mean, if we both like each other-"
"Yeah, that'll go over great," Plagg agreed sarcastically. "Boy who never really hung out with girl just asks her out literally out of nowhere." He shook his head at Adrien's discouraged face. "Look, kid, you have to go slow here. Establish a real connection with the Marinette girl so you can know for sure that it's genuine on both sides. It's not just your feelings on the line here."
Adrien softened at the watertight argument. "You're right, I have to really know her before we can be anything close to a romantic relationship. Become a better friend, and, if I'm lucky, we'll become official." He thought to himself as he got up to have his lunch. "I just need the right moment to put that plan into action..."
...
The right moment came a lot quicker than Adrien had thought. The end of the day, in fact. In the form of a confrontation between his oldest friend and his secret crush. He been walking down the hall, ready to call his ride home, when he'd heard her.
"-back this minute, Chloe." Adrien heard the sweet sound of Marinette's voice as she gave a command close by. He then heard the mocking laughter of his oldest friend almost immediately after.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'll throw it in the trash, where it belongs. Heaven knows no one would ever think this is worth something. Or maybe I'll just ruin it myself." Adrien followed the voices until he reached a small corridor, where he could see both Chloe and Marinette standing on opposite ends of each other. In Chloe's hands, he clearly recognized Marinette's sketchbook of all her designs and ideas as well a bottle of black nail polish held over it. Marinette's eyes were locked on the two items, only the slightest bit of fear showing.
From the chunk of conversation he heard, Adrien pieced together that Chloe had somehow gotten the book and was now using it as another way to hurt someone else. Probably for no other reason than because she was jealous of Marinette's talent. And he could tell by the careful drawings that Marinette had worked hard on that book, maybe even spent years coming up with new designs. He wouldn't let Chloe take that away from her. He quickly walked forward and swiped the book before she knew what happened.
He heard the clear anger in Chloe's voice as she turned around. "Who's the stupid lowlife who just took that-Adrikins!" Adrien watched as both her tone and face changed as she saw who exactly was standing behind her. He heard a quiet gasp in front of Chloe, indicating Marinette had just seen him too. He made sure to keep his eyes on Chloe, lest he be too distracted to help. "What's going on here?" He demanded angrily.
Chloe, obviously trying to come off innocent in the situation despite being caught red-handed, gave off a forced carefree laugh. "Oh, I was just-" He cut her off before she could come up with some excuse or put the blame on Marinette.
"Picking on one of my friends for no other reason than because you're jealous. Again!" Adrien sneered, in no mood for playing the complacent friend in the face of his mistreated crush. He watched as Chloe gave a sharp gasp, face twisting like she had some rotten milk. "Excuse me," she practically growled through clenched teeth. "I'm not jealous of anyone, especially little Miss. Baker Girl."
"Well, I don't see why else you pick on her. She kind and generous, and is basically the only one that treats you well sometimes. Why else would you pick on her if you weren't jealous." Adrien internally smirked at the dumbfounded look on his first friend's face at his spew of logic. He took a moment to glance at Marinette's face to see she wore a look of total shock. Besides the incident with her great-uncle, he never really stood up to Chloe for anyone or anything. But nothing would stop him from defending his lady.
"I...that is...because...she-" Chloe stammered, the breath figuratively knocked out of her and unable to say a reason without agreeing with him. He talked over her before she could get her second wind. "Whatever your reasons are don't matter. Just know I won't let you get away with teasing or hurting someone I care about. Just leave Marinette alone, alright?" Adrien watched as Chloe's mouth twisted like she ate a whole lemon.
"Whatever," she huffed, flipping her ponytail as she walked pass him, head high and shoulders slightly hunched. Adrien watched as she retreated, knowing she wouldn't be forgiving him for at least a week, and while a part of him felt just a hint of guilt, the majority reveled in the opportunity he took to finally put her in her place. He then remembered his lady was still there and quickly turned around to see her standing there, looking at him as if he'd grown a second head. He smiled uncertainly at her as he made his way over.
"Here." he said as he handed her sketchbook back to her. She took it quietly, a small smile appearing on her face. "Thank you," she replied, gratitude saturating her voice as she held the item to her chest. Then an awkward silence fell over them, making Adrien realize how abnormal this situation was. While he never approved of Chloe's antics, he also never really reprimanded her for it. Never really stood up to her for anyone. Then he suddenly changed his routine? He felt guilt, sadness and self-loathing swirling in his stomach as he opened his mouth again.
"You okay?" He inquired softly. She took a moment to openly gap at him before she seemed to realize he'd asked a question. Then she nodded, taking the time to put her book in her bag. "Yeah, I'm fine thanks." The discomfort wad evident in her posture and Adrien wasn't surprised when she not-so-subtly started inching around him to escape. "I should get-"
"Do you want to hang out sometime?" Adrien honestly didn't know what he was thinking, just blurting out that question, but the shock on Marinette's face completely matched his own. "I'm sorry, what?" She questioned after two whole minutes of silence.
"I... I mean-" Adrien took a moment to take a breath, then started again. "I realize that Chloe does things like this all the time and I never really put a stop to it. I just excuse her because she's my friend. But she picks on you especially and I just...you're my friend too and I want to make it up to you, so could we...you know, hang sometime? Like, tomorrow for lunch?" The whole time he spoke, he had sounded so uncertain, Adrien almost wanted to smack himself. But he restrained that notion as he waited for Marinette's reply.
Marinette seemed genuinely flabbergasted but managed another small smile in his direction. "Sure, that'd be...okay." She finally answered as she scooted around him, hand raised up to give a short wave. "See you tomorrow then."
"Yeah," Adrien responded, voice low and dazed as he watched Marinette's retreating back with a dreamy look on his face. "See you tomorrow."
...
I originally planned on writing more, but I felt like you all deserved to see the direction I was going. This will come back to haunt Adrien, mark my words. So, if you have any ideas or suggestions about where this story should go, either review or PM me.