(A/N: Updating early because… 1) I got a lot of reviews concerning a certain thing that I talk about in this chapter, and I kind of wanted to settle that topic a bit. 2) I did sort of end the last chapter with a cliff hanger, and who likes those? 3) this is the last chapter, and I was eager to post.
Originally, this was going to go down a very different route than it did. But I think the valuable thing about characters is that they mirror real people, and so it's important to be realistic about emotions. At this point, a reveal like that would have hurt. With the dialogue in this chapter, I hope I was able to create a satisfying resolution, and I hope that you've enjoyed this work :) )
"Did you have fun with Alya?" Marinette's mom asked, not looking up from her activities on the other side of the bakery.
"Yeah!" Marinette replied with fake enthusiasm. She wanted to talk to her parents, but not right now. She was also hoping to get to her room before her mom saw her hair.
"I want you to be at dinner tonight," Sabine continued.
Marinette was almost out of the bakery and into the living area. "Sure thing, mom!"
"Love you, sweetie!"
"Love you too!" And safe! She hurried up to her room and changed into leggings and an oversized t-shirt, pulling her hair into its customary pigtails before sitting down at her desk, trying to focus on the homework she had gotten behind on. Unfortunately, all she could think about was Chat/Adrien and how ridiculous the whole situation was. She spends two years staring at the back of this boy's head, and then every week runs around Paris bantering with him and fighting weirdo akumas. While she's stuttering around sweet, even-tempered Adrien, he's flirting with Paris's favorite superhero.
It was just… Chat Noir and Adrien were so different. But maybe Adrien was actually his mask? And she was in love with it, just like everybody else.
It hit home when she thought about their date. Chat Noir had been so much sweeter than she expected, but still 100% Chat Noir. That was Adrien.
She had gone on a date with Adrien Agreste.
And he had taught her to waltz.
Adrien Agreste had forgotten to bring spoons for ice cream.
Adrien Agreste made cat puns.
It was just too weird. The problem wasn't Chat Noir being a goofball. It was that…. She was just so surprised.
And also that he had rejected her. That was also part of it.
She groaned. She had embarrassed herself in front of him so many times… She couldn't even look at him. She wasn't avoiding him just to make him uncomfortable—she couldn't talk to him. After two years of embarrassing herself in front of Adrien and then becoming such good friends with Adrien and finding out he didn't even like her in the real world… How was she supposed to respond to that? What was she supposed to do? All that she felt was hurt and humiliated.
It was easier to just ignore him.
By the time her mom called her downstairs for dinner, Marinette had almost finished her literature homework.
One class out of five.
She took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. Alya wasn't wrong about the color; it was flattering and even though she never would have chosen it for herself, it was very Marinette. She love it.
She had the feeling that her parents might not.
The table was quiet for a few minutes before Tom finally made his decision. "I don't hate it," he announced.
"Really?" Marinette squeaked, terribly self-conscious and not ready yet to relax.
"You'll be going to college soon, and they'll probably have a stricter dress code there. You should have fun while you can. At least it's not neon."
"OhmygoshDaddythankyou!" she exclaimed in one breath. Tom just laughed.
Sabine was less enthusiastic. "You're almost eighteen," she said. "If this is the most rebellious thing you're going to throw at us, I won't complain. Besides, pink has always been a lovely color on you."
Marinette beamed. "Thank you so much! I was so worried."
Her mother laughed. "You should have fun," she said simply, agreeing with her husband. "Now let's eat."
000
Peaceful family dinners were a thing Marinette was grateful for. Parents who always accepted her and supported her were another. After spending some time with them, she had calmed down considerably. Still, she didn't feel like talking to Chat/Adrien again yet. It was still too weird. Sitting down at her desk, she selected a soft playlist from Spotify to keep her nerves under control while she got back to her homework.
It wasn't long before she heard a knock on her balcony door.
She sighed. "Go away, Chat," she called. "I want to be alone right now."
"I need to talk to you," he called back. He sounded tired.
Whatever, she thought to herself. It has to happen sometime.
She climbed up to her bed and tried to pretend that the pounding of her heart was from her irritation and not from her anxiety over seeing the boy she had been in love with for two years who was also her long-time partner and friend. She also tried to pretend that the pricking at her eyes was a result of staring at her computer all afternoon.
She opened the door and climbed into the dusk.
"What's up?" she asked simply.
Chat gave her a level stare. "What's up?" he repeated.
"What's up?" she asked again, a slight quiver in her voice as she squirmed under his gaze.
"We need to talk about this. I need to talk to you about this."
"What's there to talk about?" She was tried sound flippant, but her voice shook. "I'm the Miraculous Ladybug. The annoying girl from your class is the same superhero you thought you were in love with. I'm sorry, Chat. I can't help that."
She couldn't meet his eyes, and he was looking at her like she was speaking another language. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"What do you think I'm talking about?" And resume the crying. She tried to blink it back. "Come on, Adrien. 'All the men and half the women of Paris are lining up to date Ladybug,' but not even Chat Noir wants Marinette. I understand. I know that I'm a disappointment. But it's disappointing for me, too. I thought… I thought you might be different, but you're not. Even now, right now, you aren't here for Marinette, are you? You're here for Ladybug. And I understand, okay? But… I don't want to deal with that right now. Just go away, Chat. Please."
Adrien felt sick seeing her trying not to cry. He… was. He was here for Ladybug, but not for Ladybug instead of Marinette. It was just that now, when he saw Marinette, he saw Ladybug. Was that wrong? They were the same person, after all. He was sure the only reason he hadn't seen it earlier was because he hadn't wanted to. He had assumed he didn't know real-life Ladybug, and so any resemblance was a matter of coincidence. But if Marinette was Ladybug, then he loved Marinette because they were the same person.
He sat down and dropped his head. Marinette sat down as well, looking off to the side. "I don't know how to explain how badly I screwed up," he sighed. "But you should know it was never anything against Marinette. I just couldn't see you because I was so focused on Ladybug… On you. I'm not after Ladybug in spite of you being Marinette. It's not like you're two different people and I can only love one of you. I don't accept Marinette because she's a part of Ladybug. I love you. I love all of you. It's just that I was only looking at part of you and didn't see that Marinette is every bit as much Ladybug as Ladybug is Marinette. I'm sorry."
Marinette was silent. He loved her. He had said that he loved her! She should have been thrilled. And she had to admit, it felt nice. It really did. But it didn't take care of everything. She still felt like everything inside of her was burning and shaking. She was a house on fire, and his confession was a wash of water over the flames, but not enough to put them out.
Finally, she whispered, "You didn't screw up. We're hardly even friends in real life and I could barely get out a sentence around you, anyway. I would have turned me down, too. I'm just so embarrassed. Even if you don't see it that way, I've been humiliating myself in front of you for two years and then I find out that it's… you. And you respected me, and then I'm just me. I can't expect you to not look at me differently. I… don't believe that you can not look at me differently. And that makes it hard for me to look at you at all."
"Marinette," he said firmly. "I want you to look at me." Hesitantly, she did. He looked more serious than she had seen him in a very long time. "Don't you think I'm struggling with that, too?" he asked. "I spend all this time worrying that you won't like me in the real world, and then… I find out you're you, and you do like me, but the me that you like is barely even me! And I don't even know if I want you to see me differently or not. I feel like you're the only one who really knows me, and now you like all these things that aren't me. But I'm still here, aren't I? Because I need to know. Because you are so important to me that I can't just 'let it be.' I can't just put it off until I feel better. So please just tell me that you are going to listen to me, and that even if what's in front of us isn't what we had wanted, it's what we got and we're going to deal with it. Just tell me that whether I'm Adrien Agreste or whether I'm Chat Noir…" He swallowed. "Just tell me that no matter who I am, you're going to stay with me."
It was Marinette's turn to stare. She hadn't expected any of what he had just said. He was serious. The fire eating up at her began to go down as she realized that he was at least as anxious as she was, about more than facing her post-reveal. But… how did her knowing that he was Adrien Agreste hurt him at all? "What do you mean, is barely even you?"
Adrien sighed. "Adrien Agreste is a polite pretty-boy whose only personality traits are 'charming' and 'impressive.' Do you think that's what I want you to like about me?"
When Marinette didn't respond, Adrien started to wonder if he should have kept that to himself. Of course he felt that way, but he'd never said it before and when he did say it, it sounded really… wrong. Was that really what he thought of himself?
"Sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"Is that how you really feel?" she interrupted him softly, all of the previous hurt and ferocity gone from her eyes. "Adrien, that's not… I mean, yeah, you're charming and you're impressive, that's true. But I don't like you because you're a model and you get straight A's and you fence. That's dumb. You're sweet. Even though I know you've never been interested in me, you've always encouraged me. Even when you're being insincere, there's something sincere about it. Yeah, Public Figure Adrien Agreste may be really toned down, but it's not like you're not yourself. Do you remember, that day right after we met, when it was raining and you gave me your umbrella?"
"Of course I remember."
"That was when I fell in love with you. Not because you're a model, not because you're smart, but because you were so kind. I've played that scene through my head hundreds of times, Adrien. Nothing in Chat Noir doesn't fit you. The problem isn't that I don't love both of you. Neither of you are anything like a problem. And I never want to hear you say anything so self-depreciating again."
She watched as the hard, determined expression he wore slowly melted, as his mouth tensed to hold back the emotion that was breaking through, as his eyebrows came together and his gaze became a little bit desperate, as his vulnerability pushed its way out and she realized that maybe Adrien was always wearing a mask to cover up something very dark that he shouldn't have to handle alone. The feeling she had gotten on their date took more ground in her mind: Chat Noir… Adrien was very serious about her. That information calmed her, gave her a comfort that enabled her to comfort him in turn.
"Adrien," she whispered, "I love you for everything that makes you Adrien Agreste and for everything that makes you Chat Noir. I'm not going to leave you. I could never leave you." The certainty in her voice left no room for him to doubt her. As the darkness around them deepened, there was a brightness growing between them.
000
Adrien's phone rang, waking them both up. He glanced at the screen.
Nathalie.
He answered. "What's up?" he asked groggily. Marinette's eyebrows furrowed with sleepiness and confusion.
"I'm at a friend's house," he said. "Sorry, I forgot to mention it since father's gone this week…Uh, let me ask." He put his hand over the receiver. "Is it… um… Is it alright if I stay over? I swear I won't do anything! I just don't really feel like going home."
His cheeks were pink with embarrassment and Marinette couldn't help giggling. He was so cute when he was nervous.
"Of course you stay, Kitty Cat." And then she realized what was happening and started to blush, herself.
A grin split across his face and shone out through his eyes. "Thank you." And then, to his phone: "Yeah, I'm staying tonight… Yeah, I remember… I'll get plenty of rest, don't worry… I would appreciate that… Alright. Thanks. Good night." He hung up.
"Who was that?" Marinette asked, leaning on her elbow.
"My father's assistant Nathalie. She was checking in before she went home and got spooked because I was gone. Mainly she just wanted to be sure I would be fine for my shoot tomorrow."
"You have a shoot tomorrow? Are you sure you don't need to go home and rest?"
"I'm resting here!" he argued. "Besides, it's not until after school, anyway."
"And I, um…" She blushed harder. She didn't really know what to say.
After the hard part of their conversation that night, she had invited him into her room. It was one of the many moments that made her grateful she had finally taken down all of Adrien's posters the year before. They had been watching Howl's Moving Castle—apparently Studio Ghibli was a mutual interest—on her laptop, laying in her bed, and must have fallen asleep.
"What time is it?" she asked.
He glanced at his phone again. "Eleven-thirty."
Marinette groaned. "I never finished my homework," she complained.
Adrien just shook his head. "So irresponsible, my lady," he scolded her. "I have to say, I expected better from you."
"Hey!" she exclaimed, and then caught herself. Now was no a time for yelling. It was probably best if her parents didn't feel the need to check in on her tonight. "I was working on it when you interrupted me!" she hissed.
"Excuses, excuses," he teased. "What do you have left?"
"Calculus and Chinese." She made a face.
"What, you don't like calculus?"
"What, do you?"
"I mean…"
Marinette stared at him. "Are you telling me you actual enjoy that hell-math?"
He laughed. "Hell-math? It's not that bad, Marinette. Come on. I'll help you."
She moaned. "But I'm tired," she whined.
As much as he would have preferred to stay in bed as well, the thought of helping her with her homework felt like such a happy, normal couple thing to do that he really didn't want to miss out on it. Not to mention, lying next to her was making him think things he wasn't ready to act on just yet. It would be better to go back to bed when he was tired enough to actually fall asleep.
He dragged himself up, then took Marinette's hands and tried to pull her out of the bed. She wasn't budging.
"Come on, babe," he urged. "The sooner we start, the sooner it can be over and we can go back to sleep."
She mumbled something unintelligible.
He sighed.
"Do you want me to go make coffee?" he asked.
Marinette mumbled something else before finally crawling out of the covers. Adrien tried not to laugh, but one of her pigtails had come out entirely and she was glaring at him like he had run over some small, defenseless animal.
"Come here," he chuckled, stepping closer to her. "You can't just leave your hair halfway done." He pulled out the other elastic, running his fingers through her dyed strands in an effort to make it lay flat. He was surprised by how soft it was.
Marinette only stared at him as he subconsciously fingered a lock of her hair, running his thumb back and forth over it with a distracted look on his face. Her face was on fire, but she didn't want to move for fear of shaking him out of whatever he was doing and him pulling away. She just watched him with wide eyes, enjoying the fluttery feeling that filled her.
This was good.
Adrien caught himself, pulling his hand back suddenly.
"Sorry," he mumbled, looking down. "I'll go work on that coffee." He turned to leave.
She reached out and stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "I don't drink coffee," she told him. "And if you do, you won't be able to fall back asleep later. Plus, I don't want my parents seeing you in the kitchen. I'll go fix something."
He smiled and nodded, stepping out of the way so she could get around him and climb down.
When she came back into the room a few minutes later, Adrien was leaning against the ladder, thoughtfully examining the Chat Noir doll he had found on Marinette's bed. He smiled at her, holding it up.
"So I take it this isn't your first night sleeping with Chat Noir, huh?" he teased.
She blushed, glaring at him as she gently set the two mugs of hot chocolate on her desk.
"I thought you were too old to be playing with dolls," she quipped. "Now make yourself useful and help me be less stupid."
He laughed and took the seat next to her. "You aren't stupid," he assured her. "You just haven't had the right tutor. I like the orange, by the way."
"The power of blorange," she muttered, smiling.
"Huh?"
"Nevermind."
She had to admit, homework was a lot less miserable with the help of somebody who actually understood it. And it didn't hurt that that somebody was Adrien Agreste, her favorite classmate and her favorite superhero.
They finished at almost three a.m., by which time Adrien had sufficiently tired himself out enough to go back to bed without any worries.
They climbed back up into the bed, and Marinette lay on her side, staring at him.
"Get some rest, Princess," he whispered, running his thumb over her cheek. "You've worked hard." He planted a kiss on her forehead, and then rolled to face the wall, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth that filled him. He was glad it was her.
Marinette stared at the back of his head. Sometimes she thought she knew it better than she did his face, from dutifully watching it every school day. Earlier, he had said that maybe this wasn't what they had wanted, but he was wrong. It would be a lie for her to say she hadn't fantasized about Adrien being Chat Noir, but she had never let herself dwell on the possibility. It felt unfair to Chat to cast him as her crush, or to expect more from him than he could reasonably live up to. But as it turned out, Adrien was far more than she had expected: in addition to being smart, kind, sensitive, and handsome, he was romantic, an absolute goofball, and a faithful friend. He had sacrificed himself for her more times than she could count on one hand, and he had stuck by her even after finding out who she really was, even after she had responded so selfishly to his reveal. If it hadn't been for him coming to find her, she would be lying alone right now, anxious and miserable.
As is, confidence and affection flowed through her like warm water, and she scooted closer to Adrien, laying an arm over his side and planting a small kiss on the back of his neck. Smiling against his shirt, she could feel his even breathing. The poor thing must have been exhausted. Truth be told, she was pretty tired herself. She fell asleep to the scent of his detergent and the rhythm of his heartbeat.