Hey, guys.

Two fics in two days. What even? This was actually the first fic I wrote for Reveal Week, so I'm excited to finally be posting it. It's my response to 'Day 6: Consenual,' and I hope you like it. I don't know when I'll get Day 7 up, as I have a lot of uni stuff going on at the moment, but I'll get there eventually.

Please let me know what you thought in the reviews.

Much love,

Leisey

Improvisation is not Ladybug's Strong Suit

Everything was all Alya's fault.

Granted, Ladybug and Chat Noir were superheroes and tasked with keeping the peace in their city, so it was understandable the blogger would come to them with a problem. That didn't mean Ladybug understood how she and her partner got roped into helping Alya prove that some big shot journalist was a fraud.

She supposed that Alya was just scarily persuasive. That, plus Marinette was never one to deny her best friend (other than Chat) anything. There was also something to be said about this reporter spreading rumours about her and Chat Noir (some trash about them using their powers for evil; that was Hawkmoth's thing, not theirs, thank you very much.)

Alya's plan was to get into the reporter's computer, find proof that she'd falsified evidence and then show it to the public.

"Do I want to know how you know where this women's office and computer are?" Ladybug whispered as they snuck into said building, late at night.

"Probably not," Alya answered, leading them down hallways and up to higher floors.

Ladybug turned to Chat, who was bringing up the rear and acting as silent as his namesake. "Is this abusing the power of our miraculouses? Because it feels like it is."

He shook his head. "We're clearing our name," he replied, his voice low. "How could that be abusing our power?"

"We're breaking and entering!"

"Semantics," Alya said from her position in the lead.

"You are not helping!" Ladybug hissed at her.

"My Lady, are you being a scaredy cat?" She could practically hear the smirk in Chat's voice.

"You're not helping either!" She whispered to him. "I just don't want to get caught."

"Eh," Alya said dismissively, "my friend Marinette steals phones all the time and she's never caught."

"What?!" Ladybug and Chat chorused.

Ladybug couldn't believe Alya had just told them that. Chat, for his part, simply looked stunned at the prospect of Marinette being a phone thief.

"There's no way Marinette steals phones," he said. "She's too good for that."

Ladybug was a strange combination of mortified where the conversation had gone, pleased at Chat's high opinion of her civilian self and confused as to why he thought that way about her. He'd only met her a few times as Marinette, after all.

Alya laughed. "Well, she has. I think she's up to two stolen phones now? Maybe three."

Chat shook his head. "No way. I can't imagine her doing that at all."

"Well, in my girl's defence, those were extenuating circumstances."

"Like what?" Chat wanted to know.

"I'm sure she didn't keep them," Ladybug interjected before Alya could dish out any more embarrassing secrets. "I'm sure she gave them back."

"Oh yeah, of course," Alya agreed. "Marinette's not an actual thief."

"But why did she steal them in the first place?" Chat pressed.

"No way, Chat Noir," Alya shook her head. "I've already told you two enough."

Oh, thank the miraculouses, Ladybug thought.

"Aww, I wanna know," Chat whined.

"You know what they say about curiosity and cats," she said to her partner.

He didn't even bat an eyelid. "But satisfaction brought it back."

Before Ladybug could reply, Alya let out an excited, "We're here!"

They stood before a plain wooden door. It's only distinguishing feature was a plaque that read, Colette Renoir.

"Ooh, she's got a plaque," Chat observed. "Fancy."

"Well, Miss Fancy-Pants in going down," Alya said, trying the doorhandle. She huffed in annoyance. "It's locked."

Just as Ladybug was about to voice her thought of, 'Welp, guess we better get out of here,' Alya drew lock picks out of her pocket.

The two superheroes gaped at her.

"Alya, what the f—" Ladybug caught herself before she said anything rude. It wouldn't do for a superhero to swear.

"Alya, what the fuck?" Chat, it seemed, had no such qualms.

"Relax, it's fine," the blogger said as she began to pick the lock.

"We're breaking and entering!" Ladybug hissed, for the second time that night.

"No," Alya disagreed. "We're lock picking and entering. That's totally different."

Ladybug turned to Chat for help, hoping he'd be able to talk some sense into their wayward accomplice. However, her partner was still staring at Alya wide-eyed and looking both shocked and slightly impressed. (Ladybug felt the same, but she wasn't about to say that.)

"How do you know how to pick locks?" He asked the blogger.

Alya shrugged. "The internet is a great place."

Chat paused and then rephrased his question. "Okay, why do you know how to pick locks?"

She shrugged again. "You never know when you'll need it." The lock gave a final click and Alya grinned triumphantly. "Like now, for instance," she said, swinging the door open.

They all trooped cautiously into the office. It was deserted and Alya instantly made a beeline to the computer.

Ladybug wrung her hands nervously. "Oh, we're gonna get caught and our reputations will be ruined. Even worse than what this woman has been doing to us. Paris will never trust us again."

Alya's voice cut off her panicking. "She has the office door locked but the computer isn't password protected?" She scoffed in derision. "Amateur."

Ladybug started as Chat put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Bug," he said, his voice low and serious. "It's okay. We're not hurting anyone, we're just gonna get what we need and get out. But this woman? She's been lying about us and our powers. She's been spreading unrest in the city and making people more vulnerable to Hawkmoth. We need to do whatever it takes to make her stop, even if that means taking a risk and breaking and entering."

She sighed, resting her head upon his chest and taking comfort in his presence. She smiled as she felt his arms go around her in a hug. "Thank you, Chaton."

She could feel him smiling against the top of her head. "Any time, My Lady," he replied. His voice, low, steady and full of devotion, made her heart pound in her chest.

Oh no, she thought. Oh no. Nononono. This was not the time for this kind of realisation!

Oh yes, thought the traitorous part of her that'd been feeling something for her partner for months.

Stupid feelings! Stupid cat! Stupid heart! Not now!

Sure, she'd been contemplating her feelings for Chat for months now. Sure, she'd had many a heart to heart with Tikki about it. Sure, falling in love with Chat meant she no longer acted like an idiot in front of Adrien and school was no longer a minefield of embarrassing situations. But this was so not the time! She was in no position to be smacked in the face with the realisation of Holy shit, I love Chat Noir. Not today, not right now, no thank you.

"I've got it!" Alya's voice was a welcome distraction from Ladybug's mental panic. "All her files that prove Renoir has been lying about her reports!"

Chat let her go and Ladybug was reluctant to admit she missed the contact. "So what's our next move?" He asked.

Alya grinned wickedly. "Now we expose her for the world to see."

Marinette had to admit it, Alya knew how to draw in a crowd. All it took was a post on the Ladyblog, a few tweets and people turned up to the park across from Marinette's home in droves.

Ladybug stood behind a podium with a microphone and in front of a large mass of reporters and civilians. She could even see a camera crew or two...or three...or four.

Renoir was there amongst the reporters and Ladybug tried not to glare in her direction (she wasn't entirely sure if she succeeded.) She tried to act natural, though. As if she didn't break into her office the night before (she didn't think she succeeded with that, either.)

Ladybug turned to where Alya and Chat Noir were hurrying around behind her, trying desperately to get the computer and projector working. They had run into technical difficulties right before their conference had been about to start, and it had yet to be resolved.

"Stall them!" Alya hissed at her.

Ladybug turned back to the crowd, who were getting antsy from waiting around. She'd become used to talking in front of them since becoming a superhero, but this was different. This was Marinette making up something in order to stall for time.

Marinette was awful at improvisation. How many times had Alya told her specifically not to improv?

She gulped, drew on her Ladybug courage and spoke into the microphone. "Good morning, everyone. Thank you for coming."

The crowd stood to attention; she tried not to seem as daunted by that as she felt.

"I'm sure you've heard lots of rumours about Chat Noir and I in the papers recently," she began.

That was a good start, right?

"And we're here to clear them up," she continued. "You see, Chat and I are...um," she turned to her two best friends behind her, hoping they would have got the issue sorted and she wouldn't have to keep talking.

They hadn't. If anything, they seemed worse. Alya looked harried and Chat was tangled in computer cords.

"Stall them!" The pair chorused.

Okay, she could do this. Something to stall them. To shock them. To keep them occupied.

Ladybug faced the crowd. "Chat and I are...um...well, we wanted you to know…"

She cleared her throat; her mouth moved before her brain could tell her to stop.

"Chat Noir and I are dating."

The crowd gasped in unison, clearly not expecting the announcement. She would have found it funny if her brain wasn't screaming in protest at her.

That was the worst possible thing she could have said! Well, it wasn't a particularly bad idea, privately, but it wasn't something to announce to the whole city!

The crowd soon got over their shock and began applauding. They clapped, cheered, and hollered. They were so loud, the park seemed to shake.

Ladybug looked helplessly back at her two friends, only to find Alya and Chat Noir staring at her in shock. Chat, still tangled in cords, looked absolutely gobsmacked and Alya abandoned all attempts at fixing their computer problems to scream, "I fucking knew it!"

In a flurry of limbs, Chat freed himself from the cords and walked over to her; this just made the crowd cheer even louder.

He tugged her gently away from the range of the microphone to whisper, "We're dating now, are we? I must have missed that memo, because I'm sure I would have noticed if I was dating someone as beautiful as you, My Lady."

"I'm sorry!" She tried not to let her distress and embarrassment show. "I'm awful at improv!"

They were very close to one another. Her heart was pounding and she flushed when Chat brought a clawed hand up to cup her cheek. "Well," he said, his voice low and smooth and she had to resist the urge to shiver. "I certainly wasn't expecting that, but I'm not going to deny that I like the idea."

Before she could reply, Alya shouted, "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

The crowd took up the chant. "Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

Chat's eyes flickered from her, to the crowd and back. There was a light blush to his cheeks. It seemed like he was finally starting to lose his composure. "W-well, My Lady, I think we have to give the people what they want."

She gave a small shake of her head and rushed to speak before he could assume the worst. "No, Chat, what I want. I want you, and I want us. I mean, I want us to be an us. Oh god, now I'm babbling. But I have feelings for you, Chat. This isn't the best way to tell you, I know, but I have them. I have for some time now, if you'll have me."

Once again, she'd rendered him gobsmacked. "If I'll have you?" He whispered, as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard. "My Lady, I've been in love with you since day one. How could you ever think I wouldn't want you?"

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The crowd would not be denied.

"Chat, I—" but whatever she was about to say was cut off as Chat did exactly what their audience called for.

His lips pressed to hers in a searing kiss. Nothing scandalous, as they were well aware of the hundreds of people around them, but Ladybug still felt like she'd been lit on fire. She felt warm and tingly and so completely gone on her partner, it was amazing she'd only had the realisation she loved him the night before.

The kiss was sweet and tender. The smile that Chat Noir gave her when they eventually pulled apart was even more so.

The crowd went wild. They didn't stop cheering until Alya marched up to the microphone and said, "Okay, okay, I know we're all excited. Believe me, I know, this is the best day of my life. But! We also called this meeting for another very important reason."

Everyone seemed to hold their breath. Ladybug and Chat Noir looked on, ready for Renoir to get her comeuppance.

Alya pointed her out in the crowd. "That woman is a liar and I can prove it!"

Later that afternoon, when they'd finally managed to get away from Alya and the press, Ladybug and Chat Noir sat side by side on a random rooftop. It had taken them a while, but they'd managed to find a secluded rooftop, as everyone that spotted them at their normal places to hang out would let out a cheer, give congratulations and a thumbs up. Here, they were alone and able to bask in the comfort of each other's presence.

They sat with their arms wrapped around each other and Ladybug had her head resting on her partner's shoulder.

"Is today even real?" Chat eventually asked, breaking the comfortable silence that had formed around them. "I feel like this is a dream and any moment now, I'm going to wake up."

She smiled and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "It's real, Chaton. You won me over with your kindness, trust, and even your awful sense of humour. I'm not going anywhere, and when you wake up in the morning, I'm still gonna be just a transformation away."

He slumped in displeasure. "Do we have to hide, though? I don't want to date a mask."

She couldn't deny the appeal of what he suggested. But instead, she asked, "Is that what we are now? We're dating?"

The question brought a grin to Chat's face. "You're the one that told Paris we were."

"Well, a superhero can't go back on her word, can she?"

Chat's grin turned into a full blown, ear-to-ear smile and he beamed at her. "Girlfriend," he said, testing out the word.

"Boyfriend," she returned, before pausing hesitantly. "I...I don't want to date a mask either."

There were so many things that could go wrong with a reveal, but there were so many things that could go right.

"I didn't fall in love with a mask," he told her. "I fell in love with the girl under it. The one who was nervous, but stood up to defend Paris. The one who has my back in fights, no matter what we're up against. The one who will sit and talk to me way after patrol has ended, despite the fact it's far too late for any sane person to still be awake. That girl. Ladybug, whoever you may be under there, I love you."

A blush erupted on her cheeks and his words made her heart pound. But she took a deep breath and said, "Marinette."

She felt him freeze and slowly turn to face her. His eyes were wide and there was a clear question in them: was she saying what he thought she was saying?

She let her transformation drop. "My name is Marinette," she said, "and I love you, too."

Tikki disappeared into her purse, sensing that this was a conversation the two miraculous wielders needed to have alone.

Chat reached out a shaking hand to cup her cheek. His touch was soft, hesitant. As if he thought she would disappear any second.

She reached up to cover his hand with her own and give it a comforting squeeze. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm always gonna be right here, Chaton."

"Adrien," he corrected in a whisper.

It was her turn to freeze. She raked her eyes over him, cataloguing every similarity to another certain blonde that she hadn't noticed until then.

"You've been right behind me this whole time," he murmured in awe, slightly pulling away from her.

Chat's suit disappeared in a flash of green and Adrien Agreste sat in his place. A cat-like kwami appeared out of his ring and went to join Tikki with nothing more than a, "Good luck, kid."

Months ago, Marinette probably would have screamed at such a revelation. Now, she simply smiled at him. "Of course it's you. I don't know why I didn't see it before."

"Because magic!" Chat's kwami piped up from her purse. "And everyone in this city is dumb as f—!"

"Plagg!" Came Tikki reprimanding voice. "We're supposed to be giving them privacy!"

"Right. Sorry," the kwami didn't sound apologetic in the slightest. "Ignore us."

Adrien grinned sheepishly. "That's Plagg. He likes to act like a pain, but he's got a heart of gold, really."

They both ignored the muffled sound of protest that emanated from Marinette's purse.

Adrien moved closer to her, taking her hand and lightly threading his fingers with hers. "I still mean it. I love you, Marinette."

Her reply was instantaneous. "I love you too, Adrien."

He beamed at her. "You love me," he said, awed, like he couldn't believe it was true.

Marinette blushed. "Yes, well, that's nothing new."

Adrien raised an eyebrow. "Considering how you blindsided me at that press conference, I'd call that pretty new."

She shook her head. "No, I mean that I—" she cut herself off with a groan.

"What's wrong?"

"I had a huge crush on you. Adrien-you, I mean. I got over you to fall in love with you all over again!" She collapsed against him, resting her head on his chest with another groan.

He had the audacity to laugh. "Well, that certainly explains months of stammering."

"Don't even, Chaton. Let me be mortified in peace."

"If it makes you feel better, I thought you were too cute and kind your own good," Adrien murmured into her ear. "And do you want to know a secret?"

"Mmm?"

"I really wanted to kiss you when we were filming our class movie."

That confession brought a heavy blush to her cheeks, but it didn't stop her from replying, "I really wanted to kiss you, too."

Adrien stepped even closer to her and his eyes drifted to her lips. "So, if I were to ask…"

Marinette didn't even let him get the question out. She pulled him in for a kiss and lost herself to the sensation of her lips on his.

When they finally separated, Adrien was wearing a dazed and incredibly pleased expression. She felt a thrill of satisfaction knowing that she was the one that did that to him.

"So, you're my girlfriend," he said, when his wits finally returned to him.

"And you're my boyfriend."

"How in the world are we going to explain this to everyone?"

That gave her pause. "I...I don't know."

"Maybe you should leave the story to me, My Lady."

"Okay, but why?"

He smirked and she knew that whatever he was about to say would result in an eye roll.

"Well, if today has taught me anything, it's taught me this: improvisation really isn't your strong suit."