"Mari!" The sound of her name caused the exhausted girl to turn toward the speaker, blood rushed to her face as she saw Adrien approaching.
"Adrien! Hi, A-Adrien," she managed to say as she felt her face heat even more.
Adrien only smiled as he stopped a few feet away from her.
"Hey, are you heading home?" He asked her as he shifted his bag into a more comfortable position on his shoulder. The smile on his face was pure and genuine. Marinette had been crushing on him since the day they had met, it had even bordered on the obsessive for a time, but one thing she learned through the course of stalking him and getting to know him was that he had several smiles. One he reserved for the cameras and was as fake as Hollywood, he gave that smile to the camera but also to people that were annoying him. He also had the pure and gentle smile that currently graced his face, it was that smile that led Alya to give him the nickname sunshine. To Marinette, that smile could light up the darkest of days, and right now it was being directed toward her and her alone. She almost melted on the spot.
She could only nod affirmatively as she was overcome by the brilliance of his smile.
"Great," he said as he grabbed her arm and gently began to lead her across the courtyard. "I missed the beginning of class, and I was going to get the notes from Nino, but Alya dragged him off someplace. Do you mind if I come with you and get them? Maybe we could study together for the math test tomorrow?"
Adrien watched as Marinette's brain short-circuited and she stopped moving, he knew it was mean, but it was wonderful to watch her come undone over something so simple. She had it bad and he knew it, he was going to enjoy making her blush, especially since she was so adorable when she did.
After a moment or two, her brain managed to reboot and process what he said.
"YES!" she said way too loudly, drawing the attention of others leaving the campus. Adrien didn't mind, instead, he smiled brighter, grabbed her arm, and gently led her out of the school.
"Great," he said as he led her, his hand slipping into hers as he lightly pulled her along. "I know that I know most of the precalculus but it's always a good idea to refresh."
Adrien loved the feel of her hand in his, the texture of her smooth skin and her tiny hand as it was cradled in his larger hand was intoxicating. He knew it was something he'd want to feel again, and if his recently enacted plan went correctly, it was a feeling he'd be experiencing for a very long time.
As he led the stunned girl past the gray Sedan he normally rode in he stopped to address his bodyguard.
"I'm going to study at Marinette's house, you may wait here or come inside and enjoy some coffee and pastries at the bakery, my treat."
The Gorilla, as Adrien affectionately called the hulking man, grunted his response. While the sound would be intimidating to anyone else, Adrien could see the twinkle in the man's eyes as he rolled the window up and exited the car, locking it as he escorted his charge and his friend to the bakery just down the street. Adrien could only smile as his bodyguard extended his protection to the girl beside him as well.
Arriving at the bakery he led the small group to a table and got the Gorilla settled, before reluctantly releasing Marinette's hand and approaching the counter to order. He laughed to himself as he watched her just stand there in a daze, his eyes roving over the people in the bakery before finding her parents. They shared a look as he approached the female employee at the counter, his eyes showing joy at Mari's reaction and her parents showing humor at her reaction.
Adrien looked away to place his order, but thankfully he was able to watch Marinette as she remained in her trance, a smile growing on his face. Soon the order he'd placed for the Gorilla arrived and he returned to the table to give the man his treats.
Adrien smiled at his protector as he made sure the man was settled with all the coffee and pastries he could handle before he turned in the direction of Marinette's parents. He could tell they both had smiles on their faces as they watched him interact with both their daughter and his bodyguard.
Marinette, for her part, continued to stand in a daze next to the Gorilla, her mind still processing the day's events. Adrien grabbed her hand and led them toward her parents.
"Mr. Dupain, Mrs. Cheng," he greeted formally, "Marinette has been kind enough to offer me her notes from this morning as I was late due to some business needs. She and I will also be studying some math. If you would be so kind as to make sure my bodyguard is well taken care of, I'd be ever so appreciative and will cover all his costs."
The baker and his wife just smiled at the formality before Tom Dupain replied, his mustache twitching as he attempted to suppress his smile.
"Adrien, what did we tell you the last time you were here? It's Tom and Sabine, you don't need to be so formal with us."
"Yes sir," Adrien replied with a small smile.
Tom laughed and patted him on the shoulder.
"I'll make sure your friend is taken care of," Tom replied as he gestured to the Gorilla and the cup of coffee he was savoring along with a few chocolate-filled croissants. "Sabine will bring up some pastries for you while you study, but remember the door stays open."
"Of course, sir," Adrien replied, "I would never dream of doing anything untoward with Marinette."
At least not yet, his mind added.
Adrien had to suppress a snicker and struggled to keep a straight face as he heard Marinette squeak from beside him. He struggled the hardest to ignore the whispered voice of Plagg calling him a liar.
Tom narrowed his eyes for a moment before he chuckled and shooed the teens up the stairs at the back of the bakery.
Adrien subtly bumped the hand that wasn't holding Marinette's hand into his pocket where Plagg was hiding, hearing the Kwami snicker in response.
He gently led Marinette up the ladder to her room, taking her bag and helping her into a chair so that she could recover from the embarrassment her father threw her into.
"So," Adrien said as he kneeled before her, his backpack slumping to the floor, "shall we get started on homework?"
The poor girl could only nod as she took her bag from her desk and rummaged around in it to pull out her schoolbooks. She eventually managed to shake most of the shock and get the right folders.
Smiling sheepishly at Adrien, she offered him her notes from class that day while she got the math homework out.
Adrien took the offered notes and, much to Marinette's surprise, instead of writing them down, he proceeded to pull out his phone. She had to suppress a gasp when she caught sight of his lock screen, it was a candid picture of her and Adrien pressed against each other and laughing at the antics of Nino. They were clutching onto each other in an attempt to not fall off the ottoman they had been sitting on.
Marinette hadn't even known that Alya had taken the photo.
Adrien caught the gasp and nonchalantly looked at the screen.
"Oh, that was a fun day, wasn't it?" He asked in passing as he unlocked his phone and proceeded to show her the main background, another picture of her and Adrien. This time she did squeak. In this photo, they were definitely posing together for the camera, cheeks pressed against each other and a matching blush on their faces even as they smiled for the camera. They had been out with Alya and Nino after school one day and had just visited the arcade, both he and Marinette were on a high from the dance games they had done together. Alya had told them to pose for the picture as they had stumbled off the mats, both laughing from the enjoyment of the game.
"But I think this is my favorite," he said as he pulled the phone away and smiled at the picture. "You look so cute in that picture." He added as he proceeded to casually load the camera app and take a picture of the notes, saving time in having to not copy them. He'd do that later tonight when he was home alone. He also intentionally ignored the blush that rose to her cheeks when he called her cute, hiding a smile as he turned away from her.
Once he'd taken the picture and made sure it was clear and legible, he returned the notes to Marinette, smiling as he thanked her.
Finding a place on the chaise lounge near her, he took his math work out and turned to look at her.
"I don't know about you, but polar coordinates are giving me a headache."
His smile grew wider when he saw her pull herself from the shock of him being there and from his phone background and being called cute. The smile on her face grew when she realized it was real and not a dream that he was actually in her room, studying math and that she was part of his phone background.
"Yeah," she managed to say as a blush spread across her face, Adrien could only guess where her mind was at the moment. He managed to suppress a snicker as he imagined her envisioning a much different studying session than the one they were currently having, a session in which their lips intimately studied each other. A session that he would not mind having with her.
"Y-yeah," she stuttered as she suppressed whatever fantasy was running through her mind, "yeah, they are confusing."
"Well, let's see how much we can learn," he said as he placed his hand on her shoulder and watched as her brain spun into a 'HE TOUCHED ME' spiral. He gave her a moment to savor it before he gently shook her to get her to refocus.
"Y-yeah," she smiled softly, a blush on her face again, "I know we can get it, together."
"Together," he repeated as he scanned the homework for a good starter problem, stealing a glance at the beautiful young woman next to him as he did.
.o.0.o.
"Hnugh," Nino moaned the next day following class. "I think my brain melted."
"Yeah," Alya agreed as she held her head in her hands, "that math test was brutal."
Alya's eyes rose from where they were contemplating the floor to look at Marinette and Adrien who both looked very pleased with themselves.
"Why do you two look so happy?" The reporter asked as she sat back on the bench to see her friends better. She glanced across the table to where they were sitting next to each other, and for once, Marinette wasn't a stuttering mess, a fact that Marinette would have a hard time explaining if she had realized it. Right now, being so close and comfortable with Adrien just felt so natural, like the study session last night helped break through any barriers she had in her way. Unconsciously she shifted just a tad closer toward him.
Adrien sat up from where he had been leaning against his arm, his gaze directed off into the distance, but secretly watching Marinette.
"Well, unlike you two, we actually studied instead of running off to make out."
Marinette raised a hand to cover her laugh.
"Hey," Alya said with shock at the model's words, but Nino's laughter stopped any further reply.
"Well, he isn't wrong."
"Shut UP, Nino," she said with a blush, her voice rising an octave on the word 'up'.
Marinette and Adrien shared a look before bursting into laughter as Alya's face burned red. Neither noticed as Nino snapped a few pictures of them leaning against each other for support, he'd send them to Adrien later that evening.
"Well," Marinette managed to say through her laughter, "They were too busy studying something else to focus on math."
"I guess they forgot to factor that in," Adrien replied with a grin.
"I don't think they could differentiate between the subjects," Marinette answered back, watching the color deepen on Nino and Alya's faces.
"I do hope they were at least discreet about it," Adrien added before he glanced at Marinette and broke down into laughter. Marinette followed him into the mirth, both having to hold onto the other to stay seated and not fall backward off the bench. Their eyes were both leaking laugh tears by the time they were able to compose themselves and look at their friends.
Alya was almost as red as her hair as she glared at the duo, her arms crossed over her chest. Nino was trying to fight the smile and look as stern as his girlfriend; he was failing miserably.
"When you two finally get together I will have so much fun teasing you," she said.
"I'm counting on it," Adrien answered.
"It'll be the sum of my existence, no matter how irrational," Marinette added, causing both to start giggling again. Alya just threw her hands in the air and collapsed onto the table, her arms folded under her head.
Nino just patted her back as she mumbled against sadistic best friends and their sadistic math puns.
Needless to say, Marinette and Adrien had a hard time not breaking out into laughter again, their lunches were now all but forgotten.
.o.0.o.
Adrien was still laughing that evening as he transformed into his alter ego, Chat Noir. Even as he vaulted from rooftop to rooftop, headed to the Eiffel Tower to meet his partner, he laughed at the fun he'd had with Marinette.
He hadn't expected her to join in on the teasing of Alya, let alone start the teasing, but he had been ecstatic when she had. All of her normal blushing and stuttering vanished in the light of a common target. Adrien grinned as he thought about how she had punned as well as him. Apparently, Alya could dish out the teasing but was completely unable to take it in return.
With a sigh, he knew he was falling more in love with her, which made the love he felt for Ladybug difficult. He knew he loved both, he knew he couldn't have both. He knew that what he felt for Marinette was quickly overtaking what he felt for Ladybug, especially in light of how often she had rebuffed his feelings.
Arriving at the Tower he landed silently on the roof of Mr. Eiffel's old office which had been renamed Gustave's Office. He made his way to the railing and leaned against it as he contemplated the love triangle he now found himself involved in, even if it was more of a V than a true triangle.
Heaving another large sigh, he folded his head down onto his folded arms as he contemplated his love life.
The sound of a weight landing on the roof behind him roused him from his contemplations. Plastering on his best model smile he turned to face his visitor.
"Good evening, my Lady," he said with a grin, the sight of her driving his melancholy away temporarily.
"Good evening, kitty," she replied as she took the place next to him. She was silent for a minute or two, a time which Chat used to redirect his attention out to the city below him. This caught her attention as he would normally be gazing at her with a love-stricken expression.
"What's wrong, Chat?" she asked as the silence extended.
"Hmm?" he replied as his gaze was a million miles away, his eyes unfocused as he seemed to be deep in thought.
"Kitty," she said as she placed her hand on his shoulder and turned him to face her. "I've never seen you this distracted, what's wrong?"
He sighed before slumping back against the railing and turning his gaze toward the sky.
"I'm in love," he said with a sigh as he closed his eyes, thoughts of Marinette came unbidden into his mind, a small smile growing on his lips as he thought of her.
"Well," Ladybug started for a moment before recovering. "I know you love me Chat, you've declared it numerous times, but you know I…"
"It's not you, my Lady," he said softly as he cut her off.
"Oh," she managed, the shock taking a minute to overcome, and she had to squash the small tickle of jealousy she felt creeping up her spine.
"I do still love you, my Lady, I always will," he said as he turned his head to look at her. "But with her, it's just, that she makes me want to be a better person."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?" she asked as she pondered his words.
"It is, but it also isn't, she doesn't know I love her."
"That is a problem," she replied as she watched him.
"Yeah," he replied as he pushed off the railing to approach the radio antenna and slid down its side, pulling his knees to his chest and resting his head on them.
"What brought on these feelings so suddenly?" she asked as she sat beside him, she could tell he was struggling with the sudden onset of the feelings and needed to talk about them. She knew from snippets that his home life wasn't the best and that he didn't have many friends to rely on in his civilian life. Thankfully he had her and he was her best friend as far as she saw it and she'd do whatever she could to help him be happy, even if it was just as a friend.
"Do you remember the last Akuma, the Digger, or whatever his name was?" He asked as he rolled his head on his knees to look at her. She nodded.
"I remember I had to leave before I de-transformed, I looked for you but couldn't find you. I just figured you were about to de-transform too and had already left."
"Do you remember when I got hit and knocked out of the air and disappeared?"
"Yeah," she asked slowly, a small niggling of fear starting to creep into her belly.
"I wasn't just knocked out of the air, my Lady, I was badly injured," he confessed, watching as the fear bloomed fully on her face. She may not love him the way he had wanted her to at one point, but he knew she was his best friend and cared about his well-being.
"How… how bad?" she asked as her hands turned into fists to fight down the fear.
"A punctured lung, internal bleeding, and a deep gash across my belly. I…I died before you could cast the Miraculous Cure."
Both were silent as he turned his face back to his knees, the only sound to escape Ladybug was a shocked gasp.
"I woke up later at home, someone I know found me and took me home. Plagg told me that I was lucky, the Cure doesn't always reverse death. He said I was still alive enough to be healed, a minute longer and I would not have been brought back."
He knew she was shocked; he had been as well at first, but eventually, he came to accept it. Death and injury were all part of the job when he was meant to be her literal shield. He'd give his life to protect Ladybug if it was needed, she was the only one who could reverse the damage of the Akuma attacks. He was replaceable, she wasn't.
"I was knocked unconscious when I landed and de-transformed. I was bleeding out the entire time I was injured, Plagg was eventually able to wake me, but I died shortly after. I don't remember dying, all I remember is being unable to keep my eyes open, but I do remember dreaming while I was unconscious."
"What did you dream?" she asked in a small voice, afraid of the answer. Her fear turned to joy when she saw the truest and most beautiful smile she'd ever seen break out on his face, one that rivaled the sunshine smile of Adrien.
"I dreamed I was marrying the girl of my dreams. At first, she was only shadows and shapes, she looked similar to you, and I thought it was you at first." He laughed a bit before continuing, a moment of mirth amongst the melancholy. "But after I woke and realized I wasn't dead; I was able to start piecing together who it was. It was a girl in my class, I can't tell you who of course, but she is the most beautiful girl I know."
He gave a dreamy sigh as he looked at her, his green eyes bright in the light of the tower.
"She's the most talented, beautiful, caring, compassionate, creative girl I know, and… and she's being bullied by a girl in our class." He added with a sigh, the joy leaving in the wake of that admission.
"What?" Ladybug said, she hated bullies with a passion, Lila and Chloé had been bullying her for a long time and she hated seeing it happen to others, although recently Chloé had been leaving her alone.
"Yeah," Chat said. "The girl bullying her does nothing but tell lies and the entire class eats it up as the gospel. Mar-my friend stood up to her about the lies and now she's had all her friends turned against her in one way or another. Thankfully her best friend and her boyfriend still talk to her, but they've become distant as the lies grow more and more and my friend tries to point them out. They're my friends too, but since I am starting to spend more time with her, they're becoming more distant from me as well. The worst part is that I don't think they even know they are growing distant."
"I see," Ladybug said slowly, what he was describing sounded far too much like her situation.
"I know the other girl is lying," he admitted as he continued to stare at the grating between his knees, not noticing the shock and realization dawning on Ladybug's face. "I told my friend that she needed to take the high road and that the lies would catch up to the liar. But they haven't, I even made a deal with the devil herself to get my friend back into school when the liar got her expelled. But she continued to target my friend in more indirect ways, and as far as I see the deal is off. I want to protect her, my Lady, I love her. I've even been more open with her. We had an amazing time at lunch today teasing her best friend too, she wasn't shy or stuttering, and the puns, oh, her puns were glorious! They were math-related as her friend and her boyfriend decided to make out instead of study for a math test."
Here he stopped and broke out into a laugh again as he remembered the puns, his sadness temporarily driven away by the memories of Marinette.
"It made me so happy to hear her making puns, apparently our friends couldn't differentiate between the subject of math and making out," he told her with a laugh as he wiped a laugh tear from his eye at the memory.
He eventually settled down, not noticing that Ladybug had started to stare at him with a slack jaw.
"But as I said, I don't think they'll be our best friends or even friends much longer, at least, not as long as the liar is still around. Our friends have been confronting me about the lies the liar is telling about me, even when I deny them the liar can twist it to her advantage. But if we do lose them, my friend will always have me by her side, and we don't need them if they are that bad of friends."
He paused to contemplate his next words and how to phrase them.
"I was able to start taking control of my life from my father," he told her as his gaze returned to the skyline in front of him. "I still haven't told my friends that yet. I found a legal loophole to be able to gain more freedom," he gave a small laugh, "father was so shocked when I handed him the documents showing he violated child labor laws, even more, when I practically took the company from him. But I was able to come to an understanding with him regarding my freedoms."
He stopped talking and just stared off into the distance for a moment, Ladybug was still processing all the information she'd just learned, especially the clues he'd unintentionally let slip about his identity. Ironically, the only person in the world who would be able to figure out his identity from what he had just said was her.
"I know I'm rambling my Lady, but my mind is such a jumble, I just need to talk as it comes to me."
He paused as he processed his thoughts, Ladybug was lost in her thoughts as she was putting the pieces together and stripping away the magical glamour to find the boy under the mask.
"Following my realization that I love her, I made a promise to myself that I would protect her, and the first thing I promised to protect her from is the liar. I have a plan, my Lady, to expose her for what she is. I can't tell you what it is, you most likely wouldn't approve, but I am going to utterly destroy her and anyone else who gets in my way. I haven't done the research yet, but I can guarantee that my friend isn't the liar's first victim, and she needs to be stopped before she pushes someone to suicide, if she hasn't already. I know that I've probably said more than enough for you to figure out who I am, but I'm just so tired of hiding who I am. I'm just so lonely, I don't want to be alone anymore."
He buried his face in his knees again as he choked back a few tears.
Her mouth was wide open as she stared at him, unable to process it all. He knew he was giving away his identity, it wasn't an accident, but why was he? Did he want her to figure it out? If so, why?
"Plagg and I had a long talk the other night, we decided that if it comes down to picking between loving my friend or being Chat Noir, I'm going to pick her." He sighed before leaning his head back against the antenna, eyes closed. "If she'll have me that is, I plan on revealing my identity as Chat Noir to her."
Ladybug gasped as he said this, she knew what it meant. He was planning on giving up the Black Cat miraculous.
His emerald eyes turned to her at the gasp, he knew she realized what he was planning.
A small smile graced his lips as he looked at her.
"While I do love you, my Lady, you've made it very clear you only see me as a friend. If I have to give up Plagg full-time to be loved, it's what he and I are both willing to do. He's the first friend I ever truly had, even though he doesn't show it, I know he wants me to be happy." He stopped for a breath and lowered his voice; the seriousness of his next words was palpable. "Even if she doesn't want me, I will give up the miraculous anyway. Plagg told me that the emotions of a Black Cat can be very dangerous, there are many stories of Black Cats' emotions getting the better of them and then turning them bad. I'm sure your Kwami can tell you more, she was the one who had to stop them after all. I don't want you to have to ever need to stop me in that way, so, if she rejects me I'll return the ring before anything can happen, even if she says yes, I'll still return the ring to you. If you decide to find another Chat Noir, Plagg and I will both support your decision."
Chat finally stopped talking, the weight of what he had said hung in the air. He pushed himself to his feet and offered her his hand. She numbly took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet.
He gave a small smile as he raised her hand to his lips.
"No matter what you decide in the future, you will always be my Lady and I will always be your kitty, even if I am just a civilian."
He paused for a moment before smiling sadly at her.
"I don't think I'll be able to patrol tonight, my Lady, I have too much on my mind. I'll catch you later."
He dropped her hand and took a running start to leap off the tower and into the night. Her brain finally caught up to her as he disappeared into the distance.
"CHAT!" she called, but he was already gone.
She collapsed against the antenna for a moment before pulling herself up and slowly making her way home. She had a lot to think about and patrol could wait.