Sequel to Day #9: Totally Not a Date.

Set during Netflick movie. Reveal at the Winter Ball. Ladybug doesn't know Adrien is Chat Noir after the final battle.

Ladynoir July 2024

Day #18: Reunion

Ladybug wasn't exactly sure how or why Hawkmoth—aka Gabriel Agreste—suddenly stopped his attack on Paris.

He had her miraculous and was about to take Chat Noir's. She picked herself up again and tried to help him but Hawkmoth had knocked her away and she lost consciousness for a minute. When she came too, she was transformed again and the mysterious man in the trench coat—aka the man she saved from getting hit by a bus—was helping her back to her feet.

Chat Noir looked scratched up a bit but not too bad. And he was hugging Gabriel Agreste.

She was so confused. What had he done to get him to surrender the butterfly miraculous?

After she handed the broach back to the trench coat man, magically repaired all the damage to the city, and seen Gabriel taken in by the police, she met up with Chat Noir. He said he needed to be alone for a minute to feed Plagg and re-transform. To heal a bit and fix his suit.

Ladybug was waiting for him on one of their favorite rooftop spots. She had so many questions for him after hugging him tight. Was he okay? How did he get Hawkmoth to stop so quickly? Why did he hug him?

Chat wanted to tell her everything. About his father being Hawkmoth and that was why he had stopped as soon as he saw half his face after slicing off half his mask. But that would entail telling her who he was. He could barely fathom the fact that his own father had been their enemy all along. Would she think less of him after knowing he was related to their archnemesis?

Plus, now that he was no longer a threat to them or Paris, they could finally do what they had promised that night they had danced in the clouds and shared their first kiss; reveal themselves.

He needed some time to think and process everything that just happened with his father before he could take in anymore earth-shattering revelations.

Hence, while he'd been feeding Plagg, he came up with a plan.

The Winter Ball was just a few weeks away. That would give him time to process and move passed this—hopefully. So, he proposed to his lady that they wear costumes and masks to the ball similar to their super suits. Then, when they meet, just to confirm it's really them—there might be more than a few other people who admire them wearing similar suits and gowns—they'll exchange code phrases.

Chat will say a specific sentence, then Ladybug must reply with another specific sentence. Then they'll know for sure that they are them. Then they will reveal themselves.

~*LB+CN*~

Finally, the night of the ball arrived.

Snow was falling, the perfect amount to set the mood of the festivities.

The last few weeks had been hard for Adrien. Facing the aftermath of his father's crimes against Paris were ugly and messy. But, he was making it through, one day at a time. He still had Nathalie and his friends to help him stay solid. However, he hadn't had any contact with Ladybug since the day of his father's unmasking.

He knew that they had both agreed, since they were no longer needed, that they'd both take a break from being superheroes. Which unfortunately meant no patrols, no sparring sessions, no rooftops dates, and no late night meet-cutes. And worse of all…no kisses.

At least until the ball.

Adrien had had a suit made special. As he had promised, it was black with a few green accents, cat ears, a golden bell pinned in the middle of his green bow tie, and a black mask.

Now in a better state of mind, Adrien was excited for the ball.

Finally, he was going to be reunited with his lady.

~*LB+CN*~

When the night of the ball finally arrived, Marinette was ecstatic. The last couple of weeks had been crazy. She and Chat Noir had completed their mission in defeating Hawkmoth, but the price was steep. She couldn't begin to image the struggle Adrien was going through after finding out his father had been the villain. She and their other friends had tried to be there for him as much as possible and he was doing better, but she still worried about him.

But now it was time to push aside those worries because this was the night she had been waiting for. A night of fun and romance—she hoped.

As agreed, she'd designed and made her gown with ladybug in mind. A red dress with small black polka dots and a swirly design all around the top helm that went off her shoulders, her hair up in a swirly bun, red flat shoes, a white pearl necklace, she even included cute little transparent insect wings hanging from her shoulders. And of course, a red mask with black spots—a bit like her regular mask but fancier.

After so many weeks, she missed her kitty dearly. She wasn't entirely sure why he insisted they wait until the ball to reveal themselves. She chalked it up for the dramatics of the formal ball. It wasn't exactly a bad idea, she just wished they hadn't needed to wait so long.

But now the wait was over. She was going to see him again and see his real face.

Finally, she was going to be reunited with her kitty.

~*LB+CN*~

Arriving at the ball, dressed in his superhero persona inspired attire, Chat Noir spotted at least a few ladies dressed in red with black polka dots.

Great, he thought with a sigh. This was going to be a process of elimination.

"Good evening," the blonde dressed in black said charmingly to a young lady dressed in red.

"Good evening," she replied with a kind smile.

"What a lovely dress. Are you a ladybug or a watermelon?"

The girl's smile fell in confusion. "Excuse me?" she asked.

Chat Noir sighed. Not her. "Sorry. Never mind," he said quickly before walking away.

Chat approached another girl in a red dress with black spots. Her back was to him so he tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and smiled.

"Bonjour. Great suit. You are a big Chat Noir fan?" she asked, admiring his choice of attire.

Chat smirked. "You could say that," he shrugged. "What a lovely dress. Are you a ladybug or a watermelon?"

The girl looked at him with a raised eye brow. "Uh…I'm Ladybug," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Why would anyone think of watermelons for a winter ball? "Half the people here are wearing gowns in her honor," she gestured out to the rest of the room where he could see several more ladies in similar gowns.

Chat sighed again. "Tell me about it," he said miserably. This was going to take a while.

More than twelve girls in red later, Chat grew more and more discouraged. None of them had said the code phrase Ladybug had picked for herself. They had all just looked at him like he was insane.

Ha, Chat smiled while laughing in his head. Insane. That was what Ladybug had called him the night they had met.

And he was. Absolutely crazy…about her.

He just wanted to see her again. Hear her voice, stare into her beautiful bluebell eyes, and hold her in his arms.

As he daydreamed about his lady, Chat found himself passing multiple ladies in red without asking them his code phrase, then stopped at the bottom of the main staircase of the ballroom. He wasn't sure how long he'd been loitering near one of the bottom pillars, but what snapped him out of his thoughts was when others close to the staircase all gasped and looked up at the top of the stairs in awe.

Curious, Chat looked up as well, and his heart stopped.

There, standing tall and proud at the top of the stairs, right in the center, was a young lady with bluenette hair and wearing a Ladybug-themed dress. The best he'd seen all night.

But he knew. Something in his gut told him—or maybe he just thought the mask she was wearing made her look more familiar—that it was her.

As she stood at the top of the staircase, ready to enter the ball, Ladybug stopped as she noticed a bunch of people staring at her. She smiled awkwardly, having not meant to draw this much attention on herself. But she at least hoped it meant that they liked her dress. She'd worked very hard on it after all.

Her eyes wondered the crowd near the bottom of the stairs, until they stopped at the young gent standing the closest by one of the pillars. His black suit was handsome…and he wore cat ears in his golden blonde hair.

And his gorgeous emerald green eyes were staring right at her like she was the moon.

She couldn't know for sure. On her way in, she'd passed at least two or three other gents wearing Chat Noir-themed suits—even a few women in Chat Noir-themed dresses. She of course had stopped to talk to them but they never said the code phrase, so she walked on.

This one could just be another one of them. But something in the way he stared at her told her that it was him. And that he knew that it was her too.

Not breaking eye contact, Ladybug lifted her gown a bit so she could walk down the stairs without tripping on it. She did not need her clumsiness ruining this moment.

Chat watched, absolutely entranced as she descended the staircase. He stepped away from the pillar and closer to the center, right there as she made it to the last step.

When she made it to the floor level with him, they continued to stare at each other. She looked in awe of him, seeing him up closer than before. And now that he was closer, Chat could see her familiar features a lot more clearly.

Yes. This must be her. But, just to be sure…

"Wh-What a lovely dress. Are you a ladybug or a watermelon?" he said for the umpteenth time that evening.

Instead of an odd look, the girl gave him a smile. Then she said, "Well I'm not a watermelon, you fleabag."

Chat smiled back misty eyed. That was it.

"Milady?"

"Kitty."

The two came closer, enveloping each other in a hug.

"I missed you so much," Chat uttered into her neck.

"I missed you too," Ladybug said into his shoulder.

Finally, they were together again.

"You look…ravishing," Chat said to her after pulling away; back to his normal, cocky and suave self.

Ladybug curtsied to him. "Thank you. You look rather dashing yourself," she replied, admiring his formal attire as well.

Chat grinned at the compliment. Then he remembered the main reason they were there. "I'd ask you to dance but, I'd like to take you outside first. I heard the courtyard is vacant and covered in a beautiful blanket of snow," he said, gesturing to a door that lead to said courtyard just a bit across the room.

"Oh," she replied, not sure at first. "Oh," she uttered when she realized what he meant. "Y-You want to do that now? You don't wanna wait until after the ball?" she said somewhat nervously. Why was she suddenly so nervous?

Chat took both her hands in his. "I don't want to wait another minute," he said to her tenderly, looking into her eyes again.

Ladybug blushed, not so nervous anymore.

"Why? Afraid I'll run off at the first stroke of midnight?" she joked.

Chat chuckled. "And run to your carriage before it turns back into a pumpkin."

"A pumpkin carriage? Don't you mean a watermelon carriage."

Chat snorted so loud, he covered his face in embarrassment.

~*LB+CN*~

The courtyard was indeed covered by a thin layer of freshly fallen powder.

The two walked out together, arm in arm, admiring the falling snow as they made their way to the lamppost and trees in the center. They stopped under the lamppost and faced each other, not sure how to proceed.

"So…how do we do this?" Ladybug asked, a bit awkward. This part hadn't been part of their discussion from weeks ago.

Chat pondered for a moment. "We could just…take off our masks at the same time," he suggested. Since they weren't transformed, it was the only thing that made sense.

Ladybug nodded her head. "Y-Yes. Yeah, l-lets do that," she stuttered.

Chat saw her hands shake a bit as they began to reach up for her mask. So he gently grasped them in his before she could.

"Ladybug," he said to her with gentle concern. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I-I'm just…" she said but cut herself off while glancing down. "…nervous." She hated that she was but she couldn't help it. Yes, she was anxious and eager to show Chat who she was and see his face too but…there was still some lingering doubt that he'd still love her afterwards. Under this mask, she was just plain, scared, Marinette.

Ladybug doesn't exist without you. Tikki's words echoed in her mind whenever her doubts came back.

Ladybug was great because Marinette was great.

"Hey," Chat snapped her focus back to him as he tilted her chin back up to look at him. "Don't be nervous. It's just you and I," he said sweetly, smiling at her.

Warmed by his words and remembering Tikki's made her smile back, not so nervous anymore. "You and I," she repeated.

"On the count of three?" he asked, beginning to reach up for his mask.

Ladybug nodded and, with not so shaky hands, reached for hers too.

"…1…" she whispered, pinching the corners of her mask.

"…2…" he whispered, pinching the corners of his.

"…3," they both said together, and removed them at the same time.

Both gasped as the masks fell carelessly from their hands.

"Marinette?" he uttered, recognizing his sweet classmate and friend instantly. She had been his amazing lady this whole time? It was too good to be true.

"Adrien?" she whispered in shock. How could she be so lucky? The boy she was in love with and the boy she sort of liked…had been the same boy all along?

Adrien's face went from surprised to tearfully overjoyed as he reached up and cupped her maskless cheek.

"I was right," he whispered. "You are even more beautiful without your mask."

Tears came to Marinette's eyes as she covered his hand with hers and leaned into his touch.

Just like that night, he took her hand and waist and lead her in a dance. They couldn't hear any music this far from the ballroom, but they didn't care. They just leaned against each other and swayed around in slow circles. Just happy to be reunited and able to stand together again, but without their masks.

Glad I got to write something to do with the ball/reveal scene. So cute!

Next chapter will be the 22nd. =^.^=