"For after all, the best thing one can do when it is raining is let it rain."
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
VI.
"He's out there, Marinette."
"I know, Tikki."
Of course she knows. If there's anything she's been on top of today, it's knowing Adrien's exact location at all times. It certainly doesn't hurt that she's already memorized his weekly schedule. This intel usually comes in handy for crafting ways for their paths to cross.
This is the first time she's used it to avoid him.
"Cats hate the rain," Tikki sighs from her perch at the window.
Cats hate the rain. Marinette buries her face into her hands. She doesn't think hiding will magically solve all her problems, but she's not above trying. Maybe when she moves her hands away, she'll realize this is all some crazy dream.
Except when she opens her eyes, the world hasn't taken anything back. She's still dodging the unsettling curveball life's thrown at her, one hand gripped on the front doors of Collège Françoise Dupont. Tikki's still watching her expectantly, waiting for her to act a little more like Ladybug.
Tikki isn't the only one waiting. Through rain-fogged windows, Marinette can see him on the steps of the school, umbrella in hand as he patiently endures her meltdown.
"Tikki, what am I supposed to do?"
This wasn't something Tikki wanted for her. It was everything they worked to avoid…but it's happened, hasn't it? It's already done, and the only way out is through
"Marinette."
"Okay, I know, I know."
She knows the answer – they all three do. They all know what must happen, because turning back is not an option she was provided with. Marinette has to open the door eventually and step into the rain. She has to face him. She has to leave her school behind and walk into the uncertainty waiting for her on the steps.
"Be fair, Marinette," Tikki pleads.
"Why are you on his side?"
"Because you're hiding."
"I have my reasons! What am I supposed to do about him? He's...Adrien is…"
The way she would have ended that sentence a few days ago? Adrien is…perfect, wonderful, kind, a sweet cinnamon roll, an angel, etc. Marinette can't even begin to forgive herself for that level of blindness. The embarrassment of it hasn't even fully sunken in.
She would never describe her partner that way. Perfect? No, of course not. But he is so much more. Brave, loyal, dependable, selfless. He is the only person she wants beside her, facing all the dangers Le Papillon sends their way.
She doesn't want anyone else, even knowing what she knows.
"Chat Noir?" Tikki finishes for her, placing a delicate tap to her chin.
"Chat Noir," Marinette agrees.
Just like that, she accepts the truth for what it is – inevitable.
Marinette tightens her grip on the door handle, and twists it open. After all, cats really do hate the rain.
"Here I go, Tikki."
When she meets him on the steps, it's like she's seeing him for the first time. He isn't just Adrien, and he isn't just Chat Noir. He's so much more, a nuanced and complicated friend, a gentle and loyal partner. There is still so much to learn, but it suddenly seems like it will be okay. Even with the rain falling all around, changing everything it touches.
For a moment, they don't speak. Adrien must be feeling the same way, Marinette thinks. Life threw him the same curveball, the same crashing in of two separate worlds. Like him, she is two halves of an unexpected whole.
Carefully, he holds the stem of his umbrella toward her. It is so like that first day and that first rain. It's nostalgic and unsettling and just the littlest bit like tightrope walking. To accept the umbrella is to accept everything – Chat Noir, Adrien, the two halves of her life no longer partitioned.
Everything is so different than she ever imagined, her same world…but inverted.
"It's raining…cats and dogs." It's the kind of stupid joke Chat Noir would have made, but he delivers it with Adrien's smile. Which is Chat's smile now too. And Adrien's terrible sense of humor.
"And bugs?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. Marinette's hesitance there, but it takes all of Ladybug's courage to stay where she is. Which must also then be Marinette's bravery. And even Ladybug can be afraid, just as Marinette can gather the strength to face what's in front of her.
"Those too. Of course." He inclines his head, stepping a closer so they both fit under his umbrella.
"Let's go somewhere…and talk?" Marinette asks, more steady as she places her hand along the curved stem of his umbrella. Their hands bump, careful and tentative.
"I'd like that," Adrien says, and he gets Marinette's smile in return. "After you, m'lady."