Something that I should probably mention before we go any further is that I intend to write another version of this story, eventually. In this version, it's Adrien going to the universe of the movie. In the other one I want to write, it'll be Marinette. I can already picture the two situations going very differently, considering the different amounts of information they have.
Chapter 3-In Costume and Out
After staging the picture for Marinette to give to Alya, both Cat Noirs headed straight for the Agreste mansion.
"I was at home when I saw the news alert about Cat Noir appearing near the Eiffel Tower." the older Cat Noir explained as they approached the mansion by rooftop. "And I left to check it out after I transformed, so we should be able to sneak inside without any trouble."
Much as he did in his own universe, the local Adrien must use his window as his entry and exit point, because the corresponding window was open as the pair arrived. Pausing to check that no one was in the room, the taller Cat Noir crawled through the window and then motioned that the coast was clear.
"Claws in." two voices chimed.
The local Adrien motioned toward the bed. "I don't mind sleeping on the couch." He said in a quiet voice. "I'm guessing you're pretty out of it."
The shorter of the pair grinned. "Thanks, but I don't think I'll be getting much sleep tonight. I kind of had a bomb dropped on me earlier."
"Yeah, I kind of picked up on that by how you were looking at Marinette." said the local Adrien, discomfort in his voice as he walked to his dresser and started to change into pajamas. "And you seemed really surprised that we knew each other's identities. I'm guessing you didn't know?" He held a set of spare pajamas to the out of towner, who held up his hand in a polite refusal and flopped onto the couch. Clearly determined to be a good host, the taller Adrien grabbed a spare blanket from his closet and tossed it over the back of the sofa.
Looking around the room, the shorter of the two Adriens smiled as he saw how similar it was to his own version of their room. It was mostly the same, with only small differences around them. One such difference was a picture frame on his counterpart's desk, showing a well done photograph of Adrien (this universe's Adrien) with his arms around Marinette from behind. Both the wide smiles on their faces and the cozy embrace in the picture made it clear their status as a couple.
"No, I didn't. But someone else did." the shorter Adrien admitted, staring at one of the two black kwamis floating in the room. The pair had gone straight for cheese that had been sitting out on the table after their holders had de-transformed. The one he stared at was attempting to be unobtrusive, as if he had anticipated the upcoming conversation.
No one spoke for a while after these words, and the silence dragged on until it became very unpleasant. At least, it was unpleasant for two of the room's occupants. One human had a very intrigued expression on his face and one black kwami appeared soundly indifferent to the situation. On the other hand, the other human maintained a frustrated expression and the other black kwami kept fidgeting.
Eventually, the uncomfortable kwami cracked. "Ok, ok, I know you're angry at me, but what was I supposed to say? You know how it works! I couldn't say her name, and both Ladybug and Master Fu were always insistent on keeping secret identities a secret."
"Maybe so." Adrien grumbled. But he wasn't ready to admit defeat. "But I refuse to accept that you couldn't have figured out a way to let me know. It would have been one thing if my Ladybug had been someone I didn't know. But you knew she was a close friend of mine, and you knew from the start that I wanted to know who she was. There had to be a way for you to at least point me in the right direction. Or give me some kind of warning after she and I started dating."
The taller Adrien, sitting on his bed, looked satisfied at that last statement. He'd probably been planning to ask about that, Adrien thought.
"Perhaps," the kwami admitted, "but from the start, you wanted her to be the one to tell you who she was of her own free will, didn't you? You could've found out several times, but you always chose to respect her wishes. And for the record, the fact that you always made that choice is part of how I've always known Master Fu was right to choose you to be my holder. Like a perfect cheese board to hold the finest camembert."
Adrien hesitated. If Plagg was comparing the situation to cheese, then he was probably being honest. He knew the kwami was trying to pacify him with that compliment, but he had to admit there was some truth in Plagg's words. There had been multiple times where he could have witnessed Ladybug's de-transformation, or taken advantage of her being under the spell of one akumatized villain or another.
"As for your relationship with Ladybug, Tikki and I agreed that it was better to keep out of it. I mean, you fell for Pigtails because of who she is, not who she might be, right?"
"Then can you at least confirm that my Marinette is my Ladybug?" Adrien begged. "We just witnessed this universe's Marinette become Ladybug, so you should at least be able to do that much, right?"
"The fact that you need me to confirm it is why I can't confirm it." the kwami argued, floating to land beside his holder's head. "But I'll say this much. How much is your Marinette like this world's Marinette? And how much is your Ladybug like this world's Ladybug?"
Adrien could tell that Plagg was trying to be cooperative while still acting under the restrictions that bound him, but he still wasn't happy about the situation. There was nothing to be gained by arguing with his kwami further however, so Adrien decided to drop the matter. At least for the moment.
Patting Plagg on the head as a gesture of understanding, he turned toward his counterpart to apologize for having that argument in front of him, only to let out an amused snort. Both his counterpart and Plagg's were fast asleep on the bed. His counterpart hadn't even bothered to get under the covers.
Adrien didn't think he'd be able to get much sleep that night, but he pulled the blanket over himself and leaned back on the couch anyway. There was a lot for him to process in knowing Ladybug's presumed identity. It wasn't as if he'd ever really stopped loving Ladybug either; he had merely accepted that she hadn't wanted to be with him and recognized his feelings for Marinette. How would this affect their relationship, as partners or as a couple? How would he need to act moving forward to protect their identities? Did he dare reveal that he knew her identity? And most troubling to him, at least in that moment, what were Marinette's feelings for Cat Noir?
He didn't know why that last question bothered him the most. After all, Marinette clearly loved him as Adrien, and she obviously valued his friendship as Cat Noir. But Ladybug had also turned him down so many times romantically as Cat Noir, and that felt like it was important. She may have held an interest in Cat Noir for a time, but that was only for a short while, compared to the many times he'd expressed an interest in her. And he was starting to have an inkling as to what may have motivated her interest in Cat Noir, now that he knew her identity.
While sleep did eventually come to the troubled young man, it was only after hours of restless contemplation with thoughts, worries, and hopes related to his lady swirling in his head.
As sunlight started to creep through the windows of the Agreste mansion, the slow breathing of two teenage boys of the same name were the only sounds to be heard throughout the home. Most of the building was empty, a reflection of Gabriel Agreste's reclusivity, and that allowed the tiniest of sounds to be heard by anyone who was listening carefully. But for the moment, all was peaceful.
Until the alarm went off.
Both young men bolted upright at the sound of the clock beside the bed. The teen on the bed scrambled to shut off the alarm before collapsing back onto the bed.
"Do you always set the alarm to go off so early?" The guest Adrien asked, rubbing his eyes. "I don't usually get up before seven. Especially on the weekends."
"Sorry, man." the boy on the bed yawned, stretching. "I try to always wake up before Natalie. Just in case."
"Just in case of what?"
Getting off the bed, the taller boy made a dismissing gesture with his hand as if to say, Don't worry about it. "Marinette's probably up already too, she jogs a few times a week, and almost always on the weekends. Let me text her then sneak you some breakfast." he said, grabbing his phone. "She can show you the theater and I can follow afterward. I don't mean to kick you out at the crack of dawn, but…"
"But better that both of us aren't seen together, unless one of us is in costume. No worries, I get it." the shorter boy finished, unconcerned. "If you can just grab me a banana or something, I can eat that on the way."
"Can do." the local Adrien confirmed.
"Good morning, Adrien." a voice called from the hallway outside the room.
Both boys froze. The taller of the pair thawed first and held up a finger to his lips while facing his counterpart, then answered. "Good morning, Natalie. I'll be down after my shower."
"Excellent, shall I set out breakfast for three?"
Again, the pair inside the room froze. "Three?" the local Adrien questioned, his voice shifting to a higher pitch. "What are you talking about?"
"I heard your voice a moment ago. It sounded like you were having a conversation." Natalie's voice answered, through the door. "I assume we have a guest?"
"No, no!" the local Adrien argued, perhaps too quickly. "I was just talking to myself." This prompted an amused look on the shorter of the teens.
No response from the hallway.
"I promise you, I was just talking to myself!"
The out of town Adrien looked questioningly at his counterpart. The taller Adrien's reddening face looked less worried about his double being discovered and more…embarrassed?
"Of course." a clearly unconvinced Natalie responded. "I'll make sure to set out jam for toast. Strawberry is Marinette's favorite, correct?"
As Natalie's footprints drew steadily softer, it clicked into place. As the taller Adrien turned to face his younger counterpart, a very embarrassed face met a highly amused, and impressed, one.
"It's not what you think!" the embarrassed Adrien whispered.
The amused Adrien didn't answer, but he could feel his expression shifting to more of a smirk.
"I'll explain later, but you have to go. She might actually come in next time." the flustered Adrien instructed, pointing to the window. "I'll text Marinette and have her meet you on the roof."
Shaking with suppressed laughter, the younger boy whispered. "Plagg, claws out!"
About twenty minutes later, Ladybug swung to the Agreste mansion, a pack slung over her shoulder. Jumping to the roof, she found Cat Noir lounging on his back, his eyes closed. She would probably have thought him asleep if he hadn't been humming to himself.
Cracking an eye open, Cat Noir grinned at her. "Good morning, m'lady." He frowned, cocking his head to the side. "Actually, that's probably the wrong term, isn't it? After all, you're not my Ladybug, so you couldn't be my lady, now could you?"
Ladybug giggled. "Good morning, Kitty." she paused. "Do you really call her that?"
"Sure do." Cat Noir replied. "She always found my affection annoying, but she at least let me call her that."
"So why did we need to do this so early?" Ladybug asked, stretching and pulling out a cereal bar and tossing it to Cat Noir. He gave her a grateful smile and started unwrapping it to take a large bite. "All I got from my Cat Noir is that I needed to come over to pick you up right away."
"Natalie overheard us talking this morning." Cat Noir replied, finishing his cereal bar and putting the wrapper under his belt to throw away later. "Of course, she just assumed there was only one Adrien in the room, but the other me was worried she might come into his room and wanted to make sure she didn't spot both of us at the same time.
"In that case, let's head to the theater," Ladybug suggested, giving Cat Noir a friendly smile. "I have a lot of things I want to ask about you and your Ladybug. I think things worked out really differently for you than it did for us." She turned and made a gesture over her shoulder for him to follow her. "You told us a lot about how things happened with you both as superheroes, but I'm dying to hear about how other things happened between you two out of costume." Ladybug winked at him as she jumped to the next roof.
Cat Noir grinned and followed her. "Well, if you mean to ask whether I'm dating a certain baker's daughter in my universe, then the answer is yes." He could somehow read satisfaction, even exaltation, in Ladybug's posture as he continued to follow her across rooftops. But then he added, "Of course, we haven't gotten to the point where she's spending the night in my bedroom, but things are good between us."
At that comment, Ladybug stumbled, almost tripping over a chimney cone. After recovering her balance, she looked back at Cat Noir, a nervous grin forced onto her face. Cat Noir just offered a relaxed smile. "Anything you'd like to share about that subject, not m'lady?"
Ladybug coughed. "We try not to talk about ourselves in the open; in fact we really shouldn't have done that last night with you. We're almost to the theater, let's talk there." She turned and jumped to the next roof before the hero in black could answer.
Shaking his head, Cat Noir jumped after her.
A few blocks further along, they reached a building with a small tower on top. Heading to the very tip of the tower, Ladybug dropped through an opening into a large room. Extending his staff to slow his fall, Cat Noir followed her, and found himself in the middle of a large amphitheater with a red curtain stage, complete with Piano, before him.
Looking around, Cat Noir could see it was the setting of a classical performance stage. The piano suggested it was for musical concerts, but likely it held plays and other shows. Or it had, years prior. The considerable amount of dust on the seats and general state of disrepair gave the impression that the building was not in use. The main walkway to the stage appeared dust free however, so someone, and Cat Noir suspected who that might be, came and went regularly.
"What is this place?" he asked Ladybug curiously.
She looked down at him from the stage. "I'm guessing you don't know about this place in your universe?"
Cat Noir shook his head, and Ladybug smiled. "Adrien's mother, well, my Adrien's mother used to perform here. I don't know about yours, but she was an actress here."
"Yeah," Cat Noir smiled. "She did movies sometimes back in my universe." He remembered the time he had gone to the movies with Marinette, completely by happenstance, in an effort to watch the movie his mother had starred in.
"Well, my favorite kitty brought me here one night to perform for me." Ladybug gestured to the piano. "It was kind of our first date. And this sort of became our safe house. Outside of our rooms, it's pretty much the only place we feel safe enough to talk openly. Awesome huh?"
"It is awesome." Cat Noir agreed, nodding. "But not so awesome that I'm going to forget what I asked you on the way over here." He smiled innocently at her, as she winced and gave him a nervous smile.
"I'm not sure I know what you mean."
Cat Noir's smile grew. If she wanted to play games about this subject, then that was fine with him. "Well, like I said, Natalie overheard me talking to your Adrien this morning, and she could tell it was a conversation of some sort. She assumed your Adrien had a guest over and for some reason, she assumed it was you. And I have to wonder why she would make that assumption instead of guessing it was Nino or someone else." Cat Noir paused. "Are they…?"
"Best friends." Ladybug answered the incomplete question with a smile. "Adrien said Nino was the most supportive person in his life before he met me."
"Sounds about right." Cat Noir admitted. But then continued, "But I can't help but wonder if there's a specific reason as to why Natalie would assume it was you, in his bedroom, first thing in the morning. I mean, having you stay over wouldn't be that unusual. But there are a lot of guest rooms in that mansion, at least, there are in my universe. So either Natalie knows one or both your identities..."
"She doesn't." Ladybug interrupted. Cat Noir could see a small amount of panic in her expression. She knew she was cornered.
"Which really only leaves the possibility that something happened to make her think that Marinette Dupain-Cheng could be found in the bedroom of Adrien Agreste at around seven in the morning." Cat Noir concluded, his smile bigger than ever.
Ladybug sighed and dropped her head, admitting defeat. "There might have been an incident a while back.
"I demand details." Cat Noir insisted, leaning against the stage, looking up at her, his expression eager. He realized how much of a gossip he was acting like at the moment, but he also knew this wasn't anything he was going to tell anyone about. Except possibly his own Marinette, eventually.
"It's not what you're thinking." Ladybug insisted back. "Honestly, you're blowing this all out of proportion. We'd been in his room one night, talking about books and movies and stuff like that, and we just fell asleep."
Cat Noir raised an eyebrow.
"On his bed." Ladybug admitted slowly. "But that was it! Nothing else happened. I swear! We'd left the door open and Natalie even walked into the room that night and saw us together. She even took a picture for proof. Of course, she thought to use it to give us a scare instead of just waking me up."
"Give you a scare? How'd she do that?"
"Adrien always said she didn't have much of a sense of humor, but after that night, I don't buy it." Ladybug grimaced. "She took that picture of us and then called my parents."
"Uh oh."
"Exactly. She entered his room to wake us up the next morning, acting like everything was completely normal, and invited us down for breakfast. Where my parents were waiting."
Cat Noir let a gasp out through his nose. His eyes were wide and he held his fist over his mouth.
"They all acted like it had been some kind of expected event." Ladybug continued. "Like we'd all planned to have breakfast together that morning. Completely casual. None of them ever said a word about us falling asleep, but I think they were just trying to make us sweat, you know? And it really worked on your counterpart."
"I bet it did." Cat Noir agreed, shuddering.
"We didn't get in trouble for it or anything. It was like they wanted us to know that they weren't mad but were watching us now and that we shouldn't try to get away with sneaking over." Ladybug hesitated. "Not that we've let that stop us." she added with a grin.
Cat Noir just grinned in mild disbelief.
"Nothing's happened." Ladybug emphasized. "We're taking things slowly, which I hope you and your Marinette are doing the same." she added with a pointed glare. "But I actually woke up before Natalie came in that morning. At first I panicked, since I realized what must have happened. But then I realized Adrien, my Adrien, had his arms around me while I was asleep. And I realized I really liked the way that felt."
"So?" Cat Noir pressed.
"So, I may have told him that I really liked it, and I may have suggested we try that another few times, and I may have spent a night or two in his arms, after that first time." Ladybug admitted, looking to the side, a mixture of embarrassment and joy in her voice. "It took a while before Adrien agreed; like I said, he was really spooked by that breakfast stunt. We've just had to be extra careful to avoid getting caught."
Cat Noir whistled, sharing a look of impressed amusement that he'd shown his counterpart earlier that day.
"It's been completely innocent, like I said," Ladybug insisted, but then her face grew soft. "But feeling that close to him, being held by him…There's nothing else like it."
She took a long breath, a look of deep reminiscence on her face.
"I'm flattered that you were willing to tell me all that." Cat Noir admitted, after a brief silence. "I hope things go that well with me and my Marinette.
"Well," Ladybug replied, "I kind of wanted to talk to you about things with you and your Marinette, so I figured it would help if I broke the ice." she paused for a moment and then added quickly "Plus you'd figured out that I'd spent the night, and it was better than letting your imagination run wild."
Cat Noir laughed. "Good point."
"Spots off."
"Claws in."
Marinette passed a pastry to Tikki and a cheese roll to Plagg from her pack.
"So what did you want to talk about?" Adrien asked. "I mean, this is a golden opportunity for me. I have a chance to ask an alternate version of my girlfriend for advice on being with her. So if there's anything I can tell you to help with the other me…" he trailed off.
Before answering, Marinette checked her phone. "Looks like my Adrien won't be joining us for a while. Natalie appears to be convinced that I'm hiding somewhere in the mansion, so she isn't letting him out of her sight."
Adrien laughed. He had experienced similar events with the Natalie in his own universe. "Things might have happened a little differently here, but it seems like everyone is mostly the same."
"That's actually what I wanted to ask you about." Marinette muttered, so soft that Adrien barely caught it. "Like you said, you're pretty much the same as my Adrien, I can tell. And you said before that you and your Marinette are together."
Adrien nodded, wondering what she wanted to ask him.
Marinette sat back down on the stage, her legs swinging over the side of it. Stepping up to join her, Adrien positioned himself likewise.
"I'm sorry if this is rude, but judging by the way you reacted last night, you didn't know I was Ladybug until I transformed, did you?"
"No, I didn't." Adrien admitted. "Until I go back and confirm it, I can't say 100% for certain that my Marinette is my Ladybug, but judging by how much you and she are alike, in appearance and personality, I can't see any other possibility. Half of me feels like an idiot for not figuring it out sooner, and the other half of me is over the moon to find out that I'm with a girl that I fell for twice."
"Don't beat yourself up about it." Marinette advised. "I was always careful to keep my identity a secret, so I'm sure she was too." she paused and something Adrien had said registered. "Wait, twice? You fell for her as Ladybug and Marinette?"
Adrien grinned. "It seems so ridiculous to think about, but yeah."
"How did that happen?" asked Marinette.
"Well," Adrien started, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not really sure when I started to fall for my Marinette. From what everyone has told me, she was crazy about me for a long time, but I had no idea. I thought her acting strange and nervous was just how she was. But it turns out that was only how she was around me." He sighed. "There were a couple of times that I thought she was interested in me, but she kept denying it. But over time, I realized how special she is." Adrien smiled and looked to the girl beside him. "I think that's more of a testament to how thick headed I can be, than anything else."
"Not thick headed." Marinette disagreed. "Just dealing with the same insecurities that everyone deals with. My Adrien? He told me that he worried more than once about how he thought it would be impossible for me, Ladybug, to fall for him, as Adrien or Cat Noir. And to give you some perspective, that was possibly the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard. But as for your Marinette, if she's the same as me, then she probably had a really hard time telling you how she felt."
"You have no idea." Adrien remarked, recalling everything he and his friends had done to try and make that process easier for Marinette. "I actually told Marinette how I felt first, and then we sort of gradually worked our way to becoming a couple. It took us a while, but it was worth it."
Marinette smiled. "And your Ladybug?"
"Oh, her I fell for almost immediately." Adrien laughed. "Her bravery, her confidence, her passion to help people. She stole my heart without even trying."
"I know a certain baker's daughter in this universe who could say the same in regards to a certain young gentleman." Marinette quipped. "I suspect you do as well."
"It's probably the reason why it took me so long to realize how I felt about my Marinette. I was just so crazy about Ladybug." Adrien leaned back onto the stage to face the ceiling. "I tried to play it cool with Ladybug at first. I put on what I like to call my 'charming kitty-cat act' with her."
Marinette rolled her eyes at that, her hand going to her head, and she gave him a withering smile.
"Yeah, that didn't work too well." Adrien admitted. "So then I tried to be direct with her, and let her know how I felt. And she didn't seem to mind that, but she told me she was in love with someone else at the time." Adrien laughed as the reality of that situation fully hit him. "Three guesses who that must have been."
Marinette laughed as well. "I'm familiar with that situation."
Adrien sat back up again and faced her. "It wasn't like I ever really stopped loving Ladybug, even when I fell for Marinette. But she wasn't in love with me, well she was, but neither of us knew that," he babbled. "So I wanted to leave her be and follow my heart to the other girl that had stolen it."
Finishing his story, Adrien noticed that Marinette had gotten up to pull more food out of her backpack. Offering him a few pastries, she bit into something that smelled delicious. He took them gladly, and after a few bites, commented, "In any universe, the best baker in Paris is undisputed. And I'm not the Adrien that's dating you, so you know I mean it."
Marinette almost choked on whatever she was eating from laughter.
Thinking it best to continue the conversation after they'd eaten, Adrien fell quiet.
He wasn't sure what Marinette was thinking about, but talking about the whole situation had brought back up the events where he had first started to realize his feelings for Marinette. That had happened right after Felix had stolen the miraculous from Ladybug, who he now knew was Marinette. She had given the dog miraculous to Felix, thinking he was Adrien. She had given Adrien the Snake miraculous before, and now that he knew Marinette was Ladybug, and that Marinette had been in love with him, it wasn't hard to guess why Marinette had tried to give him a miraculous both times. And given the result of the second try, he was starting to get an clearer picture of why both Marinette and Ladybug had acted so differently toward Cat Noir after they had lost the miraculous.
"Why did you want to know about all that?" Adrien asked, after Marinette had swallowed her last bite.
"Well, I got a little nervous last night, as you were telling us about your universe, and how things went down differently there."
"Why?" inquired Adrien.
Marinette fidgeted. "It's just...". She didn't continue. It seemed like she didn't know what to say.
"Hey, ask whatever you want. I promise, no judging." Adrien interjected. "You gave me a pretty great gift last night, and if I can help things work out between you and my counterpart as a thank you, then I'm all for it. Plus, there's something I'd like to ask you later, too."
Marinette perked up at that. "What do you want to know?"
"I'll tell you," Adrien promised, "after I answer your question."
Marinette took a deep breath. "Did adding more members to the team change things between you and my counterpart?"
Adrien hesitated. He wasn't sure why she'd want to know about that, but he gave her a straight answer. "It did." Adrien admitted. "But probably not in the way that you're thinking."
Marinette just looked at him, confused.
"After we added more people to the team," Adrien explained, "Ladybug started relying on me to help less and less. This was after she became guardian. She was trying to put less pressure on each of us individually and give us all time off. But I didn't like that, I liked being Cat Noir. It gave me the chance to be around her and to escape from being Adrien."
Marinette nodded. "My Adrien feels that way about being Cat Noir too."
"She started putting some distance between us, and started treating another member of the team as her partner, more than me." he continued, recalling unpleasant memories, and looking up. "I don't like to think about that time too much. But it put a rift between us. It's part of how the miraculous got stolen."
If he hadn't tilted his head back, he might have caught the narrowing of Marinette's eyes in that moment. But he continued. "When my Ladybug recovered the miraculous, we brought the full team back. And things have been pretty good since then. I think she learned to trust and rely on me more when we lost the team, so she knows that I'm someone she can count on, no matter what. And in fairness," he admitted, "I'm a lot less jealous than I was before." Adrien looked over to Marinette. "Why did you want to know?"
"It's just," Marinette began, "I'm a little worried about what will happen if we add more people to our team. Specifically, what will happen if we add more girls to the team." she admitted.
Ah.
"I haven't heard the details yet, but I'm guessing things worked out a little differently for you two than they did for me and my Marinette?" Adrien asked softly.
"Very differently." Marinette confirmed. "I don't think my Adrien ever really felt very strongly for me. Me as Marinette." she clarified. "I'm not complaining, we were friends out of costume, and I don't doubt for one second that he loves me. But he fell for Ladybug, who just so happened to be me. But if we add more girls to the team, would I not stand out as much? Would I not seem as impressive?" Marinette fretted, and Adrien wondered how she was talking so fast and breathing. "And I'm worried if other members of the team might, I don't know, catch his eye."
I think I'm starting to understand why Marinette had so much trouble confessing her feelings to me. Adrien thought. Out loud, he promised, "They wouldn't."
Marinette looked at him.
"I mean it." he said. "Having other members of the team in my universe didn't change how I felt about my Ladybug at all. Sure, I may have flirted a little once or twice, partly in an effort to make my Ladybug jealous, but no one on the team really made my head spin or my heart pound like she did."
Marinette didn't look completely convinced. "I mean it." Adrien repeated. "It wasn't that she was a superhero that made me fall for her. It was the fact that Ladybug was that superhero. That she had the kind of heart that she did is what made me fall for her. In a way," Adrien added, realizing something, "maybe that's how I fell for my Marinette too. Maybe it's just because I finally realized she had the same kind of heart as Ladybug."
"So you it's really the girl you fell for, both times?" Marinette asked.
"I think it must have been." Adrien confirmed. "Which means that your Adrien would absolutely have fallen for you, once he'd seen the real Marinette."
"I believe you." Marinette replied, taking a deep breath. "My Adrien told me that it was the girl behind the mask that he fell for, even before he knew who I was, but I'm worried. I fell for both Adrien and Cat Noir, despite my best efforts, I promise. But since he only fell for Ladybug, I'm not sure if it will be the same for us if we expand the team, since he only fell in love with one side of me."
"I don't think it'll be a problem, but you should talk to my counterpart about it. If he's as thick headed as I am," Adrien chose the words specifically to try and reassure Marinette, "then there's a good chance that he'll do something, completely unintentionally, that upsets you without realizing it. Best way to prevent that is to make your feelings clear. Tell him you're worried. You never know, maybe he's worried about what will happen with more boys on the team. Like I said, I was jealous that my Ladybug was calling on other heroes instead of me."
Marinette shook her head. "He knows that I fell for Adrien first, and then fell for Cat Noir, but chose to pursue Adrien. You might be right, but I don't think he's worried about that." She smiled. "But thank you, I'll talk to him."
Adrien tried not to show it, but he felt a little troubled at her words. He still didn't know how his Marinette felt about him as Cat Noir, so he could understand where she was coming from.
"Hey, if you're really worried, you could always make Chloe a miraculous holder after all." Adrien forced a grin, trying to reassure her and take his mind off of his concerns.
Marinette didn't speak, she simply glared at him.
His grin widened, becoming more sincere. "Hey, you know that he'd never fall for her. I can guarantee you that one."
Marinette tried not to smile at that, but she didn't succeed.
Suddenly, part of Marinette's previous statements sank in. "Wait, you fell for him in and out of costume, like I did with my Ladybug?" Adrien asked. Marinette nodded. "Okay, I need to hear this story. It's kind of what I wanted to ask you about. How did that play out?"
She shrugged. "Probably not that different from your Marinette when I fell for Adrien. I managed to work up the courage to ask him to the masked ball we had last winter. Unfortunately, that was the day after Cat Noir lured Ladybug to this very stage." Marinette waved her hand across the stage to the piano. "To offer a gift of his affection, and perform for me." she glanced at him. "Did you ever try anything like that?"
"I tried the big romantic gesture, although without the piano." Adrien confirmed. "But that was when she first told me she was in love with someone else, so she turned me down."
"That's kind of how things went with us too." Marinette confessed. "But that was also the night that I realized I was falling for Cat Noir too. We'd had a few moments before that, but something about that night…" Marinette closed her eyes and smiled, remembering. A moment later she continued, "something changed that night, and I saw him differently. I could see how much he adored me and it made me feel the same way my Adrien always had." She frowned. "Of course, I just had to turn him down, which broke his heart completely. Which is why Adrien turned me down for the ball the next day, breaking my heart in turn."
"Ouch." Adrien muttered.
"It all worked out in the end, obviously. I'll show you some pictures from that ball if you want. Everyone thinks we were a cute couple that night." Marinette added. "But I don't understand why you're stressed. You and she fell for each other out of costume; she fell for the real you. You don't have anything to worry about."
Adrien gave a hollow laugh. "My Marinette may love Adrien, but my Ladybug was more than a little annoyed by Cat Noir's attempts at wooing her. I don't know how she'll react to finding out we're one and the same." He paused. "And I can't say it's the real me she fell for. Cat Noir is a big part of who I am too."
Marinette smiled. "Trust me, she won't complain."
Adrien shook his head. "It's not the same. You were attracted to both sides of him. For a little while there, she seemed interested in Cat Noir, but-"
"There you go!" Marinette exclaimed.
"But I don't think it was that simple." Adrien continued, undeterred. His thoughts returned to Ladybug's behavior after losing the miraculous. Shaking his head again, he said, "I think she was trying to bury her feelings for me, after being so afraid for so long. Me as Adrien, I mean. But even if she was interested for a little while, she was annoyed and angry with Cat Noir so many times. I'm just not sure how she'll react."
Marinette placed her hand on his shoulder. "If she saw your real heart, Adrien's heart, through the Cat Noir costume, then trust me, she cares for him too. Even if she didn't recognize Cat Noir as Adrien, she would have seen the kind of person you are, like I did with my Cat Noir. You might want to quit the 'charming kitty-cat act' around her." (Adrien grimaced.) "But if your Marinette is anything like me, then she has feelings for her Cat Noir too."
"I hope you're right." Adrien smiled. "I could kiss you for that, but I suspect your Adrien might object."
"Better believe it." a voice called from above.
The pair on the stage looked up as a figure descended from the hole in the ceiling, a long pole appearing to ease his fall.
And so Adrien and the alternate Marinette had a deep heart to heart about their insecurities regarding their respective partners. Will Adrien have a similar conversation with his counterpart? What will come of the newfound understanding between the heroes? Only one way to find out.
See you next time!
-Sneak Preview-
"We're trying to get it copyrighted."
"That plan has more holes than swiss cheese."
"I recognize this song."