A/N: Most of my thoughts will be in the author's notes down below LOLOL. Without further ado, enjoy!

"Tonight I'm going crazy

I'm feeling lost

In a world full of worthless lies

Let's leave tomorrow behind

And keep dancing in our dreams"

東京ミッドナイト (Tokyo Midnight) - MY FIRST STORY

Pairing - Adrinette

Prompt - 'I know'

~(x)~

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Supposedly, if there's one thing that Adrien has pride in, it's his ability to finally, finally understand and comprehend his Marinette's complex actions and mannerisms when it comes to him in particular. Especially after their sudden reveal when their superhero masks unveiled themselves to each other after a brutal Akuma battle that night. The fight was so intense that the duo thought that they were genuinely going to die and it was those heightened feelings themselves that caused their masks to automatically dissipate as soon as they held each other tight in a secluded space once they won.

To say that either of them was shocked at the outcome would be a big fat lie, the two heroes having harboured heavy suspicions over time as they got closer and closer and closer.

They didn't let go until daybreak.

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Adrien was always the type to observe and read others quietly with utmost patience. His partner mainly if he were to be precise. Be it whilst they're battling the umpteenth Akuma and him witnessing her come up with most craziest and absolutely insane plans just from a bizarre object alone concocted by her Lucky Charms. Or whilst they're in school and she's standing up against injustice no matter the consequences be it against the tyrannical Chloé Bourgeois or her despicable father who always caved into his bratty daughter's whims with no backbone in sight.

Watching Marinette no matter where and when has done nothing but make him fall deeper and deeper in love with her and it's only thanks to Plagg's restraints that he hasn't gone on one knee and slipped a beautiful ring on her finger (yet).

But now?

Now?

Now that he's caught wind of her long-time feelings for him by a sleepy confession from her one night when she was resting her head on his lap as they relaxed on la Tour Eiffel?

Now, he believes he understands her fully and can't wait to see even more sides to her he's yet to see. He's so immensely, incredibly in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng and he's more than happy to give her the initiative to finally confess to him with a more level head so that they can have their happily ever after.

But a few pushes here and there wouldn't be a problem, non?

~(x)~

Adrien wanted to visit his past self from three weeks ago and throttle him for being so damn naive. He should've known. Oh, oh, OH. He should've known! This was his Lady they were talking about after all! He got way too full of himself and thought that everything will be a breeze, a piece of cake, a walk in the fucking park. But no. Absolutely not. He is the wielder of bad luck and calamity for crying out loud!

Nothing is ever easy for him.

But nothing is ever easy for her either.

"—y-you know, like moo? Heheh, that's right! I love MOO. They're such interesting creatures, those little moos—"

"You mean, cows?" Adrien bleated, ensuring that there wasn't even an ounce of disappointment on his face or laced within the tone of his voice towards the love of his life and her millionth botched confession to him, trying his best to look as neutral as possible.

"Th-That's right! That's totally what I meant! Cows! Heheheh. You always know what I'm trying to say, Chaton~! Yeah. I really…really do love…cows. Heheh…definitely was what I was trying to say…"

In fact, he felt like he could almost cry in frustration and bang his head repeatedly against the wall because dammit, she was so, SO close this time but her nerves got in the way once again and sabotaged everything. Judging by the way her eyes were watery (wait why were they watery?) and how her lips wobbled (don't tell me…), it was crystal clear that the person who felt defeated the most was none other than Marinette herself.

Oh no.

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And now his heart was breaking because he never liked seeing his Lady cry so without wasting another moment, he enveloped her entire frame with his arms and held her tight against his chest, muffling her startled gasp with the fabric of his shirt. He instinctively tightened his hold when he felt her body tremble and her tears now soaking his clothes. All of his discontent from earlier on vanished and what he prioritised now was to soothe all her pain and sorrows away to the best of his abilities.

"That's not what I was trying to say at all!" She wailed brokenly into his chest, tiny fists clutching the fabric of his shirt tight with white knuckles and tears continuing to run down her face. He could only press her tighter against him and rest his head on top of hers solemnly.

"I know." He did, he truly really did. However, he knew his partner well enough to know that Marinette wanted to do everything perfectly, starting with telling him her feelings straight out of her mouth (because she knows and understands him just as well and has gathered that he's aware of their mutual affections, patiently allowing her to set the pace and lead them to the future they want like the selfless boy he is).

"I'm so sorry…I just can never do anything right for you…" His heart shattered from her bitter whispers and he couldn't help but pull back a little and cradle her red, splotchy face tenderly, shaking his head with furrowed brows.

"That's not true at all!" He left no room for argument, leaning his forehead against hers and continued. "Please stop beating yourself up like that. You're the person I treasure the most in the world and it's thanks to you that I am who I am today, Marinette."

"I can't even tell you how I truly feel to your face like a coward! What kind of partner am I if I can't even let you know how much I lo…lo—" Tears of pure, unadulterated resentment towards herself streamed down her cheeks and Marinette closed her eyes in defeat. She couldn't bear to face him anymore. "I'm sorry…"

.

He kissed her eyelids and then trailed his lips to her forehead after brushing away her fringe with his fingers and then pulled back slightly when her surprised baby blues were visible again, his hands now by his sides.

"You're not a coward. And you shouldn't be apologising either." He was suddenly riddled with guilt for getting frustrated earlier on, now realising that with every failed confession, her confidence was knocked down over and over and over again. His head got so big after her sleepy confession that night and because of that, it ended up blinding him to the point where it prevented him from seeing how his partner would mask the stinging pain she felt whenever her nervousness took over.

'Understand her the best, my foot! I couldn't even tell that her attempts to tell me the truth were hurting her until she cried. I'm the most stupidest, the most selfish partner in the world!'

"I should be telling you how sorry I am. I thought that giving you hints and being more open about how I feel for you would help give you some assurance. I must have ended up adding extra pressure and stress on you instead—"

"No!" Her sudden yell would have made his feline ears plaster themselves into his hair had he been suited up but he couldn't stop the endeared smile that rested on his lips when Marinette flushed with embarrassment and took her hands off his shirt, clutching them against her chest instead. She wasn't crying anymore. "No. Not at all. You weren't stressing me out. If anything, all of your hints made me really, really happy." She was looking at him straight in the eye now, no longer fiddling with her hands and Adrien could have sworn that he was now looking into the depths of her soul. "And you waiting for me to make the first official move so patiently just re-establishes these feelings that I have for you."

Her lips then pursed and she moved her head to the side, only to lightly glare at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Well, sometimes so patiently." This time he felt his complexion flare up in red from her matter-of-fact tone and it took him everything to not hide his face with his hands. Oh, she saw through every single one of his polite façade that he plastered on to mask the dissatisfaction he felt every time her confession went wrong lately. Mon Dieu, he felt so, so, so, bad!

"I really am sorry…" He clasped his larger hands over hers, hoping that she caught just how truly apologetic he was. "Did I hurt you by being such a brat?" He desperately wanted to tell her that his frustrations stemmed from the fact that he just wanted to hold her, kiss her and tell her how much he loves her every day; but this wasn't about him. Her feelings come first and foremost and no matter how good his intentions are, he refuses to add a looming mountain of expectations on top of her tiny back, even if they were unintentional.

Marinette was the kind of person who would do anything to please the ones she loved, even at the expense of her own feelings and comfort. Adrien refuses to let their love turn into another burden forced upon her bony shoulders.

"You didn't hurt me at all, silly Chaton." She slipped out one of her hands from his hold and palmed the side of his face. "If our positions were switched, I would have gotten very impatient too." An impish smirk played on her (very, very kissable) lips and she lightly pinched the cheek she was palming. "Maybe we would have been on our twentieth date by now~"

He was bright, bright red now.

"B-B-But I didn't want to scare you away or make you angry or annoyed if I let my impatience get the better of me and make the first move!" He looked so silly and defenceless (like his alter-ego's namesake) with his cheek still pinched between her fingers that all traces of self-deprecation and sadness left Marinette's frame in droves. Judging from the pout he was wearing, he probably was able to read what went through her mind like a psychic. "Don't make me kiss you again. This time I'll go for the lips. Then you'll stop making fun of me."

"Do that and you will not get a peep from me about my feelings until we're ninety-six." Her grin was borderline devilish as Adrien's spirit practically left his body.

"My Lady PLEASE."

"If I'm feeling nice, maybe I'll let you know when we're ninety-two."

"You just want to see me suffer!"

"No comment~" Before Adrien could get in another word, sinfully soft velvetiness brushed the corner of his lips and suddenly he was facing a blushing Marinette all over again. He didn't even think to stop the way his fingers touched the area she kissed, his complexion as rouge as hers. "I…I just want to do it first. I want to do it right." She was now all determination and no longer looking away. "I want to tell you how much you mean to me and I want to kiss you after I've succeeded. Just…just give me a little more time to gather the courage to do so. I know I'm asking for a lot. But please."

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"For you, I'd wait forever, Marinette," He vowed and brought her hands to his lips, kissing the hardworking knuckles with all the love and devotion he has for this brilliant, wonderful, silly, weird, amazing girl. "I promise."

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"Even if I take so long that we're ninety-six by the time I confess?" His Lady sure knew how to strike an emotional whiplash left, right and centre.

"Even if it takes you a hundred, thousand, million years. I said forever, didn't I?" But he also knew how to strike one back.

"...Tomorrow."

"Huh?"

"I…I will try my best to tell you tomorrow."

"So soon?" His voice cracked mid-sentence but he didn't give a flying fuck, focusing on how Marinette's eyes were watering anew. This time, however, they weren't tears of anger or frustration towards herself and her inability to voice her feelings.

"Yes." She laced their fingers together, baby blues glittering with a resolve that went beyond all the languages and understanding in the universe. "Because I really, really, really want to kiss you."

They were tears of resoluteness.

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~(x)~

A/N: And luckily for us all, she did succeed in telling Adrien she loves him and kissed him so senseless, he fell off the Eiffel Tower and Marinette had to transform as Ladybug to save him from becoming a pancake. She vowed to never kiss him in such high, dangerous places again and no amount of kitten eyes he gives her will make her relent.

And that's all for this drabble LMAO! Originally, as I edited and expanded this old thing, I was aiming for a more comedic, crack vibe. I wanted to write a couple of scenes of Marinette messing up her confessions in the funniest ways possible and make Adrien suffer a little from his intense need to kiss his Lady like she's the oxygen to his brain. But then angst pulled me back by the hair and said:

"Move over bitch. It is now MY TURN to shine."

Yeah, I had no control over this LMAOOOOO. But I kind of liked how I went with it. Usually with my drabbles, the confessions and romances go quite smoothly for these two so it's a little more refreshing (and more canon-compliant characterwise I guess) to have them struggle this way. In reality, especially if you're neurodivergent and have dealt with hardship after hardship from childhood, it can affect the way you approach intimate feelings even if it's the one thing you want the most.

For some people, it could be that they verbally or physically cannot express their love no matter how hard they try. For others, it could be that you cannot grasp social and non-verbal cues for the life of you so you can only move forward if the other party has given you the green light to do so.

I know I'm rambling now hahaha— I just really love and find Marinette and Adrien so interesting. I relate to them both in many ways and I'm literally unhealthily obsessed with them in the best (maybe) ways possible!

Lemme know what you thought of this drabble in the comments! See ya~!