AN: so unfortunately FF's format doesn't allow me to post pictures in the fic easily, and this chapter kind of has a lot of art so I'll just link the Ao3 version here.

Anyways, sorry for the delay, and there will be some extra stuff for this story posted on Ao3 and my Tumblr (Crispypata) soon like a side story for the PV kids! Other than that, not much else to say but thank you for waiting and I hope you enjoy the final chapter :)

[Week 2 - Chai Noir]

In the middle of the previous quarter, Marinette had been dragged along to a café at the edge of downtown by her cousin, Bridgette.

While it did get her into a regular schedule for studying, she was at least little concerned at how well Bridgette knew her crush's schedule ("oh come on, if you were in my shoes I bet you'd be even worse!" She objected once, to which Marinette neither agreed or denied.) and the day that the shifts were shuffled around, the grumpy barista was one night replaced with a much nicer, much more familiar face.

Enter Adrien Agreste, model and son of her favorite designer.

So maybe Bridgette wasn't that wrong about the whole "you'd be worse" thing. Not that she'd admit it anyway; as far as her cousin knew, she was just sticking to the routine she was forced into.

Marinette bought her drinks before he came in for his shift so she wouldn't be a stuttering mess at the register, and managed only a glance when he came in before pondering on her project's theme for her class on week 2 of the quarter. It was a seminar on generating inspiration from the world around you, which came easy to her in collége. The class was encouraging everyone to try something new outside of their normal sources of inspiration.

Pick a series of anything and create a portfolio for each thing, including a photo of the source for each piece.

The only question was...what to pick?

Turns out fate had plans for her and her final project when she heard a yell and the sound of someone crashing to the ground.

Her first words to him ended up being, "A-are you okay?!" when he laughed himself so hard he fell off of the stepladder he was on.

Not the words she would have expected, but at least they came out clearly. Even the thought of ordering a drink while he was at the counter tied up her tongue and she couldn't understand why. Yes, he is son to Gabriel Agreste, her idol, but he's just another student here working a food service job like most everyone else on campus. Adrien Agreste is a normal person among normal people now.

The magical powers-that-be decided he should be treated as a normal person too, because when she looked up and saw the blackboard, her nerves dissipated almost instantly.

In neat letters the blackboard read "Chai Noir."

That's all it took for her former celebrity crush to crack. It didn't matter if he was cute; one punner in her life was already too much. She had to admit though, it was a good pun for the fact that the drink matched her partner.

Marinette felt a little bad for laughing at Adrien's drawing skills, but she was more than happy to fix it for him. She barely remembered to pull up a photo for reference since she knew her partner's face and messy long hair like the back of her hand.

Her fumble when she introduced herself aside, talking to him soon felt like easy banter like with Chat Noir or Alya. His body language was awkward and stiff at first even when his speech wasn't, she noticed, as if he never talked to people he met this soon this much. He never showed any sign of not wanting her company, so she stayed past closing time to talk with him and get her last drink for the night.

She smiled to herself as she started pedaling. Maybe they were actually meant to meet.

When she arrived at home that night, Marinette took a long sip of the drink as she dropped her bag on the beanbag chair.

She started doodling an idea she had the other day - a cute poncho with a fluffy trim that was light enough to wear with most weather. The hoodie cords had puffballs at the ends, matching the trim, and the whole thing would pair well with cute shorts or leggings.

The drink was nearly finished when she started painting it in with her cheap watercolors. She had drawn herself in the outfit, so navy was dabbed onto her hair and peach for her skin. Boots and shorts were easy with warm brown and light blue tones, but when she got to the poncho itself, she wasn't sure exactly what color she wanted.

That is, until she took the lid off of her coffee cup to check how much of the Chai Noir she had left.

Marinette took one last sip, poured the remaining drink in the overturned lid and dipped her clean brush in it.

[Week 3. Bugi-menthe]

So. Turns out Adrien Agreste wears cat ears and spandex in his spare time.

When she had gotten home that night, Marinette pulled out a fashion magazine from her lycée years. There he stood on the cover, nonchalant in his posture with his head turned up looking at the warm colored leaves falling around him. A dark green coat with a high buttoned collar fit him nicely - this was one of her favorite looks that she wished came in the women's fall line. (She thought about making it herself before, but she didn't dare in case she ever met her idol.)

With her phone, she pulled up a picture from the Ladyblog of her partner and held both images up in the air as she reclined on her bed.

The hair was the first thing she remembers noticing up on the rooftop. Not like in his photos, where his hair was styled and out of the way, but how he wore it while at work. It was messy and fell about in its own way naturally.

Then his eyes. Piercing green, like grass in the middle of summer. Magic changed them to be more cat-like, but that shade of green was exactly the same.

There was a time years ago Alya had a theory that the model could be the hero, but Marinette brushed it off immediately. It didn't make any sense; how could someone so busy be a superhero? He was so secluded from the public world that his managers would notice the second he would try to slip away. Plus what's a secret identity worth if your face is plastered all over Paris?

And yet, where Adrien Agreste should have failed, Chat Noir had succeeded.

Alya would go insane knowing she was right, she thought to herself with a smile.

Marinette pulled her fingers through her hair, freeing them from her pigtails. Her kwami peeked out from her hiding space from the row of stuffed animals on her headboard shelf.

"Anything you want to talk about?"

"...was it a good idea to start this game, Tikki?"

"I think it's a good thing by now that you chose to show yourself to him! You both have been fighting Hawk Moth for years now, so becoming closer can only make you stronger."

Marinette rolled over on her stomach, putting down everything on the bed in front of her. "Was that the case for previous Ladybugs and Chat Noirs?"

Tikki floated to rest in Marinette's open palms, giving her ward a comforting pat.

"Each pair is different with different circumstances around them. It's nearly impossible to compare any two different pairs. Once, a Ladybug and Chat Noir never met each other until two years after they got their powers because the land they were from was made of thousands of islands, and they couldn't understand each other since their local languages were too different!"

Marinette's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I guess we got off pretty lucky then to not be that star-crossed."

"Not to mention, Ladybug and Chat Noir are two halves of a whole. They have something the other needs to be really complete, and while you and Chat Noir work great together, you two have even more potential left untapped, I can feel it."

The girl turned to lie on her side, continuing thinking.

Adrien's features were so easy to notice, in retrospect. His dramatic posture in the suit could also be attributed to his modeling career. Everything she knew about Adrien from magazines or interviews, small bits of his personality could be matched and intensified in Chat Noir. Nothing was really missing, just played down. The only thing she couldn't do was imagine just Chat's mask on Adrien's face and complete the two as one in her head.

Her lips pursed as she twisted her hair around her fingers uneasily.

Well, there's one more thing she noticed.

He kept staring at the Ladybug drawing once she finished.

Not only that, but there was also the way he talked about Ladybug. He even remembered the flavors she said she liked best once in a random conversation before.

Overall, Adrien just appeared so honest in that moment earlier today.

There was a sinking feeling that settled heavy in her stomach when she slowly realized their flirty banter may not have been coming from the same place. Even heavier when thinking about how long it's possibly been going on.

Marinette opened to a fresh page in the back of her sketchbook and quickly wrote a header across the top.

"Things I learned about Chat Noir."

He's Adrien Agreste.

Adrien Agreste is the biggest dork I have ever met.

She hesitated for a moment before turning the page and putting her pencil to work on the fresh paper. There were bigger things to focus on right now. Despite the funny feelings that she got in her chest thinking about things, Adrien did say he wanted to make a drink that she would like, and he did it.

A high-low dress was sketched onto the form on the page that billowed freely in the wind. Maybe a small cute hand clutch like a lemon slice. A sun-hat was needed too for this look, to complete the refreshing feeling it put together.

Now if only she could draw hats. There was that derby hat one time, but sun hats had a lot less structure...and that should have made it easier, just a swoop of her pencil for the brim's edge, but no matter how much she fiddled with it, it just looked like a giant leaf.

Whatever. It's a sketch, future Marinette can deal with it when she's drawing the final versions.

She turned the page again, thinking back about the game she just started. Now that she was pondering, what would be hints she could give him anyway? Blatant ones like appearance were things he already knew, and she didn't want to give away anything that was easy to narrow down with.

Marinette sat up and looked around her room for ideas, holding her pencil between her lips.

Not the stuffed animals (she had a couple cat ones still from years ago, but he didn't need to know that), not the sewing machine (if she kept going to the café she needed to get sewing work done there for commissions), and no to a lot of the things her eyes landed on.

Finally she looked down at her short coffee table where she left her cheap watercolors out from last night.

Ah, that should be a vague enough one to start with.

[Week 4. Stormy Blender]

A funny thing happened when she came in that afternoon to drop off her next hint. The familiar grumpy blond was working the counter, looking up at her once in a while as she caught up on some reading. She stayed only for a half hour just to finish the lemonade she bought and brought the slip of paper back to the counter to put it in the box when he spoke to her.

"Hey, you. Where's the girl that's always with you before?" His voice was oddly quiet for his scary (now visibly uncomfortable) demeanor, as if his job was the only time he ever used it.

Still, he asked about Bridgette? As in he inquired about her existence after blatantly ignoring her all last quarter? Jeeze, who couldn't her cousin win over?

"...you mean Bridgette, right? Really poofy blue hair with a bit that's always sticking up in the air?" She imitated the ahoge by pointing her finger above her head. He barely shifted his head in a nod. "She's in the lion dance club; they've got a competition in a couple weeks so all their spare time is spent practicing...why do you ask?"

The barista seemed satisfied with that answer and turned away without another word to fiddle with one of the machines.

Okay, fine jerk. Be that way. Don't blame me if she lures you in with her kitten- er, lion eyes.

Marinette honestly wasn't sure if Bridgette really liked this guy or if he was a challenge to her. She didn't think much else on it as she left to get to her next class.

She decided to not tell Bridgette when she saw her back at the apartment later on. While her reaction would have been a fun break from her newest sketch for Stormy Blender (she tossed out a couple ideas before settling on a clear raincoat to display the outfit underneath), the last thing her cousin needed was a distraction to something she puts all her dedication into.

As Bridgette started telling a story about her new bruises she got from falling off her partner during dance practice, Marinette decided on the hint for next week.

Hah, she can just imagine Chat's surprise when he finds out that his dear Lady has two left feet.

[Week 5. Prepare For Bubbler]

In those few breaths, suddenly her own chest refused to move.

It was as if a weight came down and squeezed the wind out of her, constricting and merciless.

He withdrew, and she followed the trail of his own breath, desperate for air.

This new feeling that would not let go scared her. It was too sudden, too much all at once. Under his gaze she was spellbound, unable to move with the flood of emotions that her mind didn't have names for. Panic hazed her thoughts and vision - she was drowning, and all she could see was his sharp green calling to her like a lighthouse.

Her alarm went off and broke the spell.

Like Cinderella, she bolted off into the night, not daring to look back.

Ladybug skidded across the loose gravel of the roof of her apartment complex, losing her grip and tumbling forward until she landed on her back. She was still struggling with her breath and her chest screamed for air. The rest of her body now lit up in pain as the adrenaline subsided, but none of it compared to the knots pulling themselves apart in her chest and core.

She barely was audible as she called off her transformation.

"T-Tikki? What's happening to m-me?" She gasped out, furiously rubbing at her eyes.

"Oh, Marinette, oh no." Tikki looked down at her charge with understanding, but didn't offer any answers. She rushed to cuddle up to Marinette's cheek and shooshed softly in comfort.

She couldn't think straight, just overwhelmed by everything suddenly coursing through her head and her body.

It took her a couple of days to even think of returning to her sketches, and she didn't even go back for another drink. It took some convincing for Bridgette to pick one up for her so she could have a picture for the assignment. The outfit was a little plain compared to last week, but she drew it with Nino as the model and wanted it to look like casual clothes he would actually wear.

The rest of the time she was free, Marinette just curled up in her bed and fought between trying to figure out what those feelings inside her were and trying to go numb and ignore them so she could have peace of mind for just a moment.

Her black scarf still laid on the carpet where she tore it off days ago.

[Week 6. Heaven-tea Muse]

The battle with Heavenly Muse could have gone a lot better, but at least she didn't destroy too much in the process besides flooding the streets. Though her summons were made up of clouds of stars and nebula, a massive lion was scary no matter what it was made of and it still packed a punch. But there was a different kind of fear she couldn't shake off the whole time.

None of it made sense.

Not the lion or the giant scorpion that followed, that is. Magic was enough of an explanation for that.

What didn't make sense was how she couldn't look at Chat without that same panicked feeling crawling up her skin that made itself known on the rooftop last week. Try as she might, she couldn't figure out how to shake it off because she didn't even know what it was to begin with.

When Heavenly Muse separated them with the river, she was a tiny bit thankful since the dark waters that rose up between them still let her see where he was without seeing him clearly. Thanks to that, she could at least lead and know he would follow her movements like always.

What made even less sense than anything was how seeing him in the campus coffee house at the piano barely did anything to her compared to earlier.

Things she's learned about Adrien #6: he's a complete and utter dweeb. As in literally a mix of dork and weeb because he was now playing and singing along to the Sailor Moon opening theme. He had everyone else in the room fooled with his talent maybe, but she knew better.

Well, he couldn't be perfect. His existence wouldn't be fair otherwise.

That and his obliviousness so far wasn't much she could count against him but it was something that made him more human.

Well no, that wasn't exactly fair to say even though it was a joke. She knew as much about him as he did her at this point. There's plenty that she has to learn and find weird about him.

Marinette decided to let her presence be known. When she sat down at the bench next to him, she decided to take a closer look at his own behavior. So, she entered his territory with something familiar to her, a song from a movie she likes.

...Aaaaand he nailed it while sight reading. He was completely showing off.

Then he used an ancient meme on her. All this time, she thought "princess" was a nickname of affection, but no . He was meme trash and that couldn't be forgiven.

She took back the mercy she mentally gave him earlier.

Banter between them was easy until he became earnest again, and she felt her stomach twist into knots when he asked if she was stopping by tonight. Not for another drawing, but just for her company.

Everything stiffened, and she could tell he noticed the change when she responded. When he walked away, she had to stare blankly ahead until her heart calmed down.

Digging in her pocket for her phone, a slip of paper fell out. She stared at it grimly before picking it up and opening it - her hint # 3. It was another simple one: she loves carnations more than roses. Marinette wrote it not long after the previous one, but her feelings have definitely changed since writing it last week.

The control was still hers. If she wanted to fight off this weird feeling, she could just toss the slip of paper and end the game. She had every right to say no or change her mind.

So why did the thought of that action only make the weird feelings intensify?

Marinette roughly shut the lid on the keys and marched off to the bus terminal. She had an hour before her next class started.

Paws Fur Coffee was only a few minutes away by bus.

That weekend, Alya noticed a cup of Heaven-tea Muse on the living room table along with two other cups of coffee surrounding Marinette's sketchbook. She would have gotten away with it too if Bridgette didn't peek down from the loft and asked if she still went during the late shift when "that model guy Adrien" was working, to which Marinette only squeaked in response.

Alya turned to look at her expectantly, crossing her arms. "What's this about your lycée celebrity crush?"

As if she didn't already have enough on her plate. Marinette sunk deeper into the couch, hoping it would eat her and save her from juggling all these charades.

[Week 7. Latte Wifi]

Once she unceremoniously shoved Chat out her window and warded off Alya's interrogations (during which she felt a crackle of energy similar to her own transformation at the small of her back and then heard a metallic thud), Marinette was left to stew in her thoughts. She tidied up her table, thankful that her mug was shoved onto the shelf of her headboard, so Alya only saw one mug on the table.

The tea was still a little warm. She couldn't tell how much time had passed between them talking from how easy it felt.

Maybe easy wasn't the word. Comfortable? Relaxed?

No. Natural. That was the word she was looking for. Despite her mounting anxieties over school and commissions and this weird feeling she kept having around Chat Noir...Adrien? Both of them; they were the same person but it was so hard to put a name to blame for the feelings when those feelings sparked from one and seeped deep into the other.

Anyway, despite all that, just being around him was also a comfort to her somehow. So she kept showing up as Marinette at the shop, and she decided to let him into her apartment and into her room.

So when Chat mentioned Ladybug hiding behind her civilian identity, everything made a little more sense.

Her identity was a shield. One that she could hide behind when he looked at her with those striking and honest eyes. He didn't recognize her, and so her nerves stayed calm.

She was so secure in who she is as a person now, unlike herself years ago when she first received her miraculous. Her reasons for hiding couldn't possibly be the same as they were then.

So what did it change into? Especially after tonight, she had no doubts that he trusted Marinette and considered her a good friend to open up about his feelings (which she partly wanted to reprimand him for just like how he called her by her name earlier because he should be a little conscious of who he was at that moment). It wasn't that fear of being someone he wouldn't like, that much she knows.

"Tikki? I know you said that each pair was different, but were any of them this apprehensive about learning each other's identities?"

The red kwami floated over from her hiding space in Marinette's bag, landing in her palms as Marinette plopped down in her beanbag chair. Chat Noir had only sat in it for a while, yet the fabric already smelled a little bit like him.

"Of course! Everyone had their own circumstances, but those that did reveal themselves were reasonably scared to. It's a big decision that isn't always beneficial, and so that's why we encourage that you don't at first so you can make it for yourself."

And now here she was, on the path to that big decision.

She remembered the mantra her younger self said. "Heroes think with their heads, not their hearts."

That's what her powers were centered around. She saved Paris by using her brain to find a new use for the objects Lucky Charm gives her.

But these feelings were something that she couldn't figure out no matter how much her brain tried to wrap around it. And that's what scared her so much about standing at that crossroad because her brain wasn't getting her anywhere and her talk with her partner proved she didn't have the luxury of hiding and waiting around.

She had to take a page from Chat and try thinking with her heart.

The first thing that her heart pointed out once her brain relinquished control was that she was doing an awful job at considering her partner's feelings.

Marinette was scared, she was confused and frustrated and lost - but did she think letting him in was a mistake? She barely held back an objection the first time and slipped up the second when he thought it was his fault.

At the very least, she owed him an explanation to why she was avoiding him. She didn't have to tell him everything just yet.

(Later on that week, Marinette was really, really tempted to rip up the sketch she did for Latté Wifi when she confronted Alya about her little stunt with her note. Alya bought the lie that those notes were her passing on stuff for someone else, not herself, and she apologized a ton right afterwards.)

[Week 8. Di Citrussed]

After the cycle of denial and anger and all the steps in the process, Marinette finally arrived at acceptance at 2 in the morning when she finally left the art and design building and found that she couldn't throw away the empty cup of coffee Adrien had delivered earlier that day.

It remained on the table as she stuck her work in a locker and it came with her home to where she sat on her bed and traced over the letters written on the side of the cup.

"Stop feeling so flustered." She told herself as she lifted the cup to press against her lips in thought.

Acceptance. That damn cat had wormed his way into her heart in a matter of weeks.

Or maybe it was there even longer than that. Maybe she just didn't see it because she never considered it a possibility until recently.

Another one for the scary thought pile.

Could it be though? Was she that determined and stubborn enough that she could lie to herself about her own feelings?

Seven weeks. Seven weeks since she officially introduced herself to Adrien. Six since she found out he was also Chat Noir. Five since she figured out how to beat him at paying for her drinks. Four since he tried to teach her how to waltz. Three since she found out he was a complete nerd. Two since he showed how much he trusted Marinette. One since she apologized after realizing how much he needed it.

Now she was running out of weeks in the quarter, and with them, hints left to give.

Well, he knew that Marinette knows about his past as a model. Might as well let him know Ladybug, technically, also was a fan. Not a big hint, but none of these were anyway.

Di Citrussed gave her the color palette for a cute outfit for a teacup-shaped skirt, she decided as she finished the first cup Adrien gave her the next night. Food and a good long sleep did wonders for her mood.

Adrien's mood, however, seemed really off. Marinette was caught off-guard when he asked if she's ever been akumatized. It isn't possible under normal circumstances as long as she wore her miraculous, but it's not like she could easily explain that away while hiding her cover. She took the first chance to dive out of the topic.

Then the topic landed on Ladybug.

Since finding out that Adrien was Chat and the week he made the Ladybug themed drink, she had a feeling he really did feel something for her, but just hearing him say everything so easily caught her by surprise. Cold tea was not fun to snort out of your nose as you choked on it.

Adrien Agreste, aka Chat Noir, was impossible. His existence and his entire being was impossible down to the way he described her habits and even their first meeting with such affection. Then he turned to Marinette at the door and offered her as much support as she did him weeks ago.

She didn't want to say good night just yet.

Just for a little longer, she wanted to just be with him. So she invited him along for a late dinner and even beat him to the check after tripping him on the way to the front counter of the restaurant.

[Week 9. The Espress-er of Two Tea-vils]

Week 9 was rough, but she made it. Everything had been finished early for her projects and after she got the last theme drink tonight, she can turn in her final portfolio for the seminar after everything gets done tonight. Alya was surprised and proud at how she kept to her word, even offering to pay for brunch out in downtown so they could relax before finals started.

As much as bottomless mimosas were calling her name, she had a sneaking suspicion that Alya was going to try and get some information about whatever was going on between her and Adrien.

Honestly, these last few weeks would have been a whole lot easier if she could talk to her about it.

Her pen tapped thoughtfully against her lip as she stared at the wall of the coffee shop. It was only noon on Thursday. After the mess that was Indecision's battle yesterday, she was only more determined to confront the end of this whole game.

So here she was in Paws Fur Coffee, with a plain latté and a slip of paper on the table in front of her.

Hint #6.

What's the last thing she could tell him about herself at this point? She didn't want to make the answer too obvious.

What else is there that was important for him to know?

Out of everything she handed him so far, none of them were big tells or anything extraordinary. She's Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter of some of the best bakers in Paris and a student with big aspirations. That's always been her. Clumsy, hard-headed Marinette who was also cunning and gets a little too involved in things for her own good.

Becoming Ladybug just happened to even out the traits she needed, but this was who Chat Noir - Adrien - was going to meet. The girl that came first.

Someone who in her spare time is just as ordinary and gets just as little sleep as the thousands of other people on this campus.

Marinette was confident in who she is, but there was always going to be that "what if" that maybe there would be something he might not like about her. He sounded so sure that he would love every single part of her that he would meet, but was it really that easy?

She laid her head against the table and groaned.

There was one last thing she wanted to tell him after figuring everything out. She just didn't have the words for it yet. Any attempt to just directly say it made her tongue stutter.

So maybe she should say it in a different way.

Marinette wrote the final hint with the request to meet at the end and quickly shoved it in the box before she could change her mind.

Now all that's left is two finals during week 10. That and changing her life forever by letting her partner find out her identity, of course. Somehow that made the dread of her literature final not seem as bad.

[Week 10. Mint to Be]

It was raining when Adrien came in for his shift that Thursday night.

As luck would have it, all his finals were crammed into the first three days, so technically his school break started today. He came in anyway to work since he didn't have much else to do.

Oh, and he was going to find out who the love of his life is after years of knowing the mask. Like that wasn't a big deal either.

To say he was anxious was an understatement. Not even all the coffee shop AUs he had read online could prepare him for this moment.

Not only because of that, but also because of the drink he had planned for that day. It was a special month to the two of them, after all.

It was the first thing he did upon entering the cafe and relieving Felix from his shift. He looked over his shoulder once at Marinette asleep at a table near the front, arms folded over her books. Maybe it was better if he did this one himself. The chalk felt oddly heavy in his apron pocket.

He picked out a piece of grey chalk and began to draw the familiar shape of the tower.

Drink of the Week: Mint to Be - A peppermint mocha.

He debated with himself before adding "Thank you, Ladybug and Chat Noir!" at the bottom underneath his scribble of Stoneheart hanging from the Eiffel Tower.

Six years ago. Not the exact date, but within the month was the day Hawk Moth had possessed his first victim and they had began their lives as saviors of Paris.

And now he had to figure out who among the patrons here was his partner. He scanned the room once again before getting back to the counter to do his job, still thinking to himself.

One. She likes to paint, and loves watercolors. Two. She can't dance, she's clumsy. Three. She likes carnations. Four. She focuses too much and doesn't see how it affects others. Five. She likes that one fall coat (which he brought with him in his bag today).

And six. He...means a lot to her.

He mentally chided himself for putting it that way, snorting as he was pouring a shot and steamed milk into a cup. Adrien wasn't quite sure where they stood with the feelings between them, but she said herself that he's the most important person to her. Out of everything she couldn't convey at the time, she at least let him know that.

The whole night had passed slowly. Nino had texted him early on checking if he was going to be around for a gig he got during the break - a bunch of his old classmates were getting together since he can get friends in for free, and Adrien would get along with a lot of them.

Besides a slow back and forth with Nino, Adrien was kept busy with the incoming customers. He studied every face that came in through the line and the ones who came in to visit other seated patrons.

But not a single newcomer was his Lady. He was sure of that.

Anxiety slowly built up in his veins as the minutes ticked to hours and he couldn't find a break in the crowd to take a better look. He even considered getting Plagg from his bag in the back room to help him, but Ladybug gave him hints and they should help him find her somehow…

Being Chat Noir over the last few years gave him more balance and control over his own life, but growing up in the stifling cage of the Agreste name instilled habits and fears he still was in the process of undoing. He remembered when he and Nino met for the first time in person, somehow the easy going attitude he carried online disappeared all at once. When it became clear that he was unaware of many social norms, it became harder to call on the confidence he drew from the suit or the separation he could at least hide behind.

Things like those moments lessened and became easier as Nino was understanding, teaching him what he lacked and when the media attention lost interest in him (Surely, they were expecting him to completely snap loose once on his own and become a scandal with parties and stuff. That's not how social anxiety works, thank you very much) but when it came to more difficult decisions - ones that truly mattered and hesitation could cost you, that fear is all just the same as it ever was.

And so it built up in his body, brick by brick with each passing glance at the tacky cat clock on the wall.

Even with the heavy rain, as the last open hour came, people began to leave as their devices ran out of battery - the cafe did not have that many outlets available to appease the finals crowd, after all - and soon there was only a handful of students left.

He must have seen a hundred people come and go, and none of them were his Lady.

Adrien ran through the hints in his head again as he started cleaning the emptied tables, still hoping that she would drop in before closing time and he would spot her.

She likes painting. She's clumsy. She likes carnations and doesn't like roses. She gets too focused. She has a favorite out of all his photoshoots.

In all, average traits of a very ordinary person. Maybe that's what she wanted him to gleam from all this.

Adrien looked over at his friend still fast asleep at the booth next to the table he was cleaning. Marinette has been asleep nearly the whole time she was here, and she's been here since before he came in. He chuckled to himself, wondering if he should wake her up so she could at least get some studying in. Poor thing has had a lot of bad luck in the time that he got to know her.

A particularly loud clap of thunder had jostled him out of his thoughts.

Marinette was also shaken out of her sleep, shoving half the contents of the table onto the floor as she bolted upright in her seat, arm swung out in a ready stance as if to fight the storm brewing outside.

Adrien's muffled snickering cut through the quiet patter of the rain outside. He tried to stifle his laughter while bending to help pick up all the fallen books. He grabbed the closest one that had landed open side down, and was about to shut it and hand it to her when a word on the page caught his eye.

'Chai Noir.'

It was messily scrawled on top of a sketch of herself in a large fluffy poncho, cup of coffee drawn in a raised hand. The brown, orange, and cream colors blooming on the page were warm, comfortable.

Most important of all, they were spread on the page with watercolor paint .

Adrien always thought the moment they learned each others real identities would be a magical moment like in fairy tales or a dramatic climax in a movie. The magic spell would come undone that separated the two of them at last. That finally, fate had truly brought them together as friends, partners, and soulmates. That despite his misfortunate life, he was able to meet her because of it.

And in that moment, when another roll of thunder echoed through the sky, it was soon followed by a flash of lighting that reached through the windows, casting its light over everything in the gray mood of the room.

In that very moment, the light reflected the navy highlights in Marinette's hair and brightened the sheen of her eyes. That's when he saw it.

She was looking at him with that scared look he had become very familiar with over these last few weeks. This time, though, there was something more.

Hope.

There was hope, there was nervousness, there was everything that he had felt in the air when Ladybug had covered his eyes on the rooftop last week.

He faintly felt his face grow warm and his lips part in surprise as realization slowly dawned on him. Maybe that one hint about being too focused counted for him too.

In that moment, he understood.

That same fear that reflected in her eyes tightened his throat and made his fingers tremble.

This was the moment where they were captured by apprehension at the edge of that line now so clear in between them, so strong that they were spellbound, frozen in time.

Ladybug had always maintained careful control of that wall she hid behind, but now he was really seeing her eyes for the first time through the cracks she let form in it. And this time, instead of backing away and hiding beyond his view, he knew her palm rested against her side of the wall, mirroring his.

It wasn't Cataclysm that would finally break that wall between them, but instead a single breath that had just as much fearsome power.

It became hard to swallow, and he had to clear his throat before his lips shaped his nervous hope into the hand that reached up into that crack in the wall and rip out the first chunk of brick.

"...My Lady?"

Her hand reached out for the sketchbook. Fingers gripped tight to cover the words at the top of the page, but they did not pull away. Their gazes did not break even as her hand trembled just like his. She let out the smallest breath of a laugh, not even enough to move her still chest.

Blue eyes shifted into a smile. Her voice was barely audible that he read her lips carefully to make sure he was hearing what he thought he did.

"It took you paw -fully long enough, Chatton."

Her words were the hands that gripped tight, ripping the second brick from the wall and revealing her full face to him.

He exhaled, letting go of the breath that had lodged in his chest to make room for the emotions that were all too much for his poor heart to take. It overflowed, leaking out in the tug of a grin on his face and the tears that threatened his eyes.

His Lady. His Ladybug had let him in.

She was now complete. She was now even more tangible than before.

She was Marinette and his love and affection for the two, platonic and otherwise, was such a new experience combined in him that he didn't know what to do with himself.

Adrien did the only thing that he could handle right now and hugged her tightly. He had to quickly brace his arm on the table when her chair nearly tipped over from his sudden force. She clung to him tightly in surprise, and didn't let go when she was safe again, .

"My Lady, my Lady, my Lady…" He repeated like a mantra softly, testing out how powerful, how suddenly real the words suddenly became on his tongue.

Marinette pulled back slowly to study his face. Her eyes were glossy, like his.

"Hi." She whispered.

"Hi." He quipped back.

Her eyes flitted past his head. "You better get back to work, kitten. We can talk afterwards."

Adrien cringed, turning his head to look at the rest of the shop. There was a collective shuffling sound as people looked back at their own devices or hid behind their books.

Nosy people. There's already a ton of Asian dramas for coffee shop romances, go find your own.

Marinette pointedly picked up her books from the floor and continued to read whatever she was using as a pillow earlier. She kept a straight face as he shielded her from the rest of the room's view so he could quickly place a kiss on her hand, like always.

He felt her reluctance to let go too. But a job was a job and these people needed coffee.

After he kicked out the last straggler at closing time, he finally got a good look at his partner. Marinette apparently hadn't expected this intensity in weather and was dressed lightly. She somehow didn't have an umbrella in the black hole of a bag she carried.

He got the chance to surprise her when he came back from the back room with his bag and found her standing in front of the glass windows watching the rain come down.

She jumped when he slowly placed his green coat around her shoulders.

"Looks like it's a good color on you too."

She whipped around, her shock growing as she felt the material under her grip.

"No way. You actually brought it?" She pulled it off her shoulders to study the structure of the garment. Fingers ran over the seams and the lapels before she slowly put it on herself. She held the high collar closed for a moment but didn't button it. He was glad for that - her smile was the last thing he wanted hidden more than anything.

"Just my luck to be prepared, huh?" He watched her looking at her reflection in the glass.

"Just my luck to not be." She held the collar closed over her nose and mouth again and exhaled. "You wouldn't happen to have an umbrella, would you?"

Her face dropped and she groaned when he pulled out a red and black polka dot umbrella from his bag. He only grinned wider.

Adrien turned off the lights and stepped under the awning outside to open the umbrella. She shook her head and followed, waiting beside him as he fished his keys out of his pocket.

He held his open umbrella out to her, smiling wide with that same warmth he could only describe as completeness filling him entirely. Her big, blue eyes, only intensified in the gray lighting of the world around them, flickered between his hand and his face before she hesitantly took the umbrella from him.

He had barely turned the key in the lock when he heard a noise, and turned to see the umbrella had closed on her head, only her hand visible as it reached into her bag.

"Don't. Laugh." he heard her mutter from under the umbrella.

She didn't move to open it back up, keeping her other hand hidden, so he helped pull it back up to reveal her embarrassed face.

He could only grin at her, still amazed at the person in front of him. Beautiful, powerful, miraculous Ladybug and kind, stubborn, caring Marinette were one in the same. His partner. His best friend. The only person in the world who knew all of him, and now he was the same for her.

Marinette then shoved something in his face that caused his eyes to cross before he backed up his head to see it properly.

Deep red.

As deep as Ladybug's suit, and now as red as Marinette's face, was the single carnation she held out to him.

Her face was turned away as far as physically possible. "I...c-couldn't really figure out how to s-say it in the end, b-but I really, uh, wanted to, s-so…?" her voice petered out, ending the phrase in a questioning tone.

He honestly, truly couldn't have been happier. With loud, free laughter he picked her up by the waist and spun her around once before crushing her against him in his arms, her head tucked right underneath his chin. The umbrella stopped rolling on the ground some feet away forgotten as Adrien began swaying back and forth in happiness before finally holding her at arm's length just to look at her.

Deep red. As deep as the affection and love the flower meant.

Somehow, it was still safe in her hand after all the excitement. She held it loosely now at her side, caught up in bashful giggles herself. Her smile - the same as his mother's - was warm and wide, and small puffs of her breath were barely visible in the chilly air.

"Do I really make you that happy, kitten?" her eyes were barely open from her happiness.

He bumped his forehead against hers in complete bliss, eyes shut. If he was in his suit, he would be purring loud enough for the whole city to hear. It was almost scary just how much he was feeling everything all at once, as if it was all about to overflow.

If he thought he loved her so much before, there was no possible way to measure what he felt now.

"More than words could say. I'll still try anyway you know."

Under his touch she shifted, the contact so soft and fleeting that when he opened his eyes again, she was now dipping out of his embrace and running to catch the umbrella that started rolling away again in the breeze.

Wait.

Oh. Oh hell no, she's not getting away after pulling that-!

"H-Hey! I wasn't ready! Not fair!" Adrien stuttered out as he followed her. The realization was still echoing in his head.

She just kissed me. She actually kissed me this time !

Marinette caught the umbrella, holding it in front of her like a shield and giggling in victory.

"Too bad! The mood is over, try again later!"

She squealed as he started bolting after her in the empty streets, both of them slipping and sliding on the wet sidewalk for blocks. Marinette was more nimble, keeping the distance between them steady until she reached the base of the stairwell to her apartment.

Adrien caught her as she tried to peek in her bag for her keys, trapping her against the wall with both his palms on each side of her head. They stood still, catching their breath.

It was the perfect moment for him to make a snarky joke. Her eyes looked up at him with an eyebrow quirked, with that smirk that was so familiar that usually settled under her mask. She was ready to quip back at anything he was going to say, as was their usual banter as Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Adrien, however, chose to finally press his lips against hers.

Both their lips were chapped from the cold weather, and the kiss was shortened by the way both their mouths split into wide open grins as the giggles only increased again. He pulled away, covering his lips with his fingers as his blush deepened.

Marinette burst out in full laughter and weakly tried to pull his hand away from his face. "Pffffft- See? Not as easy when you have to do it, huh?"

Adrien pouted at her. "You laughed too, Buginette. It's not all my fault." He paused for a moment. "Wait. Your name is Marinette, it fits perfectly, hah!" He realized with wide eyes.

She rolled her own and dipped out once again out of his arms, finally pulling out her keys and starting up the stairs.

"Come on, we're gunna get sick if we stay out any longer. How about we catch up over some tea?"

He could barely remember that it was still raining outside from the way he felt so full of warmth and joy. The sight of her looking down from a few steps above in his jacket, smiling just as strongly as he probably was, only multiplied it.

It was a flame that burned bright and strong. But it wasn't too hot to the touch. In fact, he felt just fine.

"Do you have any chocolate croissants?"

"I told you last time you were here, didn't I? Only the best in all of Paris."

With that, she took his hand and lead the way up the stairwell, the echoing rain the only sound as it pattered against the metal.

"Plagg! No! Leave them be!"

Something was thumping against the back of his head. He could feel the sweet lull of sleep slip away from his brain as he heard Plagg.

"Adriennnn. I'm hungry. You had enough cuddle time already."

"Nnnnnngh…leave me alone, Plagg." He muttered as he wrapped his hands tighter around the warmth in his arms and nuzzled his head against the softness tucked right under his chin.

It was nice and smelled like vanilla and lavender. The whole room felt so warm and comfy and familiar. He let his eyes stay closed when Plagg's pestering stopped with a squeak.

A door swung open loudly.

"Hey Mari, we gotta help find Nino's roommate, he says he didn't come home so he's probably at the li...brary…" the voice dropped out as it entered the room.

"...found him." Nino deadpanned.

Adrien's eyes snapped open.

He was then on the carpet holding his nose where Marinette flailed and hit him with the back of her head.

Alya cut off whatever she was about to say to Nino, crossing her arms at her roommate. Her eyes were scary.

"Nothing going on between you two, huh?"

Nino, however, only grinned and gave him a thumbs up in a ridiculous dad-like manner. He could feel Nino's pride for him just radiating off of the DJ.

Adrien covered his face in embarrassment.

Marinette just looked around the room and sighed. "Please can we settle this over breakfast or something?

Alya hummed in consideration before shrugging. "Man, and I thought Nino getting us all into his big gig tonight was news. We'll be downstairs waiting, lovebirds!"

Alya tugged Nino with her out the door, leaving a confused Bridgette by the doorway. She peeked in.

"Should I ask?"

"No." Marinette flopped down on her stomach with a groan back in the bed.

"M'kay. Hi Adrien!" She waved at him before walking off.

"...she looks familiar, did she used to come to the shop before?" He looked up at her with curious eyes. She turned red and covered her head with the blanket.

"...It's a long story." She sighed.