The Beginning of Adrien and Marinette
With only a few seconds left until he changed back; Chat Noir decided that it was time Ladybug knew who he was under the black mask and tell her how he really feels about her.
Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir
They had just finished battling an Akuma-victim in the pouring rain. Chat Noir got wounded in battle and was lying on the ground with Ladybug crouching next to him. She had just released her Miraculous power and all the damaged property was restored and Chat's wound was all gone. He sat up slowly-the wound itself was gone but not all the pain.
"This is all my fault. If I'd thought of a better plan you wouldn't have gotten hurt trying to protect me." She said guiltily and looked away from him
"Don't say that I would do anything to protect milady" he managed a weak smile and brushed her wet hair away from her face
"Yeah but-
"I'm fine really I am. It's just a leg injury nothing I can't recover from" he put his hand on her shoulder and only then did she realise that his ring was beeping meaning he was going to change back soon
"Oh no you're about to change back!" she helped him stand and supported him "What are we going to do I can't find out who you really are but I can't just leave you here with an injured leg" she began to panic but he was incredibly calm to her surprise
"It's okay it was going to happen eventually right?" he suddenly turned serious "I want you to see who I am" he said slightly anxious for he feared how she would react. And before he could think of anything to say Chat Noir was replaced by Adrien Agreste.
Ladybug froze. A million things rushing through her head when she finally found out who the sassy cat really was.
"A-Adrien! You're Chat Noir!"
Xxx
They were in Adrien's bedroom; Ladybug had patched up his leg. An uneasy silence hung between them as she sat on the edge of his bed but couldn't look at him.
"I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. The similarities between you two are amazing I mean the voice should've given it away."
"But our personalities make us total opposites. Adrien is reserved and cool while Chat Noir is…" he trailed off and looked into her eyes. It felt strange referring to himself in the third person
"An unrestricted, sassy and flirtatious person" she said with a smile as she looked into his eyes "Everything Adrien Agreste wishes he could be" she said more to herself than to Adrien while cupping his cheek in her hand and suddenly it all made sense. Chat Noir was an extension of Adrien's personality. If he weren't the famous teen model and son of Gabriel Agreste but just a regular teenager-Chat Noir would be the dominant personality that Adrien would possess. And suddenly she felt bad for him that he couldn't be who he wanted to be and act the way he wanted to.
He couldn't be free.
"You say that as if you know me personally. Do we know each other in our normal forms?"
"I thought we did but I guess I don't know you as well as I thought"
"And what about you? I'm not saying you should tell me who you are but what are you like in your normal form?" he knew he shouldn't be asking but he was enjoying their time together too much not to ask.
"Well the real me isn't as confident and brave as Ladybug"
"I'm sure that's not true. Ladybug is amazing and that means whoever is under that mask is amazing too" it was his turn to cup her cheek causing her to blush and she leaned into his hand. Marinette was screaming on the inside-her crush was touching her face.
"I wonder if you'd still think that if you knew who I was under this mask" she said suddenly doubting herself while the love of her life was practically praising her "The real me is really-
But before she could give too much away about herself her earrings staring beeping. She had to leave.
"You should get some rest; we'll talk again soon" she was surprised to see Adrien's fist extended out but she smiled regardless
"We forgot to 'pound it' after we defeated the Akuma" he said suddenly feeling bashful but nothing prepared him for what happened next. Instead of bumping fists with Adrien Ladybug wrapped her arms around him in warm affectionate embrace.
For a moment Adrien sat motionless only because he's never been shown this much affection before; definitely not from his father which was why most of the time-although he cared for his friends-he mostly kept his emotions under wraps. Her arms around him made him blush but after he got over the shock he put his arms around her as well and closed his eyes and held her like he never wanted to let go. He could feel the warmth and care she felt for him present in her hug; he could tell that she didn't want to let go either.
But she had to.
She gave him a sweet smile before leaping out his window and out of sight.
"Blush any harder and your face will be as red as her suit" teased Plagg as he floated around Adrien
"I wasn't-I mean…" he sighed "I just can't help it she's just so…amazing. And what happened just now; no one's ever hugged me like that before-well not since my mom anyways. There was so much care and warmth in that hug" he could feel the blush return to his face
"I think you're reading too much into it; it was just a hug" Plagg said while enjoying a piece of Camembert
"It was much more than that Plagg; it was much more than that"
The next day at school was a miracle-Marinette was the first to arrive. Just as she was about to ascend the stairs to enter the building Adrien's driver pulled up. She waited to see him come out of the car and was shocked to see his leg was wrapped in bandages and he had crutches-oh yeah he hurt his leg while being Chat Noir. She said in her head.
As soon as he noticed her he waved; she waved back and walked over to him.
"Whoa Adrien what happened to your leg?" she asked as if she didn't already know
"Just had a little accident during my photoshoot yesterday" he explained
Nice cover story. She thought to herself. It felt so strange seeing Adrien knowing full well who he was when an Akuma was around. And then it struck her-as different as Adrien and Chat Noir are he's still Adrien under that mask which means that in a complicated way he was flirting with her all this time. And everytime Chat Noir kissed her hand it was Adrien kissing her hand-kind of. Marinette's head was buzzing with glee when she made her discovery.
Connecting Adrien to his alter ego made it a lot easier for her to be around him; so much so that she found that she hadn't stuttered once since she'd started talking to him.
"Need help getting up the stairs?" she asked as they stopped at the steps
"That would be great"
Marinette took his bag and he put his arm around her neck. Slowly they walked up the stairs and only when they were half way up did Marinette acknowledge that Adrien was holding on to her. Oh my goodness Adrien totally has his arm around my neck. I can't believe this is happening. She screamed in her head.
But before she could enjoy it anymore they reached the top of the stairs.
"Thanks a lot Marinette"
"N-No problem" so much for not stammering in front of him
Xxx
After school Marinette and Adrien were the last to leave so she helped him down the stairs and just when she thought she was getting out of her clumsy ways; she tripped and fell forward taking Adrien with her. Marinette lay on the ground Adrien above-he'd landed on her. The two teens were blushing as time seemed to stop for them as they looked into each other's eyes.
"S-Sorry I tripped and…" she faded off
"It's alright; nothing broken?"
"Oh no I'm fine and your leg?"
"It's fine good thing I didn't land on it"
She helped him up and waved goodbye as the car drove away then started walking home.
She was sitting at her desk doing homework but she wasn't really concentrating on it. Her mind was somewhere else.
"Either that math homework is incredibly difficult or you're not thinking about it at all" came Tikki as she whizzed around Marinette.
"What…oh yeah I've just been thinking"
"About Adrien being Chat Noir?"
"Yeah I just can't seem to wrap my head around it. I mean I've known about it for two days now but I'm still in shock. I've been in love with Adrien since that amazing day he gave me his umbrella but on the other hand Chat Noir and I are friends and an unstoppable team but I wouldn't say we're lovers-no matter what Chat Noir says." She explained to Tikki but she found it hard to believe everything she was saying.
Did she really see Chat Noir as just a really great friend and partner or perhaps…
"Are you sure you only see Chat Noir as a friend though? You have kissed him before"
"That didn't count I only kissed him to undo the effect that Dark Cupid had on him" she avoided eye contact with her Kwami trying to hide her blushing cheeks.
"If that's the case then why are you blushing so hard right now? Just face it Marinette you've fallen for both sides of Adrien and I think it's about time that Ladybug told him that"
Marinette took what Tikki said into consideration and after working things out in her head she agreed. She would tell him her true feelings tonight during their patrol.
Night time finally arrived. Marinette looked to Tikki nervously and the red Kwami nodded to her.
"Alright here goes nothing. Tikki Spots on!" she yelled and the transformation began Marinette was replaced by Ladybug. She left through her trap door to the balcony and from there she took off to her meeting place with Chat Noir-The Eifel Tower.
She was the first to arrive. Her heart seemed to be racing in her chest. She was nervous to see him-even though Ladybug was way more confident than Marinette she couldn't shake her nerves. She spent so much time in her head she hadn't even noticed her partner arrive.
"Ladybug…" he waved his hand in front of her face and she finally paid attention
"Oh hey Chat Noir"
"You were pretty spaced out there; everything alright milady?" he asked slightly concerned
"Yeah…no…I don't know. We need to talk Chat" she started "Well I know who you are under your mask so I've decided that it's time you know who I am under mine but…
"But…" he said slightly worried
"But I'm just scared of how you'll react when you see who I really am"
"Why would I ever think badly of who you are under there?"
"Because the real me isn't like Ladybug" she said tears welling up in her eyes "If the civilian me weren't Ladybug I doubt we could ever be anything more than friends" she walked away from him to the rails where she rested her hands and looked down.
Chat Noir sighed and walked behind her; putting his hands on her shoulders.
"Do you remember when we first got our powers and we faced Stone-heart?" he rested his chin on the top of her head and she placed her hand over his on her shoulder
"Of course I do"
"Well I said something to myself after that whole commotion was over. I fell in love with you almost immediately and what I said is-whoever she is beneath that mask; I love that girl" he turned her around and tilted her head so she was looking into his eyes.
"So even though I don't know who you are under that mask yet I know that I already love you" he put his arms around her and held her close. Ladybug or rather Marinette just closed her eyes and hugged him back. They remained comfortable in each other's loving embrace for a while before Marinette broke away first.
"Okay so I guess I'd better say it then. Today at school when I spoke to you; you said that you'd hurt your leg during a photoshoot. Who was the first person you told that to?" he thought for a few seconds before it dawned on him. His eyes grew wide in surprise when he'd figured it out.
"Marinette?" he said almost in a whisper still trying to take it all in but her nod confirmed it all
"Yes Adrien Ladybug's true identity is Marinette. I'm Marinette" well now he knew who she really was and she couldn't tell how he was feeling and this made her incredibly nervous
"I can't believe it's really you. That's so…so fantastic!"
"What?" she said in disbelief
He sounded elated at the fact that it was her. Not the reaction she was expecting but she was glad nonetheless because he wasn't mad at her.
"I always tried to put a face to Ladybug but I never could and now that I know it's you; it makes perfect sense"
"What do you mean?"
"Well let's see…Ladybug is kind so is Marinette, Ladybug is caring so is Marinette. I could go on but I think you get the idea. Ladybug is an extension of you Marinette. Honestly I don't know why I didn't put it together sooner"
And then Ladybug remembered that there was something else she had to tell her kitty.
"Oh there's something else I need to tell you" she said blushing
"What is it?"
"Well…" the Marinette in her was coming out as she struggled to form the words to tell him how she felt about him but then she figured that there was another way for her to tell him
She gently cupped his face between her hands and looked him straight in the eyes
"Ladybug-" he started but never finished for she brought his lips to hers and kissed him with all the confidence she could muster. He was stunned at first but then he closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned in.
They shared a passionate timeless kiss that left both heroes blushing at the end of it. Their eyes were still closed, arms around each other and foreheads against each other.
"That was unexpected of you Bugaboo" he said cheekily and she smiled against his lips "If ever I thought that I'd be the one to steal a kiss from you"
"Now you're my Bugaboo" she said cheekily to him "Nice try Kitty but you'd never get the best of me that easily. And besides I figured this was a better way for me to tell you that I love you-all of you. Adrien and Chat Noir"
"You what?" he pulled back a little to look her in the eyes
"That's right I love you and I have for a while now. In the beginning we were just friends but the more time we spent together the more I realised that my feelings for you were more than platonic"
"You couldn't resist my Chat Noir charm" he said teasingly but then got serious "I love you too-jokes and flirting aside. I love you too" they both smiled at each other slightly teary eyed and embraced each other before kissing again. But just as their lips met-a familiar beeping stopped them
"I guess we're about to change back" she said
And just as she said it they both returned to their civilian forms. Ladybug and Chat Noir were replaced by Marinette and Adrien. As soon as he saw her his face lit up with the most beautiful smile.
"It's really you" he said tucking a strand of hair behind her ear then cupping her face and she leaned into his hand and smiled up at him
Now it was his turn to kiss her. Marinette had no time to mentally prepare herself-the guy she's had a crush on for the longest time was leaning in to kiss her. Without thinking she accepted his lips against hers and placed her hands against his chest while he kept his around her. Her stomach was fluttering with sheer euphoria as she kissed him back. How she'd wanted this day to come more than anything.
When they eventually broke apart Marinette couldn't stop smiling.
"Well I guess it's safe to assume that we love each other completely huh?" she asked feeling bashful
"Without a doubt" he took her hand in his and squeezed it slightly
"So then this isn't only the beginning for Ladybug and Chat Noir but this is also-
the beginning of Adrien and Marinette"