Chapter 1: Cars, Pigeons, and A Chocolate Shop

There was nothing unusual about yesterday's fight against Hawk Moth's latest supervillain...certainly nothing to suggest that Chat Noir and Ladybug's partnership would be irrevocably changed that day.

No matter how often he imagined how wonderful it would be if just one or two select things were different between them (the first being mutual feelings of love and the second being the sharing of each other's true identities), Chat Noir had been nothing but the best partner for Ladybug he could be. Whatever she needed him to be or do at any given moment, he was there in a heartbeat to provide, be it another opinion, a distraction, the destroyer of an obstacle in her way, or to take a hit she couldn't afford to take... and all the while, since the day she unknowingly stole his heart away, he was content to wait forever for her to fall for him in return.

As much as he wanted to know who his lady was underneath that red and black-spotted mask, and to tell her who he was and how hopelessly in love he was, he understood that protecting their secrets was part of protecting each other, and the rest of the city of Paris. But when the time was right...when there was no more reason to hide from Hawk Moth, maybe...he would know.

Because she loved and trusted him...

Not because he just happened to see her detransform behind the same parked car he had been about to hide behind.

To be clear, he had not been following her (he insisted, as his Kwami, Plagg scolded and jeered at him while snacking on his third piece of Camembert that day at the same time)! They had left the scene and gone their separate ways in almost opposite directions as they always did. He had barely cleared the first rooftop when he realized he was heading straight towards the TV1 helicopter on its way back to the broadcasting station. If they had seen him going anywhere in a hurry, they might have tried to follow him in the hope of capturing more footage, so he had abruptly turned around and started looking for the nearest safe hiding place in the opposite direction, completely forgetting that Ladybug had gone the same way.

He had dropped down in front of a chocolate shop, scattering a trio of pigeons on the sidewalk, and ducked down in between two cars parallel-parked by the sidewalk. His Miraculous beeped one final time before his transformation dissolved and dropped a tired and grouchy Kwami into his hands. Adrien was rifling through an inside pocket of his jacket for a piece of Camembert when he heard the whiz of Ladybug's yo-yo and the soft thump of her feet touching down (scattering the pigeons again, from the sound of flapping and affronted coo-ing) right on the other side of the car he had his feet jammed up against. He had frozen, alarm bells going off in his head, and stuffed Plagg in his jacket just has he heard the sound of what could only have been Ladybug detransforming less than two yards in front of him. He held his breath, and then heard the sounds of her voice and soft footfalls coming down the sidewalk.

"Maybe this shop sells cookies?"

"Maybe," said a tiny, tired-sounding voice. "But it's a chocolatier, not a bakery…"

"If they don't have anything for you, Tikki, you might have to wait until we get home. Is that okay?"

"I'll be fine! Your parents' chocolate chip cookies are worth waiting for!" replayed the tiny voice, sounding cheerful and reassuring in spite of its owner's exhaustion.

Adrien could feel his heart pounding in his ears.

Please don't see me, please don't see me, just go on in and I'll be on my merry way back to my own home...still not knowing who the love of my life is…

His heart actually throbbed painfully with longing at the thought. Adrien shook his head and ran both hands through his hair absentmindedly, now hoping he wasn't about to lose his mind over the internal conflict raging between the responsible and the romantic sides of his brain.

For better or worse, the decision was made for him two seconds later.

By the time he recognized the sudden but familiar sensation of a tickle in a runny nose, reflex had taken over and he let out a sneeze loud enough to send the pigeons flying into the air for the third time. With no cars driving by in that moment, there was no way Ladybug hadn't heard it less than three meters away.

"What was that?!" Ladybug's voice demanded in a panicked squeak, just loud enough for Adrien to catch. "Where did that come from?!"

A car came around the corner of the block and Adrien used the noise as cover to fling himself face-up on the ground, grab the underside of the bumper of the car behind his head, plant his feet, and, ignoring the gritty scrape of the pavement, shuffle himself backwards under the car behind him. He covered his nose and mouth with one hand to muffle the sound of his breathing and prayed to Mr. Pigeon that he wouldn't inhale any more pigeon dandruff. Eyes bugging out in panic, he eyed the sidewalk visible to his right and waited, straining his ears for any sound of footsteps.

With the sound of the passing car fading away at the end of the end of the block, Adrien was able to catch Ladybug's voice murmuring, "I don't see anybody...well, there's a lady with a little girl in a stroller across the street, but that sneeze sounded like a boy's…maybe it came from around the corner?"

"I don't see anybody looking at you funny or acting strange, do you?" asked the tiny voice.

"No…"

"Then it's probably nothing we need to worry about…" the tiny voice mused, still sounding slightly concerned but clearly trying not to be paranoid and worry Ladybug. "Nothing inherently dangerous about someone sneezing…"

"I guess, but…" Ladybug's voice, though still tinged with trepidation, sounded somewhat distant now...almost contemplative, like there was something else on her mind. There was a moment of silence, broken only the sound of another car driving by, and then Adrien heard the soft scuff of hesitant footsteps...in his direction.

What is she doing?! Why?! Oh, crap, I'm so screwed...if I so much as move my head, she'll hear me unless another car drives by! What do I doooooo!?

He saw a pair of girl's feet in pink ballet flats walking slowly and hesitantly towards him, and then stand on tip-toe with her weight on mostly one foot. He guessed she was trying to see over the front of the car he was under, perhaps to see if there was someone else across the street that the parked car had blocked her view of. As long as she didn't think to crouch down and look under the car, maybe he could still get out of this…

Wait...did he recognize those shoes from somewhere…? There was something undoubtedly familiar about them, though he couldn't put his finger on why. He could tell they weren't nearly expensive enough to be Chloe's shoes (Well, of course they aren't Chloe's shoes, there's no way she could be Ladybug...I mean, I'd recognize her voice if she was! Adrien admonished himself). Maybe it was someone in his class? But then, wouldn't he have noticed her before?

"I must have imagined it…" Ladybug's voice muttered, jerking his attention back to the present.

She seemed to relax, coming down from tip-toe, and tracing the sidewalk back and forth in front of her. Somehow it struck him as a very wavering, uncertain gesture, very unlike Ladybug's usually confident and determined body language...except, he remembered she hadn't felt fully confident and determined from the beginning: she had started out at least as awkward and fumbling as he had the first time he became a superhero with superpowers, and she had her moments from time to time when she felt unsure, even scared. He couldn't recall any specific instance when he had seen Ladybug make this gesture, but somehow it still didn't clash with his image of her...even Adrien wasn't sure why.

Somehow I never got around to wondering what kind of shoes Ladybug might wear day-to-day… Adrien mused, beginning to relax a little bit now that it seemed she wasn't going to check under the cars for him. I don't know what I would have expected, but those are cute shoes...aww, I wonder if she likes the color pink...does she actually have a girly-girl style in everyday life?! That's...so cute! I wonder if she's more of a skirt or pants kind of girl…? She'd probably look gorgeous in anything, honestly...or adorable! Or both!

Adrien's impromptu daydreaming jolted to a halt as the girl in pink flats who was Ladybug stepped back and started walking back the way she came, back toward the chocolate shop. He waited to hear the clunk of a push-bar or the tinkle of a doorbell to indicate she had gone inside, when he heard the muffled sound of what sounded like a cell phone ringing. He didn't have his with him, so it must have been hers.

"Oh, crap!" Ladybug hissed. "That's probably Alya. I gotta-Ack!"

Her phone-a plain white one with no case or charms-clattered to the sidewalk, and Adrien couldn't help but wince (I'd bet my own phone that it's broken now...hope she can get a new one…). Adrien saw Ladybug kneel to pick it up, and he realized a split second too late that keeping his eyes on her feet had been a bad idea.

He could only see her legs from the knee down as she knelt down, but it was enough for him to see that she was wearing capris in bright pink stretch denim with turn-ups lined with white fabric patterned with pink dots. An arm came into view, picking up the phone; there was no sleeve of any kind visible from his position, but it wasn't necessary. Adrien would recognize those pant legs anywhere. His eyes widened and a soft gasp of shock escaped him (thankfully not giving away his position).

Marinette…

She stood up again, grumbling something about a protective case, but Adrien's brain, which was currently functioning at about 40% its normal capacity, was refusing to process any sensory input.

Marinette…!? Marinette is...Ladybug…!?

Instead, his head was swimming with memories of moments spent with Ladybug, and with Marinette. It wasn't helping him process this revelation any better, just filling him with an absolute maelstrom of emotions that he didn't have the presence of mind to separate and identify.

Ladybug's been sitting behind me in class this whole time?! I've been sitting in front of Ladybug this whole time?! LADYBUG IS IN MY CLASS?!

A familiar, sulking voice piped up, sounding like it was coming from far away.

"Listen, kid…I get it. You've just had a big shock..."

While Adrien's brain was slowly restoring its lost connections to his senses, Plagg's voice basically failed to reach Adrien's network before his request timed out.

I modeled a bowler hat that LADYBUG MADE!

"But you've got plenty of time to freak out about it when you get home. Right now, I have pressing needs that are more important!"

Oh my god, I've played Ultimate Mecha Strike III with Ladybug! IN HER ROOM! AND SHE GAVE ME HER LUCKY CHARM!

"Hey! I'm hungry! Gimme my Camembert!"

Adrien finally snapped out of his trance and awkwardly fished out the piece of cheese he had meant to give Plagg earlier. Gently pushing Plagg back inside his jacket, Adrien started working his way out from under the car. He realized as he finally stood up that his white jacket was stained dark grey on the elbows (and without a doubt all over the back and the seat of his jeans) from scuffing against the road. He hoped he wouldn't have to dodge any awkward questions from Nathalie or his father about it.

He turned toward the chocolate shop, where Marinette...Ladybug...had gone to find food for her kwami. He stared at the window display, which prevented him from seeing inside, and just stood there, his mind entirely blank once again, except for visions of Ladybug...and Marinette.

"You gonna stand there until she comes back out?" Plagg asked pointedly from inside his jacket.

"Oh, shoot!" Adrien jumped, remembering that that he was supposed to be at home until 2PM, when he was scheduled for a short photoshoot at the Trocadéro. He had left his phone behind, so he would just have to hope he could still make it back in time. "I gotta get back!"

"Yup," Plagg grunted, unconcerned as always with Adrien's responsibilities. "I assume you'll be transforming again, so just don't forget to feed me again when you get back."

Yeah, I know! Don't worry!" Adrien assured Plagg hurriedly. He turned and vaulted over the front of the parked car to crouch down right where he had hidden before. "Plagg, transform me!"

The trip back took him only ten minutes, but he was lucky not to have smacked into the side of a building in his distraction; his mind was filled with racing thoughts of both his partner and his classmate, who he now knew were one and the same person.

Adrien managed to get back and into his bedroom with a few minutes to spare. He used this time to change clothes and make sure there was no incriminating dirt in his hair or on his face. He got another piece of cheese for Plagg, but was called downstairs by Nathalie before he could eat lunch. If his stomach growled during the shoot, it wouldn't mess up the shots, at least, he thought. But then, Adrien also knew that Plagg would have been just fine going without his cheese until after they got back from the photoshoot.

Adrien couldn't remember a time when he was more distracted during a photoshoot. His brain kept replaying the mind-blowing revelation from in front of the chocolate shop over and over and over, broken up by random flashbacks of moments fighting by Ladybug's side, and moments spent in Marinette's company, mostly at school. He was trying to merge his internalized images of Ladybug and Marinette together, but he knew each of them from completely separately facets of his day-to-day life, each of which he lived as very different versions of himself! Even in hindsight, he couldn't think of anything that linked the two girls. Sure, it was now clear as day that, in fact, they were the same person, and it actually explained a lot the longer he thought about it, but they still just seemed so different...it wasn't that he couldn't see Marinette as a superheroine, or that he couldn't see Ladybug as a high school student with many creative talents; his brain just had too much trouble...fusing them? He couldn't even find the words to explain his thoughts to himself.

Maybe it was because his stream of thoughts were interrupted by the photographer so often; he would space out and stay in one pose for too long, requiring the photographer to recapture his attention. Once in awhile, he didn't hear what the photographer was telling him for how to alter his pose, and would have to ask him to repeat his instructions. The photographer couldn't exactly lecture Adrien for his lack of professionalism with Nathalie and his bodyguard standing right there, but it wasn't hard to tell that he was annoyed and frustrated. Adrien was truly sorry for making the photographer's job harder-if Nathalie told his father about it, his disapproval would come back to bite both of them-but he couldn't help it: he had just learned his soulmate's true identity! His whole world had been flipped over!

He remained spacy, scatter-brained, and high-strung through the entire rest of the photoshoot and the entirety of the car ride home. He almost completely bypassed his last chance to grab his lunch before the chef started preparing dinner. As soon as he was alone in the dining room, he tossed aside his table manners and wolfed his food down in less than five minutes. As soon as he made it back to his room and closed the door behind him, he let Plagg out from inside his jacket and started unloading everything on his kwami.

"Okay, Plagg! What-am-I-gonna-do? What-am-I-gonna-do-about-Ladybug?! What-am-I-gonna-do-about-Marinette?! Do-I-tell-them?! I-mean-her?! I-dunno-but-should-I-tell-them-I-know?! I-mean-HER! DO-I-TELL-HER-I'M-CHAT-NOIR?! TELL ME WHAT TO DO, PLAGG!"

"Okay, okay! Slow down! Stop talking!" Plagg snapped. "One thing at a time! First question: Do you want to tell her you know her true identity?"

"Uh…" Adrien was flapping his hands in indecision, trying to get his brain to slow down. Did he want to tell her? Tell her he had accidentally seen her detransform? Or let her keep believing her secret was safe?

He immediately balked at the idea of leaving her in the dark; not telling each any personal information to keep their true identities secret was one thing, but now that he knew who she was, not telling her that he knew just seemed irresponsible, somehow. Besides, it was her identity; she had the right to know.

"I...I don't think I could not tell her. It would eat at me until I blurted it out, or I let something slip that exposed me. It's her identity, so she has the right to know! I feel like it's just the right thing to do. I sure am not looking forward to the conversation, 'cause I don't want to upset her with the news, but...I don't want to keep secrets from her."

He was finally starting to feel calmer. He looked back up at Plagg, hoping the little kwami would help him figure this all out.

"Makes sense." Plagg shrugged, appearing unconcerned. "Okay, next question-"

"That's it?!" Adrien squawked incredulously. "You're not gonna-?!"

"Do you want to wait until you see Ladybug again to tell her?" Plagg plowed on, completely ignoring him. "Or do you want to tell Marinette next time you see her?"

Adrien shut his mouth and thought about it. It was hard to imagine what Marinette's reaction would be to hearing that he knew she was Ladybug...she'd be shocked, of course-he knew he would be in that situation-and they would never see each other the same way again, though he admitted that this was probably inevitable no matter how he chose to break the news to her. Marinette was a bit of a mystery to him overall in a way: she had a tendency to stumble over her own words whenever she spoke to him, but he couldn't figure out if it was just a tick of hers or if it had something to do with him personally. He definitely noticed that she rarely had the same trouble when she spoke to Alya, or to Nino...or to their teachers, or to Chloe, or to Sabrina, or Rose, or Max, or Kim, or Mylene, or…

Maybe it was just him...but why? It happened a lot with him, but not all the time: he thought it was fair enough to consider them good friends, because if she didn't like him, she wouldn't waste her energy being friendly to him; she certainly didn't try to pretend she liked Chloe, and she didn't leave her first impression of him a mystery, either (maybe she had been a little too quick to jump to conclusions about him, but he could imagine how it might have looked to her). She had been nothing but pleasant with him the day he accompanied her and her great-uncle to the cooking contest, and he got to see a whole new side of her during preparation for the Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament…

Wait! The tournament! And whenever Chloe did...!

Suddenly, things finally started to fall into place: Marinette's confidence and bravado while she trounced Max at his favorite game; Marinette's righteous anger whenever she confronted Chloe; Marinette's calm bravery and sharp wits in the face of a supervillain with a grudge; that was the Ladybug he loved and admired, only it was never just Ladybug: it was there in Marinette the whole time.

"Hey...anyone home in there?"

And Ladybug…! Newbie, self-proclaimed klutz Ladybug managing to fall right out of the sky, knock them both off his makeshift balance beam, tie them together, and leave them dangling on their first day as superheroes...Ladybug pulling disgusted faces whenever she was forced to spend more than two minutes in Chloe's company...Ladybug's ability to put the most random things together to create the perfect solution to a sticky situation...that was all Marinette, too!

Brave, smart, creative, determined, kind, selfless, and the fiercest, most loyal of friends...and she had been so close to him, all this time. Oh, how much time had he wasted, not seeing her when she was right beside him?

"HELLO-OOO!"

Adrien yelped in surprise, jumping about a foot in the air. If he was a cat, his fur would have been standing on end.

"Sorry, Plagg!" he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. He could feel his cheeks glowing pink...how long had he had been blushing for?

Am I gonna be, like, blushing 24/7 now? he wondered. Between Ladybug and Marinette...Oh man, I'm in trouble…

"So, was any of that spacing-out productive?" Plagg asked dryly. "Because If it wasn't, I'm done trying to help you think."

"Yeah...yeah, it was," replied Adrien faintly. He was having a little trouble staying present; his head was still full of visions of ladybug spots, sky-blue eyes, and hair as black as midnight.

"So, you gonna talk to Marinette or Ladybug?" Plagg asked again.

Adrien frowned thoughtfully, trying to recover his train of thought.

I can never really know when I'll see Ladybug next, he thought. Unless we run into each other on patrol, it depends on when Hawk Moth akumatizes someone next… Not for the first time (not by a long shot), Adrien wished he and Ladybug could meet without needing to fight a supervillain, even if it was just once in awhile. Why did their relationship have to be business-only?

Well, actually, now that I knew who she is, I guess now I technically know her outside of work, too, he thought. Wait, he was supposed to be making a decision right now...what was it, again? Oh, right: which identity of hers should her talk to first?

Unless a supervillain pops up overnight, I'll see Marinette sooner...at school, tomorrow...oh, god, I'm gonna see her at school tomorrow! But, wait...if I go up to her as Adrien, I'm gonna have to explain to her that I'm Chat Noir before I can tell her I know she's Ladybug...which, I mean...I'll probably end up telling her anyway-if I know who she is, then I should at least offer to tell her who I am-but if there really is something about me that makes her super nervous, it'll make the conversation even more stressful...so should I talk to Marinette...as Chat Noir? Would that work? How would that work…?

"Uh...I don't think I can afford to wait until I see Ladybug, so I should probably talk to Marinette," Adrien said slowly. "But if I talk to her as Adrien, telling her I know she's Ladybug is gonna seem like it's coming out nowhere, and it'll just freak her out even more unless I tell her I'm Chat Noir first. But if I somehow find a way to talk to her as Chat Noir, she at least won't freak out about her classmate suddenly knowing her secret identity...I mean, if she wants to know who I am, too, I'm totally okay with telling her, but...am I making sense?"

"Barely, but I got it," Plagg replied, still acting as unconcerned as if they were planning a shopping trip. "So, you're gonna approach her as Chat Noir...where, and when?"

"Not at school, for sure; I'd probably draw a crowd," said Adrien with a brief grin. "But where else would I know when and where to find her…?"

Plagg slouched in midair, as if someone was dangling him by the scruff of his neck. He suddenly looked like Adrien had said something really stupid.

"What?" Adrien demanded, confused and annoyed by Plagg's dumbfounded stare.

"Where do you think she spends most of her time after school?" Plagg asked tonelessly.

"I don't...oh." It clicked, and Adrien suddenly wanted to smack himself. "Her house...I know where she lives…" Oh my god, DUH! Ladybug is Marinette, so she lives in Marinette's house-her OWN house! Ugh, my head hurts…

"Yes, her house," Plagg affirmed dryly. "So, when are you gonna drop by?"

"Well, I can't afford to have her parents walk in on us…" Adrien mused aloud, recalling with a small smile, how...inquisitive Marinette's parents had been when while he had been training with her for the Ultimate Mecha Strike III tournament. "So...either during peak business hours, when they'll be busy with customers, or after they've gone to sleep. They probably get busiest around breakfast and lunch, but Marinette will probably be eating with them during those times…" Adrien sighed. "I guess it's gonna have to be...tonight." His heart started pounding from nerves as soon as he said this.

"All right! We finally have a plan," Plagg said with a sigh of his own. "Well, until it's time to go, I'm gonna take a nap. When you wake me up, you'd better have a piece of Camembert for me!" And with that, Plagg flew over to Adrien's desk and disappeared into the trash can (empty, as far as Adrien could remember).

"Uh...okay, then…" Adrien said, a little surprised to suddenly find the conversation finished.

"You...you do that. And I'll do...I'll do the other that. Yeah…"

He trudged over to his bed and flung himself onto it. He reached over to pick up his cell phone where he had left it on the corner of his desk and woke it up to check the time: 5:34 PM. In a half-hour, he'd be called down for dinner. Since Marinette's parents probably got up early every morning, he figured 7:30 would be his best chance at catching Marinette after her parents had (hopefully) gone to sleep but before Marinette had (hopefully!) gone to sleep herself.

He set an alarm for 7:25 PM on his phone, and then stuffed it in his pocket. He sighed, tucking his hands behind his head, and lie there staring at the ceiling, his mind buzzing and his heart pounding.

Two hours from now, I'll be seeing Ladybug...Marinette...in her room, and laying it all out into the open, he thought. I just hope we'll both be ready for it...

From the Author: I wrote this in response to a prompt I received on Tumblr from howlwiththerain: "This Is Damaging to My Self Esteem. I Hope You Know." I fully intended to just write a short drabble, but it turned into a fully-fledged fan-fiction because I got carried away with building the exposition! The actual prompt sentence will appear in the next chapter. This the first fan-fiction I've written for the Miraculous Ladybug fandom, so I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it!