Hello, all! Thank you for reading "Please Tell Me I'm Awake Right Now". This is pure Adrienette fluff. Enjoy!

This is cross posted on AO3 (same name-clslovegood47) and Tumblr (gryffindorcls). Some of the formatting that I used on this story did not transfer well onto fanfiction.

I own nothing but the plot.

It had been exactly 1 month, 3 weeks, 5 days, 8 hours, and 17 minutes since Marinette Dupain-Cheng accidentally found out that Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste. Approximately 10 seconds after that moment, Adrien Agreste discovered that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was Ladybug. (Not that Marinette was keeping track or anything.)

No one was at fault. The Big Reveal ™ was nothing but a case of unfortunate timing. There were no declarations of love, no tears, and no screaming. It had simply been two teenagers standing in a hallway stunned silent after both their Miraculous ran out time.

There was an uneasiness between the pair immediately following the reveal. However, thanks to a few pep-talks from Tikki, Marinette gathered the courage to start a dialogue with Adrien. After a few stuttered words and awkwardly formed sentences, Marinette was finally able to invite him over for dinner.

Throughout the following weeks, Adrien had spent more and more time at her home. Her embarrassing stutter lessened as she realized that she had been holding Adrien to an impossible standard of perfection. She soon discovered that, in reality, he was (for lack of a better word) a dork.

Watching Chat and Adrien's personalities bleed into one incredible human being had been an amazing experience. He and Marinette spent time playing video games, watching movies, and telling stories. Marinette even convinced Adrien to learn how to make cookies. He had nearly burned down the kitchen three times, and his cookies were more like rocks than actual food. Nonetheless, it was still one of the best days of Marinette's life.

Their friendship as civilians made their bond as partners stronger when fighting against Hawkmoth's akumas. They were unstoppable. Marinette suddenly felt as if any obstacle could be overcome as long as she and Adrien tackled it together. It was perfect...well...almost perfect.

Despite their newfound friendship, there was still a rather large elephant in the room: Marinette's unspoken crush. It's not that Marinette liked Adrien any less than she did before. No, if anything, she had fallen head over heels for her amazing partner. Seeing Adrien for all that he was made her long to be with him even more.

The thought of not having him in her life now felt unfathomable. He completed her. Something was missing from her life when he wasn't around. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she would do anything to see Adrien happy.

Gone were the days that she fawned over her picture shrine of Adrien. All of those images had been tastefully replaced with photos that were taken of them together. She no longer had a copy of his schedule hanging from her ceiling. Instead, they communicated regularly, and he always told her where he was going to be.

Her feelings now are so much bigger than the crush she had before. It was real and big and scary.

Yesterday had been the last day of school. To celebrate, Adrien came over to Marinette's house to hang out and eat pizza.

Adrien (being the affection-starved boy she discovered he was) fell asleep on her shoulder while watching a movie after dinner. As the movie progressed, he snuggled closer and closer to Marinette. It wasn't uncommon for Adrien to cuddle with her when he fell asleep, and it was even more commonplace for Marinette to absentmindedly run her fingers through his soft, golden locks.

While last night was no different than the now countless times Adrien had been over to her house, Marinette's mind began to wander. She pondered on how normal and right everything felt. She realized that if she could just find the courage, she and Adrien could have so much more together.

She realized that there was no way that Adrien didn't have some sort of feelings for her. There he was, cuddled against her side in a peaceful slumber. She thought at that moment how much he must trust her.

Before the reveal, he had declared his love for Ladybug on multiple occasions. Now that they knew each other's identities, his flirting and teasing were still there, but it was laced with shy laughs and loving glances.

As the night had come to a close, Adrien woke up and sadly said goodbye to Marinette. He apologized for not being able to see her the next day due to the multiple photo shoots and the "insufferable, stuffy party" that he was required to attend.

As he hugged her at the door, he lingered and told Marinette that he needed an extra dose of her warmth to get him through his busy schedule the next day. It was then that Marinette became almost one hundred percent sure that Adrien had to like her as more than a friend. She spent the rest of the night and all of the next day attempting to figure out what to do with her revelation.

It was now 11:00 at night. Marinette was no closer to figuring out what to do. She didn't think she was wrong. Well, she really, REALLY hoped that she wasn't wrong. If anything, she prayed that it wasn't just her own wishful thinking.

"What's the worst that could happen if I am wrong," Marinette thought, "Oh yeah, Adrien will hate me, and he'll never want to see me again. It'll be too awkward to speak to him, and that will mess up our relationship as Ladybug and Chat Noir, and then Hawkmoth will win, and then Paris will burn, and then…"

"Hey, Marinette," Tikki (thankfully) interrupted her spiraling thoughts, "you seem to have a lot on your mind today. Is there anything you'd like to talk about?"

Marinette stared blankly at her Kwami. Tikki had been there during her obsessive phase with Adrien. She wondered what Tikki would think of Adrien potentially liking her. Would the little being shake her head and smile? Would she be supportive?

Marinette decided to rip it off like a band-aid. Otherwise, she wasn't going to get a good night's sleep again.

"Do you think Adrien likes me?" Marinette asked.

"Of course he likes you, Marinette! You're friends and partners," Tikki replied enthusiastically.

"No, Tikki," Marinette stared at the Kwami, "you know what I mean."

"Oh."

"Just, oh?"

"Marinette, I thought you told me that you wanted to try being friends with Adrien after you both found out each other's identities. You've been doing so well. You haven't stuttered in weeks, and you both look so happy," Tikki had a glint in her eye as she spoke with her chosen.

Marinette sighed. "But...have you seen the way he looks at me sometimes? And last night he hugged me for a really long time. Also, we seem to cuddle a lot."

"Do you want him to like you as more than a friend?" Tikki queried.

"Yes," Marinette replied without hesitation.

Tikki posed a second question. "Do you still like him?"

Marinette gathered her thoughts before speaking. "Honestly, I like him even more now. I always thought Chat was incredible, and Adrien is well...Adrien. Now that I know they're the same person, my heart feels...what's the word….full? It feels like I've finally completed this puzzle that couldn't be solved until now because I didn't have all the pieces. Does that make sense?"

"Oh, Marinette!" Tikki clapped her paws together in delight, "I knew it would all come to you one day! I'm so happy for you!"

"Wait, what?" Marinette turned her head to the side.

"I learned a long time ago that meddling in the relationships between a Ladybug and her Chat Noir was never helpful. I will always be here to offer encouragement, but you really needed to figure this all out on your own. Trust me it's better this way," Tikki explained.

"So," Marinette began tentatively, "Do you think he might like me?"

Tikki giggled. "Marinette, he loves you. I've heard from Plagg that he's always admired Marinette even though he was in love with Ladybug. Apparently, it wasn't hard for him to start loving both sides of the mask. Plagg keeps complaining about Adrien's tendency to be a bit of a hopeless romantic, but I think he secretly likes it. I know that Plagg is glad that his charge is finally happy. He cares in his own way."

"Really?" Marinette questioned wistfully. Hearing Tikki's confirmation made her insides melt. She could feel warm, happy tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes.

Tikki laughed again. "Yes, really!"

Marinette's hands rushed to her cheeks and she spun in place. Her smile was so wide that it was beginning to hurt her face, but she didn't care. She eventually flopped down on her chaise and clutched her hands to her chest.

"So," Tikki began again, "what's your plan, Marinette?"

Marinette didn't need to think about her next course of action.

"I need to go see him...now," she responded.

"Well, I'm ready whenever you're ready to go," Tikki said beaming at her charge.

Marinette looked at the clock. It was now 11:30, and she knew that Adrien had most likely just gotten home. It was now or never. She was doing this.

"Tikki, SPOTS ON!"

Marinette lept over the rooftops at top speed. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears. A confusing mix of nervousness and excitement churned in her stomach.

Upon reaching the Agreste mansion, she momentarily stopped before making her presence known. Inside the room, Adrien was sprawled out face down on his bed with one of his legs dangling off the side. He still had on his dress shirt and suit pants. His left shoe was still on his foot, and his navy blue tie was balled up in one of his hands. Plagg was flitting around his charge gesticulating wildly, and Adrien sporadically flopped his arms in what looked like a response to his Kwami's pestering.

Marinette took a deep breath and knocked on the window. Adrien immediately turned over and sat up. As his eyes met hers a bright smile enveloped his face. He bounded across the room, opened the window, and pulled Marinette into a tight hug.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, "I didn't think I was going to get to see you today."

Marinette returned the hug. "Well, hello to you, too, Adrien!"

After a few moments, Adrien finally let her go. He held both of her hands in his, and he gently bit his lower lip.

Marinette broke the silence. "Would it be okay if I came in and sat down for a bit?"

Adrien's eyes widened in worry. "I'm so sorry. Where are my manners? Of course, you can come in and sit down! You're not hurt, are you? You're okay, right? Please tell me you're okay?"

"No, Adrien, stop. It's okay," she reassured him, "I'm fine. I'm okay. Nothing is wrong. I just need to talk to you about something, but I wanted to make sure that you were up to having company first. I know you must be tired."

"Oh," he said. His expression calmed slightly, but a hint of worry still lingered behind his eyes. "You need to talk to me about something?"

"Adrien it's not a bad thing. Please don't worry," Marinette looked down and started to panic internally, "I'm so sorry. I don't want to worry you. You're probably tired. It's not a big deal...well...no it is a big deal, but it's not bad. Sorry...I...sorry. I just...I should just go. We can talk about it another time. I should let you sleep. Sorry."

Marinette turned to leave, and Adrien gently grabbed her wrist.

"No, please don't go," he pleaded, "Seeing you is the best part of my day. Please stay."

Marinette saw the sincerity in his eyes and whispered, "Okay."

"Please, come in." Adrien gestured towards the couch.

Marinette dropped her transformation and watched Tikki flit away. Before disappearing with Plagg, the red Kwami offered her an encouraging smile and nod.

Marinette made her way to the couch and sat several seats away from Adrien.

"So," he cleared his throat, "you-uhm-you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Yes!" Marinette said a little too loudly before correcting her volume, "Yes, I wanted to talk to you...about...uhm…"

Marinette's voice trailed off and she swallowed hard. She felt her breathing become shallow, and she fiddled with her hands in her lap.

"Marinette," Adrien said softly while scooching closer to her on the couch, "are you sure you're okay?"

Concern flooded his features once again. Marinette knew that she had to just say it. She couldn't let him worry any longer.

Marinette looked up and met his eyes with determination. She slid closer to him and took his hands in hers.

"Adrien," she said with confidence, "I'm in love with you."