Adrien hadn't had time to transform.

He watches the akuma bearing down on him as he tries to protect a young boy with his arms. He realizes how helpless he is. Helpless to fight, helpless to protect himself or this boy, helpless to protect Marinette or to even know where she is. He squeezes his eyes shut and prays that Ladybug can take this one on her own.

And there she is, suddenly, her yo-yo a blur, her face screwed up in concentration, a lock of hair stuck to her cheek with perspiration.

She cries out for them to run, but quickly realizes there is nowhere to escape. She pauses for a moment and scoops up the boy, swinging him to safety.

The akuma follows her progress stupidly for a moment, then slowly turns its concentration back to Adrien, right on time to see Ladybug sweep him off his feet the same way.

"My girlfriend would not be thrilled about this," he mutters, clinging to her neck, involuntarily catching a whiff of coconut shampoo. He doesn't expect Ladybug to hear his comment, but the amused smile she immediately flattens down doesn't escape his notice.

She drops him on a rooftop and dashes away with only a few parting words - "Stay hidden! Stay safe!". He transforms and joins her a minute later, but when he looks at her he thinks of that odd smile - knowing, almost smug - why?

When the akuma is gone he finds Marinette and hugs her.

Is she using a new shampoo? Her hair smells nice...like coconut.

He makes the connection so gradually that later he can't remember having any one single moment of epiphany.

But he does make the connection.

Adrien walks her home after school, their fingers laced together, their cheeks flushed pink from the slight chill in the air.

It strikes Marinette from time to time that there's something familiar about him, something she didn't notice while she was crushing on him from afar. She's seen that smirk on another face, she's seen a different pair of green eyes look at her the same way. When he's at ease, like now, he walks with a lightness that makes her half expect to see a black leather tail dragging behind him.

He pulls the bakery door open for her and she laughs at something he's said and pretends she's not having the most ridiculous thought -

I'm about ninety percent sure that I'm dating Chat Noir.

"Hey," Adrien says nonchalantly, playing absently with one of her pigtails, "You met Chat Noir once, right? What was he like?"

"I think you already asked me this," Marinette says, puzzled.

"Yeah, but I got kind of a confusing answer out of you that time."

"Well, sorry. It was only because I liked you so much, if that helps."

He chuckles a little. "Really though."

She looks at him suspiciously. "Why so interested in Chat Noir?"

Adrien had expected a question to this effect. "Well, everyone's always talking about Ladybug right? And understandably so. She's amazing. But Chat Noir's kind of more of an afterthought. I dunno, I'm curious."

Marinette frowns and leans her head on his shoulder. "I guess so. That's not right."

"It's not?"

"No, of course not! They're a duo."

Adrien suppresses a smile. "Chat Noir always seemed like kind of an idiot to me. But then again, I've never met him."

She grins at this and rolls her eyes. "He is. But he's a good guy."

Adrien feels his stomach flip. "You really think so? How come?"

Marinette seems to check herself, putting up a nearly imperceptible guard. "Oh, I don't know. He's always saving Paris. Can't be an easy gig, but he does it well."

"Yeah."

"So, if you think Chat Noir is an idiot, what do you think of Ladybug?"

Adrien's caught off guard. "Huh? Oh. Well, what does anyone think of Ladybug? She's great."

"Hmm."

"But you're prettier," he says teasingly. She rolls her eyes again and kisses him, and he changes the subject to the design she's working on.

But he can't stop thinking about what she said.

Marinette likes me. Not exactly news, since they've been dating for six months now, but she likes Chat too.

"He's a good guy."

And what's more, this is coming from the girl who might be Ladybug - no. He pushes that thought away. Ladybug wants to keep her identity a secret. He will respect that.

But...the way she talked about Chat Noir, like he was a friend she saw every day...

Marinette has been paying more attention to Chat Noir than usual these last few months, trying to convince herself she's wrong.

She would have figured it out earlier if it was true, right?

She thinks of all that time she spent getting to know Adrien. She had liked him for ages. It had taken forever to muster up the courage to ask him out.

Marinette thinks of that first date, seven months ago, how she'd gotten whipped cream on her nose and they'd laughed.

She thinks of how Adrien had worn that hat she knitted him every day that winter. How he brought her a cup of coffee to school one morning, after noticing that she had sent him an email at one in the morning.

They'd talked, they'd shared their most trivial worries and hopes. They'd kissed - and even after all these months, those kisses made something in Marinette's knees go weak, and something in her brain melt.

And much longer than Marinette and Adrien had been dating, Ladybug had fought side-by-side with Chat Noir. She trusted him, and she knew he trusted her. Even if they didn't know anything about each other, they still knew each other. She would have known him immediately. She would have been able to pick him out of a lineup. She was sure of it.

"Are you all right, Ladybug?' Chat asks, concerned.

Marinette realizes she's staring at him. She shakes her head a little. "Oh. Yes, I'm fine."

When did the nicknames stop? When did the flirting stop? Could it have been...seven months ago?

"You just looked...I don't know." He shifts uncomfortably. "You're okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." She spins her yo-yo, preparing to leave. "See you later, Chat!"

"Take care," he says, and scampers.

She pauses to watch him disappear into the night, and exhales with a smile.

It's possible.

It's weird, sure.

But she's Ladybug. Every day she dresses up like a spotted insect and fights butterflies with a yo-yo and a cat. She can handle weird.

He slips up.

He says something he shouldn't have, and prays she doesn't notice.

She notices.

Ladybug snaps her yo-yo back into her hand. "You know Gabriel Agreste?"

He mentally kicks himself. You idiot! She doesn't want to know who you are.

"Yeah, well…" He tries to think of an explanation, but she interrupts him, smirking, before he can get it out.

"You know, I used to have the most massive crush on his son."

Chat freezes. "Who, Adrien?" He feels himself going red. If Marinette has figured it out, and she's playing with him like this...

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Used to? What happened?" he asks, as casually as possible.

"Oh, I fell in love with him instead," Ladybug says breezily. Her earring beeps, and she winks at him before swinging out of sight.

Adrien isn't sure how long he stands there, processing, but by the time he is once again aware of his surroundings the sky has darkened substantially and his transformation has worn off. Plagg hovers in front of him, staring pointedly.

"Oh, shut up," he says to the kwami. "Let's go find some Camembert."

As he heads home slowly, he makes a resolution:

Tomorrow, they're finally going to acknowledge this.

No more dancing around it. He's going to tell her.

Adrien is looking at her funny.

Marinette pretends not to notice at first, working on her homework while perched on the sofa in his room. The kwamis float around above their heads, and the TV flips through channels as Adrien absently plays with the remote. He keeps flicking his eyes toward Tikki.

Finally she puts down her pen and stares at him pointedly. "Okay. Talk to me."

"What?"

"Why are you acting so weird?"

He glances at the floor, then back to her. "It's just...weird to know for sure."

Marinette twists her fingers together. "Are you disappointed?"

"No!" he says. "Are - are you?" he asks, with more uncertainty.

"Of course not, kitty," she says.

Adrien runs a hand through his hair. "I wouldn't blame you if you were," he says in a would-be casual voice, not meeting her eyes.

A thin rubber band in Marinette's heart breaks with a twing. She stands and goes to him, wrapping her arms around him, probably too tightly, but he doesn't complain.

"That," she says, "is without question the stupidest thought you've ever had, and I never want you to entertain that idea again."

"Even stupider than the time I thought I could pole vault over that one akuma's spiderweb, and ended up hanging there for twenty minutes?"

"So much stupider."

He hesitantly brings his arms up to hug her back. "I feel like I'm holding you back sometimes, you know. Both of you," he says with a short laugh.

"There's only one of me with you," Marinette says firmly. "And I couldn't do half of what I do without you. We're a team, Adrien."

He pauses, then hugs her tighter and tucks his face into her shoulder. "Mari…"

"Hm?"

"I don't know how I didn't see you earlier."

"Me neither."

Notes:

I told myself I wasn't going to write a reveal fic. And look what I did anyway.

Thanks for reading!

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