A/N: There are already many reveal fics inspired by Volpina so what's one more, right? I prefer French spelling of some names so don't be surprised by the occasional H's in some places.

Adrien was having a really good day. He had received a message from Nathalie earlier in the morning that his afternoon photo-shoot had been cancelled due to a delivery mishap, essentially giving him a time off. And before either Chloe or Lila could insinuate into the free spot, a strangely determined Marinette marched up to him and asked if he wanted to play Ultimate Mecha Strike III at her house. Naturally, he agreed and soon after the school let out, he was camped out in front of Marinette's computer, a plate full of various snacks in easy reach and a controller in his hands, ready to take his beating like a man.

Except, he wasn't getting beaten. Marinette's playing was nowhere near her usual standards, leaving openings in her defense left and right, missing attacks, not managing to pull any combos... Clearly, her head wasn't in the game. After spending several minutes thinking over whether or not they were actually friendly enough for him to ask, Adrien finally paused the game and turned to Marinette.

"Is there something bothering you?"

She jumped and looked away quickly but not before he caught the strange expression on her face. She looked both sad and determined but before he could think on it further, she nodded to herself once and looked at him.

"You like Ladybug, don't you?" The question caught him off-guard but she plunged on without waiting for an answer. "It's understandable, she's pretty amazing and all but..." She took a deep breath and then her words rushed out all at once. "Ithinkyoushouldtrytostoplikingherbecauseit'sprettydangerousandyoucouldbeusedagainstherandshewouldn'twantyouhurtsoit'sbetterforeveryoneifyoujuststop."

Adrien blinked as he tried to parse some meaning from what he had heard.

"I'm sorry, Marinette, but I didn't really catch any of that."

She looked down again, twirling her fingers nervously.

"You should try to stop liking Ladybug so much. It's dangerous for you both."

Several things went through Adrien's mind at that. Confusion (why would Marinette of all people be telling him this), suspicion (did she know Ladybug personally, the Evillustrator incident had made it seem likely but how close the two girls could be), embarrassment (was he really so obvious about his feelings) and even, to his shame, resentment (who was Marinette to advise him on the matter of his feelings).

"Marinette, I-" he paused as he realized he had no idea what to say.

"I'm not saying it to be mean," she said quietly. "And if things were different, I wouldn't be doing this but you were put into danger twice already, with the Jackady and with Volpina, not to mention all the times you were caught in the crossfire because of the other Akumas and, it's just too dangerous to get close to her. You could get hurt so easily."

"I'm tougher than I look," Adrien replied, vaguely registering that this was the longest non-stuttered conversation he had with Marinette.

"No, you aren't. The enemies she fights, they're out of normal people's league. If they knew that you were her weakness, you would be targeted. As a matter of fact, Volpina did go after you because of Ladybug. It could easily happen again and it would hurt you both."

"You seem to know a lot about Ladybug," he said, pointedly ignoring the whole 'being her weakness' tidbit for now, else he would freak out. Ladybug liked his non-masked self. That was totally unexpected and made him feel incredibly happy if also confused. Why would she like Adrien but not Chat? Meanwhile, Marinette shrugged at his question and looked away from him again.

"We are rather close," she said but didn't elaborate. He wondered why Ladybug put her up to this. He wanted to ask so many questions but there was something in the slump of Marinette's shoulders that prevented him. Unlike him, she wasn't happy about the topic. The way she acted and spoke, it was obvious it was hard on her. He understood being a middleman for a superhero couldn't be easy but she soldiered on regardless. Ladybug couldn't have picked a better confidante, he thought.

"You know, I'm glad you told me," he spoke into the awkward silence that fell between them. "But I'm afraid I can't follow your advice. I like Ladybug a lot and that kind of feeling can't be just turned off."

"But you don't even know who she really is," Marinette said sharply. "You don't know who she is under the mask, if she's really worth all the trouble you're willing to go to. She's just an ordinary girl, with nothing special going for her. She's clumsy and scatterbrained and not brave at all without her mask and I'm sure if you knew her real identity, you would lose all interest."

"Oh really?" he bit out, getting angry for the first time in the conversation. This was so unlike Marinette. Marinette was kind and nice to almost everyone unless they were being mean to others first and she had admitted to being close to Ladybug so what was she doing, talking about his Lady like that?

"Really."

"You're wrong. I'm sure Ladybug is amazing with or without her mask."

"No, you're wrong. Ladybug IS the mask and without it, the girl underneath is nothing."

They were both standing by that point and coming dangerously close to shouting. It was a good thing her parents were busy with the afternoon rush of customers. Adrien felt something ugly twisting inside of him. He liked Marinette, she was one of his first friends, even if it took her a while to warm up to him, but he wouldn't stand for her badmouthing Ladybug like that.

"Do you really know her?" he snarled. "Because if you did you wouldn't be saying such awful-"

"I am her," she shouted, cutting him off and there was a sudden silence. "I am her," she repeated more quietly. "I have been her since I opened that box and met Tikki. I have been her every time there was an Akuma. I have been her when Jackady went after your Dad and I have been her when Volpina dangled an illusion of you from the Eiffel Tower. I have been her every day in the class when I was desperately trying to work out courage to talk to you and I have been her when I realized that you liking Ladybug was just going to put you in danger and that I couldn't be selfish and let you do that. You must stop liking her!"

Adrien had no idea what to say. Whenever he had imagined his Lady revealing her identity to him, it had been far more pleasant, not a shouting match about the worth of her non-masked self.

"Marinette..."

She bit her lip and looked at the floor. There was a movement in his peripheral vision and something small and red flew towards Marinette, nuzzling into her face in a gesture of comfort. Her kwami, Adrien realized and any lingering doubts dispersed. He could feel Plagg stirring in his pocket and hoped his own kwami would stay out of sight for now. This situation required tact and the only way that word could be used in connection with Plagg was if there was -less attached.

"Do you see now?" Marinette spoke up as she gestured at herself. "The Ladybug you think you like is just the plain, old me, not anyone special. Isn't it easier now, to let go of your feelings for me?"

"Why don't you want me to like you?" he blurted out. She had been persistent on that point.

"Because it's dangerous, weren't you listening?"

Adrien gave into the impulse to clutch at his hair.

"So what? I'm not afraid."

"Aaargh, why are you so stubborn?" she cried out, stomping her feet. "I'm trying to protect you. I'm giving you every reason to dislike me so why don't you?"

"Why would I dislike you?"

"Because I lied to you about who I am."

"You were protecting your secret identity."

She huffed and pouted and Adrien couldn't help but think how adorable the pout made her look. Marinette was Ladybug. Ladybug was Marinette. She had been right there from the beginning. And she liked him enough to try and make him dislike her, for his own protection. Just how perfect could one person get?

"You're not playing fair," she mumbled finally. "You were supposed to be disappointed by who I am and-"

"That was your plan?" he cut her off. She nodded, reluctantly and he snorted. "I have to say, My Lady, your plans are usually better thought out than this."

"What?"

"You were trying to show me Ladybug's not perfect by revealing she's one of the kindest, sweetest, bravest, prettiest, most talented, extraordinary girls I know? Someone who's definitely worth every bit of trouble I could get into for her? Yeah, that plan definitely didn't work."

Marinette had gotten more red with every complimentary characteristic he mentioned. Then and there, Adrien decided he would tell her just how special he considered her every day, just to see that expression on her face again. She was so worth everything and he would make it his priority to make sure she knew that.

"Even so, it doesn't change the fact you'd be in danger," she said quietly and Adrien grinned, feeling as confident as he usually only did wearing his mask.

"Let me ask you something real quick. That box you mentioned, was it about this big, hexagonal, with a red emblem on top and red lining?" She nodded but before she could ask, he quickly continued. "Mine came with a ring and a cheese-obsessed kwami named Plagg."

He more saw then heard her quiet "Oh." and he pulled out Plagg from his pocket. The kwami yawned and stretched.

"I was in the middle of a nice nap before your heart started beating really fast," the tiny creature complained and looked over at Marinette. "Figures there would be a girl involved." He looked her up and down, zeroing in on the other kwami. "Oh joy," he deadpanned. "It's Ladybug. Just what I needed, your obsession will be ten times worse now that you know who she is in real life."

"Obsession?"

Adrien flushed slightly but met her eyes steadily.

"You called me here because you figured out I liked you. It's not exactly a secret but it's not an obsession. Plagg is just being Plagg."

"I..." Marinette trailed off and Adrien sighed.

"I really like you, though. Both of you. I met Ladybug first but I think Marinette is pretty awesome, too. I guess I'm trying to say this could be a good thing, couldn't it?"

She was glancing around the room, avoiding his eyes. He bent forward a little, trying to catch her gaze when she raised her head and almost hit his chin. They backed away from each other abruptly.

"Sorry," she muttered. Adrien grinned.

"I told you, I'm tougher than I look."

"Yeah, I suppose you are."

Her kwami had stayed quiet on Marinette's shoulder until then but now she floated closer to Adrien.

"I was against her doing this but now I'm glad she did," she stated simply. "You two are a good match."

Adrien smiled at that. It meant a lot, coming from someone who was such an important part of Marinette's life. He looked at Marinette and impulsively held out his hand.

"Hi, I'm Adrien Agreste and Chat Noir and I like you. Will you go out with me?"

He held his breath for a moment and then she smiled and nodded.

"Okay."

It was official. This was his best day ever.