'Breathe'

'Breathe'

'You have to breathe!' Adrien screamed at himself.

'Ladybug?'

'Ladybug, My Lady… is Marinette... and Marinette is sitting in my lap...'

'BREATHE!'

Marinette was mortified, Adrien was steadily turning red and had an almost panicked look on his face… did she really hurt him? Frantic, she tried to get to her feet and off of him but his arms, which had caught her moments ago where now frozen, holding her in place as he stared into her eyes.

No. Not into her eyes, but directly under one of them, she amended a moment later, both of his eyes fixed on the right side of her face, on a single heart shaped point… right where Cat Noir had touched her the night before.

She was positive, the ghost of his touch had lingered all night, forcing her to memorize the location… the only freckle she could find with pin point accuracy without having to use her eyes.

'Oh God'

Marinette gasped.

'No! That's crazy… it couldn't be… no way!'

'Breathe Marinette'

'Breath'

Adrien forced himself to look away from the freckle and meet her eyes, HER eyes, his Lady's eyes… good god he was an idiot.

Dimly he became aware of the fact that their classmates where watching them, staring in fact, with more than one mouth hanging open, starting with their respective best friends.

How long had they been sitting there?

Using the same determination he relied on to face Akuma's, Adrien stood up, shifting his hold on Marinette as he started walking towards the door. Never breaking eye contact with the girl in his arms he left the room and the onlookers behind, uttering a single word excuse to his instructor as he walked past, missing the way the teacher simply nodded in consent, as stunned as the rest of the class.

"Nurse."

Instead he headed for the Principles office, some independently functional part of his brain offering up the knowledge that the Principle was away for the rest of the week. A conference about school safety and Akuma's, he didn't care, it would be privet.

He saw understanding come to her eyes through the shock, both an acceptance of the truth as well as their destination.

Without a word she reached out, her movements a bit clumsy since she was looking at Adrien rather than the door, but she managed to find the doorknob and turn it.

Adrien made it 3 steps into the room after Marinette shut and locked the door before his legs gave out. Dropping to the ground where he stood. Gently he resettled Marinette on his lap, opening and closing his mouth several times, before breaking their shared gaze by closing his eyes and dropping his face into the crook of her neck as he pulled her into a tight hug. Needing to just hold her for a moment, right then, even more than explanations he needed this.

Hesitantly, and so gently, her arms moved to wrap around his waist, her face pressing into his shoulder.

He didn't know how long they stayed like that, but it didn't matter, nothing mattered except her, and she wasn't objecting. In fact her gentle hold had grown stronger, until she was clinging to him as if she never intended to let go.

A notion he was not at all opposed to.

Sometime later, though he was loath to do so, Adrien finally pulled back, instantly hating how cold any air between them felt. However he was resolved, and drew back just far enough to look at her, truly look at her, with eyes that were not shuddered by loyalty to another, and found himself shaken to the core of all nine of his lives by how beautiful she really was, just her, no mask…no Ladybug, just Marinette. And it wasn't simply her appearance... she had an inner glow about her, like she radiated goodness.

How had he not seen her before? Had he really been that blind?

Wide, impossibly blue eyes stared back at him, shimmering with tears.

Lifting a hand to her face he cupped his palm over her cheek and wiped away the wetness with his thumb.

"All this time… it's been you and I didn't see it. Forgive me for being such an undeserving fool my Lady." He pleaded, his own eyes filled with self reproach, acceptance, and a tender emotion she didn't dare name yet.

Her breath caught as a tremble ran through her, fear and elation warring within her.

'No more secrets, no more hiding.'

"Only if you forgive me for all those times I pushed Cat Noir, you, away… becau… b..because I was already in love with you as Adrien." She confessed in a rush, only stammering slightly.

The tentative internal balance Adrien had been starting to build crumbled under him like it had been nothing more than a house of cards.

"You…and…with Me? That's why?" He sputtered, stunned awe and the beginnings of a hesitant joy lighting up his face.

Chewing on her lower lip she nodded, his reaction giving her courage. "Ever since the moment you explained about the gum and being new to school… and friends… then gave me your umbrella."

It took a bit longer than normal for it to fully form, but eventually a familiar Cat Noir smirk settled over his face.

"That means I have you beat by nearly a whole day. I fell for Ladybug when you called out Hawkmoth. Man… the sight of you striding right at him like you ran the world and his little tantrum wasn't going to be tolerated, then you just up and de-evilized that whole swarm of Akuma's… by yourself." He gave her a mock glare before a look of fond dreamy recollection replaced it. "I knew right then that no matter who you were under the mask, I loved the girl who overcame her, let me be honest, OBVIOUS fears about being the wrong choice to be Ladybug, and accepted the duty, dedicating herself to defending Paris."

Throat tight with emotion Marinette could only duck her head as far as his hold allowed and smile as she blushed.

Adrien suppressed a groan… so cute… so beautiful… Heaven help him, there was only so much a guy could take.

"My Lady" He purred as he used the hand still holding her face to draw her closer.

"Ladybug" He continued, even more softly, no jest. He was halfway there.

"Sweet lovely Marinette" He whispered, her lips now so close he could feel their warmth.

"I love all of you."

And then he pressed closer, the first touch of his lips so tender it was more of a plea than a true kiss.

A plea Marinette answered with a soft gasping sob of gratitude.

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Adrien and Marinette never made it back to class and as the minutes till the final bell counted down several of the students speculated aloud, and more than a few jokes were made.

Sitting at the head of the class looking down at her log book their teacher debated, normally she kept impeccable and detailed notes about the day. Lesson plans, disciplinary actions, observations about the students... so she should be adding a comment about two students leaving class and not coming back, but hesitated. She hadn't even called the nurse to check in on them, almost positive they never made it there.

Something about the way they had been looking at each other… With so much weight… she didn't understand how such young children could feel that deeply, but she couldn't deny it was an emotion far beyond school yards crushes.

Finally she dropped the pen without using it. Despite their spotty punctuality, they were good students who would make up the work on their own with no effort on her part. Officially it would be as if they had never left, she could do nothing about the ribbing the other students were going to give them, but there would be no disciplinary reaction from the school.

She knew deep in her heart that whatever those two had needed to talk about was far more important than the lessons she had planned for the day. In fact she had found herself being the one shown something enlightening, knowledge that warmed her heart and ignited a small ember of hope for her own future…

True love really did exist.

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I did it! I wrote even more! I got a little hung up at the end of Adrien and Marinette's scene, thinking I should continue it, but finally realized they wanted their privacy... Then their teacher distracted me and I had my ending.