Adrien almost told Marinette. Almost.

He'd "accidentally" discovered her secret identity one night, when Ladybug ducked into an alley to transform back, and he "just happened" to be on a roof above her.

He felt bad about it afterward, but he wasn't like he could unsee it.

When he saw her at school, he realized that Marinette-as-Ladybug was way more self-confident and brave than Marinette-as-herself, especially around him-as-himself. He worried that if she knew that he knew, Ladybug would lose some of that nerve. He decided he wouldn't tell her—at least, not until he was sure he could convince her that she could be brave as herself.

In the meantime, he was still determined to talk to her.

"Marinette!" he called, catching up to her as they left school.

Marinette froze, and Alya just winked at her and said, "See ya later, girl!" before taking off.

"A-Adrien!" said Marinette, turning to face him. "Hey!"

"Hey," he said, a light blush crossing his face. "I was wondering if you'd like to, um, hang out sometime soon."

Marinette was cute when she was all flustered. When Adrien found out it was because of him, he was both happy and amused. After they'd dated for a while, she'd kind of gotten over it.

Except when she talked about it to other people. Including Chat Noir. So, naturally, one of his favorite things to do as Chat Noir was tease her.

"C'mon," he said, keeping pace with Ladybug as they ran to catch up with the latest akuma. "You, me, and the Eiffel Tower. This weekend. It'll be fun!"

He smirked at her blush.

"I told you Chat; I have a b-boyfriend."

"Riiiight," he laughed.

"It's true!" she insisted.

"Let me guess: he's a model," he said, drawing out the last word.

"As a matter of fact—"

He cut her off. "Sure, Marinette."

Her face paled. "What did you call me?"

"Buginette," he said. He was sure of it. On second thought, he wasn't sure. Before she could ask again, he blurted out, "Come on, we have an akuma to take care of."

After the akuma had been neutralized, Ladybug walked up to Chat Noir, whose ears began to droop.

"Chat Noir," she demanded. "What did you call me?"

She'd crossed her arms. Oh, no. It was serious. Now he knew he hadn't called her "Buginette."

He coughed uncomfortably before acknowledging that they were going to change back soon.

But they were alone.

Ladybug's stance softened before she stepped forward and touched Chat's hair, moving it slightly out of his face. He blushed a little, but didn't withdraw.

"Chat," she said quietly, staring intently at his face. "Do I know you?"

He couldn't help it. He smiled. "Do you want to, Milady?"

Ladybug laughed a little. "I told you, Chat, I have a…" She had pushed his hair back from his face, and his blush darkened. She could see it now. Her voice became barely a whisper. "…Adrien?"

Instead of answering, he crossed the space between them and kissed her gently.

They had both changed back before they broke apart.

"How did you know?" she asked. "I told you—"

"I know," he interrupted. "I just… couldn't help myself."

There was a short pause.

"So," Adrien started again, rubbing the back of his neck. "About the Eiffel Tower…"

Marinette laughed. "Nah," she replied, "too cliché. Plus, we've been there a thousand times already. How about you get Nino to ask Alya out? The four of us can go for ice cream."

He grinned, taking her hand. "Nino's still in denial. But I'll take you for ice cream anyway."

They began walking. "Right now?" she asked.

"Why not?"

"Your fencing lesson should have started five minutes ago."

He shrugged. "I'll survive. You're more important anyway."

He loved the way she blushed when he said things like that.

Her mouth quirked up at one end. "Don't think you're off the hook so easily, you naughty cat," she said just loudly enough for him to hear.

"For finding out who you really are?" he asked.

"No," she replied, looking up at him. "For not telling me sooner who you are."

They're too cute for words.

Thanks for reading!