How to Adult

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Author's Note:

Hello, my wonderful readers!

It's time for the big finale! I had a lot of fun writing this story, even though my uploads got a bit more delayed as time went on. I want to thank you all so much for your continuous support of me and this story! It means a lot! I hope you enjoy the Grand Finale of 'How to Adult'! Let's go! ~

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Warnings: OOC-ness, AU, adult language/swearing

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir.

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Chapter Eleven: Never change

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Marinette's P.O.V.

It was as if time stood still. Nothing made sense anymore. What I saw in front of me couldn't be true. It was an illusion. A dream. It wasn't reality. There was no way that the person who fought by my side all this time, the person who had my back since day one, the person who sacrificed himself numerous times for me, the person who shamelessly flirted with me and made me feel so confident about myself, was Adrien Agreste. It couldn't be. It just wasn't possible that my two big crushes turned out to be the same person. How could my kind classmate, my childhood crush, the well-mannered and strictly supervised Adrien Agreste be the smooth, playful, flirty Chat Noir? Not to mention Chat Noir's father had been Hawkmoth all along! My head was starting to hurt and I momentarily lost track of everything around me, until someone placed a hand on my arm.

''Marinette, I know that you are shocked and confused. But we really need to help Adrien now!'' Alya spoke to me, her tone slightly off. Must have been from the shock or the feelings of panic that we were all feeling.

''Bring him in and lay him on the couch, I'll grab the necessary tools.'' Nino spoke seriously.

He rushed back inside and me and Alya both carried Adrien out of the car and did our best to carry him inside. The moment we placed him on the couch, Nino had come down with all kinds of tools and a first-aid kit.

''Nino, I know you are a surgeon, but can you really treat a wound like this at home?'' I asked in shock,.

''Seen the circumstances, looks like we have no other option. Bringing him in without a solid backstory will only raise suspicion and right now, revealing he is Chat Noir won't be beneficial for his recovery. He needs rest and medical attention and right now, it seems it's up to me to make it happen.'' Nino spoke. ''Please, leave me alone with him. I need some room to work my magic.''

I slowly nodded, biting on my nails as my eyes never left Adrien's body. The black T-shirt that he had been wearing before he transformed was now soaked with a blood stain and seeing the helpless state he was in, made tears form in my eyes.

''Come on, Marinette. Let's go upstairs.'' Alya spoke, slowly placing a hand on my shoulder.

Together, we headed upstairs and I plopped down on Alya's bed, placing my face in my hands. ''Oh, Alya… W-What if he's not gonna make it.'' A slow sob left my body.

Alya went to sit beside me and started rubbing my back. ''Don't think like that. Adrien is strong. And Nino knows what he's doing. We got to have a little faith.'' My best friend tried to cheer me up.

''I still can't believe it… Adrien is Chat Noir? It had been him all this time?''

''Tell me about it.'' Alya sighed. ''I mean, I once said he kinda looked like Chat Noir, but I was just joking. I never expected it to be truly him.''

''All this time… I had my crush by my side all this time. And I had no clue. How couldn't I have recognized his voice? Or the blonde locks? The longer I think about it, the more frustrated I am with myself for not figuring it out sooner.''

''Marinette, it is always easier to see things after you know them. Nobody knew it was Adrien.''

''…That's not true…'' I spoke, something slowly coming to mind. My eyes darted towards Tikki, who had been resting in my bag all this time. I was sure she was sleeping, trying to regain energy from the transformation. ''Tikki knew…''

''Your kwami knew?!'' Alya spoke in surprise. She glanced at Trixx, who was sleeping in her lap, before looking back at Marinette. ''How?''

''It was back when we were still in middle school. Remember when our principal got Akumatized into Dark Owl? He had trapped me and Chat… me and Adrien at one point and the only solution I thought we had, was giving in towards his wish, which was handing him our Miraculouses. We had our eyes closed, but we disposed of the transformations, making our Kwami's appear, who then saw each other and saw who they were assigned to. Tikki always told me she never wanted to reveal who it was, because she strongly believed the person in question should do it themselves, when they are ready. I never wanted to find out like this…''

''Oh, Marinette…'' Alya spoke, a soft expression on her face.

''And now… He is injured. All because I couldn't save him soon enough. The robber had him pinned on the ground and I saw he had a knife and.. and…'' I hiccupped and Alya rubbed my back.

''Marinette, this wasn't your fault. You did what you could. Adrien was very brave for fighting off the robber like that. We saved the bystanders and we got the villain.''

''But Adrien got injured!''

''I know and I am scared, too. But right now, that is our truth and we have to deal with it. Nino is doing his best down there. The only thing we can do, is hope you're the best.'' She then winked. ''And hey, you are Ladybug. The hero of creation and good luck. You're his lucky charm now.''

I couldn't help but smile a little. My eyes then went back to my lap. ''We know who he is, but Adrien doesn't know about you and me… Should we… Tell him?''

Alya sighed. ''It might be for the best. He would've started wondering how we were able to find him, in the first place. Adrien isn't dumb enough to believe it was pure luck.''

''You're right…'' I took in a deep breath.

''So… what now?'' Alya asked me.

I shot her a confused glance. ''What do you mean?''

''Well, now that you've found out your two crushes are the same person, what are you gonna do?''

To be honest, I hadn't thought about that yet. It was true I had rejected Adrien, because I wanted to get to know Chat Noir better. But now, it turns out those two are the same person. Chat Noir and Adrien were just two halves, who complimented one another. I never knew Adrien had this goofy, flirty, playful side to him. He always seemed so prince-like. I guess I didn't know as much about Adrien as I thought I did. I let out a long sigh. ''I don't know, Alya. I rejected him. That must've hurt. I rejected one side of him, because I wanted the other one. Even though he never knew it was because of Chat Noir, he must've disliked himself for not being good enough. I know, Adrien. I knew he would never show to me how much I might have hurt him. He cares too much about me, even as a friend, to give me any sense of guilt. That is what makes Adrien such a good person. He is so selfless. But even though I know that about him, I don't know how he will respond to the news that I am Ladybug. He used to have a crush on me back in middle school. Which makes sense now, since he is Chat Noir. But he started to like me for me, when he came back from America. I'm not sure if he will accept the Ladybug side of me.''

''Of course he will! For him, it will likely be the same. You are also both the persons he has had a crush on.''

''I don't know, Alya. Things have changed. We all have grown up…''

''For now, let's not worry about that. For now, let's hope things are going okay down there.''

I let myself fall backwards on the bed, my back hitting the blankets on the bed. ''Never ever would I have imagined the night to turn out like this.''

''Me neither, girl. Me neither…''

-X-

We let Nino work his magic for several hours and despite all the stress and worry I was feeling, my body was so exhausted that I eventually fell asleep on Alya's bed. So when somebody shook me awake, I yawned sleepily and sat up straight.

''Come on, Adrien is awake and he's asking for you.'' Nino spoke to me.

Upon hearing those words, I was wide awake and I ran down the stairs two steps at a time. As soon as my eyes rested upon Adrien's sitting figure on the couch, tears started streaming down my cheeks and I ran over towards him, wrapping him in a hug. ''Oh, thank god you're awake!'' I held him for a couple more seconds and I felt Adrien wrap his own arms around me too, before he pulled me on a little distance away from him.

''Hey, Marinette.'' He smiled at me. His face still looked a bit pale and I could see he was tired and in pain, but overall, he did his best to smile.

''How are you feeling?'' I asked him.

''Like I just got stabbed.'' Adrien tried to joke, but once he saw I was not laughing, he sighed and ran his hand through my hair. ''Don't worry, Bugaboo. I'll be okay.''

Upon hearing those words, my eyes widened and I stared at him in disbelief. ''How did you…''

''…know it was you? Come on, Marinette. Who else could have dragged my unconscious body towards Alya's car, driving to Nino's house instead of a hospital. If you weren't Ladybug, you wouldn't have known what had happened and you would've brought me to a hospital. Given the fact that Alya and you brought me here, means you two are Ladybug and Rena Rouge.''

''Told you he wasn't dumb, Marinette.'' Alya smiled at me.

I still was in shock, my eyes seeking his as if to confirm I wasn't dreaming. ''Adrien, I am so sorry. I wasn't on time. I let him attack you and… Oh god, I am so sorry.'' Tears streamed down my face, as I bit my lip to hold back sobs, but a few escaped anyway.

Adrien kept stroking my hair, making soft shushing sounds. ''It's not your fault, Bugaboo. I should've been more careful. We both didn't know he was carrying a knife, until it was too late. I'm just glad you two managed to get me to safety in time. Bringing me to Nino was a good choice. Well done, Marinette.''

Even after all the stuff he's gone through, he is still considerate of my feelings. It only made me sob harder and I wrapped Adrien in another hug, pressing him close to me. ''I-I was so scared… I thought you'd never wake up and then- and then-'' It was barely understandable what I was saying through all of my hiccups, but Adrien just kept smiling and stroking my hair.

''Hey, hey. Look at me, Marinette. I am fine. I trust Nino 100 percent and I feel okay. Don't worry about me, alright? We caught the bad guy. We saved innocent people. We did a great job, today.''

Alya then gave a look at Nino and the two shared a mutual nod, before heading upstairs. ''We'll give you two some room to talk.'' Alya spoke.

As soon as our two friends disappeared upstairs, I turned towards Adrien again. ''A-Adrien, I am s-sorry. I-I didn't know you were Chat N-Noir and I-I… I am such an idiot. I-I guess I was in love with both of your personalities all along.''

Adrien gave me a kind smile and I saw love and kindness in his eyes. ''It's okay, Bugaboo. I'm at fault too. How is it that I never realized before that the righteous, kind, witty and beautiful Ladybug was you? You two are so similar! I am a fool for not realizing it sooner. I am sorry, Marinette. I guess I have been in love with both sides of you, too.'' He gave me a goofy smile.

As tears still streamed down my face, Adrien grabbed my chin softly and brought his face closer to mine, pressing his lips firmly on top of mine. Through the warmth of his lips, I could feel his tenderness and love for me and it didn't take long for either of us to start kissing more feverishly, not satisfied with a simple peck on the lips. As our tongues danced together, a flurry of emotions fell over me. Sadness, relief, romance, happiness, anxiety, determination. I couldn't make sense of my thoughts and my emotions, so I just let myself go in the moment and let my mind go blank, Adrien being the only thing I was focusing on. We didn't know how much time passed. We went from kissing to cuddling to kissing and honestly, we didn't care at this point. All we wanted, was to be with one another. To hold the other. To be as close to the other as possible. As our fingers intertwined, I fell asleep on his chest and at that moment, I knew, things were going to be better.

-X-

It was 5 days since the incident and Adrien's recovery had been well. He was still advised to rest as much as possible and I, of course, was there to take care of him and be by his side every step of the way. I tried to work as much from home as possible, so that I could spend most of my time with Adrien and, thanks to us having more time to spend with one another, now that he was home most of the time, we grew a lot closer and established the fact that we shared a lot of love for one another. So, when I arrived at his place in the afternoon, after checking in with my design team, I was surprised to find a huge bouquet of roses on the table in the living room. Adrien came to greet me with a hug, before picking up the roses and handing them to me.

''What are these for?'' I smiled as I accepted the roses with a small blush.

''For being you. Thank you for being you, Bugaboo. I'm glad it was you behind that mask. Knowing that it was you that I had been protecting all that time. And I will keep doing that for all the years to come, if you'll let me.'' Adrien smiled at me, a warm smile on his lips.

The blush on my cheeks intensified and I hid my face behind the bouquet of roses. ''Ohmygosh, Adrien. You really didn't have to get me anything. I'm already happy being by your side.''

We both sat down on the couch and I placed the flowers back on the desk, to have my hands free to wrap Adrien in a hug. He laughed and pulled me on a little distance. ''What? Am I not allowed to spoil my purrincess?''

''Really? Cat puns?''

''You were the one who said she accepted both sides of me. So now that they've merged into one, you'll just have to accept this.''

''Lucky I love you so much.'' I gently joked, giving him a gentle push.

Adrien then grabbed my hands and pressed a kiss on the back of my hand. ''If I may be so selfish, there's one thing I'd like to ask in return.''

''What is it?'' I asked, genuine surprise on my face.

''I feel like this situation has made our bond a lot stronger and to be honest, there's nobody I'd rather have by my side, than you. So it would make me really happy if you'd become mine, officially?''

Adrien somehow looked a bit nervous and a blush crept up on my cheeks. ''Wait… as in, girlfriend boyfriend?''

''Geez, Marinette, when you say it like that, you'll make me feel 14 again.''

''Lucky for you that I already had a crush on you, back then.'' I stuck out my tongue. I then gazed warmly at him and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. ''But if you hadn't figured out the answer yet, I'd love that.''

''Great, because I have order your favorite take-out and it would've been awkward to share that after being rejected.''

''Oh come on. Don't tell me the overconfident Chat Noir was scared I was going to reject him.''

''… You're right. I wasn't.''

We both shared a laugh, before Adrien pushed me back on the couch and kissed me passionately. I was sure I'd never get tired of the feeling and I returned his kissed with as much love as he was showing me. We kept this going, until the doorbell rang and Adrien got up with a grin.

''Guess we'll have to continue this another time. Unless you don't mind letting the food delivery guy wait a little longer?''

''Adrien, this is food we're talking about. Nobody comes between me and my favorite take out.''

Adrien let out a laugh and kissed me on my forehead. ''Oh, Marinette. Never change.''

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End of Chapter Eleven

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Author Note:

Hello, my adorable readers!

I apologize for the short, final chapter, but all my fuel is gone. I've been sick for the past couple of days and extremely stressed out, due to my preparations for my summer job. My course for the job has started today and I've been busy every day to follow the curriculum given to me. I hope you guys will forgive me for the rushed ending. I had intending for this story to be longer, but right now, I just simply don't have the time to make this happen. But on that note, a sequel can always be written ;) For now, I'd like to thank all of you for reading 'How to Adult'. I had a lot of fun to write it and I love being part of the Miraculous fandom. I won't completely abandon writing, since I simply love it too much to completely stop, even during busy times. So prepare for one-shots, which can go in all directions. I just want the freedom to write what I want and whenever I have time, instead of feeling like I have to stick to one story on a certain schedule, because I simply can't keep up with that, right now. Again, I apologize, but I'd love to read your thoughts on the story and I, of course, hope you'll read my future stories and one-shots on here. Let me know in PM's and reviews what kind of stories you'd like to see and I might see what I can do for you :) For now, lots of love to all of you and again, thank you so much for all the support I've received.

ShySnowWolf

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