Chapter Seven

Chat Noir extended his gloved hand towards her, almost desperate to keep her close. Ladybug considered shying away but her brain was in overload. Chat Noir's words, they were implying he was Adrien Agreste. No, that couldn't be right. Could it?

Blue eyes narrowed as she stared at her partner's worried face. Her gaze lowered to his lips which were pressed together tightly. Lips which had kissed her. Blinking that thought away, Ladybug dropped her head, shaking it in an attempt to clear her thoughts and start afresh.

"Ladybug, I…"

She raised her hand, pressing two fingers to his lips to silence him. Her eyes continued to rove over his face, a face she was so familiar with due to their partnership, but was there more to it than that? She'd studied Adrien's features in great detail and as she looked deeper she realised that Chat Noir had the same perfect teeth, the same supple lips and the same elegant nose as Adrien. His mask covered a great deal of his face and the feline eyes were so alien in comparison to regular eyes, but the irises were the same colour as Adrien's.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Ladybug realised the truth. Chat Noir really was Adrien Agreste. That bombshell had her knees weakening, making her reach out to grab Chat's arms to steady herself. Before her was the boy who unwittingly broke her heart and now she understood why. Adrien wasn't interested in anyone else because he was Chat Noir, and Chat Noir claimed to love Ladybug.

Some unconscious part of her wanted to rejoice but she was far too shell-shocked. Feline eyes raked over her face. "Breathe milady, it's okay. I mean it was bound to happen sooner or later. The identity reveal, that is. If anything, it should make things easier for us. You'll know where to find me now if you need me."

It was clear that Chat Noir was nervous, heck his babbling was clue enough. His usual self-assurance seemed to have flown out the window as he held onto her elbows, as if he were afraid she'd disappear if he let go. Blue eyes lifted to meet green. For a moment Ladybug was stumped, the expression on Chat's face was practically a mirror of how she felt when under the full intensity of Adrien's attention: frazzled, anxious and desperate to make a good impression.

Some of the tension left her petite frame as she stared at him, and her mouth started moving on its own. "You're him."

Chat Noir leaned closer as his masked eyebrows lowered in concern. "That's not a bad thing, is it?"

"It's…it's unexpected." She managed to utter.

"Please don't be angry with me, I thought you had genuinely worked it out." His feline ears were pulled backward in evident worry.

"But I already know you outside the mask," she blabbed without thinking.

"You do?" he asked seeming flummoxed.

"We go to school together, heck we're friends," she added before realising how much information she was spilling. Ladybug tried to pull free from his arms but he held firm.

Green eyes burned into hers with scorching intensity, as if he were trying to read the thoughts from her very mind. As he continued to stare, she watched as his eyebrows suddenly lifted and his feline ears shot forward. "Marinette?" he whispered in shock.

The panic must have shown in her eyes as she remained silent.

"I'm right, aren't I?" He continued to study her, his eyes darting over her features as the pieces fell into place for him. "The letter," he suddenly gasped, "you said you meant it." A fragile hope lit his features.

"You said it was garbage," she snapped.

Chat Noir's head shot back, stunned. "I never said that."

"Chloe asked you is that the usual garbage and you said it was."

Shaking his head adamantly, Chat pursed his lips. "You must have gotten the wrong impression. I would never badmouth something like that."

Ladybug felt her conviction crumbling. Everything about Chat Noir's demeanour screamed that he was telling the truth. "But…" the rest of her sentence died in her mouth, she didn't know what to say. She'd thought the worst of Adrien but what if she'd been wrong? Thinking back, she suddenly remembered that the bell had rung, cutting off what Adrien was saying to Chloe. Lifting her head, she locked eyes with Chat. "So, what did you really think?"

A gentle smile settled across his lips. "I thought it was very sweet," he ducked his head then looked at her through his blonde bangs. "But now, knowing the full extent of who it was from," he breathed in deeply, "I just want to read it over and over again."

Surprise had her masked eyes widening. "You kept it?"

"Of course. It was from someone dear to me. I just hadn't realised exactly how dear until now."

Ladybug swallowed, unsure what to do. "So, um…what does that mean now?"

Chat Noir slid one of his hands up her arm, over her shoulder to cradle the back of her head. "It means I'm even more smitten with you then I was before."

"Even though I'm Marinette?"

"Especially because you're Marinette."

The pair smiled at each other shyly, easing closer to the other until finally their lips met. This time Ladybug kissed Chat Noir with all the love and adoration she felt for him, in both guises. The relief of knowing that her feelings were reciprocated made her want to shout her joy to the world, but right now, she was simply happy to be in her partner's arms.

The following day, Marinette was practically walking on air as she entered the school grounds. She was so lost in her blissful thoughts, she almost missed the green envelope sitting inside her locker as she retrieved her textbooks.

Confused, she pried it open and pulled out the page from inside. There written in elegant script was a note which made her smile:

Dearest Marinette,

In case you weren't aware, my heart is yours. But I'm hoping for a fair trade.

Will you be my girlfriend?

Love Adrien.

Grinning from ear to ear, she looked up to find the sender of the note leaning on her locker door. "So, what do you think?"

Marinette swept the object of her affection into her arms, kissing him on the cheek as she answered. "I love it, and the answer is yes."

Matching her grin, Adrien wasted no time in kissing his new girlfriend. But it was cut short by the sudden screech of "NOOOOOO!" from Chloe.

The pair looked at Chloe, each other and shrugged. Much to Marinette's satisfaction, Adrien ignored the brat and resumed kissing her until the bell rang.

It took me a lot longer to get this story finished than I anticipated. Thank you for your patience and for taking the time to read it. I hope you enjoyed it.