Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Lordbug, well not Lordbug right now, is running over the roofs of paris towards Chat. Tikki was sick again, so he chose to let her rest and fight using a combination of the bee and snake miraculous for this patrol. If worse comes to worse and there is an akuma he can trap the butterfly in a jar and purify it when he gets home.
Chat Noir sees him and stands up, but instead of his usual cheerful greeting he shouts, "Who are you and where is Lordbug?!" Right, he forgot about that.
"I'm Lordbug, well not right now, but same person."
Chat narrows his eyes at him suspicious. Good kitty, he just wishes it were at a better time. He, not Chat, god he needs to figure out a name for the snake bee combo hero, lands on the roof Paris' superhero duo uses as a meet up point for patrols. Then Chat asks, "Why should I believe you?"
"It's not like we have a lot of secrets as superheroes, so it's not like I can say something only lordbug would know," but then he realized there was something only the two of them know. "I've got it, Multimouse!"
"What about her?" Her, Chat thinks his civilian self is a girl, ugh.
"Only the two of us know about Multimouse."
"Well, the two of us and Marinette."
"About that Kitty, look I don't know how to say this. The reason I didn't want to reveal my identity to you wasn't Hawkmoth. It was because I was terrified of you hating me once you knew my secret." Chat looked at him with sad, questioning eyes
"My lord, I could never hate you."
"Don't be so certain." He paused to take a deep breath. "My fear only explains why I didn't tell you who I am, not why I wouldn't let you tell me who you are. That was because i didn't seem fair for me to know who you are and not the other way around. But fuck being scared. Kitty cat there were only two people on that roof, me and you. Everything else was illusions."
He waits for Chat to process the information he just gave him. It takes him a minute, but he gets there. Chat opens his mouth and, "Why make an illusion of Marinette?"
Okay so maybe he didn't get it.
"I didn't make an illusion of Marinette. I was Multimouse. I made an illusion of Lordbug."
Chat just blinks at him for a few seconds. "I'm really confused."
He huffs, then decides that words just aren't working. He grabs Chat Noir by the wrist and drags him into the shed on the roof that both of them have used to transform.
"um, my lord?" Chat tries to ask, but he doesn't answer. He closes the door behind them and says.
"Pollen, buzz off. Sass scales rest."
The room lights up in a combination of yellow and teal, and when the lights subside left standing there is
"Marinette?"
He winces "It's Damien"
"Damien?"
"That's what i was getting at kitty, I'm trans.
"Oh." Chat's eyes soften, he takes a deep breath and says, "My lord, Damien, this changes a lot. Now I get to know who you are, and it changes how i feel about you. Knowing my partner and one of my best friends are the same person makes me admire you even more."
Now it Damien's turn to be confused. He knows he should be comforted by what Chat said, and he kinda is but right now he's focused on
"One of your best friends?"
Chat looks sheepish and says, "well I know I'm not as close to you as Alya, but i like to think we're good friends."
"Kitty, I wasn't questioning how close we are. I don't know who you are as a civilian."
"Oh."
You'd think maybe Chat would be embarrassed, but he's used to making a fool of himself in front of Lordbug by now. In fact he prides himself on being Lordbugs fool.
"Claws in."
He could've told Damien who was was but this is easier.
Damien looks at him and sinks to the floor with his hands covering his face, ears bright red.
"Are you okay Damien?"
"You remember how I told you there was a straight guy I had a hopeless crush on?"
"yes?"
Damien gestures helplessly up and down. Adrien just turns his head to the side "Huh?"
"It's you!" Damien shouts, then immediately covers his mouth.
"But I'm not straight?" Adrian says without thinking.
"Okay so i have a hopeless crush on a not straight guy."
"Why do you think it's hopeless?"
"Have you looked at me?"
"I have and what i see in a cute smart determined boy who selflessly risks his life everyday for friends, strangers, and even people he doesn't like."
"Ughhhhhhh" a long groan comes from beside adrien. He and Damien both look over to see Plagg.
"Can you two cut it out with the lovey-dovey shit. I'm hungry." Plagg says.
"L-lovey-dovey, I don't know what you're taking about." Adrien sputters.
Damien on the other hand ignores Plagg's comment. "It's not camembert, but I have a bunch of pastries in my purse."
"You are amazing little bug." Plagg says.
"Hey, why don't you ever say things like that to me!" Adrien objects, but plagg just ignore him. He zips over to Damien's side and opens his purse. Inside along with two and a half croissants, at least five cookies, and a slice of lemon loaf he finds two kwamis.
"Sass, Pollen, croissant me." One hits him in the face and he knows exactly who threw it. Despite Pollen's giggling and Sass's calm and responsible exterior, Plagg knows he can be almost as choatic as him or Trixx, although Sass is much less known for it as he can undo any ill effects.
"Once you three have eaten you're fill we really should head out. Delaying patrol is bad enough, canceling all together would be downright awful." Damien declares.
"Of course my king." Pollen says, that suck up.
"You really are one of Tikki's bugs."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Damien asks as Plagg takes a giant bite out of his second croissant.
"Just means that you're all about responsibility and stuff. Not bad but a little stiff. That's why you need a black cat, to even you out." Plagg says through a mouthful of food knowing full well that he and his cats can be a little (or a lot) reckless and irresponsible.
"So you will help with patrol?" Damien asks in a tone he has to wonder if he pick up from Tikki or learnt on his own. Either way it leaves little room for disagreement, and this isn't a point all that worth fighting anyway.
"Fine, but I will need more of these croissants to recharge afterwards." Just because it wasn't worth fighting doesn't mean he isn't going to push back.
"That I can do, I might even have some cheesy ones." Damien says, his new hero.
------
Adrien and Damien decided to leave the stuffy supply closet while the Kwamis stuff themselves with baked goods.
The two of them are sitting together on the edge of the roof and Damien asks, "Do you really think I'm cute?" doing his best to channel Alya's confidence.
"I- yes, but not like in a girl way. You have a nice smile and the look you get in your eyes when you have a plan take my breath away. You aren't afraid of anyone, not even when they're over twice your size and made of ice cream. You, You're so creative, and funny and kind, so so kind, how could i not think you're cute and amazing."
As Adrien rambles and stutters almost as badly as Damien for the first few weeks around Adrien, the other boy turns bright red and hides his face between his knees.
His two favorite boys are the same person (no offense to her dad or Nino) and he's making a speech about how amazing he is. Damien is going to combust, fully explode out of flustered glee. He wants to ask if Adrien like him, romantically, but he is also an anxious wreck in the shape of a person and desperately afraid that it'll make things awkward between them.
So instead he squeaks out a "thank you".

The supply closet door bursts open and Plagg exclaims, "lets get this over with. The sooner we start the sooner I get home to sweet, sweet camembert." saving damien from further embarrassing himself.
"Great, okay, let's go." Damien says and rushes into the supply closet with adrien close behind him.
"Pollen buzz on. Sass scales slither."
"Plagg claws out."
All three of the kwami are pulled into their respective miraculous as the small room lights up in a beautiful combination of yellow, green, and teal. Left standing in their wake are Chat Noir and an unnamed snake bee superhero.
They quickly exit the roof closet and take off on their usual patrol route not seeing anything out of the usual. The ladyblog has a specific akuma alert set up on their miraculous phones and the phones of any civilians who cared to set it up. The alarm has yet to go off today but they continue to keep their eyes peeled. After all just because no one's seen something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. You can't prove a negative, that's why Adrien can't prove his father doesn't love him. And besides not all disasters are akuma related.
"How fuck up is the phrase keep your eyes peeled. I mean peeled eyeballs sound like something out of a horror film."
"What the fuck Chat?"
Chat just shrugs and says "It was quite. I don't do well with quite."
"If you really need something to talk about, how bout my hero name for this miraculous combo."
They walk in silence for a few minutes after this while Damien looks out for akumas and thinks about taking a potato peeler to Hawkmoth's eyes.
"CONTROL-BEE! OH WAIT, WAIT WAIT, UNBEE. CAUSE THE SNAKE UNDOES TIME, AND YOU KNOW, BEE!"
Damien laughs a little, "I like it. Unbee it is."
They continue their patrol checking the most attacked places in paris and a collection of streets they change regularly so they don't become predictable. The rest of their patrol is fairly uneventful. Nothing more then a few kids recognizing Chat and asking who the new superhero is.
When they get to the end of their patrol where they would normally part ways they both pause.
"Chat-" Damien is the first to break the silence but realizes he doesn't quite know what to say. He takes a deep breath and restarts.
"Chat, can i ask you something? It's not bad. At least i hope it's not bad."
"Of course bug."
"Do you like me? romantically i mean." He speaks fast afraid that otherwise he won't say anything at all.
"Yes. I wish I had some big speech to tell you how much you mean to me or how i fell in love with you quickly as Lordbug, and bit by bit everyday as Damien. How you never fail to find new ways to impress me with you plans, intelligence, and kindness. I haven't figured out how to tell you in a way that you deserve, that you make me so happy I'm not afraid of heights because I fall for you over and over and over again. That on my worst days it only takes a few moments with you for it all to melt away.
I'm sure if i had more time to figure out what to say I'd still never be able to list all of the things I love about you.
knowing you you're probably afraid that knowing Damien and Lordbug are the same person I'll like you less but there is absolutely zero risk of that. I just found out a few hours ago that two of my all time favorite people are one and the same, and for reasons I cannot comprehend you expect me to be disappointed.
You are the most kind and understanding person I have ever met. You are the sun, the moon, and the stars, and I am so lucky to be in your presence. So even if you don't return my feeling I'll still be happy, as long as you're in my life. After all no one expects devotion from the moon or reciprocation from the sun.
I love you bugaboo."

Unbee, Damien, Lordbug, every version of this man he has ever been uterly disolved listening to the man he's desperate in love with declare his love and devotion to him. Sitting with his knees to his chest and his hands covering the blushing mess that is his face he looks up through his fingers at Chat and Adrien. Now that he knows, it seems so obvious that they're the one and the same. The person he loves and the one he trusts most in the world with the same goofy smile and need to do the right thing even if it hurts him.
"Wow, I can't imagine what your idea of a big speech is." Breath. "I love you too Chat."
The look of complete and total surprise across his face horrifies Unbee and he realizes that despite the miraculous he is currently wielding there are mistakes he made that he can't just undo.
His only option is to try and fix this. So,
he stands up.
He walks across the roof to stand directly infront of his partner.
He puts his hands on each side of his kitty's face.
He turns his head so Chat is looking him directly in the eyes.
And he says, "I love you, and not just because you're Adrien. But because you're my partner who I trust with my life, who I know will always be there for me whether with a joke, a plan, or just there.
I love you and I am so sorry i didn't make that clear enough. I'm bad with words and maybe even worse with actions, but that is no excuse for me not showing my appreciation for you. I need you to know i couldn't do this without you, not without a partner, without YOU."
Chat bites his lip and looks away from his partner, not much since Unbee's hands are still on his face. He looks so hesitant but he still says, "But you always shut down my flirting? and you get annoyed at my jokes? And-"
"Chat look at me. All of that is on me. I love your jokes, when we aren't in the middle of a battle. And the flirting, I didn’t know you were being serious. I never really got to see how you interact with anyone else, so I had no clue if you treat everyone like that. Alya flirts with me more than her own boyfriend. Me as a civilian. And turning down your flirting has nothing to do with my feelings for you, but because i was trying to protect you in a stupid way that did not work, and now that I think about it make no sense. We're partners of course they could use us agaist eachother even if things were totally platonic. What im getting at is that I'm stupid and you deserve better."
Chat immediately had to object to that. "You are absolutely brilliant, a genius, one of if not the smartest person I know, and i don'twant better i want you."
He has a grin across his face but a little bit of fear in his eyes. Afraid that his partner is going to beat himself up over this when the lack of communication went both ways. He knows his partner and his biggest flaw is his inability to accept his own mistakes.
"Maybe when it comes to plans and stuff, but when it comes to people," Unbee winces thinking back on his many, many social blunders, "but it's important to know what you need to improve on. I didn't mean a better person, I meant better from me."
"Okay, deal we will both become even better for eachother." Chat says grinning. This went surprisingly well knowing the two of them.
"So," he continues, "will you be my boyfriend?"
"YES! I mean I would love to."
They both have stupid little smiles on their faces, Unbee's face almost as red as his normal costume. Chat decides he's to happy to sit still anymore. He gets up and starts doing a little dance, shaking out his hands, then his feet, then his head, you know, to get all the happy out.
Unbee starts giggling looking at his boyfriend (BOYFRIEND!) happy stimming. He lays down on the roof looking up at the stars and wonders how the hell he got this lucky, then he realizes there's something else they need to talk about.
"Chat, are we going to tell people?"
Chat stops dancing and looks over at his partner to see him laying on the roof with his head tipped to the side to look at him.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, like are we going to tell Paris about Lordbug and Chat Noir? Are we going to tell our friends about Damien and Adrien? I was thinking about coming out if this went well, so would you be okay with people knowing Adrien Agreste likes men? If we do tell our friends do we keep it a secret from your dad and your fans?"
"Oh, I guess I hadn't really thought about that. How about first we tell Paris about Lordbug and Chat Noir, then depending on how they react we figure out who to tell about us as civilians? I don't even know what my dad thinks of gay people."
"That sounds like a great idea kitty cat, and if your dad has a problem you can always run away and live with me."
Chat snorts at the offer not knowing that Unbee is 100% serious. He holds out his hand to his boyfriend, Unbee takes it but instead of pulling himself up, he pulls Chat down so they're laying together on the roof.
"You know, my lord, we should probably be heading home, since we have school tomorrow."
Still holding Chat's hand Unbee curls up into him and groans, "Don't remind me."
Chat laughs again, stands up and then pulls Unbee up. "Come on bug, you need rest. I'll see you at school tomorrow okay?"
Unbee sighs but agrees. Chat leans towards him presses a quick kiss to his cheek and vaults away, leaving his partner a blushing mess behind him.
After a few minutes Unbee pulls himself back up and head home. He opens up the skylight, drops into his room and barely manages to detranform before passing out.
------
The next day Alya ranting about the new superhero hero who made their debut last night.
"It's so weird. I mean a new hero has never showed up without an akuma before, and Lordbug and Chat Noir only patrol with eachother. Lila you're Lordbug's best friend, do you know what's going on?" Alya looks over to the Italian girl beside her. Lila puts on a sad look clearly fake to both Damien and Adrien.
"I'm so sorry Alya. Lordbug made me promise not to say anything about it. You know how he is, so paranoid about Hawkmoth."
Alya frowns, upset but not doubting Lila for a second. Damien and Adrien walk into the room together laughing. Lila's response is immediate, pouncing (not literally) on Adrien to get his attention. Fluttering her eyelashes she looks at him and says, "Oh, Adrien, I'm so glad you're here. I struggled so much with last night homework can you please help me?"
while this is happening Alya talk to Damien.
"Marinette, girl, have you seen the new superhero?"
Damien takes a deep breath preparing for what might be a difficult conversation. "Actually Alya, I wanted to talk to you about something."
Adrien hearing this tells Lila, "Not right now." He turns to Damien, squeezes his hand and says, "You got this."
Damien nods, the encouragement being useful. He opens his mouth, about to speak-
Then an akuma came crashing through the wall. Everyone's response was automatics. Some ducking under desks, some running out of the room. Alya pulls out her phone to record. Adrien pulls Damien out of the room and down the hallway. He opens a door, and pulls his boyfriend into the room behind him.
"You ready my lord."
"As ready as I'll ever be."
"Plagg claws out."
"Tikki spots on."
The supply closet they were in lights up on a combination of pink and lime green. The lights sparkle and dance around the two of them, pink and green meshing and shining around both heroes. As the lights fade where Adrien and Damien were now stands Lordbug and Chat Noir. Slight changes on both of their costumes. The stitching in Chat Noirs costume is now red. Lordbug has a couple small green streaks through his blue hair. The heroes one united force.
"You're Lordbug again." Chat's surprised whatever was serious enough for him to not use the ladybug miraculous only lasted one day.
"Tikki got sick, luckily as a tiny god she got better quickly." Lordbug explains causing chat to have a small internal panic about kwamis being able to get sick. He quickly decides that's an issue for another time, right now they have an akuma to fight.
-----
The fight ends with a cry of miraculous Lordbug, a fist bump, and thousands of ladybugs flooding the city.
"Now seems like as good a time as any." Chat leans over and and says quietly to his partner.
"Better make the most of it." Lordbug says with a grin paris rarely gets to see, having some plan for chaos in mind.
"ALYA!" He calls over the young reporter, looks over to his boyfriend, and says, "Ready?"
Chat nods, eager. He pulls Lordbug in close, wrapping one arm around his waist and gently placing his other hand on his boyfriend's cheek. The two of them can't help but stare into each other's eyes before hesitantly pressing their lips together.
The rest of the world melts away around them. Distantly, they hear shouting and cameras, but in that moment neither of them could care less about their surroundings, only caring about eachother. The kiss was only a moment but for that short time the forgot about being heroes, about Hawkmoth, about every issue they're facing, a single moment of pure bliss before the rest of the world came crashing back down around them.
Lordbug nods to Alya, hoping at the very least she got a good photo. He wraps his arm around Chat and launches his yoyo in an arc through the sky to wrap around a near-ish pole. As Paris superhero duo swings away Chat can’t help but laugh, it's been a long time since he's been this happy.
It doesn't take long for them to detranform and head back to class, andas long as they make it back before Alya they're in the clear.
They open the door and relax, no Alya, then tense right back up when Rose shouts, "DID YOU SEE!" Normally Rose shouting about some current event thing wouldn't be cause for alarm, but this time there's a buzz through the whole class. It's clear everyone's excited about whatever happened. So, not a visit from prince Ali.
Damien is the one of them to answer, "Uh, no?"
The words are barely out of his mouth before Rose's phone is right infront of his face. On the screen of her phone is a picture of him and Adrien, or more accurately Lordbug and Chat Noir. It seems like someone got a good photo of their kiss.
Adrien right behind him in every sense, is quick to respond, "Lordbug and Chat Noir got together? Good for them."
Rose is practically bouncing with excitement, no scratch that she is actually bouncing. "I know right!" She shouts to happy to have any control over her volume level.
"Lordbug and Chat have kissed a couple times before without getting together. How do you know they're really together this time?" Damien knows better than everyone how true it is, but he was quick to doubt before, and as far as his classmates know there's no reason for that to change now.
Rose is quick with a rebuttal, "This was after the battle, not during the akuma fight, so it wasn't akuma related. They kissed for real."
Damien didn't have anything to argue this, not that he really wanted to. "Huh, good for them."
Rose's face burst into a giant smile and she bounced back to her desk. Damien shoots a baffled look at his boyfriend who shugs and smiles.
Then Alya bursts through the door signaling that everyone should be heading back to their seats.
Adrien and Damien sit in their respective seats. Alya slips in beside Damien, eager to share that Paris's superhero duo are now quite literally a power couple. Before she can mme. Bustier walks in.
did you see what i posted on the lordblog a peice of paper on his desk reads. He's pretty sure she means the photo, but he can't be sure so he writes back, I haven't checked your blog today, sorry :(
Lordbug and Chat Noir finally kissed
Finally???
oh, come on, everyone was waiting for them to gy together, I mean Chat is so obvious head over heals
well yeah, but what about Lordbug, he never showed any interest in Chat before?
Damien is annoyed, he does love Chat, but publicly he always turned him down. Chat got it, but it sucks that no one else really respected it.
Oh, come on he's always giving Chat heart eyes
It's not like she's wrong, so he changes the topic.
about earlier, can we talk after class?
ok? why not now?
He decides that the best way to answer that is to not. Damien refocuses on what mme. Bustier is saying, he missed so many classes trying to fight off a butterfly terrorist that he is seriously at risk of failing his classes. He really doesn't have time to be passing notes in class anyway.
-----
As soon as the bell rings everyone in the room is standing. Damien is out of the room in record time Alya trailing close behind. A quite private place is actually surprisingly easy to find on school property.
After dragging his friend into one of the many spots in the school he's used to transform Damien turns to face Alya.
Deep breath.
"Girl, what is going on with you today." She is not making this easy.
"Alya" is all he manages to get out, words harder then normal.
"Oh, Marinette, you know I'm here for you girl. No matter what." Damien can't help but laugh, not because something is actually funny, or because he was just so overcome with joy, like Chat after they kissed. No he was laughing because his only other choice was to start bawling. You know how it is, fuck it we ball.
It takes a while but he does eventually collect himself. When he does he stands up straight. He looks dead into Alya's eyes. "Alya. I'm trans. Please call me Damien." 7 words, he's not sure he would've been able to say anymore. Seven words, and Alya's been silent for 30 seconds, at least.
"Oh"
"Oh? What does that mean?" She hates him. She hates him. She hates him. She hates him. She hate-
"I didn't expect that. I thought you were going to tell me that you and Adrien finally got together." Okay she doesn't hate him. "So, Damien do you still like Adrien?"