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Chapter Text

It was a lovely Sunday afternoon when Marinette was out on her terrace enjoying the summer breeze and the warm sun. She didn’t have many opportunities to just sit and relax like a normal teenager, so she was really making the most of it.

After a couple of hours and a jar of cold lemonade, she started to write on a small pink notebook that had been lying next to her.

“Marinette,” her kwami said. “Don’t you think it’s a bad idea to keep writing on that thing after what happened with Sabrina and Chloe?”

“That was a long time ago, Tikki,” she said keeping her eyes on the notebook. “This is a new diary. I only write about Ladybug stuff in here, but I never include any personal information.”

Confused, her kwami floated to the table where there was a plate with cookies. “I still think it might be risky,” she said between bites.

“I can’t help it, Tikki. This is the only way I can vent about my superhero responsibilities. It’s my way to cope with everything after all these years of being Ladybug,” she stood up holding the diary to her chest and leaned her back on the railing. “Besides, if someone were to find it, they couldn’t know who wrote it or if it’s even real.”

She stood there for a while, glad that her kwami didn’t pressed on the matter. She didn’t like arguing with her. Tikki was more than a friend but not even the little creature could understand what Marinette went through as Ladybug. No one really could, so in a way her diary was her confidant and she had become a little dependent on it, she’d admit.

“Marinette, look!”

The girl turned around quickly to see a beam of light coming from what it looked like the direction of the Louvre. It hadn’t started to get dark so the light was barely clear enough to be noticed.

So much for a quiet afternoon, she thought with a sigh. Maybe it was nothing but it was her duty to make sure. She took a moment to take a quick breath before leaving but then a screeching sound coming from the same place made her jump dropping everything she had in her hands.

“Tikki, spots on!”

______

A tired Marinette returned to her balcony, opened the trap door to her room and dropped on the bed while releasing her transformation.

“You know where the cookies are, Tikki,” she said sounding worst than she looked.

She made one last effort to get up and go down the stairs to grab something quick to eat before going back to her room. She told her parents how she still had a lot of homework to do and that she wanted to skip dinner and be in her room.

In less than thirty minutes, Marinette was already sleeping on her bed with Tikki cuddling one of her pigtails.

______

Meanwhile, across town, Adrien Agreste was eating dinner quietly. He was used to eating alone so it was a great surprise for him to be joined by his father, and his assistant, even if they were just as quiet.

“Adrien,” his father called him from the other end of the table. “I will be leaving to Milan tomorrow morning to meet with some business partners.”

That was new. His father never left town if he could avoid it. He guessed it must be a very important meeting.

“You don’t have to come with me but while I’m gone, you can’t go to school.”

“But, father!”

“You will stay here where Nathalie can keep and eye on you,” Gabriel interrupted him pointing to his assistant. “I’m taking Gorilla with me so you can’t leave the house. It’s for your own good.”

“Yes, father.”

Without any further words, the man stood up and left.

“Can I be excused, Nathalie?” said Adrien not waiting for permission and leaving to his room.

He should have seen it coming. His father only was around to give bad news. He couldn’t believe how he still didn’t trust him. He was seventeen for goodness sake! The feeling of anxiety and impotence clouded his mind. He couldn’t wait until school was over to go and live somewhere else.

Adrien called his transformation and jumped out the window. He didn’t know where he was going but it didn’t matter. He just ran as fast as he could. Jumping from one rooftop to the next one until the only pain he could feel were his legs begging him to stop.

He stumbled upon a small park that he recognized for being close to his school and sat on one of the benches that was on a dark corner. He rested his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. Everything was going to be OK. He just needed a minute to calm down.

When he decided it was time to go home he spotted something shiny on one of the ends of the park. The regular Adrien would have missed it for sure but Chat Noir’s extra sensitive eyes could see very well in the dark.

It was a notebook with a locket. A diary, but it was open. It didn’t look like garbage to him, it was actually very nice. Someone must have dropped it by accident, he thought.

Chat Noir put it inside his staff and made the decision to look for the owner some other time. When he got home, he put it on his bedside table and forgot about it almost immediately.

Chapter Text

“I’m sure I left it here!”

“I told you so, Marinette,” said Tikki.

Marinette only groaned and kept looking around her terrace until she heard her alarm clock sound for the nth time. She was running late so she went downstairs determined to look for her diary after school.

Her day only got worse when she found out from Nino that Adrien was going to be absent for the next two weeks. She spent the first two classes looking at the empty space before her, not paying attention to Alix and Rose’s presentation about who knows what. 

When she got home at the end of the day she spent a few more hours looking for her diary but at the end she came to the conclusion that she had dropped it off her balcony and would never find it again. 

_______

Adrien was practicing piano when Nathalie entered his room after knocking, with some papers in her hands.

“Your friend Nino brought you these so you can catch up on your homework,” she said looking as emotionless as ever.

The blond boy didn’t even bother asking why she didn’t let Nino come in. He just nodded and watched her leave.

In the evening, Adrien was beyond bored. Seeing his Lady would surely put him in a better mood but they didn’t have patrol that night. 

He then saw the pink diary next to his bed and took it. He noticed the first page had been ripped off, only leaving part of the form where the owner would have put his or her contact information. He started reading the first few entries from early in the year and read them several times until the information finally sank in. 

It belonged to Ladybug. 

At first he wasn’t one hundred percent sure but after reading several entries there was no doubt. All the details, the specifics. Information no one but he or Ladybug could have known.

He suddenly realized what he was doing and closed the book in a beat. That was private information. Adrien would never forgive himself if he found out about her love’s identity this way, without her consent. He put the book back on the nightstand and lay on the bed trying to think about something else. But he couldn’t unread what was already read.

He was feeling somewhat guilty but mostly bad for Ladybug. To him, being a superhero meant freedom. It was the way he burned the stress off of his normal life. He could be  him  without any restrictions. To her, it was a burden, a weight on her shoulders, even if she loved what she did, sometimes it was too much pressure. 

He had spent the first year of their partnership pining after her until he accepted that she loved some other boy. Still, he had kept flirting with her because he just liked the way he got under her skin, but it was good natured and friendly and a way to make her laugh once in a while. He started to realize he had been the  worst . 

Of course she couldn’t talk to her family, her friends or her…  boyfriend  about all that. She was always serious about keeping their identities a secret. Chat Noir was the only person in Paris that could relate to her and instead she had had to seek solace in an object and he couldn’t blame her.

His antics had only made their relationship superficial. He understood now that he had hoped they would develop a deeper relationship if she decided to give him a chance. He  really  had been the worst.

He fell asleep with that thought in his head.

Next morning he woke up knowing who to ask for advice.

Chapter Text

Marinette was in her room watching the afternoon news. There was nothing interesting, thank goodness, she didn’t feel like battling an akuma. Her phone started ringing and she almost fell off her chair when she saw the picture of Adrien Agreste.

Panic.

She quickly checked herself in the mirror and pressed the answer button almost dropping her phone when she saw Adrien smiling at her.

After greeting each other and asking about their day, Marinette felt more relaxed.

“So, is there something you needed, Adrien?” she asked proud that she wasn’t stuttering anymore.

“As a matter of fact yes, Mari,” the boy said scratching the back of his neck. “I need some advice and I think you’re the best person to ask.”

“Oh,” she said.

Oh, no, she thought. The last time he had asked for advice was about Kagami and they had ended up going on a date together… but with two different people. 

She wasn’t ready for this.

“There is a girl from work who is going through a tough time,” he began. “She’s feeling overwhelmed, you know with all the pressure that comes with the job, and I wanted to help her but I don’t know how. You are a great friend, Marinette and I thought you could give me some tips on how to be a better friend to her right now. I feel a little guilty since I didn’t even notice how she was feeling. I found out by accident.”

Marinette felt relieved. This was not about love issues. 

“I think you’re a great friend, Adrien,” she told him with a smile. Then she looked away as if to think her next words. “My advice is that you talk to her. Find a good time to do it, too. Be a good listener and show empathy. Even if she doesn’t want to talk, just let her know you’ll be there for her if she needs you.”

After a few more words of advice, she returned her attention to the phone and saw Adrien with a warm smile on his face. He let out a sigh.

“Thanks, Mari,” he said and Marinette noticed a little blush on his ears. 

They said their goodbyes and Marinette put her phone on the table.

“At least he trusts me, Tikki,” she said bittersweetly.

_______

Chat Noir and Ladybug met on the roof of an abandoned warehouse after patrolling the city. There had been a few days without any akumas and they were deciding if it was a good thing or if maybe meant that Hawkmoth was planning something, but they had not way to know for sure.

“Either way, I think it’s nice to have a rest from this superhero duty, don’t you think it can be too much sometimes?” asked Chat Noir, who was sitting on the edge of the roof with one foot hanging, to Ladybug who was sitting next to him with her legs tucked underneath her.

“Tell me about it,” she said with a smile and somehow she was triggered to talk.

Chat actively listened to everything she said. It was as if she had taken the first opportunity to vent to someone about it and he was glad it was him.

“Don’t worry, Bugaboo,” he said warmly but she cut him off.

“Don’t call me Bugaboo, Chat.”

Now that he was really listening, he realized how much the nickname bothered her.

“M’lady?” he tried.

“Yes, Kitty,” she approved and motioned him to continue.

“Joking aside, you can talk to me,” he said trying to sound as serious as ever. “I understand there can’t be anything romantic between us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t me more than just partners. We can be good friends.”

She liked that. She talked about how her days were a mess sometimes since she was too tired or too worried she might have to be ready for duty when something good was going on so, as a result, she couldn’t fully enjoy her free time. 

When she was done talking, he told her he understood what it was to miss opportunities to have fun because of other responsibilities. It happened to him all the time and that was why being a superhero was his way to escape his strict routine and that was why he joked sometimes. This was one of the few ways he had fun.

She smiled at him and by her relaxed countenance, he could tell she was already feeling better.

Chapter Text

For the next couple of days, they had spent most of their patrol time talking to each other, happy that there were no akumas but still cautious.

Marinette couldn’t help but think that Chat was the best. Lately he had been very supportive and just a good friend in general. She couldn’t really place what it was, but she knew something was different about him. She had never spent her days thinking about him before. She then remembered Adrien and couldn’t explain what was going on in her head. Maybe she was thinking so much about Chat lately because she had not seen Adrien since they had video chatted.

She was surprised at how little it took for another boy to claim her thoughts. She knew she loved Adrien, that was like a rule, right? Feelings didn’t change in a few days. But, did she feel the same way as she did when she was fourteen years old?

With school being more demanding everyday and her superhero responsibilities, she hadn’t had time to think about boys. There was only Adrien. The handsome model who was nice to her and… what else? They were just friends but nothing more.

She didn’t know what was happening to her but just the thought of seeing Chat Noir that night made her feel excited. She was really starting to like spending time with him and the new side of him she’d never seen before.

The weekend came and she could already tell she was showing clear signs of “having a crush”, minus the stuttering, thank goodness. Seeing Chat even from a distance was making her feel butterflies in her stomach. He was still charming when he talked to her but in a very different way, like he wasn’t even trying. It felt more natural and effortless.

One evening, they were on their usual meeting spot gazing at the city, coming up with theories of Hawkmoth’s absence, the longest one by far.

“What if he died?” Chat proposed.

“Just like that?” 

“Yeah. Like he got into a car accident or a fight or maybe he was very sick and couldn’t make it,” he elaborated. “Maybe the poor guy just wanted to eradicate diseases with his miraculous wish and we’re the bad guys now for stopping him.”

He was clearly joking but still thinking about that made her feel uneasy. “Stop it, Chatton. It’s not funny.”

He gave her a questioning look.

“It has crossed my mind that maybe he has a good reason for wanting to make that wish,” she admitted. “Still, he is not thinking about the price that needs to be paid and the consequences which, no matter how good his intentions are, makes the whole thing selfish. What I mean is, I know the man is not totally evil, no one is.”

“How can you be so sure?” he asked her.

“Well, things are not black and white. There are shades of gray. People are complicated,” she replied. “It might sound weird but I think even someone like Hawkmoth can have redemption. If you think about it, he hasn’t really hurt anyone.”

“Ladybug, I think…” she heard him try to ague.

“Think about it, Chatton,” she insisted. “He obviously knows a lot about the Miraculouses. He knows whatever damage he makes with akumas, can be fixed with my ladybugs. If he was really evil he could have really started to kill people until we gave up, but he always chooses to fight us in a way things can be brought back to normal by the end of the battle. I’m not saying he is a good person or that he doesn’t deserve to be punished but he clearly has moral limits and that gives me a little hope. Maybe there’s a chance we could make him listen to reason and come to his senses.”

Chat seemed to be processing all that.

“Or, I don’t know, maybe he’s just really stupid and can’t think of new ideas,” she added to light up the mood and smiled when she heard Chat chuckle. 

The look her partner was giving her made her feel a little weak on the knees and warm on the face. Good thing they were sitting. It was a look that only Chat had ever given her. A look of total admiration.

“M’lady, only someone as amazingly kind as you can think that way,” he said. “You really gave me something to think about.”

They stayed sat next to each other, in silence for a while. It was still early so the sky wasn’t totally dark and just a few stars had started to show.

“You seem to be in a perky mood lately,” Chat observed.

“I am,” she complied. “I should thank you for that.”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” she continued and realized how close they were. “Don’t take this the wrong way but you have been different lately. Good different. N-not that you were bad before, just… you know, you have been more…um, yourself, I think. Anyway, thank you.”

And she thought she didn’t have to deal with her nervous stuttering. They looked at each other. His face had the kindest expression, with a sided smile and a light blush under his mask that she just couldn’t resist. Before even thinking what she was doing, she realized she had leaned towards him until their lips touched. 

Ladybug kissed him for a second when she realized he had frozen and wasn’t kissing her back.

Quickly, she pulled out, feeling her face burn. She didn’t know what to say, she just opened and closed her mouth until she finally found her voice.

“Sorry, I… I thought you’d want that. You said you…” she couldn’t hide the hurt in her tone. She looked away.

“Ladybug, I…” Chat said apologetically. “You said you were in love with someone else.”

“Yeah, I don’t know. I’m sorry, I think I’m confused,” she said wishing she could just turn back time or disappear on the spot.

“I don’t mean to be moralizing but before anything happens with us, wouldn’t you like to talk to him first?” Chat said, careful not to sound judgmental.

Ladybug looked at him and knitted her brows in confusion until she realized what he was implying. He was referring to ‘the boy she was in love with’: Adrien.

“Oh, you thought…” she sighed and stood up, suddenly becoming very interested in her hands. “Nothing has ever happened between me and him. He doesn’t even know. We’re just friends… soft of.”

Could she be more pathetic?

_______

Chat was quiet for a second, processing what was new information to him. He stood up too and took one of her hands. Seeing his Lady so vulnerable made him want to charm her Chat style but he remember what Marinette had said.

“Hey, it’s OK to be confused,” he said softly. “Feelings are complicated. You said it yourself: things aren’t black or white.”

She looked at him with a grateful smile and squeezed his hand. Even through the suits, he could feel her warmth. He was suddenly feeling shy, which was never normal when he was Chat.

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat. “Does that mean you have thought about us?”

He was expecting a Ladybug remark like ‘don’t get any ideas, Kitty’ maybe even remove her hand from his, but instead she just blushed and took his other hand, moving so they could face each other.

He felt his heart beat faster. Was this what having a heart attack felt like? 

Ladybug was getting closer and standing on her tiptoes but this time he met her halfway, leaning down to meet her lips.

Chat moved his hands to her arms and followed all the way up to her shoulders until they settled on her back while she rested hers on his pecs. They kissed for who knows how long. It felt like ages and it was still not enough.

When they finally stopped, her arms were already around his neck and their bodies were tightly pressed against each other. She rested her cheek against his chest and he nuzzled her hair.

“I have been thinking about you… about us,” she whispered.

Chapter Text

Ladybug lifted her head and took a small step back to be able to look at him.

“But, how can this possibly work, Chat?” she said sounding hopelessly. “Not knowing who we are, not even our names.” 

“That’s the beauty of this, M’lady,” he said undefeated by her doubts. “That’s how I know I love you so much. I don’t care what your name is or what you look like behind the mask. I love you for who you are inside.”

He hugged her harder and looked at her with a determination and intensity that made her skip a beat. “Don’t get me wrong, of course I’m dying to know you out of costume but I can be patient,” he said while putting a strand of hair behind her ear and his look became even more intense. “We will defeat Hawkmoth, or reason with him, and then we’ll be able to be together on and off duty. It’s a motivation if you think about it.”

Ladybug felt excited for some reason and wanted to say yes and kiss him again. She knew he loved her, she had heard it before but his speech left her with her legs melting. Nevertheless, she knew she should be more careful and not let her feelings blur her judgement. 

“I want to give us a chance, Chat,” she confessed. “But I’m afraid we’ll get distracted.”

“I’ve been in love with you since we defeated our first akuma,” he said. “If anything, loving you has made me a better Chat Noir. If you still need time to sort things out, it’s ok, I understand.”

She could tell he was being genuinely honest.

“It’s getting late, M’lady,” he added taking her hand a bringing it to his lips. 

He used to do that a lot, she though. Only this time there was no ‘knight bow’ or the typical Chat antics. He just sweetly kissed the back of her hand, wished her good night and left.

_______

Back in her room, Marinette groaned into her pillow. She had said she was confused, but she wasn’t. Not anymore.

Her crush on Adrien had been genuine but still juvenile. She saw him everyday at school and she didn’t even know him. All the information she had gather about him was through stalking but they hadn’t really shared anything with each other.

In a way, she knew Chat way better and having a relationship with him made more sense. Being with Adrien, or anyone else, would force her to lie and keep secrets and make up excuses all the time. How would that even work? But with Chat, they would be on the same page. 

She brought her fingertips to her lips and smiled remembering their kiss, so much different than the time with Dark Cupid but still strangely familiar, like they had done it before. Come to think of it, they had, they just didn’t remember.

“I get it now, Tikki,” Marinette said to her kwami who was eating a macaroon next to her. “That time with Oblivio, I was able to meet the real Chat because we didn’t remember we were superheroes. That day is still a mystery to me but now I understand he probably hadn’t tried to impress me, he had been himself, like he is now. Oh, I wish he had done that sooner, he is just amazing.”

“That’s great, Marinette,” said Tikki with a mouthful. “As long as it doesn’t affect your duties. I told you there was more you had to learn about him.”

“You’re always so right, Tikki.”

_______

Adrien wasn’t sure if he could die from an overdose of happiness but it was definitely a good way to go. 

He couldn’t help but think how funny things were, how when he wasn’t even trying to win over Ladybug’s heart, and just decided to be a good friend, he had done it. She still had her doubts but he could work with that.

She’d said nothing had happened with the other guy. Not in all these years. They were just friends. Adrien had pictured that guy many times feeling some sort of hate towards him, even when he didn’t know him. Now he would love to meet the guy someday and thank him for being the biggest idiot on the planet for not noticing a girl like Ladybug.

Next morning, Adrien was waiting for Nino. Nathalie had cleared his afternoon so they could hang out for a while before dinner.

When Nino arrived just after school ended, they talked for a while about school gossip Adrien had missed the previous week, which his friend didn’t know much about anyway so they just decided to play Ultimate Mecha Strike VI and eat snacks that were brought by Adrien’s personal chef.

After a while, Nino went to the bathroom while he kept playing, sitting on his white couch in front of the TV. When his friend was coming back he heard him speak behind him.

“Did Marinette stop by?” he asked.

What a strange question.

“No,” he answered not taking his attention from the video game. “Was she supposed to?”

“No, I was just asking, ‘cause you have her book.”

Her book?

“What book?”

Adrien dropped his remote when he turned around and saw Nino holding the pink diary he had left next to his bed. He immediately stood up and walked towards him.

“How do you know it’s her book?” he demanded, not managing to sound nonchalant.

“Dude, don’t play dumb with me,” Nino said with a smirk, obviously thinking his friend was failing at hiding something. “She covers her books and notebooks the same way since we were kids.”

Adrien felt his heart pounding in his chest and cold sweat on his forehead. Thankfully, Nathalie came into his room at that moment and dismissed Nino, who before he left said ‘saved by the bell’ keeping the smug smile on his face.

The blond guy told Nathalie he was going to skip dinner because he was full from all the snacks. She just nodded and left.

As soon as she closed the door, Adrien went into his drawer and pulled out the mystery Valentine letter he had gotten a few years ago and a note Marinette had given him that time she had brought his homework. They all had the same handwriting.

He was so confused. He knew Marinette didn’t like him, she had said so herself many times that’s why he had decided the letter had been from someone else. He had had a hunch it had been from Ladybug but that was only because an actual ladybug had landed on it when he read it, because Ladybug didn’t even know him as Adrien.

He shook his head and focused on the more important issue. Marinette is Ladybug. Ladybug is Marinette. He had even called her an everyday Ladybug once. How come he hadn’t made the connection before? 

He liked Marinette a lot, she was talented, kind to everyone -even if they didn’t deserve it-, smart, creative and oh so beautiful. When he saw her room full of his pictures on TV, he had hoped she liked him but when he’d asked she said she was just into fashion and that was ok, because he loved Ladybug.

Adrien groaned pulling his blond hair.

“Hey kid!” His black kwami called him. “You’re gonna go bald if you keep doing that. So what if Pigtails is Ladybug, I actually really like her.”

The boy chuckled at the nickname. “I like her too, Plagg,” he said. “It’s just a lot to process.”

And the thing he couldn’t get over was how close they were to each other all the time. She had been sitting behind him for years! 

Several thoughts and theories came to his mind. He was even thinking the possibility that Ladybug had cover her diary in a similar way Marinette does and there was not other connection. But no. Now that the thought was in his mind and that his eyes had been opened, there was not a doubt in his heart that the two girls where the same. And Plagg knew her, that was confirmation enough.

Then, he remembered Luka but he wasn’t sure if he was ‘the other guy’. Didn’t they date for a while? Maybe they didn’t if she couldn’t even confess her love.

Trying to keep a cool head, he thought about coming clean to her. He knew her identity and he had to tell her because that small factor put her in peril. Should he do it as Chat Noir to Ladybug? or as Adrien to Marinette?

He had a better idea.

Chapter Text

Marinette was sewing a design on her desk when she heard a noise coming from the roof. It was too late for pigeons to be awake and they weren’t that heavy to make such noises anyway. She then heard a knock on the trapdoor above her bed.

“Marinette?” she heard Chat Noir’s voice coming from the other side.

“Chat?” she opened the door to find him outside on her balcony. “What are you doing here?”

And for a second she almost forgot this was her civilian self he was seeing so she couldn’t run and embrace him.

“Is this a bad time?” he asked shyly. “I just wanted to talk to you for a second.”

“No, come in,” she said leaving the trapdoor open for him to follow and climbed down her bed to sit on a chair. She gestured to another chair in front of her. “Take a seat.”

He did as he was told and looked at the walls.

“Your room looks different,” he observed. “The last time I was here there were a lot of pictures of your friend Adrien on the walls… Made sense since you’re into fashion and he is a model. Why did you removed them?”

“Oh. Ha, ha. Funny story,” she answered feeling a blush going up her ears. “I kind of had a crush on him. Huge crush actually, for some years, but I’m over it.”

She focused her attention on the empty walls feeling embarrassed. After all she was confessing to the guy she liked how she had had a crush on someone else. She wouldn’t admit that the reason she took down the photos was sitting in front of her, wearing some leather suit and a rather confused look.

“You had a crush on him?” he asked. “I thought you liked that guy, Luka.”

“Oh, I do like him but not like that. We’re just friends.”

The look on his face changed to skeptical.

“Ok, he might had shown interest on being more than friends but I never felt that way. I guess I was too into my crush,” she clarified.

“So you are not into Luka and apparently not into Adrien anymore,” he pointed out.

“What’s with all these questions? No, I’ve never been into Luka and Adrien was someone I could never really talk to without stumbling on my words and I rather be with someone I can be myself around,” she said suddenly realizing she was Marinette at the moment and she and Chat never talked that easily.

“Anyway, you wanted to talk to me about something?” she reminded him.

“Um, I actually forgot I have to be somewhere,” he said while standing up and jumping to the trapdoor. “I need to go, Princess.”

And just like that he was gone.

“What was that about, Tikki?”

“I don’t know, Marinette.”

_______

Next patrol was still as quiet as the previous one and the ones before that. Chat was waiting for Ladybug to show up at their meeting spot. He had Marinette’s diary in his staff and was still thinking of the best way to approach the situation.

He heard her land behind him and when he turned he saw the smile she had on her face was blinding, making his heart melt inside his chest. She quickly ran to him and gave him a hug and a kiss on his cheek.

“Chat, I’ve been thinking,” she began apparently dying to get things out. “Well, not really thinking, it was actually very clear…”

“Ladybug, before you continue,” he interrupted her and removed her arms from around him, knowing he might not bring himself to confess what he knew if she kept talking. “There’s something important I want to tell you.”

“What is it, Kitty?” her voice was soft and her eyes scanned his face looking for an answer.

“This might change things… uh, between us.” he said. “I honestly don’t know how you’re gonna take it, but I need you to believe me when I tell you this: it was not my intention for it to happen, do you understand?”

“What’s going on, Chat?” now her voice had lost all of the confidence.

“I…” he sighed. “I know who you are.”

“You, what?”

“I just found out yesterday,” he explained. “And, again, it was an accident and I feel terrible that you are no longer safe because I know your identity.”

“How can you be sure?” Ladybug asked. “You might be wrong.”

“I’m not, Marinette.”

Chapter Text

Oh, boy.

“I really mean it, M’lady,” Chat said. “I didn’t want to find out like that. I wanted it to be on your own terms.”

She didn’t know what to say.

“You’re upset,” Chat said looking down.

“I’m not upset,” she admitted.

And she really wasn’t. He said it had been an accident and she believed him. 

They stayed silent for a minute and then Marinette dropped her transformation noticing how open Chat’s eyes were.

Tikki smiled at him and sat close by, eating a cookie she got from Marinette’s purse.

Marinette felt somewhat vulnerable. Chat was looking at her but she couldn’t read the expression in his eyes.

“You said this might change things,” she said looking away and sitting on a pile of bricks they sometimes used as chairs. “Does that mean you’re disappointed? Is this a dealbreaker?”

“What? No!” Chat replied and knelt in front of her taking her face in his hands so she would look at him. “On the contrary. I’m ecstatic it’s you, Marinette. I feel so lucky you like me and for reals this time, not just to protect your identity.” He said giving her a knowing smile and she chuckled at the irony, remembering Weredad.

“You’re a beautiful person,” he continued, brushing her bangs with one hand and resting the other on her knee. “And I’m not just talking about your looks.”

This cat was going to be the death of her. Tears started to form in her eyes but she was able to contain them.

“How did you find out?” she inquired. “Was it before or after your visit last night?”

“It was before,” he replied. “I found this the other day.”

Marinette was confused at first when he showed her his staff but then he opened it and took out a familiar diary she had been missing. She gasped in surprise.

“Before you get any ideas,” he said standing up with the diary in his hands. “Once I found out it belonged to Ladybug I stopped reading it immediately. I didn’t find out your identity because it’s written in here, heck I don’t even know if you wrote it down. I really did stop, Marinette.”

His eyes were pleading. She stood up and took the diary from his hands.

“I believe you, Kitty,” she said looking at the pink book. “I didn’t write about my civilian self in here.”

“For what it’s worth, it helped me to understand you a lot,” he said rubbing the back of his neck. “The few things I read made me realize what a bad partner I had been for not noticing how you felt. That’s why I’ve been trying to be a better friend to you and, to tell you the truth, I have enjoyed it a lot and I had no idea you would start to like me. Not that I’m complaining, of course.”

Chat Noir was rambling and blushing and that made Marinette feel less vulnerable. She put the diary aside and took his hands instead.

“I’m not complaining, either,” she said getting closer until she rested her cheek on his chest.

She felt his hands on her back going up and down.

“Don’t you think it would be too risky, though?” she heard him ask. “If Hawkmoth finds out we are in a relationship, he could harm you and I would never forgive myself if that happens, Marinette.”

How good it felt when he said her name. 

“Are you forgetting that I’m a superhero, Chat?” she reassured him looking up at him. “We could be careful. You’d be dating Ladybug, not Marinette.”

She could see he was really worried and hesitant, battling his mind and his heart. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him.

He took her hand and put it on his cheek and she savored the feeling of his skin against her palm. She would never get enough of it.

“I think it’s only fair if you know who I am too, M’lady,” Chat said when the kiss ended, looking very nervous. “You might not want to do this anymore if you knew who I am.”

“You don’t have to do that, Chat,” she said shaking her head. “I finally understand how you feel. I don’t care who you are and I don’t need to know your name. I love you.”

She saw Chat’s face going red in an instant.

“I love you because you’re kind,” kiss . “And noble,” kiss . “And brave,” kiss . “You mean so much to me, Chatton. I couldn’t put you in danger.”

_______

Words he longed to hear. 

“You really mean that, Marinette?” he whispered unable to stop the tears coming from his eyes and hugging her a little tighter.

“I do,” she whispered back. “I’m sorry it took me so long to admit it.”

“It’s ok, Bug. I understand perfectly,” he told her. “I was also blind. I see you everyday. I even liked you a lot but never had the guts to admit it to me or to anyone. I know now I was avoiding having a crush on two girls, when in reality it was only one the whole time,” he confessed enjoying the surprised expression on her face.

“You mean…?”

“Yes, you know me, Mari,” he affirmed. “We know each other.”

Her eyes were wide on him and her mouth was half open. He held her by the waist and put a little distance between them.

“Claws in.”

Chapter Text

Marinette looked down to her feet.

“Chat, are you sure?” she asked, not daring looking up.

“C’mon, Pigtails,” a voice she recognized said. “End his suffering. I want to eat cheese in peace.”

“Plagg, shut up!” Tikki yelled at the black kwami and then added in a quieter tone. “You two should really think this through. Marinette is already in danger,” she said to the two teenagers. “If Chat gets akumatized, Hawkmoth will know who she is and go after her and the same can happen to you Chat if Marinette knew who you are.”

“She’s right, Chat,” agreed Marinette. “I had been almost akumatized like three times.”

“I want this, Marinette,” she heard the boy say and she felt his hands on her shoulders. “This is something that is mine to give. I trust you with my life, but if you want me to, I can retransform. Just say the words.”

Marinette smiled. She was dying to know the boy she loved but his safety would always be a priority. They would have to figure out a way to make this work.

“Thank you, Chatton,” she said still looking at the floor. “But I think we should wait. We can never be too caref…”

The words died in her mouth.

She was looking at a pair of orange sneakers. 

She froze for several seconds, her brain working a thousand miles per hour. 

“Marinette?” 

Oh, she would recognize those shoes anywhere because they were literally unique. They were custom made for… 

The girl could only grab his shirt and rest her forehead on his chest holding on to him for dear life.

Taking a few calming breaths, she finally felt ready to speak.

“I can’t believe it’s you,” she whispered.

“Wait. You know who I…?” 

“I do,” she said quickly.

“How?”

She gave a big sigh. “I recognized your shoes.” 

“My shoes?” he sounded unconvinced. 

“I’m into fashion, remember? Of course I would recognize them.”

She looked up and saw a pair green eyes framed with blond bangs. Even when she was expecting to be looking at the boy from his class, seeing his face made hers fill with blood.

Marinette chuckled and covered her face with her hands, gave a big sigh and looked at him again keeping her hands on her cheeks trying to cover some of her embarrassment. 

“I’m such an idiot,” she said apologetically. “I rejected you so many times only because I was pining after… you.”

Adrien Agreste didn’t seem the least upset. 

“Hey, we’re on the same page,” he reminded her, removing her hands from her face and keeping them with his. “So are you OK with me being Chat?” 

“It’s a lot to process,” she confessed smiling. “But I’m more than OK with it.”

“Hmm, but you said you moved on from Adrien,” he challenged smugly, raising an eyebrow and leaning towards her.

“Oh, yeah. I did,” she said putting one hand under her chin and the other one on her hip. A smirk on her face. “So I guess this is it, then.” 

She shrugged and turned around dramatically surprised at how confident she was around the boy who once made her act like a complete idiot.

After taking only one step she felt her feet leave the floor. He had spun her around and lifted her in his arms, getting a laugh out of her.

“Not so fast, M’lady,” he said stopping the spinning. “You won’t get rid of me that easily.”

Their faces were at the same level, her feet still a foot away from the floor. His strong arms held her easily by the waist and her hands moved to caress the hair on the back of his head.

“Well, in that case, I guess I don’t have a choice,” she mumbled before they embraced in a passionate kiss.

___________

“Oh, this is great, Marinette!” he said happily, putting her down. “We can go on real dates and everything and if there’s an akuma, we can cover for each other. Makes me wonder if we should have done this sooner!”

“Hmpf!” they heard Tikki uttered from somewhere.

“Don’t you think there’s much to talk about first?” Marinette asked him, biting her lower lip nervously. “I mean, he haven’t been completely honest with each other. I’m not saying I will change my mind, I just want us to start things right.”

“I know, Marinette,” he sighed. “I’m sorry I’ve made so many mistakes in our relationship as partners and as friends and I can’t promise you that I won’t make mistakes as a boyfriend, but I will promise you this: I’ll do everything I can to make you happy and I will always be honest with you. No more secrets, M’lady.”

Marinette’s beautiful eyes were shining with tears but she was still smiling at him. He cleaned the tears away with the back of his hand.

“I’m sorry too, Adrien,” she said. “Keeping our identities a secret didn’t mean I had to shut you out. I’ve also made many mistakes both as Ladybug and as myself but I’ll try my best to be the girlfriend you deserve. No more secrets.”

They continued to talk until it was almost midnight. There were tears, laughs and gasps when they revealed little details the other one didn’t know about specific scenarios. 

The couple also came up with ideas to make their relationship work. They agreed their superhero job would be a priority and mentioned a couple of rules to follow in and out of costumes. 

As Marinette and Adrien, they were going date as normally as possible, except when an akuma was attacking the city or if they were planning something against Hawkmoth and as Ladybug and Chat Noir they would keep it strictly professional (or they would try). 

A big restriction was being seen in a civilian/superhero combo, that was just too dangerous.

Adrien couldn’t believe his luck. He felt like even a thousand akumas wouldn’t be able to bring him down and his Lady looked just as content. 

When they decided it was time to go home, they both transformed back into their superhero personas.

“Can I walk you home, M’lady?” Chat offered.

“No need to, Chatton.” She answered taking her yo-yo from her hip. 

“Text me when you get home?” he tried and knew he had succeeded when her smile got brighter.

“See you tomorrow, Kitty.”

He wished her a good night and watched her threw out her yo-yo and leap to the next building. While swinging, she looked back to give him one last smile and crashed into the corner of the structure before disappearing from his sight.

“I’m OK!” he heard her yell from the distance.

Chapter Text

Before they knew it the week went by. Ladybug and Chat Noir had met every night after their night patrol at their usual spot, still talking about the lack of akumas. 

They paid a visit to Master Fu to talk to him about it to which he responded they just had to be alert. When they told him they had found out each other’s identities, the guardian told them they would have to be extra careful but he didn’t see any harm in it. 

On Sunday night, the superhero duo met after giving a quick scan to the city.

“You should probably go home early today,” Ladybug suggested. “You said your father would arrive from his trip tonight. Obviously he’d want to see you.”

“See me for what?” Chat asked looking confused.

“You know, just to say hi,” she cleared.

Chat was still looking at her as if there was a deeper explanation to be given.

“You haven’t seen each other in two weeks, you must missed each other.”

“Well, is not like I see him everyday,” Chat said. “Once in a while he joins me for dinner or calls me into his office, aside from not going to school, I’d say my days are pretty much the same… what?”

Her heart shrank at hearing those words. Ladybug didn’t know what was worse: finding out Gabriel was a much more terrible parent than she thought or the fact that her boyfriend spoke about it like it was normal.

They had agreed to not say anything about their relationship to anyone until Adrien came back to school, but because Nino already suspected something, Adrien had to manufacture a small lie about Marinette visiting Adrien after school one day. Alya hadn’t questioned Marinette about it so that meant that Nino had kept the ‘secret’ to himself. 

But really Marinette couldn’t wait to tell her parents about her relationship. She knew they would be thrilled.

“Nothing,” she said forcing a smile and then, to change the subject, added. “Are you nervous about tomorrow?”

“Not at all,” his eyes shined. “I can’t wait to go back to school.”

“I was talking about telling all of our friends about us,” she pointed.

“Why would I be nervous?” he asked but didn’t wait for her to answer. “I would yell to the world that I’m dating Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

She chuckled at his comment. “I don’t know if I would broadcast that I’m dating you, though,” she said playfully. “Imagine how many akumas would go after me if I did. Your millions of fans would eat me alive.”

“That wouldn’t happen, M’lady,” he said proudly. “I would protect you with my life. I should be the one worried, half the school has a crush on you.”

She rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t stop her lips from forming a smile.

After a while, they decided it was time to call it a day.

“Will you ever let me walk you home?” Chat inquired taking her hand and looking into her eyes.

“You know we have to be careful,” she reminded him.

“What about tomorrow?” he asked. “Can I pick you up before school?”

“You do know that my house is like three steps away from school, right?” she joked.

“And I would love to walk them with you. All three of them. Holding hands and everything.”

Her heart skipped a beat. She would never get tired of her kitty.

Chapter Text

Next morning, Gorilla was driving Adrien to school.

“Can you drop me off at Marinette’s, please?” the blond boy said to his bodyguard. “It’s right next to school.”

The big man looked at his reflection on the mirror and just grunted. Adrien knew he had only agreed because he would still be able to see him from a distance. Two minutes later, the car was parked in front of the bakery. 

When Adrien stepped out of the car, his girlfriend came out with a paper bag in her hand. She looked agitated as if she had been in a rush until she saw his car outside. The day was extremely cloudy and gloomy, but her smile was as bright as the sun. 

“Hello, Marinette!” he said warmly while walking towards her and then once he was in front of her, in a lower voice. “You look beautiful this morning, princess.”

He noticed how her face blushed making the freckles on her nose pop and his heart did a somersault when, as flustered as she looked, took his hand. There had been a few days since he last saw her as Marinette.

“Morning, Kitty,” she said affectionately. “I got you breakfast.” She showed him the brown paper bag she had. 

Earlier he had texted her how he was running late because Nathalie was busy taking care of his father’s schedule after his trip but then on another text he had said he would skip breakfast to be in time for school with several minutes to spare so they could have a few moments before classes started.

He was not used to this. Almost everything his father gave him was a way to compensate for his absences so these kind of details made him feel strange, but in a good way. Like that time she had given him a lucky charm.

“I hope you like bagels. They’re fresh from the oven,” his girlfriend added looking a little nervous. “And I also have coffee and tea, ‘cause I didn’t know what you liked to drink in the morning.”

He had been staring at her, probably making her feel uncomfortable. He wanted to tell her it was great and so nice of her to do that but he couldn’t speak, so he just leaned down and kissed her cheek. She stopped talking immediately.

“Thank you, Marinette,” he said. “Shall we get going?”

________

Marinette felt like walking on clouds. Adrien had taken her school bag and put it on his shoulder even when she had told him it wasn’t that heavy.

Some of their classmates were already gathered on the steps of the stairs by the basketball court and Marinette could almost hear the sound of Alix, Juleka and Rose’s necks cracking when they turned their heads to see them walking in hand by hand.

Alya and Nino were sitting on a nearby bench and as soon as the reporter spotted them, she squealed and ran to hug them.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing!” she said delighted. “Girl, you have been keeping secrets from me!”

“I knew it!” Nino exclaimed smugly and then told Alya what he had found in Adrien’s room the day he had visited him. His girlfriend had kept a surprised expression the whole time.

“You didn’t even tell me you were going to go visit Adrien!”

“I was going to tell you, Alya,” said Marinette apologetically. “But I knew that if I hesitated just a second I would have chicken out. So, I just went straight to Adrien’s house and confessed my love.”

She felt Adrien’s arm around her shoulders, she looked at him. He was looking right at her.

“I was so happy,” he continued with their fake story. “I had been in love with her for such a long time but I never thought she would like me back. You’re so amazing, Marinette.”

The thought that that was not technically a lie made her blush hard.

Alya declared them the biggest idiots in Paris and let them enjoy their breakfast on a bench and took care that none of the rest of their class bothered them.

Ten minutes before the bell rang, Chloe entered the school with Sabrina right behind her. Marinette tried to ignore them hoping that they would not see them but obviously she had underestimated Chloe’s radar for Adrien.

“Adrikins! There you are!” she called him and strode towards where they were sat, completely overlooking Marinette. “I need you to give me the number of your hair stylist as soon as possible, I just fired mine. She was so incompetent…”

“I’d love to help you, Chloe,” Adrien interrupted. “But I’m busy having breakfast with my girlfriend,” and then he took Marinette’s hand as if to prove what he had just said.

The look on Chloe’s face was priceless. Her mouth was hanging open and her eyes darted from Marinette to Adrien to their joined hands. It was Sabrina who took her by the shoulders and guide her to the classroom moving her away from them.

When the couple entered the classroom the blond girl was already on her regular seat and sending scowls at them but thankfully she didn’t say anything else.

It was Alya who stopped them from sitting together claiming Marinette and her had a lot to talk about.

By the end of the day Adrien and Marinette were crossing the school court holding hands. When they reached the exit, just as they were going down the stairs, a storm broke out and they were soon covered by droplets of water that were starting to get bigger by the second.

Adrien made to pull Marinette back to school but she was quicker and pulled his hand to make him follow her to her house.

“Fast, Adrien!” she yelled over the loud thunder. “You don’t want to ruin your makeup!”

She could not hear what her boyfriend’s reply was because the thunder only got louder but in just a few seconds they were entering the bakery panting. 

“Marinette! Adrien!” they heard a man’s voice. “What a nice surprise!”

It was Marinette’s father from behind the counter. Adrien quickly went to shake his hand.

“You’re soaking wet,” he observed. “You two should go upstairs to get dry and warm up. Your mother is making hot chocolate.”

He winked at them. Marinette thanked his father and beckoned Adrien to follow her.

Chapter Text

Sabine greeted them from the kitchen with a warm smile. 

“Adrien is so nice to see you, dear!” she said to the boy. “The chocolate it’s almost ready. Go and change before you catch a cold.”

Marinette guided Adrien to her room upstairs and through the trap door. It had been ages since Adrien had been in her room, she thought but then she remembered Adrien was Chat and disregard it. She could see that outside the window the storm had gotten stronger. On a reflex, she turned her TV on to watch the news. This was something she did to make sure Paris wasn’t being attacked by akumas.

“I should call Nath to let her know that I’m here,” Adrien said.

“Ask her if you can stay for dinner,” she suggested while giving him a towel so he could dry himself. “You can’t go home anyways and my parents would be delighted,” she added to convince him.

While he was busy on the phone, Marinette went to her closet and took some clothes for her and her boyfriend. Luckily, she had many men’s garments that she had made for fashion projects through the years. Meanwhile, their kwamis made themselves comfortable on the pink chaise.

“Here,” she extended the clothes to him. “This should fit you and they’re also the most comfortable I could find.”

Most of the clothes were very extra, with rhinestones, sequins or even punk studs since they were meant to be for local musicians and actors that commissioned Marinette, but she handed him a pair of gray pants and a soft black sweater. They went behind different folding screens and changed into their dry clothes. 

They were ready at the same time. Marinette thought the outfit really suited him even if the pants were a little short. 

“Black is definitely my color,” he said smiling at his reflection in the mirror and rubbing the materials. “You’re so talented, Marinette,” sounding proud.

“Too bad I don’t have any shoes that would fit you,” she said. “But you can wear my cat slippers.”

They were a pair of over sized black cat slippers that almost fit him perfectly.

Marinette couldn’t help to giggle a little and excused herself and went down to get the hot chocolate plus a few cookies and some cheese for the kwamis.

Plagg was beyond delighted with the selection of cheese Marinette had brought.

“Can’t we move here, boy?”

_________________

After hanging in her room for a while, Sabine called them for dinner. Adrien had some trouble walking downstairs with the strange fluffy cats wrapped around his feet. Marinette giggled and offered a hand to help him. He feigned being annoyed by her.

He had to admit that in any other circumstances he would have felt very self conscious of being seen wearing clothes that didn’t fit one hundred percent correctly and not a word about the slippers. But Marinette’s parents were the best people he knew. They were warm and caring even when they barely knew him. He felt welcomed and cared for. He felt home.

Dinner lasted a few hours because not only did they eat. Tom and Sabine asked them about their day, about their relationship status (“Papa!” had whispered Marinette) and about his plans for the week. It didn’t feel like an interrogation at all, he was happy that they were showing so much interest. Genuine interest. He was happy.

When their plates were empty and their tummies full, Marinette started clearing the table and taking the dishes to the kitchen. Adrien helped her put them in the dishwasher while his girlfriend’s parents cleaned the table and the kitchen counter.

“Well kids, we’re gonna go to sleep since we have to get up early in the morning,” Tom said. 

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you want, Adrien,” Sabine added looking at her phone. “It’s not raining so much anymore but the streets are flooded so if no one can come to pick you up, you can sleep in the guest room.”

“Thank you for everything, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, Mr. Dupain,” he replied looking at the two adults. “Dinner was delicious.”

“You can come have dinner with us everyday, son,” Tom patted his back. 

Adrien felt a lump in his throat so he just offered them a grateful smile afraid that his voice was going to break.

They went to Marinette's room and did some homework while listening to Jagged Stone music. This was the first time Adrien studied with someone and he had to admit it was better this way. 

Suddenly a wave of sadness filled him. Nathalie had texted him the time they were going to pick him up and that time was almost up. He was going to have to leave soon. Leave the coziness of the house and the warmth from this little family who had welcomed him with open arms. 

“I wish I didn’t have to go,” he blurted out unintentionally sitting on the pink chaise.

The look on Marinette’s eyes reflected his sadness. She sat next to him.

“Well, you heard my parents,” she replied trying to sound positive and putting her arm across his back. “You’re welcome to come everyday, so…”

He knew his father wouldn’t allow him. Not with the busy schedule he had. The bad weather turned out to be a lucky strike and he couldn’t rely on luck to be on his side all the time. And of course, even when the Dupain-Chengs said he was welcome to join them everyday, he didn’t want to abuse their hospitality.

“Your father and Nathalie may refuse to let Adrien come here, but they can’t say anything to Chat Noir,” she stated blushing a little and resting her head on his shoulder. “I mean if you want to visit me sometime you know you always can, no matter the time.”

They were so close to each other. Adrien leaned in to meet her lips and the kiss turned passionate in seconds. They hadn’t kissed like this before, he though. It was different now that they weren’t on a rooftop and didn't have to worry about being spotted by anyone. This was intimate and precious. Before he knew it, Marinette had pushed him gently against the chaise and was straddling him. His hands wandered down her back, to her waist and settled around her hips.

His mind was clouded. His senses focused on the girl in his arms. Her soft lips, the taste of her tongue, the smell of her hair, the sound of his cellphone… 

“You should get that,” Marinette said against his lips and moved over to the other side of the chaise.

It took a few seconds for him to realize he was getting a call. His hands felt empty without her hips in them and his lips were left craving for more.

He picked up his phone and spoke to his bodyguard who was waiting for him already.

“I have to go,” he said with sigh.

She walked him to the front door and he lingered in the threshold for a bit, just to kiss her on her forehead and whisper an I love you in her ear.

Later, when he was laying in bed, Marinette was all that was on his mind and on his dreams.

Chapter Text

“Happy anniversary!” Marinette shouted to no one in particular as soon as she woke up and got up from her bed.

She then ran to her desk where she had a wrapping station ready. She had spent the previous evening searching in her trunk, trying to find the gift for this occasion. Of course she had also ordered a limited edition Jagged Stone album, signed by the rockstar himself but when she had confessed to Adrien that she had a trunk full of presents for their future fifty anniversaries and forty Adrien’s birthdays to come, he had begged her to continue with her original plan assuring her they would of course grow old together.

Her kwami watched her lost in thought, ogling the air around her.

“Isn’t an anniversary supposed to be an annual thing?” asked Tikki. “You’ve been only dating for 6 months.”

“It’s a six-month anniversary,” said Marinette as if that would be enough explanation.

“Humans!” mumbled Tikki with a roll of her eyes.

She couldn’t believe it had been half a year since she and Adrien had officially started dating. Well, she could believe it now that he was not on a pedestal. They had the same group of friends, the same interests, the same double life and on top of that, her parents loved him. It seemed almost too good to be true.

But of course not everything was pink. There was the fact that they had just graduated (a few weeks ago) and they wouldn’t go to the same school together anymore.

They had both decided, however, to stay in Paris to study University because of their “jobs” as superheros (although Marinette wouldn’t have wanted to live far from him anyway).

She wouldn’t get tired of him. Everyday had something exciting. They fought villains after all. Not to mention he was a supermodel and the owner of many hearts in Paris (“You’re the only one who owns my heart, Bugginette!” he had said indignantly), so that meant running away from paparazzi from time to time. 

There was a bigger issue but she knew it was something out of her hands. 

The biggest problem was his father.

Pompous Gabriel Agreste, thinking Marinette was some sort of gold digger, only dating Adrien for his name in the fashion industry. How dare he think that of her when he had refused to even shake her hand when Adrien tried to officially introduce her as his girlfriend? She was never given a chance to proof she genuinely loved his son. And where to get started with the mention of threats of sending Adrien far away?! 

Thank goodness her Kitty was already of age and had all the money he wanted and more and was able to move out of that cold mansion. He was certainly enjoying his first week of freedom.

Also, luckily for her, Mrs. Bourgeois was still interested in her designs and had offered her a scholarship for the best fashion school in Paris. That was enough for her to know she had potential.

In your face, Gabriel Agreste!

No. No negative thoughts. Today is a special day.

____________________

Adrien was waiting for Marinette at a coffee shop. He had arrived some minutes early and was fidgeting with a paper napkin. They hadn’t talked about celebrating their six month anniversary. He didn’t know if she would consider it something worth celebrating, but he wanted to make a nice gesture for her. The problem is that he was now having doubts about said gesture. Was it too big? Too soon? Not enough?

He saw her enter the coffee shop and stood up to greet her with a kiss on the cheek. He immediately noticed she had a present on her hand.

“This is for you,” she said and they sat at opposite sides of the table. 

He asked with excitement if he could open the present and she nodded.

“I know we didn’t talk about doing anything special for today, but I knew you would like this album and I couldn’t wait for our one year anniversary to come, ‘cause by then you would have already bought it,” she explained.

“This album is not supposed to be released until next week,” he said looking at the album cover. He recognized the design because it was one of her creations.

“Well, that’s one of the perks of being friends with Jagged,” she added brightly.

“And this?” he really didn’t need to ask, he knew it was one of the gifts she had told him she made with years in advance.

“My fourteen-year-old self thought it would be a perfect gift for our six-month anniversary,” she explained blushing a little. “Of course, fourteen-year-old Marinette planned for our relationship blossom in the spring that’s why I’m giving you a pair of mittens in summer.”

That brought some tears to his eyes. The mittens were soft and warm and way too small for his hands now, but it was the solely idea of teenage Marinette caring so much for him in secret that did it for him.

He acted on impulse and stretched his body across the table to embrace her in a warm hug. His heart fluttered with love for the perfect human being in his arms.

“Thank you, mon amour.”

Now he really thought his gift was probably not enough.

“I… I have something for you, too,” he said sheepishly taking the seat next to her and showing her a nice looking pouch, tied with a cute ribbon. It was so small that when he gave it to her it fit her palm. “Remember today I was going to show you my new apartment?”

She opened the small bag and took a key out of it and looked kind of confused for a few seconds before her expression turned into surprise. 

“Wait!... Really?!” she was looking at him with questioning eyes.

“I know we haven’t really discussed it,” he now felt kind of dumb for not thinking about running the idea by her before. “I just thought that, since we are going to be really busy once we start University, this would be a good idea. Of course I understand it might be too soon or too much to ask. I…”

His excuse of a speech was interrupted when she took his cheeks in her hands and kissed him dearly.

“When can I move in?” she asked beaming.