Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ladybug looked back at her partner and boyfriend, Chat Noir with glee as she clutched the Butterfly Miraculous in her hand. The defeated and unmasked Hawk Moth, now Gabriel Agreste sat on his knees with his head bowed pleading with them, but Ladybug ignored him as she glanced at Chat. He stood off to the side, eyes wide breathing heavily.

“Are you okay Chat?” She called out to him and as the police entered the building, Ladybug stepped back allowing them to take Gabriel Agreste into custody.  As soon as they had him, Ladybug approached Chat putting her hand on his shoulder and grinned, “Kitty? It’s over. We won. Shall we regroup and head to our spot?” She leaned into him as he stood almost frozen in his boots. His eyes remained wide as Ladybug glanced up at him in confusion, “Chat? Did you hear me, are you okay?”

“Yeah. Um, yeah. Recharge. I… need to do that… you… see you later.” Chat stumbled on his words as he turned from her and bolted away, using his baton to launch himself up and away from her.

Ladybug stood for a few moments longer staring in the direction he went in confusion before her earrings started beeping rapidly in her ears and she decided it was time to leave. She knew she could ponder about Chat’s behavior later.

***

Ladybug sat on the Trocadero waiting for Chat to show up. They had agreed that once Hawk Moth had been defeated, they would share their identities, after all, they had been a couple for nearly a year at this point and she couldn’t wait to see the boy behind the mask. She knew she loved him no matter who was behind it and she had told him that every day, but today, today she wanted to look into his actual eyes and tell him. Swinging her legs on the side of the building, Ladybug waited and waited.

One hour, two hours, three hours, the sun was setting, and Chat hadn’t shown up. Panic was starting to set in, but Ladybug was pushing it aside. She grabbed her yo-yo and called his baton, only getting his voicemail.

“You’ve reached Chat Noir. Hope you’ve had a meowvulous day. Cat-ch you later!” Ladybug frowned at the phone before hanging up. She looked out at the Eiffel Tower thinking maybe he misunderstood and would come tomorrow instead. She stood with a sigh and threw the yo-yo heading home.

***

The Trocadero was quiet the next evening as Ladybug sat waiting for Chat again. She paced the roof, glanced down at the people below and played with the yo-yo. She opened her yo-yo glancing at the time and called him again.

“You’ve reached Chat Noir. Hope you’ve had a meowvulous day. Cat-ch you later!”

Ladybug bit her lip as she closed her yo-yo and lay sprawled out on the roof staring into the night sky. The sun was starting to set, and it wasn’t like Chat to not show up. The evening belonged to them, it was the only time they were able to be together as the couple that they were, and she didn’t understand where he was. As the sun passed over the horizon, Ladybug took a deep breath before calling one more time.

“You’ve reached Chat Noir. Hope you’ve had a meowvulous day. Cat-ch you later!” Closing her eyes, Ladybug forced out a giggle.

“Hey Kitty. Uh, just wondering where you are. I’m heading home now, but, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow yeah?” She clicked the yo-yo off and rolled her shoulders back before throwing the yo-yo and heading home.

***

“You’ve reached Chat Noir. Hope you’ve had a meowvulous day. Cat-ch you later!”

Ladybug wanted to scream when she heard it again. She’d been going to the Trocadero every night for the last four days and for all of them, she’d been alone. The tears she shed coated her face and lips with salt as she sat knees into her chest. She didn’t understand what happened and why her best friend, her boyfriend, was missing. She didn’t know how to reach him, didn’t know if he was okay, if something had happened or what and Ladybug felt herself slowly breaking. She cried watching the sun set in the distance before opening her yo-yo again and calling one more time.

“You’ve reached Chat Noir. Hope you’ve had a meowvulous day. Cat-ch you later!”

She let out an exhausted breath as she whispered into the yo-yo. Through the tears and the sobs, Ladybug could only cry as the simple, “Where are you?” left her lips.

***

Laying on her back letting the sun soak into her suit, Ladybug sobbed. Her yo-yo lay discarded off to one side and her heart was most definitely broken. It had been a week since Hawk Moth’s defeat, a week since Chat Noir had disappeared without a trace.

 A letter lay crumbled nearby, black ring clutched in her fist as her body shook with sobs. She didn’t understand what happened, or how this could actually be happening. They were supposed to be happy; they had won, and he’d vanished with just a little letter leaving his ring behind. Ladybug wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do anymore. She didn’t know how to be Ladybug without her Chat Noir by her side. Her sobs carried through the Paris sky as her own grief overwhelmed her. Her best friend, her boyfriend, her love had left, giving up his ring, asking that she never try to find him, and Ladybug lay broken in their spot.

She rolled slightly, grabbing the yo-yo and opened it, hitting the communication button that would connect her to him one last time.

“You’ve reached Chat Noir. Hope you’ve had a meowvulous day. Cat-ch you later!”

And Ladybug could only whisper, “Why?” as the tears consumed her. She closed her yo-yo and stood on the roof top where she could look out at the Paris sky from this spot one last time. Her shoulders shook, her heart broke as she grabbed the letter, clutched the ring and went home where she removed her earrings. She threw both them and the ring in a box refusing to ever be Ladybug again.

My Lady,

I’m sorry. I’m sorry for disappointing you. I’m sorry to keep you waiting for me. I’m just sorry. I know what we planned on, and I know it’s what we both had wanted, but I don’t want to tell you who I am. I’m not who you think I am, and I never deserved you. One day, you will find the man who is meant to be your other half and while I wish he were me, it’s not. I wish you an amazing life and I’ll always love you, but I was wrong when I said we were meant to be. I’ve asked Plagg to put this where you can find it. Please don’t look for me. I’ve forbidden Plagg from telling you who I am. I don’t want you to find me. I don’t want you to know me. I’m sorry. Please forget about me.

Chat Noir

"You've reached Chat Noir. Hope you've had a meowvulous day. Cat-ch you later!"

Chapter Text

Four Years Later  

“Alya! Slow down! You aren’t going to miss anything.” Marinette called as she chased after her best friend. She had barely gotten her shoes on before being dragged out of her apartment by her reporter best friend who was desperate to get to the Remembrance Ceremony that was taking place at the Place des Vosges where the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue stood.   

As they rounded the corner, Marinette passed by her parents’ bakery waving at them from outside shaking her head, laughing and pointing at Alya as they went. Alya suddenly came to a stop at the edge of the park and glanced back at her friend with a grin.   

“We made it!” Alya squealed. Marinette wanted to roll her eyes, but instead she returned the grin and reached out patting her friend on the shoulder.  
“I told you.”  

“Oh, shush Nette. Let’s get closer. Maybe today, maybe today for the ceremony our heroes will show.” Marinette winced at her friend’s comments, not bothering to mention that they hadn’t shown up for the last three ceremonies, it’s highly unlikely they would show up to this one. Also, considering that neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir wore their Miraculous any longer, it was definitely not happening. Of course, Marinette knew her best friend didn’t know that detail, so she just smiled and nodded looking out at the statue.   

Marinette blinked back the tears that she knew threatened to fall. She could never admit how much she hated the statue and what it meant. The status was the reason Marinette moved out of her parent’s bakery as soon as she was able. The statue was the reason Marinette rarely came to these types of events and the statue was another reminder of everything she’d lost.   

Alya grabbed her, pulling her closer to where the current Mayor stood looking out at the crowd preparing to speak. Marinette sighed faintly, glancing out at the rest for the crowd wondering slightly if Chat Noir was at the ceremony too, hiding in plain sight like she was. Four years since they had taken down Hawk Moth and four years since Chat Noir had vanished, Marinette still grieved her partner. She only wished she could have talked to him one more time. One more time to tell him it was okay that he didn’t want to share who he was, that it was okay that he didn’t want to be Chat Noir anymore, that it was okay if he wanted to part ways.  

The Mayor cleared her throat as she stepped up to the podium and Alya had her phone out ready to record leaving Marinette free to slowly sneak away as she caught bits of the speech.   

“Hello People of Paris. We are gathered today to remember our heroes, our Ladybug and Chat Noir for everything they did for our city and while…” Marinette let her mind close off, not caring what the Mayor had to say as she squeezed herself through the crowd of people intending to hide out in the bakery to wait for Alya. As she reached the edge of the park, she glanced up towards the street in time to see a flash of blonde hair climbing out of a black sedan and it took everything in Marinette to look away. She’d gone down that road for years and all it ended up doing was causing her pain. Shaking her head, Marinette hurried off to the bakery, already ready to put this day behind her.   

As she approached the door, she could see her parents inside dealing with a mad rush of customers, so she carefully slipped in the side door grabbing an apron off the hooks stepping into the bakery ready to assist them.   

***  

Hours later, Marinette was happy to be at her apartment. Blinds thrown wide open, her sewing machine running as she looked over the days’ orders. She had started her own MDC brand several years prior and was doing quite well for herself. Every stitch, every piece of fabric handmade by her, with all the love and care in the world. One day, she knew she would need a better operation, a bigger operation, but until then she was happy in her small apartment making her custom designs by hand. She glanced over at the TV as the day’s events played through, causing a small sigh. She knew, thanks to Alya, that after the Mayor had spoken, several others had as well, including Hawk Moth’s own son Adrien. Not wanting to hear what anyone had to say about her, or Chat, she had originally muted it, but left it on so she didn’t feel so alone. Leaning back in her chair, she watched as the speaker changed and she probably would have smiled, but instead a groan slipped from her lips.   

She grabbed the remote, unmuting the TV, as Emilie brand CEO Adrien Agreste came across the screen. She frowned at her enemy’s son, her rival brand, as he spoke in front of the statue today. It wasn’t that she disliked Adrien, not really, it was the fact that he was the constant reminder of her loss, just like the statue itself and she hated that. Turning up the volume, Marinette allowed herself to get lost in his words.  

“Hello Paris! Thank you for allowing me to speak today. As most of you are aware, four years ago today, our Heros unmasked the villain Hawk Moth, allowing the world to see that it was my own father, Gabriel Agreste. No one could have been more surprised at the revelation than me. I lived for years in the same house as a terrorist, and I didn’t even know. For that, I’m sorry. I lost...” Marinette watched his face as he closed his eyes almost like he was trying to force himself to continue to talk. The deep breath he took shock his shoulders as he nodded back to the camera and continued, “I lost everything that day and I didn’t handle it well. I isolated myself from everyone while I processed everything that happened. It was a trying time for me, but I don’t blame our Heroes. They did everything right. They protected the city, while my father tried to destroy it. So, because of that, I wanted to take this time to say that I appreciate everything that our Heroes did for us, for me. After my father’s arrest, our heroes disappeared as quickly as they came. No one knows what happened to them, but I like to think they are still out there, watching, waiting for a time to return. They deserve all the love and praise you can give them, and I personally wanted to say thank you.” Marinette could see the tears in his eyes, starting to form, threatening to flood as he stepped down from the podium and disappeared into the crowd.  

After his father’s arrest four years ago, Marinette actually pitied him. He was just a kid when his father was discovered to be the villain Hawk Moth. His mother was dead, his father in jail and his father’s empire was in pieces.  Marinette recalled that in the wake of everything, Adrien had hidden himself away from the spotlight, only to bounce back a couple years or so later rebranding his father’s company into Emilie after his mother and donating half of his company’s profits to charities. He opened and supported many charities including several mental health clinics. If it had been anyone else, Marinette was sure she’d have liked him a whole lot. Before meeting Chat, she had what they would call a celebrity crush on the former model and now, well, he was still a very attractive man, and he did such good for the community, but his father caused her to lose Chat and that was just too much for Marinette to bare.  

When he had made his reappearance, Marinette almost put her earrings back on, almost went and talked to him, to find out what exactly he knew, but she was afraid. Afraid of sinking into the path of calling Chat’s baton, afraid Adrien would hate her for ruining his life, afraid of just being Ladybug again, so she didn’t. She watched him from afar as he grew the company, became the face of charities and overall became what seemed to be a well-rounded person.   

There was something about Adrien confused her, though. Marinette never let the fact that he was Gabriel's son to stray too far from her mind. Was it really possible to live in the same house as the person terrorizing the city? Was it really possible to not have known? Was he himself just a true victim of his father’s madness or would he also become the villain his father was? Marinette didn’t know and because she didn’t know she had kept track of him, at least as best as she could. She did know that some people still hated him, and that some people still blamed him, and Marinette didn’t want to be part of that crowd. So, while she didn’t want to like him on principle, Marinette couldn’t hate him either. He seemed just as hurt as the rest of the city.  

Turning off the sewing machine, Marinette headed over to her computer and pulled up Alya’s Ladyblog. It wasn’t just Ladybug and Chat Noir news anymore, there hadn’t been any news in four years, but Alya still kept it going with theories, facts, reported spotting's and anything Miraculous related. She knew Alya would have already posted a copy of the event today, so Marinette did what Marinette shouldn’t and pulled up Alya’s video using the time to scan the crowd as the speakers spoke. Again, she watched as Adrien stepped off the stage and headed into the crowd, this time with Alya following him slightly. He wiped away the tears that had been threatening until he turned and headed off towards the street allowing Alya to return her view to the crowd and the next speaker. Marinette paused the video and re-winded it. Watching Adrien’s emotions play across the screen again, Marinette sighed. The lives that Gabriel Agreste ruined could never be taken back.    

Closing her eyes, she leaned back in her chair giving in to her breathing exercises. 1-2-3-4-5, Marinette breathed, allowing the emotions to flow and the feelings to hit as she thought about the final battle and Chat’s disappearance. As she felt herself calm down, she opened her eyes and glanced at the clock, figuring she’d better turn in for the evening before she’d be too tired to get up in the morning.   

Chapter Text

It had been a week since the Remembrance Ceremony and Marinette sat in a coffee shop down the street from her apartment. Dressed casually for the weather with a floppy hat on her head to contain her unkept hair, Marinette tapped her shoes together under the table.  Her coffee sat getting cold as she worked on her latest designs. She hoped to make enough to expand by the end of the year and to do that, she needs to keep things going and fresh.

A breeze blew as the coffee shop door opened and Marinette didn’t bother looking up until someone sat at the table with her, pulling the menu up into their face and whispered, “Please, please act natural and act like you know me.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide as she stared at the man who joined her table. He was hunched over, menu still in his face, but his blond hair was peeking out over the top.

“Uh, excuse me?” Marinette went to pull away, but as the menu dropped slightly, blue eyes met green and he whispered, “Please. Please. Just for a few minutes… I need to get away from her.”

His menu slipped a little more and Marinette gasped as she came face to face with Adrien Agreste.

Stunned and almost afraid of stuttering a response, Marinette nodded slightly pulling her own hat off her head and thrusting it onto his, she glanced towards the door before she leaned forward grabbing his shoulder and pulling him towards her, so their foreheads barely touched.

“What are you doing?” He whispered, pulling back slightly as she left her arm on his shoulder.

“I have no idea. You’re the one that told me to act like I knew you.” Marinette found herself whispering back like they were sharing some secret.

“Right. Okay, can you see out the door? Is there a girl out there with brown hair… probably looking around frantically?” He whispered again, raising his own hand and lightly touching her cheek.

“Uh, no? I don’t think so. Uh…” Marinette started stumbling. He was much too close and much too handsome. She could feel her heart racing as his hand carefully brushed her cheek, and she knew her cheeks had to be turning several shades of red. He dropped his hand then and started to turn towards the door himself when it burst open and a woman walked in, glaring around the room. She locked eyes on their table, but Marinette knew his menu mostly obscured him so when his lips met hers, she was wildly unprepared.

Marinette was frozen, unsure on what to do, how to move, or how to even breathe. She hadn’t dated, entertained and most especially hadn’t kissed a man in four years. She wanted to pull away, but something kept her there, possibly the little pitter patter of her heart beating so hard in her chest she was sure the entire coffee shop could hear it. There was a groan, a squeak and when the door swung open and shut announcing the woman’s departure, Marinette felt him pull away with a sheepish grin. Her mouth hung open still unsure of what had actually happened. That even a week ago, if someone had told her she’d be kissing Adrien Agreste, she’d have laughed in their face.

“I’m so, so sorry! I couldn’t let her find me.” His voice barely registered in her ears as he waved his hands anxiously knocking the menu over and grinning at her sheepishly.

“You could have bought me dinner first.” Marinette replied flatly, before a giggle escaped her lips. The blush that appeared on his face surprised her but was welcomed as his face broke out in a wide grin and he laughed.

“I really hadn’t… I mean, I didn’t plan to kiss you. I just.. ugh. Again, I’m so sorry. Can you forgive me?” Adrien stumbled over his words as she smirked at him.

“I suppose I could… maybe. But first, who’s the girl and second, you need to give me a good reason why I should, Monsieur Agreste.” Marinette barely caught the giggle that threatened to escape.

“Ah ha! So, you do know me!” Adrien said through a laugh and a wide grin that took over his whole face. Marinette’s mind was against her as she thought back to her childhood crush and her ‘Radiant, Carefree, Dreamy’ walls.

“Of course I know you, I’m not sure anyone doesn’t know you, Monsieur Dreamy.” Marinette’s giggle reached across the table as he faked shock, bringing his hand to his chest in amusement.

With a loud fake gasp on his lips, Adrien pouted, “No! That was so long ago! I’m so embarrassed!” He laid his forehead on the table, not looking at her. Marinette felt herself being swept in by his playfulness and when he glanced up at her with joy in his green eyes Marinette felt herself melting. Raising his head again, he laughed then spoke, “As for the girl, she’s a model for Emilie. She’s been trying to get me to date her for a while, but ah, not interested. I was at a meeting close by and sent my driver off because I figured I could get a decent walk in when she spotted me… I panicked.” He laughed again, leaning forward and placing his chin in his hand, “So, my fair maiden, what’s your name?”

“Marinette, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” She grinned at him, pulling her notebook to her chest.

“Wait.” His eyes went wide as he looked at her, “wait… Marinette… Dupain-Cheng? You… you’re MDC?”

“That would be me.” Marinette shrugged her shoulders at him.

“This is just… wow, of all the people… this… wow.” He ran his hands through his hair, shuffling, looking slightly sheepish again.

“I don’t understand.” Marinette shook her head at him as he laughed, placing his hands on the table.

“I was literally just telling my assistant to get in touch with you! I had seen some of your work from the fashion show Audrey Bourgeois put on several weeks back. I wasn’t actually at the show, but the work was passed off to me and…” He glanced up at her wide eyes, “Sorry, I’m rambling.”

Marinette giggled, “It’s okay, normally I’m the one rambling.”

“Anyway, I know you have your own brand and everything, but I was wondering if maybe you’d like to consult with us. I’m not a designer like my… uh, well, anyway, I have to rely on other’s talents for that… honestly, I’d prefer to do something besides running this business, you know.” He smiled at her laugh radiating off his face and Marinette was lost in his eyes, in his smile wondering how she could have even considered disliking this man.

“Well, I’m super busy right now, but I’d maybe consider it. It’s actually funny, before… uh everything, I was a huge fan of your father’s work. I had uh, posters and stuff and I dreamed of working at Gabriel.” Adrien looked slightly uncomfortable but gave her a smile anyway, “Sorry, I know that’s probably weird,” Marinette continued.

“It’s okay, don’t worry about it. Things with him… the entire thing is super weird. I didn’t handle it well in the beginning, I pretty much abandoned my friends, but I’m over it now.”

Marinette wanted to be glad for him. She could understand how hard the entire thing must have been for him, but her own troubles and losing Chat made it a little difficult.

“I’m sorry, uh, I do understand, it’s…” Marinette started to reply, but he reached out covering her hand that rested on the table.

“I mean it, don’t worry about it. Uh, is that your notebook?” He grinned, pointing at the book she still had clutched to her chest. Marinette felt herself glancing down, before meeting his eyes. She felt like she was being pulled into them. She withdrew the book from her chest and laid it on the table in front of them.

“Yeah! I was just working on new designs, I’m trying to grow and well, as you know, we have to keep things fresh… do you want to see?” Marinette knew she shouldn’t be getting involved with him, she knew starting something was a bad idea, but it felt like she was being dragged to him and she couldn’t stop herself.

“I’d love to see!” Adrien grinned at her, reaching out to open the book and as they looked through the pages together, Marinette felt her cheeks turn red at each gushing remark from the blond-haired man who sat with her.

As they neared the end of the book, Marinette suddenly became aware of the designs that they had reached, designs she had created with Chat Noir and Ladybug in mind, and squealed out, “Oh! You probably don’t want to see those.” She reached out to close the book only to find Adrien’s hand on the page, stopping her.

“Wait, Marinette. These look amazing. Hero inspired?” Adrien took the book from her then, looking over them carefully. Marinette could only find herself whispering out a simple yes, as she watched him fawn over each page.

“There’s a lot of Chat Noir here… were you a fan?” Adrien let out a chuckle as he spoke, and Marinette was glad he was focused on the pages so he couldn’t see her face. She knew the shades of red that were spilling over her would definitely give something away. Instead, she stared down at the table as he turned page after page. She could hear him humming as he turned the pages, barely looking up as he went.

Without warning, he set the book down and sighed, causing Marinette to look up at him.

“Everything okay?” She whispered. Fearing that maybe her designs awaked some sad memory of his father.

“Oh, yeah, sorry. These just take me back…” He glanced at her and smiled, “It’s good don’t worry. Listen… these. I want to do these. Will you work with me? We can discuss terms and pricing, but Marinette, I really want these designs.” Adrien’s eyes were wide as he looked at her, and even though her brain was screaming don't do it, Marinette found herself nodding.

Chapter Text

Marinette stared at the computer screen, entering the information for the designs in her new office at the Emilie building. It had been five days since Adrien had crashed into her life in the weirdest way possible, making her heart thump a little too hard in her chest. Three days since she officially started working at Emilie and two days since she couldn’t get her current boss out of her head.

She was focused, tongue slightly out, as she concentrated on the items in front of her. Sighing, Marinette dropped her head on her desk, frustrated at the color scheme, not noticing the man standing in her doorway.

“You okay Marinette?” His voice carried across the room, sending Marinette sprawling back in her chair with a squeak.

“Just fine! Totally fine! I was just working on this color scheme, but I can’t get the green to match Chat’s eyes and it’s just so…” Marinette paused looking up at the grinning Adrien in front of her.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect.” Adrien walked over, leaning forward onto her desk before flipping through the color pallets in front of her.

“It has to. He… it’s important to me.” Marinette grabbed the color pallets back from him and flipped through them again biting her own lip.

“Marinette, I’m sure whatever you come up with will be perfect. Listen, why don’t you take a break, come have lunch with me?” Adrien reached back across the desk, again taking the pallets from her as she frowned at him trying to grab the color pallets back.

“There’s really a lot to do, I don’t think…”

“Marinette, it’s okay to take a break, you’ve been working really hard.”  Adrien said, interrupting her as he held the color pallets behind his back. Marinette smirked at him, preparing to stand when a loud voice came from the hallway.

“Hey, uh, Mr. Agreste! You are needed in Merchandising, they said it was urgent.” A man, Marinette knew as Brian appeared in her doorway. She watched as Adrien’s shoulder deflated a little as he turned back to face the man.

“Okay, thanks Brian.” Adrien nodded before turning back to her, “Rain check, okay?” Adrien hurried out of the room, before Marinette could even respond, leaving the color pallets on the desk. Sighing, Marinette reached across the table grabbing the pallets to flip through them once again, as she let her mind wonder to the moment that she realized just how much Chat meant to her.

***

The akuma floated away, as Ladybug stared after it, the tears streaming down her cheeks. She turned abruptly, letting the tears flow as she searched for her partner. Her partner who moments before had been killed by the akumatized villain leading Ladybug to scream and lash out in terror. As she scanned the area, she noticed him by a wall, down the road. Tossing her Lucky Charm in the air as she ran, calling on her Miraculous Ladybug, she didn’t wait for it to repair everything before he was in her arms. She cried, holding him to her begging him to be okay. That what if, this time, the miracle cure didn’t fix everything, didn’t fix him. As the magic passed through her arms, Ladybug whimpered as he groaned, slowly opening his eyes.

“Hey Bug,” had never sounded more perfect in her ears and as her crying got worse, he wrapped his arms around her, “Shh, Ladybug, it’s okay. I’m okay.”

“You WEREN’T! You DIED!” Ladybug yelled through her sobs clutching him to her, afraid if she let go, he’d vanish.

“I know, I know, but I knew you’d bring me back.” Chat murmured in her ear, and it took everything in Ladybug not to throttle him.

“And what if I FAILED? What if it DIDN’T work? I LOST you; I could have LOST you FOREVER. I can’t lose YOU!” Ladybug scolded him, not caring who could be watching, not caring about the crowd that was forming, not even caring her earrings were beeping in her ear slowly counting down to her detransformation.

“Oh, come on Bug, you always figure it out and bring me back. Even if you didn’t, I’m sure you’d find a better Chat Noir then me.” Chat reached and cupped her cheek giving her a small smile.

“There’s no one else I want.” Ladybug whispered as she crashed her lips into his. Startling him and causing him to let her go as he pulled away.

“Bug?” The confusion was splattered across his face as the red spread across hers.

“I’m so sorry, I didn’t. I shouldn’t. I just.” Ladybug stumbled out of his reach, fear now apparent on her face. She stood up, preparing to jump away from him, when he reached out, grabbed her arm and pulled her to him.

“Stop. Ladybug, stop.” Chat whispered, as he held her to him.

“I need to go. I messed up, my earrings,” She whispered; her wet eyes stared up into his. He leaned down, kissing her forehead, before pulling her into his arms and using his baton to launch them away from the crowd.

When they were away and out of sight of anyone, Chat sat her down and went behind a wall, so they were out of each other’s view. Ladybug felt her transformation fall moments after he left her and heard him call off his own.

“I’m so sorry, Chat.” Marinette called to him, reaching out around the wall, secretly hoping he’d be there, close enough for her to feel.

“Bug, don’t apologize. It’s… purrfectly okay.” She heard Chat whisper and then as the chuckle left his mouth, Marinette felt herself frown.

“Really Kitty?”

“Always Little Bug.”

Marinette signed, allowing her emotions to run through her body and mind, “I was so scared, and then you were there and I… I just love you Chat.” Marinette held her breath. She waited as she was met with silence from the other side of the wall. She could feel the tears she was already holding, start to spill over when the whisper of “Transform, please. Plagg? Claws out.”

Marinette’s eyes went wide as she heard his transformation phrase and quickly whispered her own. As she felt the magic wash over her, Chat was there pulling her into his arms.

“You’re my most important person, M’Lady. I love you too.” And his mouth was on hers again and this time neither of them let go.

***

“Hey Marinette? What are you still doing here? Most of the office has gone already.”

Marinette looked up from her computer to see Adrien standing there, for the second time that day, and she was briefly caught off guard.

“Oh! Adrien! Uh, I was so caught up and I didn’t realize the time.” Marinette knew she probably looked guilty, maybe a little flustered as she saved her work and turned off the computer. She refused to even look up at him as she cleaned up her workspace, and as she stood, she finally allowed herself to look, and her eyes locked with his. He was leaning against the door frame, feet and arms crossed with a grin that hit his eyes and made Marinette’s heart thump in her chest, causing her to smile as she asked, “And what are you still doing here?”

“Making sure my favorite designer didn’t stay here all night… besides, I was thinking maybe we could get the dinner now since we missed lunch. You know… friendly work dinner?” The smile never left his face as Marinette fumbled around her desk heading towards him.

“Oh, sure, yeah, that would be great.” It wasn’t great, not at all and Marinette knew it. She didn’t want to fall for her current boss, for her enemy’s son, but every time he smiled at her, every time he stopped and made her a priority Marinette felt herself slip a little more. It was like she was being drawn to him and she didn’t even know why. She tried to push him out of her mind, to keep Chat there, but Adrien kept inching himself further between her and Chat and it was driving Marinette crazy.

“Awesome, come on, there’s a small little café nearby, we can walk there. That okay with you?” Marinette nodded as she stepped into pace with him as they headed down the hallway and out of the building.

It only took them a few minutes to get to the café and when they arrived, the hostess took them too a small table in the back as she giggled saying something about privacy which caused Marinette to roll her eyes.

As they settled into the place, Marinette felt at ease, like this was where she was always supposed to be and when they ordered, she wanted to just stare into his eyes and let all her worries drift away.

“So, after this collection, what’s your plan?” Adrien called across the table interrupting her thoughts, startling her.

“Oh, I’m not sure. I’m still doing my regular commissions on the side, so I’m trying to save up as much as possible to expand by the end of the year. I just really want to make this work, you know?” Marinette looked up at him as she finished speaking, and he had his head cocked to the side just watching her. Like he had something on his mind, but wasn’t sure if he could get the words out, so Marinette continued, “What do you want to happen after this collection?”

“Uh, that kind of depends on you. Your talent is unlike anything I’ve seen. I hope maybe we can do more collaborations in the future. Marinette, can I ask you a personal question?” Adrien’s eyes bore into hers, as she felt herself sit back in her chair giving a little bit of distance between the two of them.

“Sure… I am, I mean, go head.” The words were out before she could stop herself and as he looked at her, Marinette tried to force herself to relax.

“What made you decide to do these designs? What really inspired you? Why the heroes that no one had seen in four years?” Marinette froze, she wasn’t sure how to answer that without giving away the true reason, giving away what she’s been hiding for the last four years and when the waiter approached with their food, Marinette was grateful for the interruption.

As they took their plates and she placed her fork into the salad, Adrien spoke up again, “So?” and a giggle left his mouth as he continued, “Was it Chat? Tell me it was Chat, devilishly handsome, smooth talker, hilarious too, right? Was it the leather? No wait, I bet it was hearing him spout out all those pawistively pawsome puns.”

“You can’t be serious right now.” Marinette groaned, putting her head onto the table as he laughed at her.

“Oh, come on, Marinette, just admit it. The Cat made you swoon, didn’t he?” Adrien teased, reaching across the table and swatted her hair, sending a chill down her spine. Fear flooded her as the familiar motion and the reality of his words hit her deep in her chest causing her to cough.

“I’ll have you know that Chat had nothing to do with it! My best friend Alya runs the Ladyblog, and I thought it would be a great way for her to move forward from her obsession with the heroes!” Marinette snapped at him knowing the fear of being caught was overtaking her emotions and she needed to settle down before she completely gave herself away. She took several deep breaths silently doing her breathing exercises as he pulled away looking at her with a mixture of concern and sadness.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you, Marinette. I was just playing. You remind me of an old friend of mine and she would have laughed… at least when I knew her, she would have, maybe not now, I don’t know I haven’t seen her in a long time… and that’s my own fault, so…” He let his words trail off, looking anywhere but her and Marinette felt slightly guilty for raising her voice at him.

“Hey, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have gotten so upset. I promise, I’m okay. Listen, why don’t you tell me about your friend, she seems nice… what happened?” Marinette did her best to assure him and as his smile broke through, he gave a small sigh.

“She was my best friend. She could make me laugh like no one else, smile even if I didn’t want to and was always there for me. She stuck her tongue out and bit her lip when she concentrated on something, but she was so good at figuring things out. She never let a problem go unsolved. She was so beautiful when she smiled and laughed. She was also just good, you know. She really cared about everything… people, things… me. But after my dad was exposed, I hurt her, I hurt everyone. I became a shell of who I was, and I cut her off. I tried to find her after a few weeks, but she had left. She was gone and I had no way of contacting her again. It took me a long time to get over it, but I’m better now and I just hope that one day, she’ll come back and forgive me for everything I did.”   

Adrien sighed again, biting his own lip as his right hand went back to rub his neck like he was uncomfortable, or maybe nervous. Marinette wasn’t sure which, but the look on his face made her want to reach out and pull him into a hug.

“Adrien,” Marinette started, reaching out and covering his hand with hers, “You’ll find her again and I promise you… she’ll forgive you.”

“You really think so?” Adrien’s eyes pleaded with her, pleaded with something causing Marinette to blink back her own feelings on Chat’s disappearance. This wasn’t about her, and it wasn’t about Chat. This was about Adrien, and Marinette could be there for him.

“Of course I’m sure, because if I were her, just looking at you and what you went through, she’d be stupid not to. I’d forgive you for it and didn’t you say, I reminded you of her?”

That caused Adrien to let out a small chuckle and he nodded, “You definitely do. Thanks Marinette, that really means a lot to me.”

Marinette held his hand from across the table, both of them slowly getting lost in each other’s eyes as their dinner lay forgotten in front of them.

Chapter Text

Marinette had pins in her mouth, staring at the mannequin in front of her. The Chat Noir themed dress was nearly complete, and she had kicked out the staff when they started having trouble with the bodice. Marinette's mind was running through everything in front of her, the halter top style with the paw prints down the side, the chest, the straps and through to the zipper down the back. Everything had to be perfect, and Marinette knew that this was just something she had to complete on her own.  

Pinning the last item into place, Marinette pulled the last of the pins out of her mouth and stuck them on the cushion smiling to herself. Stepping back, hands on her hips, she sighed and glanced to the door where she knew Abigail, one of the assistants was waiting.

“All good Abby, you can have them come back now.” Marinette grinned at the girl, who was only slightly younger than her, before grabbing her purse and looking back at the dress. As the staff returned to the room, Marinette gave them the go ahead to proceed and headed out of the room, turning right and heading down the long hallway back to her office. She needed to put the final touches on the matching skirt set, before she could meet up with Alya for lunch. Glancing at the clock, she nodded to herself as she seen she had more then an hour.

As she dropped her purse on the floor and flopped into her seat, Marinette’s eyes locked with onto a cup and plate that had been placed on her desk. Leaning forward, there was a note written that only said “Eat” causing Marinette to raise her eyebrows.

Grabbing the Pain au chocolat that lay on the plate, Marinette ripped off a piece and stuck it in her mouth, finding it was still soft and gooey inside. Closing her eyes and leaning back in her chair, she savored the bread letting the flavors melt in her mouth. She was certain that this was her mothers own cooking and had to bury the squeal that wanted to explode out of her. Pain au chocolat was one of her favorites and she would have to find the intern who provided it. After finishing the bread, Marinette leaned forward and grabbed the coffee. Typically, when the interns brought her coffee, it was boring and plain, so Marinette wasn’t hoping for much. She placed the cup to her lips taking a sip finding it still warm with just the right blend of coffee, vanilla and a hint of cinnamon.

This time, Marinette didn’t bother containing the squeal that erupted from her lips. Someone must have been snooping to find out her favorite coffee. There was a door closing and a shuffle down a hallway before Adrien appeared in her doorway with a grin on his face.

“I take it you like it?”

Marinette’s eyes snapped up to his as confusion spread across her face, “Did you do this?”

“Well, I knew you were busy with the dress, so I wanted to make sure you had sustenance when you came back. Did everything work out okay?” Adrien leaned against the door frame, like he does nearly every time he stops by sending Marinette’s heart thumping into her chest.

“I.. but, how… you know what,” She took a deep breath, “thank you Adrien, you really didn’t have to.”

“I know… but I have the time to spare, unlike someone who kicks all the assistants out of the room.” He laughed as he spoke, before nodding at her, “I got a meeting in a few minutes, talk to you later, okay?”

“Yeah, sure of course. Thanks again.” Marinette watched as he walked away, putting the coffee to her lips again letting the liquid fill her body with warmth. It had been almost two days since their dinner out and Marinette was struggling with the feelings that kept cropping up whenever he was nearby. Of course, it helped that he seemed to be avoiding her. After their dinner, he had walked her to her car and leaned down like he was going to kiss her, before stumbling, mumbling something then saying goodbye and disappearing into the building.

Settling back in her chair as she finished her treats, Marinette opened up her computer, flipping through the designs until she got the skirt set, biting her lip. She didn’t want to think about Adrien right now, she didn’t want to think about the fact it felt like he’d been dodging her for two days, so she got to work, adjusting the piece to match the dress.

***

About two hours later, Marinette was so lost in her design, she hadn’t even heard her door open.

“Earth to Marinette?”

Marinette blinked as she looked up from the computer to where her best friend stood. Marinette shifted, glancing at the clock across the room and then back at Alya.

“Sorry! I lost track of time!” Marinette squealed, pushing her chair back, grabbing her purse and standing.

“It’s okay girl, I only just got here, Nino has a meeting with Adrien, and I figured we could sneak out before they’re done. Nino said he’d meet us later.” Alya explained, as Marinette headed around the desk.

“With Adrien? About what?” Marinette flipped the light switch off as the two woman headed out of the room, pausing as Marinette locked the door and took the moment to glance down the hallway to Adrien’s shut door.

“Oh, Nino does a lot of sound work for him. Apparently, he plans to have Nino do the sound for your show in a few weeks.” Marinette nodded absentmindedly.

“Oh. Oh! The show! That’s right, he may have mentioned it to me the other night, but I completely forgot.” Marinette linked her arm with Alya as the two headed out of the building, towards the same café that she and Adrien had gone to dinner.

As they arrived, Alya held her hand up for three people and the hostess directed them to a window booth where menus were already waited for them. Marinette glanced down at the menu, before shoving it off to the side with a sigh.

“What’s wrong girl?” Alya set her own menu down and looked across the table, giving Marinette a smile.

“There’s just a lot of work to be done for the collection, and I just need for it to be perfect. Working with such a large designer will really put me on the map, but this Heroes theme is just generally important.” Marinette looked up as the server approached the table, ending her line of thought. The girls took a moment to order their food and drinks, each getting water and a burger with fries, before Marinette noticed Alya looking at her expectedly.

“Yes?” Marinette raised her eyebrows looking at her friend.

“I’m slightly confused though. You said these are important… but I worked on the Ladyblog for years and you were never interested. I mean, I chased them around Paris, and you hid in your room, or the bathroom, or wherever you could find. I honestly assumed that you didn’t care for them and yet, you are working on these incredible designs, and I mean really working… according to Adrien, you barely take breaks. I’m a little concerned.” Alya reached across the table and patted Marinette’s hand as the server dropped off their waters which they promptly ignored.

“Adrien said? When did you become buddy, buddy with him?” Marinette frowned, leaning her head back on the booth.

“He and Nino have become really good friends and Adrien talks to Nino… then Nino talks to me. I just worry about you, girl.”

“You don’t need to. I’m fine, I promise. I’m getting everything done and I’m still doing my commissions. Look, I’m even out at lunch today!” Marinette thrust her hand out in front of her, gesturing to the room.

“Only because I made you!” Alya laughed, shaking her head at her friend.

“Hey, I took a break today too!” Marinette glared sticking her tongue out at her best friend who only grinned.

“Because Adrien made you, didn’t he?”

“No!” Marinette felt the blush appear on her cheeks, “I mean, he may have brought me coffee and Pain au chocolat… which reminds me, did you tell him, or Nino to tell him what my favorites were? He literally had my coffee exactly how I like it even, down to the hint of cinnamon.”

“Wasn’t me!” Alya said, laughing, “Maybe he’s just been paying real close attention to you… I mean, come on Mari, what’s going on between you two? Nino says when Adrien is on the phone with him, it’s all ‘Mari, this and Mari, that.’”

“He does not! Stop it!” Marinette laughed along with her friend, “There’s nothing going on, he is just as excited about the designs as I am.”

“Why though? His dad WAS Hawk Moth, like that’s got to just… oh look there’s Nino… and he brough a friend.” Alya bit her lip as she tried to stifle the giggles. Marinette turned towards the doorway and could see Nino and Adrien walking into the café.

“Oh no, no, no.” Marinette whispered causing Alya to raise her eyebrows. Marinette frowned and through gritted teeth, she whispered, “Stop it!”

The two men approached the table with equal grins and as Nino slid in next to Alya, Adrien looked down at her and smiled, “Mind if I join you?”

“Sure, uh, of course.” Marinette did her best to return the smile, but her mind wandered off trying not to think about how close he was to her and to try think about the fact that he seemed to be done avoiding her.

As the men looked over the menu, the server approached with the girl’s food. As it was set down in front of them, Nino immediately ordered the same as them, but Adrien ordered a salad.

“A salad? Are you on a diet Agreste?” Nino called across the table before reaching over and grabbing Alya water and chugging it down.

“Hey Nino! That’s mine!” Alya said laughing, pulling the cup out of his hands. Marinette grinned at her two friends barely noticing Adrien’s hand had made its way across the table stealing several fries off her plate. Marinette’s eyes went wide, and her mouth dropped open, “Did you just steal my food?”

Adrien smirked, “Of course I did.” Marinette blinked then shook her head looking at him as if she was studying him closely, when his yelp of “And I’ll do it again!” broke her out of her fog causing Adrien to laugh as he reached back across the table grabbing a handful of the fries this time. Marinette let out a giggle as she reached out smacking his hand, causing him to drop the fries back onto her plate. Adrien let out a squeak that sent Marinette into giggles and when he laid his head on the table and groaned, “The lady wounds me!” Marinette lost every ounce of control she had causing her laughter to infect him. They both sat laughing as Marinette slid the plate closer to him, before glancing up at the wide-eyed Nino and Alya sitting across the table.

“What exactly just happened here?” Alya had both her hands above the table gesturing at both of them. Marinette glanced at Adrien, biting her own lip as she watched him reach down and steal another fry from her plate. A slight giggle escaped her lips as she shrugged her shoulders, “Uh, Adrien should learn not to steal food?”

“Maybe Marinette should learn to share!” Adrien popped a fry in his mouth as he turned slightly to give her a fake glare.

“Not that! You two! What’s happening? What happened between you? This isn’t…” Alya shook her head looking between them and Marinette reached across the table patting her friend’s arm.

“Nothing Alya, we’re just friends.” Marinette shrugged, bumping her shoulder into the man sitting next to her, who’s mouth was full of her fries.

“I’m so confused.” Nino whispered, looking between Adrien, Marinette and his own girlfriend that when the server walked up with the rest of the food, the four of them all sat back in their seats pretending to behave. It wasn’t until the server set Adrien’s salad down and Marinette stole a crouton that set them off into giggles again, making Ayla growl, “We WILL talk about this later.”

Marinette only nodded at her friend as they all settled into their food with Marinette giving Adrien a smile. They ate, finishing their lunch in mostly calm silence and when they got up to leave, Adrien leaned down whispering in Marinette’s ear, “Can I walk you back to the office?”

“Hey Alya, Nino, you guys have a good afternoon, Adrien has offered to walk me back and well, I’m feeling courteous enough to let him." She ignored the snort that came from the tall man beside her as Ayla came over giving her a hug and whispering, “You will tell me what’s going on later.”

“Of course, see you later Alya.” Marinette turned as Adrien joined her in step as they headed back to the office.

They had only made it a few feet away from their friends, when Adrien reached up rubbing his neck.

“Listen Marinette, I wanted to apologize to you. For avoiding you… it’s not your fault. It’s just the other night…” Adrien started looking down at her. Marinette’s eyes traced his as she watched him fumble his words.

“It’s okay Adrien. It’s not a big deal.” Marinette reached out patting his arm as they continued walking.
“It’s really not though, I almost kissed you. It’s… it’s complicated, but I shouldn’t have even gotten that far and I’m sorry.” Adrien paused in his steps, tilting his head to look at her.

“Adrien, you don’t need to explain and besides, it wouldn’t be the first time you kissed me.” Marinette let out a soft chuckle before grabbing his arm to tug him along. She pulled, but he refused to move.

“Marinette, wait. Let me explain really quickly, then we can go. I told you about my friend. You really do remind me of her and… well, it wasn’t just a normal friendship with us. I was in love with her… probably still am and in the moment, I just.” He gave Marinette a sheepish grin.

“So, basically, I’m a substitute for the woman you are actually in love with? Is that why you picked me out at the coffee shop by my house? Is that why you wanted to do this collab?” Marinette didn’t mean to sound upset, but a part of her couldn’t help it. She was doing her best to forget about Chat, to move on from Chat, but to hear Adrien continue to compare her to a woman he lost, nearly broke her. She knew it was stupid, it’s not like there was anything between them besides the feeling in her chest. The feeling that right there with him was exactly where she was supposed to be. She knew she struck a chord with him when she seen his eyes go wide.

“What? No! Of course not.  Marinette, I do like you. Genuinely. The coffee shop, that was just a fluke, you were alone, and I picked a table. I told you; I had already planned on getting in touch with you prior to our meeting. You have to understand that.” Adrien looked panicked and maybe a little broken, but Marinette wasn’t feeling it. The emptiness that had been left in her heart when Chat left was back, replaced by something that shouldn’t be there. A void, a void for the man in front of her who was still in love with some other girl.

“Listen Adrien, I’m going through my own stuff. I loved and lost a boy four years ago. My heart is nearly healed and somehow… beyond all reason, you picked at that scab burrowing yourself in there. I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but I think for the time being… maybe we should distance ourselves. We need to finish this collection; we are on limited time. There are too many emotions that I don’t think either of us really understand.” Marinette felt a bit sick as the words cascaded out of her. Her heart was screaming no, but her brain was smashing it down telling her it was for the best. They couldn’t afford to be distracted right now, and in reality, Marinette knew, she barely knew the guy. He was her enemy’s son, after all. What she didn’t understand was why the thought of him being away from her made her heart break all over again.

“Right. I’m sorry. Let’s get through this collection, we can… we can be professional. We can finish this collection and go from there. I’m sorry if I hurt you, I… have a habit of doing that.” Adrien whispered the last bit to Marinette’s confusion, but she just frowned as the two continued walking back to the office and when they parted ways in silence, Marinette hurried to her office as tears slipped down her cheeks. She took a look around the room, hurried to her desk before grabbing her laptop. It was a Friday after all, and she could work the rest of the day at home.

Chapter Text

“Here Kitty, Kitty.” Ladybug called as she seen the black cat bouncing over the roof tops heading towards her. He was moving slower than usual as he launched himself across the rooftops and when he landed, she could see he was carrying a bag under one arm with a drink carrier in the same hand.

“Chat? What are you doing?” Ladybug jumped up to help and as she took the drink carrier from him, she leaned forward kissing him lightly on the lips. As she pulled away, she could see the grin spreading across his face.

“Wanted to surprise you before patrol! I got your favorites! You always tell me how the Dupain Boulangerie has the best Pain au chocolat, so I made sure to swing by. They are always willing to help out a hero of Paris.” He winked at her, as she shook her head, sitting down on the edge of the building with the drinks in her hand. As he sat next to her, he set the food bag down, grabbing the drinks from her and removed one from the carrier handing it to her.

“Thanks Kitty.” Ladybug whispered as she put the drink to her lips savoring the vanilla and cinnamon taste, “You remembered?”

“Always M’Lady. How could I forget? It’s special to you, so it’s special to me.” Chat took a drink of his own, as he looked out at the Eiffel Tower’s lights as Ladybug watched him. Setting her drink down next to her, she pulled the bag into her lap and opened it looking over the contents. There was at least a half dozen Pain au chocolat in there and Ladybug squealed in delight as she grabbed one stuffing it into her mouth. Sighing, she pulled another out of the bag and before she could put that one near her mouth, Chat had reached over stealing it from her hands, laughing and sticking it in his own mouth ripping off a piece.

Ladybug turned, eyes wide, mouth open as she looked at his giggling face.

“You STOLE MY food!” She shouted and the shock across her own face had him laughing harder making Ladybug frown, then smirk as she set the bag on the other side of her so she could pounce on him.

“Of course I did!” Chat shrieked, shoving the rest of it in his mouth as she collided with him.

Ladybug felt herself start to giggle as she knocked him onto his back. They rolled, sending them both into a fit of speak buts Chat tried to speak, but couldn’t between the mouth full of food and the laughs he couldn’t stop. They rolled again and Chat managed to overtake her, pinning her on the rooftop. She stared up at his cheeky grin with a sigh and a smile.

“I love you, my kitty.” She whispered as he leaned down kissing her lightly on the lips. He pulled back, pulling her into his arms as he laid next to her so they could both stare up into the night sky.

 Both the food and the drinks sat forgotten on the rooftop as they cuddled, forgetting about patrols and just enjoying their time together.

***

Marinette awoke with a groan. After the fight, if she could even call it that, with Adrien yesterday, the last thing Marinette wanted was to have a dream about Chat Noir. She desperately wanted to forget him, but it seemed her brain wanted other things for her. She hated how much she still missed him and hated how much hold he still had over her and her life. She wanted to move on, to move forward, but a part of her knew she’d never be able to let him go.

Getting up, she headed into the kitchen to make some coffee as she let her memories wash over her. Opening the cabinet, Marinette frowned when she found the cinnamon container empty. Note to self, she thought, get more cinnamon. Closing the cabinet, Marinette turned leaning against the counter.

“When will it get easier?” Marinette murmured to herself. Heading to her room, Marinette turned her computer on, preparing to go through the orders from the prior day. As she went through, she found one item had been purchased whose fabric hadn’t been used in a while. Marinette groaned as she knew she’d have to get it out of the top of her closet. Pushing her chair away from her desk, Marinette stood glancing at the closet before opening it and pulling out the step stool. Setting it up, Marinette climbed up and began searching for the box she needed knocking other things down in the process. Sighing, Marinette continued to move things until she found the box and when she pulled it, a smaller redish box came tumbling out crashing to the floor. Matching Red and Black blurs darted across the room as the spotted earrings and the black ring came tumbling out of the box when it hit the floor.

“Oh no!” Marinette yelped. She hurried down the ladder, but before she could get to the box, Tikki was already in her face.

“Marinette! Marinette! Look at you!” The squeal came from the little red kwami and Marinette’s eyes went wide.

“Hey Pigtails, did you really have to keep us locked up?” Came the grumpy voice from the little black cat.

“No, no, no, you guys! You shouldn’t be out here.” Marinette scrambled to grab the box and the jewelry from the floor grabbing them both before glancing back up at the Kwami’s who floated there. She could see the sadness in their faces and Marinette sighed, sitting down on her desk chair.

“We can go away again if you want Marinette.” Tikki spoke quietly floating to Marinette’s shoulder and sitting down.

“I’m sorry Tikki. I’m so sorry.” Marinette set the box on the desk holding the jewelry in her hand letting her tears flow freely.

“Marinette, I’m so proud of you, you know. You’ve grown into such a beautiful young woman.” Tikki pated her on the cheek as Plagg floated awkwardly nearby.

Marinette smiled up at Tikki before taking a deep breath, “I can’t promise you can stay out forever, but I suppose a little bit of a break from the box wouldn’t be a bad thing.” Marinette stuck the earrings in her ears and then glanced up at Plagg, “Do you want me to wear your ring for a bit?”

“Only if you want to Pigtails. I’d rather be with my kid.”

“He wouldn’t be much of a kid anymore, but I know. Listen, I’ll put it on, lets get you guys some food, I should probably have some anyway.” Marinette stuck the ring on her finger and as it adjusted to her, Marinette’s heart broke as her thoughts turned to Chat. Standing, she headed into the kitchen opening the fridge taking out some cheese for Plagg.

“Sorry Plagg, it’s not camembert but I hope it’s okay. Let me check the pantry for you Tik.” As Marinette rummaged through the cabinets looking for something sweet, the Kwami’s sat perched on the table talking to each other. Marinette found some cookies and turned back to her charges with a half-smile, “Got it!” She took the food to the table and set it down watching as both Kwami’s devoured the food.

“Tell us Marinette, how are you?” Tikki said in between bites of cookie.
“You are going to sit there and pretend you don’t know? That this entire thing wasn’t planned and staged by you?” Marinette said laughing, wiped the remaining tears away.
“Oh Marinette, I wish I could take the pain away from you. One day, all this will be washed away, and the pain will be gone, and you will be better, I promise. I’ve seen it.”

“Thanks, Tikki. I appreciate you humoring me. Plagg… still can’t tell me who he is?” Marinette had turned to the little black cat and with a sad smile Plagg shook his head.

“Yeah, didn’t think so. Listen, you guys can hang out, but I do have some work to do. I have my commissions still and I need to work on the Heroes line for Emilie,” Marinette paused glancing at Tikki, “Do you want to see?”

“I’d love to!” Tikki squealed and Marinette headed over to desk to turn on the laptop from Emilies.

A few hours later, Marinette lay sprawled out on the bed giggling with Tikki as she went over things that had happened over the last four years. Plagg lay curled up next to them asleep. She had just finished telling Tikki about her first meeting with Adrien when a knock came on the front door. Marinette squeaked as she moved to get up, knocking Plagg to the floor while Tikki flew up and out of the room.

Marinette giggled, “Sorry Plagg,” when she heard the Kwami grunt from the floor. As the knock came again, Marinette hurried out of her room as Tikki flew back and whispered, “It’s Alya.” Marinette nodded and whispered, “Hide,” before heading to the front door where she opened it revealing her best friend.

“Hey girl! Did you sleep in? You haven’t answered my texts.” Alya said as she came into the apartment walking past Marinette and flopping down on the couch.

“Oh, no… I’ve been up for a while, I just… I’ve been working and wasn’t paying attention to my phone. Is everything okay?” Marinette glanced toward the bedroom where she knew the Kwami’s were hiding.

“Sure, I guess. You got to tell me about you and Adrien though! The chemistry between you two, wow girl, you cannot sit here and tell me nothing is going on because…” Alya paused when she looked at Marinette’s face. Marinette had sat on the couch, eyes down, “Okay… not what I expected, what’s wrong?”

“Oh Alya, things are so complicated. I like Adrien, and he seems to like me, but he’s still in love with his ex-girlfriend and it doesn't help that…” Marinette’s eyes went wide as she looked at her best friend.

“What is it, Nette?”

“Alya, now, don’t get mad, but I kind of kept something from you.” Marinette bit her lip. She didn’t know how to explain this without giving away the one secret she didn’t want to ever get out.

“Nette? What did you do?”

“Back when we were in Lycée, I had a boyfriend,” Marinette gave her friend a sheepish grin and as Alya’s eye went wide, Marinette continued, “We dated for about a year and I was completely in love with him and one day… he just left. Vanished, I never see him again.”

“Wait. Wait a darn minute. You? Miss, always busy, never had time for anything, had a boyfriend. How? When? What was his name?” Marinette knew Alya was going all reporter mode, and she had to make sure to answer her questions carefully.

“Please don’t be mad, but we kept it a secret. We were 17. He meant everything to me. I can’t tell you his name, I don’t want you to look for him, or anything, I just… I needed to tell you because, well, I need your help, Alya. I need to move on, it’s been four years. I don’t want this anymore.” Marinette buried her face in her hands.

She heard Alya sigh, “First, I’m not mad. I’m a little sad that you didn’t feel like you could trust me, but since it was four years ago and it’s obviously still plaguing you, I can mostly overlook it. So, first step, let’s get you dressed and out of the house. It’s the weekend, lunch on me and then who knows. Maybe we can get you drunk enough to forget all your problems.”

***

Marinette loved Alya, she really did, but after being taken to lunch, then shopping, then ice cream, then more shopping, then dinner, the last thing Marinette wanted was to be sitting at a bar Nino was DJing at. She knew that at least she had Tikki in her purse for company if she really needed it.

Sipping her drink, Marinette watched as Alya danced. She owned the floor and Marinette felt slightly jealous of her free-flowing best friend. Alya turned grinning at her waving her hands trying to entice Marinette to the floor. Letting a giggle cross her lip, Marinette shook her head and mouthed a “No!” in her friend’s direction, shaking her head. She could almost feel Tikki laughing at her from her purse.

“Excuse me?” A voice came from behind her, causing Marinette to startle and turn. The bartender stood there holding a cup.  

“Oh, I didn’t order anything.” Marinette smiled, before going to turn back around.

“Oh, a gentleman at the other end of the bar ordered it for you. Said, he thought you’d like it. He left a note.” The bartender set it down in front of her and Marinette leaned forward to smell it. The cinnamon flavor hit Marinette making her eyes go wide and when she glanced at the note, her heart stopped when all that was written was a small paw print. The bartender had just started to walk away, when Marinette called out in a panic, “Wait? Who’s the guy?”

The bartender paused, then glanced down towards the far end of the bar frowning.

“Ah, he was… oh! There, heading to the door.” Marinette looked to where the bartender pointed, seeing a man dressed in all black with a black hat covering blonde hair. His back was to her, and as Marinette stood, she glanced to where Alya was still dancing, seeing her friend was still busy. Marinette bit her lip as she turned back to the bartender calling, “I’ll be right back!”

Marinette felt her feet leading her forward as she hurried towards the door, trying to keep the man in her view. She seen him slip outside, and in the middle of the pouring rain, an umbrella came up. As Marinette made it to the doorway, the man in black had disappeared with his umbrella into the crowd of people and the downpour of rain.

Chapter Text

“Marinette, you should really drink some more water.” Tikki called to her still rousing holder.

“I don’t want to. Can’t I just stay in bed?” Marinette murmured, rolling over on her bed looking up at her Kwami. After the person who could have been Chat Noir disappeared last night, Marinette did what she shouldn’t have and got drunk. Between the feelings rushing back for Chat Noir and the newly developing feelings for Adrien, Marinette wanted to just bury it all away. It had been hours later, that Alya had brough Marinette back to her apartment. After Alya had left, Tikki with Plagg’s help had gotten Marinette to change, drink water and go to bed.

Unfortunately for Marinette, she had drunk a little too much and was now paying the price for it.

“Tikki? I don’t understand, was that Chat Noir last night? Someone pretending to be him… does someone know I’m Ladybug?” Marinette covered her face with her pillow as she felt something land next to her. Turning slightly, she could see Plagg there with a sad look on his face.

“You know we can’t tell you anything Pigtails.” Marinette groaned, scooting to the end of her bed and forcing herself to sit up.

“Why did Chat do that? Why did he make it so hard for me to find him?” Marinette sighed, taking a deep breath, she stood and whispered, “You got this. You’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You are MDC. You are unstoppable.”

“You are Ladybug.” Came a voice from the bed causing Marinette to turn back to look at Tikki.

“I haven’t been Ladybug in a long time, Tik.”

“But you could be, again. Just say it Marinette.” Marinette frowned, sighed and left her room leaving the Kwami’s behind.

She went into her kitchen, making some toast and some coffee with no cinnamon as she hadn’t replaced it yet and opened up her phone, texting Alya to tell her she was awake and okay.

After finishing her toast, she went back to her room where she could see Tikki and Plagg sprawled out on her bed. Glancing from the Kwami’s to her computer, then back to her notebooks, Marinette bit her lip, turning her face into a smile, an idea came to her and so she sat and got to work on her latest design idea.

***

Marinette frowned at the screen in front of her. Her coffee sat going cold as she looked over the final design. They had less than two weeks until the collection would be debuted, and Marinette needed the final touches done and complete without distractions. Adrien had been keeping his distance as she had asked, even if it really wasn’t what she wanted. She glanced over at her coffee, grabbing it to take a sip, smiling to herself. Even if he’d been keeping a distance, he was still putting a coffee on her desk every morning. It had been nearly four days since the bar fiasco and Marinette hadn’t seen or heard any signs from the mystery, possible Chat at the bar. She was starting to think maybe she imagined it, but the napkin containing the paw print sat on her desk at home as a reminder.
Marinette opened her desk drawer and smiled down at the two Kwami’s who hung out there, or at least there should have been Kwami’s but one was missing. Marinette’s eyes went wide as she leaned down, “Tikki! Tikki! Wake up, where’s Plagg?” Marinette was surprised at how quickly she had gotten used to having the two of them around. Tikki was back to being her friend and companion while Plagg, well, he was a little mopey and rather annoying, but Marinette loved him regardless.

Tikki moved, floating up and whispered, “I don’t know. I’m sure he’s around somewhere, probably stealing cheese.”

Marinette frowned, “Well, I really hope he doesn’t get spotted. I’ll have to talk to him, or he will need to stay home.”

Marinette sighed, closing the drawer again looking around, catching her computer screen in her eyes, when an email popped up on her screen. It was the fabric department asking to change the fabric on the track suit. Annoyed, Marinette opened it and let her fingers glide across the keyboard typing, while she spoke aloud.

“Hello Marcie,

Good morning, no, I will not approve a different material. It needs to be that material or better. Mr. Agreste assured me that you were the best. I know that you can make it work. Let me know if you need me to come down there to assist. If not, please call me when it’s done. As you are aware, we are on a tight schedule.”

Marinette sighed as she pulled her hands away from the keyboard and reread the email. Satisfied, Marinette hit send and then frowned at the screen in front of her. She flipped the page and opened her secret project that was not part of the collection and sighed.

She heard a noise, looked up and noticed Adrien standing in the doorway with a small smile.

“Oh! Sorry! I hope you didn’t hear too much of me talking to myself. I was answering an email, and I wasn’t trying to be mean or anything.” Marinette looked away from him and back to the computer. They hadn’t seen each other, or spoken since last Friday after the disaster of a chat after lunch and Marinette wasn’t sure if she could truly handle being near him yet.

 
“Marinette, you handled it just fine. These are your designs, your babies. They will get it right, or you will teach them a thing or two.” Adrien stepped into the room and sat on the edge of her desk.

“I just want everything to be perfect, you know. These are our Heroes and…” Marinette let her voice trail off as she thought of Chat Noir again, feeling the slight tightness in her chest. She was trying to move forward and of course, the stupid cat just had to interrupt that. She missed him so much. She put so much of herself and her love into these designs. She hoped it would make an impression on him, wherever he was. Marinette was lost in her own thoughts when Adrien reached out, touching her hand.

“Hey, stop. I’m sure wherever Ladybug… and Chat Noir are, they will appreciate and love your work. I do. I can’t wait to be able to show off your designs to the world. MDC will become legend.” He let out a smile so wide, Marinette felt herself lost in it. She knew she wanted him, there was absolutely no question anymore.

“Thanks Adrien and I appreciate you being so understanding about everything.” Marinette found herself whispering.

Adrien sighed, then smiled at her, “Things may look a little messed up right now, but trust me when I say that everything will work out in the end.” Marinette felt herself lean closer to him, desperate for contact, her mind screaming to back away. Adrien leaned away, patting her hand and stood up, as a knock came at her doorway.

“Hey Adrien, there you are, are we getting lunch?”

Marinette let out a soft squeak as he pulled away, looking over at the door to see who interrupted them. It was one of the designers and Marinette wanted to smother the smirk that was across his face.  She was pretty certain the entire office was assuming things about them.

“See you later?” He whispered and Marinette felt herself nod before he hurried out of the room.

She plopped herself at her desk and buried her face in her hands groaning at herself. She felt so stupid for pushing him away last week. Knocking her head against the desk, she didn’t hear as someone walked into the room and let out a giggle.

“Girl, you’re going to give yourself a bruise.” The voice came and Marinette looked up, spying her best friend who was holding a bag.

“Ayla! What are you doing here?”

“I knew you were having a rough few days, so I wanted to surprise you with some treats from the bakery, but if you are busy, I can come back?” Alya smiled at her as she put the bag on the desk, close to the spot that Adrien had just vacated. Marinette smiled up at her friend, “I could use the break.”

The two women sat in Marinette’s office snacking on the pastries and when Ayla wasn’t looking Marinette snuck a piece into her desk drawer. When she opened it, she was pleased to see that Plagg at returned.

Smiling to herself, Marinette felt a little more at ease with Plagg’s return and when Alya left after their snacking, Marinette felt like she could finally complete her special project.

***

As the rest of the week flew by, Marinette was starting to feel the pressure. While the line’s designs were finally complete, there was still so much left to be done prior to the unveiling event. Marinette had stayed after work on Friday to make sure all the models had everything that they needed to do the test run the following Monday, from hair and makeup, all the way to jewelry and shoes. It wasn’t until Adrien passed by her shut door, that Marinette finally left for the night. He hadn’t said anything to her on his way out, and Marinette wasn’t sure whether to be sad or to be grateful for the distance.

There still had not been any further signs of Chat Noir, so Marinette had decided to ignore it and pretend it had to be someone messing with her. Maybe someone who knew what designs she was working on. Whatever the reason, Marinette was determined to put it behind her as the show needed to be her main focus, well, that and the dress she was working on for the show and after party.

Hair pulled back in pigtails, Marinette sat with her notebook on her lap in front of the Trocadero overlooking the gardens and the view of the Eiffel Tower.  While it wasn’t ‘their’ spot, it was the closest Marinette could get without transforming and even though she was wearing both her earrings and the ring, that was something Marinette still refused to do, much to the complaining of Tikki.

She had already started making her dress, but on a whim, Marinette had started to sketch out a design for a matching suit. Her dress was more Tikki themed, less spots, and for the suit she wanted to do a simple Plagg themed, less Chat Noir details. She was sure that Adrien had already picked out his outfit for the show and after party, but everything was pairs to Marinette, so the formal outfit needed to be as well.

As she worked on the details of the suit, Marinette felt weird, like someone was watching her. She closed her eyes feeling the energy around her and she was sure someone was there. Opening her eyes, but not bothering to turn around Marinette called out, “I know you’re there.” She heard a sigh as the person approached and Marinette turned then, slightly surprised to see it was Adrien. If she had to have guessed, it felt a lot like when Chat Noir would sneak up on her during their patrols.

“Hey Marinette,” He called as he sat next to her, “I didn’t mean to interrupt you.” Marinette was conflicted by his presence, but she couldn’t tell him that.

“It’s okay, I was just working on a new design, what brings you out here?” Marinette closed her notebook, keeping him in her view as she looked past him to the city.

“I… needed a walk and well, this seemed as good of a place as any.” Marinette watched as he looked a little uncomfortable and she immediately felt bad for pushing him away. To try to resolve the situation, Marinette smiled, reaching over and patting his hand, “This is one of my favorite places. The gardens, the tower, Paris…” Marinette knew it was more then that, that this was her and Chat’s place, but she couldn’t. She couldn’t tell Adrien what this spot really meant for her, or at least the top of the building behind her, so she sighed and looked down at her notebook as he started speaking.

“It’s one of mine too… I somehow always ended up here when I was younger. I can remember all the times I’d spot Ladybug up there on the ledge and even after my father’s arrest…” Adrien paused looking at her, almost as if he was wondering if he should continue, so Marinette nodded, like she was waiting and Adrien gave a half a smile as he continued, “I was also taken into custody. They had to be sure I wasn’t part of my father’s madness and, of course, I wasn’t, but... anyway, I was a huge Ladybug fan, so after I was released, I came here, and I could see her up there.”

“You were a Ladybug fan?” Marinette felt herself asking, part of her a little jealous of her alter ego and a part of her a little excited at the idea.

“Oh, completely. Head over heels for her. She was truly amazing. I wanted to try to talk to her that night after I was released, but I couldn’t. It would have been weird, you know. Her enemy’s son? She would have hated me, I think.” Adrien turned away slightly looking out at tower before them and Marinette could only ponder his thoughts. She truly wasn’t sure what she would have done had he reached out to her that day and a part of her felt even worse that the police had arrested him, she hadn’t known that. She was certain there was no way she could have hated him though, so she reached out taking his hand in hers, “I doubt Ladybug would have hated you, Adrien, if anything you would have had a friend in her. I… I met her and Chat a few times and they were always such wonderful people.” Marinette grinned at him, but Adrien face remained puzzled, so Marinette continued, “Maybe one day you’ll get to speak with her like you wanted to.”

Marinette glanced at the blonde man in time to see him nod slightly, before he took a deep breath and smiled at her, “Yeah, maybe.” His voice trailed off before he continued, “So, I am sorry to bug you, I didn’t think you would have noticed me.”

“I’m that skilled.” Marinette laughed.

“Oh, like your natural talent?” Adrien leaned into her arm teasing her. Marinette grinned laughing again at him.

“Of course, you want to see what I’m working on right now?” Marinette didn’t want to admit how much she had missed him this past week, but she definitely felt it, especially now that he was sitting right there practically touching her arm. She had wanted to show him these designs since the day Tikki and Plagg were curled up on her bed but given that she was the one that demanded distance, she couldn’t. Smiling to herself, Marinette knew it was her chance as he turned, sending a wide smile her way.

“I’d love to.”

Marinette quickly pulled the notebook away from her chest and opened it to the page she had been working on. The Plagg inspired suit, but of course he wouldn’t know that and would assume it was just another Chat Noir design which Marinette was okay with.

“So, this is a suit I was working on to go with this dress,” She flipped back a page to show him the dress, ignoring his gasp, and as she flipped back to the suit, she continued, “I plan to wear the dress to the showing and the after party, they won’t be part of the collection… unless you wanted them to be, but…”

“Yes.” Adrien cut her off causing Marinette to laugh, “Yes, what? You didn’t let me finish.”

“Yes everything?” Adrien laughed as she pouted at him.

“I could finish the design, work on it at home… if you were interested in wearing it.” Marinette forced out, looking over at him to see his grin and his nod.

“I’d be honored to wear it at the showing and after party… I’d say add it to the collection, but Marinette, I think these should be all MDC. They are Heroes themed, yes… but different, am I right?”

Marinette found herself biting her lip, he was right, of course, while they were very similar to the designs she created for the collection, there was slight differences because it was the Kwami’s that had inspired these, not the Heroes, so she just nodded.

“Do you have enough time to get it done?” Adrien looked at her, his eyes wide as if he was concerned for her.

“I will need to double check your measurements, but I can get it done, no problem. I work quickly.” Marinette smiled and winked at him. She felt a rush as she thought about finishing this project specifically for him. She hadn’t designed anything for someone she knew in person in a long time, much less for herself, so this project was special to her.

“I know you do. You really are amazing, Marinette. I can’t wait for the showing…” He started laughing as he looked at her, “I get to be your Kitty, and you get to be my Lady.” And when he winked at her, Marinette squeaked, burying her face in her hands.

Chapter Text

Marinette lay sprawled on her back staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. She wasn’t sure how to accurately describe the feelings that Adrien had managed to stir up earlier that day and as she laid there, she tried to refocus on the events of the afternoon.

“I know you do. You really are amazing, Marinette. I can’t wait for the showing… I get to be your Kitty, and you get to be my Lady.”

Marinette had been mortified, freaking out, full of panic when the words had left his mouth and all she could manage was a squeak at first until Adrien had leaned forward into her space.

“Are you okay, Marinette?” Adrien leaned forward touching her hand softly as she pulled away, staring at him.

“I’m… there is… no… wait. It’s not. I’m not your Lady. I mean, I’m not Lady, not Ladybug. I mean, that’s... that’s just silly.” Marinette’s eyes were wide watching him and when he laughed, she felt her whole-body flitch.

“Marinette, calm down. I didn’t mean it literally, are you okay? Of course, you aren’t Ladybug… just like I’m not Chat Noir. I was just pointing out that we’d be dressed like them for the occasion.” Adrien patted her arm gently as Marinette could only stare.

“Right, of course. Haha, silly me, silly Marinette.” Marinette found her heart pounding wondering what she had managed to get herself into, but Adrien just smiled as her as a small chuckle left his lips.

“You have to admit though… we’d be purrfect as them,” Marinette froze as Adrien stood, “See you later Lady Marinette… there’s my ride.”

Marinette watched as he sprinted away from her leaving her heart thumping, head confused and chest breathless.

Rolling slightly over, Marinette knocked into Tikki and Plagg who were cuddled next to her on her bed. Both Kwami’s yawned as they looked up at her. Plagg with an annoyed face and Tikki with a wide smile.

“What’s wrong Marinette?” Tikki flew up into her face, touching her holder’s cheek with her little paw.

“I don’t even know, Tikki. I guess I’m confused. Maybe a little panicky. Adrien really had me freaked out there for a minute, it almost felt like he knew who I actually am, but he couldn’t… no one knows. I’m careful, I’ve never even told Alya, and she was Ladybug’s number one fan. She never figured me out, so how could Adrien?” Marinette bit her lip and looked across the room at the dress she’d been working on. She heard Tikki chirp softly as she moved, not really expecting the Kwami to answer and pulled her blankets up cuddling into her bed feeling even more anxious.  

***

Marinette sat at her sewing machine working on finalizing the details on her dress. It had to be flawless just like everything else she did for the heroes, for Chat. She glanced around the room knowing she would need to start on Adrien’s suit as well, but currently all she had was some old measurements on file from Emilie. She exhaled, knowing she needed to get fresh ones to make sure everything fit perfectly, but that meant she had to ask Adrien to come over and Marinette wasn’t sure she wanted to deal with him yet today. Her emotions from the day before were still in overdrive as she worked.

Lost in her work, Marinette had already pricked her finger three times, bit her lip once and lost her scissors when she was interrupted by a knock on the front door. She wasn’t in the mood for visitors, so she ignored it.

She groaned as the knocking got louder. She glanced around spying her clock, reading 11:00 and frowned. It was too early for this. She pushed herself away from her desk and headed to open the door as the knocking got louder, finding Alya on the other side.

“Alya? What are you...” Marinette started before Alya pushed past her coming into the apartment.

“Marinette, have you heard the news! It’s been blowing up my phone all morning. You need to check it!” Marinette stumbled as her friend rushed to the TV, turning it on and flipping through the channels finding a news report already in progress.

In big bold letters at the bottom it read, “Man comes forward claiming to be Chat Noir.”

Marinette sat, staring at the screen. After the events of the bar, Marinette felt intrigued. This wasn’t the first person to come forward, and Marinette knew it wouldn’t be the last, but if there was any actual way this was her kitty, she needed to know. She leaned forward when the man came onto the view with the police and as his picture flashed across the screen, Marinette sighed.

“It’s not him, Ayla.” Alya turned frowning at her friend.

“How do you know? No one knows who he was, this one could be.” Alya gestured at the TV, but Marinette shook her head.

“His eyes are the wrong color. Remember when he was Mister Bug? We were treated to his actual eye color... that one, that’s close, but it’s not it. Chat’s is more of an emerald green.” Marinette stood and headed into her kitchen to get something to drink as she watched Alya frown at the TV.

“Okay, I’m not sure I want to know how much you’ve stared at pictures to pick that out so quickly, but I guess, you’re probably right, why do people do that?” Ayla called from the living room as Marinette made tea for them both. Marinette felt herself roll her eyes. Over the years, she had gotten used to this. It’s always around the Remembrance ceremony or Heroes Day, there were always some Ladybugs to come forward as well. Marinette loved her friend dearly, but she hated disappointing her. Marinette had wanted to come clean on her identity years ago but couldn’t. It was always supposed to be her and Chat revealing to each other first, and Marinette wanted to keep that promise, even if she never found Chat again.

Heading back into the living room, she found Alya scrolling through her phone and handed her a cup.

“People are so desperate to find the Heroes, but maybe, maybe they don’t want to be found?” Marinette whispered as she sat next to her friend with a sigh, “Maybe, maybe it’s time the people of Paris just took their energy into remembering them and let them live their life.

“Says the girl who has no life.” Alys laughed, turning to her friend again.

“I have a life!” Marinette protested. Alya snorted into her tea.

“No girl, you could have a life. I know you seem to still be caught up on that boy from Lycée, and you think Adrien is caught up with his ex-girlfriend, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun. I’ve seen you both pining over each other and you are making yourself miserable.”

“I’m not miserable Ayla. I’m just dealing with things.” Marinette took a sip of her tea, turning her eyes on her friend. She knew Alya meant well, but she was still trying to figure things out. She missed Chat, she liked Adrien, and she didn’t know how to process that. Not only that, but she was also still confused over the person at the bar. Chat, friend, or someone else.

“Fine, fine. Listen, I’m meeting up with Nino soon for lunch, do you want to go? It should be fun. We are going to this place that serves wine and we can pretend we are part of the fancy crowd. Don’t make me beg.” Alya pouted, setting down her cup on the table in front of them, placing her hands curled up under her chin.

“I’m finishing up my dress for the show and after party,” Marinette glanced at her friend, who was still pouting, “Okay, okay fine. Let me get dressed and I’ll join you.”

Marinette stood, hearing Alya whisper, “Yay!” and headed into her bedroom to get dressed ignoring the frantic texting she could hear from the couch.

Rolling her eyes, Marinette headed to her closet trying to decide what to wear. She needed to make sure she looked presentable because she knew perfectly well that Alya would be doing everything she could to get Adrien to this luncheon.

An hour later, Marinette sat across from Alya at a fancy little restaurant that was close to Marinette’s parents’ bakery. They hadn’t been open long, but Marinette could see the appeal of the place. It was small, quiet and quant.

“So, when is Nino supposed to be here?” Marinette found herself asking after about 10 minutes of sitting, only water still on the table. She had been glancing around, mind stressed between wondering if Nino would be alone or not. She was struggling with the mixed-up feelings that were seeping into her chest and heart. Glancing out the window, Marinette looked at the people walking past, living their own lives, living for something she wished that she could.

“Any time. He was just making a quick stop and he’d be here.” Alya had a grin on her face that made Marinette hum in response. She wasn’t being very discreet about her intentions and when the two men walked in only a moment later, Marinette just shook her head.

“We will talk about this later, Alya. You need to stop surprising me with him.” Marinette whispered as she leaned forward across the table.

Alya waved her hand before standing up to greet her boyfriend. Marinette smiled at Nino and then turned her eyes on Adrien, who looked slightly confused.

“Hi Adrien, are you okay?” Marinette asked, moving over to make sure he had plenty of room to sit.

“I’m fine, are you? Your face is telling me that you weren’t exactly expecting me, were you? I can go?” Adrien was looking down at her, his smile was wide, but she could see the concern in his eyes. Marinette patted the table in front of her, “It’s totally fine, have a seat.” As he moved to sit, Marinette finally took in his appearance. He was wearing an all-black hoodie sweatshirt, with green accents and Marinette felt her face go hot as she took in the fact that Adrien was wearing Chat Noir’s colors. Sucking in her breath, she felt like she was possibly losing her mind. She knew it was official, Chat Noir was haunting her.

To say Marinette was distracted would be an understatement. She couldn’t concentrate with Adrien sitting so close, she couldn’t get Chat out of her head either. Taking a deep breath, Marinette turned toward the blond, giving him a wide smile, she was determined to put Chat out of her mind, “So, Adrien are you ready for Friday?”

“As long as you are. Are you still sure you wanted to do the suit; I don’t want to put more stress on you.” Adrien reached across the table covering her left hand with his. Marinette felt her face heat up as Adrien’s hand covered Chat’s ring on her finger. Flustered, Marinette pulled her hand back, putting it on her chest. She felt like everything was just set out to drive her crazy and when Alya suddenly gasped, Marinette looked up, startled, into her best friend’s face.

“Marinette! That ring is so pretty, is that rose gold? Where did you get it? Can I see it?”

Marinette knew her eyes were blown wide, that she couldn’t even take it off because it would change, just like it did when she got it from Chat. She knew she’d stutter and stumble over the words if any actually came, but before Marinette could open her mouth, she felt Adrien shift hard next to her as he yelped, “Ow! What the heck?”

Marinette froze, turning to look at the man who had slightly pulled away from her as he stared.

“Did you pinch me?” Adrien’s voice was laced with slight annoyance as Marinette gasped and held her hands up in defense.

“Of course not! Why would you think that?” Confusion, concern and a little bit of fear hit Marinette all at once.

“Well, I don’t know. Something pinched, or bit me or something!” Adrien shouted out as he pulled out of his seat glancing underneath the table. Marinette moved her hand slowly patting her purse. Her heart was thumping so loud, she was sure her friend could hear it across the table.

“It wasn’t me! Maybe it was the seat?”

“I don’t know… that was super weird. I’m going to go to the bathroom, make sure there are not marks.” Adrien frowned, heading off to the restroom and Marinette bit her lip, glancing up at Alya.

“Uh, I’m going to go to the restroom too, I’ll be right back.” She grabbed her purse, hurrying to the bathroom before Alya could even inquire. Darting inside, she checked all the stalls and when she knew it was empty she opened her purse only to find just Tikki inside. Growling low, Marinette glared.
“Where is Plagg? Did he hurt Adrien?”

“Uh, see, Plagg was just trying to protect you. Alya was asking questions.” Tikki floated up grinning at her.

“Okay. That’s just… not okay. And where is Plagg now?” Marinette gritted her teeth, glaring at her Kwami.

“I’m not sure? When Adrien made that noise, Plagg kind of rushed away and…” Tikki raised her little arms and Marinette groaned, “Great, just great. The literal God of Destruction is loose somewhere after biting… this is insane. Tikki, you need to find him and tell him he’ll be banished back to the box if he continues to act like a crazy cat.” Sighing, Marinette turned on her heels as she hurried out of the bathroom, nearly colliding with Adrien. She squeaked, jumping back as he froze staring at her. His eyes were wide, and he looked almost mesmerized.

“Ah, sorry. I’m just… are you okay, did you have a mark?” Marinette took a deep breath as she tried to hide her internal panic over Plagg and how badly she was going to punish him when they got home. Adrien stood still, staring at her, before stepping back slightly, rocking himself on the balls of his feet.

“Oh, ah, no, no marks. I think it must have just been a bug or something. Sometimes these little black ones like to attack me for no reason. I’m sorry for shouting at you. I guess I was caught off guard, but it’s all good. It’s really good.” Adrien beamed at her, eyes wide as they walked back to the table only to pause at a lip locked Nino and Alya.

Marinette raised her eyebrows and glanced at Adrien who had a similar look. They shared a smirk as Marinette bit her lip. She quickly put her finger to her lips, carefully opened her purse, grateful to see Plagg was back, and took out her wallet. Being extra quiet, she opened it, throwing some money on the table before reaching out and grabbing Adrien’s hand pulling him from the restaurant. They had made it outside before they noticed Alya and Nino pulling away from each other, glancing up from the table, faces red, mouths handing open slightly.

Marinette grinned at the two of them, waved goodbye as she pulled Adrien down the street, both laughing at their friends as they made their escape.  

Chapter Text

Marinette was latched to Adrien’s hand as the two headed down the street laughing. She wasn’t entirely sure what had come over her, maybe it was the fact that Plagg was being a little pain, or maybe it was Ayla and Nino being so lost in themselves, or it could be that was Adrien was wearing Chat Noir’s colors, but she was feeling happy with herself. About a block away from the restaurant, Marinette slowed them to a walk, turning and glancing at the grinning Adrien.   

“What do you think they will do?” he asked through laughter, his face lit up and eyes wide.   

“I’m waiting for Alya to text or call, but when she does, I’m just going to ignore her,” Marinette giggled, letting go of his hand as they walked, “She’s going to be so mad. But it serves her right, she keeps trying to set us up.”   

“Nino is too.” She watched as he rolled his eyes, “Don’t they get that we are doing just fine on our own.”  

“Oh… we are, huh?” Marinette smiled at him as they walked side by side and as they neared her parents’ bakery, Marinette pointed and nodded. Marinette knew by the grin on his face, he was on board, and they hurried the rest of the way to the bakery, stepping inside as the last customers were leaving. The bell chimed and Marinette looked up at her mother who was behind the register.   

“Marinette! I wasn’t expecting you today… and who’s your friend?” Her mother, Sabine spoke, coming around the counter to give her a kiss and a hug.   

“We were in the area, this is Adrien…. he’s the one who got me the contract at Emilie.” Marinette waved her hand towards Adrien, before stepping to one of the counters and grabbing a croissant.   

“Oh! Right, you told me about him. Hi Adrien, it’s nice to meet you.” Sabine reached out, taking his hand and pulled him into a hug. The confusion was very apparent on Adrien’s face as Marinette raised her eyebrows from behind her mom’s back.   

“Uh, thanks Ms. Dupain-Chang, it was really great to meet Marinette.” Marinette could see the blush that was creeping up his cheeks.   

“Please, call me Sabine. You know… you look really familiar.” Sabine looked up at him, eyes playing across his features before she turned back to Marinette.   

“Isn’t this the boy you had posters of… you had the biggest crush…” Marinette’s eyes went wide as she cut off her mother, “MAMAN!” Her mom turned from them both, a chuckle still present as she went. Marinette frowned, shaking her head as she turned back to Adrien with an embarrassed smile.   

“Ignore her, she just likes to embarrass me even though I’m a grown adult now!” Marinette glared at her mom one more time before waving her hands around the bakery, “What would you like?”   

“I don’t know, why don’t you choose for me?” Adrien looked around before leaning into her slightly.   

After choosing a significant number of pastries, they headed out of the bakery and Marinette glanced around trying to decide where to go. Adrien grinned as he took the bakery box from her, “Let’s just go to the park.” Marinette really didn’t want to go to the park, but without being able to come up with a good enough reason, she nodded and together they headed over picking a spot in the grass not too far from where the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue stood. Marinette glanced at the statue as they sat, remembering a lifetime ago.   

***  

“Hey Bug, do you think they got my features right? Or is it a little too rocky?” Ladybug groaned as Chat Noir laughed.   

“No Kitty, no.” She pleaded and Chat Noir smirked, “Ah M’Lady, I’ll never take you for granite.”   

“Why do you do this to me?” Ladybug buried her face in her hands as they stood in the park looking at the statue.   

“Because you’ve sediment-ally stolen my heart.” Ladybug sent him a glare as she reached out taking his hand, “Come on Kitty, let’s go before we get stone cold.” She threw her yo-yo onto a nearby building yanking him along with her.   

“That’s rude, LB!” She heard Chat shout out as they glided to the building and when they touched down, Ladybug let him go to spin around throwing her yo-yo, which wrapped around him, and when she pulled, he let out a squeak as he stumbled towards her.   

“My Lady! You’re like a precious stone; I really treasure you.”   

“One more time, Kittycat and I’ll be making Chat stew.” Ladybug laughed as he pouted at her, his green eyes melting into blue ones as he leaned forward letting his lips meet hers. She pulled away looking at him, “I love you.”   

“I love you too Bug. I can’t wait until we can defeat Hawk Moth so that I can love you loud, public and forever.” Chat leaned his forehead into hers, each lost in their own hearts and minds.  

“My lady?” She heard Chat whisper. It was so soft and quiet she wasn’t sure he had spoken at all. She tilted her head and smiled at him, “Yes, My kitty?”   

“Have I told you today… that you rock my world?”   

Ladybug’s mouth dropped open before she frowned, glaring at him. Then as a smirk slowly crept across her face, Ladybug pounced knocking him to his butt as her chest hit his. As she moved, she knocked him down on his back, moving swiftly letting her hands do the work as she found his ticklish spot.   

“What…” Ladybug laughed, “Have… I…” she moved getting him again as he let out a giggle, “Told… you…” she allowed her hands to leave his side for a moment of reprieve, “CHAT NOIR!” Before she launched into her attack again, sending his laughter radiating across the rooftops.   

As he lay breathing hard, Ladybug stood, towering over him as he tried to contain his laughter. Looking down at his smiling, laughing self, Ladybug didn’t know how she had gotten so lucky, but she wouldn’t change it for anything.  

 Reaching out and grabbing his hand, yanking him up, she giggled, “Come on, Kitty… let’s fly.” And she threw her yo-yo again.   

***  

“Marinette? Are you okay?” She felt someone nudge into her shoulder, face and eyes blank as she turned looking at Adrien who sat next to her looking concerned.   

“What?” Marinette froze. How long has she been silent? She had no idea.   

“Are you okay? You kind of looked a little lost.” Adrien reached out touching her arm with his hand and Marinette almost found herself jerking away from him. Instead she reached out taking the bakery box and holding it in her lap.   

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. I was just remembering something.” She glanced at him giving him a soft smile, “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” She heard Adrien sigh slightly, before he nodded and looked out at the statue himself.   

“Do you think they will ever come back?” He whispered.   

“I don’t know. I hope so, I mean… I think Paris would love to see them again.” Marinette murmured, “But, maybe they just want to be left alone.”   

“What do you think happened to them?” Adrien held his gaze on her, and Marinette could feel the blush creeping over her face.   

“I think they were tired and maybe needed a break.” Marinette shrugged, this conversation was making her nervous, and she desperately wanted to change topics.  

“They were quite a happy couple; do you think they are still together somewhere? Maybe having their own picnic lunch?”   

“No.” Marinette whispered; the pain of that statement hit her hard. She knew they weren’t, but Adrien didn’t. He had no idea how much it hurt to think about, but Marinette couldn’t show him that, she couldn’t show him the pain, so instead she took a deep breath and smiled, “So, Friday? Are you ready?”   

“As I’ll ever be,” Adrien answered, pulling his hand away and grabbing a croissant from the box in her lap.  

“When we are done here, you should come over to my place,” Marinette started and then paused as Adrien’s eyes went wide with a huge grin, “Oh stop!” She said laughing, “I need your updated measurements.”   

Adrien laughed then, and Marinette could almost see the sparkle behind his eyes as he grinned, “Hey Marinette… what’s a tailor’s favorite unit of measurement?”  

“Oh no.” Marinette whispered.  

“A seam-ester!” Adrien announced proudly, the grin on his face was spread far crinkling his eyes as Marinette buried her hands in her face.   

“Wait wait, why was the tailor so happy at their job?”   

“Adrien, I swear I’m going to…” Marinette began, but Adrien let out a giggle as he cut her off, “It suits him!”   

“Alright, that’s it!” Marinette moved, tossing the pastry box to the side as she attacked him, knocking him back into the grass. She sat on him, letting her hands glide across his sides as she tickled him. He squeaked as she went, his laughter nearly causing her to fall over.  She grinned down at him, and as she stopped the attack, he reached up grabbing her sides, sending her squealing. He quickly overpowered her and before Marinette knew it, they were laying side by side in the grass breathing heavy, neither one moving as the pastries lay forgotten in the grass nearby.   

Marinette grinned at him as she rolled, “Come on, we should probably finish these so we can get actual stuff done today.”   

“Ah, but I was having so much fun getting grass stains on my clothes.” Adrien whined, turning to face her.   

“Grass stains on your green and black hoodie… you know, Chat Noir would be proud.” Marinette laughed, sitting up and glancing one more time at the statue.  

“I like to think so too,” Adrien whispered as he sat up grabbing the pastry box and stuffing something into his mouth.  

***  

An hour later, they had finally finished the pastries, had caught their breath and were back at Marinette’s apartment with the TV being ignored in the background. Marinette had Adrien standing in her kitchen while she took his measurements letting her skills do the work for her. It didn’t take long before she was done, and Adrien was stepping away. Marinette could see the slight blush on his cheeks.   

“You think you’d be used to getting measurements done by now Monsieur Agreste.” Marinette muttered as she glanced over the papers that she had written the new measurements on. They were almost identical to the ones she had, so she knew this would be easy to finish.   

“Ha ha, you’re so funny.” Adrien smirked at her, “It’s not every day that I get felt up by a beautiful girl.”   

Unfortunately for Marinette, she had picked up her water bottle taking a drink when he spoke and managed to choke on the water, spitting it out and all over her, sending Adrien into laughter.   

“You’re not funny.” Marinette glared at him as she went to the counter, grabbing a towel, cleaning her face off. Adrien still stood, laughing as she went.   

“Who knew it would be so easy to get you flustered?” Adrien managed as Marinette swept past him.   

“Says the man who turned red as soon as I measured his thigh.” Marinette grinned, heading toward her bedroom, “Come on, I want you to try on what I have.”  Marinette watched as he blushed and quickly followed her to her room. She went to the mannequin, and started pulling off already sewed items, before turning back to him to find him at her desk, staring at the framed photo that sat there. Her eyes went wide, as she realized what he was looking at, and she squeaked, ripping it from his hands as she shoved the clothes into his arms pushing him toward her bathroom door. He made noises as she pushed him, but Marinette paid no attention as he went.   

When he was safely in the bathroom, Marinette stuck the picture in her drawer before glancing around the rest of the room for any evidence she needed to get rid of. Tikki hurried out of the dresser drawer, hovering in front of Marinette’s face.   

“Sorry Marinette, I thought I had hidden everything already.” Tikki whispered. Marinette sighed, giving a small smile to her Kwami.  

“It’s fine Tikki, thanks for doing what you could, it’s my fault, I should have double checked before bringing him in here.”   

“Maybe he will continue to think you are just a huge fan.” Tikki patted her cheek, as if she was trying to reassure her.   

“Hopefully. Where’s Plagg? I need you both to stay out of sight until he’s gone, okay?” Marinette glanced over at the bathroom door; she could hear the water running.   

“Plagg is hiding. I’ll make sure we both stay away. Good luck Marinette.” Tikki whispered one more time, before phasing back through the dresser drawer. Marinette heard the water turn off, and sat on her bed seconds before the door opened. The suit fit well, Marinette noticed. It sat well in all the right places, and Marinette felt her heart thump hard in her chest as she took in the man before her.   

“Well, how do I look?” Adrien grinned at her before striking a pose causing Marinette to stifle a giggle as she bit her lip.  
“Radiant.” Marinette smiled at him, letting the giggle slightly escape her lips.  
“Uncalled for, Dupain-Cheng. That hits hard, right in this dreamy face of mine.” Adrien shifted his pose as Marinette lost it. Her giggles spilled over as he moved to pace her room.  

“Do not start this again, I will make you pay.” Marinette said though laughter, tears started to form in her eyes from trying to hold it back.  

“Hey… Mari, do you believe in love at first sight… or should I walk by again and hope my style CAT ches your eye?”  Adrien paused his pace popping into a pose as Marinette laughed again before ginning at him, “If looks could kill, you’d be a weapon of mass seduction.” Adrien mouth hung open at her as his laughter filled the room, “Okay, that was terrible.”  

“Not as terrible as yours!” Marinette leaned over laughing, clutching her side.   

“Hey mine were right up there with the master! The king of puns! Don’t think I didn’t see the photo, Mari-nette. I knew you were a fan of the Cat!” Adrien moved, sitting next to her on the bed, Marinette noticed he was being careful not to rip or tear anything on the suit.   

“I guess the Cat’s out of the bag!” Marinette giggled, “Number one Chat Noir Fan here!”   

“Do you have pajamas? I bet you have pajamas!” Adrien said laughing as he grinned at her.  
“Pajamas, everything. The whole collection!” She winked at him, as they both sat laughing. Marinette leaned back on her bed and sighed. As much as she missed her kitty, everything about today felt right. Adrien had taken over her heart, and she wasn’t even upset about it anymore.  

“Hey uh, Marinette?” She heard Adrien whisper. Sitting up, she grinned at him, eyebrows raised.  
“So, um, something is stabbing me… and I’m kind of afraid to move.” Adrien grimaced slightly, causing Marinette’s eyes to go wide.  

“Where?” She moved to pull him into a standing position, but he shook his head slightly.   

“Uh, my butt. Pretty sure there’s an open pin on my butt.”   

If Marinette hadn’t already lost it, she would have then. Bursting into laughter, she pulled him up from the bed, ignoring the whimper of pain and spun him around checking over the back of the unfinished suit. When she found the culprit, she quickly closed the pin, desperately trying to hold back her giggles that were seconds from spilling over.   

“You can laugh, I deserve it.” Adrien whined as he stood stiff in the suit, causing Marinette to bite her lip in the attempt to contain it.   

“Come on, let me take a few notes and get you out of that.” Marinette let a small giggle escape as she pulled him forward to the desk, grabbed her measuring tape and got to work. As she made her notes, Adrien’s phone began to ring from the bathroom. They both ignored it as Marinette finished what she needed and as Adrien headed back to the bathroom, she sat at her desk silently swooning.   

When he emerged a few moments later, he looked concerned and a little frustrated.   

“Uh, sorry Marinette, I need to go. There’s a pipe leak in the bathroom at my condo and well, I need to go take care of it.” Marinette’s eyes went wide as she looked at the concern on his face.  

“Oh. Oh no, I hope it’s not too bad.” Marinette stood approaching him, to see him out of the apartment.  
“Thanks. There’s just a lot of personal items, I don’t want ruined… you know?” Marinette nodded as she followed him through her apartment to the front door. When they reached it, she heard him sigh slightly as he turned back to face her.  

“I had a great time today. See you at the office tomorrow?” Adrien reached out, grabbing her arm and pulling her closer to him as he leaned in kissing her on the cheek. Marinette reached up, touching the spot his lips had just left as he pulled away, opening the door and stepping into the hall.   

“See you tomorrow, Adrien.” Marinette whispered as he took a few steps down the hallway. She went to close the door, when she heard his voice again.   

“Hey Marinette?” She opened the door back fully and looked out at him, head titled and when he grinned, she grinned back.   

“Yeah?” She called out to him.   

“You’re exquisite, I hope you know that. I really treasure you.” Marinette mind froze, eyes wide as Adrien turned back around, heading down the hallway and out of sight. Confusion and familiarity caused an ache in her chest as she looked across the room where Plagg and Tikki floated.  

“Plagg, is it possible?” Marinette whimpered. Her heart was thumping so loud, she could barely hear. Chat had once told her something similar, was it possible? Marinette felt her legs start to give out as she stepped forward grabbing hold of her couch.   

“You know we can’t tell you anything Marinette.” Tikki said. She looked sad.   

“Psh! That guy, my holder? Mr. Fancy hair and clothes! Can you imagine HIM carrying around my precious Camembert? You’ve got to be joking! Besides, if he was then that means Hawk Moth would have been Chat Noir’s father! Come on Pigtails! You can’t be serious!” Plagg shouted, annoyed as Tikki glared at him.   

“Plagg! Knock it off, you old stinky sock!” Tikki glared at the little black God of Destruction who stuck his tongue at her before darting off into the kitchen. Marinette sat, letting everything play over in her mind before chewing on her lip and glancing toward the kitchen.   

“Right… ha, what was I thinking…? Silly Marinette.”   

***  

Bonus Scene: 

Tikki followed Plagg through the kitchen and phased through the cabinet that he had gone into glaring at the other Kwami, her friend and partner.  

“Why would you do that?” Tikki chirped at him, “She was so close to figuring it out! No more of this identities stuff!”  

“Psh! They can wait a little longer.” Plagg stuck his tongue out at her, clearly annoyed.  

“But why! Don’t you want to go back to your kid?” Tikki floated in his face, her little arms on her sides as she glared at him.  

“Of course I do, but the kid gave me up in the first place, this is a little payback.” Plagg smirked as he sat on the shelf.  

“Plagg, don’t you think they’ve suffered enough? I mean you bit him today!”  

“Not yet, the kid is determined that he can make her figure it out... I’m just going to make it a little harder, that’s all.” Plagg laughed as he phased through the cabinet looking out at Marinette who still sat silently on the couch. Tikki followed him and together they looked at her.  

“I hope you know what you are doing, Plagg.” Tikki whispered, “I don’t like my girl hurting.”  

“It will be worth it. Afterall, she’s just now starting to realize how much she loves both sides of the kid,” Plagg glanced at Tikki, “Oh come on Sugercube, trust me on this.” Tikki frowned, glancing out at Marinette again before sighing and heading back into the cabinet.

Chapter Text

Marinette was late. When she was younger, that was considered normal for her, but as she grew up, she grew out of that. Mostly. Today, she was late because someone had turned off her alarm. Plagg denied it, but she knew it was probably him. As she hurried into the Emilie building from her car, she could hear the bustle of energy. They were on the final countdown to the show, the collection and she was a bundle of nerves. It had to go perfect. She hurried to her office, rushing inside and smiled at the coffee that sat there waiting for her.

Bringing it to her lips, she could smell the cinnamon sending her heart pounding. She took a sip letting the flavor roll across her tongue. Sighing, she set the cup and her personal items down as she turned and headed out of her office, down the hall to his. The door was open, but he wasn’t inside.

Turning on her heels, she hurried down the hallway to where his assistant sat finding her buried in her work.

“Uh, Good morning, sorry to interrupt,” Marinette called and as the woman looked up, Marinette smiled, “Where is Adrien?”

The woman sighed, “He’s in the showroom. Not that he needs to be, but no one can convince him otherwise.”  She shook her head and went back to the folders on her desk. Marinette furrowed her eyebrows as she turned and headed down the stairs to the back where the showroom was. She knew they would be prepping for Friday’s showing already, so it was just a good as a place as any to be. She wasn’t prepared for what she would find, however.

On the stage at the backside of the room, standing on the metal scaffolding, Adrien was leaning over messing with the lights. He was clearly leaning too far, and Marinette’s eyes went wide heading towards the stage.

“What do you think you are doing?!” Marinette hollered at him. He seemed completely at ease, but Marinette wasn’t having it.

“Oh, hey Mari, I was just fixing the lights, apparently the wires connecting to the cable to move them got disconnected and so they couldn’t be adjusted.” Adrien called down to her, as he connected the second light that he was nearest to.

“Okay, but why are you doing it? Don’t you have people for that?” Marinette wanted to shake him for being so careless.

“No. Well, not really. I mean, no one in the building at least. I could call someone, I suppose, but this was just easier,” He grinned down at her and winked, “Don’t worry, this is kind of fun.”

Marinette blanched as the grin and the wink sent her back. It was like the black mask had appeared over his face, and she shook her head. She had to get that mental image out of her mind. Plagg pretty much told her she was crazy, right?

“Okay, well, I think you should let someone else do it now. The last thing we need is for you to fall days before the showing.” Marinette called back at him before heading to the stage herself. Adrien laughed, as he hollered to one of the workers telling them to roll him slightly to reach the next light.

As they did, Marinette pursed her lips, glaring at him. She couldn’t believe he’d be so hasty. She put her hands on her hips as she watched. It was only a matter of seconds, but it felt like minutes when the scaffolding rocked and Adrien tipped forward, he reached for the bar holding the lights but missed and caught the curtain instead. Marinette’s eyes went wide as the curtain ripped, sending him falling, no, her mind supplied for her, not falling, swinging. She heard his soft curse as he and the curtains made there way across the stage. She would have laughed, had she not been in the collision path, but she was and when Adrien collided with her, they both crashed to the floor with a loud thud. Marinette was certain she was dead, at least she wanted to be. Buried under a pile of ripped curtains Marinette groaned as she felt Adrien shake on top of her.  

Whimpering, Marinette moved, pushing through the curtains to locate him, determined to make sure he was okay and found he had rolled off of her. He sat on his butt, legs fanned out in front of him, hands behind his back placed flat onto the stage holding himself up and Marinette glared when she realized he was laughing.  

Marinette shook her head at him, as she pushed the rest of the curtains off her, brushing whatever dust or dirt may have ended up on her clothes as she stood. She didn’t speak as she sent a scowl in Adrien’s direction, sending him into even more deep laughter.

“Oh, you think this is so funny?” Marinette frowned, looking over her arms and legs making sure nothing was injured.

“I think I fell for you.” Adrien snorted, then bit his lip as her face deadpanned to his.

“You’re the worst.” Marinette growled, then she met his eyes and sighed, “Are you okay?”

“Me?!” Adrien laughed, “I landed on you! Are you okay?” His eyes seemed to sparkle as he stood coming to her side sending butterflies into her stomach. He sent her a wide smile and she had to once again blink back the thoughts of black leather.

“I’m fine, I think.” Marinette whispered as he looked her over and she forced her mind to redirect away from Chat Noir thoughts.

“I’m sorry I…” Adrien started, and Marinette raised her eyebrows, “If you pun again, I swear I’m going to push you off the stage.”

Adrien laughed as Marinette watched him look from the curtains, then up to lights, “I guess I better call someone now.”

Marinette scoffed, “Oh now you think?” She turned on her heels heading down the stage, her body feeling slightly sore as she moved down the steps ignoring the man behind her.

One of the workers rushed to her side as she made it to the bottom, “Marinette! Are you alright?”

“I’m just fine, I promise. I’m going back to my office though.” Marinette murmured turning back to look at Adrien who was still standing on the stage, smirk on his face as he stared at her. She sighed as she left the showroom leaving him to deal with the mess he created.

She hurried back to her office and when she got inside, she shut the door and hurried to her purse, opening it and only seeing Tikki.

“Where did he go now?!” Marinette exclaimed. Tikki flinched before she smiled up at Marinette.

“I don’t know?” Tikki shrugged her shoulders as she just grinned at Marinette.

“I do not like when he disappears like this!” Marinette sighed, tapping on the desk in front of her. It wasn’t like she could go walk around the office searching for him. She just had to wait for him to come back. She looked down at the ring on her finger, spinning it around her silently.

“Tikki? If I asked you directly about Chat Noir, would you be able to tell me?” Marinette breathed, letting her emotions take control.

“Like what?” Tikki asked, settling on her desk.

“Plagg made it seem like it wasn’t possible for Adrien to be Chat Noir, but…”

“Plagg says a lot of things.” Tikki whispered. Marinette turned examining the Kwami sitting before her.

‘What does that mean? Was Plagg lying… is Adrien, Chat Noir?” Marinette reached out pulling Tikki to her and before Tikki could open her mouth, there was a crash behind her as papers went flying from the shelving unit. Marinette screeched, letting Tikki go as she turned, only to see the little black Kwami sitting sprawled out on top of everything.

“Plagg! What the heck did you do?!” Marinette reached out, grabbing some of the papers that now lined the floor.

“Ah, I was just playing.” Plagg grinned at her and she shook her head.

“Why do you keep disappearing on me? You can’t do that; someone could see you.” Marinette growled at him, putting the papers next to where he sat. She went to grab him, but he phased through her hands.

“Only people I want to see me will ever see me, don’t worry Pigtails. You’re much to stressed.” Plagg moved heading to her desk, grabbing a pencil and biting it.

“Sometimes, I hate you.” Marinette frowned grabbing the pencil from him and putting it in the drawer.

“You don’t though. You could take the ring off and I’d disappear, but you don’t.” Plagg countered, and Marinette knew he was right. As much as Plagg annoyed her, having him there was actually comforting. It was like having a little piece of Chat Noir there and she wished she hadn’t made the Kwami’s disappear in the first place.

“Fine. But Plagg. You need to be careful, okay?”

“I’m always careful, unlike your boyfriend in that room with the lights.” Plagg snickered and disappeared into the desk drawer.

“He’s not my boyfriend,” Marinette murmured and when Tikki disappeared too, Marinette looked up to find her door opening.

Glancing around at the mess, she frowned as Adrien opened the door, he ran his hand through his hair as he grinned guiltily at her.

“I just wanted to check in… make sure you were actually okay. I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.” He leaned against the doorframe, giving her a soft smile. Marinette closed her eyes briefly and sighed as she opened them again as she spoke, “I’m fine… as far as I can tell, anyway.” 

“I’m glad to hear it, why don’t you head home in a little while and relax... Things are well on their way here and well, I took your advice, I called someone. I know we have more things to fix, but I’m not too worried about it. Have you been down to check out the line, make sure everything is in place and ready?”

“Uh, no. I figured I’d do that in a little while. I was planning on going through my emails, making sure everyone was squared away before heading over. But I could probably skip out early, I still need to make sure I get your suit finished and well, our contract is pretty much up, I should probably start cleaning this…” She gestured around the room, “mess up anyway. I could always check with the team tomorrow.” Marinette gulped, the statement, the idea of being done, not seeing him all time actually hurt. She desperately wanted to keep contact, wanted to figure things out with him, be with him, have fun with him and her heart hoped that he felt the same.

“Sounds good. I’ve unfortunately got a lot of last-minute planning to do thanks to my own… uh, mess, but um, listen… maybe we can talk about continuing your contract… I really lo… liked having you here. I’m sorry that I keep crashing into your life though.” Adrien winked as he smiled, and a ringing interrupted them as he sighed taking out his phone.

“Sorry Marinette, I need to go. This should be them calling about the stage.” Adrien hurried out of the room, as Marinette glanced around one more time at the mess. She opened the desk drawer and glared at Plagg.

“You’re helping to clean this mess up.”

***

Marinette was sitting at home a few hours later, letting her fingers guide the sewing machine in order to finish the suit for Adrien. When she got home, both Kwami’s had gotten their own food and disappeared leaving Marinette alone and slightly annoyed at them. It seemed that every time she wanted to talk about Chat Noir… or Adrien they were getting interrupted, or the Kwami’s would vanish. It definitely made Marinette suspicious considering Plagg’s reaction to Adrien.

Pulling the last bit of cloth from the sewing machine, Marinette held it up checking the seam lines for anything uneven. Satisfied, Marinette stood, grabbing a hanger to hang it on and then stuck it on the back of her bedroom door as a reminder to take it to the office tomorrow. She would need to have him try it on to make any last-minute adjustments.

She headed to her kitchen planning to make something quick for dinner, when Tikki came floating out of the cabinet next to the fridge.

“Hey Tikki, have you given up avoiding me?” Marinette laughed as she opened the fridge.

“I’m not trying to avoid you Marinette. I just know you want to talk about Chat Noir and there’s just not a lot that Plagg or I can say.” Marinette turned and glanced at Tikki, “It’s okay Tik. I get it. If Adrien is actually Chat Noir, he has to tell me himself or something, right?”

“Why do you think it’s Adrien?”

“I see Chat in him, maybe it’s because I want to, maybe it’s because I’m hoping, I fell in love with Chat when we were younger, and I think… I think I’m falling in love with Adrien, I don’t want to love two different people so maybe a part of me is hoping, so that I don’t have this impossible feeling in my heart.” Marinette shrugged as Tikki only nodded, “If I just knew where Chat was… if I could just talk to him one more time, maybe my heart would let him go, you know?” Marinette sighed as she pulled leftover soup from the fridge. Heading to the microwave, Marinette opened the container and stuck it inside, setting the timer.

“Where did Plagg disappear to this time?” Marinette glanced back at the red God who was sitting on the counter. Tikki looked uncomfortable and Marinette frowned, “Tikki?”

“I think he’s looking for Chat Noir.” Marinette froze, head titled, eyes wide, “What do you mean?”

“Exactly that, Plagg’s been looking for Chat Noir. He wants to go home.”

“Looking for… or already found him?” Marinette felt out of breath, her heart was racing as she stared at Tikki.

“I can’t tell you that.” Tikki looked sad and Marinette bit her lip, “What if I gave Plagg the ring and told him to take it back to Chat Noir?”

“You can’t do that without knowing for sure Plagg was taking it back to Chat Noir. It’s too dangerous.” Tikki flew up patting her cheek, “It’s okay, everything will work out, I promise.”

“What if I just tell Adrien I’m Ladybug?” Marinette whispered, she could feel the tears forming in her eyes and she tried to blink them back.

“Well, obviously that’s your choice, but…” Tikki sighed.

“But Adrien’s father was Hawk Moth. He could end up hating me.” Tikki didn’t respond, but Marinette knew her thoughts, they were probably mirroring her own. She truly didn’t think Adrien would blame her in any way for the fact he was arrested, they’ve had conversations about it. About how Adrien was nothing like this father, but Marinette was scared. Scared of the answer, scared of being hurt again, sacred of everything. She was scared of just being happy because if she was happy, then happiness could be taken away and after losing Chat the way she did, she didn’t want to lose Adrien too.

Chapter Text

“Hey Bug!” Chat laughed as he landed on the rooftop next to her. Ladybug looked up at him, soft smile on her lips as he stored his baton, sitting next to her, “You called?”

She leaned forward pulling him into a kiss and as she broke apart, she whispered, “I’ve got news Kitty.” She was nervous, but excited as she spoke and had to stifle a giggle as Chat’s ears twitched.

“What kind of news?” Chat leaned his forehead into hers and Ladybug loved the contact between them.

“Good news… maybe? Remember that project I was working on with a classmate… the tracking of the butterflies?” Ladybug found herself staring into his eyes as they went wide.

“Yeah? Did something come of it?”

“I think so! We were able to track the butterflies back to a central location!” Ladybug felt the excitement wash over her. This was finally it. They could be done with this madness and finally reveal their identities.

“Okay, are you going to make me wait, or…?” Chat laughed; the excitement also radiated from him.

Laughing, Ladybug took his hands, “It’s a little crazy, and obviously, we could totally be wrong about the location, but the butterflies seem to be coming from the Agreste Mansion. My classmate did the calculations, and we found video footage, and we think we are right. Of course, until we go in there, we won’t know for sure, but Kitty… this means that Gabriel and possibly his son, Adrien,” Ladybug glanced up, seeing Chat’s eyes wide, “You okay Kitty?”

“Yeah, we’re good. I mean, this is just speculation at this point, I mean, we don’t have proof yet, right?” Chat mumbled.

“Right. So, like I was saying, Gabriel and his son, they live in that house, hardly anyone sees them, except when his son does his like photoshoots and everything. They have the money, and definitely have the time. I just don’t know what the motivation would be. But, until we get in there, we won’t know much for sure. We could be wrong and maybe the butterflies are coming from a close location.” Ladybug squeezed his hand, “We’re almost done Kitty!”

“Yeah, we really are. This is amazing news LB. Do you think it could be Gabriel… or his son?”

“Well, Adrien has been seen in public when Akuma’s happen… I had my classmate check, but Gabriel hasn’t, and so I’m definitely leaning towards the father, but that doesn’t mean his son isn’t involved. I mean, I think it would be pretty hard to hide the fact you have been terrorizing the city from your own kid, right?” Ladybug shrugged as Chat just nodded, “I mean, his son has got to know, they live in the same house and like, that’s his dad.”

“Yeah, no, you’re totally right. His son had to know what’s going on.” Chat nodded again, before turning to look out at the Eiffel Tower.

“Well, from the information I gathered, his son is still a minor, so we’d leave the police to deal with that anyway, the goal here is to get in, determine if Gabriel, or Adrien have the Butterfly Miraculous and take it back.” Ladybug grinned as she reached out to take Chat’s hand, turning and looking out at the tower herself. It was a beautiful night.

“Do you really think that the… uh, kid has something to do with it?” Chat whispered.

“It’s obviously possible, we just won’t know until we are in there, but I don’t see how the kid can’t be involved. I mean… that’s his father. I can’t imagine how he wouldn’t know.” Ladybug shrugged, “It doesn’t matter anyway, we will get to the bottom of this, and we will win… and when we do, we will meet here as planned so I can look into the face of the boy I’ve been in love with for so long.” Ladybug giggled as she leaned into Chat.

“So, when are we doing this? Did we want to gather more evidence, or are we just going to go in there?” Chat didn’t look at her as he spoke. He seemed distracted and a little distant.

“Chat, are you sure you’re okay?” Ladybug squeezed his hand, and he turned giving her a wide grin, “Of course, My Lady. This is all just so crazy… to think we could be done soon, it’s… incredible.”

“Okay good because I plan for us to go as soon as the next Akuma happens. We will ignore the Akuma and head directly to the mansion. We will do a quick search of the house, see if Adrien is home, if he is, get him out, if he’s not… we can worry about that later. Then go after Gabriel. If we find Adrien first and he’s Hawk Moth, then we just go all in… does this make sense? I’m hoping to catch them during the Akuma.” Ladybug felt her heart racing. A part of her was scared, and a part of her really hoped the younger Agreste had nothing to do with his father’s madness. Prior to meeting Chat, she had been obsessed with the young model. Of course, she was also a fan of his father, so for all of this to be true, Ladybug felt slightly uncomfortable about it. To think that the man she looked up to, could do something like this… felt unreal.

“Why during the Akuma, don’t you think that will be dangerous?” Chat inquired letting her hand go and running his through his hair. Ladybug watched, wondering why he was nervous now. That was his tell and she knew it.

“Well, while it’s probably worse to go in when he’s transformed, I think it’s the best way to get irrefutable proof, you know.”  

“Makes sense. I… I’m just a little in shock My Lady.” Chat reached back taking her hand, “I love you, Bug… you know that, right?”

“Of course I do, my kitty… and soon, I can take you to meet my parents, my friends and just love you so loud!” Ladybug giggled, as she pulled him to her, kissing him lightly, “I love you so much. My best friend… my partner, my love. We will finally have all the time…” A loud siren cut off her words as the Akuma alert sounded, causing Ladybug to pull away.

“Oh, um, I wasn’t… this is…” Ladybug stammered looking from Chat and then the direction of the Eiffel Tower.

“No time like the present, Bug. Let’s go. I’ve heard that Adrien’s room is the large windows in front, let’s start there, maybe we’ll get lucky, and one will be open for us.”

***

The clothes were on mannequins lined up against the wall, shoes and accessories placed with them, everything in place and everything ready to go. Marinette moved along the wall checking seams, checking for anything that could be slightly wrong. Satisfied, she turned to leave the room finding Adrien standing in the doorway where it was clear he had been watching her.

“Oh! Hey, you’re back!” Marinette grinned. It was Wednesday, and Marinette was getting anxious for the show on Friday. Yesterday, when she had gotten to the office, she had been surprised to find no coffee and no Adrien. She had headed to his assistant only to be told that he had texted saying he had an emergency and wouldn’t be in. Concerned, she texted him and only got a “Good morning, Sorry I’m not in, had an emergency, I’m okay and I should be in tomorrow,” hours later.  She tried not to worry, but the Ladybug side of her seemed to creep out and worry she did.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I wasn’t here, I know we’re on a time crunch. I was told the showroom was finished, so at least that’s done. How’s everything looking here?” Adrien came into the room then, heading towards the walls to look at the mannequins.

“Everything is looking great. I came yesterday and matched shoes with accessories, but I wanted you to make the final call. Also, I do have your suit in my office, if you can try it on… um, about yesterday, is everything okay?” Marinette crossed her arms and watched him as he looked over the details and when she heard him sigh, she crossed the room placing her hand on his arm.

“Yeah, it’s… awkward.” Adrien gave her a small smile.

“Well, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” Marinette turned, not wanting to look at him, she knew she shouldn’t pry, it was his business after all not hers.

“It’s fine. Let’s head to your office and we can talk, it’s probably easier that way.” Adrien said, walking towards the door as Marinette followed, shutting the door behind her allowing them to walk side by side back to Marinette’s office. Adrien was mostly looking at the ground, looking uncomfortable.

As they got into Marinette’s office, she moved around her desk and sat, eyeing the coffee sitting there that he must have left earlier, leaving him to either sit in the chair opposite the room, or stay standing. He stood, leaning against her desk, arms crossed as he looked down toward her.

Ignoring the coffee for the time being, Marinette looked up at him, feeling his anxiousness.

“You’re making me nervous.” Marinette let out a small laugh, trying to hide her anxious thoughts.

“I’m sorry. It’s just… stupid. Yesterday, the prison… where my dad is? They called, apparently, he was stabbed.” Marinette gasped, her eyes went wide as Adrien continued, “He’s okay, now anyway. They weren’t really sure at first, but they wanted me down there, so I went. He had surgery and when he woke, I was going to leave, but they told him I was there, so…” Adrien pinched his mouth, clearly annoyed.

“I’m sorry! I’m glad he’s okay… I should be glad right?” Marinette let out a soft chuckle as Adrien smiled.

“That’s the worst part, I don’t even know!” He shook his head and continued, “I’ve spent all these years being so angry at him, angry at everything he did, angry at what he cost me and honestly, he cost me a lot, but when I got the call, I was… I don’t know, terrified? But… after seeing him…”  Adrien sighed again, looking away from her, staring across the room.

“Adrien, it’s okay to be worried, he’s your father.” Marinette stood then, coming around her desk to look at him.

“He’s a terrorist and if it weren’t for,” He paused, taking a deep breath, “If it weren’t for Ladybug’s cure, he’d be the largest mass murderer in the world! Like how do I just move past that? He literally cared more about his own wishes then me! How many people had to died and be brought back? How many times did Ladybug almost die… did Chat Noir take the fall for her? And the worst… I didn’t even know!” Adrien’s hands went up and through his hair as Marinette felt the anguish coming off him. She stepped forward pulling him into her arms.

“It’s not your fault, you know,” Marinette paused and when he didn’t respond, she kept going, “You do know that right?” She pulled away looking into his eyes and when he looked away, Marinette reached out cupping his cheek with her hand, “Adrien, you couldn’t have known. No one did until Ladybug and Chat Noir finally figured it out.”

“I should have known!” Adrien shouted, “You know why he wanted to see me? Not to apologize for what he did, no. To tell me that he was sorry that he hadn’t succeeded! That he was doing it all for me. That he had wished that Ladybug and Chat Noir had died instead. That if he had been more careful, they would have. That it was Ladybug’s stupid luck that found him out.” Adrien pulled away from her, heading to the door. Marinette could see the pain on his face as he went, and her heart broke for him. As he reached the doorway, he turned back and sighed, “I should have known. My father was cold, ruthless and I was miserable. I should have known. He talked about Maman coming back all the time, but I ignored it.” He gulped, his eyes finding hers, “Ladybug was right. I should have known, and I should have stopped it.”

Marinette froze. Adrien hurried out of the room, leaving Marinette to her thoughts, as he closed the door. She couldn’t remember ever saying those words, especially not to any news reporters, but if she did, she knew she had messed up. Adrien was a kid then, just like she and Chat, there was no reason to think he should have known, but Marinette knew the truth, she had assumed Adrien should have. It’s why she had kept track of him in the years following his father’s arrest, it’s why she had put some of the blame on Adrien when Chat disappeared.

But her heart now knew differently, Adrien was just a kid, and she shouldn’t have lumped him in with his father. Adrien had been hurt, just like everyone else and Adrien had suffered just as much as she had, just as much as Chat had. The city still doesn’t fully trust him and Ladybug never bothered to check in with the teen, never bothered to tell the city that Adrien wasn’t home when the Akuma happened.

Sighing, Marinette turned to find both Plagg and Tikki floating above her desk. They both looked sad and a little concerned. Marinette moved, glancing at the coffee and the note that she couldn’t read, when Plagg turned and flew knocking into the cup, spilling it across the desk.

“Oh! No!” Marinette shrieked, rushing to the desk to move all the papers, but didn’t make it in time as the note Adrien left was unreadable, covered in coffee. Groaning, she grabbed the tissue box from the shelves across the wall and started cleaning up the mess sending a glare at Plagg.

“I know you did that on purpose, I just wish I understood why. You can phase Plagg.” Plagg snorted and disappeared through the wall, leaving Marinette glaring at the red Kwami who still floated staring at her.

“What’s with him?” Marinette snapped, before taking a deep breath and looking at Tikki, guilt consuming her over Adrien, “I must have spoken out of turn to the media… I should have made another statement; I should have done something. I thought Adrien was better. I thought…” Marinette buried her face into her hands, “Ladybug really messed up, Tikki and I don’t know how to fix it without telling him who I am… and then he’ll probably hate me.”

“Oh Marinette, I don’t think he’s capable of hating you. You made mistakes back then and so did he, but everything always works out in the end. As for Plagg, he’s just dealing with his own grief in his own way. I can’t really explain it… but trust me.” Tikki floated over cuddling into Marinette’s cheek.

“Thanks, Tikki.” Marinette sighed and glanced up at the door to her office seeing Adrien’s suit. Marinette cursed and hurried over to grab it. She hated to interrupt Adrien when he was obviously so upset, but she needed to put the finishing touches, and she was running out of time. Grabbing it and heading out of her office, she found his door closed and locked. She could hear him talking to someone but couldn’t make out the words. She knocked and the room got really quiet.

It was only a few moments before the door opened and Marinette could see the tears that had been in Adrien’s eyes.

“Oh, uh, I’m sorry Marinette. I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just…”

“Don’t Adrien. You don’t need to apologize. You went through something traumatic and if Ladybug told you that… well, she was wrong, so very wrong. She shouldn’t have expected you to know or do anything. I’m sorry that what she said hurt you.” Marinette knew it was the best she could do for now, as much as it sucked, she wished she could apologize to him and let him know how much she actually meant it.

“Listen Marinette, I understand your intentions, and I appreciate it, but there’s just a lot behind that. I don’t think Ladybug is wrong. That’s neither here nor there though, what did you need?” Adrien had stepped back, allowing her to enter his office, wiping his eyes a bit.

“I need you to try this on… last fitting and that way I can finish it tonight if anything needs changing when I get home.” Marinette reached out holding the suit in her hand as she watched his eyes trail down it. She could see them light up slightly as he took it from her.

“I… completely forgot. This looks amazing Marinette. I can’t wait to put it on. I’ll be right back.” He walked away from her heading into a door on the other side of the room. Marinette crossed her feet and arms as she waited for him to return, and when he did, she nearly lost her breath. It fit perfectly, and Marinette had to close her mouth for fear she’d drool. The black with green accents set off his eyes and Marinette nearly found herself melting.

“You look… amazing.” Marinette murmured, blinking her eyes, as he grinned spinning in place.

“You did an incredible job Marinette. This… this made my day. It’s… I don’t think I can even explain it right now.” He smiled at her, she could still see the tears that had been in his eyes, and while that made her slightly sick with guilt, she knew she couldn’t do anything about it yet, but that maybe, maybe Ladybug would have to make an appearance at some point.  

“Well, I’ll let you go… I’m glad I don’t need to do anything else to it. Um, Adrien… you shouldn’t listen to the things your father says. You shouldn’t blame yourself for things you couldn’t know… you shouldn’t hate yourself because of who your father is.” Marinette reached out and patted his arm, turning away and heading to the door.

Once she reached the door, she took a deep breath and turned back, “I’m really glad you came into the café that day. I think it was fate that we were to meet, and I’ve grown quite attached to you… I hope you know that? I’m going to head out, see you later.” Adrien’s eyes met hers for a moment before she turned away, allowing her own tears to start to flood.

She hurried into her office, grabbing her things before leaving the Emilie building heading home. Her mind was spinning as she thought about Adrien’s words, about what he said Ladybug said and she desperately needed to know when she said it. She didn’t remember giving any interviews after Gabriel’s arrest, she had been too distraught over Chat’s disappearance.

As she got home, all the thoughts from the drive had consumed her. As far as she could recall, there was only one person she had said those words to. She hoped, she prayed she was wrong as she headed into her room. There had to be something out there where Ladybug said it as much as it pained her that she would have talked poorly about Adrien, she needed it to happen because if she had said those words to Chat and only Chat, then Adrien knowing them means that Adrien is Chat and that Marinette was the one to blame for Chat’s disappearance.  

So, she sat nose buried deep into her computer, searching newspapers, the Ladyblog and anything else she could find. There wasn’t a single trace of ladybug making those comments anywhere and Marinette felt sick. It was all adding up in ways she didn’t want it to. Glancing at the picture on her desk, Marinette reached forward and grabbed it pulling it to her chest. She allowed the tears to flow as she wondered just how badly she messed up.

Chapter Text

Spiraling, that was probably what Marinette would describe herself now. She hadn’t slept the night before after her hours-long search for those words. The words that tasted like sandpaper on her tongue. Sitting in her kitchen, drinking her non-cinnamon flavored coffee, as Marinette felt like she didn’t deserve it, she scrolled through her phone. She had already texted Adrien earlier letting him know she would not be in, that she wasn’t feeling well, but she would be in for the showing tomorrow regardless. Honestly, Marinette didn’t know how to face him.

Glancing from her spot in the kitchen, Marinette stared at the poster that hung on her wall.

“Plagg?” Marinette called and when Tikki appeared, Marinette sighed, “He’s gone again isn’t he?” Tikki gave her a sad smile before nodding, “I feel like I should just hand off the ring and tell him to go home.”

“You could…but what if the Chat Noir that shows up isn’t who you want it to be.” Tikki tilted her head giving Marinette a small smile.
“Well, okay. Thanks, Tikki, I appreciate the support.” Marinette frowned, then closed her eyes laying her head on the counter.

“I mean, the signs are all there, right?” Tikki asked.

“Yes, I mean, Adrien has to be Chat Noir… right? Plagg made me feel crazy.” Marinette glanced up eyeing the little red God.

“That’s our job, we aren’t supposed to tell you the identities of the other holder.” Tikki shrugged before heading off into the cabinet.

Rolling her eyes, Marinette dumped the remaining coffee in the sink, it just wasn’t the same, before heading to her bedroom to look over her dress one more time for tomorrow. Feeling satisfied, Marinette headed to her computer and opened up photos of Adrien on one side and Chat Noir on the other. She could almost see it, if she let herself believe. Unfortunately, Marinette didn’t want to believe it because she didn’t want to be the reason he hurt, the reason he left.

“Hey Tikki?” Marinette called, waiting for the red Kwami to reappear and when she did, Marinette scrunched her nose, “I’m going to tell him who I am tomorrow, after the showing. That way… that way, if he hates me, at least that won’t be messed up. If he’s Chat Noir, hopefully, he forgives me, if he’s not, hopefully he still forgives me.” Tikki flew up, patting her cheek.

“He will.” Plagg said, from somewhere behind her. Marinette turned; eyebrows raised as she took in the little black cat.

“Where have you been?” Marinette glared at him.

“Out.” Plagg flew off heading out of the room while Marinette just raised her eyebrows. One way or another, this all ends tomorrow. Marinette rolled her eyes before looking back at her computer screen, eyes flickering back and forth between the two guys that covered her screens.

Taking a deep breath, Marinette left her desk, then her room grabbing her car keys. Hurrying from her apartment, Marinette got in her car dialing Alya’s number as she went, grateful when Alya answered it only after a couple rings. The phone connected to her car, and she heard Alya’s voice.

“Hey Girl, are you ready for tomorrow? Nino is full panic mode because Adrien won’t stop calling him, said you weren’t feeling well?” Alya called through the phone and Marinette sighed.

“Yeah, I’m ready, just nerves. Has Adrien really been calling Nino?” Marinette frowned as she drove.

“Oh, yeah, I don’t know if I was supposed to tell you that. Adrien thinks you may be upset with him because he was rude to you yesterday.” Marinette could hear the nervousness in Alya’s voice. She wanted to bury her hands in her face, but couldn’t since she was driving, so she sighed.

“He was having a rough day. I don’t think he was rude. If he calls Nino again, can you please pass along the message. I’m just not feeling well due to nerves about tomorrow, that’s all.” Marinette murmured, waiting for Alya to respond.

“I will tell Nino, but I think Adrien’s just a little freaked out. Have you decided what you’re going to do with him?” Marinette could hear the smirk she was sure covered her friend’s face.

“I plan on talking to him about everything tomorrow. I’m going to tell him how I feel… tomorrow, after the show.” Marinette nodded to herself, as a reminder, as a push to do it, she wasn’t sure. She looked up as she pulled up to the bakery and smiled seeing her mother rushing around inside.

“Good, you better talk to him, Mari.”

“I will, I will. Listen, I need to go, I just wanted to check in… you guys will be there tomorrow, right?” Marinette turned off the car, grabbing her phone and switching it from the car, before getting out.

“Of course, wouldn’t miss it.” Alya said and then laughed, “One of us has to make sure you do what you said you would do.”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette got off the phone and headed into the bakery, greeting her mother with a hug.

“Good morning, Maman. How are you today?” Marinette asked, as she pulled away giving her mother a smile.

“Hi and good morning, dear. Things are good, what brings you here? I thought you’d be super busy since the show is tomorrow.” Her mother grinned at her, as she cleaned the counters.

“It’s pretty much done, I just wanted to talk to you about something.” Marinette rocked slightly, as she looked on, her mother still cleaning the counters. Her mother turned slightly, catching her eye, “Of course, let’s head upstairs, I’ll just tell your father.” Marinette watched as her mother disappeared into the back of the bakery, returning a few minutes later allowing them both to head up the stairs.

When they reached her parents’ home, Marinette sat on the couch and sighed.

“Maman, how did you know that Papa was the one?” Marinette wasn’t entirely sure why she asked, or what information she could even provide her mother. Just that she needed something.

“Is this about Adrien?” Sabine moved, sitting on the couch next to her. Her eyes sparkled as she sat, a smile on her face.

“Uh, yes, and no? It’s complicated.” Marinette looked down at the hands, unsure on how to explain. It would be so easy to just say ‘hi Maman, I’m Ladybug and I was in love with my partner, my Chat Noir, but now I’m falling for Adrien, but I think it’s okay because I think he is Chat Noir,’ but she couldn’t.

“Marinette, love is complicated, but wonderful. When you meet the person who just feels natural, it just feels right, you’ll know.” Sabine reached out and patted her leg.

“What if there were two?” Marinette looked up at her mother knowing they could possibly be just one.

“Then follow your heart. That’s the best advice a mother can give.” Marinette sighed, “Maman, before… when I was younger, there was this boy…” Marinette paused, glancing at her mother who only smiled.

“I know.”

Marinette froze at the words, eyes wide, “What do you know?”

“He’d come here, you know. Order your coffee, cinnamon and vanilla. Order his. Get a Pain Au Chocolate or two and go. I’d watch as he’d race across the rooftops, black as night with eyes that glowed. A mother knows.” Sabine gave her a soft smile.

“I don’t…” Marinette’s head was spinning. Her mother knew… knew she was Ladybug? Knew about her relationship with Chat Noir? Was it really possible?

“It’s okay, sweetie. I’m not upset or mad. I’m proud of you, both of you.” Sabine continued patting Marinette’s leg as she sat frozen, trying to take in what her mother was saying.

“Does Papa…?” Marinette took a deep breath as she bit her lip, glancing sideways at her mother.

“Oh, of course not. Tom would have a fit. It… was a little hard keeping it from him, especially after Gabriel’s arrest and you moping in your room. I… wanted to ask then, but I didn’t want to put pressure on you, so I’ll ask now, what happened dear?” The dam in Marinette’s eyes burst as she sobbed, allowing her mother to pull her to her chest. The tears streamed down Marinette’s cheeks like a waterfall, and she did nothing to try and stifle them, there was no point anymore. Like a river meeting the sea, Marinette let all the sobs overcome her body as Sabine gently patted her back.

“Shh, it’s okay dear, you can just let it all out. It will be okay.” Sabine whispered into her hair as Marinette cried.

“I’m so sorry Maman, I wanted to tell you, I did. I… we needed to keep our families safe, I…” Marinette hiccupped, “I loved him, and I didn’t even know who he was. He was my best friend, my partner, my everything and he… he… he just left! He left and there was nothing I could do.” Marinette finally felt the relief that speaking could provide. The weight slowly lifted as she pulled away from her mother to look into the older woman’s eyes.

“Shh, it’s okay, love. It’s okay. You can tell me anything, everything or nothing. I’m just here for whatever you need me to be.”

“Maman, why didn’t you tell me that you knew?” Marinette let out a sniffle as she tried to get herself under control.

“It wasn’t my place. I knew you’d tell me if you could.”

“But… even after… she disappeared, after… he disappeared, you still didn’t say anything.” Marinette murmured, tears still slipping down her cheeks.

“Of course not, I know you’d come to me when you felt like you could. Apparently, it’s time was now.” Sabine just smiled at her.

“I’m so sorry, Maman, I’m so sorry.” Marinette whispered, latching herself to her mother’s chest again.

“It’s okay, bǎo bèi, I’m glad you were finally able to share this with me. Tell me what I can do to help?” Sabine continued to hold her, and Marinette was grateful. Her head was spinning, her mind spiraling. This was the last thing Marinette had expected when she came here. In her mind, she wanted to just find comfort, find something to help her figure out how to talk to Adrien about everything and instead, she found her entire world rocked.

Closing her eyes, Marinette sighed against her mother, “The day Gabriel was unmasked, we were supposed to finally share our identities with each other, and he never showed. Then, out of nowhere, he returned the ring and told me never to look for him. I was so broken, and I couldn’t even tell anyone because I wanted to share my identity with him first and I wanted to keep that promise. I was fine, I was good, but then Adrien came along and unlocked my heart and I’m just so confused.”

“You still don’t know who Chat Noir was?” Sabine murmured, and Marinette shifted cuddling into her mother.

“No. I mean, I have an idea, but technically no.” Marinette wanted to tell her, her suspicions, but that was Chat’s identity not hers. It wasn’t her place to share it.

“You know, my memory isn’t as good as it once was, but there’s a few things I do remember. When he’d come to get your coffee, he always asked for a bit of orange zest in his. It was weird, but I recall he also loved those passion fruit macarons, so, a little bit of that tangy flavor makes sense for him,” Marinette felt a small smile cross her face at the memory. She had forgotten about Chat’s special coffee. Letting herself laugh a little, Marinette glanced at her mother as she continued, “You know, I occasionally had that same blend pop up throughout the years, but it’s become a nearly every day treat these last few weeks… your coffee… and his… I just thought you may want to know.” Sabine let her go and stood while Marinette’s head was spinning. She hadn’t considered how Adrien would like his coffee and as the pieces slowly fell into place, Marinette sat frozen as her mother headed back to the bakery.

She knew it was odd that Adrien knew her favorite coffee, but she hadn’t considering that he knew because he had already figured her out. Thinking back to the day they met, thinking back to the days that followed, Marinette felt slightly sick. The signs were there the entire time, Adrien getting emotional at the remembrance ceremony. What had he said that he had lost everything that day? Marinette had assumed it was about his father, but he, like she had lost so much more.

The fact he teased her about liking Chat Noir, because he was Chat Noir. The designs and wanting to do them. The puns and games. She hadn’t wanted to believe it, hadn’t wanted to see it, but after everything, she knew there was no more use denying the truth. The truth that slapped her in the face, that Chat Noir was Adrien and Adrien was Chat Noir.

“The girlfriend!” Marinette gasped, “It was me! No wonder I reminded him of her.” Marinette glanced around the room biting her lip. Tikki was floating with a weird smile on her face, but Plagg was nowhere in sight.

“Tikki! I was jealous of myself!” Shaking her head she grinned at the Kwami who gave her a nod and smile.

 Grabbing her phone, she opened her photos and unhid a folder. Photos of her and Chat, and like smoke had been cleared, the veil had lifted and in Chat’s place was Adrien. She felt the tears flood her cheeks as she sobbed.

“Tikki, it’s time I get my Kitty back!”

Chapter Text

She spun, dress twirled, and she grinned. The show was starting soon, and Marinette was ready. So very ready. She was in her office, Alya had been by to see her about 15 minutes prior and Marinette had insisted she go down without her, that she would follow shortly.

So, Marinette spun, and the dress twirled. Tikki giggled at her antics, but Marinette didn’t care. Today, today was the day. Marinette was ready for it all. The designs to be presented, the after party and then Chat Noir. Her kitty and the wait, well, the wait was driving her crazy.

Marinette knew Adrien was in the building somewhere, but she had yet to see him. The coffee, her coffee had been on her desk when she arrived in the morning, and as Marinette sipped it, her heart swelled with the knowledge her mother had imparted to her.

She glanced at Tikki, whose eyes were wide with her own happiness, that much Marinette knew. They had talked later into the evening about what Marinette’s plans were and frankly, if her nerves were bad yesterday, today was so much worse. Plagg was nowhere to be found, but Marinette had no worries about it anymore. She knew where he was. With Adrien, with her Kitty and that was perfectly okay with her. She glanced down at the ring knowing that today would be the last day she wore it, that after today it would be returned to its rightful owner. Laughing, Marinette spun again, letting her dress twirl one more time as a knock came in the doorway.

Blushing at being caught, Marinette looked up into green eyes. As with the pictures before, she could clearly see her kitty in his face now. Her best friend, her partner, her boyfriend. The mask that wasn’t there flickered across his face as Marinette felt her heart race. Taking a deep breath, she grinned pushing the ‘Mine’ thoughts to the back of her head.

“Hey Adrien.” Marinette called to the man in the doorway. His black suit looked dreamy on him, the green accents highlighted everything just right and Marinette slightly regretted making it for him because there was a serious possibility she may drool. She no longer knew how she was going to make it all day.

“You ready to head down there?” he asked from the doorway, a smirk on his face. She knew perfectly well what he caught her doing.

“Yes. I’m… just a little nervous and excited… worried too… I mean, what if something happens, what if…” Adrien had stepped into the room taking his hand in hers, interrupting her thoughts, “Marinette. Breathe. Everything is fine.”

“Right. Ha, sorry. I’m good. Promise.” She laughed, pulling away from him, turning around and fanning herself with her own hand. It was suddenly hot.

“Listen, before we go down. I have something for you. I saw it the other day and well, I thought it’d match your outfit.” Adrien called as he touched her shoulder. Marinette turned, eyes wide as she looked at him, “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“Ah, but I wanted to. Here.” He thrust a box into her hands as she stood there, mouth agape. The last thing she expected was a gift, especially after what she did as Ladybug. Opening the box, she gasped as she took in the ruby necklace on a rose gold chain. It was fastened to look like a Ladybug and Marinette nearly dropped it before peering into his eyes. Did he know? She knew there had been multiple times she had thought so.

“This… this is beautiful. I don’t… I don’t know what to say.” Marinette stuttered as she took it out of the box.

“Say you’ll take it… look, it even matches your ring. Let me put it on you.” Adrien had stepped forward, taking the necklace from her as he gestured to her hand and Marinette almost pulled away again, “Turn?”  She nodded, turning as she made sure to carefully lift her half up/ half down hair allowing him access to her neck. She felt him lean forward, putting it around her and as his breath hit her neck Marinette felt herself freeze. He was so close.

“There!” He exclaimed and Marinette stepped away, turning around letting him look at her, “It looks beautiful on you.”

“Thank you, Adrien, it’s really beautiful, I don’t… I think you… just… thanks.” Marinette didn’t know what to say as he just grinned at her.

“Say nothing. Come on, let’s go.” He put his arm out for her to grab and for once, she was grateful to have the support. She was positive her legs just might give out on her before the end of the night.

***

“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us today. I’d once again like to introduce your host Adrien Agreste who has a few final words he’d like to say,” Nino said in the soundbox, as Marinette stood behind the stage with Adrien. The show had been a complete success, each model had walked the runway showing off the designs with the crowd becoming absorbed in each one.

After every outfit, Nino had to calm the crowd and Marinette couldn’t help but feel pleased at the success of it all. To her, it only proved that today would turn out perfectly.

After Nino’s words, Adrien nodded to her and headed out onto the stage to address the crowd. Marinette found herself peaking from behind the curtain as he stood in front of the audience.

“Good afternoon, eh, almost evening. Thank you all for coming out today, we appreciate everyone for coming out and viewing the Heroes Collection. If it weren’t for the Heroes, who knows what would have happened to Paris due to my father’s reign. Now, without further ado, I would like to introduce the mastermind of the collection, Ms. Marinette Dupain-Cheng.” Adrien turned slightly, raising his arm, nodding at her as she stepped through. Marinette’s nerves were making her stomach hurt, but she came out on stage anyway grabbing Adrien’s arm as he smiled at her.

“Ms. Dupain-Cheng everyone!” Adrien turned back to the crowd, with Marinette on his arm. She waved awkwardly, as he grinned, “Marinette’s ideas were inspired by our very own Heroes, and I don’t think anyone can say this woman isn’t talented. In fact, these outfits we are wearing were designed and hand created by Marinette with only weeks to go until the show. Please make sure you check out all of her own work on her website, which is on the flyer provided to all of you.” Marinette felt the heat in her cheeks as she stood there holding his arm. She hadn’t realized he was going to promote her own brand at the show, but she was overjoyed that he had. This could mean huge things for her even if she didn’t continue at Emilie. Adrien turned, nodding at her and Marinette realized he was waiting for her to speak. Squeaking slightly and hearing Adrien chuckle, Marinette faced the crowd feeling proud.

“Thank you, Adrien and thank you to everyone. It’s been a pleasure to work with the designers here at Emilie and I cannot wait to see what the future had in store for us all.” Marinette glared at Adrien, giving him a nod showing she was done, and she heard him take a deep breath.

“Alright, well, if you all will head through the doors to the right, we have food and beverages set up for your enjoyment. Marinette and I will join you all momentarily.” Adrien still had her arm as he directed her backstage and Marinette was feeling slightly worried. She wasn’t ready yet.

She quickly followed Adrien back behind the curtain and sighed when he looked at her, “I’m so glad that’s over.”

“Me too, you ready for the party?” Adrien hadn’t let go of her arm and Marinette felt slightly guilty as she pulled away. She had plans and one of those included heading back to her office to get the envelope she left there with the letter she wrote to Adrien. A letter, she hoped would lead to new things.

“I’m so ready, but first I need to go grab something from my office… and then I’ll meet you in there, is that okay?” Marinette brushed her hand against his arm and smiled.

“Of course. I’ll wait for you by the door.” Adrien nodded as he turned around and Marinette bit her lip before hurrying back to her office. Once inside, she went to her desk and opened it, taking out the envelope. Taking the paper out and glancing at it once last time, Marinette smiled. All it said was, “Cat-Ch Me Later.”

She looked at the ring on her hand and sighed preparing to slip it off when Plagg appeared.

“You ready for this Pigtails?”

“I’m so ready Plagg. I know he will know where to go… but if he doesn’t.” Marinette’s eyes were wide as she looked at the little black God.

“I know, I know. Don’t worry. My kid will know where to go. You just breath and have a good time out there before you slip away.” Plagg patted her on the cheek as Tikki came over, latching onto him.  

“You old stinky sock! You do care.” Tikki called as she squeezed his neck. He pushed away from her a growled, “You have no proof.” Watching the two Kwami’s made Marinette giggle, she had really gotten used to having them around these last few weeks and even though she knew Plagg wasn’t gone for good, it felt weird to be saying goodbye.

“I’ll miss you Plagg. You take care of him and bring him to me, okay?”  Marinette smiled as Plagg saluted her and then nodded. Marinette slipped the ring off her finger and whispered, “Plagg, I renounce you.”

She watched as Plagg disappeared into the ring. She glanced at Tikki as she slipped the ring into the envelope before folding it and sticking it in her purse. Taking a deep breath, Marinette headed into the hall and back down to the showroom. The nerves were radiating off her as she walked, but she was determined not to screw this up. As she headed down the stairs and into the showroom, she could see Adrien talking to Nino by the banquet hall door, so she plastered a smile on her face approaching them.  

“Hey guys!” She called as she went, and her eyes met Adrien’s as he looked up. His own smile mirroring hers.

“And that’s my cue to leave. Talk to you guys later.” Nino said laughing as he went through the doors into the hall leaving her and Adrien alone. Adrien held his arm out, watching her as she took it in her own. Together they entered the hall greeting people as they went.

Music was playing somewhere as Adrien pulled her along, but Marinette wasn’t really paying attention. She was here, with him, right where she was supposed to be. They were in the middle of the dance floor when he finally stopped and looked down meeting her eyes, “Care to dance?”

Marinette could only nod as he pulled her to him. Her hands found themselves around his shoulders as they moved. The soft music playing as she leaned into him sighing. It felt like all was how it should be. It felt like candlelit rooftop dates, and midnight chases across Paris. It felt like a never-ending tango of her heart. They spun together, not speaking, just moving in each other’s arms.

As the song came to an end Adrien pulled back and looked at her with a grin, “Drink?” Nodding again, Marinette stepped away watching him head to the drink table as she backed up, then turned heading for a table. She had barely sat when Alya appeared at her side, “So… have you talked to him yet? You guys looked pretty cozy out there.”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette frowned at her friend, “Not yet. I will… I have plans… why are you bugging me, anyway, shouldn’t you be off with your boyfriend?”

“He was messing with the sound, besides… I wanted to come over and check on my best friend. Come on, Mari, just ask him out already.”  Alya tapped her foot as she looked at Marinette. Marinette felt the blush on her cheek as she shook her head.

“I told you; I have plans. Don’t…” Marinette paused as Adrien approached handing her a drink, “thanks,” She murmured and sent Alya a glare.

“You’re welcome, don’t stop talking on my account,” Adrien laughed as he settled behind the chair Marinette was sitting on.

After a few moments of small talk, Marinette was grateful when Nino came over grabbing his girlfriend and dragging her to the dance floor. Marinette laughed as Alya was dragged away and Adrien leaned down, “Would you like to dance again?”

Allowing him to take her hand, Marinette followed him to the dance floor where she found herself getting lost in him. It was several songs later, another slow song, that Marinette was locked in his tight embrace once again. They were so close, and Marinette knew she had to make her escape soon. As they moved, Adrien pulled away from her slightly, looking nervous.

“Are you okay?” Marinette whispered and when he nodded, she wasn’t sure if she believed him, “Really?”

He laughed, “Of course, I’m here with you, aren’t I?” Shaking her head, Marinette leaned back into him as his head rested on the top of hers as he spoke, “Actually, uh, Marinette. I have a question.”

Leaning away from him, she looked up into green eyes and tilted her head, “Yeah?” Kitty. Marinette had wanted to say, but she held her tongue.

“Would you… uh, have dinner… with me? Like for real, though… like… uh a date?” Marinette wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it wasn’t that. She paused, she of course would say yes, but this would interfere with her own plans. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak a man had approached interrupting them.

“Excuse me, Monsieur Agreste?”

Adrien shook his head, pulling away from her and turning to the man.

“Hi, how can I help you?” Adrien was back to business as Marinette stepped back, watching them.

“I just wanted to say that I’m very impressed with the work you’ve done since your fathers… uh, issue. You’ve really turned the company into something worth supporting and I wanted to do just that. This Heroes theme is truly a masterpiece. I really look forward to seeing what else you all have in store.”

“Thank you, Sir. It has been our pleasure to create this for the community. After everything my father did, it was something that was desperately needed and Ms. Dupain-Cheng here really made things come together.” Adrien turned addressing her and Marinette felt her cheeks go hot.

“Ah yes, Ms. Dupain-Cheng, we’ve been hearing wonderful things about you,” The man had turned on her now and Marinette felt the heat move down her body suddenly feeling insufficient.

“Uh, thank you Sir. Adrien gives me too much credit.” Marinette mumbled before glancing around trying to make her escape.

“Don’t be modest. I’ve checked out your website, you really are talented, and we look forward to working with the both of you.” The man nodded, before turning and walking away, leaving Marinette feeling flustered. Adrien had reached out to take her hand, probably to finish their conversation, when another person approached.

“Adrien!” It was a woman; she leaned into his space kissing him on the cheek and Marinette instantly wanted to rip him away.

“Ah, hello. I wasn’t, uh, expecting you here.” Adrien moved away from her as she closed the distance again. Marinette frowned as the woman hadn’t respected his space. Stepping forward, she pulled his arm, lacing hers within.
“Hello, I’m Marinette. Nice to meet you.” Marinette held her other hand out in greeting. The woman frowned, looking from Adrien’s face to their arms and back to Marinette’s hand, before whispering, “right…” and hurrying away. She felt Adrien sigh next to her.

“Sorry about that, that’s… her… the girl that started this whole thing,” He let out a small laugh.

“Oh…” Marinette studied him, “Maybe I should send her flowers.”

Laughing, Adrien leaned forward placing his forehead against hers, “Where were we?” He whispered. Marinette’s internal panic was back. She had forgotten what was going on prior to their interruptions.

“Oh, uh, I think you had, uh, maybe, uh asked me to dinner?” Marinette stumbled; the words weren’t really forming in her head.

“I think I did… so, what’s my fair lady’s answer?” Adrien beamed at her. She could only giggle as he grinned, raising his eyebrows.

“Well, Monsieur Dreamy,” Adrien’s head dropped slightly, allowing another giggle to escape from her lips, “I think I’m going…”

“Adrien!” Another voice called and both of them groaned at the approaching Nino. Marinette glared as he approached, Alya at his side. Glancing at Adrien, she could see he had closed his eyes, before opening them and sending a smile to his friend, “What’s up man?”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt, I was over by the drinks, and there was some people asking to speak with you, but uh, they didn’t want to interrupt and since I’m your friend, I figured…” Nino sent a smirk in Marinette’s direction. Marinette wanted to stick her tongue out at her friend, but she kept her composure as Adrien looked up and over at the drink table. His shoulders rose and fell as he turned to her.

“Sorry, Marinette, I’ll be right back, okay?” She nodded as she watched the two men head off and Marinette turned to Alya growling, “Why didn’t you stop him?”

“Girl! I told him to wait, he didn’t listen. What happened?”

“He asked me out and before I could even answer him… we kept getting interrupted.” Marinette glanced over at the drink table where Adrien was now in conversation with two people, Nino at his side. Her thoughts were jumping all over the place and while she knew this was the perfect time to put her plan into action, she was suddenly nervous. What if he didn’t show? What if he took her departure as a negative. Biting her lip, she glanced to Alya and then back to the men and sighed, “Okay, Alya, listen, I need you to do something for me.”

“Anything.”

“Follow me.” Marinette hurried over to a table and leaned down, opening her purse, she took out the envelope and a pen. Pulling the paper out, she quickly wrote a “Yes” and then stuck the paper back in the envelope.

“What are you doing?” Alya asked as Marinette felt her lean down next to her.

“Listen, when Adrien comes back, I need you to give him this envelope. It’s really important. And please don’t open it… it’s private. Promise me?” Marinette pushed the envelope into Alya’s hands. It felt like a bomb waiting to explode.

“Of course, I’ll make sure he gets it, but what’s going on.” Alya looked concerned, but Marinette knew she only had minutes if she wanted this to work out how she planned.

“Everything fine… I just need to do something really quick. Promise me you’ll give it to him?”

“I will. Don’t worry Nette, you can count on me.” Marinette glanced over to the drinks again and as her eyes locked with Adrien’s, she gave him a small smile before turning and rushing out of the room.

She hurried through the showroom and up the stairs. She hurried out into the parking lot and glanced around. Seeing the parking lot was free of bystanders, Marinette opened her purse with a smirk.

“Tikki?”

“You ready Marinette?” Tikki flew up into her face, her own smile reflected back. Glancing around one more time, Marinette nodded and whispered, “Tikki, spot’s on!”

As the magic covered her body, Marinette felt a rush she hadn’t felt in four years. A part of her wanted to cry, a part of her wanted to scream out in terror or joy, she wasn’t sure. Tossing her yo-yo, Ladybug launched herself into the Paris sky, hoping it wouldn’t be long before her kitty followed.

Chapter Text

Swinging her legs, Ladybug sat at the edge of the building looking over the Trocadero Gardens observing the Eiffel Tower. It reminded her of nights so long ago, of nights just like this one. Swinging through Paris with her Yo-yo had never felt more freeing than it did after fleeing the party. Nerves were cascading throughout her body as she waited, hoping that he wouldn’t take too long. Of course, it wasn’t like he could abandon his party, so there she sat legs swinging as she debated detransforming so she could at least talk to Tikki for a bit.

As she looked out over her city, the city she loved, she could see the people below going about their business, lost in their own worlds and she couldn’t help to be excited about the life of hers, the life that was about to change. At least, that’s what she hoped. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, the sun was almost fully set in the distance, when she heard the unmistakable sound of boots hitting the rooftop behind her.

She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, but didn’t move from her position. She bit her lip as tears started to well up in her eyes and as he approached, Ladybug took a deep breath before turning.

Her eyes met his, the vibrant green stared back at her as the first tears slipped down her cheeks. He mostly looked the same, just older and a little sadder. He carried a bag in one hand and a drink carrier in the other. He had a soft smile on his face as she stood facing him.

“I got treats.” He spoke hesitantly and Ladybug felt a soft giggle escape her lips.

“You always do.” She found herself whispering as she stepped forward, closing the distance between them, “Did Maman give you a hard time?”

“You know she pawsitively adores me. Couldn’t have been more excited actually. Pretty sure she’s already expecting a wedding.” He winked at her before holding out the coffee and bakery bag. Ladybug shook her head before taking it from him, merely setting them both down on the rooftop next to her. As much as she appreciated his thoughtfulness, treats were the last thing she wanted right now.

After setting the items down, she stepped forward until they were inches apart. The tears slipped down her cheeks, and she was pretty sure he had his own. As her eyes bore into his, Ladybug let out a small squeak before whispering, “I missed you,” then flinging herself into his arms as a sob erupted out of her.

“I’m so sorry.” He whispered into her hair, and together they both sank to the rooftop. She refused to let him go now, he was here, and she was never letting him go as he continued to speak, “I’m sorry I hurt you so much.”

“Stop.”

She pulled away slightly, looking into his face, her heart racing, “Please. Don’t. Chat.” She paused taking a deep breath, “I don’t need your apologies, I really don’t. You were hurting and I… I didn’t make it easier on you.”

“No, Bug, you didn’t do anything wrong.” Chat murmured into her hair again. Ladybug hiccupped as another round of tears spilled out. She knew she wasn’t composing herself very well. The guilt of what happened between them was like a hole in her heart and it wouldn’t just go away.

“I did plenty.” She whispered against his chest. She hated how much pain they had inflicted on each other because of their secret identities, because his father had to have been the one they were fighting. It never should have been that way.

“Bug, I promise you di…”

“No. Chat.” She sighed, closing her eyes briefly, “Adrien, we both did things we wouldn’t have because of the masks, because of the secrets.” She looked up, touching his cheek with her hand, “It’s all gone now. No more secrets, no more lies. No more blaming. We both were hurt and caused hurt… okay?”

Chat chuckled slightly as he nodded. There was no doubt how much she still loved this man and when she cuddled up into him and smiled, she murmured, “I’ve never stopped loving you.”

She felt Chat relax against her slightly before he pulled away looking down at her, “Even knowing I’m… well, me?”

“Even knowing you’re you. I fell for Chat so long ago, and when Adrien started burrowing himself into my heart, well, it made my love even stronger when I realized they were one in the same.” She needed him to know how much she loved him, that Chat and Adrien completed a puzzle she didn’t know she was trying to solve.

“Oh Marinette, I’m so very much in love with you.” He leaned down placing a kiss to her forehead, but before he could move away, Ladybug reached up, hand against his cheek again and whimpered, “Please?”

His eyes seemed to glow as he looked down at her. She could feel her heart thumping against her ribs as she bit her lip. He moved slowly at first, then faster as their lips connected. His lips were soft as he moved against her, smelling of leather, the bakery and tenderness. She moved back against him, feeling his desperation against hers. His kiss deepened, as did hers. She moved, he followed as if he was afraid that she’d disappear. She groaned, her lips pulled away slightly, but he chased her, and she was unable to stop the flood of emotions hitting all at once. She could kiss this man forever. She could love this man forever. Breathless and panting, he suddenly pulled away, leaving Ladybug wanting more. He laid his forehead against hers, as their breath mingled with the Paris night sky.

“I missed you so much. These last few weeks… I thought I was losing my mind. I wanted you to be Ladybug so bad, and I felt so guilty about everything.” He whispered, his lips brushing hers. She closed the distance kissing him again, this time without hesitation. This was her kitty after all, and nothing would part them again. Her mind was set. Pulling back slightly, she murmured, “I love you. I was… so torn about my feelings for Chat and my feelings for Adrien… I just…” Letting the words trail off, their lips met again, sending them both reeling. Her hands were lost in his hair, his hands held her back, pulling her close. It was like time and space only existed for them. Like no time had passed, but that it had, and Ladybug wouldn’t change anything anymore.

It was moments, or maybe hours, before she felt him pull away and sigh. He cuddled her, as he scooted them both closer to the bakery items he had brought.

“We could do this all night.” He muttered against her hair, “The coffee is getting cold and there’s still some things we should discuss.” Ladybug groaned sending a small pout his way, “Like what?”

“Like us. You technically work for me… like what we do from here… like what do we tell Alya and Nino? I mean, your mother already knows about us so…” He smiled at her, kissing her forehead before reaching into the bag and pulling out a Pain Du Chocolate and holding it out for her to bite.

She giggled as she took a bite, then sighed, “You’re right, as always.”

“Aw My Lady, was that a compliment?” He nuzzled her head, and she swatted him away with a grin, “Hardly. As for us… well, I am hoping we could pick up where we left off… if you’re okay with that.” He smirked at her, and she laughed, smacking his arm, “Not what we were doing seconds ago, I mean, before… you know, everything that happened.”

“I know, I know. I’m just teasing. I’d like that too. I… don’t want to lose you, ever again.” They cuddled and Ladybug sighed in happiness.

“Also, technically, I don’t work for you anymore. And…” She grinned glancing up at him, “I think we should tell Alya the truth. There’s nothing out there to hide our identities from and… we’re talking about Alya here, can you imagine her reaction?”

“You may kill her. Actually though… I don’t know how you never told her before.” Chat chuckled and she knew he was right. How had she been able to keep her secret from Alya of all people this long. Turning slightly, as he handed her the coffee, she took a drink, savoring the taste against her lips. Eyes half lidded, Ladybug glanced up at him, before leaning in letting her breath graze over his lips. Her eyes met his as he captured her lips one more time. Giggling she pushed away, “Now, now Kitty, I thought we needed to talk.”

“I was wrong. More kisses, less talking.” Chat purred at her and Ladybug wiggled away from him. He was caught off          guard as she moved and when she looked down at him, she laughed at the pout on his face.

“You’ll have to cat-ch me.” She winked as she darted to the edge of the building. She jumped, tossing her yo-yo as she went, letting the string catch a light pole as she moved. Hitting the ground below, she ignored the excited gasps of the crowd that was walking the area. She knew Chat would be right behind her, so she ran, throwing the yo-yo again, capturing another light pole. Giggles escaped, as she landed again, pausing to look back, only for him to collide with her, sending them both rolling through the grass. The rolling ended as he trapped her underneath him. He always won, and she knew it. She used to let him think that she let him win on purpose, but now she was certain he just knew that to be the case.

Ladybug let out a noise, somewhere between a laugh and a snort as he stared down at her. She wasn’t expecting to get caught so quickly, but that didn’t stop her from playing with him.

“My Lady!” He exclaimed, “You tricked me!”

“Aw Kitty, I knew you could take it.” She whispered leaning up and giving him a peck on the lips before leaning back down. The shocked look on his face was enough to set her into giggles again.

“Oh no, no, Little Bug, you aren’t getting away that easy.” Chat leaned back down, allowing their lips to meet one more time. She eagerly kissed him, allowing her mouth to slant against his before reality set in and she giggled, pushing him away.

“Behave Kitty, we have company. Keep it up and I won’t let the stray follow me home.”

“You wound me!” Chat laughed, sitting back on his legs before helping her to her feet, “Fancy a race around Paris like we used to…?” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, and she bit her lip, tilting her head, “Only if you’re prepared to lose!”

Freeing herself from him completely, she jumped up, waving at the people standing nearby watching them and tossed her yo-yo. The wind caught her hair as she flew towards the Eiffel tower, the start of their race point. She hadn’t felt so blissful since his disappearance four years ago. As the joy washed over her, Ladybug reached the top of the Tower waiting for Chat Noir to join her and looked over the city they used to protect.

***

“Marinette! Open this door!”  

Marinette groaned rolling in her bed, she definitely didn’t want to leave the warmth she currently was experiencing. As she moved, she giggled as Adrien’s arms reached out pulling her back to him.

“Just ignore her,” He murmured into her neck. Marinette snuggled back into her boyfriend’s arms and sighed.

“MARINETTE! COME ON! WE NEED TO TALK!”

“She’ll go away.” Adrien whispered holding tight to her.

“She won’t. Come on, Kitty. Let’s face the music. You know exactly why she’s here.” Marinette turned back, kissing him lightly, “This is our own fault, and she is the Ladyblogger.”

Adrien groaned before pouting at her, “Fine. Like we talked last night?”

“Exactly.”

“MARINETTE! YOUR NEIGHBORS ARE GUNNA KILL ME!”

Rolling her eyes, Marinette gave Adrien one last kiss before rolling off the bed and grabbing her robe from behind her door. Heading out into the living room, she made her way to the door and unlocked it allowing Alya to enter.

“Great! It’s about time! What took you so long? There’s big news, and on the night of your collection release! Check it out!” Alya ignored Marinette’s snort as she hurried to the TV flipping it on before changing channel after channel. When she finally settled on one, Marinette had to stifle a giggle. There on the screen was a video of Chat pouncing on her which led to a very heated kiss.

“They’re back!” Alya exclaimed, turning to look at Marinette. Her eyes were wide and full of excitement.

“I see that. Looks like they had quite the night, now Alya, I had an eventful night myself, so…” Marinette glanced at the bedroom wondering at which point Adrien would make his appearance.

Alya smirked, “Oh, I bet you did… and we will get to that, trust me. But first, listen, since you guys did that collection, do you think maybe you can get them to come forward… think maybe they would do an interview with me… I mean, they disappeared and now they’re back?” Alya eyes were wide and pleading. Marinette bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at Alya’s excitement.

“I don’t know Alya, I mean… maybe they just want some privacy.” Marinette murmured, reaching out and putting her hand on her friend’s shoulder.
“Aw come on Bugaboo, I think an interview would be just purrfect, don’t you agree?” Adrien purred as he stepped out of the bedroom. Marinette’s heart raced again as he stood partially in the doorway, shirtless and hair a mess. Alya looked from between Adrien and Marinette, eyes wide.

“You know what, Kitty, I think you’re right. Alya, we’d be happy to give you an interview. When do you want to do it?” Marinette grinned at her best friend who only stood there, mouth agape.

“Your…?” Alya’s eyes flickered to Adrien, before turning back to Marinette, “You..?”

“Sorry I couldn’t tell you Alya… this Kitty here had disappeared on me and well, a promise is a promise.” Marinette grinned, glancing at Adrien who chuckled, “You mean a Pawmise.”

Marinette’s head dropped facing the ground as Adrien laughed crossing the distance to put his arm around her.

“But, how?” Alya screeched, her arms flailing slightly as she looked between the two of them.

“How what?” Marinette smirked. She was enjoying Alya’s freak out a little too much and by the look on Adrien’s face, he was as well.

“You’ve been Ladybug this whole time? And… and Adrien Chat? But, but you… you weren’t together, together like… before?” Alya stuttered and Marinette could only laugh.

“This whole time Alya. Adrien was Chat Noir, but I didn’t know that; he didn’t know who I was either. After his father’s arrest,” Marinette winced, it was still a little raw for them both, “He couldn’t cope and left…. He gave up his Miraculous and well, I gave up too. Lucky for us… we found each other again.”

“Lucky for you? Lucky for us you mean!” came a voice from the doorway of the bedroom and they all turned to see Plagg and Tikki floating there. They heard Tikki sigh quietly before she murmured, “Don’t mind him, he’s actually happy,” before she grabbed Plagg by the tail dragging him off again.

Alya blinked a couple of times before looking at Marinette again.

“Don’t worry about them.”

“Okay… back to the matter at hand, this whole time, I’ve… you… why didn’t you tell me?” Alya gestured around the room and Marinette sighed, “I’m sorry. Until I could tell Chat my identity, I didn’t want anyone else knowing and honestly, I never thought I’d be Ladybug again, so to me… it was no big deal anymore.”

“I… I’m just,” Alya started before glaring at Adrien, “And you! You just left! My girl, she pined over you! Wait… oooh you both are idiots. Pining over each other pining over your other selves, you’re both complete idiots.” Alya stomped her foot as she shook her head.
“Hey now! Identities were secret! We didn’t know!” Adrien defended and Marinette could only laugh. Alya wasn’t wrong, they both had moved on, to move on to their civilian forms while also being still caught up on their superhero selves. They were absolutely ridiculous.

“Okay, okay Alya, we get it. Did you want the interview or not?” Marinette interrupted them both and raised her eyebrows expectedly.

“Of course I do! This is a tale of a lifetime!” Alya grinned, looking between them both.

“Our identities must still be a secret though.” Marinette looked stern but smiled. While she wanted Alya to have an amazing interview, she and Chat had decided besides their close friends, they still wanted their identities to remain a secret.

“Of course, of course! Don’t worry, I’d never tell… well… you guys will need to tell Nino because I cannot keep this from him.” Alya looked worried and Marinette laughed, “Of course, Nino is on the list, okay.”

“Awesome, great. I’ll… uh, start writing questions. Can we make a video? Maybe somewhere else,” she glanced around the room, “A little more nonchalant.”

“Of course, Alya. You aren’t mad, right?”

“What? No way! My best friend and her boyfriend,” She paused and gestured to them again, “Boyfriend, right?” Marinette nodded, it was about time, she thought, and Adrien leaned down kissing her forehead allowing a squeal to escape from Alya’s lips, “Anyway, my best friend and her boyfriend are Ladybug and Chat Noir. This is like… the greatest day ever. I’ll just uh, leave you guys now… I should start prepping for the interview anyway, I’ll call you later girl… remember, I want details of this…” She gestured to them once again before heading towards the door.

“Wait!” Adrien called, letting Marinette go briefly. As Alya turned back, Marinette glanced up at Adrien in confusion, “I have the purrfect name for your article.”

Alya frowned, “Okay…”

Adrien looked down at Marinette and smirked before turning back to Alya, “Lost But Never Fur-gotten!”

Both women groaned as Marinette smacked him gently on the arm.

“Not happening Adrien,” Alya shook her head before opening the front door. Marinette giggled as Adrien pouted before his eyes lit up and he shouted, “WAIT ALYA!” Marinette could hear Alya groan from the doorway before she turned back eyebrows raised, “I’m afraid.”

“This one is better… how about An A-Mew-Sing Tail. Get it, like Tail, like my cat’s tail.” Adrien’s smile covered his face and Marinette had to bury her face in her hands as Alya whispered, “I just can’t with you.”

Alya left the apartment shutting the door behind her as Marinette shuffled her arms around her boyfriend’s waist.

“I thought it was good.” Adrien shrugged and Marinette felt like she could never have loved a man more.

“I love you, Kitty.”

“Aw my Lady, I love you too…” He leaned down, kissing her lightly as the two of them headed back into Marinette’s bedroom. Marinette knew there was nowhere else she’d rather be, than in the arms of the person she loved and who loved her.