Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Alya was rocketing through the snow in a second, her snowball clutched to her chest as she barrelled towards the boys and she loosed it and swerved at the last second, passing them by with a gleeful cry before they'd even seen her coming. She raced over to where Marinette was crouched behind the bandstand and dropped to her knees with a screech of laughter that made Marinette laugh even harder.

"Oh-mygod- oh-mygod- Alya- you- queen- see- their- faces!?"

She was clutching her sides, laughter pouring from her quicker than air could reach her lungs.

"Hear their screams!" Alya howled in triumph, her laughter pairing with Marinette's and filling the air of the park around them.

LBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLBLB

"You just want Alya because she has the best arm!" Marinette hollered back, dodging a badly-thrown snowball.

"That's not true!" Nino cried. "I just think we should level out the teams a bit! I mean Adrien, man, I love you bro but you suck!"

Adrien's laugh could be heard despite the muffling of the snow and Marinette's heart fluttered and skipped. He had the most wonderful laugh. Alya nudged her with her elbow, and flashed her a wicked grin. Marinette didn't have time to ask what she was up to before her friend had poked her head back out of their hiding spot.

"I'll swap you for Marinette!" she shouted, laughing when Marinette threw her a mock-betrayed look.

They waited for Nino to call back.

"Compromise!" he shouted eventually. "You and me, yeah!?"

"That sounds like a date, Nino!" Marinette called out before her friend could reply, desperate to level out Alya's betrayal. She flashed Alya a wicked grin of her own, catching her by surprise with her boldness. "She'll need a better proposal than that!"

Alya gaped, her cheeks flaming in a rare blush. Marinette had surprised herself with that. It just went to show how much two hours of screaming and running around in the snow in fight mode made her feel like LadyBug. She was full of energy despite how awfully cold it was, and she felt invincible.

Even though really she sucked.

"Be my partner, Alya?"

Nino's voice rang out, sounding very much like he was embarrassed. As Alya shot Marinette a skeptical look he added something else.

"Be the LadyBug to my Cat Noir?"

Marinette's mouth dropped open as she locked eyes with Alya. Now that was a line. Alya turned scarlet as she stared back at Marinette. Her lips were moving but she wasn't making any noise.

OhMyGod-OhMyGod-OhMyGod

Marinette grinned, nodding hurriedly as she pointed out across the no-man's land between the four of them. The battle had begun with most of their class and had been intense and brutal but now it had dwindled, people leaving to attend after school clubs and heading home. Marinette had reminded Adrien in an embarrassing squeak that he had Fencing practice but he'd shrugged and thrown a snowball at her, saying he'd much rather be where he was.

Alya had had to drag her back to safety because her legs wouldn't work.

He'd rather be here.

"She totally accepts!" Marinette squealed, pushing Alya in the direction of the boys as her friend looked on, starry-eyed.

"Go for it, Alya! I mean he knows you so well!"

Alya looked back at her, grinning as she seemed to come back to earth.

"He- what a line!"

"I know!" Marinette laughed, shoving her. "Go be his LadyBug!"

Alya stepped out, hands up. "Truce! I'm coming out!"

Marinette sat with her back against the bandstand foundation, closing her eyes as she settled her breathing. All of this exertion and her excitement for Alya was making her heart race. The cold was setting in properly, chilled fingers clutching her skin. But she was okay for now. She'd keep an eye on it though.

She had bundled Tikki in her rucksack instead of her clutch that day, stuffing it full of scarves and fleecy material and a thermos of hot water she'd refilled before leaving school. She was going to make the Kwami mittens that night, had the pattern made already, along with a design for a snowsuit. It'd be tricky working on something so small but the ladybug Kwami didn't deal well with the cold.

She opened her eyes in surprise as a body dropped down next to her. She looked up to tell Alya she shouldn't back down but it wasn't Alya who was sitting in the snow next to her.

Oh.

That's right.

With Alya as Nino's partner Marinette now had Nino's previous partner for her own.

Adrien.

She blushed as she mumbled a hello, and he grinned at her. He looked at her with vivid green eyes that glinted with his joy from the snow. His cheeks were red from the cold and his lips were chapped and his hair was wind-ruffled in a familiar way she couldn't place. She didn't think she'd ever seen him look less than picture perfect, and it was just as well because the wind-swept look did something crazy to her insides.

"Hey, Mari." he said breathlessly, and her heart scrabbled in her chest.

After months of friendship Adrien had taken to calling her Mari for short, to match up with Nino's nickname of Nett. Alya called her Girl so often she never really used her real name unless she was shouting for her. It made her feel warm and fuzzy to be given nicknames, even the annoying ones that Cat gave her. They had grown close as a crime-fighting duo and her walls were less imposing than they used to be. They had many pet names for each other, some to show affection and some to simply bug each other.

Hearing Adrien call her Mari made her gooey inside.

"Hi." she peeped, making him smile.

He'd grown to accept her stumbles and stutters and how embarrassed and shy she got all the time. He worked on it by being patient and waiting for her to get out what she wanted to say. Although the sweetness of such an attitude made her heart flutter more, the patience he had for her was working. Slowly but surely.

Some days she even made it through the whole school day without feeling like she wanted to run and hide her burning face.

Success, right?

"I'm pretty rubbish at this." he added with an apologetic grin.

She watched him peek around the corner.

"And I can practically hear them scheming. We're going to be massacred."

He looked at her with a smile. She blushed and thanked the weather that it would just look like she was cold. Which she was. Sitting still in the snow was not the same as diving around in it. She hoped Tikki was okay. She'd packed extra cookies today just to be sure the Kwami could fight off the cold with lots of energy.

"I am every year." she told him, her voice only pitching a little. "The o-only reason I was doing okay this year was b-because of Alya."

Adrien laughed, and the sound made Marinette ridiculously happy. She grinned to herself as he turned to look around the corner again to keep a look-out for sneak attacks. Marinette couldn't help but compare him to Noir right then, as silly as that was. She had seen the feline do the exact same thing on multiple occasions, peering around the corner of a chimney followed by him turning around to shoot her his favourite smirk and make some sort of joke. When Adrien turned back he just smiled at her.

"I'm sure that's not true."

She nodded vigorously, shivering as she felt the cold flush down her turtleneck when she did so.

"O-oh definitely. You've seen me- c-clumsy Marinette. Imagine last year, poor Nino got stuck with me the wh-whole day."

She wasn't sure how much of her stammering was down to her nerves at having him so close and how much was the cold. Either way it wasn't out of place. Adrien's eyes were patient and as he listened to her, and her chest felt warm.

He's so kind.

"Well, you can't be much worse than me. I'm so rubbish."

Marinette chuckled. The air chilled her throat but she was sitting in the snow next to Adrien and it was so nice that it made up for the cold.

"At least y-you have an excuse. I've been rubbish at s-snowball fights my whole l-life and I take part every year."

He grinned again, the expression teasing and playful. His eyes were glittering, so very very green against the white world. He looked like some form of angel with his vivid eyes and golden hair, covered in falling snow. She smiled. She did that a lot around him.

"Well, lets be rubbish together then. And we can hope that the superhero duo over there are too busy bickering to beat us."

She giggled, spluttering as she laughed at the thought. It was true. Alya and Nino bickered all the time. Pleasantly, of course, only rarely with any heat. They were incredibly well matched and Marinette couldn't wait for the day Alya would tell her it'd finally happened. They wouldn't admit it to Marinette but she'd seen the way Alya looked at Nino, and she'd seen the way his amber eyes watched her when she was in a passionate LadyBug spiel.

They were so oblivious.

"It was a line and a half, non?" she chuckled when she caught her breath and Adrien laughed, his eyes flashing.

"Indeed. Worthy of the Cat himself, I think."

Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Please. It was much better than his lines. He's the feline king of bad puns."

Adrien raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really?"

Marinette forgot quite often that she didn't actually know Cat that well as Marinette. She grinned sheepishly.

"Well, uhm, yeah. I've spent some time with him. And LadyBug tells me some of them sometimes."

Phew. Nice save.

As always, mentioning LadyBug made people think how awesome it was that she knew a superhero and the subject would change.

"I think it's so cool that you know her." Adrien said.

She smiled and looked away. She crossed her arms, and then changed her mind and got back up into a crouch, rolling snow into balls and piling them by her side.

"Good idea."

She grinned at Adrien's praise. It was a good idea that they have ammunition ready against two of the best snowballers in their class. But she also need to start moving around. Her toes were starting to go really numb and her fingers were heavy inside her gloves.

She was turning to speak when there was a thump and something landed behind her. By the time she'd turned around Alya was sprinting away and cackling, leaving Marinette covered in snow and gasping in surprise.

Caught out by her own idea.

"You oka- Hey!"

Adrien had been hit too and it was officially on.

With just the four of them playing they soon abandoned their trenches for the freedom of running around the whole park, diving through the closed carousel and ducking behind the horses, sliding down the small slope at the other end and using the fountain as cover.

Another hour had elapsed before it was finally called to an end and the last of their snow was thrown. Marinette had loved every minute but couldn't deny she was looking forward to heading home. Tikki would be freezing by now, and she didn't want her little friend getting sick again.

She headed over to her rucksack, feeling guilty to see the small inch of snow layered on the top. She unzipped it under the pretence of looking for something and checked on Tikki.

"C-Cold!" Tikki wailed, but she was still healthy.

Marinette rubbed her head with her hand and promised they were heading home now. She jumped when Adrien tapped her shoulder and hurriedly zipped the rucksack back up.

"You need a ride? You look really cold and my driver's here anyway."

She stammered before agreeing, trying to ignore the wolf whistle from Nino and Alya's suggestive expression. Adrien seemed not to hear them as he led her over to the limo. They waved goodbye to the others before scooting inside and closing the doors against the snow.

"It's falling heavier now." Adrien murmured, looking out of the window with a thoughtful expression.

"M-mmhm-mm." she chattered, the warmth of the car making her aware of how cold she really was and her proximity to Adrien making it hard to think.

She'd never been too great with the cold, but she hadn't been quite this cold before in previous years. Not when she wrapped up like she was now and had only been out a few hours. The winter must be colder than usual, but nobody seemed to have noticed. Weird.

"Are you okay, Mari? You're shaking quite a lot."

She nodded, giving him an apologetic look.

"Yeah. S-sorry. I dunno why I'm s-so cold."

He was concerned for her and it made her heart melt. There was no way she was getting over Adrien any time soon. He was a darling. He smiled back but his eyes were still a little worried. She widened her smile more to convince him.

"I'll have a hot shower wh-when I get in. I'll b-be right as r-rain."

Chapter Text

The driver pulled up outside of the bakery and Marinette tried to untangle herself from her seatbelt with numb fingers while simultaneously trying to lift her rucksack from the floor and twist her jacket-padded body around. She was just reaching for the handle when the door opened for her. Adrien offered her his hand, a smile playing on his lips. She felt her face burning as she accepted.

"Th-thanks."

He gave her a grin and a mock-bow, just like the one he'd given her when he came to translate for her Uncle. Just like Cat Noir often did. It was such an odd comparison that she giggled, unable to explain it to Adrien's curious eyes.

"It's n-nothing. Want t-to come in? My mum makes a m-mean hot-chocolate."

She hadn't really meant to ask but once she had she was glad. If she'd stopped to think she probably wouldn't have managed it. Adrien gave her a surprised glance before he smiled widely.

"Yes, please!"

He explained to his driver, sending him off home with a promise he'd call Nathalie. He closed the door and led the way, his hand still closed warmly around hers. She thought she might die of happiness.

Her mother fussed over her, peeling her from her coat and boots and sending her straight through to the downstairs bathroom to change into the top and thick leggings she had hung over the towel warmer for her. Even dry socks.

Marinette snuggled into the clothes as she came back through, savouring the heat in the material. Adrien was perched on one of the stools behind the counter as her dad walked him through rolling the perfect croissant. Adrien was eagerly following his instruction, and as much as it made her face burn to see Adrien looking so calm and comfortable in her own habitat it filled her with a wave of affection too.

She knew Adrien's home wasn't as warm and inviting as her own. The few times she'd stopped by she'd gotten the distinct feeling that it was always cold and stiff, just like his father. He may be Paris's best designer and her own idol, but he wasn't a very good parent when it came down to support and connection. Sure, Adrien's room was incredible, and in a winter like this she would probably live in a shower-room like his if given the choice, but there was an air in that house that made her feel unwelcome, even when Adrien insisted she stay for dinner.

"You know, employees are supposed to be paid, papa." she teased, leaning over his shoulder to kiss his cheek hello.

He looked at her with his familiar welcoming expression and nodded towards Adrien as the boy attempted to copy what he'd seen. The very tip of his tongue was poking out the side of his mouth in concentration and it made Marinette's stomach lurch.

"It's a lesson, Marzipanette, not a shift."

Marinette laughed at the old nickname, reaching around them both for spare dough as she made her way to the opposite side of the counter. She felt her skin warming under Adrien's warm chuckle, but wasn't brave enough to meet his gaze. She wasn't really supposed to work from the customer side but the shop was quiet and she wanted to work with them instead of at the counter all the way at the back.

She flattened the dough out with the heels of her hands as she hummed under her breath, twisting it the way she had a thousand times before and checking the thickness was just right before she took the knife from the worktop and made the lines she needed. She rolled, careful to keep it even and moved on to the second quarter of her dough.

She was pressing down the point of her fourth croissant when she glanced back up, finding Adrien's eyes watching her with an awed expression. She blushed, looking down at her hands and finishing up.

"You're brilliant." Adrien said simply, turning his gaze to his own attempt and laughing. "I think I need some practice. Make that lots of practice."

"You're welcome to drop by any time, Adrien dear."

Her mother appeared with hot chocolates, earning her a round of thanks.

"Thanks, Mrs Dupain-Cheng." Adrien smiled politely, accepting his mug.

Her mother laughed and answered him the way she always did.

"Call me Sabine, dear."

As always Adrien smiled shyly and nodded, everyone knowing fine he wouldn't. Marinette wrapped her hands around her own mug, closing her eyes as the heat tingled down her fingers and into her arms. She had hung her coat over the towel warmer with Tikki in the inside pocket so that the Kwami could nap in the heat. She caught sight of Adrien's coat where it hung on the door to the back room.

"I'll hang your jacket up on the heater." she said, setting down her mug.

Adrien looked up as though in alarm but then he simply gave her an uneasy nod and a thank you and watched her walk through to the bathroom. She hooked the hood over the opposite side of the towel-warmer, turning the setting up another level. She reached into Tikki's pocket to rub her fingertip over the Kwami's head in affection.

"Hey Tikki. Feeling better now?"

Her big blue eyes opened and she yawned.

"Yes, Marinette. Thank you for the cookie."

Marinette grinned. Tikki was so adorable.

"Is it warm enough? Do you want me to turn it up further?"

Tikki yawned again and shook her head.

"No thank you. It's warm enough to keep a cat happy in here. I love being warm in winter."

Marinette laughed, tucking the sleeve of Adrien's jacket that was sticking out onto one of the rungs so that the heat would get to it.

"Maybe we should ask Noir to come by and he can nap on the rug, huh?"

Tikki giggled sleepily and with one last pet Marinette left her to sleep, closing the door to keep the heat in. Adrien looked up when she walked back in and he seemed to relax when she smiled back at him. Odd, but okay. Maybe his jacket was like super expensive and he was worried she'd damage it. She didn't blame him, she was clumsy enough to do so.

"It'll be warm for you leaving." she smiled, and he grinned back at her.

"You're so thoughtful, Mari." he replied. "Thank you."

Her dad was putting their croissants in the oven and she helped Adrien sweep the countertop clean before wrapping her fingers back around the heat of her mug, trying to disguise her blush as best she could.

"There. They shouldn't take too long. Thanks for cleaning."

Her dad sent a friendly look between the two teens and although Marinette had long since asked him not to make jokes at their expense she was always a little worried he would. He was a father after all. He smiled at her.

"How was the war?"

The class snowball battle was a yearly occurrence. They'd likely have several as winter caught hold of Paris but the first was a tradition that had to take place on the first proper snow and was compulsory attendance. The first day was decided as such by the class majority beforehand. That morning they had debated and it had been pretty much unanimous that the snow lay deep enough. Her father must have known, probably guessed when he saw the state they were in and how late she came home. She grinned.

"It was brilliant, as always papa."

Tom was pleased. Marinette had always been a quiet girl, friendly with her classmates but not really one for best friends. The closest she had probably had in high school before Alya and Adrien came along had been Nino, and they'd hardly spent any time together outside of school. She had been to Mylène's a few times but otherwise she had always been pretty content in her own company.

Alya had had a massive impact on his daughter, and the more frequent appearances of Nino were welcome. As was the addition of Adrien, the boy who his daughter clearly had her eye on no matter how she protested. He looked to Adrien with a twinkle in his eye.

"Your first battle, Adrien? How did it go?"

Adrien smiled as he retold the tale, possibly exaggerating their own strikes but hey, who's counting? When he finished her father laughed. It was a deep-bellied laugh, homely and comfortable just like he was. Adrien had often felt a little out of place and overwhelmed during his visits to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, but it didn't happen quite so much now.

He grinned with Tom as they checked the ovens, ready to take the croissants out. Marinette busied herself with gathering jams and chocolate cream, and though she almost dropped the jar she was holding when Adrien appeared to help, she got over her stammering pretty quickly. They were becoming better friends every day and it was lovely.

They ate warm croissants and jam and croissants and chocolate and made cheesebread for dinner before Adrien really had to go. Marinette wrapped him some pastries and some of their bread at the last minute and Adrien had given her a grin as though they were sharing a secret as he tucked the bread into his pocket.

Chapter Text

She daydreamed in her room and barely got any homework done before it was time to set out on patrol, and she reluctantly roused Tikki.

"I'm sorry, Tikki. We'll be as quick as we can tonight, I'm sure Cat will understand."

The little Kwami yawned, and when she opened her eyes she gave Marinette a wide smile.

"I'm sure he will, Marinette." she replied with a giggle.

Marinette wondered what was so funny about that, but then Tikki was stretching and making adorable noises as she woke up fully and Marinette was too busy petting her head to ask.

"Okay Tikki." she said when the Kwami was ready, "Spots on!"

It was definitely wintery outside, and the temperature had dropped considerably since the afternoon. The suit kept Marinette warm as she became LadyBug, but she was aware of the cold and promised herself that she would be careful of it. She swung through Paris's quiet streets, listening for the tell-tale sound that would indicate her partner's arrival.

And there it was. The soft tinkle of his bell and the gentle sound of his feet as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop. She turned her head to see him and he shot her a grin in greeting. She laughed, pleased to feel the warmth her partner always brought with him. She loved being LadyBug, and she loved swinging through the night in their city with the black cat who inspired her and infuriated her in equal measure.

She breathed in the cold air and despite the chill she let out a whoop of glee as she released her yo-yo and soared towards the next chimney. She could hear Cat's laughter as he joined her, and they raced like they always did before ending up by the eiffel tower. Perched on one of the middle decks they finally caught their breath, looking down and across the sparkle of Paris in the snow.

"You're looking purrfectly spectacular tonight, my lady."

Cat complimented her when they were settled, looking at her with his glinting green eyes and his trademark grin. She rolled her eyes but smiled as she looked back at him.

"You're in a good mood."

He shrugged, grinning and setting his gaze on the street below.

"I have good friends, milady. It's been a good day."

She smiled at him, pleased to see the way in which her partner smiled. She knew he flirted with her constantly and it was annoying and got in the way at times but she cared deeply for the feline. Lately she had found her wandering brain wondering if there wasn't an Adrien would she…

And then she would realise what she was thinking and scold herself for entertaining the notion. Cat was a flirt, a reckless and boisterous tease, and Marinette didn't need that in her life. She needed someone quiet, calm, collected. Someone with some self-control. Someone loyal.

She felt guilty then, looking away from the black cat beside her.

Cat was loyal.

Cat was so loyal it got him into trouble when they fought, his reckless behaviour often throwing her out of harm's way so that he could take the blow that may damage their chances of defeating an akuma if it hit her.

It was a pointless line of thought anyway, she always reminded herself when she started to feel confused. There was an Adrien, and he was perfect in every way and Marinette was determined to get to know him better. And lately she was succeeding. Talking to him was easier, and he spent time with her outside of school and away from Alya and Nino now too, so that was progress.

Despite how desperately in love she had been with him since that day in the rain when she had seen the eagerness to befriend her written in his eyes and shining in the sad loneliness, the want to be his friend was greater. If it came to it she wasn't sure whether she'd choose her love for him over a possible friendship.

Why was love so complicated?

"What's on your mind? You look pawsitively distracted."

Cat was sitting beside her, relaxed out of his usual crouch, leaning back on the flats of his hands and swinging his legs over the edge. She smiled at him. He was incredibly frustrating with his constant cheekiness and his devil-may-care attitude, but when he was happy it made her happy.

Not that she'd ever tell him.

Urgh, the things he would say if he knew.

Best not to think about it.

"I had a good day myself." she told him instead, thinking of the sight of Adrien in her bakery, hands covered in flour and the smile on his face.

She felt the familiar little stab of sadness that he didn't have that sort of atmosphere at home. She thought of the snowball fight and smiled to herself before she could help it. Cat cocked his head as he watched her, the expression sweet and lovely on her face. He felt the familiar pang that he couldn't make her look like that. Try as he might LadyBug pushed him away at every twist and turn.

One day.

One day he would manage to convince her to give him a chance.

One day he would find out who was beneath the mask and he would show her who was, who he could really be.

Still, despite the jealousy it was wonderful to see her smile so.

"Has my lady another suitor?" he purred, creeping close beside her to gauge her reaction.

She laughed, pushing his face away gently with one hand. Her eyes flashed at him, amused and annoyed and he grinned. He liked being able to put that expression on her face too. He would guess he might be the only one able to. And that made him smug.

"Now, now. You know that's none of your business Kitty."

He simply smirked unabashedly as he snuck into her personal space again.

"That wasn't a denial." he purred, his eyes gleaming wickedly as he watched her shoot him a surprised look. And was that uncertainty there? LadyBug was rarely anything less than her confident, self-assured self. It was interesting to see that slip, even just for a split second. She shot him a teasing smile.

"You know what they say. Curiousity killed the Cat." she smirked.

He chuckled, dropping his chin onto her shoulder only to be shoved away with a laugh. Still he was undeterred.

"Aah, but Satisfaction brought him back, milady."

She snorted, her nose scrunching as she tried to pretend she wasn't laughing.

"You are insufferable, you know that?"

He met her blue eyes with a wicked smirk.

"And yet here you are, suffering my presence quite willingly."

"Don't read too much into it." she retorted with a sniff. "Paris needs protecting, and I guess I'll just have to put up with you to keep it safe."

Her long-suffering sigh was exaggerated, and he feigned offence. He was rewarded by her laughter and they sat for a while longer before moving to a rooftop. He didn't notice her shivering at first because it was subtle, and there were long gaps in-between. But soon he realised she was definitely shivering. He sat closer, ignoring her warning look and pretending to simply be shifting to see better over the rooftop's edge. She seemed to debate internally before allowing it, and Cat tried not to grin too triumphantly.

They moved again, all the while taunting and exchanging insults as was their way. They'd been out a half-hour or so before he began feeling properly worried and decided he had to confront her.

"Are you cold, milady?"

He prowled close as they landed on a new rooftop, not missing the way she wobbled before catching her balance. She shot him a sceptical look before shrugging.

"A little. It is winter after all."

She said no more about it but he kept a close eye on her for a few minutes and eventually decided she was colder than she was letting on.

"Purrhaps we should call it a night. Paris seems safe."

He flicked her a smirk, playing it off to hide his concern. She rolled her eyes. She was not easy to fool.

"I'm fine pussycat. Don't worry about me."

He changed tactic, a lightbulb moment. He gathered a little snow from the roof, finding it much harder to roll with claws that without. He looked over at where she sat, her eyes scanning the streets dutifully. With a smirk he tossed the snowball. He didn't put any force behind it, after all he didn't want to knock her from the roof. But it landed on her shoulder, exploding into her hair and catching her face.

She turned in shock, her eyes disbelieving. He flicked his ears to side and gave a nervous chuckle. She stared at him, and for a moment he wondered if he had truly crossed a line, before a smile began to curl at the corner of her mouth. Her eyes darkened at the challenge, determination bright on her face as she gave a short laugh.

"Oh, you didn't."

He grinned confidently then, spinning his tail and shooting her a sideways look meant to rile her. It always worked, and this time was no exception.

"Ohh, ma Chérie, indeed I did."

She pounced, and he skipped out of reach only just in time, shaking out his Sabre and dropping from the rooftop. She called after him and when he landed on the next roof and turned to look a snowball streaked through the air, hitting him squarely in the chest. He shot her a wounded look, clutching at his heart dramatically.

"Ahh, my love, how you have clawed my heart from me!"

She laughed brightly and he couldn't dodge the next snowball either, releasing a half-hearted yowl as he dove away. She'd struck his head that time, and he shook snow from his ears as he ran, leaping onto the next building. He could hear her behind him and he grinned to himself as he led her on a chase.

Keeping her moving would keep her warm.

And it was kinda fun too.

They battled across the Parisian rooftops, lobbing snowballs and calling out insults and empty threats, their laughter whooping and filling the chilled night air with the warmth of their friendship. The few people who were outside in the streets cheered for them and took sides, and he was sure he saw the tell-tale flash of cameras.

He couldn't care less, enjoying the rush of playing with his lady, playing like children on the rooftops. They chased and were chased, their balanced dynamic giving them both a good chance. She was competitive, vicious in her throwing and swift to dodge his attacks. She didn't skip them all and took several hits of her own but despite his own feline reflexes she totally destroyed him.

When they finally called a truce she was really shaking, and he was feeling the cold more himself. She missed her landing, her foot jerking from under her as she reached for the ledge in front of her and he dropped to catch her, his arm tight on her waist as she gasped in surprise. His Sabre kept them up as they caught their breath, and she looked up at him with wide blue eyes. Her face was incredibly close and her body was pressed against him as he caught her.

She had reached for him automatically as she fell, one hand gripping his shoulder and the other curled reflexively in the fabric at his collar. They were breathing hard, from their chase through Paris and from the fright, adrenaline whizzing through their veins. Their noses were mere inches from each other and he didn't think there were many moments in their partnership where they were truly this close.

It was such a shame it only ever happened when one was saving the other, when they had a battle to win and acted instinctively, their closeness an accident. As he watched her eyes widen as she realised their proximity he wished she would allow him so close all the time. She swallowed, finally breaking their eye contact and looking down.

"Uhm. Th-thanks, Cat." she managed with a slight shiver.

Her voice was sincere and subdued, something that was rare for her. He swallowed, his heart racing, and not just from her fall. When she looked back up her eyes were guarded again and she looked a little uncertain.

"Uhm. You can put me down now." she reminded, a hint of her usual self seeping into the words.

He opened his mouth to respond and a camera flash went off, startling them both. He realised he was still clutching her close and despite how pleasant he found it she was uncomfortable. The photo was bound to make its way to the morning tabloids, probably the news if it was slow day. Alya would be thrilled, and probably gutted she hadn't been the one to catch the moment on film.

He grinned smugly at the thought of being able to have such a photo on his computer, extending his stick to vault them onto the rooftop and rolling unnecessarily from a leap. She gave him an unamused look as she looked up at him. He leaned over her, dipping his face close to skim his nose over her cheek. She smelled warm and inviting, a scent that was vaguely familiar.

"Cat. M-move now."

She pushed his face away and wriggled from under him, getting to her feet and dusting the snow from her suit with a sigh. She was shivering violently now, properly shivering, and he realised that perhaps pinning her to a chilled snowy rooftop was not the best plan. His confidence dissipated somewhat and his concern took over.

"You should head home now, LB. You're shaking."

She looked ready to argue despite her trembling lips when a startled sneeze jerked her head. The surprise turned to concern as she reached for her yo-yo. He noticed the slight fumble and wondered just how numb her fingers were. He was sure she hadn't let on how truly freezing she was. Too busy being stoic and brave.

"Tikki…" she murmured under her breath, reaching for one of her earrings.

Before he could voice his curiosity at what she had meant by that she met his gaze with big blue eyes. His heart stuttered as it always did when she looked at him with her walls down.

"I g-gotta go Noir. I-" she stopped, her expression squirming a little before she gave him a shy smile. "I had fun tonight."

It surprised him so much to see her like that that he couldn't reply, even when she bid him goodbye and threw out her yo-yo string, sailing off into the night. He watched her go with his face frozen in surprise, a trickle of pleasure wrapping around his heart.

Huh.

Chapter Text

He sat on the rooftop to think about it for a while, watching the snow begin to fall and debating how much he wanted out of the cold. Was it enough to return to his own cold home? Despite the fact that the air would be warm, the atmosphere was just as chilled as the Parisian night. If not more so. It was positively icy at home and was only worse when his father was there.

When he wasn't it was lonely anyway, but Adrien always felt guilty for wishing his father was away when he was home. It's not like he saw him any more regularly anyway. Only when he was in trouble did he ever really see his father in person.

The rest of their conversations took place over Nathalie's iPad.

He sighed and looked out across the darkness. Maybe he'd do another round, one more sweep before he really had to go home. He got to his feet, stretching and leaping to the next roof, the chill beneath his paws not entirely unpleasant. He streaked through the snow, contemplating how much less pleasurable the run through Paris was without the brightness of his partner by his side.

He was hardly paying attention to the streets below as he pounced and raced, the rhythm of his run soothing as he thought about his father, about school, about his friends, about LadyBug and his two snowball battles. He smiled. Two in one day.

Friends were the best thing ever.

He was crossing a rooftop when he saw the splash of colour and he skated on the loose snow as he landed before making his way back to peer over the edge. Something the size of a person was lying just inside of an alleyway, tucked out of sight and coated in a layer of the thickly falling snow. He leapt down, catching himself on the fence that closed off one end and then descending onto the snowdrift at the bottom. As he crept over he saw the curled fingers lying in the snow and the flash of dark hair from under the skewed hood.

He reached for the figure and turned her over, and was surprised and frightened to see the face of one of his friends. Marinette was lying in the snow, pale and unconscious. He lifted her from the ground instantly, tucking her light form close as he looked down at her face. His heart was racing in concern as he reached his face down to her. His ears caught the sound of her breathing, shallow and slow, and the sedate beat of her heart. Her lips were blue and she was trembling intermittently.

"Marinette?" he managed to whisper, giving her a shake.

She barely reacted, her eyelids lifting only a little before dropping closed again. She shivered, curling against him for warmth automatically. One hand reached out to curl around his collar.

"C-Cat…" she murmured, a breathless tremble.

"It's okay. I'll get you home, okay? You're freezing."

He took out his baton, holding her easily with one arm. She was light. Maybe even lighter than LadyBug. He wasn't surprised, she was pretty tiny. He launched them into the air, his Sabre vaulting them from roof to roof as he headed in the direction of the bakery. She hadn't been far from home, probably headed that way.

His mind was racing with all the possibilities. What had happened to her? Why was she out in the cold at this time of night and what had happened to leave her lying in the snow? Had someone hurt her? The thought made a fire burn in his gut as anger raced through him. Who would hurt her? She was sweet and caring, friendly to everyone. Everyone but Chloé, but who could blame her for that?

He landed on her balcony as she began to groan, the quiet moaning of someone coming to. He held her close as he dropped in through the open window, landing as gently as he could. She was muttering as he looked for the door to her bathroom, determined to get her warm as soon as possible.

He stepped inside, setting her gently on the rug. She coiled into a ball there, shivering. He could hear her teeth chattering as she curled as far as she could, her whole body trembling violently. Her muscles were spasming and Cat knew she must have been out for hours and hours to be so cold.

And then he remembered how cold she had been after the class snowball fight, how keenly she felt the cold that was only beginning to bother everyone else. Perhaps she hadn't been out that long after all. She seemed to feel the cold more than most people.

If that was the case why had she gone out so late?

He reached for the glass door to her shower, relieved that there was a bathtub beneath it. If he could wake her enough to get her in there then he could leave her with the hot water running and she could warm up enough to sort herself. The thought of leaving her on her own when she was so vulnerable had him torn, but he couldn't exactly strip her now could he? He set to work turning nobs and checking the water, listening to her shivered murmuring and feeling frightened.

Should he tell her parents? Had she told them she was going out? He didn't think they would have allowed her out so late. On a school night and in this weather knowing how easily she got cold? Nope. It didn't sound like them at all.

She'd probably snuck out. He didn't want to get her into trouble.

"- Cat…. c-can't kn-know…"

She was mumbling, and despite how he tried his ears were picking up every word. He looked over at her, watching her hands curl and uncurl as she shook and moved her head.

"C-C-Cat… can't f-f-f-find out…"

He hated the wondering curiosity. She was unconscious. He shouldn't be listening. But what couldn't he know?

The water was hot enough and he made his way over to her, sitting her up. She complied, floppy like a doll but awakening slowly.

"Come on Mari, we gotta get you in the heat."

She grumbled, pushing at his hands as he unzipped her coat. Her eyes were scrunched closed with a deep frown and she whined. She groaned when he unlaced her boots, squirming away weakly. He tried to be patient but the worry was making him feel sick. Her shivering was worse, and he could see her lips turning a faint blue before his eyes, a tinge in her pale cheeks. He had to get her out of her snow-soaked clothes and into the hot water and fast. His embarrassment would have to wait until later. His cheeks were hot but he ignored them, trying to get the jacket off despite her moving and curling up again.

"… kn-kn-know… t-t-tell him-m… T-T-Tikki…"

His ears pricked and he paused with her half out of her jacket.

Hadn't LadyBug said that word too before swinging off? Had Marinette met Ladybug outside? Was that why she was out so late? But surely LadyBug wouldn't have left her there. She would have sent her home. Knowing her she would have escorted her home. She was caring like that.

Focus.

Get her warm.

Ask questions later.

The jacket was finally off, and he dropped it to the floor as he pulled off her shoes. She had a shirt on over her t-shirt and he got that off too, moving to remove her damp socks. Her gloves were off next, and her scarf untangled. She was still curling away from his touch and mewling now, like a kitten and some part of him wanted to return the noise, a feeling that shocked him still for a moment.

Weird.

He debated now. He took down off the top layer of knee-length jeans. She had thick woollen leggings on and they were soaked and he didn't want to ruin them by dunking her in the bath with them on. But he didn't want to take them off of her either, his face burning with shame at the thought.

She'd be alright like that, right?

The bath water was just the right side of hot and he turned the flow of water down but kept the temperature up. A purr built in his chest at the embrace of the heat and steam the water gave off and he found himself drawn to it.

Snap out of it!

Marinette first, Cat crap later!

He reached for her and she stiffened, her eyelids fluttering as she released a moan again. Her fingertips and toes were blue. He lifted her against the weak struggling and her fingers were curling and uncurling again like she was reaching for something. He lifted her towards the bath and set her in the water gently, watching the way her body jerked in surprise. Her eyes fluttered open and the blue beneath the lids was hazy and confused, thick with the hold of unconsciousness.

Her hand reached over the side absently, the fingers curling again as her eyelids fell shut. He lifted the arm back into the bath as his other hand kept her neck above the water. His suit was getting wet but it didn't really matter. Somewhere in the back of his head Plagg's voice was grumbling.

Her arm was out again, and she was weakly trying to turn, as though to climb from the water. Her limbs weren't cooperating and he wondered what on earth it was that she wanted. She didn't seem to know where she was, or that he was there. His worry grew, even as the cold blue colour was dissipating from her lips and fingernails, her ears. As he watched, colour was blooming across her face. Pale and pink, unlike the bright red she wore so often at school, but it was warmer than the pale white she had been.

"Tikki." she mumbled again, reaching.

He looked across the room, wondering what on earth had her so edgy that she was trying to clamber out for it. All he could see were normal bathroom things. A dresser, the sink, the toilet. The towels, the towel-warmer identical to the one his jacket had hung on downstairs. The rug, heaped with her clothes. He looked back a her curiously. She was blinking, still dazed and woozy but coming to life.

That was a good sign.

"T-Tikki… T-Tikki?"

She was calling, questioning, her head turning as though looking for something.

And then he heard it; a sound so quiet even his feline hearing almost missed it. It was a peep. Less than a squeak. A tiny, tiny noise. He turned for the sound, his eyes flickering everywhere.

"Tikki?" he asked, straining his ears.

It came again and his eyes settled on her clothes. He rested her neck on the edge of the bath and kept his eyes on her as he scooted over to drag the rug over. She was moving again, trying to leave the water.

"Stay there, Mari. I'll get it."

Whatever it was. Did her phone have a voice-activation thing? Was Tikki a password or something? He rooted. He tossed aside the gloves, the scarf, the socks. Her jeans were empty save for her purse and her phone and that wasn't even on. He lifted the jacket, more empty pockets. The shirt was a success though, and he reached for the lump in the pocket with curiosity, eager to see what it was that had her so agitated.

He was not expecting what tumbled onto his palm. It was such a surprise that he almost didn't catch it, and it almost hit the floor. He raised his hand, looking in wonder at the pink shape, barely able to breathe.

Was this…

The shape was familiar. Far too familiar and his brain went into overdrive.

No way.

"Tikki?"

Marinette's voice slurred and broke the surprise, and the little creature moved, emitting the little peeping noise he had heard before. Two blue slits appeared and he almost dropped it. The tiny wings fluttered once, weakly.

A Kwami.

He had a Kwami in his hand.

Cat Noir turned to look at Marinette, watching as she groaned and blinked awake again, her eyes a little clearer. The hand that was reaching curled again and he caught it, gently depositing the little pink creature onto her palm. She relaxed instantly, drawing the hand close to her chest and blinking blearily down at it. The little pink creature moved immediately, having felt the heat nearby. It was on her shoulder, half-submerged in the steamy water and resting its head against her neck.

Marinette sighed, obviously having been given what she was looking for.

Cat watched her in shock for what might have been an eternity.

Marinette had a Kwami.

She was like him.

She had a Kwami.

He looked at it as the revelation made its way though him slowly, his brain painfully slow at processing. The little thing - Tikki? - was a pale pinky colour, flushing into red as the heat took hold of her. She had a round black spot on her forehead and little wings that flapped lazily as she sighed into the heat, nuzzling against Marinette.

Could…

Could it be?

He watched, his heart thudding uncomfortably hard as he looked at her properly. She had her eyes closed, her expression relaxed as the colour regained its hold other cheeks. But he knew her eyes were blue. He saw them every single day. And her hair was the right colour, the right length.

It was even pulled back in the same two pigtails.

The little Kwami was blinking awake now, yawning a very small, squeaky and adorable yawn. Marinette stirred, reaching for her automatically as Cat sat there, floored by what he was seeing.

It could have been ten minutes, it might have been longer.

Eventually Marinette began to stir properly, her brow furrowing as she became aware of her surroundings. The Kwami opened her eyes properly, clear blue pools quite like Marinette's own. She looked over at him, and she smiled. And then she stretched, so much like Plagg that Cat Noir felt a sense of deja vu, and she curled against Marinette again, keeping her eyes on him as her charge woke up.

"Mm-what… C-Cat… uhhm…"

Her eyes blinked as she yawned, her fingers finding Tikki and stroking the little red head.

"Tikki."

Marinette's voice was sleepy and relaxed, and Cat realised he so rarely heard her like that. When she was with Adrien she was often squeaky and stuttering and when she was with Cat she was guarded and confident and a little playful. To hear her like this was…

Well, it was kind of nice.

"Hmm, it's so warmmm…"

She stretched, catching sight of herself and frowning in confusion as she began to sit up, turning her head in the direction of her Kwami.

"Tikki? Why am I-"

Her eyes flicked up to him and she froze. Neither dared to breathe.

In that second Marinette looked more afraid than he had ever seen her, more afraid than he had ever seen LadyBug.

More afraid even than in any of their battles.

And his brain was struggling to put Marinette and LadyBug into the same box.

And so he did the only thing that came to mind.

He turned and ran.

Chapter Text

Adrien could barely look at her when he walked into the classroom the next morning. His heart hammered at the sight of her, in her seat next to Alya like she always was on the days she wasn't late. Just like always she was giving Alya her attention and just like always Alya was talking, gesturing with her arms about something. But Marinette wasn't giggling when Alya finished, in fact she barely managed a smile when her friend burst into giggles at her own story.

Marinette looked tired, and more than that she looked worried. Really worried.

And he felt like an absolute monster for running out on her the night before. He slid into his seat next to Nino, bumping his knuckles against his friend's in greeting before he looked up at the girls. Alya was recovering from her outburst and Marinette was smiling, her fingers worrying with the pencil on her desk.

"Good Morning, Marinette."

She looked up in surprise, her cheeks turning pink as she noticed him.

"Uhm… morning how- I mean going how- I mean. Uhm. Good Morning, Adrien."

He shot her a grin as she managed it and she smiled shyly back. For whatever reason she stumbled over her words around him, his patience was paying off.

"You seem down. Everything okay?"

Did it sound like he knew? God, he was going to give himself away already. She was totally going to guess he knew. His voice sounded funny. Had it? Yes, yes it had.

She's LadyBug! his brain kept screaming.

"Oh. U-uhm. I- No- uhh. Heh. I'm fine."

She looked away, fiddling with her pencil as Alya and Nino got into an excitable conversation about a new video game they both agreed looked amazing. After a few moments of pretending he was listening, Adrien looked at Marinette once more. She was drawing, her face in a familiar expression of concentration, her eyebrows lowered. She looked okay on the outside, if a little down, but her eyes… Her eyes held an upsetting depth of sadness and he wasn't surprised at the rush of protective despair that washed over him at the thought of his friend hurting.

"What are you drawing, Mari?" he asked, making sure to flash her a genuine smile when she look up again in surprise.

Her eyes had always been so very beautiful, and now he could see his lady in them too and Adrien wanted nothing more than to tell her right there and then, regardless of the room full of people who would hear.

"Oh." she said, softly, biting her lip and colouring just a little as she glanced back down at the sketch. "Uhm.."

Reading her, Adrien smiled again, gently.

"It's okay if you don't want to… if it's private, you know?"

When Marinette looked up again, some of the sadness was gone from her eyes and she smiled faintly. With a small, sharp breath she turned the sketchpad around, gesturing for him to take it. When he did, his heart just about fell from its perch in his ribcage.

On the page was a simple one-pencil sketch, rough and raw and un-finished. But it was beautiful, the whole page a snapshot he almost felt he could step into. The sky was dark, and even though it was all in pencil-black he could see the deep indigo as if it were there, the small white gaps twinkling stars. There were sides to the drawing, like it had been photographed from inside a three-sided room, a box…

But it was from the tower, he knew it was because it was a scene he had seen so many times before, the Parisian night laid before them like that. But in all the times he had seen it, he hadn't seen the lithe dark cat she had drawn on the left, his hair mussed and wind-swept and his head tilted to one side. He wasn't looking at her, leaning back on his hands and looking out into the night, but Adrien could feel the security from him and it made his throat feel thick.

He didn't know how she could be so miraculous to achieve something so emotional with nothing but a pencil but she had. When Adrien looked at the way she'd drawn him he could see the focus she had used, could read in every line and every shaded shadow how she felt. She cared about Cat Noir, and she felt safe around him, he could see it in the way she'd drawn the tousle in his hair, the way she had somehow captured a life in his eyes that he saw in LadyBug's so often.

If this was how she saw her partner, he was the luckiest person on earth, and when he looked back at her he had to bite back the urge to tell her so. She looked nervous and uncertain, always so shy to share her work when she was so goddamn good.

"Wow." he breathed, taking another long look before handing her it back. "It's amazing, Mari."

In that instant, Marinette flushed, her face reddening and her eyes glowing bright, bright blue. A smile snuck onto her face. A real one.

"Oh." she answered, a nervous giggle, "Thank you."

She was smiling at the drawing, her eyes so soft and the sadness so thin when she looked like that that he couldn't help it.

"It's pawsitively clawsome, Mari."

Her startled eyes flew to meet his and she froze, and Adrien instantly felt bad for springing it on her like that, here in the classroom where anyone could hear. He swallowed as he watched her pale, as he watched her stare at him so frightened. He shouldn't have done that.

"Sorry." he tried, sheepish, "I really like it, Marinette. It's really good."

"What's really good?" asked Alya, unwittingly coming to his rescue.

He fell over himself to explain.

"Mari's drawing. It's amazing."

Alya grinned, reaching over for the sketchpad. Marinette reached out weakly, but in the end she curled her hand and drew it back, looking down at her hands as Alya exclaimed over her work.

"Oh my god, Nino look at this! How amazing is that?"

"Woah, dude! That's brill!" Nino looked to her with a bright smile. "Seriously, Nett! That's incredible."

Marinette relaxed, a smile gracing her features once more.

"Thanks Nino."

"You got talent, Girl! This is like, LadyBug's POV! It's so cool! Jeez, look at the detail on Cat Noir, man you're awesome!"

Marinette laughed gently as she took the book back.

"I'm not that awesome, but thanks."

Adrien felt the tension ease. She was okay, he hadn't broken her with his teasing hint. He wondered if she'd got it. Had it been enough for her? Would he… What should he do?

"Seriously, Girl. You either have major talent or…" Her eyes brightened, twinkled gleefully as she looked at Marinette slyly, "Or a huge crush on him. Or both."

She shrugged and looked away, pretending it didn't matter, but she was watching Marinette out of the corner of her eye as the other girl stiffened, her eyes going huge and her cheeks flooding with colour like a streetlight lighting red.

"Alya!" she hissed, holding the book to her chest as though in protection as she shot her best friend a look. "That's so not true."

Adrien's heart was racing suddenly and painfully, the scarlet nature of her skin making her eyes so blue, making her look so very much like her superhero alter ego that it made him feel like an idiot for not seeing it before.

"I'm teasing, Mari. Calm down." Alya chuckled, but Marinette wasn't the only one who wasn't convinced.

Adrien didn't really believe her either. And when Marinette eventually braved a meek glance in his direction, there were things in her eyes he wondered about.

Most of all where the sadness had gone.

Chapter Text

Marinette lay upside down on her bed, her head hanging from the end as she looked out towards her skylight. She felt like being out there, looking at the stars in that way that always made her feel better, and she'd decided more than a half hour ago that she would move. She'd just yet to find the energy or willpower to do so.

Her chest was tight with the teasing grip of an oncoming cold, and as much as she coughed to clear her throat she couldn't quite make it leave. It was freezing outside, and even the thought made a part of her draw away, wanting to stay in her room where the radiator was on and the heat lingered in her duvet.

She was certain she would be in a much worse state if Cat hadn't dumped her in a bath of hot water. She owed her partner a lot more than she could say, and knowing what he'd done for her made her heart beat heavily with affection.

But the thought of that moment, of opening her eyes, surrounded by the wondrous embrace of heat, to find him, there, in her bathroom, made her skin heat uncomfortably, and knowing Tikki had been seen only made her feel worse.

It wasn't that she was angry. In fact she had been surprised to find that she wasn't even annoyed that he knew, that the fear she had felt initially was long gone now. It didn't mean she wasn't worried, that she wasn't feeling insecure about it. But she'd had a day to come to terms with it, to accept that she couldn't change it now that it had happened, and that she would just have to deal with him knowing who was under her mask.

Maybe it would even be a good thing, like Tikki had tried to convince her it would. It wasn't like she had to worry about him telling anyone, was it? He'd keep her secret just as well as he kept all the other ones she'd told him over their partnership, and even the ones she'd trusted him with when he visited Marinette every now and then.

And those visits were the reason she was staring at that patch of darkened sky instead of sleeping, why the low light of her lamp still warmed the darkness in the room. If he was coming by tonight she wanted to be awake for it, for the light to let him know she was awake.

"You shouldn't worry so much, Marinette." Tikki said after a long time, floating over to land upon her shoulder and peer at her face, "He will still see you just the same as before. You are still LadyBug, after all."

Marinette sighed, looking at the little goddess.

"You don't think he'll be disappointed it's me?"

Tikki giggled, fluttering in a loop-the-loop before settling back down again.

"Oh, Marinette. I know he's going to be so happy about it."

Marinette sat up to look at her warily, seeing the way Tikki was trying and failing to hide a smile.

"How can you be so sure?"

The Kwami simply giggled, her big blue eyes glittering.

"Oh, Marinette. You'll see. I'm not allowed to tell you, but you'll see."

"To tell me what? Do you-"

Marinette paused, narrowing her eyes suspiciously as the Kwami beamed.

"Is there something you want to tell me, Tikki?"

"Well…" Tikki hesitated, before her gaze shifted to the window and a beaming smile took over her face. "Yes. You have a visitor."

And of course when Marinette turned, there he was. Perched outside and looking at her through the glass with eyes like glowing gems and a nervous smile on his face. Marinette forgot for a moment that he knew, she forgot that she was afraid of what he'd think. She forgot to be upset about him knowing she was just plain old Marinette. Because he was here.

"Cat!"

His smile warmed, gaining confidence.

"Hey, Mari."

She moved at last, reaching the window and letting him in, watching the way he dropped to the carpet so gracefully. He hadn't visited all that often, but the times he had they almost always spent on the balcony. He only came inside on rainy nights, but Marinette couldn't help but think he was coming inside tonight to prevent her from being out in the cold.

"It's freezing." he commented, catching her eye awkwardly and looking away again.

She watched him exaggerate his shiver, patting snow from his suit. It made her smile, and then it made her laugh. She looked around, but Tikki had seemingly disappeared to give them some privacy like she usually did. Only this time she didn't really need to hide, though.

"What are you doing her, Cat?" Marinette asked, giving him a smile.

He shifted his footing, scratching at the back of his neck before giving an awkward chuckle.

"I wanted to check on you." he said, his voice soft as though he was afraid to scare her off, "to make sure you were okay after…"

This was the moment, Marinette knew. She could see it in him, read it in his eyes. He was worried about her but he didn't know how to show it, didn't want to break the fragile balance between them. Marinette was afraid, she was frightened of the implications, frightened that now there was nothing she could throw up between them, no wall which she could erect that would part them in the way she was used to.

She took a breath. She bit her lip. And then she smiled.

"After you found out."

He winced, his ears flattening further against his head and one hand reaching back up to rub at the nape of his neck.

"I'm sorry." he said, sounding truly apologetic, "I know… I know this wasn't what you wanted and I..."

He shrugged helplessly. Marinette reached out to touch his elbow. When he looked up she was sure to give him a gentle smile.

"You saved me, Chaton." she whispered, feeling her words infect her own chest with a sweetness that made her ache, "If you hadn't come along when you had, well... I would have been in trouble."

"You've no idea," he admitted, his ears flat and his eyes liquid and every inch of his expression so vulnerable it took everything she had not to reach out, "how worried I was to find you there, Mari. I thought- I was scared you were- You had me so worried." he finished, before throwing himself at her and dragging her into a tight hug.

Marinette blinked in surprise before returning it, her hand flat on the leather of his suit and his head tucked against her neck.

"Cat?" she asked, sounding unsure.

Had she really worried him that much? It was awful of her to feel the little wave of sweetness the thought made her feel. It made her cheeks warm, it made her heart trip a little that he'd cared so much. Even if he knew it was LadyBug, Marinette wasn't so insecure anymore to believe he didn't care for Marinette too, even if only a little.

"Sorry, Mari." he said, pulling back and looking down at his feet. "I, uhm. You just scared me, that was all." he said, looking embarrassed and a little pink and… shy?

What on earth was going on? Cat was never shy, not with Marinette and not with LadyBug. She could count on one hand the number of times she'd seen him genuinely be uncertain when he was with her, with fingers to spare.

"I'm sorry." she told him, honestly, "I- I didn't realise that I was as cold as I was." It worried her to think about now. "I- I guess I didn't think about the fact that ladybugs don't do so well in the cold."

Cat looked up then, and the smile he gave her was soft and disarming. Marinette was surprised to feel herself tremble, just a little, at the emotion in his eyes. Out of nowhere she was struck by the thought that if it weren't for that one moment in the rain when Adrien reached out to her to make friends, she might not have fallen so hard and fast for him. And if she hadn't… She didn't need to question whether it was possible for her to fall for Cat, to see past all the bluster and the puns to the boy beneath. She knew in her heart it was possible.

And then she felt guilty, of course, because she didn't want to be that type of girl; loving more than one guy and keeping her options open.

"I did tell you to go home." he answered gently, his eyes warm.

Marinette smiled, taking her turn to look down at her feet with her hands twisting together.

"You did." she agreed, and his chuckle made her feel better about it all.

"But you're always so stubborn." he answered in a fake groan, flopping dramatically onto her bed.

She turned to watch him, and he swivelled his face to send her a grin.

"Who?" she asked by accident, wishing she hadn't the second it was out of her mouth.

She didn't want to do this, not now, not when he was smiling. He raised an eyebrow at her. She didn't want to elaborate, wanted to drop it all now. But her mouth did the talking.

"Marinette or…" she shrugged uncomfortably.

As she had feared, Cat looked suddenly unsure again, worried he'd crossed a line. She sat down beside him and reached out her hand, resting it on his knee. He straightened and squirmed to sit up properly, and when he was done she put her hand back there, on his knee. He sighed.

"I… was worried you might feel like that." he told her in a whisper, looking away across her room.

"Feel like what?"

"That maybe… That I wouldn't like that you were Marinette. That I might be… disappointed with you."

Marinette blinked at him, her eyes wide and startled as her heart picked up a staccato beat, fear jolting her. How could he know that? How had he voiced a fear that Marinette had only ever told Tikki? How on earth had he guessed that-

She took in how he was sitting, fidgeting with his hands, his shoulders slumped and his ears slicked backwards and he was small, then, like he was curling in on himself.

It's what he was afraid of.

And suddenly Marinette wanted to laugh in relief, to let out that twisted, wormy feeling she'd been carrying for so long. She wasn't the only one, huh? She squeezed his knee and drew her hand away, slipped further up beside him to wind her arm around his waist the way he so often did to her.

"Cat… I- Yes. I'm scared. I… LadyBug is amazing and I know you love her, but I- Well. I'm only Marinette. I would…" she sighed, and then took a deep, steadying breath. " I'd understand. But yes, I'd be upset if you were disappointed, Cat. In fact I'd be pretty heart-broken if you- If you were disappointed. Because of all the people in the world I could disappoint…."

She looked at him, and he could see the tears that she was fighting in her eyes, could see the fear and all the hope that gleamed in the blue.

"I'd hate to disappoint you most of all."

Cat Noir couldn't help it. He drew close, pulling her over so that he could rest his forehead against hers. It was a compromising position, one that made his heart fly and his hands shake and she might push him away but he didn't care, right then. What she'd said had reeled him in, like she had a hook in his heart and was trying to take it from him.

"You'd never disappoint me, Mari." he told her softly, meeting her eyes, so close to his own.

She swallowed, her face turning a steady shade of pink.

"Ever." he added, so she could be sure. "I can't believe it's you. Of all the people I could pick from… You'd be the one, Marinette." He smiled then, a grin unfettered by his usual cocky attitude, by his joking nature, by his teasing, wicked streak. A grin sweet and lovely and true. "I'm glad it's you."

"Oh, Cat…"

Marinette gave a breathy chuckle as she looked away, wiping at one eye and making that soft chucking sound again. And then she sniffled, and met his eyes once more. He was about to open his mouth, to promise what he'd said was true, but she got there first, one hand reaching out to sweetly cup his face.

"You know, don't you, that you're my partner no matter what?" she asked, the words breathy and gentle but her eyes set in a determined fire that he loved. "That you're my Cat Noir, always? That no matter what, no matter who is under there, that you'll always be my best friend? That I will always be there for you, whenever you need me? That- that I love you, Chaton, always."

She was bright red in the face as he blinked at her, his heart doing loop-the-loops in his ribcage and his breathing suddenly difficult. She looked away, her hand falling from his face as she curled into herself, hugging her arms across herself as though for comfort.

"I know," he answered, almost by accident, "of course I know, Mari. How could I doubt you?"

She smiled, and looked up again.

"I doubted you," she admitted, before biting her lower lip, "even though I knew I shouldn't."

Cat reached out and touched her cheek like she had his, his eyes apologetic when she glanced at him in surprise.

"I'm sorry I found out like this, Marinette. But I'm not sorry that I know."

Marinette looked up at him seriously, her eyes studying his for a moment as a smile wound across her lips. She laughed, gentle, sweet.

"I didn't think I would be, but I… I think I like that you know."

Cat Noir beamed, throwing his arms around her and leaping from the bed to spin her in a circle as she muffled a screech with her hands. When he set her down again his eyes were sparkling and his chest was heaving as he tried to catch his breath and he looked so happy that Marinette's heart wobbled.

And all because she'd gotten too cold.

"Oh!" Marinette said suddenly, pulling away to dive for her desk.

When she returned, her hands were full and careful of their contents, and her cheeks were pink, her eyes gleaming with pride.

"I figured that… Well, since you know it's me, well…."

She offered him the contents of one hand, and he looked down at the little set of clothes; a snowsuit, scarf, hat and tiny mittens all made in black instead of red, with green on the cuffs and ends and fingers.

"I made them to Tikki's measurements, because obviously I don't… uhm, well." she smiled sheepishly and thrust them into his hands. "I hope they fit yours."

"You know that you're amazing, right?" he asked her, looking up at her with a look in his eyes that made her feel almost gooey inside.

"I try." she answered, a grin splitting her face, and she watched that familiar Cat Noir twinkle seep into his eyes.

"Marinette? If you're on the phone to Alya tell her she should be in bed just like you!"

Marinette jumped at the sound of her mother's voice, looking up at her partner. He gave her a rueful grin and looked down at the small bundle in his hands as he stowed the pieces carefully away in a pocket on his suit. Then he looked back up.

"Okay, mama!" she called, listening carefully for her mother's gentle noise of agreement that meant she wouldn't be coming up to check.

"Guess that's my cue." Cat said, looking at her again with that sweetness.

Marinette nodded, feeling sad to see him go.

"Yeah. Uhm, you can… Let me know if they fit your Kwami okay. I can make adjustments or start over if- Well, you know.'"

Cat Noir gave her a breaming grin, pulling her into a hug.

"You're the best ever, Mari. Don't ever change."

She hugged him back, hard, relieved that despite her worries, Cat wasn't disappointed she was the girl under the mask. Maybe Tikki was right, maybe now on patrol and in battle they would have a deeper understanding of each other. Or at least he'd know her better. She was almost excited about it now, looking forward to their next patrol.

Cat let her go and clambered through the skylight before ducking his head back in to give her a grin. She returned it with a laugh, and he was so happy to see her like that that he slipped up.

"I'll see you soon, Chaton." she told him, giggling when he leaned down to kiss her cheek.

"See you at school, Mari!" he called, and he was gone.

Marinette had locked the window and dropped backwards onto her bed with a smile, the patch on her cheek where he had kissed her feeling warm, had closed her eyes before his words truly registered and sent her rocketing into a sitting position.

Wait, what?

Chapter Text

"You told her see you at school." was the first thing Plagg said as he floated out of Adrien's ring and over to the plate of cheese sitting in its usual spot, sounding nonchalant.

"Hm?" Adrien replied, distracted by catching the clothes that fluttered from a spot in the air as his suit disappeared. "Well, yeah, because-"

He paused, turning slowly to look at the Kwami, a sudden chill taking over him. Plagg raised knowing eyebrows.

"Oh." he gulped, wondering how he'd managed to slip up.

"Oh indeed." Plagg answered, before chuckling. "Although I don't know why you stayed in your suit anyway. You know who she is, what's to hide now that she knows you know?"

"Uhm." said Adrien, still trying to work out how on earth he'd what done he'd done. "Well she doesn't know, does she?"

His Kwami rolled his eyes and bit into a triangle of cheese.

"So tell her and then everybody knows and it's all good."

Adrien pulled a face at the crumbs being sprayed all over the desk.

"What if she doesn't want to know?" he asked, sitting down on the edge of his bed and looking at the little mittens in his hands. "I mean, I found out by accident. What if she doesn't want to know who I am? She's always wanted it to be a secret, after all."

Plagg heaved a sigh, looking like he was going to launch into one of his Kid, you're an idiot lectures, before he spied what Adrien was holding. He dropped his cheese on the plate and took to the air. Adrien looked up at him as the Kwami settled curiously on his knee, and turned his hand so that he could see properly.

"She made me clothes." Plagg said, sounding a little weird.

"Yeah." Adrien agreed, looking down at the tiny clothing, thinking about the miniature stitching, how much effort and time must have gone into them. "Yeah, she's pretty amazing."

Plagg snorted, like he always did when Adrien got "mushy", but he didn't sound so cocky this time. Adrien watched the little god inspect the offering before reaching out almost tentatively. Adrien marvelled at it. Plagg was always so brash, so sure and guarded and cheeky. Right now he was… almost soft.

Trust Marinette to be the one to bring that out, he thought with a smile.

"You should try them on," he encouraged, "she said she can make changes if they don't fit. She measured them for Tikki."

Plagg's ears perked up and he looked up at last.

"Tikki and I are almost exactly the same size. Or we usually are, anyway."

"You know Tikki?" Adrien asked, realising it was a stupid question when Plagg gave him that look.

"Of course I know her. She's my partner, Kid."

Adrien nodded, and Plagg began to pull on the clothes Marinette had made for him, trying his best, Adrien thought, to not look excited. But Adrien could see it anyway.

Adrien had to admit that the tiny god looked, well… adorable. He could almost imagine Marinette's ideas as she cut and stitched each part. Plagg pulled up his hood and the image was complete. Marinette had sewn him a snowsuit in black material, with twisted emerald threads at the collar to tighten it. The hood fell over his forehead and made two rounded points where his ears were. The mittens matched the toggled threads and the whole thing was off-set by a tiny, detailed embroidery over the heart, in the shape of Cat Noir's famed paw print.

Adrien felt himself fall a little further in love with Marinette just looking at it.

"Well?" Plagg asked, throwing the green scarf over one shoulder and trying his best to squint in his usual, unimpressed manner.

But Adrien could see the way the cat's eyes gleamed. Marinette's touch had gotten to him too.

"It looks clawsome, buddy."

Plagg managed to look both pleased and irritated, making Adrien smile at him as the Kwami grumbled and snarked and tried to convince him that he wasn't in love with the warm clothing and that no, he didn't think he looked adorable and shut up Adrien.

But when bedtime came, Adrien couldn't help but notice that the cat looked almost regretful to remove it all. Or that he kept the scarf wound around his neck as he curled in his usual ball on Adrien's pillow.

When Adrien was tying his shoes the next morning, and double-checking he had everything he needed in his schoolbag, - including the Biology homework he had rushed before bed - he witnessed Plagg tangling himself in the green material of his new scarf. Careful not to get caught watching, he busied his hands, trying to look as though he were looking anywhere but at the Kwami who was- was he pouncing? on the trailing end of the offending accessory as he tried to wrap it around his neck with mittened paws.

When he opened his jacket to allow the Kwami to zip into his usual hiding spot, he couldn't help but notice Plagg's usual brand of morning sarcasm was missing. He hadn't even grumbled once about the hour or how hungry he was or that it was cold when he moved from his indent in the pillow.

Clearly, Marinette was miraculous after all, Adrien thought as he tossed his bag over his shoulder and left his bedroom, grinning to himself when he saw that the snow outside had gained another foot at least. Perhaps there would be more snowball fights in his future.

The thought made him giddy as he got into the car.

The thought of having more snowball fights with Marinette only made him giddier.

Nino was already there, waiting outside at the school steps when Adrien's limo pulled up, hopping gently from foot to foot as he waved a greeting. Adrien beamed at him, laughing when he saw the way in which Nino had wound his scarf around the band of his headphones instead of his neck.

"You know that won't keep you warm, right?" he teased, loving the way his new boots still crunched in the already flattened snow.

Nino only grinned and completed their usual fist-bump.

"Keeps my headphones warm though. The cold really messes with the sound, bro."

Adrien laughed, turning to head up the stairs towards the inviting open doors of the building.

"You're making that up."

"No, for real! Dude I'm serious!"

But he laughed with the blonde as they stopped outside of the doors instead of entering. Despite the fact that it would undoubtedly be warmer inside the school, they usually met with Alya and Marinette - when the latter wasn't running late - in the same spot in the corner before going in together. It was something Adrien secretly held dearly in his heart.

The routine of friendship, the expectation of it, the understanding that it was what they did. Having friends was something he would never tire of, not even when it meant standing an extra fifteen minutes in the freezing cold when he could be squished between Nino and Ivan at one of the old school radiators.

"Hey guys!"

Alya was bundled in a scarf that trailed behind her, even though it was wound around her neck multiple times too. Her glasses were squint on her nose and her beanie was off-centre, flaming curls cascading from the thick orange band and gathering snowflakes as she walked. Her coat was at least buttoned and zipped, and her shoes clad in tangerine snow boots topped with fluffy brown fur Adrien knew Marinette had helped her pick out and stitch on.

She was juggling her phone and a binder, her bag bashing the backs of her legs as she raced up the steps.

"Morning, Alya." Adrien greeted, not missing in the slightest the way that Nino suddenly looked much redder in his cheeks than he had a moment ago.

And it probably wasn't the way the wind was blowing that was doing it, either.

"Yo." Nino breathed, and there was no missing the grin Alya gave him in return.

"Hi, Nino."

Adrien and Marinette had been watching this unfurl for months. Adrien pulled out his phone to snap a picture of the pair as they looked at each other - they firmly denied staring into each other's eyes - and sent it to the fourth member of their group.

He said Yo. he typed underneath.

"Is she awake yet?" Alya asked, not even checking to see if it was indeed MArinette he was texting.

"Don't know, no reply yet." he answered.

Alya simply hummed and launched into an animated and detailed story about how her blogging the night before had been interrupted because her little sister had a cold and her other sister was trying to avoid her and her room got claimed as neutral territory and-

Adrien loved to listen to Alya's speeches, he did. But he also loved when Marinette made it to school before the bell because it meant they had a few moments together as a group, moments where he could listen to her laugh or try to make her feel comfortable around him. Moments he could work on building the friendship that was falling into place between them now.

Moments he could catch her eye and smile and see her turn pink.

It was no secret - okay so yes, it was a secret, but that's not the point - that Adrien had harboured a small but growing crush on the blue-eyed girl. Nothing that had compared to the way he'd fallen so hard for LadyBug so fast, but something meaningful and sweet. And now, knowing what he knew, well…

It was like receiving a green light. He no longer had to feel guilty about the way he wanted to hear her giggle and stutter and see how she smiled when she thought no-one could see. He was allowed to let himself enjoy their growing understanding, allowed to let himself start to fall for her, now that he knew it had been the same girl who'd captivated him all along.

"Yo, bro? You're switched off, man. What d'you think about it?"

"Hm?" He looked between his friends, seeing Alya's teasing smirk as the winter sun glinted on her glasses. "What?"

"Dude, you're so-"

"Hey guys!"

All three turned in sync to see Marinette begin to climb the school steps, her cheeks flushed pink from exertion and her whole self pretty much hidden in layers and wool. Her boots were pink versions of Alya's, with white fur trim, her jeans dark pink and her purple coat thick and warm. Her hands were sheathed in red mittens and her whole face almost hidden under a thick, emerald scarf identical to the tiny one she'd made for Plagg. Somehow seeing her in green made Adrien's insides feel funny and fluttery. He swallowed.

She shifted the sketchpad and tupperware box she was carrying to one arm as she crested the top of the stairs, using her freed hand to push her hat up from her eyes. She was beaming, her breath delicate white puffs in the air as she gave a laugh.

"I love the winter!" she cried, right before one of her boots slipped and she wobbled and lost her balance.

It wasn't even a second before Adrien had her in his grip, his arms strong and sure under her arms. She looked up at him with startled blue eyes, her mouth open slightly as her surprised cry cut off. For a heartbeat nobody moved and Adrien simply looked at her, her face so close to his own and her breath warm on his cheek. Until, of course, she flushed scarlet and realised what she'd done.

"Oh! S-s-s-sorry!" she cried, drawing back to stand up properly. "I-"

"It's okay, Mari." he grinned, seeking to reassure her before she got herself into one of her stuttering attacks.

He'd learned if he managed to catch those in time he could ease her embarrassment and lower the chances of her bolting away with some lame excuse to avoid him.

"I'm sososososorry!"

He laughed, picking up the box she'd dropped and handing it to her.

"It's fine, Mari, honestly. Just hope there's nothing fragile in there." he indicated the box.

And just like magic, her attention switched from her impending freak-out to accepting the plastic tub, her eyes alighting on the papered insides which hid the contents.

"Oh." she smiled, before meeting his eyes once more, "No, nothing too fragile."

She grinned at the three of them, tucking her sketchpad into her elbow and fumbling with the lid clips with her mittened hands. She won out and the lid popped as it came off, revealing what looked like an explosion of sparkly sugar and round, golden-brown disks.

"Papa and I made shortbread." she said, and Adrien though the pride in her voice was the cutest thing he'd ever heard.

Chapter Text

Marinette tapped her pencil against her desk in a quiet rhythm as she stared at her jotter and tried to read the words in front of her. Alya was scribbling furiously beside her, Nino too, his head bobbing gently to a song only he could hear. Adrien's head was down too, his elbow arcing back and forth as he wrote. But Marinette couldn't bring herself to answer the worksheet they had been given, couldn't convince her arm to move the pencil over paper.

Instead her mind was puzzling out questions of a different kind.

Like, for instance, who on earth her partner was.

And although she had dared as many glances around the classroom as she thought she could get away with, her stocktake of her classmates had left her none the wiser. The girls were struck out right away, of course, but that left her with few options.

Ivan, Kim, Nathanaël, Jean and Max.

She knew each but Jean had been akumatised, which left her with the quiet dark-haired boy who barely spoke to her. And that was only if the mischievous black cat was in her class. He'd said see you at school. It didn't necessarily mean he was in the room with her now. He could be in the year below. Or could it be that her often immature best friend was an older guy?

The thought made her feel vaguely uncomfortable.

Not that she'd really care, if she was truly honest with herself. He was her partner. Her Cat Noir. Even if he were a stranger in school, he was no stranger to her. She knew him, or a half of him. But she knew what kind of person he was.

She sighed, slumping in her seat and looking up at the clock that hung above the teacher's desk, more for something to look at than to check the time she knew was crawling by.

"You okay, Marinette?"

She flinched, not expecting to hear someone talk to her in the near silence of classroom. Even if it was in a barely-there whisper. She looked down, and her stomach trembled with a horde of butterflies when she saw Adrien looking at her. He had his head tipped down and one arm resting on his desk so that to the teacher he looked like he was totally engrossed in his work. But the side of his face was turned to Marinette and one green eye blinked at her expectantly.

"Yes." she whispered back as quietly as she could, glancing over at the teacher. "I'm okay."

"You sure?"

When she looked back at him he shrugged gently, the eyebrow she could see rising questioningly. It made her smile unexpectedly.

"Just… got something in my head, you know? When it won't leave you alone?"

Adrien nodded seriously, flashing a small smile.

"I know." he said, his voice friendly, before he turned back to his work.

Marinette turned back to her jotter in the hopes of forcing herself to focus, but a vibration in her pocket distracted her just seconds later. She pulled her phone out, surprised to see the name that lit the screen.

Adrien: If you want to talk about it, I might be able to help? :)

When she peeked over the edge of her desk to the blonde head in front of her, Marinette was warmed to see him turn his face again, to smile at her. It was a comfortable expression, familiar in ways that made Marinette melt inside. Thank you, she mouthed, turning pink when his smile became a grin.

She was pretty sure what he mouthed back was Anytime, Monday. He'd turned back around as the teacher coughed and shifted in her seat, leaving Marinette to frown and wonder what he meant by Monday.

Mari: It's… a complicated thing.

Mari: I mean, I know that sounds like a cop out.

Mari: But it isn't.

Mari: A cop out, I mean.

She bit back a groan at the fact that she somehow managed to ramble even through text. When she peeked at him, however, she saw him cock his head to one side, and was she imagining the soft breath that sounded almost like a chuckle?

Adrien: Well, if it's any help, I can handle complicated.

Adrien: My life's pretty complicated too.

Marinette bit her lip. She really, really wanted to take the opportunity being presented to her. A chance to talk to Adrien in depth about something? A chance to tell him about herself and maybe learn a little more about him? She wasn't blind to the fact that asking a friend for help could strengthen said friendship.

But how to do it without giving herself and Cat Noir away?

Mari: It's really hard to explain. I… told someone a secret and I… Well, I'm sort of afraid.

Mari: Of asking for a secret in return, I mean. Not of him knowing.

Mari: If there's anyone I can trust, it's him.

Mari: And you guys, of course.

Adrien: What is it that scares you? About him telling you a secret in return?

Mari: Well… I don't know, really. What if…

Marinette's fingers stilled as she stared down at the screen, biting her lip so hard she was sure she could taste blood. It felt silly, but she suddenly wanted to bare that fear to someone, to a friend. And Adrien was her friend. They were growing closer all the time, weren't they? Maybe something like this would help them along. And maybe he would be able to show her how silly she knew she was being about the whole thing. Cat was her friend, after all. It was stupid to be afraid that she wouldn't like who was behind that mask if she already loved him when he was wearing it.

And it was stupid to think that the person behind it wasn't her Chaton, wasn't it? He was the same person, if a little different, maybe. But it wasn't as though the mask would come off and a monster would emerge, was it?

Adrien: Mari? I'm sorry for prying. I don't mean to be nosy.

His text interrupted her oncoming freakout in the best way, and with a warmth in her heart Marinette smiled, decided.

Mari: Well… I don't know, really. What if he tells me and it changes how I feel? Or ruins our friendship or something? I mean, he's my friend and I… Well, I love him to pieces and I don't want us to fall out or anything. I'm being silly.

Adrien: You're not silly, Marinette. You're just afraid for your friendship, right?

Mari: Yeah.

Adrien: Well, if anything that's a compliment. I mean, you obviously don't want to lose him. That's something, huh?

Marinette could feel her face burning at the way her texts could be interpreted, trying not to think about the way in which her affections for her dumb cat-boy partner had been growing so subtly. Trying not to think about how much she owed him, about how he'd saved her from the snow. About how much fun he'd made patrol, when she suspected it was because he'd realised she was so cold sitting still on the rooftops. Trying not to think about how, for some reason, she'd texted a reply before thinking, turning redder still as she realised what she'd just revealed.

Mari: I can't lose him. I don't know what I'd do without him.

She cringed, reading it back. Not only was it super embarrassing to admit things like that, but to Adrien no less… What if he thought she loved the guy and it destroyed any chance she had with Adrien? What if-

Why wasn't Adrien replying?

Marinette opened her eyes and peeked over the phone in her hand, barely seeing the top half of Adrien's head because she was slouched so low in her seat. He was sitting still, so still it almost looked like he'd frozen, though Marinette wasn't to know that while unable to see his face. A glance at the teacher - still engrossed in the book she was reading - told her it wasn't because he'd been caught texting. She felt her stomach grow a little uneasy, wondering if she'd said something to freak him out. Or creep him out. Or. Or…

Marinette swallowed, looking back through their conversation, wondering what it was she had said to make him stop texting her back. Quite possibly her last text. That was a safe bet, because when she read it again she wanted the ground to open up and eat her. It sounded intense and sort of desperate even to her own ears. Eyes? Urgh.

Adrien didn't know she was LadyBug talking about Cat Noir. The weight of her words was justifiable then, Cat saved her life on a regular basis, and she was certain she wouldn't be able to function as her superhero alter ego without him by her side. But to anyone who didn't know her secret?

The text sounded incredibly needy.

Marinette slid the phone back into her pocket with a wince before burying her head in her arms atop the desk. She silently bemoaned how quiet the class was at that moment, feeling the pent-up groan of frustration that was perched in her throat. Particularly when her mind circled back around once more and presented the puzzle of her partner yet again.

Who was he?

Could it truly, possibly be Jean?

Marinette turned her head to look, taking in the profile of the quiet, dark-haired boy sitting in the back row. His face wasn't unfamiliar, per say, simply… not familiar in the way Cat's was. The way Alya's and Nino's and Adrien's and Nathanaël's and Chloé's were. Faces she looked at all the time, faces she interacted with. Jean and Marinette never spoke, or practically never, save for when the teacher put them in the same group for tasks.

She turned back to the front with a sigh, her gaze finding the clock once agin.

She was pretty sure it wasn't Jean. Pretty sure. She thought of all the people she knew in the year above, wondering how many of the boys there would know her by name. And none of them had come to speak to her yet today, not before school and not at break, even when she and her friends had spent it in the main hub area. Just in case.

Her eyes drifted as her mind wandered and wondered. She smiled to herself at the sight of Nino, his head tipping at an angle, the shoulder hunched to press the side of his headphones against that ear. She bet he had his music on, down very low of course considering she couldn't hear it from where she sat. He could always be bobbing his head to a song in his mind like he so often did, but she thought it likely he was listening subtly, where the teacher couldn't see because the band wasn't over his head. Sneaky.

A glance at Alya told Marinette that Nino was rubbing off on her friend. Peeking from the open collar of Alya's shirt was the thin wire of her earphones, her hair hiding the bud from sight where it nestled in the ear furthest from Marinette and furthest from the teacher's gaze. Marinette rolled her eyes and looked back at her jotter.

When were they just going to man up and admit they were totally, basically, completely a couple?

Marinette glanced at the back of the head in front of her, taking in the round of his shoulders and the way his head was cocked gently to one side. His hands were hidden from her view and Marinette wondered if he was still on his phone, feeling the slight sting of rejection that he wasn't replying to her. Not that he had any obligation to, of course. She knew she was being… Well. Over-analytical. She had to stop herself now before she started panicking that she'd totally killed their friendship with her inability to have a normal text conversation.

Her brain instantly supplied an alternative route of thought, making Marinette bite the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from crying out in frustration.

Who the heck was Cat Noir?

Marinette looked to Alya, wondering if she could show enough interest to get the girl to help her puzzle it out without giving up that she was LadyBug. Or indeed letting Alya work out who Cat Noir was. Probably not. Her gaze drifted over Nino, thinking about the time he'd been akumatised, the fear she had felt while fighting him because he was one of her best friends, her oldest friend, and she didn't want to hurt him. She remembered being afraid that Cat would hurt him, remembered the tearing dilemma she had battled internally because she couldn't show Cat Noir so much personal involvement so as to not let her identity slip.

She'd had to fight the majority of their class, afraid more for some than others. Fighting Alya had been horrific, fearing for her friend and also infuriated and frightened by the darkness of that particular akuma. Finding Cat in the freezer, hearing later how he'd lost his miraculous for just a moment and freaking out about how close Lady WiFi had really come. She'd been so angry at the akuma, so torn because it was Alya underneath.

Alya, Nino… fighting the people she loved had always been so hard. Her eyes moved once more to Adrien. And what about when…

Marinette felt every muscle she owned fall still, even her lungs forgetting how to draw breath.

Her heart was the only one still moving, racing so hard it was sure to beat a bruise out onto her skin. Adrenaline prickled, the almost painful tingle so common when she dodged a particularly well-aimed attack in the height of battle. It flushed suddenly and clearly through her system, leaving every nerve ending alight, burning with a growing anticipation, a knowing that expanded so hard and so slow that Marinette felt she might suffocate before it allowed her lungs to breathe once more. She stared, blinking, the light dancing through Adrien's hair and making it glow like spun gold. Her hand reached for the edge of her desk, fingers gripping so hard the skin blanched.

How on earth had she managed to forget about Adrien?

Chapter Text

His every sense was alight. And every single one was freaking out.

Adrien couldn't take his eyes from the little square screen of his phone, unable even to marvel at his ability to read the words over and over despite the way his hands were shaking.

Mari: I can't lose him. I don't know what I'd do without him.

His chest was too tight, hot and suffocating and wonderful. His head was spinning and he just couldn't do anything but stare, reading and re-reading and doing so again, as a feeling so sweet it would surely send his Nutritionist into a meltdown began to unfurl in his very core. He could feel his eyes growing damp at an alarming rate, the urge to wipe away oncoming tears fierce.

I don't know what I'd do without him.

Oh, Mari…

Adrien closed his eyes, feeling his berthing hitch and threaten to choke him, feeling his bottom lip wobble in that tell-tale way he so hated. He bit it hard to stop it, clenching his fingers to stop the trembling because he- He-

He couldn't translate it into words. He felt overwhelmed, caught unawares, caught off-guard. She wasn't to know who he was, she surely didn't know it was Cat Noir she was telling. And yet she'd told him, told Adrien how she felt. On so many different levels, Adrien could think of nothing but how much he loved her, the wondrous, amazing girl that she was. She trusted him, not just his superhero side but him. She trusted him enough to tell him something like that.

Something so personal he was certain she wouldn't tell anyone else but Alya. Maybe Nino.

Adrien felt overwhelmingly special right then, and that was only taking into consideration the trust she'd placed in Adrien, the strength of their growing friendship.

And for her to say that about Cat…

It took everything Adrien had, and much more besides, not to turn around right then and tell her he couldn't lose her either, that being Cat Noir wouldn't be worth it without her as the LadyBug at his side.

He wasn't sure how long he sat like that, trying and failing to get some sort of handle on his emotions, worrying more and more that he was going to cry in front of his whole class. He drew long, slow breaths to try and stem the gush of affection roaring loudly in his every molecule.

I don't know what I'd do without him.

He just hadn't been prepared to hear her say that. Or read her text that. Either way, Adrien was bowled over thy the enormity of it. By the way it made his heart sing. Even if she'd never love him back, knowing she meant that to him was impossible to just accept.

In the end it was the sensation of something dropping on his shoulder that jerked him from his panic, and he barely bit back the yowl of surprise as he lifted his head and turned to look.

On the bench beside him lay a pencil that certainly wasn't his, and unless Nino had developed a new penchant for Pink, it wasn't his either. Alya was scribbling with a pencil already, her eyes focused in that concentrated way of the thoroughly absorbed, so it wasn't hers either. His heart gave a sharp twitch in his chest as he reached out to pick it up, his eyes moving so very slowly to see her, his friend Marinette, whose pencil it surely was.

She was sitting forward in her seat as though she'd tried to stop the pencil rolling, one hand half outstretched in an aborted pose. Her eyes were round, locked on him. His breath caught and he found himself staring back at her, their eyes burning into each other as though they couldn't look away. His fingers tightened around the pencil, an attempt to ground himself because oh dear lord she was looking at him and he couldn't handle it!

"I- I-"

She stuttered, her mouth moving for words that weren't coming at all.

"Y-you dropped ah- this." he said with great effort, managing to get the words in the right order, at least.

His hand stretched out stupidly, offering the pencil to her. She blinked, looking down at it as though she had no idea what on earth it even was. Adrien swallowed. Marinette blinked again, and then suddenly her face was scarlet, her hand drawing back as though burned as she reached up to fiddle with one of her pigtails.

"I- uhm! So I! I mean I'm sorry!" she squeaked, and the sound did nothing but send his heart rocketing around again, her blush clearly contagious because he could feel it creeping over the bridge of his nose and bleeding down his cheeks.

"Okay." he sad back, coughing and looking down at the pencil because it seemed a more sensible idea than loosing his senses in her eyes again, "I mean it's okay. Here."

He placed the pencil on her desk, flicking a brave glance her way as he tried to smile.

In return, Marinette took hold of it so fast her fingers fumbled and she sent it skating back over the edge of her desk and onto his bench once more.

"I'm sorry!" she wailed in a hiss, her eyes growing bluer by the second.

Cat Noir had seen Marinette cry before and he felt it tear through him that she might be about to now.

"Don't worry about it, Mari." he whispered back, super soft. "It's kind of funny, really."

And, as if by magic, Marinette stilled and hiccuped a sound that could very well have been an aborted laugh. Her hand covered her lips as her blush stained down the sides of her neck.

"Sorry." she told him again, and Adrien felt better instantly.

"Don't be." he repeated, returning the pencil to her desk with a soft smile. "It's perfectly okay."

He just barely caught the pun on his tongue and no more, smiling to hide the fact that his brain was scolding his mouth for not keep a tighter reign on the purr.

"Oh." Marinette answered, a word that barely existed, it was so quiet.

And yet when Adrien turned back around to hide his reddened face he couldn't help but wonder if he was imagining the weight in it, as though he'd said something profound.

It took what felt like forever to settle his breathing, longer still for his heartbeat to fall into a healthy rhythm once more. And all the while he looked at that little screen and thought about her. On her balcony, talking that first time he'd visited, listening to her bemoan her lack of patience with Chloé, listening to her talk about something that had happened at school. Something he already knew about, considering he'd been there, but something he saw differently then, through her eyes.

She talked about a project they had been assigned in class, she told him about Alya and how she was the one who ran the LadyBlog. It was while watching her talk so fast about Alya, exuding such affection for their friend, that Adrien had realised he wasn't putting in nearly enough effort with their friendship in his civilian life.

Spending time with her on her balcony every now and then gave him insight into Marinette that helped him realise how to help her relax around him.

It had been the best thing that could have happened, stumbling across her on that fated balcony that night.

He hadn't realised how enchanting he found her until it was far, far too late to do anything about it. He loved LadyBug, with every fibre of his being. But his friendship with Marinette had begun to eclipse it somewhat, when he began to linger an extra hour at her house after school rather than go home to transform and look for LadyBug to begin patrol early, or to spend time with her.

Marinette's home was always so welcoming, a big part of that belonging to Mari herself, her nature. Her parents asked him to stay for dinner, and just like Marinette they treated him as a human being rather than a model, as though they forgot he were a celebrity.

Adrien had never been more grateful than for those chances to be part of a family. If only for long enough to bake croissants and have dinner.

Adrien longed to turn around and take a peek, just a sneak peek at her, unable to because he knew she'd catch him. Unable to because those little words on his screen, in that swooshy, artistic font he had assigned her contact, kept him from doing so. Instead, Adrien spend the remainder of the lesson reading them over and over, long after they were imprinted in his brain.

There was no way he ever wanted to forget what she had told him.

Mari: I can't lose him. I don't know what I'd do without him.

Chapter Text

"I'm going to the toilet."

Alya's voice jerked Marinette from her reverie and she flashed startled eyes her way.

"Hm?"

Alya only laughed, following Marinette's previous line of sight towards Nino and Adrien. The boys were standing at the food cart further up the path from the bench the were huddled on, Alya squashed right up next to her in an attempt to keep a little warmer. Marinette had put two flasks in her rucksack for Tikki this time, sneaking into the teacher's lounge on a trip to the toilet right before the lunch bell rang to fill them again with hot water from the dented old kettle.

"I said I'm going to the toilet and was going to ask if you wanted to come with, but you seem pretty happy here."

Alya's grin was wicked, her laughter as always making Marinette's cheeks flood with colour. Nino and Adrien were talking animatedly, Nino's arms flailing in a way he'd somehow picked up from Alya, his expression passionate and excited. Adrien was grinning, the winter breeze tugging at his hair and casting it all over his forehead and into his eyes as he laughed. When he began to answer he looked equally engaged, as he had been all afternoon in class.

He'd gone quiet after their texts, but soon had tuned into a conversation when their next lesson began and the class became chattier when their next teacher arrived. He had commented on most threads of conversation even though he was normally quiet like Marinette and usually Nino, allowing Alya to own the conversation. Today he'd been bolder and a little more willing to talk, something that had played havoc with Marinette's insides.

"Don't you think he's even more adorable than usual when he's like this?" she sighed, feeling Alya's shoulders jumping as her friend chuckled.

"It's funny seeing him so psyched up, weird in a way. Don't you think?"

Marinette shook her head, her eyes following Adrien's arms as he became more expressive, wishing she could hear what it was he was so worked up about.

"No. I mean, it's out of character for him but at the same time it's like… It fits him. But I'm sure I would remember if we'd ever seen him like this before." she answered, her voice thoughtful and distracted.

"Well, as long as you like it." Alya teased with a wink, earning a shove from her red-faced friend.

"I thought you were going to the toilet?" Marinette wailed, trying to scowl and pretty much failing.

"Nah." Alya answered, her eyes gleaming with that torturous light that Marinette knew meant trouble for her, "Changed my mind."

Marinette rolled her eyes.

"What, just so that you can torture me some more? You take too much pleasure in-"

"Oh, Hi guys!"

Marinette froze, her shoulders hunching under her ears as Alya's voice raised. Turning to look over her shoulder, she saw their friends nearing, hands full. She happened to look right at the same time that Adrien looked up from his feet in the snow and right at her, an instant smile weaving onto his lips. A smile that made Marinette want to squeak out the ballooning nervousness in her chest, the suffocating re-acknowledgement that he was so freaking adorable.

"Yo!" Nino answered for them both, grinning wide and using the back of his full hand to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Marinette smiled back, at least. She was keeping a close eye on the faint, occasional shiver that she seemed stuck with the second they'd left the school building. She didn't want to find herself left in the same position she had mere days ago, overwhelmed by the shaking and taken over by the cold.

No, thank you.

"Here, we'll make room." Alya was saying, and when Marinette turned it was to find Alya peeling herself from her side just enough to let Nino fit in-between them with a laugh as he almost slipped on the trodden-down snow beneath the bench.

Marinette recognised the gleam in Alya's eyes too late to do anything about it, as Adrien dropped down onto the bench on her other side. She couldn't even turn to shoot the glare she so wanted to at Alya, because Nino was right in between them. When their eyes met, though, Alya's grin only became even more toothy.

"Aww, you'll be warm in no time now, Girl!" her so-called best friend exclaimed, pretending as though she were jealous.

She did not fool Marinette one bit.

"Huh?" Nino looked up from the phone he'd pulled from his pocket, glancing between them before landing on Marinette, concerned.

"You okay, Nett?"

Marinette nodded hurriedly.

"Y-Yeah. I-"

Alya was going to be no help here, clearly.

"I'm just pretty cold, I guess." she mumbled, making a show of checking her jacket was zipped all the way and tugging her scarf a little tighter.

"Well, now Nino and Adrien can keep you warm." Alya smiled, unable to hide the laugh Marinette could hear so clearly in her voice.

"Right!" Nino cried, shifting closer to Marinette so that their sides were pressed together all the way from knee to shoulder and giving her a grin. "Wouldn't be a new idea, huh Nett?"

Marinette laughed suddenly, struck off guard by the memory of her eight year old self huddled on the very same bench awaiting her turn to join a snowball fight, aware that it was because nobody wanted her on their team but were too nice to say. It wasn't that she minded, she was awful at snowballing and she knew it, but still it had stung a little bit just the same.

It had been while watching Ivan chase Kim, howling about the snow down his back that Marinette had been joined by Nino, decked out in a luminous snowsuit of blue and lime, drowning in an orange beanie hat that clearly belonged to his big sister or had at some point. He'd clambered up beside her with a smile, offering her one of the bubble sticks in his hand.

"Aren't bubbles for summer?" Marinette had asked, accepting the gift anyway.

Nino, relaxed and easy-going even then, had simply given her a smile and unscrewed the lid of his liquid, blowing a flurry of round, shiny bubbles into the cold air between them.

"Fun is for the whole year." he'd answered, shooting her a gap-toothed grin. "And I'm tired of running away from Alix. She's too fast for a tiny girl."

Marinette laughed, watching him blow bubbles again before unscrewing her own with cautious, numbing fingers. When she'd blown a meagre portion of bubbles, giggling with pride, Nino pushed his glasses up from where they'd fallen down the bridge of his nose and looked at her.

"See?Why should I wait for summer to do this?"

To emphasise his point, he blew another long, endless stream of bubbles. Marinette watched them fly upwards, passing the falling snowflakes on their way. They gleamed icy blue in the wintry light, so very different from the way they looked in sumer sunshine.

"Good point."

"Course it was." Nino replied with a friendly snort, blowing more bubbles with her, all of them meeting and bumping into each others, popping each other or absorbing snow, creating a mess above their heads.

Somewhere along the line of laughing hysterically and filling the sky with bubbles they had ended up pressed together much like they were now, each cold child keeping the other warm. Every year since, when the Snowball wars became too intense, Nino and Marinette would take a break from being the almost constantly losing team, sitting on the bench and watching the others. Often while blowing insane amounts of winter bubbles.

"Uhh… What?" Alya asked, clearly confused by Marinette's giggles. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." Marinette said, trying to change the laughter into a cough and failing, "It's just…"

"A yearly tradition." Nino chuckled with her, passing Alya the paper bag with their lunches so that he could reach into the rucksack under his feet.

He pulled out a little red and yellow bottle triumphantly, giving Marinette a grin that she had seen all her life, making her feel suddenly emotional about how lucky she was to be his friend.

"It's been a while since I bought any, been sort of stain' away since… Well. But I thought today might be as good a time as any to buy more."

Marinette hadn't said anything, but she had noticed in the last months that her friend had seemed to grow out of his penchant for bubbles, a thought that had made her sad. She grinned back at him.

"You're a genius, Nino."

He shrugged.

"I try."

He dropped the bottle back into his bag, giving Marinette a sly look.

"Food first, yeah? Then we'll teach these noobs about winter fun?"

Marinette laughed.

"Deal!"

And then, as Nino was turning back to a bemused-looking Alya to sort out their lunches, Marinette was suddenly piercingly aware of the flank of heat down her other side, the one that was most definitely not coming from Nino. She swallowed as she felt the heat rush to her cheeks, turning in her perch so that she was sitting straight rather than angling towards Nino.

Adrien was looking down at his phone, looking thoughtful and far away, but he looked ups t her when she turned his way, immediately putting the device away. Such a gentleman. Marinette's heart thudded at the sight of falling snow in his fringe, and her fingers suddenly itched with the urge to reach up and brush that unruly fringe back from his eyes.

A familiar feeling crept across her chest like a prowling cat, and she swallowed.

"Hey." Adrien said, lifting something from a cardboard tray on his knees, "I had the best idea ever."

And then he offers her a cardboard throwaway cup, a curl of ivory steam escaping from the small oval hole, through which the smell of gingerbread was filling the air.

"Oh, you didn't have to." Marinette argued mildly, her face growing tight as her blush burned deeper. When he simply smiled again she accepted the cup, only to stop the tingling electricity jumping from the touch of his fingers against her hand.

"No, but I wanted to." Adrien answered her, his face brightening as his grin lit his eyes, "I got you cheese." he added cryptically, rummaging in the bag he was holding, "I wasn't sure if you liked anything else."

He looked up, his eyes sparkling in the wintery moment like precious gems.

"Are you okay with toasties, Mari?" he asked, and Marinette was thrown back in time several months.

Cat sat on her balcony railing, munching eagerly on her offering of the night as she laughed at his enthusiasm.

"These are so good, Mari!" he mumbled, mouth full and eyes flashing.

Marinette laughed at him, leaning over the railing to drop the crumbled crust of her own over into the night.

"I love toasties." she admitted, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and smiling bashfully, "There's just something so great about them. Like food that gives you a hug while you eat it."

Cat had laughed at her words but when she'd shot him a look she found him smiling at her, and she knew he wasn't being mean.

"The great thing is that you can put anything in them." she told him, smiling when he cocked his head to one side and his ears perked up to listen attentively, "Anything at all."

"Ham." he said, looking thoughtful when she nodded, "Eggs and broccoli chorizo and chocolate and beans."

Marinette pulled a face at him.

"Not all at once." she laughed, "And broccoli not at all. But yeah, anything you like. So many different chances to be creative. We make them to order in the bakery in winter. They're so perfect on a really cold day."

Cat blinked slowly at her, his smile softening into something fond.

"What do you put in yours?" he asked, sounding genuinely interested. "If you can have anything, what do you pick?"

Marinette looked away, suddenly finding herself feeling the beginning coil of something new, something that made her think that maybe her cheeks might be turning pink. Paris was laid out, the view nothing when compared to the one they got from the tower but still beautiful. Still enchanting.

"Cheese." she answered, looking at him almost apologetically. "I like other things too, now and then. But when it comes down to it I… I don't know. I like it sort of simple."

Cat had nodded, turning back to eating his own toast as Marinette picked at the second half of hers.

"I like simple." he'd said after a moment, and Marinette was sure her cheeks had most definitely taken on a pink hue.

Adrien was looking at her with bright, bright green eyes, and her chest was full of so much fondness for him she could burst.

"O-Oh, uhm, yes. I- I love toasties."

Adrien's grin was beaming, like summer sunshine so bright she almost had to look away.

"Thank you." she managed to mumble, looking at him sideways as she accepted it from his hands.

"I thought it'd be good." he told her cheerfully, taking a bite from his own and looking back at her, "Keep you warm."

Marinette felt her insides warming already, more from his company than from the food.

Chapter Text

Marinette was singing to herself as she tidied, the iPod on her desk filtering soft Christmas music into the room. Her voice was quiet, sweet and lovely, not that she thought so. But the boy perched outside at the window, one hand raised to knock, had stilled to listen because he most definitely thought so.

She was dancing, he realised. Gently, swaying as she lifted things and dropped things in her little wastepaper bin, turning in delicate shapes as she opened drawers, a soft movement of her shoulders, her bending down and back to her feet in an elegant movement to the beat of the violin leading the old song.

He almost didn't want to interrupt, watching her steal his heart all over again with the way she spun slowly in a basic ballet movement, clearly untrained but beautiful, her lashes resting on her cheeks and a vague, sweet smile on her lips.

It was enchanting.

"Cat!"

Ahh. He smiled bashfully, his ears softening, lowering an inch or so. He'd been caught. Marinette was standing, pink dancing across her cheeks and fondness battling embarrassment in her azure eyes.

He loosed the fist he'd made to knock, pointing unnecessarily at the glass.

"I was going to knock." he told her honestly.

Marinette strode over, hands settling on her hips as she looked up at him through the glass.

"Yeah? When?"

He gave a nervous laugh, reaching for the back of his neck.

"Right away?"

Marinette rolled her eyes, biting back a grin.

"You're an idiot." she said, before standing up on her toes to push the skylight open for him.

He dropped down, taking her hand as he landed on one knee.

"Hi." he said, awkward, before bravely placing a kiss on the knuckles of her hand.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, voice losing the edge it had, even though she pulled her hand away like always.

Cat straightened up, chuckling again.

"I figured… Well, seeing as I already know, I thought I'd swing by and pick you up for patrol."

Marinette shot him a playfully suspicious look.

"You just don't want me to go out in the cold on my own." she deduced, grinning when his awkward, You-caught-me face confirmed it.

At her triumphant expression Cat rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. His tail jerked from side to side.

"That's not the only reason. I want to make sure you're okay too, but I…"

The fight fell out of him and he rubbed his neck, flashing her a weak smile.

"I just wanted to pick you up."

Marinette was sure her heart was going to be a useless puddle by the end of the night if he kept that look on his face.

"Okay." she said, finding a giggle on her lips at the way he lit up, smile in place and ears falling softly against his hair.

"Now, Marinette?" asked a friendly voice.

Both teens turned to see Tikki rising from her favourite place on Marinette's pillow, fluttering over to hover between them.

"Tikki." Marinette told him, gesturing a little towards the Kwami, "I guess really you've met her already."

"Ahh.. Uhm, Yes." Cat replied, thinking again of that moment, of steam and heat and his best friend lying in the water.

Of her lying in the snow.

His stomach lurched with a wave of protective affection, and his face began ti burn.

"It's lovely to see you again, Cat Noir." Tikki said, giving him a smile that was as lovely as Marinette's, her eyes bright and friendly, "Would you please tell Plagg I said hello?"

Cat Noir nodded, raising two fingers to his forehead in a cheesy salute.

"Cat's honour." he promised.

Marinette rolled her eyes as she cupped her hands for Tikki, but she was smiling all the same.

"Ready, Tikki?"

"Ready!"

"Spots on!"

Cat Noir watched the dazzling pink light envelope his friend, his heart beginning to lose its stability as he watched something sacred, something personal and secret that Marinette was showing him. Something nobody else was ever to know. He felt his heart throb hard, once, with the love he felt right then.

When it was done and the last pink sparkles of light had winked out, LadyBug was standing before him, her eyes so very deep and blue behind her mask.

Patrol was different, that evening. Not in a way it never had been before, but different. Deeper. Cat Noir watched LadyBug swing through their city and he listened to her joyous, free whoops of laughter and he called alongside her, their voices shrieking and silly and childish in the falling night. Cat Noir watched her and he saw her behind the mask. He saw her, for who she was.

And if he thought he'd loved her completely before knowing then boy was he wrong. Dead wrong. Because now? Now he loved her more than he could fathom, the feeling weighted and important where it lay inside his heart. It made everything… more. Crossing paths as they travelled, bounding over her swing and catching her eye as they passed, watching the way she landed now, without the fear, the stumble she used to have in their beginning. The way she threw the yo-yo out and knew where it would take her, the way she kicked snow across the rooftops at him when she swung over his head.

Even her laugh sounded different now, sweeter, richer. More familiar.

Cat Noir was completely and utterly in love with her, and he couldn't imagine feeling happier than he did right then. Eve if she never knew who he was, if she didn't want to know, he'd always have her, her secrets, her friendship. Her smile flashed his way. It made his eyes tingle, and he had to blink away a tear or two, feeling all that emotion bundled and warm and snug inside of him, just wanting to reach out and touch the world to let it know how he felt. To make it feel it too.

"Let's test your reflexes!" came a cry, and when he turned towards it he received a fateful of snow, a light, angelic laugh following behind.

"Gotcha!" she cried, and the game was on.

Cat chased her through the snow, dodging and weaving her throws, taking several before he even managed to find a rhythm that allowed him to scoop up ammunition of his own. He tossed it her way, catching her knee because she was too fast, leaping out of the way. Her laughter was so gorgeous, so entrancing.

Cat chased her and evaded her, hitting his mark a mere handful of times. But it was worth the shock of wet snow in his collar, the yowls that he couldn't always manage to catch before they left his tongue. It was worth the teasing, fond comments about his cat nature. It was worth it all because it was all wonderful.

By the time the moon was coming out they had circled back towards her balcony, Cat leading for a time, using the tightly-built chimney pots for protection. When they got back she retransformed, sending Tikki inside where the warmth was, concerned for the kwami's dislike of the biting temperature.

"I won't be out long." she'd had to promise when the little ladybug voiced hesitation, "And Cat's with me. He'll make sure I'm okay."

"Cat's honour." was his instant response, but the playful tone didn't make Marinette doubt for a minute that he wasn't serious.

She was watching the moon, breathing in the quiet winter air when Cat eventually spoke in a lovely, familiar whisper.

"I… I wondered if you'd… If you want to know who I am. Considering I know, I mean. Or if…" His soft green eyes ghosted over her face, making her tremble on the inside, "If you know, already."

"I… I think I'm getting there." she hedged, "With knowing." Her lips twisted in a teasing smile and her eyes lit up, "I like jigsaw puzzles. Putting all the pieces together. It's…"

She broke off to laugh, a giggle that warmed his heart as her eyes flashed his way.

"It's been driving me crazy, but I… Well. I have a guess."

His heart began to thunder in his chest, making it hard to breathe. He swallowed and almost choked, anticipation tightening his vocal chords as he stared at her. She was watching him carefully, her eyes thoughtful and deep as the sea. He cleared his throat, trying his very best to smile cockily. It didn't really work, but it made her blush. He could see it creeping across her moonlight-kissed cheeks.

"You want to know?" he whispered.

"Do you want me to?" she whispered back, making him realise so suddenly how close they were sitting, how easy it would be to just reach out and touch her cheek, how little he would have to lean in to kiss her.

"Yes." he decided, wanting nothing more than he wanted their friendship to bloom the way it had in their suits.

Marinette nodded, not a flicker of surprise in her eyes, her smile gentle and lovely. She had known he would want to share his identity, he realised, and somehow seeing that made him feel hot all over and it was sweet and intense and a little scary. But in a good way.

She knew him.

"Then yes." she breathed, gazing up at him with an emotion in her eyes that looked so soft and so devoted that it made him shiver.

His hands were shaking, his heart thumping as adrenaline coursed through him, his face hot, his head buzzing and a feeling that was equal parts fearful and sweet flooding him.

Marinette took a breath, her eyes on his as she let it out in a quiet, steady whistle.

"A boy so good at so many things it makes me dizzy," she began, her smile both shy and steady, "who always gives me time to talk and always listens when I do, even when I'm rambling."

Her gaze finally dropped to her hands as the pink on her cheeks began to deepen.

"A friend who catches me almost every time I fall, who doesn't laugh at me when I trip or when I drop things all the time around him."

Her eyes peeked up at him again, shining and freckled with starlight.

"Who helps me pick them up instead."

Her hand reached for his, sending his pulse haywire as it pulled him a little from the enchanting atmosphere her gentle words were weaving around them, and she moved closer, resting her head upon his shoulder and looking at him across the minute distance, eyes bluer than he could conceive and her face pink and silver and her lashes like fine strands of ebony.

"I can't believe that all this time I didn't see it." she breathed, each word pearled and precious to Cat's ears, "That you were there for me all the time, in the suit and out of it."

Cat was sure his chest were about to lose its occupant, its beat was so erratic. He was flushed from head to toe in something warm and safe, something lovely. He would journey to Hell and back to always feel the way she made him feel.

"You're my Princess." he told her softly, watching every movement in her eyes, feeling the warmth of her hand as her fingers curled comfortably around his own. "Every knight needs a Lady to fight for."

Marinette giggled, a different sound from the usual unrestrained glee he loved so much to hear. This one was precious, only for him, and he could hear her fondness in the sound. Her eyes seemed to glow as she smiled at him again.

"And every Lady should have a knight so dashing and noble and loyal as you, Adrien."

His smile was wide and bright as he heard her, his heart singing because finally she knew, finally they had found each other.

"I knew you'd get it." he told her, the pride in his voice straining at the quiet he had tried to place upon it, wanting to shout from the rooftops so that all of Paris could know his joy at being discovered by her, his partner.

His love. His LadyBug, His Bugaboo. His friend.

Mari.

She flashed a wide and joyous grin, tipping her head to one side to treat him to a bold and wonderful look.

"I always believed that if the time ever came, I wouldn't want to know. Once I'd gotten over the fear that you knew, I was okay. But… But when you said see you at school… I realised I wanted it more than anything else."

She reached up her free hand to place her palm against his cheek, her expression soft and adoring. And then she giggled.

"You mouthed Milady at me and I didn't catch on! And I was almost sure you nearly punned when you gave me my pencil back. And you offered to help and you knew just how to help and I- Adrien, when I worked it out I couldn't believe it."

He chuckled, reaching up, half-nervous, to run a hand through his hair, rub the back of his neck.

"Plagg explained the magic to me." he told her with a shy grin. "I couldn't believe it either, because when I look at you now all I can see is how much like LadyBug you look, hear how much you sound like her and it makes me feel so stupid for not putting it together right away."

Marinette laughed.

"Yeah, Tikki told me too. She explained about the glamour and how I wouldn't be able to work it out, no matter what I did or how hard I tried, until you gave the magic permission for me to know by doing just what you did." Her eyes shone. "Giving me clues and trying so hard to help me without telling me."

"Plagg said they all do, eventually." he replied, his hand slipping from his neck to catch the one against his face, curl his fingers around hers. "He said he's never met a Cat Noir who didn't want to know, who didn't want to leave clues for their LadyBug."

Marinette's grin only widened.

"Curiosity and the Cat. Why am I not surprised?"

His laugh made her giggle, and the two sounds merged as they floated up into the Parisian air, travelled over the rooftops.

"Maybe they all craved to know the clawsome wonder of their partner without the threat of battle."

Marinette rolled her eyes, his smile taking on that edge that he had labelled as LadyBug in his head. It made him nervous, made his Cat Noir side rise to the surface to meet the challenge, made his veins buzz, his senses awaken. She leaned in to whisper in his ear.

"Purrhaps they hoped for what every gallant knight seeks from their Lady."

"What's that?" he managed to breathe around the anticipation hitching in his throat.

Marinette smiled shyly before her face turned until her lips were so close to his that he could feel the heat from them. The sight of her hooded eyes, of her gaze trailing to his mouth made him weak and a pleasant sort of panicky inside.

"Her favour." she whispered, her eyes meeting his once more, betraying the uncertainty she was feeling.

And somehow that won over the panic enough to allow him to reach for her too, to take hold of her chin with careful fingers and tip her face just so before he moved in, breathing a promise to her before pressing his lips to hers.

"You'll always be the Lady I fight for."

Chapter Text

Adrien dropped in through his bedroom window and spun in a silly, dizzy circle as he fell towards his bed, Plagg whirling from his miraculous just before the blonde hit the mattress. Adrien had a dopey, lovely grin on his face, buried in his pillow as he loosed a record-breaking sigh of satisfaction, his hands curling under the pillow as he closed his eyes.

He was pretty sure he was dreaming.

"So you got the canary, then." Plagg commented after a few moments munching on the plate of cheese Adrien had left out before going to Marinette's, snickering at his own joke as he looped-the-loop across the room to land beside his Chosen.

"And the cream." Adrien sighed, turning his face to the side so that his kwami could see the red stain that still heated his face, the unquenchable smile he was wearing.

Plagg rolled his eyes, but there was a quirk to the corner of his mouth, one fang peeking over his bottom lip.

"Are ya happy now?" he asked after a moment, letting his gaze flick deliberately from the top of Adrien's head to his chin and back.

Adrien merely closed his eyes, the smile growing again, uncontrollable, unkillable. Like his feelings for Mari.

"You have no idea." he answered.

Plagg heaved a sigh and snorted.

"Yeah, never seen this before." he snarked with no heat, buzzing over to the light switch on the wall, shaking himself out before flying right at it with his shoulder to flick it.

The room fell into dusky shadow, the pale silver light filtering from the window giving the room a wintry, fairytale look. Satisfied, Plagg zipped over to the bed, settling on his corner of Adrien's pillow and curling into a ball. He cocked one eye half-open, watching the smile on Adrien's dozing face. If caught he'd deny it, of course, but he watched the smile stretch and relax, like a heart beating in time with whatever thoughts the teen was thinking. Plagg smirked.

"Night, Kid."

"Mmmffnette, Plagg."

With a roll of his eyes, the kwami tucked his head under in paws and pounced upon sleep.

"What?"

Adrien turned away from his half-empty school bag to look at Plagg, scrunching his nose as the kwami lifted a particularly large, foul-smelling piece of camembert and waved it in his paw. A piece that size meant he was going to get crumbs everywhere.

Well, everywhere but all over the clothes that Marinette had made for him. Adrien wasn't stupid. He might have been pre-occupied lately, but he hadn't missed how attentive and careful Plagg was of the outfit. He never wore any of it when he was eating.

"Marinette." Plagg answered, sounding disinterested and a little… something else. Weird. "I want to meet her."

Adrien looked at him in surprise before it struck him that his partner was yet to meet the kwami, a fact he felt a little bit guilty about considering that he'd met Tikki last night. The reminder sent heat to his face, the memory of the night before making him smile.

Marinette.

He was giddy once more, ignoring his kwami's snarking comments as he turned his head away once more to finish packing his schoolbag. He couldn't stop smiling, couldn't think of anything but the feeling growing once more in his chest, the knowledge that Marinette had kissed him.

Nathalie gave him funny looks over breakfast, the Gorilla raised an eyebrow or two during the journey to school, but it didn't make a difference. Adrien was so in love it actually hurt, the pain of his ribcage being too small for his heart.

Ideally, he wanted to catch her before school, before there were eyes everywhere. Before he had to sit in his seat and know that she was right behind him, knowing he couldn't spend the whole day turned to look at her even though he wanted to. God, he wanted to.

But it doesn't always work that way, and so Adrien was stuck, trying and failing to focus on whatever Nino was talking about, responding to Alya's teasing laughter a little too late, to assure them he was fine, just… had something one his mind.

Someone, not that he could tell them.

He was pretty sure he should check with Marinette first before he went off spouting his love for her in front of their classmates.

If he thought he was on a high then, he was dead wrong. Because barely thirty seconds into the register being taken, the classroom door flew open and a human-sized bundle of sunshine tumbled inside.

His breath caught. His hands grew restless and sort of sweaty, his mouth dried up and his collar felt overly tight all of a sudden. His face was warm, his heart raced.

"Sorry!" Marinette cried, straightening and tugging her rucksack straight on her shoulders, "I didn't hear my alarm go off."

Her cheeks were pink and every move was apologetic, right down to the way she ducked her head as the teacher sighed.

"I have yet to reach you on here," the teacher said, sounding almost amused as she waved a sheet of paper in the air, "so I shall overlook it."

Marinette's face lit in a lovely expression.

"Thank you."

The teacher waved her to her seat, a smile creeping across her face. Adrien didn't blame her. Marinette's smiling was infectious, something he had always known but had only truly realised during his visits as Cat Noir. He already knew he himself was going to find it difficult to stop at all today.

When she turned towards the desk, her eyes met his and the world clicked into place once more. She smiled bashfully, her face reddening even further.

"Good morning Mari." he whispered as she passed his desk, turning to keep her gaze as long as he could, his stomach full of fluttering wings.

"Hi." she breathed, and the way her eyes sparkled made it difficult not to stand up right there and then and hug her tightly.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

"Yes?"

He turned to see the teacher, looking their way, exasperated and amused in almost equal measure. A look LadyBug had perfected.

"The correct answer is here, normally. Or present."

"Present." Marinette mumbled apologetically, dropping her schoolbag with a fumble. "Oh, shoot."

Adrien was most definitely going to find the whole day difficult.

By the time the bell rang for break he was feeling desperate. To look at her for as long as he wanted, to talk to her without feeling like the whole world was watching. To ask if he could hold her hand, to give her a hug, to do literally anything but sit in his seat knowing she could be looking at him right then and he couldn't look back.

And then the universe gave him a gift. Just as the bell was going, everybody scrambling to throw their things into their bags in the hope of earning themselves those precious extra seconds, the teacher called a handful of names.

"I'd like to speak to the following people for just a minute."

A collective, muffled groan could almost be heard.

"Kim, Nino, Juleka and Alya, could you wait behind please?"

Yes!

Everyone else bolted, as though afraid that to stay might get them on whatever list that was. Adrien gave Nino a sympathetic smile, fiddling with the strap of his bag as he awaited Marinette. She seemed to be moving slowly, putting things away so very very carefully. It made him anxious and impatient and even more nervous than he already was.

Eventually she was done, making her way to the door, touching Alya's arm as she passed her and giving her a grin.

"Meet you outside!" Nino called after them, and Adrien raised his hand to wave in acknowledgement.

When he finally left the room he was surprised to see Marinette half-way down the corridor already, standing with her back to him and with her hands clenched at her sides. He approached, feeling a trickle of fear shiver down his back.

What if she was avoiding him on purpose? What if she felt differently now it was daytime?

What if she regretted last night?

"Uhm, Mari?" he greeted, stepping up beside her to see her face.

She didn't jump, not like she usually did if he spoke to her before she saw him. Instead she looked up, her eyes full of so many things it made him feel a little dizzy, and she was biting her lip.

"Hey." she said, looking back down at her feet.

He couldn't read her, unsure if what he was seeing was sad or unhappy, or nervous. Or… it felt like something else.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly, hesitantly. "I… uhm."

She looked up again, her cheeks bleeding deep pink and her hands twisting together. She smiled softly.

"I'm good, I'm just… I don't know what I am." she gave a small laugh. "I… I've been freaking out all morning wondering how to… I don't know."

He laughed, knowing that even to his own ears it sounded strange.

"I know. It's… weird, right?"

She shot him a look, her eyes becoming clear and familiar, teasing.

"You know we make no sense, right?"

And there was his salvation. He grinned, feeling the familiar confidence sneak back in. He cocked his head to one side, watching as it showed on her face that she could see it, she could see him for all that he was and it was wonderful.

"Why, we make purrfect sense." he answered, and the way it bloomed across her face made him feel better right away.

They were going to be okay, because what he had said was completely true. This made sense to him, had always made sense. Not always so much when they were both civilian, but in their suits?It made sense. When he was Cat and she was herself? It made sense. And now, now it made sense here like this too.

"You're awful." she answered, smothering a giggle with her hand.

Adrien smirked, bumping his shoulder against hers in a friendly manner.

"You mispronounced clawsome."

There was no smothering her laughter that time, and Adrien felt his heart swell as he chuckled with her.

"I… I dunno if I can survive puns at school too." she said, softly, looking up a him with fond eyes.

"I can cut down." he offered instantly, his eyes earnest. "Whatever you're comfortable with."

She melted, watching him look at her like that, feeling how true his offer was. He was wonderful, her friend, her partner, her Cat Noir. Adrien. She drew a brave breath, feeling her nerves fade marginally. It was going to be weird, for a while. She'd known that the second he left last night, known it as she lay unable to sleep, known it as she washed and dressed and ate her breakfast.

But it was also right. This, between them, his thing that they always were, it was what she wanted. The to-and-fro, the teasing, the laughter. He was everything, she knew now. And damned if she wasn't going to make sure he knew it. And she'd start by getting used to him as himself, because she owed him that much.

"No." she said, before reaching out to offer him a fist bump. "You be you, and I'll be me."

His grin was wide and awesome as his knuckles met hers.

"Deal."

They were standing there, grinning ridiculously at each other as someone shouted out behind them, before barreling right past.

"Snowballs, after school!" Alix cried, speeding down the hall on her rollerblades, dodging between Alya and Nino when they rounded the corner, "Sorry guys!"

"What was that about?" Nino greeted as they neared, adjusting his hat and shooting Adrien and Marinette a grin. "She looks psyched dude!"

"Battle tonight." Marinette answered, smiling back at him and giggling at Alya's enthusiastic, full-body jerk as she spun around from where she was glaring at Alix's disappearing form, "You bring the bubbles?"

"You got it, Nett." Nino laughed in response, offering her a fist bump.

"Wicked!" Alya beamed, hefting her rucksack onto her shoulder and then stopping to untangle a lock of her hair from the strap, "I love snowball fights!"

"Only because you're so good at them." Marinette laughed, bumping her knuckles to Nino's, "If you were as bad as I am, you might not like them so much."

"You're not bad at snowball fights, Mari." Adrien assured her, dropping an arm around her shoulders and grinning when her cheeks turned pink.

She tipped her head to the side to look at him from under her lashes, her lips catching his smile and returning it sweetly.

"Aaww, thank you." A gleam entered her eyes, "You're not all that bad at them either."

Alya stopped what she was doing as Adrien spluttered and pretended to be offended, making Marinette giggle at him. Both were pink; Marinette cerise and Adrien a faint rose, and Alya found herself staring at Marinette with a disbelieving look on her face. The fact that Marinette hadn't spontaneously combusted from Adrien's arm around her was one thing, but that and a full sentence when he was standing less than a foot from her face? And that sentence being an all out taunt? Something was definitely up. Marinette met her eyes briefly, an evasive light in her expression as she smiled sheepishly.

"You don't hate Snowball fights though, do you?" Nino asked, seeming not to see anything out of the ordinary. (Or if he did, he was pretending not to, which made Marinette smile more.)

"Well, no." Marinette conceded, her gaze flickering Adrien's way for a moment, "In fact I kind of love them."

"Well, maybe Alya'd still love them too, even if her arm was rubbish." Adrien reasoned, and Marinette rolled her eyes.

"Shut up."

Alya looked to Nino pointedly as the pair began to bicker, meeting his amber eyes with her own wide stare.

Are you seeing this? she mouthed, freaking out inside.

Was what she thought was happening… actually happening?

Also, what?

Nino shrugged, giving her a bemused sort of smile and looking entirely okay with the bizarre situation they were standing in. But his eyes were full of sparkle, excitement clear and evident for anyone who cared to look.

I know. he mouthed back, distracted by whatever their friends were whisper-arguing about, Marinette's laughter lovely to his ears, Awesome, right?

Alya looked at him skeptically, her gaze moving deliberately from their friends to him, and back and forth again. Nino rolled his eyes, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and then sticking out his tongue at her.

Alya was just about to begin calming down when Adrien laughed, Marinette's face in a faux pout that made it clear he'd won some sort of bicker. His arm around her shoulders hugged Marinette close, before the boy dropped an almost un-catchable kiss atop the hat on her head.

And that was when Alya had her meltdown.

Chapter Text

"Come on in, Adrien." Sabine smiled, taking Marinette's coat from where she'd tossed it over a chair. "I'll hang your coat up, dear."

Adrien smiled back politely, pretending to fumble with his zip long enough for the wriggling bundle in his inside pocket to move from his jacket to his shirt.

"Thanks, Mrs Dupain-Cheng."

"Call me Sabine, dear." she answered like always, a fond look in her eyes.

Adrien followed a grinning Marinette upstairs, closing the trapdoor behind him as he looked at her. She was over by her bed, dragging a shallow, purple-printed box from underneath. He opened his mouth to ask if she wanted a hand, and what was she up to, but another voice got there first.

"Marinette!" The little cat god grinned, looping through the air to settle upon her shoulder when she looked up in surprise. "We finally meet."

"Oh!" Marinette squeaked, rocking up from her half-kneeling half-lying position so quickly that she almost tumbled backwards, "Plagg, right? Yes! It's so lovely to meet you!"

She looked him over, marvelling at his appearance as she realised she was looking at her own handiwork.

"It fits!" she exclaimed, grinning widely. "Brilliant!"

The kwami nodded, his ears going soft and falling to the sides the way she loved Cat Noir's to.

"Yupp. It's the best present I've ever had." he told her, before sneaking a look over his shoulder at his Chosen, straightening up a little and coughing. "Besides the Camembert Adrien gives me, of course."

Marinette giggled, seeing the incredulous expression on Adrien's face as he stared at his kwami.

"Naturally." she answered, pleased when Plagg grinned at her again. "You are so adorable, by the way."

"Hmph." Plagg answered, but he sounded pleased.

"Plagg!" shrieked a squeaky voice, "Finally!"

Tikki rocketed out of nowhere, hurtling right into the black cat and sending them both tumbling through the air. She was giggling, throwing her little paws around his neck as he righted himself.

"It's been what, three days?" Plagg asked, sounding amused, "Four?"

"Hush." Tikki said, only squeezing him tighter, "I've missed you."

In response, Plagg rolled his eyes and hugged her back.

"Wait…" Adrien frowned, looking from the pair of kwamis to Marinette's surprised expression.

"You knew?" Marinette asked, looking a little uncertain as she eyed her kwami. Tikki untangled herself, zipping over to land in Marinette's cupped hands.

Her big blue eyes were luminous, apology written all over them. Plagg on the other hand only shrugged to his Chosen, floating hungrily over the the plate Marinette had set upon her desk.

"It wasn't my secret to share with you, Marinette." Tikki said, sounding a little regretful, "And there wasn't any way for me to ask if I could tell him yours without telling you who would want to know."

Marinette nodded after a quiet moment, giving the little pink god a small smile and rubbing the top of her head.

"That makes sense." she said, and Tikki beamed.

"But how?" asked Adrien, feeling a little out of the loop, "How did you know? When did you know?"

"The jackets." Plagg supplied, chewing noisily on his cheese bread, "This is sooo good!" He smacked his lips, licking crumbs from his whiskers, "When you put Adrien's jacket on the heater, I was inside."

Marinette turned to look at Adrien, a lightbulb winking on inside her head.

"That's why you looked so freaked out!" she cried, a sudden laugh bubbling up, "I thought it was because you were worried I'd ruin your coat, but it was because you were scared I'd find Plagg!"

Adrien smiled, dropping into his favourite of her chairs.

"Yeah. Although if anybody was going to find out, I would have been okay it was you."

A smile took over her face before Marinette frowned, mentally checking her facts.

"But that was before patrol. You didn't know it was me, then."

She looked at him, her brow knitted together as she watched him simply smile, sweet and pink in the face.

"No, but you were you. I would have been okay with Marinette knowing."

Marinette felt the words thrum under her skin, beside her heart.

"You would? Really?"

"I don't visit for the food, y'know." he replied softly.

"Aww, Adrien…"

Plagg began to grumble from his perch on the desk behind him, but one look from Tikki shut him up. Adrien gave a nervous, embarrassed chuckle and shrugged.

"You're my friend, Mari."

"You're wonderful, Adrien." she told him in return, moving over towards him. "Just wonderful."

A light glimmered in his eyes.

"Don't you mean-"

"Pawsitively clawsome." she finished for him, before cutting off his words with a kiss.

Adrien jumped in surprise, before he reached for her, one hand hesitant and gentle in her hair as the other brushed against her cheek. When she drew back it was with a giggle, his eyes bright and full of something, something fond and sweet that made it hard for him to breathe. His heart was racing.

"What's wrong?" she whispered, a wicked smirk taking over her lips, "LadyBug got your tongue?"

He laughed, brushing her hair behind her ear as he looked at her and marvelled that she was there with him, like that.

"You stole my line." he breathed.

"I improved your line." she corrected, moving backwards as her confidence began to wane again.

When she dropped into the other desk chair Plagg fluttered over from his plate to land on her elbow.

"Thank you for the food, Marinette." he yawned, before curling lazily along her forearm.

Adrien looked at him in shock, to see the little god be so nice, so polite… He wasn't sure if he found it funny or upsetting, that Plagg was so nice to Marinette and so annoying for him. When Marinette met his eyes and gave him a smile, excitement barely held in check behind her eyes, he smiled back. Either way, it made her happy, and that was good enough for him.

"Aren't you going to the snowball fight?" Tikki squeaked, fluttering over to hover by Adrien's shoulder, "It should be starting soon."

Adrien twisted his head to look at her.

"True." he said thoughtfully before glancing over at Marinette.

The thought of staying in here with her was tempting. It would keep her warm, and it'd be nice to have some time with her, just the two of them. Alya had almost exploded on them at break, dragging Marinette off at a quick march and leaving Nino and Adrien to watch after them. Nino had commented, nonchalant and supportive as always, on his new familiarity with Marinette. Adrien had played it off as their friendship blooming, unsure whether to say anything else and aware that Marinette might not want him to.

Alya got in the way for the rest of the day. Every time he turned to speak to Marinette, every time he tried to stand beside her at lunch or offer her coffee Alya was there, either squeaking incoherently or dragging Marinette off to talk to her again. It had taken Marinette a lot of effort to convince her not to come home with her, that she'd see her soon at the park.

As much as he wanted to go and play in the snow with their friends, it'd also be nice to have her to himself, just for a little bit.

"So what say you?" he asked, looking at her with large green eyes, "Are you ready to head to the park?"

Marinette looked up from the kwami now in her hands, giving him a distracted smile as she tried to work out what he was asking.

"Or, you know, we could have a snowball fight of our own." he added, gesturing to her window and giving her a sly smile. "It's so much fun on the rooftops."

"We told the others we'd go." Marinette giggled, scratching behind one of Plagg's ears, "And besides, we could always do that later."

When she looked up at him the smile on her face made his knees weak, his face becoming warm. The smile grew, her eyes dancing, full of that affection he so loved.

"We could." he smiled back, laughing when Plagg snorted at what he would call the mushiness.

"Come on, then." Marinette said, sounding only a little bit reluctant, "Plagg can hide with Tikki in my bag, if he likes."

Plagg opened one eye to look over at Tikki, who beamed in response.

"She makes it warm." Tikki squeaked, as though to convince him, "With flasks and plenty of cookies and cozy blankets."

Plagg gave a cocky smirk, rubbing his head into Marinette's fingers once more before yawning and stretching.

"I think I like her." he answered, looking over at his Chosen, "Nice choice, Kid."

It didn't take long to get ready, Marinette throwing together the nest in her rucksack in mere seconds, something Adrien now knew she'd had a lot of practice at lately. When it was done Tikki took hold of Plagg's paw and led him inside, picking a spot right next to one of the flasks of boiled water.

Plagg pulled two edges of fabric up to his chin before diving in a circle to burrow them around himself. He looked up at the two teens, tipping his head to one side and softening his ears so that they flopped forwards.

"I take it back." he smiled, "I know I like her."

"Ready?" Marinette asked him, careful with the zip and lifting her rucksack over her shoulder.

He looked at her, standing beside him looking so relaxed, so happy and fond, and looking at him. He smiled back, leaning down to brush her fringe from her eyes. Something he was beginning to love doing. Marinette turned pink under his touch.

"Ready." he answered her softly, before placing a kiss on her forehead.

Chapter Text

They were late, of course, racing across the snowy ground towards the large group of their classmates in their hats and scarves, already tossing snow around and calling to each other with laughter and screams. When Marinette and Adrien slowed to a stop beside their friends, Nino turned to give them a bright grin in welcome, throwing his arms around Adrien's shoulders for a brief hug before pulling back for a fist bump.

Alya gave Marinette that look, her gaze slowly and deliberately looking from one of them to the other before back at Marinette with a barely-concealed shark's smile.

"You're late." she teased, eyes dancing, "Becoming a regular thing with you two."

"Shut up, Alya." Marinette mumbled, her cheeks going pink as she began to shift her weight from one foot to the other.

But Alya, of course, only laughed. She gave her best friend a nudge with her elbow, trying to make her laugh with her.

"And together, too." she said lowly, mostly for Marinette's ear, but not low enough, "Anything you care to share?"

Marinette stuttered a denying gasp, her face bleeding scarlet and her eyes first frowning at Alya for asking such a thing before glancing, as though instinctively, to Adrien. His heart began to skip a beat.

Adrien looked at her and he saw how nervous she was, right down to how her bottom lip was caught between her teeth when she looked away. Alya was nudging her with her elbow still, her giggle growing quieter and becoming half-apologetic as she began to realise their friend wasn't laughing any more. Adrien caught sight of Nino reaching for Alya's other arm, his eyes concerned.

So Adrien did what Cat Noir did best. He improvised impulsively, slinging an arm around Marinette's shoulder and subtly tugging her closer as he stuck a grin on his face.

"Alya's just jealous that I'm stealing her spot as BFF." he laughed in a stage-whisper, giving her shoulder a comforting squeeze with his hand, "You can totally see it all over her face."

Alya pulled an outrageously offended expression and began to splutter, waving her arms in that way she always did. Marinette snorted, her hands coming up to smother her laughter as she looked up with glittering eyes. Adrien's grin grew, encouraged.

"Oh, look, see? Look she's turning red! Gosh, I knew it was jealousy." he teased, his heart soaring at the way Marinette choked back another giggle, her shoulders jerking with the strain.

Alya stopped, putting her hands on her hips and pretending to scowl.

"Now see here, Agreste! That is completely unfoun-"

"See!" Adrien laughed, pointing at her to complete the act, "Mari, see? Oh! She's turning purple now!"

And Marinette was lost. She spluttered, laughter spilling from her as she bent almost double, the sound sweet and wonderful as her eyes began to gleam with tears.

"I see." she answered, gasping through the noise, "I see- haha! hahaha!"

Alya crossed her arms and stuck her nose up in the air in a scarily accurate impression of Chloé, but she was holding back a grin as she peeked from under her lashes. Marinette met her eyes with a suppressed grin and she knew thy were okay. No hard feelings, just like always.

"Okay, so you two were last here." Nino started, looking like he too had questions he wanted to ask, if the way he kept shooting Adrien secretive glances meant anything.

"How catastrophic." Adrien demurred.

He'd bent no inflection at all, but Marinette knew he'd picked he word on purpose, doing her best to swallow the giddy laugh that wanted to burst from her. She was buzzing with energy and she knew it, almost on the wrong side of hyperactive with the euphoria being near Adrien always brought. Cat Noir, her heart sung when she looked up at him, his hand warm against her shoulder still, he's Cat Noir!

In that moment Marinette couldn't think of a single fact she knew that could make her happier right then.

But then her heart only laughed at her and found one anyway.

He loves you.

As though he knew, Adrien met her eyes. She watched in fascination as the light danced in the emerald, fuelling the sugar-rush feeling she was intoxicated with right then.

"Disastrous." she answered him, her mouth slipping to show part of her knowing smile, "Positively disastrous."

Adrien's laugh was rich and warming and made Marinette flush all over with pride while Alya and Nino looked on, faintly bemused.

"Okay…" Alya said slowly, her face slipping into that familiar, thoughtful, I-will-work-this-out expression.

Marinette felt mildly nervous, but at the same time began feeling something almost desperate, like she needed Alya to figure it out. Suddenly she wasn't so afraid of their friends knowing, suddenly exited and eager right in the pit of her stomach. She looked up again at Adrien to find him looking at her softly, that smile - dear, sweet and lovely on his face - giving her butterflies.

"We got tied up." Adrien answered Alya's unspoken question, his eyes never leaving Marinette's, "Something important."

"Important how?" Nino asked pleasantly, and when Marinette peeked over at him she could see the dawning notion behind the amber in his eyes.

Nino was there, she knew. He was right there, knowing, waiting to be told. It made Marinette feel like giggling, that Nino had worked it out and yet Alya, so desperate to know all secrets as soon as they come into existence, was still mired in the wait-what? of suspicion.

It was pretty funny.

She looked back at Adrien, reading the light of his eyes and the way he tipped his head a fraction to the side, asking if she wanted to tell, asking if she wanted to be the one to tell it. She loved him right then, that knowledge, of knowing what he was thinking because of how unbelievably close they really were, without her even knowing he was the one she was so close to for so long.

And that was what gave her the courage; their partnership and his heart-felt support of her in everything always.

"Personal." she answered, looking at Nino building her strength to look at Alya, "Important and personal and- and-"

"Awesome." Adrien supplied, flashing a cheeky, full grin.

"Awesome," she repeated, unable not to grin with him as she turned her gaze on Alya, "and long-awaited."

Her voice almost failed her, that admitting, finally, what she had after wanting so long. If she wasn't too busy preparing herself for the inevitable screech, Marinette might have thought to take a picture of Alya's face as it morphed through several stages of understanding at once, from confusion to suspicion and everything else one after the other so fast and yet so slowly it was comical.

And then her eyes grew wide as saucers and her mouth dropped open as she stared, taking in their close stance and all the pieces clicking together in her head. Marinette smiled weakly, her outside hand reaching up to cover Adrien's on her shoulder. For support, for reassurance because she was suddenly so nervous that her knees were shaking. He curled his fingers around hers and squeezed.

Gods, she loved the boy.

"Congrats." smiled Nino warmly, right before Alya let out an almighty screech and threw herself at Marinette.

"OH MY FREAKING GOD!"

Chapter Text

It took Alya an almost painfully long time to calm down. Such a long time, indeed, that her squeals and arm-flailing attracted the attention of their whole class. For the most part Marinette merely stood beside Adrien, fighting the furious scarlet blush on her face and feeling her cheeks hurt from the seemingly permanent smile she was wearing. It was an overwhelmingly positive response, rocketing Marinette onto a high and reminding her that her days of sitting on the bench with no-one wanting her to play were long gone.

Adrien was charming and bashful and sweet as the boys clapped him on the back and the girls squealed and gave Marinette hug after hug. Nathanaël gave Marinette a brief hug and a smile, his face aflame just like hers. All the while, Alya bounded around like an excited puppy and hollered about how totally she had called it!

Sabrina gave Marinette and Adrien a small smile, checking surreptitiously over her shoulder as though making sure Chloé wasn't there to catch her doing such a thing.

And as for Chloé herself, well when she turned up the battle was already in full swing, students shrieking and streaking through the snow as they chased each other with handfuls of icy cold and wicked laughter. It was girls versus boys for a while, everyone cat-calling and shouting taunts whenever Marinette or Adrien targeted the other. It gave the class something to weaponise, hoping they'd be soft on one another in the new stage of their relationship.

They were sorely disappointed.

Marinette and Adrien attacked each other with a jovial fierceness that was both thrilling and almost frightening, making bold moves from behind cover and shouting trash talk at each other though their laughter.

It was during this portion of the Snowball war that Chloé had arrived, reluctant as always to get fully involved and demanding they change the game to partners seeing as how she would need someone to be her bodyguard. Sabrina was deemed too small for the task, Chloé insisting she needed a boy for the job.

Of course, she set her sights, but she hadn't even made it half way across the churned up snowy expanse to Adrien before people were calling out playful warnings to Marinette and an Ooooooohhh rolled across the park. Chloé faltered in her march, looking around suspiciously. Sabrina carefully avoided her gaze, pretending to be busy with the zip on her coat.

"What?" she demanded, throwing her ponytail over her shoulder, "Why are you all staring like that?" Suddenly she flashed a smile and struck a pose, "Is it the new coat? Papa had it sewn from Madagascan spider silk. Isn't it dreamy?"

She fluffed the fur-lined hood around her chin and even threw in a twirl, spinning delicately on the toes of one snow boot, the decorative blue coat flaring out around her. In response all that could be heard was a gleeful laugh from Alix. When Chloé straightened again with a scowl, throwing a killer glare Alix's way, the smaller girl only grinned, standing with her legs planted firmly and her hands on her hips.

"If you want Adrien you got a fight on your hands!" she cried, looking absolutely thrilled to be anticipating the coming revelation.

"Excuse me?" Chloé huffed, crossing her arms and throwing out one hip, "You wouldn't dare."

Alix cackled again, bending almost double with mirth. It only infuriated Chloé further, which in turn made Alix's laughter that much more hysterical.

"Ohh-hoho! Not me!" she screeched, looking bold and almost dangerous where she stood, facing the prissy blonde across the make-shift battlefield.

Chloé looked ready to explode, swinging her gaze around for her usual sidekick, her expression demanding answers. Sabrina seemed to shrink, looking at Chloé balefully for a few faint seconds before ducking her head and gesturing timidly in Marinette's direction, shooting the secret superhero an apologetic look.

Chloé rounded on Marinette instantly, her gaze zeroing in on the minute space between herself and Adrien. She sent Marinette an icy glare even as her lips twisted into a smile and her eyelashes fluttered. Her voice was a simper.

"Adrikins! Come be my partner. You don't to be stuck with Marinette all day. Once you get paired with her you'll never get rid of her."

Marinette bristled at the way that somehow, even when every other word was ripping in syrup, Chloé always managed to make her name sound like it tasted bad. She clenched her hands at her sides, opening her mouth to retort as she felt her cheeks blaze and her expression set.

She was so done with Chloé's crap! Now, now, when Adrien and she had finally become what she'd wanted so long, she was done. No more biting her tongue or allowing Alya to drag her off as she fumed unintelligibly and bemoaned her inability to say anything for fear of giving away her crush on Adrien.

Well, he knew now, didn't he? And there was no way MArinette was going to put up with Chloé throwing herself at Adrien every other moment, hanging off his arm and getting the stench of whatever snooty perfume she chose to wear that day all over him when he smelled just heavenly all on his own.

"Look here, Chloé," she began, taking a single striding step forwards before a hand caught her own.

"Good." Adrien spoke over her, his voice clear and powerful in the wintry air.

And then several things happened all at once to leave Marinette feeling a little breathless and rather dazed. Adrien's arm swept her up against his side, warm and comforting on her waist. His face lit into a daring expression, all glittering eyes and toothy smile and Cat Noir. and he tossed Chloé a firm, irrefutable look.

"I look forward to being her partner all day." he told Chloé.

And before her expression even had time to fully crumble, he dropped a kiss against Marinette's temple, giving her a soft and adoring look.

"Considering she is my girlfriend, after all."

His voice was certain, brave and strong and unruffled by the ensuing screech coming from the pretty blonde.

His eyes belonged only to Marinette in that moment.

"Right?" he asked her, sweet and quiet and shy.

Marinette reached up on her toes to kiss his cheek.

"Damn right."

His grin was dazzling, and any thought of Chloé went clean out of her head as Marinette looked up at him, dimly aware of people shouting and cheering and jeering and someone, somewhere, hollering a dying scream.

Chloé didn't bother to stick around to fight in the Snowball war.

And nobody cared.

Even Sabrina quickly moved past the incident, teaming up with Nathanaël in the hopes of burying Jean and Mireille in snow before they themselves were attacked.

Pairs were forged and betrayals tossed around like confetti in a parade. Marinette and Adrien fought seamlessly, attacking first Nino and Alya and then going after Ivan, Rose, Juleka. The tradition was upheld, each teenager dissolving into that joyous adrenaline, that feeling that only snowball fights could really incite. Nino promised to provide the bubbles afterwards, should Marinette, Adrien and Alya provide hot chocolate.

Marinette had never felt so bold and daring without her spotted mask.

"I thought you said they were terrible!" Kim cried, diving behind a bush and knocking into Alix as he did.

"They were!" Nino wailed, looking out across the battlefield with wide, surprised eyes. "We slaughtered them!"

"Well they don't look slaughtered now!" Alix shouted, using Kim as a shield as she lobbed a fairly large snowball at Lila, earning a startled squeal that made her laugh.

Behind their thicket Adrien and Marinette were grinning, their backs pressed together as they caught their breath. Marinette turned her head to look at him just as he turned to do the same. Blue eyes met green and wicked, matching grins crossed their faces.

"Maybe we just make great partners!" Adrien called out, laughing as their classmates boo'ed and called him out, clearly sore losers now that he was getting the hang of this snowball thing.

He felt Marinette's mittened hand slip into his, and she squeezed.

"We make the best partners." she breathed, her cheeks warmed pink from exertion and the cold, her eyes sparkling because they were winning and they were doing it together.

One of her pigtails was looser than the other and her fringe was full of half-melted snow and the tip of her nose was pink and her eyes were so, so blue. She'd never looked more beautiful. Adrien twisted around, keeping behind the tree trunk as he faced her. He heard her breath catch, saw a tremor run through her arm as she swallowed. Her eyes were trained on him and he couldn't help the smirk that coiled at the corner of his mouth.

"Indeed we do, Milady." he answered her in a whisper.

And although she squeaked in response and the red in her cheeks deepened to a scarlet, when he tilted his face down to kiss her she didn't complain.