Not Alone: A Miraculous Ladybug Story

Chapter 10

 Marinette was not calm. That statement basically summed up her life so far, but it especially applied today. She had made her decision, but that didn't mean she wasn't freaking out every second of the 3 hours between leaving Chat after the attack and their patrol that night. As it was, she had left 30 minutes earlier than she had needed to, and was now pacing on the rooftop where they usually met. Tikki had tried to give her a pep talk before they left, but even her kwami's neverending support and chipper outlook did nothing to calm the racing of Marinette's heart.

She was going to tell him.

She just had no idea how she was going to do it. No matter how many times she had this conversation with herself in her head, it never went well. Sometimes he was angry. Usually he was disappointed. Then. sometimes he was friendly. Just friendly. Those were almost the worst.

She was tugging on her pigtails a bit too hard when he showed up, and she felt all the blood leave her face. It's now or never.

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Chat had spent the last hours in what could only be described as bliss. Marinette was his Lady. He fell in love with her twice. He felt like laughing. He felt like singing. She wasn't ready yet to tell him, he could live with that. Patrols may be a bit harder. He could never really hide his true feelings from her, but this was what his Lady wanted, and he was going to try his hardest to honor her wishes. His life was a mess, but she was perfect, and they would be together. His partner. His friend. His Lady. His Marinette.

Three hours later he shows up to patrol with a brilliant smile plastered on his face. He spots Ladybug in a very different state. Pacing and tugging restlessly on her pigtails, he approaches her cautiously, but still manages to make her jump.

"Chat," she exclaims, delicately placing a hand over her heart.

"Sorry, Bugaboo. Didn't mean to startle you, but you seemed a bit in your own world."

She paused, seeming to consider him. Coming to a decision, she steps towards him.

"I need to tell you something."

"Okay..."

"I promised you I'd tell you who I am."

Chat's heart began to race. Was she really going to...?

"I told you we know each other. Well, that's true. We--we go to school together, " she stuttered, beginning to rush her words. "And--And we're friends. I mean, I think we're friends. I mean, you're my friend-"

Chat stepped up, grabbing her hand with his left, and cupping her cheek with his right.

"M'Lady," he whispered with affection. "You don't have to do this if you're not ready."

"No, I am," she said with more conviction than she felt. "It's just..."

"What?"

"Promise not to be too disappointed?"

He stood, bewildered by the creature in front of him. "I could never be," he said fervently, his voice hoarse with emotion.

"Okay," she replied, closing her eyes. "Tikki, spots off."

In a flash of red, her transformation released, just as Chat released his own. Both of them stood, closed eyes the final barrier between their true selves.

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She stood, motionless, and eyes closed, yet seeing in vivid color. She could hear the cars humming on the slightly damp Parisian streets; the leaves rustling in the trees that paralleled to the building; a woman's laugh echoing up to where they stood; the overwhelming beating of her own heart. She could not, however, hear a single thing from the one source she craved the most. She could hear absolutely no reaction from Adrien.

Just when she felt it start to become too much, and the tears started to gather on her face, he dropped her hand and placed it on her other cheek, cradling her head as if it were the most fragile thing in the world, and tilted his forehead down to rest it on hers. She heard the ghost of a laugh and felt the vibration roll gently through his body. Tentatively, she opened one eye, and was blinded by his exuberance.

"My silly, silly Bugaboo," he whispered to her, sliding his hands down her neck and over her shoulders, coming to rest on her waist. "Why in the world would I be disappointed?" His smile got impossible brighter, and she lifted a hand to his cheek in awe.

"Pure light..." she murmured, and he looked at her quizzically, but his smile became softer as he turned his head and placed a kiss in the center of her palm. She closed her hand into a fist, as if to capture it forever.

"So, good surprise?"

"The best surprise," he exclaimed, picking her up by the waist and spinning her in a circle.

"Thank you," he said earnestly as he placed her back on the rooftop. "For trusting me."

"Trusting you was easy. Trusting myself was the hard part."

"Still," he paused. "Could I--um--May I--kiss you?" he asked haltingly. Gone was all the Chat Noir flirtation and confidence; they were both laid bare to each other.

She giggled, grabbed his jacket bringing him down to her height, and finally lived out her dream of kissing Adrien Agreste. Except this was so much better, because he was her Chat Noir too. Just as she pulled back, she felt Tikki burrow under one of her pigtails. Opening her mouth to introduce her to Adrien, she saw Tikki come to rest on top of Adrien's head. Then what--

"Ah!" she screamed as whatever it was poked her ear, shaking her head to dislodge what she assumed was a large bug, and falling down in her graceful Marinette way.

"Plagg!" Adrien groaned, covering face with his hands. "Nice first impression."

"Yours is squirmy, Tikki." Plagg commented blithely.

"Maybe introduce yourself before invading someone's personal space. I swear, Plagg, 2000 years old and still..." The two trailed off into what she only assumed was a centuries old argument, and Adrien offered her a hand up.

"Thanks."

"Sorry about Plagg. I'd say he isn't always like this, but he is."

"No worries, I was just startled." Plagg, giving up on arguing with Tikki, zoomed back into view.

"Hello, miss, my name is Plagg. God of destruction and whatnot." He said rather formally, on his best behavior and giving Tikki a mock salute.

Marinette got a good look at him for the first time, and practically cooed. She was nothing if not a cat-lover--except maybe a Chat-lover.

"Oh my goodness! Look at your precious little ears!"

"Now wait a minute. I am the god of destruction, not some cute, fluffy kitty cat--" he suddenly came up short and started purring. Marinette had reached up and was scratching his ears as he leaned into her hand.

"Oh. my. god." Adrien chortled behind his hand and a snickering Tikki came to rest upon his head once more.

"Good kitty," Marinette praised, and Plagg purred louder.

He looked at Adrien. "Can we keep her?"

"Absolutely," he responded without hesitation, and smiled wider as the blush spread across Marinette's cheeks while Tikki looked on with a contented smile.