Miraculous Reveals and More (A collection of One-Shots)

Something New (One-Shot, 4091 words)

"Goodnight, Princess." Chat leans over the railing of Marinette's balcony and kisses her soft cheek.

The moonlight shines in her black hair, mimicking moonlight on the ocean. She closes her eyes as he leans in, feeling his lips brush against her cheek momentarily as a smile crosses her own lips. She reflexively grabs the bell under his chin, holding him close, turning her head so her lips graze his cheek in return.

A moment passes before her eyes fly open, realizing what she's doing, "Um, goodnight," she whispers, clearing her throat awkwardly. She lets him go, trying to ignore the huge goofy grin plastered on his face. He slowly regains his composure and bows his head slightly, and repeats "Goodnight", pulling away and disappearing into the city below.

Mari ducks into her room and lays back on her bed with a sigh, "This is perfect, everything is perfect". Her fingers linger on the spot on her cheek that Chat kissed.

Tikki flies out of her purse, almost unnoticeable in the dim room, "In what sense?"

"Chat is more focused on patrols and in fights now that he's not fawning over 'Ladybug', and I think...I actually really like him, as Marinette." She blushes hard at admitting it, even if it's just to Tikki. Somehow it had taken Chat taking a step back from Ladybug in order for Marinette to really get to know him.

"What if he finds out you are Ladybug? That'll make that poor boy's head explode" Tikki teases, glad to see her Chosen so happy, so in love. It had been a while since she had seen Marinette feel this way.

She sighs deeply and swings her legs over the side of the bed to wash up when her heel knocks the shoebox under her bed, tipping it over. She clicks her tongue, kneeling down to pick up the scattered contents: pictures of Adrien.

The magazine clippings, print outs, and headshots that used to hang all around her bedroom, lay haphazardly under her bed as she coolly returns them to their box. She only stops to linger on a particularly favorite photo, one from an ad that Adrien modeled in a year ago; an evergreen suit bringing out the green of his eyes. She had relinquished her crush on him only a few weeks after she cut out this photo.

"Why don't you just throw those out?" Tikki squeaks.

Mari shrugs, "He's still my friend, and I don't want to forget that chapter of my life, and what I learned from it." She reasons, tossing the photo in, placing the lid back on the shoe box and sliding it deep under the bed.

"And what did you learn from that chapter?" Tikki queries. She never really confronted Marinette about her seemingly sudden '180' on her Adrien obsession. To her, and most of Mari's friends who knew about her crush, Mari just woke up one day and was over Adrien. She never turned hostile or cold to him; she took down her photos, changed her phone background, and that was that.

Her lips press together, ignoring the question. "It's different with Chat... I can't imagine Chat breaking my heart," she says quietly.

"Is that why you stopped obsessing over Adrien? You thought he'd break your heart?" Tikki asks.

She shrugs, nodding, "I just realized I didn't belong in his future in the way I wanted. Even if we ever did date, he would realize sooner or later I don't fit in his world." Her hands grip her comforter briefly, "I decided to pivot."

Tikki nods, not sure she wants to argue with Marinette's reasoning after the deed was done. "And Chat's different?"

Mari's hands loosen, "He is."

"But you don't know anything about his identity." Tikki jabs, "What if his background is just like Adrien's? Famous model, popular, talented? Wouldn't you have the same reservations, whether or not they have a real basis?" She remarks snidely.