"Adrien," Marinette stared at him, shock pooling in her bright bluebell eyes.
"Yeah it's me," he said shyly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"It was you, this whole time, under that mask," Marinette said, taking a step back shakily.
Adrien frowned at that, had he upset her?
"Yeah it was, were you expecting someone different?" He asked.
"Could you blame me? After I basically told you everything about me, including things about you! You as in Adrien! The boy I used to have a huge crush on! My feelings, thoughts, everything while you were right there beside me the entire time!" She shrieked.
"Marinette listen I-
"Listen to what?" Marinette asked shakily, her eyes glistening. It pained him to see her like this, so hurt, so afraid, of him.
"So you never loved me then? I was just your second choice after Ladybug, I told you about my feelings for Adrien, did that make you pity me or something?" Marinette asked.
"Of course you weren't my second choice nor did I pity you, I love you!" Adrien cried, his heart breaking into little pieces.
"You only 'loved me' because you couldn't have Ladybug, I never mattered to you, you were always so damn oblivious whenever I would try to show you," Marinette said, tears streaking down her cheeks as she hugged her arms.
She looked so broken, defeated, betrayed, and it was all because she thought he didn't love her. That he pitied her. That he thought of her as a second choice. When in reality, Adrien loved her from the bottom of his heart, everything about her, how he had wished he met her first instead of Ladybug.
"Marinette," Adrien said cautiously. "I've always loved you, just because Ladybug rejected me it doesn't mean I'd use you as a second choice, you always mattered to me Marinette and you always will."
"All you do is lie Adrien, I'm not sure what to believe anymore, one thing that I'm sure of is that I never want to see you again," Marinette said, her tone bitter towards the end.
He felt his heart drop and shatter into a million pieces, it can't end like this, it can't end at all.
"I never lied to you Mari," Adrien said, but it was too late, she was already gone, leaving him alone and broken, fading away into the background like a pile of ashes.
Adrien woke with a jolt that night, his body covered in sweat, his hair messy as he shakily ran a hand through it. He dreamt that he told Marinette who Chat was, his true identity, and it didn't go so well, seeing as he ended up losing her.
He looked to his side to see Plagg sleeping while hugging a piece of cheese, a sense of relief washed over him at the thought it was only a nightmare. Regardless, it scared him, would that be Marinette's reaction? Would she not accept him and misunderstand him? He hugged his knees up to his chest, resting his head on them as he let out a few tears. He was scared, scared of what would happen.
~
"Marinette...? You're....you're...." Chat's eyes widened in shock as he stared at her.
"Yes Chat, I'm Ladybug," Marinette said, staring at the blonde boy in front of her.
"No that's impossible, you can't be her..." Chat said, shaking his head as he backed away.
"Am I not fit enough to be Ladybug?" Marinette asked, slightly hurt.
"No! That's not what I meant," Chat said, clearly frustrated.
"Then what Chat? What's wrong?" Marinette asked, worriedly.
"What's wrong is that you're Ladybug! Which means that you never loved me, Ladybug doesn't love me Marinette," Chat said, gritting his teeth.
"Chat-" Marinette started but was interrupted by him.
"Don't call me that!" He practically hissed. "First you reject me several times as Ladybug, then you pretend to love me in your civilian form?" He asked, looking disgusted.
"Pretend to love you? I never pretended-" Marinette started but was caught off again.
"Save it!" He snapped. "You clearly don't know what heartbreak feels like, I followed you around like a lovesick idiot, you never cared about me."
"Chat what are you talking about? I always cared about you!" Marinette said, tears streaming down her cheeks. Even if she didn't love him at first because of her love for Adrien, she still cared about him as her friend and always made sure he was okay.
"I bet that's what you tell the others," he said with a bitter laugh. "Now I can only imagine how cruel you can be, putting up a sweet façade in front of everyone," he shook his head.
"I never put up a façade Chat! Yes, I didn't love you because I was in love with Adrien, but then I grew to fall in love with you, to realize how special you really are to me," Marinette said, gently taking a hold of his hand. "I've always loved you kitty, I was just too stupid to realize it."
Chat looked her in the eye, both silent for a minute, he stared at her bluebell ones, there was no emotion evident in his eyes. His face went blank as he removed her hand from his, "I've been lied to all my life, have never gotten a sense of love from anyone, but I'm not that stupid to hurt myself further by staying a second longer with you, I never want to see you again," he said, coldly.
Marinette's eyes widened at that and she felt more tears fall down her cheeks, "Chat no we can't just end this," she pleaded, trying to get him to understand that she really did love him and never had the intention of hurting him.
"That's where you're wrong Marinette, because we already did," he said, before jumping off her balcony and disappearing out of sight, into thin air.
Marinette felt her heart break into a million pieces as the boy that had been in front of her, the boy that she had fallen in love with, had left her, all alone, and broken.
Marinette woke up abruptly with her heart pounding in her chest, and sweat covering her body. She felt her hands shake as they ran through her dark messy hair, she let out some shaky breaths as she tried to remember where she was.
She looked at her surroundings breathing in a sigh of relief as she realized she was still in her room, and that she had a nightmare. Tikki was still sleeping on her pillow and it was a miracle Marinette hadn't woken her kwami up. She looked out the window seeing as it was still dark out and climbed out of her bed, heading towards the bathroom. She splashed her face with cold water in an attempt to cool her body, her hands resting against the counter.
She dreamt that she told Chat who she was, which was stupid because she wasn't planning to, especially after what had happened to him because of it. She told him her secret identity and he didn't take it well, he felt hurt, betrayed, and broken as he left her all alone on her balcony being swallowed by the night.
Was this a sign that Chat could never know who she was? That if she told him, it would lead to him leaving her, or worse, being akumatized into Cat Blanc again? She let out a shaky breath at the image of her akumatized partner, she could never let that happen again.
Making her way out of the bathroom, she climbed back into her bed, only to be met with a light tapping on her trapdoor. She hesitated, glancing at Tikki, before unlocking her trapdoor and climbing out of it to be met with the cool air.
She looked in front of her and saw Chat, nearly causing her to scream and remember the nightmare she just had. "C-Chat?" She asked, hesitantly taking a step back.
She nearly tripped but Chat grabbed her shoulders and steadied her before letting go, he seemed distant, almost afraid as he took a step back as well. "Marinette," he breathed out. "A-Are you okay?"
Marinette frowned at that slightly, "Of course I am Chat, why wouldn't I be?" She asked nervously.
"I-I just had the worst dream ever where something happened to you and-" he started but Marinette cut him off with a hug.
She wrapped her arms tightly around the boy in front of her, the boy who she was so in love with, and who she never wanted to let go. She snuggled deeper into his chest as he relaxed in her arms before wrapping his arms around her tightly, nuzzling his face into her hair.
"I'm okay Chat, I promise," she said, gently rubbing his back. "Are you okay?" She murmured.
"Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?" He asked pulling away from the embrace but still holding her. He searched her eyes, he saw worry and panic flash through them, did something happen to her and was she lying to him?
"It's ironic because I had the worst dream that something happened to you too," Marinette said, fear radiating off of her as she gulped.
Chat pulled her into him again as she relaxed a bit, "I'm alright I promise, as long as you're okay then I'm okay," he said softly, gently stroking her dark hair.
She nodded at that, not wanting to let go of him but knew she had to or he might suspect something further, pulling away from him slowly she looked up at his green eyes, "Guess we both caught a case of nightmares tonight huh?" She asked with slight amusement, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah," Chat said with a shaky laugh, "It almost felt real," he traced his thumb across her cheek.
"Tell me about it," Marinette muttered, "I'm glad you're okay though."
"Me too princess," Chat said, placing a long kiss on her forehead. She smiled at that, glad he was still here, with her, not leaving her alone. Chat felt relieved that she was still here, with him, not leaving him alone.
Marinette turned her head to see the sun slightly peeking out, indicating that it would start to get light out again and she would need to get ready for school. Chat noticed to and panicked, Nathalie would come check on him to see if he was ready later on, there was still time but he didn't want to risk it.
"I have to be up soon for school," Marinette said, hugging her arms as she was only in a t-shirt.
Chat smiled at her and nodded, "I have things I need to be doing, even if I don't want to, but seeing as you're okay, I think it'll be safe to leave for now," he said.
Marinette smiled at him, she leaned over and kissed his cheek, "I'll see you later kitty, stay safe," she said, with a slight warning to her tone.
Chat chuckled at that before stepping away, "Will do purrrincess," he said, giving her a wink at the end. Marinette rolled her eyes but waved to him regardless before slipping back through her trapdoor and locking it.
Her kwami's eyes fluttered open as Tikki flew up and looked at Marinette, "Good morning Marinette, you're up early," Tikki noted, giggling.
Marinette gave Tikki a weak smile, "Don't remind me," she said sighing.
"What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" Tikki asked, tilting her small head.
Marinette nodded, "I dreamt that Cat Noir knew I was Ladybug Tikki," she said, looking at her kwami.
Tikki gasped, "That's awful Marinette! What did he do?"
"He thought I used him Tikki, he thought I played with his feelings as Marinette after rejecting him so many times as Ladybug," Marinette said, her eyes flickering around the room.
"Aw Marinette," Tikki said, flying over and nuzzling her cheek, "I'm sure he wouldn't think that, not if you explain everything to him properly."
"That's the thing Tikki, every time I would try to tell him...he wouldn't listen, he'd cut me off," Marinette said, her voice cracking slightly.
Tikki frowned worriedly, "There's a time and place for everything Marinette, Chat doesn't know your identity and shouldn't, not yet at least, I'm sure when the right time comes everything will be alright," Tikki assured her.
"You're probably right, it just felt so real I didn't know what to do and then Chat came by my window-" Marinette was cut off by Tikki.
"Chat came here? Right now?" Tikki asked surprised.
Marinette nodded, "Yeah, something about having a bad dream as well, which is ironic," she said, with a slight chuckle.
Tikki thought for a moment, it was possible they both had dreams about the same thing, their identities. They feared it happening and what could go wrong, of course Chat didn't tell Marinette what his dream was about, but Tikki could ask Plagg...
"Well I'm sure it's just a case of bad dreams," Tikki reasoned, "I'm guessing you felt better after he came?"
Marinette nodded, "Yeah I feel a bit better, I was scared of never seeing him, and when he came to visit, it eased my worries a bit," she said, letting out a sigh.
"Marinette, Chat will always be there for you, no matter what, just like you'll be there for him," Tikki said with a smile.
Marinette nodded at that before patting Tikki's head with a smile, she got up and headed towards the bathroom to shower and change. Marinette stepped out ten minutes later, showered, changed, teeth brushed, and hair brushed, at least she'd have time to eat for once.
She smiled at Tikki who flew into her purse before heading downstairs to the kitchen, her mom looked slightly surprised at her daughter's appearance, but smiled regardless. "I see you're up early Marinette, did you sleep well honey?" Sabine asked, putting a plate in front of her.
Marinette smiled at her mother, greeting her as she grabbed a fork to take a bite out of her pancake, after a few bites she answered, "I actually had a bad dream, so I woke up a bit earlier than I usually do," she admitted.
Sabine frowned, "Oh sweetie that's terrible," she said, stroking her hair, "What was it about?"
"I'd rather not talk about it maman," Marinette said, shivering at the thought.
Sabine nodded and walked back towards the kitchen, "That's alright Marinette, some of my nightmares still shake me up," she said.
Marinette didn't say anything and continued to quietly eat her pancakes, sipping on a glass of orange juice every few minutes. Her dad popped out of the kitchen with a fresh plate of croissants and offered them to Marinette who took one with a smile before thanking him. Her parents sat down to eat and quietly chatted with one another, Marinette wasn't in the mood to talk and just listened or nodded here and there. Once she was finished, she put her plate in the sink and glanced at the time, thankful for once that she wouldn't have to run to school.
Waving goodbye to her parents, she stepped out of the bakery after slipping on her backpack and shoes, humming silently. She plugged in her headphones to play one of her favorite songs hoping it would ease her mind and remove that dream from her head. She absentmindedly tugged at her hair remembering the feeling of when Chat was playing with it last night, the thought caused her to smile but frown right after.
Marinette knew she couldn't tell Chat her identity at all, it was going to be harder to keep it a secret with how close the two had become. She liked him now, she wasn't sure if he liked her, but if he did and they somehow got together and something went wrong-
"Marinette!" A voice called out, shaking her from her thoughts. She looked up to see Alya's worried face grabbing her shoulders and shaking them, "I've called you like 3 times girl! Are you alright?" Her best friend asked, slightly worried.
Marinette shook her head putting on a smile, "Of course I'm okay Alya," she lied, "I was just thinking about something, that's all."
Alya eyed her, "Marinette, I know you better than that, something's bothering you, you know you can tell me," Alya said softly.
Marinette sighed and put her face in her hands with a groan, she looked around to see if anyone was looking at them or could hear them, when the coast was clear, she took a deep breath before speaking, "It's about Cat Noir," she admitted.
"Cat Noir? Your partner?" Alya asked surprised, "What about him?"
"I just...I had this weird dream where he figured out my identity and hated me thinking that-" Marinette's rambling was cut off by Alya hugging her. She took a few deep breaths willing herself to calm down, to remind herself that everything was okay.
When Alya pulled away she kept her hands on Marinette's shoulders, "I'm guessing that must've really scared you huh?" Alya asked.
"That's not even the whole story Alya, there's been something going on that I haven't told you about, I'm sorry," Marinette replied weakly.
"Girl, if you think I'm going to be mad at you for hiding whatever you're hiding after you have the stress of keeping your identity a secret and being the guardian then you're wrong. I'm your bff, I'll always be here for you whatever the situation," Alya assured her with a kind smile.
"Thank you Alya, really," Marinette said with a grateful smile.
"No problem Mari, if you're free after school, we can talk about whatever's bothering you," Alya offered.
"That'd be nice and I'm not busy, surprisingly," Marinette said with a small laugh as Alya joined her.
"Alright that works for me," Alya said, putting an arm around Marinette's shoulder as the bell rang. The two walked inside and towards their first class, Marinette met Adrien's eyes who was staring at her and gave him a wave which he returned slightly shyly. They sat down in their seats and decided to talk for a while before their teacher would start class.
"Can I ask you one question though?" Alya asked.
Marinette giggled, "Sure," she replied turning her head.
"Do you still like," she pointed her finger in Adrien's direction.
"I uh well you see I-" Marinette fumbled for words as Alya watched her in amusement.
Alya raised an eyebrow causing Marinette to sigh, "No, I don't anymore," she admitted.
Alya's eyes widened surprisingly, "You don't?!" She asked, a little too loudly.
"You don't what dude?" Nino asked curiously, turning around as Adrien did the same.
Marinette wanted to dig a hole and crawl into it for the rest of her life, "I don't like..." she stammered, trying to think of a response.
"There's something called privacy boys, and as much as I love you babe, I'm trying to have a private conversation with my bff," Alya said to Nino.
Nino looked away sheepishly as Adrien awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and they both turned back around. Marinette softly laughed at that as Alya gave her her signature smirk.
"As you were saying," Alya said, returning to their previous conversation.
"Yeah well...I don't think I like him anymore Alya," Marinette said.
Alya pouted, "I'm a little disappointed you crushed my Adrienette ship, but I completely respect your feelings girl," Alya said.
Marinette giggled at, Alya and her ship names...
"So who do you like now?" Alya asked, wiggling her eyebrows.
"I uh," Marinette stammered, turning red, "You're gonna have to wait to find that out," she said with a satisfied smile, before turning in her seat.
Alya was about to reply when their teacher cleared her throat, gathering everyone's attention. With a small pout, Alya turned in her seat and sighed, looking at the front of the class with zero interest.
"Hello class, I've decided to give you this period to work on your group assignments which are due this Friday. I don't have any lessons planned and seeing this assignment is worth a lot I want to make sure you deserve a good amount of time to work on it. If you have any questions please let me know, I'll be marking some of your previous work, you can talk quietly," Ms. Bustier said smiling at the class. The class looked surprised at the seemingly free period but didn't complain, immediately turning around in their seats to chat with their other friends.
Marinette let out a sigh of relief of not having to learn anything new today as Alya smiled at her. "So, I was thinking we could finish the first part off and start off with the second," Alya suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Adrien said. The rest of them nodded before continuing on with their sections of work, talking quietly amongst themselves, while some people like Nino and Marinette had their headphones in.
Adrien found it strange that she wasn't talking much but knew he shouldn't bother her, she seemed to want some privacy and he didn't want to annoy her to ask her if she was okay. He internally sighed as he noticed his best friend also had his headphones in so he did the same and streamed some music. Alya took breaks in between looking at her phone, probably updating the ladyblog and discussing how there hasn't been an akuma in a while.
As soon as the thought slipped through the brunette's mind, a loud crash was heard from outside accompanied by a dark cloud of smoke. The whole class turned their heads to look out the window as Ms. Bustier just sighed.
"Go find a safe place to hide until this is over," she stated simply before grabbing her things and opening the classroom door. Marinette internally groaned at the thought of fighting an akuma so early in the morning.
Making sure everyone was out of the class, Marinette left with Alya until they suddenly heard the window break open with a loud crash. A new supervillain slipped through the window, a smirk resting on their face as they blew at their fingers.
Marinette gulped as Alya squealed excitedly, she shot her best friend a 'what the heck' look who just shrugged in response, typical Alya. She sighed before turning her attention towards the door and looking at how to escape.
"You poor teenagers, did everyone leave you to fend for yourself?" The villain said, putting on a pout. "You two would just so happen to be my perfect victims."
"Alya, we need to get out of here, now," Marinette said, tugging on her friend's arm who was filming. She pulled on her arm leading her to the door, but as Marinette was about to reach for the door knob, a bomb of pink smoke erupted in their direction, causing them to cough and not be able to see anything.
Marinette wafted the smoke with her hand frantically, trying to see where the supervillain was, "You can't hide from me, I'm timebomb and I'll make everyone pay for my time being wasted!" The villain shrieked, cackling like a maniac.
Marinette rolled her eyes, typical. The smoke had finally cleared and Marinette once again reached for the door handle, but a dart flew through the air and trapped her sleeve against the door. She panicked, trying to pull at it but it was edged in hard, Alya tried to help her as timebomb neared them.
"Hey color explosion! Why don't you pick on someone your own size and style?" Cat Noir said, leaping through the window. He shot Marinette a smile as she returned it, Alya noticed the interaction and made a mental note to talk to her about it later.
"Cats are seriously annoying, don't you think? Always meowing and screeching every chance they get!" Timebomb said, gritting their teeth and shooting color bombs towards Chat.
He dodged them effectively, buying Marinette and Alya some time to escape as the two girls were trying to tug the dart out of her sleeve which was now ripped. With one final pull, the dart managed to let go of her sleeve and she dropped it to the ground letting out a sigh of relief. She yanked the door open, pushing Alya out before her.
"You! Don't think you can escape me!" Timebomb shouted, her attention now focused on Marinette. Marinette's eyes widened as the villain threw another bomb of smoke, now purple colored in her direction and it exploded.
"Marinette!" Chat's voice called out frantically as he turned his head towards the villain, angrier now.
Luckily it was only a color bomb that didn't seem to have any side effects so Marinette managed to escape the classroom and go out into the hall.
"I'm okay!" She called out to Chat assuring him, before running off. Chat breathed in a sigh of relief before gritting his teeth, his staff held up defensively.
Marinette slipped into the locker room and into an empty locker, Tikki flew out of her purse and she quickly transformed into Ladybug. Using her yo-yo, she swung out through the window and launched herself onto the school roof, finding the classroom Chat and the villain were in, she flew through the window swinging her yo-yo around the villain, catching them by surprise.
"Nice of you to join us M'lady, it was just getting fun," Chat said, greeting her with his usual smirk.
Ladybug smiled at him, "Glad I joined at the right time then," she said, throwing a playful wink in his direction before looking at the villain.
The villain managed to escape from her yo-yo grasp and began shooting more colored bombs in the two superheroes direction. Ladybug slipped through the window and down for cover, calling out her lucky charm for some much needed help. She was gifted with a pack of chewing gum as she frowned in confusion.
"As much as I love gum, what the heck am I supposed to do with this?" Ladybug asked frowning. She looked around using her 'Ladybug vision,' her eyes landed on Alya who was hiding against the wall, the gum, and Chat inside the window.
Ladybug smiled to herself, walking over to Alya, who looked surprised, "Mari?"
"I need you to use your miraculous and create an illusion," Ladybug said.
"On it," Alya said with a determined smile before transforming into Rena Rouge.
~
The akuma flew out of the villain's glasses as purple smoke surrounded the akumatized victim, returning them back to normal. Ladybug captured the akuma in her yo-yo, briefly spinning it before letting it go, "Bye, bye, little butterfly," she waved to the white butterfly with a smile. "Miraculous Ladybug!" She called out, throwing the pack of gum in the air, returning Paris to its normal state.
Rena's miraculous beeped and she gave Ladybug a thumbs up before flying out of the window. They had used Rena's illusion to distract the villain while Ladybug clogged up the villain's timebombs and other weapon holders with the gum, Chat was there ready to grab the akumatized object and cataclysm it, letting the akuma free. A job well done, once again.
"Pound it," the duo said in unison with a smile. Their miraculouses beeped in sync and they quickly jumped out the window, Adrien detransformed in the janitors closet while Marinette detransformed in an empty locker. Marinette hurriedly walked out of the locker room not looking where she was going and bumped into a hard chest.
Groaning to herself she looked up and saw Adrien's small smile, "Sorry," she squeaked out.
He laughed lightly, "It's alright, I'm glad you're okay," he said.
"What do you mean?" Marinette asked dumbfounded.
"Oh I heard you ended up almost being captured by timebomb," Adrien said nervously.
"Oh that!" Marinette said, swatting her hand. "It was nothing."
"You seem to be pretty laid back after almost being captured," Adrien said, a slight tone of disappointment.
"Well it's happened to everyone, it's not that concerning, besides I would've been okay, Cat Noir was there," Marinette said with a small smile.
Adrien smiled at that and didn't say anything as they walked back to their class. Ms. Bustier had returned and everyone carried on with what they were doing like nothing had occurred, the usual.
Alya smiled at her as she sat down and showed her her phone, "I got so much footage today, I'm going to go upload it first," Alya said. Marinette laughed at her best friend before slipping her headphones back in and continuing to work, not noticing the lingering pair of green eyes that kept glancing at her.
~
School had finally rolled out and Alya accompanied Marinette on her way home, seeing as the two made plans to hang out for a bit. Giving Nino a kiss on the cheek, Alya waved goodbye to him and he waved back before turning his head and continued talking to Adrien.
The two girls quietly walked home with their kwami's poking out of their purses, Trixx and Tikki were having a conversation while Alya was on her phone and Marinette just hummed quietly to herself. They walked into the bakery, a ding sound heard from the door indicating someone's arrival, Marinette's parents popped out of the kitchen and put on relieved smiles when they realized it was only their daughter and her friend.
"Oh it's just you and Alya," Sabine said, breathing a sigh of relief.
Tom wiped his forehead with a towel, "I'm not sure why, but we've had customers flooding in today like crazy," he said, exhausted.
"At least it's good for the bakery," Marinette said with a small laugh, as her parents returned it.
"Maman, papa, why don't you two go rest, I can watch any customers that visit for a while," Marinette assured them.
"Are you sure honey? You've been so distracted and stressed lately we don't want to worry you," Sabine said with a frown.
Marinette swatted her hand, "It's fine maman really, I think watching customers for a while will help clear my head," she said smiling, reassuring them.
"Yeah Mrs. Cheng, I'll help too, you're in good hands," Alya said, assuring them.
Her parents smiled and nodded before leaving the bakery area and heading towards the living room, they told her if she needed a break or any help to just call for them and they'd be there.
Marinette sighed as she slumped against the register, she had slipped on an apron just in case anything needed to be let out of the oven and gave Alya an orange one who smiled happily.
"Y'know, if my occupation as a journalist doesn't work out, I could always become a baker," Alya joked, twirling a piece of her brown hair.
Marinette giggled at that, "I'm sure my parents will be happy, plus, free pastries," she said, nudging Alya who laughed.
They turned their attention to the front where they heard a ding indicating a customer had arrived, Marinette put on a friendly smile as she packed the baked goods the customer wanted while Alya was taking the customer's order. Handing the customer their box, she took the money putting it in the register before waving goodbye to the person walking out.
Gradually more and more people had come in and her parents weren't joking when they said the bakery was packed today, it was getting a little exhausting but thankfully Alya was there to help her and keep her on her toes. "Thank you, hope you enjoy your pastries!" Marinette said to a young lady who gave her a smile and walked out. That was the last customer, for now at least, and Marinette let out a sigh slumping against the register.
"Do you want a macaroon Alya?" Marinette asked, turning towards her best friend who nodded. She took out an orange macaroon from a tray of colorful ones and handed it to Alya who thanked her.
Just when she was about to grab one for herself, she heard a ding from the kitchen indicating that something was done baking. Internally groaning, she ran into the kitchen and slipped on some oven mitts before opening the oven and pulling out a tray of croissants. There were chocolate ones and plain ones and luckily they were freshly baked. Setting them aside to cool down for a bit, Marinette grabbed another tray and used a small tong to pick up the hot croissants and place them on the other tray. Once she was done, she removed her oven mitts and made it back towards the counter to place the croissants on display.
"All done," Marinette said to Alya who just laughed at her expression. She raised an eyebrow but her head immediately turned towards the door as the bell dinged again.
"We can't get a break at all today, can we?" She muttered, as Alya gave her an amused expression.
Marinette sighed and put on a smile for the customer walking in, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when she realized it was Cat Noir. What was he doing here? Could he be coming to visit her? No that's just silly, he'd knock on her trapdoor, unless she didn't answer. Oh what was she thinking? He was probably here to buy some pastries, it's a bakery after all...
She tried not to panic as he came in to view with his regular flirty smile as Marinette internally groaned, "Hi Mari," he said. "Oh and hi Alya."
Marinette blushed at that and she could see Alya giving her a look at the nickname not many people called her, regardless, Alya greeted him back with a smile. "Hi!" She said, excitement evident in her voice as he smiled at her.
"Hi Cat Noir, what would you like?" Marinette asked putting on a smile.
He internally frowned at how she didn't call him Chat or kitty before realizing Alya was right there beside Marinette and cursed himself for using that nickname for her, he tried to play it cool however. "Could I get 2 chocolate croissants and 2 regular ones?" He asked politely as she nodded. He ignored Alya's quizzical stare.
"Yeah of course one sec!" Marinette said, and ducked down rather quickly, banging her forehead slightly on the counter.
"Girl are you okay?" Alya asked worriedly.
"You alright Mari?" Chat asked leaning against the counter, his and Alya's eyes met for a second before he quickly turned away.
"Peachy," Marinette squeaked out before grabbing a box and willing her cheeks to not redden further.
Chat tried not to laugh at her use of 'peachy' or he could end up giving himself away to Alya, who seemed suspicious.
Alya collected the money in his hands and put it in the register as Marinette quickly closed the box of croissants and handed it to him with a stupid smile.
"You've got a little something on your cheek," Chat said, taking his clawed finger and wiping at it. He looked back at it and frowned, "Hmm I guess not, my mistake," he put on an apologetic smile as Marinette's cheeks reddened.
"Thanks for the croissants Marinette, please tell your parents I said so as well," Chat said giving her a wink before walking out.
"You're welcome," she squeaked out, seeing the corners of his lips lift into a smile but he didn't turn back.
Marinette stood frozen before shaking her head and snapping out of her thoughts, that sneaky cat...
She turned towards Alya who had a smirk visible on her face, "Don't think I didn't notice that," she said, in a sing song voice.
"Do you want a croissant?" Marinette offered weakly as she grabbed a chocolate one for herself and began eating it.
Alya shook her head at her friend trying to change the topic, "I could feel the tension even if I was a mile away girl," she said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Marinette said looking down. She finished her croissant and headed into the kitchen to wash her hands from it before returning back. She checked the time and untied her apron, hanging it up as Alya did the same. Giving her parents a heads up, she headed into her room with Alya following beside her.
As soon as Marinette closed her trapdoor, Alya had already made herself comfortable on her chaise and had an excited expression on her face, "So what's up between you and the kitty? Spill the deets girl!" Alya said.
Marinette sighed and put a hand to her forehead before sheepishly making her way towards her chaise and sitting down, "What's up is that I've actually fallen for the kitty," Marinette muttered.
"What? No way!" Alya gasped excitedly, probably because her ship was sailing.
"Yes way," Marinette said sheepishly, a small smile making its way onto her lips, "I like him Alya, no, scratch that, I love him."
Alya's jaw dropped as she stared at her friend, the same friend who was head over heels in love with Adrien Agreste, had now fallen in love with her partner Cat Noir in her civilian form who was head over heels in love with her alter ego.
"What?!" Alya shrieked, excitement and awe evident in her voice.
"Alya! Keep it down before my parents find out," Marinette ushered her frantically.
"Alright, alright, I'm sorry I'm just so excited! I've been shipping Ladynoir forever and now Marichat, which is basically the same thing, is happening!" She squealed.
Marinette groaned covering her face as Alya nudged her, "So the lovebug's finally fallen for the kitty huh?" Alya asked, a smirk on her features.
"Alya!" Marinette groaned.
"Alright alright, I'll stop, for now, now tell me what's been bothering you, I'm guessing it's about Chat?" Alya asked, her tone now a little serious.
"Yup," Marinette said. "A while ago, I had to go to the future because Cat Noir got akumatized, and he somehow knew my identity," she explained. "So I went, captured the akuma, saved the destruction of the entire world that he was about to trigger, and came back."
Alya looked shocked, "So I'm guessing he doesn't know that? The part about him being akumatized?" Alya asked.
"Nope. I can't tell him either, it'll mess with the future if he finds out and he might live with the fear of ever being akumatized. It scares me Alya, what if Cat Noir figures out my identity and gets akumatized thinking I was lying to him?" Marinette asked, worriedly.
Alya bit her lip, "You've got a point there girl, I can't imagine how scary this must be for you, to constantly think about, plus that dream you had," Alya said, shaking her head.
"Yup, I just can't let him find out, I have to be extra secretive and now that he's been coming over a lot lately and-" Marinette was cut off by Alya.
"Wait he's been coming over?! Girl what?! How come you didn't tell me?!" Alya all but screamed.
"This is why," Marinette muttered, shooting Alya a glare, her friend calmed down and urged her to continue.
"To answer your question, yes he's been coming over, we've been hanging out as good friends, and I've started to like him, I'm not sure if he feels the same but that's not important right now!" Marinette rambled as Alya gave her an amused look.
"If I know anything, I know that boy likes you, I mean did you not see the look he was giving you when he came by earlier?! He was practically drooling trying to keep himself together, I could see it in his eyes," Alya said, with a satisfied smirk.
Marinette felt her heart flutter and hope rise in her chest, "You really think so?" She asked, her eyes lighting up in excitement.
"Girl, I know so, he's smitten I'm telling you," Alya said, assuring her.
Marinette internally squealed at that and a blush spread across her face, "I never thought I'd see the day where you blushed because of Cat Noir Mari," Alya said with a laugh.
"Oh stop it," Marinette said, putting her face in her hands.
Alya just laughed at her once again as she patted her back, "Alright, back to what I was saying," Marinette said, giving her friend a look as she nodded. "I'm just scared that he'll end up knowing I'm Ladybug, think that I was playing with his feelings, get heartbroken, and get akumatized again. I still get scared thinking of him akumatized Alya," she shivered slightly and hugged her arms, trying to rid the image of Cat Blanc from her head.
"Mari, I know you're scared, but I'm telling you, you two are made for each other, you'll go through your ups and downs but in the end," Alya squeezed her hand, "you'll still be there for each other. So don't stress over it, don't think of the negative, just focus on the positive, your future, and where your heart is telling you to go," Alya said with a smile.
Marinette nodded and hugged her best friend tightly, "Thank you Alya, I...really needed that, and I'll try I promise," she said, assuring her best friend.
Alya smiled at her as they pulled away, "I'm always here if you need me girl," she assured Marinette.
Marinette smiled wiping away a stray tear that had fallen, she had no idea this topic would get her so emotional, "Do you wanna watch a movie or something?" She asked.
"Let's finish our homework first and then we can," Alya said, pulling out her books.
"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Marinette groaned as she reached for her bag. She looked up and saw Tikki and Trixx talking with one another and the sight warmed her heart.
Alya just shook her head at her friends forgetfulness and the two girls sat down and started to work on their homework from chemistry.
Hope you guys liked this chapter! I thought of changing it up a bit so it has less Chat interaction because it can get boring if most chapters are similar where he constantly comes over and they hang out. Plus, I wanted an Alya and Mari bonding moment where she sorts out her feelings and worries with her best friend to help her get on the right track. It also helps me move the story along better and build stuff up to get where I want. Anyways, I hope you're all doing okay, much love! <33