Chat Noir's POV
I just kissed Marinette.
I just KISSED Marinette.
I- what?
I don't know why I did it. Maybe it was because we were so close to each other and I could see her bright blue eyes through the dark room. Maybe it's because I could smell her strawberry shampoo. Maybe it's because her smooth skin was touching mine. I don't know why... but I kissed her.
After a second she immediately shoots back and our lips part. Her eyes stare deep into mine as her delicate hands slowly rise and touch her lips where I just tasted her peach lipgloss.
"I- I thought you liked Ladybug..." she whispers only an inch away from my face.
I feel my cheeks heat bright red. "I thought I did too."
We stare at each other. I hear the cars from outside her window drive by. Her fairy lights dangle down from her ceiling giving limited light. Various candles around the room dance and flicker, leaving a cinnamon smell floating though out her bedroom.
She bites her lip and looks away, but I lightly tilt her chin back to face me.
"Is it okay that I kissed you?" I mutter.
She stares at me with fear, and I know the answer.
"I'm sorry," I mumble, bunching up her pink comforter in my fists. "It's that Adrien kid, huh?"
She doesn't answer.
"You do like him, right?"
Silence.
"Marinette, please answer me," I quietly beg, staring at her eyes through the dim light. "Answer this and you'll never have see me again."
"I like you, like a lot!" She spits out shutting her eyes tight like she just admitted something she's been lying about forever.
My eyes light up.
"B-But with Adrien... I just don't know... "
I freeze.
She opens her mouth to continue, but she starts coughing. She pushes herself off my lap and grasps her throat. I realize she's choking.
I reach out to help her. "Mari..."
"No!" She squeaks out, choking and violently coughing.
A petal slips from her mouth. She gasps and slaps her hand on her mouth. Dark blood slips and oozes through the cracks of her fingers. Tears form in her eyes from the pain.
"Mari!" I shout.
She jumps off her bed and dashes to the bathroom. She flings the door open and the bright yellow light fills her dark bedroom. I cover my eyes as they adjust to the brightness. I can't wait any longer. I need to check on her.
I slide off the bed and land on the ground gracefully in a cat position. My shoes squeak against the slick wood as I dash to her bathroom. I slam against her door and press my ear tight on it. I her her muffled screaming from the pain. I pull away and violently shake the door, but it's locked. Fury rises in me. I'm trying to help her, why doesn't she see that?!
"Cataclysm!" I shout. The doorknob disintegrates and turns to ash in my hands.
I fling the door open and bolt to my princess. She's huddled over the toilet. The cold tile floor is foggy from her warm body pressed against it. Sweat drips down her forehead. I drop down to my knees and hold her dark hair back with one hand, and holding her steady with the other. She coughs into the toilet. Flower petals, leaves, broken thorns, and blood all fall into the toilet.
After a while she stops and rests her head on my shoulder. I hold her tight. She cries and squeezes me back. The small bathroom makes me feel in control. The yellow light above us flickers. I hear crickets coming from the outside. I rub the back of her head and slowly gather up enough courage to talk to her.
"What was that?" I ask.
She doesn't move.
"Marinette, answer me!" I demand, with my voice cracking from the pain. "Please, Marinette, please!"
She shakes her head and buries it deeper into my shoulder. I sob and grasp her tight, pressing my fingers into her hair and back. Tears fall down my cheeks. My hands shake. My ears press flat against my head.
She just confirmed it.
"I said, answer me..." I take a deep breath.
"...Ladybug."
She gasps and freezes.
I steadily inhale.
"I know we weren't supposed to reveal our identities, but I had to know. I thought it was you, but I didn't want to believe it. I thought our reveal would be more... special."
She smiles lightly. "This is special, chatton. You're holding your lady in your arms as we sit in a crowded bathroom together. What more could you want?"
I smile as a tear slides down my cheek. "It's so weird hearing you talk like Ladybug."
She giggles.
"I mean, like, I know you're ladybug and all-" I sob, "- but it just means so much to me. I knew it was you awhile now."
She freezes. "W-What? How long?"
"A day or so."
She moves out of my lap. "So you knew I was Ladybug before you came to my house?"
My smile drops. "Y-Yeah? Why?"
A tear slides down her cheek, but it's not from happiness.
"Did you kiss me earlier because I am Marinette-" she sobs, "-or because I am Ladybug?!"
"I don't understand-"
"Were you really in love with me, or were you blinded by your love for Ladybug, Chat Noir?"
I freeze.
Her face fills with pain, but she quickly hides it.
"That's a good enough answer for me. Get out," she whispers.
"No, Marinette, I love y-"
"GET OUT!" She screams, sobbing and holding herself.
I bite my lip and stand up.
"I love you, Marinette. I always have. You being Ladybug is just an addition to that."
She doesn't move.
I sigh and start to walk away, but I stop in my tracks and look back at her. I look at her delicate curves, her perfect hair, and her flushed face.
"See you at school, Marinette."
I leave the bathroom and hop out of her bedroom. I soar through the Paris night, softly crying, wondering how the night could have gone so wrong. It's easier to focus on that then my glass heart stabbing me every time I breathe.
Marinette's POV
"Marinette, what's the answer for the question on the board?"
I sigh, exhausted. I can't even begin to process what just happened last night.
"No answer?" My teacher asks. "Fine. Mr. Agreste, do you have an answer?"
Adrien doesn't move. I look back at my schoolboy crush. He's weary. He has eye bags under his blood-shot eyes. His hair is slightly more messier than usual. His expression looks drained. His eyelids close involuntarily, and he immediately opens them back up wide and sits up straight up in his seat.
"I'm sorry... I don't know," he mumbles.
The teacher frowns. "Surprising. You're usually at the top of your class, Adrien. I'm disappointed."
I swear, I saw Adrien's face scrunch up in anger. He looked dangerous. I've never seen him angry. His face filled with fury, but he gives up before anyone can realize and sighs, slouching in his seat. His dazed eyes glaze over mine. He weakly smiles, but looks away and and exhales, almost like he can't bare to look at me.
I face forward, shocked. What's wrong with Adrien?
The lunch bell rings and snaps me back into reality. I quickly stuff my papers in my bad and sling it over my shoulder. Alya slides her arm over my shoulder and pulls me over to the side.
"Come on, girl. I need you to get to the lunch room fast, before the boys get there. I have a new theory."
I look at Alya, confused, but she winks and dashes to the cafeteria. I groan and slouch my shoulders, tired beyond belief, but give in quickly and chase after her. After a minute or two, we're in the lunch room. I walk over the cold tile and throw my bag down on our circle lunch table with exactly enough spots for our group and slide into my chair. Alya's already there with an eager look on her face.
"Okay, so, you know my theory on Chat Noir right?" She squeaks with sparkles in her eyes.
I cringe at the thought of Chat Noir, and last night. "Could we please talk about something else-"
"-But you know it, right?" she interrupts.
I sigh. "Yes, Alya, I know it. You think Chat Noir would act completely different in his civilian form."
She points at Adrien whose just now entering the lunchroom with Nino. He's tired, his hair is messy, and his face is emotionless. Nino is having to practically drag him in. I look back at Alya who's practically bouncing in her seat with Chat Noir pulled up on her phone.
"Don't you think he looks like Chat Noir with his hair that messy?!" she squeals.
My eyes open wide. I give a double take to Adrien, but quickly look away from him. Everything starts to click. He goes to my school? Check. He has a opposite personality than Chat Noir? Check. He knows me well enough to know my name, my interests, and my likes? Check. Could... could Chat Noir be Adrien?
No. I refuse to even consider him as a possibility to Chat Noir's secret identity. I can't. I just can't. I might be stubborn. I might be stupid. I might even be in denial. But admitting that my crush is Chat Noir would hurt me too much. It would hurt me to know that I yelled at my own crush to leave my sight. It would kill me.
"Marinette?"
I snap out of my deep though. Adrien stands right in front of me. His eyes are filled with kindness. He's warm. He looks... happy when he's with me.
"H-Hi Adrien!" I nervously giggle.
He smirks. It's almost like this guy knows I have a crush on him.
"Wooooooo! Best friend squad unite!" Nino shouts pumping his fist in the air like he has a golden sword.
"Do you have to do that every time you walk into the cafeteria?" Alya asks with an annoyed yet entertained face.
Nino snickers. "How else would the world know we're best friends?"
I quickly snap back into reality and pull out my food to eat. Alya, Nino, and Adrien talk about everything under the sun, but I can't help but stay silent. I've been avoiding eating food at school because the thorns will stab into my throat from the inside anytime I swallow or chew anything. I've gotten use to chugging smoothies and water for my only source of food. My personal favorite is banana and strawberry.
"Marinette!" Alya snaps.
"W-What?!" I jump.
Alya leans on her hand and smiles with a sparkle in her eye. "Do you have any idea who Ladybug could be?"
Adrien smirks. "Yeah, Marinette, do tell."
My cheeks heat up. Since when did Adrien talk like that?!
I quickly rub the back of my neck and nervously laugh. "O-Oh, I don't know! Maybe someone who is courageous and dart!"
"Dart?" Alya questions.
"Dart? Oh, I meant smart. Someone who-"
"-doesn't trip over their own words like you!" Nino teases.
I just laugh and roll with it. I've gotten use to it.
Adrien quickly jumps in. "Hey, hey, hey! Don't cross out Marinette from your list quite yet. If you think Chat Noir would act the opposite in his civilian life, then wouldn't Ladybug do that too?"
"You're right!" Alya says, jumps up with a determined look on her face. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, are you Ladybug?!"
"Oh, ha-ha. You caught me! Yes, I, out of all of the people in the entire city, am Ladybug. Bravo." I tease, praying that they don't actually see the truth. If I kept denying it, they would definitely pick up on my lies.
Nino laughs. "You don't even sound like Ladybug. This is too entertaining."
"You're officially crossed off my list, Dupain-Cheng, only because of your awful speech," Alya giggles.
I sigh and slightly smile. Alya and Nino quickly go back to talking, but Adrien looks at me. I look at him too, but only for a second or two. I've been noticing slight changes throughout the week with him. He seems less emotional. He doesn't smile as often. He laughs around me, but not around others.
"You okay, Adrien?" I quietly ask out of the blue, without stuttering.
Adrien looks at me and the light returns in his tired eyes, but pain quickly swallows them.
"If only you knew, Marinette," he says, with a monotone voice. "If only you knew."
uh oh, is Adriens heart turning into glass faster than we thought? he seems to be losing emotion...
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