Chapter Text
She was out of time.
The fight that night with Alya had drained Marinette of much of her power. Who would have guessed that using her Lucky Charm to free Chat would have counted as a selfish act? She wanted to save him! His life was at risk! However, at the same time, he was her partner, her friend, and, in the darkest depths were only her diary knew, she might have thought of him as more were her love not dedicated to Adrien.
She shook her head as she shot down the stairs quicker, Chat at her tail (pun not intended). "I need a place to transform!" She muttered to herself as she doubled her speed, if at all possible. At the ground floor, she burst through the door as she found herself and Chat in the lobby.Beyond the frosted entry way, she could see the lights of the police cars waiting to arrest whoever or whatever came out of the building that wasn't obviously a civilian. Her eyes scanned the room, taking into account the security camera pointed at the front desk. She needed somewhere out of it's sight.
The closet behind the desk.
She ran for it, grabbing the nob to let herself in.
"Hey, wait!" She spun seeing Chat looking absolutely out of breath as a plea seemed to glint across his face. "You don't have to worry. I won't tell anyone, I swear."
Ladybug had a split second to consider his thoughts. All night, she had been hearing of his pleas to learn her true identity, something about her that was behind the mask. Why is he so obsessed? She thought. Did he really get spooked that Chloe was me? How did he eve know about that? She was reminded of her true intentions when her earring beeped again.
"Chat..." She began, ready to tell him no, she wanted to keep this a secret. It was her job to protect the city, and she didn't want her personal feelings for whoever was on the other side of the mask to infect her heroine life. Her comment, however, was cut short as her luck ran dry.
The door was locked.
Ladybug stared at it for a second, giving it another shake, but it was no use. Whoever had used the storage room before had locked it on their way out. She looked back at Chat with fear on her face. "It's locked. I can't get in."
Chat Noir seemed to consider her for a second. While Lady was unaware of what exactly was going on in his mind, Adrien had an internal battle with himself. The part of himself that was frank, excitable, Le Chat Noir insisted that his luck had changed, that he was going to find out the true identity of his crush. He was going to know the woman behind the mask, the girl who he had been pinning over since a year back when, at fourteen, he had first slipped on the ring that had changed the course of his life. He was going to get his selfish wish when her bad luck had struck.
But the part that was wholly Adrien Agreste, the sweet young boy who had a crush on the girl like the lovesick child that he was, found his voice. He told back Chat that he couldn't do it. He couldn't be selfish to one of the few people, in his entire fifteen years on this planet, had actually given him the time of day because she was his friend. Ladybug was his only friend on this side of the mask, and Adrien had few real friends on the other. Chloe had known him for a while, but it was more because their fathers saw their "friendship" as something of a political move (or, at least, his father had). Once he had joined others at school, Nino had become his friend, a friend that had become an Akuma because Adrien hadn't gotten a birthday party. He was soon followed by a tentative friendship with Alya, an outspoken woman of the press, and Marinette, a sweet but seemingly shy (because he had seen her in her element, and it was absolutely breathtaking to see her steal the show) fashion designer who was never anything but nice to Adrien.
Adrien held his friends close to his heart because not even his bad luck could have driven them off.
And Ladybug, one of his first true friends, was the closest.
Biting his lip, he grabbed her hand as he turned tail. "We came in through the back door. The camera was out when we came in - knocked over. If we can get outside before you transform, no one will see. I swear, I'll leap away as soon as I can." He swore as he took off, taking Ladybug with him.
Ladybug gapped as Chat Noir pulled her back through the stairs. She caught flashes of the cameras everywhere in the stairwell as they ducked back up a floor, out another door and through a corridor. She had forgotten the maze of rooms that they had come through earlier, and, as the beeping intensified and the exhaustion set in, she knew following Chat was the only way she was able to concentrate enough on not transforming back.
Chat threw open one last door, and they exited out a receiving area where normally trucks that delivered goods came and went. However, as the two leapt off the edge, Marinette realized it was too late.
Before her feet hit the ground, there was a flash of pink off all of the windows and walls in the abandoned alley. Marinettte's light pink flats met the ground as Tikki landed in her free hand.
Chat froze, looking straight ahead as his grip on her wrist didn't slip. Marinette bit her lip, so shocked in the turn of events. Was he going to turn back on his word? She had just transformed in front of him!
But Chat, to her shock, used his free hand to cover his eyes as his grip loosened before falling slack. Marionette's arm jerked back, hugging a tired yet silent (and equally shocked) Tikki to her chest. "I won't look." Chat swore as the other hand came to completely cover his eyes. His head bowed as his messy hair came to guise his face, but Marinette could see it from his posture. He was so concerned about her and yet he so wanted to know. "Go, I'll stay here for the next few minutes. I won't look, not even a peak. I'll use what time I have left to get away after that. The police can't catch Le Chat Noir after all." He added in his usual flirty way, but there was a strain in his voice.
And Marinette couldn't take it. She couldn't handle that Chat was being so selfless. Here he was, here SHE was, his greatest wish (aside from his crush on her, but they had settled as friends) just waiting to be seized. She could see it was taking all his willpower not to go back on his word, to let her go on with her secret. Her mind, the part that was wholly Ladybug, reminded her that this was for the best, this was for the city.
Her heart whispered otherwise.
It was then, thirty seconds into the complete silence, that Marinette found her voice. "Chat." She whispered, barely something that could be heard. She would have laughed at the way his fake ears twitched at the sound, bent by the magic that allowed him to transform, but now was not the time. Now, she told Ladybug to take a back seat, because Marinette couldn't stand the sight of her torn-apart friend, her crime-fighting partner, someone she trusted so implicitly after the year of fighting together that she couldn't stand the sight of his pain. Marinette took a moment to look at Tikki, but the Kwami nodded, a sign of silent encouragement. "Chat, it's ok. I... It's time." The fifteen-year-old said quietly before trying again. "Hi, my name is Marinette." She smiled as the hero, her street cat, jumped.
Slowly, oh so painfully slow, Chat turned to her. His vibrant, slitted eyes, so expressive in his face, seemed to take in the sight of her, absolutely breathing it in, as his mouth moved without words. From Marinette's hands, Tikki waved weakly. "Hi, I'm Tikki." The Kwami added helpfully.
"Wha... buh..." Adrien's mind tried to put it all together. The girl in his class, the one who was shy but bold, quiet yet creative, the one who held friendship and family above all else, stood before him. Slowly, his mind began to meld the two, the hero and the girl, together, and the striking similarities between Ladybug and Marinette was not that different from the difference between Chat Noir and Adrien. All this time. His mind regaled in slow, stuttering tones. The girl I dreamed about was sitting one row behind me in class.
Adrien couldn't help it. He burst out with laughter. Tears ran down his face as he tried to stop, but the hilarity of the situation just seemed to ring with him. She was always the nice, sweet one. She was the one with a deviously brilliant side to defend herself and others. She's Marinette, my new friend. She's Marinette, my Lady.
Marinette, however, jumped back as a scowl overtook her features. "Hey, you stupid cat! Stop laughing at me before I kick your tail from here to Nice!" She threatened as Adrien straightened, a huge smile spilling across his face. "What's so funny?" Her tone was now edged with hurt, and Adrien knew that he had to clarify quickly.
"I'm just... I'm just so happy." He explained as he waved his hands around. Now, he realized he was still in his cat suit, and he hadn't given the girl before him the same courtesy that she'd given him. "I just... I mean... I'm so glad you aren't Chloe. You... I'm so happy that you're a wonderful person on both sides of the mask."
Marinette blushed with a ruby sheen as she took a step back. Adrien had to pat himself on the back some time. He'd finally made his crush blush! However, before he could continue, Marinette seemed to work his words together. "Wait, you... you know me?"
Adrien felt his heart quicken. He knew. He knew it was time. "I think it's only fair that I give the Lady a true introduction." With that, he waved his ring before the black magic swirled up from his feet. It swept across his body, revealing the clothes from school that day. As it flew past his face, it pushed his hair back into a neater place. He opened his eyes, grinning, as Marinette's face suddenly went from a blush to stunned slack. "I'm Adrien, but, I mean, I guess you already knew that." He said before his words caught up to him. Suddenly, he felt like an idiot. "Not to sound too full of myself. I mean, we're in the same class and friends. Well, I hope we're friends. Are we friends? I mean..."
"Man, you like to go on and on." Plagg commented as he landed on Adrien's right shoulder. "I'm Plagg, by the way. I'm the reason this guy has managed not to fall flat on his face yet."
Marinette and Tikki, however, now burst into laughter themselves. "Oh... Oh my gosh!" Tikki giggled as she looked over the two.
Marinate managed to catch her breath more quickly. While she had never seen it before, the two sides of Chat and Adrien just suddenly came together at the reveal, and her dark little crush came rushing to the surface, colliding with the one already up for Adrien. I can't believe it. Her mind supplied. All this time my street cat, my partner in crime-stopping, was none other than the boy I loved. A blush bled into the tear tracks from her laughter, but she wiped them away quickly.
"Adrien? You're Chat?" Marinette seemed to finally work out. Adrien nodded hesitantly, and Marinette could have cooed at how shy he had suddenly become. The shy boy, the overconfident one, they were the same, two sides to the same coin.
"And you Ladybug?" He echoed as she nodded. "Wow, just... all this time, I never knew."
"Me neither." Marinette admitted, suddenly amazed at her ability not to stutter in the presence of the boy she liked so much. Maybe it was because Ladybug had come to the surface now, her true personality a mix of the two sides. She was seeing Adrien now as not just the boy she liked but as one of her best friends. It suddenly became easier to engage him in a way that was more even grounding.
They were shocked out of their stunned stutters when the police sirens sounded once more. The four jumped as Adrien turned to look out the other end of the alley. "We gotta go."
Marinette nodded and, reacting on instinct, grabbed Adrien's arm. "Come on, Ch... Adrien." She smiled as he looked back, slightly in shock. "I live close by, closer than you. I... I want to talk." She nearly whispered out the last part as Ladybug slipped back and Marinette came up. Suddenly, she was unsure of her movement. Was this right? What was she doing? Wasn't this rude of her?
Instead, Adrien shifted his grip so that his hand slid into hers. "I agree, my lady." He grinned as the blush suddenly came back tenfold. "Ha! Chat Noir has finally made his Lady blush!" He cheered as Marinette rolled her eyes.
"Shut up, street cat." She chided him humorously as she took the lead, much like she always had when they were fighting crime. Against the cool night air of the Seine River, her hand was warmed by Adrien's, and his by hers. They took off down the street, Kwami's close as they ducked skillfully around corners and alleys until the bakery came into view. Marinette let herself in with a key, and, at last, they were home free. They could hide out there until the commotion at the Mayor's home wasn't so critical.
Now, Marinette brought out some leftover goodies from the day for Adrien, inviting him to sit at one of the few tables behind the counter. She was a nervous wreck (not that he wasn't), but all it took was Tikki diving into the Macaroons and Plagg demanding cheese to break the tension. The two teenagers laughed, and, suddenly, it wasn't all that bad.
Who knows? When one door closes, another opens.