#marinette gives adrien that scarf and lies to spare him

[cringefelinecreature]

To think that the lovesquares biggest most ongoing problem (honesty and communication) all started from a white lie about a scarf.

[amuletrebel]

Bring May Flowers (Ch. 14)

AO3 Link / FF.net Link

Prompt: “I told you it was a bad idea to do that.”

Adrien whistled a happy little tune as his car drove its short distance to school. When Nathalie asked him why he was so chipper that morning, he simply shrugged and said he had a good dream last night. It was half the truth, but it was still the truth. After suffering through his nightmare earlier that night, he was given one of the best dreams of his life when he fell asleep again.

In his dream, Marinette sat on a picnic blanket on a hill. She sat in the shade under the apple tree. There were three children playing at the base, chasing Plagg and what he could only assume as her kwami while laughing. He watched them as he made his want up to Marinette and sat beside her. Adrien held the blunette’s hand gently, the wedding band on her fingers glistening in the beams of sunlight that broke through the tree’s leaves. His heart swelled as he looked down at it. She giggled and gently kissed him. Then, she opened the picnic basket next to her and set out the food. And before he woke up, something she said really got to him. “I’m glad I taught you how to make some of these. I can really taste the love. I’m sure the kids do too.”

Okay, it wasn’t the most poetic thing his mind had conjured up, but it was still very significant. It made him want to do more for her than just buy her things. Yes, she said she appreciated his gestures with flowers, but he wanted to do more. He wanted to be more involved in her hobbies, her aspirations, and her life. He knew she loved fashion, and he kind of had that down, being the son of her fashion icon. Then again, she never really cared about that fact. He remembered her confession when she realized that she made his favorite scarf. Name had nothing to do with her love for him. It was his kindness and generosity that attracted her. The only other thing he could think of was her baking hobby. The answer on what to do was obvious.

When Adrien got to school, his giddy attitude showed as he bounced enthusiastically on his heels. Alya and Marinette were sitting on the steps. Just seeing her made him happy, especially after his dream. Unfortunately, he couldn’t just run up to her and scoop her up into his arms. Marinette and Adrien were just friends; for now. But Marinette and Chat Noir were an item; albeit a secret item, but still an item. It wouldn’t be all that odd if her boyfriend asked her to share some of her hobbies with him. She shared most of her homemade pastries with Chat. He couldn’t remember the last time he had one of her homemade treats as Adrien.

“You okay, dude?” Nino’s voice came from behind, making him jump in surprise. He quickly recovered, feeling Nino’s hand on his shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the model answered with a nervous smile, “Why do you ask?”

The DJ gave him an incredulous look. “Well, for one, you’ve been standing here, stiff as a board, staring at the school doors. Second, I’ve been calling your name for two minutes and you just continued to stand there, gaping like a fish.” But when he looked over at where Adrien had been staring before and smirked “Oh, I see now, dude~”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” His peridot eyes shifted away shyly. “Let’s just get to class.”

“This ain’t over though, dude,” Nino said with finality and walked after Adrien as he went to class.

That night, as Chat and Marinette cuddled and watched a movie, Chat decided to voice his thoughts. “You don’t have school tomorrow, right?”

“Well, it is Saturday, chaton,” Marinette responded with a giggle.

“Right, right. Anyway,” he gently rubbed her shoulder, careful not to scratch her with his claws, “I thought I should get more involved with what you do.”

“I’m already making you a jacket. You’re the model I use for my sketches. What, you want me to use you for fitting now?” She let out a breathy giggle and nuzzled his chest.

The hero laughed and jumped off her bed with her in his arms. He set her down and stepped a couple feet back. “As pawsome I would look in just about anything,” Chat flexed for her, his heart floating as he made her laugh, “I was thinking of something else.”

“Like what?” the pigtailed girl asked, her head tilted in confusion.

“Baking!” Chat enthusiastically answered. He blushed and shifted on one foot. “Y-you know, I kinda want to do more c-couple things with y-you…”

“Awww! How sweet~!” Marinette smiled and hugged Chat. “Alright, chaton. I’ll teach you some baking recipes.”

“What’s your favorite?” Chat asked.

“Oh~ So that’s your game~” the blunette cooed conspiratorially. “I should’ve known you have ulterior motives~”

“Why, Princess. I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Chat turned his back and crossed his arms in a pouty manner. But the big smile on his face went unseen by his girlfriend.

He heard her laugh and felt her arms around his waist. “You know I love you. No need to woo me with food.”

Chat smiled and laid his hands on hers. “I love you too.”

The next day was actually a lucky day. Marinette informed her parents that Chat asked her if she could teach him how to bake. They happily accepted and even let their daughter use the bakery’s main kitchen since it was well-stocked. The blunette went so far as to make a couple simple aprons for her and Chat from the spares she found in the bakery’s storage closet. When everything was prepped, Marinette went up to her room for Chat to arrive, leaving her hatch open so he could just tumble in.

Meanwhile, Adrien snuck into the bakery’s alley. He had convinced his father to let him go out. He might’ve lied and said he would be at the park with his classmates for a school event. He was just lucky his father bought that, even if Gorilla drove his there and then left to return near dinnertime. But once Gorilla left, Adrien immediately ducked into a space he could transform without notice. News reporters would have a field day if Chat Noir was bounding city rooftops when there wasn’t an akuma attack.

“Plagg, claws out!”

Chat jumped up and swiftly landed inside Marinette’s room. He bounced off the bed and landed perfectly on his feet. With a sweeping bow, he greeted her. “Hello, my purrincess~ What are you doing–” When he looked up, she was nowhere to be seen. “–today…”

He looked around and spotted something hanging on her chair. On top of it was a note. Chat walked over to it and opened the note. It read, “Mon Chaton, I thought we’d start off our lesson with a little gift. A good baker always wears one. Love, Marinette.” When the blonde hero picked up the gift, he noticed it was a solid green apron. Little black pawprints moved across the bottom and at the top, in curly letters, it said “Meowvelous.”

He hugged it tight, and then put it on. Chat bound down the stairs and to the bakery below. Marinette was waiting for him in her own apron. He had to admit hers looked much cuter. It was light blue instead of green, complementing her porcelain skin perfectly. It had little black pawprints along the bottom as well. And in curvy letters, it read “Cakes and Cats.”

“Princess!” Chat exclaimed and tackled her in a hug, knocking them both to the floor. “Thank you! It’s purrfect!”

“You’re welcome mon amour,” Marinette answered, causing his to blush. She called him ‘my love,’ and that meant the world to him. “Let’s get started then~” She moved out of his arms and opened a cookbook. “We’ll make some simple cupcakes.”

“They look like cats!” Chat exclaimed when he saw the picture. The cupcakes had triangular chocolate to make ears and black icing on top of the white icing to make whiskers, eyes, and a mouth.

“Right you are, Chaton,” designer said with a smile. She shifted through the things on the counter. “Okay, so we have sugar, eggs, milk—don’t even try drinking it—a dab of sour cream, and of course– Oh…” She frowned as she looked into a large porcelain container.

“What’s wrong?” Chat asked.

“There’s not enough flour in the jar,” Marinette answered, showing Chat the one tablespoon worth of flour in the jar. She sighed and set it down. “I’ll need to ask Dad to get the new bag down.” The blunette pointed to a shelf and on top was a huge sack, most likely containing flour.

Never missing the opportunity to impress her, Chat leaped at the chance. “No need, Princess! I’ll get it.”

“How are you—Chat, no!”

Chat got onto the table and positioned himself towards the sack, looking ready to pounce.

“This is a bad idea, Chat! Don’t do it!”

But Adrien didn’t listen and took the leap. Unfortunately he miscalculated his footing and ending up dangling from the high shelf. His claws dug into the sack as he slipped and crashed to the floor, bringing all the flour with him. Marinette and Chat were covered in the flour as it surrounded the area like a thick white fog.

They both coughed and when Marinette was able to open her eyes, she glared at Chat. Chat chuckled nervously, dusting the flour out of his hair as he stood. When he looked down, he noticed his black suit was so covered in flour, it was almost completely white. If not for the splotches of black, he would’ve believed his suit was white.

“Check it out! I’m Chat Blanc!” Chat tried to lighten the mood by posing for her. It worked because Marinette started giggling.

“I would’ve said a zebra with a stripe dysfunction, but Chat Blanc sounds catchier.” She brushed some flour off his shoulder. “I told you it was a bad idea to do that, but no. No one listens to me. Now come on minou, we can clean this up and get back to work.”

And that’s what they did. Sabine came in a silently laughed at them, giving them the tools to clean up. Once all the flour was cleaned up and Marinette’s dad brought so clean flour up for them to you, they got to work. Chat liked to lick frosting from her cheek while she would put some on him and refuse to clean it off. Chat was the one who put the chocolate ears on and Marinette iced on the details. When their hard labor was done, all that was left to do was taste test.

“I’m sorry again, Princess,” the model in disguise apologized once more after taking another bite of his cupcake.

“You wouldn’t be a budding baker without a mess,” Marinette replied in an almost sagely tone. “I had a good laugh, so it all worked out in the end.”

“But I will make it up to you.”

“You don’t have to, minou.”

“I want to.”

Marinette knew at this point there was no winning with him when he got hooked on an idea. “Alright. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

I really wish I could draw, or at least had the funds to pay someone to draw, because I would’ve loved for you guys to have a visual of the outfits.

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[simplejjs]

Unmasking the Love Part 5

Here it is, the final part of Unmasking the Love. It is a little Thanksgiving present from me to you.  : - )  I am wishing all of you a holiday filled with kindness, happiness, and the warmth of friends and family.

I hope you liked my story!  If so, you might also check out my first reveal story, which is a little more lighthearted and funny (you can find it on my tumblr site, my first few posts).  We are a good 2/3 of the way through November, and still have no idea what DAY in December Season 2 of MLB will be released.  Do I still have enough time to write one more reveal?  Here’s a confession:  I like best Ladrien.  That is the basis for my next story;  Ladybug is going to find out first.  But until then, enjoy today!  Thanks for all your likes and follows!  Cheers!

Unmasking the Love Part 5      (by JJ Sprinkle)

Nino and Adrien were already lounging in their seats when Alya and Marinette walked in.  Alya was showing her phone screen to Marinette, and describing the work she had put into her Ladyblog over the weekend.  She’d started a new post, asking followers to write in with their theories as to the secret identities of Ladybug and Cat Noir.  Alya and Marinette were laughing over some of the more outlandish ones.

“‘Sup?” Nino greeted them.  Quickly he was pulled into the conversation, and soon Adrien scooted over on the bench to look at Alya’s phone screen too.  Crowding over the small screen, Adrien glanced to his left to find himself only inches from Marinette.  Unexpectedly, his stomach did a funny swoop.  Adrien snapped his gaze back down to the phone screen, surprised beyond words.  After a moment, he flicked his eyes back to Marinette’s profile. This time, he caught her gaze, and she turned to him to share the laughter.  “Outer space, dude.  That’s bunk!” Nino said.

“Alien Cat Noir,” Adrien joked.

“Alien Ladybug,” Marinette added, and the four friends laughed.  Adrien and Marinette kept staring at each other, ostensibly sharing the joke.  But Marinette’s stomach was filled with butterflies, and she felt powerless to pull her gaze away, while Adrien was caught by her blue, blue eyes, feeling there was something lovely and familiar about them, but unable to identify exactly what.

He was the first to look away, unsettled and unsure.  Adrien pushed his tablet and notebooks together, lining them up neatly, to compensate for the confused state of his mind.  Feeling a draw to Marinette seemed both natural and wrong.  With Ladybug always in the back of his mind, instinctively Adrien shied away from any attraction to another girl.  Suddenly, the whole point of last week crashed into him, and Adrien sat straighter in his chair.  No, he thought, it couldn’t be…?

The class could hear Mme Bustier’s voice in the hallway, as she chatted with a colleague while making her way to class.  Knowing he had spare seconds, Adrien turned to Marinette and asked, “And what did you do over the weekend?”

A big smile lighted her face, and Marinette replied, “I was working on a project for a friend.  I spent all weekend on it!”  Adrien nodded his head, as if her words were inconsequential, and he turned back to the front of the classroom.  However, his pulse was racing and his mind was whirling.

Mme Bustier arrived and started the class, but Adrien’s concentration was shot.  No matter the pressure of forthcoming exams, all Adrien could do was weigh possibilities, replay memories, and analyze behaviors.  The differences between Ladybug and Marinette were glaring, yet the similarities - increasingly obvious the more he got to know Marinette - were indisputable.

“You will work in groups for this project,” Mme Bustier was saying, as she handed out worksheets to the class.

“Adrien!” Chloe called from across the aisle.

Mme Bustier interrupted her, “Ms. Bourgeois, I will be setting the groups.”  She turned back to Marinette’s and Alya’s bench, where she was placing a handout, and said, “You two will work with Nino and Adrien,” and she moved on.  “Ivan, Nathanael, Juleka, Rose and Max.  Kim, Mylene, Alix, Chloe, and Sabrina.  And no, Chloe,” Mme Bustier forestalled the predictable complaint, “you may not work in groups of two.  Only the groups I set.  And the work is equally shared.”  Chloe didn’t even bother to hide her annoyance.

Marinette was overcome with excitement, joy, and panic.  What if all she said was stupid, garbled things?  Or she tripped on and destroyed the project?  Despite her anxieties, her mind sang a constant chorus of ‘Adrien!  Adrien!’ She would actually get to partner with Adrien!  Alya poked her shoulder, and grinned.

By the time lunch arrived, it seemed unquestioned that the four would eat together again.  Before Chloe had a chance to hijack Adrien, the four friends had already slipped from their seats and were headed out the door as a unit.  Chloe stamped her foot in frustration.

Nino led them to a table bathed in sunlight from the large picture windows.  Alya and Adrien grabbed seats on either side of him, and Marinette sat down last.

Alya immediately turned the conversation to their project.  Each group was to choose an event from world history and create a large diorama of it to present to the class.  Adrien was having a hard time keeping track of the conversation.  Instead, he kept sneaking peeks at Marinette.  Sweet and quiet, frequently keeping to the background, she just did not act like Ladybug, who radiated energy.  Adrien shook his head.  Still, her midnight black hair, and incomparable blue eyes, they fit.  Why had he never noticed her blue eyes before, he wondered, then thought about how normally she averted her gaze when he was around.  In fact, he thought, did she even like him?  Generally she left the talking up to Alya when the three were speaking.  The more he thought about it, the less certain Adrien became.  

“Alya, that would rock, but where can we build something like that?”

“Maybe one of the classrooms?”

“Or one of the study carrels in the library?” Marinette suggested.

“Could we do it at your house, Marinette?  In your room?” Nino asked.

“No!” Marinette replied quickly, a blush suddenly staining her cheeks.  “I mean, my room really isn’t too big, plus I have my sewing supplies all over…”  She glanced at Adrien, then turned away.

Adrien did not even know what they were planning, but obviously it needed sufficient space over some period of time, so he offered, “You could use my bedroom.  It’s huge, and no one would disturb us there.”

“Dude,” Nino pointed out, “your old man said I couldn’t come to your house.”

“Whatever,” Adrien replied, hiding the bitterness he still harbored over his father’s unfair treatment of Nino.  “He never pays attention to what I do, as long as I keep on his schedule.  Plus, he can’t very well kick you out when you are there as a partner on a school project.”  Actually, Adrien knew his father would not scruple to throw Nino out, regardless, but he didn’t let on.

“Okay, project at Adrien’s house!” Nino said.

“I have a photoshoot and Chinese after class today, but tomorrow afternoon would work.”

The four agreed to start their project the next day, then spent the rest of lunch planning the materials.  When the bell rang, Adrien pushed his small pile of cheese into a napkin and gathered the rest of his lunch remains.

“Why don’t you just bring extra cheese for a snack, instead of pulling it off your sandwich?” Marinette suddenly asked him.

Adrien colored, thinking that his actions had been too subtle for anyone to notice.  “Uh…” he temporized, knowing he could not explain that the cooks had already questioned the amount of cheese he went through.  He wanted to avoid any overt behavior that could bring the scrutiny of his father down on him.  “I, uh, don't want to make extra work for the cooks,” he feebly lied.

Marinette looked at him dubiously, glanced at his pile of cheese, then shrugged.  Adrien stopped himself from sighing in relief.

The night was colder than the last time Ladybug had met up with Cat Noir.  Swinging through the streets, Ladybug thought about an essay she was writing in literature, and the grade she had received on her geometry test.  Schoolwork was becoming more intense as the semester was coming to an end, and her test grade reflected the difficulty Marinette faced balancing her double life.  She arrived at the Trocadero a little after midnight, and saw Cat Noir’s silhouetted figure sitting on the same ledge from the previous evening.  She saw his ears twitch, even though she was many meters away, and he turned his brilliant green eyes directly to her.

Ladybug’s heart lightened.  Even the homework hanging over her head couldn’t quell her excitement at giving him Plagg’s gift.  She shot out her yoyo one last time to swing quickly to Cat Noir’s side.  

He was already standing when she got there, and with a formal bow and cocky smile greeted her with, “MiLady.”

“Cat Noir!” she smiled.  With a wide grin, she said, “I have Plagg’s present!  Put out your hands, and close your eyes…”

Cat Noir did so, and felt a soft item placed in his upturned palms.  When he opened his eyes, a black velveteen pillow, with soft supportive sides, and green accent piping, sat in his hands.  It was a little pet bed.

“It’s a bed!  For Plagg!”  Ladybug explained unnecessarily.  “I made one for Tikki a while ago, but hers is red and black.”

Turning it around and around in his hands, Cat Noir said, “This is fabulous!  Thank you LB!”  Cat Noir struggled to keep the emotions he was feeling from his face.  Tears unexpectedly smarted his eyes, and he ducked his head and pretended to rub his nose to hide them from Ladybug.  The last time anyone had gotten him a present was the scarf his father had bought him, and Adrien did not think anyone had ever actually *made* a gift for him, including his mom.  Cat Noir swallowed before speaking again.  His voice was filled with admiration when he asked, “You really made this yourself?”

“Yup!” Ladybug beamed, happy to have impressed Cat Noir.  “I spent all weekend on it!  Oh, and Tikki says to say hi to Plagg!”  

Her words sent a shiver up Cat Noir’s spine.  They echoed Marinette’s from the morning, ‘I spent all weekend on it.’  Cat Noir stared at the bed in his hands.  Finally he raised his gaze to Ladybug.  Pasting on a smile, Cat Noir’s eyes played over Ladybug’s face, measuring, studying, considering.

It was an indication of their intimacy that Ladybug immediately sensed Cat Noir’s change of mood.  “Are you okay?  Are you sure you like it?” Her voice sounded doubtful, a little small, and suddenly Cat Noir thought he could see Marinette in her.  

“I love it, Bugaboo,” he said sincerely, a luminous smile blossoming on his face.  “I really love it!  And Plagg will love it too.”  Cat Noir grasped Ladybug’s hand and led her over to the ledge.  He patted the space next to him as he sat down, placing the little bed carefully on his lap.

“What shall we talk about tonight, MiLady?  More kwamis?”

Ladybug kicked her heels against the wall, relaxing for a moment from the stress of schoolwork.  “I don’t know.  How about…”  She pursed her lips, and Cat Noir watched her profile.

He wanted to kiss those lips.  He wanted to kiss her, to fold her into his arms and tell her, show her how valuable she was to him.  Cat Noir gripped the little pet bed, and pretended to study it.  She did not want to kiss him.  She wanted to kiss Adrien.  As Cat Noir, he could not get through to her, and unless he figured out who she was behind the mask, he didn’t have any chance of solidifying their connection.  Could she really be Marinette?  Marinette certainly did not act like someone who wanted to kiss Adrien.  Cat Noir thought about how shaken Ladybug had been when she thought Adrien was in trouble, but he had never seen Marinette act that way around him.  Normally she seemed uncomfortable, sometimes even a little distant, around him.  Shaking his head, Cat Noir wondered if it could all just be crazy coincidences?     

Reverting to form, Cat Noir quipped, “I could give you tips on how to flirt with Adrien Agreste.”

Ladybug laughed at him.  “Right, that would go something like, make puns until he agrees to go out with you just to shut you up.”

Cat Noir was a little hurt.  “First,” he pointed out, “my puns are clever and funny.”  Ladybug snorted with laughter.  “Second,” and Cat Noir leaned a little too close to her, and pretended to be hopeful, “Would that really work?”

“No, no!” Ladybug leaned back, waving her hands to ward him off but still laughing with his antics, “Don’t even try it!”  She switched topics, “How about our favorite places in Paris?”

“That is nowhere near as fun,” Cat Noir replied.

“But,” Ladybug knew she had the upper hand, “it might give me ideas for a present that I can make for you!”  Cat Noir’s heart squeezed, and he glanced away again.  She was perfection incarnate, and his love for her exploded all over again.

He covered his emotions with a lighthearted response, “Oh, well then, you’ve convinced me!”

The two spent the next ten minutes comparing their favorite spots in Paris, before the weight of her homework began to eat at Ladybug.  “I really have to go.  I still have lots of homework to do.”

“But it’s almost 12:30, Bugaboo.  Surely you should get to bed?”  A quick image of cuddling her flashed in Cat Noir’s mind before he forcefully pushed it away.

“Mmm, yeah,” she agreed, “but I still have a couple of things that are due tomorrow.”

Cat Noir stood up, and held out his hand for Ladybug.  As soon as she was standing, she dropped his hand.  Not far from this site lived Adrien, and as affectionate as she was growing to feel towards Cat Noir, her loyalty was still firmly attached to Adrien.

“It’s been several days without an akuma attack, MiLady,”  Cat Noir said.  “Can we agree to meet again?  I’d hate to wish misery on anyone…”  

Ladybug smiled her answer, “Can we do Friday?  It would be much more fun if I didn’t have school hanging over me the next day.”

Bending his waist in a gallant bow, Cat Noir agreed, “‘Til Friday, MiLady.”

Spontaneously, Ladybug grabbed his hand and tugged him back up.  “Oh, Cat,” she laughed, and squeezed his hand before letting it drop.  Pulling out her yoyo, she turned, tossed it into the darkness, and yelled quickly, “See you Friday, Chaton!” before disappearing.   

Cat Noir watched her shadowy form sail away.  Ladybug?  Marinette?  He stared into the night.  Friday seemed very far away.

When Cat Noir got home that night, and transformed, he immediately presented the little bed to Plagg.  The effect was memorable.  The sarcastic, irreverent kwami fell silent, eyes huge, as he dove into his new bed and rubbed his cheek along the fabric.  Poking his head up from the side, his voice was filled with awe when he asked, “She really made it for me?  It’s mine?”

Adrien chuckled as he reached into the mini refrigerator for Plagg’s cheese.  “All yours!  She said she made one for Tikki too.”

Still stroking his cheek against the bed, Plagg said, “I love Ladybug!”  As Adrien approached with Plagg’s cheese, Plagg said lazily, “Serve me my cheese here.”

“Of course, my Dictator,” Adrien replied sarcastically.

Plagg rolled onto his back, kicked his feet into the air, and nibbled on his camembert with delight.

“Ladybug also said, that Tikki says hello.”

“Tell Tikki I said hello back,” Plagg mumbled around a mouth full of cheese.  Swallowing, he then added deviously, “And give Ladybug a kiss for me.  To say thank you.”

Adrien muttered, “I wish!” and Plagg just laughed.

The hectic pace of school the next day forestalled any real attempts by Adrien to quiz Marinette.  Even lunch was a wash, as Adrien had to attend a PR event for the launch of a new Gabriel shoe brand in the middle of the day.  So, it was not until the afternoon, when school was out, that he finally could relax with Marinette, Nino, and Alya.

Adrien had arranged with Nathalie to have most of the project’s supplies waiting in his room, and he had arranged with his personal chef to have a selection of snacks and refreshments laid out as well.  This was the closest he had ever gotten to throwing a party, and he wanted to make sure he did it all correctly.

His bodyguard picked the four up in front of the school in the limousine, and whisked them along the boulevards to the Agreste mansion.  Adrien maneuvered to sit next to Marinette on the way and intentionally pressed his thigh up against hers during the ride.  He could hear her quiet gasp, and felt her whole body stiffen.  Adrien frowned, and was so busy weighing the possible reasons for her behavior that he missed the blush that painted Marinette’s cheeks.  Nino, cheerfully observant, saw the whole thing, and sent an encouraging smile to Adrien.  Adrien looked at Nino, puzzled.

Within ten minutes they arrived at Adrien’s house and Adrien led them directly to his room.  He had only explained to Nathalie that a small group was coming to the house to work on a school assignment, and had carefully avoided naming any of the students.  The four walked in to find the food, drinks, and project supplies waiting for them.  Nino had been in the room before, but was impressed all over again.  Alya had never been, and was struck speechless for almost ten seconds, before exclaiming, “Holy - !  This is a-maze-ing!”  Marinette, who had been in the room multiple times as Ladybug, who had in fact jumped all over its walls in the course of two different akuma attacks, was left to lie weakly, “Oh, yeah, this place is incredible.”

“Please, help yourself to hors d’oeuvres,” Adrien offered.  Alya laughed at his stilted vocabulary, while Nino dove in.

With his mouth stuffed, Nino said, “Dude, this is awesome!”

“And help yourself to drinks, too.  I can call for tea or coffee if you would prefer.”

With his mouth full of food, Nino suggested, “Dude, why don’t you get something for Marinette?”

Both Adrien and Marinette glanced at Nino, surprised, then at each other.  “Uh, sure Nino,” Adrien said.  “Would you like anything, Marinette?  Alya?”

Feeling awkward, Marinette replied, “No thank you.”  She could feel her cheeks burning, and she looked quickly away from Adrien to hide her blush.  

Alya merely waved her hand, focused instead on the breathtaking view of the city from Adrien’s room, and said, “No, thanks.”

Marinette stood alone in the middle of the room, feeling truly inconsequential.  How could someone who lived like this ever find a reason to be attracted to her?  She watched Adrien digging through the project supplies that Nathalie had delivered, pulling out what they would need to start the assignment.  So beautiful, so genuine, so nice.  Marinette shrugged, looking down at her feet, and thinking that he could have any girl he wanted.

Alya sensed Marinette’s mood and walked to her side.  She twined her fingers through Marinette’s and whispered, “He wants *you*.  He doesn’t know it, but everything he described about the girl was you.  C’mon, girl, keep the faith!”  Marinette shot Alya a weak smile.

The thought crossed Marinette’s mind, Even if he never likes me, I will NOT act like a mopey child.  I *am* strong!  I may be Marinette, but I am also Ladybug!  She squared her shoulders, then said, “Okay, guys, let’s get this project going.”

The four gathered in a circle around the workspace Adrien had created.  Stepping sideways to make a space between Adrien and himself, Nino suggested agreeably, “Hey, Marinette, why don’t you come over here?”

“Um, okay…” Marinette agreed hesitantly, then shot a look at Alya that said, ‘Why’s Nino acting so strange?’  A brief guilty look seemed to flit across Alya’s face, but then she simply shrugged as if saying she did not know.

Getting to work, it was soon apparent that Marinette was the most talented and experienced working with the diverse materials.  She rapidly became leader of their group.  As she lost herself in bringing the project to life, her behavior became less and less the stumbling Marinette that Adrien normally experienced, and more and more the self-confident, energetic Ladybug that he admired.  Adrien silently worked on whatever Marinette directed him, hypersensitive to her mood change and increasingly aware of her similarities to his Ladybug.

After almost an hour, the group decided to take a break.  They all moved back over to the snacks and drinks that Adrien had laid out.  Nino and Adrien walked over to the climbing wall, while Alya and Marinette chatted about the project’s next steps.  As Alya returned to the pile of supplies in search of a particular item, Marinette wandered aimlessly around the room.  Her heart on the edge of fluttering, she took the time to enjoy the fact that she was actually hanging out in Adrien’s bedroom.  Last time she had been here was after Volpina’s attack, and Ladybug had been panicky.  Before that, her concentration had been fully on fighting Volpina, and before that it had been Simon Says’ attack.  She glanced over to Adrien’s desk, remembering the screensaver photo of his mother.  Now, his computers sat dark.

Glancing across its clean surface, Marinette’s eyes wandered towards Adrien’s bed in the nearby corner.  As her eyes alighted on his bed frame, Marinette suddenly went still.  She stared, refusing to believe her eyes.  Snuggled up between the wall and Adrien’s comforter, on the wide shelf bordering his bed, was her bed.  Plagg’s bed.  Her mind stuttered with her thoughts, and Marinette could not believe what her eyes were telling her.

As if pulled by a magnet, Marinette slowly approached the little black bed.  She stood before it, her hands gripped together like they were holding onto her life.  Then hesitantly, uncertainly, she reached out one finger to gently touch the pillow.  The soft velveteen sat innocuously before her, but she pulled back her hand as if it had been burnt.  Darting a quick look over her shoulder to make sure no one was watching, Marinette reached out again and stroked the little pet bed.

Gathering all her courage, she flipped up one specific corner of the bed, to peer at the bottom.  The blood drained from her face.  There, carefully embroidered in black thread, nearly invisible unless one knew to look for it, was her signature:  Ladybug.  She had chosen that just in case.

Marinette dropped the bed and stepped back suddenly, as if it were poison.  She stepped right into a solid frame directly behind her. Turning, still dazed, she found she had run into Adrien.

He was watching her silently.

Marinette’s brain suddenly kicked into high gear, and she began to babble, “Uh, nice bed.  Pet bed.  I was just looking at your pet bed.  It’s a nice pet bed.”

“A good friend of mine gave it to me,” Adrien said, very deliberately.

“Yes?  Nice.  That’s good.  I didn’t know you had a pet.”

“Mmm,” Adrien answered noncommittally.  Then he added, “A little black cat.”

Marinette’s heart was thundering in her ears. She stared at Adrien, shock and disbelief warring on her face, then her gaze darted frantically around the room, like she was looking for an escape.  She stepped back, away from Adrien, then to the side, still avoiding his gaze.  Maybe her mouth opened to say something, maybe not - she had no clear thought in her head except that she had to leave.

Marinette practically ran to her book bag, and as she shoved her personal items into it, she laughed in a manic way and announced, “I just saw the time!  I have to go!  My parents.  Now.  Gotta go.”  She turned in the direction of Adrien, but still kept her eyes averted, “Thanks for all the food and stuff.  Okay, see you guys tomorrow.  ‘Bye.”  And she raced out of the room.

Alya and Nino looked at each other, amazed.  

“Dude,” Nino started, “I didn’t know she had to go.”

“Me neither,” Alya said, suspiciously.  She looked over at Adrien, and narrowed her eyes.

Adrien held his hands out innocently and shrugged, “I didn’t do anything.”  But he knew that he had.

“Well, if it’s alright with you two, I think I’ll just go catch up to her.  Can we come back tomorrow, or Thursday?”

Adrien replied, “I have to check my schedule with Nathalie, but Thursday or Friday should be fine.  I’ll tell you tomorrow.”

Alya quickly gathered her belongings, thanked Adrien for the food, and left.

“Yo, dude, I’m glad they’re gone,” Nino immediately said.  Adrien looked at him, surprised.  “Alya told me something that you’re gonna want to hear, my man!  Marinette likes you!”

With that, the last pin clicked into place, and a door of promise opened in Adrien’s mind.  With a quick smile, Adrien looked at Nino and said, “I think I just figured that out!”

“Maybe Cat Noir gave it to him,” Tikki theorized.

“Do you really believe that?” Marinette asked, her head still in a whirl.

“No,” Tikki answered, “but I guess it *is* possible.”

Marinette dropped to the park bench next to her, then buried her head in her hands.  Barely audibly to Tikki, Marinette muttered, “The cheese.”

“What?” asked Tikki, floating near her shoulder.

Marinette looked up and repeated, “The cheese.  That’s why he saves his cheese.  Plagg only eats cheese.”

“Oh, that’s true!” Tikki said brightly.  Marinette still looked miserable, and Tikki added, “I guess Adrien saves his cheese?”  Marinette nodded.  After a moment, Tikki argued, “But Marinette, I don’t think you should be so upset.  This is happy!  You like Adrien, and Adrien is Cat Noir, and Cat Noir likes you.  It all works out!”

“Tikki, Cat Noir likes Ladybug.”

“Yes…?”

“He doesn’t like me, he likes Ladybug.  Adrien likes Ladybug.”

“But Marinette, you *are* Ladybug.  Whether or not you have the suit on.”  Marinette shook her head, refusing to accept Tikki’s words.  Tikki tried again, “Remember when you had to fight Anti-Bug as Marinette, and saved Cat Noir’s life?  Remember when I was sick, and you fought Princess Fragrance?  You’re talking like you, like Marinette, didn’t do those things.”

“And would Ladybug trip down the stairs in front of Adrien, *and* lose you too?  Or would Ladybug make a present for Adrien, and be so tongue-tied that she couldn’t even give it to him?  And then let Chloe actually shove her away?  No!”  Tears of confusion and remembered mortification welled up in Marinette’s eyes.

“Oh, Marinette,” Tikki sympathized.

“I don’t know how I’m going to face Cat Noir,” Marinette muttered.

“But you don’t have to tell him, do you?”  Tikki asked.  “Regardless of anything, you two *must* be able to fight akumas, *together*.”

“I know, Tikki,”  Marinette said.  She stood up, and brushed her hands down her thighs, wishing she could brush away her insecurities so easily.  “But sooner or later Cat Noir is going to figure it out, and he’s going to be really disappointed.”

The two started for home.  “First of all, he wouldn’t be disappointed.  Marinette, you’re one of the nicest, sweetest people I’ve ever known, and remember,” Tikki giggled, “I’ve been around for centuries!  And second of all, there’s nothing to say that Cat Noir will ever find out, if you don’t want him to.”

Marinette sighed, and kicked a pebble out of her way.  “I guess…” she said, ignoring Tikki’s compliment.  Then, turning determined eyes to Tikki, she added, “But I can promise that I won’t let my emotions get in the way of fighting Hawkmoth.  I swear!”

Tikki flew close to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek, “I know that, Marinette!”

“Quick, hide, someone’s coming!”  Marinette held open her pink purse, and Tikki disappeared inside.  

For the rest of the evening, Marinette avoided phone calls and text messages from Alya.  Incapable of discussing the situation with her, Marinette simply sidestepped the whole thing.

Marinette tossed and turned for much of the night, worrying about how she would act, or even feel, when she saw Adrien the next day.  He would think she was crazy after how she had run out of his house the day before.  She’d have to figure out how to apologize to all three of them for leaving so abruptly.  By the time morning came, Marinette felt like she was crawling through molasses, and it was no surprise that she got to school late.

The hallways were empty as she hurried to Mme Bustier’s classroom.  She slipped through the door as quietly as possible, then shot Alya a weak smile as she scooted past her to her seat.  About to put her bag down, Marinette noticed something on her desk.  A small chocolate chip cookie sat alone on a white paper napkin, and printed neatly on the napkin was, “For Tikki.”

Adrien had turned in his seat when Marinette sneaked in, and was watching her like a hawk.  It was Marinette’s eyes that betrayed her:  with no conscious thought, she immediately lifted her gaze to Adrien’s.  Her face turned pale as a ghost’s, and then bright red; her eyes were saucers.

Immediately raising her hand, Marinette said, “Mme Bustier, may I please go to the bathroom?” She was already sliding out of her seat before Mme Bustier replied.

Mme Bustier first said, “Marinette?  But you just got here!”  Then she sighed and said, “Fine.”  Marinette dashed out of the classroom.

Immediately Adrien’s hand went up.  “Mme Bustier, I need to go too.”

“Fine, Adrien, go.”  Mme Bustier sounded annoyed.  Alya contemplated asking if she could go too, agog at the soap opera developing between Marinette and Adrien.  One look at Mme Bustier’s expression, however, quelled this idea.

Instead Alya leaned forward and whispered to Nino, “Do you know what’s going on?”

“No,” he said.

“Who’s Tikki?” Alya asked.

Nino shrugged just as Mme Bustier called out sharply, “Alya, Nino, please pay attention!”

Adrien found Marinette sitting on the floor in the far corner of the locker room.  She had her forehead resting against her knees, but he knew she was aware of him because, as he silently sat down next to her, she shifted a little to the right to make room.

Adrien wasn’t sure what to say.  He wasn’t sure what was going on in Marinette’s mind.  Last night, when he’d come up with the idea of a cookie for Tikki, he imagined Marinette bursting out laughing at his message.  He had also imagined her getting angry with him, for figuring it all out.  But Marinette sat silently, unmoving, neither laughing nor, it seemed, angry.

Finally, Adrien gently tugged on her left hand and pulled it down, simply holding it.  Marinette neither pulled it away nor grasped his hand back.  After nearly a minute, Adrien lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it gently, then said quietly, “Hey, Bugaboo.”

That made her pull her hand away.  She didn’t do it forcefully, just determinedly.  Then she wrapped her arm back around her knees, and kept hiding her face.

Adrien’s voice was quiet, but concerned, when he said, “MiLady, what’s wrong?  I expected you maybe to be angry, but…”

“Don’t call me that,” Marinette’s voice was muffled.

“What?” Adrien asked uncertainly.

Finally raising her head to dart a glance at him, Marinette repeated more clearly, “Don’t call me that.”  Then she put her head back down.

“Why not?”  Adrien was puzzled.

Lifting her head again, Marinette finally, really looked at him.  “Because that’s not me.  That’s… you know.  That’s… I’m not…”  Marinette humphed, and frowned.

“You know I know, right?” Adrien asked.  With the hint of a Cat Noir smile, he added, “I’ve even been told that you might have a crush on me, too.”

With alarm, he watched Marinette’s eyes fill with tears.  Turning to kneel before her, Adrien grabbed both of her hands and quickly said, “Never mind!  You don’t have to!  I’m sure you don’t have a crush on me!”

The tears now began to fall from her eyes.  Sounding miserable, Marinette said, “But I do.  I do!”  And again, she dropped her head back to her knees.

Adrien let go of her hands to scratch the back of his neck.  Still kneeling before her, he finally said, “So, uh, Marinette?  I don’t really see what the problem is.  I like you, and you like me.”

This time, when Marinette raised her head, she was glaring at him.  Dashing away her tears with one hand, she whispered furiously, “Look, you like Ladybug, okay?  We both know that.  You like… I’m not like… I’m not her.”

It took Adrien a moment before he finally understood what Marinette was trying to say.  Once he did, he started to chuckle, and without asking permission he leaned forward and hugged Marinette, placing a platonic kiss on the crown of her head.  She huffed as he shifted to sit next to her again.  When he placed an arm around her shoulders, Marinette tried to remain aloof, but it felt so good, so good… here were her dreams, Adrien with his arm around her, pulling her close, and finally Marintette melted a little against him.

“Okay, Marinette, here goes.  You are right.  I like Ladybug.  A lot.  Really, really, a lot.”  Adrien blushed, and was glad that Marinette was not looking at him.  “If you want, I can tell you all the reasons I like you as Ladybug.”  He took a breath, “I also happen to like you as Marinette a lot.  An awful lot.  And the more I get to know you, the more I like you as Marinette too.  So now what do you think?”

Marinette was silent, pressing in to him, and then she started crying even more.  “But I’m so clumsy!  And I’m not even very brave,” she admitted to him, against her better judgement.

“Thank goodness for that!” Adrien joked.  “It would be a little embarrassing for you to be constantly outshining me *both* as Ladybug *and* as Marinette.”

Marinette sniffled, and found herself defending Cat Noir, “I don’t outshine you.”

“Well, yes, usually you do, but that’s okay.  We’re a team.  The Cat and Bug team.”

Through watery eyes, Marinette laughed, “The Bug and Cat team.”

“Whatever,” Adrien shrugged, winking.  “The Marinette Adrien team?” he then asked.

With wide, solemn eyes, Marinette stared at Adrien.  Finally, he raised his eyebrows, silently asking his question again.  With a little smile, Marinette nodded.  It all seemed like a dream.

“May the Adrien part of the team kiss the Marinette part of the team?”

Marinette blushed.  Without thinking, she answered, “Really?”  Adrien couldn’t help but laugh.  Realizing what a fangirl she had sounded like, Marinette shoved at his shoulder to cover her embarrassment.  He pushed back, but stopped laughing.  

With a lowered voice, he said, “I’m going to take that as a yes, okay?” and then shifted around to face her.  Cupping Marinette’s face in his hands, Adrien gently lowered his mouth to hers.  He kept his eyes open long enough to see hers flutter close, then he closed his eyes and let all of his soul focus on the kiss.  Her lips were soft and warm, and he moved over them with delicate butterfly kisses.  She kissed him back shyly, until he began to nibble on her lower lip.  Marinette started to lose herself in the kiss, in the beauty of being held by Adrien.  Her hands crept up around his shoulders, and she made a soft, sighing humm.  Adrien pulled her closer, weaving his fingers through her silky hair and angling his head to kiss her even more deeply.  It was all even better than his dreams.  Their hearts were racing when, minutes later, Adrien finally pulled back, knowing that he needed to stop for his own sanity.  Leaning forward, he placed a kiss on Marinette’s forehead.  

Adrien shifted to sit back beside her, and with a gentle tug, he got Marinette to lay her head on his shoulder.  The two sat silently, panting slightly, letting their pulses settle down.

After a moment, Marinette suddenly raised her head and said, “But Adrien, aren’t you frightened that I don’t like Cat Noir as much as you?”

His smile was pure Cat Noir when he answered, “Frightened?  Psshhh!  Now that you know we are one and the same person, you’ll have no need to stop yourself from falling for me as Cat Noir, too!”

With mock indignation, Marinette batted at Adrien’s shoulder.  He laughed, and hauled her up onto his lap, then proceeded to kiss her forehead again, then the tip of her nose, and then… Hovering over Marinette’s lips, Adrien whispered, ”You have no idea how much I like you, MiLady.  All of you.”

Before he could kiss her again, Marinette placed her hand against his cheek and replied, “Adrien, Cat Noir, I am so, so happy.”  Then, she reached up and pulled his lips to hers.

When Alya finally found them, she yelped.  “Omigod, omigod, omigod…!” she repeated.

Later, telling the story to Nino, Alya swore that when they looked up at her, they both had stars in their eyes.  “Uh, Mme Bustier sent me to find you,” Alya explained, once she had gotten her voice back.  “But, uh, I can tell her I couldn’t find you, if you want?”  She sounded almost hopeful.

Adrien lazily pulled away from Marinette, and gazed into her jewel-blue eyes.  The last thing he wanted was to return to class, but he knew that they had to sooner or later.  They both took a few deep breaths to calm their racing hearts, and after a moment Adrien smiled jauntily and said, “You’ve got to be kitten me, that we have to go back to class?”

Marinette grinned back at him and said, “If we don’t go soon, you know Alya will bug us.”

Adrien raised his eyebrows in approval, then added, “Yeah, she’ll probably plagg us to death if we don’t come now.”  He leaned down and rubbed his nose against Marinette’s in an Eskimo kiss.

The two laughed, as Alya stood there, mouth agape.  Marinette pushed herself off of Adrien’s lap, then stood, and held out her hand to help Adrien up.  He grabbed it, and did not let it go once he was standing.  

As they followed Alya back to class, Marinette glanced at Adrien, her brow furrowed and a slight frown on her face.  Just as they walked into the classroom, her face cleared into a bright, mischievous grin.  Turning towards Adrien she whispered, “And Nino?  I tikki will also be amazed.”  

The stern look Mme Bustier shot them did nothing to silence the explosion of laughter that bound together their hearts.

           The End       (by JJ Sprinkle)

I hope you liked my story!  It was so fun writing it!  Here is a link to my next MLB ‘reveal’ story:  https://simplejjs.tumblr.com/post/169184516520/love-reveals-part-1

Here is a link to my first MLB ‘reveal’ story:  https://simplejjs.tumblr.com/post/166535026000/chapter-1-of-my-reveal