The Love Swap

Chapter 9 - He Shows He Knows

Ladybug looked at Chat Noir, and noted that eyes were as wide as the cookies he had brought. She definitely had thrown him for a loop with that one. 

"Yeah... I do," She repeated. She couldn't help herself from fidgeting, but she hadn't expected it to be so awkward. He already confessed to me, why did I have to confess back...to Chat? She mentally scolded herself. What a mess I've made...

For once Chat Noir was silent. Ladybug could see the gears turning in his head as he continued to eat and contemplate what she had just told him. The wind whistled around them, but Ladybug didn't feel cold at all. Actually, am I sweating?

The two sat and ate in a complete silence, though she didn't think it was uncomfortable at all. The sandwiches and fruit tasted delicious, but she focused on the cookies most of all. She had remembered her parents selling them to Adrien a few hours earlier. It was both touching and intriguing to her. Did he know that they were from her parent's bakery? Or he did just genuinely love them? 

"I like your choice in cookies," She decided to say, cutting into the silence. Chat Noir looked up in surprise at her, mid-chew. His facial expression alone was enough to make her laugh out loud.

"You would, wouldn't you," He said in a flirty tone, after swallowing his bite. She raised her eyebrow, playing innocent. He can't know, but what does he mean? Her heart started beating faster.

"What do mean, Chaton?" She flirted back, giving him a wink, for good measure. "Everyone knows they're the best bakery in Paris." He laughed, but after a moment looked in her eyes. He could see him studying them, as his green eyes stared longer, she felt him exploring all her secrets. She quickly looked back down back at the food. 

"You know that's not what I mean," He said, a little more quietly than before. If Ladybug wasn't sweating for sure before, she absolutely was now. 

"No, I really don't," She panicked and said. He shook his head with a smile, and stood up, after both of them realized the whole meal was gone. They'd eaten it all... every last bite. 

He extended a hand to her and she took it to stand up, and he pulled her into a tight embrace. With his arms wrapped around her body, the wind was practically nonexistent. The only thing that there was on that roof top was him, her, and the moon, bathing them in light. 

She wanted the moment to last forever.

But even the best things had to come to an end.

Chat Noir pulled away but let his hands rest on her shoulders. He regarded her moonlit face with extreme tenderness and love in his eyes before tucking a piece of her hair out of her face.

"Let's agree to disagree, M'lady," He whispered right in her ear. He then proceeded to plant a kiss on her cheek. A blush crept onto her face and she only looked down in response. 

And with that, Chat Noir winked and extended his baton to fly away into the night sky. Ladybug felt her eyes watching his every move until he was out of sight... only then to realize he had left behind the blanket and empty basket, with a box on top of it. 

What's this?

***

Marinette set all the things down from their date in her room. She had been too nervous to open the box on the balcony, so she decided to bring it home, so as to be safer in her room. The box in question was jet black, simple, and cool to the touch. Marinette ran her hands over it before beginning to open it up. 

Inside was a card, that she set aside to read after the gift. She carefully lifted up and set aside the tissue paper to reveal... a necklace? Why did Chat Noir get me a necklace?

The pendant was a tiny crown, only a tad larger than the size of her thumb nail. It was encrusted in red and black gems, on a sliver chain. Marinette heard herself audibly gasp. Why did he get this for me? What did it mean?

She looked down at the card she had set aside. Once she flipped it over, she read it to say...

"M'lady, you're always going to be my purrrincess. I love you very much. -Your Chaton <3." She recited out loud. He knows! He knows I'm Ladybug...

"Tikki!" Marinette called hurriedly. Tikki zipped next to Marinette in an instant and began reading what the girl had just discovered. "Tikki, he knows I know. He knows who I am," she said, already losing any kind of filter that she might have had before. Chat Noir knows Marinette is Ladybug... and he still loves me! Adrien loves... me! Marinette felt like she was going to pass out. 

"It's going to be okay Marinette! Take a deep breath," Tikki advised. She followed the kwami's advice and set down her pendant from Chat Noir and inhaled and exhaled deeply. The weight of everything slowly was able to be relived little by little with each breath. It's all going to be okay... Don't freak out...

Yet, Marinette's thoughts were still racing as she tried to calm down. There were so many unknowns. How long had he known who she was? Where did the necklace come from? What did this mean for... them? She shook her head in frustration and sighed.

"Tikki, I can't stop thinking about everything. I want to know all the answers, and I want to be with him," She said. Her face was filled with combination of confusion and exhaustion. Tikki nodded to her, and set herself down on Marinette's shoulder. 

"You can always transform and ask him to come back, you know!" Tikki replied. Marinette's face lit up. Of course. She quickly had Tikki help her put the beautiful sparkling pendant on before turning to back to face her kwami. 

"You're the best, thank you," She said. "Now, let's call this kitty over! Tikki, Spots On!"