Lovebug

Part 8

Marinette sits in a bathroom stall with Tikki as they both eat a biscuit to gain back some energy.

"I felt myself getting weaker there Tikki, should I be worried?" she whispers

"Hmm" Tikki takes another bite of her heavily iced biscuit. "Maybe a little. But don't worry it will be fine Marinette."

After the pair re-energises, Marinette transforms back into Ladybug and makes her way to the roof to meet Cat Noir. She opens the roof door to find a beautiful set-up of candles and other assorted lights, covering the roof. A picnic blanket is laid out, overlooking the sunset city of Paris, covered in food. Cat Noir stands, looking out over the city as Ladybug walks towards him.

He turns around with a smile. "Ahh, you're here. I'm glad you came." 

"Cat Noir... this is... this is so beautiful. You really shouldn't have." Ladybug says, blushing harshly. "I thought you just wanted to talk to me about something?"

"Well, I do," he says, "But I also wanted to surprise you with something nice, and you obviously wouldn't have come if you knew."

Ladybug pauses. "Yeah, you're probably right." she laughs. "You know me so well Cat Noir."

Cat Noir takes a seat on the picnic blanket and gestures for Ladybug to do the same. "Of course I know you so well," he says. "Four years of crime-fighting with someone will do that to you". Cat Noir hands Ladybug a wine glass and she looks at him, with a raised eyebrow. "Don't worry, it's just soda" he winks

She accepts the glass and the two drink in silence, staring out at the ever-brighter city from their spot on the roof until Ladybug works up the courage to speak.

"Listen... I'm sorry for the way I've acted towards you in the last few days."

Cat Noir turns to her and places his hand on hers. "Don't worry, I get it, this whole thing puts us under so much pressure. I'm honestly surprised you even agreed to it." 

"Well, I wasn't going to originally." Ladybug admits. "But I recently told the guy I was in love with how I felt... and he didn't feel the same way. Seeing as it's off the table and I've wasted four years in love with this same guy, I figured why not. For the people of Paris."

"I'm so sorry..." Cat Noir says, feeling guilty about how he turned down Marinette in a similar way. However, it never hits him that Ladybug could be Marinette. "This guy sounds like a real jerk if you ask me," 

"That's the thing... he's really not." she says "as much as I'm hurt that he rejected me, he's still a great guy and an amazing friend."

"I'm really sorry for bringing it up." Cat Noir says. "Anyway, I brought all this food, and somebody's got to eat it."

"Oh God, after Food Poisoning earlier today, I'm not sure if I can" Ladybug laughs

The pair eat, laugh and reminisce about the adventures they have had over the years. All the ridiculous villains with odd powers, the villains that almost defeated them, and the times they almost defeated Hawkmoth.

"But remember Petty Pete?" Cat Noir laughs. "It took us days to even know he was akumatised because all the things he was doing were so small and insignificant, no one realised. We couldn't even stop him because we were too busy laughing"

"I loved that one because I just remember Hawkmoth hacking the TV station broadcast to give the announcement that there had been an akumatised villain running around for three days and no one had noticed." Ladybug laughs so hard she falls into Cat Noir's shoulder and just stays leaning against it.

"We've really had some great times," he says, looking down at Ladybug and wrapping his arm around her waist. Ladybug meets his gaze and the laughter stops.

"We really have. I wouldn't change any of it for the world." She smiles sitting up and moving closer to Cat Noir, his hand still around her waist. They sit in silence for a few moments until Cat Noir works up the nerve to say something he's been meaning to for a while. Unfortunately, it comes out as almost nonsense.

"Ladybug... you've known how I've felt about you for years. I'm not going to take you agreeing to marry me as feeling the same way, but I'm guessing that you at least like spending time with me. But I'm gonna try and win you over. One way or another, I want you to someday feel the same way about me, as I feel about you. And to start off... I was wondering if..."

Cat Noir does not finish because Ladybug pre-empted where he was going. She leaned in and pressed her lips against his. Cat Noir did not retaliate. His eyes widened in shock that this, what he had been dreaming about for years, was actually happening. He gently strokes the side of her face with his hand and holds it.

They break their kiss, both in shock, and stare at each other nervously. "I...I have to go" Ladybug stands up and swings off the roof into another building. Cat Noir stays seated, watching her swing from building to building until her red shape disappears from view.

He is still in shock over what happened. That kiss was amazing, so passionate that sparks are still flying. "That can't have been just a kiss to shut me up. That was something... something real," he says to himself.

Marinette has transformed back into herself in the same bathroom stall as before. She swung around a few buildings before re-entering the hotel through a window on the sixth floor. She reunites with her parents, who were ready to leave and worried about her whereabouts. She lied and said she and a friend went for a walk and never even knew there was an akumatisation.

Back in the safety of her bedroom, Tikki flies out of Marinette's purse to get the gossip from her owner, who is lying in her bed not moving and saying anything.

"I kissed Cat Noir..." Marinette admits, still in some form of shock. Tikki squeals in excitement and Marinette sits up. "No Tikki, this is bad! I can't fall for him, it will mess up our whole dynamic."

"How so?" Tikki asks

"Everything is ruined by romance, except in the few occasions that it succeeds," she tells her kwami. "Plus... what if I'm always hung upon Adrien. It wouldn't be fair to Cat Noir, he deserves the world and more."

Tikki, knowing that they both are the same person, treads lightly around this topic in case she accidentally reveals anything. "It's normal to be a little hung up on someone from your past, but Cat Noir will be there for you always, whether it's as friends, or as something more. Plus, you remember what I said before?"

"Yeah yeah, If you love someone set them free if they return they are yours, if not it wasn't meant to be," Marinette says before a realisation hits her. "Cat Noir loves me and he let me go, yet I still returned to him..."

Tikki smiles. "Love is complicated. No need to worry about it, it will all sort itself out."

"Yeah, I guess you are right," Marinette admits. 

Marinette drifts off to sleep, her thoughts consumed with Cat Noir subconsciously, so much to the point, she begins to question whether she is also in love with Cat Noir. The following morning she wakes up for school and gets ready as usual, trying to keep her thoughts of Cat Noir in the back of her mind.

"Morning, Mom, Morning Dad," Marinette says as she enters the kitchen that morning to make some cereal. Weirdly, her parents don't answer. Marinette turns around to find her parents, glued to the TV, watching the news.

"What's going on?" she asks, walking towards them. She sits beside them and takes a good look at the TV. Across the bottom of the screen reads "Breaking News: Paris' Favourite Superhero Duo Are Officially Dating!"