Marinette cautiously took the umbrella with a shaking hand, and stared at the figure before her. How she hadn't realised he was Adrien before now was incredible to her. His stance, straight and confident, mimicked a models, and his smile, devious and dripping with charm, reminded her of the rare moments when she'd seen Adrien completely at ease, when he'd been happy. Chat was Adrien and Adrien was Chat. And that made her happy, even if she couldn't have him. But a small voice in the back of her head was saying,
"Tell him who you are. Tell him who you really are. You could be together."
She ignored it. He wouldn't love Ladybug for who she truely was. But she couldn't stand lying to him, not when he'd trusted her with his secret!
"Mari, you ok? Cat got your tongue?", Chat's voice pierced through her thoughts and brought her back to reality. She tried to pull herself together and said,
"No, I'm f-fine, I... I... I can't do this. I'm so sorry. Goodbye Kitty."
Marinette turned and started to walk away, forcing herself not to look back, even though she heard Chat's footsteps following behind her. She knew he wouldn't accept her just leaving without a proper explanation. But she couldn't give him one. So she broke into a run, dashing down alleyways until she got herself thoroughly lost. She threw Adrien's umbrella down in a puddle and sank down against a wall, putting her head in her hands. She had screwed up again! Adrien had trusted her with his secret, he had forgiven her, he had wanted to be her friend! And, of course, she BLEW IT! SHE HAD JUST FUCKING BLEW IT! The girl sighed, angry at herself for being too scared to admit that she was Ladybug. She was Ladybug! And no one knew it! She stood up, wiped the tears off her face and stared defiantly up at the sky, into the rain that had begun again. She stood there, letting herself get soaked, and yelled,
"HEY WORLD! GUESS WHAT? YOU KNOW YOUR IDOL LADYBUG, THE AMAZING, CONFIDENT LADYBUG! SHE'S NOTHING! SHE'S PATHETIC!! HOW DO I KNOW THIS? CAUSE I KNOW LADYBUG! I'M THE ONLY ONE WHO REALLY KNOWS LADYBUG. WHY? CAUSE I AM LADYB-"
Chat's hand clamped over her mouth and cut off her confession. He stood in front of her with a worried expression, holding the umbrella over her head with his other hand.
"Shhhhh, it's ok Mari. Calm down, it's ok. Deep breaths. You don't have to do this. You don't have to pretend to be Ladybug to get my attention. I told you, I like you for you! Mari, honestly, it's ok!"
Marinette pushed his hand off her face and stood there, panting heavily. She could feel Tikki struggling to get out of her bag but she ignored her and focused on the boy standing in front of her. His eyes were laced with concern and shock, his hair was hanging down in front of his face and his suit was covered in perfectly shaped raindrops. He truly didn't believe her. She had been given a second chance. She could fix things. She, she... needed to tell him the truth, not shout it to the sky in hopes that he would hear it. Marinette took a deep breath, and started to talk. Her voice started out weak and hesitant, but as she continued, her confidence grew, she introduced Tikki with a smile and laughed at Chat's expression as she came out of her bag. She explained why she had kept her identity hidden. She apologised for not telling him sooner, and for being so afraid. And finally, when she stopped talking, and the street grew silent again. Barely a second passed before the boy spoke. He had some questions. She answered most, ignored a few, and almost slapped him for asking one in paticular. When his curiosity was mostly satisfied, he bowed and said,
"Well then, we should re-introduce ourselves. Hello miss, my name is Adrien Agreste, but I am also Chat Noir. Very pleased to meet you."
"I'm Marinette Dupain-Cheng, otherwise known, only to you, as Ladybug. Charmed to make your acquaintance."
"After all those years, I never thought I'd loose Ladybug's heart to... myself. Well, actually... I am incredibly charming, strong, handsome, brave, sensitive, intelligent, witty, amazing... The list goes on."
Marinette rolled her eyes at Chat; even in a situation like this, he was bragging.
She grinned slightly and took a step forward, so her head was right next to his shoulders. She wrapped her arms around his neck and melted into him, oblivious to the cold, rain-soaked leather. She felt his hands around her back, holding her tight, and she whispered into his ear,
"So... you're not mad at me Kitty?"
"Of course not! How could I ever be mad at my Princess? I... I love you."
A pause. For Chat it seemed to stretch out light years, but finally Marinette replied,
"I love you too Chat."
The pair broke apart and stared at each other, many questions still fighting for attention in their brains but their bodies wanting to focus on the here and now.
The girl looked directly into the boy's eyes, and didn't resist as he leaned in to kiss her. He dropped the umbrella and pushed her up against the wall, running his hands through her hair and purring loudly. The kiss was fiery, intense, full of words unspoken and feelings unshared. Marinette felt like it was the realist thing she had ever experienced. Chat felt much the same way. His lips were pressed hard against hers, unrelenting; he wanted to imprint himself onto this girl for the world to see that she was his, and his alone. She responded well, and kissed back with equal force, small moans escaping her lips as he moved down to her neck. He created another hickey, on the opposite side to the first one just to make things difficult for her clothes-wise, and moved back up to her lips, reclaiming them again hungrily. Marinette then felt herself being lifted into the air and into Chat's arms. He leaped on top of the nearest building started to run along the rooftops, dashing through the continuous rain. Soon he reached Marinette's house and dropped her carefully on her doorstep, immediately agreeing to her invitation in. They sat down in the living room, but not for long. Couch led to stairs led to bed. They thanked the gods that magical pockets can sometimes magic up more protective things than umbrellas.
