Future Tales of the Miraculous

Chapter 2

She cupped his left cheek briefly before pulling away to leave. Ladybug wished she could put her partner's mind at ease, but she was concerned for their sake as well. They were burned out with the constant battles; they needed to find out how Hawk Moth was creating his super powered akuma monsters.

Ladybug raised her yo-yo, ready to cast out towards the night sky, but suddenly felt two hands encircle her waist and pull her back into a tight embrace.  She felt Chat Noir's warm body, his hard chest deeply falling and rising in rhythm to his breathing through the armored suit.  The blunette turned to face him, quizzically eyeing him.  She felt his hands gently travel the length of her back to rest at the nape of her neck and small of her back.   The blonde then planted a soft, lingering kiss on her forehead before leaning his own on hers.

Ladybug's eyes fluttered in mild surprise and she found herself powerless to break away,her cheeks beginning to blush madly under her mask. While she was used to the feline's flirtatious advances, this one caught her off guard.  His subtle cologne filled her nose, and she was surprised to find herself accepting his embrace and resting her lithe arms on his back.  She didn't realize how muscular he had become until now. She should escape, she thought, but for a reason she had yet understood, her body invited the intimate contact and surrendered to his firm hold.

They stood silent for a moment before the blonde feline murmured quietly to her.

"Did you consider my request?  You promised you would think about it." Chat's eyes flickered down to hers with hope.

Snapping out of the effects of his charming aura, Ladybug focused on answering his question.  She had hoped to avoid the subject altogether but knew she would have to address it, yet again, and quickly before losing her transformation in front of him.

"Chat, you know why we must keep our identities a secret, even from each other...." she begain softly.

The earrings beeped their warning again, with the last of it's black dots blinking away.  She hoped to pull away from his firm grasp, but found her partner unwilling to release her.

"Chat, please...really I have to go..."

"There is no longer a good reason to hide from each other, and you know this," Chat stubbornly relented. "The mind control doesn't affect us anymore, remember? And we've been doing this for, how long now? Four years? I trust you to show you who I really am. And if you trust me too, you'll stay."

Ladybug did not want to admit that Chat's resolute words rang true and came up empty in mounting a countering argument. She couldn't deny they were losing the war against Hawk Moth, and had nothing to lose at this point. And she did trust him with his life, as he did his. Resignation etched her features when she finally peered back at her partner.  She silently prayed that what happened next would be the right decision.

"Okay. I'll stay," she whispered, shutting her eyes tight and tucking her head into his chest.

It was Chat Noir's turn to widen his bright green eyes in surprise; his grip slackened from her in hardly contained anticipation of what was next to come.  A moment later, Chat Noir stared down in wonder as he watched her transformation shimmer away, in a bright red shower of sparkling magic, to reveal the woman behind the ladybug suit. Her head still tucked into his chest, he saw her now loose indigo hair whipping around her shoulders. The young lady wore a pink chiffon blouse and black capris, donning a barista apron that was slightly smudged with a cocktail of bakery goods and ingredients. He recognized the apron worn by his bubbly schoolmate when she worked for her family's bakery, the Boulangerie Patisserie.

Seconds later, Marinette Dupain-Cheng watched the black leather dissipate in a similar shower of black sparking magic, revealing the soft fabric of a light blue V-neck t-shirt and dark blue fitted jeans covering her partner's taught frame.  Inhaling sharply, she stepped back to formally meet the young man behind the cat suit. Short, messy blonde hair framed his familiar, sculpted face.  The moss green eyes watching her belonged to her longtime friend and crush, Adrien Agreste. The two high school seniors of Collège Françoise Dupont stared in wonder at each other, frozen for what seemed a lifetime.