Until I Heard You Sing

Chapter 10

In the early hours of the morning, by the gentle glow of the nightlight, Adrien sat laid back on the couch with Marinette in his arms, and she in turn rested her head against his chest and listened to the steady drum of his heartbeat. The rain outside had now diminished into a soft pitter-patter. The two kwamis, now free to be out in the open, talk excitedly about this new found discovery and how long they had waited for the two teens to finally know each other.

"But if you knew all along, why didn't you tell us?" Adrien asked, "We could have been together so much sooner."

"It wasn't our secret to tell." Tikki explained. "Kwamis are not allowed to say who their chosen are, even though Plagg and I both saw who you were when you de-transformed during the fight with Dark Owl." Adrien sighed at the realisation of just how long they had been dancing around each other. "We knew it would only be a matter of time though. You two were destined to be together, Ladybugs and Chat Noirs almost always are."

"Besides, it was so much more fun watching how oblivious the two of you were, isn't that right Sugarcube." Plagg snickered, throwing back a piece of camembert.

"It was nothing of the sort! It was important that you found each other in your own time." Tikki glared back at Plagg. "And don't you Sugarcube me you...you...Stinky Sock!"

Marinette and Adrien laughed and shook their heads at the antics of the two kwamis. Despite the teasing, it was clear that Tikki and Plagg seemed to enjoy being able to spend time in each other's company. After all, they did represented the two sides of the same coin - yin and yang, creation and destruction, Ladybug and her Chat Noir. Adrien had never before believed in the idea of soulmates, but now it was undeniable to him that he was destined to be with Marinette, his Ladybug. Despite it all, he had found her all on his own and fell in love with the girl behind mask without even knowing it, and now he knew she would always be there. He would never be alone again. He held her just a little tighter at the thought, and felt her nestle into his embrace.

Soon, the kwamis ducked away to spend time catching up, leaving their charges to be alone. Adrien gently stroked Marinette's hair, a feeling of overwhelming joy in his heart that his sweet classmate and his brave Lady were one and the same beautiful person. He could hardly believe that with his black cat bad luck he could have been this lucky. Maybe it was Marinette's lucky charm bracelet he always kept with him finally rubbing off. He did however have one burning question he had to know the answer to.

"Marinette, there is something that I have to ask you. Why did you as Ladybug keep pushing me away as Chat?"

"Because I was in love with someone else." Came her quite response. Adrien remembered that Ladybug had always said there was another boy she liked.

"Who?" Oh no, he thought, please don't tell me she means Luka.

Marinette began to giggle as she sat up, cupping his face with her hand. "You silly. I was in love with you, as Adrien." Relief visibly washed over his face. She took his hand in hers lacing her fingers in his before holding them entwined to her chest. "More than that though, I was afraid to let Chat in. I built a wall between us and tried to keep you away from my heart because I was afraid to let myself love you because I was so scared of something happening to you."

She shook her head at the thought that Chat had in fact been sitting in front of her everyday at school for almost three years. All the lunchtimes together, all the days spent hanging out with Alya and Nino, singing with him at the piano during the rehearsals. It wasn't just Adrien it was also Chat Noir and she had been in love with him all along. It seemed so obvious now and it made her head hurt. "How could I not have known you were my Chat Noir? My romantic, funny and brave Chat Noir. I'd fallen for both sides of you and hadn't even realised it."