Work Text:
It started with a couple of bruises. Stormy Weather summoned hail, and Ladybug and Cat Noir got bruises from the falling ice, but that was it. Early battle, fairly easy. Hawk Moth underestimated them. Then it was the harrowing mission of saving Cat from being erased by Timebreaker; Marinette had to take a couple days off school to recover. When she came back, she was quieter. Then it was the Pharaoh and Lady Wifi and The Evillustrator and then more and more villains. Some battles were harrowing, others were just inconvenient. Life was almost simple, honestly.
As they got older and trained more, Hawk Moth had to try harder, creating villains with more difficult and specialised powers. Cat Noir and Ladybug brushed with death regularly, racking up a near-death experience tally of over one hundred by the time they both turned twenty. This was also the time that they found a way to connect through some private Skype accounts and a promise to never turn the camera on, the only exception being first aid sessions after battles. The first was after a fight from a particularly violent, fish-themed villain who liked swordfish.
"It won't stop bleeding!" Marinette had gotten injured; when they say 'swordfish', they really mean it. In a panic, she'd Skyped Cat Noir.
"Just breathe, my Lady." He'd learned how to calm her over the years -- calm voice and gentle reminders, something she'd learned to appreciate. "I can't help you if you're panicking." Marinette followed his suggestions, breathing for a moment as she held pressure over her leg.
"Okay. Okay, I'm calm. I need your help with this, Cat. It's about 15 centimeters and deep."
"I think you're gonna have to show me, Bugaboo." The response froze Marinette in her movements. "Ladybug? You there?"
"Yeah, I'm here. Are-- Are you sure?"
"If it's that big, you're gonna need stitches, which, if I remember correctly, you've never done before."
"It's not that much different than sewing, is it?"
"It's different enough. I need to make sure you're doing them right so they don't tear out. Trust me, that's painful." Marinette bit her lip, pondering for a moment before switching on more lights and moving any personal items out of the way.
"Okay. I'm turning my camera on." She tapped the button, holding the device away from her face. Once it switched on, she swapped the camera around to show the gash in her leg. She heard Cat hiss and giggled to herself.
"Oof, that looks nasty. Okay, you cleaned it, right?"
"Yeah, of course."
"You need a needle and some strong thread, and lots of it. Plastic would be ideal. Make sure to get something that will match your outfit," he joked. Marinette laughed, trying to keep her panic from rising past the current point.
"Okay, I have them." There was a bit of fumbling on Marinette's part as she sterilised and prepared things with directions from Cat.
"Right, this is gonna be the hard part. To make a stitch, try and push your needle through your skin. When you get it all the way through, don't tie the thread until you show me."
"Oh, God, okay." She took a breath and poked the needle into one side of the gash. She grit her teeth and kept pushing, her face contorting into a snarl as she pushed through the side.
"Everything okay, milady?"
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she replied, panting from the pain.
"You're doing great. Deep breaths. It'll be over soon." Marinette pushed the needle into the other side of her skin, jaw clenched.
"Fuck!" She swore loudly as the needle broke through the other side of her gash.
"Woah. What's wrong?" Cat sounded worried and surprised at her expletive.
"God, Cat, I can't do this." Marinette tied off the stitch, breathing hard. She gripped the arms of her chair, her fingers making dents in the fabric.
"You have to, Ladybug. Or you could go to the hospital."
"No, I don't want to come up with a lie. Fine, I'll keep going." She grabbed the bottle of vodka she'd used to first sterilise her wound, swigging from it and pulling a face at the burn. With some emotional support from Cat and a lot of emotional support from the bottle, Marinette finished stitching herself up.
"You did so good, my Lady. Do you feel better?"
"Mmm… yeah. Maybe I'm good at medical stuff." Or maybe it was the copious amounts of alcohol she'd drunk every time she poked herself with the needle. Either way, she'd sewn herself up and all that was left was to clean up the blood and go to bed.
"Let me see the stitches." Marinette obliged, showing her functional suturing. "They're probably gonna scar, but you won't bleed out."
"Small victories," she murmured.
"It's three am, Lady. Should I let you go?" Marinette heard Cat yawn.
"Probably. You sound tired."
"Nah, I'm bouncing with energy. Do you have work in the morning?" Marinette yawned loudly, moving to gather up and put away her supplies, her spine cracking at the same time.
"Yeah, but I don't have to go in until eight. What about you?"
"My shift starts at four pm. The nightlife is great, especially for keeping my cat persona." Marinette chuckled sleepily, wrapping her leg in a stretchy bandage and laying in her bed. She set her phone on the pillow next to her, breathing softly and taking in the sounds from the other side of the line.
"Do you… Do you wanna stay on the call until we fall asleep," she asked, curling up.
"Yeah… That'd be nice."
"Okay. Goodnight, Cat."
"Goodnight, my Lady."
It was New Year's Eve and Adrien was standing on his balcony, watching the fireworks with Ladybug on speaker.
"Ooh, did you see that one? The gold one that exploded in a star?"
"Yeah, yeah! Oh, big one!" There was a loud crack and a flash of red and green light, then the smell of smoke.
"I think it's the finale!" He was right; two, three, four, five, a total of fifteen fireworks went off, one right after the other, lighting the sky up like daytime. When the light faded, all that was left were the grey ghosts of smoke and the sound of people laughing.
"That was incredible," came Ladybug's voice.
"Yeah." Adrien smiled down at his phone, even though Ladybug couldn't see him. There was a few minutes of silence during which Adrien took his bottle of champagne and sat on the balcony, legs hanging free.
"Do you think we'll ever meet one day?"
"Well… we could. It's within our power. Why do you ask?"
"Cause… I dunno, you're always flirting with me, so I wonder if you'd keep that up if you knew who I was in real life." Her voice was small, so much less authoritative than he was used to.
"Hey, where's this coming from?"
"I'm… not sure." He awaited an explanation, but got none.
"If it's any consolation, I'm sure you'd think I was a big loser in real life."
"You? Monsieur Smooth-And-Flirty? I don't think so."
"Well, what about you, Mademoiselle Suave-And-Commanding?" Ladybug laughed; Adrien could have the sound on repeat his whole life.
"Alright, you got me. It's just… The powers give me confidence, y'know?"
"Yeah, I know. If I were to know you in real life, I wouldn't be able to flirt nearly as smoothly as I do."
"I would probably meet you because I spilled something on you. I'm so clumsy in real life." Adrien laughed at the thought of graceful, collected Ladybug tripping on air, blushing as he subconsciously built the thought into a preexisting fantasy.
"You? Hardly." They spent a few minutes in silence, listening to the sounds of the night.
"Cat? Can I tell you something?"
"Of course, my Lady. Finally confessing your feelings for me?" Adrien teased her, trying to light the suddenly-heavy mood.
"In your dreams, kitty. I… It's actually kind of serious."
"What's wrong?"
"I'm… afraid to lose you. After that brush with Timebreaker, I got really scared of losing you, and then the fights after that didn't help at all. I'm always terrified that each fight is going to be our last together." Adrien was silent, something in his heart aching.
"I didn't know," he finally responded. "Is that why you're always yelling at me for being dumb," he asked. Ladybug chuckled.
"Yeah, it is. It's also a bit of exasperation because you like to get yourself into messes." With the conversation lightening, they continued to talk all night, even staying up to watch the sunrise together. When they finally went to bed, it was nearing eight in the morning.
"Good morning, my Lady."
"Good morning, Cat."
They were close, there was no denying that, but they'd sworn to keep their identities secret from everyone, even each other.
"I'm not saying that I have a ton of scars from our last battle, but I look like a cutting board," Marinette said into her phone. It was late afternoon, and she was painting her toenails.
"Pretty much the whole left side of my body is bruised from being thrown into the water at that speed."
"Aw, you poor baby." Marinette sipped her tea, watching butterflies flutter over the flowers in her window box. There was silence, the comfortable kind where Marinette would listen to Cat breathing and he would occasionally chuckle like he was gonna say something.
"What are you thinking about?" It was a question that came up often. They'd ask each other what the other was thinking, and they'd have to be completely honest.
"Butterflies," Marinette replied softly, "and you." It had been years, nearly seven since they'd become 'Ladybug' and 'Cat Noir', and it had taken Marinette that long to realise she might return Cat's feelings. Surely, though, he'd moved on by now, just like she had almost entirely moved on from her crazy crush on her old classmate, Adrien Agreste. She chuckled at the thought of him.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing, just remembering an old crush."
"Oh? Do share." Cat's voice had turned impish and teasing.
"He was a student in my class. He was charming and attractive and something about him made my brain short-circuit whenever he talked to me."
"I knew a girl like that. She was cute. I'd considered asking her out, but I wanted to get to know her first, and then I never did."
"Cheers to old crushes," she said, raising her mug.
"Cheers to that."
Years, years, years had passed. Adrien dated people and made friends and got out from under his father's thumb and still kicked Akumatised villain butt with Ladybug, but there was an issue he wanted to resolve. No, he needed to resolve it.
"Bugaboo, can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Can I see you?" He listened to crackling silence, his heart in his throat. "Ladybug?"
"I'm here." Her voice was soft. "You want to see me? You see me all the time, kitty."
"I-- I mean, your face. Not Ladybug's face, your face. We've been working together for years and I've never seen what you look like and it's torturing me because I'm still in love with you." He blushed, burying his face in his blanket even though she couldn't see him.
"I know, Cat. I… I think I feel the same way about you." Adrien looked up, staring at his computer in awe.
"You do?"
"Yeah… I think I have for a while, but I couldn't tell." Adrien felt his face breaking into a smile. A chuckle built up in him, turning into ringing peals of laughter and whoops of joy. He heard his upstairs neighbors stomping on the floor, but he couldn't care less. Ladybug's melodious laughter came through the computer speakers, warming his heart.
"I totally just annoyed all of my neighbors, but I'm so happy right now that it doesn't matter." There was a pause in sounds from Ladybug's end.
"I thought my friend was waking up, but she's just talking in her sleep again. Thank God for that."
"So… where do we go from here," Adrien asked, his high ebbing away.
"I guess, since we feel the same way about each other, we should meet. Properly." Adrien's heart stuttered in his chest.
"Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to." Ladybug chuckled.
"Of course I want to. I can't say that I haven't been curious about my partner over the past -- what, twelve years?"
"Twelve years," Adrien said in awe. "I think that would make you my oldest and closest friend." Ladybug yawned, causing Adrien to imagine what she looked like; she was probably sleepy, her eyes drifting halfway shut, her limbs drawn inward and her black hair sprawling across the pillow.
"I'm falling asleep," came Ladybug's sleepy mumble.
"Me, too," Adrien answered.
"Goodnight, kitty."
"Goodnight, my ladybug."
The battle was won, Ladybug having successfully de-evilised the villain. She consoled a few distraught civilians, Cat Noir watching her from a distance. She led a little girl back to her father. He thanked Ladybug tearfully, the baby grabbing for her as she was passed into her father's arms. Cat Noir glanced at his ring, noticing that he had barely any time left. A quick glance back at Ladybug told him that she was aware of her own time limit; she was trying to leave the scene as discreetly and quickly as possible. He called out to her from his rooftop.
"Ladybug!" She looked toward him, a smile breaking out across her face. She made her way up the building, the two bounding off for their second, more personal mission.
"Don't look yet," came Cat Noir's pleading voice. Marinette chuckled.
"Okay, okay. Hurry up, kitty."
"I'm going!" Marinette's heart was pounding, both from the residual adrenaline of battle and what was about to happen. She and Cat Noir were about to reveal their secret identities to each other. Their plan had gone a bit awry; there was a parade through Paris in appreciation of Cat and Ladybug, and they'd had the idea of meeting up afterward, but one of Hawk Moth's villains showed up and caused a scene. Now, they were in the penthouse of an apartment building, Marinette fixing her hair and clothes in the master bedroom while Cat did the same in the en suite bathroom.
"Okay, I'm ready."
"Me, too. On three?"
"Yeah. One…"
"Two…"
"Three!" The bathroom door swung open and Marinette turned around, her gaze falling upon familiar blond hair and green eyes. Her jaw dropped in shock.
"Adrien?"
"Marinette?" They stared at each other, trying to absorb the fact that they'd known each other all along. Adrien smiled shyly, breaking the tension. Marinette burst into laughter.
"How didn't we recognise each other?" Marinette approached him cautiously, her shoulders shaking with mirth.
"I guess we're just thick," Adrien replied, a giant grin on his face. They drank in each other's appearance, thinking back on all the conversations they'd had and all the times they might've figured this out sooner.
"Adrien… I can't believe it's you. I feel like I'm dreaming." Adrien smirked, turning up the charm.
"Oh? Does that mean I'm the man of your dreams," he asked cheekily, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Marinette laughed, but instead of pushing him away like Ladybug would, she pressed into his embrace.
"Down, kitty." She took his hand gingerly, as if she was afraid to break him. "We have a parade to attend," she sighed, her expression turning a bit sad.
"We could not bother. I don't imagine they'd care all that much," Adrien whispered, aware that the space between them was the smallest it had ever been. Marinette smiled in a melancholy way.
"I feel like if we don't do something now, I'll lose you."
"I'm here. I've been here. I'll be here for you, for as long as I can." He rested his forehead against hers.
"I know." Gently, she pulled away. She gave him a sad look before putting her spots on. Adrien followed her lead. She made her way to the front door of the apartment, but was stopped by Adrien's hand on her arm.
"Ladybug-- We can talk after the parade. We can plan something. I promise you, I'm not going anywhere." He took a breath, giving her a genuine smile. "Okay, Marinette?" Her heart fluttered. His expression and his tone and his hand on her arm and the way he looked at her told her everything would be alright.
"Okay, Adrien."
Years, villains, injuries, scars; despite having known each other for so long, Marinette and Adrian still took the time to get to know each other for real. They moved in together and made a life out of what they had before. Sometimes Marinette panicked when she hadn't seen Adrien in a while, and Adrien would have nightmares or flashbacks, but they understood and could comfort each other. Their friends poked fun at them for taking so long to reconnect, and they would laugh along, with sidelong glances at each other and soft cheek kisses. Nothing was certain, but so long as they had each other, everything felt within reach.