Chapter Text
“WAH!” Ladybug screamed, positioning her body awkwardly to avoid the flash of the tablet camera that was capturing everything in sight. A familiar set of arms grabbed her around the middle and she jerked with the upward momentum of his baton raising them into the air.
“You will be part of my collection, you and your Miraculous!”
Chat Noir barely put her down on the rooftop before they took off running, a serious expression on his face, “I wish he had the sketchbook again. That tablet is a problem. He’ll collect half of Paris before he runs out of space.”
“We have to get it out of his hands somehow, but I’m not going to lie. I wish he had the sketchbook back too.” Ladybug said, peeking behind her to find the re-akumatized Gabriel Agreste hot on their heels. “I wonder what got him so angry this time.” She mused out loud.
Chat Noir frowned, “Wasn’t his son the cause of his akumatization last time? Maybe the model-boy had something to do with it.”
Ladybug opened her mouth to defend Adrien when she caught something bright out of the corner of her eye, “LOOK OUT!”
She tackled Chat to the ground and they rolled together, Chat’s arms cradling her body to his as they flipped off of the roof. She barely managed to free her hand to throw her yoyo, catching a chimney and keeping them from slamming into the ground.
They still slammed back first into the building, but it wasn’t half as bad as what she knew it could have been. The second they recovered back on the sidewalk, Chat told her, sounding confident, “The akuma has to be in the tablet, he doesn’t have anything else on him that could be holding it.”
Ladybug called for her Lucky Charm, nodding as the plan quickly formed, “See if you can capture his attention for a minute Kitty.”
Chat Noir saluted with a beaming smile, before taking off back to the rooftop and calling out, “Hey fashion disaster! Don’t you think leather is in this season?”
The Collector huffed, “Abysmal. It was clear you had no sense of fashion, but your Miraculous will make a great collectors piece!”
“Hey, you think you’re funny? I’m the pun icon around here!” While Chat Noir jumped around the rooftops keeping the Collector busy, Ladybug prepared the trap. She rolled her eyes as Chat continued to bait the fashion icon.
“Oh come on Mister Agreste! Take a break for once, enjoy life instead of staying trapped in your gilded cage!” Chat tried.
“I enjoy my solitude!”
Chat’s voice changed, catching her attention at how angry he sounded, “You have a son! Maybe instead of enjoying your solitude you should enjoy some time with him!”
“My son knows his place!”
“Oh yeah and where is his place? Locked in your trophy case until you can show him off?!”
She froze in place, his words taking her back to school a few days ago to a conversation in private.
That was the image she had in her head, of Adrien’s defeated face in the wake of his father’s unfeeling words. It couldn’t be. Her gaze moved to his sunshine hair, to the silhouette of his face, of his lean figure, of the vibrant green eyes suddenly widening. It just couldn’t be.
Could it?
...earlier this week...
“It’s nothing Marinette, really. I’m perfectly fine.”
She stared at the bright smile on his face, and could hear the happiness in his tone. Everything about his body language screamed that he was telling the truth. There wasn’t an ounce of wavering in his words. That’s how she knew.
“You’re lying.” She said without a single stutter, watching his face brighten even further.
“It’s the tru-”
“You’re lying.” She said again, a little firmer. Her hand covered his where it had tightened on his knee. Holding his eyes, she watched his expression fall. “You can talk to me. It will stay between us, I promise.”
He looked down and she pulled her hand away quickly, “I’m sorry I.. I’m overstepping. It’s none of my business. You probably don’t want to talk to me about what’s bothering you anyways, I’m sorry I’ll just,” she got up to leave and his hand shot to hers.
His hair covered his eyes, and she could tell that he was biting entirely too hard into his bottom lip. “A-Adrien?”
He stood quickly without looking at her, pulling her out of the commons. She followed without question, surprised that he took them to a secluded part just outside of school. Somehow through their walk, his hand slipped into hers, and while her brain wanted to force a round of panic, the expression on his face kept her in control.
“What happened?” She whispered when he stayed quiet.
Adrien sounded absolutely defeated, “I got into an argument with my father last night.”
She didn’t want to press him further, feeling how his hand tightened in hers. He slowly continued, still not catching her eyes, “He was upset about the photoshoot from earlier this week at Trocadero.”
She frowned, “The one where Alya and I,”
“Yeah.” He said, shaking his head, “It wasn’t a big deal. It shouldn’t have been a big deal at all but... he told me that I was a disappointment because the shots were below what he expected of me. Even though I didn’t do anything different and the shots looked fine to everyone but him, he…”
He finally looked up, looking close to tears, “when I tried to defend myself, he said that I needed to learn my place.”
Her eyes widened in horror and he said it angrily, “I asked him where that would be, locked inside his trophy case until he could show me off and,”
She almost didn’t want him to finish, knowing that no matter what he said it wasn’t going to be good. “And?” The word left her softly.
“He said, exactly.”
“What?” She whispered horrified, watching as he nodded. Her body moved before she could overthink it, wrapping him tightly in her arms. The slight trembling in his body had her holding him closer, willing him to understand how much she hurt for him.
“I’m so sorry Adrien.” She whispered. He hugged her tighter and she promised him softly, “You are not just some trophy in a case. You will never be that. He’s wrong, and if he can’t see that,” she pulled back, cupping his face gently in her hands. She nudged him down slightly as she stood on her toes, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead, “he doesn’t deserve you.”
…
“M’lady look out!”
Once again his body slammed into hers, taking them to safety before setting her down where they were just out of sight.
“Are you okay? What happened back there?” Chat Noir asked, a worried frown on his face as he stared at his suddenly pale partner.
This was the second time she seemed distracted, which wasn’t like her at all. His eyes roamed her familiar beautiful face, knowing in his heart that something was wrong.
“M’lady?” He reached up, cupping her cheek. The second his hand made contact she jumped back, nearly tripping over herself. It was as if he’d shocked her, and he took a small step back to give her space. Had the Collector managed to do something to her? No, there was no way. He’d been with her since the beginning of the fight. Could it be… maybe it was something he did?
“I’m sorry, for whatever I did,”
“NO!” She covered her mouth quickly, shaking her head, “No, no yatsa kazu…” she facepalmed and his eyes widened at the random words. Was she, stuttering?
“It’s, It’s not, you, Ch-Chaton.”
He frowned. She was definitely stuttering. He had to have done something to make her uncomfortable, and he hated not knowing what it was.
“Are you sure?” He asked concerned, not truly believing her.
“I’m sure. We have to foot an akuma.” He blinked, working out what she meant easily for some reason. This situation felt strangely familiar, but at the moment, he couldn’t pinpoint why. Ladybug was nervous, that much he was certain of, and that alone was enough to put him on edge.
“We’ll defeat him, together. I know it.” He promised, trying to sound more confident than he felt. She nodded, taking a deep breath with her eyes closed. When she opened her eyes again, he could see her usual determination shining through before they took off back towards the fight.
One tricky lucky charm and well placed cataclysm later, Paris filled with the brilliant light of the Miraculous Ladybug. Chat Noir’s fist met his partners, and as she stuttered saying goodbye, his heart fell.
Something had to have happened. She had never acted like this before, and his worry increased as she disappeared over the rooftops. The same question kept playing over and over again in his head.
What was wrong with his lady?
...
Adrien was pacing around his room, thinking only of the fight that had just ended and, above all, of Ladybug's strange behavior. Why was the way she behaved at the end of the fight so familiar, when it was the first time she had acted like this in front of him?
Multiple hypotheses played in his mind, each more implausible than the next one, but he always ended up pushing them away. All, except one. A thought that kept coming back and taking on more and more meaning as events passed through his memory. There was only one person he knew who stammered in his presence: Marinette .
Adrien ended up holding onto the idea instead dismissing it. He decided to study it, in order to better prove to himself that he was wrong. But, the more he thought about it, the more it all suddenly seemed to make sense.
The two women were the same height, had the same bright bluebell eyes and the same hair color. They were both courageous, intelligent and dedicated to others. Wasn't he the one who had once called Marinette his everyday Ladybug?
He thought back to the fight. This feeling of familiarity in particular ... he only knew it when Marinette was around. Indeed, he had often heard her stutter in his presence. But he had also witnessed her fortitude when it came to standing up for someone or helping them. That same fortitude that had often reminded him of his Lady... And then, now that he thought about it, Ladybug had already stammered once in front of him, when they had faced their first akuma, when they first met...
Yes, definitely, everything connected Marinette to Ladybug.
He had to admit that he had already thought about this hypothesis several times… He also had to admit that he liked the idea. He had always loved the girl behind Ladybug's mask and the possibility that that girl could be Marinette appealed to him. There had always been something special between him and his friend, whether or not he wore the mask.
Adrien collapsed on his bed with a sigh, the thought never leaving his mind.
Plagg arrived a few moments later, a piece of Camembert between his paws.
"Sighing again for Ladybug," the little kwami asked, smirking. "Why are you still so stubborn when Camembert is the solution to all your problems?"
He emphasized his point by swallowing the stinky cheese whole and burping. Adrien heard but ignored it, more focused on the revelation he’d just had.. Suddenly, he decided to deliver his thoughts to his kwami, hoping that by asking his doubts out loud, they would seem less believable to him than in his head.
"Plagg, I know who Ladybug is," he said bluntly.
He watched as Plagg turned gray and his eyes widened before he regained his normal appearance.
"Another of your fantasies about her identity, I guess," the little black cat said annoyingly.
Adrien shook his head and summarized all his thought process for his little kwami, who remained impassive.
"Marinette is Ladybug," he concluded, sure of himself.
Plagg gave a smirk and declared.
"Let me remind you that you already had that idea and that you gave it up when you saw them together, during the fight against Kwami Buster. How do you explain that, Sherlock?!"
Adrien massaged his temples. Plagg was right. Yet, he was sure he was also right. How was this possible? Could she be two people at the same time? No, impossible... unless...
"Trixx," he whispered. "With Trixx, everything suddenly becomes possible."
The boy ignored his kwami's protests and searched deep in his thoughts for memories of the day they faced the akumatized version of Madame Mendeleiev. He had seen a lot of kwamis that day, but he couldn't remember seeing Trixx.
He closed his eyes to focus on his thoughts. He had seen Longg, the Kwami-dragon, Pollen, the Kwami-bee… but he didn't remember seeing the little Kwami-fox. He also remembered arguing with Ladybug over Plagg and his fear that his own identity was in danger. Hadn't he himself lied to dispel any doubts his Lady might have? It had to be the same, and she was smart enough to come up with a plan using Trixx so that he could only see a smokescreen.
That was his last doubt, and now that it was gone, he had the unshakeable certainty that Marinette was Ladybug.
A new question then came to mind, a question he had avoided until now: why had she suddenly started behaving like Marinette in front of him? Had she discovered his identity or had she only been unsettled by what he had said to his akumatized father about ' Adrien' ?
There was only one thing left for him to do: go talk to Marinette to find out what she knew. He could no longer go without knowing: he'd made his decision. The next day he would take Marinette aside to ask her a few questions...
Alas, the next day, no matter how much Adrien tried, he didn't find a single moment to take Marinette aside to speak to her. Every time he approached her, there was a mysterious force that made someone appear who needed her: a teacher, another student, Alya... So much so that the day passed without him being able to say anything to her, much to his frustration.
...
Marinette closed the hatch to her bedroom and Tikki finally flew out of her bag. She went to sit in her desk chair and tilted her head back, her arms hanging out to either side of her body. Then she closed her eyes and let out a deep sigh.
“Everything all right, Marinette?” asked the small voice of the Goddess of Creation.
The bluenette opened her eyes again and met Tikki's gaze, who appeared to her upside down.
“ No, it's not okay, Tikki.”
Marinette sighed again and straightened up, before turning to her little companion.
“I avoided Adrien all day. I keep thinking about the fact that he is Chat Noir. I don't know what to think. I don't know anymore.”
The little Ladybug was silent for a long time, seeming to search for her words, before declaring. “You don't love him anymore?”
“NO!” Marinette shouted instantly, before resuming, more calmly. “Ugh, I mean, yes , of course I still love him, Tikki! I would even say more than before but… I'm scared.”
Tikki approached her wearer's face and put her little paw on her cheek.
"Love is always scary, Marinette," she said softly.
“That's not the problem…” Marinette paused and hesitated before resuming. “What if he didn't want me after all the times I rejected him? What if he found out that I'm Ladybug, and is disappointed?”
Tikki narrowed her eyes in concern. “Do you think he too would have understood who you are?”
Marinette shrugged. “Today, I saw that he was trying to talk to me. Fortunately, I managed to avoid him every time…”
“Maybe he wanted to talk to you for another reason...” Tikki tried to reassure her.
The bluenette remained thoughtful for a few minutes before nodding.
“Yes, maybe... But how do I know?”
Tikki moved away from her holder's cheek to float up to her eyes.
“You have to find out what he knows, Marinette. This is very important: the security of your identities is in danger.”
"I know, Tikki," Marinette replied, wincing. "I'll go talk to him tomorrow…”
Tikki smiled, reassured.
The next day, when Marinette arrived at school, she was determined to talk to Adrien to find out what he knew. Alas, she found no trace of the blonde. It was then that she remembered in horror that he wouldn't be there that day. He was having an important photoshoot that would keep him from coming to college all day. She would still have to wait to find out whether or not he knew she was Ladybug.