Chapter Text
They fell quiet after that, just looking around at Marinette’s room. Adrien wasn’t really sure what to say next. He’d been blindsided by Marinette’s unexpected explosion at the airport; the decision to chase after her hadn’t been made consciously, but rather he’d been outside the airport and looking around for her frantically before his mind even processed that his body was moving.
Alya, Nino and the Gorilla had followed him out, which meant he couldn’t transform into Chat and run after the train that he had been pretty sure Marinette was on. To his credit, the Gorilla hadn’t even tried to get Adrien on the plane. He’d just gone into the airport and retrieved Adrien’s luggage. Alya and Nino had both tried to ask Adrien questions, but he’d been in such a state of shock that he hadn’t been able to answer either of them.
Marinette was Ladybug. That realization still sent Adrien reeling for a loop to some degree, even though now that he really thought about it, it made an astonishing amount of sense. Who else could it be? There was only one girl in Adrien’s life who was that fierce, that sweet, that stubborn, that determined, that kind, that fiery. He’d never been as simultaneously happy and disappointed as he was when the truth finally sank in: happy that it was Marinette, but disappointed that he’d made her angry already.
Except… she didn’t seem to be angry. Not anymore. He took another quick peek at her, just in time to see her quickly look away. Were they Ladybug and Chat? Adrien and Marinette? Somewhere in between? He wanted to ask, but he wasn’t sure how. And frankly, he was a little afraid of the answer. Suppose Marinette said she needed a few days to get used to this? Where would he be then?
Up the creek with his father, that’s where he’d be. Adrien grimaced at the thought, and that must have caught Marinette’s attention because she suddenly leaned forward and touched his arm. He looked over at her, caught off guard by the intensity of her blue eyes. He’d always loved Ladybug’s eyes, and he’d always admired Marinette’s eyes. How had he never noticed those eyes were the same?
“Are you hungry?” Marinette asked softly. “My parents are closing the bakery early tonight because they have a big event to cater, so there are probably lots of pastries downstairs.”
“I could eat,” Adrien said, rather than tell her the truth, which was that he’d been so knotted up inside about leaving for a whole month that he hadn’t eaten a thing in like three days. The thought of some Dupain-Cheng pastries made his stomach growl.
“I’ll come with you,” Plagg declared, launching himself off of Marinette’s bed. “I want cheese.”
“You need to come with me for that?” Marinette inquired, looking amused.
“I need to see what kind of cheese you have to offer so I can choose the best one,” Plagg said loftily. Adrien rolled his eyes and was all set to point out that Plagg could deal with whatever cheese he got and like it, but Marinette just smiled and held out a hand for Plagg to land on. She carried Plagg out of the room while Adrien shook his head.
This was a bad idea if only because Plagg was going to end up incredibly spoiled.
“Adrien?” Tikki left the bed too and flew over to him. She landed on his knee and peered up at him, looking concerned.
“Hi Tikki,” Adrien said. He didn’t know the kwami well, but she seemed very sweet. It figured that Marinette’s ladybug luck would have her end up with the kind kwami, whereas Adrien got… well, Plagg.
“How are you doing? That was a big revelation this morning,” Tikki said.
Adrien blinked, surprised that she was checking in on him, then shrugged. “Um… okay, I guess. I wasn’t really planning on fighting with Ladybug… with Marinette today.” Then there was everything else he’d learned in the span of an hour: why Ladybug got upset with him sometimes when he persisted in chasing her, why Marinette acted so weird around him, and what Ladybug really thought of him. It was going to take some time for him to get it all worked out in his mind.
“If it helps, she wasn’t planning on fighting with you either,” Tikki said with a cute grin. “What you said at the airport really caught her off guard.”
“I didn’t know I was talking to Ladybug,” Adrien mumbled. On the other hand, even if he had known, he might’ve said it anyway. What he’d said hadn’t been a lie – or at least, that’s what he’d thought at the time. He still wasn’t wholly sure about that, but Marinette had certainly been convincing. It was hard not to believe her when she was looking at him with that determined glint in her eyes, but…
“I know. But now you know how important you are to her,” Tikki said, very gently. “And make no mistake, Adrien. As both Chat Noir and as Adrien Agreste, you mean everything to Marinette. She’s… she’s just not always good at showing it, but she’ll learn. You both will – so long as you’re willing to let yourself learn to believe it.”
Adrien paused, startled at how it seemed like Tikki could see straight through him, and then quietly said, “It’s hard to believe. Ladybug is so… and Marinette too… and I’m…”
“Her partner and her friend. Ladybug and Chat Noir are a perfect balance for a reason, Adrien. They are always active at the same time. You can’t have one without the other. Ladybug literally could not do what she does without you,” Tikki said.
“Without a Chat Noir,” Adrien corrected.
Tikki shook her head. “No. There is only ever one Chat Noir for a Ladybug and vice versa. A bond like that can’t be replicated,” she replied. “Both of you are so young. It was painful for Plagg and me to watch you dance around each other, never being able to say what you really needed to say. In a way, though it’s more dangerous, I’m glad that you finally got the chance to talk. You needed that and so did Marinette.”
He contemplated that for a moment, reflecting on how frustrating it must have been to watch him and Marinette being utterly oblivious in such close proximity, and then smirked. “Wow, we must’ve driven you two crazy.”
“You have no idea,” Tikki said, deadpan. “The point is, what Marinette said to you today was the truth. She does care about you, all of you, a lot. She might get frustrated or angry with you, but that’s never going to change. And while she might pull in other teammates for the two of you, you’re her partner and no one can ever replaced you. Believe me when I say that she would be crushed if you left her, because Ladybug leans on you a lot during battles. She can pull it together for a few minutes, but she would be lost without you.”
A hard knot in Adrien’s chest, which had been steadily loosening ever since he’d arrived at Marinette’s, suddenly gave way, filling him with a sense of warmth. Ladybug needed him. Him. Maybe he wasn’t easily replaced after all. He smiled down at Tikki, grateful for her kindness. Somehow, it was a little easier to believe when it was being confirmed by a third party.
“Thanks Tikki,” he said softly. “I appreciate that. I care a lot about her too.”
“About Marinette too?” Tikki asked, eyes boring into him.
“Of course,” Adrien said. “Marinette is my… she’s my friend. I was so caught up in Ladybug, I never let myself see her as anything different… I never wanted to… to make things complicated.” He smiled ruefully and rubbed the back of his neck. “But I guess we ended up making things complicated anyway.”
“It happens. You’re not the first Ladybug and Chat Noir to have that problem,” Tikki said. “From now on, you two really have to work on communicating with each other. There are no more barriers stopping you from doing that.” She paused, sizing Adrien up, and then said, “You know, Marinette has always been afraid that she’s not good enough for you. And she’s always been afraid she’d lose Chat.”
“What?!” Adrien blurted out, shocked.
Tikki nodded gravely. “She’s always felt guilty about having to turn Chat down. She worried that someday your heart would find someone else and leave her behind. And she would’ve supported you,” Tikki added, gently admonishing. “But it would’ve hurt her very much.”
“I… I would never,” Adrien said. “It’s always – I mean, if not Ladybug, then…” He gestured around at Marinette’s room, because yes. Now that he could see everything with a clear eye, he knew that it would’ve been Marinette if it hadn’t been Ladybug. Everything that had attracted him to Ladybug was still there in Marinette, of course, and he believed that, in time, Marinette would’ve gotten over the stammering, too-embarrassed-to-speak part of her crush and been able to show that.
No wonder Plagg and Nino used to get so frustrated when he referred to Marinette as a friend.
“I know.” Tikki patted his knee gently, then flew up near his face. “You’re a good boy, Adrien. You take care of my Marinette, got it?”
“Got it,” Adrien said with a nod, suddenly feeling like he was being entrusted with something very precious.
Tikki smiled at him and then darted forward, kissing his cheek. “Good. Now, go downstairs and help Marinette. She’s a total klutz and there’s a good possibility she might drop whatever she tries to bring up.”
“Oh! Right!” Adrien jumped to his feet, nearly hitting Tikki; she dodged out of the way with a giggle, and safely flew up to perch on his shoulder as he scrambled down the stairs. He made his way up the hall and emerged into the Dupain-Cheng’s kitchen.
Marinette was leaning against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest. Plagg was hovering right in front of her face. Neither of them noticed him right away, as they appeared to be having quite an intense conversation. Adrien, looking at them, suddenly realized that Plagg and Marinette were probably have a very similar talk to the one that he and Tikki had just had.
Their kwamis had done that on purpose, he quickly figured out. Waiting to get them both alone so they could talk. Though it was hard to guess what Plagg might have been telling Marinette. Plagg could be a bewildered mix of pure mischief and genuine concern, and it was sometimes hard to determine which side was going to rear it’s head. He cleared his throat before he could give into the urge to try and eavesdrop.
Marinette startled, looking over at them. “A-Adrien!”
“Sorry. Tikki said you might need some help carrying things,” Adrien said sheepishly.
“Oh, uh… sure. I guess… you can come downstairs and pick out your own pastries,” Marinette said. She was looking at him with something new in her expression. Something had changed, but Adrien couldn’t put his finger on what.
Then again, he supposed that was fair. He was probably looking at her differently too. Never in his life would he have imagined that Marinette thought she wasn’t good enough for him, or that Ladybug had ever feared she would lose Chat, or any of the other dozens of things he’d learned today. It felt like his whole world had been flipped upside down… but in a good way? Or so he hoped.
“I’d like that,” he said, giving her a tentative smile.
“Great,” Marinette said, smiling cautiously back. “Tikki, I’ll get your favorite cookies.”
“Thanks Marinette!” Tikki chirped, flying over to Plagg. Before Marinette and Adrien had even left the room, the two kwamis were engaged in a furious whispered conversation.
They went downstairs to the bakery, where Sabine was just in the middle of closing up. She told them to help themselves to whatever they wanted. Adrien took the small plate that was shoved in his direction, but honestly wasn’t sure what to choose. Everything looked amazing and he usually wasn’t allowed to have sweets, so he just stood there like an idiot looking around.
Marinette filled her plate quickly and then came back to him, raising an eyebrow at his empty plate. “Something wrong?”
“I need you,” Adrien said helplessly, and then blushed. “Help! I… I need your… help…”
Her face softened and she smiled for real this time, swapping their plates. “Of course.”