Chapter Text
Two months later and they were the perfect image of best friends. Alya was proud of Marinette for being able to keep her promise of being the friend Adrien deserved without her obsession on the way. However, here and there she would subtly throw a comment about them being perfect for each other.
The opportunities they had to be together as a couple were rare. He couldn’t ditch more of his extracurriculars to be with her than he already did to fight akumas. So Adrien walked Marinette to school whenever he could and was always, always trying to find an excuse to touch her. It was only due to his acting skills that he could make everyone believe it was just easy camaraderie. He would ruffle her hair, put his arms around her shoulder, tease her and crack jokes in every given opportunity to which Marinette would answer with sassiness, her way of not turning into a stuttering mess.
They had managed to convince Nathalie that they had a school project once and sometimes Marinette would just wait for him by the locker room for a moment alone. He hadn’t asked her about bringing their relationship to light again, something she was grateful for because she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to refuse. It wasn’t easy to keep the love they had for each other hidden from their friends.
Most of the time they had together was thanks to their superhero personas, like now. He had an hour between fencing and Chinese lessons to rest and he decided to spend it with her. She was in her room pouring over History when he arrived.
“I thought you weren’t comfortable in my room without my parents knowing,” she teased him as he dropped into a crouch in front of her desk chair.
“I… um… I wanted to see you… we can go up there if you want.” Chat stood up rubbing the back of his neck.
“Silly kitty, I was just teasing you.” Marinette tugged at his bell to bring him down, pecking his lips and turning back to her book. “Let me just mark this so I won’t get lost later.”
He tucked his head over her shoulder to see what she was doing, “We could study that together tonight. I missed that class too, you know.”
Marinette chuckled, “I know. Actually we need to be careful with our disappearances so people won’t figure us out by that.”
“I am more inclined to believe that they would think we are skipping classes to make out in a dark closet.” She gasped by the audacity of the comment and Chat smirked, taking advantage of her surprise to reach behind her back, pull her to him by the waist and kiss her. “Gosh, this secret relationship is killing me,” he said before chasing her lips again.
Her hands flew to his hair bringing him closer, one of his cradled her head as the other held her waist lifting her slightly from the floor. It briefly crossed her mind that it wasn’t fair that he was so much taller than her.
“I think I get why you were so concerned about being in my room,” she said against his neck and felt him shiver.
“Having to hold back all the time is making me lose my mind,” he said huskily. “But I would never step over your boundaries.”
“Good thing that I have them then.” Voices downstairs made her jump away from him. “It seems that the girls are coming over.”
Chat groaned, “See you tonight.” He kissed her hurriedly before darting to her balcony.
Marinette barely had time to tidy up her appearance and sit down to pretend to be studying when the trapdoor to her room opened and Alya poked her head inside, “Surprise!”
Surprise, indeed, Marinette thought to herself, “Oh, hey… girl...s.” Other than Alya; Rose, Juleka, Alix, Milene and Kagami were there too. “Wow, that’s a real surprise,” she said looking at the latter.
“I told my mom I had extra fencing practice, so I have an hour to spend with my friends.” Kagami’s smile was so big it was clear how much that little piece of freedom meant to her. Even if she had to lie to have it.
They sat around the room, making themselves comfortable to enjoy the pastries that Alya had brought with them. After a while of chatting about everything and nothing, Alix brought up the subject Marinette dreaded so much. “So, when will you and Adrien stop being idiots?”
“Alix!!!” cried out her friends while Marinette gasped.
“What?! Someone had to say it,” Alix replied indignantly.
“She’s right, you know. I was surprised when the girls told me you rejected him because of me. But then you said that he wasn’t exactly what you expected and I had to agree. He wasn’t what I expected either.” Kagami took a bite of her cookie and munched it before continuing, “Don’t take me wrong, I really like Adrien, as a friend but that’s clearly not how you see him.”
“Of course it is,” Marinette huffed, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “We are very good friends now.”
“We know that,” Alix agreed. “But you both want to be more than that.”
“Adrien still likes you. I think that he is just afraid to try again and be rejected,” Kagami said.
“And you, Miss, can’t fool us.” Alya jabbed her finger in her best friend’s direction. “You still love him, under a new light, but we can see that you are completely in love with him,” the other girls nodded and hummed their agreement to her words.
Marinette had expected Alya to try to set her up with Adrien again, though she didn’t expect her to reunite all the girls to do so. It would be useless to lie, she needed a better excuse.
“I realized that his father would never approve of a relationship between us.” The moment the words left Marinette’s mouth it came to her mind that this could be what happened in the Chat Blanc timeline. His father didn’t approve, Adrien got upset, Hawkmoth akumatised him and discovered his identity. There was no way to know exactly what happened but that was definitely a possibility.
“You could have a secret relationship,” Rose cheered, taking Marinette out of her thoughts, “it would be so romantic.”
“Rose, you’re a genius.” Alya grabbed the girl’s cheeks with both hands and kissed her head. “How did you not think about that Marinette?”
“I… didn’t think it would work, you know… there’s Lila and Chloé… and all of his fans. It wouldn’t be that easy,” Marinette stuttered out.
“We can help you keep it a secret from everyone else but us. Cover up for you two, find excuses, things like that,” Alix suggested.
Marinette thought for a moment. If she could let a few selected people know about her relationship with Adrien it would lift a huge weight from their shoulders and help them keep it secret from who truly mattered, if her theory was right. “Would you do that?”
“What do you think friends are for?” Alya bumped Marinette’s shoulders with her own, eliciting a collective laugh.
When the laughing died down Marinette saw Kagami fidgeting with her fingers, “Kagami?” she asked tentatively.
“I… I’m in a similar situation and…” Kagami took a deep breath, “ok. There’s this guy, he is really nice…” the girls looked at her expectantly, “we talked a few times but I thought that it was not possible... because mom would never allow it. But maybe you could do the same thing for me… that we’ll do for Marinette and Adrien.” She shrugged.
It wasn’t like Kagami to hesitate, she didn’t when it came to Adrien. Marinette couldn’t help but wonder if Adrien’s rejection had affected her confidence or if this guy meant more to her than Adrien ever did. “Why wouldn’t your mother accept him?” Marinette asked.
“She wouldn’t oppose to a relationship with Adrien because she has business with Mr. Agreste and he is rich. As for this guy… he is from a lower class...”
“We get it,” Alya said. “How does he feel about you? Because if he hurts you...”
“It’s Luka,” Juleka supplied, answering most of the questions everyone had. “He won’t shut up about her.”
Marinette wasn’t exactly surprised. She had recruited Viperion in one attack in which Kagami was involved. She knew he had saved her and thinking about it, he fitted perfectly on the description of Kagami’s type that she had given Ladybug. Marinette sat beside Kagami and patted her hand.
“Luka is a great guy and I’m sure you are aware of his past feelings for me as he is about yours for Adrien.”
“It’s somehow easier since I know what I’m dealing with.”
“Seems that we just switched boyfriends,” Marinette chuckled.
“Well not exactly, since we never dated them and we still have to make our moves now.”
“It’s settled then. We’re gonna be the secret dating squad.” Alya stretched her right hand and the other girls were quick to put theirs on top.
They made schemes on how to cover for the secret couples and made plans for Marinette to confess to Adrien since they didn’t trust the girl with her words. Marinette listened patiently and later Ladybug laughed with Chat Noir about them.
Chat couldn’t wipe the grin off his face the entire night. He had kissed every inch of Ladybug’s face and spun her around making her giggle at how happy he was. They decided that her parents should know too.
The next morning, before school, Marinette asked her parents if they would be okay if she dated Adrien. They shared a look and laughed.
“Aren’t you already?” Seeing her daughter's surprise Sabine added, “He hasn’t been subtle about his feelings and you certainly aren’t pushing him away. I wasn’t sure if you two were together until I saw you kissing the other day.” She set aside the dishcloth, “I know teenagers use to do stupid things behind their parents' backs but I trust you Marinette. And that’s the only reason I waited for you to tell me and not confront you right away.”
Marinette felt guilt washing over her. Not because she would do something in the sense her mother was talking, but for the amount of secrets she kept from them. “I’m sorry,” was all Marinette could say. “We didn’t tell anyone. All our friends think we’re just friends.”
“We won’t tell them but you’ll have to fix that.”
“We’re telling only you and our closest friends. His father would be against us being together and I don’t want to be in the spotlight.”
“I don’t like the idea of that man not approving your relationship but seeing how he treats his son you’d better stay away from him. I love that boy but his father…” Tom shook his head, “I’ll be at the back. Tell him he is welcome here.”
Marinette launched her arms around his neck to kiss his cheek, “Thanks, Dad. I love you.”
“So… passionfruit macarons?” Sabine offered a bag to her right when the doorbell jingled. “Good morning, Adrien. Marinette told us the news.”
Adrien looked at her quizzically, “News?”
“Apparently not news to them. They already knew we were more than friends.”
“Oh!” Adrien rubbed his neck. “We were keeping it a secret because of my father…” he started, sticking to their agreed excuse.
“We understand but you didn’t need to hide your relationship from us. You are a part of our family already, Adrien and we can see how much you care for each other.”
“We do. I love Marinette. She is the light of my life.” Adrien pulled his girlfriend by the waist and kissed her head tenderly.
Marinette looked up at him with adoring eyes, “And you are mine.”
“Young love,” Sabine sighed happily.
The lovebirds chuckled and quickly separated from each other, very aware that a customer could enter the bakery at any moment.
“We’d better go.” Marinette kissed her mother.
“See you later, Sabine.” Adrien waved already by the door.
“Take care, children.”
Outside, Adrien reached for the macarons but Marinette hid them behind her back as she faced him. “Nope. They’re messing with your diet.”
“As if. What I have at home can’t even be called breakfast.” He crossed his arms pouting. “And I heard your mother saying they’re passionfruit. It means they’re for me.”
Marinette laughed, “My mom is spoiling you…” she thrust the bag into his hands before they crossed the street.
“You’re just jealous,” Adrien answered between two bites of his macaron.
“Someone seems happy today…” Alya’s voice startled them out of their little bubble.
“I sure am. Best day ever!” Adrien said enthusiastically but tucking his hand into his pocket.
“What’s so good, Dude?”
“Oh! I’ll tell you. But let’s get out of here before I do something stupid.” Adrien put his elbow on Nino’s shoulder, “Like kissing my girlfriend in front of the entire school.”
“Your what?!” Nino looked at his best friend bewildered.
Adrien only laughed as he led Nino to a more secluded place.
“I’ve never seen Adrien so happy,” Alya said, amazed by the sheer happiness of the boy.
Marinette couldn’t say a thing, her throat too tight with emotion. She was just as happy, but she knew she owed their happiness to his unshakable love for her. He fought for them, against all of her insecurities, and in the end, they both won.
Epilogue
Deciphering the secrets of the Spell Book wasn’t easy. Adrien had helped her whenever he could and Marinette appreciated that but she had to be careful to not let their time together be consumed by her duties as guardian. She sighed, putting aside the notes she had taken. He would be there any moment now.
A smile stretched across her face. They had been dating for eight months, officially, it was their sixth month anniversary and they were going to celebrate it under the guise of a Kitty Section’s rehearsal. Marinette checked on the kwamis and applied a bit of the perfume Adrien had given her on her birthday just as the doorbell hung. A last look in the mirror to tidy up her dress and she was ready to go.
She was met with a bouquet of white roses when she opened the door. She knew what that color meant. In one of their many conversations under the night sky, he talked about the meaning of the flowers he’d given her and had mentioned that white symbolizes pure and sincere love. She had been mesmerized by how much effort he put into researching the best option to give her on each occasion. More than words, he showed his love for her through small things, little gestures that reminded her of how lucky she was to have him.
“Happy aniver… Wow, you look beautiful,” Adrien said as he lowered the bouquet revealing his face.
“Do you like it?” Marinette swirled to show off the dress she made for the occasion. She avoided dresses, being a superhero and all, but it was a special day. It wasn’t much, she knew, just a simple blue summer dress.
“You’re gorgeous...I mean, it’s gorgeous, it makes your eyes stand out… ah… this is for you,” he extended her the bouquet without taking his eyes off of her.
“I’ll put them in water.” She turned around quickly in an attempt to hide her blush, but as she put the roses in a vase she felt arms wrap around her and his breath on her face.
“But pink is my favorite way to highlight your eyes,” he whispered in her ear and inhaled slowly, raising goosebumps on her delicate skin. “You’re wearing the perfume I gave you… I love it on you. I love you.” He spun her around and kissed her.
“We’d better go,” Marinette said, putting a much-needed distance between them.
The boat was bursting with life when they arrived. Luka and Kagami had matching smiles on their faces, after all, it was their anniversary too. Even though their relationships were still a secret, the happiness of both couples was evident. Knowing each other's secret identities sure made all the difference in the success of the relationships. After all, no relationship could survive amidst secrets.
After all the equipment was set up, the band started playing.
Marinette looked around. Most of the people there were miraculous holders, some identities were known between them, others weren’t and, aside from Adrien, none of them had any idea that she was Ladybug. Hawkmoth had tried small things against some of their allies but stopped as it proved fruitless. Bunnix had made her first appearance within three months of having her Miraculous, but it wasn’t to fix anything. A time travel-related akuma had shown up and she was needed. Marinette had chosen new allies for some of the unused miraculous and even a replacement for Queen Bee. Who knew Chloe’s sister was such a nice girl.
Marinette closed her eyes, enjoying the ballad. Being a Guardian no longer scared her, she had built a strong team. She had the best partner she could have asked for to share a bit of the responsibility, and Marinette knew she could count on Alya if she needed it, and Adrien agreed. As she opened her eyes she searched for his.
It wasn’t easy, but the Miracle box wasn’t so heavy anymore.