Work Text:
“Plagg?!”
“M-Marinette?!”
She hastily glanced around the venue before shoo-ing the tiny, black Kwami into her purse. He darted from the cheeseboard, but not before he grabbed another wedge of roquefort. After a second glance around to make sure no one was watching, Marinette added two wedges of salers and chaource each, hoping it would tide him over until she could get him somewhere safe - or back to his owner.
Honestly, Marinette had been looking for Tikki. Her Kwami had abandoned her at some point in the night, but she had only just noticed her disappearance. Looking for her at the buffet tables that had been set up with cakes, cookies, cheeses, snacks, and juices of all flavours had seemed like a sound idea - until Marinette had spotted a darting black, bug-like creature snapping up cheese faster than a vacuum cleaner.
She walked around the dance floor, lifting her skirts so she could walk faster without snagging her shoes on the fabric. She hid behind a pillar so she could safely peer into her purse and glare at Plagg. He at least looked guilty about being discovered.
“You’re lucky it was me who spotted you,” she grumbled. “Why are you out?!”
“I was hungry! And he didn’t bring any cheese! Something about not wanting to stink up his nice clothes…” Plagg grumbled, crossing his arms and lifting his nose. Shocked, Marinette realized that Plagg was referring to…
“Chat Noir is here?!” She squeaked.
“...did I say that?” Plagg fumbled. “I meant, uhh, no! Of course he’s not here!”
But the way he was acting, fidgeting and looking around nervously, said it all. Marinette groaned and bumped her head on the pillar behind her. At least the theme of the school party had been Masquerade, so they would both be in masks, but it wasn’t like they were disguised. And what was she supposed to do, go around to every blond boy she found and asked if they had lost a pet?
“What is he wearing?” Marinette asked Plagg, looking back down into her purse. Plagg stiffened, and then sighed as he gave up.
“Black,” he grumbled. “The hat has cat ears.”
“Of course it does.” Marinette grumbled sarcastically. She peered around the pillar to study the dance floor, eyes flickering from one person to the next. She first spotted Chloé in her yellow dress and cloche hat, her mask done up in beaded gold and black; and then Lila, in red and orange and her hair expertly braided; Alya and Nino were seated on the other side of the room, but Marinette knew they had been dancing for most of the evening; and finally-
“There.” She growled, snapping her purse shut on Plagg and making her way quickly over to the blond boy with a black top hat and freaking cat ears.
As if he knew the definition of ‘subtle’!
Adrien hadn’t meant to lose Plagg.
Plagg just...really loved cheese. And maybe Adrien should’ve brought him something to eat, but he didn’t want to get camembert on the inside of the pockets of his suit. Plus, he had known there would be cheese at the school party - he could just sneak his Kwami some when no one was looking.
Not that Plagg cared too much about remaining hidden.
So when Adrien glimpsed a speck of black sneaking away to raid the buffet table, he cursed his bad luck, excused himself from the conversation with Max and Kim, and headed after the tiny being of destruction.
“Plagg,” Adrien hissed. “Come back here!”
“Chat Noir?” A tiny, feminine voice popped up. Adrien’s eyes darted away from the cheese and towards the mountain of macarons piled daintily on a silver platter. They went wide with shock when he saw not Plagg, but Tikki.
Ladybug’s Kwami. Here! At this party! And unlike Plagg, Tikki was responsible! Which meant-
“Tikki, hide!” He whispered, panicked as someone else approached the table and started picking up cookies and treats. Tikki sneakily dove into his pants pocket, and Adrien swiftly loaded a plate with a couple of macarons, a cupcake with a swirl of frosting, and a lemon bar. He desperately looked around for an empty table, and he eventually found one close to the edge of the room. He would be able to sit with his back to the wall and no one would see her eating in his lap.
He sat down and gently lifted her out of his pocket. She looked guilty and ashamed, and Adrien tilted his head in worry.
“Hey,” he said quietly. “What’s wrong?”
She shook her head stubbornly. “I saw Plagg go after that cheese! I was going to scold him but…” Big, blue eyes darted this way and that, and Adrien copied her to make sure the coast was clear. “I got distracted.”
“By one of these?” Adrien said with a sly smile, handing her a macaron from the plate. She grinned at the present and started to happily munch away. Adrien pretended to watch the dance floor as he talked.
“Is Ladybug here?” He asked as nonchalantly as he could manage. Tikki giggled.
“You really think I’d answer?” She retorted. Adrien grinned.
“No,” he replied. “But it was worth a shot.”
When she finished with the first macaron, Adrien fed her bits of frosting from the cupcake. Soon, he too was enjoying the assortment of sugary treats on the plate; it took all of his self control to not go back and make another dessert raid.
“I wish Plagg liked cookies,” he groaned. “This is a lot more fun than gross cheese.”
Tikki giggled again. “I agree!” She licked her lips, and then floated up to carefully look around the dance floor. Adrien realized she was looking for Ladybug, hoping to spot (heh) her somewhere amongst the crowd.
“What’s she wearing?” Adrien asked, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice.
“Blue and white.” Tikki answered promptly, but she covered her mouth with her hands right after the words slipped from her mouth. Adrien chuckled.
“I’ll keep an eye out for her th- oh, never mind. Here she comes.”
And he couldn’t stop the very Chat Noir-style smirk from slipping onto his face as his Lady stomped towards him with rage in her eyes.
“You lost your Kwami?!” Ladybug chastised Chat Noir as she plopped down in the chair next to him. She snarled at the cocky grin on his face, but he only chuckled as he put his chin in his hand, fingers brushing the edge of his black mask.
“I could say the same for you, Milady.” He smirked, gesturing down to the Kwami in his lap. Ladybug’s blue eyes went wide behind her own blue mask, and she gulped. Tikki nervously waved in greeting.
"Fine," she relented as he continued to laugh at her expense. "Then why are you here?"
"I received an invitation." He replied smugly, settling a little further in his chair as she squirmed.
"Impossible," she retorted. "Only students of Françoise Dupont received an invitation, and you...don't attend." Her eyes narrowed into a glare as his smug expression dropped. It was Chat's turn to squirm.
"Right?" Ladybug pressed.
"Uh… Of course not, Milady…" He tried, half-hearted.
"Oh my gosh, you do." Ladybug whined, dropping her face into her palms. No wonder Plagg had been caught eating cheese in the science room! Chat pouted.
"Then why are you here, LB? Do you attend Françoise Dupont as well?" Chat teased. She grumbled and peaked out from behind her fingers.
"No," she said confidently, dropping her hands. "I snuck in."
"Why?" He asked, puzzled. What would Ladybug want with a random Masquerade party?
"Chloé Bourgeois at an event with dozens of students who've been akumatized before?" Ladybug whispered, placing her chin in her hand as she leaned against the table. "Papillon is gonna have a field day with this place, I swear. I'd rather be here when the akuma happens than risk showing up late."
Chat Noir sat still, considering her excuse, but he must've found it valid because he nodded.
"Solid reasoning, Milady."
"Chat Noir," Tikki trilled from his lap. "May I have another macaron, please?"
"And I want more cheese!" Plagg insisted, poking his head out of Ladybug's purse. Both heroes rolled their eyes and chuckled. Chat gently moved Tikki into Ladybug's hands.
"I'll go retrieve more snacks," he offered. "Purrhaps something to drink for my lovely Lady?"
"I'd like that, Chaton. Thanks."
She watched him go with a small smile on her face, and Tikki and Plagg glanced at each other in concern.
The rest of their night passed in a flurry of conversation. They shared macarons, snacks, cheese and drinks with their Kwamis, they chatted about video games and homework, they watched Chloé insult Rose's dress and nearly left to go transform, and they relaxed when Lila and Juleka pulled Rose aside to comfort her. They laughed, they teased, and Chat winked while Ladybug pushed him away with a single finger to his nose.
They hadn't had this much fun together in a long time. No one came to interrupt them, they both ignored the vibration of their phones, and at some point, Plagg and Tikki drifted back to their respective owners and dozed.
It was getting late and the party was significantly less crowded, when the DJ made an announcement.
"This'll be our last slow song of the night. Let's get some wallflowers on the floor, yeah?"
Ladybug swore she saw Chat's fake ears perk up. He turned to her with bright eyes.
"Chat…" She warned. But he ignored it, pushed back his chair, and stood up. He cleared his throat, bowed, and held out one hand while the other was tucked politely behind his back.
"Pawdon me, but would you grant me this dance, Milady?" He asked.
She chewed her bottom lip, uncertainty plain on her face. Blue eyes darted towards the dance floor, as if judging how safe it was. She opened her mouth, closed it, pursed her lips, and then sighed.
Ladybug took his hand and let Chat Noir pull her to her feet.
“I’m not a good dancer.” She told him.
“That doesn’t matter,” he said quietly, laying a hand on the small of her back as they walked closer to the dance floor. They stopped just beside the edge, both of them nervously looking around to see if anyone recognized them. “It’s just a slow dance.”
Chat picked up her other hand as he turned to face her. His smile was soft, and Ladybug returned it as she gently laid her other hand on his shoulder.
“You’re getting taller.” She remarked, looking him up and down. He smirked.
“And you’re getting shorter.” Chat teased, leaning in. Ladybug pushed him away by his nose again, her own wrinkling.
“I am not,” she pouted. “I’ll have you know that I’ve grown six centimetres this year!”
“Six?!” Chat pretended to gasp. “Why, Milady, I’ve only grown ten!”
Ladybug playfully swatted him on the arm and he laughed. They swayed in lazy circles as the slow song continued, their quiet chatter eventually fading into comfortable silence. They relaxed further into each other as the song neared its end, Chat more than happy to lay his head on top of his Lady’s as she tucked hers underneath his chin.
Both of them completely unaware of a sneaky Alya taking pictures with her phone.
Ladybug said her farewells to her partner as the supervisors started to break up the party. Marinette quickly put distance between herself and Chat Noir, her heart still pounding in her chest. She had feared the whole time that someone would approach them - someone who knew them, and revealing her identity to Chat at a costume party was not on her agenda. At least they had been lucky and there hadn’t been an akuma. She double checked that Tikki was safely inside her purse (thank goodness she was!) and pulled out her phone before closing it.
Several missed messages from Alya. Two from her mum. Marinette unlocked her phone to answer her mother first, letting her know she was leaving the school party now and was on her way home. After that, she marked all of Alya’s messages as ‘read’ and started looking for her best friend.
Marinette found her just outside the front door, standing beside Nino.
“Girl!” Alya scolded her instantly. “You’ve been ignoring me all evening?!”
“Sorry!” Marinette held her hands up in apology, nearly knocking her mask loose. “I was just, uhm…” She struggled to come up with a valid excuse.
“Talking with Adrien?” Alya said with an eyebrow wiggle. “Yeah, I saw you two flirting. You still could’ve at least looked at your phone.”
Her blood ran cold. “A...Adrien?” She squeaked.
Both Alya and Nino exchanged a look. “Yeah, dudette.” Nino confirmed. “Did you...not recognize him?”
Alya gasped. “Is that why you were so confident around him?! Oh my god, Marinette!! You danced with him!”
As Marinette turned away and walked down the stairs, her feet felt like they were suddenly made of lead. Her heart was pounding in her throat, her head was spinning, and she was trying to stumble upon some sort of explanation that made sense…
“Do you have proof?” Marinette demanded, spinning around and marching right back up to Nino, eyes determined. Nino looked taken aback, but he nodded.
“Yeah, we took some selfies before we left.”
He swiped open his phone and pulled up some pictures. Sure enough, him and Chat Noir were posing next to each other - same dorky hat with the cat ears, same smirk - and in other pictures, where he was missing the hat and mask, he was clearly Adrien. One of them was even taken right outside the Agreste Mansion.
Alya then showed Marinette her own pictures: Shots of Ladybug and Chat Noir sharing juice cups and a plate of food, of Ladybug pushing Chat away by his nose, of them laughing and smiling, and then of them slow dancing on the dance floor.
“Ooohh no,” Marinette whined, her face feeling both red and pale. “Oh no, oh no…”
“Hey?” Alya said quietly, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“I… I dunno…” Marinette whispered. Nino watched in concern as he put his phone away, but Alya shook her head as he tried to reach for her too.
“I’ll take her home,” Alya mumbled, rubbing soothing circles into Marinette’s back. “Go check on Buttercup for me?”
“Got it, Alya. Love you.” He kissed her cheek before walking away, back into the venue to supposedly find Adrien.
Marinette let herself be guided home, trying not to succumb to hyperventilation and panic. Either she had just given Adrien Agreste a tiny Kwami of absolute destruction, or Adrien Agreste was Chat Noir. And considering that Plagg had been more than happy to go home with Adrien, and that Tikki had trusted Adrien enough to sit in his lap and eat macarons…
Alya and her stopped outside the door that led up to her flat. By this time, Marinette had steadied herself and was breathing normally again, but Alya was still rubbing small circles.
“You gonna be okay, Marinette?” Alya asked out of concern. “Like… He was totally smitten with you. Whatever you did, it worked.”
Marinette let loose a high pitched whine that made Alya chuckle.
“Was he really?” She asked, nervous all over again.
“Totally. Even Nino said he looked like a love-sick puppy!”
Well, of course he had. He was Chat Noir talking with Ladybug, who he was head over heels for!
“...Thank you for walking me home, Alya.” Marinette said after a while, reaching around to give her best friend a tight hug. “And thanks for earlier, when you did my hair. I really appreciate it.”
“Not a problem,” Alya chuckled, returning the hug. “Thanks for fixing up my mum’s old dress!”
“It looks amazing on you!” Marinette cooed, pulling away to admire it again. “Absolutely stunning!”
“Nino thought so too!” Alya smirked, but her face faded back into that worried expression. “You’re gonna be fine, then?”
Marinette hesitated, but she nodded. “I am. Maybe I’ll be able to talk to him tomorrow without making a mess of it, y’know?”
Alya laughed. “Sure. I’ll believe it when I see it!”
They both rolled their eyes at each other, gave their friend another hug good night, and parted ways to head home.
Nino was waiting for Adrien just inside of the venue shortly after Chat Noir watched Ladybug leave, and he pulled his best friend aside so they could talk without the lingering crowd listening in.
“Dude,” Nino greeted, sharing their secret handshake as Adrien grinned. “You looked like you were havin’ fun tonight.”
And Adrien felt his face flush. They walked outside, and suddenly the cool weather was much, much warmer.
“Ah, you saw me uh, dancing with her?” Adrien stumbled, pulling at his shirt collar. The hat felt too heavy on his head and the mask too tight, but he couldn’t take either off just yet. What if Ladybug was still around?
“With Marinette? Yeah! Alya was totally freaking out!”
“Ma...Marinette?!”
Nino gave him an odd look. Adrien stood there, shaking in his shoes, eyes wide. But...Ladybug had said she had snuck in, that she didn’t attend the school hosting the function, yet…
“I...danced with Marinette?” Adrien clarified, pointing at himself. Nino frowned and nodded slowly.
“Did you not know it was her?” Nino asked in disbelief. “‘Cause holy heck, dude. That’s crazy!”
“Err, no, I guess I didn’t.” Adrien bit his lip. “Why’s that crazy?”
“‘Cause she didn’t know she was dancing with you either!” Nino broke into laughter. He pulled out his phone and flicked it open to his text messages. He showed Adrien a selfie of Ladybug and Alya outside of the bakery. “And you were totally sending her heart-eyes all night long!”
“What?! I was not!”
“You totally were!!” Nino teased, pushing Adrien’s arm as he put his phone away. “You’ve got a crush on her just like she does you!”
All of Adrien’s world grounded to a sudden halt.
If he had really been dancing with Marinette all evening, that meant Marinette was Ladybug. No one else would have recognized Plagg as Chat Noir’s Kwami, no one else called him Chaton, and no one else moved, smiled, or laughed the same way Ladybug did. It had definitely, without a doubt, been Ladybug who he had spent his evening with.
And if Nino’s words were true, Marinette had a crush on Adrien.
His mind was leaping to further conclusions from there. She was nervous around Adrien because she was crushing on him, and she was rejecting Chat Noir’s advances because she was in love with Adrien, which meant…
“Oohh…” Adrien whined, his head spinning. How had he not realized that his Lady was behind him in class all this time? That she was part of his friend group and he saw her nearly every day?
“Are you okay, dude? Adrien?” Nino asked, laying a hand on Adrien’s shoulder. Slowly, Adrien nodded, but he was still staring at the ground.
“Yeah.” He said, quiet. “I uh, just need time to think. Maybe.” He furrowed his brow and looked back at Nino.
“I understand.”
“I’m going to head home. Do you want a ride?”
“Nah, I’m going to Alya’s place for the night.” Nino said with a smile, and Adrien grinned back at him.
“I’d say have fun, but…” Nino flushed at Adrien’s implication, and he nudged him in the side as Adrien laughed.
“We’re babysitting!” He scolded. “Professionalism only!”
“Uh huh, sure.”
And after a quick hug goodbye, they separated. Adrien slowly walked down the stairs and to the pavement, only looking up once he reached the kerb. He picked out his bodyguard’s vehicle amongst the line-up.
“Hey, thanks for picking me up.” He greeted as he slid into the back seat. The man up front only grunted in response, but Adrien knew that he appreciated the acknowledgment of his work. On the way back to the manor, Adrien stared out the window - never really seeing the city as it moved past, for his mind was too focused elsewhere.
He had to talk to her. Again. Tonight, if he could. Plagg surely had had enough cheese that evening for a late night run.
They met on the criss-crossing beams of the Eiffel Tower shortly after midnight. The night air was much colder than when they had left the party, but the moon now hung high and bright in the sky. They approached each other cautiously, uneasy, but they both went in for a hug at the same time - wrapping their arms tightly around their partner, tucking heads into shoulders, trembling more from nerves than the chill.
“We aren’t supposed to know.” Ladybug mumbled.
“We don’t have to tell Master Fu.”
“That’s lying. We can’t lie to him.”
They both lapsed into silence. Somehow they had both reached the same conclusion: the other knew, perhaps through their shared friendship in Nino and Alya. Yet they were both too terrified to say the truth aloud. If they acknowledged the forbidden, there would be no going back. Ladybug shuddered and Chat pulled back to look her in the eyes.
Both of them looked so uncertain, that they tried to give each other encouraging smiles. At their partner’s failed attempt to cheer them up, they laughed.
“We could...start over,” Chat suggested after their laughter died down. “Tomorrow. Today. At school.”
Ladybug seemed to mull this over. “Nothing can change between Chat Noir and Ladybug. But…” She bit her lip.
“Things can change between Adrien and Marinette,” Chat smirked. “They’re already very good friends.”
She hit his arm playfully, but Ladybug was giggling. “I think Marinette has a crush on him. She’s going to be disappointed that he’s just a big dork.”
Chat gasped. “I’d hope she knows him better than that! She laughs at his jokes!”
“Oh gosh, she does, doesn’t she?” Ladybug groaned.
“And I know for a fact that Adrien finds her very adorable.”
“Where’d you hear that?”
“He told me himself,” Chat preened as Ladybug blushed. “She’s the cutest girl in his class, hands down.”
“Mm, maybe Adrien should tell Marinette in person. I don’t think it’d come across as genuine from a third party, y’know?”
“I’ll be sure to let him know.” Chat purred, leaning back in to nuzzle her cheek. She laughed and pushed him away, but not before he tried to sneak in a kiss. Ladybug laughed harder when she saw his disappointment.
“In the morning, Chaton.” She chided him quietly, as if to make sure only he could hear her words.
“Is that a promise?”
“Yes. I promise.”
And in the morning, Marinette kept her promise.