A/N. Oh God this took a lot longer to finish than expected. I've been up to my neck in schoolwork and college is slowly killing me (in a good way!) Anyway, this has been sitting in my laptop for a while, so I figured I'd divide the last part into two, so instead of two parts, this fic will be a three parter. Also, after seeing ~ clips ~ from MLB s2, I couldn't not continue this fic. The adorableness is ahhhhhh !

That being said, this is not season 2 compliant. This is season 2 if I was the creator of the show, which sadly, I am not. Please enjoy it anyway.

-The Paradigm Shift-

Ch. 2

DAY 631

"Are we ever going to talk about this?" Chat Noir asks after pulling back and leaning his forehead against hers. His eyes are terribly bright and she can feel the answer to his question build up in between panted breaths. She doesn't want to dim his eyes, doesn't want to ruin the moment, so instead she presses her lips against his once more.

She can tell by his slight hesitation that he knows exactly what she's doing. She also knows that he'll let it go for now, if not for any other reason than because he is, and always has been, patient with her. This won't last. She knows it can't. He'll stop letting her avoid the subject and they'll be forced to talk about things she doesn't want to talk about. Someday, she'll have to put a name to these feelings, but as his fingers tug on one of the red ribbons in her hair, she knows that today is not that day.

DAY 667

"I keep telling you that they'll never let us pay," Chat says as he takes a big bite of his mint chocolate chip cone.

Ladybug wrinkles her nose at him and licks her own vanilla ice cream. "One, who bites their ice cream? My teeth hurt just watching you. And two, I suppose it's for the best. It's not like I have anywhere to store money in this suit."

He catches her watching and takes an even bigger bite just to spite her. "The ice cream just melts if you lick it," he says through a mouthful of ice cream. "Also, vanilla? Really? Lame."

"I'll have you know that I love vanilla ice cream."

"I'll have you know that I love you."

The words slip out of Chat's mouth so easily that it takes a moment before he realizes what he said. She wonders how long he's been thinking it, how long the words have been twirling around in his mind, pressing and searching for a way to spill out. He looks just as surprised as she does, but he holds her gaze and he doesn't take it back.

He licks his lips, parts them before closing his mouth and trying to speak again. "I love you, Ladybug," he says more clearly than before. "I always have."

Her mind stops working. Absentmindedly, she realizes that the ice cream is dripping onto her covered fingertips and wonders if the stickiness of her gloves will be gone by her next transformation.

How does she feel about Chat?

He tastes like sunshine and mischief. He smells like leather and sweat and determination and hope. He feels like kindness when he grasps her hand in his, like quiet stability when he brushes her hair behind her ear.

When she looks at him, she wants more than late night dates during patrols and stolen kisses after akuma battles. He makes her want to take off the mask, to offer a part of her identity she never thought she'd be able to share with anyone. She wants him to know her. She wants to call him when she's up at midnight because she's stuck on a design. She wants to know what he'd look like when her parents meet him for the first time and overload him with those pastries he loves so much. She wants to know how he'd dress on their first date—a leather jacket or a plain t-shirt? Jeans or cargo shorts? She wants to see him in the daylight without an imminent threat. She wants to hold his hand and feel skin.

She wants so many things.

And she is afraid of wanting.

She watches his expression go from hopeful to disappointed. His cat ears droop and his tail stops moving. He opens his mouth to say something more, but she reacts before he can. Her ice cream cone lands somewhere in her haste to get up. She almost trips and falls off the roof before righting herself. "I've gotta go," she says by means of explanation before launching her yo-yo.

She half expects Chat to follow her. She's disappointed when he doesn't.

DAY 677

Chat has made himself scarce. She hasn't seen him since she left him on the rooftop. Still, she waits at their spot almost nightly, though she isn't quite sure what she wants to say. How do you apologize to someone for breaking their heart when you don't know if you'll do it again?

She wonders if this is how he felt after she disappeared on him after the kiss. It only adds to her guilt.

DAY 679

"You don't like Adrien anymore," Alya says over lunch, something akin to awe in her voice.

Marinette looks up from her half eaten croissant and raises her eyebrows in question. "What are you talking about?"

"I didn't want to believe it at first because you're Marinette and he's Adrien, but look at you. Girl, you actually got over Adrien Agreste," Alya continues as if Marinette hadn't spoken at all. "You never talk about him anymore and right now he is literally striking model poses and your jaw has yet to drop."

Confused, Marinette's gaze swivels to where Adrien stands a few tables away, doing exaggerated poses for a group project. It makes her smile to see him enjoying himself in an uncharacteristic display of silliness. He seemed almost as depressed as her these past few days. It's nice to see him cheering up.

"See? That's what I mean. That's not your I'm-so-in-love-I'm-swooning smile. That's the smile you give everyone. It's your friend smile. Adrien is receving your friend smile," Alya said, eyes wide and voice dropping to a whisper.

"So? It was just a crush," Marinette blushes.

Alya grabs on to her arm and mimes fainting. "I think I'm going into shock."

"Oh shut up."

"No, seriously. Pinch me. Marinette Dupain-Cheng is no longer in love. I must be dreaming."

Marinette's flush deepens and she feels her heart give a painful thud when she realizes that she is in love. Just not with Adrien. She thinks of laughter on rooftops, of claws tugging on hair ribbons. I'm in love, she thinks, I'm in love.

DAY 681

She almost falls off the railing when she sees his figure hunched over their usual rendezvous spot. He doesn't turn towards her, but she can tell by the way he straightens that he's aware of her presence.

"Chat," she says hesitantly, taking a seat next to him and gauging his reaction. He doesn't move away from her, but he doesn't look her way either. "Chat, I wanted to apologize."

"For which thing?" he asks.

She takes a breath and stares at her knotted hands on her lap. If she looks at him, she'll lose her nerve and forget the speech that she's been practicing in the mirror these past few days. She draws on her Ladybug strength, realizes she feels more like Marinette, then understands that she is both and that is okay.

"For calling our second kiss a mistake. For running away when you told me you love me. You've always put yourself out there, even if I didn't realize it. You've never lied to me. You—you've been amazing and I…I was so scared that I broke your heart. When I look at you, Chat, I want to take my mask off. I want you to know me and I'm so scared because I know I'm not ready for that yet. I'm so scared that this might not work. I don't even know if I'm making sense right now because I practiced this, but none of it is coming out right, but—"

"Ladybug," he says and his voice is so startling that her eyes snap to his. He's looking at her with a hesitant kind of hopefulness that's heartbreaking in its own way. It's the look of someone who's gotten his hopes up before only to be let down. It's the look of someone who knows what it's like to be disappointed. She resolves not to be another person to let him down. "What are you trying to say?"

"I love you, you stupid cat," she says in a rush before she can screw it up and almost misses the way his eyebrows shoot up in surprise and amusement. "And you're going have to be patient with me because I'm a mess and I'm scared, but I want to try. I'm trying to try. And I know that might not be enough, but if you'll have me, I'll—"

He takes her face between his hands and presses his lips to hers in undoubtedly her favorite way of stopping her word vomit. When he pulls back, he's beaming at her, looking at her as if she's something magical, something, as she's sure he would say, miraculous.

"You have me. You've always had me," he says and kisses her once more despite the happy sob that breaks free from her chest.

They pull away when their smiles prevent them from kissing any further and their laughter fills the night, dispelling the tension like it was never there in the first place. He toys with one of her pigtails and she looks at him with what she assumes is a stupidly happy grin on her face.

"I just have one question though," he says after a while.

"What?"

"What did you mean by our second kiss?"

A/N. And there you go! The main relationship drama is out of the way. The next chapter(s) will be lighter and funnier again, buuuuut with a possible identity reveal. I'm not quite sure about that yet. I have a basic outline for it, but I am terrible at following outlines.

Anyway, please leave a review on this fic if you liked it or freak out about MLB s2! Both are welcome and loved.

-Indy