Sometimes there's an episode that just has to have a one-shot based on it. So, for everyone throwing a huge fit over Puppeteer 2 (I'm right there with you!) here is a one-shot taking place later that night. Because, seriously, this had to be written.
I do not own Miraculous Ladybug, but Thomas Astruc if you read this and want to steal it and, you know, MAKE IT HAPPEN, by all means please do! That's all.
"Miraculous Ladybug," she called out half-heartedly, tossing the broken bracelet into the air as Chat Noir handed baby August back to his mother. It had been a routine akuma attack. For whatever reason, Hawkmoth seemed convinced that a midnight tantrum was someday going to be the duo's downfall. This night, however, Ladybug was thankful for the routine. It had only taken a few minutes to break the bracelet, purify the akuma, and restore the peace; all without the use of her lucky charm or Chat's cataclysm.
"Good job, milady," Chat told her as he returned to her side, patiently waiting for her fist to meet his. "We should consider a career in babysitting."
Ladybug barely heard him as her horrific day replayed over and over in her mind. The pain of it all was still coursing through her despite Tikki's small pep talk. Adrien didn't love her. He loved someone else. And, to top it all off, she had made the most embarrassing love confession ever only to try and deny it later. Thankfully, Adrien had seemed to buy her lie that she was pranking him as well, but that only made it worse. Now she could never confess. Not after that whole fiasco. And especially now that she knew they were only friends and would never be anything more.
"Milady?" Chat's voice pulled her back to reality. They were alone on the empty street. "Are you alright?"
His green eyes glowed in the darkness and she knew that he could see much better than her. Her body was shaking and suddenly, she felt as if she might burst. Tears started flowing down her cheeks. She didn't want to cry in front of him, but suddenly, she wasn't able to hold it in anymore. All the pain, the embarrassment, and the heartache started pouring out of her. Chat was quick to gather her in his arms and Ladybug didn't even notice he was carrying her until they were sitting on a rooftop.
"It's alright, milady," he whispered to her as he continued to hold her. "Let it all out. I'm here for you."
"I'm such an idiot, Chat!" she cried between sobs, not sure why she was even talking about this to him. "Why was I so stupid?"
"You aren't stupid, milady. You are the smartest person I know."
"But then why? WHY? Why do I have to be such an idiot?" she questioned herself more than him.
"Milady, why don't you start at the beginning? Tell me what's happened."
Ladybug looked up at her partner whose eyes were full of compassion and support. She didn't want to tell him. She didn't want to tell anyone. She hadn't even bothered to call Alya. But she also knew, somewhere deep inside, that she needed to talk to someone. Someone she could trust; who better than her partner.
"Chat, you don't have to listen to me," she said, conscious of his feelings towards her. "I don't want to hurt you."
"If it's about the boy you like, don't worry. I'm still your friend and I still want to help you, bugaboo."
His words made her heart ache all the more. She realized, then, that this must be how he had felt this entire time. He had loved her since nearly the beginning of their time together. And, while he had made his feelings known all too often, she had told him time and time again that she loved someone else. Even earlier, after her embarrassing moment with Adrien, he had reassured her of his feelings towards her.
"How can you do that?" she asked, her tears beginning to slow down. "How can you know that I like someone else and still be my friend? Doesn't it hurt?"
"It does, but you're still my friend," he admitted with a shrug. "Besides, I'll never give up hope. You never know what life will bring you."
"My kwami said something like that earlier," Ladybug added. "I just...I just don't see how you can do it. It hurts so much."
"Milady, why don't you tell me about it? Just talking about it might help."
"Ok, I'll tell you, but promise you won't laugh?"
"Cat's honor," he smiled gently. Ladybug wiped her tears away and looked out across the Paris skyline. Taking a deep breath, she chose her words carefully, making sure to protect her identity.
"I...I was practicing my confession to the guy I like. But, not in like a serious way. I was just fooling around, being overdramatic. Just...you know...stupid."
"How can confessing your feelings ever be stupid?" Chat asked. She narrowed her eyes at him and he quickly looked away. "You mean, like me. Don't you?"
"You times ten," she added.
"Ooof! That bad?"
"Yep. That bad. Really, really bad."
"Alright, let me guess. He heard you?"
"Worse," she explained, but then thought twice about explained how Adrien had been pretending to be a statue. "But, yes. Basically, he overheard the whole thing."
"What do you mean worse? What happened?"
"Just leave it at that, please," she begged, the truth much too embarrassing to share.
"As you wish. So, he overheard you. Then what?" Chat asked, his eyes begging her to continue.
"Then...then...well, there was that akuma attack. But you know how that went down."
"Oh, so that is why you were asking me how I can so easily tell you how I feel! Because you can't!" Chat chimed him, a little too excited. Ladybug punched him in the chest with her elbow. "Well, now he knows how you feel at least."
"Not...not exactly."
"Don't tell me you denied it?" Chat asked, his eyes growing wide with shock. Ladybug nodded and he gasped. "And he believed you?"
"Yeah, well...he was trying to pull a prank on me. So, I said that I knew he was joking, which I didn't, but I said I did and that...that...the confession was me pranking him back."
"Wait...what?" Chat let go of her and started rubbing his temples.
"And then, the worst part," she continued, ignoring Chat's request to clarify, afraid that she wouldn't be able to finish. "Was when we were going home and he explained that he thought we weren't friends, but I told him we were and we agreed 'no more jokes' and...and...then he said that the girl he loves tells him he's bad at jokes! He loves someone else! I'm such an idiot!"
Another fit of tears and sobs took over and Ladybug buried her face in her hands, ashamed of all that had happened. Her heart felt like it was breaking all over again as she told the story to Chat. The memory of Adrien's words echoed in her ears. She wasn't sure how long she cried, but Chat waited patiently by her side.
"Are...are you sure you aren't the girl he loves?" he asked as her sobs died down.
"Kitty, I have never, ever, told him anything remotely close to 'you're bad at jokes'."
"Ok, but I mean...maybe he thought you said that?"
"Chat, I can barely talk to him. Trust me when I tell you, I've never spoken to him like that. I love everything about him. I would never tell him something like that."
"Never say never," Chat Noir muttered under his breath as if he didn't want her to hear.
Silence fell between the friends after that, but it didn't feel awkward. Chat started lightly scratching her back, which Ladybug found quite comforting. Crickets were chirping in the distance and Ladybug found herself staring at the lights of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.
"Milady," Chat said, breaking the silence after a while. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure," she muttered, not sure what he was going to ask her.
"What makes him better? Than me, I mean. Why do you like him and not me?"
"Chat...I..." Ladybug tried to look him in the eye, but he was avoiding her gaze. She cringed as she realized how much he had to be hurting inside. After all, she had just poured out all her emotions about Adrien to a guy that liked her. "Chat, it's not that he's better than you. It's just...just...I fell for him first. After that, there just isn't any more room in my heart. Does that make sense? You are my partner and my friend. And I love you for that. It's just in a different way."
"That...that makes a lot of sense, actually," he said, looking up into the sky. "There wasn't any more room in your heart. So, yeah. Of course, I'm just a friend to you. It makes perfect sense."
"Thank you for understanding Chat," she added, thankful that he didn't seem to be hurting even more than he probably already was.
"Of course, milady." he said, turning to face her. "But can I ask another question?"
Ladybug rolled her eyes, not liking the childish grin on his face.
"I guess. But it better not be something stupid."
"What would you want to say to him?"
"What?" she asked, shocked at the strange question.
"Your confession. You, obviously, didn't say what you would have liked to so I want to know how you would confess. Really confess I mean."
"Oh, I don't know, kitty," She said with a sigh, "It doesn't even matter now. You can't confess to someone who is in love with someone else."
"I beg to differ," Chat smirked, earning himself another playful elbow to the ribs. "Come on, just tell me."
"Well, I guess I would just tell him how I feel."
"Alright. So how do you feel about him?" he prodded.
"I like him. A lot. And I mean really like him. He's the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing before I go to sleep. I just want to be around him as much as possible. I can't explain why. He's just...amazing. Inside and out. He's kind and caring. Thoughtful and always there to help his friends when they need it. I...I love him. I've loved him ever since he gave me his umbrella. Before that I actually hated him, but that's another story."
Chat was silent after her speech and he had stopped scratching her back. Looking over, she saw that he was staring off into the distance, deep in thought. He had a smile on his face, which was much softer than his usual grin.
"Why are you smiling like that?" she asked, certain that hearing her feelings for Adrien must have hurt him. Surprisingly, he shook his head.
"No reason," he answered, turning his face back towards her again. "I'm just thinking."
"Thinking about what?"
"About how late it's getting," he said as he stood up, offering his hand to help her up. She took it and got to her feet as well. It was late when they had first started their akuma battle and she wasn't even sure how much time had passed since then. Luckily, it wasn't a school night.
"Is that really what you were thinking about?" she asked, knowing her kitty too well to buy his lame explanation.
"Well, yes, but I was also thinking about pretending to be a statue tomorrow. This time, I'm not going to pull away from that kiss." He pulled out his staff and quickly bowed to her as he often did before leaving. "I'll see you around, milady."
Chat Noir turned to leave, but Ladybug quickly caught hold of his tail and pulled him back. Their eyes locked as she studied him intently as her brain tried to catch up with what he had said.
"Chat, I didn't say anything about a statue." She said, a knot forming in her stomach as a certain truth started to form in her mind.
"You didn't need to," He said. "I was there. Had a front row seat to the whole thing."
Ladybug felt her head spinning as she tightened her grip on Chat's tail. A million thoughts and questions came pouring in, but utter shock kept her from voicing any of them. As if in a dream, she watched as Chat Noir was replaced with Adrien Agreste in a flash of light. His green eyes were soft and gentle, waiting for her to finish processing.
"Milady," he said, grabbing hold of the hand that had previously been clinging to his tail. "I am so sorry that I hurt you."
"A-Adrien," she whispered, reaching out to lightly touch his face with her free hand. "How...How is this possible?"
"I've been asking myself the same question, believe me. You've been right here, this whole time."
"Adrien," she repeated with more confidence. "Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste?"
"Yes, milady," he said nodding. "And it just so happens that he's madly in love with you. So much so, that he was blind to the amazing girl that sits right behind him in class. As you said, his heart was already full so Marinette could only be a friend."
"Yeah, but also because you were too busy making out with that Ladybug body pillow!" Plagg's voice broke in. Adrien's face turned beet red as he turned to face the black kwami of destruction.
"PLAGG!" he cried out, as Ladybug started laughing. "Milady, it's not funny!"
"Oh it is! It is!" she argued as she doubled over. "You...you have a body pillow?"
"YOU tried to make out with a WAX statue!"
"Yeah, but it wasn't wax, now was it?"
"Pft! But you didn't know that at the time." Adrien stated as he crossed his arms, clearly embarrased.
"I'm sorry, Adrien." Ladybug confessed. "I'm just...just shocked is all. After all, I have all those pictures of you in my room."
"Wait...so those upside-down spades?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah...those are hearts. I was going to tear them down today." she said as her own face started to turn red as well.
"How about we replace them?" Adrien suggested, reaching out for her hands.
"Replace them?" she asked, letting him pull her closer.
"Yeah, with pictures of us."
"I...I don't have any pictures of us."
"Then we'll take some. On our date."
"Date?" she asked, not believing what she was hearing.
"Well, I like you and you like me so I figured we could...you know...date?"
"Adrien Agreste is asking me out on a date?" Ladybug asked, feeling like she might faint at any second.
"Yes, for about the hundreth time." He said, a grin breaking out across his face that was clearly Chat Noir's. "I'm hoping I'll get a different answer this time."
Of course, she realized at last. He's Chat Noir. He's been asking me out all this time. He's liked me this whole time!
"We really are a pair of idiots, aren't we?" she asked with a soft smile.
"If you are referring to the fact that we've been in love this whole time and never realized it. Yes. Yes, we are idiots."
A large smile broke across her face as the truth set in. This was Adrien. Who was also Chat. It made perfect sense to Ladybug. She looked at him in a new light, finally seeing how the boy of her dreams and her beloved partner were two parts of one amazing whole.
"Milady, can I ask you one more question?" Adrien asked, to which Ladybug quickly nodded. "Will you try to kiss me again?"
"If you're good, maybe kitty." she teased.
"Oh come on! Two kisses I can't remember, one that I backed away from because I didn't know it was you! It's not fair!"
"Alright, alright!" She said as she giggled at his pained expression. "On one condition."
"What is it, milady?" he asked.
"I get to be your girlfriend."
"Don't do it, Adrien!" Plagg cried. "We bachelors need to stick together!"
"Tikki, spots off." She said and then waited for the red kwami to appear before her. "Can you make him shut up?"
"Gladly," Tikki growled as she turned to Plagg. There was a loud squeak and then the two kwami disappeared into the night with a sigh of relief from both Adrien and Marinette.
"You were saying?" Adrien asked with a smile. "Something about us going out?"
"Yeah, that is...if you want to." Marinette answered, feeling nervous now that she was no longer wearing her mask. "If...if you don't that's fine..."
"Marinette Dupain-cheng," he said sternly, pulling into a tight hug. "I love you. I accept your terms. Now, about that kiss."
Marinette laughed at her own silliness. Of course, Adrien would go out with her. He was, after all, Chat. He had loved her and she had loved him, even when they couldn't see it. Standing on tip-toe she pushed her lips onto his and, this time, he didn't pull back. Instead, he returned the kiss full force.
The world melted away as Marinette lost herself in his kiss. It was warm and sweet. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight, afraid she might faint from excitement. Finally, they had found each other and when they finally broke apart, she buried her face in his shirt, never wanting to leave the warmth of his embrace.
"Um, Marinette?" he asked after a moment. "How are we going to get home? Our kwamis flew off."
"I'm sure they'll be back for us," she muttered. "I'm not in a hurry. Are you?"
"Nope," he said, squeezing her tight. "I could stay here all night, milady."
"Me too, kitty. Me too."