A/N: I just felt like writing some angst and this ended up being written rip although yeah what a great way to start what might potentially turn into a series of different oneshots lmao
I might add another oneshot for Chat's POV

Anyways, I own nothing but my writing.

Asymptotes [Marinette]

Prompt: What if Marinette finds out who Chat Noir really is before he does?

What does she have to lose, she often asks herself.

They've been doing this for weeks, months, a year had already passed and she realized how time really does fly when you're so focused on things (though in her situation, saving Paris). Life had always been hectic since the school year started and no matter how much she tries she feels the guilt creeping, crawling down her back. Everyday she sees her friends (especially her best friend Alya), her classmates, and most importantly, Adrien.

Was it worth it, keeping it a secret?

It's not like she meant to say nothing about it as well as find out, I mean, she was bound to figure it out and vice versa but… she just wishes that she never knew. Never did she want to find out his secret identity as well as him to her (though she knows that he's always asking, he's always wondering, always curious and frustrated with not knowing). She's not ashamed to figure that Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste, hell no, she was more delighted yet horrified in all honesty. Delighted that her crush was her partner which enabled her to see a completely different side to him, yet horrified of herself being found out.

She knows that he likes Ladybug, not her.

When you watch your crush, always keeping an eye on them and being self-aware, you pick up on the little things. She knows that his favorite color's green, that whenever he asks her about Chat Noir he always seems to be expectant of an answer. They both enjoy listening to Jagged Stone and he's often hanging out with Nino while she with Alya. Marinette and Adrien had so much in common, and they were able to bond over those similarities while Alya and Nino were hanging around each other more often than usual. It was nice to know that the always seemingly flawless model had such a dorky side to him, a relief that he showed that side to her.

But of course, not to Marinette, but to Ladybug.

She's just an ordinary girl who lived an average life until she met Tikki. Marinette's a wallflower, always in the background and preferring to shy away from the spotlight. She was so, so clumsy and she was always trying to find a way out, a way to get out of all of her problems.

This was the one problem that she could not solve.

Unless he loves her, plain old Marinette instead of Ladybug, she couldn't confess if he ever does find out. If he finds out about the her that hides underneath Ladybug's mask, he would surely be disappointed. She wasn't brave, nor did she have any confidence. The mask was what gave her the confidence to speak, the mask was what made her change from an ordinary life to a supernatural one, the mask was what subconsciously brought Adrien closer to Marinette's life.

She's scared to get closer to him more than before.

All she can do is run away from her problems, every time she sees him, she hides a part of her. She stutters like a bumbling fool like she always does, nothing out of the ordinary. No one notices the way she tries to hide herself away from Adrien the moment he comes into the room later than her. The excuses she makes to try and get away from him that ranges in a variety of ways from needing to go to the restroom to speaking to a teacher about an assignment to not feeling up to the task of hanging out. Of course, Alya shows a brief suspicion, but once you mention Ladybug she'll get sidetracked.

Marinette's ashamed of herself.

She loves him, she really does. Jealousy often overwhelms her when Chloe openly fawns over him as if they were dating (though perhaps she has the upper hand thanks to winning that bowler hat competition), yet the shame follows suit. What right does she have to get angry at Chloe when she could hardly confess to Adrien? When just about several months ago she could barely speak to him?

So why, she asks herself. Why did he have to notice her avoidance?

Why didn't he just ignore it?

The changes between them are subtle, and the more they speak to one another the more she grows accustomed to not stuttering like a fool. With each moment of getting to know him throughout the weeks and months, she realizes that even if she loves that façade, the mask he wore at school and in public settings as being Adrien Agreste, it's why she's starting to learn to love his true self when he's Chat Noir. Thinking back on it, why didn't she realize it sooner?

It feels so fake to her, though.

Finding out that Chat Noir, someone she found to be a fantastic partner yet with an irritating personality (mostly the puns at the most inappropriate of times as well as flirting with her), was Adrien, the object of her affections this whole time. They've been walking about in circles, with her infatuation with his secret identity and his love for the mask she hides behind.

She couldn't let him know, but she so desperately wants to be happy with him. If she told him, it wouldn't really be genuine love, would it? He's in love with Ladybug, a young lady who wears a mask on her face. Would he really fall in love with her?

…so it's better this way, isn't it?

He's staring at her with genuine surprise at her sudden confession. She couldn't help but feel relieved that he never really noticed her feelings towards him, yet sad that he never really did pay attention to her just as much as he does to Ladybug.

Adrien listens to her words, her telling him that even if she likes him, she doesn't expect the two of them to start dating all of a sudden, nor does she expect him to fall for her because she knows he's in love with Ladybug. The uneasy look on his face was enough to tell her that he was going to reject her.

She knew there was no point in clinging onto a slim hope, but she expected this outcome.

Asymptotes can get closer and closer, but will never be together.