Switched

Chapter 13 - The Switch Back

Marinette placed her hand in Adrien's outstretched hand. He began running, dragging her with him.

"Woah, where are we going?" she asked him, confused. How can he go from devastated to happy in such little time?

"You'll see. You'll love it, I promise."

They ran for a little while more before stopping at a small, grassy hill. They had a perfect view of the setting sun.

Adrien let go of Marinette's hand and sat on the grass. He glanced at her, as if asking her to sit too. She sat down next to him. She wondered if she was too close and if this was even okay, but as her thoughts began to spiral, he put an arm around her. His head rested on her shoulder and her head rested gently on his. She figured that if they were in the correct bodies, their positions would be more comfortable. She felt awkward cuddling with her own body, but she was willing to do it to help Adrien feel better. She wanted him to feel loved.

How is it even possible that both of their lives changed this much so fast? Just a few days ago, she could barely get out a sentence around Adrien. Now, she had just declared how much she loved him with no stuttering, and they're watching the sunset together.

"I'm sorry I said all those things," Adrien said to Marinette. "Today has been really hard. So many things happened so fast. I shouldn't have been talking like that. If you turned out to be a sentimonster, I would love you just the same. Could you please say it one more time? Sorry, I think I need to be sure you really do love me, even if I'm not human. It feels wrong, doesn't it?"

"Adrien, I love you," Marinette confirmed. "It's not wrong. Nothing will ever change how much I love you. I get it, today has been hard. You learned so many things so fast. I'll be here to get you through all of this. I'll be here to help you with everything."

Adrien stared off at the sunset. "Thank you. I love you too, Marinette, with all my heart. I'm so happy you turned out to be Ladybug. I wouldn't want it any other way."

Marinette was glad to hear him say this. She found herself starting to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Adrien asked with an eyebrow raised.

"It's just that..." Marinette looked around her to make sure no one was listening in on their conversation. The only people she saw were too far away to hear them. "I wouldn't have imagined in a million years that Adrien was Chat Noir. You two always seemed so different. I was shocked when I found out. I was scared that you wouldn't love me anymore if you knew my secret identity. I was so freaked out when I saw Plagg in your room. I never imagined we'd be here, watching the sunset together, but I wouldn't want it any other way either. It just feels so...right."

After a while of sitting in silence in front of the setting sun, Adrien put a finger to his lips, smiled, and started to chuckle.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng kissed me," he whispered.

Marinette's cheeks turned a dark shade of red. She began to choke on seemingly nothing. In her fit of coughing, she yelled, "WHAT?!"

Adrien began to laugh harder. He fell onto his back and clutched his stomach as he continued to laugh. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much fun, but he knew it was definitely with her.

"Remember when you told me about Dark Cupid? How you had to kiss me to save me? Oh, and in the fight with Oblivio, we kissed and both forgot. The picture of us kissing was on billboards all over the city! That was you! Marinette kissed me! She kissed Adrien! We saw each other at school all the time and we never realized how close we really were. It's so funny!"

"Well you didn't have to break the silence with that!" Marinette shouted with her face buried in her hands. "You have to warn me before saying certain things, you know!"