SUMMER ROSES - ELUSIVE THORNS

SURPRISES AND BUTTERFLIES

cat noir, now Adrien, sat on the ground scattered with cotton fillings and cold breeze from the freezers touching his cheeks with the paper in his hand. and ladybug stood behind him, not making a sound or movement. everything was still and there was no sound till ladybug fell unconscious on the ground behind Adrien who turned to see where it was from. and saw ladybug collapse right beside him.

"my lady?!" he took her head on his lap and it took him a while to understand the situation in the present. then from the side plagg groaned," she saw you detransform, kid"

then he realized that he wasn't in his catsuit. he was Adrien and it was ladybug aka Marinette on his lap and she saw the paper and the destroyed mannequin with him detransforming" oh no! it must have been too much for her to take in at one glance!"

Adrien gave plag something to eat and transformed back to cat noir. there he was jumping from roof to roof with ladybug in his arms, all cold despite the hot weather. ladybug was brought home and tucked in her bed. it was late at night, after all, she needed some rest for her to digest three whole giant secrets in one take.

her mom wasn't dead but kidnapped or hidden by someone. and that someone happens to know that she was ladybug too. and all that information she found out resting in the palm of a shocked kittycat partner of hers, who's I identity is a secret to her, happened to detransform in front of her at the very moment before she could process the whole thing!!! oh, sugar and cookies! this is a disaster which is half rotten and some parts good, which was all in all a problem.  

"huh? what in the-" ladybug woke up in her bed all dazed and puzzled that how did she get here, then everything came back to her head in a gush. she felt like she fell face first in a tub of anxiety and her stomach gave a turn.

cat de transformed and started looking around the house. he brought some food for her and saw she was up

"you're awake!"Adrien said, coming up to the bed with plagg hovering beside his head to sit beside her 

"oh it's you," she sat up 

"umm, I think Tikki is hungry. you should probably uh," he gestured for her to detransform.

"oh, I didn't realize" she then realized that she didn't detransform and transformed. Tikki flew out beside her. 

marinette was silent for a while, looking at the food till she said "do you still like ladybug as before? you always said that she is so confident and stuff like that but I am not"

"stop speaking nonsense about yourself and eat that croissant. you need energy. collapsing is not a good sign of health you know. and we have a great problem to face" he said. "and what do you mean by that, I told you once before that it doesn't matter who it is under that mask of ladybug, I love her either way. and you know what? I really am glad that it's you Marinette. not gonna lie but I started to think at one point that how do I love two people at that same time? i can't like ladybug and Marinette at once can I? but it's easier this way, that you are actually one person. and it's more lovable when two of you combine and make the perfect person to exist you know. the only problem is that you don't like cat noir or Adrien."

"you are right about that Adrien," said Marinette "I don't like either of you but I love both or should I say all of you Adrien." with that said she looked up at him feeling her insides turn as he just stood up reaching down for the plates.

after hearing that he stopped and turned away for a moment and then found himself turn to face a, now standing Marinette and without thinking through, crashed his lips on Marinette's pulling her closer to himself. it was so sudden that neither of them quite understood what they were doing till some seconds passed and Marinette kissed him back. feeling their warmth against each other. they melted in each other's embrace in pin-drop silence with only their heartbeats echoing in the background, forgetting all the problems and the whole world around them for the time being. Adrien wrapped his arms tight around Marinette making her feel butterflies in her stomach. they both pulled apart breathing heavily, eyes gazing at one another, mesmerized.

"I love you Marinette"

"me too"