Marinette rushes into her room, and grabs the nearest pillow. She presses it to her face as hard as she can, and screams. She screams long and loud, though the sound is muffled by the pillow.
"Marinette, are you okay?" Tikki asks, coming out of her purse.
Marinette throws the pillow down, and takes a deep, shaky breath. "Adrien is Cat Noir! How can Adrien be Cat Noir?"
"Is this a good thing or a bad thing?"
"I don't know, Tikki. It's... it's insane!" She buries her face in her hands. "It's embarrassing! Can you believe all the things I said to him? All the times I rejected him?!" She gasps and begins to panic. "I kissed him! Tikki, I kissed Adrien!!!"
"If it makes you feel any better, he doesn't seem to care about any of that," Tikki points out. "In fact, it seemed to me like he really wants to be with you."
Marinette stares at her kwami. "R-really?" She blushes lightly and smiles as she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear absentmindedly. But her smile fades as she says, "It's still hard for me to believe... I mean, is he really Cat Noir?"
"Yes he is," Tikki says. "Not only did I see his Miraculous, but I also saw his kwami peeking out of his jacket."
Marinette thinks about when she was confessing her feelings to Adrien, how she saw a familiarity in his eyes. I recognized him as Cat Noir even then, she thinks, I just didn't realize it. "I know he is, I'm just still trying to process it all..."
Marinette sighs, and gazes out the window. She sees a young couple passing the bakery share an affectionate kiss, and an elderly couple holding hands. These scenes cause her to smile. The whole city may believe that Adrien is dating Chloe, but she knows the truth: He has fallen for her. Adrien Agreste has fallen for her, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. This thought in itself brings her much comfort.
Adrien paces back and forth in his room. He is sweating nervously, and his fists are clenched.
"Slow down kid, you're making me dizzy!" Plagg says, munching on a piece of Camembert.
Adrien forces himself to stop pacing, and sits down on the couch. "This is really important, Plagg. I need to think this through..."
"What is there to think through?" Plagg says. "Just do it!"
Adrien sighs. "You're right. I need to get to the Kids Plus television studio, and quickly!" He smiles slyly. "Now, what's the fastest way to get there?"
Plagg rolls his eyes, and shoves the rest of the cheese in his mouth. "Fine, I'm ready."
"Plagg, claws out!"
Having transformed into Cat Noir, he uses his baton to leap between buildings until he arrives at the TV studio. He slips behind a billboard, transforms back, and walks into the studio.
"Adrien Agreste!" A news reporter says as soon as he enters. "To what do we owe this surprise visit?"
"Just a follow-up on the interview with Chloe Bourgeois," Adrien says with a wink.
"Ooh, a broadcast especially for your sweetheart?" The news reporter says as she ushers a cameraman over.
"Yeah, something like that," he says, rubbing the back of his head nervously.
Once the camera is rolling, the reporter shoves a microphone into Adrien's face. "So, Adrien Agreste, what is your special message?"
Adrien stares at the reporter for a moment, frozen in place. Should he really do this? Is it the right thing to do? Yes, he tells himself. This is the right thing to do. Now just do it!
He takes the microphone out of the reporter's hand, and looks directly into the camera lens. "I have something really important to say," he says, a little shaky. "I know that most of you have seen the interview with Chloe Bourgeois and heard her news..." He takes in a deep breath, and lets it out slowly. But the more he talks, the more bravery seems to form in him.
"Chloe said that she and I are dating, but the truth is..." He pauses, thinking carefully about how to word his next sentence. "The truth is, my father forced me to pretend I was dating Chloe to boost the popularity of his company."
"Are you telling us that you and Chloe are not an item?" The reporter asks.
"Yes, that is one thing I'm trying to say," Adrien says. "But there's more... Not only am I not dating Chloe, nor do I want to date her, I..."
Adrien stops talking. Here it is, the big moment. The moment he came here for. Breathe, Agreste, breathe... He thinks to himself.
"You what?" The reporter presses.
Adrien is practically holding his breath now. "I... I'm in love with someone else."
"You heard it here folks, the Adrien Agreste is in love and not with Chloe Bourgeois!" The reporter announces to the camera. "So Adrien, can you tell us who the lucky lady is?"
Adrien smiles shyly. "Her name is Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
YOU ARE READING
The Unstoppable Duo
Fanfiction(NOTE: This is a "Miraculous" fan fiction. It was written BEFORE the second season aired.) Marinette's life is the same as it's always been -or at least, as it's been since she was given her Miraculous and became Ladybug. She has to deal with c...
