I Knew It Was You [COMPLETE]

24. Unify

Marinette stepped into the hot shower and let the water wash it all away.
Adrien told her about the dream and she knew why he needed her. What made her happier was that he wanted to see her immediately. He really did love her.
But love also needed to meet reality, so she left at around 7 and hoped her parents hadn't come in to check on her. One outfit, a hearty breakfast and walk later, she was in the school courtyard still droopy. 

"Hey," someone called out to her.
"Alya," Marinette said getting up to hug her best friend.
"You look like you didn't sleep too well," Alya said, pulling away. "All good?"
"Yeah, just couldn't sleep after a while," Marinette said, rubbing her eyes.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," a voice said behind them. Adrien looked just as tired as Marinette and Alya shot them a puzzled look.
"Wait, why are you apologizing? And you look pretty tired, too," Alya said.
Adrien shrugged and Marinette chewed her lip.
Alya gasped. "ARE YOU TWO-"
"No!" Both of them said. They looked at each other and then at Alya.
"We'll talk about this later," Marinette said, pulling Adrien along with her.

They were the only ones in the empty classroom and Marinette let him go.
"Alright, I need ideas," she said, settling down on her seat.
"W-What?" Adrien asked, completely lost.
"For the akuma," she said, motioning him to elaborate.
"Ohhhh oh right, yeah. Um, I thought you were talking about us."
"Us? What about us?"
Adrien leaned in and asked her mischievously, "How long are we gonna hide all this? When do I get to tell the world that I'm in love with the most amazing girl there is?"
Marinette felt her cheeks so rosy. She's heard all this from Cat but she had to admit, it felt all the better when both of them were in this together. She put a finger on his nose and pushed him back, just like she used to do when Cat tried to hit on her.
"Once we know how to get rid of this akuma," she said, giggling. Adrien laughed, putting his arm behind her and she rested against it.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" Alya said, hands on her hips and a smug smile on her face.

-x-x-x-

"Okay, look can we go out to get lunch?" Adrien whispered, taking down notes.
"Yeah sure," Marinette said, filling her notebook.
"No no no, I mean go out. Like, as a date."
"Um, sure? I wouldn't say no otherwise either."
"Marinette, I'm asking you out. On an official date. I'm taking you out for lunch so that we can talk and eat and have fun and flirt openly and whatever it is couples do." 
Her stomach was on a roller coaster surrounded by butterflies. She was smiling uncontrollably and tried to hide it behind her hair.
"Marinette!" Mme. Bustier called out.
"Y-Yes ma'am," Marinette perked up.
"You have been called to the art room. Please go down after class."
"Yes ma'am."
Mme. Bustier left the class as Marinette and Adrien rushed to copy down the problem on the board. She stuffed her bag and got up but Adrien grabbed her wrist.
"You didn't answer me," he said smiling.
"For what?" she asked, quite aware of what he was talking about.
"Lunch."
"I told you, I wouldn't say no."
He smiled and let her go, hovering over his notebook. Marinette left the class, avoiding a confused glance from Alya.

-x-x-x-

"Thank you," they told the cashier after collecting the order. They ordered burritos and sodas from a nearby Mexican outlet and settled down on a bench nearby. 
"Okay before we get to our "official date", I really need ideas for the akuma," Marinette said, unwrapping her burrito.
Adrien sighed and looked at her, "See, this is what I like about you. Focused on the problem at hand. Even when you're on a date with your dream boy."
Marinette smiled and rolled her eyes, the words "what I like about you" repeating in her head. "Yes, yes. Savior of Paris and everything. You could learn a thing or two from me," she teased back.
"She's not wrong, buddy," Plagg said, peeking out of his shirt.
"Don't listen to him Adrien, you are a perfectly fine Cat Noir," Tikki said.
The teenagers laughed and kwamis joined in. Marinette breathed in, unable to believe that she was on a date, with Adrien/Cat Noir with their kwamis getting along and accepting all of it. It was so much to take in.

"Um, but yeah, I do have an idea," Adrien said, his laugh dying down. Marinette centered her attention to the situation at hand. 
"Yeah, tell me," she said.
"I was thinking about unifying the kwamis."
"WHAT?"
"Wait, calm down! N-not Tikki and Plagg!"
"Okay, then who?"
"Just listen first okay?" he said as  Marinette nodded.
"The akuma is closely linked to emotion right? Father was scared, Mother was angry. The akuma didn't grasp onto a physical object, it was connected to an emotion."
Marinette nodded, the pieces puzzling together. "But wouldn't that mean destroying the emotion?"
"I thought about that but every time you purify an akuma, the negative emotion used to the akumatize the victim doesn't actually go. Only the akuma does. Shouldn't the same apply here?"
Marinette nodded and looked at her purse. She slowly took out the small box and Adrien gripped the side of the bench.
"Why did you bring that?" he asked.
"You never know when you need it, especially in a situation like this," she said taking out the pin. She summoned the kwami, making sure he was hidden behind her purse.

"Nooroo, what can you tell me about Gabriel's akuma?" she asked.
The purple kwami flinched, but looked up at her. "The akuma is small but since it wasn't contained properly, it is affecting him and Madame Agreste."
"Wait, so Mother is alive?" Adrien asked.
"She was always, alive. Just not awake," the kwami confirmed.
Adrien let out a sigh of relief. Marinette knew that Emilie was alive but this was the confirmation Adrien needed. He needed the truth from a first-hand witness.
"The simplest way of putting this is, it is an akuma. If you purify a normal akuma, you can fix this one, too. Just like all akumas, it can be made and unmade. All you require is focus."
Marinette nodded and dissolved the kwami.

"Tell me your plan," she said to Adrien.
He nodded and spilled his idea: what goes where, who does what, when it should happened. Marinette took in every detail, cross-questioning him several times but he always had an explanation for it. But with every explanation, more questions arose and they turned to their kwamis who said, "Trust you instincts." A clear and thorough planning later, the two students threw away the wrappers and headed back to school.