The Price of One || Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Eight: Solutions

Marinette

Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, and each breath she took felt rushed, her mind struggling to comprehend the information placed before her - even when the evidence was right in front of her very eyes.

“A-adrien?” Marinette whispered in disbelief, bluebell eyes dilating in confusion. “Marinette?” He answered, equally stunned. But there wasn’t much time to focus on this new revelation.

The two turned back to the spell, the pendulum perfectly aligned in the very center. “Now!” She exclaimed, looking up to Tikki as the pomegranate kwami gave a nod, she and Plagg crossing their arms in unison as the pendulum and circle seemed to absorb into Emma’s chest, who seized for a few seconds before it stopped, and she laid all too still.

Marinette’s fingers trembled as she gripped the hem of her shirt to stop the shaking.

“Is she..is she going to be okay?” Cat - no, Adrien, asked, his spring green eyes filled with concern, his eyes flicking between Emma and herself.

Plagg slouched, but gave both holders an encouraging smile. “She’ll be okay for now. It’s up to her to heal herself now.” Tikki nodded to reaffirm his statement, though her eyes also drooped slightly. “Plagg and I need to go regain our energy. We’ll give you two some time to talk.”

The two kwamis flew away, leaving her alone with Adrien.

There was a long silence as they stared into each other’s eyes, Marinette trying to hold onto some resemblance of Cat Noir, though she wasn’t sure if Adrien was going to find whatever he had been searching for in her own eyes.

“You’re...you’re Ladybug.” He eventually said aloud. “And you’re Cat Noir.” She only said - still at a loss of words herself. Marinette let out a small chuckle as she wordlessly walked to the wall across from them, sinking down to the wooden floors. “Have we really been so blind?”

Adrien smiled, walking over as he slid down next to her. “Probably.” He sighed, combing a hand through his golden locks as he shut his eyes in disbelief. “We’ve been next to each other this entire time - and we never even noticed.”

“Emma probably knew this entire time.” She said, lifting her gaze to Emma’s prone form under the covers.

It was probably the first time Marinette had seen her like this - so quiet and so still. She had always had this talent of making everyone around her feel so big and so special - for making their classroom feel truly complete. Without her laughter, the room seemed oddly empty.

Marinette attempted a smile, letting out a small groan as she ran a hand across her face. “She’s probably been laughing at us while we kept missing each other over and over again.” He chuckled in response. “It’s not her fault we were so oblivious.” Adrien turned to her, a look of absolute fondness and adoration in his eyes, causing her cheeks to flood with heat. “I mean dark hair, beautiful bluebell eyes? How could I have not ever seen it before?”

“Tons of girls have dark hair and blue eyes.” Marinette replied quickly, still flustered by Adrien’s description of her. She looked off to the side for a moment, hoping the darkness covered the dark blush across her cheeks before reassessing the situation, letting out a small laugh.

“What is it, M’lady?” He asked, causing her to laugh louder as she looked back up at her partner - amusement dancing in her eyes. “Don’t you see? We’ve trapped ourselves into this ‘love square’! You, Adrien and Cat Noir, were so in love with Ladybug, but I, Marinette and Ladybug, was so in love with Adrien.” Marinette tried to explain, letting out small chuckles between her words before the two of them were both crying from tears of pure joy and happiness as they collapsed in bouts of laughter.

When they had finally sobered, they were both leaning on each other in utter contentment, small laughs occasionally interrupting the comfortable silence every now and then.

“So..” Adrien broke in after a while, causing Marinette to look up. “You said you loved me. Do you? Still?” His words were nonchalant, but she could still hear the earnesty hidden underneath his tone. “Because I know you and Luka…”

“Luka was nice,” She paused, secretly enjoying the anxiety and jealously radiating off his figure. “But the only reason I tried to like him was because I saw how you were moving on with Kagami. And even though I couldn’t have you, I wanted you to be happy, and I knew that I had to try and move on too.”

“What about Cat Noir?” He interjected. Marinette simply rolled her eyes. “Cat Noir has always had a special place in my heart. And of course I like both sides of you.” She swallowed, looking up at him bashfully. “But I first fell in love with Adrien Agreste - the kind boy who gave me his umbrella in the rain.”

It was Adrien’s turn to blush, and Marinette couldn’t hide her laugh as his cheeks turned the same shade as her Ladybug suit. She then remembered Kagami and immediately sobered.

“What about Kagami?” She asked quietly, and he raised an eyebrow in confusion. “What about Kagami?” Adrien asked. Marinette looked down, fiddling with her thumbs. “It’s just..I thought you liked her, that’s all. I mean, she’s beautiful, good at fencing, and comes from a high-ranking family. I guess I just assumed-”

 A finger was suddenly at her lips, and she found herself unable to continue rambling on. She had never seen this side of Adrien before - the Cat Noir side of him he often kept hidden underneath his mask. It was...nice.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You are the most amazing, talented, kind and generous person I’ve ever known. Don’t forget that.” He said with a smile before removing his hand from her lips. “And Kagami is a good friend, but the only reason I tried to like her was because I thought Ladybug was moving on, and that she’d never accept my feelings for her - especially with all this talk about that boy of hers.” He teased, wearing a cocky grin.

Marinette let out a watery laugh. “It really was a Love Square.” She said in a whisper. Their faces were closer now.

Too close.

Adrien chuckled, caressing the side of her face with a gentle touch. “And it’s been solved.”

And then his lips were on hers, and she couldn’t think of anything else at all.