Work Text:
Playing nice with Lila was suffocating.
For probably the tenth time that day, Marinette questioned her decision of taking the high road. Exposing Lila clearly wouldn't do any good (not that she was scared of getting her akumatized, Marinette would gladly have an excuse to pack some extra punches), seeing as everyone was so enamored with her. Rose and Mylène would certainly feel betrayed, possibly akumatized, Alya and Alix would surely want to physically hurt her, and that was only if the actual exposing worked! At the moment, Lila had the class so enraptured with her tales that she could quite possibly say she knew Abraham Lincoln and no one would question it.
Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration. No, the class didn't believe Marinette when she said that Lila was lying, but they also didn't believe Lila when she said that Marinette had pushed her down the stairs or stolen her necklace or copied her homework without permission. The students of the 'akuma class' were incredibly loyal, which did protect Marinette, but also, unfortunately, spread to Lila.
Marinette didn't blame Adrien. He was used to tabloids and rumors, probably grew up thinking that ignoring a problem would make it go away. Of course, being the only one to talk to about Lila's crazy tales, she had been able to grow their friendship, even being able to speak in complete sentences! (Though, that also had to do with a certain cat superhero showing up on her balcony and slowly making his way in her heart...)
Speaking of...
"... and he took me to the top of the Eiffel Tower! It was so sweet, he had set up a whole picnic with the best pastries in town from the other side of the neighborhood..."
And that was how life went. Lila telling false stories that captured the attention of her dear classmates, subtly making jabs at Marinette (not that anyone noticed).
However, this was different. Was she talking about... a boyfriend? Marinette could have sworn that Lila had her eyes on Adrien, though he had been more spoken out against her recently...
"Of course, you can't tell anyone! Chat just wants to make sure that I'm safe..."
Wait, Chat?
As in Chat Noir?
Oh, hell no.
"That's so sweet!" Rose squealed and Alya nodded. "It's so amazing that Ladybug got you two together! Do you think you could get me an interview?"
So, this was the newest thing. Marinette gritted her teeth and clutched her pen tighter, urging herself to focus on her physics homework. Did Lila just somehow happen to know about her growing feelings for him and that's why she decided to say it? She knew that Lila definitely did not like either of the Paris superheroes, but maybe the anger only lasted for Ladybug?
"I'm sure he'd love to, but he's very busy with his civilian life, not that I know his identity of course," she said the last part too quickly for Marinette's liking, and by the way that Alya's eyes widened, she could guess that Lila implied that she did.
Not that it's true, obviously. Chat Noir may not have had as much romantic feelings towards Ladybug anymore (something that Marinette didn't really know what to think about), but he still knew the consequences of a civilian, or anyone, knowing their identities.
She glanced around the classroom, noticing that Adrien was also similarly furious, nearly shaking in anger. He must know the consequences of revealing identities since he was Aspik. And she vaguely remembered him being a Ladynoir shipper...
"Hey girl, are we still having that sleepover tomorrow?" Alya's voice snapped Marinette out of her thoughts and she looked up to see the rest of the girl group looking expectantly at her.
"W-what sleepover? Oh! That's tomorrow?!" Gosh, she really was out of it. Alya and Alix chuckled, but Marinette quickly rebounded. "Of course! I sort of forgot, but I'll make sure to tell Maman later."
She was about to return to her sketch, adding a note about the sleepover in the margins, when the voice that haunted her nightmares spoke up.
"Th-there's a s-sleepover?" Lila's voice was wobbly, gaining the attention of the girls surrounding her. "I know we don't get along that well, Marinette, but I didn't think you would exclude me!" She let out a sob as Mylène rubbed her back.
"There, there, I don't think Marinette did it on purpose!" A flash of anger in Lila's eyes. "Of course," Alya added comfortingly, "You saw her, she forgot about the sleepover as a whole! Lila can come, right?"
Marinette frantically looked at the group, who looked excited, Lila, who sent a small victorious smirk towards her, and lastly at Adrien, who seemed even more angry than before from the way he was clutching the table.
"Of course."
Marinette checked, double-checked, and even triple-checked her room, making sure all things that could possibly be destroyed, stolen, or used as blackmail were hidden away (that included fabrics, sketchbooks, old pictures of Adrien...). She wished she could have come up with an excuse to make sure that Lila wouldn't come to the sleepover, but she would just play the dramatics and turn on the waterworks. Besides, Marinette already had so many things to worry about; she couldn't add people being suspicious of her to the list.
Alya arrived first (of course), followed by Mylène and Lila, who were still on the topic of Chat Noir (really, how did no one notice she only talked about herself?). Juleka and Rose came just on time and Alix nearly crashed into the door 20 minutes late, saying that she had underestimated the time it took to skate around the Louvre (another bet with Kim).
Finally, they were all in Marinette's room chatting (she definitely noticed the brief frustration on Lila's face after finding nothing). For once, the conversation was not about Lila, something that Marinette was incredibly grateful for, and instead about a compilation that Alya had made about Ladybug's Top 10 'best moments' (Marinette thought it was more like the top 10 times she had nearly died and grimaced at nearly all of them).
It was past ten, and Mylène yawned first. Alix immediately spoke up. "We can't fall asleep yet! Game time."
The others perked up, looking at the pink-haired girl for suggestions. She smirked. "Truth or Dare, a classic."
Rose quickly said 'no' at the same time that Alya said 'yes' excitedly.
"The last time it ended up with Alix nearly spraining her ankle!"
"Well, it was her fault for always choosing dare -"
"I'll keep on choosing dare anyway -"
"She could have hurt herself!"
"Come on, it's not a sleepover without Truth or Dare!"
Rose reluctantly agreed with Juleka promising that they would not (she sent a pointed look at Alix) try to injure themselves. Lila had stayed quiet, mostly because Marinette could see her still searching the walls.
It started easy. Alya prank-called Nino, Mylène attempted a back flip (it didn't work, but she nearly did a back-walkover, which Alix praised) Rose admitted that she had a crush on Prince Ali before dating Juleka, Juleka and Rose switched outfits (which looked really strange seeing as they were always dressed like opposites), and Alix was now sitting in the corner attempting to sew a button on one of Marinette's jackets (she definitely was disappointed with the dare, but was now determined to prove that she could sew).
"Marinette, truth or dare?" Alix asked with a yelp as she poked her finger with the needle. Marinette giggled and tossed her a thimble, which she gratefully accepted. On one hand, truth could give Lila something to work with, but the dare was coming from Alix, which was a huge risk...
"Dare."
"Confess to Adrien."
She should have seen it coming. Really, Marinette had never informed the others that her crush was drifting away, so it made sense, but everyone else was now bubbling with excitement (even Lila, who probably thought that rejection would be the best thing ever). She had just gotten to be real friends with Adrien, though! Finally been able to speak in complete sentences and joke with him without turning into a stuttering mess.
"Yes, you can do it, girl!"
"This is the moment!"
"There's no way he'd say no!"
"Actually, guys..." Marinette interrupted their excited chatter quietly, "I don't think I have feelings for Adrien anymore."
Stunned silence.
"...what?"
Marinette noticed Lila subtly smirk with satisfaction. Did she think this was some sort of victory? "I don't have a crush on anymore. We're friends, I've accepted that's all we'll ever be, and I'm happy with it. I like someone else now." God, why did she add that last part?? Especially since they thought that Chat was Lila's boyfriend. Stupid, stupid, stupid...
The other girls stayed quiet for another moment before erupting in cheers, saying they were supportive, proud of her, glad they were friends now, asking who the other guy was.
"So, can I dare you to confess to whoever the new guy is?" Alix questioned, looking up from her button that was still not sewn into the jacket.
"No!" Marinette said quickly, "Technically, I don't really have his contact information..." This was getting into dangerous territory... "He just stops by the bakery quite often." There, now they would just think that it was someone random customer, not a literal superhero, and leave her alone about it.
Deflecting the questions, Marinette turned towards Lila, about to ask her since she was the only one who hadn't done anything, when there was a quiet tapping noise from her balcony.
No.
It couldn't be.
Please no.
"Lila, truth or dare?" she asked loudly, hoping maybe they'd believe it was just a pigeon.
"Truth."
Tap, tap, tap.
"Um..."
Tap, tap, tap.
"Do you hear something?"
Tap, tap, tap.
"Who is your favorite superhero? Y'know, since you're Ladybug's best friend and dating Chat Noir."
Lila looked satisfied, about to answer, when the trapdoor opened.
This was too good to be true.
"Who's dating me, Purr-incess?"
Alix jumped. Rose and Juleka gasped. Mylène's eyes widened. Alya shrieked. Lila paled in fear, sending an accusing glare at Marinette, only to find that she looked just as shocked as Lila.
The feline superhero jumped through the trap door, sitting on the side of Marinette's chaise.
"Chat Noir!" Alya finally let out, looking between Marinette, Chat, and Lila. "What are you doing here?!"
"To visit my princess, of course -"
"Chat," Marinette groaned, burying her head in her pillow to make sure he didn't see her blush.
"- Though I didn't realize she had company." He winked, making himself comfortable.
Rose finally asked the question that the others were wondering.
"If you're dating Lila, why are you visiting Marinette?"
Lila was looking back and forth between everyone, as Chat did a great display of confusion.
"I'm not dating anyone, and especially not as a superhero! Who are you talking about?"
Alya's face dawned with understanding, quickly turning to anger as she glared at the liar. "Y-you lied! About everything!"
Lila really didn't know how to get out of this. "N-no, I-I didn't!" she fake-sobbed, "M-marinette, w-why would you s-set me up like this? Y-you -"
"Oh, shut up," Alix growled, throwing the button across the room, apparently giving up on the dare (though she would vehemently deny this later). "Marinette was right the whole time!"
"How could you lie, Lila?"
"We trusted you!"
"Why would you do this?"
Marinette noticed Chat Noir's small smirk. As everyone gathered together against Lila, she moved over closer to him.
She whispered, "Why did you come today? You don't have patrol."
Chat raised an eyebrow. "Do I need an excuse to visit my princess?" Marinette crossed her arms. Chat sighed. "She deserved it," he said simply, "As if I would date someone like her. I have my eye on someone else."
Marinette's smile faltered. Sure, she had been rejected by him during the whole Were-dad incident, but at the time, she hadn't been serious. God, she had hoped that he would reject her! But now... now was different.
Chat Noir was studying her, noticing how her form slumped for a moment. Did this mean...? He knew that Marinette had had feelings for him once upon a time, but that had been ages ago! Over the year that had passed, his love his lady didn't lessen, only was overshadowed by feelings for his princess.
They were jerked out of their small trance as Lila dropped her facade, now visibly glaring at everyone, and most specifically Marinette.
"You! You'll pay for this! You may have gotten out of my threat now -"
"YOU THREATENED MARINETTE?!" surprisingly, the voices came from both Alya and Chat Noir. Marinette had to hold the superhero back while the other girls combined to stop Alix and Alya from attacking the other girl, who promptly ran out of the room.
She had a feeling that was the last she would see of Lila Rossi.
The events of the evening eventually calmed down, but now Marinette was the center of attention, being the one who actually had a connection to a superhero.
"So you just show up on Marinette's balcony every evening?" Alya questioned, finally done with asking for an interview (Chat denied, knowing that Ladybug wouldn't like it, and Marinette agreed).
"Not every evening, just after patrols."
"You had patrols tonight?"
"Tonight was an exception. Anyway, weren't you playing something? Truth or Dare?"
"Ooh yes!" Rose squealed and the others looked at her confusedly. Did Juleka's clothes change her opinion on the 'dangerous' game? "What? I can change my mind. And now we have a superhero playing with us!"
Alix groaned. "I give up! I can't sew!"
Marinette smirked, "I know you can't, that's why I suggested the dare. Don't worry, we won't tell anyone." Alix gave her a look that trusted her, though if anyone did bring it up, they would surely be attacked.
And then the game began again. Chat Noir admitted to having a crush on someone else, and Alya seemed to catch the hidden glances the two shot each other.
'I don't have feelings for Adrien anymore...'
'No contact information...'
'He comes by the bakery sometimes...'
Of course! Chat Noir was the secret crush! Now, it was obvious that Chat returned the feelings, and even after his past comment of not dating a civilian, Alya was now completely on board with project Marichat.
After agreeing to babysit Manon for Marinette the next time, she said that the next dare needed the help of the other girls, and brought them into the bathroom.
Alix was first to speak, surprisingly.
"So we all agree that Marinette and Chat clearly have feelings for each other, right?"
Alya immediately nodded, and the others agreed. "Right, so we need to get Marinette to confess her crush, then Chat will confess his, then we'll dare each other to kiss and say we need to get some snacks!"
"But what if Chat doesn't confess immediately after because he's a superhero?"
"Well, obviously, that was because he just didn't want to date Lila. I mean, nobody would."
"But what if Marinette gets put in danger?"
"We'd be the only ones to know of it!"
"...Fine."
They returned to the bedroom where Marinette was showing Chat something in her notebook, even though the boy wasn't looking at it, rather the girl who was showing it.
He was totally in love.
Alya cleared her throat.
"Alright, Marinette, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
"Who's the guy you've got a crush on? You know, the one whose contact information you don't have, who stops by the bakery..." Alya winked and Marinette blushed. However, the plan was clearly working as Chat quickly shot a glance at Marinette, almost looking hopeful.
"Dare!"
"That's against the rules," stated Alix, "but we'll let it slide. Confess to your crush."
"I told you I don't have his contact information!"
"Oh, we don't think you need a phone number anymore..."
Marinette glared at them, realizing their plan. "I'm going to kill you."
"You need to complete the dare!"
"Alix couldn't sew the button!"
"I'LL SEW THE DAMN BUTTON IF YOU CONFESS!"
"BUT I CAN'T CONFESS!"
"YOU OBVIOUSLY CAN!"
"FINE! CHATNOIRITHINKI'MINLOVEWITHYOUBUTYOUALREADYREJECTEDMELASTYEARSOIT'SALRIGHT!"
Marinette had screamed it in Chat Noir's face (much like the last confession, honestly), and the girls stared at him expectantly.
"You...you're..."
Marinette was still on a rampage. "Yes, I am! And it infuriates me! Much more than when I had a crush on Adrien -"
"You had a crush on Adrien?" If anything, Chat Noir looked even more shocked than when she had confessed to him.
"Yes! But that's not the point because now that you know it'll be awkward and you won't visit me after your patrols anymore and -"
Chat Noir stopped Marinette from ranting as he placed his hands on her shoulders.
Alya unconsciously held out her phone. Alix had grabbed her button again but didn't try to do anything with it. Rose, Juleka, and Mylène all held their breaths.
"I'm in love with you too," he said softly, so that the others could just barely hear it.
Marinette's breath hitched. "W-wha-"
"I'm in love with you too," he said it firmer, "I didn't realize how amazing you were last time, and there's a reason I kept visiting after Evillustrator. I thought Ladybug was the only one for me until I realized that I had fallen even more for you without knowing."
Marinette squeaked. He was leaning in.
Closer and closer.
She was leaning in as well.
And then their lips met, forgetting about the others in the room that were watching with stunned awe because it was just as they had imagined. Sure, Marinette had kissed him before, only once in her memory, but it was different, it was under different circumstances, and it was as Ladybug. Now, he was in love with her and just her and she couldn't be happier.
Chat felt the same. The news that Marinette used to have a crush on Adrien was shocking, especially since he had always thought that the bluenette hated him. He had stayed for the first time because the side that Marinette showed Chat was different than how she acted around Adrien, much more confident and witty. He had meant what he said, not even knowing that he had fallen until it was too late, until he was completely and utterly in love.
The kiss was interrupted far too soon by a squeal from Rose and an exclamation of, "Oh, it's so romantic!" before being promptly hushed by the others.
The couple looked at the others blushing, but Chat Noir's fond smile showed he didn't regret anything, and Marinette very obviously felt the same way.
Lila changed schools and Alya ranted about the sleepover (excluding the fact that Chat and Marinette kissed) to the whole class, who were disgusted by her behavior.
Marinette gave Alix sewing lessons, though she promptly quit as soon as she learned how to do a basic button, now continuously asking to teach Marinette how to skate as 'payback'.
Alya kept the Marichat kiss as her wallpaper for two weeks until Marinette stole her phone (which was getting easier the more she did it) and changed it.
Adrien occasionally talked of a secret girlfriend, but never discussed it in detail (making most of the class extremely suspicious).
The reveal happened a few months later after Chat and Marinette had been happily dating in secret, and they both laughed over the fact that they had fallen for each other twice.