Pack

After Maligne’s sudden and rather rude departure, Ladybug and Chat Noir, who was also Adrien (unless Chat Noir made a habit of hugging Adrien a lot, in which case that damn cat would have some explaining to do), stood all alone on top of one of the most romantic spots in the world.

Frustratingly, Ladybug didn’t know what to say. Ladybug was the methodical, quippy side of the Marinette-Ladybug Dichotomy, not the touchy-feely, conversational Marinette. Ladybug didn’t do feelings. How was she supposed to handle this?

Luckily for her, Chat Noir broke the silence first. “H-how did you know?” he stuttered, eyes wide and face pale.

“I could smell you, chaton,” she replied with a groan. She let herself fall into a sitting position, legs dangling precariously over the side of the tower, and patted the spot next to her with a gloved hand. “Sit down. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

Almost robotically, he complied, settling beside her like he had so many times before. The familiarity of the situation lent Ladybug the slightest bit of comfort, which she was grateful for. “God, this is just a big joke, isn’t it?” she sighed, tipping her head back to look at the stars. “Of course it’s you. God, can you believe how stupid we’ve been? Our whole lives could have been so much easier if we’d known.”

Chat fidgeted next to her, and she finally noticed how visibly uncomfortable he was. “So, we’re just… doing this? Now? After all these years, we’re revealing ourselves?”

She looked at him through her peripheral vision, a little confused. “I mean, Master Fu okayed it, and it’d be kinda hard to hide it now.”

“What do you mean?”

Ladybug finally turned to fully face him, eyes wide and mouth hanging slightly open. “Are you serious? Chat, it’s me. I was literally at your house a few hours ago!”

She could see the gears turning in his head as he processed the information. Then, his eyes went wide, his face pink, his mouth open. “Marinette?”

“You seriously couldn’t tell?” she asked, incredulous.

“My sense of smell is still new! I can’t differentiate between your smell and the bakery’s smell!” Embarrassed, he buried his face in his hands as if to hide his flush, even though Ladybug could see the red tips of his human ears under his mane of gold hair. “God, how didn’t I see it?”

“I didn’t realize it either, chaton. Don’t beat yourself up too much.”

“You don’t get it!” he wailed, lifting his face from his hands to glare at the sky, as if it was the stars’ fault he couldn’t recognize Ladybug outside of costume. “I loved Ladybug for years, and when I finally got over her, I started liking Marinette, and I still couldn’t recognize you. I’m such an idiot!” Then, something akin to realization dawned in his eyes, and his head bowed and his cat ears flattened. “Are you… upset? That Adrien is Chat Noir?”

Ladybug had to resist the urge to touch his head, like she’d gotten into the habit of doing to comfort him in their years of partnership. She didn’t know how much the suits affected their scents, and if his father or brother were to smell her on him the next morning, she was sure there would be hell to pay. “Never, chaton. I’d never be upset. Why would you think that?”

“I mean,” he started, looking seemingly anywhere but her face, “you never seemed interested in Chat Noir the way you are in Adrien. I mean, if you didn’t know who Chat Noir was, and he suddenly went into heat, would you have offered to mate him like you did with Adrien?”

Ladybug flushed at the memory of what her hormone-addled mind said, but she remained firm. “No, Chat, I wouldn’t. And do you want to know why?” When he reluctantly nodded, she continued, “Because it would have jeopardized our identities. Our kwamis always told us we had to keep our identities secret, right? We couldn’t exactly be mates if we couldn’t tell each other our names.”

Chat didn’t look very convinced.

Frustrated, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between her thumb and index finger. “Do you want to know a secret, chaton? I once told my kwami I would have given Chat Noir a chance if Adrien weren’t in the picture.”

Disbelief marred his features.

This boy, she thought. “Look, Chat, our identities being secret was never about me not wanting to know who you were. If I wasn’t clear on that, that’s on me. I didn’t want to know in case it put our families in danger. Do you know how many times I’ve seen a dumb cat meme and thought, ‘Hey, I bet Chat would think this was funny,’ but I couldn’t send it to you? You and Alya, you’ve always been my best friends, and a domino mask isn’t going to change that, you silly cat, so stop pouting.”

He finally, finally met her eyes with his own. “You mean that?”

“Of course I do.”

He slumped over in relief, like a puppet with cut strings. “I’m sorry. I knew that. I just—”

“Adrien.”

The use of his civilian name had his spine ramrod straight in less than a second. “Yes?”

Making sure to speak slowly, so he wouldn’t be able to confuse her words for anything else, she said, “Never apologize for how you feel. If you ever feel anxious or insecure, I want you to talk to me about it.” Giving in, she placed one of her gloved hands over one of his fists resting on his knees, and she felt him relax almost immediately. “Now more than ever. If our relationship is going to work, it needs honesty and openness. I’m not perfect, so you need to communicate with me, and you have to let me communicate with you. Can we do that?”

Before Chat could say anything (though by the way his green eyes glittered, he was going to agree with her), a strange screech tore through the silent night. It was just a little unhuman, and it came from the direction Maligne had fled, so Ladybug pulled her yo-yo out and called her.

Maligne didn’t answer immediately. She’d had to call three times (unwilling to leave the tower in case it was a false alarm, since they’d heard not other signs of a struggle and saw no police lights) before she picked up, face flushed. “Yeah? What’s up? You two lovebirds done talking yet?”

“What was that scream?” Ladybug asked, trying to ignore the cute way Chat was peering at the small screen over her shoulder to get a good look at Maligne.

If possible, Maligne got even redder. “Just a… side effect of the Miraculous, I think? That’s what Trixx said.”

“What’d you do that’s so embarrassing?” Chat asked, addressing her for literally the first time. “I get random urges to knock stuff off shelves constantly, and I once saw Ladybug eat a flower covered in aphids.”

While Ladybug sputtered at his admission of one of her ladybug-esque habits, Maligne started twirling a lock of her hair. “I may have, uh… screamed at Nino.”

Ladybug arched an eyebrow. “Care to explain why?”

“You’re not my mother.”

While they bantered, Chat made a humming noise in the back of his throat. “So, do we know Maligne in real life?”

“Girl, you didn’t tell him?” Maligne demanded.

Ladybug groaned. “We barely got to talk about us before we heard your banshee impression. Chat, Maligne is Alya.”

Chat took a moment before barking out a laugh. “Of course she is. Who’s Master Fu going to pick next? Nino?”

Maligne, very much resembling a traffic light, looked like she was about to faint. “Literally anyone but him would be marvelous.”

“You know I’m going to look up why foxes scream when I get home tonight, right?” Ladybug asked.

“As long as I’m not around for you to tease when you do. Look, it’s getting early, and aside from me screaming, nothing’s out of place. Can we call it a night?”

“Before that, do you wanna see if Nino wants to hang out with me and Adrien tomorrow? I was originally thinking we could just hang out and play Mecha Strike, but I bet Adrien’s dying to stretch his legs, so maybe we could have a picnic at the park?” She addressed the last bit mostly to Chat, who nodded enthusiastically. “Picnic it is.”

“Sounds great,” Maligne sighed. “Yeah, I’ll text Nino when I get home, since I know he’ll be up. Who’s bringing the food?”

“I can pick up drinks on the way,” Chat offered.

“Maman and Papa would be happy to provide treats. Oh, Maligne, ask Nino if his mom could make lamb kabobs and hummus!”

Maligne tilted her head back. “Really?”

“Ugh, yes. Nino’s mom is one of the best cooks in the world, and since your mom will be busy, she probably won’t be able to make anything. Trust me, no one cooks lamb like Mme. Lahiffe.”

“Fine. I’ll tell him.” She faked a yawn. “Look, if you want me to text him before I fall asleep, you better let me go. See you tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.” She stuck her yo-yo back on her hip and turned to face Chat. “I better let you go, too.”

“But I didn’t even get to play tag with you,” he whined.

She laughed and risked a nose boop. “We can play tag with Alya and Nino tomorrow. You need all the rest you can get so you can play with us, okay? We’ll have all the fun you can imagine, I promise.”

“If you promise,” he teased.

“Oh, shut up, you stupid cat,” she said fondly. “Do you want to meet us at the park or do you want me to come pick you up?”

“I’ll talk to my father about it. He might want my bodyguard to drive me.”

“Alright. Good night, kitty.”

He made a show of bowing, and she was relieved to see him acting like Chat again. “I’ll see you in the morning, my lady.”

Marinette woke up the next morning to the incessant chiming of her phone.

It wasn’t her alarm; she didn’t have an alarm set for Sundays. Grumbling, she fumbled for her phone on her bedside table and pulled it to her face, wincing at the bright screen. Great. A group chat.

[Alya: welcome to the ultimate picnic group chat!!]

[Nino: alya its so early go badck to sleep]

[Alya: badck]

[Nino: i dont need your sass]

[Adrien: badck]

[Nino: i feel #betrayed i thought we were bros]

[Nino: neither of you get lamb kabobs or hummus]

[Nino: traitors dont get lamb kabobs or hummus]

Groaning, Marinette decided to get in on the fun.

[Marinette: i’m with nino. its so early. we get sundays so we can sleep in.]

[Marinette: picnics happen in the afternoon theres no rush just sleep]

[Alya: but im BORED]

[Nino: and were ur entertainment?]

[Alya: why else would i keep you idiots around?]

[Marinette: RUDE]

[Marinette: no pastries for you]

[Alya: SHIT NO]

[Alya: MARI]

[Alya: DARLING]

[Alya: APPLE OF MY EYE]

[Alya: SWEET POLKA-DOTTED SPRINCESS]

[Alya: I NEVER MEAN YOU]

[Adrien: sprincess]

[Nino: sprincess]

[Marinette: sprincess]

[Alya: I GET IT IM SORRY]

[Alya: DONT TAKE YOUR PARENTS SWEETS AWAY FROM ME]

[Marinette: then behave]

[Marinette: since we’re up]

[Marinette: nino, do you need anything to dip in the hummus?]

[Nino: if ur parents have any of their pita that would be amazing]

[Nino: mamas givin me a ton of peppers and carrots for it]

[Marinette: im sure they have some]

[Nino: sweet]

[Adrien: What kind of drinks does everyone want? My father says my bodyguard can take me by a grocery store to pick them up.]

Ah, that answered that question. Marinette would have to wait and meet him at the park.

[Alya: coke]

[Nino: excuse you??? pepsi]

[Marinette: *captain america civil war logo*]

[Marinette: i’m good with lemonade or water or something along those lines]

[Adrien: Got it! ;)]

[Alya: HEY]

[Alya: no flirting in the group chat]

[Adrien: How was that flirting?]

[Nino: dude winky faces are always flirting]

[Adrien: Maybe that winky face was for all of you.]

[Alya: wow i never imagined adrien agreste was such a slut]

[Adrien: Excuse you, I am a classy, one-woman kind of man.]

Well, she wasn’t going back to sleep now. Figuring hanging out in the chat much longer would be a waste of valuable prettying-up time, Marinette informed her friends she was going to hop in the shower and start getting ready for the picnic.

It was one of the most intense showers she’d ever taken. She washed and shaved every inch of her body, scrubbing so hard her skin turned red and started to burn a little. She was pretty sure she’d never been more clean in her life.

Once clean, she dried her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail and tied it with a pink ribbon. After a few minutes of deliberation, she pulled out a flowy high-low white tank top and a pair of high waisted pink shorts from the depths of her wardrobe and pulled them on. She took a selfie in the mirror and sent it to Alya in their private chat for approval, which she got in the form of several eggplant and water emojis. Satisfied, she fished a pair of cute sandals she could easily kick off to run around from her closet and slipped her feet into them. “How do I look, Tikki?” she asked, doing a spin for her kwami to scrutinize.

“Lovely as always, Marinette,” she answered.

“Should I expect you to sneak off with Adrien’s kwami during the picnic?”

If Tikki wasn’t already red, Marinette was sure she would have been blushing. “Yeah, I’ll probably spend time with Plagg, if that’s okay. We haven’t seen each other in a few decades, not since the last Ladybug and Black Cat.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Marinette peered at herself in the mirror a little more closely. “Makeup or no?”

“I’ve never understood humans’ insistence on painting their faces,” Tikki sighed. “Besides, if you’re going to run around in the park, the makeup could run, right? Leave it off, you look fine without it.”

“True,” Marinette hummed, leaning away from the mirror. “What would I do without you, Tikki?”

Before Tikki could answer, three quick knocks fell on the trapdoor leading down to the kitchen. Tikki instinctively ducked into Marinette’s purse as her mother’s head poked through the opening. “Marinette, if you want to take anything to this picnic of yours, you’d better get down to the kitchen and help us.”

“Yes, ma’am!” Marinette followed her mother down the ladder and into the kitchen. “By the way, do you and Papa have any pita left?”

Alya and Nino were already at the park when Marinette arrived, an actual wicker basket filled with pastries hooked on one arm and an old, worn blanket folded over the other. She didn’t see Nino’s face immediately, since he was facing Alya, but when he turned around to greet her, she felt the blood drain from her face.

His face was absolutely covered in bruises and cuts, and one of his eyes was swollen nearly shut. He looked like he’d been hit by a train, in all honesty, and Marinette was horrified thinking about who had done this to him. “Nino,” she exclaimed, discarding the basket and the blanket on the grass next to them, “what happened to you?!”

He laughed and scratched at the back of his head nervously. “I was hauling some recording equipment back to my place pretty late last night and some guy decided to jump me. That new fox hero saved me, though, so I’m not too beat up.”

“Maligne Rouge, right?” Alya asked, sounding surprisingly nonchalant. “What was she like?”

Oh my god, Marinette thought giddily, she isn’t…

“How so?” Nino questioned.

“You know, was she cool?”

She fucking is.

Marinette thought back to that day, years ago, when Adrien snuck up on her at her locker to ask her about Chat Noir. Now that she knew about his identity, that whole exchange made way more sense. He’d been fishing for compliments.

And now Alya’s doing it.

She watched with barely-contained mirth as Alya carefully examined Nino’s story of the night before. Marinette could almost see the gears working in her head as she processed all the information on her superhero self, and she knew she was taking mental notes to improve her standing with the citizens of Paris.

And possibly with Nino himself, not that Alya would ever admit it.

Rather than listening to Nino’s recollection, she spread the blanket over the grass and set the basket on one corner to prevent it from blowing away. They were in a nice place, just under one of the park’s larger trees so they were in the shade and away from the playground equipment so they wouldn’t get bothered by kids. When Nino’s voice cut off, Marinette called, “Hey, Nino, hand me your bag?” and, after he passed it to her, put it on the opposite corner of the blanket, further securing it.

Just as the three friends settled onto the blanket, a few sets of footsteps approach. Marinette’s nostrils flare as her lungs are filled with the scent of Adrien… and Félix. She feels her body turn without her permission to face the incoming party, seeings five faces rather than the one she expected. Adrien, Félix, Bridgette, Mme. Sancoeur, and the Gorilla are all approaching their blanket.

Marinette’s hope for a peaceful afternoon flies out the metaphorical window.