Under The Mask 🎭 (a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

-4- Curiosity Killed The Cat

Marinette checks the time on her phone. 9:45 PM. "What do you think Cat Noir wants to tell me, Tikki?"

"Who knows, Marinette?" Tikki sits on top her computer. "What was with that kiss?"

"With Adrien?" Marinette questions. She grins. "That was for a short movie we're making. Nino's helping me with the special effects and then he's going to send me a copy."

"No. I meant with Cat Noir."

Her eyes widen. "What? I didn't kiss Cat Noir." Tikki gives her a look.  "Oh. Okay, on the cheek! Why is that such a big deal?"

"You know Cat Noir is in love with Ladybug, Marinette." Tikki yawns. "You shouldn't lead him on like that."

"You're right. But I didn't mean to. It just sort of slipped out." Marinette hugs her legs to her chest. "Should I feel bad?"

Tikki shakes her head no. "No, Marinette. As long as you don't play with his feelings. You know how sensitive Cat Noir is."

Marinette things back to the time Cat Noir came to visit her on her balcony. She saw a different side of him she never saw before. It was sweet. She smiles at the memory. "I don't want to hurt Cat Noir. My heart belongs to someone else."

***

Adrien's fixing his hair in the mirror as Plagg flies in front of his face. "Getting ready for your date, Adrien?"

"Stop teasing me, Plagg." He smiles. "I just want to look good for Ladybug."

"Why? She hasn't noticed it before, why would she now?" Plagg eats a piece of cheese. "If you wanted to do something good, you would bring her cheese!"

He scrunches his nose in disgust. "Smelly old cheese will not make Ladybug fall in love with me."

"Whatever you say..." Plagg burps and Adrien rolls his eyes. "Why did you want to meet up with Ladybug so late?"

"I'm going to tell Ladybug I love her."

Plagg's eyes widen, then he starts to smirk. If only his owner wasn't so blind. "Oh, really? What about Marinette, though?"

Adrien turns around, confused. "What do you mean? What about Marinette?"

"That kiss on the Eiffel Tower looked a little more than friendly," Plagg teases. "For a moment I thought you were in love with Marinette."

"No." Adrien shakes his head. "She's just a..."

With Plagg's words in his head, he was confused. Kissing Marinette confused him. He couldn't stop thinking about her and her strawberry-flavored gloss. Part of him wanted to kiss her again. He shakes those thoughts away. He couldn't be thinking about Marinette before going to tell Ladybug he loves her. "Plagg, claws out!"

***

Ladybug lands on the Eiffel Tower. Where she had just been a few hours earlier and kissed Adrien. She blushes to herself. "Even in the moonlight, you look beautiful, Milady. As always." Cat Noir jumps down in front of her. He holds his hand out. She's hesitant to grab it. "Don't you trust me?"

"With my life, Cat Noir." Ladybug grabs his hand and he jumps. They sit on the ledge and face each other. "So... what did you want to talk about so late at night?"

"First, for Milady." Cat Noir hands her a red rose.

Ladybug smells it. "Cat—"

"Just let me speak. Please?" She nods and he grabs her hand. "I have to confess something." Ladybug knew what was coming and could hear Tikki's words. You shouldn't lead him on like that. "I am crazy about you, Ladybug." It's weird hearing him call her something other than the nicknames he gave her. "Ever since we met, when we literally fell, I never stopped thinking about you. I love fighting crime with you and defeating bad guys. It's the only thing I look forward to, sadly. My life, my civilian life, isn't so great. But when I'm with you, those are the greatest moments in my life."

Ladybug starts to tear up. It's sweet, what he's saying, but she loves Adrien. And Cat Noir wasn't Adrien.

"I know you always say it's too dangerous for us to know each other's secret identities, but I don't care about that, Milady." Cat Noir kisses the back of her hand.  "I want you and only you. I don't care about Hawk Moth or the supervillains he creates. I'd protect you with my life. You know that."

Hiding her tears, Ladybug pulls her hand free and turns away. "Cat Noir, I'm in love with someone else. You know that."

"But that kiss earlier." Cat Noir frowns. There had to be something there, right? 'That didn't mean anything to you? Because it meant everything to me."

A tear sneaks down her cheek. She really didn't want to hurt him. "Cat Noir, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kissed you earlier. But you have to remember. I—"

"Yeah, yeah. You're in love with someone else." His shoulders fall. "I know I can't compete with him." He smiles at Ladybug. "He must be pretty special if he won your heart."

"If only I had the guts to tell him," Ladybug whispers, rubbing under her eyes.

Cat Noir's ears perk up. "Wait, this guy doesn't know you're in love with him?" She shakes her head. "I can help with that."

Ladybug laughs. "Oh, right. Because I can trust you enough to not go and track down the guy."

"Only to see if he's good enough for you." Cat Noir leans in as Ladybug faces him. She doesn't push him away. "Well, if we can't be together, can I at least know who you are?"

"No, Cat!" Ladybug shakes her head. She stands up, angry. "I told you already, as long as Hawk Moth is still around, it's too dangerous!"

Cat Noir stands up. "And I told you already that I would protect you!" He grabs both her hands. "It sucks not knowing who you really are. We've gotten so close over this past year and I just want to know who you are."

Crying, Ladybug whispers, "I'm sorry, Cat Noir." She lets go and walks behind him. "I don't think we can ever know who we really are. It would change everything." She grabs her yo-yo, throwing it and tying it around a pipe on a different building. "What you said, it was really sweet. And I do cherish you as a partner, Cat Noir. No one could replace you." She jumps off.

"Milady!" Cat Noir shakes his head. No. He's tired of secrets. Without a second thought, he leaps off the building and follows her. He had to know who Ladybug is. It's killing him. He keeps a safe distance as he chases after Ladybug, who would kill him if she found out what he was doing.

Ladybug jumps off the last building before landing on a balcony. Marinette's balcony.

Cat Noir ducks and watches from a distance. "Why is Ladybug at Marinette's house?"

"Tikki, spots off."

Cat Noir's eyes widen. "Ladybug is... Marinette?!"