A little under an hour later, Chat was twisting open the lock to her skylight as he waited for Marinette to finish saying goodnight to her parents. Everything had gone fine at the hospital, she'd just aggravated the trauma somewhat. The doctors had been surprised that she was back so soon, but she convinced them she was just anxious to know she was staring to heal. Thankfully, there weren't too many questions asked, and no extra lasting damage had been caused. They'd been in and out quickly, then Chat had dropped her off at her front door with a promise to see her soon.

He pressed an ear to her trapdoor and listened. Marinette was now trying to persuade her parents to let her sleep upstairs, insisting that she could manage the staircase. They finally agreed, with the stipulation that she slept on her chaise instead of tackling the ladder up to her bed. She consented, and he heard her kissing her parents goodnight, then brushing her teeth.

It was an agonisingly long time before he heard the clicking of her crutches on the stairs. A minute later, the trapdoor opened and she looked up at him with a grin on her face.

"Hey." She whispered, face to face with him. A second later, he seized her under the arms and lifted her up, a squeak of surprise falling from her lips. She giggled as Chat set her down on her chaise, her rucksack full of pillows and blankets falling from her shoulders. Her crutches were stacked on the floor, and the silence of the night was punctuated by their quiet breaths as he gazed at her, his hands on her cheeks.

"Hey." He murmured back after a while, his quiet breath fanning her face. She smiled even more widely, and the hollows of her cheekbones were thrown into relief. The her thin face was more noticeable in her slightly lighter bedroom than it had been in the alleyway. Suddenly, Chat remembered how weak and frail she had felt in his arms as they embraced in the alley, and he straightened abruptly. Frowning, he looked around her room, noting the piles of homework, designs and notes on her desk.

He looked back at the girl on the chaise, and saw the bags of darkness under her eyes, and the exhaustion she was trying to hide from him.

Marinette noticed the change in atmosphere and reached out for him.

"Chat? What's wrong?"

He took a while to look her in the eye, and a deeper frown graced his features when he did.

"Nearly two months. For nearly two months you worked yourself to death for Chloe Bourgeois." He muttered, anger making bile rise in the back of his throat.

Marinette looked down, and dropped her hands.

"Yeah?"

Chat paced across her bedroom, anxiously.

"Why didn't you say anything, Marinette?" He asked agitatedly, trying to keep himself quiet so her parents wouldn't hear. "I could have done something to help you. I could have prevented your injury."

"I… I couldn't tell you who it was." She replied quietly. He stopped pacing and looked at her. "I knew you'd go after Chloe, and she'd tell you who I was. Even if you managed to stop her from telling anyone else, you'd still know."

"Why is that such a bad thing?" Chat questioned, coming closer. "Do you not trust me?"

"That's part of the reason." She admitted, and Chat jerked backwards. She looked up to see the pain and hurt on his face.

"What? Marinette, I'd never- how, how could you think- I can't believe…"

Panic flashed through her as she realised what she'd said. Marinette struggled to push herself up, to reach out to him.

"No, no- Chat, that's not what I meant, I swear! Chat, look at me, please!" His gaze was unfocused as the hurt rocked through him. She hobbled over to him, and cupped his cheeks with her hands. After a moment, he looked at her, then realised she was standing without her crutches.

"For god's sake, Marinette!" He grabbed her exasperatedly and flew her back to the chaise, forcing her to sit down. She pulled him down next to her, and made him make eye contact with her.

"That came out wrong." She said, trying to get the pain off Chat's face. "I meant… not that. I... well I guess I didn't trust myself."

Chat frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I- I guess I didn't trust myself to be good enough for you." Marinette looked down at their interlocked hands. "I wasn't convinced that… that you loved me enough to still love me once you found out who I was."

Chat's intake of breath was barely audible, and she could feel his eyes on her. Suddenly, his hand was under her chin and she was forced to look up at him. His face was closer than she'd expected, and she could see her own reflection in the brightness of his eyes.

He held the position for a moment, then leaned forwards to crush her lips with his. This kiss was harder than the others, more intense. His hands wound in her hair, entrapping her as he leaned her backwards slightly. Her hands rested on his chest as they kissed, a gasp escaping her lips at the sudden passion.

His mouth pressed hers open, and she let out a little squeak. He moved against her and she responded happily, her nervousness and fear melting away in his embrace. She fisted her hands against him torso, and he twisted his head to angle himself better against her mouth. His stomach coiled with satisfaction and happiness, and he could feel her relax, letting go of her insecurities.

Chat kept the kiss going for several minutes, lingering softly against her lips one last time as he finally pulled away. Her eyes were closed and she seemed out of breath. He swallowed and held her face with one hand, keeping the other twisted in her hair. He rested his forehead against hers.

"Does that convince you?" He breathed, waiting for his heart to slow down.

He felt her smile and saw her open her eyes. She gazed back at him.

"Maybe." She whispered back.

"Well maybe I should kiss you again, just to make sure?" He grinned.

"That sounds like a good idea." She nodded, and their lips met again.

oOo

The moon was high in the sky as the two superheroes lay next to each other on Marinette's chaise, their hands entangled between them. The sofa was wide enough that they could lie side by side, but Mari's head rested on Chat's chest.

They weren't talking, but it wasn't awkward. It was a comfortable, satisfied silence. They were near each other and that was enough.

Chat had been thinking hard, though. About a lot of stuff.

Was he ready for Ladybug to know his identity? The reason he'd always wanted to know hers was because he just wanted to be able to love all sides of her. It sounded silly, but he'd never really let himself consider whether or not he was ready to reveal himself. He loved Adrien and Chat, but could Marinette? He knew she had a crush on Adrien, but how would that change when she found out he was also Chat? Would she be upset at how much time they could have been together, but weren't? Could she love them both as one?

He was such a different person when he put on the suit. Swagger, overt confidence and outrageous flirts were what made Chat Chat, and he knew Marinette loved Adrien because he didn't seem like the kind of person who'd have those qualities. Adrien was quieter, calmer and solemn. He wasn't rash or impulsive, like Chat was. He was thoughtful, kind and respectful. Chat was all those things, but they weren't so noticeable next to all his strutting and self-satisfaction. He suddenly realised maybe he wasn't ready to reveal himself; he needed to find out how Marinette truly felt about him- both sides of him.

He also needed to go home and think.

"Mari?" He murmured.

"Mmm?" She mumbled back sleepily. He gently lifted her off him and rested her down on the chaise. She woke up somewhat as he did so, her eyes fluttering open. "Are you leaving?"

"I think it's for the best. You need to sleep, and I need to give my kwami a rest. I'll see you tomorrow though, I promise."

"M'kay." She sighed. "I think I'll persuade my parents to let me take the day off school tomorrow. I don't need to worry about Chloe blowing up if she doesn't get her homework anymore, after all. A day's rest will do me good. Plus, I think I'm going to need to work up some courage in order to actually face Chloe…"

Chat pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You're the heroine of Paris, Mari. You can face anything. Plus now she knows I know everything, I don't think she's going to try anything. I can be pretty intimidating if I need to. But I think it's a good idea for you to rest. I'll swing by after school, okay?"

She nodded, and pulled him down so she could place a chaste kiss to his mouth. She pulled back a moment later, but kept her hand against the back of his head to keep him there. She looked like she was trying to tell him something, so he waited. He buried himself in memorising her eyes, her cheeks, her lips and how sweet her breath felt on his face.

"Chat, I... I want you to know... please don't feel like you have to reveal yourself to me because you know my identity, okay?"

Chat smiled. She was making this very easy on him.

"I won't, don't worry. To be honest, I don't think I'm ready to. I have a lot to think about before I do, anyway."

She smirked up at him.

"Awww, are you nervous?" She teased.

"Kinda." He chuckled. "Civilian me is much different from superhero me."

"I'm sure I won't be disappointed." Marinette watched him leap deftly up onto her bed. He gave her his two-fingered salute, and prepared to open her sky-light when a thought occurred to her. She sat up abruptly. "Chat?"

He paused. "Yes, my Lady?"

"I realised… I never told you…" She hesitated, then took a deep breath. She could see the concern in his face, and said the next words all in a rush. "You know, I love you too, right? And I'll love whoever you turn out to be."

A beaming, wide smile spread across his face, and she could see it even through the darkness of her bedroom. He was about to go to her, when his Miraculous beeped, indicating that Plagg was finally getting tired after his hours of transformation.

"That's good to know, princess." He said softly. He blew her a kiss, then pounced up onto her roof, closing the door quietly.

Marinette leaned back onto her chaise, a smile creeping over her face. She loved him, of course she did. But it wasn't until tonight that she'd realised how much- and she knew she couldn't let him leave without telling him.

That night, two teenagers went to sleep with satisfied smiles on their faces. Knowing their loved ones loved them back, they felt they could face anything. Ladybug loved Chat, Chat loved all of Ladybug. It was a good night.