Day six! Gotta admit, this one-shot isn't tied quite as well to the prompt as the others are in the series, HOWEVER, I still really liked the result. I hope you all enjoy! -Colorado

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The night had always been comforting to Chat Noir. Maybe because he cared a bit too much about the "handsome hero in the night" image he sometimes portrayed. Maybe it was because the night gave him freedom that the day never really provided. Maybe because Paris was just more beautiful at night, the City of Lights truly living up to its name. Or perhaps the reason he enjoyed the nights so much was because of his partner. He got to see a different side of her at night. A side of her that was much more human than the Ladybug who went up against akumas. A side of her that was much more Marinette.

A goofy grin fell over Chat's face just thinking about it. This would be their first patrol since revealing their identities, since he learned the partner he was oh so in love with was also his amazing classmate. He always thought Ladybug had been the lucky one, but perhaps it was him who was lucky all along.

They had only figured out their identities yesterday out of pure luck. How was he supposed to know they would both choose to de-transform in the locker room? Marinette had, of course, freaked out about it, muttering something about Bunnyx coming. He wasn't quite sure what that was all about, but Bunnyx never showed up. 

Marinette seemed to be doing a bit better today, she at least was able to hold a conversation with him in class. Her stutter had slowly disappeared over the course of the day. While Adrien was of course grateful that they could hold a solid conversation now, he sort of missed the stutter. It was cute. Not that he could ever tell her that. She still had whoever the other boy was, and Adrien would never want to make her uncomfortable. So here he was, knowing that both girls he had loved were one and the same, and also knowing they would probably never love him back romantically.

But still... no one else got to see Ladybug like he did. Chat's mouth curved into a grin.

'Take that, the other boy.' He thought, swinging his legs back and forth on the rooftop.

He heard Ladybug's yo-yo swing over to him, and quickly tried to wash the lovesick look off of his face. 

"Good evening, Chat Noir," Ladybug greeted behind him and wow, that was Marinette's voice! How had he never noticed that before?

"Good evening, My Lady." He stood up, turning to face her. It was a surreal experience seeing Ladybug but also seeing Marinette all at once. Same eyes, hair, voice, even the nervous smile on her lips was familiar.

"It really is you, isn't it?" She whispered, echoing his own thoughts.

"It is." He picked up her hand and placed a light kiss on it. It must have been the light, but Chat Noir could've sworn he saw Ladybug's face flush. "I know, I'm simply irresistible underneath the mask." His joke got Ladybug to roll her eyes before she looked back over at him and let out a squeak. 

Oh how he loved this girl, this blend of Marinette and Ladybug that stood in front of him. Just when he thought he couldn't love either of them more, the universe had to go and prove them wrong.

"Silly kitty," she muttered, pushing him away by his nose as she had done oh so many times before. But everything seemed different now, that wasn't just Ladybug, it was Marinette!

Marinette who had risked stealing a camera just so Juleka could get over her fears, Marinette who had fought for Mylene and Ivan to have their happy ending, Marinette who had kissed him on the cheek on Heroes Day after he called her their everyday Ladybug. Ha! How right he was.

"Your silly kitty though. Both in and out of the mask." He teased, shooting her a wink. Okay, her face definitely turned red that time, that's odd. Perhaps he had to tone down the flirting a little bit, although it was nothing he hadn't said before.

"You just... be quiet." Ladybug waved her hand in front of her face, placing the other on her cheek. 

"Why My Lady!" He put a hand over his heart as he gasped, "I never knew my silly little words had such an effect on you."

"They don't." She stuck out her tongue at him, but her face still matched her suit.

"Whatever you say, Bug," His expression softened. "Seriously though, if I ever make you uncomfortable, tell me, okay? Obviously you know now I'm not the best with social cues thanks to my dear ol' dad, so just, please tell me. You mean a lot to me, Princess, I'd hate to lose our friendship over something as minimal as my actions."

Ladybug gave him a small nod, a subdued smile on her face. Something about it felt off however, and there was something shimmering in her eyes that Chat Noir didn't recognize. It almost looked like disappointment, but that didn't seem right.

"Holy shit," Ladybug said suddenly, the weird look on her face gone.

"What?" Chat Noir looked around rapidly, had she seen something amiss?

"Your dad! The one that I've threatened to beat up on multiple occasions, I actually know who he is now." Her face turned into a grimace, a mix of disgust and anger and shame.

"Oh, yeah. Your idol." Chat Noir winced, remembering all the times he had complained about his father to her.

Ladybug shook her head rapidly. "Not anymore," she swore, "not now that I know how much he's hurting you. No one hurts my kitty and gets away with it." She vowed into the night.

Chat Noir knew better than to take her words seriously, of course, but he couldn't deny a small part of him wished he was truly hers. Sure they were partners and would always be special to each other, but his heart longed for more. She could never know, though, she deserved to be happy with the other boy.

"I never knew you were so murderous, bugaboo." He laughed, sitting back down on the rooftop.

"Only when it comes to you." She sat beside him and gave his shoulder a playful shove.

"And Lila of course. That's how you knew she was lying!" He realized, sitting straight up.

"What?" Ladybug gave him a look, her brows furrowed but a smile on her face.

"She said she was Ladybug's best friend, I never asked how Marinette learned about Lila. I just always assumed you were too smart to be manipulated like that." He shrugged, not noticing the wonder-struck expression on Ladybug's face.

"No, I can't take all the credit. Who knows, if she hadn't told that lie perhaps things would be very different right now." A wistful look crossed her face.

"Well, I'm almost glad she did. We can see through her, work to slowly expose her to the class." Chat Noir nodded, satisfied with his revenge story.

"What happened to just letting her be?" 

"She nearly got you expelled, Ladybug, that's not an innocent tabloid lie. That is the action of a pathological liar."

"I'm glad I have you on my side, kitty." She sighed, leaning her head against his shoulder. He really hoped he couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating.

"You and I against the world, right My Lady?" He responded, leaning his head on hers.

"Right."

The two of them shared a comfortable silence, watching as the city lights twinkled. He knew they should probably be out scouting for akumas or muggers, but Ladybug's mere presence was enough to him to push his duties aside.

"This is nice, you know." She said suddenly.

"What is?" He picked his head up off of hers, opting to look down at her face.

"Being able to talk with you about everything and anything. Not being worried about our secret identities. You're my partner Chat Noir, and you've always meant...um," she suddenly fell silent. "Anyways it's just nice to be this close to you."

He did the gentlemanly thing and not brought up her little slip, although he'd be lying if he said he wasn't at least a little curious about what she meant. 

"It's nice being this close to you, too," he brought his voice down to a whisper, "Marinette."

"Adrien." She whispered back, looking up at him with eyes shining.

God was she beautiful, whoever the other boy was had to be the luckiest bastard alive.

"I can't believe I'm saying your name." She giggled, and it was like the Heavens had blessed him with an angel.

"I can't believe I know yours. You know, I suspected you for a while." Chat Noir hummed.

"Wait, what? When?" Ladybug's voice turned shrill.

"Relax, bugaboo, it wasn't because you tripped up." He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Remember when Plagg and Tikki got caught on surveillance cameras?"

"Oh yes," her expression turned sour, "I still can't believe them! You would think Tikki would be more careful," her eyes glanced over at him, "no offense to Plagg."

"I'm sure there's none taken," he waved his hand. "But anyways, I figured that Marinette was probably Ladybug until I saw her with you. How'd you pull off that Multimouse stunt by the way?"

"Fox miraculous, I created an illusion of the two of us being there at the same time when I was actually hiding underneath a bowl. Probably the most convoluted plan I've ever pulled off."

"Wow... that's really impressive, My Lady."

She gave him a sheepish smile. "I just wish it wasn't because I had to trick you. I didn't like keeping all of," she gesticulated, "this from you."

"I know, you were doing what you thought was best, I can't hold that against you. And I never would." Chat Noir patted her knee, giving her a reassuring smile.

"I promise, now that identities are out of the way, I'm going to share everything with you. That's what you deserve in a partner." She met his eyes, the familiar determination shining in her face. He loved that look.

"Thank you, My Lady, but you know you're already the best partner a cat could ask for." He winked and she laughed, again! He seemed to be having more luck with his lines tonight and he couldn't be happier.

It was like just being here with this girl was magic, filling his entire body with warmth. He never wanted it to end.

"Why thank you, mon chaton, but I believe you're a bit biased." She stuck out her tongue at him.

"Me? Biased? Never. I have no idea about what you could possibly be talking about." He crossed his arms and turned away from her, but her laughter compelled him to drop the act.

"You were right, you know." Ladybug said suddenly, her voice turning soft.

"Right about what?" He looked back over to her, she was staring out at Paris. The lights illuminated her face in a soft glow. It was times like these when Chat wondered how he could possibly not love her.

"That revealing our identities would do us some good, make us stronger as a team." She shot him a sly grin. "Before I assumed you were over exaggerating, especially because I figured we didn't know each other outside the mask. But it turns out you were in front of me this entire time." Her eyes turned soft, Chat Noir nearly melted into a pile of goo. "I'm not sure how I was so blind." She muttered.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, bugaboo. We both know the glamor made it hard for us to see through the masks. I knew you didn't want to reveal our identities so I never sought you out, and I figure you never went looking for me because you wanted to stick by the rules." Chat Noir shrugged, thinking about all the times they had been so close to figuring each other out.

"You know Alya suspected you once?" Ladybug laughed.

"Oh yeah?" He grinned, imagining the expression on Alya's face if she learned two of her best friends were superheroes.

"Yep! She showed me this horrible photoshopped picture of you in a Chat Noir costume." Ladybug snorted. "I told her there was no way."

His heart panged, did she still think that way? Did she still not see through Adrien's careful facade? Through Chat Noir's joking one?

"And what about now?" He asked quietly, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

"Now? There's no doubt in my mind that you two are the same person. This was a few months after we first met. You hear enough cat puns out of Adrien Agreste's mouth and you begin to think 'yeah, he's Chat Noir.'" They laughed, and God how Chat Noir loved the sound.

He loved being here with her, like this, the new normal that they found themselves in. He figured it would be awkward, nerve-wracking maybe, but it all felt so natural. Perhaps it helped that they had grown much closer as Adrien and Marinette, but the transition seemed almost seamless. Chat had never experienced anything like it in his life.

"Cat puns are purrfect, My Lady. It's only a matter of time until you realize how ameowzing they are."

"Can it, tom cat, or I'll push you off the roof." She muttered, but the twitch in her lips gave away the serious demeanor.

"Fine, fine, whatever the lady wishes." He held his hands up in defeat, although he would happily lose to her each and every time.

"Still, I totally get bragging rights that I technically suspect you far before you suspecting me, so ha!" He stuck his tongue out at her.

"Yeah, yeah, go brag about it to the two people you can tell. Well, one person and one kwami." She gave him another sly grin that he swore was going to give him a heart attack.

"Still counts." He shrugged. "Besides, I think one day, when it's safe enough, I'd like to tell Alya and Nino."

"They're Rena Rouge and Carapace, so I couldn't agree more." She shrugged, but she was watching his face carefully for any reaction. He just smiled and nodded his head.

"I uh, may already know that little detail. Nino spilled about it that one time he suspected Chat Noir and Alya of dating behind his back." His face flushed, that had not been a good day for him.

"Oh, I hadn't realized he told you." Her voice sounded strange.

"Don't take away their miraculouses, okay? Please? I'm his best friend after all and Alya seemed pretty peeved about him telling me so-."

"I'm not going to take away their miraculouses. Remember Scarabella?"

"Yeah?"

"That's Alya." She oh so casually dropped on him, trying to hide her glee as his jaw dropped.

"Shut up, you're kidding."

"Nope!"

"Huh, that makes a lot of sense now that I think about it. I'm actually kind of relieved about it, if there's anyone who would learn about your identity before me, it would be her." He saw Ladybug wince out of the corner of his eye.

"I'm still sorry about that, I just had so much building up and I needed to tell someone or else I was at serious risk of getting akumatized. It would've been you, but with everyone's warnings and..." she shook her head, clearing away a memory Chat Noir didn't know about. "Anyways, I'm just sorry that you weren't the first to know."

"It's okay, we know now, that's what matters. And I understand, sure it hurt a little when I first learned about it, but I trust your judgment."

"You really are the best, you know that right?" Ladybug's eyes were shining again, the smile that he rarely saw on her face.

"I try."

"Seriously, Chat," she lowered her voice, "Adrien, I don't know what I'd do without you."

"And I don't know what I'd do without you either, Marinette." He placed an arm around her, pulling her in for a side-hug. Much to his surprise, she stayed there without a fight, opting to place her head on his shoulder again.

"You know, kitty, maybe this is exactly what we needed to bring down Shadowmoth. We're going to be much stronger together, I can already sense it. We just have to be extra careful now about not getting hit. Our walls are completely down, which means we can read each other a lot better and can know ahead of time if something is holding us up. However, that also puts us at greater risk if Shadowmoth manages to get the truth out of us. He can get to us both. So, no more sacrificing yourself for me, okay?" Ever the superhero, Ladybug was already planning out the strategic advantages behind this, but if that's what kept her calm, Chat Noir wasn't complaining.

"Okay, I can't promise that I'll never sacrifice myself again, you can always bring me back," Ladybug glared at him, he put his hands up in surrender. "However, if it does come to that, I'll make sure the effect of the akuma will not put our identities at risk. If it's a truth telling akuma or something of that merit, I promise I won't sacrifice myself."

Ladybug seemed satisfied with that answer, nodding her head. "Okay, thank you. I don't think I told you yesterday, but... I'm really happy it's you. Chat Noir and Adrien are some of my favorite people, so the fact the two of you are the same makes me so ridiculously happy. After I got over the initial freak out I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day." She laughed quietly, and Chat Noir tried his very hardest not to read too deep into her words. Their friendship and partnership came first, he can moan to Plagg about his unrequited love later.

"I'm happy it's you too, Marinette. Obviously, you know how much Ladybug means to me, and Marinette is just as precious. You're the first friend I made of my own accord when I handed you that umbrella, I treasure our friendship with all my heart." She had to know it didn't matter to him that she loved someone else, what they had now meant the world to him. Something flickered in her eyes, that same near disappointment expression from earlier. But it was gone as soon as it arrived, so perhaps Chat Noir hadn't seen anything at all.

"Shall we patrol, Adrien?" She stood up, extending a hand out to him. He happily took it, ready to follow her lead. He would always follow her lead.

"We shall, Marinette." 

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God I love prpr, I also wrote this rather quickly so inspiration must have struck. Thanks for reading! -Colorado