It's funny, because this was my original idea for the Treating Wounds one-shot for my Adrienette April series, but I went with another idea that despite not fitting the vibe of the series, I liked better. So it's pretty much the exact opposite of what happened with the Paparazzi and the Flashing Lights one-shots. Anyway, I hope you guys like it!                                                                                                                   -Colorado

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"So let me get this straight," Marinette began, crossing her arms and glaring at the boy seated on her chaise. "Knowing that the cure isn't foolproof, and knowing how incredibly dangerous akumas are to civilians, you still decided to go rushing into battle with the akuma without being suited up?"

"Yeah..." Adrien said, staring at the ground sheepishly.

"Adrien, Adrien, Adrien," Marinette shook her head. "One of these days, you're going to give me a heart attack."

"I'm sorry." He said quietly.

"Let me get a washcloth." Marinette sighed. Adrien brightened immediately.

"Thank you!"

"Yeah, yeah, well, you're my partner. I'm supposed to take care of you after all." She winked.

"And I'm supposed to take care of you, too. That's why I couldn't just stand there! They were about to hit you and it would've been you with these injuries. If not worse because I know the cure is the weakest on you."

"But Adrien, you almost broke your ribs! What would've happened if you couldn't have transformed?"

"You would've gotten someone else. You have before."

"But they wouldn't be you." Marinette said quietly, turning around with the washcloth in hand. "You're irreplaceable to me, kitty. I may have other heroes to call on, but they wouldn't be you. You're my partner and the one who's been there since the beginning. You're my Chat Noir."

"And you're my lady." Adrien said, just as soft, making a small smile appear on Marinette's face as she began to clean his wound.

They had revealed their identities a few months back, after Marinette had witnessed her partner almost getting akumatized. It was ironic, really, she had kept him out of the loop to prevent him from getting akumatized, but that in turn only added to the negative emotions he was feeling which lead to a purple butterfly coming after him.

Since then, Marinette swore to never make her partner feel that way again. So, she told him everything. Including her identity.

Needless to say, things between them had been a lot better since then.

Of course, Marinette still hadn't told him how she felt. She had been trying her hardest to pull the reins on her crush before the identity reveal. The fact that Chat Noir had begun to weasel his way into her heart helped a lot with it. But then, Adrien just had to go and be Chat Noir! As if he couldn't be even more perfect for her, he just had to be her amazing partner too.

And being with him would be a literal dream come true. She could picture it all so clearly. He had been in love with her before! Maybe, just maybe, he could fall for her again? He had started to flirt more with her since the identity reveal. Could it be possible that he still loved her? That they could be something?

But Marinette couldn't take that risk.

Being the Guardian was her priority. It was easier now than in the beginning, yes, but it was still overwhelming. She couldn't focus on her love life while ShadowMoth was still out there, attacking her friends! What type of Ladybug would she be if she put her wants over the needs of Paris? A selfish one, that's what.

So even if she wanted to, under no circumstances could she let it slip how much she loved Adrien.

"What are you thinking about?" Adrien asked suddenly, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"Me? What am I thinking about? Uhhh..." Marinette looked around her room frantically for an excuse. "My new designing projects!" She said, too loudly for Adrien to buy it if he had looked into it.

"Really? That's great! I am so glad that you're starting to design again."

Luckily, he didn't.

"Yeah! I thought it was time for me to pick it up again."

"That's fantastic! I know you've been so busy lately with Guardian stuff to do a lot of designing."

"I really have..." She said quietly.

"Well? What have you been planning? Come on, I'm all ears, Mari."

"I, uh, well, since the summer is here I'm going to make some new summer clothes."

"Oooo, cool! Can you make me something?" Adrien let out a gasp. "Mari, you should design Ladybug and Chat Noir themed outfits for us! I'll be sporting the red and black, of course." He winked. Marinette giggled.

"Sure thing. Now let me see your other arm." 

"Here you are." Adrien held out his left arm, sporting a nasty gash.

"Yeesh, Adrien, this looks awful." Marinette said, trying to ignore the hiss he let out as she began to clean it.

"It's no big deal. I've dealt with worse injuries before."

"I wish you hadn't."

"It's part of the job description, princess. You know I don't have a choice."

"But sometimes you do! Yet you still choose to take a hit for me, I'm not defenseless you know!"

"I know, I know. But you're the one with the purifying abilities, and the cure. Sure, it may not be perfect, but it's better than leaving all those civilians at the hands of Hawkmoth. You and I both know that."

"One hit isn't going to take me out of the game, Adrien."

"And it won't take me out either, so what's the big deal?" 

"Because you're not expendable, dammit! You don't exist to just take hits for me!"

"But that's how we operate! You're the brain, I'm the brawn. That's how it's always been."

"But that's not true!"

"Yes it is and you know it. You're the one with the lucky charm and the plan. I'm the one who goes out and covers for you while you're figuring out the plan and then we go and reenact the plan together."

Marinette pursed her lips.

He was, unfortunately, right. So far, it had been her with the plans, her with the studying, her with the logic. He was the one who dived into battle, he was the one who would cover for her and follow her blindly.

But, she would follow him blindly too, how could he not know that?

"Well, maybe that's an out of date way of doing things." She said, "I know how smart you can be, Adrien. You're like, in so many advanced classes I've lost count. Just because it's my power doesn't mean that you can't pitch in too. Your ideas are just as valuable as mine."

"But-."

"Not buts! Yes, that is how we've always done things, but things are changing. You and I have no secrets between each other now. It's not traditional, right?"

"Right."

"So, screw the traditional way of doing things! You're worth more than a shield. You mean just as much as I do. Okay?"

"Ladybug? Breaking the rules?" Adrien grinned. "I never thought I'd see the day."

Marinette laughed.

"Oh, shut up. Besides, it's not like it's a rule where the lucky charm can only be figured out by the owner of the Ladybug miraculous."

"I still can't believe that you're going to be breaking the rules for me. I feel so special." Adrien teased.

"Good. You should." 

"Finally admitting that I'm special to you, M'lady?" Adrien batted his eyes. "I am so honored."

"But that's because you are special to me." Marinette put down the washcloth and squeezed his hand. "I'm sorry that I haven't done a good job of showing that."

"Hey," Adrien said, his eyes softening. "It's okay. You're trying now, and that means more than anything to me." He kissed her hand gently, making her heart skip a beat.

"I never, ever, want you to feel like you're not treasured. Because you are."

"And so are you! All of Paris adores you. You're the one fixing everything and bringing people back from the dead. Including me."

"Don't-."

"Don't what?" Adrien cut her off. "Don't say that I've died? Because I have! But I'm still here, and you bring me back every time. That's why I have to take the hits! I'm allowed to die-."

"No you're not!" Marinette yelled.

"And why not? If you die it's game over if I die-."

"Because I can't do this without you! Why can't you get that through your head?"

"Because you've done it without me before!" Adrien argued.

"And you think that's easy? It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do!"

"I can't lose you, Marinette!"

"And I can't lose you either!"

"But why-?"

"Because I'm in love with you!" Marinette slapped her hand over her mouth as soon as she said it.

"What?" Adrien whispered.

Marinette turned away, closing her eyes.

"Did-."

"No." She croaked.

"I think you did." Adrien said, trying to fight back a smile.

Marinette shook her head rapidly.

"Hey, Marinette, look at me." He said gently, squeezing her hand.

She slowly turned her head, but was still looking away from him.

"You really didn't think an identity reveal would stop my feelings, right?" Adrien said, half-serious.

"Well, I-. I mean, I just figured after Kagami..."

"That I lost feelings for you?"

Marinette nodded wordlessly.

"Pfft, you really are out of the loop then. Kagami really didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Marinette said slowly. 

"The big reason why we broke up was because of me ditching her because of akuma attacks, yes, but she told me that part of the reason why she didn't just ask me about it and instead broke up with me is because she thought I was sneaking off to be with you. That's why I was hesitating, because I was in love with you." Adrien chuckled. "She's kinda right. I was with you, just not in the way I thought."

"She really thought that?" Marinette said quietly.

She knew that Kagami had started helping her with getting together with Adrien, but she thought that was only because of her crush! Not his!

"Anyway, it got me thinking. As you know, your lucky charm was her akumatized object when she was turned into Lies. She gave it back to me when we broke up, and that's when I realized..."

"Realized?"

"That try as I might to deny it, I was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng." 

"Adrien, I..."

"It started in New York, you know? Well I mean, that's when I realized I had feelings for you deeper than a friend. I denied it because I was with Kagami, but it was there. You know the day I was shooting that comercial at the pool?"

Marinette nodded.

"You handed me my umbrella and asked if I wanted to walk home with you. It closed on us, remember?" Another nod. "Yeah, that's when I realized."

Marinette chuckled, but it wasn't a happy one.

"That's ironic."

"Marinette?"

"That's when I fell in love with you, too."

"Really?" Adrien really did smile then. "That's crazy! I mean, what are the odds we'd fall in love with each other at the same time!"

"Well, not quite..."

"What do you mean? You just said..."

"You fell for me when I tried to give you your umbrella back. I fell for you..." she sighed, "when you gave it to me."

"What?" Adrien said quietly. 

"Yeah. Looks like that umbrella just loves to play with our feelings."

"No, no, that's not what I meant. Marinette, I gave you that umbrella the day we met."

"Yeah...?"

"You've been in love with me... since the day we met?"

"Maybe?" She squeaked.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He gaped.

"I tried! I sent you a poem, love notes, gifts, whatever! It never worked. So I took the hint and tried to move on, and I did like Luka, but it didn't work. Meanwhile my partner is being even more amazing than I had ever imagined, especially because of how I'd been treating him and-." Marinette shook her head. "Why am I telling you this, it's not like it matters."

"What are you talking about! Of course it matters!" 

"No, it doesn't."

"But Marinette, we can finally be together! We love each other, right?"

"No, we can't! That's why I never wanted to tell you in the first place."

"What do you mean we can't? What's stopping us?"

Marinette scoffed.

"The better question would be what's not stopping us."

"We both have feelings for each other, Marinette. And I know you've wanted this for as long as I have. Are you going to deny that?"

"No, of course not! I would love to date you, but Adrien, we broke up with Luka and Kagami for a reason. Being a superhero and being in a relationship is too hard."

"Marinette, are you forgetting that it was only hard because they didn't know? If you ditch me because Ladybug duties call for it, I'm going to understand. Hell, I'll probably be following you to the scene of the battle!"

"And what about my responsibilities as Guardian? Master Fu couldn't be with his love because it was too dangerous for her."

"Mariane had no way of protecting herself, I do. I've got this guy." Adrien held up his hand and pointed to his ring. "Besides, I'm already in danger."

"Exactly! We're already in danger. What if Hawkmoth captured us and used us to get information?"

"Well, I think regardless of our relationship that's a risk we have to take, Mari. We're friends, right? And partners on top of that. In love or not, Hawkmoth knows he could use one of us to get to the other. Besides, our relationship isn't going to change the fact that we're in love. If we stay just friends and he captures us, we'd act the same because our feelings for one another are strong enough."

"And what happens if we break up? I can't lose you, Adrien."

"Marinette, look at me." Adrien lifted her chin so she could meet his eyes. "You are never, ever, going to lose me. And do you really think we're going to break up? We've been in love with each other for years, chasing each other like a dog chasing its tail. Don't you think we deserve a chance to be something more? Look, I don't care if we can't go on dates as much as the average couple because of your duties as Guardian, or if we have to keep it a secret from friends and family to be safe, or if we have to do things differently. I just want a shot at loving you, that's all I've ever wanted." 

"Adrien," Marinette sniffed.

"Oh my gosh did I make you cry? I'm so, so, so-."

"Shut up." Marinette smiled through her tears.

"What?"

"I said, shut up, you dork." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug.

"Um, Marinette, I'm confused, does this mean that we can go on a date or...?"

"Yes!" She laughed as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"Yes?" Adrien repeated.

"Yeah! Yeah, let's do it." Marinette nodded. "I mean, there's still a lot of things to consider and a bunch of things that need to be done before we can finalize it, but-."

"Oh my gosh you said yes!" Adrien interrupted her mid sentence, wrapping his arms around her. "I get to go on a date with Marinette Dupain-Cheng! This is the best day of my life!" He cheered.

"And I get to go out with the love of my life." Marinette whispered.

"I'm the love of your life?"

"Did you, uh, not put that together already?" Marinette pulled back to give him a nervous grin.

"You're the love of my life, too."

"Are you crying?"

"Don't judge me, I've wanted this for years."

"Aw, kitty." Marinette pecked his nose.

"Love you, m'lady." He croaked.

"I love you too." Marinette sighed. "Which is exactly why you have to stop sacrificing yourself!" She said, grinning.

"Ugh, alright, fine. I'll try and tone it down a bit, but no promises." 

"Thank you, my prince."

"My prince? That's new."

"Yeah," Marinette looked away sheepishly. "I figured since you call me princess that I would return the favor."

"Aw, don't worry. I love it, princess." Adrien winked. Marinette let out a laugh.

"Now, are there any other injuries that I don't know about?" She asked. "I'd like to clean them all before we bandage them."

Adrien bit his lip, deep in thought.

"Well, there is one more." He said.

"Where?" Marinette asked, holding up the washcloth.

Adrien grinned, and tapped on his lips.

"But it can only be healed by true love's kiss." He winked.

"Oh no, what to do?" Marinette grinned. "I suppose we'll just have to let that one go unhealed."

"Marinette..." Adrien pouted.

"Oh alright, fine. But only because you're cute." Marinette leaned forward and placed her lips on his.

It was meant to be a quick peck. Something small so she wouldn't overthink that she just had her first (third?) kiss with Adrien. Something that wouldn't send her into a spiral or melt her into a puddle of goo. But as soon as they made contact, all rational thought flew out the window.

It wasn't perfect, what first kiss is? But it released all sorts of butterflies into stomach and made her heart pound. It was filled with love and longing and finally, finally, finally, they were here. After years of waiting and praying and daydreaming, they were here. No more convoluted love squares or will they won't they. They will.

They will finally be together and happy after years and years of ups and downs. An emotional rollercoaster that they had somehow found their way into. But even with the rejections and heartbreak, what had come out of it was beautiful. She had found her soulmate. Someone who would always be there for her, no matter what. And she would always be there for him. It was them against the world after all. Who cared about the risks? They were in love!

And that was more than enough for her.

Although, if she could convince Adrien to stop taking hits for her, that would be great too. 

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SPOILER ALERT!!! I don't blame Marinette for not telling Chat Noir everything. After Chat Blanc and the limited information she has, it's logical for her not to tell him her identity and to keep things from him. HOWEVER, I do think that this won't prevent Chat Blanc from coming back at all. If anything, it'll just add fuel to the fire. Marinette is wrapped up in a lot, so she's probably missing a lot of how her partner is feeling. Especially if he's putting on a mask so she can't see what's happening. I do really feel bad for Chat Noir, though. Being Chat Noir obviously means a lot to him, and if he begins to feel unneeded and left out, then it'll no longer be fun. The one part of his life where he can have his freedom, is suddenly no longer there. Not to mention the fact that Ladybug, who has always been incredibly strict with identities, has now told someone else who she is. This season has a lot of potential for LadyNoir angst and I'm hoping they'll drag it out over the course of a few episodes and everything won't be solved right away. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!                                                                                                                                              -Colorado