Holy crap guys, Red String has officially hit 900k reads!!! I seriously cannot thank you guys enough, I'm so grateful that words are failing me right now. I have bee typing all day since I found out, and now I finally have you guys a new chapter!

I gotta say though, chapter 23 will most likely be the last chapter of the Red String series, but also probably the longest.

After Stitches is completed, I will be focusing on my other books, such as Pawns In His Game, but there will be 2 new stories coming out. One is Ready or Not which is Chlothanael, and the other is Our Undying Love, Marichat. This is based off my one shot, with the same plot but will be extended into a longer story.

Please, enjoy your long awaited chapter!

It was a clever idea. At least, Marinette thought it was. She fell in love with him in the rain when he gave her his umbrella, so it only seemed right to return it to him when she revealed herself. Right? Marinette glanced out her window, watching the rain pelt against it. Alya's voice seemed to be drowned out by the steady thumping of water hitting the glass panes. She hadn't expected the rain to get worse, but it did, such was her luck. However, she couldn't hate on her luck. Luck was on her side, clearly, seeing as Adrien and Chat Noir were the same person.

"Marinette." Alya said, cutting through her thoughts. The brunette was sitting cross-legged on Marinette's pink chaise, wet Ladybug umbrella cast to the side. Her hazel eyes sparkled in mischievous delight as she watched Marinette. "Are you going to tell me what's going on between you and Adrien, or am I going to have to figure this one out by myself too?"

Marinette turned to face her friend, confusion clouding over her features. "What?"

The twinkle Alya held in her eyes dimmed, until it was no longer there, which worried Marinette. Alya always held some sort of glint in her eye, whether it be curious, passionate, or angry, she always had one. It was one of the reasons why Marinette became friends with her. She kept things exciting for her, and she always cared and gave her one hundred percent to everything that she did. Not once had she ever seen that glint disappear, and now that she knew she was the cause of it, whether on purpose or not, she felt terrible.

"Do you really not get it, Marinette?" Alya watched Marinette with inquisitive eyes. The blue-eyed girl slowly shook her head, her lips pouted in worry as she watched her best friend. "You've been leaving me in the dark for months now, Marinette! Every single thing that has been happening to you lately, you never tell me. I had to find out from Nino about the problem that is going on between you and Adrien. Nino, not you!"

Alya continued, and with every point she made, Marinette wilted more and more. "You have a secret boyfriend that I never knew about; you keep coming to school looking as if you haven't slept at all and that's not even the worst of it! Marinette..." Alya choked on her next words, finding them the hardest of all to say. "Some days you- Some days you come to school with scrapes and bruises, and do not give me that bullshit that you tripped and got them."

"And none of these I learned from you, I learned because I care about you and I notice things about you because of that." Marinette's posture dropped, her head dipping below her shoulders as if she could hide away. All this time, she had forgotten about her best friend- she hadn't even thought about what Alya had been going through. The more she looked at Alya, the more she realized how ignorant she had been for the one person who was there for everything (Aside from Chat Noir/Adrien, of course, but even he couldn't be there for everything. Whole identity thing made it hard.) And boy, did it suck.

"Alya..." Marinette was at a loss for words. What on Earth could she possibly say to make this up to her best friend? What would it take for her best friend to truly forgive her? "I-"

"I don't need an apology, though that would be great," Alya raised her brows in a hint with a pointed glare. "I just need you to tell me what's going on, Marinette! I can't stress that enough! As your best friend, if I even am that anymore, I should not have to be looking for all these clues about your life like this!"

Marinette bowed her head in shame, knowing that Alya was right. Nino had told her that Adrien was getting obsessed with the need to be around her all the time, yet she hadn't realized that she had been doing the exact same thing. Alya had just unintentionally helped Marinette realize how toxic her relationship is with Adrien at this point, and if she didn't find out what it was that happened that night with Sandman, it may just ruin her relationship with him.

"And don't even get me started on the fact that you're Ladybug-"

"You're right Alya, I'm so sorry about the way that I've been treating you late- wait," Marinette shot her head up in shock as she looked at her best friend with wide eyes and a slack jaw. "What?"

"I said, 'don't even get me started on the fact that you're Ladybug.'"

"No. No, no, no, no, no, you've got it wrong! How- how could clumsy Marinette possibly be Ladybug?" Marinette let out a nervous high-pitched giggle, a hand scrunching up the fabric of her shirt as she worried the hem between her thumb and forefinger.

"You know, you are a terrible liar Marinette. That's why I can always see right through you. I honestly don't understand how you've managed to keep that a secret for so long." Alya laughed as she grabbed Marinette's arm, squeezing it gently in reassurance. "That's a good thing though, Mari. To not be a good liar, that is. It's one of the many things that I love about you, and I'm sure Adrien loves that about you too."

"I don't- I don't understand. What is happening right now?" Marinette was thoroughly lost, there was too much information clogging up her brain, making it difficult to think clearly. She had been a terrible friend to Alya, who has already forgiven her for it because she's her best friend and they love each other so much; Alya knows that she is Ladybug -Which Marinette is having quite a hard time processing- and Alya is completely okay with the fact that her clumsy best friend is the courageous spotted heroine; Alya also knows that Adrien is in love with Marinette -And possibly that Adrien is Chat Noir, maybe?- this was too much for her. To top it all off, Marinette didn't know if Adrien had picked up on her hint or not, about the fact that she was Ladybug. The fact that he hasn't shown up yet was not convincing her.

"If-If you know that I'm Ladybug, then do you also know who-"

"Who Chat Noir is? Yep." Alya answered nonchalantly, leaning back against the chaise as she continued. "I gotta admit, that one was a bit harder for me to figure out. I mean, who would've thought that our shy friend Adrien Agreste was the flirty and outgoing Chat Noir? It took a bit to figure out that Adrien had also disappeared at akuma attacks, because other than you and that assistant of his father's, not a lot people know where he is." Marinette smiled sheepishly, a blush growing as she thought about the calendar she had had of Adrien's schedule. "Actually, now that I think about it, I was really only suspicious of Adrien. I wasn't certain until today when you told him that thing about cats hating water. I was positive then."

Marinette felt like smacking her head against her desk repeatedly. She had accidentally revealed Chat Noir's secret identity to Alya, when it wasn't her secret to give. Oh god, she felt so horrible. She was terrible, that's it. Adrien's gonna be mad at her, and he's not gonna love her anymore (and she totally knows that she is overreacting and that Adrien will probably forgive her immediately) and she could go on and on about how she ruined everything, but Alya stopped her before she could.

"We'll talk all about this another time though, Mari. Right now, I think that someone else really needs to talk to you." As if following que, there was a quiet tapping on Marinette's trapdoor, barely noticeable when compared to the pitter-patter of rain against her window.

"Alya..."

Alya looked at Marinette with a genuine and sincere smile, "It's okay Marinette, really. Because now I know that you will come and talk to me about these things." Alya pushed herself up off the chaise, walking over to the exit. When she starts walking down the stairs, Alya pauses and turns back to Marinette. "Call me about it later?"

"Of course." Marinette agreed with a soft smile. Alya grinned back before closing the trapdoor and leaving. Chat Noir knocked on the glass pane of her other trapdoor, reminding her that he was still standing outside in the middle of the storm. She raced up the ladder to her bed, quickly crawling on her knees to open the door to let her cat in.

Pushing the door open, she was greeted by the sight of Adrien, soaked head to toe. His golden hair was darkened by the rainwater, held together in clumps that dripped water onto Marinette as he hovered above her. His white overcoat that he usually wore was more see through now, clinging to his tan skin. But what paused Marinette were his eyes. His jade eyes were staring at her with a passionate intensity, tracing every inch of Marinette's face; taking in every detail about her that he could.

He looked at the freckles that dusted the bridge of her nose, that nose that would crinkle up in the cutest way whenever she smiled. Her rosy lips that were the perfect ration between thin and plump and was totally kissable, with the little pink tongue that would stick out every time she was concentrated. She was so innocent looking, yet he knew better. He knew that she could be sinful and tantalizing whenever she wanted. He almost felt stupid for not realizing that she was Ladybug sooner.

But he didn't let that thought deter him. He took his hands -his hands that were free from the entrapping leather- and cupped the sides of her face, wet from the rain that was pouring down around them. He absentmindedly thought about the fact that her bedspread was getting soaked as well. He could feel the warmth radiating from her skin, actually feel it. This time, there was nothing to hold him back. No secret identity to try to keep. It was just him and Marinette, both in their simplest forms.

Slowly, he tilted Marinette's chin up, lowering his head down to meet her. Mere centimeters away from her lips, Adrien pressed his forehead against Marinette's, the tips of their noses pressed together. He watched as her breathtaking blue eyes fluttered shut, her long lashes brushing against her skin. She was his, absolutely and totally his, and vice versa. Bit by bit, second by second, Adrien moved his lips closer to Marinette's in the most enticing way. He was unhurried because he had all the time in the world with her.

Finally, Adrien pressed his lips gently against hers, moving his head to a better angle. His hands slide down to the nape of her neck feeling the hairs raise from the feathery touch. Adrien closes his eyes, reveling in the feeling of actually being able to touch Marinette. Her smaller hands came up to his face, brushing her fingers against his cheekbones, swiping her thumb underneath his eye. They both got to experience unchartered territory now that they did not have Chat Noir's suit to block them, no identity to hide from each other.

They were going to have to talk later, they definitely need to talk later. They had so much that they need to talk through, but for now, they were both content with this moment right here. The kiss they shared was slow and passionate, not needy and desperate like their other kisses had been. Marinette's breath left her lung and all too soon the couple needed to pull away for some air. Heaving for air, Adrien kept Marinette close to him, close enough to feel her lips curl into a smile, brushing lightly against his. She let out quiet giggles as she felt the cold rain splash against her, the drops running off Adrien's hair and onto her nose.

"Let's go inside, Adrien."

"As you wish, My Lady."

He totally picked up on my hint.

There you go! Was it worth the wait? Probably not. Anyways, I just want to say thank you once more to all of my faithful readers! I finally have some control in my life, and hopefully, I can't promise anything, but I'll try to post once a week.

Until next time, peace!