minglingworlds | whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth ( marinette

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whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth ( marinette | adrien )

[ It happened in an instant.

Of course--that's impossible, actually, but that's what it felt like. Against the weight of the rubble, Marinette takes a few deep breaths, groaning as she struggles for freedom. She feels a sizable gash in her arm and her legs feel numb, but when she looks, she sees that familiar shade of bright red dotted by black, and she realizes she's still transformed...somehow.

Her attitude changes immediately, like a switch, and her eyes widen as they dart left and right. She desperately tries to cull her panic, as she searches for her partner-- ]

Cat? Cat, are you okay?

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[ His smile brightens the room. Marinette can see it from the corner of her eyes. She only has to glance at him for a moment before her thoughts turn to mush again and she cups her hands over her cheeks, as if to will them to stop blushing.

She can't stop smiling herself, even as she stares at the ground. ]

Thank you. I-I just can't believe... I mean, I've imagined you saying things like that for so long. But I...

[ She chokes. She doesn't really know what she wants to say. ]

We need to... later. I mean! We... We need to... to talk about this... but I. We need to get out of here...

I'm starting to worry... a-about Tikki.

(it seems they've learned far more about each other than they ever planned to in the past five minutes. adrien feels himself growing a little shy at hearing how long marinette has been harboring feelings for him.

there are still so many things to discuss, what the future holds for them and how they'll handle it.

but marinette is right. the only thing they need to focus on right now is getting themselves out of these caverns to safety, and making sure their kwamis are taken care of. he reaches inside his shirt, pulling out a small black cat, barely the size of his palm. various cheeses are mumbled in his delirious sleep, and while adrien knows he's only being dramatic... he still can't help but worry about plagg.) Yeah... we need to get moving. We'll talk about this with both of them and see what happens from here.

(and so he stands up, tucking plagg back in to rest and brushing the dust and dirt off his clothing. with a hand outstretched to marinette, he winks down with a playful tone.) Shall we go, my lady?

[ Marinette regards Plagg with equal concern when she sees him. They've never spoken... not yet, but he's just as much a part of this as Tikki is. She manages a gentle smile, and though she doubts either of them will be happy about this (Tikki especially), she can't help but feel like a weight's been lifted from her shoulders.

She lets out a sigh of relief, feeling a little more like herself when she hears his familiar quip. ]

We shall, kitty cat.

[ She reaches for his hand with her own, using his help to rise to her own two feet.

At least now they don't have to play the hiding game where they can't look at each other. ]

(given the situation, adrien doesn't expect either of their kwami to be particularly hard on the two. after all, they'd done all they could to avoid the situation, but truthfully, keeping their identities a secret forever wasn't always entirely possible. as long as they fought together, there was always a risk of something happening.

like this.

he feels his heart skip a beat as she takes his hand, his green eyes shining like emeralds. he's more overjoyed than he thought possible, he finally has a name to put to a face, an identity behind the ladybug he's come to adore so much.

glancing down at their hands intertwined, he rubs the back of his neck with a shy smile. still adrien. not chat noir.) Is it okay if I don't let go this time?

[ Marinette blushes, completely taken in by how gentlemanly it is of him to ask her permission. Of course, Adrien has always been a gentleman... even as Cat Noir. She just had a hard time seeing it because of how forward he always was.

Out of the corner of her eye, she sees the rubble remaining. ]

We should finish clearing the path first. But after that? I—

I-I wouldn’t have it any other way.

(sure, he might be a horrible flirt as chat noir, and that trait can carry over to adrien (but not without a little shame), but adrien would never risk making marinette or ladybug uncomfortable and pushing them away.

his heart skips a beat at her approval for them to hold hands, a smile shining on his face even in the face of the rubble and work they have to get through.

for one last moment, he joyously swings their hands together, more than giddy despite the situation.) Thank you. Thank you. Let's work on getting out of here.

[ It helps that she has a task to focus on—not to mention the fact that she’s still kind of trying to channel Ladybug as she works. Otherwise she might find herself crumbling into rubble right then and there.

Where does this even leave them? Marinette was in love with Adrien, but Adrien was in love with Ladybug. A part of her still wonders whether that really means they were in love with each other all along.

...She tries not to think about it. Things are quiet, but not awkward.

Every once and a while, she still checks to see if Tikki’s woken up, until finally—without realizing it—the path is clear.

In the distance, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, she can just barely make out the rungs of a ladder. Her eyes widen as she points excitedly. ]

Hey! Look!

(unfortunately for marinette, adrien isn't giving nearly the same amount of thought to their situation as she is. adrien is in love with ladybug, and marinette already shares so many qualities with ladybug, the fact that his feelings so easily stayed when he was face to face with her only prove he loves her.

but he fails to realize that, like marinette, he isn't putting too much thought into this. adrien is only blindly following his heart, not considering what his head might have to input on this.

once they remove enough rubble to clear something of a path and marinette explains their exit path to him, a smile spreads on adrien's face as he takes her hand in his to guide her carefully to what is hopefully an exit.) A way out! Finally, we're getting somewhere.

[ Marinette is also hopeful as they approach. She doesn't want to think about how long they would've been able to survive down there if they hadn't found the right way, or how long it would've took for someone to notice they were missing and search for them.

She doesn't hesitate to grab the ladder first. It's fortunate that she isn't wearing a skirt, nor is Adrien a perv anyway. She does glance back though, giving him a chance to object to her going first if he would really want to. ]

No idea where this leads, so we'd better be careful.

(adrien gets out of the way specifically to let marinette go first. he hasn't forgotten the nasty cut on her arm from earlier, and though it may not show, he's anxious for her to get some proper attention to it.

he follows after her, eager to get out of this place, but not just for their own safety. all of this is going to require a long talk, some of it with their kwami... and part of it without. adrien needs to know where they stand now, what their relationship becomes after this.

just because they both like each other doesn't mean dating is immediately on the table.) It's okay.

(and on the chance marinette happens to glance down, she'll see a smile on adrien's face.) I have my lucky charm with me today.

[ .........She hadn't glanced down, not yet. She was too focused and feared she might spontaneously combust if she did. As soon as she hears that, though, she can't help herself, and she pauses suddenly before looking down to meet his eyes. The expression on her face suggests she would have facepalmed, if she wasn't hanging onto that ladder.

...But she's still smiling. ]

That was cheesy, even for you, kitty cat.

(even if his puns are still awful, even if marinette groans and sighs with every word out of his mouth, adrien just can't stop smiling. the situation is dire, and it's no time to be so giddy about his feelings being returned.

but he's dreamed of this day for months, can't he be allowed to indulge just a little?) I mean it.

(reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his beloved charm from marinette, always close to his heart.) I've always kept it with me, no matter what.

[ ...Oh. Oh, he meant it literally, too.

Marinette looks surprised for a moment, having completely forgotten about the charm in light of everything that's happened since then... but she is still clearly very flattered.

She continues to climb, blushing. ]

I-I could probably make you an even better one now.

[ She's always improving and trying new things, after all. ]

Maybe... I could even make us matching ones.

(a soft blush washes over his face at the idea of having matching charms with ladybug, even if their miraculous count in a way.

but this would be for them as a couple. something close and intimate only they would know about, not something so blatantly on display for the world to see and understand.

he ducks his head a bit to hide his shyness at the thought, his heart swelling in glee at the idea of being able to be so romantic with ladybug now.) I... I'd be happy with anything you make, Marinette. It would be from you.

Oh, Adrien...

[ Marinette is 90% sure he is just saying that, that this is just a result of residual feelings he's having because he's still reconciling her two identities. Thank god she reaches the top just then, chuckling nervously. She already feels like lava is flowing through her veins, like she'll spontaneously combust any second... either that, or she'll wake up from this crazy dream.

Before that can happen, though, she pokes at the large, circular metal slab to test its weight. ]

I-It's heavy but I can definitely move it.

(it might be true, adrien isn't quite sure yet if he's just projecting his feelings onto marinette because she's ladybug, or if he's able to separate the two and truly have feelings for marinette. but that's also not something he really has the luxury of considering right now, being too focused on finding out who she is, having to navigate their way through the tunnels to find a way out.

but that won't stop him from getting butterflies in his stomach just by being near her.

as marinette begins to move the metal slab blocking their way, adrien quickly climbs up the last few rungs of the ladder to position himself next to her, and helping to shove the metal out of the way.) W-Wait, Marinette, you're still injured, let me help.

[ hhhhhhHHHHH

Marinette’s heart practically dancing out of her chest! He’s just so close now... but she bites her lip, deciding she’d better hurry before she loses her grip completely.

Her knees aren’t faring much better, so she accepts his help, channeling Ladybug for courage. ]

On three, kitty cat.

[ Her lips twitch into a smile. ]

Three... two...

(his reaction isn't far from marinette's, a bright blush across his face that's luckily hidden by the darkness of the cave. all this time, he's been so close to the one he loves, and didn't even realize it.

he's not sure if that means he's just truly bad at seeing what ladybug is really like, or marinette is just really good at hiding it. hopefully the latter.

on "one", he helps push the manhole cover out of the way with a bit of force and grunting. finally out in the sunlight again (and it burns), adrien recognizes the streets as ones near the outskirts of paris. hoisting himself out quickly, he reaches a hand down to help marinette up.) We got thrown pretty far. It'll take a while to get back to our area.

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whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth ( marinette | adrien )

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