Things Need To Change

Marinette thinks Tikki and Plagg and Master Fu think (or thought, in one case) that quantum masking works better than it does.

Supposedly, the miraculous offer a sort of "mask" feature that allows for secret identities to remain a thing, but it's never worked that well when it comes to her, at least. Maybe for Adrien it does work, but she's known since the minute they were hanging upside down from his staff and her yoyo that he was the esteemed Agreste. The way his blond hair moved as they hung, his smile and green eyes, the immediate pun he made—it screamed who the hidden Adrien was. And Marinette accepted who he was readily, because who is she to deny such a sheltered boy a chance at a little teenage life and freedom?

But sometimes, it gets really hard to remember that the poised boy in front of her is that spunky and spontaneous alley cat who started visiting Marinette for midnight pastries (and started to leave with a bag of them). By hard, she means hard. As in the line between them is drawn in white against a black background, and on one side of the line the words Perfect and Anxiety and Sheltered are written, and on the other there's Learning and Care-free and Freedom. But then sometimes the line is invisible and the personalities co-exist with the words Trying and Feeling and Trapped. And the words Perfect in his own way show, and He is trying his best, and He's such a prideful hopeless romantic and I love him—

Anyway, so yeah, she doesn't think the quantum masking works that well. She knows that Adrien Agreste is Chat Noir, and that somehow they are the same person (even though it makes perfect sense). She knows that he likes making cat puns and jovial gestures of his undying love and affection for her, the one that burns as brightly as three suns on a cold winter day. She knows that he takes the most diligent notes she's ever seen and is so polite that he'd never dare speak out of turn (because of his father, but that's a rant for another day; Gabriel sucks and is no longer a designer she looks up to). She knows that he laughs louder when he actually finds what you say funny rather than the polite laugh, and she knows that he will always find cat puns and anything involving anime funny. She knows that he's actually a huge nerd and loves it when Ladybug brings Chat Noir any sort of anime merch, especially handmade. She knows that he always tries to buy her lunch or dinner on patrols because of two reasons: one, he loves her; and two, he feels as if he's not good enough (which isn't true). She knows a lot about the prim and proper boy who doubles as the world's most outrageous cat, and she loves that she's the only one who knows him.

Because sure, people know Adrien (Gabriel, Nathalie, his photographer, his studio artists, his modeling friends, Gabriel's associates; Alya, Nino, Max, Rose, Juleka, Mylene, etc), and sure, people know Chat Noir (Carapace, Rena Rogue and the Lady Bloger, the other part-time superheroes, citizens of Paris, etc). But who knows him ? Who knows the combination that those two personalities create, and who knows how he acts at two am when he thinks everyone is asleep? And who knows how he acts when he's crying because of his father? And who knows how he acts when he's not Chat Noir but is acting so much like it because he's delirious with sleep? No one—no one aside from her, really. Because Marinette sees the way the personalities leak and blend together; and the way she sees how he acts at two am, and the way she sees him cry because of the man she sometimes isn't supposed to know is his father, and the way she sees him delirious with sleep—she sees him all.

Marinette likes that she sees him all.

With a bag of pastries on patrol, Ladybug swings her way across the city of lights, hoping to finally beat the cat to their spot so she can set up an impromptu picnic. Today he had looked sad in school, so Marinette feels that as his partner in crime and outside of it, she has to surprise him. After all, he deserves surprises and pastries and more! He doesn't get surprises very often, something she's been attempting to change (with pastries, gifts, notes, physical touch, etc).