Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be miraculous if I owned Miraculous? ;)

Adrien felt at odds. He didn't know who to talk to. He had never thought he would be the type of person who would give his heart to two people. He didn't even know it was possible. So he had struggled to come to the conclusion that he did indeed have feelings for two people. And he felt guilty. He tried so hard to fight it. But he didn't know what to do, now that he had admitted to himself that his heart was indeed in two places.

Who could help him? Father wasn't someone you could talk to about this stuff…or anything else, really. Natalie seemed so stoic. He didn't know if he could talk to her. His loyal body guard was out of the question. And Nino wouldn't understand. He was happily in love with Alya, and understandably so. They were perfect for each other.

The next day, Adrien's fencing class had been cancelled and he begged his father to allow him to work on a school project in the school library for a bit. Adrien had hoped the setting would help him figure things out. And he was glad he was there since he saw Marinette.

How did he not think of it earlier? She was exactly the person he could talk to about this. And given his recent epiphany, he also wanted to talk to her more. A few weeks ago, Marinette had walked into him by accident. That wasn't surprising since his kind friend had a tendency to crash into things. What was surprising, though, was her mood. She was usually bubbly and full of life. That day, she had looked confused and somewhat upset - but in a very subdued, non-Marinette way. She had been so down she barely noticed him.

"Alya, what do you do when your heart belongs to two people?" Marinette had said absent-mindedly. Then she had looked up. "A-Adrien? Oh no. I-I-uh…" She had then apologized and was about to take off, but Adrien gently stopped her. She didn't have to apologize to him. They were friends. He would always be there for her, just as she was always there for all her friends. He had asked her what was wrong and she had finally explained that she had feelings for two guys. She wouldn't say who they were and she had refused to meet his eyes, but that didn't matter. He didn't pry; she just needed him to listen. So he did. He had never been in her shoes, but he could see how hard this was on her. He could have only imagined how guilty he would he would have felt if he had developed feelings for someone other than Ladybug. That is, until it actually happened.

Poor Marinette must have felt so conflicted. Guilty for loving this new person, yet being happy in their presence. But she seemed a little better now. And whether or not she had been able to solve her conflict, they can both understand one another now.

So Adrien walked up to her, noting no one else was in sight. It looked like she was doodling on the side of her homework. Gosh she's cute! No! Now was not the time to get distracted. Even if this was Marinette - the reason for his internal conflict.

"Hey Marinette!"

"Gaaaah!" Marinette quickly shut her book closed. "Oh, Adrien! It's just you. um… H- Hi! Wh- What's up?"

"I, um, I'm not interrupting anything, am I" Great going Adrien. Who even says that. Remember, be cool. You're Adrien. And Chat Noir. This is Marinette, your friend. Well your frustrating amazing friend.

After making sure Marinette was free to talk and didn't mind having company, he took a seat beside her. They started talking. And it was really nice.

Then out of nowhere Marinette asked, "Um, is everything OK Adrien? I mean - I just - you seemed kind of down in class today…"

Oh yeah. That.

"Well, I guess you can say I've been feeling a little..conflicted lately. Actually, you could say we are on the same boat." He said. When Marinette looked confused, he added, "I had always thought there was one girl for me. There was nothing I was more sure of in this world. But now, it looks like there is someone else…too. And I don't know how to feel. I'm just really confused."

Marinette didn't say anything. She just looked down.

He continued, "I don't know what to do. I guess, I mean, a few days ago…you mentioned. I thought maybe I could talk to you?" Maybe this was a bad idea. Marinette shook her head slightly. This was a bad idea.

"Of course you can!" Marinette said in a slightly higher than normal pitch. She smile up at him. Oh wow. She was just amazing. "I don't think I can help much, but I'll do my best."

"You're the best, Marinette." You really are. The problem was, so was Ladybug.

"This other girl must just as cool as Kagami, huh?"

"Wait. What? Kagami?" Where did that come from?

"I mean, Kagami is the special girl from before, right? You went on a date with her and even asked me what to do about her, remember?" Oh no. She has it all wrong.

"Marinette, I don't - Kagami isn't. I mean, I guess that kind of makes sense? But no, I wasn't talking about her." Adrien scratched his neck. This was getting uncomfortable. Why was he such an idiot?

"I never loved Kagami, Marinette. Thing is my dream girl, doesn't feel the same way about me as I do about her. And well, I thought I should try to move on. Kagami is someone I really admire. She's great at fencing and has such a straight forward personality. She is a good friend, too. And at first I thought maybe I could move on with her. She reminded me of my…special Lady" He chuckled. He couldn't help himself. "Kagami is strong and isn't scared to kick my butt…and honestly some of her features are very similar to that special girl."

"Oh."

"But in all honesty, they are both very different. Kagami is a really nice person, but she can be a bit..cold at times."

"Wha-what about your actual…special lady?"

"She's not cold at all. She's warm. And friendly. Incredibly resourceful. She's a lot like you, Marinette. You two would get along well." Great. Why did he have to say that?

Marinette blushed. He liked it.

"She's really special." Just like you. "And I don't think I'll ever stop loving her. So, I feel guilty abut having feelings for someone else." You.

Marinette was quiet. He had no idea what she was thinking and he couldn't blame her. He didn't say much when she told him she was torn over two guys.

"So I totally get how hard it must be on you." He remembered that night him and Ladybug had fought Glaciator. Marinette was so heart broken. If her feelings were finally returned and she started having feelings for a second guy, the guilt must be killing her.

"It must be hard when you no longer know if Luka is the one for you."

"Lu-Luka? What do you mean?"

"You finally have something going on with Luka and then you have a second person come along and make you question everything."

"Something…going on with…Luka?"

"Yeah! You brought him along for support to the ice rink. You know, for Kagami…" Boy he really was an idiot, he had gone with the wrong girl. Even though the right one had been there, too. How could he have been so clueless?

"I only brought Luka along because I didn't want it to be awkward. You know, being the third wheel…on your date…" He definitely was an idiot. "I mean Luka did make me nervous at first. The cool, older musician. But no, I never loved him. Yeah, maybe at some point I guess I thought I could have moved on with him…"

So, Luka wasn't the boy she was sad about the night of Gladiator. Then…who? Wait, she did confess to being in love with Chat Noir later on…and he had rejected her, his heart belonging to Ladybug. Except now, Marinette did hold a piece of his heart. He was an idiot for refusing. But it's not like she still has feelings for him right? She seemed fine after clearing up the whole misunderstanding with her dad…But maybe…

"Is it Chat Noir?" Why did he blurt that out?

"Wha-wha-wha-what. What do you mean? Why would you think that?" Yeah, Adrien? Why would you think that when only Char Noir knew about her confession?

He had to say something fast. "I just-"

Marinette was red again. She put a hand on her closed book. She pulled it a bit closer to herself. Wait. Was she still in love with Chat Noir? No, no. He couldn't get his hopes up, and he definitely couldn't be with her as Chat Noir. What if someone saw them together? He couldn't endanger her life like that. And what about Ladybug? She did always reject his advances…But this wasn't the time for that.

Marinette didn't say anything. It looked like she was thinking something over. She buried her face in her hands and made a weird noise. Then she looked up at him and bit the corner of her cute lips. Lips he almost got to kiss before. Focus, Adrien.

She nodded. "Well, sort of," she said. "He is the second guy."

Adrien wanted to scream. She loved him! Marinette loved him! Wait, no. She loved Chat Noir. Not Adrien. But in some ways Chat Noir was the real him. OK an uninhibited version of himself - with a little bit of flair. All the cool superheroes he had read about had a bit of flair.

Marinette's voice broke his thoughts. "I know it's sounds stupid. I'm just a civilian and he's a superhero. What are the chances, right? And I didn't mean to fall for him. I even tried to fight it. After all, I've always been in love with y- someone else. But Chat, he isn't just a superhero…he's more than that. I know it sounds dumb -especially since he loves Ladybug. So really, I shouldn't even be feeling this way."

Adrien didn't know what to say. "Um…" What could he say? Chat Noir loves you, too? He also tried to fight it?

"I really shouldn't obsess over it. I mean he has always been in love with Ladybug…But she…"

"Is in love with someone else."

"How did you know that?" Her voice reached that high pitch again. And she was red again? Wait. Shoot, he wasn't supposed to know that. Ladybug never told Adrien that.

He lied. "Well, it's obvious. Isn't it?"

"I-it is?"

"Yeah, um, Chat Noir keeps flirting with her. She doesn't seem to be flattered. It looks like he toned it down though. So, I'm guessing she probably told him?" Nice save. Did she believe it?

"Oh!" It worked! Now he just had to change the topic.

"So, who is the other guy? Or well, the original guy?"

Marinette's eyes bulged out. "uh-h-he's -well- um- he."

Adrien chuckled. "That's OK. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to Marinette." Even if he did want to know. Who was the guy the Marinette had been in love with all this time? Someone cooler than Luka, someone who was -in Marinette's eyes- as amazing as a superhero.

"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I do. I tried to say it for some time. But something always happens." She looked sad. He didn't want her to feel that way.

"It's OK, Marinette. I know. I couldn't really tell anyone about my dream girl. You're actually the first person I spoke to about her." Well, Plagg wasn't a person.

"Thanks, Adrien."

"No problem. How about we finish our homework and then we go grab some ice cream?"

Marinette agreed, and they both started working on their own homework in comfortable silence. Adrien took a mini break and glanced at Marinette.

She really was amazing and complex. So creative and resourceful. Always did the right thing and was always helping people out. She was confident, yet she was -somehow- also shy around him at times…wait.

She mostly seemed to be shy around him…well, when she knew he was around. He just thought she was nervous around him like she was with her great uncle and other celebrities. But then again, she hadn't always been nervous around him. She didn't stutter when they had first met and made it clear how much she disliked him during that misunderstanding with the chewing gum. Then somehow she started getting nervous around him. He thought it might have to do with her admiration for his father -but that didn't make sense anymore. She had known who his father was from the start. Maybe she started getting nervous around him for the same reason he found himself getting nervous around her? Maybe she also had feelings for him? No, that can't be; she liked Luk- no, Marinette had just said she didn't feel that way about him.

Marinette looked at him. Shoot! I've been staring. Be cool, Adrien!

"You have something in your hair." He pretended to take something out of her hair and throw it away behind them.

She turned red again and stuttered a "thank you".

No, it wasn't his celebrity status. After all, Chat Noir never got that kind of reaction from her. And he was a superhero.

"No problem, Marinette." She went back to doing her homework. He couldn't help but notice how similar her handwriting was to that of his secret admirer again. When he had first thought that, he had convinced himself she loved Luka. But now, he wasn't sure. And didn't she just admit that she had tried to tell him about the guy? Maybe she meant she tried to him as Adrien, the guy, not Adrien her friend? If that was true, then it would make sense why his secret admirer's handwriting looked so much like Marinette's.

And she was always doing nice things for him and took the time to know what he liked. But she was that way with everyone. That's why all of her friends loved her so much. But she was never nervous around any of them. No. In fact everyone seemed to be happy whenever something happened between them. Now that he thought about it Alya, and even Nino, seemed to create situations where he can interact with Marinette. Although Alya would always do what's best for Marinette - she would never push Marinette to do something she didn't want. Actually she would push Marinette to do something she wants…but may be too scared to do.

Adrien felts his cheeks burn. His heart started to beat faster. And his stomach was doing something strange.

Could Marinette actually like him? He didn't want to get his hopes up. Should he ask her? If she was struggling to tell him, maybe he could make it easier? But what if he was wrong? What if he ruined this friendship he valued so much? What if she goes back to hating him? But maybe she won't? After all, Ladybug was still his friend after all the times he tried to flirt with her and after he genuine confession. So maybe Marinette would still be his friend.

He had to give it a shot.

"Marinette?"

She looked at him. "Yes?"

He could look at those blue eyes all day long. Hopefully they won't stop looking at him after this. Before his doubts could get to him, he said,

"The first guy is me, isn't it?"

A/N: Would you look at that? It's not a one shot! Also, I wrote this before watching Oblivio and Animaestro...so...yeah. And yes, I know Adrien most likely wouldn't be so...reflective...but that's what fanfictions are for, right? Hopefully, it doesn't feel too uncharacteristic. I'll try to update as soon as I can. As always, I appreciate your reviews.