"Sorry, I'm allergic to feathers."

Five words were all it took for Ladybug to know that she was totally, undeniably screwed. She couldn't even concentrate on defeating the Akuma inside Mr. Pigeon due to the light, feathery feeling coming from the skin above her left breast.

After what seemed like forever, the Akuma was defeated and Chat Noir was holding his hand out for their traditional, celebratory fist bump, a sign of a job well done. She thumped their knuckles quickly and took off.

Finally, she was alone. Marinette undid her transformation, took off her regular top, and looked at herself in her bathroom mirror. Her signature pigtails had remained taught. Her skin had not acquired a single scratch. Everything was the same... most everything. Painted delicately on the skin above her heart, almost like calligraphy, was the mark she had been waiting for all her life. The kind of mark that everyone waited for all their lives. Her soulmark, detailed to look like her soulmate. Detailed to look like Chat Noir.

"No, no, no!" Marinette cried, squeezing the sides of the sink.

"What's wrong, Marin- what is that?" Tikki said, emerging from her earrings.

"Exactly what it looks like." It couldn't be Chat Noir. It just couldn't be. Not that Chat would be an exceptionally bad soulmate. He was just rambunctious and clumsy and overbearing and... not Adrien.

Since she had met the boy, she knew it had to be him. She didn't have the mark on her skin, she had it inside of her heart. Adrien was the one. Her soulmate. Her knight in white fencing armor.

"Hey, don't be so upset, Marinette. I know you like Adrien but you might find that Chat is the," Tikki giggled. "better fit for you." The kwami giggled again as if someone was tickling her.

Marinette huffed in frustration. How would this even work? A relationship with a superhero? It was an utterly ridiculous notion, one that Marinette scoffed at the fates for even thinking of creating. He probably didn't even know Marinette existed. What was she suppose to do? Date him as Ladybug?

"Oh, Chat Noir, I crave your existence. Let's go out. Meet me at the pastry shop, I'll be the one in the red polka dotted body suit and mask."

She thought of how many girls would die to have his soulmark on their chests. She thought of how she wasn't one of those girls. Marinette wondered if Chat had gotten his mark for her yet. She wondered if she even cared.

Marinette looked at the mark again in the mirror. A little circle about the size of a half-dollar, completely black, save for the wavy, white mask outline drawn inside of it. On either side were two pointy, black ears. She picked up a towel and tried hopelessly to scrub it off. It tickled, like her skin was laughing. Laughing at her for thinking that this could end up any different.

This couldn't be happening. Adrien stood in front of the school bathroom mirror shirtless, mouth agape. His fingers worked at the skin of his chest, stretching the mark, trying to perceive it a different way, as if the two signature black pigtails clad in little red bands weren't enough to prove that it was her.

To say that Adrien was surprised when Marinette challenged Max for the player two spot in the Ultimate Mehca Strike III tournament was an understatement. But she had, none the less, and she had completely owned him, him being Adrien. She had not only gotten a higher score than Max, she had even beaten the model by 5,000 whole points.

"And now I'll give a Dragon Dance, followed by a Triple Lotus Flower, and the Ladybug Fatality!" she said matter-of-factually, each move hitting Max's robot with precise destruction. "Marinette to the controller, it's off the hook!" The whole class cheered, all except Adrien whose hand was kneading at the tingling skin of his clothed chest.

"Wow, who knew Marinette was such a boss!" Nino cheered, sending a spike of random jealousy through Adrien. "Yo, man, you alright?"

"Yeah, I just need to... go take my insulin." Adrien darted through the crowd to an undisclosed location.

"But you don't have diabetes!"

Marinette reapplied her shirt and jacket, buttoning it so that the mark wouldn't be visible. She resumed working on her derby hat, only accidentally sticking herself with a needle twice when she began to think of Chat Noir. Marinette stepped back at looked at her work. The hat was nice, and there was sure to be no other derby like it. She smiled and trotted down the steps and out into the world. Into the world here people weren't Adrien. Into the world where people were Chat Noir.

"Where did you go?" Alya asked haphazardly when Marinette rushed to greet her. "Did you finish your hat?"

"Yes, here," she placed the hat that she had finished only moments ago on the stand and looked at her best friend for approval. Alya's face transformed from excited to quickly distraught.

"What?"

"But," she shook her head disbelievingly. "It's the same as Chloe's."

"What?!" Marinette gasped, turning to face her theft of an opponent. She instantly saw bright blond hair, but it wasn't hers. Adrien. Marinette's heart wrenched.

"That filthy little thief!" Marinette said through gritting teeth as Chloe began showing off her creation to Mr. Agreste.

"Do you want me to take care of it?" Alya asked.

"No, I think I can handle this by myself." Marinette was agitated, but prepared. She designed things a certain way for this exact reason. Marinette tried to look presentable as the Agreste family and their secretary approached her. Gabriel Agreste, or the digital version of him at least, gave the hat a skeptical look.

"Show me Ms. Bourgeois's hat again," he said. His assistant turned the device to Chloe's replica hat. "Is this a joke?"

"Oh, no!" Chloe gasped, feigning innocence. "Marinette copied my creation! It's a scandal! How could you do this?" She threw an arm over her forehead dramatically.

"I'm sorry for this incident, Mr. Agreste, but I can prove that is derby hat is my original creation." Gabriel looked doubtful, but he still listened. "Everything on my hat is hand made, from the embroidery to the weaving of the headband through the seam of the edge. I'm the one who created everything. But it has a particularity that only it's true creator could know about." She flipped her creation upside down to reveal the secret in the embroidery. "I signed mine."

Once Adrien made it to the bathroom, he ripped off his jacket and shirt, sending his little black kwami flying. The two looked at his chest, their eyes instantly finding the little black circle with two tiny pigtails. All it took was that goofy little game slogan from Marinette and Adrien couldn't pretend like the tingling sensation in his heart was just indigestion. He had gotten his soulmark, the self-inscribing tattoo that branded itself into your skin when you had found the one. Too bad he had gotten the wrong one.

Now, don't get Adrien wrong. Of course he thought Marinette was cute and nice and all, but she was just so... shy. She couldn't hold up a conversation to save her life because of the terrible stutter that somehow seemed to pop up whenever he was around. Marinette was just so little compared to his Ladybug. So... irrelevant.

"Oh, whats this?" Plagg asked, knowingly poking at the mark on Adrien's chest. Adrien slid shirtless down the bathroom wall and groaned. "I thought you harbored feelings for your insect partner."

"I do," Adrien said with a sigh. He closed his eyes and thought about how this would even work. He'd eventually have to tell her that he was Chat Noir, and he could only imagine the stuttering cacophony of words that would follow that breakthrough development.

"Don't be so down. The two might be more alike than you think," the kwami giggled.

"What are you doing?" Someone asked. Adrien's eyes shot open as he clutched his shirt to his chest. Plagg nestled into the bundle. He had meant to lock the door but he must have forgotten. Nino stood above him, looking as concerned as someone who always carried around a bubble wand could look.

"I was just, uh-"

"Why are you shirtless?"

"It's kind of a-"

"What is that?" Adrien looked at the spot on his chest where Nino was pointing. A little black pigtail poked out of its cover under his t-shirt. "Wait a minute, is that...?"

"Yes," Adrien sighed, dropping his shirt. "It's a soulmark."

"It looks like..."

"Marinette." Adrien looked so utterly defeated.

"Nice, bro!" Nino clapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess."

"I wonder if she's gotten hers yet."

"Maybe."

"What's the matter?" Nino sat down next to him.

"It's just that," he sighed, feeling utterly stupid for even saying this to someone who had no idea of how these emotions even sprouted. "this might sound stupid but... I'm in love with Lady Bug."

"You're right," Nino confided after a few moments of silence. "That does sound stupid."

"I know, it's just that... she's go great, Nino. She's intelligent, she's independent, she's... she's," He sighed.

"Miraculous?" Nino asked.

"Exactly."

"Listen, Adrien. I get it. I do, but you know she's a superhero. And who knows, maybe this soulmark is just the thing you needed. The extra push to show you that there really are plenty of fish in the sea."

"But I don't want fish," He put his head in his hands. "I want Lady Bug." Nino put his hand on Adrien's shoulder and smiled down at him. The model looked at his through his fingers at his best friend. Maybe he was right. maybe it was time that he got over his Lady Bug.

There it read, clear as day. Marinette was curved around the brim of a Chloe Bourgeois's derby hat. The blond con artist's eyes darted to the hat, to Marinette, to the Agreste crew, and lastly to the exit as she ran away crying.

"Very exquisite creation," Gabriel Agreste said as his assistant turned the screen to the relieved girls. "You definitely have the laboring hands of a hat maker, Miss...?"

"Marinette!" Adrien said, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder, introducing her.

"Congratulations on your demonstration, Marinette." He smiled. "You're the winner." Marinette stammered out gratitude after gratitude. The was almost enough to make up for her misplaced soulmark. Almost.

"Adrien," his father said and the pain was back again. "will wear your derby on our next advertising campaign." A set of large, yet soft hands cupped hers, which were gripping the hat.

"Awesome job, Marinette." Marinette tried not to let her face flush. Adrien took the hat and tried it on. It looked ravishing on his head. That is until he lifted his face in a fell sneeze. "Sorry," he sniffled, still maintaining his humble smile. "I'm allergic to feathers." Marinette felt a pang of... of something. Something she had felt before, but couldn't quite remember when.

When Marinette arrived home, she felt a mixture of relief and concern. She was glad that the day was almost over. After finding out that her soulmate was Chat Noir, defeating a somewhat ridiculous Akuma, and finishing Adrien's derby hat, she was exhausted. But she just couldn't shake the feeling she had had earlier when talking to Adrien. She could still feel it's weightiness in her chest. She tried to ignore it, but it was much too irritating, like bugs crawling in between layers of skin.

Eventually, when the tingling became too much, she reluctantly went to the bathroom and pulled off her shirt. She didn't want to have to look at that mark for at least another 24 hours, but apparently it had other plans. The mark was mostly the same. Mostly. The sphere now had two green and white bulbs in the middle.

"Are those," Tikki examined the mark carefully. "eyes?"

"I guess it wasn't enough that it has ears and a mask." Marinette said, thoroughly annoyed. "It had to have his eyes, too."

"But Marinette, I don't think those are Chat's eyes." The kwami looked confused, and it was never a good sign for a being that is over a thousand years old to be confused. Marinette leaned in for a closer look. The eyes bared uncanny resemblance, but unlike Chat Noir's all green sclera's, these eyes faded into white.

"Adrien?"

"Adrien?!" the kwami gasped. A smile slowly crept across her face and laughed erupted again, just like the first time.

"What's so funny, Tikki?! This is serious!"

"I know, I know," Tikki gasped between giggles. "It's just that this happens every time."

"What happens every time?" Marinette asked in frustration. As if she could get any more confused.

"Nothing, nothing. Why don't you talk to Chat about this?"

"I can't talk to Chat about this!"

"Please, Marinette? I promise, it'll all make sense."

He had to admit, getting to spend some alone time with Marinette had made the whole situation seem better. She was a lot less flustered outside of class, she was really good at UMS3, and it didn't hurt that her parents made the best pastries in France. Adrien could learn to love this girl. That was until an Akuma attacked and he would be dragged back into a storm of red and black and unrequited feelings.

Which is exactly how he felt fighting The Gamer along side Ladybug. He couldn't get enough of her today. He felt the need to watch her every move, to memorize her. He knew he had to let go but he just wasn't ready. Every flip, turn, and spin reminded him of someone. He just couldn't think of who.

Finally The Gamer was defeated and Chat wasn't ready to let go, no matter how few seconds he had left. He cautiously reached out for their fist bump, fearing for whatever reason that it would be their last. Ladybug giggled and pushed their knuckles together.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir to the controller," she said with a smile. "It's off the hook." And she was off, as opposed to Chat who stood their staring, clutching his fingers to his chest.

He rushed home, undid his transformed, and tore off his clothes. On his left breast was his soulmark, now with even more. A white line swirled around inside the black circle. A mask. Adrien pulled at the skin, half expecting it to be a piece of string or something. But it wasn't.

"Well, this is quite interesting," Plagg chuckled.

"Plagg, what do I do? It's Marinette but it's... it's Ladybug..."

"Hmm, I'm not sure. This has never happened before," Plagg mischievously giggled. "I would talk to Lady Bug about it."

"Are you kidding? I can't talk to Lady Bug about this!"

"I could."

Marinette paced her room. She had to take Tikki's advice. If she didn't, this missing information would eat her alive. She knew it was Chat's night to patrol, but she had to find him. She swung open her bedroom windows only to be met by a black gloved hand. She tried to scream, but long fingers curled around her mouth to stop any sound.

"Don't freak out," said a familiar voice. Moonlight pooled around the chiseled face. A black mask offset tan cheeks. A set of ears carved through the luminescence and perked in it's light. Two green eyes bore into hers. Chat Noir. It seemed that he had found her first. Wait, why had he found her first? He smiled when he saw her recognition and released her. "Now, I know that we don't exactly know each other, but I'd like to introduce myself."

"I already know who you are," Marinette said nervously. "You're Chat Noir."

"I'm not just Chat Noir," he spoke softly. Green light slowly began to engulf his body, bottom to top. When it subsided, a new man was standing in the old one's place. Sneakers, jeans, a black t-shirt with a white jacket. Green iris's and white sclera's. It was Adrien.

"A-adrien?!" Marinette stammered. "Y-you're Chat Noir?"

"Uh," he laughed, embarrassed. "Yeah. I-I guess I am. Listen, the reason I'm here is because..." Adrien paused, trying to find the right words to say. He rubbed at his chest as did Marinette.

"I think I know why," Marinette said, pulling down her night gown. The black pearl was just barley viable in the moonlight, yet unmistakable. Adrien's face light up with surprise. His kwami chuckled lightly, stepping out from behind Adrien's jacket.

"Tikki, you may as well come out now," the creature spoke.

"Tikki?" Marinette and Adrien asked simultaneously.

"What is it? I'm trying to sleep." Tikki emerged from the darkness of Marinette's covers, rubbing her eyes. She looked up and smiled instantly. "Plagg!" The kwami flew quickly to the other and embraced him in a hug that must have been waiting to happen for years.

"Wait, so you're," Adrien said, trailing off.

"Lady Bug," Marinette confessed. The two stood in silence for a few seconds more before Adrien broke out laughing. Marinette followed shortly after. The kwami's joined in.

"So, what? Has this been the third set of Ladybug's and Chat Noir's to have this same soulmark mishap?" Plagg asked, watching as Adrien pulled Marinette into his chest.

"What can I say?" Tikki smiled, covering Plagg's eyes from the locking of lips that was about to ensue. "They're a match made in heaven."

~The End~