He remembers the first time that he realized it was happening with a faint flutter of his eye lashes and a happy sound that was more content than anything as he curled up on top of his bed under his mother's surprised stare.
It was unlike anything he ever had; it was sweet but had just a tang of bitter to tempt his tongue that curled up in his mouth at the thought.
His content, happy eyes flickered back open to stare at his mom before he asked the inevitable question that his parents had expected way sooner than this, "What's the taste in my mouth?"
"Adrien, honey." His mother cooed with eyes of the softest green, "It's whatever your soulmate is eating." She sat down on the bed beside him, long, billowy, white skirt moving with her legs, making him startle and stare, because it looked absolutely gorgeous where it moved along her legs, catching the dim light from the window, muted further by their curtains.
"M-My soulmate?" Adrien was young, barely old enough to understand any of this.
"Yeah, she's little just like you." Age wasn't known for soulmates until you met your soulmate in person, but his mother couldn't help but reassure him, "She can taste whatever you eat as well."
His father sat down in a chair that's always been in Adrien's room that his mother had put there when he was younger to sit while she checked up on him, worry ever creasing her brow on the nights that he seemed particularly ill.
"Yeah?" Adrien's eyes danced with curiosity.
His mother patted his head, fingers running idly through his hair; he wondered if he'd purr in relaxation under her touch if he was part cat, he figured he probably would.
"Now, you'll know whenever your soulmate is eating something or tasting something. She'll notice the same for you. May be you'll both grow fond of what the other can taste." Her smile was soft and soothing, and Adrien couldn't help but lean into it.
Adrien reflects on that first talk of soulmates now that he's older, wonders vaguely if his soulmate really does like some of Adrien's favorite foods too, does she wrinkle her nose cutely like he used to when he first got put on his father's model diet.
He'd long since grown used to the taste of the superfoods and low calorie meals and whatever his father had him eat.
It was a shame that he couldn't ever be full off of it though sometimes with the taste of her meals, he could pretend that he was.
He nestled closer against his blanket, watching Plagg, and marveling accidentally over who Ladybug's soulmate is; has she found him yet, is she still looking, could it be him?
Adrien deliberately ignores whenever Plagg says that humans just get weirder and weirder as the centuries tick by; he's vaguely sure that it's somehow insulting of who he is yet he never holds that against Plagg.
He misses his mother on days when he can't help but debate soulmates like this, but she's already gone, living or perhaps even dead elsewhere though he hates the thought of the latter.
Adrien even misses that chair that left his room months ago, almost exactly three weeks since his mother left was when it went elsewhere; he wondered if his father never expected to see her face again, but couldn't blame him if he did.
He wonders if his parents were soulmates; his mother never told him, but always spoke highly of Adrien's soulmate.
His father never left any clue as to whether they were soulmates, never spoke a word of it aloud despite everything.
They were close though; Adrien remembers seeing the loving way his parents used to lean close together during meals before his mother left, remembers how she laughed at his dad's dry humor, how she spun with pretty grace around his father usually, somehow finding just the means to tip his office chair back for a kiss whenever she thought he was overworking himself though she never cared who saw.
Adrien knew that they were in love; it was obvious.
His mother wore her heart on her sleeve with his father, perhaps always had.
Adrien glanced over at his computer, The LadyBlog beaming from the monitors, and his heart heavy as his most often search outside of the blog was how likely it was for non-soulmates to fall in love and sustain that kind of love.
Usually though, many years later, they fell apart with messy divorces, kids sent to live with separate parents, and quick marriages with barely any breathing time between the actual soulmates.
That always hurt, stung, swelled up within his chest like a pain that he couldn't give up on; sometimes he wondered if that was why his mom left. Had she found her actual soulmate many months ago and left with him?
He doubted that she'd do such a thing to him, to them, but he was never quite sure; he missed her desperately and wondered if it really was okay to look at Ladybug like she'd set the moon and stars up just for him.
Adrien figured that it was wrong, because there was no way that she could be his soulmate though he thought of sweet, silly words shared between classmates and the way that Nino and Alya made being soulmates look so easy.
He remembers quiet Marinette who can barely say a word to him whenever he manages to sit down to share a lunch with his friends though he rarely has time to eat then or stay to talk for long.
Adrien remembers the way that she blushes and stammers and runs from him.
He pushes those thoughts away, knowing just as easily that he isn't entirely sure that they'll ever be close friends from the way she acts, but he likes being around her anyway, each day it becomes just a little bit better to be around her though sometimes she trips over words and air and everything in between before him as if somehow he makes her nervous.
Adrien figures he must actually make her nervous though he has no idea why when he sees how brave she is with their other classmates.
He startles at the smooth lip gloss that feels like it's being pressed against his lips, gentle yet sturdy hands placing it on; it tastes like strawberries, and yet his heart is already doing palpitations.
Could she, his soulmate, being going on a date?
It scares him, but what scares him more is the thought of what if she's Ladybug and going on a date with some other guy.
His heart is as conflicted as it always feels now, but he can't help it when he presses his fingers to his lips and feels the slight chapping that he'll have to take care of later and not the smooth surface of his soulmate's lips.
Adrien knows better than to get distracted or carried away, and what if his soulmate isn't Ladybug? The thought's unbearable, but he doesn't withdraw it, just drops his hand down to his chest as if holding his heart in place, because it hurts so much to just think about it.
Once he can breathe evenly again, he grabs his jacket, slips it on, and hurries to finish getting ready; he's meeting Alya, Nino, and Marinette at the movies in fifteen minutes, and he should put on his shoes and leave now.
He's already ushering Plagg into his jacket when he feels the insistent weight of what has to be her lips brushing steadily against the lip gloss on them, making his head spin in circles, though he doubts that she's kissing anyone since he can't taste anything but that lip gloss, tempting and strawberry.
Adrien's positive that he's never liked strawberries as much as he does now though his heart is still racing out of control and aches so bad all at the same time; strawberries are tantalizingly evil is what his subconscious finally screams at him later after he'd spent an evening, trying not to wonder if Marinette's lips always shined like that and whether they'd be smooth beneath his own.
He doesn't have a crush on her, doesn't believe he does anyway, but yet his heart's racing out of control at the sight of her, and he wonders if she knows of the sweets that tickle his tongue sometimes when he's trying to rest; are they hers?
Adrien falls to sleep that night and dreams of strawberry lip gloss on Marinette's lips, dreams of smoothly kissing it until he can taste it too, and not feel so delusional debating it all.
He never thought that the day would come when the winter chill of the air has Ladybug nestling against his side, thermos in hand as she pours them both some hot chocolate.
It's stunning to watch something as simple as her filling two mugs with hot chocolate and sharing with him; it's so ordinary that his heart fills with hope and joy.
He startles when she takes a sip, and he can taste sweet, hot chocolate on his lips, over his tongue, and his eyes flutter closed as if he'd already taken a sip, and there's that old childhood noise from surprise that makes her falter in her movements and turn to stare at him.
"Cat Noir?" In her voice, it is a question, and all he can do is open his eyes and try to answer her with a stare, and when that proves ineffectual, he takes a long sip from his mug, gasping at the heat that feels hotter on his tongue somehow and blushing when her eyes go blissfully wide.
He can't stop his blush, but he can stop himself from reaching out towards her and pulling her into a surprise kiss; he knows not to really push his boundaries even if this isn't a dream, and they are already soulmates.
"But," She murmurs, and he realizes that she's in shock, "I thought my soulmate was Adrien Agreste. I never had time to really prove it, he's always so busy, but sometimes I could taste what he was surely eating and..."
Ladybug gets cut off by his lips, and Cat Noir realizes shocked that hearing his civilian name on her lips near soulmate was enough to push what little control he had over his desire to kiss her to the edge.
He's already apologizing rather frantically just seconds later when he finally wills himself to pull away for her sake, and her wide blue eyes look so pleasantly dazed, her face pink, that he really wants to do that again.
Cat Noir realizes belatedly that he's just wasted their first kiss as he didn't taste her nor did she taste him; it was too fast and spontaneous.
Ladybug stares at him widely, in a daze, before she finally finds the words within her to speak, "I-I, what was that?"
"S-Sorry," Cat Noir breathes, and he knows that he really should warn her, but he's already dropping his transformation, eyes on her.
"A-Adrien?" Her question is soft, and it's like a wall has been shoved down before them now as she detransforms as well, still looking slightly dazed, slightly shocked.
"M-Marinette?" His stutter joins hers in the otherwise quiet air, and it's a wonder that his first thought after all of this is that the lip gloss was for him.
He laughs, head thrown back, pure joy diluting his veins, making him absolutely giddy, any remaining jealousy from the lip gloss day has vanished into thin air.
Adrien asks this time, nervous but curious, happy and eager, "Can I kiss you, Marinette?"
His question gives her pause, and she seems to reflect on it, blue eyes now thinking over everything from the evening stretched out before them, here on top some nameless rooftop that Adrien's half positive, he'll look for every day from here on out.
"You may." She finally grants, and while his heart leaps, and he's eager to lean forward and close that gap, he realizes that he wants to take this slow.
He takes her face into his hands, brushes back her dark hair with gentle, careful fingers and kisses her, tasting chocolate on his tongue and sugar and flour.
Adrien nearly laughs again, so very giddy, before she moves against him, and suddenly, he stills and can only taste himself.
He realizes belatedly that he tastes rather bland compared to her, minty, veggie filled like salads never ever leave his tongue, and yet the taste is nearly indescribable like he's just himself among all of this, unique.
When he moves against her to join her tongue, it's like an explosion goes off in his mouth; all that he can taste is her and him blending in a weird symphony inside his mouth.
It's hard to tell anymore where his taste ends and hers begins; he feels so at peace though, tastes dancing on his tongue, and the world melts away leaving only them and some exotic, perfect taste in their mouth.
It feels as if their kiss could have lasted years, perhaps even centuries, and yet when he pulls away, he feels like it's been too soon to step back from her, so he doesn't let go of her waist, doesn't ever want to leave this thin, perfect embrace.
He wonders vaguely if they both packed stuff for the Kwamis, realizing that they'll need to clamor down at some point, but he hopes with so much of his will that that point won't be too soon, because he wonders if she'll let him try that again and again and again.
Adrien's falling in love with her kiss, but he doubts that he loves it nearly as much as he loves this indescribable woman that he's come to get closer to with each passing day when the words leave his lips, soft, almost just carried away by the wind, he doesn't stop them, "I love you, Marinette."
Her answering smile makes his heart swell up as she kisses him again, making his heart race impossibly faster, and she murmurs softly against his lips over Paris on a dark night, "I love you too, Adrien."
The world floats away to just leave the two perfectly at peace, pressed close, and leaning in as if to steal a third or was it fourth kiss now while they stayed hidden out of sight on top of someone's apartment and not minding in the least if they only pull back away to go home in the wee hours of the morning or if they only stay on this rooftop forever together.