AN: Thanks for all the reviews and support! I'm ready to go! BlueJay64- Thanks for the advice! I'm going to make the tattoos more specified to each person, but each of them will be centered on the rose! I hope you like what I end up doing, I'm going to try to make it unique!

Also- I will try to update daily or every other day, but life happens sometimes.

Chapter 1

-Marinette-

Today. She would get her rose today. It was the morning of Marinette's 16th birthday, and it was the only thing that got her straight up out of bed on time. The rose tattoos appeared the same minute you were born on the day you turned 16. Marinette has been born at 8:24, so she hurried to get ready for school. Marinette dressed hurriedly and rushed downstairs to eat her birthday breakfast. As she ate, she thought about Adrien. He'd turned 16 a few months before her, but he'd never said anything about his tattoo- at least nothing to Nino that he would have told Alya, who told her everything she found out about Adrien. She wished she'd turned 16 sooner, so she could verify if any of the guys she'd ever let were her soulmate. That would have been especially helpful in a lot of places: the ice rink, at school in general, and at her birthday party last year.

But today, Marinette was going to test her chances with Adrien. She was going to talk to him- to try and see if she could get her tattoo to tell her if Adrien really was her soulmate. Heck, she'd be happy if she even got a pink rose, because that alone would be enough to keep her hope alive. She kissed her mother and father goodbye before she headed off to school, toward all the hope that she was putting on the line.

-Adrien-

Today was another school day, but not just any day, it was Marinette's birthday. Adrien had a small gift for her in his bag to show her that he was thinking of her on her birthday, as her friend. He looked down at his own left hand, at the rose that sat perfectly centered there. The flower itself was colorless, but the two ribbons that were part of his unique design that intertwined around the step were green and black tinted. Plagg had declared that part of his connection to the cat miraculous. He hadn't really talked to many girls since he'd gotten his tattoo, but he swore almost every time Ladybug wasn't pushing him away, he felt his hand tingle. In those moments he often wished he could rip his suit off his hands and see what color the rose had turned, but his hope was that it turned red. He still believed that Ladybug and Chat Noir were meant to be together. That tattoo was the only proof he would ever be able to have.

Adrien stepped out of the car, walking up the steps. Surprisingly, Chloe didn't swarm him right away. He walked into the courtyard, and saw Marinette surrounded by friends. He strode toward her, his hand fingering the gift in his bag. She was turning all over in a circle, surrounded by everyone waiting their turn to thrust their present to her. She accepted them all graciously, and Adrien smiled to see her so happy. Some of the crowd started to disperse, so Adrien stepped forward. As Adrien approached, some of the others got the message that he wanted to talk to her, so it was just him, Marinette, Alya, and Nino. "Happy Birthday, Marinette." He smiled, holding out the small box to her.

For some reason, she seemed unable to answer him, her deep blue eyes just gaping at him as he held out his gift to her. Then Alya nudged her gently, and she came back to life, taking the gift as he offered it to her. She carefully removed the lid and drew out a beautiful pink flower charm. It was in the shape of a carnation in Marinette's classic shade of pink, and it shone with a perfect pearly sheen. "Thank you Adrien," she gushed, "I don't know what to say, it's so beautiful." Adrien smiled, glad to see that she was pleased with it, "I wanted to get you something special for your special birthday, because you're an awesome friend." Before she could respond, the bell rang, calling them upstairs to Miss Bustier's class. Adrien walked up the stairs with the rest of the group, and as they climbed the steps, he turned to Marinette, "What time were you born? Did you get your tattoo yet?" He asked. She blushed furiously as she answered, "I was born at 8:34, so I won't get mine until the middle of class." Adrien shrugged, "That's okay, you'll get it soon though, can I see it at lunch?" She nodded rather hurriedly, "S-Sure!"

-Marinette-

Adrien had just asked to see her tattoo. She tried to recover from her shock and nerves as she sat down in her seat. Miss Bustier's voice brought her back as she heard her teacher say, "Good morning class, today is a very special day! Happy Birthday Marinette! I'm so pleased to have you in our class, I'm sure we can all agree that you're an important and treasured friend to everyone!" Marinette smiled as everyone except Chloe and Lila all murmured in agreement. Miss Bustier went on, "I understand today is your 16th birthday, have you received your soulmate tattoo yet?" Marinette blushed a little, "Not yet, but my birth minute is in about half an hour, so it should appear soon!" She shifted a little in excitement, award that it would probably be difficult to focus until it arrived. "I would love to see it appear, so will you let me know two minutes before your birth minute so we could all watch it show up?" She asked. Marinette was delighted, "Of course! Thank you Miss Bustier!" Miss Bustier turned back to starting class, but Adrien, Alya, and Nino all turned eagerly to Marinette, "Now we'll all get to see it appear!" Alya whispered and Adrien and Nino nodded eagerly.

Three more minutes to go. Marinette fidgeted in excitement, and as the clock ticked closer, she started to raise her hand, and before she could say anything, Miss Bustier paused her presentation and walked over to Marinette's desk. She didn't even have to tell the rest of the class what to do. Everyone except Chloe and Lila scrambled out of their seats, and crowded around Marinette. One more minute. Marinette felt her hand start to prickle. "I can feel something!" She exclaimed and everyone craned their necks to see. The beginning of a shape began to appear, the faint outlines of a rose. Its petals were wide and spread in full bloom. Even though its petals weren't alive with color, they had a glittery or glossy look to them. "It's beautiful," she heard one of her classmates say, but she was too distracted with her tattoo to look up at who said it.

The leaves appeared beneath it on the graceful stem. Some rose tattoos had objects or designs to fit the person's personality, and Marinette's wasn't a disappointment. Around the entire design, a thin golden line began to draw itself. It formed a curved, delicate heart around the rose, and Marinette heard Miss Bustier make a small "Oh" in awe. Next to one of the three leaves, more gold line appeared, but it shaped itself into lovely script, the word: Patience. Everyone gasped, and another word appeared by the second of the leaves: Strength. Both words blew everyone away. It was rare for anyone to have a word on their tattoo, and it was even rarer to have two. Marinette felt the tingling stop, and for the first time in a couple minutes, she dared to move her hand. "I think it finished," she said. Everyone backed away, and started whispering as Miss Bustier returned to the front of the class, "Thank you for sharing that with us,Marinette. That was wonderful, you are very lucky to have such a beautiful tattoo. Now let's return to our lesson-" she continued, but Marinette felt her hand tickle one more time and she looked down at her hand again. Slowly, she saw a splash of color appear beside the third leaf. A tiny shape. A faint trace of red and black coloring the shape. A ladybug.