After fighting with six different ideas for what I was going to write for my friend Rosegardentwilight's birthday, I settled on a Siren's Lament AU ;D Happy birthday, my friend! Hope you enjoy this :D

Marinette's life was a simple one. She lived with her parents at a bakery in Paris, helping them run the business. At twenty-two, she knew every single in and out there was to the bakery. Though it was always unpredictable what kind of day it would be, and though some days were much harder than others, the simplicity of her life was a comfort, one of the few she had growing up.

Her home life was fine, and even handling the bakery was easy. But school…

School had been brutal.

She'd been bullied so heavily that her academics had suffered. She found it easier to play hooky for the day than face the hallways of the cruel place filled with cruel people just waiting to knock her down, verbally or physically.

However, during one of those days was when she met the one person that she could say had become her only friend.

She knew who he was—his posters were everywhere so it was nearly impossible not to know Adrien Agreste—but he had begged her to be quiet and just let him enjoy being free from the paparazzi and fans and his bodyguard for the day. She'd agreed, knowing what it was like to feel like she had to hide at any given moment. She'd helped him decide which movie would most likely have the emptiest theater, and they watched the movie together.

Though, in hindsight, 'watched' was a generous term. They had started talking during the previews, which lead to them continuing talking throughout the movie, and by the time the credits were rolling, they were exchanging numbers suggesting they should do it again.

Which they did.

Again. And again. And again.

They became best friends, and it wasn't just because they were each other's only real friend at the moment. He was the first person who truly encouraged her and stood by her side even when school was rough. And he'd admitted that it was wonderful having a friend that never cared about his celebrity status and genuinely cared for him and his wellbeing.

But somewhere along the line, she'd fallen for him. It was so embarrassing. They were friends. They were supposed to stay friends. He liked her because she was a genuine friend to him, because she wasn't looking for anything more from him than friendship.

Meaning that no matter how hard it was, she'd have to stay mum. She would never tell him that she'd been crushing on him for a few years now. Because as he'd said many times before, they were great friends. A great team.

A tap on her shoulder sent her leaping into the sky, yanking her from her reverie.

She glared at the blonde offender, her supposedly best friend who knew better than to sneak up at her like that, who was laughing. "Sorry."

"You're not sorry," she grumbled.

"Guilty as charged." Adrien held up his hands. "Hey, I think that we're past any rush. Could I take my break? Kagami's here. But I could tell her I can't if you need me to—"

"It's fine," Marinette interrupted with a forced grin. With Marinette's parents out of town visiting relatives in China for the next few weeks, Marinette was running the place on her own. Well, besides Adrien who had been more than happy to pick up any extra shifts she needed him to. He was such an amazing friend and helper, which made Marinette feel guilty over just how far her heart sank at the sight of Kagami standing outside with a cup of coffee in her hands. "Go see your girlfriend. Besides, you deserve a break."

"Thanks, Marinette," he said, slipping out of his apron. "Be back in five." He roughly folded the apron, then set it in a cubby behind the counter before heading outside to meet her. Marinette forced her smile to remain, but in reality, it broke her heart to see Adrien out there with the girl he knew from his fencing club being all smiles and whatnot.

"Oh, you poor girl."

Marinette looked over to where Miss Lila Rossi, her worst school bully and yet a regular customer, was standing with a mock frown on her face.

"Seems nothing goes your way, huh, Marinette?"

She scoffed. "You're wrong. I was the one who encouraged Adrien to date Kagami." Which, she had been. Adrien had often talked about Kagami and how they usually sparred together. The mention of the girl always seemed to put a smile on his face, and Marinette wanted nothing more for him to be able to smile since his father disowned him when Adrien decided to quit modeling… with Marinette's encouragement. She'd never not feel guilty for causing such a rift between him and the only family member he had left.

"Yeah," Lila said with a knowing smirk. "I doubt that. Anyway, best of luck dealing with that broken heart. I hear chocolate ice cream's a good remedy. Don't worry about the calories. A girl with a face like yours shouldn't have to be careful of her weight."

Lila strutted out of the store, leaving Marinette alone, sulking from that sting. She had to learn to let those go and not obsess over her appearance in the mirror like she had in high school. Lila was a liar, had always been, and apparently, always would be. But Marinette had to admit that even though she knew they were lies, sometimes it was hard to convince herself otherwise.

With a sigh, Marinette turned away from the counter, mostly so she wouldn't be able to watch Adrien and Kagami interact. After all, Kagami was practically perfect. She was fit, fearless, and had a fine face. But even telling herself that, the selfish part of Marinette still regretted ever encouraging Adrien to go out with her.

The bell for the door rang, and she instinctively put on a customer service smile. "Hello, how can I help you?"

The old man looked over the case of treats. "Hmm. I don't know. I've never been here before. What do you recommend?"

Marinette glanced over the lines of baked goods. "The macarons are always enjoyable."

He hummed, looking at them. "Perfect. I will take two of whichever ones you think are the best."

With a nod, she grabbed a little bag and a pair of tongs, using them to put two of her personal favorite macarons into the bag. When she returned to the register, he was ready with a bill to complete the transaction.

"Perfect," Marinette said, taking the bill, then pulling out his change to hand back. "Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy them."

He smiled. "You wear a smile, yet I see sadness in your eyes."

Instantly, Marinette's smile disappeared, mostly because it was near impossible to keep smiling when a perfect stranger calls your bluff so bluntly.

The man looked out the window to where Adrien was chatting animatedly with Kagami. "The ache in your heart wouldn't happen to be from that boy out there, would it?"

She wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die. "Is it that obvious?"

He shook his head. "I've been around many years; I know the signs of a broken heart. I think I have just the thing to cheer you up."

He reached into his pocket, pulling out a little octagonal box to put on the counter.

"Oh, no no no," Marinette said, waving her hands around. "I couldn't take that."

"Of course, you can," the man said. "They're said to give you a little luck. Maybe, it will help you with your boy troubles." With that, he headed out of the store before Marinette could stop him. "My best wishes to you, Miss Marinette."

He disappeared from the store before she could say a word. "Thank you," she mumbled, despite no one being around to hear it.

Curiously, she reached down to open the box, gasping as she saw a pair of Ladybug print earrings. They were really cute. And with that ladybug pattern…

She put the earrings in her ears. What did it hurt? She could use all the luck she could get.

Monday nights for most people would be the boring start of the work week. However, Monday nights for Marinette meant going out with Adrien and walking around the city and maybe seeing a movie.

She had picked a dress to wear, a simple pink one that she paired with a denim jacket. She tossed her hair up into twin pig tails and finished them off with two pink bows. She smiled at herself in the mirror, thinking she looked pretty cute.

But suddenly, an image of Kagami came to her mind. That woman was always perfectly put together, and her hair was sleek and stylish, not put in little pigtails and definitely never decorated with bows.

She should change before Adrien arrived.

"Marinette?"

Too late. "Coming."

She grabbed her purse, shoving her phone and her wallet inside of it before making her way downstairs to where Adrien was.

Only to see him on the phone.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Kagami," he said. He caught Marinette's eye, then pointed to the phone mouthing 'sorry'. "I would come over right now, but I'm with Marinette."

"Go," Marinette said, her heart slowly breaking. "If you need to go, then go."

Adrien covered the mouth piece. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Marinette said with a forced smile. "Sounds like Kagami needs you. Go."

"Thanks, Marinette." He then took his hand away from the mouth piece. "Yeah, I'll be over as soon as I can. See you in a bit, Kagami." He hung up and slid the phone into his pocket. "I'm so sorry. Kagami wasn't accepted as a teacher for the fencing league she was applying for, and so her mom's upset meaning she's upset and —"

"It's okay," Marinette said, interrupting him. "Go to her. Tell her I'm sorry, too. That must be really hard on her."

Adrien grabbed hold of her shoulders. "Thank you, Marinette, for being so understanding."

"What are friends for?" Her smile was growing more forced by the minute as the number of pieces her heart was being broken into was growing.

"Still, thank you." With one last squeeze, he turned around and headed out. "We'll reschedule!" he hollered right before he slipped out the door. "Have a good night, Marinette."

"Thanks. You too."

The door shut, and instantly, Marinette felt her knees buckle. From her spot on the floor, she bit her lip, playing with the hem of her dress. Of course. She'd never be able to compete with Kagami. But that was what she had wanted for Adrien, right? Happiness? Someone who made him smile? He had someone who he cared for so much, and Kagami was very lucky to have him by her side.

She reached up to brush an errant lock of hair behind her ear, fingers brushing against her earring. "Lucky, huh?" she mumbled rubbing her finger over the jewelry. "Yeah, right."

As she looked out into the Parisian night, she couldn't help but think that maybe it would be nice to just get out and spend some time by herself. She rarely left, it seemed, unless it went out with Adrien.

As a friend, of course. Because that's all they were and all they would ever be: the best of friends.

She decided to go for a long walk; she needed it to clear her mind. She soon found herself at the Seine, looking over the bridge into the water. The moonlight shone off in little ripples, constantly swaying and moving. The sound wasn't loud enough to drown out the ambient noise of the city, one that had grown quieter with the fall of night. The cool air was such a contrast to that of the bakery, and the slight breeze felt good blowing against her exposed skin.

It was enough to help her drop the weight on her shoulders, if only for a moment. The weight of having been bullied for years. The weight of helping her parents run a bakery with a smile always on her face. The weight of having a wild crush for her best friend, the one who was always by her side.

The one who was dating another woman.

It was so much for one girl to handle. It hurt, the pain in her heart not able to be held back. She bit her lip, trying not to cry. She let out deep breath after deep breath in hopes to keep her tears at bay, but only succeeded in making herself light-headed, forcing her to lean against the barrier wall of the bridge.

"Oh, broken-hearted one, your soul has grown weary. Have you turned to the lonely tides to engulf your tears?"

A single tear slipped from her eye as she looked up to find where that angelic voice was coming from but there was no one she could see. But, to be fair, she couldn't see anything with her vision so blurry and head as fuzzy as it was.

"May the waves embrace you, lull you softly to sleep. Ease away all the hurt and pain you've carried through the years."

Slowly, she stood up straight to look over at the water, feeling as though it was calling for her. How, she couldn't know, but that was definitely where it was coming from. Was there a boat?

"But if given the chance, would you forget the past?"

She leaned over ever more, wondering if she could see it, her grip slowly slipping as she leaned further and further forward.

"You and I could start all over."

She was falling, the water fast approaching.

"We can love again, my dear."

Splash!