CHAPTER 3: The Struggle is Real

When Natalie found Adrien fifteen minutes later, he was pouting in front of the door to his personal dressing room, his tail flicking around in agitation. He had tried to turn the doorknob with his paws upon his arrival, but to no avail.

"Adrien," she greeted, and he quickly snapped his head toward her, shocked out of his soulmate-centered thoughts.

"Hi," he tried to say, but all that came out was a meow. Natalie's mouth quirked up a little bit, and Adrien was briefly frustrated at his inability to communicate effectively. However, he could tell that Nathalie was happy for him even though she had to deal with the mess his transformation had caused. Her expression quickly returned to business professional as she tapped a short message to Gabriel on her tablet.

"Adrien, your father is currently wrapping up with the press, but sent me on ahead to make sure you were alright." She opened the door for him, and he darted into the room in true cat fashion. "Do you need anything?" He looked back at her, pausing to shake his head in a negative fashion. He felt too overwhelmed to even know what he needed right now.

Jumping up onto the loveseat that was present in the room, Adrien further contemplated his situation. Of course he was ecstatic about finding his soulmate, but he knew that whoever they were- whoever My Lady is, he thought, longingly- would be under the fire of the media due to his celebrity status and very public transformation. He knew Nathalie and his father would handle the paparazzi well, but he couldn't help but worry about the consequences- especially the ones he couldn't predict.

But all this worrying was for nothing if he didn't actually find her. He needed to touch her again to be able to transform back into a human. As much as he was sure future him would enjoy being able to turn into a cat whenever he wanted to, presently he didn't want to be stuck as one for too long. His anxiety spiked as another thought came, unbidden: what if an akuma attacked and Chat Noir was needed? He really needed to find Ladybug- er, his soulmate.

But what if his soulmate wasn't Ladybug? The question only served to distress him more, even as he dismissed it. No, it has to be Ladybug. I know my soulmate can't just be some random stranger, not with the influence of the Miraculous. He sighed and wished he could talk to someone, even if that someone was Plagg. The kwami was likely sleeping the day away in Adrien's bag right now, completely unaware of Adrien's situation.

He sighed, closed his eyes, and laid his head on his paws, ignorant of Natalie's searching gaze on him as she stood near the door. They remained silent, entertaining their own thoughts for a few minutes before the door opened again. Gabriel stepped in with Adrien's bodyguard following close behind.

Adrien sat up in the presence of his father, examining his face. He expected to find anger, frustration, and stress. And while the frustration and stress was clearly evident, there were emotions there that Adrien wasn't expecting to see: happiness, longing, sadness… and a spark of pride? His ears perked up, preparing to hear what his father had to say.

"Adrien," was the stoic greeting he received, before Gabriel came to sit down on the loveseat next to him. "I am very pleased that you have found your soulmate. However, the timing of your transformation certainly could have been better." A sigh escaped his father, and he took off his glasses to pinch his nose. "This has now turned into a ridiculous fiasco. I hope you are prepared for many interviews when all this is over, son."

Adrien's ears lowered, betraying his fear. He hadn't even thought of himself, being so concerned about his soulmate and how to find her. He knew he would probably be able to handle the interviews when this was all over, but right now he didn't even want to think about it.

Gabriel caught Adrien's expression as he put his glasses back on and tried to encourage him. "But that will wait until later. For now, we need to focus on finding your soulmate."

He stood up again, ready for action. "Nathalie, take Adrien to the DSA. We'll likely need their help to find Adrien's soulmate. Unless you know who she is?" He turned back to look at Adrien, and after a moment Adrien shook his head, ashamed at not knowing. "Alright then. I'll remain here to tie up the loose ends of the show and will meet you at the DSA as soon as I'm finished here."

Nathalie curtly nodded. "It will be done, sir."

Gabriel made for the door, motioning for the Gorilla to stay with Nathalie and Adrien. "I will call you to bring the car when I need it," Adrien's father instructed the bodyguard. And with those final words, he strode quickly out the door, his hands clasped behind his back.

The Gorilla also left the room, nodding at Nathalie.

"Come, Adrien. The car will be brought around back."

Adrien jumped off the couch and padded over to the open door, wondering where exactly they were going. The DSA sounds familiar… But then he remembered- Plagg! He definitely needed to take Plagg with him. He turned around and walked to the table, where his backpack was resting. Using the table to stand on his back legs, he proceeded to paw at the bag, and meowed at Nathalie, hoping she understood.

Nathalie nodded at him and walked over to the table. "Alright, we can't forget your bag. Let's go." She shouldered the pack on the same shoulder her purse was flung over and preceded to walk out the door again. Adrien followed her close behind, knowing the way from being here many times, but lost in thought once again.

Finally coming down from her high, Marinette dizzily landed on her desk next to Tikki, who had sat back down to watch her buzz around in excitement.

"Oh, Marinette! I'm so happy for you!"

Marinette suddenly felt a rush of gratitude rise up in her; 1) she actually had a soulmate, 2) she had transformed into a vulnerable ladybug in the safety of her room instead of somewhere potentially dangerous, and 3) she had Tikki here with her- someone thousands of years old who could understand both burden of the miraculous and the way it had interfered with her finding her soulmate. She lifted off again, landing on one of Tikki's black cheek spots.

"Aww, I love you too, Marinette!" Tikki giggled, patting the ladybug gently in affection. After a minute of enjoying the moment and calming down further from their excitement, Marinette flew off the kwami's cheek and landed back onto the desk.

Tikki decided now was a good time to address the issue at hand; after all, Marinette wasn't her first chosen to find her soulmate. "So, what are you going to do now, Marinette? You need to find Ad- er, your soulmate so you can change back into a human! Any ideas on how to do that?"

Marinette, missing Tikki's slip-up, hadn't even thought that far ahead. She realized just how difficult it was to communicate in this form. How was she supposed to talk to Tikki? How was she supposed to find her soulmate if she couldn't even use body language? Could she write a note? No… she was too small to hold a pencil. Maybe she could try to type a message on her tablet? Worth a shot, even if she was small.

She flew her little ladybug body over to her tablet, which still displayed her physics homework. She tried exiting out of her homework by using her little insect legs, but nothing happened. My legs probably aren't big enough, she lamented. She tried crouching her whole body onto the screen, but once again that didn't work. Maybe Tikki can write a message for me?

She rushed back to Tikki, landing once again on the kwami's cheek. "Did you figure out what to do, Marinette?" Marinette sped back to the tablet, but when Tikki didn't follow, she went back to land on Tikki's cheek again.

"You want me to follow?" Tikki guessed, flying after Marinette as she returned to the tablet for the third time. Marinette landed on the arrow in the corner of the screen and hopped up and down a bit to draw Tikki's attention to it. Tikki pressed it, using both her kwami limbs to make it work.

Marinette helped Tikki navigate through the tablet, bringing her to the Facebook messenger app. "So, you want me to send someone a message?" Tikki asked. Marinette responded with encouraging circles in the air, and Tikki giggled at their way of communicating. "Who would you like me to send a message to, then?"

Marinette realized that she wanted to send a message to her parents but knew they didn't check Facebook very often. It would probably be better to text them. Marinette glided over to her phone, which was also resting on the desk.

"Wait, you want me to use your phone instead?" Marinette hopped up and down to emphasize her yes.

Soon the screen displayed a bunch of text conversations. "Okay, Marinette. Which person should I send a message to?"

Before Marinette could respond, a voice called down from below.

"Marinette! Time for dinner!"

Tikki looked anxiously at Marinette, before zipping off to hide in Marinette's stuffed animals.

A few seconds passed, and when Marinette didn't vocally respond, steps were heard on the stairs. The hatch popped open, revealing Sabine.

"Marinette? Sweetie?" Sabine climbed up into the room. "Hmm, I swore she was in here not ten minutes ago. Did she fall asleep?"

Sabine promptly traversed up to Marinette's loft bed, but upon finding it empty, she decided to go back downstairs to see if Marinette was in the bakery or another part of the apartment.

Tikki quietly peaked out of the stuffed animals and hastily returned to Marinette's side.

"Marinette, what are you going to do about your parents? They need to know that ladybug you is… well, you!"

That's what I'm trying to do, Marinette thought. I need to get their attention, so hopefully they'll get my message… Marinette flew back to her phone, fluttering her wings upon landing to get Tikki's attention.

"Right," Tikki remembered. "The message!" But before she could choose a contact to message, Marinette's phone started ringing. Glancing at the caller ID, both of them saw that it was Sabine.

"She's probably trying to find you," Tikki guessed. They let it ring for a little bit before the phone finally stopped buzzing. A minute later, a voicemail notification popped up on the screen. Tikki pressed it to listen.

"Hi sweetie, it's me. Dinner is ready, but you weren't up in your room when I checked. Did you go out somewhere?" A sigh was heard. "If you're with your friends, that's fine, but we need to know where you are. Call me back as soon as you get this, honey."

It was clear Sabine was about to hang up, but Tom's muffled voice was heard over the recording: "Did you check her phone's location? Maybe you could try calling Alya."

Sabine's response was just as quiet, as if she had pulled the phone away from her mouth. "That's a good idea, honey. Oh! I'm still on the phone." And with that, the recording abruptly ended.

Tikki looked over at Marinette, concerned, but promptly locked the phone and hid again when she heard people on the stairs for the second time.

"There, look," Tom said, "Her phone is right here."

"But where is Marinette?" Sabine was starting to get worried. As she picked up the phone, neither of them noticed the ladybug flying in the air trying to get their attention.

"Maybe she rushed out the door and forgot her phone."

The mother looked at her husband incredulously. Marinette forget her phone? The girl was attached to that thing.

Tom sighed and put his hands on her shoulders in comfort. "Let's just eat dinner and see if she turns up. We can't jump to conclusions yet. I'm sure she's being safe, wherever she is."

Sabine reluctantly agreed; this wasn't the first time Marinette had disappeared on them, as frustrating as it was. They headed back downstairs, taking Marinette's phone with them.

Well, there goes that plan, Marinette thought, cringing on the inside. Who else could she message? She buzzed over to her tablet again, thinking. Alya could certainly work, as Marinette was sure her best friend could tell her parents for her. And Marinette also felt comfortable sharing all of this soulmate stuff with her.

With no interruptions this time, Tikki was able to send off a Facebook message to Alya for Marinette using the tablet.

M: I need help! I'm a ladybug and I think I've found my soulmate! Tell my parents!

They both waited patiently for Alya's reply, Marinette flying around and Tikki watching her. After ten minutes of Alya not responding, Marinette became frustrated. Why isn't she responding? Alya always has her phone on her and always checks her notifications!

She didn't know what else to do. She couldn't really message any of her other friends, as she was sure only Alya had her parents' personal numbers. Sure, someone could call the business phone in the bakery since that number was on the bakery's website, but her parents were unlikely to return down there tonight after closing up shop. She could definitely Facebook message her parents with Tikki's help, but she doubted they would see the message in a timely manner since they weren't on social media often.

Tikki had no way of knowing the thoughts running through her head but guessed that Marinette would have done something different now if she could. "I guess we'll just have to wait for when Alya sees the message," Tikki concluded.

They hunkered down to wait, the kwami nibbling absent-mindedly at the last cookie on the plate.

Marinette's wings fluttered nervously. Oh, I hope Alya sees my message soon…

A/N: So many interesting tidbits in this chapter... Hehehehe!

Next chapter we'll be going back to the first time Marinette and Adrien touched! *cue the rain*

*Edited 11/25/19*