CHAPTER 21: True Love's Kiss Part 1
"In most fairy tales, the prince breaks the spell by kissing the princess," Miss Bustier informed. "Can anyone tell us why?"
"Because only love can conquer hate!" Rose exclaimed, as she stood up from her seat.
"Correct, Rose."
Max stood up next. "Technically speaking, this reasoning is only exhibited in about 87% of all fairy tales, and-"
"Thank you, Max, that's enough." Miss Bustier motioned for him to sit down, and turned her attention to Adrien, who seemed to be distracted with something else on his desk. "Adrien, I hope what you're writing has to do with my lesson. Can you tell me what I just said?"
Adrien looked up, and repeated in a slightly monotone voice, "That's why in most fairy tales the prince breaks the spell by kissing the princess because only love conquers hate."
"Very good, Adrien!" the red-headed teacher congratulated. "Now, I have a question for all of you. What do these stories mean by 'true love?'"
Mylene raised her hand. "That they're soulmates?" Most of the class nodded along to her reasoning as Miss Bustier surveyed the room.
"While that is certainly a likely possibility, are there any other explanations?" the teacher asked. "Alya, what do you think?"
The reporter looked thoughtful as she considered the question. "Well," she started, glancing over at Nino, "while I certainly think true love can exist between soulmates, I don't think it's limited to just that. I mean, there are other kinds of love than just romantic…" She trailed off, shrugging.
"Yeah, like the love I have for my Mama and Papa, doesn't that count as true love?" Marinette inquired, smiling at her best friend in support, even though she was intermittingly distracted by Adrien in front of her.
Rose stood up again in excitement. "Yeah! Like, in the movie Frozen, the story is about how Anna is saved by the true love between the sisters!"
That got the class murmuring a little, so Miss Bustier decided to step in again. "So, it seems like we agree that true love doesn't necessarily have to be romantic or between soulmates, though it can be. So, what would we use as the definition of true love? What is the commonality between true love of soulmates versus true love between friends or family?"
It was silent for a bit as the class collectively thought, but the bell rang before anyone could answer.
Ms. Bustier yelled over the rising noise of her class packing up. "Now everyone, we will be finishing this discussion tomorrow, so don't forget to finish reading Sleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault tonight. And Happy Valentine's Day!"
As soon as class let out, Marinette waited to see what Adrien would do. He had been working so hard on something, getting slightly distracted from class, which in turn had distracted her. When he balled up his work and threw it in the trash, she couldn't control her slightly stalkerish tendencies. She had to know what he was writing about!
She vaguely registered people talking outside near the door to the classroom as she checked each ball of paper in the trash bin. She picked up the third one and unrolled it, only to hear a voice sound behind her before she could read it.
"Well, well, Marinette. Looking for something to eat?" Chloe drawled.
"Maybe she's looking for some better clothes," Sabrina chimed in. They laughed mockingly at her.
Marinette growled in annoyance as they scampered off down the hall. "Don't give them the time of day," Tikki asserted from the girl's bag. "They don't deserve it!"
"You're right, Tikki," Marinette sighed as the kwami floated out to read the paper alongside her chosen.
Your hair as dark as night
Your pretty bluebell eyes
I wonder who you are
Beneath that strong disguise
Everyday we see each other
And I hope that you'll be mine
Together our love could be so true
Please, will you be my Valentine?
"Woah," Tikki voiced. "Now that's a love poem."
"Who could it be talking about?" Marinette questioned. "Hair as dark as night? Bluebell eyes?" She looked over at Tikki.
"Uh," the kwami dead-panned. "You?"
Marinette burst out laughing. "Me? No way! There are plenty of girls at school with dark hair and blue eyes."
"Yeah, but bluebell eyes?"
Marinette glanced back at the paper as she considered Tikki's words, but then one of the verses stuck out to her. "What do you think he means by strong disguise?"
The little red sprite sighed. "This is poetry! He means who you are deep down inside. He wants to get to know you, Marinette! He's talking about you!" Tikki ended her mini rant by poking her chosen in the chest.
Marinette's smile grew and she could only shriek and jump with happiness at her kwami's words. "Do you think this means he's been feeling the spark every single time we've touched, too?" She held the poem close to her chest as she sighed in longing at the thought.
"Well, if Adrien is your soulmate, then I'm sure he has been!"
Marinette couldn't help but squeal again. "Tikki, do you know how many more times I need to touch him before we transform? So far, it's been like 10 times, because we touched twice on the second day of school when he gave me his umbrella, and then once when I made the bowler hat for his father's competition, and then when-"
As Marinette went on listing all the times her and Adrien had touched and consequently felt the soulmate warmth, Tikki's concern only grew. Marinette seemed to be under the impression that she had to touch Adrien a bunch to cause the soul animal transformation. Didn't she remember that she also had to touch Adrien as Ladybug? Wait, Tikki wondered, did I ever actually tell her that part?
"Uh, Marinette? I think I forgot to tell you-"
"Hold on, Tikki," the girl interjected, bringing up her phone as it buzzed. "Looks like Alya is wondering where I'm at. Let's go!"
Marinette opened up her purse and gestured for the kwami to get inside. Tikki sighed, resolving to talk to her holder later about the miscommunication.
I hope she doesn't get mad when I tell her, Tikki thought worriedly.
"So, she's got eyes, arms, legs… big deal! Heh, how could you possibly be in love with Ladybug?" Plagg asked. "You don't even know who she really is!"
Adrien sighed at the teasing, having heard many similar comments from his kwami over the past few months. "You don't know anything about love," he said dramatically, going along with the jest for now.
"Oh, sure I do!" The kwami exclaimed, twirling around. "I love cheddar, I love swiss, and I looove Camembert!"
Adrien huffed in frustration and got up from his chair, suddenly irritated. While he knew that the kwami cared for him, sometimes Plagg didn't know when to stop his teasing, especially concerning matters of the heart.
He walked over to his window, leaning his arm and head against it as he sighed once again.
"Aww, the poor boy's frustrated because he can't finish the poem for his masked sweetheart?"
Adrien pushed himself up from the window and turned around to look at Plagg in annoyance. "Can you stop? You already know how I feel about her."
The black kwami merely rolled his eyes in response and scoffed.
"Plus, I don't need a poem when I can tell her to her face…" Adrien trailed off as he looked up unseeingly towards the second story of his room. "I love you, Ladybug."
"Eww, gross!" Plagg blanched, continuing to taunt his chosen. "You're making me lose my appetite… Almost." He then proceeded to lob a chunk of Camembert into his mouth, chewing contently. A silence passed between the two as Plagg enjoyed his cheese and Adrien stood by the window, lost in thought.
"You gonna be giving Marinette a poem too?"
The boy refocused and frowned at the question. "No. Why do you keep bugging me about her?"
"Because you're still not over her," Plagg muttered, flying to the mini fridge to get another piece of cheese.
Adrien crossed his arms and glared at his kwami as he popped back out of the fridge. "Plagg, we've been over this a million times. Marinette isn't my soulmate so there's no reason to pursue her. I'm in love with Ladybug, and for all I know, she could be my soulmate. But we won't be able to find that out unless I tell her how I feel. And today is the perfect time to tell her!"
Plagg groaned in resignation. "Ugh, why do I even bother." They're probably the same person and you don't even know it.
Adrien's phone buzzed on his desk. Akuma alert. "Guess you'll be getting your chance today after all, kid," the kwami observed.
"Plagg, claws out!"
A/N: So many people want to know how it's going with ladybug Marinette and black cat Adrien. Lol, I promise we will get back to them soon! But the point of this story is as much about the journey to them becoming soulmates as it is about the craziness of the transforming and fluffy soulmate reveal later. I also wanted to take the opportunity to explore what a realistic soulmate AU would look like, which I think adds more to the story. It's going to be a slow build up, so I hope you guys can be patient and not immediately be dissatisfied when I don't post a chapter regarding the present animal forms of Marinette and Adrien. Thanks for understanding, y'all.
Meanwhile, enjoy a Valentine's Day related chapter! The other half of the Dark Cupid episode will be posted on *gasp* you guessed it! Valentine's Day!
Love you guys! ;)
Starlin's Ghost