A Spanish version of this story will be up soon.
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Chaper two: Love Me Back

"Alya, I am so stupid!" Marinette wailed, crying on the lap of her best friend. Alya patted her friend on the back. The two of them were downstairs in the bakery, Marinette's parents currently on a date.

"No you're not, Marinette." Alya said, soothingly. She, of course, was always aware of the possibility of Adrien Agreste turning down Marinette. There was something more to him then met the eye (and, as he was a model, a lot met the eye), so Alya was not completely surprised. After all, the normal response of any warm-blooded male would have been to ask out Marinette- she was beautiful, clever, sweet, and distractingly feminine. But Adrien Agreste was not like any other male, and Alya had always suspected that when it came to girls, his thoughts were not on his classmates.

"You can still be friends with him. These things take time." Alya said reassuringly. Alya's kindness and the nearby plate of cookies seemed to boost Marinette's spirits a little bit.

Marinette frowned, her face red and puffy. "But... I... always thought we were meant to be." She said in a tiny voice.

Alya chuckled, a little sadly. "Marinette, girl…" In Alya's head, she was briefly torn between kindness and truth. Which did Marinette need more? In the end, truth won, as it so often does. Marinette can handle the truth, Alya thought. She is stronger than she thinks.

"Marinette, there's a simple question you must ask yourself, before thinking that you and Adrien are meant to be." Alya assured Marinette, offering her another cookie.

Marinette sniffed, taking the chocolate chip, before taking a bite. "What?"

Alya leaned forward, her eyes narrowed, and said in a piercing tone, "What is wrong with Adrien Agreste?"

Marinette blinked. "What?!"

"You know, his flaws."

At this, Marinette snorted in laughter, accidentally spraying cookie crumbs all over Alya's face. "Adrien?! He hasn't got any! why do you think I like him so much?!"

"Exactly." Alya's glasses flashed. "Marinette, loving someone means loving their faults as well. And if you think Adrien doesn't have any, then you don't know him that well. Everyone has flaws."

"Um-"

"And how can you truly love someone if you barely know them?"

Marinette looked confused. "Then how do you explain… the butterflies in my stomach? This feeling?"

Alya patted Marinette on the shoulder. "Easy- two words. Celebrity crush."

Marinette opened her mouth, but Alya was on a roll.

"Does Adrien seem perfect to you? No- don't answer me, I know he does. Is he popular? A model? Famous? He's in your class, which makes him attainable as well."

The chinese baker wanted to scoff at the word attainable, but Alya wasn't finished.

"Is he…" And at this, Alya pulled down her glasses, and looked at Marinette ever so slyly.

"Radiant? Carefree? Dreamy?"

Marinette turned bright red, and to cover her embarrassment, she grabbed another cookie and took a bite.

"But… what about yesterday? I was so in love, I know it!" came her muffled voice as she chewed on the dessert.

Alya sighed, and pulled the fashion designer into a quick hug. "Do you want to know what I think?"

When she released her, Mari gave a little nod.

"I think you were in love with a pretend version of Adrien. An unrealistic one. The perfect boy. But girl, spoiler alert! The perfect boy doesn't exist!"

The turn of events made Marinette's head spin. Could it be true? Was she really in love with a fantasy?

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Adrien sobbed.

"I don't understand it, Adrien." Plagg said, green eyes wide in concern for his Chosen, who was lying on his bed, chest heaving. "Ladybug has turned you down plenty of times before!"

But Adrien just cried, holding his pillow.

That's right, Plagg thought. Because he has no father to hug, no mother to embrace, so a pillow is better than nothing.

And now, more than ever, did Adrien want to be in the embrace of his mother. He missed her, almost as much as he missed his father. When Emilie Agreste had gone missing, his father had changed so much, it was almost as if he had died too. A different man was in the house. And most days it was bearable, but on days like today…

Adrien had deep down always knew that that was why he had first fallen for Ladybug.

He remembered Ladybug, -back when the two of them were just starting out being superheroes, fighting Stoneheart- flying down from the Eiffel tower, a spotted angel, and saving his Chloe, the dear childhood friend of his from her death, before earnestly challenging Hawkmoth. That bravery, that determination, that passion, that goodness… it was so like his mom. Being with Ladybug was almost like being with his mother again. It almost made him forget that she wasn't here, that she wasn't with Adrien anymore.

And that was when Chat Noir had first loved Ladybug.

But mostly, he felt his mother around Ladybug. He found that he could remember his mother clearer when he was with Lady Luck, and that was no coincidence. They were very similar. When fighting akumas, Adrien was not in the presence of one angel, but two. His Lady and Emilie. They were always with him.

And Ladybug herself! Ah, quelle beauté! Que c'est beau! How could any compare? She was like a magnificent art piece, full of duende.

"Plagg, you don't understand…" Adrien whispered against the folds of his pillow. "Ladybug didn't just turn me down- she said she never could love me." The reality of it hit him again, and tears formed in his eyes.

Something must be wrong with him, Adrien decided. No one seemed to return his love, not his father, not his Lady, and his mother was gone, so not her as well.

Plagg floated around uncertianly, his green eyes wide. Adrien was by far Plagg's favorite Chat Noir. He was caring, warm, and selfless- and it seemed to Plagg like Adrien had only one wish, the most innocent and pure wish of all.

Adrien wanted someone to love him back.

It was very simple. Just a craving for affection, and a far stronger one than his own craving for camembert- so why did it fill him with unbearable sadness? Why did Plagg want to take hold of Ladybug and yell in her face, "How could you not love Chat Noir? What is there not to love? What is wrong with you?"

Everyone talked about how Ladybug put Paris before herself, but Chat Noir always put Ladybug before himself! Every. Single. Time. And it wasn't just to save Paris, it was to save his love, his life, his connection to his mother...

Plagg wasn't good with emotions. He put Feelings somewhere in between Cheddar and American Cheese in terms of importance. (American Cheese just wasn't worth Plagg's time.) Emotions! He couldn't bother with them, they were no good! It wasn't like he could even sort out his feelings for Tikki…

...Stop that thought right there, Plagg said sharply to himself. Let's think about cheese.

And while Plagg was frantically attempting to think of the texture of camembert instead of breaking his heart over Adrien or Tikki, Adrien himself distracted his sadness with thoughts of good times with Ladybug.

The times when it almost seemed possible for his Lady to love him back.