Marinette was back to square one.

She sat at her desk, pouting as she leaned on her hand, staring down at the little box Adrien had returned. Had rejected. Hadn't wanted to be a hero, to work with her and Chat.

Marinette closed her eyes, pressing her forehead into her palm. Tikki leaned on her other hand, rubbing her paws over the skin soothingly, not moving and simply letting Marinette know she was there, letting Marinette work through this.

Marinette took a shaky breath and released. "So," she started, a tremor in her voice. "We, we need to find another bee."

"Did you want to consider others?" Tikki asked. "There are other classes in Francoise Dupont."

Marinette shook her head. "I'd rather keep to my class…"

Marinette looked towards her classmates once more, looking at them with new eyes. She asked, "What should I really consider?"

"I would advise someone who is really involved with others, who really cares and will make time to care. There's also someone who's very hardworking with a strong sense of a community." Tikki floated up, sitting on the little black box. "Another thing to consider is what can be gained."

"Gained?" Marinette repeated.

Tikki nodded. "Something I didn't mention before, not only should a miraculous be given out to those that match, but there's also something that can be gained. You are good at planning and acting as needed, which makes you a solid Ladybug, but there was something for you to gain as well: confidence in yourself and your capability. Something that you needed."

Marinette stared down at Tikki, considering this. Then turned her gaze to her classmates, looking at them in a new light.

Someone that matched but could gain something… who could gain what?

Her gaze slid on each of her classmates' faces, considering them and really thinking about their potential, what they could gain or what could be improved upon. Her brow furrowed, leaning closer to the picture, considering everyone.

Her gaze settled on one, really thinking about this option.

Yes, this will work.

That's the bee.

Below Marinette, Tikki smiled, pleased to see the eager gleam in Marinette's eye. She found another bee. One that will work this time.

Adrien sat outside alone, leaning on his hand at the cafe's table, watching the cubes of his iced tea drift and circle each other, lazy and carefree. It was almost calming. Or maybe it was Adrien feeling numb.

He did what was for the best, he knows he did. He couldn't go on pretending to be two different heroes. He couldn't go on deceiving Ladybug, taking advantage of her interest to keep the bee and take that somewhere, as tempting as it was. It wasn't the right approach, not when Ladybug wanted more help.

It was for the best, or so Adrien kept telling himself.

But, it was still a missed chance. Ladybug, who he's been dreaming to be with since day one, who filled his every thought and was the core of his motivation. He had a chance and he missed it and…

Adrien slouched on his hand, bummed.

Plagg scoffed in his pocket, wiggling out and giving him a look. "Cheese, kid. You're acting like it's the end of the world."

"I messed up," Adrien mumbled. "I missed my chance. And Ladybug probably hates me."

"Good grief," Plagg muttered.

"I was so close, Pla- ow!"

Plagg gave him a glare. "Get over it," the kwami said. "You messed up kid. Ladybug's upset, yeah, but it's for the best. And believe me, it's not the end of the world."

"It feels like it," Adrien said.

Plagg sighed. "Maybe it's a sign, maybe it's time to think more than just romance. Think about your future, what you want to do."

Adrien blinked and Plagg listed off, "Marinette wants to be a fashion designer, Chloe wants to be mayor, Alya a reporter, and Nino a director. Now, what do you want to do? Can't quite make a living out of being only Chat Noir."

Adrien cracked a grin. "It is something that I love."

"Yeah but that can't be your only means of living. Plus I don't want to be in that damn ring all the time. I have cheese to eat!"

Adrien scoffed, cracking a slight grin. It fell away as he looked at his table top. Before him, Plagg sighed and dove into the pocket, deciding to just let the boy angst it out. Pollen'll be happy that he did his bit, but he couldn't go farther till Adrien was ready to listen.

Left alone, Adrien just sat at the table, watching the ice cubes circle. He gave a start when the table jostled, looking up to see an old man's apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I didn't mean to disturb you."

Adrien cracked a smile, shaking his head and reassuring, "No, it's ok. I was just… thinking."

The old man hummed, leaning back in his seat, closing his eyes and relaxing. He made no move to prompt Adrien, but the boy found the words slipping past his lips.

"I did something deceptive, trying to get something that I've been wanting for a long time and it was within my reach but… I realized that wasn't the best route to go by. I fixed it. And, and now I think I lost my chance. I know what I did was right and for the best but…"

Adrien ran a hand through his hair, blinking as his vision blurred.

Across from him, the old man smiled gently. He reached out, patting Adrien's hand as he said, "Doing the right thing isn't always easy. If it was, everyone would do it." He got up, leaning on his cane. "Don't let it weigh you down, my boy. Just because a door closes doesn't mean it stays closed. And if it does, well, another door shall open sometime, someday."

"Yeah… thanks."

With a nod, the old man departed, leaving Adrien alone to contemplate, taking comfort that yeah, there was still a chance and future. It was just hard now.

It'll get better, he knows, it was just… hard now.

With Plagg leaning on his body, hidden in his pocket, Adrien closed his eyes and took a sip of his drink, releasing a sigh.

He hoped things would get better soon.

With a quiet sigh, Rose slipped in, closing the door to the apartment behind her, her bag feeling heavy at her side, weighed down by books and papers of all the school work she was to do today. Work she really didn't want to do today. Work Mendeleiv just piled onto her out of spite for daydreaming.

Rose knows that it was wrong of her to daydream, to not pay attention but… it was boring and her mind wandered so easily.

Shaking her head, Rose went down the hall, heading for her room. She stopped by her mother's room, looking over the note taped to the door.

Worked all night, dinner's in the fridge, love maman'

"Oh dear," Rose murmured sending a knowing glance back to the kitchen. When her Maman was tired, she wasn't quite the best cook. Rose hurried to her room, setting her things down, ignoring how they fell over and went to the kitchen. In the fridge, she found a pot of pasta half cooked with the noodles still hard. With a slight wince, Rose took it out and set it on the stove, heating it up and hoping that the sauce could help soften the noodles.

She slipped back into her room with a sigh, ready to try and work through the mountain of homework she was given. As she reached for her bag, she paused, spotting a little black box she never saw before.

"What this?" she wondered, reaching for the little box, opening it up. She was able to catch a glimpse of a beautiful bee comb before a golden light floated out of it, dimming down to reveal bee like being floating before her.

Rose sucked in a breath, dropping the little box and scrambling back as the being opened its eyes and smiled down at her.

"Hello, Honey."

There is a planned sequel called Sweeter than Honey, Julerose with bits of Ladrien. Since it's a sequel, I will make an exception and post it here as well, but all other new fics I do will be on Ao3.

Thank you guys for reading!