A scolding had been expected by Adrien for having the defiance to deviate from his path straight home to take care of an abandoned cat. He'd expected it, for absolute certain, and had also been completely aware that his father wouldn't have had time to do it, so he'd had Nathalie do it for him. Gabriel Agreste, not even the free time to scold his child. Adrien wasn't sure what depressed him more, the fact he was being talked down to for doing the right thing, or that his father couldn't even be bothered to do it himself.

To her credit, Nathalie had made sure it was swift and relatively painless, since she seemed to understand that Adrien was only trying to do the morally correct thing, but had to meet with the compromise of doing her job correctly. It had been more of a telling off than it was a scold, but the message from Adrien's father was clear. Don't do that again. Return straight home as agreed. There will be very serious consequences if you fail to do so next time this occurs.

All this because he had come home maybe ten minutes later than he normally would have done. While part of that did contribute to him actually taking the cat the the shelter, he could have made that time up by breaking into a light jog. The main reason he had been late was because he had spent some of that time talking to Marinette.

Not that it was her fault, of course. Adrien had been fully aware of the likely repercussions for staying and talking to her. He had decided that, in that exact moment, that he had wanted to, so he didn't begrudge her for that in the slightest. Still, he found it sort of weird that she just happened to be there at the exact time he happened to be there, but he didn't think too much about that fact.

Returning to his room, Adrien sat on his bed and began to thin.

"If it helps, kid, I think you made the right call." Plagg commented to his human partner, exiting the pocket that he inhabited during school hours.

"Thanks, Plagg." Adrien nodded, his gratitude for that simple gesture larger than Plagg knew. right now, however, Adrien was thinking more about the Soul Link. He laid on his bed, and held his right hand in the air, like he was grasping at an invisible object in the sky, just slightly out of his reach. He looked at his ring, watching how the small metallic object reflected the light that hit the surface of it. He had to wonder, would this device give him more hints as to the identity of Ladybug? Would it tell him more about her? About the Soul Link they shared? "What secrets are you keeping from me?..."

"Kid?"

"Hrrm? Oh, nothing, Plagg. Just thinking is all. Hey, d'you know if Ladybug's miraculous will be sending her messages as well?"

"It's possible. It depends if her miraculous has been with her long enough. Yours activated abnormally quickly, so I wouldn't put my money on it.""

"Right..." Adrien said quietly, still staring at the magical object around his ring finger. 'So, if I told her about the Soul Links, she'd probably think I was flirting with her again... What cruel irony. I flirt with her, that even if I try and tell her about this, she'll just think I'm flirting again.'

He sighed. Talk about karma.

How would he even go about explaining a Soul Link to his lady? The miraculouses tell you who your soulmate is via magic and project messages onto a wall? That's right up there with screaming 'Ancient Egyptian laser beams', and expecting to be taken seriously. So, really, what else was there for Adrien to do, other than keep on keeping on as he normally would have done? there was no need to concern Ladybug with such matters.

He spent the rest of the day on Alya's Ladyblog, trying to gather his thoughts.

Even if he was convinced they were soulmates, he wouldn't push her towards anything.


That night, Adrien had been somewhat anxious, but equal parts looking forward to going out on patrol with Ladybug. Though he had decided he wasn't going to bring up anything to do with the Soul Link, the miraculouses, Soul Mates or anything like that, just knowing that he could be patrolling with his soulmate filled him with a certain joy and excitement of simply seeing her again.

He had transformed at the usual time he did for their nightly patrols, and had exited the Agreste estate as Chat Noir, the destruction and bad-luck hero, defender of Paris, and the true side of Adrien's personality - Slightly cocky, confident, wild, and immensely flirtatious, particularly to Ladybug. Behind a mask, no one knew it was him, and he could act however he wanted without consequence. He could let his real side shine.

He leaped up high over the buildings of Paris, taking a second, while still in the middle of the air, to admire the lit up city. Thousands of tiny lights, all coming from streetlamps, bedroom and shop windows, cars and other various sources, all combining to create a beautiful contrasting landscape of brown, black, grey and light. He saw it nearly every single night, but it never failed to captivate the young hero. Readjusting himself as he fell, he swung from one rooftop to another, on his way to the usual meetup point with his lady. He moved with Olympian-like grace.

The point they had agreed to meet at this day was at the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, a well known boulevard of the city, near the Arc de Triomphe. It hadn't taken Chat too long to get there, with his wild speed and athletic ability. Leaping over the rooftops, covered by the night, he had made his way to the meeting point. And to Ladybug.

"M'lady." Chat greeted, taking a small bow while walking over to his partner in fighting crime.

Ladybug turned with a bit of a start, but quickly relaxed when she realized it was Chat. "Oh, Chat. It's you."

"Who were you expecting?"

"Not too sure. An Akuma. You know, someone easier than you to deal with." Sass was preventative in her voice. She made sure of that, so Chat knew she was only joking with him.

"Me-ouch, my lady. That was absolutely merciless." The black cat hero commented with his usual grin, before he crouched down on the side of the building next to his partner, his crush, and, he prayed, his soulmate.

"You look like you're in a good mood today, Kitty." Ladybug commented, prodding him on his shoulder, causing him to threaten to lose balance for half a second. "Something good happen to you today?"

"You could say that." 'If by today you mean yesterday, and by something you mean absolutely unbelievable, then yes!'

"See anything on your way here?"

"Nope. Everything's clear. Again."

"Weird." Ladybug said, biting her finger lightly, muttering to herself. "It's not like Hawkmoth to wait this long before sending out an Akuma. What's he doing?"

"Maybe he Hawked off." Chat suggested, making sure to add a pun into his sentence for extra measure. All this earned him was a groan from Ladybug. "Hey, I'm not complaining. It gives us time to Chat."

"Please stop."

"But I'm having a Bug time!"

"That was was a bit of a stretch."

"My Lady!"

"I've heard you do better, Chat."

Chat Noir could only chuckle, but it was a more bitter one than he would have liked. Not out of any sort of anger with Ladybug, but repression at the knowledge of the miraculouses of which he couldn't tell her about.

The two made their patrol, in their usual time, and very few words were exchanged by them, both focused on looking for any situations that the streets and alleys and darkness may be hiding. chat with his night vision was the more keen observer of the two thanks to this particular trait of his transformation, but they found absolutely nothing or worthwhile note. No Akuma. No crime. No trespassing, no harassment, no nothing that would call upon the duo of Paris to come to the aid of their city's fair civilians.

Perhaps they were having a serious affect on crime rates in the ancient city.

Once the two had completed their usual laps around the city, meeting back at the same spot they had originally met in for the night, the two prepared to part ways. Chat was tired after such an extensive patrol, and the clouds had burst out with rain shortly after they had begun their rounds, leaving both heroes soaked and sleepy.

"Hey, Chat, can I ask you something?" Ladybug called for him, before he managed to escape her sight.

Chat Noir spun on his heel to face the red and black polka dotted heroine before him. With a grand bow once again, he responded, "Go ahead, m'lady. I'm all ears."

"Has your miraculous been acting up?"

"Acting up?..." Chat was suddenly in serious mode now. Hers had been acting up?... Was it?... "...You mean the Soul Link?"

"You've been getting it too?" Ladybug's eyes shot wide open. She was as surprised as the male hero was.

"Yeah! I wasn't gonna bring it up, cause, well, I didn't think you'd take me seriously, m'lady."

"If it were anyone else, Kitty, I wouldn't have, but... Seeing is believing, I guess."

The usual toothy smirk appeared on Chat's face. Ladybug had been getting the messages too! could that mean that she knew about their Soul Link?Was that was this was about?

"So... Who's my competition?" He asked, with a fairly confident tone in his voice. He was absolutely convinced.

"Someone I know... He's..." ' Me?' "This really handsome guy I know from my school."

Noticing Ladybug's blush against her red outfit wasn't an easy task.

The fact Chat Noir was able to see a difference in the color of the reds was a statement in itself.

He stared at her.

Shattered.

Deflated.

Shocked.

Disbelieving.

Broken, by just a few words.

It wasn't him?

He and Ladybug... Didn't share a Soul Link?

The male hero turned away from Ladybug, looking out from across the street, his jaw agape so much, he had to actually use his hand to stop it from falling down onto the road, his eyes wide, and his stomach feeling sick. His breathing increased. He was in shock. The message, the poem, the miraculous... It had been wrong? He had been wrong?

Then again... Of course he was wrong.

"Chat?" Ladybug asked, sounding seriously concerned. Throughout their act as a duo, Ladybug had suspected that Chat had a crush on her. He hadn't been subtle about it, but there was a filter she had set up that convinced her he was doing it all for show, that it was just a quirk he seemed to have, something he did to pass the time, or to spark a conversation. She hadn't really thought he might have been serious. Well she had... But she hadn't prepared for rejecting him. It just sort of happened. And she hadn't expected this response. She hadn't really expected... Any form of emotion besides pure cocky childishness from the cat hero.

"Well..." Chat said, forcing a smile, and giving her a thumbs up. "...He's a lucky guy."

"Chat?" This time, her voice was of confusion.

"Sorry, LB, was just a little shocked that you already knew was all." Chat lied. "My miraculous gave me the messages, but I still haven't figured out who mine is yet. You already know your Soul Mate. That's impressive."

"You're not... Upset?"

"I'm only gonna be upset if your boyfriend starts treating m'lady poorly." Chat said, with a tease to his voice. "Call me if he gives you a hard time. I can... Have a talk with him."

The offer was a horrific image for Ladybug to imagine, but she understood what Chat was trying to say. He wasn't saying he was going to find Adrien and beat him up. He was just displaying a kind act of friendship, and eagerness to help. "You're kind to offer."

"Hey, you're not just my partner, 'lady." Chat smiled, albeit forced. "You're my friend as well. If you're my friend, you've got my loyalty, and when you have that, there isn't anything I won't do. I can even tone down the flirting if it makes you uncomfortable." An offer he never could have imagined himself making. The fact he was offering it right now scared him.

Had he just given up like that?...

Without a fight?...

This offer, however, earned him a tight, warm hug from the girl who had just unknowingly crushed his very heart and soul into dust. He weakly returned it, determined not to show weakness in front of her. "I couldn't ask for a better partner, Chat."


He had lost.

He had been wrong.

He and Ladybug didn't share a Soul Link.

Adrien laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling, for God knows how long. An hour? Two? Five? He didn't even know, nor did he care. His mind was empty. His stomach was empty. His heart was broken, shattered into ten thousand fragments that would never heal.

He couldn't believe it.

He had been so sure...

Behind a mask her truth may lie. He had been so certain of it.

And he had never been so wrong before in his life, apparently.

"What the hell..." Adrien said, almost silently to the darkness. He looked at his ring, still shining on his finger. "Did you lie to me... Did you raise my hopes... Only to crush me?... Or is this all a joke?... Heh... I'm talking to a ring..."

But then again... What was he expecting?

Ladybug was like a women sent straight from the Gods. Calm. Collected. Determined. Beautiful. Just. Cute. She always knew what to do. She always knew what to say. She was brave. she was fearless.

Everything Adiren wasn't.

What had he expected?

Who could love him? Just a stray cat... No different to the one he had saved today. Tossed aside, unloved.

Who could love him?

Unable to hold it back anymore, Adrien, despite having his teeth gritted harder than ever before in his life, felt steams of hot tears pour from his eyes. The emotion, the broken heart, the pain and sorrow of rejection, albeit indirect, but massively implied...

The crush he had held for so long... Already loved someone else.

Like he had feared.

"...I must be going crazy..." Adrien finished his sentence, before he broke down into straight-up sobbing, silently into a pillow he clutched to damped the sounds of his cries. "What the hell's wrong with me?... " Talking to a ring. He must be insane. He managed to force a sad chuckle at his own sentence. It didn't last long. "Damn it... Damn it!..."


Poor Adrien ;-;

With this chapter, I felt that I needed to add a bit more of a sorrow element to the story to make it feel more real. I have a plan or three now, thanks to awesome suggestions fro you guys, which I really appreciate beyond your comprehension. Soul Link is going on in full force now boys, and you don't wanna miss this ride!

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And I'll be seeing you in whatever it is i do indeed decide to write next. See ya!