Time certainly had not helped Marinette feel better about her encounter with Adrien as Ladybug. In fact, it had had the exact opposite effect. That morning she felt so anxious, so worried, so upset and so freaking scared of seeing him again that day.

She just had to name-drop herself, didn't she? She just had to do that.

What the hell had she been thinking?!

"Nooooooooo..." Marinette cried softly and slightly dramatically into the pillow she was hugging tightly onto, kicking her feet back and forth underneath her bed sheets. "Oh God, he's going to hate me, isn't he? Ooooh, what if he decides that I'm some sort of weird creepy stalker that keeps watching him and following him and I start to creep him out so he tries to stay away from me as much as he possibly can and then everyone thinks that I upset him and he starts to hate me for it?!" Her mouth moving about a thousand times faster than her brain was thinking, she began rambling illogical, improbably things that made perfect sense in her worried mind. "He-e-e-elp meeeeeee!"

"Calm down, Marinette." Tikki tried to reassure her human partner in her usual tender manner. "You know Adrien isn't that kind of person, don't you?"

"You don't get it Tikki!" Marinette responded. "I've never seen him like this, ever! He was so cold, so uncaring... Oh God, I feel like I've really just screwed up and made matters worse..."

"You were trying to help, Marinette. I'm sure that Adrien will understand."

"But what if he didn't want me to try and help? I - Oh noooo..."

She'd have to apologize. She'd have to do that the second she saw him, provided she could get past tripping over her own tongue for long enough to apologize to the model. She'd have to pour her heart out in apology, essentially, and pray that he would be understanding.

If she ever needed her powers of good luck, it was today, above all other days.


Plagg wasn't good with emotions. He knew that, Adrien knew that. That was fine. They understood one another fairly well. They joked around, and threw banter back and forth between one another. They knew what made the other one tick. So that meant that Plagg knew Adrien was absolutely shattered by the fact Ladybug.

So it certainly came as a surprise to the Kwami that Adrien seemed to be a lot better the next day.

Adrien had awoke and had slept well, as opposed to the previous nights all nighter with a billion thoughts spiraling throughout his brain. He looked more rested, and seemed to be more positive. He didn't stare at the ceiling for hours on end, nor did he seem to mope around, or seem to dread going to school that same day.

He looked... Fine. And Plagg wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"Kid, you alright?" The magical creature asked his human master, hovering a few feet from his face. While he wasn't an expert on emotions or humans, that wasn't to say he knew nothing about the subject matters. One thing he did know was that heartbreak was not cured this quickly, nor did it heal at this superhuman speed.

"Yeah, Plagg, I'm fine. Why?" Adrien replied, sounding like his normal self. Not his low, monotone, chronically depressed voice, but his usual more energetic voice back in his words.

The Kwami looked somewhat shaken by this. Adrien wasn't one to bounce back this quickly. underneath the exterior he put up around himself, he was a sensitive kid, and rather emotional at times. He had dedicated himself solely to Ladybug, and the idea of falling in love with anyone else had seemed alien to him.

What the hell was up with this guy?

"You seem... Better."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Its just... Unexpected."

"Gotta be honest Plagg, it is. I don't know why... But I feel like I'm gonna be okay." Adrien told his magical partner. It wasn't a feeling he could explain. More that it was something that he just knew. Part of it came from Ladybug's visit, and her mentioning Marinette.

That conversation had sparked his dormant curiosity about the blue haired girl in his class. She had certainly interested Adrien for a while now, in the sense that she was a nice, and rather interesting person. The two of them got along rather well, and Adrien did consider her to be a good friend, but they never really seemed to spend a lot of time together without something dramatic happening, pure circumstance preventing them from speaking, or the girls simple social awkwardness and stuttering problem she seemed to have around, specifically, him. Adrien wondered, why was that?

But this wasn't new. He'd just sort of come to accept that. He had always believed that it was because he was a model, and she liked fashion. He had assumed that she had felt somewhat intimidated by him, albeit not his intention to do that to her.

What had sparked his curiosity now was the fact that she seemed to know Ladybug.

How had that happened?...

That question rolled around in Adrien's skull for quite a while, before he spoke to Plagg again. "Hey Plagg, what do you reckon the odds are that Marinette knows Ladybug?"

"Uh... Certain?" Plagg asked, not quite understanding the question. "Didn't Ladybug say she knew who Marinette was? Isn't that why she came here in the first place?"

"There's more to it than that though... I'm certain of it..."

"Oh, Goodie! Feel like sharing with the class?" Plagg asked, referring to himself.

"Not really. I'm not sure yet, and it's not really something I can explain."

"You don't seem to be able to explain a lot of things these days, Adrien."

"That's because things seem to get more and more and more complicated with every day that passes." After he had finished speaking, his green eyes caught a glimpse of a green light from his finger. "Speaking of which..."

It was his miraculous, ready to transmit another cryptic message. Oh, yay. Adrien just loved cryptic riddles. He preferred the direct approach, but unluckily for him, that option wasn't available. Shielding his eyes and aiming his hand at a wall, he felt the light shin on his eyelids, and then fade. certain he wouldn't see the blinding light this time, Adrien opened his eyes, and read once again, a poem from a magical item.

"A valiant effort to heal your soul,

She feels as she had failed her goal.

An effort always fated with doom,

Fearing salt has been rubbed in wound,

Hope in heart, she'll try again,

Yet fearing efforts shall be done in vain."

"Well, isn't that just positive." Adrien sarcastically muttered. In that second, his eyes widened. "Hold on a second. This thing tells you the poem of a soul mate, right?... This... Sounds a lot like..."

Marinette?

Wasn't it her who wanted to make sure he was okay? Wasn't it her who asked Ladybug to check on him? Wouldn't it be her whom felt she had only made things worse, especially with the way Adrien had acted towards Ladybug? Knowing her, wouldn't she try to make amends for failing to do so, for fearing she had made matters worse?

This poem could practically be an analogy for Marinette's personality when she worries she had messed up, or offended someone in some way.

And his miraculous was showing him that?

"Marinette?..." He looked at his ring on his fingers, like he had just been enlightened.

Of all the people that there were on this planet, her? How well did he know her?... Was she...

This only further sparked Adrien's curiosity further.


The day was a tense one for Marinette. she had arrived late, yet again, and had been unable to apologize to Adrien, due to the fact they were in classes as soon as she saw him. She had had to, while sweating like she was stood next to the sun itself, walk past him, and try her very best not to make eye contact with him.

Throughout the day, her heart had been pounding like a jackhammer, worried and filled to the brim with anxiety about what she was going to say to the blond boy. what could she say to him?She could swear she could feel him thinking about her, and not in the way she would have liked.

On the bright side... He seemed to be doing better. He was writing things down, and seemed to be acting like his usual self, talking to Nino while he made his notes.

So, her mind could rest easy in that regard...

That was the important thing, wasn't it?

That he seemed to be feeling better... That was what was important...

When the bell for lunch finally rang, Adrien didn't move, and nor did Marinette. the fact Adrien didn't move, Marinette wasn't sure if that filled her with gladness that she didn't have to chase him down and do this in front of other people, or dread that he also clearly wanted to talk to her about things too.

"Girl, you coming?" Alya asked her friend, already waiting by the door for Marinette to follow.

"Uh, you - You go on, Alya. I - I have something to do here. I'll catch up."

"Alright, see you later then."

The door shut.

And then they were alone.

There were a few seconds of silence between the two of them, neither one of them sure which one was going to speak first. It was, in a word, immensely awkward.

And in a sentence, it was doing nothing to help Marinette's anxiety and beating heart.

"So, Marinette." Adrien spoke first, breaking the silence. Marinette froze. "How the heck did you convince Ladybug of all people to come see me?" He had a soft smile on his face, indicating he wasn't too upset. "In fact, scratch that, how do you even know her in the first place?"

"I - I - Um..." The accursed stuttering the blunette suffered from whenever she spoke to the handsome boy in front of her came back, like the floodgates had been opened. "I - I - she designs for m - I mean I did some designs for her!" Same excuse Ladybug gave Adrien, and it still worked, so why not use it again?

"She said the same thing." Adrien nodded, buying her reasoning. "Okay, so, again, how the heck did you convince her?"

"I... I saw you looked a bit... Upset... And - And I thought... Maybe Ladybug could help?..." Marinette knew this was a poor excuse of an answer, but it was all she had. "I - I'm sorry... She - She said it seemed to make you feel worse..."

"It did, if I'm honest." Adrien admitted, but he didn't sound upset with the nervous girl in front of him. Marinette was expecting him to yell. to shout. To sigh. To walk away. one of those, not that she knew which. Instead he smiled warmly at her. "But still, thanks, for trying. I'm grateful that you tried. I'm better now. I think it was just an... Off day."

"O - Oh... Well... I'm - I'm glad you feel better now."

"You're gonna have to show me your designs for Ladybug sometime though." Commented the blond model with a smirk. "You've got talent, and I think I'd be interested in seeing what you've come up with for the hero of Paris."

Marinette went scarlet at the compliment. The fact Adrien thought that she had talent in her designing filled her up with a feeling of confidence and a desire to show off a little bit to her crush. Did she have anything she had worked on in her sketch book? "I - I think I had a scarf idea I was toying with..."

The two of them wound up spending their lunch break together, Marinette showing Adrien all the various design sin her sketch book, and noting down any ideas or criticisms he, as a professional model, had with the designs. Normally this would be something Adrien would detest doing... But something about doing this with Marinette made it fun.


It certainly had been an emotional roller-coaster of a day for Marinette. After getting back home, she had instantly fallen asleep, allowing her body the rest it desperately required to recharge after a morning filled with anxiety, fear, relief and then enjoyment all compacted into the space of maybe a few hours.

She was so thankful - So, so thankful - That Adrien hadn't been upset with her. She really had been worried that all she had done is make him feel far worse than he already had been, guilt slapping her in the face as Ladybug. But he wasn't upset with her. He didn't blame her.

He had thanked her. Just for trying to help. She hadn't expected to be thanked for that... But the fact he had... Made her feel so happy...

And they had spent their lunch break together, going over her designs... The advice, criticism, and feedback he had given her had been invaluable, from a practical standpoint, and completely and utterly loved from an emotional standpoint. Being able to be next to him, being able to hear his voice so close...

Occasionally, their eyes had met, and Marinette's face would go red and she'd need to look away again in embarrassment. His eyes, his very stare, was just emitting warmth...

Alya had been armed with a list of questions and teases when she came back into the room and saw the two of them just before classes had started.

An emotional day indeed, but definitely not one she wished she had missed.

She found herself toying more with the idea of a scarf for Ladybug. Something she had been interested in adding for a while now, if only to try it out. The design not only went along with her costumes design, being red with black polka-dots, but also was designed to be of a material similar to that of her suit, making it combat reliable, planning for it to be a bit like a capture tape that she could use to help stop opponents moving.

Of course, it was still in early design stages. She had yet to find a materiel that would work like that. It was just something she did when she was bored, and wanted to indulge in her fantasies for a little while. She doubted it could objectively work... But there was potential in it. Maybe if she made the design a bit sleeker...

She had just closed her sketchbook and had been about to fall asleep. She had only just realized how late it was. Her going out as Ladybug had been needed tonight as well, due to a lack of active crimes that the police couldn't handle. That gave her a bit more freedom to do what she wanted to do, outside of being Ladybug. And right now, what she wanted to do was sleep. And she had been just about to do that, when she heard a tapping on her window.

A weird sense of Déjà vu came attacking Marinette. Didn't this exact thing happen in reverse yesterday with Ladybug and Adrien?

"Chat?"

A wild, toothy grin was her response. "Princess."


Okay guys, I've been teasing it long enough. It's time for us to actually start with the MariChat!

I'm still toying with a few ideas for this fic, nothing in particular worth mentioning... Buuuuut it may be a good time to mention that I've got myself involved in a Crossover fanfic contest ( What the hell was I thinking), and I volunteered to do a My Hero Academia / Miraculous Ladybug story.

What could POSSIBLY go wrong? (What the hell have I gotten myself into?)

So, you may see that, you may not. Depends on how well it ends up being received in the contest.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed! If you did enjoy it, please be sure to follow me on Wattpad, GamingEmpire where you can get stories a full half an hour earlier, and get to interact with me more. We have lots of fun over there, so be sure to come join us!

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