Welcome back, everyone, and hello to my new readers! Here's a treat for you guys! Get ready for some feels in this chapter. Happy? Sad? Find out right now!

Chapter 3: To Love

Without being able to hear her side of things, Adrien had to guess at what nationality the girl was and where she lived, but he could figure a few things out: her mother was Asian, probably Chinese, and her father was European. He also learned that the family baked a lot, so he wouldn't be surprised if they owned a bakery or café. Later, the girl's scattered drawings of the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, and her homework let him know where she lived: Paris, just like him.

Today, the girl in the mirror seemed frustrated again. This time, it wasn't because of a wrong stitch or because she had tripped over various sewing materials again. No, Adrien could see that this was caused by the girl's mortal enemy. To learn more about her, he was motivated to learn a little lip reading, and from what he could see, she was ranting again.

"Why does she do this? Why me? Ugh, sometimes, I think she hates me."

Adrien frowned. Whoever this bully was, at least she didn't physically harm his soulmate again. The first time, his soulmate came home with her hair in disarray and dripping wet-her bully had poured something on her. Adrien wished he could have done something to protect her, but four years later and his soulmate still hadn't seen him, so he could only look from afar as the girl wallowed yet again.

A few weeks had passed since that incident, and Adrien watched as the girl's mood slipped; she wasn't as cheerful, she didn't sing and dance around the room. One day, Adrien came into his room to see something disturbing. Instead of the happy girl who showed off her handmade dresses or shirts in the mirror or, as of late, the girl who sat silent while doing her homework, he saw her sitting with her back to her pink chaise and facing him, sticking needles into her arm. Adrien had heard of self-harm and read articles on depression and anxiety, but he never thought that his soulmate would feel so low that she would resort to that!

The girl had about 10 needles stuck into her left lower arm, some drew blood, others were shallow enough not to. Did she want to feel pain? What brought this about? Was it her bully?

These questions haunted Adrien while he ran to the mirror, clutching the frame and shaking it to somehow make him believe that the image he saw wasn't true. He couldn't protect her then, and he couldn't protect her from harming herself now, and this tormented him to no end.

Adrien brought his hands up to the glass, clawing at it and yelling at the girl to try to get through to her. "You can't give up! Let me help you! You don't have to do this!" He yelled. He wished with all his heart that he could hold her in his arms and take her pain away. He leaned heavily on the mirror having exhausted himself in his cries, when suddenly he wasn't leaning on the hard surface of the mirror anymore. It was as if the mirror turned into thin air, and Adrien found himself flailing to keep himself upright.

He crashed onto the wooden floor and groaned as he lifted himself onto his arms. Wait…wood?/ Adrien thought. But I have white carpet in my room!

A strangled gasp alerted him to exactly where he had fallen. Not three feet away was his soulmate, mouth agape and tears streaming down her face. Not only had a mysterious boy fallen through her mirror, but he had witnessed the girl at her lowest point, hurting herself. Adrien lamented at the predicament he found himself, but was struck out of his reverie when the girl spoke.

"Wh-who-wha-what…where-what? Y-y-y-you!" The girl gasped.

"Don't be afraid! I know you! Well, not really, but I've seen you!" Adrien said, scrambling to collect his thoughts. He glanced down at her arm, which still looked like one of her pincushions.

Self-conscious, the girl turned away from him, hiding her eyes underneath her bangs. "I don't care who you are, just go away!" She cried, clenching her fists and making her needles wobble.

"No, I won't go away! I can finally talk to you now! You're hurting, but you don't have to be alone!" Adrien said, crawling over to the girl. He laid a hand gently on the girl's right shoulder and leaned her against his body. With his other hand, he grasped her left fist, uncurling her fingers and caressing the half-moons her fingernails made in her palm. "Please, let me be here for you, girl. Let me be someone you can lean on."

The building emotions finally burst from the dam she held back and she sobbed against him. While she cried, Adrien gently removed the needles from her arm-she didn't give him fuss, and the pain didn't even phase the girl.

Scooping the girl in a princess lift-that's what she is, his princess-he sat her on her desk chair and rummaged around her sink for the first aid kit he had seen her use multiple times. Adrien carefully cleaned the blood from her arm and applied ointment, choosing small flower bandages to cover the bigger wounds. By now, the girl had calmed down and looked curiously at the boy. Perhaps he should explain who he was.

"I'm sorry that I came barging in! I, well, I saw you, and I knew that you were sad, but I didn't think it was going to get this bad, and I just had to do something-I just didn't think that I would fall through my mirror here and-" Adrien stopped when the girl jumped up to wrap her arms around him, interrupting him mid-ramble.

"You're my soulmate," she breathed. "Thank you."

He returned the gesture in disbelief-she knew who he was! He nuzzled into her soft hair and smelled the wonderful scent of baked goods. In any other circumstance, this would have been strange, but there and now, they were two soulmates finally united.

"You know that I'm your soulmate?" Adrien whispered. "For how long?"

"A little over a year now?" the girl said.

"A YEAR?!" Adrien exclaimed, pulling away. "I've seen you for four years now!"

"What! That long?!" The girl gasped. "That means you could see my room when you were flexing the first time I saw you?" The girl hid a smirk behind her hands and nodded to her mirror.

"Flexing…," Adrien took a second to think about what she was talking about and immediately flushed. Several times, he wanted to test if she could see him, so he'd make ridiculous poses in front of the mirror. Apparently, she had seen him once and didn't show any sign!

"So, you just let me embarrass myself like that? Look at all the time we've lost because you didn't let me know that you've seen me!" Adrien laughed.

The girl sat down on the floor and joined in laughing. "Well, I figured that if you were flexing, you were looking at yourself, so you couldn't see me. Usually, soulmates leave a note so that the second one knows when the first one has seen them."

Adrien took a seat beside her and asked, "Then why didn't you put up a note?"

Marinette stuttered out, "I…well, I was shy, okay? And you sort of forget things when something like seeing your soulmate for the first time happens."

Adrien chuckled. "I suppose we're both at fault then. So, uh… may I ask your name?"

"Asking and not volunteering your own? Well then, my name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng," she introduced herself.

"Marinette…" Adrien said, testing it on his lips. He had been waiting for this moment for four years. Marinette blushed when he said her name so gently.

"My name is Adrien Agreste. At your service, my princess," Adrien said, giving her a mock bow and taking her hand into his to press a kiss to her knuckles.

"Adrien…Agreste? As in the son of my fashion icon?" Marinette yelped.

"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't recognize me, since you're into fashion and making your own clothes," Adrien said. "It's hard to forget a face like mine." Adrien said this last part and leaned closer to her, noting that she had freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks. Cute.

"Hey, hey, I pay attention to the clothes more than the people wearing them," Marinette said, pushing Adrien away with a finger to his nose. Adrien grinned. So cute. I'm in love with this girl, Adrien thought.

Or maybe he didn't think that last part in his head, because the shade of red Marinette turned rivaled that of a ladybug, and he could feel his own rising temperature when he realized it.

"Ah, so uh-! Do you think we can exchange numbers, Adrien?" Marinette said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, of course! That way if you ever need someone to talk to, I'll just be a phone call away." They exchanged numbers and he put hearts in her name. "You know, you can tell me what's going on; I'll listen. Is this the same reason why you've been sad the past few weeks? Is it about that girl who bullied you?"

Marinette was startled. Just how much did her soulmate know? The evident shock on her face spurred Adrien to explain how he learned to lip read so he could understand her better and how he saw when her bully first dumped water all over her.

"Chloe-that's her name. She's been making my life miserable since her mayor of a father transferred her to Francoise Dupont," Marinette said.

"Chloe Bourgeois? She's a friend of mine. Well, I know her because my family knows hers. 'High society.'" Adrien said, with finger quotes. "She's a bit clingy and a little snobby, but she's never been mean."

"Well, you clearly don't know her that well, because she's a rude, cruel, and insensitive person that belittles those she sees as peasants." Marinette huffed, obviously miffed that Adrien would try to defend the rich brat. Then again, if Chloe had never bullied her, Marinette and Adrien might not have ever met.

Adrien waved his hands in front of him, clearly trying to disperse the rising tension. "No, I totally understand that now, Marinette; she's a mean person who puts herself above others. And I can't defend anyone who would dare hurt a kind and beautiful person like you, Marinette. I'm sorry that I couldn't protect you from her." Adrien reached a hand out to tuck a piece of hair behind her ears.

"You know, I don't need protection, Adrien. I've been fine on my own. I'm not some damsel in distress," Marinette said, nuzzling his palm with her cheek.

"You're right, you're so much more than that, Princess. I just can't stand that I had to watch you spiral down to…this. That you hurt so much, and I couldn't do anything about it…" Adrien said. Marinette could see unshed tears in his eyes, and she thought back to her previous actions. The small needle marks weren't noticeable if you didn't know what to look for, but ones covered in bandages would remind her soulmate of what he couldn't stop.

"Adrien, you reached out to me-you found me! And I am so so thankful that you are here right now. I can't imagine telling this to anyone else," Marinette said. She laced her fingers with his and kissed his hand, returning the gesture from when he first introduced himself. "I know that I haven't known you for as long as you've known me, and I might not be able to lip read, but…I'm in love with you, too."

She gave into the temptation of pulling him into a hug, and only pulled away just to lean up and press a kiss to his forehead. "Thank you."