Today's weather is all sunshine and warm, quite different from the other cloudy days as Paris is transforming itself to welcome the fall season. Himawari has gone shopping with Marinette and Alya for a couple of hours as the bluenette wants to find new fabric for her new design. They have been in Madame Antoinette's fabric store and the young designer doesn't seem to be tired of looking at all the fabric inside the store.

"Marinette, can we go now? I'm hungry!"

"Just a bit more…"

Himawari sweatdrops at the sight of her friend pulling through yards of fabric, only to pout because it's not what she wants. Marinette wants to get the fabric with stars embroilment or the sparkly type that is not too overwhelming, but nothing in the store matches her vision.

The raven head scans through many sections of the store, hoping to find something that her friend likes so that they can get out of there. Walking through aisle after aisle, from chiffon to satin to lace, until she spots the hidden gem that hides in mountains of fabric in the corner of the store.

"Marinette, come here! I have something to show you…"

Her friends come to her, surprised to see the delighted smile on the raven head's face as she tries to hide the thing behind her back. Himawari giggles, knowing that Alya's patience has reached its limit and Marinette is clearly not planning to give up. She also thinks that what she has in her hand might be the best solution for the bluenette, if not, then she's not sure if she wants to go on another shopping trip with her.

"I literally squeal after seeing it, check out this fabric…"

Pulling out the navy blue fabric with sparkles all over it, she grins widely as the bluenette yelps out in excitement and runs her hand through the thing. This is what she needs for her beautiful celestial-themed dress and she has found, the perfect material that matches her very own vision of the design. Alya exhales in contentment, finally…

"Oh my god, this is it! My dress!"

"Thank god you found it!"

After purchasing the fabric, the trio decides to celebrate the success of Marinette's fabric hunting by getting some ice cream. Although it's fall season in Paris, they don't mind having the sweet, cool taste of ice cream from their favorite vendor, Andres.

"For you, lovely Marinette! Peach pink like his lips and green mint like his eyes."

The young designer smiles at the combination, admiring the green color of the mint-flavored ice cream as it reminds her of Adrien's beautiful emerald eye.

"For you, dear Alya! Dark chocolate like his hair and mocha caramel like his eyes."

The glasses girl giggles, knowing too well who Andres is talking about. The bluenette nudges her friend, teasingly smiling as Alya playfully scoffs at her for not minding her own business.

"And for you, sweet Himawari! Vanilla rose like his lips and mint chocolate like his eyes."

Himawari stares at Andres's creation with an awe expression then looks at her friends, only to see the smug smiles on their faces, the signature pout forms on her lips as she is being teased by them. It's no surprise for them to know about the raven head's feelings for the certain aqua eyes, even when she has tried her best to keep it a secret.

Alya has been very supportive, and often partners up with Juleka to bring the two closer together. Marinette, however, acts quite differently when it comes to friendship and romantic relationships. She shows support for her friend but on some occasions, accidentally interrupts them with her own problems with Adrien.

The brunette has warned Marinette many times for confusing both boys as one day she's happy all smiley at Adrien, and the next day she rests her head on Luka's shoulder to seek comfort from the older boy. The bluenette argues that she only sees the guitarist as a friend but their classmates think otherwise, especially Juleka, who doesn't seem to be pleased with the way her class representative's misleading actions towards her brother.

"She really likes Luka…" smiled the bluenette as she looks at Himawari talking to Andres about her ice cream combination.

"You just notice?" Alya scoffs at her.

"Hey, that's mean!" she pouts "Look, I don't see the point of you telling me to back off from Luka. He's just a friend, nothing more!"

"That's not the point, Marinette. You can be friends with anybody, but don't give them false signals that you're into them."

"I did not do that!"

"You lean on his shoulder, you cry in his arms, you kiss him on the cheeks! Marinette, only lovers do things like that!"

The young designer frows, she never thinks about her actions towards Luka being inappropriate. He's like a brother to her and she appreciates his company, but to think of him as someone more than a friend has never once crossed her mind. Yes, she seeks out his comfort and support but that doesn't mean anything more than friendship level, Luka knows this.

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing, we're just talking about my designs."

Alya sighs in defeat as Marinette tries to come up with weird excuses so Himawari doesn't question her odd behaviors. The three then spend more time at the bench near Andres's ice cream vendor until they notice the familiar blonde head.

"Adrien and…Kagami?"

"Oh? Hey girls! You're here to grab ice cream too, I see."

Next to Adrien is Kagami, his fencing partner at school. Seeing the young fencer with her crush together, the bluenette frows, the feeling of jealousy just burns inside her heart. Kagami glances at her with a prideful glint in her amber eyes as she actively wraps her arms around Adrien's, smirking to see the bright red color appear on Marinette's cheek.

Himawari and Alya are shocked, the worst thing is that the blonde model doesn't seem to mind the intimate action as he even wipes her cheek with his hand. This action devastated the bluenette, she tries her best to not show any discomfort expressions but things just keep getting harder when the pair decide to approach them.

"Hey Marinette, Nathalie just show me your new design, it looks amazing!"

"Y-yeah, you know…you look ama- I mean – my design looks amazing…" she blushes at the compliment.

"What are you guys doing here?" Alya chimes in "You're not going on a date, right?"

"Who? Us? No, we're not." he answers immediately and doesn't notice the displeased expression on Kagami's face "We just finish our fencing practice and Kagami said that she wants to grab some ice cream, so we're here."

"Andres's ice cream is amazing, look at his combination for us."

Marinette lowers her head, trying her best to avoid the death stare of Kagami and Adrien's worried eyes. She doesn't want to see the combination, knowing too well what the young fencer is trying to imply. Even if Kagami said nothing, her amber eyes and non-hesitated actions towards Adrien tell the bluenette everything she needs to know about their relationship.

It hurts…

It hurts her so bad that she wants to cry…

But Kagami doesn't stop there, she tries to show her affection towards the blonde model as much as possible. If Marinette is there, she will do everything to keep the emerald orbs on her, only on her. Adrien is oblivious to the bluenette's feelings for him and Kagami has taken advantage of that to force the poor designer to back down before it's too late.

Adrien smiles at Kagami before feeding her a spoon of their ice cream, seeing this causes Marinette to whimper and unable to handle the scene, she flees. Alya calls out her name and runs after the bluenette while Adrien is shocked to see his friend runs away like that. He wants to follow her but Kagami holds onto his hand, shaking her head in disapproval. Himawari stands by as she observes the scene before walking toward them with an odd expression. She looks at Adrien, who is still confused at Marinette's behavior then turns to Kagami, who is smirking like she just won the lottery.

"Adrien, I think you should go after her."

"Himawari…"

"He doesn't need to, Marinette will be fine."

Amethyst eyes look at her, displeased at the answer. She looks at Adrien, silently telling him to do what he feels is right and the blonde model immediately nods his head, running after the bluenette. Kagami opens her eyes widely, her whole body shakes violently as the fencer grips her hand tightly. She looks at Himawari in rage mode, expecting the young artist to give her an explanation on why she encourages Adrien to chase after Marinette.

"Kagami means the mirror…" she looks at her with a calm yet serious expression "Mirrors only reflect your true self."

"What are you trying to imply?"

"Kagami, your feelings for Adrien…Is it as a friend or more than that?"

"Of course, it's-?!"

"Are you sure? Or do you just want to compete with Marinette to get Adrien's attention?"

With that, Himawari turns around, leaving Kagami to stare at her with an astonished face.

She runs after them, knowing too well that Marinette will run back to her house and cries her heart out after seeing how close Adrien and Kagami were. She feels bad for the bluenette but at the same time, thinks that this will be a great opportunity for Adrien to see the true reasons why Marinette acts so odd around him. He may be oblivious but not stupid and he will have to understand it, sooner or later.

Spotting the blonde standing on the sidewalk, Himawari runs to him, only to see a heartbreaking scene of Marinette, sobbing in Luka's arm as he holds her tightly and dearly. She stops herself, too afraid to take any steps further. Glancing at Adrien, she can see how his knuckles turn white as he tightly grips his hand. Emerald eyes filled with sadness, disappointment, anger and all the negative feelings that she can use to describe him.

"Adrien…"

"Have I…done something wrong?" he asks in a bitter tone "Why…?"

"Let's…go somewhere else…"

Gently patting his shoulder, Himawari leads him to somewhere else, somewhere that they can clear their minds a bit. She leads him to her house and opens the door widely to invite him in before walking into the kitchen to get them some nice warm tea. Adrien sighs as he makes himself comfortable on the dining chair while looking at Himawari as she brews a pot of chamomile tea.

"Here you go."

"Thank you…"

There is a dead silence between them, the blonde model refuses to talk and the raven head tries to enjoy her tea, they don't know what to say…

The scene they just witnessed has shaken them badly, enough to make them mentally question whether or not they should keep fighting for the other's affection or just let it go. Adrien grips his hand tightly, the picture of Marinette holding on to Luka like he's the only person that understands her is as clear as crystal, it makes his stomach twists seeing those two together. Himawari, on the other hand, feels like her heart just broke into pieces. The sight of Luka whispering comforting words as he gently held her tight in his arms is just too much for her to bear.

"Himawari, what did I do that upset Marinette?"

"I…" playing with her teacup, the raven head sighs deeply, "I think you should confront Marinette. I don't want to assume anything…"

"I don't think I can do that…" he looks at his reflection in the warm liquid "Not when Luka is there…"

"Adrien, you should tell her how you truly feel about her." she puts down her teacup and stares at him "I think that you're oblivious, but not that stupid."

"Wh-what? How can I…?"

"It's always better to tell the person you like your true feelings. You don't want to regret not letting her know that you truly love her."

That night, Adrien lies on his bed, sighing to himself. His black kitty, Plag, calls out and rubs his little head against his owner like a sign of comfort. The blonde model smiles and caresses his fur, swallowing himself at the thought of letting the young designer know his feelings for her.

"Adrien, are you okay?"

His stepmother, Nathalie, knocks on the door and steps into his room. She looks worried because the boy hasn't said a word since he returns home from fencing class. Adrien smiles at her, and a wave of relief washes over him as he sits up to talk to his stepmother.

Since the day his mother passed away, Adrien was left with a broken heart and a broken family. Due to the grief of losing his beloved wife, Adrien's dad, Gabriel Agreste, had drowned himself in work and work. He ignored his family and his very own son, leaving Adrien in a vulnerable state at a very young age and overall, scarred his childhood.

Adrien had been homeschooled his whole life, he wasn't able to get any friends and was forced to study many things under his father's supervision. The blonde model was expected to be the best of the best and if he couldn't meet his father's standards, he would be punished. His whole life was under his father's control and even though Adrien loves him, the poor blonde couldn't help but want to break free.

Adrien's life took a turn when Nathalie came into the picture, her beautiful soul and warm smile melted his father's ice chamber, knocking down every obstacle that stands in her way of warming Gabriel's heart.

Thanks to her, his dad can understand the consequences of his own actions against his son.

Thanks to her, Adrien was able to go to normal school.

Thanks to her, he was able to make friends and live a normal life as a teenager.

Thanks to her, he was able to meet Marinette…

"Are you okay, dear?"

Sitting on his bed, Nathalie pulls Adrien in a hug while the boy carefully moves in her hold without pressing too much on the small baby bump that is slightly visible. She has been very close to Gabriel's son, not hoping to fill in his mother's place but wanting him to know that she's always there for him. Adrien is glad, he's grateful to have such a great woman like Nathalie as his stepmother.

"I'm okay, Nathalie. I'm just…having some issues…"

"With Marinette?"

The blonde model blushes as Nathalie smiles, pointing at the picture frame on his bed, the picture of him, Marinette, Nino and Alya. The woman knows his feelings for the certain bluenette and often encourages him to confess his feelings to her. Adrien, however, is too shy to do this. He may be a great model on every magazine cover but when it comes to love, the blonde doesn't know how to respond to it.

Falling for Marinette is something he never expects to happen. The bluenette is cute and sweet and bubbly, she has a great passion for becoming a designer, so much so that she even has her own designs on several things like hats, purses, clothes, etc. He has always seen her as a friend and nothing more, but as time goes by and as she has gotten closer to Luka, the hidden feelings for her begin to rise and before Adrien even knows it, he has fallen for Marinette, HARD.

"I think I've done something that hurt her today…"

"What happened? What's wrong?"

Adrien told his stepmother the whole story, from his ice cream break with Kagami to seeing Marinette in Luka's arms to Himawari's advice about being truthful about his feelings. Nathalie listens to the story, nodding her head to acknowledge her stepson's words before giving an encouraging smile.

"I think that your new friend is correct. It's always better to tell Marinette how you truly feel about her."

"But…what if she doesn't feel the same way?"

"Then…what if she feels the same way?" she looks at him "Adrien, you will never know the answer unless you actively seek it. No one is going to tell you anything until you discover it yourself."

"Nathalie…"

Caressing his face, Nathalie plants a kiss on the cheek and holds him tightly, letting the boy relax in her arms.

"Believe me, my dear. You don't want to hide your feelings for her and then live in a state of regret for not telling her the truth." she smiles "You need to have fate in yourself and your feelings for Marinette. You need to have fate in love and believe that your feelings will eventually be returned."