Marinette was smiling as Cat Noir left. Tikki popped out from her purse.

"So? Is it the worst thing in the world that you have Cat Noir as your soulmate?" Tikki asked.

"No, but... he's not Adrien," Marinette said.

Tikki was silent.

"Cat Noir is a great guy, but I would constantly have dreams of being soulmates with Adrien. It meant everything to me. It's just going to take some time to adjust." Marinette said.

Tikki sighed. She knew it would be a long journey for these two.

Marinette woke over to her bed and turned off the lights. "Goodnight Tikki."

"Goodnight Marinette," said her kwami.

The next morning, Marinette overslept and had to sprint to school. When she got there, she was panting, happy to actually be on time. Alya was there, waiting to see if she was going to be late or not.

"Congrats, girl! You actually made it on time!" she said, exchanging a quick hug with her best friend.

"Thanks, Alya," Marinette said, still getting her breath under control.

"So..." Alya said, letting her sentence hang.

"So, what?" she asked, confused by her best friend's intentions.

"So are you going to tell me about your mark? Are you going to show me? I know you're disappointed about Adrien, but I've been dying to see your mark," Alya said.

Marinette didn't know what to say. If she showed Alya her mark, it could create problems. First off, if Cat Noir and her became a couple, then she would know she was Ladybug, second off, if they were to date in civilian life, then she would know who Cat Noir is. It was a lose-lose situation. She just couldn't tell Alya.

"I bet Marinette doesn't even have a mark. That's why she's so upset. She's destined to be alone forever." Chloe sneered.

At this moment, Marinette was incredibly grateful to Chloe. She had just provided her with a cover story, although she hated to agree with Chloe.

"Leave her alone, Chloe. I bet her mark is amazing and ten times better than yours will be." Alya said.

"Oh? Then why doesn't she show us! She's upset because she doesn't have one or is to some loser, meanwhile I'm destined to be with Adrikins," she said.

"How do you know you're with Adrien? Wouldn't Adrien have approached you if his mark symbolized you?" Alya challenged.

"Maybe he's just waiting until I get mine, because he wants to wait before making us an official couple," said Chloe, flipping her blond ponytail.

"Well-" exclaimed Alya, about to retort.

"Alya, stop, she's right," Marinette said.

"Girl, what do you mean, she's right?" Alya asked, concerned.

"She's right, I didn't receive a mark on my birthday," Marinette said.

"WHAT?" Alya yelled.

"Told you! Marinette is destined to be alone forever!" Chloe sneered.

"Wait just a moment. Although it is rare, sometimes marks come later. Soulmate marks do everything for a reason." Alya challenged.

"Well, maybe this time the reason was no one could be paired with someone like Mari-Trash," Chloe laughed.

Marinette decided she had enough of being insulted today and walked away. She had to lie. To protect herself and Cat Noir. If soulmate marks did everything for a reason, why did they give her a mark that would expose their identities? It just didn't make sense.

"Girl, wait!" Alya yelled, running after her. "Is it true? You didn't get your mark?" she asked.

Marinette nodded, and Alya engulfed her in a huge hug.

"I'm so sorry, girl," she said.

"It's okay. Like you said, soulmate marks do everything for a reason," She said.

Alya nodded.

"You're right, I'm sure it will be worth the wait when you finally get your mark," Alya said.

Marinette laughed.

"C'mon, let's get to class," she said.

When Adrien had arrived at school, Nino was waiting for him.

"Hey bro," he said.

They were walking to class when they overheard Marinette talking to Alya.

"She's right, I didn't receive a mark on my birthday," they overheard Marinette saying. It caused them both to freeze in their tracks and stare at the two girls. Then they saw Marinette leave, followed by Alya.

"What do you think happened?" Adrien asked Nino.

"I don't know dude, I'll ask Alya later," he replied.

After school, Adrien and Nino managed to catch Alya before she left.

"Alya! What happened this morning?" Nino asked.

"Well, I was asking Marinette about her mark, and she was being reluctant about telling me, then Chloe started teasing her telling us she didn't have one, and then Marinette said it was true. I can't believe it. But soulmate marks happen for a reason, I hope the wait is worth it for her. Every mark has its time," Alya told them, before turning and leaving.

Adrien was confused. When he talked to Marinette as Cat Noir, she said she had gotten a mark, so then why would she lie to her best friend?

When Adrien got home, Plagg came out and went straight to his cheese stash as always. He began to eat some camembert.

"It doesn't make sense Plagg," Adrien said.

"What do you mean?" his kwami asked.

"She told me that she did receive a mark, although she doesn't know who her soulmate is and that's completely normal. But then why would she lie to her best friend?" Adrien asked.

"How am I supposed to know? Girls are so complicated, it's why I prefer cheese," Plagg said.

"Well, it's time to get to the bottom of this. Plagg, Claws out!"

Cat Noir transformed and made his way to Marinette's house. When he arrived, he knocked on the window and waited patiently for her to open it. When she did, she had a smile on her face.

"Hey Cat Noir," she said.

"Hey, purr-incess," He said. He didn't know where the nickname came from, but it seemed to fit her perfectly and it just came out.

"So, what brings you back here?" Marinette said.

"Well, honestly, I heard from a little birdy that you said you didn't have a mark, yet you had told me yesterday that you had one, but it was confusing and not the person you were hoping for." Cat Noir said.

Marinette tensed.

"So, what is it that you came here for?" she asked.

"I need to know, do you have your mark?"

Marinette was silent for a moment.

"I do have my mark, but to protect my soulmate and myself, I can't tell anyone who my soulmate is, and in a way, I don't even know who he is myself."

Cat Noir was confused.

"To protect him and yourself? What do you mean? Is he a criminal? And what do you mean, in a way you don't know who he is?" Cat Noir asked.

At this moment Marinette was angry. Angry at her mark. Why, out of all the things they could have given her to represent Cat Noir, did they give her something that could expose him and herself?

"Imagine you got a Ladybug mark. Her initial, that distinctly told you that she was her soulmate. Sure, you would be ecstatic, but you wouldn't be able to show anyone your mark because it would reveal her identity and your own. That is the situation my mark has put me in. I don't want to expose him, so I would rather pretend to not have a soulmate and protect him, than cause him pain and humiliation," she burst out. She was surprised at the angry rant that had just come out of her.

Cat Noir, meanwhile, was standing there, confused and hurt.

She shouldn't have shouted at him. None of this was his fault. She didn't need to implicate him in her anger; she didn't need to take her pain out on him.

And still, he was always so kind. "Mari, are - are you okay?" he asked gently.

"I'm not sure, Cat. But I can't talk to you, or anyone, about it."

He stepped forward, taller than her, and tried to hug her. Any other day she would have accepted it, but today, she brushed it off and backed away.

"I'm sorry. I need to be alone right now."

His eyes were understanding. "Okay, Marinette. Will you tell me someday?"

"Yes, Cat. I will tell you at some point. I'm sorry for being so angry. You didn't deserve it."

He was silent for a moment. The mood had wildly changed from the moment she'd opened the window. She was so happy, and now, she was sad. He nodded. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Cat."

When he had come back to his house and detransformed, Adrien lay on his bed, thinking over the events of today. "I wonder who her soulmate is? Why do you think she was so upset?"

Plagg popped out. "I don't know, but I do know you'll probably go crazy if you keep thinking about it. Think about something else. Like camembert."

Adrien almost managed to laugh at his kwami's love for the cheese. Almost.

Meanwhile, Marinette stood in her room, examining her mark. "How could it be Cat... he's my friend, even if he's a great guy. And, now I have to hide this from everybody I know."

Tikki stroked her head comfortingly.

"I hate secrets," mumbled Marinette as she lay down on her bed, exhausted from all the secrets she was keeping to the people closest to her.

She had a feeling this was only the beginning.