When Adrien got home and detransformed, he was feeling extremely confused with the events that had happened. He was happy, but he was also sad. Ladybug had kissed him - but they weren't meant to be, His thoughts were all over the place.

'Why did Ladybug kiss me?'

'We've kissed before?'

'Who's Ladybug's soulmate?'

'Who's Marinette's soulmate?'

All these questions were running through Adrien's head. He was trying so hard to not think about it, but it was impossible.

"Kid, I know what you're thinking," Plagg said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Really?" Adrien asked with a hint of skepticism in his voice, as he usually did when talking to his kwami.

"You're wondering why Ladybug kissed you, and when you've kissed before. I also know for a fact that you're debating on her soulmate and Marinette's soulmate," Plagg said knowledgeably.

Adrien was silent, shocked that Plagg actually knew what he was thinking.

Plagg sighed.

"Listen kid, Ladybug isn't your soulmate, so you have to learn to get over her, even if it's hard. It won't be fair to your own soulmate," Plagg said

Adrien sighed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but I have no idea who my soulmate is," he said.

"Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out," Plagg said, losing interest as he decided that his cheese seemed much more interesting than the current conversation they were having.

Adrien walked over to his window. He wanted someone who understood him. Someone who balanced him out. Someone like Ladybug. Her name crept into his head again, taking over his mind.

But then he shook that thought from his head. He was not Ladybug's soulmate. He had no rights over her.

On the other hand, he wondered how his soulmate would react when they found out he was Cat Noir. He smiled at the thought. He imagined her face being totally shocked, after all, they seemed like two completely different people. In a way, they were.

His thoughts then wandered back to Marinette. She was going around school pretending she didn't have a mark to protect her soulmate. So, who was it?

Marinette was incredibly selfless to do that for her soulmate, he was a lucky guy.

His thoughts were still on the two girls and their marks as he went into bed and slowly drifted off to sleep.

Meanwhile, Marinette was pacing back and forth. She knew she had two options here.

One, she could tell Cat Noir that he was her soulmate as Ladybug.

Two, she could tell him that he was her soulmate as Marinette.

She debated these ideas inside her head for a while, Tikki watching her silently for a while before the kwami decided to help Marinette.

"Marinette, think about it. Cat Noir already loves you as Ladybug. Don't you want to see if he loves you as Marinette as well?" Tikki asked.

"That is a good point," Marinette replied thoughtfully. "Okay, I'll tell him as Marinette," she concluded.

"Well, you'll have to tell him later. Right now, Mari, you have school," Tikki pointed out with a small giggle.

"Ah! You're right, Tikki, and if I don't leave now, I'm going to be late!" she exclaimed, quickly grabbing her bag running out of her room.

When she got to school, people were looking at her and whispering to their friends. Marinette sighed. Another day of being the main attraction at school. She wondered if she should sell tickets or something.

At the front doors, she met up with Alya, who was giving her a look of sympathy.

"So... any luck with a mark?" Marinette's best friend asked, slightly hesitant.

"No, not yet," Marinette said. She wondered how she long she was going to be able to lie to Alya before she suspected she might have her mark. After all, Alya was very smart.

"Well, it will show up one day, you'll see. It will be worth waiting for, "Alya said with a wink. Marinette felt even worse not telling the truth.

The bell rang, and all the students went inside.

Alya and Marinette were walking to class before they were stopped by Chloe and Sabrina.

"Look who it is, Marinette and Alya. I feel bad for both of you. Marinette may be lonely for eternity, but at least she's not stuck with Nino!" she laughed.

Marinette literally had to hold Alya back from charging at Chloe.

"She's not worth it, Alya. Remember when you were snooping in her locker and got suspended? This will be 10 times worth if you do anything," Marinette warned, keeping her hands on Alya's shoulders.

Alya sighed and stopped resisting. The two girls started walking away, while Sabrina and Chloe were laughing their heads off. They tried to ignore them.

At lunch, they met with Nino and Adrien outside of the school,

"Hey,what happened?" Nino asked, concern in his voice.

"Just Chloe again," Marinette replied dejectedly

"She crossed a line, she can insult me all she wants, but then she continues to insult Marinette and then you!" Alya said to Nino, still fuming.

"Maybe you two should spent some time alone. You are the only one who can calm her right now," Marinette whispered to Nino.

Nino nodded and gently led Alya away, leaving Marinette with Adrien.

"So, you haven't gotten your mark yet?" Adrien asked.

"What? Oh, um, n-no I haven't," Marinette replied. As she answered, she looked Adrien up and down, trying to see if his mark as visible. She knew his birthday had passed, so he should've gotten it, but she couldn't see one. Was he hiding it? Why?

Unknown to her, Adrien was doing the same thing. He couldn't find see her mark and she was wearing everyday attire, so he knew it was somewhere in her body she could easily hide. That meant that he wasn't going to be able to see the mark unless she trusted him, or Cat Noir. He suddenly had an idea.

"So, um, h-have you gotten your mark yet?" Marinette asked.

Adrien tensed. He couldn't tell her what his mark was because he had already told her as Cat Noir.

"Yeah, but I don't know anyone who really fits what my mark is telling me," Adrien said.

"Oh, what is it?" she asked.

Shoot. What would he do now? He had to think fast.

"It's uh, a grey V," he said quickly, stammering a little.

"Oh, well, I don't know anyone who really fits that either, but I'm sure you'll find her soon," Marinette said.

"Thanks Marinette," he said gratefully. Marinette was so kind and caring. He was so glad to have her as a friend.

Once school was over, Adrien immediately went home and straight into his room, avoiding Natalie or any servants.

Plagg flew out and landed on his shoulder. "Well, you didn't do as bad a job as you could have..."

Adrien laughed. "Wow, thanks, Plagg."

He immediately decided that he wanted to talk to Marinette again.

"Plagg, claws out!"

Cat Noir transformed and traveled the distance to Marinette's house. He knocked on the window. "Marinette?"

She came to the window, smiling as she always did as she pulled it opened.

"Hello, kitty," she said.

"Hello, Purr-incess."

Cat didn't really know where the nickname came from, but it had always seemed to suit her and she liked it, so he'd just stuck with it.

Marinette laughed and then gestured for him to come in. He climbed into her room and leaned against the wall, looking her over with bright green eyes.

"You're actually just in time," said Marinette.

"Oh? What for?" asked Cat Noir with a small smile. He felt calmer already.

"I put some muffins in the oven not too long ago. If we're lucky, they should be done by now! Let me go check," said Marinette. Cat Noir nodded, and she dashed off.

She was back a couple minutes later, holding a plate of chocolate chip muffins. Marinette really was an amazing baker, and she seemed to always have something ready to go.

They sat down on her bed and ate the muffins. At first, they talked about everything and nothing. There was never a break in the conversation. But both Cat and Marinette wanted to discuss the soulmate marks.

Finally, they both spoke at the same time. "Cat Noir, I have something to tell you." "Marinette, what's your soulmate mark?"

They both stared at each other, then began to laugh. Cat Noir gestures to her. "You go first, M'L - Marinette."

Huh. He had just almost used his nickname for Ladybug on Marinette. Funny how his brain worked sometimes.

She looked slightly confused before speaking, "Well, the thing I want to tell you is about my soulmate mark."

Cat Noir held his breath. Was Marinette finally going to open up about her soulmate? He was excited to hear it.

She hesitated, and he wondered why she was so nervous. "Cat Noir?"

"Yeah?"

"It's you."