Marinette woke up entangled in a sleeping bag in Alya's living room. She looked around sleepily - she was still in that early morning haze where you drift in and out of sleep.

She looked towards Alya's sleeping bag, which was empty.

It was a Saturday morning, so they'd slept in. Marinette reached towards her purse, strewn on the floor near their sleeping bags. She pulled out her cellphone, checking the time: 1PM. The light from the screen hurt her eyes.

Jeez. She'd sure slept in late. She was grateful to Alya for letting her sleep - all the drama from the previous night had worn her out.

She rolled over and stretched, fully awake now. She shimmied out of the sleeping bag and yawned, now wondering where her best friend was.

"Alya?"

Alya walked in. "Good morning, sleepyhead," she laughed. Marinette smiled. "Hi, Alya. Sorry I slept so long."

Alya waved it aside. "No worries, girl. You needed it."

Marinette stood up and yawned again.

"I ran over and got croissants from your parents' bakery," said Alya. She really was the best friend in the world.

"Thank you!" said Marinette.

"So, time for breakfast, or should I say lunch," said Alya, laughing.

Marinette grinned and the two girls set off for the kitchen where a delicious breakfast awaited.

If there was a way to cure heartbreak, a breakfast of croissants at 1PM with your best friend was the way to do it.

Marinette and Alya spent the rest of the day together, going out to the park, baking, and watching a movie. At one point, when they were sitting on a bench eating ice cream cones, Alya began her interrogation.

"So, Marinette, I know you don't want to think about it, but I really need to know. What happened last night?" she asked.

Marinette ate her ice cream very slowly, thinking of a way to phrase it so she didn't give anything away.

"Last night, I found out that my soulmate loves someone else. Like, in love with her."

"I'm so sorry," said Alya. She was already getting a little bit angry.

"He likes me, but he loves her. And it doesn't seem like he'll ever be able to let go of her."

Alya hugged her and Marinette began to sob into her shoulder. "I will always be second best. I'm boring, and clumsy, and shy."

Alya pulled back and put her hands on Marinette's shoulders, looking her in the eyes. "You are not any of those things. Your soulmate is stupid, and if I knew who he was I'd march right up to him and tell him myself, okay? He doesn't have any right to hurt you like this. Not now, not ever."

Marinette nodded slowly, laughing a little, and hugged Alya again.

In the evening, Marinette went home and collapsed on her bed. Right now all she wanted to do was be alone. She didn't want to see Cat Noir - she didn't know whether to be angry at Cat Noir or just disappointed that he didn't love her as much as her other identity. It wasn't quite his fault, but she was still heartbroken right now. She wanted someone to love her for her, not her confident superhero self.

She understood that he was having a hard time letting go of Ladybug, but she just wished he'd try a little harder instead of making a full-blown declaration of love to her. Everything was so awkward now.

And then... there was a knock on her window.

Oh no. Not right now.

But it wasn't as if she could just ignore it, not let him in. He could clearly see her sitting on her bed, and he didn't know that she'd heard him tell Ladybug that he loved her. He loved Ladybug, and liked Marinette. It killed him that they weren't destined to be together.

While all his words replayed in her head, all his honest words that killed her, as she went to the window and let Cat Noir in with a fake smile.

Cat Noir, meanwhile, had been thinking of what he'd said to Ladybug. He'd been turning it over and over in his head over the last hours, and came to the conclusion that he shouldn't have done it. This would make his relationship with Ladybug weird, and, to top it off, he'd feel guilty visiting Marinette and talking to her, knowing that he'd made a declaration of love to someone else. They weren't really dating, him and Marinette, but it still felt a lot like cheating.

Everything was just so complicated. He wished he could just let go of Ladybug and try to fully love Marinette without anyone else in his heart.

He had decided to go visit Marinette to remind himself of how amazing his soulmate was and how she made him feel. So here he was, knocking at her window.

She had her back to him, and took a while before answering his knock. When she did stand up, it was with a smile that didn't look as it normally did, and it seemed like she was fighting to keep it on her face.

"Hey, Cat," she said flatly. She immediately turned her back to him and sat back on her bed.

"Hey, Marinette? Is there anything wrong?"

"No, of course not," came the cold response. She was acting so weird right now - he wondered what was wrong. He went and sat down on her bed with her. She wasn't looking at him, just fiddling with one of her pigtails.

"So, how have you been?" he asked. She raised her head and plastered that smile on again. "Good, Cat. Just... completely amazing."

He didn't know what was wrong and how to make it better. "Okay. That's good."

She nodded her head and lowered her gaze once again. Everything felt heavy and awkward, not like normal. He put his hand on her smaller one, and it only rested there a second before she shoved it off and stood up suddenly.

Oh no. He had a thought. Was there any way she could have heard the conversation that had happened between him and Ladybug? Maybe she'd been nearby somehow. He'd checked the LadyBlog before he'd left, as he monitored it obsessively, but maybe Alya had managed to film their conversation and posted it, and Marinette had seen it.

"Um, I think my parents are calling me, um, to... wash the toilet. It's... super dirty," said Marinette suddenly.

"But the bakery's closed, and it's late at night, Your parents aren't home," said Cat Noir, confused. she was clearly making excuses.

"Um, they're... calling me on my phone."

"Your phone isn't ringing," he said patiently.

"Uh, they just texted me, and my phone's on vibration in my pocket. It's my grandmother's toilet I have to wash. I have to go, so you have to leave. Now."

"Um, okay, Marinette. I'll go," he said.

"Thanks. Toilets need washing," she said, and practically pushed him out of her room.

After this whole debacle, both Adrien and Marinette were sad and confused. They just wanted everything to be easy, but it wasn't. At all.

The next day, Adrien was sitting at the piano alone, but he wasn't playing. He was just wondering about Marinette and why she was upset.

"Plagg, do you have any ideas?" he asked his kwami, who was sitting on top of the piano, munching on a piece of cheese.

"Nope. But you could try some of this camembert. Maybe it'll make you feel better."

Adrien sighed. "Same old Plagg. But really, what is it? Did I do something wrong to her? I'm so confused."

Just then, his father entered the room. Plagg hid under the piano. "Adrien, why aren't you playing piano like you're supposed to be doing? You have to apply yourself if you ever want to learn."

Adrien refrained from pointing out that he practiced several times a day, and he already had learned a lot. "Yes, Father."

Gabriel promptly left, and Adrien sighed and began to play a piece once again.

On her part, Marinette was stressed, pacing the four corners of her bedroom and occasionally bumping into things. She fiddled with her phone, then threw it down on the bed. Tikki followed her, straining to keep up and looking concerned.

"Marinette? Do you want to talk about it at all?"

"Those excuses were so stupid, Tikki! He could clearly tell that I was lying."

"It's okay, Marinette. It'll all work out, you know. Just wait and see. One day, he'll understand everything."

"Will he? Will I be able to act normal the next time he comes over? It's not as if I can explain that I know about what he said to Ladybug. It's not as if..." she paused and covered her face with her hands.

"It's not as if I can tell him I'm Ladybug."