She stayed there for a moment, enraptured by his eyes, before grasping his hands and lowering them, then backing away from him, into the wall.

"Chat. I don't know what to feel. I've been falling in love with you for ages. Ever since the beginning. But that speech to Ladybug..." She covered her face with her hands. He was looking at her with this terrible expression of sadness. She couldn't stand it. "I just... I feel like I'll always be second best to her. Never as good, just second choice."

"Marinette, you're not-" he said quickly, tears in his eyes.

"Chat, I don't know how to be with you without picturing you telling Ladybug you like me and love her. That I'm amazing and all that, but you wish she could be your soulmate. I'm sorry. I need to be alone. You have to go."

"Marinette, please don't," he said pleadingly.

"Just give me some time, at least. Please. Just go," she sobbed into her hands.

"If that's what you want," he said finally, and left.

As he traveled home, he felt heavy somehow. He couldn't stop crying. He knew he had to fix this. He couldn't live without Marinette. He couldn't live without his soulmate.

He couldn't believe he'd ever been annoyed to have her as a soulmate. She was the most amazing girl in the world.

He pulled out his phone once home and texted Alya.

Alya, receiving the text, gritted her teeth. What had he done this time?

She knew this had to be fixed, though. Marinette wouldn't be happy without Chat Noir, and he, stupid cat he nevertheless was, would definitely not be happy without her. And so, suddenly determined, she texted him.

He grinned, seeing that. They were going to fix this.

Then came the second text.

He quickly texted her all the details, how he confessed and Marinette told him she would always feel second best to ladybug.

Ayla read the text and sighed. This was going to take some effort.

Adrien, detransformed, saw the text and texted back.

Alya texted her plan to Cat Noir. He was nervous, but optimistic to the thought it would work. Alya knew Marinette better than anyone.

The next morning, Marinette woke up and found a single red rose with a card. Inside the card was an inscription.

You have the most beautiful smile

Marinette looked throughout the card and couldn't find anything else written in the card. She put the rose in a vase with water put the card on her bedside cabinet.

School went by in a blur. Nothing really interesting happened. Alya was unusually quiet, and she felt guilty looking at Adrien without thinking about Cat.

After school, Alya held her up, protective and concerned about her best friend.

"Hey girl, you seem down, wanna go get ice cream?" Alya asked.

Marinette shook her head.

"Sorry Alya, I'm not in the mood the for ice cream," Marinette said apologetically.

"Alright, another time then," Alya said.

When Marinette got home there was another rose with another card. Inside was another single line inscription.

Your is heart as big as can be

Marinette realized that whoever this person was, they were likely writing a poem! She was expecting she was going to get more roses with small messages as time went on.

Before she knew it, it was time for patrol.

"Tikki, spots on!" Marinette said

Ladybug transformed and went to the Eiffel Tower. Cat Noir was already there, and was looking sad.

"Hey Cat Noir! Are you alright?" She asked.

Cat Noir turned around to face Ladybug.

"Oh! Ladybug! I didn't see you there, I'm fine," he said with a forced smile.

"You clearly aren't," Ladybug said, concerned.

Cat Noir was silent.

"Well, it's just that... I confessed to my soulmate, but she turned me down. She said she felt she would always be second to you," he said.

"Why me?" Ladybug asked, feigning ignorance like she didn't know.

"Because, she heard me confess to you," Cat Noir said.

Ladybug sighed and sat next to him.

"Well, what are you doing about it?" Ladybug asked.

"Well, I wrote a poem, and I'm giving her short parts of it with a rose. I hope that she will be able to forgive me, but it may take a while. I'm willing to wait though. She truly is the most amazing girl I've met. She's kind and funny and creative and smart, and so much more," Cat Noir said.

Ladybug smiled. It was him who had written them! She should have realized; it was quite obvious, the exact kind of thing he'd do. Also, the fact that he was confessing this to Ladybug meant that he truly did feel that way.

She wasn't second to her alter ego, she was first!

"Well, if she's everything you just described, I'm sure she will forgive you. You just need to give her a bit of space. I'm sure she's appreciating the roses."

"You think?" he asked hopefully.

"I know. Don't worry, she'll come around. You two are soulmates after all," Ladybug said.

"Thanks, Ladybug. We should probably start patrol now," he said.

After patrol had finished, Marinette realized how late it had gotten. She had just gotten in her bed and was about to fall asleep when she heard her window open. Instinctively, she knew it was Cat Noir. She closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep. She heard Cat Noir walk closer to her, and then gently place something on her bedside table. She heard him whisper something.

"Goodnight Mari," he said and then left, quiet footsteps sounding on the floor.

Once Marinette was sure he wasn't nearby, she opened her eyes and turned on her light. On her bedsde table was a rose and another note. Marinette picked up the note and read it.

I love you so much

She put the rose with the others and put the card in her diary with the others she'd collected.

Tikki watched the whole thing silently, smiling a little.

"You know, he really does love you," she said.

"I know, Tikki, he proved that today," Marinette said, then she yawned. "I'm going to bed, goodnight Tikki."

"Goodnight Marinette," Tikki said.

The next morning Marinette woke up in a good mood. She got out of bed with a spring in her step and went to school with a smile on her face. Of course, this didn't go unnoticed.

"Wow Mari, you seem in a good mood today," Alya notes.

"I am," Marinette said.

"Things gotten better with your mystery soulmate?" she asked.

"You could say that," Marinette said and then went to class.

Alya smiled. Everything was going perfect to plan.

That was the text Adrien had sent her earlier. Alya responded:

Adrien quickly agreed, eager for Marinette to forgive him.

In truth, Alya was playing a waiting game. A few days ago, she had figured out her best friend was the great superhero Ladybug! She figured it out when she was looking at Marinette's house, hoping to catch Cat Noir going there. She saw a pink glow come from her room, then Marinette talking to something that was floating. Then, when Cat Noir jumped on her roof, the floating thing quickly hid. She quickly guessed it was a Kwami, like Trixx. If Marinette had a Kwami, it meant she had a miraculous, and there were only two people in Paris who had Kwamis: Ladybug and Cat Noir!

Everything made sense! Her lateness, her disappearances, heck they even looked and talked the same way. The Soulmate marks even made sense to her. Marinette probably wanted someone to love her civilian form, since she thought everyone thought ladybug was perfect, and Adrien wanted someone to love his Cat Noir form, since everyone loves him for his money and looks. It was perfect!

She had to give that to soulmate marks, they were clever.

With that knowledge, she knew that Cat Noir would confide in Ladybug, and that she would see that he truly did love Marinette.

Man, it was hard being this girl's best friend, but she loved it and wouldn't have it any other way.

She just had to wait a few more days, and the two would be inseparable. She walked up to Adrien.

"So, good news, she seems really happy about something today, I wonder what it could be," Alya said.

"You think she really liked it?" Adrien asked.

"Adrien, I know my best friend." She said.

Maybe it was just fate that Marinette gave her the fox Miraculous, because she turned out to be quite the trickster.