Corruption Of Links

A wall of photos, all of his face.

Adrien would have been creeped out if it had been anyone - Anyone - Else who had all those photos of him. He had seen some of the sort of people who admired him... Not all of them were exactly what he would have called sane. Some were straight up obsessive.

Marinette having all those photos of him though... He felt flattered. Touched. It was weird. He didn't mind her having those photos of him, it just didn't bother him in the slightest. In an odd sense, he was sort of glad she had those photos of him.

Now, Adrien would be the first to admit that he was slightly curious about Marinette. He wouldn't lie about that at all if asked. He wasn't going to lie about that sort of thing. He was curious about her. There was something about her he wanted to figure out, explore, and understand. She seemed to be on par with Ladybug at times. He noted how she spoke to Chat. How casual she seemed in comparison to how everyone else spoke to him. How friendly, and yet hostile she could be in a moment's notice, but never outright hostile. More hostile in the sense she would get sassy with him, a bit argumentative, and a bit defensive all in one go.

Briefly, he toyed with the idea of Marinette being Ladybug. How perfect that would be.

But no. It sure as hell wasn't gonna be that easy, was it?

Still... Part of Adrien wondered...

Had he been wrong about Ladybug?

Why didn't it hurt anymore? Why had that pain been so brief? Why had it just come and gone so rapidly. The sharpest sting, and the quickest recovery. That seemed to be what had happened to the Parisian. There still was love for Ladybug, absolutely. He was in love with that confidence, calm, and picture perfect super-heroine of Paris, his trusted partner, and the person he had admired for well over a year.

But then... There was also something about Marinette. Something that was warm and familiar also. Something that was both calming and nerve wrecking at the same time. Something that compelled him towards her. The two of them were on friendly terms regardless of who he was, but their relationship varied depending on who Adrien was at the time. Around him, she was a nervous, clumsy, stuttering human train wreck - Now he knew why - And around Chat, she was sassy, somewhat confrontational, sprinkled with the occasional display of affection. Combined that together, and you had Marinette-Dupain-Cheng - A curious case indeed.

Neither sides to her personality had any traits he particularly disliked. He did wish Marinette was more comfortable around him, and slightly more calm around Chat Noir, but otherwise, he had nothing to complain about regarding the girl.

Additionally, she was cute. Adrien wouldn't deny that about her. He found the blunette girl cute, but until recently, he wouldn't have acted on it, because of his dedication to Ladybug. Being rejected by his lady... Being told their soul's weren't linked...

Had he been wrong to assume his Soul Link was with Ladybug?

All this time... Had it been with Marinette? The shy, awkward girl who sat behind him in class, became a wreck when they conversed, or even stood within a three foot radius? The girl who's talent at fashion and design was apparent for all to see? The girl who's kindness was unmissable to anyone in the entire school? The girl Chloe bickered with and tried her best to treat everyone fairly?

Had she been there this entire time?

And he had just been willfully blind to that?

A lot of things made a lot of sense when he considered those ideas. The original Soul Link message from his miraculous, the way seeing her smile made him unable to help himself but smile also, how he had wanted to be able to spend time with her as friends outside of school, how he simply enjoyed her company.

The way he had been treated throughout his life... All he had wanted was affection. Confirmation that he mattered. To feel like he mattered to someone else, not just as some sort of puppet to be controlled, not just as some boy that your paycheck relied on making sure was in the right place at the right time, not as some pretty face for all the girls in Paris to swoon over. Not as some sort of object to be won or lost.

To be loved and cared for as a person. To be valid. He had lived his entire life like an object since his mother left. His father became cold, and Adrien began to crave for affection. Someone to tell him he mattered to them.

Que his friendship with Chloe.

And then his partnership with Ladybug. Someone who treated him like he was an equal. He was told he mattered, and he could feel the care she had for him. Was that what had driven Chat, and Adrien, to fall in love with Ladybug? A desire for affection, no matter how it came, and he just attached himself to the person he felt gave it to him?

And then, meeting Marinette, someone who really knew him - The real him - And understood him. And cared for him anyway, beyond his looks and money and fame... The warmth that that gave him was something that would never be topped.

It all seemed to fit.

"Have I just been looking for love in the wrong place?..."

"Kid, I don't know, and I don't care, but I'm freakin' dying here!" Plagg wined, hovering around in circles above Adrien's head. "Feed me! I haven't eaten in the last three hours! I can feel my magic leaving my body!"

Adrien sighed. "I'll bet Ladybug doesn't have to put up with this sort of attitude from her Kwami..."

"I bet Chat Noir doesn't have to put up with this..." Marinette muttered to herself, stuffing every single book she needed for school work into her bag. Her additions book was being stubborn, refusing to join the rest of her books, and wasn't going to go back in without a fight.

That wasn't what the frustrated blue haired girl was referring to though. She was willing to bet Chat didn't have to put up with this confused heart she found herself dealing with.

Finally convincing her additions book to join the rest of them, Marinete was able to leave her home, and, after a fond goodbye to her parents, made her way towards her school. It was on her way she found herself wondering, did Chat go to her school? Did he know her in their civilian lives? He had mentioned a similar sort of thing few times, hadn't he, when she was Ladybug. She remembered one time he had asked was during the fight with Alya - Lady WiFi, more accurately - Had been one of the first time's he had brought it up directly with her. Ladybug had shrugged it off, simply saying she found it unlikely, and left it at that.

And now Marinette was wondering if Chat Noir had a point or not.

Hadn't she been the one who had wanted to keep their identities a secret? Hadn't she been the one to tell Chat she didn't want to know who he was, despite him desperately wanting to know who she was? Hadn't she denied him that knowledge?

Wasn't it hypocritical of her to wonder who he was now?

Thinking about her possibly being in the same room as him a few moments from now... Her heart thumped more and more. Had she been wrong about Adrien? Was her soul not linked with his? Or did she share a Soul Link with Chat, but love Adrien? What was her heart and soul even doing at this point? Everything was twisted and turning, and she couldn't even think straight...

What was she doing?

What was her miraculous doing?

Who the hell was it even trying to talk to her about?