Chapter Text
For someone who was supposed to be the beacon of good luck, Marinette sure found herself in some rather unlucky situations every now and then. For example: developing a rash on her left ear lobe right under her precious new Miraculous earrings seemed like a really unnecessary problem.
A rash? Because of the Miraculous? What was she supposed to do about that? She couldn’t exactly get rid of the culprit, and that made her worry that it would only grow worse. What if it got really bad and people started to notice? What if her parents decided to take her to a doctor to get it checked, and then took the earrings away from her? How was she supposed to be Ladybug then? It seemed unfair that such a small, unlikely, ridiculous problem could cause such serious consequences.
Granted, it didn’t really look like a rash. For starters, it was black - just a tiny blackish dot, slightly swollen, right beside the hole in her ear. But it was itching, and exactly on the skin that was always under the earrings. It was new, and Tikki promised her that taking them off for a few minutes would be okay, even if Tikki herself would have to retreat into them. The right earlobe seemed fine, but there was definitely something wrong with the left.
As Marinette stared at the tiny dot’s reflection in the mirror, she couldn’t help but wonder about the other possibility for a mysterious new blemish. But it shouldn’t be possible - soulmate marks only appeared after knowing the person for a while and growing close to them. And while Marinette had certainly been head over heels for her classmate Adrien for a long time, and hoped with all her heart that one day she’d get his mark, she also had to admit that they weren’t exactly close . Blame her nervous and awkward self for that.
Besides, black wasn’t really his color, you know? She daydreamed constantly about what getting his soulmark would be like, and it never started with an annoying, itchy black dot on her earlobe. This had to be something else.
Could miraculouses even cause allergic reactions? Weren’t they magic? Maybe this was a “magical” rash, which would explain the odd color. Maybe some residual dark energy from the last akuma battle. Or maybe… maybe the earrings and herself weren’t as good a fit as Tikki always insisted?...
She took a deep breath and moved her gaze from the mirror back to the table, where the earrings were sitting. There was no point in wallowing in theories when she didn’t have all the information. It was, after all, just an itchy black dot. As far as she knew, it could mean absolutely nothing and be gone by the next day. And if not, Tikki would know what to do.
Marinette took her precious Miraculous and - rather ceremoniously - put them back on. The left one was a bit uncomfortable to wear, after her skin had had a while to breathe, but it was bearable.
In a pink ball of light, Tikki appeared before her. Taking in a long breath as she came back from her quick slumber, she opened her eyes and smiled.
“Hi, Marinette!” the kwami flew and hugged the girl’s cheek.
Marinette giggled. “Hey, Tikki.”
“So? What did you see?”
A sigh.
“I’m not sure. It really is swollen and it itches like it has with other earrings before, but… It’s also black. It’s not like a normal allergy.”
Tikki tilted her head to the side, confusion in her eyes. “Well, it shouldn't be. The miraculouses aren’t jewelry, I don’t think anyone has ever been allergic to them before...”
A gulp. Marinette did not like the uncertainty.
“You know....” Tikki suggested, a smirk forming in the corner of her mouth, “this might not have anything to do with the Miraculous at all!”
Marinette frowned.
“Don’t be silly, Tikki. It’s right under one of the earrings and it itches like crazy. It’s an allergy.”
“You wouldn’t be the first person to get an itchy soulmark” the kwami pointed.
“Yeah, but that’s not usually a good sign, is it?”
“No...” she agreed, “But that doesn’t mean it can’t be a soulmark.”
Marinette threw herself on the floor and covered her face with the nearest pillow. She knew it wasn’t a soulmark. But she also didn’t feel like arguing about it.
What she did need was a solution.
She grumbled under the pillow for a while and Tikki let her take her time. She knew the girl wouldn’t be saying actual words, but instead just making annoyed noises while trying to think. The “magical rash” idea was starting to take root.
In truth, Marinette had overcome her insecurities in the last few months and, most of the time, believed Tikki’s reassurance that she was chosen for a reason. Being Ladybug brought a confidence from inside that she never knew she had, a confidence that was now blooming into her civilian life as well. But there’s only so much a person’s self-confidence can grow in a few months, and every now and then she would doubt that she was the right person for the job. Maybe the earrings were starting to leak out the truth that Tikki refused to see: that Marinette shouldn’t be Ladybug, that they weren’t a good fit and that this was all a mistake.
Eventually, the pillow was moved to lay on Marinette’s stomach, being hugged tightly, and she said:
“Maybe they don’t like me.”
Tikki didn’t understand. “Who?”
“The earrings.”
“What?!”
Marinette sighed. “I know you believe me to be the right choice, Tikki, but isn’t it possible that you’re wrong? Maybe the Miraculous is trying to tell us something.”
Tikki flew in to lay down on Marinette’s forehead, tapping her right between the eyebrows to try and comfort her. “I am the Miraculous, Marinette. If you were the wrong choice for Ladybug, I would know. I would feel . There were people who tried to be my wielders, and thought they were chosen when they weren’t, and I always knew. I couldn’t connect to them even if I tried. But connecting to you was natural.” Her tone became a little scolding when she said, “You know this. You shouldn’t doubt yourself.”
The girl gave her kwami a soft smile. “Yeah. I know.” The smile faded. “But that doesn’t help with my problem.”
Tikki closed her eyes and laid her head on Marinette’s face. “That’s because it’s not a problem.” Her voice nearly singing, “it’s just your soulmark!”
“But, Tikki! It- it can’t-”, Marinette huffed, “... it can’t be. Me and Adrien, we’re not… we’re not there yet. I barely ever talk to him.”
“Maybe you’ve done more progress with him then you realize.”
Marinette hummed. That didn’t sound very plausible.
“Or maybe...”, the kwami had a devious tone to her usually sweet voice. “Maybe it’s someone else!”
Marinette sat up so fast that she sent Tikki flying off across the room. The tiny kwami rolled in the air a few times before she could catch herself and zoom steadily back towards her wielder’s shocked face. Marinette barely managed to let out an apology in the midst of the emotions revolving around that idea.
Bad emotions. All bad. She did not like the idea one bit.
“I don’t think it could be anyone else, Tikki”, Marinette said while staring to nowhere in particular. “Like… I know, I’ve always known that my soulmate could be someone else. I know… that I’m young. That it’s my first crush. I… know that.”
She knew those things in her mind, yes, but her heart told her a much different story. Not that it mattered, she thought. A teenage girl’s heart can play tricks on itself. Marinette preferred to try and be smart about these things. When possible. Which was rare.
“But right now , I don’t know who else it could be. I love Adrien. I’m not really close to him. I haven’t recently gotten close to anyone else. I shouldn’t be getting a mark.”
Those statements sounded pretty solid to Marinette, but Tikki didn’t look convinced.
“You know… I can think of a guy you’ve been getting pretty close to, lately.” her voice implying that, whoever this guy was, she very much approved.
But Marinette wasn’t sure what she was talking about. For the first second. Then that second ended, and it hit her like a truck.
Her eyes blew wide.
“Chat Noir ?! You’re talking about Chat Noir ?!” That was insane!
Tikki shrugged. “Sure, why not?”
“B- because...” she couldn’t find the right words. “We don’t even know each other!”
“Sure you do” the kwami said, like it was simple.
“I don’t know his name!”, she continued. “I don’t know his face . I don’t know anything about him!”
“But you connect to him, don’t you?”
Marinette wasn’t sure what to say. Chat Noir? Her soulmate ? That didn’t make any sense!
They were superheroes. They fought together. They were there to do a job. Soulmates… those met at parks, during sunset, after accidentally bumping into eachother and staring into eachother’s eyes for a bit too long. However, the first time she met Chat, she had sent him flying through Paris like a potato bag. And she had sent him flying like a potato bag many times since then. Because that’s kind of what they did.
To be was fair, the first time she met Adrien hadn’t gone all that better either. But it changed , soon after. With Chat, the dynamic had never changed. It had only… grown.
Closer. They had grown closer.
The answer to Tikki’s question was obvious.
“Yes, I do. We connect.”
“So...” Tikki left the conclusion in the air.
And Marinette allowed the conclusion to hang right there in the air, far away from her, where it belonged.
“Yeah. I get what you mean”, she offered. “But… I don’t know.”
“It would explain why it itches”, Tikki continued. “It would be because you’re in love with another boy while getting close to your soulmate. It happens. And black? For Chat Noir? It makes complete sense.”
Marinette shook her head.
“If it’s a soulmark, it’s not done yet. The black might be the smallest part of it.” Marinette still wanted to believe it wasn’t a mark, but if she could counterargument what Tikki was saying, she certainly would. Even if it wasn’t the strongest argument ever. “And I… I love Adrien! I love Chat too, a lot, and we work really well together, but… I’m in love with Adrien! It can’t be someone else!”
Her voice was a lot smaller as she finished, “... Can it?”
All Tikki did was shrug. Her soft, sympathetic smile said it all. She understood that the idea of anyone other then Adrien Agreste being “the one” made the poor girl very uncomfortable and confused. And Tikki knew when to stop pushing a subject. Offering an apologetic look, she said “You know, if it’s just a rash, an ointment or a cream should help. We can try that, and wait a couple of days. We’ll worry only if it doesn’t work after that.”
The relief was clear on Marinette’s face. “Yeah. I think I have something in my bathroom that could help. Shouldn’t be too hard to treat, right?”
“Right!”
The kwami sounded really positive and it gave Marinette some reassurance. She was right: they didn’t need to worry yet. Give it a couple of days, first. It could just go away.
The cream was easy to find and actually smelled very nice. Marinette loosened the earring a bit to get under it, but fortunately didn’t have to take it off. The relief to the itch and swelling was almost immediate, which made Marinette very hopeful. It really looked like this would be nothing, after all.
She went to sleep barely feeling her earlobe at all.
The next morning, as she got ready for the day, she noticed that the swelling was almost gone, but still somewhat present, and decided to apply her cream again. With a quick farewell to Tikki, she took off the earrings to be more thorough this time, and got some cream on the tip of her finger to apply.
Then she looked at herself in the mirror, and her finger dropped down.
On her left earlobe, surrounded by slightly red and sensitive skin, was the unmistakable face of a black cat with green eyes staring right back at her.
For someone who was supposed to be the beacon of bad luck, Adrien sure found himself in some rather blessed situations every now and then.
Not that it looked like it would be the case, today. In fact, the day promised to be quite stressful. Lots of photoshoots and no school (so no friends) because it was a Saturday. But the worst part was that he wasn’t sure what he’d do with his ring.
This was the first time since becoming Chat Noir that his modelling career would force him to take off everything and anything he chose to wear. They were even putting a pink wig on him. He was going to be turned into an absolute cupcake and he knew that the ring would have to go.
Problem is, go where ?
What do you do with a Miraculous when you have to be away from it all afternoon, and you have no one to trust it with? When Hawkmoth can attack at any time and you have to be ready for it?
Plagg was no help either. He said that his most realistic and amazing dreams about Camembert happened when he slumbered in the ring. He was excited to get “a day off, just me and cheese!"
"Not real cheese", Adrien pointed out. But it didn't matter. Plagg wasn't worried about this ordeal.
Adrien didn’t know what to do.
So he kind of didn’t do anything.
Sure, he held onto his ring as long as possible, but eventually he found himself alone in the dressing room, his bubblegum pink and pastel purple outfit carefully folded in front of him, waiting. And outside, very impatiently, his make-up artist also waited; she had a lot of work to do and not enough time to do it in.
He sighed.
“This is it, Plagg. I’m putting you in the drawer with my clothes. I’ll come back running if anything happens.”
Plagg waved him off. “You worry too much kid. Nothing’s gonna happen. You’ll embarrass yourself in front of thousands of people; I’ll swim in dream Camembert; and then tonight we’ll go meet Ladybug like nothing happened.”
“I actually like the pink outfit...” Adrien grumbled. But he knew that, despite the rash tone, Plagg was actually trying to comfort him.
“I’m sure you do” Plagg said.
“What do you think Ladybug wants to discuss?” Adrien said suddenly, changing the subject. The scheduled meeting with his lady tonight was one more thing he was stressed about. He was excited to see her, of course, but not knowing why she set it up was making him nervous. She seemed serious.
“We’ll find out when we get there” Plagg said, simply.
“I’m serious, Plagg. She seemed worried about something. She doesn’t want to just ‘hang out’.”
Plagg snickered. “You two have never just ‘hanged out’.”
“Exactly!” Adrien huffed. “I only ever see her when there’s an akuma attack. She never wanted anything besides that.” His voice lowered in volume a bit. “Do you think she’s mad?”
“I don’t know” Plagg said, mindlessly unfolding the outfit on the table.
Adrien pressed on.
“The last battle we had, Dark Cupid got me hypnotized. It wasn’t the first time either. I tried to hurt Ladybug.” he took in a deep breath. “Maybe she’s gonna ask me to give my Miraculous to someone else.”
That got Plagg’s attention right away.
“What?!”
“I wouldn’t blame her.” he continued. “She had to fight me off a lot these last few months. She needs a partner who’s at her side always.”
“You are .” Plagg’s tone was very serious all of a sudden, his face into a frown. “Those things happened while you were protecting her. She can’t cure the akuma if she’s under their control. That’s why she needs you. And-”
He zoomed right into Adrien’s face and poked him on the nose.
“Who I get as my kitty is not her choice. I don’t care what she thinks. I don’t care what YOU think. You’re stuck with me.”
And with that, he flew back to the table and resumed his unraveling of the pink shirt.
Adrien’s smile was soft. “Thanks.”
Plagg knew he had stepped dangerously into sentimental territory, so he said in his typical grumpy voice, “Yeah, sure.”
The conversation wouldn’t go further then that, Adrien knew - even though he was still scared of what his lady had in store for him that night. Knowing Plagg was on his side warmed his heart, but that didn’t say anything of Ladybug.
But he couldn’t worry too much about that now. There would be time for panicking and overthinking later. Right now, he had to take off his ring and turn into a soft pastel piece of pie.
“Okay. They’re waiting.” Adrien put his fingers over the ring and started to slide it off. “See ya later, Plagg.”
The sudden smile on the kwami’s face was almost offensive.
“Sweet dream Camembert, here I go!”
Even though he loved Plagg, Adrien did not understand his obsession with this smelly cheese. And while the kwami zapped into the ring, he hoped he wouldn’t have to hear about that dream in graphic detail later.
It took Adrien a few seconds while carefully putting the ring inside the drawer to notice that something was different, though.
Was that red that he just saw?
Was that red on his ring finger?
His eyes immediately zoomed in to the color that caught his attention. It really was red.
It was a red circle with a black line cutting it vertically in the middle and three black dots on each side. There was a tiny head and cute little antennae on the top.
A ladybug.
...
A ladybug ?
He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Couldn’t process it. Couldn’t fathom that it was actually real.
So many times he dreamed about this moment, and now that it seemed to be here, he felt like everything was frozen.
It was… It was a ladybug. He hadn’t drawn it. Not this time, at least. No one had drawn it. It appeared on it’s own. It was engraved on his skin.
“Ladybug.”
Her soulmark. On his finger. This was definitely Ladybug’s soulmark resting carefully on top of his ring finger.
He was bad luck. Could he be this blessed? Could she really be meant for him , and him alone ?
The reality sank in.
“Ladybug!” he laughed, not knowing what to do with himself.
It was right there! Under his ring! Maybe it had even been there this whole time? Hidden by his Miraculous? How had he never thought to look there?!
He wanted to tell Plagg. He wanted to tell someone . Maybe he could put the ring on a different finger for a while, right? To show him? He had to see this!
As he reached to take the ring back, another thought ran through his mind. If he had her soulmark… Then she must have his too, right?
She had his soulmark - he hoped it was a cute little cat - somewhere on her body. And maybe she had already found it. Maybe she already knew.
Maybe she’s known for a while. Maybe she’s always assumed he knew too? Maybe she was confused that he never mentioned it? Maybe that’s what tonight was about?!
A knock on the door, and Adrien jumped off his chair.
… Right. He was in a dressing room.
“Are you almost finished, mister Agreste?” the voice sounded irritated.
“I’m- I’ll be right there! Sorry! I got-” I got my soulmark ! “I got distracted.”
He could almost hear the woman rolling her eyes.
“We have twenty minutes to get you ready. There’s still the wig. Please come out as soon as you can.”
He nodded, even though she couldn’t see him.
“I’ll be right out!”
Adrien quickly caressed his finger with his other hand’s thumb while he marvelled at the tiny bug. He had a ladybug on his skin. Nothing could possibly ruin his day.
He rushed to get dressed for the shoot, planning to show Plagg the mark when he got home. While putting on layer after layer of soft pastel and ruffled fabric, he kept thinking about how glad he was that they made him change clothes before doing his makeup.
Those happy tears would have absolutely ruined the eyeliner.