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"Explain to me why we are here?" Chloé scoffed as Marinette led her through the halls of the Agreste mansion.
"I told you. To see his mark!" Marinette whispered. She wasn't looking at the blonde girl beside her, and instead focused on rounding corners with quick precision and silent steps.
"Ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous!" Chloé flipped her blonde ponytail, rolling her eyes at the raven-haired girl that led them through the empty halls.
“Shhhh.” She hushed, coming to a halt and whirling around to face Chloé. “I brought you along because this is just as important to you as it is to me.”
Marinette was met with a frown, as Chloé contemplated her words. A long silence filled the space between them until finally Chloé caved and threw her hands up. “Fine. You win… this time.”
“Listen, we just have to get to his room. He should be asleep right now, so if we can sneak in, we can find and take a picture of his soulmark.” Marinette began to rattle off the plan.
“Ugh! I already know the plan, Dupain-Cheng!”
Marinette took a deep, calming breath, attempting to keep her cool and not blow up at Chloé. “Okay, then let’s go.”
“There is one thing I want to know…why am I here?” Chloé stood, arms crossed and nose raised slightly, looking down at Marinette as if she was disgusting.
“Because you want to prove Lila wrong as much as I do.” Another calming breath.
Chloé let out a noise of disapproval. “Be honest, Dupain-Cheng. You have me here in case something goes wrong. If it is just you then everyone will think you are a stalker – which you are – and then you’ll never have a chance with Adrikins – which you don’t have anyway so I don’t know why you are even trying! But the point is, because I’m here, it will look less incriminating on you, and if something goes wrong, I can call daddy and get us out of trouble.”
Marinette froze like a statue, jaw-dropped and wide-eyed.
“Ugh! Close your mouth, Dupain-Cheng. Your breath is disgusting enough already, and I don’t need you fouling up the Agreste mansion with your bad breath.” Chloé huffed as she pushed past Marinette and headed towards Adrien’s room.
Marinette stared at her, then quickly scampered to catch up, growling under her breath the entire way. If she didn’t need Chloé, she wouldn’t put up with this nonsense… but Chloé was right. She needed another person to help her in this task.
She wanted to ask Alya, but her friend was still under the illusion that Lila was a saint. Chloé, however, knew that Lila was full of nothing but the worst of lies. Lila insisted that she was Adrien’s soulmate, and nothing short of physical evidence would be able to prove her wrong. A small part of Marinette feared that Lila really was telling the truth. This entire escapade was also about easing her mind that Adrien wouldn't be bonded to Lila.
"Stop daydreaming! We're here!" Chloé’s snobbish voice brought her back from her spiraling thoughts.
Marinette blinked and realized that this was it. They had made it to Adrien's door. Marinette put her ear against the door, listening for any sounds from inside the room. Silence greeted her, and Marinette took a deep breath, turned the door handle, and opened the door with a very quiet squeeee sound that made her cringe.
The two girls stood there in silence, staring into the dark room and waiting for some sign that they had been caught. Then, without preamble, Chloé barged straight in.
Marinette bit her lip in protest, realizing they should have discussed this part of the plan more before coming here. If Chloé deviated from their original discussion, then she couldn’t correct her without giving themselves away.
The room was dark, aside from the lights of Paris and the soft, eerie glow of the computer monitor. Adrien sat at his desk, head down on his arms as he slept uncomfortably in front of the computer. His hand was even still on the mouse. The monitor had gone into sleep mode, so whatever he had been working on was hidden behind pictures of Ladybug.
Marinette’s heart skipped a beat, but she did her best to steal her resolve. Chloé thought that Marinette wished for Adrien to be her soulmate, and while that had been true in the past, it wasn’t Marinette’s wish anymore. But how could she explain that to Chloé without coming across as fickle or foolish. She couldn’t explain it to anyone who would understand.
“Where do you think his mark is?” Marinette whispered, staring down at his blonde hair. His face had a slight glow of red upon it from the light of the computer monitor, and it made him look as if he were blushing.
“Well, he keeps it hidden pretty well, and I remember that when Gabriel did a swimsuit collection, he refused to let Adrien participate.” Chloé whispered in return. “So I’d assume it’s under his shirt.”
Marinette stared down at Adrien and sighed. Why had she not thought this through further? Of course his soulmark would be somewhere no one would be able to see… somewhere that the only way to see it was to…
“What are you doing???” She hissed at Chloé, and the other girl gave her a disparaging look.
“I’m finding his soulmark. What did you expect?” Chloé was lifting the collar of his shirt and peering around looking for any sign of it.
“You are going to wake him up!” Marinette covered her mouth with her hand as Adrien stirred in his sleep, seeming to wiggle away from Chloé’s touch.
Chloé gave a mild chuckle. “So we woke him up. This is Adrien we’re talking about. Do you realize the opportunity we have here?” Chloé seemed to consider her own words, then smirked. “I think it’s actually a great idea. Maybe we can get a little perspective and even warn Adrien off of Lila.”
Marinette gulped. She was not prepared to face a sleepy Adrien at three in the morning. She was not prepared to discuss Lila with him – again. She closed her eyes and counted to ten.
Chloé, surprisingly, was patiently waiting for Marinette to gather herself and join the conversation again. Marinette realized a bit too late that it wasn’t patience but a desire to see Marinette’s reaction that allowed the girl who waited for nothing to wait. With a raised brow and a smirk on her face, Chloé pushed Adrien’s chair away from the desk, causing his body to fall forward and off the desk. He almost fell out of his chair, but gained purchase at the last second. His sounds of surprise as he was startled awake were coupled with a sudden burst of speed. He was out of his chair and standing in a defensive position.
“Adrikins!” Chloé smiled as he blinked at them several times. “Sorry to wake you, dear, but we need to talk.”
Marinette stood tall and rigid, a look of horror etched onto her face.
“Marinette. Chloé?” Adrien whispered. He relaxed as the adrenaline began to wane, and finally sat back into his chair. There was a red mark across his face where he had slept uncomfortably. “What are you two doing in my room… at…” He glanced at his clock. “3:14am.”
Chloé grabbed Marinette’s arm, a shriek of surprise from the dark-haired girl was her reward, and pushed her to the front. “It was Dupain-Cheng’s idea.” She threw her under the bus so quickly.
Adrien looked back at her, and Marinette gasped in surprise, trembling at the sudden attention. “I… I mean… it was my idea, but… I just…”
Chloé rolled her eyes once more, “Oh! Get on with it! He’s awake! Tell him!”
“We… well… w-we d-decided to c-come here to…to see…y-your s-s-s-s—” She couldn’t say it. It was too horrible. It was too embarrassing. What if Adrien hated her after this?
Another scoff from Chloé’s direction. “Adrikins, dear, we were here to see your soulmark. And Dupain-Cheng had the bright idea that we could sneak into your house and see it. She should have just asked in the first place, but here we are.” She gestured between them in an uncaring manner.
“My soulmark?” It was clear that Adrien was still trying to figure out what was going on. “Y-yeah. I guess I can show it to you both. I mean… I don’t ever show anyone. My father says it would be dangerous, but I mean… it’s not like either of you have the mark, too.”
The last words he said began to sink in. Marinette processed them several times over, staring as Adrien began to take off his white overshirt, wrinkled from his time sleeping at his desk. “D-do you m-mean you a-already know w-who shares your m-m-m-mark?” She managed to say.
Adrien glanced her way, “No. Not really.” He said, though there was a lie in his words. It dripped from them like poison, and she feared that maybe he really was hiding that Lila was his soulmate. Maybe everything Lila had said was true about her and Adrien, and Marinette had been too blind to see it.
Chloé sighed, tapping her foot impatiently, unphased by the entire ordeal.
Adrien pulled his shirt up, but not off, and then turned, allowing them to see his back. Just under his shoulder blade sat his soulmark. A swirl of intricate lines in the shape of a flower. A rose.
Marinette stared at the mark in shock. Her heart had stopped beating and she couldn’t breathe.
A rose.
… a rose.
“Marinette?”
Adrien’s face suddenly came into view. Shirt back on, and concern in his eyes. “Marinette. Are you alright?”
She stared at him as if he was some sort of apparition, still unresponsive, but finally aware of her surroundings again.
His hand touched her forehead, and she jumped back and away from him as if he burnt her. “I-I’m falright, I m-m-mean I’m f-fine. I’m fine! Just fine. Nothing’s wrong! Everything is perfect!” She rambled, arms flailing.
“Sit down, Dupain-Cheng! Before you pass out on Adrikin’s floor.”
While Marinette was rarely one to take orders from Chloé, she did as she was told, landing in the rolling chair Adrien had previously been sleeping in. A bottle of water was handed to her, and Adrien continued to stare at her with concern. After a moment, he turned to Chloé. “Why did you two need to see my soulmark? I mean, you could have just asked me at school. You snuck into my house while I was sleeping…” He drifted off, letting the implications remain unspoken.
“We’re here because of Lila… and her lies. And now we have proof that she isn’t your soulmate.”
“Lila’s been telling people that she is my soulmate?” Adrien had a look of both disappointment and disgust on his face.
Chloé nodded. Marinette remained quiet, not trusting her voice to work properly. She was suddenly very, very grateful for Chloé’s presence and take-charge attitude.
“Yes. She’s been telling everyone that it is a big secret, and that you can’t let your father know.”
Adrien frowned. “And no one told me because…?”
Chloé laughed. “Because little Miss. Break-Into-Your-House over here can’t say two words to you without freaking out, and I didn’t care enough about Lila's lies. If she was your soulmate, then that's your loss. If she wasn’t, then her lies would come back and get her when it was over. The only reason I’m here is because Dupain-Cheng made a good point that if everyone thinks you are taken, no one would even approach you. Lila was making you inaccessible to your real soulmate, and I couldn’t stand the thought of you being lonely.”
The kind words were hidden behind a snarky attitude, but Adrien appreciated them nonetheless. He gave his childhood friend a smile, which she blushed slightly at, unused to the positive attention.
With a scoff, she turned back to Marinette. “Well. I took a picture. I already sent it to you. Let’s get out of here before daddy Agreste wakes up and finds us snooping around the mansion.”
Marinette nodded slowly, standing on wobbly legs. Why was she so lightheaded? She should be fine. This was fine. This was great. This was…
“Marinette?” Adrien reached out to steady her.
“I’m fine. J-just…s-s-sleepy. Yeah.” She mumbled, barely audible.
Adrien didn’t seem to believe her, but Chloé snagged her arm and started to lead her out of the room. “We’ll see you tomorrow at school!”
And with that, they were out the door and headed back down the hall.
“What’s gotten into you, Dupain-Cheng?” SHe snickered. “Surprised it was a match?”
Marinette swirled around and stared at Chloé. “W-what??”
“Oh, come off it, Dupain-Cheng! We’ve been in the same class since grade school. I saw your mark when we were seven years old.” They stood there staring at each other for several, long seconds. “I don’t like you, but you are better than that liar, Lila. So while I’m sorry that Adrikins has to have someone like you as a soulmate… well… he could have done worse.”
Marinette took the compliment for what it was, the best Chloé had to give, and smiled at her long-time rival. “Thanks, Chloé.”
~~~~~~~
Later the next night, Chat Noir and Ladybug sat next to each other on the rooftop, hand-in-hand.
“Kitty…” She said quietly, eyes staring straight out, refusing to turn his way.
He glanced her way, a fond smile on his face. “Yeah, bug?”
“I discovered your identity.”
He blinked at her, but didn’t answer. She would explain herself to him soon enough. He watched as her face gave no indication of her inner thoughts, but the way she squeezed his hand was reassuring.
“I saw your mark. When I snuck into your house last night.”
He stared at her, and finally she turned to look at him, a sweet smile on her face. Chat took in her features, “...Marinette?”
Ladybug nodded, and a grin stretched across Chat’s face. He squeezed her hand in return, suddenly more content that he had been five minutes prior.
“So what do you think Lila will say tomorrow if we go around showing off our matching marks?” Chat finally spoke.
“I don’t know. But it will be nice to finally be proven right for a change.” She whispered, leaning her head onto his shoulder. “...and we should thank Chloé later…”