"Say cheese!"

Adrien threw his arm around Marinette's shoulders, squishing their cheeks together as he snapped a quick picture of the two of them. Marinette, who had just stuck a spoonful of peanut butter into her mouth, did not appreciate the gesture.

She crinkled her nose at him, but instead of telling him to delete it - and he would if she asked, they both knew - she poked him in the side and smirked when he jumped a little.

Adrien stuck his tongue out at her but soon he was smiling as he looked at the picture. Even when caught off guard, she was beautiful. It just wasn't fair. Maybe she should have been the model, not him.

"You're such a dork," said Marinette. "What was that for?"

"I just wanted a picture with my best friend," said Adrien, looking at her with wide, innocent eyes. "Is that so wrong?"

"Does Nino know he's been replaced?" Marinette retorted.

"Nino doesn't mind, right?" Adrien looked over at the other boy, who merely clutched his chest in mock despair.

"Bro, you're replacing me?" Nino pretended to wipe a tear away. "Not cool, dude. I thought what we had was special."

"Bro, no," said Adrien, reaching towards him. "Bro, I can't replace you. I'm sorry!"

Next to him, Alya rolled her eyes.

"Dorks, both of you; a match made in heaven," she said. "Go. Go and be with your true love, babe."

"But babe, I couldn't leave you," said Nino, grinning as he dropped his act and wrapped his around his girlfriend. "I'd be crazy to."

Alya leaned into his embrace, smiling. "What a good answer."

Marinette and Adrien exchanged amused looks.

Truth be told, they both thought things would be awkward after they peeled away their masks to each other. But they were each relieved when their partner was someone they already knew; it made connecting so much easier. Actually, everything became much easier.

Except for one person's feelings.

Adrien knew he was being selfish for wishing his Lady - his Princess - would feel the same way he did. Marinette had always been so uncomfortablearound him, since the second day they met, and now that she was finally opening up to him and showing him who she really was, he didn't want to risk messing it all up by confessing his love.

But it was so hard, being in love with someone you knew only saw you as a friend.

.

Marinette was beautiful.

She seemed to think her clumsiness and stubbornness were flaws that made her ugly. Or perhaps she didn't think herself ugly, only average.

And she was anything but, in Adrien's eyes.

She was so strong and talented; driven and rational; beautiful and radiant. Sure, she was clumsy and stubborn and she could be utterly reckless in battle sometimes, but that didn't make her any less wonderful. She wasn't perfect, but she was perfect for him.

And apparently, others thought the same.

Adrien was used to getting attention on Valentine's Day. It was just a part of being a model - a celebrity really. The previous year proved that. Actually, the previous year brought up a lot of hazy memories he didn't want to think too hard on so he brushed the event from his mind. Shame. He would have remembered the card he thought was from Ladybug.

(Well, technically it was but he didn't know the person who really sent that card was actually Ladybug; or rather, the girl behind the mask.)

Anyways, the point was Adrien was used to getting attention, especially on holidays like Valentine's Day. What he wasnot used to was the amount of attention that his partner got.

He knew Ladybug was far more favorable than his own alter ego to the public eye, and he didn't mind. Besides, they were always far too busy to stop and let admirers go up to them so he never had to deal with jealousy like that. (He chose to ignore the incident with Theo and Copycat.)

Marinette, on the other hand.

She was popular. Even more so after she became more confident - apparently she had been very shy before, according to Nino, and Adrien guessed it had something to do with being Ladybug that made her more open.

But she had been popular before being Ladybug too. According to Nino, it wasn't uncommon for the occasional admirer to confess his feelings for Marinette. Unfortunately, the poor girl never completely understood; when she did, she apologized and declined.

"She had never really liked anyone until...well." Nino had chuckled, as if there was a joke somewhere in there. "Nah, nevermind, dude."

Adrien didn't like the implications of that statement; deep down, he always had a feeling his Lady harbored feelings for someone else, but he didn't want to admit it to himself.

From down the hallway, he watched as Marinette opened her locker, dozens of love letters and other Valentine's Day cards falling out. His heart thumped painfully as he wondered if her crush had slipped one inside too. Would she say yes if he had?

The designer sputtered, flustered by all the letters and even more so by Alya's teasing, and tried to collect the ones that had fallen. How could she go from being so confident and spunky to cute and speechless in a matter of seconds? It was unfair to Adrien's poor heart.

.

Maybe it was Nathanael?

Adrien remembered the artist had had a crush on her a while back. But he knew Nathanael didn't feel the same way anymore, considering he had been dating Chloe for the last few weeks. (No one knew how that happened but Chloe had been oddly nicer since then and Nathanael had come out of his shell more, so it wasn't as if anyone was against them.)

But still. No matter how much it pained him to think about it, he sincerely hoped whoever his Princess liked felt the same way about her. She of all people shouldn't suffer from unrequited love; it was complete torture, and she didn't deserve that.

No one did, really.

.

Chat Noir sat on the edge of the Eiffel Tower, taking in the lights of his beautiful city. He watched with slight envy as numerous couples below the building embraced and celebrate the day of love.

He leaned back on his hands and looked up to the sky.

"I'm glad we're partners, my Lady, but I wish that meant more than just being superheroes together."

The stars above him failed to glitter as much as the tears that cascaded down his face.