"I didn't like him at first. In fact, I thought he was a jerk." She confesses. "There is this girl in our class…"

"Yeah?" Chat urges.

"I just realized that I'm bad at relating stories. I'm skipping everywhere."

"I don't see an akuma, so I think we have time. Go on."

Ladybug smiles in appreciation.

"This girl, she is really popular, and nasty. She put gum on my seat, but I thought he did it. I might have told him off, just a tad…" Ladybug puts her thumb and index finger close to each other.

This sounded oddly familiar to Chat, no, to Adrien. He frowns thinking if he could place his finger on it.

Ladybug sighs and plops onto the roof.

"I continued to ignore him. He was new and didn't really have any friends. He had been home schooled before then. I feel really bad now that I look back on it."

Chat's frown deepens. He knew exactly who she was talking about now. It takes everything in him not to burst into tears or scream in frustration.

It couldn't be Alya; he'd seen her with Ladybug at the same time. So it had to be…

"Then, I was over late at school one day. It was raining, and I was waiting for it to stop at the front door. Then Adr… then he came and I turned away. He told me how he never had friends before, how he was trying to take the gum off of the seat, then he handed me his umbrella. I took it after standing for a minute. Then I froze."

Chat now knew for sure that she was talking about Adrien.

"I was feeling something I never experienced before. My legs felt weak and my heart was pounding. Then the umbrella closed on me! It was so embarrassing! I opened it up and he laughed. It was the first time I heard him laugh and it was incredible."

Chat's throat was sore from holding down a sob.

He didn't know whether to be overjoyed or disappointed and sad. On one hand, his lady already had a crush on him. It was Marinette; he knew this for sure. The girl that sat behind him everyday in class.

On the other hand, she liked ADRIEN, and never showed any interest in Chat Noir. Sure his real persona had some of Adrien's in it, but most of it was Chat's.

"... Chat? Why are you crying?" Ladybugs voice kicks him out of his reverie.

Chat didn't realized the tears strolling down his face. He wiped them off of his cheeks quickly.

"Nothing, I just…" he starts but stops.

Just what? Tell her he was the boy she had a crush on? Or play it off as a joke telling her that her love story was sad?

"Chat?" Ladybug reaches for his face and he flinches away.

"I… I gotta go."

Then he takes off.

Sweet sweet Marinette. She was the one that he so dearly had a crush on for the past years; no, Ladybug

Chat jumps from building to building, losing Ladybug. But he was also losing sight. His tears blurred his eyes, causing him to almost slip off of the roof.

Looking behind him to make sure no one was looking, he jumped down and transformed back.

Not being able to bare it any longer, his knees buckle and he falls against the brick wall and sobs.

It wasn't just that Marinette probably only liked the Adrien part of him, it was that he didn't fall for her at all; not the Marinette part. He didn't even stumble.

Whenever Ladybug told him she wasn't who he thought she was, he always told her that she could never disappoint him, that he would like her in any form.

He lied to her.

Marinette was sweet, but he never thought of her that way. She was a good friend, even if she stumbled words around him. Now it all makes sense at least.

And the biggest realization yet overtook him: if he didn't have a crush on Marinette, he couldn't have one on Ladybug.

Ladybug and Marinette were basically the same, not like his and Chat Noir's differences.

He couldn't blame it on her just not being her when she was Marinette.

Maybe he could never really fall for her, he thinks. She always stuttered around me, I never really had a real conversation with her. And I was always pining over Ladybug, she never had a chance.

Adrien could give himself all the reasons in the world of why he didn't like her back, but it didn't make it right.

He hears a thump and looks up. It is Ladybug.

"Adrien?" She asks, crouching down.

He wipes off his tears the second time that night.

"Hey, milady." He says, not thinking.

Ladybug falters for a second, then reaches for him again. In that moment she knew, and she felt like crying. It all added up.

She thought she knew everything about Adrien. Thought she loved all of him. But for Chat Noir, she didn't even trip for him.

Marinette starts crying, the final straw being that he knew about her also. She de-transforms while hugging him and bawls.

The both sit there in each others laps just crying about how the world isn't fair.

They both cry about how their first crushes didn't even constitute as love, because neither of them loved all of the other. They both cry about how they can't seem to figure out if they love the other half because they know now or if because they kind of did all along. They both cry because the person they thought they liked, wasn't even who they thought they were.

"I'm sorry." Adrien whispers through his sobs.

"I'm sorry too." She whispers back.

"I can't tell if I like Marinette or not." He confesses.

"I can't tell if I like Chat Noir. I want to say I do, but I don't know if my discovery biases that." She replies.

Marinette's face scrunches up and she coughs out a cry.

"I… I always liked Adrien because… because he thought of others first… he was sweet… he forgave me for being rude to him… I just…"

Marinette throws her head onto Adrien's shoulder.

"I…. I… I liked Ladybug because she was headstrong and I could be myself around her."

"Maybe that is all that matters." A new voice joins.

They both look up to see Tikki and Plagg. They both forgot they were there.

"Yeah, guys," Plagg quips in. "Just because you didn't like the other half, doesn't mean you don't like the person as a whole."

They both slow their crying and look up confused.

"What dufus means to say is, that you like the qualities of both sides. Ladybug and Marinette are headstrong and brave, even if Adrien didn't see it much."

"And both Adrien and Chat Noir put others before themselves and both have that sweet icky nature." Plagg joins.

"Just because you didn't see each other because of each other, doesn't mean you didn't like each other even if you didn't know it. Even Adrien made puns sometimes, and Chat Noir was selfless and sweet. Marinette, you were headstrong and courageous as both Ladybug and Marinette."

"But is that enough?" Marinette asks, looking like she was about to cry again.

"Do you both still like each other, adding the other factors?" Plagg asks.

They both look at each other for a second, blush, and nod.

"Then that is all that matters. Love is difficult, even if you aren't old enough for it yet, this is the beginning of it. No matter how much you know of a person, you always find out more along the way. Are you going to stop loving someone just because you didn't know they liked chocolate ice cream over vanilla until now?" Tikki asks.

"That isn't the same…" Adrien starts, but Plagg cuts him off.

"But it is. I'm no good at this mushy romance stuff, but I'm not stupid enough to not know what it looks like."

"Even after today you will learn stuff about each other you didn't know before, but that won't stop you from loving each other."

"So get up…"

"Hug it out…"

"And forget the past and think ahead to the future."

Marinette giggles through her stupor. So does Adrien.

"Plagg, I think that is the smartest thing you have ever said." Adrien remarks.

"Hmph!"

"So," Marinette says to Adrien. "I kind of have pictures of you in my room, kind of know your whole schedule, and really don't like strawberries. Do you still like me?"

Adrien chuckles at the pure cheesiness of it all, Marinette follows suite.

"And I have multiple computer screens dedicated to the Lady Blog, really hated the feathers on your derby hat, and happen to love strawberries. Do you still like me?"

Marinette smiles and looks up to the sky, her tears drying up, and she laughs to the horizon.

"Yes!"

"Hmm," Adrien fakely wonders. "You are tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me."

Marinette frowns and quirks an eyebrow.

"Did you really just Darcy me?" She inquires.

Adrien backs up a little in fright.

"Maybe…"

"Well then, you are mistaken Mr. Darcy." Marinette replies, rising her chin up. "Etc. etc. etc. And I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry."

Adrien graces her with shock.

"Do you remember 'Pride and Prejudice' quotes as a hobby."

"No, I just really like the book."

"So, you considered marrying me?" Adrien asks, wiggling his eyebrows in a very Chat like… no… in a very Adrien like manner.

Marinette turns red.

"On many occasions." Tikki pipes in.

"Tikki!" Marinette exclaims.

Adrien laughs a genuine laugh and looks at Marinette.

"We should probably get home, but before that, I need to tell you something." Adrien says seriously.

"What?" Marinette asks confused.

Adrien gets down on one knee and Marinette turns red yet again, her tongue feeling like it would lodge in her throat.

"Uh, Adrien…"

"Shh." he quiets her. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you allow me the honor…"

Then he pauses and reaches for her sides.

"To tickle you!"

And if you listened carefully that night in Paris, you could hear the happy squeals of a tickle fight.

Sorry to the people who are still waiting for me to update Adhaesit. It is almost done!

I also published this on AO3 under the username anonymouslyAJ.

Follow me on Tumblr for updates and stuff at alexisbelt