Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug. All Rights belong to their rightful owners.

Marinette slammed the coffee cup with the words: "World's Best Boss" onto the table, letting out a muted scream. "What if I just put arsenic in his coffee? How would he like that?!" Marinette stuffed a pile of crushed coffee beans into the battered coffee machine in the break room before throwing several cups of water into the machine. "That fucking cow! All he does is whine! A little arsenic would do him some good."

"What did he do today?" Alya asked, joining Marinette in the break room. Alya did not react to the string of curses that spilled out of Marinette's mouth as a pile of coffee grounds spilled onto the front of her blouse. She simply nodded in understanding, as if this was a regular affair.

"He called me a worthless bitch without any talent," Marinette remarked with a salty look, cleaning the front of her blouse with a wet napkin.

"That's a new one."Alya reached for a cabinet above Marinette's head and pulled some crackers down to munch on as well as some more napkins for the mess. She wordlessly added the pile of napkins into Marinette's hand before boosting herself up onto the counter to sit and watch Marinette work.

Marinette shook her head as she got the coffee ready, setting down the mound of napkins. "He wants me to rewrite the whole fucking proposal just so he can kiss another CEO's butt, but in reality I am the one doing all of the work! I would love to see him try to do what I do on a daily basis and have me yell at him for every single mistake. UGH! I hate him!"

"Are you sure you don't love him? Love-hate relationship kind of deal?" Alya waggled her eyebrows, only to receive a glare from Marinette. "I'm surprised he hasn't fired you...you talk back quite a lot." Alya lifted a stray coffee cup to her lips, watching Marinette from the corner of her eye as she swallowed.

Marinette sighed, letting her shoulders fall. "So am I. At least he pays well; that's enough incentive to kiss up to his ass...most of the time." The coffee machine beeps as it finishes and Marinette tossed the brewed coffee haphazardly into the pristine, white mug, letting it pour over the sides in her frustration. Marinette let out a small growl as Alya handed her a roll of paper towels patiently. "He really deserves arsenic,"Marinette grumbled.

"Oh come on, you don't mean that. You love him to pieces, don't you," Alya replied snickering softly.

"Yeah, I would love him if he were in pieces," Marinette murmured under her breath. Alya hid another smile around the corner of her coffee cup.

"Come one, you know you're no good at hiding bodies, and neither am I. Plus, Chloe has been looking for a reason to rat you out for a long time, it would be useless just to add to her list of why you should be fired" Alya warned.

"Not if I do it right," Marinette grumbled. She slapped some spoiled crackers and a croissant on a plate before throwing away the soiled paper towels and napkins. "You can't deny that he deserves it. He treats everyone like crap around here, and honestly everyone would be thanking me on their knees for getting rid of that horror!"

"Chill, Marinette." Alya placed a hand on her shoulder in an effort to calm her down. "Ok, so a lot of people don't like him, but he is still our boss, and wouldn't it be nice to continue having this job? This is the best place to start if you're going to make it as a designer."

Marinette sighed deeply. "Sorry, he just riles this little bug up." Marinette bunched her shoulders up, shaking her fists, before letting them fall in defeat.

Alya bumped into Marinette's side playfully. "It happens" Alya laughed. "And hey, by tomorrow you won't even be worrying about him because you'll be off in a little dream world of your own!" she sang knowingly.

Marinette gave Alya a blank look. "Tomorrow. What's tomorrow?"

Alya placed a hand on her hip and slammed her pack of crackers on the counter next to her. "Girl, it's your 23rd birthday tomorrow! Don't tell me you forgot about it? You've been waiting for this your entire life!" Alya exclaimed, but Marinette continued to look as confused as ever. "23rd birthday? Soulmates? Does any of that ring a bell, hun? There's a chance that you'll switch bodies with your soulmate tomorrow! Your life is going to completely change! I think Mr. Agreste has been working you too hard if you forget your 23rd birthday."

Marinette shrugged, but a soft blush spattered her cheeks. "I didn't forget….well only a little…" she replied quietly. "I hope it happens tomorrow…..but it probably won't. I'll probably have to wait forever for my soulmate's birthday, or maybe they died….."

Alya knocked a hand against Marinette's cheek. "Hey you, yes you! Don't let those negative thoughts consume you. You've been hanging out with Mr. Debby Downer too long. You have someone waiting for you, believe me, and they're going to be worth it. You are too kind for there to be no one out there for you. Instead of focusing on the negative," Alya poked Marinette playfully; "Think of who it could be; the positive." Alya started to ramble as she listed name after name of all their coworkers that were not matched yet. "It could be Kim, Max, Kagami….Literally anyone who is not matched in this office could be yours. Anyone in the whole entire world could be your soulmate! He or she is just waiting like you are, but we have to think about who's older than you. It's terrible to wait for your soulmate, believe me."

Marinette hummed non committedly. "I bet it is" Marinette mused. "I kind of hope it's someone I haven't met, though. The people in this office are cool, don't get me wrong, but I know them and already know everything about them. I think it would be interesting to fall in love with someone by learning about who they are along the way. I feel like if it was someone I knew I would have a problem falling for them because I would already have an image of them, you know?" Marinette leaned up against the counter and took a slide glance at Alya before returning her gaze to the coffee cup in her hands. "I want to meet someone new so I can take my time loving them. You know me, always the romantic."

Alya nodded her head slowly. "I kind of understand, but who's to say love just happens when you switch bodies? There are studies showing that once you've had the switch you have already started to fall in love with the person because some of the magic involved in the switch. Some kind of thing about soulmate science and how your souls are meant to be, and the switch between the bodies only kick starts the connection between the souls. So either way, love starts to bloom the moment you wake up in your soulmate's body. I kind of felt that with Nino, and I knew him. I would even say that I felt the attachment to him before he even turned twenty-three. There was already a small connection before I woke up in his body, so I felt reassured when I started to love him for real. My parents were the same way."

Marinette sighed. "That sounds nice….but I also hope it's not just forced love, you know?" Marinette returned her focus to the coffee and food in her hands. "I just hope my soulmate will help me get out of this hell hole".

"Alya put a reassuring hand on her shoulder and squeezed. "Don't worry about it. What will be, will be. I can guarantee that you will be happy though".

"My parents always say that too," Marinette said with a smile. "I think I've told you this story before, but my mother helped my father get out of his own little hell hole. He had happened to be kidnapped the night where my mom turned 23, so she had some fun getting him out. They had never met, but my mom, in his body, helped him run away from his kidnappers. Of course falling in love was a little easier when they got wrapped in some danger. It was a miracle, and I always dreamed to have some sort of story like that, but like with less fighting bad guys and stuff," Marinette explained, letting out a little laugh. As a little girl she had spent nights dreaming about going on adventures with her soulmate. "I'm not saying I want that, but it could be cool…"

"Yeah, I wouldn't advise going on death defying adventures tomorrow, if I were you." Alya paused, a mischievous look appearing on her face. "You and your clumsiness would spell a recipe for disaster. But you know what would be equally scary adventure?" Alya put a finger to her chin in thought. "What if your soulmate was Mr. Agreste…."

Marinette's face crumpled up in complete revulsion. She put out a hand to stop Alya from continuing. "Just let me barf in this trash can right here...yeah um.. No."

"He's older than 23 and he hasn't made the switch yet, so he's still up for grabs," Alya teased, attempting to hold in her laughs at Marinette's reaction as she wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

"We don't know that! Hell, I don't even want to think about it!...Not that there are any takers besides Miss Bourgeois. She's turning 23 within the month. She can have him right now, to be honest," Marinette replied with a rye laugh. "I might as well kill him now; his soulmate will thank me later." Taking the plate and mug, Marinette walked out of the room with Alya close behind.

"Remember when you had a crush on him?" Alya asked in a stage whisper.

With her foot, Marinette kicked back at Alya's shin. "Shh! No need for the whole building to know!" Marinette glanced around rapidly, looking for anyone listening in on their conversation as they passed designers' cubicles. She pushed Alya into the elevator and quickly pushed the button to close the door. As the door closed, Marinette relaxed against the metal walls and let out a breath before turning to glare at Alya. "Ok I liked him for like two seconds before he opened his mouth and yelled at me for not staying exactly three feet away from him." Marinette rolled her shoulders to push back the memories.

"Oh it was much longer than that, trust me. Remember that fateful day when he touched your hand…" Alya struck a pose and looked like a fainting maiden as she laid her hand across her forehead. "But I have to agree, he doesn't exactly play nice. He may be attractive, but boy what a temper". Marinette pushed Alya back playfully, careful to keep her boss' coffee from spilling.

"No one can deny he is an attractive man to the eyes, but his personality and voice categorize him as Satan himself. He is the worst human being, and nothing will change my mind." The elevator dinged softly as it reached the fifth floor. Marinette gave a sad wave to her friend as Alya exited the elevator. "See you soon."

Alya gave her a sympathetic look. "Try not to get on his bad side today."

"Too late," Marinette growled, letting the elevator doors close. Alya called out again, wishing Marinette luck, before the elevator started its ascent.

Marinette sighed as she rested her head against the metal sides of the elevator. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander in the short seconds of peace. She felt the dull ache in her heart, and she pressed a hand against her chest to try and suppress the painful beating. That pain had been a constant in her life, but it was no heart condition, at least not physically. The aching comes from the lack of soulmate, or rather the lack of having them near. Her mother said it was normal and would go away when she met her soulmate, but Marinette still had the fear of never meeting them and perpetually feeling the ache inside her chest. The fear of being alone, in terms of having a significant other, scared Marinette. Maybe tomorrow will answer some of these questions, she thought to herself.

The elevator let out a jarring ding, and Marinette groaned. She could already hear the dull yelling of her employer in the distance. Marinette rolled her eyes and made her way towards the office. She opened the dark, wooden doors to his office, letting herself in to set down his breakfast on his coffee table. She didn't even need to glance up to know the position in which the young designer and her boss was in as Mr. Agreste continued to yell. Mr. Agreste was no doubt leaned over his large desk with a purple face from yelling. He would be pointing fingers, coming dangerously close to hitting the designer. The young designer would then be cowering in their little, child's seat in front of the desk and would be murmuring answers to the accusations that couldn't be heard over Mr. Agreste's loud and coarse voice. When Marinette did look up, she gave the young designer a pitying look before settling herself on the sofa beside the desk. She scrolled mindlessly through the files on her tablet, looking at the schedule for the day while trying to not listen to the conversation.

"You can't use mustard yellow! That does nothing to accentuate the curves of the model." Mr. Agreste rested his head in his hands, but jumped up as he thought of yet another thing to yell at his employee. "And I told you to go PLAID!"

The designer in front of Mr. Agreste cowered at his raised voice, and he quickly pulled his designs close to his chest, as if they were going to be burned by Mr. Agreste's gaze. "But yesterday you said…"

"Never mind what I said YESTERDAY! YESTERDAY is not TODAY!" Mr. Agreste leapt from his chair and slammed his fist on his desk. Once he deemed that the designer was cowering enough, he waved a hand towards the poor worker. "You are dismissed. Have the new designs by the end of the hour!"

The designer bowed continuously as he shuffled out of the office, stumbling over his multitude of thank yous. Marinette scowled after the designer, but turned her sour gaze towards her boss.

His demeanor had completely changed as he happily stuffed croissants and crackers into his mouth. He met his assistant's gaze mid-chew and he stared blankly up at her. "What…?"

Marinette huffed and slammed her stack of papers onto his desk. "You can't treat your employees like that!" she berated him, poking him hard in the chest.

He pushed her hand away as he rolled his eyes. "I don't really need to concern myself with that. If they leave, I can always find a hungry, new art student to fill the position. That's how I got you, remember?" Adrien Agreste gave her a smirk before returning to his food. He pointed at the cup of coffee, the red letters of 'World's Best Boss' mocking him. "No arsenic right?" He asked cautiously, but the quirk of his eyebrows made it seem like he was purposely poking her buttons.

Marinette threw her arms up in fake surrender. "No, sir, I would never."

Mr. Agreste raised an eyebrow before taking a sip.

"I may have slipped something in," Marinette murmured, turning her attention back to her tablet.

Mr. Agreste spluttered, spraying coffee all over his lap. "Excuse me?" Mr. Agreste swiveled his head and glared at his assistant.

Marinette looked up at Mr. Agreste innocently, smiling. "Nothing, Mr. Agreste."

Adrien sighed as he set his coffee aside and focused on the mound of emails sitting in his inbox. "I see you have yet to calm down from this morning, Miss Dupain-Cheng".

Marinette could feel her blood begin to boil, but she tamped it down. "I will have the proposal done by eleven, sir" she replied coldly.

Mr. Agreste smirked. "Good. You are dismissed."

Marinette rolled her eyes and grabbed the stack of new proposals and outfit ideas on the side of his desk, balancing them on the side of her waist. "Don't forget about the meeting in five," Marinette mentioned before turning to leave.

Adrien groaned. "Oh, send an email to Chloe Bourgeois asking what she would like for her birthday, and send an email to my father to decline that one invitation," he called before she could close the door. Adrien Agreste lazily put the last of the crumbs into his mouth, leaving a slight speckling around his lips. "You may take away my dishes; I am done with them."

"Yes sir," Marinette muttered, taking a glance at him from behind. She pulled the door open with a foot,and tossed the stack of papers onto her small desk, making it wobble on uncertain legs. She wrote a quick note to herself about the emails before returning to the office to retrieve the dishes.

Leaving the coffee cup, Marinette gathered the plates in her arms. Her eyes caught on the flakes of the leftover croissants around his lips. She suddenly had an urge to clean off his face. Marinette growled at herself and pushed herself out of the room in an effort to push the thoughts away. Safely behind her desk, Marinette focused herself on her work in an effort to rid her mind of her boss. There was only so much she could do if she wanted to keep her job. He was still alive, unfortunately.

000

Marinette rubbed her eyes, trying to rekindle some sort of energy to finish her last design. The darkness in the sky had set in and was creeping towards her monitor, making her lean closer to her screen. Most of the employees had left for the day, leaving Mr. Agreste and his assistant to wrap up for the day. Marinette knocked her head against her keyboard and groaned. "One more, one more," she whispered to herself.

"Why don't you go home?"

Marinette jumped at the voice and looked up, startled. Mr. Agreste was bundled up in a luxurious pea coat and fur gloves stacked in his pocket. His face was sullen, as usual. Marinette resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his question. He never cares when I go home, unless it inconveniences him. She stood up and gave him a quick bow before sitting down again. "I have a few more papers to finish before I can go, sir. I'll lock up when I leave the building, as usual. Have a good night sir." Marinette nodded and returned to her work, determined to talk to her boss as little as possible.

Mr. Agreste nodded in confirmation, pursing his lips. "Good night, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette growled at her computer screen, watching his receding figure out of the corner of her eye. The word soulmate suddenly stuck out on the screen, to Marinette, in the midst of long paragraphs describing a new fashion show, reminding Marinette of tomorrow. She suddenly stood up she called after her boss. "Sir!"

Mr. Agreste turned around reluctantly, sighing deeply and sticking his hands in his pockets as he gave her a withering look. "Yes, Miss Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette rubbed her hands together in front of her as she gathered her thoughts quickly. "I wa-I was wondering if I could ask a few hours off tomorrow. I'm turning twenty-three and just in case I switch bodies, I want to be able to, you know, meet my soulmate?"

Mr. Agreste rolled his eyes and walked back slowly to her desk, taking his steps deliberately slow. He drummed his fingers on the top of her desk, making it shake as he met her eyes. "I don't think that's necessary, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I expect you here at the same time as usual." Mr. Agreste turned to leave once again, but was held back by Marinette's hand on his arm.

Marinette swallowed carefully holding in the sudden anger boiling in her stomach as she retracted her hand. "I'm sorry sir, but you can't expect that. Most employers give the day off to their employees 23rd birthday; it's custom. Unless you would like an incompetent person coming in to work as me, you had better give me at least a few hours off!" Marinette demanded.

Adrien Agreste scoffed. "As you probably already know, I am not like most employers, Miss Dupain-Cheng. Chances are, you will not switch bodies tonight and you will then get the day off for absolutely no reason. I see no cause in giving you the day off, or even a few hours when nothing will happen. Now listen closely, because I will only say this once: you will come to work at the same time tomorrow. If you don't, you will be fired."

"Excuse me?" Marinette tightened her jaw and felt her hands curl up into fists. "I will be fired simply because of something I cannot control? You must be mistaken, sir, if you believe that I have no right to a day off if I happen to meet my soulmate tomorrow. I can still come in at the normal time if I do not switch bodies, but this is ridiculous. You are ridiculous and sorely mistaken if you believe that you can simply fire me for that!"

"I am never mistaken, Secretary," he growled. His face was slowly turning red, and Marinette's smile grew as she realized that she was finally hitting a nerve in him, even if it cost her her job. However, despite this satisfaction, his choice of words were equally digging into her nerves.

"You make mistakes just as many times as everyone else, unless you're some type of robot, which sometimes I question whether you are or not." Marinette walked around her desk to meet her boss' gaze on the same playing field. He was still taller than her, but she felt more control as she was able to meet his intimidating gaze with one of her own. "I demand that you give me at least some time off. I do all that you ask every day; every hour of every week, but you can't possibly give me the one thing I've asked for? You really are a heartless human being," she spat.

Mr. Agreste stepped closer to Marinette, looking down at her with disgust. "I believe you forget who you are in this company. You are a mere secretary who is here to serve me, do you understand? I owe you nothing." He let the air between them freeze as he took the time to give her a withering stare. "I gave you this job when I could have just let you suffer on the streets as poor, penniless art student. I was kind to let you in here, girl. I don't care if you want to meet your soulmate and take a few days off. We can't afford that kind of time in this company. If you want a few days off, you can leave."

" Just because you don't have a soulmate does not mean you can spoil others happiness!" Marinette shouted, startling a few employees who were still on the floor. "I just want a few hours off, and I will take them." Marinette leaned over her desk and grabbed her bag. "If you want to fire me, fine. But I will laugh when your company crashes and burns when I join the rival company."

"You won't even get a job," he sneered. His eyes were shot and he was trembling in a feeble attempt to control his anger at her words.

"I've already been given offers." Marinette stomped on Mr. Agreste's foot, smiling as he bent down in pain. "Rot in hell, you cow." Those around them gasped in shock and watched in awe as Marinette simply walked away, leaving Mr. Agreste fuming.

000

"I can't believe you did that, Marinette." Alya smiled at Marinette and raised a glass to her. "To Marinette, honestly the bravest person in Paris."

"To Marinette!" The group of friends cried, clinking glasses together. Marinette weakly raised her glass, but hid her face behind one of her hands in embarrassment.

"I still can't believe I did that…" Marinette leaned her head against Alya's shoulder and groaned. "What a great way to start a new chapter of my life with my soulmate and no job."

Mylene put a hand on Marinette's shoulder and squeezed it. "That doesn't matter; your soulmate will support you no matter what, believe me. You made the right choice to get rid of that man."

"I love that you called him a cow," Alix added, slapping Marinette on the back. "That was golden."

Marinette ducked her head and let out a small smile. "Thanks guys." She took a drink from her coke glass and enjoyed the conversations going on around her. It was a perfect night on the town before she hopefully made the switch with her soulmate. That was the way things were supposed to work on the youngest out of the two soulmate's twenty-third birthday. Living as their other half, the pair had six weeks to fall in love, but most did within the first hour of the switch. No one really knew when this magical ceremony started, but it had been going on for centuries now and it was one of the most sacred. Everyone was supposed to have their twenty-third birthday off because of it. Apparently that did not matter to Mr. Agreste.

Alya waved a hand in front of Marinette's face to get her attention. "Hey, you doing alright?" she asked quietly.

Marinette nodded and gave her a small smile. "Yeah, just thinking."

"Did you want to go home early? You've had a pretty crazy day. Do you just want to put on a movie and settle down for a little while?"

Marinette took a glance around at her friends and smiled at their happy faces. "I don't want to ruin the night."

"Oh come on, this night is for you. If you want to go home, you should," Rose said.

Alya patted Marinette's back. "Do you want me to spend the night?" Marinette nodded her head.

"Just in case…" she murmured as she grabbed her purse and paid for her part of the bill. Marinette made her way around the table thanking and hugging her friends before following Alya out of the restaurant.

Alya slung her arm around Marinette's shoulders and hugged her tightly. "I can't believe my little baby is growing up!" Marinette playfully pushed Alya away, but Alya just pulled her close again, acting a little tipsy after just a few drinks. "You're going to be so happy! You'll finally be able to live your life without someone controlling it for you. I'm so happy for you!" Alya squished her face against Marinette's, making both of them laugh.

"Don't speak too soon," Marinette murmured and led them to the backseat of a taxi and let the driver take them the rest of the way home.

Alya gave Marinette a concerned look, trying to pry some words out of her. Marinette shook her head. "We talked about what's worrying me earlier; no need to repeat it." Alya nodded, taking the answer, but offered her shoulder for Marinette to lay her head against. She carded her fingers through the shorts ends of Marinette's hair, soothing her.

"No need to worry," she murmured. "If your soulmate won't love you, which I seriously doubt, I'll still love you. Nothing will change that."

Marinette wrapped her hands around Alya's waist, or at least as much as she could reach. "Thank you. Love you," she whispered into Alya's shoulder. "What would I do without you?"

It was completely dark as they unlocked the door to Marinette's small apartment. Marinette hit the switch to the lights of her kitchen while Alya made a beeline towards the coffee machine. "Do you think you'll still switch bodies at midnight if you don't fall asleep?" Alya wondered out loud. "I never got the chance to try it because I had to wait for Nino to come of age, but we should totally try it! I think most people just give up and fall asleep, or if they did stay up, they didn't report their findings. We could make serious money if we figure something out!" Alya exclaimed, brandishing a coffee filter at Marinette.

Marinette shook her head and laughed. "It's always fun to see you get all philosophical when you get just the slightest bit tipsy." Marinette took a glance up at the clock before positioning herself on one of the kitchen counters. They had about a half hour before it turned midnight, which surprised Marinette. She would usually be asleep by this time, or so wrapped up in a project that it would be five a.m. before she knew it. At this moment in time, Marinette would give anything to just fall asleep on the nearest surface,but in a strange way she wasn't tired at all. She felt like a child on Christmas Eve; way too excited to fall asleep even though her body needed it. A new beginning was coming in less than thirty minutes, and Marinette could hardly contain herself. Alya paused her hot chocolate making to place her hand on Marinette's bouncing knee.

"Relax. Forget about what I'm saying, and get ready for bed. I'll bring hot chocolate to you."

Marinette followed Alya's orders and went to her bedroom to put some pajamas on and get under her covers. She took a little while, staring at the clothes in her closet before she decided on the best outfit to wear that would be appropriate for someone else to wake up in. No holey shorts or threadbare shirts would be appropriate for this occasion. Marinette grabbed one of her handmade nightgowns and slipped it on before crawling under the covers of her bed.

She was a little tired, but what she didn't expect to fall asleep right away. She stared blankly up at her ceiling, trying to imagine what tomorrow would bring. Not a job, that's for certain, but I guess I can just contact Tikki and ask her for a job at the bakery until I can get contracted by another agency. Hopefully I won't have to worry about that tomorrow. I wonder if my soulmate will be by my side tomorrow. What a crazy thing that will be. Marinette felt her eyes grow heavy as the clock above her head started to chime. I wonder what it will be like...

Hello Readers! It's been a long time since I have posted any new stories, but I really felt like writing this one. I am really busy now, so I have no clue if I will continue this story or for how long, but hopefully you guys will enjoy the ride with me; it's going to be an interesting one. Thank you so much for reading, and please leave a comment, favorite, or follow if you wish. Until I write again, TTFN!