Two Weeks Later
After another session of fencing practice, Adrien waits for Kagami in the locker room. She walks out, carrying her duffel bag, and he jumps up and runs over. "Kagami! Can we... talk?"
She stops and looks at him, angry daggers shooting from her short-tempered eyes. "What do you want, Adrien?!"
"I... I want to apologize," He spits out, then clears his throat. "For how I acted and treated you when we were together, and after that, too. I know I hurt you and I'll never be able to forgive myself for that. I don't have any excuses, or at least acceptable ones. You deserve someone who's fully committed and clear-minded. I couldn't give that to you, but I hope one day someone can."
Kagami's expression doesn't change. She looks away for a moment before making eye contact again. "Thank you for your apology, Adrien, but it doesn't rid of the pain easily. I expect to heal from this for a very long time."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry, too."
"Can we still be friends?" Adrien asks.
Kagami turns her back to him. "I don't think so. Not soon, anyway. It... it pains me a lot to even look at you."
"I understand."
"I'm glad you do, Adrien. I'll see you at our next practice."
"Bye..."
Kagami walks out of the school and climbs into the backseat of her car. Her phone beeps and as she checks it, a tiny smile appears on her face.
It's a new text from Felix.
***
Adrien sits at his desk and stares at a picture of Ladybug from their last akuma battle. Alya had taken this one before the villain's power trapped her in a horror film.
"Wow, you haven't looked at her pictures in a while," Plagg comments from his holder's side. "Feeling nostalgic?"
"It isn't right for me to expect Marinette to love me back, especially since she's with Luka now," Adrien starts to stay. "So, I'm going to try getting over her."
"How?"
"I'll go back to loving Ladybug."
His kwami burst out laughing and falls forward on the desk, clutching his tiny stomach. "Get real, Adrien. Can't you be serious for once?"
Adrien frowned. "I am serious!"
"Kid, what makes you think that's a good idea?"
"Well..." He clicks to a different picture. Her eyes are closed tight from laughing so hard at a joke Cat Noir made. "Ladybug was my first love. Maybe this time I'll have a chance with her."
Plagg sighs. "I... I can't tell you how to feel, kid. I just hope you know what you're doing because I don't want to see you get hurt." Without anything else to say, the kwami flies off in search for more cheese.
Adrien goes through his photo gallery, and soon pictures of Ladybug turn into pictures of Marinette. He frowns and sighs, shutting off his computer.
This is harder than I thought. How can I just stop loving Marinette?
"I'd only be lying to myself if I pretended to love someone else just to move on from Marinette," He thought out loud to himself.
Adrien didn't expect his kwami to answer, but he said, "Just move on already! You can't have Ladybug and you can't have Marinette. You can either try and fix things with Kagami, move on, or sit around and mope and feel sorry for yourself! So, what are you doing to do, Adrien Agreste?"
"I need to think," He whispered. "Plagg, claws out."
***
Marinette stares at the ring on her right hand, and though she doesn't notice, she was frowning. Ever since Luka had gifted this to her, something was off, but she didn't know what.
She didn't want to have doubt in herself or in her relationship. Luka is perfect! He's sweet and patient. He's gentle and kind. He wrote her a beautiful song and handmade a gorgeous ring for their two-month anniversary!
What else could she ask for?
"That's a really pretty ring," Tikki comments as she sits on her holder's leg.
"Isn't it?" Marinette whispers, still frowning. "It's so beautiful, and yet... something's wrong."
"What could be wrong?"
"I don't know..." The pig-tailed girl climbs up to her balcony and looks out across the city. Suddenly in this moment, she wants to be anywhere but home. "Tikki, spots on."
Ladybug throws her yo-yo and connects it to a building across the street. She jumps off and swings, throwing herself from building to building, and she runs.
She didn't know what she's running from. Her thoughts? Her feelings? Her heart? But she just keeps running.
Ladybug finds herself drawn to a certain place—her and Cat Noir's special spot—and she smiles when she sees her partner already there. "Fancy running into you here, Kitty," She greets as she stands beside him.
He looks up. There's a red rose in his hand. Had he been expecting her to show up? "Milady, you look beautiful as always."
"You flirt too much, Cat Noir," She simply says as she sits beside him. "So, what were you doing all alone out here?"
"I just wanted a quiet place to think."
"Oh, I can go if—"
Cat Noir shakes his head. "No, don't. I enjoy your company." He hands her the rose. "For you."
"Kitty..." Ladybug gently pushes his hand back. "I can't accept that. I have a boyfriend now."
"You do?!" He asks, shocked. I shouldn't be surprised, Milady's perfect. Any guy would be lucky to be with her. "Wow, I... I did not know that, so now I feel silly for bringing this."
"Isn't there another girl you can give this rose to?" She asks.
"I..." Cat Noir sighs. "My girlfriend and I actually broke up a few weeks ago."
Ladybug's eyes widen. "Oh! I-I didn't even know you were dating someone... I'm sorry, Kitty."
"It's my fault. My heart wasn't really in it. It was... distracted," He admits, staring down at the now-wilting rose in his hand. "I hurt her, and I can never take that back, but I also can't lie about my feelings. I can't hide from the truth."
"And what truth is that, Cat Noir?"
"I'm in love with a girl who's in love with someone else."
Guilt eats at Ladybug's heart. "Cat Noir, I'm sorry—"
"No, it's not you, Bugaboo," Cat Noir cuts in. "Someone else, a good friend of mine."
"Oh..."
Cat Noir's shoulders sink forward. "Truth is... I was trying to hide from my feelings tonight. If I could move on from this girl, maybe it wouldn't hurt so much anymore. I was trying to convince myself and pretend that I was still in love with you, but that isn't fair to you or to myself."
"So that's what the rose is for."
"Yeah, surprise," He jokes. "Man, my love situation pretty much sucks right now, huh?"
"I have one of those, too," Ladybug admits.
He looks over. "Oh, trouble in paradise?"
"No, that's the thing. Nothing's wrong at all," She says, staring at her hand where her suit is concealing her gifted ring. "My boyfriend is perfect behind compare, in every imaginable way possible. He's sweet and kind, he waits on me. He's never jealous or rude. He doesn't hold anything against me. He makes me these awesome gifts and knows how important it is to remember an anniversary date."
"So..." Cat Noir shrugs. "What's the problem? That sounds perfect! Shouldn't you be happy?"
"I know, but..." Ladybug looks up at the sky, sighing. "Something's missing."