Adrien sat at his desk, nervously staring at the clock. It had been a few years since he had met Marinette. 

On his first day of school, she was the first person aside from Chloe to show kindness towards him. Genuine kindness. He was used to people swarming around him, desperately trying to get his attention based either on his looks or his fame and money. But not Marinette. She greeted him with a warm smile and introduced him to her friend group.

Her blue eyes and adorable freckles took his breath away. He formed a crush and that quickly turned to love.

When he became Chat Noir, his new partner, Ladybug, was kind to him as well. But Marinette already held his heart by then. 

Now he wanted to confess. He really wanted to tell her how he felt and his best friend, Nino, who Marinette had introduced to him, encouraged him to do so. He was going to do so that day after school. Marinette sat behind him, oblivious to his huge crush. 

He was really nervous. He didn't want to ruin their friendship, that's why he refrained for so long. Even if she didn't like him back, he really treasured their friendship and he didn't want to lose that. 

She brings light and warmth into his life. School, modeling, fencing, piano lessons, and Chinese lessons stress him out, but when he's around Marinette, he forgets all of that. She makes him forget the hardships of his life. 

Every second that ticked by felt painful. Adrien wanted school to just end already but he was so scared of confessing. 

When the bell rang signaling the end of class, Adrien nearly jumped out of his seat. Marinette noticed and she leaned forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Are you ok Adrien?" she asked.

Adrien turned to her, blushing. He felt his throat dry and he opened his mouth to say something. She asked again and his eyes moved to her lips. She was wearing a red-tinted lip gloss and Adrien gulped. Her lips looked so kissable. 

"Y-yeah, I-I'm ok Mari," he finally responded. "Are you sure?" He nodded and Marinette smiled. Adrien felt his heart beat faster. He loved her smile.

Most of the class had left by now, including Nino and Alya. Nino knew of Adrien's plans of confessing and he got Alya out of the room quickly to give Adrien some time to confess. Alya had a feeling something was going on so she went along. 

Marinette stood up and put her bag over her shoulder, standing next to Adrien and waiting for him. "Don't worry, I won't ditch you like those love-birds over there," Marinette smiled.

Adrien chuckled nervously, packing his things. He stood up and put his bag over his shoulder. They walked out of the room together and made their way over to the school's entrance. 

Most of the building was empty, except for the few students staying after school but most of them had gone to their clubs or the gym already. 

"W-wait," Adrien grabbed Marinette's wrist, stopping her. Marinette stopped and turned to look at him, confused.

"Yes?"

I-I, um, I-I have something to t-tell you," he stuttered nervously. He let go of her wrist quickly, his face going bright red. He grabbed the strap of his bag and played with it nervously. 

Marinette turned around completely now. "Are you sure you're ok Adrien?"

"It's just, I... I like you Marinette!" he blurted out.

Marinette smiled, "That's sweet Adrien, I like you too. You're one of my best friends."

"N-no, that's not what I m-mean."

"Then what do you mean?" she asked. 

"I like you, as in, like-like."

Marinette's eyes widened and she blushed a little. "I like you more than a friend Marinette."

"Adrien... I," Marinette started. Her face softened to a sad expression and Adrien felt his heart start to ache.

"I'm sorry Adrien, but I like someone else."

Now he felt his heart break. "Wh-what?" 

"I can't accept your feelings, Adrien, I'm in love with someone else. I am so sorry," she said with a sad face. 

Adrien felt his world crash down. She loved someone else. "Wh-who? I mean, can I know who it is?"

Marinette looked away uncomfortably. She couldn't just tell him she had a crush on Chat Noir. She'd sound like a fangirl. 

"I'm sorry Adrien, I can't tell you."

"Is it someone I know?"

"Yes?" 

Adrien looked at the ground defeated. He wondered who it was. Luka? Nathaneal? 

Adrien began to walk away, he was starting to feel a numbness come over him. "W-wait!" Now it was Marinette grabbing his arm to stop him. "Adrien I-"

Adrien pulled his arm away, cutting her off. "It's ok Mari, I understand. You have feelings for someone else and I respect that," he said, not turning once to look at her.

He walked away before she could say anything and Marinette stood there, saddened that she just broke her best friend's heart. 

Marinette walked home upset. When Marinette met Adrien, she was doubtful of him. I mean, he was Chloe's friend. But so was Sabrina and Sabrina could be nice if she wasn't around Chloe, so Marinette decided to give Adrien a chance.

When she became Ladybug and met Chat Noir, she formed an instant crush. His horrible puns actually made her laugh and his goofy grin made her a blushing mess. She adored his messy blonde hair and she could stare endlessly into his green eyes. 

Marinette shook her head. She shouldn't be thinking about Chat Noir when she just broke Adrien's heart! She sighed and walked the rest of the way home trying to distract herself.

When it came time for patrol, she transformed into Ladybug and made her rounds before heading to their usual meeting spot. 

When she arrived, Chat Noir was already there. He was sitting at the edge of the building dangling his legs.

"Oh, you're a-already here kitty," she said, walking over to him. She sat down next to him, blushing slightly. 

He was looking down below. A young couple was walking down the street, holding hands.

Ladybug traced his sight and landed on the couple.

"I wish I could have something like that," he spoke softly. "O-oh?" Ladybug blushed more.

"But I can't."

Ladybug looked up at him in surprise, "What?"

Chat Noir looked away from the couple and stared at his dangling feet. "I confessed to the girl I like recently."

Ladybug felt her heart break, "Y-you did?"

Chat nodded, "Yeah, but she rejected me."

"Reject you? Who could ever do that? Kitty, you're amazing!" Ladybug replied. He turned to her with a sad smile. She could see his eyes were puffy under the mask. Whoever had rejected him really broke his heart. "Thanks, bugaboo. She didn't seem to think so, though. She just sees me as a friend."

"Oh kitty, I'm so sorry," Ladybug said. Chat looked away, tears forming in his eyes. He swallowed, hoping the tears would go away, but then fell down his cheeks anyway. Ladybug wrapped her arms around him and Chat leaned into it. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that Kitty. She's a fool, how could she reject someone as wonderful and kind as you? You deserve the world Chaton."

Chat sighed, "She had every right to reject me, she said she loved someone else. Whoever he is, I really hope he makes Marinette happy."

Ladybug felt her heart stop and her blood run cold. "M-Marinette?" she repeated softly. 

She rejected her kitty? But wait... that would mean. No. No, fate couldn't be so cruel. 

Chat sat up. Ladybug's arm dropped from his shoulder down to his chest. She looked away, shocked.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

And she just broke his heart. 

~~~~~~~~~~

First Chapter!

Edendaphne's one-shot "The Curse of Love" was a huge inspiration for this story. Hers was only a short story and it involved Felix rejecting Marinette. I'd suggest giving it a read, I really like it.

While reading it, I wondered how Felix would fix things. Feeling inspired, I decided to write this! Except I wanted to do a twist and make it Ladrien! Stories that follow this theme do so with Marichat because it follows the canon, but I like doing AUs and I've never written about Ladrien so I'm giving it a shot (: