"Tikki, am I putting too much trust into Andre's ice cream?" Marinette sighed, leaning half over the desk chair while her mind spun further and further away from her.

"What do you mean?" Tikki watched her Chosen slowly but surely freak out over this.

"Just, he predicted my parents staying together." Marinette's voice left her in a wistful sigh, "And he could have just as easily been thinking of Cat Noir when he described who I'd be with. He said mint green eyes, and when it reminded me of Adrien, I just couldn't believe it especially since no matter what I do, he doesn't seem to really notice me, and then I realized with how genuine Cat Noir's feelings run for me, matches the description too. Have I been overlooking what I'm supposed to do?"

"I thought that he was talking about Adrien, Marinette." Tikki encouraged her softly, "Adrien fits the description well, just don't overthink it, any of it. You must do what your heart wants; he could have meant anyone, but you'll never know until you're there with whoever you fall for that he meant him if he did."

"Just, should I give Cat Noir a chance?" Marinette asked out loud, hoping for advice that will put her heart to rest, "I know I shouldn't because of our identities, but if there's a way to give us a chance beyond that, should I take it? He really does seem to like me, and I know that his planning wasn't a joke or just for fun; he really put his heart out there for me today."

"Don't force yourself. He wouldn't want you to do that. May be think about it. How do you feel when you're near Cat Noir and how do you feel near Adrien?" Tikki advised, watching her Chosen carefully.

"Okay, near Cat Noir, I feel safe and sometimes it's more of a rush than I've ever known, but that's probably just adrenaline. With Adrien, it's like every part of me simultaneously comes alive and dies, my heart races, and I can't seem to find the words to say." Marinette mutters the last part.

"Just think about it whenever you are near them. Focus on how you feel." Tikki smiled at her, "And if you just like Adrien like that it's okay, because Cat Noir would understand, and I'm sure that everything will work out in the end despite how it seems now."

"Okay, thank you, Tikki." Marinette spoke softly.

Akuma battles had never really been the time to sit and think especially when Ladybug had to dash in and talk to Master Fu as well as choose a temporary new partner.

Her goal had always been to handle the Akumas as efficiently as possible once she got over her fear of not being a good enough Ladybug as she never wanted to leave Paris to suffer or let people get hurt.

She worked as naturally with Rena Rouge as to be expected from working alongside her civilian best friend, but now Marinette was second guessing every last choice she made in that fight.

Having Rena there had certainly made things easier, and she'd been an important although temporary asset to their team, but now Marinette had second thoughts.

They came as soon as she had a quiet moment alone to really think about all that happened during that Akuma battle; she couldn't figure out if she was more angry, jealous even though she felt that she shouldn't be, more hurt, or more relieved.

Cat Noir had really warmed up to Rena Rouge quick; he'd even flirted with her a bunch, giving her the option though not entirely serious to detransform in his presence.

If Rena Rouge did, would Marinette be planning their wedding in the future?

She grumbled under her breath, half relieved that Rena Rouge was just a temporary new member for their team to help with handling the Akumas that her sisters had become.

Just it hurt more than she'd expected to realize that Cat Noir's attention had flipped to Rena as soon as she shown up, like he'd just got tired of his oldest partner, just got tired of the clumsy girl that hadn't originally wanted to be a superhero unlike Alya, unlike Rena who just jumped in, enthused, and a lot like Cat Noir had been once.

She knew that Cat Noir still loved being a hero, but yet Ladybug didn't feel at all heroic as she thought about this; she knew that Alya was probably loyal enough to not flirt with Cat Noir if Ladybug said something, but it hurt to think about making her friend just stop out of obligation.

It was like a double edged sword, she never paid her partner enough attention, and then he takes interest in someone else.

She knew that she was destined to be Ladybug and that Alya could rationally become a different superhero down the line, but still that old thought of just what if she'd given her Miraculous to Alya successfully, what if Cat Noir simply moved on from her right away, and never looked back?
It hurt in a place inside her heart that she thought that he couldn't touch; she'd thought that Adrien had taken all of her heart along for a ride and just never returned it. Cat Noir had simply never factored into the equation, and now it felt like she couldn't stop thinking about him.

She felt irrationally angry too, like she could just hit Cat Noir over the head, and not use the Miraculous Cure to heal the injury as if that would teach him not to mess with her heart; may be all of the flirting, the kind gestures, had just been an act, may be he truly had never cared.

Her heart stung at the thought, but she pushed it away; may be he was ready to just move on from her since she'd rejected him after Glaciator, just being friends like they always have been shouldn't hurt like this.

Marinette's mind seems to be stuck on a replay; all that she can see is how they flirted with each other back and forth and acted like all of that was just okay.

Alya was probably running on an excited high from all of the new experiences that came with fighting an Akuma, and Cat Noir should have no excuse, not after confessing to really liking her as more than friends.

He certainly hadn't been overly flirty with Marinette lately, just Rena Rouge, and naturally Ladybug.

Was his heart really so fickle?

A part of her felt unbelievably weak under the surprising new thoughts swirling along inside her head and the heartbreak that refused to go away.

She'd never thought that she liked Cat Noir in that way, but she felt like she was being placed back at square one, broken and with new feelings, and completely unsure of how to handle any of this.

'Please go away,' though she wasn't quite sure whether she was talking about her feelings, Cat Noir, or Rena Rouge.