#dont worry shes going to mentally slap that mindset out of him

[aro-ortega]

oh separate but related to that list. in another case of 'vanya cares so so much about others and so so little about himself.' seeing as his plans are now null and void as he cant be a villain without his body and he wont be able to take on the farm without his body/telepathy. he is now 100% on board the 'help ace as much as possible' train, and is prepared to die if it means that ace gets to live again and have her body back. bc of course he is

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Fic: Soulmate Survey Part 6

(Master post)

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“No worries Rose, the shirts are done. Yes, I can bring them to school tomorrow. Okay, tell everyone I said hi back. Take... Oh you and Juleka are at 87% compatible? Congrats. I always knew you two were.... Mine? Oh uh look at the time bye!” Marinette ended her conversation a bit exhausted. 

Rose was a good friend, but the girl had a way of talking an ear off if Marinette wasn’t careful. Marinette would have texted her, but the girl would blow up her phone with 50+ texts. So Marinette decided a phone call was the best way of contacting her.

Marinette had felt super productive after she got back from that akuma battle. Though before she could action on that productive vibe she had to deal with some weird emails that mentioned codes for restarting her password for ‘Soulmate search’. She decided to change her password just to be safe, probably smart if someone was trying to get into it.  Marinette always figured it’s better to be on the side of caution when it came to her personal items and information. That is why she made that trap box for her diary.

Some people have no lives, trying to get into other people’s accounts. Marinette thought to herself. She could only imagine the type of desperate person who tried to get into her account for a matchmaking app. Probably some two bit hacker that wanted to spam her with emails. She logged in to make sure everything in the app was fine. Her personal information secure, and her compatibility list was unchanged. She smiled at the first place ranking. It was the spark she needed to get back into her productive mindset. Deciding that since everything was fine, she would not look into the matter further so long as it doesn't happen again as she would rather focus on her commission but would definetly keep an eye out for it.

Now able to ride her wave of productivity, She was able to finish the new Kitty Section shirts that Rose commissioned. The Second design really did look good. Now that they had enough original songs to make their first album, they needed a shirt with the cover on the shirt, which Marinette happily designed for them as well. 

“The shirts look great.” Her red Kwami praised as she looked them over. “And you dont have to pull an all nighter like you did last time.”

“Yeah, it was easier the second time around, especially now that I organized my schedule better.” Marinette agreed. “With occasional 20 minute video game breaks, those really can do wonders.”

Marinette’s phone began buzzing again.

“Oh, thats right. I promised Rose a Picture of the shirt.” Marinette remembered.

She picked up the phone.

“Don't worry I was just about to send you the photo of the shirt.” Marinette answered.

“What shirt?” A voice that definitely didn't sound like Rose. 

Marinette dropped her phone. Her face went red. It was Adrien. Adrien was calling her right now.

“Marinette? Are you still there?” Adrien’s voice came from the phone.

Marinette stumbled to the ground to pick up.

“Yes Here Marinette is. I mean Yes. Marinette is here. Speaking.” Marinette tripped over her own words. She was caught off guard by the sudden phone call.

Why was he calling? Was he going to say that he changed his mind about what he said earlier? Or was he calling because he doesn't want to wait that long and start dating now? Marinette had to shake those thoughts out of her head.

“Oh good. I was wondering if you were busy Friday after school? I am going to have a tv interview and it would be really cool if you could come along. You won't be on camera or anything if you don’t want to be. You can be right by the set.” Adrien explained.

“Really?! Yea, Yes. Free am I. I am free then.” Marinette corrected herself. She mentally told her self to relax. She was able to regain composure.

“Awesome! Oh, just so you know. Nathalie said I can only bring one person so It will just be the two of us and my bodyguard, is that alright with you?” Adrien questioned, Speaking a bit faster then normal, if Marinette wasn’t so nervous she might have noticed. “If it isn’t that is totally fine to. I am sure Nino would go if I asked.”

This boy was going to kill her. Just the two of them. Her and Adrien on Friday after school. Well sure there would be a studio with a bunch of people, but out of everyone he could have invited, he chose her. She was his first pick. Her heart felt like it was trying to burst out of her chest.

“Thats fine with me. Is there a dress code? Do I need to...”

“I was going straight to the interview from school so I will be in my school clothes so I wouldn't worry, besides you always look great so even if they do put you on camera for a bit you will be fine.” Adrien assured. “So its not a big deal if you were to come Into-view”

Marinette couldn't help but giggle at the word play, he sounded so sweet and endearing.

“Thanks for the heads up, I wouldn't want to put your choice in guests into Question.” Marinette punned back. She mentally slapped herself. That was such a bad joke there is no way he found that funny. That stupid cat is rubbing off on her.

To her surprise, Adrien laughed at her joke, Marinette could swear there was no sound the rang as sweet.

I will give that cat macaroons later Marinette mentally noted for later for his influence.

“I will explain any details I find out tomorrow. Have a good night, Marinette.” Adrien said after he finished laughing.

“You too. Good night Adrien.” Marinette practically swooned after she hung up.

The ladybug Kwami smiling.

“I believe that went well.” Tikki encouraged.

Marinette moved to her bed and fell back on it, clearly dazed and excited.

“He wants me to go with him to his interview. I was his first choice. It will be amazing...”

Tikki sighed with soft smile. Its a good thing Marinette finished those shirts and her homework earlier, it was clear no other work was gonna be done tonight. She wondered what Marinette’s reaction will be tomorrow.

_______________________________________________________________________

Adrien hung up his phone with a giddy grin on his face akin to the one he wears as Chat noir. She does like puns, another point for the legitimacy of the app. 

“She said she was fine with it.” Adrien told his kwami as the cat consumed a piece of camembert.

“Congrats Romeo, you asked her out on a date.” Plagg commented casually.

Adrien felt his cheeks flush and his grin shifted.

“It isn't a date.”

“Sounds like a date. Not that I care.”

“It really isn't a date. It is just Marinette and I going to an interview I am gonna have. There will be a bunch of people there and It isn't like it will be just the two of us.” Adrien explained.

“Aren’t most areas filled with people?” Plagg pointed out.

“Well yes but I mean...”

“And if it isn't a date, why didn't you just text her like a normal teen? You went out of your way to call her.” Plagg rubbed in. He had a satisfied smirk watching Adrien get close to Ladybug levels of flustered over Marinette. Plagg desperately wanted to tell the boy, but he held in the urge by chomping down on some cheese.

Adrien was about to comment but his blush only became more apparent.

“Maybe its a tiny bit like a quarter date. maybe a third of a date.”

“Math is your worst subject kid and what your saying isn't adding up.” Plagg countered. He decided to to twist the knife a bit more seeing Adrien get more red.

Adrien knew he wasn't getting anywhere. 

He didn't know why this was making him all flustered. Sure Marinette had always been a sweet friend. Sure she had always been cute and kind. But now just thinking about her made him nervous. Like seeing Ladybug without his mask on. Ever since he saw that compatibility score and started thinking about her as more then a friend, it was like a gate in his head that was holding these thoughts and feelings about her had swung open and the door couldn't be closed, and he wasn't sure if he wanted it closed. It all sort of clicked and the more Adrien thought about it, the more he liked the idea of him and Marinette.

“Anyway, it will be nice to have her come along. I am sure everything will go great, and Marinette will have a good time.” Adrien moved past his petty discussion with the cat. 

“I am sure it will all go smoothly for you. I don't see Anything possibly going wrong.” Plagg sarcastically retorted.

“If something goes wrong now, I am not ordering you the camembert.”

“Kwami Abuse!”

_____________________________________________________________________

Still 100%

That thought made him feel warm as he walked into the school on that Thursday morning. He had answered the daily questions as soon as he was out of bed. He practically melded his eyes to the screen as he waited for the results. His 100% compatibility with Marinette was unchanged.

He also noticed that Kagami slid down to 80%, but she hadn't updated her profile yet so it could change later. But he was more concerned with the top spot.

Adrien arrived to class. He made his way to his seat, where he noticed Nino listening to music. 

He sits down and nudges Nino playfully. The Dj turns to him and pauses his music.

“Hey dude, you seem in a good mood.” Nino greeted as he moved his headphones to his neck.

“Are those new?” Adrien inquired as he looked at the cooler, sleeker designed headphones that looked in a lot better shape then his previous pair.

“Yup, they were on sale yesterday. Snagged the last one in stock.” Nino bragged. “Half off.”

“Congrats.” Adrien offered a fist bump which Nino accepted.

Adrien took a quick look around to ensure no one in the class was paying attention to him. Alya was outside waiting for Marinette, so Adrien knew he didn't need to worry about any eavesdropping from the ladyblogger.

“So about yesterday... you didn't tell anyone about what I sent you?” Adrien whispered.

Nino’s face showed complete confusion.

“What thing did you send me?” Nino questioned.

“You know...” Adrien leaned in closer. “The compatibility list? You sent me a text about it yesterday.”

It took the hat wearing teen a moment to gather himself.

“Wait you got the app? Who did you get?” Nino inquired.

“Nino. I sent you the list.” Adrien answered. His tone more serious and concerned then before..

“Sorry dude, But I don't know what you're talking about.” Nino responded. The Dj pulled out his phone to show Adrien the texts. Sure enough, the exchange from yesterday was absent.

Adrien was shocked.

“Thats impossible.” Adrien spoke as he pulled out his phone and looked at his messages, it was identical to Nino’s except that the exchange from yesterday was present.

Nino looked at it.

“That is bizarre. Cause I didn't message you yesterday. I know I didnt message you then because that was when I was leaving to go get this.” Nino gestured to his headphones. “I was setting up Chris with someone to watch him just before leaving. “ 

Nino looked closer at Adrien’s phone as if staring at some parallel world.

Adrien was definitely lost. If Nino didn't text him, who did? Who did Nino have watch Chris? Would that person be respon--”

“Holy shit dude!” Nino exclaimed interrupting Adrien’s thoughts. “You got one h...”

Adrien immediately covered Nino’s mouth.

The whole class now looking at the two teens.

Adrien felt embarrassed. 

“He was surprised by my high score in super penguino.” Adrien lied.

The class went with it and decided that Nino’s reaction wasn't important enough to look into. 

‘Thank Kwami for short attention spans’ Adrien thought as he waited for Nino to calm down before removing his hand.

Adrien practically yanked Nino out of the classroom to ensure no one was listening in.

“Dude!” He whispered in shock. “I can't believe you got 100% and with Marinette.” Nino was in shock from seeing the compatibility score in the photo. “I mean I’m not surprised you two scored high, but 100%? That is so choice. I am a bit jealous, I haven’t even gotten 100% with my girlfriend.”

Alya is probably gonna flip when she finds out. Oh man if she finds out and knew that I knew? She might kill me if she finds out from someone else. Nino thought to himself.

“Can we discuss this later? I don't want people finding out about it yet.” Adrien pleaded.

“Why dude? Aren't you happy that Marinette is at the top of the list?”  Nino asked with a bit of worry that Adrien might want to turn the designer down.

“I am happy, more then I thought I would be with anyone. But I don't want people finding out yet.” Adrien replied.

“If you are chill with it then what’s the big...”

“If word gets around that someone has 100% compatibility with me, things could get... complicated. Especially for Marinette.” Adrien interrupted. “You have seen how my fans can get. I don't want to throw Marinette into that if I can avoid it. Not until I know she is fine with this, with me, with everything.”

Nino could see the genuine worry on his friend’s face. He could tell Adrien cared about Marinette. He always knew he did, but now it seemed even clearer then before.

“Okay dude, I won't tell a soul. Except I might need to tell Alya, She will want to know.” Nino responded.

“Yes, you can tell Alya only. As long as she swears not to tell anyone.” 

“I will swear her to secrecy.” Nino assured.

“Thanks Nino. But that brings up the question, if you didn't text me, then who did?”

“I couldn't tell you. Maybe someone hacked your phone. The only person that had access to my phone yesterday was me and...” Nino’s expression shifted as he made a realization. 

But that couldn’t be right, why would she have an interest in the list? She told me earlier that she wasn’t into Adrien. But then again, there was that picture that was sent to everyone from Adrien’s phone of her kissing his cheek. But she assured me that it was platonic. Something isn’t adding up. She was the only other person that had access to my phone. So who else could it be?

“Who had access to your phone?” Adrien inquired, snapping his friend out of his thoughts.

“I think I might know who sent those texts. But I don’t know why she did it?”

“She? Nino who was it?” Adrien questioned.

“So you know how I needed someone to watch Chris?”

“Yeah?”

“And Normally I would have asked Marinette but she was busy with her commissions and Alya was watching her big sis’ match so...”

______________________________________________________________________

A car pulled up by the park where a certain brunette was sitting and had been waiting. The car window rolls down to reveal a bespectacled man with styled hair and a stern look. The fashion mogul Gabriel Agreste was sitting in the car.

“You better have a good excuse for calling for this meeting Miss Rossi. You are aware of how busy I am.”  The man sternly commented.

“I swear it is important Mr. Agreste. Adrien’s reputation and his safety are at stake.” Lila responded.

“How so?”

“Adrien’s delinquent classmates have gotten him mixed up in a scandalous app that has him put information about himself and meeting up with strangers.” Lila spun her web of lies.

Gabriel took her words with a grain of salt, but decided to humor her as this would likely be useful once she was finished trying to make herself look good.

“Are you certain of this?”

“I am. Adrien showed me a picture of the app. I tried to tell him that nothing good would come of taking part in such a nasty thing, but he wouldn't listen. His classmates have sold him on taking part of it.” Lila lied. “You need to have him delete that horrible app, nothing good will come of it, it will just have more people trying to take advantage of Adrien for his money, status and looks.”

“She seems to be Projecting on to others master.” Nooru whispered only loud enough for Gabriel to hear. Gabriel nodded, he was losing his patience with the liar. Clearly she had been wasting his time. He motioned for the purple kwami to stay hidden before responding to Lila.

“I see, so tell me. What is the name of this app?” Gabriel questioned.

Lila froze for a second. She had thought she would not have needed to tell Mr.Agreste.

“...Soulmate Searcher...” Lila confessed.

Gabriel’s disappointment shifted into intrigue. He remembered that app. It was the cause of despair for the recent Akuma he had made, as well as other cases of despair that he was planing to use later. So his own son was using that app.

“Very well, I will look into the matter. Thank you for the information Miss Rossi.” Gabriel dismissed. Leaving an uncertain brunette on the park bench.

“Nathalie, look into this app and tell me everything you can find out about this ‘Soulmate Searcher.’ Perhaps Lila has given us another useful nugget of information to use.” Gabriel stated.

“I will be sure to do so.” His glasses wearing assistant nodded as she drove the car back to the mansion. “Do you really believe Lila was being honest about the app?”

“I doubt most of what she stated held merit. My son is not such a fool as to take part in deviant behavior. Even if Adrien was taking part in the app it is likely not as she described it. But that app was the cause of my recent akuma, it definetly has some sway over Paris. It will be something that can be of use. Gabriel answered calmly.

This information was definitely of great use. I can feel that this might be the start to getting the edge over those two heroes that have eluded me. Soon their miraculous will be mine and I will have my Soulmate back. Gabriel thought to himself as his face revealed a Hawkmoth-Esqu smile.

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Part 6 is finished I am loving all of this awesome feedback and you guys keep me inspired to keep writing this.

If you want part 7, please let me know. I love seeing those notes and comments, It really feeds my impulsive need to write. And I am just gonna say it.