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tell me something i don't know

Summary:

Do you think it still means something? To love someone, even if the universe said you had to?

The odds of having a soulmate are about negative one billion (or something like that). But somehow, like they always have, Marinette and Chat Noir find themselves together. They’re ready to finally tell each other everything, but it turns out that even soulmates have to keep secrets, and they can only be together if they vow never to touch.

Notes:

This AU takes place a little in the future from present canon, so Marinette and Adrien are 17 and have been superheroes for a few years. Everything that has happened in canon has happened in this universe except for Miracle Queen, so Master Fu is still the Guardian and the hero squad’s identities have not been exposed.

This fic will alternate between chat chapters and normal prose chapters. The prose chapters will always be set in the “present” of the fic, whereas the chat chapters will always be from past conversations. The note at the top will say how far in the past it was.

Thanks to my sister mozzys_studio for encouraging me to do this since i am lazy and weak and never commit to multichaps lol

Chapter 1: negative one billion

Summary:

Do you think it means something? To love someone, if the universe said you had to?

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

3 months ago

00:46

marinettedesigned

u up?

notchatnoir

thinking of me? 😘

marinettedesigned

-_-

notchatnoir

what’s on your mind, princess

marinettedesigned

ok first you have to promise you won’t make fun of me

notchatnoir

that’s not fair. u can’t make me promise that ahead of time

marinettedesigned

fine then good night

notchatnoir

ok ok!! I PAWmise

marinettedesigned

ok

i’ve been thinking about...soulmates

notchatnoir:

...

oh?

:)

:))

:)))

marinettedesigned

NOT YOU

just like, in general

notchatnoir

ok, what about them

marinettedesigned

nvm, it’s stupid

notchatnoir

aw, come on

I didn’t even get the chance to not make fun of you

marinettedesigned

well it’s not like i’ll even have one so there’s no point talking about it

notchatnoir

you might tho

marinettedesigned

my friend max says the statistical probability of having a soulmate is like negative one billion

notchatnoir

that doesn’t even make sense

that’s just. not how statistics work. lol

marinettedesigned

whatever!! the point is, im not going to have a soulmate. end of story.

so no need to catastrophize about it

notchatnoir

HA

CATastrophize

marinettedesigned

that was unintentional

notchatnoir

sure, sure

but why would you even be worried about it? it’s a good thing ?

marinettedesigned

is it? it just doesn’t seem right

notchatnoir

wym

America explain

marinettedesigned

idk, the idea that the universe is the one that picks who you love

instead of you picking for yourself

notchatnoir

i don’t see it that way

marinettedesigned

ok well how do you see it then

notchatnoir

i think a soulmate connection is different from love

marinettedesigned

??

notchatnoir

i mean, you can love someone who isn’t your soulmate, right? most people do, since soulmates are so rare anyway

so the soulmate bond has to be something different from love

marinettedesigned

i guess?

but i mean you still don’t pick your soulmate

you just click and you don’t get a say in who it is

doesn’t that seem weird? Or wrong?

notchatnoir

not really

marinettedesigned

not even a little??

ii mean, if i had a soulmate who could feel my emtions just by touching me then i’d want it to be someone *i* picked, wouldn’t you??

i don’t think i could ever handle a connection like that with a total stranger

UGH just thinking about it stresses me out

notchatnoir

well, it woulndt necessarily be a stranger

as far as i understand, it’s just a random moment. it doesn’t have to be the first time you touch or anything

so it could be someone you know

marinettedesigned

ok regardless

it still would be someone you didn’t pick

imagine if you clicked with someone terrible!! like chloe. Or LILA. gross

notchatnoir

ha. don’t worry, that’s not gonna happen

marinettedesigned

you don’t know that

there’s still at least a negative one billion chance

notchatnoir

no way. the universe isn’t that cruel

marinettedesigned

it’s cruel enough to make you break my lucky hair tie

notchatnoir

oml I SAID I WAS SORRY

can’t you forgive me??

i’ll get you a new one

marinettedesigned

never

the lucky hair tie is not replaceable

thenperish.png

notchatnoir

Ugh, you act like that hair tie was your soulmate

marinettedesigned

maybe it was

and that’s why i feel so empty inside now that it’s gone

sad_cowboy.jpg

notchatnoir

marinette please

marinettedesigned changed the channel name: boulevard of broken hair ties

notchatnoir

really

marinettedesigned

I walk a lonely road

the only one that i have ever known

🤧

notchatnoir

come on, stop deflecting

i know something is still bothering you

(OTHER than the lucky hair tie, i mean)

marinettedesigned

ugh. fine

idk

You know how i am

I overthink things

I guess the idea of having a soulmate just freaks me out

notchatnoir

I get how it might be scary

To share everything with someone without really having any privacy

marinettedesigned

Maybe that’s it? Im not sure what exactly it is about it but...

I don’t think want it

A soulmate, i mean

notchatnoir

I do

Honestly, not havign secrets sounds so nice

I hate having to keep things from people i care about

marinettedesigned

Im sorry, chat

That must be hard

notchatnoir

yeah :/

but it’s ok. comes with the mask

marinettedesigned

I definitely understnad why that would appeal to you but tbh I still don’t get it

notchatnoir

Don’t get what

marinettedesigned

how you have so much faith in the soulmates thing

Do you think it still means something? To love someone, even if the universe said you had to?

or, not love, but...whatever you want to call it, i guess

notchatnoir

I think it still means something

im not sure we ever really choose who we fall in love with, soulmates or not

but we choose how to love them. and that’s the same, right?

marinettedesigned

I guess

notchatnoir

Well, have you ever been in love before?

marinettedesigned

…..yeah

notchatnoir

so did you choose to fall in love?

marinettedesigned

i guess not

it just sort of...happened

notchatnoir

Same

marinettedesigned

when you fell in love with ladybug?

notchatnoir

Yeah

I didn’t choose to fall for her, but i did choose to love her

Does that make sense?

marinettedesigned

Sort of

notchatnoir

what i mean is that i chose to keep loving her. to keep hoping. and keep trying.

marinettedesigned

right...

sorry, am i being too nosy?? you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to

notchatnoir

nah

I mean, i’ve never exactly been subtle about it lol

besides, i don’t mind talking about stuff like that with you

it’s like one of the few personal things i can talk about without compromising my identity

marinettedesigned

right

so,,,

are you still in love with her?

(you don’t have to answer)

notchatnoir

honestly, i think i’ll always love ladybug

but it’s not the same as it used to be. she made it clear she didn’t feel the same way, and i guess eventually i learned to give her the space she wanted

and that made us grow closer in a different way. but it also changed a lot

marinettedesigned

oh.

how so?

notchatnoir

well, like i said, you choose how to love, right? so i guess i chose to love her a different way

like, more at a distance. still there, still steady, but not as painful? because i wasn’t wishing for something i knew i couldn’t have

i moved on, i guess. Not from loving her, but from loving her that way

I just kind of learned to be satisfied with what i did have. And be happy with her friendship

did any of that make sense haha

marinettedesigned

actually, yeah

I understand exactly what you mean

notchatnoir

dont get me wrong- i’d be thrilled if ladybug turned out to be my soulmate

but if im being honest

if i had a choice

there’s someone else i’d choose

marinettedesigned

really?

who??

notchatnoir

can’t tell you

marinettedesigned

yeah,,,

I know.

notchatnoir

sorry, i feel like this didn’t help you at all

marinettedesigned

no, it did. I think.

but it’s all irrelevant anyway

neither us is going to have a soulmate

notchatnoir

right

negative one billion chance lol

but you know, if it makes you feel better, you don’t have to have a soulmate

marinettedesigned

what do you mean

notchatnoir

well the click only happens with skin to skin contact, right? so u just have to make sure u never touch anyone ever. lol

marinettedesigned

ha. thanks

helpful advice

notchatnoir

and even if you do click with someone you still don’t have to be with them

i’ve heard that if you don’t nurture the connection then it weakens

so you could starve it on purpose. just let it die

marinettedesigned

that sounds mean :(

notchatnoir

well, the point is that you always have a choice

the universe cant make you love someone if you dont want to love them

marinettedesigned

right

notchatnoir

I guess that’s the real reason i have faith in the soulmates thing

I know how i’ve chosen to love, and i trust that if something is meant to be, it’s because i chose a certain path, not because that path chose me

marinettedesigned

that makes like 12% sense i guess

but you know it sounds really cheesy, right

notchatnoir

obviously

have you met me

marinettedesigned

Unfortunately :/

well, i hope you and mr. banana are very happy together, then <3

notchatnoir

hahahaha

we’ll both be wearing an MDC original down the aisle ✌️

marinettedesigned

sorry, i dont make costumes for furries

or fruities

notchatnoir

:( cant believe you’re gonna make me look like garbage at my wedding wearing some crusty gabriel design. smh

marinettedesigned

hey! gabriel is good

notchatnoir

press x to doubt

he’s ok ig

but he’s got nothing on rising fashion star marinette dupain cheng

marinettedesigned

💜

well maybe i’ll make an exception

since you are such a master of the art of flattery

but it’ll cost extra

notchatnoir

no friends and family discount?

or like a heroes discount?

marinettedesigned

nope

im running a business, not a charity

notchatnoir

well then it’s a good thing i’m loaded

marinettedesigned

pffffft. sure

notchatnoir

how do you know im not

maybe i’m as rich as your friend adrien

marinettedesigned

Lol okay. He has a climbing wall in his ROOM

notchatnoir

sounds lame

marinettedesigned

and a zipline

and a fullsize basketball hoop

notchatnoir

yeah and??

is that supposed 2 impress me

it doesn’t sound nearly as cool as your room

marinettedesigned

my room is like 1/100 the size of adrien’s lol

notchatnoir

so? it’s cozy. and it has twinkle lights

i like them they remind me of little fairies

marinettedesigned

you’re such a dork

notchatnoir

i believe the word you’re looking for is “super sauve super charming super LOADED super hero”

marinettedesigned

so suave that you cant even spell suave huh

crap how is it almost 2

we have school tomorrow. ugh

sorry i kept you up

notchatnoir

no worries. cats are primarily nocturnal

marinettedesigned

unfurtunately so are marinettes

which is very bad when they have to get up early for school every day

notchatnoir

wait

was that a typo or did you make a cat pun

marinettedesigned

i don’t know what you’re talking about 😽

okay goodnight <3 thanks for talking with me

I feel a lot better

notchatnoir

glad to hear it

marinettedesigned

and for the record

if you did have a soulmate

(hypothetically)

they’d be really lucky to have you

notchatnoir

thanks

your hypotehtical soulmate is also very lucky

marinettedesigned

💕

alright, see you friday

notchatnoir

hang on

are there going to be pastries

I refuse to come if there’s no pastries

marinettedesigned

oh no

we’re all out of pastries, sorry :(

notchatnoir

u live in a bakery

marinettedesigned

yeah, a really good one

we’re all sold out

notchatnoir

so it’s more like a fake-ery, huh

marinettedesigned

2/10 for effort

-1 billion/10 for terribleness

notchatnoir

rude

marinettedesigned

<3

notchatnoir

ok but are there really not gonna be treats

marinettedesigned

chat, when have i ever not fed u

ofc there will be treats

notchatnoir

yay

marinettedesigned

altho i am offended that you don’t think my presence is a treat enough

notchatnoir

Of course it is

besides, i bring a snack every time i come

myself 😌

marinettedesigned

ight_imma_head_out_spongebob.jpg

good night for real this time

notchatnoir

sweet dreams, princess ❤️

Notes:

ty for stopping by to give this fic a shot! <33 if you choose to read on, please be aware that there is a fair bit of angst ahead D: i do try to mix in as much fluff/humor as i can throughout, though! I just felt like i needed to include a little warning bc i feel bad when people comment on this chapter and then are not prepared for the next one sdlkdjafljk