the next time around

by bugboys

Summary:

Marinette catches a glimpse of someone, jumping instinctively before realizing that she’s looking at a mirror—and she doesn’t recognise what she sees.

“Tikki,” she breathes, words moving around her lips but barely making a sound. “What is this? W-who am I? When am I?

“You are still Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Tikki says calmly. “You are still Ladybug, and you are still the Guardian of the Miraculous. You’ve just woken up ten years later.”

Or: Marinette wakes up in the body of her 24-year-old self in 2025, left to figure out how to get back to her own timeline while navigating the many confusing changes that come with the future. Back in 2015, Adrien finds himself face-to-face with an older, stronger, and more confident version of the Ladybug he's always been in love with.

Chapter 1

Notes:

hello!! this is my first contribution to miraculous ficdom after 10 years of watching this show (its been a long time coming). the concept is inspired by one of my favourite fics of all time by ao3 user shaekspeares. i simply could not get the image of 14 year old marinette & adrien being absolutely enamored with their older counterparts out of my head, and this fic was born <3

imagine this as a rough offshoot from early season 5, right after monarch gets all the other miraculous but before adrien & marinette start dating :)

thank u to kaia for editing this fic and always supporting me in my insane agendas. and naturally, thank u to lovesquare for being idiots and married

In time, I'll belong to you
That's how it's meant to be, and how it's always been
(Little Joy, “The Next Time Around”)

 

Marinette blinks sleepily, grateful at how comfortable her bed feels after yesterday’s late night. None of her alarms have gone off yet, but she can feel sunlight hit the back of her eyelids, so she gives herself ten more minutes to keep her eyes shut. 

She turns on her side, reaching out for her second pillow—only for her hand to brush against something warm and solid. 

She stills. Marinette opens her eyes, thoughts still hazy as her vision adjusts to the bright room. Directly in front of her, where there should be a wall with her pinboard full of miscellaneous photos of friends and family, is a very blond, very human, head of hair. 

In a great show of self-restraint, she doesn’t scream. All her senses are immediately on high alert. Her eyes dart around the room, taking in everything and cataloguing the information in her mind. It’s definitely not her room, but it’s her sewing box that she sees on the desk. It’s her little black cat plushie that’s placed right next to it, and it’s her favourite posters that she recognises by the window. 

Some kind of alternate dimension? A trick played by an akumatized villain, maybe? But she’s in her civilian clothes—Marinette’s hands immediately fly up to her earrings, letting out a low sigh of relief when she realises that they’re still there. 

Very, very slowly, taking the greatest care to not disturb the still blond and still human head that was somehow sleeping next to her, Marinette slips out of the bed. Her muscles are tense, hands poised defensively by her sides, expecting a fight any second. She whips her head around, looking for an exit or at least somewhere to hide while she figures things out. She spots what looks like a door to a bathroom and hastily ducks inside. 

“Tikki!” Marinette whispers, not sure where her kwami would even be hiding in this strange room. “Tikki, are you there? Where are you?” 

Silence. Dread creeps up her neck, slow and freezing. “Tikki? I need you!”

“What’s with all the yelling?” comes the familiarly squeaky voice as Tikki phases in through the bathroom door. Marinette could kiss her. “Is something wrong?”

“Oh, thank god,” she breathes out. She opens up her palms for Tikki to sit on, glad that she can at least transform if she needs to. “Tikki, where am I? Do you remember what happened last night? I thought I got rid of the amok in time…” 

Tikki stares at her. “Marinette, are you feeling okay?” 

“I’m so confused, I have no memory of waking up here, the last thing I remember is falling asleep in my bedroom, and there was someone else in the bed with me? What is this place? Am I dreaming? Is this a hallucination created by the Pig Miraculous? What—”

“Marinette,” Tikki interrupts. “How old are you?”

“What?” Now it’s her turn to stare at Tikki. “You know how old I am.”  

“Tell me anyway.” 

“Fourteen,” Marinette says slowly. “Well, fifteen soon, but…”

“Oh no,” Tikki’s eyes grow wide, almost as wide as her entire face. “Oh no, no, no. Marinette, this isn’t good.” 

Well, clearly! Nothing is making any sense. “Tikki, you’re really confusing me. Please just tell me what’s going on.”

“Look behind you.” 

“Tikki, I don’t understand what you’re trying—”

“Just turn around, Marinette.”  

Her brain is still too frazzled to do anything but follow instructions, so she turns. She catches a glimpse of someone in front of her, jumping out of instinct before realizing that she’s simply looking at a mirror—and she doesn’t recognise what she sees. 

The woman in the mirror has longer hair than Marinette does, flowing loosely below her shoulders and ruffled haphazardly from bedhead. Her jaw is more defined, her eyes set more deeply, her shoulders more muscled than Marinette’s have ever been. But even with all their differences, she can’t deny that the face staring back at her is undeniably her own. 

Yet again, she doesn’t scream. 

“Tikki,” Marinette breathes, words moving around her lips but barely making a sound. “What is this? W-who am I? When am I? 

“You are still Marinette Dupain-Cheng,” Tikki says calmly. “You are still Ladybug, and you are still the Guardian of the Miraculous. You’ve just woken up ten years later.” 

Marinette thinks she can feel her brain melting out of her ears. “I…” 

Before she can ask any of the questions barreling around her mind, though, the bathroom door creaks open slowly. Operating on instinct, Marinette closes her fingers around Tikki and hides her hands behind her back. 

“Marinette? Is everything okay? I heard you get out of bed.” 

Her brain is most definitely turning to slush. All the blood drains out of her face when she realises she recognises that voice, when this seemingly unknown person pushes the door open and meets her eyes in the mirror. She would know those eyes anywhere. 

Adrien Agreste stands behind her, expression dripping with concern. His hair is longer too—less clean-cut, more messy than she’s ever seen it—and he’s taller than she remembers. His face is softer, rounder, less hollow and more filled out with age. With age. 

It’s at this point that Marinette’s brain shuts off completely. She sinks to her knees, pulse pounding at a hundred miles per hour as she tries to process everything. An older version of Adrien was in her bed. Or not her bed, but the older Marinette’s bed… or… her head hurts. She vaguely registers Tikki flying out of her hands and saying something to this man who is supposed to be Adrien, who looks nothing like her own Adrien and yet everything like him. Wait. Tikki? 

Marinette almost gives herself whiplash with how fast she looks up at him again. “You know I’m L-Ladybug?” 

Her voice breaks on the last word, still scared to say it out loud, but this older version of Adrien doesn’t seem fazed in the slightest. His frown only deepens. “Yes? Did you get concussed? Do you remember that I’m—”

“THIS IS YOUNG MARINETTE FROM THE PAST IN YOUR MARINETTE’S BODY,” Tikki interrupts, loud enough that Marinette winces at the sound. Adrien’s eyes widen in almost the same way that Tikki’s had just minutes prior. 

Hearing her say it out loud, though, is all it takes for Marinette to go into full-blown panic mode. She squeezes her eyes shut, head falling forwards as she digs her nails into the side of her thighs to try and focus. Her breaths come out short and sporadic, her head is throbbing, and there’s a knot in her throat that makes her feel like she’s about to cry any second. How— how is she supposed to get herself out of this one? 

A hand comes to rest on the top of Marinette’s head, and she sucks in a breath at the unexpected contact. Older Adrien—unrecognisable Adrien, stranger Adrien, gentle Adrien—crouches down next to her. 

“Breathe with me,” he says, in the kind of tone that implies he’s been through this many times before. Great. Even in the future, Marinette can’t stay in control of her anxiety. “Just follow my breathing.” 

So she does, trying to slow down her breaths enough that she can blink away her tears and think clearly. Older Adrien’s eyes don’t move away from hers for even a second. Marinette feels stuck, like a bug caught in amber, but she doesn’t look away either. 

“Okay,” he says at last, when she’s no longer hyperventilating. He moves to sit properly next to her, cross-legged like they’re little kids. “Do you feel ready to talk now?” 

Marinette nods shakily. She feels so stupid—only ten minutes into an unexpected situation and she’s already freaking out instead of trying to fix it. She tries to compose herself, gathering her thoughts together into something cohesive. 

“Last night, I went to bed as Marinette in 2015. And now I’ve woken up in…”

“2025,” Adrien helpfully supplies. “Ten years later. Shit. Wow. Oh, uh. Sorry for saying shit.” 

Despite herself, Marinette snorts. “I’m fourteen, not four.” 

Older Adrien looks amused at that, and Marinette is vaguely embarrassed to be defending her age to someone so much older. 

“So, what reckless activity got your fourteen-year-old self in this situation to begin with? Akuma attack? Patrol with Chat Noir?” 

“It was a sen— Chat Noir !” Marinette gasps, cutting herself off. “Chat Noir! He’s bound to know something, right? What if he was switched too? We were fighting together yesterday, it’s possible that it’s my Chat Noir wandering around in this world instead of the 2025 Chat…”

Marinette doesn’t notice Adrien and Tikki exchange a look, too caught up in the theory web she’s spinning out. “If we were both affected by the same kind of superpower, then I need to reach out to him.” She turns to face Adrien. “Do you know who he is, too?” 

“Um…” He avoids her eyes. “No, that’s just between you and him.” 

“Oh.” Marinette is disappointed, though she doesn’t know why she would expect Adrien to know her partner’s secret identity as well. “Probably for the better, if Monarch’s still out there and all.” 

“Monarch isn’t… a problem, anymore.” 

Marinette’s eyes widen. “What? How did we—actually, nevermind, don’t tell me anything else. Time travel rules and all that. Wait, will I remember everything if—when I go back to my time? If this already happened in the past, then shouldn’t you remember how we solved it?”

The last part of her ramble was directed at Tikki this time, who looked almost as helpless as Marinette felt. She’d never seen her kwami at such a loss before. “I’m sorry, Marinette… I wish I could help you more. I’m just as confused as you are.”

“That’s fine, it’s not your fault,” says Marinette. “I just have to get in contact with Chat. I’m sure he knows something. Tikki, spots—”

“Wait!” Adrien and Tikki stop her in unison. Older Adrien looks especially flustered, and Marinette wonders if there’s some kind of tension between him and Chat in this future world. She hopes not. 

“Let’s just spend some time getting the facts straight, first,” Adrien suggests, and Tikki nods in agreement. “We shouldn’t rush into things. How about we make a list of everything we know, and then see where to go from there?” 

He’s right. Obviously he’s right, because that’s exactly the kind of advice that Marinette would have given herself if she wasn’t so out of it right then. God, she really needs to get a grip and focus. 

“Yeah, of course,” Marinette says. “Sorry, I’m just not thinking straight.”

Adrien’s face softens. “You just woke up in the future, I don’t think anyone would be thinking straight. You don’t have to be so hard on yourself. Tikki and I are here to help you.”

She returns his smile, even if she can’t bring herself to believe his words. “Thanks.” 

He gets up from the floor in one clean movement, putting out a hand for Marinette to get up with him. She takes it without thinking. It’s only after they’re back in the room and Adrien still hasn’t let go of her hand that the blood rushes to Marinette’s face. She hastily pulls her hand away. 

Right. She’s been doing a great job ignoring the elephant in the room. Not only did she wake up in the future, she woke up in the future in the same bed as Adrien Agreste. Now that Marinette isn’t operating purely on survival instinct, she glances around at the rest of the room—the well-stocked shelf of video games, the movie posters of Émilie Agreste. In the same bed as Adrien Agreste, in a room that they clearly share. The same bed, the same room, and the same future. 

Which is fine. Which could mean nothing. Which is very much not her problem right now, because she has much bigger problems to worry about, and if she spends any time thinking about this problem, her brain will go into overdrive and melt out of her ears all over again. She’s still shocked (and proud) at the fact that she can speak to older Adrien in complete sentences without making an utter fool of herself, and she doesn’t want to jinx that now. 

She’s pulled away from her thoughts when Adrien wheels out a whiteboard, almost exactly like the one that Marinette has in her bedroom to use when she needs to theorize about Monarch. Or make plans to ask out Adrien. ( Her Adrien, not this one. Well. Not her Adrien, since he doesn’t belong to her—okay, focus, Marinette! ) 

There’s already something drawn on the board, some kind of interconnected web with confusing arrows and lines suggesting that there was more sleuthing going on here. Adrien moves to erase it before she can read anything, but Marinette is still curious. 

“If Monarch isn’t a problem anymore, are there still supervillains in Paris? What kind of things is this Ladybug investigating?”

“Well, I definitely can’t tell you those things without messing up some kind of time travel rule,” Adrien says, laughing. “It’s not as high stakes as it was when we were fourteen, but Paris still needs u—” he breaks off with a cough. “Needs Ladybug and Chat Noir.” 

Marinette sighs. “I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything else.” 

Adrien looks like he’s about to say something, but changes his mind. He turns to the whiteboard instead. 

“Right,” he begins, pulling out a whiteboard marker. “What we know: you were in a fight last night, and you woke up in the future. What do you remember about the akumatized villain?”

“It wasn’t an akuma,” Marinette says, trying to recall everything that had happened. Her memory usually wasn’t this hazy. “It was a sentimonster, a cloud that rained tears. Anyone who was hit by the tears was reminded of their deepest regrets.”

Adrien clicks his teeth, muttering a “yikes” as he gets to writing on the whiteboard.

Tikki looks back at Marinette. “You said you purified the amok, earlier. Do you remember where it was?”

“I…” Marinette frowns. “I don’t know, I can’t remember… Everything feels so blurry. ”

When she searches her memories, all she can remember is the satisfaction of winning another fight. She can see the cloud sentimonster dissipating into vapour in front of her eyes—but how did it get there? 

“That’s okay,” Tikki reassures her. “This is probably a side effect of the time travel. If you were hit by some kind of superpower, then it might have messed with your memories, too.” 

It sounds believable enough, but something tells Marinette that it’s not the full story. It had been an unnecessarily long fight; both her and Chat were tired beyond belief by the end. It would have been easy for Monarch to take advantage of their exhaustion. 

“I used my Lucky Charm,” she recalls, trying to make sense of what little information she has. “I used the magical ladybugs to fix everything afterwards. Chat and I fist-bumped and I headed straight home.”

Adrien taps the marker against his chin. “Do you know if you were followed by someone, as Ladybug?”

Marinette shakes her head again. “I don’t think so… I can’t be one hundred percent certain, but I’m pretty sure I wasn’t. If it was Monarch’s doing, he would’ve just taken my Miraculous.” 

“That’s true.” Adrien’s still fiddling with the marker. It reminds Marinette of how she schemes with Alya, coming up with crazy theories and trying to track down Monarch. She’s glad that future Marinette has more than just one person she can talk to about her superhero duties. “Do you think it’s someone other than Monarch?”

“I don’t know,” she says again. Marinette is getting extremely tired of repeating those words. “I think it has something to do with the sentimonster.”

She moves closer to the whiteboard, pointing at where Adrien had drawn a sad cloud with tears streaming from its face. There’s two arrows next to it, saying “defeated” and “amok?” 

“There’s only two ways a sentimonster can cease to exist, right?” Marinette taps the drawing. “One is if we break the object containing the amok and purify the feather. And the other is if the Peacock Miraculous owner releases it from existence.” 

Tikki tilts her head. “Are you saying that Monarch is the one who got rid of the sentimonster? Why would he do that?” 

“What if the sentimonster was just a distraction from his real plan?”

Adrien quickly writes that on the whiteboard. 

“What if,” Marinette continues, growing increasingly more panicked again, “Monarch was setting up a trap using the sentimonster, and we never noticed the real villain? He did this before, with Risk… and I just fell for it all over again.” 

How could she have been so stupid? The same tricks… the same patterns… she should have seen it coming. 

“It’s not your fault, Marinette.” Adrien fixes her with a sad little look, like he can tell exactly what she’s thinking. It’s unsettling. Her Adrien is usually more oblivious to her feelings. “Monarch is manipulative and cunning. Your Chat Noir didn’t realise it was a trap, either.” 

But I’m supposed to be the Ladybug, she thinks helplessly. I’m supposed to fix everything. I’m not supposed to fall for the same trick twice. 

It’s fine. Marinette doesn’t have time for self-pity. She has a problem to solve. 

“So if the sentimonster wasn’t the real target, then there must have been an akumatized villain hiding somewhere whom we somehow didn’t notice. But what kind of powers would even have caused…” 

She trails off, zoning in on a word that Adrien had written on the whiteboard and underlined: regrets . 

“The tears from the cloud made people think of their biggest regrets,” she realises. “That’s probably the emotion that led to its creation, and the emotion that let Monarch akumatize this person in the first place! If they were dealing with past regrets, then it completely makes sense for them to have time travel powers.” 

Adrien lets out a low whistle. “Even at fourteen, you’re smarter than every single person I know.” 

Marinette blushes furiously—there’s that sense of vague embarrassment again, except this time its from being complimented by an older version of Adrien. She sees Tikki smiling at her from the corner of her eye. 

“Um, thanks,” she mumbles, trying valiantly not to get distracted. “But why would the akuma send me to the future ? To this time, to 2025 specifically?”

“Maybe it was an accident? It could just be a random time, out of the akumatized person’s control,” Adrien suggests. 

“That doesn’t make any sense, Monarch doesn’t do accidents .” 

“Monarch doesn’t, but his victims do,” he reminds her. “He can’t maintain as much control over them as he would like to. It’s entirely possible that their powers didn’t work as they wanted them to, or maybe they just made a mistake.” 

“Maybe,” Marinette echoes. It doesn’t seem right to her that there could be such an easy explanation for it.  

“The real thing we need to worry about right now is how we’re going to get you back into your time,” Adrien continues, tapping the writing on the whiteboard that says 14 year old Marinette??? “Don’t get me wrong, it’s very cute to see you acting like your teenage self again, but I would like my real girlfriend back.” 

Marinette almost chokes on her own spit, coughing herself into a near fit as the blood rushes to her cheeks all over again. Adrien stifles a laugh. 

“You have to be slow with her,” Tikki admonishes him, flying around his head like a bug. “You remember how easily flustered she was when you were teenagers!” 

“I can also hear what you’re saying, Tikki! ” Marinette hisses. “Me, flustered? Never! I’ve never heard of such a thing! I’m chill, and calm, and cucumber as a cool.” She pauses. “Cool as a cucumber.” 

“Oh, for sure,” Adrien nods seriously. “That’s why you’re reacting so normally. I’m sure you figured it out as soon as you woke up.”

Well, she had been giving herself the benefit of the doubt, but there was no doubting it now. She lets her burning cheeks answer for her. 

Adrien side-eyes her. “Unless you thought that your older self and I were just platonic roommates?”

Marinette squeaks. Tikki glares at Adrien, crossing her tiny arms as if to say, Well? 

“Okay, okay, I’ll stop teasing,” Adrien surrenders, but he’s still grinning. “Sorry, Marinette. It’s not every day that you get to meet your girlfriend’s teenage self all over again.” 

He’s so different from the Adrien she knows—she can’t ever imagine her Adrien fooling around like this, trying to fluster her on purpose. It actually reminds her of someone else she knows, someone completely poles apart from Adrien. 

“Glad we addressed that,” Marinette finally manages, fighting to keep her composure. She knows that this version of Adrien has already seen her at her worst, but she still can’t fight the nagging urge to try and impress him. “Very cool. And awesome.” 

She gives him a thumbs-up. He returns it with equal finesse. Marinette most definitely will not spend the rest of her days reliving this very moment and drowning in the secondhand embarrassment. 

“To answer your question,” she says, desperate to change the subject and cool her permanently flushed cheeks, “I don’t even know what we could do from this side of the timeline to fix things. All the problems happened in 2015.”

Adrien raises an eyebrow. “Do you think that what happened to you happened to my Marinette, too? She got switched with her younger self?” 

“That… makes the most sense.” Marinette stares at her feet. She can’t imagine what it would be like for her 24 year old self to wake up in her childhood bedroom again. “I guess she would be on her way to figuring out the same things, then.” 

“We could always call on Bunnyx for help,” Tikki chimes in. 

Marinette’s head whips back up again. She’d gotten so used to operating without the other heroes by her side that she’d completely forgotten using different Miraculous was an option.

“Bunnyx is still around? And the other Miraculous, they’re—they’re still there?” 

“Of course they are, Marinette,” Tikki says, smiling. “You’re the best Guardian in the world, after all.”

Relief crashes through her like a wave. She isn’t an utter failure in the future, at least. And now she knows that there’s a way out of whatever situation she’ll find herself in when she gets back to her own time. 

“Let’s go, then,” says Marinette, strengthened with newfound resolve. “I can transform and give her a message, explain the situation… she’s helped me and my Chat Noir before, so she’ll be familiar with me, at least.” 

Adrien shakes his head. “Not right now. You need food and rest. ” 

“We need to resolve this as soon as possible—”

“It can still wait a few hours,” Adrien insists. “I’m sure that if my Marinette is on the other side, she’s already working overtime, and I’m not there to make sure that she takes a break in between everything. I’m at least going to make sure that you are well-rested.” 

“But—”

“It’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll text Bunnyx myself and let her know we need her help. But you need to eat.” 

Marinette feels properly chastised, like getting a scolding from an older kid in school. Half of her is annoyed that he’s stopping her from doing her job, but the other half is oddly grateful that someone is looking out for her like this. 

She’s about to thank Adrien when she realises what he’d just said. She stares at him. “You know Bunnyx but not Chat Noir?” 

He startles, caught off-guard. “Oh. Right, well, I’m only allowed to know a few identities, anyways… And you know, it’s dangerous for anyone to know both Ladybug and Chat Noir’s identities…” 

Marinette narrows her eyes. “But that’s only because of Monarch. You said he wasn’t a problem anymore.” 

“It’s not that serious, I promise! I already knew Alix, you both trust me, it makes sense that I know who she is in case of any emergencies.”

“Do you and Chat Noir… not get along?” 

Adrien blinks at her. For a second, Marinette thinks he’s going to get mad at her, but he just starts laughing instead. 

“Let’s save the crazy conspiracy theories for fighting villains, mi—Marinette,” he says between laughs. “There’s no problems between me and Chat Noir, I promise. Now let’s get you some breakfast.”

Marinette still doesn’t fully believe him, but she drops it for now and lets Adrien guide her to the kitchen. She pauses to admire the rest of the apartment on the way, catching glimpses of a life that isn’t hers—but could be, if she does everything right. 

Adrien doesn’t ask her what she wants to eat; he moves around the kitchen like he already knows what she needs. It’s an easy kind of intimacy, the kind of domestic life she’s dreamed of for so long. Marinette can’t believe she’s feeling jealous of herself. 

She sneaks a look at Adrien when she thinks he isn’t looking, giving herself the time to properly take it all in. It’s been an insanely stressful morning already—she’s had a panic attack, multiple freakouts, and she still doesn’t know how she’s getting out of this situation. She has no plan whatsoever. 

And yet, there’s still a little part of her mind that’s running around in circles and yelling, that’s my boyfriend! Teehee! My boyfriend in the future in real life! Adrien Agreste is going to be my boyfriend! 

Oh, well. There’s definitely worse future timelines to be body swapped into. 

Notes:

come talk to me on tumblr!!! chapter updates to come every week, hopefully :-)

Chapter 2

Summary:

“I’m not Ladybug,” she starts. Adrien tenses up for a brief second, expecting a fight, but he waits for her to continue. “At least, I’m not your Ladybug. I’m from the future.”

Notes:

& we're finally meeting adrien! there's a time skip of about a day between the last chapter and this one.

Mondays are by far Adrien’s favourite day of the week. No fencing lessons, no Chinese lessons, and finally a chance to leave behind the festering environment of his house by escaping to school. This weekend had been particularly lonely—his father had dragged him to a last-minute press conference so Adrien had to cancel his plans with Nino, and Ladybug never showed up for their nightly patrol on Sunday. 

(Which is fine, and he’s not going to hold it against her or anything, because he knows that things are hard enough for her as it is. He’s seen how the Guardian duties have taken a toll on her. He doesn’t want to be something else that she’s obliged to feel responsible for. He just… misses her.) 

The point being: Adrien’s looking forward to seeing his friends again. 

When he reaches the classroom, though, he’s surprised to see that the seat behind him is still empty. It usually isn’t like Marinette to miss a day of school without notice. 

“Hey,” he greets Nino and Alya, setting his bag down on the table. He tilts his head in the direction of the empty seat. “Is Marinette not coming today?”

Nino and Alya exchange some kind of look , one of their couple telepathy moments that Adrien has never been able to decode. Alya smiles sweetly at him. “She’s probably just late, you know how Marinette is. But it’s sweet of you to worry!” 

Adrien smiles back, getting the feeling that he’s missing some kind of joke. He settles into his own seat while Ms. Bustier takes attendance. 

There’s silence when she calls out for Marinette—which, again, isn’t like her. She has a tendency to come bursting in through the door right at the last minute, just lucky enough to avoid getting marked as late. 

He tries not to think about it too much, sure that there’s a good enough explanation for it.  Besides, he has a feeling that Alya will continue teasing him relentlessly if he brings it up again. 

It’s only after their first period has ended that Marinette bursts through the doors with a loud slam, attracting everyone’s attention as their heads swivel to the direction of the sound. Marinette just grins sheepishly. 

“Sorry, Ms. Bustier,” she says, out of breath, as if she’d just run all the way to school. “I, uh, forgot when classes started.” 

Everyone laughs, used to Marinette’s antics by now, and Adrien can hear Alya sighing behind him. Even Ms. Bustier is unfazed. 

“Just make sure it doesn’t happen again, Marinette,” she reminds her. “This is your second warning, and I’m afraid next time I’ll have to send you to the principal’s office.”

Chloe rolls her eyes. “Just send her straight home. What’s the point of going to school if you’re clearly too stupid to remember what time it starts?”

Adrien waits for Marinette to rise to the bait and say something rude back to Chloe, but she simply ignores her and apologises to Ms. Bustier again. “Won’t happen again, I promise!” 

He grins at her as she’s walking up to her seat, wanting to say hi. The resulting smile that Marinette directs at him is one Adrien has never seen on her before—she looks almost sad, like something is bothering her. Maybe that’s why she was so late? 

Unfortunately, Adrien doesn’t get the chance to ask her about it, since Ms. Bustier is already directing everyone’s attention away from the disruption and back to the class. He makes a mental note to bring it up later, during lunch break. 

Except he doesn’t get to talk to her then, either, because Alya drags her away almost immediately. He catches snippets of their conversation; something about not replying to Alya’s texts and acting weird all day. Adrien wants to follow them, but Nino’s asking him a question and he has to zone back in to the moment. It’s probably fine. Alya can handle whatever it is.

He definitely doesn’t spend the rest of the day worrying about Marinette, or trying to catch a glimpse of her when she’s not looking to check if he can see what Alya’s talking about. She doesn’t seem all that weird to Adrien. Perhaps a little more forgetful than usual, but everyone has their off days. 

It’s only after the bell rings at the end of the school day that Adrien finally gets a chance to talk to her. He hesitates for a second, wondering if it’s even his place to bring up these things with Marinette, but steels his nerve before he can change his mind. 

“Hey, Marinette,” he says casually, fiddling with the strap on his schoolbag. She looks up, confused for a split second before a smile returns to her face. It’s the same one as before; more sad than happy. “Are you… okay? I mean, are you feeling okay? You seemed a little off this morning.” 

Marinette’s smile softens into something more genuine. “Yes, I’m fine. I just had a more hectic morning than usual. No need to worry about me, k— Adrien.”  

“Okay,” Adrien replies, still unsure but glad that she was at least smiling normally. “Let me know if you need anything?”

“Of course,” she says, and reaches up to place une bise on his cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

Adrien is even more confused at this point—and so is Alya, judging by the way her eyes widen with surprise—but he chalks it up to Marinette’s regularly scheduled erratic behaviour. He’s seen her exchange la bise with countless friends before. Maybe this is just her way of letting him know that he’s also one of her closest friends now. 

“See you tomorrow,” he echoes, waving her goodbye. Both Nino and Alya are still staring at Marinette like she’s been possessed by some kind of demon. 

He hears Alya erupt into a string of questions the second he leaves the classroom, smile tugging at his mouth. His cheek is still warm from where Marinette had pressed her lips to it. He knows that she’s pretty affectionate with her friends, but he’s usually not lucky enough to be on the receiving end of it. Adrien’s really glad that she trusts him enough to be more open around him. 

Plagg peeks up at him from inside his shirt pocket. “Are you finally realizing that I’ve been right all along? Two cheeses are better than one!” 

“Hide, Plagg!” Adrien whispers, looking around to make sure no one in the hallways noticed him. He sighs. “It’s not like that. Marinette’s just a really good friend.” 

He can hear Plagg’s muffled scoff through the fabric of his shirt, but he is telling the truth. He’s spent enough time analysing his feelings to know that being around Marinette doesn’t give Adrien the same butterflies as being around Ladybug. It’s something more secure, comforting. Like knowing that someone you trust has your back. 

He doesn’t spend any more time arguing with Plagg about it. The second Adrien gets home, he takes advantage of his free evening and wastes no time in transforming. He’s not too worried about Ladybug, seeing as she has missed patrols without notice before, but he still wants to check up on her. 

When he opens up his catphone, he’s greeted with three new messages from Ladybug. He smiles at the screen. Beat me to it! 

> Chaton, I need you.
> It’s important.
> Meet me at the Eiffel Tower at 5:00.

Adrien can’t help the way his heart skips a beat at the first message, even though he knows she doesn’t mean it like that. He sighs, feeling like a lovesick fool, before catapulting out of his window. 

The Paris air is cold against his face. He’ll never get tired of the feeling. 

Ladybug’s already waiting for him at the top of the tower when Adrien arrives, crawling his way across the banisters. He’s struck with a sudden sense of déjà vu, thinking of the last time that Ladybug had asked to meet him here, when she had to tell something ‘important.’ 

“Fancy seeing you here, milady,” he says, perched on the railing on all fours. “Come here often?” 

Instead of rolling her eyes like she usually does, Ladybug decides to reward him with a smile. “Only when I’m helping out stray cats.”

“Actually, from the messages you sent me, it looks like you’re the one who needs help,” Adrien points out. He jumps down to join Ladybug where she’s standing, resting his chin on his baton and blinking up at her. “So. What’s up?” 

Ladybug sighs and looks away, drumming her fingers against the railing. “This is going to sound very strange, but I need you to believe me, chaton .” 

Adrien doesn’t hesitate. “Of course.” 

“I’m not Ladybug,” she starts. Adrien tenses up for a brief second, expecting a fight, but he waits for her to continue. “At least, I’m not your Ladybug. I’m from the future.”

“You… are?” He stares at her, watching the same dark hair and blue eyes that he’s committed to memory look back at him. She looks exactly the same as the last time he saw her. “From when?”

“If I’m remembering everything correctly, I should be about ten years in the past.”

Adrien balks. He has no way of knowing she’s telling the truth. It’s not like she’s offering any evidence. But something in his gut just tells him that this is Ladybug. 

Then he pauses, remembering the last time someone convinced him they were the real Ladybug. She’d been so much like the real thing… his gut had told him to trust Bugette, too. It wouldn’t be his first time letting wishful thinking get the best of him.  

“How do I know you’re really Ladybug?” he asks instead, hand on his waist. “How old are you? How did you get here? Why are you here?”

The alleged Ladybug raises an eyebrow. “Wow, kitty, I didn’t remember you to be so discerning at this age.”

He folds his arms and resists the urge to frown. “Well?”

“I’m twenty-four, I suddenly woke up in 2015 on Sunday morning, and I don’t know why I’m here,” she answers, counting off her fingers. “Is that enough information for you?”

Adrien doesn’t know what else to ask. “Is there anything you can show me that proves what you’re saying?”

“I guess I don’t really have any proof,” she admits. “I just need you to trust me so we can work together. All I want to do is go back to my own time, and return your own Ladybug to you.” 

She looks at him straight in the eye, almost as if she has no doubt that he will trust her. Maybe he’s thinking with his heart again, not being as rational as his lady would’ve wanted him to be. He doesn’t really have a lot to lose. 

“Well, milady,” Adrien finally says, shrinking his baton and putting it away. “You haven’t aged a day since we last met.”

Ladybug laughs, and it’s the same laugh that he wishes he could hear every day of his life. “This isn’t the same body I have in the future, thankfully. I’ve swapped bodies with your Ladybug.” 

He frowns. “How is that possible? Were you hit by some kind of time traveling superpower?”

“That’s what I came here to ask you, kitty,” she says. “I don’t remember any disturbances or fights on my side in the past few days… the only thing I did the night before I woke up here was stay at home. Did the two of you face any akumatized villains or sentimonsters recently?”

“Just a sentimonster,” Adrien replies, shaking his head. “A cloud that rained tears and reminded everyone of their deepest regrets. It was an exhausting fight, Ladybug and I went home immediately after defeating it.” 

“How did you destroy the amok?” 

“We…” he falters. “Ladybug dealt with it, I’m pretty sure. I remember seeing it evaporate.” 

“If it was a cloud, was the amokized object hiding within it? Did you see the person whose emotions triggered the sentimonster?” 

He searches his memories, but comes up with nothing. Adrien feels useless. “I– I really don’t remember. We never found the person responsible for it. I’m sorry.” 

Ladybug curses under breath. He doesn’t think he’s ever heard his Ladybug swear before. 

“Sentimonster… Monarch… trap… akuma…” she mutters to herself in barely audible sentences, eyebrows furrowed in deep concentration. Cute, Adrien thinks, before forcing himself to focus on the problem at hand. 

“Um… milady? I don’t mean to interrupt your train of thought, but I’d love to know what is actually going on.”

He expects Ladybug to snap at him, but her gaze only softens. “Sorry, minou . I’m getting away from myself. I think Monarch set up a trap for you using the sentimonster.” 

“What? How? We destroyed it!”

She shakes her head. “You don’t remember where the amok was… you never saw the person with the amokized object… it isn’t adding up. The only way to destroy a sentimonster without access to the amok is for the Peacock Miraculous holder to get rid of it themselves, which is what I think happened here. Monarch was probably using it as a distraction from his real plan, like an akumatized villain in hiding.”

“Just like Risk,” Adrien says, realization dawning on him like an ice shower. He can’t believe that they’d fallen for the same trick twice. “Oh, shit.” 

“Oh shit indeed, kitty cat,” Ladybug sighs. She sounds tired, and there’s a look in her eyes that’s completely different from anything Adrien’s seen on his Ladybug before. It’s distant, sad beyond her years. 

She turns those eyes on him. “Do you have any idea where this akuma victim could be hiding? Do you remember seeing anything that night, anything out of the usual at all?” 

“I’m not sure,” Adrien says, wishing he could provide a better answer. He hates feeling like he has nothing helpful to offer Ladybug. “Whoever the villain was did a great job at hiding themselves. They were probably working with one of the Miraculous powers.” 

“Sublimation would allow them to be completely invisible,” Ladybug suggests. “That’ll definitely make them harder to catch. But why wouldn’t they have immediately gone for our Miraculous, then?” 

Adrien feels for his ring out of habit, even though it’s obviously still there. “I have no idea. Monarch’s plans are getting harder and harder to figure out.”

“Time travel superpowers… regrets…” Ladybug’s concentrated face is still as cute as ever, and Adrien still has to resist the urge to swoon at the sight. “If the emotion that led to the sentimonster’s creation was some kind of strong regret, then it makes sense for that to be the same emotion that led to them getting akumatized…”

“And if the person had some kind of past regrets, then it would make sense for their superpowers to be related to time travel,” Adrien finishes her train of thought. “But why would it send my Ladybug into the future? Shouldn’t it have sent her into the past?” 

The Ladybug in front of him now looks worried, nervously biting her lips. A new habit, Adrien notes. 

“Time travel is always finicky,” she says. “Even more so when it’s an akumatized power, not from a Miraculous. Maybe their power backfired, or didn’t work how they wanted it to.” 

Adrien studies her expression. He can barely ever tell what his Ladybug is thinking; it’s much harder to figure out what’s going on inside this older Ladybug’s mind. But there’s something about her tense energy that gives him pause.

“Milady,” he starts, cautious to not overstep. “Is there anything that you—your true self, you in the future, I mean—is there anything that you would have to regret back in 2015?”

Surprise flashes across her eyes. “That wouldn’t make any sense. It attacked this timeline’s Ladybug, not me.” 

“Time travel is always finicky,” Adrien parrots. 

Ladybug lets out a sharp laugh before looking away again. She stares at the Paris skyline; Adrien stares at her. 

“Speculating about the reason behind the switch will get us nowhere. What I want to understand is why this villain is still in hiding, instead of just attacking us or stealing our Miraculous.” 

Her voice is steady and self-assured, but Adrien can tell she’s just trying to avoid the topic. He decides to drop it for now. 

“Monarch’s akuma victims don’t always listen to what he tells them to do,” Adrien points out. “Maybe this one is acting out.”

“Or maybe Monarch knows what happened, and is waiting for me to slip up behind the mask so he can launch a surprise attack on my civilian self like the coward he is,” Ladybug mutters. Adrien’s eyes widen.

“Do you– do you know who Monarch is?”

Ladybug sighs. “Yes, kitty. If it was up to me, I’d go straight to his lair and snatch the Miraculouses away from him—though I have a feeling that’ll mess up things in the future far more than just fixing this body switching problem.” 

“But this means we have the upper hand during the fight, for once,” Adrien says quickly. “You know more about him than he does about you. You have ten years of experience over him. We can easily defeat the akuma, and then your magical ladybugs will return everything to normal.” 

She smiles at him gratefully. “Thanks, minou. You’re right. We just need a plan to lure the akumatized villain out of hiding so we can finally face them.”

Adrien tries not to preen. 

He doesn’t know how long they spend discussing ideas back and forth, throwing out guesses about the villain’s potential motivations and what it would take for them to reveal themselves. Ladybug is just as sharp as ever, making connections that Adrien’s mind would never even have thought to put together. He can’t stop himself from stealing looks at her when she’s deep in thought. 

She catches him mid-glance, lips quirking up in a half-smile. Adrien feels his cheeks heat up. His Ladybug never calls him out on the lovesick staring; she’s kind enough to leave him alone in his misery.

“It’s getting late,” she says, gesturing towards the horizon slowly turning orange. “We don’t have enough information to come up with anything conclusive. I don’t want to keep you for too long.”

“It’s okay, I don’t mind. I don’t think anyone’s missing me right now.” 

Ladybug’s smile dips, just for a second. “I missed your Sunday patrols yesterday, didn’t I? We can make up for it today. Maybe we’ll have better luck digging up clues if we’re surveying the city.”

If Adrien had been a real cat, he’s pretty sure his tail would be swishing around with happiness. This more than completely makes up for her no-show yesterday. 

“Sounds purr- fect to me, bugaboo,” he says, flashing her a grin. 

She raises her eyebrows at him. “You know I’m too old for you, right?” 

Adrien immediately flushes a deep red, thrown entirely off balance. “I wasn’t– I mean– I know that you’re—”

“I’m only teasing, silly kitty,” Ladybug says, laughing. It’s rare that his Ladybug manages to fluster him like this, and he feels a vague sense of embarrassment from his attempt at flirting. “I don’t mind the nicknames.”

He doesn’t know what could possibly change in the next ten years for his lady to finally accept the nicknames he lovingly bestows upon her, but he isn't about to complain. 

Ladybug gets out her yo-yo and fixes him with a smile. “Should we start where you last saw the sentimonster?”

“Whatever you say, milady,” Adrien replies with a mini-salute. “I’ll take you there.” 

They launch themselves into the evening sky. Adrien stares at the Ladybug in front of him, confident with her movements and self-assured in a way he isn’t used to seeing. He’s glad that he’s there to help her, of course—he’ll always be loyal to all versions of his partner, across all of time and space—but he can’t stop thinking about his Ladybug. Adrien hopes that his future self is taking care of her, wherever she is. 

Notes:

talk to me on tumblr!!!

Chapter 3

Summary:

“I don’t know,” Marinette says honestly. She pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. “I thought that seeing this ideal life that I’ve always dreamed of would help me feel less anxious about the future. But now I just feel like I have more at stake, more to lose if I mess things up.”

Notes:

hello again! this chapter is a little more exposition-heavy and not as lovesquare-heavy as i would've liked, but oh well. the plot keeps insisting on its importance. hope u enjoy older chat noir & marinette nonetheless <3

“You—” Marinette huffs angrily, heat rising to her cheeks as she tries to speak through her uneven breathing. “Haven’t– changed– a bit!” 

Chat Noir grins cheekily, flashing her a peace sign from the top of the building she’s trying to scale. “I’m just trying to help you adjust to your new body!” 

“You are bullying,” she manages, finally pulling herself onto the roof. “A fourteen-year-old.”

“You’re perfectly capable of holding your own, little lady,” he says with a bow. “It would be a disservice to pretend otherwise.” 

Marinette huffs again, blowing her hair out of her eyes and trying to catch her breath. She’s embarrassed—she usually would have been able to follow this route through the city without even breaking a sweat, but being in a completely different body is working against her. She’s used to moving in ways that this one simply cannot recreate. Her centre of gravity is all off; she keeps tripping over her feet and missing her yo-yo targets. She hopes the magic of the Ladybug suit starts kicking in soon. 

“We didn’t need to run all the way across the city just for this,” she grumbles. “Bunnyx could have just come to us.”

Chat Noir flips his baton upside down and rests his chin on it, blinking innocently down at her. “But then you wouldn’t have gotten any practice as older, more refined Ladybug! And, well, I wouldn’t have been able to see your feathers so ruffled.”

She rolls her eyes, snapping at him until they’re bantering again and it almost feels like Marinette is back in her Paris, with her chaton. Well. Almost. 

Marinette wouldn’t be caught dead saying this—she doesn’t need his head growing any more inflated—but the years have been exceptionally kind to Chat Noir. His hair is longer, almost girlish, somehow making him look even more androgynous than the Chat she’s used to seeing. It frames his face artfully, drawing attention to fuller cheeks and brighter eyes. The catsuit itself has more or less stayed the same. But it leaves very little to the imagination, and she can definitely tell that whoever is underneath the mask stays in… very good shape. 

She tears her eyes away, already zoned out of whatever Chat Noir had been saying and not wanting to be caught staring. “So, when do you think Bunnyx will get here?” 

Chat Noir shrugs, spinning his baton with one hand. “Beats me. She’s always working on her own timeline.” 

“But this is urgent,” Marinette says, feeling like a whiny teenager. “Do you know what Adrien said to her in his message?”

For some reason, Chat Noir finds this extremely funny. “Haven’t got a clue, minibug.” 

Marinette throws her arms up, exasperated and feeling impatient at the thought of having to wait any longer to do something about the problem. She’s already wasted a day. After she had her post-waking up crashout on Sunday morning, Adrien had messaged Alix about the situation and she’d replied saying she was “handling a situation in Venice,” meaning that Bunnyx wasn’t available to see them until Monday. Marinette had spent most of yesterday in varying stages of panic, anxiously waiting to meet Bunnyx and scope out the situation. 

She’d been ready to transform and leave the house the second she woke up this morning—but Adrien had to gently remind her that if she was going to go out in the day, she had to call in sick to work. Marinette had completely forgotten about the ‘job’ part that came with being an adult. Half of her was glad to know that she still had the chance to continue her passions outside of being Ladybug; the other half was exhausted at the thought of having to juggle an adult job while also being Ladybug. 

By the time Marinette had finally finished handling all the adult responsibilities that her future self had to deal with, she was practically vibrating with her eagerness to get out the door. She’d just finished getting ready—because apparently adults didn’t leave the house in their pajamas either—when Adrien gently knocked on the bedroom door. 

(He’d been gracious enough to let Marinette have the room all to herself for the night, a conversation which she definitely had not stuttered and blushed her way through. She felt terrible. It was his bed, she was the stranger interrupting his daily life; but Adrien had insisted.)

When she had let him in, Adrien’s eyes widened as soon as he saw her before attempting to badly conceal a laugh. Marinette stepped backwards, self-conscious. “What?”

“Nothing, sorry,” Adrien said, immediately apologetic. “It’s just that I haven’t seen you in pigtails in years.”

Marinette reddened. She’d tied her hair out of habit, forgetting that her future self probably wouldn’t have the same pigtails she had at age fourteen. She quickly pulled the ribbons out. 

“I didn’t mean it in a bad way!” Adrien protested. “It still suits you, you should keep it.”

“It’s fine, I don’t want anyone to get suspicious if they see older Marinette out in public,” she said hastily. “And I really need to get going.”

Adrien stepped away from the door, half-bowing. “Be my guest.” 

So Marinette had transformed and swung herself out of the window, belatedly realising that she was not used to moving around in this body when she almost missed her target with the yo-yo. 

She’d eventually made her way to her designated meeting spot with Chat Noir, which they’d planned in advance after Marinette had messaged him on the bugphone about an “emergency!!!!” yesterday. To his credit, Chat had been quite empathetic about her situation as he listened to her explain everything—before pulling out the rug from under her feet and suggesting that they race across the rooftops. 

Which is how they’d ended up here, Marinette pacing restlessly across a random terrace and trying not to curse out Bunnyx under her breath.

“Hey,” Chat Noir puts a hand on her shoulder, firm but gentle. “It’s okay, little lady. Bunnyx will be here soon, and we’ll figure out how to fix things. You don’t have to take the weight of everything on your shoulders.”

Marinette almost folds, leaning into the touch out of instinct before snapping back to herself. Everyone’s been telling her the same thing; that it’s okay to take time, that she’ll figure it out eventually. Chat Noir sounds so confident in her. She wishes she could believe the words.

“You’re right,” she concedes, and Chat Noir makes a humming sound like he’s not convinced by her act. He’s spinning his baton around again, incapable of standing still for even a minute.

“So, what are your thoughts on 2025? Anything unexpected happen to you yet? What do you think of living with Adrien Agr—”

Before he can finish getting into his line of questioning, a large portal opens up in the middle of the terrace, welcoming Bunnyx along with it. Marinette could almost cry with relief.

“Bunnyx!” she says, reaching out for a hug. “It’s so good to see you again.”

Bunnyx ruffles her hair, even though older Marinette’s body is much taller than her. “Good to see you too, minibug. And you, Chat.” She nods at the both of them. “Landed yourself in another sticky situation, huh?” 

Marinette sighs. “I’m sorry, I feel like you’re always stuck getting me out of these messes. I know you were probably busy with other things.”

“Don’t sweat it, kid. I knew what I was signing up for when I took on the responsibility of the Rabbit Miraculous.” Bunnyx smiles at her. “Let’s take a look at where things went downhill, yeah?” 

She gestures for Marinette to get inside the portal. Chat Noir follows right after; Bunnyx gets in last, closing the portal and sealing them inside the Burrow. 

Marinette’s eyes dart around, catching on all of the various spheres glowing and calling out for her attention. She’s been in here plenty of times by now, but each time is just as overwhelming—a part of her is always desperate to give into the temptation and look at every single possibility, every single future. She’s very glad that the Rabbit Miraculous went to someone as collected and put together as Alix. 

“I’ve got a question for you, bunny,” asks Chat Noir, tilting his head. Marinette blinks at the nickname. “If all of this time-travel stuff happened back in 2015, how come we don’t have any memories of it?” 

“Good question, kitty.” Bunnyx grins. (Seriously? He let anyone call him that?)

She gestures towards the various half-formed spheres around the Burrow, reaching forwards to pluck one out.

“These are all unfinished turning points across timelines,” Bunyx explains, turning the sphere around so they can see it too. Marinette finds herself staring back at the reflection of older Ladybug—it’s showing them the very moment they’re standing in. “Since time is being messed with in unpredictable ways here, there’s no one set way in which things are guaranteed to turn out. Only once we’ve resolved this blip will the timeline be solidified, and you’ll gain back your memories.” 

Chat Noir raises a hand. “Does that mean you already knew this was going to happen?”

“A true superhero never reveals her secrets,” Bunnyx replies, and mimes zipping her mouth shut. 

Marinette would laugh, but suddenly she can’t think of anything except her failures. 

“What happens if we don’t ‘resolve this blip’?” 

“Well, that means Monarch somehow got to your Miraculous and made his wish, which would completely rewrite the world as we know it,” Bunnyx says cheerfully. “But don’t worry about it. We’ll figure it out, we always do.”

Marinette pales. She thinks she might be sick—but then she feels Chat Noir’s hand on her shoulders, solid and reassuring. He smiles down at her. 

“Should we start looking for clues?” he suggests. Marinette nods gratefully. 

“Right,” says Bunnyx, beckoning for them to come stand where she is. “Minibug, tell me the exact date in 2015 when this happened.”

She tells her. Bunnyx scrolls through some spheres; Marinette catches glimpses of Ladybug through the years, through various fights and conversations and tears, before they finally land on the one she remembers. She pauses and zooms in on an image of Ladybug and Chat Noir standing back-to-back, weapons in hand as they try to figure out how to beat the cloud sentimonster. 

“This is the right day, I’m assuming?” Bunnyx asks Marinette. 

She nods, glancing at Chat Noir, curious to see his reaction at his younger self. It’s hard to read his expression—which is weird for her, considering that her Chat is always an open book—but something about his smile seems different. Almost wistful. 

(And, okay. Fine. Fine! Maybe Marinette is thinking about if the Chat Noir in this future still has feelings for his version of Ladybug. It doesn’t mean anything, she’s just wondering. He probably doesn’t, anyway. Even Chat Noir wouldn’t be so self-destructive as to keep pining for someone after ten years. So everything’s fine, and she needs to stop thinking about things that don’t matter and get her head in the game!) 

Marinette clears her throat, stepping forwards to get closer to the sphere but mostly to put some distance between her and Chat Noir. She scrolls ahead until she reaches the part where the sentimonster vanishes into thin air. 

“There,” she says, pausing the footage again. “That’s the part where I thought we managed to defeat the amok.” 

Bunnyx hums in consideration. She zooms out of the focus on Ladybug to see the entire wide angle view of the scene, spinning the sphere around to try and get a look and everything. “Do you see anything that stands out?”

Marinette shakes her head, disappointed. 

“Maybe the akumatized villain was invisible,” Chat Noir suggests. “Monarch’s done it before. And it would make sense why Minibug or Minichat weren’t able to sense them.” 

“Like it wasn’t hard enough to find them already,” Marinette says under her breath. 

Chat Noir nudges her shoulder with his. “Hey, don’t be a debbie downer. Let’s figure out when they could’ve attacked you so we can try and track the hit.” 

Bunnyx nods. “Good idea. Minibug, can you remember any moments where you would’ve been open to an attack without realising?”

Marinette thinks back to Saturday night, to fighting back the waves of exhaustion that came with fighting the sentimonster for hours on end. She could think of plenty of slip-ups, instances where someone would have had the chance to get the best of her. 

“It could’ve happened when I was on my way back home,” Marinette says. “And it would have had to happen at some point before I detransformed, since he clearly doesn’t know my identity either.”

Bunnyx scrolls forward, following past-Ladybug as she launches herself across rooftops and buildings. Marinette’s eyes track every movement closely, searching for anything that would give away a hiding place.

“There!” she says suddenly, pointing at the screen. “Scroll back a second. I saw something that looked like a flash of light.” 

Bunnyx plays it again, slower, and this time they all notice the same flash directed towards past-Ladybug. It’s miniscule, completely missable unless someone had been paying close attention.

“Nice catch,” Bunnyx says, impressed. “Now let’s see where this leads.” 

She flips the perspective of the footage around so that its facing the opposite direction. She plays the same part again—they see the same flash of light, except it looks like it came out of nowhere.

Chat Noir grimaces. “They are invisible, then. But why didn’t they just go after Ladybug? Why wait so long when they had the perfect opportunity here?” 

“The akuma’s powers took all night to swap the Ladybugs,” Bunnyx points out. “This isn’t like Timetagger. It looks like Monarch is playing the long game here.”

Something in Chat Noir’s jaw tenses at the mention of Monarch, but Marinette doesn’t get the chance to think about it for too long. An idea is already starting to form in her mind. “Bunnyx. If you open a portal to right before the villain attacks me, I can go and confront them now. I’ll find the akuma and reset everything.”

She expects Bunnyx to agree immediately—after all, how many times have they gone back in time to stop something truly horrible from destroying the world?—but she only shakes her head no. 

“We can’t mess with the timeline in that way,” Bunnyx says over Marinette’s protests. “This switch happened for a reason. If we stop it from ever taking place, then there’s a chance that we won’t have this future as we know it.”

Marinette frowns. “But—”

“I can’t tell you the details. You just have to trust me, Minibug. The only way out of this problem is through.”

None of this makes any sense to Marinette. She doesn’t understand what could possibly be so important about such a huge mistake. 

“We can still use this clue as a chance to figure out more about the villain, though,” Chat Noir points out, pulling Marinette out of her thoughts. “We can dig up something to help out my lady stuck back in 2015.”

Something to help out the Ladybug and Chat Noir in 2015… if there ever was a time to call on her lucky charm, it was this. A polka-dotted tub of glitter falls into her hands, and with it, another half-baked idea starts forming in Marinette’s mind. 

Both Bunnyx and Chat Noir look at her expectantly. 

“Even if I can’t prevent this from happening, I can interfere indirectly to help the other version of me, right?” Marinette asks, mostly to confirm with Bunnyx, who nods. “If you open a portal directly behind the akumatized villain, I can blow this glitter directly onto their hair and get out before they can see me. The glitter is light enough that they won’t notice. It’ll paint a target on their back—literally—and help the other Ladybug find the akuma.”

Bunnyx widens her eyes. “I knew you’d come up with something, Minibug!” 

“Still giving fully-grown superheroes a run for their money at fourteen,” adds Chat Noir, grinning at Marinette. She reddens.

“I’ll scroll back to right before they hit past-Ladybug,” Bunnyx explains. “You’ll drop in right at the second that the light goes off, and I’ll open another portal right below you so you can come back here immediately.”

“I can do that,” says Marinette, glad to finally have a set plan that she can follow through. Bunnyx sets up the right time on the screen. 

“Ready?” she asks. Marinette squares her shoulders and nods.

The whole thing takes less than a second. She falls silently through the sky, blows a puff of glitter as soon as she sees the flash of flight, managing to make out a vague human-like outline floating in the air before she finds herself back in the Burrow. She lands on her feet, in the exact same position she’d been in half a moment ago. 

Bunnyx points to the sphere again. “Your plan worked! Look, you can see that something is shimmering!” 

Marinette sighs with relief. She wants to say something else, try to strategize more ways that they can trap this villain, but she’s distracted by Chat Noir grinning and holding out his fist. She hesitates briefly before meeting it with her own. 

“Bien joué, little lady,” he says. “Now all we have to do is sit back and relax while mini-me and milady take care of everything.”

“What? No, we can’t just do nothing. I’m sure that there’s more we can—”

“He’s right, Minibug,” Bunnyx interrupts her. “We need to let the heroes in 2015 deal with this problem.”

“But it’s my mistake,” Marinette protests, frustrated. “I should be the one to fix it.” 

“It’s not like Minichat realized anything was wrong, either,” Chat Noir points out. 

“But…” 

Bunnyx puts a hand on her shoulder. “Listen. I’ll go check in on them as soon as I can, and let them know all the information we’ve found out. You’ve already helped enough.” 

Marinette doesn’t agree, but she doesn’t try to fight Bunnyx, either. It’s true that she can’t think of anything else to do short of creating another portal and physically fighting the akumatized villain herself. 

“I’ll take her home, Bunnyx,” Chat Noir says, flashing her a smile. “Thanks for your help again.” 

Marinette wants to argue that she can take herself home before realizing that she actually isn’t all too sure which direction her apartment is in. The rooftop racing had really thrown her off. She wonders how often Chat Noir must visit to be able to remember where she lives.

“Seriously, thank you so much,” Marinette says instead, turning to Bunnyx. “We are so lucky to be able to rely on you.”

“Don’t mention it,” she replies easily. “Take care of yourself, Minibug. And trust yourself. Future you is as much of a force to be reckoned with as you are now.” 

Marinette flushes. Everyone has so much faith in her… she really hopes that she can live up to that trust. 

After they exit the Burrow and say their goodbyes to Bunnyx, Chat Noir turns to her with a smile—only for it to turn into a confused frown when he sees Marinette staring at him, motionless. 

“Everything okay, little lady?” 

There’s so much on Marinette’s mind. So many worries about this world that she hadn’t been able to say to Adrien. She didn’t want to risk messing anything up for her future self. 

She sits down at the edge of the roof, thinking about how she wants to say this. “Earlier, while we were waiting for Bunnyx to arrive… you asked me about Adrien.”

Chat Noir brightens immediately. “Yes! What’s he like? What do you think of him?”

Marinette ignores his questions. She looks steadily at her feet, determined to avoid eye contact. “If we know each other’s identities in the future… how much of our lives do we share with each other? Are we friends in our everyday lives? Are we still just coworkers, but now we happen to know each other’s names?”

“First of all, ouch,” he comments, dropping down to sit next to her. “I’m sure your Chat would be deeply hurt if he heard you refer to us as just ‘coworkers.’ And secondly, I probably shouldn’t be answering your questions. I fear Bunnyx might smite me down for messing with the timelines.” 

“I guess you’re right.” 

She can feel Chat Noir’s eyes on her, searching. “Is there something else on your mind?”

“I don’t know,” Marinette says honestly. She pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. “I thought that seeing this ideal life that I’ve always dreamed of would help me feel less anxious about the future. But now I just feel like I have more at stake, more to lose if I mess things up.” 

Chat Noir is quiet for a few moments. Marinette wouldn’t know what to say to that, either. 

“I’m sorry that you have so much to worry about,” he says softly. “It’s not easy to grapple with having the fate of the universe in your hands at fourteen.”

Marinette almost wants to laugh. Isn’t that the half of it? 

“It’s scary to see everything you want right in front of you while knowing it can be snatched away at any moment,” he continues. “I get it. Nothing we do ever truly guarantees any stability or safety. We’ve been fighting for survival since we were children . But my lady and I—we have each other. I know that no matter what happens, there’s always someone going through the same thing. Someone fighting on my side even if I’m not on my side.” 

He smiles at Marinette, who’s been staring at him slack-jawed throughout his speech. “And you have your Chat Noir, too. Don’t forget that.” 

Something stirs inside her chest, a long-forgotten emotion that she hasn’t touched for months. This version of Chat Noir is so… so… gentle. Comforting. She feels like she’s known him for ten years, too. A voice at the back of her brain tells her it’s because her own Chat is not so different from this one—but she vehemently pushes it down. 

What is she thinking? Her future self is supposed to be with Adrien, not Chat Noir. The love of her life, her dear friend, the only one her heart beats for. She’s happy with that fact. And she is not going to let her stupid teenage emotions ruin anything in this perfect future. 

“Thanks,” Marinette mutters, looking down at the floor again. Her heart keeps doing that funny dance, twisting itself around her ribcage. “I… I needed to hear that. It’s still hard for me to rely on others for help.” 

“It isn’t the kind of thing you can unlearn overnight,” he says. “But talking about it is already a good start.”

His voice is so earnest, like he genuinely cares. Ten years later, and he still cares so much. Marinette wonders if she might have made a few mistakes in trying to push away her own Chat. 

“Chat,” she starts, and then hesitates. There’s no easy way for her to ask this. “Are you… happy? With how things turned out?”

There. Vague enough that it could mean anything, but just pointed enough for him to pick up on what she’s trying to figure out. 

He blinks at her, surprised, before breaking into a grin. “Of course I am, little lady. There’s nothing I would change about my life right now.” 

Marinette is mostly relieved, but a smaller, more treacherous part of her has the nerve to feel hurt. If it’s anyone’s fault that he stopped being in love with Ladybug, it’s her own.

“I’m glad,” is all she says. Chat Noir is still looking at her like he knows something she doesn’t, amusement colouring his expression.

“You’ve had enough worrying for one day, I think,” he declares, lifting himself up with his baton. He holds out his hand for her. “Come on. Let’s get you back to Adrien.” 

She reddens at the way he says it, but takes his hand anyway. “What’s your deal with him, anyway? Do you two not get along or something?”

“Or something,” he says, eyes twinkling. “Don’t worry about it.” 

Notes:

talk to me on tumblr!!!

Chapter 4

Summary:

Adrien valiantly keeps himself from letting out a lovesick sigh at the thought of his lady being as incredible as always, even when she’s stuck alone in the future. He wonders if she’s thinking of him before quickly pushing down the thought.

Notes:

sorry this chapter took so long!! this was probably the hardest one to write so far because it has the most plot/fighting action... but we will be back to our regularly scheduled lovesquare shenanigans soon enough <3 hope you enjoy more adrien & future ladybug sillies in the meantime!

Adrien bites the inside of his cheek, annoyed. He’s normally a lot more understanding of Chloe’s antics—for all her flaws, she’s still one of his oldest friends—but he’s slowly losing his patience as he sits through her tenth outburst of the day. 

“I don’t understand why you all expect me to do any of the work,” she scoffs, turning up her nose at the lab materials lying between them. “Seriously, does it look like I give a shit about this? Just finish it off and write my name on the sheet when you’re done.”

“It’s group work, Chloe. We’re all supposed to pitch in,” Alya says, groaning like she didn’t expect anything else. Chloe simply ignores her.

Adrien decides to try his luck. “It won’t hurt to do your own classwork for once, you know. I know you’re upset that Sabrina isn’t here—”

“Upset? Why would I be upset?” Chloe immediately flares up. She cuts eyes at him like she’s daring Adrien to disagree with her. “I don’t care if she’s here or not, I care about not having to deal with a stupid science project!” 

He suppresses a sigh. He should’ve seen this coming when Ms. Mendeleiev had first decided to put the four of them together in class. Honestly, Adrien is surprised that Marinette hasn’t said anything about Chloe’s behaviour yet—she’s usually the first to speak up against her. She’s been staring at Sabrina’s empty lab seat with a slight furrow between her eyebrows for the last few minutes. 

“Hey, Chloe,” Marinette finally says, turning her attention onto her. Alya raises her eyebrows. “I know this doesn’t affect your life in any way, and you probably aren’t bothered or worried at all, but where is Sabrina? Is she sick?”

Chloe sniffs, crossing her arms. “How should I know? It’s not like she told me that she wouldn’t be coming to school all week. I’m not her keeper.”

Marinette nods. “Right,” she says patiently. Adrien has never heard her sound so calm when talking to Chloe. “So you guys didn’t talk or interact at all before she went missing?”

For a second, it almost seems like Chloe is about to answer honestly—before she huffs and looks away. “How is this any of your business, Dupain-Cheng? Don’t you have better things to worry about? And she’s not missing , she’s probably just avoiding me like the coward that she is!” 

Marinette raises her hands in apology, completely earnest. “Sorry, Chloe. Didn’t mean to strike a nerve.” 

Alya says something to Marinette as an aside, but Adrien doesn’t quite catch it. He glances at Sabrina’s empty seat. He doesn’t know why Marinette is so invested, but come to think of it, it is weird that she isn’t here. Adrien realises he hasn’t actually seen her since last Friday. 

His eyes widen. An invisible supervillain… of course! He should’ve known that the answer was right in front of them. Adrien has a sneaking suspicion that Chloe’s defensiveness definitely has something to do with the akuma’s motivations. 

“Is the meaning of the phrase group work lost on you four?” Ms. Mendeleiev appears out of seemingly nowhere, glaring at them with her hands behind her back. “I see you have made no progress at all.” 

“Sorry, Ms. Mendeleiev,” the three of them say in perfect unison while Chloe rolls her eyes. Adrien meets Marinette’s eyes across the table and breaks into a laugh. 

“Quit fooling around and get back to work,” she snaps, before moving onto the next group.

Chloe raises an eyebrow when she sees them looking at her expectantly. “What? You heard her. Get back to work!” 

Adrien sighs, not wanting to waste any more of his energy. He glances back at the empty seat again—a million different questions are still racing through his mind, and all he can think about is telling Ladybug about this new discovery. Not for the first time, he wishes they had a way of contacting each other outside their masks. 

If Sabrina really was the akuma victim, then where was she hiding? How had she managed to disappear unnoticed for so long? Was no one worried about her? 

“Adrien? Did you hear what I said?”

He quickly pulls his eyes away from Sabrina’s seat and meets Alya’s unimpressed gaze instead. “Um… sorry?”

“Girl, I swear you two are acting like you’re from another planet today,” Alya snorts, flicking her pencil between him and Marinette, who protests in indignation. “I have a feeling we’re not going to get much work done.” 

“No, no,” Adrien says hastily. He pulls the worksheet closer to him. “Let’s see. This seems simple enough—”

And because the universe loves to laugh at him, the unmistakable sound of the akuma alert blares through the classroom right at that moment. Alya whips out her phone immediately. 

“It looks like the same thing as Saturday!” Alya says, turning the screen around so the rest of them can see what she’s talking about. Sure enough, the news footage shows a large grey cloud raining relentlessly down on anyone unlucky enough to be caught in its way. Adrien stares at it helplessly. 

Max quickly types some numbers onto his phone. “Based on its current path, there’s a 92.8% chance that the sentimonster is headed right in the direction of our school.”

“Students, settle down,” Ms. Mendeleiev tries to make herself heard over the sounds of everyone speaking over each other. “Follow proper akuma drill procedures, form a single line…”

Adrien takes advantage of their distraction by slowly inching towards the door, ready to bolt and transform—when Marinette very loudly and very efficiently directs everyone’s attention towards her with a “Hey!” He blinks. When had she gotten up on the table? 

“Everyone head down to the gym,” she instructs. “I’ll follow behind and make sure to lock all the doors. It doesn’t seem like a violent villain, but we’ll be safer there anyways.” She waits with her hands on her hips as everyone quickly nods their assent. Adrien feels a little dumbstruck, but he nods, too. 

“Good. Alya, can you take them downstairs?” 

Alya sends her a mock-salute before gesturing for everyone to follow her lead. Adrien hesitates; his escape plan’s been compromised. 

“Adrien,” Marinette calls out, “Will you check the other classrooms on this floor and tell them the same thing?” 

She looks directly into his eyes, like this is a perfectly normal request. And it is—of course it is. It’s just a lucky coincidence that it gives him a chance to take cover and transform. 

“Will do,” Adrien responds, running out the door as Marinette continues to direct instructions to the other students. He lets his eyes linger on the scene for a little too long, still in awe of her confidence, before realising that he should probably get a move on. 

He ducks into the nearest empty room and calls on his transformation, pulling out his catphone to see if there are any new messages from Ladybug. Nothing. Figuring that she’ll be on her way soon, Adrien launches himself out of the window and heads towards the sentimonster. 

It doesn’t take him much time to catch up with it. Instead of barrelling straight into the fight like he usually does, Adrien takes a moment to size it up from his vantage point on a nearby rooftop. He furrows his eyebrows in concentration, trying to scan for any clues that could confirm his theory about Sabrina. 

“Penny for your thoughts, kitty?” comes Ladybug’s voice, landing lightly on her feet right next to him. He brightens up immediately. 

“I think I know who the akumatized villain is,” he explains. “But it’s too early to say.” 

“Thinking before you act? I never thought I’d see the day,” she teases, making Adrien huff with indignation. 

Ladybug shifts her attention to the sentimonster before he can protest any further. “Is it the same as the one you and Minibug were fighting?”

Adrien nods. “Yeah. And it’s completely porous, like a real cloud. We couldn’t touch it at all.”

“So the amok must be hidden somewhere else,” she reasons. “We’ll need a bit of luck if we want a chance at figuring out where it is.” 

She calls on her lucky charm before Adrien even has a chance to warn her, catching something small in her hands—and letting out a curse when she hears her earrings beep. 

“I forgot about that part,” Ladybug mutters. “Stupid teenage powers.”

Adrien can’t help but grin. “So much for acting before thinking.” 

She rolls her eyes in an ever-familiar way before holding out the lucky charm for both of them to inspect. A star shaped brooch covered in polka dots, with five segments spiraling outwards like flower petals. 

“Was your guess for the akuma Sabrina Raincomprix?” she asks, glancing at Adrien. His eyes widen. 

“Yes, but how did you—”

“I recognise this brooch. And I have a feeling it’s telling us exactly where to go.” 

“Where to go?” Adrien repeats. He gestures down at the hordes of civilians still being terrorised by the sentimonster, falling to their knees as it renders them immobile, forced to relive their greatest regret over and over again. “Shouldn’t we take care of this first?”

Ladybug hesitates for half a second before saying, “My miraculous ladybugs will fix everything. The best thing we can do for them is destroy the amok and set things back to normal.”

Something about the way she says it tells Adrien that she’s had plenty of experience balancing these kinds of risks over the past few years. His Ladybug still has trouble believing in her ability to win every battle, despite Adrien’s unwavering faith that she will always make things right. It’s easy enough for him to put his trust in this Ladybug, too.

He nods and lets her lead the way.

 

Less than a minute later, they find themselves in front of an unassuming apartment building. Adrien follows her without question as she fastens her yo-yo around one of the balcony railings, hoisting herself up to land in front of the large glass doors.

He whistles. ”Breaking and entering? Is that what the lucky charm told you to do?”

Ladybug snorts, sliding open the doors easily and gesturing for Adrien to get inside. “This is Sabrina’s room. The lucky charm showed us a brooch that belonged to her, from when she was first akumatized into the Vanisher.”

A part of Adrien wonders why Ladybug knows Sabrina’s address, but he’s more curious about what they’re doing there in the first place. “Why are we in her house, though? Surely the brooch won’t be kept somewhere here?”

“I don’t think the amok is in the brooch,” says Ladybug, already pulling open drawers and checking under shelves. “My lucky charms don’t work like that. It was just trying to send us in the right direction, and since we have no way of finding Sabrina as long as she’s invisible, this is the closest thing we have to a lead.”

“Your mind works in mysterious ways as always, milady,” Adrien replies, awestruck. He catches Ladybug trying to hide a smile.

“Try looking for anything that could be a clue,” she instructs. “The amok could be hiding anywhere—”

Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien catches a faint glimmer of something right behind Ladybug’s ears—operating on instinct, he lunges forward to push it out of the way, hearing a loud thunk as it collides with the bookshelf right behind them.

“Watch out!”

Ladybug gets into position immediately, spinning her yo-yo in its usual defense position while Adrien gets ready to intercept an attack from any direction. His eyes swing around the room before catching on the same glimmer from earlier, sticking out his baton to trip it up. This time, the sound it lets out is a distinctly human oomph!

“It’s the villain!” he cries out, getting closer to where he can still see the vague impression of glitter against the floor. “Milady, there’s some kind of glitter helping us see where it is!”

No sooner than he says the words, the akumatized villain—Vanisher?—hurtles the desk lamp in his direction, which Ladybug narrowly blocks with her yo-yo. Adrien spins his baton in a perfect circle, keeping his eye trained on the glint of red to follow its every movement.

“Keep her distracted, Chat Noir!”

He closes in on the villain, fending off every other object that she throws in his direction with his baton, determined to get close enough to find the akumatized object. He can vaguely hear Ladybug scurrying around the room, no doubt putting together a plan to find the amok; his only concern is making sure that Vanisher stays as far away from her as possible. Adrien parries her every move until he’s sufficiently backed her up against a wall.

“Got it!” Ladybug exclaims from somewhere behind him, and he hears the unmistakable sound of what sounds like a notebook ripping in half. 

Adrien grins, extending his baton as a barrier to stop Vanisher from breaking free of his hold, reaching forwards to find anything at all that could be an akumatized object. His fingers close around something cold and metal and five-pointed; he calls upon his cataclysm to destroy it, but the ashes simply fall to the ground with no akuma rising from their midst.

She takes advantage of his surprise by kicking his baton out of the way, pushing Adrien to the side and making a run for it. He tries to get up and follow her, but he loses the trail of glitter he’d been relying on once she leaves again through the window.

He grimaces, ready to apologise to Ladybug as soon as he turns around, but she shakes her head before he even gets the chance. “Don’t worry. We purified the amok, and we got more information about the akumatized villain. We have everything we need to save her from Monarch.”

“I had her right there, ” he mutters, “I should’ve known it wasn’t the brooch, you said —”

“Chat Noir,” Ladybug interrupts. She levels him with a look that’s at once completely arresting and comforting. “It’s fine. I know what we need to do.”

Adrien bows his head, not wanting to argue with her any further. “How did you know where the amok was?” 

“Lucky guess,” she says, holding up the ripped notebook with a smile—Sabrina’s diary, Adrien realises. “I think our akuma’s regrets might have something to do with a certain blonde haired girl.”

She throws up the lucky charm brooch from earlier with her usual cry, watching as the ladybugs swirl around the room and fix the diary right back into its original shape, before heading out the window to clean up the rest of the city’s mess. Ladybug turns to Adrien to say something, but they’re both distracted by the simultaneous beeping of their miraculous. 

He taps his ears. “You better get going before you turn into a pumpkin.”

“You’re coming with me,” says Ladybug, glancing back at him as she steps onto the balcony. “We have a lot to discuss. Let’s find a spot to detransform safely.”

“Whatever you say, milady,” Adrien replies, following her as she leaps off the balcony and tumbles gracefully onto the streets. She slides off the first manhole cover they come across; they both jump in and run until they reach the spot where the sewer paths split into two. He ducks behind the wall and calls off his transformation. 

“It’s been a while since I did this,” Ladybug admits, and Adrien can hear the smile in her voice even with the wall separating them. He gets out a piece of cheese to feed Plagg and tries not to imagine what an actually older Ladybug would look like without the mask. 

“Fight an akuma?” 

“No,” she says, “Well, yes. But what I meant was this— finding a place to hide from each other while we detransform.” 

Adrien blinks. “You… you know who I am?”

He hears Ladybug laugh. “Of course. Did you think we’d go ten years without telling each other?”

“I didn’t… well, I just thought…” Adrien doesn’t even know what to say. Plagg is rolling his eyes at him from around his slice of camembert, but the butterflies in Adrien’s stomach make it too hard to care about anything else. “I mean, are we…”

“Can’t tell you anything else, chaton. You know the rules,” she reminds him. “I probably shouldn’t have told you that, either, but I have an idea for a plan that involves Adrien.”

The butterflies only intensify at the sound of Ladybug calling him by his real name while he’s still supposed to be Chat Noir. He feels laid bare, like she can see right through the wall and right through him, too. 

“Right,” Adrien says, thoughts still moving slowly through his mind. He hears Ladybug call on Tikki and distantly remembers that he should probably be doing the same. 

There are so many other questions he wants to ask her about the future—like when they found out, or what they are to each other, or—but he knows there’s no point. He’s probably better off not knowing the answers right away. Still, the part of Adrien that’s constantly seeking reassurance finds a quiet satisfaction in knowing that somewhere out there is a future where they’re still partners until the very end. 

Just as he’s about to call on his own transformation, he hears a distinct whooshing sound followed by Ladybug’s surprised voice saying, “Bunnyx?!” 

Eyes wide, Adrien hastily transforms into Chat Noir and rushes over to see for himself. He’d been expecting Bunnyx to show up, considering that time shenanigans like these were her specialty, but he’d assumed that she’d already been to see Ladybug on her own. 

She’s in the middle of giving Ladybug a big hug. With a start, Adrien realises that this version of Ladybug has more in common with Bunnyx than with him—this is the first time in days that she’s had a chance to meet someone from her time, who knows who she really is. 

When they pull apart, Bunnyx sends a grin and a nod in his direction. “Good to see you, Minichat. I was going to pay you guys a visit earlier but it seemed like you pretty much had the fight covered without needing my help.”

Adrien preens at the praise, ready to say something overly confident as usual, but the guilt of letting the akumatized villain escape from right under his hands stops him.

“Did you have something to do with the glitter in the villain’s hair?” Ladybug asks Bunnyx, distracting him.

“That was all Minibug,” she replies, smiling. Adrien’s head snaps up. 

“How is she? Is she safe? Has she been—”

“She’s fine, little chaton,” Bunnyx assures him, and her smile takes on an amused tilt. He’s also suddenly aware of Ladybug’s matching smile, watching him with knowing eyes. “Don’t worry. Minibug is smart enough to find her footing in any world.” 

Adrien valiantly keeps himself from letting out a lovesick sigh at the thought of his lady being as incredible as always, even when she’s stuck alone in the future. He wonders if she’s thinking of him before quickly pushing down the thought. 

“I came here on her request, actually,” Bunnyx continues. “I already explained this to Minibug and Chat Noir, but this body swap isn’t something we can fix by resetting the timeline through the Burrow. You need to fix it here, in 2015, in order for the timelines to go back to normal.” 

Ladybug nods, easily digesting this information. Adrien has a harder time wrapping his head around any kind of problems involving time, but he nods, too. 

“We already know who the akumatized person is,” Ladybug explains, glancing over at Adrien. “We’ll have the akuma purified and everything set back to normal in no time.” 

“I never doubted that for a second,” says Bunnyx. “The quicker the better, though. The glitter won’t last forever, and we have no way of knowing what Monarch is planning in the meantime. Let’s just hope they aren’t sending any other poor souls back in time.”

Adrien tries to match Ladybug’s self-assuredness. “We’ve got this.” 

“I won’t keep you any longer, then,” she says with a finger salute, ready to turn around and get back into the Burrow, but Ladybug stops her with a quick, “Wait.”

She steps closer to Bunnyx, placing a hand on her arm. Adrien thinks this is the most he’s seen Ladybug hesitate for the first time since she’s got here. “How is he doing?”

He? Who is he? Why would Bunnyx know a he in Ladybug’s life?

“He’s handling everything pretty well, honestly,” Bunnyx replies. Ladybug visibly relaxes. “But you better come back to us soon. We all miss you.” 

Ladybug smiles before saying something in a quieter voice, just for Bunnyx’s ears. Adrien fiercely resists the urge to strain his ears and try to hear the words. “I’ll let him know,” is all he catches of Bunnyx’s response. 

He swallows down the bitter taste in his mouth, pushing away any thoughts of future Ladybug and the people in her life as he waves a feeble goodbye to Bunnyx. She jumps into the Burrow, leaving him and Ladybug standing by the side of the sewers just as they were before. He can feel her looking at him with the same knowing eyes as earlier, but she doesn’t comment on it. 

“Okay, chaton,” Ladybug says instead, clapping her hands and grinning in the same way she does whenever she’s about to explain the most convoluted idea of her life. “Here’s the plan.”

Notes:

talk to me on tumblr!!!

Chapter 5

Summary:

“A gala? You want me to go to a gala in this state?” Marinette gestures to herself. “Everyone will know I’m not the real Ladybug!”

Notes:

and we're back to regularly scheduled lovesquare hijinks! sorry again for the long wait but i hope this chapter makes up for it <3 the gala was one of the first scenes i planned out for this fic and we're finally here after like 20k words. yayyy.

Marinette stares at Adrien and Alya, aghast, still not quite believing what she’s hearing. She’d spent the entire day replaying her conversation with Bunnyx yesterday and endlessly catastrophizing about everything that could go wrong. She only paused her restless pacing when Adrien told her that Alya was coming over. If Marinette had known what the two of them were going to drop on her, she would’ve stuck to her crash-out. 

“A gala ? You want me to go to a gala in the middle of everything—in this state?” Marinette gestures to herself. “Everyone will know I’m not the real Ladybug!” 

Alya sighs, taking Marinette’s hands in her own. “This is really bad timing, I know, but it is Heroes’ Day. It’s literally the only event each year that the heroes are expected to make a public appearance. And people will be expecting Ladybug to show up. It’ll set off all sorts of alarms if she’s not there tonight.” 

“We can make up an excuse! Like— like a medical emergency, or a villain fight, or a family crisis— something!” 

The two of them exchange a look over Marinette’s head, like she’s a kid that they’re responsible for babysitting. She resists the urge to cross her arms and frown. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” says Adrien, gentle as always. “The other heroes will be there, too, so they might start worrying or ask after you. And the less people know about this whole situation, the better.”

“Won’t it be extremely obvious that I’m the wrong Ladybug after, like, two seconds of conversation with me?” Marinette points out.

Adrien and Alya smile at her, once again completely in sync. Marinette doesn’t like this new development. 

“Don’t worry. Rena Rouge and Chat Noir will be by your side the whole time,” he says.

She groans, flopping onto the bed and burying her face into the first pillow she finds.. “How can I just forget everything and go dance when everything is so— so up in the air? We don’t even know what’s going to happen to me, or to the other Ladybug! I can’t—”

“Hey,” Alya interrupts, pulling the pillow away. “Snap out of it. You can’t do anything as you are right now, and worrying will get you nowhere. What you can do, is try not to raise any suspicions about our Ladybug by going along with her responsibilities.”

Marinette turns to Adrien, hoping he’ll understand where she’s coming from, but he only softens his smile. “Maybe this is the universe intervening to make sure you get a break from all your current problems. You just have to let older Marinette handle things for once. Trust yourself.”

Trust yourself. That was what Bunnyx had told her, too, but it was a lot easier said than done. Marinette can’t remember the last time she’d had any sort of trust in anyone else, let alone herself.

Her eyes flit between Adrien and Alya again. Even if she doesn’t have any confidence in herself, she can tell that they do—these unrecognisable versions of her best friends, as familiar as they are strange. They’ve spent ten more years with Ladybug than she has. It might not be the worst idea to trust that they, at least, know what they’re talking about.

“What if I find out something I’m not supposed to?” she says weakly, in a final attempt to justify not going. “Bunnyx would be really mad if we messed up the timelines.”

“I will personally make sure that no one says anything compromising to you,” Alya promises. She grins at Marinette like she can already tell her resolve is weakening. “Besides, this isn’t a press event. There’ll be some reporters outside, we’ll take a few photos, then we’ll go in and eat some good food on the city’s dime. It’s basically the only thanks we get for the work we do as heroes.”

Marinette frowns. “The satisfaction of knowing that the city is safe because of us is thanks enough.” 

“God, you really haven’t changed in the last ten years at all,” Alya mutters, which makes Adrien laugh. He smiles at Marinette. 

“So, you’re going?” 

“It’s not like I have a choice,” she grumbles, ignoring Alya’s cheers. “I still think this is a really bad idea, and I don’t know how I’m going to focus on anything when—”

Adrien puts a hand on her shoulder, firm and comforting at the same time. “Just focus on having a good time. My Marinette’s been looking forward to this for a long time, and if she isn’t here to enjoy it, the next best thing is for you to enjoy it in her place.”

And, well, Marinette has nothing to say in response to that . Curse this stupid kind, gentle, and somehow telepathic version of Adrien who always knows what to say to get her to stop freaking out.

“Will you be there, too?” Marinette asks, a little shyly.

Adrien falters for a second before shaking his head. “No. It’s invitation based, super exclusive… heroes and Very Important Persons only.”

She resists the urge to frown, annoyed on his behalf. If any non-hero deserves an invitation to the gala, it’s Adrien. “ You’re a Very Important Person.”

“Let’s just say that Adrien Agreste’s public image in the future is not the same as what you’re used to,” he says lightly. Marinette has no idea what he could possibly mean by that, but she figures it’s probably for the best that she doesn’t try to figure it out. “Alya will be with you the whole time, though. And Chat Noir will meet you there.”

Marinette wants to say something else, but she’s distracted by Alya clapping and getting up from next to her.

“Now that that’s settled, I only have a few hours to help my petite mignonette get ready,” Alya says, placing her hands on Adrien’s shoulders and steering him towards the door. “Girls only. No offence, Adrien.”

“None taken,” he replies, smiling as he pulls the door open. “I’ll leave you both to it.”

A part of Marinette is sad to see him leave, but she also can’t help but be a little relieved to finally have some time with Alya—the only person in this future that is exactly the same as she remembers. Her best friend grins at her with the same thick-framed glasses and discerning eyes, the most comforting sight that Marinette has been faced with since she got here.

“So,” she drawls out, raising her eyebrows and sitting back down next to Marinette. She tilts her head in the direction of the door through which Adrien had just left. “I find it really hard to believe that the fourteen-year-old Marinette I remember is taking this news so well.”

Marinette squeaks, reaching for the pillow to throw at Alya, who catches it easily and laughs. “I’m trying not to think about it!” 

“Yeah, and I’m sure you’re doing a great job at that,” Alya says with a snort. Marinette can’t help but let out a laugh of her own. 

“I just… I can’t believe it’s him, even after all this time,” she admits, fidgeting with the hem of her t-shirt. “I spent so long dreaming up all these scenarios about the future, and now that I’m in the future…” 

Alya’s gaze softens. “Did you really ever think that there was space in your heart for anyone else?”

Against her will, Marinette’s thoughts flick to another blonde, one that she’d never allowed herself to see in a different light—and now she never would. She quickly shakes her head, flustered, ready to stamp out any strange ideas before they can take further shape. 

“I know it must be a lot to take in all at once,” Alya adds, almost as if she can read exactly what’s on Marinette’s mind. “It’s okay if you’re feeling overwhelmed.” 

“It’s really fine,” Marinette insists. “I don’t have time to worry about… all of that. This akuma is just proof that I can’t afford to be distracted, because Monarch is clearly getting stronger,  and he was already able to catch me off guard—”

Alya squeezes Marinette’s hand, bringing her back to the moment. “Hey. Let’s not spiral.” 

Marinette exhales. “I just think I’m too anxious about everything else to have fully processed what this means for me and…” she trails off, cheeks pinkening. Alya’s mouth twitches. “For my life in 2015.” 

“It doesn’t have to mean anything right now,” Alya says. She gestures around at the room with her free hand, at the photos of a distant Marinette-and-Adrien put up on the walls. “You have so much time on your hands. I just want to make sure that you don’t get too in your own head when you’re back to your own time.”

“I’ll try,” she promises, and squeezes Alya’s hand back. “Bunnyx told me that this time switch needed to happen in order for this future to exist. I still don’t know what she meant, but maybe I just needed to get some advice from an older Alya.” 

Alya laughs. “Hey, fourteen-year-old me was more than capable of giving you good advice! Whether you listened or not, though, is a whole other question.” 

“I do listen! I respect everything you have to say—”

“Girl, save it for your own Alya,” she says, waving her words away. “I’m not the one who needs to hear that reassurance. What I do need to do, though, is get you ready.”

Marinette watches as Alya gets up to pull open one of two closets lining the wall near the bed. “You said that earlier, too. What is there to get ready for? Am I not just transforming into the Ladybug suit?” 

Alya turns around to stare at her blankly. “You’re joking, right?”

“No…?”

“Marinette, it’s a gala, ” Alya sighs. “You’re a designer. You are not going to show up to one of the biggest events of the year in a spandex bodysuit .”

“I… guess, but how would that even work, with the masks and everything? And doesn’t Ladybug have more important things to worry about than dressing up for a gala?” 

Alya triumphantly pulls something out from the closet, waving it in front of Marinette’s eyes—a mask, just like the one on her Ladybug suit, except it’s made of cloth and not magic. 

“It took some time, but this Ladybug finally understands that her duty to the world is just as important as her duty to herself,” Alya says, tossing the mask to Marinette. It lands in her lap. “Maybe that’s something you should be telling yourself, too.” 

Marinette stares at the mask in her hands. This is something she’s only allowed herself to dream about: existing as Ladybug without being in grave danger, without constantly looking over her shoulder for the next big threat. It’s impossible for her to associate being Ladybug with anything except danger. 

But then she thinks about this life that she’s getting a sneak peek into, a life built by the stranger whose body she’s inhabiting. She thinks about what Adrien had said about her looking forward to this event for months. 

She brings her eyes up to meet Alya’s again, who’s already looking at Marinette with a knowing smile. 

“Okay,” Marinette says finally. “I’ll get changed. Where’s the dress?”

For some reason, the question makes Alya laugh. She beckons for Marinette to join her where she’s standing, pulling out a silk hanger with a long dust cover obscuring the clothes underneath. “See for yourself.” 

Marinette takes the hanger from her warily. It’s heavier than she expected—she understands why as soon as she starts unzipping the cover. 

Instead of the ballgown she’d been picturing in her head, what she finds in her hands is a simple yet stylish three-piece suit. It’s a far cry from the oversized, poorly-fitted suits that Marinette has worn when disguising herself during her silly stunts. The black waistcoat sports a fashionable sweetheart neckline, standing out against the deep red of the blazer and pants; when she looks closer, she spots a small line of embroidered ladybugs trailing across the flaps of the jacket to the back. 

More than anything, it looks polished. There’s none of the frayed seams or lopsided buttons that she’s used to immediately spotting in her own work. It looks like it belongs in the storefront of a boutique, like something Marinette would snap a picture of to save to her inspiration board. 

“Well?” Alya prompts, waiting for her reaction. 

“I made this?” is all Marinette can manage. She runs her hands across the fabric; it’s as soft as it looks. 

Alya grins. “Yeah, girl. And you didn’t just make yours. ” 

She gestures at the two remaining hangers in the closet. From one of them hangs a strappy orange dress that skims the floor, while the other bears a suit that looks strikingly similar to the one in Marinette’s hands. Where hers is red, though, this one is all black. 

Even with all her excitement at seeing her future designs, a faint alarm bell rings through Marinette’s head. “Why is…?”

Alya’s eyes widen. “Oh! Right! Chat Noir must have forgotten to pick up his suit from your place with all this time swap confusion!”

She hastily takes the hanger out of the closet, giving Marinette a better view of the suit. It looks like a complete matching set when put together with hers, almost like the suits were designed to be worn by a—

“I’ll go give Chat a call,” Alya says weakly, snapping Marinette out of wherever that thought was leading, “so he knows he still has to, uh, get his clothes.”

Before Marinette even has a chance to ask any follow-up questions—so Alya somehow knows Chat’s identity, but not Adrien?—she whisks herself out of the room in a flash. Marinette is left standing alone with her suit in her hands.

Her treacherous mind strays from one thought to another, trying to file away all the information she has in a way that makes sense. A strange sensation fills the back of her mind; the same feeling she gets when there’s a missing piece in her Lucky Charm puzzle that she just can’t figure out. 

Ugh. Marinette pushes the thoughts away and mechanically focuses on getting herself into the right clothes for the gala. She has a feeling that if she keeps going down this lane, she’s going to end up discovering some things that she’d rather stay buried. 

Alya steps into the room around ten minutes later, just as Marinette finishes tugging on the blazer. Her face immediately breaks into a grin.

“You look amazing,” Alya tells her, nodding in approval. Marinette can’t help but grin back. She does a little twirl, admiring the way the clothes fit her in the mirror. 

She can still hardly recognise the reflection staring back at her. The suit is just snug enough to create a silhouette of sharp lines and angles while allowing her to move comfortably, without the restrictions she would have had if she was in a longer dress. She’s put her hair up in a ponytail, which she hardly ever does, but she likes the way it frames her new face. The only other time Marinette has felt this confident in something she’s worn is when she’s actually transformed into the Ladybug suit. 

Alya’s still watching her with a fond smile on her face, the same way she looks at Ella or Etta when they do something endearing. “Finally excited for the gala?”

Marinette flushes. “I’m just going because you both insisted!” 

“It won’t hurt to let yourself have fun,” Alya teases, reaching into the closet to get her dress out. “You’ll be back to your regularly scheduled normal life soon enough, might as well make the most of this while you still can.” 

Marinette doesn’t reply, but she doesn’t disagree, either. She turns around to face the dressing table while Alya changes. 

“Were you able to get in touch with Chat Noir?” she asks, rummaging through the makeup scattered across the counter. There are a lot more products than she typically uses on herself; Marinette is confused at her future self’s sudden interest in makeup before realising that the multiple bottles of foundation are all several shades too light to belong to her.

“Uh, yeah!” Alya replies, sounding distracted. “I dropped off his clothes with him. He’ll meet us there.” 

Marinette gingerly picks up an eyeliner pencil that looks like it might be hers. “I’m assuming all the other heroes will be there, too? Is there anything I should know so I don’t give myself away?”

“I’ll be by your side the whole time, don’t worry. Oh, but there is one thing I should probably tell you beforehand—you and Chloe are friends now. She knows you’re Ladybug.”

Marinette almost pokes her eye out with the pencil. “What?” 

“I can’t really say anything else without giving too much away,” she says, “but I figured she would try to talk to you, and I’d rather you not get into a fight in public.” 

“Don’t tell me I have to talk to her, ” Marinette protests, setting down the eyeliner and turning around. “How does she—why would she even—” 

Alya laughs, amused. “Just be civil, girl. Now can you help me with this zipper?”

Marinette wants to ask her more about this budding friendship with Chloe of all people, but she gets the sense that Alya will not be giving her any answers. 

She focuses instead on zipping up the dress and admiring the handiwork, which again looks more professional than anything Marinette had ever dreamed of creating. The layers of sheer fabric jutting out from the skirt make it seem like the dress is changing shape every time Alya moves, almost like an illusion in itself. 

“You look great, too,” Marinette says with a smile. 

“Of course I do,” Alya replies easily, matching her smile. “My best friend is the best designer in the world.” 

Marinette beams, unable to stop the pride from swelling up in her chest, even if it wasn’t technically her that made these clothes. 

Alya ends up helping her with the rest of her makeup, teasing a defensive Marinette about her wonky eyeliner. It feels like she’s back in her own bedroom, getting ready with Alya like the two of them always do before a function. She can already feel the knot of anxiety in her stomach loosening itself. Marinette makes a mental note to thank her own Alya when she gets back.

When she finally deems the two of them fit to leave, Alya carefully secures the cloth mask onto Marinette’s face and steps back to give her a nod of approval. “I think you’re ready, Minibug.”  

 

They end up transforming to launch themselves across the city and de-transforming back into their gala clothes right before they reach the venue, which Marinette finds a little silly, but she supposes silliness is just one of the occupational hazards of being a superhero. It’s easier to put on an air of confidence now that she’s in the Ladybug mask, but the flashing lights coming from every direction still make her wince. 

Marinette squints against the glare of the cameras and smiles weakly at the reporters calling out to her. She tries hard to tune out what they’re saying, not wanting to hear something she’s not supposed to. Alya’s presence near her is a steady one, and she lets Rena Rouge take the lead in answering questions. Marinette flashes an awkward peace sign at the crowd as they walk up the stairs, cringing internally when she realises what she’s doing. 

“Smooth as always, little lady,” comes a soft voice from right behind her. Marinette faintly registers Alya’s laughter as she turns around to face him, words dying on her lips. 

And—well. Well. She thought she already knew what to expect, having seen the suit and all. What she forgot to account for was Chat Noir’s shamelessness. He’s skipped out on wearing a shirt underneath the waistcoat, letting the fashionably deep-cut neckline leave very little to the imagination. A red rose is tucked neatly into his blazer pocket. His hair is left messy and unstyled, curling girlishly at his shoulders; somehow, the lack of cat ears on top of his head is what disturbs Marinette the most. 

“Shut up,” she manages, tearing her eyes away and hoping she doesn’t look as flushed as she feels. She doesn’t want to give the reporters any more material than they already have. “Not all of us are used to dealing with crowds of fangirls.” 

“What would you know about my crowd of fangirls, hmm?” 

She’s saved from having to grace that with a response by one of the reporters thrusting a camera into Chat Noir’s face. “Who designed both your suits? Are they a matching set? Is this finally confirmation that you two are—”

“No comment,” Chat says politely. Alya quickly guides Marinette away from the hordes of paparazzi and through the entrance to the reception. 

Marinette huffs in annoyance once they’re finally out of sight. “After ten years, they still don’t get the hint? You think they’d have dropped it by now.” 

“Sometimes it’s just easier to let everyone think what they want to think,” he says, with a smile that she can’t quite decipher. “It’s good to keep them on their toes.”

Alya rolls her eyes. “You two are every journalist’s worst nightmare.”

Chat Noir laughs, and Marinette gets the feeling that there’s some kind of inside joke here that she’s missing out on. Before she can read too deeply into it, Chat sidles up next to her and links their arms together. “So, we finally made it. Our reward from the city. Where should we start? The dessert table? You’re so right, you just read my mind, Minibug.”

Marinette wrinkles her nose and pulls her arm away. “Your sweet tooth hasn’t changed a bit.” 

“You’d think a baker’s daughter would have more appreciation for the simple joy brought by a sweet treat,” he sighs. 

“Come on, let’s get this cat something to eat before he turns feral,” Alya says, grinning at Marinette. “I did tell you that the free food is the best part.” 

From then on, everything is a blur of small bites and people who keep coming up to them to say hello. Alya and Chat Noir handle the conversations for the most part, taking turns to accompany her through the room and making subtle introductions when it’s clear Marinette has no idea who someone is. There’s also the extreme out-of-body experience of seeing the people she does recognise, but just barely. 

Carapace is the easiest to talk to; Nino has hardly changed in the past few years, and Marinette doesn’t have to worry about being awkward in front of him. Viperion is a little more discerning, and something about his eyes set her on edge as she babbles at random and hopes she doesn’t give herself away. Ryuko and Argos show up hand in hand, a sight that almost makes Marinette keel over in shock, but she valiantly reigns in her surprise when trying to strike up a casual conversation. 

Chloe turns up as just Chloe, no superhero mask in sight—which leaves Marinette even more confused as to why on earth she would’ve shared her secret identity with her. 

“Nice work with the suits, by the way,” she’s saying now, “but could you please tell your alleycat boyfriend to wear more clothes next time?”

Marinette is so jarred at the sound of anything remotely nice coming out of Chloe’s mouth that she can’t do anything except stare at her blankly. It’s only at the sound of Alya’s nervous laughter from next to her that she registers the second half of what Chloe said. 

She frowns. “You know he’s not—”

“Oh, that’s typical Chat Noir, shameless as ever, haha,” Alya interrupts hastily, ignoring Marinette to glare daggers at Chloe like she’s trying to tell her something telepathically. Chloe just rolls her eyes. 

“That catsuit is a terrible influence on him,” she says, turning her nose up in disdain. “Honestly, Adrien used to have some class .” 

For a second, Marinette thinks that Chloe just has an extremely bad sense of humour. She waits for the punchline—but all she sees is the unimpressed line of Chloe’s mouth and Alya angrily hissing, “Chloe!” 

There’s only so many blatant truths that she can deny when they’re right in front of her. Heart in her throat, Marinette turns around to face where she knows Chat Noir is standing by the dessert table, just out of earshot. He catches her looking and sends her a little wave.  

She feels like she might throw up. She vaguely registers Alya trying to ask her a question. 

Marinette still can’t bring herself to look away from Chat Noir. The evasion, the knowing glances, older Adrien’s insistence that he didn’t know who Chat was. He looks confused, but doesn’t look away, either. The misplaced suit, the inside jokes, the reporters’ comments. The last puzzle piece finally slots into place. 

He tilts his head questioningly, a small smile tugging at his lips, and she can’t believe it took her this long to realise. 

A sudden, sharp pain lances through Marinette’s head. It catches her off-guard, sending her stumbling backwards into the nearby table. Someone says something that she doesn’t quite catch. She tries to grab onto a chair for support, light-headed, feeling like she might faint any second. The last thing Marinette remembers seeing is a pair of concerned green eyes. 

Notes:

only 3 more chapters to go!!! hopefully there won't be such a long gap between this one & the next hehe :) come talk to me on tumblr in the meantime!!!

Chapter 6

Summary:

The Plan, as it turns out, involves Adrien trying to get the truth out of Chloe—a feat almost as difficult as pulling out his own teeth.

Notes:

we're in the final stretch!! this chapter was really frustrating to plan and write but i'm happy with how it turned out :)

The Plan, as it turns out, involves Adrien trying to get the truth out of Chloe—a feat almost as difficult as pulling out his own teeth. 

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to just approach her as Ladybug and Chat Noir?” he’d suggested, when she had first explained her idea. “She wouldn’t say no to Ladybug, would she?”

Ladybug just shook her head. “You know how stubborn Chloe can be. There’s a chance her pride will get in the way if we use our superhero authority to make her do something, but if you go up to her on equal ground, as a friend, she’ll probably be honest. We need the complete truth if we want a chance at helping Sabrina.”

For a brief moment, Adrien had been stunned into silence. His lady was one of the kindest souls he’d ever met, but even she had given up on trying to reach out to Chloe after a while. Adrien couldn’t exactly blame her. It seemed like this older version of Ladybug knew Chloe a lot better than either of them did. 

“I’ll stay hidden as Ladybug and jump in when it’s time,” she’d continued, “I’ll let Chloe take the lead in helping us find where Vanisher could be hiding. Then you join us as Chat Noir for the final part of the plan.” 

Adrien had listened carefully as she explained how their best bet was to help Sabrina break the akumatisation herself, since they had no way of knowing where the akuma was as long as she stayed invisible. It sounded just far-fetched to work out, as all her plans did, except…

“Are you sure that seeing Chloe won’t just make Vanisher more angry, if she’s the reason Sabrina got akumatised? How are we going to help Sabrina break free?”

Ladybug had just winked at him, rendering him speechless a second time within the span of mere seconds. “With the good old-fashioned power of friendship and a little bit of luck. Just trust me, chaton.”

So he did, sticking to her plan and hoping that her faith in Chloe wasn’t misplaced. Adrien can’t help but wonder what their relationship is like in the future—it’s hard for him to imagine the Ladybug he knows letting go of her pride to befriend someone like Chloe. But then again, she always manages to surprise him. 

They vault onto the school’s rooftop just in time to see Alya herding students back out of the gym. It’s almost the end of the school day, and with the akuma interruption, everyone will probably be allowed to head home early—which means he needs to catch up with Chloe quickly. 

Adrien exchanges a nod with Ladybug and stealthily drops down to the hallway, dropping his transformation and bounding down the stairs two steps at a time. He scans the crowd for a shiny blonde head. 

“Adrien!” Alya calls out, frowning as she realises that he hadn’t been with the rest of the class. “Where were you?”

“I got stuck in one of the classrooms upstairs,” he lies easily. “Have you seen Chloe?”

Alya still looks faintly suspicious, but she shakes her head. “She probably left already, she’d ditch us the second she got the chance.”

He sighs, about to thank Alya and head out to look for Chloe outside, when he realises that he’s also been unconsciously searching the crowd for someone else who isn’t there. 

Adrien is keenly aware of Ladybug’s presence somewhere above him and the very pressing akuma problem they have at hand, but it still doesn’t stop him from blurting out, “Where’s Marinette? Wasn’t she at the gym with everyone?” 

He half-expects Alya to start teasing him like she had the last time he asked about Marinette, but she just looks caught off-guard. She laughs nervously. “Oh, she had to go home early because she was having… stomach problems!”

“Really?” She’d seemed perfectly healthy to Adrien earlier. “Is she doing okay? Does she need anything?”

“She’s fine,” Alya says quickly, “she just needs some rest. Don’t worry about it. Uh, why were you looking for Chloe?”

Right. Ladybug is still waiting for him to carry out the plan, and he’s wasted enough time. “Nothing important. I’ll leave you to deal with the rest of the students.” 

Alya waves him goodbye, distracted by someone else coming up to her. Adrien raises his eyes to meet Ladybug’s amused ones staring at him from the roof. He briefly wonders how much of that conversation she heard before mouthing “OUTSIDE” and hoping she somehow catches it. 

Not for the first time, he thanks the universe for Ladybug’s luck powers when he steps through the school doors and immediately sees Chloe about to get into her car. He calls out to get her attention.

“Chloe!” 

She turns at the sound of her name and gives him an unimpressed once-over. “What do you want?” 

“I just wanted to check up on you after the attack,” he says honestly.

It was probably the wrong thing to say. Chloe huffs, defensive. “Why would you need to check up on me ? I’m fine. ” 

She turns right back around with her nose in the air, ready to get in the car again, but Adrien quickly puts himself between her and the car. The resulting glare Chloe sends him could cut glass. 

He quickly needs to figure out how to approach this conversation without scaring Chloe away or getting his head bitten off. 

“I know, I know,” he says, deciding to take a different route. “I just wanted someone to talk to. I guess I’m the one that’s shaken up, with this sentimonster preying on everyone’s emotions…” 

“You’ve always been a little sensitive.” 

Adrien flushes, once again aware that Ladybug is hidden away somewhere and hearing every single word of this conversation. 

“So you’re not affected by any of it?” he presses. “It didn’t stir up any old regrets?”

“I don’t have regrets. Regrets are for weaklings, like you and that ridiculous Sabr—”

Chloe cuts herself off, nose flaring up in anger like she knew she’d let something slip without meaning to. 

Adrien feigns innocence. “Sabrina? What does this have to do with Sabrina?” 

“Nothing!” she bursts out, crossing her arms. “It has nothing to do with her! I don’t care about her and I don’t regret anything!” 

Carefully, Adrien reaches out to place a hand on her arm, considering it a win when she doesn’t bite it off or pull away. He’s seen Chloe like this before—defensive and irritable, lashing out at everyone around her just because she’s hurting. 

“I’m not here to preach, or judge, or anything,” he says. “I meant what I said in class earlier. It’s okay if you’re upset about Sabrina.”

Chloe glares at him. “Why are you suddenly being nice to me? Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be running after Dupain-Cheng, or something?” 

Chloe’s voice betrays no emotions other than irritation, but Adrien’s been around her long enough to know when she’s upset by something. He thinks back to Ladybug’s words—about Chloe’s pride, about her just needing an equal to rely on. (He also hopes that Ladybug didn’t catch her comment about Marinette.) 

“You’re my oldest friend,” he says simply. “I don’t want to lose you.” 

She’s quiet for a few moments. The permanently displeased crease between her eyebrows doesn’t ease, but she does stop glaring at Adrien. 

“Sabrina got akumatized because of me,” she finally mutters. “That’s why she wasn’t in school today. I saw it happen.” 

“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” 

“Well, Ladybug broke my bee signal, didn’t she?” Chloe sends him another annoyed look. “I was angry enough without having to deal with an akumatized villain. It’s not my fault that Sabrina couldn’t keep her emotions in check.” 

Adrien doesn’t say anything, just waits for her to continue. 

“I didn’t hear anything about akuma attacks, so I assumed Ladybug took care of it… and when Sabrina didn’t show up to school, I figured she was avoiding me,” she says bitterly. “But after seeing the same sentimonster again, I knew that she must still be akumatised.” 

“Is that why you were so defensive in class today?”

Chloe scowls. “You’re such a prick. I wasn’t being defensive, I just felt—” her voice suddenly gets quiet. “Bad.” 

“You felt what? Sorry, I didn’t catch the last part.”

She huffs. “I felt bad! Okay! I’ve never seen anyone be akumatised for such a long time, and it was because of me, and I don’t even know where she is or what she’s doing, and I’m worried because she’s my…” Chloe breaks off. “I care about her. Whatever.” 

“Have you ever told her that?” Adrien asks gently. 

“Why would I? Is it not obvious? I get her expensive gifts and I let her hang out with me all the time!” 

He bites back a smile. “Sometimes people need to hear things out loud to believe them.”

“That’s ridiculous,” she informs him, “Anyway, what good is any of that now? Sabrina’s been akumatised for three days! And Ladybug and her useless cat haven’t done anything about it!”

Adrien is caught between being offended and trying to figure out what to say to convince Chloe to help—Ladybug must sense his confusion, because she picks that moment to drop down from wherever she’d been hiding. 

“You’re right, Chloe. We haven’t been able to do anything.” 

Chloe’s eyes widen in shock. “ Ladybug? What are you… did you hear all of that?” 

“Just the last part,” Ladybug says smoothly, “And you’re right. I need your help. You’re the only one who can lead us to where Vanisher is hiding.” 

For a second, Chloe just stares at her blankly. Adrien completely understands. He thinks this is possibly one of the first times he’s heard Ladybug openly admit she needs help, much less from Chloe. 

Before Ladybug can say anything else, Chloe scoffs. 

“Of course you need my help,” she says, tossing her ponytail. “I’ve always said you’re useless without me, haven’t I?” 

Again, he expects Ladybug to snap back or at least roll her eyes; all she does is smile in amusement, like she thinks Chloe is funny. But even though she’s smiling, there’s some kind of hidden weight behind Ladybug’s eyes that confuses Adrien. It looks out of place on his Ladybug’s face, wise beyond her years, more sad than happy. Something about the expression feels familiar, like he’s seen it on someone else recently. 

“You’re always an asset to the team, Chloe,” Ladybug says in complete earnest. Chloe’s cheeks redden ever so slightly. “Do you know where Vanisher could have gone?”

Chloe knits her eyebrows together. “She got akumatised when we were outside, but it would be impossible to figure out if she’s still there if we can’t even see her.” 

“What about a place that she goes when she doesn’t want to be found? Does she have somewhere like that?” Adrien asks. 

Something in Chloe’s face shifts, and she lets out an almost pained sigh. 

“I have an idea,” she says grimly. Then her eyes dart towards Ladybug again. “But it’s not my fault, okay! I only put her there as a joke at first but then she kept going back on her own!” 

Ladybug’s voice is firm. “No judgement. Just tell me where this place is.”

“At the hotel,” Chloe mutters. “In one of my rooms. There’s a closet—” 

“Okay, let’s go,” Ladybug interrupts, pulling out her yo-yo and extending a hand for Chloe to take. 

Chloe’s eyes widen again, this time more in excitement than shock. “Are you giving me a new miraculous? Did you get them back from Monarch?” 

“No,” says Ladybug, shaking her head. “I need Chloe, not Queen Bee. You’re the key to helping Sabrina break her akumatisation.” 

Chloe glances at Adrien. “What about this one?” 

“I think I’ll let you heroes handle this,” Adrien says with a grin. Chloe’s cheeks redden even further, though she fights to maintain her haughty expression. 

“And I’ll message Chat Noir to meet us at the hotel,” Ladybug adds, taking out her bugphone and smiling at Adrien in a way that will probably be stamped into his memory forever. He knows that these secretive glances are only a short-lived side effect of older Ladybug knowing his identity, but he loves the idea of sharing a secret like this with his Ladybug. At least he can live out those daydreams for a little longer before they beat this akuma. 

“Honestly, it’s a wonder you two manage to get anything done without me,” Chloe gripes, finally taking Ladybug’s hand as she wraps her yo-yo around a distant chimney. “You should consider—”

The rest of her sentence is cut off by the wind, with Ladybug swinging them off the ground and onto the Paris rooftops. Adrien only lets himself grin stupidly after Ladybug’s receding silhouette for two seconds (he counted). 

Plagg flies out of his pocket right as he ducks behind a nearby pillar. “That Chloe girl is more complicated than a piece of overripe cheese.”

Adrien snorts. He has to agree—the conversation went a lot better than he expected, but her constant tonal shifts are enough to give anyone whiplash. 

“Now that Adrien has done his part, Ladybug needs Chat Noir’s help,” he reminds Plagg, quickly calling on his transformation and vaulting himself in the same direction the other two were headed in.

He lands on Chloe’s balcony just a few seconds after her and Ladybug do, judging by Chloe’s disgruntled expression at Chat Noir’s arrival. Adrien is always endlessly amused by how irritated she gets at his superhero persona.

“Ladybug said you graciously offered to help us with Vanisher,” he says with a little bow. “Thank you, Chloe.”

She rolls her eyes. “Whatever, alleycat.” 

Chloe quietly leads them to one of her many gigantic closets, stopping right in front of one with that looks just big enough to fit a person. She looks almost nervous. 

Ladybug seems to sense her hesitation, because she gestures for Chloe to step aside. She meets Adrien’s eyes and a perfect sense of understanding passes between them. He readies his baton, getting into a defensive stance as Ladybug reaches to open the door—if things go according to plan, they won’t have to fight Vanisher, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. 

It seems like the closet is empty at first glance. But before either of the heroes can reach forward to test that theory, Vanisher speaks to them first. 

“Go away! Leave me alone! I don’t want to see anyone!” 

Adrien exchanges a concerned look with Ladybug. He’s never heard an akuma victim sound so distressed. 

An invisible hand reaches forward to shut the closet door again, but Adrien quickly blocks it with his baton. 

“Sabrina, we’re only here to help,” he says, struggling to keep the door open against someone he can’t even see. “We’re here for you. ” 

“I mean it, go away! Or he’ll make me take your miraculous!” 

That’s another first. From the looks of it, she’s been trying to fight against Monarch’s influence for a while now. 

“You can take back control,” Ladybug pleads from behind him. “It’s not too late. You can break the akumatisation yourself.”  

Vanisher sounds even angrier than before. “Why should I? No one even noticed I was gone! No one cared! I regretted alienating myself from everyone for so long, but it doesn’t matter anymore. Now I’m going to stay here, by myself, forever! And you superheroes can’t stop me!”  

She lunges forward suddenly, making Adrien stumble backwards. Ladybug’s yo-yo shoots out to try and wrap around Vanisher but misses the mark, bouncing off the wall of a now-empty closet. She curses and calls on her lucky charm. 

He doesn’t get a chance to see what the charm is because Vanisher is already attacking him, an invisible force coming at him from every possible direction. Adrien stays on the defense, not fighting her outright, spinning his baton to avoid her surprise attacks however he can. 

From the corner of his eye, he spots Chloe pressed against the wall, half-hidden by the flung open closet doors. Vanisher doesn’t seem to have noticed her yet, which seems to be exactly what Ladybug is relying on—she presses her lucky charm into Chloe’s hands and says something in her ear. 

Vanisher takes advantage of Adrien’s distraction to trip him, pressing him against the floor with much more strength than he would expect. He really hopes that she doesn’t have another one of those timeswap beams up her sleeve.

“You can fight back,” he manages to say, struggling to get away. She has his arms pinned above his head in a tight hold. “You can—”

“Shut up, alleycat,” Vanisher hisses. Just as he’s getting ready to call on his cataclysm so that she can’t take the ring off his finger, Chloe steps forward.

“ I noticed you were gone, Sabrina.”

Adrien can feel Vanisher falter by the way that her grip loosens ever so slightly. It’s only a little, but it’s all he needs to break free from her hold and stand opposite to Ladybug. The three of them form a triangle around where Vanisher is standing. 

“Don’t lie! You never notice anyone except yourself! And I’m not Sabrina!” 

“I was worried about you,” Chloe continues, saying the same things that she’d told Adrien just minutes before. “I shouldn’t have left you like that after our fight. But I’m not hiding behind my regrets, Sabrina. We can talk if you just break the akuma.” 

She holds out the item in her hands—it’s the exact same lucky charm that Ladybug had gotten earlier today, which Adrien has never seen happen before. A polka-dotted brooch. 

Even the gods of creation are telling them to solve this with the power of friendship. 

“Please come back, Sabrina,” Chloe says, and Adrien can hear Vanisher’s breath catch in her throat when she sees the brooch. 

“No! I— ugh!”

Even though Adrien can’t see her, he can tell that Vanisher is struggling, that she’s trying. 

“Letting go of your regrets is the only way to move forward,” Ladybug says softly, so quiet that Adrien doesn’t even think he’s meant to hear it. “You can’t change the past, but you can change what you do in the present. And I know you’re strong enough to fight against the akuma.” 

She falls to her knees with a final cry of anguish, the akuma magic stripping away her invisibility to leave behind only Sabrina. Adrien rushes to her side as he hears the ever-familiar sound of Ladybug flipping open her yo-yo to take care of the akuma.

“You’re safe now,” he reassures a dazed Sabrina. “But you might feel more tired than usual. You were akumatised for three days.”

“I— what?” Sabrina blinks, almost looking like she’s going to faint on the spot. Before he can say anything else, Chloe is barrelling towards them with a thunderous expression on her face. 

“You are ridiculous! Seriously ridiculous! I can’t believe—” 

He steps away as she engulfs the other girl in a hug, not wanting to get caught in the middle of whatever is going on there. Adrien glances sideways to find Ladybug with her fist outstretched, smiling at him. 

“Bien joué, kitty cat,” she says as their fists connect. He tries to smile back, but he can already tell that it’s probably coming off as forced. 

The truth is, he’s had a sinking feeling in his stomach since they first figured out how to take the akuma down. He should be feeling overjoyed—another villain down, no more time travel shenanigans to deal with. He is glad to finally be able to have his lady back. But a part of Adrien grew attached to this version of Ladybug, one that laughed at all his jokes and didn’t mind his nicknames and smiled at him like she saw him. 

He swallows down the unwanted emotions. As Chloe would put it, he’s being ridiculous. 

“Aren’t you going to cast that?” Adrien asks, nodding at the polka-dotted brooch that’s now lying on the floor near where Chloe and Sabrina are hugging. 

Ladybug studies him for a moment, like she sees something on his face that he doesn’t even know is there. And then without a word, Ladybug pulls him to her side and launches them off of Chloe’s balcony and onto a nearby rooftop with her yo-yo. 

“I’ll be returned to my time the second I throw up the lucky charm,” she says after setting him down not so gently. Adrien can only stare at her wide-eyed, still reeling from the shock of being picked up so easily. “It doesn’t feel right to leave without a proper goodbye.” 

He rubs the back of his neck, awkward, eyeing her beeping miraculous. “You don’t have a lot of time left, m’lady.” 

“There’s something still on your mind, isn’t there? Is it about the akuma?”

God, she’s unfairly perceptive. 

“I guess I was thinking about the akuma.” Adrien glances over at Ladybug, only to find himself startled by the force of her steadfast gaze. “Did you manage to figure out why it sent you back to this time?” 

Given how she’d reacted the last time he brought up the question of having regrets left in 2015, he isn’t expecting an honest answer from Ladybug. He just—selfishly, curiously—wants to know if it has anything to do with him.  

Her voice is quiet but steady when she replies. “I have a lot of things to regret from how I acted when I was fourteen. There’s some things I shouldn’t have said, some things I should have said.” 

“So, nothing specific, then.” 

“The relationship between you two is something you should bring up with your Ladybug, not me,” she says, and Adrien’s cheeks burn at having been read so easily. “I have a feeling that things are about to get a little worse before they get better.”

“What does that even mean? If you know what happens, why don’t you just tell me? We can fix everything before it has to get worse!” 

“You know that’s not how it works, chaton.” Ladybug smiles. “Just trust yourself. And if you’re feeling lost, just look at what’s right in front of you.”

Before Adrien can even register what she said, Ladybug reaches up to lightly press a kiss to his cheek. Everything about it, from the way she gets on her tip-toes to the exact feeling of her lips against his skin, strikes him with déjà vu. Their eyes meet when she steps away—and a sudden shock of recognition spreads through his body. 

He doesn’t know how he knows it, he just does. He feels it in his bones. It’s like someone just lifted up a curtain that had been placed permanently in front of his eyes, finally letting him see the person who's been right in front of him for the past year. So many times has he considered this possibility, only to dismiss it as too far-fetched; something tells him that he won’t be able to deny it this time. 

All of his memories feel like they’ve been reshaped, bathed in a new shade of light and illuminating what he hadn’t been able to see before. Everything just clicks together. 

Ladybug— Marinette —watches him like she can read every single thought running through his mind. He should probably say something, but all his attempts at cohesive thoughts come up empty. 

She sends him one final smile before getting ready to cast her miracle cure across the city. “Goodbye, Adrien.” 

The magical ladybugs swarm across her body immediately, enveloping her with their pink magic until they fly away to fix damage elsewhere in Paris. Adrien can’t do anything but watch, his head still reeling with all of this new information, until he sees Ladybug’s knees buckle and his instincts kick in. 

He rushes to catch her before she falls. He only gets a second to try and steady his heart rate before her eyes flutter open, and Adrien knows immediately that his lady is back with him. 

Notes:

i really like the difference between marinette needing evidence & undeniable proof to believe that adrien is chat noir (like we see in ephemeral), while adrien's gut instinct is always to assume that marinette is ladybug (like we see in chat blanc/kwami buster). they are so head vs. heart as always and i wanted to incorporate that into this reveal as well <3 i hope the reveals were as satisfying to read as they were for me to write :)

the next 2 chapters will be a little shorter than usual, they're mostly there to wrap up loose ends. come talk to me on tumblr in the meantime!

Chapter 7

Summary:

“I’m back,” Marinette breathes out, patting herself down to make sure it’s real. She looks up again at Chat Noir—at her Chat Noir—and feels like she could cry with relief. “You’re back.”

The pain subsides as quickly as it started, making Marinette stumble and struggle to balance her step. When she squints against the sudden brightness and opens her eyes, she’s met with the same green eyes that she remembers seeing just a few seconds ago—until she sees the rest of his face.

Marinette pulls away, cheeks burning when she realises how close they’d just been and head reeling from everything that just happened in the past minute. She looks down at herself, at her Ladybug suit, no longer a stranger in her own body. 

“I’m back,” Marinette breathes out, patting herself down to make sure it’s real. She looks up again at Chat Noir—at her Chat Noir—and feels like she could cry with relief. “ You’re back.”

He’s still looking at her with those huge eyes, almost wonderstruck, and Marinette is nearly bowled over by the wave of emotion that rushes through her. His name bounces around in her mind like a fire alarm. 

“I never left, m’lady,” he says, and he takes her hand like he’s about to bring it to his lips—when the loud beep of her miraculous catches them both off-guard. 

Marinette’s eyes widen with surprise when she realises her timer is on its last few seconds, ready to detransform her any moment. She instinctively ducks behind a nearby wall divider jutting out from the roof, which shields her at least partly. 

“You don’t have to—”

“Don’t look!” she interrupts on reflex, heart caught in her throat when the magic of the suit fades away to her everyday clothes. “Let me… give me a minute to feed Tikki.” 

Chat Noir doesn’t say anything, but he respects her wishes as always. The alarm blaring in Marinette’s head only grows louder. If she knows his name—there’s a chance that he—

“Here you go, Tikki,” she whispers, distracting herself. She pulls out the last of her macarons from her bag and hands it to her kwami with a small smile. Marinette honestly hadn’t been able to tell the difference between her Tikki and the one she met ten years in the future, but she’s still glad to be back with her own. 

Marinette swallows. Her throat is dry with anticipation, with the knowledge that they’ll have to acknowledge the elephant in the room sooner or later. 

“If the timer just ran out, then you must have purified the akuma just a few minutes ago,” she says instead. “Who was it? Did it attack anyone else? How did you find the—” 

“Sabrina got akumatised again,” Chat explains, interrupting her rapid tirade of questions. “I’m not sure if anyone else got hit by the time swap beams but even if they did, it should be all reset now. And we had some help from Chloe, actually.” 

Marinette thinks back to her brief interaction with the older Chloe. Even if she had been the reason for Marinette’s current internal panic, she could see that her older self was clearly comfortable around Chloe. “You know, I’m somehow not surprised by that.”

She hears Chat Noir laugh from behind the wall. Something tugs at her chest; she only spent three days away, but she missed the feeling of being able to recognise something as familiar as her partner’s laugh. Everything in the future had felt a little alien to her. 

“Believe me, I was surprised. It felt so surreal seeing Ladybug put her trust in Chloe for such an important mission.” 

Marinette stares at a crack on the roof in front of her. “I guess I have a lot to learn from my future self.”

Chat Noir falls silent again, no doubt thinking of another way to bring up what they’re both avoiding. She nudges Tikki to finish eating her macaron a little faster. 

“Did you…” She can’t see the face Chat is making, but she can clearly hear the hesitation in his voice. “When you were there, in the future… did you discover… anything?” 

She can’t help but snort at his lack of subtlety. Tikki is finally done recharging, and after a quick kiss of thanks to her kwami’s head, Marinette calls on the Ladybug suit once more. 

“‘Discover anything’?” she repeats wryly, re-emerging from behind the wall and steeling herself for what’s to come. 

“You know what I mean. Do you… know?” 

Even if Marinette tried to lie and say no, it wouldn’t have worked. It’s obvious the second their eyes meet. Chat doesn’t try to hide the open-hearted desire written across his face, or the way his breath hitches as he waits for her response. She’s sure that her own expression is no less revealing. 

He looks so hopeful, like he’s ready to put everything on the line as soon as she gives him a sign. And that’s exactly why Marinette can’t.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to discuss that right now,” she says, keeping her voice carefully neutral. 

Chat Noir frowns. “What?”

“There’s too much at stake. We have to focus on our mission, which is defeating Monarch and keeping Paris safe.”

“You’re not making any sense, Mar—”

“Don’t.” It comes out harsher than she expected, and she softens immediately when she sees the way Chat’s face falls. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. I just…” 

She exhales. Her mind whirs with every possible outcome of how badly things could end, now that they both know what they shouldn’t. It would be so easy for Marinette to just insist that he listen to her like she usually does. 

But she doesn’t want to risk pushing him away again. The only way for her to gain Chat’s trust is to be as honest as possible, even if it’s hard.

“If you say it out loud, it’ll feel too real,” Marinette finally says. 

“Why can’t it be real?” he counters immediately. “Ma— Ladybug. You know this is a good thing.” 

There’s the answer she wants to give, and the answer she knows she has to give. 

Marinette keeps her eyes trained on the ground. If she looks up and meets his eyes, she’s worried it’ll be too easy for her to break her own resolve. 

“I saw us in the future,” she says quietly. “I saw… a shared life. A happy life.”

“Then what’s stopping us now?” 

“If we want a chance at that future, then we need to defeat Monarch first. Knowing each other’s identities makes us weak. We already have so much to lose now that all the miraculous are in his hands. If we act on… this, then we’ll just have more to lose. We can’t let Monarch gain anything else over us.”

She finally looks up. Chat’s usually sunny expression is troubled, marred with stormy eyes that make it difficult for her to tell what he’s thinking. 

“We can be discreet,” he tries, “we can keep it a secret, not tell anyone—”

Marinette shakes her head. “One of us is bound to slip up.”

His face falls even further. It’s getting really hard for Marinette to stick to her own plan. 

“It’s hard for me, too,” she says, soft, forcing herself not to look away from Chat again. “All I can think about is… is the future I saw. I don’t want anything to stop us from getting there. Especially not Monarch.”

Chat doesn’t say anything right away. He just keeps looking at her with searching eyes, making Marinette feel strangely exposed despite the mask covering her face. 

“I think you’re right about one thing,” he says slowly. “We do need to defeat Monarch first, before anything else.”

Marinette’s shoulders sag with relief. “I knew you’d understand.” 

“But you’re wrong when you say that this,” Chat Noir points between the two of them, “makes us weak. I think it makes us an even stronger team.” 

“We can’t—”

“Now that I know you, all of you, I can be a better partner to you,” he interrupts. Marinette falls silent. “I can help you on both sides of the mask. I trust you more than anything.”

The earnestness in his voice might kill her. She can feel her lungs twisting themselves up in knots; she doesn’t even know what to say. 

Chat smiles, sincerity bleeding out of every part of his face. “Of course I’ll wait. I’ll wait as long as it takes.” 

And Marinette really can’t do anything except pull him into a hug, blinking back the tears that she hadn’t even realised were threatening to spill out. Her thoughts flash back to the conversation she’d had with the older Chat Noir— my lady and I, we have each other. She tightens her arms around him.

“Thank you,” she finally manages to say when they pull apart. “I’m glad I have you.” 

“And you always will,” he says, with such certainty that Marinette almost stops breathing again. Seriously, if this is how it is when they’re not together, how is she going to take it when they…?

She pushes the thought out of her mind and clears her throat. 

“The older version of you reminded me of that, too. He said Ladybug and Chat Noir will always have each other to rely on.”

Chat’s grin suddenly turns smug. “He sounds super smart. Probably really handsome, too.” 

“I was trying to be serious!” Marinette groans, all signs of their previously touching moment now shattered. She punches him in the arm. 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to lie about your feelings anymore, buginette,” he teases. “You can be honest. Was he as funny and charming as me? Did he sweep you off your feet?” 

“Don’t flatter yourself, kitty cat,” Marinette retorts, and hopes he didn’t catch the way she faltered before speaking. “Your personality is no less insufferable even after ten years.”

Chat’s grin widens. “You’re blushing.”

“Am not!” 

“You are! Admit it, you finally fell for my charms,” he sing-songs. 

“I’ll throw you off this roof,” Marinette promises, “and then you’ll be the only one falling.” 

“Falling for you, as always.” 

He says it with an exaggerated bow, and it’s no different than literally any other time that they’ve been joking around like this, but Marinette still feels heat rushing to her cheeks at the words. 

“Shut up,” she mutters quickly, refusing to give Chat another chance to tease her. He just smiles. 

“Meeting older Ladybug was wonderful,” he adds, resting his chin on his baton with a sigh. “I didn’t think you could get any smarter than you already are, but seeing the ten years of experience in action was… amazing.” 

That same feeling from earlier tugs at her chest again, somewhere between butterflies and heartache. 

“Should I be jealous?” she jokes, before she can think any better of it. 

Instead of countering with another joke, Chat Noir just shakes his head in earnest. “You know there’s only space for one Ladybug in my heart, m’lady. And I prefer the one that’s my age.” 

“You— ugh!” Marinette cuts herself off, voice too strangled to continue with whatever she’d been about to say. She’s sure she’s blushing now. “You can’t just say things like that!” 

“I’ve been saying things like that since the day I met you,” he says with a laugh. “Why would I stop now?” 

And, well. She doesn’t really have a witty comeback for that.

Marinette reaches forward to flick the bell on his suit. “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” 

“Probably not,” he agrees easily. She catches his eye and breaks into a laugh. 

The future doesn’t feel so far when it’s just the two of them laughing on an empty rooftop in the middle of their city. Marinette thinks she wouldn’t mind waiting for ten more years if it meant she could spend every day like this. 

Notes:

and the kids are back!!! don't worry, they'll be happy soon. they just have to get through the trenches first :')

just one more chapter to go! come talk to me on tumblr in the meantime!

Chapter 8

Summary:

“Welcome back, m’lady,” he murmurs, just soft enough for Marinette’s ears. It’s real.

Notes:

it's here!! the final chapter!! i won't lie, this was mainly an excuse to write some absolutely disgustingly sappy lovesquare fluff, so i hope you enjoy <3

Marinette blinks once, then twice, before she opens her eyes to the most welcome sight she’s seen in days. 

Several faces look down at her with varying degrees of concern. Her hand hurts from where she’s tightly clutching a chair, and it takes her a few seconds to adjust to the sudden dim lighting in the room, but she feels like she could cry with relief when she realises where she is. It worked. 

“Minibug?” comes a worried voice from somewhere in front of her. “Are you…”

He trails off the second their eyes meet, his own eyes widening with realisation before she even needs to say a word. Marinette smiles. 

In less than a second, Adrien rushes forward to wrap her in a hug; she laughs against the material of his suit and tightens her arms around him. 

“Welcome back, m’lady,” he murmurs, just soft enough for Marinette’s ears. It’s real . The last few days of being trapped as her fourteen-year-old self felt like a fever dream, but it’s over now. She’s back in her time, in her body, next to her Chat Noir. She’s going to stay here forever and never let go. 

“Um, hello? She literally just tripped, why are you guys hugging like she almost died? And why are you calling her Minibug , you freak?” comes Chloe’s angelic voice, shattering the moment. 

“I’m not a freak,” Adrien complains, letting out a sound of protest when Marinette pulls away from the hug. Her chest is so full with the happiness of finally being around her friends again that she can’t even pretend to be annoyed at Chloe. 

“It’s a long story,” she starts, but she’s interrupted by a sudden ambush from her left. Marinette laughs and hugs Alya back with just as much intensity.

“Oh my god, I was so worried!” Alya bursts out, immediately breaking away to grip Marinette by the shoulders. “I think Minibug found out something she shouldn’t have—”

“Alya, it’s fine,” Marinette reassures her, “everything worked out exactly how it was supposed to, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Her eyes meet Adrien’s over Alya’s head and they break into matching smiles, no doubt thinking back to the same rooftop conversation. Stolen glances and the hazy promise of a future that felt so far away when they were just teenagers. So many years spent angsting over the frustration of knowing but not being able to do anything about it. Sometimes Marinette still can’t believe how lucky she’s been to end up here. 

“Seriously? Is everyone just going to ignore me? I can hear you guys! And you’re not making any sense!” 

Chloe crosses her arms impatiently, clearly waiting for an explanation. The three of them exchange a look, having a silent conversation that results in Alya sighing and stepping forward to take one for the team. 

“Let me tell you what happened,” she says, touching a hand to Chloe’s elbow and guiding her away from the table. Alya glances back to shoot another look at Marinette. “And then I want an explanation from you.” 

“I’ll tell you everything,” Marinette promises. She can’t help the smile on her face as she watches the two of them walk away arm in arm, thinking back to the younger version of Chloe she’d been faced with just minutes ago, so different yet exactly the same. 

It had been beyond strange to be suddenly surrounded by faces she only remembered from childhood memories. Marinette always knew on some level that they’d all been much too young to be dealing with everything they had, but she still finds it hard to stomach just how small everyone looked. It pains her to think about her ex-classmates now, with their full cheeks and bright eyes, knowing everything that’s to come. 

And then Adrien is taking her hand again, and she stops thinking about anyone else. 

“I’m so glad you’re back,” he says earnestly, bringing her hand to his lips. “Three days have never felt longer. I felt like I was going crazy.”

Marinette laughs and pushes his nose away with her index finger. “I missed you, too.” 

Now that she’s no longer hugging him or distracted by their friends, Marinette is finally free to admire how well her handiwork looks on Adrien. She wishes she was there for his reaction to seeing the suit for the first time—she kept the design a secret from him for months as a surprise. It fits him like a glove, of course, but she still makes a mental note to fix a mistake on the hemming. 

“You’re staring,” Adrien sing-songs; Marinette pulls her eyes away from where they’d been lingering and smiles up at him. 

“I’ve been surrounded by no one except fourteen year olds for days,” she points out. “You’re a sight for sore eyes, chaton.” 

Adrien’s resulting grin is all Chat Noir, but the softness in his eyes gives him away. He squeezes her hand. “I’m sorry you had to go through it alone.” 

“I wasn’t alone at all,” Marinette replies, shaking her head. “I had Tikki, and Alya, and Chloe. I had you.” 

“I’m sure my pathetically lovesick teenage self was a huge help,” he says wryly. 

She squeezes his hand back. “More than you could imagine.” 

“ Your teenage self was even cuter than I remembered. I think you almost gave yourself a conniption after figuring out we were dating.”

Marinette groans and pushes him away. “Stop! I don’t want to hear about how embarrassing I acted!” 

“It was so cute,” Adrien teases, slipping his hand into hers again and interlocking their fingers with ease. “And I completely forgot how oblivious you could be. I fully think I’d have gotten away with keeping the secret if it wasn’t for Chloe.”

“Then we wouldn’t be here, would we?” Marinette holds up their linked hands between them. She adds, “You were a lot quicker on the uptake, though. And I wasn’t even trying to drop any hints!” 

Adrien kisses the back of her hand. “I just spent a lot of time thinking about Ladybug and Marinette.” 

The same feeling from earlier fills up her chest again, like she’s going to burst with the amount of joy that can’t be contained within her body anymore. 

They’re still in a crowded room. While there are no reporters allowed inside the gala venue, it’s full of distant acquaintances and grudging allies that would love the latest scoop on Ladybug and Chat Noir’s relationship status. Marinette can feel various pairs of eyes resting on them even as they’re tucked away in a little corner, which is the only thing that’s stopping her from kissing her boyfriend how she wants to. 

Adrien’s expression turns knowing, like he can tell exactly what she’s thinking. He probably can. He tugs at her hand and pulls her towards the back of the hall.

“Come on. We can take a little break.” 

Marinette would normally be the first to protest hiding away while at an event thrown in their honour, but she’s let Adrien’s rule-breaking habits rub off on her over the years. She follows him through one of the doors down the back until they’re at one of the many other empty rooms in the venue, finally alone.

He turns back to face her, and this time the smile he sends her is all Adrien. His eyes don’t leave hers for even a second, still full of the same sincerity that she’d seen in them when they were fourteen. 

“I thought you’d have more questions,” Marinette says softly, “I’d probably be exploding with worry if this happened to you.” 

Adrien laughs. “I had no reason to be worried, m’lady. I knew you’d have everything under control.”

“You have so much faith in me,” she replies, looping her arms around his neck. “What if something went wrong? What if I was stuck in the wrong time for even longer?”

“Then we’d figure it out together. Me and Minibug, or you and mini-me, or whatever.”

Marinette lets her eyes trail over his face, committing every feature to memory. Despite all her confidence in front of the younger Adrien, there’d been a few moments where she’d been worried that she would never see this face again. She’s never been more glad to be wrong. 

“I love you,” she says, as earnestly as she can muster, leaning in to kiss him before he can reply. He sighs immediately, opening his mouth under hers, his hand coming up to rest at the nape of her neck. 

Adrien’s skin is warm to the touch, as he always is, and she’s struck again by how much she missed him even after just a few days. Marinette had spent the first night after she’d woken up in her fourteen-year-old body lying awake, feeling helplessly alone and cold without the warmth of another body next to hers. It was only when the stress had finally turned into fatigue that she was dragged into a fitful sleep. Now, she curls her fingers tightly into the hair at the base of his head and kisses him harder. 

“Ow,” Adrien gasps, breaking away with a reproachful pout directed at her. She loosens her grip. “Be nice.”

Marinette smiles sheepishly. “Sorry. Just making sure you’re real.” 

“I’m not going anywhere,” he promises, and reaches out to brush a thumb against her cheekbone, feather-light yet tangible. She closes her eyes and leans into the touch as Adrien presses a kiss to her forehead. 

“We should head back to the gala,” she mumbles after a moment. “Everyone’s probably wondering where we went.”

“Oh, please, they see enough of Ladybug and Chat Noir as it is. Let them enjoy a break from our faces.” 

“I need to talk to Alya,” Marinette reminds him. “And I want to see everyone else, too! I’m not letting my teenage self have all the fun.” 

Adrien smiles like he’s remembering something funny. “You’ve always been a natural in front of large crowds.”

“Whatever embarrassing thing I did earlier, I don’t want to hear it,” she admonishes. “Let’s go, loverboy. Time to be professional superheroes again.” 

“Okay, okay. I just need to do one thing first.” 

He cups Marinette’s face in both his hands and kisses her again, soft and slow and sweet, pulling away only to pepper the rest of her face with more kisses. She laughs as he kisses her nose and pats his hands away. 

“I love you, too,” Adrien says decidedly, and her lungs fill to the brim with affection. 

“Sap,” is all she says in response. Marinette links their hands back together and leads him back to the rest of their friends, determined to never let go again. 

Notes:

and it's over!! i had so much fun writing this fic and spending time with older maribug/adrichat. i'll be sad to let go of them but i wanted to give them the happy ending they deserved :')

thank you so much to everyone who read and commented! you can also find me on tumblr!!!