x v i

"Adrien."

Seeing him here, beside her, threw her for a loop.

This was... her brother? The person she quote, grew up with, unquote. The person she treasured with all her heart, her best friend.

This was the idiot who put himself in danger, got himself hurt, which hurt her in the process, by the way.

This was the idiot that scared her to death, harassed her at one point and... the person she kissed and cuddled.

"What..." Adrien cleared his throat lightly. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" He joked.

She stared at him, before reaching over and removing his mask. Then her hands went up to his hair and tussled it right way and... there he was. Yeah, this was her idiot cat.

Marinette couldn't help but smile because... good lord, Adrien was Chat Noir. Adrien, in a world where they weren't siblings, were dating. Which was a weird thought to process, but now she was slowly coming to term with it.

She touched his face gently, because of all the times he put himself at risk, and how hard it must have been to keep this secret. Adrien allowed all the touches. Until she hit his shoulder.

"Ow! Mari?" He cried.

"You absolute! Idiot! I've been so worried about you as Adrien, then Chat Noir, and you've gotten hurt!" Despite saying that, she hit him again. "You're thoughtless! Reckless!"

Adrien tried to shield himself from her hits, but he wasn't doing too well. "M-Mari, c'mon, it's a part of the job description!"

"The job description includes Ladybug, doesn't it? Don't! Be! So reckless!"

"Now, now children, don't fight." Fu came back and set down two steamy teacups in front of them. The man sat across from them and he had his own mug, taking a careful sip. "But Adrien, you've forgotten the most important part."

Marinette had settled back in her seat, but her head snapped to Adrien as Fu said he missed something. "What more are you hiding from me?"

Adrien rose his hands up defensively. "Well, I... Might have lied to you about Ladybug." He chuckles lightly.

"Lied? About what?"

"Well, you know how I said that in the real world, you  Ladybug?"

There was a silence before Marinette started to hit him again. "You... freaking... idiot."

Adrien tried to shield himself again, until an orange colored rod came between them.

"Not that I mind too much, but I need my partner to be in one piece for this final battle." Volpina came in from the garden, her flute stopping Marinette's blows.

"Volpina!" Adrien was grateful that she stopped Marinette's hits.

"Lila, I'm glad you were able to join us safely." Master Fu had already set down another teacup for her.

Marinette looked over at the vixen, holding back any indignant huffs or crass comments. "You're Volpina?"

Lila dropped the transformation and she was back in her dress, taking her mask off. "Yours truly." She sang.

"So... You coming from Italy to make a contract with our fa—" Marinette stopped and cleared her throat. "With, with Gabriel, was that planned or was that a coincidence?" She questioned, glancing over at Adrien at the mention of his father's name.

"She was summoned per request of Adrien." Master Fu supplied.

Marinette looked back to Lila, eyeing the necklace on her neck. "Why...." She turned to look at Fu, settling back in her seat. "Why was Gabriel given a miraculous?"

The old man took a long drink from his still steaming tea, letting out a slow, long sigh. "The city of Paris had two heroes before Ladybug and Chat Noir. The two helped with minor crime around the city. Le Paon and Papillon."

"Peacock?" Marinette asked.

Fu nodded. "The Miraculous of Champions and the Miraculous of Veracity. There were two before you."

"But why Gabriel?" Marinette questioned.

"Like the two of you when you received your miraculous, Gabriel had the desire to help. Not so long ago, he was in the same position you two had been and I granted him the Miraculous of Veracity."

"The Miraculous of Veracity? Then that means he didn't have the Miraculous of Champions to being with." Lila stated.

Fu nodded once more. "The Miraculous of Champions was held by his partner, a young, aspiring actress."

"Did Gabriel take her miraculous as well?" Adrien spoke up after all this time.

"No," Fu started. "In fact, they were very good partners. The two of them were good for each other. So much, they revealed their identities to each other."

"And then what?" Adrien pressed.

"They started a family and had a son."

Adrien's breath hitched. He was leaning forward, bracing himself against his knees, but now leaned back. "You mean," he shook his head in slight disbelief. "You mean, my... my mama was a miraculous holder?"

"Yes."

"Then what happened?" He demanded. "How did my father get his hands on her miraculous! How,  did my father do to her!" His fist hit the carpeted floor with a dull thud and he was panting.

Marinette went to him, putting her hands on his shoulders as he hung his head. "Adrien," she murmured softly.

"I cannot say what happened to your mother... Nor do I understand why your mother left behind her miraculous before returning it to me. Your father has been abusing the power of the Miraculous of Champions and I have had no way to claim either miraculous back." The older man sighs. "Now, it's just a matter of keeping the Miraculous of Destruction away from him."

Marinette was trying to soothe Adrien, when she looked up at Master Fu. "What happens if Gabriel is to get Adrien's miraculous?"

"When the Miraculous of Creation and Destruction are combined... The user is granted an unstoppable form. However, their power is only extended to ask for one wish... And whatever wish that is, no matter what they ask, it will be granted."

"But isn't that what basically happened here?" Lila asked.

"Not exactly. With the Miraculous of Creation only, he was able to combine a little bit of power from the Miraculous of Champions and only managed to create an alternate universe. The red strings of fate are a force of nature that is not to be messed with. However, together, they can alter fate itself." He explained.

"What could Gabriel Agreste want? He's the most famous fashion designer of all of Paris? What is there that he could  get?" Lila questioned.

Marinette looked back down at Adrien. "Emilie Agreste." She answered softly.

Lila straightened. "Emilie... You mean, Mrs. Agreste?"

Marinette nodded. "Even with me in the world, I was adopted to... 'replace' Emilie. But the love for a child cannot replace the love of a partner."

Adrien's hand intertwined with Marinette's. "Marinette, what if... What if I give him my miraculous? I could... I could have my mama back." He whispered, looking up at her.