Skipping between her brothers, both her hands held in one of theirs, Emma fails to notice her brothers' troubled expressions. She's only five after all, while her older brothers are ten and fifteen each. Louis, the oldest, looks around, trying to pinpoint where they are. Hugo just yawns, which means he's spent another night with his eyes glued to a screen.
"Where… are we again?" asks Hugo, his sentence being cut by another yawn.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out." Grouches his older brother.
"We should have taken the subway…"
"With what money, Hugo?!"
"I don't know?! Don't you have any?!"
"Why would I?! We wouldn't be in this situation if you would've listened to Mom and stayed put but no! You just had to –"
"Oh, yeah? Well we wouldn't –"
"No shouting!" says Emma, looking up at them with her trademark kitten eyes and both melt at her little feet. Louis sighs and looks around again. They stop at a red light and wait until it turns green before continuing.
"This sucks! And I can't even listen to music cause my phone died!" complains Hugo again before looking to his right. "Wait, isn't that your school?" Louis whips around and his demeanor instantly brightens.
"Yes! Oh, thank God! Now we can go somewhere familiar and wait till Mom and Dad fix this whole thing up." Picking his little sister up, he settles her on his shoulders and starts walking down the street towards the building.
"Louis, I'm hungry!" says Emma, tugging his hair lightly.
"I know, Emma, me too, but I don't have any money." Hugo sticks his hands in his pockets and walks a little faster to catch up to them.
"We could go to grandpa and grandma… they always give us sweets for free." Suggests the ten year old, looking hopefully to his big brother, only to deflate at his headshake.
"We don't know what year is this, we may not even exist. We can't just barge in and say: 'hey, grandma, can you pass me a muffin?'. She would freak out!" they stop in front of the school and Hugo jogs up the stairs before returning a minute later.
"2017. That's like… sixteen years till you're born."
"Fuck…" whispers Louis, and Emma gasps.
"You said a bad word! Daddy is gonna wash your mouth with soap!" giggles Emma, clasping her hands above her mouth.
"I would welcome it at this point." He murmurs before snapping to attention. "Wait, did you say 2017? That means Mom and Dad are –"
The ringing of a bell drowns his voice. A second later, the big doors burst open and students start pouring out. The three siblings move to the side and Louis lowers Emma to the ground. She immediately grasps Hugo's hand and her other hand finds his trousers. Hugo looks at the students, noting with amusement the funny way they dress. And then he sees them and gasps. His brother looks at him and Hugo scrambles to whisper in his ear while pointing to the group discretely.
"Aren't those Mom and Dad?" Louis' eyes almost bug out of his head. There, in front of him, are the teenage version of his parents.
His mother his laughing at something the other girl with her said –he's pretty sure that his aunt– and she looks different and identical at the same time. Her hair is longer and pulled into pigtails, while his mother has it in a pixie cut. She looks a little shorter too, but he can't be sure with the distance between them. However, her smile is the same, the sound of her laughter is the same and her eyes are the same.
His father, however, is another whole story. He's a lot shorter now, whereas he usually towers over his mother by a whole head and some. His hair is shorter too and it shocks him to not see the ponytail of blonde hair running down to his upper middle back. Either way, that smile he has while looking at his mother says it all. It's him alright.
"Louis…" he hums in response. "Uncle Nino is watching us." His eyes snaps to the side and… yep, there he is. Uncle Nino hasn't changed a bit either, except for his height and that he always has a light stubble.
The siblings are quick to scamper away before they draw more attention. That is, until they hear a shout of 'Adrikins!' and a heavy weight slams against Louis and forces him a few steps ahead. Slender arms wrap around his neck and a sloppy kiss is forced onto his cheek.
"Hey, leggo!" Louis pries the arms open and returns to his siblings' side. Emma latches onto his pant leg a second later and Hugo frowns at the girl.
"Who are this brats, Adri-honey? And what are you wearing?" Louis looks down at himself. A long, neon green boiler suit and a black T-shirt underneath. Nothing wrong with it, just the standard school uniform. Hugo's wearing the same and Emma too but in blood red.
"I think you're mistaking me for someone else. My name is Louis." The girl rises one of her brows. "And they aren't brats, these are my siblings, so watch it!" he's about to say something else when he sees the group of teens approaching. "Um… we gotta go! See ya, Auntie!" and with that, he picks Emma up, takes hold of Hugo's arm and races across the streets till they're in the middle of a park.
"What was that about?" pants his brother as they walk to a bench and plop down on it.
Emma runs to the sandbox a few yard away and starts playing, her blood red jumpsuit soon being covered by sand. She looks just like their mother: black hair, bluebell eyes and cute little button nose that scrunches up when she smiles. He, on the other hand, is the exact replica of his father with the blond hair, green eyes and Cheshire cat smirk. And Hugo… well, with his dark blond hair and his bluish green eyes Hugo is a perfect mix of both.
"Mom and Auntie Alya were coming, I freaked out!" exclaims Louis.
"Yeah, you also called that chick Auntie." His eyes widen at Hugo's word and he groans.
"That was Auntie Chloe." Hugo's eyes open wide and his brother just gapes at him.
"That banshee was Auntie Chloe?!" amused at his brothers horrified expression, Louis laughs and clutches his stomach.
"Oh, God, your face! I can't believe you didn't notice! She was identical!"
"No she wasn't! Auntie is so much prettier than that!"
"Prettier than whom?" both boys yowl in surprise and jump five feet of the ground.
They turn around and Hugo screeches again when they see just who is behind them. Auntie Alya is a mere foot away from the bench, her arms crossed and a frown on her face. Mom, Dad and Uncle Nino are a couple of yards behind, all with a smoothie in hand. Before they can stutter something out, Alya speaks again. "Never mind, I don't really care who's uglier than your aunt. What I wanna know is who are you. You look just like Sunshine over there." She points at her back and his father raises a brow at the nickname.
"Um… well, you see… we're…" Louis stammers through his answer and looks at his brother for help. When he sees his Cheshire grin, he knows he's made a mistake. A big one.
"We're Ladybug's and Chat Noir's children!" the reactions from the group are very different. Auntie's mouth falls open, Mom drops her smoothie, Dad spits his through his nose and Uncle blinks and pats Dad on the back.
Louis drops just his fist on his brother's head.
"Will you stop with that?!" they say at the same time.
"I'll stop when you stop saying that! It may be funny home but not here!" continues Louis.
"Wait, so you're not…" Louis sighs and shakes his head. Wow, that played out perfectly. Mom's luck must be with him today.
"No, we're not Ladybug's and Chat Noir's kids." He sends a glare to his brother for good measure. Hugo just pouts and rubs his head before looking away.
"Ok, so who are you?" the other three step away from the mess on the floor and come forward to stand besides Auntie. Hugo tugs his sleeve but he ignores him.
"Um… my name's Louis, and he's my little brother Hugo. We're just… uh… visiting the city with our sister! We'll be gone in no time so no need to question us!" he laughs nervously and rubs his head. The tugs become a yank and Louis is forced to look at his brother. "What?" Hugo blinks and looks at him.
"I think we lost Emma."
…
…
"You think what?!" Louis turns to the sandbox and sure enough, Emma's not there. He grips his hair and yanks, hard. "Oh, God! I lost my little sister! I'm the worst brother ever! Mom's gonna skin me alive and then Dad will kill me and then grandpa will smash me to pieces while grandma prepares them tea!"
"Wow… it's like seeing Mari but with Adrien's body." His uncle's comment doesn't even reach him. He starts running around, yelling his sister's name until he sees her about to enter the Dupain-Cheng bakery.
"Oh, shit, shit, shit!" he runs after her, Hugo hot on his heels and the group of teenagers not far behind. He reaches her just in front of the bakery and grabs her. Once he makes sure he has her secure on his grip he returns to the other side of the street, where Hugo waits. His parents and uncles a few yards away.
"Louis, leggo! I wanna a cookie from grandma!" yells Emma, reaching out to the bakery.
"Emma, listen to me…" the little girl shakes her head violently and sniffs.
"NO! I want a cookie and I wanna go home with Mommy and Daddy and I wanna play with Ginger and Plagg and I want Tikki to tell me a story!" Emma sobs and big fat tears start rolling down her cheeks. Louis cuddles her to his chest. He's been so caught in his worries that he hasn't noticed that his little sister's picking up on them. "I wanna go home…"
"I know, Emma, we all do, but we just have to wait a little longer, ok?"
"Yeah! Mom and Dad will beat the bad guy in no time and then we'll be back with them!"
"Ok, what the hell is going on?!" shouts Alya. She stalks forward and stops a foot away from Louis. "What bad guy? Is it an Akuma? And if so, you just told us Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't your parents, so why would they be fighting an Akuma?" the girl lists each question with her fingers and Louis gulps. Emma hides her face into his neck, exhausted by her little tantrum. There's a second of silence and then… Hugo falls to the floor, laughing his face off.
"Oh, God! Oh my God! You haven't changed a bit! You were just as scary as a teenager!"
"What?"
Too late, Hugo realizes his mistake and slaps both hands over his mouth in horror. Alya is looking at him with a look of utter confusion, as are the other three that now are crowding around him and his siblings. Louis just groans in frustration. Alya turns her determined eyes to him and he adjusts Emma better on his shoulder.
"Well… you see… we're…" he takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly while Hugo gets up from the floor. "We're…"
A flash of blue light interrupts him, followed by a thump, a groan and finally another flash of light, a orange one this time that he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't been expecting something similar. The others don't seem to catch it, except for Hugo that gasps and starts running. He follows him and reaches his side at the same time he shouts.
"Auntie!" his aunt looks up at them and gapes. She's panting, her long auburn ponytail a bit crooked. She's leaning against the tree, her hands on her knees. Her bright orange overalls are mused, as is her white blouse. Emma twists in his arms so he lets her down and she shots to his aunt.
"Auntie!" the woman just has a second to react before Emma jumps into her arms.
"Emma! Thank God you guys are ok! You had us all worried!" both Hugo and Louis approach and she sets the girl down to embrace them, only to push them away with a frown on her face. She points her accusatory finger at Hugo. "You, young man, are in so much trouble! What were you thinking?! And you," Louis –who has relaxed a bit when he sees the wrath of his aunt isn't directed at him– straightens his posture and looks at the seething woman. " following your brother like that! You're not getting away either! And you…" she looks at Emma and the child returns the look with a megawatt smile " are just perfect." She frowns when she sees Emma's eyes red and puffy, so she picks her up again to confirm. "You've been crying, little princess?"
Emma sniffs and cuddles close to her aunt. "I wanna go home…" she looks at the boys, they look uncomfortable too.
"We'll go back soon, ok? Your mom and dad just have to get rid of the bad guy. Your uncles are helping them too." Hugo looks at her, a worried frown on his face.
"Will somebody explain what the hell is going on?!" at the collective outburst, they turn to find not one, but two angry teenagers, one confused and another one that couldn't care less.
"Oh. My. God." Whispers his aunt and Louis snickers. She turns to him and he smirks.
" You were just as scary as a teenager, Auntie." Hugo giggles at his side and the woman just flics his forehead before whispering back.
"Oh, yeah? Look at your mother, kiddo, and tell me what you see." Both, still snickering turn to the seething girls and instantly yelp, their backs going straight and swallowing loudly. When she narrows her eyes at them Hugo bolts and hides behind his big bro.
"If you don't start talking now I'm gonna…"
"Wow, wow, slow down." Says Louis when Alya raises her fist. "We'll explain everything, ok!" there's a long pause and Marinette raises a brow. "Well… um… Auntie?" he scratches his neck and looks at his aunt for help. She huffs and rolls her eyes before looking at the group in front of them and smirking.
"Hi, my name's Alya Lahiffe and we're from the future."
There's a pause, and then…
"LAHIFFE?!"
.
.
.
" That's what you get from what she said?!" screeches Alya –the younger one–, glaring Nino with a blush on her face.
"Wait, you're dating, right? What year are we in?"
"2017."
"Ok, so they are dating." Marinette and Adrien and they both nod slowly. "2017… month?"
"October." Says Adrien when Louis and Hugo shrug. Alya and Nino are having and argument about priorities, but they turn them out.
"Ok, so no reveal yet. Nino got his miraculous three months ago, so it's gonna be four more until we all reveal. Those two, though…" the older Alya observes as the couple exchange looks. "They never told us exactly when they had revealed to each other. They may already have." She sees them do that thing Ladybug and Chat Noir do –that whole-talking-without-words thing– and she almost rolls her eyes. "Scratch the 'may', they already have."
"And, how did you get here? Is it an Akuma? From when do you come from?" this time, it's Adrien asking the questions. Alya and Nino stop arguing to listen.
"An Akuma, yes. Time something. And we're from 2045."
"That's twenty eight years from now!" gasps Marinette. "Hawkmoth's still running around?!" the woman chuckles and shakes her head.
"No, he's gonna get defeated sooner or later." She's not gonna tell them when, that could mess with the timelines. "But just before they took the brooch away, he send all his butterflies all over Paris to hide. Those create Akuma, but without the psycho to control them they're pretty harmless. this one is from the last of them. Just a poor old man that wanted his grandson to see how things were on his younger years or something like that."
"Brooch?" asks Nino.
"The Butterfly Miraculous is a brooch." Tells him Adrien, before redirecting his eyes to Louis.
"So you are…" before Louis can answer, Hugo jumps from behind him and blinds them all with his smile.
"We're your –"
Another blue light flashes from the side, but this time it's a swarm of ladybugs that appear. They surround them all and when they scatter, only Marinette, Adrien, Alya and Nino remain. They blink and Adrien turns to his friends.
"So, did you guys see the last Marvel movie?"
(Meanwhile, twenty-eight years into the future, three siblings are being smothered by their parents.)
This is a little oneshot I did for a girl I babysit. She's a big fan of the show and I've watched it with her more than once. A couple of days ago she read some of my earliest works and she asked (practically begged) me to write a fan fiction where the 'Agreste-Dupain kids' were sent back in time and met their parents. So, what do you think?
I don't know if I'll do anymore of Miraculous, unless my girl asks again or one of you do.
Until next time, lovers!
Kisses!