Some say Gabriel Agreste had no soulmate. Some say he had one, but they perished in an horrible twist of fate. Some say these are the reasons he made Adrien, his son born of either his dead soulmate or some random woman, wear gloves all the time. So that he would never discover the joy of finding his other half, only to have it torn from him.
It's ironic, then, Adrien thought one night as he sat with Ladybug, that Chat Noir's gloves are fingerless. He just attributed the fact to an unconscious part of him that wanted to rebel against his father. He drummed his nails across his mask as a way to busy his hands, to stop them from tucking Ladybug's hair behind her ear.
If he did that, he'd probably touch her bare skin against his. And if he did that, one of two things would happen.
The first would be flashes of their future together. Holding hands, taking walks, talking, kissing, maybe even raising a family together. Everything he ever wanted and could ever hope for - including Ladybug's secret identity. Something she didn't want to share, not right now, and he'd never betray her trust like that.
The second would be nothing. Just a brush of skin on skin. No magic spark. No vision of the future. Nothing but a simple "Thank you," and a smile. Perhaps she'd offer him an apology for not being his soulmate. She'd definitely pity him. His heart could never take such a disappointment. Part of him was scared of this, of nothing happening between them, and that was why he avoided touching anywhere her suit didn't cover.
But oh, was he curious.
Adrien Agreste was her soulmate, of that Marinette was certain. She could feel it in her bones - though Chloé often said that as well, so she tended to avoid that analogy. But trust her, she just knew that they were destined to be together.
Or so she hoped. Oh how she wished she were over this infatuation of him. Or at least less awkward around him. Maybe if she could just get one solid sentence out, he'd consider her as something more than a friend. Something that held hands and took walks and talked and kissed - how awesome would that be?! She could see it all clearly - he'd lose his gloves and accidentally brush her hand when passing her a pencil. Then they'd pause for a moment as their minds were filled with the joyous laughter of their future kids playing in the front yard of their small suburban home.
Ah, yes, she could dream about that all day. And she was sure it would happen, too. She really hoped it would, anyway.
Because when he turned to look at her, with his bright smile and even brighter eyes, she was lost within them, exploring their depths, feeling like she was falling before breathlessly catching herself on his upturned lips. She couldn't bear it if he weren't her soulmate. She'd be heartbroken, and even with Alya's "not all soulmates are lovers" speech, she just wouldn't be the same.
So maybe it's best if she worked on romancing him naturally, to not rely on magical forces that may or may not bind them together. Besides, no one actually knew whether he wore the gloves for his father or for himself, and she'd never put him in a position where he'd feel obligated to reveal his soulmate without his consent.
This was not good. Not good at all. An akuma was attacking the school - again - and Marinette had no where to hide to transform - again.
She decided that the best option in this scenario was to run. So, with the akuma snapping at her heels, she ran. She glanced behind her now and then, judging whether she could duck around the next corner with enough time to hide before it came barreling after her.
She never saw an opening, but she did see Chat Noir chasing after them. She let out a rush of air and hopped as far forward as she could to allow him to jump between her and the villain of the week. What she didn't expect was his hands on her waist, whisking her into the library and pulling her between the shelves in silence.
The doors exploded inward as the akuma burst through them, and he pulled her to the floor and hovered over her to protect her. He put his finger to her lips as way of keeping her quiet - as if she didn't already know.
What he didn't expect was a flash of something pink, and then to be sitting at her desk. He felt someone take his hand and looked up to see Nathanaël smiling down at him. The scene changed, and he was in her room, staring at pictures of her, Alya, Nino, and himself - though his were cut out of magazines, not taken with the others. The scene changed again - to Gabriel Agreste welcoming her as an intern. The final scene rolled, and it was one he recognized - Paris at night, from atop the Eiffel Tower. A favorite hangout of his and Ladybug's. He took off into the darkness, throwing a familiar yoyo in front of him. His arm was covered in red, with black dots. He saw his reflection in a building - and it was Ladybug.
This hit him like a ton of bricks. He obviously knew what was happening. He'd found his soulmate in Marinette. Beautiful, wonderful, kind Marinette. But that wasn't all. To his surprise, she was Ladybug, too!
He wanted to laugh. It was so ridiculous. He could already feel the smile tugging at his lips when he blinked the haze of visions away.
"Finally back, Kitty?" Marinette greeted him. She smiled down at him, her face red.
But she wasn't blushing. He gasped in horror as he saw the blood splayed across her face.
Adrien saw Marinette's future when he put his finger to her lips. Marinette saw his, too - and it only lasted a few seconds. When the vision hit her, all she saw was herself on the floor of her school library. But as for what she felt? Man, did that hurt. The claws ripped into her side, shredding the supposedly indestructible material of Chat Noir's suit. It had hurt even with the numbing effects of the dream-fog. So when it ended - all too quickly, if you asked Marinette - she twisted them around so that she was on top of him, shielding him from the deadly blow.
No, it wasn't exactly smart. Ladybug could have healed all damage done to him in seconds with her Lucky Charm. But, she decides, I'd do it again. A million times over, I'd do it again. Of that she was sure. Despite the burning pain that engulfed her abdomen, she would do it again. Despite her strength quickly failing her, she'd do it again. Despite falling on top of him as her arms finally gave out, she do it again. Because he looked happy.
He looked so happy in while in his vision. So incredibly, genuinely happy. Something she thought she'd seen on his face before, but was less forced this time. The lazy smile and unfocused eyes. The blonde hair and black mask. The blood and tears that ran down his face- Oh, wait. Those are mine. She giggled, somewhat deliriously, and smiled as he started blinking.
"Finally back, Kitty?" she asked weakly. He smiled at her for a second before gasping. He shot out from under her and cradled her, pressing his hands to the wound in her side. "No, no, kitty." She pushed the hands away. "Akuma first."
"R-right," he stammered, then gathered her into his arms and jumped away. She wrinkled her nose. This wasn't what she meant. He needed to stay to defeat it, or at least distract it. She'd transform once they were out of the room. Hell, she'd transform right now if he'd put her down. Maybe she could do it in his arms.
It wouldn't hurt to try. She opened her bag (which was still faithfully wrapped around her) and tried to call for Tikki. Chat Noir heard the kwami's terrified, breathy "No," and immediately shut the bag.
"Sorry, Little Lady," he said to both her and Marinette, "but Ladybug needs a break right now."
"Ladybug needs to fight." Marinette glared at him, but he ignored her. Instead, he confiscated her bag and set her down in a place he deemed safe. He brushed her hair behind her ears.
"It's your earrings, right?" he mumbled to himself. She shook her head, leaning away when he tried to take them. "When did you get so stubborn?" he huffed. He stilled her head with one hand and gently pulled the earrings out with the other.
"No," she said, but she was weak. Maybe it was from shock, maybe blood loss, but she was too weak to fight, and that scared him. He popped open her bag to let her kwami out.
"How do I fix this?" was the first thing from his mouth.
"Throw the yoyo into the air and yell 'Lucky Charm!' You'll have to use whatever you get to defeat the akuma. I can help you with forming a plan. When the item is no longer needed, throw it into the air and yell 'Miraculous Ladybug!' Then cleanse the akuma."
"Got it." He ran off with Tikki in tow, leaving Marinette to be found by Alya.
He tossed his ring and Plagg into her bag, which was still wrapped around him. He didn't need both Miraculous for this. He just needed to fix it.
Which he did in record time. He tossed the charm into the air and, in his rush to get back to Marinette, almost left the akuma. He remembered when the earrings beeped their final warning, and with almost no time to spare, released a white butterfly from the yoyo just before it disappeared.
He made his way to the hall where he left Marinette. She was now surrounded by students, a crowd so thick that he couldn't see her. He wasn't gentle about forcing himself through them. He'll admit that in a heartbeat. He shoved and elbowed and probably knocked a couple underclassmen over, but he'd do it again to see that she was okay.
Which she was thank God. She was sitting upright, with Alya beside her, talking to and comforting her friend.
"I'm okay," she whispered into Alya's hair. "I'm fine. I promise. Not a scratch!"
That was so like her. To comfort others when they were scared about losing her. When she was the one who almost died. It was laughable, in a bizarre way.
And while he didn't laugh, he did chuckle. Once. But that one chuckle, no more than a softly released breath, drew her attention to him. And her eyes - those pretty, heavenly blue eyes so full of life - drained him. Exhaustion set in - both physical and emotional.
He sank to his knees in front of her and started sobbing. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the shoulder that was not occupied by Alya. He clutched her shirt, her jacket; he tore his gloves away so that he could feel her skin, feel her warmth beneath his hands. Impossibly, he held her closer, tighter, and just sobbed.
She was shocked, at first. Words wouldn't form. But as she took in his haggard appearance, she caught a glint of black on his collar and understood.
So she wrapped an arm around him, rubbing his back and keeping her kitty close.