Two weeks have passed before Marinette actually sees her; two weeks of roaming a house that's too quiet, over studying, compulsively knitting, and fending off the worried advances of Chat. It's all been quite tiring, but she's been rushing from one task to the next, so it's only when she's got some downtime does she realize the insistent ache in her bones.
Walking towards her bathroom on an inclement Thursday, she grabs her elbow and tucks it behind her head until her fingers reach the middle of her spine. She hears a refreshing crack, but her muscles are still taut and knotted.
"They definitely don't mention this in the job application", Marinette groans as her feet meet chilled tiles. She reaches for the towel rack for a washcloth but stops upon catching sight of another Marinette, decked out in the Ladybug suit, standing behind her in the mirror. She turns around.
But there's no one there.
"Tikki", Marinette calls out, pulling open the door of the linen closet; it's empty. "Did you hear something?"
From Marinette's room, Tikki shouts back, "No, I'm afraid not. Is something the matter?"
"No, no, nothing." Trembling slightly, she ducks to retrieve her rag and starts for the shower with light footsteps. "I just, uh, could have sworn I saw someone-something." She begins to disrobe, pulling at the buttons of her night-shirt, and sighs. "I need to get some sleep."
"Can't argue with that", Tikki replies. She flies into the bathroom and rests on the corner of the sink. Tilting her head, she looks up at Marinette and says, "You haven't been quite right ever since that attack in the Catacombs."
"Speaking of, that's another thing I need to stay on top off", Marinette says through a yawn. She flicks the handle of the shower and lets out a relieved breath at the sound of water gushing against the pearl-white bottom of the tub. "I asked the Prefecture to keep an eye out for Hood, but they haven't found anything. It's like she's just disappeared."
"Well, she'll turn up eventually", Tikki consoles, her antenna twitching in certainty. "They always do."
"Yeah, can't argue with that." Marinette ducks out of the remainder of her clothes and steps into the tub. Her eyes flick to the mirror, and she frowns. Tikki, noticing the movement, settles into Marinette's pile of clothes and sits facing the door. "How about I keep a lookout while you're bathing", she asks. "I've got keen eyes, you know."
Marinette settles beneath the water and gives Tikki a bashful smile. "Thanks."
"It's no problem, Mari. You deserve the break. Let me take care of things for a minute."
And she does. Relishing in the gentle slide of water over her skin, Marinette dips her head beneath the war and smiles; it's been so long since she's taken a moment for herself, so long since she's focused on anything but work and school. Allowing herself a moment's respite isn't easy (there's too much that demands her attention for it to be truly relaxing), but the inaction of it all is quite nice: dragging her washcloth across her belly, scooping handfuls of water over her shoulder, running her fingers through soapy strands of hair; all simple tasks, and yet so very soothing.
When she finishes, Marinette reaches for and removes the plug from the shower drain. Soap suds and water swirl and recede into the pipes. She rises to full height, pulling back the shower curtain, and stills at the sight of the sink. Tikki has vanished; in her place sits Marinette in the Ladybug suit, staring idly at her fingernails.
Upon catching Marinette's petrified stare, the look-alike pulls a thoughtful face and says, "I know you can't see 'em in the suit, but I kinda wanna get 'em done." She smirks and looks up at Marinette. "Don't you?"
"Tikki", Marinette shouts in distress, pulling a towel off the wall and frantically wrapping it around herself.
The other Marinette rolls her eyes and holds out a hand. "No need for that, Ms. Mari", she reassures in nonchalance. "We've got the same bits, you know. It's nothing I haven't already seen."
"Who are you?"
"...That isn't an actual question, is it?"
Marinette thrusts her elbow against the other Marinette's throat and narrows her eyes. Pressing the copy against the mirror, she demands, "Who are you?"
"All right, all right, no need to get aggressive. Sheesh. And to think you're secretly a superhero", she giggles, giving a visible shudder in delight. "It's baffling, really." Marinette's presses harder, prompting the other Marinette to fall silent.
"No sense of humor, though. We're gonna have to work on that."
"You still haven't answered my question."
"Well, I'm not particularly in the mood for an interrogation; especially not when said interrogator's on the verge of choking me." When Marinette doesn't move, the copy's skin flushes red; she glares at Marinette and growls, "Drop the arm, child. Before this becomes unnecessarily messy."
Marinette purses her lips; holding her double's eye for a moment, she eventually nods and lowers her arm from her throat. "There", she says, splaying her hands out in exaggeration. "Now, my question; why do you look like me? And why are you wearing the Ladybug suit?"
She presses her back against the mirror and smiles. "Because I am Ladybug. As for why I'm wearing your face, well, that's more of a comfort thing than anything else."
"Trust me, I'm not comforted", Marinette scoffs. "And that doesn't make any sense. I'm Ladybug."
"No, you're a second-rate security guard that's too busy adhering to the rules to actually get this city back under control." Swinging her legs beneath her, Ladybug tosses her hair over her shoulder and sighs. "Then there's me: the object of this pathetic attempt at mimicry; every time you activate those earrings, you're channeling something to make yourself more confident, more assertive. Haven't you ever wondered where that comes from?"
Marinette raises an eyebrow. She thinks back to her brief conversation with Hood and takes in a sharp inhale. Turning her back to Ladybug, she closes her eyes and says, "God, it's too early for this."
"Oh, no. I don't think so, honey. I answered your question, now it's your turn to answer mine. Fair's fair, you know, and we are all about fair. Aren't we?"
She glowers and tucks her chin into the base of her neck; as much as she'd hate to admit it, the double does have a point. Likewise, this is the second time she's been approached about her Persona. Whereas last time she'd had little time to seek answers, she now has the opportunity to delve deeper into the matter. "Fine", Marinette relents as she turns back to her. She wraps her arms around her waist, walks towards the toilet, and takes a seat. Mindful of her lack of attire, Marinette is careful as she tosses one leg over the other and glances up at Ladybug. In turn, Ladybug sneers and leans closer. "You wanna hear a story?"
"Quit it with the theatrics. I'm here to figure this thing out, not to have a good time."
"Yeah, I kinda picked up on that. But okay." Ladybug whistles a quick tune, tapping her nails against one another, and hops off the sink. She sashays towards the bathtub, steps onto the ledge, and grips the curtain rod with gentle hands. "First things first", she begins, lowering one hand to place it against her heart. "I'm Ladybug."
"We covered that already."
"Don't be rude, I've got the mic now."
Marinette raises her hands in apology.
"Thank you. Now, I'm Ladybug. Not someone wearing a mask pretending to be Ladybug but the actual Ladybug."
"So Ladybug is a person?"
"No, it's a concept; a Persona to be exact. The Persona you take on every time you transform."
"And that's a bad thing?"
"Oh, God, no." Ladybug does a quick pull-up, seemingly pleased when the rod doesn't give out under her weight. Swinging back and forward, she explains, "Miraculous Personas rarely ever manifest; when they do, it's because the wearer's overindulging in the power." She winks at Marinette and chuckles. "You naughty girl, you."
Marinette blushes and scowls. "I'm not overindulging."
"You haven't gone a single night without transforming since you got the earrings. Not to mention those little 'confidence boost sessions' you have throughout the day."
"They're just a little pick-me-up", Marinette stutters, hopping off the toilet. She steps into her bedroom and starts for her wardrobe. Swiping past several t-shirts, she mutters, "Everyone needs one now and again. And, like you said, I am a superhero; a teen superhero at that. Of course, I'm gonna need a little...refresher now and again."
Ladybug follows after her, giggling and hopping from one foot to the other. "You sound like an addict, you know."
"I'm not an addict." She snatches a t-shirt off a hanger and grabs a pair of orange shorts. "I just like feeling in control, and my Miraculous lets me do that. And you're distracting me. We're supposed to be talking about you."
"Someone's getting defensive."
"Ladybug-"
"Fine, fine." Ladybug leans against the wardrobe and blows a few strands of hair out of her eyes. "Where was I? Right, right. So you're overindulging, no judgement, and it's caused me to manifest. 'Why', you may ask. Because I like control. You like control. We're like the dynamic duo. But, you know, with Batman and Joker instead of Batman and Robin."
"So who does that make me", Marinette questions. She does a shooing motion with her hand. Ladybug turns around, albeit with an exaggerated sigh. "Batman or Joker?"
"Oh, but isn't the fun in finding out the answer for yourself? Besides, the answer doesn't really matter. They're both pretty amazing. Anyway, so we both like control; only you don't necessarily feel in control. Quite the contrary, you're actually spiraling into an abyss of loneliness and abandonment. That, my sweet Mari, is where I come in."
Marinette scoffs. Struggling into her shirt, she shakes her head and says, "So you're supposed to be, what, my new imaginary friend until I get my head together."
"If that's how you want to see it", Ladybug replies with a wave of her hand. "Look, you're looking at this like it's a bad thing, but I don't think you understand how great this is. I am the Ladybug, which means I know all of my powers and all of my weaknesses. I can help you be the best me possible. And." She places her hands on her hips and gives a light shrug. "If you want, I could even help you out with your civilian life."
Marinette pulls open another drawer and pulls out a pair of panties: oddly enough, they're a spotted red against a backdrop of black. She blushes, steps into the underwear and her shorts, and grabs Ladybug by the shoulder to look her in the eye. "And how would an Abstract superhero know anything about civilian life?"
"Trust me." Ladybug brushes her hand off her shoulder, giving Marinette a brief glare, and saunters over to the bed. She settles back on her elbows and flexes her toes. "Once you figure out how to save other people, it's pretty easy figuring out how to save yourself."
"This is crazy. This is all crazy. I must be imagining this."
"For your sake, I hope not. Cause if you are, you've got a really fucked up imagination."
"Am I actually considering letting you help me", Marinette whispers to herself. "I don't even know you." She lifts her head and shoots a scowl at Ladybug. "You just popped up in my bathroom while I was taking a shower. You could have been-" She falters and pales. Craning her neck towards the bathroom, she gapes at the glistening sink and pales. "Tikki. Tikki was there-she was there before you appeared. And she'd never leave me to deal with something like this alone." She whips her head back to Ladybug and rushes towards her lax figure on the bed. "What did you do to her?"
"Nothing too dastardly", Ladybug reassures. "I just needed the little insect out of the picture for a while. She's a bit old-fashioned, isn't particularly fond of materialized Personas." She rolls her eyes and mutters, "Kinda racist but whatever." When Marinette takes a step forward, Ladybug raises a hand and continues. "She's fine. Just spending a few hours in the Astral Plane."
"Everything about this is wrong", Marinette cries out. "Tikki is one of my only friends! You tell me you sent her to another plane of existence, and I'm just supposed to be okay with that."
Ladybug blinks. She shrugs again and nods her head towards the door. "Well", she observes. "You haven't made any move to leave or to get rid of me. So I guess it doesn't bother you that much."
Marinette's raises a hand to her mouth. Biting on a thumbnail, she squeezes her eyes shut and takes a shaky breath. She doesn't realize her feet are moving until she's squatting to sit on the bed. Beside her, Ladybug scoots close, smiling.
"Like I said", her double says in a leveled voice. "This doesn't have to be a bad thing. I'm here to help you out. Whether or not you want it, that's on you. But I'll always be here."
Marinette flicks her eyes open. She turns to ask Ladybug something, but when she does, she finds the other side of her bed empty. Even the bedsheets are undisturbed, as if someone (something) hadn't just been sitting there a moment ago. Marinette tugs on her shirt collar and wheezes quietly. "Always, huh?"
