Author's Note: Hi everyone, this next chapter was written by HiddenEye. Just a heads up, since this site doesn't have a convenient way for authors to share fics, she has uploaded a separate copy under her own pseudonym, but both fics are the same. Please enjoy!

Second Chances

Chapter 2

Throughout the whole journey, Emma couldn't stop bouncing her leg, watching the city whizz by with sparkling eyes and an eager heart from where she sat between Adrien and Madeleine while Alya and Nino was up front, feeling the energy buzzing through her as her wish of getting her ears pierced was finally coming true.

Until a large hand stopped her fidgeting by clasping it on her knee.

When she glanced to her father, Adrien raised an eyebrow. "I know you're excited, Emma, but kicking a hole in Uncle Nino's car won't exactly help us get there any faster."

She shot him an apologetic look. "Sorry," He let go of her knee. "But it's just so exciting! Madeleine and I have been discussing about it for months," She held up her hand, ticking off all the points with each finger. "First, it's either between the hoops or the studs. Second, gold, silver, or those colourful ones they have now since young people -such as myself- are getting their ears pierced early. And third, depends on the type of earrings I picked, whether they actually look good."

"That would explain the spike in the telephone bill," Nino grumbled good naturedly as the two girls high-fived each other with a cheer, earning a chuckle from both Adrien and Alya.

"You know," Alya mused as she met Emma's eyes through the review mirror. "You never did tell me why you're so excited to pierce your ears, I'm kinda curious why."

Emma shrugged, settling back in her seat as she looked out of the window on Madeleine's side. "Grandma said that she and Mom used to do it when they were twelve, so I'm just keeping the tradition alive, I guess."

There was a reason why she didn't want to meet the adult's faces, especially her father's, since she had caught him crying once in his bedroom with her mother's picture grasped in his hand when Emma was only eight from where she peeked through door. She left him silently after that, her own sadness growing when she haven't even met her own mother in her life, and from the stories she was told, Marinette was an amazing person.

From the corner of her eye, Emma saw Adrien twisting Marinette's engagement ring on his pinky, the gold band flashing under the sun as he pursed his lips. She felt a tap on her lap and saw Madeleine gave her an encouraging smile, knowing the reason long ago when she told her best friend through the phone.

"Anyway!" Emma slapped her hands on her lap, allowing herself to give them all a large grin while hoping to change the subject. "Are we there yet?"

"Not quite," Came the swift answer from Alya, and Emma realised that she was relieved to not talk about that sensitive topic anymore. "Another five minutes."

Suddenly, Madeleine nudged her in the arm. "What if you get those fluffy ones? Like little pom-poms stuck in your ears."

Emma giggled. "When they get wet, they'll probably look like ear wax."

Madeleine laughed, poking her in the arm. "Gross!"

When they finally did arrived at the jewellery shop, Emma had to prevent herself from sprinting in and slam the door open.

"Dude," Madeleine muttered beside her. "You're doing it again."

Emma blinked at her. "What?"

"The butt wiggle."

Emma stopped. "Oh," Embarrassed, she clasped her hands behind her, waiting for the adults to get out of the car. "You know, I'd never thought this would actually happen to me," She spread her arms out as she closed her eyes, almost smacking Madeleine in the process. "Am I in heaven?"

Snorting, Madeleine hooked their arms together as they made their way in. "You're not gonna say that once they did the hole. Fair warning though, it's gonna throb later."

They pushed the door open. "How was your experience?"

Madeleine shrugged. "It's like they've stapled your ear."

Emma's mouth formed an 'o'. "Cool."

There was a woman behind the counter of the the earrings section as the five of them walked in, and she greeted them all with a polite smile. "How can I help you?"

Adrien returned her smile and rested his hand on Emma's shoulder. "My daughter would like to pierce her ears please, birthday girl's wishes."

The clerk's smile grew wider. "Really now?"

Emma waved away her father's hand, a streak of pink appearing across her face. "Dad."

"We have a few varieties to choose from before we get started, I suggest the birthday girl would like to have a look?" The clerk gestured to the display with a wave of her hand, where the studs and hoops gleamed under the white light of the shop.

Emma turned towards Madeleine, raising an eyebrow. "Studs?"

She nodded, a grin visible. "Studs."

Emma walked along the display, eyes carefully searching for the most amazing earrings she could find as the gold and silvers were arranged respectively to one side each.

Something caught her eye as she was scanning through the gold ones, where she blinked once, before a grin stretched across her face as she pointed to the one at the far left corner of the display, almost hidden between two bigger and sparkling earrings that she was glad she had sharp eyesight.

"That one."

The clerk took a look at it and smiled. "Good choice," Unlocking the drawer, she pulled out the earrings and settled it on the glass surface, where Emma plucked it off and showed it to the rest of them.

"Aren't they cute?" She asked enthusiastically as she showed Adrien the earrings, his eyes landing on a pair of small golden paw prints with diamonds on its big toes.

There was a look of amusement she couldn't understand glowed in his eyes as he met her expectant stare. "Very."

"Is that the one you'd like to buy?"

Emma turned towards the clerk, a smile on her face. "Yes, please."

Madeleine wasn't kidding when she said her ears were going to throb.

Emma winced as she tried to prevent her hair from getting tangled around her new earrings, using a rubber band to tie those mess of blonde waves into a ponytail as she jammed her feet into the roof, effectively stopping herself from sliding down and most likely fall to her death.

Sighing, she laid down and closed her eyes, letting the moon shine onto her as the chilly wind blew softly against her cheek, the faint sound of traffic could be heard a road away.

It wasn't until she heard the creak of her bedroom door being opened. She could estimate the number of steps the person took to arrive to her open window before poking out his head.

"Emma? What are you doing outside?"

She shrugged, using her hands as a cushion with her eyes still closed. "Just enjoying the night."

"On the roof?"

She smiled, prying an eye open to meet her father's skeptical look. "You want to join me?"

Adrien hesitated, before climbing out of the window with a grunt. She would assume he would have a hard time getting towards her while making some complaints, but imagine her surprise when Adrien walked calmly on the roof without so much of a slip. "I thought you'd be too old to climb roofs."

"I'm only 35," He pointed out as he settled down beside her, wrapping an arm around her before pulling close. "I'm not even middle age yet."

She hummed, wrapping her thin arms around his chest. "Did you sneak out a lot as a kid?"

She swore he froze for a moment. "Why do you ask?"

She shrugged again. "No one walks so smoothly on the roof on their first time without a few slips and the sudden fear of heights."

Chuckling, he rubbed her back. "Or I'm just that smooth."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say, Dad."

They stayed quiet for a while, the sound of car honks and revving engines seemed so far away at the moment as father and daughter enjoyed the peace in their own quiet bubble, their pyjamas did nothing to cover their cold feet as they huddled for warmth.

"Dad?" She called out softly, afraid to break the silence that settled between them, twisting his white shirt in her hand. "Could you tell me about Mom again?"

His breath tickled her hair as he exhaled. "What do you want to know?"

"How you two met?"

He tighten his grip on her as he shifted slightly, trying to find a more comfortable spot. "Well," He began, trying to sound at ease as he pushed down the ball of emotion that threatened to lodge in his throat. "We were fourteen when it was the first time I saw her, and I was curious about this girl with red ribbons in her hair. But we haven't met officially yet, so I decided to go and introduce myself to her for the sake of it, trying to get to know her better and all, right?" She giggled, nodding. "There I was trying to be suave and cool while having this brilliant pun in my head-"

"I still can't believe you flirted with Mom using puns."

"-and then I fell," He made a face, and she giggled again. "I slipped on ice, and into this huge heap of snow that buried me completely where I had a hard time trying to get out, my clothes covered with snow that I could feel it soaking through them," He shook his head slightly, a fond chuckle tumbling forth as he recalled the memory. "And your mother helped me out, and she laughed of course, asking me if I was okay and if I needed any first aid kit, and then suddenly bam," He snapped his fingers, as if a moment of realization. "She had the most bluest eyes I have ever seen and I couldn't look away without her trying to get my attention again."

She laughed. "You were a dork."

He joined her. "That's what your Mom said," He paused, as if contemplating something. "There's another version to this story, you know."

She hadn't heard of that before. Curious, she glanced at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "We were fifteen," His voice turned soft as he continued. "When I finally got myself enrolled into a public school after years of home schooling, and then I was happy when I had some real friends who wanted to get to know me genuinely, since you have to be dodgy in the fashion industry when making friends."

"There's this girl who sat behind me and for some weird reason, she couldn't look at me in the eye. She wore her hair into adorable pigtails, had a thing for designing and makes the most amazing macaroons one could ask for in the whole of Paris."

"I found out in the end that she had this crush on me, and I started to love her too along the way, all of her stutters and blushing faces," A small smile appeared. "She had a hard time talking to me for the first few months for that reason, and being the blind one I was, I didn't notice," He chuckled. "At first, I thought she hated me."

Emma merely listened to Adrien's story, not wanting to interrupt as she stayed still. And once he was finished, she glanced up. "So, which is the real thing?"

"Both of them."

She frowned. "But how can you meet the same person but have different reactions when you already know that person?"

He ruffled her hair, causing a protest to be heard from her. "Oh, there are ways."

"That's not exactly helping."

As the two rambled on, they failed to notice a red kwami getting herself in Adrien's room at the opposite side of Emma's, where Plagg had greeted her with a rueful grin as she flew through the open window.

"Where are they?" Tikki asked as she settled herself on the dresser, where Plagg had made himself comfortable beside her with a cube of cheese in his paws.

"Adrien's bringing up old memories on the roof," He replied, nibbling on the piece of food. "He's telling Emma about Marinette again."

"It's been years," She whispered. "And I still miss her," She paused. "I found someone that could take Marinette's place."

Plagg's ears pricked. "Who?"

She took a deep breath, the weariness tugging her shoulders down as they slumped under invisible weight. "All I know is that Adrien's not going to like it."

He stiffen, before looking at her enquiringly. "Are you sure she's the right one?"

"I felt it, Plagg, I felt the pull towards her like I did to Marinette, and like her, it was a strong pull," Sighing, she rubbed her face with her hands. "Honestly? I found out a week ago, but I kept looking for someone else to be Ladybug, because I don't want Adrien to suffer more than he already is," She sighed again. "He lost his wife, what are the chances that he's going to loose his only daughter too?"

"High, but that's what it's been, Tikki, we've known this would happen for a long time, why the doubt now?"

"Not doubt, just," She paused. "Pity."

He snorted, finishing off the last bit of his cheese with a gulp. "Well, you know that once you found your next person, you can't exactly find another to wear the Miraculous, it won't respond as willingly as it would to the chosen."

"I know, but Adrien-"

"Has to deal with it," He cut her off, wiping his hands together. "Hawkmoth is going to rise again soon and we have to hurry."

In the end, she nodded slowly. "Alright, I'll tell her as soon as possible," Then, her expression soften. "Is Chat Noir up for it?"

Plagg winced. "He hasn't transform for years, I'm not sure if he still wants to."

"Memories kept stopping him," Tikki murmured. "If he can't handle being Chat Noir anymore, you have to find someone else."

"I know," He grumbled. "It'll take a while to find a new wielder, and if I don't have enough time, I will drag him into battle with me."

She poked his arm. "Don't be so harsh on him, he's still suffering."

"And Paris needs Chat Noir as much as they need Ladybug," He countered back, giving her a pointed look. "Chat Noir has always been the armor to Ladybug's power, without either one of them, they'll be defenceless, and could easily be beaten," He looked away, and Tikki noticed there was a small worried frown marring his features.

"And I can't let that happen again."

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Let us know what you think :)