Ladybug followed Adrien-Bug to her balcony. Once they had alighted and retracted their yo-yos, she fixed him with an intense stare. "OK, Adrien, since you seem to know so much about me, why don't you clue me in about yourself? First of all, how can I even know you are who you say you are?"
Adri-Bug rubbed the back of his neck. Ladybug tried to figure out a better name to call him: Ladrien? Mister Bug? Ladybug shook her head and tried to focus on what he was saying.
"Well, like I said, I was sent here to rescue you. There was that akuma I just saved you from, but we're going to have to work together to eliminate the threat of Hawk Moth to keep you from getting akumatized."
"Slow down a bit. Prove to me who you say you are." She folded her arms and sat back on her heels, glaring at him.
"You've had a crush on me ever since we first met. No, that's not true - ever since I gave you my umbrella. I was oblivious for a long time about it, but shortly after Heroes Day I started to see the light… the light about what a beautiful person you are, inside and out. I had even called you Everyday Ladybug." He smiled, and Marinette saw a hint of sadness in it. "We fought together against some pretty dangerous people - Lila Rossi being chief among them. Sorry - it's been a few years since I knew you back then, um, now… and life's been a whirlwind for us in the meantime."
He knew about the crush. Finally, he knew about the crush. How did he know about the crush? Adrien knows about my crush on him and oh my goodness I am going to die right here on the spot and… wait, no, he also said things like beautiful person and fought together against Lila. Ladybug shook her head sharply, wondering how she was going to function around Adrien now that he knew about the crush and this tall, handsome… hold on. More importantly, he knew she was Ladybug. But he's Ladyb - Mister Bug. Might as well find out how he knows that particular secret, too. Did Adrien know everything? "And how do you know that I'm Ladybug?"
"You told me."
"Told you? Wait, how did I do that? Why did I do that? When did I do that?"
Adrien looked down at the ground for a moment, then looked directly into Ladybug's eyes. "Marinette... it's probably not for the best that I tell you that now. I don't want to wreck the future."
Ladybug jabbed a finger at him, then started pacing. "May I remind you that you're here for exactly that reason? To change the future?" Mister Bug frowned. "If I told you my biggest secret, then I had to have told you about the..." she took a deep breath. Telling Future Adrien wasn't easier than telling Today Adrien about this, after all. "...crush? The one I had on you? Have on you? Had on now-you then?" She balled her fists up and slammed them into her thighs.
"No need to get tense, Marinette." Mister Bug smirked, and the twinkle in his eyes looked vaguely familiar. Ladybug gave him the best Look she could manage in the hopes of getting something out of him. "Nice try, Bug. You forget that I've known you long enough at this point to know all of your tricks. You won't get me that easily." The ease of his smile and his relaxed demeanor at her giant personal crisis made her want to punch that perfect smile off of his beautiful face. "You should get some rest. It's been a long day for you, and tomorrow we should get to work. Tikki will know how to get in touch with me. Good night, Marinette. Be safe." He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead un-hitched his yo-yo and took off into the night.
Ladybug stood there for a few seconds, watching Mister Bug until she couldn't see him anymore. She took a deep breath and slowly descended the ladder into her room. "Tikki, spots off." Her voice was a raspy whisper, almost alien to her own ears. Tikki would know how to help. Tikki always knew what to say. Tikki… was snoring. Whatever questions Marinette had would have to wait until morning. She changed into her pajamas and climbed into her bed, quickly falling asleep.
An all-too-familiar feeling settled in Marinette's stomach as she walked into the school the next morning. She took a deep breath as she entered the courtyard. Her eyes slid to Chloe, who was sitting on the stairs, with her head in her hands. Sabrina was rubbing circles on her back and whispering to her. Marinette continued up the stairs, not bothering to eavesdrop. After how Chloe treated her - Ladybug, she corrected herself - last night, Marinette wasn't in the mood for more Chloe drama. She passed Sabrina and Chloe and continued to the classroom.
In the classroom, it wasn't much better. Alya and Lila were having an animated conversation at Alya's seat. Marinette quietly took her seat next to Alya and did her best impression of someone who was absolutely not interested in what was being said. Because she wasn't. Nope, not at all. She didn't care that her best friend was over at her sworn enemy's house last night helping her get social media accounts set up. It didn't affect her in the least. Marinette got her tablet out of her bag and jabbed the power button.
"Why can't you come over again tonight? I could really use the help." A pleading, syrupy-sweet voice. It made Marinette sick.
"I told you, I have something to do tonight. I can't get out of it. I'm sorry; it will have to wait until tomorrow night." The voice of reason. It was Alya's turn on Chloe Duty tonight, after all.
"If it's babysitting Ella and Etta, I can come over and help, and we can work together! Chris loved it when I sat for him a while back, I'm sure Ella and…"
Wait, what? Marinette dropped her stylus on the ground, then banged her head on the underside of the table in the act of picking it up. She winced and rubbed the back of her head. Lila babysitting for Nino's brother? When did this happen? Marinette was the designated sitter in the group - at least when Alya wasn't available - so why on earth did her best friend invite Lila Rossi, that filthy liar, over for babysitting? Marinette looked sideways at Alya, noting the thin gold chain sticking out past the collar of her shirt. Regret bubbled up inside Marinette before she forced the feeling down.
"Girl, are you OK?" Alya said, looking over at her. Lila huffed and went to her seat in the back row, where she belonged.
"I'm fine, thanks," Marinette took a deep breath and closed her eyes to stop them from watering. When she opened them again, Adrien was shuffling into the classroom. Marinette immediately snapped to attention in her seat and studied him. Same height as before. Same captivating green eyes as before. Same age as before? Definitely not wearing a Ladybug costume.
Alya must have caught her staring intently because she poked Marinette in the side. "Got it even worse than usual this morning, huh?" Marinette swatted her hand away and shushed her friend. Returning her full attention to Adrien, she listened to what he was telling Nino.
"...helping me out with that playlist last night…"
So, he had an alibi, too, then. How was she ever going to find the man claiming to be Adrien Agreste? She looked into her purse, where Tikki was curled up, still sleeping. Tikki will know how to get in touch with me. Maybe something over lunch break…
Ms. Bustier walked into the room and called the class to attention, and Marinette was forced to divert her thoughts away from ladybugs and blonds.
When the class was dismissed for lunch, Marinette left so quickly that she banged her shin on the table. She limped down the stairs and across the street to her house, stopping in the bakery for a small quiche before heading upstairs to her room and sitting at her desk.
"Tikki, wake up! Can we talk?"
Tikki yawned and stretched. "Sure, Marinette… what time is it? Is it time to go to school?"
"Oh, Tikki… you've been so exhausted recently! No, it's lunch right now. I've got a cookie for you," she said, rummaging in her desk drawer and producing a large chocolate-chip cookie. "Were you able to sense anything about the other Ladybug last night? He mentioned you'd know how to get in touch with him."
Tikki took a big bite of cookie, chewed, and swallowed. "He's right. I know exactly where he is."
"You do?! Tikki, take me to him! Spots -"
"Wait! Marinette! You can't be Ladybug and have me take you there. I have a general awareness of what happens when you're transformed, but I can't guide you unless you're not transformed. If you're going to see him, you're going to have to go as Marinette."
Marinette frowned and took another bite of her quiche. Going as Marinette made her feel more vulnerable. Sure, she had faced her share of intimidating people without the mask: Audrey Bourgeois, Kagami Tsurugi… even Gabriel Agreste. But going to see Adrien as herself… especially Mysterious Future Adrien sent butterflies twittering in her stomach. "We don't have much time over lunch… but let's at least go and work out a time to meet up later. It might ease my mind for the rest of the day."
"You've got it, Marinette!" Tikki zoomed into her purse, and Marinette went downstairs.
"Head east toward the Trocadero," Tikki said from her purse.
Marinette dutifully complied, following the directions Tikki was giving her. All in all, the trip went off without a hitch, even though a girl about Marinette's age stopped her and asked where she could download that super-cute voice for her own GPS app. Marinette arrived in front of a warehouse. She hesitated, stood up as straight as she could muster, then knocked on the door.
The door opened partway and a shaggy blond head poked out. "Hey, Marinette! Tikki told me you were on your way. Come on in!" He opened the door enough to admit her, then closed and locked it behind them. She blinked her eyes to adjust her vision to the dimmer warehouse, and saw a spartan layout: a cot, lamp, and mini-fridge were the only furnishings. "This is one of Father's old warehouses. He doesn't use it very much now, but thankfully he hasn't sold it yet, either, so it's the perfect hideout." Adrien was wearing his usual ensemble: a white dress shirt over a black t-shirt, and blue jeans. Whoever he claimed he was, he had the look down, at least.
"That's all well and good… but you still haven't told me why you're here. And I still am not one hundred percent convinced that you are who you say you are. Start with the first one, though." Marinette folded her arms and looked over her shoulder to the door. It was close enough that she could escape if this were a trap.
"Sure, whatever you want. I'm back here for two weeks, so we've got a bit of time. I think I already explained myself last night: I was sent to rescue you. Last night, on your way home, you were akumatized. Well, almost. I stopped that." He smiled rakishly, and it was so unlike the Adrien she knew, but vaguely familiar enough to throw her off for a second.
"What happened when I was akumatized?"
"It was bad. Ladybug and Hawk Moth working together was too much for Paris to take." Adrien held out his hand and started ticking off names on his fingers. "One by one, heroes became compromised. Rena Rouge, Carapace, Chat Noir…" He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out before continuing. "Each time Hawk Moth defeated a hero, morale in Paris dropped and it became even easier for him to akumatize people. Without Ladybug there to purify akumas, Paris was overrun pretty quickly. It got bad. Six years from now, it's just you, me, and Alix left."
Marinette gasped and put her hand to her mouth. "But eventually you must have defeated me… right?"
"We did, yes. Hawk Moth wasn't defeated, though, and in the process of you being defeated he learned your identity, and Chat Noir's identity as well. We were able to keep him from getting the Miraculous through sheer luck, but with secret identities compromised..." Adrien's voice dropped to a whisper, and he rubbed the corners of his eyes with the back of his hand. "It… didn't go well for Chat. Both Ladybug and Chat were out of commission laying low for a while, and Hawk Moth was able to expand to not just Paris, but all of France."
Marinette shuddered. "So you've stopped me from being akumatized - now what? You're just going to hang out for the next two weeks?"
"No… I've got to watch over you. Last night was probably just the start of it. I'm not sure if Hawk Moth knows that it was Ladybug he was close to akumatizing. He only senses negative emotions - not who gives them off. You'll have to watch your back very carefully."
Marinette hummed. "Why didn't I just come back from the future with the Ladybug Miraculous? Why did they - I - send you?"
"You've already been through time travel before, when Alix was akumatized. Too much time travel isn't good for a person's system. Alix can get away with it because her kwami protects her. I was the next best choice because… well, let's just say that 2025 Marinette trusts 2025 Adrien implicitly." The vaguely-familiar smirk found its way onto his face again.
A beep from Marinette's phone interrupted her response. "Crap, I've gotta get back to school. Can I meet you back here tonight?"
Adrien nodded. "Be here at eight o'clock sharp. Good luck today, Marinette."
Marinette paused, wondering why she would need luck to get through the rest of the day. She returned his nod and exited the warehouse. Ducking into an adjacent alley, she transformed and swung her way back to the school, mind already counting down the hours until their rendez-vous that evening.
The rest of the school day passed uneventfully. Marinette packed up her tablet after the last class while Lila came over to plead with Alya to please, please come over again tonight. Alya refused - good for her! - and ended all discussion by going down to the next row and whispering something to Nino. Marinette could have sworn she saw Lila's eyes narrow a bit before she sauntered out of the classroom.
Marinette passed her afternoon by doing her homework, designing in her sketchbook, and watching the clock. The light snoring of her kwami was a soothing sound. After dinner, Marinette excused herself to her room and transformed. Rena Rouge would be arriving at Chloe's any minute now, and she needed to be able to get in touch with Ladybug in case something happened. Bored, Ladybug took out her sketchbook again and started to color in her designs from earlier.
After about an hour, Ladybug climbed out onto her balcony and prepared to take off. When she unhitched her yo-yo it started vibrating, almost causing her to drop it. She flipped it open and was surprised to see Rena Rouge's panicked face through a haze of interference.
"Ladybug, we've got a problem here! Get to the hotel as soon as you can! Bring Chat; I've already called Cara- OOOF"
Ladybug's eyes widened as her teammate disappeared and the screen went black. Sorry, Mister Bug, you're going to have to wait on this one. She flung her yo-yo out toward Le Grand Paris and took off.