Hello my beautiful and lovely readers! Thank you so much for your patience as I diligently slaved over trying (and failing) to bring this chapter to perfection. I spent way too many hours writing and rewriting the whole Adrien perspective. I don't know why, but it just wasn't coming out right. And then there's my poetic sounding Marinette section, but I digress; I just can't seem to keep myself from writing in rhythm. Oh well. I hope you guys enjoy it anyway.
Once again, I need to thank my wonderful beta readers over on Wattpad. Thank you so much HappGorl for brainstorming with me as well as editing this chapter, and Tashers581 for catching some of my terrible grammar and helping me flesh out some of those annoying details!
Without any further ado, here we go!
…-...
Weird.
That was the only word Adrien could think to describe it. Marinette was acting just plain weird.
It hadn't taken long for him to notice her strange behavior at the airport. She had been too bubbly - not to say that Marinette wasn't usually a happy person, but the amount of joy she was exuding just seemed like it was too much to be honest.
Shouldn't she have been complaining about how sore she was, being forced to sit in the same position for so long? For the past few weeks, she could barely even handle car rides that lasted for more than a few minutes, let alone an hour and a half long plane ride.
He had tried to ignore it- to put it off as her simply being happy to see him, or even over-anxious at coming face-to-face with her younger self. Heck! How would he even react if he were about to walk into the same situation? Meeting the younger version of yourself is certainly nothing to scoff about. There would be no way he would be able to act normal at all.
But the more he tried to avert his attention from her strange behavior, the more glaring it seemed to point itself out.
Seriously, had Marinette always been such a blabbermouth? She hadn't stopped talking since they had gotten in the car.
And never once did she talk about herself or her trip to Milan.
No, the entire time she had been focused on Adrien- offering promises to provide him with anything he could ever want. It was cute, but he couldn't help but wonder about her motivations. Was she simply just trying to make up to him for how insensitively she had treated him? That was a plausible explanation, Adrien had to admit, but something about that answer just didn't seem to fit.
"Anyway," Marinette continued on, having just finished explaining the perfect meal she planned on making for Adrien, "I can't even imagine how frustrating it must have been for you to have to restrain yourself around the younger me for so long."
She paused, and even though Adrien was somewhat glad for the change of topic, he wasn't quite sure he liked the direction of this particularly personal conversation.
Marinette giggled. "There's a hotel over there," she pointed across him and out his window. "We could just check in there for a little while."
Adrien choked on his spit, slamming the breaks at the sudden red light, his heart crashing against his chest.
Yup. There it was. His wife had clearly lost it.
He gripped the wheel, his eyes transfixed on the light ahead.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Marinette squeezed his leg.
"Okay!" Adrien grabbed her hand, holding it between both of his and whipping his head in her direction. "What's going on with you?" You would never suggest something like this!"
Not unless they were transformed and feeling just a little bit…
Stop it! He mentally screamed at himself, forcing the memories of their more playful superhero excursions out of his head as he moved her hand back into her own lap.
"Nothing's going on," she pouted, crossing her arms and looking out her window. "I was just trying to make you happy." She audibly exhaled. "The last few days have been really hard on you."
That's a massive understatement. He thought, not believing his struggles, no matter how magnanimous they may have been, were the root cause of her strange behavior and uncharacteristic erotic eagerness.
"I get that," he turned his focus back to the light, "and I appreciate you caring about me. I really do. But c'mon, what is this really about? You have been acting weird ever since I first saw you at the airport."
The signal finally turned green, and Adrien gently pressed the gas, butterflies unexpectedly swarming in his stomach in anticipation of her answer.
From the corner of his eye, Adrien could barely make out Marinette shifting in her seat, pulling in her knees and wrapping her arms around them.
"I-I just want you to know how much I love you, is all." Marinette nearly whispered.
"I love you too, Mare Bear," he gently responded, loosening his grip on the steering wheel and glancing over to make quick eye contact, knowing this was only the beginning of her explanation.
"I know," Marinette sighed, resting her head on her knees. "But knowing that, doesn't make this any easier."
Adrien's heart twanged at that statement, like an elastic band suddenly having sprung after being stretched too tight. This sudden change in demeanor - this sadness - it was way more intense than Adrien had expected.
"If it's that hard to talk about," Adrien comfortingly placed his hand on her shoulder, once again making quick eye contact with her before directing his attention back towards the road, "we can wait until when we get home."
"Home is the problem," Marinette mumbled, somehow managing to further sink her head between her knees, making Adrien wish his peripheral vision would stop allowing him to see these things.
He sighed. His earlier guess to her strange behavior must have been correct after all.
"I can't even fathom what you're going through right now." He lowered his hand from her shoulder, rubbing little circles on her back. "Heck! Even I was slightly startled at seeing you at the airport after only spending a few days with your younger self. What will I even do when I see you both in the same room?!"
He grinned, peeking towards her again, moving his hand from her back, twirling his fingers in the back of her hair.
"One Marinette drives me crazy enough. But two? What kind of man could even handle that?"
"Pfft," Marinette snickered, unburrowing her head, lifting it just enough to place her cheek on her knees, her gaze aimed directly towards him.
Cute! A giant smile bloomed across his face as he fought once again to keep his eyes (and his focus) on the traffic ahead.
"You know," Marinette slyly began. "My offer to drop by the hotel still stands."
Adrien coughed into his fist, firmly gripping the wheel with his other hand.
Cars. There sure were a lot of cars on the road.
And there were trucks, too.
Bikes. Bikes had always been a popular mode of travel.
And of course there were a few people walking on the sidewalks - shopping, eating at restaurants, going to and from hotels...
Adrien gulped.
Why were there suddenly so many gosh-darn hotels?
"I can tell you want to," she sang, unfolding one of her arms, placing her hand on his leg - this time sliding it towards a more intimate destination.
Nope!
Adrien veered to the side of the road, stopping the car and facing his wife.
"My lady," he almost sneered through his teeth whilst trying to smile. "You are making it very difficult to drive right now, ya know? Please," he begged, nearly panting, "Just. Cut. It. Out."
Marinette sat up, her bottom lip curling outwards. "Fine." She spouted like a young school girl. "I can tell when I've lost." She squeezed his leg again, allowing her fingers to deviously linger along his inner thigh as she retracted her hand. "But you are going to regret not taking me up on my offer."
"Of course I am." Adrien smirked, trying to keep light of the situation and to subdue that all-too-familiar, self-acting, throbbing sensation. "What man wouldn't?"
Marinette huffed, "So why are you turning me down?" She sucked in her bottom lip, biting at the edge of it now.
Argg! Why exactly was he choosing to not just pounce on her right now?!
He lifted his focus from her all-too-kissable mouth, noticing the not-so-hidden dark circles beneath her eyes.
Right. His desires softened. She's exhausted.
He extended his arm towards her, cupping his hand beneath her chin.
"Because," he softly began, "No matter how much I want to just whisk you away- and believe me, I'm tempted- I know that pushing you too hard right now is not in your best interest."
Marinette clutched onto his arm, moving his hand to her cheek as she pressed into it. "Adrien…" she closed her eyes. "You always were too selfless. And I love you for that, Kitty. But-" She slowly lifted her lids, piercing him with her now, sodden eyes. "There's something you need to know."
"Okay." He rubbed her cheek with his thumb.
"You're not going to like it."
The corners of her eyes began to shimmer with the pooling up of liquid.
"I figured."
Marinette raised her hands to caress his on her cheek before delicately lowering it. Breaking all connection with him, she unbuckled her seatbelt.
Wait.
"What are you-"
She opened the door. "I'll tell you about it on the way home," Marinette soberly added, hoisting herself out of the car. "But the deal is," she peeked her head back in, "you have to let me be the one to drive."
Simply nodding, Adrien undid his seatbelt, quickly glancing for any approaching cars and, seeing a quick break in the heavy traffic, flung his door open.
He sprung from the vehicle, the nearly midday heat enveloping him, causing him to burst into an instant sweat as he darted around the car.
"I would've held the door open for you, M'lady," he bowed, gesturing towards the car, and, secretly, hoping to lighten the tension, "but leaving the door open too long in this traffic would have been pawsitively catastrophic."
"I think I can manage, silly kitty," Marinette kindly responded, flicking his nose, her smile soft, yet sad as she passed him to take on the driver's position.
But Adrien didn't follow suit, rather standing, frozen, as if that simple, fleeting touch had paralyzed him.
Marinette.
His heart ached.
Had he ever seen her act this downtrodden? Whatever it was she had to tell him, Adrien wasn't so sure he was ready to listen.
Her door slammed.
Right. Adrien exhaled, willing himself to move and to actually get into the car. Better to get this over with. And by the time he clicked his seatbelt, Marinette was already pulling into traffic.
"I'm just going to come right out with it," she hurriedly spurted, checking her surroundings. Her voice sounded pained. "I've beat around the bush long enough."
Adrien tensed his shoulders. Was not responding an option? Would she just not say anything if Adrien never even so much as nodded?
A few minutes ago, all he wanted was for her to just be honest. But now, now everything within him was screaming at him to just make her keep quiet.
"Marinette," his voice quivered. "I don't think I'm-"
"Your dad is waiting for us at our house," she blurted.
Adrien's mouth literally hung open in the ensuing silence, caught on the next syllable she had so effectively interrupted.
They drove past another hotel.
But there was nothing. Adrien's so carefully guarded libido had acutely vanished.
"Don't worry," she hastily added. "He has no clue that teenager me is there. He's just waiting outside and-" Marinette must have seen Adrien's expression, causing her to quit speaking mid sentence. But Adrien couldn't be sure. Because in that moment, the only thing he could see was red as his mind drifted further and further away from anything surrounding him at present.
Visions of his last encounter with his father swarmed into his head.
That stern, emotionless face.
His harsh, uncaring words.
It had taken Adrien years to stop dreaming about that wretched moment, and now here it was, back again. All those years suppressing it. Useless.
Ugh! He mentally shouted, sinking deeper into the darkness. Why the hell is he lurking at my house?!
Hadn't that man made it quite clear that Adrien was as good as dead to him? That was certainly the way Adrien felt about him!
Adrien tried to breathe, but his body was making it harder and harder to absorb the oxygen. It was as if a wave had suddenly washed over, pressing him deeper and deeper into its black, unbreathable depths.
He wanted to stay positive, to not spiral into a full panic and to paddle his way back to the surface, but his body knew. Nothing good ever came from an encounter with that villain!
If it hadn't been for Marinette's courage and willingness to stand up to him, where would the two of them be at this moment? Clearly one or both of them would have been akumatized if that man had gotten his way. And Adrien could only shudder at the thought of what kind of damage and destruction an akumatised Ladybug or Chat Noir could have unleashed on Paris.
Who knows?
Maybe their destruction wouldn't have simply ended with Paris. The annihilation of the entire world seemed like a more plausible development. Adrien certainly wouldn't put it past himself if he were left angry, heartbroken, and suddenly a villain.
But would that man have cared? Certainly not. He would have simply been happy that his perfect son hadn't ended up with such an ordinary civilian.
Bile burned against Adrien's throat as he tried to not get completely sick to his stomach.
This wasn't fair.
Every time something new and beautiful came into Adrien's life, that man had to come and try to ruin it!
Heck! Even their wedding had to be performed in secret for fear of that man trying to sabotage it.
No.
Adrien wouldn't have it.
Once again, he would have to shut that man down right then and there- to not give him an inkling of a chance to get what he wanted.
He hadn't faced this man since he was a teenager. But now. Now, Adrien was an adult.
It would be much easier this time. There was no longer anything that man could take; he no longer had any kind of hold on Adrien.
Simple. Adrien relaxed his breathing, his vision slowly coming back into focus. I've got this.
He fluttered his eyes, his house beckoning him from just around the corner.
Perfect timing. He curled the edges of his lips.
"Adrien," Marinette placed a comforting hand on his shoulder as she turned into the driveway. "There is something else I have to tell-"
"It can wait," he curtly spoke, undoing his seatbelt and opening the door before the car had even stopped. Clearly getting the message, Marinette pressed the brakes, allowing him to hurdle himself from the vehicle.
Instantly regretting snapping at his wife, Adrien's chest tightened, his head deciding that right now was a good time to start spinning. He rushed up the path parallel to the house. With the rose garden, he couldn't see the likes of any visitor yet. But he could feel it. That man's presence wasn't even a question.
Adrien took in one final deep breath as he rounded the corner, his entire body buzzing in dreaded anticipation, screaming at him to just turn back - to pretend no one was there and just go on about his normal business.
But it was too late.
Because there he was, sitting on the small, wooden bench - signifying one of the many entrances to Marinette's rose garden - which just happened to be located halfway between Adrien and the front door of his house. The rose garden was always a cornerstone in Adrien's spirit, a manifestation of his beautiful wife and a warm welcome to their home. But at this moment, it's usual comfort was sullied and darkened by a particularly uncompaniable guest seated at one of the gates. The weather that day might have been immaculate, but to Adrien it didn't matter, for all he could feel was a storm cloud looming over him.
"What are you doing here?" Adrien snarled, quickly closing the distance between them.
The unwanted visitor stood, his hands clasped firmly behind his back, causing Adrien to shudder at the familiar, icy disposition.
The man, if Adrien could even call him that, frowned. "It seems that there is much we need to talk about."
"I have nothing to say to you," Adrien cooly spoke, his back straight, shoulders poised. "You have lost all talking privileges. If you wanted to talk to me, you should have listened years ago."
"I'm fairly certain that the one who lost all privileges was you, Adrien. But I digress. I'm not here to speak about such petty grievances."
"Petty grievances?!" Adrien snapped. "Is that all my life is to you? Just a minor, meaningless annoyance?"
The elder Agreste didn't respond, simply standing, staring down at Adrien with that conceited, egotistical expression.
"You know what, Gabriel" Adrien sneered. "Just go ahead and get off my property. You are not wel-"
"Adrien." Marinette firmly spoke, squeezing his shoulder, effectively communicating her displeasure at Adrien's unfinished statement.
Fine. He exhaled.
If she wanted him to play nice, he could oblige.
At least for a moment…
"Hello, Gabriel," she said, kindly, squeezing her hand on his shoulder even tighter.
"Marinette." He nodded seriously, a gust of wind sweeping through the rose garden, blowing hundreds of petals between them.
Wait.
An uncomfortable tingle shot through Adrien's body as he turned towards Marinette.
Normally Adrien would have been swooning at the sight of roses literally dancing, perfectly framing his wife. Wasn't such a scene supposed to be the epitome of what one would dub as romantic?
But-
Not now.
Seriously. Since when had she and that man been on a first name basis?
"You're much further along than I expected," the man nonchalantly added, causing Adrien to grit his teeth at such a brazen, unwelcome statement.
He watched Marinette's face. But the fact this man knew their secret didn't seem to phase her in the slightest.
It must have been nice for her knowing this was all going to happen.
He jerked his head back towards their guest. "How did you know she was pregnant?" He seethed, completely forgetting his earlier resolve towards kindness. "You, of all people, should not be privy to such information!"
At some point during the last few moments, the wind had died down and now all the lifeless little petals laid limp on the ground.
Adrien didn't know if it was fitting or just a pure mockery of their rapidly declining conversation.
"You may not care if your child knows his or her grandfather," the man harshly rebutted, "but apparently your wife thought it was something I should know about."
Adrien's stomach lurched, his throat suddenly burning.
Clearly a mockery. He concluded.
He glanced back towards his wife, praying that this information was false. But her apologetic expression said it all- she had actually shared their most personal, beautiful secret with that villain!
Repulsed, he ripped himself away from Marinette's grasp on his shoulder.
"Y-you told him?!" He gasped, finding it nearly impossible to breathe again as he struggled to keep his balance from his rapid change in position.
"Yes, Adrien," she calmly responded, capturing, no, grounding him with her eyes. "I think your father deserves to know he is having a grandchild."
Adrien stood tall, taking in a deep breath he so desperately needed.
"I don't have a father!" he cried out. "And that man over there," he pointed without looking, "is NOT a grandparent to our child!"
"Adrien…"
"No, Marinette. I don't know why that man is here, but I know it's not because he suddenly cares about us OR our baby! I-I can't believe you... you would-"
"Adrien!" the man firmly and loudly stated, stepping right between him and Marinette. "Stop this tantrum right now! You are an adult. When are you going to start acting like it?"
A rush of heat stampeded through his body. Yes, he was an adult. And there was no way he was going to take this.
"Don't you dare use that tone with me, Gabriel," Adrien cautioned, aiming his anger back towards his intended victim. "Your authority over me has long ended. Come on, Marinette," he stepped around the intruder, "let's leave this man and go inside."
He swiftly approached Marinette, grabbing her by the elbow to lead her towards the door. Obviously, he needed to speak with her in private.
But she didn't budge, causing Adrien to stop in his tracks, looking like a complete idiot. Of all times for her to be so stubborn, especially when she had been the cause of all of this.
"Come on," he goaded, whispering between his teeth, quiet enough to where no one else could have heard him as he tugged on her once again.
"No." Marinette held firm. "I'm the one who called him, so I am going to at least be decent enough to hear him out."
In that moment, everything went silent- as if nature itself was appalled by Marinette's clear act of disrespect towards her husband.
It was one of those strange moments in life where Adrien hadn't paid one bit of attention to all those earlier sounds, but he was all-too-keen of their blaring absence.
"Fine," he snapped, letting go of her arm, her double betrayal piercing him like an arrow straight through the heart. "But I'm not staying here to listen."
He straightened his back, trying to look dignified as he drug himself to the door. His body felt heavy, sluggish even, and if he thought about it too much, he knew he would be nauseous .
Unable to get the key into the keyhole with his trembling hands, he had to rely on Plagg to phase in and get the door open.
Barely making it into the house, Adrien plopped himself on the couch, his head spinning with all his messed up thoughts.
"How could she do this?!" He slammed both of his palms to his forehead, the room spinning, slightly, above him.
Sure, Marinette had once mentioned being interested in telling that man all about their child. But hadn't Adrien quickly shut her down?
How could she go behind his back like this? Weren't they a team? To think that the one and only Ladybug would betray him so easily. Had she forgotten what marriage was all about?
He gripped the hair closest to his forehead, nearly pulling it out.
"Kid, you have got to calm down," Plagg said, dropping onto Adrien's chest.
"Oh, so you don't think I'm an adult now, either?" Adrien growled, tugging even harder on his hair.
"It's not like that and you know it. I'm thousands of years old, Adrien. To me, everyone is a child."
Adrien simply moaned, lowering his hands to his side.
"And to answer your earlier question," Plagg continued, "maybe you should have a little more faith in your wife. She's never, truly, let you down, right?" He poked Adrien in the chest. "I'm sure she, and Tikki, thought long and hard about the consequences of this decision, and to them, it was worth the price."
Adrien simply took in a deep breath, closing his eyes.
Why couldn't this day just have gone like he had earlier envisioned? Everything had started out okay. Breakfast had been so nice, and-
Wait.
The younger Marinette must have been hiding somewhere in the house - probably upstairs.
Adrien exhaled.
The way he saw it, he had two plausible choices. He could keep sulking, remaining on the couch until his wife inevitably returned. He shuddered. Or he could retreat to the upstairs, facing the younger, non-betraying, delicious Danish-making Marinette instead.
Of course, there was always the option of just waltzing out that back door, completely escaping all of this drama and getting his thoughts in order. But the sweet, innocent Marinette he had spent his morning with didn't deserve such unmerited and well, unexplained treatment.
He sat up. Seventeen year old Marinette had been waiting long enough.
Besides, maybe he could convince her to change this certain string of events. Clearly, he would have never told her to keep events the same if this had happened. Something must have already messed up this timeline.
The door slammed open and twenty-five year old Marinette rushed inside.
Option one it is. He sighed, wishing he had moved just a bit faster, not at all ready to face his wife.
She swiftly approached him, kneeling on both knees in front of the couch.
"Adrien," she gently began, cupping both of his hands within hers. "We have to listen to what Gabriel wants to tell us."
He narrowed his eyes, his stomach rolling at the reminder of her betrayal. "Not. Interested."
"Look, I know you're upset," she moved one of her hands to his cheek, her touch surprisingly comforting him, abruptly causing the room to stop spinning, "but you really need to listen."
"Why?" A previously unknown tear slipped past his lashes. "Nothing is going to change. I say, we let him forget all about us just like he wanted."
Marinette wiped the moisture creeping down his cheek away with her thumb, leaning forward, resting her forehead against his own. "Please Adrien, he said he's here to help us."
"And you believe him?" Adrien squeezed shut his eyes, a few more tears unwittingly escaping.
Marinette simply nodded, her words unneeded.
"Okay," he softly whispered. Plagg was right.
Nomatter how much he'd rather not see that man again, he would be a fool not to trust his wife.
…-...
It had been all of about thirty minutes since Marinette had heard the multiple slammings of car doors right outside, but no matter how curious she was about the ensuing altercation, she couldn't bring herself to look out the window, or, even now, peek down to figure out what was going on inside. This little, unexpected visit was something the future Marinette should handle. Just knowing this was going to happen, without any of the details, was enough to make her wary and nauseous at the same time.
The front door slammed for the third time, shaking the entire house. Clearly, there had not been a pleasant end to the trio's conversation.
"He must finally be gone," Tikki whispered, barely lifting her head from where she had been resting on Marinette's shoulder.
Ever since Marinette had learned that Gabriel Agreste had been waiting outside the house, the only thing she had managed to accomplish was to roll over on her side.
"Do you think we should go down to see what's going on?" Tikki asked.
Marinette gently reached over, cupping her kwami into the palm of her hand as she shifted into laying on her backside. "I don't know, Tikki." She stared at the ceiling. "This seems too personal. I think it would be best if I just give them some time."
"You're probably right." Tikki nodded.
"Plagg!" Marinette distinctly heard Adrien yell. "Claws out!"
Marinette shot up, her head feeling somewhat dizzy from standing so quickly.
What the hell was going on?
She darted out of the room, making it to the top of the stairs only fast enough to see a newly transformed Chat Noir scurrying out the front door.
"Tikki!" She heard another voice call from the other side of the living room - just out of Marinette's vision. "Let's go! We have to-"
A red blur flashed into and just out of sight.
"Marinette! Please, just give him some space," Tikki's familiar voice advised. "It's too dangerous to follow him right now."
"But, Tikki!" the other, panicked voice responded. "He needs me. Oh god, Tikki. This is worse than I could have ever imagined."
"No," Tikki asserted (which was strange because Tikki was clearly floating right next to Marinette at the top of the stairs). "He needs some time to calm down. Just trust him. He'll come home when he's ready to be with you. He's just- he's overloaded right now."
"Ugh!" The other voice shrieked in tandem with a thumping, most likely foot-stomping sound.
Marinette held her breath, the sudden silence after such an outburst making her afraid that any sound would reveal her not-so-hidden location.
She needed to somehow slip away- to remove herself from this highly emotional, yet confusing, situation.
Silently letting out her pent-up breath, Marinette slowly lifted her foot, ready to take her first-
"You can come down now," the, now calmer, voice stated. "I know you're there."
Of course she would. Marinette snidely thought, glancing towards Tikki - the kwami nodding in silent support.
"I guess there's no use in trying to hide from yourself," Marinette confidently blurted, beginning her moderate pace down the stairs, her heart wildly protesting at her descent.
As the space opened around her, she could finally see everything. The couch, the television. Heck! She could even see the grand piano sitting, silent, way off in the far corner.
Why she hadn't asked Adrien to play a song for her yet, was a mystery she didn't think she would ever be able to answer.
But all of those things, no matter how nice or perfectly decorated, paled in comparison to the person that suddenly obtained one-hundred percent of her attention.
Yep. Adrien had been right.
Because it took everything within her to not just freak out at the woman's totally different appearance.
"Aww!" Tikki rubbed against her cheek. "You're going to look so adorable!"
The other Tikki flitted from the woman's side, hooking paws with her younger self and twirling around. "You've got that right!"
And no matter how much Marinette usually liked to argue against her companion's obviously biased opinion, she had nothing to rebut against this time.
It was a fact.
This woman, who was standing so carefully in front of her, staring back at her with those inquisitive eyes, was simply- well, gorgeous.
Her hair was pulled back into a messy bun (but Marinette could tell it had to be much longer than her current barely past the shoulders length), and her cute, red and black polka dotted summer dress must have been something that Marinette, herself, had sewn. Having just gotten home from the airport, she didn't have any make-up on. But, DANG, girl. She didn't even need it! Not with that natural, radiating glow.
And then, of course, there was the most obvious, stomach twisting, but exciting difference.
That adorable, but large, baby bump had to be how many months along now?
"Umm," Marinette finally made it to the bottom of the stairs, scratching at the back of her head, something she must have picked up from her time with Adrien. "Congratulations?"
The other Marinette (weird) lovingly caressed her bulging midsection. "Thanks." She tried to smile.
But the slight upturn of her lips, quickly turned upside down.
Recognizing that all-too-familiar pained expression, Marinette rushed to her future self's side, enfolding her in a deepened embrace just before she began to cry.
"I'm- I'm so sorry you had to witness this," she bawled, burying her face into Marinette's shoulder.
"It's okay," she patted the sobbing woman's back. "Don't worry about me. Pretend I'm not here and just cry it all out."
Marinette carefully guided her older self to the couch, never letting go in the process. She couldn't even begin to count how many times she had cried into her mother's shoulder just like this, but she had never expected to have to be the one comforting herself.
Seriously. Had Gabriel confessed to committing some sort of terrible crime? What could he have said to make herself and Adrien experience such an emotional freakout?
No. She mentally chided herself. She shouldn't think about or even try to ask about what happened. She would find everything out in her own time.
Nomatter how much that was clearly going to hurt her in the process.
Marinette began humming the same tune her mother always sang when she cried. If there was one thing she knew: it was how to properly calm herself.
After what seemed like hours of back rubbing and the repeating pattern of silence leading back into desperate sobs, it was clear to Marinette that her older self had finally calmed down.
And a few minutes after that revelation, the older Marinette pulled away, wiping at her swollen eyes.
"Thank you for helping me get through that," her voice sounded raw. "But it's time for me to be the strong one now. Adrien is going to need me more than he ever has."
Marinette's heart clenched at that statement. "It's weird to think that one day I will be the one saying that," she softly smiled.
The older Marinette gently grabbed her hands, smiling in return. "Your future is even more beautiful than you could ever imagine."
"I know." If this trip had taught her nothing else, she now knew how much love she would one day receive from Adrien. Besides, she couldn't forget about that not-so-little bun still baking in the oven. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Speaking of your future," the other Marinette squeezed her hands. "Bunnix will
be here to take you home in a few hours."
"Bunnix?!" Marinette ripped her hands from her future self's grasp, bringing them to her head and clasping her hair. "Why didn't I think of that? Oh my goodness. Adrien and I are so stupid."
The older Marinette giggled. "Don't blame yourself. It's always our policy to only call on Bunnix in extreme situations. Her powers are dangerous and should only be used with utmost caution. Besides, in your time, you haven't even given Alix her miraculous yet. It makes sense that you wouldn't realize she was an option."
"But what about you?" Marinette pointed her finger at her older self. "Why didn't you call her as soon as you knew I had arrived?"
The older Marinette just shrugged her shoulders. "I guess that is just because I knew that this was how things were supposed to happen. If I had sent you home immediately, I would have messed up the timeline."
Marinette tilted her head. But she had dealt with Bunnix enough to know that she was a stickler for protecting and ensuring the correct events throughout time. Oddly enough, this strange expedition must have been one of them.
Honestly, it made sense. If she hadn't been given the opportunity to discover that Chat Noir was actually Adrien, would she have ever ended up with this future life?
She glanced down towards that oh-so-adorable baby bump.
No.
She would never do anything that could potentially jeopardize that baby's existence.
"Would you like to see the nursery?" Her older self asked, obviously noticing Marinette's change of focus. "I know you have been dying to find out what was behind that locked door upstairs."
Marinette looked back into her older self's eyes as she started to laugh out loud. Of course a nursery was what that secret door was trying to hide. Could it have been anything else?
But honestly, Marinette really needed to leave a few things left to surprise. The nursery colors would, more likely than not, tell her more than wanted to know.
"No thanks." She shook her head. "I think I can wait another eight years to find out the gender of my first child."
"I knew you would say that." The other Marinette laughed as well.
But her laugh sounded strange, almost hollow as it quickly died down and her smile faded into seriousness.
She shifted her attention to the front of the house.
"I'm sorry to cut this short," she sternly added, not even looking at Marinette, "but I think it's time you start heading back upstairs."
Knowing better than to refute the judgement of her older self, Marinette quickly obeyed, making light of her feet and scrambling towards the stairs. She wasn't even halfway up when the door slammed open and a no-longer-transformed Adrien stumbled across the threshold.
One look.
That's all it took for Adrien to look at his wife and to completely break down.
Oh, Adrien! Marinette's heart shattered as she watched him crumble in the arms of her future self.
Everything she had once thought she knew about him completely fractured. Because she could see it now- his humanity, his pain, everything she had missed when only seeing that perfect shell of the model boy, Adrien.
He was right. Marinette finally realized, watching him melt into her other self's comfort and remembering what he had said during her first day in the future.
Every day.
That's what he had said. That without her he goes back to being that lonely boy who throws temper tantrums on Christmas.
Her heart wrenched, longing desperately to provide that poor, young boy a much-deserved shelter.
Whatever had happened with his father, she guessed. It must have been the culmination of something that had been going on for quite a long time.
She flung her hand to her mouth, trying to stem queasiness that was trying to rise.
Because her Adrien had been facing this for ages. And she had been too stupid to see through his masks and to fulfill her much-needed duty by truly standing by his side.
And as he began to wail, something clicked inside.
There it is. She thought.
There's that pain he had been hiding from her ever since she had arrived. She didn't even know at what point she had realized it was there, but now here it was, raw and unrefined.
No. She turned away, deciding that this was too much, too personal for her to continue to witness. She would be there for him when it was her time. But right now, right now she needed to focus on how she would comfort her sweet, seventeen-year-old Adrien when she returned to her own timeline.
She forced herself back up the stairs.
Now all she needed to do was to wait for Bunnix to arrive.
...-...
Woo! I really hope you enjoyed this chapter. Now that the kitten is officially out of the bag, I thought we could have some fun together! I want you all to help me decide the gender and the name of this kitten!
In keeping with the fandom, our options are Emma, Louis, and Hugo. Now, I never specified whether or not Marinette was pregnant with one or even more than one baby. Again, I want you guys to help me decide!
All you have to do is leave a comment with the name of the baby or babies you want our adorable couple to have. The deadline to comment with your vote will be September 30th, 2020 (9/30/20). Once that date passes, I will tally all of your votes and I will post a special update with the results!
Thank you all for being such fabulous readers! Don't forget to leave a star, kudos, or whatever form of love there is for whichever platform you read on. It really helps in getting my story out there for new readers!