previously: mari was forcefully teleported by chloé, interrogated about her powers, and then met the demon king with kagami and luka.

ding ding ding! congratulations to bananarock509 for being the only one to guess the plot twist! i did enjoy reading everyone's attempts sdglkjdfhfj especially all the reincarnated lover theories. i do love me that trope but i thought that would've been a bit too cliché, so i went with this in the end. there's no fake-out adrien this time, he's the real deal and here to be ~the love interest~

Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Chat Noir © Thomas Astruc

"What gave me away?" she asked.

"Your powers, for one," he replied, reaching out and patting the top of her head. "You've grown up."

It was a jarring greeting.

Marinette had approached him with false confidence, yet his didn't seem so forced.

For a moment, all she could do was stare at him. His hair had changed, the blond strands almost touching the top of his ears, and the gentle smile that he showed her had dimples appearing on his cheeks.

It was somewhat awkward as she leaned into his touch, feeling warm. "Well, yeah. It's been years, Adrien."

Chloé that interrupted from across the table to demand, "What the fuck?"

Marinette's breath caught in her throat at that.

"Oh," Adrien murmured, hand staying on top of her head as he looked between her and Chloé. "You didn't tell her?"

"I didn't tell anyone," she mumbled. "And I—I didn't know if she knew or not."

His hand trailed down to touch her chin, lifting her head up to inspect her face from different angles. "I might not have recognised you at first."

"I—Adrien?" Luka interrupted, a stutter to his voice.

Adrien let his hand fall down to his side. "What is it?"

And as she'd predicted, Luka and Kagami were still standing there, wide-eyed and out of place. They'd never made it to the table.

Luka asked, "What is this?"

Marinette winced. "Well..."

"Sit," Adrien said, gesturing to the other side of the table with Chloé. "Any friend of Rin's is welcome here."

"Mari," she interrupted. "Not Rin."

His brow furrowed. "Mari?"

As much as she tried to ignore the stares, it was hard to when Kagami sat down beside her. Luka was across from her with Chloé at his side, within distance to nudge her with his foot under the table, staring expectantly.

It was Chloé that reacted first.

She slammed her hands down on the table, jumping to her feet. "You—"

And before Chloé could get another word out, she couldn't open her mouth.

Marinette's eyes widened. "Are you keeping her lips shut?"

"You've bruised her ego," Adrien replied, not denying it.

"Adrien?" Luka questioned, looking terribly out of place as he glanced at Chloé's glowering face. "Do you... know each other?"

Marinette knew that Kagami was still staring at her.

Rather than answering that directly, Adrien asked her, "What do you want me to say?"

"It's okay," she murmured, shifting in her seat before offering Kagami a small smile that wasn't returned. "I trust them."

"I assumed so when you brought them here," he remarked.

"To be fair, it was Chloé's doing," she pointed out. "I was taking my time, that's all."

He gave her a look that seemed almost fond. "Were you scared?"

Kagami spoke for the first time since entering the room. "What are you doing."

It didn't quite sound like a question.

"It's cool," Marinette assured her, clumsily reaching out and patting Adrien's shoulder. "This scary demon man isn't going to do anything to me, yeah? We're friends."

"Friends?" Adrien questioned, amusement clear in his voice. "I was under the impression I was your babysitter."

She tutted. "You've been upgraded to friend."

"That was fast," he mused. "You haven't even had food yet."

There was almost a quiver to Kagami's voice. "Mari."

"I—" Marinette cut herself off, awkwardly touching her hair before realising that Adrien had caused her ponytail to become sloppy. "I don't know how to say this."

Luka sounded terribly confused as he asked, "Why is he calling you Rin?"

Chloé couldn't say a word with Adrien's magic on her, though her anger was clear on her face.

Marinette stared down at her lap instead of anywhere else. "About that..."

Adrien didn't help when he said, "That was the name she gave before."

She shot him a betrayed look.

He shrugged.

"What?" Luka blurted.

It wasn't her best choice when she chose to stutter out, "The one that was—that was summoned before? It was me."

More than anything, all she could see was Kagami's betrayed expression.

They didn't get to eat.

Kagami had stormed out without a word, not looking back even once before she'd left the room.

And as guilt churned uncomfortably in her stomach, Luka seemed torn on whether to follow Kagami out or not. The answer was given to him when Adrien said, "You two, leave us for now, will you?"

It wasn't really a request.

Chloé made sure to stomp her feet on the way out.

Marinette pointedly avoided looking at her.

It didn't feel right to sit there. She'd been too caught up in her feelings to really comprehend what it would mean to them; for Kagami to stand there and see her be so friendly to someone that she'd never mentioned in their time knowing each other.

Kagami had given up her previous life to be with her, and Marinette had guided her in without being truthful.

It was all because of her that Kagami was wanted for treason.

And suddenly, it was hard to breathe when all she could remember was the way Kagami had looked at her.

"Adrien, I—" Marinette started, cutting herself off to get to her feet. "I can't do this right now. I need to—I need to explain."

He frowned. "Rin—"

That name that made her throat feel tight.

"Later," she said, forgetting her cloak in favour of running through the door. She didn't pause to hear him reply, only focused on catching up with her friends.

Marinette followed the route that they'd taken before—up the wooden stairs, through the hallway before coming before a few doors. She peeked into the first before realising that it wasn't Chloé's.

There were hushed voices at the next that she could hear without opening it.

She knocked.

There was silence.

She took in a breath before turning the handle, a sense of relief flooding her as she saw Luka and Kagami standing beside each other, agitation clear from their body language.

They weren't fighting, at least. Kagami didn't have her hand on her sword.

She waved. "Hi."

Kagami tutted.

"So..." Marinette shut the door behind her, hands behind her back as she leaned onto it. "I should probably... explain."

Luka's voice cracked as he asked, "Probably?"

Her eyes felt dry. "Well, I—"

Kagami demanded, "Why?"

To avoid crying, she looked down, focusing on her boots. They were the brown pair that Luka had gotten her on their first day together.

"I didn't... I didn't want to be used again," she whispered.

Kagami's voice sounded angry. "You didn't know anything."

"No," she agreed, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I wasn't—I couldn't go out much, before. I didn't know a lot, but I do know that it's... changed. Lyss-Ria used to be called something different, for one."

"For someone that was around sixty years ago, you do not look old," Luka chose to point out, sounding doubtful. "Is there—is there an explanation for that?"

"Time works differently," she admitted. "I didn't—I didn't know for sure until I came back this time, but... for every ten years here, it's one for mine."

Kagami said, "You said your age is twenty."

"It is," she confirmed, heart beating in her chest. "I was fourteen when—when I was summoned originally."

Luka quietly stated, "That doesn't add up."

"No," Marinette agreed, vision becoming blurry as she blinked back tears. "Adrien, he—he took me in when I saw I was a kid. He managed to send me back to exactly when I left, so it was like I... never lost any time."

There wasn't a stutter in Kagami's voice as she said, "You never tried to escape."

It was unclear which time was being referred to.

"I was going to, eventually," she replied, using her palm to wipe her eyes. "I was going to fake my death so no one would be stupid enough to think I've been kidnapped or something. I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"They never—" Luka made a frustrated noise. "I wasn't told anything. I never—I never even suspected."

"It would've made you be weird around me, right?" Marinette's smile didn't reach her eyes as she gathered the courage to look up.

Kagami was resolutely staring at the wall, turning her head so her expression wasn't visible.

But Luka's was open, the furrow between his brow telling her all she needed to know.

She swallowed. "I'm sorry."

Neither of them said anything.

"Kagami," she said, her voice but a whisper. "I'm—I'm so sorry for getting you into this."

There was no reply.

Luka wasn't looking at her any more.

-x-

It was astounding that Chloé hadn't barged in and demanded to talk to her yet.

Marinette had wandered into another room and locked the door, preferring to be alone for a while. Neither Luka or Kagami had tried to follow her, though she didn't have expectations of that.

It had never been the plan to bring Kagami along.

When there was a knock, Marinette was startled awake. Her back was stiff from falling asleep on the floor, and she almost tripped on her dress when she stood up and cracked it open to see who was there.

Seeing Adrien's smile felt like she'd been punched.

She couldn't avoid him forever, unfortunately.

"Come in," she said, opening it wider for him.

With him standing, she was able to see he was roughly the same height as Luka.

"I think we've both grown," she said, a nervous quiver to her voice as she put a hand over her head before touching where she came up to on his shoulder. "It was lower before, right?"

"Rin—" he started.

"Mari," she corrected. "Marinette, if you're feeling fancy."

He pursed his lips.

"I've never liked being called Rin since," she admitted, tucking some stray strands behind her ear. "It—it brings back uncomfortable memories. I go by my full name now."

He squinted. "You told them Mari."

She shrugged. "I was paranoid. I thought I might get more attention if I had Rin it it."

Gently, he put his hands on her shoulders. "Why didn't you come?"

She whispered, "I didn't know how to get here."

"You knew what Luka was."

"I knew he was a demon, not that he was directly under Chloé's order," she lamely defended. "It's—"

He butted in, "I gave him my name for a reason."

Marinette sighed. "Okay, I wanted to be responsible."

"And how did that go for you?" he asked.

"Well, no need to get smart with me," she muttered, taking a step back so his hands were no longer on her. "I didn't want to be some helpless kid again. I wanted to—to do stuff for myself, okay?"

Adrien tilted his head. "I can send you back."

"So I can be summoned again when I'm in my thirties?" she retorted. "Yeah, that sounds fun. I already have trouble waking up in the morning anyway."

"Rin—"

"Marinette!" she exclaimed.

"Marinette," he repeated, holding his hands up in a sign of surrender. "You know you can trust me."

Seeing him again was making it really hit her; that she was back in the position that she'd been in before, but she wasn't as young and helpless.

Her voice was quiet. "I know."

"I thought... I thought that maybe, it wasn't you," he murmured, reaching out and touching her face. "It didn't make sense why you wouldn't come to me."

She sighed. "It's been six years, Adrien."

"More for me," he murmured, brushing her hair out of her eyes. "You've grown up."

"And so have you," she replied, offering him a shaky smile. "We're not kids now. I'm not going to cry at every little thing this time."

He smiled. "You did cry a lot."

Her face felt warm at that. "Well, yeah. It was all scary."

"What about me?" he questioned. "Am I big and scary?"

"I'm better at magic now," Marinette replied, dodging the absurd question. "I could probably last against you for... maybe two seconds."

He laughed.

"I'm able to do a lot of things I couldn't before," she insisted. "Even if you forgot to tell me that I can reanimate the dead."

And with that, Adrien froze.

Her smile grew. "You know, this funny thing happened—"

"I didn't want to scare you," he blurted.

Marinette snorted. "I think I had a heart attack when I revived Luka, but okay."

"Luka?"

She winced. "About that—"

-x-

As it turned out, Adrien had used his shield to block anyone from entering his home. Chloé had been forcefully removed and kept out—unable to teleport in—and it was the four of them left inside in different rooms.

It was an understatement to say that it was awkward.

Kagami wouldn't talk to her.

And while Luka would a little, he wasn't looking in her eyes and was careful with his words. He ran at the sight of Adrien, not wanting to be in the same room with him while Marinette was present.

She slumped against the counter with a sigh.

"I'm waiting," Adrien said, tapping his fingernails audibly. "You're the one that's slow this time."

The strangest part of it all was that Adrien was trying to act like he had before. He was the one to cook meals, taking her into the kitchen with him to get her to chop vegetables and observe as she used to do, but it felt foreign to her.

It was too forced.

And yet, Adrien was acting casual, talking to her about trivial topics that interested him instead of the glaring issues at hand.

He shot her down when she'd tried to ask about the king.

"So, is he like the previous one or—"

"He's a distant relative, so no," Adrien replied, tapping a spoon against the side of the pot to prevent drips before holding it out to her. "How does this taste?"

"He—"

Adrien shoved the spoon in her mouth.

She'd glared.

And when he didn't have anything to shut her up with, he changed the topic immediately without humouring her.

While Luka came down to eat, fumbling with his words when she was around, Kagami wasn't coming out of her room. Marinette stubbornly knocked on the door and waited to see if she'd get an answer, leaving a tray of food outside, and the only sign of life from inside were the empty plates that she collected later on in the day.

She couldn't begin to imagine how betrayed Kagami must've felt, but it was still irritating to be ignored so much.

It was as annoying as being babied.

When Adrien recommended her a book from his library, she felt nothing but fury at the fairytale that was provided.

It was one of the same ones she'd been given at the castle.

She voice cracked as she said, "I'm not a child."

Adrien was perplexed.

With a frown, he replied, "I know that."

"Do you?" she questioned, finding the courage not to avert her eyes. "Because you're treating me like you used to."

He blinked. "Is that a problem?"

She sighed.

Adrien asked, "Am I... doing something wrong?"

"I didn't expect you to welcome me back with open arms like this!" she exclaimed, a bit too loudly. "I mean, I thought you'd remember me a bit—but you're acting like nothing has happened!"

Even his smile looked confused. "Of course I remember you."

"Adrien," she started slowly. "Do you actually? Because I don't think you can remember every little thing from that many years ago."

He bluntly told her, "I wrote about you in my diary."

She stared.

"I wrote down everything about you whenever you went to bed," he informed her, a bit shy as he ran a hand through his hair before touching his neck. "What you liked to eat, which books you liked, and what magic you had trouble with—everything. I've gone back and read it over the years because I like remembering our time together."

Well, that explained why he was trying to go back to how it was.

Still, she had to ask, "Why?"

"Why?" he echoed.

"Why write it?" she questioned, a furrow to her brow. "That's—well, it's a bit weird."

"It was for a reason," he assured her.

She demanded, "Tell me."

"Where have your manners gone?" Adrien questioned, reaching out and cupping her cheek. "You used to be so polite."

She batted his hand away. "Please, sir."

He laughed. "Is that you sucking up to me?"

"It's all you're getting."

"Fine, fine," he said, shaking his head fondly as his hand fell back down to his side. "I did it so if something ever happened to me, someone would know how to take care of you."

As sweet as that was, Marinette's first response was, "I'm not a dog."

"You're not," Adrien agreed. "But I wanted to make sure that you'd have your favourite meal while crying over me."

She snorted. "Bit bold to assume I'd cry over you, isn't it?"

"You hated it whenever I left," he pointed out.

"That's because you're strong!" she exclaimed. "I was a traumatised kid! I wasn't going to let someone who can kick anyone's ass out of my sight. I'd be a sitting duck."

He hummed. "I'm sure that's it."

"It is," she insisted, face feeling hot.

"I'm sorry this isn't the home from before," he offered, a small smile on his lips. "I know you liked your room. I never... I didn't think you'd be back, so I never had it replicated."

Marinette shook her head. "It's fine."

"And I know you hate the cold," he said.

"Why the fuck are you up in the snowy mountains?" she complained, jabbing a finger towards the window where she could only see white. "You're a big scary demon! Set up camp where it's warm."

"Humans rarely venture out this far," he pointed out. "It was Chloé's ideas to stay here."

"Yeah, because she can teleport away in an instant and go sunbathe somewhere," she muttered. "While you're stuck here with wet socks because it's either snowing or raining everyday."

He grinned. "You don't know the weather yet."

"I can guess," she grumbled. "How long are you keeping Chloé out?"

"Until you want to talk to her," was his immediate response. "She would throw a fit and demand to know everything. I'm not putting you through that already."

Marinette touched her head. "Does the hair really make me look that different?"

"A bit," he agreed. "Your face is a lot more... mature."

She tutted. "You can say it, my cheeks aren't fat any more."

"They were never fat," he denied, sounding amused. "You looked... young. And you still do, in a different way."

Marinette snorted. "Thank you, that makes me feel really good about myself."

"You grew up well," he told her.

She averted her eyes. "Of course I did."

"What was it like?" he asked quietly. "Were your parents—were they happy to see you?"

"So happy," she replied wistfully, smile reaching her eyes. "They thought something was wrong with me at first. It took me months to convince them that I was okay."

His words were utterly sincere. "I'm glad you got to see them again."

"Thank you," she said, meaning every word. "Without you, I would've been miserable. I don't know how you became this big bad guy, but you're... I honestly think you're wonderful, Adrien. I'm sure that hasn't changed."

"Anyone would've done what I did if they could," he shyly told her, smoothing out his shirt. "You were just a kid. It's only natural that I wanted to protect you."

"Were?" she asked.

He didn't look away. "Yes."

"More than my appearance has changed," she informed him softly. "I like different foods and I have new hobbies. I'm... not the same."

He cleared his throat. "Maybe not."

"Will you get to know me?" she requested. "For me, not for... Rin."

His brow furrowed. "You're not a whole new person."

"I want to be," she pointed out. "Who I was before—I'm, like, idolised here? That's bizarre! I could barely cast any spells and cried all of the time. Why am I being remembered as a great hero?"

"Because you didn't run away from me," he helpfully told her.

She scowled. "You looked like a normal teenager. How was I supposed to know you were the big scary demon?"

"Tell me about Marinette, then," he proposed, reaching out and holding a strand of her pink hair. "Do you still cry a lot?"