A/N: I have 99 problems and writing this solved none of them.
Summary: In which the author evades writing her WIP.
Some people have soulmarks. Some people have timers. Others, the first thing they'll say to their soulmate etched on their skin. And for the especially unfortunate? A extremely dedicated(and violent) Canadian goose.
Marinette had accepted her state of soulmateless-ness years ago. It's why she's held herself back from Chat, who must have a soulmate waiting for him, and threw herself at Adrien, who she'd never have a chance with anyways. She was fine, she was happy, and she was ready to live her life.
The goose waiting on her balcony after a taxing akuma fight disagreed.
Marinette has had a sucky day, and the goose hissing at her currently does not help.
She woke up late, managed to put her shirt on inside out, forgot her science homework, had coffee 'spilled' on her by Chloe, who hadn't seemed to grow up even though they were seventeen now, and to top it off an exhausting battle in which Chat had managed to get himself killed for the nineteenth time since getting his Miraculous.
Idiot cat.
She had dropped onto her balcony, detransforming quickly, and standing only to be met with a bite on the ankle, which brings her to her current situation: a stare-down with a pissed-off goose.
Marinette huffs, crossing her arms. "This is ridiculous. The hell are you doing here?" she demands. The goose only hisses more. "God, you sound like a snake. Go back to the Seine or whatever hole you crawled out of before I call Animal Control," she says sharply.
Tikki pops up from behind her back. "Marinette, I don't think-" Tikki is cut off as the goose lunges at her, and she yelps, jumping onto her railing. The goose eyes her balefully and Marinette mutters a few choice four letter words under her breath.
"What do you want from me?" she asks shrilly, if a bit sarcastically. She's shocked when the goose backs off, jerking it's head towards her trapdoor.
You have got to be kidding me.
She climbs down warily, hands extended. "I am not having a conversation with a goose. You can't even understand me...can you? Tikki, can it understand me?"
Tikki is staring at the goose with an extremely disturbed expression on her face.
It stares back at them, not making a sound, and she reverts to what she did as a kid, meeting her friend's pets. She drops to one knee, hands on her knees.
"Honk if you can understand me," she says softly.
It doesn't make a sound and she sighs, feeling like an idiot. "Well that was- JESUS CHRIST!" she shrieks. The goose did indeed understand her, and chose to honk at her probably when she would be most caught off-guard.
"Don't do that," she whisper-yells at it. It adjusts it's wings a bit. Tikki gulps.
"Marinette, I think you should do what it's telling you."
Marinette blinks at Tikki. "Tikki, it's a goose."
"Well, yes, but I don't think it's a normal goose. Just- just do it, okay?" the kwami snaps. Marinette, taken aback by her friend's normally positive and gentle voice turned harsh hustles past the goose, dropping onto her bed and refraining from whacking the animal as it drops down next to her.
"Dirty paws or whatever those are on my nice, clean bed," she gripes. "This better be worth it."
Tikki floats closer to the goose, touching it with her little nub. It rubs it's head into her and Tikki smiles, flying back to Marinette.
"Congratulations! The Soulmate Goose of Enforcement is here to show you to your soulmate!" she says happily.
Marinette stares at Tikki, then to the goose, and then back to Tikki. "You're joking."
Tikki frowns. "I wouldn't joke about this."
"Tikki, I don't have a soulmate. We've established that. Whatever that is- a psychic reincarnation of Master Fu's twin, a practical joke, whatever- it's not here to show me my soulmate," Marinette says. Tikki just gives her that disappointed expression that appears whenever Marinette is being especially stubborn and Marinette groans.
"Fine, fine! Okay, all powerful 'Soulmate Goose of Enforcement', show me my soulmate," Marinette says flippantly. The goose stares at her and Marinette feels a tingling sensation. The stare drags on longer and Marinette's beginning to think that maybe it will show her, maybe it's not a joke, when the goose just bites her ankle.
"OW! Son of a bitch," Marinette curses. Tikki just shakes her head.
"If you won't take it seriously, he won't either," she says reprovingly.
Marinette blinks away the tears of pain- geese bites hurt- and scowls at Tikki.
"Do you even know how this works?" she demands. Tikki grimaces.
"Well, no, not exactly, but I've been here since the beginning of time, and I'm positive that he will guide you to your soulmate."
Marinette shakes her head. "I'm giving it to Animal Control. Tikki, spots on!"
The goose attacks her again, honking at the sudden flash of light, and Ladybug hits it with her yoyo none too gently.
"Listen, goose, I'll give you one shot to leave before I truss you up like a turkey and make a new bakery special. Got it?"
The goose flaps its wings and hisses.
"I'll take that as a no."
Her yoyo shoots out, wrapping around the goose. It's wings are pinned, but that doesn't stop it from trying to take a chunk out of her flesh.
"Fucking stop," Ladybug grunts, wrestling it onto her balcony. With one final honk, it simply vanished, leaving Ladybug with a few bite marks and a lot of confusion.
Adrien was having a great day before the goose broke his TV. He's home alone, he finally defeated Kagami at fencing practice(after getting his ass handed to him four times) and he got an A on his pre-calculus quiz. Plus, Ladybug's appearance. And sure, he may have died a bit painfully in the Disney's Cars themed akuma attack(he'd never look at Lightning McQueen the same) but also Ladybug hugged him which made it worth it.
He was not expecting a Canadian goose to appear out of nowhere and crash into his TV, then turn tail and fly right at him.
Currently, he's locked in his bathroom with Plagg and an absurd amount of cheese.
"Do you know how that got here?" he asks in a panicked whisper. Plagg grunts.
"Hell if I know, kid. But it almost got my cheese which makes it dangerous."
Adrien nods solemnly, wincing at another crash from outside the door.
"I should call La-"
"No."
Adrien frowns at Plagg, his face in a pout except he was a model so he didn't pout. He… did something more dignified that was not pouting.
"Stop pouting," Plagg chastises. "You look like a whiny toddler."
"Do not," he says with a bit of whine. Okay, more than a bit.
He moved on.
"Ladybug could probably help, though," he says after a bit.
"You're frickin' Chat Noir. Get your ass out there and save my cheese."
Plagg unlocks the door, opens it, and unceremoniously shoves Adrien through, slamming it behind him.
Adrien has a split second to wonder how Plagg even had enough force to move him before the goose dove at him, hissing.
He ducks and rolls, running for a ceremonial fencing saber and grabbing it by the handle.
"Back off," he says commandingly, with a bit of waver in his voice. The goose drops to the ground. Adrien lowers the saber, still on his guard.
"Plagg, should I call Animal Control?" he calls. Plagg phases through the door, glaring suspiciously at the goose.
He starts cackling.
"Oh, oh this is too good," he gasps, rolling in the air.
The goose hisses and Adrien feels inclined to do so as well.
"What is it, Plagg," he asks, more than a little frustrated with his kwami.
Plagg smiles, a wide toothy grin. "That right there is the Soulmate Goose of Enforcement."
Adrien drops his saber. "You're kidding," he breathes, smiles spreading across his face.
His whole life, Adrien believed he didn't have a soulmate. He was sure Ladybug would be the closest thing to one- two halves of a whole, everyone said so, but it still stung sometimes that he would never know for sure. Nino was lucky. He had the most common- the first words his soulmate would say to him inscribed on his wrist. Alya had said his words, and the rest was history, but Adrien would never get that.
Until now. He doesn't care that his path to a soulmate was in the form of a violent goose, he cares that he had a path to a soulmate.
Overcome with emotion, Adrien hugs the goose.
It bites him on the nose and Adrien drops away, scooting backwards.
"Oww," he groans.
Plagg shakes his head. "Stupid blonde. Why in the world would you hug a goose?"
"I didn't know it would bite me!" he exclaims. "I've never met a goose before!"
"Why would it not bite you- you know what, whatever. It'll take you to your soulmate- if you treat it with respect," Plagg says helpfully, and from a distance. Adrien cautiously gets to his knees, still cupping his nose.
"Uh, I'm sorry Mr. Soulmate Goose of Enforcement- is it a Mr?" he asks Plagg, who shrugs.
"No idea."
Adrien stands, walking carefully backwards to his computer and opening Google.
"How...to...tell...if goose is...male or female. Done!" he mutters to himself.
The article he opened wasn't very helpful- basically there was no way to tell unless it was sitting on a nest or by it's honk.
"Could you please honk?" he asks the goose.
It cocks his head and honks.
"High pitched- more of a 'hink'...sorry about that, ma'am!" he says cheerfully to the goose.
He could've sworn it rolls its eyes.
"What do I do now?"
Plagg shrugs. "I think it'll lead you wherever you need to go."
Adrien grins. "Great! Plagg, claws out!"
Plagg shrieks profanities, mostly about 'let me have my cheese you-' as he's sucked into the ring and Chat Noir shivers a bit in trepidation as he stares at the goose.
"Madam," he begins cautiously. He's Chat Noir, he could probably charm a goose into showing him to his soulmate.
Luckily, no charm is needed as the goose bumps at the window. Chat opens it and the goose takes off. Grinning, Chat takes off after it.
He can't wait to meet his soulmate.
Chat stares at the goose as it parades in front of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.
"Uh, I don't think this is the right place," he ventures. Madame Goose, as he's begun calling her, just adjusts her wings.
Chat stares at the display windows and suddenly realizes why the goose led him here.
"OH! Oh, I am so sorry about that, of course you want food. Come on."
He scoops the goose up carefully and she doesn't bit him, thankfully, allowing him to take her into the store.
Mr. Dupain is manning the register and Chat winces as he makes eye contact with the imposing man.
"Hi, Mr. Dupain, can I have a baguette?" he asks politely.
Mr. Dupain carefully slides a baguette into a paper bag and holds it out to him. "Put it on your tab?"
"Yes, please."
Chat had opened a tab after the Weredad incident- he felt bad, and he never had his wallet on him when transformed. It was useful for small treats after patrol, or larger treats on days like Christmas for Ladybug.
Mr. Dupain nods to Madame Goose. "New superhero?"
Chat coughs. "Uh, no, a friend." Mr. Dupain shakes his head and hands him the bag. As Chat walks out, he could've sworn he muttered something like 'kids these days'.
Chat sits on a park bench nearby and rips off pieces of the bread to Madame Goose, who accepts them with dignity. She polishes off half before scrambling out of his lap. He lets her go, watching her, bemused, as she waddles over to the bakery again.
He stands, hurrying up behind her. "Uh, Madame Goose, I got you bread. What are you doing here?"
She turns her neck and gives him a look like 'seriously?' and now he's just confused.
"Madame Goose, I'm not sure what you want me to do," he pleads.
She just jerks her head a bit and takes off flying. Sighing, he grabs his baton and follows her.
That was weird.
Ladybug props one leg up, her back against a cool metal beam. She's in her usual spot, her perch overlooking Paris on the Eiffel Tower- too high up for tourists, and not high enough that she loses sight of her city.
Unfortunately, that means that her partner can find her too. She hasn't decided if it's annoying or endearing.
Chat lands next to her, ever-present smirk on his face. "Fancy meeting you here, m'lady."
He seems to be struggling to contain his glee at something and she rolls her eyes fondly.
"Get on with it, Chat," she says and he grins.
"Lemme go get her," he says, jumping off the side. Her heart thuds in her chest and she leans over to watch him make his way down. It won't ever stop scaring her, his recklessness.
When he comes back up, she wants to throw him off again.
Ladybug half yelps-half shrieks out a curse as Chat comes back up with a goose in his arms.
"How the hell did you know about that?" she demands. The demon goose hisses at her and she has half a mind to hiss back.
Chat frowns. "What do you mean? This goose?"
Ladybug scowls at him. "Yes, the goose! Did you tell it to follow me or something?" A horrifying thought enters her mind and she blanches. She licks her lips.
"Do- do you know who I am?" she asks carefully.
Chat almost falls off the beam in his haste. "NO! No, no no no. I don't know your identity. But- have you met the goose before?"
Ladybug laughs, a touch hysterically. "Unless there are other homicidal Canadian geese in Paris, no."
"Did Tikki know who she was?" he asks.
She rolls her eyes. "She said he was the 'Soulmate Goose of Enforcement'. But, c'mon, that's ridiculous. Who'd Plagg tell you he was? Let me guess, the Cheese Goose of Camembert Enjoyment?"
"He said she was the Soulmate Goose of Enforcement," he says in a low voice, staring into her eyes.
She says the only thing that comes to mind. "It's a he."
"She."
"He-ow!" Ladybug rubs her wrist. "Fine, she! Bastard," she mutters under her breath. "This is a prank, right?"
"She led me to you, Ladybug," Chat insists. Ladybug throws up her hands.
"It could be an akuma! A sentimonster! But the 'Soulmate Goose of Enforcement'? I don't have a soulmate, Chat," she says heatedly.
Chat stares at her. "Ladybug, I mean this in the best way possible, but what the hell. It's right here, and yeah, maybe it's unconventional, but we are soulmates! Madame Goose led us to each other!"
"I. Don't. Have. A. Soulmate!" she shouts at him, tears of frustration springing to her eyes. "What part of that do you not understand? Listen to yourself, Chat! Madame Goose? You want to be soulmates with me so bad you'll pull this elaborate set-up to make yourself think it's true! Pull your head out of your ass and listen."
Chat shakes his head, pulling the goose into his arms and standing. "You have a soulmate, and he's right here. I think maybe you just don't want a soulmate, because that would mean that you'd have to trust someone- and God forbid it's me!" he retorts. "Don't think I've forgotten about you telling Alya your identity." With that, he jumps, falling smoothly and out of sight, black suit blending in.
Ladybug rakes her hands through her hair, eyes burning and tears threatening to escape. "That was years ago!" she screams after him. "Years! You don't get to just leave!"
She feels Tikki tugging at her brain and grimaces. She's been transformed for a while but she's not detransforming any time soon. Tikki can handle it.
She sits on the beam for twenty minutes, head in her hands and throat burning with tears that she should cry but refuses to.
She can trust people. She's had to, with Alya, and with Chat every goddamn fight. Does he not realize she trusts him with her life?
This is all too confusing and right now she needs to talk with someone.
Tikki will tell her what she doesn't want to hear. Alya is at Nino's, staying the night. She only has one friend left who might listen to her- but not as Ladybug.
Screw it. Adrien's interacted with Ladybug enough. And, more importantly, he won't go blabbing to anyone.
She unfurls her yoyo and heads for his house.
Adrien dropped the goose off in his yard as soon as he got back home. It's big enough nobody will notice the Canadian goose waddling around, and if they do, well, it's not exactly a normal goose, is it? Besides, his father and Nathalie are in Nepal, setting up something or other. They were rather vague when telling him, but he doesn't mind.
He's lying in his bed right now, replaying the argument.
He made her cry, he knows, and he heard her shouting something at him as he fell. He regrets his harsh, untrue words, but when he found out about Alya it was like she just expected him to understand how overworked and overwhelmed she was. And of course, he understood. But then they never mentioned it again and he had been burning to bring it up.
Maybe a darker part of him wanted her to feel like he had felt: abandoned, unwanted, betrayed.
He hopes he didn't succeed.
He's thinking about suiting up and finding her to apologize when a knock sounds on his window, and speak of the devil, it's Ladybug.
Why is she here?
He hurries to the window, opening it and letting her in. She drops gracefully, standing awkwardly and looking around his wreck of a room.
"Did a hurricane hit or something?" she jokes. He winces, blushing slightly.
"Or something."
They stare at each other for a solid half minute before Ladybug waves her hands. "Yeah, this was a bad idea so I'm just gonna leave-"
He interrupts her, grabbing her wrist. "No! No, don't leave. What was a bad idea?"
She rubbed the back of her neck with her other hand. "I just- I wanted to talk, I was feeling a bit lonely, y'know?"
He feels a pang in his chest. Abandoned, unwanted, betrayed. "Yeah, I know. Why not Chat Noir?" he asks innocently. "You guys are partners, right?"
He just wanted to get a gauge for how she felt about Chat currently. He wasn't expecting her to burst into tears.
"Whoa, hey, it's okay! I've got you. Here-" Adrien guides her to his couch, sitting down next to her. She curls into him, crying into his shoulder. He rubs her back, feeling like a piece of shit as her shoulders shake. After a few minutes her sobs slow and she takes a deep breath in.
"I'm sorry," she says in a shaky tone.
His fingers card through her already mussed hair without him realizing and he smiles at her. "It's okay. Do you want to talk about it?"
She remains with her head on his shoulder, staring forward. He doesn't expect her to actually express her feelings- Ladybug might be better at hiding emotion than he is- but is pleasantly surprised when she does.
"I- I haven't been honest with Chat, all the time, and I broke a promise I made him," she admits. "We had an argument today." She stiffens with the admission.
He hums in the back of his throat, encouraging her to continue.
"He wants us to be soulmates, and long story short, he has proof that we are. I said he was making it up, and I know he's not, I know he isn't, but I just- I'm worried he's going to feel even more disappointed in me when he finds out who I am, especially since he knows me when I'm not Ladybug," she says softly.
He knows civilian her as Chat?
He tampers down his shock and focuses on the more important part of that sentence. "Disappointed? But you're Ladybug. How could anyone be disappointed in that?"
She shrugs. "I'm Ladybug, yes, but as a civilian I tend to display other parts of me more. Neither is my 'true self', so to speak, but different situations call for different attitudes. And the persona I have as a civilian, well, it's not good enough for some people. I think he'd be disappointed in what many would perceive as a 'downgrade'." She stares at her hands and he lifts her chin gently, their eyes meeting.
"Do you think it's a downgrade?" he asks her.
Her eyes flicker away from him and back. "Well, no, but also, yes. I'm more anxious around some people. I'm definitely clumsier." She giggles and he smiles at her. He remembers her clumsy episode during Reverser's attack.
He looks at her again. Her hair is loose, and he feels the urge to take it all the way from its ribbons.
So he does. It's impossibly soft, and he realizes that he's never touched it without gloves on. She shivers as his hands thread through her hair and suddenly they're kissing. She's all soft skin, soft lips, rubbery mask against his face. Adrien can taste salt and something sweet. She pulls away after a few moments, eyes wide.
"I should not have done that," she breathes. "I-I have a soulmate, oh God you probably have a soulmate. Thanks for the talk. I'm sorry." She springs up, racing for the window. She's gone before he can even turn, leaving him with a lot of emotions and two hair ribbons.
Even those disappear too, five minutes later.
Adrien flops onto his bed with a sigh.
"Plagg, soulmates are complicated," he says, looking for some sympathetic words.
All he gets is a snort and 'not my problem.'
Marinette wakes up the next day and gets hit by a truck.
Well, that's what it feels like- if said truck was metaphorical and also full of emotions. She just lays in bed and stares at the ceiling. She kissed Adrien and Chat is her soulmate.
"Oh, God, that was real," Tikki groans next to her. "I thought it was a dream, or a nightmare."
"The goose part was definitely a nightmare. Holy fuck, Tikki, Chat Noir's my soulmate," she says quietly, disbelieving.
"There's a lot to unpack there but yes. He is, and you still kissed Adrien. That wasn't very fair of you, Marinette," Tikki chastises.
Marinette stretches, groaning. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm just going to go to school, pretend I've never kissed him, and then make it up to Chat somehow." She clambers down her ladder, still bleary-eyed, when she almost steps on a warm body.
Marinette yelps, suddenly clear-headed.
Madame Goose is sitting at the foot of her bed.
"You have got to be kidding me," Marinette says in disbelief. "I thought you were with Chat!"
Madame Goose just stares at her and Marinette gives up, nervously edging past her to pull some clothes on and do her morning routine.
When she returns from the bathroom, Madame Goose is still sitting there. Marinette crouches, eye-level with the goose.
"You're coming to school with me, aren't you," she says, resigned. Madame Goose bobs her head a bit and Marinette resists the urge to drag a hand down her face. "I'll see what bag I can find."
Surprisingly, she manages to find a rather large tote bag- not large enough to fit Madame Goose comfortably, but, well, sacrifices must be made. Madame Goose, surprisingly compliant, allows Marinette to place her in the bag, on top of her schoolbooks, and they head downstairs together, Tikki nestled in front of the goose.
Sabine gives Marinette a kiss on the head, distracted by the flow of customers. "Take some food on your way out," she calls to Marinette, who gives her a thumbs up and snags a croissant.
She walks steadily to the school, still surprised at Madame Goose suppressing her tendencies to ruin everything at the most inconvenient moment possible. It's a little too perfect, actually, but she's not gonna question it.
She slides in next to Alya, hip checking her playfully. Alya turns to her with a grin.
"Hey girl!" she greets.
"Hey! How was last night?" Marinette asks, the beginnings of a smirk playing on her lips. Alya gives her a full on Rena-Rouge look- mischievous as sin.
"His mom made us dinner, I played with Chris a bit, and then we played a lot of Super Penguino...but you don't wanna hear about that," Alya guesses from Marinette's expression.
"Alya, I love you, I do, but I do not want to hear about what you get up to with Nino," she says as diplomatically as possible. Alya grins.
"Fair enough. Speaking of, here comes lover-boy now."
Adrien and Nino walk into the room, Nino with his arm slung over his shoulder, laughing. Adrien glances up at Marinette almost accidentally and their eyes meet.
She instantly flashes back to last night and goes fire-engine red, hiding her face behind an absurdly large textbook.
Alya furrows her brow. "Uh, girl, what's the face for? You haven't gone that red around Adrien since he started modeling swimsuits."
"Don't remind me," she groans. "It's nothing. New issue, it's fine."
Alya looks unconvinced but lets her go, instead getting up and kissing Nino- to the cascade of groans from her classmates. Alya turns to them, hands on her hips.
"Oh, so when Nino and I kiss, it's gross, but when Rose and Juleka kiss, it's sweet?" she teases.
Marinette raises one eyebrow. "Rose and Juleka don't shove their tongues down each other's throats- at least, not in front of us," she adds, glancing behind her to said couple. Juleka is hiding behind her hair while Rose has a shit-eating grin on her face. Marinette shakes her head fondly, turning back around as Ms. Bustier enters and starts taking attendance.
She's so close to getting out of school when calamity strikes. Madame Goose had been sleeping through most of the day, but now she's awake- and extremely bored.
Which, of course, influences her decision to fly right up and into Marinette's chemistry experiment.
Ms. Mendeliev had been preparing them for this experiment for weeks- it was various tests using acetonitrile, which wouldn't be concerning all by itself, but since they had burners on, Mendeliev had spent extra time cautioning them to keep the highly flammable liquid away from the small fires.
Madame Goose sweeps the liquid right into it.
Marinette only has time to lock eyes with Alix, her lab partner, before it explodes.
She coughs, rolling under the table. Something is burning and shouts are filling the air. Nobody is going for the fire hydrant, so she stands, ignoring the burning sensation on her hands, and races for the extinguisher. She jerks it off the wall, pulling the pin on it before aiming the nozzle at the fire and squeezing.
White foam covers everything, dispersing the flames. The class slowly calms down.
Ms. Mendeliev stops in front of her.
"Dupain-Cheng, what the hell were you thinking, bringing a live animal into my lab? Especially on a lab day! Do you realize how irresponsible that was?" she demands.
Marinette feels tears coming to her eyes and almost groans in frustration. She's 17, damnit, she shouldn't be crying at a rebuke from her teacher!
She swallows the stinging sensation and stands tall. "I'm sorry, Ms, Mendeliev. It was irresponsible of me. I'll accept any punishment you see fit to-"
"Ma'am, Marinette's lying," Adrien says hurriedly, cutting in. She opens her mouth and he shakes his head at her subtly. "That's my goose. She has...attachment issues. I put her near Marinette because I thought she'd be calmer over there. It's my fault. I'm the one to blame."
Ms. Mendeliev frowns, seemingly accepting his explanation. "Well then, Agreste, double the punishment for endangering another student purposely. I think a suspension should suffice."
Chloe snorts. "Uh, no. Adrikins was being a good owner. No punishment for him, or do you want me to call Daddy? You can totally suspend Dupain-Cheng, though."
Mendeliev grits her teeth, glaring at Chloe. "No punishment for either," she bites out, before leaving the lab.
Adrien turns to Marinette, taking her hands into his. "You're burned," he says, concerned. Marinette tears her eyes away from his face.
"Oh, yeah, I guess so. It's nothing, I've gotten worse at the bakery. Listen, Adrien, thanks for taking the blame," she tells him.
He looks up, earnest expression on his face. "Oh, no, I was being honest. That's my goose. I don't know how she got here, but yeah. I'm really sorry."
She stares at him, unsure if it's a 'no, no, it's definitely my goose(wink, wink)' situation or if he actually thinks it's his.
"No, it's definitely mine. I brought it to school in this bag." She turns, rummaging beneath the wreckage to pull out her bag. Sure enough, there are feathers coating the inside.
He blanches. "Oh, yeah, yeah, I was joking. Don't worry about it. If you don't mind me asking, when'd you get the goose?"
She winces, not looking forward to the explanation. "Uh, a bit ago," she says vaguely. He nods, odd expression on his face.
"What's her name?"
"Madame Goose," Marinette tells him, not looking at him as she collects her school materials. He doesn't answer and she looks at him over her shoulder. "Adrien?"
"I...gotta go," he chokes out, scrambling for his bag. "See you later, Marinette."
"...Bye," she responds.
Weird.
Marinette is doing schoolwork outside, on her balcony, when Chat Noir drops in. It's a nice evening, and Marinette wants to get away from the noises of the bakery a bit. She's frowning over her Pre-Calc work when he clears his throat.
Marinette looks up, startled. "Chat! What're you doing here?"
He climbs down. "Where's Madame Goose?" he asks, and she's so off-put by the question and his sudden appearance that she answers.
"My room."
They stare at each other.
"How'd you know her name?" he says softly. She stares at him, panic growing in her chest. "M'lady, please answer the question," he presses when she doesn't say anything.
She squeezes her eyes shut, allowing herself a moment to panic before opening them and putting on a calm facade.
"Ladybug left her here. Said that she couldn't take care of it," she says calmly.
"We both know that isn't true."
"It is."
They lock eyes again, a battle of wills, before he glances away from her at and back again.
"Those are pretty earrings you have on. May I inspect them?" he asks her. She edges away from him.
"No."
He groans. "Ladybug, Marinette, whatever, the gigs up. I'm sorry, but I know who you are."
She stares at her hands, teeth clenched. This is quite literally her worst nightmare. It doesn't help that every time she closes her eyes after an akuma battle she sees him, blue-eyed and emotions giving her whiplash. The partner she wasn't able to save.
Chat comes closer and she bows her head in defeat, allowing him to hug her. "Why don't you want me to know?" he asks quietly, and that's the breaking point.
She stands, shoving him away from her. "Because, Chat, you and me? It could destroy the world. Hell, it has. Years ago, I screwed up. Bad. Bunnix came, took me months into the future. Paris was destroyed, water was up to the rooftops, and everyone was dead. And you- you were," she chokes on a lump in her throat. Chat says nothing, trusting her to finish her phrase. He shouldn't trust her with anything, not after all she's failed to do.
"You were akumatized, Chat. And you knew my identity. And you said that I didn't love you anymore, and so many other things." She looks away from him, not able to handle seeing the inevitable look of disgust and disappointment on his face.
He laughs.
Shocked, she looks up. He's full-on chuckling, and now she's angry again. "Stop laughing! This is serious, do you not see why we can't do this? Why we shouldn't be soulmates?"
He stops, staring at her with a smile on his face still. "M'lady, I don't know how it happened, and it's not even important. But you said it yourself: that was years ago. We know ourselves as adults exist, Bunnix showed us. And I was an idiot back then. We're both different now, and an apocalypse really isn't in our future. She'll get us if something happens. Trust Alix. Trust in us."
Marinette is about to respond when something nips her on her ankle, hard. She yelps, tripping and falling into Chat. He catches her and she holds onto him, turning to glare at Madame Goose. "Stupid goose. This is all your fault," she accuses.
Madame Goose just hisses. Marinette wrinkles her nose at it. Chat lifts her chin, distracting her from the violent goose.
"What do you say?"
She sighs, a smile tilting on her lips. He's given good points, she has to admit.
What's she so afraid of?
She smiles at herself before reaching up and tugging his face down, kissing him softly. He seems awfully familiar, but she ignores that feeling as her hands tangle in his hair. His hands press against her back gently, pushing her against him just the right amount.
She lets him go, breathing slightly shakily. He has an awestruck expression on his face. "That was even better the second time," he mutters to himself. She rolls her eyes.
"You don't even remember Oblivio," she teases. "And don't you mean third time? Dark Cupid was very much a thing for me."
He rubs the back of his neck, suddenly awkward. "Uh, yeah, make that fourth time. Please don't hit me. Plagg, claws in."
She resists the urge to cover her eyes and watches as his transformation falls, fully expecting to see a strange and yet someone she's known for years.
Instead, Adrien Agreste stands in front of her.
She blinks once, then twice, all her interactions with him as Ladybug playing through her mind before she groans. "I can't believe you let me think I was sort of cheating on you with you. Bastard," she gripes. He winces. "And what about 'just a friend'? You called me that at least five times, am I just a friend n-mph!"
Apparently tired of listening to his crimes being listed, he's kissing her again. She pulls away. "You can't just- Adrien, no," she groans against his lips again. "You don't get to kiss me every time you want me to shut up!" she protests.
He has a cocky smirk on his face. "I think it works." Feathers brush between them and they both look down at Madame Goose, who is curled up between them.
"Is she gonna stay?" Marinette asks. Plagg pops out from wherever he's been hiding.
"She better not, I know she wants my cheese. Hey, Marinette."
"Hey, Plagg," she replies, stifling a giggle. Madame Goose gives them both a side-eye before standing up and waddling over to the lawn chair. She climbs on it, looking them over one more time before disappearing into thin air.
Adrien and Marinette exchange glances. "Should we look for her?" Marinette ventures.
"Nah. We've got better things to do-" he winks, "-and I have a feeling it would be a wild goose chase."
"Adrien, no."
"Adrien, yes."
Plagg howls dramatically. "GROSS! Stop swapping spit in front of me, get a room," he shrieks. Tikki appears next to him, muffling his protests as Adrien and Marinette break apart.
"Shut up, stinky sock. As you were," she chirps before dragging Plagg down. After all, Tikki's not too keen on PDA either.
Marinette and Adrien exchange mischievous looks. "Don't mind if I do," she quips.
Apparently, neither does he.
A/N: I actually think the amount of problems I have grew exponentially while writing this but you didn't make it to the end of this to hear about that. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this then head over to Coco and the Shadow Lady! Also, ignore my not-knowledge of anything chemistry related, it's been a while.
I decided to put this on ff . net because it was semi-popular on AO3 so here, have a train wreck.
Thanks for reading!