An: This one shot takes place during those view weeks of quiet during that little montage in Multiplication. I thought that it's a good spot to fill in some random LadyNoir. I don't own the show or the characters. Enjoy ;);)
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Little Lost Kitten
This was it. This time Chat Noir would be victorious. She may have kept calm and quiet throughout this battle, but he knew he had Ladybug right where he wanted her. He was just waiting for the right moment. He just had to wait for one more card, and the round would be his. He got rid of a useless card, not thinking anything further on it, until he saw his lady pick it up and set her whole hand down.
"Gin."
"Dang it! How are you getting all the cards, milady!?" he through the rest of his cards onto the pile.
"Just my luck, I guess." Ladybug smiled at him.
"It doesn't seem very fair for you to use your miraculous luck to win a card game." he pouted.
"It's not like I do it on purpose." she crossed her arms, allowing herself to feel slightly insulted at the accusation. She could tell by his smile that he wasn't being too serious, so she played along. "I'm just that good."
"How do you know for sure if it's your skills and not Tikki's?" he pointed at her, daring her to proof it.
"Alright, how about this? On one of our patrol days, we'll switch our miraculous again, and I'll still destroy you at cards." she puffed out her chest in confidence.
Not backing down, he did the same thing. "Alright, bugaboo, and if you don't, I get to pick the next game." he held his hand out to seal the agreement.
"Deal." she shook his hand, then started to gather up the deck.
Things had been pretty quiet for the past few weeks. With Monarch in possession of almost all the miraculous, they were sure that he was going to make a full frontal assault on the city. So far it seemed like he was either buying his time, or preparing for something really big. Or perhaps, with all of the miraculous at his disposal, he was able to find a way to fulfill his wish without the powers of creation and destruction. The two heroes couldn't decide which reason worried them more. Still, Ladybug felt good to have these moments with her kitty again. She had let her role as guardian make things rocky between them, and having just her partner again reminded her of how good of a team they made, and she wouldn't ruin that again.
She was going to say something to Chat, but then she saw that he was looking very seriously at the city. The cat ears atop his head were twitching, so something was up. "What is it, kitty?"
"Something's going on in that direction." he pointed to the old residential area near the Seine.
"An akuma?" she got up and check her yoyo. There was no alert.
"I don't think so. From the noises it sounds like some sort of accident." He got his staff ready to jump off at whatever danger his ears were picking up. He heard people screaming, metal scraping and bending, and possibly something crumpling.
"We better go check it out." both heroes leaped off.
They landed near the source of the distress. It was the area where Ladybug was unable to repair an akuma attack because they had been in New York. Reconstruction had been a slow process, but things were starting to go back to normal. There was a large crane that was carrying over the large metal beams to the framework of the new building. But someone had misjudged the weight of the crane, and of the beams attached to it. Now the crane was tipped over to one side against the framework of the new building, and the three heavy beams were slipping from the steel cable. The construction workers were trying to get away from the building that was giving out to the extra weight.
"Quick Chat, I'll hold the machine, you get everyone out." she didn't wait for her partner to respond before she swung off onto the metal frames. She wrapped her yoyo around the metal beams, then jumped to a higher level of the new building. Using the framework above for support, she held on tightly to the cord while it kept the three loose beams from falling any further.
"Everyone out, Now! This Way!" Chat Noir directed all the workers away from the building. He could hear the straining of the crane from it being in a position it wasn't built for, so he hurried to get the engineer out. When it seemed like he was the last one, Chat called back to Ladybug. "I think that's everyone, milady!"
"Good, I can't keep hold of this! Make sure you stay back." The cord of her yoyo had been cutting into the beams and was about to split them all in two. This was the disadvantage to her weapon being almost unbreakable, but all that mattered was that the people were out of danger.
Chat Noir was about to clear out of the way, when his ears picked up another noise. It sounded like crying. Was there a worker that was trapped? No, wait, this sounded more like a child. He did a quick look around outside. There were several people observing the scene, but he didn't see anyone with a crying child. No, the sound was coming from inside the construction site. He ran around the area trying to pinpoint the sound.
"Chat, what are you doing!? Get out of the way!" his lady called, but he ignored her. He had to keep looking.
Then he saw it. It was a little baby girl, a bit over a year old, moving her tiny feet around an area she was completely unfamiliar with. Poor thing had tears streaming from her eyes that were looking around desperately for a parent in this scary, noisy place. And she was heading straight for the spot under the beams that were fixing to fall from Ladybug's yoyo!
"Oh Dear God!"
Chat Noir didn't even think about it when he leaped toward the infant, and gathered her in his arms. He rolled them both away from the falling wreckage. Each piece of the thick steal that hit the ground thundered through Chat's body as he held on tightly to the little girl, shielding her in case anything else fell. When it was over, he could still feel his ears ringing from all the noise. He looked down to the baby, she didn't appear to be hurt. Her eyes were filled with tears, but the initial scare of the experience froze her out of crying for the moment.
Ladybug came barreling down to check on her partner. His back was to her, so she didn't see what was going on. "Chat what happened!? Are you okay?!"
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"
Hearing Ladybug's voice broke the little girl out of her shock and she started wailing again. Chat lifted her up to his chest and got back on his feet. "There, there little kitten. It's alright, you're safe now. Shhhhh." he spoke softly.
Ladybug couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Oh my goodness, Chat, what was she doing here!?"
"I have no idea, milady. Shhhhhhh shhhhh, it's alright sweetheart, just calm down." he bounced her a gently and rubbed her back. She had stopped wailing at that point, her cries turning into a hiccup here and there. Her face was red and wet from all the tears.
"Oh, you poor baby." Ladybug gushed at the tiny girl in her partners arms. She stuck her fist into her mouth to soothe herself as she took notice of the spotted hero. Ladybug took a look around to make sure she wasn't hurt.
Despite the messy face, she was a very pretty baby girl. Big bright blue eyes, golden bangs while the rest was tied up into two small pigtails over her ears, and a little pudge to her currently red cheeks. She was wearing a white and purple pokadotted shirt, with a lavender overall dress over it, and some lavender frill socks to match. She started to fully settle down, and was looking back and forth at the two heroes curiously.
"There we go. Are we all better now?" Chat used his thumb to wipe the rest of her tears away.
"Beh na- na." she said with her little fist still in her mouth.
"What a good girl you are." Chat gushed, finding the girl to be absolutely adorable.
"Goo' k- kiddeee." she tried to say.
"That's right, he is a good kitty." Ladybug patted her on the head, glad she was alright.
"Ummm... mamama." the baby reached out toward Ladybug. The spotted hero took a quick look behind her and found the girls hand pointed to the direction where the crowd of Parisians were waiting for their heroes to come out of the construction site.
"Yeah, why don't we go find your maman, sweety." Ladybug started to head in the direction of the people.
The baby girl didn't seem to like Ladybug walking away, and reached out with her hands opening and closing, willing the hero to come back.
"Unnn, nnnhmmmm..." she started to fuss.
"It's alright, kitten, we're going with Ladybug, and then we'll find your maman." Chat readjusted her in his arms, and followed his lady.
Naturally when they stepped out into the open, the local Parisians cheered them on making it through safely, as well as saving all the workers in the area. They heard a few people acknowledge the infant in Chat Noir's arms, creating a bit of a bustle among the voices. Nadja Chamack came swiftly with her camera crew to get an exclusive.
"Ladybug and Chat Noir, can you tell us what happened in there? And why do you have that infant with you? Where did she come from?" the reporter pointed her mic to the spotted hero.
"That's what I'd like to know." Ladybug looked at the infant, then turned her attention to the crowd watching them. "Does this little girl belong to anyone?"
Several people looked back and forth waiting for someone to take responsibility. But no one called out for their child, and no one raised their hands. The only thing that could be heard was some whispers of confusion. The construction workers looked just as puzzled about the situation.
"Really? No one?" Ladybug spoke out. Still no one seem to recognize her.
"Mamamama..." she sounded like she was getting upset again.
"Hey, kitten, look at this." Chat flicked at his bell, quick to cause distraction. "Doesn't that sound pretty?"
The girl touched the bell cautiously, then when she saw there was no harm done, she hit it harder to make more sounds. "wing b'lll..." she giggled.
"That's right, ring the bell." he smiled at the girl, she was pretty smart.
"Ladybug, what are you going to do with the child?" Nadja continued her interview.
"I don't know. If no one claims her, I suppose we'll have to take her to the police." Ladybug tried to think of the best solution.
"Milady, do you think maybe we should let her stay with us for the moment?" Chat spoke up. The little girl layed her head on his shoulder, the earlier excitements taking their toll on her.
"Chat we can't." the spotted hero was amazed her partner would suggest such a thing. "We're superheroes, not babysitters."
"I know, Ladybug, but she's been through a lot in the past few minutes. She's comfortable with us right now, and I think it would make things worse if we just drop her off to someone different." he argued and held on to her tighter. For some reason, the black cat had this compulsive feeling to not let this baby girl out of his sight.
Ladybug didn't want to agree, but she had to admit that she wasn't going to feel comfortable unless she was sure the girl was safe with her family, if she had one. She figured she must have one. Her clothes were relatively clean despite the tumble in the construction yard. Her diaper was in good condition, and she had a healthy baby chub so she was fed well. So how did she end up all alone in such a random place?
"Madame Chamack, perhaps you can post a bullentin now and then for a few hours, and maybe someone will come forth. We can pick a public spot to look after her and keep her safe. If no one contacts us by then, we'll have no choice but to go to the police. Is that alright with you, kitty?" she turned to her partner.
"Alright, Ladybug, we'll do it your way." he dug his nose into the girl's hair, admiring that soft smell babies had.
"Excellent, we got some footage already, Ladybug, I'll go over it with the news crew. Where will you stay until then, so we can let the people know if they come looking for her?" Nadja got her notebook out to be ready.
"Ummm, I'm not sure." She had to be careful about any spot she could suggest. If she picked one she knew personally, she might give her identity away somehow. Maybe they should just take her to the Bourgeois Hotel. It's somewhere public but they could still keep the baby comfortable.
"Ladybug!" she heard a voice behind her, and looked to find Alya coming up from the crowd.
"Oh, you're the Ladyblogger, right?" she played ignorance.
"Yeah, I just finished talking with my friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's always babysitting my younger siblings, and other kids, so she would have a lot of things to help you take care of that little girl for right now. And everyone knows where the Dupain-Cheng Bakery is." Alya held up her phone to emphasize her white lie. Ladybug gave her a knowing smile in thanks for the reason to take her home.
"I can vouch for Marinette as well, Ladybug. She's always looking after my daughter as well. She would have several toys and clothes for her." Nadja added.
"Okay, that sounds perfect." Ladybug turned back to Alya. "Can you let Marinette know I'll be on my way?"
"Sure, she's running several errands right now, but I can give you her information in case you have any questions for her." Alya gave her phone to the hero, and Ladybug pretended to fiddle with the phone for a few seconds like she was sharing the info.
"Great, let's go Chat. We need to go to the nearest market first." she started to walk away from the crowd.
"Why the market, milady?" Chat asked following his partner.
"In case she's going to need changing later, I doubt the bakers are going to have any diapers for her. Anything else we can get by with easily enough." she answered.
"Oh, good thinking bugaboo." he wouldn't have thought of that.
Lucky for them, there was a small market on their way to the bakery. Chat placed the girl in a shopping cart and they walked to the baby section. Finding the wipes and powder was easy enough, but Ladybug had to pause for a few minutes in deciding what size diaper the infant would need.
The hero looked at her, trying to decide something. "How old do you think she is, kitty?"
"At least a year old, I think." he kept the girls attention by flicking his bell again. Her response was saying several gibberish words that only made since to her.
Ladybug looked up and down the shelves again. The boxes only determined the size by the babies ages from newborns to about four months, after that it gave sizes in numbers. She turned one of the boxes to see if there was a graph. There was, and she was able to pick what she assumes was the right size. If she turned out to be wrong, then she'll just have to salvage some soft cloth in her room as a substitute.
"Alright, let's check this out and we can head over to the bakery." Chat turned the cart in the direction of the register, and took out his wallet. He learned his lesson from before when he had to take the bus with his princess, and made sure to keep some cash on him.
"Oh, Chat, you don't have to..." Ladybug tried to stop him.
"It's alright bugaboo, I'll take care of it." he didn't let her argue further, and paid the cashier.
Chat Noir took the grocery bag while Ladybug took a turn holding the infant. She was still behaving pretty well, despite not seeing her mother or father yet. She was a very sweet girl, too. Sometimes Ladybug would catch the girl looking at her, and would just smile. The girl would giggle back a toothy grin, and tap on her spotted mask as if wordlessly asking why she had this on her face. A thought suddenly came to the hero's mind.
"I wonder what her name is." she said out loud.
"I don't know." Chat said, then tried to get the girl to look at him. "What's your name, little kitten?"
"Kiddeee..." was her answer.
Chat let a small laugh escape him, then pointed to himself. "No, I'm kitty, what's your name?" he pointed at her chest now.
"Emm... mmma..." she mumbled.
"Emma, is that your name?" Ladybug asked.
"Emmm.. mamamama." she said some more, then laid her head on Ladybug's shoulder, done with the game.
"Well, at least this gives us something to call her. Emma." Chat said softly.
"I like that name." Ladybug said softly and nuzzled into Emma's hair.
How funny was it for this little girl to hold the name that Ladybug had picked when she daydreamed about having a family with Adrien in the future. Actually, looking at the girl again, she kind of looked like she'd be related to the teen model. The same golden hair, big eyes, and a cute bright smile. The only difference was the blue eyes, kind of like her own. Or, maybe the hero was just thinking up coincidences.
They made it up to the Dupain-Cheng bakery, and heard the customer bell ring as they opened the door. Emma looked around to the new building they were in, and seemed to like the display of cookies and pastries, because she started to clap her hands and reach out for the chocolate chip cookie jar.
" 'Ungy...mmmmm..." she flexed her fingers trying to will the cookie to come to her. She wiggled her way out of Ladybug's arms, and the hero set her down to let her explore. Emma put her hands on the display case, and just talked away in her own little language. "Numm mac nan..."
Sabine then came from the back of the counter to greet her visitors. "Ladybug, Chat Noir, how nice of you to come. What brings you here?"
"I hope you don't mind Ma- Madame Cheng, but we need to stay here for a while to take care of this little girl until we can find her family." Ladybug explained.
Emma spotted the small lady and squealed at the sight of her, then started saying in a sing song tone. "Ga'ma ga'ma..." She ran up to hug Sabine's legs.
"Oh, how precious!" Sabine couldn't resist picking the girl up and hugging her.
Emma hugged her in return, and then pointed back to the display case. "Nanaa ma-coon..."
"Do you know what she's saying?" Chat turned to his partner.
"I'm not too sure."
"I think she's saying she would like one of our banana macarons." Sabine pulled one off the tray, and gave it to the little girl, then addressed the heroes again. "Can you tell me why this darling girl isn't with her mother?"
Before Ladybug could answer, Tom came barreling down the stairs, and into the shop. "Honey, you're not going to believe what was on the news ... Oh, you're already here!" he said when he saw the duo.
"Yes, I hope we won't be too much of an inconvenience." Chat Noir said as he went to gather the infant back in his arms. Ladybug gave a quick explanation to Sabine about what happened. She was shocked at the idea of such a tiny girl in such a dangerous spot.
"Of course, dear, why don't you go upstairs to our living room area, and help yourselves to whatever you need." Sabine gestured to the stairway.
"I really appreciate it, Madame Cheng." Ladybug said as her and Chat Noir made their way up.
"I've been here before, so I know where some things are." Chat Noir supplied.
"Good." she let him lead, since as far as he was concerned, Ladybug had only been here a few minutes at a time. Her bug phone went off when they got to the living room. It was Alya, not really leaving a message, but making an excuse for it to go off. "Oh, Marinette said there's some clothes and toys in her room, I'll go and get them."
"Okay, I'll watch her in here." Chat pulled out a throw blanket, and laid it out on the floor to set Emma down and let her finish her macaron.
Ladybug grabbed a small laundry basket, and headed up to her room. She looked through some of her orders and found a Chat Noir hoodie onesie that was meant to be for little August. It might be a little big for Emma, but it would be better than the dusty clothes she had now. Then she looked through her toys and decided to bring the hero plushies she made for Manon, and a small group of blocks. Anything else would've been too small for the infant to play with. She threw everything in the laundry basket, and went back through the trap door.
She was met with the sight of Chat Noir attempting to change Emma's diaper, and he seemed to be struggling. Emma wasn't fighting him or anything, she knew the drill when an adult had to clean her up and just laid there patiently. Chat just seemed unsure about what to do with the powder and was reading the back of the bottle.
"Need a hand there, kitty?" Ladybug got down on the floor beside him.
"Yeah," he admitted. "I've never done anything like this before."
"Here." she nudged him to scoot over so she could get in front of the girl, sprinkled a bit of powder, and placed the diaper on her. Luckily, it turned out to be the right size after all. "There we go, and I have a nice change of clothes for you to wear, Emma." She slipped the rest of the clothes off, and then reached for the onesie.
"Oh wow, I didn't know Marinette was making a baby line based on us, was there a ladybug one?" Chat admired his friend's work.
"I don't think so, I just grabbed what I could find." Ladybug lied, then finished up with the baby. "There, all done. And look, I've got some nice toys for you to play with." She laid out each toy onto the blanket for display and let Emma pick for herself.
The first thing she did was take one of the block pieces, and put it in her mouth. Then she reached for the Ladybug doll and started waving it around like it was flying.
"Okay, that should keep her entertained for a while." Ladybug was glad that Emma was content with what she was given. She got up and headed for the kitchen. "I think I should see if I can make a snack for her, then maybe she can take a nap."
"Sounds like a plan, milady." Chat took the doll of himself and the Lady Wifi, and started to interact with Emma. "Look Emma, Lady Wifi is using her powers to pause Chat Noir. Can Ladybug save him?"
Emma didn't seem to particularly understand the scene he was making with the dolls, but she did her part by throwing the Ladybug doll and hitting Lady Wifi.
"Oh no, you got me! I've lost my akuma!" Chat said in a high pitched voice, and let the akuma doll fall down.
Emma liked the voice he made, and was clapping her hands and laughing. The reached for the Chat Noir doll next, moving him around the floor trying to do the same thing the hero performed. "Baa thaa de dah dah... goo kiddee..." she brought the doll to her chest and squeezed him close.
"Hehe, you like the good kitty, don't you." he smiled at the infant, his heart feeling full at the moment.
Emma held out the doll for him to see. "Goo kiddee.."
"Yes he is, and you're a very good little kitten, too." he couldn't stop himself from reaching over to hug her close and kiss her cheek. She smiled back at him, and he took the moment to tease her. "Oh, no, I'm gonna eat that little foot."
He took hold of her little leg, and made it look like the sock covered foot was going into his mouth. Emma squealed with laughter and tried to get away. When she got out of his arms, she made a break for it.
"Kitty's gonna get you!" he crawled on all fours after her, making her scream with laughter some more.
Ladybug had to bit her cheek trying not to laugh at the display in front of her. Chat Noir was pretty good with kids. But him saying he never changed a diaper before led her to believe that maybe he played with baby cousins or siblings a lot, or something like that. Finishing that thought, she looked around for some suitable snack items for a one year old. She settled on some small crackers, some pieces of cheddar, then she diced up half a banana and placed it on a plate. Then she took an old sippy cup they saved from when Manon was younger and filled it with juice. Ladybug knew they didn't have a high chair, however, so they will have to let her eat by the coffee table.
"Here Emma, would you like a snack?" she showed the infant the plate before setting it on the table.
"Ungy..." Emma stated making her way toward the food.
"I'll bet you are." Ladybug sat down with her legs crossed, and allowed Emma to sit down on her lap, deciding this would be a better way to let her eat. She held the plate out to her as Emma would take a piece here and there, and shove it into her mouth.
"Nanana..." she would say in between bites.
Chat Noir scooted up to sit across from them. "You like bananas, don't you Emma?"
"Mmmmmmm." was her answer.
"Gosh, she is just so adorable!" he had such a goofy smile on his face just looking at the girl.
"She is really sweet." Ladybug commented, holding out the juice for the baby next.
When she finished her snack, Ladybug let her go back to her toys. She took the Ladybug and Lady Wifi dolls, and danced around with them, spinning them around like they were flying again.
"Doesn't she need to be burped after eating or something?" Chat asked curiously.
"Oh no, you mostly do that with much younger babies because their not as mobile. Emma's old enough for it to not be a problem." Ladybug informed him. His words made her rethink her earlier assumption. Maybe he wasn't around alot of younger kids like she thought.
"Oh, I didn't know that." he replied.
"I take it you haven't been around babies that much?" she asked.
"No not really. I -" he stopped himself, wondering if he should say anything more.
"Do you have older siblings?" Ladybug asked, figuring that's what he was going to start saying. She didn't think it would give too much away knowing what the setup of his family was like. There could be hundreds of Parisians with the same number of family members.
"No I'm an only child." he smiled sadly, feeling good that she was granting him permission to talk about it. "With my parents, it was a one and done sort of thing. But I always wanted siblings. I had a few cousins growing up, but it never felt the same. What about you, milady?"
She knew he was going to ask her next, but that didn't stop her from feeling sad. For herself, and for her parents downstairs. "Well, let's just say I would've had a couple of older siblings, but my parents were only lucky enough to have me."
He understood what she meant. "Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's okay, it happened a long time ago. But my family and I are happy, that's all that matters." They both just watched Emma play for a few minutes before Chat spoke up again.
"Do you see yourself with kids one day, Ladybug?"
His question surprised her, but she didn't see any harm in answering. "Yeah, someday. I always saw myself with two or three kids. Course I don't know how things will be, being the guardian and all that."
"Yeah." was all he said back.
They let things get quiet while watching the baby some more. Eventually, she sat down on the blanket, rubbing her tired eyes.
Ladybug got up, adjusted the cushions on the sofa, and set another blanket down to make it more comfortable. "Looks like someone's ready for a nap."
"Bag..." Emma mumbled.
"Yep, here's nice little bed for you." Ladybug figured that's what she was trying to say. She picked her up and laid her on the couch.
"Mmmm... bag bag..." the little girl said more forcefully.
Okay, so maybe she was saying something else. "What do you mean, Emma? What's bag?"
Emma didn't like not getting what she wanted, so she slipped off the couch and gave Ladybug a little scowl while saying louder. "Bag... wann bag..."
Was she saying she doesn't want a nap cause they're bad? She knew how some infants would fight against taking naps, Manon being one of them.
Emma was getting frustrated. "Bag bag... wan bag..."
Chat Noir stepped in and picked Emma back up, rubbing her back trying to sooth her. "Alright, kitten, alright. Will see if we can find bag, okay?"
"Do you know what she's talking about, Kitty?" Ladybug was at a loss.
"I'm thinking it's her favorite toy that she sleeps with, like a teddy bear or something. Maybe Marinette has something like that in her room?" he suggested.
She didn't.
"I don't know, I'll go back up there and look." she said anyway, and headed up the stairs.
She didn't have a great number of stuffed animals. The most she had was her giant kitty pillow on her bed, a ladybug and fox beanie babies that Alya gave her, and her stuffed black cat she only got out during Halloween. It was her comfort animal when Alya and the girls wanted to do a scary movie marathon. She decided to settle for what she had, hopefully one of them would appease the baby girl.
She got back downstairs to see Chat Noir with Emma still in his arms, leaning from one leg to the other in a rocking motion, and singing softly, "Little kitten on a roof, all alone without her mommy..."
Ladybug came up to face Emma, who was laying her head on her partner's shoulder, and presented the stuff animals to her. "Here Emma, is one of these okay?"
The little girl looked at the toys she was offered, and quickly grabbed the black cat to stuff it under her chin. "Bag..."
"Oookay, I guess 'bag' is a black cat." Ladybug wasn't sure where the name came from, but as long as she was happy.
"Glad that's settled." Chat whispered, then placed her on the couch. "Sleep well, little kitten."
Emma started sucking her thumb while hugging the black cat tightly. Chat Noir rubbed her back for a few minutes as the little girl's eyes got heavy with sleep. When it seemed like she was settled down enough, he slowly backed away and smiled at his spotted partner.
"You're gonna be a great dad, kitty." Ladybug found herself saying without thinking.
A wave of heat went over his cheeks, and he rubbed his neck in embarrassment. "You really think so?"
"Yeah." she smiled at him, finding his shyness really sweet.
"I think you'll be a terrific mom one day, too, milady." he said back.
She was going to say something else, when a sudden white light appeared right behind them. They turned to find that it was the Burrow, and young Bunnix stepping out of the portal. She had a very panicked look on her face, looking back and forth like she didn't know where she was. Did something bad happen?
"Bunnix, are you okay?" Ladybug asked, going into full hero mode.
Bunnix didn't answer right away, until she saw Emma sleeping on the couch. "Oh, you have her, thank God!" she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"Wait, you know this little girl?" Chat asked.
"Ummm, not really.." Bunnix hesitated to say.
"What do you mean?" Ladybug asked, worried what something might be wrong with the timeline for the rabbit hero to be involved.
"Welllll... there's this... ummmm... Time traveling akuma, in the future.." she started. "And it was... trying to kidnap kids... from different time periods, trying to hold the timeline hostage pretty much."
"Really?" Chat was shocked at the thought of a kidnapping akuma.
"Yeah, naturally the miraculous ladybugs took care of it, but the kids were still in the wrong time, so I've been looking around trying to find them and she was the last one." Bunnix was quick to finish her explanation.
"Oh, that explains how she ended up in that construction yard all alone." Ladybug realized.
"And why no one seemed to recognize her. Her parents probably don't exist yet." Chat added.
"Right, so if you'll let me, I can take her back to her family." Bunnix held out her hands for them to give her the infant.
"Of course, her parents must be so worried." Ladybug quickly lifted her up gently, luckily she stayed asleep. The stuffed animal dropped away from her arms.
"Wait, Ladybug." Chat stopped her from handing the baby over, and took a minute to kiss her hair and rub her back. "Bye bye, Emma."
Ladybug smiled at her partner, then left her own kiss on Emma's cheek before giving her to Bunnix.
"Thanks guys, I'll take it from here." then the rabbit hero stepped through her portal.
Ladybug was glad that Emma would be going back to her family. When she turned to her partner to say as much, she found a really sad look on his face. "What's the matter, kitty?"
"Well, I thought that once we found her family, we would still have the chance to visit her now and then. But since she's from another time, we'll probably never see her again. For all we know, she could be from the past and is an adult right now." he couldn't help but feel disappointed. "I really liked Emma."
"I did too, Chat." she placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, then went over to pick up the stuffed black cat. "We should just be happy that she's safe now. Also we should head over to the news station and have them take down that bulletin. Since this is a matter of time travel, we can't have anything here that could damage the timeline."
"Oh, I guess I can't keep this then, can I?" he showed her his baton, and revealed a picture he took on the screen. He must have done that when she went to get toys.
It was a cute picture of Emma, she was eating that banana macaron with a big smile on her face. Ladybug hated to have to tell him this. "I'm sorry Chat, but you will have to delete that."
"Can I at least hold on to it until all the stuff from the news is gone?" he begged, giving her his sad kitten eyes.
She couldn't resist. "Alright, Chat. Now let's head over to the news station." she went in the direction of the stairs to exit through the bakery.
"Right behind you, milady."
.*~*~*~*~*
The power of the rabbit miraculous was far more amazing than Alix had ever dreamed. The endless moments and time periods were at such a variety that she didn't know where to start. Then there was knowing when and where it was safe for her to simply visit. One advantage to the Burrow was that she didn't have to stay transformed once within. So she was able to speak with Fluff to go over the rules.
It was small things, like not using the miraculous for personal gain should go without saying. Then there were others like she shouldn't hang around her future self unless it was an emergency. If her interference with the past had caused a drastic change, then she should erase her involvement, like when the elder Bunnix stopped Monarch when he was in the moment of Lady Wifi. And that she shouldn't take any sneak peeks into her own personal life.
"Why not?" Alix asked her little bunny friend.
"Sometimes there are things that should only be known when they happen." was all Fluff said.
"But wouldn't knowing how something could go wrong help you to make the right choice?" she thought that sounded like a useful way to use the watch.
"Well, say there was a moment that you wanted to see how it would turn out. You see something terrible will happen, so you try to stop it. Then you look again, and something else will go wrong. Even if it doesn't happen, there will be a side of you that's always going to check, or worse not do anything in your life at all because you become too paranoid with the future!" his voice louder and more panic like the further he got.
"Okay, okay, I get it Big Ears. Spoiling yourself with knowing the future won't do you any good." Alix was starting to see the danger of the miraculous.
"Everything happens in it's own time, even the fight against Monarch." Fluff twitched at the mention of the villain, and he worried for his fellow kwami.
"What about learning things about the past?" she went over to a hole that showed what happened on Hero's Day.
"Well, there are things that you will have to know in order to help Ladybug and Chat Noir, and as Guardian she trusts you with knowing the truth." Fluff smiled at her.
"Like who they really are?" now she got excited.
"It's probably best you learn that sooner rather than later, or maybe a little later than soon." his ears flopped around at his words.
Alix took that to mind as she looked at several of the holes without touching them, and she took a quick view at each to see what was occurring. She saw one that went over her first time as Timebreaker, ironic really that she should wind up with the miraculous of time after this experience. Then there were some typical akuma battles that the bug and cat hero won, while some were more of a challenge. Then she saw one hole that showed the sewers, and in it were her two classmates, Marinette and Adrien. What were they doing down there together? Then she saw it, the moment they transformed. Her jaw would have reached the floor if there was one in the Burrow.
"Are You Kidding Me!"
"What's wrong? Something happen, or not yet!?" Fluff went back to her side.
"Those Two! This Entire Time, It was Those Two!" she pointed back to the hole.
"Oh, yes that's right." Fluff didn't think it would be that shocking.
"But that means that she... and then he... and then after we..." Alix's hand were going back and forth, realizing what had been going on in the middle of all this. "Oh, that's it! I need to talk to the future them!"
"But Alix, remember all that stuff we said about knowing at the wrong time." he got worried, and they hadn't even gotten to the identity of Monarch yet.
"Oh, no, I deserve this. After all those silly, elaborate plans to get those two together, I have to know if it was all worth it. Fluff, Clockwise!"
Young Bunnix quickly chose a place in the future when they were adults, and stepped through the portal to find an adult Marinette and Adrien standing in the kitchen. They were both shocked to see the hero step out before them.
"Bunnix, what are you doing here?" Marinette asked first.
"Seeing if all our suffering was really worth it!" she nearly shouted.
"Huh?" Adrien said confused.
"You Two! All those months of those stupid plots to get you two together, with the code names, the disguises, the little nibbles of affection you would have together to leave us wanting more! Tell me it was all worth IT!" she ranted.
"Oh, I get it." Marinette smiled at the little angry rabbit.
"You do?" Adrien was still lost.
"This Bunnix is just learning about our secret identities." she said simply.
"Ohhhh."
"So, seeing you here, I'm hoping you guys are together?" Bunnix asked more calmly. "Cause I'm not sure I can take any more drama."
"Heh, just wait until you learn about Monarch." Adrien chuckled.
"I didn't even think about that." the rabbit realized.
Marinette was about to say more, when her phone went off. "Alya and Nino are here, Adrien. We better go down and help them get their stuff."
"Sure." Adrien replied, then turned back to the time hero. "Bunnix, would you watch our daughter for a minute, she's in the other room."
"Sure." she smiled, happy at the idea they had a kid.
"We'll be right back." Marinette said as they headed out the door.
Bunnix headed toward the living room to find a collection of toys in a corner, but no little girl. Did she go somewhere else? She looked around the house, not seeing any sign of her. Then she went back to the kitchen, and felt her heart jump to her throat.
She had forgotten to close the time portal... and a little stuffed animal was sticking halfway out of the white light...
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She leaped through the portal without thinking.
The portal closed, and another appeared seconds later with Bunnix carrying a sleeping Emma. It was that moment that Marinette and Adrien stepped back into the house.
"Hey, guys, sweet little girl you got here." Bunnix said, trying to pretend that she didn't almost lose their daughter in the past. She didn't seem to be succeeding though, since the parents were looking at her strangely. "Something wrong?"
"Where did that onesie some from?" Marinette asked.
"Ummmm, what do you mean? Wasn't this what she was wearing?" she smiled painfully, worried that she was busted already.
"No, she was wearing a purple..." Adrien started, then his eyes got really wide, and he took Emma away from the rabbit hero. "Oh my God, Emma." he held her tightly, and kissed her everywhere.
Emma woke up a bit, looking around for her stuffed cat. "Bag bag..."
"Right, here's Plagg." Adrien picked up her favorite toy, then held her tighter. "Oh, my sweet little kitten."
"What's wrong, Adrien?" Marinette asked concerned.
"The construction yard!" was all he had to say before the same realization crossed his wife's face.
She didn't take her away from Adrien, but still had to touch and kiss their baby girl. Then she turned back to Bunnix, looking very disappointed. "Time traveling kidnapper, huh?"
All Bunnix could do was give a nervous laugh at the two adult versions of her friends, and then beg for mercy.
.~*~*~*~*~*~
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AN: Let's be honest. If any of us were in Alix's position, we would want to know what happened with those two as well. I've heard some things about this Season 5 Bible that everyone's been spoiling themselves with, but I haven't looked for it myself, as tempting as it is. But if there was something that said "This is what their happy ending looked like" you better believe I'm gonna take a peek at that.
Anyway, that was my oneshot, I hope everyone enjoyed it. Feel free to leave a review if you like, and I hope you'll come back for more when I have it. ;);)