"Emma, are you sure you're going to be okay by yourself today?" Adrien worried, brow furrowed. "I'm sure I can postpone this meeting again if I need to."
Emma frowned at him in response, placing her hands on her hips and tapping her foot in an imitation of maturity. "Don't be ridiculous, Bà. I'm more than old enough to stay home for a few hours. Besides," she gestured demonstrably with a hand wave, "I know how these things work. It's not polite and therefore bad business to continually blow off your investors."
The older blond stared at her for a moment as if she had just grown a second head, placing a hand over his heart as if offended. "Emma! Language!"
"I can say it for you in Mandarin if you'd like," she sassed back with an innocent, fluttering her eyelashes.
Adrien's jaw tightened as he grimaced. "I'm canceling the meeting." He took out his phone. Emma latched onto that arm almost instantly.
"No, no, no! Don't do that!" Emma cut in quickly, trying not to sound like she was begging. She needed Adrien out of the house. She had plans! Today was the perfect day! Her grandparents were going to be busy in the bakery, Mama had that big meeting with that marketing firm, and even Louis was going to be out of the house with Grandmere Sabine. It was probably now or never! "I can take care of myself for a few hours! I'll just sit right here in the living room playing video games the entire time, probably. And if I get hungry, I know how to make myself a peanut butter sandwich. No stove or cutlery required! I won't answer the door or pick up the phone. No one will even know I'm here. Promise."
All of that was even technically true.
She pulled out her secret weapon. Puppy-dog eyes.
Adrien shifted. She could practically see him weighing it all in his mind.
"Scout's Honor," she added. She wasn't a girl scout. "Besides, I have Duusu."
With a groan, Adrien caved. "Okay, okay, you win." He mussed the hair on top of her head, which caused her to pout and half-heartedly try to bat his hand away. He bopped his pointer finger on her nose. "But if anything happens, anything at all, you call me."
She crossed her heart and held up two fingers in pledge. "I promise that if anything interesting happens, you will be the first to know."
"Mme. Dupain-Cheng, it is such a pleasure to meet you in person. Please, have a seat."
Alexis Laurent, head of the fashion marketing branch of Legendre, was a no-nonsense woman with an impeccable sense of style, from her three-inch heels to her perfectly mauve manicure. Age was difficult to pin down, though 'mature' was the obvious answer. Her handshake was firm, and her smile was inviting in the same way that a panther was.
"Thank you so much for indulging this sudden change of plans," Marinette answered, taking one of the seats opposite the woman.
Mme. Laurent steepled her fingers on the desk in front of her, resting her lips on the point momentarily, a measure of amusement dancing in her eyes. "Nonsense. Face-to-face meetings are infinitely more enjoyable than speaking to a camera. And I must say, you live up to your reputation."
The designer cocked her head to the side quizzically, confusion drawing her brow slightly. "I'm not sure what you mean." She wasn't aware that she'd even had a reputation in Paris at this point in her life. She'd had one good showing at Fashion Week last year, and that was pretty much it.
"Madame, let me cut to the chase." She pulled out and pushed forward a couple of spreads, including an article from an earlier edition of Style Queen Magazine. She recognized them as references to her earlier works. "You have been making a name for yourself within the Parisian fashion world ever since your days in Lycee. It is not hyperbolic of me to say that your resume is impressive. The winner of multiple Agreste Foundation design competitions, endorsed by Audry Bourgeois, the Style Queen herself, youngest known recipient of the NIMU Style Award, all before the end of your graduation. The fashion world was your proverbial oyster. The question was not 'Would you be snatched up by a famous fashion house?', but 'Which one?' But then you did the unexpected." She gestured with her hands, making a "poof" motion.
Marinette resisted the urge to shift uncomfortably in her seat. Instead, she smiled uncomfortably and shook her head. "That was so long ago. I hardly see how that has any relevance these days."
The older woman smiled slyly. "It has all the relevance. It was a bold move, vanishing from the public spotlight for so long. The Phoenix Rising collection you presented at last year's Fashion Week was a fresh and innovative take on international fusion. I daresay people are still talking about it, and excited for what you will present next. For the fashionistas and those in the know, it makes you intriguing. MDC, as a brand, has already garnered international attention through online markets. It is now our job to use that intrigue to build a plan that will help expand the brand in European markets."
"I wouldn't say my brand is particularly mysterious, though," Marinette countered. "Part of the reason my line has done so well is because of our transparency and policies when it comes to production and ethics."
"Ah, but think of it this way; marketing is like romance. There is the initial stage, the first impression. MDC has already established this… outer impression of innocence and goodness. But next comes the discovery stage; exploring the depths and facets, the hidden depths. This is where MDC is in the European markets. To add interest in your brand, we plan to make your brand interesting." Alexis Laurent smiled widely, excitement dancing in her eyes. "Enigma, Mystique. Who is MDC? It is a quest for self-discovery. Through MDC fashion, the average Parisian can discover a new side of themselves, maybe even fall in love with their hidden depths."
The idea wasn't a bad one. Marinette didn't hate it. But she wasn't really sold on it, either. "I have to admit, some of what you say is very appealing," she began, processing the idea as she ruminated on it. "It has always been my dream for others to be able to express themselves through my designs."
"As you've stated before in interviews," Mme. Laurent acknowledged with a nod and a smile, demonstrating her knowledge of the brand she was seeking to represent. "July issue of Teen Mod, twelve years ago, wasn't it?"
"Was it really that long ago?" The half-Chinese woman asked rhetorically.
"Surely, within all that time, even you have discovered something new about yourself through design, no?" asked a new voice from the doorway. Chest deep. Male. Barely perceptible accent on the r.
Mme. Laurent's smile widened as she gestured towards the door with a beaconing wave. "I'd like to introduce you to the face of this campaign for the male fashion line, Lee…"
"Honghui Lei Zhang." Even as Marinette said it, she didn't believe it.
Across town, in a similar meeting, Adrien Agreste tapped the end of his pen quietly against a notepad, resisting the urge to stare out the window and barely managing to maintain eye contact with the speaker.
"… down twenty percent, which is a five percent departure in the red compared to this time last year and seven percent greater than the yearly average over the last ten…"
Adrien had already seen these numbers and had even heard most of this speech already. Hell, he'd even written half of it. He was really just here to show his face to the investors, give his stamp of approval for any decisions that needed to be made, and be done with it it. He hated it, but it was a necessary evil and one that he'd been groomed for since he was a teenager. Nothing being said now was enough to keep him from being drawn to the myriad other things that he'd rather be doing, however.
Like spending time with his daughter. Getting to know his son. Convincing Marinette to change her last name. Anything but sitting here.
"… market studies show…"
What could he do next? He left Marinette his number yesterday, but she hadn't called him yet. Emma had confirmed that she'd had a visit with Alya this morning, and then a meeting of her own to go to. In fact, she was probably in a boring meeting of her own somewhere right now.
"…women aged eighteen to thirty responded favorably, while men in a similar age range…"
Was it too early to call her? Technically the ball was in her court. Maybe he should consult Alya on this. How much could he really tell her, though? Then again, did it matter? He probably needed to look at Marinette as Marinette and not as Ladybug in this case. How did he make Marinette fall in love with him all over again?
"… collabs are becoming increasingly popular. Take the Rials collab with Homspurg last year, revitalizing…"
Did he even want her to? He wanted a whole family, that he knew. With Ladybug right in front of him, he ached for what they'd once had. He missed being in love with her. Hell, he still dreamed about her. Marinette had been one of his best friends, but had he loved her? What would a life with her be like now? They had issues, he wasn't ignorant of that. Major issues, in fact.
"M. Agreste?"
He wanted to find out, he decided, motivation renewed. He was nothing if not a curious cat, and he was willing to test that saying about satisfaction.
"Adrien?"
"Hm?" He answered, suddenly realized that he'd been grinning at his notebook like a fool. What were they saying now? Oh, right, it was his turn. "Ah, yes," he cleared his throat and handed over the proposal that he and his marketing team had cobbled together last minute. Despite being a rush job, and one hundred percent self-serving, it was still well thought out and advantageous for Gabriel. "As you can see," he began with a healthy dose of confidence in his presentation, "We've compiled a list of several possibilities for a collaboration project. The first option, MDC…"
All's fair in love and war, after all.
"I take it you know each other?" the marketing consultant surmised, obviously intrigued by the development.
Marinette almost hadn't recognized him, but once she caught the almost golden honey eyes set against an Asian skin tone, the rest fell into place. Marinette was lost for proper protocol here. Did she shake his hand? Exchange a bow? Was faire la bise appropriate for this situation?
"We are old friends," the man answered, solving her problem by holding out his hand. She took it to shake. He responded by placing his other hand over hers and leaned forward. "Though, I do go by just 'Lee' these days," he responded with a smile and a wink. His teeth were perfectly white. "Marinette." The long pause before he stated her name, her real name, was a nod to their shared secret. She flushed, and not for the reason that the Madame probably suspected.
Honghui Lei Zhang. It had been almost eight years since the last time she'd seen him, and the disconnect of seeing him now, outside of a temple setting was… unsettling. He'd been one of Master Fu's fellow apprentices at the time of the temple's fall, magically restored with the rest of the temple when she'd defeated Feast as a teenager. When she'd left Paris, she'd joined him and the other senior apprentices in their final training. There had been an exchange of knowledge; their expertise in the secrets of the Miraculous for her knowledge of their new future-present. Honghui had been one of the first, to her knowledge, to leave the temple in favor of discovering this new world for himself.
"The tattoos are new," she noted dryly, noticing the ink on his pectorals and arms peeking out from under his shirt. "And you've let your hair grow out."
He released her hand and took the seat next to hers across from Mme. Laurent. "You haven't changed at all, however. Still as lovely as you ever were."
Marinette blinked at that. "Did learning French turn you into an incorrigible flirt?"
He shrugged, his smirk insufferable. "I took a correspondence course."
He was an anachronism, and one further propagated by his presence here, in Paris, standing in front of her looking like sin on a stick and discussing fashion marketing. His face belonged in red and gold robes, hair cut close to his scalp. Not posing in front of her in a barely closed white button-up and black slacks. He wasn't sitting in that chair, he was practically draped over it.
"Every romance needs a leading man," Mme. Laurent noted, then turned to Marinette. "So what do you think?"
"… Are you sure it's romance you are going for here?" Marinette responded, raising an eyebrow at the older woman.
"The Mystique of the Inner Self," the older woman answered. She gestured towards the male model. "Lee Zhang is on-trend right now and has the perfect look for what we are going for. He has a naturally multicultural look to him, much like yourself. Strong jawline, masculine but not overly rugged. A touch of danger, even. Now take all this," she gestured towards Lee, then flipped her hand over to end pointed at Marinette. "and put it in… say… that wonderful white suit with the roses embroidered into the jacket."
Marinette considered it with a small frown. She could see it. It was a nice visual, but there was something missing.
"The Inner You, Sans Expectations," Madame Laurent proposed.
"I don't hate it," Marinette responded. To be honest, of anyone she'd ever met, Lee Zhang was probably the most adept person to be the face of a campaign focused on self-discovery. It was obvious that he'd done a lot of it in the past few years. It was like he was hardly the same person. Maybe his inner self had been repressed during his years of life in the temple? "I may be able to work with it though," she said, ideas churning in her brain. "Let me think on it for a few days."
"Absolutely. We were planning on doing a few shots for the mock-ups today, to give you a better visual of our plan. Is that acceptable?"
"It is," Marinette nodded. She was interested to see what they'd create.
"Ah, that reminds me. I'm not supposed to be here," Lee winked at her "Marinette. I hope to see you again very soon." He nodded his head towards Mme. Laurent. "Alexis."
"Lee," the older woman returned with a smile. Marinette's brain was spinning while she watched the (Guardian? Ex-guardian? Model?) man leave the room with a whistle and a smile. Coincidence? Serendipity? Not likely. She frowned. Unfortunately, she didn't have time to think about it now. Alexis Laurent turned her full attention back to the dark-haired woman. "Now, let's talk about the possible social media campaigns…"
Juno used her multitool's GPS and the Parisian rooftops to find her way to her mother's bedroom, slipping in through the rooftop balcony that her brother had told her about.
The room was amazing, she thought as she dropped down on the bed. It was still decorated as it had been when her mother was a teenager. It was so pink and adorable! The loft bed was to die for, as well. She appreciated it all with a quiet whistle as she slipped down the ladder to the floor. "Louis? Nooroo?" She tested. "Kaalki?" No response. She smiled and began casing the joint, running her fingertips over the desktop. "Okay, if I were mother, where would I hide a box of ultimate importance?"
She checked the obvious places first, rummaging through the closet (judging the clothing), checking the bookcase (What? No Manga? Lame), and peeking in the cedar chest (what was up with all the pre-wrapped gifts? … all addressed to Ba? Okay that was sad AND hilarious). No miraculous box there. She carefully closed the chest list and put her hands on her hips, looking around carefully. Computer desk… clear. Sewing desk… also clear. Crafting station… wait a second. She walked over and pulled the lid off of the dollhouse. And found a familiar thread box.
With a pleased smirk, Juno placed the roof carefully down on the table and lifted the box out. She opened the lid and was faced with a puzzle. She needed the code. It was possible mama had re-coded it since she'd discovered her and Louis's 'theft'. She went to the vanity and easily found the items she needed; a soft makeup brush and a fine powder. She brushed the powder gently onto the buttons, blowing carefully to reveal the fingerprints on the most pressed buttons. Now that her options were vastly narrowed down, she could work on cracking the code. She sat cross-legged in front of the box on the floor and cracked her knuckles.
The room suddenly darkened as she tested the various combinations, causing her to look up to the skylight in surprise. She sighed with relief to find that it was only a cloud passing overhead. She went back to the codes, this time ignoring the random variations in lightings. She did need to hurry though. Several of the clouds that were moving in looked rather gray and angry. She did not like the idea of being caught in the rain.
The box clicked. With a wide smile, she reached in and grabbed the miracle box, turning it around while looking for the black paw print. She opened the box, pulling out a black ring. She kissed it with a quiet "Yes!" before putting it in one of her suit's pockets. She then carefully closed the miracle back back up in the hidden compartment, cleaning off the dust that she'd left behind. The sun was now completely hidden by the clouds and her time was running short.
She stood and placed the box back on the table just as the hatched suddenly slammed closed. Juno jumped, unfurling her fan in the same motion. For a moment, she considered that it was just the wind. That was when she noticed the shadows seemed a bit longer than they should be, a bit darker than normal. Her eyes widened as she stepped away from them cautiously. She watched as they oozed towards her from the corners. "This… this isn't funny," she said out loud. "Some kind of creepy booby trap?" That couldn't be it. Otherwise, why would it choose until now to activate?
Further doubt was brushed from her mind as something quickly rushed past her, pushing her back from behind before engulfing the thread box hiding the miraculous. "No!" Nothing she could have done would have made her fast enough to get the box before the corner shadows suddenly changed from puddling ooze to quick tendrils. Rushing for her. She jumped and spun, dancing just out of reach of the shadows, barely managing to not get caught. "No, no, no, no, no!" she chanted jumping on the computer desk, "What the hell is this?!" The room was darkening quicker now, her foot brushed the mouse, waking up the monitor. The tendrils avoided the light.
While she processed that new information, she saw the box out of the corner of her eye as the shadows dragged it towards the skylight. She couldn't let it get away! Without thinking, she jumped after the box, landing on the loft bed just as the latch opened. Her fingers brushed the box before she was suddenly yanked by the ankle. She shrieked, noticing the tendril of shadow that was now winding up her leg and dragging her down. It was making its way towards her pin, holding her down while the box was carried out of sight.
Out of options, she pulled a pinion. "Go, my Amok! Make a light!" She willed the pinion faster as it settled on the cat pillow just out of her reach. The feather sunk in, transforming the pillow with her emotions of terror. "Night Light!" she named the sentimonster just as the tendril tapped her pin. The pillow-cat's eyes emitted a bright light, burning the shadows away. "After the box!" Juno ordered Night Light, following it quickly out the hatch.
The sky was full of dark clouds, which greatly concerned Juno. Night Light was already on the chase, however, so she followed. Her pin gave its first beep. "Crap, crap, crap!" she started to panic as she jumped into the alley, following the Cat-Pillow-Flashlight-Thing. She ran, avoiding the tendrils that began to chase her from every direction except forward, which was cleared by the eyes of the Night Light. She breathlessly opened her multitool, calling Zhuangzi and Epona, even her Ba's cell phone, with the same basic message. "Mayday, Mayday! S.O.S.! Help! I need Help!" She panicked, probably not giving out the best information.
The alley came to a dead end. She watched Night Light parkour up the surrounding buildings no problem, but she was not used to being a superhero. She hesitated. Her pin gave a second beep. She jumped. She was probably fifteen feet in the air when she was pulled crashing back down to the ground. "Night Light!" She reactively connected to her sentimonster, calling it back to her while she fought off the shadow tendrils. Bright lights showed from above as the Cat returned, dropping into the alley to stare down the shadows, freeing Juno. She used the opportunity to escape. Night light did not follow. She didn't see the miracle box, nor the mass that carried it. She looked back down in the alley to see her Sentimonster being overpowered by the dense shadows of the alleyway. A third beep and a call. "Mama!" she answered quickly.
"Emma! Where are you?!" Epona responded frantically.
Juno sent the coordinates. A fourth beep and she watched as Night Light lost his amok to the shadows. She stood again, ready to run as the shadows began climbing the walls. She was suddenly pulled inside a portal before that could happen, the portal immediately closing behind her. A moment later and another portal opened, her mother quickly closing it as she emerged.
Epona rushed to her daughter, cupping her face and looking her over. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
The young miraculous holder shook her head and sobbed. Her multitool beeped with an incoming call. "Ba," she explained. Three beeps, quick succession, and her transformation failed, releasing Duusu. She caught the small, tired kwami. "Mama, we need to go to Ba."
With a nod at her daughter, Epona used her own communicator to call Adrien, grateful that she'd already recorded his number into her phone. "I have her, where are you?" Emma heard her mama say. "We'll be right there." She also called Zhuangzi, telling him to disregard Emma's message and stay with his grandparents. "Before we go see your father, I need you to tell me what happened."
The young blond started shaking. The rain wasn't falling yet, but after the time she'd just had, she'd never see the darkness the same way again. "I… I went to your room while Ba was gone to a meeting to… to get something," she said. "While I was there, I was attack… attacked by the shadows. I was so, so scared," she started crying in earnest, the rest coming out in a jumbled mess of snot, tears, and sobs. "I didn't know what else to do, and they had taken the miracle box, and I couldn't catch them and they destroyed my senti… they destroyed Night Light, and I'm so, so sorry!" She hugged Duusu to her chest while she cried, the blue kwami joining in her tears. "I'm sorry! It was all my fault! I'm so, sorry…"
"I'm sorry, too, Emma!" Duusu commiserated. "Please, don't cry anymore," he tried to comfort her.
Shaking, Epona reached out and pulled her daughter and the kwami into a tight hug.
Emma cried into her mother's chest, feeling the steady rise and fall of her breaths and the circles being rubbed on her back. She wiped at the tears and the snot on her face with her sleeve and stepped back from the hug. Bà was probably freaking out and she needed to see him. He was probably going to be so angry and disappointed with her. Her heart sank into her toes and she wanted to cry all over again.
"Emma," her mother called her name softly. "It isn't your fault. If all the miraculous are gone, it is on me. I'm the guardian. This isn't on your shoulders," she assured her. "I can get it back, don't worry."
The red-eyed girl shook her head and reached into her pocket. "They don't have all of them." She pulled out her hand and showed her mother the Black Cat Miraculous.
Her mother pulled her back into another hug.
Adrien paced back and forth, wearing a divot into his living room floor. When Epona's portal finally opened up, he practically flew to it, instantly crushing his daughter into a tight hug the moment she appeared. Epona came out and closed the portal. Not worrying about anything else, she joined in the hug, making an Emma Sandwich. He listened to her words as she soothed their daughter, assuring her that she wasn't mad and that it wasn't her fault, whatever "it" was. He concurred, assuring Emma that everything was okay now. She had finally worn herself out and was sleeping in the guest room, though she did insist that the lights stay on.
He handed Epona a mug of coffee, black and strong, and debated on telling her that he already knew who she was so she could relax and drop her transformation. "Thank you," she said weakly while taking the mug. He didn't miss the way her hands trembled.
He watched her take a sip. She grimaced at the bitterness but took another sip anyway. She'd always had a bit of a sweet tooth, he remembered. He inhaled and opened his mouth to say something, then released the breath as she carefully put the mug down.
"I don't know if it's the same thing, but the… thing… she faced. I've seen something like it before," she said.
"Where?"
"In Shanghai. Villain named Kage. He had a mask that let him do… all sorts of horrible things with Shadows. Lady Dragon and I, we defeated him about eight or nine years ago. He went to prison. His mask is currently in the safest place I could think of, sealed away."
Adrien frowned. He'd known that she'd had other partners since her departure from Paris. He'd long since dealt with the bitterness that stirred up, or so he thought. The reminder wasn't pleasant, but there were currently more important things to deal with, especially if they threatened the safety of his children. "Then what is this, a copycat?" he asked. "Why now?"
Epona's shoulders slumped heavily. "I don't know. And whoever is controlling the shadows this time? They have the Miracle Box."
He gaped at her, hardly believing his ears. All of them? Even…?
She stood, clenching her fists at her side, shaking. "I am probably the worst Guardian in history." She raised one of her fists in front of her, looking at it. "I'm probably going to have to give it up after this is over and done with, but until then?" She looked at him "Until then, we'll just have to get it back, won't we?"
"We?" he asked, confused. She held her fist out to him, palm-side up.
"Adrien Agreste," she said his name formally. Her fingers unfurled and his breath held caught in his throat. "Here is the miraculous of the black cat, which will grant you powers of destruction. You will use it for the greater good." He waited for the rest. It never came. After several tense moments, she added, "I…if you want to? I mean, I'd understand if you don't, I just thought…" Her hand lowered several inches while she floundered in doubt.
He caught her hand. "No, no, I do… I'm just… waiting for the rest."
She shook her head. "There is no 'rest'," she clarified. "It's yours, if you want it, for however long you want it until the next guardian comes to retrieve it. I shouldn't have taken it in the first place."
He took the ring, his fist clenching around it. "But without Ladybug…"
"I know. It's risky, but," she gave a stuttered sigh. "I can't risk them." There was no question which "them" she was referring to. He agreed.
"You know…" he started ponderously, "Master Fu didn't even have a villain to blame. He got his entire temple eaten by a Sentimonster and then ran from it for a hundred and fifty years."
"He was also only fourteen at the time," Epona defended the old master.
"And you were only eighteen," he defended her, slipping the ring onto his finger. "You aren't nearly as bad as you think you are, Marinette," he added fondly. She didn't stop him when he finally pushed that horrible visor up on top of her head.
He greatly enjoyed the look of wide-eyed shock on her face as simultaneously her transformation fell and Plagg and Kaalki appeared.
"Don't I even get a say in this? Where's the cheese?" Plagg complained.
Adrien laughed. "It's good to see you too, Plagg." And then he laughed some more. He probably laughed until he cried.
AN: I have no shame.
This is entirely self-indulgent.
I like it, my cousin likes it. I'm sure a few more of you wonderful people like it.
tiffraina37: Thank you so much for your wonderful comment! I hope this chapter doesn't ruin your streak. xD
Agiani: Alya is my favorite side character, hands down, and smart!Alya is the best Alya.
black neko hime: I am so sorry... Please forgive me. (人・㉨・)
Yorume: Thanks for catching that! I bookmarked it to go back and fix (eventually).
Dark: It is what it is. Hakuna Matata. ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ...
