Chapter 7

Je ne comprends pas ce que je veux

Je ne peux pas tomber amoureux

D'où vient ce sentiment mystérieux?

"So, you're positive that they don't remember anything," Alix asked as we were eating our lunch at the schoolyard.

"Oh, they remember, but kind of like a memory of a dream, fuzzy and distorted. All I'm worried about now is if it was the right choice," I sighed.

"Well, it's been more than a month now, and old me said that she'd come back in case you messed up." She continued, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"No, but that's the thing!" I exclaimed, "her absence either means that I succeeded or that I screwed up so bad that she's dead and can't come back to warn us."

"Are you saying you're responsible for my death?" She gasped.

"No! Or maybe yes..." She snickered uncomfortably.

"You know what? when I'm older, I'll refuse to come back just to mess with you for that comment."

"Very funny..." I replied crossing my arms. "I already feel terrible for what I did, why do you have to make it worse?"

"Listen, what's done is done, you can't go back in time. I on the other hand can!"

"No, you can't! You will, eventually, but right now you're just my annoying little friend." I giggled tapping her hair.

"Hey! I'm the same age as you! What you mean 'little friend?'"

"Girl, I'm a whole head taller than you."

"Well, the joke's on you! Everybody is at least a head taller than me, so you're not too tall yourself!" I shouldered her and then we started laughing. "What I don't understand is why old me wanted to separate Ladybug and Chat Noir! It's like everyone is rooting for them, even though yeah, I'm not much of a LadyNoir shipper, but I wouldn't get into their relationship without a reason."

"Okay, first of all, how dare you?" She started to giggle.

"I didn't know you were such a fan! Especially not after what you did..."

"Oh, don't go there! I only did it because you told me to! And I already want to kill myself because of it! I mean, they gave me a chance, they trusted me and I betrayed them!"

"You did what you had to do..."

"That doesn't change the fact that I'm a traitor, the end does not justify the means!" We stayed silent for a few moments.

"So... are you gonna tell me who Ladybug and Chat Noir are?" I could tell she was trying to lift the tension that had developed around us.

"For everything, there's a season..." I said looking absently at the empty track field in front of us.

"A what, now?"

"Oh well, it's an old saying, it means that there's a time for everything, you need to be patient I assure you, you'll know what you need to know in due time, but I can't share with you something I discovered using my powers, it's part of the M.R.C, remember?"

"Well... do you think I'll be able to recognize them if I see them?"

"Not a chance," I said absently eating one of my chips.

"What, why not?"

"It's called miraculous glamour!" Came Mishell's voice intervening for the first time in our conversation. Alix looked down to where she was seating eating from a bag of chips.

"Glamour?" Alix asked.

"It's a magical barrier that protects the holder's identity. Basically, people will see anything except how you really look, it can change the tone of your voice, the color of your eyes or even the color of your hair, but only in the eye of the beholder, it's only a slight change but you become completely unrecognizable. So, in a way, you can have a picture of Chat Noir and civilian Chat Noir in front of you and you still won't see them as the same person."

"Is all that necessary?" Alix asked annoyed.

"A hero's identity is their most important possession," I added.

"So there is no other way, I have to wait until I'm older to get my miraculous." She huffed, leaning back on the bench she was seating on.

"Don't look at it as waiting, consider it practicing and getting ready, after all, you're one of the lucky few getting a heads up." She still wasn't convinced so I bit my lip and added. "Besides, we're teenagers, we should be worried about boys, dances, parties! Not maintaining the time and space continuum! Enjoy your free time, and remember for everything there's a season."

"I guess you're right." Her mouth curved up slightly as I saw a thought pop up in her head which was too good to let it slide.

"I'm sure Max would appreciate it if you did," I sang, and she sat straight with her cheeks turning bright red.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about, what does Max have to do with any of this?"

"When I say the word 'boys,' his face was the only one to pop up in your brain."

"Hey! Get out of my head!"

"Sorry, it's involuntary... But I've known for a while, you're always looking at him in class."

"He's just a friend."

"That's what they say." I chimed as she covered her face in embarrassment.

"I just think he's kinda cool, what's wrong with that?" She added defiantly.

"Nothing little bean, I just like to make fun of you. And don't worry, your secret is safe with me, as I hope my secret is safe with you."

"Are you ever gonna tell them though?" She changed the subject out of the blue. "Ladybug and Chat Noir, about erasing their memories?"

"Who knows..." I added absently. "But come on, it's time to go to class, let's not add tardiness to our list of problems." I stood up from my seat cleaning the crumbs that had accumulated on my pants, yes, I wear pants now, because sadly, November is too cold to wear dresses.

"You mean problems for yourself, I am innocent of all charges. I've done nothing wrong."

"You're guilty by association, now let's go."

Days turned into weeks but for Adrien, the dream he had a while ago was still fresh in his mind even if it was fuzzy and confusing. In his dream, he and Ladybug revealed their identities to each other. He remembered seeing her face and loving every aspect of her, but he couldn't distinguish any features other than her dark hair. That dream made him feel happy and fulfilled, he remembered waking up with a smile, and even now after more than a month, the memory of it put a smile on his face.

He was so obvious about it that Nino noticed, catching him smiling dreamily during math class had become his thing.

"Pst." Nino elbowed him. "I suppose you're not smiling like that because of the equations." He said with a wide smile.

"Sorry, I was... thinking about something."

"Did you make any progress with you know who?" Nino asked in a whisper, making sure nobody heard.

"No... you know she's a superhero, a goddess, she doesn't have time for a simple mortal like me." Nino looked at him with a sympathetic expression.

"Dude, I think you should be looking for girls that you can talk to, like... Marinette, Kagami, or..."

"Alya?" Adrien taunted him.

"Yeah... I mean, no! You stay away from my Alya!" Nino grunted as if just remembering that Alya was his girlfriend.

"No worries man, Alya is your girl, I would never look at her that way," Adrien said amusedly just as the bell rang.

"That's lunch! Thank God, I'm starving! Let's go." They stood up and started walking to the cafeteria. "Look, I know you really like Ladybug, but chances of you and her getting together are pretty slim, I really think you should date other girls, are you gonna spend your life waiting for a girl you can't ever have?" This statement made something stir up inside Adrien's stomach. With those simple words he managed to set a fire that made Adrien's blood boil, what did Nino know about Ladybug? Adrien clenched his teeth to prevent himself from saying anything he'd later regret.

"We don't choose who we fall in love with."

"True, but we can choose who we love," Nino said suddenly looking older than he was.

"What?"

"Being in love with someone is not the same as loving someone."

"What is that..." Adrien was about to ask an important question when a female voice interrupted him.

"Nino!" Alya waved at him from the entrance to the cafeteria, and of course, Nino went to say hi with a hug, Adrien followed him from a short distance since he didn't want to disturb the happy couple. "Babe, I have the biggest news, my sister just moved out of our place and rented an apartment on a big condo, isn't it fun!" Nino scratched his head.

"I guess... good for her... but what does it have to do with..."

"Well, she's having a boxing match tomorrow, in Germany! And she told me I could stay there for the weekend and have a few friends come over!" She beamed, "Mari said she'd come, and I would love it if you came too! But Mari said she refused to be the third wheel, so Adrien you're welcome to come if you want to as well."

"I'd love to Alya, but you know my father would never let me."

"Well then, just come sometime tomorrow, the idea is to get there tonight and spend the day there, but you don't have to, I mean, I'm sure Mari can deal with a little bit of third-wheeling." Alya snickered.

"No, I can't!" Came Marinette's voice among the crowd of students gathering in front of the cafeteria. "Unless you have been the third wheel you won't understand how awful it is to be freezing on a chair while you guys snuggle in a couch."

"That only happened once!" Alya interjected.

"Yeah, but still, it doesn't have to be Adrien to come but if you don't have someone else come over or I won't go."

"But Mari, if you don't come my sister won't let me have the apartment, she said and I quote, 'no boyfriends in my place.'"

"If I come, your boyfriend is still gonna be there," Mari argued crossing her arms.

"But it'll be more of a social gathering than a romantic night with my bae."

"Still, Alya!"

"Fine, how about we invite Luka?" At the mention of the name, Adrien's ear pricked up, as he listened intently to Marinette's answer.

"Yeah, Luka is pretty cool, and we'll have music all night!" Nino said.

"I'm a musician too," Adrien said under his breath.

"I guess you could invite him, it'll be fun," Marinette beamed and Alya looked at her with a suggestive stare. Adrien noticed this and his blood ran cold. But the thing that struck him the most was the fact that Marinette was blushing a little too, it was light, but she was blushing, she was actually blushing at Alya's suggestive comment! How dare she look this cute while thinking about another guy?

"You know what, Alya? I think I will go." Adrien spoke loud and proud, earning him all kinds of expressions from his friends.

"What!?" They all said in unison, Nino giving him a half-smile, Alya beaming with excitement, and Marinette gaping as if he had just told her the most shocking story.

"I thought your dad wouldn't let you go," Nino questioned.

"I'll just talk to him, it's just a night out with a few friends, I'm sure he wouldn't oppose."

"No." Gabriel Agreste commanded with his particularly icy voice.

"But father, it's just a small reunion with a couple friends."

"It's dangerous outside Adrien, and I don't want you running into any trouble," Gabriel replied turning his back at him.

"If only you knew..." He mumbled

"What was that?"

"Nothing, I'll just tell my friends I can't go." Gabriel nodded still not looking at Adrien.

Over the years Adrien had developed an ability to hide his emotions so that his father never knew what he was thinking about, this time especially, Adrien was disappointed that his father didn't let him go to the pajama party, but he didn't let it out, as far as his father knew it was just a silly reunion that meant nothing to him. Adrien had also learned that after every argument they had, his father would go into his room and try to make things up with him, this meant that Adrien couldn't simply transform into Chat Noir and escape using the window, he had to wait for the right moment, he had to be patient.

As he got into his bedroom, Adrien jumped into his bed and started scrolling on his phone.

"What are you doing? I thought we were going to escape and go to that party." Plagg questioned him.

"We are."

"But then, why are you just lying on your bed looking at... memes?"

"Be patient, Plagg! Patience will keep us out of trouble." Adrien stayed in his bed for a few moments, but as the minutes passed by, he decided to do something more productive and started to do some homework until his phone rang. It was a text, from Marinette.

{Are you coming?}

{Sure am}

{Are you sure?}

{Don't worry Mari, I just have a few things to deal with before I can meet you there}

{Well, hurry! We started a game of Monopoly and you know how Alya gets when she plays Monopoly} Adrien smiled at the screen of his phone.

{:s I'll be on my way} Adrien turned off the screen of his phone when he heard a knock on his door followed by the click of the doorknob when his father came inside the room.

"Adrien..." He said, almost surprised to see him there, seating on his desk, as if nothing had happened.

"Yes, father?"

"You may go to see your friends," Gabriel said with his emotionless demeanor, whereas Adrien was still staring at him in disbelief.

"Father?"

"You're a good boy Adrien, you obeyed me even though I forbade you from doing what you wanted, you deserve to spend the night with your friends, your bodyguard will escort you, and he'll be there to pick you up tomorrow morning."

"Father!" Adrien stood up and hugged his father, still not sure what to make of the situation.

"You have grown Adrien, I can't keep you locked in forever." Gabriel smiled slightly and then left the room.

"Well, that was unexpected," Plagg admitted coming out of his hiding place on Adrien's desk.

"See Plagg, patience will always be rewarded." Adrien started looking for something under his bed. "And now I'll get to enjoy a night out without worrying if my father will catch me!"

"Well... good for you, but don't forget to pack my..." Adrien interrupted him by pulling out a backpack that contained, among other things, a package of Plagg's favorite cheese; at the sight of it, Plagg started to drool.

"Let's go Plagg, Marinette is waiting for us."

"Marinette? Don't you mean your small but loyal group of friends?"

"It's all the same, come on!" Plagg was hesitant for a second but flew into his jacket nonetheless.

"What do you mean you want me to pay you the fee?! I'm your girlfriend, we should be splitting the money!" Adrien didn't even have to look at the number to know he was before the right apartment because only Alya could make a loud drama out of Monopoly.

"Alya, there are no couples in this game, in this game, you gotta pay your fee!"

"I'm not gonna pay you anything!" Adrien noticed that the door was unlocked and entered quietly.

"Girl, it's not like you guys are married, just pay him the fee and get on with it." Marinette's annoyed voice came from the small living room.

"He has four houses and a hotel! How am I supposed to pay for that?"

"Tough luck, now pony up!" At the sound of Adrien's laughter, all the three friends turned their heads to see him.

"Dude, you made it!" Nino stood up to greet him. "Come on, we saved the cat for you, and also a slice of pizza." Adrien sat next to Marinette and took the pack of money that she gave to him.

"This isn't fair though; you have the advantage since you've been playing for longer."

"Not really, we're all pretty much bankrupt"

"I'm not!" Marinette said.

"That's because you're cheating, stealing from the bank!" Alya fumed

"I am the bank!"

"Well, you're stealing from yourself." Alya crossed her arms and turned her head looking at the window, but out of nowhere she gasped and ran to the window, "Was that...?" Everybody ran after her in time to see not only Ladybug but also Chat Noir running horizontally on the side of the building, apparently chasing a guy dressed in white and blue.

"It must be some sort of Akuma," Nino said.

"Umm, Alya, I gotta use the bathroom," Marinette said and ran to the nearest bathroom. They followed her with their eyes but Alya turned her head back to the window only to find the heroes were gone now.

Adrien understood that something fishy was going on, so he put his hand on his stomach and flinched in pain. "Ugh Alya, I think I ate something bad; you don't happen to have another bathroom, do you?"

"Uhm, sure, there's one in the master bedroom." She pointed the way to a dark bedroom.

"Thanks!" He ran to the room and closed the door behind him.

"That can't be Chat Noir!" Plagg stated, coming out of his place inside Adrien's jacket.

"It's too bad! I just got here and now we have to leave... but, I can't let Ladybug chase villains with a copycat. Plagg claws out!" After transforming he opened the closest window and jumped through it. He started running the direction he saw the Copycat run with Ladybug, until he saw her, standing on the top of a building apparently looking for something.

"My Lady?" He said.

"Chat! Great, did you catch it?"

"Did I catch what?"

"The Akuma you were chasing with some fake me."

"Fake you? You were chasing an Akuma with a copycat."

"No, I thought... wait, I wasn't chasing anybody and you weren't chasing anybody... does that mean..."

"There are three akumas on the loose?"

"Or something worse, come on, let's go see who these copycats are." They started running in every direction but they couldn't find them.

"We need high ground, my Lady," He took her by her waist as he pulled out his baton and extended it, he balanced his weight in it as he positioned Ladybug on his right leg. She, being used to the maneuver, pulled out her yo-yo and used it as a spyglass to look for the incomers.

"There! to our left, a fake Ladybug and a fake Chat Noir are cornering some guy dressed in white and blue!"

"Hold on my Lady," he moved his weight on the direction she had pointed. This gave them a great head start and they were standing in front of an alleyway in a matter of seconds, once there, they pulled out their weapons mimicking the incomer's menacing positions. But when they got closer, they noticed that although they looked like Ladybug and Chat Noir they were slightly different; for instance, this Ladybug's hair was longer, down to her waist and it was pulled back in a straight ponytail. Chat noir, on the other hand, had his hair pulled back completely.

"Stop there! Whoever you are!" Both the fake Ladybug and Chat Noir froze at the voice of Ladybug's command and turned around making their difference to the OGs cristal clear. Ladybug's eyes were of emerald green, and Chat Noir's were a shade of icy blue.

"Ladybug, Chat Noir, this is not what you think!" The blue-eyed chat said as he put his baton away.

"It might be, you don't know what they're thinking!" Came a second voice, and they noticed it was from the guy they were cornering, as he walked closer they were able to see who he was or at least what miraculous he was wearing, He looked similar to the fake Chat Noir but his hair was messy and fell on his face. "Hello there, My name is White Rabbit," He bowed

"That's not your name because that's not your miraculous, you stole it!" Came green-eyed Ladybug's accusing voice.

"As if you didn't steal yours!" He retorted.

"You gave us no choice!" the new Chat said, meanwhile, the OG Ladybug and Chat Noir looked at each other confused. But their worries were about to become bigger because much to their dismay, three miraculous started to beep and the three strangers looked at each other in horror. OG Ladybug and Chat had to cover their eyes because they light coming from the transformation was too strong. But then, they slowly opened their eyes.

Where once the green-eyed Ladybug was, stood a girl that looked like Marinette, but was very different at the same time, she was wearing white vans, high rise denim shorts, a pink crop tank top all coupled with a see-through white kimono that went down to her knees. Her hair was long and straight, and it wasn't in a ponytail anymore, it was loose with the two front pieces tied on the back.

The blue-eyed Chat looked exactly like Adrien, except for his eyes of course and few other things like his hair which was combed to the side, but it still flowed in a messy yet organized way. He wore black and white snickers, with black shorts and a white shirt rolled-up sleeves.

Now the other guy looked exactly like the fake Chat Noir, except for his clothes, he was wearing brown flip flops, red shorts and a gray t-shirt with blue and yellow stripes in the middle. His messy hair was covered by a backward beige cap.

Needless to say, they were underdressed for this late November weather.

"I told you not to use your cataclysm on that pen!" The girl told one of the boys.

"And I told you not to use your lucky charm!" He retorted.

"We needed it if we wanted to catch this idiot."

"Oh, well it would have been useful if you hadn't lost it!"

"Well, we wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't stolen Bunix's miraculous." She pointed to the other boy.

"Hey, it's not like I forced you to steal those miraculous and follow me!" The three of them started to yell at each other completely ignoring Ladybug's and Chat Noir's presence, who still looked at each other trying to understand the scene that unfolded before their eyes.

"That's enough guys!" Ladybug said, but none of them listened, so Chat took his baton and expanded it towards them and used it push them apart, pining each one of them to a different side of the alleyway.

"You heard the Lady, that's enough." The children looked flushed but finally stopped yelling at each other.

"Thank you, now tell us, who are you? And what are you doing here?" Ladybug demanded.

"Oh um..." The girl started. "My name is Em... Emira! Yep that's my name"

"I'm Luke," The boy that had been Chat Noir spoke.

"Hugh," The other boy said simply with his arms crossed as if he didn't care about the outcome of the situation.

"You seem familiar, are you guys related?" Chat asked.

"No!" Luke and Emira answered flustered while Hugh said. "Yes!" making Luke and Emira look at him with a killer stare.

"I mean, it's pretty obvious that Luke and I are twins." Emira relaxed and nodded.

"Yeah, but I'm not, I'm in no way related to those two, whatsoever." She said with a stiff smile.

"But you seem very close," Chat added. "Are you two... like a couple?" He pointed at Luke and Emira with a smirk.

"What? No!" The three of them answered in unison with an expression of disgust.

"They're like big brothers to me," Emira said.

"Yeah, and she is like our little sister," Luke added.

"But we're definitely not related," Hugh added.

"Okay..." Ladybug answered to the strange responses they had given. "You're obviously not from around here." Ladybug noticed as they started to shiver a little. "Where, or should I say, when are you from?"

"I can answer that!" Came Fluff's (the kwami of time travel) cheerful voice. "We're from yesterday, no, I mean, tomorrow, which is also the day before the day after tomorrow."

"Fluff, I think you should let us explain." Plagg intervened, but this was another Plagg, "We come from the future. Now, Chat Noir, all this time traveling and stuff has made me really hungry, you don't happen to have some of that delicious cheese around, now, do you?"

"Plagg!" The Tikki from the future scolded him and looked at Ladybug. "There's not much I can tell you Ladybug, but all you should know is we do come from the future, and it was summer when we left which is why they are dressed as they are, now all we want to do is go back to our time, but we can't do that until Fluff is fed, can you please help us?"

"And feed us too! Not just Fluff!" Plagg added while the kids walked closer together to stay warm.

"What does Fluff like to eat?" Ladybug asked.

"Anything, but that cheese Plagg mentioned does sound nice!" Fluff added.

"Hey! It's mine!"

"There's enough for both of you Plagg, let's just hope the Plagg from the present doesn't get jealous." Chat told him.

"Alright, Emira, you and Tikki will come with me, I'll take you to a safe place. Chat, you take the boys with you, we'll meet here in ten." Chat nodded.

Ladybug took hold of Emira and jumped to the nearest building, using her yo-yo to navigate around the dark city.

"I know of a bakery, it's not far and it's Tikki's favorite... or was... the point is, it'll be warm and cozy for you." Ladybug said as they swung together through the rooftops but Emira didn't say anything because her teeth were chattering loudly. They kept going until they landed in Marinette's rooftop. Ladybug opened the trap door and led Emira inside, but when Ladybug entered, she tripped on some random object lying around and falling face-first to the floor.

"Mom!" Emira yelled and covered her mouth immediately.

"What?!" Ladybug said standing up from the floor swiftly since her suit had protected her from the fall.

"Nothing, I said nothing..." She said nervously climbing down the stairs

"No, you called me mom! I heard you loud and clear."

"Did you hear mom? What I meant was... Ma-Marinette!" Ladybug's eyes widened even more. "That's not better is it?" Emira grunted. "I think I just screwed up real bad."

"You're my daughter?"

"Well... yeah or at least I will be"

"But, I don't get it... I would never call a daughter of mine something like Emira"

"Well, that's because my true name is..."

"Emma?!" Ladybug finished for her, looking at her in the eye.

"You know already?" Emma's eyes sparkled with tears.

"I've always known!" Ladybug caressed Emma's cheek with her gloved hand, smiling tenderly. "I'm so gonna punish you for this." Emma chuckled nervously.

"You really can't, cause my real mom is years in the future and I haven't even been born yet."

"Oh but I'll remember this, and I'll have all those years to think of the best way to punish you for it." Ladybug said as she started to search in her cabinets for some macaroons for Tikki. Meanwhile, Emma took a seat on Marinette's chaise longue and covered herself with a blanket. "So, daughter..."

"Just call me Emma, it's weird if you call me daughter since real mom is way older, and she never calls me that."

"How much older?"

"Old enough to be my mother."

"That's not a real answer."

"Well, there are many things I can't talk to you about." Ladybug finally found a macaroon and some chocolate chip cookies and gave them to Tikki who had been exploring the room as if it was the first time she'd been there.

"So..." Marinette said after a moment of silence. "I'm curious, who's your dad?"

"My dad? I... I don't know." She looked at the floor.

"You don't know?"

"Yeah, he's a mysterious fellow who comes and goes wherever he pleases and I don't know who he is." Ladybug thought of someone that fits that description and blushed a bit at the prospect of having a child with him.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Positive." In that instant, Tikki turned the computer on, and a sweet vintage song started to play, it was the kind of song she used to study, but she really liked it. "Is that 'put your head on my shoulder?'" She asked getting lost in the melody.

"Yeah, it's in my study time playlist."

"My dad and I use to sing that song all the time." Ladybug looked at Emma with a raised eyebrow.

"I thought you said you didn't know who your dad was."

"Ah, shoot! Yeah... it's just he travels often but he comes home sometimes and we play some music, I sing and he plays..."

"You know your answers aren't very coherent."

"That's because they're lies, Marinette." Came Tikki's voice. "You should know by now Marinette, it's better not to ask questions about the future, if we tell you what happens it won't happen." Tikki finished as she swallowed the last bite of a chocolate chip cookie.

"I guess you're right but... did you said your dad is a musician?"

"Stop asking questions! I really can't answer them! Tikki, come on, transform me so we can go home. Tikki spots on!" Tikki was sucked into Emma's earings and she transformed into a shorter version of Ladybug.

Both Ladybugs looked at themselves in the mirror and the older Ladybug said, "wow, it's impressive how much we look alike."

"That's what auntie Juleka always says..." Emma giggled, unaware of what she had just done.

"Auntie Juleka?" Marinette asked, and Emma's eyes widened.

"No I mean... yeah but... I think it's better if I just stop talking..."

"Does that mean..."

"Listen, mom, if you must know, my dad is an amazing person, and you'll know who he is at the right moment, but please, stop asking questions or my whole existence could be in danger."

"Fine, you're right, let's just go meet the boys, it's about time already."

Meanwhile, with the boys.

Chat Noir was unaware of the exchange that was going on behind him. The kids knew that Chat Noir had better ears than anyone and would hear them speak if they weren't careful, so instead they exchanged looks and gestures to make the other understand what they were planning.

"Alright, I think I know a safe place where I can take you to." Chat said as he examined his surroundings. "Who wants to go first."

"Take us Chat," Plagg said raising his paw. "if you're taking us where I think you're taking us, I know where they keep the cheese!"

"Alright then, Hugh" Chat pointed to one of the shivering twins.

"I'm Luke."

"Luke, come with me. I'll be back for you in a second, Hugh." Chat carried Luke in his arms and jumped rooftop to rooftop until he reached his own house, which wasn't very far from the alleyway where they had been hiding. He dropped off Luke and went back to find Hugh shivering intensely. "Come on Luke, I'll take you to a warm place." Hugh didn't say anything about his name, instead, he clung to Chat Noir as a sloth clinging to a tree.

When they reached the Agreste Mansion, specifically, Adrien's room they found Luke staring at the room, awestruck.

"Look, Hugh, this is his room."

"Wow!" Hugh was still shivering hard, so Chat took a blanket from the bed and tossed it to him.

"I suppose Plagg already found the cheese, where's Fluff?" Chat asked and Fluff emerged from under Hugh's cap. "Alright little fella, You'll find the cheese in that set of drawers." He pointed to his desk.

"This place is amazing!" Hugh said heading to the foosball table, while Luke took the stairs and went to see the video game collection. For a few seconds they were enjoying their time, but that was until Chat Noir poked Hugh's shoulder with his baton with a menacing look, this took him by surprise so he put his hands up.

"Now that we're alone, you'll tell me exactly who you are." Chat manded with a mischievous grin. Luke noticed this from where he was standing and swung down from the fire station pole where he found Adrien's fencing gear and taking one of the fencing swords he went on Chat Noir and fought him. Luke was quick on his feet but not faster than Chat Noir so he had the advantage, that was until Hugh took on of the poles of the foosball table and hit Chat Noir with it sending him flying towards the window. Noticing that he had now two opponents, chat Noir divided his staff in two and started fighting with two hands. The twins were good, their strikes were strong and precise, but they were no match for a trained and powerful superhero, and soon they were both on the floor, unarmed, and Chat Noir pointing at them with his batons.

"I see your father thought you well," Chat said, and the twins looked at each other in dismay. "Who did you think you were fooling, you guys look exactly like him!"

"Ha! That's what mom always says!" Hugh said smiling, but Luke looked restless.

"Since when did you know?" He asked.

"From the moment your transformation wore off! At first, I thought you were me from the future or something," He addressed Luke. "but then I saw you guys were twins and it all came together."

"People call us the Agreste twins!" Hugh said proudly. "And they do say we look like you." Chat's eyes widened as he realized what he was saying.

"Yeah dad, we know who you are," Luke said finally standing up from the floor. "And if you wanted to protect your identity that bad, you probably shouldn't have brought us to your home..." They stopped talking when they heard steps outside the door and Chat carried them to the second floor of his bedroom where they laid low, staying hidden from whoever was coming.

The door opened and a very concerned Gabriel Agreste entered the room, the twins froze next to Chat and shared panicked looks, but he didn't notice, as he was too busy making sure his father didn't see them.

"Sir?" Came Natalie's voice from outside the room.

"I could swear I heard something."

"It was probably just the wind." Gabriel froze right in front of the bed, had he looked up, he would have seen the three younger Agrestes hiding.

"Maybe you're right, let's get back to work." The boys waited until Gabriel stepped out of the room but they weren't satisfied until they heard him close the door behind him. The twins were about to get out of their hiding place but Chat pressed them unto the floor still listening to the steps fade away in the distance. Once he made sure the older Agreste was far away he and the twins sat up in relief.

"That was Gabriel Agreste!" Hugh let out, but Luke covered his mouth.

"Mh, yeah, he's your grandfather, right?" Chat inquired.

"Yeah, he is," Luke said but Hugh licked his hand so he made a face of disgust but didn't take his handoff. "It's just we don't see him that often." Chat's face fell.

"I suppose he hasn't changed in the future." The twins looked at each other and mouthed unintelligible words taking advantage of Chat's momentaneous distraction. "But how about you tell me something more interesting." Chat said recovering from his moment of sadness and looked at the twins who were now smiling broadly at him. "Like, why don't you talk to me about your mother?" He beamed.

"Oh, she's great!" Hugh said and Luke elbowed him softly. "The two of you trained us in fencing!" Luke elbowed him harder this time and looked at him with a killer look.

"Is your mother a good fencer?" Chat asked.

"Yeah, she's... oof!" Hugh was about to say something but Luke punched him hard on his stomach much to Chat's surprise.

"Sorry dad, but we can't talk about our mother."

"Why not? and why did you hit Luke?"

"I'm Luke, and if we tell you what happens then it won't happen, or at least that's what you always said."

"Okay, so Luke is the responsible one..." Chat looked at them still not sure which twin was which, so he started scanning the room until he found a marker in one of the bookshelves, he took it and got close to them. "Which one of you is the oldest?"

"Me." "Luke." They said at the same time, and Chat got close to them and put his hand on his shoulder as he motioned to write something on his forehead.

"Uh... What are you doing?" Luke questioned him.

"Shh... Listen to your father." Chat said with a smile as he wrote the number 20 on his forehead, then he moved to Hugh.

"You're not writing anything on my face!"

"Well, it's either that or I'll end up switching your miraculous, now standstill." Chat put a gloved hand on his shoulder and wrote the number 19 on his forehead. Once Chat was done the twins looked at each other confused but they didn't have time to argue as a small voice came to them

"Ah, I haven't eaten this much since yesterday, which was today but from tomorrow!"

"I'm glad you had a nice meal, Fluff," Hugh told her. "Come on, let's go home."

The three Agrestes enjoyed their way back to the alley where they had agreed to meet again with Ladybug. They jumped from building to building pushing each other, racing, making puns and jokes, it was impressive how well they understood each other. How many people can say that about their parents?

But the moment they all dreaded was coming, as the alleyway was every time closer, and they could see two red silhouettes waiting for them in the darkness.

"It's time..." Chat Noir/Adrien said downcast. But then a gloved hand stood on his shoulder, Chat Noir/Luke gave him a sad smile. "I can't wait to meet you guys again."

"Neither can we, but before that, there's something you need to know." Chat Luke said.

"These are not our real names," White Rabbit continued. "I'm Hugo."

"And I'm Louis." He finished with a smile. "We're just saying... cause we don't want to end up with the wrong names."

"Don't worry my children, I'll remember." They looked at each other contently.

"Come on children! We don't have all day!" Emira's voice came from the alleyway.

"We're coming!" Hugo screamed at the top of his lungs. "Ugh, she can be a real pain in the..."

"Watch it, Hugo, let's just go now."

Now, on Ladybug's point of view, they had been waiting at the alleyway for several minutes, until they finally saw the boys arriving.

"So, if you're my daughter in the future, then who are they?" Ladybug/Marinette asked pointing at the three boys that were getting closer and closer to the alleyway.

"Oh, those are the Agreste twins." Ladybug/Emma stated nonchalantly.

"Adrien Agreste's sons?"

"Yup." She said looking everywhere but Ladybug's eyes

"I'm glad to hear you guys are friends." Marinette let out a sigh.

"Oh yeah, very good friends, we're practically family... But we aren't," She giggled scratching her hair, "Come on children! We don't have all day!" She yelled at the three figures of superheroes that seem to be saying their goodbyes.

"We're coming!" They heard one of the twins scream and soon they were all descending the building they were on.

"It was a pleasure spending time with you guys," Chat Noir/Luke said. And the other two children from the future nodded in agreement.

"We'll see you in a few years." Chat said smiling sadly.

"Sure will." White Rabbit/Hugh used his power to create a time portal, in which they entered among repeated goodbyes and an occasional tear. How was it that they had made such a connection in just a few minutes together?

Now, the answer to what the children found on the other side of the portal is a mystery, or at least it would be for years to come, or if you are reading this fanfic, you'll find the answer to that question on my next fanfiction coming on spring 2020. Be on the lookout for 'aftershock.'

Adrien came out of the bathroom where he had supposedly been for the last half hour.

"Dang dude, are you okay? You've been in that bathroom for like an hour." Nino asked him cuddling in a blanket with a sleeping Alya under his arm.

"Yeah, I took my phone with me and lost the track of time looking at ...memes... My legs are still a bit numb." Nino smiled understandingly, but before he could add anything else, a door opened and Marinette came out of the other bathroom.

"Dang Marinette, did you get distracted looking at memes too?"

"What? Oh, Hehe, yeah..." She stammered.

"Numb feet?" Adrien asked and she turned around to see him.

"Yeah," Adrien looked intently in her eyes, which made Marinette blush a little.

"I feel you," He whispered.

"Come on you two, let's watch a movie," Nino told them, and as the night wore off, and as Marinette ended up falling asleep on Adrien's shoulder, he couldn't help but wonder, where did his sons get their blue eyes from? Ladybug? Could it possibly be Marinette?

I don't understand what I want,

I can't fall in love.

Where does this mysterious feeling come from?

[I apologize for the unnoticed hiatus, but I'm coming back with new strengths

FYI, I'll be updating on Thursdays from now on

Peace,

SDG]