A/N: OKAY, so some of you have been DYING to find out what has been going on with ladybug Marinette. And I'm happy to tell you that today, you will finally find out!

HOWEVER. If you need a refresher about what is going on in the "present," please feel free to revisit Chapters 1-3 and 7. Marinette's POV is specifically in Chapters 2 and 3.

Honestly, I never intended for there to be over 10 chapters between the "present" chapters, but the mini-arc with Nino and Alya took a few more chapters than I was expecting, especially since I wanted to use their experiences/story as an example of how soulmates get together that aren't miraculous holders (yet, lol). Forgive me for the long delay!

Now, without further adieu...

CHAPTER 18: My Daughter is a Ladybug

This waiting was agony.

Marinette didn't know how much longer she could take. At first, she had just been mildly worried, hoping that Alya would see and respond to her message so that she could get her parents' attention and move on from there. But when Alya still hadn't answered after half an hour (something Marinette hadn't thought possible, because it was Alya), she had finally given up on staring at her tablet waiting for an answer. She settled for flying around in her new ladybug body to distract herself, and Tikki took the opportunity to play a game on the tablet to pass the time.

But even though she tried to distract herself with the freedoms of her new body, she couldn't help the thoughts. Waiting around gave her so much time to worry and stress out. Like, what if her parents couldn't be reached? Why wasn't Alya responding? Had something happened to her? Or, what if she did see the message, but thought it was a joke? Marinette's wings fluttered in distress. At this rate I'll be stuck as a ladybug forever!

And who was her soulmate? Chat? Adrien? She didn't know! She had touched both of them within the last twenty-four hours, she was sure. Who knows how long it would be before they found each other again?

Horror coursed through her as another thought struck: what if an akuma attacked before she could change back?

Oh no! An akuma's going to attack and I won't be able to change into Ladybug and Tikki will have to fly downstairs to get my parents and blow my secret identity so that I can find my soulmate and save the day, but by then it'll be too late! Paris and my soulmate will hate me forever! Marinette whimpered in her mind, and would've pulled on her hair in stress if she were still in her human body.

Her mind went spiraling in agonizing circles for two hours. TWO HOURS of waiting for something- anything- to happen. She simply couldn't do this anymore. I can't do this, I can't do this, I can't do this.

Tikki finished playing a round of the game on the tablet and turned to where her holder was freaking out on the desk next to her. "Marinette, you need to calm down," she admonished, for the twentieth time that evening. "I can hear your nervous buzzing from all the way over here. Stop stressing; I'm sure everything will turn out to be fine." The kwami's encouraging words helped to balm Marinette's anxiety a little, even though the waiting was still torturous. "Do you want to try messaging Alya a fourth time?"

As Marinette was thinking that over, trying to ignore her emotions and think logically, steps were heard on the stairs below them. Tikki quickly hid in Marinette's nearby purse, and Marinette prepared to do everything in her power to get the attention of whoever came up.

It turned out to be her mom. Sabine opened the trapdoor, and took a few steps into the room, sighing. She placed Marinette's cell phone on the desk absently, lost in thought, unaware of Marinette's ladybug form. Glancing around the room, she walked over to the chaise and sat down, muttering, "Where are you, sweetie?"

Marinette huffed inside her head, frustrated beyond all belief. She was right here! How could she get her mom's attention?

The mother noticed her daughter's sketchbook sitting next to her on the chaise, and opened it, curious as to what Marinette had been designing recently. As Sabine flipped to a new page, Marinette flew over and landed on it.

"Oh," Sabine murmured, surprise on her face for a moment before she gently nudged the ladybug with one of her fingers. "Why hello there, little lady. How are you today? I hope your day is going better than mine… Hmm, maybe you'll be my little lucky charm that turns things around." She chuckled at her own joke, a sad smile on her face.

Marinette flew off her mother's finger, desperate to get her mother to realize who she was. Sabine watched her curiously as she rushed over to the desk again and landed on a photo of herself and Alya.

"Yes, little lady, that's my daughter." Her mother's somber expression grew as she sighed. "Did you know I was worried about her?"

As if to answer her mother's question, Marinette flew away from the photo only to land on it again, directly on her face this time. She did this a few more times, hoping to get her mother to realize it was her. Sabine's brow crinkled in confusion as she stared at the ladybug's eccentric actions.

A ringing sound suddenly sounded through the room, and the surprised but hopeful mother strode over to the desk, where Marinette's phone was lit up.

"Alya?"

"….."

"Whoa, honey! Slow down!"

"….."

"No, no, it's alright. Did you say you know where Marinette is? She messaged you?"

"….."

Sabine's eyes grew round at whatever Alya was telling her, eyes fixating on Marinette, who stayed still on the photo. "A ladybug…?" Her voice trailed off in wonder, her posture straightening in excitement. "Alya, I think she's right here! I think she's been home this entire time!" She rushed over to the open trapdoor. "Tom! Tom, get up here!"

Marinette could vaguely hear Alya freaking out on the other end of the phone as she repeated her actions of flying on and off the photo again and again. Her dad rushed up the stairs, only to see Sabine staring at the photo, her hand over her mouth in shock.

"Sweetheart? Is everything okay?"

"Tom," Sabine murmured, her gaze locked on Marinette.

He rushed to her side, putting his hands on her shoulders and turning her to look at him. "What happened?" he asked, seriously. Sabine simply gave him the phone, and seeing she was on a call with Alya, he decided to put it on speaker.

"Alya? What's going on?"

"Mr. Dupain-Cheng! Marinette- she's a ladybug! She found her soulmate!"

"What?" Tom watched his wife as she moved closer to the desk and offered a finger to the ladybug.

"She messaged me! She asked me to tell you guys because she probably couldn't figure out how to get your attention! I'm so sorry I didn't answer your call earlier; I was babysitting my sisters and left my phone in my room to charge-"

"It's alright, Alya," Marinette's father assured, enraptured by his wife and the ladybug now residing on her finger.

"I think it's really her, Tom," Sabine said, a laugh-sob of relief escaping her.

"Maybe try asking her to do something and see if she follows your directions?" Alya suggested, excited. "We have to know for sure that it's her!"

"Uh, right," Tom responded, his growing smiling halting for a bit. "Marinette, if you can hear me, can you go, uh, fly over to your tablet?" Marinette did so, and bright smiles appeared on her parents' faces.

"Now the chaise?" asked Sabine. "On your sketchbook?" Marinette did that too.

"Ooooh! Now go land on one of your pictures of Adrien, Mari!" came Alya's voice from the phone. All three of the humans laughed, and even though Marinette was embarrassed, she did as they asked, then quickly traveled back to the desk.

"It's really you," Sabine breathed, and Marinette did a loop in the air before landing on her mother's outstretched finger again. "And you've found your soulmate! Oh honey, this is so exciting!"

"I wonder who it is," Tom pondered, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Yeah, I wonder too," Alya agreed. "What's going to happen now?"

"We need to take her to the DSA," Sabine informed, turning more serious. "Even if Marinette knows who her soulmate is, we can't really communicate with her like this. Hopefully, she can reunite with her soulmate there."

"Good idea," Tom stated.

"Yeah," Alya acknowledged. "She would have to go there eventually to report it anyway, like I had to do with Nino. If she's transformed away from her soulmate, going there is probably your best bet."

"Okay, first we need to find a good way to transport Marinette," Sabine advised. "I'm worried we'll end up hurting her otherwise."

"Hmm… A cup? Or, maybe a jar, so you can see her?" Alya suggested.

"We have some empty jars down in the kitchen. I'll go get one!" With that, Tom set the phone down on Marinette's desk and hurried down the stairs.

"Alya, is there anything you think we should bring with us to the DSA?"

"I'm not sure, maybe just any items Marinette wants to bring?"

In response to their conversation, Marinette led her mom over to her purse; she wanted to make sure that Tikki and her other essentials were brought to the DSA with them. Her mom lifted the strap onto her shoulder, being careful to not hurt her daughter in the process.

"Okay, sweetie, I got your bag, anything else?" Marinette went over to the desk, landing next to her phone, which was still lit up with the call from Alya. Sabine nodded and picked it up, intending to put it in Marinette's purse when the call was done.

"I got the jar!" Tom bellowed, rushing up the stairs.

Sabine beamed at her husband's enthusiasm. "Time to go then?"

He nodded, and Alya spoke up from the phone again. "I hope everything goes well! I wish I could go with you guys, but I still have to babysit," she complained. "Marinette, I better get all the deets tomorrow! You hear me?" Tom and Sabine chucked fondly at their daughter's best friend before she addressed them again. "Keep me updated, okay?"

"Of course, Alya," Tom assured. "But for now, we have to get Mari to the DSA. We'll talk with you later!"

"Yeah, talk to you later!" And with a laugh, Alya hung up.

With a bit of coaxing from her parents, Marinette flew into the jar that her father had brought up, and after a quick rush to get a few more items around the house, they left for the DSA. The girl's wings fluttered as her excitement over finding her soulmate returned.

Just a little bit longer, Marinette reassured herself. Everything's going to be fine.

A/N: Thank you for reading and let me know what you think of this chapter!

Also, unfortunately I don't have anything written after this chapter, so it may be awhile before more is up, but the next few chapters have been meticulously planned, and the rest of the story is outlines fairly well! It may take a while, but I WILL finish this story!

Starlin's Ghost

*Edited 11/25/19*