To The Keeper of Worlds, Speckleflower, et al.: I hope this doesn't disappoint! There won't be as long of a wait for the next story after this one is finished.

To Toshiro of the Eternal Dream: Thanks! The beginning was the hardest part of this story to write, specifically figuring out how to set the scene in both the present (next chapter) and the future/alternate reality (this chapter). I had an idea for how to do it, but everything about it felt too weak and slow – too much time on the present, too much "telling" about the future – so I completely reworked the first third or so.

To anonymousfriend27: Wow. I'm glad my story was so meaningful for you! Welcome!

To ELinkA: This story is completely written; I always write the story entirely, give it a couple of days, edit it (again), and then start uploading. I'm actually halfway through writing the next story, which will pick up after "Tit for Tat" and focus on Alya and Nino. And I've got a few One-Shots written for an anthology story to fill in the time between "Running out of Time" and "Tit for Tat." And I've got a couple chapters written for the next 2 stories after that. This story took so long to write that now the floodgates are pretty much opening as far as publishing new stories…

Eight years in the future

Marinette woke up to what felt like a vivid dream and snuggled deeper into the arms wrapped around her. "Hmm…" she mumbled, keeping her eyes closed. The arms squeezed her gently. "This is nice."

"It is purr-etty nice, isn't it?"

Marinette's eyes shot open as she pushed herself up to stare at Adrien, who grinned at the surprised expression on her face. "Wait, weren't you supposed to be on duty last night?" She gave him a teasing eyebrow raise. "What's Iron Maiden going to think about you ditching her for your 'other woman'?"

Adrien sat up and put a finger to his chin dramatically. "You know, I hadn't thought of that." He reached for his phone. "Actually, if you really want to know, here's exactly what she thinks of that!"

He pressed play on a holographic message and held the phone level for Marinette to watch. The holographic projectors activated and slowly formed into a clear image. She saw a young woman with bright pink pixie-cut hair wearing a suit of streamlined silver-and-gold battle armor and holding a helmet under her arm. "Hey, LB!" she said, grinning cheekily. "If you're watching this, I take it your stray cat made it home all right last night. I'm sure you want to know why he left, and it's pretty simple: I told him that if he let you wake up alone in an empty bed on your wedding anniversary, I would personally use him as a Guinea Cat for my new Miraculous-Buster Missiles!"

"So did you leave her alone, then?" Marinette asked, turning to Adrien accusingly. He simply grinned and nodded back at the phone.

"And don't worry about me all alone out here on duty on this cold July night; I called Volpinax and he was happy to fill in."

The image shifted outward to show a lithe orange-furred humanoid with pointed ears standing next to her, who waved. "I was getting kind of bored just hiding out in the Ardennes all the time, anyways," the alien interjected with a shrug. "Nothing to do but watch Netflix and stalk squirrels… you humans are so primitive! So unrefined in your views of non-humans…"

Iron Maiden smiled and added. "So you just enjoy you anniversary, mmkay, Bugsy? Bye!"

"See," Adrien grinned, ending the playback, "it was purely for my own self-preservation!"

"My hero," Marinette observed, arching an eyebrow at him. She smirked, pushed him back down onto the bed, and hugged him tightly. "Two years… And to think it almost didn't happen."

"Please, as if a little thing like the Shunjar Empire invading Earth was going to get in the way of us spending the rest of our lives together!" Adrien chuckled, running a hand through her hair. "I would have gotten Sabrina to give me the ability to breath and move in space and then flown up there by myself and Cataclysmed their entire invading force apart before I let them lay a finger on you."

"Well, I don't think they going to prevent us spending the rest of our lives together, though I think they were trying to accelerate it!" Marinette giggled. "But that's not what I had in mind."

Adrien furrowed his brow for a moment in thought before groaning and smacking the back of his head against the headboard. "Don't tell me you're thinking of that crazy wannabe witch who accidentally buried Paris in cottage cheese an hour before the wedding started!"

"That's the one," Marinette said, poking him in the chest affectionately. "What did she call herself?"

"The 'Milk Maidge,'" he answered, rolling his eyes. "A stupid name for a stupid wannabe villain. She wasn't exactly the sharpest pencil in the box. She never even explained what she was trying to accomplish! I don't know what she expected to happen, but practically every hero in Europe and about three-fourths of the rest of the world's hero population appearing 3 minutes after she started her monologue probably was not part of her plan!"

"You're assuming she even had a plan," Marinette laughed. "It's a good thing Alya was back by then; it would have been hard to explain our entire wedding party and most of the guests disappearing just before we all showed up for that Milk Maidge fight!"

"Yeah, your mother wasn't too happy, though, remember? She didn't think it would count if we were just Mirages for the entire ceremony."

"It all worked out, and anyways, it's not like I could just leave the city covered in cheese! She'd turned the Eiffel Tower into Camembert!" Marinette wrinkled her nose.

"Don't remind me, Spots!" Plagg interrupted, flying over to hover above their bed and putting a paw to his forehead dramatically. "The biggest piece of Camembert ever, and I never even got to see it! The tragedy!"

"The only tragedy is that Miraculous Ladybug didn't actually get rid of the smell!" Adrien retorted, throwing a pillow at Plagg. "We had our reception under the Tower, and I could smell Camembert the whole time! And not just the stuff in my pocket!" Plagg simply phased through the pillow, huffed, and flew back to the shelf he and Tikki shared in Adrien's old bedroom.

"You could have saved some of it for me at least," Plagg muttered. Marinette could hear Tikki's high-pitched laugh over Plagg's continued grumbling.

"I'm just glad the suit's magic kept my dress from smelling like Camembert!" Marinette giggled.

"Not for nothing you get all the good luck," Adrien retorted, smiling at her affectionately.

Marinette pushed herself up against the headboard and snuggled into Adrien's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and she sighed in contentment. The room looked markedly different than it had while he was in school. The first thing he had done when they'd decided to move into the mansion after the wedding was to empty the room entirely and give Marinette free rein to redecorate however she wished. She, of course, had immediately returned his mother's LP collection and piano to their accustomed places. The television and some of the video games had also been brought back, but most of the room was now covered in Marinette's half-finished design projects. The chaise from her old room was against the far wall, and her old desk formed an "L" with his in one corner. After brightening up the walls, she had hung up a few framed magazine articles about the fashion house, including her first magazine spotlight after the bowler hat competition. However, when Adrien had asked if she wanted to cover the walls with posters of his face the way her room growing up had been, she'd simply pushed him down on the bed and purred, "Why would I want the pictures when I have the real thing?"

Marinette smiled. It's time. "Adrien, dear, could you pass me the knitting on your nightstand? I fell asleep while finishing your gift last night."

"You wish is my command, Princess." Adrien reached over and grabbed the nearly-complete blanket off the nightstand. "Are you sure this is my gift, Milady? I hate to break it to you, but I'm not quite this small. In fact, I don't think I've ever been this small…"

"Of course that's it!" Marinette giggled. "Look closer," she urged him.

"I like the pattern," he commented, holding it up. "Red with black ladybug spots, and are those green paw prints inside the spots?"

"Mhmm…"

"And the size… it's… a baby blanket?" He looked over at her, eyes widening. "Are you saying… there's a kitten inside the Ladybug?"

Marinette sat up and smiled, her cheeks turning light pink. "The doctor called yesterday and confirmed it: We're pregnant!"

"Mar, I, that's…" Adrien's face shifted through a dozen emotions in a fraction of a second. "It's wonderful."

Marinette put her hands on his cheeks, drawing his gaze to her eyes, willing him to feel how much she loved him. "Adrien, it's okay to be scared. I know you're worried. I know you don't feel prepared for this. But you don't have to worry. You're wonderful and caring. You put others' needs ahead of your own. You'll be a wonderful father."

He looked down at his hands. "What if I'm not? I didn't exactly have the best role model, in case you forgot. What if I'm no better than my own Father? What if our child turns out no better than me?"

Marinette took his hands in hers and kissed them gently. "If our baby grows up to be anything like his or her father, the world will be that much better for it. And you are not your father. He put his own wants above everything else, including you. You put everyone else's needs ahead of your own. Besides, you've always been amazing with children. Manon and the Césaire twins loved you growing up; Ana positively adores you! You will be a wonderful father to our baby."

Adrien sighed and smiled down at her. "Thanks," he finally said, wrapping her in his arms and burying his face in her hair. "I guess I don't have much choice in the matter, do I?"

She smiled as she returned the embrace and placed a kiss on his neck. "None at all."

"How is this going to work, you being Ladybug and all?"

"Oh, it's no trouble," Tikki squeaked from her place atop the headboard. She fluttered down to rest on Marinette's head as they pulled apart. "Other Ladybugs have gotten pregnant and not had any complications. Actually, the pregnancy and delivery always seem to go easier for them than it would otherwise. One of my previous holders had 15 children. She actually said holding the Miraculous of Creation seemed to make creating new life in her body so much easier than the one pregnancy when she'd given up her miraculous temporarily. Marinette will have to be more careful than usual not to get hit in the stomach, and a baby bump is impossible to hide in the suit, so she should probably avoid going out too much toward the end to preserve her identity. Other than that she'll be okay."

Adrien smiled at her adoringly. "Well you've given me such an incredible gift already, what should I give you?"

Marinette slid down further into the bed, prompting Tikki to fly away. "Why don't you come down here," she purred, pulling him down next to her, "and we can see if anything… comes up?"