Standard disclaimers apply

Plagg and Tikki stared down Adrien's and Marinette's parents in slience. It was like they were weighing their souls, trying to see if they were worthy of what they were about to be told. Minutes ticked by on the clock wall, marking the seconds the pair of kwami kept staring at them. It got to the point where all of them began to squirm in discomfort.

"Well," Gabriel said, "are either of you going to say anything?" Plagg scoffed before making an offhand comment.

"You are in no position to criticize us Agreste. You're just lucky your son is so loyal to you." Gabriel gulped, finally realizing that both kwami were fully aware of his discrepancies as Hawkmoth. Terror gripped him at the obvious disdain on the black cat's face, remembering from his reading that Plagg may appear disinterested, but deep down, he was extremely protective of his chosen.

"To explain the consequences of becoming Ladybug and Cat Noir, we must tell you . . . of the one time the Balance was corrupted," Tikki stated in a rarely grave voice.

"Back then," narrated Plagg, "Tikki and I were in Japan. Tikki went to the daughter of a street vendor who barely made a living. I went to the son of an influential feudal lord who would eventually serve the Emperor himself."

"At first," narrated Tikki, "everything was going well. This particular Ladybug and Cat Noir were highly compatible. They appeared to be a good match."

"Except back then," interrupted Plagg, "status was everything in Japan. Also, we didn't have the commitment test between the compatibility and betrothal test. When Akito, my chosen back then, introduced Koharu as his fiancée, his father immediately engaged him to some cousin of the emperor, thus breaking the balance."

"Koharu went home in both disgrace and with a broken heart. Her father, not knowing any better, tried to marry her to a fellow street vendor's son," continued Tikki, "but it was too late." Tikki started crying as Plagg floated over to his counterpart to comfort her. The reaction of the normally cheerful kwami was enough to warn the parents that this story was a tragedy. Tikki swallowed her quiet sobs and continued her tale.

"Koharu had bought some poison to take before the wedding. In the middle of the service, she collapsed . . . dead." Tikki wailed as Plagg continued the tragic story for his emotional counterpart.

"Akito blamed himself for Koharu's death." Plagg narrated, "He managed to sneak Tikki's Miraculous away from Koharu's corpse before the funeral and gave it back to the Great Guardian before relinquishing his own Miraculous as well." Plagg sighed before finishing the tale.

"Before Tikki and I went to sleep, we heard of the son of a feudal lord committing suicide. The only proof was a note that read, 'Koharu was the light of my life. Without her, I am nothing.' We just knew it was Akito." Plagg looked down, trying to hide his anger at the ignorance that caused his previous chosen's death.

"Why would you tell us all this?" asked Mrs. Agreste. Every parent except Sabine looked confused as to the purpose of the horrible tragedy. Sabine, having grown up in China, knew from her culture the purpose of such a tragic tale.

"It is a warning," answered Sabine, "if we don't support Adrien and Marinette's engagement, they will not survive." Tikki and Plagg nodded, glad Sabine had understood their meaning.

"Do Marinette and Adrien know?" asked Tom, scared to hear the answer to his own question.

"They do," answered Tikki.

"Why would our son take such a risk!?" bemoaned Natalia.

"Your son!?" answered Tom, "What about our daughter?!" Tom raged, "Last I checked, both of them had died!"

"But Akito and Koharu had no chance to go their separate ways!" argued Natalia, "Adrien did!"

"So did Marinette!" argued Tom.

"Enough!" yelled the usually soft-spoken Chinese woman, "All this arguing will not answer all our questions."

"Sabine is right," Gabriel quickly inserted, "We will have to ask the children to know for sure."

"We're not children," All four parents jumped as Marinette's voice pierced their conversation like an arrow.

"Our childhood ended in middle school," continued Adrien, seemingly oblivious to the expressions of protest on their faces.

"I find it very funny that all of you wanted us to date each other so bad yet when you find out we were dating for a year and are now volunteering-ly engaged, you freak," Marinette observed with narrowed eyes at their hypocrisy.

"But being engaged is different from dating!" Tom exclaimed, desperate to get his daughter and potential future son-in-law to understand.

"How so?" refuted Adrien, "They're both exclusive relationships and are romantic in nature. The only differences I see is the level of commitment between the involved parties."

"Exactly!" agreed Natalia, "You and Marinette . . ."

"Fought against a supervillain, his various minions and other criminals," interrupted Marinette, "We did all of this because Paris became our responsibility at an age where most teens worry about if they're the target of the latest gossip."

"Mother, if your argument is we're not mature enough . . . you're going to lose every time. Marinette and I have been through things most teens couldn't dream of experiencing," Adrien pointed out. Natalia deflated before saying in a teary voice.

"Why did my baby have to grow up so fast?" Gabriel looked down, guilt eating at him from the inside out. He'd done this to Adrien and Marinette. It was all his fault; his desperation to find his wife had forever changed the life of his son and a young woman very similar to his true self.

"Please don't be sad Mother," entreated Adrien, "I'm glad all this happened."

"I am too," agreed Marinette, "Without Ladybug, I'd have never found my confidence . . . or my silly knight."

"And without Cat Noir," concurred Adrien, "my princess would have never met her silly knight." Adrien processed what he'd just said.

"Hey!" interjected Adrien, "I'm not silly! I'm paw-some!" Everyone groaned before Gabriel expressed what every parent was thinking at Adrien's horrible pun.

"Great. Now we have to deal with my son's awful humor." Laughter rang throughout the room at Adrien's pouty face.

Epilogue

Adrien and Marinette were glad everything had worked out with their parents. In the case of their classmates, they allowed them to think the play had brought them together. Alya, although suspicious about the convenient answer, let it slide. February passed into March then into rainy April which brings us full circle to where we began.

"Will you guys quit it before I develop cavities!" Alya's irritated screech penetrated the couple and pulled them from their current make-out session.

"I agree," exclaimed Chloe, "While I may have my own boyfriend now, that doesn't give you license to act like a pair of desperate lovers!" Adrien and Marinette chuckled as they put some space between them, both thinking at the irony of Chloe's choice of words.

As they all walked back to class, Marinette and Adrien glanced at each other with a smirk, the same thought running through their minds:

You have no idea how right you are.