Dabble in Drabbles 32: See You Later
Since you all asked so nicely, here's a kind of, not really, a little bit, maybe, Marichat. :D
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I don't own Miraculous Ladybug. If I did, Marichat would happen more often.
Summary: Chat Noir is transported to the past and meets a little princess.
"Chat, there's no time to play around!" Ladybug shouted as she countered the heavily designed sword of the akuma villain before zipping away and landing on the rooftop.
"Give me a minute!"
Chat Noir got up from the pile of rubble and shook his head, dust flying away from his golden locks. Grabbing his baton, he rushed towards the akuma villain, wielding his weapon like a sword.
Their weapons clashed, sending bright sparks around as Chat Noir and Tony the Clock fought. The cat superhero said, "You know, you really tick me off."
Tony glared at him and countered back, "Well, if you hadn't ripped my notepad, then you wouldn't have to watch out for this."
Just as Ladybug was about to sneak behind Tony the Clock and stop him, Tony lunged and his sword clock handle stabbed through Chat Noir's stomach.
All of them stared in horror as numbers whirled around the wound. He locked eyes with Ladybug before winking out of sight.
"CHAT NOIR!"
Chat Noir opened his eyes.
He looked down at himself and touched the area around his stomach. "I'm not dead."
He whirled around, confused. He was still at the same place where he had fought Tony the Clock with Ladybug, but now, there was no sign of akuma attacks. Everything was normal…except…it wasn't.
The ice cream parlor that was supposed to be at the corner of the street was gone, in its place, a barber shop. The park was under construction as well. What was the most off-putting was, instead of people smiling and asking for autographs, he was given strange looks and parents pulled their children away from him.
"Kitty?"
Chat Noir turned around. Seeing no one at his eye-level, he glanced down and saw the largest, most innocent, blue eyes of Marinette. Or a ten-year-old Marinette, that is.
And the matter of the situation finally clicked in place. He had travelled back in time.
"Marinette?!" He accidentally blurted out. Both their eyes widened.
"How do you know my name?" Marinette asked, slowly backing away. "Who are you?"
Oh crap. This is what all the time-travelling movies told me never to do. He thought. Chat Noir then said, "Calm down. It's okay. I'm not a bad guy or anything. I am a superhero, here to destroy evil! My name is Chat Noir."
"Chat Noir." Marinette rolled the name around her mouth, and he found it cute how her voice still had a little high pitch to it. She looked at him, a certain gleam in her eye and said, "If you're here to destroy evil, can you destroy Chloé?"
Chat Noir blinked. "Wait, what?"
"She's evil. She always bullies me and everyone else." Marinette growled, her fists clenching on her sides.
He suppressed the urge to laugh. Who knew Marinette had such evil thoughts for a young kid. "You should just ignore her, don't let her get to you. I can't destroy Chloé, but I can certainly buy you ice cream."
Marinette's eyes lit up. "Fair enough."
Just as he was about to lead her to an ice cream parlor (that he hoped was still there), he remembered it was strange to see a person in a leather cat suit in broad daylight before Chat Noir and Ladybug happened. Chat Noir dragged her behind a hidden alleyway (because that's totally not suspicious) and said to her, "Keep this a secret, okay, princess?"
Marinette zipped her lips and watched in awe as the transformation was released and Chat Noir turned back into Adrien. Plagg zipped out and landed wearily on Adrien's hands. Marinette was about to touch him, but the kwami said, "No touchy, missy."
"It can talk!" Marinette squeaked. "What is it?"
"He's called a kwami. His name is Plagg and he's the one that turns me into a superhero." Adrien explained, but then paused as a horrible notion popped in his head. I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that. What if she remembers it in the future?!
Too late.
"Plagg, are you hungry? Do you want some cheese?" Marinette asked the kwami. Plagg's head shot up and nodded vigorously. She opened her bag and pulled out a little plastic Tupperware containing several slices of cheese. "Dad packed this for me for lunch, but I don't like cheese. If it's okay with you, you can have it."
Just as Plagg was about to dive in the food, Marinette pulled it away and said shyly, "Unless, you let me touch you?"
Adrien snickered as Plagg's jaw dropped. This girl was sneaky! Why did the Guardian leave Tikki in her hands?! Does he even know what shenanigans she would get into?! But then again, Tikki's charges weren't always a stickler for rules. With a sigh, he said, "Fine. But just a pat."
Marinette squealed as she gently took hold of Plagg in her hands and patted his head while he munched on the cheese. "I said a pat not – ow! – several of – you know what, forget it."
Despite his grumpy attitude, there was a lazy half-smile on his face as he looked at Marinette. She really was perfect Ladybug material. He leaned back at Adrien and said teasingly, "She's a keeper."
Adrien's eyes widened as a dark blush spread through his cheek and up his ears. He cleared his throat and said, "We better go to the ice cream shop before the sun sets, princess."
Marinette looked up from her affectionate actions on Plagg and smiled widely. "Okay!"
Taking her hand and hiding Plagg inside his jacket, they walked out into the bright streets. A few minutes later, they arrived at an ice cream parlor and went inside. The girl behind the counter looked up and frowned. As they walked up the counter, the girl turned to Adrien and said, "Um, are you related to Gabriel Agreste?"
Adrien's heart skipped a beat. "Uhh, no. Why?"
"Just…" She squinted at him. "You look really similar to Adrien, the child of Gabriel Agreste. You're what he would look like in a few years."
"J-just a coincidence!" Adrien said uneasily. "Y'know, like how some people look identical to others even though they're not related? Yeah, totally not related to an Agreste. Nope."
It looked like she had bought his story, because she finally asked for their order. Marinette tiptoed up, grabbing the edge of the flat surface and said, "I want a large sundae with vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream sprinkled with chocolate chips, rainbow sprinkles, and lots and lots of whipped cream, please. And a cherry on top."
Adrien gaped at her, but the girl didn't seem to mind. "That'll be €9.33."
He dug around his pockets and pulled out a €20 bill. He handed it to her. She looked at the bill in surprise (and Adrien realized it was a new one five years later) but shrugged and punched the numbers in and gave him the change. "Your order will be up in ten minutes."
"Thank you." Adrien said and followed after Marinette, who ran to one of the tables that was occupied by a small boy who sat alone. He had a small plastic keyboard on his lap and papers around him. As Adrien neared towards him, he realized that he was looking at Nino.
"Whatcha doing?" Marinette asked as she slid beside the boy, peering over his shoulder to look at the paper.
Nino glanced at her before turning his eyes back to what he was doing and said sullenly, "Writing a song."
"Cool! Can I read it?"
"No." Nino said. He looked up as Adrien sat on the opposite of him. "Who are you?"
"Nice to meet you." Adrien said cheerfully, reaching out his hand. "I'm Adrien."
Nino stared at his hand and back at him before returning to his paper. Adrien was taken a back for a moment, before smiling to himself. Well this was nostalgic. Taking back his hand, he said, "So, what are you writing?"
"I'm not telling you. It's horrible." Nino wrote a sentence, and then scribbled it out. Adrien raised an eyebrow at this and read out the words on the paper.
"Little Jean had a vanilla ice cream.
But then people bumped into him.
His ice cream fell on the ground with a thud, coated in dirt and mud.
So little Jean went to bed feeling sad."
Adrien blinked. What had he just read? He looked at Nino, who was tentatively staring at him. He said quietly, "It's bad isn't it?"
"No, no, it's great!" Adrien said, putting on a fake smile. "Just…a little sad?"
"What do you expect?" Marinette said. "Nino's daddy went away."
Nino frowned. "That was supposed to be a secret."
Marinette gasped as she covered her mouth. She said quietly, "Sorry."
"That's okay." Nino sighed. Adrien's eyebrows furrowed. His best friend had never mentioned it before. Were there things that he was not aware about his close friend as well? This time-travelling thing was like a history crash course to his friends' pasts.
Gladly, the ice cream arrived, along with three long silver spoons. Adrien said to his best friend, "You want to eat as well?"
Nino flicked his eyes at the dessert and shook his head. "Dad said ice cream is bad for my teeth. I'm not supposed to eat it."
"Your dad's not here right now so," Adrien handed him the silver spoon, "you can have a little bit of fun. He doesn't have to know, yeah?"
Nino slowly accepted the spoon and smiled. "Yeah."
Hanging out with the two of his friends, Adrien realized how little they had actually changed. Marinette was still her active, bubbly self, and Nino was just as friendly and creative with his music. Looking out the window, he saw that the sun was about to set. "Looks like you guys have to go back home. It's starting to get dark."
Nino and Marinette, who were having fun drawing on the papers and inventing songs on Nino's plastic keyboard, both groaned. "But we don't wanna go home yet."
"Your parents are going to get worried." Adrien insisted as he got up from his chair. "Now let's go."
He smiled at their little pouts as they kept their things and walked out of the shop. Bidding goodbye to Nino, who lived at the opposite side from their house, Adrien walked Marinette home. He wondered how the present-time Marinette (that is, Marinette in the future) would react if he held her hands just as he was doing now.
Marinette looked up in puzzlement. Adrien had stopped in his tracks and was staring at the large mansion in front of them. Clumsy music from a piano inside the house drifted out from an open window. The rooms and garden were brightly lit and laughter was heard. She winced as he gripped her hand a little bit tighter. He was shaking, his eyes bright. "Kitty?"
Adrien snapped out of his trance and focused on Marinette. He released his grip a little and apologized. "Sorry, princess."
"Do you want to ring the doorbell?" Marinette asked him. He was really tempted to. If he rang the doorbell and went inside the house, he would be able to see his mother. He would be able to see his father smile, laugh, be happy. He would be able to see his younger self still innocent before the disappearance of his mother. Adrien shook his head.
"If I went inside," He said quietly, "I wouldn't be able to go out."
Marinette titled her head in confusion. She looked back again at the mansion. "The man who lives in the house makes pretty dresses."
"Yeah?" Adrien smiled. She nodded.
"I want to make dresses as pretty as his." She declared. "I will make dresses as pretty as his."
"You don't want to wear them?" Adrien asked. Marinette shook her head. He smiled at this. Oh you will, Marinette. And you're going to be amazing at it.
Just then, he started to dissolve. Marinette stared at him with wide eyes and he realized what was happening. Ladybug had finally defeated Tony the Clock. Adrien smiled at her. "I have to go."
Marinette watched in awe as he transformed back into his alter ego. Just then she realized what he said. "Don't go!"
"I have to, princess." Chat Noir said. "I belong to the future, not to the past."
"But – but-" Marinette started to protest, and then paused and gave a deep sigh. She gazed sadly at him.
Chat Noir felt like his heart would break at the way she looked at him. But then he was drawn aback as Marinette jumped up and wrapped her small arms around his neck. His face heated up as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"Bye bye kitty."
"See you soon, princess."
MIRACULOUS LADYBUG
Ladybug looked around frantically, searching for her partner. A swarm of magical ladybugs surrounded a figure next to her, revealing Chat Noir. "Chaton!"
"My lady!" Chat Noir said happily. "You did it!"
"You silly kitty, you scared me to death!" Ladybug punched him on the arm. "Don't do that again!"
"You know I can't promise you that, Bugaboo." He rubbed his arm, a grin on his face. Even when it was just a light punch, it still left a little bruise. She rolled her eyes at him and smiled.
"I'm glad you're back." She smiled.
Chat Noir looked around, everything the same as it always was. "Yeah, me too. Going back in time does a little weird to your brain. I had to reset my mind back to five years ago."
Ladybug raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you met people you knew."
"Uhh…" Chat Noir rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Kind of, maybe? Not really?"
"Chat!" Ladybug crossed her arms. "What did you do?"
"I…" Chat Noir mumbled. "IdetransformedinfrontofMarinetteandshowedhermycivilianform."
Ladybug blinked. "You…WHAT?!"
His cat ears flattened on his head as Ladybug stared at him with wide eyes. He watched nervously as she grew confused and started babbling to herself. "But I don't remember anything…"
"What?"
"Nothing!"
He watched as she took a deep breath. "Maybe you should ask Marinette if she still remember you or something. If she doesn't, then the Miraculous Cure must've fixed everything, even the past."
Part of him was bummed that Marinette would forget that he was Adrien. It would mean she would continue to be intimidated by him. Another part of him was a little relieved. At least she wouldn't be targeted by Hawk Moth as a hostage if he knew that she knew Chat Noir's real identity.
"Well, see you later, my lady." Chat Noir bowed and leaped away to a certain bakery, not noticing Ladybug rushing towards the same place, but in a different, much faster route.
Just as she touched down on her bed a released her transformation, a few minutes later, Chat Noir was tapping on her trapdoor. She opened it up and feigned surprise. "Chat Noir! What are you doing here?"
"Good afternoon, princess." Chat Noir greeted her. "I was just checking to make sure that you were safe."
"Of course I am. The akuma attack was ten blocks away from my house." Marinette pointed out.
"Oh yeah, you're right." Chat Noir smiled awkwardly while inside his head, he was hitting himself. "I just...uhh…"
"Yes?" Marinette titled her head, waiting. He opened his mouth, but then stopped.
"I was wondering if you remembered a black cat in your past." He asked. When she gave him a confused look, he said, "Do you remember anything? Like, me before? Or something?"
Marinette got what he was trying to ask. "You're wondering if I met you before in the past."
He nodded. She frowned. She had tried to think and recollect her memories to when she was ten, but it was all a blank.
"Y'know, ice cream? Nino?" Chat urged. He said quietly, "Adrien?"
"Adrien?" Marinette looked at him, eyebrow raised. "Why would I meet Adrien? He only came this year."
"Nothing! It's nothing!" Chat Noir said hurriedly. So she forgot. The Miraculous Cure worked.
"Oh, but I remembered something!" Marinette said brightly. Climbing down her ladder, she walked to her desk and took the large black cat head plushie. She held it up to him. "I made this when I was ten. I didn't really know why. I just wanted to really make something based on a black cat back then."
Chat Noir's eyes widened. She remembered. Or more like, her brain forgot the memories, but her feelings remembered him. If that made any sense.
"Well, time is running out." Chat Noir gave her a two finger salute. "I'm glad you're safe, princess."
Marinette walked up to him, cat head in her arms, as she waved at him, a smile on her face. "Bye bye kitty."
He stared at her eyes. Back then, she looked at him, knowing his masked self and his real self. And now, the understanding was gone, but the affection still stayed. He smiled back at her.
"See you later, princess."
Time-travelling stuff is so fun to write. This was inspired by the black cat head plushie in Marinette's room. It was already there before she had met Chat Noir, so I wondered if it were an akuma that transported him to the past and met her, but then she forgot him. Not likely, but hey, akumas are weird beings. Anything is possible. :D
PS. Anyone notice the little easter egg in the fic? No? Oh well.
Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope you liked it!
See you all at the next chapter!