Adrien was hunched over the grimoire, papers spread over the table in front of him. His wife's desk lamp sputtered. He tapped it. His coffee sat cooling on the desk.
He wouldn't stop. He wouldn't stop until he figured it out.
He'd do whatever it took.
"Papa?" A little voice echoed through the cool vinyl of his office.
"Yes, Louis?" Adrien mumbled, softness filling him. Still, his eyes scanned the pages. A note here and there, over the months, until the margins were crammed. Things tried and things failed. Things Marinette hadn't wanted to try. Not yet, she'd said, calloused fingers trailing up his arm. Not unless we have to.
He sighed, pulling his reading glasses off his face and setting them down. His eyes squeezed closed, open. His hands rubbed against the lids. It felt like he was watching himself pore over these ancient documents, disconnected from reality. Maybe he needed a break.
He couldn't stop.
A tiny hand clenched around his ring finger and tugged. "Louis—" Adrien tugged his son up onto his lap, disentangling the boy's pudgy little fingers from his wedding ring. "We don't mess with those, remember? They're special."
(They were the Miraculous, in their new disguised forms. They'd doubled as wedding rings for centuries— a connection between every Ladybug and Chat Noir before them who hadn't been forced to live as half a person. A symbol of wholeness. Love. Stronger together.)
They'd give them to their children, someday, and then Adrien would have the honor of giving his wife a new ring. And a new life.
He didn't want the second one. That's why he was here, poring over the grimoire, learning everything he could about the Guardianship. He couldn't lose her, not now that he finally had her. We have time, she'd promised. But what if they didn't? He'd seen enough in his admittedly short lifetime to know that nothing went according to plan. The happiest days were the ones that were cut short. Nothing lasted forever, no matter how hard one tried.
(He'd thought love lasted beyond death, but this felt like a fate worse than death. To lose one's mind, one's memories, who they were as a human being… it was horrible.)
That's not what happened with Fu. His wife's voice echoed in his ears. He absentmindedly played with his son's curly, black hair. He still remembered love, even if he forgot why. I'll always love you. Not even the Miraculous can take that from us.
But without the Miraculous, we wouldn't have this bond. He argued to himself, bouncing Louis on his lap. Even if you don't know, I'll grieve. I'll grieve for everything we've been through, all the love we've shared, all the together we've had. You won't remember. I will.
Maybe it would be freeing for her, he reasoned, reaching around Louis to grab at his glasses. Maybe it would be better for her to not deal with the pain of the past.
It's all worth it, she'd said. It made me who I am today.
We'll figure something out. We always do.
"Your plans always work, m'lady." He'd whispered, tucking a strand of hair between her ear. Emma had been coloring in the other room, blissfully aware of the ticking time bomb above her parents' heads. Most days it didn't bother them, something like a cloud hovering miles overhead, gray enough to cast a shadow but— no. That was wrong. Most days were bright and sunny and filled with the summer breeze Marinette loved so much. Most days nothing could go wrong. But then, every once in a while, it would come and hit him like a punch in the gut. Today it had been simple- her cooking, apron spinning, windows open, singing to Luka's newest hit. Boom.
She won't remember this. Will she even remember our children?
At least he could talk to her about it now, forcing the words that didn't quite encompass the ache in his soul past the tightness in his throat. She'd reassured him; as always. They'd sat with her hands working miraculous circles through his hair, their two children snuggled between them, until she fell asleep. But sometimes it wasn't enough.
That's why he was out here. Searching. Begging whatever was out there for a loophole, an answer.
They had a book. A journal, really, that both of them poured their hearts into and shared and read aloud to their children. The first page was a handwritten note to him in his wife's beautiful, lopsided cursive.
Cher Adrien,
This book is us. Our memories, our home, our life, our existence. I'm not going to let these memories go. But if I do, somehow, and if the universe fates it so that you can't bring me back with a simple true love's kiss (hey, it worked the last couple times) this will help. Read it to me. A thousand times if you have to. Make me remember. I trust you.
I know you, and I love you.
Your bug 3
Adrien had it memorized. He'd read that journal so many times. It was sitting on the desk, open to the first page on the day she'd become the Guardian.
He wouldn't let her down if (when) that day came.
"Chaton?" A sleepy mumble echoed through the room. His wife.
"Yes, bugaboo?" Adrien asked, spinning, ignoring how raspy his voice was from a night's worth of disuse.
She leaned against the doorway, brushing the hair away from her face. Her bun was half-undone. The hallway light cast a halo above her. She was beautiful. It was just a fact of the universe.
She spoke. "Oh, you have Louis, good." A cute, messy yawn, one he'd teased her for a million times over. (Would she forget that, too? Would something prick at the back of her mind every time he teased?) "There's someone at the door."
Adrien's half-asleep mind churned, sleepily trying to understand. "Who?"
Marinette hummed, crossing the room and thumping her forehead onto his shoulder. He smiled— a ghost of his usual one, but warm nonetheless. "I don't wanna answer." She whispered.
His smile grew. "Are you asking me to face the big bad outside for you?"
She groaned, settling in closer to him. Safe washed over him, and he hoisted Louis closer, standing. "I've got you, princess. Go back to your castle."
She scrunched up her nose, shuffling back to bed, and he headed for the door.
They were already inside.
He should've known.
Felix (Argos, he should say) and Kagami sat in their pajamas, eating Doritos from the big bag Adrien had just bought on the floor of his living room.
"Guys…" he groaned, looking at the clock. Was it really only eleven thirty? Dang, he was acting old already. "You're not supposed to be here. That key was for emergencies."
"This is an emergency."
Adrien tamped down a prick of sleep-deprivation-induced panic and rolled his eyes. Felix shoved another chip in his mouth. "Your kid's allergic to feathers."
"What?" Adrien flopped to the ground, setting Louis down. He immediately toddled to Kagami and held his chubby arms out, giving Felix a glare icy enough to challenge the Snow Queen. Adrien chuckled. "Louis? Yeah. He just about lost his mind over that pigeon you tried to get him to hold, Felix."
Felix rolled his eyes. "I didn't know it was a killer. Besides, I don't think that's the issue here."
"What is?"
"Your kid is allergic to feathers."
Adrien blinked.
Felix gave Kagami a look that felt very much like a facepalm. "After all these years, I still have to explain everything to you, don't I, brother?"
Brother. Everyone on the team called each other that. They were a family, weren't they? And technically him and Felix had the exact same genes, so…
Adrien shook his head. I know it's late, but focus. "Explain away."
Felix didn't start straight away; instead, he searched Adrien. The man's skin prickled under his cousin's hidden gaze. Nothing sparkled behind those unnaturally green eyes. He was analyzing him for something.
"What?" Adrien whispered, voice somewhat choked. "Is this… is this about…?"
"Sentimonsters?" Kagami broke the sharp corners off a Dorito and handed it to Louis, who gnawed on it, giggling. Adrien's senses were on full alert. Why was Kagami circling his son like that? What danger was there? What could possibly harm his family now?
"Why are you here?" Adrien spoke in a flatline voice, gaze snapping around the room. "What happened—"
"You." Felix snapped, and Adrien froze. Literally, his insides felt like they were turning to ice. He could taste salt.
What?
He struggled to speak past the sudden blockage in his throat. "What are you saying?" His accusing, troubled glare turned to Kagami. "What are you saying?!"
"Kitty?" Marinette's sleepy voice echoed through the house. "What's going on?"
Oh, shoot, if we wake Emma up…
She doesn't know who we are yet. What we are. She's still too young to understand.
A part of Adrien wanted to protect her forever. But lying was never the solution. They'd tell her. Eventually.
Adrien's voice answered— "Nothing, bug, go back to sleep! Someone just had the wrong apartment number."
Adrien hadn't opened his mouth. Rage bubbled inside him, frothing in the expression he turned to Felix, who closed his mouth with a smug smile. "Felix—"
"You can get mad at me later." Felix detransformed, revealing Dusuu and a pajama shirt with a golden retriever on it. Of course. Adrien would've rolled his eyes if he wasn't, you know, in the middle of an existential crisis. Felix continued: "Dusuu, has Adrien ever… borrowed you?"
"Of course, Ma—I mean, Felix!" Dusuu chirped. "I was instrumental in stopping Lila, the second Hawkmoth!"
"Why does that matter?" Adrien snapped. "Felix, if something's wrong with my kids—"
"Emma's fine." Felix cautioned. "Keep your voice down."
Kagami settled Louis on her lap.
Adrien's vision turned gray around the edges.
His voice sounded dangerously low, even to himself. "What do you mean, Felix?"
Kagami sighed, brushing a few crumbs off her top. "He means to insinuate that you used the Miraculous to create Louis. I told him you wouldn't understand his roundabout, theatrical–"
Adrien cut her off, vision shaking. "I'm sorry, what?"
"Keep your voice down."
"I am." He hissed at Felix, who merely blinked slowly. Ancients, Adrien wanted to get a rise out of him. "I need you to explain in plain words what the hell–"
Kagami tugged Louis close, covering his ears, and Adrien took a deep breath, grabbing the bag of Doritos and stuffing one in his mouth. They waited for him to finish chewing, and finally, he managed… "What makes you think I used Duusu to make my son a sentimonster?"
"There's some civility." Felix deadpanned.
Adrien shot him a glare.
Kagami shrugged. "You didn't make it easy, love."
"That's what I do." Felix smirked. But under the twin stares from Adrien and Kagami (and Louis, who seemed to have just realized something was going on), he seemed to soften. "Look, Adrien, all I'm saying is if you did do it–"
"Which I didn't–"
"We need to know." Felix sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. "I can't say I haven't thought about using it myself once or twice. But–"
"I– we didn't!" Adrien pleaded, glancing between his siblings. "You have to believe me, we didn't–"
"Didn't what?" Came a new, incredibly cranky voice, and all four present whipped around–
Marinette dropped her slide and slid it back on. "Seriously, you two? Again?"
"Hey!" Felix threw his hands up, offering her a charming smile. "We're just checking in."
She sighed, taking the Doritos from Adrien and putting them back up in the cabinet. "Please. What could possibly be so important that you have to–"
A cry came from the far room. Kagami snickered.
"Do that?!" Marinette whined, throwing an arm out just as Adrien got to his feet with a little groan. "Old man," Felix whispered as he passed. He got a foot to the shin for his efforts.
"I'll get her." Adrien mumbled. "Can you please sort these two out?"
"I'm just an observer." Kagami mused, pulling a strand of hair from Louis' grasp. "I think your family is quite strange."
"You can say that again." Adrien's voice floated through the walls. Marinette huffed. Soon, the sound of soft singing came through the little apartment, and Emma's cries quieted. Kagami closed her eyes, leaning back and enjoying the sonata as Louis clambered up her back.
Marinette plopped down. "Okay, spill."
Felix sighed. "We thought Louis was a sentimonster."
Marinette wrinkled her nose. "That's dumb.
"I told him that," Kagami sighed, "but you know how the Agreste men get."
"Don't I know it." Marinette sighed as well. She flung an arm towards Adrien's crowded work desk, just out of sight behind the dividing wall. "You should see his office. He's been getting into the grimoire again. It's driving me insane."
"It's not that bad." Adrien retorted, carrying Emma out with him and plopping back down next to his wife. "I just–"
"You look terrible." Kagami deadpanned.
Adrien glared at her. "If you think this is bad, I can't wait to see you two when you have kids."
Felix looked vaguely uncomfortable. Kagami looked like she was plotting. Marinette, however, was already turning a plan in her head. "Okay, you guys came here for absolutely no reason and woke all of my kids up and me in the middle of the night–"
"A sin." Adrien supplied, nodding along.
"So you get punishment. You're taking the grimoire, and you don't get to give it back until you find us a new lead on changing the rules of guardianship."
"Yep– wait, what?" Adrien whipped around to face his wife, apparently upsetting Emma because she began to wail again, which made Louis start crying, which made Kagami squeal, which made Felix start trying to help, which only made everything generally worse. Adrien let out a deep, longsuffering sigh, patting Emma's back, and then pulled in another breath to yell over the din: "I need to work on that!"
"You've been working on it for months!" Marinette cried. "I want my husband back, man!"
"Okay, that's cruel!"
"Tough life!"
Adrien shook his head, wondering at how the shy little girl from lycee had turned into such a menace. "But—"
"No buts!"
Felix snorted. Kagami punched him. Louis wailed.
Marinette rolled her eyes and stood, leaving Adrien to trail after her like a lost puppy with Emma slung over his shoulder (thank the ancients she had stopped crying) as she stomped into his office, gathering the grimoire and any related notes into a haphazard pile and shoving them into Felix's waiting arms. He grinned, flashing Adrien a wink… and was gone.
…
Adrien whipped around.
…
"DID YOU TELL THEM TO COME?!"
Emma screamed. Louis cried.
Marinette lifted an eyebrow at him.
He shook his head.
"I deserved that, didn't I?"
She nodded, smirking. "Now come on, husband, you and me are going. To. Bed."
"Praise the ancients," he sighed, and followed her, just like he always would.
(Yes, the future was still hurdling at them at thousands of miles an hour, but right now? Right now he chose her.)
(Just like he always would.)
—-
A/N: Yep, another vaguely crackish fic. This was going to be serious once upon a time, but it seems I've run out empathetic stretchability and have decided to take nothing seriously unless absolutely necessary until we get to church camp. Gotta love it. Anyways- love you guys, you're the best! God Bless!
-Grace