Chapter Text
Master Fu’s eyes flicked back and forth between them consideringly before he reached for the phonograph on the table. Adrien watched with mounting confusing as Master Fu pressed a few different spots on the phonograph. He couldn’t help a startled gasp when the phonograph suddenly opened and many compartments slid out, but he promptly forgot all about that when he realized that the Ladybug earrings and Black Cat ring were sitting right on top.
“You will have to return the Fox miraculous and the Bee miraculous,” Master Fu said, gently lifting the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses out and setting them on the table. The earrings and rings were so close, but –
“What about Trixx and Pollen?” Adrien asked, curling his free hand into a fist in his lap. “Will you be giving them to Coccinelle and Lynx?”
“No,” Master Fu said, so quickly that Marinette and Adrien exchanged looks. There was definitely more to that story, and Marinette couldn’t resist prying a little.
“Why not?” she asked. “It would be nice to have more help against Hawkmoth. I don’t think Coccinelle was well suited to the Ladybug, but that doesn’t mean she couldn’t be a good Bee or Fox. And now they’re both familiar with how a miraculous works.”
“I can only give a miraculous to people that I trust. When I spoke to Coccinelle and Lynx last night, both of them refused to relinquish their miraculous,” Master Fu said somberly.
‘I can’t blame them,’ Adrien thought, though he didn’t say as much out loud. He and Marinette knew all too well how painful giving up a miraculous could be. Even if Coccinelle and Lynx hadn’t had the chance to develop much of a bond with Tikki and Plagg, having a taste of the glory of being superheroes before having it ripped away couldn’t have been easy.
“But you have them right here,” Marinette said, puzzled. “So how did you get them?” Like Adrien, she could hardly bear to tear her eyes away from them.
“We went back after they were both asleep and took them,” Master Fu said.
“You – what?” Adrien said, blinking. Surely he had misheard that, and Master Fu hadn’t just admitted to burglary?
“Wait, who is we?” Marinette said.
“That would be me,” Wayzz said, lifting a tiny paw. To his credit, he looked a bit ashamed.
“I may be old, but I’m still capable of transforming,” said Master Fu, seemingly taking Adrien’s question as an insult to his age. When in reality, age was the furthest thing from Adrien’s mind.
“Wait. You transformed and snuck into their rooms?” Marinette asked in total disbelief. “To steal the miraculouses back?”
“Technically, I sent Wayzz in to retrieve the miraculouses while I waited outside on the roof next door. But you must understand that I had no choice, Marinette. I can’t allow the miraculouses to get into the wrong hands. Coccinelle and Lynx weren’t right for the job. Had the circumstances not been so dire, I wouldn’t have chosen them in the first place. Since they wouldn’t give the Ladybug and Black Cat miraculouses back, I had to take them by any means necessary. Because of that, I can’t risk giving them the Bee or Fox miraculous either,” Master Fu explained.
‘That may well be the creepiest thing I’ve ever heard,’ Marinette thought.
‘At least he wasn’t actually in their rooms, though I’m not sure sending Wayzz in is much better,’ Adrien thought. A top of the line security system could keep a human out, but a kwami? What was to stop Master Fu from doing the same thing to them if he decided he was dissatisfied with how they were handling things?
‘We’re going to have to think about this later,’ Marinette thought, shooting him a worried glance, and he gave her a nod before turning back to Master Fu.
“So Coccinelle and Lynx just… woke up this morning to find the miraculouses gone with no explanation?” Adrien said.
“Of course not. I left a letter for each of them explaining the matter,” Master Fu replied.
‘Wow. That’s – wow. A letter. I’m not even sure what to say to that,’ Adrien thought.
“Right,” Marinette said, because she didn’t know what to say to that either. Somewhere out there, two very unhappy kids were waking up to find their miraculouses gone. Adrien wondered if he and Marinette would be facing another akuma in the near future.
“Did Coccinelle and Lynx know who each other was?” he asked.
“No. I contacted them separately. They had never met in their civilian forms. That, I made sure of,” Master Fu said.
“Who were they?” Marinette asked, curiosity burning brightly through her. Adrien wanted to know too. If it was Alya and Nino – but then it couldn’t be both of them, could it? Not if Master Fu was telling the truth and Coccinelle and Lynx had never met before in their civilian forms. But it could be Alya or Nino and someone else that they didn’t know…
Master Fu shook his head. “I can’t tell you, and, before you ask them, I’ve already told Tikki and Plagg not to tell you under any circumstances. You don’t need to know. They’re never going to have a miraculous again. You knowing could put them both in danger if Hawkmoth akumatized you, and they can’t defend themselves.”
‘He has a point,’ Adrien thought reluctantly.
‘I guess we’ll never know,’ Marinette thought, sighing. Somehow they were going to have to make peace with that.
“Now, the Fox and the Bee,” Master Fu said, holding a hand out.
Marinette let go of Adrien’s hand, reached into her purse, and brought Pollen out. “Thanks a lot for your help,” she said, nuzzling Pollen’s cheek.
“It was my pleasure!” Pollen chirped.
Trixx flew out of Adrien’s pocket without prompting and grinned. “See you around, Kitten!”
“Definitely,” Adrien said, offering his index finger for Trixx to grab and shake. Then he took off the Fox miraculous, watching regretfully as Trixx immediately disappeared. He would have liked it if he could have kept both Trixx and Plagg around, but there was no way Master Fu would have agreed to that. And frankly, for the safety of Paris, maybe that was for the best.
He set the necklace on the table, keeping his hand on it until he had picked up the ring just in case. A rush of warmth that for once had nothing to do with Marinette made his hand tingle as he touched his ring. It was both familiar and comforting. Adrien smiled so hard his cheeks ached and quickly slipped the ring on his finger, watching out of the corner of his eye as Marinette copied him and exchanged the Bee for the Ladybug. A second, duller rush of warmth ran through Adrien as Marinette put the earrings in her ears.
Two magical flashes of light lit the room.
“Marinette!”
“Adrien!”
“Tikki!” Marinette cried, immediately grabbing her kwami in both hands. She clutched Tikki to her cheek, sorrow and gratitude welling up inside her.
Adrien wanted to speak, but words failed him. All he could do was hold out a trembling hand. Plagg’s impossibly light weight settled on his palm moments later. He brought Plagg into his chest and held Plagg there, but Plagg was contrary and wouldn’t stay. Instead, he wiggled out of Adrien’s hold and easily scaled Adrien’s arm and shoulder to end up on Adrien’s neck.
“Hey kid,” he whispered in Adrien’s ear, voice distorted by the force of his purr. “Eww, you smell like fox.”
The comment startled a laugh out of Adrien, and he was able to blink away the tears in his eyes. “Yeah, Trixx mentioned that you wouldn’t like that.”
“I don’t. No kitten of mine should ever smell like a kit. It’s disgraceful,” Plagg sniffed, nuzzling his head against the curve of Adrien’s jaw. “I bet your room stinks too. It’s going to take me forever to get the fox smell out of everything!”
“I’ll buy you lots of cheese, so you’ll have plenty of energy to work on it,” Adrien promised.
“You better,” Plagg said, now climbing up into Adrien’s hair.
Movement caught Adrien’s attention, and he glanced up in time to see Master Fu putting the Bee miraculous and the Fox miraculous back into the phonograph. When he closed the top, all the other compartments closed as well. As happy as he was to see Plagg again, he felt a little sad at seeing Trixx go and he couldn’t help but wonder if he and Marinette would ever see Trixx or Pollen again.
“Adrien, we should go,” Marinette said, wiping her eyes. “You’re going to be late.”
“Ah, shoot. You’re right,” Adrien said. He had to get home before Nathalie realized he was gone. He stood and so did Marinette, and then Master Fu got up.
“Good luck,” he said to them. “If you need me, here is my number.” He handed Marinette a slip of paper.
Marinette nodded shortly. “Until next time, Master Fu, Wayzz,” she said, and then she and Adrien left.