Chapter Text
Master Fu flipped the sign at the front of his shop from "Open" to "Closed." Locking the door, he took a deep breath before joining the gathering of eldritch kwamis in the back room.
"I see you both found suitable holders. I know I'm not allowed to know their identities, but may I ask, how old are they?" Fu asked as he turned on the tea kettle.
Old enough to consent, Wayzz said. He floated in between two kwamis, one red and one black. All three were in their human-friendly forms, but that did nothing to calm the guardian.
If it makes you feel better, the red kwami Tikki added, Both of our holders are several years older than the age of consent.
"Remind me, again, what the age of magical consent is?" Fu added the tea bag as the kettle started to steam.
Eight years past first breath. Wayzz answered.
Fu sighed. While the kwami's glamour hid identifying features, including age identifiers, Fu knew from experience that neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir could be older than 25, and that was generous. Fu would be shocked if they were old enough to vote. Tea was not strong enough for this conversation. Not wanting to be rude, he pulled out two tea cups and two wine glasses, bringing them to the back table.
"So, onto the important matters," Fu said as he poured tea into the teacups and placed them in front of Tikki and Wayzz. "What resources do the new holders need? Is there a concern of them losing jobs due to attacks?"
Don't worry about it! Plagg, the last kwami, spoke up as Fu opened a wine bottle. Our holders are well cared for. The only thing I need from you is a healthy supply of wine to go with my cheese!
Plagg!
Sorry, sugarcube. It's not my fault the humans decided against younger humans drinking the world's only acceptable liquids, Plagg complained as Fu poured the aged wine. The man avoided eye contact with the kwamis as they confirmed his suspicions. He knew that if he gave any reaction, Wayzz would pluck the concern away easier than a maiden plucking a flower from a field.
While the holders are under no risk of mortal concern, I do fear that Nooroo's tormentor may be a more difficult adversary than initially thought, Wayzz said, taking a sip from their teacup.
It's too soon to tell, Tikki countered. But I have been keeping a lookout for potential candidates. In fact, my holder suggested a potential herself. As we have time to determine its necessity, I recommend researching these potentials to see which kwami they would work best with.
“And I suppose these potentials also live in the 21st arrondissement,” Fu blurted. The twin kwamis of creation and destruction frowned and glanced at Wayzz. Fu rubbed his wrist as he watched the three creatures. Tiny as they were, their eyes sparked with knowledge, intelligence, and as much as they refused to admit it, emotion. Even as they floated on opposite sides of the square table, Tikki and Plagg slowly inched towards each other with a hint of longing in the corners of their eyes. Fu noticed how Plagg's slit pupils rounded as they glanced at their other half. Tikki sipped her tea with a subtle glow that could almost constitute a human blush. Fu knew better than to mention it. Kwamis don't fall in love; they just are.
Since our holders have accepted and are in no risk of ridiculous mortal living needs coming undone, could I take a bottle or two for the road? Plagg broke the silence. Something was nagging the back of Fu's mind, but he wasn't sure what. The kwamis talked as though the holders had flexible enough jobs to rush out at a moment's notice, which was good.
“Of course, it's right in the back.” The black kwami's glass shattered as he phased into the wine fridge. Lucky for Fu, Plagg had finished his glass before his destructive nature took precedence, so there was no stain on the hardwood.
We should only see you again if we find suitable potentials for our brothers and sisters of the miracle box, Tikki stated as she floated up from the table.
See you tomorrow, SugarCube, Plagg said as he carried a full bottle of pinot noir out the front door.
I'll help clean up, Guardian, Wayzz said. The kwami picked up both teacups as Fu picked up the open wine bottle. After 180 years of a kwami bond, the old man knew when his memories were messed with, even if he couldn't tell what exactly was done. That was why he would allow the weakest knowledge to slip, for if he flat-out fought for his knowledge, he would lose every time. By letting a single concern slip at the gathering, whatever it was, Wayzz wouldn't notice the knowledge Fu kept to himself.
Fu put the bottle back into the wine fridge and pulled out a half-full bottle of vodka. Taking a shot directly from the bottle, Fu sighed. He was a bystander in ruining the lives of literal children.
—--
“Hey girl! Your parents let me in,” Alya said as she entered Marinette's living room through the bakery. “Although I may have just made your problems worse,” she added, as two identical mini-Alyas raced inside.
“No, it's all go-ood,” Marinette replied as she stumbled out of the way of another laughing child. “We already have one little angel, what's two more? Or three? Maybe I should just open up a daycare since we're so good at this -hey that's my phone!”
Sure enough, tiny hands unlocked her cellphone to text the number on the tv. “I'm gonna vote for Mireille! She's my favorite!”
“And I'm now going to change my passcode,” Marinette sighed as she plucked the phone from the girl's hands.
Laughing, Alya grabbed coloring books from her backpack. “One for Ella, one for Etta, and one for, who's this exactly?”
“This is Manon, my mom's friend’s daughter.” Marinette started to clean up the rampage as the children started coloring. “And you are a lifesaver.”
“Thanks, but I really needed the excuse to leave the house. World War 3 was about to break out between me, my parents, and my other sister, and these guys don't really understand so they just made it worse.”
“What, did your family not like you running into a magical war zone to livestream?”
“Not you too! I thought you would support me in my journalism!”
“What makes you think I don't support the Ladyblog? I just prefer your recap videos so I don't have to fear for your life.”
“Ladybug fixes everything anyway.”
Marinette sighed, and her cheeks turned pink. “As amazing as Ladybug is, don't drag your sisters to the next akuma fight.”
“Who do you think I am?” Alya griped. “Bringing children to work is simply unprofessional.” She held her offended look for two more seconds before both girls burst into giggles.
“Okay, but for real, girl, I am so gay for Ladybug.” Alya changed the subject. “Like, I've had a bit of a celebrity crush on Majestia, but Ladybug is much more attainable.”
“How? Yeah Ladybug is kind, and brave, and smart, and in a simple yet functional skin-tight outfit that matches her theme while giving full range of motion and accentuating her muscular physique… but that doesn't make her attainable!” Marinette may have shouted that last part to distract from her warm face.
“Girl, Majestia is in New York, and is canonically in her forties. Ladybug is here, in Paris, and probably no older than 25. That's a reasonable age gap!” Alya looked at her friend for a moment, “Are you just jealous that I got to meet her?”
“No! No, I'm not jealous, I-I'm happy for you!” Marinette stammered.
“You sure? I won't blame you for having a crush.”
“Positive! Let's plan the wedding! Red is already a wedding color in China, and she would look great in a black spotted cheongsam, or a mermaid style if she wants to go more Western, and I'm guessing you would want white? Or ivory? Or-”
“Girl,” Alya put a hand on Marinette's shoulder. “I am fourteen. I am not getting married until I graduate from University. We can both have the same crush. I'm not gonna hate you for it.”
“Oh-okay. I may be a little gay for Ladybug,” Marinette admitted in a small voice.
“You and me and the rest of the girls in Paris.”
“I'm done!” Manon shouted, shoving her coloring sheet between the two girls. Sure enough, Ella and Etta had abandoned the coloring and were now trying to explore the apartment.
“Maybe these girls need to let some energy out,” Marinette said. “The park is right across the street, so it's not like we can't get back if another attack happens.”
—--
Pose after pose, Adrien's thoughts wandered during the outdoor photoshoot. He wasn't allowed to leave the house without an escort and a good reason, yet his father's definition of a good reason usually differed from his own. Outdoor photoshoot was apparently okay despite the national emergency.
Not even two days of public school and Paris had shut down. While Adrien found the superhero battles fascinating, he did have to admit that it was kinda scary. Yes, the magical ladybugs fixed everything physically, but the memories remained. Until the government figured out a solution with Ladybug and Chat Noir, maybe it was better for kids to stay home.
At least, that was the cautious line of thinking. Stores decided for themselves if they would be open or not. Adrien was pretty sure he read something about a TV contest for a weather girl airing live. And of course, the Gabriel brand saw this as the perfect opportunity to make use of a mostly-empty park for a photoshoot. Times like this had Adrien wondering if his father truly cared about his safety.
Flash after flash, photo after photo, Adrien held his position to perfectly showcase the dark shirt, white overshirt, and jeans from his father's casual line. Shouts and cheers came from somewhere nearby, but Adrien couldn't look until his photographer gave the okay, something about a short break to find the spaghetti.
Taking a deep breath, Adrien relaxed and saw that the shouts came from five girls on the playset. Three of them were little, but Adrien recognized the other two as girls from his class! Potential friends!
“Hi Marinette! Alya!” He shouted, walking towards them.
“Adrien! Uh… hi!!!” Marinette shouted back. “Oh no I still have your umbrella!”
At Alya's confused look, Adrien explained, “I lent it to her after school yesterday. And it's fine, you can bring it to school whenever it starts up again.”
“Yeah, that works! Ghoul is schood, I mean school is good.” Marinette must have tripped on something as she came closer. Moving quickly, Adrien reached his arms out to break her fall. Leaning in his arms, she caught her breath for a second. Then Alya offered a hand back to standing as Marinette blushed.
“So,” Alya said in the silence, “What are you doing out here?” Her eyes narrowed in on him, and Adrien felt like Alya was holding him under a microscope. While Adrien had thought Marinette was going to be a friend after yesterday's apology, he still needed to work on Alya.
“Photoshoot. Photographer's taking a break. What about you? I thought people were staying home?”
“Oh I live here!” Marinette replied. “Well no, I don't pive in the lark, I have an apartment with a bed and a roof and everything! It's just right there, across the bakery above the street!”
“What Marinette was trying to say,” Alya added, “is that she lives right across the street, and we're watching these magical princesses as the kings and queens attend to their kingdoms!” Her words became more sing-songy as the little girls came running up to them.
“Is that your boyfriend?” One of the girls asked.
“Manon!!”
“No, she's just a friend,” Adrien said, chuckling slightly.
“You sure?” asked another one.
“Actually, Ella,” Alya said as she picked the girl up, “he’s a sorcerer here to practice spells to convince us to replace all our clothing with his brand!”
“But if his spell works, and we take his clothing, wouldn't he be naked?” Manon asked. Adrien’s eyes widened and he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Oh look, an akuma!!!” Marinette shouted, loudly and quickly. Alya put a palm to her forehead.
“But wouldn't he be?” Manon asked again.
“That’s not how the spell works,” Alya started, “it actually…” Her words trailed off as she seemed to notice something. Adrien turned to see what she was looking at.
“Get to the bakery!” Marinette shouted, dragging the wrist of one of the little girls along with her. A girl was flying, Mary Poppins style with a parasol and everything, and girls generally don't fly. Adrien darted off in a different direction from the girls. He could almost feel his heartbeat in his hands as he was trapped in a dome of ice by himself.
Chat Noir looked around the ice dome one more time, checking for prying eyes. The ice distorted the outside world, so it was likely that no one could see inside unless they were right up against the glass. Assured in his safety after waiting thirty seconds, he transformed and cataclysmed an exit from the ice dome. He knew there was a container of camembert for his kwami to recharge in a bag nearby. Once he found it, he slid it into his pocket before walking up to the other ice dome in the park. He had time to reassure the civilians before recharging.
This other ice dome covered three girls: Alya, Manon, and a little girl that Chat did not know the name of. They all shouted his name, and he whacked his baton against the ice. Just as he suspected, it was too thick to manually break through.
“Don't worry girls, I'll make sure you get out of there once the akuma is defeated,” Chat told them, though he wasn't sure if they c0uld hear him through the ice.
As Chat polevaulted away, he heard one of the girls with his enhanced hearing, “Etta is gonna be so jealous.”
—--
Etta clung to her sister's friend as they rushed into the bakery. When she turned around, no one was behind her. Well, ok, there were other people in the bakery, but no one important was behind her. Where were her sisters?
Marinette was saying something to her parents, but Etta wasn't processing. She kept her eyes on the entrance, as her sisters would walk in any moment now! Like… now! Or now? Maybe now…
“Hey eh…” Marinette paused to look at her name written on her shirt tag, “Etta! Ladybug will get your sisters back soon. We can go upstairs and wait for them.” But that means they're not ok, are they? Is Etta now an orphan alone in this world?
“I want Mommy.” Etta was a big girl who definitely wasn't crying. Nope.
“Do you have her phone number?” Marinette asked. At Etta's nod, they both went up the many stairs to a room of pink. As Etta recited the number, Marinette typed it in her phone and requested a video chat.
As Etta held the phone, waiting for an answer, Marinette said, “Hey, I'm going to my balcony to watch for your sisters. I'll come down and let you know when the ladybugs free them.” Etta nodded as the phone went to voice-mail.
She hung up and redialled the number. This time, her mom's panicked face appeared on the screen not even ten seconds after the first ring. “Mommy! I'm not good enough to be an only child!”
“Oh Etta, where are you? Where are your sisters?” Her mom's voice wavered a bit.
“They're gone and I'm with Alya's friend Marinette. I don't want to be an only child!”
Marlene pursed her lips for a second. But that was too long, so Etta let her tears fall. “You will never be an only child, my little sapotis. Nora's home with me, and she's your sister too. Do you want to say hi to her?”
“Yes please, but I want you too.” Etta wiped her eyes as Marlene turned away from the phone, shouting for the oldest Cesaire daughter.
“Heyya pipsqueak, who do I have to kill?” Nora asked as she popped into frame.
“No!! I can't lose you too to the akuma!” Etta cried.
“And you said you were at Marinette's place? Above a bakery?” Etta nodded at her mom's question, but it seemed like she was looking past the phone while she asked it.
“Wait, you're locked up at a bakery? Did the macarons survive?” Nora asked. “What a shame for those poor pastries, survived an akuma attack only to suffer the fate of being devoured by a pipsqueak.” Nora dramatically spread her arms in a way that Etta couldn't help but giggle. “And the croissants! Just living their croissant life when a little mouth just goes chomp!”
Etta wasn't sure how long she was sitting there, talking with her mom and sister, when Marinette came down from the balcony. “I just saw the ladybugs go by! Why don't we go downstairs and pick out post-akuma treats for them!”
“We'll be right over,” Marlene said through the phone.
“See ya soon, pipsqueak!” Nora added, right before the call ended screen showed up.