Chapter Text
When he entered the Museum and saw the size of the crowds, Adrien was half sure he’d made a mistake in coming.
The Museum was already overrun with people, celebrating the grand opening for the new Superhero exhibit.
After all the years inside his room or inside the house, friends and freedom was a luxury that never seemed to grow old.
But being a model—and superhero—often meant his space was invaded, or he was touched without permission. That freedom always came at a price.
He just wanted to be a normal kid. To do normal things with his friends.
Well, as normal as Hawkmoth ever allowed them to be anyways.
Much though he did love Ladybug, being with her usually meant a seemingly endless stream of Akuma attacks and threats from all directions. Patrols didn’t happen too often; only when homework and projects weren’t an issue. He craved more calm time away with her... the same way he wanted it with his friends.
Hoping to avoid notice, Adrien ducked his head, dogging his friends’ footsteps as he hauled some of Nino’s prized audio-visual equipment through the crowd. The Gorilla lurched behind them, a concession to his father’s stern insistence.
Weirdly, Nino just grinned before slipping Adrien’s hulking guard a package. His brows arched in surprise as the Gorilla ambled back to the car without more than the slightest grumbling.
Within a few quick minutes, Nino had his equipment set up, taking care to add a bit of extra lighting to get a decent quality shot in the dimly lit halls.
Nino and Alya seemed to both be super enthused, specifically about the addition of the new Rena and Carapace statues rather than the whole set…
They were flirting, and bantering about who was the better hero among the support Miraculous.
“It has to be Carapace, of course…” Alya smirked, ruthlessly. “His Shelter can protect all of them…”
Nino chuckled, working on adjusting the lens focus. “I dunno, babe. I mean, Rena Rouge is awfully clever. And we’ve seen just how strong Mirage can actually be…”
Alya bumped her shoulder into his.
Adrien smiled, awkwardly ruffling the hair at the nape of his neck as he ducked away from their public display of affection.
Happy as he was to be outside of the house with friends, it was quickly becoming obvious to Adrien that he was very much the third wheel. A far too well-known third wheel.
Luckily, he’d been in here often enough as Chat Noir to have a sense of all the little closets and alcoves to duck away into if he needed a breather from the crowd.
His phone marred the neat Gabriel-approved lines of his jeans, where it was burning a hole in his pocket; his fingers were twitching to use it.
Adrien frowned, a bit distracted. It really was a pity that Marinette couldn’t make it. But if she did have to babysit Manon again…Well, mark it as a positive that she did stay home. Especially considering this crowd…
He shuffled aimlessly around the remaining exhibits, now a fair distance from where Nino and Alya were working on their segment for the Ladyblog.
He was nearly finished wandering through the entire museum when he came across Marinette’s statue. She was beaming sweetly in her space directly next to Jagged Stone, and his pet Fang.
The color of her pigtails was at least a half shade off, and the seemingly older set of clothes didn’t fit the wax model nearly so well as they did on her usual form.
He didn’t spend several of his formative years modelling not to notice the way things were supposed to sit. And, he’d noticed that Marinette tended to be very neat and particular with her style.
Nonetheless, they’d definitely captured her infectious grin, and the sassy little victory sign was a nice touch.
It was purrfect for an impromptu selfie... especially since he had forgotten to do so with Marinette’s statue last time.
On the plus side, he could send it to Marinette… so she wouldn’t entirely miss out.
Beaming, he sidled up beside her wax figure. He ever-so-gently placed his hand on her shoulder before holding his phone away from himself in an expert manner, and pressed a button on the side.
He looked over the picture, mostly satisfied. Half of him wished he could mirror her victory pose. But that wouldn’t work without asking someone else to snag the picture for him. And with Nino and Alya so occupied… that only left a bunch of strangers who would probably recognize him and might ask for more favors in return.
He composed a message to her with the selfie and a small caption, and pressed send. “Saw this and thought of you…”
Three little dots heralded the fact she had seen his response, though the answer lingered in limbo for a while.
Marinette usually sent a quick response. Sometimes a little too quickly, to be honest. It was obvious to him that she must be juggling multiple tasks in between her occasionally distracted designing.
While he waited, Adrien leaned against the curtained wall, phone in hand as he tried to hide away in plain sight.
Several groups consisting mostly of girls his age had walked past, rowdy and giggling but only a few had pointed him out in hushed whispers. His phone finally chimed with her reply.
Marinette: *grin emoji* “Gosh! It’s like I’m actually right there… next to you.”
He could practically hear her giggle at that.
Adrien’s smile grew sad… as reality only sank in that much harder..
Adrien: “Not exactly, anyways…”
The three dots stared back at him for about thirty seconds.
Marinette: “Are you okay?”
Adrien puzzled what to say at that. Technically, he was okay. Maybe a little bored, and a little lonely. But what else was new...
Marinette: “Did Alya and Nino abandon you for their endless flirting?” ;)
Adrien: “Maybe…”
Adrien sighed, shaking his head fondly. He exhaled sharply, a wistful feeling coming over him.
Adrien: “You’re sure you can’t make it in…? Maybe your Mom could watch Manon for a bit...”
Marinette: “Manon?”
Marinette: “Well, she has kept me busy… but I’m not sure I can get away from what I’m doing right now”
Adrien winced, reminding himself that having her bring Manon along hadn’t gone well last time. At least then, there weren’t as many people around to potentially hurt.
Which wasn’t exactly fair to the little girl, perhaps. He knew just how tough it was to be left alone...
Adrien: “Ah well. I guess I’ll see you Monday, then?”
Marinette: ;)
Not for the first time, Adrien was puzzled by her reaction. Maybe she really was just busy, chasing Manon wherever it was she was watching her. But it wasn’t exactly like Marinette not to say goodbye, even when she did leave an emoji. Not by text at least...
He kind of wished he could talk to Plagg about it, but that would involve finding more than a tiny amount of privacy in this crowd. He already had enough eyes on him just because of the work his father had him doing.
Adrien peered around, looking for a en empty closet… or even just a quiet corner where he could get away from endlessly prying eyes..
He wound his way around, politely dodging a few more intrepid/less sneaky fans after a quick picture.
But it was spotting something he hadn’t expected that had stopped his flight in its tracks.
Adrien blinked, more than a little dumbfounded as he shuffled into the final room, pocketing his phone once more.
He knew that he had Ladybug on the brain; that was almost always the case. He just didn’t expect to spot another one.
Since Chat Noir and Ladybug were to appear as a pair, the artist had asked him to pose with her completed statue for a while; he’d wanted to capture Chat’s battle-ready pose with as much accuracy as possible. Needless to say, he’d spent hours growing more and more familiar with the pose of the new Ladybug in the installation.
Baffled, Adrien back pedaled… they were supposed to have decommissioned the others, so there should have only been one.
He rushed back to check in the room where Nino was actively filming. Adrien could see the newest Ladybug back in the room with Nino and Alya. Right at Chat Noir’s side.
Right where she ought to be...
Eyes wide, he strode back into the last room, where he saw her standing… eyes trained on his, and following him.
Shocked, Adrien halted in place despite the jostling of the crowd. He tilted his head, unsure just what to make of it.
Was this an Akuma? They were right next to the the Akuma’s room after all—stranger things had happened.
Resolute, he stalked recklessly towards this other Ladybug, racing across the room as fast at the crowd would allow.
But not fast enough.
Not before Ladybug winked.
Adrien’s eyes widened, stunned as his steps slowed and faltered. “What on Earth?” he breathed. His fingernails bit into the phone that was once more in his hand.
This new Ladybug grinned, clearly amused by his surprise. She wasted not one moment; with rapid efficiency (and equally impressive aim) she shot out her yoyo… striking only the panel to turn off the lights.
It plunged the room into full darkness. Only the light from the adjacent rooms crept in through the periphery of the doorways.
There were startled gasps and a few screams as panic hit, and people flooded out of the room.
On a mix of instinct and adrenaline, Adrien moved, ducking into an alcove broom closet to call on his transformation.
With his night vision, he found the switches once again to bring the lights back up. But thankfully, outside of the initial panic, there were no more terrified screams or signs of alarm.
So… this probably wasn’t an Akuma… unless there were patrons turned into statues or wax figures too.
He taxed his mind, looking for another subtle difference that he could be missing...
Chat blinked. Nope… that puzzling Ladybug he saw… she was just gone. Nobody else seemed like they’d noticed anything out of the ordinary, or even that there had just been a Ladybug statue that was now missing. Then again, nobody had been with him, watching as it happened.
He’d found Alya and Nino, still lingering beside the statues of Rena Rouge and Carapace as he rushed into the room. “Did either of you just see that?”
“Chat Noir! What’re you doing here?” Alya blinked. “And… see what?”
Nino frowned, replacing the camera lens. “We just wrapped up filming.”
“You didn’t see the lights go out in the next room over?” Chat continued without directly answering her other question.
Alya quirked her lips, darting a glance over to Nino, who was a little occupied with safely stowing his camera as he spoke to Chat. “I mean… I did hear some commotion from the next room, but by the time Alya had finished, everything seemed fine. I guess that would explain why this room is a little more crowded than it was...”
Chat stalked over to check the Ladybug who stood beside his wax double, nostrils flaring with the overpowering scent of wax.
Motionless, and unflinching. Delicately, he pressed the back of a claw again “skin” and found it didn’t have any give.
The previous versions of their wax statues were nowhere to be seen. Had they been taken into storage?
Nino peered around. “You didn’t see Adrien did you?”
Chat Noir blinked guilelessly. “That famous kid? I think I saw him rushing outside?”
Wearily, Nino sighed. “I guess that would make sense. His old man is a little ridiculous about guarding his precious business asset from any kind of harm…”
Alya frowned. “I’m not seeing any sign of an Akuma popping up from any of the Ladyblog’s usual sources…”
Chat Noir sighed. Alya would have heard if any Akuma was out… including Volpina; weird illusions were on the high-alert list after Heroes Day last year.
“Nothing of Ladybug either?” He turned his gaze from the statue he’d been inspecting to ask.
Alya shook her head. “No Ladybug sighting—outside of this Museum at least—but that’s to be expected with the exhibit’s opening…”
“I’m still not entirely sure that everything is as it seems in the Museum. Not yet, at least…” Chat Noir’s claws rapped along his baton as he spun on his heel. “If you see or hear anything odd, could you send me a message?”
Nino nodded. “Sure thing.”
Alya’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “One thing before you go.”
Chat’s eyes widened in silent question.
“How did you get here so fast?”
Chat Noir winked. “You know I’ll take any excuse I can to see my Lady…”
Alya snorted at his antics as Chat darted off out of sight…
Or at least back safely out of their view and into that empty little broom closet.
It was only after Chat Noir had safely slipped into the closet and let the door snick closed that he let his connection to Plagg spiral free.
Cameras were out all around from tourists and braver locals alike, and they took the opportunity to snap some pictures of him as he had maneuvered away. Not anything new, exactly. Being Adrien Agreste was bad enough…
He was drawing a little too much attention as Chat Noir, and was barely able to get away to de-transform.
But even as Adrien, he was too recognizable… too drawn into crowds demanding autographs...
At least he had a hoodie he’d snagged from the box marked Lost and Found. He could return it to there once he’d understood what was going on.
He slipped out of the tiny room as nonchalantly as he could.
Whoever this Ladybug clone was, she was clearly messing with him. He’d only broken gaze on her for a moment, but that was enough for her to sneak out of sight.
She couldn't have gotten far, though… not without someone noticing.
With as precise as she’d been with that yo-yo, Adrien was almost certain she was the real deal. Then he was sure it was her—it had to be. Especially if there wasn’t an Akuma in the mix.
If it wasn’t an Akuma… what was it? It was too small to be a Sentimonster.
Anxious now, Adrien’s gaze roamed each gallery in sequence, to see if he could find another Ladybug hiding in plain sight.
...but as he’d thought, the second one had disappeared entirely. There wasn’t even a telltale flash of red anywhere among the Akuma Rogue’s Gallery.
Shaking his head, he checked again. There had to be something… some hint he was missing.
Ladybug was counting on him after all.
One more rapid loop around the museum proved that not even a hint of scarlet—that he hadn’t expected to see—had lingered.
The panic of the crowd might have ebbed away, but there were definitely far fewer people than had been there before. Some had definitely fled—could they have also seen her statue too? The prospect of statues moving on their own would definitely be a little much for some...
But Adrien? His sense of panic had yet to abate. He tried to mentally catalog what he was seeing, hoping his focus would reign in the anxiousness.
There was Jagged. And himself. Nadja Chamack. Aurore. Marinette. The Mayor and Audrey Bourgeois.
Clara Nightingale. Bob Roth and XY.
Marinette. Philippe Candeloro. That director he'd worked with...
Adrien blinked… peering cautiously over his shoulder.
“Did you just see…?” He whispered to Plagg..
He didn’t say Marinette’s name… he didn’t dare. Surely, he was going crazy.
Plagg was just amused at his panic, hovering in the shadows of his hoodie pocket. “I didn’t notice anything…”
Adrien frowned. Alya and Nino were watching for alerts… they’d promised Chat Noir after all. Plagg would let him know if he got a message.
Adrien shook his head, tugging down his hood as he sprinted through the exhibit.
A guard cried out. “No running!”
That was the only thing that had remotely slowed him down.
But it was Marinette he was seeing, over and over again.
He rubbed his eyes before rushing back around the exhibits.
There was one… solidly there, right beside Jagged Stone.
Slipping his phone back out of his pocket, he pulled the selfie back up, matching the image he’d captured of statue with the clothes that don’t fall just right. The one with Marinette’s sweet expression and the victory sign.
His eyes slipped up, matching the glassy eyes blue as his fingers flew automatically over the keys to fire off a message to Marinette. “Are you still busy at home?”
She answered quickly. “I’m still busy, yes.”
Adrien’s head shot up, peering suspiciously back towards the other room, where his own statue—the one he’d spent hours on end posing for—stood.
Marinette—the other one—was waiting beside Adrien’s wax double.
She was holding his hand… his ring hand… with an impish smile on her face; one that looked all too familiar, though his brain was stumbling to place just where else he’d seen it.
Suddenly, his mind began putting the pieces together. He glanced down at his phone, checking back through his messages...
“Well, she has kept me busy...” He blinked, as he scrolled over the words.
Marinette had claimed to be busy… But he had assumed she was babysitting. She never exactly answered on that particular point.
He knew that kind of lying all too well...
And Marinette had appeared only after Ladybug had disappeared…
He’d written her off as Ladybug long ago—he’d seen her beside Ladybug. But then… there had been another Ladybug there too. His partner had always been reluctant to delve into any of the details with that particular Akuma…
Now, he knew that Alix’s watch had actually been a Miraculous… one that granted time traveling powers…
Had Ladybug actually managed to skip through time and save them all twice over?
He had even called Marinette their everyday Ladybug. Maybe that had been a little more on the nose than he had figured.
Adrien exhaled the breath he hadn’t even realized he’d been holding back when he found himself standing in front of her. He was just about to turn, to check the other statue again when he saw her eyes blink…
He hauled back, gently pressing the palm of his hand against her shoulder. Testing it.
She was stock still, utterly immobile.
But she also was warm...
Impulsively, Adrien hugged her, rocking her a little off balance.
And she practically melted, warmth and wonder filling his arms.
“Marinette?” Adrien pulled back, just enough to see her face. Just enough to reassure himself that all of this was truly real. “Is it really you this time?”
Grinning, she hugged him back, rising up on her tiptoes. Whispering into his ear… “What do you think, Chaton?”
He’s baffled, and all the more worried that Marinette has now put herself at risk. Did she really want him to figure her out, after so long of keeping even the slightest hint of who was hiding behind Ladybug’s mask under wraps?
The rush of butterflies that filled his belly on her behalf only served as a sobering reminder. Hawkmoth was still out there… never letting them rest for long.
“It’s funny, you know.” She smirked, tapping her fingers against his doubles waxen hand. “They really didn’t get one detail just right…”
She pointedly tapped at his ring finger…
Adrien’s eyes flew wide, gaping at her in astonishment.
His eyes searched hers, relishing the warmth and humor in her clever blue eyes. But it was the compelling mix of confidence and quiet concern that drew him in, warring much as it had even from that first day...on either side of her mask.
Wrapping his arms around Marinette again, he tugged her up into a tightest hug he could manage. Tighter still than he had when she’d rescued herself from Dino-Animan’s maw, when he was so sure he’d lost her before. He didn't even care about the crowd he was certain had gathered from the not-so-hushed murmurs that filled his ears. He could worry about that later. After she’d purrsuaded him to let her go...
“Oof.” She murmured, the exclamation spilling from her lips to brush just beside his rapidly warming ears.
Adrien grinned, gently relaxing his grip a little. But he didn't dare to pull away from her...not even a centimeter.
It had been incredibly difficult to abide by Ladybug’s wishes. To let go of that handle and walk away, when all he’d ever wanted was to hold her close. He’d never dreamed he’d been finding her, little by little, all along.
“I think I really am in heaven…”