Chapter Text
Once again at Nathaniel’s house, Marinette stared despondently into her mug of cooling tea. Tiki and Pollen sat on each shoulder, hugging her neck and giving comforting words. Nathaniel had his own cup, half drank. This was far from the first death he had witnessed (or even caused) in all his theoretical years as Bunnix’s assistant so he was handling this better. Marinette on the other hand had likely never experienced a death of someone she knew before. She was taking this hard.
“Marinette-” Nathaniel began, but was cut off by an insistent pounding on the front door. He let the word hang in the air as he went to see what the visitor wanted. The kwami hid as you could see the table from the door as he opened it. Before he could get a single word out, Marc shoved past him to rush over to his cousin.
“Are you okay? I saw the news.” He asked, pulling her into a hug. Marinette started to answer, but broke down crying instead. Marc murmured soothingly into her hair, and then glared at Nathaniel.
“If this was your plan all along, I will stab you.” Marc hissed at him.
“I don’t know what you mean-” Nathaniel began, but Marc cut him off.
“Do I look stupid to you?!” He demanded. “You show up, Ladybug gets a new partner, Marinette is important enough to the timeline to warrant miraculous intervention? I know she’s Ladybug and you’re the new bee.” He snapped. Nathaniel started to answer, then noticed something.
“What happened to your neck?” It looked like someone with very sharp teeth had chewed on it. Nathaniel would know because he had seen the same marks on himself in the mirror several times. From Kelpie. “Oh my god did you-?”
“Don’t change the subject!” Marc interjected.
“Oh god your neck!” Marinette sobbed out, becoming more distressed. Marc looked conflicted, torn between comforting her and continuing to scold Nathaniel.
“Kelpie, what the fuck!” Nathaniel whined, knowing the other man would hear him. Sure enough one of Bunnix’s time portals opened and the rabbit herself stepped out. The Nathaniel from this universe followed her, looking vaguely uncomfortable. He was studiously avoiding eye contact with Marc, face red. Kelpie was next, looking completely unrepentant. Not that it was easy to tell with his horse skull mask.
“What the fuck ?” Time assistant Nathaniel questioned again. Marinette’s sobs had quieted and she was looking on in confusion. Pollen and Tiki had emerged from their hiding spots to watch the exchange.
“What? I got him to stop panting after you like a dog in heat. You’re welcome.” Kelpie huffed, crossing his arms. Marc flushed and looked like he was going to say something, but Bunnix cut him off.
“You guys can continue this later. Nathaniel, it’s time to go. The timeline is now on a steady course. Marinette,” She said, making her voice softer. “I’m sorry it ended like that, but you can’t hang up the Miraculous just yet. You know from our first meeting there is a Hawkmoth in the future.” Marinette nodded, pulling herself together.
“That new peacock wielder took the butterfly Miraculous before we could. He’s still out there.” She said, wiping off her face.
“If Hawkmoth is going to return, you really need to find your black cat, Marinette.” Tiki said.
“And a new rabbit holder.” Bunnix sighed. “Mini me has gone down the path of evil and even I don’t think trusting her again is a good idea. Don’t worry though, I have a suggestion for this one.” She said, shoving salt Nathaniel forward a step. He looked mildly bewildered.
“Me?” He asked.
“Sure thing. You just spent twenty four or so hours of time in there and aren’t showing any signs of madness. That shows surprising mental fortitude, which the rabbit needs. Most people we have to knock out for their own sanity around the two hour mark. The burrow passively messes with your mind like that. Weight of the universe or something fancy like that.” Bunnix said, waving a hand.
“Wait a couple more years before giving him the rabbit though. The rabbit requires a holder with no time limit, unlike the others who bond better if the host is younger when they first transform.” She added. Marinette nodded in understanding.
“It will be your job to feed him up a bit. He is way too skinny to sustain the strain of a Miraculous like the rabbit. No more depression fasting.” Kelpie said to Marc, while patting salt Nathaniel on the head.
“Oh don’t worry, I’ll keep him fed.” Marc purred suggestively, taking salt Nathaniel by the hand. “Just don’t try to ditch me again for a lying bitch and we’ll be just fine.” Salt Nathaniel muttered a small apology while time assistant Nathaniel mused at how bold salt Marc was. Kelpie had been Marinette levels of unable to talk to him like a normal person when they first met. When they first started dating, Kelpie had nearly fainted just holding his hand, though he was more sure of himself in private as time went on. It wasn’t until after his Marc became Kelpie that he was confident in himself enough to be so upfront about his wants in public. When they spent longer periods of time in their own universe and not adventuring for Bunnix, he still got to see that sweet, shy side of his boyfriend and time assistant Nathaniel melted just thinking about it. God he loved that man.
“Don’t think we’re not going to talk about how you apparently got a piece from yourself. ” Time assistant Nathaniel said, walking over to stand with Bunnix and Kelpie. Marinette’s eyes widened as she connected the dots and gasped in surprise. Marc just shrugged and grinned. Salt Nathaniel went as red as his hair and stared at the ceiling like it was interesting.
“Did you want to watch? He did.” Kelpie smirked, cocking his head towards salt Nathaniel. Time assistant Nathaniel gave a put upon sigh and handed the bee Miraculous back to Marinette.
“Take care of yourself, alright? Maybe rescue your Nathaniel from his boyfriend every now and then. It’s sounding like he might need it.” Marinette laughed slightly and hugged him.
“If you ever need to get away from your boyfriend, feel free to drop in.” She said, though they both knew this was likely the last time they would ever see each other. Time assistant Nathaniel gave one last wave before he followed Bunnix and Kelpie into the burrow, the time portal closing behind him.
“Hello Blanc.” He sighed as the white cat god latched onto him as soon as he was in the burrow. The god came and went, and was usually peaceable if they just let him hold Nathaniel like a security blanket.
“So who did become the new black cat in that universe?” Nathaniel questioned Bunnix as Blanc sniffed his hair.
“Well…”
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Several months had passed since time assistant Nathaniel had left their universe, and the one from her universe, Marc, and herself were starting at their new charter school. Marinette’s roommate was an upbeat girl who was excited to have a new friend, while Marc and Nathaniel had managed to get assigned to the same room. Which was probably a good thing since Marc had made good on his promise to take care of the other boy. Nathaniel was looking much healthier now that he was away from his negligent father, and was just overall happier. Marinette’s fashion line as MDC had really taken off, and she was set for university now money wise, and her line was still selling well. She had been talking with various clothing producers to outsource some of the sewing, as the demand had become far more than she could do alone.
Since they had missed most of the previous semester due to the ensuing drama, they had to repeat it, but none of them really minded. They could probably use the extra semester to get caught up since the educational quality was much better at this school than their old one. Today was the first day of the semester, and Marinette was paying more attention to her campus map than where she was going. So it wasn’t entirely surprising when she turned a corner and plowed head first into some poor boy.
“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry!” She gasped, on her knees trying to gather up the various papers the two of them had dropped.
“Don’t worry about it, you were pretty obviously lost in thought.” The stranger said, gathering his things at a much calmer pace. “Are you lost? I saw your map.”
“Just a little, this is my first day here.” Marinette admitted.
“It is mine as well.” The boy nodded slightly, coming to a decision. “Father instructed me to make friends, and we have common ground. Will you accept this charge?” He asked, sounding very high society. Marinette chuckled inwardly to herself, the boy reminded her of Kagami when they first met.
“Of course. My name is Marinette. What’s yours?” She asked, taking the hand he offered to help her up. The boy blinked slowly, as if surprised she didn’t recognize him, before replying.
“Damian Wayne.”