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“This isn’t goodbye,” Ladybug sniffed, running her hand through Jaguar’s black hair. “This is just until we see each other again, my love.”
His brown skin had cooled in the time she sat on the hard ground, cradling his head in her lap. They had taken down Zanrinian, but she couldn’t say it was worth the cost. Jaguar had protected her, taken the blast meant for her, just as he always did. He was alive one moment, smiling and winking, and then he was…
Green light washed up his body and Ladybug studied the face she had never fully known.
“His name was Malcolm,” the cat kwami said, dropping into her lap.
“Malcolm,” she echoed.
“A good man,” Plagg sighed. “He loved you.”
“I know. I love him too.” Ladybug leaned down and pressed her lips to his forehead.
“You need to go now, Bug. There are things I have to do.”
She nodded, gently shifting Malcolm’s head to rest on the ground. They’d done this before too many times; she’d had to endure this too many times. She stood up on shaky legs and began to walk away.
“He’ll find you again,” Plagg promised.
Ladybug turned, eyes sad. “Malcolm won’t.”
“No, not Malcolm,” he replied.
“I don’t know how many more times I can do this, Plagg. I can’t keep watching them die.” Her voice broke as she looked back down at Malcolm’s broken form. “I love him. He was supposed to be mine. How…this shouldn’t have happened.” Tears spilled over her mask and down her face.
“Tikki always claimed you two are the lucky ones, but I’m not so sure which side has it worse.”
“That makes both of us.” She wiped at her eyes and straightened, refusing to look down at Malcolm again. “See you in the next life, Kitty.”
“Stay safe, Bug.”
__________________________________________
Marinette woke up the morning of her fifteenth birthday with the knowledge of every life she had lived before. She suddenly simply remembered every battle, every former name and face, every scar and pain that had no place on her current body. The small box containing the Ladybug earrings sat on her nightstand, appearing like magic just as they always had.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng took on the mantle of Ladybug for the first time and also for the seventh time. It hurt her head to think about it too much.
She went through the usual motions of bringing Ladybug into the public light, and it wasn’t long before she met him.
Her newest partner called himself Chat Noir. He was cheeky and sweet and just as self-sacrificing as the others had been. Plagg certainly had a type.
“How are you on this fine evening, my Lady?” he asked, dipping into an exaggerated bow. He swept up her hand in his and pressed his lips to her knuckles and then another to her pinky finger.
“I’m well, Chat, and yourself?” she asked primly, pulling her hand away with a frown.
Unfazed, he straightened with a grin. “Much better now that you’re here.”
“Shall we then?”
“We shall,” he chuckled, extending his baton and taking off on their normal patrol route.
Ladybug watched him for a few moments, chewing on her bottom lip, before swinging out after him.
__________________________________________
“It’s a silly rule, Marinette,” Tikki said, nibbling on a cookie. “I see no reason why you keep doing this to yourself.”
“I don’t want another Black Cat’s blood on my hands, Tikki. I would think you could understand that.”
“Chat’s not going to die just because you show him a little attention.”
“That’s how it always starts.”
Tikki sighed and floated down to Marinette’s lap. “I’m sorry this burden has been placed on you again and again. If I could take it away, I would.”
“I know,” she whispered. She looked up at the stars. It was funny. No matter how many lives she lived, the stars never changed. They, and Tikki, were her constant. The kwami suddenly zipped under the lounger.
“Good evening, Princess,” Chat Noir smiled, dropping down from her balcony railing.
Marinette sat up. “Chat Noir? Is there an akuma?” She looked around in alarm.
He held up both hands. “No akuma. I just wanted to drop in and say hello.”
“Oh, um, hello,” she said, giving him a little wave. “Do you usually drop in on random citizens?”
“Only the cutest ones,” he winked. She raised an eyebrow and he cleared his throat. “Okay, confession: this is the first time I’ve ever socially visited anyone in costume.”
Marinette couldn’t hold back a small smile. “And why did I receive such an honor?”
“I enjoyed working with you a few months ago with that artist akuma guy and well, I thought it would be nice to see you again.”
“I see.”
He shifted uneasily. “If you don’t want me here, I could go.”
“You can stay.”
He beamed at her. “Thanks.”
“So, what do you like to do when you aren’t saving Paris as Chat Noir?”
Chat Noir frowned. “I don’t really get to do a whole lot actually. My father is a bit overprotective. I’m homeschooled so…maybe we shouldn’t talk about that. Secret identity and all.”
“Right,” Marinette nodded, “Sorry.”
“It’s all a little new to me too,” he admitted. “Ladybug’s much better at this hero stuff than I am. I guess it comes a little more naturally to her.”
“I’m sure you’re doing just fine.”
“Maybe.”
“Are you hungry? I have some—“
“Yes.”
Marinette laughed and Chat Noir flushed a bit. “Stay right here. I’ll bring us up some snacks.”
__________________________________________
“He’s so cute,” Marinette sighed as Nino walked across the courtyard, grinning at something Kim was doing.
“He looks a lot like Malcolm,” Tikki commented, poking her head out of the purse. “I can see why you like him.”
“He’s cool too…and sweet.” She looked down at her kwami. “Do you think it’s possible he’s…”
Tikki shook her head sadly. “Plagg doesn’t usually change appearance that much, Marinette. Nino isn’t Chat Noir.”
“I guess I knew that.”
“That’s no reason you can’t be with him though.”
Marinette watched Alya sneak up behind Nino and put her hands over his eyes. He smiled widely, covering her hands with his own, his mouth forming her name. Alya laughed and circled him, kissing his cheek. “That’s not the only reason it wouldn’t work,” she finally said. “Come on, I’m going to be late for class.”
__________________________________________
“Sorry!” Marinette apologized, stooping down to pick up the scattered fabric samples she dropped in surprise.
“No, I’m sorry,” the stranger exclaimed, joining her. “I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.” He gathered the few around him and stacked them together. “These are some really nice patterns.”
“Thanks, I’m working on…” Marinette looked up and her throat went dry.
The stranger looked back at her with an expectant expression. “You’re working on?” he prodded.
“You’re Adrien Agreste.”
A stiff smile locked into place on his face as they both stood. “I am. And you are?”
“Marinette,” she blinked. “Uh, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
“Dupain-Cheng,” he repeated. “I like the way that sounds.”
“I honestly don’t know how to respond to that,” she replied with a blush. “Um, thanks?”
“You’re welcome,” he grinned and something about it felt more real than the previous smile. “So are you going to tell me what you’re working on?”
“It’s just a little design project,” she muttered. “I doubt…it’s nothing you’ll be seeing at Gabriel any time soon, I can assure you.”
He leaned in. “You probably don’t know this, but I happen to be an expert in design projects.”
She giggled. “And here I thought you were just a pretty face.”
His eyes widened for a moment and Marinette feared her teasing had gone terribly wrong. Suddenly Adrien let out a loud laugh. “I think I like you, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”
“Always good to be liked,” she murmured, embarrassment coloring her face.
A loud clearing of a throat made Adrien drop his head and then looked to the side. A large gorilla of a man stood in front of a town car with his arms crossed.
“Looks like I’ve been found,” Adrien sighed, turning towards the car. “It was nice to meet you, Marinette. Maybe I’ll get to see that project when you finish it.”
“Sure,” she said softly, watching him walk away.
__________________________________________
“Have you ever told anyone your identity?” Chat Noir asked, swinging his legs, heels knocking against the brick of the ledge they sat on.
“Once.”
“So someone knows?”
Ladybug shook her head. “Not anymore.”
“What’s that mean?”
“They died.”
“They died?! Who died? When? We’ve only been doing this gig for a year or so. Bugaboo, you should’ve said something!”
Ladybug sighed. “Calm down, will you? It’s a long story. No one has died in this life.”
“Want to run that by me one more time?”
“You’re just full of questions tonight, Chaton.”
He looked at her with an expectant expression on his face. Ladybug felt the strangest sense of déjà vu. “I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to tell you, but I suppose I may as well now.”
“I’m listening.”
“I’ve been Ladybug for roughly around one hundred and thirty years.”
Chat Noir snorted. “Wait, are you serious?”
She nodded. “Not this me, I suppose. I guess you could say I’m reincarnated, maybe? Every life I get the Ladybug Miraculous on my fifteenth birthday and then I can just remember all my previous lives.”
“Over the past one hundred and thirty years?”
“Give or take.”
“Oh,” he breathed. “You aren’t lying to me, are you?”
“It would be a pretty elaborate lie, and I can’t imagine the reasoning I would have.”
“Maybe you just want to tease me.”
She tapped his bell. “I can do that without lying, Kitty.”
He frowned then. “Is that the way it’s supposed to happen? I don’t remember anything from another life.”
“As far as I can tell, it only happens with me. I’ve worked with other Miraculous holders in the past but none of them seem to come back.”
“So you knew other Black Cats?”
Ladybug nodded. “I’ve always had a Black Cat for a partner.”
“Oh. What happens to them?”
“Different things.”
“Bad things?” Chat Noir asked. She looked at him sadly and he nodded. “Thought so. Is that why you’re so distant sometimes?”
“I didn’t think you noticed.”
“I notice everything about you.”
“You shouldn’t say things like that,” she replied in a quiet voice.
“I can’t help it.” Chat Noir swallowed thickly. “I know who you are.”
Ladybug’s head shot up. “What?”
“I, uh, I know?” He held up a clawed hand. “See?”
“See what?”
Chat Noir looked down at his hand. “The red line tied around my pinky finger. You can’t see it?”
Ladybug stood up. “Is this some kind of joke?”
“No!” he promised, standing with her. “I don’t know why you can’t see it, but I promise it’s there. It’s our line, our connection.”
Ladybug took a few steps away from Chat Noir, horrified by the abrupt parallel of past and present that rocked through her.
“It’s our line, our connection,” Jaguar said, voice soft as he cradled her gloved hand in his. “It’s how I found you, Sophie.”
Ladybug smiled softly at him. “You’ll always find me, won’t you, my sweet cat?”
“Always.”
“You’re not him,” she whispered, coming back to the present.
Chat Noir frowned. “Not who?”
“Malcolm. You’re not Malcolm.”
“I don’t know who that is.” He reached out a hand. “Please don’t go, Marinette. Please.”
“I can’t…” she shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand. Tears glistened in her eyes. “Don’t follow me,” she warned before she lashed out her yo-yo and swung away.
__________________________________________
“She hates me,” Adrien sighed. “She hates me and she never wants to see me again.”
“Good grief, you’re overdramatic,” Plagg complained, pulling out a chunk of Camembert. “Bug just needs some time. The last Black Cat with your ability did a bit of a number on her.”
“What happened?”
“He could see their soulmate line, like you can. He had already fallen head over heels for her at that point so when he found her outside the mask, he was a lost cause.”
“He died obviously,” Adrien said flatly.
Plagg nodded. “Protecting her. She never knew who he really was until afterwards. She came from an important family, and he was afraid…well, times were different back then. Malcolm and Sophie never truly got the chance to be together. I think that’s always haunted her.”
“But Marinette isn’t this Sophie person.”
“She is and she isn’t.”
Adrien dropped his head in his hands. “I don’t understand.”
“It’s a headache, Kid, believe me. In the simplest terms, Marinette is her own person, yes, but she’s got the memories of every former life she’s ever had. So while Marinette never technically met Malcolm, her heart still remembers him.”
“But if she’s the same soul essentially that keeps moving on to other lives, how is it possible that she’s my mate if she was also Malcolm’s? Shouldn’t I remember him too then?”
“That’s the part I don’t understand, Kid. Black Cats don’t reincarnate. We just don’t. I have to find a new holder every time.”
“What am I supposed to do?”
“I wish I knew,” the kwami answered miserably.
__________________________________________
“You have to get out of bed at some point,” Tikki said softly.
“No, I don’t.”
“Marinette.”
She huffed and pulled the blankets over her head. “He’s not Malcolm.”
“Well, I’ve got news for you; you’re not Sophie.”
Marinette poked her head out. “What?”
Tikki’s face softened. “Marinette, you were Sophie in another life, that’s true, but you’re you now. You can’t keep letting the past dictate your present.”
“Easy for you to say. You don’t have seven different people in your head.”
“But I’ve lived through more Ladybugs than history could ever remember. I’ve been watching over Ladybugs long before your soul became entangled with it.”
“Is Chat Noir lying about the soulmate line?”
“I can’t imagine why he would be. He’s obviously been smitten with you from Day One. And this explains why he’s been visiting you as Marinette for so long now.”
Marinette frowned. “I don’t love him.”
“That’s okay.”
Her brows knitted together. “I guess I do love him, but just not in that way. He’s my friend, my partner.”
“That’s okay too.”
“It’s not that I couldn’t love him,” she reasoned. “He’s…well, he’s kind of amazing, isn’t he?”
Tikki tried to hide her smile. “Chat Noir is something else, that’s for sure.”
“He’s cute and sweet and…”
“Charming and smart,” Tikki added.
“Yeah, and if I’m being honest, he’s ridiculously hot,” Marinette nodded. “He’s actually…Tikki, I think I do like him…when I take away all the guilt about Malcolm and just think about Chat…is that wrong?”
“Why would it be?”
“I don’t want to replace Malcolm. I know you said I’m not Sophie and I do get that, but it doesn’t change how I feel.”
Tikki paused thoughtfully. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing. You aren’t replacing Malcolm, Marinette. You’re making extra room in your heart for Chat.”
“And you think he’d be okay with that?”
Tikki glanced over her shoulder. “You should probably ask him.”
Marinette turned to see Chat Noir peeking into her skylight. He gave a sheepish wave and brought a bouquet of flowers in front of him in peace offering. “Did I mention sweet?” Marinette asked, moving towards the ladder.
“You did actually,” Tikki giggled.
“Hi,” Chat Noir said softly, slipping through the skylight.
“Hi, Kitty,” Marinette replied, scooting back on her bed.
“Uh, these are for you,” he offered, handing her the flowers.
She lifted them to her nose. “I love daisies. How did you know?”
He shrugged helplessly and something red caught Marinette’s attention. She set the flowers down and grabbed his hand. A thick red line was tied in a bow on his pinky finger. She gently lifted the string and startled as a similar bow appeared on the pinky of her left hand. “I can see it,” she whispered.
Chat Noir straightened. “The line?”
She looked up at him in wonder. “I want to see your face.”
“Plagg, claws in,” he said immediately.
“Adrien Agreste?!”
“Surprise?”
“You bumped into me on purpose,” she accused.
“Guilty,” he grinned. “I’ve actually tried to a few more times, but I kept getting caught before I could make it to you.”
She stared at him incredulously.
“I’m still me,” he said self-consciously. “I’m still Chat.”
“I know…you’re just…wow.”
“Wow good or wow bad?”
She tilted her head and smiled. “You’re my Chat.”
“Your Chat?”
Marinette blushed. “If you want.”
“Then you’re my Bug.”
“I think that sounds really nice,” she said, leaning against him. “Almost perfect actually.”