Chapter Text
Marinette would always remember the day her mother explained the countdown.
"Marinette," Sabine spoke softly to her as she held Marinette in her lap. "Have you ever wondered what those numbers on your wrist meant?"
The younger version of herself held her wrist. She had never really given it much thought. Then again she was only five and barely knew how to count.
So she shook her head.
"Well," her mother began. Sabine ran a hand softly through Marinette's loose hair. "They count down to the most important day of your life."
"My birthday?" Marinette spoke excitedly. She loved the her birthdays; with her parents being bakers she had all the cake a kid could desire.
"No silly!" Her mother chuckled before continuing. "These numbers count down to the moment you find your soulmate. On the day it hits zero you'll feel the best feeling right here." She placed a hand on the girls chest
"A Hole mate? In my belly?"
"That's your heart my dear and it's Soulmate," her mother sounded it out carefully. "The day this turns to zero will be the moment you fall for someone. Sometimes it can be love at first sight. But if you are anything like me? It'll be when you bump a man into a pile of flour!"
Marinette giggled. Although young, she had heard the story of how her parents met over a thousand times. Staring down at her wrist the numbers seemed to mean nothing. After all a child barely understands time as it is.
"But Maman?" Marinette looked up to her mother.
"Yes dear?"
"Why do I have two?"
Over ten years had passed since and Marinette sat at her desk staring down at her covered up wrists. Each person was born with one countdown on one of their wrists but not Marinette. She had one on each wrist, something that puzzled every person who her mother asked. She couldn't help but wonder why she had an extra clock. Was it a dud? Did her first soulmate pass away? She didn't know.
Her mother always told her she must be twice as loved. But times had changed since her mother grew up. Soulmates were no longer certain to be the person you married. Sometimes they became best friends. Sometimes they moved away from each other and sometimes they even hated one another.
Marinette shivered at the thought.
She wished it was still the romantic idea it once was. But now people were more into deciding their own fate. A whole new industry of wrist fashion opened up just for accessories to cover up this count down. People no longer wanted to know. Knowing was too definitive. The younger generation wanted to date, they wanted to meet people without having to worry about the heavy weight of 'soulmates'. It was frequent for people to get married without ever pursuing their soulmate.
But no matter how hard they try to hide their Heart's Clock, there was no avoiding the pang in their heart the moment it hit zero.
Marinette was always teased about having two clocks as a child. Although her mother said to always wear her heart proudly on her sleeve. She couldn't do it. By age ten she had joined the trend of covering up her clock. She decided it would be way less stressful anyway. Knowing your clock could stop but your soulmates keeps ticking? It was horrifying. Sure sometimes it just took longer for one partner to reach zero. But it wasn't impossible for their's to be for someone completely different.
She was just about to start the new year and by far her most terrifying year. Because despite trying to hide her clock from herself, as a child she worked out what year it would be and this was it.
Marinette's week was coming to an end. The girl had so much on her mind. Anyone would if they became Ladybug.
The sky was dark as the rain bucketed down. School had ended five minutes ago and all the kids had already rushed off under their umbrellas. The girl kicked herself mentally for having not brought an umbrella that day. Her mother even told her too. Right now the image of that umbrella sitting on her desk taunted her.
"Damn," she kicked the ground lightly. All she could do was wait it out in front of school. It had to let up eventually right? Or so she thought to herself. Some heroine of Paris she was. How was she to do the job of protecting Paris when she couldn't even protect herself against the rain?
She sighed and looked out over the road. Cars drove past in a hurry with their windscreen wipers all at hard work. Life in Paris was always bustling even if it rained. Not many people were out walking but the roads were densely populated on a day like today. Marinette didn't even bother calling her mother, her house wasn't far enough away to merit the effort. Eventually she was going to have to step out in this rain, it was only looking bleaker and bleaker as she waited.
Marinette checked on Tikki, she made sure the Kwami had a nice warm spot in her jacket to sit. It was amazing how quickly she felt comfortable having Tikki around; the little god was as gentle as a mother to Marinette. She really hoped the poor thing wouldn't get too cold in this weather. Eventually she decided there was no point standing in the cold for any longer. She was going to get wet anyway right?
Or so she thought until a boy broke her train of thought.
Adrien.
From what she knew, this kid was some model friend of Chloe's. She caught him sticking gum on her seat on his first day and she definitely wasn't impressed. But he stopped to apologise and to explain himself. His words were so sincere. She had been completely wrong to just label him a friend of Chloe's.
But then he handed her his umbrella. Their eyes met and her fingers brushed against his at the clumsy handover.
That's when Marinette felt it.
Her heart. It felt as if it sunk but in a warm and reassuring way. She couldn't believe it was happening. Perhaps she was just having heart burn? She scolded herself for having that cake in the morning. But then she also felt a small pinch on her wrist, something her mother said would be a dead give away.
The umbrella closed on her head in that moment of shock. He laughed at her but in such a way that made her heart sing and caused her to giggle back. The moment seemed to last an eternity as she stared into his eyes. They were so beautifully green like a spring's day and his smile gentle and warm like a early autumn's morning. This boy had even just given up his umbrella for her. He barely even knew her and she barely knew him.
But Marinette knew she had fallen for him.
Her soulmate.