Work Text:
Alix had been promising them the best anniversary gift ever.
She’d been hinting about it since a little while after they’d made the decision to hand out most of the miraculouses on a more permanent basis. Everyone on their team had grown into quite capable superheroes over the years, Rena Rouge could make illusions so real she could practically fool herself, Carapace could keep his shield up for hours before he started to run out of energy, and Ryuuko could practically become a full sized storm cloud on command. But Bunnix, she was beginning to get around towards what she was like when Ladybug had first met her and she was keeping an eye out for timetagger to appear and finish that specific time loop but until then Alix had been busying herself looking for all the points she’d intervened in between then and now.
She’d pruned off a few of the Chat Blanc timelines that Ladybug had told her about and even sorted out a few breaks in the timeline that Ladybug hadn’t even noticed the first time around. Every now and then she’d have to take someone with back or forward to fix what she’d found but for the most part it was work she could do on her own and at her own pace. But back in her present she’d been holding off one special thing she needed help to fix because it was special.
A few months ago she noticed a very specific anachronism, a day that didn’t go like it was recorded, a day that so many of the ones to follow had been built upon. This was a day that forged so much of what was now their present. This was something that was a huge priority but it was something that required power’s she didn’t have and it was an event that was personal to almost everyone she’d need to involve to fix it so she decided to take them all together on their anniversary and let them each personally see some of the other’s favorite memories of them from another side.
She’d planned out a whole trip to build up to where they’d have to intervene, their gift would be a literal walk down memory lane but ultimately she did have a mission to complete by the end of this. So finally when the day came she met the trio about to set out on their date night with her offer.
——-
Stepping through the portal and out of Bunnix’s burrow everything looked pretty much the same, Paris hadn’t changed too much in their lifetimes so they guessed it had to have been something in the past few years, Bunnix was leaving them to figure it out for themselves before telling them outright what the event was that needed their subtle interference.
They’d popped out of the portal on the rooftop of Notre Dame, so they had a good vantage point for figuring out when they were.
“Hey that’s your parents bakery isn’t it?” Chat pointed out eagerly.
Ladybug just rolled her eyes and kept searching the city’s skyline for something to help identify what Bunnix had in store for them.
“All your old stuff is still on the roof too,” Ryuuko mused, “ you must still live there.”
Ladybug finally turned to investigate, “That might actually help narrow it down, does it look like I’m in the room or could we take a look around?”
“Nah, I think I see you in class.” He had his screen opened on his staff letting him zoom in and peek through one of the school’s windows. “Look, you’re yelling at Chloe”
“Oh that definitely narrows it down,” Ryuuko quipped dryly, “we’ll just have to guess which one of her bratty behaviors set off our princess here and then we can just figure out which of the hundreds of arguments it happened to be.”
Ladybug groaned, “You’ve been hanging around with this goofball too much, besides this mission might not have anything to do with our past selves. All Bunnix really said is that it was something for all of us to deal with together.”
“So, then what? You want me to turn into air and go get a look at your diary over there so we can pin down a date? I can get in and out of that lock box of yours pretty easily”
“That’s really not something you should be telling me, how often have you peeked at my diary?” Ladybug asked slyly.
“Oh, not this again, I thought it was your new guardian grimoire-“
“Or so you say…” Ladybug said sarcastically imitating the first time they’d had this argument. “But yeah, if nothing else that’d be a good place to get a look at one of my old calendars and we can just work from there.”
Ryuuko nodded and turned to head off across the river to her old balcony before Chat interrupted and stopped her, “Wait, I think this was my second day at this school.” He was still staring off at their classroom, mesmerized by the younger Marinette’s fury. “You even got Chloe to move seats.”
Ryuuko nodded and accepted his assessment but Ladybug just looked to the sky in confusion, “... that can’t be right at all?” She mumbled to herself.
“Oh! Isn’t this when you said you fell for him?” Ryuuko teased, mimicking the excitement that Marinette sometimes got over the dramas she sometimes gushed over.
“Right?” Chat giddily joined in with Ryuuko’s teasing, “How did you put it? A ‘Coup de foudre’? Love at first sight? One day into your gigantic crush?”
“Oooo, do you think Bunnix just sent us back to revisit a bunch of our romantic moments?”
“But it can’t be…” Ladybug just stared off at the horizon, pacing about a bit and snapping her attention to all the different directions.
“What? Not wanting to relive your embarrassing early days of your crush?” Ryuuko smugly asked
“Yeah, we already know how awkward you can be.”
“But it wasn’t at first sight.” Ladybug mumbled aloud to herself.
“What do you mean? You said it yourself? ‘Coup de foudre’ (love at first sight)” Chat questioned.
“No I said it was a…” she looked around in a panic until her eyes settled on Ryuuko “...‘Coup de foudre’ (lightning strike)”
Feeling the eyes settling on her Ryuuko became confused, “What? Why are you looking at me? I wasn’t here for this?”
“But what if you were…?” Ladybug pondered.
“Ok, you’ve lost me. Do you want your past self to fall in love with her instead of me?”
“Kitty, no. Look at the sky.”
“Yeah, it’s a beautiful day to fall in love.”
“But not the day I remember.” Ladybug looked at them both, seeing nothing but blank stares and sighed, she’d clearly have to explain further, I didn’t fall in love when I first saw you, I hated you that first day. It was after school, in the rain, you gave me your umbrella. I fell in love when you showed me kindness.”
“Awww, you’re such a sap.” Chat grinned
“So we’re waiting around until afternoon?”
“No,” Ladybug groaned, “pay attention, why would he give me an umbrella in this weather?” She watched their faces as realization washed over them. “We’re here to change the weather,” she turned to Ryuuko, “You’re the lightning that struck the moment I fell in love the first time!”
——
It was a few hours before they needed to put their plan into action Chat and Ladybug each used their weapons to watch the weather maps and help and help Ryuuko direct her storefront, to bring a light rain into Paris right as the school let out. The younger Marinette walked out the door, right as the rain began. Adrien approached her to apologize, right on schedule. He shielded her from the rain. The Umbrella snapped shut on her. They shared a laugh. And.. 3, 2, 1, “NOW!” Ladybug relayed into her communicator. As a bolt of lightning descended and landed beside them on the rooftop. Thunder echoing down to the street below as Marinette stood breathless and Adrien made his way to the car.
The three watched satisfied as the rest of the rain Ryuuko had gathered began to fall and a blue portal opened and Bunnix invited them back inside to go back to their future together.