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When Marianne first gets a phone call from Ladybug several months after she’s left Paris, the first emotion she feels isn’t horror. It isn’t sadness. It isn’t emptiness at the thought that the love of her life has lost all his memories.
Relief is what first floods through her.
All she can feel is relief. Relief that Fu is no longer bound to the Guardian box, relief that he’s no longer in danger, relief that perhaps finally, after all these years, they can finally be together.
Or, well, she hopes that’s the case. It may be selfish of her, but it’s been years. It’s been way too long since she and Fu have had the chance to be together. So perhaps now, after all this time, they’ll be able to put all of their memories related to the Miraculouses in the past.
Those are the thoughts that go through Marianne’s head as she steps off the train and into Paris’ train station. Because she could be selfish just this once, right?
Her heart decides the answer for her the moment she sees Fu standing next to Marinette.
He’s here.
He’s here and alive and well and gosh, it’s only now that she’s seeing him that she realizes how much she’d missed him—
Their gazes meet one another’s.
Two pairs of eyes, ones that have seen so, so much, yet in the end, have only been looking for each other.
At first, Marianne’s worried Fu won’t recognize her, that perhaps all her wistful thinking would be to no avail. And yet the second she steps off the train, the second their eyes meet, he smiles at her.
Marianne smiles back.
A spark—one that has been there for a long time—is reignited.
“It's incredible,” Fu muses as she walks over to him. He stares at her with a surprising amount of affection in his eyes for someone he’s supposed to have just met. “I've only just met you, and yet my heart is beating as if I've known you forever.”
Marianne feels herself blush. Well, then. That answers her question.
It’s been years. It’s been years since the two of them have ever even remotely had a relationship. Marianne had given up the hope of this ever happening ages ago. But now. . . .
Well, it’s a possibility. And she’s willing to take it.
“You should always trust your heart,” she says, reaching over to take his hands in hers.
Fu smiles at her. They exchange a few pleasantries with Marinette—the poor girl, watching them say goodbye to her with tears in her eyes. Marianne’s heart aches at the thought of leaving her here. It must be hard, after all. She has the weight of Paris on her shoulders, and the fight with Hawk Moth is getting harder and harder.
Yet this is the time for Marianne and Fu to put all their hardships aside and move forward. Marianne vows to talk to her every once in a while to let her know how Fu is doing. She’ll try her best to support Marinette in any way she can, but. . . .
Marinette’s strong. Marianne knows she is, and, with Chat Noir by her side, there’s no doubt that she’ll be able to take on anything.
And so, they say their goodbyes, Marianne gestures to Fu, and the two of them take their first steps onto the train.
It doesn’t take them long to find their seats and get comfortable. Pretty soon, they’re seated side by side, sitting in silence as they wait for the train to begin moving.
Marianne suddenly feels like a teenager again. She’s tongue-tied. She’s not exactly sure what she should say. It’s been years, and she can’t exactly talk to him about the memories that had happened in the past.
Fu spares her from having to say anything. He turns towards her, a star-struck look still in his eyes when he asks, “where are we going?”
“London,” Marianne says.
“And why London?”
She pauses. “London. . . . is a much better place to be in than Paris, for now.”
Fu frowns. Marianne’s worried he’s going to pry, but he doesn’t. It’s almost as if he knows her enough to tell when it’s best not to push.
And he does.
The train begins to move, starting their journey.
“Can you tell me a little bit about yourself, then?” he asks instead. “What is your name?”
“Marianne,” she answers.
“Marianne,” he repeats, a smile finding its way onto his face. “That’s a pretty name. It suits you.”
Flatterer.
She finds herself blushing, though. Just the slightest bit.
“Thank you.”
Marianne knows the way the Miraculous memory wipe works. It may wipe memories associated with the Miraculouses, but it doesn’t wipe away the feelings that come with them.
She can’t even begin to imagine how confused Fu must be with all of his emotions at the moment, and yet. . . .
“You told me I should always follow my heart,” Fu says. “And my heart is telling me that you are my true love. Why is that?”
Marianne smiles as she reaches over to entwine their fingers together. “You and I have a long history together.”
“Do you remember that history?”
“Not all of it is good.” She recalls memories of being in World War ||, memories of fleeing, memories of them separating, unable to find each other for years. “But there were some wonderful things that happened.”
“I see,” Fu says. “Could you. . . .”
“It’s best not to dwell on that past,” Marianne says softly.
The memories are what make up who they are as people, it’s true.
But Fu no longer has those memories.
And perhaps it's for the best. Years of being hurt, years of running and running, have been wiped away with a single sentence.
It’s a new start for the two of them. It’s best they make the most of it.
Fu nods. He seems slightly disappointed, but doesn’t ask her more. “Okay. Then why don’t you tell me about yourself, instead?”
“Well. . . .”
It’s awkward at first. They stumble and stutter their words, struggling to find a rhythm, but soon, it works out. Marianne finds it easy to talk to Fu—the same way she felt when talking to him when they were young.
They talk about anything and everything. About the things they like, the things they enjoy doing, and memories of their pasts.
Or, well, different versions of those memories. Fu tells stories of childhood friends, a lifetime of training and training and training, and feeling like a failure for disappointing his mentors.
The stories have shifted. The memories are tied to the Miracle Box, to the Miraculouses, but those details don’t come to the surface.
But the emotions do. The emotions are still there. The emotions of what happened, the emotions he’s felt over the years, he still feels and lives with them.
It’s why they’re able to connect so quickly, because it's easy; the love they feel for each other is simple. It’s not complicated at all.
It’s just there. And she loves that.
They continue to talk through the rest of the two hours they’re on the train. And, when they’ve exhausted that, they simply revel in each other’s presence, and all Marianne can think about is how she’s looking forward to the time they’ll be able to spend with each other.
Soon enough, they’re at their stop in London. Marianne turns and smiles at Fu.
“Are you ready?” she asks as reaches over and takes his hand in hers, letting them fit together just like they’re meant to.
Fu squeezes her hand back, smiles, and nods.
It’s time for a new day, a new beginning, Marianne muses as the two of them make their way off of the train. It’s a time where they can finally move on from the past, leave behind the old and make new memories, ones they both can cherish.
It won’t be easy. But Marianne’s willing to take the steps to do it.