Chapter Text
Marinette had always loved to watch her parents work. To a four-year-old such as herself, the way they created beautiful – and delicious – treats out of seemingly thin air was magic. Normally, watching them would put her into an awe-filled trance, but today, she was distracted.
The day before, they sat her down for a very serious talk.
~~~
“Marinette, listen very carefully, okay?” Looking up from the cat plush in her lap, she faced her parents as they joined her on the floor.
“Yes, Papa?”
“You know how your mama and I go make treats for parties sometimes?”
Marinette nodded enthusiastically. “Because mama and papa make the bestest treats ever!”
“That’s right,” her mother smiled, tapping the toddler on the nose and making her giggle. “Normally, you’d stay with nice Madame Fortin, but she’s feeling a bit sick.”
“Is she okay?” Marinette pouted.
“She’ll be just fine,” her father reassured. “But that means we’ll have to take you to the party.”
Immediately, Marinette started bouncing with excitement. Her parents hadn’t taken her to one of their work parties before.
“Now, Marinette, you’ll need to be on your best behaviour,” her mother warned, but she kept bouncing. “You need to stay in the kitchen, where we can keep an eye on you, okay? This is a very important party.”
“Yes, mama! I promise!”
~~~
What they failed to mention to her, however, was that they were making treats for what she deduced could only be a royal ball. She could catch glimpses of the ballroom whenever waiters would walk in and out of the kitchen. She saw flashes of beautiful twirling dresses and elegant decorations, and soon she found herself inching closer and closer to the doors.
As the rush of waiters slowed down, Marinette saw her chance to peek her head out the doors. She was still within the kitchen like her parents told her to, she just wanted to peek.
She pushed the door open ever so slightly, and it was like she stepped into a whole other world she only caught glimpses of. A chandelier she didn’t notice before twinkled high above the party, its light reflecting off the shiny ballroom floor and twinkling off sparkling dresses. Everyone was dressed to the nines, dancing in the middle of the room while a live orchestra played off to the side. It was like something out of one of her fairy tale books.
As she leaned on the door to further peek into the room, only to lose balance and fall through. She stumbled and flapped her arms in an attempt to catch herself, only to end up falling on her bottom in vain. Already, Marinette could feel her eyes start to water. She was no stranger to getting hurt due to her clumsiness, but it didn’t mean it hurt any less.
“Are you okay?”
She looked up to find a boy with golden hair no older than herself standing over her with his hand outstretched. Hesitantly, she took his hand and let him help her up.
“I’m Adrien,” he smiled.
“I’m Marinette.”
She didn’t expect to find another kid here, and by the excited look on his face, he didn’t either. “Do you want to play, Marinette?”
She was torn. Adrien seemed really nice, and she really did want to play with him. But then she glanced at the kitchen doors, knowing she shouldn’t have left in the first place.
Marinette was about to tell him as much but then she glanced back at him. Maybe her hesitance showed on her face because Adrien’s previously excited smile started to fall. Immediately, she changed her mind.
“I’ll play.”
Instantly he started beaming and Marinette couldn’t help but beam right back. Taking her hand, Adrien led her through the ballroom, easily weaving around partygoers undetected. She followed him closely, not wanting to get lost as they left the ballroom and made their way down hallways and up the stairs until he opened a door and motioned for her to follow.
“Where are we?” she asked, looking around the room with fascination. It was huge and there were so many stuffed animals, it could be enough for a zoo. Marinette couldn’t help herself and went bounding towards a giant panda, wrapping her arms around it.
Adrien followed after her with a giggle. “We’re in my room!”
Marinette’s eyes blew wide open as she pulled away from the panda to look at him. His room must’ve been bigger than her entire flat! “Really?”
“Mhmm. We can play with anything in here! What do you wanna do?”
“…Do you have a hamster?”
Adrien did not, in fact, have a hamster. But he did have hamster plushies and that was enough to satisfy the two toddlers. They sat on his plush carpet each with a stuffed hamster and let their imagination run wild. In their minds, the two little hamsters must’ve travelled the entire world when the bedroom door flew open.
“Adrien? Adrien, are you in here?”
Two adults came rushing in, looking around the room before noticing them playing on the floor. They smiled upon seeing Adrien but immediately switched to confusion upon noticing Marinette.
“Mama, Papa!” Adrien grinned. “This is my new friend, Marinette!”
His father raised a brow while his mother kneeled down in front of her. Instinctively, Marinette scooted closer to Adrien.
“It’s nice to meet you Marinette,” she smiled kindly. “Can I ask where you came from?”
“The kitchens,” she replied.
Adrien’s father opened his mouth to say something before closing it in shock. “Adrien, what’s that on your hand?”
Adrien in turn looked confused before looking down at his hands. Right there on the palm of his right hand was a mark with the shape of a rose that definitely hadn’t been there when they first met.
His parents mirrored the same look of shock before turning to Marinette.
“Marinette,” his mother said, still wearing the same kind smile. “May I see your hand?”
She only hesitated for a moment before placing her hands in those of Adrien’s mother. It was then that she noticed an identical rose to Adrien’s on the palm of her left hand.
The room fell silent after that and Marinette started to grow uneasy. She squirmed in her spot as the two adults stared at her. Warmth bloomed in her left hand as she noticed Adrien had slipped his hand into hers.
“I’m sorry for leaving the party… I just wanted to play with Marinette,” Adrien apologized and that was enough to snap his parents out of their daze.
“It’s alright, Adrien,” his father reassured, but his eyes were still on Marinette. “It seems to have been for the better in the end.”
“Come, Marinette,” his mother said, standing up and holding a hand out to her. “Let’s take you back to your parents.”
~~~
When the four of them entered the kitchen, Marinette’s own parents turned to the doors and relief spread across their faces when they saw their daughter. Marinette ran to her papa and he eagerly scooped her up.
“Oh, Marinette we were so worried,” he frowned, hugging her close. “We told you to stay in the kitchen!”
“Mr. and Mrs. Agreste, we are so sorry,” her mother apologized, looking a bit worried. “She must’ve snuck out when we were busy.”
“It’s alright,” Mrs. Agreste smiled. “It seems like it was fate that Marinette decided to go exploring.”
Her parents looked back at her with matching looks of confusion.
“Adrien, show them your hand,” his father prompted and the boy did as he was told.
Just as Adrien’s parents did before, her parents’ eyes blew wide open. Sabine gently took Marinette’s hand in her own to confirm they indeed shared the same mark.
“Soulmates,” her father breathed in disbelief.
Mrs. Agreste grinned. “It looks like we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
Marinette didn’t understand much at the time, but she did know one thing.
She couldn’t wait to play with Adrien again.