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Adrien was on the run from the akuma, barely minutes after transforming, when he spotted someone familiar. It was something about the shade of the hair and the flash of blue when she looked around in confusion. He didn’t even think before diving in to push her out of danger’s way because a second could cost too much.
She gasped, but as he tried to hold her in a way as not to hurt her, he couldn’t look at her, let alone apologise for tackling her. When they finally rolled to a stop and he looked around to see that the akuma had passed them by, he jumped off her and helped her up.
“I’m sorry... “ He started but then she looked up from dusting herself off and looked at him and the rest of the words got stuck in his throat. It was indeed Marinette, he realised. But wow. She looked so different.
For one, when she was up to her full height, she was as tall as him! Her hair was no longer in pigtails but in one elegant high ponytail and when she smiled, he noticed that her lips were not the usual glossy pink but a bright red that made his heart thunder in his chest for some reason.
“Marinette?” He said and he couldn’t help making it sound like a question. It was her and yet how could it be?
“It is me,” she said, her voice ringing as she chuckled at his confused expression. “I shouldn’t be surprised that my knight in shining leather found me even when I don’t know where I am.”
“You are from the future?” He ventured a guess, because she was her and yet older and she still knew him. And time travelling wasn’t the weirdest thing he’d witnessed anyway.
“That I am, judging by the fact that you’re still a kitty,” she grinned. Great way for her to remind him that he was basically a kid compared to her. When she was anything but.
To his horror, he felt his eyes move away from her face to dart down her tall form. He could pretend it was for the sole purpose of finding out how people in the future dressed (yeah, right), but it was because he couldn’t resist checking out the body that went with her older self. It was as spectacular as what he’d already seen of her.
Ok, stop, rewind. You don’t ogle your friends , he reminded himself. Even when they were from the future and older and apparently hot. Friends, yeah. He hadn’t even realised that he’d noticed things about present-day Marinette like the colour of her lips or the freckles that dotted her nose. And yet, he had. He didn’t know what to do with this information. What was wrong with him?
“Um, wow. Maybe we need to find Ladybug so she could get you back to your time then,” he said, trying to sound normal. But instead of moving, he found that he was frozen to the spot. So, so embarrassing.
“Are you ok?” She asked, a smile dancing on her lips. Stop looking at her lips!
“I’m just.. Wow. You look fantastic,” he admitted, feeling his cheeks warm up.
She surprised him again because instead of the blush he’d come to expect from her and a surprised squeak, she just smirked.
“Why, thank you,” she practically sang. “I’m surprised you noticed,” she added with a wink and he almost fainted. Who was this flirty and confident being that had taken over the (spectacular) body of his friend? He couldn’t believe that the shy girl who could barely string a sentence together around him had turned into this.. Goddess. Then again, Marinette had always been cute and it wasn’t as if he’d never noticed her.
Adrien, get a grip. He wanted to slap himself. He wasn’t himself, obviously, if he allowed himself to think that way of Marinette, present one or future one.
She was still looking at him with a curious smile, something inscrutable in her eyes. This was when he realised that she actually reminded him of someone else, not so much of the Marinette he knew. It was there in her posture, so elegant but also exuding power. In the smile and the devilish glint in her eyes.
He felt short of breath all of a sudden. She looked like Ladybug. What was more, she acted like the Ladybug that he knew. Totally unperturbed by his presence and with a knowing look that betrayed the fact that she knew exactly what effect she had on him.
Adrien blinked and for a second saw a flash of red around her eyes. It couldn’t be… then again, it wasn’t even the first time he’d thought that.
“M’lady?” he asked weakly.
She didn’t seem surprised, in fact she laughed in delight.
“Well, this didn’t take you long,” she said, sounding almost proud of him.
“Huh. So I was right. You were never just a friend,” he mused out loud. Not that this changed much. Even if he realised he felt something more for her, she was still as unattainable as she had been before. “Please tell me that I get myself together in the future and don’t act like a love-sick puppy around you.”
He hoped that in the future he’d come to accept the fact that she’d never be his and just move on. At present this still seemed so impossible to consider.
“Hm,” she said, a finger tapping her chin as she thought about it. Or pretended to because in a second she grinned at him again. “What if I tell you that you don’t really need to act like that? Because I’m definitely more than a friend in the future. With a girl added in front of it, actually.”
He looked dumbfounded at her. She didn’t mean what he thought she meant, right? Could he be lucky enough to win her over and actually call this gorgeous creature his girlfriend?
“Wow,” he sighed.
Just then, Ladybug, present-Ladybug, landed next to them.
“What are you doing, Chat? I’ve been waiting for you,” she asked. And then her eyes moved to the older girl and they widened. “What is happening here?”
“I got into a little bit of trouble, Ladybug, and need a lift home to the future,” Marinette, who was also her, said with a smile.
“We can arrange that,” Ladybug said quickly, taking out the rabbit Miraculous. She didn’t need to tinker much with it to find where to drop off her future self, which was no surprise.
“Thank you,” future Marinette waved at them and stepped through the portal.
“Wow. Did you see her?” Ladybug said in awe.
“Yeah, she looks fantastic,” he sighed happily and she looked sharply at him. “That is, you. Since you are her and… you know,” he trailed off with an awkward smile.
“You know?” She exclaimed, but then her future self peaked from the portal which was still open and pointed at him.
“Adrien, don’t waste your time, you know what you have to do,” she said before disappearing from view again. Yikes. Ladybug busied herself with closing the portal and taking off the rabbit before turning to him.
“Well?” She said, looking pointedly at him.
“That’s a funny story. Because I kind of recognised you in future Marinette. And since you, future-you, just did that, it means that you remember it like that. So maybe it won’t be so bad. Ha-ha.”
She still didn’t look impressed.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to find out?” He said in a small voice.
“What is it that you know you have to do?” She asked, cocking her head to one side. “Adrien.”
He shuffled nervously on the spot, all his usual bravado forgotten.
“Um, well, it turns out that you somehow fell for me in the future, because you became my girlfriend. Like, I don’t see this happening at all. Especially while I’m standing here, blabbering. Not impressive at all. Maybe you were joking? Although that would be a cruel joke indeed. And would make me very, very sad. Or I’ll just ruin my own chances and you’d change your mind.”
He felt a finger press lightly against his lips, making him pause in his litany.
“Woah. I should be the one freaking out, not you,” she said, shaking her head.
“Why would you be freaking out?” he tried to say around her finger and she removed it quickly as if burned.
“It’s you,” she said, as if this explained anything. “I didn’t just fall for you in the future. I fell for you a long time ago,” she continued, red dusting her cheeks.
“You did?” He gasped. She just nodded. “You mean that I actually have a chance?’
“If you think you want me as more than a friend,” she smiled.
“Marinette, you were never just a friend. Although as a friend you are one of the most precious people to me! It just took me too long to admit that there was more.”
The next thing he knew, it was her lips against his, which was even better than her finger. He wanted to kiss her so badly but then he realised something.
“The akuma?” he asked, pulling back a little. She just shook her head with a smile.
“I took care of it.”
“Phew. Come here then,” he said, pulling her back to him to finally, finally kiss the love of his life, present and future.