Chapter Text
Hugo glared at his twin sister as she pressed an ear to the closed door of their parents’ bedroom. She stuck her tongue out at him, listening carefully.
“Should we really be snooping, Emma?” Hugo felt exasperated.
“Of course, brother dear,” Emma rolled her eyes, “Mom and Dad are talking about something serious and I want to find out what it is.”
Hugo groaned, but his curiosity won out and he leaned his head against the door too.
“So, you and Luka, huh,” Adrien’s voice was quiet.
“You and I both know that this doesn’t work,” Marinette swallowed, and Hugo imagined her tugging on her dark locks, “And I like Luka.”
“I know,” Adrien whispered, “When are we gonna tell the kids?”
Emma’s eyes were wide, and she’d barged into the room before Hugo could say anything.
“What do you mean you like Luka,” Emma frowned, her blonde hair whipping over her shoulder, “What doesn’t work?”
“Listen, Emma,” Adrien started, “Later, I promise-”
“Hugo and I are fifteen,” Emma argued, “We deserve to know what’s going on.”
Hugo sighed, giving his parents an apologetic look. His sister could come on a little strong at times, and was incredibly nosy. Even now, her blue eyes were narrowed, her gaze darting between her parents.
“You’re right Emma,” Marinette squeezed her hand, “You’re father and I, well we haven’t really been together lately. It’s pretty complicated. We both love you, Hugo, and Louis so much, but we think that officially separating will be for the best.”
Emma stared at both of them blankly, speechless for the first time in her life. She’d wanted an explanation, but not this explanation. Memories of watching her parent’s wedding movie played in her head, their vows hopeful for the future. How could that all end like this?
She felt Hugo gently tug her away, and they sat in the living room, silent.
“It happens sometimes,” Hugo said finally, “People drift apart.”
“But they didn’t,” Emma shook her head, “They loved each other, everyone said they were soulmates. What went wrong?”
“Nothing,” Hugo shrugged, “Maybe their relationship was only meant to last this long. Maybe they dragged it out for our-”
He suddenly glanced up, realizing how dark the sky had turned. The city was slowly plunging into blackness, clouds covering the midday sun.
“An akuma,” Hugo frowned, “Perfect.”
“Oh, Ladybug and Chat Noir have it covered,” Emma waved his worry away, “Relax, take this time for a haircut.”
“A haircut?” Hugo tugged at his dark hair.
“You need it,” Emma said, wincing.
“Emma didn’t take that well,” Chat Noir vaulted over a rooftop, “At all.”
“Do you think we’re making the wrong decision, Chat?” Ladybug’s eyebrows scrunched together, “That’s weird, I don’t see the akuma.”
Adrien hesitated. Part of him wanted nothing more than to wish all of this away, to go back to them being a normal family. And yet the other part of him remembered the long hour they’d spent crying, realizing that they couldn’t work out.
“Of course not, m-Ladybug,” his muscles felt oddly stiff, “It’s for the best, and I hope she’ll see that one day. Do you think this isn’t an akuma?”
“No,” Marinette shook her head, “No one’s being terrorized or anything. Just be on the lookout.”
He gave her a swift nod, before ducking into the alleyways. They used to patrol together all the time, but eventually they’d split up doing it. Marinette would remember telling herself that it was more efficient that way, and now…
She suddenly felt a chill, and turned to see Chat behind her, shaking his head.
“Call your lucky charm,” he said, “There’s something wrong.”
She called it, and two passports fell into her arms.
“I’m confused.” Adrien looked toward her, “How are passports supposed to help us?”
“Not us,” she whispered, “Look.”
“Emma and Hugo,” he muttered, “Hey, how come it says that they were born the same year that we are? And it says that they go to Francois Dupont-”
A sudden bright blue light engulfed them, and the two of them looked up to see Bunnix, her fists clenched. She was flickering in and out of sight, and her face was twisted.
“I’m too late,” she closed her eyes, “Again.”
“Bunnix,” Marinette raised an eyebrow, “I don’t understand.”
“I shouldn’t be here,” Bunnix’s eye caught the passports, “Hold on, what’s that?”
“The lucky charm gave us passports for Emma and Hugo,” Adrien explained, “And they’ve got the birthdates wrong.”
Marinette’s eyes widened and she was staring at the red haired superhero. Suddenly shaking her head, she backed away.
“Don’t tell me that Emma and Hugo have to-”
“Go back in time,” Bunnix’s eyes were alight, “That makes sense. Whatever you need to stop this thing must be back there.”
“Our children can’t go back in time,” Adrien argued, “They don’t even know that we’re superheroes.”
“You’ll have to tell them,” Bunnix sighed, “I’m not too sure what this thing is, but I have my suspicions. And if I’m right, then we’re all in danger. You have to send them.”
Marinette exchanged a quick glance with Adrien, who was scowling. She didn’t like it either, but there wasn’t really a choice here.
“Okay,” she said, suddenly tired, “Let’s go talk to them.”
Emma stared at her brother, bewildered. They might have been twins, but they were the complete opposite of each other. She couldn’t even believe that he was just accepting that their parents were ending things.
“Is it just me,” Hugo started, “Or are Ladybug and Chat Noir taking their sweet time today?”
“You think something is wrong?” Emma momentarily dropped all thoughts of her parents from her mind, worried for the superhero duo.
There was suddenly a loud rapping sound from the window, and Emma and Hugo glanced to see Ladybug and Chat Noir, plus some bunny lady.
“Speak of the devil,” Hugo muttered, opening the window to let them in.
“Oh my god,” Emma was beaming, “Do you guys need help with anything? Me and Hugo could be your superhero buddies for a day! Wait what if-”
“We do need your help with something,” Chat Noir looked uncomfortable, “But-”
“But, these two need to tell you something else first,” the bunny lady interrupted.
The two superheroes glanced toward each other awkwardly, before releasing their transformations.
“OH MY GOD!! MY PARENTS ARE LADYBUG AND CHAT NOIR!” Emma was screaming, “OH MY GOD! OH MY GOD!”
“Why don’t you say it again? I don’t think the rest of the world heard you,” a tiny, floaty thing that resembled a black cat muttered grumpily.
“I just want to know what that thing is,” Hugo pointed to the small being.
It looked offended, but another red thing interrupted. “We’re kwamis. Long story short, we give Adrien and Marinette their powers. I’m Tikki and this is Plagg.”
Emma had slightly calmed down, extending her arm forward to greet the two. Adrien and Marinette were sheepishly grinning, and Hugo’s eyes were wide.
The room was suddenly filled with a loud clamor, and eventually the bunny lady interrupted.
“Look, I completely understand the shock, but the world is kind of ending here. Also my name is Bunnix, not bunny lady.” Bunnix’s arms were crossed.
“How did you-”
“Never mind,” Bunnix rolled her eyes, “I’ll give you a quick rundown. You both need to go back in time, and figure out what is causing this whole mess.”
“You’ll do fine,” Marinette assured them, giving each of their hands a squeeze, “If the lucky charm says you're the best people for the job, then I trust it.”
“Of course,” Adrien nodded, “We believe in you.”
“Wait,” Marinette jumped up, “You’ll need protection.”
She grabbed the miracle box, and opened it up to them.
Hugo took the snake miraculous, slipping the bracelet onto his wrist.
“Oooh,” Emma peered over the box, “I want the mouse one, that seems fun!”
“And have more than one of you running around,” Hugo snorted, “No thank you. Literally anything else, Emma.”
Emma rolled her eyes, but she fastened the dragon miraculous around her neck, feeling the rush of anticipation overcome her.
“Take care of each other,” Adrien whispered, gripping them in a tight hug.
“I love you,” Marinette’s smile was sad, but hopeful too.
And then, they jumped inside the portal, a bright blue light surrounding them from everywhere.