Work Text:
It was raining babies.
Félix wished it was a joke. But when he stepped into the street, children started falling from the sky—most were toddlers, some were babies wrapped in blankets. Fortunately, the impact didn’t hurt them; they merely dropped with a soft bounce, puzzling the passersby who witnessed it.
Pulling out his phone to hopefully get information from the news, Félix rounded a corner as the baby rain got stronger. They were dropping in fives, tens and then twenties and a handful would start crying in the unfamiliar environment. “. . . and no one knows whose children these are . . .” Félix heard from Nadja.
“Sheesh, that’s so weird,” said the kwami in his pocket.
“Keep quiet, Plagg,” he pushed the cat’s head down.
Akuma? Most likely. Encountered before? No, not at all.
He had a sinking feeling that this one wasn’t going to be easy.
Another problem was that the akuma itself wasn’t in sight. Félix ducked into a nearby alley and after checking that no civilian (or bawling child) was in sight, he called out his transformation words and vaulted onto the rooftop.
Just as he was about to scope out the area, a scream sounded out above him. His arms were stretched before he realized it, and a weight dropped down on them.
Azure eyes, a sharp nose curve and sleek black hair met him. The girl squirmed. Chat Noir rushed to put her down but she latched onto his leg, looking up at him.
“Um . . .” The hero trailed off, “Hello?”
The child blinked. “Pa.”
Pa? Chat Noir examined the place and saw no other soul in sight. He remembered Nadja’s words: no one seemed to know any of the children dropping down. Does the akuma conjure them up randomly? Do they not have parents?
The girl raised her arms up, whimpering. “Pa! Up! Up!”
Chat complied, putting her back in his arms lest she cried or screamed. She snuggled comfortably against him and he bounced her gently. “What’s your name?” he asked.
She blinked once at him. “A-wel.”
“A . . .” His eyebrows furrowed. “What?”
“A–wel, A–wel,” she repeated, seemingly frustrated that she couldn’t say it right.
“Well, um, little girl, it’s not safe for you to stick with me. I have to fight off an akuma,” he said gently. With careful steps, he went back to the alleyway and put her there. He had seen some citizens take the children to safer spots—he could find a place where other toddlers were huddled.
A loud crash sounded out near them. Chat Noir hissed and turned to the girl, “Listen, you have to find a safe place to hide and stay there. Or find someone who will take you there, alright?”
He positioned his staff to leap off but felt something on his foot.
She was clinging to him again, mouth curled into a pout. “Pa!”
“I—” No, I can’t possibly take a child to battle can I?
Another crash sounded.
“Fine, but stay close to me.” He scooped her up and took them out of the alley. There didn’t seem to be any signs of where the sounds came from. Chat craned his neck to listen. At his periphery, he saw the little girl trying to search for the akuma as well.
He sighed. “Where exactly did you come from?”
She only stared in response.
“Well, you don’t know either, do you?”
She pouted.
Chat suddenly pivoted, hearing someone land beside him. “Chat, did you see where the akuma—”
Ladybug stopped, catching sight of the girl in his arms. At the same time, Chat saw that she was also holding a boy, one with a black mop of hair and similar blue eyes as the little girl. “Oh, you too?” Ladybug said. Then, she gasped out loud. “They’re twins!”
Sure enough, they looked exactly like twins—similar features, and the same age. The girl carried by Chat pointed to them. “Maman! Lo-ens!”
Strange . . . Chat thought. “Lo-ens?”
“O-ens!” The boy gestured to himself.
“That’s your name!” Ladybug lit up. “It wasn’t Owens, but Lawrence?”
“O-ens!” The child nodded.
Ladybug cooed and pinched his cheek. “And what about your sister?”
“A–wel!” said Lawrence.
The girl reddened, puffed up her cheeks, and spoke in a slower pace to enunciate the syllables properly. “Ahh—wheee–el!”
“Arielle?” Chat’s eyebrows raised. “It’s Arielle?”
Arielle clapped, happy to be successful in her attempt. “A–wel!”
“I’m sorry, Chat, but this one doesn’t want to let go of me since he fell,” Ladybug said, rubbing Lawrence’s head. “If I leave him, he’ll probably want to follow me.”
“It’s the same here, bug,” said Chat. “We haven’t seen the akuma yet, though. Should we make a few rounds and hand them off to caretakers if we see the akuma?”
“That’s a good idea,” the heroine nodded. “Any clue where they’re coming from?”
“None. I do know that Nadja said no one knows who these children are.”
“Yeah, I figured as much,” Ladybug sighed. Lawrence threw his arms around her neck and she smiled and held him tightly.
Holding the twins, they started running across rooftops to find the akuma. It had stopped raining toddlers, but the city was struggling keeping the kids in check. A few civilians had mentioned seeing a large figure floating, but the direction it went off to was unclear. In no time, the sky began to darken and there wasn’t much progress done.
“I think we have to stop, Chat.” Ladybug scrunched her nose. “The akuma’s not going to show up soon. Let’s find a shelter to drop these two off—”
“ Nooo! Pa!” Arielle squirmed, holding onto Chat.
“I don’t think the little lady likes that.” Chat rocked her back and forth. “I suppose we can take them to our homes. We can explain that it’s the akuma’s doing.”
Lawrence also seemed impartial to separating from Ladybug. “Right—I think my parents will love him anyway,” she giggled. “We can stay up and watch out for the akuma tonight, or try in the morning tomorrow?”
“That’s fine.” Chat nodded.
He looked down at Arielle, who was already a little drowsy. Oddly, the twins seemed too comfortable in both the heroes’ care. He had expected them to cry out for their parents after a while. But I’m not complaining. He set down the girl’s head on his shoulder so she could sleep soundly.
When he turned to his partner again, she was smiling slyly.
“What?” he whispered.
“You two look so cute—like actual father and daughter,” she said, “You handle kids really well.”
Chat shrugged. He never really thought much about it. “It’s easy to handle them if you know the right approach.”
Amelie didn’t seem against the idea of temporarily taking Arielle in. In fact, she was more than delighted to take the girl and promptly sent Félix out on an errand to buy things for the toddler. When he returned, Arielle was curled up next to his mother on the couch.
The girl immediately bounded up to him and latched onto his leg the moment he slipped into the door. “Pa! Up! Up!” she demanded.
I wonder if look anything like her real father. Félix calmly set the bags down and carried her. Amelie smiled fondly. “She missed you.”
“And I thought you were already sound asleep,” Félix said.
“No Pa, no sleep,” Arielle shook her head.
“Maybe it’s better if she stays in your bedroom tonight?” Amelie suggested. She was giving him the same look Ladybug had given him earlier.
“That’s fine with me.” He arched an eyebrow. “And why are you looking at me like that?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. It’s a strange look.”
Amelie laughed a little. Teasingly. “Did they ever find out where the kids came from?”
“No, why?”
“Hmm, I guess I have a little theory of my own.” She put a finger to her lips. “Arielle—she looks like an angel with her hair and eyes. But the rest of her features? I’d know those anywhere. She looks like you, Félix.”
He almost stumbled back, but caught himself as he still had the child in his arms. No . . . but that makes sense. How no one claimed them because they’re supposedly not born yet. He studied Arielle, noting that her nose and face shape did look similar to his. We’ll get our answers when we catch that akuma.
His mind was swarmed with his mother’s words as he took Arielle to his room. Me? A father . . . in the future? But with whom? Arielle quietly crawled onto his bed and sat there, staring at him. “Pa?”
Félix snapped out of his deep trance. “Yes, Arielle?”
“Pa okay?”
He smiled. “Yes, I am. Sorry, I was thinking about . . . things. The possibility to take in.”
Arielle only tilted her head, dumbfounded by her statement.
“A lot to take in alright,” Plagg zipped out of his pocket and dove into his cheese stash. “You were transformed for so long!”
“Plagg!” Arielle cheered, clapping her hands.
“You know his name?” Félix looked at her, eyes widening. Then, he turned to Plagg to scold him. “Plagg! What are you doing? Arielle’s right here!”
The kwami waved his paw nonchalantly, nibbling on a piece of camembert. “Nah, the kid’s not gonna tattle about her father.”
Félix’s eyes widened. “You believe it, too?”
“She looks like you! Are you blind?”
Head spinning faster, Félix carried himself to the edge of his bed. Arielle crawled to him, seeking warmth. “Miss maman. Miss Lo-ens,” she mumbled.
Félix stiffened. If I’m ‘pa’, then ‘maman’ is . . . “Ladybug,” he said softly. Arielle had her dark hair and blue eyes. The twins did. Twins with Ladybug in the future . . .
“Don’t worry, Arielle, we’ll see them tomorrow,” he consoled for the child’s sake, “Probably.”
“Okay.”
But we cannot think of it like that right away. What if there’s another explanation?
“Er–” He took some pillows for Arielle to lean against. “Arielle . . . your real papa and maman, where are they? What were you doing before you fell from the sky?”
The toddler’s face crumpled up into a frown. She looked like she was struggling to comprehend the question. Arielle pointed a finger at him. “Pa here.”
Félix took in a steady breath. Yes, obviously, the evidence leans towards that theory.
“Let’s just sleep,” He said. Only you, though. I will have to watch out for the akuma.
Arielle redirected her finger towards one of the bookshelves attached to his wall. “Stowy?”
“A bedtime story? I’m not sure if I have anything for children.” Félix briefly scanned the titles.
“Stowy,” the girl repeated, looking straight at a red hard-bound book squeezed in the middle.
She seems to know what she wants to read. “If you say so.” Félix took the book and positioned them: both leaning against the headboard with his arm wrapped around her. Arielle looked at the words on the page intently while he narrated. She couldn’t read yet, but she appeared to have some degree of understanding, and she was eager to listen.
Félix felt his heart swell with a bit of pride. She’s intelligent . . . wait, what are you thinking? You’re acting as if she’s your actual daughter!
He blinked away those thoughts and continued reading aloud. Soon, Arielle began snoring softly. He tucked her in without waking her, whispered a quick ‘good night’ and kissed her forehead before heading towards the couch.
Alya burst out from the trapdoor just as Marinette was about to pass another handmade doll to Lawrence. “Girl! You’ll never believe it!” Alya screeched.
The new visitor stopped on her tracks when she saw the little boy. “What—?” Without giving her friend a chance to explain, her eyes lit up, sparking a fire. “Oh my god, that proves it even more!”
“Prove what?” Marinette asked, pulling a squirming Lawrence onto her lap.
“Is he yours?” Alya asked excitedly.
“Um–he fell on me yesterday,” Marinette replied, remembering the pudgy weight settling on her when she had just transformed into Ladybug. Fortunately, the entirety of Paris had been too busy attending to the horde of babies and no one had noticed the heroes carrying the twins. Thank god Alya didn’t catch it on her blog—it would’ve been a disaster.
“Maman!” Lawrence exclaimed, matching Alya’s energy.
Alya’s eyes widened. “So it’s true!”
“What’s true?”
“A few weeks ago Nino and I were messing around with this app—you know the ones that combine couples’ faces to show what your future kid looks like?” Alya bounced. “And guess what? Yesterday, a kid fell on both of us. She had the exact same face!”
“What?” Marinette breathed out.
“Don’t you realize who these babies are? That’s why no one knew them! They’re from the future! Our future kids!” Alya gestured towards the toddler. “And this one looks like you. He’s your son.”
Stunned, Marinette stared at Lawrence, who stared back while putting fingers in his mouth. Her parents (and even Tikki!) had been gushing about his eyes and hair last night, and how they looked like hers. It makes sense, but—but–!
“Als, that’s impossible.” She blinked rapidly.
“Nothing’s impossible if an akuma’s involved.” Alya shrugged. “And why do you think he calls you maman?”
“Because his maman looks like me?”
“Why’s he so comfortable with you?”
“Uhm . . . uhh, that’s just how he is?”
Alya rolled her eyes and leaned towards Lawrence, ruffling his hair. “Sure, Mari, sure. What’s the little guy’s name?”
“O–ens!”
“Lawrence,” Marinette clarified.
“He’s so cute!” Alya cooed.
“Awntie Awya!” Lawrence squealed.
Auntie Alya? Both girls chorused a gasp. Marinette was finding it harder to wrap her head around it with each evidence revealed. She didn’t want to believe it, but it seemed to be the most plausible explanation. She just hoped she and Chat could catch the akumas soon.
“See!” Alya said. Marinette only shook her head.
Alya deflated a bit, pouting. “It’s good that your parents let him stay.”
“They spoiled him a lot.” Marinette swore Lawrence had gotten heavier overnight.
“Lucky you,” Alya sighed, “Simone had to stay over at Nino’s ‘cause Nora brought home three kids and my parents don’t want to deal with more.”
“Simone?” Marinette raised an eyebrow.
“That’s what we think her name is.” Alya unlocked her phone and showed her the picture of a little girl with a toothy smile—she had Alya’s big eyes but the rest of her resembled Nino more. Marinette had to look closely. Damn, it does look like their future kid.
“She looks really cute,” Marinette gave a little smile. But still! Motherhood? I’m still a teenager fighting off an insect-themed villain! Had I really sorted everything out and gained a family in the future?
Lawrence stood up and stumbled over to the window. He tapped the glass, looking back at them. “Go! Go!” He babbled. “Want go!”
“The park?” Marinette leaned to take a look. “Lawrence, we can’t—it’s dangerous out there.”
“What? We should take him!” Alya protested. “Look, there are other kids playing there.”
“Maman, go thewe!” Lawrence’s bottom lip jutted out.
“Yeah, maman, let’s go,” Alya smirked.
“But the akuma . . .”
“Ladybug and Chat Noir will be right over if it turns up,” Alya bent to pick up Lawrence and swung him a little. “Come on!”
Yeah, and one of them is me, Marinette lamented. Nonetheless, she grabbed a bag of baby supplies and followed both out of her bedroom. Lawrence . . . baby . . . son . . . future. . . all of it swam in her head.
The park was lively as usual, as if nothing out of the ordinary was plaguing Paris at the moment. As soon as they stepped foot on the grass, Lawrence made a mad dash, going in circles and rolling on the ground.
“Lawrence! Be careful!” Marinette called out. The boy only giggled and squealed out loud, basking in the sun.
“Now you really sound like a mom,” Alya teased.
“I’m just worried. He’s a bit reckless,” Marinette said weakly.
“He gets that from you—wait . . . is that . . .?”
The pigtailed girl turned to follow her friend’s gaze. Almost instantly, her legs wobbled from shock. Right there, sitting on one of the benches, was Félix. He was leaned back with one ankle propped on his knee and a book positioned on his lap. Snuggled up next to him, reading along, was a familiar little girl, the same child that Marinette had just seen yesterday.
“Wow, that’s—that’s so cute,” Alya said softly. “I didn’t know Félix is good with kids. Do you think that’s his future daughter?”
It was all pelting down on Marinette. Kids from the future . . . Lawrence is my son . . . she–Arielle’s his twin . . . they call Chat ‘papa’ . . . Félix is—!
“ Papaaaaaa!” Lawrence yelled out, zipping straight towards the pair. He crashed into Félix’s lap startling them.
Slowly, Félix looked up and met Marinette’s gawking expression. It felt like it clicked in both of them at the same time. Heart beating fast, she made slow, tentative steps towards the bench. What should I say? Oh my god . . . we were too caught up on the akumaa . . . we didn’t realize the kids could give us away!
Marinette opened her mouth to speak but Arielle also tackled her before she could gather her words. “Maman!” Marinette saw her own blue eyes staring back at hers. “I miss Maman!”
Breath caught in her throat, Marinette lifted her up and pulled her close. “Mi—missed you too, Arielle.” She stroked the girl’s hair gently.
“What pa do?” Lawrence replaced his sister beside Félix, examining the book.
“Reading,” Félix smiled, quickly recovering. “Would you also like to read?”
He wrinkled his nose. “No like read.”
Arielle displayed her objection by frowning down at her twin. “Like read!”
“No like read!” Lawrence frowned back.
“I—err–no fighting,” said Marinette slowly. She glanced back at Alya, who was consumed with puzzlement and then transitioning into realization. A silent scream was coming out of her.
Félix put his arm around Lawrence. “What do you like to do?”
“Eat! Eat!” Lawrence bounced and Félix chuckled a little.
“You—you!” Alya sputtered out, walking towards them. “You–you both!”
“Awntie Awya!” Arielle greeted.
“I—well—Alya . . .” Marinette flushed a deep red. She couldn’t Félix, or even begin to imagine how he was reacting to all of it. I’m definitely scheduling a breakdown tonight.
“And twins!” Alya’s arms flailed around. “You have twins!”
In sync with Alya’s rambling, Marinette was also losing it internally. First, her future kids had just traveled back in time; second, Félix was the father; and third, Chat Noir was actually Félix, who is the father. She thought her legs were giving in below her but then she noticed the ground shaking. Panicked screams echoed around as she felt herself being pulled back by the arm. A large living contraption in the form of a baby mobile had just emerged from the ground.
“A sentimonster?!” Marinette cried out. “Wait—Alya, can you—?”
When her vision refocused, she saw Alya running away. “I have to check on Nino and Simone! And get a video for the Ladyblog!”
Marinette bit back a groan. She felt Arielle’s small arms tightening and the girl’s face buried on her neck.
“Come on,” Félix urged softly beside her. Her eyes widened and she nodded.
Together, they moved away from the hole and ran past the hurrying civilians. Marinette held Arielle carefully, while running as fast as she could. They found an empty alleyway after a while.
A cackle sounded out.
The akuma had appeared.
“Maman,” Arielle sniffed. “Scary.”
Marinette’s hand automatically flew up to her head to caress it. “It’s okay, I’m here. Maman’s here.”
She looked up to see Félix comforting Lawrence in a similar way. His eyes spoke of nothing but tenderness even amidst the danger that they were in. It was the same care that Chat had given the twins the day before. Marinette clenched her jaw. They were in no state to fight with kids, but she didn’t want to leave them behind.
I could use that breakdown right now.
“More! Bring in more children!” The akuma yelled from the sky. A torrent of babies began raining down again. “ Let mommy find her baby!”
Arielle started to sob. Marinette’s heart clenched. She continued soothing her as she gazed at Félix—Chat Noir—with desperate eyes. “What do we do?”
Félix drew in a steady breath, also agitated by their entrapment. “One of us can stay behind with them.”
“Neither of us can defeat the akuma alone,” Marinette said firmly.
A bright flash of light caught her eye. It grew, engulfing part of the alley in a circular beam. Marinette inhaled sharply— Is that . . . ?
“Maman! Papa!” Arielle and Lawrence jumped out of their arms and into the visitors from the portal— the burrow.
Marinette’s jaw dropped.
At her future self, a functioning adult, geared up in her modified Ladybug suit. At future Chat, who gained a lot of muscle grew up quite nicely. At the bizarre confirmation of all their guesses, the pure truth about their futures.
“There you are, angel,” Chat picked up Arielle, pecking the top of her head.
“We’re just here to take them off your hands,” Ladybug said to them, beaming with warmth, as she cradled Lawrence. “This is your fight, not ours. You got this, Mini-bug. Kitty.”
Without any more parting words (perhaps the future could be affected if they had stayed any longer), the adult heroes disappeared back into the burrow. The twins waved over their parents’ shoulders, bidding, “Bye-bye maman! Bye, papa!”
Marinette fell to the ground.
Félix knelt beside her, one hand on her back. “Are you alright?”
“Yeah,” she choked out. “Yeah, just surprised.”
“Shall we . . .?”
“Wait. Wait—give me a moment.”
She took five deep breaths. Félix broke through the silence after. “They said we’ve got this. That means it’ll turn out fine.”
Marinette swallowed. “But—”
“We’ll talk later.” He looked directly into her eyes. “It’s going to be okay, bug.”
This is so awkward.
They sat close to each other on top of a building in utter silence, eating up their patrol time. She thought—she really thought —they’d be discussing things, working over all the wild things that had occurred throughout the day. But when they finally met up, neither could say a single word, still reeling back from the cruel surprises.
Ladybug glued her gaze to her fidgeting hands. Félix. Chat Noir. Félix. The boy who she thought didn’t care for anything. She had always seen him as an epitome of indifference, lingering at the back of the classroom, spouting out occasional brutal but honest remarks.
And he was her partner.
Her future husband.
They had—will have—children together.
Adorable children.
Ladybug braved a glance at him. Chat was also deep in thought. What’s going to happen to us if we don’t figure this out?
She decided to break the ice first.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he rasped out, threading his fingers through his hair.
“That was . . . a long fight,” she laughed nervously. A shudder went through her spine as she remembered the akuma, Mother Leto: a distraught young woman who had just gotten a miscarriage, earning the disappointment of her parents. As she grieved, she kept thinking that her child was still alive and thus summoned babies from the future to find them.
A mother’s grief . . . A similar instinctual fear had gripped her earlier that day when Arielle cried.
“Do you think they’re okay?” Chat asked.
“Yeah–yes, they should be.” Safe and sound with their parents. Us. “I—I’m sorry . . .”
“What for?”
“The reveal and–I don’t know–all of this? I should’ve been more careful.”
“It was an accident, bug,” he assured. “We both didn’t know.”
Ladybug squeezed her eyes shut. “I know. But we could’ve—could’ve handled it better. Our identities . . .”
“It’s over now.” His tone indicated finality. “But at least we know that the future won’t be bad. If this caused big trouble, our future selves or Bunnyx would’ve warned us.”
Her eyes flew open. “I thought you didn’t believe in that.”
“What do you mean?”
She felt her cheeks warm up. “Sorry–I just—I just assumed you’d be the kind of person who doesn’t think that the future is set in stone. Anything from today could’ve changed the future.”
“ . . . Do you want it to change?” he asked quietly.
“No!” she said quickly, waving her arms around clumsily. “I mean—I—um . . .”
Ladybug sighed. “I actually don’t know how to feel about it yet. Of course, it’s all still a shock right now. But when I think about it, I don’t want to lose that— them. It’s a future that I wouldn’t mind having . . . it’s a future that I can get strength from because I know I’ll be having a—a loving family. With this superhero business, I feel like I’d never get a chance at a normal life but now I have hope that I will.”
Chat reached out to squeeze her hand. “I feel the same way.” His voice was warm in the chilly night breeze. “I hate thinking too much about time travel and—well–the possible paradoxes, but I want to look forward to the future that we saw. Even if change is a possibility, everything about that fate just feels right. ”
“Oh . . . I thought you hated me or something.”
His eyes widened. “Why would I?”
“Nothing . . . you’re just not . . . too—too friendly in class.”
“Ah,” he averted his gaze. “I’m sorry, it’s just—”
“Don’t apologize, Félix,” she murmured, squeezing his hand back. “I get it, don’t worry. You’re still Chat Noir to me as much as you’re Félix. You’re cold outside but really kind inside . . .” A smile stretched on her face, remembering him with Arielle. “Especially with people you care about.”
“I’ll–I’ll try to appear nicer next time?” he suggested. She laughed.
Ladybug leaned her head on his shoulder and he wound his arm around her waist to tug her close. Her mind was definitely more at peace, with the tangled thoughts slowly uncoiling. “I’m also glad I’ll get to be with someone I trust.” She savored his embrace. “And I already know you’ll be an amazing father.”
Redness crept up to his neck. “I will?”
She bit her lip to suppress her chuckles. “Have you seen yourself with the kids?”
“You’ll be a great mother as well,” he said and then paused for a moment. “I think I sort of miss them now.”
“We’ll just have to make them then.”
A beat passed.
“Oh my god!” Ladybug tore herself away from him, flustered to the roots of her hair. “I–I didn’t–! Please forget I said that! Gah! Can I be any more embarrassing?! Argh–!”
Chat let out a carefree chuckle, a laugh that she would never expect to hear from Félix’s lips. “Oh, bug,” he said, kissing her forehead tenderly. “I suppose it won’t be difficult to fall in love with you.”
