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Shadowmoth laughed, smiling down at his prizes. “Ladybug has unknowingly given me everything I need to restore what was taken from me.” He laughed. “But first, since I have all the time in the world…”
He plucked the pocket watch from the table and smirked at the trembling kwami who emerged from it.
“Tell me, kwami. Are the legends true?”
Fluff bobbed in midair. Her eyes darted between the collection of jewels on the table and Shadowmoth’s jubilant face. “What legends?”
“Call me Master.” Shadowmoth stroked the watch. “The old Guardian’s grimoire tells me that the rabbit kwami will give her holder one prophecy, and only one.”
Fluff’s ears twitched. “That is true, Master. Most holders use it shortly before giving me up.”
“Well, I want it now.” Shadowmoth’s eyes gleamed. “Tell me about my future, rabbit. Will my plans succeed?”
Fluff’s eyes glowed blue for a moment. When she spoke, her voice echoed as if she were reading from a book someone held open for her in another time. “You will fail, Shadowmoth. You will lose everything you hold dear, and your son will bring about your downfall.”
As the glow faded, Shadowmoth began to laugh. “You’ve looked too far and confused yourself, little rabbit. Now I can be certain of my success. I have only one child, a daughter!”
As he gathered the other miraculouses and became Monarch for the first time, Gabriel Agreste failed to notice Fluff’s smile.
Adrien Agreste lay on the couch, rubbing his thigh. “My entire leg hurts,” he moaned. “Is that supposed to happen?”
Nino grinned at him. “It’ll get easier, I promise. I’ve been injecting myself with man juice once a week since I was fourteen, and look at me.”
“Oh, I’m looking,” Alya chimed in, punctuating the statement with a wolf whistle.
Adrien closed his eyes. “Don’t call it man juice. Say anything else.”
Marinette bustled out of the kitchen with a glass of water and a plate of crackers just in time to see the chaos unfold.
“Boy butter,” said Alya.
“Eau de ass hair,” said Nino.
Adrien frantically whacked at them with throw pillows from the couch. “Fine! Man juice is fine!”
Marinette took a step back to keep the water from spilling. “I was going to tell you that a snack might help you feel better, but you seem fine.”
Adrien’s eyes instantly turned pleading. “I’d like a snack.”
“Have you thought about what you’ll say to your old man when he finds out?” Alya asked as Adrien ate.
Adrien took a big sip of water and grinned at his friends. “Yeah, I have. I’m not telling him anything. He can read about it in the tabloids like everyone else.” He made a show of cleaning his fingernails. “I mean, he was never interested in knowing his daughter. Why should he get to know his son?”
“Fuck yes,” said Nino, fist bumping Adrien as Alya applauded. “You might be the coolest person I know, dude.”
Ladybug and Chat Noir met at their usual place shortly before sunset.
Ladybug looked Chat Noir up and down. “Why are you smiling like that?” she asked.
Chat Noir produced a bouquet of red roses from behind his back. “Something good happened to me today,” he said. “I can’t say more. Identity stuff.”
Ladybug took the flowers. “These are beautiful, Chat Noir. Thank you.”
Chat Noir sat at the edge of the roof, dangling his legs. He looked out over the lights of the city, and a soft smile spread across his face. “It really was a good day,” he said. “I spent it with my three best friends, doing something I’ve always wanted to do. It felt like the start of something amazing.”
He took Ladybug’s hand.
“You know how rough my childhood was, Milady. There were times when I wasn’t certain that I would make it out of my father’s house in one piece. But here I am. Here we are.” Chat Noir looked deep into Ladybug’s eyes. “I’m not fourteen anymore, Ladybug. I know exactly what I’m asking from you. I can’t promise it’ll be easy or perfect, but… do you want to give it a try?”
Ladybug traced the lines of Chat Noir’s palm through his glove as if she could read the right answer there. When she looked back at him at last, her face was soft.
“I do,” she said. “I don’t know how much longer it will take to defeat Monarch. I used to think I’d put romance on hold until then.” Ladybug leaned closer. Their faces were inches apart. “Now I wonder if that was another way of letting him win. He can’t take you from me, Chat Noir. He can’t take this.”
For a moment, Chat Noir spotted a flash of fear in Ladybug’s eyes. He knew she was remembering Chat Blanc. “I don’t need to know who you are,” he said. “Not until you’re ready. I already know you, Ladybug.”
Ladybug smiled, and the fear faded away. She was in the present with him again. “You do,” she said. “I don’t know how you know me so well.”
Chat Noir ached to close the distance between their lips, but he was determined to let Ladybug set the pace. “You let me in,” he whispered. “You showed me what a sweet, talented, funny, brilliant woman you are.” He chuckled. “I didn’t stand a chance. Falling for you felt like coming home.”
“We’ll have a home.” Ladybug’s eyes flashed. “When all this is over, we’ll build one together. You’ll never have to be alone or—or trapped again, Chat Noir.”
Chat Noir reached up to caress her cheek. She leaned into his touch. “I can't cook,” he said. “My friends are trying to teach me, but it’s pretty bleak.”
Ladybug just smiled. “I’m teaching a friend to cook right now, actually. You can’t be worse at it than he is. But we’ll worry about the little details later. What color should we paint our kitchen?”
“Blue,” said Chat Noir. He was looking deep into Ladybug’s eyes, and it was the only color he could see.
“Blue,” Ladybug repeated. “I like the sound of that.”