Work Text:
Marinette shuffled the papers in her lap, Even traveling first class could feel cramped with too much work to do. Amid ideas for the summer lines, wrap up work for the show she was returning from in Munich, and some wedding ideas she planned to leave in a conspicuous place for Adrien, she nearly missed her phone lighting up. She’d half buried it on purpose to keep from picking it up every five seconds, and sent work scattering as she snatched and thumbed the pick up.
“Alya?”
“I haven’t heard from him today, Marinette. When was the last time you did?”
Fear gripped Marinette’s chest. She had really been really hoping this was just a ‘Marinette thing.’ “I talked with him last night after the show. He sent a good morning text when he woke u, but I never got anything after that.”
Aya sounded slightly exasperated, “Marinette that’s… four hours?”
“Alya… we haven’t been radio silent that long in forever. He would have mentioned it if he had something going on. I sent texts and called when my train left.”
Resigned, “Alright Marinette, but you owe me. I’ll grille Nino and Luka first. You get to talk to his cousin.”
“Alya, I still have to-”
“Marinette, if I’m chasing this goose, so are you. Spread that net, buggababe.”
Alya hung up and Marinette admitted she was right. The work before her was important, but this feeling in her stomach wouldn’t go away. Marinette stuffed it all in her briefcase, feeling a twinge as she handled the wedding ideas. This is what I get for being selfish and dropping hints.
Felix: Nothing. Kagami: Nothing. Nino: Nothing. Luka: Nothing. Zoe: Nothing. Nathalie: Nothing. Emilie: Nothing. Amilie: Nothing. All their friends: Nothing. Marinette got desperate and called Chloé Bourgeois of all people.
“ You stole him years ago. Now you’ve lost him?”
Marinette hung up.
She jammed her phone into her bag and fumbled with her luggage and keys all at once. Even before she got her key in the lock a black ball shot through the door and latched onto her face.
“Where have you been? I can’t find him anywhere! You need to find him! You’re the guardian! That’s your job! My kitten is missing!”
Marinette reeled and snatched Plagg from the air. Instincts had her looking up and down the hall -no witnesses- “Hold on!” She pushed open the door, throwing, rolling, and kicking her luggage through haphazardly before slamming the door shut. She let Plagg go, and Tikki spiraled up out of her coat.
“Cat Noir is missing? Marinette felt that pit in her stomach getting worse. “What happened Plagg?”
The black cat Kwami flitted back and forth. “I don’t know! I was napping in the ring, then *bop* I get jostled out. I’m on the ground! No -bubbles rippled from Plagg’s mouth- anywhere!”
Tikki flitted forward and began a whisper-argument with Plagg as Marinette leaned on the kitchen counter. The room felt like it was spinning. She’d barely eaten anything this morning and was glad for it right now. Her stomach lurched. Both of them? Her thoughts went instantly to the missing butterfly. Marinette’s mouth went dry, but her hero-self took over. “Plagg. You know who the other holders are. Give me your ring, but go find them. Tell them who Cat Noir is, you have my permission as Guardian. Just tell them not to tell me. Tell them to look everywhere.”
Marinette turned, shedding her long coat,”Tikki, you and I are going to find Felix. He’s got the best means of tracking Adrien down. I have a hunch if we find one, we might find the other. This doesn’t feel like an accident. Tikki, Spots on!”
Nothing, nothing on both fronts. Three days had passed. The police were notified for Adrien, who could she tell about Cat Noir? Felix hadn’t changed back from Argos once, and was only sleeping right now because Kagami was sitting in the room, keeping him in bed.
Marinette sat in the dining room of their flat, puffy eyed, with Nino and Zoe. They’d taken shifts with her since the double disappearance. She resented and loved them for it. She was all but useless at the moment. She’d slept even less than Felix, no one had dared try to hold her down. In an effort to help give her pain meaning, and to grasp for a positive outcome, she was going through wedding ideas again.
Agreste manor was the obvious choice, but also Cliché. Someplace out in the country would give them more room for the scale their wedding would probably take on. Marinette had a brief moment of happiness envisioning a giant wedding with a thousand guests… all waiting while she and Adrien eloped to be married in private.
Adrien was allergic to feathers, so no doves. She wondered if it would be viable to release hamsters. She wanted to take him back to Shanghai for their honeymoon. She wanted him to be a part of her diving into the part of her family she hadn’t had the time to really explore how she wanted; past and future in a perfect balance.
All she had to do was get him to actually propose . Them getting married was a forgone conclusion at this point. Everyone was simply waiting. Marinette had even used her friends to feel him out. The answer was always ‘I just want to make sure it’s perfect.’
How did she communicate that he could throw her over his shoulder, plop her in front of a judge, and make her the happiest woman in the world?
A phone lit up in the middle of the table, and all three present dove for it. Marinette got to it first. She hit pick up, “Hello?”
A strange voice questioned, “May I speak to Adrien Agreste?”
“Who’s calling?”
“Umm… Mr. Agreste left instructions to only speak to him.”
Marinette moved the phone from one ear to the other, trembling with fear, rage, anxiety, and she didn’t know what else. This replacement phone might be their only lifeline. She couldn’t be coy. “Mr. Agreste is missing. If you’re someone who’s seen him in the last few days then tell me who you are.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry. I- this is Alois Riché, from Louis Cartier. I wasn’t the one who dealt with Mr. Agreste directly. I was just calling to tell him his order has been completed.”
Marinette knew the name of the boutique, but her brain was too swamped in emotion-chemicals to make the connections. “Order?”
“The engagement ring, Madam.”
From the corner of her eye she saw Nino wave to her, then give her the thumbs up. The device Max had given them had traced the call. Not that Marinette needed to be told the address. The phone fell from her nerveless fingers and Marinette told the air, “I’ll be right there.”
It was something. It was pointless. It was everything. Marinette threw the doors to the boutique wide even before they could be opened for her. She stormed the counter and threw down her ID. Nino and Zoe followed slowly after her, both keeping close and trying to counterbalance her anxiety with outward calm.
The jeweler, Alois, brought out the engagement ring quickly. Mixing excitement with an awkwardness as his clear artisan’s pride mingled with the occasion. He opened the box and turned it for her inspection, “Here it is Madam.”
It was perfect . A silver band cradled a full moon cut diamond. Adrien was always saying how he wanted to give her the moon. He finally did it.
The ring blurred as Marinette took it from the box. By the time she put it on her finger she could barely see. It felt warm. It felt Adrien . She couldn’t stop crying, but inside a core of resolve bloomed at the connection. They would find him. He would be okay. Then they would find Cat Noir. Then they would make whoever dared hurt her loved ones pay.
Marinette flexed her fingers, proposal or no, the ring was a touchstone. Tears were still flowing but Marinette managed a smile through them. She nodded her head to the jeweler, “Thank you.”
He was clearly caught out by the scene and retreated into professionalism. “It was an honor madam. It was an elegant design in its simplicity. I loved the idea the moment he told me of it. Two become one; such a romantic notion. It was the only reason I could bear to melt down the original rings to make it.”
Marinette collapsed.