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Time was something Plagg barely noticed passing. He was as old as the world itself. He had seen millennia come and go, whole species becoming extinct and others going through their painfully slow evolution. Civilisations rose and fell. It was all nothing in his eyes.
Even the other kwamis couldn't understand this. They were still like mere children to him because they had spent the majority of their existence in the Miracle Box, with only occasional trips outside. They lived in their own little world and found it so hard to comprehend how life functioned outside of them. With the exception of Fluff maybe, who had seen more than they ever could.
There was only one who understood things as Plagg did. This was his other half. Tikki was as old as him and had lived through everything he had as well. But it wasn't just the memories that connected them, because a lot of them were lost in the recesses of time. It wasn't also their relative age that made them similar.
They had come into existence to complement each other. One couldn't exist without the other, because where something was created, something could be destroyed. They needed each other on a spiritual level that no one could understand. They could literally become one.
It was something that the other kwamis didn't comprehend and often joked about. Xuppu liked calling them names and making fun of their codependence. Sometimes Sass had to intervene and remind them all that not understanding something didn't give them the right to belittle it. Also, it was never a good idea to poke fun at Tikki, he'd add sagely.
Plagg found it funny. How he could destroy worlds with a touch and yet it was Tikki, sweet and wholesome Tikki, that sowed fear in them. They dreaded the next time she would find a new sweet addiction that made it almost impossible to stop her. And yet, they called him glutton.
Of course, Plagg could never fear his other half. He smiled fondly at her overenthusiasm and sometimes even tried to sneak her a treat or two. In fact, he teased her about it all the time and she hated the little reminder every time he called her sugar cube but still tolerated it. Because it was him. She could be exasperated with him, beyond tired with his antics century after century, and still she accepted it.
It probably helped that only Plagg could intervene and prevent a bigger catastrophe from happening when Tikki went on one of her binges. He had prevented a flood with chocolate and an eternal winter caused by a giant pastry, to name a few. She was always grateful for his help, of course once she got over her frustration of not having access to her new favourite food.
And she did help him in return. Kwamis feared Tikki but people remembered Plagg's doings. And it was Tikki that helped life slowly return to normal after that little accident with the dinosaurs. Plagg treated it like a nuisance but it had been thanks to her that humans ever got to walk this Earth.
So they needed each other. They loved each other. They had funny ways to show it, for sure. One could probably miss it with their constant bickering. But only they knew how painful it was to be apart.
They had spent centuries in peaceful slumber with the other kwamis. But they had also been out there more than everyone else. They had travelled the universe together. Through ancient civilisations and distant planets. They had seen it all.
It was fun when they got to do it together. When they could work together and save the world from evil.
What hurt the most was when they had to be separated.
The dark times when they had been forced to fight on opposite sides, when their powers had been used against one another, when they hadn't been in harmony, when land and sea had stood between them, were painful to remember. It wasn't being mistreated and used for nefarious activities that was Plagg's worst memory. It was him not being to find solace in his eternal companion. He didn't get sentimental often but he definitely remembered each and every time they had been reunited, the instant soothing effect of having Tikki next to him.
The very nature of his power meant that Plagg rarely had fond memories of his holders. Even if they didn't abuse his power, they often met a tragic end because of their unstable nature. But this was fine. Human existence was barely a blip for them. It came and went too quickly.
This hurt Tikki more because she often got attached to her Ladybugs and even when they were no longer holders, she liked keeping an eye on them. It always broke her little heart to see them pass away.
Plagg didn't fully understand this until the time when her luck had proved to be contagious. Him finding the kindest and most generous Chat Noir in Adrien had been a true blessing. Now Plagg couldn't imagine being separated from him.
Thankfully, he didn't have to be. Times changed and the guardians were no longer confined to the Temple and the kwamis to their miracle boxes. They sometimes lived in a dainty apartment in Paris, which was filled with laughter and love.
The road to that happiness hadn't been easy, but it was a long time since they had stopped hiding. Plagg and Tikki had even had a few blissful years when it had been just the two of them, no other kwamis there to make comments about who was more sickeningly sweet, them or their holders (Thanks, Trixx). Plagg would say that it was good for them to get to know more humans, that they also needed to see the world. But what he meant that it was nice to have a place just for him and Tikki.
Now it was all of them back together, peace restored once again. It was noisy and tiresome at times but Marinette and Adrien loved it.
It also turned out that life was full of surprises even for Plagg.
"How do you think that that noisy bunch would feel about having a tiny human around?" Tikki asked him one morning.
At first, he didn't understand what she was telling him. He was still on a high after that divine peace of matured Camembert he had eaten. He had his sugar cube with him and everything was fine. If Marinette felt like babysitting again, it shouldn't be a problem.
Then he followed Tikki's fond gaze to the couple snuggled in the big bed and the light bulb flickered to life in his head.
"They are going to have a kitten?" He almost shouted, but a paw muffled most of it.
"Shh! They don't know yet."
"And you do?" He blinked in confusion.
"This is my department. Of course, I know," Tikki smiled serenely.
"Did you have anything to do with... that?" He made a face. They generally tried to stay as far from the bedroom as possible.
"No, they didn't really need my help. But I can always feel a new life," she shrugged.
"They will be very happy, I guess," Plagg sighed. "They deserve it."
"They do. Theirs is the greatest love story to ever be. And you know I've been around quite a few," she gave him a pointed look. She had quite a record.
"Nothing can ever beat ours, honeycomb," he smiled sweetly at her.
"What are you now, Pollen?" She nudged him playfully. "Besides, I thought that your biggest love was cheese."
He took a minute to think about his centuries-long love affair with the milky goodness. Unlike Tikki, he wasn't driven to distraction by his favourite food, leaving chaos in his wake. In fact, it had done wonders about his temper. As long as he had cheese, he was amicable. Well, maybe it was a weakness, to the point where he had needed to be rescued by his other half a few times. But in general, everyone, kwamis and guardians alike, was grateful for this human invention.
But of course, as much as he loved cheese and wrote poems and daydreamed about it, Plagg knew that he could exist without it. It would be a miserable and destruction-filled existence, but he could.
What he needed to exist, was Tikki.
"You always rank higher than cheese in my heart and you know it," he told her.
It was good that there were no other kwamis around or he'd never hear the end of it. As it was, he could cuddle with Tikki as they contemplated their soon to be much more interesting existence.
Even good things, even the best of them, eventually came to an end.
"It's time, Tikki."
"I don't want to leave them."
"Marinette is still the Guardian. Our home will always be here. But our new holders await us."
They both looked through the window at the elderly couple that went aboud their day. The nest was now empty but holidays were a noisy affair with their big family. They had each other and they would be alright.
Plagg tried not to think about the fact that "always" wasn't such a long time in terms of human lives. He would eventually have to say his final goodbye to Adrien, no matter how painful this was going to be.
But until then, they had to do what the kwamis existed to do. They had to make the world a better place for their past, current and even future holders. Because this was the way it was. There would always be someone new.
And through it all, he would have Tikki with him. That was what mattered the most, after all.