Chapter Text
Once upon a time Marinette had believed that she'd get a happily ever after.
She'd get her prince charming and he'd sweep her off her feet.
Marinette was six when the visions started.
Most of her peers got visions of their soulmates playing and having fun and sometimes even meeting each other early on.
When she got her first vision at six, she viewed the world through a cold, empty house.
Devoid of any life.
She remembers asking her maman if soulmates could be ghosts.
Her mama had laughed and asked her what possessed her to ask such a thing.
Out of childhood embarrassment she had mumbled nothing and gone off to play with her new sewing kit she'd gotten for her birthday a few weeks back.
She never had as many visions as her friends.
Some said the visions are spurred by strong emotions or important memories.
If that was the case then her soulmate was practically devoid of such things.
It made her heart hurt and her mind angry at first.
It wasn't fair! How could all her friends and classmates get their perfect match and she was stuck with some guy who was nigh emotionless.
Marinette is eleven when she gets a particularly interesting vision.
She'd been up early before school working on a shirt she was attempting to make, (spoiler it wasn't great but she was positive she could do it,) when she blinked and was suddenly seeing nothing.
Nothing as in she was free falling through the air.
She gasped and fought the urge to freak out as a line went out before her and her soulmate was pulled upwards.
For the few seconds she had, she gazed out into a city clearly not her own and felt the weightlessness in her own body.
It was unlike anything she had ever experienced.
She could feel her heart racing in her chest.
Marinette swore she could see someone else there too but before she could really look, she was back in her room staring at an unfinished shirt.
Clearly something had changed, because when she saw what he saw, she felt freed.
It was easier for her after that.
She didn't feel so upset with her soulmate.
The visions came more often and she could see that her soulmate had moved and the people in the picture frames were different.
The house he now lived in was warm and inviting.
Marinette was happy for him.
Albeit concerned.
Most of her visions came at night for him, morning for her.
And her soulmate was doing some… interesting things.
She really hoped he wasn't a bad person.
When she was thirteen everything changed.
Suddenly the world was too big, too dangerous.
She was scared, terrified even.
Marinette had to be this symbol of hope and justice for her people and she was barely even passing history!
A part of her wondered if soulmates got visions during times of strong emotions if hers could see her crying.
If he could see the other kids bullying her.
See her flying through the sky just like him.
Deep down she was relieved that they had this in common.
Marinette took solace in the fact that he was likely also a hero with the same burdens as her.
She only wished that they could meet so she wouldn't have to be alone.
At fourteen she got a vision unlike the others.
In a blink she was standing in the pouring rain in the middle of the night and in front of her was a tombstone.
Marinette saw tears dripping and she got the impression that her soulmate was sorry, for what she didn't know.
Fresh roses laid on the smooth stone.
A little bird was sat on the edge by a name she couldn't make out.
Then she was back in her room, looking at her newest project: a matching set of clothes.
Sighing, Tikki came to rest on her shoulder as a sign of comfort.
Clearly something was going on with her soulmate. She didn't know what but she was certain that whatever it was he'd persevere.
He was strong, she could tell.
Marinette often wondered if he knew she was Ladybug.
Maybe he respected her privacy enough not to look into it?
Somehow she doubted it.
Her days were spent waking up and occasionally getting a vision of her soulmate's habits, school, and being the hero of Paris.
One day she thought to ask Chat his thoughts on it.
They sat on the edge of the Eiffel Tower, their usual hangout spot.
“Chat… do you know your soulmate?”
He laughed, “Aw M'Lady, checking to see if I'm your one true love?”
Marinette smiled fondly at his words.
They both knew they were destined for another, and to be honest… she felt like Chat Noir was her best friend.
Given Lila's classroom coup.
Her partner's laughter faded into a warm smile, “No, I don't know. To be honest though, I could probably guess if I put some thought to it. What about you?”
Ladybug gazed out into her city, “No… I'd like to know him though. I wanna see what he sees, more than what our visions let us, I wanna know what he feels when he sees the world.”
They spent the rest of their break quiet.
It was a nice silence, she thought.
She was almost seventeen when she got a vision. Not unlike the others.
Marinette's soulmate was gazing into a glass showcase.
His vision felt blurry.
Yet she could clearly make out the contents within the showcase.
Her soulmate was with the Batman.
A part of her had always known in the back of her mind that he was some sort of hero or vigilante.
And maybe deep down she'd suspected he was one of the great vigilantes, but she had always shoved it down unsure of how to feel.
That and Hawkmoth didn't exactly make feeling things easy.
She watched as he exited the room he was in, and returned to her patrol.
Her papa had told her that soulmates would always find each other. So she just had to have faith that they would connect down the line.
It didn't mean she couldn't keep an eye on them though.
Of course after Hawkmoth's defeat and graduating lycée, she had to consider university.
While her parents were more than frustrated with her choice, claiming it was unsafe, they accepted she was plenty old enough and responsible enough to decide for herself.
So Marinette packed.
And packed.
And flew.
And unpacked.
And started a job at her local bookstore.
And studied for her exams.
And when she finally got her first vision while in Gotham she was ready. It didn't go quite to plan in her defense.
In a blink she was in an alley, some criminal was in front of her and she watched as practiced hands quickly restrained the perpetrator.
Then she was back in her room of the apartment getting ready for bed.
Marinette debated with herself before she wished a silent goodbye to her sleeping kwami, and slipped out the door.
Quickly she tried to find the alleyway he'd been in and Marinette groaned.
“I'm such a fool, there's a thousand alleys in this city! How could I have been so stupid as to think I could find the right one?”
She was frustrated with herself, still in pajamas.
“Why are you looking for an alley?”
A voice behind her made her jump.
She turned to meet whoever had startled her and let out a soft gasp, “You're Red Robin…”
He gave a quick nod.
Marinette couldn't help but giggle at how fate brought them together.
Red Robin's brows furrowed, “What's so funny?”
She winked at him, surprising them both, “Would you like to go out for coffee sometime?”
They stood there for a long time before he agreed.
“Coffee would be amazing.”