Stopwatch | Miraculous Ladybug | Soulmates AU

T - 1 Day

"There, you can't even see it." Marinette smiled as she finished adjusting a thick scrunchie around her wrist over her soulmate timer. After checking that it was completely hidden, she let out a breath of relief. Since she had lost her bracelet, she had been nothing but stressed as the numbers ticked down at a grueling pace. Despite knowing that the number on her wrist was telling her that there was only one day left, having it covered up seemed to calm her nerves a bit. This was especially the case because she was going to be babysitting Manon Chamack, Nadja Chamack's daughter. The last thing she wanted was for the young girl to be asking questions that Marinette wouldn't have the answers to.

"Marinette?" A woman's voice called questioningly from downstairs. Marinette jumped, startled, before glancing at the clock. 

"4:00 already?" She gasped to herself as she quickly tidied up her room before dashing downstairs. "Coming!" Marinette ran down the stairs and almost ran right into Nadja and her daughter.

"Ms. Chamack! I am so sorry for the wait. This must be Manon." She smiled at the brown-haired child, causing her to go running behind her mother's leg.

"It's fine, Marinette. Thank you so much for doing this. With the promotion, I've hardly time anymore and I can't exactly take her down to the station with me," she thanked graciously. The woman rummaged around her purse for a moment before handing Marinette a piece of paper and some money. "Here's my cell if you need to get ahold of me."

Marinette took the number and payment and slid them into her pocket with a confident nod. "You can count on me, Ms. Chamack."

Nadja gently pulled her daughter out from behind her legs and scooted her towards Marinette. "Be a good girl, Manon. I'll be back in a few hours." The little girl begged her mother to stay, but eventually, Marinette was able to get her upstairs to the apartment and Nadja was able to rush out the front door.

Before long, Manon was wreaking havoc on the house and on Marinette. Marinette chased the little girl around the house begging her to "Put that down!" or "Don't touch that," but it was no use.  However, after about an hour, the young girl calmed down and sat down on the edge of Marinette's bed. 

"MARINETTE!" She yelled. Marinette carefully set the doll that she was sewing down on the desk and went running to the bed. "I'm bored, can I see your wrist timer?" She asked sweetly. Marinette's eyes went wide for a moment and took a breath. 

"Uh, n-not right now, Manon. Another time, okay?" Marinette tensed up as she looked at the girl. "Oh no, Manon. Don't do those eyes. You look like a baby doll..." she paused. "I can't say no to those baby doll eyes..." Marinette caved and Monon immediately grabbed her wrist and pulled off the scrunchie.

"One day..." Manon breathed out in pure childlike wonder. "I didn't know it got that low! What does that mean?" She asked innocently, laying in Marinette's lap.

"Well, it means that in one day, I'll meet the person I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with," Marinette explained carefully, not quite sure how to word it in a way that would make sense. "To be perfectly honest, Manon, I'm not sure I even know what that means yet." They both were silent for a moment.

"You mean like a boyfriend or a girlfriend?" The child asked with confidence that she was right in her voice. Marinette couldn't help but let out a laugh.

"Yes, like a boyfriend or a girlfriend."

Manon yawned and snuggled closer into the teen's lap. "I hope my soulmate isn't annoying..." she thought aloud sleepily. Marinette gently petted the mop of brown hair in her lap as the girl slowly dozed off to sleep. Carefully, she picked her up and lay her down in the bed and rested a blanket over her.

"I hope so too, Manon. I hope so too," She whispered to herself, deep in thought.