Stopwatch | Miraculous Ladybug | Soulmates AU

T - 1 Day?

~Time Skip through the fight with StoneHeart~

Marinette smiled as she watched Ivan land safely on the ground after detransforming from his monster - or 'akuma' as Tikki called it- form. "What's going on? What am I doing here?" He questioned as he looked around at his surroundings. Marinette was about to help him up when her new partner turned to her.

"You were incredible, miss-" Chat Noir paused as he tried to think of a name for her. "-bug lady. You did it!" He smiled at her. She could swear she could see admiration written across his features despite them being hidden by the black mask.

"We both did it, partner." Marinette smiled back. Almost without thought, she held out her fist and he reciprocated almost instantaneously.

"Pound it," they cheered in unison. Suddenly, the boy's ring began to flash, indicating he was going to detransform soon.

"You'd better get going. Our identities-" Marinette started to warn. She knew he hadn't listened to everything his kwami had tried to explain to him so she wasn't sure if he knew to hide his identity. However, before she could finish her thought, he cut her off.

"Your timer..." He breathed. Marinette looked down at her wrist, startled. She had forgotten all about the business with her timer during the heat of the fight, especially knowing that it was covered by her costume. However, when she looked down, she could see it clear as day. Rather than her tattoo itself showing, it almost seemed to glow through her costume. Upon seeing this, Marinette gasped and instinctively clasped her hand over her wrist.

Wordlessly, Chat Noir held out his own wrist. An identical glow shone from beneath his costume as well.

𝟢 𝒹𝒶𝓎𝓈

The closer he held his wrist to her own, the brighter they each glowed. He opened his mouth to speak but before he could, his wrist flashed again frantically. Marinette saw him glare down at his ring as if it had somehow purposely offended him before he leaned in close to her. Her breathing hitched for a moment before he paused by her ear and whispered in a hushed tone.

"Meet me at the Eiffel Tower tomorrow night. I think we..." He glanced down at their still outstretched wrists. "I think we have some things to talk about." Marinette nodded and with that, he was off. Shooting across the Parisian skyline on his staff, he looked like a lone bird, soaring through the skies, happy and free.

Marinette glanced down back at her wrist. The mark was no longer glowing and all she could see was her red and black suit covering her arms. She shook her head to clear it and moved over to Ivan, still in a daze. 

~

"Ladybug. Call me Ladybug."

Ladybug shot through the skies on her yoyo and finally made her way home. She was proud of herself for having made this great achievement, saving Paris and all. A smile couldn't help but form across her face as she thought about the bravery she had shown and the comfort she had spread just with her presence. However, something else was definitely weighing on her mind.

"Chat Noir is my soulmate," she whispered to herself as she fell back on her bed, her Ladybug costume disappearing from her body as she did so.

"Yep! Throughout the centuries, many Ladybugs and Chat Noirs have been soulmates." Tikki, the kwami of the ladybug earrings, explained as she munched on a cookie that Marinette had handed her.

"Really?" Marinette questioned as she sat up. Tikki nodded but before Marinette could say anything more, something behind the floating bug caught her eye. 

"Just as Paris was about to celebrate the appearance of our two new superheroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, a new wave of panic is sweeping across the capital." Nadja Chamack reported on the computer screen. Marinette's eyes widened in horror as she watched the footage of Parisians being transformed into stone beings all over the city. "Dozens of citizens are being transformed into stone monsters. It's simply unbelievable!" 

"No, no, no, no, no, no. This is a disaster! I thought we defeated Stoneheart!" Marinette exclaimed, fear primarily present in her voice.

Tikki turned around to face the worried teen. "Did you capture the akuma?" 

"What does capturing the akuma have to do with all these other stone beings?" Marinette wondered.

Tikki facepalmed. "An akuma can multiply. That's why it must be captured! If Ivan's emotions get out of hand again, the others will come to life and serve as his army."

Marinette's heart dropped and face fell. "I knew it! I knew I wasn't cut out to be a superhero. I'm only going to keep messing up." Tikki tried to encourage the new hero but Marinette wouldn't have it.

" You and Paris will be better off without me. I'm sorry Tikki." Marinette removed her earrings and looked around. "Tikki?" She asked again. When she realized that the kwami was gone, she sighed sadly and put the miraculous box in her dresser drawer. 

"I'm really sorry, Tikki," she murmured again, falling to her knees on the ground. 

Marinette cried into her hands for a while; she wasn't sure how long. When she finally opened her eyes, they stung from the tears. However, through the blur of her watering eyes, she noticed something strange. She had been so focused on everything with the hero work, once again, that she hadn't noticed when her tattoo... changed.

"What...?" she breathed as she ran her fingers over the lines.

𝟣 𝒹𝒶𝓎