In the Past... (Miraculous Ladybug)

f i v e: We're... Distant relatives.

Word count: 2,163.

Adrien had just finished loading all of their picnic items into their car's trunk when his wife appeared next to him, utterly out of breath. He could see her panicking again, overthinking whatever was on her mind, and took her hand in his in attempts to calm her down. "Marinette, what's wrong?"

"I- I can't find them; they're gone!" Marinette didn't bother to lift up her gaze from the park down the hill. She leaned back on the car and held Adrien's hand tighter, to which he responded by placing his other hand on hers. 

Adrien tilted his head a little to the left. "What do you mean they're gone?"

Marinette finally looked up at him, seeking comfort from his eyes. But they were starting to look just as worried as hers were. "I can't find them anywhere! Louis helped me look, but I asked him to go back inside the car." Adrien nodded, knowing Louis was safe inside their car. She put her hands up to cover her face, breathing out for air. "We're the worst parents ever."

"No we're not, Bugaboo. Don't worry, we'll find them." He reassured her. Adrien took her hands off her face and placed them on his shoulders, cupping her face with his. He could see the tears beginning to appear on her eyes and put his nose to hers, their faces just centimeters apart. "Okay?"

"What if something happened to them?" Her voice came out in a whisper.

"I'm sure nothing bad has happened." Adrien placed his kiss on Marinette's nose. "In case something did happen, they would take care of each other." He pulled her in for a tight hug, cradling her head in one of his hands, the other rubbing her back gently up and down.

"Okay."

They pulled away from their hug, giving each other a soft kiss followed by their iconic Pound It. Marinette got inside the car and started the engine. Adrien followed, sitting down on the passenger seat. He felt something tap his shoulder and looked behind him where Louis was sitting. "Where are we going?"

Adrien didn't really know. Marinette was the one driving. She looked back at the both of them and smiled. "To Grandma and Grandpa's house." Adrien didn't bother to ask why, he knew they were dropping Louis off in order to search for the mischievous Hugo and Emma.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The blue door to the small apartment opened, and Tom Dupain was greeted by some unexpected guests. "Hello! What are you three doing here? I thought we were having dinner together tomorrow evening." The tall man motioned for them to walk inside.

Marinette held on to Louis's shoulders. "Could we drop off Louis here for a bit? Adrien and I have some things we need to do today, Papá."

Tom nodded, not asking why. Whatever they were doing wasn't of his concern. He was just happy to get to spend a few hours with his possibly-last grandson. He watched as Adrien knelt down to Louis's height. "You're going to be here for a little while, okay Louis?"

The boy nodded and went to stand next to his grandfather, clutching his large hand. Marinette gave her dad a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Papá. See you soon!" Tom said his goodbyes to the both of them, and shutting the door afterwards.

Once in the car, Adrien driving this time, he started up the engine. Thoughts were racing through his mind, of what could've possibly happened to the two children. "What should we do, Bug?" He knew it was probably their mischievousness, but he could feel himself starting to get extremely worried. 

Marinette on the other hand, wasn't feeling as scared as she had been previously. After having been comforted by her husband and initiating her plan, her Ladybug-like confidence had started to kick in. "Now that we've left Louis with my parents, I think we should transform and therefore look for them easily." Adrien nodded, but she could feel it. He was getting more and more tense by the second. "Kitty?" He numbly turned his head to her as they arrived in the parking. Marinette placed her hand on his, rubbing soothing circles on the back of his hand. "Everything is going to be fine. Now we just have to check the park one last time."