Who We Never Thought We'd Be... (Miraculous Fanfiction)

Afterstory: The Circus

"I cannot believe your mom said 'yes.'" Alya remarked as they took seats.

"Yeah. She said she couldn't come herself, but there was no reason we had to miss out." Adrian replied.

Nino had been invited too, but Alya intended on keeping him busy when needed. He leaned over to Adrian. "Dude, your mom's so much more laid-back."

Adrian smiled. "Yeah, I guess she is..."
He tossed a handful of popcorn into his mouth, then turned as Marinette giggled. "What?"

"You look like a squirrel with a mouthful of nuts!" Marinette giggled.

Adrian blushed, "I don't get to eat this kind of stuff very often!" then he turned his attention to the center ring as the lights dimmed and a tall, skinny man stepped into the light.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Boys and Girls of all ages! I am Leonardo Armand, your ringmaster! And I welcome you to the greatest show in all of Europe!"
The crowds cheered, and then Leonardo continued. "We have performances from all over the globe! Fire breathers from Australia, Dancers from Asia, Animal tamers from Africa, and much more!"

"Remember, they might not be in the same act." Marinette whispered. "So keep your eyes peeled..."

Adrian nodded, putting more popcorn in his mouth.

The pair watched intently to the acts, hoping to see something familiar from their allies, but with so many painted faces and trained professionals, it was impossible to tell who their mystery performers were...

...Up until the end.

The ringmaster stepped up into the center ring once more. "Well we hope you all have enjoyed our wonderful, unique circus. But there is one more act, oh there is... This girl has grown up with my circus. She's gone from being a tiny toddler riding a horse around the perimeter of the ring with her mother, to a magnificent performer in her own right. So, without further ado...I'd like you all to give her your full attention..."

The lights dimmed away, leaving almost no way to see. It was eerily quiet, and then loud rock music began playing as strobelights lit up the trapeze. The girl was dressed all in white, and due to the strobelights her movements seemed erratic. You struggled to follow her as she swung back and forth, never knowing if she would miss the next trapeze and fall.

Marinette grabbed onto Adrian's arm. "It has to be her..." She whispered. "It has to be!"

Adrian nodded in agreement. 

The whole crowd gasped as it looked like she missed and fell, but then the strobelights ceased to show her grabbing onto the tightrope as she plummeted, flipping up and around it a few times, and then planting her feet on it and coming to a stop. There was an eerie silence, before the crowd erupted into applause. The girl walked to the platform before giving a bow and waving to the audience.

"Now that's how you end a show!" Nino informed, and the others nodded as they applauded. "I can't believe I got that all on film!"

Marinette and Adrian looked to each other, and they knew they had the same plan...

______________________________________

That night, the two heroes snuck onto the grounds, searching silently for the girl from the performance.

They'd split up to cover more ground, but after some time, they regrouped on top of an empty wagon.

"She's probably out of costume by now..." Chat murmured. "How are we supposed to find her, exactly?"

"Ladybug and Chat Noir..."
They turned, seeing a performer leaning against a post. "...circus fans?"

The two jumped down. "We are, actually... The girl from the last act, do you know where she is?"

The girl smirked. "Follow me..."

She led them through the wagons, then stepped into one of them. "Inside..."

The interior of the wagon was decorated with Christmas lights and pictures of the girl and one of the fire breathers from early childhood and into their teen years.

"Connor, we have guests."

Sitting at a table with a dollhouse sitting on it was the boy from the pictures. His hair was thick, black and curly, his skin very tan from the sun.
"Well, if it isn't the famous super duo, Ladybug and Chat Noir... Come in." He greeted.

"We saw your performance this afternoon." Ladybug replied. "Both of you were very impressive."

"Thank you, Ladybug. That's high praise, coming from you..." The boy knocked on the dollhouse. "You can come out, guys. It's safe."

Chat and Ladybug saw two kwamis peek out of the dollhouse, and then their faces lit up. "Ladybug and Chat Noir!" The snake kwami squeaked. "I am such a big fan...!"

Chat grinned, looking to the human pair as they grinned back. "You're Hood and Moufette..."

"Please, call us Tarah and Connor when out of uniform." Connor took their hands and shook them as Tarah closed the door. "We've been watching you two for a while now. Our orders were to simply observe unless given permission to intervene."

"I could think of several times we could have used some extra help..."

Tarah grinned, "But you triumphed anyway. That's what's important, Chat Noir. It may have been difficult, but you two are strong enough to face every challenge that's been thrown at you...Together."

Connor wrapped his arm around Tarah. "Just like we're better together..."

"Your act was astounding, Tarah." Chat Noir admitted, "It must have taken months of training to accomplish that!"

"I've been in the circus since I was born. My parents are both performers, and so there wasn't much question that I would be too. I strive to not only put on a good show, but push myself beyond my limits and prove that I can do anything I put my mind to."

"She's an amazing miraculous holder, too!" The skunk kwami announced. "I'm Keele, and this is my dear friend Slinkk." Slinkk grinned widely as he waved.

"I guess you two will be leaving Paris soon." Ladybug lamented.

"Don't be so sure, Ladybug..." Tarah took her fellow miraculous holder's hands, "...We may be seeing one another a lot more than you think."

Ladybug's eyebrows furrowed as she wondered what she meant, but she had a feeling the performer was being cryptic for a reason. She gave a smile and a nod, "Of course... Thank you for helping us back there."

"You are most welcome...Tell Mrs. Agreste 'hello' for us, will you? You'll probably see her before we do."

"We most certainly will." Chat Noir informed, "...But you gotta tell me how you did that fall stunt! With the lights flickering and everything, it must've been impossible to see the tightrope to grab onto!"

Tarah giggled. "Alright, hero...Have a seat, and I will tell you two a story..."