Stopwatch | Miraculous Ladybug | Soulmates AU

T - 7 Days

"One week.

"I'll be meeting my soulmate in one week... ONE WEEK, NATH!" Marinette exclaimed. Nathaniel watched patiently from his seat on the chaise sitting by her window as he watched her pace back and forth in her room.

"I mean, how do you even prepare for these kinds of things? Should I do something different with my hair? What if I wore it in pigtails or something?" She fidgeted with the hair tie that held up her signature bun.

"You need to calm-"

"I CAN'T CALM DOWN! I'M MEETING THEM IN A WEEK!" Marinette shouted, falling back on the chaise next to the boy with an exasperated sigh. After a few minutes of him gently petting her head, she sat up. "I'm sorry for yelling, Nath. I'm just so freaked out by all this."

"I know, Mari. But just remember that they're probably just as worried as you are."

"I doubt it. They're probably just peacefully eating their breakfast chatting with their best friend about something normal like hamsters or a TV show or something."

~~~

"A WEEK! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!" A girl's voice screamed from the other side of the room.

Adrien's hand shook profusely with nerves as he tried to lift the muffin to his mouth, but he couldn't quite get it in. 

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, Chloe, but I just didn't know how to and-"

"But Adrikins! We're made for each other! We've known each other since we were just little tots and you're just gonna give it all up for some rando on the streets in a week?" Chloe whined as she clung to his arm, slapping the muffin out of his hand.

"Chloe, we never even had anything. We're just friends, you know that. And it's not just 'some rando.' It's my soulmate."

The blonde stuck out her lip in a pout. "Fine, whatever. When you meet them, you'll realize we're perfect for each other." In true Chloe Bourgeois fashion, the blonde proceeded to storm out of the room, leaving Adrien alone. He let out a loud breath in relief as he was finally able to think.

"One week..." he whispered. "I wonder what they'll be like..."

He steadied his shaking hand and took a bite of his muffin as he calmed himself by thinking not of his nerves, but the possibilities of his soulmate.

~~~

The last customer left the bakery for the night and Marinette and Nathaniel let out a long breath.

"And... done." Nathaniel slumped against the counter and sighed. "I should start asking for a paycheck at this rate."

"Yeah, that was insane. I've never seen the bakery this full," Marinette agreed, taking off her apron and hopping up onto the counter next to her best friend. She idly traced the "7" on her wrist.

"We should go see a movie or something, ease your nerves and distract you for a little while," Nathaniel suggested, noticing her wrist. He pulled out his phone to check movie times. "It's late but there is still a showing of Mecha Monkey vs. Cyber Shark 2 in about 20 minutes." 

Marinette smiled. "That sounds like a great idea, Nath! We should invite the whole Art Squad, too. We haven't hung out all as a group in forever," She suggested, all her worries that were presenting themselves disappearing instantly.

~~~

"Fine, Adrien. But your bodyguard has to go with you."

"Thank you, father!" Adrien smiled. He hadn't gone to a movie in a long time and was super excited to see Mecha Monkey vs. Cyber Shark 2. He ran out the door and met The Gorilla in the awaiting car.

When they pulled up to the theater, the movie had already started so they quickly bought their tickets and snuck in through the back of the theater and grabbed seats towards the back. Some girl's hair bun in the front row blocked a bit of the screen, but it was hardly noticeable in all the action of the movie.

~~~

After the movie ended, Marinette stayed and chatted with her friends for a bit in their seats as they waited for everyone else to clear out of the theater. 

"No! The first movie was so much better!" Rose shouted passionately. "The graphics were so much clearer and the plot to this one was so... unromantic!"

Everyone laughed at Rose's enthusiasm until they were interrupted by someone shouting from the back of the room. "ADRIEN AGRESTE! I'M YOUR BIGGEST FAN!" The group of friends flipped around to see, but all they could see was a blond scruff of hair shuffling out of the back door of the theater followed by a large man and a crowd of people begging for autographs.

"Who's that?" Alix asked, caught off guard by all the chaos.

Marinette pulled out her phone and searched his name as her friends all shrugged. "That's where I know the name from! He's the son of and model for Gabriel Agreste, my fave fashion designer! How weird is it that he happened to be in the same movie as us," she commented. 

"Wow, daddy's boy and teen supermodel? Yikes!" Nathaniel said. Rose and Alix nodded as the group started to make their way out of the theater. However, Marinette couldn't help but wonder about the boy. She looked out after the back door, which was long shut, for a moment before clearing her head and following her friends.