Shattered

6) What the Future Holds

Hugo's POV

Marinette and Adrien stared at us in disbelief. They didn't know what to think regarding the whole "we're your future kids!" gig.

"Let's say we believed you," Dad finally broke the awkward silence. "Do you have anyway to prove this? Why should we just take your word?"

"Well," I replied, "Plagg, Tikki! You two can come out now!" Our parents looked at me dumbfounded. They looked even more shocked when I pulled out a small piece of cheese from my shirt pocket... constantly feeding Plagg had become a force of habit at this point.

"Sorry, we were out of Camembert... is Brie ok?" I asked, enjoying the Kwami's reaction as he came out of his hiding place.

"You raised a good one kid!" Plagg yelled at my father before shoving the whole of cheese into his mouth.

"Believe us now?" Emma asked.

"Well... umm... I think we are willing to entertain the idea that you three are telling the truth." Said mom, "but we need to hear the whole story before we determine that for sure." Her Ladybug persona dripped through every word. She seemed so confident and strong, no wonder she was a hero.

"Okay then." Louis sighed. "Do you want the short or the long version?"

- • - • - • - • - • - • -
Adrien's POV

To say I was in shock was an understatement. By the time Emma, Hugo, and Louis had finished presenting their entire story, from the time machine to coming to school, I wasn't sure what to think. Of course it seemed absurd, but how could they make up a story in which every piece fell together so perfectly? Not to mention, how did they know our identities and about our kwamis?

"We'll... be right back," I shyly smiled at the, or, my kids. "I think the two of us have... a bit to discuss." And with that I grabbed Marinette's wrist and made my way towards the trapdoor.

As we entered the balcony and leaned over the rail, everything went quiet.

"So..." she began.

"So," I repeated, unsure of what else to say.

Finally m'lady broke the silence.

"After the reveal, after we got together, I imagined our future together. I expected us to have a future together, I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. But right now, if we really do live the life they told us about, if we really do achieve everything we hoped for and more, it seems impossible." She concluded, her expression clouded with confusion.

"But that's the thing, bugaboo, the impossible is our specialty. Our job description is literally to fight baddies who are under the influence of dark magic. If we threw out everything in our lives that seems impossible, we'd have nothing left. Maybe we do get everything. We dam well deserve it. With everything that we've gone through together... maybe we really do get a chance at our happily ever after!"

Marinette sighed, a smile cracking onto her lips.

"I want to believe them. I want everything they say to be true. And if it is, we need to stop this villain now before our perfect world is shattered. If they're telling the truth, then we have to fight for our future. We have to fight for our family. We have to fix time itself."

"Then let's do it," I finish. "Let's secure our future... let's go help our kids!" My girlfriend blushed at the last sentence. Come to think of it, it does seem weirder saying it out loud.

Together we crawled back into the room, the sibling looking at us expectingly.

"So Dad," the name felt so right. So, natural. I really would be a dad one day! And hopefully a better one than my father ever was. "What's the verdict?"

I pulled Mari in close to me as I looked down into her beautiful blue bell eyes before responding. Her gentle gaze was all the confirmation I needed.

"What can we do to help?"