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5) Broken

- The Past -
Marinette's POV

When nine came around, I anxiously made my way towards the Eiffel Tower.

I was sure Adrien would have a lot more questions, but I was hoping the few hours between our last visit gave him some time to register the urgency of the situation.

I was sure that Tok wouldn't go far. Yes, he had the ability to go anywhere in time, but due to his need to find the miraculous I was sure he would primarily hide in 1 of 2 places.

Here or in 8 years.

If he wasn't our problem, then he would my younger self and husband's.

The question is who could catch him first.

"Good evening, m'lady."

"Hey Adrien."

I watched as he slowly walked towards me before taking a seat beside me on the ledge.

"In 8 years, is Paris still this beautiful?"

"Yes. The lights, the moon, the stars. There's nothing better than this view."

He nodded at my response, smiling. "I like it because it reminds me how big the world is. You know, I'm always cooped up by my father... and seeing this city in a mask reminds me just how much freedom I can take."

"You were always looking forward to turning 18," I laughed, "the day after your birthday, you were out of the house and in your own apartment. Of course, Gabriel wasn't too happy about it all, but I remember you dragging me by the arm out the door after helping you pack and telling him you'll see him on Mondays and Thursdays."

He chuckled at my memory, obviously not surprised. "I've been planning on that for years, I'm glad to see I go through with it."

We spent the next few minutes in a quite awkward silence, just staring at the lights. I instinctively let my hand fall to my stomach, and my face fell the moment I remembered the reality of the situation.

My baby was gone.

Adrien noticed the actions and immediately put an arm around my shoulders, as I leaned into him letting the tears finally fall.

I mean, what was I supposed to do? I'd been ripped away from my life, my love, my family... my husband and child. And if we didn't catch Tok, then they'd be gone for good. Failure wasn't an option.

Chat rubbed his hand up and down my back, trying his best to calm me down.

"What was his name?" He hesitantly asked. "You know, assuming you've already picked one out..."

"Hugo." I smiled.

He tested it out before grinning. "Hugo Agreste... I like it. Does he have a middle name?"

"Not yet." I shook my head. "We still have a few months, so we haven't decided on one yet."

"So, I guess, if I'm Adrien Agreste and our child is Hugo Agreste you would be... Marinette Agreste. It has a nice ring to it." I giggled and nodded as he smirked.

"You know, for the last year I've been saying 'Ladybug Agreste' over and over, I think I like 'Marinette' better. It's nice to have a name with the face, too."

"Not for long. If everything goes according to plan, then you won't remember a thing. You get to wait your turn."

"From everything you've told me, that life will be well worth the wait."

- The Future -
Marinette's POV

"A-Agreste?!" Chat was enjoying this far to much, watching my reaction as he brought our last name into play.

"Like 'Adrien' Agreste?!"

"It's just me, princess," he laughed, "come on, just calm down."

"Wait... no! If you're Adrien.... then Chat is Adrien! I'm married to Adrien Agreste who's also Chat Noir! How is that possible? There's no way... I mean, you can't"

"Marinette," he calmly set his hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look up into his eyes. "Look at me. Really look. I promise you, I'm the same boy you've always known. The model you had a crush on,"

"Wait, you know about that?"

"And the partner you can always turn to," he continued. "I'm still your best friend. Now, I have to go to work. If anyone asks where you are I'll just tell them you aren't feeling well. Make yourself at home, get to know the place."

I nodded, deciding this was the best course of action. I had a lot to register, and staying here would be the best way to do that.

"How would you feel about some company?"

15 minutes later Adrien had rushed out the door, only to be replaced by two familiar faces.

"Okay girl, what's going on? Adrien tried explaining... but that didn't go well."

"Yeah dudette. Are you okay? Is Hugo okay?"

"I'm fine, we're fine." I'm clarified. "But... you might want to sit down for this..."

Adrien's POV

I felt bad leaving Mari like that. It's like "hey! I'm your future husband and father of your child, plus I'm your huge crush and crime fighting partner! You're stuck with me until we catch an akuma who could literally be anywhere, so now I'm heading to work. Wanna meet future Alya?"

I sighed as I walked through the office door, still trying to clear my head.

"M Agreste!"

"Could you check these statistics?"

"You have a meeting at 10!"

"You-"

I walked through the crowd of employees, immediately closing the door as I reached my office.

Our office.

I looked across the large room noticing the other desk on the opposite side, smiling at the name tag.

Marinette Agreste.

I quickly turned away as I let my eyes water, trying to turn on my computer.

Oh, who was I kidding? My wife was stuck 8 years ago, and if we couldn't find this akuma I would never see her again. Her younger self would be trapped here, and the future wouldn't play out the way it should. We would lose everything.

Of course, though, I shouldn't be the one throwing a pity party. Marinette Dupain-Cheng was probably going nuts trying to adjust to this and learning about her future. In less than twelve hours, she had been exposed to my identity, our marriage, our child... not to mention time travel. And then my wife-

No. Marinette Agreste would be fine. She was probably finding my younger self and trying to fix this situation from her side. We would fix this, I would get her back.

I took in a few more breaths as I remembered how we had started up the company. It was last year, right after Mari had graduated from school. We had been married for almost two years, and my father decided to hand down the torch to the two of us.

We were able to get started with the momentum from his legacy, and business only grew as we rebranded and made our own changes. That's how "Agreste's" was born. I was the head of modeling and photography, and Mari led design and branding efforts. Still partners, like always.

Of course, we were still growing and expanding business, but taking over the original world famous company gave us a huge advantage over other new entrepreneurs. And now, only a year in, we were already making our mark.

It was always her dream. And now, she wasn't here to enjoy it. She was gone. Stuck. Swapped until we defeated this akuma. And I could only promise one thing... the moment I got my hands on that bastard he would pay.

But more importantly, I would fix my family. I would get her back.