A/N: I don't own Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir

Summary (extended): In a world where less than 15% of people find their soulmates, Marinette and Adrien are hopeful that they'll be one of the lucky few. However, as the miraculous enter their lives, their chance of finding their soulmate becomes just short of impossible as one type of magic interferes with another. Unbelievably though, one day Adrien transforms into a black cat and Marinette a ladybug... What does fate have in store for them? Soulmate Alternate Universe where once soulmates touch, they each turn into a specific "soul animal."

CHAPTER 1: A Cat on the Catwalk

"Mama?"

"Yes, Adrien?"

"Can you turn into a butterfly?"

"Sure, honey." Emilie Agreste sat on the edge of Adrien's bed, tucking him in for the night. She ran a hand through his blond locks. "But only for a little while, okay?"

Adrien nodded enthusiastically and watched as his mother changed in a flash of light. When the light died down, a light purple butterfly was in her place. Adrien gasped and reached out a hand, awed at the transformation even though he had seen it before.

Butterfly Mrs. Agreste landed on Adrien's outstretched fingers, and he giggled, tickled by her insect legs. She then took off again, only to land on Adrien's cute 5-year-old button nose.

Adrien closed his eyes in delight, loving the feeling of having his mother so close. His brain couldn't quite comprehend yet how rare, vulnerable, and meaningful this was; how lucky he was to have parents that were soulmates, and that his mother was willing to change into her butterfly form for him. Seeing a soul animal transformation was not something many 5-year-olds were able to experience.

The moment ended too soon for his liking though, as his mother flew back into the air to transform back into her human self.

She sat back down on the bed and kissed Adrien's head goodnight. "I love you, sweetie."

"I love you too, Mama." Adrien blinked, sleepily, but then his eyes widened as a thought came to his mind.

"Mama," he called, as she was halfway across the room. She turned around, waiting patiently. "Why can you turn into a butterfly?"

Emilie was surprised for a second, but a warm smile immediately came back to her face. "It's because your father and I are soulmates, honey. I can turn into a butterfly and your father can turn into a peacock. You should ask him about it sometime."

Adrien's eyes widened with this information; his parents were so cool! His brow furrowed in thought, all thoughts of sleep forgotten.

"Do all girls turn into butterflies?"

Mrs. Agreste laughed, and sat back on the bed to indulge him. She knew these questions would come eventually, so she tried to give as much information as she could.

"No, Adrien. Each person has a different creature that they turn into when they touch their soulmate for the first time. This doesn't happen to everyone because the world is a very big place, but that's okay because people can still fall in love and be happy even if they don't find their soulmate. Your grandparents are like that, and they are still very happy."

"Okay," the boy answered, absorbing the information. Emilie smiled at his contemplative expression and squeezed his little hand in encouragement.

"Will I ever meet my soulmate?" he inquired, green eyes begging for an answer.

"Maybe," she said, and watched as he frowned at that uncertainty. "It's all up to fate, after all." After a moment, she bopped him on the nose lightly with her finger, startling him out of his thoughts. "But right now it's time for bed, mister."

Adrien giggled at his mother's antics, his mind wide-awake from all this new knowledge. But he acquiesced, snuggling down further into his blankets. She tucked him in further, and once again kissed his forehead.

"Goodnight, sweetie."

"Night, Mama."

When she was almost out the door, he called for her again. As she turned around in the doorframe, he turned his body towards her, his eyes filled with something akin to worry.

"How will I know?"

"How will you know who your soulmate is?" She guessed, knowingly. Adrien merely nodded. Her grin grew fond as her eyes sparked with a memory.

"Trust me, you'll know," was her cryptic reply, and she left the room before Adrien could ask any more questions.

While Adrien would have loved to stay up pondering all that he had learned, his body soon forced him into unconsciousness. When he woke up the next morning, his dreams of a black cat and a ladybug were soon forgotten amongst the business of the day.

Present Day…

"We're on in five!"

Adrien nodded, barely registering the chaos around him as the various designers around him finished adjusting small details on their models. His father had inspected his outfit and makeup just a few minutes before, only to leave the main dressing room for his seat in the audience.

Adrien knew he should be focused on the show, but couldn't help but be distracted by the warmth growing in his chest. It had been there all day, he realized. Slowly growing over time, but undeniably present. It had been there ever since…. ever since Ladybug kissed me on the cheek.

Was this it? Was Ladybug really his soulmate? Would it finally happen after all the agony they had endured?

"Adrien!"

His head snapped up, eyes refocusing on his surroundings. "Yes?" he inquired, a bit sheepish.

The show coordinator glared at him. "Get your head out of the clouds and turn on the charm! You're second to last- don't tell me I have to remind you how important your position is in this collection!"

"Yes, sir!" Adrien hurried to find his place in the line-up, mustering up his game face. Focus on the show now, wonder about your soulmate later, he scolded himself.

The music started, a bass driven pop song that had the perfect tempo to walk to on the runway. The first model- a black woman wearing an intricate cream dress- walked out, sashaying to the beat. By the time the person in front of him stepped out onto the runway, Adrien was fully immersed in his model persona, though his nerves fluttered a bit as they did at every show.

He finally advanced down the runway, automatically flashing his practiced "smoulder," which was the look he had been instructed to embody for the night.

Suddenly, the warmth in his chest flared up. While his runway walk remained fine due to the amount of practice he had put into it over the years, his face faltered for a bit before he managed to recover. What was that?

He had just about made it to the end of the runway, where he would pose for a bit, when the warmth flared up even more, feeling like it was burning him from the inside out. This time, he lost control of his body, and felt himself tripping over his own feet. He instinctively held his arms out to catch himself, closing his eyes. His complete attention was drawn to what was happening inside him.

He didn't register the gasps around him as the scorching heat inside him suddenly diminished to the warm fuzziness he had felt earlier in the day. He opened his eyes, only to see that his hands in front of him were paws. Specifically, black cat paws. Wait- he was a cat? Then that means!

Adrien had finally found his soulmate! After all the despair he had felt about not being able to find his soulmate due to the interference of his Miraculous, here he was, turned into a cat because he had finally touched his soulmate. He probably already knew her; after all, he must have interacted with her multiple times by now. Oh, it has to be Ladybug, he thought, thinking of all that had transpired.

His joy, however, was cut short when he remembered where he was. He glanced up in dread to see the onlookers in shock, cameras going off wildly, and a murmur rising in the crowd as the music continued to pump its deep bass. Focusing his gaze on the front row, he registered the deep frown coming from his father and the shocked look on Nathalie's face. He watched as his father leaned over to discretely tell Nathalie something, when a microphone suddenly entered his field of vision.

"Mr. Agreste! Is this the first time you've transformed into an animal? Do you know who your soulmate is?"

"Adrien! Who is the lucky girl? Or boy?"

"Is this your first time transforming? If not, are you making a statement on your father's newest line?"

"Mr. Agreste!"

"What kind of animal do you think your soulmate has turned into?"

"Adrien!"

"Do you know who your soulmate is?"

Adrien felt the panic building up inside him, his cat body reacting in fear. He couldn't help the hiss that left through his teeth as more people crowded around him. To his alarm, that only made the reporters swarm closer. Didn't they understand he couldn't answer their questions right now? He was a cat!

"Adrien!" Nathalie pushed through the paparazzi, and Adrien locked eyes with her. She nodded at him, a worried expression present on her normally stoic face, before she schooled her expression to face the press. "Adrien Agreste will not be taking questions at this time. Please step away from him."

While a few of the reporters listened, one was bold enough to touch his tail. The sudden contact made Adrien jump, his tail and hair rising as his fear spiked. It was too much! Listening to his instincts, he turned and practically bolted for the backstage area, leaving the clamoring voices behind.

When he got behind the curtain, he paused and breathed a sigh of relief, only to be assaulted by the stares of his fellow models. They had been watching the live footage of the show after they had done their own runway walks. The model that was supposed to go last after him, a woman wearing the flashiest dress in the collection, was pouting near the stage entrance.

This is too much. He ran off again, remembering the way to his own personal dressing room where he had stored his bag and Plagg. Oh, I hope Plagg can help me!

A/N:

Hello my lovely readers! Thank you for clicking on and reading this story! Here are a few need-to-know details moving forward:

1. This story includes Season 1 and most of Season 2, though some of it will be altered due to the fact that it's an AU. Since I got the idea for this around S2E6, important plot ideas that come up after this point (specifically Season 3 onward) may not be included in this story. Particularly, this may affect new characters that are introduced, the details surrounding Mrs. Agreste and Hawkmoth's plans, or even details about Master Fu and the Guardians. I aim to keep things as canon as possible, but it may deviate due to certain things not coming up in canon yet.

2. This story should make sense no matter what order you watched Season 1 and 2. I know the English and French came out in different orders, so for the sake of simplicity I am *mostly* adhering to the Netflix order of episodes. Any differences are due to trying to fit the episodes best into this AU.

3. This story has two main timelines that will eventually converge. One following Adrien and Marinette after they transform into their animal selves (i.e. the present), and one following the lead up to how they eventually transformed (i.e. flashbacks/the past). A few other random flashbacks may be present as well, like in this chapter where we see adorable 5-year-old Adrien. I'm saying all this just as a warning because I'm not going to have a certain format for flashbacks. It should be pretty obvious in my writing when events are happening.

I already have this story mostly planned out, so while input and ideas are most definitely appreciated, I am more curious to see your reactions! (So, review! :D) So far, I've written about 6 chapters and hope to post as often as possible. But, I've never written a long story like this before, so bear with me if there are delays! Credit goes to lillykleaf for editing/beta reading for me!

Once again, thanks for reading!

Starlin's Ghost

*Edited 11/25/19*